Marcus was lying in bed as he stared up at the ceiling. Barely any time had passed when everyone returned home after their first lessons and he was steadily growing bored. The four mares were cuddled around his body as they slept peacefully and he wished that he could join them. Getting tired of having to stay in the bed, his legs slowly starting to feel like pins and needles from the weight of the four mares, he slowly maneuvered out of bed. He believed that he was able to break free from their grasp, but his movements didn’t go unnoticed by Rainbow.

“Is everything alright, Marcus?” Rainbow asked as she rubbed her eyes a little so she could focus.

“Everything is well. I’m just headed for the kitchen to get a glass of water. Leave a spot for me in the bed,” Marcus said.

Rainbow gave a small nod as she drifted back to sleep. Sighing softly, he moved out of the room and headed for the kitchen. He was about to enter the kitchen when he noticed Nightmare standing next to a window and looking out of it. He wanted to question what she was doing, but she seemed focused at whatever she was looking at. He could also see that she didn’t notice that he was up and decided to move on. He took one step into the kitchen before Nightmare spoke up, sending a small chill up his spine.

“Shouldn’t you be asleep?” Nightmare asked, never turning around.

“Shouldn’t you?” Marcus asked back.

“I’m Queen of the Night. I don’t need to sleep during my domains presence,” Nightmare said with a slightly irritated tone.

“Well I couldn’t sleep, so I’m just going to get a glass of water and head back,” Marcus said.

“Is that the only reason why you aren’t asleep?” Nightmare asked as she turned around to face him.

“What are you trying to imply?” Marcus asked as he eyed the dark alicorn.

“I may have been in your dreams only once and Luna has probably only done so a few times, but I can see the fear that controls you,” Nightmare said.

“First off, don’t ever go inside my dreams even if it was the one time. Secondly, you will never say anything about what you saw to anyone. Understand?” Marcus said as he neared the alicorn.

“Or what?” Nightmare taunted.

“I will beat your ass into the ground like I should have,” Marcus threatened.

“And risk breaking a Pinkie Promise? I thought you were supposed to take care us?” Nightmare said with a slight smirk.

“When you start crossing over into dangerous territory then I say ‘fuck it.’ I can make as many promises that I want, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t broken any,” Marcus said.

“So this wouldn’t be the first promise you broke?” Nightmare asked curiously.

“No and I learned to live with the consequences,” Marcus answered.

“Do your friends know?” Nightmare pressed.

“They only know of a few,” Marcus said as he turned around.

He was getting tired of talking to the alicorn about his past and tried to figure out what to talk about instead. He looked around the room and he didn’t see Chrysalis anywhere. He quickly walked into the kitchen and grabbed a glass of water before joining the alicorn in the living room.

“So where is Chrysalis?” Marcus asked as he tried to find the changeling.

“She’s sleeping on the couch,” Nightmare stated as she pointed at the couch.

Marcus squinted his eyes as he tried to spot the changeling and he could barely make out the rise and fall of her body as she slept peacefully. He turned back to the mare and stared at her with a confused expression.

“Any reason why she isn’t sleeping in a bed?” Marcus asked.

“We didn’t want to overstep our boundaries,” Nightmare said.

Every fiber in his being told him to call the alicorn out, but he could see that was her plan. She was enjoying herself as she made him angry and thoroughly enjoyed it when she could push him to his limits. Deciding to not let her have her way, he took a calming breath before speaking to her again.

“Pick her up and follow me. You can use Lyra’s room since she pretty much moved everything she had into my room. No idea why, but I’m not going to argue since this is her house,” Marcus said as he walked down the hall.

“Aren’t you and the unicorn along with the pegasi mates?” Nightmare asked with a raised brow.

“Yeah?” Marcus answered, but more as a question.

“You don’t know your feelings towards them or how they feel about you?” Nightmare asked as she made sure to not disturb the changeling.

“It’s really complicated,” Marcus answered.

“You could have Chrysalis check for you or Cadance since they both react to love.

“Hell no. Chrysalis I can understand since she needs it to survive, but Cadance is completely out of the question. I don’t need ponies prying into my personal territory and Chrysalis can eat all the love as she wants as long as she doesn’t say anything about my feelings,” Marcus said.

“Very well. I thought I would just offer,” Nightmare said as she walked into a room that the human stopped in front of.

“I’m glad that you did because now we avoided a whole mess of problems. I’m also sorry for the lack of décor, but if you both behave yourselves, I might take you out to get some stuff to liven up the room,” Marcus said.

“No promises, but we’ll see what happens,” Nightmare as she smirked at the human and placed the changeling in the bed.

“Listen I have a question,” Marcus started.

“I might have an answer,” Nightmare teased, enjoying the annoyed look on the human.

“This is out of curiosity, but can I touch your mane?” Marcus asked, unable to see the small blush that formed on Nightmare’s muzzle.

“Why do you want to touch it?” Nightmare asked as she tried to keep her composre.

“You and the princesses have the same ethereal look to it and it moves like there is wind around even though there isn’t. I just want to know if it’s physically real or if something will just pass through it,” Marcus explained.

“If it will help to sate your curiosity and to leave me be the rest of the night, then you may touch it?” Nightmare said.

The human stared at the alicorn for a few seconds before slowly walking towards her. The mare took a seat on the edge of the bed as she pulled her mane to the front. He could see her hands grasp her mane like it was real hair, but he could only think it was because she was an alicorn. He slowly reached out with his hand and gently stroked across her night sky mane. He opened one eye to see what had happened with his hand and he was generally surprised. He wasn’t sure what was going to happen, but he found it interesting with what happened.

His hand could feel the mane move, but he could feel the individual hairs that made it up. He held different strands of her mane in each finger as he ran the entire length. Her mane was very cool to the touch as it felt like the cool night breeze outside. After running has hand through her mane a few more times, he pulled back as he tried to find the words to describe how he felt.

“That was pretty cool. How does your mane have hairs in it when it just looks like the night sky?” Marcus asked.

“With the exception of Cadance and maybe others if they come into existence, out manes and tails do this because of our magic,” Nightmare explained.

“But Cadance is an alicorn. How does it relate to your magic?” Marcus pressed.

“Simply put, it’s because Celestia, Luna, and I have lived thousands of years. We have stored our magic during these years and this is a result. Nothing really bad happens and there are no ill side effects, this just happens,” Nightmare answered.

“So if Cadance were to do the same with her magic, she could get an ethereal look?” Marcus asked interested.

“Yes, but as I said, we’ve had many years to store up our magic. Personally I store my magic, but it isn’t required,” Nightmare said.

“Learn something new every day I guess,” Marcus said with a slight chuckle.

“Is there anything else that you would like to know?” Nightmare asked.

“I think I’m good for now. So have a wonderful night and like I said, if you stay on your best behavior we can get more stuff for you room,” Marcus said as he closed the door.

He could hear the dark alicorn chuckle to herself as he headed back for his room. He was about to walk in when he felt his phone vibrate. He looked down to see he received a text from Blake. He quickly unlocked his phone because receiving a text from Blake was very rare. He would only send a text if there was some kind of emergency. He skimmed through most of the text and saw that he wanted to meet him at the fountains. Looking at the clock, he noticed he still had some time before the sun would rise and the princesses notice their missing human lover.

He left the house without a shirt because he wanted to see what his friend had to say. He was glad most of the town was asleep around this time or he would have received many odd looks about a shirtless human running around the town. He arrived at the park and jogged over to the fountain when he saw his friend sitting on the edge.

“I see you got my text,” Blake said.

“Yeah. So what’s going on because you hardly ever text unless it’s important,” Marcus said as he took a seat next to him.

“You remember the assassin?” Blake asked.

“What happened?” Marcus asked, not wanting to beat around the bush.

“He escaped during the changeling attack. I looked all over for him, but I couldn’t find a single trace. I assumed he either returned back to where he came from or to get others to help fight against us. Tonight I found out what happened to him,” Blake explained.

Marcus was ready to ask what he meant when his friend handed him a brown box. The box was simple and had an easily removable lid. The box itself wasn’t entirely large, but expansive enough to probably fit a head. Making that one connection sent his heart rate up as he quickly threw away the lid. He looked inside only to turn away quickly as he tried to keep vomit from escaping from the horrendous stench. He was able to get his breathing under control and went back to look inside the box.

Inside the box was a head with missing eyes, ears, and horn. He didn’t need a scientist to know he was staring at the severed head of Wrath. The blood was still fresh as it dripped from the missing ears and empty eye sockets. He covered the box with the lid and turned back to his friend.

“Was there anything else?” Marcus asked as he set the box aside.

“There was this note,” Blake said as he handed him the piece of paper.

We don’t allow failures like his to go unpunished. His contract still stands and more will be coming for you when you least expect it.

Marcus looked over the paper a few more times to see if he could find any signature or any more to the note. There was nothing, but the short statement as he sighed heavily and gave the note back to his friend. He pinched the bridge of his nose as he let everything sink in. He felt something on his shoulder and looked up to see his friend looking at him with concern.

“So what do we do now?” Blake asked.

“There isn’t much to go on and they might be trying to wait us out. I have no idea when we’ll be attacked, but that was already a given. For now we just keep our eyes open for anything suspicious and tell the others without worrying our mares,” Marcus said.

“Can we ever have a normal life?” Blake asked as a tear escaped.

“I asked myself the same question when shit got real. I can say with certainty that the others have a high chance for a normal life. You, Andrew, and Luke are second in being able to live somewhat normally,” Marcus said.

“What about you?” Blake asked as he turned to his friend.

“I probably will never have that chance,” Marcus answered solemnly.

“What about your mares? Don’t they make you happy? Don’t you want to be with them?” Blake asked with slight frustration.

“The mares are great and they do make me happy. I want to be with them, but look at everything that has happened around me so far. I’ve killed one of Celestia’s guards, I killed four harpies and left one alive that has probably asked her queen to hunt me down, and I openly stated I was ready for war with the harpies at the gala. With all that and maybe whatever else may come, what am I supposed to do?” Marcus asked angrily.

“Stop trying to hide,” Blake state plainly.

“What do you mean?” Marcus asked with a raised brow.

“You hide behind this wall that Drak easily noticed you start putting up after everything went downhill after our parents’ deaths. He told us about this so we could keep it from being a steel vault that doesn’t allow anything in or out. You’ve let some genuine feelings be seen, but you still try to hide. You’ve had us since the beginning and now in this world you don’t have one, two, or three, but four mares who love you and want to help. They’ve seen what has happened around you, but don’t blame you one bit.”

“You also have the support of the other mares who are your friends as well. We, meaning all your friends, will stand by you through thick and thin because we need each other. You also have a filly in case you haven’t noticed who likes to talk with you. You just need for one time in your life to open the damn vault and stop trying to take care of everything yourself,” Blake said as he gave a slight glare at his friend.

“Maybe, but I just don’t know,” Marcus said as he looked down at the dirt.

“I’m sorry I raised my voice at you, but you needed to hear that. Neither of us are asking for a complete change right now, but maybe start trying,” Blake said.

Marcus gave a slight nod as his friend put a hand on his shoulder. He gave a small smile to show they were still good friends, even after their argument.

“Let’s head back home before the mares start to worry,” Blake said.

Marcus gave his friend a fist bump before he left. He stood alone next to the fountain and looked into the water. The weight of his friends’ words were heavy on his mind as he took the time to think about what he was told. He grabbed a small pebbled and threw it at his reflection as he stared at the ripples. Nothing changed as the ripples slowly came to a stop before leaving a still reflection of himself again. He took a deep breath before turning around and heading back to the house to get started on breakfast.

Morning

The sun rose peacefully for the human, even though he returned as the sun was starting to rise over the horizon. Marcus was busy in the kitchen as he tried to make something edible for the current residents. He had this nagging feeling in the back of his head that was trying to convince him that he forgot something important. The only problem was that everything he could think of had been dealt with, but the nag wouldn’t leave him alone. He just shrugged as he waited for whatever it could be to just present itself later.

He was silently humming to himself as he cooked french toast he didn’t hear someone walk in the kitchen. His eyes were focused on the browning bread to make sure they didn’t burn until something blocked his vision. He felt something soft press against his back as a sensual tone whispered into his ear.

“Hey there, lover,” The mystery person said.

He reached up and grabbed the writs of his handler and pulled them away from his eyes. He turned around to be met with a pair of magenta orbs that eyed him lustfully. He was about to say something when Rainbow jumped up and wrapped her legs around his waist and smothered his face in her moderate cleavage. He inhaled her scent deeply and could already tell that something was wrong. Staying on the safe side he slowly played along with her game. He became a little aggressive as he grabbed her hair and tugged her head back.

He could hear the soft moan Dash let out as he kept her head pulled back. Her cheeks were flushed red, her breathing labored as she watched him with needy eyes. He leaned close to her flickering ear as he let his warm breath wash over her ear. Her body shivered as he spoke low, but soon stopped as it became threatening.

“Change out of her form,” Marcus commanded as he pulled her legs off his waist and gently let her fall to the floor.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Dash said as she tried to look hurt.

“You very well know what I’m talking about, Chrysalis,” Marcus said as he gave her a slight glare.

Chrysalis was tempted to try and feign ignorance again, but the glare made her think otherwise. She swallowed a small lump that had formed in her throat before slowly getting back to her feet. As she steadily rose to her feet, careful to not upset the slightly angered human, Chrysalis slowly reverted back to her form. Marcus was glad that she still had her dress on from last night to avoid any awkwardness that could have happened. The changeling slowly rocked on her feet for a few seconds before the human pointed towards a chair at the table.

She didn’t say anything or even breathe as she walked over to the place she was told to go. She looked back to the human to see him resume cooking and sat in silence as she waited for whatever he might do. Fear slowly gripped her as many different punishments he could cause her bring her closer to a panic attack. Her heart beat against her chest and she nearly screamed when he set a plate in front of her. Her breathing was heavy as she looked at the plate filled with food and the human that was looking at her with a raised brow.

“You see a ghost?” Marcus asked.

“Something like that,” Chrysalis responded.

“Well, go ahead and dig in. I’m making some for the others and there might be enough for seconds if you want more,” Marcus said as he went back to cooking.

The changeling queen poked at her food a few times to see if he did anything to it. From what she could see, it was simple prench toast with apple and orange slices. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary, she took a tentative bite. Her eyes widened in surprise at the myriad of flavors that assaulted her tongue. She couldn’t remember the last time she had a breakfast so delicious, but then again she didn’t remember having much of a breakfast at all during her childhood. She took a few more bites of the mouthwatering food before asking a questing that was on her mind.

“How did you know that it was me in disguise?” Chrysalis asked as she took smaller and slower bites.

“I’m going to go on a limb here and say you can already tell how close I am to those four mares,” Marcus started.

“Yes,” Chrysalis replied as she waited for his answer.

“To make it simple even though it won’t make sense, it was your scent,” Marcus replied as he got three more plates ready.

“I don’t understand. How does a scent have anything to do about finding out my disguise?” Chrysalis asked with a raised brow.

“Dash usually smells like a cool rainfall during autumn. It’s a comforting scent that reminds me of good times from my world, but that is neither here or there. You on the other hand and I’m not trying to sound insulting, are kind of earthly,” Marcus explained.

“How earthly?” Chrysalis asked as she tried to figure out the human’s analogy.

“You smell like dirt to put it bluntly, but there is more. It’s a moist dirt that never completely dries and allows for many crops to grow on its nutritious land, but there is also something else,” Marcus said, hoping to stop the conversation there.

“Now I’m interested to know what else I smell like,” Chrysalis said with a small pout. She also noticed the human shake his head as he finished cooking up the breakfast.

“You also smell like death and loneliness,” Marcus answered bluntly.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Chrysalis asked as she jumped to her feet.

“Just that wherever you were born doesn’t really seem like a friendly environment,” Marcus stated.

“You get used to it,” Chrysalis said as she sat down in her chair.

“You can say that all you want, but you know you’re wrong. I’m not going to bother prying though because it’s your life and it doesn’t really concern me. So go ahead and eat up so we can get all of us to Twilight’s place,” Marcus said as he started setting the table.

The changeling didn’t say anything as she went back to her food. She watched the human as he went about cleaning up the kitchen. She was about to take another bite from her apple when the other mares appeared. Each of them gave her a hard glare as they took their seats around the table. She wasn’t the only one getting the look though as it was passed between her and Nightmare. The tension in the room was heavy and the alicorn and changeling decided to remove themselves from the table.

They stood near the counter with the human was eating by himself. He noticed their presence and he looked over to see his mares eyeing the two beside him. He wanted to say something to help keep everyone at ease, but couldn’t find the right words to say. He went back to his own food before Nightmare spoke up.

“This may be a little forward, but I was wondering if Chrysalis and I could get some clothes?” Nightmare asked with a slightly hopeful look.

“Wouldn’t hurt to get you two some clothes since neither of you really came with anything. I’ll ask my friend Ryan to see if he can convince Rarity to help,” Marcus said.

“Hey, bug lady. Where’s your crown?” Blood ask as she viciously bit into her orange.

“No point in wearing something that no longer holds any merit. I no longer have a hive so I’m no longer a queen. I am still of royal blood though so I’m at least left with the title of princess, but even that means nothing since I’m among ponies,” Chrysalis said as she started cleaning her plate.

“Doesn’t really mean much to me,” Marcus said as he finished his food.

“Why’s that?” Nightmare asked.

“I don’t really care much for titles on people. You can call yourself princess, queen, or even goddess, but if you bleed like the rest of the people then you’re equal to them,” Marcus explained.

“So you would talk to any royalty like they were a normal pony no matter the circumstances?” Chrysalis asked.

“Of course. The same goes for Celestia. I respect she has political power and has learned mediation, but she isn’t above me,” Marcus stated.

Everyone was staring at the human after hearing his thoughts on royalty. Blood was utterly confused since she served Luna as her guard, but didn’t know how to treat the information Marcus gave. With no one able to come up with anything to say, they each went back to their own activities. It wasn’t long before Bon-Bon showed up and she wasn’t entirely in a happy mood.

The beige mare didn’t say anything as she walked towards the human and looked directly into her eyes. He could see she was a little upset, but not enough to say she was going to cause him any harm. He placed his plate to the side as he waited for the candy mare to speak to him. It didn’t take long for her to speak, but what she said confused him.

“You’ll be able to keep the house clean, right?” Bon-Bon asked.

“I will, although I don’t know what you’re getting at,” Marcus said as he looked over to Lyra to see if she had any insight. His only response was a shrug.

“I ask because I’m going to stay with Rose for a bit so this can get sorted out,” Bon-Bon said as she let out a heavy sigh.

“I don’t mean to kick you out of your house. If I could I would be staying in another house, but some of the ponies don’t like me,” Marcus said.

“It’s fine. She owes me a favor and as long as Lyra is here it’s fine. Plus I want to get to know Brandon a little more,” Bon-Bon mumbled under her breath.

“What was that last part?” Marcus asked.

“Nothing, but like I said, it’s fine and I have nothing against you for something you couldn’t control,” Bon-Bon said as she gave a small smile.

“Even then you shouldn’t have to leave your house, but if you’re fine with it then I’ll drop it.” Marcus said.

“Thank you. You should also hurry up,” Bon-Bon with a small grin.

“Why?” Marcus asked.

“You’re late for your appointment with Twilight,” Bon-Bon said loud enough for everyone to hear.

After the mare said that, everyone in the room finished their food quickly and were out the door before they wasted another second. The human could only watch with a slightly hurt look as he and Bon-Bon were the only ones left in the kitchen. He looked over at the beige mare to see her laughing a little and had to give her that point. He knew that it was nothing harmful towards him and was able to get a laugh himself.

He gave the candy mare a small pat on the shoulder as he left the kitchen. He could already feel the headache forming and he wasn’t even getting lectured by the lavender mare yet. The walk to the library was quick as he entered the building and could see the lavender unicorn glaring at him. She would have given him a stern talking about arriving on time to her meetings, but she was in the middle of her lesson. After a few seconds from her glare, she returned attention to the other.

Marcus walked to a secluded spot in the library while everyone listened to Twilight. Taking this time alone, he changed his hand to its claw form. He didn’t want to worry anyone about what was going on, but during the training session he had with Luke, his claws still haven’t grown back. He ran a finger along the broken claws and could feel how broken they were. Seeing there wasn’t much to do and he didn’t want to bother Blake about it, he decided to file it away.

He looked back up to see everyone on break and he went to find Ryan. It wasn’t hard to find his friend as he spotted him lounging on the couch, Rarity sitting next to him. He was glad to see the mare there so he could cut the conversation shorter than what was planned. The white unicorn noticed the approaching human and waved him over. He took a seat in a nearby chair and nudged his friend to get his attention.

“Hey there, Marcus,” Ryan said as he rubbed his eyes.

“Hey, been working hard at the farm?” Marcus joked.

“Yes, but the calm is kind of getting to me because every early morning I expect to be moving out to a new camp like we always did,” Ryan said as he gave a warm laugh.

“Yeah, maybe one day we can get used to it,” Marcus said as he gave a small smile.

“It would be nice to finally relax,” Ryan said as he wrapped an arm around Rarity.

“I need a favor from you,” Marcus said.

“What is it?” Ryan asked.

“I need Rarity to get Chrysalis and Nightmare some clothes,” Marcus stated.

“WHAT!” Rarity screamed in an unladylike fashion, but quickly composed herself from the stares she was getting.

“Why do I need to do that?” Rarity asked with a small growl.

“Well, I don’t have any money and I know the others won’t put a single bit forward to help. I’ll gladly take any stupid favor you come up with or a task you need done if you do this. I’ve already laid out the ground rules for them and they at least deserve this so we don’t look like monsters,” Marcus explained.

“I can see your point, but I don’t feel safe having them in my home. I also have Sweetie Belle over for the next several months and I fear for her safety and innocence,” Rarity said.

“I understand your fear, but you have nothing to worry about. I’m pretty sure I would have to go with them to make sure they don’t cause any trouble,” Marcus assured her.

“I will do this since you asked nicely enough,” Rarity said.

“So what do I need to do to pay you back?” Marcus asked.

“You’ll find out later,” Rarity said with a slight grin.

He didn’t even notice her grin as he got up from the chair and went to get something to drink. He pulled his phone out to see the time and it was nearing the second half of the lesson. Celestia had said they wouldn’t practice any magic until next week so they can learn about their magic. The white alicorn was already setting everything up when everyone returned to their seats. She went through the same stuff like last time and asked questions about what they learned before and Drak was getting them correct like they were elementary school questions.

Once she finished her lecture, she went about passing out books about their specific magic. Everyone took the time to look through the book and learn the history of their magic. Ryan was staring at his book intently for several seconds before shooting his hand into the air. Celestia saw his raised hand and called out to him.

“Is there something you need, Ryan?” Celestia asked as she walked over to him.

“Yeah, I know you mentioned Alex, Jaeden, and I having dark magic, but looking through this book, I don’t see how mine falls under that category,” Ryan said.

“Your book won’t explain the reason because I gave all three of you the more calm versions of your magic. Illusion magic is dark for a couple of reasons. The first reason is the big one and it’s because when it’s combine with shadow and blood magic, you get necromantic magic,” Celestia explained.

“Doesn’t really matter to us. Four years of dealing with zombies, I’m pretty sure we’re done dealing with any undead,” Marcus said.

“That makes sense, but what are the other reasons because that can’t be the only reason for it being dark?” Ryan said.

“Blood magic and shadow magic make sense to be dark magic, correct?” Celestia asked.

“Yeah because blood magic is about using your own life force and shadow magic can create demons to kill for you,” Ryan said.

“Illusion steps in the complicated area because of how it works. Most of your spells will use physical objects around you to work, but that’s only half of it. The other half of illusion magic is its ability to create chaos,” Celestia said.

“What do you mean?” Drak asked as everyone gathered around her.

“There was a unicorn by the name of Mirage. She easily destroyed an entire empire without ever having to kill anypony herself,” Celestia started.

“How’s that even possible?” Callie asked.

“She learned how to manipulate the minds of other ponies by falsifying their memories. Those who were once friends became bitter enemies. Lovers turned against each other and tried to kill the other. Everything they once knew was changed into some dark and twisted form that caused them to fight amongst themselves. After a few days they lose all sense of their sanity and will either go out and hunt for others to kill or end their own lives,” Celestia said as she fought back a tear.

“So she pretty much tricked them into fighting each other because they no longer trusted each other?” Brandon asked.

“Somewhat. Illusion magic is hard to heal as well since ponies don’t really know what their actual memories were to being with. A pony can fix a memory so much before complications arise. In the end though the only thing to do is put them out of their misery. They would never return back to who they once were and would always remain a threat to themselves and everyone around them,” Celestia said before walking back.

“How many times have you seen it?” Marcus asked calmly.

“MARCUS!” Rainbow yelled.

“It’s fine, Rainbow. I’ve seen it at least a dozen times before I finally did something about it,” Celestia said.

“So what exactly will we be learning then?” Alex asked as he gestured to the other two.

“You will learn to summon shadow wisps which are low level, but can be useful when applied properly. Jaeden will learn a few offensive spells that won’t drastically drain his life force. Ryan will learn how to pacify anyone trapped inside his illusion mist,” Celestia said.

“That seems fair enough. Hopefully there will never come a time where we will need to learn the darker stuff,” Andrew joked and ended up receiving glares from everyone.

“That was terrible and you should feel terrible for saying that,” Callie said as she gave a light slap upside his head.

“I’m trying to keep the mood from getting depressing from all this information,” Andrew defended.

“Dude, you should know by now that when we get involved, nothing is never going to be not depressing,” Ryan said.

“Fine, I’m sorry for my terrible joke,” Andrew said as he sat in his chair and was soon joined by Fluttershy.

Everyone went to their own learning sessions for the rest of the time and Marcus decided to head outside and relax under the warm rays of the sun. As he left the treehouse he noticed Whooves getting the attention of the princesses. He tried to read his lips to see what he had to say, but a fiery maned pegasus blocked his view as she pushed him outside.

Whooves

The stallion was able to get the princesses attention and had them follow him into the kitchen. He looked around the room to make sure they were alone and when he was certain they were, he pulled out a small box that emitted a force field around the four of them. He turned around to see the three alicorns staring at him with raised brows.

“Sorry, but I don’t want the others to hear what I have to say,” Whooves said as he wiped his brow.

“What has you so worried?” Cadance asked.

“A few weeks ago I had a dream. In that dream I saw all of them in a devastating conflict, but I don’t know with who,” Whooves started.

“How bad does it get?” Luna asked.

“Very, very bad. Our land was in ruin, ponies lying dead in the street, and the humans were badly injured. That isn’t the part that had me worried though,” Whooves said as he tried to stop his shaking from the recalled events.

“Then what’s the real problem?” Celestia asked.

“There was something standing in front of them, but I couldn’t tell who it was. I could barely even tell the humans apart in all the darkness, but if I had a guess to who it was, I think it was Marcus,” Whooves said as his body gave a violent shudder.

“How long do we have until this event occurs?” Celestia asked in a serious tone.

“I’m not sure. I’m not even sure if this will ever come to be. The future is ever changing, but even then from what I could tell, a lot of events still need to play out. Many of the pieces still haven’t been played and many questions are still left unanswered,” Whooves said.

“Is there anything we can do?” Cadance asked.

“Only a few things and even then it’s silly to think it would work,” Whooves said with a slight chuckle.

“If it’s anything that could possibly help, please let us know,” Luna said.

“The only thing we can do is hope the future changes soon and make sure that all the humans are ready to own up to their own fears,” Whooves said.

“Can this ever be easy for us?” Celestia asked as she pinched her brow.

“We would all love that, but we have to deal with the hand we are given,” Whooves stated matter of factually.

Celestia gave a small shake of her head, knowing the earth stallion was right. During the many years of her life, she was actually uncertain of the future and felt something she hadn’t felt in a long time. Fear. Fear was gripping her and she hoped that it would be quelled soon before anything terrible came their way. The princesses each gave a nod to the stallion before he took down the force field and exited the kitchen, the alicorns not far behind him.

Marcus

“Careful, Spits. Where’s the fire?” Marcus asked after having the mare stop shoving him outside.

“I need you to do something,” Spitfire said.

“What is it?” Marcus asked as he saw the worry in her eyes.

“I need you to find Scootaloo. I’ve been getting phone calls from Cheerilee about her skipping classes, but it’s something I understand since I was the same way,” Spitfire said.

“So what exactly happened to make this a bigger situation than before?” Marcus asked.

“Cheerilee explained that everything was going fine, but she ended up throwing a tantrum in class and stormed out of the building. It was apparently parent’s day at the school and she just blew up at everypony,” Spitfire said as she grew worried for the young filly.

“You told me that her parents died, correct?” Marcus asked.

“Yes,” Spitfire answered quickly.

“Does she have any other family members she knows about?” Marcus asked, his concern growing for who was watching the filly.

“No,” Spitfire answered.

“Then who has been watching over her?” Marcus asked, his voice getting slightly louder.

“I have, but she doesn’t know that it has been me taking care of her. She lost her mother when she was four and her father died before even getting to know her. I’m the reason that he didn’t make all those years ago. I was riddled with guilt that I thought I could make it up to them if I looked after their child, but I hardly know what I’m doing. She needs somepony who can actually give her attention and from everything I’ve seen, you are the one that can provide that. Can you please do that for me?” Spitfire asked as a few tears escaped her eyes.

Marcus was quick to wrap the pegasus up in a hug as she slowly became a blubbering mess. He stroked her mane as he cooed into her ear as she cried into his shoulder. He understood the feeling of guilt she was having and wanted to help her in any way she could. As her breathing slowly calmed down, he gently pushed the mare back a little so they were looking eye to eye. He could see the hurt that was shining in her eyes and gave a small nod.

“I’ll take care of this. I might not be the best figure for her to look up to, but I can make sure she is safe and sound. Also, the thing with her father wasn’t your fault. He knew the risk he was getting into and still went to save you. You’re a very tough mare for taking care of her, but maybe it’s also time for her to know that someone is looking out for her,” Marcus said as he tried to soothe the pegasus.

“What if she ends up hating me?” Spitfire asked.

“I promise that she won’t. She is a very tough filly and even though the news will hurt, she will hold respect for you,” Marcus said.

The mare stared into the human’s eyes for a few a seconds before slowly nodding her head. She used his sleeve to wipe her tears away before letting go of him. Once she was under control she followed the human who started walking off. She was confused to where he was going, but it seemed like he had an idea of where to go.

“So where are we going?” Spitfire asked.

“I think I have a hunch on where she might have gone. Were her parents buried here in Ponyville?” Marcus asked.

“They were, but what-” Before she could even finish, Marcus turned around quickly enough to shock her.

“Then take me there,” Marcus said.

The golden mare was confused at first with his train of thought, but her gears slowly pieced together the puzzle. Scootaloo knew the name of her parents because of the house she was living in, so it would make sense she would ask where their graves were. Understanding where the human was going now, she took the lead as she led the two of them to the cemetery to hopefully find Scootaloo.