The Prime Elements

"Alright, wait a moment." Killian said, placing one hand on his hip and rubbing his forehead with the other, "You're telling me that when we jumped into the light, which was actually a portal, we landed in a place that has magical ponies that can talk, fly, and know how to make medicines?"

"Well, we also are capable of several other things too." Twilight replied as they left Zecora's hut, "But, yes."

"Is there a name for this land?"

"You're in Equestria. One of the many nations that cover this world."

Even though they discussed so many things, Matthias and Killian still had difficulties understanding the many things this world held. And even being at proper health and dressed in their armor, it also made them feel out of place. From what they could understand, they were the only human and half-demon that had set foot in Equestria.

"I've never heard of such a place." Killian said, lifting a branch and passing under it.

However, when he was past the branch, Killian released it, allowing it to fling back and hit Matthias in the face.

Whap!

"Umph!" Matthias grunted, feeling the rough bark hit him.

"Are you alright?!" Starlight asked, seeing what happened.

"I'll be fine. I've endured far worse. Although, I'm grateful that Twilight has my sword and not him."

"What sort of military force allows the commanding officers to treat their soldiers with such behavior?"

"One that has demons fighting for their freedom. If it costs us our right to speak against or fight against anyone, without permission, then so be it. Demons are peaceful and try to avoid conflict, but that's not how the world works."

Looking toward Killian, they saw that he behaved as if nothing happen. Twilight, with the sword floating beside her, and Spike were ahead of him, but they were too far away to notice the mistreatment Matthias had received.

"Do you want me to say something?" Starlight asked, standing next to Matthias and glaring at Killian's back.

"Thank you for the offer." Matthias replied, lifting the branch and continuing on, "But, it's best just to leave it alone for the time being."

They walked further until they reached the edge of the forest, where they saw Ponyville. From where they stood, the little town didn't look like much. Although, the large crystal castle that was oddly shaped like a tree told a different story. But, even from where they stood, Matthias and Killian could see the banners and various windows that dotted and stretched across the sides.

"Who lives there?" Killian asked, pointing at the castle in the distance.

"I do." Twilight said, before adding, "As well as Spike and Starlight."

"Well, I'll admit, it's different than I expected."

"What exactly did you have in mind?"

"I was expecting more stone than crystal. But, interesting, none the less."

After a short moment of looking from a distance, Twilight turned toward the two of them with a serious expression on her face.

"Now," Twilight began, keeping a stern but gentle tone, "everypony in Equestria has never seen anything like you, except for Spike and myself. So, when we get to Ponyville, don't be too surprised if any of them approach you or run away. Okay?"

"I understand fully, Princess." Killian said, giving a short bow before turning toward Matthias and giving him a hard stare, "We both will be on our best behavior."

"Of course." Matthias replied, giving a short bow of his own.

When Matthias rose up, they walked toward the little town. However, the whole idea of being introduced to an entirely different race felt very strange to him.

Shortly after, they arrived in Ponyville. And, as expected, every single pony they went by gave them either a look of concern, confusion, wonder, or amazement.

"Princess Twilight!" A voice called, causing the group to look.

They watched as Lyra burst from the crowd with her journal wrapped in her magic. But, even though she had excitement on her face, they could also see the caution as she approached them.

"Are those what I think they are?" Lyra asked, staring at Matthias and Killian.

"Yes, Lyra." Twilight replied, "They're humans. But, don't overwhelm them, they still have quite a bit to understand about our world."

"Okay."

Lyra floated her journal in front of her and opened it to a blank page, where a pen rested in between the pages. As quickly and neatly as she could, she drew the features and curves of the two warriors. But, what she couldn't understand was that one of them had glowing eyes, while the other didn't.

"Why are your eyes glowing?" Lyra asked, stepping closer to Matthias.

"He's a half-demon, Ma'am." Killian said, quickly stepping between her and Matthias, "However, I'm a full blood human."

"What are your names?"

"I am Killian, commanding officer of the tenth legion of the Vandlgradian army." Killian said with pride, before pointing behind him and flatly adding, "And this is Matthias."

Lyra's pen quickly scratched across the pages as she took more notes.

"Lyra," Twilight said, in a regal tone, "I understand that you want to learn more about them. But, I have to notify Princess Celestia about them."

"Of course." Lyra replied, "If you don't mind, I'd like to come along as well?"

"If it's alright with them, then sure."

Lyra looked up at the two of them and smiled warmly. To Matthias, it was the first smile he had seen in a very long time. But Killian couldn't care less.

"I'm sorry, Ma'am." Killian said sternly, "But in recent events, civilians aren't allowed to interfere. Until we know whether it's safe, you can't accompany us."

Lyra's smile faded, but she gave a quick nod, understanding his words. Then she took a step back as Twilight started to lead the group to the castle. However, Matthias remained behind for a moment and reached into his pocket and retrieved a black and white feather.

"Here." He said, presenting the feather to Lyra.

"Uh, thank you, Matthias." Lyra said, taking the feather in her magic, "Why are you giving this to me?"

"Because that's the best smile I've seen in a very, very long time."

Lyra blushed a little, because she never thought that a simple smile would cause someone to give her a gift. And since it was from the first human she had ever met, it made the feather far more unique and somewhat special.

"It was nice to meet you, Lyra." Matthias said, walking away to rejoin the others, "Good-bye."

Lyra waved as the half-demon caught up with the others, before going around a corner.

After a while, they came to the front doors of the castle and went inside.

"Here we are." Twilight said, welcoming Matthias and Killian to her home.

"Very impressive." Killian said, looking around at the interior, "But, it looked a lot smaller on the outside."

"Well, it took magic to make it. So, that's the best explanation that we can think of for it."

"Understandable, your highness."

"Actually, I mostly prefer if you just call me Twilight. 'Your Highness' doesn't really suit me."

Killian bowed in respect to the request and smiled as he looked around the interior once again.

"So, you mentioned someone called Princess Celestia." Killian inquired, looking back down at Twilight, "Who is she?"

"She's the high ruler of Equestria." Twilight explained, leading them through the castle, "Anything and everything that's extremely important has to go to her. She's also the one who raises and lowers the sun everyday. Her younger sister Luna is in charge of the night activities."

"Wait... You mean to tell me, that you have two rulers who can control the sun and moon?!"

"Yes. Then there's Princess Cadence who is the Princess of Love. Then there's me, I'm the Princess of Friendship."

Killian raised an eyebrow at that, unsure about what to think of such things. It also made Matthias a little unsure as well. However, hearing about Celestia and Luna, made Killian very interested about what else this world had.

"Spike," Twilight said, looking toward the small dragon, "please send a message to Princess Celestia and request if she could come to Ponyville as soon as possible."

"I'm on it." Spike replied, walking over to a table that had parchment and a quill.

After a moment, the message was written and Spike held it in front of him, before...

Fwoosh!

He breathed green flames that engulfed the message, causing it to disappear into a small puff of smoke and sail out of a window.

"Interesting ability." Killian said, looking at the window, "Will that message go directly to the princess, or are we going to be waiting a long time for a response?"

"The messages we send with dragon's fire, always go right to her." Twilight said as they entered the throne room, "And if the subject is of any importance, she usually attends to them as soon as she can."

Belch! Fwoosh!

Killian and Matthias were amazed again when they saw Spike burp green flames and transform into a scroll. The small dragon caught it in mid-air and began to read.

"Dear Princess Twilight;

Reading your message and seeing the importance of it, I will be journeying to Ponyville, first thing tomorrow morning. Notify your guests, and anypony else you feel should be a part of this ordeal, to gather in your throne room.

Sincerely, Princess Celestia of Equestria."

Looking outside a window, Twilight saw that the sun was slowly going down. Which was good, because that meant she didn't have to worry about trying to entertain Matthias and Killian. But, in truth, even if she tried to be a good hostess, Twilight wasn't sure what they'd be interested in. After all, they were very different from the ones she knew.

"That was a quick response." Killian said, standing next to her.

"She's a fast reader." Twilight said, turning and looking over the map, "So, this sorcerer, Mortese, can you tell us anything else about him?"

"He isn't something to treat lightly. In truth, we're not sure why he chose the path he took. But, we are very certain that if he isn't stopped, he could destroy any who he might consider a threat. And, at this moment, he wants to destroy the humans in our world."

As Killian explained what he knew, Matthias leaned against a wall with his hood over his face. His arms were crossed and he kept his head down, not causing any trouble or being a distraction. However, Starlight again approached him and looked up at the glowing blue eyes.

"Are you alright?" She asked, sounding a little concerned.

"In truth," Matthias said, keeping his voice low, "part of me wanted to leave Killian in that cave and let him die. But, I didn't because that's not the right thing to do. It's not what a real warrior does."

"What do you mean?"

"A warrior fights for the right cause. But, a soldier does what he's told and doesn't question the order he's given. For nearly three years, all I've done is follow Killian's orders and do as I'm told, without question. But, as you can see, even when I saved his life, he still doesn't show any gratitude. And yet, here I stand against a wall, watching and trying to keep myself hidden."

Even though she didn't know much about him, Starlight felt sorry for Matthias. All the hurt, the neglect, and being called a monster, sickened her. No one should deserve such treatment. Yet, it confused her, because as she looked at the half-demon, Starlight could also see that he had accepted all of it. However, in her mind, something told her that Matthias wasn't sharing certain information.

"Since you'll have to wait until morning," Twilight said, getting Starlight's and Matthias' attention, "would you like to stay here in the castle?"

"That would be nice." Killian replied, giving another short bow, "Thank you."

"Great. Killian, you can stay in the guest room across from the library. And, Matthias, you can stay in the room between Starlight's and Spike's. I hope you two don't mind."

"Not at all. Please, lead the way."

Twilight made her way out of the throne room, leaving the sword on her throne and being followed by Spike and Starlight. Killian waited by the door as Matthias followed as well. But, when Matthias was close and far enough away from the ponies and dragon, Killian lifted his hand and placed it on Matthias' dented chest plate.

"When we meet the princess tomorrow," Killian warned in a whisper, giving Matthias a hard stare, "you are to only speak when spoken to. And, you will show respect. Am I clear?"

Matthias looked back at him with an equal stare and gave a fanged smile. If they were in their world, that would've earned him a night in a demon cage. However, since they weren't, Matthias knew that there was only so much Killian could do. But, he also knew that, eventually, they would get back to their own world and he'd be in trouble. So, for the time being, he intended to enjoy the amount of freedom that he had, before it was gone.

"As ice." Matthias said, resuming to follow Twilight to their rooms.

After a short venture through the vast halls of the castle, they found the two rooms.

"I take my leave and bid you goodnight." Killian said, stepping into the room.

Matthias' room was only around one corner. And when he opened it, he saw that it had a bed with electric blue sheets and pillows, a white cabinet, a medium sized window, and a black rug in the center.

"It's not much," Twilight said modestly, "but I hope you like it."

"It's been a while since I slept on a bed." Matthias replied, approaching the bed and sitting on the edge, "And, this one feels very comfortable. Thank you very much, Princess."

Bowing his head slightly and smiling warmly, Twilight used her magic to close the door, leaving him alone. There wasn't any light shining into the room, which meant that it was now night. But, that didn't bother him, since he could see in the darkness. Quickly, he undid the straps that held his armor to him, inspecting every piece as he undressed. And every piece was dented, bent, and burnt in some places.

"Wonderful." Matthias grumbled, placing the chest plate with the rest of his armor, that he put in the cabinet, "On top of everything that's happened, my armor might not even survive a pebble being thrown at it."

He shook his head in disappointment and returned to the bed, pulling the covers away and laying on the mattress that felt like a cloud. To Matthias, it was one of the best things that had happened to him. It also brought back a certain memory that made the half-demon smile, before closing his eyes.