“Ok, say Grimm!” The dude behind the camera says to us. “Grimm!” We say together as he takes the photo. The flashes quickly disappeared for me so I look to my friends. Nat still has her eyes closed, but also has a big smile, and Adam lifts his mask to rub his eyes. Quickly looking at myself, I readjust my short orange dress, making sure it wouldn’t ride up or something.

Oh! Guess you wanna know who I am huh? My name is Alexandria Justine, but I prefer just Lex. I am, unfortunately the shortest one of our group, ironic as I am the oldest of us but whatever. I am right now wearing a knee high orange dress with some white ribbons and ties for support, which still shows off my back where I have an iconic tattoo. I am also wearing a legitimately comfortable blue wig with an orange headband around it.

For those not very knowledgeable in the realms of anime, I am dressed as Levi from Fairy Tail. I learned of Fairy Tail when I was just a kid as my mother was actually acquaintances with Todd Habercorn, the voice of Natsu. As soon as I began watching the show, I fell in love with the character and adventures, that I dove head first into the ocean that is anime.

Anyways, for me, being dressed as Levi was obvious, not just because of my height impediment, but I am also a huge book worm and if someone interrupts me when I am reading, then they would need the devils luck to get away unscathed.

My friends and I are currently at San Diego Comicon, the three of us for our own reasons. My hope is to meet some of the VA’s for Fairy Tail and some other anime and to get some more memorabilia like some Celestial Keys. But I really want to find some Wind Reader glasses as I hate my contacts.

After I get my copy of our group photo I decided to walk ahead of the others to the merchandise hall and wait. I looked back to Adam and Nat to see how long they’ll be.

Adam is dressed in a black jacket, red t-shirt, black gloves, black pants with a domino pattern belt, and black shoes with red soles. His normally brown hair is dyed red in most places and he has a white and red mask on his face. Adam is dresses as Adam Taurus from RWBY. At least he says so. I never got into the show. I just don’t like American made anime.

Natali is dressed in a black dress with a pink shoulderless shirt, a red ascot, black and grey stripped stocking and black flat shoes. She is also wearing a large pink wig that covers her left eye sometimes. Natali is dresses as Lucy from Elfen Lied. Saw it when I was 16, was understandably shaken up by the gore and absurd amount of nudity. And I thought Game of Thrones was bad.

Looking at the two I hear Adam asking Nat if she is ready to do some shopping. I could wait to get going!

“Yeah, c’mon Nat! I wanna see if I can get some more Celestial Keys for my collection! Or maybe some Wind Reader glasses!” I exclaimed in exitment, waiting for my younger friends, before wincing slightly and readjusting my contact lens.

“Alright, Alright we’re coming.” Nat says, the duo laughing at me. I can’t help it! Anime is like the one thing that makes me act all childish.

Looking around the halls, I see al sorts of amazing cosplayers dressed as even the most absurd of characters. I saw someone dresses as Yoko from Gurren Lagaan, Edward Elric from FMAB, and...is that a human version of Salamance? Ok, that is awesome. I look into the hall we will soon enter and have to stop myself from drooling at all the booths. Good thing my parent recently won the lottery and gave me a bunch of cash.

Looking back to my friends I see Adam seemingly scolding Nat, until she takes a breath and calms down from something.

“Hey! You guys coming or what?!” I yell to them. I don’t mean to be rude and impatient but there are only so many hours in the day and it is already 10:30.

“Hold your horses, we’re coming. Just talking to Sora.” Nat replies, to which I nod with an ‘ah’. See unlike most people Natali is a little...unique. After she was hit by a truck, she ended up gaining an alternate personality. I’m dead serious. Her psychiatrist was my ‘uncle’ (dads cousin) and he told me how her second personality, named Sorano or just Sora, was originally a defence mechanism like an imaginary friends to protect Nat, until she somehow evolved into her own being. Sora can be a little overprotective of Nat sometimes and even gave a bully a bloody nose for scaring her. She is not one to be messed with.

Even though I am pretty short, you could say I am like Edolas Lucy or Levi. I can be rather rude and even violent, but I will always help those who need it. I met Natali ten years ago at school what some boys tried to take her cookies away. I just bonked them on the heads a couple time with my books and they ran. After that Nat and I started to hang out as friends. A little later we met Adam while he was a soccer practice. He was just adorable, wanting the two of us to join in. Even though we weren’t on the team his coach had no problem with us playing for a few rounds. Afterwards the three of us became all but inseparable.

As our motley crew of three (four counting Sora) walked the isles, I was amazed by the variety they have, anime new and old, games from tabletop to digital, and of course merchandise from clothes to replicas. I even saw some booths dedicated to YouTube shows that I know Adam will love. The three of us walked around a bit, getting a few good deals and meeting and taking selfies with other cosplayers. I even found the rest of Team Shadow Gear, Gajeel included (Pre-Tenrow). That was fun.

At some point me and Nat were just wandering around on our own while Adam went in a different direction. We were just chatting, me showing her my ‘team’ photo of Shadow Gear, when Adam called out to the two of us.

“Hey girls! Come check this stuff out!” The two of us turn and locate the tall man in front of a black booth. At first I was confused, till I saw the contents. The place looked like the internet just blew up in here! They had merchandise from every anime and game I recognize, and even some I don’t!

Looking around the wall of memorabilia, I almost didn’t notice when the owner walked out of the back. I don’t play many video games, but my older cousin used to come over a lot cause of his parents busy schedule so I sometimes watched him play. Mostly zombie games. The man walking out was in a perfect cosplay as The Merchant from Resident Evil 4. It just got better as he spoke.

“Hello, strangers. What’re you buyin?” He asked in a slightly tired and scratchy sounding voice. Looking at the others, I see that Natali is sporting a grin that could easily rival the Grinch.

“Hello merchant, I like the selection here.” Adam says in a rather piss poor attempt at the Merchants voice. The guy just begins to chuckle in response.

“Heh heh, thanks for the response. You have no idea how hard it is to use that voice.” He says in a relaxed Texan accent.

After he says that the three of us begin to look around his booth, looking for anything interesting that we could buy. I can see all sorts of items from all sorts of anime and games, when I get a light tapping on my arm. Looking I see Nat pointing into the booth, her natural shy nature acting up again.

Looking where she is pointing I am greeted by the things we were each missing. A pair of Dicloni horns for Natali, Adam Taurus weapon for our Adam and the thing my eyes were glued to. A pair of red Wind Reader glasses. Adam and I look to the shop owner immediately after noticing then items in question.

“Hey, how much for the Wilt and Blush?” Adam asks, exited.

“The Wind Reader glasses too.” I interject. I see Natali just point in to the horns in the corner of my eye.

“Heh, well, for the Wilt and Blush, that’s about $250. The glasses I’ll sell for $100 and, just for you, I’ll give you this.” He says, reaching into a nearby drawer and pulling out what appears to be a scroll with the Fairy Tail seal on it.

I raise my brow in curiosity and ask, “What’s that?”

The response was calm. “This scroll contains all the potential words for Solid Script magic.” My eyes widen at the mere thought.

“Deal.” Adam and I say in unison, before digging into our respective money carriers. I take the glasses and the scroll, barely noticing that Nat got her horns for a ridiculously low $25. Putting my new glasses on, I find they actually fit perfectly. Looking to my two friends, Adam has his new weapon secured to his waist and Nat has her horns in the right spot.

“Alright you three. Enjoy your trips.” The merchant says to us, confusing the three of us. Then I begin to get a migraine, my vision beginning to blur. Looking to the others, I see Natali panicking, and Adam getting a headache as well. Before long I begin to black out and fall.

‘What is happen-...’

Coming to, I feel the soft grass below and a couple of birds chirping around me. Opening my eyes, I am face down in what appears to be a clearing in a forest. Carefully getting up and looking side to side, I see nothing but nature. It takes a second for all of my senses to come back, but once they do I carefully lift myself off the ground, a nearby tree supporting me. Raising to my full height I look and again see nothing but nature.

“Hmm...urg. What happened?” I say aloud, groaning. Carefully checking myself over, I see that aside from a few grass stains on my knees, nothing is our of the ordinary, except...

I reach up to scratch my head, but I only feel my hair, not a wig. Moving some of the hair into my sight, I am greeted by the same shade of blue as Levi. Raising my brow, I take a bit and pull, feeling the pulling sensation on my scalp. This is concerning. Going through my purse, I take out a small compact mirror. Looking at myself I begin to truly worry.

I should be staring at a young women with brown hair and sky blue eyes. Instead I see a familiar head of blue hair and two brown eyes staring back at me. I look exactly like Levi.

At this point I begin to breath heavily, till I take a second to do a breathing exercise I heard about. Taking my right hand and placing it in the center of my chest I exhale while moving my hand away. Inhale, exhale. Inhale, exhale.

After a few more breaths I calm down and look into my purse for anything that could help me find my way. I pull out my phone to check, but only get no service and a busted GPS. “Well that’s great.” Putting my phone away, I look for a second more before finding something else. The scroll I bought. Taking it out, it still has the Fairy Tail emblem sealing it closed, but it almost looks like it is glowing.

Carefully taking off the seal and unrolling the scroll, I am rewarded by a bright flash. I quickly cover my eyes and drop the scroll. Once the light begins to die down I hear what sounds like three pieces of paper and something solid hitting the forest floor.

Taking my arms away from my eyes, I look down and what greets me is rather surprising. Three different scrolls, each with a different letter style. One in normal letters, one in what looks like Kanitkata or Japanese spelling, and what looks like digital writing for enchantments from Fairy Tail. But the most shocking part is that the last scroll is tied to, what looks like, a Levi sized version of Freed Justine’s Rapier. Carefully taking the sword and unsheathing it, I find it looks exactly the same, complete with a belt for holding it. I barely notice as my right eye gets a little itchy.

Taking up the three scrolls I unroll the one in Kanitkata I find that is actually written entirely in Japanese. Good thing I took lessons! Reading through, what I find is that it has info on the eastern version of Solid Script magic. Slash, Roar, Fall, Pierce, and Narucami!

My eyes were wide as dinner plate, and I quickly check the other scroll I see it has western Solid Script. Iron, Fire, Hole, Storm, Explosion!

Checking the final scroll, exactly what I expect is written in it. It had info on writing enchantment as well as Dark Ecriture. Pain, Wings, Darkness, Absolute Shadow, and of course Death.

Looking through the scrolls, it looks like it will take a few hours to go through one scroll. I groan in exasperation. I want to learn these spells and do magic! After a few minutes an idea come to my mind. Quickly going through my purse again I find the other items I bought. My new Wind Reader glasses. Carefully looking at my glasses, I can somehow feel the internal enchantment of the glasses.

Putting them on I take out the western Solid Script scroll and read. Suddenly the words seem come off the scroll and into a floating orb. The letters then get sucked into my glasses and I just get all the info beamed into my head. The info on how to use Solid Script magic is really interesting. After about 15 minutes I finish the first Scroll then start on eastern, then enchantment + Dark Ecriture.

An hour passes and I finish up the scrolls and learned what I can about magic for now. I get up from my spot on a downed log and put the scrolls away into my purse and tie the sword to my hip. Looking to a rock nearby I decide to try and see if this will work.

“Ok. Feet: shoulder length apart, back straight.” I look forward to my target and raise my right hand. “Solid Script: Fire!” My finger shines slightly and the words appear before bursting into flames and flying forward and burning the ground and rock black. I look on in shock, then smile in success. “WOOO!!!” After celebrating for a second I look to the rock again and focus on the other style.

“Solid Script: Slice!” The symbol for the word appears before going forward and slicing the rock in two. My smile widens at the successful use of eastern Solid Script. Looking up I see there are some spots in the forest canopy that lets some light through and I get an idea to find where I am and maybe get some help.

I take out my sword and focus on the enchantments, my right eye turning from white sclera and brown eye to black sclera and pale blue eye. “Dark Ecriture: Wings!” The letters appear on my back and four large, thin black and blue wings appear on my back and I begin to fly up, it somehow feeling natural to me. I go above the canopy and look around. I find what appears to be the ruins of an old castle to the east, a mountain with what looks like a city connected over the edge (what) it is to the west and a small town to the north.

Flying over the forest for a few minutes I decide to go by the town when I hear a group of howls coming from the edge of town. Quickly going to where I heard the howls I find what looks like a wild apple orchard. Going to a tree I find the apples are rainbow coloured and also greyed out, likely the grey ones aren’t ripe.

Looking around the area I find a wagon with barrels full of the apples, one of the barrels knocked over onto the ground. Landing and dismissing my wings, I look around the ground and find what appears to be paw prints going around the carts and scratch marks on the barrel and cart, as well as several hoof prints.

“Hmm, looks like some farmers were collecting these apples and then were attacked by some wolves and took their horses into the forest to get away.” I say aloud. I look to where the hooves and paw prints are going and decide to follow, hoping to find the farmers and help. Running into the under bush, following the tail and beginning to hear a struggle. I can hear the wolves, a child and an older women.

“Are we going to be ok Granny?” A young voice asks. Looking into the clearing nearby I see what appears to be a cave with some large logs in the way. I barely see a pink bow poking out between the logs. Looking past the cave I look in front of it and pause.

I see the wolves, but they aren’t made of flesh and fur. They look like a bunch of trees came to life and decided to take the form of wolves. They have wooden legs, torsos, heads and what looks like leafs for tongues. Their bright yellow eyes seemed locked on the cave entrance and a few were securing the back.

“Don’t worry my little bloom. Your sister and brother will be back with help soon. I know it.” An older sounding woman says, her voice filled with reassurance.

‘So two of the farmers got away and are going to get help.’ I think and look to the logs that have a ton of scratch marks and look set to break. ‘If they don’t get here soon then the wolves will break through and have themselves a feast.’ I look to the cave and then to my sword by my side and make a decision. Taking my rapier off, I cast a rare enchantment on myself.

“Dark Ecriture: Mist.” I say quietly. I begin to get an odd sensation, like when you step into a sauna. Looking at my hand I find it is made of mist! I quickly and quietly go past the wolves and into the cave, my body fazing though the cracks of the logs.

I look to around the area finding the sources of the voices, and freeze. What I am looking at aren’t human. They appear to be some sort of cross between horses and human. They have legs ending in hooves and arms ending hands with muzzles. The younger one has pale yellow fur and a red mane and tail, a pink bow tied in her mane. She is wearing a red and white plaid shirt and dirty jeans. The older one, Granny, has green fur and grey hair done up in an old lady bun. She is wearing a pair of jeans as well and one of those loose fitting shirts that older women seem to wear.

Coming out of my stupor I quietly dismiss my spell and appear near the back of the cave behind them. They look though the gap between the logs to look at the wolves. I stay there for a second doing nothing before I clear my throat. The two hybrids quickly turn around and see me, then freeze. We stay there, staring at each other when the young one takes a breath to scream. I rush forward and cover her mouth.

“SHHH! Don’t scream. The wolves may think something is going on and will try to attack.” I tell her. The young one nods and I take my hand away from her muzzle. I look to the older...mare I guess? “Don’t worry, I saw the damage done by the orchard and thought I could help.”

“Ah, thank you youngin. But I don’t know what ya’ll can do against a pack of Timberwolves.” Granny says to me, looking me over. I just smile and unsheathed my rapier. I go to the front of the cave and begin to write a defensive enchantment into the ground. The letters appearing on the ground glowing a purple and blue. The two hybrids look to me and to my enchantment in curiosity.

“What’re you doin?” The young one asks me. I look to her and smile as I was finishing up the enchantment.

“I am writing an enchantment. This will make an invisible wall that is set to make it so only beings made of flesh and blood my pass.” I explain, the filly looking to me in surprise. “Also ma’am?” Granny looks to me. “One thing you should know about me, is never underestimate a member of the Fairy Tail wizard guild.” The duo look to me in surprise saying that I am a wizard. I quickly re-activate my Mist enchantment the duo looking to me in shock. “Don’t worry, I’ll handle the wolves. You two just sit back and enjoy the show.”

I go through the logs and appear above the cave the wolves still non the wiser. I look to the wolves and count 8 and smile a sinister smile. ‘Time to fight.’

Quickly jumping down, I get the attention of a few of the wolves. Three of them begin to walk up to me, ears splayed back, growling. I just smile and turn to two that are together and wave my arm. “Solid Script: Fire!” The words appears and launch to the wolves, the duo not having the time to run and catching on fire, howling in pain. The other wolves look to their comrades in shock.

I quickly take this opportunity to call back to the others. “Cover your ears!” Before casting my next spell. “Solid Script: Roar!” A loud roar begins to echo through the forest, the Timberwolves having to cover their ears and go to the ground in pain. Oddly it doesn’t affect me, likely cause I cast it.

I get in a new position and cast. “Solid Script: Storm!” A massive gale sends the Timberwolves into a pile. I quickly jump up and look at the pile of Timberwolves on the ground. “Solid Script: Hole!” I make a huge hole that all the wolves fall into. “Solid Script: Silent!” The word slams into the symbol for roar and the silence returns to the forest. I hear the wolves whining from getting their hearing back and I look down into the hole and think of a way to end them.

“Solid Script: Oil!” The word appears and a huge amount of the black liquid splashes into the hole, covering the wooden mutts and leaving a small trail to me. I walk back a bit and take out my pocket lighter and light the trail of oil, the fire travelling quickly into the hole. I smile and walk away as the hole bursts into a pillar of fire from all the fuel.

Going to the cave I knock on the logs. “Hey, you two ok?” I ask. The response was the logs being pushed away and to family members walking out and seeing the carnage. They look to me, Granny with respect and bloom with awe. I just smile to the duo.

“Thank you kindly youngster. I cannot express my gratitude for savin us. Oh yeah, mah names Granny Smith and this is my youngest grandchild Applebloom.” She says, the young filly beaming up and me. I just smile back to the two and bow slightly.

“My name is Alexandria Justine. Please just call me Lex though.” I introduce myself. Before they can respond there was a rustling from one of the bushes. I quickly grab my sword and Applebloom holds onto her grandmother. It was a tense couple of seconds, before a small brown and white Border Collie with a red collar runs our, barking in exitment.

“Winona!” Applebloom shouts in happiness. The small dog runs up to us and licks Applebloom, the young filly laughing all the while. I look to Granny who smiles and nods to the dog.

“Granny! Applebloom!” I hear a woman yell. Turning I see as a group of hybrids break though the each with their own color schemes and outfits.

The first through were a pair of farmers and likely, Granny’s other grandchildren. The mare has an orange coat and blond hair tied into a pony tail with a red band. She has a green and white plaid shirt with a pair of short jean shorts, a lasso attached to the side and a brown Stetson hat atop her head. Next to her was likely her brother. The dude was nearly the size of Adam, he was huge. He had red fur and a dirty orange mane with a blue and white plaid shirt and a pair of denim overalls.

As soon as the duo saw their family members safe they ran up and brough the duo into a group hug.

“Thank Celestia! Your ok!” The woman says with tears in her eyes. Granny and Applebloom hug the two new additions back best they can.

“Yeah, but I don’t wanna think what would’a happened if Lex hadn’t showed up.” Granny says looking to me. The duo and the others turn to me as I smile sheepishly and rub my head.

“I was nothing Granny. I was just doing what needed to be done.” I say. Opening my eyes I am greeted by four different pairs of eyes staring back at me. “Whoa!” I fall on my back in surprise.

Looking at the offending hybrids I see that two hove horns on their heads and one has a pair of wings on her back. ‘Unicorn and Pegasi? What next?’ I think to myself before looking at the odd group again.

The first one that I noticed was a purple unicorn wearing a white dress shirt, a violet vest and purple skirt. She was the first to react to my reaction. “Oh! Sorry, sorry. We didn’t mean to scare you.” She says helping me to my feet.

I just nod to her and look to the other members of the group. The other unicorn has snowy white fur and curly purple hair. She is wearing a black t-shirt, blue overcoat and royal purple skirt. She is looking at my outfit and hair. “I must say darling, your outfit simply fantastic! Such a great contrast with your hair.” She says swooning over my Levi cosplay, to which I smile and pose a bit.

“You think so? Thanks, it took a couple hours to get it right.” I tell her, to which the unicorn eyes widen with a smile.

She doesn’t get a chance to respond as my vision is suddenly taken by a pair of blue eyes. The body being bright pink with her hair being like cotton candy. She has a pink and blue t-shirt on and blue jeans with a brown belt. “HiI’mPinkiePie!What’syourname?Whatareyou?Howoldareyou?Whenisyourbirthday?Whatareyou?Whats-“ she gets interrupted by a cyan hand covering her mouth.

“Pinkie, nopony can understand you when you are talking fast.” A rainbow maned pegasus says to her bubbly friend. She is wearing a pair of black jogging shorts and a blue tank top with a black sports bra.

I nod to her in thanks. I notice the farmers looking at me with curiosity. I just turn to them with a raised brow. “What?”

“Well sugarcube, no disrespect or nothing, but how in the hay did somepony like you beat a whole pack of Timberwolves?” The mare asks.

I shrug to her, “All I did was use my Solid Script magic on them. It ain’t rocket science.” I tell her, the others looking confused, while the purple unicorn smiles a bit.

“Solid Script?” The pink one asks. I nod to her and look for a good target. Luckily one presents itself one more Timberwolf jumps out of the forest into our clearing. The hybrids tense and get close together. I just smile and walk forward towards the wolf.

“Perfect, a target.” I say aloud before getting into my position and waving my hand. “Solid Script: Fire!” The words appear again before bursting into flames, the gathered hybrids gasping as the attack is launched forward and strikes the wolf. I smile and turn to the others, all of them having dropped jaws and eyes the size of dinner plates. They stay there looking at the flaming remains of the Timberwolf before turning to me.

“Who...What are you?” the purple one asks, to which I smirk and take my rapier out of its sheath.

“My name is Lex Justine. And I am a Fairy Tail Wizard.”

“Your a wizard?!? Like Starswirl the Bearded! This is amazing! There hasn’t been another wizard in thousands of years! What type of magic can you do? How strong are you? How many spells do you know? What’s your favourite type of magic?” The purple one stared asking seemingly endless questions. She went on and on, in spite of the fact I clearly wasn’t listening. I turned to her friends with a raised brow. All of them shrugged, excepted for the cyan pegasus who was trying no to laugh out loud.

I just sigh and look to the still rambling unicorn and decide enough is enough. Quickly waving my are I cast, “Solid Script: Silent.” The words appear and before she could react the purple one was struck face first by it. She looked to me in worry and then to herself, only to find nothing wrong. She goes to ask what I did...only for nothing to come out. Her eyes widen and she tries yelling, stomping her foot. She even tried snapping her fingers, but she made no noise.

“Oh calm down.” I say, getting her attention. “I just cast a silence spell so you would shut up and stop asking question. You were giving me a headache.” I say rubbing my head. The unicorn smile and blushed sheepishly. I look to the others again. The pink and blue ones were on the ground laughing at the situation, the others just giggling.

“Well as much as I would love to continue this train wreck of an introduction, I think it would be best we get back to the orchard and grab what we can before going to town.” I tell the collected group to which all of them nodded. Before leaving I dismiss the enchantment on the cave and the silence spell on the unicorn.

“Oh yeah, what are your names anyways?” I ask as we walk back to the rainbow apple orchard. The white unicorn turns to me and answers.

“Well darling, my names is Rarity Belle, the purple unicorn you used the silence spell on is Twilight Sparkle, the blue pegasus is Rainbow Dash, you already met Pinkie Pie,” she was interrupted by the big red stallion coming up to us.

“Mah names Macintosh, most call me Big Mac, my sister over there is Applejack.” He says to me in a deep baritone voice. I am sure the dude gets all the mare with a voice like that. The others look to him in shock for some reason, I guess he is literally the strong silent types.

“Nice to meet all of you, my name is Alexandria Justine, but please just call me Lex.” I say to the group as we make it to the orchard. I go by the cart and see it is just as I left it. I turn to see Big Mac coming up and lift that barrel with one hand. My eyes widen at his strength, strong and silent is right! He puts the barrel back on the cart and the group leaves the orchard with me in the back to keep an eye out for more trouble.

After a few minutes, our large group make it to what looks like a large red barn, past it is a farm house and then a GIGANTIC freaking apple orchard. Seriously! The place looked like the orchard itself could house a whole town in terms of land mass! Looking around all I see are apple trees, evenly spaced apart, some with buckets underneath them. I jump from the sound of something hard hitting the ground. Turning I see Big Mac moving the buckets into the barn.

“Excuse me, Lex?” Looking down a bit, I see Applebloom looking to me, “do you wanna stay for lunch?” My answer came though the loud growl of my stomach. I forgot to eat breakfast for the con so...I blush and smile at her, Applebloom beams up to me and runs back to her grandmother.

I get a light tapping on my arm. Turning I see a butter yellow pegasus with a long flowing pink mane. She is wearing a long green jumper and a long pink skirt. She just stares at me with a shy and curious expression. I suddenly get a feeling of déjà vu from when I first met Nat. I just smile to her and slowly hold out my hand for her. She looks to me and slowly shakes my hand as well, all the while hiding behind her mane.

“Hey Fluttershy!” She lets out an ‘eep’ and we turn and look up as Rainbow Dash hovers over to us. The newly named Fluttershy seems to come out of her shell a bit at the presence of the blue mare.

“Oh, hello Rainbow Dash.” She says in a soft voice. I swear, she seems like a less confident Natali. “How are you and the other? Sorry I couldn’t come and help.” She says.

“Eh don’t worry about it Shy. But everypony is ok. The fight was over when we arrived.” Rainbow says, the yellow mare tilting her head in confusion.

“The fight was over? How? I thought it was just Applebloom and Granny who were there?” She asks in confusion. Rainbow smirks and carefully turns her friends head to look to me, Fluttershy just now noticing my sword. She looks back and forth between me, my sword and Rainbow, before we both nod.

She didn’t get a chance to ask any question before AppleJack shouted out. “Foods ready everypony!” At that all of us went to a set of picnic benches to eat. Looking at the spread, it seems that every food item has something to do with apple, though that shouldn’t have been all that surprising. After everyone is at the table each of us begin to fill our plates and eat.

Holy Crap! Who knew this many things made of apples would taste this good. Though it is delicious, I don’t wanna be rude by just stuffing my face. Though that didn’t stop Pinkie and Rainbow from shovelling their food into their mouths.

“You two might wanna slow down there. Your going to get sick.” I tell them, the two mare looking at me like I grew a second head before continuing to stuff their faces silly. I just sigh and go back to eating my apple casserole and apple pizza slice. I notice out of the corner of my eye, Twilight biting her thumb and looking at me. I just sigh and turn to her. “Alright, you can ask some question, just not any that are inappropriate or I don’t wanna answer.” I tell her.

She smiles and takes out a scroll that is likely full of question and begins to cross some out. I just wait for a bit, the others also interested in her question.

“Ok, first question, what magic do you use?” She asks with a note pad and quill at the ready. I just sigh and take out the three scrolls I have.

“I use four different types of magic. They are all writing based but are technically different to one another. Solid Script magic: I use my magic to write certain words into the air and they become what is written. You have seen me use fire and silent already.” The group nods, Twilight writing everything down. “The second is the eastern version of Solid Script magic: it is like the normal one but uses Japanese symbols or Kanitkata for the attacks. Roar, Slice, Fall etc.”

“The last magic I practice is the most complex. Enchantments and Dark Ecriture. My enchantment are long and complex, making them rather difficult to use in the middle of battle, but they are powerful. The rules of the enchantments are absolute, so the only way to get past them is to follow the rules or rewrite the enchantment, which can be difficult depending on the complexity of said enchantments. Dark Ecriture is like the previous style but it focuses on the more negative words. Mist, Darkness, Absolute Shadow, Pain...” I pause and think about telling them about the most dangerous one. But choose not to.

“Also wings oddly enough.” I say. After I say that Rainbow Dash is in my face, her rose eyes staring right at my brown ones.

“You mean you can grow wings and fly?!?” She asks brashly to which I calmly nod and stand up. Walking back a few steps away from the group and take my sword out. The other gasp as my eye turns dark and begin to shiver slightly as I wave my Rapier.

“Dark Ecriture: Wings!” The letters again appear on my back and my wings sprout out. The others jaws hit the table as I begin to fly up into the air. Rainbow and Fluttershy soon join me in the air and inspect my wings in shock. The others just look to the three of us in the air. I go down to the ground and smirk at all the faces.

“This is amazing!” Twilight shouts abruptly. The others agree with her, all of them still looking to me in shock for my magical abilities. I look to the group and see Pinkie with her hand up and a large smile on her face. “Yes Pinkie?”

“How old are you and when is your Birthday?” She asks quickly with her own notepad that she pulled from her poofy mane. No joke.

“I am 22 and my birthday is September 15th.” She writes this down as everyone looks to me in surprise yet again. I look back to them with a raised brow. “What?”

“Your older than everypony here aside from Big Mac and Granny Smith! How are you that old yet that short?!?” Rainbow asks. I realize I haven’t actually asked their ages and all of them are around five foot eight. I just shrug to them before answering.

“Dunno. Bad gene lottery. My dads great grandparents were shorter than me at their prime so it ended up skipping a couple of generation. I just happened to be the one to receive that luck of the draw. But as a wise man once said, ‘size matters not’.” I tell them, the group understanding my position on my height.

I look and see that Fluttershy has her hand raised slightly, hiding behind her mane when she sees me looking at her. I just nod to her saying she can ask next.

“Umm. I hope you don’t mind me asking but, what are you exactly?” She asks shyly, still hiding behind her mane. I learned from being friends with Nat that people like her not to pressure her and let her be the one to instigate.

“I am a human, scientific name Homo Sapien. We are a race of being evolved from apes a few million years ago. We are also omnivore and can’t eat things like flowers, grass, hay, thing like that.” I tell her, pointing to some of the things on the table I haven’t touched like a daisy and tulip salad. She nods and writes it all down on her own note pad.

“Why did you help us?” I turn and see it is Applebloom who asked the question, a curious expression on her tilted head.

“Why wouldn’t I? I could tell just from the damages and the tracks that someone was in trouble, and I have a bad habit of making other people problems my problems as well.” I tell her, the rest of the ponies nodding their heads. After that I notice that we actually finished almost all the food. “Hey, how about we clean up?” The others look at what remains of the spread and nod.

Each of us take some plates and bowls back inside, me, Twilight and Applebloom cleaning the dishes themselves. After about an hour the apple family has to get back to their chores and work so I go with the other into town. We just talk to one another about random fact, me leaning this country is called Equestria and I am in Ponyville, the place is ruled by two sisters who control the sun and moon, and that the girls are national heroines call the Elements.

“Jeez, this place sounds all sorts of awesome. Is there a library nearby that I could use for research?” I ask the girls, Twilight immediately turning to me with a smile.

“Yes actually. Believe it or not, but the Golden Oaks library is also mine and Spikes house after we moved here.” She says to me as we walk into the town. The place is all sorts of colourful and I can see plenty of technicolored ponies walking around. Though some do send me wierd glances but I just ignore it.

“Spike? Who is that?” I ask Twilight as Pinkie breaks off to go to some bakery.

“Oh, he is my number one assistant/little brother/sorta son? He is a dragon I hatched during my entrance exam to Princess Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns.” She tell me, to which I stop and look to her in shock.

“A dragon!?! You have a dragon as an assistant!?!” I ask her, my face mere inched from hers. She just nods in confusion as a large grin breaks across my face. “Then what are we waiting for? Let’s go! I wanna meet a dragon!” I tell her in exitement, not caring at the snickering Rainbow Dash.

We walk for a few more minute before arriving at the library. I was shocked that it was actually made into a still living oak tree. Entering the building I see tons of books on display with a checkout book by the door. There is a doorway to a kitchen a basement entrance and some stairs leading upstairs.

Going past to the living room, I go up to a few of the shelves and look though them. Focusing on what I need, I find a few books on ancient Equestrian history, modern Equestrian events, Equestrian magic and a few other bits of information. I was so focused on getting the books I didn’t notice the girls conversations.

“Wow. Looks like you have competition for the best egghead award Twi.” Rainbow says to her friends looking at me. Twilight just looks at her pegasus friend and pouts to her.

“Very funny Rainbow. Maybe I should ask if Lex wants a live subject for testing some of her spells on.” Twilight says back, Rainbow snickering at her attempted threat.

“Well I must say, if she has the time I would love to see if she could make some designs with me. She did say she made her own outfit. Who knows what she could come up with.” Rarity says in anticipation. She looks over my outfit again, and takes note of my Fairy Tail emblem on my shoulder as I have my back turned to them.

“Twilight? Is that you?” A voice calls from upstairs.

“Yeah its me Spike! Rainbow, Fluttershy, and Rarity are here too. Why don’t you come down. There is someone here that wants to meet you.” Twilight calls up the stairs. A few second later a small purple lizard like person come running down. He was wearing a pair of green cargo shorts and a blue and yellow vest over a purple t-shirt.

“Really? Let me guess. There is someone new to town that hasn’t met a dragon before?” Spike asks. Twilight nods and points to me as I am getting all the books I need and carry them to the coffee table and take a seat on the couch.

Digging into my purse I pull out my three scrolls on my magic, my glasses and my phone with ear buds and get ready to read when I feel someone tapping my shoulder. Looking up I see it is Twilight standing next to some odd lizard kid.

“Lex this is Spike, the dragon I told you about.” She says, my eyes snapping back to the small drake. I get up and carefully look him over. He is about a foot shorter than me, his claws seem rather dull, almost like fingers. His tail is pointed yet not sharp and his spines are wavy. All in all, not very intimidating compared to some of the dragons I have seen in stories.

“Hi there! I’m Spike!” He says holding his claw out. I shake his claws and then turn back to my spot and see Rainbow looking though the books I took out and Rarity looking at my glasses.

“Wow! Are you seriously going to be reading all these books?” Rainbow asks, to which I just nod and she starts laughing. “Boring!” I just frown at her.

“Great your one of those ‘all brawn and no brains’ types of athletes aren’t you.” I say in exasperation, the other laughing at my come back to Dash’s comment. The chromatic pegasus just huff and puts the books down before lounging on another nearby couch.

“I must say Lex, these glasses of yours look just as unique as the rest of your outfit. I wonder, what is with this odd magical presence in them though?” She asks in curiosity.

“Oh. Those are my Wind Reader glasses. They are especially enchanted to let the wearer read and understand the contents of any written piece at ludicrous speeds.” I explain, all the girls looking to the glasses in amazement. I turn to Twilight and show her the scrolls. “How long do you guess it would take somepony to read through all the content in these scrolls?”

Twilight unrolls the scroll for enchantments and Dark Ecriture and freezes. She looks to the other two scrolls and again gains a shocked look. “I-incredible. These scrolls has so much information. It would take me days to read though and full comprehend the contents of these scrolls.” She says in awe, the others looking to her in surprise. I just smirk and pick up my glasses and put them on before pointing to them.

“Just over one hour.” I say, the others looking somewhat confused. “With these glasses I was able to read though those scrolls and gain all the info needed to perform their spells in just over one hour before I met all of you.” All of them look to me and then to my glasses and scrolls in shock. Twilights eye begins to twitch slightly and I notice some of her hair is fraying from the rest of her head. I feel a tapping on my arm and see Spike looking to Twilight in concern.

“I think you may have broken her.” He says worried for the unicorn. I quickly walk into the kitchen and get a glass of water before returning, taking my scrolls and splashing Twilight, the mare sputtering for a second before coming to her senses. I just chuckle at her befuddled expression. She take the scroll for eastern Solid Script and narrows her eyes in slight frustration.

“Something wrong Twilight?” I ask in confusion.

“I-I don’t understand it. Is there some kind of enchantment on the parchment making the word illegible?” She mutters to herself. I walk up and look past her seeing the problem.

“Your holding it upside down.” I deadpan, the unicorns eyes widening and she blushed in embarrassment. Quickly flipping the scroll around, she again gets a frustrated face. It takes a second before I think of what of what the problem could be. ”You don’t know how to read Japanese, do you?” I ask her.

“Japanese?” She asks tilting her head. I just facepalm at her.

“The reason you don’t understand the words on the scroll is because it is another language. Duh!” I tell her, Twilight looking to the scroll again. She then looks at me sheepishly for an answer.

“Well as fun as this egghead convention is, I have to go and take care of some business in the skies. See ya!” Rainbow says before flying out the door.

“Um, I have to go and check on my animals as well. I’ll see you all later.” Fluttershy excuses herself politely and walks out.

“Yes, I must return to the boutique and finish some of my orders. When you have a chance, feel free to stop by Lex. I could use some help think of new designs.” Rarity says before heading out leaving me, Twilight and Spike together. I walk to my spot on the couch again and prepare to read though the first book when I get an idea to help Twilight with the scrolls.

“Hey Twilight, Spike?” The duo turn to me. “How would you like me to teach you Japanese. You could use it to talk to each other about hints you don’t want others to know about and as an encrypting style for reports to the Princess.” I say, the duo looking to me in surprise and excitement.

“Really? You can teach us?” Spike and Twilight ask in unison. I just smile and nod before picking up my first out of the eight books I took out.

“Let me read though these books first and then I will start to teach you ok?” Twilight looks to me pleadingly.

“But it will take you days to read all-“ I cut her off by tapping my glasses, the purple mare remembering their function. “Oh yeah. Well ok, me and Spike can take care of a few things in the meantime.” She says, Spike going into the basement and coming back with a stack of new books.

With a plan in place I put my earbuds in and put my music on shuffle before picking up ‘Equestrian myths and legends Volume 1’ and beginning to read, the glasses activating almost immediately.

‘Here we go.’

I takes a little over two and a half hours but I finished all the books. The last book I read through was on unicorn magic. It seemed like it would be between Solid Script magic and enchantment in complexity. After closing the book and rubbing my eyes, I look to the book and concentrate. Soon after my hand and the book are covered in a blue aura coloured like my hair. I levitate the books back into their places on the shelves. I heard a gasp from the left of me and turn to see Twilight looking at me and then to my aura covered hand in shock. I just smile to her and levitate my glasses and phone back into my purse.

“You can do unicorn magic now too?” Sh asks in shock, coming to sit next to me.

“Sure, I would say that unicorn magic is a little harder than my Solid Script but nowhere near my Enchantments in complexity.” I tell her and get up to stretch. Going to the kitchen and grabbing a glass of water, I come back to Spike having arrived as well and Twilight silently asking for lessons. I just smile at her eagerness and take a seat in the recliner and take out my phone again and then my eastern Solid Script scroll.

“Let’s get started then. This is going to take a while to teach you as Japanese is rather different that the language we are speaking right now.” I warn them, only for Spike and Twilight to both take out notepads with determined expression. I just smile to them and start.

We seem to lose track of time as I teach them the ins and outs of Japanese, Twilight even brining in a blackboard for me to show them Kanakata, Kanji and Hiragana. They are both very attentive students and take notes of almost everything I tell them.

“Ok repeat after me in Japanese, ‘my name is Spike/Twilight.’”

“Watashi no namae wa Spike/Twilight desu.” They say together, Spike slipping up a little at the start.

“I am very glad to meet you.”

“Oaidekite ureshī desu.” They say back without trouble.

“Thank you very much.”

“Dōmo arigatōgozaimashita” they reply, and I could tell they were both answering and saying it.

“Dōitashimashite (your welcome).” I say to them with a smirk, the duo nodding with their own smile. I get up and stretch, checking the clock to see it is almost six thirty at night.

“Wow, time sure flies by when you are learning something new.” Spike says, seeing the clock as well. We clean up a little and they make sure to keep each of their notes separate from each other so they don’t mix them up.

“Well I don’t know about you two, but after teaching for nearly four hours, I could go for a bite to eat.” I say, putting my stuff back in my purse so I don’t lose it.

“How about we head to Sugar Cube Corner?” Spike suggests. I look to Twilight, who nods and gets a bag of gold coins, bits, and we all walk out the door to the bakery. Looking around as we walk, I notice that the town looks a little abandoned. There was no one around and all the houses looked locked down. After a few quiet minutes we make it to the bakery and I see the door says open but the lights are off.

Confused as to where I have seen this before, I walk to the door and check it, seeing it is unlocked. “The heck?”

“SURPRISE!!” I jump back as I see that almost the entire town is in the room, with streamers, balloons and food. Looking around the crowd, I see the others all smiling, then turn to Twilight and Spike who have big grins on their faces.

“Anata wa futari ga shitteita. Anata wa shimasendeshita ka? (You two knew. Didn’t you?)” I ask them out loud, some of the other ponies looking confused at us.

“Hai.” They say together and laugh a bit. I just shake my head and smile. Turning, I find Pinkie staring at us with a tilted head.

“Why are you all talking in gibberish?” She asks to us. We all look to one another and laugh.

“It isn’t gibberish Pinkie, we spent the past few hours leaning Japanese from Lex.” Twilight answers. She and the others get an ‘ah’ face from that answer.

“Anyways, let’s get this party started!” I say out, earning a cheer from the crowd. Pinkie smile and drags me in and to meet some of the residents of the town, like the school teacher Cheerilee, and the spa sisters Aloe and Lotus. Going around and meeting most of the ponies, I am slightly disgruntled by the fact that almost all the adults are taller than me.

“Hey Lex!” Turning I see that it is AppleJack coming up to me with Rainbow and Rarity.

“Hey girls, what’s up?” I ask, leaning on the table a bit.

“Well, we were wondering if you could tell us a bit about yourself since we couldn’t talk all that much before.” Rarity says as she gets a drink from the bowl next to me.

“Well, there isn’t much to say. Back home I am a huge nerd and the oldest of my friends, I can be hotheaded at time and have a problem of making others problems my own and I now have the ability to use magic that was entirely fictional to me before.” I tell them and take a sip of my punch. The others look to me in surprise by the way I talked about myself.

“Wait. What do ya mean yer magic was fictional?” AppleJack asks, and I spot Twilight listening nearby.

“Well, back home my magic and several others are from a story called Fairy Tail. The story takes place in the fictional kingdom of Fiore. There, magic is a tool, used for things like magitech, and an art used for spells. Those who practice the magical arts are wizards and are typically members of guilds, where the wizards are basically bounty hunters, doing varying jobs for just as varying pays.” I explain to them. The group is fascinated by this consept.

“Though, are all of these guilds good?” Rarity asks, having gotten a chair for herself.

I sigh and shake my head. “Not all guilds are good. There are the Dark guilds who typically take part in magical crime. Robbing people, stealing property, even...assassinations.” The girls gasp at this. “A majority of the Dark Guilds are the villains in the story and do things that the protagonists have to beat. Stealing a cursed flute, unfreezing a demon of destruction, trying to take control of a magical weapon that can invert light and dark, even trying to track down one of the most evil and dangerous wizards in history to use as a pawn. Yet, every time, these villains are defeated by the hero’s. The Fairy Tail guild.” I turn to them and show my mark.

“So yer now a member of this guild?” AppleJack asks, to which I shrug.

“I guess? Every guild has their own mark that the members wear. Since I have the Fairy Tail mark, I guess that makes me a member. Though, I don’t think it matters much here in Equestria. Reading through all those history books earlier, I found no mention of any wizard guilds, so I assume they don’t exist here.” I tell them. The group nods at this then Pinkie pops up.

“They why don’t you make one?” She asks and I raise a brow.

“What do you mean Pinkie?” I ask, not really understanding what she means.

“I mean why don’t you make a branch of the Fairy Tail Guild here in Equestria?” She explains. I raise a brown again and think.

“That would be a good idea if anyone aside from Unicorns and Alicorns knew how to use magic, but that isn’t the case from what I have read through so far. Plus just having Equestrian magic users isn’t enough. The guilds are built on the fact that the members have a variety of different magic type users, making some wizards best for certain missions then others. Like having someone who specializes in fire magic going to a desert as opposed to one who uses ice magic.” I explain, finishing my drink. The others nod at my explanation.

“Hey Lex! You going to be standing there talking all night or are you going to come and join in the fun?” Spike calls out next to what looks like a game of pin the tail on the Nightmare. I just chuckle and go over to him with a smile. Even though this world is rather different, fun if fun.

The party goes on for a few more hours before most of the ponies leave to go home for the night. Afterwards it is just me, Twilight, Spike and Pinkie cleaning up the remains of the streamers, balloons and empty paper plates. After we made sure that all the garbage was taken out and that all the dishes were clean, me and the other two walk back to the library to call it a night. But for me, Pinkie’s idea was still bouncing around in my head.

‘Open a branch of Fairy Tail here. How would I even go about that? I would need to get a guild hall built, hire employees, and it isn’t like anyone could become the guild master. But....then why do I want to do it?’ As I think this, and a many other things, my mind just goes out from all the strain I put on it with these thoughts and I fall asleep.

I begin to wake from my peaceful slumber to the smell of pancakes and hash browns. Opening my eyes, I see an unfamiliar ceiling, before looking around and seeing an unfamiliar room. It takes a couple of second for my mind to come back before I remember what happened yesterday. Buying that scroll, learning magic, saving some ponies, and getting two new students to teach Japanese. I sigh as it all comes back to me before I get up and out of the guest room Twilight is letting me stay in.

Walking out of the room yawning, I find Spike in a frilly pink chefs apron cooking up some breakfast. I guess I wansn’t very quiet with my yawn as he turns to me and laughs a little at my apparent bed head. I look to a glass case next to me and laugh a little at it myself. I look like I just walked through a tornado and didn’t bother to care.

“Morning Lex. Just FYI, bathroom is just over there if you want to take a shower or something.” Spike says, pointing down a hall before going back to making some food. I just nod, still a little delirious from just waking up. Going to the washroom, I quickly make sure the door is locked and then taking a nice warm shower. My hair is a little longer than back on earth now, so I end up taking a little longer than I was used to. Afterwards I put my dress back on and go to the kitchen to eat. I am going to have to take Rarity up on her offer of making some designs in exchange for more clothes.

Going to the kitchen I find Spike eating a large stack of pancakes with gemstones in it with a side of hash browns, orange slices and apple juice. Definitely better than the energy bars I often had to eat before my shifts at the restaurant I worked at. I make myself a stack of three with a banana and some milk. Taking a my first bite of the pancakes my eyes widen in shock. That little drake may seem odd at times, but he is one hell of a cook! Me and Spike eat our meals in silence before a certain purple unicorn walks down and to her seat, immediately levitating an already prepped plate to herself and digging in. I just laugh as she reminds me of Nat/Sora when they are hungry.

“So what are your guys plan for today?” I ask the duo. Twilight goes to respond before being interrupted by Spike as his cheeks puff up and he released a large belch, green fire coming out and turning into a scroll. “Nice one.”

Twilight quickly grabs the scroll and reads through it. As she does her eyes widen and she get more and more panicked. By the time she finished reading it all she literally teleports to her room. I raise a brow and look at the letter.

“Looks like the princess has asked her to come to the palace for a type of test. Odd, Twilight hasn’t mentioned anything about a test.” I say, and Spike suddenly face claws and slams his head on the table. I raise a brow at him.

“Great. A surprise test. This is going to be hell.” I was surprised by the drakes language since he is technically only eleven and a half. The next hour or so went by in a blur of Twilight freaking out and grabbing practically every book in the library to stuff in her backpack as well as asking/telling Spike to make some flash cards. At this point I was just reading a book on Equestrian customs like greeting with other species and the like. Unfortunately I could barely focus with Twilight freaking out. So I intervene.

“TWILIGHT!” I yell at her, causing her to freeze mid stride on her way to her lab in the basement. “You need to chill. I know from experience that freaking out about a test only makes it harder for you to focus and will make you panic more, leading to a endless cycle of panic. You need to stop a second and take a breath.” I tell her, putting my hands on her shoulders and making her sit down on the couch.

She reluctantly nods and does the same breathing exercise I did when I first arrived. How does she know that exercise? Shaking that thought away I go through Twilights backback and take out some of the books I don’t think she will need, like a manual on...Griffin dining etiquette? Getting every set, I made sure Twilight has some books that she might need for a test given by the princess. Once done I hand the calmed unicorn her bag back, being able to now lift it without problem, before walking to the guest room and grabbing my purse and sword.

“What are you doing?” Twilight asks as I come back into the living room.

“Isn’t it obvious? I am coming with you to Canterlot. You may be the princesses personal student, but you are also my student for our Japanese lessons and it is the duty of any mentor to make sure their pupil is alright.” I tell her with a smile, before it turns into a smirk. “Also, I don’t really trust you not to start freaking out as soon as you get on the train.”

At that she blushes and nods, grabbing her bag. I noticed that Spike also had a bag with him, seeing it has quite a few flash cards. I just roll my eyes and we leave the library to go to the train station. We end up running into her friends and, surprise surprise, they decide to come too. Soon all eight of us are on the train headed to Canterlot. Spike and I make sure to go through some flash cards with Twilight to keep her calm.

We seemed to lose track of time as, about an hour that felt like five minutes later, we arrive in the city. Getting out of the train, I look to the busy streets of Canterlot and see exactly what I was expecting. A bunch of rich prick ponies with their noses so high in the air I wonder if they are trying to smell space. I just ignore them for the most part, but I do keep and ear and eye out. Most of the nobles barely pay our group more than a passing glance, but a few do stare at me and my sword. The stallions that do, I flash my dark eye and they immediately look elsewhere.

Before long we make it to the gates of the palace. The girls go through without problem but the guards block me with their spears. The others notice immediately as they aren’t very quiet.

“Hey, what the hell?” I ask abruptly. The guard on the left begins to talk.

“Apologies, but you will have to go away and make a scheduled appointment with the princess if you wish to see her.” He says in a monotone voice.

“What the buck? Let her through! Lex is with us.” Rainbow says, flying above them. The other one looks at her then to me.

“That is besides the point, she doesn’t have an appointment, plus she is armed.” He says. At this point I was getting annoyed so I did something kinda stupid. I cast a teleportation spell and teleported past them and next to Twilight. All of them look to where I was standing and to me for a second.

“What?” I ask in confusion, seeing their stunned faces.

“How did you do that? The palace walls have an anti-teleportation seal on it. It should be impossible for any beside those the princesses specifically allow to teleport in.” The guard says in shock. I raise a brow and think.

“Well, I did notice an odd sensation when I was teleporting, like when you walk through a thin spiders web.” I say aloud before looking at the wall and seeing some kind of seal on the inside. “Hold on a sec.” I take out my glasses and look to the seal, all the other ponies watching as I go through the inner workings of the spell. I go through it, taking out a notepad and writing the magical formula and I find the problem.

“That’s it!” I say aloud, the others jumping from my sudden outburst. “The problem is that the spell isn’t consistently spread in terms of magical energy. A few spots like in the actual entrance and the area above us are constantly in flux from taking in the ambient magic in the air as well as scanning any who walk in. Plus it is using magic to constantly check if anypony is trying to teleport in, using more magic than it has.” I explain, and see only Twilight and one of the guards understood what I just said.

“So, it is basically the same as trying to run and rest at the same time?” The other guard says and I make a ‘sorta’ gesture with my hand. I take out my sword, the guards grabbing their weapons, and begin to write a different enchantment, making sure to keep my dark eye covered by my hair.

“What are you doing?” The unicorn guard asks. I don’t look away from my writing but I do answer.

“Writing a defensive enchantment to replace the one you guys have. This enchantment will make it so that it takes in the ambient magic in the air and makes an invisible wall that will go around the wall itself and make sure it doesn’t use too much of its own energy keeping it up. Plus, it is set to only lower through the magic of an Alicorn, making it so only the princesses can teleport in and out, as well as any who are in the radius of their spell.”

Not long after I finish talking, I put the last part of the enchantment in and wave my sword to the left, the symbols repeating themselves and going in a line down the wall before combing back around. I smile as the enchantment is completed and I sheath my sword again. Looking to the guards, they stare at the enchantment in shock, then to me.

“So, can we go see the princess now?” I ask. The duo look to one another before sighing and letting our group leave. I smile and pat them both on the shoulders before joining the group and headed to the throne room. We all walk in silence before arriving at the door. The guard goes in and tell the princesses of our arrival, before coming back and telling us that they want Twilight and ‘whoever did that thing to the wall’ to go in. I can’t help but chuckle to myself from her description of my spell.

Walking up, the guards tense at the sight of my sword, before I untie it and give it to the guard by the door.

“Can you hold onto this for me please?” I ask him. He raises a brow and nods, taking my sword and belt. Me and Twilight walk in and the door closes behind us. Looking around the throne room, I see a few stain glass portraits of events, like the girls defeating Nightmare Moon and Discord, and the Canterlot invasion by changelings.

I hear some talking so I turn and see the princesses Luna and Celestia whispering to one another. Luna is wearing a deep royal blue and purple dress with black gloves and a sapphire necklace. Celestia in contrast is wearing a gold and white dress with white gloves and a ruby necklace. They are looking at the glass window depicting the Canterlot Invasion.

They didn’t seem to notice us so I clear my throat loudly, getting their attentions. They both look to me and raise a brow, likely because I am something they have never seen before.

“You wanted to see me princess? To give me a test?” Twilight says nervously as we walk up, taking out a book before I put a hand on her arm.

(“Calm down.”) I tell her in Japanese, the two royal looking confused. Twilight sighs and puts the book away.

“Hai.” She says, taking a breath. Celestia and Luna both look to me and silently ask who I am.

“Sorry, had to make sure Twilight was ok.” I tell them before walking up and giving a curtsy to them. “My name is Alexandria Justine. I am the one responsible for the defensive enchantment that just appeared around the walls of the castle. The anti-teleportation seal that was placed on the wall was faulty so I replaced it with a stronger one.” I explain to them, the princesses looking surprised.

“Faulty?” Luna asks, walking to the thrones.

“That is right. I teleported in to get past the guards who wouldn’t let me join the girls. After they explained the seal to me, I looked it over and found the problem with it before making my own.” I say before taking out the formula for the seal, the problems being underlined for them. Celestia takes the notes and sees the problem. She smile to me.

“In that case, thank you young Alexandria.” She says, standing before her throne with her sister.

“Please, just call me Lex.” I tell them with a smile as Twilight stands beside me. “So you wanted to give Twi some kind of test?” I say and Celestia nods.

“Indeed, but this is a different kind of test.” She says before pausing and giving a grim look. “The Crystal Empire has returned.” She states ominously.

“The Crystal Empire?” Me and Twi ask together. Me and Twilight take out a few of her books and go through them. “I’m sorry, but I have never heard of it before.” Twilight says before Celestia lights up her horn and levitates a large purple crystal over to us.

“I wouldn’t expect you to. Even my knowledge of the Empire is limited. What I do know is it contains a powerful magic.” She says, lighting up your horn and the crystal suddenly shines bright and shows a hologram of a beautiful city made of crystal. Even the citizens appear to be made of crystal.

“One thousand years ago, King Sombra, a unicorn with a heart as black as night took over the empire.” The hologram showed black crystals beginning to cover the empire and for a large stallion with grey fur, a black mane, and a re tipped curved horn wearing royal robes to appear on the top what is likely the palace of the empire, the citizens walking around in shackles. I notice his eyes are red with green sclera and purple mist coming out the sides.

“Corrupted magic.” I say aloud in shock. Celestia goes to nod, only to pause and look to me in confusion.

“You are half right Lex. He is using dark magic. An evil force that corrupts-“

“Wrong.” I interrupted her. “His magic appears to be naturally dark, meaning these crystals he is making would be normal for him. Something has corrupted his magic itself causing him to go nuts with power.” I say and two princesses look to me in confusion.

“No...it is because he is using dark magic. It likely turned him evil.” Luna says.

“Says the one who uses night and dream magic, which can fall under the category of dark magic.” I say back without thinking. The trio of ponies actually pause for a second to consider this. Celestia shakes her head and gets back to her story of the Empire.

“Anyways, he was ultimately overthrown, turned to shadow, and banished to the frozen north. But not before he was able to put a curse upon the empire, causing it to vanish into thin air.” She says, the crystal shining and returning to its original state. She levitates the crystal into the air and shines a rainbow light into it.

“If the empire is filled with hope and love, it’s light and those virtues will shine all across Equestria.” She then gains a dark expression and scrunches her eyes shut.

“If hatred and fear take hold...” she doesn’t continue and opens her eyes, showing them to be completely green and for the purple mist to be coming out of them. Before any could respond, I cast Solid Script: Guard and the words appear in front of me and Twilight. The princesses look shocked by my magic and Celestia goes back to normal. She opens her mouth to talk again, but I don’t let her.

“Princess are you insane?!?” I shout at her, causing her to recoil in surprise.

“I beg your pardon?” She says, stepping up a bit.

“That wasn’t just dark magic you were about to use, that was Corrupted Dark Magic! Even using that type of magic for a few seconds can be dangerous and become addictive! That is the type of dark magic that is banned and used for evil!” I tell her, not even trying to hide my outrage.

“You speak as though there are other forms of dark magic that do not corrupt. How do you know this?” Luna asks. I just sigh at them.

“For the first part, maybe it is just how thing work in Fiore, but magic is separated into large spectrums from one type of magic to another. For example, you could have one person who specializes in Fire Dragon Magic, and another who specializes in Purple Flare Magic. They are both fire magic users, but the spells themselves are very different. The same goes for Dark Magic.” I tell them. The princesses are curious and Twilight looks like she would be drooling if she weren’t in the presence of royalty.

“As for the second part, I know because I am a wizard who uses four diffrent types of writing magic, one of them fitting into the Dark Magic category as well.” I explain and Celestia immediately gets defensive, lighting her horn.

“Are you telling me you use dark magic?” She says threatening. I am not scared.

“Yes. I use a magic called Dark Ecriture. It is near identical to my other styles, Solid Script Magic, but it focuses on the darker words for attacks. Pain, Mist, Darkness, Absolute Shadow, Wings. In spite of the fact I use a type dark magic, I am not evil, and I cannot be corrupted from using it.” I step up to her, “what you and that Sombra were using was a dangerous style of dark magic that can corrupt the mind if they aren’t strong enough or are mentally or emotionally unstable. And it isn’t just dark magic that corrupts. There was a woman who used a type of light and summoning magic called Angel Magic to summon angelic being to fight for her. She wasn’t strong enough to control it and her magic became corrupted, make her ‘angels’ into giant parasites that fed off her magic and life energy till she nearly died.”

Me and Celestia stare each other down, not an easy feat for me since she was a foot and a half taller than me, but she was the first to relent and sigh.

“You say there are types of Dark Magic that do not corrupt. Name five that do not and three that do.” She demands suddenly. Her sister and Twilight look shocked by this. I just nod to her.

“The first five types of none corrupting Dark Magic are Shadow Stealth Magic, Dream Magic, Night Magic, Dark Ecriture, and Satan Soul Takeover Magic. Three that do corrupt are also rather popular in their danger. Necromancy. Death Magic,” I pause and point to her, “Dark Control Magic.” I finish. I noticed that Twilight was actually taking notes on the types of magic I was listing off. Luna was also interested by the magic I said after hearing her own types. Celestia just looks to me with narrowed eyes. I decided to show her the difference.

“The magic you and Sombra used had the clear signs of corruption. The mist coming from your eyes. Those who use magic that is corrupted have a physical tell about them that shows their corruption. That woman I mentioned had cracks appear over her, like she was made of glass. Another man who used Heavenly Body Magic had his eye change into a red symbol. When I use Dark Ecriture, my eye also changes but that is a natural side effect.” I tell them and light up my dark eye. Luna looks at my dark eye closely, while Celestia leans back a bit.

“Wow! I knew that there was different types of the same element of magic from just you, but this is incredible.” Twilight says. I just smile to her, my eye returning to normal. We both look back to the princesses. “So, considering you told us about the Crystal Empire, the test is for me to help save it from Sombra?” She asks. Celestia stays silent, so Luna answers.

“That is correct, young Twilight. Your brother and Cadence are already there and are protecting it best they can. In the end, however, you be the one who must find a way to defeat Sombra and save the crystal ponies from his tyranny.” she says. Twilight looks unsure, so I place a hand on her shoulder with a smile.

(“It won’t be just you. Me and the others will be right there beside you.”) I tell her in Japanese again. She pauses and remembers our lessons, then smiles at my response.

“Arigato.” She says back. We both look back to the princesses again. “I won’t let you down princesses.” We both bow and leave the throne room. I can feel Celestia’s gaze on me the entire way out the room.

Our group was sitting in our seats on the train, headed north where the Crystal Empire is located. Some of the girls (Pinkie and Rarity) were ecstatic about the thought of seeing this new city and meeting the locals. Though when they learned we would be going to the far north, they were worried that they didn’t bring warm enough clothes. Luckily I had a solution for that problem.

“And yer sure that this is going to work Lex?” AppleJack asks as I finish writing the personal enchantment on her arm. The others had their own enchantments written already and she was the last one. I shrug at her question.

“Probably. These enchantment are set to keep outside elements like the snow and wind away from contact to your bodies and to keep you all insulated from the cold itself. Plus I set them to work like beacons incase any of us get separated on the way to the city.” I tell them, wiping my brow. These types of personal enchantments that use the individuals natural pool of magic takes a lot of concentration and effort to write. Not very easy on a moving train.

I take my seat and rest, drinking from the water bottle I got before we left. We still had about half an hour before we were set to arrive at the closest train station to the Crystal Empire. Sitting up properly, I break out a book I grabbed before leaving for the castle, Equestrian Wildlife and Dangers Volume 2. Going through, I see that most of the ‘wild’ animals are mythical creatures like Chimeras, Hydras, even Wyverns and Phoenix. Feeling a tapping on my arm, I see Twilight looking at me questioning.

“Hai?” I say to her. Twilight pulls out what I recognize as the notes she took on the different types of Dark Magic I mentioned at the castle.

“Do you think you can tell me about some of the different types of magic from Fiore before we arrive?” She asks with subtle puppy dog eyes, the others looking to me curious as we told them what we talked to the princesses about earlier. I look to her with a blank expression. This causes her to begin to get nervous, until a grin breaks across my face at her reaction. She pouts at me from my reaction to her. I just chuckle and place my book away in my purse again.

“Well, you will have to be a little more specific. Do you want me to go over styles of magic, types of magic or just elements of magic?” I ask her, the others curious as well. The group all talk to each other for a moment before Spike steps up.

“Do you think you can go over some styles of magic, whatever that means.” He asks, the others nodding that that is what they want to hear about. I nod to them and put on my instructor face.

“Sure. You see ‘styles’ of magic refers to the way the magic is used. It goes beyond just the diffrence between offence, defence and healing. An example of this, is a style called Maker Magic. This is a style that lets the wizard give their magic a tangible form. Maker magic is unique as this style is dependant on the wizards imagination, making it so even two users of the same element of Maker Magic can use different strategies.” I explain, Twilight and Spike both taking notes and the others listening intently. Rainbow suddenly raises her hand. I nod to her to speak.

“What elements are there for Maker Magic?” She asks. The others look to her in surprise for the fact she was the one to ask that question. She looks to her friends. “What? I know there are tons of different elements just from Lex’s Solid Script Magic, I’m genuinely curious about this.” I just giggle a little at her friends reaction to her legit logic.

“Well, as of right now, there are five elements used for Maker Magic. They are Ice Maker Magic, Iron Maker Magic, Wood Maker Magic, Water Maker Magic, and finallly, the most complex one, Memory Maker Magic.” I tell them. It takes a second before they all get the implications of Memory Maker Magic.

“Memory maker magic? You mean they can make memories?” Spike asks shocked. I nod but hold my hand up to stop them from rushing me with questions.

“Memory Maker Magic is extremely complex, and isn’t limited to making memories. It can create illusions, copy other types of magic, create new combinations, and a few other things. But the main drawback is it requires extreme focus, making it difficult to use in, say, a war zone. But in a one on one fight...” I tell them. The group nods and each think about what they want me to explain next. After a minute, Twilight raises her hand. I point to her.

“Earlier in the castle, you mentioned someone who used something called Angel Magic and said it ‘summons’ beings to do battle. What did you mean by that?” She asks.

“You see, there are some wizards who use summoning magic to call upon allies from other dimensions to do battle with or for them. These types of wizards are referred to as Holder Type wizards, because they use magical items. The most popular type of summoning magic is called Celestial Magic. This type of magic can only work if the wizard has something called a Celestial Spirit Key, which they use to summon spirits from another world to help them. There is also the aforementioned Angel Magic, which is extremely dangerous as it requires a payment of something, mostly years of ones life, represented by gold coins.” I explain, Twilight writing it all down and adding things to the bit of Angel Magic she already had.

Oddly, it was Fluttershy that was the next one to raise her hand. I just nod to her. She mumbles quietly for a second before taking a breath.

“Um, I was wonder, do you think others aside from unicorns and Alicorns could use magic from Fiore?” She asks.

“Of course.” I say without pause. The group actually look surprised by my immediate response. “I mean, back in Fiore, it wasn’t just humans that used magic. There are certain creatures like Vulcans, Dragons, and creatures called Exeeds that use their own types of magic. So it isn’t a stretch to say that Pegasi and Earth ponies could learn to use magic, especially since they have their own types of internal magical abilities.” I explain further, the group all nodding, Spike in particular looking excited at the prospect. I wonder if he could develop a new type of Dragon Slayer Magic?

The others don’t get a chance to ask any more questions the train whistle goes off, telling us we have arrived at the station. I look out the window, but all I see in white fields and snow blowing past the window. As the train stops Rarity gives me one of her coats she brought and get ready to leave. Opening the door, the wind blows at me, but I don’t feel that cold. Going outside, it actually feels like it does during fall back home, just with some serious wind. The others follow me out, each surprised by the way we feel from the storm.

“Guess your enchantments work Lex.” Rainbow states. The others nod, and Rarity hands her a bag of bits. Guess they made a bet while I was writing the enchantments. Looking through the storm I see a silhouette of someone walking towards us.

“Twilight!” He calls. It sound a bit like a stereotypical surfer dude.

“Shining Armor?” Twilight asks. As he gets close I can get a clear view of him. His two toned blue mane is messed up from the wind and he is wearing some wierd mask with a black scarf and winter expedition gear. Boots, winter jacket, gloves, all of it. I can barely see his white fur under all those layer. Guess it is a lot colder than I thought. He lights up his horn and removed his mask.

“Twily! You made it!” He says, bringing his little sister in for a hug. He then gets a serious expression. “We better get moving. There are things out here that we really don’t want to run into after dark.” He says nervously. I can see the fatigue on his face, he must be pretty tired.

“You mean Sombra?” I ask him. He just now noticed me, and raised a brow before seeing all of us aren’t wearing proper gear.

“Yes. And who are you? Also, why aren’t all of you freezing?” He asks as we begin to walk. The others soon get close, keeping together as to not get sperated.

“My name is Lex. I am a wizard that just arrived in Ponyville the other day. I came along to see if I could help out. And the reason we aren’t freezing is because I put an enchantment on all of us to keep us warm until we make it to the empire.” I tell him, lifting my arm and showing the magic writing.

“Impressive.” He states, looking at the others who show their own marks. “Anyways, something keeps trying to get into the empire. We think it is the unicorn king that originally took over the place!” He says over the wind.

“But the princess sent me here to find a way to help protect the empire! If Sombra can’t get in, then it already must be safe right?” She calls to him.

“Don’t underestimate the power of corrupted Dark Magic Twilight! He may be stuck outside for now, but it is likely he will keep going until he gets what he wants.” I tell her. Just then, what sounds like a low roar goes out across the expanse. The girls all look around as I grab hold of my sword.

“We have to get to the Crystal Empire! Now!” Shining says, just before a mass of black smoke appear behind us, growling. It quickly grows and gains the two eyes of the corrupted unicorn. We all immediately run as it tries to follow.

“HURRY!” Twilight yells. I look back and see it is way to close for comfort.

I cast. “Solid Script: Storm!” The word appears and launches a powerful gale at the black mass, causing it to actually slow down a bit.

“Nice one Lex!” Rainbow shouts.

“Keep going! Don’t stop!” I tell her. We all continue to run as Sombra tries to catch up to us again. Looking forward we see what looks like a light blue dome in the distance.

“Almost there!” Me and Shining say, before we both stop and turn to the mass of darkness. The others go on ahead as me and the prince stare down the dark mist. Shining launches a beam of pink magic, only for it to go through the mass as though nothing happened.

“Solid Scrpt: Fire!” I cast the spell and the work appears before bursting into flames and rushing to the mist. It actually hits it and the mass roars in pain and anger. It looks to me and dives, trying to cover me. I quickly teleport away and stand next to Shining. He creates a shield over us as I use Guard on us as well, momentarily stopping the black mass. The mass backs off and goes to charge again, and Shining lifts me with his magic and throws me to the others.

“What are you doing?!?” I call out as I am flung into the dome, landing on the grass next to the panting ponies.

“Everypony ok?” Twilight asks, getting several tired confirmations, and a groan from me. After a second, Shining is also flung into the barrier, but his horn is covered in black crystals. Twilight goes to check on him, and he tries to use his magic, only for it to be blocked. I walk up to him and slap him in the face, earning several gasps from the girls.

“What were you thinking?!? If you let me stay, I could have made sure we both got in no problem! Now you can’t even use your magic!” I tell him with anger, Twilight trying to hold me back from attacking her bro. I just sigh and walk back to the others and look past the hill we are next to.

“Sparkle-rific!” Pinkie says, looking at the shining city before us. The others go ahead, while I look back to the dome and barely see the outline of the dark mass.

‘Don’t worry Sombra. I’ll find a way to get you back to the way you were before.’ I join back up with the others and we walk to the city. Walking in, Rarity is gushing at the building, seeing that they are all made of crystals. We walk far a bit more and enter what appear to be the castle of the empire. We walk for a bit before entering what is the throne room and I see a new Alicorn slouched on a throne.

She looks like she is about to pass out any second. She has a three toned mane of pink, yellow and purple, pink fur and wearing a pink and gold dress and the regalia of most royalty. Her eyes show her fatigue and her horn is lit up the same color as the shield outside. Though she does look happy seeing Twilight walk in.

“Cadence!” Twilight calls, rushing to the older mare. They meet in the middle and do some wierd, childish dance and song, causing me to raise a brow and for Shining to quietly groan in embarrassment for them. Though she does scrunch her eyes and her magic flickers with the shield outside afterwards.

“One of these days, we need to get together when the fate of Equestria isn’t hanging in the balance.” She says with a tired smile.

“You ok miss?” I ask, walking up with the others. Shining goes to her side and shakes his head.

“She has been using her magic to fill the empire with love and light. That seems to be what is protecting it. But she hasn’t slept, barely eats. I want to help her, but my protection spell has been countered by King Sombra.” He says, to which I glare at him and he flinches and rubs his head. Cadence notices this and raises a brow to me.

“Me and Shining were holding Sombra off outside while the others ran to the empire. Then he had the genius idea of throwing me into the shield instead of letting me help him, and getting the both of us in safely.” I tell her. She just sighs and shakes her head at her husband, before doing a double take at me.

“You were holding off Sombra? How?” She asks, returning to the throne to sit.

“I am a wizard. I use magic he has never seen before and it looks like works against him in his mist state. If he should get in, I could fight him off for a time, but not indefinitely. But that is besides the point. We are here to do whatever we can to help.” I tell her, the others nodding.

“Well with Cadence using her magic to keep up the barrier, and me keeping an eye out for trouble in the Arctic, we haven’t been able to gather any info from the crystal ponies.” Shining said with worry. I see that Rarity is about to go nuts from the new info so I case Silent on her before she can begin, which makes her look ridiculous from no noise coming from her. We all laugh a little at her, making her blush and pout, before I disspell the attack.

“Well, how about this. The main six will go and try to talk to the crystal ponies and get whatever info they can. You stay here with your wife and make sure she is ok.” I tell them, earning nods from the ponies.

“What are you going to do Lex?” Fluttershy asks.

“I am going to look around this place and see if I can find Sombra’s room or study. Any ruler would have secrets hidden in their most personal of places, so maybe I could find some clues of a way to stop him and save the empire.” I tell them. Shining nods and takes out what looks like a map of the castle. I look to it and see where Sombra’s personal study and bedroom are located.

Soon after we all split up, me going up to the western wing of the castle to Sombra’s room, while the girls go out to find some crystal ponies to interrogate.

‘Ok, all that time play professor Layton, don’t fail me now.’ I think as I arrive before Sombra’s room. Walking in, it is actually surprising how normal the room looks. There is a king sized bed made of red silk, a large desk with papers and a few quills on it, a bookshelf and an old painting on the far wall. I look to the painting and admire what it depicts.

On the portrait was an older crystal unicorn mare with a peach coat and red hair with some grey here and there with shining blue eyes that looks like she is in her late 40s standing behind a silver coated, black maned unicorn colt with red eyes that looks like he is about ten, both of them wearing royal clothes. I guess that was the previous ruler of the empire and Sombra as a colt. But looking again I see the colt Sombra holding something that confused me. In his hands, he is holding a rather large egg with purple markings on it. The egg was almost as big as Sombra’s torso!

I am not sure why, but that egg looked familiar to me. I look to the bottom of the portrait and see the description. ‘The young Prince Sonbāsutā on his twelfth birthday, after getting his Cutie Mark.’ Sonbāsutā? That means ‘The Somber Star’ in Japanese. So Sombra had a Japanese name before he went nuts? I look around the room some more, taking the books out of the shelf and flipping through them before I look to the painting again and notice a small imprint behind it.

Carefully taking the painting off the wall, I see the outline of a small door. Guiding my fingers along the sides, I find a small latch in the wall and open the hatch. Inside I see something odd. A large purple crystal. It is bigger than my head and is placed on a red silk pillow. Next to it is an old book that was missing most of the late pages, with a pair of red crystals on the cover. I look to the painting again and see the same mark on Sombra’s clothes.

“So Sonbāsutā had two red crystals for his Cutie Mark?” I ask aloud. Taking the crystal out of the little compartment, it is actually lighter than I thought it would be. About as heavy as a small sack of potatoes. I place on it on the bed and look it over. It appears to be almost the same as the crystals that appeared on Shining Armors horn, just purple and not ugly black. I am not sure why, but I decide to focus through my dark eye. What I see is shocking.

Inside of the crystal is the outline of a cat in a small dress. She looks like she is sleeping, her eyes closed almost peacefully. I look over the gem and realize that this crystal was made through some kind of Dark Magic. I place a hand on the crystal close to the cats head and soon get a headache.

’please...help....him.’ I gasp and take my hand away, my eye still dark and seeing the cat within the crystal. After a second I put my hand back on the crystal and focus.

‘Who are you? What happened?’ I think and soon get another headache, the voice going in and out like having a bad connection through a phone.

’I’m..Echo..Sonbāsutā..friend. Betrayed..love..magic..flaring..please...HELP HIM!’ I jump back and pant heavily. I grab my head and groan as images fill my vision. An adult Sonbāsut destroying some training dummies with anger. A mare with blue hair laughing. Sonbāsutā’s magic flaring. Crystals covering a room. The corrupted eyes.

Getting back to my feet, I look to the crystallized cat, no, not cat, Echo in sadness. She was there when Sombra came to be. She was a friend. I look to the crystal with determination. “I promise, I’ll get him back.” The Exceed within the crystal almost looks like she is going to smile. I grab the book, Sonbāsutā childhood journal, from the room and put my glasses on, reading through it. What I learn makes my eyes widen and my heart ache in sadness.

You don’t have to read the interlude to understand what is going on with Sombra for the next proper chapter. It is just a backstory I wrote for him and to explain where Echo came from.

Sonbāsutā was a street urchin after being abandoned in the empire at the age of two. He survived on the kindness of other homeless ponies and other creatures who were down on their luck at the time. He got his name by a Griffin named Jade Talon, a former guard, who lost an arm in a fight with a bugbear. He said it was because he could see a star shining in the young colts soul, despite the less than great situation he was in. Jade passed away not a month later from malnutrition.

Sonbāsutā survived by taking what he could from bakeries and stands, before turning to stealing, but not just for him, for other homeless creatures. At seven years old, he tried to sneak into the royal palace to steal from the royal treasury. He actually made it to the vault door from his knowledge of gem composition before being caught. He was brought before the queen of the empire, Queen Peach Topaz, for his crimes and for punishment to be handed down.

The queen found the colt fascinating for being able to make it that far. She looked in his eyes and said the same thing as Jade Talon. A strong star was burning in his soul. After that, the queen actually made it so Sonbāsutā would be staying in the castle as her personal assistant. At first he and the guards were hesitant, but the queen and Sonbāsutā eventually became close. They were friends and after a few years, on his tenth birthday, the Queen surprised him with adoption papers. That was the first day Sonbāsutā had cried in years, but not tears of sadness, of joy.

The newly adopted prince was welcomed by the guards, while many nobles were outraged. They were silenced suddenly, when many of the homeless creatures that helped Sonbāsutā came to the palace and pledged themselves to him, because they were all family from his time in the streets. This made the queen proud that her new son had already touched the hearts of so many.

Most of the homeless creatures became guards, maids, or butlers for the castle, many becoming some of the best because of their determination to make the prince proud. After a few months, the prince was playing in the snow with some of his friends when he found an odd, large egg. Some of the guards and doctors assumed it to be some kind of dragons egg and suggested it was abandoned during the dragons migration a couple days back. The prince felt sorry for the egg and wanted it to be kept safe until it hatched. The queen then suggested that Sonbāsutā hatch it himself so he can have an assistant/little sibling of his own. He agreed wholeheartedly and did all he could to take care of the egg.

He would spend his days studying what was assigned by his tutors and the queen, and on his free time he would take care of the egg, keeping it warm, reading stories aloud and just being like a brother. After nearly six months, the egg hatched, but it wasn’t a dragon that came out, but a small purple cat with white wings. The scientific community was baffled by this, while the prince was overjoyed for a new addition to his family. The cat was soon named Echo, because she would try to mimic what the prince would say.

Time marched on and the young prince and his assistant became beloved by many in the empire, but of course, there were those that tried to use them for their own gain. Luckily, the prince was taught well in the ways of politics by his mother and surrogate uncle, a politician named Emerald Blizzard. He was cold with the ways he worked with other politicians, but behind closed doors, he was kind to not only the royal family, but many ‘commoners’.

With their training, the young prince and his companion we unbeatable in the game of politic. They studied every inch of each document given to them, they made sure there were no exploitable loophole, they made the queen proud.

Their happiness was not to last long. When the prince was seventeen and a half, the queen began ill with an unknown disease that the could not cure. In spite of this, she placed her faith in her son. She ensured her son would be crowned the new king and made sure only her most trusted allies would be there to help guide their new king. After over one month of the sickness staying in her system, the queen passed peacefully in her sleep.

Soon after, on his eighteenth birthday, Prince Sonbāsutā was crowned the new Crystal King.

As I read through the book, I realized the pages that were missing were from after Sombra was crowned king and after that point in time. Though most were missing there were one or two pages still in them talking about some unicorn mare named Crystal Dust. She has a blue mane and peach coat. I had a sneaking suspicion that she was that mare from my vision. I read through the journal a second time and made sure I didn’t miss anything before looking to Echo. So she was basically Sombra’s Spike.

I look out the window in the wall and see what looks like some kind of festival. I raise a brow in confusion. Shouldn’t the others be looking for info on how to protect the empire? I think back and realizes they may have found something involving this fair. I put the jounal in my purse and go to leave before looking at the crystallized Exeed again. I think for a minute before deciding to take her with me. If we can get her out of that crystal she might be able to help. I take one of the drapes off of the window and use it as a sling to carry the crystal. Making sure she is secure, I walk out and to the throne room.

Walking around I enter the throne room and find...no one there. Looking around I see Cadence, Shining and a worried Twilight flipping through a book as I get close I can make out some of their conversation.

“..know it was an actual relic! There was a page missing! How did I not notice?!” Twilight says panicked. I rush over and support Cadence as she was swaying.

“Be careful Cadence. You need to rest.” I tell her. The group goes to talk, before they all notice the crystal secured to me.

“Uh, Lex? What is with the crystal?” Shining asks. In response, I hold the crystal in my hands and cast a small Solid Script: Light spell on it. The crystal glows, and the ponies can see the outline of Echo in the crystal. They all gasp and Twilight even drops her book.

“This is Echo. She was Sonbāsutā personal assistant/little sister before being sealed in this crystal for protection.” I tell them, the group looking a mix of confused and worried.

“Sonbāsutā? Doesn’t that mean ‘the somber star’?” Twilight asks, to which I nod and take out the jounal.

“And it was also the original name of Sombra before he became corrupted. He never ‘took over’ the crystal empire! He was originally crowned king after his adopted mother, the previous queen, passed and only became the tyrant Sombra after something caused his magic to become corrupted.” I tell them, handing Candence the jounal. She begin to read and looks just as shocked as I was. “We need to find out what happened to Sonbāsutā that made him go nuts, then maybe we can get him back to normal.”

“But that won’t be easy. Sombra’s curse has caused all the crystal ponies to forget the past, meaning no one even remembers what it was like when Sonbāsutā was in charge and not Sombra.” Shining tells me.

“Not to mention the crystal fair we have set up will be useless if we can’t find something called the crystal heart to cover the empire with light and love!” Twilight adds.

Just then Cadence falls to her knees and her magic goes out. Not long after the shield lowers and I can see the black mist of Sombra surrounding us. I look to the main entrace and see his eyes. Even through we are miles apart, I can see the pain buried deep within them.

“Not good.” I say quickly. Shining helps Cadence up and she gets a determined look on her face and lights her horn, raising the shield again. Sombra tried to get in, only for him to be stopped by the shield. I didn’t notice as the tip of his horn falls in. Cadence smiles before swaying and having to be supported by her husband.

“I need to find the crystal heart.” Shining says determined.

“No, you need to stay with Cadence, I’ll retrieve the heart.” Twilight says.

“Yeah, lets do this!” I just now noticed that Rainbow had been staying quiet and just standing on the railings this whole time. They run off into the castle while I look back to Sombra and then to Echo. I turn to the royal duo.

“I am going to put a defensive enchantment around the castle. If Sombra gets in, he won’t be getting past it. I’ll also try to find a way to get Echo out of this crystal. She may know what happened and how to save Sonbāsuta.” I tell them, getting a nod from both royals.

I rush to the bottom floor of the castle and begin to write an enchantment to cover the area. As I am writing it, I am also trying to find a way to get Echo out of her crystal and how to save Sonbāsutā from his corruption. I think back to what Echo said earlier. ‘Love, Betrayed, Magic, Flareing. So it is likely he was betrayed by someone he loved and that caused his magic to flare out of control. He must have gains some semblance of control to place Echo in that protective crystal.’

As I finish the enchantment, I see several crystal ponies going up to Rarity and AppleJack. One of them looks familiar. And I realizes who it is.

“Emerald Blizzard!” I call out, the green and white crystal pony turning to me. I rush over to him, having completed the spell.

“Oh, hello young mare. Who are you?” He asks politely. The journal wasn’t kidding, he really is nice.

“My name is Lex, and I need your help.” I tell him, taking his hand and leading him to a secluded spot. Once away from the other I look him in the eye and take out the journal. “Do you recognize this?” I ask him, handing the book. He raises a brow and begins to read through. As he does, I notice his coat seems to get an almost, crystal like shine to it. I can see his eyes reading faster and faster, until he is all but flying through the book before slamming it shut and gasping for breath.

“Sonbāsutā...my nephew...I..remember.” He whispers just loud enough to hear. I notice his coat has almost become transparent and he looks like he is made of crystal.

“Emerald, what happened to him? What happened to Sonbāsutā?” I ask him urgently, seeing some of the crystal ponies panicking.

“I-I remember...him talking about some mare name Crystal Dust. About her beauty and the way she made him feel. Then, I remember Echo coming to me and asking for help calming Sonbāsutā down from something. After that, all I remember was his rage and grief and...those eyes.” He says shakily. I think for a minute before taking out Echo’s crystal.

“Sonbāsutā put Echo in this crystal to protect her. Do you know of a way to get her out?” He takes her carfully in hand and sighs before shaking his head. I suddenly hear an alarm go off and see dark crystals beginning to cover the empire.

“Oh no..” Emerald gasps. We run out of out spot, seeing almost all of the citizens in the area of my spell. It also appears to be holding the crystals back. I look and see Cadence and Shining Armor coming out the door and get a determined expression. I walk up to them.

“Cadence.” She looks to me tired. “Lower the shield.” It tell her getting several ponies looking at me like I grew a second head.

“Are you nuts!?! King Sombra is right outside!” Rainbow yells, causing the ponies to panic more.

“Like I said before, I can hold him off until Twilight find the real crystal heart. Plus I put a very powerful enchantment around the castle, so all of you will be safe if you stay here!” I tell the gathered ponies. They look and see my enchantment holding off the crystal, and some of them seem to gain hope in their eyes. I look to Emerald.

“Emerald, I want you to try and find a way to get Echo out of that crystal. Maybe seeing his little sister will make Sonbāsuta snap out of it.” I tell him, getting a determined salute. I look to Cadence and nod. She sigh and nods back, dismissing her magic. The shield lowers with the sound of lightning as the shadow of Sombra comes into the empire. The ponies all huddle together, while I grab my sword and walk out of the enchantment.

“My crystal slaves.” Sombra says triumphantly. He goes towards the castle before seeing me in the street. He tilts his head and goes to face me. “So, someone is actually here to fight?” He laughs. “How adorable.”

“You don’t need to do this! I know who you are, who you were!” I tell him. He looks to me with a dark smirk.

“Oh, really? Then who was I?” He asks. I just sigh and let go of my sword.

“You were the crowned Crystal King, Sonbāsutā.” He pauses and looks to me with widening eyes. “You were a street urchin who was adopted by Queen Peach Topaz on your tenth birthday.” I take a few steps to him. “You were the big brother to Echo the Exeed and surrogate nephew to Emerald Blizzard. You were loved and praised by your subjects. Before you were betrayed.” I tell him. He growls and the darkness around the empire goes to him, making him larger.

“HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT!?!” He roars, causing me to actually cover my ears for a second.

“Because, I found your jounal and Echo! I read what it said, I learned who you are! You don’t need this corrupted magic anymore! You don’t need to hurt innocent ponies!” I shout to him. He just growl before shrinking and turning to, what I believe is, his original form.

He was as big as Big Mac. His coat is a ashlike grey instead of silver, his black mane almost burning like fire. He was in silver and crystal armour with two sabres on his sides with his regalia on. His eyes still have to corrupted mist coming from them, and he looked pissed. He draws one of his sabres and points it at me.

“You speak as though this magic is something new, but you are wrong. I have always used darkness and crystals for my magic, and I will not let some child tell me to use something else. The Darkness Is Eternal.” He says to me. I just sigh, then unsheath my sword and light my dark eye. He actually does a double take at seeing my eye.

“Agreed. The darkness is eternal. You cannot have light without dark. The difference here is that you are being controlled by your own darkness and pain, while I contol my darkness. It gives me strength, and makes you weak. I will free you from the darkness and bring you back, not just to light, but to the proper darkness as well.” I tell him, getting into a fencing stance. He growls at me and charges.

I manage to parry his slash and just miss slashing him myself. We go back and forth for a while in this swords dance before he breaks out his second sword and increase the aggression in his attacks. I am put on the defensive, but five years of fencing classes are really paying off right now. I manage to block or deflects all of his strikes before seeing an opening and tackling him. That hurt my shoulder a bit but it did throw him off balance. Impressive, considering he is almost a full foot bigger than me. I spin on the ball of my foot and slash him, only for him to turn to mist and fall back. I am panting a bit, but am unharmed for the most part, while he is barely sweating but looks enraged.

“Impressive, you can actually hold me off. However, it will take more than your sword skills to beat me!” He says before turning to mist and growing.

He goes to blast me with magic before I use Wings and fly above the magical blast. He actually gawks at me as I fly above him before trying to blast me out of the air. I dodge all over the place before he tries shooting sharpened crystals at me. I barely manage to dodge them before I stop and face him again.

“You think going into a new form will let you win!? Two can play that game!” I call to him before rising into the air and focusing my dark magic. “Evil battles Evil! Dark Ecriture! Darkness!” The spell appear on my chest before I am covered by darkness and change with the sound of cracking bones and electricity.

My hair grows longer and spikier, I grow ash grey fur on my skin and my canine grow into large fangs. My arms become more muscular and I grow dangerously sharp claws on my hands. My dress gets changed into orange leather armor and my shoes disappear. My legs become more muscular as well and my feet turn to talons and I grow a spiky tail below my armor. Once the changing is completed, the darkness around me bursts away, revealing my new form. I hear more than a few gasps from the ponies and Sombra looks to me in shock and more than a little awe.

He then narrows his eyes and roars at me. I respond with a distorted screech and we both charge at each other before clashing in magic enhanced hand to hand.

With the ponies, they just look in shock at my fight with the dark tyrant, more than a few of them being afraid of me now that I am in this new form. The remainder of main six and the royals all have their jaws on the ground at my fight.

“Holy Buck that is awesome! She can turn into some kind of demon?!” Rainbow says with an awed smile. While she, AppleJack and Pinkie watch my fight, Rarity, Fluttershy, Emerald and the royals are trying to find a way to release Echo from the crystal.

“This crystal seems to be made of a type of dark magic that isn’t truly evil in nature. We need to either get Sonbāsutā to release the spell himself, or overload the crystal with light magic.” Emerald says looking over the crystal, worried for his surrogate niece. Suddenly Cadence’s eyes widen and she face palms.

“Overload it with light! Of course!” She lights up her horn once again, with great effort and places it against the crystal. The light courses into the crystal and begins to glow, Echo’s silhouette being visible to all. Cadence focuses more magic into the spell, but she is dangerously low on magic. Suddenly the burden of the spell is lowered as Rartiy lays her own horn on the crystal, followed by Fluttershy placing a hand on it. The three mare focus on their own happiness and light. Suddenly cracks spread across the crystal before it burst away, the girls all flinch back from the light being given off and once they look back what they see is...adorable.

Laying on the ground, is a small purple furred cat with white fur in her ears and bottom of her paws, wearing a blue and pink dress. She is breathing normally before groaning and sitting up, rubbing her head.

“What...happened..? Urrg, my head.” She says. She opens her eyes to look around, her scarlet iris surprising the ponies. She looks to the ponies before noticing Emerald. “Uncle Emerald!” She gets up, only to fall to her knees again.

“Don’t get up to fast sweetheart. You have been in crystal for a long time.” Fluttershy says softly, lifting the feline. Echo looks to her for a second before her eyes widen.

“Sonbāsutā! Where is he!? Is he ok!?” She asks frantically. The others don’t get a chance to respond before she sees me and Sombra fighting outside. She looks to Sombra with sadness and jumps out of Fluttershys arms, and walks to the edge of the enchantment.

“Sonbā, you’re still corrupted.” She says with tears in her eyes, before remembering what I told her. She looks to me as I block a punch from Sombra and places her paws together. ‘Please, keep your promise.’

I launch another kick to where his gut is and send him back a few feet. He roars again and launches several razor sharp crystals at me.

“Darkness Breath!” I create a large tornado that takes all the crystals, spins them around and sends it back to him. His eyes widen and he makes himself into mist. As the final crystal goes by, I appear in front of him with an orb of energy in my hands. “Darkness Flash Bomb!” Slamming the orb into his chest, I send him flying back into the ground with a large crash.

He gets up with a growl and looks to me as I fly above him. He focuses and suddenly multiplies into twelve and surround me. I look around as they all run around me and launch spells at me. I get hit over and over again before I get pissed. I go to the ground in the center of them all and focus my magic.

“Darkness Stream!” I blast a large wave of magic in a circle around me, striking all the Sombra’s, eleven of them turning to mist and the last on jumping away to avoid the blast. I launch myself to him with a headbutt and place a hand on his chest. “Evil Spark!” A bolt of electricity shocks him and send him into the barrier of the castle. He roars in pain from the impact. He struggles and gets to one knee with anger. He looks to me as I land and we lock eyes. I can see it, he is angry and hurt. His betrayal is obvious in his hurt eyes.

We both pause as we sense a source of light magic. Looking to the top of the tower of the castle, I can barely make out the small purple and green form of Spike, holding some blue heart in his claws. That must be the crystal heart! I don’t have time to react when Sombra launches another blast at me, sending me into a building.

Spike tries to get down the tower as Twilight is trapped in the room by some dark crystal. He uses his fire to block and push back any crytals that try to get him. Looking to the ground he sees as I get sent into the building, then to Sombra as he goes up to try and get him. He slips and begins to slide down the side of the tower before being sent into the air. The ponies see him and shout in alarm as he has the heart.

“Spike!” The girls shout in worry. Echo looks up and sees the dragon with the heart and know what to do. The girls notice a flash of light, only to turn and see as Echo launches herself to Spike, her bright white wings propelling her through the air. Spike begins to fall through the air and sees as the tyrant king is about to catch him. Spike clenches his eyes shut preparing for pain, when he feels a pair of paws wrap around his chest and then air going past him.

Opening his eyes, Spike sees that he is higher in the air and that Sombra is below him. He turns his head and sees Echo holding him, flying away from Sombra. “Who?” He asks as Echo flies around the tower.

“My name is Echo. I’m a friend.” She says looking to Sombra as he looks to her as well. They lock eyes and the mist in Sombra’s eyes actually stops for bit.

“Echo?” He whispers.

“Hey Sombra!” He turns to find me a foot away from him. “How about we end this!” After I say that I disappear and reappear behind him, grabbing his arm and throwing him to the ground. He gets up with some effort and looks around for me. He then looks up as I have my hands above my head with a large spell matrix with purple lightning coming out above it before the matrix shrinks into a swirling ball of dark energy.

“Soul Extinction.” I launch a huge beam of dark energy straight down and onto Sombra. He roars in pain and all the ponies and Echo have to look away and hold on as the shockwave of energy pushes them back. Once the energy is done, they see Sombra in the crater, his armor shattered, his hair a mess, and his magic fizzling out from his eyes. I land on the ground and look to him and he fliches back and goes wide eyed in fear.

“SOMBRA!” I rush to him in adrenaline induced anger and pin him with a hand on his neck, the other pulled back. I go to punch him in the muzzle, but I remember every one of my friends. Twilight, Rainbow, AJ, Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie, Spike...Nat and Sora, Adam. I stop my fist mere inches from his face and freeze, panting. I remember the time Adam went to find that bastard that took me, and how he said not to hurt anyone if you can help it.

We stay there for a minute before I pull back and just sit, straddling his stomach.

“I don’t understand. Why did you stop?” He asks and I see the mist from his eyes is almost nonexistent. I just smile and see as Echo places Spike on the ground with the heart in claw.

“Because this fight is over.” I tell him softly. He turns his head and sees Spike as he is about to put the heart into the pedestal. He just sighs, the mist completely disappearing.

“I guess this is it huh?” He says calmly. Spike puts the heart in its spot and the crystal ponies focus their happiness and love into the heart, causing it to spin and for a bright light to charge. I look down to him and place a hand on his cheek.

“You know, even with what happened to you,” the light bursts forward and begins to get close. “Your mom would be proud of the ruler you were.” As I finish the light covers us and I feel warm. I feel Sombra smiling and feel his hand wrap around mine.

As the light dies down, the ponies all look to each other and see that they are all transparent looking and look like they are all made of crystals. They look to the heart and cheer. The creatures not from the empire are also crystal looking, even Spike and Echo. The all look over themselves in awe. Suddenly there was a pop of a teleportation spell and Twilight appeared at the entrance, looking around at her friends.

“Girls! Spike! Your all ok!” She says, bringing her friends in for a group hug. They laugh and then Twilight sees Echo. She looks to the feline and suddenly realizes something. “Wait, where’s Lex?” All her friends pause and look around for a minute.

“Where is Sonbāsutā too?” Echo asks, summoning her wings and hovering around. The group become worried and look, before Pinkie pops up with a smile.

“There they are!” She says, pointing to the crater Sombra and I were in beforehand. The group rushes to me as I am coming to from the light wave. Pushing myself up I rub my head before looking to my hand in shock. My hand, my body and dress, even my hair looks like I am made of crystal. I am also back to normal and not some kind of demon of darkness. I turn as I hear several hooves coming to me and see the girls and royals along with some crystal ponies. They pause and look to me in shock.

“What?” I ask with a raised brow. They just point below me and I realize I was on something that was breathing. Looking below me, I lock eyes with a pair of ruby iris that were staring back up at me. Looking past them, I see a coat of shining silver with an equally shining black mane. His armor was still wrecked but he still wore some under clothing.

Sonbāsutā was back to normal too, the corrupted mist of magic were no longer in his eyes and his horn was the same as any other unicorns. He also appeared to have shrunk a little. Not much, but now he is the same height as Shining Armor instead of Big Mac.

After a second he clears his throat, causing me to lock eyes with him again. I see he has a faint blush on his face.

“Can you get off me please?” He asks, his voice now rather smooth. It was at that moment I realize I was straddling his crotch. My face erupted into a blush as I scramble off of him, falling onto my back in the process.

“Sorry, sorry, sorry!” Repeat frantically, before calming down a bit and sitting next to him and carefully lifting his head to rest on my lap, seeing all sorts of bruises and cuts on his shining fur. He groans and grits his teeth a bit.

“Guess you did more damage to me than I thought.” He says as he rests his head on my lap. He looks left of us and sees all the ponies before locking eyes with Echo. The little feline looks like she is about to explode with tears. Sonbāsutā smiles to her. “Hey Echo? You going to hover there all day, or are you going to come here?” At that, the Exeed launches herself at him, crying into the unicorns chest.

“Sonbāsutā! Your back! I thought I would never see you again, and that you would remain evil, and you would never be happy, and and and..!” She says quickly, crying hard into his chest. With some effort, he lifts his arms and hugs his little sister/assistant.

“Hey, hey. It’s ok now. I’m back sis. I’m back.” He says softly to her. We hear a pair of hooves coming to us so we turn and see Emerald Blizzard. “Uncle Emerald. I’m sorry.” He says with grief and sadness.

“For what my dear nephew?” He asks, crouching to Sonbāsutā. He just looks to the crystal pony like he grew a second head.

“For what!?! I became a tyrant! I lost my mind and turned my subjects into slaves! I killed innocent ponies, tore families apart! I nearly invaded Equestria for mothers sake! I failed!” He shouts with tears falling from his eyes, the other ponies all taking a step back from his loud rant, before he turns away from his uncle. “I failed mom.” He says softly.

“No.” I grab his head and force him to look at me. “You did not fail your mother. You were betrayed and that forced your magic to go out of control and for you to be corrupted. None of this was your fault.” I tell him loud enough for the others to hear. We hear more hooves coming to us and turn to see Cadence, Shining and Twilight walking up with the others behind them.

“Sombra-“

“Sonbāsutā.” I interrupted Shining. He looks to me with a raised brow then pauses at seeing my glare. He gulps a bit and clears his throat.

“Sonbāsutā. What does Lex mean that you were betrayed?” He asks and Echo and Emerald both flinch and look to Sonbāsutā in worry. He just sighs and sits up with a bit, having to use me as support. I don’t mind as I am curious myself but I get a bad feeling about this.

“When I was twenty one, I met a mare named Crystal Dust. She was a noble that had moved here from Equestria a few years beforehand to learn about what the kingdom is like. When we met, she was so nice, so sweet and caring, that we ended up hanging out more then started dating. I thought we were in love, so after a year I let her...take my innocence.” He says, the others having to take a second to realize what he means. Echo flies up and hugs his chest again, Sonbā hugging her back.

“It was afterwards I was walking around the castle after finishing an assignment from Uncle Emerald that I found her talking with some other, less than noble, nobles.” Echo says, before clenching her teeth in anger. “She was bragging that she took the kings innocence and that she will be the next queen. That she would change things to make sure she and her ‘friends’ were the only ones who ‘sit pretty’ while those she chose were useless would be banished and left for dead.” The other ponies all gasp at this and more than a few of them growl and grind their own teeth in anger.

“She what?! How dare she!” To all our surprise, it was Fluttershy who said that, clearly enraged.

“Agreed! What kind of no good, double crossin, daughter of a flankhole would do that?!?” AppleJack says in anger.

On the outside, me and Cadence appear saddened and remorseful, but within the both of us, a tempest of rage roars, but for different reasons. Cadence is the princess of love, so this kind of manipulation and betrayal is sickening to her. For me...well...

I sigh and look to Sonbā. “Looks like you and I are more alike than I thought.” I say, earning the gathered creatures attentions.

“What do you mean?” He asks. I sigh again and get into a comfortable position.

“When I was nineteen, I was just starting my first year of college. It was tough and I struggles in a few of my classes before I met a man named Ray Thorn. He was a couple years older than me and had gone through the same courses as me. After we met one day after lunch, he became my tutor and helped me get a leg up on some of my classes. Even when he wasn’t teaching me, we hung out together and ended up going out for a while. My friends didn’t like him, but I was just too blind by my first real relationship.” The others frown and seem to get where I am going with this.

“After I finished my first year, Ray and I went out for some drinks and....I....” I pause and take a breath, reigning in my anger. I feel as Echo lands on my head and looks at me upside down with sadness.

“We ended up going to his house for the night and I let him...take me.” I feel as Sonbā wraps his hand around mine. “After the first week of my second year, I found Ray talking to some of his friends in the lunch hall. He was laughing, saying that he finally did as his friends did and took some girls innocence. I wouldn’t have minded him saying he took me, if he didn’t say ‘I could probably get that slut to join in for you guys’.” At that I feel a group of arms wrap around me. I see as Sonbā, Echo, Cadence and Rarity hug me.

“Oh, you poor dear! You didn’t deserve that! This Ray is nothing more than a scoundrel who should be punished!” Rarity wails. I just laugh a little.

“He was.” I say, the others looking to me in confusion and curiosity. “I have a sneaking suspicion, this is where both of our stories branch out Sonbā. You didn’t have anyone to turn to for help against Crystal and that caused you to lash out and for your magic to flare and become corrupted, right?” I ask him, getting a slow and ashamed nod.

“I really couldn’t do anything. I may have been king, but I couldn’t do anything against her because we both consented. I got so frustrated, my emotions were running wild, I was destroying anything that wasn’t of value. I lost it.” He says. I put my arm around his shoulders in a side hug.

“That is the difference between what happened to us. I did have someone to turn to. Three someone’s.” I say.

“Your parents?” Echo asks, to which I shake my head no.

“My parents were disappointed that I allowed that to happen and blamed me, saying I should have chosen a better boyfriend.” Cadence and Shining both visibly get angry at this, along with a couple of the crystal ponies that are listening in. I dig into my purse and take out the photo of me, Nat, and Adam we took before being sent here.

“I didn’t get support from my parents, I got strength from my little sibling in all but blood.” I say, showing the gathered ponies the photo. “The girls in pink hair are my non-related little sisters, Natali and Sorano.” The others look to me in confusion. “Multiple personality’s.” they all nod. “And the tall guy is my little brother Adam.”

“Nat and Sora were in their last year of high school, and after hearing what happened to me, they skipped two weeks worth of classes to come to the college and help take care of me. Nat would cook food for me and all but force me to eat, and when going to classes and she would see or hear someone going to make fun of me, Sorano would take over their body and scare the would be bullies to death so they would leave me alone.” The others all smile at this.

“But didn’t you say this Ray was punished?” Rarity asks. I just smile warmly.

“Yeah. A couple of days after my breakup and telling Nat and Adam about it, I get a call from the police to come to the local hospital. Adam was admitted with a broken arm and a cracked rib. The reason the police were the ones to call me, was because he tracked down Adam and beat the ever living crap out of him. Guess what the injury toll was for them.” The others think for a minute before most shrug.

“Adam had one cracked rib and a broken arm. In contrast, Ray had two shattered ribs, three more being cracked, a broken jaw, a busted leg and a sprained wrist.” All the ponies eyes widen in shock at this. “Remember, Adam was only sixteen, and he ended up getting charged for assault and placed on monitored probation for being a minor but he didn’t care. He sent a message, that no one messes with his family. I paid for his bail and medical bill from my job money, while he was forced to pay for Ray’s but after that, I knew I could count on them.” All the ponies smile as I finish, Echo and Sonbā looking to the photo.

I get up from my spot and stand next to Sonbāsutā and hold out my hand. “The past it something we can’t change, but the future is something new for us. So, how about you and I move forward.” He looks to my hand then to the others, before smiling and taking my hand. I lift him up, putting his arm around my shoulder to help support him after hearing several bones cracking. As I pull him up, Echo sees my emblem and does a double take.

“Um, Lex? The symbol on your back is glowing.” She says. The others look and see that my Fairy Tail emblem is indeed glowing, much to all of our confusions. Sonbā looks at it and his eyes widen slightly.

“That symbol. I have seen it before.” Sonbāsutā says causing me to look to him in shock.

“What? That isn’t possible. This is the symbol of Fairy Tail, a wizard guild from another world. Where would you have seen it before?” I tell and ask him. Sonbā looks down for a moment before his eyes seem to light up with memory.

“The royal treasury! I remember, that one time I was in there with mother, I saw some kind of chest with that symbol on it. Mom said she could sense a great magical power within it, but nothing we did would allow us to unlock it.” He explains. I think for a minute, but don’t come up with anything from Fairy Tail itself that fits that description.

“Can you show me?” I ask him, getting a nod. He goes to step forward before Emerald come by and grabs his other arm, supporting him as Shining take the arm that was around my shoulders. Our group goes into the castle as the crystal ponies all go about celebrating their memories returning with what remains of the crystal fair we set up.

We walk for a few minutes before Sonbā is able to support himself and walk normally. We walk in silence before coming to what looks like a pair of crystal vault doors that are underneath the castle itself. Sonbāsutā feels around the wall before pulling a false part of the crystal off and revealing a lever. Pulling it, the vault unlocks and begins to open. Inside is a veritable mountain of gold coins, unique crystals, tapestries and other such treasures.

All the ponies and drake have their jaws fall to the ground so I snap my fingers and get their attention.

“Remember, this treasure belongs to the crystal empire, so don’t take anything and just look around for the chest.” I say, looking to Spike and Rarity, the duo looking to the sides sheepishly. I just roll my eyes and begin to dig through the first pile. The others soon follow suit, finding their own piles to dig through. We spend maybe half an hour before Rainbow calls out.

“Hey! I think I found it!”

We all go to the prismatic pegasus and see as she is pulling a large chest out of her pile. The thing could hold me and Sonbāsutā, it was that large! On the top of the chest, just above the lock, was a rainbow coloured Fairy Tail symbol, just like my emblem and that of the seals for my scrolls. Echo looks back at me and sees my emblem glowing brighter.

“Lex. Your mark.” The others look at my back as I walk up to the chest. Just from here, I can sense a massive source of magical energy inside of the chest. Looking below the emblem, I see a faint message written in the same runes as my enchantments. Looking closer I read aloud.

“‘Only the one who can lead in the ways of magic, may gain this power to do so.’ What?” I say aloud, the others all scratching their heads in confusion as well. Oddly, I get a feeling I know what to do. I place my hand on the symbol and focus my magic, my emblem shining brighter still. The others begin to step back as a circle of light appears beneath me, before turning into some kind of spell matrix.

“Lex!? What is going on?!” Twilight calls out in alarm. I don’t hear her as the chest is unlocked and I see some kind of a rainbow fire. Placing my hand on it, the flame climbs my arm and then covers me completely, yet doesn’t burn.

“LEX!” I hear the other call before my vision goes white.

Getting my vision back, I see that I am in some kind of purple and blue void with mist around the area. Looking around, I don’t actually see anything aside from the void and mist.

“Hello?!” I call out, only hearing my own voice echoing back for a minute.

“Hello.” I turn behind me and pause as I see someone. Someone I know. She has long, pale blond hair almost reaching the ground with two odd wing-like ribbons on each side, her pale green eyes lacking pupils, wearing a large pink dress with a hot pink bow and lacking shoes.

Fairy Tails first master, Mavis Vermilion.

I just stare at her for a minute in complete shock, before she clears her throat, snapping me out of my shocked trance.

“Master Mavis?” I ask in shock, the little girl before me nodding. “I don’t understand. How are you here? Where even is here?”

“I like to call this place ‘the world between’. It is one barrier away from being the void between dimensions and two barriers away from an alternate timeline.” She explains. “As for how I am here, I was summoned when I sensed that the magical copies I sent out to the void were unlocked.”

“Magical copies?” I ask with a tilted head. She nods and put her hand out, a large blue screen that I recognize as Super Archive appearing before her.

“Many years after the death of my physical body, I gained the ability to travel between worlds and timelines. However, I needed to be careful as it is easy to get lost in the void. I thought, perhaps I could help other timelines or worlds by sending versions of the magic in Fiore to these worlds. Obviously I was worried about someone evil gaining access to them, so I put an extremely complex enchantment on the chest, making it so only one who has the spirit of a leader, and a true understanding of magic can unlock it and gain its knowledge and power.” She explains as she types on the screen, before finding a picture of me and my friends and reading quickly, gaining a sad yet impressed smile. “Looks like you made the cut.” She finishes.

“But, why me? I am just some random girl that bought a scroll and got sent to another world. Sure that sounds unique, but I have a feeling I am not the only one this has happened to. Aside from all that, I am no one.” I tell her with worry and curiosity.

“You really shouldn’t underestimate yourself Lex.” She says. I lean back a bit, surprised as she knows my name now, before remembering how Archive works.

“In just over two days you have saved a duo of farmers from a pack of dangerous Timberwolves, made friends with a group of national heroines, gained two students to teach Japanese to, made the princesses of the sun and moon rethink their opinions on dark magic, and protected an empire from a corrupted tyrant, while beating him in one on one combat and returning him to the way he was before he was betrayed. Not just anyone could do that.” She says and I just stay silent for a minute, thinking about it.

“I mean...sure that is a lot when you think about it, but that still doesn’t make me a leader.” I tell her, the girl shaking her head.

“Wrong. Even though you did all this, that doesn’t mean you did it without thinking things through. For the Timberwolves, you placed a defensive enchantment on the cave first, making sure those two would be safe. For the princesses, you stood firm in your position while giving legitimate reasons and explanation for it. You investigated Sombra before anything, finding Echo and learning what you could about his past, while placing your faith in your friends to find a way to protect the empire. Even when you were forced to fight him, you made sure the civilians and your friends would be safe first and also placed your faith in them to get Echo out of her crystal. After that fight was over and the heart was back where it belonged, you defended Sonbāsutā and grew a kinship with him immediately from both your past experiences.”

“All of it, faith in your friends, making sure they are safe before hand, ensuring they have confidence, saving someone from their own darkness, and defending them when they return. You place your trust in them, and trust is one of the biggest requirements for a leader.”

I stay silent as my mind processes all of this. The ‘Great Fairy Tactician’ was telling me I am a leader that is worthy of all that magical knowledge. I think back to everything that has happened to me since arriving here in Equestria and how others would have reacted if they were in my position. I know plenty of people who would go nuts with fear and worry, or go mad with power from Fiore magic. Yet as far as I can tell, I am still me. I sigh and look back at Master Mavis.

“So I am worthy of this magical knowledge and stuff. What do I even do with it?” I ask her, the child-looking woman putting a hand on her chin before smiling up at me.

“Well, I can’t really make that decision for you, but why not do what Pinkie suggested the other day?” She says before seemingly becoming transparent for a second. “Looks like I am almost out of time. Just saying Lex, you would make a great guild master in my opinion.”

After she says that, I begin to feel funny, like I just exited a sauna after a few minutes. As I begin to leave this place Mavis calls out.

“Oh yeah! Also, I hope you like your new upgrades!” After that, my vision goes white again.

Back in the vault, the ponies and drake have been freaking out for the past minute, trying to think of a way to ‘help’ me as I am covered in rainbow fire and they thought I was being hurt. But, no matter what spell they tried, nothing worked against the spell I was in. As Shining, Cadence, Twilight and Sonbāsutā prepare to use a combined magical blast, the flames suddenly grow a bit, causing them all to step back before they begin to go out. As the flames finish going out, they see me as I am still crouching by the chest.

I open my eyes again and stand up. Looking over myself, I feel a little off and see that I wearing a gold highlighted, white overcoat over my dress. I raise a brow at it and notice that my left eye feels off, like my right does when I use Dark Ecriture. I see something out of the top of my vision and pull some of my hair down, seeing I have some golden stripes in my hair.

“Lex?” I turn and see the others looking at me worried, only for their eyes to widen as I face them.

“What is it?” I ask. They remain quiet for a second before Twilight walks up to me.

“Um, Lex? Do you notice anything different right now?” She asks. I just raise a brow and look into her eyes and...wait what? I go wide eyed and realized I was staring at her eye to eye and not looking up to her. I look to the others and see that I am actually not having to look up anymore.

“I’m...taller?” I say aloud looking over myself. Aside from my new height, I notice my right arm feels odd, like it is recovering from scratching it for a few minutes. I pull back my sleeve and what I see makes me do a double take and freeze. On my forearm is a red, narrowed Fairy Tail symbol within what looks like a thin barrier around it.

Before I can gawk too long at my arm, Rarity taps my arm and hands me a mirror. Confused, I take it and look at the reflection of my face. I look in shock as I see my dark eye is activated, but my left eye is different. It is bright glowing gold with the Fairy Tail symbol in the center, just noticeable if you look close. I just look at my eyes in shock before shaking my head, focusing and deactivating them both, but my left eye is now pale yellow instead of gold or brown.

“Okayyy....looks like I found those upgrades she was talking about.” I mumble to myself, the others looking to me in confusion. Before they can ask anything, I drop the mirror and grab my head, screaming as I get an intense pain going through my mind.

“Lex!” The group comes to me and tries to help, Sonbāsutā holding me in his arms, trying to keep me still as I thrash in pain. It feels like I am getting my head filled to bursting with air and my eyes activate again. The group panics a bit, trying to find some way to help.

Cadence puts her horn on my head and begins to cast a mental relaxation spell on me and sees what looks like a waterfall of information being sent into my head. She begins to sweat and pushes more magic into the spell, keeping me calm and the info not being as painful. This goes on for about two minutes before the waterfall of information slows down and Cadence can stop her spell, panting.

I pant for breath and groan in pain, my eyes and head sore. I look to Sonbā and Cadence and smile in thanks for the help. They nod back, the princess panting a bit herself.

“What was that?” Sonbā asks. I sit up a bit, grabbing my head in pain.

“That was the magic that was in the chest. The chest was sealed with an extremely complex enchantment making it so it could only open when someone has the soul of a leader and true understanding of magic.” I explain. “At lease, that is what Master Mavis said. And it certain feels like it.”

“Master Mavis?” The main six question. I don’t answer right away, getting to my feet again.

“The founder of Fairy Tail.” I say simple, the girls looking surprised. Before they can react, I snap my fingers and the Archive screen appears next to me, the ponies jumping back in shock. I begin to type on the screen, bringing up a screen with a Chibi style look of my head with an arrow pointing to the heads of the others.

“What are you doing?” Shining asks. As I finish typing, the arrow shows info going to the heads of the others, a progress bar appearing above each of their heads, before filling up within a few seconds.

“Sending you all copies of my memory of what I just saw.” I answer as all of them look to me in shock from what I saw while I was on fire. They rub their heads, coming to terms with what they just learned.

“So, you have knowledge of every type of magic from Fiore?” Twilight asks in shock. I shrug and open a menu that actually shows a list of magic. I look through them quickly before closing it. I get an idea and open another menu that shows my head and an arrow to Sonbāsutā. I type a few commands and then close the magical screen.

“So are you guys ok?” I ask the gathered group, all of them nodding. We all leave the vault and head back to the throne room. We all arrive and just stand there awkwardly, Shining, Cadence and Sonbāsutā not really knowing what to do now. Sonbāsutā sighs and turns to the royal duo.

“Listen you two, I know this is going to be all sorts of awkward, but I want you two to take over here as its new rulers.” He says. All of the ponies, Emerald in particular, look to him in shock. Sonbāsutā looks to his crown in his hand. “I may not have been in control, but the fact remains that I became a tyrant that forced my subjects into slaves. That is unacceptable and I cannot in good conscience retake the throne after what happened.”

The duo and Emerald go to object, but I raise a hand, signalling them to stop. I walk up and place a hand on his shoulder.

“If that is your decision. The girls and I have to get back to Canterlot to tell the princesses about our success. I think it would be best for you to come with us to tell them what happened to you in person.” I say. The girls look worried about this idea, while Shining and Cadence look a little unsure.

“I believe that would be best. The princesses deserve an answer for what happened, considering they were the ones who banished me to shadows in the first place. Although, I wonder how they even heard about me, considering Equestria and the Empire didn’t have a reliable means of communication with one another at the time.” He says in thought. I wonder about that as well.

“Well, if my nephew is going to this ‘Canterlot’, then I am going as well. I will not lose him like I did before.” Emerald says, walking beside me.

“Same. I am not letting anything to happen to my big brother again if I can stop it.” Echo adds, landing on Sonbā’s shoulder. The two royals look to the four of us and sigh.

“You know the crystal ponies won’t agree to this now that they remember how Sonbāsutā ruled instead of Sombra.” Shining says. The crystal trio nod. I just smile and think about what Mavis said to me.

‘I think I may have my first few members.’

The train ride back to Canterlot was rather tense for us all. Sonbāsutā, Echo and Emerald were all rather facinated by the train we are on since they never had anything like this a thousand years ago. I can only imagine their reactions to something like a refrigerator, washing machine, or my phone when it plays music. Twilight and Spike were worried about the results of the test since Spike was the one who returned the heart and not Twilight. The rest of the girls, minus Pinkie, were worried about how the princesses will react to Sonbā, Echo and Emerald, along with my new upgrades.

Speaking of, I have been mentally using Archive to go over all the new powers I just gained. Turns out, while I do have some of the Lost Magics, like Arc of Embodiment, I lack info or the skills on any of the Dragon Slayer, God Slayer, or Demon Slayer magics aside from what I know from watching the show. Also, while it seemed my mana pool was doubled in size, I only have basic knowledge of each magic style. I would need to actually practice each of them to learn how to use it properly. I could only imagine how difficult controlling Crash Magic will be, considering how Gildarts destroys everything around him and doesn’t seem to care. But I think, since I know how other wizards from the show use each of these types of magic, that will at least give me a reference point for practice.

Pinkie wasn’t worried about anything unlike the rest of us. She was just excited to get back to Ponyville and throw a ‘Welcome back from a thousand year disappearance’ party for the three newcomers, as well as a ‘Congratulations on returning to normal from an evil tyrant’ party for Sonbāsutā.

I haven’t told any of them I am thinking of listening to Pinkie and establishing an Equestrian branch of the Fairy Tail guild in Ponyville, especially since I still need permission from the princesses as well as the mayor of Ponyville before I can do anything. Though, I will need some help getting the word out once we are ready to open. Some of the others will be surprised by this, but considering I was planning to be an English teacher back on earth, I think I can handle all the paperwork involved, it is just a matter of getting the word out.

I sigh, open my eyes and look out the window. The sun was set to set in about two hours and we would be arriving in Canterlot within a few minutes. Shining was right in that the crystal ponies didn’t want Sonbāsutā to leave, even after everything that happened. We spent maybe an hour explaining to the masses why he is stepping down from the throne and Shining and Cadence are ascending to it. It took a long and emotional speech from Emerald Blizzard for the crystal ponies to finally let Sonbā go, and only with the promise he would visit when he could.

I look to the others and see Rainbow, Rarity and Fluttershy trying to reassure Twilight that things will be fine, AppleJack telling the newcomers about Ponyville and Canterlot from her perspective and Pinkie is writing things down in a notebook she got from somewhere. I asssume her personal hammer space.

Not long after, the train whistles and begins to slow, Sonbā laughing a little at the sensation, comparing it to when he slowed down after sleding down a hill. He is not entirely wrong there.

“Echo.” I get the Exeeds attention. “Once we leave the train, I want you to stay right next to Sonbāsutā or me and don’t use your wings. The ponies have never seen anything like you and I don’t want you getting lost or for anypony to get any ideas.” She nods and jumps onto her brothers shoulder. We all exit the train and I see a few nobles I saw the first time I was here and they did a double take at seeing me. I glare at them and they immediately look elsewhere.

“Great. I can just smell the corruption in this place. Looks like you weren’t kidding Miss AppleJack.” Sonbāsutā says.

“Ah told ya, just call me AppleJack or AJ. Ah don’t really like the whole Miss nonsense.” She says as we begin to walk to the castle again. We walk in relative silence for a while, but I can see Twilight beginning to panic more the closer we get to the palace.

“Hey.” She looks to me. “Relax. Even if you didn’t deliver the heart yourself, you still aided in protecting them empire.” I tell her with a smile. She just looks down.

“Lex is right Miss Sparkle. If you hadn’t figured out where and how I had hidden the crystal heart, we wouldn’t even be here right now.” Sonbā laugh a little. “I have little doubt that Lex might have destroyed me if you two didn’t find it, so you have my thanks as well as that of my former subjects, both of you.” He finishes.

She seems to get a little more relaxed at that, but I can still see the doubt in her eyes. I place a hand on her shoulder and walk next to her the rest of the way. We arrive at the gates to the castle and I see the guards up front are the same ones as before. As our group walks up, the duo see us and do a double take at seeing me.

“Miss Justine? Is that you?” The unicorn one asks in shock. I smile at him.

“Sweet, you remember my name. And yes. Let’s just say, I got a bit of an upgrade while I was at the empire.” I tell them with a smirk.

“Wow. And here I thought you would remain a shrimp for a while.” The pegasus says, making me get a tick mark on my head. He sees my angry smile and looks elsewhere while sweating. I take a breath and calm down.

“You know, I never got your guys names before we left.” I ask, the duo looking a little confused for the asking their names.

“My name is Bladed Wind and this is my partner, Star Burst.” The pegasus introduces. I nod with a smile and nod to them. After a second they let us all through, though they both raise a brow at Sonbā, Echo and Emerald. We all walk through the halls of the castle and soon arrive at the doors to the throne room. Twilight is beginning to hyperventilate so I quickly use my new Telepathy Magic.

’Twilight, you’ll be fine.’ I tell her. Her eyes widen then she looks to me in confused shock. ’Telepathy Magic. Listen, if you need support, me and the others can come in with you, but it is your choice.’ she stays quiet for a second before sighing.

“Um, everyone?” All their attention goes to her. “Can you all come with me? I am a little worried.” The girls are actually surprised by this request, but nod to her with reassuring smiles. She looks to me with a grateful smile and I just wink at her. The guards at the door, a pegasus mare and stallion both see how she was acting and nod, letting us all in. Walking into the throne room, we see both princesses on their thrones, quietly talking to one another. For some reason, I can hear them perfectly fine.

“I am telling you sister, I felt a massive surge of magical energy AFTER the heart was returned. We must ask about it when Twilight and the others get back. For all we know, they may have found a new source of magic we could use.” Celestia says, Luna sighing and rubbing her eyes.

“Sister, ever since Lex left with the girls you have been trying to think of new magic to use. What is going on? You never worried about discovering new magic or anything of that nature before meeting her.” Luna says. Before they can continue, the duo see our group as we all walk up. The royal sisters smile at the girls before both of them do a double take when they see me and the other three.

“Princess, I am happy to report that we managed to protect the crystal empire from the Tyrant Sombra.” Twilight says. Celestia looks to her with a smile.

“I noticed.” She says, looking out the window and seeing a type of aurora in the sky. “However, I would like to know how you managed to save them.” She asks, sitting on her throne. The girls all look a little nervous, while Sonbā and I remain stone faced.

Twilight nods and begins to tell her what happened, from us arriving to splitting up to find out what to do, the crystal fair, and then she got to the part that I didn’t know about with her and Spike finding how and where Sombra hid the heart. But she said something I wasn’t expecting.

“Though, the entrance to the staircase was sealed behind a dark magic door.” We all raise a brow at her as she shifts on her hooves. “So I may have....used....dark magic to unlock the door.” She says the last part quickly, me and Celestia looking to her in shock.

“Which kind of dark magic Twilight?” I ask her with a slightly scolding tone. She flinches a bit and rubs her arm.

“Umm, the same one the princess and Sombra used?” She says sheepishly. I sigh and facepalm at her.

“Twilight, what did I say about using that type of magic? It can corrupt the user and become addictive if you aren’t strong enough or are emotionally or mentally unbalanced.” I look to Spike. “Did she have the mist?” I demand. Oddly, Spike looks a little confused.

“Mist? What do you mean? Sure, Twilights horn and magic went all bubbly and dark, but there was no mist.” He says and me and the royals all do a double take.

“Wait what? So, there was no purple mist coming out her eyes?” Sonbāsutā asks, Spike shaking his head no. I look to Twilight in shock, and it seems even she is surprised by this revelation. I think for a minute before opening Archive and doing a magical scan of her, a flat blue screen going up and down her.

“What are you doing?” Celestia asks. I ignore her and continue and get the results back from the scan. My eyes widen in surprise.

“Well, this is shocking. According to this magical scan, Twilights magic is in almost perfect balance in terms of light and dark.” I say, the unicorns and Alicorns looking shocked, before I chuckle a little bit. “That actually would make sense. You are the Element of Magic, so you wouldn’t be limited to just light and standard unicorn magic.” I say to her, Twilight looking surprised as well. I close the menu and look back to the princess, seeing her contemplative look.

“Twilight, please continue your side of the events.” Luna asks, the unicorn nodding and continuing. She explains that she found the heart, but it was rigged with a trap, causing her to stay at the top of the tower while Spike saved the day.

“That is all from my side, but I know that more happened with Lex and the others. Can you guys tell me what happened to you all?” She asks. I nod and step forward, Echo jumping to my shoulder.

“Before you begin, I must ask, who are those three?” Celestia asks, pointing to Sonbā, Emerald and Echo.

“These three are Emerald Blizzard, Echo and Sonbāsutā. They’re some friends we made from the empire that needed to come with us.” I tell the sisters, Celestia looking at Sonbāsutā and Echo curiously. I snap my fingers at her, getting her attention. “Before I talk about my side, I have to ask. How is it you two even heard about what was going on in the empire in the first place?” The royal sisters raise a brow at the question.

“We heard about it from one of our subjects that managed to get away not long after Sombra took over. What was her name..?” Luna says and thinks for a minute. I have a sneaking suspicion I know who it was.

“Crystal Dust?” I say, the duo thinking before nodding.

“Yes, I believe that was the mare name. She was a real piece of work. She was rather greedy and rude to everypony, even us. Some of the maids and guards at the time would say she would mumble to herself about how she should have been in charge, but before we could question her, there was a monster attack and she was killed in the chaos.” Celestia says. The four of us smile a bit and Sonbā and I chuckle a little, confusing the sisters.

“That bitch got what she deserved then.” I say, the others flinching at my language. Celestia suddenly rises from her throne and goes to me.

“You will explain why one of my subjects that did nothing wrong deserved that fate. Now.” She demands angrily. I stare back at her, both my eyes glowing faintly.

“Because she is the reason Sombra came to be in the first place.” At this Celestia goes wide eyed and steps back. Luna is also shocked by this and looks to the Elements, each of them nodding to her. Sonbāsutā walks next to me and bows slightly to Celestia, who looks to him curiously as he looks familiar.

“Princess Celestia. Perhaps we should have a legitimate introduction. I am the former crowned Crystal King, Sonbāsutā.” He says, the sisters now recognizing him. “I was Sombra. The reason that corruption came to be was because that mare broke my heart and forced my magic to go out of control and become corrupted.”

The sisters look to him in shock before Celestia lights her horn. The others sees she is going to attack and back away, while I step forward. I activate both of my eyes, the darkness of my right and the shining light of my left causing Celestia to flinch back in shock. I quickly activate Archive behind my back and hit ‘enter’, a small progress bar appearing behind Sonbā’s head. For some reason, I feel I need to activate my wings and what happened was odd. The three wings that appear on the left side of me are still dark, but the three on my right are bright gold and white.

I look to them in shock, seeing the visible signs of a balance of light and dark, before turning back the the princesses and see their shocked faces as well. I get a determined expression and stand next the Sonbāsutā and light up a matrix below me, letting light and dark energy surround me. They both look to me, then Celestia sighs, dismissing her magic and I follow suit, letting the magic die out, the others all looking to me and the princess with worry.

“Explain.” She says simply, returning to her throne. We both nod and Sonbāsutā explains everything he said back in the empire about what happened to him, with Echo and Emerald adding their own bits of info. Luna looks shocked by this and soon looks like she is going to wring someone’s neck. Celestia manages to keep a neutral face, but I can see the anger well hidden in her eyes. Because of one of her own subjects, an entire empire was subjugated to a tyrannical rule and slavery.

After Sonbā finishes talking about the past, I pick up from when I seperated from the girls, finding Echo in her crystal, learning of Sonbās past, finding Emerald and defending the citizens. My fight with Sombra and his return from corrupt darkness. I chose to leave out my talk with Mavis for now as I wanted to talk to them later.

“Well, it seemed this mission became much more complex then even I could have imagined.” Celestia says, rubbing her eyes. She looks to Twilight with a soft smile. “Twilight, I am proud you were able to find the heart and spread its effect across the land. I am also proud you managed to put your own desire to pass a test behind you to protect the citizens of the Empire. It is much more important for one to understand the meaning of self sacrifice, than one who only looks out for their own self interest.” She says with a proud look.

“Does that mean..?” Twilight asks excited. Celestia nods and Twilight cheers, hopping around before being pulled into a group hug by her friends and Spike. I just smile at the group and feel as Sonbāsutā puts his hand on my shoulder. We look to the royal sisters as they walk up to us.

“Sonbāsutā, you have our deepest apologies. Because of one of our subjects, you and your empire were hurt and lost to evil. I’m sorry.” Celestia says remorseful. Sonbāsutā just smiles to her.

“I wasn’t your fault princess. Besides, the past isn’t something we can change. All we can do now is look to the future and do our best in the present.” He says. I just roll my eyes with a smile and lightly punch his arm. He smirks back at me and winks. Before anything else can happen, I remember something.

“Princesses, I would like to speak to the two of you in private please.” I say suddenly, the others being confused. The sisters look to one another before nodding, the others walking out the door and leaving just the three of us.

“What would you like to talk about young Lex?” Luna asks, summoning a chair for me to sit in while they sit in their thrones. I sit down and sigh.

“I would like your permission to make a guild in Ponyville.” I say, the princesses looking a little confused.

“A guild? You mean like a hunters guild like they have in Griffonstone?” Luna asks with a confused brow raise. I shake my head.

“No, not a hunters guild, a wizards guild like in Fiore. It is a place where wizards get together and gain work, have a place to stay if they don’t have one and feel like they are family. I would like to open one to teach others how to use Fiore magic and to help protect Equestria.” I tell them. The princesses look shocked by my request. I see their horns lighting up and I guess they are having a mental conversation. I could use Telepathy to hear them, but that would be rude. After a minute their horn die down.

“What exactly does a guild do and how would ponies join?” Celestia asks.

“You see, wizard guild work by having the members take contracts to earn money for themselves and the guild. These can range from taking care of a pet bird to fighting a volcano demon. However, there are strict rules on contracts and they all have to go through the guild master first. We will not take jobs like thievery or assassination. As I said before, the guild also provides shelter and food to any members or civilian who need a place to stay as well as acting as a first line of defence for whatever town the guild is located in.” I explain, Luna actually taking notes on it.

“To join, I have a couple of tests in mind that will decide whether or not somepony gets in as well as their standings in the guild. The jobs for the wizards will be ranked from E to A with E being the easiest jobs to A which will be some of the most difficult jobs. There is also S class which is higher up than A but I think I may be the only one who can be an S class wizard right now.” I tell them. They nod and think for a minute.

“Will the guild be limited to unicorns for their magic?” Luna asks.

“No. I intend to make it so any creature can join, not just unicorns. Anyone can learn Fiore magic as long as they have internal magic power, and from the books I have read, that means practically every sapient species on the planet can join and learn magic. Ponies, Griffins, Diamond Dogs, Zebras. All of them will be allowed if they pass the tests.” I say. The duo look to one another before Luna nods and summons some scrolls and blank blueprints.

“I will send this to Mayor Mare to allow you to use a large section of land on the edge of town by the Everfree forest. Do you have a design in mind for the guild hall itself?” She says and asks. I nod and open Archive again. I grab the blueprints Luna summoned and have a screen placed flat on the paper. After a second I raise the blueprints and it shows instructions on how to make the original guild hall from the show. I smile and hand it to her. She looks it over before nodding.

“Lex.” I look to Celestia. “I know we got off on the wrong foot went we met, but I thank you for wanting to protect Equestria. As thanks for that and for protecting the crystal empire, I will have some of my best construction workers working on the guild hall for you. Looking at the prints, it will take about three weeks to two months to complete.” She says and I nod to her, standing and holding out my hand. She smile and takes my hand in hers, before pulling me in for a hug. I am shocked by this turn of events, but get over it and hug the larger alicorn back.

“Lex,” Luna begins as I get out of her sisters hold, “while the guild hall is being constructed, what will you be doing in the meantime?” She asks. I pause to think for a moment.

“Well, I will probably be practicing my magic as well as testing the tests I have in mind for the guild. Most of what I have planned will not work until after the guild itself is made.” I pause and remember something. “Oh yeah. I will need some employees to work there for upkeep and cleaning. Also someone to keep track of finances and attend the bar and kitchen that will be added.” I say in thought, Luna nodding and thinking herself.

“We will contact a few ponies we believe would work well for the guild. Their wages will be covered for and will be respectful and professional.” Celestia says.

“Ok, send them two days after the guild is finished, around 9 in the morning, so I can see if they are trustworthy enough to join the guild. After the guild has been finished for two days, I will open it for creatures to join the guild as well as create contracts. I hope you don’t mind if I make some flyers to have drifting around the major towns a few days before construction finishes.” I say to them, the two princesses nodding in agreement.

“If that is everything, I believe you the others have been waiting long enough. Besides, I think Laughter is wanting to throw some more parties if her smile is any indication.” Luna says, rolling up the scroll and blueprints. I nod to her and we all head out the door.

Walking outside, we find the others just hanging around, Twilight looking worried for me. They turn as we walk out and I turn to the princesses.

“Thanks for all this you two. I won’t let you down.” I say to them, the royal sisters nodding to me. I walk up to the others with a determined smile on my face. I have a lot of work to do when I get back to Ponyville.

The girls were trying over and over again to get me to tell them to what I talked to the princesses about in private on the way back to town, but I remained tight lipped and kept my mouth shut till we got back to the train station in town. Walking out, our group walks down to the main street to the town hall, me and Sonbāsutā wanting to talk to the mayor before anything. There were a few ponies out who look to our increased group with curiosity and quite a few were surprised by my new look.

I notice that Pinkie had disappeared at some point, probably to get Sonbāsutā, Echo and Emeralds party ready. Arriving at the town hall, our group walks in and I ask the receptionist for when the mayor has a second. Not five minutes later, a tan coated and grey haired mare with glasses walk out with the scroll sent from Luna earlier. It was dark out already, so she was probably getting things finished for the night. She waves me and Sonbāsutā into her office, Echo following us in too.

“So the princess sent me a letter earlier about you opening a wizards guild here in Ponyville? What does that mean exactly?” Mayor Mare asks, Sonbāsutā and Echo being surprised and curious as well. I explain to them how a guild works and what we would be doing. After showing her my eyes when activiated to show my magic, she took out a deed for a large open area that has been unused for a while, just outside of town and on the edge of the forest and hands it to me.

“Very well. In truth, I have been worried about the Everfree lately as, according to Zecora, the beasts of the forest have been getting restless lately. This deed is for the area outside of town where you can make the guild hall. I assume the tests you mention will be ready by the time it is finished and ready to open?” She says and I nod to her. She smiles and gets up from her desk. “Very well, I look forward to seeing what you a wizards guild can do for this town. I may come by some time to check on how it works.” I smile and shake her hand.

“Thank you Mayor Mare. I promise you won’t be disappointed.” Me and my friends leave the office and find Emerald and Twilight are the only ones still waiting in the main lobby. I guess the others left to either go home or to stop by Sugar Cube Corner. I smile and motion for us to leave.

I have a lot of work to do.

One Week And Five Days Later...

I sigh as I land after practicing Wind Magic, using it like Erigor and casting Storm Mail. After the somewhat unorthodox party for Sonbā, Echo and Emerald, I set it up so Sonbāsutā and Echo would be staying with me, Twilight and Spike on the couch and her own basket until the guild hall is done and Emerald would be staying with Rarity. The next day, I woke up early and used Arc of Embodiment to create some sheets of paper for me to use for the contract sheets, member info sheets and personality test sheets so I can decide the members magic as well as for making posters for once the guild is ready.

It wasn’t very easy as I wanted it to be a surprise for the others, so I ended up flying to the Castle of the Two Sisters to work on it in secret. It took a couple of days to get the sheets and questionnaires just right, then I just used a duplication spell from one of Twilights spell books to make about a hundred copies of each.

After that, I chose to use the ruins of the castle as my own practice grounds for the new types of magic. So far some of the only magic spells I haven’t tried were Fairy Law and Glitter, Giants Magic, Takeover Magic, certain Dark Magic spells and Seith Magic, the last one because I cannot bare to just take someponies soul to use as a tool. Thankfully, I was able to use three different styles of Maker Magic to make ice, iron and wooden targets for me to practice against.

While the others were all sorts of curious about what I was doing, I managed to lose them time and again using all sorts of combinations of different magic. Like using Illusion Magic to get a head start and running to the forest using High Speed. Or when I used Phasing magic to exit the boutique after my sizing with Rarity then using an invisiblity spell to just walk to the castle. Luckily, most of the animals and monsters of the forest leave the castle alone due to some large source of harmony magic beneath the castle, which the forest seems to give a large amount of respect and distance.

I checked the watch Emerald gave me a couple days ago and saw it was around noon and I had to go back to town to eat lunch with Sonbāsutā and Echo before going to see some sort of parade that is going on today. Me and the former king have been hanging out a lot as of late. Maybe it was just our similar past but I really like the stallion and his Exeed partner. When I am not working on stuff for the guild or practicing my magic, I have been introducing the two of them to the incredible new technology from the last thousand years. So far, Echo has really been awestruck about all the different sorts of music that has been invented so I have been letting her borrow my phone to listen to stuff whenever I don’t need it.

I activate my wind magic again and fly myself over to the edge of town behind Fluttershys cottage before touching down. Almost immediately a couple of Fluttershys animal friends like Mr.Patrick the mouse and Harry the bear come by and greet me.

“Miss Justine, there you are. I was wondering when you would be finished your training session.” Mr.Patrick says as he climbs to my shoulder. I learned thanks to my Animal Soul magic I can understand them like Fluttershy. Even though I haven’t practiced my Takeover spells, I can sense that coming in contact with the animals I can use their powers, like using a bears arm like Elfman.

Somehow I knew I could trust these animals, so they are the only ones I have told what I have been doing at the castle, and they even offered to come with for protection if some monsters come by. I told them they didn’t need to and I could handle myself.

“You said it. So when are you planning to teach the others how to use magic again?” Harry asks as we walk to the front of the cottage. I just sigh to the bear.

“I told you Harry. I can’t teach anypony magic until the guild is done and they are members. Even if I do trust and know the others, I don’t know them well enough to choose which magic would be best for each of them.” I tell him. He just sighs but nods. “However,” they look to me, “just from talking to Fluttershy, I can think of two different types of magic she can use, and I am having trouble choosing which to teach her. Maybe you and the others can help me and her decide later.” I tell them, the two mammals nodding before Mr.Patrick jumps off my shoulder and into Harry’s paws.

I wave to the two animals and head to Sugar Cube Corner. I see quite a few ponies around, prepping for the parade that is going on. I even see the CMC, who I met during Sonbā’s party after they were curious on what I was. They’re pretty sweet kids, but they seem to have as much accidental destructive force as Gildarts. Just in the past few days I had to help them clean up after they tried to get their Cutie Marks in Bee Wrangling. Honey is not easy to get out of fur I learned.

I past them as they were setting up a golden apple float and I saw a trio of other fillies walking up to them. I recognize two as Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, a couple of bullies I have seen walking around town like they own the place, but next to them was someone I didn’t recognize. She has darker tan fur with freckles and a two toned redish mane. She was wearing a pair of kids jeans and a plain green t-shirt. I had a bad feeling she was another of Diamonds crew so I walk up to talk to them.

I over hear then CMC telling ‘Babs’ how she does get to go in this float, only for her to push them out of the way and try to jack it! Oh no ya don’t! Before she can even move the float, I stand in front of it and look through the windshield at her. She looks a little sheepish as she has been caught. I frown at her.

“Out here. NOW.” I tell her, leaving no room for argument. She nods and gets out of the float and walks to me as I look down on her. “You want to explain to me why you just tried to steal the CMCs float young mare?” I ask her with my arms crossed. She flinches and looks around, trying to find a way out.

“Lex? What’s goin on?” I turn and see AJ walking up with a trio of balloons in her hands. Before we can react, Babs turns and tries to run. “Babs?”

“Oh no you don’t!” I place my right fist on my open left palm and focus, an icy blue spell matrix appearing. “Ice Make Prison!” I slam my hands on the ground and the ice follows the filly before rising up and creating a cage made of ice. She looks around in panic as I walk up with a glare. “You are not getting away, young filly.”

“Lex?! What are you doing?!” AJ asks upset at me and I see the CMC coming with her.

“AJ, this little filly has been hanging out with Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon and just tries to steal the CMCs float from them. As far as I can tell, we have ourselves a little bully and up and coming criminal.” I tell her, AJ looking shocked and Babs flinching and looking away.

“Babs, is this true?” AJ asks. The filly just looks away. I sigh and destroy the cage, but hold onto her arm, pulling her to AJ.

“I take it you know this filly, so I will leave her for you to deal with. I’m late for my lunch with Sonbā and Echo.” I say annoyed, before turning and walking away. I can barely hear AJ as she starts to scold the earth pony filly. I may have been a little harsh, but I have been practicing my magic all morning and I am tired and hungry. I walk past a few shocked looking ponies and make it to Sugar Cube Corner.

“Hey Lex!” Echo flies over to me and leads me to the table Sonbā was sitting at, reading his book.

“Hey guys, sorry I’m late, had to take care of some stuff first.” I apologize to the duo, sitting down.

“Don’t worry about it Lex. I can tell you have been working hard lately. I imagine getting all the paperwork and tests ready for the guild would be exhausting.” Sonbā says. I just nod to him as Pinkie comes by and takes our orders. We all eat together and enjoy each other’s company and the food provided.

“So, how are you liking things in the modern age you two?” I ask, taking a bite of my grilled cheese.

“I admit, it is rather overwhelming. Before I was amazed by the idea of a carriage, now there are things like trains? Ha! This is going to take a while to get used to.” He says, taking a sip of some orange juice. Echo just nods with a smile as she eats a cupcake, her cheeks being full. I laugh at the look on her face, earning a frosted pout from the feline, making me laugh more.

“Lex? There was something I was wondering about.” I turn to Sonbā with a raised brow. “Back in the castle when you were staring down the princess, I noticed you summoned some kind of screen behind you. After that I got a bit of a headache and then these weird stances have been on my mind. What was it you did?” He asks.

Oh crap! I forgot about that. I think for a minute, before getting an idea. I smile and rise from my seat, taking out my bag of bits and whistle for Pinkie, the mare appearing a second later. I pay for the food and motion for the duo to follow me. They both raise a brow then shrug, leaving the place with me.

“What I used in the castle was a spell for transferring some info to you.” I tell Sonbā as we walk away from the crowd that is outside. As we get a good distance away, I got to talk again, but get interrupted.

“Hey Lex, Sonbā, Echo!” We turn and see Spike walking up to us.

“Oh, hey Spike. What’s up?” I ask.

“Nothing much. The parade is going on as planned but I am kind of bored. So I wanted to check and see what you guys were up to.” He says. I look to the little drake and decide, screw it.

“Well, me and these two were about to head to the old castle ruins. I wanted to show them something and maybe teach them a thing or two. Wanna come with?” I ask. Spike gets an excited smile on his face and nods rapidly. I just chuckle and use my Wind magic to float in the air, the trio looking in surprise. I quickly pick the smaller drake up by the waist and put him on my back. “Hold on, we are going in fast.” Echo gets the idea and extends her wings and picks up Sonbā.

We fly in silence for a couple of minutes before arriving at the ‘ruins’. Though, that would be an inaccurate description. As I have been using it as my practice grounds for the last little while, I fixed the place up a bit to reflect this. The holes and missing parts of the building were replaced with wooden and iron supports, there was a wooden dummy range on the outside courtyard as well as some iron target area on the other side for some of my stronger spells that would destroy the wooden dummies. All over the area were scorch marks and other evidence of my practising like some uneven cobblestone and dirt and some broken dummies in a pile on the side of the building.

Unseen to the naked eye, I have also placed several enchantments to make sure I don’t end up destroying the area outside of the castle. I really don’t want to end up destroying part of the forest and getting attacked by a manticore or something. Unfortunately my enchantments don’t work very well against Crash Magic, as seen by the disassembled boulder on the other side of the gorge.

We land on the outside of the front door and I put Spike down, the trio looking to the upgraded and repaired castle in awe. I walk past the door and to the iron targeting range, the dragon, Exeed and unicorn following me and looking around the area at all the upgrades. After a minute we arrive at the range and I look back to the group, all of them stopping and looking to me.

“Sonbāsutā, can you head over to one of the marked areas and get into the stance I transferred to you?” I request the unicorn. He nods and goes to one of the marked spots I set for practicing ranged magic. He gets into a familiar stance. He bends his knees and crouched with his fists raised. I walk up to him and make little adjustments to his stance, slightly widening his legs and straightening his back a little. I then take a similar stance right next to him.

“Ok, I want you to place your fist on your open palm and focus on your magic into going through your hands instead of your horn.” I tell him, taking the next stance he needs to do. He nods and follows my instructions. I can sense his magic activating without his horn lighting up, but what happened next was different than what I was expecting.

Unlike what I was expecting, him creating the icy blue and cerulean spell matrix for Ice Maker Magic, his matrix was royal purple and royal blue, a different energy being released instead of the cold air of ice. He sees this and jumps in shock, the matrix stopping before anything can happen. I look to him in shock. I was sure I transferred knowledge of Ice Maker Magic, but it looks like I just gave him knowledge on Maker Magic itself. He looks to his hands then to me in shock.

“What was that?” He asks. I see the other two from my peripheral looking curious as well.

“I am not a hundred percent sure. I thought I transferred the knowledge of how to use Ice Maker magic, but it looks like I transferred just Maker Magic to you. Since you tried to use the magic without a specific element in mind, it tried to connect to one you were most familiar with. Just from the colours of the matrix, it isn’t wood, water, iron, memory or ice.” I look him in the eye. “You have a new type of Maker Magic.”

Sonbāsutā looks to his hands again, then gains a determined expression and gets back into the stance.

“What can make with this magic?” He asks. I think for less than a second.

“That is really up to you. Maker Magic allows for flexibility and versatility, so it really is only limited by your imagination. That said, try this.” I say before getting into the stance and casting. “Ice Make Shield!” I cast the spell and a large barrier of ice appear before us, covering us both. I slowly go over the hand movements again and he nods. He tries and I see his eyes widen a bit after the spell matrix appears.

He casts and makes a smaller shield made entirely of purple crystals like what covered Echo when I found her that only covers him. The three of us look to him in shock, but for different reasons between me and the duo. The two of them because he just used Fiore style magic, me because he just made a new type of Maker Magic. Crystal Maker Magic!

“Sweet Mother, that was a rush!” Sonbā says with a smile. He turns to me then to the other two and see our shocked expressions as his shield falls to pieces.

“That was awesome!” Spike and Echo say together, running up with excited smiles. I put a hand on my chin and think for a minute.

“Looks like I won’t be the only one who will be using this place for training.” My eyes widen as I get an idea. “Hey Sonbā,” he looks back at me, “I think I can help you practice your magic, and set this place up to make this place a proper training hall for when the guild is ready. You can use your magic to make things like weights or to help me repair some spots around the castle.” I turn to the other two. “And if you want, you two can help by making the posters I plan on spreading around the major cities once the guild is done. Afterwards, you two can help us in setting the area up for things like exercise equipment.”

The trio all think for a moment before they all nod to me.

“Sounds like a plan. I really want to learn the limits of this magic so using it to make things like weight will be a good way for me to practice control.” Sonbā says.

“Plus I have really been wanting to make some stuff for the guild so me and Spike can work on the posters and maybe decorate the training hall later. Right Spike?” Echo says and asks, the drake beside her nodding and holding up his claws for a high five. The four of us get together and do a group high five.

“Then let’s get to work.” After I say that, I take the drake and Exeed into one of the rooms I have been using to make the paper work and show them the poster paper and other craft items they can use. Once they start, I head back and show Sonbā some areas around the castle that could stand to be repaired. He nods and begins to practice his magic with filling some of the holes I haven’t gotten to.

As the three of them get to work themselves, I walk outside by the front entrance and think for a minute. This place can make a great training hall, but I don’t want some of the younger members to have to walk through the Everfree every time they want to practice. I think for a moment before getting an idea.

A teleportation spell circle. It can work like an enchantment because of the need for runes but a little more complex. I think for a minute before deciding to set it so only those with the Fairy Tail emblem can access it and teleport here. I take out my sword and begin to write the spell, making sure to check Archive a couple times as I write it to make sure I got it right.

Once done, I take a breath and step back. That was harder than I though it would be. I turn as I hear a pair or claws and paws walking into the room and see Spike and Echo carrying a poster in their claws/paws. I check my watch and see I have been working on the spell for nearly an hour!

“Whoa. I didn’t realize I was working on this spell for this long.” I mumble to myself before walking to the two smaller creature and looking at their poster. What I see makes my eyes widen.

The paper they used was the same shade of blue as my hair with a red Fairy Tail symbol in the top center. Beneath it is a blank spot for me to write a message on it and around the border are what looks like lighter blue flames. I see that they ended up using a bit of glitter I summoned and made the flames sparkle in the light. I look to the two creatures in shock.

“You guys...” I begin, the duo looking a little nervous. “This is awesome!” I say taking the poster in hand. “The design is simple and effective and the flames for the borders are perfectly eye catching! Thanks for leaving this spot for me to write a message. I have the perfect one in mind.” I praise, the duo blushing in embarrassment, but smile none the less. I take out a sharpie I made before hand and begin to write my message.

As I finish writing the message I show the others and they both nod with the message. I smile and hear a pair of hooves walking by and see Sonbā, a little tired, but looking fulfilled. I show him the poster and his jaw drops. I smile and open my own personal pocket dimension from my Requip magic for later. I nod to the others and we head back to what used to be the main throne room.

From there, I practice Maker Magic with Sonbā, making things like dumbbells with the weights being crystals and the bars iron and making wooden dummies for hand-to-hand combat spells. After making what we could with our Maker Magic, I use Arc of Embodiment and make a few more things, like the benches for the equipment, a water fountain that I connected to a stream outside and enchanted with a purification spell and a couple of those large weight balls. After I make it all, the four of us work to move them around and set the place up like a gym. Turns out, Echo and Spike are stronger than they look. Makes sense for Echo since the Exeeds of Fairy Tail can carry their partners with seemingly no trouble. Except for Happy when he is carrying Lucy. That always gets me.

Once done, I check my watch and see we can stay for maybe another hour or so before we should head back to town so I direct the others back to the magical range to teach Sonbā the basics of making ranged constructs with his magic. After an hour, Sonbā can use his Maker Magic to make Lances and also two crystal sabres for himself.

Once we finished, Sonbā looks a little exhausted from magical strain, but he still has a smile on his face. I use Wings and let Spike climb up again as Echo picks up her partner. Our group flies over the forest and to town, touching down outside of Fluttershys cottage again. I see that most of the animals are getting ready to end the day so most just greet us with chirps or squeaks. Though one little robin named Red flies over to us.

“Hey Lex! What were you and the others doing?” He asks as he lands on my shoulder.

“Nothing much. Just setting things up in the training ground for when the guild is ready.” I tell him, and I see the others looking at me confused. “One of my magical abilities allows me to understand animals like Fluttershy.” I explain to them, the trio nodding. I look back to Red. “Anyways, we have to head down to town hall so I’ll talk to you later Red.” After that he flies off and our group heads to town hall to show the mayor the poster for the guild. I remember something and take out one of the posters I brought with me.

“Hey Spike? Do you have a scroll so I can send a message to the princesses?” I ask him. Spike nods and takes out a scroll, handing it to me.

Dear Princesses Luna and Celestia,

I am writing to you right now to ask another request for the guild, if it isn’t a problem. Spike and Echo have made some really great posters for the guild and I humbly request that you can see if you and can have them set up on some of the job boards in the major cities around Equestria a couple days before the guild is done.

Also, if you can set it up, I would like to talk with the managers of the post businesses around the cities to see if I can set it up so ponies and other creatures can make requests for the guild at the post offices so they don’t have to travel to Ponyville just to make a request.

I know it may be asking a lot, but I thank you for at least listening to my request. I passed by the guild and could see it will still be a while before it is finished, so I believe getting all these things set up before hand will be more beneficial in the long run. Again thank you for your time, and I hope to hear from either of you again soon.

Sincerely yours,

Alexandria Justine.

I hand the Scroll to Spike before grabbing the poster from my pocket dimension and using a duplication spell on it for him to send. He nods and torches them both, our group continuing on towards town hall afterwards.

Our group arrives and I see that Mayor Mare is just coming out of her office with a cup of coffee. She sees us and smiles, waving us in. Our group goes in and I show her the poster, the mare looking amazed by the design. She nods and says I can set them up around town just before the guild is ready. I thank her and give her a copy to put up in the lobby of the building when the time comes.

After leaving the building our group gets to the library where we see Twilight reading on the couch. No surprise there.

“There you guys are. I was wondering what you were all up to.” She says, putting her book away. Before anything can happen, Spike’s cheeks puff up again and he burps a scroll out. Before Twilight can grab it, I do and begin to read through it.

Dear Lex,

I thank you for sending us a copy of the poster you intend to use for the guild. If you can send us about one hundred copies, I can have some of my messengers put them up around the main towns and cities like Manehatten, Cloudsdale and send some to the Crystal Empire. I see that it may take a while for them to be made so we can wait.

Also regarding your request about the post offices, I should be able to set up a couple meetings between you and the officials in charge in the coming days. It will be up to you however, to convince them of the idea. Lastly, we have just begun a massive background check here in Canterlot after we learned that many buisnesses have reported massive losses in bits over the last few days. Unfortunately, because of this, we will not be able to look for employees for the guild, so that is up to you as well.

I have faith you can do it however. The fact you held enough determation to face down the likes of Sombra will help guide you in doing what is needed for the guild.

Sincerely yours,

Princesses Celestia and Luna.

I sigh as I finish reading the letter. This was going to be harder than I thought. I guess I could write up some job postings for the guilds four main jobs and have ask the princesses to set up audiences or something. Yeah, that’ll work. I also beater head to Rarity’s to get some travel and business clothes.

But first things first.

I quickly roll up the scroll and place it in my purse before taking out the poster and using the same duplication spell on it, making a hundred copies. I then take out a scroll and ask the princesses about setting up audiences after I send them a job posting to go with the posters. I make a rough draft of what the job postings will look like and request that someone more experienced in making them rework it so it looks more professional. I roll up the scroll and place the Fairy Tail seal on it before handing everything to Spike and nodding at him. He nods back and takes a deep breath before letting loose a stream of fire, sending the items to Canterlot.

“What was that about?” Twilight asks. I just sigh and hand her the letter and one of the poster copies. She looks to the poster in shock before reading though the letter. She cringes a bit, seeing my predicament. She then seems to get an idea before pulling out a blank list of hers.

“Want some help?” She says and I can’t help but chuckle. Maybe the five of us can make this less insane.

“Sure, I have some tests I want to experiment with for the guild, and I could use some people to try them out.” I say and she nods. I look to the gathered creatures in front of me. Two unicorns, a drake and an Exeed. Talk about an odd group of friends.

I sigh as I look out the window of the train. It was about a week and a half after I sent the posters and letter to the princesses and I have been going all over Equestria, to the major cities and even some of the smaller towns, setting up the job poster stations. I already talked to the post managers of Cloudsdale, Appleloosa, Las Pegasus and Dodge Junction and got permission to set up small sections in the post offices for setting up job requests for the guild. Not really hard when all I have to do is use some of my magic styles to make a small office areas connecting to the post offices. Of course the areas are currently hidden in some illusions until the guild is ready. I gave each of the managers the sheets I made for the contracts and explained how they are ranked, plus I gave each of them some glasses that were enchanted to see through illusions.

I look to my companions, Sonbā reading through a Daring Doo book he brought and Echo napping next to him. After I started teaching him how to use his new magic, he, Echo, Twilight, Spike and even Emerald have been helping me in getting everything set up. Spike was acting rather mature when helping out, being able to power through some of my test ideas, but not being stubborn enough to forget to ask for help and to point out mistakes. While Twilight was unsure about the first test I had in mind, she agreed that it could work to weed out those who will only look out for themselves and those who may end up hurting the guild.

Right now me and my friends are on the way to Manehatten to host an audience for potential employees for the guild. A couple days ago, the princesses sent out the job postings and set it up so we would be meeting in one of the amphitheater’s and offices on Main Street. Emerald already volunteered to work as the guilds financial director after hearing about what we have been doing, but said he would like an assistant if possible. We also need to find someone for cooking, serving and cleaning for the guild.

The train whistle blows, knocking me out of my thoughts as the train begin to slow. I look out and see as the station is coming up. I see as Sonbā puts his book into his suitcase and Echo wakes up with an adorable yawn. I just giggle at little at this and we get set to head out.

Once the train stops the three of us head out into the busy streets of Manehatten. I have been to Manhatten back on Earth for a vacation before so seeing the huge crowds, jumbotron, and all the stores weren’t too surprising. Of course our group of a human, a unicorn, and an flying cat did get more than a few curious glances. Twilight gave me a map of the city before we left so I was able to figure out where the amphitheatre was. Our group walks with and through the crowds and I notice it isn’t just ponies here, but Minotaurs, some Griffins, even a Diamond Dog or two. Though the last ones appeared a lot less savage looking than their cave dwelling brethren. After walking for about ten minutes we arrive at the location. A rather new building that, from the plaque up front, was only finished and opened a week ago so this would be the first event it is going to be rented out for.

I smile and walk in, finding a orange mare with a grey mane done in a bun at the front desk. She looks up at our group as we walk in and does a double take upon seeing me and Echo.

“The buck?” She mumbles and I just chuckle a little at her immediate response.

“Hey there. My name is Lex Justine. The princesses rented out part of this place for me to do interviews?” I ask and the mare checks some papers and nods.

“Ah yes. Here it is. Alright Miss Justine, you have one of the smaller stages and halls for use. Feel free to use it however you like, just make sure you don’t destroy anything and clean up after you are done. There are offices connected to the main room to use for one on one interviews.” The mare explains and hands me a map of the building, one of the stage areas being highlighted.

My group leaves and heads towards the room in question. Going in, it looks a bit like a lecture hall they have in college and university, with some tables stretching across the five lines of 20 seats. I look to the stage and see a projector screen and one of those speech plaques. I smile and get up on the stage and begin to plan how I want to do this. I have already planned a speech and explanation for what I am looking for in the guild, so I just needed to set it up to represent the guild.

Using my magic, I make a flag with the Fairy Tail symbol on the front and attach it to the podium and then I ask Sonbā to make some statues of the Fairy Tail symbol to go on stage. He has really gotten great with his control over his Maker Magic, so it was easy for him to make two purple crystal statues. While he is doing that Echo and I set up things in the office that is connected to the stage. It is rather simple looking, just a simple oak desk with one chair for the interviewer and three chairs on the other side. Looking closer I see there are two draws I can use for personnel files and for the finished application forms.

I finish getting all my things set up in the office and head back to the main hall seeing Sonbā sitting behind stage, just waiting with his eyes closed. I smile and walk over to him before summoning three different headphones, one for each of us and go through my phone to find something to listen to before we begin. I look through it and find a good song to listen to to get us ready.

Golden Time Lover from Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood English cover from AmaLee.

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The three of us tune out to this song, just enjoying the beat and deciphering the meaning behind the lyrics. Once the song ends we look at the time and see that we have about five minutes or so before we are scheduled to begin. I look to Sonbā and Echo and nod, the duo nodding back and heading to the main lobby to direct the ones looking to join up. I knew that Echo was going to a curiousity to anyone who hasn’t been to Ponyville or the Crystal Empire lately, but this would be another type of test. To see how someone would react to a new sentient species being present.

I walk up and sit behind the podium with my eyes closed and wait. I soon hear the doors to the room opening and see as Echo is leading the group of ponies and a few other creatures in. I carefully hide my dark eye and use my Seith Magic to make sure there are no creatures using some illusions or something. Thus far I don’t see any that are, but I make sure to keep my eye open as the crowd filters in.

After a couple minutes the room is full, and I see that this might not take as long as I expected from the numbers. I see that many ponies are uncomfortable with some of the other creatures in the crowd. I see at least ten griffins and five Diamond Dogs yet the ponies still look at them like they were going to attack at any moment, so I already counted them out. I didn’t want any speciest jerks in a guild that will not only have ponies.

I stand up from behind the podium, getting the attention of everyone present in the room. I look over the crowd with a blank expression, slightly unnerving some of the younger or inexperienced creatures looking for a job. I nod and step up, making sure both my eyes are visible, both of them being deactivated for the moment.

“Welcome all of you and thanks you for attending. This meeting has been set up by Princess Celestia at my request to look for individuals to work for the soon to be opened Fairy Tail guild. I am the leader of the guild, Alexandria Justine.” I see many are curious and a few are worried.

“I am not going to beat around the bush here. The guild is not going to be only for ponies to join, so if any of you have a problem with those who are not equine, them please leave immediately. The guild members are to treat each other as family, not as though one species is above the other.” I look through the crowd and count at least twenty ponies who scoff, sneer, or flinch. I use my Telepathy to talk to Echo.

‘Did anyone react poorly to your presence on the way here?’ I ask. She subtly nods and thinks of seven ponies, five of them being unicorns, who looked to her with disgust or as though she were nothing more than an ant. I nod and look through the crowd, finding all the offending ponies as well as those I sensed were angered by my announcement. I use my Colours magic and each pony was covered by a red outline, much to the shock of the creatures.

“All of you who have been covered by the coloured magic, please leave.” I say with my arms crossed. Of course there was an immediate uproar from the offending ponies for calling them out. One I silenced immediately by summoning two weapons with my Requip magic and stabbing them into the ground. Both were scythes, but they were vastly different.

The first had a red pole and bandages around handle and it had three red blades along the end, one below the other, that seemed to glow with malevolence, connected with silver bands on the pole and what appeared to be a whip attached to the end. It was the triple bladed scythe that belong to Hidan the Immortal from Naruto.

The second one had a green, slightly bent pole with white cross with them points being bladed as well, connecting the pole to the blade. The blades themselves were black near the sharp edges, the rest being a dark pink. This one belong to The Graceful Assassin Marluxia, the scythe wielder of Organization XIII from Kingdom Hearts.

There was an immediate stunned silence as I summoned my scythes. The offending ponies began to shake in fear as they saw me lift both large weapons like they were nothing more than toys. I look to the crowd again, lighting up my golden eye.

”Leave. Now.” after I say that, there was a veritable stampede as the ponies I called out rush out the door to ‘safety’. I see that two of the griffins and one of the dogs also leave with slightly shaken expressions. I just chuckle a little bit at their need to escape. I dismiss my weapons and deactivate my eye and look over the crowd, many ponies looking to me with caution, the griffins with awe and respect and the Dogs looking just shocked.

“Apologies, but I just can’t tolerate creatures like them. Now that those I know would immediately cause problems are gone, let’s continue. I have some application forms for each of you to fill out. I am looking for creatures to work as cooks, barkeeps, servers, as well as keeping the guild hall itself clean. I am also looking for an assistant for the guilds financial director Emerald Blizzard. Once you are done please hand your sheet to the Exeed, Echo. I will call on each of you for a one on one interview after a third of you have finished writing.” I say and Echo begins to fly around with the application forms. I use my magic and summon some pencils for each creature to write with.

The creatures all begin to write in their info and I just look them over with my magic and get a minimum description of each of them based on their souls natural state, which shows their personalities. Of course, just ones personality doesn’t give me that much, but it does allow me to adjust myself to react to them. Though, while I was looking through them, one stallion stood out. His soul seemed almost...blank. Not in the sense that he lacked a soul, just that he seemed like a blank slate compared to those around him.

Each creatures souls are shaped by their past experiences, likes, dislikes, and hopes. This guys seems to lack the first three parts, merely only having his hopes. I deactivate my magic and look to him normally. He had a white coat with some black stripes along his arms and legs, a light blue wild looking mane with the ends highlighted red and his eyes were the same colour as his hair. He also had an odd blue triangle on the side of his face just below his cheek. I could be a tattoo, but why a triangle and why there? He was wearing a pair of grey jeans and a black t-shirt beneath an open white jacket. I also noticed his left hand was covered by a black glove, but his right wasn’t.

I don’t dwell on it for now and just scan over the crowd again and see that quite a few have finished their application forms, as seen by the stack Echo took to the office. Coming out of the office she looks to me and nods for me to start. I nod back to her and clap my hands a couple times, getting the crowds attention.

“Alright, enough of you have finished the application forms and I am going to begin the one on one interviews. When Sonbāsutā calls your name, please enter the office and take a seat and we will begin, those of you still filling out the forms, don’t rush, this next part may take a while so please be patient.” I say and head to the office and see that those that aren’t finished go back to it.

I take a seat on the desk and look to the first one filled out form and see it is a mare named Silk Song. She is an earth pony, nineteen, fresh out of Manehatten high. Cutie Mark: a roll of silk. Scarlet mane, pale pink almost white fur, green eyes. No prior experience, this being her first job interview, period.

“Sonbāsutā, can you please call in miss Silk Song?” I ask him and he nods. After about thirty seconds the young mare in question walks in. She is clearly nervous, taking a seat on the middle chair. I look through her application form a second time, seeing everything she filled out before looking her in the eye.

“Hello, nice to meet you miss Song.” I say, holding my hand out. She nods and hesitantly shakes my hand.

“Um, please call me Silk.” She says softly and I nod to her.

“So, which position would you be applying for in the guild?” I ask her, taking out a notepad of my own.

“Um, I would like to apply for one of the cleaning positions. Even though most would think I am a seamstress, my cutie mark represents my skill in keeping not just clothes silk soft and clean but also just my general skills in cleanliness. I haven’t had much of a chance to follow my talent aside from my parents laundromat. We clean all the clothes manually since my parents think the machines don’t get things as clean as they should be.” She says. I nod and write all this down in the notebook.

What she didn’t seem to realize is that during this interview I was looking at her soul and seeing her for who she is. A determined individual in terms of keeping things clean and wanting to make people happy with her work. Talking to her shows her shy nature but also her passion in making others happy and in cleaning of all things. I go through a few more questions with her before asking the main one.

“Alright, one last question for you Silk.” I lean on the desk and fold my hands. “The guild isn’t located here in Manehatten. It is going to be located on the edge of the town of Ponyville. As someone who is charged with keeping the guild clean, you will likely have to move to Ponyville unless you want to take a two hour long train ride every day. Are you ok with this?” I ask her. Silk looks to the side and rubs a bracelet that is on her right wrist.

“You shouldn’t rush a decision like this. I know from experience how jarring moving somewhere new can be.” She looks to me before looking to her bracelet and sighing.

“I know that working elsewhere will be jarring, but I have always wanted to leave this city and see the country. I have heard how Ponyville can be so going there wouldn’t be too bad I don’t think. I just have to make sure to keep in contact with my parents.” She says before looking me in the eyes and gaining a confidence I had not seen up to this point.

“I would be fine with moving to Ponyville as long as I could visit my parents or they visit me.” I look to her and hear her determined voice. I smile and nod to her before holding my hand out for her to shake again.

“Thank you Silk, for this interview. Once I have interviewed the rest of the creatures here I am going to be announcing who got the jobs and who didn’t, so feel free to take a nap or something.” I tell her. She nods and shakes my hand before leaving and likely returning to her seat. I smile and look at my notes again, in particular a checkbox I put on the side of her info. I put a check mark in it.

I look to the next sheet and ask Sonbā to have them come in. The next couple of creatures to come in were nothing special and most seemed to only want to work at the guild for the money or to be the first to work in a wizards guild. After five come and go I look to the next sheet and see it is one of the griffins. A female hen named Floral Talons. She is 21, half tiger half hawk with orange tips of her brown feathers and black stripes along the sides of her face as well as her feline half.

For some reason I had a good feeling about this hen. I ask for Sonbā to call her in, the hen walking in a couple seconds later. She was wearing a green hoodie over a blue tank top and brown jogging pants. She takes a seat and seemed very excited.

“Hello miss Talon.” I say and she just giggles a little.

“Please drop the formalities. My name is Flora. Nice to meet you too, miss Justine.” She says shaking my hand. I already like this griffin.

“In that case, call me Lex.” I say before taking out her file and my notebook. We begin the interview and Flora is full of energy and seems rather naive, but as a griffoness she wasn’t squeamish. Good thing too since she was wanting to join as one of the cooks for the omnivorous and carnivorous members of the guild. After I finish all but the last question I get another serious look on my face, one Flora sees and calms down.

“Now then, for your last question. The guild isn’t located here, but on the outskirts of Ponyville. Are you ok with moving there?” I ask. Flora remains silent for a moment before laughing a little.

“Of course! I am not sure if you have been here before, but griffins are not really liked here in Manehatten. We are accepted, but not really respected. Moving to a smaller town in the country doesn’t sound all that bad.” She says and I smile at her. I shake her talons again and she heads back to the main room. I look to her file and place a checkmark on her box.

After her were two more griffins who appeared to just wants big wages, then a couple of ponies who didn’t want to move to Ponyville. After them I looked and saw the first Diamond Dog was next. Zen Quartz. Interesting name. 22 years old, brown fur coat with darker brown hair done in a wind blown style, one brown and one grey eye. I notice in a area I asked for prior fighting experience it reads he was self trained. Interesting. I also saw his only living relative is a younger brother.

“Hey Sonbā. Please call in Zen Quartz next.” He nods and goes out to call the dog. He walks in and I see he is wearing a green vest with some black jogging pants. He seems rather confident with his stance. I look through his file again and nod.

“Hello Mr. Quartz, or can I call you Zen?” I ask, holding out my hand. He nods and shakes my hand.

“Call me Zen, please.” He says. I begin the interview like I have done before and learn Zen would like one of the barkeeper positions. But while I am going through it, I can sense an odd aura around this guy. Not that he is planning something, but like he is distracted about something, he just hides it really well. We finish up almost all the questions before I get a serious expression.

“Zen. The guild isn’t located here in Manehattan. It is located in Ponyville, a two hour train ride away. Every employee of the guild is also going to be a member, so are you willing to move there, even temporarily?” I ask him. I can see that he is lost in thought and that whatever has been on his mind the whole time has come to the forefront.

“Bit for your thought?” I ask. He looks to me before sighing.

“You know the only reason I am applying here is because I need a little help supporting me and my brother.” He says and I motion for him to continue.

“My parents passed away when I was ten and my bro was eight. Even though it was tough, I had a bunch of friends in the slums on the edge of town who helped take care of us and taught me how to take care of the both of us. But with the recent tax increase I am having some problems making ends meet. I am not trying to get pity points or anything, but I really need to find a better paying job. I am just worried about my bro. He hasn’t been having the best luck finding a job after an accident at his last workplace, and it doesn’t help ponies naturally distrust predators like dogs or griffins. I don’t really want to leave him because I got a job in another town.” He explains. I nod to him gathering all this.

His twenty year old brother was having trouble helping with gaining money for them, plus employers are biased against predators. I think for a moment before looking at him again.

“What is your brothers name?” I ask. Zen pauses for a second.

“Nate.” He says and I can’t help but find his brother has a rather human sounding name compared to practically every other creature I have met here in Equestria. I think for a second before chuckling to myself. Zen looks to me with a raised brow.

“Sorry, its just that, I have a little sister who’s name is Natali or Nat.” I explain and he chuckles with me at the connecting between us. I sigh before looking back to me.

“Listen Zen. I am going to tell only you this, but once the guild is opened I am going to have the potential members go through a type of initiation. If you are worried about leaving your brother alone, then have him come to the guild during the event and he may end up joining as well. If that were to happen you and your brother would be more than welcome to stay in the guilds barracks together, plus both of you would have jobs as guild members.” I tell him. Zen look down in thought before nodding and standing up. I smile and shake his paw as he heads back to the main room. I double check his file and place a checkmark on his box with a smile.

I check the next sheet and see it is a unicorn stallion named Hot Spark. 23 years old, red fur with auburn mane and orange eyes. Cutie mark is lighter. Took martial arts classes when he was younger and worked at a couple of food carts before this. I guess those are Equestria’s equivalent to food trucks. I nod and ask Sonbā to call him in. The stallion walked in and I see he is wearing a pair of black jeans and a white dress shirt beneath a black open jacket. Rather professional looking.

“Hey there Mr. Spark.” I say and offer my hand. He smiles and shakes my hand with a firm grip.

“Just Spark please.” He says with a grin and I can just feel the confidence from him. We go through the interview and I can tell this guy is quite the joker, many of his puns and jokes getting a laugh out of me. He was looking for a job as one of the cooks for those with herbivorous diets. I smile at the end and ask the moving question. He actually looks excited.

“Honestly, I am tired of the big city. Moving to a small town, even if it is on the edge of the Everfree, would be a nice change of pace in my opinion.” He says. I smile and shake his hand as he heads back to the main room. I look over my notes and his application and smile, placing a check in his box.

After Spark was a pegasus mare named Swift Service. 21 years old icy blue fur, cerulean mane and purple eyes. Cutie mark is a receipt. Took self defence classes in her teens and worked as a waitress in at two other restaurants before this. I ask for Sonbā to call the mare in next. After a minute she walks in, wearing a rather nice black dress and holding a white hand bag.

“Hello miss Service.” I say, shaking her hand.

“Please, just call me Swift.” She says with a smile. I smile back at her and begin her interview. She was a rather outgoing individual, wanting to be a server/waitress for the guild because she wants to meet other creatures and to just help others, be it delivering food on time or buying some food to give to the homeless shelter she volunteers at. I smile at her answers for the questions I ask. I ask the last question and she pauses for a second before smiling.

“I know there are some in Manehatten that will miss me, but I would like to move to a new place to meet new creatures and see if I could help more people than I am now. I may be just a random pegasus, but I know each individual can save a life. I mean, look at the Elements of Harmony themselves.” She says and I just smile at her response. I shake her hand as she heads back to the room. I look at her file and place a check mark in her box.

The next few creatures to come in were not really all that great, the griffins just wanting bits, the dogs not wanting to go by the Everfree, but there was one dog that came in that was a little different from the rest. I check the file and see it is for a female named Raine Jewel. 20 years old, snow white coat with silver hair and yellow eyes. No prior job experience, only living relative is her aunt. I am starting to see a pattern with the Diamond Dogs missing parents, she is the third out of the four that I checked.

“Sonbā, next one is Raine Jewel please.” I say and he nods, calling out to the canine. After a couple second she walks in. She was wearing a blue tank top over a black sports bra and grey cargo pants. She also had a blue ribbon in her hair and a black bracelet. She walks in and takes a seat silently. I can tell she is a little shy so I start again.

“Hello miss Jewel.” I say offering my hand. She nods silently and shakes my hand.

“Um, just Raine please.” She says and I nod to her. We begin and Raine eventually opens up, being a pretty normal girl. At least by human standards. She was homeschooled by her aunt after her parents disappeared when she was three and lived a relatively closed off life. Her only real friends are her neighbors kids, and even then their parents didn’t one hundred percent trust her since she is a Diamond Dog. The past two years she’s wanted to learn about things outside of Manehatten, so she spends most of her time at the public libraries. She was thinking of being a server at the guild so she can move out and learn more about other places and to make some friends.

“So you want to learn more about thing outside of Manehatten. Then I suppose it is a good thing for you that the guild is located outside of Ponyville. I won’t stop you from wanting to move, but here’s some advice. Keep in contact with your aunt. Trust me when I say you will miss her.” I tell her and Raine nods. I smile and shake her paw before she heads out. Another checkmark down.

After Raine was the last of the griffins and a couple of ponies before I reach the stallion I sensed was off earlier. Legacy Tracer. 24 years old, cutie mark is a mirror with a spell seal....and that is it. Aside from the physical description, a majority of the sheet is blank, like prior fighting experience, family status, past work experience, all of it! I had a bad feeling I knew why. I stand and head to the door, Sonbā looking confused by me.

“Legacy Tracer, you’re next!” I call out before returning to my seat. After a minute the stallion walk in with a slightly nervous expression. He sees his application form and gulps, taking a seat.

“Mr.Tracer.” I greet simply.

“Um, just Trace if that’s ok.” He says, rubbing the back of his head with a sheepish grin. I look to him for a second before sighing.

“Look Trace, I am not even going to beat around the bush here. Why is your application form almost completely blank?” I ask him. Trace scratches his face with his gloved hand and I barely see some black going past the glove. I make a mental note of that.

“I-I don’t remember my past.” He says and I just raise a brow at him, sensing there is more to it than that. Trace sighs again and gets into a more comfortable position.

“I woke up in the hospital a little over two months ago. The only things I could remember clearly was my name and age. The doctors there said I was part of some kind of dark magic ritual which backfired, destroying a house in the slums. I couldn’t make it out clearly, but I remember a group of ponies laughing and something about ‘the tyrants of the eclipse’. I asked about it and one of the doctors mentioned an old cult called ‘The Eclipsed Ones’. Apparently I was supposed to be a sacrifice of some kind for a ritual. As I said, it backfire, but as a result, most of my memories have been completely erased. After asking if there was information on me in general, they found that I wasn’t in any of their files. After making sure I wasn’t a changling, they theorized I was kidnapped when I was a newborn and indoctrinated into the cult. I have been living in the pony homeless shelter since then, trying to figure out what I am supposed to do.”

I look to the stallion with a blank expression on the outside, but inside I was freaking the hell out.

‘This guy was likely a former cult member that had his memories and personality erased?! And here I thought Sonbā had it rough!’ I sigh and take out the question form I have been using for the rest of the creatures up to this point. I look to Trace and nod with a smile.

“Well, lets get started shall we?” I say and he gets what I am doing. We go through the interview like the others, Trace actually answering things like his preferences and dislikes pretty easily. Probably because he turned into someone entirely different after the accident. He said that he is pretty good with numbers and was offering to work as Emeralds assistant. I smile as we finish up, Trace saying he would actually like to move to Ponyville to make a new life for himself.

I smile as we finish up the questions and I look to Trace who is very happy with the result. I then gain a rather serious expression on my face, one he looks concerned about.

“Um, miss Justine? Is something wrong?” He asks with worry. I look to him before looking at his hand.

“Your hand. The one in the glove. Can I see it?” I ask him. He looks at his gloved palm for a second before sighing and nodding. He carefully takes off his glove and I gasp at it. His left hand is black like coal all the way down to his wrist and just past it, the tips of his finger being sharpened into what looked like claws. I look at it in shock, carefully taking his hand into my own. I focus my magic onto it and sense that this is a physical side effect of the corrupted magic in the ritual he was a part of. I nod and release his hand before smiling at him.

“You know, you are really similar to my friend here. You both came in contact with corrupted magic. Your hand will likely stay like this, but I don’t think it will cause you any problems on its own.” I tell him. Trace nods and smiles at me before heading back to the room. I look at his file and then to the notes I took about him. I smile and place a checkmark on it.

I look at the pile of sheets and see that Trace was actually the last one in the crowd to have an interview. I look through the finished interview sheets and application forms again, taking out the files that I placed a checkmark on, showing they got the jobs. I smile and place all the sheets away before walking out of the office and locking the door before walking up to the stage and getting the attention of every creature present. I look over the crowd and clear my throat.

“I thank all of you for coming here and for your time. Now, I will begin with the bad news.” I see a large majority looking worried.

“While there have been almost eighty of you I have interviewed, I have selected only seven creatures to be hired for the guild.” Several of the creatures groan, thinking they didn’t get in.

“Now then, while I have selected them, for the safety of the individuals, I won’t be saying them out loud. All of you are free to go about your day and I will be contacting each person I have selected. I thank all of you again for your time in this. Even if you are not selected for this chance, you can use me as a reference for any other job interviews you may have and I will give an honest comment about you.” I say. Several of the creatures smile at my offer and the crowd begins to filter out.

After Sonbā, Echo and I finish putting everything away, Sonbāsuta destroying his statues and me putting all the info I gathered into a book bag I brought and fixing the stage where I stabbed my scythes in, the three of us head back out, waving to the mare at the front desk. We all walk in silence to the main park by the harbour before I sit down by a tree, cross legged and focus on my Telepathy magic. After searching the city for a bit I find the ones I am looking for.

‘Hello! Can you guys hear me?’ I think through my magic, getting seven different yelps and surprised sounds.

“What the heck? Lex?” Zen asks aloud, and I could tell he was looking around himself.

‘Calm down you guys. I am using long range telepathy to talk to all of you right now.’ I tell them, getting several noises of understanding.

‘Ok, what’s going on Lex?’ Flora asks through thought. I smile at the fact she was the first to calm down and figure out to think instead of talking aloud.

‘Well, I did tell you guys that I would be contacting the ones who I chose to work at the guild without saying who they were.’ I think with a smirk. I hear as the girls gasp and I can tell the guys eyes widen in surprise.

‘You mean...’ Raine begins.

I just laugh a little, my noise being sent through the connection. ‘Welcome to Fairy Tail you guys!’ I say and get a bunch of mental cheers.

‘Awesome! So, what do we do now?’ Trace asks, getting the others to quiet down.

‘My friends and I are at the park by the harbour. Come over here and I can go over what you can do for when the guild is open.’ I tell them getting seven affirmatives before I cut the connection. I smile and relax against the tree I am under, Echo flying up to a branch to do the same thing and Sonbā breaking out his book again. The three of us just relax for a couple minutes before I head someone calling out to me.

“Hey Lex!” I open my eyes and see as Trace, Flora and Raine walk up. I smile and lift myself off the ground, Echo jumping off the tree and onto my head. I smile and look past them, seeing Swift, Silk and Spark coming up behind them.

“Hey guys, took you long enough.” I say with a smirk, the three ponies walking up to us. I look them over and see the ragtag-ness of our group. A human, three unicorns, a pegasus, an earth pony, a griffoness, an Exeed and soon to be two diamond dogs.

“So what do we need to do now?” Silk asks. I go to answer before looking past us and seeing Zen running up with another dog. He looked just like Zen but with long hair and two brown eyes. He was wearing a pair of blue jeans and a grey t-shirt. I guess that is Nate.

“Hey guys! Sorry, I just made it back to my apartment and decided to grab my bro.” Zen says. I nod and walk up to the duo before looking at Nate.

“Hey there, you must be Nate. I’m Lex, nice to meet you.” I say offering, my hand. Nate seems to relax and shakes my hand.

“Alright, now that all of you are here, I can go over some things with each of you.” I say, taking a seat beneath the tree again, motioning the others to do so as well. The gathered creatures all sit around in a circle, eager to hear what I have to say.

“Alright, first things first, there is going to be a couple of tests each potential member must go through to join the guild. That includes each of you. But I have no doubt you seven will pass. The tests are designed to eliminate those who might harm the guild. The greedy, the selfish, the wrathful, those who only look out for themselves and not their guild mates. I could tell thanks to the interviews that each of you will look out for one another.” I say. The group look to one another and smile at each other.

“Next, when the guild is finished there is going to be a second level and a basement. The second floor is going to be off limits to those who have not reached a certain rank as that is where I am going to be posting the S class and above quests, which are some of the most difficult and dangerous quests. The only exception to this rule is going to be Silk Song and any other cleaners I may hire as they have to clean up there as well. The basement will be closed off to everyone but me as that is where we will be storing any dangerous artifacts we may find.” I say, the group nodding in understanding, Raine actually taking notes. I look to Silk.

“I am placing a lot of trust in you Silk. I don’t want to learn that you took an S class quest behind my back because you could get seriously hurt and even die if you aren’t careful.” I tell her. Silk shakes a little before taking a breath and nodding to me.

“I won’t let you down Lex.” She says resolutely. I nod back to her with a smile. I go through my bag and take out a stack of cards.

“Finally I wanted to give each of you these.” I say handing each of them two cards each. One had an image of me with two fingers against my head, the stance of using Telepathy magic, the other one having an image of the guild. Each creature look confused about these cards.

“The first card is a long range Telepathy card. My Telepathy can only reach so far on its own unless I have something to strengthen the connection. These cards can make it so I can talk to each of you with my telepathy, even if I am on the other side of the country. If you are ever in any trouble, just call and I will try to either get there as fast as I can or I will contact the others to get you help.” I explain. The group all look to the telepathy card with awe and a little excitement.

“The second card is just a card to let you know when the guild is going to be opened. The day before the guild is finished, I will activate it and you guys will know you can come to Ponyville and get adjusted.” I tell them and the group all smile, putting their cards into their respective pockets or purses.

I take out seven blank cards and focus my magic. The cards begin to glow brightly for a few seconds. Once they stop each card now has an image of each of the others. I smile and the others look a little confused.

“These are just my connection cards. Now I will know who is calling so I don’t end up messing up who is who.” I say with a grin. The others laugh a little at the thought. I check my watch and see I have maybe fifteen minutes before I have to meet with the post manager for Manehatten.

“Well, my friends and I have to head to the post office to set up the contract station. You guys are more than welcome to come with if you want. The guild probably won’t be done for another month or so, so you guys can go back to your regular lives.” I say, making sure I have everything with me. Our group separates, Zen, Nate, Silk, Spark and Swift all leaving to go back to their homes while Trace, Flora and Raine follow us to the post office, curious about how we will set up the stations.

I look to my cards in my hand and smile. Looks like things are almost ready.

So here are the employees for the guild.
Emerald Blizzard: Financial Director
Legacy Tracer: Finacial Assistant
Hot Spark: Cook (Herbivore)
Floral Talons: Cook (Omnivore and Carnivore)
Raine Jewel: Server
Swift Service: Server
Zen Quartz: Barkeep
Silk Song: Cleaning

“Ok, just a little to the left!” I call out to Twilight and Sonbā, the duo levitating the MPF to the training area. It was a couple weeks after I finished my business in Manehatten and Twilight is helping us get everything ready for the exams. One of them, after running it through with Spike and Twilight, was for the members to use the MPF to gauge their levels of magical strength, their results giving each of them their rank. I plan on using a different ranking style than just the letter ranking for the guild members.

“Here?!” Twilight asks. I look around the area where the MPF is levitating and nod to her. She and Sonbā carefully place the large machine down and release their magic around it. The duo sigh and wipe their brows, tired from the effort.

“Nice job you two.” Spike says, bringing some glasses of water from the fountain. I take the cups and focus my ice magic, making some ice cubes and placing them into the glasses for the two unicorns. They duo smile and thank us before drinking the cold water.

“So, do you think we’re ready?” Echo asks, flying around us. I go over a list I brought with me, seeing the parts that are checked off. There was only a few more things I had to finish before we were truly ready, things I would have to do on my own. I nod and put my list away.

“As ready as we can be together. There are still a few things I need to do, but I need to do them myself. If you guys are going to join the guild I can’t have you know how all the tests are going to work.” I say with a smirk, Twilight pouting and Spike just rolling his eyes.

I noticed since he and Twilight have been helping us get things set up, Spike seems to have gone through a bit of a growth spurt. Now he was almost five feet even, when I met him he was only four foot five. Maybe it was because of all the test ideas he powered through, but he also appears a little more muscular as well. He’s not ripped by any means, but he does have a little bit of muscle on his arms and his tail seems stronger.

“So the only things left are for you to do yourself?” Spike asks, his voice also having dropped a little bit. It was almost unnoticeable if you didn’t know Spike well.

“Pretty much. There are a few things I need to check on in the Everfree and then around the forest itself. Plus I want to put a spell seal around the castle as an added layer of protection and security.” I say.

The others nod and I check the sky, seeing it was about time for all of us to head back to town. As our group leaves the building, Echo flies around for a bit before finding something shiny by the edge of the gorge. Curious, she flew over and saw it was some kind of silver pocket watch with an odd symbol on it. She picked it up, looking it over, finding nothing really unique about it.

“Hey guys? I found something!” She calls, flying over to us. She shows us the watch and my jaw drops at it. The silver chain and watch itself was nothing special, but the symbol on the front was one I recognized immediately. It was the symbol of the state alchemists from Fullmetal Alchemist!

The others see my stunned face and Spike snaps his claws by my ear, making me flinch back and come back to reality.

“Echo, where did you find that?” I ask. She just points over by the gorge and hands me the watch. As soon as I wrap my hand around the silver watch I get a bit of a headache and hear something.

I am the one who constructs and deconstructs, the partner and protector of the moon, I aid the innocent and protect children. If you require aid, Call my name and I will come forth, The Crimson Sage.

I gasp and jump a little, the others jumping from my reaction. I look around past us, finding nothing nearby that could talk then to the watch itself.

“Lex? What is it?” Sonbā asks. I look to him for a second before taking a breath to calm my heart.

“Ok, considering you are asking that, I assume you guys didn’t hear someone talking just now?” I ask and the group look confused.

“Figures. Well, after I grabbed this thing I heard someone calling themselves the Crimson Sage talking about calling him for help.” I explain and the group looks even more confused.

“Can I see that for a second?” Twilight asks. I just shrug and pass her the pocket watch, seeing as she looks it over with a critical eye before lighting up her magic. Her eyes suddenly widen and she gasps and almost drops the watch.

“No way! This watch has a huge magical signature connected to it!” She says with equal parts shock and excitement. I get curious and activate my own magic, and my jaw drops. Twilight’s magic signature looks like an ant compared to the Colossal Titan with the size of the magic signature on the watch. I take the watch from the mare and the message I heard before doesn’t go off. I think for a moment before placing the watch into my purse.

“Twi, do you think you can check the libraries myth and legends section for anything relating to ‘The Crimson Sage?’” I ask and Twilight smile wide. I just chuckle at her eagerness. After that, the five of us head back to the library for dinner, Echo carrying Sonbā, Twilight teleporting herself and Spike and me using Direct Line, and I get ready to help Twi with her inevitable study binge.

After a dinner of some pasta salad for all and fish for me and Spike, I just lay on my bed, looking at the pocket watch with Echo napping at the foot of my bed.

‘Who does this belong to? And how am I supposed to ‘call them’?’

The Next Day...

I wake up before the others and go to the kitchen to make some omelettes for all of us. Veg omelettes for the ponies, ham and cheese for me, Echo and Spike and a large fruit salad for all of us to eat with it. I am really glad Twi got in contact with the princesses to send meat for me and Spike to eat, the drakes omnivorous tendencies having been acting up lately.

After I finish making breakfast for the others I hear as the washroom door opens and Spike walks out with just a towel around his waist as he does all the time. It doesn’t really bother anyone except Twilight. I see as he walks by that his scales almost look shinier than before and just tough looking compared to when I met him. I should really talk to Luna or Celestia if they know what is going on with this drake.

After he gets changed, the others all come out of their respective sleeping areas and sit at the table to eat. I levitate the meals for all of us and we begin to eat in relative silence.

“So, you said you were going around the forest to set things up for this tests right?” Spike asks, taking a sip of his morning coffee. I nod to him as I have my mouth full then look to the tired Twilight. She must have been up for a while last night researching as she looks set to pass back out any second. I push her cup of coffee closer to her and she numbly nods and take a big swig of it. Instantly she gets some more life in her eyes and after a yawn, sit up straight from her slouched position.

“I take it you didn’t have any luck with the research last night?” I question the mare, who sighs and nods.

“No matter what history, myth or legend book I checked, there was absolutely nothing relating to the ‘Crimson Sage’. Maybe whoever set that message to the watch just made the title up or something.” She says with another yawn and eats her fruit salad. I think for a minute before finishing my breakfast and getting ready.

“Alright, I’ll probably be out all day, so I’ll see you guys at dinner.” I say before grabbing my purse and heading out. I look around and don’t see anyone nearby so I do a couple stretches before using my magic.

“Direct Line!” The next thing I know I am at the training hall with some leaves in my hair. While Direct Line looks like teleportation, it is more like moving so fast you faze through most things that are solid, but things that are light like leaves can attach to you.

Looking at the building in front of me, I take out my list from earlier and a Light Pen I made before going around the edge of the gorge and beginning to write the spells into the area. These spells are to make the building look like the old ruins did before I started training to anyone who either isn’t past the seal or any who don’t have the Fairy Tail emblem. It took maybe an hour and a half before I completely finish the seal.

Once I finish the seal I get set to head out into the forest, before pausing and remembering that I brought the silver pocket watch with me. I take it out of my purse and look at it for a bit before walking into the training hall.

“Well, here goes nothing.” I clear my throat. “Um, Crimson Sage I summon thee?” I say rather awkwardly. Nothing happens for a bit before the lid to the watch pops open and the clock inside begins to spin rapidly. The next thing I know some kind of portal appears in front of me. I tense up, summoning my rapier to my side and get ready for a fight.

Only for some short guy in a red coat to fall out of the portal and onto his back followed by....a muffin and a cup of tea? Hilariously the cup lands right side up without spilling a drop of the liquid inside.

“Ow! Ok, note to self: find a way to make it so my Token doesn’t just pull me through without warning.” The guy mumbles in a familiar voice. Even with his hood up I can barely see some golden blond hair like my stripes and the symbol on the back of his coat.

“Um, hello?” I say, getting his attention. He quickly rights himself onto his feet. As he is getting up I could have sworn I heard a metallic against stone sound.

“Oh, hello. I guess you are the one who summoned me?” He says and lowers his hood. I freeze for a second as I see who this guy looks like. One of the most famous characters in anime period, Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist. He was actually close to my old height and seemed like a chill dude compared to the pipsqueak of the show. I blink a couple times and shake my head as his question registers in my mind.

“Um, I guess so? My friend found this pocket watch the other day and I heard your message that is attached to it.” I explain, showing him the watch. He nods and takes out his own version. He picks up his muffin and tea before looking around the building.

“Wow, nice gym. Looks kinda familiar some how.” He says, sitting on one of the benches.

“I’d expect it to. This used to be the Castle of the Two Sisters. I turned it into a training hall for when my guild is ready.” I explain, sitting across from him.

“Guild?” He asks. I nod and take off my jacket, showing my back where my mark is located.

“That’s right. I got permission from the princesses to open a branch of the Fairy Tail wizards guild in Ponyville. The guild itself is going to be opened in a couple weeks and I wanted everything to be ready before that.” I explain and Edward looks to me in surprise.

“You’re going to open a version of Fairy Tail?! Does that mean you have access to Fiore magic?” He asks. I nod and summon a screen with Archive. The man looks to the magical screen in awe and excitement.

“Well this answers a few questions about the multiverse I have been wondering about.” He says before taking out a small notebook and beginning to write in it. I laugh a little at his need to document before clearing my throat and getting his attention again.

“So...introductions?” I ask. He nods and puts his things away.

“Right, Sorry. I am Edward Elric, at least that is what I go by. I am a Displaced like you. I was dressed as Ed at a convention before I bought a Philosopher’s Stone pendant from some guy and ended up being sent to my version of Equestria. You had a similar experience didn’t you?” He says and I nod.

“Yeah. I was dressed as Levi from Fairy Tail and bought some Wind Reader glasses and a scroll before being sent here. Also my name is Alexandria Justine, but I prefer Lex.” Ed looks me over with a raised brow, likely because I don’t look too much like Levi anymore.

“I ended up getting these,” I point to my eye and stripes in my hair, “after I found a chest that was sealed by a magic spell. Apparently a version of Master Mavis found a way to enter the void and decided to send a chest that contained knowledge of almost every magic style from Fiore into the void to help whoever found it. Obviously she was worried about some evil tyrant finding it, so she placed a seal on it so it would only be accessed by one who passes a few requirement. I ended up making the cut.”

“Alright, well you and I aren’t the only ones this has happened to. There are tons of us and the watch you found was my token. Basically any Displaced can use something that represents them in a way and send it into the void to be found by other Displaced. They normally come with a creed or message of some kind that any can Displaced can hear.” He explains. I nod in understanding about all of this. If this is the case, then maybe Adam and Nat made their own tokens that I could find.

Ed gets up from his seat and stretches, a few cracks sounding out. I look at him and see as part of his arm becomes visible and shines in the light

“Your arm. It’s automail, isn’t it?” I ask and Ed nods, taking off his glove. I look at the metal limb in awe and curiosity.

“I always wondered what automail would look like in real life and up close.” I say, looking over his metallic limb. Ed puts his glove back on before looking around a bit more.

“Anyways, you said that you wanted to check a few things before the guild is open, right? Want some help?” He offers. I think for a second before shrugging and nodding. The two of us head out of the castle and across the bridge, Ed doing a double take at seeing the training hall return to the ruins in his eyes.

“So, what exactly are we doing?” He asks as we enter the forest.

“Well I have some tests that I am going to put the potential members through. One of them is to go through the Everfree in a type of scavenger hunt. Obviously I am not going to just let them go in without any help, so I am setting up some safe zones around the forest that the guild members can use to rest in during the night when the forest becomes much more dangerous.” I explain. Ed places his hand on his chin in thought and nods.

“Alright, sounds right to me. Do you have some places selected?” He asks and I nod before we arrive at the first location. It was actually the cave where I met Applebloom and Granny. I look into the cave before beginning to write the enchantment for the members protection. After I finish, I get ready to use my magic to make a table before Ed claps his hands and does it for me. I look to the round stone table then to Ed.

“How did you know I was going to make a table?” I question, getting into my Crystal Maker stance.

“I had a sneaking suspicion that this was also a location for the items the members will be looking for, so I figure they need something to sit on.” He says. I nod before focusing my magic, making ten little statues of the Fairy Tail symbol the size of soft balls out of crystals. After they are made, I use my Colours magic and turn each of them a different colour for the hell of it. Before we leave I use my Wood Maker magic and make a wooden symbol and place it on the top of the cave.

“Alright, one down, seven to go.” I say and begin to walk back through the forest, Ed right behind me.

“So you are setting up eight of these safe zones?” He asks.

“Yup. I doubt that there will be a need for that many zones, but I don’t know how many creatures will be trying to join up, so it is better to be safe than sorry.” I explain.

He nods and the two of us head into the forest again. It took maybe another two hours before we finished up at the fourth area, a hollowed out tree like the Golden Oaks Library I made when I was testing my Green magic. We would have finished sooner but we ran into a Manticore and a small pack of Timberwolves. They were easy to take down. After that, the two of us decide to take a break and I use Green Magic and make some blueberry bushes grow.

“Wow, you have some really good control over that.” Ed says, picking a handful of berries for himself.

“Yeah maybe, but there’s some magic I learned that I haven’t had a chance to practice with yet. Mostly ones of a dark natural like Shade magic or certain Dark magic spells like Genesis Zero or other ones that I would have to use against an individual like Dark Binds.” I say before munching on a couple berries. Ed seems to get an idea as he stands up.

“Hey, how about a trade?” He says and I raise a brow and motion for him to continue.

“I am going to be opening an automail shop back in my world, and I could use a hand getting all the raw materials I need for it. Ordinary I would ask Tia if she has any spare materials, but if you could teach me a magic style to fix that, I could teach you my Alchemagic in exchange.” He says. I look to him in surprise for his offer. I smile as leaning Alchemy would be very helpful for some of the other outposts. I nod and offer my hand, Ed shaking it with a smile.

“So you need a magic style that can let you get several raw materials.” I mutter to myself as I pace around the tree we are under. I think for a bit before an obvious magic comes to mind.

“Of course! I can just teach you Arc of Embodiment!” I say with a smile. Ed nods in agreement for this.

“So, how are you going to teach me? Are you going to use it then see if I can learn from example?” He asks. I shake my head before snapping my fingers and bringing up Archive again. I type in a few commands and before too much time passes an image of Ed’s head appears on the screen with the runes for ‘transfer?’ Above it. I smile and hit enter, a progress bar appearing above Ed’s head before filling up with a couple seconds. His eyes widen as the info is finished being sent into his mind.

“And there you go. Now you should have the info about Arc of Embodiment and how to use it. Now I guess it is my turn.” I say, sitting beneath the tree again. Ed nods and claps his hands, blue sparks flying off, before he places his hand against my temple.

Once he did, my vision went white and I felt like I did when I learned all my new magic, but the pain was like being pricked by a needle compared to by a red hot fire poker. After a bit my vision and senses come back and I find myself laying on the floor of the forest, still under the tree. I get up and rub my head.

“Damn. That was a thing.” I mumble to myself. I hear chuckling to my left and I turn to see Ed just chuckling to my reaction. I raise a brow to him at his reasoning for laughing.

“Sorry, it’s just this is a new record for someone waking up after I teach them something as complex as Alchemagic.” He says as I get back up to my feet. I look to my hands and I don’t feel any different, but I somehow know how to use Alchemagic.

“Well, how about we test these new abilities at the next outpost?” I offer. Ed nods and the two of us head back out. After walking for a bit we arrive at the location of the next outpost. An old abandoned shack I found that looks completely empty. I am not sure why this would be so far into the Everfree but hey, don’t look a gift horse in the mouth.

I write the enchantment around the shack before looking at it with a critical eye. The shack itself still had all the wood and everything from when it was built, they were just a little rotten. I smile as I get close before looking through all the new information I just gained. Once I finish going through everything, I clap my hands, blue sparks appearing, before placing them on the wall of the building. It took a little time and gave me a bit of a headache, but eventually the transmutation was finished and the building was brought back to how it looked years ago. I probably could have just used Arc of Time, but where is the fun in that.

I smile and look back to Ed, who looks impressed that I was able to do something this size on my first try. The two of us enter and I grab the wood that was once a table and transmute that back to the way it was before as well, before motioning Ed to try. He nods and begins to focus, a silver spell matrix and black mist appearing around him. After a second ten more statues appear on the table from Ed’s magic. I smile and make them all red and gold. I smile at him and we do a high five before continuing on.

After another hour we finished all but the last location. I smile at our job well done as the two of us head back to the castle.

“So the last safezone is cave where the Tree of Harmony is located?” Ed asks as we get within view of the training hall.

“Is that what is causing the Harmonic magic? Huh, haven’t seen it in person. But yeah, since the forest seems to give the Tree a large berth I won’t need to put up some runes to defend it, so I can just make the statues and we are good.” I say as we reach the gorge. I look down before getting into my stance.

“Ice Make Slide!” I slam my hands on the ground and make a slide out of ice. I smile and make a small sled with my Arc of Embodiment and slide down the ice made slide with a laugh. Right before I hit the ground I use my Green magic and make some densely packed cotton plants at the bottom. I land on the bushes fast, but it was a nice soft landing. I laugh as I stop moving. It has been a while since I had some childish fun like this.

“That looked fun.” I look to the side and see Ed just looking at me with a smile. I just laugh a little before digging myself out of the bushes and dismissing the slide of ice and picking all the cotton off my outfit. After that, the two of us head to the cave where I was sensing the Harmony magic was coming from. We walk in and I see a light a little ways into the tunnel. Walking to it, we round a corner and my eyes widen at what I see. A crystal like tree with several crystal vines and several symbols on it.

I look at the large crystal tree in awe before smiling and finding a good spot by the tree. I clap my hands and make a small table out of a nearby boulder then Ed makes the statues again. Before I can use my Colours magic though, the statues change colour on their own. I raise a brow before shrugging and heading back out with Ed.

The two of us climb the stairs and enter the training hall again. I summon some cups and fill them with water from the fountain. I make some ice cubes like yesterday and hand a cup to the alchemist. He thanks me and we relax a bit before he breaks the silence.

“You know, this was fun. I have to say this was a good first impression for me meeting other Displaced.” he says as he stretches.

“You said it. Who would have thought that there were so many of us.” I say before looking at Edward’s Token in my hand. I realize that the entire day I didn’t make mine. I think for a bit trying to think what my token could be, before I get an idea. Standing and focusing on my Crystal Maker magic, I focus on the item I have in mind. After about ten seconds a blue crystal with a darker blue Fairy Tail symbol in it connected to a crystal chain is in my hand. I smile and put my new token around my neck, seeing the necklace fits perfectly.

“Nice token.” Ed says as he sees me take my token off from around my neck. I pause and think for a moment, trying to think of a good creed and decide to use Ed’s as a base.

I am the Master of Magic, Leader of Fairies, and Fighter for the innocent. If you need the aid of magic, of the wizards, call on me and my guild and I will be there to protect you. I am the Fairy of Justice.

After I finish my message a black portal appears before me and I drop my necklace into it, the item returning not a second later. I hear an odd sound and turn to see a similar portal appearing next to Ed, who gets a copy of my token. He hears my creed and smirks. I just rub the back of my head with a bit of a blush.

“Alright, if that is everything, then take out my token and say I am finished and I can get home. Thanks again for the new magic.” He says. I nod and take out his pocket watch.

“Hey Ed?” He looks to me. “Can you do me another favor?” He looks to me with a raise brow. I dig into my purse and find the photo of me, Nat and Adam and show it to him.

“If you run into either of these two, can you tell them that I miss them. They are my little siblings after all.” I request. Ed takes the photo in hand and smiles as he hands it back to me.

“Sure thing Lex. If I run into either of them, I’ll let them know.” He says.

“Thanks Ed. And thanks for all the help today. We are finished here.” After I say that, a portal like the one he came in appeared in front of him and he walks in with a smile and wave. The portal closes a second later. I smile and look at my new token.

“Nat. Sora. Adam. I know I will see you three soon.” I say to myself. After that I leave the building and use my Wind magic to fly into the air and towards town. Looks like I have some info for Twilight about the Crimson Sage.

I slowly open my eyes with a yawn, my body a little stiff. Even though I was tired, I was excited because today, the guild will be unveiled. I got a letter from Celestia a couple days ago saying that the guild is ready and that me, the employees and Sonbā would be able to move in. I would still need at least two days to double check and finish thing for the guild members tests, but that could wait until tomorrow.

I manage to unwrap myself from the sheets after a second and stretch, my newly acquired muscles a little sore. The last couple days I have been working out not just my magic but also my body. I knew how strong I was magically, I was almost overpowered, but I was still relatively normal in terms of physical strength. Even though it is unlikely, I don’t want to get caught unprepared if someone manages to disable my magic. I get up from the bed and grab the suitcases Rarity lend me and began to pack my clothes and personal items.

After packing and adorning my original outfit, I walk out of the guest room with my suitcases in my aura and see Spike and Twilight in the kitchen making breakfast and Echo and Sonbā in the living room, making sure they grabbed everything.

“Morning everypony.” I say, placing my suitcases by the door.

“Morning Lex.” They say to me. I check the stuff Echo and Sonbā packed with them and then we go by the kitchen as Spike and Twilight finish making a bunch of waffles. We all sit around the table, but Spike flinches back with a hiss as he rests his back against the chair. We all look to him in worry.

“You ok Spike?” I ask, walking over to him.

“Y-yeah, I think so. My back has been feeling really tender lately so I have been having to sleep on my sides.” He says. I feel along his back and feel two small bumps near his shoulder blades and get an idea.

“Take off your shirt.” I tell him, Spike blushing at the order before nodding. He carefully takes off his black shirt and I carefully feel along his back, Spike flinching when I reach the little bumps. I look a little closer and see the skin beneath his scales is actually stretching a bit almost like he is...I go wide eyed when I see what is happening.

“Well, I have sorta good news. I think I might know what is going on.” I say, everyone turning to me. “My cousin used to have a pet snake, and a couple times when I went to visit I helped out in cleaning its cage after it shed its skin. I think your starting to molt and shed Spike. And if the locations of these bumps are any indication, I think you’re growing wings.”

The others look to Spike in shock at this while the drake looks to me in surprise.

“So I am growing wings? That is why my back is so sore?” I nod to him.

“Probably. You have been going though quite the growth spurt lately so this makes sense that you would end up molting like this. Now I don’t know about dragons, but I don’t think you should worry and you shouldn’t try to rush it. If a reptile was forced to or just tried to rush their molting, they run the risk of infection.” I tell the drake. He nods and puts his shirt back on before we all begin to eat.

“So do you think we have everything?” I ask Sonbāsutā and Echo after a bit of silence.

“I think so. I have all of mine and Echo’s clothes plus the stuff we bought and brought from the Empire.” Sonbā says, pointing to the suitcases by the door. Echo nods in agreement, her mouth full of waffles and blueberries.

“And you said we had to wait at the train station first right?” Twilight asks. I nod to her.

“Yeah, after I got the letter from the princess about the guild being finished I got in contact with the employees I hired from Manehatten and told them to come by today so all of us can be there for the unveiling.” I say, finishing the last waffle on my plate. I take mine and Echo’s empty plates to the sink to wash them. After a minute the others bring their own dishes for me to wash up as they do a final run through to make sure they have everything.

Once everything is said and done my group leaves the library and heads to the train station to wait for the employees of the guild to arrive. I have been in contact with Flora, Zen and Spark while I was going around to the major cities of Equestria and so far nothing has happened in Manehatten and they all have been just doing their own things for the most part. Though Flora did say Swift and Zen have been hanging out while they were waiting for the message about the guild being done.

“Oh hello darlings!” We all turn and see as Rarity and Emerald walking up, Emerald having his own suitcase with him.

“Hey Rarity, hey Emerald. So I guess you are all packed up and ready to move in too?” I ask the stallion.

“Indeed. I am very excited to see the guild as well as our new living quarters.” Emerald says, adjusting his jacket. I smile and take the lead, heading to the station.

“So, can somepony explain why we are heading to the train station instead of the guild hall?” We all turn and look up as Rainbow hovers over us.

“Yeah, we are going to welcome the employees and then all of us are going to the guild for the unveiling.” I answer the pegasus, not even affected by her random appearances anymore.

“Cool.” Not long after that we arrive at the train station and I take out the communication card for Trace and focus.

‘Hey Trace! How far are you guys?’ I question with Telepathy, Trace yelping slightly from the sudden question.

‘Oh hey Lex, we are not too far out. The train should stop in about ten minutes.’ He say and I smile.

‘Alright, tell the others that me and a couple of my friends are at the station waiting for you guys.’ I ask him.

‘Roger that!’ I put my card away and take out my phone, intent on listening to my music until the others arrive. Luckily the others were able to keep themselves distracted, mostly Spike asking Rainbow for flying lessons for when his wings sprout. I guess I zoned into my music more than I thought, cause the next thing I know I feel the platform rumbling as the train pulls in.

Taking off my headphones and putting them away, my group waited by the entrance to the station. Several ponies got off the car in a rush before the group from Manehatten arrived.

“Hey guys! Over here!” I call out, the group seeing me and my group.

“LEXXY!” I can’t react in time before Flora launches herself at me with a hug.

“Ack! G-good to see you too Flora. Now please let go.” I strain to say, Flora seeing me struggle and letting me go.

“Oops, sorry.” She says innocently. The others chuckle at they walk up to us. I turn to my group and see Rarity is looking at Zen, Nate and Raine with a raised brow while Rainbow is looking at Flora.

“Everyone meet Zen Quartz and his brother Nate, Floral Talons, Raine Jewel, Hot Spark, Swift Service, Silk Song and Legacy Tracer. They are the ones who made it through the application ‘exams’ I held in Manehatten a while ago.” I say.

“Wow, I am surprised you actually hired creatures other than ponies. Most in the big cities would think you were out of your mind to do that.” Rainbow says, hovering over the others, soon joined by Flora.

“Maybe, but Fairy Tail isn’t pony exlusive. The whole point is to help those in need for pay and not to just prove one species is better than the other. So having Diamond Dogs and Griffins in it shouldn’t be too much of a surprise.” I say, beginning to walk to the guild, the others soon catching up.

“So, any idea what the guild looks like?” Silk asks, adjusting her shoulder strap for her bag.

“I mean, I did make the plans for the princesses to go off of so it should look like the original guild hall from the Fairy Tail story.” I say, seeing some ponies looking at our large group.

“You know that has been bugging me. Why is the guild called Fairy Tail anyways?” Spark asks.

“Well, it isn’t known if fairies truly have tails or if they exists at all. But that makes it an eternal question, and thus an eternal adventure to learn the truth. Kinda poetic, don’t you think?” I say, the group all pondering the answer. We all walk to the rest of the way in a state of silence before we see the guild hall, covered by a tarp to hide its design. In the front of the guild we can see the rest of the girls and Celestia.

“Hey girls!” I call, getting the others attentions. I see as Fluttershy’s eyes widen and she quickly hides behind AppleJack, the farmer putting on a curious expression.

“Um Fluttershy? Why are you hiding?” I question with a raise brow, the pegasus shakily pointing to Flora, the griffin just hovering over us with a raised brow.

“Yeah, Fluttershy hasn’t had the best past with griffons.” Rainbow explains. Flora quickly lands and walks up to the hiding pegasus before digging into her backpack and taking out an odd orange flower. She carefully offered the plant to the hiding pegasus, Fluttershy slowly coming out from behind AJ and Flora putting the flower into her mane. I smile at the hens attempt at appearing gentle.

“I see you hired quite the colourful crew to work in the guild.” We all turn to Celestia as she says that and bow. She giggles at the response and we all stand back up.

“Yeah, well, it wasn’t as hard as I honestly expected. Quite a few ponies were still uncomfortable around predators so they were easy to discount since the guild will not only have pony members.” I say, Sonbā, Trace and Nate nodding in agreement.

“Well, then I suppose there is no point in delaying.” She says with a smile, covering the tarp with her magic. “Welcome all of you, to the newly finished Fairy Tail guild hall!” She snaps her fingers and the tarp disappears and I smile wide at what I am seeing.

I am amazed at the detail that Celestia had the workers put into this, they even got the colors of the banners up top right. I smile as I look over the guild hall, seeing everything is just like it was on the show in Earthland.

“T-this is...perfect! It looks exactly like the guild in Earthland!” I turn to the princess. “Thank you Celestia. This is all sorts of awesome!” I say with a wide smile. She smiles back at me and motions for the door.

“Well then, let’s not waste time, and see this insides as well.” I smile and head to the doors, the rest of the group just looking at the outside of the hall in awe. I grip the handles and slowly pull them open.

“SURPRISE!!!” And then I am sent onto my back as Cadence, Luna and Pinkie pop out in a tackle hug.

“Cadence! Luna! I was wondering where you two were and...wait Pinkie? Weren’t you behind me?” I say, all of us getting up. Pinkie just giggles and bounces back to the others and AJ walks up and places a hand on my shoulder.

“Don’t think to hard about it partner, its just Pinkie being Pinkie.” She explains.

“Um, what?” Nate says, talking for the first time since I met him. He actually sounds like that weird voice range between a tomboy girl and a feminine guy.

“Basically, just don’t question the mare.” I say to him before looking around the inside of the guild. The inside looks just like the original guild as well, the pillars in the same spots, the bar and kitchen near the back and the tables throughout the hall. I can see the request board on the side of the guild by the bar as well and even the stairs by the board. All in all, a near perfect replica. I also see a bunch of doors near the hall that I didn’t see in the show or the mangas, but I guess Celestia had a couple more rooms added.

As I am looking over the inside, the others are all looking around in awe, seeing the incredible looking hall. The flyers go up by the high roof to look from above, seeing the amount of tables, benches, and the doors of the second floor. Looks like I am going to have to put some anti-air enchantments around the second floor railing to stop pegasi and griffins from taking some S class quests behind my back.

“Wowee! This place looks amazing!” Pinkie says, bouncing around the main room. We all laugh a little at her antics.

“You said it Pinkie. This place looks nearly identical to the original hall. I really like the banners you guys had put up too.” I say, looking around and seeing not only Fairy Tail banners, but also banners for both princesses and the Equestrian flags.

“Oh my! This is giving me so many ideas!” Rarity’s says, taking out a sketch book and pencil. We chuckle a little at her need to follow her muse.

“Well, mayhaps we shall begin our tour.” Luna says, standing next to her sister.

“Sure thing, but just so you guys know, the second floor and basement are going to be off limits when the guild is opened.” I tell them, earning some raised brows.

“May I ask why that is?” Cadence asks. I just smile and turn to the employees.

“Raine? Care to explain.” I ask with a smile, the canine smiling back and taking out the notebook she had in Manehatten. She goes through her book for a second before nodding.

“Well, Lex says that the second floor of the guild will be off limits to all but those who are a high enough rank to take on S class quests as they are the hardest and most dangerous quests we can get. The basement is off limits to all as that is where Lex intends to keep any dangerous artifacts we find during our jobs until such time as we can make the relic safe, at which point we will be donating them to museums and the like.”

I smile and nod as she got all that right. While she is just going to be a server, I felt as though she would work well as the one who knows all the rules of the guild first since she was actually a pretty attentive person to talk to when I was checking on them. The others all nod after Raine explains the reasoning.

After that, the princesses show us around the guild proper, showing Flora and Spark around the kitchen, showing Zen the bar, showing us the store rooms around the hall and the staff break room. After that we went upstairs where I saw the S class quest board just past the stairs themselves. After that I was show where my office would be, the room being the same color as my hair and having an oak desk with a large swivel chair behind it, several filing cabinets and a little perch area in case I want to relax.

After that was the master bedroom for me which made my old apartment look like a dump in comparison. There was a queen sized bed near the back wall that could hold four people, a large walk in closet, a large washroom and a couple of dressers. All in all, a great place to live in.

There were a few more rooms on the floor which looked nearly as good as my room that would be used by any other wizards that reach the high enough rank. After that we checked the second lower level where the cold storage and alcohol storage before taking the stairs lower, about two or three stories lower, and arrive in an area with two large stone doors.

Celestia goes to the first door, the one on the left, opening it up to show a large, empty room that looked like it could hold the entire population of Ponyville and then some. This actually reminded me of an old Cold War bunker I visited once during a high school field trip a few years back. That thought actually gave me an idea.

We checked the other room, seeing it is the same size as the other, but I could tell the key locks on both doors are different from each other.

“Well? What do you think of these rooms? They would work well as artifact storage I think.” Celestia says, our group walking back up the stairs to the main room.

“Yeah, but I actually got a new idea about one of the rooms.” I say, the others looking to me with raised brows as I turn to the princesses.

“As princesses of kingdoms, you three would understand the need of being better safe than sorry.” I see that some of the group look a little guilty at that, the story of the Canterlot Wedding and Invasion Twilight told me about coming to my mind. “So, I believe turning one of those rooms into a panic bunker would be better than just using both for artifacts.”

“A panic bunker?” Trace asks.

“Basically someplace the town could go for safety if, say, there was an invasion from a hostile force or if some kind of unexpected disaster were to happen. The bunker would be constantly stocked with none perishable foods and drinks that would last the town a while until the event were to blow over.” The others look to one another in considerations.

“Don’t ya think that might be a little extreme?” AppleJack asks, to which I shrug.

“Maybe, but like I said, it is better to be safe than sorry. One of the duties of a guild is to protect the town their based in, so it is the duty of every Fairy Tail wizard to protect Ponyville. If that means providing shelter and food, then we will do it.” The princesses actually smile at this little declaration.

After we finish in the hall itself, we move around back where there was another couple of buildings that Celestia said would be the wizards dorms. They actually looked like those drive in motels with two floors with 50 rooms each, and I can sense the doors are enchanted by the princesses to have a ponies cutie mark appear when they choose a room. I smile and nod to the others, the employees and Sonbā going to the dorms and taking a room each. I check the room Flora is taking and see it actually looks like a pretty nice apartment. A two person bed, empty bookshelf, dresser and closet and a relatively normal sized bathroom.

It took about twenty minutes, but eventually all of us are in the guild hall again, the employees having put their things away into their respective rooms.

“Well this place rocks. I could definitely get used to living in the dorms.” Zen says, leaning back on the table a bit.

“You said it Zen, I can’t believe how good this place looks. Though I am going to have to add a couple enchantment around the guild.” I say, making mental notes of which and where to place the enchantments. I look at my watch and see it was a little past noon so I turn to Flora and Spark.

“Well, how about you two show us what you can make?” I say. The duo nod to one another and head to the kitchen and before long we smell some different food cooking. I get rather excited because I could smell some meat cooking, though I do see some of the ponies looking a little ill from the smell. As Flora and Spark are cooking I am going though my Archive, making sure my connections to the Telepathy cards I gave the post offices are still good so I can contact them later.

After making sure all of them are still connected I hear as Spark and Flora bring out several plates with quite a variety of food, salads, some stir fried fish with noodles and vegetables and some hay and ham burgers.

“Wow! This is quite the spread you guys.” I say, levitating some plates for the others from behind the counter. The other all nod and begin to pick out what they want. The employees were surprised when I took a little of everything, not knowing I’m an omnivore. We all begin to eat and I am amazed at their cooking. Flora prepared the meat to near perfection and the fish is fried just right to go with the veg. The salad Spark made was also really good, and I didn’t eat salads a lot back on earth.

I hear as the others all make sounds of joy as they eat their food as well, Flora and Spark smiling with pride as even the princesses are eating with smiles. I think I even saw Rainbow eating some of the fish stir fry, much to the other girls surprise and slight disgust. We all just eat and converse with one another for about an hour before all the food is eaten, everyone having eaten their fill and me and Raine taking the dishes back to the kitchen for cleaning.

“Well I have to get going, see you all later!” Pinkie says before bouncing out the door. She is probably going to get the employees ‘Welcome to Ponyville’ party ready. The princesses all stand and turn to us.

“Well, I believe you all can handle things from here. I will be sure to inform Canterlot of the guilds opening for business in a couple days.” Celestia says, adjusting her dress. I smile and nod to her.

“Thanks princess. I’ll be contacting the post offices to tell them that now they can unveil the quest stations. I’ll also have to put up a couple enchantments around the guild and the surrounding area, so we probably won’t be accepting members for another two days max.” I say, checking my Archive. She nods and lights up her horn, disappearing with her sister. Cadence walks up and quickly hugs Twilight and Spike before teleporting as well.

“Well, I gotta get back to the farm. I’ll see ya’ll later.” AJ says, and one by one the Elements head out to do their own thing, leaving me with the new employees, Sonbāsutā and Echo.

“Well, now that we are the only ones here, we can go over your duties for the guild.” I say, taking a seat at the bar, the others sitting at a table behind me. I took out a list and began to go over the others duties here in the guild, Silk cleaning everywhere but the basement, Flora, Zen and Spark working together to keep the kitchen and bar clean and working, Swift and Raine working together to make sure there are not problems with any of the guild members, and Emerald and Trace working for finances when we get the quests.

“Hey, not to sound out of line or anything, but how are we going to be paying for the guilds supplies when we have no determined source of income?” Trace asks, looking up from his notepad. Emerald looks to me with a curious gaze as well.

“Good question Trace. Well, I had a couple months to think about that. The plan right now if for 5% of the rewards of any E to C class contracts to be added to the guild funds, while B and A class have 10% and any S class and above have 35%. Any jobs I do myself however, will have half taken for the guild funds.” The others look to me in shock.

“Why half and why only yours? I mean, I assume you will be doing mostly S class quests until you get some members that reach that level.” Zen asks.

“Well as the leader of Fairy Tail, the Faekage as I am calling it, it is my job to make sure that every member and the guild itself is taken care of. The third master of Fairy Tail, Master Makarov, saw each of the members as his children, even if they were adults for example. I don’t really mind giving half my reward money for the guilds finances and if needed I can always give my personal reward money to help with the guild if we start to run a little low. I am not great with math, but I know how to plan ahead and adapt if needed.”

The others all nod after a second of consideration. I open Archive and go over the schematics for the guild, highlighting a couple of the empty rooms we can use, one of the larger ones I plan on using as a medical area. Now if only I had as much medical knowledge as Natali. Seriously, that girl could probably get her PHD before she even entered a college.

“But, what will all this money be used for?” Nate asks.

“Well, as crazy as it’ll sound, I plan for the food and drinks here to be free for any members or those who are in need of a place to stay.” The others all look to me like I grew a second head but I raise my hand and stop them from asking before they can even start.

“Again, I know it sounds crazy, but after going around Equestria to set up the contract stations I have seen how many problems we could be hired for. Part time work at a restaurant, security for a new museum, aiding construction of a new building, looking for bandits, security for an expedition, maybe genuine bounty hunting. The fact is, with the variety of the jobs I have see we might do, the variety of pay is equally as unpredictable. Plus all contracts will be going through me first, so I will be the one haggling the level and pay for the jobs.”

“Obviously, those who are not part of the guild who are looking for a bite will be paying like a restaurant or a bar, but those who clearly need a place to stay and eat will be allowed to do so until we can help get them back on their hooves.” The group all nod at this before Zen and Swift raise their hands. I nod to Zen.

“Lex, even though I think this would be a great idea, I think it would be best for us to be able to cut someone off if they are abusing this condition.” Zen says.

“I agree. Since Zen is the barkeep he can keep an eye on those who may be misusing your generosity to get an alcohol fix. I can also keep my ears open as a server for any who may be using it just because they can.” Swift says. I close my eyes and nod to them. The duo smile and high five.

I smile and look at a list I made earlier for medical supplies I need to buy once we can afford to. I could very well just use Arc of Embodiment, but considering how complex some of the medicine I’d need to make is, it is just easier and safer in general if I buy them. After that I show Emerald and Trace to one of the empty rooms near the staff room.

“You two can use this room as an office space for the guilds finances if you want. I know it isn’t much, but at least this way you two aren’t going over our expenses in the main room.” I say, the duo looking around. The room itself was a little bigger than the living room in my old apartment with nothing in it at the moment. I could easily see where a couple of work desks, filling cabinets and other office necessities would go. In fact....

I ask the duo to stand behind me as I get into one of my magic stances. “Wood Make Oak Desks!” I use my Maker Magic and make two oak desks and place them beside one another near the center of the room for the stallions before going over to the side and getting into a slightly different stance.

“Iron Make Cabinets!” I cast and carefully make three different, three drawer filling cabinets like the ones I have in my office and place them on the side of the room before focusing on my Arc of Embodiment and making some chairs of the guys. Once done I look to the duo and see Trace looking through the newly made filling cabinet and Emerald sitting at one of the desks.

“Now I think it would be best for you two to go shopping for the supplies you guys will need tomorrow while I am placing the enchantments around the guild, that way we all can finish up before the potential members and contractor arrive.” They nod and the three of us head back out to the main room where the others are just hanging out.

“Well, we have some time to kill, so how about you all get situated in your new rooms before we show you newcomers around the town?” I say, motioning to the door. The others all nod and head to their dorms as I head up to my new room and begin to unpack my own items. I was really happy that the closet was so big because Rarity made me a ton of dresses and outfits so I needed the room. Most of the outfits are actually from different shows and mangas I have seen, so this would probably be a cosplayers dream come true. After I make sure everything is unpacked I head back to the main hall and jump over the railing to the first floor before heading to wait for the others out front.

‘Including me, the guild now has ten members. I wonder though, how many will we be gaining in the coming days.’

I release a large yawn as I awaken from my slumber. Two nights in the guild and I am already getting used to it. Guess that is what happens when you have a bed this comfy. After we showed the employees around the town, introducing them to the populace as we went, we ended up at Sugar Cube Corner just in time for Pinkie’s party. The town really warmed up to the newcomers after that, especially Zen with his rather charismatic attitude. After the party, which lasted into the very early morning, we all headed back to the guild and dorms, the others having to remember that they have places to sleep already.

The next day I spent my time going around the guild itself, setting up enchantments, like one on the railing to the second floor to stop people from flying up there without permission and another in front of the entry way to the stairs to the basement to stop anyone from going down there and taking any potentially dangerous artifacts and a teleportation circle near the back of the guild that will lead to both the training hall and the area I intend for the tests to begin.

Once I did all that, I was able to contact all the post offices I have visited the past couple months and told them that the guild is now open and they all are going to open the contract stations tomorrow morning, around the same time I am going to open the guild for members and contractors. I also posted a note on the door to the guild saying that the tests for joining would likely take all day so those with plans would need to either cancel their plans or try to join later.

Lastly I went back to the library and grabbed the contract sheets, member information sheets and personality test sheets for the guild and brought them back before duplicating them a few times so I was sure we would have enough.

While I was doing all that the employees were doing their own thing, like Silk and Raine heading to Carousel Boutique to get some new clothes, Trace and Emerald going out to buy their office supplies, and Flora and Spark double checking their stock of food and drinks. Sonbā and Echo were mostly helping me out when they could, like testing the enchantments and the teleporter and they both filled out their own info sheets and personality sheets.

Even though everyone here were basically members already, they still would go through the examination like all the rest. I was a little worried that it might be too hard, but I had to remind myself while it will be dangerous, they will be safe. I shake my head dry as I exit the washroom and head to my closet, looking through to find which outfit would work best today. After searching for a bit, I decided to grab one I just liked a lot.

It was a female version of Rin Okumura’s outfit. A white dress shirt which showed some of my midriff and a red, white and black striped tie for professionalisms, beneath a black jacket with white highlights. Unlike Rin, who had a pair of black jeans, mine has a black skirt reaching to my knees and a pale grey belt. I also had a pair of black dress shoes that work really well with them.

Once I finished getting dressed I headed into the main room where I can see some of the others just entering the hall before me and I could smell some batter cooking so I guess Flora or Spark are making breakfast. I walk down the stairs and see the others finding some places to sit.

“Morning guys.” I say, getting the others attentions. They all look to me and I see the boys eyes widening a bit. Zen releases a whistle as he looks me over.

“Looking good Lex. What’s the occasion?” He asks with a smirk from behind the bar. Nate barely holds himself back from facepawing at his brothers attitude.

“Well the guild is going to officially opened today, both for members and contractors, so I need to look my best as the leader of the guild.” I say, sitting at the bar. I turn and see as Spark is coming out with a large stack of pancakes and several plates in his aura. He quickly separates the tower into even portions and hands them out to everyone. Flora comes out not a minute later with some fruit and Zen looks into the mini fridge behind the bar and begins to make some drinks for us all.

We all begin to eat in relative silence for a couple minutes before I break it. “So, do you guys think your ready for the test?”

Echo shrugs. “Well, me and Sonbā are at the very least. Even if we don’t know the specifics, you did tell us what the test was for so we know what we have to do.”

“And besides, I have to pass if I wanna stay with my bro, so I will make it through, no matter what.” Nate says, taking another bite of an apple. I smile at him.

“Be sure to keep that attitude Nate. You’re going to need all the confidence you can get for the tests I have in mind.” After I say that I finish up my food and bring it to the sink by the kitchen to wash. The others bring their own dishes before long and I wash the dishes so Flora can relax. Once I finish cleaning the dishes I head back to the main room and hear quite a bit of noise coming from outside. I smile and teleport to the second floor, resting against the railing. I look to the others and nod, everyone getting in position. Zen stands behind the bar with Swift and Raine on either side, Flora and Spark by the entrance to the kitchen, Silk, Trace and Emerald by the hall heading to the staff room. Sonbā and Nate just sit at the bar as Echo goes to the door. She looks back at me and I nod for her to open the door.

Once she opens the door the large crowd begins to filter in. I see that many of the ponies are looking around the guild hall in awe. I see quite a few ponies I have never seen before, as well as a couple creatures other than ponies, like another griffin hen and a couple Diamond Dogs, these ones looking more savage that Raine, Zen and Nate. I think I even saw Zecora in there. Once the crowd manages to get into the hall I stand tall and clap my hands, getting everyone’s attentions.

“Hello Everyone, and Welcome to Fairy Tail!” I say, my employees welcoming them as well. “Well, I will not beat around the bush here, who is here to fill out quest contracts?” I see as a majority of the crowd raise their hands. I nod and look down to Raine, the canine holding the quest sheets.

“Very well, those of you here to fill out a contract, please turn your attention to our resident female canine Raine Jewel,” I point to her, Raine waving a bit, “She has the quest contract sheets you are to fill out. There are a few rules on the sheets that are a little obvious, but I felt I needed to add as a precaution. If you would please take one sheet from Raine, you all may use the tables near the bar. The quests are ranked from E being the easiest, to A being some of the hardest. If you have a quest that you believe is above A class, an S class quest, please wait by Swift Service for me to go over the quest with you. For those of you here to try to become members, please wait for a moment and we will begin the examination.”

Once I finish the large crowd splits, a majority making a line in front of Raine, the canine handing out the sheets and pencils I got. I look back to the now decreased crowd and see the elements, the CMC and a few other ponies and the griffin who I didn’t know. I smile and head back down to the main floor and see that there is actually someone waiting by Swift.

She was a unicorn mare with a model body, a pale pink mane and white fur. She was wearing a very expensive looking dress and jewelry. It took a second, but I actually recognized her. That was Fleur De Lis, a model and very respected noble from Canterlot. I hadn’t had the chance to meet her myself, but I hear that she and her husband are well respected by both other nobles and commoners alike.

As i walk up to her I see that her eyes are a little red, like she is recovering from crying for a while, a book firmly grasped in her hands. I wonder what this is about.

“Hello Lady Fleur De Lis, a pleasure to meet you in person.” I say, holding out my hand. Fleur smiles and shakes my hand.

“Pleasures all mine. And please call me Fleur.” I nod to a smile and motion for her to take a seat, myself sitting next to her.

“So, considering you are over here I assume you have what you believe is an S class quest?” I say. Fleur nods and open the book she has with her and begins to flip through it.

“Yes, you see my husband and I are trying to have a child. Unfortunately I learned that I was barren recently and I may have gone a little bit into madness. My husband has been talking to practically every medical professional we know to see if there is a way to help, when a friend of mine gave me this book. She said that there was a plant in this book that may be able to help me.” She finishes as she flips to a page and shows me. What I see is a drawing of a rainbow coloured rose, kinda like the rainbow cherry blossoms from Fairy Tail. I look over the page and see the info bit.

A Harmony Rose, an extremely rare and thought to be mythical plant. This plant is said to bring about harmony and understanding through its scent alone, drawing kinship even between sworn enemies. It is also said to be able to increase the potency of a ponies natural functions like magic production, control of the weather, connection to the earth and even increasing fertility for mares and potency for stallions.

‘Hmm, a Harmony Rose huh? All this sounds almost too good to be true, yet they said the same thing about the herbs that increases a wizards magic power in Fiore and look what happened there. Considering how rare the plant is said to be, I see why Fleur thinks this would be an S class quest.’ I look up from the book and to the mare before snapping my fingers and summoning a card and giving it to her.

“What’s this?” She asks, taking the card.

“It’s an alert card. I can use it to tell you when the quest is finished so you and your husband can come down.” I explain. Fleur looks to me with wide eyes as I smile at her and take the contract. “Lady Fleur De Lis, yours will be the first S Class quest the guild will be taking on. Obviously, considering how rare this flower is there is no definite time frame of when we will find it, but we will find it.” Fleur smiles wide and gives me a hug, one I return after a second.

“Thank you, thank you! I look forward to when you find the rose.” She smiles and grabs her purse and head out the door. I smile and look over the crowd of contractors, seeing that half have finished and Echo is going around grabbing the sheets and putting them on the bar for me. I nod to her in thanks and head over to the other group of creatures that want to join as members.

“Alright listen up!” I yell, getting everyone’s attentions. “Those of you who want to join the guild, the first examination you must realize a few things before we start. Number one: this test will take a few hours, so any of you who have plans for the day, make sure you can reschedule. Number 2: this test will be rather dangerous as it is to test your bravery, your survivablilty, and you teamwork. Lastly, you must be yourself in this test, and not hiding behind some illusions.” I say the last part looking to a duo of mares and a stallion. The trio begin to sweat under my gaze as everyone else follows it. They then sigh and begin to glow as their forms change to that of Luna, Cadence and Shining Armor. The results were immediate, everyone going to bow before I held up my hand.

“If these three want to join the guild then they will have to go through the examination and will be treated as anyone else.” After I say this the trio smile a bit. Guess they want to be seen as normal. Twilight walks up and hugs her brother and sister-in-law with Spike, the duo looking at the grown drake in surprise. I see as a couple of ponies actually leave, probably not wanting to get hurt, until there is about three dozen left. I look over to the contractors and see that all of them are done, the stack of papers being left on the counter. I smile and grab the stack before teleporting them to my office.

“Alright, if you all would follow me, we can get started.” I make my way to the door, the others all following behind. Once they all leave I lock the door to the guild and walk around back, stopping before the teleportation circle. I turn and see everyone looking at the circle with curiosity, Twilight looking with sparkles of intrigue in her eyes.

“For the first exam, we will be teleporting to the place where it will take place. This teleportation circle will be able to teleport five creatures at a time, so no rushing. Merely step in the circle and after a ten seconds you will be teleported to the location. Any questions?” I see a few hands go up and point to AJ.

“Uh, where are we bein teleported to?” I smile walk into the circle which begins to glow.

“You’ll see.” After I say that the spell activates and I teleport to the other spot, a hill just on the southern outskirts of the Everfree. I step of the platform I made and wait. Before long the spell activates agains, dropping of Raine, Zen, Silk, Flora and Trace. They all look around before seeing me and coming over to my side. After a couple minutes everyone makes it through, the gathered creatures looking around curiously.

“Welcome everyone to the starting point of the first test. Now, like I said in the guild, this test will test your bravery, survivability and teamwork.” I turn so that I am half looking at the group, half looking at the Everfree.

“The Everfree forest, a dangerous and mysterious place. As you all know it is home to many odd creatures and plants. This is the location of the first test.” I see as many ponies look like I was nuts.

“Inside the forest, I have set up eight outposts. Your objectives are to find one and take one of the relics within.” I pull out the little statue. “After that, you must make your way to the castle of the two sisters where I will be waiting. Any questions?” Several hands go up and I point to Rairty.

“Excuse me darling, but are you insane? You can’t really expect us to go through the Everfree on our own.” She says, many nodding.

“You aren’t alone.” Many look confused. “Look around you. Each of you have come here to become a member of the guild. The point of a guild is to find work, to make those who have no kin feel like they have a family and to aid our world. There are many situations that will be dangers, or even life threatening. The point is to be able to overcome this sense of danger and to push forward. As I said in the guild, this is also about teamwork. You could go through the forest alone, but you have people around you who can help.” The gathered group all look to one another, a few still looking unsure.

“I know it seems nuts and a little harsh, but the fact is the guild may be hired to do some less than safe work. If you don’t think you can do it or you change your mind, just step back on the teleporter and it will take you back to the guild hall.” After I say that, a bunch of the ponies and a couple of the Diamond Dogs walk back to the teleporter, leaving the employees, the Elements, the CMC, the royals and a few others. I nod and walk a couple steps away.

“Alright, like I said, there are a total of eight outposts in the forest, each with ten relics. Some of the locations are actually places some of you have been before, so try to keep that in mind. You have six hours. Any more questions?” No raised hands. I smile and look back to them.

“Well then, good luck!” After I say that I teleport away. The gathered creatures all begin to head into the forest, some in groups, some alone. I smile as I exit my teleportation, appearing in the guild hall. I unlock the doors again and sit on the bar before opening my Archive. What most don’t know is that I places several surveillance lacrimas around the forest so I can keep an eye on anypony. If someone gets into a legitimately life threatening situation with no help or hope of survival, I intend to teleport in to at least nullify the threat.

I open several screens with Archive, keeping an eye one several of the potential members, seeing many of them have formed into groups.

“Now then. Let’s see who can make it through.”

I had been walking around the forest for about twenty minutes alone, and so far nothing serious has happened. I am still surprised that Twilight agreed for this to be the first test. Though, I guess it would weed out those who were too weak or just wanted to join for selfish gain. I still remember some of the Dark Guilds Lex told us about while we were helping her out, and about all the crimes they would commit. I mean seriously, the Oración Seis tried to take control of something that can completely flip light and dark?! How nuts do you have to be to want that?

I release a quiet sigh as I continue my trek through the forest. At one point this place would have made me shiver in my scales, but now, it almost seems normal. I guess that comes from all the explanation of ‘true nature’ that Lex went over with us. Now I can really see what she means in that the chaotic nature is actually kinda beautiful. Now I know why Zecora lives here.

I stop in my tracks as I hear a bush rustling behind me. A good thing to come from all the test ideas I went through is I learned how to become aware of my surroundings and how to defend myself for the most part. I crouch slightly, keeping my breathing slow and seeming relaxed. After a second I turn and release a torrent of my fire at the bush, resulting in some...screams?

“Why Spike-Whikey!?” I go wide-eyed and rush to the bush, finding Rarity and Fluttershy with their backs against some trees, barely having avoided my fire.

“Whoops! Sorry!” I say with slight embarrassment, stomping out the fire. The duo catch their breath and look to me.

“Honestly Spike, when did you learn to attack first, ask questions later?” Rairty asks with a pout. I just look to her with a deadpan expression.

“Rarity, we’re in the Everfree. For all I knew that could have been a couple of Timberwolves.” I say, before turning and beginning to walk again, the duo close behind. I look back at them and see Rarity and Fluttershy shaking like leaves, the pegasus more so than the Unicorn. Honestly, I don’t blame them for being so scared, especially with our track record with this forest.

“S-so, Spike? D-do y-you know w-where Lex put these o-outposts?” Fluttershy stuttered.

“None whatsoever. Me and Twilight only helped in getting some of the stuff for the training hall ready. Lex made the outposts with the help of some other guy named Edward. We told you girls about the Displaced right?” I ask, the duo nodding after a second.

“Wait, Training hall?” I faceclaw as I realize I spoiled the surprise.

“Damnit.” I say under my breath before turning to the duo. “You see, the reason Lex wants us to go to the castle of the two sisters after this is because we have repaired the ruins and turned it into a type of training hall for the members to practice their magic or just to work out. It took quite a bit of time, but Twilight, Lex, Sonbā, Echo and I managed to make it into a legitimatly nice looking gym.” I explain.

The duo go to talk before I stop. I feel a odd sensation, like something is watching me. I crouch slightly again, focusing on the surrounding area. The two ponies with me begin to look around frantically as they see me tensed. I look around the bushes before seeing a pair of glowing orange eyes. It took a second, but I actually recognized them.

“Manny?” The duo look to me before an adolescent Manticore walks out. It look around before spotting me and smiling and grabbing me. The girls shout in alarm before going quiet as Manny is licking my head and purring.

“Ack, Manny stop! Down boy!” I laugh at the licking. After a second he complies and puts me down. Though now I am covered in Manticore drool. Rarity just looks to me with a dropped jaw as Fluttershy just looks surprised.

“I..I don’t....what?’ Rarity mumbles, earning a chuckle from me.

“Girls, meet Manny. Me and Lex met him a couple weeks ago after a tree fell on his wing. We got him out.” I smile and pat his head, the large feline nuzzling up to me. Fluttershy flies up and sees the recovered wing, the webbing still having scars from where the tree braches tore through.

“Oh dear, you poor little thing.” She says, scratching him behind the ear.

“Yeah, big guy was in a lot of pain before we showed up. I managed to get the tree off him and Lex healed him best she could. He should be able to fly a bit now.” I say, rubbing his mane. Rarity looks on before walking up and gently petting his head.

“Oh my. He is so well behaved for a Manticore.” I frown as she says that, Manny looking to the side as well. The two ponies look to us in confusion.

“There’s a reason for that.” I climb up his back a bit before shifting some of his fur, revealing several scars hidden below the surface fur. The duo gasp as they see his injuries, Fluttershy beginning to cry a bit.

“W-what happened?” She asks quietly.

“From what Lex said, Manny here was caught by some poachers when he was a cub and sold around the black market. He was forced to behave in more ways than one.” The girls look disgusted and shocked. “He only escaped from his captivity a couple months ago, and even then, he still isn’t used to living in the wild of the Everfree on his own. Since he is as old as he is, Manticores normally act alone at this age, so he really has had no one to turn to.”

I pat his head and slide down off him. At this point Fluttershy and Rarity both look like they either want to wring someone neck or cry a waterfall. I sigh and pat him again.

“So Manny, what’s up?” I ask, trying to break the negative atmosphere. He begins to growl a bit before I turn to Fluttershy for translation.

“He’s asking why there are so many ponies and other creatures in the forest.” She translates. I then explain what the test is about, the Manticore listening intently. He nods after a second and lowers himself, and looks to the ponies. Fluttershy nods and flutters up to his back, Rarity following suit after an uncertain second.

“He said that he can take us to where he thinks an outpost is.” Fluttershy says with a smile. I nod and motion to the Manticore to go ahead.

The four of us begin to trek through the forest together, the girls riding atop of Manny’s back and I just walking alongside him. My guess is any who saw us would probably be thinking they were hallucinating from the absurdity. After walking in relative silence for a couple minutes, we came across what we guess is one of the outposts. It was a hollowed out tree that was somehow still alive like the library with blueberry bushes on the sides of it and the Fairy Tail emblem above the entrance. I smile and walk into the tree, finding a table with ten of those statues Lex showed us from before. I grab one for myself and two more for the girls.

“Thanks for the help Manny! I was honestly wondering when we would be able to find one of the outposts.” I say, handing one of the statues to Fluttershy and Rarity. The Manticore nods before looking around with his ears up. I raise a brow before focusing on my own hearing. After a second I hear some leaves being crushed by hooves. I look to Manny who sniffs the air then looks...scared? I have a bad feeling about this.

We don’t need to wait long before a duo of ponies make their way into view. One was a unicorn stallion with an auburn coat and red mane, wearing what looks like a regular safari outfit. Next to him was another stallion, a pegasus that was a little bigger with a blue coat and sea green mane. He was wearing some padding beneath his outfit and I could hear metal against metal so I guess he is wearing some chainmail. They see the four of us and smile.

“Well, it seems fortune has befallen us. I was wondering when we would be able to find one of these ‘outposts’ miss Justine mentioned.” The unicorn says. The pegasus however was just starring at the girl with a blank expression. I frown a little and step in front of them, the pegasus seeming to just ignore me. The duo then see the Manticore behind us and frown.

“Oh dear, another wild beast. Honestly, I was hoping to be able to take some time off.” He says. I raise a brow and look back to Manny who is shaking like a kitten that had an air horn blasted at him. But then something seemed to click in my head. The guy is cocky, doesn’t seem to feel threatened by a large predator and is saying he wants time of from something. I step forward with a frown.

“You. Are you the one who kidnapped Manny?” I ask with a growl, the girls looking surprised by my bold move. The unicorn just looks to me like I was a bug.

“Urg, another good for nothing reptile. I wonder though, how high would the price be for you?” He says before lighting up his horn. I barely roll out of the way as he sends a beam of magic that I recognize as a stunning spell.

“Spike! What do you think your doing?!” Rarity shouts in outrage. In response the Pegasus walks towards her with some rope and a sword.

“I may not like it, but I know you two would make some good bits.” He says in a monotone voice. Ok that’s it!

“Hey! Leave them alone!” I shout at the pegasus. The duo just turn to me before the unicorn begins to laugh.

“Shout all you want reptile. I know that there is nopony nearby to hear you. And besides, you should be grateful we are even taking the time to talk to you. I would have just killed you a moment ago if live dragons didn’t go for such a high price.” He snarks, the girls holding each other in fear as the pegasus gets closer. I growl in anger when I suddenly feel like something is poking in my head.

’Spike, you owe me.’

After I hear that voice, images begin to flash before my eye. A man with pink hair and a scaly scarf breathing and controlling fire. A man with long spiky black hair and piercings turning his arms into a sword and spear. A little girl with long blue hair creating tornados and healing a friend. A tall blond man with scars controlling bolts of lightning. A man with pale blond hair using light itself and another black hair man using darkness. These people, they’re the Dragon Slayers of Fairy Tail.

I blink as all the info appears in my head and I look back to the stallions with a glare. I growl loudly as I focus on my own magic, the same one I use to send the princesses letters and to restrain my dragon greed. The duo turn to me as green flames erupt from my claws and I feel my back burn. I look to the stallions with hate and the duo actually flinch.

“My my, it seems the little hatching wants to fight.” The unicorn says with a smirk, trying to sound tough, but he is shaking a little as he takes out a knife. I look to the side at the girls as they are looking to me in shock.

“Get in the outpost girls. This won’t take long.” I speak through gritted fangs and look back to the stallions in front of me. The duo crouch, obviously expecting me to attack first. Well they weren’t wrong. I pull my head back and release a huge torrent of green fire at the duo. The duo dodge, the pegasus taking to the air and the unicorn walking around me. I growl again and keep an eye on the unicorn while keeping my hearing on the pegasus. I am not sure how long they were circling me for before they actually did something.

The unicorn lights his horn and I hear some wind behind me so I duck, a large branch going over me. As I was straightening up I heard the pegasus getting closer, so I focus again and allow my fire to burst from my feet, boosting me to the side. I may not be a Fire Dragon Slayer, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t copy those moves.

As the pegasus goes past me, I cover my claws in flames again. “Eat this!” I slash at his back as he is flying by, the stallion falling to the ground with a yell of pain. I smile and jump again, dodging another stun spell. I turn my attention to the unicorn who runs up with his knife. I can’t move in time and the slashes me across the shoulder, the blade...not even breaking my scales. He backs up quickly and looks to his knife in shock.

“You idiot. Don’t you know dragon scales are harder than rock?” I say with a smirk, trying to ignore the feeling of pins and needles in my shoulder from the strike. I then feel something odd. I am hungry, but not for what I normally eat. I quickly dig into the bag of gems I have around my waist and look at the gemstones in my claws, a few in particular catching my attention. The emeralds. I look to the unicorn who is looking to me with confusion as I am holding the gems.

I smile to him, noting the pegasus is getting back up, and make sure that I only have the emeralds in the claws. I quickly toss the gems into my mouth and eat quickly. “What the heck hatchling?! You’re eating?!” The unicorn says in shock. “Yeah, so what?” I say with a full mouth before swallowing. I am not sure why, but I suddenly feel stronger. I smile and roar like the adults in my species, magic bursting around me. I feel something odd so I look below me and go wide-eyed as I see something I was not expecting. A spell matrix. I smile and quickly roll right as the pegasus tries to tackle me again, the duo standing together.

“Alright, now its my turn!” I focus my magic again, feeling it is different and stronger. I slam my fists together, the matrix appearing in front of me. I see the two stallions looking to me in shocked confusion as I take a large breath. I know what I am, and I know what I can do. I face forward and feel magic the likes I have never felt before traveling up my throat.

“Emerald Dragon ROOOOAAAAR!” I make a cylinder with my claws and breath out a large cyclone of emerald fire and sharp gem shards towards the stallions, the duo too shocked to move. My attack lands, the two stallions being burned, cut and sent flying through a half dozen trees. I finish the attack, no, the spell, and go to a knee, panting from the use. I never used magic like that before, so I guess this is what magic exhaustion feels like.

“Spike!” I look up as Rarity and Fluttershy run over, helping me back to my feet. “That was amazing Spike! Whatever that was.” Rarity praises. I just chuckle a little before a fluffy mane helps me stay upright, Manny seeming happy.

“Let’s get going, before those two wake up. We just need to head to the castle.” I say, leaning on the manticore for support. Our group heads back into the forest, avoiding the unconscious stallions. We left before I could notice a certain human appearing and taking them away.

I had been flying and walking around the forest for nearly an hour, and so far I haven’t found anything! After Lex said go I zoomed into the forest, intent of being one of the first to pass this test and become a wizard. Being a Wonderbolt sounded less and less impressive the more magic I saw Lex using in the empire and Ponyville. That ice spell was sick! Unfortunately I learned just now that Lex wouldn’t make the outposts the most obvious things ever. I tried flying above the canopy to get a higher view of things, but turns out the magic genius put a spell around the forest that only let fliers go two feet above the canopy. And even then, while I could see the castle, I couldn’t see anything that could be an outpost.

So I resorted to walking around the forest, looking for anypony who could help me out or to find an outpost. I know I had a couple hours to do this, but I wanted to finish up as quickly as possible. Though, earlier I heard an extremely awesome sounding roar, but it was pretty far away. The Everfree is far bigger than I thought.

I stopped my musing as I climb over a stump and run into someone, the both of us falling flat. “Ow! Hey, watch it dweeb!” I lock up as I hear that voice, a voice I recognize instantly.

“Gilda?” I look up from my spot and see a familiar griffin hen in brown jogging pants and a purple tank top with a black sports bra visible.

“Oh, hey Dash.” She says reluctantly, learning against a tree and rubbing her head, a bruise forming from hitting her head. I look over her again, and notice she seems thinner than the last time I saw her.

“What are you doing here Gilda?” I ask. She just shrugs and gets back to her paws, looking around the forest.

“What is anyone doing here? I heard about this weird ‘wizards guild’ and decided to check it out. Not much luck working for hunters guilds back home when you’re friends with ponies.” She says, beginning to walk through the forest. I quickly catch up to her, the both of us walking in rather awkward silence.

“So, you know the mare in charge of this crazy test?” She asks after a bit.

“Yeah, but it’s woman, not mare. Her name is Lex. She arrived here in Equestria a few months back, she is actually from another dimension.” I explain, ducking under a branch.

“Another dimension? Your bucking with me.”

“I thought the same thing, but considering she is the only of her kind and has magic this place has never seen before, being from another dimension is actually a really sound explanation. Besides, she isn’t the only one. Apparently she is something called a Displaced, which is someone who bought something from a merchant and got sent to another world.”

“That has got to be the equally stupidest and coolest thing I have heard in a while.” She says with a snort. I laugh a little as well. Saying it out loud just makes Lex’s whole situation sound more ridiculous. The two of us walk through the forest in relative silence for a while, before Gilda sighs.

“Listen Dash, I’m....sorry....for how I acted. I just, your pink friend was so annoying, and I wanted to just spend time with you and-” I stop her by closing her beak with my hand.

“Hey, I get it. After everything blew over I did something I have never done before, and took a second to think about another’s perspective. I know that Pinkie can go a little overboard, and I guess I was talking about my new friends a little too much when it should have been us. I was just so excited to have you meet them and for you to show how cool you were. I guess I missed the point a little ways down the way.” I release her beak and take a seat on a stump. She sits next to me on a log.

“Sorry G. I guess I was being a real dweeb about you meeting my new friends.”

“And I was being and aggressive bitch about wanting to spend time with just you.” The both of us relax a little. You know, the Everfree wasn’t all that bad a place to relax in. Can’t beat a drifting cloud, but still.

The two of us get up and are about to head out again, when we hear a branch break behind us. The two of us turn on a dime, reach to fight for our lives, (please no). I am not sure how long we were standing there for, when I hear some footfalls heading our way. I relax a little as they don’t sound like animals. I place a hand on Gilda’s shoulder and motion to relax, the hen doing so reluctantly.

After a bit, two of the Diamond Dogs I saw at the guild earlier walk out, Raine I think the girls name is. I don’t know the other one, it looks like a younger version of the bartender. “Oh! Hello. I was wonder who was speaking over here.” Raine says.

“Who’re you?” Gilda asks in confusion.

“Oh, I’m Raine, one of the waitresses for the guild. This is Nate, his brother is the bartender.” She quickly intoduced, the other canine being silent and nodding.

“Okay, so what do you want?” Gilda says, the duo looking to her with raised brows.

“Well, we may be employees at the guild, but we still need to go through this test as well, so we are teaming up to find one of the outposts.” Raine explains. Gilda and I nod before looking to on another again.

“So, can we come too?” I ask after a second. The two canines look to one another before nodding.

“Sure.” That was the first time I have heard that guy speak, before he turns and begins to head through the forest again. The girls and I quickly catch up to the canine, all four of us looking around the forest for an outpost. I am not sure how long the four of us were wandering around the forest for when I hear Nate calling out.

“Hey! I think I found an outpost!” The three of us quickly converge on the canines location, finding him in front of a cave entrance with the Fairy Tail symbol on the top of the mouth of the cave. Walking into the cave, we find a table with ten of those statues Lex showed us earlier. The four of us grab one before exiting the cave.

“Sweet, we found the statues. But, which way do we go now?” Raine asks, to which I laugh a little and point to mine and Gilda’s wings, the canine making an ‘oh’ face. The two of us fly above the canopy, just to the limit, before looking around, seeing the castle ruins a couple minutes from our location. We fly back down and begin to lead the way to the castle, the two canines right behind us.

“Looks like we got lucky. I wonder how the others are fairing.”

This had to be one of the most dangerous things I had ever done. I was walking around the Celestia forsaken Everfree Forest, lookin for some outpost that a being from another dimension sent up to test those who wanted to become wizards like that Starswirl fellow.

“Hey sis? Any ideas where the outpost is?” My little sister asked, her friends looking to me as well.

I was only walking for a few minute before I found the CMC and decided the four of us would be working together to get this over with. “None. Ah know Lex said that some were places some of us have been before, but where?” I question, mostly to myself.

The four of us had been walking for a little while when we hear what sounds like a dragons roar a ways away. I can only hope nopony got hurt from whatever that was. I look to the filly trio in front of me, Sweetie and Applebloom trying to think of where Lex coulda put these outposts, and Scootaloo just looking around.

“So, any ideas where in the Everfree we are?” Scootaloo asks. I shrug, but then hear someone behind me.

“You are near the Zap Apple farm. So you should be free from any harm.” All of us turn quickly and are face to face with a familiar zebra.

“Zecora!” The CMC rush past me and hug the shamaness, while I walk up with a smile.

“Well howdy there Zecora. Been a while since we saw ya, how ya been?” I ask, looking over the mare and saw she was wearing an actually nice looking robe that seemed to fit her figure perfectly, and didn’t get caught on any branches or anything.

“Fine, though this last week had been hectic, from spells of ice to fire to water to electric.” She says, releasing the CMC.

“OOOHH! Ya’ll must be talking about Lex practicing her magic.” I say, the zebra nodding.

“Wait. You said we’re near the Zap Apple orchard. Maybe Lex set up an outpost near the area we met!” AB suggests. All of us think for a second before nodding.

“Yeah, maybe. Zecora, could you lead us to the orchard. We don’t know the Everfree too well.” I ask. The mare nods and motions for us to follow, heading through an old and barely visible trail.

“So, you said you saw Lex practicing her magic right? How many spells do you think she knows?” Scoot asks, hopping over a root.

“I am not sure that is an answer to be hunted, but just from my viewing, she has several hundred.” Zecora says, all of us taking a second to decrepit what she said.

“So Lex probably has several hundred spells?! That’s awesome!” Sweetie yells, scaring a couple birds nearby. She laughs sheepishly as we rub our ears from her loud voice crack.

“Ah have to admit, while I know squat about magic, havin that many spells is mighty impressive.” I say as we pass another couple of trees. After a couple minutes we pass some old marker and arrive on the edge of the Zap Apple orchard.

“Well, I’ll be darned. We were pretty close to the orchard. Ah’m glad Zap apple season is over, else we would be havin all sorts a trouble.” I say, before looking around and seeing the small path we used to get back from that cave all those months ago.

“Well? What are we waiting for? Let’s find the outpost and pass this test!” Scootaloo declared, the four of us nodding with her. We walked down the pathway for a couple of minutes, me in the front and Zecora in the back, guarding the fillies. For some reason, I feel like the Everfree should be way more dangerous than it has been, but aside from that dragons roar earlier, it has been really quiet. And not the ‘stealthy predator’ quiet, more like, serene.

I allow myself to take a breath and relax a little as we continue down the path. We have been pretty busy back on the farm lately, so having a chance to relax like this is rare. Maybe ah should go with Rarity, Lex and Fluttershy on their next spa trip. Could definitely go for some relaxation soon.

“Hey, there’s the cave!” I hear my sister shout from beside me. I regain my senses and see the cave where Granny and AB were hiding when we first met Lex. Only now I can see it has a steel Fairy Tail emblem on the top, and a few of those enchantments around the entrance.

“Hoowee, would ya look at that, you were right sis!” I say with a smile, walking forward a bit, before suddenly feeling a pair of arms wrap around my waist and pull me back and onto my flank.

“Hey what-” I was cut off by Scootaloo and Applebloom pointing to the large hole that Lex used to burn the Timberwolves that I was one hoof away from falling into. I blush and laugh sheepishly as the girls all try to hold in their own laughter.

“Maybe we should remember to look down while walking through this forest.” Scootaloo says with a grin, walking towards the cavern. The rest of us quickly follow behind her, finding the table in the center of the cave with ten of those statues on it. Looks like we got lucky, since some were the same colour as our coats, even Zecora.

“Alright! Looks like we passed! Now we just need to head to the castle. Any idea which way we go?” Sweetie asks.

“If I may, we need only go this way.” Zecora states, before heading through the forest ahead of us. The four of us quickly catch up with the zebra, the girls having excited smiles on their muzzles. I have to admit, maybe learning some of this Fiore magic could help out on the farm.

“Hey Zecora? How bouts after this test and everything, ya’ll come with me and the girls over to the spa. Been a while since we hung out with ya.” I offer. Not sure why, but I am starting to see the appeal of the Everfree, even if it was the most dangerous place in Equestria.

I release a growl as I slash another Timberwolf into kindling. That was like the seventh one I’ve had to take out in the past fifteen minutes! This was a crazy test, and it was really dangerous. I am really going to have to talk to Lex once I find her. There were little fillies taking this test for Celestia’s sake!

“Geez, how many more of these things are we going to have to fight?” I turn to my sister as she asks this, lighting the kindling on fire to stop the wolf from regenerating.

“Not sure Twily. I mean we should have expected there to be a bunch of Timberwolves since this is the Everfree, but this is starting to get ridiculous.” Cadence replies, sheathing her own sword.

“Yeah, I just hope Spike is ok. He has been getting stronger from helping set things up, but I am still worried.” She says, taking a breath and leaning on a tree. I nod and look around the clearing we are in, not seeing anymore potential problems.

“I think he’ll be fine Twi. Spike is a big drake, especially now. I am still shocked how big he’s grown.” I say, handing my sister some water. She nods in thanks and take a couple gulps.

“Yeah, Lex said it is probably due to the latent magic he has been exposed to, both from the Crystal Heart and her own spells. She thinks it caused him to grow up a bit like if his greed was released. I just hope he doesn’t grow to gigantic proportions again.” She says, standing tall and stretching.

I nod and look around again, finding a small path we can take. I motion for the duo to follow, Cadence and Twily nodding.

“So, we didn’t have much of a chance to meet and greet with Lex back in the empire a few months back. What’s she like?” Cadence asks as we begin our trek through the forest again.

“Well, Lex can be a little like a combo of me and Rainbow. She can be a little hotheaded and aggressive, but she like to read almost more than I do. She is also really strong with her magic now, what with unlocking all those spells back in the empire. And I am sure you guys remember how good of a fencer she was during her fight with Sombra.” She says.

“Yeah, I really wish I could have had the chance to duel her myself, especially now.” I say with a grin, imagining how strong that woman really is.

“Yeah, no offence bro, but Lex would totally beat you. I have seen some of her spells, and you wouldn’t stand a chance if she used, like, her Crash Magic.” Twilight says with a grin. I am actually surprised she would openly say I wouldn’t stand a chance. I guess this ‘Crash Magic’ is really powerful.

“Wow, I don’t think I have ever heard you praise somepony else like that Twi. Is there any particular reason for that?” Cadence asks with a grin, her wording making me pause. But Twi seems unfazed.

“Hehe, nice try Cadence, but it will take a lot more than that to make me blush now. Living with someone as crass as Lex made my tolerance for embarrassment grow. But to answer your hidden question, no, I don’t like Lex like that. She is just a friend.” She says to my wife. I release a small breath I didn’t know I was holding. I just couldn’t imagine my little sister dating a mare, or I guess woman in this case.

“But I think Lex does like somepony else!” All of us jump and I grab my sword before a familiar pink mare pops out from behind a tree.

“Pinkie, don’t scare us like that!” Twi says to her friend. The pink mare just giggles and bounces next to Twi.

“Sorry Twilight! I was just looking around for somepony that might need a hand looking for an outpost.” She says with her usual smile.

“Wait, you know where an outpost is?” I question. Pinkie smiles and nods quickly before bouncing through the forest.

“This way, it was a small cabin that looks like it was recently remade.” She says with a smile. All of us quickly follow after her. After a few minutes, we arrive at an outpost. It was just like Pinkie said, it looked like the place was recently remade, the boards appearing new and clean, but from the plantlife nearby, I could tell this has been here for a while.

“How about that. I guess she found one of our aunts old cabins. I always wondered what they looked like from their stories.” Cadence says, entering the building. Even the insides look clean, the table with the statues of course drawing attention. Atop it was the ten statues Lex mentioned earlier. The four of us grab one and head out of the cabin.

I go to talk, before we are interrupted by a loud roar that made thunder sound like a mouse. All of us cover our ears, and I can tell that there was a surge of magic nearby. The question was what was it.

“What the heck was that?!” Twilight shouts in worry.

“Sounded like a dragons roar.” Cadence says, cleaning her ears.

“A DRAGON?! But the only dragon that lives nearby is Spike!” Twilight yells as she begins to hyperventilate and gets that frenzied look in her eye. Before I could try to calm her, Pinkie beat me to the punch by gently, yet firmly messaging her shoulders.

“Relax Twilight, if that was Spike, I am sure he is fine. He has grown into a fine drake, so he should be able to handle himself. Besides, if all else fails, I am sure Lex would come by to save his scales.” Pinkie says and after a couple seconds, Twilight begins to calm down and lean on the pink mare behind her.

“Thanks Pinkie.” She says softly, a smile on her face. I was actually surprised that Pinkie of all ponies was able to calm Twilight down like that. Maybe I should ask her to teach me how she did that.

“Cadence, do you think you could fly up and see if you can see where the ruins are?” I ask, my wife nodding and spreading her wings before flying above the canopy. After a couple seconds, she flies back down and points to the left.

“That way, we’re a couple minutes away if we don’t run into any problems.” She says before taking the lead, the three of us right behind her. I really hope the rest of the potential guild mates are having an easier time than we are.

“Fly up!” I yell as I launch another blast of magic at the Cragodile that was trying to take a bite out of Flora. In was about an hour into the test when I ran into Flora, Zen, Spark, Silk and Swift and the six of us decided to work together. My group ended up on the swamp area of the Everfree, which unfortunately is the home of a small group of Cragodile. And it is apparently second lunch time for them.

“Who’s idea was it to go through the swamp again?!” Spark yells as he and Silk dodge another Cragodile’s attempts to eat them.

“Hey, how was I supposed to know there was a Cragodile clutch here in the Everfree?!” Zen shouts, ducking and chucking one of the younger rocky reptiles over his shoulder and into one of its siblings.

“It’s the EVERFREE! Monsters like this are kinda synonymous with it!” Swift yells, staying in the air to avoid the reptiles.

I look around the area and count four Cragodiles that came out of the water to try and eat us, and two more that are staying in the water.

‘This is bad, I can’t remember what a Cragodiles weaknesses are, if they even have any. My kinetic blasts only seem to piss them off more. Maybe a sleep spell would work.’

“Trace!” I barely react as a pair of talons wrap around me and lift me into the air, barely avoiding one of the Cragodiles. I look up to the griffon with a thankful smile.

“Thanks Flora, guess I was too lost in thought.”

“Don’t mention it, that’s what friends are for.” She replies, placing me in a tree nearby. I watch as Swift and Flora fly down and grab the others, placing them in their own trees.

“Great, now what do we do? We can’t just stay up here all day.” Silk says, watching the reptiles circle our trees.

“Anyone know what a Cragodile’s weaknesses are? I was thinking Spark and I could use some sleep spells on them, but that might not work.” I say, the others all thinking of their own ideas.

“I think Cragodile’s have well protected, yet very sensitive eyesight to let them see underwater. Maybe we could blind them somehow?” Flora offers.

“I remember reading that these things have soft, unarmored underbellies. Maybe if we could flip them, you could blast that sleep spell on their stomachs?” Swift says, watching as one of the reptiles returns to the water.

“Hey Spark, know any electrical spells? We could lead them back to the water and you could shock them into submission, then we could just run.” Zen says, laying back against the trunk of the tree he was in.

I watch as the Cragodiles continue to circle us, the trio in the water just watching us. I could only think with my limited knowledge. It is in these kind of moments when I really wished I still had my memory, even if it turned out I was the leader to that damned Eclipse cult or something.

‘Let’s see. Shocking them in the water could work, but we would need somepony to act as bait. These things aren’t dumb, they won’t go for Flora or Swift now that they can see they can fly. My sleep spell I learned was mostly for myself in case I had a nightmare, so using it on a wild animal would be tricky. With the natural shields over their eyes, trying to blind them would be difficult as well. Gah! What do we do?!’

It was at that moment when a certain griffin was too lost in thought, and unconsciously began to lower herself to the ground. One of the reptiles noticed her unfocused look of thought, and sought to capitalize. It crouch low, its legs acting like springs, ready to release all the built up tension. Silk turn her attentions back to the reptiles and saw the one beneath Flora about to pounce.

“FLORA MOVE!” The griffin barely had time to look down before the reptile jumped, higher than anyone thought possible for a reptile covered in rock. Time seemed to slow as Flora watched the Cragodile fly closer and closer to her hind paws, jaw wide open for a bite. An instant later though, she could see a hoof slamming down on its head, quickly followed by a white coat and blue and red mane.

“Trace?!”

I barely heard Flora scream my name, or even registered what I was doing when the Cragodile and I landed. I managed to roll with the fall and got back to my hooves immediately. When I saw the Cragodile jump into the air, it was almost like something else took control of me and before I knew it, I was jumping and drop kicking the thing in the head. I am not sure why, but I. Was. Pissed.

I level a glare at the remaining reptiles that seemed just as shocked as the others in the trees. They all turn their attention to me, and I feel an itching from my hand. Glancing at it, I see my covered hand releasing some smoke, like it is burning, but it doesn’t hurt. I then glance to my horn, some black and purple bubbles appearing and covering it.

‘Equestrian Dark magic.’ I think in shock, before discarding the thought, and turning my attention back to the reptiles.

“You guys just made a big mistake.” I say in a low tone. The reptiles seemed to understand my seriousness right now, and slowly began to try and circle me, but I wasn’t about to give them the chance.

‘Go’

I charge my magic quickly and blast two of the Cragodiles back into the water, the stones around their bodies cracking and falling apart in some spots. The other reptiles try to rush me, but I jump over the first one and quickly run along its body, its siblings trying to catch me and ending up in a Cragodile pile.

Once I jump and land away from the pile, I charge my magic again, and blast the entire pile into the water, the Cragodile taking forever to get back up. I glance back to the trees as I hear the others jumping down from their perches. I could see my fellow ponies flinch from seeing my horn covered in darkness and Zen just looking with wide eyes. Flora though, took a cautious step forward.

“T-Trace? Are y-you ok?” She questions shakily. I take a breath, and can sense the dark magic in me calming down.

“Get ready to run in case this doesn’t work.” I say before lighting my horn with a magical electric current and slamming my charged hand into the water, the water becoming electrified and shocking the Cragodiles. All of them seem to get what’s going on before roaring in pain and start twitching wildly.

“Now run!” I yell before taking the lead, my group following close behind me. I am not sure how long we were running for before I hear a yelp behind me. I stop and turn, seeing Zen helping Silk back to her hooves from tripping over a root. I think we ran far enough, and considering how tired the others looked, we all found a tree to lean on to try and catch our breaths, or a canine in Silk’s case.

“What the buck was that about Trace? Since when can you use dark magic?” Spark questions from beside me.

“No clue. I told you guys about how I lost my memory and why. Considering the point of that cult, maybe they had some tomes on dark magic?” I speculate, wiping my brow.

“Well whatever it was, don’t you do something that dangerous ever again, got me?” Flora demands, poking my chest with a talon.

“Hey, relax Flora. Trace was just acting instinctually to protect you.” Swift says, pulling the griffoness back a bit.

“Well, either way, I am definitely going to talk to Lex about this later. She told me once about how certain dark magic works, so maybe she could teach me to consciously control it.” I say, pushing off the tree I was against before turning and looking around the area we were in. It took a second, but I noticed some old footprints in the mud before us, leading down a path.

“Looks like Lex and that Edward guy left a trail. Come on.” I say, taking the lead again. We walked for a few minutes, before arriving at a large pond with a small island in the center, a small table with ten of those crystal figurines on it, a tablecloth with the Fairy Tail emblem on it covering the table.

“Wow. That’s odd. Just from the terrains lack of erosion, this tiny island and the trails hasn’t been there long.” Swift says, looking over the small island we were on.

“Must have been Lex’s magic. I can still sense the magic that is permeating the ground and that tree.” I add before grabbing a statue for myself.

“Same. Though now I am really excited to learn from her is she can make this island with some of her magic.” Spark adds, grabbing his own statue, followed by Zen and the girls. I ask Swift and Flora to fly up and see if they can see where the old castle is, the duo coming down a minute later and pointing to the west. We began our treck as I gathered my thoughts about this test.

‘That was way harder than I thought it would be, not that I thought it would be easy. But now that we have the statues, we should be fine, at least until the next part. Though, I wonder, what was that voice from earlier?’

“Fall you vile beasts!” I call out before slicing another three Timberwolves to pieces with my scythe, Cresent Star. I have to remember to thank Tia for keeping her in such good condition after my banisment. I sigh with a smile as my group finishes up with this group of Timberwolves.

“Hey Sergent? Remind me to ask for more weapons training when we get back to the castle. I wish I knew how good the princess was with that scythe.” I turn and smile to Lieutenant Bladed Wind as he says that, his forest green mane sticking out of his enchantless helmet, seeming to darken his off white coat and sky blue eyes.

“Of course Lieutenant. Though, that depends on what you may end up learning in the guild.” Night Sergent Azure Skies says as she sheaths her own sword.

Even though she was one of the lower ranking members of my night guard, I rather liked the bat pony mare, mostly because she is one of the few to try and get to know me as Luna and not their princess of the night. Her normal silver armor of the night guard worked well with her azure blue mane and rust red coat, her slit, sea foam green eyes seeming to become brighter while she is in her uniform.

“I still wonder how that is supposed to work. No offence, but I can’t a hundred percent seeing you casting spells Bladey.” Second Lieutenant Star Burst says with a slight chuckle, brushing some of his dark purple mane from obscuring his chocolate brown eyes, his own cerulean coat being well covered by his armor.

“Ha ha, laugh it up Star. If what the others said was true, than the former shrimp should be able to teach all of us a few spells. Maybe something that would finally get you a stallion.” Bladed Wind quips.

“Alright boys, enough of that. We need to keep moving.” Azure says, taking the lead again. I really liked that drive of her, how she would take the lead, even when there are higher ranking members of the guard nearby.

“Excuse me Princess, but do you have any idea where Miss Justine set up one of these outposts? Cause right now I feel like we’re just running blind.” Wind asks.

“We are afraid not Lieutenant. That woman is a mystery to all, even us, so we have no idea where she would set up an outpost. We would suggest trying to locate odd magical signatures, but the Everfree works almost like a magic dampener so that would be near impossible.” I end up muttering near the end of my sentence, trying to think of some what to find where that mage has set up those outposts.

“I have been meaning to ask this, but why are you, Princess Cadence and Prince Armor trying to join the guild Princess Luna?” Azure asks.

“Well, for my niece and nephew, I think they wish to learn new magic to aid in protecting the empire. Ourself however, we am curious as to how this guild would work. Also I wish to see if it is possible to make some contracts ourself, incase there is a problem back in Canterlot.” I explain, then blush sheepishly at the raised brows of the soldiers. “Also I too want to learn some new magic spells.”

“There it is.” I hear Star mutter to himself. “Truthfully I have been curious about that mares magic since she dispelled and wrote that enchantment around the castle walls.”

“You said it Star. Even though she hid it well, I could see that her eye turned dark when she was writing that enchantment, yet she clearly wasn’t evil. But how did she use dark magic like that without any worry of corruption?” Blade wonders aloud.

“Well, I can tell you this, the magic Lady Justine used was a form of non-corruptible dark magic called Dark Ecriture I believe. She explained to my sister and I that nearly all forms of magic can corrupt given the right circumstances. Former Crystal King Sonbāsuta is a perfect example.

“Yeah, I heard about how you have been changing some of the history book about Sombra. What’s up with that?” Wind questions.

“Well, thanks to a couple historians from the Crystal Empire, as well as speaking to Sonbāsuta personally, we have been making some proper reversions to some of the speculations we have written in our books. Before, all we knew was how Sombra was a mad tyrant of darkness. We knew nothing about the stallion that came before that. The respected, young stallion that made a mistake and fell for the wrong type of mare.” I state.

I had to admit to myself, I rather liked Sonbā. He was funny, intelligent and most of all, respectful. Even after I told him about Nightmare Moon, he was sympathetic and kind, not pitying. He truly understood the feeling of falling to darkness. And his sister Echo is adorable.

“I got tracks!” We hear Wind yell, crouching near the path. They look to be the prints of a Cockatrice, so we wisely walk the other direction. I am not sure how long we were walking for, nearly taking part in simple conversations with one another before coming across a small clearing with a stream running through it.

“This looks like a good spot to refill.” Azure says, walking to the stream and taking out her canteen of water, closely followed by the other two soldiers. I stay back and keep lookout as the three of them refill their water and Star Burst uses a spell to purify them.

“Hey, do you think there would be an outpost connected to the stream?” Star questions as he hands me my own canteen.

“Perhaps. Come, let us see if that theory holds weight.” I say, beginning to follow the stream. I am not sure how long we were walking down the stream for, before it merged into the large rapids river that bisected two parts of the Everfree. So we have been going in the opposite direction of the castle.

“Well that sucks.” I hear Azure mutter, placing some sunglasses to protect her eyes.

“Hellooooo Princess!” All of us turn and grab our weapons as a large purple sea serpent with orange scales and hair bursts out of the water, causing me to raise a shield over us to stop us from being soaked.

“Wait a moment, Steven Magnet!” I say with a smile as I lower the shield.

“Ah, Princess Luna! So great to see you again, your majesty.” The serpent says with a smile.

“You know this guy princess?” Wind questions.

“Indeed. I have met him on a few occasions, as well as heard about how he aided the Elements of Harmony during my return those few years back. Again I can’t apologize enough for cutting off your moustache Steven.” I say with a slight bow, shocking the soldiers beside.

“Oh think nothing of it princess, my wonderful moustache had fully grown back last year, so no harm no foul. Though, I wonder why there are so many ponies, griffins and dogs in the forest right now.” Steven asks, lounging on the shore.

“Oh, we are all taking part in a test to become wizards in the new Fairy Tail guild. Lex Justine said she set up some outposts around the Everfree for all of us to find.” Star explains.

“Oh! You are looking for the outposts? I ran into Lex and that Edward fellow when they were setting them up, great conversationalists I must add. She explained how she was opening a wizards guild and asked me to point anypony that comes by in the right direction.” He says before pointing down river.

“About a yard down the river, Lady Lex set up an outpost. Believe me, you’ll know it when you see it.” The four of us smile at the sea serpent.

“Thank you Mr.Magnet. Maybe we could hang out some time after this test.” Star offers.

“Oh of course my friend. Feel free to pop by on Sunday when Cranky and I have a weekly get together. It would be nice hear all the recent gossip from Canterlot.” Steven says with a smile.

“You got it big guy, thanks again!” Star says as we part ways form the large semiaquatic reptile.

The four of us left to go down the river, all excited to be finished with this part of the the ‘exam’. After about five minutes, we arrived at a calmer part of the river, where what looks like a wooden and crystal fishing dock was set up, a table with ten statue sitting near the end between two chairs.

“Wow, at least Lex set up some spot for fishing for the carnivores and omnivores like me.” Azure says with a grin, her fangs poking out of the sides of her mouth. The four of us quickly grab our own statues, placing them away for safe keeping.

I quickly fly up to the limited airspace and look around before spotting our old castle. Going back down to my group, the four of us head back into the forest and towards the ruins.

‘That was lucky of us to run into Steven. I wonder if Lex got more help for the members? Either way, new magic here we come, Huzzah!’

“Jeez! Where are these dang outposts?” Echo whines from above me, the Exeed constantly glancing around.

“Echo, complaining about it won’t help. We just need to think like Lex and imagine where she would put these outposts.” I say, glancing to Uncle Emerald who nods in agreement.

“Sonbāsuta is correct my dear niece. You shouldn’t be so worried. I am sure Lady Justine wouldn’t be too subtle, but she wouldn’t make them obvious.” he suggests. The three of us had met up not long after everypony started to enter the forest, and so far we have been keeping near the training hall to see if Lex put up an outpost nearby for convenience.

“Yeah, yeah, I know, but still, you have to admit this is at least a little annoying. She could have given us some more hints aside from ‘places some of you have been before’, whatever that means.” She says, retracting her wings and sitting on my head like she used to a thousand years ago. Goddess that is still hard to wrap my head around.

“Hmmmm, think like Lex, think like Lex....” I hear Echo mutter as we pass another bunch of rocks. I am honestly stumped as well. We may be good friends, but I can safely say I don’t know Lex any more so than Twilight and the others.

As we were passing the next cluster of trees, we hear something hit the ground behind us, followed by a feminine yelp. Turning, we see a azure blue unicorn mare with a light blue, almost silver mane. She was wearing a pair of pale pink shorts with a matching pink tank top beneath a purple cloak with a bunch of blue and yellow stars, a matching hat less than a foot away from where she slipped.

“Ow.” She says bluntly, getting to her knees. Emerald and I rush over and gently grab her arms.

“Are you alright miss?” Uncle Emerald asks as we help her back to her hooves, Echo grabbing her hat.

“Yes, Trixie is alright, thank you. Apologies if I startled any of you, Trixie was hoping to ask for some help to find an outpost.” The mare says, her pale lavender eyes glancing the three of us over. I must admit, she was a rather pretty mare. Though, the visible bruises and cut on her exposed limbs worried me.

“Hm, alright Trixie, welcome aboard. I’m Echo, this is my brother Sonbāsuta and our uncle, Emerald Blizzard.” Echo introduces, Emerald and I bowing slightly, the mare giggling.

“Nice to meet you three. I am The Great and Powerful Trixie Lulamoon!” She frowns for a moment. “Though, I certainly haven’t felt that grand or powerful as of late.”

The three of us raise a brow, before I remember a conversation I had with Miss Sparkle a week ago about some of the craziest things she and the others had endured in Ponyville.

“Oh! You are that magician that was run out of town a year and a half ago after some colts led an Ursa Minor to town!” I say with realization, then notice Trixie flinch in both shame and fear.

“So you heard. I guess that means I need to get going.” She says, taking her hat from Echo. I step up and place a hand on her shoulder, stopping her from running off.

“What do you mean? Miss Sparkle told me everything that happened and she has been worried about you. After you were run out, the mayor gave the town a stern talking to apparently, and quite a few have been wanting to apologize. Also those colts didn’t escape punishment, as the town realized they were mostly responsible, not just you.” I inform, Trixie turning back to us with a slightly stunned expression.

“T-they don’t want to hurt Trixie?” She asks quietly.

“Of course not. I heard from Pinkie that she wanted to throw you a ‘Sorry for blaming you about doing your job as an entertainer!’ party, whatever that is.” Echo says. I can see the doubt in Trixie eyes, so I step up again.

“Well, even if there are those who don’t accept you, when we finish this test, you will be treated as more than a coworker or even a friend. You will be respected as family.” I tell her with a smile.

“You seem so sure I can pass.” She says quietly.

“Well, don’t give up before the real tests even begin. This test was mostly for testing bravery and teamwork like Lex said. When you think about it, the test is all about overcoming ones own fear of the natural chaos of the Everfree.” Emerald explains.

“How is it you three aren’t affected by that anyways? Trixie has traveled through here before so I know the dangers, but not many that live in Ponyville should.” Trixie asks as we all begin to walk again.

“Well the three of us were some of the one helping set up the guild in the first place, so we spent a lot of time going though the forest. The reason we were asked to head to the old castle afterwards was because Lex turned it into a training hall.” I explain as we breach the wall of trees infront of the gorge separating the training hall to the forest.

“Well Trixie doesn’t mean to sound rude, but Trixie thinks you should have done more.” She says, looking to the castle.

“Oh, there is actually an illusion around the castle to make it look like it is in ruins to prevent any who aren’t Fairy Tail members from seeing it. Just incase there is an emergency meeting or something, there is no chance of somepony from overhearing.” I explain, walking along the edge of the gorge.

“Hmm, smart. It must be a powerful enchantment to prevent anypony from seeing anything other than a large ruined castle.” Trixie complements, before looking around the gorge and seeing something. “Are those stairs?”

The three of us look where Trixie is pointing, and see a large staircase, leading into the gorge and infront of a cave with some almost unnoticeable light emitting from it.

“Hey, maybe Lex made an outpost down there? She mentioned how there is a large source of Harmony magic down there that the forest gives a large berth to.” Echo suggests, already starting to desend the gorge.

The three of us rush over to the stairs and begin to desend behind Echo and towards the cave, an odd warmth beginning to fill all of us the closer to the cave we get.

‘What is this? It almost feels like the Crystal Heart, but stronger.’ I think as we enter the cave. It didn’t take long for us to find the source of the light and, likely, the warmth. A large crystal-like tree, with several symbols that I recognized as the Cutie Marks of the royal sister and the element bearers.

“The Tree of Harmony.” I hear Emerald whisper, the three of us turning to him with raised brows. “I remember her majesty, Queen Topaz mention it once. Supposedly, it is the source of the Elements of Harmony, like fruit from this tree. She said she learned of it while reading an ancient text some archeologists found while Echo was hatching.”

“Wow.” The three of us say in awe. The four of us just stood there for a moment, basking in the warmth and light of the tree, before Echo noticed the table at the base of the tree.

“There!” She calls out before flying to the table and grabbing a purple statuette. I grab a silver one, while Emerald grabs green and Trixie grabs cyan. As we were about to leave however, Trixie walks towards the tree to get a closer look at it.

“Simply beautiful.” She whispers, the tree almost seeming to light up more. Trixie smiles before looking near one of the exposed roots and pausing. On the root, was a beautiful rainbow coloured rose, almost hidden behind the light being emitted by the tree. Looking to the tree again, almost like she is asking permission, the rose seems to glow before Trixie plucks it from the root.

For a moment nothing happened, before a small sprout began to grow where the rose once was. Within barely a minute, a new rose was beginning to blossom, filling in the empty spot on the root.

The mare looks to the rose in her hand and smiles before carefully placing it in one of the pockets of her cloak. I can’t help but smile at the calm and relaxed look on her face as she walks back to us, the rose well hidden in her cloak.

“Ready?” The mare nods to me and the four of us leave the cavern, the warmth in our hearts never leaving even as we reach the stairs. As we reach the top of the stairs, I could almost sense several ponies and other creatures making their way here.

‘Looks like test one was a success. I wonder who made it through?’

I smile wide as I see all the groups making their ways to the training hall after their own objectives were complete. I am really shocked that Spike was able to unlock a new form of Dragon Slayer Magic like that. I just gave him the info about those wizards to see if he could copy their fighting techniques. Of course after I learned that these two beside me were poachers and kidnappers, I grabbed then and wrapped them up in some Dark Bindings, so they won’t be going anywhere till the test is done.

I watched as Sonbā and his group all took their own seats on the edge of the gorge, confused at the lack of bridge, before meeting up with Spike and his group. I took that rickety rope bridge down earlier with a plan of making a new one. After that, I double checked the lacrima screens and saw Trace and his group fighting some Cragodiles and Luna and her group talking with Steven. I really like that guy.

I close my screens as most of the groups begin to head to the training hall. I make sure these two scumbags are nice and tied up with my darkness as well as put into a deep sleep before locking the doors to the guild and focusing on the entrance to the training hall.

“Direct Line!” In the next instant, I was standing outside the entrance to the training hall. I could clearly see some of the soon-to-be members all just hanging out and resting on the other side of the gorge. I quickly checked my Archive screens again and saw that a few were on their way here, but there was still a few that were waiting. I am going to have to talk to Trace later about how to control his dark magic.

I go into the gym and make one last check over for the next past of the test, making sure the modified MPF is ready, along with the training dummies I set up. Once I was sure that everything was ready, I left the hall and stood across from where everyone was waiting. I checked my Archive to connect to a nearby lacrima to hear them.

“So you were the one who roared earlier Spike? Damn! That was sick!” Rainbow praises, slapping the drake on the back, resulting in a shout of pain.

“You ok Spike?” Shining asks in worry.

“Maybe, hold on a sec.” Spike quickly takes off his vest and shirt, everypony next to him gasping. “Let me guess, my wings?”

“Holy crap! Looks like your wings are sprouting out little dude.” Nate says with a grin. I quickly change screens and see that Spike’s wings have indeed broken his skin and scales and look set to begin growing.

“Alright! A little bit longer and I’ll be flying!” Spike says in excitement, putting his vest on. I saw him looking at his shirt and seeing some scorch marks on the back where his wings are. He just sighs and wraps the shirt around his waist.

I laugh a little at his excitement, before checking the lacrima screens and see we are just waiting on Trace and his group. I smile and relax against the door for a few minutes, watching the others interact with one another. I saw Rainbow and Rarity sending glances Trixie’s way, but she tries to ignore them as she talks to Twilight.

“Again I am so sorry Trixie! I knew you were just doing your job as an entertainer and magician and I should have stopped my friends before it got out of hand.”

“Twilight I told you, its fine. I shouldn’t have sounded so egotistical and confrontational about it. If I wasn’t then there wouldn’t have been a problem.”

“Still....”

“Nope! That’s enough Twilight. Besides, spending some time working on a rock farm gives somepony time to think, ya know.”

“Yeah....so....friends?” I had to strain to hear Twi ask that, Trixie looking stunned.

“Um, sure?”

“Yay! That means I can throw a ‘Welcome back to Ponyville party!’ for you!” Pinkie shouts from behind them, causing Trixie to yelp and teleport into Twilights arms. Heh, never thought I’d see anyone emulate Scooby-doo.

After that embarrassing moment, Trace and his group finally arrive with the others, so it is time for the next part of the test. I focus on my Wind magic and fly over the gorge, gaining everyone’s attention as they see me.

“Hello again everyone, and well done for the first part of the examination. Now for the second part, if you all would come to the ‘castle’.” I say with a slight grin.

“How? There is no bridge!” I hear Star Burst yell. I just grin and fly over to their side before motioning Sonbā over.

“Alright, like we practiced.” I tell him, earning a nod from the unicorn and a few raised brows from the others. “Alright, everyone stand back please.”

Once everyone is a few feet back, Sonbā and I walk to the edge of the gorge and get into our stances. We both focus on our magic, prepping for the next part. After about twenty seconds, we’re ready.

“Crystal Make Drawbridge!” We both slam our hands on the ground before us, crystals beginning to grow rapidly and form an intricate bridge, reaching the other side of the gorge. While I focus on making the crystal mechanisms for the bridge, Sonbā is making the design and archways. It took about two minutes, but once it is done, we are left with a beautiful drawbridge like those in London, England, being able to be drawn up in half from both sides. The bridge itself was a great combo of purple and royal blue crystals, giving it a nice, calming feel.

Once we are sure it is done, the two of us turn back to the others behind us, being met with several jaws on the ground, even Manny. We both try to resist, but eventually Sonbā and I can’t hold it and end up laughing out loud at the groups expressions.

“Oh, oh my gods! Your faces!” I manages to squeak out while on my back, not even caring if I am wearing a skirt, and it seems some of the boys don’t mind either. Once I finally manage to get back to my feet, the last remnants of my laughing fit dying out, I take a deep breath and wipe my eyes.

“A-alright, now that that’s done, let’s go!” I say, before taking the lead and walking across the bridge closely followed by the others. Once we reach the halfway point though, I stop and turn to the others. “Alright, past this point, you will see why I wanted all of us to meet up at the castle.”

I can see the confused looks on most of the creatures, but I just grin and walk backwards, past the enchantment and disappear to the others. I can see the others looking around in confusion, before Sonbā, Twilight and Echo come through. The others seem to get what’s going on and pass the threshold, all of their eyes widening once they see the training hall.

Luckily they all withhold their questions till everyone is across the bridge. Once that is so, I turn to them and spread my arms wide with a smile.

“Welcome everyone, to the official Fairy Tail Training Hall and Gym!” I announce, everyone but those who know about it all going slackjawed.

“T-training hall?” Luna questions. I look to her with a slightly sheepish expression.

“Sorry I didn’t tell you princess, but we needed a place for the wizards to practice their magic and train their bodies without worry of collateral damage to any populated areas. Sonbā, Spike, Twilight, Echo, Emerald and I had spent the past few months rebuilding and repurposing your old castle for that reason.” I explain, Luna looking intrigued and not angered surprisingly enough.

“That....is....AWESOME!” Rainbow yells, jumping into the air, the others all coming to their own agreements at her statement.

“If you think the entrance looks good, wait until you see the insides.” Spike says with a grin, opening the doors for all of us. The large crowd enters the building with me in the lead, leading them to the magic range. I could see the wonder in everyone’s eyes as they look around the main workout area, seeing all the exercise equipment and stuff.

After a minute we arrive at the wooden magic range, where the MPF is floating to the right, everyone sending their own curious glances to the large device.

“This is where we will be conducting the next test. This test with record your potential magical output, which will determine your standings.” I explain as everyone enters the room. I light up my hand and levitate the MPF over.

“This is the Magic Power Finder, or MPF for short. How it normally works is you hit it with a spell, and the MPF would quantify it into a numerical value of 1 to 9,999. However, I have modified it a little. Since only unicorns and Alicorn can cast spells right now, the MPF will work by first taking a scan of you before you attack a target. It will then scan you during and after the attack, thus determining the magical energy you used. I also increased the amount of magical energy it can quantify, up to 100,000, just incase someone surpasses the original threshold.” I pause and look over the group as a couple hands go up. I point to Scootaloo.

“Ok, what do you mean when you say attack?” She asks.

“It’s simple really. For this test, all you need to do it strike that wooden target with everything you have, and your score will be recorded. For a frame of reference, most wizards in Fiore that can use spells, get a score of anywhere between 100 and 200. So don’t disappointed if your score seems low, especially since, again, only unicorns and Alicorn have spells right now. That will change later. Any other questions?” A couple hands go up. I point to Zen.

“So, we can do any attack?” He questions.

“That’s right. You could kick the dummy, strike it during a flyby or blast it with magic. Any use of your body will have at least a little magic behind it.” I answer. The group all nod to themselves, seeming excited yet nervous.

“Alright, any volunteers to go first?” Unsurprisingly, no hands went up, everyone looking to one another, even Luna. I gain an evil smirk on my face as I hand Echo a scroll and quill and ask her to record the results.

“Alright, if nopony is going to volunteer, I guess I’ll just have to choose who goes first.” I can see many look nervous at my grin and begin to sweat. I raise my right hand and point, going over the crowd before me, contempalting. “So the first one to go through this will be....” I point to the last person any of them expect, myself. “Me.”

“Wait, you’re doing this too Lex?” Echo questions.

“Of course. I have no idea how strong I really am, plus this way any enemies we make know not to mess with us.” I say with a grin, tightening my tie. Everyone take a step back and Shining, Sonbā, Cadence and Luna raise a shield over the others.

‘Let’s see, what should I use?’ I think to myself as the MPF scans me. ‘I want something super powerful, but defiantly not one of my grand or forbidden spells. Hmm....I could try that move.’

After some self deliberation, I decided to use one of the few spells I have managed to develop myself. Raising my hands, and cupping them around the air before me I focus on my magic, as well as the natural magic in the air. After about a minute, the magic becomes visible, swirling into a transparent, light blue orb in between my hands. I can’t stop the almost manic smile on my face as the orb finally stabilizes.

I made a freaking Rasengan out of magic!

‘Step one down. Now to add some wind.’ Once the orb stabilizes, I raise it above my head and focus on my Wind magic, the orb growing big enough to cover me as four white blades of wind begin to spin around the orb quickly. I smile wider as a full minute passes and the attack is finally ready.

“Here goes! Mana Rasenshuriken!” I yell before throwing the orb of magic towards the target. As soon as the orb hits the target, there is a veritable explosion of wind and magic, a dome of razor sharp wind ensnaring the wooden dummy, the wind rushing past me, to the point I have to use some Gravity magic to keep me in the same spot. I glance to the crowd behind me and see several dropped jaws and two straining Alicorns and unicorns keeping the shield up.

After about fifteen seconds, the wind dies down and the orb around the dummy begins to disperse. I grin as all that is left are a few tiny splinters and some ripped up stone. I turn to the crowd and do a small curtsy with a smug grin on my face. Everyone is still in stunned silence before we hear some beeping, all eyes turning to the MPF and now my own jaw joining the ranks of the shocked.

My magic score.....its 13,783! What the hell?!? That is stronger than Iron Rock Jura and possibly Cana when she used Fairy Glitter! And that was just from a spell I developed just to see if I could make one!

I am not sure how long all of us were standing there for, in completely stunned silence before someone finally managed to say something.

“HOLY BUCK!” RD all but screams.

“Rainbow Dash!” Rarity, AJ and Twilight scold, covering the CMC’s ears. Despite the pegasus less than great word choice, it did manage to snap all of us out of our respective stunned states.

“Ahem, well then. That was defiantly more than I was expecting.” I mutter, glancing to Echo who nods and writes down my score on the scroll I gave her. “So, any volunteers for going next?”

“Um Lex, I think you should go get a new target dummy first.” RD says, pointing to the destroyed area from my spell.

“No need, hold on a sec.” I switch to one of my Lost Magic’s and raise my hand, an off white spell matrix appearing, and if any were to look at my eyes, they would see a red clock beginning to rapidly spin backwards.

“Arc of Time, Restore.” Almost like someone hit rewind on an old VHS, the area begins to go back in time to before I used the Rasenshuriken within a couple of real time seconds. Once done, I smile as the stone floor and the wooden dummy look good as new.

“Whoa, what was that?” I hear Trixie ask.

“That was one of my Lost Magic’s called the Arc of Time. It is incredibly difficult to master and control, but once you have a firm grasp on it, you would be surprised what you could do.” I answer, stretching and taking the list from Echo. “So, who’s next?”

“Dibs!” I turn to Scootaloo who walks up with a confident smile.

“Alright Scoots, go for it.” I say, watching as the MPF scans her before she walks up to the dummy. Once she is a dozen feet away, she gets a running start before tackling the dummy, causing it to shake. The MPF scans her again before showing her score of 28.

I could see how disappointed Scootaloo was at her score, and hear some slight chuckles so I walk up and pat her head.

“Nice job Scoots, that is actually a good score for someone your age, especially without the use of any magic spells.” I say, clapping a bit, the others soon joining in and applauding the young pegasus. She walks back to her friends with a small smile directed at me. “Next!”

“My turn!” I hear RD, who has the same face that Scootaloo had on. I nod to her and watch as RD zooms high in the air, higher than I could track before I could hear her plummeting. I watch as her blue speck picks up more and more speed before I sense a surge in magic and see something incredible. The descriptions by the girls don’t do it justice. Rainbow’s crowning achievement.

RD just pulled off a Sonic Rainboom.

I watch as Rainbow zooms down then does a perfect nintey degree turn to be parallel with the ground, and zooming past, landing a faster than sound punch to the dummies head. The thing is shattered from the force and RD flies back around, slowing down her momentum, before landing next to the MPF. The crowd behind us applaud the rainbow maned pegasus as the MPF scans her and then shows her score of....135?

“What.” Rainbow says. I am also confused, I expected something that awesome to have a larger score. I scratch my head and do a quick magic diagnostic on the MPF, finding it is still working hundred percent.

“Huh, guess that wasn’t that much of a magic surge as I thought. Though, it is recording the pony themselves, so I guess RD doesn’t have that much magic to begin with as a pegasus.” I mutter as RD goes back to the group.

“If that is the score for a Sonic Rainboom....” Twilight trails off, looking at me with an air of caution as I fix the dummy from Rainbows attack.

“Alrighty then. How about we continue. Bladed Wind?” I call out, the guard in question walking up and taking out two swords. He flies up and slashed at the dummy during a flyby like I suggested. The MPF scanned him and showed....151?

“Ok what?” I hear Rainbow question. I just shrug to her, the pegasus mare shaking her head and throwing up her hands in defeat.

“Well, he is older than RD by about a decade, so there is that.” I mutter as AJ walks up. The farmer quickly runs up to the dummy and jumps, landing a hard dropkick to the wooden target, resulting in her score of 134. She has a proud grin on her face as she walks back to the others, nudging RD with smirk.

After her was, oddly enough, Rarity, who lit up her horn and sent a relatively strong kinetic blast at the target, leaving a scorch mark on the dummies chest. Her score was a rather low 72. We all still clapped for the fashionista. Makes sense she wouldn’t be too powerful since she mostly just makes dresses and the like.

After Rarity was Pinkie, I guess. I honestly have no idea what she did. One minute she is next to Trixie and I am looking at the list, and the next there is a blast of confetti and Pinkie is walking out from behind the dummy, which is covered in cake, with a score of 93. I looked to the others, who are all looking either at Pinkie herself, or the spot she was at mere seconds ago in confusion.

‘It’s Pinkie being Pinkie, don’t question.’ I repeat to myself while trying to get my bearings.

As soon as everyone shook their heads, Zen walked up to the plate. He gets scanned before walking up to the dummy and getting into some kind of martial arts stance. After a second he slams his palm on the center of the dummy with enough force to leave a large dent in it. His score came up as 115. Not bad.

After Zen was Nate, who did a simple roundhouse kick, resulting in his score of 95.

After him were three of the employees, Spark first, who blasted the target with a slightly stronger magic blast than Rarity, his score being 105. Then was Silk Song, who ran up and gave an inexperienced kick, earning a score of 73. And finally was Swift Service, who, unexpectedly, stayed on the ground and did some kind of spinning elbow strike to the dummy, resulting in her score of 98.

Next was somepony, or rather somedrake I was excited to see, Spike. He stood about a dozen feet away from the target before taking out some emeralds and chowing down quickly, much to the confusion of the others. I could sense his magic power increase as he ate, so once he was done, I wasn’t surprised when there was a magic surge coming from him. I could see his grin as he takes a deep breath, Shining throwing up a shield almost immediately.

“Emerald Dragon ROOOOAAAAR!” He releases his breath attack, the spell kicking up quite a bit of dirt and utterly destroying the dummy. I could see several dropped jaws from the gathered creatures behind us, and can’t stop my own grin. Spike goes to a knee and take a few deep breaths as his spell is finished, the MPF taking its scan of him and showing his score.

Spike’s score was an impressive 562! There was a stunned silence before I break it with an applause, the others joining in and cheering for the drake.

“Alright Spike! Nice job.” I say to him, helping the drake back to his feet. He gives me a grateful smile before head back to the others, earning quite a few pats on the back, and I swear I saw an eye flutter from Rarity, but Spike didn’t seem to notice. “Well, looks like you guys have quite the score to beat.” I could see some of the others grin and seem to take that as a challenge.

“Me next!” I look to the bat pony mare that stepped up, Sergent Azure Skies I think Luna referred to her as. She flew a few feet into the air and zoomed forwards, before slashing the dummy with a pair of clawed gauntlets, almost like a lion or tiger, earning a score of 129. After her was the last guard, Star Burst, who took out a bow and arrow, before covering the arrowhead in his magic aura and firing. The arrow went straight through the dummy and imbedded itself in the wall on the far side of the magic range. His score was a respectable 154.

“Um, can I go next please?” I barely hear Fluttershy as she requests this. I nod to her and the others encourage the shy pegasus as she flutters over to the dummy. I am not really sure what I was expecting, but Fluttershy flying up and lightly tapping the target was not it. There was a slightly stunned silence as the MPF scans the pegasus and shows the lowest score of 5. I didn’t dwell on it and clapped for the shy mare, the others joining in and encouraging her.

“Me next please!” I look to Sweetie who walks up and lights her horn, sending a small beam of pale green magic towards the target, earning her score of 18. I honestly thought she’d get more since she is a unicorn, but whatever.

“Guess ahm next.” I hear Applebloom says before she went through her turn, giving the dummy a hard buck for somepony her age, her score being 25. I could see Scootaloo with a slightly smug grin on her face at scoring more than either of her friends.

Now that the CMC are done, the next one was Raine, who walked up and unsheathed her claws, slashing the dummy a couple times, earning her score of 89, not bad.

Next was somepony I was kinda hoping for a high score, Twilight. The purple unicorn stood about a dozen feet from the dummy and began to charge her magic, a small orb appearing at the end of her horn, before slowly growing in size. After about thirty seconds, she released the magic orb, now the size of my torso, at the dummy, turning it into splinters. The MPF scanned Twilight and showed her score.

The Element of Magic just set the new high score aside from me at 601. The responce was immediate cheers from the crowd, her friends and family being the loudest, much to her embarrassment. I smile and nod to her in congratulation.

After her was Trixie, who looked very nervous. I could see some of the others, Rainbow and Rarity in particular, sending her wayward glances. I tap my head and focus on my Telepathy.

’Calm down Trixie. Imagine they’re not there. Just do what you can.’ the mare looks to me nervously, but I just nod with a smile, Trixie taking a deep breath and nodding to herself before lighting her horn. She seemed to be doing the same spell as Twilight, but her orb was only about the size of my chest as opposed to Twi’s that was the size of my whole torso. Nevertheless, Trixie blasted the dummy with the same results as Twilight, the dummy turning to splinters.

It looks like Trixie is far stronger than she seems, her score being a very respectful 505 points. I could hear the stunned silence by the others, that was broken, not by me, but by Twilight running up and hugging Trixie and congratulating her for the score. I can barely stop my smirk as I see Trixie blushing from the praise, and probably the fact her chest is being squished against Twi’s own.

Once Twi let her go and the two mare walked back to the group, some of whom were looking at the two of them with raised brows, Trace walked up and lit his own horn. I could sense him holding back his darkness, rather well I might add, before sending three seperate beams of magic towards the dummy.

I am not sure why I was surprised, but I was when the beams went clean through the dummy and showed his score of 371. I guess there was a reason he was selected for that sacrificial ceremony, as opposed to somepony else. The way he was able to hold back his dark magic with amnesia was rather impressive.

After Trace went back to the others, the last four none ponies walked up, Flora going first with some rapid slashes while sounding like a tiger kitten. Her score was a decent 132.

After her was Gilda, who flew up a few feet before dive bombing the target with an eagles screech, slashing its head off. I could see Fluttershy and the fillies hide behind the others after her attempt, Gilda glancing to them and sighing. I guess she is the reason Flutters is so weary of griffons. Nevertheless, her score was a decent 120.

Next was a bit of a wild card, Zecora. I was honestly curious what she was going to do, since I haven’t talked with the zebra much since I arrived here. I was not sure what to expect from a potion making zebra that lives alone in the Everfree forest. I watched with intrigue as Zecora slowly walks to the target, whispering what could be a prayer in her native tongue. I watch with awe as some kind of dark green, almost black mist actually begins to accumulate around Zecora’s hands, the others being completely dumbfounded.

I focus on my ‘Magisight’ as I call it, and see that whatever prayer she is saying, is focusing the natural magic of the forest itself around her hands, and not the magic naturally present in the air.

‘Woah. Whatever she is doing, it has a strong connection with nature. That could be helpful for later.’ I think to myself. I continue to watch as Zecora seems to finish her prayer and lands a hard punch to the dummy, her magic covered fist actually going straight through the dummies chest area. I can see the surprised looks on the others, which just grows as they see her score of 202.

“Alright Zecora. That was sick.” I compliment, the zebra bowing with a smile as she returns to the other, almost immediately being bombarded by questions from the CMC. I can see her gentle smile as she begins to explain in her own way that her people are more naturally in tune with the magic of nature than even earth ponies.

I smile as I see the last of the none ponies step up. Or should I say float up. Echo made sure her small outfit was on right before flying up and covering herself in her magic energy. Once she is, she zooms towards the dummy with a hard headbutt.

‘Max speed attack!’ I think to myself with a slight laugh, Echo flying over to me without any sign of injury from the attack, her score of 50, while low, was pretty good for a flying cat. She smiles wide as she floats above me and retracts her wing, sitting on my head without a care in the world. I just roll my eyes and smile up to her.

I look to the remaining members-to-be and smile. The last five were sure to get high scores just from what I know of them. The first one up was Emerald Blizzard. I was curious what the crystal stallion would do, considering he was a politician and financial director, not really a fighter. At least, that was what I thought.

I watch in awe as he runs and jumps towards the dummy, sending to the ground and shattering it with a knee bomb to the chest area. I am stunned stupid, how the hell does Emerald know Muay Thai?! I look with wide eyes as his score comes up as a stunning 425. That was just from a physical attack!

I can see the others giving the stallion a large berth out of respect as I repair the dummy, Echo flying over and sitting on his head as Sonbā pats his uncles shoulder with a smile. I quickly shake my head and record his score before fixing the dummy yet again. I was starting to get tired from constantly rewinding time on the damn thing.

I look to the others and watch as Shining walks up, unsheathing his sword before covering it with his magic aura. The blade seems to glow and looks like it turns to hardened magic rather than the steel it is. The stallion rushes forwards and slashed the dummy so quickly it was in pieces before it even hit the ground. While it seemed like that was it, I could feel a burst of magic blow past me as the pieces turn into even smaller pieces whilst on the ground, Shining sheathing his sword.

I watch as the MPF scans him again, showing his magical score. It was a stupefying 1,119! That’s nearly twice as strong as Twilight! It was at that moment I remembered that Shining was the captain of the royal guard for a reason. The prince received a large round of applause from the crowd next to us and a crushing hug from his sister.

I smirk as Cadence gives him a quick peck on the cheek before stepping up to the plate herself. I was curious what the princess of love would do for an attack, since she is clearly a decent swordswoman and, obviously, an Alicorn.

I watch with excitement as Cadence lights up her horn, some kind of pink and blue energy being channeled on the tip of her horn, like Twilight and Trixie’s spells, but I could sense that it was somehow different. While Trixie and Twilight used both their own magic as well as the magic in the air, Cadence is using something else, some other source. I check my magisight and see that the source is, somehow unsurprisingly, her heart.

‘Wow, she is literally using her own love for an attack. Must have learned to do that after the changeling invasion.’ I think to myself as the orb changes shape into that of a heart, before breaking in two, the two beams being sent to the dummy with Cadence shouting, “Heart Breaker!” I saw the magic energy enter the dummy, before literally tearing it apart from the inside out. Visious.

The MPF scans her and shows why Cadence was able to ascend into an Alicorn. Her score was even higher than Shining at 1,529! I see everyone’s dropped jaws, minus Luna and Shining, at Cadences attack, the mare herself having a proud yet innocent smile on her face as she walks back to her husband, Shining have a large grin on his face. I have a sneaking suspicion that Cadence is the one on top most of the time.

I shake my head to get it out of that area and record Cadences score before looking to the last two participants. Sonbā and Luna. I was curious what the two ex-villains scores would be. I smile towards the stallion, who nods to me and waits as the MPF scans him. I could tell the others were curious as well, probably because they saw him use his Crystal Maker magic outside. He takes a step, standing a dozen or so feet away from the target, before getting into his stance and focusing. After a couple seconds he is ready.

“Crystal Make Lance!” He launches about a dozen lances made of purple crystal at the dummy, impaling it several time and pinning it to the back wall. While simple, it showed how powerful his new magic was in combat. I smile to him as the MPF scans him again before showing his score. All jaws present once again meet the floor as Sonbā’s score is shown.

Sonbāsuta just broke the record again as his score is an incredable 2,247! I grin at him as I knew he was holding back a bit, since he had a few Maker spells that were much stronger than Lance. Plus he regained some of his lost magical power from a thousand years ago, though it was only a fragment. Either way, I applaud for the crystal stallion and pat his back, the others coming out of their stunned states and applauding as well.

Now, last but not least, Princess Luna of the moon. I watch with baited breath as the mare walks up to the plate, scythe in hand, and focuses her own magic on her blade, much like Shining. The blade of the weapon seems to glow before turning from the metal grey to pitch black with white sparkles, just like Luna’s mane.

I could sense that Luna was putting quite a bit of power into her weapon, yet she looked completely calm and collected, no sign of strain at all. I know that she was strong since she moves the moon and helps ponies with their nightmares, so that wasn’t too surprising. Once her horn goes out, her blade seems to absorb the light around it before Luna raises it above her head.

“Abyss Divider!” With that, the magic is released into a slashing beam that tore up the ground before striking the target, and like many attacks I have seen in anime, the beam seems to begin to slash at the dummy from every angle to the point that one second it looks fine before beginning to crack and then explode into tiny pieces. I reflexively raised a shield over all of us to stop the shrapnel from the dummy from hitting anyone. All that was left was the torn up cobblestone and bits of wood that was scattered around the area.

I can see the respect in the eyes of the soldier and other royals, Luna showing why she is one of the rulers of this land. I have to admit I wanted to learn a bit more about the mare myself since I was curious if I could learn her Dream magic. I just put that thought on the back burner for now and focused on the present as Luna gets scanned again before her score pops up.

I am starting to see a trend with royal ponies being ridiculously powerful. Once again, the record from the ponies has been broken with Luna’s absurd score of 2,936. And I could tell she was holding back by a ridiculous degree. Just the fact she can move a freaking celestial body should show just how strong she is, yet she uses a simple magic beam slash from a scythe.

I just nod with a knowing grin, Luna grinning back as she walks back to the group, earning a few bows and a hug from Cadence. I fix up the dummy one last time and write down Luna’s score before casting a spell with Archive to organize the scores from highest to lowest with their rank I decided earlier next to them.

“Well done everyone. I can safely say that many of you exceeded my expectations, especially since only a few of you know magic spells. Now if you would all follow me, we can return to the guild hall and finish everything up.” I say, taking the lead and leading the group towards the other teleporter.

‘So far so good. I have some members that can take on some of the higher ranking jobs as well as having a freaking Dragon Slayer in the guild already. I just hope everyone will be ready when it is time to learn their own magic.’

So here’s the scores from highest to lowest for the members. Their ranks will be revealed in the next chapter.
Alexandria Justine: 13,783
Princess Luna: 2,936
Sonbāsuta: 2,247
Mi Amor Cadenza: 1,529
Shining Armor: 1,119
Twilight Sparkle: 601
Spike Sparkle: 562
Trixie Lulamoon: 505
Emerald Blizzard: 425
Legacy Tracer: 371
Zecora: 202
Star Burst: 154
Bladed Wind: 151
Rainbow Dash: 135
Applejack: 134
Floral Talons: 132
Azure Skies: 129
Gilda: 120
Zen Quartz: 115
Hot Spark: 105
Swift Service: 98
Nate Quartz: 95
Pinkie Pie: 93
Raine Jewel: 89
Silk Song: 73
Rarity Belle: 72
Echo: 50
Scootaloo: 28
Applebloom: 25
Sweetie Belle: 18
Fluttershy: 5

I couldn’t stop the smile that was split across my face as everyone finished their MPF test and we made it back to the guild hall. I was honestly surprised by the magic power some of these guys can put out, myself included. Seriously, I know the regular Rasengan from Naruto was strong, but my variant may be even stronger. Too bad I can’t test them since I haven’t met any Displaced that can use chakra.

That doesn’t matter right now though, as everyone enters the guild hall, myself sitting on the bar and the others all finding their own spots to sit. I saw Spike and his group glancing to the unconscious and bound stallions from before, but I just smile to them, telling them to relax. I raise my hand and teleport the duo away to the break room till later when Star and his friends can take them into custody later. I look over the small crowd in front of me, everyone looking rather excited.

“Once again, I can have to say well done to all of you for completing the tests. I know it may have seemed insane, but the fact you all went through it anyways proves that you’re willing to put yourself in harms way as well as placing your faiths in one another.” I say with a warm smile, noticing some of the others blushing from my praise, and a few loving to boost in confidence.

“But now that the bravery and magic tests are done, all that is left are some written requirements.” I hear several groans from the likes of the CMC, Rainbow and Gilda. “Relax, it isn’t another test. I just need you all to write down things like contact information, place of residence, next of kin, stuff like that. Legal paperwork. Also there is a personality and preference form I would like all of you to fill out as well. It may look to have some random questions, but they will help me in deciding what to teach each of you in terms of magic, so answer each question carefully and honestly.”

I snap my fingers and teleport the forms required from my office as well as many pencils for everyone. I levitate the papers and pencils to those who have yet to fill any out, and see that some have some confused looks at some of the questions I have on the sheets.

“Again, this isn’t a test, so don’t rush. I have my own paperwork to finish in my office, so once everyone is finished, hand your forms to Emerald Blizzard for filing and once everyone is done, we can move on to the last two requirements for becoming a fully fledged member of the guild.” I explain, earning several nods as the gathered crowd begins to write down their info. I look to Emerald who nods to me and I head up the stairs to my office.

I walk into my office and head to my desk before taking a deep breath and looking to the large stack of papers next to me. I had quite a bit of paperwork to go through, what with all the contracts we got from before. Luckily I had a way to cheat. Making sure my door is locked and standing up again, I focus on a magic style that is in my opinion, the ultimate cheat for doing paperwork.

“Clone magic.” In a second, I feel as though I am being stretched for a moment before it stops. Opening my eyes again, I am greeted by three other girls that look exactly like me.

“I don’t think we’ll ever get used to that.” One of the girls, Ali we decided, says. Since Clone magic separates us into independent people based on the original Lex, we decided to each go by a different name. Ali was Lex’s calm and collected mentality personified.

“Speak for yourself. I feel like we can divide into more than four of us.” The next girl, Ria, says with a grin. Ria is the hotheaded and cocky part of Lex’s personality. She can be a pain, but she is basically Rainbow with how dependable she can be.

“Why would we do that Ria? The four of us are fun enough as it is!” The third girl, Xan, says with a smile. She is basically Lex’s playful and happy side, though she does recognize when she needs to be serious. Speaking of.

“We can discuss that later. We have quite a bit of paperwork to get through first.” I tell the trio. We decided for me to go by Lexa, I am the serious and determined part of Lex’s mind. I try and get things done properly before taking a chance to relax.

“Yes ma’am!” Xan says with a joking salute before separating the pile into four even piles for each of us. The four of us each find a spot to sit and work, me at the desk, Ria at the windowsill, Xan laying on the floor, and Ali leaning against the wall. I was honestly surprised by how well each of us are able to work. We knew that the Clone magic made all of us independent of Lex, yet we all knew what we needed to to, what rank to set for each contract, and if we would need to talk to the contractor about the prices.

“Hey Lexa, I think we got a trap contract.” I turn to Ali as she says that before handing me the contract in question. A trap contract is what we would refer to as someone who would ask for us to do something illegal, morally questionable, or for them to leave out a large portion of the contractor information. This one fit all three criteria.

Whoever this is, they were asking for us to capture a manticore cub alive. That is it. The reward was rather large, but there is next to nothing with the contractors info, just a drop off location.

‘Poachers. They might be the ones that those two stallions downstairs work for.’ I think, putting the contract on the side for later.

“Nice catch Ali.” I compliment, the other girl just shrugging and going back to her pile. I am not sure how long the four of us were working for, but eventually all of us were finished each of our respective contract pile, and Xan actually wrote down the standings for the members and their ranks.

“Alright, looks like we’re done. Nice job girls. Now to get Lex back.” I say with a grin, the others nodding and placing their piles together before walking behind me. With a small burst of magic, each of the girls walk into me, their parts of our personality coming together. Once done I take a deep breath and rub my head.

“Man, I really need to find a better way to turn back into myself.” I say with a slight grimace. Using Clone magic always gives me a headache since I am literally splitting myself into multiple people. I look to the finished pile of contracts as well as the standings sheet that my playful side wrote. I smile as I gather the pile before reaching into a drawer and taking out a small magic stamper.

I walk out of my office and post the single S-class quest on the board before walking down the stairs, finding almost everyone has finished their sheets, the only ones left just now finishing up. I smile at them and walk to the request board, posting the quests with the highest ranking on the top and lowest ranked near the bottom. I could feel the eyes of the others watching me place the quests on the board.

I nod as I finish posting the quests before heading and sitting on the bar. Looking over the crowd, it looks like everyone is finished, Emerald walking back from his office without the forms and nods to me. I nod back before looking over the crowd again.

“Alright, now then. Who’s ready to become a member of Fairy Tail?” Immediately every arm goes up, many of the members having excited smiles on their faces. I laugh a little before taking out the magic stamp from my pocket, the crowd looking at it curiously. “Well then, first things first. To become an official member of Fairy Tail, you will need to obtain the guild emblem. This stamp will place the emblem anywhere on your body at your choice. It can also be any colour you want.”

A few hands go up so I point to Gilda. “So, you have this mark as well?” I nod and take off my jacket before turning and unbuttoning enough to lower my shirt, showing the others my mark on my back. I glance over my shoulder and see everyone who haven’t seen it before, looking at my mark curiously. I quickly button back up and wave the stamp around, everyone nodding.

“Alright, youngest members first.” I say as the crowd quickly falls into a single line with the CMC and Spike up front.

The CMC decided to get their marks on their right hands and have it be each other’s colours. Applebloom’s was white with an orange outline, Sweetie’s was orange with a yellow outline, and Scootaloo’s was yellow with a white outline. I can’t help but smile at the trio high five before walking back to their seats.

Spike got his on his left shoulder and had it be black with a green outline. I grin at him as he returns to his own seat.

After Spike was Silk who got hers in the center of her chest, having it be red with a blue outline, followed by Nate who got his on his right bicep and had it be silver with a black outline. Next was Swift who got her on her right forearm and had it be purple with a dark red outline. Raine had hers be yellow with a silver outline and had it on the back of her left paw.

Next was the Element bearers. They decided to follow the CMC’s example and had their marks all on their left hands. Twilight’s was orange with a white outline, Applejack’s was purple with a cyan outline, Rainbow’s was pink with a yellow outline, Rarity’s was yellow with a purple outline, Pinkie’s was cyan with an orange outline, and Fluttershy’s was white with a pink outline.

Next was Gilda, who had her on the side of her neck, and had it be purple like the tips of her feathers with a butter yellow outline. Then was Trixie who had hers be pale purple like her eyes with a darker purple outline on the side of her left thigh, a bit below her cutie mark. I guess she is used to wearing short shorts.

Next was Flora, who had hers by her left wing, being bright blue with a white outline. After her was Zen, who had his on his left bicep, being black with a silver outline, the opposite of his brothers. Then was Spark, who had his on his right pec, being dark brown with a grey outline.

After him was Trace, who got his on his left shoulder, being orange with a black outline. I had a sneaking suspicion as to why those two colours. After him was Azure, who got hers on her left hand, being blood red with a jet black outline. Next was Bladed Wind, who got his between his wings, being green like his mane with a dark purple outline, followed by Star Burst, who’s was on the left side of his neck being brown with a navy blue outline.

After them was Shining Armor and Cadence, who got theirs place on their chests, where their hearts are, with Cadences being white with an electric blue outline and Shining’s being pink with a baby blue outline. Next was Zecora, who got hers on the side of her neck, being dark forest green with a earthy brown outline.

The last four walked or floated up with smiles, Luna getting hers on the bottom of her right forearm being white with a gold outline, and Echo getting hers on the center of her back and being silver with a scarlet red outline. Emerald got his on his left shoulder and had it being peach orange with a purple outline.

Last was Sonbāsuta, who got his where his heart is, being the same shade of blue as my hair with a gold outline. I couldn’t help but blush a little as he got his mark, Sonbā grinning all the while.

I sigh slightly as everyone gets their marks on their bodies, some looking at their new additions with excitement or intrigue. I just smile and teleport the stamp back to my office before clearing my throat, getting everyone’s attention again.

“Now then. Now that each of you bear the Fairy Tail emblem, it officially marks you as a member of the guild. So first of all, congratulations to all of you for joining up.” I say, clapping for them all as they begin to cheer for themselves. I snap my fingers and summon a small stack of cards. “Next, each of you get one of these long range telepathy cards. Try to have these on your person whenever you are away from the guild. I will be using it to contact you if we have a guild meeting, or you can use it to call for help if you are on a job and need the assistance.” I quickly levitate the cards over to everyone, the members looking at their cards with intrigue.

“Now that that’s all taken care of, there are a couple of things we need to go over. The first thing is who can take what quest from the request board. As you all have no doubt noticed, there is a ranking system to the quests, with E being the easiest quests we accept, to A being some of the hardest. There are also S-class quests, but as of right now only I may go on those quests. That will change later.” I pause, looking over the crowd and seeing everyone is paying attention, Raine, Twilight and Trixie taking notes.

“So, as there is a ranking system for the quests, there is a corresponding ranking system for the members as wizards that determines what quests you will be allowed to undertake. Before you all went through the magic test, you we’re all considered F-class wizards, the bottom of the bottom.” I can see some slightly intrigued looks after noticing the way I phrased it.

“The MPF scores weren’t just for no reasons. Your scores on the MPF will determine your rank as a wizard, and thus, which quests you can take on. We will also be redoing the MPF test every four months for both new and current members to update the standings. Think of it as a small bit of competition. Each rank has a title I chose, and while you could simple go by the letter ranking; E-class, D-class, C-class, B-class, A-class and S-class, I feel that it would simple be cooler to go by the titles of the rank.” I could see some of the crowd nodding, Rainbow and Gilda in particular looking excited and intrigued. I take out the list my playful side wrote earlier and look over the crowd.

“First in the list are those of you who scored below 100 on the MPF. Your class are referred to as Genin. Rather low, so you may only go on E and D class quests by yourselves. You may accompany other wizards that go on a C and B class quests, but only with their permission. So the first Genin of Fairy Tail are as follow. Fluttershy, Sweetie Belle, Applebloom, Scootaloo, Echo, Rairty Belle, Silk Song, Raine Jewel, Pinkie Pie, Nate Quartz and Swift Service. Now don’t be too discouraged about being the lowest rank. Again, you can accompany other members on their quests and we will be redoing the MPF test every four months to update the rankings.” I see the group all nod and some of the others still applaud the Genin.

“Next are the Chunnin. You all scored between 101 and 300 points on the MPF and will be allowed to go on C-class quests alone. You can also accompany wizards that go on some A-class quests, again, with their permission. The current Chunnin of Fairy Tail are; Hot Spark, Zen Quartz, Gilda, Azure Skies, Floral Talons, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Bladed Wind, Star Burst and Zecora. Congratulations all of you.” The crowd clap for the second group, each of them looking at least a little proud.

“Third are are know as Jounin. You all scored between 301 and 550 points on the MPF and are allowed to go on B-class quests alone. You are technically allowed to accompany wizards on S-class quests as well, but as I said before, as of right now, only I will be going on those quests. Anyways, the current Jounin of Fairy Tail are as follows. Legacy Tracer, Emerald Blizzard and Trixie Lulamoon. Congratulations you three.” The trio look to each other with smiles as the crowd around them all cheer for the newly appointed Jounin.

“Third highest ranking are know as Kage. Those in this rank scored between 551 and 1,000 points on the MPF and may go on any A-class quests alone as well as accompany on any S-class quests as well. The current Kage members of Fairy Tail are, Spike and Twilight Sparkle. Great job you two.” The duo hug one another as the crowd around them applaud.

“Next are the ones simply known as Rai. Those who rise to this rank are the ones who scored over 1,000 on the MPF and may go on all but S-class quests on their own, as well as accompany any members below them. Those of you who reach this rank with act as supervisors for the guild, as well take the roles of leaders whenever I am not around. You need to be able to lead and aid your guild mates once you reach this rank. Hopefully you can deliver. The Rai of Fairy Tail are as follows. Shining Armor, Mi Amor Cadenza, Sonbāsuta and Luna. I am putting a lot of trust in you four. Don’t let me down.” The four Rai members all nod with serious expression, even as Shining and Cadence hold onto one another and Sonbā holds Echo in his arms.

“Hey wait, if the Rai can’t go on any S-class quests alone, who does?” I hear Rainbow ask, the others all looking to me in curiosity.

“Yeah, and you said that the Kage are only the third highest ranking, and Rai are above that. So what’s the highest rank?” Gilda asks with a raised brow. I look over the group and get a little more comfortable on my seat.

“The S-class wizards, or as I call them, the ANBU, are only selected by me and only once a year. You see, every year there will be an S-class promotion trial that I will put some of you in. Basically it will be an insanely difficult job, but if you pass it, you will automatically jump to an ANBU and be allowed to take on any S-class quests.” I explain.

“Why once a year?” Trixie asks.

“Simple really. It will give you the time to grow stronger. If I were to do it more than once a year, a member may not have the needed time to grow or pass on a fluke. The S-class quests are some of the most difficult and most dangerous quests we will get as a guild. You could die, no way around it.” I can see some of the others pale slightly, but I continued.

“As I said, every four months we will be doing the MPF exam to gauge your magical powers and change your ranks, which will play a large part in who gets selected to go through the S-class promotion trial. The higher ranking you are, the most likely you are to get selected, but strength alone won’t make you a surefire candidate. There will be a number of factors I will look into before selecting anyone.” Most of the crowd slowly nod, agreeing with my reasoning.

“So, what happens if someone steals an S-class quest?” Nate asks, to which I light both my eyes and extend my Wings.

“Those that break that rule, and my trust, will be punished accordingly.” I state simply but fiercely, the crowd all leaning back slightly. I sigh and retract my magic power. “Sorry. But the fact remains, these rules are in place both for the protection of the poulace, as well as the members. This actually leads into the next thing I wished to talk about.”

I look over the crowd before teleporting to the second floor and sitting on the railings. “Whatever each of you were before today to each other and yourselves, as members of this guild, we’re all family. We look out for one another, protect one another, and care for one another. If you see a member struggling, either on a job or on the streets, take the time to help them. If you get into a fight with another member, take a minute to cool off and think of their perspective before saying anything else and apologize to one another. Whatever events you have had with one another in the past, it remains there. In the past. Now, in this moment, in this guild, we’re all a part of something bigger.”

I stand on the railing, casting a small illusion on my skirt to prevent anyone from getting a view. I see as everyone is nodding and slowing cheering with me.

“To me, family is just as important as life itself. It is through this bond, though this connection, that we all grow stronger as individuals, how we breach our limits, and how we make the impossible, possible. It is this connection that makes us unbeatable!” The crowd begins to get louder, and I decided to bring it home.

“This is what makes the Fairy Tail guild number 1!” I yell, holding up my arm, index finger up. The crowd all cheer and follow my example, raising their hands. I smile wide and wipe my eyes as everyone cheers for one another, everyone all hyped up as members of the guild.

“Yo Pinkie! I think it’s time for a party!” I call out, the pink mare saluting before taking out two of her party cannons from....somewhere, and firing. In a flash of confetti, the guild hall is covered with banners, balloons and confetti, some of the tables near the back covered with food and drinks, alcoholic and non-alcoholic, and there was what looked like a mixing table near the other side of the guild, next to the stage, with Pinkie standing behind it with a pair of headphones around her neck.

“Let’s get this party started Fairy Tail!” Pinkie and I yell, the crowd cheering again and beginning to party hard. I just watch the members from the second floor for a while, seeing as more ponies from the town begin to filter in as things start to pick up.

I grin and head back to my office for a second and grab a bunch of small booklets I made a few days ago. They were actually regulation booklets that contain all the guilds rules and regulations. Some of the rules were rather obvious, like ‘do not take a quest above your rank’ and ‘do not purposefully terrorize a town’ but some were more subtle yet important, like ‘if you find a dangerous artifact, immediately notify the Farkage (me) or a high ranking member’. While I could have just told everyone the rules out loud, I feel like that would have taken too long.

I exit my office and head downstairs, finding a large majority of the town has arrived to the party, many congratulating the members and enjoying the food and drinks Pinkie brought. How she got those here I doubt I will ever know. I put the booklets behind the bar and begin to mingle with the ponies, a few of them asking me about some contracts they had given earlier, to which I pointed and explained the request board.

I must have been mingling with random ponies for about half an hour before I came across a group I met earlier in my arrival to Equestria.

“Hey Bon Bon, Lyra, Tavi, Vinyl!” I call out, the two earth ponies and unicorns turning and seeing me walk up, all greeting me in their own ways.

“Hey Lex.”

“Hi Lex!”

“Great to see you again love.”

“Sup Fairy Leader?”

“Hey girls, nice to see you four again. How have things been?” I ask, leaning against the table the group was at.

“Not much for me. The sweets shop has been busy as usual.” Bon Bon states, munching on a cupcake.

“I managed to get started with a theory about how you Displaced worked. Time Tuner is a huge help with it.” Lyra says with a smile.

“Tavi and I just got back from one of her shows in Canterlot, so things have been hella dull for me.” Vinyl says with a grin, her sister jabbing her in the ribs.

“Honestly, you know you could have stayed here in Ponyville Vinyl. I am sure you could have found something to occupy your time with. But yes, the two of us were in Canterlot the past couple of days. Imagine our shock when we learned about this place from the flyers.” Octavia says, taking a sip of some punch that I could tell Vinyl spiked. I guess the DJ wanted to see if the cellist had a wild side.

“Yeah. Honestly if someone told me I would be opening a wizards guild in the near future a few months ago, I would ask what they were on and if I could have some for Vinyl.” I say with a grin, the DJ placing a hand on her chest in mock pain.

“Oh my heart, how you wound me Lady Justine!” The white mare says in a bad Canterlot accent, earning a chuckle from all but her sister, who I see is starting to blush a little, and not from embarrassment.

“Hey Vinyl. If you’re done mocking the asses of Canterlot, wanna head to the mix table and shuffle some songs from my phone? I have a playlist for parties.” I ask, holding out said device. I had introduced the DJ to my phone and some of my music a month ago, so she knew how to use it. She salutes before grabbing my phone from my hand and rushing to Pinkie.

“I still don’t understand how you two are related Octavia. You’re both just so....polar opposites.” Bon Bon says, scratching her head.

“If only mother and father knew how she would be. They would have coddled her more like me I think.” Octavia says with a giggle. I then realized that her sister may have put too much into her drink. I cast a small healing spell that made Octavia more lucid, yet still buzzed.

“Watch yourself Tavi. Get too much to drink and I might have Trace and Nate escort you home.” I say with a grin, the charcoal mare just nodding and finishing her drink.

“Perhaps that would be best. For now though, I am feel rather peckish.” She says before getting up and heading to the food tables.

“Yeah I think you should get her and Vinyl some escorts.” Lyra states with a deadpan expression to the DJ that was currently remixing some music from my phone.

“Already have several members in mind. Anyways, it was nice to talk to you girls again.” I say before leaving the two mares and going back into the party.

I am not sure how long I was mingling for, when there is an iconic record scratch from the table and the music stops, as well as several ponies gasping. I raise a brow and look to where everyone is looking and see the reason.

“Oh, hey princess Celestia!” I call, walking over while everyone tries to bow.

“Hello Faekage Lex. Nice to see you again. I see you have finished with the examination.” The solar princess says with a smile. I glance around and see everyone still bowing, so I motion to them, Celestia nodding. “Please rise my little ponies. I am here on an unofficial visit, no need to be so tense.”

The crowd all rise from their bows, but the party doesn’t start up right away so I take some initiative.

“Hey Vinyl! Drown It Out!” I call, the white mare nodding and finding said song in my phone.

https://m.

With the beat busting, the party gets back to full swing. I lead the solar princess through the crowd and towards her sister, niece and nephew. I could sense the intrigued aura around Celestia as she notes who are members, taking a second longer to note Twilight and Spike before we arrive at the small group.

“Aunty! What are you doing here?” Cadence asks, hugging her eldest aunt.

“Well when I closed day court, I was curious as to why night court was temporarily cancelled. Also I wanted to see how things have been over here.” She says, sending a sly look towards Luna, who rubs the back of her head with a sheepish smile and shows her sister her emblem.

“Sorry sister, but I wasn’t sure how you would react to me joining this guild. Though, considering that our dear niece and nephew have joined up as well, I am surprised that you are as calm as you are.” Luna says.

“Luna, I cannot controls your life. I knew you would probably join up, if only for the chance to connect more with our little ponies. Plus it would give you something to do on your off time when not in court or doing your dream duties.” I nod along with Celestia, Luna smiling and hugging her sister.

“Actually, it is a good thing you stopped by Celestia. Can the four of you meet me in the staff lounge with the guards later?” I request seriously, the four royals raising their brows.

“Does this have to do with those stallions you had tied up earlier?” Shining asks, to which I just nod seriously.

“Yes. You can talk to Spike, Rarity or Fluttershy for details, but just know those ponies are criminals.” I inform, the quartet looking to the hall with widened eyes.

“I see. I’ll have to speak with Spike then. Faekage Lex, if you would please inform us when you want to talk.” Celestia formally requests, to which I nod.

“Of course. I just hope I am right about my hunch. And if I am, know the Fairy Tail guild will help however we can.” I say with a bow, the solar princess nodding as I head back to the party.

‘What have you found miss Justine?’ Celestia wonders.

The party had been a wild ride for the past couple hours. After my talk with the royals, I managed to convince Trixie to go on stage and preform, with me as her assistant. I did help her with some of my own illusion magic for one or two parts, but about 95% of the show was from Trixie. The crowd cheered and genuinely had a great time watching Trixie making fireworks with her magic as well as one of my illusions for her stories.

I can’t stop the smile on my face as I see all the new members having fun with one another and the local populace of Ponyville. I was honestly a little worried about how some would react to the none ponies of the guild, but most warmed up to the canines and Flora rather quickly. Gilda for the most part stayed on the side though, clearly not a hundred percent comfortable with mingling with ponies. I heard about the fallout she had with Dash about a year ago, so I couldn’t really blame her.

The party was already beginning to die down a bit, with some of the younger ponies heading home for the night, along with their guardians. I did as I said I would do earlier and had Zen and Nate escort Vinyl and a rather drunk Octavia back to their home for the night. Even though he is very charismatic, I knew that Zen and his brother wouldn’t try anything with the two musicians.

As I requested earlier, the royal ponies and the guards members were waiting for me by the staff lounge. The eight of enter, seeing the stallions from earlier still unconscious on the couches, nice and tied up with some Dark Bindings.

“So, I spoke with Spike earlier and heard about these two. I take it you found out as well and captured them so they could be taken into custody?” Star Burst asks.

“Yup. I also got this earlier.” I say, showing the group the trap contract. “I believe it is possible a co-worker of these two was the one who made this contract. While I would love to go after them myself, I feel it would be best for me to leave this to the officials.”

The guards and royals look at the barren contract before glancing to the stallions. I could tell they wanted to talk, so I decided it was time to wake them up.

“Water Surge.” I say simply, a blue spell matrix appearing a sending a small pulse of water towards the stallion, soaking them and waking them up.

“Who what where huh?” I hear the unicorn ask before he noticed all of us. “Oh.”

“Yeah, you two are under arrest. You’ll be coming back to Canterlot with us for questioning.” Bladed Wind states seriously. I could see then stallions trying to find a way out of this, the unicorn lighting his horn, before I send a small jolt of electricity towards him. Since he is still soaked, he got more shocked than what he would normally.

“Just give yourselves up and get out of my guild.” I order with a glare, lightning sparking around my hands. The duo seemed to now understand they were trapped, so they sigh and allow Azure, Star and Wind to cuff them, placing a magic inhibitor on the unicorns horn and restraining the pegasus wings with some rope. I nod in satisfaction as the guards escort the duo out of the room and then out the guild.

“Lex. We are going to be launching an investigation to see if we can find the black market and smuggling ring responsible for those two. With luck we should be able to handle it ourselves, but we may need to ask your guild for assistance.” Celestia says.

“Say no more princess. People like those two make me sick, so I would gladly accept the chance to take them down. If you need any other help, you know where the contract station in Canterlot is.” I say with a bow. The solar princess nods to me before going to the guards with her family and teleporting away.

“What was that about?” I turn to Silk and Raine, who have been cleaning up from the party.

“With any luck, we may get the chance to take down those who don’t value life.” I reply crypticly. The duo look to one another with raised brows before shrugging and continuing to clean. Eventually Zen and Nate get back and help the five of us in cleaning up the rest of the guild. Turns out the barrack are being used quite a bit now. The current residence of the guild are Spark, Swift, Nate, Zen, Raine, Flora, Trace, Emerald, Gilda, Trixie Sonbā and Echo. Only a year before someone else moves into the guild hall itself.

I release a sigh and say goodnight to the members as each of us head to our rooms to turn in for the night. Quickly stripping down and washing myself, I lay down in bed and stair up at the canopy for a moment.

“It’s done. Fairy Tail is open. I am the master of a wizards guild. Heh, I wonder how mom and dad would react to this. They little girl that tried to become a teacher, becoming the leader of a bunch of wizards.” I look to the side wall, where I see the picture of me, Adam and Nat framed against the wall. I let my mind wander as my eyes grow heavy and I allow myself to fall into Luna’s domain.

‘Adam, Nat, Sora. I hope I can find you soon. I know you guys would make this place from a guild, into a home.’

So, just like Equestria’s Strongest Wizard, the guild members ranks, MPF score and magic will be recorded in the notes unless there is something I need to inform you reader about.

Alexandria Justine: Faekage-13,789-Variety
Princess Luna: Rai-2,936-???
Sonbāsuta: Rai-2,247-Crystal Maker
Mi Amor Cadenza: Rai-1,529-???
Shining Armor: Rai-1,119-???
Twilight Sparkle: Kage-601-???
Spike Sparkle: Kage-562-Emerald Dragon Slayer
Trixie Lulamoon: Jounin-505-???
Emerald Blizzard: Jounin-425-???
Legacy Tracer: Jounin-371-???
Zecora: Chunnin-202-???
Star Burst: Chunnin-154-???
Bladed Wind: Chunnin-151-???
Rainbow Dash: Chunnin-135-???
Applejack: Chunni-134-???
Floral Talons: Chunnin-132-???
Azure Skies: Chunnin-129-???
Gilda: Chunnin-120-???
Zen Quartz: Chunnin-115-???
Hot Spark: Chunnin-105-???
Swift Service: Genin-98-???
Nate Quartz: Genin-95-???
Pinkie Pie: Genin-93-???
Raine Jewel: Genin-89-???
Silk Song: Genin-73-???
Rarity Belle: Genin-72-???
Echo: Genin-50-Aera
Scootaloo: Genin-28-???
Applebloom: Genin-25-???
Sweetie Belle: Genin-18-???
Fluttershy: Genin-5-???

I slowly open my eyes and yawn loudly, stretching my arms. I quickly check the clock next to me and see it is a little bit later than 8 in the morning. I am honestly surprised I managed to wake up so early after everything that happened yesterday. I am still shocked that I even made it this far. Now I have to do my actual job as a guild master.

Getting out of bed and heading to the washroom, I try and organize my thoughts about what I have to do today. I wanted to grab the S-class quest and see if I could finish it early so I could focus more on the guild members and what magic I am going to teach them. Already I could think of what I magic to teach a few of them, but there was still a lot to do. I go through what I have in mind for who as I am washing myself down.

Once I am nice, cleaned and dried, I go over to my closet and grab my clothes for the day. I decided to grab one of the outfits from another anime. Ino Yamanaka’s outfit to be exact. It consisted of a pair black open toed sandals, some mesh armor around my elbows and knees and I even put my hair into a ponytail like the kunoichi. I had a perfect purple, high collar blouse to go over my chest, yet show odd my midriff and a pair of short shorts that look like bandages beneath an apron skirt that matched my blouse. I also grabbed one of my bras that actually had some pockets in them so I could hold the contracts I was going to do in the one spot no one would try and grab.

Once I had my outfit on and ready, I head out of my bedroom and am immediately greeted by the smell of food cooking in the kitchen. I smile to myself as I head over to the request board, grabbing the S-class quest from Fleur and head down to the main floor. I glance around the room quickly, finding Zen at his position behind the bar, and I could see a familiar hen and unicorn in the kitchen. Swift, Nate and Trixie I found all looking at the request board.

“Morning Lex, nice sleep?” I turn to Sonbā as he asks that. The stallion was wearing a simple black muscle shirt beneath a dark blue jacket and and dark grey jeans.

“Morning Sonbā. Yeah, after last night, I am honestly surprised how well my sleep was.” I say with a laugh, sitting at the bar. “Hey Zen, mind making me a banana and strawberry smoothie please?” The canine nods to me and grabs the blender and the necessary ingredient.

“Hey boss, Sonbā! What do you guys want to eat?” Flora asks, popping her head out the kitchen.

“Mind making me a ham and tomato omelette?” I request.

“Cheese and tomato for me please.” Sonbā asks, sitting next to me. The griffon salutes and goes back into the kitchen. I release a relaxed sigh and dig into my shirt, taking out the contract from Fleur.

‘Now, where would I find this flower. I just need to find one then I could use my Green magic to make more grow.’ I ponder, looking over the info Fleur put on the contract. Sonbā glances over my shoulder and looks at the image on the contract.

“Oh, your looking for one of those rainbow roses?” I look to Sonbā with slightly widened eyes, nodding slowly. “Well, Trixie found one earlier. You could ask her for it.”

I go wide eyed and look to the unicorn mare who was still looking at the B-class quests.

“Hey Trixie!” I call, the mare jumping slightly and looking over. I motion her over, the mare clearly a little nervous.

“Yes Faekage?” She asks formally.

“Trix, relax. I may be the leader, but you don’t need to be so nervous around me. Anyways, I heard you found a rainbow coloured rose earlier?”

“Um yes. During the first part of the examination, I found it on the root to the Tree of Harmony. I am not sure why, but I almost felt compelled to take it, like it was asking me to bring it with me.” She says with a thoughtful expression. Meanwhile I am beginning to imitate a fish as no words came out of my mouth. I feel a tapping on my shoulder and turn to see Zen with my drink. I nod in thanks and take a large swig of the fruity smoothie.

“Do you still have it?” I ask after swallowing some of my drink, the mare nodding.

“I put it in a small pot in my room. Why do you ask?” Rather than answer, I hand the unicorn the contract, Trixie reading it over, before looking at me with wide eyes.

“Trixie Lulamoon, you just inadvertently finished the guilds first S-class quest.” I state with a small amount of shock. I see the mare beginning to wobble, so I grab her and sit her down on the chair next to me.

“I don’t believe it.” I hear her mumble softly.

“Alright, nice job Trixie.” Spark says, coming out of the kitchen with mine and Sonbā’s food in his magical grip. I thank him and we begin to eat, Trixie still in a stunned state before I snap my fingers, summoning the communication card for contacting Fleur.

“Trixie, can you go and grab that flower from your room? I wanna try something before I inform the contractor that the quest is done.” The mare nods and heads out of the guild and to her room in the barracks. Sonbā and I finish our food and I take them to the dish pit. I saw that a few more members were slowly beginning to filter in, the CMC, Gilda and Zecora being some that immediately go to the job board.

“Hey, if you guys need any help with a job, remember to ask for it.” I tell the members, the others nodding before looking over the board again. There was plenty of E, D and C class quests, and only a few that were higher than that. I checked a Lacrima screen I had set up for the gym, and see Applejack, Rainbow and, surprisingly, Azure Skies heading in and looking over some of the equipment. I am really glad I put up some instructions for some of the devices.

I hop up and take a seat on the bar, just watching over the guild hall for a minute before Trixie comes back with a small pot in her hands. Just like she said, Trixie has a single Harmony Rose growing in the pot. I smile as Trixie brings it over, handing the pot to me.

“Alright. Let’s see if this works.” I mutter to myself. I place my hand on the stem of the plant, leaning in and taking a small sniff before raising my right hand and focusing on my Green magic. I allowed my magic to flow into the flower, magically recording its composition and its magic signature, before connecting it to my hand. It took a couple of seconds, but a small bud slowly began to appear and then grow. In about a minute, a new Harmony Rose had fully bloomed in the palm of my hand.

“Wow.” Trixie says softly. I smile and slightly alter the plant in my hand, making it produce seeds for more roses before allowing it to wilt. I smile as I have a half dozen Harmony Rose seeds in my hand before snapping my fingers and summoning a vase I made earlier while practicing my Alchemy. I use some Earth and Water magic and fill the vase with equal parts fertile dirt and pure water, before planting the seeds. I then focus on my Arc of Time and accelerate the growth of the flowers, causing six new Harmony Roses to grow and bloom in the vase.

“There we go.” I mutter softly. I quickly wipe my brow and just now notice that almost everyone in the guild has been watching me while I make these flowers. I blush slightly and rub the back of my head before picking up the vase and placing it on the corner of the bar table.

“Hey Trix. Even though I didn’t approve and it was an accident, you should know that you will be getting a cut of the reward for completing the quest.” I inform the mare while taking out the telepathy card. Trixie nods and begins to talk to Zen about getting some food, the others going back to their own devices.

‘Hello? Fleur De Lis, you there?’ I ask through telepathy.

“Oh! Um, hello, is somepony there?” I hear her reply, sounding a little far away.

‘Fleur, it’s Lex Justine of Fairy Tail. I am using the telepathy card I gave you earlier.’ I inform, hearing some shifting from the other side of the connection.

“Oh, lady Justine. Good to hear from you again, and so early as well. I just got out of the shower.” She says, and from the volume and quality of her voice, I can tell she is holding the card.

‘Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle or interrupt anything. I just wanted to inform you of something. You remember that contract you signed earlier?’ I grin as I hear Fleur gasp and the audio wavered, signifying she dropped the card.

“Y-you mean?!” She asks with excitement.

‘Yup. During the entrance exam, one of the new members found a Harmony Rose. I have a few growing in a pot next to me as a matter of fact. If you and your husband could come by some time, your contract will be finished.’ I inform with a smile. Though, I cringed slightly as I hear Fleur squealing very loudly through the card and I imagine she is probably bouncing on her bed if the sound of bed springs was any indication.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you! I can’t believe it! I have a couple of photo shoots and my husband has some meetings, but we will be down to the guild in two days tops. Thank you again!” She says with, I imagine, a huge smile on her face.

“I am not the only one you should be thanking Fleur. Be sure to tell me when you are on your way to the guild so I can have the wizard responsible here as well.” I say aloud, the others seeing my card and realizing I was using telepathy.

“Of course. I’ll let you go for now. Be seeing you soon love!” She says and I cut the connection.

“Hey Trixie.” The mare looks over to me as she finished her hay bacon and toast. “The contractor for the S-class quest will be down in a couple of days, and I want you to be here. I know they would want to thank the wizard who found the roses.” Trixie nods as Flora takes her plates and I head over to the request board. It was still early, and I wanted to do something aside from sitting in the guild hall all day.

Looking over the request board, I look to the ones the CMC grabbed, the trio planning to help Miss Cheerilee with flower picking. In particular looking for a rare purple rose that’s said to bloom around this time of year near the edge of the Whitetail woods.

“Hey girls, remember not to do something above your skill sets and to ask for help if you need it.” I remind the fillies, who nod before looking around the guild. I could hear them talking to Raine about going with them on the quest, and from the sounds of them leaving, she agreed.

“Having trouble finding a job Faekage?” I hear Emerald ask as he walks up along with Echo and Sonbā.

“Sorta. Even if I am the master of the guild, I can and will go on some quests as well. I am just trying to decide which of the more dangerous ones to take so we can get them off the board.” I say, looking at the two A-class quests we have. One was to gather Hydra’s Venom, a very poisonous lily that can be repurposed into a universal anti-venom. The other was to collect some Cragodile teeth for forgeing some kind of enameled iron alloy for some swords.

“Yeah, I think I’ll take the Cragodiles teeth.” I mutter to myself, grabbing the quest and stamping the ‘approved’ mark on it before stuffing it into my bra.

“I guess I am looking for Hydra’s Venom then.” Sonbā says, grabbing the contract and holding out to me, allowing me to stamp it.

“Emerald, you’re in charge till I get back. Hopefully this won’t take too long.” I state, heading to the door. I barely made it to the doors before they open up, Spike walking in and bumping into me.

“Oh, sorry Lex. Just came to try and get some work.” He says. I think for a moment before grabbing his shoulder as he walks past.

“Hey Spike, wanna come with me to collect some Cragodile teeth? It can give you a chance to practice your Dragon Slayer magic.” I ask. He seemed to deliberate for about a second before grinning and nodding.

“Alright, let’s go.”

The two of us head out of the guild and into the forest. The contract was asking for about a hundred individual teeth for forgeing the swords, so we were going to the swamp area where Trace and his group encountered the Cragodile clutch. I am note sure why, but I had a feeling this wouldn’t be too hard even though the contractor and I labeled it as an A-class quest.

Spike and I must have been walking through the forest for about half an hour before we arrive on the northern edge of the swamp area. I looked around, not finding where Trace and his friends were at during the exam, but shrug at not seeing any Cragodiles either.

“Alright. Looks like this’ll take a bit. Spike, I am going to look for the teeth underwater, can you walk around the bank and collect any you find?” I ask, handing the drake a bucket to use. Spike nods and begins to walk around the bank of the swamp, keeping an eye out for any teeth. I take a deep breath before jumping into the water and using some magic.

‘Takeover Animal Soul.’ With that thought, I feel as my body from the waist down along with the sides of my neck go numb before transforming. I was using a partial takeover, allowing my legs to turn into the tail and waist of a salmon, as well as gaining some gills on my neck to let me breath. Basically I turned myself into a mermaid, so I could stay under for as long as I wanted.

I was glad for this magic ability, since I could tell the swamp was much deeper in some parts than one would think. I spent like fifteen minutes underwater, finding maybe a dozen good Cragodile teeth on the bottom of the lake, before I decided to pop back up to see how Spike was going. I swim upwards quickly before breaching the water, taking a deep breath. I looked around for a second before finding the drake looking near some trees that had fallen into the water.

“Hey Spike! How many you got?!” I call out.

“I don’t know, ten good ones I think!” He yells back.

“Damn, this is taking longer than I thought. At least we aren’t having to fight anything.” And with that, I knew I had all but begged Murphy to come by and play.

I felt a ripple in the water next to Spike, and saw as a couple of adolescent Cragodiles broke their disguises of rocks and made their way to Spike as he was looking around a tree.

“Spike! Cragodiles at four o’clock!” I yell in alarm, the drake dropping his bucket and jumping back just in time for one of the rocky reptiles to try and take a bite out of him.

“Crap!” I hear him yell before igniting his hands in sparkling emerald flames.

“Hang on Spike!” I call out before diving and swimming to him. At least I was going to before seeing I had my own problems. Five other Cragodiles either swimming below the water or walking on the floor of the lake were making their ways to either me or Spike. “Well crapbaskets.”

I quickly swim away as four of the rocky reptiles follow me. I really was stuck since, as far as I knew, I couldn’t use any other forms of magic while using Takeover magic unless I turned into something that already had magical abilities.

“This is bad, I can’t turn back to normal or I’d risk drowning, and I only have so many aquatic forms.” I mutter to myself before yelping as one of the Cragodile nearly bit my tail-fins off. Those things are surprisingly fast swimmers for reptiles that wears rocks as armor.

“I need to get up to the land.” I decide, but it was easier said than done since I was swimming even farther into the lake and away from land. I quickly look around before spotting an old boat sunk at the bottom of the lake. Swimming down and purposeful kicking up some muck and dirt, I dive under the overturned boat and hide. I am really glad I have near perfect hearing even when underwater with this Takeover.

I am not sure how long I waited for before I saw the shadows cast by the Cragodile disappear. I release a breath I didn’t know I was holding before cautiously poking my head out and scanning the area. No sign of the reptiles or the rocks that they use as armor. I swim as fast as I can out from under the boat and towards where I could see the roots of a tree. And where there is a tree, there is typically land.

I managed to breach the water and jump onto the side of tree, deactivating my Takeover. I release a small sigh before I hear roars of pain a ways down the lake.

“SPIKE!” I immediately get up and ignite my Wings spells, flying over the water to where I heard the roars. I managed to get to where the roars and sounds of fighting were coming from, but what I find in shocking.

Spike, covered in blood that is clearly not his own, with two dead Cragodiles on either sides of him with their armor melted off and shattered, one of them having a hole in their chests. I look in shock as Spike faced down two more of the reptiles with a snarl. One of them hisses at him and charges, Spike prepping himself.

“Emerald Dragon Shattering Fist!” he yells before slamming his fist on the Cragodiles head, right between the eyes and sent it flying through a tree. I can see the other one is still stunned so I shake my head and focus my own magic while I am above it. I managed to make the magic swirl in my hand faster than before, so once ready, it was perfect timing with the Cragodile charging at Spike. It barely made it half the distance before I rushed down to it from above.

“Mana Rasengan!” Much like with the chakra variant, the attack bores through the Cragodiles back, causing a burst as it comes through its front, the reptile weakly hissing in pain.

“Lex, are you ok?” Spike questions, attempting to wipe the blood off himself.

“Am I ok?! Spike you are covered in Cragodile blood!” I all but scream at him before rolling my eyes. “Water Lock.” Spike yelps as he is surrounded by an orb of water, holding his breath. I shift the water surround the drake, cleaning off all the blood before the bubble bursts, Spike now clean of any blood, but just soaked with water.

“Thanks.” He says as he spits out some water. I get a good look at the grown drake and see that, aside from a couple scratches, his looks perfectly fine.

“Wow, you’re actually ok.” I say in shock, walking over to one of the dead Cragodiles and opening up its jaw. I smirk slightly as I count the teeth in its mouth.

“Yeah, I guess having a Dragon Slayers instincs comes in handy. After you swam away I started using a couple spells to take them down. And I am not even that tired.” He says with only a small hitch in his voice, Spike coughing a bit. I walk over and pat his back before taking out a water bottle I brought with me. He nods in thanks and takes a couple of big gulps before handing it back to me.

“So you found your punching attack and your breath attack. What else did you use?” I question as I grab two of the dead reptiles by the tails and begin to drag them to the guild, Spike grabbing the last one.

“Well, I remember using Emerald Dragon Talons to shatter the armor of the one you’re carrying, and then I used Emerald Dragon Shining Blaze to melt the armor of this one.” He says.

“Shining Blaze? I take that attack is similar to Brilliant Flame?” I question, using my Plant magic to make our path clear of any roots or vines.

“I guess? I focused my magic in between my hands and made a ball of green fire that somehow had some gem shards floating in it.” He described.

“Interesting.” I mutter, the two of us passing one of the outposts. The two of us walk in relative silence for a while before Spike broke it.

“So, is there a reason we are taking the entire Cragodiles back to the guild and not just taking their teeth?” He questions, to which I just grin at him over my shoulder.

“Ever have Cragodile jerky before?” I remember while I was going around Equestria I visited a couple of libraries around the bigger towns like Manehatten, Canterlot and Cloudsdale, so there are a couple of cookbooks back in the guild. Spike looks to me with widened eyes before smirking and licking his lips at the prospect.

“In the immortal words of Big Mac, eenope.” He says with a laugh, the two of us breaking the tree line and heading towards the guild. I have to say, that was actually pretty fun, even if we ended up killing some animals.

‘And that was just my first job. I wonder what else my guild mates and I will end up doing.’

Alexandria Justine: Faekage-13,789-Variety
Princess Luna: Rai-2,936-???
Sonbāsuta: Rai-2,247-Crystal Maker
Mi Amor Cadenza: Rai-1,529-???
Shining Armor: Rai-1,119-???
Twilight Sparkle: Kage-601-???
Spike Sparkle: Kage-562-Emerald Dragon Slayer
Trixie Lulamoon: Jounin-505-???
Emerald Blizzard: Jounin-425-???
Legacy Tracer: Jounin-371-???
Zecora: Chunnin-202-???
Star Burst: Chunnin-154-???
Bladed Wind: Chunnin-151-???
Rainbow Dash: Chunnin-135-???
Applejack: Chunni-134-???
Floral Talons: Chunnin-132-???
Azure Skies: Chunnin-129-???
Gilda: Chunnin-120-???
Zen Quartz: Chunnin-115-???
Hot Spark: Chunnin-105-???
Swift Service: Genin-98-???
Nate Quartz: Genin-95-???
Pinkie Pie: Genin-93-???
Raine Jewel: Genin-89-???
Silk Song: Genin-73-???
Rarity Belle: Genin-72-???
Echo: Genin-50-Aera
Scootaloo: Genin-28-???
Applebloom: Genin-25-???
Sweetie Belle: Genin-18-???
Fluttershy: Genin-5-???

I release a loud sigh as I finish signing the last quest for the day. The past couple days we got a bunch of contracts from towns all over Equestria, so I spent most of my time in my office or in the guild to approve of who goes on which quest. Add that with the block I am having with what magic to teach who, and you get a very, very tired wizard.

It has only been a week since the guild was opened, and already a bunch of quests have been completed with more being send in from all over the place. Emerald, Trace and I decided collectively to pay for train tickets and the like from the guilds funds, but the wizards would be in charge of paying for anything else themselves. Not that that was much of a problem. After word got out how we helped find a mythical plant for Fleur, we started getting a bunch more quests from all over the place. None that would count as S-class yet, but plenty of A and B-classes.

Speaking of, the unicorn model was ecstatic when she and her husband came down to the guild to pick up her flower. I managed to get Trixie to stay when they showed up, and they were shocked who was the wizard responsible. Apparently Fleur and Fancy used to be good friends with Trixie’s parents, so Trixie knew them as aunty Fleur and uncle Fancy. They hadn’t seen each other in almost a decade after Trixie and her family moved away from Canterlot apparently.

Needless to say Trixie got a bit of a bonus from the duo as they asked if Trixie would be their foals godmother when this works. I had to use a relaxation spell to make Trixie stop freaking out. I also gave her a bonus by teaching her some more advances illusion magic for her shows, if she ever decided to put some on. She is still a little iffy about going back on stage after the Ursa Minor incident.

After they left, I helped a couple of members on some quests that came in, like Twilight and Raine when they were going to the Manehatten library to help search for a rare book in the old archives. It took us a couple of hours before Raine found it. I have also been helping other members who frequent the gym like Rainbow, Azure and Nate to make sure they don’t end up hurting themselves.

But mostly I have been spending my time in the guild, signing and posting quests, talking with contractors, and just all around being helpful to any who pop by. So far the only Rai members that have taken on quests have been Sonbā and Luna, the mare in disguise when on a job for discretion. I could tell she was really happy when she was able to help the local guards in Cloudsdale capture a dangerous convict or when she went to Chicoltgo to help destroy an old warehouse so an orphanage could be built. That one in particular she was very proud about.

And when she is here in the guild she is without a disguise and very outgoing. Once you get past her more archaic speech pattern and old references, Luna is a blast to be around. Something that most of the guild agrees with, like that one time she got into a drinking contest with Applejack. It was like watching Cana drink against Bacchus live. The farmer could barely get the princess buzzed before she passed out. That was fun.

I sigh again as I leave my office, quests in hand, and post them back up on the request board. It was a little after seven in the evening, and most of the members are drinking or just goofing off, Spike and Zecora being the only ones out on jobs right now. I am actually surprised how barren the job board was looking before I posted the quests. The members have been killing it with taking care of the quests. Apparently the CMC, Silk and Flora have been the ones to help out around Ponyville the most, while the others have been going all over the place, like Trace going to Dodge Junction to help on some cherry farm, and AJ heading to Appleloosa to help her cousin and the buffalo.

I smile to myself as I finish posting the quests on the board before taking a seat at the counter again, much like the third/sixth master, only I wasn’t a total shrimp anymore. I allow my mind to wander a bit as I relax on the counter, watching as Bladed Wind chats with Nate about some exercise regiment.

“Hey Lex, What’s going on? Haven’t seen you all day.” I turn to Sonbā as he and his sister come over and sit next to me at the bar.

“Not much guys, just been working out at the gym and going through some paperwork. Just updated the board if you guys need some work.” I inform, motioning to the board.

“Nice. I am honestly surprised how many jobs have been coming in.” Echo says, Zen bringing over a glass of apple cider for me and Sonbā and a glass of apple juice for the Exeed.

“Yeah. So I guess it has been a boring day for you too huh Lex?” Sonbā asks, taking a sip of his drink.

“Yeah, it has been pretty busy yet boring for me, what with filling out the forms and everything. Plus I am hitting a road block about what magic to teach some members here in the guild. I have some selected, but there are a few that have me stumped right now.” I say with a sign, downing my drink in one go. “I wish something new would happen.”

I had barely finished my sentence and put my cup down, when I get a small buzzing sensation in the back of my head and hear a voice.

”I call upon the Sword of Equality and the Fairy of Justice.”

I look around for a second, wondering where that voice came from, before noticing my token around my neck is glowing. A second later, what I guess is a void portal opens up in front of us.

“What the hay?” Sonbā questions. I look down at my token, then back to the portal before smirking.

“Looks like I am finally being summoned by another Displaced. And if that call was any indication, I am not the only one.” I answer before using my Requip magic to summon my rapier to my side.

“Hey, can we come too?” Echo asks, Sonbā looking to me with a raised brow as well. I think for a second before shrugging with a nod.

“Yeah why not. I might need the backup if I am being summoned to fight.” I say, the duo smiling at me before the three of us go through the void portal, the tear in dimensions closing a second later.

Zen looked to where we were sitting, then to where the portal was for a second before sighing and grabbing the cups. “They could have at least taken their dishes to the pit.”

****

Walking out of the void portal, I was greeted by the cold feeling of winter. I guess we are at a different point in time than back in my Equestria. I checked behind me as Sonbā and Echo exit the portal before it closes behind us. I take a deep breath of the nice chill air and stretch.

“Oh man, I wonder who summoned us this time.” I hear someone say from beside me.

“Yeah you said it dude. I wonder who would be the first to summon me.” I reply nonchalantly before registering something. That wasn’t Sonbā who just spoke.

Looking to the left, I am greeted by three other people who were looking back at me and my group with equal amount of confusion. I could see Rainbow Dash standing next to a familiar girl with green eyes, curly orange hair with a pink bow and a small blouse, Penny Polendina, and another familiar person. His brown and red hair, jacket and shirt, mask and sword were the same as what I remember from the show, though he did have the addition of a red jeweled necklace and a pair of slightly familiar gauntlets.

I was staring at a Displaced Adam Taurus. He seemed as shocked as me, lifting his mask and revealing his shining silver eyes. I am not sure how long the two of us were staring at each other for before we hear something neither of us expected. Sniffling.

Turning away from the huntsman, I am greeted by someone I never thought I would see. Her pink hair was reaching just barely past her shoulders, her rose eyes looking at me and the man next to me with disbelief and happiness. It was a Displaced Lucy or more accuratly Nyu, but I somehow knew who it really was

“Nat?” The faunus and I ask in unison. The girl, my little sister, nods slowly, tears in the corner of her eyes.

“Adam? Lex?” She questions quietly, me and the man nodding before turning back to each other. I can’t believe it. These two...their my little siblings.

“How...? Who...?” Adam tries to question. I don’t get a chance to respond before I feel something like and arm wrap around my waist before I am airborne, only to be tackled by a crying Diclonius.

“ADAM! LEX! You’re ok!” My sister yells in relief, and I can’t hold my own emotions back. I hug my little siblings against me with all my might, fearing they would vanish at any second, tears flowing like a pair of waterfalls down both mine and Nat’s eyes as my brother tries to stay strong.

I am not sure how long the three of us were laying in the snow, just crying and holding each other, before I feel a different pair of arms lifting each of us off the ground, and I finally figured out that Nat isn’t a human anymore and is using her Vectors to lift us off the ground. We seperate before giving one another an individual hug.

“Oh man! I can’t tell you guys how happy I am to see you guys again!” Nat says with a wide smile.

“Same here sis. I can’t believe it. Though, in hindsight I shouldn’t be all that surprised, since the three of us sent out our tokens.” Adam says with a grin. I hear the snow crunching and see as Penny and Rainbow walk up to Adam and Sonbā and Echo come over to me.

“Adam, is that?” the huntress asks. The three of us grin and stand side by side before looking to each of our groups.

“Penny, Rainbow. Meet my big sisters, Natali and Alexandria, or just Nat and Lex.” Adam introduces us to his companion.

“Sonbā and Echo. Say hi to my little sister and little brother, Natali and Adam.” I say to my friends, the stallion and Exeed looking to my sibling with warm smiles.

“Guys, meet Adam and Lex.” Nat say simply. I smirk at Nat’s group, consisting of this worlds Twilight and her family.

”Hey! Don’t forget me guys!” Adam and I look around in confusion for a second before something I could not believe happened. The air next to Nat began to shimmer like it was heating up before an individual became visible. She looked like Lucy does when she is in control and not Nyu, but she is partially transparent and floating. It only took a second for Adam and I to realize what and who we are looking at.

“Sora?!” We yell in unison. Sora just nods and floats up.

”The one and only. Who did you expect? Mrs. Hyde?”she says with a smirk. All of us look to my now visible youngest sibling in shock and I barely register this worlds Spike and Shining beginning to explain who Nat and Sora are to mine and Adam’s companions.

“How is this possible?! I mean I know you can take control over Nat’s body but how are you appearing right now?” Adam questions in shock. Meanwhile I am using my Seith magic, seeing Sora’s soul is still attached to Nat and not her...what I guess is an astral form?

“Well the first Displaced we summoned was a draconequus named Loki. He found out about Sora almost instantaneously and afterwards cast a spell on us to let either of us have an astral form for whenever the other is in control of our body.” Nat explains. I look over Sora again, this time with my magisight.

“Ok that is cool. Looks like your astral form is the result of a combination of chaotic and Harmonious magic being combined properly to give you control over outside magic.” I say in surprise, deactivating my eyes and seeing the curious and confused looks on my siblings faces. I guess they were wondering how I knew that.

“After I had to deal with something in my Equestria I found a chest that was sealed by a powerful spell. Turns out one of the versions of Master Mavis, the founder of Fairy Tail, sent out the chest that was filled with info on Fiore magic. I unlocked it and gained way more magic than I had when I arrived in Equestria. I have been practicing with my different styles of magic for the past couple months.” I explain with a slight grin.

“Yeah, Edward mentioned that you taught him Arc of Embodiment, but I was a little confused on how.” Adam says. Oh, so he met Ed.

”Um, can someone please introduce us?” I hear someone say. I look around us, not seeing anyone else.

“Oops, sorry Selene. I guess we got too excited.” I hear Nat say. I look back to her and notice her picking up something. Or I guess, someone. I look in shock as Nat turns back to us with a small black, grey and blue fox on her head, what looks like a small humanoid with a Venus flytrap connected to the back of her head in her arms, and a yellow, blue and black lion-like creature standing next to her. It barely took a second for me to recognize what they are.

“You have Pokemon here?!” I yell in shock, looking between my sister, the Zorua, Mawile and Luxio in disbelief. My sister give me a large grin and nods to each of the pocket monsters.

“Guys, meet Selene, Topaz and Chance. They have been showing up in Equestria seemingly at random, and have each been great friends.” She introduces, the trio greeting us in their own ways.

‘Hmm, I wonder if I can get these three as a Takeover.’

“Ok, those things look awesome.” Adam’s Rainbow says as she flies over, closely followed by everyone else.

“Agreed. These creatures are more adorable than me, and that is no easy feat.” Echo says, flying over as well. I laugh a little as Selene jumps into Rainbow’s arms and nuzzles up. Despite herself, the pegasus couldn’t help but go ‘awww’. She blushes upon seeing all of us looking at her.

“None of you heard that.” She says sternly. All of us are silent for a second before we all burst into laughter. It took a while before all of us calmed down.

“Don’t worry Rainbow. We’ll be quiet.” Natali’s Twilight says with a grin. Rainbow looks to Twi before hovering over and looking her over more closely.

“So you’re this world version of Twi huh? Weird. You look exactly like the one back home, but I feel there is something different about you.” She says, hovering above her. Twi raises a brow but shrugs.

“So, any real reason for our summoning Nat?” I question, not like I was complaining.

“Not really. After I got your tokens I was just planning on summoning whoever they belonged to and to offer my token before we went to the party.” She answers with a slight shrug.

“What party?” Penny asks.

”Its Hearths Warming right now. We got invited to a private party by the princesses. Actually, would you guys like to come? We told Luna we might be inviting some friends.” Sora says. The six of us look to one another, Sonbā and Echo nodding to me and Penny and Rainbow nodding to my brother.

“I’m in. There is no way I am leaving my sisters to go though this holiday without me.” Adam says with a smile.

“But, not all of you have some outfits that would work.” Night Light points out. We all look each other over before noticing only I would technically count since I am in my original orange dress with my jacket overtop. But that wasn’t a problem with all my magic.

“No worries there. I can just use some of my abilities to make our outfits.” I offer.

“Oh! If you can just get me some material, I can use my alchemy to make myself a dress.” Penny says with a smile.

“You have alchemy?” Sonbā asks in surprise. Penny nods and begins to go over how she and Adam met Edward. I shouldn’t be surprised that my brother got into a duel with the alchemist. Those two are cut from the same cloth when it comes to letting off steam it seems.

Our large group all head into the house and after some quick catching up each of us separated to get dressed for this party. As requested, I made some material for me, Penny, Rainbow and Echo before the huntress and I used our alchemy to turn the materials into dresses. I said that we could all just change in the main room, which led Nat’s head to turn from pale white to bright red in a nanosecond. She always was the easiest to tease. But I stopped her embarrassment by casting my Mirror spell Kaleidoscope. I set the spell to lower when purposefully tapped a couple of time so they wouldn’t be stuck in their ‘change rooms’ until I was finished changing.

I decided to go all out for this party. Might as well make a good first impression in a new world. I decided to go with a dress from Fairy Tail. More accurately, the dress Erza wore during the start of the Tower of Heaven arc. I am really glad I had let my hair grow out a little, so I could put it in the same style as the Queen of the Fairies. Also the increased size of my chest, while annoying at first, definitely gave me some more confidence in wearing some more risqué outfits like this one.

It didn’t take long for me to get dressed, honestly I probably could have just used The Knight Requip to change, but that seems like cheating. Not like Erza has a problem with doing that though. But nonetheless, I got into my dress with some black heels and white gloves before tapping on the mirror, dispelling it while also catching the end of Nat’s conversation.

“What is it with you tiny creatures and sitting on my head?” Nat question with a smirk as Echo is indeed sitting on her head. The purple Exeed looks to the Zorua and shrugs before looking down at my sister.

“You’re comfy.” Echo answers bluntly, getting a chuckle from Rainbow and Nat.

“You know you shouldn be glad your hear is comfy like that. I am pretty sure we all know a certain yellow pegasus who would be jealous by that.” I say with a grin, the trio looking to me and their jaws immediately getting acquainted with the floor.

“Holy fashion statement! Lex you look awesome!” My sister compliments, taking my hands in hers. I just grin and hand her my phone and doing a couple of poses. Nat takes a couple pictures before I do the same for her.

“I should have expected you two to be taking photos of each other.” We turn to see the boys all coming down the stairs. I was slightly disappointed, but not really surprised when Adam revealed he was still in his outfit he came here in, but with the addition of a tie. Although, I am glad Sonbā shrunk to be the same size as Shining after being purified by the Crystal Heart so he was able to just borrow one of the captains suits.

“And we should have expected you to barely change anything.” I counter with a smirk, my brother just shrugging while the others chuckle. That stops when we hear a light tapping and the mirror spell around Penny is lowered. Ok, and I thought Ruby was the cute one from that show.

Penny was dressed in an beautifully adorable grey and light green dress, heeled black boot that reached near her knees and a pair of black and green gloves.

“Um, how d-do I look?” She asks quietly. Nat immediately grabs both our phones and takes a picture of the huntress, much to her surprise.

“Wow! Penny you look incredible!” Sora complements, floating around the girl who smiles to her my sister before turning to Adam. I look on as Adam seems frozen in shock, ice still looking at Penny who just stares back. Nat turns to me with a raised brow but I just shrug, not really knowing what’s going on.

“Um, Adam?” my sister tries to snap him out of it, gently shaking his shoulder. It worked as he blinked a couple of time before shaking his head looking back to Penny with a light blush. I think that is the first time I have ever seen him blush at a girl.

“Um, wow Penny. You look incredible.” My brother says, rubbing the back of his head. Penny blushes and looks down at her dress, rubbing her hands together. I look to Nat who motions to the duo with a grin, one I respond with a smirk and a nod. The one thing I was worried my little brother would never experience had finally come to be.

Adam has a crush. And judging by the blush spread across Penny’s face, the feeling is mutual.

“Well, all we need now is for mom and Twily to finish and we can head to the castle.” Shining says, somehow keeping a straight face while watching my brother shift around almost uncomfortably.

“You won’t have to wait long.” We all turn to the stairs as Twilights mom walks down the stairs in a really nice pale blue dress with a sapphire necklace around her neck. I could see Twi’s dad have a proud blush on his face as he looks at his wife. A second later another set of hooves sound out, Twilight walking down the stairs. I think that is the same dress she wore to the Grand Galloping Gala according to Rarity.

I smile to the mare and notice she seemed frozen on something. Following her gaze, I am greeted by the sight of my little sister starring back with wide eyes and a faint blush. I raise a brow at her and look to Sora, who has just been standing on the ceiling the whole time. She just nods with an attempted shocked expression. I cannot believe it. Both of my siblings have crushes, and Nat’s is on another female. Not that she seems to realize it.

All of us just stood there in silence for about a minute as Twilight and Nat traced over each other’s outfits before Sora flew down from the ceiling and loudly cleared her throat, earning their attention. She just raised a brow and looked between the unicorn and Diclonius, the duo seeming to realize how long all of us have just been standing here.

“Ahem, sorry. You look beautiful Twilight.” Nat says with a smile and light blush. Twi blushed back and plays with her hair.

“Thanks Nat. You look great too.” The unicorn says with her own smile. All of us stay silent for a moment more before I release a loud sigh and clap my hands, getting everyone’s attentions.

“Alright! If that is everything, can we get going?” I ask, everyone nodding. Nat returns her pokemon to their pokeballs and our large group leave the house, heading to the castle. Though we only made it half a block before I stopped and realized something.

“Hold on everypony. How about i just teleport us to the main hall?” I question, the ponies looking to me in confusion.

“But a Teleportation spell of that magnitude would take tons of magical power.” Shining says in worry, which i just shrug off.

“Maybe for a Teleportation spell with pony magic, but I am using a type of magic called Direct Line, which is used for fast paced Teleportation. I have used it before, but this will be the largest group I have ever teleported before.” And I wasn’t lying. The Teleportation runes behind the guild and infront of the gym recharge from the ambient magic in the air as opposed to using my pool of magic as the source. The largest group I have ever teleported was the Element bearers, and that was just from the guild hall to the train station, a fifteen minute walk.

Nat and Adam place a hand on either of my shoulder, nodding to me as the others follow suit and connect themselves. I close my eyes and focus on the entryway to the main hall, before opening them and casting my spell.

“Direct Line!”

The area around us seems to flicker before changing to that of the entryway to the main hall. Immediately as we exit the shift, everyone aside from me and my group have to catch themselves or fall. Since Direct Line uses a different method of Teleportation than the Equestrian variant, most who haven’t used it before tend to end up being dizzy and even nauseous after the use.

It only took about a minute for everyone to get back to normal, so I walked up and knocked on the doors to the hall, my knocks echoing through the long hall. After a second the handles are covered by some blue auras and slowly opened.

Walking in, I see this worlds variants of a few ponies I know, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, though she was hiding behind Luna, Celestia and, ugh, Blueblood. Though, he was standing rather close to a batpony guardsmare.

“Um, why are you all so tensed?” Sonbā questions, and I just now notice aside from Celestia, everypony is tensed up, the guard having their hands on their weapons, all of them staring at me and Adam since we have our own weapons on our persons.

The solar princess of this world coughs, getting the others attentions, and smile softly. The others begin to relax, the guard releasing their holds on their weapons and Fluttershy even coming out from behind Luna upon seeing Echo. Though, I saw this worlds Rainbow stay on guard with a slight scowl on her face. The hooded Rainbow noticed this and laugh a little bit.

“What’s so funny?” This worlds Loyalty asks harshly. Adam’s Loyalty walked forward a couple of steps with a grin hidden beneath her hood.

“You know, I really should have expected you to be on guard. It is what I would do.” She replies to this worlds counterpart. Everyone who doesn’t know about her seems frozen as she raises her hands and lowers her hood, her grin having changed into a smirk as the other Rainbow falls on her butt in shock.

“R-Rainbow?” Fluttershy asks quietly, in shock. There was silence for a bit, before Adam’s Rainbow bursts into laughter.

“BWAHAHAHAH!! O-oh my Celestia! You g-guys should see your faces!” She yell in laughter, myself and a few other laughing as well from the expressions on the faces of the ponies before us. Though Adam eventually just facepalms.

“RD, I don’t think that was a good idea.” He says, pointing to this worlds Rainbow, the pegasus seemingly having shut down in shock. Dash, I decided to refer to her as, looks to her and shrugs.

“Eh, if this version is anything like me she will-“ she doesn’t get to continue before she dodges out of the way of Rainbow’s attempted punch.

“Alright copycat! Who are you?!” Rainbow shouts. I can see this could get out of hand with two versions of the same pony trying to fight each other, so I quickly raise my hand and focus on my Binding magic. Unlike Milianna who uses ‘bad kitty restrain tubes’ mine is a simple, but strong green rope much like Dark Bindings, but without the sharp end. I launch two of my ropes, tying up the rainbow maned Pegasi and seperate them.

“Hey!” They both shout. The others look to me as I have the matrix before me and I figure it would get annoying with two ponies who look exactly the same minus their clothes. Luckily I had the perfect thing for a situation like this.

“Yeah, I am just going to stop you two before this becomes a problem. And just so we don’t end up mixing you two up...” I trail off before lifting my other hand and focusing on my colors magic. I had a feeling Dash wouldn’t like looking too different, so I just changed her fur into a different shade of blue, cerulean, and then inverted the color pattern of her mane. Once done, I dispel my binding magic and let the duo look Dash over.

“Huh, I always wondered how I would look if I dyed my fur.” She says to herself. I can see the princess looking at the duo in confusion before looking to my sister and Twilight. The duo look to one another and sigh.

“It’s a long story.” They say together. Celestia raises a brow then takes a seat on her throne, a patient smile on her face.

“We have time.”

We then spent the next hour or so explaining who each of us were, why there were two Rainbow and all the stuff that was missing. Natali remembered to release her pokemon about twenty minutes into the explanation so we could have a couple more witnesses.

“So this is Adam and Alexandria. I had hoped we could meet one day, though I did not expect it during this holiday.” Rarity says with a slight flutter of her lashes. The three of us just look to her with deadpan expression, she immediately blushes and looks away. I hear someone coming over and mentally prepare myself as I see it is Blueblood. I met the bastard during one of my trips to the castle to visit with Celetia. The bastard straight up demanded I give him all my magical knowledge because he was a prince. I immediately changed his colors then threw him out the castle with a wind enhanced slap. That was a fun ‘scolding’ from Luna. She was just upset she couldn’t do it herself.

“Well, allow me to be the first to welcome the six of you to this realm. I am Prince Blueblood, but please just call me Blue.” he says with a smile, holding his hand out to shake.

....what? I am not sure how long the six of us were standing there in confused shock before my brother shook his head and then the unicorns hand, albeit awkwardly.

“Nice to meet you to Blue. I am Adam Taurus, leader of the White Fang squadron of the royal guard. This is my partner Penny Polendina and our realms version of Rainbow Dash.” He says a little awkwardly, Penny doing a curtsy regardless.

“I am Alexandria Justine or just Lex, Faekage of the Fairy Tail guild. This is my friend Sonbāsutā and his assistant slash little sister Echo.” I manage to say only slightly less awkwardly, Echo doing a midair curtsy in my peripheral.

I hear a duo of sighs and turn to my sister and the batpony from earlier.

“Let me guess, your guys’s Blueblood’s are total asses aren’t they?” She asks. The others and I try to shake our heads, only the end up nodding slowly in the end.

“I see, that seems to be a bit of a trend in the multiverse according to Natali. Well, let me just say that while I can act like a total prick, please be aware that at the very least it is only an act here in this dimension.” Blue says with a smile nearly as patient as Celestia’s. I am honestly impressed with is attitude. I glance back to the princesses, Celestia glancing to her nephew with pride, before their eyes fall upon Sonbā.

“Excuse me sir? But, who exactly are you. You look very familiar.” Celestia asks.

‘Uh oh...’

Echo and I look to Sonbā with worry, not sure how this worlds royals would react to him, but he just smiles to us before walking forward and bowing to the sisters.

“Hello. Like Lex said, I am Sonbāsutā, and I am the former king of the Crystal Empire.” He says with a smile. I could see Nat’s jaw hit the ground in my peripherals for some reason.

“King Sombra?!?!” The princesses and my sister yell. Wait, how does Nat know about Sombra? Either way, I saw the princesses light their horns, so I prep my Wave magic spells just incase they try anything. Sonbā appears unfazed as he makes a ‘sorta’ gesture with his hand.

“Yes and no. Sombra was the name I took after I became corrupted by evil magic. You see, when I was younger, I met a mare named Crystal Dust and foolishly fell in love with her. She pretended to love me in return and appeared to be a well mannered and respectable mare. But it was a lie, a cover hiding a greedy, egotistical and sadistic pony. She wanted to get close to me so I would marry her and she would all but take over my kingdom. After I learned of this, I blew up. My emotions ran rampant and because of this my magic became corrupted by my anger and sadness, turning me into the tyrant king Sombra.”

The others are frozen in shock after Sonbā’s explanation. I had a sneaking suspicion that the royals of this world haven’t truly ‘met’ their version of Sombra, and judging by the confused looks of the others, this place might actually be farther back in time than my Equestria. I hear a very quiet growl coming from next to me, and turn. I am greeted by the sight of a very enraged Faunus, and an equally pissed Diclonius.

“Nat? Adam?” I ask cautiously. They just look to me in anger.

“Targets, now.” They say sternly. I nod quickly before getting into my Ice Maker stance. Releasing my magic power, I create two round targets for the duo before throwing them in the air. Nat narrows her eyes and I watch as she turns her target into a bunch of ice shavings with her Vectors and Adam rushes forward before slashing his ice into even cubes with his sword before it even hits the ground.

All of us watch as my siblings utterly destroy their targets, Nat putting her ice shavings around the nearby ice scuplture and Adam’s ice cubes into the punch bowl. Sonbā walks up and places a hand on their shoulder with a sad smile.

“Thanks. I know about how you both helped Lex after her experience with Ray so I appreciate the reactions.” He say. Adam and Nat nod to him before the others come out of their stunned states.

“Wow! I don’t think I have ever seen you that mad before Nat.” Rainbow says. She just shrugs and we all seperate as more guest begin to arrive. I smile and walk around for a little while, speaking with some of the guest and introduce myself as a visiting dignitary from another land. Technically not lying since I am from a different land as well as being pretty high up in regards to nobility as the Faekage.

I spent maybe fifteen minutes just hanging out before someone decided to come and talk to me. Unsurprisingly, it was this world’s Twilight. The two of us spent the next little while talking about things like magical composition, how things in my guild have been and how many spells I knew. Obviously I was vague with the last one, though that did bring something up that Twilight was shocked about.

“You use dark magic?!” She whispers in shock. Judging by her reaction, this world might be like mine originally was.

“That’s right. I use all sorts of elemental magic, which includes darkness, as well as some Black Arts that are very difficult to control.” I explain calmly.

“How the hell are you still sane!?!” She says in disbelief, and I am really glad we are in a secluded spot right now.

“Simple. Darkness in not truly evil. It is something I learned when I was first Displaced, but dark magic wouldn’t immediately turn you into a tyrannical lunatic bent on world domination just from using it. That would be stupid. While dark magic can be dangerous if misused, so could light magic.” I try and explain, the unicorn next to me just looking more and more shocked.

“I-I don’t understand. Princess Celestia has said that all forms of dark magic are evil and can corrupt an individual if used even once.” Twilight said. I just look to her with a patient frown before sighing.

“If that is the case then your Celestia is an even bigger idiot than mine.” Twilight gasps in disbelief. “I can tell, she is afraid of the darkness and has tries to eliminate it from her world. But the fact is that you can’t have just light. Light and dark are two sides of the same coin. You can’t have one without the other.”

Twilight looks unconvinced and a little miffed that I insulted Celestia so I try and think of another way to explain it. “Ok, think of it this way. There is a saying I have heard from a story, where the hero is someone who has to use darkness to defeat an evil tyrant of light. The saying states that, ‘the light can burn and blind one to the truth, while the darkness cools and entrusts’. It means that trying to look at thing in the view of darkness equals evil, light equals justice, can make one blind to the problems that such a philosophy can create.”

I glance out the window we are nearby and get another idea. “Look out at the sky Twilight. What do you see?” I question. The purple mare walks next to me and look up at the night sky, scanning it for something.

“Well, I see the moon and the stars, the constellations and a couple of clouds.” She says, looking at me with a quirked brow. I nod to her and look towards the sky.

“Now, what would you see right now if it was the middle of the day?” I question. She thinks for a second before shrugging.

“I don’t know, the blue sky, the sun and some clouds?”

“You would see the world in the view of light. Now at night, during the time of darkness, you can see the beauty in the domain of the dark.” I point to one of the constellations, a scorpion centaur. “During the day, when it is filled with light, you would be blinded from this beauty. Now, when the light has set and the dark has risen, you can see just how beautiful the world beyond it. After all, without Darkness, how would we know and appreciate light?”

I am not sure why, when or how I became so philosophical about light and darkness, but I always preferred the darker aspects of life back on earth. Going for midnight strolls, stargazing, letting myself be absorbed by the cool night air. I always preferred the stories where the hero is a warrior of darkness, like Meliodas from The Seven Deadly Sins or Jaden from Yu-Gi-Oh GX.

Twilight looks to me with wider eyes, seeming confused, yet understanding as she returns her gaze to the night sky. I smile and lay a hand on her shoulder, gaining her attention.

“I know it can be hard to believe, especially if your Celestia has made such a public statement about dark magic, but try and remember, not all darkness is bad. There are just as many monster hiding in the light as there are in the dark. Keep that in mind.” I leave the mare to her thoughts and return to the party. Hopefully I made the right decision. I doubt it would do well for Nat to be in a world so anti-darkness since she share the same positions as I do about the darker parts of life.

After I left the mare, I walked over to Sonbā and the princess, catching the end of his tale about how he and I met. I could tell the sisters were very intrigued about our fight, especially my dark magic. At least, that was how Luna was. I could tell that Celestia was more noting my magic rather than listening about it. Yup, she is very anti-dark.

“So anyways, after our fight, Lex and I moved to Ponyville while the guild hall was being built by our version of you two. My sister I spent most of our time either adjusting to the present times, or I was practicing with a new form of magic Lex granted me called Crystal Maker magic. You two saw her Ice Maker magic earlier, mine is just with crystals.” He explains.

“Remarkable. You are indeed quite the powerful mage Lady Justine.” Luna compliment.

“Yeah well, magic power isn’t everything. All of my magic would be useless if I didn’t know how to control it. And besides, all I want is to protect my new home and anyone who asks for it.” I say with a smile.

“Indeed.” Celestia says before walking away. I raise a brow to Luna who just shrugs and awkwardly follows her sister.

“Okay? I guess she is a lot more cautious about people who use darkness on a regular basis than our Celestia.” I mutter, Sonbā nodding with a slight frown.

“Hey Lex, Sonbā!” Both of us turn and see as my sisters walk up.

“Oh, hey Nat. What’s up?” I asks.

“Nothing much. I just talked to Lyra and Octavia and they are going to be playing some slow dance songs in a minute.” She informs, Sonbā raising a brow.

“Really, why is that?” He asks. Nat just smirks and points her thumb to Adam and Penny. I look over the two warriors and grin.

“Nice one Nat. I thought those two would need the push.” I complement.

“Oh yeah and Lex, can I ask a favor?” I raise a brow but nod. “Well, I was really busy this last month so I wasn’t able to make or get presents for Twilight and Spike so-“ I stop her by covering her mouth with a hand and grin. Placing my hand on her temple, just below her horn, I focus on my Telepathy magic and try out a spell I had been developing on my off time. Invasion. Kinda like Gowther’s magic in SDS, but I just used it to read Nat’s mind and find what she wanted. Some new books for Twi and a large gemstone for Spike.

While I am sorting through what she wants however, I feel Sora connect and force a bunch of memories into my head. All the things she and Twilight have been up to, and what she has been feeling whenever she is near that mare. I guess she needs the push too. And I knew how to do it too.

I let go over her head, all the info and memories in my head and nod to her before turning to Sonbā with a grin.

“Hey Sonbā? Wanna dance?” Sonbā raises a brow, but shrugs before bowing to me like a true gentlecolt.

“Of course, Faekage Lex.” He says with a barely contained smirk. I giggle a little before taking his hand and the two of us head to the dance floor.

“So, any reason you wanted to dance with me?” He questions as we take our spot. I nod to him as I watch my brother ask Penny if she wanted to dance.

“Yeah, Nat was going to ask you, but there is somepony else here that would make a better partner for her.” I say, glancing over to Twilight who meets my gaze and I motion over to my sister. Twi nods and walks over to her.

“Ah, trying to play matchmaker like Cadence eh?” He asks with a grin.

“Maybe. But whatever, I actually could use a dance anyways. Been way too long since I had the chance.” I say offering my hand. He smiles and takes my hand before I surprise him by pulling the taller stallion closer. He looks down at me with surprise before gaining a cocky grin I would expect on Rainbow.

“Well now, are you sure you can keep up with a king little mare?” He questions with an odd tone, one I couldn’t help but shiver at before grinning myself.

“We’ll just have to see, won’t we?” I say back with a similar tone, my eyes lighting up briefly. He smiles to me as we hear the band about to begin playing.

https://m.

Somehow I knew Octavia would pick a song like this to play. The cellist is rather somber with her musical choices at times, but whatever.

Sonbā and I nod to one another and begin to move slowly, gauging in each other’s experience in dancing with our first few steps. We both could tell that Sonbā was more experienced and confident in his dance steps, while I was mostly going off memory and following his lead. He didn’t seem to mind though.

I just smile and allow myself to be absorbed into the music and the rhythm. I never was one for dancing when I was younger, but being friends with Nat had changed my mind after a while. While I was dancing with Sonbā, I made a few glances around to my siblings. I saw the blushes on both Adam and Penny’s faces as they dance, but I could also see their smiles as Adam pulled the huntress closer to him. Nat just looked like she was have a blast dancing with Twilight, and Twilight looked to be gaining some confidence herself as she twirled by sister.

I smile to my siblings before focusing on Sonbā again, the two of us allowing ourselves to be lost in the moment. Both of us needed this break. I have been doing so much paperwork back at the guild as well as meeting with contractors and nobles that I haven’t had too much time to myself. Sonbā had been keeping himself busy with going out on missions whenever he can. I could tell, he is still sore about his past deeds as Sombra and is doing all these jobs to try and make up for everything he’s done.

I shake my head slightly as I hear the music begin to die down before stopping. Sonbā and I take a step back and bow, before chuckling and walking over to my brother and his crush, the duo just now letting each other go.

“Well, looks like you have a few things to do when you get home, eh Adam?” I ask with a smirk, Adam and Penny blushing but not moving away from one another. I just smile to the duo before turning to address Penny. “Be sure to take care of him Penny. He can be a little reckless.”

“Trust me I know.” She says with a small smile, giggling as Adam blushes more. “Oh relax Adam. It isn’t like you meant to teleport yourself half a mile above the castle.”

“You did what?” Sonbā, Echo and I question in unison, the Exeed having flown over.

“Hey I was just trying to see how far my teleportation spell could take me and I forgot to set a direction is all.” He huffs indignantly. The rest of us laugh a little as my brother tries not to join in.

Hey guys!” Adam and I turn and see Nat and Sora walking up before Nat points to the stage. “How about we put on a bit of a show before I send you guys home?” She says, by brother and I grinning while the others look a little confused. We just smile before sending our friends over to the princesses and this world’s Elements before heading to the stage where Octavia, Lyra and the rest of their band are taking a break.

“Oh, hello Natali. And it is a pleasure to meet you two in pony. Adam and Lex, correct?” Octavia says as we walk up. We nod and each shake Octavia’s hand.

“Pleasures all ours Octavia. Anyways, could we ask for a favor?” I request, earning a few raised brows from the band ponies.

“What is it?” Lyra asks, walking up.

“Well, the three of us wanted to see if we could play a few songs before we have to head home.” Adam says.

“Wait, you all play?” Octavia asks in surprise. The three of us smile before raising our hands.

“Piano and vocals.” Nat says with a smirk, Sora appearing with her own smirk.

“Practically any strings, violins and acoustic guitars are my best.” Adam states with a confident smile.

“I am really just a singer.” I say with a slightly sheepish expression. I am not sure why, but singing was the only thing musically I was good at.

The gathered band ponies look at the three of us in surprise before smiling and nodding, letting the three of us step up and get our instruments and everything. While Adam and Nat are getting set up, I focus on my Arc of Embodiment and create a floating microphone like they have in Fairy Tail before doing some quick vocal exercises with Nat and Sora.

“So, what songs are you going to be playing?” Octavia asks.

“Oh it isn’t just us. A couple of the songs we have in mind need more than three people to play.” I inform, the ponies looking to me with slight confusion.

“But, how are we going to play with you if we have likely never heard these songs before?” The flute player whom I never met back home, asks.

“Simple, I will use one of my magic styles to implant the songs into your heads so you know how to play.” I inform before placing two fingers on my temple and point my other hand outwards.

“Telepathy Magic, Broadcast.” A small purple beam goes out of my hand and into the heads of the band ponies whos eyes all widen as they get the info from the songs we have in mind. They smile and get their instruments ready. I nod to Nat who walks up to the front stage with the mic floating before her. She clears her throat into the mic and gets everyponies attentions.

“Hello everypony. Are you all enjoying tonight’s party?” She asks, getting a bunch of cheers from the guests. “Alright! Tonight, my siblings, Adam Taurus and Alexandria Justine and I are going to be playing three different songs before we leave to go to our homes, so I hope you all enjoy them.” She does a small curtsy before heading to the piano, the crowd cheering in excitement.

“The first song is going to be played by me. It is called, Kindness. And no Fluttershy, it doesn’t directly involve you.” I somehow could hear Flutters eep from here, but ignore it and take a seat near the piano as Nat begins to play.

https://m.

I smile to myself and fall into the tone of the notes Nat is playing. I always loved it when she playing the piano, especially when she would try a faster paced song during our birthdays. I will never truly understand how Nat is such a great pianist, but like most moments, I don’t really care right now.

I smile to myself as Nat finished up her song, the crowd gathered before us cheering for my little sister and my little brother walks up, patting her on the back. He and I walks up to the mic, Adam with a violin in hand as I clear my throat for him.

“Alright. This next song is for those who...could not make it at this time. Those we have lost, and those who we will never forget.” He says, many of the crowd lowering their heads in respect. He looks to Penny and winks at her with a sad smile, Penny blushing at this. He motions for me to step up as he goes over to a chair and gets his instrument ready before nodding to me.

“This song is called Cold, and may those who could make it, never be forgotten.” At that, we begin.

https://m.

Nat begins to play on the piano, her notes and the tone slow and melancholy. As she reaches my part, and my voice escapes my throat, I can all but see the memories of the crowd as they pass through their minds. Maybe it was my new magical senses, but I could feel the magic in the air seem to magnify as the song went on.

While I was singing, I allowed my eyes to drift over the crowd, taking in all their looks of of sadness and happiness at their memories. I mentally smile to myself as I sing, seeing the raw emotions my family and I can force to the surface with nothing but our music. Of course many couples and family members here held onto one another during our song, like the royal sisters holding one another, the Rainbow’s being together, and of course, Echo holding onto her big brother.

Once our second song fades and finishes, the gathered crowd bursts into cheers agin from the performance. My siblings walk up to the front with me and we share a quick group hug before turning to the crowd and bowing. Once the crowd calms down again I walk up to the mic with Nat next to me.

“Alright, after an emotional song like that, I believe we have the perfect one for our last performance. This one is for those who never give up, for those who follow their heart, no matter what. An Unwavering Heart.” I say, winking at Sonbā. He smiles back up to me and give a joking salute. Nat walks up to the mic next to me as Sora appears and takes her spot at the piano.

https://m.

The crowd is immediately drawn in as Nat and I sing together. They listen in awe as the other instruments begin to play alongside our voices. I knew this song would bring some of the best memories to the surface for those who listen to us. I wonder if I could develop a Sound Magic spell that could do this on command?

Nat and I lower our voices as we arrive at the none lyrical half of the song, and just hum the rest of the song, the band ponies instrumentals seeming to become louder as our voices vanish from the song. I smile as the last of our notes are played the song coming to an end. The crowd once again applauded us as all of us, the band ponies included, walk up to the front of the stage and bow.

We all smile as my siblings and I walk off the stage to the others. Adam immediately gets tackle hugged by Penny, the girl having a huge smile on her face. I chuckle a little as Echo flys over and sits on my head and Sonbā brings me in for a side hug. I smile as I see my sister getting a just as big a hug as Adam from Twilight. I know those two shouldn’t take too much longer to realize their feeling for one another. I look over to the others as they all make their way over to us, both Rainbow’s leaning against each other and snickering.

“Wow, at least I now know what is different about this realms Twi.” Dash said. I saw how Twilight and Natali erupted into blushes and all but jumped away from each other at the comment and mentally sigh. I guess it is going to take longer than I thought.

“Very funny Dash. I am sure your Twi would love that joke.” Nat say with a blush still on her face.

“Oh calm down Nat. We all know that you don’t swing that way. That we know of.” Rainbow says with a smirk, leaning against her double. The Diclonius just frowns at the prismatic mares, and while not on the level of Lucy, she is still scary on her own right. I decided to stop this before it escalated to something stupid.

“Relax sis. We all know how Rainbow acts. It’s a multiversal constant.” I say calmly. Nat just sighs and rubs her head. Our group all get together before saying farewell and beginning our trek through the castle to Twilights old home.

“Well, I guess its time for you guys to go huh?” Nat says to us, my brother nodding with a sigh and placing his mask back on his face. I nod as well but also smile as I had a few more things to do before I left.

“But first things first. Meet you guys at Twilights! Direct Line!”

I smirk to myself as I appear outside for the Sparkle household, leaving the others back at the castle. I only had a few minutes to get this done, so using my Phasing Magic, I enter the house and try and organize my thoughts. I knew I wouldn’t be able to do this alone, but luckily, I am my own best partner.

“Clone Magic go!” I say with a smile, and allow my being to split into the four girls from before.

“Alright girls, time to divide and conquer.” Lexa says with a grin.

“I’ll work on creating the present boxes to hold the magic power.” Ali says, beginning to create the boxes through Arc of Embodiment before writing the enchantment onto the boxes themselves.

“Ria, you and I will focus on creating the magic transfer flames.” Xan says with an excited smile, her counterpart nodding before the duo use their magical energy to create flames before draining them of the magic that made them, while simultaneously replacing the drained magic with that of the desired magic powers. The results were several multicoloured flames.

“While you girls do that, I’ll focus on making the gifts for Twi, Spike and Nat’s pokemon.” Lexa says before focusing on the Arc of Embodiment herself. She searched through their Archive, finding the perfect book series for the unicorn mare and the Diclonius queen to read together from Lex’s memories. The Inheritance Cycle series. Lexa was very glad that the girl she was a part of had a photographic memory, so once she made the covers and blank pages of the books, she simple cast a spell to allow the memories of each word to flow out of her mind and onto the pages.

After the four books were finished and put away into a box, Ali and Lexa worked together to create the next few presents. For Ali, since she had only made the boxes, she took on the roll of creating the presents for the Pokemon. By combining her Arc of Embodiment with her Green magic, and using a large amount of magic power, she was able to create seeds for the berries of the world of Pokémon, before separating them into individual seed packets and labeling them with an image of the berries themselves.

Lexa meanwhile, used a combination of Arc of Embodiment and Crystal Maker magic to create a very rare gemstone about the size of her head. The gem was Tanzanite, one of the rarest crystal gems on earth. With the crystal created, Lexa then enchanted the gem to regrow to its original size as long as there was a single piece about the size of ones thumb, which would force Spike to exercise restraint from just eating the entire thing.

It took about fifteen minutes for the four parts to finish creating the presents. The processes left the four clones very drained, so they knew that their whole will be exhausted once they merge again. They were all just finishing up when they sensed the others approaching the house.

“Crap, we’re outta time. Man, Lex is going to be in for a major headache when we merge.” Ria says with a slight pant, walking in from the kitchen.

“Hurry girls! No need for the others to know about our paperwork cheat!” Xan says in alarm, laying on the couch. The three other girls nod before walking to the laying girl and allowing their spell to merge the four of them back into one.

“Ugh, that sucked worse than last time.” I mutter in exhaustion. As if splitting myself into four equal parts wasn’t enough, the amount of magic each of them used was all taken out of my pool of magic, leaving me with only about one eighth of what I have normally. I knew it would refill overnight, but right know I was feeling like I just ran ten miles before having to benchpress two hundred pounds then solve a dozen algebra tests.

I managed to sit up as the front door opened, only a little worse for wear.

“Lex? Are you ok?” Nat asks with worry as she takes her boots and jacket off. I just sigh and stretch my tired body.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just took a bit more energy than I thought to get the stuff ready.” I say with an attempt at nonchalance, before getting to my feet and slowly making my way to the kitchen. On the table was a trio of presents my hotheaded and cocky part was just finishing wrapping. Grabbing the three of them in my magic, I walk out with the presents above my head, the others all looking in surprise. I smile and levitate the present over to their recipients, Adam, Penny and Rainbow.

“Obviously, as per the rules of Hearths Warming and Christmas, you guys are not to open your presents until tomorrow morning.” I tell the trio, the huntman and huntresses nodding to me. I smile and snap my fingers, summoning an Archive screen and type in a few commands before turning to the others.

“Alright. Before we leave, I think we should have a group photo.” I say with a smile. The others all nod and take their spots on or around the couch before I summon the screen before all of us to take a picture.

“Alright, everypony ready?” They all nod to me. “Alright, on three. One...two...three. Say cheese!” We all smile and say cheese as the screen in front of us flashed like a camera. I go through my magic spells after the photo is taken, making some magic cards before putting the photo onto them to make a bunch of photographs. I smile once I was done and hand the photos out for Adam, Nat and Twilight. Once that was done, I grab my siblings in for another group hug.

“We missed you guys.” Sora say quietly as Nat grabs some device that was attached to her ear before handing one to me and Adam, allowing us to hear her creed. Adam then takes off his mask and gives it to me, another appearing on his face as his creed goes through my head.

“Well, looks like we are done here. I won’t lie, this is a huge weight off my mind to know you two are ok. If either of you ever need any help against an opponent, don’t hesitate and my team and I will be there.” Adam says with a smile. The three of us nod to him in thanks.

“Same here. If you guys ever feel like popping by or need a place to stay for a bit, I can make you guys honorary members of the guild.” I say with a smile. I am curious how strong they would be once they have had time to practice their new magic.

“It was great to see you two again. I love you both. Our business is finished.” After Nat says that, two void portals appeared behind us, one having the Fairy Tail symbol and the other with the wolf’s symbol Adam has on his back. I smile and nod to my siblings and walk towards the portal with my friends, Sonbā and Echo leaving before me, before I pause and look over to Adam’s group.

“Oh yeah, that spell altering your color will dissapear in a couple days just so you know.” I then jump into the portal home with a smirk. I could barely catch Dash yell as my portal closes.

Who knew rewriting a chapter from a different perspective would be so hard?

Alexandria Justine: Faekage-13,789-Variety
Princess Luna: Rai-2,936-???
Sonbāsuta: Rai-2,247-Crystal Maker
Mi Amor Cadenza: Rai-1,529-???
Shining Armor: Rai-1,119-???
Twilight Sparkle: Kage-601-???
Spike Sparkle: Kage-562-Emerald Dragon Slayer
Trixie Lulamoon: Jounin-505-???
Emerald Blizzard: Jounin-425-???
Legacy Tracer: Jounin-371-???
Zecora: Chunnin-202-???
Star Burst: Chunnin-154-???
Bladed Wind: Chunnin-151-???
Rainbow Dash: Chunnin-135-???
Applejack: Chunni-134-???
Floral Talons: Chunnin-132-???
Azure Skies: Chunnin-129-???
Gilda: Chunnin-120-???
Zen Quartz: Chunnin-115-???
Hot Spark: Chunnin-105-???
Swift Service: Genin-98-???
Nate Quartz: Genin-95-???
Pinkie Pie: Genin-93-???
Raine Jewel: Genin-89-???
Silk Song: Genin-73-???
Rarity Belle: Genin-72-???
Echo: Genin-50-Aera
Scootaloo: Genin-28-???
Applebloom: Genin-25-???
Sweetie Belle: Genin-18-???
Fluttershy: Genin-5-???

I slowly begin to open my eyes, the morning sun barely beginning to light through my window drapes. It didn’t take too long for my mind to reboot and for a large smile to break across my face. Today was sure to be an exciting one, and I knew the other members are sure to be as anxious as I am right now.

Today was the day I am going to reveal what Fiore magic each member is going to learn. After the party in Nat’s world, I managed to get back to thinking of what magic to teach who after taking the night to relax with something I never did before. Who knew going to a royal Hearth’s Warming party could be so relaxing. And that was a little less than a week ago.

Anyways, once we got back to the guild I managed to decide what magic to teach who, with the exception of Luna and the CMC. Afterwards I used a mass contact card to inform the guild members to come to the guild within five days. That would give everyone plenty of time to clear their schedules and come over, especially Shining, Cadence and Luna. I didn’t actually say what the meeting was about, mostly because I wanted it to be a surprise, so I just told the members that the meeting would connect to their jobs as wizards.

I smile to myself as I walk out of the shower and grab my outfit for the day. It was the casual clothes Sabre wore in the Fate series, consisting of a white button up, long sleeve jacket and a blue skirt with some black leggings, brown work boots and a blue scarf.

I smile to myself in the mirror before walking out of my room, being greeted by quite a bit of chatter from the main room. I grin as I walk by my office and grab a couple of quests I signed last night as well as the list for who gets what. I nod to myself before walking to the main hall, sit on the bar and looking over the gathered crowd, seeing all but royals and guard members are here.

“Hey Zen, mind making me a orange smoothie please?” I request, the canine saluting and grabbing the ingredients and making the drink for me. I smile again and go over the list once more, making sure everything is ready for the members to learn. I had the weapons I was going to give some of them ready in my Requip dimension, so that was done, and I had the Archive Download spell ready for when the time comes.

Zen comes by with my drink after a couple of minutes, followed by Flora and Spark who brought out some food for some of the members, themselves included it seems. I can’t help but feel a small sense of accomplishment as I see all the members hanging out with one another. No animosity, no prejudice, just a bunch of creatures working with one another to help the world they share.

I grin as I see Fluttershy and Rainbow talking with Gilda and Nate, the quartet looking at a quest Dash grabbed off the board. I see that Flutters is a little hesitant, but Gilda just smiles and pats the shy pegasus back in reassurance. That hen has really begun to open up once she became a member. I told her that she needed to put her pride to the side and accept help, and it has done wonders to her image.

All of us were probably hanging out for about half an hour before the royals finally arrive, the trio being accompanied by the guard members. The six of them were apologetic, but none of us really minded having more time to spend with one another. Though, now that they were here, it was time for me to announce the news. I finish up my drink and teleport it to the dish pit before clearing my throat, getting everyone’s attentions.

“Good morning everyone, and thank you all for coming. As I stated in the message a few days back, this meeting is to discuss a topic retaining to our jobs as wizards of the Fairy Tail guild. As wizards, it is our duty to help out however we can, but unlike the world where my magic comes from, only some of you naturally have the ability to use magic on a whim.” I see many members nodding in slight disappointment before seeing my grin.

“Well, today that changes.” I see many look confused, while some get where I am going with this and become excited. “Today, thanks to the information each of you have given me, as well as what I know about each of you as individuals, I will unlock, and begin to teach each of you magic from the land of Fiore.”

The members immediately erupt into excited cheers, everyone asking what they are going to learn, before I raise my hand quieting them all down.

“Now, I will not just be telling and unlocking the magic each of you are going to learn, I am also going to give demonstrations for each magic style so each of you have a basis to go off of. So if all of you would make your way to the teleporter in the back and meet me at the training hall, we can get started.” I dig into a pocket and toss Echo the keys to the doors. “Echo, lock up once everyone has left. Direct Line!”

I appear sitting on the bench just outside of the magic range. I double check the range, seeing the wood, iron and crystal targets I made earlier are ready. Heading to the main hall, I wait and watch as everyone quickly makes their way in. I nod for them to follow, all of us arriving in magic range before I summon a few benches for everyone to sit at.

“Alright, how this is going to work, is I am going to call your name and I will inform and then show you an example of the type of magic you will learn, so be sure to pay attention. The only exception to this are the CMC and princess Luna.” The four ponies look to me with raised hands, but I just motion for them to lower their hands.

“You four are the exceptions because, unfortunately, I have yet to choose magic styles to fit each of you. The reason for the CMC is because you three are still young, so your magic is still developing as well as the fact I don’t know you three all too well. I do not want to risk teaching you three a magic style that you may not be able to control and end up hurting yourselves and others with.” The trio sigh in disappointment but nod, their siblings patting their back in reassurance. I then turn to the night princess.

“You on the other hand Luna, are the exact opposite of their CMC. Even if you were trapped on the moon for a millennium, your age makes you far more in tuned with the magic of Equestria than Fiore, that it would be incredibly difficult for you to learn one of these magic styles. I will teach you eventually, but not at this time.” The Alicorn nods to me, only slightly disappointed and takes her seat, taking out a small notebook along with Twilight and Trixie that I could tell they were going to use to record who has what magic.

“That won’t be necessary to write you three. Each of your magic styles will be posted with your ranks and MPF scores next to the request board, so there is no reason for each of you to try and record each other’s magic styles.” I inform, Luna, Twilight and Trixie putting away their notepads. I smile a little before taking out the list from earlier and checking who is first.

“Alright, we are going to be going from lowest MPF score to highest on what magic each of you will learn, so first ones first. Fluttershy,” I hear the mare eep and look over to me.

“You will be learning a form of magic called Animal Soul.” I can see she looks slightly interested at the name. “I have seen your connection and interactions with the animals that live around your home, so I believe this magic style would be best for you. This magic style allows you to take on the characteristics of animals you have connections to, allowing you to create hybrid versions of yourself with the animals natural abilities.”

I can see many look intrigued by the magic, Fluttershy looking genuinely excited. “This magic can be very difficult to control and can be dangerous if misused, so we are going to start with partial transformations called Takeovers. Once you have a very firm grasp on partial Takeovers, we will move on to Fullbody Takeovers. That is when things can get dangerous as you will also inhearit the natural instincts of the animal in question, so you will need to learn to ignore and overcome it.” Fluttershy nods before I take a couple steps away and focus on my own magic.

“Takeover, Animal Soul!” I smile as the magic covers me and I begin to grow until I am about ten feet tall, before the magic burst away. It took a couple seconds, but Fluttershy suddenly squees loudly as she sees I used my Rabbit Animal Soul. I looked like a giant bunny, but my fur was blue like my hair with the bottoms on my feet, my mouth and nose and insides of my ears being gold with my scarf still wrapped around my neck.

“Tada!” I say, spreading my arms and enjoying the dumbfounded looks on the members. Eventually I feel something wrap around me, and look down to see a very excited and happy Fluttershy nuzzling into my chest. I could barely hear her repeating ‘teach me, teach me, teach me’.

“Calm down Flutters. I’ll start teaching you later ok?” The mare nods and flutters back to her seat, her smile never leaving her face, even as some of the others laugh. I smile and release my Animal Soul, returning to normal. “Like I said, that was a Fullbody Takeover, so you won’t be learning that for a while.” The mare nods. I nod back and then look at the list on whos next.

“Next, Rarity. You will actually be learning two different forms of magic, one for potential combat, the other to help you in the boutique.” The unicorn looks more excited now. “The first magic style you’ll be learning, for combat, will be Mirror magic. This allows you to summon and control mirror and the power of reflection. It will let you absorb and rebound practically any magical spell creating a very strong defence as well as a varying offence. The number of mirror you can summon are pretty much unlimited, so you can also use a spell called Kaleidoscope to trap enemies.”

I turn to the range and pick a target. “Mirror magic, Kaleidoscope.” I summon the mirror, and to the outside viewer, it looked like the target was sealed within a large crystal. The ponies behind me all look impressed by the use, Rarity already thinking of uses for the boutique.

“So, what is the other magic you were going to teach me?” the mare asks.

“The other magic I am going to be teaching you really has no uses in combat, but as a fashion designer this magic will be very handy. Colours magic. As the name implies, it allows you to control and change the colours of anything and anypony you wish with but a thought. For example.”

I smile and cast the magic on myself. “Red!” Suddenly my skirt and my scarf change from their blue coloration to scarlet red, while my legging turn dark red and my blue hair takes on a crimson tone. “Now Blue!” And with that, my clothes and hair go back to normal.

“Oh my! This will be help so much with deciding what shade goes with which hue.” She say with excitement, thinking of a bunch of designs she has been having trouble deciding the colours for.

“Of course you would teach Rares something like that.” I hear RD mutter, the pegasus laughing slightly. I laugh as well before focusing on who is next.

“Next is Silk Song. As you are in charge of cleaning the guild, and I saw in the personality test that you prefer the rain, so you will be learning a form of magic simply know as Water.” The others seem to understand immediately.

“As you probably guessed, this magic allows you to control the element of water to do a variety of spells for offence and defence. You can capture an enemy in an orb of water, Water Lock, you can blast highly pressurized blades of water that can slice through steel, Water Slicer, and the most useful part of this water magic is you can alter your own body to become completely made of water.”

“What?! That’s impossible!” Gilda yells in disbelief. I just smirk and look to Sonbā, who nods and walks over to me.

“Watch and be shocked.” I say simply as Sonbā gets into his stance.

“Crystal Make Lance!” He shoots the crystal lances at me, and I don’t even attempt to move as the crystals impale me. The others all pale as they see the magic crystals go straight through me, before I turn to them with a smirk, half of my face, chest and a leg rippling like water before reforming. I see another round of dumbfoundment and just laugh with a face that screamed ‘told you’, before turning to the targets and choosing to emulate a certain rain woman.

“Drip drip drop. Water Slicer!” The water is shot out of my hand and cleaves through the iron target I made like it was a hot knife through butter. I smile to the members, all of them look to me with awe and excitement.

“Holy crap, I am going to be able to do that?!” Silk yells in shocked excitement. I just nod with a grin, the mare now very happy she joined up.

“Moving on, the next member and magic will be Raine Jewel. You are actually going to be learning the first magic I have ever used here in Equestria, Solid Script Magic. As many of you have seen me do, this style of magic allow you to write in the air, and the word you write will take on its property.” I turn to the range and choose a target.

“Solid Script Drill!” The word appears before launching forwards while spinning rapidly, drilling straight through the wooden dummy before dispelling. Raine smiles and rubs her paws together in excitement.

I check the list and take a deep breath at who is next. I was honestly a little worried about this, but it fits. “Pinkie Pie.” The mare tries to jump up, only to be stuck to her seat by Twilight. Barely. “It was difficult to find what magic to teach you, but I found one I think could work. I am going to be teaching you Wave magic.” The pink mare tilts her head at the name.

“Wave magic works by creating rapid magical vibrations that can actually nullify any other forms of magic, but only one type of a time. However, I think you should be able to find a way to make it work with more than one form of magic for defence. And knowing your ability to all but give the finger to magical laws, I think you can find a few other methods for Wave magic. Anyways, like I said, the waves are just magical energy vibrating at intense speed. This allows it to be launched as a projectile or to grow into things like shields.”

I walk back to the range and face Sonbā, who nods and gets ready. “Crystal Make Hammer!” A giant hammer made of purple cystals is made before being launched at me, the hammer flying end over end.

“Wave!” I create a round barrier of Wave magic in front of me that stops the hammer in its tracks as well as shatters it. I then look to the range and pick a wooden target.

“Wave!” The wave orb is sent towards the target at very high speeds, shattering the dummy I was aiming for. The others look to Pinkie, who is oddly calm and seems to be absorbing the info very seriously. I nod to her, and the pink mare simply nods back before taking her seat, much to the confusion and slight worry of those around her. I just check the list before moving on.

“Next, Nate Quartz. With your intrigue in the earth and your odd enjoyment of desert climates, seriously how can you like dry heat you are covered in fur, you will be learning a style of magic called Sandstorm. As the name implies, it allows you to control sand for many spells of offence as well as defence. With enough control, you can change the density of your sand, making it harder than steel, to lighter than air. Also, since your magic allows you to control nearly all sand, it could also be used to control an opponent from the inside out by control grains of sand that may enter their body through wounds or simply breathing it in.”

I look towards one of the dummies and decided to show them how it works by copying a certain Jinchuuriki. I focus on the magic and fold my arms, controlling it with my mind alone, letting it surround me to make a protective sand sphere before picking a target and grabbing it with my sand from below. “Sand Coffin!” The dummy is raised into the air in time with my hand before I give an admittedly sinister grin.

“Sand Burial.” I close my hand and the pressure placed on the dummy increases before it is crushed completely with a satisfying crunch. I dispel the sand and let the remains of the dummy to fall to the ground. I can see the others look at the destroyed dummy with almost pity, seeing just how powerful this magic can be when used right. Nate makes a mental note never to piss me off.

“Next is Swift. You have told me about how much you hate direct combat, and combat in general, so you will be learning a form of magic that is mostly about indirect combat, maneuverability and avoiding combat. It’s called Paper Blizzard. This type of magic allows you to create and control peices of paper that come in different colours, each with their own magical abilities, referred to as dances. You can trap enemies with Black Dance and Indigo Dance, attack with fire and ice with Red Dance and White Dance, use Blue Dance to escape fights and Violet Dance to immobilize enemies.” I explain before turning to the range and summoning a few sheets of paper.

“Paper Blizzard: Yellow Dance.” I blow the yellow sheet of paper out of my hand which explodes into a bright flash, and if you could look past it, you would see bolts of electricity striking one of the targets. Swift smiles at the use of magic, already planing to write a schedule for practicing.

“Next, Hot Spark. As your duty as a cook, and your already good control over heat, you will be learning Rainbow Fire magic. This form of magic allows you to control a variety of fire with different colours, each having their own effects like Paper Blizzard, which we will go over together. You will also learn Advanced Fire Control, which will allow you to control any fire in your vicinity, not just fire you create. This will come in handy if you face an opponent who uses fire as you can use their own attacks against them.” I explain, the stallion nodding before I picking one of the targets.

“Blue Fire!” The matrix appears before me as a torrent of icy blue fire is launched out, both burning the target as well as leaving a trail of frost in its wake, as opposed to a scorch trail. Spark looks to the magical fire and the aftermath with a critical eye, trying to take in everything as I use the spell.

“Now is Zen Quartz. Your magic to learn is known as Palm magic. As the name implies, it allows you to concentrate magical energy into your palms, allowing you to deliver far more powerful attacks than normal. As it is a physical based magic you will have to get up close and personal with an opponent, but I have a sneaking suspicion that won’t be a problem for you.” I say with a grin. The canine nods and I walk towards one of the crystal dummies and get into a fighting stance.

I decide to make the magic visible with some Illusion magic, as you normally can’t see it, and it shows as trails of magic flowing into and out of my palms. Stepping forward quickly, I thrust my palm forwards, the magic flowing like water and looking like Silver Fang in One Punch Man, before my hand goes clean through the dummies chest. I smile as I retract my hand and look to the others, who are in surprise that some magic like that could make my strikes that much stronger. Zen in particular looks excited to try out his own martial arts with this magic.

“Gilda.” The hen straightens up as I call her name. “As a griffon, you are used to high altitude areas as well as the cold and wind, so you will be taught how to use Ice magic, specifically Ice Make magic. As you have seen Sonbā do with his Crystal Make magic, it allows you to give magical energy a tangible form, in the form of ice, into almost any object you want. However, what most don’t know as I haven’t shown it, is that Sonbā here uses only one form of Maker magic, called Static Maker magic. This is consentrated on creating inanimate objects. Another form of Maker magic is called Active Maker magic, which actually creates living creatures out of ice.”

“What?! You mean that you can make a fully sentient creature out of ice?!” Luna yells in shock.

“Not exactly. Though they can imitate living creatures, the ice creatures are nothing more than puppets, acting, attaking and reacting how their caster wishes them to. I could make a tiger out of ice, but it is not like it will eventually run off and start a family. It’s just a puppet made of ice that copies how the actual creature acts from my memories.” I explain, the others all looking intrigued, Gilda especially.

“Now back to what I was saying, Gilda. It is your choice which style of Maker magic you wish to use, so I just thought you should know that both types exist before I show you so there in no confusion.” The hen nods and I turn to the target range again and get into my Ice-Make stance.

“Ice Make Battle Axe!” I swing a large axe made of ice at one of the targets, cleanly cleaving through it. I then get back into my stance and the others see my spell matrix has changed colours slightly, looking icy green as opposed to blue.

“Ice Make Dragonfly!” A large swarm of dragonflies made of ice fly out of the matrix and surround the target before dive bombing it as one. The others look in surprise at how active Ice Make magic works, Gilda grinning at the prospect of using that magic. I sigh and look to the list again to see who is next.

“Sergeant Azure Skies.” The mare reflexively stiffens to attention. I just roll my eyes. “At ease Azure. Anyways, your magic I chose is going to be one of the harder ones to learn as even I haven’t mastered it. It’s called Dark Regulus.”

“Regulus? You mean the brightest star in the Leo constellation?” Azure questions.

“That’s correct. Regulus is a form of magic that focuses on using light to increase your physical power for attacks, doing things like turning punches into light claw strikes as well as summoning lion manifestations for attacks. However, as a batpony, I feel you would have a near impossible time learning it due to your sensitive eyesight. So, you will be learning the dark form of it. Dark Regulus is the same, yet the opposite of Regulus. Instead of light, it uses the power of darkness which manafests as dark flames. These ‘flames’ also have the ability to absorb any other forms of magic that produces light, like fire magic, making them stronger as well as last longer.” I explain.

The mare looks to me with intrigue as I turn to the targets and take a breath. This was one of the forms of magic I haven’t been having the best of times with as it is only supposed to be used either by Leo himself or a Celestial Mage through the Star Dress. But I still had access to it, it was just more difficult for me to completely control compared to my other combat spells. I choose a target and take a deep breath.

“Roar of Darkness!” I breath out a thin torrent of the black flames that rapidly grow as they get close to the target, eventually engulfing it and burning the target to ash. I sigh and spit out a small glob of the black fire as I finish the spell. There always seems to be some residual magic leftover in my mouth after using that spell, it is really annoying and rather painful if I am not fast enough. I glance to the members, who are just looking wide eyed at the attack. Considering this world is still iffy about darkness magic, I guess they would be a little cautious, though Azure just looks excited if her smile is any indication.

“Next is Flora. As I pointed out for Gilda earlier, as a griffin you are more used to the colder climates as well as higher altitudes for flying. However, you seem to prefer to stay high in the sky, so you will be learning Air magic. This magic lets you manipulate the air itself for attacks and maneuverability, like causing the air to burst, causing a small explosion, or increasing or decreasing the oxygen in a specific area to weaken foes. You can also use it to create decoys or air doubles for you to take hit while you retreat and use it for things like levitation.” The hen looks very excited as I choose one of the targets.

“Aerial Shot!” The pebbles, small stones and small pieces of debris scattered near the range are levitated in front of me before being launched forward by the air and striking the target multiple times, leaving it with several scratches and pieces imbedded into it. I nod with a smile at the use before checking the list.

“Now, Applejack. As an earth pony you have a strong connection to the land, and you are very strong physically which will be handy in learning to use Earth magic. As you probably guessed, this magic allows you to control the very earth around you in a variety of ways. You can heat up and liquify the ground for trapping foes, harden the earth for attacks and defences, as well as use a type of Earth magic called Diver magic to dive through the earth as easily as one would water.” I explain, the mare nodding along with critical eyes as I turn to the dummies again.

“Iron Rock Vice!” I cross my arms over myself and the others have to catch themselves as the ground begins to shake before several pillars of stone shoot up from the ground and impale the dummy I was aiming for. I smile and slam my foot on the ground, the pillars returning to the earth from whence they came. Already, Applejack could think of several uses for this magic on the farm.

“Rainbow Dash.” The mare perks up and looks to me as she hears her being called. “You were both a very obvious, as well as easy pick foe which magic to teach. You are the part-time weather manager for this town, as well as being a pegasus, a pony of the sky, so it was easy to choose which magic to teach you. Storm magic. This magic allows you to control the very forces of nature to your whim, creating storms that can contradict the very laws of nature. It can be rather difficult to control at times, so I recommend using this to help with magical focus.” I use Requip and summon a retractable staff the same colour as RD’s coat with her Cutie Mark on the end, before tossing it to her, the mare causing it to extend into its full length. She looks to me with a small smile and nods, retracting the staff and hooking it to her shorts before watching as I focus on the targets.

Now, Storm magic doesn’t actually have any verbal spells ordinarily, mearly requiring the user to call on the force of nature in question before allowing it to appear. I take a breath, the air being released from my mouth appearing as mist. “I call upon the frozen hail, falling from above!” Suddenly a cloud appears above the dummy before several sharp peices of hail begin to rain down on it, the shards impaling and sticking into the dummy. Rainbow goes wide eyed at the sudden appearance of the hail cloud, and the dangerous use of nature.

‘Mental note, be sure not to summon anything that could mess with the weather schedule.’ She thinks to herself. I get ready to show the next member his magic.

“Bladed Wind. As a guard and a weapons expert, it was very easy to pick what magic style you will be learning. It’s called Requip magic. This type of spatial magic allows you to store weapons you own in a seperate pocket dimension and summon them to you at will. The act of switching between the weapons is referred to as Requipping. Many of you have seen me do this before, especially a second ago.” I say with a grin before holding my hand out and summoning Hidan’s scythe.

“This will be really useful for me then. I have an admittedly large collection of weapons back home that I am running out of room for.” Wind says with a sheepish chuckle, the others laughing a little with him.

“Well, then this will come in handy indeed. Same goes for you too Star Burst. Like Wind you will be learning Requip magic, however you will be learning a different style of Requip Magic. The Gunner Requip. While the standard Requip that Wind will be using focuses on melee weapons like swords, axes, spears etc, the Gunner Requip is all about summoning long ranged weaponry called firearms or guns.” I put Hidan’s scythe to the side and use the Gunner to summon a magic revolver that looks like Alzack’s original gun.

“These weapons are all about dealing damage from afar, so I think it would be perfect for somepony like you who focuses on long ranged combat over hand-to-hand. I will be granting you the use of four different guns, each having their own ammunition types, as well as their own pros and cons for certain situations. So be sure to talk to me so you know what gun to use for what situation. You can also use the Gunner to store your bow if you wish.” I inform. The unicorn guard looks to the weapon in my hand with intrigue before motioning me over to the range where I get ready. I have fired real guns back on earth before, and I found the magic weapons actually have far less recoil than ordinary firearms, even some of the heavier guns I have at my disposal.

I pop the back of my gun and take out a magic revolver cylinder. “Reload. Spark Shot!” I fire the gun with a relatively loud bang, the magic shot sending electrical sparks flying around as it strikes the targets head. I smile and twirl the gun a couple times before returning both weapons back to my Requip dimensions.

“Moving on, the next member is Zecora. Yours was at first rather difficult to choose, but the more I thought about it, two forms of magic became rather obvious. So like Rarity, you will be learning two forms of magic. Green magic and Plant magic. Both forms of magic involve controlling plantlife, but both are almost opposites. Green magic is all about controlling plantlife on a supportive base, creating or slowing almost any plants either near you or even on you. It is mostly non-combative, so this would work well for you when making your potions and medicine.

The other magic style, Plant magic, is all about controlling plantlife to do combat. Unlike naturally occurring plants, the plants summoned forth with this magic are unique to the magic style, making it so you couldn’t like, grow one in a pot. Each plant has its own uses and abilities, from trapping opponents, to spewing poisonous spores and acid, to even causing explosions. As someone who has a strong connection with plantlife and nature, I think you shouldn’t have a problem mastering these two styles of magic.”

The zebra mare mearly nods as I explain the magic, before I turn to the range and choose an attack. I raise my hand and the ground begins to shake again before a large flytrap appears and snaps closed around the target. I smile before focusing on my Green magic and creating a small raspberry plant in my hand, complete with the fruit. I just smile as I pick a few before rewinding the time on the plant and causing it to disappear back into my hand.

“Raspberry?” I offer to the members, Pinkie, Zecora and the CMC all grabbing one. Judging from the smiles on their faces, I guess they were ready to be picked. I chuckle a little and munch on some of the berries before focusing again.

“Trace, you’re next. This was a tough one do to your amnesia, but I think I found a magic style you should be good at. Your Cutie Mark is of a mirror with a spell matrix. While embarrassing, I had Rarity redraw it for me when you went in for sizing a while back, and according to Celestia, the formula inside the matrix is actually for a rebound spell found in some old dark magic tomes. I belive your special talent retains to both your proficiency in Equestria dark magic as well as being most used to casting reflective spells. Which is the type of Fiore magic you will be learning, Reflector magic.

This style of magic allows you to twist and distort almost anything you target, from clothing to metals to air itself. As it can be used to twist anything, it is mostly used to bend space in a specific area to redirect, or straight up make attacks miss. The only drawbacks with this magic is you can only alter the space within one area at a time, either around yourself or around your target and you cannot distort a living body. As you can imagine, when used properly, this magic can be seen as an almost unstoppable defence.” I walk a few feet away and nod to Sonbā, who nods back.

“Crystal Make Needle Hammer!” A large spiked ball on a chain is launched at me, but once it get within about a foot or two from me, it suddenly curves above me and strikes the wall behind me. I can see several dropped jaws at the display of the defensive use of Reflector magic, so I turn to the range and focus on the offensive part.

“Spiral Pain!” With a wave of my hand, the air around one of the targets is rapidly twisted, creating a vortex of invisible wind blades and slicing up the target I had aimed for. Trace looks at the results from the spell, and somehow feels he could master it quickly. I smile as I turn to the members, looking straight at who is next.

“Emerald Blizzard. The magic you will be learning is mostly to aid in your job as the guilds financial director. I am going to be teaching you how to use Archive. As you have seen many times before, Archive magic is used for storing, organizing and looking up information. I will be asking for your assistance in teaching the others as well since you will have access to the information as well as instruction on learning the other styles of magic. I’m putting a lot of faith in you Emerald. Don’t make me regret it.” I say the last part with a seriousness that could probably give Luna a run for her bits.

“I won’t Faekage. I promise.” He responds. I mearly nod, promising in the proximity of Pinkie was pretty much as good as a blood pact.

“Next, Trixie Lulamoon. As a very intellectual pony as well as an illusionist, I belive this magic will give you quite a bit of help during your shows, in combat and for connecting to yourself and others. I am going to be teaching you Memory Make magic. Like the other forms of Maker magic, this style gives magic tangible form. What is unique about this magic, is it relies on the wizards memories to create the spells, as opposed to their imagination. This spell style is extremely complex, but I have faith you can learn to use it.

In terms of spells, this magic allows you to give form to memories in the form of magical spells. With it, you can make copies of other wizards spells, create entirely new ones from events you have seen as well as merging spells you have seen, create illusions, and make an opponent ‘forget’ how to use their magic.”

I see Trixie, as well as some of the others, tilt their head in confusion. “Like I said, this magic is extremely complex, but we’ll go into more details during training. Now where was I? Oh yeah. In terms of effects this magic will have on you, this magic will increase your memory capacity, making it so you can memorize things like your opponents footsteps, heartbeats and even breathing patterns and magical signature. This is very useful in a fight as you can easily predict an opponents move if you memorized their fighting style beforehand.”

I step towards the range and think for a moment, thinking of what spell I could use for an example of Memory Make magic. Then it hits me. When I was fifteen, I was visiting some family in Arizona, and we got caught in a sand storm during the ride to my cousins house. Perfect.

I smile as I place my index and middle fingers on my temples, the spell matrix appearing behind me. I focus on the memory, the power the storm had, and a name for it just pops into my head. The area around the castle turns dry and hot as the spell begins to take form.

“Memory Make Storm of the Demon Desert!” With that, the wind begins to pick up all the small dirt, sand and dust particles and turns it into several tornados of debris that utterly destroy the target, as well as the three that were right next to it. I smile as the spell finishes, the dust and debris falling to the floor. I look to the crowd, who are all staring slackjawed behind a shield Shining rose.

“What was that?” Trixie asks quietly.

“That was a Memory Maker spell made from my memory of the time I got caught in a sandstorm while visiting family.” I explain almost nonchalantly. The others all continue to look at me like I grew a second head, though a few do send weary glances toward Trixie. I wonder what type of spell she could develop. After a minute or two, everyone gets back to their seats and back to paying attention.

“Next is our own Element of Magic herself. Twilight. The magic style you are going to be learning is actually one you wanted to see if you could learn even before the guild was opened.” I say crypticly, the mare raising a brow. I use Requip and summon a rapier much like my own, only the guard is purple instead of blue.

“Catch!” I toss the sword to Twilight, who barely manages to catch it in time. She looks to me questioningly, but I just smirk and shift some of my hair, lighting my dark eye. Her eyes go wide and she smiles much like my sister did when we first got sent to our respective Equestrias.

“That’s right Twilight. You’re going to be learning Dark Ecriture and Enchantments. For those who haven’t heard about it, Dark Ecriture is all about using written spells for things like Pain and Suffering to overpower your opponent, as well as writing enchantments. The rules of the enchantments are absolute and the only way to get through them is to follow its rules or rewrite the enchantments, which can be very time consuming depending on the complexity of said enchantment.” I smile before summoning my own rapier and turning to the target range.

“Dark Ecriture Pain!” The digital word appears before me before separating into four beams of magic which strike the target. I smile and sheath my sword, the others nodding and Twilight hopping in her seat in excitement.

“Nearly done. Shining Armor. The style of magic is actually another form of Requip Magic like Bladed Wind and Star Burst. It is easily the most difficult and powerful form of Requip Magic simply known as....The Knight.” Shining perks up at the name of the magic, as well as the dramatic pause I used.

“While the Gunner and regular Requip allows one to store and summon weapons, the Knight stores and summons wizarding armor that increase ones magical abilities. In the story of Fairy Tail, the only one to actually use The Knight is a woman named Erza Scarlet, who was regarded as Fairy Tail’s strongest female wizard, so you and I have quite a bit to live up to. Now, since this magic requires you to have the armor, like Star, I will give you access to four different suits of armor. The Flame Emperor’s armor, the Lighting Emperor’s armor, the Sea Emperor’s armor and the Heaven’s Wheel armor. Obviously the armor is going to look different than the ones I have since I have the female versions of each. The three Emperor’s armor are all resistant to almost being immune to their respective elements, while Heavens Wheel....”

I smirk at them as I trail off before spreading my arms to the sides. “Requip, Heaven’s Wheel!” The matrix appears beneath me and my clothes glow gold, blinding the others temporarily as they disappear and are replaced with a small breastplate made of a silver like metal into the appearance of feathers with a flower in the center, while the bottoms are covering me completely from the navel down in a white skirt with sections of armor. A pair of armoured gauntlets appear on my hands as well as pointed boots on my feet. A metal tiara and neck guard also appear on me. The last part are four silver metal wings attached to the the back of my armor, the ones on top being larger than the ones on the bottom. A pair of sword appear in my grip to complete the Requip.

Once the light dies down, the others are floored as they see me in the armor. Unlike Erza who could Requip in like a second, it took me a full twenty five seconds before the Requip is completed, so that would leave me and Shining in a tight spot if we were in the middle of a fight. I smile and fly a couple of feet into the air, enjoying the dumbfounded look on most of the members, and the blushes on some of the others. That is the only gripe I have with this armor, it leaves way too little to the imagination. Not as little as some other armor, but still. I turn my attention to the target range and take aim at the second to last target that wasn’t shredded.

“Now, dance my swords!” I spread my arms and summon a dozen or so swords before allowing them to begin to spin around me.

“Circle Sword!” Slashing the air before me, the circle of blades zoom towards the dummy, acting like a buzz saw as it cuts through the target without any visible resistance. I smile and lower myself to the ground, sending a warm smile towards the members.

“Wow.” Is all Shining manages to say, the others all nodding in agreement. I smile a little wider as I dispel the Requip and go back to my old clothes, the others all still a little stunned, so I decide to use my Arc of Time to fix the dummies I have destroyed. Only took about a minute and a half before the others come back from their stunned trances and for me to fix the dummies and take a quick drink from the water fountain nearby.

“Alright. On to the last member and her magic. Cadence. As the princess of love, it’s your talent to understand how someone feels and how to help them through it. So you will be learning a form of Lost magic that will help you gain a better connection with the ponies you help.” I pause and smile before tapping my wrist and sending a pink beam of energy from my arm to Cadence and Shining. They duo flinch as the energy is connected, a bright pink bracelet made of energy with a heart in the center appearing in their wrists.

“What is this?” Cadence asks with intrigue.

“This is Lost magic, Maguilty Sense. It’s actually the same magic I granted my sister. It allows you to summon these Sensory Links to connect two peoples sensations. While it normally can only be used between two people who have strong feelings for one another, with enough control you can make it so you can connect any two people together, as long as they know of one another. It can make you feel what they feel, their emotions, their thoughts, even their pain.” I prove this by walking up and pinching Shining’s shoulder, Cadence yelping and holding her arm.

“Incredible.” She whispers.

“That’s not all. Maguilty Sense also lets you summon these swords.” I summon one and levitate it the the princess of love. “When these magical swords strike they stimulate the target pain receptors. You could call them blades of sensation. It even works for those who normally are immune to physical damage, like if I was using my Water body or if Sonbā or Luna turned into mist. They would still feel the pain of the magic strikes.” I explain, the mare nodding with a smile and suddenly getting a mischievous smirk. I raise a brow before hearing a slight gasp and see a very red Shining. I grin to Cadence who just smiles back.

“Alright that’s enough.” I dispel the Sensory Link, Shining taking a breath of relief.

“Now then. Now that each of you know what type of magic you will learn, I am going to explain how you are going unlock the magic in the first place. How this is going to work is I am going use a spell with Archive called Download. This will upload the basic information as well as unlock the your magical core to produce the magical energy necessary. When you are learning to control your magic, I recommend that the unicorns and Alicorns wear magic inhibitors so you can learn to summon your magic without you horns.”

“You want us to wear what?!” Trixie yells in concern.

“Think about it this way. You unicorns and Alicorns require your horns to be healthy and strong to work as conduits for your spells, while everyone else will be learning to do without it. What happens if say, in the middle of a fight, your horn is damaged? You wouldn’t have a way to defend yourself. So, you will be learning to focus your magic through your body and without access to your horn. I know it will be difficult, but I have faith that you and the others can do it.”

The others all nod and follow me back to the entrance. I nod to the group and step onto the teleporter, heading back to the guild. It only took about five minutes for everyone to get back into the guild and seated. I take a deep breath and sit up from my spot on the bar, summoning the Archive screen.

“Everyone ready?” The members all nod to me, each looking determined to learn. I smile and hit ‘Enter’ and progress bars appear above the heads of all by the Luna and the CMC before slowly filling up. I grit my teeth and take a breath, the spell taking and copying the information of each magic style straight from my mind giving me a headache. Within a minute, all the progress bars are filled and the others rub their heads.

“Did it work?” Flora questions. I just shrug and look everyone over before focusing on Swift.

“Hey Swift, think fast!” I yell before sending a bolt of electricity at her. The mare yelps before the attack hits, but her body suddenly turns into a bunch of peices of paper before she reappears near the door. She goes wide eyes and looks herself over before smiling.

“Yup, it worked.” I say with a slight chuckle, the others all cheering, clearly excited to get started. “Alright calm down everyone. Now, the information in each of your head will give you a base to work with, but it will only stay in your head for about a month, so I recommend learning to control your magic asap. If you have trouble with magical control, talk to a unicorn who can teach you. If you have trouble with using your magic, come to me and I’ll help however I can. Also...” I close my eyes and summon two scrolls.

“I have take the time to make copies of the magical instruction as well as almost all the spells I have at my disposal in the archives near the back. You will be allowed back there, but you can only take out one book of information at a time, and you are not allowed to take the books outside of the guild for security reasons and to prevent someone who can’t control it from learning this magic.” I toss the scrolls to Twilight and Raine, the duo seeing they are actually the scrolls I arrivied in Equestria with. I smile before summoning what looks like a schedule booklet.

“If you guys wish, we can essentially set up an appointment between myself, Emerald or Sonbā to spend a certain amount of time to help you with your magic styles, which will be recorded here. This way two members won’t end up having overlapping appointments. Any questions so far?” A few hands go up and I point to Rainbow. The mare take a breath before gaining her signature smirk.

“When do we start?”

And there we go. The member officially have magic to become wizards. The question is, who can control their magic, and who will need help. Also, yes I do have an idea in mind for the CMC and Luna’s magic, but they won’t be up for a while. Thanks for reading
Garnet Out!

Alexandria Justine: Faekage-13,789-Variety
Princess Luna: Rai-2,936-???
Sonbāsuta: Rai-2,247-Crystal Make Magic
Mi Amor Cadenza: Rai-1,529-Maguilty Sense
Shining Armor: Rai-1,119-The Knight Requip
Twilight Sparkle: Kage-601-Dark Ecriture
Spike Sparkle: Kage-562-Emerald Dragon Slayer Magic
Trixie Lulamoon: Jounin-505-Memory Make Magic
Emerald Blizzard: Jounin-425-Archive
Legacy Tracer: Jounin-371-Reflector Magic
Zecora: Chunnin-202-Plant and Green Magic
Star Burst: Chunnin-154-Gunner Requip
Bladed Wind: Chunnin-151-Requip
Rainbow Dash: Chunnin-135-Storm Magic
Applejack: Chunni-134-Earth Magic
Floral Talons: Chunnin-132-Air Magic
Azure Skies: Chunnin-129-Dark Regulus
Gilda: Chunnin-120-Ice Make Magic
Zen Quartz: Chunnin-115-Palm Magic
Hot Spark: Chunnin-105-Rainbow Fire Magic
Swift Service: Genin-98-Paper Blizzard
Nate Quartz: Genin-95-Sandstorm
Pinkie Pie: Genin-93-Wave
Raine Jewel: Genin-89-Solid Script
Silk Song: Genin-73-Water
Rarity Belle: Genin-72-Mirror and Colours Magic
Echo: Genin-50-Aera
Scootaloo: Genin-28-???
Applebloom: Genin-25-???
Sweetie Belle: Genin-18-???
Fluttershy: Genin-5-Animal Soul Takeover

“Alright Azure, one more time. Remember, if you have any residual magic in your mouth, spit it out immediately or you will get burned.” I instruct the thestral mare, who nods and take a deep breath, dark fire flaring out the sides of her mouth.

“Alright. Here goes. Roar of Darkness!” The mare successfully breaths out the thin torrent of flames and it grows as it flies farther away from us, the target being caught up and turned to ash like the last three. I nod with a smile as Azure finishes the spell before spitting out another glob of the black fire. Luckily this one was smaller than the last couple attempts.

“Nice job Azure. Looks like you are getting the hang of summoning the fire and not getting burned in the process. I have to say I am impressed, it took quite a while for me to get it right.” I compliment, handing the slightly drained thestral a water bottle. It has been just over three weeks since the members have been given access to Fiore magic, and already we have quite a few standout protégées.

As I suspected when I was choosing their magic, Rainbow Dash and Zecora took to their respective magics like fish to water. The pegasus learned to summon and dispel different storm clouds within days of gaining her magic, though she has been forced to get some lessons from Twilight in magical restraint and conservation. She nearly passed out twice when summoning some thunder clouds, and nearly snowed in the guild when testing which elements she could use. Zecora on the other hand was able to use her magic on day two, the mare being able to summon the plant for defence and offence without much issue, and has even begun to use her Green magic recreationally for her potion making. She has also become the unofficial nurse for the guild alongside Fluttershy.

Aside from that, most of the guild members have gotten the basics of their magic, though the unicorns and Cadence took a little longer than the others since they had to relearn how to spellcast, especially without their horns. Speaking of Cadence, she and her husband were only able to stay for a couple of days, but before they left I gave them a long-distance hologram lacrima so I could still teach them when they have time off from ruling the empire. They also said they would be creating a request station in the empire before the next MPF score exam in a couple months.

I spent almost all my free time helping and teaching members of the guild the ins and outs of their new magic, so I haven’t been able to go out on any jobs. Not that it has been a problem. Now that everyone has their own magic, the requests have been flying off the board as the members get more confidence in themselves. Some have even made teams like Rainbow, Fluttershy and Gilda forming Team Sky Call, or Trace, Flora and Zen forming Team Lost Templar. Not sure where they thought of their names, but whatever.

So far we haven’t had anyone come by with prospects of becoming a new member, but with the current numbers I don’t think that will be an issue. Of course there have been some questioning the idea of giving non-unicorns magic, but most of them are noble bigots that think magic should only belong to their species. Dumbasses.

I release another sigh and look to the sky out the window, seeing it is maybe an hour before Celestia sets the sun and Luna raises the moon. I turn to the magically drained thestral and smile.

“I think that is enough for the day Azure. I have to say I am impressed by the progress you and some of the others have been making. A little bit longer and you should be able to use your magic on jobs without too much worry.” I say, helping the mare to her hooves.

“Thanks Faekage, but I still think I have a ways to go.” She says with a smile while I roll my eyes. Because of her guard training, she and the other two guards have taken to calling me Faekage instead of Lex. It was annoying for a while, but I have already gotten used to it.

I smile and the two of use leave the wood target range, and pass by the iron range where Sonbā is going over Maker magic with Gilda. The hen nods to something he said and gets into her stance while hovering a couple feet in the air.

“Ice Make Eagle!” She launches a dozen or so ice eagles to the target, striking it from several angles. As I expected, Gilda is mostly an Active Ice Maker wizard. So far she has been using things like eagle, dragonfly and tiger. Unlike Lyon, she didn’t seem to wish to try and use single handed spellcasting, even when I told her it was a possibility. She said that she could tell that single handed probably had a bunch of drawbacks, so she is sticking to double handed, or I guess double clawed spellcasting.

While there have been plenty of wizards who have been trying their magic out first hand, some like Raine, Twilight, Trixie and Trace have spent their first week or two in the archives, reading and learning about their own magics. Trixie in particular has been extremely attentive when I went over how to use her Memory Make magic. As expected from the magical download, Trixie began to remember things from her past they she forgot simply because of how long ago it was, like the name of her first pet when she was four, a parakeet named Blue.

Aside from that, most members have decided to take some time to practice their new magic before going on any quests, and I am glad for it. The last thing I want is to get a letter from the mayor of Manehatten and find out Spark burned down a building or something. So far that hasn’t happened, but knowing this guild, even if it is in a different world, I should expect at least one letter about property damage eventually.

Arriving at the guild hall, I wave goodbye to Azure, who was heading to SugarCube corner to get a bite before it gets dark. I look around and spot a familiar grey pegasus waiting by the bar.

“Hey Ditzy! We got more mail?” I ask the mare. Since the guild opened, Ditzy Doo, or Derby as some refer to her as, has become the unofficial mail carrier for our quests. She goes all over Equestria, so she is the one who picks up the quests for the guild most of the time.

“Hi Lex. Yup, you got quite a few from some of the farming towns. Some of them have gotten some early harvest so they are asking for help. There have also been some bandit sightings near the towns by the edge of the badlands, so they are asking for some backup.” She says, handing me a small stack of paper as well as a delivery form. I nod and sign the form before grabbing the stack.

“Alright, thanks Ditzy. Be sure to tell Dinky I say hi when you get home.” I say as the mare head out.

I smile to myself and go to my office, dropping off the quest forms for me to sign later. But first, I needed a bite to eat. Heading back to the main floor, I see Flora in the kitchen using her Air magic to dry off the plates she just cleaned. Smart move, changing the density of the air to increase the heat and dry off the dishes.

“Hey Flora? When you got a sec, mind making me a salmon caesar wrap?” I request, the hen looking to me and nodding. I smile and head back out, sitting by the bar again. Since it was getting dark most have begun to head back to their homes for the day. The only ones not here in Ponyville right now are Spark and Silk whom have taken some jobs in Manehatten which should last a couple days.

I sigh and think about how tonight is going to go. For nearly two months now, whenever I am able to, I have been putting myself into a sort of meditative sleep that allows me to use my mind like a training ground. It is how I have gotten so good at using my magic. I seriously doubt I could have become half as good with my spells without the extra training. And the best part is my body still gets the necessary rest it needs while I mentally get stronger. Though from what I could tell, the ‘dream training’ doesn’t affect my magical core, the amount of magic I can hold and spend.

I wonder though, could I interact with others in the dream realm? I know that Luna has a dreamwalking spell that only she could use, but could I use my Mimic magic or Magical Drain to copy it? I shake my head and put that thought on the back burner for the time being. Right now I wanted to figure out which magic I should practice with tonight. Or....maybe I should focus on my seals.

“Hey boss, foods ready!” I look up from my spot at the bar and see as Flora brings out my food and places it in front of me.

“Arigato Flora-Chan.” I say with a smile. I am not sure why, but lately I have been switching to Japanese whenever talking to anyone from the guild. I am really glad I added the basics of Japanese with the magic info for the members, so they could uderstand me. The hen nods before heading back to the kitchen to make herself something to eat. I am really glad my guild has access to meat products, I think I would go nuts if I had to only eat vegetables.

After I ate and signed and posted the quests, it was already dark out so I decided to call it an early night. Making sure to lock the doors and set the alert spell for members, I head to my room and get ready for another night of training.

“Alright, maybe I’ll focus on my seals tonight. I still need to set the release phrases.” I mutter to myself, covering myself up and raising my arm.

‘Sleep magic: Dream Teller.’ I smile as I cast the spell on myself, the entrance to Luna’s domain appearing for me.

I felt as the spell was finished, and open my eyes, appearing in what looks like an old castle. I knew this place was actually my mind, with each room holding different memories as well as rooms I use for practicing my spells. But there was one room I have only been to a couple of times that I knew I needed to go.

To me to only felt like two minutes to walk the mental halls of my mind before arriving at a door in the lower levels. It was a large, rainbow coloured door with several magic matrixes on it. I sigh to myself as I get ready to open it, before pausing as I sense something. Something that shouldn’t be here.

Looking behind me, I scan the halls before closing my eyes, and forcing the sensation to the forefront of my mind, also known as right in front of me. It took a second, but I hear a familiar voice yelping followed by something falling to the floor. Opening my eyes, I am greeted by a certain member of the guild.

“Luna, what are you doing here?” I question the night princess as she rights herself.

“Oh, good night Lex, I was just curious about what was going on in here. I had seen your dreams turn into this castle before, but I never had the time to investigate. Truthfully I was worried.” She says. I just shake my head.

“Well, you don’t need to worry about me Luna. This is just the result of a spell of mine. I have been using it to train myself and to develop some new spells of mine. That is how I have learned so much over the past few months.” I turn to the door again. “Anyways, I have some work to do, so can you please leave.” I flinch slightly as I see Luna flinch. “Sorry, that was harsh.”

“A little, but its ok. I can tell that whatever it is you are doing, it is very important.” She say with slight disappointment. I try to resist, but eventually sigh.

“Come on Luna. Honestly I doubt your presence will make that much of a difference.” I say, heading to the door with the night princess directly behind me. Opening it up, there is a large amount of light shining though, before it dies down, revealing a circular room with ten large doors on the walls, all connect at the bottom to a trap door on the floor.

“What is this place?” Luna questions.

“This is a part of my mind that connects to my magical core. More accurately it is a visual and intractable part that connects to my seals.” I explain like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“Seals?” I turn to the confused princess.

“Indeed. Basically, when I gained all that knowledge and magical power, my body wasn’t strong enough to hold it all on my own. So to compensate, the magic I gained created these magical seals to hold back most of my Grand and Forbidden spells, as well as some of my more destructive magics. If it didn’t, I have little doubt I either would have died from magical overloading, or I would have gone insane to the point Sombra and Nightmare Moon would look merciful.” I explain, walking up to the red door with several fire patterns on it.

“Really. Wow. So then, what are you doing here?” She asks as I check the plaque on the side of the door. Right now it was blank, but I knew how to change that.

“I am going to add release phrases to the seals, this way I can unlock the seals one at a time. I think I should be able to control unlocking one seal at a time now, any more than that and I will end up becoming more destructive and prone to instinct than reason.” I explain before taking a breath and focusing on the first seal. It didn’t take a genius to know that this seal is the seal of fire. Of course, I knew what I wanted the release phrase to be for the seal.

“Rirīsu! Reijinguinferuno no fūin! (Release! Seal of the Raging Inferno!)” I feel warmer and warmer as the door begins to open, rainbow coloured fire pouring out of the door and onto me. I try and relax my body, both mental and physical, as the seal is unlocked and I feel the magical power flowing through me. I could barely hear as Luna gasps and steps back. I am not sure how long I was allowing the magic to flow, before I sensed it was beginning to slow. I take a deep breath and open my eyes, seeing the door is opened, the fire remaining inside the sealed ‘room’. I look to my hands and concentrate, before black fire erupted from them. I knew this was different then the dark flames from Dark Regulus, these were more powerful and far more dangerous.

“Divine Flames. So that was the magic sealed within the seal of fire.” I mutter to myself, extinguishing my hands and closing the door before me. I sigh and stretch. One down, nine to go.

“What was that?!” I turn to Luna, who is sitting on the ground in shock.

“That was the seal of fire, within it is some of my most powerful flame spells, one style in particular being far stronger than the rest.” I explain, walking to the next door, this one being blue and white and having the imagery of waves and glaciers.

“I could sense the magical surge in the real world, so I have to request you don’t release those seals unless absolutely necessary Lex. I am going to have a hell of a time explaining this to Tia. Though I ask, what is that magic style sealed within your seal of fire?” She questions.

I look to her with a poker face before walking over and placing a on her shoulder. Unknown to her, I used my Mimic magic and managed to copy some of her magic, including her dream walking spell. I just smirk to her and prepare to push her out of my head. But first, I answered her question.

“Flame God Slayer magic.” With that and the satisfaction of seeing Luna’s dumbfounded face, I push the mare out of my mind and back to the dream realm. I sigh and head back to the next seal, the seal of water and ice. “Alright, here we go.”

For the next nine seals, I do the same as the seal of fire, creating the release phrases and letting the sealed magic within to flow through me. I am sure the others could sense my magical surges in the real world, so I am sure I will have to answer some question when I wake up.

Though, there was something I was curious about. When Luna was here, I could swear I could sense another being with her, but Luna was alone. So who else was here?

I fall onto my back with an exhausted sigh as I finish with the last seal. That took way more mental power than I thought it would. I had a feeling I was going to have the magic equivalent to a major hangover when I wake up. But still, it was worth it if I can access my sealed magic powers.

“Oh boy, I am going to regret this when I wake up.” I mutter to myself as I sense my physical body beginning to come back to consciousness. I look over the seals again, before laying my eyes on the trap door in the center of the room. I knew what was down there, and with any luck, I will never have to use that magic.

‘Zeref, Mavis, I hope to gods I don’t ever have to use what you two did.’

Waking up in my bed, as expected, I feel like Pinkie took a jackhammer to my skull before blasting both party cannons into my ears. I want to groan, but barely the quietest noise makes my head beat like a bass drum.

‘Whhhyyyyyy?’ I barely manage to think, even my own thoughts causing pain.

I don’t get to suffer alone for long before my bedroom door bursts open, a certain group of mares barging in.

“LEX!” The element bearers yell, and I swear my hearing broke for a second. I barley manage to clutch my head and grit my teeth, tears pouring down my face.

“Please, not so loud. It hurts.” I whimper quietly. I can hear somepony gasp, and then the beating of wings before me. I manage to pry my eyes open and see Fluttershy looking me over in worry. It was then that I remember that I went to bed naked. Ordinary I would be freaking out about it, but right now I couldn’t care less.

“Lex look at me, what happened?” Fluttershy says, her voice barely quiet enough to not cause me pain.

“Mental magic training. Overdid it.” I say.

“Magic hangover?” Rainbow questions with worry. I barely nod to her, that was one of the best ways of describing it. I try to ignore the pain in my head even as Fluttershy grabs my arm and helps me sit up, Rarity running into my closet and grabbing my original outfit. Time seemed to flow by as the girls helped me into my clothes, but I needed AJ to straight up carry me out of my room.

“Hold on, I’ll go grab Zecora and see if she has a potion for this.” Rainbow says, about to fly out the guild before I stop her.

“Wait, just...take me outside.” I manage to say, the others looking to me like I turned into Achnologia. Before the others could scream though, I hear the telltale sound of a Teleportation spell. Turning to the source, we see Luna and Celestia, the former of whom looks to me with some pity.

“Can somepony tell me what my sister means when she said that the magical surges this morning were from the leader of this wizards guild?” Celestia asks with what I think is her practiced poker face, but I couldn’t tell right now.

“W-well, Princess....” Twilight tries to think of a way to get us out of this, before I sigh and tap AJ and barely motion to the window.

“Look, princess, I think Lex here will answer yer questions after she is better.” AJ says, walking to the door with the others behind her, Celestia seeming to notice my state.

“Magical hangover?” I barely manage to hear the sun princess question, and I guess the others nodded. It didn’t take long for us to get outside, and I motion to AJ to help me to my feet. She nods with a very worried frown. I take a breath, the mere act causing my head to pound. After a second though, I manage to focus on what I need to unlock.

“Rirīsu! Hateshinai sora no fūin! (Release! Seal of the Endless Sky!)” There is a sudden burst of magic and wind as I finish my sentence, my seal of wind being released. AJ lets me go and steps back as the magic from the seal flows through me. My hair that I have been letting grow out a bit begins to shift, before beginning to flow in an unseen breeze much like the two Alicorns behind me. I take a breath, and the air goes down, not to my lungs, but to my stomach and immediately I feel the hangover begin to lessen.

I exhale, then begin to breath in an increadble about of air, the oxygen and particles becoming visible to the others as it is sucked down my gullet and into my stomach.

“What in tarnations?” AJ questions.

“Is she....eating the air?!” I hear who I think is Trixie question, but I am too preoccupied in getting myself better and filling my magic. After about thirty seconds, I stop inhaling and audibly gulp the last of the air down my throat before sighing.

“Much better.” I say with a smile, strething my slightly sore muscles. I could see some pinkish white glow from my peripherals, and recognize it as my Sky God Slayer magic natural healing effect visibly healing my migraine and hangover.

“Um, Lex?” I turn and freeze slightly as I see that almost all the members are present and presumably saw me gorge myself on the air.

“Um, hi?”

“What the Tartarus was that?! You have never shown that magic style before!” Spike yells, the other flinching slightly from his volume.

“Uh, well....let’s head back into the guild. This is something to be shared in private.” I say, walking back to the guild hall with the crowd behind me. As soon as everyone entered the guild I locked the door and then cast a soundproofing spell on the building to stop anyone outside from overhearing. I take my seat at the bar and turn to look at the members, who are looking to me expectantly.

I sigh and began to explain what I was doing last night, the others shocked that I had far more power than I have shown before. I then began to explain how each seal allows me to access certain spells or magic style, including my God Slayer magics. Needless to say the others, Celestia especially, were looking to me, and oddly my hair, with slight awe.

“So, let me get this straight. You have magical seals in your core, that hold back some very powerful magical abilities, including some known as God Slayer magic. Do I have that right?” Celestia question. I just nod.

“I’m sorry I never told anyone. It wasn’t really important since I wasn’t strong enough to access even one of my seals before. I only recently decided to try and set the release seals just in case. And as we can see, I can control one seal at a time for right now.” I say, playing with my hair as it continues to flow.

“Remarkable.” Luna says as she looks to my hair more closely, comparing it to her own.

“Tojiru. Hateshinai sora no fūin. (Close. Seal of the Endless Sky.)” The others can sense my magic power begin to decrease as my seal of wind in reactivated, my hair falling along my back as the unseen breeze stops.

“Anyways, now that that is out of the way, whos ready to work? We just got a fresh batch of quests in last night.” I say, pointing to the board. The crowd all seperate, some members going to the board, some to the archives, and the employees going to their stations. Though, Celestia motions me over.

“Lex, there is something else I would like to speak with you about.” She says. I look to the others who are going about their business. I motion for the princess to follow and the two of us head into my office.

“So, what’s up princess?” I ask, taking a seat at my desk.

“Well, I have been worried about my sister. Lately she seems sluggish when she wakes up, like she hasn’t been getting a good days sleep.” She explains.

“Hmm, now that I think about it, she has been pretty tired whenever she is here at the guild. Maybe this has to do with that other presence last night.” I mutter, Celestia looking to me with a raised brow. “Basically, when I was setting the release seals on my magic last night, Luna popped in since I was technically asleep. She stayed for a bit, but while she was here, it felt like there was....something else. Like there was another being with her, but I know Luna was alone.”

“Indeed, I have noticed that as well. At first I was worried that Nightmare Moon was returning, but whatever the presence is, its magical signature, what little I was able to grab, is different than the darkness that took over my sister.” She explains. I lean back into my chair in thought before digging into a draw and grabbing a long-range communication card.

“Here, contact me an hour after Luna goes to sleep, so I can use her dreamwalking spell and see what is going on in her mind.” I say, the solar princess nodding and taking the card and hiding in between her bra.

“Thank you Lex. I am truly worried about her.”

“As am I. I may not know her too well, but as the Faekage it is my duty to take care of all the members as though they are my family.” I say seriously, the mare stopping for a second before nodding and turning to the door. I walk her back to the entrance where Luna was waiting for her sister.

“Alright, remember if either of you need anything, just pop by and any of the members or I will help out however we can.” The royal sisters nod before teleporting away. I sigh a bit before walking back to my office and taking out a list of spells.

I spent the next couple hours going over some spells with some of the members, as well as hanging out with the CMC and Echo. I was still pulling a blank and what to teach the fillies, but I have begun to teach Echo about Transformation magic to see if she can essentially turn herself into a neko like Carla.

I was just grabbing the Animal Takeover spell booklet for Fluttershy and Angel, when I sensed the alert from Celestia’s card. I quickly fly down and hand the mare and bunny the spell booklet, before going to my office and locking the door and taking out the communication card.

‘She asleep?’ I question.

‘Indeed. I double checked earlier, and she appears to be out of it.’ I hear the reply before the faint sound of doors opening and then the connection is cut. I nod to myself and pull up Archive, going through my spells before finding the dreamwalking spell I copied from Luna.

‘Well, here goes nothing.’ I close my eyes and cast the spell, earning the feeling of slowly being submerged before appearing in what looks like a cloudy landscape similar to the place I met Master Mavis. I smile to myself and begin to look around before finding what I am looking for. It appeared to be a doorway, with the night design all over it.

Walking into the dream, I appeared in what looks like the throne room of the Canterlot castle. I quickly cast a self invisibility spell, and hide behind a pillar as Luna walks in with a determined look on her face. I wondered what she was up to, before spotting some kind of dark blue mist ball hovering behind her. I had a very bad feeling about this.

“Alright Tantabus, do your worst.” She says, before the ball seems to send energy into her, Luna’s body beginning to crack and grow as her coat darkens, her teeth sharpening to a point and her mane becoming darker and more chaotic. I watch with wide eyes at her transformation before the doors burst open and, not just the Element’s, but several members of the guild run in.

“Oh no, Princess Luna is turning back to Nightmare moon!” Dream Twilight yells in worry as Luna turns to them with a mad smile.

“Not if we can help it!” dream Rainbow says in confidence, sparking her magic along with the others. The battle begins, and it looks like Nightmare Moon is making beating the guild look easy.

I understand now. That thing, the Tantabus, it is forcing Luna into having nightmares. And judging by the slight, almost unnoticeable increase in the Tantabus magic power, its feeding off of her. But where did it come from? Why is it feeding off Luna? And why did Luna say for it to do its worse like she was inviting this nightmare?

I shake my head after hearing some of the members yelling in pain, seeing almost everyone on the ground, clearly beaten. I watch in shock as Nightmare laughs in victory before looking to the door with a grin. I look to the doors with worry as I see myself, the dream me looking over the guild members with sadness before looking to Nightmare with rage.

“You....YOU’RE DEAD!” I watch as magic bursts around the dream me as what she thinks would happen if I removed all my seals. The dream me looked like a being of living magic, her body glowing with an outline of darkness. I gulp and see even Nightmare looks worried. The other me roars before sending a large beam of pure magic towards Nightmare, who is too stunned to do anything.

“THATS ENOUGH!” I roar and surge my magic, causing the dream to fall apart and bring Luna into my mind while I am in the trance. Before she can even process what is going on, I lock eyes with her and rip out the Tantabus with my Seith magic, before securing it in an orb of magic within my own mind.

“W-what just....happened?” She questions before seeing me with my arms crossed, the Tantabus floating beside me, trying to get out of the magic container and gulps.

“You want to explain to me what the hell has been going on with this thing?” I demand while motioning to the dream eater thing. She looks between me and the Tantabus a few times with a slightly sheepish expression.

“Um, w-well....” she tries to think of an excuse, but I stop her with a sigh.

“When you wake up, you and your sister are to come to the guild and talk. Am I understood?” I lean towards the mares face, who nods quickly before I use my magic and send her back into her own mind.

I sign and turn to the trapped Tantabus, the creatures trying to get out of the orb I placed it in. I sigh and retreat the two of us into my own mind before walking the mental halls and arriving in a type of containment room, just a room over from where my seals are.

“Alright then. I am going to let you out now. Don’t bother trying to take me over or escaping, I have complete control of this place and my mind.” I tell the Tantabus before popping the bubble it is in. The thing floats around before stopping and I guess staring at me.

“....so, can you talk?” I ask awkwardly. The thing turns this way and that, emulating a shaking head. “Well, from what I can tell your form seems malleable, so counldn’t you just, I dunno, shift your form to make letters?”

The Tantabus freezes, even the wispy effect of it stopping before it begins to shake and creating letters. ”I had not thought of that.”

“Yeah well I doubt Luna is very good for conversation and ideas when you are forcing her into having nightmares.”

”I am merely doing what I was created to do. Lady Luna made me to give her nightmares as a form of self punishment after her banishment.”

“Are you joking. Why is this a thing with former villains not thinking they have had enough punishment?”

”Don’t ask me. I have only existed for about a year and a half now. I do not know much about the outside world aside form what lady Luna’s nightmares have shown me.” I look to the thing for a moment before focusing on the halls of my mind, a door appearing before the two of us. Opening it up, we arrive at what looks like a small study.

“Here. This is part of my memory warehouse. You can spend some time here to learn about the outside world from my memories, but don’t get too comfortable. I will be keeping a magical eye on you to make sure you can’t do something dangerous or stupid or both.” The ball turns to me and I guess is confused.

”Why allow me to learn this? As Lady Luna put it, I am essentially a parasite, whatever that is.

“Well, I am not really sure myself. If this were to happen when I was younger, I am sure I would have destroyed you instantly. Maybe it is my magic, but I can sense that you aren’t a real threat to me. If anything, I am a major threat to you since with one spell, I can erase you from existence since you are a being made of magic. Also, maybe it is naive, but I think you could help me and grow to be something more than what you were created for.”

The Tantabus just floats there for a minute before hovering over to one of the shelves and taking out a book that I saw was my memories of basic cooking. I nod before leaving and locking the ‘doors’ making sure the Tantabus can’t go anywhere else in my head without me.

I cast another spell and break myself out of my trance, opening my eyes and appearing in my office. Looking to the clock on the wall, I see I was in that trance for about four hours. I guess time flows differently when under the effects of the dreamwalking spell.

“Oh boy, I hope nothing happened while I was under the trance.” I mutter to myself before heading out of my office and to the main floor. Getting a quick update from Zen, the only thing that happened was Fluttershy scheduling a training session tomorrow. I nod to myself and order a salad from Flora while waiting for Luna and Celestia.

I am not sure how long I was waiting and eating for before the royal sisters walk in the door. The members look to the royals with raised brow and worry at Luna’s slightly ashamed face. I look to them with a neutral face and motion for them to follow, the three of us heading to my office for the second time today.

“Take a seat, both of you.” I say, sitting behind my desk. I am sure I sounded like a disappointed teacher or something. And the sisters expressions just reflect this as Luna looks ashamed while Celestia looks confused and worried.

“So, what did you find?” Celestia questions, Luna looking to her sister with confused shock. I turn to Luna with slight disappointment.

“The Tantabus. Apparently it is an entity Luna created not long after her return to give her nightmares every day as punishment for her crimes as Nightmare Moon.” Celestia looks down to her sister with worry, pain, disappointment and more while Luna looks shocked.

“How-“

“How did I figure it out? Simple, I asked the Tantabus. Turns out is can change its form to make letters and communicate that way. One would think you would know since you created it.” I say, leaning in my chair with my arms crossed.

“Wait, the Tantabus is in your head now?!” Luna says in slight outrage, standing up.

“Yup. What, did you think I would just destory it? No, that entity is interesting to me. Also, even if it is parasitic in nature, it is still technically a living being. And as one, it has the potential to grow into more than what it was made for.” I explain.

“Are you nuts?! As you just said, the Tantabus is a parasite! It feeds off negative emotions to survive, but I can produce just enough for it to live. You are far stronger than me Lex, if you don’t get rid of it, it might absorb enough energy to enter the real world!”

“No, it won’t. Like you just said, I am stronger than you, meaning at any moment, I can cast one of my spells and erase it. Right now, that thing is secured into a single section of my mind with only access to a small portion of my memories, most of which, are mere facts and things I have learned over the past 20 years of my life. Right now there is next to zero percent of that thing absorbing any more magic than what I am allowing it to so it can survive.” I say seriously. The duo look to me with neutral masks, masks much better than mine, before sighing.

“Very well, we will leave it in your supervision. But know if it somehow escapes-“

“That I will be the one to deal with it. Trust me I am already thinking of contingency plans for it.” I finish for the solar mare. She nods before turning to her sister. “I can tell you two have much to talk about, however I think it would be best for the two of us to speak to one another alone first. You can do that here, or you can return to the castle, it make little difference to me. However, I will need to know about what you plan on doing afterwards. Like it or not Luna, you are technically under my watch, not just as a friend or a member, but as family.”

The lunar mare nods before standing from her chair. Before she can mover very far, I speed walk around my desk and bring the slightly taller mare in for a hug, letting her rest her muzzle on my shoulder.

“We’re not just friends Luna. We’re family, and that goes for everypony else in the guild. Please, if you have a problem, come to one of us.” I whisper to her, Luna nodding as a few stray tears escape her eyes. I smile up to her as I escort the duo to the front doors for the second time today.

“Lex, thank you.” Celestia and Luna say before teleporting away. I smile to myself and head to my room, intent on ‘unwinding’ for a bit. Been a while, even before I was sent away from earth.

Unfortunately, I didn’t even make it to the door to my washroom before a loud buzzing echoed through my room. Confused, I look around before looking in my Token drawer and see the Alchemist watch I got from Ed is buzzing like my phone.

Picking it up, I pop the lid open and watch as the clock begins to spin rapidly, before fading into the image of a familiar, yet different looking man.

“Edward? What’s up? And what’s with the new look?” I question, sitting on my bed.

“Hey Lex. Um, so I guess it is a good thing you are sitting on something, there is something we need to talk about. It’s about your sisters.” He says. I look to him with a very serious glare.

I had a feeling this will be a long conversation.

And here it the start of Lex’s side of the events of Golden Eyed Sage. But to calm all you down, no, there wont be chapters for Lex’s perspective, so the next chapter will be skipping to the next event. Just wanted all of you to know.
Garnet out!

Alexandria Justine: Faekage-13,789-Variety
Princess Luna: Rai-2,936-???
Sonbāsuta: Rai-2,247-Crystal Make Magic
Mi Amor Cadenza: Rai-1,529-Maguilty Sense
Shining Armor: Rai-1,119-The Knight Requip
Twilight Sparkle: Kage-601-Dark Ecriture
Spike Sparkle: Kage-562-Emerald Dragon Slayer Magic
Trixie Lulamoon: Jounin-505-Memory Make Magic
Emerald Blizzard: Jounin-425-Archive
Legacy Tracer: Jounin-371-Reflector Magic
Zecora: Chunnin-202-Plant and Green Magic
Star Burst: Chunnin-154-Gunner Requip
Bladed Wind: Chunnin-151-Requip
Rainbow Dash: Chunnin-135-Storm Magic
Applejack: Chunni-134-Earth Magic
Floral Talons: Chunnin-132-Air Magic
Azure Skies: Chunnin-129-Dark Regulus
Gilda: Chunnin-120-Ice Make Magic
Zen Quartz: Chunnin-115-Palm Magic
Hot Spark: Chunnin-105-Rainbow Fire Magic
Swift Service: Genin-98-Paper Blizzard
Nate Quartz: Genin-95-Sandstorm
Pinkie Pie: Genin-93-Wave
Raine Jewel: Genin-89-Solid Script
Silk Song: Genin-73-Water
Rarity Belle: Genin-72-Mirror and Colours Magic
Echo: Genin-50-Aera
Scootaloo: Genin-28-???
Applebloom: Genin-25-???
Sweetie Belle: Genin-18-???
Fluttershy: Genin-5-Animal Soul Takeover

I nod to myself as I finished up the last of the job request for the time being. It has been about a week since I returned to this world from the whole situation with my sisters and Edward, and it didn’t take long for me to get back into the swing of things as the Faekage of Fairy Tail. Unfortunately being gone for a week and a half meant I was backed up with requests. So I spent the first few days after my return all but trapped in my office, signing, reviewing, and ranking quests. Oddly, we still haven’t been given another quest dangerous enough to count for S-class, but I guess the guild has only been opened for a little over a month and a half.

I grab the new quests and head out of my office, taking a glance at the crowd of members all hanging out or talking about what jobs to do with one another. Since I got backed up with requests, the board also got momentarily backed up, so the members have been taking on tons of jobs as they come. Trace and Spike also told the others about some of the stuff they had done in Adam’s world, mostly just facing off against Grimm.

“Then the Deathstalker broke through the trees, seeming intent on attacking the castle, but Trace and I worked together and were able to tear it to shreds before it even made it close to the gorge.” I hear Spike brag, the CMC and some of the others listening intently to his storytelling.

I smile to myself as I post the quests on the board before going to my spot at the bar. Even though I was appeared content and happy on the outside, I was worried about something that happened while we were gone. The battle between my new uncle and Adam’s Celestia. Because of those two, I was forced to release all ten of my seals. Even if it was only for about a minute, and I had my siblings to work as anchors, I could have lost myself to the magic and gone on a killing spree. I still remember it, the magic feeling like I was a single sapling trying to stand firm in a tsunami.

While I was able to play it off, I really stretched myself to my limits. After we got back to town, and I made it to our temporary residence, I apparently was asleep for two days to allow my body to recover from the strain of containing all that magic, even when I used a sizeable portion to cast the Fairy Sphere. Trace and Spike managed to make sure the others didn’t worry by saying I was awake with them whenever either of them were alone, so the others just thought I was recovering whenever I could and wasn’t unconscious the whole two days.

Of course there were a bunch of positives from that trip. I managed to get some more hand-to-hand combat training with Adam, Rainbow, Nat and Dusk, as well as the Keyblade inheritance from Ed. Though, I couldn’t seem to access it yet. I tried to cheat a little and see if I could summon my Keyblade with my Requip Magic, but no dice. Plus the alchemagic lessons with Aunt Luna, and of course, all the knowledge on the Noble Phantasms and dark magic knowledge.

I could also sense that I could unlock two seals now while alone and I won’t lose it. While it is still only twenty percent of my full power, that is still more than enough to take on the royal sisters. Then there is the fact of the Tantabus in my head. I managed to keep her a secret from everyone, even my siblings, and I can tell she is a little stronger from my seals being released. I guess she absorbed some of the energy, enough that she can talk and go by she instead of it.

’I am surprised how little changed while we were away in your brothers world.’ I can hear Tantabus in my head, sounding a bit like I used to when I was younger. I guess this is how my sisters felt for the past seven and a half years before we all got Displaced.

‘You really shouldn’t be. I know the guild members can take care of themselves, they just need me for legal paperwork and S-class quests right now. That won’t stop me from being the leader of this guild though.’ I reply, sitting on the bar with a small smile.

’I wonder though, you said there have been no new applications for new members, why do you think that is?’ she questions.

‘Not sure, I mean all the members here either live in Ponyville or came from Manehatten with a few exceptions. Despite the amount of quests we’re getting, most are from the same group of towns, so we might not be popular enough for more ponies to want to join.’ I reply, just looking over the members in the guild, drinking, eating, talking and just having a fun time. Once again, I allow myself that sense of accomplishment as I see how the guild is working.

The almost tranquility of the guild was interrupted though, when the doors opened and Celestia, Luna, Cadence and Shining Armor walked in. That immediately got everyone’s attention, the fact that all four royals are here. I look to the quartet, and Shining motions to my office. I nod and the five of us head up.

“I take it this isn’t a random visit for training or to talk.” I state, sitting at my desk.

“Unfortunately, you are correct. We need Fairy Tail’s help.” Celestia says. I motion for her to go on, and Shining takes out a bunch of papers and pictures from a briefcase he brought. Looking them over, I see a bunch of different ponies, some in the equivalent of mugshots and from precarious positions.

“It took us the past month and a half, but we have a lead on the Black Market those two poachers you handed over to us during the guilds opening. From what we have been able to gather, there are some very powerful nobles taking part in the underground market, selling and shipping illegal contraband around Equestria and its neighbors like Griffonstone and the Minotaur kingdom.” I read over some of the reports, ‘nobles’ like Blood Stacks, Blaze Corona, and Frost Buster being some of the most prevalent ponies in the reports.

“Alright, what do you need the guild for? With this much information, couldn’t you just send a raid against them?” I question, picking up another stack.

“Because, as I said, these are powerful nobles who appear to have little regard for the authorities. As unfortunate as it is, I have little doubt that these menaces have very powerful ponies and other creatures under their payroll who have little to no regard for the sanctity of life. Our guards wouldn’t stand a chance alone. Your wizards and us on the other hand....” Luna trails off, letting me peice it together.

“With our magic we would have a far better chance of bringing this black market down. Is that correct?” I question, walking to one of the cabinets on the wall while Celestia nods.

“What are you looking for?” Cadence asks as I sift through the drawer and pull out two small crystal, one the size of a marble, the other the size of a melon.

“Recording Lacrimas.” I say, placing the larger lacrima on the table and connecting the smaller one to my necklace. The others watch in awe as I cast a spell, and the image of the four of them appear in the orb.

“These orbs connect to one another, the smaller one recording everything in its field of view, while the larger one catalogs it and keeps a copy. We can use it for charges.” I explain, the others looking to me with raised brows. “Just catching the bastards in the market won’t be enough. We can use this to both record all the illegal businesses down there, as well as whoever might be down there to take part in this business.”

“How many of these Lacrimas do you have?” Luna questions. I just smile and use my Arc of Embodiment, creating five that hover above me.

“Unlimited.” I answer before getting a serious look on my face. “One thing I learned from my brother as a warrior, is you need to know your opponent before engaging them. So here is what is going to happen. Myself and a few guild members will enter the black market under the guise of foreign customers, with intent of finding what we want. All the while, the royal guards and other members will secure any and all exits to prevent anyone from escaping. From there, once we locate our targets, we will cause a commotion that should force the customers, employees and anyone else to try and escape. That is when the royal guards will strike.”

“Wow, its almost like you know what to do before we came here Lex.” Shining says with a small grin.

“Not really. I am mostly just adlibbing. But my grandfather and I used to watch a lot of crime shows when I was younger. The fact is we need to prevent even a single creature from escaping. If even one escapes, any other black markets will put themselves on high alert, making it harder to take them down. You will also need to set up medical tents for any potential slaves we free.” The royals nod.

“So, who are you going to take with you into this market? And how are you going to blend in? A human with blue and gold hair isn’t very inconspicuous.” Cadence asks.

“Well, what about a unicorn with a blue and gold mane?” I question with a grin, confusion evident on the others faces. I smirk as pink, digital looking magic surrounds me before bursting in a small cloud. The others look wide eyed at me, my new navy blue fur coat mixing well with my blue and gold mane and tail.

“How?”

“Transformation magic. I have been trying to teach it to Echo for a while now after I figured out how to turn myself into a unicorn.” I explain, rubbing my muzzle. It is still a weird feeling, turning into a creature that is the same in body shape, but with fur and a tail. I quickly shift back to normal.

“That will work. I have faith in you for this Lex. Of course, you and the guild will be compensated for this.” Celestia says before taking out what I know as a quest sheet. I smile and grab it from her, looking at the hefty reward of 300,000 bits. That is enough to rebuild this guild hall and barracks with all the amenities from scratch. I go to my desk and take out a stamp, ranking the quest S-class.

“Hmm, classifying it as an S-class quest really limits which members you can bring with you.” Shining points out.

“Not really, this only limits which members can join me in infiltrating the market itself. The other members are free to join us in preventing anyone from escaping, but only my squad will enter the market itself. I already have two members in mind who will be joining me.” I say, stamping the approved image on the quest before stuffing it into my bra.

“What is it with you females and stuffing things in between your breast?” Shining mutters, earning a trio of giggles from the princesses and a chuckle from me.

“Girls secret Shining, sorry.” I joke good naturedly before addressing the princesses again. “So, how long do we have?” Luna take out a map and lays it against my desk.

“I was thinking you and your team would make your ways to this border town, Klugetown, in three days. This is where we learned the markets dealings are mostly held. Be aware there will be more than a few creatures that would sooner kill you than help. ” Luna warns. In responce, I summon a weapon I made a while back for personal protection, Black Rock Shooters arm cannon, all while never looking up from the map of the town.

“I think I can handle myself. Plus with some lessons from my bother, I can use my aura to defend myself from damage.” I say briefly before rolling up the map. “So three days huh? That should give me enough time to get everyone ready for the fight. Clearly the younger and least experienced members will be here while the rest of us join you. My squad will enter the town first and find the market, and we’ll each wear recording Lacrimas and I’ll connect them so you all of you can see what we are up against.”

“Very well Lex. Here, these train passes should allow you and your squad passage to the town without much trouble.” Celestia says, handing me four passes.

“Shining, I am putting you and Cadence in charge of organizing the wizards when we get there. I know you know how to lead, so I trust you won’t take any unnecessary risks for your fellow guildmates.” I tell the stallion, earning a salute from the wizard. I wonder how far he and Cadence have been taking their magic while in the empire?

“Well, I suggest we inform the guild of what is going on before we move forward.” Cadence says. I nod and go to my desk, taking out the mass communication card. After sending a quick alert to the members, the five of us head back down to the main hall, seeing the members who were already here looking worried and confused.

It took only about an hour for everyone to show up, being luck that no one was out of town on jobs right now. The five of us then explained the situation to the members, several of them looking justifiyingly pissed at the mere mention of a black market, none more so than Fluttershy and Spike, and paying close attention to the plan as we have made it thus far.

“Ok so, who is going with you into the belly of the beast?” Gilda questions.

“The advance team is going to consister of myself, Sonbāsutā, Spike and Luna. The rest of you are to work with the royal guards as backup for capturing any who try to run away. I know this will be a big order, but I have faith in each of you. Obviously, some of you will be staying here to keep an eye on the guild. The CMC, Rarity, Silk, and Fluttershy will remain here.” I look over the gathered members before me, many looking determined.

“For the rest of you, get ready for a fight. Don’t get cocky, and rely on each other. This will be a very dangerous job we are going on, and I refuse to accept any of you coming back in a body bag.” I state, many surprised by the severity in my voice, before nodding. I smile to myself as I get my plans in order.

‘In three days, Fairy Tail goes to war.’

Stepping off the train and onto the platform, my squad and I look around station, completely surrounded by a desert. The town we needed to go to only a couple miles out. I was back in my casual Saber outfit while in disguise as my unicorn persona of Fae Spellseal. I had Sonbā posing as my coltfriend Somber Star with Spike as our bodyguard Spine. Luna was also disguised, as my unicorn aunt Night Sky.

“So, we all remember the plan?” I question as we begin to trek down the barely visible path towards Klugetown.

“We get to the town, find our informant, and locate the entrance to the literal underground black market. We go down and record all we can before getting the signal from Tia that the others have arrived.” Luna says.

“Once we get down there, locate the members of the ‘nobility’ and take them into custody. We also free any slaves we find and escort them to the others.” Spike says as we see the town sign. It didn’t even say welcome. It just said ‘Klugetown’ with a bunch of skulls on it.

“We also incapacitate any who might try to stay in our way.” I say as we enter the town. Immediately the stench hit us as we get past the city limits. We could see a veritable menagerie of creatures walking around the town, ponies, Minotaurs, griffons, Diamond Dogs, and many other creatures I have never seen before.

“Auntie Night, who is our ‘guide’ again?” I ask my ‘aunt’, who digs into her purse and take out a photo.

“We’re looking for a feline named Capper. According to some of our soldiers we sent over here undercover, he is a young con-artist for the market. He is rather inexperienced but he is very smart, so once he learned we are going to be launching a raid, he joined us of his own volition.” She answers as we pass what looks like a terrible bootleg of a towns market.

“Well, this is certainly a surprise.” We turn and see a bipedal feline with tan fur and blue hair, wearing a red jacket and blue ripped jeans. I walk up to him with my group right behind me.

“Capper I presume?” The feline grins, almost showing off his fangs and bows.

“The one and only, at your service my dear.” He says with what I could tell was a well practiced tone. I nod and offer my hand, but as he takes it, I lift him to his full height instead of letting him kiss it, earning some confusion.

“A pleasure. Never thought I would be working with a con-artist, but I doubt I ever would have expected to be here.” I say with a grin, shifting my transformation so I have my natural canines visible, much to his shock.

“I see, you are the group I am to escort to the market.” He states quietly, earning a nod from us.

“Call me Fae, this is Somber, Spine and my aunt Night.” I introduce, the feline nodding and heading down an alley with the four of us behind him.

“So, I take it those are not your real names?” He questions.

“Of course not. You may be our guide, but that doesn’t mean we are friends.” Spine says. The feline nods, seeming used to it.

“Sorry Capper, but we don’t want anyone innocent from being hurt. You may be a con, but I can tell you are mostly doing it for your own survival.” I say, the feline looking to me with a raised brow.

“How can you tell?” He asks.

“Women’s intuition. Plus how light this bit bag feels.” I say, tossing a small bag with only half a dozen bits into the air. The feline double takes and feels along his waist, lacking a certain bag that was in my hand, which I toss to him.

“How did you do that? This bag is normally tied to my belt, so if it goes, so does my belt.” He questions. In responce, I raise my hand, and he watches in shock as the arm of my shadow moves and takes his belt from him. He looks between me and my shadow a couple times before sighing. “Magic.”

“Yup. And I don’t want you getting caught in the crossfire if this turns into a town wide fight. So here’s some advice, grab your friends and family and GTFO.” I tell him as we reach a cellar entrance. He knocks in a certain rhythm before they open up.

“That would be good advice if I had any to look after.” I hear him mutter as the five of us head down. I look to him with some sympathy as we pass a couple of less than great looking Minotaurs, the duo looking to our group with indifference. We walked through some dimly light tunnels for a couple minutes before we can hear a lot of noise coming from ahead of us. Arriving, I try and hide my disgust as we see the secret market, the place easily the size of the royal barrack and training yard in square footage.

“Well, here is where we part ways. Good luck you guys, you’ll need it.” Capper says before heading back. Before he can go to far, I grab him by the wrist and stop him. He looks to me with sligh worry, before I open his paw and place a slightly larger bit bag into it.

“Take care of yourself Capper.” I say as the four of us head into the market. Capper looks at the bag in his paw for a bit before opening it up and seeing it full with bits, as well as a card with the symbol of some kind of bird on it. Raising a brow, he sighs and puts the card into his pocket before leaving.

‘Good luck miss Fae. Hopefully I can earn the right to learn your name.’

We decided to split up, Luna and Spike going one way, and Sonbā and I another. We each activated our recording Lacrimas as we were walking here, so what we were seeing wouldn’t get by unknown. And I was glad for that fact. Illegal weapons, drugs, potions and other contraband we being sold like they were apples.

I managed to keep my neutral mask on, even though nearly every part of me wanted to release my light and use Fairy Law on this place. I could barely see Sonbā shaking in rage, so I take his hand, interlinking our fingers, helping him reign in his anger. We had to keep cool and record all we could before meeting up and looking for some of the ‘nobles’ that were supposed to be here. Not an easy task since we don’t actually know about what they would be here for in the first place.

‘Tantabus, any ideas?’ I question the entity.

’I am afraid not. I may have read through your memories of the crime shows you have seen when younger, but this is definitely out of my field of assistance.’ she replies with remorse. I subtly nod to her as we pass a bunch of creatures all crowded around what almost looks like an auction stand.

“Alright! Now for the next auction! Will the products please step up!” I hear the griffon on the stage announce. I raise a brow and look to the stage, only for Sonbā to all but hold me back. Three different creatures, a changeling, a diamond dog, and what I somehow knew was a kirin walked up on stage. All were female and in rags and chains, but that wasn’t the shocking part.

The shocking part was that they were fucking children!

Seriously! The dog and changling were barely taller than Dinky and the Kirin was as tall as Applebloom!

“Up next we have a trio of youthful creatures for sale. I am sure that they will grow to be the perfect toys. Let’s start the bidding at 100 bits!” He says and a freaking bidding war started. I am shaking in rage from the back, Sonbāsutā physical restraining me.

‘Luna, Spike! Find us now!’ Sonbā yells through telepathy. It barely took a minutes and a half for the duo to find me, then see the reason I was shaking in rage, Spike and Luna getting into the same boat as me.

“How dare they!” Luna barely manages to say without attracting any attention. I could see that most of the creatures in the crowd have been outbought, clearly annoyed they couldn’t get them.

“Next bid as 2,350 bits going once....going twice....”

“3,000!” We turn and see a mare in an expensive looking brown coat, with scarlet red hair and orange fur. She clearly didn’t belong here, her coat and red dress seeming without a speck of dirt on her. It took me a second to recognize who she was.

“Blaze Corona.” I whisper with venom.

“Bid at 3,100, going once...”

“3,500!” We turn again, seeing a stallion with an icy blue stallion with a navy blue, almost black, mane, wearing a jet black coat over a black business suit with a blue tie.

“Frost Buster.” Luna mutters with rage.

“Bid at 3,700 going once....going twice....”

“5,000!” All eyes turn to another stallion, his blood red coat and black mane seeming to just expel a menacing aura. His dead grey eyes and predatory smile just adding to his aura. Though, when I saw him licking his lips, I swear I could hear glass break as I grind my teeth.

“Blood Stacks.” Sonbā, Spike and Tantabus whisper in disgust.

‘Luna we can’t let him get those three.’ I tell the disguised princess.

‘Indeed, the question is how to get them away before he can get his filthy hands on them.’ She says in worry.

“Current bid at 5,000 going once...going twice....”

I look around the crowd and see that everyone has backed down from the bidding war, even the Canterlot ponies sighing or huffing. I try to think of a way to save those three when each of us get an odd buzzing in our heads.

‘Luna, Lex, Sonbāsutā and Spike, everyone’s ready. We just need you to cause some commotion.’ We hear Celestia say in our minds. I go wide eyed and smirk.

“Go nuts guys!” I tell the trio as I break out of Sonbā’s hold and make a beeline for the auction stage.

“What the?”

https://m.

”Rirīsu! Gōon no shīru, ikari no yami no shīru! (Release! Seal of the Roaring Thunder, Seal of the Wrathful Darkness!)”

I disable my transformation as my seals unlock, jumping above the crowd and onto the stage, right before the trio of children. Just as I land, electricity begins to erupt around me like Laxus, while at the same time, the gold of my hair turns black, as well as the whites of my sclera. I smile and turn to the auctioneer, before screeching at him, causing most present to cover their ears.

“What is this?!” I hear someone yell.

“This is a crackdown! This market is through!” I yell before unleashing some black lightning on the auctioneer. The crowd immediately panics, all trying to head to the exits, though what I guess are some guards for this market come at me. I light my hands before pointing them at them.

“120 Millimeter Black Lightning Cannon!” I launch the blast of black lightning towards the mixmached group of creatures, all but two of them being struck by my attack, immediately passing out from the current going through their bodies. The two that didn’t get hit, a duo of Minotaurs, look to me with almost respect before charging. I rush towards them as well, summoning True Zangetsu and blocking two battleaxes. I grit my teeth and barely stop myself from going to my knees. These guys were no joke, and even with my magical enhancements, I could barely keep them at bay.

I growl a little and activate my dark magic. “Shadow Knuckles!” A bunch of shadows in the forms of arms with fists strike the duo and push them back, but not far. I glance over my shoulder and see Sonbā and Spike freeing the trio, so I focus on my opponents before me.

“Intriguing. No mere mare would be able to hold a candle to a Minotaur in strength. You really are something else aren’t you?” One of the bulls says. I frown and split my sword into its two parts and getting ready.

“I see it. You have the eyes of a leader and a warriors spirit. Let’s make this honorable. What do you go by? The names Grand Axe.” The same bull says. His coat was an odd brown, with black fur on his legs and head. He looked to be in his thirties, if I had to guess by the horns. I look to the other bull, his dark blue fur contrasting with his white fur on his legs, his horns larger than Grand Axe.

“Cobalt Will.” The blue bull says.

‘Requip, Shikai.’ My clothes begin to glow and morph, before I am out of my casual clothes and into a black kimono with a white belt, the Fairy Tail symbol on my back and the right section of my chest. I then activate my Wings enchantment, a duo of dark bat-like and electric feathered wing sprouting from my back.

“I am Alexandria Justine, Faekage of the Fairy Tail Wizards guild, honorary niece of Princess Luna and King Edward, sister to Captain Adam Taurus, ‘Queen’ Natali Basatin and ‘Princess’ Sorano Elric. And your one way ticket to the afterlife.”

Sure, the other titles don’t really count in this world alone, but they were real enough to count in my opinion. The duo look to me with awe, respect and a small fraction of fear, mostly from the last statement. But they both eventually nod and get into their fighting stances.

“Well your highness, I guess we shall see who will be sent to see their ancestors.” Grand Axe says before rushing forward. Right as he takes a swing at me, I disappear in a flash of black lightning, reappearing right behind him.

“Indeed.” I say before slashing at his back, the Minotaur not fast enough and yelling in pain from my attack. I can hear heavy hooffalls behind me and spin with a slash, blocking Grand’s axe strike, before using my second blade to parry a sword thrust from him. I push back and jump into the air, pointing both swords at him, green and black energy appearing at the end.

“Dark Capriccio!” A beam of dark magic is launched from the tip of my sword, Cobalt somehow knowing he couldn’t block it and rolls just as the attack would have struck him. I growl and hover for a second before trying a different spell.

“Zero Slash!” I make a slashing motion with my smaller sword, green dark magic appearing in the form of a whip at the end of my weapon. Cobalt rolls out of the way again, barely, and takes out a smaller axe, and throws it at me. I dodge out of the way of the axe, but get caught off guard as Cobalt jumped up to me, slamming his axe down on my swords and sending me back to the ground.

“Ow.” I groan before backflipping out of the crater I made a second before Cobalt landed where I was. It didn’t take a genius to figure out this guy knows how to fight. I knew I had to be careful. I was a jack-of-all trades when it came to magic, but I was still a novice when it came to physical fights. I connect my swords together and place them behind me.

“Getsuga Tensho!” I slash horizontally, the beam of magic being launched to the large Minotaur who barely jumps over it in time. As he is in the air I rush forwards while covering my fist in black lightning, and landing a hard electrically enhanced punch on his chest and send him flying into a consetions stand. But I don’t intend on letting up.

I dispel my weapon and point my arms at the recovering Cobalt Will, black lightning sparking around my arms and an orb begins to appear then grow inbetween my hands. Cobalt was able to barely look to me as my spell was finished charging.

“Lightning God’s Charged Particle Cannon!” I roar at the blast is launched out of my hands and towards Cobalt, who can’t react as the blast hits him, a shockwave of electricity and dust being kicked up and sending several stands flying. I stand my ground as the shockwave goes by me, watching as the epicenter reveals a beaten Cobalt in the stand.

“Don’t mess with Fairy Tail.” I mutter before going to Grand Axe, who has passed out from blood loss. I used a quick dark magic healing spell to stop the blood flow, as well as give his body a slightly increased rate of blood production. I sigh and reactivate my seals, my eyes and hair going back to normal. I look to the east, where I can hear the sounds of fighting. I rush over, not noticing Cobalt getting to his hooves.

‘Fairy Tail huh?’

Rushing past some passed out griffon guards, I see Sonbā and Spike engaged with some ponies and Diamond Dog guard, the duo making sure to try and keep things nonlethal, but the guards and mercenaries are not making that easy, as evident by the diamond dog that was impaled by a crystal saber on the ground.

Looking around the area, I see royal guards and members of the guild running around, arresting creatures, as well as freeing slaves, but three in particular were missing. I rush around the area, looking for the trio that was being auctioned earlier, before passing another batch of booths and hearing a childs scream. Jumping above the booth and running across their roofs, I see the trio, but they were being cornered by the trio of Canterlot ponies from earlier, the ones we were sent to capture.

“I don’t care the risks, you three are coming with us. I know that a changeling will work well in a brothel I own.” I can hear Corona say, causing my anger to spike.

“Fine, you can have the soon-to-be changeling slut, I’m taking that mutt. They make great physical workers for my mines in the north.” Frost says.

“Honestly, I couldn’t care less which I take with me, I just need a new toy for my collection.” Blood says almost nonchalantly, the other two actually shuddering at his words. At this point, I had heard enough and was about to jump down, when someone I didn’t expect showed up.

“No way in hell!” Capper yells, tackling Frost away while slashing at Flare. Blood just jumped back as Capper put himself between the unicorns and the kids. I am actually shocked, what is he doing back here?

“Who the hell are you supposed to be you dumb cat? Do you know who we are?” Flare says with venom, her mane seeming to glow with rage.

‘No way....’

“I don’t care who you are, you aren’t getting these kids. Not while I am around!” Capper states, unsheathing his claws.

“Well then, I guess we’ll just need to get you out of the way.” Frost says before lighting his horn along with Blood and Flare. I can feel tremendous heat begin to be generated between the three unicorns, Flares mane seeming to turn into flames, before a large ball of fire appears above them. Capper looks with wide eyes as the launch the fireball before backing up and placing himself protectively around the kids. He expected to be burned at any second, but didn’t feel anything. But he heard something.

”Rirīsu! Reijinguinferuno no shīru, reitō umi no shīru! (Release! Seal of the Raging Inferno, Seal of the Frozen Seas!)”

Turning around, he sees me as the fireball stops, striking my hand but doing nothing to me. The others look in confusion before I shock them by taking a literal bite out of the fireball and then inhaling the remainder. Once consumed, I take a quick breath.

“Not bad. No wonder Natsu likes the taste so much.” I look to the trio with a menacing smile. “Thanks for the meal bastards.”

“What is going on here?! What the buck are you?!” Flare yells.

“Who, me? I am just the leader of the Fairy Tail guild, and the wizard who is going to kick your ass.” I say as my divine flames erupt from my hands, a pair of flaming wings like a Phoenix and ice wings like a dragon’s sprouting from my back.

“Fairy Tail? You mean that preposterous group that said they can teach magic to non-unicorns? Impossible! If such a thing were possible the nobility would have struck it down!” Frost yells.

“Well, we exist, and you should know that practically all the members and the royal guards are currently rounding up everyone here, so I doubt you’ll get away even if you tried.” I glance over my shoulder to the feline and kids. “Capper, take the kids and get out of here. Look for anyone with the same mark as on my back and they will help.”

The feline nods and ushers the kids away, the Kirin locking eyes with me and I nod to her, the hybrid nodding back and running with Capper. Turning back to the so-called nobles, the three of them are looking to me with hate.

“How dare you! I will have your head for this you beast!” Corona says before lighting her horn and creating a bunch of fireballs. I just smirk as she launches them at me.

“You really forgot that fire doesn’t work on me?” I say smugly as the fireballs strike me and not even embering my clothes. Exhaling quickly, I consume the flame much like a certain salamander, my stomach extending slightly before going back to normal. I lick my lips with my grin and laugh a little at Corona’s stunned look.

“Alright, if fire won’t work, how about ice!” Frost yells before lighting his horn and I feel the temperature drop rapidly before several icicles appear above him and being launched at my face. Ordinarily I would dodge, but not when I have my seal of ice and water activated. I smile and open my mouth wide before chomping down on the ice, the icicles turning into bluish energy and going down my throat just like the fire. Gotta love God and Devil Slayer magics.

“Oh come on!” Frost yells while I laugh.

“You have no idea what you three are up against. Right now your best choice is give up and face your crimes.” I say, igniting my right hand on fire as the black markings of my ice magic appear on my left arm. I just stare them down for a bit, before Blood Stack begins to laugh. Even the other two were confused as he walks forward.

“Hehe, with your abilities, I am sure you will make a perfect breeding mare for my heir.” Right as he finished his sentence, his horn lit up and he sent what I recognized as a dark magic blast at me. I dodge to the side as the spell seems to corrode the booth behind me.

“Sorry, but I already have my eyes set one somepony, and they sure as gods aren’t you. Freeze Coffin.” I say before flicking my left hand, ice appearing and trapping Frost and Blaze up to their necks, yet not effecting Blood. I raise a brow at him but shake my head and focus again.

“Fire God’s Kagutsuchi!” I launch the blast of black fire at the unicorn, whos responce was to raise his arm, an odd orb in his hand, before watching in shock as my spell is seemingly absorbed into the orb.

“What the?”

“Hehe, surprised? You should be. I have had some of my smartest employees in the Magical Reseach and Development section of the Canterlot University creating it. This little beauty is something I like to call and Magic Canceler and Absorption lacrima.”

“A lacrima? Impossible, how do you have access to those?” I demand. As far as I knew only I could create the crystals necessary to making Lacrimas.

“Heh, its kind of funny. All these crystals were just sitting outside the Crystal Empire, waiting to be mined. If only that fool Sombra had realized the potential of these crystals, he might have actually stood a chance at fighting against those mares on the thrones.”

“Shut the hell up!” He actually flinches at my outburst, my fire covering me from head to toe. “Don’t you dare speak about that thing in my presence. Sombra was nothing but a parasite that fed off of Sonbāsutā’s emotions!”

“Hmph, who would have thought an old tyrant would be a trigger for you. Not like it matters. When we are done here you will wish Sombra was still around.” He says before lighting his horn and trying to blast me again. I sidestep out of the way before rushing at him.

Pulling my arm back, I try and punch him with my flames, but he manages to block with that Lacrima in his hand, the orb changing to some kind of gauntlet. I try and get a good hit, but he keeps blocking with that damn lacrima glove. Eventually I jump back and look at it with a critical eyes, sensing that all the magic is just building up, not being sent anywhere.

‘Idiot, with the right spell he could have made it so that lacrima coverts the magic it absorbs and transfers it to himself.’ I think to myself before smirking and extinguishing my flames and focusing on my ice.

“Ice Devil’s Rage!” I roar, a purple blizzard of ice heading towards Blood, who smirked and raised his arm. I internally smile as I sense the lacrima is reaching its limit. Only another spell or two and that thing is toast. I point my hands towards him and change to my water magic.

“Water Cyclone!” As the attack says, a cyclone of water is launched to the unicorn, who looks bored and cocky as he blocks the spell, not noticing his gauntlet beginning to crack.

“Honestly, can’t you see you can’t win? Just give in and become my toy.” He says cockily, but I just smile at him, even the other nobles confused.

“Sorry, but I know who is going to win here, and it sure as hell isn’t going to be you. Fire God’s Supper!” I summon what looks like two clamps around my hand before slamming them together, capturing the unicorn in them. He yells in pain and tries to use his glove, but it suddenly starts glowing and cracking.

“What?! Impossible!” I can see the thing is going to blow, so I rush over to where the still frozen Frost and Blaze are and get into my Ice Make stance. Good thing my Ice Devil Slayer magic boosts this element.

“Ice Make Shield!” I make a large shield over the three of us, and not a moment too soon. Just as the shield is complete, the lacrima glows brighter than before and explodes the detonation even leaving a hole in the ceiling leading outside. I am not sure how long I was holding the shield before the dust began to clear, letting me dispel the shield.

Looking to where the unicorn was, I cringe as I see the remainder of Blood Stacks. He was barely alive, his whole left arm and half of his face were missing as a result of the blast. The duo behind me cringe as well. I walk up to him, seeing that he was losing way to much blood, so I quickly cast Freeze Coffin on him as well, freezing his whole body, freezing the blood flow before picking him up in my magic.

“Now then, I am going to release you two, and we are going to the authorities.” I inform.

“Why would we just follow you once you let us out?” Blaze questions, before shivering at my grin.

“Whoever said you would be coming willingly?” I focus on my ice and cast a spell. “Ice Lock.” The air around the unicorns neck begins to turn to mist, before they both flinch as collars made of ice appeared around their necks and connect to each other through a frozen chain. I smile then use some fire magic to melt the ice encasing the duo.

“W-what is this?” Blaze questions, pulling on her collar.

“Oh just an ice spell of mine. This makes it so you two are both stuck connected to one another, and also are turned into my puppets so long as you wear the collars.” I explain calmly.

“WHAT?!” They yell, trying harder to break their chains, Blaze even using a heat spell with no results.

“Stop.” I demand, the duo immediately freezing.

“What? I-I can’t move my body.” Frost says.

“Of course you can’t, didn’t you hear my explanation? You two are effectively my puppets now, so anything I tell you to do, you’ll do. Of course your minds are still your own, but your bodies pretty much belong to me. But unlike you two I am not a manipulative bitch, so you two are simply going to follow me to where the princesses and royal guards are waiting. What happened to you afterwards though, is not my business.” I say before walking away, the duo moving along with me despite their mental and verbal protests.

While we are walking to the camp where Celestia said we’d meet up, I reactivated my fire seal, but I kept my Ice and Water seal released, just incase. It was easy to tell that it was active since my hair looked like it was made of water in a calm lake and the air around me would instantly drop a few degrees from my presence alone. The three of us walked for about two minutes before finding another member.

“Hey, Star Burst!” I call out, the stallion turning with his shotgun and spotting me. He smiles and meets me halfway.

“Faekage, great to see you’re fine ma’am.” He says, before noticing the duo behind me and frowns. “I see. It is fortunate that you found these two. Though, where is the last bastard? He get away?”

I shake my head and levitate the large ice cube to him, Star raising a brow before paling as he sees the pony inside.

“I was forced to freeze him, or else he would have bled to death. I believe it would be best for you to take him to the medical tent and have any doctors get ready, the spell on the ice will expire in one hour, five minutes and twenty five seconds.” I say, handing the unicorn the frozen pony. Star nods and heads out with the Blood-cicle. With that the three of us leave the underground compound and into the town, where the royal guard and members of the guild are either doing damage control, arresting criminals that try to escape, and freeing and treating any slaves they find.

“Faekage!” I turn and see as Azure flies over along with Gilda and Rainbow.

“Hey girls, what’s the count?”

“Right now we have about 55 injured slaves, 13 injured civilians, 25 injured soldiers and at least a hundred creatures in custody. Unfortunately we don’t have a number on the dead, but we know no guild members were or royal guards were lost. Our magic kept us safe.” Azure proves her point by igniting her hands. I nod and pat the mare on the shoulder before looking around the road.

“So, where are the princesses? I have a couple of deliveries to make.” I say while pointing behind me, the trio looking to the chained Blaze and Frost and scowl at them.

“Down the road is this places town hall. The princesses are in there.” Gilda says, clenching and unclenching her talons into a fist. I nod, the two unicorns following close behind, obviously scared as Rainbow and Gilda fly behind us. We arrived at what looked like a rundown bootlegged version of the town hall back in Ponyville, and immediately we could hear talking inside.

“I still say we should go look for them ourselves. For all we know they could have some guards on their payrolls and could escape.” I hear Luna say with worry. I grin to myself as I open the doors.

“Well, you guys won’t need to look very far at all.” I say, seeing the three princesses, Shining, Twilight, Spike and Sonbā sitting around a table.

“Lex! Are you ok?” Sonbā questions, coming over and checking me over.

“Hehe, Sonbā I’m fine. Though, that is more than I can say for Blood Stacks.” I say, scratching the back of my head.

“What do you mean?” Celestia asks.

“Short version? He had an experimental lacrima for a glove, which then blew up along with his arm and half his face.” I say simply, walking farther into the building with the other two ‘nobles’ behind me. “All things considered, these two are lucky I decided to use my Ice Lock spell on them.”

The royals look past me and glare at the two unicorns, who wilt under their enraged and scrutinizing gazes. I snap my fingers, the two unicorns sitting in some chairs in the corner, still scared.

“I’ll leave these two for you guys to deal with. There are some people I need to check on before anything else.” I say, turning and leaving the town hall, grinning to myself as I hear Celestia address the two ponies I brought in.

I walked for a couple of minutes before arriving at the medical base that was set up, seeing several soldiers walking around, helping slaves and civilians. I walked along the path, looking this way and that, looking for four creatures in particular. It didn’t take long for me to find a certain feline hanging around one of the tents, some bandages wrapped around his arm and chest.

“Capper.” The feline looks up and spots me, raising a brow slightly before seeming to recognize me.

“Miss Fae.” He says with a slight bow.

“Actually my name is Alexandria Justine, though almost everyone just calls me Lex. I am the leader of the Fairy Tail guild. We were hired by the princesses to help take down that market. On another note, why did you come back?” I question. The feline looks to me for a bit before sighing.

“Honestly I am not sure myself. Part of me wanted to listen to you and leave this gods forsaken town, but something else seemed to pull me back. Maybe it was from our interactions, but I could tell you genuinely care about people, even a con like me.” He says before digging into his pocket and taking out a cigarette. He checks his other pocket and takes out a lighter, but can’t seem to get a spark from the old thing.

“Here.” I light up my thumb with some fire, Capper nodding in thanks and getting his fix.

“You know, you don’t need to be a con.” I offer, the feline looking to me with a raised brow. “That card I gave you. Read what it says and think about it. Anyways, do you know where those three kids from earlier are?” Capper just points to the tent he was leaning against. I nod in thanks and head to the entrance, Capper watching me as I go.

‘Leader of the Fairy Tail guild huh?’

Walking into the tent, I see a row of ten medical beds, four of which were being occupied, one by a soldier and the other three by the ones I came to see. I allowed myself to get a better look at the trio of children, since I was only able to get some fleeting glimpse or faraway looks before.

The changeling was first, and I could tell she was different from other changelings. For one she had a mane and tail of pale lavender, her chitin being a dulled black, clearly a mockery of what it once was, with midnight purple stripes along her arms and torso. Her rags of a shirt and shorts have been replaced by a green medical gown, and I could barely see her eyes were a deep purple, much like Twilight’s, with slit pupils. As seeming to be custom with all changelings, she had holes dotting her arms and legs, and she looked unhealthily thin, almost starved. I guess there is only so much love one can absorb as a slave.

Next was the diamond dog. Her fur coat was dirty, but I know a good bath would be able to reveal a shining coat of white. Attop her head was a tangled mess of red and orange hair, clearly from all the commotion from earlier. Some of her fur around her eyes were also red, almost like a mask while her eyes themselves were scanning the room carefully, showing a pair of shining black eyes, as though she only had pupils and sclera. While Raine looked more like a husky and Zen and Nate almost German Shepard-like, she was clearly more of a wolf than a dog.

Last was the creature I have never had the chance to meet before, the Kirin. Her fur was a deep cobalt blue with turquoise scales, hooves and markings on her arms, while near the center of her forhead was an oak brown horn unlike any I have ever seen before and her eyes were a beautiful sea foam green. Her mane and tail her a misty silver, looking like fog was attached to her head, with wisps of blue and green making it look like the ocean during a foggy morning. I am sure Rarity would have a field day with finding the right mane style for this....does she count as a filly?

I decided I had spent enough time staring from the entrance and walked in, immediately getting the three girls attentions.

“Hey, you three doing ok?” I ask softly, the trio looking to one another, appearing as though they don’t know what to do. I just take a seat in the chair on the opposite end of the tent, looking the trio over. The Kirin raises her hand and points to me while tilting her head.

“Are...you asking my name?” The kirin nods. “Oh, my name is Lex Justine. I am the leader of a guild called Fairy Tail.” I say with a smile, scratching my shoulders. The Kirin then points to her back before making a flapping motion.

“Where are my wings?” She nods. “Oh, I don’t naturally have wings. What you three saw earlier was the result of a spell of mine. You see, I am a wizard. I have many magical spells, some for combat, some for support, some for miscellaneous uses, a little bit of everything really.” I answer with a smile.

“Woooow.” I turn to the changeling as she whispers that, before glancing to her right shoulder. I do a double take as I see a spider resting on her shoulder, looking to me with what I think was wide eyes.

“Excuse me, but why do you have a spider on your shoulder?” I question. The changeling immediately seems to panic, grabbing the aracnid and trying to hide it in her mane.

“W-what s-s-spider?” She says quietly.

“Um, what’s wrong? So you have a spider friend, why are you hiding it?” I questions, kneeling next to her bed. I can see the fear in her eyes, shaking as she tries to look for an escape. I take a deep breath and gently lay a hand on her shoulder.

“Hey, its ok. No one is going to hurt you.” I whisper with a small smile, the changeling slowly starting to stop shaking as her spider friend pops itself out of her mane and look to me. I smile and offer my hand, the spider hesitating for a second before jumping onto my hand. I giggle as it climbs my arm and rests on my own shoulder. I raise my other hand and gently pet the bug. While most are terrified of them, I actually liked spiders.

The changeling looks to he with widened eyes before I can hear her stomach growling loudly, causing her face to flush green. Huh, I guess changeling blood is green.

“I guess you’re hungry?” I say with a smile, the filly nodding and looking to the side. I think about how I am supposed to feed her before deciding screw it.

“Here.” She looks to me as I close my eyes and picture my family, my mom and dad, Ed, Luna, Adam, Nat, Sora, my guild. I smile to myself as I hear what sounds almost like steam hissing as well as feeling like like just got out of the shower into a cold room. I open my eyes and see a steady stream of pinkish purple energy going from my chest into the changelings mouth, her figure slowly beginning to become more healthy looking. I’ll admit feeding her was giving me a small headache, but it vanished almost instantly as she finishes her meal with a very feminine burp.

“Scuse me.” She says with a giggle. I laugh a little as well, patting her head. I turn to the Kirin and dog, who had been quietly watching.

“You two hungry too?” I question, the duo nodding after a second. I look around for a second before choosing a good spot near the corner of the tent. Focusing on my Green magic, I take out a small seed from my personal hammer space, and toss it to the corner before allowing my magic to speed up the growth. The kids watch in awe as a small blueberry bush begins to rapidly grow and produce its fruit. After about half a minute, the bush is finished growing and the fruit is ripe. Using my telekinesis, I levitate the berries into two piles on the kirin and dogs beds.

“There you go, eat up you two. You’ll need the energy.” I say with a smile, munching on some berries myself. The duo nod and begin to eat the berries, happy smiles on their faces as the taste hits them. As they were finishing up, I realized something.

“Wow, I am shocked I didn’t notice before.” I mutter, earning the trio’s attention. “I never asked your names.”

I chuckles a bit at my forgetfulness, only to frown when I see the trio looking down with small traces of fear in their eyes. Somehow, I knew what they were upset about.

“You...don’t have names. Do you?” I question. The trio frown and shake their head and I look to the kirin. “And you can’t talk, can you?” Surprised, she shakes her head again.

“How were you able to figure it out?” the dog questions.

“Call it intuition. The fact she hasn’t said a word, and barely made a noise is a big indicator, and the fact you three haven’t made any attempts to introduce yourselves and looked ashamed when I asked just points to that conclusion.” I explain, leaning back in my chair.

“Wow, you’re really smart.” The dog says. I shrug, she isn’t wrong. I glance over the trio before me, and ask a question I doubt any of them would have expected.

“Would...you like for me to name you?”

The three of them and even the spider all snap their attention to me, the spider’s fangs opening in the equivalent of a dropped jaw.

“You...want to give us names?” The canine question. I just nod with a soft smile.

“Only with your permission. After everything is taken care of here, I am not a hundred percent sure what is going to happen the three of you. But, I will be doing what I can to make sure you stay together at least.” I reply. The trio look to one another before the Kirin tries to make motions with her hands. I raise my hand and stop her.

“Hold on a sec sweetie.” I snap my fingers and open Archive before going through it and getting a Download spell ready. I tap ‘enter’ and the progress bar appears above the hybrids head before filling up. She raises a brow at my spell.

‘What did she just do?’ I smile as I hear her in my head.

“Oh, I just used a spell to give you the ability to use telepathy.” I answer, much to the shock of the kirin and confusion of the other two.

‘Wait, you can hear my thoughts?’ She questions with wide eyes.

“Only if you direct your thoughts at me. You can still think and others won’t hear it. You have to mentally select who can hear you.” I explain. The kirin look to me then to her friends.

‘Can you two hear me?’ She questions, the duo looking to her with wide eyes.

“Y-yes.” They say in unison. I smile as the kirin begins to tear up, I guess it has been a long time since anyone has been able to hear her. Walking up to her bed, I take a seat and rub her head. I am barely able to stop myself from falling as she suddenly tackles me.

‘Thank you thank you thank you!’ I hear her repeat through telepathy, I smile and hug her close to my chest, letting her cry in happiness while I rub her back. I eventually feel the bed shift as the other two made their ways over to hug their friend. I smile to myself as I let the kirin go, the changeling and canine sitting next to their friend.

“So, about my offer, I think I might also have a way to keep you three together and with those I know for a fact you can trust. Again, I won’t do anything without your permission.” I say, the trio speaking to one another through the kirin’s telepathy so I couldn’t hear them. After a minute they seem to come to a decision.

“What is your plan for us?” The canine questions. I send the trio a warm smile as I raise my hand, creating rainbow Fairy Tail emblem made out of magic.

“My plan, is to ask you three come with me, and to join Fairy Tail. My guild is all about helping this world, granting a place for creatures to find work, and for those who have no kin to call their own, to feel like they are part of a family. There is no discrimination between creatures. The guild already has ponies, diamond dogs, griffons, an Exeed and of course myself, a human.” I say. The trio go wide eyed, looking to one another then to me.

“Y-you want us to join your guild?” The changeling questions.

“Of course. Like I said, even if you don’t take any jobs, you can still call the guild your home, and the members your family. I can tell you three weren’t slave by choice, and that none of you have any family members. And that is something I won't stand for.” I tell them.

The trio mentally converse with one another again, the spider looking between them then to me before jumping off my shoulder and climbing up the changelings arm to rest on her head. I just watched them for the duration, already having a couple of names pop into my head. Eventually they all turn to me, somehow keeping blank faces.

‘Have you thought about what you would name us?’ The kirin asks. I just nod with a smile, the trio looking to one another again before turning to me.

“So, what would be my name?” The canine questions, her tail beginning to wag quickly. I smile and rub her head, scratching behind her ears as well.

“Your name, I think would be Amaterasu Shiranui. It is the name of the goddess of the sun in one of the mythology of my home world. She was regarded as a truly benevolent and loved women, who had many friends. She was a strong fighter as well, willing to fight even her own brother, Susano, Bringer of Storms. I can tell just from the light in your eyes, you have the potential to live up to her name.” I say with a warm smile.

“Amaterasu Shiranui. A little long don’t you think?” She says with a grin. I just chuckle with her.

“Maybe, but then again my name is just a shortening of Alexandria. So, what do you say to Ammy?” I say with another warm smile. She looks to me for a second before jumping up to me with a yip and a smile, her tail wagging wildly. I laugh a little and rub her back, before turning to the other two.

“Oh oh, me next!” The changeling says, bouncing on the bed, her spider holding on to her head.

“I think, Arakunia would be a good name. I can tell you have a rather strong connection with Willow there, so I believe having a name retaining to spiders and arachnids would be a good idea.” I say with a smile.

“Willow?” She questions. I smile as said spider quickly crawls down her head and onto her hand before saluting. “Your name is Willow?” Willow nods, before the changeling looks up at me with a smile. “I like Arakunia.”

I smile and nod to the newly named Arakunia as she nuzzles her friend Willow, before turning my attention to the dragon-pony hybrid sitting in the bed itself. It didn’t take long for a name to appear in my mind. One that was Equestrian, yet in a different language.

“Unmei Gaidancu.” The hybrid tilts her head. “It means ‘Fates Guidance’. Call me nuts, but I have a sneaking suspicion, you are the one who always tries to protect and guide others. Back when I was facing those unicorns, you looked back, just to make sure I would win. And I have little doubt that on the way out you were the one leading the girls right beside Capper.”

She plays with her mane a bit and nods. I had a feeling she was like that.

‘Unmei Gaidancu. Would Mei, be ok?’ She asks. I just smile and rub her head.

“Hey, its your name Mei. If that is what you want to go by, then don’t let anyone else tell you differently. You’re not a slave anymore, and I swear to every god there is I am not going to let you or the others go back to that.” I state the last part seriously, the trio jumping slightly from my change in tone.

I take a breath and look to the trio, a warm smile worming its way onto my face as I gaze upon their happy expressions.

“Ammy, Mei, Arakunia. Welcome to Fairy Tail.”

Alexandria ‘Lex’ Justine: Faekage-13,789-Variety
Princess Luna: Rai-2,936-???
Sonbāsutā ‘Sonbā’: Rai-2,247-Crystal Maker
Mi Amor Cadenza ‘Cadence’: Rai-1,529-Maguilty Sense
Shining Armor: Rai-1,119-The Knight Requip
Twilight Sparkle: Kage-601-Dark Ecriture
Spike Sparkle: Kage-562-Emerald Dragon Slayer
Trixie Lulamoon: Jounin-505-Memory Make
Emerald Blizzard: Jounin-425-Archive
Legacy ‘Trace’ Tracer: Jounin-371-Reflector
Zecora: Chunnin-202-Plant and Green Magic
Star Burst: Chunnin-154-Gunner Requip
Bladed Wind: Chunnin-151-Requip
Rainbow Dash: Chunnin-135-Storm Magic
Applejack: Chunni-134-Earth Magic
Floral ‘Flora’ Talons: Chunnin-132-Air Magic
Azure Skies: Chunnin-129-Dark Regulus
Gilda: Chunnin-120-Ice Make Magic
Zen Quartz: Chunnin-115-Palm Magic
Hot Spark: Chunnin-105-Rainbow Fire Magic
Swift Service: Genin-98-Paper Blizzard
Nate Quartz: Genin-95-Sandstorm
Pinkie Pie: Genin-93-Wave
Raine Jewel: Genin-89-Solid Script
Silk Song: Genin-73-Water Magic
Rarity Belle: Genin-72-Mirror and Colours Magic
Echo: Genin-50-Aera
Scootaloo: Genin-28-???
Applebloom: Genin-25-???
Sweetie Belle: Genin-18-???
Fluttershy: Genin-5-Animal Soul Takeover
Amaterasu Shiranui: ???-???-???
Arakunia: ???-???-???
Unmei Gaidancu: ???-???-???

The train ride back to the guild was both calm yet tense for some. I was sitting in one of the higher class cars with the royal, elements, Spike and Echo, and the three former slaves that decided to come along with us. I had a certain hybrid sleeping on my lap with a changeling laying against my shoulder, playing with her spider while their canine friend was watching the world go by through the window.

I smile to myself as I run my hand through Mei’s mane, the little kirin having cried herself to sleep after I welcomed them. I knew that these three would have a lot to do once we get back to town, so I knew I would be there for them every step of the way.

‘Weird, I almost sound like my mom.’ I think to myself with a small laugh. I tear my gaze away from the slumbering kirin, and turn my attention to the other occupants of the train car.

Twilight and Cadence were fussing over Rainbow and Shining, the duo being the most injured, mostly from being on the front lines apparently. Luckily that isn’t saying much, Rainbow just had a sprained ankle and mild magical exhaustion while Shining had a bunch of bruises from testing how much damage his Lightning Emperor’s armor could take.

AJ and Pinkie were talking about how to prepare a party for all of us when we get back for helping take down the market, with Spike and Echo adding their own inputs.

Sonbāsutā was asleep, he apparently used a bit more magic than anticipated getting through all the guards while protecting pretty much all the slaves we were able to find then free.

Though, when my eyes drifted over the royal sisters, I reflexively pulled Arakunia closer to me. It was made clear that at least one of them was still sore for the changelings after the royal wedding. It took nearly an hour of arguing for me to get it through their Alicorn skulls that Arakunia would be coming with me to the guild. They were adamant on just leaving her alone, trying to explain how she would be a spy for Chrysalis or some crap like that. While Luna eventually decided to leave it alone, Celestia wasn’t so reserved. I was two minutes away from using my magic on her if Arakunia and Twilight hadn’t come in to stop us.

Two Hours Earlier...

“No way in hell! I am not leaving her alone!” I yell to the ignorant solar mare.

“Lex you do not understand the changelings like we do, you have never even met one before now! It may seem innocent now but before long it will grow into nothing more than a love sucking monster!” She yells back. The both of us were standing on opposite ends of the table, glaring at each other, an overturned tea set between us.

“So what?! Have you ever thought that Chrysalis is an outlier?! That she and her swarm were the exceptions to her kind?! And besides, she is a child! And you want to just send her away?! What if she was a griffon, or a diamond dog? Would you just send her away too?” I demand with anger.

“It is not that simple Lex. Like I said, she may be innocent now, but once she has begun to get hungry again she will not stop sucking the life force from any who she comes across!”

“Are you retarded?!” I yell, slamming my hand on, then through, the table, much to their shock, my magic beginning to flare. “You think that once she gets hungry, she will just take without any thoughts?! Do you really have that little faith in other creatures!?”

I breath heavily, my glare not moving from my face. Celestia's regal mask was all but toss out the window half an hour ago so she was just as visibly angry as I am. I am about to go off again, before somepony clears their throat. Turning to the entrance, we see a certain unicorn standing at the entrance.

“Um, is this a bad time?” Twilight questions, shifting her hair a bit, covering her left eye. Celestia and I look to one another and sigh, taking our seats. I quickly use my Arc of Time and repair the table and tea set.

“What do you need Twilight?” Celestia questions, though I notice the lavender mare shifting on her hooves with one of her hands behind her back.

“Um, it isn’t me that needs something.” That earns her some raised brows before she steps to the side and turns her head. “It’s ok, we’re right here.”

We watch as a familiar insectoid walks out from behind Twilight, her arachnid friend on her head.

“Arakunia? What are you doing up? You should be resting.” I say, walking up and kneeling before the changeling, who just shakes her head.

“I wanna go to the guild.” She says quietly, and I can hear the undertone of sadness. I look to her and Willow seriously.

“Kuna, what happened?” I ask, laying my hands on her shoulders. She shifts on her hooves before Twilight kneels next to her.

“It’s ok. Lex said you’ll be joining Fairy Tail, and we look out for one another. Now, tell Lex and I what’s wrong.” She says softly, and I could see Celestia’s raised brows in my peripherals. I guess Twilight was the last pony she would expect to be accepting of the changeling.

“I-I’m scared. I don’t wanna be here any more. I heard some of the guards saying a few got away, and I don’t want them to come back!” She says, her voice growing with each word as tears threated to leave her eyes. Without really registering what I was doing, I had pulled the changeling close and let her nuzzle into my chest.

“Shhh, shhh, its ok. Nothing is going to happen sweetheart. We won’t let anyone touch you. If you spot anyone who you recognize as from the market nearby, find a member ok? We’re all your family now, and we would sooner blow this place up than let anything happen to you or the others.” I inform, my voice somehow soft and steady despite my rage at this place. I am not sure how long I was holding her for before I gently pushed her back, the filly wiping her eyes again.

“Twilight, can you take her back to the others and have Star, Azure and Wind stationed by the tent?” I request. The mare nods and gently takes Arakunia’s hand, leading her out the tent and back to her friends. I release a small sigh and turn to Celestia, who looks to me with an odd look.

“Do you still think she is nothing but a love sucking monster?”

I am not sure why I was being so confrontational and protective about not just Arakunia, but also Ammy and Mei, but I really couldn’t care less. I knew these three needed some rocks of stability, and by gods I was going to try and be it. I didn’t stay in the tent to overhear Celestia’s responce to my retorical question, but I knew our ‘relationship’ was going to be backtracking to professional for a while.

‘So long as she doesn’t mess with Fairy Tail, Fairy Tail won’t mess with her.’ I think to myself with a very slight scowl towards the solar princess, once that luckily escaped all but the targets attention. She just responds with a small glint in the eyes, one I knew was meant to say ‘talk later’.

Most of the trip passed in silence for me and my three charges, but I knew I had quite a bit of paperwork for these three once we get home. Aside from simple citizenship papers, I would need to see if I can enroll them in school. Arakunia was the youngest at only 7, Amaterasu was 8 and Unmei was the oldest at 10, only two years younger than the CMC. If I remember correctly the age in which ponies are accepted into the likes of Cheerilee’s class is 6 years old, so I know I don’t need to ‘homeschool’ them.

And then there was teaching them magic. I knew that as members they would eventually learn magic, but they were far younger than the CMC, so they would have an even harder time learning it. Arakunia can’t even levitate things yet. Though, I could sense the dragon side in Mei just waiting to be unleashed if her very slight magic surges during their escape and her naming were any indications. It went unnoticeable by all but the most magically sensitive of us, AKA me, the princesses, and oddly, Trixie and Twilight.

I am shaken out of my thoughts as I see Ponyville coming up fast, much to the girls excitement. I smile to myself and take out the keys to the guild hall.

“Hey Pinkie! Catch!” I call out before tossing the pink mare the keys, who then begins to giggle and speak faster than a rapper about what she is going to be doing for the party. I just smile and gently shake Mei, who awakes with a mute yawn.

‘Are we there yet?’ She questions, rubbing her eyes.

“Almost. Take a look.” I say, the kirin and her friends looking out the window as the town gets closer, getting a faraway view of the guild hall and barracks. I smile to myself as I see the reflection of their excited faces, though I am worried as I see a small crowd gathered at the train station. I guess the town wanted and remaining members wanted to greet us as soon as we got off the train. It didn’t take long for the train to come to a stop, the rear cars opening up before ours. I take a deep breath and stand from my spot, the trio of former slaves falling in line behind me.

“Remember girls, stay close to either me, or a member of the guild. Don’t wander off, and if anyone tries to give you trouble, just yell.” I tell the trio as the others leave the train car. They nod and the four of us walk out, seeing some the members all greeting those from town.

“Hey Lex!” I turn as see Rarity, Silk, Fluttershy and the CMC, walking up with proud smiles. Though, they pause as they notice a certain trio trying to hide behind me.

“Oh, whos that?” Silk questions, trying to get a good look at them.

“Just some new members-to-be.” I reply, turning to the trio. “It’s ok you three, these six are more members of the guild.”

It took a second, but eventually Mei stepped out from behind me, followed by Ammy. Though, Arakunia stayed behind me, clearly scared of meeting new ponies. I sigh to myself before turning to the changeling. I can tell she is trying to find a way out, but I stop her by picking her up and cradling her in my arms, much to her surprise. I keep my back to the others and focus on my love for others, the aura of my emotions calming the little nymph down.

‘Wait, nymph?’ I think to myself in confusion. I had been referring to her as a filly this whole time, so how did I know she was called something different now? I mentally shrug, I’ll worry about that later.

“Girls, I need you six to Pinkie promise not to freak out or attack, or do anything that would resemble a threatening act.” I say seriously, my back still turned to the others. They looked confused, but all went through the motions. I take a deep breath and turn, the six newcomers all going wide eyed at the nymph I was holding in my arms.

“Girls, meet Arakunia.” I say with a soft smile, the nymph shyly waving from her position on me.

“S-s-she’s a changeling?” Rarity stutters, reflectively placing herself in front of Sweetie Belle, who looks more curious than scared.

“Yes, she is. She was being auctioned as a slave when we got to the market, and there was no way I was going to let her go after that. So, I decided she and the other two are coming to live with us at the guild.” I state sternly, the others taken aback at the finality of my tone.

“She. Was. What?!” I look with wide eyes at a now very angry Fluttershy, noting how her ears seemed to become almost more feral and her muzzle changing shape slightly, a pair of fangs beginning to poke out.

“Um, Fluttershy darling, you’re using Bat Takeover again.” Rarity says, the yellow pegasus blinking and laughing sheepishly.

“Oh, you found a Bat?” I question, placing Arakunia down.

“Um, yes. I met one a week ago, and the reason I had been studying about the Takeovers is because I seem to reflexively take on a bat’s attibutes when I am angry.” She explains softly, her ears and muzzle going back to normal.

“That just means you are more accustomed to that animal in particular. Though, it is surprising that you would be more accustomed to a bat of all things and not, like, a bunny.” I say in thought.

“So, your name is Arakunia?” I look and see the CMC walking up to the trio, the changling hiding behind Mei and nodding.

“Cool, mah names Applebloom, Applejack’s little sis.”

“I’m Sweetie Belle, I’m Rarity’s sister.”

“Names Scootaloo, and I am Rainbow Dash’s honorary sister.” They then group together and I see where this is going.

“Hey, try not to blow out our eardrums please!” I request quickly, the three fillies pausing and giggling sheepishly.

“Er, right. Anyways, we’re the Cutie Mark Crusaders, or CMC for short.” Scootaloo explains in a normal tone, much to my relief.

‘Oh, so I guess you three made a group about trying to find your Cutie Marks?’ Mei questions, the other all looking around in confusion.

“Who said that?” Sweetie questions.

“Mei did. She’s mute, so I gave her the ability to use Telepathy to talk to others.” I explain quickly, rubbing the kirin’s mane.

“Uh, yeah, that’s the point. Unfortunately it hasn’t been going well. We were thinking that maybe joining Fairy Tail could help us with that, but so far no dice.” Scootaloo finish’s, slight disappointment clear in her voice.

“Oh yeah. That reminds me. Are you three doing anything tomorrow afternoon?” I question, the trio shaking their heads.

“Perfect, meet me at the guild after your class is done.” The trio raise brows but nod nonetheless before turning their attention back to the new trio.

“So yer Arakunia, and yer Mei, what’s yer name?” Applebloom turns to Ammy.

“My name is Amaterasu Shiranui.” The pup says with a smile.

“Ama-what Shira-huh?” Scootaloo questions.

“Amaterasu Shiranui. It’s the name of a sun goddess back on earth.” I explain quickly, the trio still a little confused.

“Um, you can just call me Ammy, if you want.” The pup says with a small grin, the CMC nodding with their own smiles.

“Nice to meet you three!” The CMC say in unison. I chuckle a little before looking over the dispersing crowd and spotting Mayor Mare talking with Luna and Shining.

“Sorry girls, but we’ll need to cut this meeting a little short. There are some things I need to talk to the mayor about with these three.” I inform, earning six sounds of disappointment, which itself earned a quartet of giggles from myself and the three mares with me. With that, our mix-mashed group separated, Rarity and the CMC heading one way, Silk, Fluttershy and the trio of girls following me towards the mayors location.

‘Hopefully this goes as smoothly.’

It had, for the most part. It went without saying that Mayor Mare, or Joanna Mare as I learned her actual name is, was shocked as I walked up with a small changeling in my arms, but a quick word with Luna managed to get the situation across. The walk through town though, was definitely not great. More than a few ponies bolted into the nearest building upon spotting Arakunia in my arms, while some simply stood and stared. There was a few that looked ready to try and confront us, but a quick glare with both my eyes active made them freeze in their tracks.

I went through all the paperwork for citizenship, health and the like with the trio and Luna present at town hall. It took a couple hours, mostly because I found that both Ammy and Arakunia were illiterate and Mei was self taught, resulting in quite a few mistakes. But, we powered through it and managed to get all the paperwork filled out. I also filled out some forms that would recognize me as the trio’s legal guardian incase there is any trouble.

Luna took the sheets and said she would be personally going over them to prevent any nobles with contacts in the records department from ‘accidently’ losing, burning, or destroying the papers. I can’t even describe how relived I was at that. Again, I am not sure why I was feeling like this to the trio, but again, I placed that on the back burner to worry about later.

After everything was taken care of at town hall, Joanna escorted us to the hospital where Nurse Redheart and Dr.Stable went over some medical tests on the trio. They were of course scared, so we made sure they would all be in the same room, and with me present. We found that, going off pony standards, Mei and Arakunia were healthy, if a little underweight, while Ammy was barely on the precipice of suffering from protein deficiency, so it went without saying she was going to be on a moderately high protein diet for at least a couple of weeks.

After all their medical test were finished, we headed out and towards the guild hall, the trio all bouncing on their hooves and paws in excitment to see where they were going to be living from now on.

‘Oh, I am so excited! A home, a real home!’ I can hear Mei mentally cheering, somehow resisting the urge to just run circles around me.

“You said it, I can’t wait to get there!” Ammy cheers from above me. I was carrying the canine on my shoulders at her request, Ammy wanting to get a better view.

“Excuse me, miss Justine? Where are the three of us going to sleep at the guild?” Arakunia questions, earning a slight chuckle from me.

“First off, you don’t need to call me Miss Justine. You can call me Lex, or anything else really. Second, the guild actually has some rooms built into it, as well as some barracks in the back for members who don’t live here in Ponyville. Ordinarily you would live in the barrack with the other members, but for the time being, I would feel a little better if you three stayed with me in the guildhall itself.” I respond, smiling as said building gets within view.

‘Call you anything...’

I raise a brow as I see all the members standing outside the guildhall, along with Celestia and some of the royal guards. Though, it didn’t take long to figure out why when I notices the lack of a certain pink earth pony.

“Let me guess! Pinkie locked everyone out while she sets everything up?” I call out, everyone turning to me and my charges, a few members nodding to my question. I roll my eyes and make my way to the doors, and knocking.

“One minute please!” I hear Pinkie call from inside before hearing the distinctive sounds of the locks being undone. The door creaked open enough for me to fit through, the guild being blanketed in complete and utter darkness. Many smile as we see where this is going, though some who have never been here before looked confused.

All of us quickly filter into the guildhall, my charges clinging to me in fear of the darkness before the lights come on.

“SURPRISE!” Everyone cringes slightly as Pinkie both yells this, and shoots off her party cannons, revealing the guild hall covered in decorations, the tables covered with food and drinks that surpasses the opening of the guild, several banners hanging off the ceiling reading ‘Welcome Back!’, ‘Congrats on Taking Down a Black Market Selling Illegal Contraband!’, and ‘Welcome Amaterasu, Unmei, Arakunia and Willow!’

“Well, we all knew this was coming!” Rainbow states loudly, causing an uproar of laughter. I chuckle a little as well, turning to my confused charges.

“Girls, I think it’s time for you three to experience your first parties curtesy of one Pinkie Pie.” I say with a grin, stepping away from the trio long enough for Pinkie to Wave Boost herself to the girls and pick them all up in a hug.

“Yuppers! I throw a party for everypony that comes to Ponyville, or in this case, everydog, kirin and changeling!” She cheers, seeming to try and hug the air out of them. It didn’t take long for the trio to get what was going on, and at least attempted to hug the pink mare back. I couldn’t stop the smile crossing my face even if I tried.

“Well? What are we waiting for? Let’s party the Fairy Tail way!” I call out, all the members roaring in agreement. I give a proud smile as the others begin to disperse into the party, Pinkie somehow grabbing my phone and starting the music. I shake my head and smile.

I am starting to understand the characters feelings now that I have a guild of my own. I just love Fairy Tail.

The Next Morning...

I slowly pry my eyes open, a soft yawn escaping my mouth. I go to roll onto my side, only to be weighed down by something on my chest. Or I guess I should say someling.

I giggle quietly as I find Arakunia curled up on my chest, Willow resting in her mane. Glancing to the sides of the bed I see Amaterasu curled into a little ball on my left, holding my arm like a plushy, and Unmei sleeping facedown on my shoulder as well. I couldn’t help the thoughts that rapidly bombarded my mind as I gazed over my three charges.

‘They’re so CUTE!’

I am sure I had a gleeful grin on my face as I allow my gaze to go over the three girls with me. After the party these three were practically asleep on their hooves/paws, so I ended up levitating them to bed. But, as I was tucking the trio in, I saw their faces begin to contort into discomfort and fear. I guess they were having some nightmares.

Without any real reasoning or promoting, I managed to sneak myself into the bed with them, and they immediately clung to me in their sleep, relaxing as they were reassured that I was nearby. It wasn’t long before I fell asleep behind them. I am sure some would see this as creepy or something, but I somehow knew that that was what they needed to get a good nights sleep. But as a precaution I used the dreamwalking spell and kept an eye on their dreams with Tantabus.

Speaking of, turns out some of the things that have been popping into my head as of late, like knowing Arakunia was a nymph and not a filly, and how to keep my voice stern, yet soft, came from Tantabus. She still had some knowledge taken from Luna it turned out, and she just added it to my mind for simple corrections for the most part. I was really grateful for that.

Though, she had been almost distracted when I was watching over the trio, almost like their was something on her mind. I just ignored her for the time being, focusing on taking care of the kids. Odd, I am almost acting like Adam does. He’s great with kids, just not so great with other teenagers.

I am brought out of my reverie as I feel a certain canine beginning to stir, a small yawn escaping her as she snuggles up to me. I smile as I sense the other two waking up as well. It didn’t take long for the trio to open their eyes and notice they are piled on me. I just gave them a warm smile.

“Morning girls.”

“Good morning.” They reply. It took a second before they began to untangle themselves and let me stand from the bed. I stretch my back, several satisfying pops going out from my back along with a soft sigh escaping my lips.

“Well, time to get ready for the day girls. So, straight to the bath for you three.” I say with a smirk, the trio looking to one another before we all head to the washroom attached to the bedroom. I am really glad the washrooms have all the amenities, including a bath big enough for the three of them.

It took about a half hour before I managed to get the trio all washed up, spending a little extra time to make sure the holes in Arakunia’s arms and legs are actually dried. I then spent another couple of minutes getting the trio’s manes and tails groomed, then gettting them dressed. We got lucky in that AJ and Fluttershy lent the trio some of their old clothes until we can get Rarity to make them some new clothes.

Once we are all ready, Requiping into Levi’s original outfit myself, we all left the room and headed down to the main hall. I could smell some eggs, turkey bacon and hay bacon cooking. I can see the others beginning to drool just from the smell alone, so I knew they would love the food when it is finally ready.

Once we made it to the main floor, I see a few members groggily hanging out, most with some smoothies for their hangovers. I chuckle a little at their misfortune, before turning to the entrance to the kitchen, seeing Spark and Flora.

“Hey guys, three omnivore breakfast specials, and a veg omelette please.” I request, the duo nodding and getting all the ingredients. I smile to myself and head back to the main room, seeing the girls looking at the request board with wide eyes.

‘Wow, that is a lot of different jobs.’ Mei thinks aloud.

“Yup, that is why all the members have such variety of magical powers.” I explain, walking up behind them. “Fairy Tail is a wizards guild after all. Every member you see on the list there, has their own magical abilities, some of which you three likely saw during the raid.”

The trio look to the list, Mei reading and telling the other two who has what magic.

“Awesome.” Ammy whispers. I chuckle a little before hearing the ding of the food, seeing a trio of plates with some scrambled eggs, a mix of turkey and hay bacon, oranges and some hash browns next to a veggie omelet with turkey bacon for myself. I smile and levitate the plates over to a table before directing the trio to the table.

The girls look a little confused at the food on their plates before seeing some of the other members, and myself eating it. Slowly the girls each began to take some food in their forks and then eat. There was a beat, then the trio began to eat rapidly, blissful smiles on their faces.

‘Oh my gods this is amazing!’ Mei cheers, Ammy and Arakunia nodding in agreement. I chuckle to myself from behind my cup of coffee, watching at the girls devour their food at a pace I would expect from a bunch of kids.

“Hey Arakunia. I was meaning to ask, but if you can eat the food that’s here, how does eating love work? Is normal food like a snack?” I question. Arakunia swallows what’s in her mouth and nods.

“Yup! Changelings can eat normal food, but we don’t get nearly as much of the nutritional value as every other creature. Love is like having a three coursed meal, while the normal food is just a snack, no matter how much there is. We can also use what we eat to create resin within our bodies, the stuff that was used to restrain ponies during the invasion.” She explains before taking another bite of her eggs.

“Huh, cool.” I say simply, before noticing the sound of a quill on paper. It didn’t take long to figure out why.

“Twilight if you wanted to ask some questions, you can do it without the invisibility spell on.” I say, looking to the side of the table, before hearing the shimmering of magic as Twilight becomes visible with a sheepish blush on her muzzle. The girls barely paid her any mind as she sat next to me.

“Sorry, still not really used to changelings, let alone a filly.”

“Nymph.” She looks to me with a raised brow. “A young female changling is referred to as a nymph, not a filly.” I explain, Twilight writing it down on a notepad of hers. I smile and shake my head before grabbing the empty plates from the girls and myself and sending them to the dish pit. I quickly teleport to my room and grab a bit bag before heading back to the main room.

“Alright girls, now we have to head to Rarity’s to get you three sized for some new clothes, then we have to head to the school house to see about enrolling you three in the school.” I inform. With that the four of us leave the guild and head into town, we had a few things to handle today.

Later that Afternoon...

The four of us headed back to the guild, a few pairs of clothes already made by Rarity in my arms, while the girls were carrying their new school supplies in their new backpacks. After they were measured by Rarity and we were informed she would need a couple hours, we went around town, buying school supplies for the girls. Of course there were plenty of ponies that were more than skittish when seeing my-the girls.

Luckily no one was stupid enough to try and confront us while shopping, though I did see many looking intrigues as we bought school supplies of all things, as opposed to anything else. Once we had all the supplies, we headed back to Rarity’s and found she had completed a bunch of clothes, but they were plain and uninspired looking. That changed a second later when the girls tried them on, and Rarity used her Colour magic change the colours to fit the girls completions.

Now Ammy was wearing a red and orange t-shirt like her hair with black stripes and a pair of black kids jeans. I think there were a few accessories that we could make later that would really pull the look together.

Arakunia was wearing a dark green blouse with a purple spiderweb pattern on the back and a black skirt. I had to admit, she was adorable when Rarity was gushing over her, causing her to blush green again.

Lastly, Mei was wearing a blue kids dress that clashed really well with her natural coat and scales, with some cobalt blue designs similar to those on her arms running along the sides of the dress. I had to physically stop myself from scooping the three of them up into a hug, they were that cute looking.

I smile to myself as we arrive back at the guild, intent on heading up to the girls room, only to pause as we see a trio standing at the bar, two of whom were familiar to me, but one we have never seen before.

“Capper? Cobalt?” I call out, the two males turning to me, while the third was a female Minotaur with blue skin and black fur on her legs and a black ponytail. She was wearing a pair of tan cargo shorts and a tight blue t-shirt, and was standing slightly behind Cobalt.

“Miss Justine, I was wondering when you would be back.” Capper says, walking up with a smile, one that just grew as he saw the trio beside and behind me. “Well I’ll be, you three sure cleaned up nice.”

“Um, thank you. It’s good to see you again mister Capper.” Ammy says softly.

“Ditto, nice to see you three again.” He replies. I smile to him before shifting my attention to the Minotaur duo.

“Cobalt. What are you doing here? And who’s the girl behind you?” I question seriously. Cobalt sighs and takes a seat at the table before him.

“I’m here to get work. Now that that market is down, I need a different line of work. If it’s consolation, that place was easily my very last choice. Turns my stomach that I was forced to work there to make ends meet. Not much work for an ex-soldier these days. The girl as you put it is my niece, Bertha Will.” He motions for the girl to walk forwards. She does so hesitantly, glancing around at all the members present.

“Will? Any relation to Iron Will?” We turn and see Gilda and Fluttershy walk in, Angel resting on the latters shoulder.

“Oh, I take it you took part in my little brothers Assertiveness Class?” Cobalt questions.

“Um, yes. It didn’t end the way any of us expected, but it did work in making me more assertive and gave me a little more confidence.” She replies, idly petting Angel before turning to Bertha. “So, if you are his niece, and Iron Will is his brother...”

“Y-yeah, Iron Will is my dad. Though that isn’t saying much.” She replies evasively. Just from her voice, I think she is in her mid-teens or a little younger.

“Let me guess, he is always gone with his class to the point your uncle had to raise you?” Gilda asks with a raised brow, both Minotaurs nodding.

“Figures.” I mutter to myself before looking the duo over again. Looks like Cobalt’s healed up nice from our fight, some bandages around his chest and arms, with some visible scorch marks and scars in the shape of lightning. I had to admit, those scars were badass. Though, Bertha looked a little thin compared to most human or ponies I met around her age, and she was actually around my original height but with a smaller bust. She was flatter than Levi and RD.

“Alright. I hope you guys realize there is more to joining Fairy Tail then just asking.” I say, heading to the bar.

“We are aware. Miss Song was just informing us about the first exam, though she didn’t tell us where the outposts are located.” Cobalt replies.

“Good. For the time being, you three are welcome to stay in the barracks until you think you are ready to tackle the first test and join up. We are going to be holding the MPF exam in a little over a month to re-record everyone’s scores and promote any who make it to their next rank. Until then, you three are considered F-class wizards, so you can only go on E-class quests, and must be in the company of at least one other wizard.” I explain, going behind the bar and taking out the emblem stamp before turning to the trio of girls. “That goes for you three as well. Though, I don’t want you three going on any jobs without me.”

The girls nod and the six of them walk up. I decided a while ago for members to get their marks first, then to go through the tests to show their courage. Since there are members who already went through the examination, the others can ask for advice and even directions, but they would still need their own bravery to enter the Everfree in the first place to get to the training hall.

Capper steps up first and gets his emblem on his right bicep, being ash grey with a blue outline the same shade as his hair. Cobalt gets his on his right pec and had it be black with a green outline, and Bertha had hers on the back of her right hand, having it navy blue with a white outline.

Ammy walked up next and had hers being purple and black, followed by Mei who’s was orange and red, then Arakunia, who got hers being cobalt blue and misty silver, all on their right shoulders. I think this is becoming a trend with groups.

I smile to myself and check my watch, seeing it is around 12:30, so school should be finishing up today, since it is Friday. I check the kitchen and see Flora and Spark in there, getting their ingredients for lunch.

“Hey guys, why do you six ask Flora and Spark for some food, I have some work to do.” I say, the six new members nodding as I click the bell for Flora and Spark to come out. I smile to myself as Spark hands the six of them some of the menus we made a while back, Capper reading them for the kids, while I head to the entrance to the guild.

I was only waiting for about fifteen minutes before the CMC came walking up the pathway, all looking curious about what this was about. I quickly go over my mental notes and nod as they walk up.

“You wanted to talk to us Lex?” Sweetie asks. I just nod and motion for them to follow. The four of us leave the guild and use the teleporter, appearing in the training hall. I lead then over to one of the practice ranges before turning to them.

“Do any of you know why I asked you here today?” I question as the trio take a seat on the bench.

“Eenope.”

“No.”

“To teach us magic?”

I turn to Scootaloo who looks to me with a raised brow. I smile and nod before holding out my hand, summoning a spell matrix in my hand.

“That’s right. It took a while, but I found a couple magical styles that fit the three of you.” The trio cheer and bounce in their seats, Scootaloo buzzing her wings.

“Woohoo! Finally, we get magic!” Scootaloo cheers, the other two joining her cheering.

“Alright Alright, calm down girls. First things first, I am going to show you how your new magic works before using the download spell. Like the others, the info will stay in your heads for about a month, then it will fade, so be sure to actually study and practice with your magic before it fades.” I explain, the trio nodding.

“You’re up first Sweetie. Since you have such a strong love of winter and the cold, I am going to be teaching you how to use Snow magic. As the name implies, it allows you to control snow and frozen winds, allowing for a few interesting attack and defences. You can strike with a rapid blade of snow and wind, White Fang, and you can even make snow copies of yourself to avoid damage.” I explain before turning to the range, the unicorn looking to me with an excited smile.

“White Blizzard!” A relatively strong wind appears from my hand, along with the snow, creations a small flurry that blows the wooden target over.

“While it might not look like much, the White Blizzard is useful for dispelling illusions and increasing the strength of other snow and ice based spells.” I explain, dispelling the spell and turning to the trio, Sweetie looking to me with stars in her eyes.

“Woohoo! I wanna do that! I love snow!” She yells in excitement. I chuckle a little at her excitement before looking to Applebloom.

“AB, you told me about how you wish you could learn how to help others, how to learn their magic as well. Well, I think I found one that could be helpful for that. Mimic magic. As the name implies, it allows you to temporarily copy and use other wizards spells. Now, I can’t actually show you how it works since I would need to mimic someone else’s magic, and that’s a little difficult since I am the one teaching it in the first place.” I explain.

“That’s ok. So, ah can copy other members magic?” She questions.

“Basically, but it will only be temporary. Since you are still young, the magic you mimic will only last for a day tops, and a couple hours at least. But, that will come in handy since you can throw opponents off by using one magic style at once, then if you run into them again, you will be using a different style.” I explain, before placing a hand on my chin in thought and looking up, seeing a bunch of clouds passing overhead through the skylight.

‘Hmm, maybe.’ I look down to the trio of fillies. “Hold on a sec, I’ll be right back.”

I activate my Wings enchantment and fly up and through the skylight, coming to hover right before a cloud. Unlike back on earth, it was cartoonishly fluffy, like wool, and I knew that Pegasi, thestrals and griffons could interact with them like they were blankets or something.

With a small amount of hesitation, I fly above the cloud, looking straight down at it, and dispel my wings. I half expected to fall straight through the cloud and plumit a few dozen feet back to the training hall, but to my slight surprise and excitement, I landed on the cloud with a small bounce.

‘Guess it works. I wonder if this is how Goku felt whenever he was riding Nimbus.’ I think to myself before looking over the edge of the cloud and down to the girls. I chuckle a bit before digging through the cloud and jumping down, activating my Wind magic once I get close to the training hall.

“What were ya doin?” Applebloom asks.

“Oh, just checking if my Mimic magic works with things like inherent magic. Basically, with that magic I can stand on clouds like Pegasi.” I reply with a smirk, AB smiling as she gets the implication. I smirk and then turn to Scootaloo, who looks very excited.

“Now for you Scoots. You’re an athlete, and love the speed, so I have two magic styles you can use in tandem. High Speed and Freerun.” I snap my fingers and summon a small pair of red sandals with a small jewel on the heel. “Put these on.” I say, handing them to Scootaloo before summoning my own. The little pegasus nods and places the sandals on her hooves, the jewel on the back glowing slightly as the material shifts to fit Scootaloo’s hooves.

“Now, Freerun is a form of athletics magic that works by increasing the wearers speed and agility to allow for several physical feats not normally possible. For example...” I trail off and run towards the wall before jumping, the magic in the sandals working like springs and letting me do a couple flips before landing feet first on the wall. I smile and cross my arms, the girls jaws hitting the ground as I stand vertically on the wall.

“Freerun allows for the gravity on the soles of the sandals to be altered to fit the wearers needs, like running or stopping on walls or ceilings. This is really handy if you need to escape a fight, but you are in a dead end.” I explain, calmly walking down the wall to the floor. Scootaloo’s wings buzz rapidly in excitement.

“So, what about High Speed?” She questions in excitement. I just smirk and use my High Speed, vanishing from their sight and appearing behind them like Ichigo from Bleach, much to their confusion.

“High Speed is just that, increasing ones running speed, or theoretically flying speed, to ludicrous level, allowing for strikes that would normally be pretty weak, to be very powerful.” I explain, the girls jumping as they realize I am behind them.

“Woah! So, I could go that fast too?!” Scootaloo questions with an awed smile.

“Yup, and like I said, you can combine High Speed with your Freerun for a variety of moves. For example.” I crouch slightly and take off with High Speed, running up the wall then along the ceiling with my Freerun, before jumping down and towards one of the wooden targets.

“Falcon Heavenward!” My kick hits home, and shatters the target to splinters. I keep up my pace, running along the floor before jumping up to the ceiling and standing there with a grin.

“Awesome!” The trio call, Scootaloo being the loudest. I chuckle and jump down, the trio all fidgeting in their seats. I pull up Archive and get the download spell ready.

“You three ready?” The trio nod and I hit ‘enter’, the progress bars appearing above their heads and filling up quickly. Since it is only the three of them, the download doesn’t take very long at all. The girls blink a couple times as the info is downloaded into their minds, before Sweetie walks up with a determines glare and raises her hand, the matrix appearing and a very small breeze with some snow blows out of her hand.

“Alright!” Sweetie cheers, her voice cracking slightly. I laugh a little as the trio begin to talk about practicing their magic on their free time.

‘Perfect timing for you three. Now I just need to think about what to teach the newcomers.’

Alexandria ‘Lex’ Justine: Faekage-13,789-Variety
Princess Luna: Rai-2,936-???
Sonbāsutā ‘Sonbā’: Rai-2,247-Crystal Maker Magic
Mi Amor Cadenza ‘Cadence’: Rai-1,529-Maguilty Sense
Shining Armor: Rai-1,119-The Knight Requip
Twilight Sparkle: Kage-601-Dark Ecriture
Spike Sparkle: Kage-562-Emerald Dragon Slayer Magic
Trixie Lulamoon: Jounin-505-Memory Make
Emerald Blizzard: Jounin-425-Archive
Legacy ‘Trace’ Tracer: Jounin-371-Reflector Magic
Zecora: Chunnin-202-Plant and Green Magic
Star Burst: Chunnin-154-Gunner Requip
Bladed Wind: Chunnin-151-Requip
Rainbow Dash: Chunnin-135-Storm Magic
Applejack: Chunni-134-Earth Magic
Floral ‘Flora’ Talons: Chunnin-132-Air Magic
Azure Skies: Chunnin-129-Dark Regulus
Gilda: Chunnin-120-Ice Make Magic
Zen Quartz: Chunnin-115-Palm Magic
Hot Spark: Chunnin-105-Rainbow Fire Magic
Swift Service: Genin-98-Paper Blizzard
Nate Quartz: Genin-95-Sandstorm
Pinkie Pie: Genin-93-Wave Magic
Raine Jewel: Genin-89-Solid Script Magic
Silk Song: Genin-73-Water Magic
Rarity Belle: Genin-72-Mirror and Colours Magic
Echo: Genin-50-Aera Magic
Scootaloo: Genin-28-High Speed and Freerun
Applebloom: Genin-25-Mimic Magic
Sweetie Belle: Genin-18-Snow Magic
Fluttershy: Genin-5-Animal Soul Takeover
Capper: ???-???-???
Cobalt Will: ???-???-???
Bertha Will: ???-???-???
Amaterasu Shiranui: ???-???-???
Arakunia: ???-???-???
Unmei Gaidancu: ???-???-???

I release a small sigh as I finish the quests for the day. I knew we would be more popular once news got out about the raid, but I legitimately didn’t expect this amount of work to come in at once. It had only been a week and a half since then anyways.

But whatever, more quests are good for the guild, so I can’t complain. I had just finished signing the new quests, when there was a knocking at the door.

“Come in!” I call out, piling the quests. The door opens to reveal Sonbāsutā and Echo, the duo walking in with a smile.

“Hey Lex. You finished the quests?” Echo questions.

“Yup, just finished up.” I replay, grabbing the small stack.

“Cool. Hey Lex, I found what I think is another Token on the way here.” Sonba says taking out the token. It actually took a second for me to speculate what it was. It looked like a wayfinder from Kingdom Hearts.

“Woah.” I mutter, taking the token and the creed plays in my mind.

“This is my heart, my strength, full of color, full of life. If I am who you seek, speak 'light,' and I shall come. However, if your intent is evil... ash to ash, dust to dust, fade to black.”

“Woah, I don’t think I have heard such a poetic creed before.” I mutter to myself.

‘Hmm, this is a wayfinder from Kingdom Hearts. Maybe whoever this is can help me unlock my Keyblade.’

I look to the others before motioning them to follow. We quickly head to the main room and I post the quests on the board, before looking at the token in my hand. I glance around the guild, seeing Ammy, Mei, Arakunia, Gilda, RD and Fluttershy eating, and I can sense Trixie and Swift in the archives studying.

“Hey guys,” the others turn to me, “I am going to be summoning someone, so be sure to be welcoming.” The others all nod and I hold out the token.

I focus a small amount of my magic into the token. “Light.” I whisper.

A white portal that seems to extrude light appears before me, and oddly, above the table I was next to. It took a second, but eventually, I can see three figures begin to appear.

Imagine our surprise when a human girl with red hair and a pink outfit fell onto the table, quickly followed by a blue filly that looked a lot like Luna, then some kind of shadowy cat creature. The portal closed immediately after they all landed, the trio groaning in pain.

“Alright, who put that trap door in the tower, and why didn’t I know about it?” the girl groans.

“I don’t think that was a trap door, Kairi,” the Luna look-alike replies.

“That would be correct.” I say, trying to hold in my laughter at their misfortune. The kids aren’t so reserved and are trying to catch their breath. The trio quickly pop up their heads and see me, Sonba and Echo.

“Alright, I’m gonna assume you’re a Displaced then?” the girl, Kairi apparently, questions.

“Yup. Lex Justine, master of the Fairy Tail Wizards guild at your service. This is Sonbasuta and his little sister slash assistant, Echo. Nice to meet you.” I reply with a smile.

Kairi quickly picks herself off the table, helping her companions as she does. “Nice to meet you Lex. I’m Kairi, and these are my friends Luna and Chirithy. Wait, did you say Fairy Tail?!?”

I give a smug grin and shift my shirt and turn, showing off my emblem, Sonbā and Echo doing the same. We enjoy the stunned look on Kairi’s face, before something she said registered in my head.

“Wait, you’re saying that is your version of Luna?” I question, looking at the short pony.

Kairi shakes herself out of her shock before nodding grimly. “That’s right. You see,” she begins her explanation. “It turns out that in our version of Equestria, Nightmare Moon was a Heartless. Obviously, since Luna has an incredibly strong heart, she would have left behind a Nobody if Celestia hadn’t thrown a stasis spell on her body. You see, the way a Nobody is formed, the body is aged backwards until it is nothing, hence why a Nobody is considered nothing.”

“Yeesh, I knew a Nobody is what’s leftover after a Heartless is created, but I didn’t realize it was that grim.” I reply with a slight wince and sympathetic look to Luna. “Sorry Luna. I can’t even imagine what that must have been like.”

“It’s OK,” Luna shrugs, while grabbing ahold of the strange cat-like creature called Chirithy. “I have Chirithy here to keep the nightmares away.”

“While I don’t mind your cuddling Luna,” Chirithy sighs. “I am not a plushie, so please stop treating me like one.”

“But the two of you looks so adorable!” Kairi teases.

“Says the girl who was originally a guy,” Chirithy shoots back.

We look to the blushing Kairi with wide eyes at this little revelation.

“You were a guy before you got displaced?” Sonbā questions, the apparently transformed girl nodding slowly.

“Wow. I legitimately have no idea what to say. This is definitely a first, and that’s coming from a girl who has a Diclonius, a homunculus, and a faunus as siblings.” I mutter.

Kairi raises an eyebrow at that. “OK, I’m gonna assume those are your siblings after being displaced, am I right?” I nod. “And different Equestrias as well?” I nod again, before snapping my fingers and summoning the Hearth's Warming picture I took back in Nat’s world.

“The two Diclonius are my sisters, Natali and Sorano, and the Adam Taurus displaced is my brother, also named Adam coincidently.” I explain as the trio look at the picture.

“Then where’s the homunculus?” Luna asks.

I just point to Sora. “Sorano is. To make a very long story short, my sister got hurt badly, so another Displaced, Edward Elric, used a type of transmutation and created her a new body, effectively making her a Diclo-homunculus that actually had DNA from all three of us.” I produce an Archive screen before going through my memories and finding a ‘screenshot’ of Sora during her party.

“Huh,” Kairi hums as she looks at the picture, before turning back to me. “So, what prompted you to summon me?”

“Well, just from your token itself, I had a feeling you had a connection to Kingdom Hearts. Basically, Edward also had access to a Keyblade, and my siblings and I went through the inheritance ceremony. I have a Keyblade, but I can’t access it for some reason, even with all my magical abilities based off of weaponry. I was hoping you could help me out.” I explain

Kairi puts her hand on her chin as she starts pacing, thinking through the situation. “Hmm, well, lore-wise, the Keyblade is not given based on magical strength,” she explains. “If anything it’s based on the heart of the wielder. Tell me, how exactly are you trying to summon yours?”

“Well, I have tried using it through my Requip Magic, I have tried just focusing on my light magic, I have tried to think back to the games on how they summon it, but unlike Lea, the flick of the wrist thing isn’t working either.” I explain in annoyance. Seriously, I have been trying to summon my Keyblade since I got back here from Adam’s world.

“I think I see the problem here,” Kairi turns back to face me. “You’re trying to summon it through artificial means. If you recall, in the second game, Jack Sparrow in the Port Royal world tried to take Sora’s Keyblade as compensation for the events of that world. He couldn’t take it, and when he tried, it immediately flashed back to Sora. My point to this is that the Keyblades are somewhat sentient, therefore, they have a certain way they want you to summon them.”

I nod and begin to pace myself, trying to think about what could be connected to my heart, what could I be missing? Before long I sigh and take a seat at the table again.

“Why is this so hard.” I mutter to myself before feeling the bench shift. Looking beside me, I see Arakunia looking to me with worry. I just smile and pat her head, the changeling buzzing her wings with a smile.

“Nothing worth doing or having is easy,” Kairi says taking a seat next to me. “It may be easy in theory, but it’s never easy in practice. In any case, you need to try calling to your Keyblade with your heart. Not your magic, your heart, since the Keyblade is inextricably linked to the heart.”

I look to Kairi with a small smile and nod. Before I can try and talk again though, I get a very VERY strong sense of dread, as well as a surge of dark magic nearby. I guess I wasn’t the only one, as everyone but the kids tensed and stood up.

“W-what i-is t-that?” Fluttershy questions fearfully, Gilda keeping her close.

Kairi groans. “You have got to be kidding me, it followed me here?”

It only took a second for me to realize what she means. “Heartless!?” I yell in worry.

Kairi nods. “And not just any Heartless either, a Darkside.” She turns to Chirithy and Luna. “Chirithy, you know what to do.” With a nod Chirithy and Luna runs over to the kids, throwing his arms up to create a protective barrier.

I nod in thanks before running to the entrance to the guild. Looking around, I see the clouds turning pitch black and swirling like a cyclone. It looked like it was in the field just out of town. I knew this could be dangerous, so I turn to the seven members behind me.

“RD, Gilda, Echo, you need to grab the citizens and get them to the bunker. Trixie, Swift, Sonbā I want you three to stay with them for protection. Fluttershy, please, keep an eye on the kids.” I request, the members all nodding before splitting up and I turn to Kairi. “Kairi, you and I are going to take that thing down. I may not have my Keyblade yet, but my magic should at least do something.”

Kairi nods. “You got it, and don’t count yourself or your guild out just yet. The Heartless can be destroyed without a Keyblade, the captive hearts will simply move to a different Heartless.”

“I am aware, but the town comes first. Once I we are sure the town is safe, then they can help.” I explain before summoning Black Rock Shooters arm cannon, much to Kairi’s surprise. “Yeah, I have a lot more weapons than one would think.”

“No kidding,” Kairi nods, before taking off through the door, spotting something I missed. That being the Shadow Heartless that were starting to come under the door. “We need to hurry! If we don’t take out the Darkside soon, this whole world will be overrun!”

I nod before aiming and firing several blasts from my cannon, taking out two heartless at a time before the two of us rush towards where the giant heartless was about to appear. I quickly glance behind me back to the guild, seeing citizens quickly filtering into the guild while being protected by Sonbā, Trixie and, shockingly, Fluttershy who used her bat Fullbody Takeover.

‘Please, be safe everyone.’

Kairi and I rush through the waves of Heartless, the displaced using her Keyblade like a master while I change to my Regulus magic style.

“Regulus Impact!” I yell before sending the blasts of light to a group of Heartless, creating a path to the field.

“Salvation!” Kairi calls, creating pillars of light that cleave the few remaining Heartless in two, causing them to dissipate. “Hurry! I can see it taking shape!”

I nod and punch through any dark creatures in my way before we arrive where it was forming, slowly levitating to the ground. I growl slightly, I forgot just how big this thing is.

“Well, this is going to suck.” I mutter as the creature lands. I glance to Kairi, who looks like she is all business.

“It always sucks to fight these things…” Kairi sighs, moving into a combat stance.

I nod and summon my rapier, before lighting my Wings enchantment and hovering in the air a bit.

“Let’s go!” I call before flying towards the heartless, who tries to smack me out of the air, without too much luck.

“Go for the head or hands!” Kairi calls, darting forward as the giant’s fist slams into the ground, creating a dark puddle and spawning more of the Shadows.

“I’ll distract it! You take care of the Shadow’s!” I call out before focusing on one of the heartless’s hands. “Dark Ecriture, Pain!” The four beams of dark magic head towards the target, causing it to flinch slightly and letting me focus on its other hand while it is distracted.

“Solid Script Drill!” I cast the spell, the attack striking it in the head, and causing it to step back once. I knew this wouldn’t be that easy though, and glance to Kairi, who managed to take out all the Shadow’s without much trouble.

“Look out!” Kairi cries. I turn to find energy gathering in the empty heart shape in the giant’s torso, before it fell to its knees as it fires the energy into the air.

“Crap!” I quickly fly around the blasts, luckily dodging them, but I am forced back to the ground as the last of them circle it. I knew I couldn’t dodge them all, so I raise my weapon and manage to block the energy.

“Damn it. This is not going well.” I mutter as the heartless rises back to his full height.

“Don’t let your guard down,” Kairi calls. “If this is anything like the games…” She trails off as the heartless kneels down to the ground, fist raised into the air. “Crap! Get airborne, quickly!”

I nod and use my Wind magic to launch myself into the air, just in time for it to slam its fist into the earth again, causing a large shockwave that would have hurt badly.

“That was too close.” I mutter to myself before seeing the heartless has left itself open. I glare at it and use my wind magic. “Horizontal Storm Bringer!” I create a large cyclone before me which strikes the heartless in the head, but it almost seemed annoyed rather than hurt.

“What the? That should have done more!”

“It’s draining the dark energy that’s gathered in the earth,” Kairi explained. “It’s both charging a massive attack and healing itself.” The heartless began to pull its arm out of the earth, grasping an orb of dark energy. “I’d recommend some sort of shield, otherwise this is REALLY gonna hurt!”

I go wide eyed as the heartless crushes the energy in its hand, the result being several bursts of energy flying around. I barely manage to cast Solid Script Guard before a bunch of the blasts hit my protection, causing me to be launched back through the air.

“Damn it. This is harder than I thought.” I mutter. I really wish I could see its health like the games so I could at least have a frame of reference for how much damage I am doing.

The large heartless looks towards me and then to Kairi, before looking past us. I raise a brow and follow its gaze, seeing it’s looking at the guild.

“What’s it doing?” I question.

Kairi’s eyes widen in realization and horror. “Its looking for easier targets!”

My eyes go as large as dinner plates as the heartless begins to lumber past us and towards the guildhall.

“No way in hell!” I yell before rushing forwards, rapier at the ready. “Dark Ecriture, Death!” I slash at the heartlesses hand, several slashes of energy climbing its arm, but it didn’t stop. I growl and slash at its hand more, not noticing a large shadow covering me.

“Lex move!” I look to Kairi before registering the shadow above me a moment before the Darkside grabs me with its other hand, stopping my movement.

“No! Let go you bastard!” I yell, struggling to get out of it’s grip. It brings me to its face, and I swear it had a smirk as it suddenly cocks its arm back, and I know what it is planning.

‘This is going to hurt.’ I manage to think a second before the heartless threw me towards the guild, going far faster than I would like. I barely managed to look before I felt the ground, creating a trench and a crater right in front of the guildhall.

I am not sure how long I was laying in that crater, my world spinning as my heart beats like a bass drum, before I sense it is time to get back in the fight.

“Lex!” I barely manage to turn my head, my eyes widening in terror as I see Mei, Ammy and Arakunia leaving the guild and heading towards me.

‘No, stay back. It’s too dangerous.’ I think to myself, now panicking and trying to get back to my feet, hell trying to just sit up.

And that’s when I heard it. Four strums on an electric guitar. The opening to a familiar song no less. I turn my head to see Kairi’s form glowing, as the music begins to pick up its pace. Finally the light seemed to burst away from her as she starts to sing the first verse.

“Pull all the stops I got a way that we can get in
Just say the word I’ll kick it up to 11”

My eyes shoot open as I feel invigorated. I managed to get to my feet just as I hear the girls scream. I look and see the trio surrounded by a bunch of heartless. I glare at them and time seems to slow as something i have never felt before passes through me.

“We’re knockin’ on your door
With what we got in store
Don’t break it up break it down”

Faster than most can track, I rush over to the girls, who are cowering together. Before I can even register what I am doing, I slash through the heartless surrounding the girls, a weapon of pure light in my hands. I stand with my back to them, before noticing my weapon as it becomes solidified.

My Keyblade. It had a blue rounded guard with golden swirls, the grip being a deep shining gold. The blade itself was red, having interlocking spell matrixes along it, and the teeth looking to be the writing of enchantments. The keychain was long, with a rainbow fairy tail emblem at the end.

‘Fairy’s Flow.’

“We’ll kill tonight
And we’ll never see the sun
Every day and night going crazy”

I smile to the trio behind me before glancing to Kairi, who nods back with a grin, and somehow, I knew to pick this song up.

“I’ll call the shots
Don’t you tell me when I’m done
Live it up this life is amazing”

The two of us rush towards the large heartless, who managed to cover quite a bit of distance, barely within the city limits now. I knew this was going to be tough, but we needed to keep its attention.

“Hey! Diddle diddle
Won’t you meet me in the middle
Let the music make you fly”

The two of us synchronize our attacks with our voices, targeting a hand each, and manage to stop its advance, but now its focus was on us again. Kairi and I continue to attack its hands, before it tries to crush us. We both jump back, before running along its arms towards its head.

“Don’t need to show no mercy
‘Cause heroes never die”

The two of us try and use a pincer attack, striking its head one side each, but it uses its tendil-like hair and blocks our strikes, forcing us to retreat back to the ground. I growl slightly before looking to Kairi.

“Now listen up I’m gonna give you a rundown
Gotcha in my sights you know I got this on lockdown”

The two of us jump back and dodge as it forces its hand into the ground again, spawning more shadows that try and get past us and towards the guildhall. I shake my head before cutting the shadow’s off, not letting them get to far as Kairi gets a couple hits in.

“We’re running out and free
This life was meant for me”

I slashed through the last shadow as Kairi is launched back by one of the Darkside’s strikes. I jump up and catch her, bringing her back to the ground as the heartless tries to absorb dark energy again.

“Step to the plate you gotta show us what you got
Show us what you got”

It takes out the orb of darkness like last time, but this time we both rush towards and under it. As it crushes the orb, the resulting energy tries to hit us, but ends up striking itself in the process.

“We’ll kill tonight
And we’ll never see the sun
Every day and night going crazy”

Kairi and I run around it, blocking and deflecting any blasts that try and hit us, before the heartless seems to get frustrated and tries to step on us, causing shockwaves.

“I’ll call the shots
Don’t you tell me when I’m done
Live it up this life is amazing”

The two of us jump and dodge the attempts to squash us, managing to keep the heartless from going any further, but I knew we had to get rid of it fast. I just wonder how.

“Hey! Diddle diddle
Won’t you meet me in the middle
Let the music make you fly”

As I block one of its attempted energy blasts, I take a good look at my Keyblade, before my eyes drift to my right arm, and the red tattoo hidden beneath my coat. It hits me light a lightning bolt.

“Don’t need to show no mercy
‘Cause heroes never die”

I quickly focus on my telepathy and connect to Kairi.

‘Kairi, I have an idea! I’ll use Fairy Glitter, but it is going to take a second to charge!’

‘Alright, I take it you need time?’ came her reply, not at all phased by the telepathy.

‘If you can manage.’ I respond, already unlocking my seal of light.

‘Consider the time bought!’

I smile to myself as Kairi goes on the offensive peppering the heartless with high power spells and keeping the heartless’s attention, letting me get ready. I stand up straight, my Keyblade before me, as I feel my arm beginning to warm up.

‘Assemble, oh river of light guided by fairies.’ I think, the spell surrounding me with light and launching into the air, breaking the dark clouds. I focus the spell through my arm, then my keyblade, as the blinding light is unlocked.

“We’ll kill tonight
And we’ll never see the sun
Every day and night going crazy”

‘May Your radiance shine, and vanquish the things of wickedness.’ I feel the spell coming together, the sky above me having the stars become visible before spinning in a circle. I open my eyes, both glowing gold, before taking aim.

“I’ll call the shots
Don’t you tell us when we’re done
Live it up this life is amazing”

The ring of golden light surround me before moving from my torso to the end of my Keyblade. With a glare I point my weapon at the heartless, just as Kairi jumps back. I hover a bit into the air before I am ready.

“Hey! Diddle diddle
Won’t you meet us in the middle
Let the music make you fly”

“Lets go, Fairy Glitter!” I yell after my line, a beam of light leaving my keyblade and landing straight in the center of the heartless, before the ring of golden light follows and surrounds it.

“Don’t need to show no mercy
‘Cause heroes never die”

The golden light shrinks around its torso before the being of blackness is covered with the holy light, causing it to squirm and spasm in pain. The light becomes almost blinding as the attack forces the light within it.

“Yeah, heroes never die!”

With one last burst of energy, the heartless explodes from the inside out, the golden light being too much for it. As it dissolves, a large pink heart flies out of the remains, before being covered with golden light and vanishing as the guitars fade.

I stand where I am, panting from the use. I have yet to use that spell, so it took a little more effort than I thought to pull it off, even if I had a conduit.

“Holy crap!” I hear on my left as Kairi rushes up. “Where can I get a spell like that?!?”

I chuckle a little, leaning on my new Keyblade as I look to her. “Well, I could give you one, but it will be very painful.” I say with a grin.

“Lex!” I barely manage a glance before a certain trio tackles me to the ground with hugs. I chuckle a little and hold my charges close.

“Kairi!” a tiny blue blur tackle-rushes Kairi to the ground, as she laughs at the little filly’s actions.

“Pinkie!” We both turn to the pink mare who was looking at the two of us on the ground. There was a beat, then all of us burst out laughing.

“Dang it Pinkie! Why are you so random?!” I question loudly, getting back to my feet.

“Shh, never question Pinkie! Down that road is nothing but pain and comedy!” Kairi teases with a smirk.

“Trust me I know. How do you think I felt when Pinkie all but mastered her Wave magic without me even spending a single lesson on her?” I reply with my own smirk, picking up Arakunia and holding her to my chest as the little nymph nuzzles me.

“OK, knowing what I do about that particular magic style, that’s downright terrifying,” Kairi replies with a shudder.

“You have no idea.” Came the multi-voiced reply from several members who walked up.

“So, anypony wanna explain what the hell that thing was?” Twilight all but demands, before now noticing Kairi not being a pony and sighs. “Displaced?”

Kairi nods with a smirk. “I see our reputation precedes us.”

“Again, you have no idea.” I reply before sighing slightly and putting Arakunia down next to her friends. “Are you three okay?”

“Yes. Sorry we scared you like that.” Ammy replies, lowering her head in shame with the other two. I just sigh before chuckling, bringing the trio in for another hug.

“What’s done is done. What matters is you three are safe.” I tell them, nuzzling their little heads.

Kairi smiles softly as she watches the scene unfold. “I see that Fairy Tail is still the enormous family its portrayed as in the anime.”

I smile to her before glancing at my keyblade, nodding. “More than I thought myself it looked like. This entire time, I have told the members they were family, and they were what makes the guild so strong, but I never truly understood what that means.” I look to the trio with a warm smile I am sure was once on the face of my mother.

“You three are more than just other members, or even just friends to me. You’re family, in the same yet different way my brother and sisters are.” I crouch before them, my warm smile not leaving my face. “You’re….more like daughters to me.”

I am not sure when it changed, when I saw them as more than just more members, but now that I know, the more obvious its become in my mind. I give a warm smile to them, before feeling three arms wrap around me, followed by some tears on my shirt.

‘And….you’re our mother….mama.’ I hear Mei, tears pricking my own eyes, before wrapping them up in my arms again.

Kairi gives an “aaawww” as she takes out what looks like a smartphone, before taking a picture. Despite how embarrassing this position is in theory, I couldn’t care less as I release my girls and turn to her.

“Kairi, thank you for helping me unlock my Keyblade. Even if this was a roundabout way of doing it.” I say with a grin, holding my hand out. Kairi nods and gets a firm grip, giving it a shake.

“Glad to have helped,” she replies with a smile, before her face darkens. “I’d suggest you train a few Keyblade wielders here, since now that your Keyblade is active, it’ll start attracting all sorts of dark nasties, like heartless, nobodies and unversed.”

“Yeah, I had a feeling that would be the case. Luckily there are plenty of good candidates here.” I quickly summon my Keyblade back before detaching the keychain and tossing it to Kairi. “I have a feeling having Fairy’s Flow would be helpful back in your world.”

Kairi catches it, and puts it into her bag, before pulling out another smartphone and tossing it to me. “That phone is a duplicate of mine, which was gifted to me by another Displaced. It can call across dimensions, and has a few other features I’ll let you figure out later,” she explains. “Give me a call when you have some candidates ready, and I’ll summon you all to my Equestria. I have a tower with an absolutely terrifying training center that’ll whip them into shape.”

I have an involuntary shiver run down my spine at her description before nodding. I snap my fingers summoning three tokens. With another snap, I make copies of them.

“These are the tokens for myself and my siblings. If you ever need help, feel free to call any of us, we’ll be there.” I say, handing her the tokens.

Kairi takes them with a smile, before once again dropping them in her bag. “I will, count on it. Oh, and before I forget,” she raises her hand, closing her eyes in the process. Energy starts to gather into a small yellow orb. After a few seconds, a musical note is emblazoned onto it and she opens her eyes. “This orb has all the knowledge of a magical style that I created. Its called Music Magic. Ever played Final Fantasy X-2?”

“Nope, but considering what we just went through, I have a sneaking suspicion I know how it works.” I say with a smirk.

“Damn it! Why does nobody know that game?” Kairi grumbles. “In any case, yes, you probably can guess how it works, but I’ll explain anyway. Music Magic is able to allow its user to channel magic into a song they wish to sing, allowing buffs for allys to be cast, along with debuffs on the enemies. Be careful though, the effects only last until the song is finished, and then you’re right back to where you started.”

“Nice, this will definitely be handy. I only have a few support magics, so this will be a nice boost.” I say, having the orb levitate into my hand, then into my chest. I feel warm as the magic is absorbed into my core, just another style to add to the list.

“Well, looks like I owe you a bit. In spite of what I said, I can grant you Fairy Glitter, or any other form of Fiore magic really.” I explain, all of us heading back into the guild.

“In all honesty,” Kairi says after a bit of thought. “I’ve actually always wanted some sort of Dragon Slayer magic. Any of them really, so you can pick which of them.” Kairi pauses. “I’d also kinda like to join the guild, if you’re OK with that.”

I smile and head over to the bar, before reaching behind it and taking out the emblem stamp. “What color for the emblem and outline?” I say with a smile, Kairi squealing as she rushes over.

“Pink with a black outline!” Kairi exclaims. “They’ve kinda become my colors since this whole thing started!”

I nod and set the colours, mentally going through Archive for her magic request, and finding one that would throw off the heartless. “Where for the emblem?” I ask.

“Right shoulder,” Kairi says, removing her jacket, and rolling up the sleeve. “I’ve always thought Natsu had the right idea putting it there.”

“Hehe, he wasn’t the only one who would agree.” I mutter, placing the emblem on her shoulder and nodding. I then take a seat on the bar and take a deep breath before focusing on my Arc of Embodiment, and remembering everything uncle Ed and I have been going over with his Dragon Slayer Lacrima experiments. I am really glad he decided to get my opinion on some of the experiment, and keeping me updated on them.

After a minute, my magic comes together, creating a pitch black orb, the magic within granting it a swirling effect. I smile and sigh as I finish creating it, the others, Kairi in particular, looking to the orb with intrigue.

“So, what do you think of Kairi the Shadow Dragon Slayer?” I ask with a grin.

Kairi grins right back. “I think the heartless should be very, VERY nervous right about now.”

I nod before taking a breath. “Get ready, from what my uncle and I have theorized, this could be painful.”

“Wait what-“ I stop her before she can finish, slamming the lacrima on her chest, the orb becoming intangible and entering her. Kairi falls back with a yell of pain as the lacrima is merged with her, the magic flowing through her body and causing her pathways to become black and visible for a couple of seconds. After about thirty seconds, its done, and Kairi is left panting on the floor of the guild.

“In all honesty, I really should have seen that coming,” Kairi grumbles, climbing back to her feet. She lifts a hand, focusing on it as shadows began to swirl around it. “I can get used to this,” she says with a grin.

“Don’t get too comfortable, the lacrima may grant you the magic, but it is still next to nothing compared to the real thing.” I say, motioning to Spike, who smirks in response.

Kairi nods. “Believe me, I remember all too well from the anime. Seriously, why Laxus thought he could take on Natsu, I have no idea...”

I just shrug to her. “Pride cometh before the fall. Not much more needs to be said. Well, aside from Main Protagonist Powers.”

“Too true,” Kairi snorts. “Oh before I forget, I got a call from another Displaced who has my token. He found out quite by accident that my token works the same way that it does in Birth By Sleep.”

“D-links? That will be really handy if I can use my brothers Semblance myself.” I say with a smile, taking out the token in question.

Kairi nods. “Be careful with it though. We haven’t tested the limits of it yet, so we have no idea what sort of drawbacks it could have when you run out of time on it.”

I grimace slightly as I think about how Adam’s Absorption semblance could backfire if it suddenly runs out. “Alright, I think I’ll be summoning my brother when I decide to practice it just in case.”

“Smart idea.” Came several voices. I glance to my guildmates who just shrug. I roll my eyes before smiling back to Kairi.

“Seriously Kairi, this has been a blast, despite the danger presented. If you ever want to hang in the guild or something, just call. Our business is finished.” With that, what looks like a light corridor opens behind the Keyblade wielder and her friends.

Kairi smiles. “The same goes for you as well. Give me a call if you want to get some training in.” She then gives an oriental bow before saying “May Your Heart Be Your Guiding Key.”

“May the Fairies guide you on your journey.” I reply without a second thought. She nods with a smile before she and her friends hop through the portal, which closes behind them.

I smile to the spot the portal was, before looking down to my girls, who smile back up to me.

“Looks like we need to head back to town hall. I hope adoption papers are easier to come by than back on earth.”

https://m.

“Lay down your head and I'll sing you a lullaby
Back to the years of loo-li lai-lay
And I'll sing you to sleep and I'll sing you tomorrow
Bless you with love for the road that you go

May you sail far to the far fields of fortune
With diamonds and pearls at your head and your feet
And may you need never to banish misfortune
May you find kindness in all that you meet

May there always be angels to watch over you
To guide you each step of the way
To guard you and keep you safe from all harm
Loo-li, loo-li, lai-lay

May you bring love and may you bring happiness
Be loved in return to the end of your days
Now fall off to sleep, I'm not meaning to keep you
I'll just sit for a while and sing loo-li, lai-lay

May there always be angels to watch over you
To guide you each step of the way
To guard you and keep you safe from all harm
Loo-li, loo-li, lai-lay, loo-li, loo-li, lai-lay..."

With a quiet sigh I finish my song, looking at the three little girls all sound asleep in their bed. With a smile, I get up from my chair, give the three a quick goodnight kiss, and leave their room. It had been only a few hours after sunset and I knew my girls were emotionally exhausted from the ordeal of the Heartless. I managed to give the townsponies and members the rundown on what happened, and reassure them that I could handle the heartless should they return. I also set up an appointment with Mayor Mare about going over the girls...adoption.

I still cannot comprehend what I am doing. I am barely into my twenties and I am about to adopt three girls? What the hell is going on with me?

I am not sure why, but now that the dust has settled and I can think logically, it still doesn’t make sense why I am doing this. The girls seemed perfectly happy as members of the guild, so why am I giving them more attention by making them my daughters. Is what I am feeling really maternal instincts, or something else?

Why did I feel so happy when Mei called me mama?

I release a relatively loud sigh and head downstairs to the bar, intent on getting a drink in before bed. I take a seat at my spot on the bar, Zen somehow knowing my order before I say it, warm apple cider. The hard stuff, not apple juice. With a nod in thanks, I take the drink like a shot, the warm alcohol only burning slightly compared to some of the drinks I have had back on earth.

“Still trying to wrap your head around your decision?” Zen asks, putting away the last of the glasses for the night as well as giving me another shot. I just nod, taking the shot and downing it in a second. He just shrugs. “Well, you know that you have more than enough help with the girls if you need it Faekage. The guild is more than happy to help out.”

I just sigh and nod, stretching and taking a quick look around the abandoned building. Everyone had already left for bed, so Zen and I were the only ones here. I take another look around before sighing and heading up to my room, leaving Zen to lock up the guild.

Heading into my room, I strip down to the minimum, and curl up in my bed. The town was scheduled for a small heat wave the next couple days, so I couldn’t wear much to bed unless I wanted to wake up soaked and dehydrated. With a sigh, I turn over in my bed, intent on at least getting a few hours of sleep. Little did I know, despite getting sleep, tonight would not be peaceful in the slightest.

I was....falling? Yeah, I felt it, the air going past my body as I fall through the blackened void. I didn’t know where I was, but I knew I had a destination. Looking above, or is it below me, I see a circular platform. It was blinding white, completely blank. Righting myself as I get close to the platform, I land softly, the sheet of light around me dissolving and leaving me in my original outfit. I looked around the area, seeing nothing but darkness and the circular platform. Then I took a step forwards.

As soon as my bare foot hit the glass platform, it began to glow brighter, forcing me to cover my eyes slightly. But I could see it, the area from my foot expanding and turning into white flower petals, revealing a stain glassed portrait, and in that moment I knew what was going on. I was in the Dive to the Heart.

The portrait showed me, Fairy’s Flow in hand, leaning along the curve of the circle, eyes closed, relaxed. Behind me was small portraits of my family. Adam, Natali, Sorano, Edward, Mei, Ammy, Kuna, even Sonbā and Echo. Around the circle were more circles, each one being a different spell matrix. The majority of the glass was blue, red and gold, with incredible details in everything from my brothers mask to my Fairy Glitter tattoo.

With an awed smile I just look at the portrait before noticing something on the edge of my vision. Turning, I see in the centre of the platform was a mirror, showing me, but something was different. It took a second, then I noticed I was looking up at my reflection. I go wide eyed and shift my hair, seeing it is a deep chocolate brown. Just like back on earth.

I shake my head for a second before looking at my reflection, the taller version of me following my movements despite being taller. I eventually reach my arm forwards and place my hand on the mirror. I wasn’t expecting it, so I lost my balance as my arm went through the mirror, causing me to stumble through with it. Once I passed the threshold, I could immediately feel as I was back in my Displaced form. Mostly because of the slightly increased weight on my chest.

Turning, I see the mirror again, but it just shows my reflection as I am now, a Displaced Levi who became more. Eventually the mirror begins to float up, and it was then I noticed the platform I was in was surrounded by what looked like windows, but each one was playing a different memory of mine from a third person’s perspective. They reach up higher than I could see, each one playing a different event.

Eventually three windows leave the circling groups, slowly coming to hover before me. The first one showed my sword fight against Cobalt and Grand Axe. The second one shows me casting Fairy Glitter against the Darkside. The last one, shows me during the opening of Fairy Tail, standing on the railing with my finger in the air, the crowd of creatures below cheering. I hear a voice as the three windows hover before me, it almost sounded like me, but older, calmer.

’Which trait will you embody? Vitality? Wisdom? Balance?’

I look around the area, searching for the voice, before remembering this was just like Kingdom Hearts. But in that game, each one was a factor to which stat increased when levelling up, so what would it do for me? With a shrug I look over the windows for a second before making my way to the last one in line, Balance. Back when I played the games I always tried to remain balanced, never choosing magic or attack over the other. With a determined grin, I sweep my arm out, summoning my keyblade and send a beam into the window, watching as it turns to white pedals and dissolves, the other two windows going back into the circling tower.

Then three new windows come down to me again. The first one showed a seventeen year old me in fencing class, going against and actually beating my teacher. The second showed me in the library at my old high school, studying for an exam. The last though, showed the day I met Nat, hitting those jerk bullies on the head with my books. After a second the voice comes back, asking its question.

’Which path will you follow? The Warrior? The Scholar? The Guardian?’

Without a second thought I headed to the last one in the line again, the Guardian. I knew that this choice would help me in protecting others, as opposed to helping me fight or helping me learn. I was already good enough at the other two choices as is. Like before I summoned my keyblade and sent the beam into the window, watching as it dissolved into flower pedals before the circling memories begin to fade away.

I smile and just wait for a second, expecting to appear back in my mindscape. Once what felt like two minutes passed, and nothing happened, I begin to wonder if I was missing something. I look around the void again, seeing nothing for a second, before spotting something in the distance. It was a light, but I couldn’t tell what it actually was. I walk towards the edge of the platform I was on and look over the edge, seeing nothing but the abyss below, and then to the light. I couldn’t tell how close or far the thing was, but my curiosity was peaked.

I almost tried to use my magic, but then I heard rumbling, and watched as several glass stairs began to rise from the abyss, making a glass bridge towards the light in the distance. Now overcome by curiosity, I decide screw it, and begin to trek across the bridge.

Walking calmly across the bridge, I reach the top of the arch before it goes down and see a better look at what I am going towards. It looked like another stain glass platform, but it was completely blank. There was nothing there, and there didn’t look to be anyone nearby. Confused, I continue across the bridge, eventually coming to the platform. Stepping on the bright white platform, I half expected it to change into a stain glass portrait like mine did, but nothing happened. Confused, I glance back to the glass bridge that brought me here, and see it rapidly dissolving, leaving me on the platform.

With a raised brow, I turn back to the circle, and now notice a large amount of cracks going along the platform, going in each and every way. How this thing hasn’t shattered or something is beyond me, but it also made me worried. This platform represents someone’s heart, so it being cracked like this is not a good sign. But as I looked closer to the cracks, I can see them slowly melding together, almost like this thing is repairing itself.

Confused, I look to where the cracks seem to converge and barely stop myself from gasping. At the centre of the platform, stood something that was familiar, yet not. It looked to be a lot like Truth in FMA, just an outline of a humanoid being with no eyes, but that was the only similarity.

Unlike Truth, this thing wasn’t blinding white, but almost looked like the night sky, a majority of it being pitch black with small specks of white twinkling on its body, with a dark purple aura around it. It also had hair, a long mane of purple and white much like Luna’s mane. It didn’t seem to notice me, so I took a chance and guessed who it was.

“Tantabus?” I question, the being lifting it head and turning to me. As expected it didn’t have eyes, but it also had no mouth.

”Hello Lex. Tell me, do you know what this place is? I awoke here not long ago.” she questions.

“This place is referred to the Dive to the Heart. It usually happens whenever someone gains access to a keyblade, like I did. How you are here, I have no idea.” I reply, looking over the silhouette woman. She nods slowly and looks to her hands, then to the platform.

”And what of this platform?” she continues, looking at the cracks closely.

“The platform is supposed to be a representation of your heart and spirit. Mine is a little ways back there and it showed me and my family as a stain glass portrait. I am confused though, how is it you have this area anyways? You don’t have a heart.” I question. Before I could react, the entity shot to attention and turned to me, and I am slightly creeped out as a mouth like a galaxy begins to appear on her face, before she smiled creepily.

”Not yet.” she says, confusing me. I watch as she lifts her arm to the side, her hands being sharpened into claws.

“Tantabus? What are you doing?” I question, crouching into a fighting stance as a precaution. I watch her look to her hand, before TEARING INTO THE AIR next to her, creating what almost looked like a void portal, like the ones that appear when my siblings and I are summoned. I look between the entity and the portal in shock, before understanding what she is going as she takes a step to the portal.

“TANTABUS STOP!” I rush over to stop her, a second too late as Tantabus jumped into the portal, leaving me on her platform. “Oh shit.”

Without a second thought I use my own dream magic and tear a portal into the dreamscape like Tantabus, appearing in a new void with a night sky above me and mist low to the ground. Looking around, I rush through void, a specific location in mind.

It took a while, but I eventually found a door with Luna’s cutie mark, so I knew it was her dream. She mentioned that she was taking the night off her nightmare watch so I knew she was sleeping. Rushing into her dream, I see what looked like a weird yet calm orchard of a variety of trees. Looking around for a second, I eventually find Luna, the mare just sleeping against one of the trees. Without a second thought I rush over to the lunar Alicorn.

“Luna! Luna wake up!” I call out, the mare stirring from dream sleep. Looking to me, she becomes confused as to our location.

“Lex? What’s going on? Where are we?” She questions.

“We’re in your dream, we’re asleep but that is not important right now.” I tell her, trying to catch my breath.

“We’re asleep. Curious, I was asleep while I am asleep. Meta. So what do you-“

“Tantabus escaped.” I cut her off, the mare going wide eyed, her left eye twitching slightly.

“What.”

“I don’t know what happened! Tantabus just got stronger all of a sudden after I unlocked my keyblade, strong enough to break out of my mind and into the dream realm! You are the princess of the night, you have the most knowledge of that domain so I need your help to find her!” I yell frantically, the annoyed look on Luna’s face slowly becoming softer as she sees my panicked state. After a second she walked over and laid her wing across my back.

“First, thou must calm thyself my Faekage. Acting in panic will not help any.” She says softly yet sternly. After a second I nod and go through those breathing excises Cadence taught me a while back. After about ten breaths I am calmed down to the point I can think straight.

“Ok. I’m good, I’m good. Now, what do we do?” I question, Luna lighting up her horn and in the next second we appear in the dreamscape again. She looks around for a second before lighting up her horn again, covering me with her aura for a second, then a new door appears. It has the symbol of an emerald flame with sparkles on it.

“I managed to find the Tantabus magic signature, it appears to be in young Spike’s dream. Lex, I will pursue the Tantabus and try to trap it, I need you to go to other dreams and inform the members of the guild and my sister of what’s going on just incase we fail.” She says, not giving me a chance to reply before she bursts through the dream door. I am stunned still for a second before shaking my head and heading out to do my part.

It took a while, but eventually I managed to tell all the members in Ponyville what is going on, but I haven’t been able to find Celestia’s dream yet. I think she is pulling another all nighter. With a shake of my head I collapsed on the ‘floor’ of the dreamscape, mentally exhausted from jumping from dream to dream in rapid succession. Luckily everyone was now on the alert and I left them all with the equivalent of a beacon to call me incase the Tantabus appears in their dreams.

It just doesn’t make sense. I should have been able to tell how powerful the Tantabus had become before she escaped, and then there was the question of why she escaped in the first place. It doesn't make sense, she isn’t just some mindless entity hellbent on causing nightmares anymore, she’s a living being with cognitive thought, emotions, a Dive to the-

I freeze as I think that last part. A heart. I remember what I said to her before she left, and how she reacted. She said, not yet, when I said she did not have a heart. What does she mean by that though? Is she trying to get herself a heart or something?

I take a seat proper and try and think about this from her angle, but that is very difficult since I really never gave Tantabus much thought while she was in my head. Sure I checked on her to make sure she didn’t do something stupid like give me amnesia, but other than asking her for some help now and then, I mostly left her to her own devices in my head. Which I remember mostly her doing the equivalent of watching TV with my memories. Most of the ones I saw her watching were simple things, like my classes back on earth, but I have seen her sneaking looks at my memories from after I was Displaced, mostly about my Alchemagic lessons.

I knew that Tantabus would be curious about my magical knowledge, but I always tried to keep that info under lock and key as a precaution. I am not sure why she would leave my head though, from what I was able to see she was perfectly fine, even happy staying with me.

To be honest, it kinda hurt that she would just leave like this. I by no means love her or anything, but she is almost like Sora in a sense, yet, I could tell she was different to how I view my youngest sister. I could consider her family, yet because she is not physical it feel off. Maybe that is being shallow, but that is how I feel about the former nightmare walker.

With a sigh I raise to my feet, and not a second too soon as a door with what I recognize as Lyra’s Cutie Mark appears and Luna steps out, but she looks exhausted.

“Ok....the Tantabus....if far more....creative than I gave it credit for.” She says through pants before face planting on the ground.

“Heh, that’s my girl.” I blink a couple times as that comes out my mouth. “Where did that come from?” Shaking my head, I turn my attention to the tired princess of the night. “So, I take it you lost her?”

“Unfortunately. Because Tantabus has knowledge of everyone you have met in Equestria it can enter their dreams. Luckily it seems incapable of going to the Crystal Empire from what Cadence told me. Also just a note, DO NOT enter Cadences dreams on Tuesday.” She warns. I raise a brow before thinking for a second.

“Cadence and Shining are going to have dream sex with a sensory link active aren’t they?” I deadpan with a mild blush, Luna nodding with her own blush.

I don’t really hold it against the Alicorn of Love, but she seriously has no filter when she doesn’t think she needs it, like when she went on a quest to look for a rare gemstone some stallion wanted to propose to his coltfriend with while disguised so she wouldn’t be recognized. I got a complaint immediately about inappropriate behaviour, such as Cadence asking if she could stay and watch them consummate their marriage. So I can only image how her dreams play out sometimes.

With a cough and shake of the head, Luna gets back to her serious stance.

“Well, now that I can’t keep up with it this is just going to be getting infinitely harder. Every dream we passed through, I could sense the Tantabus was slowly growing in strength, so we need to end it before it has enough energy to enter the real world.” She states, earning a nod from me as I try and think about how to catch Tantabus. Before long, an idea pops into my head.

“You said that the Tantabus only has access to the dreams of those I have met before, right?” Luna nods. “Well, a majority of those I have met are currently in Ponyville from what I know of. Maybe you could create a shared dream or something, and that way we wouldn’t need to chance after the Tantabus, plus all the members would be present so we can fight her.”

“That....is....actually not a bad idea. But I would be unable to help as I would need to try and use all my focus on keeping the dream together.” She says with worry, but I just pat her shoulder.

“Hey, don’t worry. I know we can stop Tantabus before she does something dangerous. With any luck I might be able to figure out why she is doing this and maybe get her back in my head.” I tell her with a confident smile. After a second Luna nods and takes a deep breath, her horn slowly glowing brighter and brighter.

In the real world, from the guild hall, a wave of white dream magic began to cover the town and neighboring area, creating a faded white bubble around the town.

I open my eyes as I appear in what looks like Ponyville at night, but I wasn’t the only one. Slowly many of townsfolk began to leave their homes looking around in confusion as random oddities begin to appear here and there, like a bunch of flying, quaking muffins, some mare rowing a boat through the air, and I think I could see a giant Ditzy playing with a ball of yarn like a cat with her daughter.

“Oookkayyyy? I know dreams are naturally chaotic, so I guess this isn’t too odd.” I mutter, before hearing a variable stampede heading my way.

“Lex!” I turn and see most of the guild running up, Arakunia flying up, causing me to catch and cradle her to me.

‘Mama, what’s going on?’ Mei question, and I remember I didn’t let these three know what’s going on.

“Sorry sweetheart, but a very dangerous entity left my head earlier and has been hopping around dreams all night. This is actually a shared dream princess Luna cast so we can catch it.” I explain softly.

“You mean Tantabus? But, she wasn’t causing any problems in my dream.” Ammy says, causing all of us to look to her.

“Actually, now that you mention it, that smoke thing didn’t really do anything negative to me. I was just dreaming about fighting some Grimm, and it just showed up and took them down for me.” Spike says.

“I was just dreaming about an endless library and the Tantabus just showed up with a ton of books I have never seen before. She left a note saying they were from your world Lex.” Twilight says, some brows raising at her dream. I then notice Trixie being quiet and blushing.

“Trix? What’s up?” I question, all attention going to the reluctant showmare. She just look around before glancing to Twilight with a blush.

“Tantabus uh....just...help me sort some things out.” She says quietly, earning raised brows from all of us. I don’t get to follow up on that answer as we see an orb of light slowly lowering itself to the ground, revealing Luna with both hands and her horn alight in magic, keeping the dream together.

“Luna!” All of us run over to her as the townsfolk bow, but I do notice some doing a double take upon seeing Luna’s guild mark.

“Now is not the time for bowing my subjects, or reunion my guild mates. I managed to cast this dream but I cannot aid you in battle as I need to spend all my focus on keeping it together. Now we need to-” she is cut off as a low roar sounded out form every direction.

Looking to the dream sky we see as a mass of dark purple and white stars begins to cover the dream town, the ponies beginning to panic. I watch as the ponies all run around in panic while the guild members get ready to fight. But I didn’t want that. Without warning the others I flew into the air before Tantabus.

“TANTABUS!” I call out to the mass, the purple energy shifting and appearing to look at me. “Why? Why are you doing this?” I question.

I watch as the mass shudders before forming together, creating a giant version of the silhouette from her Dive. I just hover before her face, the crowd below silent as I stare down the dream giant. After a second she clenched her fist and turned to look me in the eyes.

”Because I want to be part of it all.” was her answer, leaving us confused, before she pulls back and tries to hit me out of the air. I managed to dodge and that was the signal for the guild members to attack. Spike flew up next to me and took a deep breath.

“Emerald Dragon Roar!” The spell managed to hit Tantabus in the face, but she didn’t even react as she tried to swipe us out of the air.

“Not good!” I yell as Spike and I back off, the other members all trying to help out. I could see Nate using attacks like Sand Coffin alongside Swift trying to use her Purple Dance to immobilize it, without much luck. Trixie was trying to combine her attacks like Swords of Frozen Black Lightning with Spark’s Rainbow Flare spell, but it didn’t even leave a mark.

“Damn it, this isn’t working!” Rainbow yells in annoyance, summoning a cyclone of lightning to try and push Tantabus off balance. Meanwhile some of the members like Fluttershy, the CMC and my daughters were trying to keep the civilians back.

‘I don’t understand, all of the spells should have at least done something! It’s almost like we’re fighting the Celestial Spirit Beast or something. How is she able to tank those attacks without even flinching?’ I think to myself, trying to use my Dark Ecriture, but nothing was working.

It didn’t make sense, all these spells should have at least done something. It was as I was trying to hit Tantabus in the chest with my Ice Make magic, that I spared a glance to Luna, seeing her straining to keep the dream together.

Wait....dream...that’s it!

“Everyone! Fall back! I have an idea!” I call out to my guild, everyone jumping back as I land before the Tantabus and take a deep breath.

“Lex! What are you doing?!” I hear Echo call out, but I ignore her and focus. I needed to remember, remember how he unlocked and used his magic.

Salamander.

With a grin, my eyes shoot open and I release a roar like a dragon as orange flames and lightning surround me, the others all backing up as they see this.

“Lightning Flame Dragon mode!” I yell with glee. I realized, this is a dream. A world we can do anything in. Like using magic Tantabus has never seen us use before. The other all look to me in shock and confusion as I crouch and launch myself towards Tantabus.

“Lightning Flame Dragon Firing Hammer!” I yell as I slam my arm into Tantabus chest, causing her to roar in pain and being sent flying back.

“I knew it!” I yell, earning everyone’s attention. “This is a dream! Meaning we can use anything our imagination can think of! And the reason Tantabus was being unaffected was because she knows about our magic. So we need to use attacks she’s never seen before!”

The others all look to one another in surprise before Trixie steps up, placing her fingers on her temples.

“Memory Make Downpour of Ancient Wisdom!”

We all look towards Tantabus as the odd golden design appears above her, increasing the gravity forced on her and keeping her pinned. She just roars in frustration and tries to get up, without much luck. The others all see it’s working, and begin to think of new attacks to use. I watch as the first ones to go forwards were actually Gilda and Silk.

“Water Nebula!” The mare calls out, summoning two cyclones of water like a DNA helix that actually head towards Gilda.

“Ice Make Shotgun!” The hen yells, using the water from Silk’s spell to make several shards of ice launch towards Tantabus, freezing her left foot.

I grin as I see the members all working together in different combinations to wear out Tantabus, before glancing to the townsponies, who are just watching in awe. Unfortunately, while Tantabus was taking a little damage, she seemed more annoyed than anything, as heard my her growls as she tries to stand again.

I frown a little as I rise above Tantabus, the entity looking to me, then my members before clenching her fist and slamming it down to the ground, causing a shockwave that sends a few members flying. She then points her finger to a group of them, and we watch in shock as it glows blue before a large beam in launched towards the group.

“No!” I watch as Zen, Trixie, Cobalt and Bertha are hit by the blue beam, then freeze as the beam stops, leaving nothing in its wake. “W-what?”

“They’re awake!” I turn to Luna as she yells this.”The Tantabus somehow managed to eject them from the dream! They’re back in the waking world!”

“Damn it! We need to be careful, we won’t stand a chance if we enough of us wake up!” I yell to my guildmates, who all nod and try to take down Tantabus again, but without Trixie pinning her down with gravity she is able to get up and move now. Plus now she is shifting her form to defend herself, like making a shield out of energy, while sending beam after beam towards us. Our numbers slowly began to dwindle as more and more of us are ejected from the dream and wake up.

Before long the only ones left as myself, my girls, Sonbā, Echo, Spike, Twilight, Rainbow, Applejack, Pinkie Pie and the townsfolk, who were oddly untouched by the Tantabus.

“D-damn it...this thing just won’t give up.” Rainbow comments through pants. I growl in annoyance as Tantabus looks down to us, before turning and tearing into the air again.

“Oh no you don’t!” I fly up to her and stand before her, unlocking my Seal of Wind. “Sky God Boreas!” The cyclone of wind manages to punch Tantabus back a bit while Luna strains her magic and closes the tear.

”Stop it! Just let me leave here damn it!” Tantabus yells in annoyance.

“That’s not an option Tantabus! If you leave and enter the real world you’ll end up plunging it into a living nightmare! Your body is made of magic, so you’ll end up merging with the natural magic in the real world!” I try to explain, the entity shaking her head.

”Not if I can cast my spell before that happens!” that caused all of us to look to her in confusion.

“What spell?” Twilight questions. Tantabus froze at that, looking to me, then to my girls before turning to Luna.

”You’ll see.” with that Tantabus launched another beam, but at Luna, who is too focused on keeping the dream together.

“Luna!” I try to fly over and get her, but I am too slow and the beam hits her. In the next instant I gasp loudly as I shoot up in my bed. “Oh shit.”

Throwing off my covers, not caring about my lack of clothes I rush to my window, looking over the town and spotting members walking around, then I look up to the sky. In the sky above the town, I could see a small purple tear in the otherwise black sky. I pale as I see the tear beginning to glow and grow, and I know we failed.

“Ohshitohshitohshit.” I mutter, before opening my window and jumping out. “Requip, Black Wing Armor!” With a flip and a few seconds, I am in one of the skimpiest armor I have. All it really covers is my chest and groin, but I knew I needed to fly and having a boost in attack and speed with come in handy. Without a second to waste I rush through the air to the centre of town where I see the members are gathering, seeing the tear in the sky. Coming in for a landing near the centre of town, the others all flocked over to my area, but we all remained silent as we saw the tear slowly growing.

“Is this it? Are we going to be stuck in a permanent nightmare?” Sonbā questions, all of the others looking to each other in worry.

“No. Not if I can help it.” I mutter, taking a few steps forwards as the Tantabus begins to make it’s way through the tear. “Requip, Shikai.” In an instant I am in my black kimono, staring up at the mass of darkness as it makes its way through the tear and begins to spread around the town. With a frown and a small tear going down my face, I raise my hands before me. Unlike during the MPF test, the magic from the world around me wasn’t what was being used, but my sacred light.

With a frown, what sounded like a bell sounded out, golden light appears in my hands. I look up to the mass as it makes its way out of the dream realm. I focus on my spell more, allowing my magic to flow between my hands.

“1”

The orb in my hands appears slowly, being a golden yellow and white, my own eyes turning pure white with magic energy. Everyone began to slowly back away from me as charge my spell, while going back and forth between looking to me then the mass above us.

“2”

I turn my hands around the orb, before clapping them together, appearing as though I am praying.

“3”

I look up to the mass of purple darkness and stars as the last of it leaves the dream realm and appears in this world. With a frown and I sigh I prepare to unleash one of my strongest grand spells.

“I invoke, Fairy law.” I mutter, slowly pulling my hands apart, only to pause as I get a tingle in the back of my mind. Confused, I pause my spell and focus on the sensation, feeling it was very important somehow.

Images begin to flash before my eyes, memories of mine from a time not that long ago. Focusing on them, I remember them as my lessons in human anatomy from high school, and then my lessons in Alchemagic from Aunt Luna. Even more confused, I focus on the memories more, and see the memories of my parents, of when my siblings and I were kids, and most prevalent, how I act around Arakunia, Amaterasu and Unmei.

‘What is going on? Why am I remembering these things now?’ I question myself.

”Because that is what I want.” I look up to the mass of darkness, seeing it actually stopped growing, now covering the entire town and part of the Everfree, but not moving any farther than that. Confused, none of us were prepared when blue electricity began to spark from the Tantabus, causing the mass to shudder and slowly shrink.

“What the hell? What did you just do Lex?” Rainbow questions, before seeing my spell still paused in my hand.

“I’m not doing this.” I mutter, dispelling my attack before it can be released and just watching. I watch as the mass of darkness slowly begins to shrink in on itself, before noticing one of the stars in the mass above me is glowing brighter than the rest. Confused, I focus my magical senses on that spot rather than the mass as a whole, and what I found was shocking.

I could hear a heartbeat. It was slow, like whatever it belonged to was almost catatonic, but it was unmistakable. I try and focus deeper, and soon, I can see the small beginning of a soul. I gasp as I almost fall back looking at the mass. Suddenly all of what Tantabus was doing was being brought to the light.

She said ‘not yet’ when I said she lacked a heart. She traveled from dream to dream, not being a bother to other, but helping and then taking a small portion of their magic. Then during our fight, she didn’t directly fight back, she just forced us to wake up.

She isn’t evil, I knew this, but I didn’t realize she just wanted the same thing as my little sister. She wanted a life her own, not as a parasite, but as a person. But that still didn’t explain why she was looking into my memories about anatomy and Alche-

My eyes shoot open as I realize what is going on. These sparks, they’re the spark of alchemagic. All the magic she’s absorbed, all of the energy she’s stored, she trying to use all her magic to transmute herself a physical body. But...

“Tantabus no! It’s too dangerous!” I yell frantically, summoning my wings and flying up to the mass, much to the others shock.

”I don’t care! I want to be me, not be a parasite inside someone else!” she responds, her voice distorted and sounding strained. I watch in fear as the speed in its shrinking increases.

“Stop! You don’t understand, you’re using too much magic too fast! At the rate you’re going there will be nothing left before the transmutation is complete!” I yell.

“What are you talking about Lex?!” I turn and see Spike and Sonbā in the sky next to me, the stallion being carried by Echo.

“Tantabus is trying to use Alchemagic to use all her magical energy to create the building blocks for a body! She’s trying to turn herself real!” I yell frantically, trying to find a way to stop her.

“WHAT?! But the only reason we were able to make your sister a body is because we collected all the materials needed! Can it really create them all from magic?!” Spike questions.

“Technically she can but it uses up massive amounts of magic energy to create physical material out of magic. Just making things like saltpetre would cost all the magic Scootaloo possesses, let alone all the material needed to transmute a living body!” I yell, still panicking and at a loss for how to help.

“But wasn’t the Tantabus growing stronger through each dream it went through?” Echo questions, causing me to stop for a second. She’s...she’s right. All those dreams she went through, she was absorbing more and more magic from each dream, and I can sense she is absorbing the ambient magic in the air too.

“But that won’t matter since she doesn’t have any physical material to use a base in their first place. For all we know she could end up turning herself into a cat or a bat, or a Cragodile.” Sonbāsutā points out. I nod in worry as all those lessons Ed and Aunt Luna taught me come rushing back, telling me all the flaws of this spell. Maybe if Tantabus had something to work as a base it would work but we would need someone to add their own DNA mid-transmutation.

I look up to Tantabus in worry as I sense the magic draining too fast, hearing her groan in pain. I grit my teeth and glance down to my daughters, the trio looking to me with pleading eyes, seeming to have the same idea as me.

“Buck it all!” I yell as I rush above Tantabus and dispel my wings, falling towards her. As I am falling I summon my rapier and hold the blade in my free hand, pulling and slashing my skin. Ignoring the stinging sensation as my blood begins to flow, I clap my hands and summon my own Alchemagic.

”W-what are you doing?!” she strains to question.

“I’m making sure this works! I could be sent to see Truth, I could be sent to the Void, I could just disappear, but I refuse to let one I consider family vanish without a fight!” I all but scream, my magic being siphoned at an alarming rate. I just grit my teeth and bear it, consciously creating more magic within my cells from the little magic in the air around me.

As I begin to feel faint, I feel a weight being lifted off of me. Literally, my sword disappeared from around my waist. Glancing beside me, I go wide eyed as I see Sonbāsutā slashing his own hand, looking to me with a determined look in his eyes.

“What the hell are you doing?” I question as he step closer to me, placing his bleeding hand over mine.

“There is no way I am letting you do this alone. Echo and Spike are keeping everyone back, so I will add my own strength to this. You have done so much to me and everyone else already, so let me return the favour.” He says softly, looking down to the mass beneath us as the bright star glows brighter still.

I allow myself to just gawk at Sonbā for a moment, the stallion just smirking to me, before I take a quick breath and kiss him on the cheek, shocking him.

“Once this is all over, I am so taking you on a date.” I say with a grin, one he returns as he lights up his horn and I focus both of our magic. I can sense that the spell is nearing completion, and I swear I could see a small outline of a girl in the bright star.

Sonbā, Tantabus and I all yell in determination as we all give one more push with our magic, resulting in the star to glow brighter than the moon above us, causing everything to go white. I am sure, once this was all over, we would be adding another new member to our ranks.

Groaning, I begin to come back to my senses. I expected many things, like waking up in a crater on the ground, or waking up in my bed and finding everything was a dream, or maybe waking up in a hospital with several life threatening injuries.

I was not expecting to wake up in a purple void, with a large amount of mist along the pale turquoise ground with several galaxies floating in the sky above me. I almost cast a spell on myself to make sure I was awake as I looked around the void, being reminded of the dreamscape and the World Between where I met Master Mavis.

Getting to my feet, I look around a little more, before seeing a silhouette through the mist before me. Walking towards it, I am met by a welcome sight.

“Hey Lex, there you are.” Sonbāsutā says with a grin, becoming fully visible through the mist. I just giggle a little and give him a quick hug before looking around again.

“So...any idea where we are?” I question the stallion, earning a shaking head in response. I just sigh and look around again before Sonbā’s ears perk up.

“Someone’s coming.” He says, pointing to the left. I look through the mist, and I can slowly make out the silhouette of a familiar entity. Walking towards them, I see as Tantabus becomes visible, the grown entity looking to Sonbā and I nervously.

”Why did you two do that? You didn’t need to risk yourselves just to help me pull of some insane spell.” She says, and I notice her voice sounds a little higher.

“You seriously think we were just going to let you risk yourself like that? Like Rainbow says, ‘you never leave a friend hanging’. And that goes for family too.” I say with a grin, laying my hand on the Tantabus shoulder, surprised it feels like skin and not mist.

“Besides, if this would work, we would end up getting another member for the guild, and everyone in the guild is considered family.” Sonbā continues, laying his own hand on her other shoulder. She just looks between us, and I swear if she could she would be tearing up right now. Instead, she just dryly sobs and hugs us both.

”Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.” she repeats several times, slowly getting smaller with each thanks. While I feel like I should be freaking out, I’m not. Like I know this isn’t a bad thing. I just smile and hold her close, Sonbā holding the both of us close to him as she continues to shrink before stopping, now only the size of an infant.

”C-can I get a new name? I don’t want to be the Tantabus anymore.” she says, her voice soft and tired, like she is about to fall asleep. I just look to Sonbāsutā, who places a hand on his chin in thought, before smiling.

“Blissful Night. I think that would be a good name for this little one.” He says with a smile, one I return as I look down at the little mass of stars and darkness nuzzling into my arms.

“Shifuku Yoru then. Blissful Night in Japanese.” I reply with a smirk, laying a small kiss on Yoru’s head. I could tell, she would be having the largest smile if she could. Before long I could hear her lightly snoring and turn to Sonbā, who just smiles and holds the two of us close. I close my eyes as I could feel my own fatigue clawing to the surface. With a yawn I lay my head on Sonbāsutā’s shoulder, the stallion just laying back to let me rest. It was as I was about to fall asleep again that I feel something odd.

I swear I could feel a couple of feathers wrapping around me.

Alexandria ‘Lex’ Justine: Faekage-13,789-Variety
Princess Luna: Rai-2,936-???
Sonbāsutā ‘Sonbā’: Rai-2,247-Crystal Maker Magic
Mi Amor Cadenza ‘Cadence’: Rai-1,529-Maguilty Sense
Shining Armor: Rai-1,119-The Knight Requip
Twilight Sparkle: Kage-601-Dark Ecriture
Spike Sparkle: Kage-562-Emerald Dragon Slayer Magic
Trixie Lulamoon: Jounin-505-Memory Make
Emerald Blizzard: Jounin-425-Archive
Legacy ‘Trace’ Tracer: Jounin-371-Reflector Magic
Zecora: Chunnin-202-Plant and Green Magic
Star Burst: Chunnin-154-Gunner Requip
Bladed Wind: Chunnin-151-Requip
Rainbow Dash: Chunnin-135-Storm Magic
Applejack: Chunni-134-Earth Magic
Floral ‘Flora’ Talons: Chunnin-132-Air Magic
Azure Skies: Chunnin-129-Dark Regulus
Gilda: Chunnin-120-Ice Make Magic
Zen Quartz: Chunnin-115-Palm Magic
Hot Spark: Chunnin-105-Rainbow Fire Magic
Swift Service: Genin-98-Paper Blizzard
Nate Quartz: Genin-95-Sandstorm
Pinkie Pie: Genin-93-Wave Magic
Raine Jewel: Genin-89-Solid Script Magic
Silk Song: Genin-73-Water Magic
Rarity Belle: Genin-72-Mirror and Colours Magic
Echo: Genin-50-Aera Magic
Scootaloo: Genin-28-High Speed and Freerun
Applebloom: Genin-25-Mimic Magic
Sweetie Belle: Genin-18-Snow Magic
Fluttershy: Genin-5-Animal Soul Takeover
Capper: ???-???-???
Cobalt Will: ???-???-???
Bertha Will: ???-???-???
Amaterasu Shiranui: ???-???-???
Arakunia: ???-???-???
Unmei Gaidancu: ???-???-???

It had been nearly two hours since Lex and Sonbāsutā had disappeared alongside the Tantabus, and none of the members could figure out just where they went. They all remember Lex flying above and jumping on the Tantabus, followed by Sonbā, only for one of the stars of the mass to glow brighter than ever and once everyone’s visions came back, the three beings were gone.

Not long after, both princesses arrived with a contingency of guards, all prepared for a fight, only to find the confused members wandering about, or in Twilight’s case, explaining the situation to the townsponies on greater detail.

“So, nopony knows where they went?” Luna questions her friends, all of them shaking their heads.

“All I know, is that Lex jumped on the Tantabus and added her own magical reserves to going towards whatever spell the Tantabus was doing.” Echo says, the feline feeling beyond worried despite her calm appearance and tone.

“Transmutation.” All eyes turn to Spike as the drake looks to the sky. “The Tantabus was attempting an advance transmutation, similar to the one we took part in when aiding Lex’s little sister Sorano. Only the Tantabus was attempting to create everything she needed with magic. That’s why she went through so many dreams earlier, she siphoned off a portion of each of our magic so she would have enough to preform the spell.”

“Um, in layman’s terms for those who don’t understand whatever this alchemy is?” Capper requests.

“Basically, the Tantabus was trying to make itself a physical body, trying to turn into a real filly.” Spike explains. The others all look to one another in surprise, before some of them look towards the trio of former slave. The three girls had been silent the last couple hours since their soon-to-be mother vanished.

“Are those three alright?” Bertha questions with worry.

“We couldn’t tell you. Those three probably have more to lose in this than any of us, since Lex gave them so much.” Fluttershy mutters in sadness and worry. Echo floats over to the three young girls, all of them just looking to the sky.

“Ammy? Kuna? Mei?” The trio look to the floating exceed, then to the rest of their guildmates.

“Sorry.” Ammy mutters quietly, leaning on her kirin sister.

“I suppose it goes without saying you three are worried.” Celestia says softly, walking to the trio. Ammy and Arakunia nod, but Mei just looks to the sky with a determined gaze.

‘I’m not.’ All eyes turn to the young kirin as she says that. ‘I know mama, maybe not as well as some of you as a person, but I know she’ll be back soon. She and Sonbāsutā both. They’re strong and smart. They’ll find a way back from wherever they are.’

The others are slightly taken aback by the child’s strong words, and her clear faith in the two beings. Her sisters look to one another and seem to come to the same conclusion, that Mei is right and they just need to have faith. The other members of the guild, while still holding a small amount of doubt, agree with the kirin.

“Wow, I guess Lex is already raising you girls proper. I never heard anyone your age say anything with such faith.” Star Burst says with an almost proud smile. The trio just giggle a little at the praise. The princesses smile to the three children, seeing their positive attitude in spite of the less than great circumstance.

Luna suddenly perks up and looks to her night sky, looking around almost frantically.

“Princess? What is it?” Azure questions. The lunar princess doesn’t respond, merely keeping her gaze on the sky before spotting what she was sensing. Pointing upwards, all eyes look to the sky and see as one of the stars suddenly turns from white to blue, then red and back before glowing brighter.

“What in tarnations?” Applejack questions. Luna suddenly tenses as the light gets brighter.

“Incoming!” The lunar princess yells, the others all realizing whatever the light it, it’s heading right for them. Everyone takes various cover as they watch the alternating blue and red light begin to decend to the ground. All eyes watch as two familiar symbols appear along with the alternating lights, one all the members bear and the other, a pair of red crystals that is all too familiar.

“Sonbā, Lex? Is that you two?” Echo questions as the light lands on the ground, slowly dimming. Once the light dims enough, everyone either is silent in confusion, or gasps in shock.

What they are able to see are a pair of shining silver wing with black tips wrapped around something. Slowly, the wings retract from their protective form, revealing a familiar silver coat and black mane, a horn once normal now curving with a black base and a red tip. In the stallions arms, a familiar human resting her head on his shoulder, a small smile on her face.

In an instant, Sonbāsutā’s eyes snap open, his Ruby iris seeming to glow as he looks down to the resting human. With a small chuckle, he sits down and adjusts his positioning, letting the human rest more comfortably, noting she was holding something protectively against her.

“S-Sonbāsutā?” The stallion looks away from the slumbering human and see all his guildmates and the princesses looking at him in shock and awe.

“Uh, what’s with those looks?” He questions. Rather than answer, everyone pointed behind him. Confused, he froze when he felt something shifting on his back. Almost mechanically, he slowly turned his head around, and goes wide eyed as he sees the two large wings half opened behind him.

“What?” He questions quietly. He doesn’t get to gawk at his new additions long before he feel a certain human shifting against him. Looking to Lex, she groans slightly before prying her eyes open, yawning quietly before coming to her senses. Looking up, she is met with a familiar pair of red eyes. They stay there for a second, staring, before Lex begins to giggle a little.

“Heh, looks like we switched from when we first met.” She says with a smile, Sonbā remembering when he woke up back in the empire after Sombra’s defeat.

“Heh, looks like it.” He replies softly, helping the human sit up, before she seems to notice she was holding something. Confused, she looked down as she felt something shifting slight against her, and gasps. Everyone gets worried and begin to get in close to see what Lex is holding, only for each of them to freeze in shock as they process what, or rather who, it is.

Nuzzling gently against Lex’s chest, looked to be another human, but everyone could tell it was the equivalent of a foal, a baby girl. Her skin was the same pale shade of white as Lex, her tiny arms holding onto Lex’s kimono in her sleep, her shoulder length hair a deep navy blue covering her right eye. But that was the only human parts about her. On the centre of her forehead, was a tiny stump of a horn like a unicorn, and unlike Lex’s ears on the sides of her head, she had a pair of silver pony ears on the top of her head. Slowly looking down the baby in her arms, Lex saw instead of feet, she had a pair of white hooves at the ends of her legs with silver fur from her shins down as well as a short navy blue tail attached to the end of the child’s spine.

Everyone was frozen in absolute shock, all of their minds slowly rebooting as they all process what it is their looking at. Ultimately, it was Echo who broke the silence.

“Is that a foal?” She questions numbly, Lex and Sonbā slowly nodding.

“Is that...Tantabus?” Luna questions with a little worry, Lex and Sonbā looking to one another before looking down to the sleeping child in the formers arms.

“Shifuku Yoru. That’s her name, not Tantabus.” Lex answers quietly, a smile slowly breaking across her face as well as tears appearing in her eyes. The others look to their leader in confusion, before noticing Sonbā in the same state.

“Wait a second. Is she...is she yours?” Twilight questions, looking between the stallion and the human. The duo look to one another again, before looking to their scarred hands.

“I...I guess she is. She used our DNA to create her own body.” Sonbāsutā answers, scooting closer and getting a better look at the baby, subconsciously putting an arm and wing around Lex. She didn’t mind it seemed, leaning into him as she just stares down at the adorable hybrid. They both hear a few hooves coming closer, and see as Amaterasu, Arakunia and Unmei look at the little baby in their mothers arms.

“Awwww, she so cuuuuuute!” Ammy gushes, sniffing the hybrid.

“I...I can’t believe it. Does this mean we have another sister now?” Kuna questions. Mei just looks at her fellow hybrid in shock, likely never having seen a foal, let alone a baby human. Lex notices the kirin staring and smiles warmly to her.

“Would you like to hold her Mei?” The kirin snaps her gaze to her adoptive mother, before slowly nodding. Lex smiles and beckons her closer, Mei shaking nervously. “Here, watch her head, and keep you arm along her back, that’s it.”

Walking her through the step, Mei eventually holds the little hybrid against her gently, smiling down to the human-pony. Her smile was infections it seemed, as every creature watching couldn’t help but smile as well, seeing the family before them.

“EEEEE! Now I have to get set up for a birthday, adoption and Alicorn ascension party!” Pinkie yells, causing everyone to shush her and motion to the squirming hybrid in Mei’s grip.

“Wait, Alicorn what now?” Lex questions, before registering the wing around her. Shifting her gaze, her jaw gets acquainted with the ground as she sees the two wings coming out of Sonbā’s back. “What the?”

“Uh, yeah I have no idea how this happened either.” Sonbāsutā says, gently taking Yoru into his arms. He awkwardly flaps his new wings while rolling his shoulders. “Gods this feels weird.”

“Well, I don’t know about the rest of you, but I believe it would be best to get you three to the doctors for a couple of tests. I can tell Tanta-er, Yoru, is basically a newborn, so she would need to go through a couple of examination to make sure she is healthy.” Celestia points out. That got all remnants of fatigue out of the young woman’s mind as she gently took the hybrid in her arms and held her like a protective mother would.

“Well? What are we waiting for then?” She says with a grin before surrounding herself, her daughters, Sonbā, Echo and the princesses in her magic and snapping her fingers, vanishing from sight and reappearing in the local hospital. The mare working early in the receptionist desk, Nurse Sweetheart, jumped as the group appeared before her. She looked between all the creatures before her, before sighing.

“I need another coffee.”

Later...

Waiting outside of the child’s ward with her daughters, Lex looked through the window to the hybrid sleeping next to some other foals. The doctors were very confused when Yoru was brought in, so they had to have Lex with them to explain some medical necessities for humans. Since Yoru appeared to be a perfect hybrid of a human and a unicorn, they needed to know of any differences in things like diet, emotional stimuli and a few other things.

While that was happening for Lex, Sonbā was getting his own examination, the nurses and doctors working on him were completely flummoxed about how he suddenly transformed into an Alicorn. All they knew was that this made him royalty, which was a mute point when he reminded them he used to rule the crystal empire as king.

“So...I’m not just adopted royalty now.” Sonbā mutters to himself, Echo sitting next to him.

“I guess so. So, what happens now?” The exceed question. The stallion just looks out the window of his room, spotting Lex leaning against the window of the child’s ward.

“I am not sure. What I do know, is that Lex is going to need some help raising the kids.” He responds. The feline nods and floats over to her friend, Sonbāsutā just lays back in his provided bed. Not an easy thing to do now that he has wings. He makes a mental note to ask Luna or Cadence about it later.

Lex just stood there, staring at their newest addition to her family alongside her soon-to-be adopted daughters, all of them still somewhat at a loss as to what to do next.

“So...what now?” Arakunia question, her sisters shrugging in response.

“For now, I want you three to stay here with Yoru and Sonbā. I have to get back to town hall to take care of some things. Mei, if there are any problems or Yoru wakes up, contact me and I’ll be over in a nanosecond.” Lex says, prying herself away from her view of the hybrid. The trio salute and take up position at the doors like adorable sentries. Lex giggles at the girls display of protection, before giving one last glance to the sleeping baby.

‘See you soon sweetheart.’

With that, Lex used Direct Line and vanished from the hospital, appearing in front of town hall. Heading in, she asks the receptionist for Mayor Mare and was soon sitting in her office with the mayor sitting directly across from her with what could be taken as a cross between a worried and proud smile.

“Perfect timing. I just organized all your paperwork, but I have to ask again, are you sure about this? You aren’t that much older than the Element bearers, and having children is a very big responsibility. Especially since none of them are the same species, and their history.” The mayor says. Lex just responds by snapping her fingers and summoning a pen, grabbing the small stack of papers.

“I’m sure.” Was her simple response. Mayor Mare nods and begins to go through the papers alongside Lex, helping her through some of the necessary parts and making a list of things she needs to buy not just for the trio, but for their new addition after Lex mentioned her. It took about two hours, and soon they were finished with all the paperwork, they just needed the girls signatures. With a proud smile Lex put down her pen, only to raise a brow as she hears the equivalent of static before Mei’s voice sounds out in her head.

‘Mama? Yoru is waking up and the doctors said they need you for some paperwork.’ The kirin informs, Lex nodding.

‘Be right there.’ Lex responds before turning to the mayor. “Sorry Mayor Mare, but I need to get back to the hospital. My baby is waking up finally and I need to fill out some forms.”

“Of course Lex, don’t let me hold you back from your family. I’ll stop by the guild later this evening so the girls can sign the papers.” The older mare responds with a smile. Lex goes around and give the mare a quick hug before teleporting away, appearing outside the hospital.

Walking in, she is greeted by her daughters and one of the doctors, Doctor Lifeline, who were waiting for her by the doors.

“Ah miss Justine, perfect timing. The foal you brought in has woken up and so far has been rather calm, but I think she would like to see her mother.” The doctor says with a smile, Lex shakily nodding her head. The group all go through the hospital before arriving at the child’s ward. Looking through the window, Lex looks towards the little hybrid, now awake, lightly squirming in her blanket. Yoru soon looks towards the window and Lex gasps.

Lex’s chocolate brown and pale yellow mismatched eyes look down to the little baby, Yoru’s own ruby red and sapphire blue mismatched eyes gazing back with innocence, before a spark of recognition appears in them. Yoru smiles and mumbles excitedly, reaching her tiny arms towards Lex. The others look to Lex, who has quietly begun to cry again.

“Mom? Are you ok?” Arakunia asks with worry. Lex just nods and takes a breath, wiping her eyes.

“Y-yeah, sorry sweetheart. It’s just, Yoru has the same eye colour as I did before I arrived here in Equestria.” Lex says with a smile, waving towards the little hybrid. Lex felt a hand on her shoulder, and turned to see Sonbāsutā standing next to her with a smile, Echo floating by him. She just smiles and leans on the Alicorn.

“So,” the group turn to the doctor. “I got the run down on what happened last night and how little Yoru came to be, so I need you and Prince Sonbāsutā to fill out a few forms. We preformed a DNA spell on the foal, and have confirmed that she has even parts of DNA from the two of you, so for all intents and purposes, you two are her biological parents.”

Sonbā and Lex spare a glance to one another before nodding to the doctor, the stallion turning to leave and motioning for them to follow. The two new parents take one more glance to their daughter, waving goodbye for now. Entering the main waiting area, the duo spent the next few minutes going through some paperwork together, trying to ignore the odd stares they were getting. They knew news about that morning had likely spread throughout the town by now, so they were mentally preparing themselves for things to be hectic as everyone adjusts to the new changes happening.

Once everything was signed, and the doctors got some extra information about human anatomy and necessities from Lex, the group was forced to wait for another couple of minutes as the doctors got Yoru ready. Lex was nervously tapping her finger on her arm, constantly glancing to the doors to the rest of the hospital, waiting for her youngest daughter. Before long Nurse Sweetheart came through the doors with the little hybrid in her arms, now clothed in a baby blue onesie, the child reaching for Lex upon seeing her.

With a gentleness Lex has rarely shown, she took the baby in her arms, rocking her slightly with a smile, the baby giggling in happiness at the attention. Lex was brought out of her maternal reverie from Sweetheart clearing her throat, holding out a bag.

“Here. These are a couple of foal clothes we had, as well as a manual about taking care of a foal. And, if I can make a suggestion?” Lex looks to the nurse with a raised brow as she hands the bag to Sonbā. The nurse motioned for Lex to get in close, and whispered to her. “If you can figure out how, I recommend breast feeding the baby as opposed to bottle feeding her. I’ve heard that foals that are breast fed grow up to have a stronger connection to their mother.”

Blushing, Lex slowly nodded in thanks for the suggestion, and she and her family finally left the hospital, the three girls all taking deep breaths of the fresh air, trying to get the sterilized air of the hospital out of their lungs.

“Oh my Celestia, it feels so good to be out of that hospital.” Ammy says with a giggle.

“Oh don’t be so dramatic you three. We were only in there for a few hours.” Echo points out.

“So, what do we do now?” Arakunia questions. Lex used her magic and summoned the list of shopping items she needed to get for Yoru.

“Well, I need to run back to the guild and get some bits so I can do some shopping, then I need to contract some workers to help redesign your girls room, as well as set a few more things up.” Lex mutters, looking over the list with a wince at seeing all the things she needs to do.

‘Oh, I don’t think you will need to do all that.’ Lex and Sonbā look to Mei as she said that.

“What do you mean Mei?” Sonbā questions.

“Oh yeah, while you were asleep and Lex was at town hall, Twilight and her friends came over and said that they were going to be helping get everything set up at the guild for Yoru. They said to tell you once Sonbāsutā and Yoru were out of the hospital.” Echo says with a grin. Lex just look towards the new Alicorn, who just shrugs.

“Okay then. Let’s go I guess.” Lex says, beginning to walk to the guild hall. The others soon catch up and the walk was spent in silence, except for the happy and curious sounds coming from the baby in Lex’s arms. After a few minutes they all saw the guild hall, but there appeared to be quite a few creatures there. Along with almost all the members of the guild, there were a few crystal guards, construction workers with supplies, and both royal sisters.

Walking up, almost all attention was drawn by the mismatched family of the guild. Lex could only blink as Pinkie suddenly appeared before her with a smile that would put the grinch and Joker to shame. She takes a breath, but her mouth is clamped shut by a red magic aura.

“Pinkie, please don’t yell when your so close to the baby.” Sonbāsutā lightly scolds, Pinkie noticing Yoru in Lex’s arm, the baby looking at the pink mare curiously. Pinkie nods her head with the sounds of bells, Sonbā releasing his hold.

“So, perfect timing. I didn’t get a chance to tell you but everyone in the guild decided to come together and help renovate the guild hall for the baby and your kids.” Pinkie says at a Fluttershy volume, making silly faces at Yoru and earning some giggles.

“You guys really didn’t need to do that you know. I am sure I have enough in my personal funds for shopping and renovations.” Lex says sheepishly.

“No way, no How partner.” The group turn as they see AJ and her siblings walking up. “As a member of this here guild, we’re family, which by extension makes ya’ll members of the Apple Family. Including that there cutie pie.”

“Eeyup.” Big Mac states.

“There’s no way we were gonna sit back and let ya’ll spend a bunch a money on things like toys and blankets when we could keep it in the family!” Applebloom cheers.

“Quite right darling.” Everyone turns to Rarity as she walks up with Sweetie, Silk and Raine. “I for one would never even consider missing the chance to make new clothes for such an adorable little girl.”

“I have read a few books about a foals developmental needs back in Manehatten, so I can babysit if you guys ever need me to.” Raine says with a smile.

“Besides, you really think that Yoru, Kuna, Ammy and Mei wouldn’t be getting any presents to celebrate their adoption/birth?” Spike says with a grin, walking up with Twilight and Trixie. The two unicorns nod with determined gazes, a small pile of presents neatly stacked behind them.

Lex just looks to her guildmates with slight shock, seeing all the encouraging and determined smiles on her friends, her family. Tears begin to prick the edges of her eyes as she leans on Sonbā for support.

“Thank you. Thanks you everyone.” She says in tears, her daughters all hugging their mother.

“Well, what are we waiting for!? Let’s get to work!” Rainbow and Capper yell, the crowd all cheering in agreement. The next few hours were a blur for the new family as the guild all worked together to make this the best day every for them.

First the room the three girls had been sleeping in was refurbished with a couple of bunk bed replacing the singular bed, while also having things like a toy chest, three desks, a bookshelf and a few other pieces of furniture added for the trio. It also had it’s colours changed by Rarity to reflect the girls preferences.

Second, Lex, along with Cadence, Emerald and Mrs. Cake went to the local kids store to buy some necessities for the baby, like diapers, teething toys, a baby carrier and stroller, and a proper baby bed. Rainbow had provided a Cloudsdale mobile while Applejack gave them a green baby blanket. Fluttershy even gave Yoru a couple of her old stuffed animals.

Third, Pinkie, Capper, Bertha, Swift and Echo were decorating the guild for possibly the best party Pinkie has ever thrown. Meanwhile, the CMC, Ammy, Mei and Arakunia were helping when they could, but were mostly keeping an eye on, and playing with Yoru, keeping her happy and distracted. The infant hybrid seemed to like Mei and Arakunia the most.

Before long the sun was being lowered by Celestia and the entire guild looked similar to when the it was first opened. Lex couldn’t help but smile as she sees the guild celebrating their newest addition to the Fairy Tail family. Lex hasn’t given Yoru a guild mark, choosing to wait until she was at least old enough to walk and talk before letting her become a member. Not that the infant could understand what it means right now.

The party Pinkie was going to throw was currently paused until Mayor Mare showed up with Lex’s adoption paperwork. Once the girls all signed the papers though, the cheering was akin to a thunderclap as the guild celebrated. Once that happened, the party really got started.

Lex was sitting at the bar with Echo on her shoulder, watching her three adopted daughters open a bunch of present from the guild, and glancing to Yoru, who was being looked after by her father and Rarity. The alabaster unicorn had taken Yoru’s measurements at some point, and was playfully going over which ones to make first for the hybrid.

Even with the excitement and happiness felt throughout the guild though, Lex still felt worried, nervous and unsure about her decisions. And for a while, she was thinking there was no one to turn to to ask for advice. But it was as she was walking to her room to take a breath, that she remembered, there is someone who she could talk to about things like this.

Walking to her dresser, she opened her Displaced drawer, seeing all the tokens she has collected, as well as some other trinkets she has gotten from her inter-dimensional friends and family. Shifting through her draw, she eventually found what she was looking for, the silver chain of the royal family of Edwards world. Taking it out of the drawer and placing it around her neck, Lex focused on the magical connection within it.

‘Hello? Auntie Luna are you there?’

’Oh, Lex! How are you my dear niece? It has been a while since I heard from you or your siblings.’ she hears Luna respond.

‘I’ve been....well things have been hectic the last little while. Do you think you can meet me in the Dark Library? I really need someone to talk to.’

’I do not mean to sound rude, but why do you need to speak to me? Surely there are those in your guild you can talk to.’

Lex took a deep breath as she had to break the news. ‘Because this is a conversation between mothers.’

The silence that followed could only be described as deafening as Lex listened for her aunts response, even drowning out the sounds of the party downstairs. Lex began to worry as the silence of the connection began to drag on.

‘Um, auntie Luna?’

’Dark Library. Now.’ was the stern response before Lex felt the connection being severed, causing her to flinch. With a sigh, she walked over to her desk and took out a small sheet of paper, writing a note stating she would be going to speak with her aunt for a while. Taping the note to her bedroom door, Lex went back to her Displaced drawer and took out a copy of the Dark Key Edward had given her. Using her Mirror magic, she created a mirror big enough for her to walk through, and placed the key in the centre, causing it to ripple and change to a dark purple. With a quick nod, Lex stepped through the portal.

Entering the Dark Library, Lex was greeted by a familiar sight of a large library of dark knowledge, a redone training ground, and a very excited Alicorn.

Wait...what was that last one?

Without a chance to really react, Lex was suddenly surrounded by a blue magic aura and lifted towards one of the couches nearby, being set down quickly with her aunt sitting across from her with a grin.

“Detail. Now.” She says with a stern tone, which was broken by her smile. Lex took a second to recompose herself as she adjusted to the sudden eagerness.

“Um, you’re going to have to be more specific auntie.” Lex replied, barely flinching as Dark Light appears next to Luna.

“I believe the mistress is referring to questions such as, how much time had passed since she has seen you last, when did you have the foal or foals, and who is the lucky stallion you mated with.” That last one caused Lex to blush and hide behind her hair like Fluttershy.

“Um, well for that last one, I haven’t mated with anyone. The girls...look its a long story.” Lex says with nervous exasperation. Luna merely nods and lights up her magic, summoning a tea set.

“Well, I have time to kill right now, so how about you start from the beginning.” Luna says calmly, taking a sip of her tea.

Nodding, Lex spent the next hour or so talking to her aunt, telling her about the poachers Spike found during the first exam, getting the quest from her worlds royals, the market where they saved the girls, all the way up to last nights event. All the while both Luna and Dark Light merely listened, even when Lex began to go on a tangent about who would get keyblades, and before long the lunar princess was caught up with Lex’s family, and noted all the mentions of a certain reformed tyrant.

“I must say, you have been rather busy. First, I cannot tell you how proud I am of not just you, but your guild for taking down those who do not understand or appreciate the sanctity of life and freedom. While I myself am still a small bit unsure of the changelings, I know you will be raising your daughter properly.” Luna said reassuringly.

“But that’s the thing auntie! I am barely into my twenties and I just adopted four kids! What is going on with me?! I’m not ready to be a mom!” Lex yell in slight panic. Luna looks to her panicking niece and seems to piece everything back together.

“I do not understand.” Dark Light interrupted. “From what you have told us, you by every action have show yourself to be a responsible woman, more capable of raising children. I do not see why you are doubting yourself.” Lex just glares at the orb of light.

“I am a human. Ammy is a Diamond Dog. Kuna is a changeling. Mei is a kirin. Yoru is a freaking hybrid! What if someone tried to use our abnormality to hurt us! I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if the girls were abused because we’re different. Because I am not a pony.” Lex begins to sniffle as the equivalent of horror stories involving each of the girls begin to pass through her head. Before she could really process it, Lex was hyperventilating and crying as her fears began to go wild.

Seeing what was happening to her niece, Luna did the only logical thing she could think of. Getting out of her seat, she walked to her niece....and proceeded to backhand her across the face.

“OW! What the hell Luna!” Lex yells indignantly, using her Ice magic to cool down her hand and place it on her stinging cheek.

“Sorry, but that seemed like the best way to snap you out of your panicked state. It always seems to work in recent fiction at least.” Luna responds with a smirk, taking a seat next to Lex and placing a wing over her. “Now Lex dear, I know what you are going through. I had many of the same doubts in myself when Edward and I adopted many of those Minotaur calf’s. But there are a few questions I can ask I think can help you.”

Lex wipes her eyes and looks up at her aunt, Luna having never seen her niece look so vulnerable before.

“Do you love your daughters?”

“Of course I do.” Was the immediate response. Luna nods.

“Would you put yourself in harms way to protect them?”

“I would take on a fucking Void Dweller if I had to.” Was the heated response. Another nod.

“Would you leave them if you somehow found a way back to earth?”

“No!” That response actually caught Lex off guard. Before everything happened, Lex had always kept a small part of herself, locked in the back of her mind, saying if she could find a way home, back to earth, she would take it. But now, that part of her has shrivelled up and gone silent, with a louder, stronger part of her taking its place, telling her to stay and to be with her new family.

Lex lowered her gaze to the ground as her last response left her mouth, her mind taking a few seconds to catch up with what she just said. Meanwhile Luna was just smiling before bringing her niece in for a hug.

“There is no doubt in my mind, my dear niece. You will and are a great mother. And I know your daughter will grow up into some of the greatest wizards in all of Equestria.” Luna says, laying a kiss on Lex’s head. Lex just nuzzles up to the Alicorn, her mind and heart trying to make peace with one another. After a few minutes Lex escaped her aunts grip and began to wipe her eyes.

“Thank for listening auntie. I know I probably looked kinda pathetic, but it was nice to get all this off my chest.” Lex says appreciably.

“Of course dear. Like I said, I know exactly what it is you’re going through, so if you ever need somepony to talk to, or even to vent at, don’t be afraid to call.” Luna says with a smile, Lex nodding.

“So, I should probably get back to the guild. I have a sneaking suspicion it won’t be long before Pinkie starts trying to get into the dark library to come and grab me.” Lex says with a laugh, not noticing a pink figure slowly backing out through the portal. Lex looks to her aunt and the librarian with a sheepish expression.

“Um, can you two not tell Ed or the others about this yet? I wanna be the one to tell them all I have kids, and only after everything’s calmed down a bit.” Lex requests, Luna and Dark Light nodding. Lex turns to the mirror, about to leave, before pausing, a blush on her face. “And...one other thing.” Luna and Dark turn to her and she turns back, her face bright red.

“You guys wouldn’t happen to know a spell that would let me breast feed Yoru would you?”

Hey just a quick poll thing, would you guys like a few chapters focusing on various members on jobs? I’ll be working on my other stories for a bit, so there is about a month for this poll.

Alexandria ‘Lex’ Justine: Faekage-13,789-Variety
Princess Luna: Rai-2,936-???
Sonbāsutā ‘Sonbā’: Rai-2,247-Crystal Maker Magic
Mi Amor Cadenza ‘Cadence’: Rai-1,529-Maguilty Sense
Shining Armor: Rai-1,119-The Knight Requip
Twilight Sparkle: Kage-601-Dark Ecriture
Spike Sparkle: Kage-562-Emerald Dragon Slayer Magic
Trixie Lulamoon: Jounin-505-Memory Make
Emerald Blizzard: Jounin-425-Archive
Legacy ‘Trace’ Tracer: Jounin-371-Reflector Magic
Zecora: Chunnin-202-Plant and Green Magic
Star Burst: Chunnin-154-Gunner Requip
Bladed Wind: Chunnin-151-Requip
Rainbow Dash: Chunnin-135-Storm Magic
Applejack: Chunni-134-Earth Magic
Floral ‘Flora’ Talons: Chunnin-132-Air Magic
Azure Skies: Chunnin-129-Dark Regulus
Gilda: Chunnin-120-Ice Make Magic
Zen Quartz: Chunnin-115-Palm Magic
Hot Spark: Chunnin-105-Rainbow Fire Magic
Swift Service: Genin-98-Paper Blizzard
Nate Quartz: Genin-95-Sandstorm
Pinkie Pie: Genin-93-Wave Magic
Raine Jewel: Genin-89-Solid Script Magic
Silk Song: Genin-73-Water Magic
Rarity Belle: Genin-72-Mirror and Colours Magic
Echo: Genin-50-Aera Magic
Scootaloo: Genin-28-High Speed and Freerun
Applebloom: Genin-25-Mimic Magic
Sweetie Belle: Genin-18-Snow Magic
Fluttershy: Genin-5-Animal Soul Takeover
Capper: ???-???-???
Cobalt Will: ???-???-???
Bertha Will: ???-???-???
Amaterasu Shiranui: ???-???-???
Arakunia: ???-???-???
Unmei Gaidancu: ???-???-???

I release a slow yawn as I watch the landscape go by the train. We have been on the train for a couple hours already, and we should be arriving at our destination within a couple of minutes.

It was only a week after all that crap with the Tantabus and Lex officially becoming a mom. Of course all of us in the guild could sense how nervous she was about it, but I reminded her that she had the entire guild to lean on. ‘It takes a village’, they say, and Lex has one hell of a village to work with.

Anyways, after the whole fiasco with her kids and Sonbā turning into an Alicorn, things went back to how they were in the guild, with the exception of Lex spending more time with her kids and Sonbā, in particular learning from Mrs.Cake and Creamy Heart, Button’s mom, about taking care of a baby. So far, they said she is a natural, especially after she learned a spell to let her feed her kid.

Though it was more than a little awkward for everyone but the baby at first.

Anyways, I decided to try and take on a higher ranking job than I usually do so I could get some more money for the guild. With how things went with the Tantabus, I don’t doubt that we’re going to be getting more members before long. So after searching the board and finding nothing I think would work, Emerald actually gave me a job that was literally asking for someone like me.

It was an A class quest. Apparently a new town on the edge of the Dragon Boarder call Gem Junction has been getting harassed by a group of dragons, said dragons demanding ‘tribute’ of the towns gem mining operations so they don’t burn down the town. My job; chase off the dragons and make sure they don’t come back.

I knew that it would be a fools errand to take this job alone, even with my recent growth spurt. I mean, I am still getting used to the fact that, while I am technically twelve, thirteen in a month, my body is that of a twenty year old drake now. So I talked with some of my guild mates, and three others decided to come with me.

First was obviously Twilight. Once she found out I was going on a ‘combat job’ she decided to come with because she was worried about me. She also wanted the chance to visit a newly established town, as well as the chance to meet more dragons. Though I thought she got enough of an up close and personal meeting with dragons during the migration.

Second was Azure Skies. She pointed out that having a member of the royal guard would help calm the populace a bit, and her magic would work well against a dragons fire breath since she can just absorb it, and I know from personal experience her flame do burn dragons. That was not a fun time.

Last was Rarity. It took some convincing, but Lex eventually relented and allows Rarity to come with us. She wanted to see the gem mines and see if she could help out and maybe see about opening a new boutique. I also noticed she has been stealing quite a few glances at me lately, so I figure she wanted to hang out but was unsure on how.

So, the four of us got our gear and took a couple trains to get to the town. Since it is a new village there isn’t any tracks that lead to the actual town, so our stop is at a coaling station a couple miles out. We didn’t know how long this job was going to take, so we packed a couple days worth of clothes and provisions. Though it took a while before we managed to get Rarity to only pack three bags.

Looking out the window again, I see the coaling station, so I get the girls attention and we get ready to leave. Once the train stopped and we departed, Twilight took out a map and the quest sheet and we headed out. The town was at the base of one of the nearby mountains, so we needed to be a little careful just incase there is a rock slide.

“Oh I am so excited! I didn’t even know that ponies were establishing new settlements this far out.” Twilight squeals excitedly. I just roll my eyes at her excitement.

“Twi you can geek out about new towns after our job is done. We need to think of a plan for taking care of the dragons aside from me using my magic as intended.” I reply, taking the lead as we overcome a hill and see the town at the bottom.

“Well, I don’t know about you two, but I am sure we can handle a couple of ruffians. Especially with you around Spikey-Wikey.” Rarity says with a flutter of her eyes. Before all of this, that would have made me as dumb as Snips and Snails, but for some reason it wasn’t have the effect it used to. Instead I just gave the mare a deadpan stare and sighed.

“Rarity please, can you not call me that in public. Honestly, I am not a child.” I tell her, heading down the hill alongside Azure, leaving the two unicorns to recover from my blunt turn down.

“Hmm, that was odd. Spike never used to turn you down. Maybe he’s actually growing up.” Twilight mutters, pulling the still recovering Rarity along with her before they caught up. Rarity was silent, trying to understand what just happened.

After a couple of minutes we reached the outskirts of the town, and it didn’t look that great. There was a couple of broken carts in the street, scorch marks on the gravel, claw marks on some of the buildings. It looked like those dragons showed up earlier. Making our way into the town proper, we don’t see anypony, but we do hear some clangs of metal on stone nearby. Making our way to it, we see some kind of staircase tunnel leading down into the earth. I guess this was an entrance to their mines.

“Looks like one of the entrances. And from the sounds of things there is at least somepony down there.” Azure says, the dull clanging of the mine echoing to us. I frown and look around the area more, seeing a few empty carts for the gems and some tools, but no ponies.

“Something’s defiantly up. Where is everypony?” I question. The four of us look around a little more, before arriving at what looks like the town hall. It looked a little like that sheriff building in Appleloosa, but instead of a silver star, it had an amethyst and ruby on the top. I check the quest sheet and see that the job was commissioned by the mayor of the town, so this would be the best place to look for him.

Knocking on the front door, the four of us wait patiently, noting the eyes slowly peaking through the blinds in many of the houses. Before long we hear several locks being undone on the other side of the door, before it slowly begins to creak open, a single golden eye with a slit pupil looking through it.

“H-hello?” The voice question quietly. I look to the others who shrug to me and I clear my throat, earning the ponies attention and see as their eye widens in fear.

“Hello there. We’re looking for the mayor of the town. We’re the wizards from Fairy Tail responding to his request.”

That sentence seemed to do the trick as the eye widens again before closing the door. We hear even more locks being undone before the door swings open, the pony behind it slowly walking out. To our mild surprise, it was a thestral, the mare having bright gold eyes with a dark green coat and brown mane and tail. She was wearing a white dress shirt under a blue blazer and tan jeans and a pair of red glasses.

“You’re from Fairy Tail! Perfect! Come in come.” She says with a fanged smile, letting the four of us in. The building looked more like the town hall in Ponyville from the inside, there was even a stage and podium. The mare lead us through the building, before arriving at the door to the mayors office, the plaque reading ‘Obsidian Deal’. The mare knocked on the door twice.

“Mayor Obsidian? The wizards from Fairy Tail are here.” She says, the door being opened by the mayor a second later.

“Perfect timing. Come in all of you. Thank you for leading them here Shade.” The mare nods before leaving us to walk in. Sitting behind a desk made of polished granite, a crystal stallion was looking the four of us over with a critical eye. He was rather large, almost as big as Sonbā, but he was clearly strong. He had dark purple fur, like his first name, and a ruby red mane and tail and purple eyes. I guess some crystal ponies decided to leave the empire over the last several months.

He flinched as he looks to me, taking a second to look me over a little more carefully than the girls.

“So, you are from Fairy Tail then?” In response the four of us just show him our guild marks. He nods with a smile. “Well then, I thank you for coming so quickly. My name as you could probably guess is Obsidian Deal. Now, I won’t beat around the bush, we need help. Those dragons I mentioned in the request, their getting aggressive. Many of my town are stubborn as the gems we mine, so they would not give up their gems without a fight. I am not foolish enough to believe a bunch of earth ponies and thestrals can take on a group of dragons alone, so I was hoping you could help.”

“Do you know how many there are?” Twilight questions.

“Last time they were here, there was a group of eight. Six drakes and two dragonesses. Their leader was very arrogant and cocky, and from what I can tell the only reason the place hasn’t been attacked yet is because of one of the dragonesses keeping him on a leash as it were. I believe they are either related or romantically involved.”

“Doubt the last bit. Dragons aren’t really about emotions and affection.” I add, the others looking me with raised brows. I just shrug.

“Well either way, they said they would be back before long and if we didn’t have the gems ready for them, they would burn down the town and take the gems we were supposedly hoarding ourselves.” I just shake my head at these drakes idiocy before smirking.

“Well you have nothing to worry about sir!” I remark with a salute. “We never got introduction out of the way. Spike Sparkle, Emerald Dragon Slayer, at your service. These are Sergeant Azure Skies of the Night Guard, Twilight Sparkle, Element of magic, and Rarity Bell, Element of Generosity.” With that, the mayors eyes shot open wide enough to match Pinkie.

“I’m sorry, did you just say you’re a Dragon Slayer?” I nod. “But you’re a dragon yourself.”

“It’s the name of the magic I use, Emerald Dragon Slayer Magic. Developed it myself actually, and I haven’t had a chance to try in on any actual dragons yet.” I reply with a grin. The girls just roll their eyes.

The mayor doesn’t get to respond before the door burst open and a teenage thestral colt flies in.

“Uncle Obsidian! They’re back!”

There was a beat and then with the sounds of magic, all of us were outside the building, watching as several ponies came out of their houses with tool and headed to the edge of town. Without warning, I grabbed Twilight from behind and took off into the sky, Azure carrying Rarity behind us.

“So, what’s the plan Twi?” I question as we fly over the town.

“Right now? Keep the residents from causing a battle to break out before we show up. And, as Lyra says, we’ll play it by the ear.” I look to her with a raised brow.

“Since when do you like to improvise?”

We didn’t have time for her to reply as I see where the ponies are gathering and begin to dive, flexing my wings once we were close enough to the ground. Note to self, thank Gilda and Rainbow for those flying lessons when we get back to the guild. Touching down on the ground, I get more than a few nervous and even angry glares, before they noticed the guild mark on my shoulder. Gotta be thankful I am wearing my vest. Azure and Rarity land a second later.

The four of us look over the edge of town, not seeing anyone before turning to the crowd.

“Alright, who saw the dragons on their way here?” I question, one of the stallions raising his hand. I motion him forward. He was a brown earth pony with a darker brown mane and tail, wearing a pair of dirty overalls and a t-shirt, and a mining helmet.

“Me, I saw some figures flying over the mountain where I knew the dragons were set up, so I thought it would be best we get armed for when they arrive.” We nod before Azure walk up.

“While I find your initiative admirable, please, take cover and leave this to us.” She says.

“Well who the hell are you guys anyways?” A stallion yells from within the crowd. Azure straightens up and everyone can tell her military stance.

“Sergeant Azure Skies, member of both the Royal Night Guard as well as a member of the Fairy Tail wizards guild. Your mayor contacted the guild about the dragons, so we’re here to help.” She responds, the ponies all looking to us with wide eyes.

“Wait, Fairy Tail? You mean that magic guild?!” The thestral colt from before yells with an awed smile. We just grin and show off our emblems again, everyone suddenly excited.

All of us perk up as we hear some wind blowing by and look to the hill nearby, seeing several figures rapidly fly over it and head towards us. Some of the crowd began to get scared and back up, but my team and I stood our ground, Twilight even placing a hand on her rapier. Before long the group stopped before us. Looks like the mayor was a little off though, since I counted nine dragons, not eight. For some reason some of them looked familiar, but I couldn’t place them.

“Well? Where’s our gems ponies?” One of the dragons, a heavyset brown one with blue swirls on his horns asks annoyed. In response I step up and glare at my draconic brethren.

“Sorry to tell you guys, but these ponies are not handing you a single shard. So I suggest turning around and leaving them alone.” I all but order, the drakes looking confused at my appearance.

“Oh yeah?! And who the hell are you to-” one of the dragons said, before pausing and stepping forward. It took a sec, but then I remembered who he was.

“Garble?” I look to the red dragon in surprise. He hasn’t changed at all since the migration, how didn’t I recognize him till now?

“Well well well, if it isn’t our old friend Sparkle-Warkle.” He says mockingly, five of the dragons laughing, while the other three look to me in confusion. I just growl, the dragons actually stopping as they hear me.

“The names Spike. You dipshit.”

That caused everyone to be quiet, while Garble was suddenly chocking on air. He glared to me and stepped up to try and intimidate me, but that is kinda hard to do when you’ve faced down a Deathstalker plus we were the same height now.

“What was that?!” He yells, his snout almost touching mine. I raise my hand, and push him back hard, almost causing him to trip.

“I said, my name is Spike, you dipshit. Or did you go deaf as well as stupid since the last time I have seen you?” I question with a grin, trying to get him angry. As he was silently steaming, thinking hard for a comeback, I quickly looked over his crew, some of the dragons coming back to me.

The heavyset one was named Chunk if I remember. He was wearing a pair of blue overalls and a red t-shirt, obviously made of fireproof material from the Dragon Lands. He was mostly a dumb follower of Garble, but he did show me how to differentiate certain gems from one another.

The one next to him with purple scales and blond spines and hair was Pyro, he was wearing a simple pair of blue jeans and a red t-shirt. He was the second in command for Garble’s gang last I saw him.

The pale pink one with rose spines was Fizzle. He was wearing a pair of tan cargo pants and a black t-shirt. Fizzle was actually pretty nice to me during the migration, even teaching me how to lava surf, and he didn’t take part in that damned raid for the Phoenix eggs. I wonder how Peewee is doing?

The light blue one with grey scales was Frost. I didn’t really talk to her so I don’t know much about her. She was wearing a blue tank top and denim jacket and black jeans.

The grey scaled and green spined one was Smog. I think he had some kind of birth defect so he can’t breath fire, but billows smoke. He just had a pair of black shorts on.

Those were the dragons I knew, but there was a trio that were there that I didn’t recognize. Guess they were new recruits for Garble or something.

First was the drake, he had dark green scales and cream coloured spines, with a grey underbelly, wearing a blue muscle shirt and grey cargo pants. He seemed like an annoyed sorta guy, shaking his head at Garble while said dragon was getting insulted by me. Next to him was a dragoness with black scales and grey spines, her body being covered by rather a nice looking blue blouse and ripped black jeans. She was shaking her head as well, before noticing me looking at her and raising a brow. I just shrug to her and look to the last one, a yellow and brown dragoness with gold spines. She was wearing the same thing as Fizzle.

“Hey are you even listening to me?!” I turn back to Garble with a bored expression as I realized he has been ranting as I have been looking over his crew.

“Say what? Sorry Garble, but once to actually say something worthwhile, be sure to find me.”

“Ooo, burn!” I hear the yellow dragoness say with a laugh.

“Shut up Amber!” He yells, marching over to the now scared looking dragoness. Now that I look at her, I noticed she wasn’t all that taller than I was before my growth spurt, so she couldn’t be all that older than me. Without really registering what I was doing, I rushed past Garble and stood before Amber.

“Back off Garble.” I snarl. That seemed to catch the group off guard.

“Say what? Why are you protecting her Spar-Spike? She’s with us!” Garble yells.

“Is she? Or is she just following you because your a ‘big bad dragon’?” I question mockingly, Garble growling in anger. I turn my attention to the dragoness, who is looking between Garble and I curiously. “Well, are you?” I question her.

In response she just blushed and fiddled with her claws. I roll my eyes and glare back to Garble, the drake still angry.

“Oh yeah, well what are you going to do about....THIS!”

Garble, and a couple other dragons turn and take a breath, before releasing a torrent of flame towards the townsfolk. The ponies all scream in fear for their own safety, before getting confused as Azure runs in front of the fire and take a breath herself.

“Pitch Black Roar!” Everyone freezes as Azure releases her own breath of fire, the black flames slowly overtaking the dragons fire before they both go out.

“What the hell?” The dragons question as Azure wipes her mouth and ignites her fists. Garble feels a tapping on his shoulder and turns to see a very now pissed off me.

“You just fucked up.” I state simply before cocking my arm back and punching Garble hard in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him and sending him flying into Frost.

“W-what are you?” Garble gasps. I just smirk and ignite my hands.

“I’m a dragon slayer.” I respond before taking my own breath. “Emerald Dragon Roar!”

Frost and Garble gulp right before they are caught in my spell, sending them both flying into a couple of trees. The other dragons either looking to me in awe, fear, or anger.

“Hey! No one does that to the boss!” Pyro yells, charging me and the girls along with Chunk and a slightly nervous looking Smog. The other four were just hanging back and watching. I roll my eyes and we separate, Twilight taking on Smog, Azure taking on Pyro and I had Chunk. Rarity was staying back to protect the civilians.

The grey and green dragon charged to the purple unicorn, thinking a simple pony wouldn’t stand a chance against him. Even if he couldn’t breath fire, he more than made up for it in his scales toughness.

“Get rocked pony!” He yells, swiping at Twilight, who suddenly turns into magical writing and disappears, before appearing a little ways behind him.

“Seriously? Get rocked? That’s all you could come up with?” She questions before gripping her rapier.

“Dark Ecriture Pain!” Four digital letters appear before her before four beams of magic are launched to the unprepared dragon. They strike home, causing Smog to feel like his is being stabbed in the spots they hit.

“Aaaahh! Damnit!” He rushes forward, trying to ignore the pain and slashes at Twilight, the mare blocking with her sword. While not nearly as athletic as her friends, Twilight has been taking some time out of her schedules to learn how to fight, and it shows. She actually was able to hold strong against the clearly more athletic dragon.

“Dark Ecriture Burn!” The word appears along the sword, causing Smog to yelp back as it feels like his claws are being burned. He frantically waves his claws to get the feeling to die down, growling at Twilight all the while. Twi just keeps her eyes on him, taking note of his movements and planning on how to defeat him.

“Grrr, you stupid mare!” He roars, charging again. Twilight just rolls her eyes and continues to dodge him, slashing when she finds an opening before getting annoyed.

“Alright, this is getting dumb.” She mutters, jumping back a few feet. “Dark Ecriture Fear!”

The word appears on the drakes chest, and his breathing suddenly becomes heavier, his eyes widening and pupils shrinking as he looks to Twilight. In his eyes the nerdy mare with a sword was becoming twisted, mangled into an abomination of indescribable proportions. She smiled as the spell takes effect, Smog seeing a twisted, fangfilled grin in his eyes.

“W-w-w-w-what the hell?!?” He screams before Twilight teleports behind him.

“Dark Ecriture Overload.”

The letters appear on the drakes back, before all but exploding with a burst of purple magic, the dragon releasing a very high pitched yell as he blacks out as the spell overloads his senses. He could feel it all, and at the forefront of it, was pure, unadulterated, PAIN.

Twilight couldn’t help but smirk to herself as the grey and green dragon slumped down, unconscious, licking her lips without realizing it. Then she shook her head, trying to rid herself of the, admittedly creepy, sadistic thoughts.

‘Note to self, talk to Lex about dark magic increasing the stimuli responsible for pleasure. And see if Trixie wants to go for coffee tomorrow.’

The thestral mare easily danced around the clumsy and untrained dragon, Pyro roaring in annoyance as he keeps missing the swipes of his claws and swings of his tail. The cheering crowd behind them certainly didn’t help his annoyance.

“Hold still damnit!” He yells indignantly.

Azure rolls her eyes and actually complies, the drake smirking as he tries to swipe at her with his claws again. He didn’t even get close to her head before Azures fist slashed out, covering in the same blueish-black flames, slamming and knocking the claw away before pulling back.

“Pitch Black Punishment!”

Pyro’s eyes nearly popped out of their sockets as Azure vanished for a second before appearing less than a foot away from him, her flame covered fist being driven into his stomach, burning him and knocking the wind out of him as the black flames sent him flying back.

He was send sprawling onto his back, the purple drake whining as he feels his stomach and scales are burned. That shouldn’t be possible, dragon scales were supposed to be fire-proof! He bathed in lava damnit!

“You alive?” Pyro hears the mare. He growls and manages to roll onto his stomach, eventually getting to a knee. He looks to the thestral with anger, annoyance and pain, black spots dancing in his eyes.

“Damn...ponies...suck.” He mutters before passing out. Azure tilts her head, looking to her flame covered fist before shrugging. The ponies that watched were a little disappointed by the end.

‘That was easy. I guess Dark Regulus is even stronger against dragons than I thought.’

Spike lazily dodged and swerved around the larger build dragon, staying on the tips of his toes and smirking as every punch and strike he threw hit their marks on the heavier drake. Spike wasn’t even bothering to use his magic, the brown dragon proving to be a joke compared to the sparing matches he’s had with his guildmates.

Chunk meanwhile, while cautious, was all but fuming in frustration as they smaller built Spike continues to make a fool out of him. He wasn’t even using whatever he used against Garble!

Spike eventually released a yawn as he stopped in his tracks and caught the opposing drakes clubbed tail mid-swing, barely moving an inch from the blow.

“Alright, I guess that was a long enough break.” Spike mutters before smirking and pulling. Chunk yelped as he was suddenly lifted off his feet and swung around by the tail, Spike smirking all the while.

“I’m going to hurl!” Chunk manages to yell, barely holding himself back from launching his lunch as he was rapidly spun around in a circle. Spike eventually stopped by spotting Garble and Frost and letting go of Chunk, the drake flying right into his boss and friend. The trio were left in a scaly heap of pain, Garble unfortunately being stuck on the bottom. Spike wiped his claws against each other, feeling very satisfied at beating a bunch of dragons.

The ponies that had gathered to watch were all left slack jawed at the aftermath of the fight between the dragons and a couple of wizards. The remaining dragons weren’t that much better, Amber and the other dragoness just staring at Spike in shock, awe, and possibly a small, atomically small, amount of arousal.

Fizzle shook his head and walked up to the younger drake.

“Jeez Spike. Since when did you get this awesome?” The pale pink dragon question, looking over his ‘friends’ with pity as Azure and Twilight tossed their opponents onto the pile of dragons. That question momentarily threw Spike off before he recomposes himself.

“About two or three months ago. Hey, learning Dragon Slayer Magic can apparently cause one to go through a growth spurt. Who knew?” Spike replies with a shrug. Fizzle and the other three dragons tilt their heads curiously at the younger dragon.

“So, are you going to try and fight us too?” Rarity questions, creating a small mirror behind her back just in case.

“Hmmm....nah. Honestly the only reason the three of us are here is because that red idiot is my cousin and he said he could get us a bunch of gems for snacks.” The black and grey dragoness states. “I’m Laruma by the way. And the dolt next to me is Beat.”

“Shut up Larlar.” ‘Beat’ growls in annoyance, earning a smack in the head by the now named Laruma. The wizards look at them with raised brows.

“Are those two together?” Azure questions.

“No, but those two have been ‘rivals’ since they were hatched, so they always fight with one another over the smallest things.” Amber sighs, watching at the duo begin to wrestle with one another.

“Oookkkayyy. So....Fizzle!” The pink drake jumps at Spike’s call. “How have things been in the Dragon Lands?”

“Eh, boring and annoying. After the migration Garble has been even more irritable that before. Honestly I was planning on bolting after this last failed raid. Frost and I nearly got eaten by an older dragon for trying to steal from his hoard when he was supposed to be bathing.” The wizards wince in pity for what the drake went through, Twilight in particular remembering when she and her friends had to get a dragon to move from its cave.

“Yeah, that sucks. So, what now?” Azure questions.

“Well I don’t know about the others, but I am not looking to fight with someone with the title ‘Dragon Slayer’. So I’m good.” Fizzle states, staying in the air with his wings.

“Yeah, I am with Fizz.” Amber mutters, deadpanning at the still wrestling Beat and Laruma.

Spike goes to comment, before a low growling earns all their attentions, even those of the distracted dragon duo. They watch as the pile of dragons before them shifts as the unconscious dragons are pushed away. Eventually Garble becomes visible, but he is not really paying attention to them, and continues to growl, slowly getting louder.

“Uh, boss?” Fizzle questions with worry, stepping behind Spike.

“Garble....Want.” He growls out, before they hear a loud crack, and see Garbles wings grow a bit.

“Garble...WANT!” He repeats, his arms and legs gaining muscles and his spines getting sharper. Spike’s eyes widen as he realizes what’s happening.

“Oh crap. Greed Growth!” Spike shouts in alarm as the red drake continues to grow. The ponies that gathered all begin to panic as Garble already has grown to be eleven feet tall, nearly twice as big as Spike.

“Everypony take cover!” Azure commands, the ponies not wasting any time and heading into town to hide. Meanwhile the conscious dragons drag their unconscious ‘friends’ out of the way and to the nearby wooded area. Eventually Garble stopped growing, but that didn’t really calm anyone down as he was now three stories tall, and actually looked a lot like the dragon Twilight encountered. Maybe it was his dad or something?

His roar especially didn’t help, the large dragon having lost all reason and only had one target; take what was his.

“And now I am starting to regret coming along.” Rarity deadpans, staring up at the large dragon.

“Well this is what we signed up for, so get over it Rarity.” Spike states, lighting his hands with his sparkling green fire. Without warning Spike launched himself up to Garble’s face and pulled his arm back.

“Emerald Dragon Shattering Fist!”

The attack does make Garble stumble for a moment, before the enraged dragon roars and unleashed a breath of fire on the tiny-to-him drake. Spike didn’t flinch, his scales protecting him easily against the flames. Though his shirt was destroyed.

“Damnit that was one of my favourite shirts! Emerald Dragon Shining Blaze!”

Back on the ground the ponies and dragons were watching in awe as the young drake took on the mountainous dragon, stunned by the newfound bravery Spike is showing.

“Ok, wow. Since when was Spike such a badass?” Fizzle questions the mares.

“Probably around the time he got his wings.” Twilight mutters, unsheathing her sword. “But he won’t be able to beat Garble on his own. Dark Ecriture Pain! Wings!”

Just as the four beams of magic fly up and hit Garble’s arm, the drake feeling like he is getting pinched, four purple and blue wings appear on Twilight’s back and she launches herself up to her draconic brother. Azure follows close behind, leaving Rarity with the dragons.

“Hey, is he single?” Laruma questions Rarity, the white mare sputtering at the blunt question before yelping and running back as Garble nearly steps on them.

“What kind of question is that?! He is twelve for Celestia’s sake!” Rarity admonished, running to take cover with the dragoness.

“So? I’m fifteen, but because I went through a greed spurt I am physically and mentally in my twenties, and Spike seems to be around the same.” Laruma points out, flying and hiding on the top of the building they were next to. “Besides, it doesn’t seem like you have many complaints about him!”

Rarity blushes before shaking her head and watching the fight, seeing Spike, Twilight and Azure flying around the larger dragon while attacking with their magic when they can.

“Pitch Black Hammer!”

“Emerald Dragon Shattering Fist!”

The two smashing attacks hit Garble in the face, the drake growling in mild pain as he stumbles back a few steps. Twilight flies around him to his back, aiming her spell at his wings.

“Dark Ecriture Destruction!”

The wide arcing beams of magic wrap around Garbles wings before bursting, Garble roaring in pain as he feels the nerves of his wings being destroyed, the webbed appendages going numb and laying on his back. He turns and tries to swipe at Twilight, but the mare effortlessly flew around him and out of range.

’Another mental note; thank Lex for the Dark Ecriture flying lessons.’

“Damnit, this is taking longer than I thought.” Spike says through gasps, trying to regain his breath from all the magic he was using as well as flying around. He hovered still for a moment, trying to get his breath back, but Garble noticed and smirked, before raising his clawed fist above him.

“Spike move!” Azure yells too late as Garble throws his fist at Spike, the purple drake not being able to dodge and being send flying into the mountain, just above the entrance to the mine.

“Spike!” Rarity, Amber and Fizzle rush to the fallen wizards side, Twilight and Azure giving their all to keep Garble from destroying the town. The trio arrive at the crater, Spike’s feet and claw sticking out of the wall he was embedded in.

“Owwww.” Spike grumbles, Amber and Fizzle flying up to him.

“Well....at least your alive.” Amber mutters lamely, Spike managing to give her an annoyed glare as Fizzle and Rarity dig him out of the wall. Once he was out, the lost balance and fell face first into the earth below.

“Why?” Spike mutters, his snout stuck in a hole before he pushed himself up. The trio rush down to him, seeing the bruises slowly forming on his skin, and the cracks in some of his scales.

“Oh that’s not good. I think you might need to rest for a second Spike.” Fizzle advises. Spike just growls and gets back to his feet, flapping his wings in an attempt to get the dirt off and then airborne again.

“No time. I may be low on magic, but that doesn’t mean I am going to stop until this town is safe. That’s my job right now.” Spike declares, trying to get all the loose dirt off his wings, going to a knee with a groan as he feels over his chest, feeling one of his ribs are cracked.

Rarity shakes her head in worry, looking around for something that could help out, before something popped into her mind, something Lex had informed all the members about not long after everyone gained their magic abilities.

“Wait a minute. Dragon slayers can replenish their magic and slightly heal themselves when they eat their elements.” Rarity mutters, Fizzle and Amber overhearing her. Her expression lights up along with her horn as she uses the same spell that earned her her Cutie Mark. Slowly, a magic aura sweeps over the area, several spots remaining lit up as the wave of magic passes over them.

“Quick, we need to grab as many emeralds as we can and give them to Spike!” Rarity tells the other two dragons, looking around to some of the spot and moving the dirt and rocks with her magic. Amber and Fizzle look to one another and shrug before following the mares direction, digging up several gems from the spots she highlighted.

Spike was trying to figure out how to beat Garble, watching as the other two mares were struggling to keep the large dragon out of the town, when he caught a scent. A very familiar, earthly scent that made his mouth water slightly. Turning to the others, he sees as Fizzle, Amber and Rarity bring over several armfuls of different coloured gems. But the thing about them, was each one was a type of emerald, each of varying sizes and shapes.

“What?” Spike states, the trio laying the gems on the ground next to him.

“Well, I recommend eating up Spike. Hopefully this will give you enough energy to take down Garble.” Rarity says, panting slightly from the use of so much magic so quickly. Spike looks to her her and the dragons with surprise before nodding with determination and grabbing a handful of the gems before stuffing it into his mouth, the gems shattering in his mouth like hard candy. After a minute Spike consumed the pile, and took a breath, the trio looking to him with a little worry as nothing happens.

Spike then looked up, and they saw his smirk.

https://m.

Spike suddenly roared, the sound reverberating through everyone nearby. Rarity, Fizzle and Amber watched in awe as Spike’s scales seemed to realign and fix themselves before becoming harder and shiny not unlike the gems he just gorged himself on. Magic was bursting around him, an emerald light causing enough of a commotion to earn the attention of every pony and dragon in the town.

Spike stopped roaring and smirked to himself, raising his slightly larger wings, and with a mighty beat, was send flying through the air like a purple and emerald missile. Twilight and Azure barely had time to think about what that was before Spike appeared before Garble with his fist pulled back, the limb shining like a gem with emerald fire and electricity wrapping around his arm.

“Emerald Dragon Shattering Bolt Fist!”

The sound of thunder ripped through the air as Spike slammed his arm into Garbles chest, and to everyone’s shock, sending the large dragon off his feet and into the air for a few second before he fell on the forested area nearby. Everyone’s jaws got acquainted with the ground as Spike quickly flew over the recovering dragon.

Garble growled loudly and got to his feet as Spike appeared above him, with his leg raised high, the same emerald bolts and flames wrapping around his leg like a serpent.

“Emerald Dragon Carving Talon!”

Garble roared in pain as Spike’s attack ripped through his scales like wet paper, the slashing leg attack leaving a large (to Spike) gash on Garbles shoulder. The red drake tried to grab Spike, but the smaller drake was flying faster than he had ever before, almost coming close to Lex’s speed.

“SSPPIIIKKKKEEE!” Garble roared in frustration, and tried to torch Spike with his fire breath, the smaller drake easily flying around the torrents of fire. Spike the gains a serious expression and begins to quickly fly in a circle around Garble. The larger drake began to gain a feeling of dread as Spike flew faster and faster, becoming nothing by a green and purple blur around him.

‘No way, I won’t let it happen! I refuse to be beaten by some pony loving loser!’ Garble thought angrily, but it was too late as Spike roared.

“Dragon Slayer Secret Art! Gemstone Tempest!”

With that, a veritable cyclone of multicoloured gems surrounded the large dragon, each shard as hard as diamond and as sharp as razors, whirling around and slashing the drake. Garble roared in pain once again as he felt his skin and scales being slashed to bits, his own greed taking a back seat to self preservation as he curled up on himself, trying to fight through the pain. He didn’t notice as he began to shrink before he lost his footing and was send spiralling into the centre of the cyclone. Eventually the pain became too much as Garble blacked out, about three seconds before Spike lost control of his spell, the cyclone and shards disappearing and leaving only several hundred gems and two dragons.

(End music)

Everyone’s eyes were the size of dinner plates as they looked at the aftermath of the fight, seeing uprooted and destroyed trees, several holes where gems were ripped out of the ground to be used by the spell, some scales and blood from the formerly giant Garble and of course, the exhausted and panting Spike hovering about two dozen feet in the air.

Spike was tired, trying to get his breath back. He had never used such a powerful spell before, it was just a fluke he thought of in the middle of the fight. He knew he would be getting an earful later from Twilight and maybe Lex. That wasn’t important right now though. What was though, was the fact he was so tired his wings were beginning to beat out of sync and he was losing altitude quickly. He could barely process it.

“Spike!” His friends called in worry as they see him beginning to fall. Azure and Twilight were about to fly up, but were beaten to it as they see Laruma fly up and catch the falling drake.

Spike felt as a pair of arms and claw wrapped around his chest, and managed to look behind him to see Laruma slowly lowering them to the ground. For a moment, their eyes locked, and Laruma gave an impressed smirk and wink. Spike just chuckles weakly.

The wizards and dragons all rushed over to where the duo were landing, Spike managing to stay upright for a second before tipping over. Luckily Fizzle ran up and threw the younger drakes arm over his shoulder.

“Alright. It’s official. You are the most badass dragon I have ever seen.” Beat states in a monotone, matter-of-fact tone as Fizzle helps Spike over to sit on a stump. Behind him, Amber and Azure nods, while Laruma smirks and flicks out her tongue. Rarity glares at the dragoness, while Twilight checks over Spike’s injuries.

“So, what do we do about them?” Azure questions, pointing to the five unconscious drakes. The ponies look to one another in contemplation, while several members of the community come by.

“You don’t have to worry about them.” Everyone turns to Beat. “We’ll bring them back to the Dragon Lands for you guys. We’ll also spread word that this place is off limits to dragons, just so this kind of thing doesn’t happen again.”

“Can you really manage that?” Mayor Obsidian questions sternly. Beat nods.

“My father was a member of the old Draconic Guard before it was disbanded half a century ago. Even though it was so long ago, his word still carries weight.”

Slowly, Obsidian nods as he looks over the remaining dragons grabbing their ‘friends’ and beginning their trek to the dragon lands. He then turns to the four wizards, who are smiling to their draconian member.

“Now then. I think it would be best we talk about your payment. And the amount I’ll be taking out of it for damages.” Obsidian says sternly, shocking the quartet. They then take a better look around.

They see all the broken trees, all the holes in the area, one destroyed bar, a couple of broken houses, a few damaged storefronts, and of course, all the still burning fires around the area. The four of them turn to one another, and sigh. Spike eventually says what they were all thinking.

“Well, it looks like Lex is going to be killing us when we get back.”

I sigh to myself as I lean against the wall of the coaling station, wincing as I reflexively spread my wings. All things considered, we got off easy.

We lost nearly half our reward money to pay for the damages done to the town as well as my medical expenses. While I was recovering Rarity, Azure and Twilight were all but forced to help out around the town with repairs and stuff. And then we got some complaints for Lex about Rarity whining and trying to change the miners outfits to look more pretty, so that happened.

It took a full twenty four hours before I was good to leave, and even then my left arm was in a sling with several bandages around my chest as they found I broke three of my ribs, as well as cracked one of my bones in my right wing and suffered from a minor concussion. But hey, I survived, and I have a new story to tell the kids back at the guild.

Anyways, the four of us were waiting at the coaling station, our train home was scheduled to arrive in about fifteen minutes, so we had time to relax before the train ride back. Though, I am not sure how much relaxing we would be getting as we hear a voice calling out to us.

“HEEEYYYY!!” The four of us look around, before looking up slightly, seeing Laruma, Amber and Fizzle flying over.

“Fizzle? With Amber and Laruma too? What are you three doing here? Shouldn’t you be back in the dragon lands by now?” I question, walking over to the dragons with the girls. The trio of dragons land and brush themselves off slightly before I notice that Amber and Fizzle have large backpacks on and Laruma has some kind of suitcase.

“Well we made it most of the way before Chunk and the others woke up again, so Beat said he could handle taking them the rest of the way on his own. And....well this is going to sound really awkward....but would it be possible for the three of us to join your guys guild?” Laruma says, surprising the four of us.

“I mean, it really isn’t up to us, but I don’t think it would be a problem.” Twilight mutters.

“Yeah, and besides, it would be cool to have a few more none-ponies as members of the guild. It shows how diverse and accepting the guild it to have a bunch of other races as members.” Azure adds, nodding to herself. Rarity was oddly silent, and I noticed her stare, almost glaring, at Laruma and Amber. Mostly at the former though. I just raised my brow before shaking my head, almost getting a headache from the action.

“Like they said, while it isn’t in our control, I don’t think Faekage Lex would mind having a few more dragons join the guild. But you have to be aware that the guild isn’t like some fillies school club or, magic forbid, a cult. We’re all a team, we’re all family and that means we look out for each other. You guys won’t last long in the guild if you only look out for yourselves.” I warn. The three dragons stay silent for a second before Amber walks up with a determined glint in her eyes.

“I’m in. I wanna see what Equestria is like, and I also wanna see what being a wizard is like. Who knows, maybe I’ll surpass you Spike.” She was trying so hard to sound tough, it was adorable! I just laugh and pat the shorter dragoness head causing her to pout.

“Maybe, but you’ll need your own magic first. Who knows, you three may end up creating your own magic before long.” I say with a grin, the trio nodding in determination. We get interrupted by the whistle of a train as the steam engine pulls up to the station.

The four of members look to the dragons behind us, and we all motion forwards, the seven of us heading into the train. I smile as we all get situated in the cabin. Guess this is how Lex felt when she found the employees all those months ago. I am not going to lie, it was a good feeling.

The feeling of an accomplished leader.

So this is the first of three side stories focusing on some members while on missions. They have just been floating around in my head lately, and I figure they could be a good read. Please note all these are canon to the main story as the characters will grow and there will be some new recruits by the end.

Also apologies for the severe lack of updates. Real life has been kicking my ass lately, what with writers block, fixing up my car with my dad, covering shifts at work, taking care of my grandma after she broke her leg, and renovating my grandpas second house so he can move in.....yeah life sucks.

Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed.

Alexandria ‘Lex’ Justine: Faekage-13,789-Variety
Princess Luna: Rai-2,936-???
Sonbāsutā ‘Sonbā’: Rai-2,247-Crystal Maker Magic
Mi Amor Cadenza ‘Cadence’: Rai-1,529-Maguilty Sense
Shining Armor: Rai-1,119-The Knight Requip
Twilight Sparkle: Kage-601-Dark Ecriture
Spike Sparkle: Kage-562-Emerald Dragon Slayer Magic
Trixie Lulamoon: Jounin-505-Memory Make
Emerald Blizzard: Jounin-425-Archive
Legacy ‘Trace’ Tracer: Jounin-371-Reflector Magic
Zecora: Chunnin-202-Plant and Green Magic
Star Burst: Chunnin-154-Gunner Requip
Bladed Wind: Chunnin-151-Requip
Rainbow Dash: Chunnin-135-Storm Magic
Applejack: Chunni-134-Earth Magic
Floral ‘Flora’ Talons: Chunnin-132-Air Magic
Azure Skies: Chunnin-129-Dark Regulus
Gilda: Chunnin-120-Ice Make Magic
Zen Quartz: Chunnin-115-Palm Magic
Hot Spark: Chunnin-105-Rainbow Fire Magic
Swift Service: Genin-98-Paper Blizzard
Nate Quartz: Genin-95-Sandstorm
Pinkie Pie: Genin-93-Wave Magic
Raine Jewel: Genin-89-Solid Script Magic
Silk Song: Genin-73-Water Magic
Rarity Belle: Genin-72-Mirror and Colours Magic
Echo: Genin-50-Aera Magic
Scootaloo: Genin-28-High Speed and Freerun
Applebloom: Genin-25-Mimic Magic
Sweetie Belle: Genin-18-Snow Magic
Fluttershy: Genin-5-Animal Soul Takeover
Capper: ???-???-???
Cobalt Will: ???-???-???
Bertha Will: ???-???-???
Amaterasu Shiranui: ???-???-???
Arakunia: ???-???-???
Unmei Gaidancu: ???-???-???
Amber: ???-???-???
Laruma: ???-???-???
Fizzle: ???-???-???

“Are we there yet?” Flora asked for the seventh time. I just sigh and shook my head after a quick glance out the window, seeing we were still a ways away from our destination. I returned to my copy of Obsidian Weaponry that I borrowed from the guilds library as the train continued on its way.

This was going to be my first job since I began to learn some dark magic from Lex since she found the time to be away from her kids. It took quite a while before I was comfortable to begin to truly learn the spells, but it has been worth it so far from what I have learned.

I glanced past my book to see my partners for this quest. Zen and Flora were talking to one another about what we were going to see when we arrived at Dustmane Ridge, while Nate was trying to catch some rest before we arrive, smart move.

The quest was a simple, but potentially dangerous one. Supposedly a cult of some kind had taken up residence in an abandoned temple to Nightmare Moon on the edge of the forest near town, and some townsfolk were worried about what they were planning, while others thought it was just some colts playing around.

The worry only multiplied when two abyssians, a mother and her kitten, arrived in town stating the cult was responsible for the kidnapping of her husband. The town wanted to charge and destroy the cult for their supposed taken sacrifice to Nightmare, but the mayor knew simple farmers and fishers wouldn’t stand a change against a cult of likely crazy ponies.

I took out the quest sheet from my bag and looked it over again. The quest was as followed; infiltrate the temple and assess just how dangerous the cult was, and if it were possible, take them down ourselves. We also had a call gem for the nearby guards outpost should the situation prove to much for us. We are to use it after the cult is dealt with so they could be arrested, or should we need backup.

I took this job myself to see if maybe I could get a lead on my own past. All I remember was what the doctors told me back in Manehatten. If this cult was a branch of the Eclipsed Ones, then they may know who I was. If not, then oh well, we still get payed.

The others decided to tag along because they were worried about me. Even before we joined the guild officially, Flora and Zen were really nice after we met, and while I haven’t talked to him a whole lot, I considered Nate a friend. That just became more apparent after the guild opened, since we were all co-workers as well as guild members.

Now I may want to learn my past, but as I reassured them, I really couldn’t care that much about who I was before we all met Lex. Now I was a diehard Fairy Tail wizard, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I just want to know if I did anything bad so I know what I have to make up for. And this seemed like as good a place as any to begin hunting for clues.

I guess I was really lost in my reminiscing and my book as I felt a talon lightly tapping on my shoulder. I glanced up at Flora, who just pointed out the window. I looked out the window and felt my blood freeze somewhat.

The town, there was smoke rising into the sky.

We were only two minutes out, but from we could see, it wasn’t good. As soon as we rushed out of the train with our luggage and took a moment to look around.

The station itself looked at least mildly untouched, but that wasn’t the case for he surrounding area. Walking through the town, we saw that several houses were nearly burned down, there were feathers around the area, clearly from the local pegasi and griffins, as well as spots of blood here and there. It didn’t look like the place was ransacked per say, but it was definitely attacked.

“What happened here?” I hear Nate mutter, earning a shrug from his brother. I was just silent as I looked around the area, before pausing as I spot something. Walking over, it looks like a simple metal pole, but the end was what both caught my attention, and made me realize what it was.

It was a branding iron, the ones used to brand things like boats and crate. Or if you wanted to be crazy, ponies and other creatures. The brand itself looked vaguely familiar. But I couldn’t put my finger on it.

“Trace?” I look back to the others, seeing Zen point to the east, where I could very vaguely hear voices. I nod to the them, and the four of us rush over, seeing its the town hall, and it was not a good sight.

There were ponies, griffons and a couple Minotaurs all around the area, the latter creatures moving some lumber and supplies around while the ponies were sorting things out and the griffons flying about with things like water buckets. The four of us looked around for a moment, taking in all the creatures, before spotting who we needed to see.

The mayor of the little settlement, a rust orange coated earth pony with a short vanilla blond mane, named Gilded Wood was talking to our allies for the mission, two members of the local guard, fraternal twins named Solar Sin and Lunar Saint, a unicorn and Bat pony respectively. They were townsponies from birth and they came back to check on their old home once they heard about the cult. They looked like inverted ponies, the former having an eggshell white coat and lilac purple mane and the latter having a pale midnight purple coat and a Snow White mane.

Lastly, near them was the abyssian duo that tipped off the town. The mother was clearly the one who ‘wore the pants’ in her relationship. The feline was ripped! She was easily taller than all of us, her faded brown fur and a lighter brown and grey tipped hair was slightly unkept from the attack, her shirt being discarded, leaving her in a sports bra that showed off her abs. She didn’t really seem to mind, her vibrant green eyes kept on her daughter.

Said ‘kitten’ was actually in her teens by the looks of things. She had slightly darker brown fur and hair, and I caught a glimpse of a pair of amber eyes as she rushed around as fast as Pinkie, bringing supplies around the area. I had to admit, she looked kinda cute, especially as she tripped and doused herself in water, before bouncing up and running again a second later.

I shook my head and we walked over, earning the attention of some nearby residence, the griffons and stallions looking at us with more hostility than normal. Before long we made it to the centre, the mayor and guards looking at us wearily.

“The hell are you?” Sin bluntly asked, earning an elbow in the ribs from his sister, but she nodded with him anyways. I took a quick glance around and noticed all the hostile looks, as well as a few of them brandishing things like planks, harpoons and a couple other makeshift weapons. Of course Zen ended up taking point for this.

“Sorry we’re late, you would not believe how long the train took to get here.” I saw that didn’t help at all and nudged to canine, raising a brow. He nods and clears his throat. “Right then. Mayor Gilded Wood. We’re the wizards from the Fairy Tail guild responding to your request for aid.” The four of us show off our emblems. Immediately the creatures relaxed and put away their ‘weapons’.

“FAIRY TAIL!?!?” I blinked, and suddenly the kitten was right infront of my face, causing me to jump back and Flora to take to the air.

“Maddie, don’t be rude.” Her mother scolds, walking over to us as well and pulling back her daughter. Crap she is tall. “Sorry about my daughter, she can be rather excitable. Plus she is a big fan of your guild once we heard about it several months back. Oh, my name is Aspen Marigold by the way.”

“Ahem, well then. How about we get down to business. My name is Trace. These are my guildmates, Flora, Zen and Nate. Like Zen said, we’re hear to help.” I look around with a wince. “But I guess we’re a little late. Sorry.”

“Don’t apologize. Those damned cultists showed up before dawn and just caught us off guard.” Gilded Wood states, turning his nose up at the memory. I just frown as that didn’t seem necessary. After a moment he composes himself and motions for us to follow, my team, the guard and oddly the abyssians doing so.

After a minute we arrived at what looked like a meeting room, with a large round desk with several chairs around it, several maps and other items strewn about on the table. All of us took our seats and the mayor cleared his throat.

“Well, now that everyone is here, we can begin to review of what we know, and plan accordingly.” He states professionally. We all nod and Solar Sin stands.

“As it stands, we had very limit information about the cult that has taken residents nearby, but this morning attack has shed at least a little light on the situation.” He took out several old scrolls. “The cult in question is the ‘Order of the Celestial Light’ as they call themselves, but they are better known by a name given to them by Celestia herself. The Cult Solar.”

That immediately got my attention. I had read about this cult before in my search for my past. They were a madly fanatical group that believed that Princess Celestia was the sole and only true ruler of Equestria, believing she is a goddess in all senses of the word. They worshiped her in everything yet refused to listen to her when she tried to discredit several of their ramblings over a thousand years ago.

They were considered one of the biggest and most prevalent reasons for Luna’s decent into Nightmare Moon, as they sought to give their ‘great and all powerful saviour’ an adversary. And what better pick than the princess of the night herself.

Once Luna was sealed away, Celestia began an underground crusade to destroy the Cult Solar, confiscating their ancient texts and artifacts, publicly discrediting and even demonizing them for their hand in turning Luna into Nightmare Moon. Unfortunately she could only do so much, and supposedly pockets of the cult were still sprinkled around the continent in the smallest of settlements, even to this day. But....

“The Cult Solar? I thought they were eradicated centuries ago? Are you sure that’s who took my papa?” The kitten asks, earning a sad nod from the unicorn.

“Unfortunately yes. Their attack this morning proved it, as more than a few of the cultist bore the symbol of the Cult Solar. But what I want to know is why attack? Why foalnap mister Marigold? They seemed to do it for shits and giggles from what I can tell.” Saint questions. The mother abyssian shakes her head.

“Unfortunately, they didn’t attack without gaining something.” We turned our attention to the large feline. “When they were retreating after the attack, I noticed there was somepony with them, but not going willingly. A foal. I couldn’t get a good look at them because it was so dark, but I think they were a pegasus. They were silent, but I could clearly see them being picked up and hauled off like a sack of potato’s by one of the ponies.”

Immediately, Sin and Saint stood in anger.

“THEY FOALNAPPED DAWN?!” The duo yell in unison, earning confusion from all of us.

“Who’s Dawn?” Flora question. The duo flinch and look to one another in worry.

“Hey, if you know who that is, tell us. That way we know not to attack them when we go after them.” Nate bluntly states. Sin and Saint sigh and sit down, the former beginning to speak.

“His name is Dawn Lightwing. He’s a pegasus colt that wandered into town a couple days ago. He’s about twelve or thirteen, I am not sure, with a black coat, silver mane and turquoise eyes with slit pupils. He looked half starved when I found him, despite being in great shape for somepony his age. But when I tried to get close to him, he disappeared.” His sister spoke up.

“Over the next couple days we would see him popping up and around the town, sometimes grabbing things like apples and the like that he could eat, before disappearing again. It took a long while, but we managed to coax him out of hiding with some food and ‘talked’. But that is being generous. All he told us was his name and when I asked why he was running all he said way ‘ponies don’t like my eyes’, before vanishing again.”

My team and I looked to one another in confusion. Why would someone be freaked out by a colt? If anything he sounded like a lonely kid, not some kind of bloodthirsty monster or demon or whatever. Then something I read popped into my mind.

“Wait. Did you said he had slit pupils? Like a snake?” I question earning a nod from the duo. I frown as I realized something. “The Eyes of Nightmare.” Everyone turns to me in question. “It’s something from the Cult Solars old texts. Supposedly those with the Eyes of Nightmare are supposed to be demons or evil spirits in the servitude of Nightmare Moon possessing the bodies of stillborn foals. To the majority of others, they would grow and act like a normal pony, but when ‘their duty was called for’ their eyes would turn reptilian and they would carry out Nightmare’s wicked word.”

“Uh, how do you know this Trace?” Flora questions.

“I read it in the library when I was studying.” My friends immediately knew what I meant by that, while the others were confused and a little worried.

“And, is their any credibility to these claims?” Aspen questions with a hint of anger.

“Nope!” I state, popping the ‘P’. “All of it was fanatical superstition from a bunch of mad cultists with little to no real info. I mean, in the same passage I read, it stated that one should kill any who were even slightly suspected to have the Eyes, without any real info to back it up.”

“Despicable!” Gilded states, slamming his hand on the table. Then he froze up. “But, if that was the case, then why did they foalnap young Dawn and not kill him?”

That immediately put us all on high alert. That was a good question, why foalnap, as opposed to kill? I frown and take a breath.

“I am not sure, but what I do know is we need to get him and Miss Marigolds husband out of their clutch’s before something happens to them.” I look over the papers, seeing an old map for the castle.

“That map shouldn't be relayed heavily on. It was made and persevered from when the temple was first constructed centuries ago. And who know what potential modification those damned monsters have done, as well as structural damage and the like.” Sin states, but I still look it over with a critical eye, memorizing the layout.

“So, how do we do this?” Aspen questions, earning our attention.

“Hold on ‘we’? Miss Aspen, I don’t think you should-” Zen was cut off by the feline slamming her hand on the table, nearly cracking it.

“My husband is in that temple, and I’ll be damned before I leave him behind.” She states seriously, shaking all of us except her daughter, who was pouting and nodding. Gods that was cute.

“Ahem, but, what about your daughter?” Flora manages to question.

“She’ll be safe here in town. We have known Aspen for several years, so they town is more than willing to look over little Madness.” Gilded states, confusing us for a moment.

“Madness?” Nate questions.

“Yup!” We jump as the feline is suddenly behind us with a wide grin. “Maddie ‘Madness’ Marigold at your service! Hey, I wanna know, how do you become a member of Fairy Tail?!”

We all look to one another for a moment before glancing the teenagers mother, who is shaking her head in amusement. “Like I said, big fan of your guild.”

It took a bit, but we recovered and began to get a plan together. We didn’t know how long we had before things went to hell, so we decided it would be best to start as soon as possible. We put together everything the town knew, all that I read about the cult in my own time, and all our abilities and made a plan, now we just needed to make it work.

Walking up to the temple gate, Trace and Sin were careful in their approach. The duo were outfitted into a couple of robes from two of the cultist that were killed during the morning attack. Since they saw a majority of the cultist using magic, it was assumed most of them were unicorns, which made Trace and Sin the go-to for getting in first.

“Are you sure this is going to work?” Sin question as they near the temple.

“Not one bit. But if we’re lucky these guys are either dumb, or racist and believe unicorns are the best.” Trace responds, before stopping, Sin stopping with him. After a moment, the large gates before the temple slowly opened, a small crowd of similarly robbed ponies flooding out. As expected, all of them were unicorns, not a single pegasus or earth pony to be seen.

Slowly, another pony exited the building, this one being a brick red unicorn with a grey buzz cut mane wearing a more heavily detailed robe. He looked over Trace and Sin with a critical eye, making the duo inwardly uncomfortable.

“Follow my lead.” Trace states quietly, walking forwards a few steps before going to a knee in a bow, Sin following a moment later. The supposed leader grinned and nodded seeing the duo were new members of their brotherhood.

“Hello my brothers. I was wondering when we would be getting new members. I was beginning to worry we would need to spread out to open the eyes of others.” The stallion states with an eerie smile.

“Hello brother. It is nice to meet you. I was fearful that there were none who had their eyes opened to the truth about that false Alicorn.” Trace states with a relieved smile, while internally screaming that he had to diss Luna like that. “Once we heard of your movement this far out, my soul was filled with relief that we could find a home.”

“Well you are just in time brother. We had captured several of the Dark witches servants, and were about to purify them. Come, come. You should aid! You will love this.” The clearly deranged stallion states in an excited tone, motion for the duo to follow. Trace and Sin do so, giving the briefest of glances around the area.

While the duo had the cults attention, Flora and Saint were high in the air, far above the cloud layer and out of sight from the unicorns below. The hen took out her communication card and focused her magic while the batpony stayed on lookout.

‘Alright, Sin and Trace are in. How are you three doing down there?’ She questions.

Meanwhile, a dozen feet below the ground, a duo of diamond dogs and an abyssian were slowly making their way underground, Nate using his magic to crush up the ground and stone into sand to make a tunnel and storing said sand into a large container on his back. While his magic can just make sand, using pre-existing sand uses less magic.

‘We’re about thirty feet out from the castles lower levels. Make sure your coltfriend keeps posted on their position.’ Zen responds with a smirk.

‘He’s not my coltfriend!’ Zen can feel Flora’s blush from his position as she telepathically yelled that.

“Are you sure this is the best method of attack? We won’t know where we will be entering the castle.” Aspen states, more than a little worried and mildly uncomfortable in the tunnel.

“We’ll be fine. Trace may be a little absentminded at times, but he won’t let us down. Plus he is more than powerful enough to handle himself should the situation call for it.” Nate states, before stopping, his magic stopping as well as all the sand retreats into his container. “Four feet.”

Zen and Aspen nod and go near the end of their tunnel and wait. Now, they just had to wait for the signal from Sin and Trace before they attack.

Inside of the temple, Trace and Sin were being lead through the confusing corridors, down several levels, into the bowels of the castle. While they were silently going through the castle, Sin was mentally taking note of all the members in the castle, so far tracking at least two dozen. All unicorns, only about five mares, the rest were stallions.

Trace was mentally tracking where they were walking, having memorized the old map beforehand, and so far saw they were going in two circles before going down, thus far following the castles pre-set hallways, but once they reached the lower level, his saw some makeshift hallways and tunnels leading in different directions.

“Excuse me brother? How long have all of you been here for? These tunnel’s don’t look very old.” Trace questions in a very curious tone.

“Well my young brother, our people have actually been taking refuge in this old temple for several years. However, you are correct in that the tunnels are a newer addition. You see, the leader before my leader was looking are the forest nearby in search of some wild berries, when he stumbled across an opening in the ground. He followed it, and found a large cavern beneath the temple. He believed that it could be used as a base and escape route should those heathen fools that follow the Nightmare try and attack us for our righteous cause.”

Outwardly Trace nod in understanding, while telling his friends what he was just told. Flora and Saint quickly fly around the area, and after a minute find the opening. Getting close, Flora begins to cover herself and her ally in a bubble of air. The air ripples around them before fading somewhat. To Saint, it looked like nothing happened, but to the outside viewer, they would see nothing but air. The spell caused the composition of air around them to shift, effectively making an invisibility sphere.

‘We found the entrance and are hidden. Anypony that runs out will be dealt with by Saint, and I’ll provide support from here.’ Flora informs, earning confirmation from her friends. She then finds a branch on a nearby tree, and perches, just waiting for the signal.

Trace and Sin make it near the entrance to the cavern, but pass by what looks like some prison cells. As they are walking by, Sin looks through each cell, searching for the foalnapped Pegasus and Abyssian. While he couldn’t find those two, he was able to spot someone in one of the cells.

A dragoness. She had dulled black scales with gold spines and horns curled forwards. She looked to be unconscious, with her arms shackled to the wall behind her. He couldn’t get all that great a look as he kept up with Trace and their ‘guide’.

Trace meanwhile, perks up as he can faintly hear something that turned his blood to ice.

Screams.

Screams of pain.

“Brother? Who is screaming?” Trace calmly asks his guide, internally wondering how far a unicorn’s neck can twist before death.

“Oh, that would be one of our captured heathens. The fool. Only those born with of the superior race should have that much magic.” The stallion see’s Trace’s confused expression. “A while ago, some of our brothers captured a male Abyssian, one that has far more magic energy in his body than should be allowed. Only unicorns or our glorious goddess should have that much power. We’ve been showing him his place and using a rare spell to take back all that magic that he stole.”

Trace and Sin nodded, the former having to mentally stop himself from using his magic to twist his guides clothes into a makeshift noose while the latter’s hand was shaking an inch from his hidden daggers under the cloak. They both took quiet deep breaths and Trace put on a curious expression.

“Brother? When we were wandering through the town earlier, we had heard you had captured some pegasus colt. I must ask, is he...one of the Nightmares?” Trace questions in a practiced fearful tone. Their guide nods and puts a reassuring hand on Traces shoulder.

“Indeed they are brother. But do not be fearful. After we are done with that heretic feline, that demon is next.”

Sin almost lost it when he heard that, and was only stopped when they entered what looked like a makeshift, bootlegged version of the main hall in Canterlot Castle. There were banners of Celestia and the cult and a few other decorations, but other than that, it was kinda barren.

At least, aside from the dozen and a half unicorns, four of which were using their magic to levitate a certain Abyssian onto some kind of alter next to a glowing brown orb.

The feline looked half dead already, his brown fur and hair that should have been the same shade as Maddie, was a paling brown like desert dirt with off white ends. He was significantly smaller than they expected, maybe half a foot taller than his daughter, with a now frail frame that looked like all his muscle mass had been drained out of him.

Trace took a moment to look around, using a spell he learned from Lex to connect his sight to the telepathy cards his friends had with them. His eyes seemed to gain a gold circle around his pupils, only visible if you looked closely. He smirked as he saw Nate and Zen’s positions. They were actually next to the room they were in, a few feet above the floor in the eastern wall.

“Hmph. Only one more use of the spell and we should have all the magic stored into that crystal.” Their guide states with a sadistic smile before he turned to two of the cultists. “Bring the Nightmare and the dragoness. They’re next.”

Sin was about to move, before he felt Trace’s hand on his shoulder. The blue maned unicorn subtly shook his head and and motioned to the wall where the others were hiding.

“Wait till Dawn and the dragoness gets here.” He whispered. Sin begrudgingly nods and the duo take up position on the opposite end of the hall from where Zen, Nate and Aspen are and wait. They didn’t need to do so for long before a group of unicorns walked in, dragging the unconscious dragon as well as the colt in question.

Like described earlier, the colt looked to be in his double digits, barely, with a pitch black coat and silver mane and tail. His fur and mane were ruffled, messy and clearly not taken care of, but Trace was able to see a pair of very well taken care of and strong wings on the colts back. Actually, as Trace tracked Dawn, he could see that the young pony was very well built for his age, despite clearly not having eaten in a while.

Once the duo were thrown to the foot of the alter, the dragoness yelping his pain as she landed on her wing, the unicorns before and light their horns.

“Now brothers, sister, we shall take back that which was stolen from us. The magic coursing through these miserable creatures are not theirs to begin with, and thus, shall now be returned to us. And soon, we will gain enough magic to aid our glorious goddess and destroy that false Alicorn, once and for all!”

Sin looks to Trace with a glare, and nods as Trace takes out his card.

‘Now!’

Zen nods and gathers his magic into his palms, before getting a short running start and slamming his palm on the wall separating the trio from the room. The wall suddenly explodes outwards, shocking and disorienting the unicorns. Taking this opportunity, Trace and Sin remove their robes, and rush forwards.

“What!?”

The cultists all turned to the charging unicorns, ignoring the hole in the wall and left themselves open as Zen, Nate and Aspen jumped out, Aspen and Zen going on the offensive with melee while Nate rushed over to the downed pegasus and dragon.

“No, who are you?!” The leader demands lighting his horn and blasting it towards Trace. The unicorn kept running forwards, the cultist thinking he was insane, before being silenced as his beam of magic suddenly twisted around him and stuck a cultist behind him.

“Who are we? We’re the wizards that are going to smash your faces in!” Zen roars as he struck another unicorn in the snout, feeling it crack beneath his paw.

“We’re from Fairy Tail!” Trace waves his hands, two cultist robes suddenly twisting around themselves and trapping them. With another wave of his hand, he focused on the small group coming in behind him.

“Spiral Pain!” The air around the group behind him visibly twisted into a odd cyclone, sending the group into the air and shredding their robes and fur.

With Nate, he used his Sandstorm to create three protective sand cocoons around the dragon, pegasus and abyssian, hoping to keep them safe before turning his attention to a quartet of unicorns aiming their horns at the canine. Nate raised his arm as the group fired.

“Sand Wall!” Out of his container a large amount of sand formed a rectangular wall infront of him, blocking the magic blasts and shocking the unicorns. Nate smirked and gathered the sand into his hand. “Sand Rebellion!” The sand surrounded the group before rushing towards them into a colliding explosion. The four unicorns were left unconscious on the ground as Nate retracted his sand to him.

Zen and Aspen stood back-to-back as they were surrounded by a small group of unicorns, but despite this, the duo had confident grins on their faces. As two of the unicorns fired their magic at the duo, Zen intercepted them, waving his palm in a circular motion and deflecting the blasts. Once they were clear, Aspen rushed forward at a surprising speed for one her size, and proceeded to beat the unicorns into submission with nothing but her bare paws. Zen took a moment to gawk and feel respect towards Aspen’s husband before following her example and beating his own opponents, deflecting their magic bolts with his palms.

The leader growled lowly as he saw his bothers and sisters being so utterly decimated by a bunch of insignificant flies. He had heard of this ‘Fairy Tail’, but thought them to be nothing more than a bunch of heretical flies that were seeking to undermine his goddess control. He scanned over the area, looking for some way to win, before his view landed on the orb of extracted magic energy. He smirked to himself as he slowly made his way over to orb, avoiding the battle taking place near him.

Trace waved his arms, binding another cultist with their own robes before turning to the cocoons of sand. Taking his telepathy card out, he contacted Flora.

‘Flora, can you two get down here and grab these hostages?’ The unicorn questions, reflecting another bolt of magic around himself.

Outside, the batpony and griffon just finished knocking out and tying up a third retreating cultist when Flora heard her friend.

‘Copy that, we’re on our way.’ With a quick motion to the cave below, both airborn creatures rushed downwards, knocking out another cultist on the way.

“Sand Slash!” Nate sent his attack towards a damaged pillar nearby, causing it to fall and for the unicorns to scatter out of the way, leaving themselves open for Zen and Aspen to rush in and take them out while off balance, then be bound by Trace.

Looking around, there’s a little over two dozen bound or unconscious unicorns on the ground, the small group catching their breath for a moment. Nate smiles and released the Sand Cocoon from the trio behind him, the dragoness immediately perking up and looking around in confusion.

“What where who huh?” She quickly mutters before noticing the scene before her. While she was trying to comprehend what was going on, Aspen rushed past her to her unconscious husband.

“Era!” She quickly checks over his injuries, growling as she sees the full extent of his damage. Meanwhile, Flora and Saint fly in, the latter and her brother rushing over to the unconscious pegasus.

“Dawn! Are you ok!?”

“C’mon kid wake up!”

Immediately, the black furred pegasus eyes snap open and he blurs, reappearing at the end of the hall and looking around in a deadpan caution.

“Oi, you shouldn’t move around like that kid.” The colt turns to Zen and regards his with silent suspect before noticing all the bound unicorns around him.

“What happened here?” He asks, his voice barely above a whispers with a scratch to it from lack of use.

“Well we came to save you guys of course!” Flora cheers, flying in the spacious room. Dawn regards her with the same expression on his face. He turns to the guard duo.

“Who are these people? And why are they helping us?” He questions. Trace waves them off as they are about to answer before stepping forwards. He can see Dawn tense and shift his stance, clearly ready for a fight, so he stops a respectable distance away.

“Dawn. My name is Trace. I know you do not trust us right now, honestly I can’t blame you, but we are here to help. We, the diamond dogs, griffon and myself, are members of the Fairy Tail wizards guild and were hired to help take down this cult. Rescuing you was just a bonus objective.”

Dawn tilts his head, looking at the unicorns with a small, almost unnoticeable glint of curiosity in his eyes. They remained like that for a moment, the colt looking over everyone, before turning back to them.

“Are you not afraid?” Everyone is confused by that, silently asking for an elaboration. “You are maintaining eye contact with me, all of you were, yet none of you have so much as flinched. Why?”

“Oh, you must be talking about how you have slit pupils.” Nate mutters, Dawn slowly nodding.

“Well, to be honest, while they are a little odd on a pony, Fairy Tail has a couple of dragons, changlings, abyssians, really almost all the races as members. So seeing someone with slit pupils isn’t that surprising. Actually I think they look really cool.” Flora states, Dawn showing emotion for the first time as his eyes widen a fraction before returning to how he was before.

“I see.” Was all he said. ‘Fairy Tail...’

Aspen grabs her husband and holds him bridle style in her arms, the dragoness walking over alongside her looking intrigued.

“I think it is time we left.” Sin states, levitating all the cultists with his magic, earning a nod from everyone.

“One sec, I want to grab that orb before we-” Trace stopped as he looked to the alter. He froze, before his already white fur paled further.

“THE ORB IS GONE!!!” He screams, startling everyone who noticed that he was right.

“Wait, where’s Brick Head?” the dragoness questions, earning confused glances from the others. “The leader.”

Everyone looked around quickly before Nate and Zen’s ears perked up and they turned to the hallway.

“He’s running!” Zen and his brother rushed out ahead of the others, Flora close behind before Trace stopped the rest.

“The rest of you get out of here. We can handle this bastard. Get to town, and prepare yourselves just incase things go south.” The unicorns commands before running ahead to meet up with his friends. The remaining creatures pause for a moment before the guard duo nod to one another.

“Let’s go. Those wizards can handle the leader. Let’s just get these dopes to some cells and Mr.Marigold to the hospital.” Sin states, levitating all the cultist while the others nod. The group make their way out through the tunnel Nate made, leaving the wizards to deal with the cult leader.

*****

A pair of hooves made loud clops against the stone of the temple floor as one Brick Head was running down the halls of the forgotten temple, a glowing brown orb of crystallized magic clutched firmly in his hands. His distain and angered scowl seemed permanently stuck to his face as he rushed through the tunnels, thanking his goddess that he memorized the layout. Only a few more corridors.

He made it to the entrance hall, only two dozen feet from the entrance, when he felt something wrap around his ankle and trip him, losing grip on the orb as it rolled away. With a growl he checked what was holding him and saw a lasso of sand wrapped around his limb.

Glancing up, he growled louder as he saw the Quartz brothers along with Flora closing in. Lighting his horn, he blasted the sand off his leg and scrambled to his hooves as Flora tried to blast him with a burst of air. He clumsily flipped up to his hooves as Trace joined his team in facing the cultist.

“Give up Brick Head. You’re outnumbered and outgunned. Each of our unique magical abilities are more than enough to beat you, so come quietly as we won’t hurt you....much.” Trace states, keeping a close eye on their opponent.

Brick looked back and forth between the wizards before him, trying to think of a plan, before his eyes landed on the orb he brought with him. He grinned and rushed to the orb, clutching it in hand as the others prepare themselves for a fight. Flora thrust her hand forwards and caused the air next to the unicorn to become distorted. She closed her talons to make it burst, only for Brick to put the orb into the air and cause it to go back to normal, the spell being drained into the orb. He smirked and began to laugh.

“Hahaha, fools, with this orb I can just absorb all your heretical magic! Then, maybe I’ll go to your foolish guildhall to train their magic. I wonder how many mares there are?” He questions with a lecherous grin.

Flora’s wings bristled at the thought, but before they could do anything, a black and purple beam went past her and towards Brick. He raised the orb fast enough to catch the beam of magic but it still caused him to slide back a few feet as his hooves dug into the cobblestone floor.

The group looked behind them, and paled slightly as Trace walked forwards, his horn covered in black and purple dark magic as his eyes shifted from their calm sky blue, to a menacing blood red. His face though, made them pause.

Trace wasn’t mad, oh no, he wasn’t mad.

Legacy Tracer was bucking LIVID.

“What did you say?” His startlingly stern tone sent shivers down the backs of everyone present, his friends taking half a step back as he walked towards the other unicorn. Said pony was quivering in his robes, but still managed to give a weak snarl.

“You know, I am normally a very calm and collected pony.” Trace states, never losing the enraged expression on his face as he spoke. “Very little makes me made. Mostly because I am surrounded by such great friends. My guild is a place where a simple amnesiac like myself can fit in perfectly. My guildmates are more than my friends. They are my family. So I ask again.”

He disappeared and reappeared barely a centimetre from the other unicorns face, startling everyone, especially Brick.

“What. The FUCK! Did you just say?”

Brick didn’t get a change to respond as Trace lit up his horn and blasted the unicorns square in the chest and through the wall outside. Trace followed after him a second later, his friends frozen in shock before Flora shook her head and took flight after them, followed by the brothers.

They all arrived and watched as Trace slowly, mockingly, walked towards the now panicking cultist. Brick launched multiple powerful beams of magic and even threw some rocks, but every one was reflected around Trace, who made no indication he even noticed.

“I am going to tell you this only once, since it is the last thing you will be hearing from me. No one, not unicorns, pegasus, earth pony, griffon, changeling or even Alicorn. None, WILL HARM MY FAMILY!”

The air around everyone became heavy as the sun was blocked by wild clouds, a dark aura covering Trace from horn to hoof. They suddenly hear the cracking and twisting of bones as Trace hunches over, before his muscles and skin begin to bulge and tear.

“What in Celestia’s name!?” Brick was forced against a tree as Trace grows, his teeth become fangs too large for his mouth to contain, and his horn splits into a trident shape. He soon begins to tower over the unicorn as his hands become talons that look sharp enough to cut atoms, his red eyes become more demonic as he growls down to the frozen unicorn.

Brick can do nothing but stare in complete and utter terror, his grip on his orb faltering as it rolls to Trace’s taloned feet. He grabs the orb with his clawed hand and growls before adding pressure, shattering the orb into nothing but dust. The magic released went everywhere, but trace payed it no mind as he stomped to the cowering unicorn.

”Prepare to die, you miserable insect.”

Trace pulled his arm back, claws pointed at his opponent and trust his claws too fast for Brick to move, being impaled through the stomach. He remained in shocked silence as he felt his insides being stabbed and his magic somehow being drained from his body, before the overload of pain reached his brain and he passed.

Trace’s team were all shaking in fear at Trace’s merciless attack and his nightmarish transformation. They briefly wondered where Trace learned such a terrifying spell, before they blinked. The trio blinked again as they saw the area around Trace and Brick wobble, seeming to become like clear jelly, and Flora noticed the sky above them. Trace smirked to himself as the sun broke through the clouds.

Flora, Zen and Nate all dropped their jaws as they saw the area around Trace suddenly crack, then shatter like glass, revealing a normal Legacy Tracer, with the orb of drained magic in hand, said orb being pushed into Brick Head’s stomach.

With a small chuckle, Trace pulled back his hand that was holding the orb at the cultist stomach, allowing said unicorn to fall to the ground unconscious from magical exhaustion. He tossed the orb into the air a few times before putting the orb into one of his travel pockets. He turned to his friends, and noticed their expressions.

“What?”

Trace was suddenly snout to beak with Flora, a wild and slightly terrified look in her eyes. “What the pluck was that!?” Trace took a second to recompose himself and pushed Flora back a bit.

“That was one of my illusion spells that came with my Reflector magic. Phantom Fear. But, that was all it was, an illusion. I can’t really turn into some kind of monster, but if I can alter ones perception, then I may as well be able too.” Trace explained. The trio looked to him in shock at how nonchalant he was, before Flora began to giggle. That giggle spread to Nate, then Zen, and before they knew it the wizards were all on the ground laughing their heads off.

Once they all managed to get their laughter under control, Trace tied up Brick in his own robes and Zen tossed him over his shoulder. The wizards then made their way back to the village, a strong sense of accomplishment in their hearts, and more than a little bit of fear now directed to their leader.

Two Days Later....
Trace POV

I stretched my slightly sore muscles as my team and I made our way to the train station. After we made it to town and dealt with some paperwork about bringing the cultists in to the guard station, we got payed both with bits as well as a party the like of which would make Pinkie Pie proud. I also lost count on how many drinks Zen and I had.

I also had a momentary shock as I woke up yesterday with Flora in my bed with me, but for some reason, I couldn’t really claim to dislike it. But I still left before she could potentially scratch me to death.

After that we started to help out around town for another day while waiting for Aspen’s husband to regain consciousness. With Nate and Flora using their magic to lift heavier equipment and supplies while Zen used his magic to work as a living hammer, we managed to repair a couple of the houses that were destroyed by the cultists.

I kept my eyes out and saw that Dawn was actually watching us as we were helping out, though he mostly remained out of sight of anyone beside me and Zen. I just kept my distance and pretended not to notice him. It would be best if he were to approach us first.

Flora had also been talking to the dragon we rescued. Her name is Reni, and she was visiting the town from the dragon lands as she was apparently one of the nicer dragons like Spike since she was raised here. She is pretty timid at first despite being 20, but considering we all have dealt with Fluttershy at some point, we knew how to act around her.

I wonder how Spike and his team are doing, considering we left the guild a day after they left. Either way, Reni decided to come and inspect Fairy Tail to see if maybe she could join as well. It would be cool, since we only have one dragon member right now.

After helping to repair a couple buildings, and another party to celebrate as the cultists were taken away, my team and I, along with out new addition of Reni, made our way to the train station to go back to the guild for. After this, I think some of us could use some RNR and I could use the time to study more on illusion magic. Maybe Trixie can give me some pointers.

Eventually the five of us make it to the train depot, ten minutes early, and relax and wait. Flora and Reni were sitting on the roof, the former telling the latter what the guild is like, while Zen and Nate are checking their luggage again to make sure we aren’t missing anything.

I shake my head slightly and feel along my pocket, feeling the orb I took from Brick head in one of them. I decided to bring it back to the guild hall so Lex can take a look at it and maybe find a way to either destroy it, or make it complexity useless. Either or, it doesn’t really matter to me.

“HEEEYYY!” The five of us perk up and look back to the town to see a certain duo of felines rushing over to us. Maddie had a large rucksack on her back while her mother had some kind of satchel around her waist. The five of us group up with them as they run over to us, the younger one sporting an excited smile, while her mother had a small grin.

“Uh, hey Maddie, Aspen, what are you two doing here?” Flora questions, hovering in the air.

“Isn’t it obvious?” Aspen responds, confusing us slightly. “We’re coming with you to join Fairy Tail.”

That caught us off guard, and confused us. “But, what about-” Nate starts only for Maddie to pop in.

“Papa woke up earlier today and said that we should come with you guys after we told him what happened! He said he was fine here in town.” She said. That....didn’t really help out. Her mother walked up with a small shake of the head and a smile.

“Era knew how much my daughter wanted to visit Fairy Tail during our travels, we are just a family of nomads basically, so he figured her going to the guild would be good for her since we never really stayed in one place for too long. My husband said once he recovered he would be wandering around again, and I didn’t want Maddie to be bored as she normally is. Plus, I myself am very curious about your guild now after seeing what you four can do. And I am not the only one.”

We were confused by that last part, but Aspen just smirked and pointed behind us. Turning, Flora and Nate jumped slightly, as in the shadow of the station, we saw a certain pair of turquoise eyes looking at us neutrally.

“Dawn?” I question, the colt in question stepping into the light, but still maintaining that same blank expression. He looked over all of us before leaning against the building, waiting for the train in silence. The others look to me, but I just shrug. It’s not like I would be opposed to him coming to Fairy Tail, the opposite actually. I think it would do him some good since he would find a place to belong, as well as interact with others that don’t give a damn about his appearance.

I just nod to everyone and the others get their gear as the train finally arrived. I can see that Dawn has a little trepidation, likely having never actually ridden a train before, so I just pat his head, the colt freezing up and clearly stopping himself from vanishing. I just smile and motion to follow, and he actually listens. I smile as we all took our seat, and took a glance at our new additions.

Looks like I just got some more family.

And there’s the second one. So yes for those who haven’t figured it out or read the comics, I am a huge fan of the webcomic Twokinds from Thomas Fischbach. (Markipliers brother. No really.)

Dawn Lightwing is the main protagonist from the Savage Skies series. Which is incredible BTW. Feel free to read, and get ready for some major emotions.

/story/116344/foal-of-the-forest

Alexandria ‘Lex’ Justine: Faekage-13,789-Variety
Princess Luna: Rai-2,936-???
Sonbāsutā ‘Sonbā’: Rai-2,247-Crystal Maker Magic
Mi Amor Cadenza ‘Cadence’: Rai-1,529-Maguilty Sense
Shining Armor: Rai-1,119-The Knight Requip
Twilight Sparkle: Kage-601-Dark Ecriture
Spike Sparkle: Kage-562-Emerald Dragon Slayer Magic
Trixie Lulamoon: Jounin-505-Memory Make
Emerald Blizzard: Jounin-425-Archive
Legacy ‘Trace’ Tracer: Jounin-371-Equestrian Dark Magic and Reflector Magic
Zecora: Chunnin-202-Plant and Green Magic
Star Burst: Chunnin-154-Gunner Requip
Bladed Wind: Chunnin-151-Requip
Rainbow Dash: Chunnin-135-Storm Magic
Applejack: Chunni-134-Earth Magic
Floral ‘Flora’ Talons: Chunnin-132-Air Magic
Azure Skies: Chunnin-129-Dark Regulus
Gilda: Chunnin-120-Ice Make Magic
Zen Quartz: Chunnin-115-Palm Magic
Hot Spark: Chunnin-105-Rainbow Fire Magic
Swift Service: Genin-98-Paper Blizzard
Nate Quartz: Genin-95-Sandstorm
Pinkie Pie: Genin-93-Wave Magic
Raine Jewel: Genin-89-Solid Script Magic
Silk Song: Genin-73-Water Magic
Rarity Belle: Genin-72-Mirror and Colours Magic
Echo: Genin-50-Aera Magic
Scootaloo: Genin-28-High Speed and Freerun
Applebloom: Genin-25-Mimic Magic
Sweetie Belle: Genin-18-Snow Magic
Fluttershy: Genin-5-Animal Soul Takeover
Capper: ???-???-???
Cobalt Will: ???-???-???
Bertha Will: ???-???-???
Amaterasu Shiranui: ???-???-???
Arakunia: ???-???-???
Unmei Gaidancu: ???-???-???
Amber: ???-???-???
Laruma: ???-???-???
Fizzle: ???-???-???
Reni: ???-???-???
Aspen Marigold: ???-???-???
Maddie ‘Madness’ Marigold: ???-???-???
Dawn Lightwing: ???-???-???

Opening my eyes, I release a quiet yawn, snuggling deeper into the furry mass lying next to me. I wasn’t the only one as I feel a small shape nuzzling into my chest, hearing a small buzzing next to me as a pair of chitinous hands wrap around my stomach. It took a little while before my brain finally kicked in, making me realize where I was and what was going on around me.

I was in my bed and once again in the centre of a very diverse creature pile, and I was only mildly surprised when I realized the mass I was up against was Sonbā, the Alicorn holding Ammy and Mei to him with his wings while his right arm was resting around my head. Meanwhile Kuna was stuck between the two of us, her arms around me, while our youngest was held protectively against my chest.

Yeah, at this point I stopped fighting and dancing around it and decided that Sonbā and I are together. Makes sense considering Yoru being both of ours, plus the girls had really bonded with him after everything went down. I even caught them a couple times calling him ‘dad’ and ‘papa’. That was a fun day.

Despite how much I didn’t want to, I knew I had to get up to work and eat, so with a lot of regret, I slowly shook everyone awake.

Mei was the first to wake up, silently yawning before helping me get out of the pile. Not long after the rest of the girls awoke, followed by Sonbā begrudgingly getting himself out from under the covered.

I yawn and smile to them all before gently placing the still sleeping Yoru in her cradle and walking to the washroom in my room to actually wake up. I saw as the girls went back to their room to do the same, and felt the tiniest bit of sadness that I couldn’t brush their hair today. I shook my head though and pressed onwards, heading to the shower.

After a few minutes I exited the washroom in a towel as I do normally and made my way over to the closet, grabbing my clothes for today. After a bit of searching I managed to find what I wanted.

It was slightly modified version of Shirogane Naoto’s summertime outfit, consisting of a light blue button up dress shirt with a yellow tie overtop of a dark blue tank top and black slacks with a pair of dark brown boots. I also had a pair of navy blue fingerless gloves, and her trademark cap. I gotta admit, for an androgynous character uncomfortable being seen as a girl, she had a sick sense of style. I grin to myself in the mirror, smoothing out my longer, spiky hair. It kinda looked like if Gajeel dyed his hair blue like Levy since it was almost reaching my waist already.

As soon as I finished changing and admiring myself, a certain someone announced she was hungry. I smile lightly to myself as I made my way over to the crib and picked up my whimpering babe.

“Shshsh, there there sweetie. Momma’s here. You hungry, is that it?” I whispered while rocking Yoru in my arms. She calmed down after a couple seconds and reached up to me. Gah! Why is she so cute!?

With a smile I sat on my bed and undid a couple of buttons before casting the lactation spell I learned. I’ll admit I freaked out the first couple times, but how else should someone react to suddenly feeling their breasts are heavier and sloshing around?

After a couple minutes of feeding, burps, and washing, Yoru and I leave my room and head to my office so I can start filling out my paperwork. This was a rather fun time for the two of us. After walking in and closing the door, I placed Yoru down to her little play corner and used my clone magic to split myself in fourths.

While Lexa, Ria and Ali do the paperwork, Xan plays with Yoru, playfully showing her how to stack her wooden blocks and generally keeping our daughter distracted. It didn’t take all that long for the trio of clones to fill out all the paperwork as well as sign the quests, just a couple hours, and before long I am back sitting at my desk with a certain hybrid in my arms.

I quickly grabbed the newest quest forms and made my way down the stairs, posting the quests before taking a seat on the bar like Makarov. I glanced around the guild and smiled as I saw most of the members milling about.

Spike and Twilight were hanging out with the dragons they managed to convince to join up, the latter asking about a million questions about dragons in general, while the former was being hounded about how the others were supposed to unlock their own dragon slayer magic.

Applebloom and Sweetie Belle were trying to convince our newest colt to come out with them on a job, but Dawn looked like he wasn’t having any of it. That colt acted so much like young Erza it was almost scary. Aside from hanging out at Fluttershy’s or practicing his forms for that ‘Gale King’ fighting style, he mostly just stays in the corner of the guild at his little table, doing nothing. As long as he doesn’t try and bang AB and Scoots heads together when they get in an eventual argument, we’ll be good. I swear those two were constantly trying to one up each other. All that aside, I knew that colt would be an amazing wizard once he gains his magic and passes the MPF test to take on higher ranking jobs.

I smirked as I saw Trixie teaching Mei how to read tarot cards and how to focus on ones faith and predictions. My little Kirin has been really interested in the concepts of using fate and luck as a tool rather than a coincidence. Luckily our resident magician is there to teach her the ropes.

A loud bang brought my attention over to another table while Aspen beat Cobalt in yet another arm wrestling match. This make ten for twenty even between the two. The Minotaur and Abyssian seemed to try and out pace one another whenever they get the chance. Not gonna say it out loud, but that competitive glint they have in their eyes whenever they see each other is more than a little scary. As long as they don’t end up fighting like Erza and Mira did when they were kids, we shouldn’t have to rebuild the guild too many times.

I laugh a little as I watch Maddie racing around the tables with several mugs perched in her hands, the young abyssian taking the drink cups to the back room where Silk was waiting to wash them. Even though it isn’t official, Maddie had become like a second server/waitress for the guild because of how fast and energetic she is, through she is kinda clumsy, but she just keeps on smiling, having such a happy disposition about her. She kind reminds me of a mix between Michelle and Ruby Rose.

The front of the guild opened as Sonbā and Luna walked in, the former holding a small ice pack to his head as the latter was trying not to laugh. Barely an hour and a half of flying lessons and he is already back. That is hilarious. Luna offered to teach Sonbā about how to be an Alicorn since she wasn’t going on any jobs for a while, and it isn’t like she really needs the money, so she was free.

I smirk and rock my youngest again as she rested in my arms, looking over the guild with me. As I was looking around, I remembered something I wanted to get done to protect my new home. Or more accurately, to protect our new home.

Doing a quick magic scan of the guild, I was in luck as I sensed the ponies and dragon I wanted to talk to about this. With a quick summon of my Requip, I was holding a call card. Focusing the magic, I locked on to the ponies I needed to talk to and once the connection was set, I sent the message.

“Twilight, Trixie, Trace, Spike, Dawn, Sonbā and Luna. Meet me at the training hall in an hour.”

After putting Yoru down for her afternoon nap, I made sure to cast a quick detection and soundproof spell on her room, before heading to the training hall in the forest. The flight there was a calm one as I knew this shouldn’t be too much of a problem, just giving some of my wizards a boost.

Before long I was lowering myself towards the training hall. Outside the illusion barrier, it still looked like crap, but once I passed the threshold....

“SHIT!” I strafed left and dodged a flying pillar of stone as it crumbled against the barrier. Looking down into the training hall, I saw Applejack training by practicing her Earth magic into the hardening style, summoning pillars before physically throwing them. I also saw Spark and Azure practicing their magic against one another in a spar near the back arena area.

AJ saw me flying there with a frown and sheepishly rubbed the back of her head before stomping on the ground, retracing the pillars into the courtyard. I roll my eyes and made my way over to the entrance. I grabbed a small drink from the fountain before I heard the magic teleporter circle activate and the six ponies and one drake I called appeared one by one.

“Hey guys, thanks for coming.” I say, leading the group past all the training areas and into a small office I repurposed incase I needed to get out of the guild to work. I motioned for them all to take a seat, Sonbā, Dawn and Spike taking the chairs and the others taking a seat on a nearby couch.

“So, may I ask what this is about Faekage?” Dawn questions in his most mono of tones. I clear my throat a bit before nodding.

“As some of you know, some time ago I summoned another Displaced named Kairi here and she helped me in unlocking my keyblade as well as becoming an honorary member of the guild. Now, even though it has been quiet for some time, I know it is only a matter of time before the Heartless, Nobodies, Unversed etcetera find this world, and I know just our magic won’t be enough.” I looked over the small group as they payed the upmost attention.

“I can’t be the only guardian for this world against these threats. And that is why, after much deliberation, I have decided to grant the seven of you, the power of keyblades to help defend this world.”

The response I got was total silence. The only sound I could hear was the echoing explosions from some wizards sparring in the back, as the group looked to one another in surprise and shock.

“Why?” I looked down to Dawn as he said this, his face remaining as neutral as can be, but his eyes told a different story. I could see the turmoil, shock and confusion warring in his mind.

“Why select me? I understand the others, they are likely extremely powerful in their own rights, but I have only been a ‘member’ of this guild for a little over a week. How is it you can choose me, a colt you barely know, and say I am worthy of wielding one of these weapons?”

I smile softly and walked past the desk to kneel infront of him.

“Because you have a strong soul.” He looked to me in shock. “Don’t mistake me for a fool or an unobservant person Dawn. I can see the warring darkness in your heart, but more than that, I can see the struggling yet determined light within you. You who have gone through inhuman treatment and resentment simply for your eyes, may very well become one of the strongest mages in Equestria. It is said through hardships we grow all the stronger, and I believe you are a perfect personification of that statement.”

He looked to me with restrained awe in his eyes, I know I am one of the first people to accept him unconditionally, so he had some faith in me, even if it was minuscule. I knew he is shocked by how much faith I am putting in him. After some time, he lowers his head and nods slowly. I smile to him and pat his head before stepping back and looking over the group. The other six all nod with their own grins and smiles. I nod to myself and take a breath before holding my hand out and summon Fairy’s Flow. I smile before flipping it around, pointing the handle to the group.

“In your hand, take this Key. So long as you have the makings, then through this simple act of taking, its wielder, you shall one day be. And you will find me, friend. No ocean will contain you then. No more borders around, or below, or above, so long as you champion the ones you love,”

The group all, one by one, grab hold of the hilt, and I can sense the small boost in magic as they do so. Once everyone was finished, I stored my keyblade away and look over the group, who are all looking at their hands in concentration.

“Now, it took a while for me to unlock my keyblade so don’t feel like there is a rush or anything. It could take months for you seven to-”

“Woah, I did it.”

My eyes shoot open and lock onto the form of Trixie as she is holding her new keyblade in hand. It looked like a mix between the Kingdom Key and Star Seeker. For the base it looked like a simple large key with a box-like guard and long keychain. The blade and teeth were a bright cyan with several pale pink stars dotting the blade. In the four corners of the guard were circles with small stars and the handle having a swirling design. The keychain was of Trixie’s Cutie Mark.

I could feel my eye twitching as Trixie swung around her keyblade with a smile. How? How did she unlock it so fast!? It seemed I was the only one shocked and confused as the others just congratulated Trixie in unlocking it so fast, Twilight being the most excited as she gave her ‘friend’ a hug. Yeah those two are not fooling anyone, especially with that blush the blue unicorn is wearing.

“Ahem.” I cough, getting the others attentions. “Now then, like I said, Trixie aside, it could take a while before any of you unlock your keyblades, but don’t rush it. Don’t try and force it, or focus on your weapons alone. Remember we have plenty of jobs on the board and now that Cadence has set up the posting station in the Crystal Empire, as well as some in some of the smaller towns dotting the continent, work is going to be piling up before we know it.”

The group all nod and we make our way out of the training hall, except for Trixie and Twilight, who wanted to do a quick spar so the former can get a grasp on her new weapon and the powers it entails. I just smile before using Direct Line to appear back in my room, and just in time for a certain someone to wake up.

******

I took a sip of my coffee that Zen made, my kids all eating their dinner without a fuss. That was something I was kinda grateful for, my girls aren’t picky eaters. Granted one of them only eats for the fun of it, but the point stands. I actually noticed that Kuna had changed quite a bit since she joined up. For one, her limbs were now void of holes and her wings took on a crystal-like shine instead of looking ratty and full of holes.

They others were almost all but glowing as now they were healthy and clean, even if a certain Canine liked playing in the mud with Applebloom. But, again, the point stands.

It was around seven thirty in the evening now and Celestia was about to lower the sun for Luna to raise the moon, so it was almost time for the girls to head to bed. Again, another thing they don’t complain about, even if they always seemed to make their way to my bed in the middle of the night anyways.

I smile to myself as Yoru lets go of my chest and rests her head against me, trying to sleep through the noise of the guild. I grab my own dinner, a chicken caesar wrap and take a quick bite, making sure not to let any crumbs fall. I have to admit, I think this is the healthiest I have ever been in my life.

Not that I was fat or anything, but I definitely have noticed less stomach and more abs lately. Then again, a barely noticeable four pack isn’t something to brag about, but I definitely know what Natsu feels like with the whole overpowering magic and high physical strength. I will still lose to almost any of the guild in a contest of strength though.

I am broken out of my mental monologue by the doors opening, and a familiar grey pegasus and unicorn duo walking in.

“Ditzy! Dinky!” I call out, the duo smiling and the younger muffin running up to my girls as her mom, who was still in uniform, comes over to the bar where I am.

“Hey Lex, been a while. I see you are handling yourself well with the little muffin there.” She points to my youngest, who is now staring at her silently, before Ditzy puffed her cheeks, making Yoru laugh. I laugh along with her as Ditzy looks extra funny.

“Yeah, things have been great over here. The only downside lately is my inability to go on any quests, but hey, being a mom comes first sometimes.” The pegasus nods in agreement as she watches her daughter playing with my kirin daughter. Looks like Dinky wanted her fortune told and Mei has been doing great with her predictions lately. “So, what’s up Derp? You guys want something to eat?”

“No thanks, we already have some food at home. I just came by to drop off a package for you from Canterlot.” That got my attention because there is one thing I commissioned from the capital. Ditzy dug into her satchel and took out a small parcel and her notepad for me to sign. Once everything was filled out, Ditzy and her daughter left to go home while I put the dishes in the kitchen to be cleaned.

The girls all did their last activities for the night, being either studying under Raine and Twilight, or just reading for fun, while I got to my office to finish up some extra paperwork I nearly forgot. Before too long I was tucking in the trio into their bunk beds and my youngest into her cradle.

Once I was completely sure the four of them were out, I made my way out of the guild with the parcel I had, still sealed. Once far enough away, I focused my magic and teleported. The area shift rapidly as I moved away, far far away, before landing where I wanted.

The badlands.

I knew that this is only a small chance that this could work, but if it could, the guild was about to get energy more crazy. Taking out a small pocket knife, I opened the parcel and took a breath before opening them. I smiled as I saw exactly what I ordered.

Two keys.

One gold. One silver.

The gold one was rather intricately designed. The bow of the key is sculpted similar to a lion's head, with the face on the bow's base, complete with two fangs facing downward. The center of the bow is a white arc with the crest of the Lion, colored in dark orange, and surrounded by the lion's "mane". The end of the key's blade is similar to a lion's tail with a crescent moon at the tip

The silver one was less intricate, but was still rather pretty. The bow is designed similar to a cross with the crest, colored in green, at the center on top of a white diamond-shaped center. The blade of the key is of simple design, shaped like a cross.

I took a breath as I held them. The Gate Key of the Southern Cross and the Gate Key of the Lion.

I had these commissioned by the same blacksmith that made Luna and Celestia newer jewelry, including their new crowns, and I have to say, these were perfect. They looked exactly like they did in the show, the designers for Leo and Crux crests were exactly as I wanted them to be. Now though, I had to see if this works.

As they were now, they were just keys, nothing special about them. But if I am right, they could very well work as they do if Fiore. The concept is that the keys are just anchor points and it is the wizards magic energy that allows the spirits to cross over. That is what uses up so much magic, as it is obviously not simple to open a gateway between dimensions. As a Displaced, I know this firsthand.

“Ok. Time to see if this works.” I mutter to myself as I take hold of Crux key. I’ll admit I was nervous, since I can’t actually pinpoint my Celestial magic, but I know it is there. Taking a couple shaky breaths, before calming myself I point the key outwards and announce.

”I am linked to the path to the world of Celestial Spirit!” I don’t notices a a golden light appears at my feet. “Now! O Spirit, answer my call and pass through the Gate!”

I groan as I now notice the light as I suddenly feel a huge portion of my magic and even my unusable void energy being drained of me. This is working, but it shouldn’t be by this much! I guess I’ll need more energy.

“Rirīsu! Kurenjinguraito no shīru! Tetsudamashī no fūin! (Release! Seal of the Cleansing Light! Seal of the Iron Soul!)”

At once I feel as more magic is added to my pool, my golden highlights glowing as well as both my eyes turning gold and white. My skin took on a shiny, metallic tone as my teeth sharpened into points like Tetsutetsu. I put on a determined glare as I take hold of the key and swipe downwards.

“Open, Gate of the Souther Cross! Crux!”

DING DONG

I smile as I hear the telltale sound, the air before me beginning to glow with magical energy as golden sparkles appear, before a new form began to appear. Before long, the light dies down some, and I can make out the look of who I summoned.

Sitting cross legged in the middle of the air was an aged celestial spirit. His head beholds a giant, metal cross with floral-like golden patterns with a white-haired mustache sprouting from his nostrils that also appears like tiny crosses. His eyes were closed. He was wearing a medieval-like outfit, complete with green pants and wooden pointed shoes. His arms and legs are skinny, and appear to be tanned orange. On his arms are blue-colored knobs attached to his wrists and elbows.

“Holy crap, I did it.” I mutter through breaths, trying to get air back in my lungs while falling to my knees. I felt like I was Lucy summoning Leo, Virgo and Aquarius at the same time. It should not have been that taxing to summon Crux of all spirits!

“Ahem. Well now, this is certainly a shock.” I look over to Crux as he examines me and the area around him in intrigue. “To think that a single Displaced was able to make the connection necessary to open the pathways from the Celestial Spirit World in this universe. You have quite a bit of power young lady.”

I laugh a little before something he said clicked. “Wait a minute. You know about the Displaced?”

“Indeed I do. Considering you are the one who created the opening for me to pass through, you are aware I am the one who knows almost everything about the Celestial Spirits and their mages.” I nod and sit down properly. “Well the reason for that is my ability to search for information is actually far more complicated that one would think. Rather than simply allowing my mind to search through the archives of the Spirit World, I actually connect with alternate versions of myself across the multiverse and converse with them for the information I am looking for.”

“Wow. So, you have access to the multiverse as a whole, but can only connect to alternate versions of yourself?” He nods with a small grumble.

“Indeed. It is one of the reasons I am beholden to personal privacy laws. If I were to say, tell an alternate, evil version of Lucy Heartfilia about her exploits in other timelines...well you could image what would happen.” I nod at his example. I know there are infinite other versions of myself out there, and to be honest, I don’t really wanna know about what some of them are doing.

“So, wait a second. The reason that took so much magic and void energy to summon you, was because the Celestial Spirit World in this universe had no connection?”

“That is correct.” A booming voice came from nowhere and everywhere. I jumped up and looked around in shock, only now noticing that the area around me had become grey scaled and seemingly frozen in time. “There are no Celestial mages in this universe, so myself and my subjects all but content to simply live our immortal lives waiting until one such as yourself made the connection.”

‘My subjects? No way. It couldn’t be....’

I look up as the stars in the sky begin to circle, an immense light shining down on me forcing my eyes closed. I could sense an immense, almost immeasurable magical presence appear before me, but I couldn’t see. I managed to cover my eyes and squint, seeing Crux bowing, before the light died down. I am pretty sure I turned pure white as I looked up, far up, towards a being I never thought I would see.

“The Celestial Spirit King.”

I’ll freely admit, I could feel some tears appearing at the corners of my eyes. This being, he was so much stronger them me, he could likely beat the crap out of uncle Ed! I regained myself once I noticed Crux still bowing and went to a knee next to him. I admit, I was shaking. I could feel as the king leaned down slightly to get a better look at me. There was a tense silence as I just trembled, scared I may have made him mad or disrespecting him, when he finally spoke.

“Smile.” I blinked a couple times before raised my head slightly, and seeing the intimidating and powerful entity above me, smiling joyfully. “Alexandria Justine. To think you alone would be the one to create the connection that allows my subjects to leave our world. Truly a remarkable feat for one so young.”

“U-Uh, t-thank you s-sir. Uh I mean, your majesty!” He laughed loudly at my stuttering, he voice echoing across the landscape, and I am sure if time wasn’t frozen, you could hear him all the way on Canterlot.

“Relax child. There is no need for you to be so tense. I did not appear to punish you or anything of the sort. In fact, I am here to lift your burden somewhat, and complete the necessary spell that would permanently tie the Celestial Spirit World to this Equis.” I looked to him is awe and shock as he said that. I wiped my eyes and smiled up to him, sending a smile to Crux as well.

“Thank you your majesty. I promise, while I may not be the one to form the contracts, my wizards and I will forever be your allies. I know the wizard I have in mind will treat your subject with both the upmost respect, and as the closest of friends.” I announce with a bow as he smiled down to me.

“I am sure they will. Now them my young friend, I shall make our connection and be off. It was nice to meet you face-to-face, and may the divine protection of the stars forever watch over you.”

I watch in awe as a galaxy coloured beam reach far into the sky, the pure magic power he was emitting making me feel exhilarated yet calm as I could all but see the connection being made between our worlds, before the giant of a spirit began to fade back to whence he came, a joyful smile still of his face.

I smiled as the area around me went back to normal before turning to Crux, who just smiled back with a nod before disappearing in a burst of magic. I looked to his silver key, before glancing at Leo’s key, and deciding I have had enough excitement for the night.

Closing my seals on my magic, I summoned up my energy and teleported back to the guild, phasing through the front door like a ghost and making my way to my room.

Stripping down, I didn’t even bother putting on my pyjamas as I collapsed onto my bed. Glancing to my bedside, I saw the two keys sitting on my desk and smiled.

‘Lookslike things are going to be getting crazy sooner, rather than later. I’m going to need to send the request for the other keys to be made in the morning.’

Didn’t see the second half coming did ya?

Since I didn’t actually say in the chapters previously, the new members have their guild marks location and colors (outline and base):

Amber, right shoulder, sky blue and electric yellow.
Laruma, right shoulder, forest green and silver.
Fizzle, left shoulder, coal black and red.
Reni, right shoulder, dark yellow and purple
Aspen Marigold, left side of the stomach (around the same area as Cana), bronze and leaf green
Maddie ‘Madness’ Marigold, right side of the stomach, baby blue and bubblegum pink
Dawn Lightwing, between his wings, silver and turquoise

Alexandria ‘Lex’ Justine: Faekage-13,789-Variety
Princess Luna: Rai-2,936-???
Sonbāsutā ‘Sonbā’: Rai-2,247-Crystal Maker Magic
Mi Amor Cadenza ‘Cadence’: Rai-1,529-Maguilty Sense
Shining Armor: Rai-1,119-The Knight Requip
Twilight Sparkle: Kage-601-Dark Ecriture
Spike Sparkle: Kage-562-Emerald Dragon Slayer Magic
Trixie Lulamoon: Jounin-505-Memory Make
Emerald Blizzard: Jounin-425-Archive
Legacy ‘Trace’ Tracer: Jounin-371-Equestrian Dark Magic and Reflector Magic
Zecora: Chunnin-202-Plant and Green Magic
Star Burst: Chunnin-154-Gunner Requip
Bladed Wind: Chunnin-151-Requip
Rainbow Dash: Chunnin-135-Storm Magic
Applejack: Chunni-134-Earth Magic
Floral ‘Flora’ Talons: Chunnin-132-Air Magic
Azure Skies: Chunnin-129-Dark Regulus
Gilda: Chunnin-120-Ice Make Magic
Zen Quartz: Chunnin-115-Palm Magic
Hot Spark: Chunnin-105-Rainbow Fire Magic
Swift Service: Genin-98-Paper Blizzard
Nate Quartz: Genin-95-Sandstorm
Pinkie Pie: Genin-93-Wave Magic
Raine Jewel: Genin-89-Solid Script Magic
Silk Song: Genin-73-Water Magic
Rarity Belle: Genin-72-Mirror and Colours Magic
Echo: Genin-50-Aera Magic
Scootaloo: Genin-28-High Speed and Freerun
Applebloom: Genin-25-Mimic Magic
Sweetie Belle: Genin-18-Snow Magic
Fluttershy: Genin-5-Animal Soul Takeover
Capper: ???-???-???
Cobalt Will: ???-???-???
Bertha Will: ???-???-???
Amaterasu Shiranui: ???-???-???
Arakunia: ???-???-???
Unmei Gaidancu: ???-???-???
Amber: ???-???-???
Laruma: ???-???-???
Fizzle: ???-???-???
Reni: ???-???-???
Aspen Marigold: ???-???-???
Maddie ‘Madness’ Marigold: ???-???-???
Dawn Lightwing: ???-???-???

Chapter 29: The Key to Training

“...Alright, try again,” I said again for the hundredth time in the past hour. “Just feel for your magic and grab it.”

We were in a simulation of the Fairy Tail guild hall, minus the guild members themselves, trying to help Haley get a hold of her abilities, and it was slow going, to be blunt…

“Ugh! I’ll never get this!” Haley groaned frustratedly as her hands ball up into fists.

“Not with that attitude, you won’t,” I retort. “Look, the only way you’ll be able to figure this out is if you practice and train with a good attitude. Its cheesy, I know, believe me my mom wouldn’t shut up about that, but it’s true.”

“What in this world isn’t cheesy?” She mumbles loud enough for me to hear.

“Look, I had an instinctive knowledge of how to use my Keyblade, but you don’t,” I explain. “Because of that, you need a lot, and I mean A LOT of practice and concentration.”

“Ugh! Fine. I’ll keep trying.” She whines straightening up. She closes her eyes, a look of extreme concentration comes onto her face. Or is it extreme constipation? I’m honestly not sure. She held that face for a couple seconds before giving up in frustration again.

“Don’t we have a Master Yen Sid in this world that can help or something?!” She yelled in frustration, turning a glare at me.

“No! We do-” I stop myself mid-sentence, eye twitching. “Actually, yes, yes we do. But not in this world.” I pull out my Gummiphone, selecting the Fairy Tail call sign before putting it to my ear…

I glanced over to the table where Trixie showed Mei the difference between some certain cards. My kirin was smiling brightly as she learned to differentiate the cards and their meanings from just a glance, while her sisters were hovering over her shoulders in interest, a certain changeling doing so literally.

“Hey Lex, want anything to drink?” I glance over to Zen before shaking my head and motioning to the sleeping baby in my arms. He nodded with a smile before serving Capper a small cocktail.

‘This is nice. Just a slow day at the guild with everyone relaxing-’

I start as I hear a piano beginning to play from my pocket before the lyrics to Simple and Clean begin to play out loud. I quickly check my pockets and take out my Gummiphone from Kairi, and her keyblade symbol showed who it was. With a quick shake of my head, I answer and put the phone to my ear.

“Faekage Lex speaking.”

“Faekage? Oh, right, that’s what the highest rank was. Anyway, Hiya Lex, you busy?”

“Nah, just a slow day here at the guild. Been all but waiting for Sonbā to get back from some of his lessons with Luna so I can go to the training hall.”

“Perfect, cause I have a bit of a problem that I could use your help with.”

I raise a brow, righting myself on the table. “What’s up?”

“Ugh, where to begin?” Kairi trailed off for a moment. “OK, do you want the long answer or the short answer?”

“I’ll take the easy answer.” I deadpanned.

“Fair enough. Well, a friend of mine from back home, you know, HOME home, was Displaced, and ended up as Mirajane. The short of it is, she doesn’t know the first thing about Fiore magic…”

“Ah, I get where you’re going with this. She can’t access her Satan Soul can she?” I can all but feel her nod through the phone.

“More like, she can’t use ANY magic…”

“Ow. That sucks. So you need a second mages opinion on how to help her. Hmm, ok, I’m in, as long as I can bring a couple guardians over.”

“Sounds good to me. I just have one condition to that.”

“What’s up?”

“Well, remember the last time I was there, I told you that you and any Guardians you find would have full access to my training facility? Well, we finally found a way to make that happen, but it needs to be top secret. Only the Displaced, and those they trust can know about it, so I need you in a secure location before I open the way.”

I frown in understanding, and nod to myself. “Of course. I am not sure if you remember, but there is a bunker under the guild incase of a disaster. I think that would be the best place for it to be since I am the only one who can undo the barriers leading down there.”

“Perfect, give me a call when you’re ready,” Kairi replied as she hung up.

I sigh to myself in relief as Sonbāsutā walks in with a small grin as he waves his wings. A quick whistle and he was over to me.

“Hey babe. Can you take care of Yoru for a bit? Kairi needs a hand in her world, so I’m going to be gone a while.” I said with a small frown. Sonba nods in understanding and takes our youngest into his arms.

“I gotcha Lex. I’ll keep an eye on Yoru and the others until you get back.” He said with a grin. I smile up to him and give him a quick kiss on the cheek before focusing on my Telepathy magic.

‘Emerald. I’m going to be gone for a while, you’re in charge until I get back.’ I inform, hearing him hum in understanding, before I glance around, seeing Dawn reading at his table again.

“Hey Dawn!” The colt looks over to me. “I’m going to be going to my friend’s world. The one who helped me unlock my keyblade. Wanna come with?” The colt looked down for a moment before closing his book and putting it in his bag.

“Can I come too?” I turn to Trixie as she asked that. “I want to see if I can help out somehow. Maybe Kairi and I can help Dawn.” I smirked with a nod, Trixie smiling at me.

“You’re going?” I look down to my trio before smiling and kneeling to their level and bringing them into a hug.

“Don’t worry girls, I’ll be back before you know it. Make sure to be good to your father and Grunkle Emerald.” The trio nod with their own smiles before I give them all a quick kiss on the heads.

Motioning to Trixie and Dawn to follow, the three of us head over to the stairwell and I lower the barrier to the bunker. The three of us head down a couple flights before arriving at the small foyer before the doors.

“Alright you two.” I get their attention as I look to them with a serious ‘mom’ expression. “What is about to happen is to be kept quiet from everyone. And I mean, EVERYONE. From Celestia, Luna, Twilight, Fluttershy, Cadence, even Discord if he breaks out of his seal.”

Trixie looked nervous, but Dawn looked nonplussed as he nodded in understanding.

“Understood Faekage.” He said in his tone of voice. Trixie looked between us for a moment before taking a breath and nodding as well.

“I’m in. I swear on my magic that I won’t tell anyone without your permission.” Trixie stated. I nod thankfully at the duo before I took out my Gummiphone and sent a quick text to Kairi.

‘Hey, we’re ready.’

‘Understood, stand by the walls’ came the reply.

Blue lightning shot from the center of the room, expanding from a point of blue. It quickly expanded into a pillar of energy, before it collapsed in on itself into what appeared to be a pool of rippling water. A moment later, Kairi stepped through.

“Hey guys,” she greeted with a smirk.

“Hey Kairi, good to see ya.” I said with my own smirk, turning and having to cover my mouth as I see Trixie and Dawn’s expressions. The mare had a dropped jaw and was pointing at the portal in shock. Dawn though, his eyes were the widest I have ever seen yet, his wings were spread in defence and quickly vibrating, a rattlesnake like sound coming from them.

“Well now, since I’m here, how about I set up a Stargate for you before heading back?” Kairi said, as she giggled at Trixie and Dawn’s reactions. I nod to her in agreement as I shake the duo out of their states, the colt coming back first and earning his dead expression again.

Kairi nodded, before pulling out her Gummiphone. “Hey Doc, shut it down. I’m gonna set up a Gate here, then head back…. Yeah, I know it’ll take fifteen minutes, I was there when we tested the system!... Yeah, yeah, I’ll call back to make sure the malfunction was fixed.” She hung up her phone while muttering about Time Lords always being overly thorough, the Gate closing a couple seconds after. “Alright, where do you want the Gate set up?”

I walked over to one of the doors next to us and place my hand on it, my magic appearing around me before it opened up, showing a large room with several artifacts and a lot of extra bits.

“How about the extra storage/treasure room?” I said with a smirk, Trixie’s jaw dropping again, while Dawn just looked interested.

Kairi stepped up and took a look inside before grimacing. “This all looks rather priceless. Are you sure you want it here? It’s not exactly mobile, or safe to be in front of while activating…”

“Eh, you say that, but I know a couple spells to make sure its safe. Plus, I am pretty sure this is the most secure place aside from Tartarus in Equestria.” I tell her, walking in and digging through before taking out a couch. Yes really.

“Can your spells stand up to demolecularization from an unstable wormhole?” Kairi pointedly asked.

“......touché.” I state, slamming the door closed and just pointing at the nearby wall, a point lighting up. “How about there.”

“That should work,” Kairi replied, pointing her Gummiphone at the spot indicated before starting an app. “That’ll take about fifteen minutes for the program to build the Gate and DHD, then we can be on our way. How about we catch up a bit while we wait?”

With a smirk and roll of the eyes, I grab the couch from the room and take a seat. “Whatcha wanna know about?”

“Alright then, looks like I got it working properly,” A very British voice greeted us as we stepped out of the Gate.

“That voice sounds familiar.” Lex said from behind me as I walked through.

“Yeah, yeah, Doc, you’re a genius,” I replied with a roll of my eyes before turning back to Lex. “Lex, meet the Doctor, or Clockwork to anyone not in the know.”

“Hello!” said Time Lord waved with a grin.

“Uh, hey. Well, he’s no Time Turner, but he seems like a good pony. Trixie, Dawn, how you two holding up?” Lex questions her friends. Trixie was looking around the area in awe, likely never having seen anything like it before, while Dawn just kept forwards, but his eyes are moving back and forth quickly, taking everything in. “Well that answers that.”

“Right then, I think it's time me and Sunset set off,” The Doctor said with a nod. “With the Gate working now, we don’t really need to be here anymore.”

“Really?” I asked. “But you only just got here…”

“Oh, don’t worry, we’ll see you again,” the Time Lord replied with a grin. “Besides, you’ve already got a brilliant techie in Melissa.”

“Fine,” I grumbled. “Take care then.”

“Always,” he replied before stepping out of the room. This was quickly followed the wheezing groan of the TARDIS taking off.

I turned back to Lex’s party. “So, ready to get started?”

Lex nodded before gently patting Trixie on the horn, causing her to shiver and blush, looking at Lex in embarrassment and anger. She just smirked and motioned to follow.

I quickly lead the group up to the Simulation Hall, where we found Melissa waiting for us. “That was fast, did you find who you were looking for?”

“You could say that,” I replied with a chuckle.

“HOLY SHIT! Is that Melissa Shield!?” Lex shouted, her jaw on the ground, much to her party’s amusement. She looked at me with a faked accusation face. “You didn’t tell me she was here!”

“Pfft - your face was priceless!” I got out through my laughter. “I honestly was not expecting that reaction, or the fact you know who she is!”

“Dude, when I wasn’t studying or hanging out with my siblings I was watching anime in my dorm. I have no shame in admitting that.” Lex replied, crossing her arms with a huff. “So, where’s this Mirajane Displaced?”

“Right through that door,” I pointed out with a grin.

Lex nodded and walked to the door, walking through before us. She paused as she looked in, her eye twitching a bit as she looked around, before moving aside for the rest of us to come in.

Trixie and Dawn had to do a double take as they saw what looked like the guildhall in front of them, before the colt noticed the lack of certain banners of the sun and moon, as well as the obvious lack of guild members.

“Is this an illusion of some kind?” Dawn questions.

Before I can answer, I hear running from around a corner. When a sudden Mirajane comes from around the corner, however she seems to trip on air and falls flat on her face.

The silence that followed seemed to drag on for an eternity, before Lex turned to me with a raised brow. “Are you sure she’s not a Wendy Marvell Displaced?”

“I’m sure,” I replied in a deadpan voice. “She’s just an enormous klutz.”

“Uh, are you ok?” Trixie questions, standing over the prone form of Haley.

She groans from the floor but never gets up. “Yes...Yes I am.” She mumbled, her voice muffled from the floor before finally getting up and dusting herself off.

I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose. “Guys, meet Haley, as you can see, she was Displaced as Mirajane.”

“Hey there Haley, named Lex, master of my version of the Fairy Tail guild. I was a Displaced Levi before I got a ton more magic power. This is my version of Trixie Lulamoon and Dawn Lightwing. It’s nice to meet you.” Lex said with a grin, clearly trying to move on from her introduction.

“Hello there!” She says, smiling and waving as if nothing happened.

“You’re really channeling Usagi from Sailor Moon, you know that right?” I deadpanned.

She glared at me then smirked. “Moon Prism power!” She yells before doing the signature Sailor Moon pose.

My face once again meets my palm. I really should have seen that coming...

“Wow. Just wow.” Lex deadpans at her antics before taking a breath and smiling again. “Well that was a thing. So, Kairi said you need some help with magic?”

She looks at Lex before looking at me. “This is the Master Yen Sid?” She asks curiously.

“Yes, yes it is,” I nodded, glancing nervously at Lex. “In a manner of speaking.”

Lex’s eye began twitching again, and Dawn suddenly disappeared and reappeared at the other side of the area. He looked to me with a dead expression that somehow screams, ‘you goofed up’.

“What was that about comparing me to old man Yen Sid?” She questions in a perfectly calm tone. That was more terrifying than it should be.

My eye twitch in annoyance. “Her words, not mine. To quote her, she said ‘Don’t we have a Master Yen Sid in this world that can help or something?!’”

Lex stared at me with her mismatched eyes for a few seconds, before turning to Haley and nodding slowly. “I see. Alright, I guess I can understand that.”

Trixie carefully scooted next to me and whispered, “You should be glad Lex has to deal with one of our new members about comparisons. Maddie makes some wild ones.”

“Why are you telling me that?” I questioned with a raised eyebrow. “Haley’s the one who said it.”

“Because you are the one who wouldn’t die if she went off. Your friend on the other hand can’t cast healing spells.” Trixie replied before walking away.

“Anyways!” Haley yells, interrupting us and causing us to turn our gaze to her. “I do need your help. I can’t do magic for some reason. As hard as I try.” She says, her face becoming dead serious.

“Well, have you tried to meditate first to build up your magic pool or ether-nano?” Lex questions, sitting on a table.

Haley’s face becomes confused then glares at me. “Why didn’t you tell me that in the first place?!” She yells at me.

“I did,” I replied. “You weren’t making any progress.”

“Oh. Oopsies?” She says, scratching the back of her head, chuckling nervously.

Lex took a breath before lowering herself onto one of the benches, and proceeded to slam her head on the table, actually cracking it. “Good gods you’re like Scootaloo.”

I burst out laughing. “I never thought of it that way before!”

She groans in frustration. “Can you just help me?! I get it I’m slow!” She says, waving her arms around with impatience.

“Well, that depends. Can you sit still and actually meditate for approximately an hour to build up your magic to use Satan Soul?” Lex questions.

“I used to meditate a long time ago. It shouldn’t be that hard. Could it?” She asks before sitting cross legged on the floor with her eyes closed.

Lex looked to her with a raised brow as she took a breath, before glancing to Trixie and motioning to her. The mare just shrugged and looked to Haley as well. Dawn just stood in the back, his eyes locked on her form.

Haley sat in confusion, trying to figure out what was going on. “I feel your horrid stares. Am I doing something wrong?” She asks, keeping her eyes closed trying to concentrate.

“There’s a difference between mediating and just sitting on the floor.” Dawn said from the back, appearing in front of Haley. “You are just trying to actively think of nothing, are you not?”

She opens her eyes, looking confused. “Isn’t meditating just clearing your mind to get into a calm state?”

“Yes, but it isn’t the same for every person.” Lex said, sitting in front of her with Dawn next to her. “Meditating, when it comes to magic, involves trying to control both your body and mind into a state of neutrality. That is what allows ether-nano to flow into your body so easily. For some, like Dawn and Fluttershy, simply thinking of a mantra, or focusing on a part of their body is what works. For some like Rainbow Dash, or Yuri Dreyar, you need to be active, do repetitive tasks like exercise...”

After a while of Haley trying to meditate, she suddenly opens her eyes smiling. “Got it!” she shouts while raising a hand that was wrapped in magical energy.

I glanced over from the game of cards that me, Trixie and Dawn were playing. “About time,” I remark. “So Lex, what does she need to do now?”

“Well, like I was showing Fluttershy, now you need to try and practice Partial Takeovers. No Full Body Takeovers yet Haley.” She stated the last part sternly, the other woman giggling a bit and rubbing the back of her head.

She squints her eyes shut before demonic wings appear from her back. She opens her eyes and twirls around trying to get a look at the wings. “Wings!” She yells as she jumps and flies around the room.

My eyes twitch, a tick mark growing on my forehead. “WHY THE HECK WAS IT SO HARD FOR YOU TO MEDITATE, WHEN YOU GET IT ON THE FIRST TRY?!?!?”

Haley doesn’t seem to listen as she continues to fly around saying “Weeeee!’

I don’t get to complain anymore as she turned towards me, and her wings suddenly disappear. I was barely able to glance at Lex, and saw she was smirking with a spell matrix in front of her eyes. Then Haley collided with me.

I glared over at Lex. “Why on top of me?”

Lex put a finger to her chin and tilted her head in mock confusion. “What? I thought you would like being on bottom.”

My eye twitched before I used my shadow to pull her feet out from under her, causing her to fall flat on her face.

Lex glared back at me and I could tell this was going to escalate. She summoned her own magic, water magic oddly and smirked. “Drip Drip Drop.”

Next thing I knew, I was soaked with ice cold water while Haley was perfectly dry next to me.

My tick mark from earlier returned full force. “How about we settle this with a little spar?”

Haley backs away. “I’m staying out of this cat fight.”

“Bout time you caught on. I told you I was going to my worlds training hall before we left right?” I nod with a raised brow. “That was because Luna and I were going to be sparing so I can practice fighting with little to no magic. At least that was the idea, but I figured you would be a good substitute since I haven’t used my keyblade as much as I would have liked.”

“Alright, you’re on,” I nodded with a grin. “But not in this simulation. I have a better one. Computer, end simulation.”

The Fairy Tail guild hall vanished, being replaced by a plain gray room with a door on one wall. “Alright, everyone other than Lex, please leave. This is gonna get dangerous for bystanders.”

Dawn was already at the door by the time I finished, Trixie and Haley joining him a second later.

“So, how does this simulation work anyways? Is it like an ever-shifting platform?” Lex questions.

I grinned. “Not exactly. Computer, execute simulation arena.”

“Simulation loading. Standby.”

“Basically, the Simulator Hall can reproduce any location, real or fictional, that you can imagine. It can even replicate scenarios from history or works of fiction,” I explained as the gray room slowly darkened.

“Simulation ready.”

“I swear if we end up in Kamoshida’s Palace I am going to go ape on you.” Lex muttered, and I remember she is talking about the first dungeon in Persona 5.

I sweatdrop at this. “No no, it’s something about older than P5.” I replied as the room darkened, allowing a green colored full moon to shine from the simulated sky. Just like when I sparred with Ed, we now stood at the apex of Tartarus, the Tower of Demise.

“Welcome to Tartarus, or at least the Persona 3 version of Tartarus, also known as the Tower of Demise!” I announce in a grandstander voice. “The rules are the first to fall unconscious, or admit defeat loses.”

Lex nodded, looking around the area with interest before taking a breath and summoning her keyblade. “Forgive me if this is insulting, but I wanna try and go more physical. But, I won’t hesitate to go magic if needed.” She announced, twirling her keyblade in hand.

“Only if you don’t mind me showing off what I’ve come up with for Shadow Dragon Slayer Magic,” I grinned, summoning Destiny’s Embrace. Then, at an unseen signal we charged at each other. I slid under Lex’s first strike, firing off a water spell.

She took the spell head on, by slicing it with her keyblade before throwing it in a Strike Raid. I cast reflect, stopping the attack in its tracks, and rebounding the energy of the attack back at her, before inhaling deeply.

“Shadow Dragon Roar!” I shouted as a column of black magic shoots from my mouth towards Lex.

“Adam!” I could hear as the spell covered her. After a second and the cloud of smoke disappeared as Lex stood with her keyblade before her, a red aura covering her as her gold stripes and eye glowed. She smirked and pulled back in a sword drawing stance.

“Eat this!” A gold and red slash of energy shot out from her slash and towards me faster than expected, ploughing into me, and knocking me off my feet.

“Ugh,” I groan as I sit up. “That’s got some kick to it. Well, I might as well show off a bit.” I swiftly melt into my shadow, expanding it into my Pride ripoff form. I grinned as I shot sharpened shadow tendrils at her.

She twirled her keyblade around her like a Jedi, blocking a majority of the tendrils, but she still got hit, mostly on the back and legs. She growled lowly before getting in the same QuickDraw stance and spun in a circle, her attack dispelling the shadows, panting.

Lex threw her keyblade again, which I deflected, but she suddenly appeared with her weapon in the air, coming down on me with a vicious overhead strike, keeping her in the air for a second. I barely managed to get my Keyblade up to block, as I dispeled my shadows.

“Alright, now for something new!” I shouted as I switched Keyblades to Way to Dawn. “Angel of Black and White!” Just like when I sparred with Ed, a white angel wing sprouted from my left shoulder, while a red and black demon wing sprouted from my right. The Keyblade itself changed to resemble Riku’s Soul Eater sword from the first Kingdom Hearts game. I leapt into the air, throwing bolts of light and shadow magic at Lex, trying to catch her off guard.

“Shit.” I could barely hear her as she began to run around the area, dodging and deflecting when she could, some close calls causing her to pause for a couple seconds each.

“Dammit. I guess it's my turn.” I paused for a moment as I heard this, before Lex’s magic spiked for a moment, her keyblade beginning to glow a multitude of colours. “Activate. Etherious Shifter!” I closed my eyes for a moment as the light grew, before seemingly retracting in on itself. Once I could see again, I could see Lex wielding what looked like a large briefcase. That caused me to pause as I could sense it was stronger, but incomplete.

“Is that it? I mean I know how strong some women are with their bags, but what can this do?” I question. Lex just smirked before closing her eyes, her briefcase beginning to glow a sickening purple.

“Rirīsu! Yūdokuna kokoro no shīru! (Release! Seal of the Toxic Heart!)”

Lex gained some kind of symbol on her forehead that began to bleed downwards over her eyes, the bubbling purple case leaving her hand and covering both arms to the elbow, before spiking outwards. With a smirk, Lex’s eyes shot open, both with dark purple sclera while her arms were now covered with some kind of black and purple gauntlets with singular spikes sprouting from the back of the hand like Baraka from Mortal Kombat.

“How do you like this?” She snarked with a grin.

“I’m starting to think that I shouldn’t have opened my big mouth,” I replied, eye twitching, before charging at breakneck speeds at my opponent, weapon poised for a downward strike. Which never connected, as she blocks it, seemingly with ease.

Lex’s smirk widened, revealing two snakelike fangs in her mouth, and she uncrossed her arms and thrust them outward, a quick spray of clear liquid causing me to back off, the liquid hissing and steaming once it hit the arena floor.

“Acid?” I question.

“Toxins. Concentrated and poised to what I wanted it to do.” She said, shaking her hand a bit before crouching. I prepared myself, barely able to block as she suddenly leapt and tried to stab me. Her smirk never left, and my instincts roared at me. With a quick twist, a spray of toxins went past me as it shot from the end of her right spike.

I quickly leapt into the air again. “I think it’s time for a different approach, wouldn’t you agree?” I stretch out my free hand towards Lex, as I intone my next spell. “Door of Hades!” Instantly, a black door appears behind Lex. It slowly opened, allowing tendrils of shadow to snake out, wrapping around her wrists and ankles in an iron grip, before slowly dragging her in. “You like this? It’s based off of a spell in Persona Q. The game never showed what the attack actually looked like, so I improvised. The tendrils will pull you into the doors, which will then close and implode around you. I’ve never actually managed to get the spell off against a real opponent, since Ed trumped it mid cast, so I have no idea how bad the damage will be!”

Lex struggled, digging feet, then her spiked gauntlets into the ground as she was dragged in. She actually hissed like a snake at the predicament, before growling in frustration.

“Damnit, time to go all out with this.” I paused for a moment as she said that, backing away as she was being dragged in still. “You aren’t the only one who created spells.”

“Demon Slayer Secret Art!

Bacterial Contamination!”

Lex let go and allowed herself to be dragged closer, before her body began to twist and squirm, almost like there was something inside of her. Once she was barely at the doors, she screamed, rust coloured mist erupting from her as it covered the door, stopping the tendrils and causing the door to begin to decay like rotten wood.

The mist of toxins obscured my vision, and I almost threw up from the smell. It was like a skunk took a bath in sewage before going for a ten kilometre run and washing in a landfill.

“Aeroga!” I called, creating a barrier of wind around me and blowing away the mist, though the smell did linger. “Gosh dang it! That’s the second time that spell has been stopped mid-cast!”

“So? All that means is you have to learn to cast spells at a faster rate.” I am pretty sure my pupils shrink as I heard that. I turned on a dime, barely a second too late as Lex stabbed her spike into my stomach. It didn’t hurt, just a prick like a needle, but that didn’t mean I was suddenly terrified as I knew I was poisoned.

I sighed. “Well, I guess I know which of us won. I concede. Now, would you mind making sure this poison isn’t life-threatening? I haven’t found any of the moogles yet, so a Panacea is not in my future just yet.”

Lex crossed her arms and tilted her head, faking confusion. “Whoever said my toxins were deadly to organic matter?”

That caught me off guard, but before I could question, I giggled. My eyes widened and Lex’s smirk joined them as I struggled with all my might, but I was not winning this.

Her toxins….tickled.

“HAHAHAHAHAAHAH!”

“...That was a dirty trick, you know that right?” I questioned Lex with a glare as we stepped out of the Tower.

“I know, but hey, sometimes you need to fight dirty. Plus I wanted to test what kind of effects I could make my toxins do anyways.” She states with a shrug, hands behind her head as she walked. She had requipped into a more relaxed outfit, the one I remember Levi was first introduced in.

We had left the Tower after finding Twilight holed up in the Tower library. Who knew we even had a library?

“Hey Melissa, any idea where Twi and the rest are?” I asked as we stepped out of the simulator.

“Probably in the library,” she replied, adjusting settings on her terminal.

I blinked. “We have a library?”

“Isn’t this YOUR tower?” Haley asked with a raised eyebrow. “Shouldn’t you know these things?”

“Technically it’s Celestia’s Tower,” Melissa commented. “Celestia gave it to Kairi when she showed up.”

“Nice, I had Celestia build the guild, and that wasn’t until after I helped save the Crystal Empire.” Lex commented.

“I ask again, we have a library?” I asked again, trying to get the conversation back on track.

The techie sighed. “Out the door, two levels up. You can’t miss it.”

We nodded before stepping out and following her instructions. Heading up, we quickly find the library, and just inside, sitting at one of the tables, was Twilight, Luna and Chirithy, each reading a different book. Twilight’s book on Keyblade lore didn’t surprise me, but Luna and Chirithy reading manga did. My Heroine Academia? Really?

“Nice place. It’s no Fairy Tail Archives, but it looked great.” Lex commented, looking at a couple shelves with Dawn and Trixie.

“Yeah, I’m kinda surprised myself,” I muttered before turning to Luna. “Where exactly did you find that? Not to mention how is that even here?”

“They found it over there,” Twilight said, pointing to the conveniently marked Comic section. “There are spells that allow for the Library to self-update based on the tastes of the residents. Since Chirithy found it, it put that section together.”

“Huh, convenient,” I replied. “Anyway, Twilight, I’d like for you to meet Lex, Dawn and Trixie. They’re here to help Haley with her, uh, problem.”

“Hey Twi.” Lex mutter almost dismissively, looking through a book on keyblade spells. Dawn just nodded, his unflinching stare unnerving Twi a bit before he went back to his own book on basic keyblade combat.

“U-um...hi Twilight.” I rose a brow as I noticed Trixie shyly waving with a blush on her face. Lex smirked at my raised brow and wiggled her own a couple times.

“Uh, hello I guess?” Twilight raised her own eyebrow in confusion before shaking her head. “Anyway, I should probably get going. Spike mentioned seeing flyers for a magic show in town. Not sure why he wants to see that.”

“Probably a sense of normality,” I chuckled, before what she said processed. “Wait, did you say magic show?”

“Yyyeeesss…” The raised eyebrow returned on the purple unicorn.

My eye twitched ever so slightly. “Did Spike happen to mention who was doing the magic show?”

“Yes, some unicorn called the ‘Great and Powerful Trixie,’” Twilight nodded, rolling her eyes and letting sarcasm color her words as she said the name.

Trixie visibly flinched at that, catching our attention as her fur paled into an almost ghostly white. “Oh buck, today’s that day!?” She screamed, beginning to pace around in worry.

I groan as I realize the same thing, before an unexpected voice cuts in. “Wanna do something about it?” We turn to the voice and see Chirithy with a grin on his face.

“Yes! Anything to stop another me from making the same mistakes I did. The last thing I want is for an Ursa Minor to show up.” Trixie stated, earning a nod from Lex as she closed her book and turned to us.

“Then what are we waiting for?”

“OK, but what do you have in mind Chirithy?” I questioned with a nod.

“Well, why not give her an opportunity to do an actual performance instead of just boasting?” the Spirit said with a grin. “Something involving her illusions, and maybe some of your music?”

Lex put a hand to her chin in thought, before smirking, almost evilly. “Well, you’re on the right track kitten,” “Don’t call me that!” “But just showing her up won’t amount to much. How about, we show her what the real Great and Powerful Trixie of Fairy Tail can do?”

“Pop Stars!” Haley yelled catching all of our attention.

My eyes widened slightly. “As in the K/DA song?”

Haley nodded. “And for once, I can be useful!” She added with a proud smile on her face.

I slowly nodded. “That could possibly work…”

“Umm...what stars? I feel like I have heard that before somewhere.” Lex muttered, while Trixie was tilting her head. Dawn just kept reading.

“Pop/Stars, it’s a Korean and English League of Legends song from back home,” I explained. “It’s extremely intricate, and could potentially only been done with illusions. See where I’m going with this?”

Lex’s eyes widen in recognition before she fished out her Gummiphone and searched. “Man I am so glad this connects back to earth. Too bad I can’t call my parents though.” She muttered before finding the video. “Ok, yeah I remember this song. I heard about it from a friend of mine back in college, but never got around to listening to it.”

“Can someone please fill me in over here?” Trixie said in annoyance. In response, Lex snapped her fingers and produced two wireless headphones before handing one set to Trixie.

“Ok, while you lot do that, is there anything I can do aside from studying here?” Dawn questions in a dead tone as the others watch and listen to the song.

“Hmm,” I mutter, eyeing the colt up and down.

“What about having him learn Riku’s story?” Luna piped up.

We all turned to the young alicorn, eyebrows raised. “We could do that, but why?” I asked.

Luna fidgeted for a moment. “Well, he has this… hollow feeling about him,” she tried her best to explain. “Its like he should have an aura of balance, and he’s missing it somehow. I figured that he should learn from his story, since he walked the Path to Dawn.”

“A balance between light and darkness,” I caught on as Luna nodded.

“Balance…” Dawn muttered a hand on his chin as he put his book away.

“That makes sense.” Lex said, leaving Trixie to memorize the video. “I have been trying to think of ways to get Dawn his light and darkness back, but he is easily the most apathetic being I have ever met aside from a literal robot. Going through Riku’s story could be the key to him unlocking his keyblade and his own heart.”

“Alright then,” I nodded with a smile. “Why don’t you take Dawn down to the Simulator then Luna. Just ask Melissa to load up Riku’s side of the story from Kingdom Hearts.”

Luna nodded with a smile before grabbing the colt’s hand and literally dragged him out the door, his apathetic look never leaving his face.

“Now with that out of the way, how about we pull Trixie aside for a little chat…” I smirked.

It didn’t take us long to get into Ponyville after that, as we made our way to where Trixie had set up camp.

“Why exactly are you dragging me into this?” A disgruntled Twilight glared at me.

“We need another person to make sure the spells don’t unravel,” I explained. “Since your special talent is magic itself, you are technically the foremost expert on magic and spells.”

“Still though...” the unicorn groaned.

“Also we may need you to stop your friends from attacking and by extension, antagonizing this version of me. Trust me, I was merciless with them.” Trixie stated as we caught sight of the crowd.

We quickly circled around the crowd to the wagon that the stage magician used as a home, before knocking on the door.

“The Great and Powerful Trixie is about to go on so this better be import-” Trixie’s tirade was cut off as she opened the door and saw us. Or more accurately, herself standing there. “W-w-what?”

“Long story, but we need to talk to you. Can we come in?” Lex’s Trixie questions politely. The other mare slowly nods and lets us in, before facing her doppelgänger.

“Ok what’s this? Some kind of fanfilly illusion spell?” Trixie questions, grabbing Trix’s cheeks and pulling. Trix slapped her hands away with a frown before taking a breath.

“Ok, so this is going to sound crazy, but I am a version of you from an alternate dimension. I am a member of the Fairy Tail Guild, and am training to become a powerful wizard not unlike Starswirl the Bearded.”

“Ok? So then, why are you here, and stopping me before I can go on stage?”

“Well...lets just say things didn’t go so well for me when I performed here and I wanted to stop you from unintentionally causing a ruckus.”

“That’s not all.” Both Trixie’s turned to Lex as she spoke up. “Trixie and I wanted to show you just how great you could really be with some practice and friends. So, as bad as it sounds...we were going to hijack your show?”

“WHAT!?” Trixie snapped before her counterpart laid a hand on her shoulder.

“Relax. Remember, I am you. If we go one, the Great and Powerful Trixie will still be performing. Just the one from Fairy Tail.”

“And you won’t be causing a ruckus with whatever illusion magic you’ll be doing?”

Trix rolled her eyes before sighing. “The reason things got so bad for me before was because I was a braggart. I kept inflating my own abilities and some idiot colts took it literally. Can you honestly tell me you weren’t going to talk about beating an Ursa Major single handedly?”

Trixie blushed and rubbed the back of her head in embarrassment, proving the point. She looked to herself before sighing and unclipping her cape.

“Alright, I see your point. I may not like it, but the last thing I want is to cause trouble. Besides, I honestly am a little curious about what an alternate version of myself can do. I bet we’re even more great and powerful than I am alone.”

Trix rolled her eyes again but smiled as she clipped on the cape before gently taking the hat from the rack nearby. “Well then, I guess it's time for me to show what we got.”

“Alright, is everyone ready?” I asked glancing around, before noticing someone was missing. “Hey, where’s Haley?”

“I’ve always wanted to wear this costume!” Haley said, making us all turn our gaze to where she spoke. She seemed to be wearing an…

“An Akali costume?” I questioned with a raised eyebrow. “Really? You used your magic to make a costume, after YOU PUT US THROUGH THE RINGER IN GETTING YOU TO UNDERSTAND MAGIC?!?”

“Why didn’t I think of that?!” My gaze shot to Lex as her clothes began to glow, and suddenly she was in a copy of Evelynn’s outfit from the video. She smirked as she looked over herself before nodding.

I groaned before turning back to Lex. “Mind magicing me into Ahri’s get up? Tail and ears included?” She nodded with a smirk before a spell matrix appeared beneath me and I could feel my clothes change. Once the light died down, it was done and I was in a perfect Ahri outfit, complete with a crystal-like tail and a pair of ears on the top of my head. I nodded in thanks as I saw Trixie taking a breath before placing her hands on her temples and glowing, before she was in Kai’sa’s outfit herself.

“Alright, you girls ready now?” Trixie questions. The three of us nod and get in position.

I quickly cast a spell to darken the area around the stage and crowd, before allowing my Music Magic to flow, beginning the song.

Hey, hey, hey
Hey-hey-hey, hey, hey
You know who it is
Coming 'round again
You want a dose of this
Right now
It's K/DA, uh!

The lights came on with several strobe lights as the background lit up, illuminating each of us one at a time before showing the four of us, in our poses. Haley walked up a bit while the rest of us disappear into thin air with some help from Trixie’s Memory Magic.

I'm a goddess with a blade
소리쳐봐 내 이름 잊지 못하게
Loud, loud, loud, loud
I could take it to the top
절대 멈추지 못해 내가 끝내주는
Bad gal, gal, gal

Haley had her back turned showing her outfit before the light glitched into darkness, showing off the fluorescent glow in the dark designs on her. She vanished and the lighting came back to Lex walking forward with the background of a tunnel. It cut back to Haley nodding before disappearing again.

And when I start to talk like that (like that)
Oh you won't know how to react
I'm a picture-perfect face
With that wild in my veins
You can hear it in my
Growl, growl, growl, growl

The image of a metallic, red-eyed skull appeared in the background as Lex walked off and Revealed Trixie sitting with her legs crossed on a seat, nodding along. She smirked as she seemed to shrink back, the background showing her laying back with a small car at her fingertips, her red tinted shades seeming to glow before she pushed the car forwards, the light blinding the audience for a moment.

So keep your eyes on me now
무엇을 보든 좋아할 거야
닿을 수 없는 level
나와 대결 원한 널 확신해
We got it all in our hands now
So can you handle what we're all about?
We're so tough
Not scared to show you up
Can you feel the rush now?
Ain’t nobody bringin’ us

I appeared with a calm expression as my voice echoed over the area, my crystal-like tail seeming to glow as I sang along. The beat bars appeared in the background before Haley appeared again, the lights darkening to show her bright design with a leaking spray bottle, before she looked up, posed and the background showed a red eastern dragon, and the lights come on, showing all of us.

Down, down, down, down, down, down
They could try but we're gonna wear the crown
You could go another round
Round, round, round, round, round, round
Wish you luck but you're not bringing us down
We go hard (hard) 'til we get it, get it
We go hard (hard). We so in it, in it
We pop stars (pop stars), only winning, winning now
Ain't nobody bringing us down, down, down, down

The crowd was going wild as the four of us danced on stage, several jaws being picked up off the floor as they applauded. The lights went out for a second as the white teeth design on Haley’s mask appeared and she took Center stage.

Hey!
You ready for this? (let's go!)
See 언제든지 내 모습 magic
단 한 번에 내가 잡어
절대 기죽지 않지, uh!
Pow-pow 네가 뭘 알아
견딜 수 없어, 원해도
원하는 게 얼굴에 보여
I'm trouble and you're wanting it
I'm so cold
When I move that way, you gonna be so blown
I'm the realest in the game, uh

Her mask moved along with her own as she actually rapped, acting their attention, and a few of the more attentive of the audience saw a darkened silhouette of Trixie nodding behind her. Lex appeared a couple times next to Trixie with her verses before they both come front and center with her verse.

Say I'm on fire with a blade
You're about to hear my name
Ringing in your head like, whoa

The area darkened again before lighting up and letting me take over, the crystal tail behind me rising and splitting into nine like a flower. I snapped my fingers, letting a red ruby heart fly out and covering the stage as it darkened yet again.

So keep your eyes on me now
무엇을 보든 좋아할 거야
We're so tough
Not scared to show you up
Can you feel the rush now?
Ain’t nobody bringin’ us

The background showed several floating cubes and cylinders in some kind of space before Haley appeared again with her spray can and slammed it on the ground, creating a smokescreen for the four of us to come back to the front.

Down, down, down, down, down, down
They could try but we're gonna wear the crown
You could go another round
Round, round, round, round, round, round
Wish you luck but you're not bringing us down
We go hard (hard) 'til we get it, get it
We go hard (hard). We so in it, in it
We pop stars (pop stars), only winning, winning now
Ain't nobody bringing us down, down, down, down

Twilight and her friends couldn’t take their eyes away from the spectacle that was our performance, watching all the magic in the air move and work in perfect unison. She glanced over to this worlds Trixie who was nearby, and their eyes met. Trixie’s wide eyes conveyed a single message.

‘I can’t do this.’

Oh, 난 멈추지 않아
Oh, oh, we go hard
Oh, oh, we pop stars (stars), stars (stars)
Ain't nobody bringing us

The four of us appeared one after the other before the background lit up with a white circle, illuminating us all as we danced, before darkening and showing off each of our own fluorescent designs, before we all appeared next to one another

Ain't nobody bringing us
Down, down, down, down, down, down
They could try but we're gonna wear the crown
You could go another round
Round, round, round, round, round, round
Wish you luck but you're not bringing us down
We go hard (hard) 'til we get it, get it
We go hard (hard). We so in it, in it
We pop stars (pop stars), only winning, winning now
Ain't nobody bringing us down, down, down, down.

The crowd erupted into applause and cheering as the magic finally died down and the four of us could catch our breaths, Trixie looking over the crowd with a smile as she laughed a little.

“Been a while since I heard this sound.” Trixie muttered loud enough for us to hear her, letting her illusion vanish and letting her reappear in her cape and hat. Lex walked up and pat her on the back with a smile of her own

“Holy crap they’re amazing!” Rainbow yelled to her friends, the group all nodding in agreement.

A roar from the Everfree Forest cut through the applause, silencing the cheers, and causing me to pale.

“Crap, that sounds like a Heartless, and a big one at that,” I called out. “Haley, you and the Element Bearers evacuate the town, Lex, Trixie and I will handle this.” I then turn to my Trixie, tossing her a yellow orb of magic. “Use this to support us, it's called Music Magic. Just pick a song, sing it, and the magic will do the rest.”

“B-but I-”

“Just do it Trixie.” She turned to her counterpart as she summoned her Keyblade. “Like you said before, we’re a lot better than you were alone. Let this be the proof.”

“Well said.” Lex said, summoning her own Keyblade.

By this point the square is mostly empty, and we could easily hear the rumble as the Heartless approached. And then, we caught our first glimpse of it. A Khopesh. Two of them.

“Dammit,” I growled under my breath. “It’s the Kurt Zisa.”

The Kurt Zisa appeared as a six-armed beast, with a brown and black segmented body and a golden head that bears a strong resemblance to a cobra head. It wears a white sleeve trimmed in gold on each arm, a white tunic with puffy gold sleeves over it’s oddly-shaped upper torso, and white, gold-and-turquoise trimmed pants on its lower body; around its waist is a brightly colored sash in turquoise, decorated with bright orange tassels and a gold apron bearing the Heartless Emblem. Its feet appear to be clad in gold and brown shoes at first glance, but the toes are curled into fierce hooks that point down towards the ground. Each arm ends in three sharp segmented talons.

“This is not gonna be easy,” I growled out.

“Trixie, hang back a bit and focus on magic strikes, Kairi and I will charge in and keep it’s attention off you.” Lex stated, the mare nodding”

I sighed. “I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but one of the first things that thing does is cast a Silence spell, negating all magic until we destroy the magic orbs that appear in its hands…”

“Damn, well, are the orbs susceptible to magic damage?” Trixie questions.

“I don’t know. Even if I did, it wouldn’t matter, the spell wouldn’t even make it before it puffs out of existence,” I explained. “They need to go before we can use magic.”

Trixie took a breath before nodding, placing a hand on her temple as a red spell matrix appeared behind her. “Then what are we waiting for?”

“Memory Make: Downpour of Ancient Wisdom!”

We caught on and jumped as the spell lit up, sending the three of us flying towards the Heartless.

“Trixie, what are you waiting for?” I call out. “Pick a song!”

The azure mare nods and thinks for a moment as we key by, hearing as a {https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkCksU0jf04]guitar and drums begin.

‘No Limits huh? Perfect.’

“Whoa whoa whoa whoaaa
Oh, we’ll get stronger!
Whoa whoa whoa whoa”

Trixie let herself fall a bit before us, allowing Lex and I to rush forward and begin to attack. The heartless quickly moved into a stance, waving its khopeshes around as a field surrounded it.

“Quick, target the hands, maybe we can disrupt its attacks!” I shouted to my companions.

“Hey! Mr. Pain! Bring it! Bring it!
I’ll never let you do as you like
I will get stronger than you
I’ve already made up my mind to be so!”

Lex nodded and dodged to the left as it swung around, before retaliating with a triple combo and bouncing back again. She then let her Keyblade fly with a Strike Raid before jumping back, while I shot it with ice shots. Unfortunately, while our attacks did connect, it wasn’t enough to disrupt the attack, as two purple orbs formed in its free hands.

“Crap!” I cried in anger. “Forget what I said before, go after the orbs!”

“I was always born a dreamer
Letting my heart lead the way
The more challenges that block me
Make tomorrow exciting”

“Memory Make Blade of Frozen Black Lightning!” A bolt of black electricity with a blue outline went over my head and straight into one of the orbs, freezing it solid as Trixie jumped after it and wailed on it, before jumping back as it shattered into pieces.

“Ice Make Ice Geyser!” Lex followed her example and froze the other one before going through a couple combos on the orb with her weapon.

“This is not good.” Trixie said from behind us.

“Eh Yo! Come my way, show me whatchu got, Mr. Pain!
No – no – no – no you know there’s no stopping me!
I was never fit for losing”

I grimaced, gripping my Keyblade tighter as I rush in, hacking away at the left orb. To be honest, that probably wasn’t one of my best ideas, as a smirk seemed to appear on the Heartless’s snakey face before it backhanded me away.

“I gotcha.” Lex muttered, flying into the air and caught me by the back of my outfit before I could fly too far away.

“Thanks Lex,” I groan in pain as I gather my bearings.

“RAISE A FLAG
Even if scars fill every inch of my skin
RAISE A FLAG
I know my friends ’ll fight until end … by my side!”

“Hey a little help here!” Trixie yelled, dodging away before disappearing into a mirage and appearing a little ways away.

“Incoming!” The Heartless actually looked over to Lex as she flew in. “Solid Script Slice!” The kanji for Slice appeared behind her Keyblade, cutting through some of the orb like a hot knife through butter.

“Shining brightly, there is a new world
Wanting for me, but I can’t make it
Unless we fight as one – NO-LIMIT holds us back!”

Unfortunately, the orb was a lot tougher than it looked, since it seemed to hold together pretty well instead of dissipating like it would if destroyed.

“Damn, this thing is a lot tougher than in the game!” I growled out, before I see the Heartless leap into the air, spinning in a circle and flying towards us. “Incoming!” I shouted as I leap over the attack.

Lex lit up her wings again and took to the air while Trixie paused for a brief second to cast a spell on herself.

“Memory Make Rainboom Burst!” The mare suddenly ran away with a rainbow trail behind her, managing to easily avoid the large Heartless as it seemed focused on her. It then changed its attack pattern to be more wheel like as it flew towards us, forcing me to roll to the side.

“It’s in our hands, we’ve gotta grasp it
And take a stand, aim for the future
NO-LIMIT holds us back!”

“Keep an eye on it when it does this attack, it likes to switch between a wheel and a disk!” I called out as I got to my feet.

Lex and Trixie both nodded while they were running and flying, before the heartless finally stopped and landed again.

“Whoa whoa whoa whoaaa
Oh, we’ll get stronger!”

I quickly run back towards the heartless, only for it to start spinning its khopeshes around it like a shield, forcing me to cast a Reflect spell… Only for it to fail, allowing one of the spinning weapons to clip me and throw me back towards Lex and Trixie, a cry of pain leaving my mouth as I clutched the gaping wound on my side.

“Cure!” Trixie yelled as a green glow enveloped me, mostly focused on my wound as it closed quickly.

“Damnit! You are really annoying with those things!” Lex yelled in frustration before stomping her foot, red sparks traveling along the ground before it burst up into a pillar, sending the heartless onto its back.

“You’ll only get one chance to knock out those that block you
And prove that you can’t be stopped!
We just keep going – Going – We do what we can!
For the battle up ahead – We will fight to the end!”

Digging my Keyblade into the ground as I pull myself back up, my eyes widened. “Was that thing hurt by Alchemy?!?”

“Huh, didn’t expect that. I was just trying to catch it off guard.” Lex admitted, before smirking as she got low to the ground. “Alright then, how about this?!” Lex clapped her hands and slammed them onto the ground, causing the ground beneath the heartless to both rise and sink into a massive hole. “That won’t hold it for long.” I

“They say it’s nothing more than luck
But they’re just star-struck! (you know!)
Let’s show em how we can break the limit -”

“Trixie, we need a different song!” I called out, cutting off the music. “Something that’ll help improve our physical capabilities instead of our magical!”

Trixie nodded before a guitar started to strum, followed by the rest of the instruments.

“We’re walking through a haze, it’s a crowded maze of apathy and rage
But what’s the point of this? If we stay any longer, our dreams will fade away”

I grinned as I clapped my hands together, before pounding the ground with my fist, creating spikes that jutted into the left hand orb.

“I’m done with trying to achieve what I left behind. It is better to redefine what I live for. The past is gone.
My friend, it’s feeling like the old days, but I’ll be damned if I let my absence of innocence ever hold me back!”

Lex and I shared a grin before we rushed forwards while Trixie closed her eyes for a second.

“Memory Make Night of Shooting Stars!” The bolts of light and electricity slammed into the Heartless, staggering it and allowing Lex and I to rush in and simultaneously combo it. The two of us jumped back quickly as it recovered and tried to counter, hissing in anger.

“The sin inside me will always be oppressing
Cannot ignore this unbearable suffering
I’m sick and tired of feeling as a victim, what am I waiting for now?”

The orb we had struck began dissipating as I clapped my hands again, this time creating a large cannon. “Fire in the hole!” I shouted, firing at the second orb, where upon striking its target, it promptly exploded, throwing the Heartless back, leaving it stunned as the second orb dissolved.

“Now’s our chance!” I yelled, running in to attack its head. “Your magic should work again!”

Lex grinned as she flew into the air before taking a deep breath. “Rirīsu! Kurenjinguraito no shīru! (Release! Seal of the Cleansing Light!)” Her gold highlights suddenly began to glow as both eyes became white with a gold sclera, her wings on her back becoming white and gold.

“Fairy Cannon!” An orb of holy magic appeared in her hands before she launched it down, striking the Heartless in the head.

“Tryin’ te write down the words as I feel them
But can I separate the truth from what is fiction?
Can’t escape, no more turning back now! This is reality!”

“Memory Make Vibrant Flashing Blaze!” A torrent of blood red and bright orange flame engulfed the Heartless’s torso, Trixie’s magic causing it to stagger back. “Kairi you’re up!”

“Sonic Blade!” I called out, charging at high speeds towards the Heartless’s head. After the attack connected, it jumped back on its feet, conjuring an orange force field around it, as it started firing fireballs at us at high speed.

“Within the night sky, the rest of our short lives, never resting in complacency (This is my wish)
If we are to have dreams, then there’s no such thing as safe and sound.”

“Don’t let that force field fool you,” I called out after singing an echo to the song. “It looks like it could repel magic, but it only repels physical attacks. Hit it with enough magic and it’ll break! Thundaga!” As I finish my explanation, I call lightning down on the barrier.

“Memory Make Shrine of the Storming Wind Fang!” Several cyclones appeared around the Heartless, the twisters slamming into the barrier as Lex flew directly above its head.

“Here goes. FairyLight Downpour!” Several beams of gold magic attack the barrier from above, causing it to shake a bit as the twisters continue their assault.

“We have no place to call home.
Wasting time and we’re wasting our lives, trying to fix what can never be changed
Nostalgia’s comfort, it disappears into a “now“ fury.”

I could see cracks starting to form on the force field, as I charged up an attack. “Heart of a Princess!” I screamed as I flew into the air, trailing a number of magical orbs that crashed into the barrier, exploding on contact.

“I must apologize. This pride that’s inside me always telling lies.
Like I am in control, of the things that were not ever my burdens to hold.”

“Is that it?” Lex questions, floating down to us as Trixie and I regroup.

“No,” I growled out. “One more big attack and that force fiel - LOOK OUT!” I screamed as I pushed Trixie out of the way of a small circle of tornadoes manifesting where she was originally standing.

“I carried everything back then, and I will carry everything that’s within my reach
Though I know that, it’s killing me.”

“Shit!” Lex cried as one appeared beneath her as well, sending the two of us flying into the air and then slamming us onto the ground once gravity took hold. “Yup, I’m going to be feeling that in the morning.”

“Tell me about it,” I groaned in pain. “Curaga,” I called, casting the strongest version that also happened to be an area of effect spell, getting us all back on our feet. “You got any big magic you can use to finish that force field off?”

“I breathe, gotta let the anger pass over me so I can communicate what I am feeling
I close my eyes!”

“Well, I do have a couple, give me a sec. Tojiru. Kurenjinguraito no shīru. (Close. Seal of the Cleansing Light.)” Lex shining transformation deactivated as her seal closed before she took a breath and menacing look overtook her features. “Ririsu! Ikari no yami no shīru! (Release! Seal of the Wrathful Darkness!)”

Lex gold stripes suddenly darkened into a sickening black as both her eyes turned blue with a black sclera, her wings becoming dark and batlike.

“Tell me why, why they must repeat lies?
Saying we’re friends but they’ll never know what’s inside
My heart, burning with a malice for all the sly deception”

“Cover me!” Was all the warning she gave before she flew up again and snarled down to the heartless before cupping her hands, purple and black magic appearing between them.

Trixie nodded and cast Swords of Frozen Black Lightning again, earning the Heartless’s attention before running around, leading it on a wild chase.

“For every falsehood that’s trying to perpetuate
You take a step further from the world you decorate
Reality, as well as contentment, will always be out of reach”

I switch to my Ever After Keyblade, activating Mirage Staff as well, before creating a bunch of doppelgangers, confusing the Heartless in where to attack.

Trixie followed my example as she made several mirage clones of herself, making the Heartless think it was surrounded by well over a dozen of us. It began recklessly slashing away, destroying several illusion copies before Trixie and I got a very strong sense of dread.

“To the night sky, I scream out my crimes, trying to will away this guilty plea (I’m on my way)
If we are to have dreams, then there’s no such thing as safe and sound.”

“Uh oh.” Was all the mare said before suddenly running and taking cover. I looked up as I heard a clap, and see Lex with her hands before in a prayer stance.

“Experience damnation. Grimoire….Law.”

“We have no place to call home.
You take the time, and I thank you for trying to understand this mess I’ve made of me. (This is my wish)
Be friend or foe I, welcome anyone who tries to challenge me!”

I am pretty sure I blacked out or something, because as soon as the last syllable left Lex mouth, a dark aura surrounded everything, blocking out my vision and hearing. But I could feel, and what I felt was bad.

It was almost like all of my own sins, all of my fears and insecurities had come to life within me and was trying to break out. The feeling only lasted for a second or two, but I won’t be forgetting it anytime soon.

“I am searching for the next door, opening for me a path to the truth
Sometimes we don’t write our own story, and we can’t erase what’s written within
Open your eyes, open your eyes!”

After a bit, I could see and hear again as I saw dark purple tendrils of magic slamming against the Heartless’s barrier in the darkness, before finally the barrier gave out and light filtered back into the area.

“Alright, hit it with everything you’ve got! We’re almost done!” I cheered, charging forward, firing off beams of light at the target, since I was still using Mirage Staff.

Lex nodded as her Keyblade-turned-suitcase transformed into a giant serrated scythe with several odd designs on it. She waved her hand around with some odd signs before slashing forwards, several purple circles of magic appears around the heartless. I jumped back as I recognized the spell.

“Amaterasu Formula 25!” The circles suddenly glowed before a large sphere of dark magic surrounded the Heartless, slashing and tearing it apart from within the sphere.

“Wasting time and we’re wasting our lives, trying to fix what can never be changed
So, take this damned life, and lead me to where I can start over.
I’ll let go of all this pain!”

The Heartless staggered back to its feet, summoning its orbs again.

“Nope!” I shout, clapping my hands onto the ground and creating spikes that destroy the orbs almost as soon as they appear, throwing the Heartless to the ground once again.

“Into the night sky, I scream out my crimes, trying to will away this guilty plea (I’m on my way)
If we are to have dreams, then there is no such thing as safe and sound.”

“Trixie!” Lex called, the mare nodding as she ran from her cover, before dispelling her Keyblade and placing both hands on her temples.

“Memory Make….Wrath of the Star Beast!” Behind Trixie a large spell matrix lit up, before a form began to appear. I am pretty sure my eyes were going to pop out once I realized what it was.

Trixie smirked to herself as she stood atop the head of a freaking Ursa Major, the beast was easily twice as big as town hall on all fours with light purple and yellow fur. It roared before charging and tackling the Heartless to the ground and then proceeded to rip and tear at it.

“We have no place to call home.
You take the time, and I thank you for trying to understand this mess I’ve made of me. (This is my wish)
Be friend or foe I, welcome anyone who tries to challenge me!”

As the song ends, I leap over the Ursa, before slamming my Keyblade into the Heartless’s head, killing it.

The three of us pant and lean against one another as we caught our breath, the large heart from the Kurt Zisa floating into the air behind us as we made our way back to town.

Once we made it to town, we saw Haley and the others coming out of hiding to greet us. Haley just looked at the three of us, then over to the destroyed area of our fight before smirking.

“Well….that was a thing. Good job girl! Now….who wants some ice cream?”

“Goddamit Haley.”

Edit: forgot to add these links. Whoops.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UOxkGD8qRB4&list=LL3W4-IEzkJeEIFB22Bbtwgw&index=9&t=0s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkCksU0jf04

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEoE4YNIzsg

“You know, you could have taken one of the radios with you,” Melissa glared at us as we got back. “All of the equipment in my lab is meant to analyze Heartless and other evil entities.”

“You could have mentioned that earlier,” I muttered. “And besides, we weren’t expecting a frickin’ Kurt Zisa to show up!”

“I know that,” the techie sighed. “I’m suggesting that you keep something with you to stay in contact with the Tower in case of emergencies.”

“I have a feeling your tech might work better than my magic alarms, so can I take one back with me?” Lex questions, drying her hair since she had to shower off the dirt from the fight.

Melissa nodded. “Sure, as long as you’re willing to do something for me in exchange.”

“What’s up?” Lex questioned, standing slightly over the techie.

“Ever since I got here, I’ve been trying to replicate One For All,” Melissa explained. “As useful as my tech is, more often than not in anime, the heroes are usually without their gear when an emergency occurs. Because of that, I decided that I needed something to even the odds. However, I’ve run into a bit of a snag. The component I need to finish it, is some magic, and I can’t use any. What I want you to do is imbue the mask I’ve made with your magic.”

“Really? You recreated One for All?” Lex said, visibly impressed. “Wow. Even I have trouble recreating magic variants of moves from other media, and you were able to make one of the strongest Quirks ever? That is impressive.”

“To be fair, I have been here for almost 1000 years,” the techie replied, adjusting her glasses. “I was here when the Tower was first built, but that’s besides the point. It took me almost the entire thousand years I was here to get this far.”

“Wait, you’re over a THOUSAND years old?” I questioned in shock.

Melissa nodded. “Yeah, my Displacer explained to me after the fact that the Displaced in this world, namely you, me, and Haley, are effectively immortal, baring getting killed of course.”

“And here I thought I would be the same age as Melissa. I was trapped in a flipping crystal.” I hear Haley mumble to herself.

“So we’re like the Alicorns then.” Lex muttered, surprising us. “What? You guys didn’t know?”

“Uh, no,” I replied in a flat tone. “No we didn’t.”

“I think I broke her,” Melissa chuckled. “In any case, back to the original matter, are we agreed then? Tech for magic being imbued into my creation?”

“Sure thing.” Lex said simply, stretching her arms with a grin. “Honestly this will be my first time attempting a magitech combination, here’s hoping we don’t blow up.”

“So where are the kids?” Haley asked, changing the subject of conversation.

I quickly shook myself out of my daze. “Hey, that’s a good question. Did they finish going through Riku’s story?”

“As a matter of fact, they did,” Melissa smiled. “I suggested that they practice some hand-eye-coordination with some Beat Saber.”

“Wait, we have Beat Saber here?” My eyes widened in excitement.

“Mhm, they’re taking turns with it right now.”

“Damn, I guess I should have expected Luna to drag Dawn into something like that. Hopefully he hasn’t had an aneurysm from the flashing lights.” Lex muttered.

“I think you’ll be surprised,” Melissa smirked as she led us into the control room, where we found Luna intently watching Dawn on the monitor. “How’s he doing?” she asked the filly.

“Way better than me,” she replied, her eyes staying glued to the monitor. “I barely made it a third of the way through, and he’s almost two thirds through.”

“What song is it?” I asked. The only response I got was Melissa flipping a switch to allow the music to play through, making my eyes widen. “REALITY CHECK THROUGH THE SKULL?!?!?”

“Somehow I am not surprised.” Lex shook her head with a smile. “Dawn has incredible hand-to-eye coordination as a martial artist and he uses Airspace Magic, so he knows how to react and act super fast. Quite bluntly, he could give Rainbow a run for her money in the magic and reaction speed department.”

“That may be, but are you aware of just how infamous this level is?!?” I replied, still in shock. “Just how many mistakes has he made so far?!?”

“About three,” Luna replies. My jaw hits the floor, and I am reduced to a twitching mess.

“Well he lasted longer than I thought he would.” Lex said, casually taking a sip of some water. “Then again I have seen some of the training he does in his free time, this is only a couple levels harder.”

“Impressive,” Melissa nodded in respect. “Maybe I should come up with something that’ll really test him at some point. In any case, I suggested this since it’ll make wielding a Keyblade easier if he uses something similar beforehand.”

“Um guys? I think Kairi is broken again.” Haley says noticing my twitching state.

“Don’t worry, I got this.” Lex said, summoning her Keyblade and holding it over me. “Mind Spark.” A small bolt of purple electricity went through her Keyblade and then into my head, and next thing I know, I’m on my feet again. “Huh, I honestly didn’t think that would work.”

“You didn’t have to do that! I thought we could just shake her or something!” Haley said before quickly kneeling down to my level checking on my well-being.

I quickly waved her off. “It’s fine Haley, I actually told Luna to slap me on the back of the head next time that happens, though since she’s currently occupied, I’m not surprised someone else had to do something.”

“That doesn’t make me worry about you any less,” Haley said as she crossed her arms.

I shook my head, turning back to the screen. “Well, it looks like this impossible song was just finished. And with only three mistakes.”

“You’re acting awfully calm there Kairi,” Melissa observed with a smirk.

“That’s only because I’m pretending this is all just a big dream, and that I’m unconscious after that fight.”

I could feel Lex’s blank stare as we moved out of the way for Dawn. I expected him to be exhausted, but I forgot, martial artist. He only took a deep breath and had a very thin shine of sweat on his head as he returned.

“That was….interesting.” Was all he said before taking a water bottle from Luna and chugging the whole thing down.

“I’m not too terribly surprised after what Lex told us of your training,” the techie remarked. “I have half a mind to send you home with a personal version of the Simulator just so I can make harder songs for you.”

“I have no idea what just happened, but I am impressed.” Trixie finally spoke up, no longer looking over all the tech.

My eye started twitching again. “Impressed would be an understatement for me…” I muttered, still not believing what I saw. Lex just sighed and smacked me over the head with her Keyblade. “Ow!”

“This is real, get over it.” She said before turning to Melissa. “So where’s the mask of One for All?”

“In my lab,” she replied. “But, only you are coming with me.”

“Are you okay?” Haley asked, worried about my well-being once again.

“I’m fine,” I waved her off again with a roll of my eyes. “We can have a bit of fun with Beat Saber while we wait on them.”

“All right then,” Melissa nodded. “Just follow me.”

After Melissa led us out into the hall, she turned to a seemingly blank wall and placed her hand onto it, muttering something too low for me to hear. A low rumble is heard before the wall rolls aside to reveal a staircase.

“This way,” the techie remarks, as she guides us down.

Not sure why, but even from here I could feel the intense energy that comes from what I assume the mask of One for All is. Not sure why, since I have the magic needed for it.

“That’s not the mask,” Melissa spoke up, having seemingly noticed my apprehension. “The energy you’re feeling is almost entirely the security I built into the walls. Only a small fraction of that is the mask.”

“Ah, that makes sense. Maybe it's just because of how much magic energy I am normally surrounded by at home, but the difference was a little jarring.” I muttered, mostly to myself.

“Understandable,” she nodded. We soon came to the bottom of the staircase, where a nondescript door waited for us. I took a step towards it, only for Melissa to grab my arm. “Not that way. That door is a trap.” She turned to the wall again, this time simply stepping through.

I quickly followed after her to find myself on an elevator. “Really?”

“What?” She raised her eyebrow. “My lab has some of the most dangerous tech in the multi-verse in it, wouldn’t you make sure that security is air-tight?” She turned to the door, and entered what I can only assume was a passcode of some sort, before a microphone popped out of the wall.

“Melissa Shields,” she spoke clearly. Suddenly several turrets crackling with electricity popped out of the ceiling and were pointed at my face. With a quick glance up, Melissa then adds, “And guest,” causing the turrets to return to a neutral state before the elevator began moving down.

“Just how deep does this place go? I am half expecting us to arrive at the cave where the Tree of Harmony is.” I muttered, shaking my head at my new habit.

“It is down here,” Melissa replied. “Its on the level below my lab, powering the whole Tower.”

“Only you would find a way to harness its energy.” I muttered, damnit, again. “I have been using it to help with the guild members meditation, but even then it is just being in proximity of it since it naturally stores and releases so much Ethernano.”

“You are aware of what happens to the Tree in the show, right?” Melissa glances over in worry.

“Oh I’m aware, my sister Nat told me. Since Discord is still in stone I plan on having Celestia submit the task of reforming him to the guild then either having him use his Chaos magic to get rid of the Plunder Seeds, or just copy his magic and do it myself.” Lex replied.

Melissa turns fully to face me, a look of shock on her face. “You really don’t know, do you? In the show Sombra destroys the tree, but in every other universe the tree is destroyed by something else. In our case, my Displacer said that it would be the Heartless.”

I am pretty sure I blanked out for a second before pinning Melissa to the elevator wall.

“Not. Happening. I am not letting that tree get destroyed.” I said with a glare, accidentally releasing my earth seal. Some leaves began to grow in my hair as wood grew on my arms. “That one tree is a larger source of magic than even I am. If it is destroyed the resulting Magic Inversion would likely equal an Etherion Blast.”

“I know,” Melissa calmly replies, prying my hands off of her. “Which is why I’m sending along a security device that will be powered by the Tree itself. I’ll show you in the lab.” A chime sounds as soon as she said this. “Speak of the devil. Now, would you kindly calm down, and power down?”

I just scoffed and resealed my earth seal, crossing my arms as we left the elevator.

The techie stepped out, sweeping her arms in grand gesture. “Welcome to my lab, where I keep my most dangerous devices, and work on my more… shall we say… energy intensive devices. But, before we get to the mask, lets get that security device.”

She moves over to a wall lined with pods, selecting a glass one with what looked like a silvery liquid suspended within it. “This is one of my most useful devices. I call it the Figure 17.”

Melissa gives it a twist, causing the liquid to run out onto the floor. It was obviously bigger on the inside, since the pool on the floor was far more than the container could naturally hold. After a moment, the puddle began to move and contort. It shaped itself into a clone of Melissa, right down to the clothes she was wearing.

“Figure 17, unit 3 activated,” it said, before turning to Melissa. “Why am I active when there is no immediate threat?”

“Just a demonstration, Three,” she replied to the now named Three.

I could feel my eye twitching as I looked at, what I believe, was a mix of a DBZ Android, the T-1000 and Melissa. I slowly turned my head to the human and pointed to the copy.

“Wat.”

Melissa rolled her eyes as she stepped into Three, causing the two of them to become a new, older looking individual. “The Figure 17 units are essentially combat armor that can function autonomously. They work excellently as disguises as well.” The two then step apart again. “I currently have three Figure 17 units guarding the Tree now, which is the maximum I’m willing to send back with you.”

I managed to get my eye under control and slowly nodded, looking at Three. “So, she’s fine with going to an alternate Equestria?”

“Not Three,” Melissa shook her head. “She’s already encoded to me. No, I’d be sending you back with fresh units that can bond with you. Think of them like the Venom symbiotes of Spider-Man, but made from technology. They will look like clones of you, or anyone you want to bond with them. The best part is that they can learn Magic as well.”

“Oookay. That….is actually really handy because of all the guild members with different magic styles.” I said, slowly thinking about it more.

Melissa nodded, before pulling out three more glass tubes and handing them to me. “One last thing about the Figure 17 units. While you can have them all bond with you, they will act like your twin more often than not. Try to have others bond with them as well. Believe me, I’m kinda sick of having three twin sisters.”

“As someone who is constantly splitting myself into four people, I know the feeling.” I said, remembering all the arguments Ali, Xan and Lexa can get into when I am left separated for too long.

Melissa shuddered. “I can only imagine. Anyway, I tweaked these ones to have their power increased when in proximity to the Tree by about a hundred times what it's normally capable of.”

“So, harmony powered Super Saiyan.” I muttered, before glancing at Three again. “But how do they stack up normally?”

The techie shrugged. “I’d say about the equivalent of All Might in his hayday, physically speaking, and magically speaking, about the equivalent of Iron Rock Jura.”

“Ok, magically I could take them, but I would break everything if I tried to arm wrestle them. Got it.” I said, glancing at the copy with apprehension.

Melissa nodded before turning to go further into the lab. “Right then, lets go do what we originally planned to do. Power up that mask.”

She quickly led me to the back of the lab, past work tables with all manner of dangerous inventions. I’m pretty sure I saw an incomplete Zapatron on one of the tables we passed. Finally we came to the mask. It was a pretty nondescript mask made of white porcelain.

“Huh, honestly I expected it to look like Deku’s mask.” I said to Melissa, receiving a blank stare that I shrugged at. “Alright, here goes nothing.”

“Hold on, can you copy it first?”

I nodded and used my Archive magic to copy everything about the mask before combining it with my Arc of Embodiment to create a second one.

Melissa nodded as she put the copy on another worktable. “I needed another one in case this one failed, so that I can try again at this point.”

With that, I placed my hands over the mask and began to let my magic flow into the mask. Almost immediately I could feel my magic connecting to the man-made-quirk, which began to drain me through most of my physical based magic. I groaned a bit as the flow increased for a couple seconds.

“OK, I think that’s enough,” Melissa spoke up, but the drain wouldn’t stop. “Um, ok, you can stop now.”

“Bitchi No Musuko Ga Tasukete!” I yelled on reflex, before groaning and going back to English. “Son of a bitch! Melissa help!”

“Shit! Hang on!” The techie grabbed my arms and began to physically force my hands away from the mask. Unfortunately, with this shift in magical flow, the flow itself became unstable, ending in an explosion that threw us both across the room.

“F***! Melissa are you ok!” I yelled, poking my head out of the rubble that was a wall I flew through.

Said girl groan as she picked herself up off the ground. “My head is spinning, my ears are ringing, and the rest of me is sore. I’d say I’m still alive.”

“Suitoeteru, that sucked.” I muttered, my Japanese coming back to me as I dug myself out of the rubble and hobbled over to Melissa and summoning my Keyblade. “Cura.”

The techie sighed in relief. “Much better. Let me check on the mask, and then we can head back up.” Melissa picked her way through the rubble, tapping some consoles as she passed them, before picking up the mask itself. “Well, according to my readings, everything is as it should be. The magic is being contained.”

“Thank gods, I was worried I would be having a repeat of using Crux’s Celestial Key again.” I exclaimed in relief.

“I’m not even going to ask,” Melissa shook her head. “In any case, now that we’ve finished down here, lets head back up.”

With a nod, we both turned back to the entrance, and made our way back to the elevator…

“ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?!?” I screamed in frustration.

“Yes! I win again! Best 10 out of 12?” Haley said while jumping around happily.

“You’re on! I’m picking the song this time though!” I growled. “I swear, you only ever played Osu before, how the actual crap are you this good at Beat Saber?!?”

“Years of Osu and Geometry Dash, my dude.” She said before placing her hands on her hips with a smirk.

“I still don’t understand how I am keeping up with you two since I have never played video games before.” Trixie said, handing me the controllers from Haley.

“Alright, we’re doing 99.9 this time!” I growled as I stomped into the simulator.

https://youtu.be/eBYc_x6hP8M

I sighed in satisfaction as I stepped out of the room. “Beat that!” I smirked as I tossed Haley the controllers.

“Gladly.” She responded, smirking back at me before walking into the simulator.

My smirk stayed plastered onto my face for all of ten seconds, before it slowly morphed into a scowl as Haley managed to meet me note for note, until finally she came to the end of yet another perfect run.

“AAARRRGGGHHH!!!” I screamed in rage. “I GIVE UP!!!!”

“Uh, is now a bad time?” asked the voice of our techie.

“Nah. You’re right on time. Since Kairi finally gave up.” Haley said, stepping out of the simulator with a wide victorious smirk on her face. Trixie silently took the controllers and walked in, selecting Red Like Roses Part 2.

I just growled under my breath as I turned back to Lex and Melissa as they entered the room, a fake smile plastering itself onto my face. “I take it you finished working on your mask?”

Melissa nodded. “Yep, now I just need to run a few tests before actually trying it out, but right now the results are quite promising.”

I nodded, my smile becoming a bit more genuine. “Good to hear, now would either of you like to explain why Lex is giving you dirty looks?”

“Oh, just that the mask in question seemed to have a stomach of its own and tried to eat all my magic.” Lex responded with a frown.

I winced. “Ouch, remind me never to get involved with your experiments Melissa.”

“I volunteer as tribute!” Haley suddenly said while raising a hand and giving a bright smile.

An unholy glint entered Melissa’s eye. “Do you really want my inner GLaDOS to emerge?”

“This is coming from the girl who just beat Kairi at 12 rounds of Beat Saber. You were saying?” Haley said, her smirk returning on her face.

My eye twitched. “Tell anyone else about this, and I’ll toss you through my Doors of Hades myself.”

“Maybe if you do that from now on you can actually see what that spell can do.” Lex snarked, looking at Trixie through the monitor as she was three quarters of the way through the song.

The twitch in my eye intensified. “AAARRRGGGHHH!!! What is wrong with me?!? I could have been doing that this WHOLE TIME!!!”

“I rest my case.” Haley said, before giving me a look of innocence.

With a fire burning in my eyes, I lunged at the image of false innocence, only to be met by a blue shield from Chirithy.

“Chirithy,” I growled. “Lower that shield right now!”

“Not until you calm down,” the cat replied, as Trixie stepped out of the simulator.

“Um, what did I just walk into?” she asked, her eyes widening.

“Even I do not know, and I was standing here the whole time.” Dawn responded, looking at all of us before sighing while quietly muttering about ‘crazy displaced mares’.

I was still growling as Melissa stepped up to me and slapped me full across the face. “Knock it off! If you’re going to attack each other, wait until our guests have left first!”

“Yeah, I don’t wanna be rude but I was about to ask when we were going home Lex. I have a training da-um, practice, with Twilight.” Trixie said, stuttering with a blush at what she almost said.

I blinked, my anger quickly evaporating. “Huh? Oh, we can take you down to the Gate now.”

“Yeah, that would probably be best, I have been away from my little girls long enough.” Lex said, a motherly smile going across her face at the thought of her daughters.

“Alright then, let's get you lot home,” I smiled as I led the way back to the Gate Room. Upon arriving, I pulled out my copy of Lex’s Token and placed it on the scanner, activating the Gate’s dialing sequence. “Once the wormhole is active you can go on through.”

“Alright. Well this was fun, and good luck with your magic Haley. Remember, since you are a Mirajane Displaced, you have all her Satan Souls, so be careful about using some of them.” Lex warned, a stern glare on her face.

“Believe me. I’ve watched enough Fairy Tail to know to be careful.” Haley replied with a roll of the eyes. Lex just raised her brow in disbelief before shrugging and turning to the portal.

“Hmm.” Dawn hummed to himself before sighing and turning to Luna. “Princess Luna. It was nice to meet you, and thank you for a fun time.” He finished with a bow.

Luna giggled, pulling him into a hug. “I had fun too. Come back soon!”

I waved to them with a smile. “Don’t be strangers now, just remember to call ahead before visiting. And until next time, May Your Heart Be Your Guiding Key!”

The group smiled as the ponies walked through before Lex followed, stopping right before the gate.

“Oh yeah, expect me to call in a couple weeks for the Promotion Exam! I plan on having my siblings and Ed come by too!” She said before walking through the portal.

Alrighty, we’re done this crossover, so I am going to be doing what I do and working both at the restaurant and when I have time to write. Sorry for the slow updates, but working full time at bar and grill has that effect, especially now that I am being trained to open and training another newcomer.

I sighed to myself as I slowly woke from my peaceful slumber, but only because a certain someone was poking me in the face. With a mental groan I slowly opened my eye and saw Yoru with a smile on her face poking my cheek, babbling in her own language for me to wake up.

“Hold on a minute honey, mommy will be up in a bit.” I muttered tiredly as my youngest remained on my chest. After a minute or so, she began poking me again, causing me to glare playfully at her and smile, before twisting us around so she was held onto my right side while I tickled her tummy, earning a joyful squeal and giggles. I laughed along with her before stretching again and getting out of bed.

“Alright Yoru, stay there. Mommy needs to get dressed.” I told my youngest, who just smiled and watched as I went through my closet and drawers for my clothes. It was Laki Olietta’s outfit after the seven year time skip. A simple dark blue strapless dress that reached just above my knees with lighter blue squares adorning the bottom. I also had a pair of light grey knee socks and my red shoes. Finally, I had a red mantle held closed with a gold ring over my shoulders that hid my collarbones and below.

A little more revealing then what I was used to, but when I have a baby that needs feeding as often as my hybrid does, I need fast ‘access’. Once I was changed, I grabbed my girl, who squealed in excitement and we made out of my room and into the guild proper.

I glanced down the guild and already saw several members in the guildhall, either looking at the request board, eating some breakfast, or just hanging out with one another. It had only been a couple days since Trixie, Dawn and I had returned to the guild from Kairi’s world, and besides setting up the Figure 17 android things curtsy of Melissa and using my magic to create a tunnel to the Tree of Harmony from the bottom of the guild while everyone was asleep, nothing has happen.

I smiled to myself as I made my way to my office. No matter how many times I see it, a strong sense of pride and fulfillment fills me whenever I see the guild members acting like family to one another. I am beginning to understand why Makarov was feeling when he was the third/sixth master of his guild.

Just as long as no one starts calling me granny, I’ll be fine.

Once I made it to my office, I mentally sighed as I saw the pile of paperwork ahead of me. I knew this would take a while, so I decided to get this over with while I have the chance. Last thing I need is to be caught off guard and overflowing with paperwork.

I started going through the pile, splitting myself into only Ali and Xan, the latter is playing with my daughter while the former begins going through the paperwork.

Time passed as we did our own thing, when Ali saw a small photo on the wall, one taken a couple days ago of all the dragons coming together for a group photo.

‘Weird, I remember Spike saying he wanted to meet up with the other dragons for something. I wonder what it was about?’

“Emerald Dragon Wing Slash!”

With a quick burst of speed, I flew straight past the trees in front of me, and after a second they fell as my emerald hard wings had sliced through them like warm butter. I grinned as they fell to the ground, before taking a breather and walking over to my friends.

“Wow Spike, that was awesome!” Amber cheered. I just chuckled and took a swig of my water as she cheered.

“Agreed. That was pretty cool Spike.” Fizzle added, patting me on the back.

“Eh, it was nothing special. Just a little magic practice.” I waved it off, before my attention was grabbed my Laruma.

“Speaking of, why did you call us here Spike?” She questioned, the other three nodding with her. I just sighed and took a seat on a nearby stump and motioned for the others to take a seat.

“Alright, I called you four here so we can practice and maybe find out what type of Dragon Slayer Magic you guys use.” That got their attention instantly.

“What do you mean? Didn’t you get your magic from Lex like everyone else?” Reni questioned with a head tilt.

“No, I didn’t. Slayer magic is one of the only forms of magic Lex cannot just give info and then the person just learns it. You can only learn Slayer magic through either a Lacrima, eating the flesh or blood of the entity in question, allowing yourself to become a vessel for the demon, god, dragon, spirit etcetera or, what she did for me, learning the basics of Fiore Magic and figuring it our from there.” I explained before sighing.

“Quite bluntly I got lucky when I unlocked my magic. I had already been exposed to a surplus amount of Fiore magic and Ethernano from helping Lex create the training hall, which caused my growth spurt, so I just needed to unlock it. I always carried around gems for a quick snack even before the guild was being constructed, so I got lucky enough to find the ones that corresponded with my magic.”

The others were paying complete attention, Reni even taking out a notepad and recording everything I said, causing me to sweat drop a bit. I took a breath as I continued to explain.

“Now, I have no doubts Lex will try and train you guys so you can unlock your own Dragon Slayer Magic, but I think it would be better for me to do that so she can spend as much time with her kids as possible.”

“Wait, you’re going to be teaching us Dragon Slayer Magic?” Amber said in excitement, a large smile on her face. I made a ’sorta’ gesture with my hand.

“Kinda. I am just going to be training you four on some of the exercises and meditation techniques I went through during the starting weeks of the guild. Aside from the that and the occasional sparring, unlocking your magic will be almost completely up to you.” I said, putting a slight damper on her mood.

“But, how would we even know how to start when it comes to unlocking our magic? I mean, you just said you got lucky you were carrying around some emeralds to munch on.” Laruma pointed out.

“Well, it’s not concrete, but I have a small theory about us as Dragon Slayers, in particular our elements.” I said, earning their attention again. “Again, its not definitive since I am just going off of myself right now, but I believe the colours of our flames may hint at our elemental alignment.”

“Really?” The four said at once.

“Yeah, I mean, I’ve breathed emerald flames since as long as I could remember, and my element is Emerald so, maybe. But again, it could just be a coincidence since I am the only Dragon Slayer in the guild right now.”

“Well, its better than nothing.” Reni muttered to herself before putting her notepad down and taking a breath. Pointing her head upwards, she let loose a small blaze of golden fire from her mouth, honestly her flames make the royal guards armor look like crap compared to how gold her flames are.

“Alright. So my flames are bright gold or yellow. That could at least narrow it down somewhat.” Reni muttered to herself again, recording the flames colour in her notepad before looking to the others. Fizzle and Amber just shrug to one another and get ready, while Laruma just scoffs but follows their example.

The trio released their own fire breaths, each one being a different colour.

Fizzle’s fire was a dark red and orange like stereotypical fire, but I couldn’t help but feel like it was hotter than regular fire like from Spark or even Lex when they were using their Fire Magic.

Amber’s fire was smaller, but it was a bright white with flecks of yellow and blue here and there, but it was mostly white. Not sure why, but I felt my spines stand on end when she released her fire breath.

Laruma’s flames were odd. Her fire breath came out as a cyclone as opposed to the rest of ours being simple bursts of flame. It was a dark, almost stormy grey that seemed more at home in the middle of a storm cloud as opposed to coming out of a dragons mouth.

Once they were done, Reni nodded to me as she recorded everything and I motioned for them to get close. For the next three hours I went over some of the exercises I went through the handle my magic, as I find my Dragon Slayer magic all but requires a strong physique to work properly since most of it is physical based. We had all made our way to the training hall for this, so the others can use the weights and other items for strength training.

One by one the four of them cycled out between meditating to increase the amount of ethernano they have, to strength training, to sparing with me. The last one was Laruma’s idea, and I know she is now regretting it as I didn’t go easy on them and nearly knocked them all out during their turns.

“Laruma...you suck.” Amber managed to mutter, an ice pack held against her cheek to stop it from swelling from one of my attacks.

“Hey don’t blame me! Spike is the one going all out!” She replied, growling to herself as she lifted a barbell again.

“Correction, I am just not holding back. I mean, if I went all out I would be doing what my magic is called.” I responded, taking a sip of some water from the fountain. The others nodded while Laruma grumbled to herself. I turned to Reni, who was calmly meditating and it seemed to be working well for her, if the slight gold glow was any indication.

‘Reni and Amber seemed to be having the most success with mediation, while Laruma is very good at combat. Fizzle is middle-of-the-road so he should be fine.’ I think to myself, stretching my arms and wings.

“Alright, we have been at it for a couple hours now, I think you guys are good to go and do your own things for the rest of today.” I called out, the four dragons sighing to themselves as they all picked themselves up.

“Well, I’m going to the archives to do some more research. I’ll see you guys tomorrow!” Reni called out, using the teleporter back to the guild.

“Amber and I are going for a flight. Later losers.” Laruma called out before taking to the air. Amber just stood there awkwardly for a second before shrugging to us and joining her friend.

“What about you Fizzle? Got any plans?” I questioned the pale pink dragon.

“Not really, just planning on hanging out for a bit, maybe head back to the guild for a bite to eat.” He responded, scratching at his spines.

“Same, wanna see what the Fairy Heirs are up to?” I questioned, earning a nod and a grin from my friend.

Laru and I were flying above the forest, steadily making our way away from the town and towards some of the more open and wild areas nearby. I am still a little sore from my ‘match’ against Spike, but its not like I can blame him since the four of us, as dragons, are weak to his magic. Which I thought was odd since dragon scales are naturally magic resistant.

I kept my thoughts to myself though as Laru and I were flying through the air, but I noticed my friend was going a little higher than normal. I looked above her and saw that she was heading to an area of the sky with some strong thermal winds, and remember how she loved to just relax in the wind.

What was odd to me was how relaxed she was in the air and especially when its windy or raining. I even saw her staying in the air, in one spot, when a tornado was literally ten feet away. Yet she didn’t seem to notice. She just kept flying with a relaxed smile on her face.

I chose to ignore her for now and made my way around the area, before spotting something that made me smile. A small cluster of wild thunder clouds. With a smirk, I flew over to them and just hovered in the air, the sparks of lightning flashing around me actually relaxing me.

I always loved the sensation of lightning traveling along my spines and between my claws. I also loved the feeling of fire surrounding me like a blanket. It’s why I lived so close to a fire geyser field back in the Dragon Lands.

‘Hmm, fire and lightning. Could they have something to do with my magic?’ I think to myself, hovering between the clouds and just letting myself relax. After a second, I flew over to one of the clouds and laid down on it, looking up at the sky and to Laru who was flying around above me. Slowly, my eyes began to feel heavy, and I let myself rest for a bit, the comfy thundercloud acting like a fluffy hammock.

Even with my eyes closed, I could feel the surges of electricity around me, the energy bouncing between the molecules energizing my body and causing my spines to stand on end. I smiled as I felt another bolt heading near me and....

....why am I not getting hurt?

Opening my eyes, I looked next to me as saw a bolt of electricity traveling along my arm and between my claws, but it doesn’t hurt, like at all. I tilted my head and raised myself up before looking around at the storm that had congregated around me. With a furrowed brow, I flew into the storm clouds where I saw some lightning flashing around. I glanced around, watching all the bolts of electricity dancing through the clouds, before I sighed and found a lower cloud.

Sitting down, I crossed my legs and began to go through the meditation steps Spike taught me earlier, actively focusing not just on the magic in the air, but also the feeling of the lightning around me.

I am not sure how long I was sitting there, meditating as the storm around me grew more restless, but after a while, my eyes snapped open on their own as a bolt headed straight for me. I sat firm though, and once the bolt hit my highest spike...I blinked as the electricity suddenly traveled down my head and to my mouth, almost like it was rain.

My eyes widened as I was actually tasting lightning, and it was delicious. Without really registering it, I began to inhale and my mind was shocked as the lightning bolts within the clouds were being sucked into my mouth. I could feel energized and that my magic was beginning to grow.

‘Lightning...no, its something else...’ I think to myself.

I looked down as a stray bolt flew down towards a large tree, causing it to burst into flames. After a second, I flew down, watching the flaming tree as an odd thought entered my head. Deciding to just roll with it, I took a breath out and began to inhale again, and my eyes widened as the fire began to enter my mouth as well. It tasted different than the lightning, almost like mild peppers while the the lightning was actually a little like a mix between limes, strawberry and pure caffeine. It was as I was inhaling the fire that my mind finally made the connection between the two elements.

Lightning and fire weren’t solids, liquids or gases, they were made of plasma...my element....my element is Plasma!

With a grin, I finished inhaling all the lightning and fire around and flew to the ground before spotting a perfect target, a large boulder. With a small thought, I focused my magic into my right claw which suddenly burst into misty white plasma. I grinned. I ignored everything around me as I took a breath and focused my magic, the feeling traveling all around my body before focusing on my mouth as a spell matrix appeared before me.

“Plasma Dragon Roar!”

My mind did flips in awe as the bolt of pure super-heated plasma left the spell and utterly destroyed the boulder until there was nothing left but tiny pebbles. As well as incinerate a couple trees behind it. I then nearly face planted as I felt my magic drain for the first time. Luckily I caught myself, but I could immediately sense a 3% decrease in my magic pool. Not a lot, but from what I have seen with my guild mates tossing spells around like nothing, I know that wasn’t the best.

I grinned again, before a small giggle managed to leave my throat, which only grew louder and louder as the storm above me circled and rain fell onto me. I allowed myself to fall onto my back, looking to the raining clouds with a smile.

“Amber, the Plasma Dragon Slayer. I like the sound of that. I wonder if I can drink the plasma from blood?”

As I was talking to myself, I nearly missed the sight of the clouds beginning to circle and rise into the sky. I looked up with confusion as the clouds, rain and lightning continued to circle like a cyclone, before I remembered I didn’t come out here alone.

“Laru?”

I allowed myself to release a sigh of relaxation as I flew through the dark clouds, the ice cold rain that pelted my scales relaxing me further as I flew around.

I never really figured out why I like being in the middle of storms, being so close to lightning bolts and pelted with freezing winds, I just do. It soothed me, the sounds of thunders rumbling, the feeling of static electricity between my scales.

I admit I was a little frustrated before and may have underestimated Spike a little when I asked him to not hold back. I mean, his magic is called DRAGON SLAYER for Celestia’s sake. Not the smartest thing I have done. When I heard from some of the weather ponies in town about a large storm heading towards town, I knew this was my chance to finally relax in the sky.

I actually smiled as I flew around the area, the storm clouds being easily cleaved through as I flew through them. I smirked as I found a perfect storm cloud, isolated in the middle of the large storm around us. I knew the ponies would do all they could to disperse the storm once it got close to town, so I had to make the best of this while I can.

I laid down on the singular cloud and let my eyes roam around the storm, watching the flashing of lightning and swirls of wind and rain surround me. I sighed to myself with a smile as I let myself relax in the storm, the sounds becoming perfect white noise that I need to fall asleep to.

I am not sure how long I was laying there, letting the storm grow and rage around me, before I sensed...something.

I am not sure what is was, but I could feel more energized sitting here, which was definitely odd. I know I felt more relaxed in storms, but this was clearly different. Confused, I looked around and saw nothing but the storm, yet I could feel that something....something was different.

I thought for a while, before thinking about what had been different about me recently. My addition to the members of Fairy Tail, clearly, was at the forefront, and right behind that was practicing my magic....

Magic....am I sensing the magic in the storm?

Maybe...it definitely feels similar to Rainbow Dash and her Storm magic, but more natural. I looked around again, watching as the storm raged on around me, before sighing and taking flight again. I decided to head above the clouds, to get some sun and see if I can figure out what is going on.

Once I breached the final cloud layer, I had to readjust myself as some really strong winds hit me, and that’s when I felt it. Or rather, tasted it.

My eyes shot open as I felt the wind going into my mouth, and once it hit my tongue it was almost like I was eating one of those weird candy strips that melt in your mouth. Normally I don’t like those because it is too sweet, but this had a distinctly different flavour, almost like rubies. I blinked a couple times as the wind kept going down my throat, before I finally closed my mouth, a small burp escaping me as I just hovered there.

‘Did...did I just EAT wind?’

I blinked a couple times, unconsciously lowering myself into the clouds, before snapping out of it as I was neck deep in the clouds.

‘Ok...ok so I ate wind. Is that my element? Or, is it something more than just wind? I seriously doubt I am a Sky Dragon Slayer, I like fighting too much to play a support roll.’ I thought to myself. I adjust myself so I am laying back in the cloud like it was water. I just laid there, being kept afloat by the masses of water vapours, before something popped into my head.

‘I ate wind, but I know it isn’t my sole element. Maybe my element just has wind as an aspect of it?’

I placed a claw on my chin in thought, before I let myself sink deeper into the cloud. I felt like the answer was all around me, but I just couldn’t think of what it could be.

As I was thinking, I was about to sigh, but when I inhaled, my eyes shot open as I tasted the fluffy dark cloud going down my throat like the wind. I closed my mouth shut as I tasted the ozone and fluffy texture of the clouds. After a second, I relaxed and bit into the cloud in front of me, it almost tasted like one of those fluffy angel cakes Pinkie Pie made.

‘Ok, I can also eat clouds...clouds and wind...anything else?’ I thought to myself as I kept lowering myself until I felt the rain beginning to hit me as I fell through the clouds completely. Looking around, I shivered as a bolt of lightning went by, before something popped into my head.

‘Damnit, this will either work perfectly or make me sick.’ I thought to myself before flying into the storm, making sure I was surrounded on all sides, including below and above me.

After a second, I focused my magic like I had been trying to while on the ground, but now I could feel it working way better. I could see a small aura of magic surrounding me before I exhaled.

‘Here goes.’

With a moments hesitation, I begin to suck in, the rain, clouds and even wind itself flowing around then into my mouth. I mentally cheered, as the storm around me twisted to my desires, more and more of it flowing down my gullet and I could feel my magic reaching new heights the like of which I was honestly thinking I would never reach.

I am not sure how long I was gorging myself on the storm, but eventually I could feel it dying out and I chomped down on the last of it. I looked around, seeing I was surrounded by clear skies again, a large smile on my face. I looked to the ground, and saw Amber looking to me with wide eyes and I noticed a decimated boulder and trees near her. I flew down, kicking up dirt as I landed.

“L-Laruma?”

With a smirk, I turned away from her and towards a bunch of dead trees nearby, torn out from the storm. With a deep breath, my cheeks bulged and a grey spell matrix appeared before me.

“Storm Dragon Roar!”

The black and grey storm cyclone of wind, clouds and rain water burst out from my mouth, kicking up and even uprooting several of the trees I was aiming at. I smirked to myself as the spell ended and I saw the trench my attack caused, before turning to my friend, who was looking at me with a dropped jaw.

“So, I guess I am the Storm Dragon Slayer.” I said with a grin, one Amber managed to return after a second before nodding her head to the destroyed boulder.

“And I’m the Plasma Dragon Slayer.” She responded, to which my smirk grew and we shared a fist bump.

‘Dragon’s beware, the Slayers are here.’

“Hey Reni, can you pass me up those encyclopedias please?” I looked up from my book to Raine who was stocking the shelves here in the library/archives.

“Sure thing.” I said, bookmarking where I am in my book and grabbing a couple of the books from the ground before flying up to the D-Dog. She nodded in thanks as she put the books away.

“Thanks. I have been meaning to put these away after the girls lessons.” She said, putting the large dictionary into its spot before I had her the next one. “You know you should really come by for one of their lessons some time. You’re pretty smart and I know Mei likes you and the other dragons.”

“U-um, I’m still not a hundred percent comfortable around kids.” I responded nervously.

“Yeah, I overheard how as a dragon you were less than well received by the kids back in your old village.” Raine said, glancing at me over her shoulder. “But you have to remember, we’re family here in Fairy Tail. You don’t need to be so nervous. Hell, you get along great with Dawn.”

“That’s only because he is so quiet. And working one-on-one with a colt is different than working with Lex’s daughters.” I explained. I know she would never hurt me, but I worry about what Lex might do if I end up hurting the ‘Fairy Heirs’ as I have heard some of the members call them.

“Eh, I won’t push. It was just a suggestion.” The canine said as I handed her the second to last book. I took a glance at the last one in my claws, and saw it said it was an element encyclopedia.

‘Hmm, maybe this can help me.’ I thought to myself as I flew down to the table I was at and opened up. The first page immediately tipped me off as this was a book on the scientific elements like copper and lithium. With a shrug of my shoulders, I decided to keep reading. Who knows, maybe my element is something super common like Carbon.

I just kept reading for a few minutes, the info in this book proving really interesting to me. Not sure why, but I always liked science, rather than magic. Ironic since I am a training as a mage now, but whatever.

Glancing around the book, I was especially interested in the page that was talking about metals, more accurately which metals are impure and have traces of one another, like how bronze is just copper and tin together. Not sure why, but I found the metal compositions to be really interesting.

I didn’t look up from my book as I felt around the table for the small gems I brought to snack on. Feeling around while reading about how common certain metals were here in Equestria compared to the Badlands and the Dragon Lands, I didn’t really pay attention as I brought up a round gem to munch on.

‘Wow, whatever this is is great! I wonder, what gem is it?’ I thought to myself, enjoying the metallic yet sweet taste in my mouth.

“Uh, Reni?” I glanced up to Raine as she looked to me weirdly. I titled my head and finished my food.

“What’s up?” I questioned, tossing the rest of my small snack in my mouth.

“Uh...you do know you’re eating a Bit right?”

I stopped chewing in an instant, looking over the table slowly, seeing a couple of Bits I brought with me earlier for food. I stayed silent for a minute, slowly chewing the golden coin in my mouth before I finally swallowed again.

“Umm....that is new.” I muttered, looking over the Bits before me. The silence in the archives seemed to stretch on as Raine looked at me and I looked at the table. Not sure how long we were just staying there, before the canine shook her head and placed a paw on her chin.

“Okay? You ate a bit. A piece of gold. Could you munch on other forms of metal?” She questioned. I just shrugged. “Well, good thing I’m here then!” She said with a grin before casting a spell. “Solid Script Iron.”

A head sized chunk of iron that spelled out the word appeared on the table before me. I rose a brow at her, but Raine just crossed her arms with a grin, motioning to the metal word. With some reluctance, I grabbed the slightly heavy word and brought it to my mouth. My teeth easily cleaved through it, but I immediately spit it out after it hit my tongue.

“Ewww! That’s disgusting!” I shouted, making sure I got all the iron out of my mouth, while Raine just looked interested.

“Uh, ok. So you can’t eat iron. Maybe just gold then?” Raine said, sweeping up the chunks of iron off the floor. “I mean, Lex said there was an Iron Dragon Slayer back in Fiore. Maybe you eat gold?”

“Yeah, maybe.” I muttered, swishing the taste of iron out of my mouth with some water.

“Hmmm, oh! Hold on a sec.” Raine said, placing the broom away before going over to a nearby shelf and climbing near the top. I rose a brow as she looked through the books before cheering to herself and she seemed to find the one she was looking for before jumping down. “Earth Land Dragons and Dragon Slayer’s Archived Encyclopedia!” She announced, all but slamming the relatively large book on the table.

“Wait, we have an encyclopedia about Dragon Slayers?”

“I know right? Lex and I are pretty much the only ones who know about this since I help her with stacking and organizing the books on my off time when I’m not on a mission.” She said, opening the book before flipping through a couple chapters. “Lex said this is a book she made with her Archive magic not long after the guild opened incase we get any other Dragon Slayers aside from Spike, so it’s always going to be updated as we get new Dragon Slayers. There are even ones on Demon and God Slayers around here too. I can’t believe we forgot about it. Ah, here we are.”

I looked at the page she was pointing at, which showed a large metallic grey dragon with long black markings on the side of his eyes. I was interested as this dragon looked very large and therefore, rather old. I glanced at the page beside him and tilted my head.

“‘Metalicana, the Iron Dragon’?” I muttered, reading through the info. After a quick read, I flipped the page and saw a savage looking human with long spiky black hair and multiple piercings on his face. “‘Gajeel Redfox, the Iron Dragon Slayer.’ Huh, so that’s what he looks like.”

Reading through, the book had info on not just Gajeel and his personality, but how he uses his magic to make his limbs and body into weapons. The images provided really helped, and I couldn’t suppress a shiver at the image of his Iron Dragon Sword. Gajeel’s expression didn’t help.

“Hey, can you do that?” I glanced at Raine who was reading along over my shoulder. “I mean, you eat gold just like how this guy eats iron, so can you form your arms into golden weapons?”

That got me to pause. Can I do that? Can I turn my arm into a club or a sword? Placing the book down, I glanced around at the empty room and figured, why not? With a shrug to Raine, I grabbed a couple Bits and tossed them into my mouth, munching happily at the taste.

“Wow, if you have a serious appetite after this you’ll literally be eating you’re money away.” Raine joked. I just rolled my eyes at the canines joke before finishing up my snack and sitting on the ground, attempting to meditate. Amber and I were the best at this according to Spike, and it showed as I could already feel my magic, it was stronger than before, and I opened my eyes before looking to my right arm.

With furrowed brows, I began to focus my magic onto my arm, a tingling feeling climbing up to my elbow as I felt the spell slowly coming together. With a wave of my hand, I felt solid metal cover my arm and over my claws before it straightened up. With a small grin, the light around my arm died down to show a large, curved blade of gold starting from just past my elbow and going well past my claw tips.

“Whoa! What is that; the Gold Dragon Saber or something?!” Raine said, looking over my appendage with awe.

“Hmm, I like the sounds of that.” I muttered, twisting my arm around to get a good look at my new weapon. With a small laugh I gently swung my arm around, when I noticed Raine holding the slab of Iron she made a while ago. With a nod, I realized her idea and prepped myself. A small toss and a swing later, the word was slashed in half and falling on either sides of me.

I’ll admit, I may have squealed like a school filly, but I couldn’t help it! I had my magic! I unlocked my magic!

I am the Gold Dragon Slayer!

“So, wanna stop by SugarCube Corner? I’m in the mood for one of Pinkie’s emerald and sapphire cupcakes.” Spike said. The two of us were just walking down the street, not really a location in mind.

“Hmm, maybe.” I replied dismissively, a little bored. After going through that training this morning, my mind kept going over what my magic could be. Let me tell you it is not fun since it could be anything. Even Spike’s theory about the colour didn’t help much. I can already think of five different ‘elements’ that could correspond with dark red. Hope it isn’t blood.

Spike just shrugged and we continued on, walking down the main road. I noticed a bunch of the townsponies smiling and waving to us, as well as a couple stands that were selling Fairy Tail merch. I wonder when they got Lex’s permission to do that. And considering all the colts and fillies around it, I think business is really good.

I just kept my mind wandering, hands behind my head, as the two of us just walked around. I noticed lately that Spike had been very different than when I first met him during the Dragon Migration all those months ago. He was way more mature, even if he was still the same squirt as before, just a hell of a lot stronger.

The bruise on my back was a good indication of how strong.

As we were wandering about, my mind on what the others are doing, Spike and I noticed our guild master walking down the road, a small form in hand. A quick glance around showed her kids weren’t with her.

“Heh, looks like Lex finally took a job.” Spike stated.

“That’s interesting, she hasn’t taken any jobs for a while now.” I added, the two of us subconsciously beginning to follow the human.

“Must be a simple and short one.” Spike said.

“Are you two going to keep whispering behind my back all day?” The two of us jumped as Lex turned to us with a raised brow, her mismatched eyes gleaming with amusement. “Oh! Spike and Fizzle, this is actually perfect. You two can help me with this job.”

Spike and I rose a brow but shrugged and walked up, Lex showing off the job flyer for us. It was actually from the Spa Twins here in town. They were asking for assistance in renovating and constructing a new wing of their spa to specialize on other creatures besides ponies. That was new. I had noticed when I was flying around that the twins have been buying some supplies, but I thought they were just doing some repairs.

“Huh, why didn’t anyone else take this one?” I questioned, the three of us heading out again.

“Well it just came in half and hour ago, and its in town, so I figured I could take it. Emerald is going over basic science application with the girls and its Sonbāsuta’s turn to take care of Yoru.” Lex explained, stretching her arms out.

“Ah, that explains it. But why did you say you could use our help?” Spike questioned.

“Well I am going to be try to do a lot of this without my magic if I can. I mean, yeah I could probably get it done in like, ten minutes with my magic, but that’s not fun, so I could use the extra muscle.” Lex explained, smirking as we neared the spa. “Funny, considering I was actually pretty lazy back on earth. Eh, I guess that’s what being both a guild master and a mother can do to a girl.”

“Hey, at least you don’t need to actively work off any baby weight. I hear it is hell for some mammals to do that.” I joked, earning a laugh from the human.

The three of us arrived and walked into the spa, ignoring the closed sign on the door. I could hear muffled hooofsteps approaching before one of the twins, Aloe walked in from the back with a small notepad in her hand.

“Terribly sorry darlings, we are currently closed for reno-” she finally looked up from her notepad and jumped as she saw who it was. “Oh! Apologies dears, I didn’t realize we would be getting wizards here so quickly.” The earth pony apologized.

“No prob Aloe. So, what do you need help with first?” Lex questioned, a grin on her face as Spike and I followed her lead. We followed her into the back, a bit behind the tubs, and noticed a doorway that I know wasn’t there the last time I visited. Though that was a great visit, and I know Amber and Laruma liked it just as much as I did.

Walking through, we were greeted by a new room, about as large as the main room, but it was rather....bland. The walls were unpainted, the area for the tubs was empty and the roof wasn’t even attached!

“Huh, this might take a bit.” Lex muttered, as we looked around and saw Hard Hat, Bulk Biceps and Lotus all near the back with a large blueprint in hand. The trio barely noticed us as we walked in, looking over the prints, but I saw that Lotus and Hard Hat were scratching their hats at something. We managed to hear the end as we walked up.

“....and do you have any idea how dangerous it is to get lava for a bath Bulk?” Lotus questioned the giant pegasus.

“YEAH, but I think it would be great for the dragons that come to visit!” The stallion defended loudly.

“Wait, what’s this about lava?” Lex questioned as we walked up. Lotus looked to us for half a second before turning to her employee.

“Bulk here is saying we should use the tubs here as a lava pool for dragons to relax in since hot water only does so much for them.” the earth pony mare explained, to which I nodded as Lex looked to me and Spike.

“It’s true, our scales catch more dirt than you would think, so back in the Dragon Lands we use Lava pools to melt and incinerate the grime off of us. Hot water can only do so much since our scales are naturally heat resistant.” I explained.

“Hmm, I can see your points.” Lex muttered before looking at the plans and beginning to pace. She had been doing that a lot lately, mostly when Yoru was restless and needed a nap.

I glanced to the others, who left our master to her own devices for now as Spike and Lotus went through what colours to paint the place while Hard Hat, Bulk and Aloe began going through what else to build in here.

Ten minutes later though...

“Eureka!” All of us jumped as Lex suddenly shouted that.

“Eh? What’s up Lex?” Spike questioned, two colour strips in claw.

“I figured out how to make you’re guys lava tubs!” She announced, surprising the twins and Hard Hat. Bulk just grinned.

“Really? How are you going to manage that dear?” Lotus questioned. In response, Lex summoned a Light Pen and began writing an enchantment around the tub.

“First, I am going to put a couple protection seals around the tub so no lava can go flying and hurt any non-dragons or burn anything.” She said, slowly going around the tub. Hard Hat was watching in interest while Lotus gave Bulk a small list and a bag of bits for paint. He was out the door a second later. Spike, the twins and I began to bring in items like message beds, brush’s and a few other things while Hard Hat went back to finishing the roof. We all continued on like that for about half an hour before Lex clapped her hands with a grin.

“Alright, step one and two, make a tub and write enchantments, down. Now for step three.” She said, earning our attentions as she waved her hands before her.

“Terrain Effect Magic, Hot Lava Zone!”

That caught our attention, I have never heard of this magic before. All of us watched, then had to catch ourselves as the ground began to shake, before the ground beneath the tub split open and our jaws dropped as red hot, broiling lava spewed from the tiny crevice.

The ponies all jumped back and were about to panic as the lava was swishing around, before the molten rock hit an invisible wall, sliding down back into the pit. We all blinked as the streams of lava slowed down before finally stopping as it reached near the top. I noticed a couple cracks in the wall where the lava flowed back down into the earth beneath to stop it from overflowing.

With a grin, Lex turned to us with a V-sign, earning a calm applause from the ponies while Spike and I rolled our eyes at our masters showing off her obscure magic. I wonder though, what other ‘terrains’ could she make?

With that, we spent the next hour or two helping out with painting, finishing construction, and bringing in the last of the needed items like towels, ointments and a few other items.

“Alright, that should be the last of it.” Hard Hat said, wiping down his head as we put in the last nail.

“Sweet, that wasn’t so hard.” Spike said, screwing in the last lightbulb.

“Well I told you guys this was a simple request. Honestly I could have done this in like ten minutes if I wanted.” Lex said, double checking her enchantment around the lava tubs.

“Yeah but where’s the fun in that?” I questioned with a grin, flying out of the back room. I caught the others attention in that I changed into a pair of fireproof swim trunks.

“Uh, Fiz? Why are you wearing those?” Spike questioned.

“Isn’t it obvious?” I retorted with a smirk, before flying over them. “Cannonball!” with a splash, I mentally sighed in relaxation as I felt the hot lava all around me. I smiled as I allowed myself to stay under the lava for a bit, feeling the molten rock and crystals all around me. Though after a bit, I needed air and sprung back up to the surface.

“Oh yeah, that’s the stuff.” I muttered, going over to one of the under lava seats and relaxing.

“Huh, looks like the lava tub is a winner.” Lex muttered, holding in a grin. The others all nodded while I let myself relax in the tub.

“Hey Fizzle? We’re going to go and get our payment, but you can stay here and relax if you want.” Spike said, turning to the door. I just waved him off, letting myself sink back into the rock melt. I smiled to myself as I felt the raw heat and power of the lava around me. This is one of the things I missed most from the Dragon Lands.

‘Man I needed this. Who knew a lava bath could be so relaxing after not taking one for so long?’ I thought to myself. I allowed myself to fully let my guard down as I soaked in the molten rock, feeling some of the dirt that had been in between my scales incinerate from the heat.

I wonder how the girls are doing? I am sure Amber is still practicing her meditating back at the guild, and Reni is probably reading again. She is such a bookworm. Laruma....well, she’s quite the wild card. She rather aggressive yet playful, strong, yet at times soft. I....really don’t know what to make of that dragoness.

As I was soaking in the lava, I let myself slowly go deeper and deeper, before I felt the lava a half inch from my nostrils. I love this feeling. The heat, it relaxes my muscles unlike anything else. Not even fires or hot water can compare to this. I felt my eyes getting heavy, and I felt way too relaxed

Before I could stop it, a yawn managed to pry my mouth open. I internally panicked since dragons aren’t fireproof on the inside, but when I felt the lava entering my mouth, I didn’t feel a burning, indescribable pain. Instead I felt...energized. And I tasted something spicy and kinda dry.

My eyes opened as I felt the lava going down my throat, but while it was spicy, it didn’t hurt. But I didn’t stay shocked for long before I jumped up and out of the pit, breathing heavily while swallowing the last of the lava that was in my mouth.

“W-what the hell?” I muttered, trying to get my breathing under control. After a minute, or so, I managed to calm down and tried to access what just happened. But it didn’t make any sense.

I swallowed LAVA! My insides should be broiling and I should be in excruciating pain right now! Yet I feel fine, hell I feel better than before.

Something popped into my head, something random, but it could explain what just happened. After a second, I stepped back into the pool, but I didn’t stop until I was near the middle and deepest part. The lava was up to my shoulders, and I knew this would either work perfectly, or make no Luna damned sense.

With a deep breath, I plunged my head under the lava and sat crossed legged on the bottom. Quickly remembering Spike’s instructions, I focused on my magic just like before, when I was resting after our spar. I felt my magic like before, and noticed it was just a little bit stronger than before. It supported my theory, but there was something I needed to test first.

After a moments hesitation, I opened my eyes, expecting the organs to be burned and for me to go blind from the heat of the lava. When that didn’t happened, I blinked a couple times, looking around.

Ok, so I can see in Lava like its murky water. With that out of the way, test two could commence. With another moments hesitation, I released my breath that I was holding in, and began to let the lava flow into my mouth. Once it hit my stomach, I could instantly feel myself become stronger.

After a half minute of just drinking in the lava, I stopped, and to my own shock, began to breath.

I was breathing.

While underneath a layer of lava.

I was inhaling and exhaling air into bubbles underneath molten rock.

.....

......

Wat?

I can breath in Lava!? Does that mean any Dragon Slayers with a liquid element breath in their element? Like, could a Water Dragon Slayer breath underwater? Could, say, a Blood Dragon Slayer breath when submerged in blood?

I was so lost in thought, I practically forgot I was in Lava until I felt a pair of claws on my shoulder. Looking to it, I could make out Spike and Lex’s forms through the liquid. Blinking a couple times, I shook my head and breached the surface, taking a proper breath of air. The duo were looking to me with worry and confusion.

“Fizzle are you ok?!” Lex questioned, dragging me out of the tub and onto the floor, the lava coming off of me and back into the tub from the enchantment barrier.

“Uh, yeah? Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Dude, you were under the lava for over half an hour!” Spike yelled, causing me to jump at both the volume, and the amount of time I was just sitting down there thinking.

“Really?” I said, looking back to the tub and then to my friend.

“Yeah, how were you even doing that? I know dragons have better lungs than humans, but you shouldn’t have been able to hold your breath for that long.” Lex said, looking over me like a worried mom. Which I guess she technically is.

“Uh, actually I wasn’t holding my breath.” They duo looked to me with raised brows. I decided actions speak louder than words, and walked back over to the tub, using my hand, I scooped up a slab of lava, and to their shock, quickly drank it. With a small sigh, I turned to them with a grin and held up my right hand, which slowly began to produce the same amount of lava until I held a small lava ball.

“Y-y-you’re a Lava Dragon Slayer?!” Lex stuttered, eyes wide in shock.

“Yup! Also turns out, Dragon Slayers with a liquid element can still breath when submerged. At least that’s how I understand it since I was breathing just fine under the lava.” I explained. Lex blinked a couple times, slowly nodding, before snapping her fingers and beginning to type into the Archive Screen before her as the three of us made our way out of the building.

As Lex was typing, Spike and I were talking about new training ideas we can do now that I know what my element is. Spike suggested that Lex make me a thermos or flask full of lava I could carry with me and use to refill my magic with like how he carries emeralds with him.

I noticed Lex sighing to herself as she finished typing and then dismissing the Archive Screen before stretching her arms above her head. We were only a minute out from the guild, and could see the entrance, when I noticed two dragonesses flying in from the forest. From here, I could make out two large smirks on their faces, concerning me and Spike. Our confusion and concern spiked with Reni slammed the doors to the guild open before spotting us.

The three other dragons made their way to us, and a quick glance to Lex showed she was in the same mind as Spike and I were. As one, we had the same thought.

‘This is going to take a while.’

So, sorry for lack of updates, we all know life is sucking right now. Just got laid off, am stuck at home to make sure my grandma doesn’t get sick, and now the boredom has begun to set in. You can imagine what that can do to a writer.

I want all of you to be safe out there. Remember to wash your hands, practice social distancing and keep your spirits high.

And please, PLEASE, don’t be a bunch of Coronidiots!

Alexandria ‘Lex’ Justine: Faekage-13,789-Variety
Princess Luna: Rai-2,936-???
Sonbāsutā ‘Sonbā’: Rai-2,247-Crystal Maker Magic
Mi Amor Cadenza ‘Cadence’: Rai-1,529-Maguilty Sense
Shining Armor: Rai-1,119-The Knight Requip
Twilight Sparkle: Kage-601-Dark Ecriture
Spike Sparkle: Kage-562-Emerald Dragon Slayer Magic
Trixie Lulamoon: Jounin-505-Memory Make
Emerald Blizzard: Jounin-425-Archive
Legacy ‘Trace’ Tracer: Jounin-371-Equestrian Dark Magic and Reflector Magic
Zecora: Chunnin-202-Plant and Green Magic
Star Burst: Chunnin-154-Gunner Requip
Bladed Wind: Chunnin-151-Requip
Rainbow Dash: Chunnin-135-Storm Magic
Applejack: Chunni-134-Earth Magic
Floral ‘Flora’ Talons: Chunnin-132-Air Magic
Azure Skies: Chunnin-129-Dark Regulus
Gilda: Chunnin-120-Ice Make Magic
Zen Quartz: Chunnin-115-Palm Magic
Hot Spark: Chunnin-105-Rainbow Fire Magic
Swift Service: Genin-98-Paper Blizzard
Nate Quartz: Genin-95-Sandstorm
Pinkie Pie: Genin-93-Wave Magic
Raine Jewel: Genin-89-Solid Script Magic
Silk Song: Genin-73-Water Magic
Rarity Belle: Genin-72-Mirror and Colours Magic
Echo: Genin-50-Aera Magic
Scootaloo: Genin-28-High Speed and Freerun
Applebloom: Genin-25-Mimic Magic
Sweetie Belle: Genin-18-Snow Magic
Fluttershy: Genin-5-Animal Soul Takeover
Capper: ???-???-???
Cobalt Will: ???-???-???
Bertha Will: ???-???-???
Amaterasu Shiranui: ???-???-???
Arakunia: ???-???-???
Unmei Gaidancu: ???-???-???
Amber: ???-???-Plasma Dragon Slayer
Laruma: ???-???-Storm Dragon Slayer
Fizzle: ???-???-Lava Dragon Slayer
Reni: ???-???-Gold Dragon Slayer
Aspen Marigold: ???-???-???
Maddie ‘Madness’ Marigold: ???-???-???
Dawn Lightwing: ???-???-???

I released a small sigh as I watched the landscape go by. It was calming, yet I was rather bored, all alone in this moving train. This was my first ever solo mission, Sonbā was too busy with his kids to come along, and this was a simple quest in my opinion.

I flexed my hands, endlessly fascinated by the lack of fur on my limbs aside from my tail and ears. I was currently in a new form I had learned and unlocked after months of magic training from Lex in Transformation magic. I looked, according to Lex, like a thirteen year old human female, but she referred to me as a Neko, whatever that is. It took about two months of training to unlock this form, and another month and a half to be able to actively use it without much repercussions.

As opposed to my normal form, I was shorter than average for a human at this age, around 4’10, with my fur being replaced by lightly tanned skin, purple hair that barely passed my human ears, with some bangs swept to the side. I still had my white ears on the top of my head and my long tail, but everything else was human. I was wearing a red strapless dress that went just above my knees with yellow details on the bottom and a yellow bow on the front, some red sandals, a dark blue hood and finally I had a yellow bow on my tail.

I had to admit, this form was actually really comfortable. Now I didn’t need to fly around to reach things and I felt I could release and use more magic that before in my original form. Because of that, I took some initiative and began to learn Wind magic. Right now I can only create some wind that could blow over an empty cooking pot, but it really helped increase my speed when I’m flying.

I looked out the window and saw the city appearing over the hill, and knew I was only a few minutes out. I dug out the request form and read through it again. It was a mid D-class quest. Apparently a couple of pickpocket’s have been ‘terrorizing’ the local farmers market on the eastern end of the city, and they sent a request for help.

The problem was that apparently they couldn’t find anyone. All they knew was that the ones responsible were small, fast, seemed to glow when running away, and seemed to know the back alleys and streets incredibly well to avoid detection. But some Diamond Dogs that lived in the area said they could smell cat wherever a place was targeted.

Normally Lex would send Nate, Raine, Zen or even Capper on this type of mission because of their senses, but I managed to let her allow me to go on it alone since, as a feline myself, I could probably find and talk to the ones responsible. Who knows, maybe they are some Abyssians that need a home.

Before long the horn on the train sounded out, showing we were nearly there. Standing up and grabbing my stuff, I waited by the doors to the train. Within minutes, we arrived and I departed the train along with the crowd. Now I knew how Lex felt when she first appeared, getting all the questioning glances as I walked through the bustling city towards the eastern side.

Before long, I arrived at the address on the quest sheet. It wasn’t much, just a four floored department store, but considering all the ponies, Minotaurs and diamond dogs coming and going from the building, both customers and suppliers alike, I knew this was the place.

Walking to the front desk I showed off the quest and my emblem before being led to the fourth floor, which had its own section for employees and also doubled as a meet area.

Walking in, I saw several farmers, seamstresses, inventors and what have you, and noticed all of them frowning. I cleared my throat, earning everyone’s attention.

“Um, Echo from Fairy Tail? I’m looking for a,” I checked the mission sheet again, “Honey Blues?”

One of the farmers, a blue furred, yellow manes earth pony mare stood up. “That’s me, Honey Blues, provider of some of the best honey sweets this side of Canterlot.” I shook her hand and smiled before glancing around at the assembles creatures.

“I take it all of you have been hit by these thieves?” And now they’re all ranting. One of the farmers, one of Applejack’s cousins apparently, lost a quarter of her apple juice she brought, one of the D-Dogs had a bunch of jewelry stolen only to find it in a pawnshop window, and even the Minotaur had been picked of their Bit pouch, nearly getting arrested for supposedly trying to scam somepony with intent not to pay.

It took a few minutes, but eventually everyone got their complaints out of the way and looked to me as I took a sip of some orange juice from a pack of boxes nearby.

“So, are you all done?” I asked, genuinely curious, and it showed in my tone lacking a snap or sarcasm. They all nodded to me as I finished my drink and tossed the box into the recycling bin nearby. “Now then, this shouldn’t take too long.” I pulled out a map of the area and laid it on a nearby table. “Can each of you highlight the area you have been stolen from, and I’ll start investigating there.”

After a few minutes, everyone had coloured in an area in the map, inadvertently creating an circle on the map showing that the thieves operate in a specific area. It looked to stretch about seven blocks, but the area was a hotspot in the market with plenty of back alleys and dead corners. I nodded and rolled up the map, a plan coming together.

“Before you go,” I turned to AJ’s cousin, Apple Crunch, “what are you? Not to be rude, but I have never seen anything like you before.”

“Oh, I’m an Exceed.” A smile and a poof of smoke later, I was floating head level with everyone, their eyes wide and jaws dropped. “This is my regular form, that other one was the result in practicing Transformation magic alongside Master Lex, which makes me physically stronger and allows me to release more magical energy than this one.”

“Woah.” Was the general response as I smirked and floated out the window, leaving behind a room of gaping creatures.

I flew above all the buildings, looking down at the map in my paws before heading to an area where these pickpockets last struck. They last stole some honey candies from Honey Blues about a week ago, before going silent as the mare sent the request to Fairy Tail. I guess she decided to brag about it or something and that worked as a deterrent. Unfortunately, that just made my job harder since I had to now act like a detective. I’m no Magic Sensor like Capper, Trixie, Pinkie or Silk, so this is going to be tough.

Flying down towards the street, I flew above everyone else, avoiding the odd pegasus here and there, before arriving at the small candy stand. Obviously it was closed up for the day, but that was okay.

I landed behind the stand and began looking around, seeing if I can find anything that could help me figure out what and who I am looking for.

It took a while, but as I was checking the empty Bit register, I found something of note. A couple strands of whiteish pink fur. Ordinary this wouldn’t be odd, but it was caught on the side of the register, where a staple was poking out of the table. It wasn’t much, but something is better than nothing.

With that, and a sense of familiarity with the scent on the fur, I took flight again, heading to the next stop. The area that the Minotaur was relieved of his Bit pouch. It was a corner between two alleyways, a designated smoking area away from the market to prevent any second hand smoking. Already coming it, I had to stop from gagging at the smell of tobacco and smoke. I haven’t even gotten used to Capper and his smoking yet, let alone this place.

I managed to curb my response, but was all but forced to stay in the air and even turned back into my Neko form since my sense of smell wasn’t as strong. The place was beyond filthy, but I guess I may be biased since Ponyville was remarkably clean a vast majority of the time. I glanced to a fro, scanning the dark alleyway for anything of note. I really liked my natural night vision right now.

After a couple of sweeps, I finally noticed an odd glint nearby. Floating over and lowering myself down, I found a Bit. Just a simple Bit. Nothing was odd about it, it was just laying there right next to the stallion hole cover to the sewers.

“Hmm, could these thieves be using the sewers to get around?” It would make sense, the underground system spread throughout the city and there were plenty of entrances in the area. If they were underground, then it could point to some D-Dogs being responsible, but an earlier comment about cats threw that theory for a loop.

With a shake of the head, I pocketed the Bit and was prepared to take off again, but before I could summon my wings, something else caught my attention. Walking over to the nearby trash can, I glanced behind it and one of my brows rose up to my hairline.

I picked up a feather. A bright, clean white feather that had a faint grey glow around it. I frowned for a moment before summoning my own wings with my Aera magic, looking back and forth between them.

My feathers had a faint red glow around them, not unlike this one’s grey glow. That brought an impossible idea to mind.

Was one of the pickpockets an Exceed, or someone who had Aera magic?

Impossible for the latter, the only ones with that magic are Exceeds, who I believe can use it instinctively, or maybe someone who can learn it from the guild. I know Lex has a small notebook in the Archives about it. With a frown, I pocketed the feather and took off again. I could see that the sun was going down and decided I needed to find a hotel for the night.

It was after I left, that a quartet of felines poked their heads out from behind the trash.

I was flying above the farmers market, watching with a critical eye as the booths sold their wears, food, clothes and equipment being bargained and sold every second of the day. I had to admit, this place was way more hectic than the market back in Ponyville or even the Crystal Empire a thousand years ago.

I was keeping my eyes peeled, trying to find anything of note that could give me a hint to find these thieves. I watched some people I thought would be easy targets, like an old unicorn stallion with a broken horn or that Minotaur selling antiques with a missing eye. But everything seemed pretty calm. But still, I couldn’t let myself get distracted.

“Hey! Get back there!”

I glanced down below me and saw two small blurs running down an alley, a unicorn stallion running after them. I swept down from the skies, but still kept to the rooftop level. I couldn’t get a good estimate at the thief as they ran down another alley, which I knew led to a dead end. With a frown, I boosted myself with my wind magic and stopped above the alleyway. I couldn’t see anything, but I swear I heard metal scrapping against the ground.

Hovering down, I began to look around the area, starting at the entrance to the alley, seeing several small paw prints entering, before heading towards the sewer entrance. Like I expected, the paws stopped right before the cover. I frowned as I tried to get the thing open, but I wasn’t strong enough.

With a sigh, I was going to head back, before blinking and shaking my head at my forgetfulness. With a small application of magic, purple pixels appeared around me before I felt my body change into my Neko form. With a smirk and a crack of my knuckles, I bend down and gripped the holes in the metal cover before slowly pulling it up and pushing it to the side. It was still heavy, but I managed to move it.

Looking down the hole, I mentally prepared myself and jumped down, landing softly with a boost of Wind Magic. I had to hold my nose at the smell of sewage assaulted me. Looking down to the ground, I saw that the paw prints suddenly stopped again. I tilted my head, it didn’t look like the thieves ran after they got down here.

Glancing around, I saw a small shine down the system. Following it, I blinked a couple times at what I found.

It was a feather. A bright white feather with a dusty pink glow. I subconsciously, summoned my wings and dug out that feather I found the other day and compared them all. They were the same aside from the glow. Mine had a red glow, the one I found had a dark grey glow and this one, again, was dusty pink.

“There’s more than one.” I muttered, pocketing the feathers and making my way through the sewers. I am not sure how long I was walking for, passing each intersection with caution while spotting the odd feather that showed I was going the right way, before, as I turned another corner, I spotted something and pulled back.

My back to the wall, I carefully glanced around the side, seeing a small camp in an empty area. There were a couple of makeshift beds and tents, a small campfire, and a few other things like empty carts, empty cans of food and fruit cores littered about.

I decided to be a little discreet and turned back into my normal form, and silently hovered over to the campsite. I glanced around, not seeing anything or anyone for a minute, before I got closer, now in the centre of the camp. I could see there were several spots for sleeping, two sleeping bags, two mattresses and the tent.

My ears shifted as I heard something breathing. Turning to the sound, it was coming from the tent, and it sounded weak. Hovering into the air again, I slowly made my way over to the tent, hearing whoever was in there coughing, they sounded in pain. We’re they sick?

Stopping right before the entrance to the tent, I gently and quietly moved the flaps to the side, and poked my head in. My eyes only widened a bit at what I saw.

There was a...canine? Feline? Whatever, there was someone there. They had some messy chocolate brown hair held in a small ponytail with a blue band. Her fur had three different colours, the area around her face, presumably her chest and torso being an off cream colours I think, with what visible amount of her fur being a light brown, while her arms and legs were a darker brown giving the impression of gloves and tall boots. She also had tons of dark brown, nearly black, spots all over her body from what I can see.

She was just sleeping there in a ripped and dirty pink shirt that left next to nothing to the imagination and jeans that were clearly a size or two too big for her. It didn’t take me very long to figure she was homeless if she was sleeping in a place like this. That really sucked, this girl looked to be in her late teens and she is living like this?

I frowned as I floated above her, seeing the girls face was flushed and she was breathing a little heavy. Her fur was matted and her hair was visibly greasy. She looked awful.

My ears snapped to attention as I heard voices coming this way. Looking around, I quickly floated out of the tent and behind some garbage.

“Dammit, I knew we should have hit that pharmacy yesterday.” I heard a males voice.

“It can’t be helped Gil, you know that it’s next to impossible to get antibiotics without a prescription, especially around here.” Another voice, a females, replied, her frown all but audible.

“But what are we supposed to do Joy? Kat’s getting worse, and we can’t take her to the hospital, they’ll just turn us away again.” The male, Gil, replied in anger.

“Well first we should calm down, getting worked up isn’t going to help anyone.” Another females voice, one that sounded more mature, interjected.

“Big sis is right, we can’t do anything rash or Kat would just get worse than she is now.” A third female added. I frowned, looks like I found the thieves. I should have figured they were just creatures trying to survive. I don’t like putting others on the spot, especially when their intentions aren’t obvious.

Quietly, I shifted around my hiding spot, looking into he camp. I had to clamp my paws over my mouth to prevent a gasp from escaping me.

Exceeds. Four Exceed were the ones I was hearing.

The first one, obviously Gil, was barely a quarter inch taller than the rest with sandy gold fur, some tufts near the end of his head acting like bangs like me. He was wearing a patchwork black vest with a small blue bag on his back. His eyes were a sharp grey.

One of the felines, the smallest of them, had maroon fur and blue eyes. She was wearing a patchwork dress and had a small red purse attached to her side.

The middle feline, one that actually reminded me a bit of one of my friends in the Crystal Empire for some reason, had dusty pink fur with her paws being red. Her eyes were a bright neon pink. She was wearing a handmade black hoodie and purple shorts.

The last one, likely the ‘big sis’ had deep forest green fur with a blue gem hair clip near her left ear and deep brown eyes. She was wearing a pair of jeans and a brown turtleneck.

It was clear all their clothes were specifically made for them, it is next to impossible to find anything off the rack for ones our size. I glanced to the tent, remembering there was a bunch of scrap material next to the girl. So she was likely the one who made their clothes. But, then why wouldn’t she adjust her own clothes?

I hide back behind the garbage as the quartet made their way to the tent. I managed to watch them as the pink one and the maroon one took out some supplies. Water bottles, juice boxes, some cans of food and finally apples.

“Ok, if we can ration this we can probably last a couple more days before we have to go get more.” ‘Big Sis’ said, looking over the supplies.

“But none of this will help Kat! She can barely keep her food down right now, and we don’t exactly have any sterile equipment to make stew or something.” Gil said, frustration clear on his face. The others frowned as well.

“We need help. Kat couldn’t even fix her clothes before she passed out last night, and she’s still asleep.” The pink one said, coming back from the tent.

“Well it’s not like we can just walk up to a random pony and ask for help Joy. I know they preach that whole ‘harmony’ and ‘friendship’ thing, but that only seems to work in small towns, not the big cities.” Gil said with a frown, going over to the fire pit and taking out some matches.

“Hate to say it, but Gil’s got a point. If Kat was a little better we could maybe make our way to the train station and stow away to another town, but right now she is in no condition to be moved.” ‘Big Sis’ said sadly, taking a half sip from one of the water bottles before handing it to the maroon one. She took a half sip as well before they crowded around Gil as he managed to start a fire. I noticed a stallion hole cover nearby and saw that I had been down here longer than I thought since it was getting dark already.

“Joy?” I brought my attention back to the group nearby. “Do you think we could ask that creature we saw before?” The maroon one questioned.

“You mean that weird flying monkey with a cat’s tail?” Gil added, making me frown. My other form was a Neko, not a monkey!

“I’m not so sure Saya. I mean, if that earth pony we hit earlier is to believed that thing could be from that Fairy Tail guild everyone’s been talking about.” Joy said, a deeper frown on her face.

“Another reason we need to try and lay low right now.” Big sis said, using a stick to move the fire. “We don’t know what they are capable of. We’ve survived here for years, since Kathrine hatched us, we can do it for a while longer. Once that Fairy Tailer leaves the city, and Kathrine in well enough to move, we’ll try and get as much as we can and head to another town. Maybe Appleloosa.”

The others nod. I could tell they didn’t like this. So, they have been here for several years, and that girl in the tent, Kathrine, hatched them. She must have found their eggs and decided to see what they would be once they hatched. Not bad, considering she is just one....thing. I really need to figure out what she is.

“But first thing’s first.” I turned back to them as Big Sis got up and stretched. “Dinner time. Saya, your turn to help out.”

“Okay Marnie.” Saya said, going with Big Sis, Marnie, and grabbing a couple of cans and some old pots and spoons. They were clearly only washed out and not actually cleaned, but I guess they are just doing what they can.

Saya brought over a small grate that she placed over the fire to work like a grill and Marnie began making what looked like chilli. I had to admit, it did smell pretty good, but I had my own food. Quietly digging into my pockets, I pulled out one of my favourites, Crystal Berries. More accurately Ruby Cherries. They looked like cherries made of the gems, but they were really soft fruit that had very long shelf lives because of the magic from the Crystal Heart. The Crystal Fruit and Vegetables is the main export from the Empire now that its back.

It was quiet for a while, the four felines nearby cooking their food while I quietly munched on my fruit, when a low moan echoed through the silence.

“Well, sounds like someone’s finally up.” Marnie quipped, but I could hear the undertone of motherly worry. Funny since Kat hatched her.

“Joy? Gil?” Kat called weakly from the tent. The two Exceeds ran over and a minute later, the duo were helping a weak Kathrine out of the tent and towards the fire. I frowned as I watched her, she looked worse than before, her face still flushed and sweat beginning to stick to her fur. Despite this she was shivering, like she was without her fur and in a tundra. I could also see her turquoise eyes were bloodshot and she had tear streaks on her cheeks.

I knew that the girl was just getting sicker, and it was a fact that the others were aware of. Hmm, maybe I can find a pharmacy nearby and come back with some medicine? I frowned and readjusted myself to get a better look as Kat began to eat. Unfortunately, my moving caused a can from the pile of garbage I was hiding behind to fall. I mentally screamed as the can landed with a deafening clatter.

“Who’s there?!” I flinched at Gil’s threatening tone. For someone barely taller than me, he sounded scary when he wanted to be.

I gulped as I heard one of them stand and make their way over here. I mentally prepared myself, ready to bold when the steps tripped and Kat fell before me.

“Oh crap!” Stealth thrown out the window, I ran out from hiding and towards the downed girl. I ignored the others surprise as I checked her. She was worse than I thought, her breathing was heavy and irregular and I just now noticed that, despite her very curvaceous form, she was showing signs of malnutrition.

“Hey, hey keep your eyes open!” I yelled, helping the girl turn onto her back. The girl, while weak, showed surprise at me.

“A-another...flying cat?”

“Exceed. We’re called Exceeds.” I corrected, going behind her and pushing the girl into a sitting position. I then flew up and grabbed the back of her shirt, carrying her over to the others.

“Who?” I glanced at Marnie with a frown.

“Echo.” Is all I said as I went through what I had. It wasn’t much, but I managed to find a couple of crystal berries. These should help at least a bit because of their magic. Carefully I flew up and offered the berries to Kat, who just opened her mouth for me. It was silent as I fed the sick girl one berry at a time. She scrunched her face up at the slightly sour flavour, but pushed through it and ate the fruit, spitting out the seeds.

“She needs medical attention.” I stated firmly.

“We know.” I turned to Marnie and the others as she flew over to me, revealing the white wings with a faint brown glow. “We’ve been trying to get enough Bits to buy some medicine, or even to pay for a checkup, but we can’t even afford food a majority of the time, let alone overly inflated placebo candies.”

I frowned at that, but knew that things worked differently in this day and age compared to a thousand years ago. I frowned more as the girl began to fall asleep again.

“If I can get you guys some help, will you stop stealing things?” I questioned, throwing them all off. It took a moment for me to remember they had only seen me in my Neko form apparently, so they didn’t know I was a mage.

“Say what? How the hell do you expect us to survive?” Gil stated with a glare.

“Hate to say it but he’s right. There isn’t exactly a lot of places willing to hire creatures like us.” Joy said with a frown, petting the sleeping Kat on the head as her face scrunched up in discomfort. “Especially since, technically, we don’t exist.”

I rose a brow at that, Saya walking up. “Kat hatched us alone. She’s been on the streets since she was eight, so nearly eleven years, because some sicko at her orphanage want to ‘have some fun’.”

Oh? Oh...oooohh, that is disgusting! Seriously, the fuck?!

“And it’s only gotten worse lately, after she went through puberty.” Marnie said with a sad yet disgusted frown. I could understand, if she wasn’t so messy and sick, I am sure she would be quite the looker.

“Hey, not to sound rude or anything, but what is Kathrine anyway?” I questioned without thinking.

“She’s a hybrid.” Saya answered. “Apparently one of her parents was an Abyssian and her other one was a Diamond Dog. That’s all she knows, she’s never met her parents before.”

“Oh.” I frowned. Another orphan. Why is it that we Fairy Tail mages keep....finding...My eyes open wide as an obvious answer enters my head.

“Well, I think I know who can help.” The four Exceeds and the barely conscious Kat looked to me as I grinned. “So, here’s what’s going to happen...”

“So, you managed to find their camp, and made sure these thieves, who happened to be some homeless stallions, that if they attacked anyone nearby again they would get the wrath of the entire Fairy Tail guild on their backs?” Honey Blue questioned to which I nod. I was back in my Neko form since this was the one most saw me in first, plus I still needed to be able to go back and forth between forms in seconds.

The people paying me noticed I was missing my hood though, but I just said that I had it in my bad and that it was getting hot out. Not a complete lie. After a minute, the group all nodded and handed me a bag full of Bits and the mission sheet, now signed at the bottom as completed.

“Thank you so much Echo. It’s nice to know there are those in this world we can count on for things like this.” I just nodded and grabbed my stuff heading down, but I didn’t take the elevator. Going down the stairs and checking the third floor, I found a small pharmacy and picked up some antibiotics and other medicines. Paying with my reward money, I made my way to the main floor and left the large store.

Looking around, I spotted the alleyway across the street and rushed over, heading to a specific spot. Arriving, I pulled up the stallion hole cover and jumped into the sewers, looking around for a moment before heading in.

After a minute or so, I arrived at camp, seeing the other four Exceeds helping a tired and weak Kathrine Spot as she stood up, wearing my hood. I smiled to them as they noticed me and I took out my water bottle and some medicine. Kat was more than eager to get better and didn’t struggle as she ate the pills. She was still weak, so I crouched down, and the larger female all but collapsed on my back. I stumbled for a moment, before adjusting us and nodding to Gil, or Gilded Breeze, who nodded back and flew towards the closest cover by the train station.

After about ten minutes, we arrived and began to leave. Saya Source and Marnie Daisy flew the now sleeping Kathrine out first, followed by me and Joy Fleece. Gil was up top already and made sure the area was empty. I nodded and the gild helped Kat onto my back again.

The trek to the train station nearby was spent in silence as the others were unwilling to break the silence. They all noted the odd looks we were getting from the ponies and other creatures, but I ignored them as we arrived, the next train for Ponyville set to arrive in ten minutes.

“So.” I turned to Saya. “What’s it like in Fairy Tail?” I smiled to her as the train approached.

“It’s like being home.”

Yay, new characters! But yeah, I knew that the dragon slayers needed partner exceeds, so this was inevitable. Don’t worry, there will be a proper explanation why they are there and not in Fiore. But it won’t be for quite a while.

Alexandria ‘Lex’ Justine: Faekage-13,789-Variety
Princess Luna: Rai-2,936-???
Sonbāsutā ‘Sonbā’: Rai-2,247-Crystal Maker Magic
Mi Amor Cadenza ‘Cadence’: Rai-1,529-Maguilty Sense
Shining Armor: Rai-1,119-The Knight Requip
Twilight Sparkle: Kage-601-Dark Ecriture
Spike Sparkle: Kage-562-Emerald Dragon Slayer Magic
Trixie Lulamoon: Jounin-505-Memory Make
Emerald Blizzard: Jounin-425-Archive
Legacy ‘Trace’ Tracer: Jounin-371-Equestrian Dark Magic and Reflector Magic
Zecora: Chunnin-202-Plant and Green Magic
Star Burst: Chunnin-154-Gunner Requip
Bladed Wind: Chunnin-151-Requip
Rainbow Dash: Chunnin-135-Storm Magic
Applejack: Chunni-134-Earth Magic
Floral ‘Flora’ Talons: Chunnin-132-Air Magic
Azure Skies: Chunnin-129-Dark Regulus
Gilda: Chunnin-120-Ice Make Magic
Zen Quartz: Chunnin-115-Palm Magic
Hot Spark: Chunnin-105-Rainbow Fire Magic
Swift Service: Genin-98-Paper Blizzard
Nate Quartz: Genin-95-Sandstorm
Pinkie Pie: Genin-93-Wave Magic
Raine Jewel: Genin-89-Solid Script Magic
Silk Song: Genin-73-Water Magic
Rarity Belle: Genin-72-Mirror and Colours Magic
Echo: Genin-50-Aera Magic, Transformation, Wind Magic
Scootaloo: Genin-28-High Speed and Freerun
Applebloom: Genin-25-Mimic Magic
Sweetie Belle: Genin-18-Snow Magic
Fluttershy: Genin-5-Animal Soul Takeover
Capper: ???-???-???
Cobalt Will: ???-???-???
Bertha Will: ???-???-???
Amaterasu Shiranui: ???-???-???
Arakunia: ???-???-???
Unmei Gaidancu: ???-???-???
Amber: ???-???-Plasma Dragon Slayer
Laruma: ???-???-Storm Dragon Slayer
Fizzle: ???-???-Lava Dragon Slayer
Reni: ???-???-Gold Dragon Slayer
Aspen Marigold: ???-???-???
Maddie ‘Madness’ Marigold: ???-???-???
Dawn Lightwing: ???-???-???
Gilded ‘Gil’ Breeze: ???-???-Aera magic
Marnie Daisy: ???-???-Aera magic
Joy Fleece: ???-???-Aera magic
Saya Source: ???-???-Aera magic
Kathrine Spot: ???-???-???