Matthew arrived in Equestria within moments. He arrived exactly where Twilight had said, on a hill on the outskirts of Ponyville. Matthew took in his surroundings. The world around him was beautiful. It was even more impressive than the show led him on to believe. But, Matthew had no time to take in the scenery. He quickly, but also stealthily, made his way to Fluttershy’s cottage, where he left his suitcase. He found a good spot to hide it, unloaded three clips for his pistols, and prepared himself for the long journey to Canterlot. He turned to where Canterlot was, now realizing that this would indeed be a long journey.

‘Don’t worry Fluttershy, I’m coming,’ he thought to himself, and he took off in a flash. Matthew just kept running. His journey took him through the Everfree Forest, but this didn’t faze him at all. He didn’t let anything stop him, and he didn’t stop for anything. Matthew just kept running. He also parkoured his way through the forest when he could, which made the journey much quicker for him. It also added a degree of enjoyment to the situation, but Matthew stayed focused the whole time.

Finally reaching the base of the cliff that Canterlot resided on, Matthew took a look at how high he would be climbing. He had a good two miles to climb.

“Well, this sucks,” he said out loud, knowing no one would hear him. “Well, here goes nothing.” And with that, Matthew started to scale the cliff. He didn’t look down the whole time. He just climbed. He faltered a few times, but he never stopped. So far, this journey had taken Matthew a good amount of time, and he knew he had to move faster. He started climbing at an extremely fast rate, not once faltering at that point. He managed to get to a halfway point, only to find he would be doing a bit more climbing.

“You gotta be fucking kidding me.” Matthew was starting to get tired. But, he knew what was at stake. He quickly gathered himself and continued to climb. Matthew didn’t slow his pace though, managing to get to the top in a matter of 15 minutes. As he pulled himself up, he found himself in one of the Canterlot Castle courtyards. Matthew took a moment to just breathe. He was exhausted from the climb. Were it not for his fingerless gloves, Matthew’s hands probably would have become dry, scraped up husks.

Matthew composed himself and took in his new surroundings. He scanned the area for any guards. Soon enough, two entered the courtyard. Matthew quickly hid behind some shrubbery, unbeknownst to the guards. He could hear them talking.

“How much longer until the Princess conducts her business with Fluttershy?” one guard asked.

“I believe about 20 minutes. She is in no mood to be trifled with today. She grows impatient waiting for the Element Bearers to arrive,” the other guard answered. At least Matthew now knew how much time he had. The guards were now advancing towards Matthew’s position. Matthew tried to contemplate whether or not to kill them. He ultimately decided that he wasn’t taking prisoners. He slid out his two hidden blades, jumped out from behind his cover, and drove his blades into the skulls of the two guards. He drew his blades out from the skulls of the guards, observing his handy work. His blades had gone through cleanly, and now the guards were nothing but lifeless shells.

Matthew hid the bodies quickly, thinking all the while about what he had just done. He felt guilt, but for some reason, it did not last. Matthew no longer cared who had to die for the sake of Fluttershy. He only wanted to save her and go, and if that meant killing some guards, so be it.

Matthew started to make his way inside the castle. Sneaking through the halls wasn’t easy. Guards were posted at almost every doorway. Matthew noticed that there were many steel bars above, ones he could use to run across from above. First, he had to find a way up. Matthew noticed a perfect spot, peeking around a corner, but it was covered by a guard. Matthew whistled to the guard to get his attention. Sure enough, the guard went to inspect. Matthew silently jumped out and drove his right blade into the guard’s throat, killing him within seconds. Matthew then moved to the spot where he could climb. He made his way through the castle from the beams above.

Following a few guards, Matthew finally reached the chamber where Fluttershy would have her memories of him wiped. The only people in the room were Princess Celestia and Luna and a few guards. The beams were cut off, so Matthew couldn’t enter from above. He was running out of time, and he had to get in there somehow. But, shortly after Matthew found the room, Fluttershy, along with her friends, entered the hallway before the main chamber. They shortly after entered the chamber, and now, Matthew was worried.

Matthew quickly realized that there were windows that led back outside. Matthew also found that there was an open window in the main chamber, and he could easily enter through there unnoticed. Matthew started to climb out of a window in the hallway. Shortly after, he climbed to the open window and stood from the opening. Matthew observed the room. Fluttershy was standing in the center, with her friends behind her. Celestia and Luna stood at the head of the room, and about ten guards were in the room. Celestia started to speak.

“Fluttershy, I know this is difficult for you, but I cannot allow you to keep your memories of Matthew. This isn’t a bad thing. Once your memories of him are gone, you can live happily again, and you would have never known him. The same can be said for him. He won’t know who you are. Try to see the positive side to this situation.”

“Princess, please, just let him come here to Equestria! Let me be with him! I don’t want to forget him! I… I love him. Why can’t you see that?” Fluttershy responded to the Princess. Matthew could feel himself start to cry a bit, but he didn’t let the tears flow out. He remained composed, and what Celestia said next made it all the easier.

“I know that you love him, and that he loves you, but he does not belong here, much like you do not belong on Earth. You know he isn’t good for you. He killed two men in front of your very eyes, and you simply forgave him. He hid from you what you truly are, and once again, you forgave him. Why is that? It is because you love him, but that love is blinding. There are many other stallions in Equestria for you to love. I will not allow him to come here. I’m sorry Fluttershy, but this is how it has to be.” Celestia’s words were cruel to both Matthew and Fluttershy. Matthew began to fill with rage against the Princess.

“Twilight, would you please apprehend Fluttershy,” Celestia ordered of her student. Not saying a word, Twilight walked up to Fluttershy and used a spell to hold her in place. Fluttershy could do nothing but cry. Now, Matthew was ready to strike. He made note of every guard that would be in his path towards Fluttershy, which was about a good four guards. Matthew reached into his pockets and pulled out six smoke pellets, the only ones he had. He gave the room one final scan, and he began his attack.

Throwing down each smoke pellet, the room filled with a blinding smoke. Knowing where one guard was, Matthew jumped from his perch, landing on one guard and driving his blade through the back of his skull. Knowing another guard was in front of him, Matthew stabbed him in the face and pushed him aside. Changing his left mounted blade to a knife, Matthew slid out his right hidden blade, and advanced towards two more guards. Matthew stabbed one with his right blade, spun around, and backhanded the other with his knife. They both fell to the ground, dead.

But, as Matthew made his final advance towards Fluttershy, another body moved in front of him. Unable to fully realize who it was, Matthew ultimately decided to bring his hidden blade forward, driving it through the throat of the unknown pony. But, Matthew was surprised to hear a female voice. Whoever this pony was gasped for air. Matthew lowered the body to the ground and tried to clear away a bit of the smoke. When Matthew could make out who the pony was, he was filled with shock and horror. Matthew had just struck down Princess Luna. Still in shock, Matthew spoke softly.

“I’m sorry.” Not dead yet, Luna looked to Matthew. She actually spoke to him.

“Protect her with your life.” And with that, Princess Luna was dead. Matthew was truly in shock that he had just managed to kill Luna, and he had done it so simply as well. But, Matthew regained his focused. He left the Princess where she was, and rushed to Fluttershy. Before lifting her up, he whispered in her ear.

“Don’t worry, I’m here.” Matthew could tell that she turned her head towards him. She was coughing from the smoke, but Matthew lifted her up and ran towards another window. Placing her down, he quickly spoke to her.

“You need to fly, right now. You think you can hold me for a few seconds?”

“What? Why?”

“I’ll show you why.” And with that, Matthew smashed through the window. Fluttershy quickly regained herself and jumped out to catch him. She could barely hold him, but she didn’t have to. She helped to lower him to the ground. After a moment, Matthew turned to her.

“Come on, we’ve gotta go,” he said, and he was about to start running, but Fluttershy stopped him.

“Matthew, wait.” Matthew turned around to face her.

“What?” She jumped into his arms and she kissed him. They savored the kiss for a few seconds, but Matthew broke the kiss. “I understand you’re happy to see me. I mean, who wouldn’t be,” he said sarcastically, “but right now, we’ve gotta go. That smoke is gonna fade away any second now. We can have a proper reunion later, alright?” Fluttershy nodded, but before Matthew placed her down, she hugged him.

“I love you so much Matthew!”

“I love you too Fluttershy.” Matthew placed her down, and they began to run. They ran out of the castle and into Canterlot. Every pony in Canterlot was shocked by what they were seeing. They had no idea what this creature was that they were seeing. Matthew, however, didn’t stop running, and neither did Fluttershy. But, momentarily, Matthew turned around. Fluttershy stopped and looked at him.

“Keep going, I’ll catch up,” he told her, and she just kept running. Matthew faced the castle to find Celestia standing on the balcony. She stared him down. Matthew could make out that she was angry. He removed his hood and looked at her. He simply gave her a two-finger salute, and he continued to run. Catching up with Fluttershy, he told her to run towards the cliffside. Fluttershy stopped, wondering why they were there.

“Matthew, what are we doing? Shouldn’t we…” but she was cut short by Matthew.

“We need to jump. I don’t really think I can go on a train, and there aren’t really any other quick ways out of Canterlot. Listen, I’ll jump and remain in free-fall for a bit, but as we get closer to the ground, you need to catch me. Think you can do that?” Fluttershy was a little scared now, but she nodded. “Good. Well, here we go.”

And with that, Matthew jumped. Fluttershy followed closely behind him, staying close to him in free-fall. As they neared the ground, Matthew signaled for Fluttershy to catch him. She grabbed on. She was shortly pulled down along with him, but she began to fly slowly to the ground, holding Matthew. About five feet from the ground, Matthew told her to drop him. She did, and Matthew landed, doing a parkour roll to absorb the impact.

Matthew stood up and faced Fluttershy as she landed. They stared at each other for a moment, but Fluttershy quickly jumped to Matthew. This time, though, Matthew caught her with no trouble. He held her close, spinning her around a few times. They met each other’s lips in a passionate kiss. They held each other close. After releasing the kiss, they had their little reunion.

“I knew you would come to save me, I just knew it!”

“Of course I did. You mean too much to me, and I love you. You’re the most important thing in my life. I won’t let anything tear us apart ever again, not even Celestia, I promise you.” They smiled at each other, and they kissed again. Placing her down, Matthew turned to the Everfree Forest. Fluttershy noticed where they now were, but for once, she wasn’t afraid. With Matthew around, she was never afraid. Matthew looked to her and gave an awkward smile. He figured she wouldn’t like going through the forest, but she simply giggled and stood at his side.

“I’m not afraid Matthew. I know you’ll protect me.”

“Damn right! Come on, let’s go.” They started to walk through the forest, eventually starting to run straight for Ponyville. They arrived at Fluttershy’s cottage within about half an hour. Matthew collected his suitcase, and they ran off together. They didn’t care where they went. As long as they were together, nothing else mattered to them.

‘It’s just Fluttershy and me.’

Author's Notes:

Now you see how Matthew brings out the wrath of Celestia. What will this bring for Matthew? I think it should be obvious.