Edward sighs while writing down some notes in a book as the class waited for Ignis to arrive for 'Magical History' period. Looking to the desk to his left, past Twilight he mentally groans as Alexander is specifically absent from his usual spot.

"We did all we could this morning to try and move them both... Unfortunately, Starlight is a very proficient Unicorn and has the most annoyingly solid spell work. Namely, her shields..." Twilight sighs, rubbing her forehead.

"Alexander wasn't exactly helping the situation, but then when they both drank nearly half the bar... It was to be expected." Edward rolls his eyes as he sits back in his place properly.

"I suppose. Though I must hand it to Jerry, while it was very basic and somewhat crude, his method for getting them to finally be together was effective... If somewhat lacking in finesse." Twilight comments as she too is writing down some notes.

After a minute or two, the door opens to a slightly flustered Ignis who walks in with several dusty old tomes to be set upon his desk.

"Okay kids, today will be a little different from normal... I wanted to put this lesson off till we knew more, but the Chancellor felt that should the situation escalate, you should be prepared to defend yourselves in the worst case scenario." Ignis is wiping his forehead with a handkerchief.

Staring at their teacher blankly only one student puts their hand up before being prompted to answer by Ignis. Standing up the student looks a little nervous before asking his question.

"Sir, are we going to die?" He asks seeming genuinely concerned.

"No, Steven Little, maybe, depends really on how you perform during the time of crisis." Ignis replies vaguely.

"Oh, okay. When do you reckon that'll be?" Steven asks tilting his head slightly.

"Well, this where we have a window of opportunity. It could be tomorrow or several weeks from now." Ignis begins setting out his tomes.

"Well thanks for the heads up, I guess..." Steven sits back down looking somewhat more nervous than he was before.

Twilight gives Edward a concerned expression while the man himself shrugs slightly.

"While I understand this is a slightly sudden thing to be hearing about, I assure you we fully trust in our academies defences. However, we also need to ensure our students are fully prepared as much as possible to tackle the challenges that may present themselves in the future. For this purpose, it was decided that your Magical History lesson will be slightly different while we cover one specific portion of this worlds magical history... Edward?" Ignis deadpans towards the metalsmith in question.

"Yes, sir?" Edward sits up before groaning when Ignis looks back at Alexander's desk.

"Where is Alexander..?" Ignis sounds unamused.

"Would you believe me if I said he isn't in bed with his familiar with a hangover each?" Edward asks hopefully.

"You basically just told me exactly where he is in comparison to where he isn't." Ignis sighs before walking over to the chalkboard.

"I know..." Edward sinks in his chair.

Ignis opens one of the dusty tomes and starts drawing a large series of overlapped symbols on the chalkboard which merge together to form a screen outline and a collection of moving pictures within.

"Okay, firstly, I should explain the portion I am about to explain goes as far back as the origins of magic itself, during the Merlin era. At a certain point during that time, the evil enchantress Morgana forged an alliance with a race of corrupt Lunar beings known only as the Nightmare Force. Their leader, a bird-like entity known only as Shadowfright, lead the Nightmare Force at that time. They threw the land into an age of perpetual darkness under the rule of their new queen which had become Morgana. Her goal was to conquer and subdue Camelot in order to rule over it and the rest of the land. It took Merlin, King Arthur and a collection of Camelot's bravest to beat back the rising Nightmare Force and return the land to its proper state." The moving pictures depict this in a series of magical murals which portray what Ignis is telling. "Shadowfright was imprisoned in a magical cell while Morgana was supposedly destroyed in the war. The remaining Nightmare Force was reported to be scattered but it was never confirmed nor denied if they perished or not. It is the Chancellor's belief that the subtle disturbance in the magical force last night was caused by Shadowfright's release from his prison. Thus, we shall aim to teach you some very effective spells that should help to counter him and his Nightmare Force."

As the illustrations end and the spell wipes the board clean Twilight raises her hand making Ignis raise an eyebrow before he prompts her to go on. Standing up, Twilight takes a breath before formulating her question.

"While I understand the reason to practice self defence against such a foe, this world is a big place. However, what makes you believe that this academy specifically is in danger from this 'Nightmare Force'?" Twilight asks making Ignis cough violently on his coffee.

"T-that is a most excellent question, Miss Sparkle. It's possible that the Nightmare Force might seek out a seat of moderate power in order to weaken the defences of the realm and one such place would be the select few magical academies around the world." Ignis answers back almost expertly.

Twilight raises an eyebrow before sitting down with nothing further to say. The lesson progress into dark magical defence and counterspells with some demonstrations before the bell rings and most of the class pile out the door.

"That could have gone better..." Edward sighs.

"I suppose... We should go home and check on Alexander and Starlight. I don't like hearing about an enemy I've never personally encountered nor heard of in Equestria." Twilight puts her books away in her own messenger bag with her cutie mark on the front.

Edward nods and gets up to begin following her out the classroom.

Alexander groans as he tightly hugs the soft mewling mass beside him, both he and Starlight unbelievably reluctant to get up from the warm cosy bed which they had to fight the dorm rooms alternate pair to stay in earlier that morning.

"Remind me why we have remained in bed 'til the early afternoon, I'm pretty sure it's lunchtime." Starlight states hugging his arm closer to her which is draped over her waist.

"I didn't feel well this morning despite the annoying loud protests of Edward... Plus hangovers, it felt better to stay wrapped up in bed than to force myself into class." Alexander groans.

"Makes sense, but you're normally fine after drinking through the night." Starlight comments, stroking Alexander's arm.

"Normally, yes. I can generally deal with hangovers well enough, but I don't feel it's related to my drinking. I just have this very wrong eerie feeling..." Alexander shivers slightly.

Starlight shuffles back a little more against Alexander before settling again snuggling the quilt closer.

"We'll have to check around later and see if anything is up to warrant your feeling. You wouldn't be having doubts, would you?" Starlight asks glancing over her shoulder.

"Despite it being Jerry's plan, it's possible to have happened eventually, he just sped things along. I'm not really complaining." Alexander states before shuffling to get out of bed and stretch.

Reaching out, Starlight groans and stretches in the bed, rolling herself up in the quilt.

"My heat sources hath been stolen from me..." Starlight groans as she rolls up in the quilt.

Shaking his head Alexander exits the bedroom, heading to the bathroom to splash some water on his face and take some aspirin for his head.

"That should help-" Alexander is interrupted by a sharp pain in his head.

"HELP US... FREE US... SEEK US OUT AND SAVE US..." A random booming collection of voices state at once inside Alexander's head.

Groaning in pain, Alexander is just barely conscious to see Starlight run into the bathroom before he passes out on the cold tiled floor.

Author's Notes:

Apologies for the delay, life stuff and all. We haven't started the next chapter yet but it should hopefully be on time for Sunday. Keyword: Hope. Things will luckily get more interesting as we delve into the first obstacle for the Nightmare Arc. We hope to see you next time.