//------------------------------// // Day One // Story: Canterlot Academy: Knights of the Dark Moon // by LordLycaon //------------------------------// Five in the morning. FIVE. IN. THE. MORNING. That’s how early Rainbow had woken up, her alarm clock blaring loudly enough to make Twilight shriek. The pegasus had made a quick apology, then began a morning exercise routine, doing push-ups with her wings, sit-ups, lifting a few weights, etc. Twilight, on the other hoof, was not a morning pony. In fact, she’d much rather have stayed asleep until her own alarm clock went off at the far more reasonable time of 6:30. Plenty of sleep, and plenty of time for breakfast and the rest of her own morning routine. After all, classes weren’t supposed to start until about 8:00, give or take a few minutes. So, Twilight just lay in her bed, covers over her body, pillow folded over her ears, and her back turned to Rainbow as the pegasus exercised. “You sure you don’t want in, Twi?” the pegasus asked as she finished up a set of leg stretches. Twilight just grunted in response, not moving from her spot. Rainbow rolled her eyes and shrugged. “Suit yourself. You should at least consider it. You gotta stay fit.” “Maybe if you’re an athlete,” Twilight replied rather sardonically. She sat up and faced the pegasus, bags under her eyes. “I, however, am not an athlete. So please, Rainbow, don’t try to get me to join you. I’d much rather either sleep right now, or just go to an early class.” That earned her a raised eyebrow from the other mare. “What?” Rainbow just chuckled in slight amusement. “You need to lighten up, egghead. Nopony likes somepony that serious.” “Whatever.” The unicorn stretched her limbs a little and checked her clock again. It was 6:28. Close enough, she supposed. She climbed out of bed and levitated a small mirror and a hair brush from among her things and ran the brush through her mane, making sure not to look too disorganized. As she did this, she levitated her schedule over from her desk. “First class of the day is Equestrian history with Professor Do,” she said, thinking out loud. That name got her thinking for some reason. It sounded vaguely familiar. Maybe she’d read about her once? She honestly couldn’t really recall. “That so?” Rainbow asked. “Huh. Small world. I’ve got that class, too.” “Really?” “Yeah. My parents suggested it. They thought it’d be important for me to learn about that stuff.” She shrugged. “I honestly don’t really care about it that much, but I didn’t argue.” She then bumped Twilight lightly on the shoulder. “Hey, I’m getting hungry here. I’m gonna go get some breakfast. Catch you later, Sparkle.” With that, the blue pegasus left the room, flying down the hallway without even closing the door behind her. Twilight just sighed quietly and closed the door with her magic as she finished brushing her mane. She then fixed her bed and replaced her things in a neat, tidy manner. When this was done, she nodded and left her room, making sure to keep her schedule close at hoof. -o- The classroom was abuzz with chatter as ponies conversed with each other, talking about numerous things, like what their teacher would be like, and where she might’ve been, for that matter. Prompt as Twilight was, she had been one of the first ponies to arrive at the class. At the time, there were only two others, not including Professor Do. The young unicorn hadn’t really thought much of it and just went to a seat in the front row, where she would have the best possible view. Twenty minutes later, many other students, including Rainbow Dash, who had decided to take a seat next to Twilight, and that stallion from yesterday (Wanderer, she believed was his name) had arrived, yet there was still no sign of the teacher. Twilight’s brow furrowed as she tried to figure out why an academy professor would take so long to get to class. Perhaps she ran into trouble on the way? Or maybe she overslept? A few other possibilities ran through her mind until a tan-colored pegasus mare with a gray mane and tail walked into the room, a tired look in her eyes. Her cutie mark was an archaic image of a compass rose that one would typically see on an old map, and she wore a pith helmet and an archaeologist's jacket. She yawned sleepily, then closed the door behind her, locking it just as another student had made it to the door. Through the door’s window, Twilight could see that he had a baffled look on his face as the mare turned towards the desk at the front of the class and leaned against it, looking over them all with a raised eyebrow. “All right, all right,” she finally said. “Listen up, ponies. I’m not gonna repeat myself.” She flew over to her chalkboard, grabbed a piece of chalk, and began writing down a list of rules. “I’m gonna be your instructor for this class, Daring Do. Please don’t refer to me as ‘Professor Do,’ because that sounds unbelievably pretentious and stupid.” That earned a few laughs from the students. Even Twilight had to suppress a small giggle. “You can call me Professor Daring if you have to be formal, but I’d prefer to just be called by my first name, thank you very much.” Daring faced her students again. “All right, here’s the rules.” She pointed to the chalkboard. “First, don’t be late. If I’m here before you are, tough. I lock the door when I get in. So if you’re anything like Chuckles over there-” she pointed a hoof at the student who had lagged behind her, trapped outside the classroom “-then you’re crap outta luck. Second, listen and take notes. If you’re having trouble keeping up, then just focus on what I’m saying at the moment and ask your fellow students about everything else after class. Do I make myself clear?” Most of the students nodded in response, Twilight included. “Sheesh,” Rainbow spoke up quietly, just loud enough for Twilight to hear. “She’s gonna be a ton of fun, isn’t she?” “Quiet,” Twilight scolded with a harsh whisper. “Is there a problem?” Daring asked with a raised eyebrow, her expression clearly stating that she had no patience for students talking out of turn. “Er, n-no, ma’am,” Twilight replied quickly. Daring narrowed her eyes. “Don’t call me ‘ma’am’ either,” she stated in slight indignation. “Makes me feel older than I actually am.” She then pointed to a third rule on the chalkboard. “Third rule of this class room. You don’t speak unless spoken to. If you have something to say, raise your hoof and I’ll get to you. Eventually.” She muttered that last word to herself. “All right, now that that’s outta the way, let’s get down to business. I couldn’t care less about the official stuff. Everything I was supposed to tell you about regarding official crap is in a packet in each of your desks. Have fun with that. Now, who here knows how Equestria was founded?” A few hooves went up at that, and Daring eyed them all until she pointed to Wanderer who was sitting just a few seats ahead of Twilight. “You, the colt with gray mane. Answer.” Wanderer blinked in surprise as he was called on. “Ah, well—” “Speak up, Mop-Boy. We don’t have all day.” “Mop-Boy?” Twilight heard him mutter as he ran a hoof through his admittedly rather messy mane. Regardless, he cleared his throat. “Equestria was founded by the four pony tribes. Until the great war happened. The Darkness took over Equestria until the alicorn heroes saved us all with the Elements of Harmony.” Daring nodded. “That’s about the gist of it. According to legend at least. Equestria has no actual record of its own founding, though, so most just stick with the story.” She looked the class over again. “Now, does anypony here actually know what the Elements of Harmony are, or am I gonna need to go over fourth grade history with all of you?” Immediately, Twilight’s hoof went up when no one else’s would. Daring glared at the class and sighed in disappointment, then gave Twilight permission to answer. Eager to share her knowledge, Twilight cleared her throat and spoke. “The Elements of Harmony were a collection of six artifacts that the alicorn heroes wielded. There was the Element of Laughter, wielded by Schallend the Jester, the Element of Loyalty, used by Chujitsuna the Steadfast, the Element of Honesty, carried by Pravda the Honest, the Element of Generosity, carried by Hermoso the Giving, and the Element of Kindness, wielded by Jentelle the Kind. The sixth Element is unknown, but is known to have been wielded by Mystus the Wise, who is said to have been the most powerful alicorn of his time. Legend tells that, before they died, they hid the Elements away, so that only their true successors would be able to find and use them when the time comes.” Twilight nodded when she finished, knowing for sure that she had it right. Daring nodded as well. “And where were the Elements hidden?” “Er, well…” That question caught her off guard a bit. Did the professor actually expect her to know that? “I… don’t… actually know.” Once again, the teacher nodded. “That’s all right, Purple-Neck.” Her ears flattened. ‘Purple-Neck?’ “Nopony knows where the Elements are, or even when they were hidden. Whether it was before the heroes died or if they had somepony they trusted hide them after they passed away is a mystery. Heck, nopony even knows if they had any descendants.” One student raised his hoof. “Yes?” “What about Princess Celestia?” the student asked. “Isn’t she an alicorn? Doesn’t that mean that she’s descended from one or two of them?” “Not necessarily. The princess herself is reported to have said that she is not directly descended from any of the six, claiming to have been a unicorn before becoming an alicorn over fourteen hundred years ago.” The student who had spoken sank back into his seat, looking as though he felt a bit dumb. Daring turned her attention to the whole class then. “Now, are there any other questions before I start lecturing you about everything that happened between now and Equestria’s founding?” No other hooves went up. With that, Daring Do began the first lecture of Twilight’s first year in the single greatest school in the world. The young unicorn couldn’t possibly have been more excited. -o- Second period physics went by quickly, but was much more entertaining than Twilight had expected. The instructor, one Doctor Time-Turner Whooves, came off as a bit of a rambling eccentric, but he was at least more chipper than Professor Daring had been. That mare must’ve been a last-minute choice or something. She didn’t seem to have the right attitude to be a teacher. Or maybe it was just because it was early. In that case, Twilight would’ve understood perfectly. “Hey, Twilight!” an excited voice called out as a pink form suddenly made itself visible in front of her. Twilight shrieked and jumped back about a foot. “Pinkie!” she exclaimed in both shock and a small amount of irritation. “Don’t do that! You scared me!” The pink pony giggled at the unicorn’s expense. “Sorry about that. I’m just so excited that I’m studying here! The teachers all seem to be super surprised whenever I answer a really tough question correctly.” “They’re probably just as surprised as I was to learn just how smart you actually are,” Twilight stated, to which Pinkie nodded in agreement. That actually got Twilight thinking a bit. “Doesn’t it get annoying?” “Does what get annoying?” “Ponies being surprised by your actual intelligence,” she clarified. “It must be irritating when others just assume that you’re just another airheaded- er, that is to say, it must get annoying, right?” The earth pony thought on that for a moment, then just shrugged. “I guess I’m just used to it.” She grinned, giving another giggle. “Then again, I really like seeing ponies’ expressions when I tell them about the IQ thing. It’s actually really funny!” Twilight supposed she could see the humor in that. “But enough about that. How’s your day been so far? What’re your classes?” “Equestrian history for first period, physics for second period,” Twilight answered automatically. “Then, after lunch, I have astronomy for third period, and-” “I have astronomy for third period, too!” Pinkie blurted with a wide grin. “Oh, this is great! We can be study buddies! We can sit next to each other, share notes on class subjects! It’ll be awesome!” “Uh… yeah. Great.” “Oh, hey, I’m gonna see if I can find Fluttershy and Rarity, and join them for lunch. You can, too, if you want! In fact, the more, the merrier!” “Er, well, I’d like to, but-” “Great!” Pinkie grabbed Twilight by her hoof and pulled her along down the hall towards the cafeteria. Though reluctant, Twilight just sighed and gave in. She had hoped to get some studying in during lunch. Hopefully, the others would understand. -o- The cafeteria was rife with activity as students chattered away about their classes, teachers, what they plan on doing on the weekend, and more. Some of them had the same idea as Twilight originally had, using the lunch hour to study up. Fortunately, her acquaintances didn’t try to dissuade her from her books. Applejack and Rainbow Dash were there as well, both of whom having been invited by Fluttershy. The other five ponies chatted while Twilight was content with skimming through her new text books, writing down notes on subjects she believed would be important. “-and then I said, ‘Oatmeal? Are you crazy!?’” Pinkie said as she told a story that Twilight wasn’t actually paying attention to. “Then Inkie and I ended up eating a cake that our sister Blinkie had spiked with laxatives. Believe me, that was one doozy of a long night!” She, Rainbow, and Applejack all broke out into wild laughter, with Rainbow pounding the table with her hoof. “Wait, wait,” Applejack said, catching her breath between guffaws. “Was this before or after that chicken attacked your pa?” “I don’t have paws, silly! I have hooves! See?” Pinkie replied, holding up her hooves with a wide grin. That earned another fit of laughter from the others. Applejack and Rainbow howled again, while Rarity and Fluttershy gave more subdued giggles. “Anyway, the laxative cake incident was after my dad’s chicken trauma. I swear, he still jumps whenever he hears somepony make a chicken sound! My sisters and I always used that to our advantage! Even Mom does it every now and then.” Rarity rolled her eyes with an amused smile. “There’s certainly never a dull moment in your family, is there?” “Nope! In fact, this one time, my sisters and I pranked the town mayor by putting a bucket of pink paint over her door! She was so mad when it fell on her at first, but then she just started laughing like crazy! ‘I guess I’m the new Pinkie Pie, huh’?” For that last part, Pinkie puffed out her chest a little to look a bit more official and donned a serious expression. “Those were her exact words! Then I asked, ‘If you’re the new Pinkie Pie, can I be mayor for a day? Free cupcakes for everypony!’” While the others laughed at Pinkie’s stories and antics, Twilight only sighed and buried herself deeper in her books. This was exactly why she would’ve preferred sitting alone. No distractions. Just her and her books. She was willing to admit that she enjoyed the company of the other ponies, but not to the point where she wanted to hang out with them all the time. All she wanted was to- “Twilight Sparkle?” a mare’s suddenly spoke from behind her. Groaning, Twilight turned on her seat with a glare, just about to tell the new mare to leave, but she stopped when she got a good look at the other mare. She had a bright blue coat and silvery mane and tail, with violet eyes that widened with a the grin on her face. Her cutie make was an image a wand being waved with a short, smoky trail. “So it was you that I saw! Do you remember me?” “No, I don’t think I…” She trailed off, looking the mare up and down for a moment. There was something familiar about her, but she couldn’t quite… It suddenly hit her like a dragon’s breath. Her eyes went wide in recognition, and she grinned ear-to-ear. “Trixie!” she exclaimed happily as she and other mare gave each other a friendly hug. “Oh, wow, it’s been years! I had no idea you’d be here, too!” The other five ponies at the table looked at the purple and blue unicorns in surprise. Twilight hadn’t shown this kind of openness before, not even to Pinkie Pie. Rarity cleared her throat. “Um, darling? Care to introduce us?” “Huh?” Twilight released the mare called Trixie then with a slightly befuddled look, then smiled sheepishly. “Oh, sorry.” She put a hoof on Trixie’s shoulder and motioned to the others with her free hoof. “Trixie, these are some acquaintances I’ve made here at the academy. Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Fluttershy, and my roommate Rainbow Dash. Girls, this is Trixie Lulamoon! She was my best friend back when I went to Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns as a little filly.” Trixie nodded, giving a polite bow. “Charmed to meet you all.” “It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Trixie,” Rarity said. She motioned to a free seat at their table. “Please, sit if you like. Any friend of Twilight’s is a friend of ours!” The blue unicorn nodded gratefully and took a seat next to Twilight. “So, darling, what is it that you study here?” “A few things,” Trixie answered rather vaguely with a cocky smirk. “I’m mostly here to study magic and a few sciences. Mostly more spiritual things, like astrology. I plan on becoming a world-renowned showmare when I graduate.” She then stood atop her seat, throwing out her left foreleg dramatically. “All shall praise the name of the Great and Powerful Trixie!” Twilight laughed at her old friend’s antics. “You always were a bit of an attention hog, Trix,” she pointed out with a light bump of her hoof on Trixie’s side. The other mare sat back with a shocked and slightly offended expression. "What? Moi? Never!" "Says the mare who, on our very first day in class, tried to-" "Okay, I get it," Trixie quickly replied not wanting to have to relive that memory. "Maybe you could say that I like a bit of attention every now and then." As the two mares talked, the others watched with fascination. Twilight had seemed quite a bit more distant before than how she was acting now. She had been content to just read her books while they chatted and swapped stories. Now, she was openly speaking to somepony, sharing conversation and talking about their classes and goals. This seemed really out of character for the purple mare. Then again, they’d only known her for about two days. “-and I have my magic class at fourth period,” Trixie said as she finished talking about her own classes. “What about you, Twi?” “Oh! I have my magic class at fourth period, too!” Twilight replied excitedly. “My teacher for that class is a pony named Inkwell. You?” Trixie beamed. “The same! We’re having the same class together!” Twilight grinned, not even attempting to hide her joy. “Hey, do you remember that routine we pulled on our first day back at the school?” “How could I not?” Trixie answered jokingly. “We got detention for a week for that stunt. My parents gave me the most heated scolding of my life!” She grinned as well, a mischievous glint in her violet eyes. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” “Just as long as you remember that you’re the one who set the whole thing up in the first place,” Twilight quipped slyly. Applejack raised an eyebrow at the two unicorns. “Ah’m gettin’ the feelin’ that y’all’re up to somethin’.” “Relax,” Trixie said with a light chuckle. “It’s just an inside joke. The routine we pulled ended with Twilight accidentally turning the teacher’s hair orange with little yellow polkadots all over it.” “Yeah, but only after you incinerated a bookshelf with that fireworks spell of yours,” Twilight countered with a good-natured laugh, which Trixie joined in with. “Well, then,” Trixie said, looking over the rest of the mares, “now that Twilight and I are caught up, why don’t you all tell me about yourselves? I’d like to get to know all of you a little better, if only to make sure Twilight didn’t pick one of you to replace me.” At that, the group of mares dove into a rather lively conversation, talking about their classes, the places where they grew up, their families, etc. The whole while, Twilight had to admit that she was having a ton of fun just talking with her fellow students. She actually enjoyed the social interaction. -o- Once the bell rang to end the lunch hour, the seven ponies went their separate ways, save for Twilight and Pinkie Pie, who both headed down the hallway to make their way to Academy’s observatory on the uppermost floor of the main building, where the astronomy class would be taking place. On the way, Pinkie rambled on and on about how excited she was for this next class and just how thrilled she was to have Twilight as a classmate and future study buddy. The unicorn herself just rolled her eyes with a small yet amused smile, honestly not wanting to burst the pink earth pony’s bubble. As they walked down the halls of the Academy, Twilight found herself looking around a bit aimlessly. Doing this, she spotted a pair of armored guards patrolling a hall to her left as she and Pinkie passed by it. They looked like official Royal Guards, too. That caught her attention somewhat. Why would there be guards of that position in the Academy? Was there some kind of danger? Or were they here just to guard important ponies? “Hey, Pinkie,” she said, nudging the pink pony’s side. “Did you notice those guards just now?” “Yep,” Pinkie confirmed with a grin. She then frowned very slightly. “Why? Do you think something’s wrong?” She shrugged helplessly. “Not really. It just seems odd to me. They were wearing Royal Guard armor, but why would they be here?” “Maybe they’re investigating something?” Pinkie suggested. “Oh, no! You don’t think somepony got hurt, do you? Oh, what about those recent disappearances in Canterlot I’ve been hearing about? What if somepony got foalnapped!? What if-!?” Twilight stopped Pinkie’s rambling with a hoof over the pink mare’s mouth. “Calm down, Pinkie. It’s probably nothing. Maybe the princess is visiting or something. We can’t just jump to conclusions. Doing that could cause a panic.” Pinkie nodded her understanding, pushing Twilight’s hoof away and heading down the hallway to the observatory, walking ahead of Twilight. The violet unicorn eyed the two guards a little longer. Something in her gut told her that something was up. She shook her head, pushing the thought away. It was probably nothing to be concerned about anyway. If there was a problem, Shining Armor would’ve told her. She shrugged the sight off and followed Pinkie down the hall. As she walked away, she didn’t notice the analytical glares that the two guards were giving her. “Is she the one?” one asked. “Yeah,” the other confirmed with a nod. “That’s her all right.” He tipped his helmet up to scratch at his scalp. “Huh. Captain Armor’s little sister. The boss must be crazy.” The second guard rolled his eyes. “Let’s just keep an eye on her for now. The others are doing the same.” “Yeah, yeah,” the first guard replied with a roll of his eyes. -o- Twilight was barely able to get any actual notes down in her astronomy class. She was too distracted by the display of the observatory. To make up for the fact that it was still daylight out, the instructor, an older unicorn stallion named North Star, had used his magic to create a wondrous array of perfectly duplicated stars, planets, and other celestial bodies. Even Pinkie Pie had been silenced with awe at the display. After introducing himself and talking about what they’d be learning in his class, North Star had given a brief lecture about the solar system and its functions, to which Twilight paid close attention. When she could tear herself away from the imagery, that is. Once the teacher dismissed the class, Twilight bid farewell to Pinkie and headed down the hall and trotted back downstairs, eventually arriving to her final class for the day: magical theory and practice. She let out a barely contained - but still quiet - squeal of excitement. Not only would she be learning about magic in Canterlot Academy of all places, but she’d be learning side by side with her foalhood friend as well! There was nothing that could possibly ruin-! “Out of my way.” Twilight was rudely shoved aside. The violet mare quickly managed to regain her footing before falling over and turned to glare at who had shoved her. A unicorn mare with a sun-colored coat and a fiery, red-and-yellow mane and a cutie mark resembling a red and yellow sun scoffed at her, her blue eyes laced with contempt. Before Twilight could say anything, the other mare entered the classroom, leaving Twilight to fume a bit. Whoever that mare was, she was definitely from a privileged family. She grumbled under her breath and entered the class, quickly finding Trixie sitting in the second row of seats and joining her. She also spotted that yellow unicorn sitting in the front row, right in the middle, and immediately huffed and turned her focus away from her. Trixie raised an eyebrow at that, looking over at the mare briefly, then back to Twilight, giving a sigh. She had known Twilight long enough to know something was up. “Okay, what’s wrong?” “Nothing,” Twilight replied, trying to put finality in the one-word response. Trixie only rolled her eyes and shook her head. “Come on, Twilight. I know you better than that.. We might not have seen each other in a while, but you haven’t really changed all that much.” She gently bumped Twilight’s forehead with her hoof, just below the horn. “I know that look of yours. Just tell me what’s wrong, and I won’t have to pry it out of you.” The purple unicorn looked at her old friend, trying to keep from telling her anything. It wasn’t her problem. But Trixie had a look in her eyes, one that told her that she would keep bugging her about it until she gave her an answer. After a few moments, she sighed in defeat. “That yellow mare shoved me out of her way and didn’t even apologize. She didn’t even give me her name. Doesn’t she have any manners at all?” Trixie looked over at the described mare, and gave a sigh of her own. “She probably does and just doesn’t use them. Her name’s Sunset Shimmer.” Twilight blinked. “You know her?” The blue unicorn shrugged. “Sort of. My mom worked for her family for a while. She’s from a very wealthy line.” Twilight raised an eyebrow, then scoffed. “I figured as much.” “Come on, Twi,” Trixie said with a smile, putting a hoof on her friend’s shoulder. “Don’t let her get to you. She’s just a b- a jerk. She’s just a jerk.” That made Twilight laugh a little. Trixie had always had trouble with that; saying the wrong words for the right reasons. It seemed like she got better with it over time, slightly. Gradually, the class was filled with more and more students until, finally, the instructor arrived. She was a distinctly aged unicorn mare with a curly dark mane, gray coat, and an ink bottle cutie mark. She had bright green eyes that held a mischievous glint in them, and smiled widely at her students. She looked over the class when she arrived at her desk and grinned. “Hello, everypony!” she greeted cheerfully, waving her hoof so wildly that Twilight was half afraid that it might fly off. “Welcome to magical theory and practice. I’m your instructor, Inkwell. It’s a pleasure to meet you all!” Almost immediately, she took up some chalk with her magic, and began writing something on the chalkboard. “Let’s begin right away!” “This is a joke,” somepony spoke up. Inkwell’s ears flattened against her head as she looked over to who had spoken. That yellow mare - Sunset Shimmer, Trixie had called her - was sitting with a look on her face as if to say that she was offended for some reason. “You’re way too old to be teaching. Shouldn’t somepony like you be retired and in an old folks’ home by now?” Twilight clenched her teeth at Shimmer’s blatant disrespect. How could she say something like that? Was she that conceited? She fully expected Inkwell to punish Sunset somehow - kick her out, give her detention, make her write an essay on why she should respect her elders, something. Instead, the old mare did something Twilight didn’t expect in the least: she laughed. Apparently, Sunset was caught off guard by this as well. “Oh, I know I’m old,” Inkwell said between giggles. “But I’m not quite ready to quit just yet. After all, I’m only 72. I’ve still got plenty of lessons and life left in me yet!” The entire class laughed at that, save for Shimmer, who crossed her hooves and sneered contemptuously. “Oh, don’t be like that, child. You’ll give yourself an ulcer.” Shimmer grumbled something under her breath, but didn’t otherwise respond. It would be lying if Twilight said she didn’t enjoy seeing the pompous mare pout like that. “Now, as I said, let’s get started, shall we?” The elderly mare began writing something on the chalkboard, making sure that nopony could see it but her. When she finished, she stepped aside, allowing everyone to see what she had written: “The Mare in the Moon.” “We’re going to start with an old story that’s been passed down for the last thousand years,” Inkwell stated. “Can anypony tell me about the legend of the Mare in the Moon?” The first hooves up were Twilight, Trixie, and Sunset’s, though the last of the three wasn’t as eager as the others. Inkwell pointed to Trixie, who cleared her throat. “The Mare in the Moon,” Trixie began, “also known as Nightmare Moon, was the Mare of Darkness who sought to bring about eternal night. She was banished to the moon over a thousand years ago by Princess Celestia using a powerful magic spell. Nopony actually knows what the spell was, though it’s rumored that she had discovered the Elements of Harmony and used them to defeat Nightmare Moon.” “Excuse me!” another student called out. Inkwell nodded to him, allowing him to speak. “I’m sorry, but what does this have to do with this class? Isn’t something like that better suited to be taught about in a history class or something? Besides, it’s just an old mares’ tale. The princess herself says that she doesn’t remember that ever actually happening.” Inkwell chuckled a bit at that. “Suffice it to say, some legends have a base in fact. It’s said that there is an organization that follows and even worships Nightmare Moon to this day, and that they wield powerful magic. This class will be teaching you ways to counter threats like that, as well as forms of magic for more day-to-day situations.” There were a few murmurs from other students, but nopony really came out and said anything about Inkwell’s explanation. The class carried on somewhat normally, with Inkwell offering a lecture on the fundamentals of commonly used spells, like levitation. Despite already knowing these things, Twilight listened with rapt attention, jotting down notes here and there as the time went by. The whole time, she had the feeling that somepony was watching her. She looked over her shoulder, but shrugged it off as nothing. It was probably just another student looking over her shoulder or something. -o- After Inkwell dismissed the class, Twilight and Trixie met up in the Academy’s expansive library to compare notes and study together with Pinkie Pie, who had already collected several volumes on history, astronomy, advanced trigonometry, and other things that Twilight would never have associated with the wild mare. The three of them conversed about their respective classes as they studied, with Pinkie being the most energetic and eager to speak. As the hours dragged on, the three soon went their separate ways. Twilight was heading down the hall, reading a biography on Starswirl the Bearded as she trotted back to her dorm room. Just as she was getting into the part about his adult years, she bumped into somepony, breaking her concentration and dropping the book, along with several others she had been carrying. She looked up angrily at the pony she had run into, but held her tongue when she saw who it was. “H-Headmaster Stargazer!” she said in surprise. “S-sorry about that! I wasn’t paying attention where I was-” The old stallion chuckled. “Relax. I’m not angry. It happens.” He levitated some of Twilight’s books off the ground, his aura a dark shade of purple. Twilight noticed his cutie mark finally: a purple, five-pointed star with a pair of swords crossed over it. His talent probably lay with combative magic. “I believe these are yours?” “Er, yes, sir, thank you,” Twilight replied with a grateful nod, taking her books in her own magic. Stargazer gave her an analytical look, as if sizing her up for something. “You’re Twilight Sparkle, correct?” She hesitated at the mention of her name. “Um, yes, sir. How did you know my name?” “I heard about you from Captain Shining Armor. From what he’s told me, you have great promise as a wielder of magic.” He gave a warm, almost fatherly, smile. “I can tell just by looking in your eyes that you’re going to do great things someday. If you ever need anything, don’t hesitate to ask. I’m always willing to act as a tutor if need be.” Twilight nodded in response with a small smile of her own and turned to take her leave. She stopped, only then remembering what she had seen earlier that day. “Um, Headmaster? Can I ask you something?” He turned to regard her. “Certainly.” “I noticed a pair of Royal Guards earlier today,” she said, shuffling her hooves a moment. “Do you know why they’re here? I just thought it was little odd.” The elder pony seemed a tad reluctant to answer. He looked around for a moment, as if to make sure that nopony else was around to overhear. “Honestly? I requested that a cadre of guards be stationed here. I assume you’ve heard of the recent disappearances and reappearances of ponies, what with your brother being a member of the Royal Guard.” Twilight nodded. “They’re here for student safety. We can’t have students mysteriously disappearing on us, now can we?” Again, Twilight nodded. “I guess that makes sense.” Stargazer gave the young unicorn a pat on her shoulder and a comforting smile. “Don’t worry. This Academy is perfectly safe. It’s just better to be safe than sorry. Now, it’s getting late. You’d best head off to your dorm before curfew.” “Oh, right!” Twilight exclaimed as she darted off waving a goodbye to the headmaster, who waved back before turning to leave as well. He didn’t seem all that bad. -o- “How long will it take?” one of the three ponies asked. She was beginning to lose her patience. “A while,” a stallion answered as he wrote down details for a spell. “At least until the Summer Sun Celebration.” “But that’s months from now!” she fumed angrily. “We can’t afford to wait that long!” “On the contrary,” the third pony, another stallion, interjected, “we can. And we must. This spell will take time to complete, especially considering the scale.” “And what if it doesn’t even work?” the mare demanded more than inquired. “Oh, it’ll work,” the first stallion said with complete confidence. “By the celebration’s end, nopony will ever see the sun again. Just be patient.” “The Knights of the Dark Moon have been patient for over a thousand years,” the mare pointed out. She motioned to the other stallion. “Tell him, will you?” “You had best hope that that is how it will turn out,” the second stallion warned. “The One Queen must be freed at all costs.” “I know, I know. I am confident that it’ll work. We just need the right caster. Preferably somepony with enough magical power to survive the output, or somepony who has some connection to the First Followers.” He chuckled. “One way or another, Equestria will face the Nightmare again.” “For your sake, I hope you are correct.” The first stallion just waved his hoof at him, dismissing the other two ponies as he continued his work. The mare grumbled something inaudible under her breath, and the second stallion shook his head, but neither said anything more. Their comrade had been a devoted and reliable member of their order for years. If he said something would work, it was going to work. Equestria’s true queen would return by summer’s first eve. The Knights would ensure of that.