Author's Note

I meant to post this months ago, but never got the chance. Sorry!

chapter 4 (Revamp)

Jason (Matt) stuck close to Celestia as they walked through the halls of the castle. Jason noticed how many guards there were. In fact, they all look like copy+paste of each other, some of them eyeing him as they walked. The hall itself was eerily silent, the only noise that could be herd was the clopping of hooves on the marble floor. They arrived at one of the spare bedrooms, and Celestia ushered him inside. It was a decent size bedroom, 16ft by 14ft, with opal-colored walls. The ground, carpeted, had a nice velvety feel on the hooves, or really whatever one could have had for feet at the time. a queen-size bed, a desk and chair, and a lamp, basic essentials. It also had its own private bathroom.

Celestia turned to face Matt, “This is where you’ll be staying until we can make better arrangements.”

Jason nodded, meeting her gaze, “Alright”

Jason walked further into the room, wasting no time, and hopping right into bed. He was instantly unconscious before he could even get under the covers. In truth, he had not slept in about a week, divine power can only do so much to keep an ascended mortal awake. Meanwhile Celestia stood there, witnessing the whole thing, and shook her head. “Some things never change” she giggled, turning to leave as she quietly shut the door and headed for her own chamber.

It was a peaceful night for Luna so far. Since her return, she had worked her flank off, making up for lost time. At first, the nightmares were overwhelming, but it seems her subjects subconsciousess slowly got used to the idea that Luna would be there to save them, and as such nightmares became less frequent. Luna had already solved about 3 nightmares tonight and was keeping vigilant for more. She enjoyed calming ponies down and getting to know them better. She looked around again, ever vigilant.
Her eyes eventually settled on a door she didn’t recognize. It seemed too developed to be a foal, but yet, she had never seen a door of an adult's dream just materialize like this. Curiosity got the better of her, and she opened it, only to find it was blank. Or at least it seemed that way. She tried to enter the door but found that she couldn’t, as if something was preventing her from doing so. She struggled with the door, even resorting to scratching at it like a sad puppy before she finally gave up, deciding just to stare at the door. It was taunting her, laughing at her. Well, not really, but it bothered her a lot. Luna wasn’t even sure if it was out of frustration or curiosity, but she knew that something was up with this door.

Morning, 8:30AM

Celestia went to the balcony she always went to in order to raise the sun. It was routine for her by this point, Luna lowers the moon, she raises the sun, and vice versa. Speaking of Luna, that's exactly who she bumped into on the balcony, lowering the moon, but Luna has a look on her face that Celestia recognized as somewhere between annoyance to frustration. Heck, it seemed like Luna didn't even notice that Celestia was there with her.

“Dear sister, it seems something is troubling you”

Luna snapped directly to the source of the noise, as if she had been snapped out of a trance, taking a minute to process the question.

“We would rather not speak of it. But if thy wish to know, then we shall inform thou. While we were dream walking, there was a new door that we did not recognize. Any attempt to enter the door has resulted in failure, and we cannot see in.”

“A new door, you say? Well, I may have an idea of whom the door belongs too, but I cannot figure out why you wouldn’t be able to enter it.”

“Pre-tell, sister, who might this door belong to?”

“One of our older brothers has returned recently, so I would assume it would be his door.”

“You mean to tell us that we have... several other sibling?”

“Most of them left Equestria when you were very young, I doubt you remember most of them”

“Where is this supposed sibling now?”

“He is currently still asleep in one of the guest bedrooms I believe. I can escort you to his temporary living quarters if you wish.”

Jason was lying in bed, still out cold. Luna walked into the guest room and found Jason. It was time to test what Celestia had told her. Earlier, Celestia had mentioned that “Matt” was an alicorn. There was a horn on his head, that was for sure, Luna pulled back the covers Jason somehow found his way under, and sure enough he had wings too. His teal coat and lime green mane both shined in the sunlight from the nearby window. His cutie mark was a clock if some sort. It was blue around the sides and had an inscribing on it in language she didn’t recognize. That’s when she noticed the metal foreleg. It wasn’t like the other robotics seen in Equestria, in fact, Equestria didn’t even have the technology for cybernetic limb replacement.

Just then, the gaps in the limb, probably made to allow for joints to move, lit up with a sky-blue light, and Matt began to stir. Luna panicked and casted a spell of invisibility on herself.

Jason stretched out his organic limbs and checked the joints on his metal foreleg, then he proceeded to yawn a yawn that would make a bored businessmare jealous. He got out of bed and pulled a notebook out of his mane, quickly taking a seat
at the nearby desk and writing in it with the feather and inkwell that was conveniently placed on said desk.

-Journal Entry 83,578

“I arrived in Equestria again last... night? It’s hard to tell with the time difference. Everything seems peaceful, which is a good sign. I am currently staying in the Canterlot Castle. It seems Tia and Lulu have grown a lot since last I’ve seen them. I wonder if word will spread of my return. Anyway, that’s all for now, catch you on the flip side!”

-Matt

Jason paused for a moment. It had been a long while since he signed anything as "Matt." Maybe this was a way of his subconscious telling him that he was safe and comfortable in a way that he hadn't felt in a very long time. "Meh," he responded to his inner thoughts before stuffing the journal back in his mane. He stretched out his wings one more time before leaving the room. He grabbed the doorknob with his metal hoof and pulled the door open. He walked out and closed the door behind him. Luna was still slightly in disbelief that they had another sibling. That and the cybernetic foreleg. It just put her on edge slightly.

Jason was about to go set off to find Celestia so he could ask her where the cafeteria was but instead bumped into her the moment he began walking in a random direction.

“Mornin’ Tia.”

“Good morning, Matt.”

“I was just about to go get some breakfast, but I have no idea where the cafeteria is.”

Celestia chuckled a bit, “oh, I nearly forgot to show you, follow me.”

“So, I was thinking about the old village that was near the Everfree castle and camp and umm, I was hoping I could repair and renovate the castle and raise a new city around it, but uhh, it seems that the original castle is... very deep underground and I don't know if I can resurface it.”

“That sounds like a wonderful idea, brother, but it seems like it would take a long time, not to mention the help you would need to re-erect the old castle.”

“Well, I can do without the old castle if need be, the main thing I'm concerned about is the Tablet- hey wait, was that a pun based on my ability?”

“Oh, I didn’t even realize it. But do you think you have the dedication to achieve your goal?” Celestia had asked, her facial expression bearing a look that pretty much translated to light sibling teasing.

“Yes, I can definitely do it, I might enlist some help and we may have some shenanigans along the way, but yeah, I can get it done.”

Celestia nodded approvingly.

“On another note, did Lauren ever tell you that we aren’t biologically-,”

“I am aware of this, but I still consider you and everypony else from back then as family. Just... don’t tell Lulu.”

Jason chuckled “Alright, consider our "family" secret safe with me.”

Jason smiled, and Celestia smiled too.

“I still don’t believe that, Twilight. There is NO way that Celestia has another sibling that she didn’t tell you about! I mean, like, you are the closest pony to her other than Luna, and that’s her sister!

“I know that, Dash. That’s why I am trying to find a book about them. So far, nothing has turned up. Princess Celestia seems to recognize him, though, so if I can’t find anything, I will have to send a letter to her, asking about his origins.”

“Whatever, Twilight. I’m just saying, it seems kinda weird that another Alicorn, a stallion no less, would just show up.”

“Dawwww, he showed up in Ponyville and I didn’t even get the chance to throw them a party!?” PinkiePie exclaimed in disappointment.

“Gah, PinkiePie, where did you come from?!”

“Well Twilight,” she explained, “I couldn’t help but overhear your conversation with Dashie and just had to know more! Do you know his favorite flavor of cake? Do you know his name? Do you-“

PinkiePie was cut off by Twilight, who closed Pinkie’s mouth with her magic.

“All that I know is his name, and even then, it’s not like any name I’ve heard before. What kind of name is Matthew, anyway?! Ugh, this is just so frustrating, how can there be NO documentation of him?!”

***

Celestia and Jason were exiting the dining hall. Both of them seemed quite content with the meals they had. As they exited, a scroll appeared Infront of Celestia. She opened it and read:

Dear Princess Celestia,

Upon hours of research, I have concluded that there is no information of your brother, Matthew, and would like to discuss his origin with you.”

-your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle

Ever inquisitive, Matt put the nosiest look he could muster on his face before inching closer to Celestia, “What does it say?”

Celestia, who was trying to read the scroll, snorted at the gesture before pushing him back a few inches, “It is a letter from my faithful student. She wants to discuss with me about your origin.”

“Well, that seems kinda silly, why doesn’t she just ask me personally?”

“I am not certain, though I have a feeling that she might not trust you just yet. Hopefully my suspicions are wrong.”

“That’s fair, after all I did just show up last night with no explanation. Anyway, are you gonna write back to her or should I?” Jason joked, inching closer to Celestia again.

“Hmm... You know, as much as I would like you to personally write back to her, dear brother, I think I should do it for now just to prevent her from losing their sanity.”

“Aight, Tia.” Jason complied, backing off a bit.

While Celestia wrote back, Jason looked around. It felt like they were being watched. Watched by a silly, fun-loving entity. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw it. A pink blur heading right for him. He had no time to react before-

“Hi, I’m PinkiePie, what’s your name?”

Now Jason had dealt with weirder and more dangerous stuff than a fluffy little pony. He took a deep breath, mustering the energy to match hers before answering.

“Hello, PinkiePie, my name is Matthew!”

“Matthew, hmm? That’s an odd name for a pony, but that’s okay! You must be new around here, I’ve never seen you before. I saw you appear in Ponyville and you left so soon, I didn’t even get to throw you a party!

“Not exactly new here, just haven’t been here in a long while. Definitely gotta make up for lost time, ya know?”

“That’s okay! I get to throw you a welcome back party! What kind of cake do you want? What flavor cupcakes do you like? What is your favorite color?”

“Red velvet cake, vanilla cupcakes, and my favorite color is somewhere on the scale of cyan to aquamarine, that sort of bluegreen color.”

Those answers seemed satisfactory. PinkiePie smiled before starting off to Faust-knows where. Jason turned back to Celestia to find that she watched this whole thing.

“Oh, you finished the letter?”

“Yes, but I must ask, was that PinkiePie?”

“It was. She seems nice. I wanna talk to her more, but she kinda dahsed off to only-mom-knows-where.”

“I would question how she got here, but I think I must ask how you reacted so well. Most ponies take a bit to adjust to her.... personality."

“Tia, I know when something is a threat to me or not. That pony has nothing but good intentions, and maybe ADHD. She's just like me fr.”

“ADHD?”

“Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, it is something that I also have, but not at the same level, it’s just a slight mental disorder.”

“A mental disorder, what does this disorder entail?”

“Hyperactivity, inability to pay attention for too long, easily distracted, sometimes makes someone with the disorder ramble on and on, makes it hard to sit still, that kind of thing.”

“That... describes Pinkie a little too well.”

“Seems I already have something in common with one of the elements then, Neat.”

The two continued in silence until they reached the castle entrance/ exit.

“So, we going on a tour of the kingdom? We going shop to shop? Interaction with the people and the culture?”

“Yes, dear brother, that is what I had planned for you.”

Jason squeed at that. That little squeaky pony noise he learned how to do from some of the village kids a long time ago. From there, they flew down to Canterlot.

Spike produced a scroll and handed it to Twilight. She snatched it out of Spike’s claw with her magic and began to read it aloud.

To my faithful student,

If you wish to discuss about my brother, then I implore you to come to the Canterlot castle by tomorrow.

• Princess Celestia

“What’s it say, Twilight?” RainbowDash asked

“It is a letter from Princess Celestia. She wants me to meet with her tomorrow at Canterlot Castle to discuss about her brother!”

Twilight had a sharp inhale before letting out a squeal of joy.

Twilight then started writing a list of questions so she wouldn’t forget them. She had so much to ask her mentor.

~To be continued