//------------------------------//
// Monsters That Teach 
// Story: Mages of Virtue: The Phantom Thief 
// by Nova Arc 
//------------------------------//

The first few days of resumption were pretty uneventful. The most exciting thing to have happened was when one of the students nearly blew up the science lab, but even that was normal: it's high school.

Sunset Shimmer and Team Harmony were in the girl’s locker room, getting ready for their first PE class. Not everyone was looking forward to it.

“Why is this a requirement?” groaned Twilight. When it came to academics, she was always on top of it. But when it came to anything involving a lot of physical exertion, she was not so great, nor was she a fan.

“C’mon, Twi,” said Applejack. “It ain't all that bad. ‘Sides, you could use the exercise.”

Rainbow looked to Sunset to change the conversation. “So, Sunset, found anyone you'd like to be your teammates?”

Sunset shrugged. “I'm not sure yet,” she said. “There are a few interesting people, but I haven't quite made a decision on who.”

“Ooooh! Do tell,” said Pinkie.

“Well…” Sunset looked around and found one of the people she was considering. “There's this girl, Loli Beats. She's pretty nice. She's also really fast, even for a Skyborn.”

“But not as fast as me!”

“Yes, Rainbow,” Sunset said, rolling her eyes. “Not as fast as you. Anyway, she's really into music, her favorite subject is Art and Music, and she goes on more missions than most other students.”

“Wow,” said Rarity. “That's quite a bit of information.”

“Yeah,” Sunset said, rubbing the back of her neck. “We've been talking for the past few days.”

“We could tell,” Rainbow said.





"ALRIGHT! LISTEN UP!" The class wasn't sure what scared them most; his voice or his figure. He had tanned skin, bright yellow eyes, and dark blue buzz-cut hair and a goatee. His bulging muscles made him look twice as intimidating when coupled with his chiseled eight-pack and barrel chest. He wore a gray sleeveless shirt, a pair of blue military camouflage trousers and black boots. "MY NAME IS IRON WILL! I WILL BE YOUR GYM INSTRUCTOR!" Oh, and he tends to shout when he speaks.

"Huh, I heard that he's a Minotaur," said Twilight. "Or was that just another false rumor?"

"Oh, no," answered Fluttershy. "He is a Minotaur... well, half Minotaur."

"That explains the physique."

"Wonder which side of the family that comes from," asked Rainbow. "Either way, having a kid would be painful for one of the parents, or both, depending" she added, snickering.

"Rainbow Dash, please!" Rarity turned slightly red at her friend’s lewd statement. "Have some decency and refrain from such lewd forms of humor."

"What?" Rainbow asked, smiling.

"TODAY, I WANNA SEE WHAT EACH OF YOU IS MADE OF! SO GET ON THE TRACK, AND GIVE ME 30 LAPS!"

"Oh what?!" was the reply from most of the class.

"What was that?" Somehow, Iron Will sounded even scarier when he was calm than when he was shouting. This was proven when everyone immediately hit the track.

At the final lap, Sunset and Twilight were jogging at the back, along with a group of others, including Fluttershy, Bon Bon and Rarity. "So... how're things... going... with you?" Twilight asked Sunset, struggling to breathe.

"Not… bad." Sunset fared only slightly better. "Rainbow's ahead... as usual?"

"Yeah."

Leading the pack was Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Loli Beats, Thunderlane and Dawn Forge. As they approached the final 200 meters. Loli and Rainbow seemed to be fighting for first place as they reached the end. Once they crossed, the bell went off, signifying the first break between classes.

The first to disappear from the field was Dawn, vanishing as if he were never even there. “Huh? Where'd he-?” Rainbow was surprised when the guy that was behind her just a few seconds ago had somehow vanished from the gym.

“Oh, yeah. He does that,” explained Loli.

“What? He shy ‘r somethin’?” asked Applejack.

“Um… Yeah. Let's go with that.”

Unlike everyone else, Loli knew exactly where to find him. After showering and changing, she headed out and found him in his usual spot: a large oak tree at the back of the school. “Hey,” she called out. “You up there?” She waited for a reply, but there was none. “You know I know you're up there, right?” There was a sharp rustling in the leaves and Dawn looked at her upside down.

“Hm?”

“What was that?”

“What?”

“You just ran out! Rainbow was gonna compliment you.”

“Well, thanks for the message.” With that, he vanished behind the leaves again. But Loli wasn't having it. She jumped up, the air pressure spiraling around her as she jumped. She landed on the branch where Dawn sat with his phone. “Hey. Did you know that DJ 8-Bit was having a sale on headphones at the music shop today?”

Loli raised an eyebrow and stared. “Really?”

Dawn sighed and put away his phone. “What do you want me to do?”

“Give them a chance.”

“Who?”

“Anyone! Look, Dawn, you've had some bad experiences. I get it. But so did I. You don't see me being a grump about it, do you?”

Dawn shrugged. “We deal with this stuff differently.”

Loli grinned and shook her head. “You know you're impossible sometimes, right?” Dawn grinned back. “Come on. I think we should start heading to class. I do not want to be late for Inkwell’s class!”

“On that, we agree.”





Dawn and Loli walked through the hall towards their Magic Applications and Variations class. But the hall was oddly packed with students; mostly freshmen, sophomores, and a few middle-class students.

“What's going on?” Dawn wondered as they made their way to the front of the crowd. They saw what appeared to be a red carpet trailing the hall.

“No way,” Loli said in excitement. “She's back!”

Looking further down the aisle, students saw the girl in question. She was beautiful with lightly dark skin, long, dark blonde hair with a purple streak in it, bright purple eyes, and wearing a purple top, black skinny jeans, black and white high-tops, and a custom school uniform with light fur on the hem and cuffs. She was the current resident queen bee of the school: Rox Candy. Ever since Sunset lost that position, Rox did not waste time taking it in her stead.

All the students whistled and called for her attention. She was popular in all ways: boys wanted to date her, girls wanted to be in her group, nearly all students wanted her seal of approval. But there was that one, undeniable fact that made all that made a lot of that impossible: she could, sometimes, be kind of a… well… snobby. Kind. Giving. But, occasionally, not so sweet.

She simply smiled and waved at the students, even granting the courtesy of signing their notebooks as she passed, after which several students dog piled the one holding the signed book.

“Okay, clear out, people!” Then came the next student: Atlas Storm. He approached wearing a white dress shirt, navy blue trousers, the school cloak, and had his spear, Harbinger, on his back. His long, pale blue hair was tied into a thin ponytail with a point at the end and his blue eyes were partially hidden behind his bangs. Think of him as the private school enforcer… and champion. “Get to class. Only reason you should be out here is if you don't have class or have a sanctioned challenge.”

The students began to clear out the of hall and head to their classes. Dawn felt a shiver go down his spine as he dragged Loli to class. “Hey! Take it easy,” she complained. “Just because your rival is next to my friend doesn't mean we both have to suffer!”

“He's not my rival,” Dawn argued. “He's just really annoying!”

Finally, they reached home base: Professor Inkwell's classroom. As they took their seats, a woman walked in. She looked like she was in her early to mid-fifties or so. She had dark cerulean-gray hair, green eyes, and wore a long, bluish-gray gown with a white collar, hem, and cuffs, and wore an inkwell-shaped pendant. Her very presence screamed, “Make a sound, and I will make your life a living hell!” You could be friends with any teacher in the school… except her.

“Please, turn your textbooks to page 134,” she said as she dropped her bag on her desk and got right down to business. “Today, we will be looking into the application of elemental spells in transportation.” She looked around and saw a hand up. “Yes, Miss Drops?”

“Um, yes, Miss Inkwell.” Sweetie Drops, or as she was more commonly known, Bon Bon, spoke. “Um, I thought our first class was supposed to be on the theory of magic conversion.”

Inkwell just stared at her for what felt like hours. All the students remained silent, not wanting to invoke the wrath of the Black Beast. “Miss Drops?” she finally spoke. “Please, pull out the tablet you were issued by the school.” Bon Bon did as she was asked. “Good. Now please read the message that arrived at 6:32 this morning.”

Bon Bon searched for message. She gulped and read aloud:



Dear Students,

Please be informed that today's class will no longer be on the theory of magic conversion, as you should all be smart enough to already know it, or at least figure it out. Instead, the class will be on…



Bon Bon paused for a moment.



... the application of elemental magic in modern transportation…



Her heart skipped all its beats for the whole time she read.

“And who sent this message?” asked Inkwell.

Bon Bon scrolled down to the bottom of the message. “Um… you did… Ma’am.”

“So I did.” Inkwell walked round her desk and approached Bon Bon’s row slowly. “So, Miss Drops, did you not see my message this morning?”

“I… Um… I… Well…” The girl was a shaking, stammering, sweating mess.

“Well? Did you or didn't you?”

“I, um… Didn't check my messages this morning,” she finally responded.

“Ah. I see. What was the side note at the bottom?”

Bon Bon composed herself enough to look at the screen and read:



All students should spread this information in case a student somehow manages to not get this message. There will be no excuses.



The whole class went into cardiac arrest for about ten seconds. “Mhm. Who are your roommates, Miss Drops?”

“Um… It's…” She mumbled something inaudible.

“Miss Drops, I am not in the mood for games. Who. Are. Your. Roommates?”

“It's… Um… Ditzy Doo, Amethyst Star, and… Lyra Heartstrings.” A mental curse echoed silently through the classroom.

“Would these three students rise?” Hesitantly, three students stood up. One at the back with blonde hair and crossed yellow eyes, one a row behind Bon Bon with purple hair with lighter highlights, and the last one next to Bon Bon, with minty green hair and yellow eyes. “Very good. Now, did all of you receive this message?” All nodded. “I'm sorry, I didn't quite hear that.”

“Yes, Ma’am,” they all said at once.

“Ah-ha. And you didn't think to heed that side note?” No reply. “So you all assumed that she knew because you did?” Still no answer. Inkwell looked around the room. “Very well.” As she walked back to her desk, she called, “Miss Drops?” The poor girl looked ready to jump out the window. “Would you want to go to the ladies’ room, by any chance?”

Bon Bon nodded sheepishly. Inkwell waved her hand and that was all Bon Bon needed. She left her spot and bolted for the door, uncomfortable running in her, now, soaked shorts. “And if you made a mess,” Inkwell called, stopping the girl in her tracks, “Do get something to clean it up. We don’t all need to know of your shame.”

As Bon Bon exited, a few low chuckles and coughs could be heard by a few. Inkwell looked up. “For your assignment, you shall do a ten thousand word essay on the invention of the steam turbine and its advancement over time.” The class took notes. “And it is due tomorrow.”

“Crap!” At that the whole class went silent.

“Who said that?” Inkwell demanded with venom in her voice. No one came forward. “Either you give yourself up, or the whole class gets to write twenty thousand words!” The class looked around for the source of the sound. “And a week’s detention for wasting my time.” Students searched frantically for the culprit, but to no avail. Impatient, Inkwell raised her hand. An inkwell mark appeared on the back of her hand and an outline appeared over it. She drew an inscription in the air, which then arranged itself to for the word, “CRAP” in big, bold, grayish mulberry letters. The word traveled through the class, searching for the most recent speaker of the term. The word hovered over the students.

Then it found its mark… And stayed there.

“So, Mister Gale?” Inkwell said. Thunderlane raised his head as the inscription hung over him like a callsign in a video game! “Did you have something better to do today?”

Thunderlane looked down the class to Inkwell. “Actually, I was going to try out for the varsity team. And signups close by the end of the day.”

The sound of all the students facepalming echoed through the class. “Excellent choice of reaction,” Inkwell said to the class. “Everything I said would go to the class now goes to Mister Gale.” A sigh of relief spread through the room. At that moment, Bon Bon returned with a mop and bucket of water.

“Now, would someone care to read what the page says?”

Meanwhile, Team Harmony and Sunset finally took their first breath since the start of class. “I really feel sorry for her,” whispered Sunset.

“Are we sure Princess Celestia knows what her classes are like?” asked Applejack.

“Do we really want an answer?” Rainbow asked in response.

“Fair point.”





During lunch, Sunset and the girls sat at their usual table, talking about the events that transpired.

“So, am I the only one who was just reminded about why we called Miss Inkwell the “Black Beast”?” Sunset asked.

“Darling, why do you need to be reminded?” Rarity asked.

“I knew the woman could be a bitch,” chimed Rainbow, “but that was just wrong.”

“Well, nothing we can do about it,” said Twilight.

“Oh! Oh!” Pinkie was practically jumping in her seat! “What if she's cranky because she's never had a party?!”

“Um, Pinkie? Didn't you throw her a party during every resumption day?”

“Oh yeah… Back to the drawing board.” From nowhere, there was a large board with some weird form of notes and calculations and diagrams next to her, which she studied again.

“What of Mister Neigh?” asked Sunset.

“The math teacher? He's okay,” said Rainbow. “But we've needed a coach like Iron Will for a long time! I mean, sure he yells and he looks intimidating, but half the school's already friends with him! Plus, the guys totally ripped, meaning he actually takes Gym seriously.”

“Agreed,” Twilight. “Mister Crunch wasn't the most... inspiring gym teacher.” Twilight looked at Sunset, who seemed to be staring off into space. “Gaia to Sunset? Anyone home?”

“Huh? Oh, sorry.”

“What were you looking at?” asked Rainbow.

“You girls know anything about Dawn Forge?” Sunset asked.

“Not much,” said Twilight.

“Guy usually keeps to himself,” said Applejack. “But if he's hanging out with anyone, it's usually that Loli Beats girl.”

“So, they're dating?” asked Rainbow.

“Ah don't think it would be any of our business,” said Applejack. “But no. Ah don't think so. They seem more like long-time friends.”

“Okay. Anything else?”

“His magic is strange,” said Rarity, “and the same can be said about his affinity.”

“How so?” asked Sunset.

“Well, for one thing, during any combat sessions, he seems to be able to… I don't know how to describe it. It's better shown than told.”

“Okay.” Sunset knew this was getting her nowhere. “I'm gonna go talk to him.” The girls all shook and Applejack grabbed Sunset's arm. “What?”

“Is that such a good idea?” Fluttershy asked.

“It's not like I'm going to try to psychoanalyze him. I just want to talk.” As she approached the table, she saw Dawn sitting with Loli as they ate. “Hi,” Sunset said, smiling.

“Sunset!” Loli moved over for her. “What's up?”

“Not much. Just thought I'd sit with you today.”

“Your friends won't mind, will they?” Loli asked.

“Nah,” Sunset replied. “They're cool.”

“Cool. This is Dawn, my childhood friend,” she said, gesturing to Dawn, who sat opposite.

“Point: Applejack,” Sunset thought. “Hi. Nice to meet you,” she said, holding out her hand.

“So, you're the one Loli told me about?” Dawn said.

“Um… I guess so. Is that all you know about me?”

“I know pretty much what everyone else knows.”

“Oh… Um…”

“That's not a bad thing, you know?”

“Oh. Okay.”

Loli looked between the two. “I'm, uh, gonna go get another drink,” she said as she got up with her tray.

“She's not coming back,” Dawn said.

“Really? How do you know?”

“She's been trying to get me to make friends for almost two years now.”

“You don't like making friends? Kinda sound contradictory to your personality.”

“Thanks. It's not that I don't like making friends. I just enjoy my own company.” Dawn was interrupted by the bell going off, signifying the end of lunch and the final lessons of the day. “Well, it was nice meeting you, even if it was just two minutes.”

“Yeah. You two,” Sunset said as they got up and went their separate ways.

“So, what did ya get?” Sunset jumped in surprise at Pinkie’s voice.

“GAH! Pinkie! I've told you to stop doing that!”

“We all have,” said Rarity. “It doesn't seem to to catch on with her.”

“Well?” Rainbow asked.

“Nothing,” Sunset said. “There wasn't enough time to ask any real questions. But he did say he just liked his own company. So I guess he doesn't have anything against anyone.”

“Sounds legit,” said Rainbow.

“Great,” said Twilight. “But we should hurry. We have Mister Creed next.”

“What are we rushing for? The guy's too chill for any kind of formalities,” Sunset said.

“Doesn't mean we should be late.”

“Fine.”





As Dawn headed back to his room, he felt an odd chill run down his spine. That kind of feeling you get when you're being followed. But he kept walking. He would not let anything annoy him during the first week of school.

“Like the camellia,” said a voice. “Silent. Unseen. Unheard. To which all other things are oblivious, it exists in silence. Alone.”

Dawn groaned. “Well, I'm fine with that,” he said to the voice.

“Are you really? Because it seems more like you don't have a choice.”

“Urgh! Give it a rest, Atlas,” Dawn groaned, turning to face the boy behind him. “I can live my own life. I don’t need a self-contradictory imp on my shoulder whispering stuff in my ear.”

“Last time I checked, I was about four inches taller than you,” Atlas said with a grin.

Dawn rolled his eyes and walked away. “Look, if you got a problem with me, get in line.”

Atlas grinned. “I have patience,” he said to himself. “You cannot escape the inevitable.”





Meanwhile, in the teacher’s lounge, Princesses Celestia and Luna and Professors Inkwell, Zecora, and Creed all sat around a large round table. On the top of the table was a 3D rendering of the Everfree Forest, all it's entrances, structures, and paths.

“So, what will we do this year?” asked Creed.

“Last year, we warped them to random locations in the forest,” said Inkwell. “Why not stick with that?”

“Because last year, we wound up having almost five students teleport right in front of some very dangerous creatures,” Celestia pointed out.

“Then why not scout the area and fix the locations away from the creatures?” asked Creed.

“Because we've had situations where students would somehow get a hold of that information and use it to their advantage,” said Inkwell. “Like using it to find the quickest route to the objective.”

“Point taken.” Creed hummed in thought. “What if… We put them to sleep, then drop them off in random locations?” All eyes turned to Creed. “What? No one else is coming up with anything.”

“I know that forest like the back of my hand,” said Zecora, “there will always be danger, no matter where you stand.”

“Zecora speaks the truth,” said Luna. “The Nyctores are bolder than before, even coming out during in the day. And the creatures in the forest will not make achieving their tasks any easier.”

“That's true,” said Celestia, “but this test not only trains them and prepare them for teamwork, it also helps reducing the number of Nyctores in the forest, if that is even possible.”

“They are creatures of darkness,” explained Luna. “Their existence is as constant as the coming of night.”

“True. But-” Celestia was cut off by the sound of her cellphone ringing.

‘Shake your tail ‘cause were here to have a party tonight,
Shake your tail, shake your tail~!’

“I really should remember to turn this thing off during meetings.” She pulled out her phone and answered, completely oblivious to the staring eyes. “Talk to me… Uh-huh… Uh-huh… Yeah… What do you mean? Ah. I see.” Celestia cut the call and turned to face her colleagues. “Well, there are no shortage of surprises.”

“What is it?” Inkwell asked.

“Council wants to know about our plans for the trials. We have a one week deadline.”

“I think that’s plenty of time,” said Creed. “But we’d better get to work.”

“They also said they want to see something less combat oriented.”

“So, I take it having them slay a few Nyctores or fight through a dungeon to retrieve an artifact are out of the question?” Luna asked.

“Well, we can work with those ideas, but they want test that will test them a bit more… mentally, maybe also morally.”

“That shouldn’t be too hard. Wasn’t there a test you had in some files a while back that you never used?”

“Ever since the Nyctores started getting more agressive, more combat-oriented trials and missions have taken priority. But perhaps it’s time to dust off those folders.”