Mages of Virtue: The Phantom Thief

by Nova Arc

Fire and Fury

Author's Note:

Sorry this took so long, but it's finally here! As I mentioned before, I made some changes and decided to pit Dawn against Sunset instead of Blueblood because... reasons... Anyway, hope you enjoy it! Like, comment, fave, and spread the word!

Big thanks to MrAskAPirate who gave me the idea to use Sunset and even gave the idea for her Affinity! He's an amazing brainstorming partner and writer, so go check him out!

Sunset and Dawn stood on opposite sides of the arena, brandishing their weapons, waiting for Iron Will’s signal to begin. Sunset was wielding a red staff with yellow designs flowing down it’s length. At one end was a keychain shaped like her signature: a shimmering sun, half red, half yellow. At the other end was a lamphead, a small golden flame alight in the center, suspended in midair.

Hovering over each of Dawn’s forearms was a silver shield each about 12 inches in diameter.
They each had a blue gear symbol in the middle with a yin-yang sign symbol filling the space inside.

The readiness and anticipation glowed in their eyes as they waited for Iron Will’s signal. As soon as the first letter of, “BEGIN,” left Iron Will’s lips, a burst of fire flew across the area and towards Dawn. The explosion lit up the arena visibly as Sunset stood, ready for Dawn’s counter. Or so she thought. She never expected Dawn to be as fast as he was, moving in short bursts from side to side so quickly it was almost like he was teleporting. She just barely managed to bring her staff up in time to block his kick. Sunset swung at him while he was still in the air, but was stopped by his shield and countered with a telekinetic shockwave.

Sunset looked up and grinned. “Offensive. Shouldn’t be too hard to deal with,” she thought. She slammed the lamp on her staff onto the ground and the center exploded with power, the flames now bursting wildly out the cubical container. Sunset swung wide, sending a massive wave of fire at her opponent, but his shields were more than enough to take it. Immediately, he shook off the flames and bolted forward for another attack.

“Just as I thought,” Sunset said to herself. She watched him closely, following his movements to the best of her abilities. After training with Rainbow Dash for long enough, Sunset had little trouble predicting his next move. She ducked as he jumped, trying to nail her with his knee, but instantly recovered and went for a roundhouse. Dawn was more than surprised when his foot only hit the air and kept going. As he turned, he saw Sunset’s staff, burning bright, at point-blank range, as she sent a massive blast of fire at him like a beam. As far as people could see, Dawn took the hit head-on, carried by the blast until it slammed into the wall on the other side of the arena.

Sunset straightened up and sighed, laying her staff across her shoulder. “That was quick.” She soon realized she had spoken too soon when a flying object hit her square in the side of her head. Her eyes crossed for a moment before she finally fell to the floor, holding her head. She looked up in time to see the object fly behind her… and into Dawn’s hands. Regaining her senses, she looked between the smoke at the end of the arena and the boy behind her. “Wait, what? When? How?”

“You’re smart,” he said with a grin. “You’ll figure it out.” He flung the hovering disk at her again, a blue tail trailing behind it as it flew. Sunset was still groggy, but managed to roll out of the way as the shield hit the ground. As she got up, she was tripped as the shield passed under her foot as she stood. She looked up to see it set right over the back of his arm again. She noticed a glowing ring on the back of each of his gloves. That gave her an idea. She got up and slammed the lamp on the ground again, further infuriating the fire. She ran straight for him, swing her staff and launching fireballs along the way. Dawn got down and held a shield up to protect him as he slowly advanced.

Just as she reached him Sunset slid past him. “If I’m right…” she thought. Just as she suspected, the moment the heat was off, Dawn went back on the offensive. He turned to follow her movements and threw a shield, which she whacked back towards him. Skillfully, he spun in the air to dodge, catch the shield, and return the shield. Sunset ducked and threw another salvo, which Dawn weaved past. Before Sunset could straighten up, Dawn was right on top of her, ready to attack. But Sunset was ready as well. She slammed her lamp into the ground again, this time, the explosion went far past the lamp and engulfed both combatants. Dawn was thrown back, smoking from the blast. He coughed up a comical ring of smoke as he got up and looked at Sunset, who was grinning behind the remaining flames.

Dawn grinned back. “What’re you so happy about? All you did was try to give me a tan.”

“Did I?” Sunset asked, smugly. Dawn ran and swung a punch, which Sunset easily avoided. Stopping on a dime, Dawn turned and swung his arm back. He was clearly surprised that the shield didn’t respond and smack Sunset in the back of the head. “Whether it works with magic energy or batteries, a magnet still loses its charge…”

“When exposed to extreme heat,” Dawn finished, right before Sunset slammed the lamphead into his torso, sending him flying with a fireball. Sunset stood, grinning triumphantly as Dawn tried to shake off the blow. “Not bad. Luckily, I never just use magnets. The shield over his arm shrunk, as did the one still pinned to the wall across the arena, until they were just larger than his palms, but also got thicker. Dawn let go of the weapon, letting it fall, but it didn’t touch the ground. It just hung suspended from a thin wire, spinning in place before sharply shooting back into his hand. “It’s been a while since I actually used yoyos for anything.” After a few tricks, he shot the yoyo forward, slamming it square into Sunset’s stomach. Sunset was pushed back a bit by the force. “Yep. Still got it.” Confident, Dawn teleported to the missing set on the other end of the arena and ripped it out of the wall. “Now, let’s try this again.”

“Okay,” Sunset said, as a little odd blue arc appeared just behind her. “Bring it!”

---

Celestia sat in her office, watching the fight from a holographic screen over her desk. She was quite impressed with both of them. Next to her, her sister sat with a cinnamon roll in hand.

“Are you not at all worried?” Luna asked.

“About what?” Celestia asked back. “Sunset?”

“Is it not odd the way her persona changes in and out of battle?”

“That’s perfectly normal,” Celestia said. “Many great warriors adapted different personas on and off the battlefield. Jeez, Lulu, I got that idea from you.”

“I thought you were supposed to be the bad influence,” Luna said, grinning.

“Then I seem to be doing a good job,” Celestia said with an equally smug expression.

Luna smiled. “Touche.” She took a bite of her roll as she asked, “So, how are preparations for the Trials coming along?”

“Not bad, to be honest. I found an old idea I wanted to try out a few years ago that just might work for this year’s test. By tomorrow, I’ll have Raven print out and put up flyers for entrants to sign up.”

“And the board?”

“Well, I haven’t heard any complaints from them yet, so that sounds like an all clear to me.”

“It’s funny. Up until a few years ago, the fastest way through the Everfree was around it,” Luna said. “Now, we’re sending in students there like it’s an obstacle course for toddlers.”

“Times change, Luna,” Celestia said. “The Nyctores decided to push out, so we decided to push back.”

“I just wish my mistakes only haunted me,” Luna said, looking away. “After a thousand years, I’m still making this world a nightmare.”

“Oh, come now, Luna,” Celestia said, wrapping an arm around her sister. “You’re not that person anymore. This is not your fault. If not you, it could’ve been someone else. Your only guilt should be the guilt of still feeling like it’s your fault.”

Luna smiled. “Thank you, sister,” she said.

“Now, shush! I have good money on Sunset!”

---

Sunset herself wasn’t sure herself if she was a smart bet. Dawn was now working with momentum; never stopping, never breaking the flow. The constant motion was getting harder to keep track of.

Sunset aimed a fireball at him, but her aim was thrown off when one of the wires wrapped around the staff shifted the weight to one side. Dawn tugged, loosening Sunset’s grip and throwing her forward. A telekinetic force blast was enough to knock her back and send her weapon flying.

“What happened to that confidence from before?” Dawn taunted, spinning his weapons as he advanced slowly towards her.

“It’s still there,” Sunset said with a grin. “You obviously haven’t been paying attention.”

Dawn didn’t get it, but after close observation, he saw it: the arc. It wasn’t blue anymore, it was a deep orange.

“Uh… what’s that?” he asked.

“That…” Sunset said, getting up. The ground around her shook as yellow, red, and teal energy swirled around her, her hair standing up like flames. “... is my Affinity.” In a flash, she was gone, swiftly appearing next to her staff before vanishing again, taking the weapon with her.

Each time she materialized, Dawn tried to land a hit, but missed as she teleported before he could make contact. Changing strategy, he tried to predict where she would appear, but it was so random he wasn’t sure if he was getting closer or farther. But Sunset didn’t hesitate to close the gap. Keeping her staff spinning, she swung and swung again, forcing Dawn to back up. Finally, he was against the wall, literally, as Sunset charged forward, engulfed in flames.

Dawn focused, his eyes glowing. Sunset crashed into him with enough force to create a crater both in the wall and the ground… or, she thought so at least. She didn’t notice until the smoke and dust cleared and Dawn wasn’t under her staff.

“What the-?” Sunset looked to her side to see Dawn rolling out of the smoke. She was so certain she landed the hit. She thought she felt the contact. She didn’t think too much on it, choosing to throw a salvo of fireballs instead. Dawn dodged the attacks and ran towards her again. Sunset twirled her staff overhead before bringing it down creating an explosive wave that rushed towards Dawn like a tide of fire. Dawn jumped, weapons forward as they returned to their original size. There was resistance, but he powered through the wave of fire only to get blown back by another wave. As he pushed the sea of fire apart, Sunset charged through the opening and swung her staff. Again, just as it made contact, just as she felt the resistance from the impact, Dawn managed to completely avoid the blow and put some distance between them.

Sunset was seriously confused. “How is he doing that? He’s fast, but not that fast.”

Dawn charged forward again. Sparks and flames sprang from between them as fire and metal clashed. But it was clear that Sunset was winning. Dawn kept backing up, trying to make space to launch a proper attack, but Sunset always closed the gap. It was like she was getting more aggressive with each passing second and Dawn could not keep up. It was only a matter of time before-

“Gotcha.” Sunset grinned as she caught his foot with the lamphead and pulled back, knocking him to the ground. She raised her staff up. “That’s game.” The flames burned with great fury, a blinding yellow blaze erupting from the lamp. But as Sunset brought it down, Dawn raised his shield and-

BRRRRRRRRRRRRIIIIINNNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGG!!!

Sunset’s weapon stopped a mere inch, maybe less, from Dawn’s shield. The flames calmed and retracted back into their cage. After peeking over his shield, Dawn’s body relaxed and his arms dropped to his sides in exhaustion. He lay spread-eagle on the ground, panting like a dog in a marathon.

“Not bad,” Sunset said, standing over him. Her hair had fallen back down, but was still a bit messy… and smoking slightly. “I was pretty sure I could beat you in fifteen minutes.”

“Do… I really… look… that easy?” Dawn said, still trying to catch his breath.

Sunset grinned in reply, holding out her hand. Dawn looked at it and hesitated, but grinned back and accepted it. “Loli told me you were good, but damn.”

“Hey, at least you got a heads up.”

“Alright, hit the showers, everyone,” Iron Will ordered.

Dawn turned away and headed off. Sunset was about to follow, but was almost knocked down when something jumped on her back.

“That. Was. AWESOME!” Sunset turned to see Loli’s eyes almost as wide as her smile.

“Loli… hurts,” Sunset groaned.

“Oh, right. Sorry,” Loli said, letting go. “Wait, you didn’t take that many hits.”

“I took enough,” she said, holding her head. “Besides, once my Affinity shuts down, my whole body aches like crazy.”

“Noted. So, was it as tough as I said?”

“Was it? Loli, he uses shields as weapons. That sort of puts things in perspective.”

“But you still won, right? I mean, I’m pretty sure even if he did stop that last attack if it hit, he’d be knocked as far down as the Chantalot Archives!”

“It’s not the victory, but the battle that determines strength,” Sunset said, humbly. But that humble soon turned smug. “But yeah, I totally whooped him!”

---

“Ahem!” Dawn snapped out of his daydream and looked up. Inkwell was tapping her foot in front of the class. “Mister Forge? Is there something in your head more important than understanding the spells you may be using in the future?”

“Um… that depends,” Dawn joked.

“On what?”

“Whether or not it’s one I know already.”

A low laugh went through the class.

“Pride before the fall, Mister Forge,” Inkwell said. “Please remove your goggles and pay attention. I’m sure whatever you’re thinking off can wait until my class ends.”

Dawn complied and removed his goggles, placing them around his neck and looked down at the board. Inkwell continued.

“Now, what is the next spell on the list? Miss Star?”

Amethyst Star looked at her book and read out, “Augmentation Spells.”

“Very well.” Inkwell’s signature appeared beneath her. A gust of wind from the magic formed a ripple in her gown. In the blink of an eye, she vanished. “Augmentation spells.” The class followed the voice and saw her at the very back of the class. “These spells are used to enhance the physical attributes of the receiver. How is this achieved, Miss Star?”

“The caster sends a magic pulse to the recipient, who then synchronizes their magic with the caster’s. This link enables the recipient to access the energy the caster is sending, granting them enhanced physical and magic abilities.”

“Close enough,” Inkwell said. “Now, as second year students, each of you must be able to perform at least the most basic Augmentation spells.” She looked around the classroom. “Miss Lulamoon? Perform a speed augmentation on Miss Beats.”

Loli gulped. Part of her wanted to object, especially after seeing Trixie’s smug expression, but with Miss Inkwell, she’d need a legitimate reason. She got up and headed for the front, praying that something would happen so she didn’t have to do this. Apparently, Faust and the other spirits were not taking requests at that moment.

Once at the front, Loli said, “Keep it simple, Trixie,” she said. “Double velocity.”

“The Great and Powerful Trixie doesn’t do simple,” Trixie said with a smirk. Whipping out her wand, Trixie drew her signature into the air in front of her. She focused, directing her attention to the ground beneath Loli. She tapped the symbol and it appeared below Loli, who gulped as she synced her magic with Trixie’s. Loli’s signature overlapped Trixie’s and both vanished in a flash.

Loli took a deep breath. She had no idea what multiplier Trixie has used, but the the surge she felt made it clear that it was much more than double. She got into takeoff position as a pink aura engulfed her. In the blink of an eye, Loli vanished, the ground where she was initially shattered, and pieces of the ceiling rained to the ground. The students looked up and saw the hole in the ceiling.

Inkwell looked rather surprised, althought not just anyone could see it. “A bit overkill, Miss Lulamoon,” she said. Before she could say anything else, a pink streak crashed through the top of the class and into the ground. Loli’s eyes were still spinning and the goofy smile on her face were good indicators that she wasn’t 100% conscious of what was happening. “Miss Beats?” Inkwell called, but received no answer. “Miss Lulamoon? Could you escort Miss Beats to the infirmary?” Trixie complied, levitating Loli and carrying her out the class, pretending to not pay attention as her head hit the door frame.

“Now, your assignment will be to practice an augmentation spell in teams. Those teams will be your roommates. By the next class on Thursday, I want to see a perfect four-mage synchronization between all members. Questions?” Inkwell looked around the class and saw a hand up. “Yes, Miss Shimmer?”

“Um, Professor. What if you only have three people in a room?” Sunset asked.

“Is that your situation?”

“Yes, Ma’am.”

Inkwell thought for a moment. “Well then, find a fourth person from another room. Either that or you and your roommates should be able to perform three different augmentation spells. Any other questions?” Once she noticed no hands were up, she added, “In that case, class is dismissed.”

---

Loli’s groaned as she came to. Her vision was hazy and her head hurt. As her vision focused, she was greeted by a countenance that made her think of food.

“Mmm~... Hot dogs…”

“Don’t even think about it,” Sunset replied.

“Ever thought of dying your hair?” Loli asked, still a bit groggy. “I really think orange is your color.”

Sunset chuckled and said, “Glad you’re okay.”

“Please, I’ve been through worse.”

“Worse than flying headfirst into a ceiling at over 200mph?”

“Wow… I should write an autobiography and have you read it,” Loli said with a grin.

“Very funny.”

The door opened and in walked a woman in her mid-to-late-twenties holding a clipboard. She had on a white button-up shirt under a white lab coat, pinki capris, and white sandals. She had pale pink hair tied in a bun and light blue eyes.

“Well, no real damage,” she said, putting her hands in her coat pockets, “but I’d recommend avoiding any kind of strenuous activity for the next day or two. You hit your head pretty hard. Any harder and you’d have a minor concussion.”

“Take that, Trixie,” Loli thought.

“You can stay here for the rest of the day if you’d like, but if you’re up for class, you’re free to go.”

“Hey, Sunset? What do we have next?”

“History and Philosophy,” Sunset replied.

Loli thought for a moment. “You know, as cool as Professor Creed is, I’m pretty sure that trying to learn the events of the 1st Great War counts as “strenuous activity”. So…”

Sunset sighed. “I’ll take notes, but you’re copying them yourself.”

“You’re the best, Sunset!”

“Yeah, just remember that when I come back to cash in,” Sunset added, smugly.

“I won’t,” Loli said as she hid under the blanket. Sunset could’ve sworn she heard her snoring lightly the moment her head hit the pillow.

---

Roxy had yawned her way through Creed’s class. As much as she loved learning about war tactics and strategies, she was also easily bored when not putting them into practice. As always, she had two members of the student council on either side of her; today, she had her organizer, Amethyst Star, or Sparkler, as she was more commonly known, on the right and self-proclaimed personal bodyguard, Atlas Storm, on her left. If there was one thing she didn’t like, it was being smothered with this much attention. She could barely stand it at home, did she really need it in school too? Everyone knew that she could pretty much take care of herself (and anyone else who dared cross her), but with her title came much unneeded pampering.

“Sparkler? Have you cancelled the rest of this week?” she asked.

“All your appointments have either been rescheduled or shifted to VP Rarity,” Sparkler replied. “Um, may I ask what important event came up that requires you to drop everything you had this week?”

“No you may not,” Roxy teased, smiling. “Personal stuff.”

“I thought your duty was to the students,” Atlas said.

“Hey! Don’t question Prez’s loyalties,” Sparkler said. “If she has personal matters that take priority, she can shift the responsibility to someone more available.”

“I wasn’t talking to you,” Atlas responded.

“Well I chose to answer because she doesn’t have to explain herself to you!”

“But you can explain for her?”

Amethyst’s eyes glowed a faint purple and a magic aura enveloped her hand. Atlas, in turn, reached for his spear behind him.

“Enough, you two,” Roxy said, stepping between them. “Atlas, it’s personal stuff. That’s all you need to know.” She turned to Amethyst and said, “Amy? Go make sure Rarity doesn’t forget. The last thing I need is clubs breathing down my neck for this and that.”

Although irritated, Amethyst calmed down and the glow faded as she walked off, as did Atlas. Roxy sighed. Sometimes she really hated her job. Luckily, the day was over. Now she could go home and relax. But first…

---

Roxy sat next to Pearl at the back of her father’s sedan. She looked at her phone and saw a message from her father.

Meeting was rescheduled. Won’t be back for another week.

“No surprise there,” Roxy said. She scrolled through her phone and opened a webpage. It was a betting site for something called “The Cauldron”. Roxy scrolled through the list of bets and found the one she was looking for: Sugar Angel vs Red Giant.

“Don’t,” Pearl said.

“Oh, come on,” Roxy pleaded. “You know I always win these bets!”

“Not the point. You have a test next week, and you told me to make sure you prepared. The last thing we need is for you to wind up failing, especially since your father will be returning next week.”

Roxy groaned. “Look, Pearl, this is the only time I get to have fun without having my dad and his goons watching over me every second. Plus, it’s on a Saturday. C’mon!”

Pearl groaned. “Look, I am completely against this, but if you can swear to me, no, to Faust, I may consider.”

“I’ll do you one better. Cross my heart and hope to fly,” she said, drawing an “X” across her chest, “stick a cupcake in my eye,” she finished, shoving an invisible cupcake in her eye.” Pearl raised an eyebrow in confusion and even the driver looked back to check if he had picked up the right student. “What? Some girl at school made it up.” She blushed slightly as Pearl forced herself not to laugh. “Hey, everyone else does… whatever that is.”

Pearl finally managed to compose herself and considered. “Fine. But keep it under B2000.”

Roxy hugged Pearl. “Deal.” She pulled back and looked at Pearl. “And speak to no-one about what you heard here just now.”

Pearl forced herself not to laugh as she replayed it in her head. “Study, and it never happened.” Roxy sat back and went back to her phone. Pearl snickered. “Hehe. ‘Stick a cupcaked in-’”

“Pearl, I swear to Faust above!”

---

Blueblood tapped his foot impatiently as he glared at the shadow on his window.

“Uh… you don’t look happy,” she said.

“Because you haven’t given me a progress report on what I hired you for,” Blueblood said.

“Because you never asked,” the Phantom replied. “Anyway, I haven’t found it yet, but I’ve cleared almost half the school. Considering what I have left, I’ve been able to narrow it down to-”

“I don’t care! Just get it done,” Blueblood lashed out.

“Oi! Better watch it,” said the Phantom. “The only reason I’m even listening to you is because you’re paying, but money doesn’t buy respect.” With that, she hopped off the window before Blueblood could even respond.

Blueblood growled. “If I didn’t need you, I’d have the guards throw you in prison!” He walked over to his vanity mirror. He tapped the screen and it rippled, revealing the image of a book, the cover of which had the image of a wizard hat with a sword hanging on the end.

“Soon. Very soon. I shall have what is rightfully mine!”

“Blueblood!” The boy groaned at the sound of his name.

“Coming, Aunty,” he called back. He looked back at the mirror. “Soon, the entire school will be answering my every ca-”

“Blueblood!”

“Coming!”

Comments

[Snowdrifter]

Blueblood is going to get paired with Excalibur from Soul Eater, right?