The trio re-enter their dorm room to see Twilight still reading through the old musty book while on the sofa, sipping some tea, is Jerry.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Alexander asks as he closes the door.

"I wasn't entirely sure either a few minutes ago as I was magically teleported from a poker game with my siblings. However, I am assured it'll be worth my while." Jerry states before taking another sip of his tea.

On the coffee table beside Twilight is an assortment of mysterious items all surrounding a magical crystal core much like the ones from the mine, but is much smaller.

"I hope it's okay, I just borrowed your wallet to get some items of importance." Twilight states as she manages the items using one of her hands and magic.

"Dude, not even married and she's already bleeding you dry." Alexander states to a sighing Edward.

"Oh, no. I'm using yours." Twilight corrects him.

"Fuck a duck!" Alexander slumps down on the sofa beside Jerry.

Starlight plops down on Alexanders lap making him groan as she lands on him.

"Sucks to be you." Starlight states with a light yelp as her flank is smacked yet again.

"I seriously have a problem with that impulse..." Alexander blushes as he adjusts the mare to be more comfortable.

"I'm not saying a single thing." Jerry sips his tea quietly.

Twilight begins mixing ingredients into a small porcelain bowl while grinding it up with a pestle. After finishing her concoction, she submerges the crystal within a gooey thick dark purple liquid and lights up her horn to cast a spell on the whole thing.

"What are you doing?" Edward asks looking over her shoulder.

"I'm creating an original formula using this worlds components which should absorb and seal the vast amount of magic held within the Smooze, thus returning it to its first form." Twilight explains as the glow dies down.

"I get it." Edward states nodding his head slightly.

"I don't get it..." Jerry states looking confused.

"Just go with it..." Alexander advises looking equally confused.

"Oh, speaking of which... I should mention I managed to get ahold of more materials for you to make more of that oil you seem to have used more of lately." Jerry informs Alexander who sighs deeply.

"Not sure I'll be able to afford it-" Alexander is cut off when Starlight lifts herself to land hard in his lap again.

"He'll be able to afford it~" She smiles as Alexander groans again in slight pain.

"I see... You guys have gotten much stranger since our first year." Jerry comments before putting his cup down and standing up.

Twilight levitates the stained crystal core out of the dark purple liquid and lets it dry off in her magical grip before wrapping it in an anti-magic fabric which finishes her preparations.

"Even with all this complete... We still have no way to safely get to the source of the Smooze without alerting it to our presence." Twilight ponder as she strokes her chin.

"Oh... I don't think we'll need to worry about that." Alexander states as he stands and stretches.

Moving from their dorm room to the second-floor balcony, many students have retreated back to their own dorm rooms as instructed by the academy administration. Below them, is a sea of thick Smooze which is held back by a magical forcefield around the Wyvern House dorms.

"So, what exactly is your plan to get us there? Going to manipulate some wind or something?" Twilight asks before Alexander hushes her.

"Did... Did you just hush me?!" Twilight states in clear annoyance.

Alexander does it again and prompts them to listen in the distance where some faint singing can be heard. Twilight's ears flicker slightly as she recognises somewhat the tune that is being sung which bears a very close resemblance to the one her old science teacher in Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns used to sing.

"You called our science teacher for help?" Jerry rubs his eyes gently.

"Damn straight I did, you gotta love the guy." Alexander wears a bright smile.

As the song progresses a small dark oak sailboat can be seen riding through the sea of Smooze on its way over to the group. Upon the boat, an average man can be seen with dark orange-red hair and black eyes wearing a Wyvern House lecturer outfit with the traditional red on gold trim, black trousers and black boots. However, the difference is he wears a monocle, has a thick handlebar moustache and wears a fire red graduation cap which also has gold trim.

"Why have we not met him before?" Twilight asks unable to stop looking at the odd boat.

"He's been on vacation..." Edward states bluntly.

As the song ends the boat pulls up beside the balcony and the man ties his boat off before suddenly jumping up to stand on the railing.

"Ho ho ho, I go away on an excursion to Africa for a few months and I return to have our beloved academy swamped by some form of magic eating ooze. You always seem to be the magnet for abnormal situations, dear nephew." The man laughs as he adjusts his monocle.

"Holy shit is he related to you?!" Starlight asks pointing dramatically at the man.

"Dad's brother, my uncle..." Alexander explains sighing deeply.

"B-but he's skinny! How?!" Starlight exclaims, trying to understand.

"Ho ho ho, never judge a book by its cover miss. I believe you called me here with a purpose?" The scientist asks, looking at the mare below.

"Oh... I guess a way to get to the source of the Smooze without alerting it to our presence would be great." Twilight states still staring at him.

Their teacher thinks for a few minutes before looking down at his boat.

"I believe I have your solution with me right now. I made this boat from dark oak I found on one of my many adventures. While this situation is quite terrible, I couldn't resist the actual chance to test it out in an abnormal environment." The man laughs as he jumps back down into his boat.

"I guess we follow him then..?" Starlight asks making Twilight nod hesitantly.

"I guess that's why they call him Martin 'Solus' Night... He hardly needs any assistance when it comes to adaptation." Jerry shrugs and sighs deeply.

Alexander and Edward jump in the boat, shortly followed by Twilight and Starlight. The group take their seats as Martin stands at the front of the boat steering it around to start heading back towards the academy itself.

"How is he moving the boat if its sail-powered?" Twilight asks curiously.

"How perceptive of you to notice, miss Sparkle. I'm sure you understand how we are masters of wind magic and have a wrist technique that has been passed down through the Night family for generations," Twilight Sparkle looks to see Martin's wrist in a similar position to what Alexander would have it in, only it's slightly rotated and elevated a little, "you see, this part of our technique is called 'passive wind control', it allows us to subtly control the wind of a local area while being discreet enough we would never be noticed by those ignorant to our ways." Martin explains much like a teacher would.

"Ah, I see. While your family can seem quite... Lively, I still find your techniques interesting." Twilight comments as she cradles her crystal core.

"Oh, I take it you've met my brother then?" Martin nods to himself before looking up towards the sky, "I suppose you could say our family are quite different than what you'd imagine. I took a very different path compared to my brother and our sister, seeking a more academic outlet."

"Different is one way to put it, uncle..." Alexander states bluntly.

"Now, now, we're still your family. However, speaking of things which are over eccentric, we should be approaching the source of the Smooze very soon." Martin states as they sail past the bubble protecting the student village.

Looking down past the rooftops of the student village they can see Vivienne and Forte standing in the middle of the street with Vivienne holding up the barrier.

"Ten gold says you collapse before we fix it!" Alexander yells to the clearly struggling girl as he leans over the boat edge.

Glaring over at the passing boat above them, Vivienne manages to yell something.

"Fuck you tailcoat, I raise you by fifty!" Vivienne yells back as her hands are spread out channelling her magic to the shield.

"Must you antagonize her at this time?" Edward asks rolling his eyes.

"Always. Keeps her motivated." Alexander smiles lightly before the boat passes the village.

"If I may be so bold, Miss Sparkle. What is it you plan to do?" Martin asks as he looks back at her.

"Well, I've learnt what I can from the old bestiary from the forbidden wing. The reason nothing we were doing worked because we didn't understand what it was we were facing. I'm sure you understand more than anyone that knowing is half the battle. With what I made, I hope to absorb all the magic he collected and return him to a more manageable state." Twilight explains as she looks at her altered crystal core.

Edward looks at Alexander with a smug grin making him deadpan hard.

"Edward if you don't want to swim I suggest you shut it..." Alexander turns back to face their destination, looking very unamused.

As they pass the student village and head towards the mine entrance they briefly past by the main academy campus where Twilight catches a glimpse of what she believed to be the chancellor standing in his office window.

"We're here..." Martin states as the Smooze rises before them sprouting two big white eyes with black pupils and a large mouth just below them, "Prepare yourselves!"

Author's Notes:

Well... That happened... Honestly, it wasn't even planned for Martin to be a member of the Night family let alone Alex's brother. Originally, he's meant to be based off Mordin Solus from Mass Effect hence why his last name was meant to be such. However, a little sketch later in my head and he became Martin 'Solus' Night. I went with it as Solus, according to Google mean 'alone or unaccompanied (used especially as a stage direction). ' Thus the conclusion is that he works alone most of the time without assistants or aid. Hopefully, that works out and this is likely going to bite my ass later on down the line and you guys will know exactly where...