After Arantir gave Andromalius the new weapon, he volunteered to train the demon in the art of swordmanship. While the weapon itself provided maximum damage and was universal in combat, the training was still needed. So, the time of the meeting was set. After the demon teaches Twilight battle magic, a lesson with a necromancer will take place.

So, Andromalius went to Celestia, who was waiting patiently in another part of the castle. The weapon was put in his room for storage.

The hall Celestia told Andromalius to meet her in was circular, about a hundred meters in diameter, and pretty tall; one large column supported the dome-like ceiling in the center of the hall. There were training dummies, as well as wooden replicas of different weapons. In that hall, the Royal Guard was trained by highly qualified masters of martial arts. The hall had narrow windows to avoid being broken during the training. Large tapestries hanged on the walls, each one represented a symbol of the Guard: a shield, half white and gold, half blue and black, and in the center of the shield was placed a stylized image of celestial bodies that the two regal sisters controlled.

Overall, the hall was perfect for training: it had large space and no big obstacles.

When Andromalius entered, he was greeted by the solar alicorn.

"Hello again, Andromalius." Celestia said. "Twilight is coming soon, as well as her friends; they will watch her. While she is away, can you tell me a plan for the training if you have one in the first place?"

"A plan for the training is a must." Andromalius replied. "The first thing will be theory. While I am no teacher, I came up with a material that I will teach her. And I'll start from basics. But before I start, she will show me the skills she already has. A prelude it will be, and I'll learn what she can already do. And I have many lessons to teach her..."

"Is it dangerous?" Celestia asked warily.

"No harder than a slap. Mostly humiliating, slightly painful, but not overly so." the hell stallion answered. "Don't worry, I have it under control. She will not be hurt too much, but no pain — no gain."

"I... I understand." she nodded slowly. "But if she will be hurt during your training session?"

"I have good healing magic. As well as a spell that brings dead back to life." Andromalius replied. "But I don't think it will come to that."

"A spell of resurrection?" her eyes widened. "Such a spell exists?!"

"Of course." he nodded. "But I didn't have a chance to use that yet. And I hope I won't have to."

"Well, you eased some of my worries..." she sighed. "But try to be not too hard on her, alright?"

"I promise she will be fine."

Twilight Sparkle and her friends were walking through the Canterlot Castle, a guard guided them to the hall where Andromalius and Celestia were waiting for her.

"Okay, I get it that the princess wants to teach ya something new," Rainbow Dash spoke, flying lazily. "But she also said that it will be that Andromalius guy she's told us about earlier. And he's gonna teach ya battle magic. That's cool and all, but I'm a little worried about what will happen. He's some sort of an anti-hero type, no?"

"I am nervous about everything as well." Twilight replied. "But I trust princess Celestia, and I won't let her down."

"But he's scary." Fluttershy spoke. "Um, I wouldn't like a scary teacher to give me lessons..."

"Well, maybe Twilight knows a tad bit 'ore than 'im, who knows?" Applejack said. "Maybe she's already better than 'im and doesn't need a teacher. Hey, he's been here for a few weeks, and Twilight's been learning fer years! 'Tis sure she's better than 'im."

Agreeing with her, the ponies continued their way, idly chatting. Soon, they reached the big double doors. The guards opened them for the mares, letting them in. Inside the hall, Andromalius and Celestia waited for the six.

"Hello, Twilight Sparkle." Celestia greeted her protege warmly. "Hello to every one of your friends as well."

As everypony greeted each other, Celestia continued: "Well, Twilight, you know why you are here."

"Yes, I do, princess, but, um, I'm a bit unsure about this..." Twilight started nervously. "You want him—" she pointed at the hell stallion. "—to be my teacher? Princess, forgive me, but why can't you teach me?"

"I know too little compared to Andromalius." the alicorn replied. Murmurs were exchanged among the five friends. "And he's a rather nice person once you get to know him. Trust me, everything will be fine." she said warmly, putting a hoof on Twilight's shoulder.

While the student and the teacher talked, the other five ponies were looking at Andromalius. Rainbow Dash looked brave, wearing frown on her face, trying to look threatening. Applejack was wary of him. Fluttershy was hiding behind Applejack. Rarity was trying hard to hide her blush, looking away from everyone. And Pinkie Pie wore her usual grin on her face, slightly bouncing in place.

"...so, let us start." Celestia declared. "Now you speak, Andromalius."

He cleared his throat: "So, Twilight Sparkle, your lessons begin now. Celestia, please hide others behind a barrier."

The princess nodded, her horn glowed, and a golden dome appeared around her and the five mares.

"But before we start with the theory and basics," the hell stallion continued. "I want to know how well you are in battle already."

"Um... I've never been in any fights." Twilight stated nervously.

"Try your best. Don't be afraid to use much power, I can endure." he stood in a battle stance. "On three. One..."

Twilight nervously shifted in place, getting ready. Every other pony watched the unicorn and the demon.

"Two..."

Twilight's eyes narrowed, her horn started glowing.

"Three!"

With a loud grunt, Twilight released a beam of magic, aiming it at the hell stallion. It evaporated him completely. The lavender unicorn blinked in surprise while her friends stared, mouthes agape. Only Celestia smirked.

"Don't trust your eyes." a voice of Andromalius echoed through the hall. "You have many senses. Use them!"

Twilight focused, trying to find the source of voice. However, the echoes seemingly came from everywhere. Suddenly, she felt like someone was behind her. She quickly turned around, only to face Andromalius. He shot an Eldritch Arrow at her, hitting her square in the chest, sending her flying across the hall. With a grunt and a thud, Twilight landed on her side. However, she wasn't hurt badly, the pain was minimal.

"Be quick to react." Andromalius spoke, getting closer to the unicorn. "Do not think, do not reason. It takes time. Instead, you should act like a machine, without a thought or hesitation, on instinct. Otherwise, your enemy will be much faster and will get you before you can protect yourself."

She rose from the ground, then shot another beam of magic at her teacher. This time, the beam returned to her, and she barely dodged it.

"Mirrors are magic." Andromalius smirked. "A shield can act as a mirror—"

This time, Twilight sent a big ball of magical energy towards the hell stallion. It just went around him, exploding violently somewhere behind him, making the whole hall shake.

"Or like a rock that separates the river—"

Twilight grunted, sending the most powerful beam at Andromalius. The shield blocked it completely, forcing the hell stallion to take a few steps back.

"Or like an indestructible obstacle." Andromalius finished.

"How..." Twilight panted. "How do I win?!"

"Do you know what knowledge is, Twilight Sparkle?" the hell stallion asked all of sudden.

"Knowledge is... books?" she looked at him quizzically.

"Knowledge is power!" Andromalius declared. "To gain power, you must learn. And learning is done in two steps: theory and practice. I hope you took a notebook with you, because you are going to learn many things, some of which contradict to what you already know. You have some time to prepare.

"Princess, be so kind, bring a desk and a chair here, and both should be comfortable for Twilight. Comfortable sofas would be suitable for her friends as well if they wish to stay with her."

Celestia nodded and went to her guards to ask them to bring the necessary furniture.

The five friends of Twilight stared at Andromalius, mouthes agape.

"He won..." Rainbow Dash said with awe in her voice. "With only one attack!"

"Oh Rainbow Dash, I hope you never see how he really attacks." Celestia replied, overhearing what the rainbow-maned pegasus had said. "That is a little... scary, to say at least."

"So," Andromalius spoke. Twilight Sparkle was ready to learn, having a quill in her magical grasp. She was sitting at the desk, while her friends and princess Celestia were sitting on a comfortable sofa. Uninterested in theory, Rainbow Dash was already half asleep. "Forget everything that you've learned about the nature of things."

"But these are fundamental! Everything is based on magic, everypony knows it!" Twilight objected.

"Let me tell you something, Twilight." Andromalius said. "From where I came, people used to believe that everything around them is either magic or deeds of a higher power. But through centuries of studying, our scientists discovered how things really happen. It isn't magic, it can be logically explained.

"So, why do you think you can stand on the ground? Why don't you just fly through the air?"

"Magic binds everything to the ground." Twilight replied, sure in her statement.

"It is untrue." the hell stallion shook his head. "Tell me, how much does the planet weighs?"

"Um, it cannot be measured by normal means, obviously, but my guess is that our planet weighs billions of tons at least."

"There is a law of physics. Bigger the mass, bigger the gravity. That means that even you pull something towards yourself, but the force with which it happens is really small. That means that this planet pulls you and everything else to its core, which is even heavier than you can imagine. That is why a planet's shape is always sphere-like and doesn't have the upside and downside.

"Hm..." Twilight mused. "I think you are right... Nopony before could explain why is our planet round."

"While I am certainly no teacher, and I wasn't the best student back in my school, and I didn't have a chance to finish college, I still know many things."

"But how is all of it connected to the battle magic?" Twilight asked.

"When you understand the nature of things, you understand what you do, you can explain it. Thus, everything becomes easier." Andromalius explained. "I bet you've never seen any spells like those I used in the battle."

Twilight nodded.

"That is because I've created them, at least practically. I knew them before, but I didn't know they can be used." he continued. "The first one I used was Phantom. That is a spell that creates a replica of a caster. The replica is just an image, a projection, not a real person. Like a mirage in the desert, if that is easier for you to understand."

"But creating spells is very difficult!" Twilight replied. "Starswirl the Bearded himself created only about five!"

"I don't think he knew more than you do." Andromalius replied. "But he tried, at least."

"Tried?!" Twilight exclaimed. "He's the strongest wizard the ponydom, no, the whole world has ever had!"

"I don't say what he created is false. I say that he knew just as much as you do. And many things are still left unanswered for you. Be patient, everything will be explained. And maybe you will become the greatest wizard the whole world has ever had."

Twilight smiled widely, and instantly became ready to listen and learn.

"So, today I will talk about how to use battle magic, it's sections and uses. The nature of things comes along the way." Andromalius cleared his throat. "So, battle magic is mainly used to severely damage your opponent, or even to kill."

Twilight gulped nervously, writing down what Andromalius said.

"But that doesn't make anyone evil." he continued. "It all depends on how you use it. You can murder, torture, plunder. Or you can protect yourself, your family and friends from danger. And even resurrect those who died."

"What?!" her eyes widened. "That means we can bring back to life many great ponies!"

"Sadly, no." the hell stallion shook his head. "From what I know, the spell can only be used on those who died recently. I haven't had a chance to use the spell yet, and I hope in never comes to that."

"But it's still useful!"

"Of course." Andromalius nodded. "But the spell doesn't make anyone younger or more beautiful. I don't even speak about the mind of who was resurrected. They might face insanity because of what they've been through. Feeling the death's hands on your neck snapping it is a very scary thing, I believe.

"But enough of the dark side. So, there are many offensive spells, and most of them are connected to elements of nature: fire, air, water, earth. They deal coherent damage, obviously. So, the being that is made of fire is immune to it, for example.

"There are also four sections of magic: light, dark, destructive, and summoning magic. These are not mainly offensive, but mostly strengthening allies or weakening the enemy, depending on the nature of spell.

"Light Magic is mainly focused on raising various statistics of those on whom the spell is cast. Dark Magic is focused on lowering the luck, morale, and overall pretty much anything that is included in Light Magic. Destructive Magic's title speaks for itself, obviously. And the last one, Summoning Magic. It is used for summoning spirits of nature to help you in combat, as well as to create temporal obstacles or annoyances.

"We will start with Light Magic. But, I think the break is needed. Try to process the information I gave you, Twilight." Andromalius ended his speech.

Andromalius excused himself and exited the hall, leaving the mares alone.

"Wow..." Rainbow Dash spoke. "Even I became interested in the stuff he's said. He knows a ton of stuff about this! I really want to see the exam he's going to give you, Twilight. That will be one heck of a battle!"

"Well, it's a lot to take in, actually." Twilight Sparkle replied. "He's said that fundamental things we know are wrong! He created these spells he used! I can't really believe that, but the facts are true, he does know much more than I do."

"I still remember that moment when I angered him." Celestia spoke. "It still scares me sometimes... But I understand him now. I thought he was gaining power to take control, but it turned out that he's learning because he wants to protect himself and his friends. And even back then he had much power... I don't even want to think how powerful he is now. Good thing that he's sharing the knowledge."

"Good thing that he's on our side." Applejack said.

"He is not entirely on our side." Celestia shook her head. "He has told me who he is and what he'll become. He shares some similarities with us, but his mind is very different from ours. He is of another kind, and I can't reveal more information without his permission."

"So, he's important?" Twilight asked.

"Yes, very much so." Celestia nodded.

Suddenly, Andromalius returned to the training hall, Inanna walking by his side. She wasn't wearing her armor, though. Everypony stared at her in surprise.

"Hello," she spoke. "I've heard that this handsome stallion—" she nodded at Andromalius, flashing her toothy smile. "—is teaching battle magic. Mind if I join?"

...

Rarity fainted.

"Bravo, Inanna." Andromalius deadpanned.

"What?" she looked at him innocently. "Can't I make a grand and sudden entrance?"

"Ugh..." the hell stallion facehoofed.