Quick stood tall and proud, facing the eight tsuki brave enough to attend his class. Sure, one of them happened to be the one that had caused his leg to be replaced with a crystal replica... but it couldn't be perfect. "Celene, what is the skill level of our students?"
Celene turned to look at them instead of Quick. "Good, good, alright, good, why here?" She peered at the last of them to be counted off, a smaller tsuki, lanky and awkward looking.
The younger jack smiled brightly. "I want to know more magic," he said with more eloquence than many. "I practice every day to become better."
Celene hiked a brow. "Why not see you before if work every day?"
Quick waved it away, turning his head to those not attending, but not watching. "Princess, tsuki do not practice active magic, like unicorns. It is more akin to the magic of pegasi and earth ponies, innate, however..." He sat down lightly. "It affects active magic, and is remarkable for it."
Cadance nodded curiously, looking over the small classroom. "I look forward to seeing it. I would offer a demonstration in kind, but you are already well aware of the nature of pony magic."
"That I am," easily agreed Quick as his attention slid back to his class. "Today is about darkness. It's easy to reflect light, heat, and other 'active' energies. Darkness is harder to do safely and effectively." He held up a hoof and a swirling ball of black and green power began to form just over it, swelling as his horn glowed with the same light. "Decay, entropy, it is the breaking of things, and cannot be handled the same way."
Celene bobbed her head quickly. "Is true! Do it wrong, it will hurt." She lifted her ears briefly. "What is good of the shadow?"
Quick raised a brow. "Besides the obvious battle use, there is a place for shadow magic. Subtle and pervasive, when wielded with skill, it can get where other magics cannot. For instance..." He looked to the doe behind Celene. "Reflect."
The doe squeaked and concentrated, her fur glimmering as she began focusing on reflecting all magic from all directions, becoming a little colorful for the effort. Quick hurled his magic directly at her, through Celene. It passed through the larger doe as if she wasn't there, struck the smaller, and bounced away, mostly. The smaller doe flinched with the pain of an imperfect reflection.
Quick directed a hoof at the smaller doe. "As you can see, I could work my magic through an entire other living form without hesitation. Dark magic is not stopped as easily by barriers. Celene, did you not say that one was skilled?"
The smaller doe hopped up, shaking her head. "I not expect! Will catch next one."
"See that you do."
The younger jack waved a paw excitedly. "Will you show us how to do that?"
"I will not." He gestured up at his own horn. "You do not have that ability. You can control, manipulate, and direct, but not create. On the positive, with practice, you can become quite good at those things. Working alongside sources of magic is a required step of the process." He nodded as he spoke, looking proud of his words. "For today, that source will be me."
Cadance smiled from the side. "A magic that requires a little friendship. I certainly can't be upset to see that." Not that she hadn't seen the dark magic Quick had used, or the discomfort it had caused. She kept those opinions to herself. "Is this an ancient talent?"
The younger jack shook his head. "A very smart pony showed it to us. She left, but we're still practicing."
Quick's smug grin at the mention of a smart pony faded as soon as it was clear he was not being referred to. "You say you have practice. Display it." Magic swirled anew around his hoof, wreathing it in the dark fire. "If you can't reflect the shadow, you have no hope of molding it to your desire."
The jack barely had time to raise his paws before the dark magic struck him on his chest. His pelt shone with a dark light, the magic flowing over him and streaking past like several fine lines to impact on the wall far behind them with little effect. He was still alive and seemingly unharmed. "Give me more warning!" he hotly complained, tap-tapping a hindfoot on the stone floor.
"Do good," complimented Celene. "Very good," she said, revising her opinion of the young jack. "We learn now, yes?"
Quick stroked over his beard with a hoof. "Well, I shall revise my estimation of you. Yes, let us proceed."
Flash sat, watching two others wrestle instead of doing it himself. It was much easier to enjoy from that angle, he quietly decided.
"Like?" Toby landed beside him. "More fun to do than watch, yes?"
Flash raised a hoof, words robbed of him a moment at the timing. "I... am enjoying this." That seemed the safest answer.
"Yes, is good." He reached to pat Flash on the head. "You wrestle good. Practice, get better, yes? Maybe win next time."
Flash quirked an ear at the bunny that was petting him. "Are you saying that out of kindness?"
Toby looked baffled at the idea. "I say because is good. You good wrestle."
"But I lost?" Flash shook his head. "How good is that?"
"Is very good!" He brought his hands together in a clap, startling the wrestlers, resulting in a tumble. "Oops, um. Is good," he repeated quieter. "For first wrestle, very good. Could be better, will be better."
Flash quirked a smile at the jack tsuki. "I am a guard, not a wrestler, but you, um, collective you, should try your paws at a pony wrestling ring. I bet they'd love it."
Toby's ears perked forward before flopping back where they hung. "Want see. Next time visit ponies, see. Where? Is in Canterlot?"
Flash shook his head. "Not so much there. You know we have a few cities, right?"
Toby nodded fiercely. "Many pony cities, many ponies. Which one?"
Flash began listing off the few wrestling places he knew, keeping half an eye on the match in progress. "Will you watch, or participate?"
Toby tilted his head. "Not sure if time to join." He threw his pawhands wide. "I do many things."
"Can't argue that." He jumped back suddenly as two tsuki, the ones wrestling, slammed down in the space he had been in. "They're really into this."
Toby looked down at the two with a tilted head. "Think she wins."
The tsuki on top grinned at the one she had pinned. "Told you."
The male stuck out his tongue and both laughed as they rolled upright, already talking about what had gone well and poorly for them in the match.
Flash watched them go as he took his seat. "You really don't get upset at who you're fighting?"
Toby blinked, trying to parse that. "If real fight. Wrestling is fun fight, not real fight. Win, lose, have fun. If lose, learn, be better, maybe win next time?" A thought ticked. "Is you mad for losing?! I sorry."
"Are you mad," corrected Flash with a smile. "It's hard to be mad at you. You're too innocently positive, I think." He tapped at his chin with a hoof. "You really just wanted to show me some wrestling."
"Yes," easily agreed Toby. "Want see something else?"
"What have you got?"
Toby rose to all fours, bouncing in place mildly in readiness to move. "Tsuki love ponies. I show proof. Want see?"
Flash blinked rapidly as he started towards Toby, even if they weren't far apart to begin with. "I'd love to, but why didn't you tell Cadance or Shining about it?"
"Because we friends." He waggled a pawhand between himself and Flash. "We wrestle, have fun. Now I give gift. Is good, yes?" He hopped up and came down facing one of many exits. "This way!"
He led Flash through the tunnels, winding and weaving, left and right, up and down. Flash had lost all sense of where they were compared to where they started, forced to trust Toby had some idea of where they were going.
They emerged from the tunnels into a smallish room. In it was a grass bed. On the grass bed was a pony, a specific pony. It was Luna, cast from dark crystals to match her coloration as closely as possible. She was laying on her side, smiling at whomever was entering the area.
"Oh, wow..." Flash stepped closer, looking over the imitation of the princess. She looked regal and wise, but also kind and approachable. It felt almost like a religious icon. "You really like Princess Luna, huh?"
Toby bounced to the statue's side. "Is not done, but..." He pulled a tarp away, revealing a half-formed smaller statue of a pony seated on her haunches. It was Moon Dancer, looking pensive with a hoof at her chin. She was roughly done, still much work left to do to get in the fine details and work away the edges of the crystal she was made of. "Two ponies do much for tsuki."
He gestured at Luna. "Give me voice, give me purpose. Bring me here, to find people, to find Sombra. If not Luna, no tsuki kingdom at all. If not Luna, Toby not have name. Toby still in forest, not thinking words. Maybe Toby not... here at all..." He shook his head quickly. "But other pony came, took Toby away, to Luna. Luna did good."
Flash approached on quiet hooves, as if making noise would somehow damage the statues. "Did you make these?"
"No!" Toby held up his pawhands. "No. Toby not good for art." He shook his head quickly. "I not only tsuki love ponies. Other tsuki make these. I like them! They is good, yes?"
"Yes," agreed Flash with a hint of amazement. He wondered what Cadance would look like, rendered with such care. "Have they... made one of you?"
Toby went dark quickly, his cheeks flushing red as he shook his head. "Hope not! Toby not... I not sure I want that." He turned back to the statues. "But like statues of others. They remind I of ponies not here... I miss them." He reached out and gently ran a paw along Luna's cheek, gazing into her stone eyes. "Miss her a lot."
Flash's ears sagged a little, hearing the sorrow in Toby's voice. "You could always go visit them?"
Toby snorted, turning back to Flash. "Is easy say. Toby is busy." He gestured at Flash. "Visiting ponies, not go while here, not right. Tsuki need Toby, so I stay."
Flash raised a hoof to his chest. "Well, after this is over?"
"Something else then. Always something, yes? Will try." He nodded firmly. "Hope Luna comes here, but she is busy too, always busy. We alike, yes? Always busy." He pulled the tarp back over the unfinished Moon Dancer statue. "At least I have them, a little bit."
Flash squirmed on his hooves, feeling awkward in that moment of emotional display. "So... I hear you have a special sometsuki now?"
Toby suddenly grinned, sadness forgotten. "Yes! Celene! Not sure how I get, but I get. She is good tsuki, strong and smart." He brushed against Flash as he slipped free of the room. "Want look longer? Can find way back?"
Flash quickly hurried after Toby. "No thank you! They're lovely, but, uh, lead the way." Trying to navigate the tunnels on his own sounded like a poor idea that he would avoid for the moment.
"Is this way." Toby began bouncing along, pausing at the end of each hop to give Flash a chance to trot up to him. They returned to where the tsuki and ponies were gathered. They were putting on some kind of show, the ponies making wild explosions of magic, while the tsuki echoed them, as if they were mirrors for the color.
It seemed to amuse everyone.