“Thank you all for coming.” Headmare Twilight reared up and put her front hooves on the podium as the last students filled into their seats. “I’m sorry to call the entire student body together on such short notice, but it’s something of an emergency.” A pink glow lifted a sheet of paper from the podium up to her face. “As those of you who have been studying should remember, the first time my friends and I worked together was when we were defeating Nightmare Moon. Princess Luna recovered from the effects of the Nightmare on her body and mind, but she feared it might not be defeated.” The Headmare shuffled her hastily-prepared notes. “When it bonded with her, she remembered it let out a pulse of magic, so she kept monitoring for that same signature, which theoretically would inform her if it had bonded again.”

Twilight sighed deeply. “And she’s just reported that another, identical pulse of magic appeared, sometime within the last 24 hours. Right now, we don’t know what the Nightmare’s goal is, but we’re afraid it might involve the school. The Nightmare seems to be attracted to anger and resentment, and we teachers have certainly made some enemies. The lure of revenge is strong. With this in mind, I think it’s wise to tell you all everything I know about the Nightmare, just in case it tries to attack us again. Knowledge, after all, is the best defense.”

She tapped her index cards twice on the podium, straightening them, and lifted the top one off, glancing at it occasionally, but mostly speaking from memory. “Before the universe began, before there was space or time, there were six singularities, each with a magic greater and deeper than we can even comprehend. But then-”

In a blur of technicolor light, Rainbow Dash was in Twilight’s face. “Can we do the Clopp’s Notes version? We’ve got classes in fifteen minutes, and the story is kinda long.”

“You don't even know how long it is!” Twilight protested. “You fell asleep when I was telling you about it!”

Rainbow rolled her eyes. “Yeah. ‘Cause it was long. Clopp’s Notes, Twilight.”

“Fiiine.” Rainbow Dash retreated to her seat, and Twilight cleared her throat and continued, skipping ahead by several note cards. “In the beginning of the universe, there were two beings, more powerful than anyone who’s been born since. Their names were Infinity and Harmony.”

Ocellus waved her hoof. “Ooh, ooh! Are they related to the Infinity Stones and Elements of Harmony?”

Twilight nodded, smiling. “That’s right! A shame somepony told me to skip that part, it’s fascinating…” She sighed. “Be that as it may, they were there in the beginning of the universe, and it wouldn’t be too much of a stretch to describe them as gods. Infinity wanted everything to be preserved, unchanging, but Harmony wanted new and different things, working together as one, not being one. They clashed often, and usually ended up with a compromise, but overall, they were friends. Maybe more. Then, at some unknown point… they both fell. They became less, darker--I would say corrupted, but there wasn’t an outside force affecting them. Both of them became less powerful, but also evil. Infinity would rather have had no life at all, a perfect unchanging void, than allow even a little bit of chaos. Harmony didn’t care if different things worked together, and actually preferred them to clash, total chaos forever, constant quarreling. And, since they’d both lost so much power, they came down to just one planet, instead of spreading over the entire universe. They came to Equestria, and ponies started to call them by new names… the Nightmare, and Discord.”

Murmuring broke out among the students. Headmare Twilight waved a hoof to quell it. “Recently, Discord was able to regain himself and become Harmony again… but I’m sure I don't have time to talk about that,” she added, with a glare towards Professor Dash, who was already yawning. “Suffice it to say that it took a very dramatic gesture to bring him back. We can’t count on being able to reform the Nightmare.

“Which means that, now that she’s come back, we’ll be keeping an eye out. I mean, it should be pretty easy to spot--she’s got a tendency to dramatically change ponies’ appearances. It’s completely possible she’ll ignore the school altogether, but we really can’t count on that. And, of course, there’s a few other security measures, of the ‘surprise’ type that generally doesn’t get explained in front of a large crowd. I’m sure you understand.” She cleared her throat and looked around the room. "Now, if you're wondering what you can do to help... just keep an eye out. If you see somepony who looks different, maybe with a mane that floats in the air, a darker color scheme, or a taller body, let one of your professors know. I know we don't have a lot to go on right now--everything we know is nebulous. Just keep your eyes out for something suspicious. If you see something, say something!"

Gallus rolled his eyes. "How are we supposed to see something if we don't know what we're looking for?"

Twilight sighed. "Like I said, I know we don't have a lot to go on. But the main thing we're watching for is unusual appearance and behavior, and as much as we'd like to, we don't know every student in the school. But you all know each other. This is a school of friendship, right? You know your friends. Don't be overly suspicious, but be aware. Let us know if there are any issues." She smiled. “Any other questions? Yes, Professor Dash?”

“Yeah, uh, why are we still here?”

Headmare Twilight rolled her eyes. “All right, assembly dismissed. You can return to your normal classes.”

Ingar stood and stretched as the students began to file out of the room. He looked over at his—maybe not friends, yet, but the group that he spent time with. Silverstream gave him a cheerful wave from across the room. He waved back, then made a shooing motion with his hands. Go ahead.

Headmare Twilight was stacking her notes back up when he approached her. She looked up. “Ingar! Our newest student! How can I help you?”

He shuffled his feet awkwardly. “Well- um- Well, Headmare, your school is amazing, and I’d like to thank you for allowing me to come here.”

“Oh!” She smiled. He hadn’t been finished, so she was really interrupting, but he was sure she hadn’t noticed. “You’re welcome! This school is meant to represent all the creatures of Equus, so now that your people are living here, it was only natural to invite one of them as a student. Are you adjusting well to the change, or are you homesick? Are you making friends? All of your professors are here for you if you need anything.”

He shook his head. “I was homesick at first… and lost. Very lost. But then I met a group of six creatures of all sorts. I might not fit in among ponies, but I fit in with them.”

Twilight’s eyes widened. “Did you say six?”

“Uh… yes?”

Her horn flared, and a paper and quill floated in front of her face. “Yes, of course, the other foreign students… I should have thought of this before… this is a great idea! I can’t believe I didn’t-”

Ingar cleared his throat awkwardly. “Uh, Headmare, there was something else I wanted to talk about.”

“Oh!” Sheepishly, she tucked the paper away. “Sorry! Sorry. I got carried away. What’s on your mind?”

“I… This school is amazing, but… When I came here, there was one thing I was hoping to learn, above all else, and none of the classes are telling me.”

Twilight cocked her head interestedly. “Oh? What’s that?”

He took a deep breath. There was nothing for it but to take the plunge. “…magic.”

“Hmm.” Twilight tapped her hoof on her chin, thinking. “One second.” Her horn flashed even brighter, and there was a faint pop. A stack of paper appeared out of thin air in front of her. She flipped through the pages for a moment. “Aha! Yeah, that’s what I thought. We were planning to start a class in magic—elective, of course—next year. Assuming you, as an Asgardian, are able to mimic pony magic, unicorn magic specifically, you can feel free to join us. But don’t you all have magic of your own? You should be learning that, and I can’t teach it to you.”

Ingar looked down, rubbing his arm. “No one can,” he mumbled.

Twilight tipped her ears forward. “What?”

“No one can!” he snapped. “Asgardian magic is all special and unique. The king shoots lightning. His crazy brother creates illusions. My dad is really, really strong. But they’re all different, and nobody can help me find mine. It’s supposed to ‘come in its own time’, but everyone else had theirs when they were my age. But all ponies have magic, all the same magic. So I thought… maybe I could learn that instead.”

Headmare Twilight smiled sympathetically. “Of course. Every foal goes through that with their cutie mark. Here, I’ll tell you what. I’ll tutor you in magic for now, so that when magic classes start next year, you’ll be at the same level as everypony else. Now you should get to class. But…” She winked as she turned away. “…I might have a surprise for you and your friends soon.”

Author's Note

Sorry this is so late in the day, guys! I try to update on Saturdays but I was crazy busy today.