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?’

Next Chapter: Chapter 15: The Fairy Tail Entrance Examination: Magic Power Estimated time remaining: 13 Hours, 36 Minutes