//------------------------------// // Part 1 Epilogue // Story: My Little Pony: Nakama is Magic - The Friendship Chronicles // by Hotspot the 626th //------------------------------// Sailing off Again! The Next Adventure Awaits You, Straw Hat Pirates News spread fast through Magnolia; Fairy Tail had defeated Twilight Orc. The whole city rejoiced. The return of Fairy Tail’s missing members had sent the town in further joy. Without hesitation and as an appreciation for their job well done, Magnolia hosted a festival for the return and rise of Fairy Tail. Not only them but also for the brave sailors that returned their missing members and fought against Twilight Orc as well. The Straw Hat Pirates welcomed the celebration. The festival, officially dubbed the “Festival of Fairy Tail,” went into the night. During which, the returning Fairy Tail group made up for the lost time and reacquainted with their remaining members of Fairy Tail. Tears shed freely, laughter shared via jokes made at each other’s expense, and fights breaking out at every turn; it was as if the missing Fairy Tail members had never left. The leadership of the guild was soon returned to Makarov – very willingly by Macao – who was grateful to their members that remained true to their guild for so long. And so, another celebration was had for returning leadership; as if they needed any more of an excuse. Of course, it's not like the Straw Hat Pirates were missing any of the fun. They joined in any moment that allowed them; especially in fights. The duel argument with group Natsu and Sanji versus Gray and Zoro would go down in Fairy Tail history as one of the most pointless but also violent one to date. Despite such, these two groups – the Pirates and the Mages – bonded and formed a deep friendship. Stories, real and fiction, were shared between the two — tricks and stunts displayed to wow each other. And definitely, competitions were had left and right to see who was better. Only those with any sense chose to observe and enjoy. Some had their fun, however. "Would you care to dance, mademoiselle?" Sanji went about nearly asking every mare between the two groups. Most turned him down, and now he was on his last few remaining. He tried with the Fairy Tail member Juvia, who appeared flustered by the notion. "J-Juvia is..." said the mare befuddled. In her mind, Juvia had a scenario going on with the pony she loved, Gray, and now the newcomer Sanji. Her mind raced as scenes played out of the two stallions fighting for her affection. The young mare was nearly overtaken by how much she thought over it. Fortunately, a saving grace appeared. "Come on, ya fancy-speaking varmint," said Applejack cheerfully as she took hold of the stallion. "Don't just stand there like a statue. Let's dance!" While taken by surprise, Sanji graciously joined along with his crewmate. They two had much fun dancing, not realizing that a discerning eye was upon them. Mirajane, ever the romantic, saw the two ponies together and became inspired to continue pairing ponies up. She began with some of her guild picking out Gajeel and Levy, her brother and Evergreen, and even tried to get Natsu to dance with her little sister. The last of the pairs failed to work out as expected, but both had a fun time. She then moved on to their pirate friends, whom she could see some romance blossoming. She was quick to get both Chopper and Fluttershy together, both becoming embarrassed before losing themselves in the music and dance. The mage pony even tried to get Zoro to dance with Rainbow Dash, but the swordspony was too busy outdrinking everyone. She eventually felt her task done and soon joined the fun without concern for other relationships. "Come on, you idiot," Nami said as she pulled Luffy to an open spot. "I can't believe Twilight Sparkle is such a horrible dancer. I'm at least gonna show you how to dance properly." Despite the insult, Luffy only grinned and chuckle. "Sure!" he chirped. The “Festival of Fairy Tail” would last for three days, and would be joined by several more villages, towns, and cities around the area; Hargeon included. The other mage guilds, especially those with close ties to Fairy Tail, celebrated as well. Then, when the festival was over, everyone rested for an entire day. Fairy Tail was even given their building back as a gift from the city. But finally, it was time for the Straw Hat Pirates to part from Fairy Tail. The Thousand Sunny had remained docked in Magnolia’s river the whole time, but as normalcy returned to the city, it was proving to be problematic. Regardless, Luffy felt it was time to return to their adventure, but not before receiving a few things before leaving. Staring at a large pile of glowing white crystals, the excitable crew members Luffy, Spike, Usopp, Chopper, and Pinkie marveled the large collection as tall as Franky on deck. “Wow!” “I’m sure you would be quite interested in the lacrima, my dear,” spoke Makarov to Twilight charitably. “They have many uses which I’m sure you’ll be able to figure out.” Twilight smiled. “Thank you, Master Makarov,” she said happily. Suddenly becoming curious, Makarov followed with a question. “By the way, how is handling your magic now? Keeping her smile, Twilight began a demonstration by sticking out her hoof. It was pointed to a crate of supplies, another gift, and she started to use her magic. Unlike it had been just days ago, she showed little group focusing her magic through her hoof. Her purple magic aura soon engulfed the crate, and she levitated the box on to the Sunny. Once done, cheers were given out from her brother, Spike, and friends. Their calls made Twilight blush slightly but also made her happy, and her concentration never faltered. She then replied to the guild master confidently. “Well enough, sir!” Makarov instantly grinned. “Good for you!” The guild master of Fairy Tail was not the only member here; nearly all of Fairy Tail was present to bid their friends farewell. Some more personally than others. “Next time,” Erza spoke to Zoro confidently with a smile. “We’ll have to cross blades .” Zoro smiled at the prospect. Then, as a show of respect, he held up his hoof slight as a gesture. The sword-wielding mare understood and lightly tapped her hoof with his. The black unicorn then took his leave and walked back on deck. Nearby, Natsu was speaking with Luffy. Both had many of their friends around them. The Dragon Slayer pony asked insistently, “You sure you guys wouldn’t want to join Fairy Tail? It would be awesome having all of you around.” Luffy chuckled. “Nah, we’re good. But you guys could always join my crew? Sailing the seas with us.” Immediately, all three Dragon Slayers began feeling nauseous. Natsu replied, “No, I think we’ll stick to solid land for now.” “Speak for yourself,” Lucy said deadpanned. Everyone then shared a laugh, even the sickly Dragon Slayers though weakly. Then, once feeling better, Natsu pulled something out. It looked like a neckerchief, and it had Fairy Tail’s symbol on it. “Gramps wanted us to give you this,” the Fire Dragon Slayer said happily. “To show our appreciation and friendship with you all.” “Thanks!” Luffy cheerfully said, accepting the cloth. He then pulled out something himself; it was a long, rolled-up black fabric. He quickly stated, “Here’s ours!” “Awesome!” Natsu shouted eagerly. Once taking the cloth, Natsu unrolled it for him and all his guildmates to see. Upon completely unfurling it, the group looked unsatisfied. Given to them was a flag of the Straw Hat Pirates’ jolly roger; at least, they assumed it to be that. It looked somewhat like the crew’s flag except drawn by a child: a very untalented child. “T-Thanks,” said Gray politely though underwhelmed. “No Problem! I made it myself!" said Luffy optimistically. Usopp immediately apologized, “Sorry.” After the exchange, the Straw Hat Pirates took their leave. Everyone was on board, and everything accounted for, it was time to head out to sea. The lion paw anchors began to rise, and the paddles made to retract back inside the Thousand Sunny, replaced with two doors marked with a red “0.” Using the river’s natural current, the ship began sailing back down the river backward. And while they had said their goodbyes, many of the crew were now again telling them. Most of the Fairy Tail group, in turn, was doing the same as galloped alongside the big ship. Natsu and Wendy even had their Exceed carry them for a little bit to keep up. Eventually, the group reached as far as the town limits but continued still to wave to their pirate friends and vice versa. Moments later, neither one could see the other, and they returned to their lives as pirates of the sea and mages of the kingdom of Fiore. It would be an hour or so before the Straw Hat Pirates would see the open the ocean. Their traveling had been smooth and their exit unhindered. After exiting through the mouth of the river, the Thousand Sunny was positioned around to have its bow facing out towards the horizon. The sails immediately became unfurled, and the vessel began heading out to sea in earnest. There were no storms and no adversaries in view; the crew could relax a little for the moment. “I’m gonna miss those guys,” Rainbow Dash commented aloud. “Seeing all those ponies doing magic was the coolest.” “To think, if any of us were born here, we could be doing magic like Twily here,” Applejack said playfully with an added nudge to the mare. Twilight smiled with amusement for a moment, but her mind soon wondered from it over some concerns. “I wondered though what happened to all that lacrima that was supposed to be in the tower? And who Twilight Orc’s ‘Master’ was?” “Don’t sweat the small stuff, Magi-mare,” Franky said laidback. “Whoever it was, clearly didn’t want to mess with us.” “But those crystals.” Twilight stated worriedly. “They collected a lot from the ponies in the area, and we never found the blueprints to that machine. This could happen all over again!” “Easy, Twilight,” Robin said calmingly. “We can’t solve every problem altogether, only the ones we’re facing at this moment.” The younger purple unicorn calmed down immediately. Taking in one deep breath and exhaling it, Twilight looked at her teacher and smiled. “You’re right. Thank you.” Then, Twilight turned to Luffy, who seem to be sitting nearby being oddly patient. The young mare had a thought about what it was, and she had an answer for him. She approached the stallion, smirking slightly, and prepared mentally for what she was about to say. Once they were face to face, her brother was looking at her curiously. She then began to speak. “Okay, Luffy, I’ll be your First-Mate,” Twilight told the red Earth pony confidently. Luffy grinned. “I knew you would come around.” “Not at first, but I think I understand better why you picked me.” “Don’t worry, Zoro can cover for anything that you don’t know,” Luffy cheerfully said bluntly. “Well then, Captain,” stated Twilight playfully. “Since we’re all back together, you’re back in charge.” Then, lifting her hoof, Twilight began to levitate one of the lacrima crystals nearby towards her. As it floated next to her, the young unicorn looked content. “I’m going to do some research on these lacrimas. I have a few ideas on how we can use them.” “Typical Twily,” Luffy stated teasingly. Thus, Twilight took her leave of her brother and headed towards the library. Content, Luffy joined the others as they reminisced over their recent adventure. Each group began explaining what had happened during their brief period of separation. That was when some pony finally reminded Nami of something important. "We Forgot To Get Paid Again?!" One adventure was done, but more were on the way for the Straw Hat Pirates. The ocean is vast and full of mystery and discoveries from an island where every kind of pony can be magical to who knows beyond that. Dangers and peril would be fraught on every new island. And in the distance, a storm was looming over them. There is so much more that awaits you, Straw Hat Pirates, and new friends to make along the way! Meanwhile, on an island covered in black stone resides the city Los Nachos, the capital of the Black Empire. It was night, or perhaps perpetually dark, as only the city lights showed the location of the metropolis. It at the tallest building, almost like a mountain, that we find a certain gaseous pony speaking to someone in a room fervently. “…and by using these lacrima crystals, a pony can use that corresponding. No matter if they are an Earth pony or Pegasus. The crystals will completely act in according to the will of the user as long as it fits within its natural magical nature.” Another pony in the room replied with glee. “Excellent!” On the other side of the room, sitting on a throne, was none other than the emperor of the Black Empire, Blackbeard. “So, what do you need so I can outfit every soldier with one of those crystals.” Caesar Clown grinned. Everything was coming up his way. TO BE CONTINUED...