The next class of the day was one that Onyx would have no trouble with, but he still dreaded the thought of going through it, Advanced Chemistry. As he walked through the door, he was greeted with a floating tower of textbooks falling towards him. In one motion, he placed his palm in the middle of the bottom book and the top, flipping the tower into his hold and keeping it balanced. A surprised cry came from behind the textbook tower and he turned to see the source. It was that Twilight Sparkle girl he saw earlier.

Taking her appearance in, he noticed she looked kind of dorky and awkward, in a cute kind of way. What was that one word he heard? Adorkable. She was dressed in a light purple blouse with puffed shoulders and red bowtie, a darker purple skirt with a pink six pointed star surrounded by little copies stitched near the brim, and black boots covered by knee-high wool socks. Long violet hair fell to her lower back with two strands of lighter color ran through. Bright eyes that shined with the ambition of knowledge stared back at him with a blazing curiosity he could feel burning into him. Her body was fairly thin, showing a lack of muscle, but she probably made up for it in brain power. She looked like a smart girl.

There was something off about her, though. She had this strange aura. It ebbed around her in a strange manner, as if it was being restricted, confining the natural energy people emit to her body. Also, her scent, while being mostly covered with a lavender scented perfume, was comparable to an equine. Onyx doubted her living on a farm with horses for long enough for their scent to cover hers. There was definitely something strange about this girl.

“H-hey! It’s good to see you again,” she greeted with a smile.

Setting the tower of books on the nearest desk, he turned to Twilight. “Be more careful next time. You’re lucky it was me who walked in that door.”

Before Twilight had a chance to reply, he walked to the back of the class and sat behind one of the chemistry stations the classroom had in placement of desks. Each station was equipped with two stools, a sink, gas release, and bunsen burner. Underneath in the cabinets, a wide array of tools from Erlenmeyer flasks and graduated cylinders to pipetts and crucibles waited to be used.

Resting his hands on his head, he leaned back on the stool and watched as students steadily poured into the classroom. A few minutes later, every station was filled with students and their lab partners. The seat next to him was empty, but he didn’t mind. Maybe the teacher would allow him to work alone.

The bell rang and class had started. Roll was taken, and after seeing Onyx didn’t have a partner, the teacher asked if he was alright working alone for today. Onyx gave a silent sigh of relief, as he preferred to work alone. Class went on as the teacher began their lecture. He wasn’t really paying attention to any of it. He was too busy thinking if the school had the materials he needed to make some more elixers. He used his last one on Fluttershy last night, and he could really use one soon to help speed up his recovery. Getting low on ammonia...

About halfway through the lecture, the teacher handed out worksheets with chemical reactions and directions to balance each formula and state whether the reaction needed a catalyst or not. Looking at it, Onyx deemed it to be fairly easy. Feeling around his pockets for something to write with, he heard a “Pst!” from the station next to his. As he looked over, he saw Twilight and Rarity, sitting across the aisle.

This Rarity girl was, to put it simply, beautiful. Delicate, sharp features set her countenance above others, and her figure was immaculately shaped to perfection with the ideal hourglass figure every girl dreams of, with a thin waist and prominent hips. From where she was sitting, Onyx could see she carried herself with elegance and grace, a posh confidence few could pull off. Lavender hair like the night fell to her back, curled elegantly and held in place with a diamond hair pin. Her sapphire eyes burned with compassion. She was dressed in a dazzling light blue frock with a white frill collar decorated with a circular amethyst in the center, a tight lavender skirt accompanied the frock. She wore purple high heels with large diamonds in the center of the top with smaller ones encircling her ankles, but what caught Onyx off guard was the fact that the heels seemed to be made of crystal. A gold band was wrapped around her right wrist, and when she brushed her hair back, diamond earrings dangling from her ear.

‘Who the hell dresses up like this for school? She can’t do this everyday, though… right?’ He shook his head at how ludicrous the girl dressed. Hopefully those gems weren’t real, they could cause a lot of problems.

Rarity waved an expensive looking pen at him from across the aisle. She tossed the pen over and he caught it, spinning it in his fingers. As he gave her a small wave to show his thanks for the pen, Rarity smiled and winked at him.

‘How generous of her,’ he thought. ‘I don’t think I’m giving the pen back, though.’

The way the pen smoothly glided across the paper was oh so satisfying. A few minutes of going through the worksheet, Onyx set down the pen and went back over his paper. Everything seemed to be correct and he set it aside, leaning back on the stool once again until the end of class.

For some reason, since the class started he felt eyes on him. He ignored it at first, but soon his instincts were flaring. Look to your left. You are being watched. He turned his head slightly to the left, as inconspicuous as possible, and out of his peripheral vision he spotted Twilight glancing over at him. Rarity was doing it as well, but not as often. Even when he was done with his classwork, he still felt their eyes on him, like they were watching him, waiting for him to make some kind of mistake. It made him bristle with unease.

When the bell rang at the end of class, Onyx was the first out the door. Twilight called out to him, but he had already turned the corner and disappeared. She slumped her shoulders in defeat. A reassuring hand on her shoulder from Rarity helped lift her spirits.

“Thanks, Rarity,” smiled Twilight.

“Oh, it’s what I’m here for, darling,” replied Rarity. “I’m sure we’ll see him again fairly soon.” When Twilight looked down and rubbed her shoulder, Rarity could tell something was bothering her. “What is it, Twilight?”

Twilight didn’t answer. She stared at the floor with a hollow look in her eyes, gripping her own shoulder hard, her nails digging into skin. She didn’t spend the entirety of class watching Onyx for nothing. For as he sat there, a fierce power radiated from him like an overclocked oven. She sensed the magic in it, and it carried that same dreadful dark magic she felt in the alley.

The thought of crossing paths with that monster again petrified her with fear. Her friends weren’t in any condition to confront him after such a close call last night. As a princess, and their friend, this was something she would have to do on her own.

“Twilight!” Rarity shouted, shaking her friend by the shoulders.

Blinking away her hollow stare and shaking her head clear of some dark thoughts, Twilight looked her dignified friend in the eyes.

“Is everything alright? You weren’t yourself for a moment there.”

Twilight heard the concern in her friend’s voice. Blinking away her thoughts, she put on a convincing smile. “Yes, I’m totally fine,” she responded without a second thought. “I was just… wondering if this world’s Twilight would be okay with me doing her homework for her. I mean, she is me.”

Rarity softly laughed and flipped her hair. “Oh, you had me worried for a minute there. I have no doubt she is perfectly fine with it.”

“Haha, yeah, right.” With Rarity convinced, Twilight nervously chuckled. As they began to walk to their next class, Twilight felt a deep pit form in her stomach, gnawing at her from the inside.

As Onyx speedily walked to his next class, History, he passed by many staring eyes and quiet whispers. Ignoring them came easy, he was used to it with his line of work. It was a good thing he studied the blueprints of the school the day before. He’d feel pretty stupid if he had to ask for directions now.

A break from these pointless classes would be nice. Onyx understood the point of attending them was to keep a good cover, but it was irrelevant to his investigation into the anomalous magic energy found at the school. He would totally skip the classes and snoop around, but it’d look bad if the new student didn’t show up to any of his classes, and he didn’t want to have to deal with the principal breathing down his neck.

Or he could try to get some rest. That would be good too. When was the last time he actually slept? It’s been so long, the toll it's taken on his mind made it difficult for him to remember. A month at least, two? Maybe longer. The constant stress of his work and people trying to kill him didn’t make it easy for him to catch a single wink of sleep. There was too much going on around him that he felt if he slept for even a small moment, something big was going to happen and he wouldn’t be awake to act accordingly.

Taking the stairs two at a time, he reached the second floor. As he continued to look for the classroom, he found the hallway was strangely empty. Taking a second to taste the air and listen for any passerbys, he determined no one was around, and clumsily slumped against the green lockers. Wincing at the pain flaring up in his body, every nerve feeling like they were on overdrive, his body screamed at him in agony to stop moving and rest. The wounds from last night burned and the feeling of blood treading down his body alarmed him. With ragged heavy breathing, he clutched his sides as his lungs struggled to work properly. Coughing up blood into his hand again only strengthened his body’s warning, but he cast it aside, wiping his hand on the inside of his jacket.

He cursed himself for the condition he was in. He had to find this magic anomaly before anyone else did, and either destroy it or use it for himself, and that meant pushing his body past its already declining limit. Steeling himself, Onyx grit his teeth and stood. ‘Just deal with it’, he told himself, and that he did. Any signs of pain disappeared from his face and his body looked just fine from the outside, but in reality he could barely keep himself standing. He’s had worse, though.

The sound of light footsteps from behind him caught his attention, as they suddenly stopped and turned into a sprint. They were coming straight for him and showed no signs of stopping. Onyx’s reflexes jerked him to the side, dodging his unknown assailant at the last second. Hearing the thud of a body landing on the floor confirmed his success.

Looking at the assailant in question sprawled out on the floor, the big poofy pink hair was immediately recognizable, and so was that overwhelmingly sweet and powerful scent of cake batter. Jumping back to her feet, her soft, cute face and big bright baby blue eyes, full of mirth and cheer, were like a child’s in the sense that they looked so innocent. She was dressed in a white shirt and light blue top and a dark pink skirt that sported three colored balloons on the side, and tall blue boots. With just a glance, she seemed overly cheerful with a contagious smile, she was an overbearing beam of positivity that could make everyone within 15 miles smile with joy.

“Aww, I almost had you,” Pinkie Pie pouted. Her expression quickly changed to a big, jocular smile. “But I’ll get you next time, that’s a promise,” she said, pointing a finger at Onyx with a determined gleam in her eyes.

Onyx stared at her with a slight scowl. ‘What the hell is wrong with this girl? First, she waves at me when I’m hiding, and now she just tries to jump me. She’s like a child, does she have like a handler or something to keep her from jumping random people? Where's her leash?’

His answer came in the form of Sunset Shimmer, panting lightly as she reached the top of the stairs. “Pinkie, why'd you run off like that, and how are you so fast,” Sunset asked, panting. Her eyes brightened and a small smile formed on her face when she noticed Onyx awkwardly standing to the side of Pinkie. Catching her breath, she made her way over to the two. “Hey, Oslyx, I didn’t think we’d see you again so soon.”

When Sunset stood next to him, he took her appearance in for a second time. She was rather attractive with her fair features and charming blue eyes, her red and light yellow hair like a setting sun. She wore a black leather jacket over a light blue minidress with a yellow translucent skirt, a pair of skinny jeans that showed off her enticing legs rather nicely, and black high heeled leather boots. It gave her a kind of soft biker chick look. Taking in her scent once more, Onyx was amazed at how someone could smell like a sunset. It didn’t make much sense to him either.

‘She’s kinda… hot,’ he thought to himself.

“I didn’t think so either,” he replied, stuffing his hands in his pockets. “I was just on my way to class when your friend tried to jump me out of nowhere.”

“I’m terribly sorry about her, she’s easily excitable.” Sunset apologized, reprimanding Pinkie by playfully pulling on her ear. “So, where are you headed, need some help?”

“Er, no. I can find my way there.”

Sunset nodded. “Okay, well, if you do get lost, don’t be afraid to ask. I’m always willing to help.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Onyx gave a small wave and turned to leave.

When the pair of footsteps behind him didn’t divert their course, he sighed heavily at the thought of them coincidentally going to the same class. Placing his hand on the door handle of the classroom and seeing Pinkie and Sunset excitedly smiling behind him, irritated him beyond belief. It sparked within him a sudden urge to throw hands with the universe. It was like these girls had an innate attraction to him that just served to annoy him.

All Onyx wanted is to be left alone while he gathered information, with no previous interactions with the student body. But these damn girls keep showing up, and while they may not be directly interfering with his work, he would have preferred if they never came across each other again. They probably think we're friends or something now.

The bell rang when Onyx opened the door and stepped inside the classroom. The teacher sat on his desk facing the class with a clipboard in hand. He looked over at the three almost tardy students. He was rather young looking with spiky brown hair and green eyes, a pair of bifocal glasses perched on his nose. He was dressed in a brown sports jacket, khakis, and loafers. Tipping his glasses down, he gave a disapproving glare at Pinkie and Sunset.

"Ms. Pie, Ms. Shimmer. That’s your ninth tardy in a row. I’m afraid I’ll have to write you two up.”

A nervous sweat dropped down Pinkie’s and Sunset’s foreheads. Seeing the situation and somewhat feeling responsible for making them late, Onyx stepped forward saying, “I’m sorry about making them late for class. I’m new here and got lost looking for your room. This is World History is it not? I’ve been looking forward to this class all morning.”

Upon noticing Onyx for the first time since he entered the room, which was odd given as he was in front of the girls, the young teacher had a brief flash of surprise cover his eyes. It passed and he chuckled and had a much more chipper attitude then moments before. “Ah, of course it is, good fellow!” He exclaimed, jumping off the desk and grasping Onyx’s hand tightly. “I can teach you all you want about the people, culture, and civilizations of the ancient world. You may call me Dr. Whooves.”

“Dr. Whooves, huh?” Onyx asked with a small playful smirk. He could play this guy right into his hand. “I’m surprised to see such a distinguished scholar such as yourself in a highschool history course.”

Dr. Whooves gave an appreciative smile and hearty chuckle. “Well, I wouldn't want to flaunt my achievements, but I am proud of them nonetheless. PhD’s in the sciences, but I wouldn’t want to bore you right now with the specifics. Also, I just happen to be the only one in the area with the qualifications to teach this course; a degree I decided to obtain for fun.”

Onyx nodded, impressed with what Dr. Whooves has accomplished at his age. “I see, so am I going to be marked tardy?”

“Oh no, no, no. You’re Oslyx Blackstone, correct?”

“Yes, that’s me.”

“Alright, then, please take a seat, and don’t be tardy again. I won’t be so lenient next time.”

“What about them?” Onyx gestured to the girls still behind him. “They were helping me find my way here.”

The Doctor glanced at the two and ushered them to take a seat as well. “I guess since they were helping you, I’ll let it slide just this once. Now off you go, I’ve wasted enough time as it is.”

The three made their way to the back where three open desks remained. Onyx took the corner, slumping down in the chair and resting his head back, and Sunset sat next to him with Pinkie on her other side. She rummaged around in her backpack for a moment, taking out her notebook and pencil for the lesson. Taking a moment to think, she turned to Onyx and whispered to him.

“Hey, thanks for covering for us back there, but you didn’t have to do that.”

Onyx turned his head to look at Sunset with an uninterested expression. “Don’t think anything of it, just know you owe me.”

He leaned his head back again and shut his eyes. Sunset was a little shocked by his response, she expected him to say something cooler, not to keep track of favors. Shaking her head, she figured it would be best to leave him alone. He looked pretty tired and she didn’t want to keep him from resting, even if it did bother her a little that he was sleeping during class and not learning from the lesson. Her worries disappeared when Dr. Whooves called on him multiple times during the lesson to answer questions or explain certain things, to which Onyx answered all perfectly without opening his eyes.

Sunset and Pinkie shared a giggle when Pinkie whispered “History nut” and “egghead.” They figured he’d get along with Twilight pretty well.

When the bell rang and class was dismissed, the girls didn’t have time to catch a glimpse of Onyx as he practically disappeared from his desk and appeared at the front of the room walking out the door.

Blinking away his exhaustion, Onyx hurried to the boys bathroom down the hall. His jaw tingled and his stomach rumbled. He had started to feel it halfway through class, but didn't feel like he had the strength to get up. Bursting through the door, he kicked open an empty stall. Locking it behind him, he breathed a small sigh of relief. He couldn’t contain himself anymore.

Dropping to his knees with an echo that bounced off the ceramic tiled walls and floor, he leaned over the toilet and proceeded to vomit an alarming amount of blood into the bowl. Heaving over and over, the crimson liquid mixed with water. Onyx’s throat burned from the bile that traveled up, blood overflowed out of his nose, and his jaw had become sore from the muscles tensing up every time a fresh stream spewed from his mouth. It just wouldn’t stop!

‘At least it’s lunch time. Most of the students will be off compass or in the cafeteria, so I should have some time…’ His thoughts drifted off into nothing as he slowly lost consciousness, vomited one last time before slumping against the stall door with blood dripping off his chin.

“You should’ve seen the way he moved! He went through that obstacle course so damn fast, it was like he was flying. Beat my record time like it was nothing. The nerve of the guy!” Rainbow Dash begrudgingly sat back down in the booth of the cafe, crossing her arms with a big frown on her face.

Applejack chuckled and nudged her friend’s arm. “Aw, don’t be like that, sugarcube. You’re the fastest person I know. I reckon in a week or two, you’ll have your name back up ‘n that wall in no time.”

Rainbow Dash huffed and mumbled some curses in response, unwilling to accept she was athletically outmatched. Applejack rolled her eyes and turned to her friends surrounding the table. Twilight and Sunset were conversing back and forth about current Equestrian events and how Sunset has been adjusting since she met the Twilight Sparkle that belonged to this world. Pinkie Pie was stuffing her face with an assortment of pastries from the cafe’s small bakery, bits of danish and muffin smothering her face. Fluttershy and Rarity, peacefully sat next to each other as they scrolled through their phones and sipped from their drinks; Fluttershy with her jasmine tea, and Rarity with her caramel latte macchiato.

“So, uh… did any of y’all else see that new guy around?” Applejack asked.

All action ceased at the question. Pinkie stopped dead from stuffing her face full. The conversation between Sunset and Twilight trailed off into silence. Rarity and Fluttershy looked up from their phones. They all stared at the cowgirl. The only one that didn’t show a reaction was Rainbow Dash, who was still pouting.

“Well,” Sunset started, , “Pinkie and I had him in our history class. He slept through most of the lesson, didn’t really stand out much, if that’s what you're asking.”

“Rarity and I had him in our chemistry class. He worked alone and got everything done early,” added Twilight, leaving out some important information.

“Um, I saw him in the hall,” Fluttershy timidly chirped. Her friends focused their attention on the shy girl, and she tapped her fingers together as her gaze focused on the table, a faint blush on her cheeks. “H-he helped me when I fell and dropped my notebooks. I invited him to have lunch, but he said he had things to do.”

“Huh,” Applejack awkwardly huffed. “That’s nice of him.”

A smirk pulled at Rarity’s lips, a subtle spark of mischief in her eyes. “Is there something you want to know about him? Something particular perhaps, Applejack?” she asked, her voice suggestive.

Applejack caught on to Rarity’s words. Pink stained her cheeks at the accusation. “W-what!? I don’t know what you mean by that,” she said innocently.

Rarity lightly chuckled and playfully clawed her hand at Applejack. “Oh please, dear! We all saw how rough and handsome he was,” she said playfully. “Besides, you and Rainbow Dash saw him as he demonstrated his physical prowess. With all those dark colors covering him up, it’s hard not to make a girl’s mind wonder.” Rarity let her eyes float up as she tipped a finger to her chin, then came back with a soft smile.

“We’re not all hopeless romantics like you Rarity,” Applejack jabbed back. Rarity pretended to take offense and looked away with her chin high. “Anyway, with what y’all said, he seems just like a normal guy, if rather intimidatin’. But I don’t think this Oslyx feller is who he says he is. When we first met, he said he was from Edgecreek. I’ve been down there a few times with my pa myself. The way he said it was strange, like how folks talk when they lie, but I couldn’t tell if he was or wasn’t.”

“Do you think Sunset was right? That he really is here due to an evil plot that has something to do with Equestria?” asked Twilight, the concern in her voice plain to hear. “If his demonstration on the obstacle course is anything to go by, he could be more dangerous than anything we’ve faced.”

Applejack shook her head. Initially, after seeing his display on the obstacle course, she had the idea that he was a part of some wicked plan. Nobody could be that strong and fast, and not be up to something. However, as she thought over it in her next class, she took back her accusations. There weren't any instances where he went out of his way to be rude to the other students, he just kept to himself. “No, I don’t think he’s got anythin’ to do with that stuff,” she replied. “There was something about him that didn’t fit with the same, uh… behavior, like the first three times.”

“Hm, well, if you say so, AJ,” said Sunset, content with her friend’s explanation.

Confusion set in Applejack’s eyes as she looked among her friends. She shook her head as fuzzy memories forced themselves to the surface of her mind. The images were too unrecognizable to be her own memories, yet they seemed so familiar. It was like she was trying to look at pictures in a scrapbook and forgot to wear her glasses. “There’s somethin’ else,” she murmured. “I recognize him, or at least it feels like I do. Like that feelin’ you get when you feel like you’ve seen someone before, but not sure where. I guess it’s sorta like when I met one of my distant cousins after so long I didn’t recognize them. An intense lookin’ feller like that, you’d think to recognize him immediately.” She tipped her stetson over her eyes and shuddered.

She wouldn’t admit it, but just being in his presence filled her with an inexplicable sense of dread. It clogged her mind and brought back memories she would have wished to forget long ago. Her friends became concerned with her behavior. It wasn’t like Applejack to act so scared.

“Are you doing alright, Applejack? You don’t seem yourself,” said Twilight.

A long pause followed, the girl’s stetson coming back up to reveal the heavy look in her eyes. She sighed as she rubbed the bridge of her nose.

“It’s that darned alley and those sick men.” Everyone’s mood sunk at the mention of that awful encounter. The mere mention of it took effect on everyone, their own dreadful expressions showing as well. Applejack looked away, ashamed of her fear. “I can’t get it outta my head. Everytime I think of somethin’ it creeps back in, and everytime I think about it, I’m reminded how damn helpless we were. Sittin’ there bare, robbed of what little money we had, scared out of our damn minds wonderin’ what was gonna happen to us. I was genuinely thinkin’ we was gon’ die in that alley, or something worse.”

Her fists clenched in anger. She was always looked upon as the strong girl that could take any problem or situation at face value and come out unscathed. But now, with her realization that there are far worse things out there than mythical creatures from a parallel world, and she-demons bent on harnessing the magic from that world and taking it over. She had seen horrible things happen in the news and read about them in newspapers, but the one thing she never seemed to forget was the heinous acts of violence carried out by individuals. Sirens and demons were one thing - monsters, yes - but she and her friends were able to defeat those and even change some of them. Those men, though, they were real monsters; and that man in black, she didn’t even want to think about how much of a monster he was. She could tell her friends were thinking the same thing.

Author's Note

It's been a while since there was an actual chapter update, huh? Sorry about that, little thing called a god tier shit memory. Anyway, chapter 4 is about halfway done since I was working on that the same time as this one.