//------------------------------// // Part 1: Chapter: 8 // Story: Arcane Academy: Celestia's New Student // by TheDimensionRift //------------------------------// “Unfortunately that’s all the announcements that I have for today, good luck again to those who are participating in the trials, and all of you have a wonderful day!” Principal Solar Wind took her hoof off of the intercom button after making her announcement. She let out a sigh before speaking to herself out loud. “five….four.…three….two-” Before she finished her countdown, the principal’s office was bursting with a vivid yellow aura as a golden sphere appeared in a flash of powerful magic. When the light diminished the principal smiled at an angry frowning unicorn, his single golden eye locking with hers. “Principal Solar Wind, I need to speak with you,” Midnight said as approached the alicorn’s desk. “1st Class Academy Student Midnight Star,” Solar Wind chuckled as she came around her desk to greet the unicorn with a hug. “I half expected you to show up after that announcement, so, what does my 1st Class son wish to speak about?” “Cut the act mother, you know exactly why I’m here,” the unicorn snapped as he glared at the principal who only continued to smile at him. “I want to know how that weirdo with the dolls became a 1st Class Student,” “Why, the same way you did sweetie,” Solar Wind trotted to a file cabinet and pulled out a rather thick manila folder and placed it on her desk, spilling out its contents before Midnight’s gaze. “She completed a total of 7 S rank assignments in under an hour, furthermore, she’s schedule to complete 12 more by the end of tomorrow’s date. She’s managed to do all this in the course of three days since she’s been her, you however, did the same thing in your first three months,” “Are you implying that I, Midnight Star, have been outshined by a 4th Class reject!?” Midnight’s face was now a combination of frustration and astonishment. “Is that what your saying? That there’s a pony at this school better than me?” “Of course not Midi,” the principal approached Midnight and attempted to place a wing around him. “You know there’s no pony at this school better than-” “Hang on!” Midnight exclaimed as he rushed out from under his mother’s wing toward her desk, ignoring her words. “These side notes on all of her assignments say the same thing. Apparently Mary returned from all of her assignments without a single scratch, but, that’s impossible! Even I have to visit the medical wing after several assignments, especially if their S ranks,” Midnight stared at the notes he read as he attempted to contemplate what was going on. ‘There’s no way! There’s just no way in Equeastria that she’s that skilled! Even I’m not capable of returning from my assignments without at least suffering from a sprain! How!? How can she be so much better than I am!?’ The unicorn slammed his hoof on the desk in a fit of outrage. ‘First the earth pony and now her!? No! No! No!’ “I will not stand for this,” Midnight growled as he stormed out of the room. “Midi, where are you going?” “Off to my dorm to get some rest, and then tomorrow,” the unicorn glanced back at his mother. “I’ll prove that I’m the one and only 1st Class Student in Arcane Academy,” Midnight disappeared in a similar fashion as to how he showed with his golden sphere surrounding him before he vanished. “Sweet Celestia he’s off again isn’t he?” the principal laughed to herself after the unicorn teleported away. ‘I know exactly what your about to do my son, be aware that just like you, Mary has earned her title of 1st Class; meaning, she is a force to be reckoned with.’ “I win!” “No way! Even with you getting a head start I still beat you!” “Hehe, in your dreams Chip,” “As if YOU would be in my dreams Silver,” the mint green unicorn laughed as he tried to catch his breath. “Why don’t we ask Cherry and Astral,” Silverlight looked up to see his two friends rounding the corner of the hallway approaching them. “What are you two doing?” Cherry laughed as she and Astral stopped in front of the room door with the rest of their friends. “Just beatin Silver’s flank in a race,” Chip laughed as he gave his friend a nudge. “Why don’t you catch yourself a goodnight’s rest and we’ll pick up where we left off tomorrow, okay buddy?” “Aye, aye, coach,” Silverlight replied as he rolled his eyes and raised his hoof in a salute. “Only next time, maybe you’ll win,” “Yeah! Whatever!” Chip yelled back to his friend as he bolted down the hall with Cherry giggling and following closely behind. “Your mine tomorrow earth pony!” Silverlight watched as the two unicorns rounded the corner of the hallway and disappeared out of sight, as they’ve done before. Silver entered the room and collapsed on his bed with a sigh of exhaustion, Astral followed behind him and shut their door. “With all those scratches and bruises you’ve got, I figured you’d head to the medical wing right after training,” Astral said as she approached the pony who laid on his bed and had his face buried in his pillow. “Well I was on my way but-” “Hold still,” Astral interrupted as her horn began to glow and an aura of blue magic surrounded the earth pony. In a matter of seconds, his wounds and bruises were healed and he felt a better as he picked his head up and stared at Astral in confusion. “I’ve been practicing some healing and medical spells on my free time, you never know when you might need them,” she giggled. “Anyways, continue,” “Well I was on my way, but then I heard principal Solar Wind’s announcement about Mary and,” Silverlight wrapped himself in his cover as he began to shudder. “Oooh, just talking about her gives me a weird vibe. Hey, is it cold in here to you?” “Hardly, are you running a fever or something?” Astral asked as she placed a hoof on Silver’s forehead. “No fever, and now that I think about it, you’ve been acting strange since your meeting with Mary. She can't be that weird.” “Weird!?” Silverlight jumped out of his covers as he stood on his bad looking back at his best friend. “Astral, that pony is a huge freak! She invited me to her dorm room and-” “She did what!?” Astral interrupted as she jumped on her bed opposite of Silverlight’s and began to stare him down. “She invited you to her dorm room!?” “Yeah, but that’s not the freaky part, the freaky part was when we got in her room there were all these-” “And you went!? Willingly!?” “Yeah, I mean, she had this look in here eye, like she really wanted somepony to be with her,” “And you made eye contact,” Astral mumbled as she appeared to hang her head low. “Hey, Astral, you alright?” the earth pony questioned as he watched his friend’s face turn a shade of red from anger. “You sure your not the sick one?” “What!? I’m not!? But you!?,” Astral’s face turned another shade of red before she threw her blanket over her and turned her back to Silver. “Whatever, I’m going to bed. I’ve got some training to focus on tomorrow and so do you, so I advise you to do the same,” “Um….okaaay?” Silverlight turned out the candle which provided light as he threw his own blanket over himself and closed his eyes. “Man, girls are weird,” “Excuse me sir, but the library is currently closed for the night, I’m afraid you’ll have to come back first thing in the morning if you want to check out any books,” the lavender unicorn librarian said as she was in the process of shelving some books. “I’m afraid it can’t wait, this is an urgent matter,” Midnight said as he placed his student ID card on the checkout desk. “I need access to the arcane archival records of dark magic and historical practices, I’m a 1st Class Academy Student,” “Oh, I’m sorry dearie,” the unicorn said as she put on her glasses. “I’m afraid it doesn’t matter what rank you are, the archival records of the dark magic aren’t even allowed to be checked out by teachers. Only the principal and a very small select few may do so,” “Perhaps you’d like to take another look at my card,” Midnight chuckled triumphantly. When he said this, the librarian readjusted her glasses and glanced at the back of Midnight’s ID which exposed a special deal which was only used by principal Solar Wind. Seeing this, the lavender unicorn let out a gasp of surprise. “Oh, my dearest apologies sir, I had no idea you were the son of the principal. I’ll go get the records you requested,” after saying this, the librarian retreated to a large set of book shelves which were located behind the checkout desk. ’If I’m going to be going up against that freak tomorrow, then I’m going to need everything I got. If that means reading up on a forbidden spell or two,’ a sadistic smile formed on Midnight’s face as he thought this. ’Then so be it,’ The earth pony awoke with a yawn as he raised himself up and hit his head hard on an object. He let out a groan of pain as he crawled out from under his bed and shook himself awake. “Twice that’s happened,” Silverlight said aloud as he rubbed his face gently. “Man, if only I can recognize when it happens and actually control it,” Silverlight’s eyes lingered over to Astral’s bed as he noticed that the unicorn was missing. He caught a glimpse of something resting on her nightstand and went over to investigate. He found a letter written in his friend’s elegant yet boyish hoof writing which gave him a run down of where she disappeared to. “Dear Silverlight, I got a jump start this morning and decided to head to the library to research some more healing and medical spells. I’ll be there for a few hours if you wanna come join me for a little best friend study session. See ya around. Love, Astral,” Silverlight shook his head once more as he was now fully awake. “I guess I can join Astral for a few hours before I get my physical training done,” Silver began as he walked to the door. His out loud thoughts were interrupted by the loud growling of his stomach which seemed to echo in the room. “Hehe, maybe bi should grab a bite to eat before I begin studying. I should head to the cafeteria before they run out of muffins!” Silverlight now rushed to the dorm room door as the thought of his favorite food being taken from him crossed his mind. He swung open his door only to be faced with the love of his life. His face was a mixture of confusion and admiration. “Blu-Blueberry muffins?” Silverlight shook his head in disbelief at the bountiful basket of muffins that sat before him. It wasn’t until the levitating basket lowered that a familiar face was exposed from behind it. “Good morning Silverlight,” Mary as one of her puppets sat on top of her head like a hat. “I thought maybe you’d be hungry, so me and Sir Trottsalot decided to bring you this basket of muffins,” the unicorn said as she gave him a half-hearted smile. “Really? For me!?” Silverlight took a muffin out of the basket and tossed it in the air. He caught it in his mouth as he began to chomp down on the blueberry and sugar coated pastry. “Phanks a bunch Mary, I’m forry I called you a freak,” he said through muffled bites of muffin. “What was that?” Mary asked as she stared puzzling at the pony. “Oh, uh, nothing,” Silverlight laughed as he finished his last muffin. “So, you just stopped by to drop off the basket or was there something you wanted?” “Actually,” the unicorn began as she shifted gently in her position, almost nervously. “I was wondering if you’d like to join me for a picnic on the beach?” “Wha!?” Silverlight exclaimed as he listened to the words of the unicorn. It was then that he noticed Mary had a second basket behind her, this one filled with several assorted blankets; more muffins; several jars of apple cider; and a two containers which had wheat sandwiches inside. “As tempting as that basket you have there looks, I’m afraid I already made arrangements to study with Astral in the library,” “Astral? She’s the unicorn I first saw you sitting with you, right? Is she your special somepony?” Mary asked as she raised in eyebrow at the earth pony. “Whaaaa!? No, no, no, she may be my roommate and all, but Astral’s my best friend,” Silver said nervously with a laugh, his face had a slight shade of red as he spoke. He cleared his throat before he continued. “Anyways, I may care about Astral but she’s more of a sister to me than a special somepony,” Silverlight glanced at the clock in his room as he took noticed of the time. “Whoa! It’s getting late and I’m burning precious training time!” The white haired pony quickly shut the door behind him and took off towards the library. “See ya around Mary, oh, and you too Sir Trottsalot! Thanks again for the muffins!” Mary watched as the happy pony dashed off on the opposite direction of her. “Astral? Perhaps we should keep an eye on her too, huh Sir Trottsalot?” She asked as her eyes shifted up toward the puppet which rested on her head. She then began to levitate her picnic basket and made her way down the hall. “Well, we better not let this food go to waste. Should we ask mother and father if they want to come? It’s been awhile since we’ve all gone out together as a family,” “Several origins of dark magic and it’s practices date back to the ruling period of King Sombra during his tyrannical rule of the Crystal Empire. King Sombra was a unicorn who’s heart was as black as night filled with evil and hatred. It was said that this was the source of his power and-” “Midnight Allister Star!” The dark haired unicorn let out a sigh as he realized he was going to be in a bit of trouble. “What in Equeastria do you think your doing!?” principal Solar Wind questioned with a loud voice to Midnight who sat at a desk reading the large tome in front of him. “Studying, isn’t that what students are supposed to do?” he replied with a cocky grin. “I’m simply researching a subject which has piqued my interest, that’s all,” “Indeed students are to study subjects which pique their interests,” the alicorn began as she lifted the back away from her son. “But I won’t allow a son of mine to study something as evil as dark magic,” “I was just conducting a small history lesson on it’s practices and origin-” “I don’t care what kind of lesson it was!” Solar Wind snapped as she interrupted the unicorn. She let out a sigh as she allowed her anger to simmer down, her tone of voice shifted from loud and powerful, to calming and comforting. “Just the thought of my son being interested in something like dark magic worries me,” the alicorn then approached Midnight who was standing beside the desk he once sat in and wrapped herself around him as she embraced him with a warming hug. “You’ve read for yourself what King Sombra and his magic was like, I don’t want you to be a replication of that whatsoever. That’s why I’m always encouraging you to make some friends, I don’t want you to walk a dark path like he once did,” Midnight Star stood frozen in his mother’s embrace as he let the wisdom of his mother sink into his mind, then, his stoic look was replaced by a determined smile. “Don’t worry so much mother, those records don’t nearly contain enough information for me to become so indulged in dark magic,” he laughed. “And besides, as long as I have you supporting me than there’s no way I’ll ever end up like King Sombra, right?” “Yes, yes, you may have my support now, but I won’t always be around for you Midnight,” the two locked eyes as the principal continued. “Just remember everything I taught you, and Midnight, do try to make some friends. If you really wish to get stronger, then allow your friends to give you strength,” Midnight looked past his mother and noticed the time on the clock on the wall. He than realized he had an extra ’special’ assignment he had to get done. “I’d love to stand here and get lectured by you mom, but I got an assignment to do before the day is up,” Midnight teased as he dashed toward the exit. “See you later mother, I’m off to make my first friend,” “She did what now?” Astral asked her friend with a dumbfounded expression. “Yeah, she invited me to a picnic on the beach, it seemed rather nice of her,” Silverlight laughed as he put down the book he was reading. “Yeah, she’s a real element of generosity,” Astral said sarcastically as she rolled her eyes. Her annoyed demeanor was soon replaced by a gleeful grin as she stared back at her friend. “But it doesn’t matter because you chose to be with your best friend instead; but still, I’m surprised at how nice she’s being to you. Don’t you think maybe it’s kinda weird?” “If her being weird comes with more muffins then she can be as weird as she wants,” the pony laughed as he grabbed a muffin from his saddle bag he had saved. “Maybe I’ll go see how she’s doing later on, you know, just to check up on her,” Silverlight looked over at his friend and noticed her expression was quite grim. “You know, there was a time when you and I were alone, so we of all ponies know what it’s like not to have any friends,” Silver broke off a piece of his muffin and offered it to Astral who only stared at it before returning her gaze back to him. “You and me, we got friends; Midnight; Moongazer; Chip; and Cherry. But Mary doesn’t have anypony, know what I mean?” The earth pony's question came out as more of a laugh then anything else. Astral took the offered muffin piece and at it with a smile. “Yeah, I know,” Astral laughed as she swallowed her bite of muffin. “But I’m coming with you this time,” Mary sat on a cobalt blue blanket with her puppet across from her. There were two cups of cider and two plates of wheat sandwiches in front of both Mary and her puppet who were facing the ocean. She watched the tide come in and out as it dragged away bits of sand and small seashells with it. Mary’s blank expression watched as the sun was beginning to set against the orange sky. “Would you like some more cider Sir Trottsalot?” Mary asked as she began pouring the liquid in the cup. “Mind if I have a cup?” Mary turned her head to see a dark haired grey unicorn making his way slowly across the beach in her direction. Though he carried a glare on his face, Mary didn’t detect any malice in his presence. “Your 1st Class Academy Student Midnight Star, right?” Mary asked as she sipped on her cider. “You’re a 1st Class Student as well now, so you can just call me Midnight,” he replied as he stood before the sitting beige unicorn. “So did you really want some cider or-?” “No, not really,” Midnight interrupted as he cut off Mary in midsentence. “I came to relinquish you of your position in the school hierarchy,” “Relinquish…..my position?” Mary asked as she cocked her head to the side, confused at Midnight’s words. “You don’t deserve the rank of 1st Class!” Midnight now snapped on the expressionless unicorn. “I don’t know why mother is so interested in rejects like you and Silverlight, but I’m the only true 1st Class Student at this academy and I’d prefer to keep it that way,” Mary sat up from her blanket and teleported all the contents of her picnic back into her basket. She picked up her puppet and placed it on her head, wearing it as she had done before. She than let out a sigh and turned to face Midnight who was standing a good distance away from her now in a battle ready stance. Without any hesitation or warning, Midnight levitated a seashell and tossed it toward the unicorn. He then shot beam of magic which quickly caused the shell to increase in size at an alarming rate as it landed on the spot the unicorn once stood. The giant shell’s crash caused sand and dust to fly in the air, altering his vision as he attempted to see through the cloud of dust. ‘I gotta stay on my guard, this girl isn’t like Silverlight. She’s no earth pony, she’ll actually use magic, and if she’s as good as me, then I gotta be extremely cautious,’ Midnight thought to himself as he stared at the dust cloud with his horn glowing. “What the?” Midnight watched as the giant shell began cracking slowly, within seconds, the giant shell shattered like glass as the small pieces scattered all around the beach. The dust cloud was beginning to settle and Midnight could now make out the silhouette of a pony, however, when he finally saw the blank expression of the pony, it was not one he recognized. “You ruined our picnic,” Mary said as she stood behind a brown earth pony who also wore a blank expression. “And even though he may not look it, Sir Trottsalot is very, very, mad,” “What-What is that thing?” Midnight stammered as he stared at the finely carved wooden pony in front of Mary. Aside from several distinct markings on its body and the wooden joints, as well as it’s glowing eyes, Midnight would have mistaken the puppet for an actual earth pony at first glance. ‘That can’t be her puppet, it was only the size of a apple before. What the hay is going on?’ “To answer your conflicting thoughts, yes, this is indeed my puppet. By using a special spell known only by puppet masters, I can produce magic into a puppet and control it as well as increase its size and even alter its appearance,” Mary walked forward and stood beside her puppet who now stood slightly taller then her. “Don’t be fooled by his appearance, he may just seem like a normal puppet now, but I’ve specially fitted this puppet for combat and he can make things very difficult for you,” “Woods still wood no matter what size, I’ll just burn that thing!” Midnight yelled as he shot a ball of flames at the puppet. The spell connected to the puppet's wooden surface, however, the fire disappeared on impact and didn't even appear to singe the wooden earth pony; not even a simple burn mark was detected. “Sorry, but that’s not going to work,” Mary began as she placed a hoof on her puppet and gently stroked it’s wooden mane. “My puppets aren’t made from normal wood; their made from Cumaru, a very unique and rare wood which is known for its incredible durability. This wood can easily withstand rot and decay; and is as dense as steel and concrete making it almost impossible to shatter. Oh, and I'm sure you've already picked up on the wood's durability against fire as well. So you see, nothing you can do will penetrate, break, or even burn Sir Trottsalot,” as her hair fell in front of her face, Mary brushed it aside and placed her picnic basket on her back. “I still have six assignments due before the end of the day, so I’ll let you play with Sir Trottsalot while I’m gone,” The puppet looked down at the unicorn as if with a concerned look, Mary nuzzled next to it and Midnight witnessed something he had never seen the unicorn do before, she actually smiled. “Don’t worry about me big guy, mama and papa will protect me, you know they always do,” “If you think I’ll let you just walk away then your crazy!” Midnight roared as he charged the unicorn and her puppet. The puppet opened its mouth to expose a round hidden compartment, in quick burst, several sharp pieces of wood came shooting out of the puppets mouth at great velocity. Midnight teleported himself out of harm’s way and behind a large rock formation to reassess the situation. ‘I guess she wasn’t bluffing about that thing being fitted for combat. I need to be careful, that puppet of hers makes her one really dangerous character. From what I lnow so far, she excels at long range combat, controlling and manuvering that puppet of hers from a distance. I see, so that's why she always comes back from her missions without a scratch, unlike me, she never has to actually go into battle. She just sends that puppet to fight for her, in fact, I would't put it past her if that puppet spell is the only one she knows.’ Midnight’s eyes widened as an idea popped in his head. ‘That’s it!’ Midnight prepared to jump out from behind the rock formation as he heard the strange sound of clicking wood approaching his hiding spot. After jumping backwards to safety, Midnight watched as in almost an instant, the formation began to crumble as the puppet tackled it and reduced the large rock to a pile of ruble. ‘For a dense piece of timber that thing sure is fast, and it seems like Sir Trottsalot packs quite the punch!’ Midnight glanced over at Mary who’s horn was glowing brightly, he then returned his gaze to Sir Trottsalot who was now approaching him once more at incredible speed. Midnight teleported and transported himself behind the puppet as he fired another ball of flames. However, his target wasn't the puppet, but the water which was behind it. Due to the intensity of the fire, the ocean water evaporated in seconds and quickly filled the battlefield with a thick, dense layer of mist. ‘He used the intense heat from his fire spell against the water of the ocean to create mist for him to hide in. Guess there's a reason why he holds himself above everypony else.' Mary withdrew her puppet back to her location as she tried to make out anything which may be hidden in the mist. “Come out, come out, wherever you are Mr. 1st Class,” Mary teased as she attempted to lure out Midnight. ‘Figured he wouldn’t be swept up by his pride in the heat of battle. Guess we’ll just have to wait this out.’ “Its pretty late in the afternoon, are you sure she’s still at the beach?” Astral asked as her and Silverlight exited the front of the academy main entrance. “She should be, I’d hate to get there only for her to be-” Silver was interrupted as an explosion rang throughout the land. The two ponies could feel the ground shake under their hooves and they could see a large sand cloud forming in the distance. “What in the name of Celestia!?” “I’m not sure, but it looked like it came from the beach,” Astral replied as the two ponies began galloping to the cloud at full speed. “The beach? Then that means….” The earth pony donned a worried expression as he and Astral continued galloping. 'I got a bad feeling about this,’ Mary watched carefully as the mist Midnight had created began to grow thin, she could now clearly see the unicorn standing several meters away from her. “Finally you reveal yourself, now, let’s wrap this up. If this goes on any longer then I won’t be able to complete my other assignments,” Mary said as her horn began to hum with magic which caused the empty sockets of her puppet’s eyes to glow once more. Sir Trottsalot began galloping in Midnight’s direction, preparing to hit the dark haired unicorn with a full power tackle. Midnight stood still as the puppet quickly approached him, all the while, he wore a satisfied smirk on his face, as though he had already won the battle. At the last second before impact, Midnight side stepped the puppet as it was sent skidding forward across the beach surface. He stared at Mary with a cocky grin as she stared back with an astonished expression. “Well, well, so you actually DO have emotions,” Midnight teased in a fit of laughter. “Tell me, does a freak such as yourself experience fear?” “What’s going on? Why won’t Sir Trottsalot responded to my control?” Mary now glared angrily at Midnight who continued to smile back smugly. “My puppets can’t be destroyed so easily,” “Hmph, you said it yourself, there’s no way for me to destroy or burn your puppet due to it’s dense properties; however, my target wasn’t the outside of your puppet, my target was it’s core,” as he said this, Mary noticed hat there was a sudden chill in the air as she began to shiver. “You assumed the mist I created earlier was to hide in, but that wasn’t the case at all. Even if only the slightest amount, there are still traces of water found within mist, the moisture of the mist seeped into your puppet’s moving joints and sockets,” Mary listened intently to the words of Midnight as she stared on with a shocked expression, she could feel the air around her growing colder; it wasn’t until then that Mary realized what Midnight had done. “Judging from your expression I'll assume you already know what I'm getting at. You see, though I can only control fire and ice right now, the truth is, I can manipulate several elements aside from those two. I was easily able to freeze the moisture which had gotten into your puppet’s joints to stop it’s movement, and now your defenseless,” Midnight let out a laugh as he said this and began charging toward Mary who still was frozen in a state of shock. “A unicorn with a gift like mine only comes around once a generation, and now that this battle is practically won, I’m gonna turn you into a popsicle! My aim isn’t always true, but if I stay close to you then I’m guaranteed a hit!” When he was close enough, Midnight fired a powerful beam of ice which was guaranteed to win him his match, that is, if his attack wasn’t intercepted by another unicorn who appeared alongside a pegasus in a flash of white light. “What in the name of Celestia!?” Standing between Midnight and Mary were two ponies, a beige black haired unicorn; and a light grey white haired pegasus. “Now you’ve done it,” Mary said as she laughed at Midnight. “Mama and papa don’t like it when you threaten their little Mary,” “Wait! You mean to tell me,” Midnight stammered as he tried to force out his question. “Those two are puppets!?” Unlike the other puppet that Midnight had seen before, these two were even more lifelike, even their eye sockets had what appeared to be moveable wooden eyes which glared at him. “You should feel honored,” Mary began as the two ponies stepped slowly forward. “Mama and papa are part of my special private collection and I only bring them out for emergencies when things are getting really tough,” Mary said as she giggled to herself. “You’re the toughest pony I’ve ever faced before Midnight Star, but this puppet show is over,” The wooden unicorn rushed Midnight and turned it’s body around as it bucked him with incredible force that sent him spiraling out of control into the air. The blow dazed Midnight and it took him a few moments before he could see clearly. When he did however, he realized that the pegasus puppet was immediately above him. In mid air, the puppet delivered a destructive hoof punch to Midnight’s mid section which sent him crashing toward the sand. ‘A fall from this height could do some serious damage to me! Maybe, if I try to stick the landing…’ Midnight attempted to outstretch a hind hoof to catch himself, but instead of landing, Midnight felt a surge of pain ring throughout his entire body. He let out a scream of agony as he landed hard on the beach sand. 'I-I can’t feel my back leg!' “You’ve caused me to exhaust myself,” Mary said as she approached Midnight with her usual blank stare. Her puppets were no longer life size but now small once again as she placed them in her basket on her back. “Stay away from me!” Midnight yelled as he attempted to stand again. He let out another painful scream as he collapsed again after applying pressure to his leg. “I wouldn’t if I were you. You’ve seriously sprained your hoof, if you don’t want to injure yourself any further then I suggest you stay down,” Mary stopped in front of Midnight and stood over him as he huffed and puffed like a wild animal. “Midnight Star, I’m no longer interested in Silverlight; I like you better,” Mary was knocked back as a large pillar of black ice shot out of the ground near where Midnight laid. He was growling with anger and his eyes appeared to have a shade of green in them. Midnight closed his eyes and let out a sigh as he lost consciousness, when he did, the pillar began to recede quickly back into the sand until it was gone completely. “Yeah, I’ll definitely keep my eye on you,” Mary said as she stood back up and turned to leave the beach. When she began to leave, she could see a pair of ponies galloping in her direction at full speed. It didn’t take long before she had an exhausted Silverlight and Astral standing before her. “Mary are you alri-” “Your friend needs immediate medical attention,” Mary interrupted as she brushed past Silver and Astral and continued her walk. “Make sure he doesn’t put anymore pressure on his back left leg,” “Friend?” Silver questioned as he looked past Mary to see Midnight collapsed in the sand. “Midnight!” he cried out as he and Astral rushed over to the unicorn’s aide. “Okay Astral you’ve studied healing stuff, is he gonna be alright?” “He’s fine, but his leg is hurt pretty bad. We’d better get him to the medical wing, quick,” Astral replied as her and Silver gently lifted the unconscious unicorn on their backs and carefully carried him. ‘I can’t believe Midnight’s been beat so badly. Mary couldn’t have done this, could she?’ “I can tell what your thinkin,” Silver began as the two ponies now exited the beach. “Just remember, Mary is a 1st Class Student now so it makes sense that she’d be a match for Midnight,” Silverlight let out a sigh as he and Mary made their way up a pair of stairs which led to the front of the Academy entrance. “I just hope he wakes up soon,”