Starswirl University

Chapter 5

The Dueling Team

Grey woke up the next morning with his alarm clock blazing. The man groaned and saw a slender reach over and hit the snooze button.

“Five more minutes.” A female voice said.

“Fine, but only five minutes.” Grey said as he closed his eyes. The man’s eyes then shot open and his gaze rolled over to his right side. The white haired woman was resting her head on his chest. “Fucking shit!” He yelled as he sat up. Grey scrambled and fell out of his bed. Eris sat up with the covers still on her and she giggled.

“What the actual fuck Eris?” He yelled.

“My bed is broken.” She said in pouting voice.

“So sleep on the couch. You practically use that as your bed anyway.” He said as he frowned. “Couldn’t you just use magic to repair your bed?”

“I did.”

“So why didn’t you sleep in it then?”

“And miss your reaction?” She said as she poked his nose.

“Just get dressed. We have class today.”

“Fine.” As the woman stood up Grey saw that she was only wearing a pair of brown short-shorts and a golden T-shirt that clung to her form and stopped just above her belly button. Grey adverted his eyes and hid his blush. He quickly got dressed in his attire and waited for Eris to get ready. Soon the girl was ready and the two grabbed their books.

“Are you gay or something?” Grey looked at the girl in surprise.

“No, and why would you ask that?”

“Most guys like waking up to beautiful girl such as myself.” Eris then rested her chin on the man’s shoulder and blew on his ear. Grey’s face turned red and shook her free.

“I love the ladies, but lets think for a second here. You’re my roommate and my teacher’s daughter.”

“So?”

“How well do you think Discord, the god of chaos, destruction, and disharmony would react to that?” He asked with a raised eyebrow. “Besides you’re so not my type.”

“You’re cute when you try to lie.” She giggled as they entered the classroom. That day Cherilee was teaching them about epic poetry. In gym they played dodgeball, much to Eris’s delight. She, Grey, AJ and Rainbow dominated the floor. The next challenge they faced was cooking. They started out by attempting a soufflé, but it soon collapsed.

Grey then headed to his private lesson with Discord and the other Princesses. He made his way into the old room he met them several times before. As he walked in he saw that there was a table with a crystal ball sitting on a stand.

“Afternoon Grey.” Discord said with a grin. Grey gave Twilight a nod she smiled and Trixie turned away. Grey had gotten use to the performer’s cold shoulder and ignored it.

“What’s with the crystal ball?”

“We are going to gauge your magic.” Luna said as she approached it.

“Again with the tests?” Trixie sighed.

“No, all you have to do is place your hand on it,” Celestia placed her palm on the top of the crystal ball. “and it will register what class you’re in.”

“Class?” Grey asked in confusion.

“Every mage is put in a class pending upon how much magical energy they possess.” The group saw the orb blink a yellow color and the infinity symbol showed. “Since Luna, Discord and myself aren’t your average mages we are considerably more powerful.”

“The Great and Powerful Trixie shall go first.” The performer said as she cockily put her hand on the orb. It glowed a light blue color and the number seven appeared.

“Class seven. Above the average mage that’s for sure.” Discord said with a nod.

“Was there ever any doubt?” Twilight rolled her eyes and placed her hand on the crystal ball. It glowed a lavender color and the number nine appeared. Trixie gritted her teeth and Discord chuckled.

“Looks like Twilight outclasses you in that department.” Trixie shot a glare at the chaotic being. Grey walked up and put his hand on it. It turned gray and the number five showed up. Everyone raised an eyebrow. Twilight looked at the number and back at the man in confusion. The clone spell he demonstrated in class was easily a high ranking spell, but even Rarity was considered a class six mage.

“Ha! Trixie is superior!”

“Wouldn’t say that.” Grey said with a shrug.

“You are weaker than Trixie.”

“Yet I’m fairly certain I can beat your ass seven ways to Sunday.” Grey said with a cocky grin. Trixie pulled her wand out but was stopped as Luna raised her hand.

“Thou certainly does not lack confidence.” She said with a smile.

“Care to put it to the test?” Trixie asked.

“As enticing as that sounds, I’ll have to decline.” Grey said with a sigh. “I know the rules of the school and fighting on school grounds lands both students immediate expulsion and I like it here so no thanks.”

“You memorized the handbook?” Twilight asked.

“Yup.” He said as he brought out the doctored manual. Discord looked at it and saw that there were several sections highlighted.

“What are these?” Discord asked with a groan.

“Loopholes.” Grey chuckled. “Anyway, we have class. So we’d better get going.” The immortals looked at the clock and saw that the bell was about to ring. The three student made their way back to the main campus and Grey felt Trixie’s sharp glare on him.

“You’re just scared that Trixie will be victorious.”

“You are the last person I’m scared of.” Trixie was about to shout but the three found themselves in the classroom. Cadence entered a few minutes later with a tall man with flowing blue shoulder length hair behind her. Grey also heard Twilight squee. Grey’s silver eyes sharpened. He knew the man from several posters and from his contacts descriptions. Standing before them was Shining Armor, Captain of the Royal Guard, Prince of the Crystal Empire and the soldier that was hailed as a natural when it came to magic even by his superior’s standards.

Several students were talking with one another at the sight of the guard who was wearing a dark blue suit and tie.

“Good afternoon class. I’m sure that you’re aware that we have a special guest today.” She said as she looked over at her husband.

“Afternoon everyone.” He smiled. A student raised her hand. “Yes?”

“What’s the captain of the royal guards this school?” She asked.

“Well, there are three Princesses here so they need the best protection. I’m also in charge of the school’s magical dueling team.”

“Dueling team?”

“Yes, this school, along with the other magical schools have a dueling team that compete with one another for magical competition.” Several students were giddy with excitement. “If any of you wish to know more then there are tryouts tomorrow afternoon at three.” He smiled as he took a seat in the corner. Twilight gave him a wave and he nodded.

The students learned about several disarming spells and a few enchantments. The class soon came to an end and Grey soon made his way out of the door but heard Twilight call his name. Grey turned around to see the guard captain and the two girls smiling.

“Grey this is my big brother Shining Armor.” She smiled. Grey gave him a nod and continued on his way. Twilight raised an eyebrow and went after Grey only to find the hallway empty.

The man arrived in front of his room and made his way inside. He saw Eris on her Xbox as usual.

“What’s-” Was all she got out as he stormed by her and went into his room and slammed the door. He sat on his bed and pulled out a decorated silver hand mirror. He tapped the center and a few pictures popped up on the shiny surface. He selected Midnight’s and waited a few moments before a video feed opened up to show the bat winged girl.

“Hey Grey.” Midnight said with a smile.

“Where’s Dusk and Rogue?”

“Rogue is taking a shower and Dusk is still at work.” She said with a yawn. “Why?”

“Armor is here.” The woman’s spliced eyes shrank and she snarled.

“Why?”

“His wife is teaching here and his sister is a student.”

“Grey, if he finds out-”

“He won’t. I’ll make sure of that.” He said in a calm tone. “He’s running the dueling team here, figured I’d join.”

“Are you insane? If he finds that out then you’re good as dead!” She said in a worried tone.

“He’s not gonna find out. Just thought I’d let you know and pass it off to Dusk and Rogue.” The bat winged girl bit her lip and sighed. She knew there was no stopping him once he set out to do something.

“Just be careful.”

“You too. I’ll talk to you later.” The man set the mirror down and changed into his normal hangout clothes. The man spent the next forty-five minutes staring at his ceiling before rising to his feet. The man walked out of his dorm room for some reason was now set in a rock garden setting. He traveled down to the gym where he saw the dueling club sign up sheet. He quickly left his signature and went on his way.

“You’re Grey right?” A voice called from behind. Grey turned to see the azure haired man standing in the doorway.

“Yeah. Figured I’d see if the dueling team was worth my time.” Even though he was standing twenty feet away, Shining felt the man’s eyes on him. It was as though he was looking down the barrels of two gun barrels getting ready to be fired. Grey continued on his way and went to the far end of the school where his clone was waiting for him. “How’d work go?”

“Good. Pay is ten bits an hour and payday is every two weeks.” Grey smiled and released the spell. The clone vanished in a flash of light and Grey felt the fatigue hit him like freight train. He stumbled once and made his way back to his dorm room. He saw that the rock garden was still there and he saw Eris in a kimono and her hair in a bun held up by a pair of chopsticks still playing her game.

“Sup roomie, thought I’d do some redecorating.” Eris grinned hoping to get a rile out of the man.

“A little culture now and then never hurt anyone.” He said as he kicked his shoes off and made his way to the restroom. Thankfully the bathroom remained unchanged. He walked out to see Eris raging over losing a match. Having trouble Princess?” He chuckled.

“Shut up. Like you could do any better.”

“Wanna bet?” Grey said with a smirk. Eris grinned and sat up.

“Fine. Loser has to do what the winner wants for the rest of the day.” They both spat into their hands and shook. Grey grabbed the spare controller and created his account. Eris booted up “Titanfall” and the two were thrust into the world of guns, parkour and giant robots. Eris started out strong by earning a double pilot kill. Grey managed to doom three titans before his was destroyed and he could have sworn he heard Dash yelling on the other end of his mic.

The two were neck and neck and the enemy was escaping in the drop ship. Grey raised his gun and managed to destroy the ship with three pilots inside giving him the top spot in the ranking. “NO!” Eris yelled as she clutched her controller. Grey sat back and grinned.

“I won.”

“No shit Starswirl.” The girl said as she laid on her back. “So what do you want to do with me master?” She asked in a sultry tone. She folded her legs and a bit of her kimono opened that showed some side boob. Grey rolled his eyes and looked at the girl who was biting her lip.

“Mind changing the scenery back? I don’t like getting sand in my shoes.” Eris frowned and snapped her fingers. The room the reverted back to its normal state. “Thank you. I now release you from your servitude.”

“What? That’s it?” Eris said in confusion.

“Yup.” He said as he stood up. Eris’s right eyebrow twitched and the gears in her mind stopped.

“Okay now I seriously think you’re gay.”

“I told you I’m not and what about you missy?”

“I’m the demigod of chaos. Why should I have to choose?” She said with a chuckle.

“So you swing both ways?”

“That a problem?” She asked with a frown.

“My older brother is a gay Changeling. So no, I don’t have a problem with it.” He said with a yawn. “Now if you’ll excuse me I need my rest. I’m going to kick so much ass tomorrow that my foot will probably break from the sheer quantity.”

“Mind if I watch? I love seeing cocky guys like you get their asses beat.” She grinned.

“Thanks for the vote of confidence Eri.” He said in a sarcastic tone. “Sleep in your own bed tonight.” Grey shut the door to his room and laid down to rest. Hours later he saw that Eris had gone to bed and he made sure the coast was clear. He made a clone and the copy got into bed. Grey opened the window and jumped out. He landed with a thump and quickly made his way away from the building.
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The next day went by swiftly and the student body all gathered in the gym where a small arena was set up. It ran the length of the gym and the width of the basketball court. There were magic barriers set up so that any spells that ricocheted Shining was checking names off the list and saw Grey among the applicants. Soon, the three headmasters arrived and took their seats. Shining walked into the center of the gym and held a microphone to his mouth.

“Ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the dueling club tryouts.” The students all cheered until the man raised his hand to silence the crowd. “The rules of the duel are simple. The students will duel one on one, first to be knocked out, give up or be pushed out of bounds loses. Also if I or any of the proctors see that a student is unable to continue then I will step in and stop the match.” The student all nodded.

“Apologies in advanced, out of the thirty applicants that are here only ten will join the ranks with our senior members.” Grey saw several older looking students on the sidelines. One had long wavy blonde hair and was very refined looking. Grey had heard of him, Celestia’s nephew, Prince Blueblood. “We need student who can put up somewhat of a descent fight.”

The applicants gave a nod and Shining called the first pair. “Grey Newhope and Comet Blast you two are up first.” Grey made his way onto the arena and saw a man with bright orange hair and a wand of the same color. Grey felt all eyes on him and the other man. The other applicants cleared the area and the two stood at opposite ends. “Ready?” The opponent took off his coat and pulled out his wand. Grey did the same and rolled up his sleeves.

Shining saw that the man’s hands and forearms were wrapped in bandages. Discord raised an eyebrow at this as well but shrugged it off. “Begin!” At the words Grey started running towards the man with his wand at the ready. Comet let loose a barrage of spells at the man that Grey dodged with ease. Comet put up a large wall of magic to protect himself.

Grey pointed his wand at the floor and shot a spell into it. Comet heard a cracking noise and looked down to see a gray bolt come out of the ground and nail him in the gut. The shield dropped and Comet was hit with a levitation spell that suspended him in the air. As Grey got into proximity, he jumped up and landed a strong magic filled kick to the man’s side. Comet was sent flying to the edge of the arena and was tossed out. The buzzer blew and Grey helped Comet up.

“Good match.” Grey said with a nod.

“Yeah.” The man said in a disappointed tone. He was helped off the arena by a nurse who started looking him over. Grey saw that his name had moved up on the board and was going to the second round. The crowd watched as the other students competed against one another and the students moved up in the ranking. Grey made it to the final round, but he was getting tired and had used up a large amount of his magic.

“It’s been an interesting afternoon everyone.” Shining said with a smile. “But now it’s time to end the tryouts. The final rounds will now start.” The crowd cheered. Grey panted and could feel that he was on his last leg. “Grey Newhope you’ll be facing off against Heatwave.” A man with orange and yellow hair stood up and made his way onto the floor. He stood a few inches taller than Grey and looked about a year older then him. Grey willed his body to go forth into the arena.

“Pal, you should really back down.” The man said as he raised an eyebrow. Grey stood tall and tightly gripped his wand.

“I’m good to go.” Grey said as he panted. Shining raised an eyebrow and looked at his state.

“Fine, but if things get too dicy then I’m stepping in.” Shining said as he looked at the two mages. “Begin.” Heat Wave raised his bright red wand and fired off several fire balls at the man. Grey ducked out of the way just in time but one caught him square on the right side of his face. He felt the fire burn his skin and winced at the pain. Grey fired a few bolts of his own but they were easily deflected by the fire mage.

The pyro focused a large amount of energy into his wand and a large fireball appeared before him. He launched the ball and Grey took the hit in his already damaged right arm. The match became a shooting gallery as the pyro wasn’t letting up on his assault. Grey was hit multiple times and he felt his body becoming even weaker.

“You’re a good mage Grey,” He said as the fireball doubled in size. “but this is where this fight ends.” The fireball was launched and Grey’s power was nearly gone. He was facing down the large fireball when an idea came to him. Grey stuck his wand forwards and held his ground. As the large fireball came into proximity, Grey channeled the last of his magic and wrapped a magical field around the fire ball and swung it around his body.

The large fireball played off the last of the man’s magic and turned into a gray fire ball. The large ball of fire rocketed back to the pyro who was stunned. He waved his wand and a large firewall appeared in front of him. The ball collided with the wall and the gray flames stared pushing the wall and mage back.

The man’s shoes slid across the floor and he grunted in frustration. Heatwave gathered his magic and used the wall to disperse the large ball by splitting it in half. Heatwave got ready to shoot another fire blast but heard the whistle being blown.

“Grey Newhope is the victor.” Shining said.

“How?” Shining pointed down to the man’s feet and Heatwave saw that he was over the arena line. He looked over at Grey who was on his knee and panting heavily. “Well, I’ll be damned.” Grey stood up and cracked his back.

“Welcome to the Starswirl University Dueling Team.” Shining said with a smile. The crowd clapped and a few whistled. Grey gave him a nod and made his way back to his seat. The other nine members only managed to last until Shining called the match or they ran out of magic. Since they had made it to the final rounds they qualified for the team. They were each given a silver badge and a dueling uniform.

It was only a set of training armor that Grey had seen several guard trainees wear whenever they were doing drills. “Our first meeting is the day after tomorrow. So rest up and be prepared, the work starts then.” Shining chuckled. Grey and the other new members made their ways to their rooms. Grey walked into his room to see Eris with a magazine.

“Nice to see that you didn’t get killed.”

“You’re so sweet Eri.” He said in an annoyed tone.

“Aren’t I?”

“Too tired to argue. Need sleep.” He said as he went to his room. The man threw his new clothes in a pile and laid on his bed. He saw his window open and a battered copy of himself enter. The copy looked like he had been run over by a truck. “How’d training go?”

“Good. You look like shit.”

“No shit.” Grey said as he pointed his wand at the copy and the clone vanished. The man instantly regretted his decision and felt as though a manticore had used him as a chew toy. The man bit into his hand to keep himself from screaming from the sheer amount of pain. His right arm felt as though someone was going to rip it off. What did that idiot do?

What you would have done.

True. The man felt what was left of his strength leave him and succumbed to the darkness.

The man’s eyes shot open hours later when he heard yelling coming from down the hallway. Both he and Eris got out of their rooms and poked their heads out of the hallway. They saw Rarity, AJ and the other members of the floor do the same. The noises were unsurprisingly coming from Twilight and Trixie’s room.

Grey’s exhaustion got the better of him and he slammed on the door. “Hey keep it down! People are trying to sleep!” He yelled in a volume that could rival Princes Luna’s Royal Canterlot Voice. The door swung open to see a red eyed Twilight and an annoyed looking Trixie.

“I’m sorry Grey, we’re just having a little disagreement.” Twilight said in an apologetic tone.

“At three in the fucking morning?” He asked in a harsh tone.

“She started it!” Twilight said as she pointed at Trixie.

“I don’t care who started it! I’m finishing it!” Twilight raised an eyebrow as she saw some of his veins glow blue. Grey quickly covered them up and walked over to Eris. He whispered something in her ear and the chaotic being smiled. Eris teleported in front of the two girls and grabbed a corner of their mouths. In one swift motion Eris had ripped their mouths off like pieces of scotch tape only leaving smooth skin. Both girls felt their faces in shock and only made muffled noises.

“I think I’ll hold onto these till morning.” Grey said as he grabbed a small box and put the set of lips inside. He slammed the door shut and went back to his room. Eris looked at the man leave and saw that his right and left arm’s veins were glowing, before she could question him the man walked into his room and fell back to sleep on his bed.