Chapter 19

Tickets and Unity

Many years ago.

“You’ve had quite the week Grey.” The child’s eyes were locked on the ground. His white hair covering his grey eyes. The sound of the ticking clock echoed through the silence. “Are you okay Grey?”

The boy gave a slow nod. “Grey, you don’t have to lie to me. I can see that you’re the farthest thing from okay.” Grey let out a sigh and looked back at the woman. She was young, possibly in her early thirties and had her hair tid in a bun.

“What’s wrong with me Dr.V?” The woman sighed and sat up in her chair.

“Nothing is wrong with you Grey.”

“Then why am I like this?” He said in a louder tone.

“Because of some...unfortunate factors that have effected your well being. That doesn’t mean something is wrong with you. It just means it will take time and effort on both our parts to heal.” The boy sighed in aggravation.

“I doubt anything can fix me.”

“You aren’t broken Grey.”

“Now who’s lying?” The boy said in a flat tone. The woman fell silent at the words. She picked up her cup of tea. After taking a sip she started to speak again.

“Grey, I won’t say that what you went through hasn’t damaged you. Nevertheless, you are still here. The fact that you’re still able to move forwards proves that you’re still in working condition.”

“How am I in ‘working condition?’” He said in air quotes. “I can’t go a day without popping three pills to calm myself down. I can’t even handle answering a question without running to the nearest closet to take my daily dose of crazy pills.” The woman folded her hands in her lap.

“So you think it’s your social anxiety?”

“The fact that I can knock a kid out twice my size easier than I can talk to someone should answer that.” He sighed.

“I see. So lets work on that. That girl you knocked down that you told me about; did you say you were sorry for knocking her over?” Grey raised an eyebrow at the woman.

“No, I just...freaked out and I pushed her aside and got out of there as quick as I could.” The child said sinking lower in his seat.

“It’s alright Grey. I’m not angry with you, but I think you should apologize, which is what you’re going to do.” Grey looked at her in confusion.

“What?”

“I want you to find this girl and formally apologize to her.”

“You just said I have this social problem and now you want me to go talk to some girl I don’t even know? You’re saying it like I don’t need pills to keep myself from going bat shit-”

“Language.” She said in a stern tone.

“From going bonkers.” He sighed.

“The first step in fixing any problem is admitting you have one. Which you have done, the next step is confronting it and this seems like the perfect opportunity to do just that. I’m not saying that you two should become best friends, but I think you owe her a simple apology.”

“I-I don’t know Doc.” He said in a hesitant tone. The doctor raised an eyebrow. “Fine. I’ll do it.”

“Good, but on one condition.”

“Here we go.” He groaned.

“I want you to do it,” She held out the capsule of pills. “without these.”

“They help.” He gulped.

“These are just a temporary fix Grey. They aren’t supposed to fix the problem, they just to calm you down.”

“And what if I freak out? What then?”

“Then you try again the next day.” Grey gulped and cracked his fingers. A nervous habit of his.

“Fine.” He was already sweating nervously.

“Grey, when someone goes through a traumatic experience one of two things can happen.” She said holding up two fingers. “Do you know what they are?” The white haired boy shrugged. “Some people, get stuck. They can’t move on. It happens to most people when they go through a traumatic event. Do you know the other reaction?” He shook his head. “They come out stronger than ever.”

“I don’t think I have that kind of strength.”

Present.

Shining sat in his office and sighed as he stared at the papers on his desk. Finally got you, you son-of-a-bitch. He looked at a file that had a photo of a fair skinned man with his dark green hair tied into a ponytail. A pair of aviator glasses covered his eyes. Another photo showed what lied beneath the glasses; a pair of spliced golden eyes, altered by magic. The top of the file read 'Dr. Lazarus. Formerly second in command of the mercenary group, BlackHawk’s research and development faction.' The man was currently being held in the dungeons beneath Canterlot castle for questioning. Soon, Princess Cadence came out and wrapped her arms around her husband’s neck before giving him a kiss on his cheek.

“Hey hun. How are things?” She asked in her usual warm tone.

“Recently, good. We just managed to capture a dark mage that may have info on the Black Hawk Mercenary group.” He said closing the file. Under the file was a picture of Grey. “One less mystery anyway.” He sighed.

“Are you still trying to find something about Grey?” She asked.

“Trying and failing.” The man grunted. “The kid is like a ghost. No birth certificate, no school records. Nothing and yet he’s able to use hand magic at such a young age.” Shining looked down at his hand and made a few sparks arc between his fingers. “I had three years in the royal guard under my belt before I even attempted it.” He sighed.

“It was a big shock.” Cadence said. “I knew the boy was talented, but not that talented.” The guard captain let out a sigh.

“No need to worry. I have my ways of gathering intel.” He smiled.

~~~

Grey waited outside his dorm with his spell book in hand. Out of the corner of his eye He saw a familiar ice mage and enchanter making their way towards him. “Hey guys, you two seem to be getting along quite well.” He smirked. Both of the teammates blushed.

“Shut your face!” Winter snapped. “You know why we’re here.” Grey looked at Roach who had the same look on his face.

“Right. Let’s talk inside. These halls have ears.” He said looking down the corridor. He opened the door to his dorm room to see a medieval styled hall with a large chair made of molten swords stood at the far edge of a long rectangular table. “Eris! You’ve been watching Game of Thrones again haven’t you?”

“What? That show is awesome!” Eris said. She was wearing an outfit that Cersei would wear.

“Is it always like this here?” Winter asked.

“It’s a grab bag. Sometimes a lava pit other times it’s a giant sand castle.” Grey said as he took a seat on the end. “At least make this a round table.” Eris snapped her fingers and the table shifted to a circular shape. “Thank you.” He said as he rested his chin on his hands. “Now I suppose you’re wondering why I called you here today.”

“Where’s Bolt?” Winter asked.

“Couldn’t reach him. Must be busy.” The white haired man shrugged. “Any who, no doubt you saw my little hat trick against Trixie.”

“Um yeah! The whole school saw it.” Roach said. “Mind explaining that?” He asked.

“I intend to do that, but I want to make sure this stays between us as a team. That sound fair?” The three teammates looked at one another and shrugged.

“Fine. So long as you don’t bullshit us.” Winter spat out. Grey sat back and started to tell his tale.

~~~

Canterlot Castle.

Scarlet sighed as she, Nova and Fox made their way through the barracks. “Ugh! When are we going to see some action?” Fox groaned. “I signed up for the Royal Guard to kick ass, not guard some dumb prisoner.”

“What did this guy do anyway?” Nova asked.

“Don’t know, plus it sounds easy.” Scarlet frowned as she saw a tall man with short blonde hair leaning against the doorway. Sargent Striker, he was a muscular man that made up for his lack of brain power.

“Hello ladies.” He smirked. The trio of women rolled their eyes.

“What do you want Striker?” Scarlet spat out.

“Is that anyway to talk to a superior officer?” He frowned.

“No, it’s how you talk to a dick.” She said in a firm tone. “Now beat it.”

“I love feisty women.” He said reaching to touch the girl’s shoulder. Scarlet ducked and grabbed the man’s balls and squeezed. Fox and Nova cringed while the man’s voice went up several octaves.

“Touch me and it’ll be the last thing your hand ever touches.” She said in a tone that could cut through steel. The man grunted as the woman put more pressure on his neck.

“C’mon Scarlet, we need to report for duty.” Nova said putting a hand on her shoulder. The redhead sighed and removed her hand.

“Good point, plus my hand cramps up whenever I hold something that’s smaller than three inches.” She said cracking her fingers. The man crumpled to the ground and curled up in the fetal position.

“Y-You’ll pay for this witch!” He said in a high pitched tone. The red head didn’t respond as they made it to the far end of the barracks.

“Remind me never to get you angry.” Fox gulped. The three then arrived in the armory to see a man with silver hair and blue eyes. His golden armor shining in the sunlight.

“Ah, good afternoon. I am Sergeant Tucker.” The three saluted.

“Private Scarlet Rose, reporting.”

“Private Nova Dust, present.

“Private Fox Marigold, reporting.”

“At ease.” The man smiled. “Now, the criminal you’ll be guarding is very crafty and dangerous.” He said as they walked through the armory. The three soon saw the scenery shift from the pristine white walls to dull cobblestone set of spiral steps that went down. The officer grabbed a flashlight and the group made their way down.

“Sir, permission to ask a question?” Scarlet said.

“Granted, and there’s no need to be so formal.” He smiled.

“Who is it we’re guarding and what did they do? I know that the catacombs are for serious criminals.” The man sighed.

“We have a dark mage down here.” Scarlet gulped. Dark mages, as the name suggests, are mages that had broken the laws of magic and gone into the dark arts. She bit her lip and frowned. “He’s killed dozens of people, even children. The only reason he’s alive is to see if he’ll give us any info on a mercenary group.”

“So why are we here?” Fox asked.

“You’re job is to make sure he doesn’t try anything while the interrogator is speaking with him.” He said as they came to a room with a one way window and several glyphs were placed on the glass, door and walls. He turned on the lights and the group saw the man sitting in a chair, his hands shackled to the table in front of him.

“Who’s interrogating him?” Nova asked.

“That would be us.” The group turned to see none other than Princess Luna. The four immediately saluted. The woman nodded and the four lowered their arms. “So you are the guards?”

“Yes, your highness.” The officer smiled.

“Tucker, why are thou still a Sergeant? You could easily become a Colonel if thou wanted to.” Nova giggled at the Princess’s dated words. Fox and Scarlet both kicked her gently.

“Bah, you know how much I hate paperwork. Besides, I like being with the grunts more than officers. No offense ladies.” He said looking back at the three women.

“None taken sir.” The three answered.

“Still, I heard you were teaching at some fancy school.” The man said.

“We have left a clone in our stead.” She said looking into the room. “Let us begin.” She said stepping inside the room and the glyphs activated.

“What are all those glyphs?” Nova asked.

“They neutralize all magical energy.” The officer stated. Luna sat down in front of the man and held a stoic look on her face.

“Well, well, well. If it isn’t Princess Luna. Tell me, how’s the moon this time of year? Thinking of making a summer house up there.” The Princess didn’t even blink.

“This is going to be a long interrogation I can already tell.” The Sergeant sighed.

~~~

Grey sat back having finished the story of his awakening, the reactions were as expected; fear, disgust, sorrow and uneasiness. Roach looked like he was about to puke, Eris’s face was as pale as her hair, and Winter was both. “So that was my awakening. Any more questions?” The three shook their heads. The man then saw his school handbook ringing. “Hello?” He said as he saw the image of Princess Celestia.

“Grey, meet me in my office.”

“Be there in five.” He said closing the book. “Sorry folks, but I gotta bounce.” He said as he stood up and left the room. Eris gulped and turned to the other two mages.

“Eris, did you-”

“No, and I’m starting to wish that I didn’t know.” The woman said with a shiver.

“We’re gonna go.” Winter said as she and Roach stood up.

“Yeah, see you two later.” Eris gulped as she made the room normal again and went to her own bed to lie down. Grey made his way through the halls of the University until he came upon the office. He gave a series of knocks on the door.

“Come in.” He opened the door to see Princess Celestia, Luna, Cadence along with Trixie and Twilight.

“Ladies, Trixie.” He nodded.

“Hey!” Trixie said gritting her teeth.

“I kid, I kid.” He chuckled. “So, what do you need?” He asked.

“You see we need a favor from you.” Celestia stated folding her hands.

“Okay, where do you want me to hide the body?” Luna chuckled at the words.

“I’ll save that one for a rainy day.” Celestia said in a serious tone. “The offer is for something less deadly.” She smiled. “During the Hearth’s Warming break coming up, there is a Winter Gala taking place in Canterlot castle.” Every student, Grey included, was counting the days until Hearth’s Warming break started. It was only a week away. One long, agonizing, dreadful week.

“Okay, and?” There was a flash in the room and Discord appeared before them.

“Tia wants you to play dress up and attend.” The chaotic being said as he sat in a floating chair.

“Seriously?” Grey said looking at Celestia.

“Putting it bluntly, yes.” Grey bit his lip and looked at the group.

“Not gonna happen.”

“What?” Twilight and Trixie said.

“Why the hell would I want to hang out with a bunch of stuck up, upper class snobs?” He scoffed. “Besides, I have to protect my rep.”

“What?” Luna said.

“Look, I have a rep to protect. If my friends see me getting chummy with the upper class of society, then there goes my credibility.”

“So you are embarrassed to be seen with us?” Twilight asked.

“Around my hometown, yes. Why ask me to go anyway?”

“Well, you’ve sort of become the poster boy for our dueling team.” Cadence said. The Princess then pulled out a small flyer that had the white haired man in the center. “The team needs a representative to attend.”

“So get Blueblood to go! He’s the captain of the team.” Luna rolled her eyes at the words.

“Blueblood is attending as a Prince and...we don’t want him representing us.” Celestia said. “His attitude should speak for itself.”

“Wow, a noble with a superiority complex. Never seen that before.” Grey said in a dry tone. He then heard his wand partner reaching out to him.

Go! The wand spirit pestered

No! Why do you even care?

Because my husband will be there.

Your what!?

I’ll explain later! Besides didn’t you forget to get someone something? Grey thought for a moment and face palmed.

Fine. You win. Grey sighed and looked at the Princesses. “Fine. I’ll go, but I want an extra ticket.” The group looked at him in surprise at his change of heart.

“You can bring a plus one if you’re inclined.” Cadence said.

“Except for Eris.” Luna stated. “Her...nature would not bode well.”

“While that would be hilarious to see, I understand.” Grey sighed. “But you have to be the one to tell her. I’m not pulling the pin on that grenade.” He shivered.

“Fine.” Discord sighed. “She won’t be happy.” Grey shrugged and yawned.

“Well, if that’s it, then I’m out.” He then looked at Trixie. “Don’t forget Trix, we need to practice synchronization. Presentation is tomorrow.”

“Fine.” Trixie groaned following the man. The two walked together through the halls of the school.

“So how’s your wounds?” Grey asked.

“Fine. That pill hurt like hell, but Trixie is fine.” She stated as they arrived at the man’s room. When they walked in the room had shifted to it’s normal state. Eris was on the couch with a magazine. The woman looked up and saw the two.

“Grey, you have to ask me about things like this before.” The two mages blushed at the words. “I mean Trixie is hot but-”

“We’re here to practice synchronizing. You need to do the same with Twilight.” The woman pouted at the words before leaving. Grey groaned and closed the door behind her. “Sorry about her. She has a perverted mind.”

“Let’s just get this over with.” Trixie stated sitting down on the couch. Grey sighed and started focusing his magic. When it came to him syncing with her magic there was no problem, but Trixie’s stubbornness would be their undoing. After an hour of practicing the two decided to take a break. “Ugh! Why isn’t this working?” Trixie groaned.

“Hate to break it to you Trixie, but you need to learn how to cooperate.” The man sighed. The woman only grunted at the words. The man couldn’t help but be impressed by Trixie’s stamina and skill. “So where’d you grow up Trixie?”

“Why do you care?”

“I figured if we know more about each other, then it’d make this process go smoother.” He sighed. “How about we play the question game. I ask you a question, you answer. Then you ask me a question, I answer, and so on.” Trixie blew a piece of hair out of her face and rolled her eyes.

“Anything to make this go faster.” She sighed. “As you know, Trixie’s mother was a famous mage. We went from town to town performing for various people.”

“So that’s where you get your swagger from?” Trixie frowned. “Relax it’s a compliment. You’re always sure of yourself.” Trixie fought back a her blush with a scoff.

“What about you? Your parents?” She asked.

“No idea. Was left on a doorstep of an orphanage when I was born. Although, I suppose the woman who owned the place, Willow Newhope, raised me. So she could be considered my mother.”

“And what about your father?” Grey put a finger to his chin.

“I suppose I had a father figure. My friend’s dad was the closest thing I had.” He shrugged.

“No one adopted you?”

“Hey, I answered your question, two in fact. So now it’s my turn. What about your father?”

“I don’t know. My mother only mentioned him a few times and only had one picture of him.” She shrugged. “I do know that my mother was in a herd for a time.”

“I see. Who were the other members?” Trixie shrugged at the question.

“Trixie never asked. Now back to my question.” Grey crossed his arms and sighed.

“Well, no one really wanted me.”

“They didn’t want a powerful mage as a child?”

“Was that a compliment?” Trixie blushed at the question as she frowned.

“T-Trixie was just stating an observation!”

Daww, she’s blushing! He thought with a chuckle. “Trixie, when I was a kid I could barely levitate a spoon and I couldn’t control my magic until Owl took me under his wing.”

“Who’s Owl?”

“Quid pro quo Trixie.” He said in a Hannibal Lecter like tone. “How did you become Luna’s student?” The woman looked down and gripped her arms with her hands.

“T-Trixie doesn’t want to talk about it.” She gulped. Grey raised an eyebrow as he saw her shiver.

“Okay, I’ll leave it alone. So why did you come here to the school?” Trixie bit her lip and sighed.

“Trixie wants to improve her craft and gain enough power to defeat Twilight Sparkle.” She said with determination in her voice.

“Why do you want to beat her?”

“Quid pro quo, remember?” She smirked. Grey’s face deadpanned.

“Owl, was my mentor. He taught me how to use a blade and control my magic. Crazy old cyclops.” He chuckled.

“Cyclops?” Grey pointed to his right eye.

“He had an eyepatch. Never asked about it.” He said pointing to his left eye. “Now why do you want to beat Sparkle?” Trixie crossed her arms and huffed.

“Sparkle is the only one who beat Trixie.”

“You mean since before our little match?” Trixie glared at him. “Sorry, just saying.”

“Because of her, Trixie was run out of town, Trixie’s home was destroyed and became a laughing stock!” Grey raised an eyebrow.

“You’re home?”

“Trixie lived in a magical trailer.” The man looked at her in surprise. “It was bigger on the inside. A lot of memories were lost when that happened.” The girl tensed up at the words. “Trixie has had enough for today.” She said standing up.

“I guess we’ll wing it tomorrow.” The man sighed.

“Please, Trixie does her best when she’s under pressure.” The girl walked back to her room and didn’t pay Eris and Twilight any mind as she walked into he room and laid down on her bed before she started to cry.

~~~

The next day, the school was still buzzing over Grey’s victory over Trixie and his hand magic. Thankfully Grey managed to dodge the hordes of curious students and made his way to his Advanced Magic class. The class would have the demonstrations outside to avoid collateral damage. He stood next to Trixie and waited for them to be called on. Twilight and Eris were up and the group took a few steps back.

Twilight took in a deep breath and she readied her wand. Eris did the same and focused her magic. The two stood next to each other as their wands started to glow purple and gold. Thanks to the item Cadence gave Twilight she was able to protect herself from Eris’s magic. Cadenced used a crystal to measure their synchronization rate.

“Synchronization at 95%” She said with a smile. Twilight panted and took a moment to collect herself before it was Eris’s turn to mediate the magic. “Eris, your turn.” The woman nodded and focused her magic. The crystal started to glow again, but the connection was soon lost. “Synchronization at 65%” Twilight casted a dark glare at Eris who shrugged.

“Next is Trixie and Grey.” Cadence said as the two stepped forwards. “Trixie you’ll go first.” The two focused their magic and Trixie felt the man’s magical energy go into her. She pointed her wand ahead of her and unleashed a spell that sunk into the ground. The earth started to shake and a twenty foot tall statue of the performer came from the ground. Grey rolled his eyes at the woman.

“Synchronization at 75%. Well, done.”

“Trixie always impresses.” She said with a smile. “Don’t screw this up.” She said under her breath. Grey stuck his tongue out at the girl.

“Grey, you’re up.” Cadence said. Grey nodded and took a deep breath. The man focused and felt Trixie’s magic link with his own. There was some resistance and he felt a pain in his head, but he kept up the power. He pointed his wand at the statue and a ball of white energy formed at the tip. The ball was only the size of a marble. He shot the ball at the statue’s chest. As it made contact, the sphere exploded fully engulfing the statue and reducing it to rubble.

“Synchronization rate at 100%. Excellent work Grey.”

“I aim to please.” He smiled as Trixie gritted her teeth. The class came to an end and everyone was buzzing with thoughts of going home for the holidays. Once Grey got back to the dorm room eris kicked in the door looking very angry.

“WHY CAN’T I GO?” She yelled at the man.

“Nice to see you too dear.” Grey sighed. “Hey blame Celestia, she thought that you’d cause a ruckus and I agree with her.” He said in a flat tone. eris gritted her teeth as she glared at him. “Are you saying that you wouldn’t cause problems?” Eris opened her mouth to complain, but she just mumbled to herself. “That’s what I thought.”

Author's Note

So sorry this took so long!