A harsh cold wind blows through the midnight setting of Kilgharah Academy fermenting an ominous feeling of foreboding but was ultimately ignored by the sleeping populace. Deep in the forest, between the spa and main campus castle stood a cloaked female figure holding her open hand up to the moon. She appears to be slim, wearing a pitch black simple outfit with a matching cloak and pair of gloves. Her face is hidden entirely by her cloak and with no visible skin. Lowering her hand, she chuckles lightly before reaching into a sizeable hip pouch, covered by her cloak, and pulls out a mid-size cube coated in runes and engravings which appear to be heavy wards.

"Such a small container for something so destructive by nature. Yes, I think you'll do for an opening act." The figure speaks with a light, yet playful tone.

Pressing several runes in a sequence and flipping the cube around a few times she sighs deeply.

"You always had an annoying taste for long passwords, old man..." The figure lets out a low growl before letting the cube sit in her hand.

After several minutes, a sealed circle grate on the top face of the cube opens suddenly making a wide grin appear within her hood. Choosing to wait just a little longer, her patience is rewarded by a small partly cloudy purple slime slowly easing itself up out of the opening on the cube. Hovering her gloved hand beside the opening, she tempts the slime onto her hand by focusing a very small amount of magical energy in her palm causing a dim light to glow under her hood atop her forehead. The slime eagerly takes the bait and slips onto her palm, seemingly eating the magic with ease.

"Perfect... Your hunger for magical energies appears unhindered after so long in prison..?" The figure motions as if she is raising her eyebrow.

The slime is waving two arms towards the figure seemingly begging for something.

"Be patient, I didn't release you so you could mindlessly gorge yourself again on magical essence... Oh, wait, yes I did~" The figure giggles and sighs as she stares happily at the slime.

At the mention of magical essence and gorging the slime's mood changed drastically from begging to excited shuffling in her palm.

"Eager to get to work it seems, okay." She lowers herself to let the slime plop onto the ground before standing up again. "This should give you a decent start, try not to waste it."

Holding out her finger she concentrates more magical energy onto its tip, gathering a sizeable orb before letting it down onto the ground where the slime awaits. Not even letting it touch the floor, the slime grasps it in both its 'hand's and begins furiously eating it with zeal.

"Excellent~ Let's see how you perform devouring the magical potential in this so called Academy of Arcane Studies~" The figure gleefully smiles before casting a spell and vanishing, leaving the slime behind.

The dorm room is abnormally quiet as Edward prepares breakfast in the form of pancakes, using Alexanders already prepared pancake mix. Twilight is nowhere to be seen currently, but Starlight lays still asleep on the pull out sofa.

"Not the riding crop there!" Starlight states suddenly sitting up outstretching her hand towards the kitchen before falling back down into her sleeping position.

Edward blinks a few times, looking out into the living room with a confused expression.

"What the hell..?" Edward sighs and rubs his forehead.

At that moment Twilight suddenly teleports into the kitchen holding two bags of shopping.

"I'm back~" Twilight states happily as she begins unpacking the goods.

"We seriously need to stop letting her have cheese before bed..." Edward states with a deadpan expression.

"The riding crop again?" Twilight states with a tinge of a blush.

"Something like that yeah..." Edward shares the slight blush but continues with the pancakes.

Twilight walks over to the sofa and throws a cushion at Starlight who groans and turns over.

"Five more minutes mom..." Starlight states hazily in her sleepy state.

Twilight wears a deadpan expression as she lights up her horn to charge an electricity spell which she then discharges into Starlight's horn. The mare in question shoots up muttering curses under her breath as she looks sharply at Twilight.

"I'm not old enough to be your mother..." Twilight states folding her arms.

"You're getting there though, 'teacher'... What the buck was that shock for anyway?" Starlight groans as she rolls out of bed.

"I thought you enjoyed that kind of magic and what do you mean getting there?!" Twilight glares at Starlight as the offending mare pulls herself up.

"I do... Just not your version of electricity..." Starlight states avoiding eye contact as she stretches.

"By that, I assume no identical spells from two different people feel the same, fascinating... Though what did you mean by 'I'm getting there'?!" Twilight sounds intrigued then frustrated again.

Starlight chuckles as she begins walking towards the bathroom, leaving a flustered Twilight.

"I'll let you dwell on that, teacher." Starlight smiles,

"Edward! What did she mean with what she said?!" Twilight asks Edward with pleading eyes.

"She might have been implying that you're... Old?" Edward states gingerly as he tends the pancake mix.

"What?! I'm still in my mid-twenties for buck sake! I'm hardly old!" Twilight states defiantly glaring in Starlight's direction.

Oblivious to the noise, Starlight walks straight into the bathroom before seeing Alexander in the shower, midway through washing his hair.

"Oh my..." Starlight states, as a deep blush appears on her muzzle and she can't help but stare.

"Starlight, what are you doing?" Alexander states seemingly unfazed.

"I was planning to get a shower..." Starlight replies.

"I'm using it currently." Alexander states as he stares back at Starlight.

"What if I join you?" Starlight states a little too eagerly.

"I'm sure there is enough room." Alexander replies back with a slight smile.

Starlight blinks several times before blushing much deeper and promptly leaves the bathroom closing the door.

"T-too much, nope, Queen Chrysalis was nothing compared to this shit." Starlight tries to calm herself as her heart pounds in her chest and her face feels hot.

"You okay there?" A familiar voice states as Lucita walks up from the hatch in the floor which shows a small set of stairs.

Raising an eyebrow the girl is wearing her traditional uniform and collar while staring at Starlight.

"I-I, your brother, s-shower." Starlight manages to squeak out as she leans on the door.

"Wait, what? You didn't?" Lucita hints with an even higher raised eyebrow.

Starlight nods her head furiously somehow blushing deeper. The girl in question works her jaw trying to think of anything she could say to the information she was just sparsely given.

"I don't get paid enough to deal with this." Lucita begins to walk away as Starlight lightly grabs her skirt.

"You've seen him like that before right? I mean it's not just me?" Starlight pleads to the woman who now shares the blush.

"N-not exactly, no..." Lucita looks away before beating a hasty retreat out of the dorm room.

Whimpering, Starlight walks back to the living room and sits down on the sofa hiding her face with her mane.

"I thought you were getting a shower?" Twilight asks as she sits down with a plate of pancakes.

Starlight shakes her head furiously still hiding her blush.

"N-nope, no shower, I don't know what you're talking about." Starlight states defiantly.

"Oh shit, I forgot to mention Alexander was in there." Edward states putting the other plates on the coffee table before sitting down on the bean bag.

"I-it was like Alex's familiar, how I imagine he is too but in like a middle-aged packaged sort of fresh outta high school but like- I don't even know how to word this right now!" Starlight whimpers as she struggles to form a proper sentence.

At that moment Alexander walks through wearing a fresh uniform as he sits in the armchair with his pancakes. The other non-broken people/ponies in the room stare at Alexander making him blink.

"What'd I do?" Alexander asks innocently as he takes a mouthful of pancake.

"You broke her." Edward states bluntly.

"I'm not the one who walked in during another's shower this time." Alexander states before taking another mouthful.

"You and I both know what she saw will haunt her dreams for weeks." Edward states starting to eat his own pancakes.

"I hold no sympathy for this situation." Twilight states sighing as she eagerly forks herself some pancake.

"I strongly protest to-" Alexander is cut off by the door suddenly opening.

Bursting through the door is a flustered Forte Melody who seems very out of sorts from her normal stature.

"You'll have to forgive the intrusion so early in the morning during breakfast, however, this simply could not wait and Vivienne said I should go get you while the nurse examined her. Well, truthfully she wasn't really conscious enough to say as much, but she makes a point to speak highly of you so." Forte takes a deep breath trying to steady herself.

Alexander puts his plate down and disappears out the door with haste as Forte tries to keep up with him leaving the others confused.

"Should we follow them?" Twilight states in query.

"After we finish out pancakes, he'll be fine." Edward states as he continues eating his pancakes.

Author's Notes:

*Shipping noises* I hope you all enjoy this arc as much as the Settling Arc. As such, it is with great anticipation and glee that my co-author and I welcome you all to the 'Shaded Mare and Ancient Ooze Arc'. The name is a work in progress and may or may not change at a later date, but I like it. With luck, the level of excitement in this arc will be a good balance of action, intrigue with a topping of development. For now, we will see you next time.