"Woah," said Rainbow Dash, "Mr Starswirl, we heard all of that. I would just like to say," she ran across the room faster than Starswirl could blink and turned off the projector, "that we all want to learn this magic stuff. I don't like what you said about us, and I want to change your mind." The look on her face was one of fierce determination.

"Finally a trace of power. I thought that Sunset was lying when she said that you were supernaturals," Starswirl told himself. It was loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Fine, Starswirl," Sunset snapped at him. "We're leaving. I don't care what you have to say. If you can't be kind, don't be unkind to us either." She prepared to transport her friends back to her bungalow.

"Dear, oh dear, Sunset, my student. Such defiance. I expected this. You know that there is no way that you can do this without my help. I promise to help you teach your friends -" she shot him a glare, "and be nicer when giving my opinion."

They all sat down again and Starswirl turned on the projector. The images were black and white, but some sort of demon could be seen writhing in a net trap. It slashed through the net and Starswirl turned the projector off.

"That," said Starswirl, "was a net trap that I used on a demon. It failed spectacularly. However, some ropes that are used in nets are better than others. There is a type of rope that will never be cut through and never break. The more it is pulled, the stronger it becomes. I do not have enough of it to make a net, although I could buy a net made of it fairly cheap. However, my very unpopular opinion is that we should not use a net at all. Instead, we should just hurt Twilight enough that Midnight will want to leave, then heal her and apologise afterwards. Once Midnight has no host, she will be vulnerable."

"Merlin, we have two issues with that," mused Sunset, silently furious with him for saying that. The others stared at her and him. "Yep, meet Merlin Starswirl. The very same Merlin from the legends about King Arthur. Most of the stuff in the legends is nonsense, but my mentor is a wizard if sorts. Now, the two issues with that plan.

"The first is that I don't want to hurt Twilight. This is not just because it would take time to heal her, but also because she's our friend. The second issue: Midnight transforms into her true self whenever she is granted control. She already has a form that she transforms into. Demons are known for their little tricks, so what would stop her from building her own body? Actually, I told a lie. There's a third issue. Midnight has permission to take over during the day and kill innocent people if they threaten her. We don't want her to do that."

"To blazes with that. I am a fully trained supernatural, you are a two hundred and fifty year old supernatural who has nearly completed her training, and we have five untrained supernaturals who won't leave us alone and want to tag along - I mean help."

"I hate you."

"I know."

"Get out."

"I will."

"We're going home."

She transported all of them back to her bungalow and let her friends leave. However, when Starswirl went to leave, she grabbed his cape.

"No. You are not going to hurt my friends," she told him firmly.

"There is no other way, Sunset," was his answer.

"There must be. You don't care about hurting others. You do it all the time, both physically and emotionally. I really don't want you to help, but I know that I cannot take down two demons on my own. That's the only reason I haven't thrown you to Tartarus where you can kill as many demons as you want. There's plenty there."

"Sunset-"

"Don't you Sunset me," she warned.

"Daydream."

She froze. She had once been called Daydream by a close friend, back even before she was a half demon, and it held good memories. Her flashback was stoped abruptly by Starswirl punching her jaw. She held a hand to it as he said to her, "You fool. You hold connections with others. You have friends. Friends let you down. I suggest that you move on as soon as possible when this is all over." He disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaving a smell of ozone behind.

She scowled at the spot where he had stood. To Tartarus with him. He wanted to hurt Twilight and he despised her friends. He had punched her. He hadn't punched her for at least thirty years. The blows never got any softer. She always tried not to annoy or upset him, but occasionally she did. This was one of those times. She looked in her freezer and held a bag of sweetcorn to her jaw to stop the pain and bruising. Sometimes, Merlin Starswirl could be a nutcase. Then again, so could anyone who had been alive for over a thousand years.

She saw the moon rising. Midnight Sparkle, and so many other demons and half demons around the world, were ready to ruin people's lives. She had studied with Starswirl in a futile attempt to eradicate them for good, but it was impossible. There were always more. She started to regret not spending more time with normal people. Being this magical, god-like superhuman was all well and good, but there was more to life than that. Love. Friendship. Happiness. Starswirl did not trust anyone and could not keep his mouth shut long enough to form a bond with someone. Thus, he believed that friends and lovers were a waste of time and spent his time ridding the world of unpleasant creatures and sometimes people. Sunset was not going to turn down his help and his plan, but she wanted to prove that her friends were good people as well.

"Hello," came the voice of Midnight Sparkle.

Author's Note

Merlin Starswirl is not a very likeable person. I wanted to portray him as a grumpy old man who thinks he knows best. I think I succeeded.