Chapter 7.

Luna walked through the halls of the spare house, this small house brought a smile to her face. She wondered if life had turned out differently would her family have lived in a house like this, living a normal life and not one set for her. She made her way towards a window near Matthew’s room and slowly lifted her hand as her horn glowed a light blue, her hand began to glow and the moon started to lower as the sun rose “Right on time sis.” Luna said with a smile as she knocked on Matthew’s door “Matthew, it’s time to get up, we have a long day ahead of us.”

She heard a faint noise and shuffling, then the door slowly opened to Matthew standing before her “I-I’ll be down in a minute.”

“I shall make food for us,” Luna said with a smile as she walked leaving Matthew in a room alone.

Matthew looked back at his bed and quickly made it. With that done he made his way downstairs and saw Luna placing plates on the table. The smell of pancakes and maple syrup filled the air “M-Morning.” He said as he walked into the kitchen to sit.

“Good Morning! I made pancakes!’ She said with a cheerful smile as she took a seat. Matthew took a seat looking at the pancakes in front of him “Night Fire and I were discussing after we talk with Sawdust kids about you, we’ll begin your training with a sword and after that, I can teach you some basic royal teachings of noble houses and such.” She said taking a bite of her pancakes.

“S-Sword training?” He asked, a little puzzled.

“Every great king knows how to wield a sword, even great Queens.” She said taking another bite “Night Fire is the second-best swordswoman in the world.”

“Who is the first?”

“Shining Armor, captain of the royal guards, hasn’t lost a fight yet.” She said taking another bite of her food.

“Shouldn’t he be training me?” Matt asked.

A frown slowly spread across Luna’s face “He’s too close to my father, while he hasn’t shown any hate for humans he could give you up.” Luna said with a slight worry on her face as she looked at him “For now only a few shall know and we’ll get you ready for what’s to come.”

Before Matthew could speak the front door opened and Applejack came walking in “Sorry ta just barge in on you two, Sawdust's son is here.”

“Applejack, you know the plan.” Luna said standing up “I’ll remain hidden so as not to cause issues, Matthew, we’ll make sure you remain with us.”

With a nod, the plan was set in motion. Luna quickly moved upstairs and hid while Applejack walked out of the room and outside to fetch Sawdust's son.

“I hope John lets me go.” Matt thought as the door opened up. He watched as John walked onto the home “I want to thank you again Applejack for watching him till I could get him, I’m sure he’s been much help around here.”

“He’s been such a great help.” Applejack as they walked in.

“Matthew! Good, do you have your things?” He asked.

“Mr. John right?” Night Fire said, making the stallion jump a bit.

“I am indeed John, and you are?” He asked, confused about the mare.

“My name is Storm Fire, sorry for the scare.” Night Fire said as she looked at the stallion, she could tell he seemed in a rush with how he was standing as if he didn’t want to chit-chat long “I won’t take much of your time, I want to buy Matthew off you, I have plenty of go-” Before she could finish her sentence John cut her off “Matthew isn’t for sell, I have plans for him in the city, much for us to do, come, Matthew, we need to get going before the train leaves.”

“Sir, I’m sure if we talk about this we can agree on a good deal.” Night Fire said getting close to the stallion.

“He’s not for sale, Matthew here is needed and I don’t plan on selling him at this time, however,” John pulled out a card “In a month or so I’ll be looking to sell him.”

“I-I just need to grab my bag and I’ll be ready to go.” Matthew said walking towards the stairs where Luna was.

“Okay plan B.” Luna said looking at Matthew, she went to grab his arm when he pulled back keeping her from pulling “Luna, I-If you try and take me the bracelet will send a trigger that could put me in the spotlight.” He looked at Luna “W-We need to wait, please.”

“I’ll have Night Fire on the first train out the moment we can sneak back to Canterlot.” She said giving him a hug “Stay strong.”

Matthew hugged her back. The two broke apart and he grabbed his bag that had a few clothes in it. He looked at the sketchbook and decided to leave it here.

Luna’s horn began to glow a soft blue “Applejack, Night Fire, We are going with plan C, Matthew will go with John, Night Fire will wait to follow and we’ll try and get him out of Canterlot without his tracker going off, we cannot risk him being found out right now.” Luna said through a telepathy spell.

Applejack didn’t like this plan yet knew if she tried anything now it would only put a spotlight on Matthew. She watched as Matthew made his way towards John with his bag “Send me the bill for anything Matthew used while here.” John said as he made his way toward the door with Matthew following behind.

“See you Applejack, Miss Storm Fire,” Matthew said as he walked with John outside. A carriage awaited the two. Matthew looked back at the farm and saw Luna in the window watching him leave the farm.

“When I bought you for my mother, I never thought you would be there when she died,” John said, making Matthew turn to face him. Matthew felt a strange aura around John that he didn’t like “Yet, you were.” He said as the carriage still moved past the corn rows “Where were you when she died?”

“I-I was with Miss Applejack.” Matthew said, getting slightly worried.

“Driver, take this turn coming up.” John said, keeping his eyes on Matthew. The carriage turned “My mother was always into human life, from always trying to study the human brain to even the names which I was given.” The wagon bounced a bit as they moved along the dirt path. “She cared more about humans than her own kids, the yelling she gave us when I bought you for her.” John stood “Stop the wagon here!” The wagon came to a halt.”

Meanwhile back at Sweet Apple Acres.

Applejack pulled on the lead to her horse as she was set to take off after Matthew “We should have never let him go with him! Ah’m gonna try and convince him to let him go.”

“Applejack we’ll come up with a plan, right now he’s in alright hands.” Luna said walking up to her “I won’t stop you, you're following the path you feel is right, just know we’ll need to move fast if you do what I think you’ll do.” Luna said as Applejack got on her horse and took off after Matthew.

Back on the dirt path.

Matthew was tossed out of the wagon and slammed into the ground “Yet you, a human she cared about, wasn't even there when she died! You were with some other pony else!” Matthew felt a kick to his stomach “My mother died alone because of you!” Matthew felt kick after kick to the stomach then he felt himself being pulled up and punched in the face knocking him back to the ground “You did nothing for her! I’ve seen the home, I've seen your stuff! The paintings! She spoiled you!” Another kick in the stomach “You aren’t going to go back there! You won’t even make it out of here alive!” Matthew felt two hands grip his throat “I’ll see you in hell!” Matthew felt the air cut off as he felt the life be strangled out of him. His vision began to fade and the last thought that crossed his mind was his family and Applejack smiling fading.

John watched as Matthew stopped struggling and his eyes fade from life to death. He wiped his hands off on his jacket “Take me to the train.” John said getting into the carriage and tossing Matthew’s bag into the dirt. Matthew’s lifeless body laying there, the bracelet wrapped around his wrist slowly unhooked and faded into dust.

Applejack rode fast on her horse, she noticed the carriage tracks turn down a different path than to town and changed her course. A deep worry filled Applejack’s heart as she rode. She hoped this feeling would fade yet it was eating her. She noticed something strange up ahead and her eyes went wide “No….” she saw Matthew’s lifeless body laying in the dirt. She quickly got off her horse and rushed to his body with tears in her eyes.

Avalon.

Twilight stood in front of the large vault door going over each of the symbols when one of the symbols started glowing a bright black “Okay why are you glowing?” Twilight asked as she darted down the symbol “This symbol is the formula for the infinite, why is this glowing?”

Dirt Road.

Applejack kneeled down before Matthew tears in her eyes “N-No… this isn’t right…” She slowly closed his eyes and her eyes darted towards the dirt path and the wagon trail “I’ll make sure ya get justice, Matt.” Before she could move she felt a strange surge of power and she turned to see a strange black aura wrapping around Matthew’s right arm and moving towards his neck. Then she heard him take a sharp deep breath “H-How?”

Later that Night.

Luna sat nearby Matthew’s bed as he was still sound asleep “It’s hard ta believe this bastard did something to harm Matthew this way.” Applejack said as she was still fuming.

“I don’t believe Sawdust's son had anything to do with this.” Luna said as her magic slowly faded and she looked at Applejack “The magic keeping Matthew asleep is older than anything I’ve ever felt.” Luna looked back at Matthew.

“Do you think this magic is what brought him back from the dead?” Night Fire asked.

“If it did, then it’s now doing something to his mind that I can’t break through.” Luna sighed with frustration.

“Maybe he just needs some rest.” Applejack said as she moved towards Luna “Why don’t you get some rest as well, Ah can take the first watch.”

“I’m the night Princess, I can handle a night watch with him.” Luna said using her magic to open a small bag near her and used it to pull out a few books “I’ll do some research while I can on anything human magic related.”

“Come on Miss Applejack, we could use some rest after today.” Night Fire said moving away and heading towards the stairs.

“If anythin’ changes come get me alright?” Applejack said still worried about Matthew.

Within Matthew’s Mind.

The world around Matthew was dark yet he could see for miles.

“Welcome to limbo.” A voice said, causing Matthew to jump “Don’t be alarmed, no harm shall come to here.” The darkness slowly started to change around him to a field of flowers and soon a tall man with short dark hair and blue eyes stood before him “I am the first King to hold the key.”

“I-I’m confused.” Matthew took a step back from the figure, he wasn’t sure what was going on.

“Yeah I understand that.” He said, taking a step closer, “I’ve been cut off from speaking to you.” With a wave of his hand the bracelet appeared “For so long this magical item has kept me from reaching out and helping you through why this magic is within you and now that you’ve died we can begin what should have been the day you turned fifteen.” The bracelet faded away “Your body has been through so much since the day you were born.” The world around them changed to a burned down barn “Your body was turned into ash at such a young yet due to the location you couldn’t return fully as you would never make it on your own.” The time slowly started to change and soon the ashes started to form. “And then the magic within felt a life that would help you survive.” The ashes formed into a baby that began to cry “You were reborn and taken, that’s when I was disconnected from you when they placed that bracelet on you.”

“W-Why are you showing me this?”

Everything faded and they returned to the field of flowers “I am showing you this because you’ve died twice now, your first death kept you dead for some time till you could be taken somewhere safe.” Before them Celestia and Luna stood “Your body being ashes kept you from being your true age.”

“W-What? M-My try age?” Matthew asked, his mind full of confusion.

“You should be older than Luna yet you are the same age as one Applejack.” Applejack soon stood before him “Fate must have wanted you two to meet.”

“I’m so confused! H-How am I alive!?” His confusion turned to panic.

“Take a deep breath, I can’t throw all this knowledge on you all at once, just a few here and there till your mind can fully understand what’s going on.” He said as he placed his hand on Matthew’s shoulder “The magic you feel is a mixture of our family's magic and what is known as the seal's magic.” The world changed yet again and the two stood before a large vault “This vault holds a powerful magic that cannot be unleashed, for now this vault is the only thing keeping you alive.”

Matthew looked at the large vault door “H-How can this keep me alive.”

“His name is Discord.” The door opened to show a creature sealed with chains “A chaos God that used to cause chaos, with the help of a Goddess we imprisoned him within this vault and took on the role as the key.” The door closed “His magic flows through the key allowing us to live till we pass the key on to our heir.”

“S-So I have his magic?”

“It’s not his full magical power, just enough to allow us to be stronger and to live a long life if needed.” The world changed to the field once again “With the bracelet now removed you are now feeling the magic of both sides, which isn’t good.” The man pulled out his sword and stuck it into the dirt. “Not too far is an old castle built by the ponies, it holds this very sword.” The sword started to glow. “The sword will help you channel your magic as our magic is known as mage knight magic.”

Matthew looked at the sword before him “I-I’m not worthy of this.” Matthew felt a hand on his shoulder.

“You are worthy, every son of the Dura is worthy of this sword.” Matthew looked at the man “Find the sword, learn your magic, fate has plans for you.” The world slowly started to fade. “Don’t be afraid, Luna shall guide you.” Those last words gave Matthew a bit of hope.

Unknown Temple.

Solar Heart stood inside an unknown temple, strange markings all over the walls as a figure stood in the middle of the unknown chamber “You sent for me?”

“This world, it’s shifting the balance of power.” The figure said as they slowly turned to reveal to be a centaur “Being imprisoned here I can still feel the power shifting.”

“If this is all you wanted to tell me, then there was no point in me traveling across the sea-” The king's words were cut off by the Centaur “You know me better than to waste your time for a visit.” He said chuckling “Do you remember the day I felt the human king's magic? I have felt it slowly returning and right before you arrived I felt it again and much stronger.”

“The boy is dead, the magic you are feeling is just a memory.” King said with a huff.

“Oh, this magic is stronger, the boy lived somehow.” The Centaur slowly moved towards one of the seals and stopped before the King “Your throne is in danger and I’m willing to help you.”

“How?” Solar asked.

“When you were first brought to me, you were being groomed to be a vessel for the king to take.” The Centaur moved back towards the middle of the seal “However his soul was weak from his centuries of jumping bodies.” He slowly turned around and looked at Solar “Since that day I have fixed that issue, find a stallion you like, bring him here and you will be able to rule without worry.”

“You wish for me to marry my daughter?” Solar asked with a slight disgust “And if I switch bodies how can I even arrange such a thing when I’m in the other stallion's body?”

“Your soul will be split in two, allowing you to be in two places.” The Centaur said with a smile “Once you are ready to be one your old body shall rest and you will be king.”

“What you suggest, it’s wrong, me marry my daughter? Our kids will be.”

“Normal, your in a new body, no worries about little monsters of incest spawns.” The Centaur made his way over towards Solar “If you wish to stop this kid you’ll need a new body young and strong and I’m the only one that can grant that, it’s what I did for the old king before his soul couldn’t handle it anymore.”

“I have two stallions in mind as my daughters husband and future king yet they don’t yield the darkness I need.” Solar said.

“Pick the one you like and bring them to me.”

Solar nodded, “I shall return in three days.” Solar left the temple leaving the Centaur alone.

“Are you sure you wish to do this again?” A hooded figure asked.

“I am sure, his magic is strong, once the key is found I shall take his magic and the magic of all.” A smile spread across his lips “War is coming.”

The hooded figure faded away leaving the Centaur alone once again.

To Be Continued

Author's Note

Oh look I have somewhat returned Sorry for the long wait life has been keeping super busy. I'm still slowly writing in the spare time I have. Hopefully you all enjoy!