Chapter 9.

Matthew sat on a hay bale in the barn up in the loft with his sketchbook in hand. He was sketching out a memory from earlier today, Applejack looking through the pages of a book deep in thought which he wanted to capture. The moon was shining bright across the land giving those who enjoy the nights embrace a light within the darkness “This is a beautiful sight.” Matt turned his head and spotted the king standing there looking out at the world. Matt blinked a few times, while he could see the human king standing there looking out of the barn and out on to the world he was seeing as if he wasn’t here. “I hope you don’t mind, I wanted to see this world again with my own eyes and not through yours.” He said looking over at Matt.

“H-How are you here?” He asked.

“I am a spirit, the magic within you allows me to take on this form and let me be out of your body.” The king looked away, “No one else can see me but you, unless you allow others to see me.”

“How long has it been since you’ve been out?” Matt asked, looking back out onto the land.

“Far too long, each generation has been suppressed for so long, I’ve been stuck within the void for so long.” A shooting star flew across the sky “Now I can see the world without looking through the void.” He kept his eyes out watching the night sky “Instead of sketching out this scene before you, you are sketching Applejack back at the library.” The king slowly turned his head towards Matthew who he saw the young man blushing “If you wish to talk about it I am here to help you.”

“She’s done so much for me, since I’ve been here she’s treated me as a pony, free.” He looked back at the sketch of Applejack and felt his heart race a bit as he remembered them walking hand in hand in the halls.

“Then why keep your feelings to yourself?” The king asked.

“What can I give her?” He placed his sketchbook to the side and looked back at the king “I-I’ve lived my whole life enslaved, I’m uneducated, I’m also now royalty, can I even give her what she wants?” He looked outside at the night sky, he could feel a heavy sadness fill his heart as he sat there “I’m just human.”

“A human who will break chains.” The king said with a smile on his face “Don’t sell yourself short, you can offer her a lot Matthew.” The king could see a blue mare pulling Applejack towards the barn and he cracked a smile “You should pick being happy Matthew, Applejack is that one that makes you happy.”

The barn doors flew open from below the two and they heard the doors slam shut and two voices could be heard, Matthew recognized one as Applejack while the other he didn’t recognize.

“Now tell me everything I’ve missed and don’t skip the details on why you like Matthew.” The mare said, Matthew blinked at those words as he stayed on the hay bale.

“A lot has happened, sit down here.” Applejack said taking a seat on a hay bale and Dash did the same. With a sigh Applejack spoke “We found out Matt is royalty, his mother is Moonlight and his father was a human who’s bloodline was that of a king.”

“Wait? How did you guys find this out?” Dash asked surprised.

“Luna arrived ta inform us, Moonlight saw his eye and it clicked he was her son.” Applejack said as she looked away from Dash and towards the barn doors “That all was told ta him right after Sawdust sadly passed away.” Another sigh “After that her son came to get Matt and,” Her eyes lowered as the memory of that day came flooding back to her mind and the tears were starting to form “H-He killed him, Ah found Matt dead.” Tears rolled down her cheeks and fell to the ground “W-What Ah saw next, a strange magic washed over Matt’s body and he was breathin’ again.” She wiped a few of the tears on her face “We learned from the magic within him he’s immortal, there’s a lot more but it’s a lot ta explain.”

“That’s a lot that happened in a few days.” Dash said keeping an eye on Applejack who kept her eyes off her friend “What Apple Fritter said, you were about to kiss Matt, are you falling for him?”

“Oh, the dance.” Applejack looked at Dash, her eyes a bit red from her crying “We shared a dance, Ah’ll admit I felt a spark between us, however.” She looked away from her friend and towards the barn doors again “Ah don’t know if we can be, Ah’m a farm pony and he’s a future king.” Applejack laid back on the hay bale looking up at the loft above her, she turned her head to look at Dash who was staring right back at her “Wanna explain why ya got so mad earlier?”

“I thought for a moment I wasn’t your best friend, since you always tell me everything.” Dash said rubbing the back of her neck and feeling stupid for thinking the worst of her friend.

“Ya know Ah wouldn’t tell everyone how Ah’m feelin’ without tellin’ ya first.” Applejack said, chuckling a little.

“I know, but I thought for a moment otherwise.” Dash said, still feeling stupid for thinking it “Now on to Matt, I think you should at least see how you two connect, you already said you felt a spark, don’t let time slip and you both move away from each other.” Dash looked at her friend laying on the hay bale.

Applejack sighed “How am Ah supposed ta talk ta him about how Ah feel?” Applejack asked out loud. She moved her head back to the loft above her.

“Just tell him how you feel, don’t let him slip away, trust me I know, I’ve let someone I loved slip from my hands.” Dash said looking at Applejack with sadness in her eyes.

“Ah’m sorry Dashie for havin’ ya relive that bad time.” Applejack sat up and gave her friend a hug who hugged her back. Applejack knew she had a crush on this stallion and she waited too long to ask him out and he found someone else leaving Dash with a broken heart.

“Enough of these emotions, let’s go get some ale and we can sit and make plans on how you’ll talk with Matt about your feelings.” Dash said, breaking from the hug and helping Applejack to her feet and heading back out the door with her friend.

Matthew the whole time sat there in silence as the two were speaking “S-She has feelings for me!? B-But I’m a human, who could feel anything for me?” Matthew’s mind was racing “You can be loved Matthew, even a mare like her could love you.” The king said, still looking at the moon “You now know she has feelings for you, and from what you just heard she’s going to plan on telling you.”

Matthew now looked at the king “W-What should I do?” He asked, he didn’t really know what to do as this was all new to him.

“You can draw for her, make her a meal, you’ve got a lot of talent.” The king faded allowing Matthew to be alone with his thoughts. He looked at his sketchbook and lifted it up and flipped the page and began to sketch out his feelings.

The Next Morning.

Matthew was found on the ground with his whole body hurting as Night Fire stood with a wooden sword pointed at him “You're slowly getting the hang of it.” Night Fire said as she lowered the sword and took a seat on the ground “If you wish to stop today we can pick back up tomorrow.”

Matthew felt the pain in his body from the beating Night Fire left on him. He knew this sword training would be a hard one and he slowly sat up “I-I can keep going.” He got to his feet with his wooden sword and aimed it at Night Fire.

Night Fire jumped to her feet with a grin on her face. “I remember the last pony I trained, he took my offer to rest after I beat him down, your spirit is strong.” She rushed towards Matthew and the two wooden swords hit each other.

The morning sun turned to the afternoon sun and Matthew again was on the ground, this time his body was in even more pain. His ribs felt like they were cracked or even broken. Night Fire didn’t hold back in their training. “Alright, I think that’s enough training for today.” Night Fire brought out her hand to Matthew. Matthew couldn’t land a single hit on Night Fire yet he at least kept her on her feet. He took her hand and felt the pain within his body sting as he rose to his feet “Why don’t you head back to the house and take a long warm bath to help with the pain.” Matthew nodded “You’ll get the hang of things as we continue to train, I will say you did a lot better than most starting out, not many can put up a defense so quickly.”

“I just hope I can get stronger.” He looked at the bruises on his hand.

“In time you will.” He felt Night place a hand on his shoulder and he looked up at the mare who smiled at him “Now come on, we should get moving before Luna wonders why we aren’t back for lunch.”

With a nod the two made their way back to the farm. When he returned he saw all the apple family out and about. Many of the apple’s playing games and some were drinking. Matthew made his way into the guest house. After grabbing some clothes, He made his way to the bathroom and let himself take a nice long warm bath. The warmth of the water helped his mind and body relax. He let out a sigh “Day one of training and I didn’t land a single hit on her.”

“I didn’t land a single hit on my first try, you shall get there in time.” The king said within Matthew’s mind.

“Still, I thought maybe I could land a hit, I want to get stronger.” He raised his hand out of the water seeing the bruises on his hand. “I want to keep her safe.”

“Keep who safe?” His head snapped to the side to see Luna standing near the door which Matthew forgot to close. He was so focused on just relaxing his body he forgot to make sure the door was closed.

“U-Um, you.” He said trying to sound convincing, which Luna didn’t buy for one minute.

Luna sighed “You can tell me you know, however I’m sure you want to be alone in the tub and not have your sister standing here.” She said chuckling as she grabbed the door handle “When you're done we’ll talk alright?” And with that she closed the door leaving Matt alone.

“You let that slip out.” The king said with a chuckle “Speaking with Luna is a good idea, you do need to bond with her.”

“I know, you told me I need to help her fight the dark-” Matthew’s thoughts were interrupted by the king who now appeared before him “This isn’t about the darkness within her, this is about bonding with your family, she is your sister and wants to connect with you.”

Matthew looked away from the king, he knew he was right, Luna had been trying to connect with him for a while now “I’ll speak with her, I-I do want to get to know my sister.”

The king faded from the world and back to the void “Good, build that bond with your family.”

After a while Matthew finished his bath and dried off and got dressed. He made his way down the stairs and saw Luna sitting at the kitchen table with a cup of tea “Hey.” He said taking a seat across from her.

“Hey.” Luna smiled at her brother as she used her magic to pour a cup of tea for him “Night Fire told me about your training, the fact you got back up over and over shows you are strong will.” Luna took a sip of her tea waiting for Matthew to reply.

Matthew looked at the tea before him “Yet, I’m not strong enough to land a single hit on her.” He slowly looked up at Luna who cracked a smile at him.

“I’ve never been able to land a hit on her, even when I use my magic against her.” Luna placed her tea cup down “I believe one day you will.” Her smile turned into a grin which made Matthew nervous “Now what was that I heard about keeping her safe?”

Matthew looked away from her sister and down at the cup of tea before him “I-I wanna keep Applejack safe.” He slowly looked up at his sister who was still grinning at him “S-She’s done so much for me.”

“It’s also because you like her.” Luna smiled while taking a sip of her tea. Matthew felt his cheeks heat up as he felt Luna’s eyes on him “What do you know of the elements of harmony?” Luna asked.

Matthew blinked a bit and thought for a moment about what she had asked. He really didn’t know much besides they fought Sombra. “Um, all I know is they fought Sombra.”

“Then we will count this as your first History lesson in nobles and the elements of harmony.” Luna used her magic to bring a plate of sandwiches before the two “Now, the elements of harmony are ancient magical items that ponies and humans know little about.” Matthew took a sandwich as he listened to his sister “What we do know is they were discovered after Starswirl The Bearded went missing searching for a way to defeat an unknown evil, one we still know nothing about.” Luna kept her eyes on Matthew who was listening to every word “When the elements of harmony were used to defend us for years, those who gained their magical powers were given noble status, however when the great war started the elements turned to stone.” Luna picked up a sandwich and took a bite “Now, then Princess Cadance appeared right around the time Celestia was born, that was the first sign the Crystal Empire would return. She was raised in the kingdom of Saddle Arabia out of my fathers evil, we knew she would one day come to Equestria to reclaim her home and would need the elements of harmony, of course fate had the same plans, Twilight Sparkle would one day meet Celestia and would be guided to Ponyville to awaken the elements, they aided Princess Cadance and defeated Sombra and were made nobles, however Applejack declined the title she is still one.” Luna took a sip from her tea cup and took another bite of her sandwich.

“So, she’s a noble? But don't want to be one?” Matthew asked, slightly confused.

“Yes, while she won’t accept it, she is of the nobles which gives her any right to marry anyone she choses.” Luna took another bite of her sandwich. Luna felt her horn spark and a letter appeared before her causing her to blink. The seal was that of a crystal heart and her eyes blinked “Queen Cadance?” She looked over at Matt real quick “Sorry Matt, I need to read this.” She opened the letter and began to read, her eyes went wide “No way.”

“W-What is it?” Matthew asked, wondering what was going on.

“Queen Cadance,” She looked at Matthew lowering the letter and looking right at him “She’s abolishing all slavery within her kingdom, all humans will be set free in the coming months.” Matthew blinked, human’s were being set free, within the kingdom of the Crystal Empire. This was amazing news. “She will accept humans who flee from the borders and be protected. They are working on getting things ready before signing the bill, she’s letting me know so I can have my night children set up a base of operations to help ease human’s into normal lifes.”

“T-This may cause a war.” Matthew said thinking about how the king of Equestria would react to the news.

“No, as much as my father will hate this, he can’t risk going after the Crystal kingdom and having an all out war that he can’t win.” Luna placed the letter down “And Saddle Arabia is her ally and if we declare war on the Crystal Empire we will have two wars, that is a risk no ruler would make.” She would have to inform her top generals of this news and set them up in the Crystal Empire to further their goal of helping humans. For now she needs to focus on Matthew.

“S-So are we going to go there?” Matthew asked wondering if they’ll make the trip to the Crystal Empire to work on his training there.

“No, we shall remain here, no point in heading north when we have all we need here.” Luna smiled “And I doubt you wish to leave anyways.” That was true, he didn’t wish to leave. He really did like being on this farm with Applejack. “Before we were interrupted by this letter, we were talking about Applejack.” Luna looked at her brother with a slight smile “Now, why don’t you tell me all about how you feel about her.”

He felt his cheeks heat up as he looked at his sister “W-Well, y-you know I-I like her.” He stuttered, feeling flustered with his feelings.

Luna chuckled, “How will you ask her out?”

Matthew looked down at the tea before him, he didn’t really know how to go about asking her out or if he should “T-That I don’t know.”

Applejack tossed a hay bale out of the loft and it hit the ground with a thud. She felt the sweat fall down her forehead, she let out a sigh “Man, it’s hot today.” Applejack unbuttoned her flannel shirt. She placed her flannel shirt on a hook. Her sports bra kept her somewhat fully clothed. “Good thing Ah’m workin’ alone in the barn ta day, gotta let my fur breathe a bit.” She ran her fingers through her damped fur “Ah wonder how he feels about my fur?” She thought of Matthew as she removed her fingers from her arm and went back to moving hale bales.

“Applejack are you here?” She heard a familiar voice and turned her head to see Matthew stepping into the barn. She was standing up high above Matthew.

“Up here.” Applejack said waving while Matthew looked up and he quickly looked away, his cheeks redder than a tomato. She was puzzled why he was blushing and then a soft wind blew across her fur which felt nice then it dawned on her and her eyes went wide “Oh sorry Matt!” She moved over to where she hung her shirt and quickly put it on and buttoned it up “Ah got hot up here.”

“I-It’s fine, I should have given you a warning I was at the door instead of walking in.” He said, still keeping his eyes down. He heard her jump down from the loft and land not too far from him.

“It’s alright Matt, not like I was naked.” She felt her cheeks blushing as she stood before him “Whatcha need?”

“Oh, um.” He looked at Applejack still blushing “W-Well I want to invite you to dinner tonight.”

Applejack blinked “Dinner? Whatcha got in mind?”

“W-Well I was t-thinking I would make you a dinner.” He said, finding his words.

“Y-Ya wanna make me dinner? What for?” Applejack found this a little puzzling.

Matthew gulped and went with Luna’s plan “Y-You’ll have to find out w-when you come over tonight for dinner.” He might not have fully said what Luna told him if she asked him why he wanted to make her dinner. However he got what she wanted him to say at least.

Applejack blinked in surprise and felt this would be a good chance to use this dinner to at least speak to him about her feelings “Ah’ll see ya tonight then.”

“See you tonight.” With that he left Applejack to her work.

She watched as he left and she couldn’t help but smile. She was looking forward to tonight, now she had to figure out how she would admit her feelings to him and see if maybe they both shared those feelings for one another.

Luna sat in the kitchen watching Matthew go over everything he was going to make for the dinner for Applejack. He asked her to join him, he wanted to get to know her while he worked on cooking and she could tell him about their family. She was happy he was wanting to get to know her. She felt her horn lightly glow and a black letter appeared before her “Who's that from?”

Luna lifted the letter “I do not know, however I do know when these letters arrive they warn me of my father's plans” Luna opened the letter wondering what her father was up to now.

‘Dear Princess Luna.

I hope this letter finds you well, as you know King Solar is overseas. I do not know his plans here, however it isn't good. He won't give details but he will be on the search for a human with a right eye that's black and a red ring around it. He believes this is an heir to the human throne. He won't be back for another week or two if he doesn't hit any nasty weather on the seas. I recommend using this information to locate any human that may have this eye. I have information of Queen Cadance freeing humans soon, I would take the human there if you do find him.

You loyal servant Phantom Knight.

P.S Glitter Armor has been chosen to become Princess Celestia’s husband. I know this will hinder her plans.’

Luna re-read the letter, her mind was racing, someone had ratted out Matthew’s heritage “Wait, they only mentioned his eye not his face.” She looked at Matthew who was busy cutting vegetables. “I'll sit down with him tomorrow and discuss plans. Hiding him here is still the best option yet there is a trail here, Sawdust son will inform anyone he killed Matt in Ponyville which if we don't have a plan ready to lead them away from here we'll be fleaing this area.” She noticed Matthew turn to face her “Seems my father is returning soon, our sister won't be happy as he named Glitter Armor as next King.”

“That’s a bad thing?” Matthew asked.

“Yes, Tia will be forced to sit by a stallion who will rule with hate, however we are working to change that.” Luna looked at her brother knowing he can change a lot once he’s ready. “Let’s go ahead and worry about that another time, you have much more important things to focus on right now, like what you're going to say to Applejack.”

Later That Night.

Applejack wore her best clothes, they weren’t anything fancy but they were nice, a simple flannel shirt a green with a pair of blue jeans and of course her fathers hat sitting nicely on top of her head. Her mane and tail were neatly brushed. She looked herself over in her mirror and let out a sigh “Ah hope Ah look good ta him.” With her outfit on she left her room as she walked down the stairs she could smell dinner being made.

“Ah see yer dressed up, got a date?” Apple Bloom asked, looking at her sister with a grin on her face.

“Ah was invited ta dinner by Matt, he wanted ta thank me for everythin’ even though he doesn’t have ta.” Applejack said, stepping down the final step looking at Apple Bloom with a smile on her face.

“He’s takin’ ya out? Thought humans can’t take ponies ta restaurants?” Apple Bloom asked puzzled.

“Matt ain’t takin’ me out ta eat, he’s makin’ a dinner for us.” Applejack noticed her brother Big Mac stepping into the living room.

“Alright Apple Bloom, go wash up, Applejack is gonna be late if you keep askin’ her questions.” Big Mac said, Apple Bloom let out a groan and left the room leaving the tow alone. Big Mac looked over at Applejack “So, ya like him huh?”

Applejack felt her cheeks heat up a bit “A-Ah do.”

“Ah ain’t against ya datin’ him however ya know you’ll be breakin’ the law by doin’ so.” Applejack could see the concern in his eyes and she still kept her eyes on him.

“Ah’ve already broken many laws, what’s one more to break.” She grinned at her brother who chuckled.

“As long as ya know what yer doin’, just know all Ah want is ya happy.” He gave his sister a smile back “Now ya better run along, ya don’t wanna be late for yer date.” With that he made his way back into the kitchen.

Applejack made her way towards the door, her heart was racing “Ah hope ta night goes the way Ah want it to.” With those last thoughts she left her home.

Celestia sat within the gardens with a cup of tea in her hand, she was enjoying the sun on her fur as she took a sip of her tea “Your highness, we have reports of the rebuilding of Avalon, we have found the vault hidden within and are using the knowledge within to help re-educate the humans.”

“That is good.” Celestia said with a smile.
“So this is what your dreams are about.” A familiar voice said causing Celestia to turn to see Luna standing there with a grin on her face.

“Luna! W-What are you doing here?” Celestia asked, as she got out of her chair and moved towards her sister, a worried feeling rushed through her body “Is everything alright?”

“Not everything.” Luna said with a sigh as she looked at her sister “I have a lot to discuss and now, let’s sit.” Luna said.

Celestia nodded and two sat down at the table “I take it something happened at Avalon?”

“As far as I know nothing has happened there.” Luna kept her eyes on her sister “Mother doesn’t want you to know due to our father, however with the news I have been given I cannot sit by and let you stay in the dark.” With a quick sigh she spoke again “First I’ll tell you the news I received today, Phantom Knight has informed me father has finally picked your husband, Glitter Armor.” Celestia's eyes went wide and was about to speak her protest when Luna raised her hand to stop her “I know, Glitter was one we both knew father didn’t fully trust however, Phantom Knight hasn’t given me no reason not to trust them, now for the second part.” Luna waved her hand and a light blue mist wrapped around the ground and a human now stood before them, Celestia blinked as she noticed one thing odd about this human, it was his right eye, black with a red ring around it.

“Who’s this?” Celestia asked, looking at the human before her.

“His name is Matthew, he is our brother.” Luna said, still watching her sister who turned towards her with a puzzle look on her face “Mother filled me in on the story, this is her son she had with a human slave, he Tia, he is the rightful heir to both thrones.”

Celestia looked back at the human “W-Why didn’t mother tell me this?” She looked back at her sister.

“The less you knew about Matthew the less worried mother was about your safety, she believed father would harm you if you knew anything about Matthew, however, with news of your new husband and the news of our father looking for a human with Matthew’s right eye, we must work together to overthrow this kingdom and rebuild it.” Luna kept her eyes on her sister as she kept her eyes on the human before her.

“Luna, can you bring mother here?” Celestia turned towards her sister “And can you bring Matthew here as well?”

“Why?” Luna asked.

“I wish for the four of us to speak on this together then the two of us planning in the shadows.” She stood up and made her way over towards Matthew’s figure “I also believe he deserves to meet his mother and other sister, can you do it?”
Luna thought for a moment and knew her sister was right “I can, however Matthew is right now on a date.”

Celestia turned to her sister with a shocked look on her face “A date? With who?”

“The Element of Honesty, Applejack.”

Matthew placed the last of the dinner he made down, a lasagna dish with a salad on the side and garlic bread, he looked over at the window open with an apple pie sitting there as that was their dessert. He was happy with the outcome of his meal, he hoped Applejack would enjoy this meal. Luna convinced him to make the apple pie, he was going to make a cake however Luna said an apple pie would have been a safer bet. She was right, an apple pie made with the apples on this farm was a smart move.

There came a knock at the door and Matthew felt his heart race a bit as he moved towards the door. He opened it up to see Applejack standing there, she looked beautiful in his eyes as she smiled at him “Hope Ah’m not too late?”

“Y-Your right on time.” He stuttered a bit as he moved to the side to allow her in “I-I made lasagna and a side salad and garlic bread.” Applejack could smell the meal which made her stomach growl which caused her to blush.

“A-Ah guess Ah’m more hungry then Ah thought.” Applejack said.

Matthew smiled, “I made plenty, so eat up.” He pulled her chair out for her and she took a seat, he made her a plate which she smiled “Enjoy.” He made himself a plate and took a seat across from her and the two began to eat their meal.

“This is really good!” Applejack said as she took another bite of her lasagna.

“I’m glad.” He said as he took a bite, he could taste the veggies within the lasagna, he remember Sawdust informing him there us to be a lasagna dish made with meat however that was lost in the war so no one knew how it was made compared to the what Sawdust called it a vegetarian lasagna. He looked at Applejack who was enjoying her meal and he couldn’t help but smile more as he did really like her “S-So, I-I wanted t-to speak with you a-about something i-important.” Applejack could see Matthew was struggling a bit with his words as he looked to be very nervous “I-I overheard you and a mare talking in the barns the other night.” Applejack’s eyes went wide; she knew what he was about to say, her heart was racing and her stomach was in knots as she was worried he was about to reject her “I-I.” Matthew couldn’t find the words and he pulled out a piece of paper and handed her the piece of paper. Applejack took the paper and looked at it and what she saw made the knot in her stomach loosen and her heart slow down, on the paper was her hand holding his, their fingers interlocked with one another “I-I feel the same.” She looked up at him and she could see his face was filled with worry and fear.

She placed the paper on the table, the two were close to each other so this made things easier for Applejack as she placed her hand on his “We have a lot to discuss then.” She said with a smile.

“I-I can’t give you everything you may want, b-but I will do everything I can for you.” He said, keeping his eyes on her. He felt her hand move to his cheek.

“Ya don’t have ta worry about that Matt, Ah have what Ah want right here on my farm.” She smiled at him “A-Ah know Ah can’t be what you may want however ah want to at least try.”

“W-What I want is to be here.” He said. He leaned forward and kissed her cheek which made her blush. The two held each other's hands as they looked at each other “S-So, will you go out with me?”

She smiled “Of course.” Both their cheeks were red as they sat there holding hands and looking at each other “S-So, what would ya like ta know about me?” Applejack asked which caused Matthew to blink for a moment and then he understood what she meant.

“O-Oh um.” Applejack chuckled a little at his now panic, she knew he never been through this type of thing before, while she had dated a couple of stallions before this was still a bit new to her as well. “W-Would you mind i-if I use the memory spell?”

Applejack blinked “That spell the old king showed ya?” She asked and he nodded “Why?”

“I-It will h-help us connect as I was told by both L-Luna and the old king.” Matthew said looking down at their hands “I-I can just show you my memories if you don’t want to fully share.”

He felt her hand tighten around his “If that’s how ya wanna do this Ah don’t mind.” She smiled and he smiled back.

With a nod he activated the spell allowing their two minds to connect and share their memories.

Applejack felt the tears run down her cheeks, she saw the horrors Matthew went through, the whipping, the alcohol being poured onto his wounds. He went through hell. Meanwhile Matthew saw a few sad memories however the one that caused his tears was Applejack standing before her parents dead bodies laying on the ground both with stab wounds. Watching her break down broke his heart and he felt saddened by the fact he still had his mother. The two wiped away their tears “Y-You’ve been through a lot.” Applejack said, looking at him with a look of sadness in her eyes.

“Y-Yeah, I-I’m sorry if that was a lot, a-and I’m sorry about your parents.” He said, keeping his eyes on her.

“T-That was a long time ago, no need ta be sorry.” Applejack said, reaching out to his cheek to wipe the last of the tears from his eyes “Ah can see why ya are the way you are, ya been through so much, yet yer heart is still filled with kindness.” She moved forwards and allowed their lips to meet, she wanted to just peck his cheek but felt her body move into a kiss, she wanted him to know he had someone who truly cared for him. He felt their lips touch and his heart soar. She pulled from their kiss and she looked into his eyes “Ya don’t have ta worry anymore Matt, ya won’t ever have ta deal with anyone hurtin’ ya like that ever again.” Matthew felt the tears run down his cheeks, he never had this feeling before and he couldn’t figure out what this feeling was “Ya are safe here.” That was the feeling, the feeling of being safe.

To Be Continued.

Author's Note

What's this another chapter? So soon? Hope you all enjoy!