And there he was: Mr. Charge, the largest, meanest, toughest pegasus stallion that I had ever lay eyes on. In front of the class he stood like an alicorn, and his frightening shadow eclipsed over those unlucky victims of the first bench. His bat wings alone defined him as a messed up force of nature that was not to be reckoned with— something otherworldly and DEFINITELY not something you'd not want to question. 

I've heard rumors about those wings. Some ponies said that he was just a normal pegasus once, but grew too big and heavy for a normal pair. Unable to fly with his diminutive normal wings, he got them removed and through a little snippy snippy blood action, implanted a fresh pair of bat wings. Alas, that rumor only lead to more questions such as, "Then who was the first bat pony large enough to own that pair?"

I could go on and on about rumors, but being a target of one, I know they aren't pretty.

He expressed mostly one emotion--something on the lines of stoic and “Don't bother me, or I'd snap you like a twig”-- He probably wouldn't have actually done that, what with harming a student being a criminal offense... but he still probably could have if he really wanted to.

Casting aside all the negative comments about the Magic professor--which I’m sure there were a lot more of--his dress code was along the lines of a gentlecolt and scholar. A black and white suit fitted the stallion perfectly as a precise, accurate definition of his personality--no exceptions of any in-betweens or shades of grey.

"For those of you who don't know me, I am the professor of Magical Studies, Silent Charge," the black and white stallion properly introduced himself, cursively writing his name on the whiteboard with a red marker. "Welcome to my class. I do not expect anything of you, other than to pass my subject with flying colours. My rules are simple and probably the easiest to follow like any other class; No eating, drinking, cheating, cursing, passing notes or any sort of communication in my class or whilst I'm talking. Do I make myself clear?" he asked, his voice alone deterring any would-be ne’er do wells situated around the room.

"Is it some sort of communication if we nod? What do we do?! What do we do?!" Joy frantically panicked, violently shaking Kill who was peacefully relaxed on top my mane.

"I don't bucking know! Just follow the class, and say nothing... nothing at all is probably the bes-"

"Do I make myself clear?!" Mr. Charge shouted abruptly.

"— Worst! Worst idea ever!" Kill finished his sentence in trembling fear, nodding along with everypony else in the classroom without muttering another word.

Yet somehow, Mr. Charge's terrifying introduction failed to move one student into compliance. One butter-coated mare was drained of her will to agree to his terms, a river of tears behind her as she galloped out of the class from the uncalled fright. "Go to your dorm, Fluttershy, and cry it out! My class has no space for the weak. When you're ready to re-enter my course, you may do so by apologizing to the entire class for wasting thirty-seven seconds of their time," the professor of Magical Studies informed the retreating pegasus as his voice boomed down the patterned hall through which the mare hastily escaped.

He gently grasped and closed the door with a swipe of his tail, glaring at us, the rest of his victims, with that emotionless face. Only Celestia knew what’s going through that stallion’s mind. "Well, let's get started shall we?" his gruff voice exclaimed, and horridly enough, too enthusiastically.

Side by side, each student trembled behind their elongated curved desks as the professor paused, taking his time to memorize every detail of our palette of fearful faces. "Now then." Everypony jumped with a yip as Mr. Charge rolled his eyes in bemuse.

"The first thing you need to know to about magic is that it is practically everywhere. It is found in every living being, the air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat, and so on and so forth," he explained. Surprisingly enough, I hadn't been totally lost by the teacher's lesson like I normally had. I would have beamed with pride had I not been scared out of my mind.

As each pony furiously began scribbling down notes, the professor continued without a care for the progress they'd made. "Magic works in a similar manner to energy, in that it’s able to be stored and transferred, but not truly created or destroyed. All ponies have magic within them, which manifests itself in specific ways with each pony race. This is mostly obvious in unicorns, who, through use of their horns, can directly influence and control it. This is the most powerful and most visible magic."

I could have only felt the presence of Grim breathe down my neck as the word 'powerful' left Charge's mouth, the paranormal being with a smile so smug that you just wanted to buck it and the pony next to him just for being within his vicinity of tangible smugness.

"Oooh, I can't wait to drag his face in the gravel," Kill maniacally planned as he bucked his hooves together.

"We just want to win, not hospitalize the poor pony... although, he did curse us, so maybe just a mouthful of dirt can do," Joy countered, quickly shaking his head from the matter of violence. "Wait, am I not supposed to be the good conscience?" he questioned his brother, who refused to respond with a quiet, wicked smirk. "Kill, do not play these mind games with me! Ki--"

"Graze!” Charge's voice singled me out from the class, everypony's attention now directed toward my general direction. “Is something the matter, or am I just boring you?"

Buck me sideways. Was I that focused on Kill and Joy?! I mean, I didn't know, but... argh! I was too engrossed by their conversation to notice the giant pony’s attention turn to me.

My heart raced and sweat trickled down the side of my cheek as he awaited my response. I turned to the mailmare beside me for advice, and she just sat there and shook her head with dilated eyes, motioning me with a wing to mimic her movements.

I glanced back at Charge with hidden crossed feathers for luck as I held my breath and denied his assumption with a sheepish smile and squee for that extra push. "Well, don't you have anything to say or are you just going to smile like a retard?" he challenged me with a question to stray from his rules.

I've gotta admit, Mr. Charge did not give one single buck about feelings, and that was something quite abnormal for a pony to do, a creature that believed in the words “friendship” and “harmony”.

It was different. My style. I liked that.

My eyes darted back and forth for an excuse, finally coming to rest on my empty notebook, fresh and clean with those blue lines. Not a single letter written on the page... not even the bucking date. So bringing up his work was probably the easiest way of hoofing myself over with a spin.

One of his eyebrows rose in interest to see how I could've pulled this off. On the outside, I showed him my calm and collected state, brave and courageous toward his critical words... but in my mind? Oh, it was pure chaos to rummage through my inner machinations for a proper excuse.

"Well, I'm waiting, and so is the class, Mr. Graze. I am not a patient pony," Charge warned, standing still on his spot as he forcefully shut the textbook, a slight breeze emitting that gave wind to the front of his slickback mane. His thoughts must have been on the lines of, ‘I wonder if I can hit him with this book.’

Finally, I coughed, "Ahem," and the class dramatically gasped. "My apologies, sir, that shall not happen again." I forced the heavy words through the lump in my throat.

For a moment, he stared at me, and I somehow accumulated enough guts to stare him back with that same look. The two of us created a tension in the classroom so tight that it choked the other ponies, paralyzed in shock and awe as they themselves forgot how to breathe.  

The large stallion made the first move with a deep inhale, clearing his systems through his snout. The class and I were beyond anxious to see what he would've done, bracing for impact as even some took to cowering beneath their desks. The stallion had the voice that matched his build, and by the Princesses, he wasn’t afraid to abuse it.

"A unicorn's strength and use is dependent on the personal talent of the individual, and can be honed with proper practice and study," he broke the dramatic build-up, continuing with the lesson as if nothing ever happened.

What a waste of a good build-up. I could have only wondered what the bat-winged teacher was thinking during our trade of stares. It was for the least, not a stare of hatred, but more of contemplation.

"Well, that was weird," Ditzy spat out her pen from completing her written notes, whispered beside me with a chuckle. "I think he likes you."

"Ewwww, what the buck is wrong with you?" I replied in the same disgusted manner as Kill and Joy who... well, they didn't take it as lightly as I did, pretended to vomit from getting the gist of the imagined scenario, scarring them for life. Those two maybe each other’s opposites, but sometimes, they tend to overreact, which in turn, affects my actions.

Ditzy could've only rolled her golden eyes at my juvenile remark. Still cute, but kinda creepy. "Not like that, you pervert," she hissed with a forceful push to my shoulder. "Ugh, nevermind, we'll talk about it after class, okay? I really don't want to get in trouble," she forewarned, returning to her notes as the professor continued his speech on Magical Studies.

“Pegasi, such as myself, have a fair amount of magical ability as well. This tends to manifest in our ability to alter weather and the atmosphere, which, as previously stated, is also saturated with magic. A fine example would be the ability to create, shape, and walk on clouds. Unlike with unicorns, who can remotely grasp and manipulate objects, this ability requires contact with the cloud formation to manipulate it. That term is called 'Cloud Shifting'," Mr. Charge paused for a few seconds for a breather, giving me just enough time to actually write something down, just in case he decided to go all elementary school on us and check our notes.

“Finally, we have the earth ponies, who use their magic in caring for the land, fertilizing it and growing crops on plantations. This magic is much more subtle and much slower, but ingrained within the earth itself, and eventually into the food we grow and eat. That magic is then transferred into our bodies, creating a sort of energy cycle as earth ponies, pegasi and unicorns alike all expend that energy.”

"Hmm, interesting, interesting... don't you find it so, Kill?” Joy nodded, sitting on his haunches upon the smooth, wooden surface of the desk, engrossed within Mr. Charge’s teachings.

And then, there was the other one, who just like me, wanted to catch up on sleep stolen from him by this morning's rude intrusion. "Kill?" Joy scanned the entire class for his brother, finally spotting the camouflaged pony that snored happily in my mane.

"Wake the buck up, you lazy ass!" Joy scolded his brother while profusely shaking him.

"I'm not an ass... I'm a pony," said Kill in a confused slur, resting in his brother's hooves until the spinning of the room subsided. "Urhm, am I seeing things, or is our pen writing by itself?" Both Kill and Joy then flew towards the possessed black ink pen, examining it as it vandalized my page and turned it into one big blotted mess.

As quickly as it wrote, the pen dropped with a twinkling spark of greyish-blue magic, fading away as the piece of stationary landed in front of me. The page that I just wrote my notes on...

Each and every unicorn had a unique glow through the use of their magic, and this was the second time I've seen that color for the morning. Grim. I hate that stallion so very, very much.

"Urhm, Graze?" Ditzy poked me with a hoof, gathering my attention.

"Yeah?"

"Why does your book say 'Gym' like--" she paused, squinting her eyes as she examined the page, mumbling some words as her grey hoof lightly pecked about the page. "--seventeen times?"

Surprisingly, Ditzy had very good eyesight, a natural talent for picking out those fine details within the abstract. "Hmm, I don't know," I lied to the mailmare, stealing a quick glance at the paranormal pony that sat behind Ditzy.

"Does it have to do with what happened this morning?" she asked, scrunching her face with crossed eyes, bewildered at the fact that she actually knew nothing of what really occurred. "By the way, what was all that ruckus about anyway?"

"I don't know, but that's what I plan on finding out."

With Magical Studies finally ending after two long hours, I found myself before the dark blue, steel based doors of the gym as the golden bell of Luna's clock tower chimed thrice throughout the sanctuary.

I inhaled a deep breath through my snout, placing the bottom of my hoof against the right door, a familiar chill upon withdrawal of touch. "What sorcery is this? It... it feels just like last night!" I mumbled to Kill and Joy, safe to communicate aloud with no other pony in sight.

"Oooo, now I really want to find out! You have to go!" Kill appeared with an excited remark, flapping his wings in rhythm as he hovered above my left shoulder.

"Graze, are you sure you want to do this? It does seem rather ominous... I don't trust that pony. We can just leave, nopony has to know you left without actually fighting him." Joy recommended on my right shoulder, countering Kill's side of the debate.

"I can't leave, remember? The pony cursed me," I reminded Joy. "Whether it’s a a fluke or not, I need to find out," I reassuringly replied, placing my hoof once again upon the frigid surface of the door, making the hairs of my coat stand on end as the ominous chilled feeling coursed through my veins. "I think..."

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"Heh, it's like ten years ago, remember, guys?" I spoke to both consciences.

"Deja-bucking-vu," said a sour Joy, rolling his eyes as he accepted the loss of yet another internal debate.

"Let's get this show on the road! Wooohoo, onwards!" Kill cheered on, grabbing Joy and disappearing to wherever they'd go when not willingly presenting themselves. "Oh, and don't forget to make an awesome entrance, Graze." Kill left with a reminder.

I reared up before the entrance to the gym, standing on my hind legs and stomped forcefully with a pivot, bucking the doors agape as they slammed against the walls of the facility. "Where are you, Grim?!" I shouted in the light that the barren halls provided, my shadow stretching, becoming part of the darkness that surrounded me. The doors finally gave way and closed themselves, narrowing the beacon of light, consuming my shadow within darkness.

"So, you finally made it," Grim's voice echoed throughout the room. "Well, since you've completed part of your deal by actually showing up--I commend you on that, by the way--I will tell you a little something about us Grave ponies. We are from Tartarus, I'm sure you've heard of there. Great, great place! Quite comfortable, extremely roomy in fact, chilly in the seventh circle and well, you know... dead. Done a lot of things we're not proud of; looting dead bodies, robbing graves, sacrifices, loitering... you know, the things which you ponies basically frown upon," he explained. It would have been intimidating if those things didn't bother me in the slightest. 

"Loitering?!" Kill gasped in shock at the pony’s records of criminal activities. "How dare you trot around the compound through the hours of 10 P.M to 6 A.M!"

"I have a question for you, Graze. Do you fear death?" his question echoed from each corner of the room.

"No, not really... just dying slowly would be rather much a pain," I admitted.

"Hmm, everypony has a fear... us Grave ponies know that for sure. Well, at least we did know what fear was. In our clan, it is through tradition and some psychological magic that our parents forced us to face our fears," the Grave pony could only go on and on about his clan's heritage and traditions and other stuff that I hardly cared about.

"And in Tartarus, there were a lot of things to be afraid of," he continued as I sighed with mild impatience. "If we got a new one, the solution was rather simple, we just had to face it again, and again... and again until we broke through that little mental obstacle. Some little foals didn't make it. Poor things died from anxiety attacks, and others, they didn't have the will to break it, so they suffered from starvation and malnutrition.”

“You know, for kids!” I heard Kill’s witty comment in the background. With a conscience like that, I could have never taken anything seriously.

“And you know what's the best part of this, Graze?"

"What?" I replied in a semi-pissed off tone from his excessive storytelling.

"You're in that very same spell."

Next Chapter: Chapter Four: Fear Estimated time remaining: 1 Hour, 16 Minutes