Chapter 15

Phoenix

It was late afternoon when the train arrived to take the team to Trottingham. The ride would take a few hours. While the students were chatting, Grey opened up his spell book and was reading about a new spell that would prove invaluable. A knock on the cabin door brought the man to his senses. He frowned when he saw the blonde haired Prince.

“Need something Blueblood?” He asked turning back to his book.

“That’s Captain to you.” The Prince spat out.

“Did you need something?”

“I came to offer you a deal.” Grey raised an eyebrow and looked at the Prince. “I’m willing to pay you for it of course.”

“Depends on what it is.”

“I have an agreement with the opposing team captain. If you agree to ‘go easy’ on them then you’ll get a piece of the action.” Grey closed his book and stared at the Prince.

“No thanks.” He stated as Blueblood took a seat.

“Come now, surely someone like you needs money.” Grey furrowed his brow.

“I said no, now scram. I’m reading.” Blueblood frowned. He always got what he wanted and he wasn’t going to let some stupid street rat ruin his money making business. He grabbed Grey by the collar and glared daggers into his eyes.

“Look here worm-” The two then heard a knock on the door to see Eris.

“There a problem here?” Blueblood didn’t know too much about the woman, but he knew that she was Discord’s daughter. That was reason enough to fear her. At the same time she was stunningly beautiful and Blueblood always liked rare beautiful things. Blueblood let the man go and he cleared his throat.

“No, just having a chat.” Blueblood stated. “Perhaps you’d like to come back to my cabin ad we can discuss a d-”

“I don’t date guys with vaginas.” She sat next to Grey and wrapped her arms around his. Blueblood’s eye twitched as Grey gave him a smug smirk. The fuming Prince walked out of the cabin. Grey snickered and realized Eris was still clinging to him.

“Eris, you can let go now.”

“Why would I want to do that?” She rested her head against his shoulder and smiled.

“Eris, I’m trying to read and-” The girl’s body then morphed into a small black and white tiger cub. The feline then walked onto his lap and curled up into a ball as it purred. Damn it Eris. He thought as Bolt and Roach walked in and sat across from the man. “Sup guys?”

“Blueblood just came around.” Roach said.

“Asked you to throw the fight?” The two nodded. “Yeah he just came by, told him to buck off.”

“You do know he’s a Prince right?” Bolt said.

“So what? He’s got no leverage.” Grey could see that there was something else on their minds. “There something else you wanna ask?”

“It involves Eris.” Grey felt the cat adjust itself on his lap.

“Oh, well what do you want to know?” Bolt looked at Roach who shrugged.

“How is she in the sack?” The man felt the cat’s gaze fix on him and it's nails starting to dig into his leg.

“She was okay and-” The cat dug it’s nails deeper into his thigh. “I mean she was awesome. Crazy good.” The cat purred in approval. The door slid opened to show Winter with an annoyed look on her face.

“What’s with the tiger?” She asked as she sat next to Grey. The tiger turned and hissed at the ice mage. Winter glared at the feline resulting in the cat showing it’s claws making the girl gulp. “Anyway, Blue-balls just came by and-”

“Wanted you to throw the fight?” The men asked.

“Yeah, you guys too?”

“Told him to screw off.” Roach stated.

“Same.” Grey and Bolt said.

“Why would he ask us to throw the fight?” All eyes turned towards the cat.

“Did that cat just talk?” Roach yelled. The cat’s body started glowing and Eris took her original form. Grey sighed and face palmed trying to ignore the woman on his lap.

“Anyway, I know Blueblood is betting on our team to lose and is purposely throwing fights. Like he did in the fist match.”

“He did what?” Winter growled.

“Armor can’t do anything without proof. So I intend to get proof and then kick his ass off the team.” The group felt the brakes engage and the train pulling to a halt. The teams got their bags and made their way through the small city of Trottingham to a hotel. Grey and the other two men were given a room with three beds and the girls were across the hall. After unpacking the teammates were allowed to wander around the city so long as they were back by eleven.

“So what do we do now?” Grey asked.

“How about the zoo?” Eris said.

“You’d let the animals out in a heartbeat.” The woman stuck her tongue out at the grey eyed mage. As he walked forwards he accidentally bumped into someone.

“Hey watch where you’re going!” The girl snapped.

“Watch where you’re standing.” Grey said as he stood up. His eyes shrank when he saw the girl. She had dark skin and shoulder length green hair that was styled in a ponytail. The girl squinted and stared at Grey with her deep red eyes.

“You look familiar. Do I know you somewhere?”

“N-no, sorry about that. My head was in the clouds.” He said as he adverted his eyes.

“Well, I’ve never see any of you guys around-”

“Jade? Where’d you go?” Grey’s eyes shrank at the male voice yelling.

“Over here Sage!” The girl stuck her hand up and waved. Soon a tall man with dark green hair appeared next to her.

“Jade you can’t just run off like that.”

“Oh stop being such a worry wort.”

“I’m your brother, it’s my job.” He then noticed the two. “Who’re these two?”

“Just bumped into them.”

“Literally.” Eris said. “I’m Eris.” She stuck out her hand that the green haired man proceeded to shake and then kiss it. Eris giggled while Grey frowned.

“Sage Fullbuster. A pleasure.” He noticed the man’s icy stare and let her hand go. He then gestured to the woman. “My sister, Jade.”

“Hi!” She smiled. The two then looked at the dark haired man.

“Grey.” He said.

“So what brings you two to our fair city?” The man asked.

“We got a fight.” Eris said with a grin.

“Really?” Jade asked. “Us too. We’re going up against some school kids.”

“What my sister means is that we’ll be facing the Starswirl Sages tomorrow.” Eris and Grey looked at one another.

“You two are part of the Trottingham Slashers?” The siblings nodded. A silence fell between the group and the brother looked to his sister who shrugged.

“There a problem?”

“I’m a squad leader for the Starswirl Sages.” The two winced and sighed.

“Oh, well this is awkward.” Jade said.

~~~

Back at the hotel, Shining had just finished a shower. He wasn’t sure what it was about train rides that always made him feel dirty. He got changed and sat on his bed. He saw his communication gem vibrating and he levitated it into his hand. As he ran his magic through it an image of Celestia appeared before him.

“Princess.” He saluted.

“Oh come now Shining, we’re family now.” Shining gave a weak chuckle. Even though he and the Princess were family, the instinct to salute Celestia and Luna came to him involuntarily. “How was the train ride?”

“Can’t complain, we arrived an hour ahead of schedule.” He sighed and looked at the Princess. “How is she doing?”

“Same as ever.” Celestia said with a hint of sadness in her voice. “She might like a visit from you.” The man hung his head and gritted his teeth.

“I-I don’t think that that’d be the best idea.”

“It’s been over twenty years. Aside from me, she doesn’t have anyone else to talk to.”

“What would I say to her Princess? ‘Sorry for arresting you?’” The man rubbed his face and sighed. “I’m sorry about that Princess.”

“No, I understand. I know how close you two were. She always did say that you were her favorite student.”

“Ironic that I ended up throwing her in the same cage she helped build.” Shining rubbed his eyes and sighed. “Sorry Princess but it was a long train ride and I need my rest for tomorrow.”

“Of course. I’ll be watching on the TV.” Shining broke the connection and set the gem beside him. The man laid back and sighed before picking up the remote and turning on the news.

~~~

Back down in town, Eris and Grey allowed the sibling to show them around the city, so long s they avoided the fact that they were going to fight tomorrow. Eris and Jade had loads in common and were chatting away while Grey stayed relatively silent. As the evening started turning into the night, the two were lead into a bar. Grey made sure Eris didn’t drink too much for obvious reasons.

“So how long have you two been in the dueling team?” Jade asked.

“This is our first year.” Eris said.

“And you’re already a squad leader?” Sage said as he looked at Grey. The man only gave a nod. Jade felt the conversation going stale.

“So are you two a couple?” Both faces blushed.

“Um, it’s compli-”

“We just fuck.” Eris cut the man off in a flat tone. Grey hung his head and sighed.

“Been there.” Sage said.

“So have you two lived in Trottingham all your life?” Eris asked as she sipped her drink.

“No, we moved here from Canterlot.”

“Where in?”

“The Osiris.” Eris almost choked on her drink.

“No way! I’m from there too!”

“Bullshit.” Sage said.

“I’m not lying. Grey back me up here.” She looked to her left to see a vacant seat. “The fuck?” She saw a note on a napkin.

Went back to hotel. Don’t stay out too late. Eris face palmed and sighed.

“He doesn’t say much does he?” Jade asked.

“He's just tired. See you two tomorrow, you’re gonna lose to us.”

“We’ll see.” Eris exited the bar and Sage looked at his sister.

“Something bugging you bro?”

“Was it just me, or did that guy feel familiar?”

“Yeah, talk about deja vu. Something just felt off about him.” She rubbed her arms and shivered. “I haven’t felt a chill like that in years.” The man nodded and the two called it a night.

Eris made her way back to the hotel. She made her way into her room and sighed to see Winter reading a book. The two girls ignored one another and Eris went to bed to get ready for tomorrow.

~~~

Back in Canterlot, Scarlet had just came back from her five mile run and wanted nothing more than to relax in a hot bath and ease her aching muscles. As she walked into her dorm she saw Nova with a bag of popcorn sitting on their couch.

“Hey Rosy you’re just in time!”

“For what?”

“The National Dueling Team Fights! Its the Starswirl Sages against the Trottingham Slashers!” Scarlet only rolled her eyes at the words. She had heard of the NDTF, but never paid enough attention to care.

“Put me down for ten bits on the Slashers.” She said as she got a change of clothes and went into the bathroom.

~~~

The team arrived at the local field where they would have their fight. The arena was a large dirt court with bleachers several feet off the ground surrounding the field. Grey and his team were getting suited up before Grey spoke up.

“Guys listen up.” The group looked towards him. “There are two mages you should watch out for. They both have green hair.”

“You mean Sage and Jade?” He nodded at the chaotic girl.

“If you’re put up against them, then forfeit the round.” The group looked at him in surprise. “With any luck I’ll be fighting them and take them out.”

“So you do know them!” Eris said as she crossed her arms.

“We were in he same guild for years. They left a few years back, haven’t seen them since and I don’t know what kind of tricks they have up their sleeves.”

“So what do you know?” Winter asked.

“As far as I know, they both use fire magic.” The group then got dressed and hung back from the rest of the team. Soon, the two coaches approached one another and shook hands before the announcer spoke into the mic.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, boys and girls. On the right our pride and joy, the Trottingham Slashers!” The crowd cheered as several magic blasts filled the sky forming a bear’s head with a three lined scratch going across it’s face. Soon the image changed to a twin headed green dragon breathing brilliant emerald flames from it’s mouth. The two green haired siblings walked forward and took their bows. The team heard a terrifying shriek and looked to see a large bird made of white fire swoop down from the sky and latch one of the dragon’s heads with it’s talons and rip it from the body.

The beak of the large bird then ripped the other head off before swallowing it. The large fire beast flared it’s magnificent wings and let out a caw that shook the stadium. The massive bird looked at the opposing team before changing into a cloud of smoke. The two fire mages looked in shock as the smoke started to clear and saw a hooded figure in the smoke. The shadow had on a dark gray coat with a hood and coat tails that went down to the back of his legs. The cuffs were a midnight blue that matched a vest underneath the coat.

The siblings noticed the two silver eyes staring at them like two gun barrels waiting to be fired. The green haired man cracked his neck and Grey could see the anger in his eyes, along with a dark grin. Grey walked back towards the rest of the team and sighed.

“Let the show begin.” Shining looked at Grey’s altered uniform and noticed the rest of his squad had similar alterations. Eris had a yellow cloak with a brown, modest looking vest. Bolt’s was an electric blue with a darker vest. Winter’s was icy blue and had a white version of vest similar to the others. Finally, Roach’s was dark green with a lighter shaded vest. Shining took note that the two women were wearing modified versions of their school skirts that matched their color coordination. On their backs showed a magnificent white bird flaring it’s wings as if it were flying through the sky.

Shining saw the modifications and approached Grey. “What is that?” He pointed to the emblem.

“That is a phoenix, my squad’s sigil.” Eris shot Grey a dark look and realized that’s what he thought of when they were in the woods together.

“I hate you.” Eris pouted.

“Liar.”

“You deformed the uniform!”

“Only altered, not deformed.” Grey waved his wand and summoned a small book with sticky notes sticking out of the pages. He turned to one of marked pages and grinned. “It stated in the rules that all uniforms must have at least eight inches of the royal blue color showing.” He pointed to the cuffs that were each four inches in length.

“Those two are wearing dresses.” He pointed to the two women.

“It’s a combat skirt.” Winter said.

“Yeah.” Eris stood next to the ice mage and the two high five’d one another.

“Rules say that skirt length must be the same as their school uniforms. They still are.” Shining felt like ripping out his hair. “I’m not breaking any rules coach, just working around them.” The coach gritted his teeth and sighed.

“We’re going to talk about this afterwards.” Grey nodded and the team sat on the sidelines. Soon Heat sat next to him and they started talking.

“So how’s the whole wooing Trixie plan going?” The pyromage took in a deep breath and sighed.

“Wanna trade Winter or Eris for her?”

“No way in hell. I warned you she was a handful.” Grey sighed.

“Who redesigned your uniforms?” The fire mage asked.

“That’d be Rarity.” Heat raised an eyebrow. “Purple hair, always has make up on and has an accent.”

“Oh! She’s in my history class! She is so hot!”

“Very true.” Grey chuckled. He didn’t think of Rarity in a romantic sense, but he had to admit that she was a knock out. “She lives across the hall from me.”

“You lucky prick.” The matches was winding down and Shining, most likely out of spite for the man dodging the red tape, had chosen to make Grey’s squad sit out. Thanks to Heat’s team, the Sages were ahead in points and would undoubtedly win. Trixie had earned her striped by taking out two of the opposing squad’s mages. The performer decided to rest in the back seeing no more need for her being there.

The last match was selected. Unlike the others, this would be a double battle. Two members from each team would fight it out and the point were worth double. The two green haired pyromancers were the Slasher’s chosen team. Sage waved his wand and summoned a microphone and cleared his throat.

“On my challenge,” The crowd grew silent. “I select the phoenix squad captain as our opponent.” All eyes turned to Grey who kept his face still like a sphinx. “Choose one of your squad to be your partner.” The arguing started almost immediately. Luckily, the man anticipated this and calmed them down.

“There’s only one way to settle this fairly and equally.” He said in a serious tone.

“You don’t mean!” Winter said as Grey reached inside his coat.

“Oh I mean.” He then pulled out four straws. “The straws.” The group gulped. They all knew the implications of breaking the straw code. “Now we draw.” He held out the straws so they were all level in height with one another. The four drew their respective straws and Eris got the shortest of the four.

“Yes!” She pumped her fist in victory while the others pouted. The two walked onto the field and got ready. Eris cracked her neck and grinned. The two met in the center and waited for the buzzer to begin their match.

“I hope you’re ready for this.” Jade said.

“More than ready.” Sage noticed Eris’s hands were shaking.

“You’re trembling. Nervous much?” The woman cracked a smile.

“I’m trembling with excitement.”

“Don’t underestimate them.” Grey said as he primed his muscles. The group waited, the bell finally rang, and all hell broke loose. Grey immediately fell back from his position while Eris charged in. “Eris don’t!” His warning came too late as a fire covered punch connected with the woman that sent her flying backwards. Grey quickly jumped and caught her before she was thrown out of the battle area.

While he set his feet down on the ground he felt a fire blast hit him from the side. He stood up and already felt his shell beginning to crack. Eris shot several bolts at the two mages who dodged them with ease. Jade then shot out several fire balls that acted like homing missiles and went after the girl like a cat after a mouse. Grey had his hands full avoiding similar blasts from Sage. Grey saw an opening and shot a small blast through the onslaught that hit the mage and made him stagger back.

“Not bad.” Sage said as he cracked his knuckles. He looked over towards his sister who had her hands full with Eris who was now shooting rocks at her like a machine gun. Jade was taking damage no matter how little it was. “Jade! Time to end this.” The girl nodded and back flipped next to her brother before pulling out her wand and closing her eyes. Grey could feel their magic mixing and the air become humid.

“Oh no.” He said as they both their eyes started to glow a light green.

“What’s wrong Grey? Got cold feet?” Eris said before charging in.

“No Eris, you don’t understand!” The girl didn’t head his warning and charged her magic into her fists. Both of the siblings smirked and both unleashed a fire blast that spun end over end like a drill. Eris lowered her right fist and waited. As the blast got into proximity, she gave it a swift uppercut. The blast shot up into the sky and eris cracked her knuckles.

“That all you got?” The Twins still held their cocky grins. Eris looked up to see the fire blast coming down like a flaming comet. “Oh come on!” Eris shot several blasts of magic at the fire ball that would not change it’s destination. Eris gather a large amount of magic in her hands and fired a large beam headed for the center of the fire ball.

The beam hit dead on and was starting to push the large ball back. The siblings were more than surprised by the effort and put in more of their magic. Eris was struggling to keep the beam going as the ball increased in size and ferocity. The fireball was pushing towards the woman as she grunted in exertion. The ball was getting closer to her and Eris put all her strength into her beam, but it wasn’t enough. The boost only gave her another few seconds.

The woman felt the ground rumbling and saw something large come out of the ground and catch the fire ball. She turned to her left to see Grey with both his hands on the ground with seals around each palm. She looked towards the ball and saw that it was a giant armored hand that had caught the ball and crushed it in it’s palm. Both siblings looked in shock and confusion at the armored hand that had stopped their spell.

Eris heard a groan and saw that Grey’s right hand was severely burned. “Grey what did you do!?” She asked as she crouched next to him.

“You’re such an idiot.” He said as more cracks appeared on his face and he coughed up some blood. “You can’t just charge in like that.” He said as he slowly stood up and panted.

“It’s been quite a while since anyones deflected our comet. Well done.” Jade said as she cracked her neck. “But what about the second one?” Eris and Grey looked to the sky and saw another, bigger fireball coming down on top of them. Grey felt sweat forming on his brow and he looked at his partner.

“Eris, please tell me you’ve got some sort of inter dimensional trick up your sleeve.”

“Nope. I may be Discord’s daughter, but I don’t have that kind of magic.” She gulped. Grey looked at the sky and waited for the fire to rush him.

What will you do? A familiar voice echoed in Grey’s mind and a familiar shadow appeared in front of him. Time seemed to slow and everything turned dark.

What do you want? Grey groaned.

Only to see you what you do in this situation. The figure started to walk around the man and looked up to the sky. You’re certainly in a predicament.

No shit Starswirl. The figure snapped its fingers and a large par of black double doors appeared before the man.

You know this door, you know what’s on the other side. Grey gulped at the dark door. If he opened it then evrything he'd worked so hard to conceal would be undone. The images would flow once more. Grey gulped and shivered at the thought. Are you willing to do what is necessary? Grey looked at the door and ran his hand across the seam of the doors. Either he lose now or risk his sanity once more.

Mind if I ask something? The figure gave a nod. What’s your name? The figure grinned and the shadows vanished. A woman in slimming golden armored chest plate that matched her golden arm and leg bracers stood before Grey with a long sharpened spear in her right hand, a round shield on her back. The figure’s dark red locks of hair were held back by a golden headdress that wrapped around her head and matched the rest of her outfit.

My name is Nike Titania.

Not a bad name. Grey kicked open the door and knew there was no going back. The world around him changed back and Eris felt something grab her by the collar and throw her out of range of the large blast.

“Grey!” She yelled as the large fireball came down on the man and exploded. The crowd gave a wince and waited fro the fire to subside. Through the smoke they saw a figure covered in soot getting to it’s feet.

“Okay, that hurt.” Eris breathed a sigh of relief. She checked the overhead board and saw that his health was in the red. The woman heard a loud cracking noise and saw what she assumed to be his shell breaking off his face revealing his normal skin, but his once midnight dark hair now showed to be white as snow like she had seen on Nightmare Night. Grey cracked his neck and made ‘the bring it on gesture’ to the siblings who were staring at him with eyes the size of pin tips.

“Eris, how much magic do you have left?” He asked as Eris ran up to him.

“I’ve got a bit.”

“I have an idea. It’s crazy, but it might work.” He said as he spat out a bit of blood. “Gather your magic and wait for my signal.”

“What about them?” She looked at the two pyromages who were getting ready for another attack.

“I can distract them. Just build up your magic and get ready.” Grey saw two green bolts of magic coming at him and swatted them away like flies. He aimed and fired two bolts of his own that exploded just before they got in front of the green haired mage. As the smoke from the tiny explosion cleared, Sage saw a magic charged fist coming out just as it collided with his face. The man slid back a few feet before a strong kick slammed into his gut.

Jade rushed Grey with a spell ready to flatten the man. Grey backflipped over the woman and fired a blast of magic point blank in her face, sending her face first into the ground. The crowd winced at the move and a few groans escaped the woman as she shook her head.

“Where’d he go?” Jade looked around and saw no trace of the man. She felt a massive amount of magic being manifested and set her sights on the woman. Grey was standing beside her and had two of his clones charging at them.

“Got enough power Eris?”

“Yeah, but for what?” Grey let out a long breath and folded his hands.

“You’re gonna feel strange in a second, but trust me it’ll work out. Hopefully.” Eris only gulped. She then felt a small electric tingle on her skin. The woman felt her body flooded with power and grinned.

“I don’t know what you did Grey, but I like this.” She grinned marveling at the power running through her.

“I took a play from their playbook.” He said as he saw his clones fall at the siblings. “I synchronized our magic. If this doesn’t work then we’re fucked.” Grey then turned his attention to the two green haired mages. “You two think of yourself as dragons.” He said in a flat tone. “As I’ve said before, you’re just two snake masquerading as them.” Grey summoned a blade and pointed it at the man. “Bring it Sage, or do you prefer Commandant?”

Both of the fire mages froze in place and sweat formed on the man’s brow. Eris and Grey charged at them. Sage shook off the shock and fired several fire balls at the two. Grey brushed the blasts off with his blade and Eris punched them out of her way as she closed in on the two. “Eris how’s you’re throwing arm?” She saw the man’s eyes flash and had an idea of what he was going to do.

She grabbed the man by his arm and spun him around multiple times before throwing him straight up into the sky. Eris levitated several rocks and stared firing them at the two mages like a machine gun. With a slam of her foot a large boulder shot up from the earth and was hurdled towards the two siblings who barely managed to dodge the piece of rock.

Jade cursed in frustration and wrapped her hands in flames and went after Eris, who stuck her hands in the ground and rocks accumulated on her fists and fore arms. The two locked blow after blow while Sage fired off more bolts of magic that Eris was dodging. Eris felt a large amount of magic gathering above her.

“Sorry folks but I gotta,” She pulled out a pair of sunglasses from nowhere. “duck out.” The two saw her vanish and a hole going deep into the ground was made where she was standing. Sage ran up to the hole and aimed his wand.

“I’ll burn her out of there.”

“Um bro.” He looked at Jade who was wide eyed and was staring up at the sky. Sage looked up and felt his blood run cold. Coming down at an insane speed was a large fire bird similar to the one that had beheaded their dragon at the beginning of the fights. This one looked bigger and was headed straight for them.

The two stood together and threw up a shield just as the large bird hit it’s mark and exploded in a flash of fire. The force sent many crowd members out of their seats and debris covered the field. The smoke cleared to show Grey on one knee panting. He had put everything he had into that last attack and he was dangerously low on magic. The grey eyed man saw Jade down for the count, but her brother was still standing wit a pissed look on his face.

“No question about it now.” He said as he started to approach the man. “Never thought I’d see you again, Sentinel.” As he got within three feet of Grey he aimed his wand and gathered his magic for a blast. “Any last words?”

“Yeah.” Grey threw on a smirk. “Checkmate.” The ground burst open and a rock covered fist collided with the fire mage’s chin. Eris came up from the ground and struck a pose as Sage was knocked on his back and no movement came from him. The bell signaled the end of the match and the crowd cheered. Grey let out a sigh of relief before succumbing to his exhaustion. As he fell back he felt Eris grab his arm and drape it over her shoulder. As they made their way back to their side the rest of their team came up to them.

“Wow, you guys certainly did a job on them.” Heat said.

“That bit with the giant bird was a bit much.” Roach said.

“Overkill is underrated.” Grey said before he coughed up more blood. “I need to sit down.” Eris brought him in the back and down on a bench as the rest of his team joined them.

“So are you like a Super Saiyan or something?” Bolt asked.

“No. Why?”

“Well, you got a power boost when your hair changed colors.” Winter said.

“My hair was always white. Sort of.” He coughed up another mouthful of blood and sighed. “It’s a very long story and I am so tired that I could fall asleep standing up.”

“Just get some rest.” Eris said. “You’re gonna need all the energy you can get for later on.” She said with a seductive grin on her face. Grey blushed as the other three face palmed.

~~~

Back in Canterlot, Nova was bouncing off the walls in excitement at the fight she had just witnessed. She was so worked up that she barely noticed her roommate sitting frozen. Scarlet’s eyes were the size of pin tips as she stared at the screen that showed the white haired mage’s face.

“That was the best fight ever!” Nova screeched. The flyer then saw the red haired guard and cocked her head. “You okay Scarlet?”

“Y-yeah, I’m fine.”

“You sure? You look kinda pale.” Nova said as she raised an eyebrow.

“I said I’m fine!” The woman snapped causing Nova to cringe back. “Sorry about that Nova, I’m just really tired. I’m gonna take a quick nap before dinner.” The woman got to her feet and went to her bunk.

“C’mon Rosy, you can talk to me. That’s what friends are for!” Nova chimed as she sat down on the bed.

“I just don’t want to talk right now.” Nova could hear the shake in her voice and decided to leave her be, for the moment.

~~~

The Starswirl Sages were still swelling with pride over their victory against the Slashers. Grey sat alone in one of the train cars with his right arm in several bandages. He hadn’t gotten enough of his magic back in order to repair his shell so his hair remained white. He stared down at the pages of his spell book and was analyzing the next spell he was going to add to his arsenal. A knock on the door snapped the man out from his gaze and looked up to see Eris along with the rest of his squad.

“We need to talk.” Winter said as she sat across from the man with the other two mages while Eris took a seat next to Grey.

“What about?” He asked as he closed his book.

“You’ve got a lot of secrets Grey. I understand that everybody has them, myself included,” Bolt said. “but if you expect me to follow your lead then, I need a reason to trust you and its hard to do that if you’re keeping some stuff we need to know from us.” His eyes were like two blue arrows ready to strike the man.

“Well, what do you want to know?”

“Let’s start with the hair.” Winter said. Grey adverted his eyes and felt a pang of fear ripped through him.

“If you can’t tell us something as simple as you real hair color, then I’m out of here.” Bolt said as he stood up. He paused for a moment before walking towards the door.

“It’s a medical condition.” Grey said without looking up. Th group looked at him in confusion.

“What medical condition?” Roach asked.

“It’s called canities subita, or Marie Antoinette Syndrome.” Roach bit his ip and tried to remember the name.

“Never heard of it.” Winter said.

“It’s a rare psychological condition.” Roach said. “I don’t remember the full definition, but it happens when someone witnesses something so frightening that it literally causes someone’s hair to turn white. It was named after Queen Marie Antoinette, she was the Queen of Prance three hundred years ago during the Prench Revolution and her hair turned white while she was awaiting execution after being captured by the revolutionaries.” The group looked at Roach in surprise. “What? I’m studying medicine. It’s important to know the history of a disease.”

“What he said. My hair used to be black, but it changed. I tinted my shell so it would look like it used to. Too many people were mistaking me for an old man.” Grey said in a flat tone. Everyone looked at one another. They all had one question they wanted to ask, but they were afraid to ask it. Eris let out a sigh and put her hand on Grey’s.

“You don’t have to tell us what happened.” Eris felt a tremor go through his body and she squeezed her hand around his.

“Thanks.” He gulped. “I was getting tired of hiding it anyway.” He cracked his neck and thought of something else.

“What was that thing you did with Eris after you got hit by that fire ball?” Bolt asked.

“I synchronized our magic wavelengths.” Grey said with another cough. “Which is probably why I’m like this.” He groaned.

“I don’t get it.” Winter said. Grey thought for a moment while rubbing his temples.

“Okay, you know how you run your magic through your wand?” The group nodded. “Well, I acted as a sort of conduit for her magic, along with adding my own into the mix giving both of us a temporary power boost. The draw back is that it leaves who ever the conduit is in bad condition.”

“Why’s that?”

“Think of magic like sound wavelengths.” Roach said. “If you tune a radio right then it will play music, but if not, then you only hear static. Grey here managed to match his magical wavelength with eris, just not perfectly. Even getting it off by a little bit means severe pain for whoever’s regulating the magic.” Their eyes turned towards Grey.

“What? I was out of options.” The group decided that it was best if they let Grey rest after such a hard fight.

Author's Note

Okay, before all you Fairy Tail fans jump down my throat let me explain something. I chose the name Titania becuase I'm having her personality match up with Titania from Shakespear's 'A Midsummer Night's Dream.' Nike is the greek Goddess of Victory. Their names play a vital role and will fall into place later on.