Thankfully for both teacher and TA, the rest of the class was uneventful after the falling out between Diamond Tiara and Noblesse Oblige. Cheerilee and Twilight were both pleased that most of the class was actually interested in today’s lecture, despite it detailing the darker aspects of ruling a nation and the things Celestia and Luna had to do to keep the peace. All of the students had gone out for recess when the bell rang, all save for one.

Cheerilee didn’t know what to think about the fact that she didn’t have to tell Noblesse that she and Twilight would want to speak with him before recess, “Uh, Noblesse? Twilight said you had something you needed to talk to us about.”

Noblesse’s slit pupils narrowed. Cheerilee was afraid that she had upset him until he turned his head to Twilight and spoke, “I didn’t think thou’dst include Ms. Cheerilee in on this,” Cheerilee recognized Noblesse’s tone as one of surprise, not anger.

Twilight sheepishly smiled, “Cheerilee is Ruby’s aunt, so I thought she deserved to know.”

“Oh, so that’s why she smells so familiar,” Observed Noblesse.

Cheerilee felt a shiver run down her spine. She understood that Noblesse had a heightened sense of smell and would perceive things the average Pony couldn’t. So, while her mind knew that comment wasn’t as foreboding in context, her heart shuddered at somepony commenting on her scent in a such a way.

“So, what was it you wanted to speak with us about?” Asked Cheerilee, admirably keeping her desperation to change the subject out of her voice.

“T'would be easier to show you how I conjure mine prosthetics,” Said Noblesse.

Cheerilee jumped back in astonishment as Noblesse’s eyes changed, too shocked to so much as speak. Cheerilee and Twilight saw a straight crimson line run down the center of the Noblesse’s pupils, the unnatural color spread to the rest of his pupils as the line hit their bottoms. Instead of turning his sclera the same color, the rust colored parts of his eyes turned lime green with dark purple smoke seeping out of the outer edges of his eyes.

“Amazing,” Said Twilight, “So that’s what it looks like.”

“Usually the sensation causes one’s eyes to close in concentration, but I lack eyelids to close,” Explained Noblesse.

Noblesse dispelled his prosthetics in an instant, the visible portions of his false limbs becoming black clouds. Instead of falling to the floor and fading like the rest of his spells that had the same after effect, the black clouds floated into his eyes. The cloud that was once his horn splitting in two with each half going into a different eye as the clouds that made up his left legs crawled up into the sleeves of Noblesse’s cloak, similar to the manner in which one would withdraw their legs to remove this kind of clothing.

Twilight blinked in confusion. She had heard various accounts as to which of Noblesse’s limbs were fake, but had disregarded all who had said he didn’t have a horn as fake. It was how all Unicorns channeled their magic, even she and the late king Sombra channeled Dark Magic through his horn. And yet, Noblesse’s eyes bore the distorted colors shown when using Dark Magic.

“How?” Asked Twilight, “How can you use magic without your horn?”

“Dark Magic doesn’t just use Mana as a power source,” Explained Noblesse, “It relies on one’s mental stability and emotions as much as it does their Mana Reserves and skill. So, while you still need a physical catalyst to channel both Mana and emotion, it does not have to be thy body’s Primary Catalyst.”

“Okay,” Said Cheerilee, not entirely understanding everything that had just said, “What does this have to do with my niece?”

“Ruby Pinch is a Practitioner of Dark Magic,” Said Noblesse bluntly.

“What!?” Exclaimed Cheerilee, “Since when?”

“Since she started feeling self-conscious about her father,” Answered Twilight.

“Where could have Ruby learned Dark Magic?” Asked Cheerilee, “Isn’t that the same kind of magic Mad King Sombra used?”

“It is,” Answered Noblesse, “However, one doesn’t choose to become a Practitioner of Dark Magic.”

Cheerilee stared at the incognito noblepony, “How do you mean.”

Noblesse sighed, “Sometimes when people, not just Ponies, are subject to sufficient emotional trauma, their meridians change similar to what naturally occurs while aging. However, this emotional trauma causes new meridian paths to sprout. When that happens, these new paths almost always run through the emotion center of the brain, granting the ability to channel emotion as well as Mana.”

“And for Ruby,” Said Twilight, “Years spent subconsciously blaming herself for her mother being a single mother, was just too much.”

“Excuse me?” Said Cheerilee.

Twilight went on to explain how Noblesse told her about the hallucinogenic nightmare that Ruby was trapped in. Twilight left out no detail, everything from Ruby literally being thrown out of her mother’s house to being told she was the reason her mother was alone. Noblesse stayed silent, not wanting to say something that influence the way in which Cheerilee took this information. After all, it would be a lot harder to teach Ruby if anyone in her family voiced concerns or disapproval about her using or even learning Dark Magic. So, Noblesse Oblige stayed silent, waiting to be spoken to directly.

“Okay,” Said Cheerilee, understanding what had happened but not how, “Noblesse?” Said the teacher, getting the young stallion’s attention, “How exactly did you know that Ruby would be having a ‘Black Resonance?’

“The exact cause for people developing the use of Dark Magic is highly debated,” Started Noblesse, “The most widely accepted theory is that: as the presence magic hastened the evolution of intelligent life, how magic works changed, or evolved as well. This theory states, that Dark Magic is an evolutionary tactic created for the survival of people who have gone through tragedy. This explains why Dark Magic is tied specifically to negative emotions.”

The two mares nodded in understanding. There was much that was unknown about magic and the way it interacted with life. And this theory Noblesse was explaining made since in that the way magic affected life was not always for the best. Genetic Disorders triggered by an abnormality within a Pony’s Meridians or Internal Mana Reserves, known as Arcano-Genetic Disorders, were a perfect example of this.

Twilight and Cheerilee were about to ask questions, when Noblesse continued, “Practitioners of Dark Magic share an extreme affinity with the Collective Subconscious, it is where we draw our power after all. But we specifically share an affinity with the Dreamscape, the realm in which the Collective Subconscious and the Waking World meet. Our ties to it is so great in fact, that our minds tend to gather in clusters at the edge of the Dreamscape. This grants us an affinity to one another. Two people who happen to be polar opposites are more likely become friends due to a likeness to one for another that they can’t explain, they simply prefer each other’s company.”

“This encourages people who have suffered in a way that leaves mental scars that very few people understand to come together. These ties to the Dreamscape also encourage trust between practitioners, making it more likely for them open up to one another.”

This theory was sounding more and more plausible by the minute. It would be much easier for Ponies to get the help they needed if they gravitated to other people who have suffered in the same way. Unfortunately, many of the Ponies who couldn’t understand such misfortune, often said that the victims were overacting or were unappreciative because their ‘support’ was enough for the victims. Some didn’t even give support, and told the victims to ‘suck it up’ and move on with their lives.

“So, practitioners of Dark Magic have some kind of mental link with other practitioners?” Asked Twilight, her imagination running wild at the thought of discovering some way to use telepathy: a power that not even magic could grant.

“I do,” Said Noblesse, “But I am unsure if that is actually a general boon given by one’s skill in Dark Magic, or if I’m just lucky.”

“Oh?” Asked Twilight, “And why is that?”

“Dark Magic is incredibly dangerous,” Answered Noblesse, “Being power born of the Collective Subconscious, every modicum of energy used in the casting of Dark Magic has a will of its own.”

“Why is that bad?” Asked Cheerilee.

“The more you practice Dark Magic, the more likely it is that you lose yourself in it,” Answered Noblesse cryptically, “One can become possessed by the sentient power they wield, and it is a rare circumstance indeed that one can be saved from it once they have been possessed. This power becomes invested solely in its own self-preservation and strength, often seeking out targets to test the limitations of its new-found vessel. I call it a vessel and not a host, because what happens is that the practitioner’s mind is flung from the body and into the actual Collective Subconscious, leaving them vulnerable to the forces within.”

“That sounds horrible!” Exclaimed Cheerilee, “Why would anyone even attempt to master such a dangerous skill?”

“Remember that this is a power that has a will of its own,” Replied Noblesse, “And the practitioner’s very mind is a link between the Waking and Dreaming Worlds. If a practitioner doesn’t have at least a basic understanding and sufficient practice in the use of Dark Magic, the beings from the Collective Subconscious and the Dreamscape will easily overwhelm the practitioner. And there is little warning when this happens. Even a little practice will give the practitioner the ability to fight back. Though the fight will be hopelessly one sided without enough practice, there will be obvious signs as to what is happening to those of us in the Waking World, meaning that someone can intervene and help.”

“That somehow makes it worse,” Said Twilight, realizing that she, her friends, their sisters, and Spike were all in deep trouble.

“Dark Magic is so dangerous that almost all practitioners, both within and without the Under-Cities gain only a novice level of practice and understanding so that they are not instantly consumed by the Dark when it attacks,” Explained Noblesse, “The reason I have obtained such skill with Dark Magic is because I am one of, maybe a dozen practitioners, to try to achieve true mastery of the Creeping Dark, and probably the only one that has not lost himself in experimentation.”

“What could possibly drive you to try something so dangerous?” Asked Cheerilee, trying to wrap her head around why anyone would attempt something that was borderline suicide.

“I have ILCS,” Said Noblesse, dropping the proverbial bomb.

Both mares were brought pause at this revelation. Instinctual Limited Casting Syndrome, or ILCS for short, was a Unicorn specific Arcano-Genetic Disorder that limited a Unicorn to solely use their Instinctual Magic. Academic Magic was the practice of shaping one’s magic while it gathered in the Meridians before being channeled through the horn. It allowed Unicorns to do things with their magic while using less Mana and with less risk to one’s self and those around them.

Instinctual Magic was what happened when a Unicorn didn’t shape their Mana before channeling it through their horns, and it was both unstable and unpredictable. Instinctual Magic shapes itself during the few seconds that it was channeled through the horn, greatly limiting the effects of a Unicorn’s magic. The reliable and safe use of Instinctual Magic requires great practice and discipline from the Unicorn in question, and each individual spell book involving the use of Instinctual Magic would only be of use to specific Unicorns, as the spell book would have to be written with a different kind of innate magic in mind. While no two Unicorns had the exact same kind of innate magic, there are broad categories in which Unicorns were put into depending on the inner workings of their innate magic. But it could take months, if not years, to narrow down which category a Unicorn would be placed into. This often lead to the misconception that Unicorns only had whatever magic they were born with and no more, over a third of all Unicorns had ILCS and very few needed more than their telekinesis in their lives after all. But it was still a tragedy when parents discovered that their Unicorn foal had ILCS, the Equestrian Royal Medical Society had officially declared ILCS to be a disability, and there was no cure or treatment for it.

Noblesse didn’t wait for the two older Ponies to speak again before he continued “So, I had to work on my physique, mastery over Dark Magic, and dirty fighting, in addition to any and all skills I used in Covert Ops if I didn’t want to be placed in the Fodder Legions.”

“Fodder Legions?” Asked Twilight. She had seen mentions of these ‘Fodder Legions’ in the writings Noblesse provided for her, but she hadn’t found an explanation as to what they were. Whether that was because they simply didn’t explain anywhere what they were, or because she hadn’t gotten to the particular book or chapter that went further in depth about them, Celestia’s Protégé did not know.

“The Fodder Legions are the armies that are made up by the mentally disabled, the terminally ill, and the criminals found within the Under-Cities,” Clarified Noblesse, “The majority of the Fodder Legions use wave tactics to tie up enemy forces, making it easier for the rest of our armies to preform surgical strikes. The soldiers assigned to the Fodder Legions who don’t participate in their notorious wave tactics, are the terminally ill who are too sick to be actual soldiers. So, instead they are made into Hospice Bombers. I assume I don’t have to explain what they are.”

“And the Under-Cities don’t suffer rebellions!?” Asked Cheerilee, horrified at the prospect that anypony in the whole world would do something like this.

“Oh no, we do,” Said Noblesse casually, as though they were talking about the weather, “While those deemed to mentally challenged to actually be beneficially to our society otherwise, are forced into the Fodder Legions, the terminally ill choose to give their lives. If they don’t, they’re placed into hospice like those here in the Equestrian Nation.”

“Why?” Said Twilight, “Why would anyone choose to become suicide bombers, are they brainwashed?”

Noblesse shook his head, “Not to my knowledge. Many times, my squad was assigned to smuggle Hospice Bombers into their designated areas, and I asked all of them why they chose to give their lives in such a fashion. Over half of them wanted to give their lives to further what they believed to be a greater cause, they apparently get to choose their targets. As long as it serves the Under-Cities in some way, the Vicereine and the Cardinate don’t care. Some wanted to spite fate and die on their own terms. Some were legitimately suicidal. Some just didn’t want to spend their last few days waiting for death in a hospital room.”

Cheerilee and Twilight looked to each other, both with looks of shock and concern. Part of their responsibility was helping Noblesse integrate into Equestrian society, and eventually foreigners who immigrated to Equestria. Everything from what Noblesse has told them now and in the past, to his behavior and reasoning, would it even be possible?

When Celestia had told Twilight about her and her friends that she wanted them to help Noblesse to make friends, they all thought that Noblesse needed adjustment and an environment where Ponies would see something other than a climb up the ladders of power and society. And yet, Noblesse had been in Canterlot for almost two years. There was no way Celestia and Luna didn’t know everything that was ‘wrong’ with Noblesse.

Did they send him as a warning? Wandered Twilight. After seeing how Noblesse acted and how casually he gave anecdotes of his past, Celestia and Luna would have to keep the Elements of Harmony in the dark about him. Pinkie Pie and Rarity would try to force their ideas of coping on Noblesse. Applejack and Rainbow Dash would at the very least keep the CMC away from the young noblepony, if not try to run him out of town entirely. And Fluttershy would most likely avoid Noblesse entirely.

These realizations that have come to Twilight made her wander how much of what the Princesses had said was actually true. Perhaps that main reason the Princesses had alerted the Elements of Harmony to Noblesse’s position in the Noble Ladder and his upbringing, was to help them adjust to the inevitable immigrants that would inhabit not only Ponyville, but all communities in Equestria as well. Do they expect us to be moderators? All of the Elements of Harmony were already seen as pillars of the community thanks to their service to Equestria, Applejack and Rarity were even viewed as such before Luna’s return, and the more rational Ponies in Ponyville would probably look to the six of them for advice when dealing with foreigners. Either way, Celestia and Luna were keeping Twilight and her friends in the dark, and had a much better idea as to what would happen in the future than they were letting on.

In her ponderings, Twilight realized that she hadn’t quite touched upon the reason she wanted to talk to Noblesse in the first place, “Oh, uhh, Noblesse?” Stammered Twilight, “Why did you give that book to Ruby, and not anyone else?”

“Dinky and Ruby came to the palace library to check out books on magic,” Started Noblesse, “With the zeal Ruby showed, I believe she will not try anything overly dangerous with her newfound power, as there are many warnings written into the pages of the spell book. Scootaloo isn’t the sort to read for pleasure and would not take to grimoires well. Sweetie Belle cares too much about her sister’s opinion, we can both imagine how Rarity would react if caught her litter sister practicing the same kind of magic Sombra used. Rumble hasn’t had enough practice with studying in general to make use of any reading material I could provide him. And I haven’t had enough interaction with Spike to gauge how well he could use the spell books.”

Cheerilee needed several moments to process some of the key points of information that Noblesse had brought up. Namely, the other practitioners, “Wait,” Said Cheerilee with a tone hushed by horror, “You mean some of my students are users of Dark Magic?”

“I highly doubt that many of them realize it,” Said Noblesse, “But yes, at least half of the students in this class are Practitioners of Dark Magic.”

While Cheerilee ruminated on how she managed to be ignorant of her own students’ suffering, or whatever gave them ‘sufficient emotional trauma’ to become Practitioners of Dark Magic, Twilight thought about the reasoning behind why Noblesse had given Ruby a seemingly dangerous tomb on magic, “So you believe that Ruby won’t do something foolish with the book.”

Noblesse nodded in confirmation, “With the eagerness she showed at the prospect of new information, it wouldn’t be farfetched for her to try something that was dangerous in a way she didn’t realize. But, if the warnings were in the writings themselves-”

“Then there wouldn’t be any way for her to not be aware of the dangers she faces,” Summarized Twilight. Many would argue that Noblesse was playing a game of chance, but Twilight was not in a position to make such an argument, given that Celestia had used similar methods during her life as the Sun Princess’s protégé.

“I wouldn’t mind talking to the two of you more,” Said Noblesse soon after the conversation had stopped, “But I would rather not worry my friends further.”

Twilight tilted her head in confusion as she pondered what Noblesse could be referring to. Then, she realized that she and Cheerilee had never said out loud that they wanted to talk to Noblesse, and that he most likely gave no indication or warning to his friends that he would be staying behind. That in of itself wouldn’t be cause for alarm, except that Noblesse had not once separated himself from his usual clique at recess. Meaning that, from their perspective, Noblesse had simply vanished with neither trace nor warning.

“You can go out to recess,” Said Twilight hastily. Noblesse politely bowed his head and took one step back before turning towards the door and headed out to join his friends.

Twilight meanwhile, brushed aside her thoughts and concerns for the future and all of the information she and her colleague had been given, and addressed a more immediate problem. Namely, that Cheerilee was obviously beating herself up over something she shouldn’t be. Twilight was quick to give her best attempt at consoling the cerise teacher.

Clockwork had spent the first ten minutes of today’s recess period looking for the strange Pony who had saved him. Noblesse Oblige Thought the young Earth Pony Where could he possibly be? Since all of Clockwork’s friends were in the Morning Class Period, Clockwork usually spent the Noon Class Period recess doing homework or entertaining himself. Of course, Clockwork always finished his homework Monday night and often found himself board during the Noon recess, but it gave him plenty of time to think of things he could do with his friends or things he could invent.

Today however, Clockwork had something else to do that he felt was more important. Today, he needed to find the Pony who had saved him from his older classmates and thank him, something he neglected to do yesterday. Though, the task was proving to be more difficult than the brown Colt would have would have liked. Noblesse always wore cloaks, was taller than the average Unicorn, and was part snake for Celestia’s sake!

Clockwork has thus far attributed his difficulty to his height. While he was the average height for a nine-year old, everypony else in the Noon Class Period was almost twice his age, and of course had more growth spurts than Clockwork had. Clockwork ran to the tree his sister and her friends used as their usual haunt. Clockwork winced as he ran when he thought about his sister who had managed to hurt herself so badly. Clockwork climbed the tree and scanned the playground from his new perch. Maybe he’s absent today?

While Clockwork didn’t find the young stallion he was looking for, he did see something of note. Scootaloo’s friends were huddled around the front entrance to the schoolhouse with a Filly Clockwork didn’t recognize. Then Clockwork remembered Scootaloo talking about how some new Ponies had recently joined the CMC. The nine-year old deduced that the Filly, was in fact, a Colt named Rumble. He had thought his sister was exaggerating when she said that Rumble looked like a Filly, So I owe Scoots two bits thought Clockwork, remembering the bet he had made with his sister before her accident.

Then Clockwork remembered that Noblesse always wore a cloak, one that went fairly far down on his body. Far enough to cover his hindquarters and far enough to need a hole cut out from the fabric for his tail. The cloak also covered his flanks where his Cutie Mark would be. The Earth-Pony had recalled his sister talking about how Apple Bloom’s cousin, Babs Seed, would cover one of her flanks with her tail when she felt self-conscious about being a ‘Blank Flank.’ Could that be why Noblesse wears that cloak? Pondered Clockwork. Scootaloo had said that Babs was over compensating for her being a ‘Blank Flank’ by being aggressive and overconfident, so it wasn’t too farfetched to think that Noblesse used indifference as a way of coping with self-loathing. After all, who sends three Ponies into the hospital and brushes it off like it were nothing?

Even if Noblesse hadn’t actually joined the CMC, Scootaloo and her friends still made a point of making sure that ‘Blank Flanks’ knew that they were welcome to their club. Maybe they know where to find Noblesse Thought Clockwork as he leaped from the tree branch he was sitting on, hitting the ground at a gallop towards the schoolhouse.