//------------------------------// // Chapter 6 (3/3): Despair for a Princess // Story: MLP FiM x Fairy Tail: Wizards in Equestria // by SonnL //------------------------------// In the royal castle of the Crystal Empire, Lisanna was playing with Flurry Heart. After they played house with Flurry Heart’s dolls for over an hour, they decided to play the little alicorn’s favorite game, hide-and-seek. “Get ready Flurry Heart. I’ll now close my eyes and count to fifty.” Lisanna then covered her eyes and began counting to fifty while Flurry Heart flew off searching for a hiding spot. “…48 …49 …50. Ready or not, here I come!” Lisanna searched for Flurry Heart. After over twenty minutes of searching, she had no luck finding her. “Flurry Heart, you better not be using teleportation. That’s cheating.” Lisanna searched every place she could think of. She looked for nearly two hours, but she did not find any sign of the princess nor heard a peep out of her. Lisanna grew more concerned. Flurry Heart never stayed hidden or quiet for this long and she never went out of the castle by herself. “Okay Flurry Heart, I give up! Please come out now!” Lisanna was beginning to worry. At the edge of Canterlot, Twilight Sparkle’s parents, Twilight Velvet and Night Light, were boarding a zeppelin. “Oh I can’t wait for a nice vacation! It’s great that we won a zeppelin cruise!” Velvet said excitedly. “It’s too bad we can’t take the whole family with us.” “I know. I would love to see Twilight organize a schedule of activities for us.” Night Light remarked. “By the way, what contest we won? And doesn’t this situation seem awfully familiar?” “Dear, when somepony offered you a free vacation, you just sign the paperwork and don’t ask questions.” Velvet replied with a carefree expression. “But… are you sure about going on a vacation right now? There is a war going on.” “Don’t worry. There are Fairy Tail wizards aboard the zeppelin.” Velvet pointed her hoof to the three humans she saw. “And according to the brochure, they are extremely powerful. So they should be able to protect us if there is any danger.” Unbeknownst to the couple, a unicorn was watching them from a distance. “Those two have arrived.” The unicorn informed an unknown individual through telepathy. Right after the couple boarded the zeppelin, it took off. The couple decided to stay on the deck for several minutes, thinking about all the fun activities that they were going to take part in. As Velvet and Night Light were enjoying the fresh air, a crystallized cage suddenly materialized and surrounded them. “Hey! Where did this cage come from?!” Velvet shrieked. “Hello Mr. and Mrs. Sparkle.” A mare’s voice said to them. The two trapped unicorns immediately turned their attention towards the mare. It is Sapphire Butterfly. “A pleasure to make your acquaintance. I apologize for the deception.” Sapphire spoke. “Fairy Tail! Help us! There is a dark unicorn here!” Velvet tried calling the humans for help. The humans as well as most of the passengers vanished into thin air. The rest of the ponies on the zeppelin removed their disguises and revealed themselves to be dark unicorns. “Save your breath, Mr. and Mrs. Sparkle. The humans and most of the ponies you just saw were all illusions. Aside from you two, the only ones on this zeppelin are dark unicorns.” “What’s going on here?!” Night Light started to panic. “Since it’s apparent that you two haven’t figured it out yet, I’ll spell it out for you. That prize you received was a trap to lure you both to me. Get it now? There isn’t going to be a vacation, and you two are now my prisoners. So I suggest you prepare yourselves. The worse has yet to come.” “W-what do you want from us?” Velvet asked while trembling. “You see, Mr. and Mrs. Sparkle, I want the honor of crushing the ruler of Equestria, and I want it to feel rewarding. However… I have a feeling that she’s going to need some motivation when I face her. And that’s where you two come in.” Velvet and Night Light’s hearts were completely filled with terror. They heard about the horrible deeds the dark unicorns committed before. “W-wait a minute. Y-you… you’re not going to kill us, a-are you?” Night Light spoke fearfully. “At least you now know how grim your situation is. And to answer your question, that all depends on Twilight Sparkle. Pray that she won’t disappoint me.” With Twilight Velvet and Night Light fallen into Sapphire Butterfly’s clutches, they were then taken to Scarlet Night’s fortress. Back at Ponyville, the town just received a new visitor. It is an earth pony mare with blue eyes, light brownish orange coat, and bright yellow mane and tail. “I made it.” The mare said. Upon her arrival, she made her way to the Fairy Tail guild hall. Right after entering the guild hall, she walked up to the nearest group of wizards she saw: Natsu, Happy, Lucy, Gray, Erza, Wendy, and Carla. “Excuse me, Fairy Tail.” The earth pony spoke to the wizards, gaining their attention. “I have never seen you before. Are you a visitor?” Lucy said to the mare. “I’m from a remote village. My name is Bright Flower. I came here to ask for the guild’s help.” “How can we help you?” Gray asked. “I need help finding my special somepony. He is a unicorn stallion named Soni.” Bright Flower then showed a photo of Soni to the wizards. “Tell us more about this Soni.” Erza said. “A few years ago, my parents and I found him passed out on the ground at our village. He had been traveling alone for a long time and he collapsed from exhaustion and hunger. We took him to our home and fed him. He then lived at our farm and he helped out with all the tasks and chores. He was so kind and hardworking. He never said much about his past. He did mention that his parents were farmers and they passed away when he was very young. After he lived with my family for around a year, I gave him a marriage proposal, but he declined, saying that it’s for reasons that he could not explain.” “So what happened to him?” Carla asked. “One day, a unicorn mare came to the village. Soni apparently knew her. I remembered he called her Sapphire Butterfly.” The wizards’ eyes widened in shock after hearing the Upper 2 general’s name. “Soni and this mare then spoke in private. I didn’t hear what they were talking about, but I saw the mare gave Soni a newspaper. After he read it, he… started acting different.” “Different how?” Erza inquired. “He… became angry. He even looked so terrifying. I don’t know what came over him, but he wasn’t like that before. I have no idea what that mare said to him or what he read on that newspaper because he tore it apart. Afterwards, he just left without saying goodbye. I never heard from him since. I waited for him to return, but he never came back.” After hearing Bright Flower’s story, Natsu’s group then huddled together for a private group discussion. “Is Soni connected to the Order of Scarlet Night?” Natsu whispered to his guildmates. “If he is, then this is going to be complicating.” Gray answered while keeping his voice down. “Will you please help me find him?” Bright Flower pleaded. “I miss him so much and I cannot stand not knowing what happened to him.” “There’s something you need to know.” Aura Light spoke to Natsu’s group through the bracelets she gave to them. “Soni is the Upper 5 general’s original name.” Natsu’s group was taken aback by this revelation. However, before they could ask any questions, Twilight suddenly arrived at the guild hall via teleportation. “Everyone! We have an emergency! My niece, Flurry Heart, has gone missing!” Inside Scarlet Night’s fortress, Dread Lord was waiting for Shadow Mayhem to return after sending him out to capture a certain target. Meanwhile, the Upper 3 general suddenly returned. “Hey Dread Lord, I’m back!” Roaring Blaze greeted after returning. “Roaring Blaze, I see that you have returned.” Dread Lord was surprised to him back earlier than expected. “When I caught wind that Flurry Heart is getting foalnapped, I couldn’t miss out on this.” Roaring Blaze replied. They were soon joined by Shadow Mayhem. “I got her.” Shadow Mayhem held out a dark magical bubble, in which a very frightened Flurry Heart was kept. She was so terrified that she couldn’t utter a single word and she had huge tears sliding down her face. “I’m surprised, Shadow Mayhem. I was sure you were going to tear her to pieces, considering that you absolutely despise her.” Roaring Blaze commented. Shadow Mayhem responded by growling at the Upper 3. Dread Lord then approached the princess. “Hello, little one. There’s somepony that I want you to meet.” Flurry Heart was soon taken to Scarlet Night’s chamber, where the dark alicorn lays dormant inside a large glowing red cocoon. Dread Lord held the little princess close to the cocoon. It glowed brighter and it began absorbing Flurry Heart’s magic. She cried as her magic was being drained out of her. Once the process was complete, Flurry Heart gasped as she slumped to the floor completely drained of her magic. “It’s done. We got what we need from her. And Shadow Mayhem, your patience shall be rewarded. She’s all yours now.” Dread Lord then left Flurry Heart with the Upper 5. “I’ve waited a long time for this.” Shadow Mayhem snarled as he gazed at Flurry Heart with venom in his eyes. Sometime later, Shadow Mayhem walked out of a torture chamber. Roaring Blaze was just standing in the hallway. “So, did you kill her?” Roaring Blaze asked, eager to hear the details. “No. I held back just enough to keep her alive. It’s not enough for me to simply take her life. I want her to suffer.” Shadow Mayhem answered with his eyes still burning with hatred. “Woah. It’s been a while since I’ve seen him this angry. He truly hates the little princess with a passion.” Roaring Blaze muttered under his breath. After Flurry Heart’s disappearance, the Crystal Empire was in an uproar. Cadence, Shining Armor, the royal guards, the castle servants, and the Strauss siblings frantically searched for Flurry Heart, still unaware that she had been captured by the enemy. “Any luck finding her?” Lisanna asked her brother and sister as they were communicating with each other via their Aura bracelets. “I’m sorry, we’ve been searching high and low, but we haven’t found a single clue.” Elfman answered. “I hope I’m wrong, but I’m having an awful feeling about this.” Lisanna was beginning to fear the worst. “Let’s remain calm. We should ask Natsu, Gajeel, Wendy, or Laxus for help.” Mirajane said. In the castle throne room, Cadence was pacing back and forth, worried and anxiously awaiting any news concerning Flurry Heart’s whereabouts. Shining Armor soon joined her in the throne room. “Have you found Flurry Heart yet?” Cadence asked her husband. “I’m afraid we’re not having any luck so far.” Shining Armor answered sadly. “Oh, where could she be?” Cadence was on the verge of a nervous breakdown. A Crystal Empire guard then approached the royal couple. “Your majesties! You need to look outside! There’s something in the sky!” Cadence and Shining Armor then went to the castle balcony and saw a gigantic rectangular magical screen floating in the sky above the Crystal Empire. Similar screens also appear above every major town, including Ponyville, and every major city. It’s like whoever responsible for those screens wanted to show something to all of Equestria. It wasn’t long before all attention was drawn to them. The screens began displaying a prerecorded visual footage, which showed Shadow Mayhem and Flurry Heart. The little alicorn was in so much pain, and everyone watched in horror as the Upper 5 general brutalized her. “Please stop… stop hurting me… Mommy… Daddy… somepony help me…” Flurry Heart whimpered. Shadow Mayhem ignored her cries and continued torturing her. The footage ran for several minutes before the screens in the sky vanished. Everyone was stunned beyond belief and they were left completely speechless after witnessing something so terrible. The dark unicorns already showed how ruthless they are, but Shadow Mayhem had gone too far. Twilight felt tears falling down her face after seeing her niece being subjected to torturous abuse. Cadence and Shining Armor were completely filled with overwhelming grief after seeing their daughter suffer in such a horrible way. Cadence eventually broke down. “Why is this happening?! How can they do this?! Is there no limit to their cruelty?!” Cadence wept as she held her hooves over her face. “He won’t get away with this! I’ll kill him! I swear I’m going to kill him in the most painful way possible!” Shining Armor declared with tears of rage. In the throne room of Scarlet Night’s fortress, two dark unicorn stallions and two dark unicorn mares gathered there after they received a summons from Dread Lord. “It seems that we are the only ones summoned by Dread Lord. What could he want with us?” One of the stallions wondered as the four dark unicorns stood before the Upper 1. “Welcome, acolytes.” Dread Lord addressed the dark unicorns. “I see that you are anxious about the reason I summoned you. That is because I have wonderful news for you. You four have been chosen to join the ranks of the Red Moon Generals.” Upon hearing this, expressions of joy filled the dark unicorns’ faces. “Rejoice. For you each are about to receive a special gift.” To seal their promotion, Dread Lord gave each of the dark unicorns a crystal containing a portion of Scarlet Night’s power. As soon as the crystals came into physical contact with them, the four acolytes were engulfed in a dark magical aura for a brief moment and a silver number is engraved on each of their left eyes. Nightmare Art: new Lower 5 (stallion; brown eyes with black sclera; yellow coat; aqua blue mane and tail) Blossom Thorn: new Lower 4 (mare; green eyes with red sclera; brownish green coat; pink mane and tail) Grim Mist: new Lower 3 (mare; orange eyes with light gray sclera; white coat; dark gray mane and tail) Mercury Riot: new Lower 2 (stallion; purple eyes with blue sclera; silver coat; pale silver mane and tail) “This is incredible. I can feel the power coursing through my veins.” Blossom Thorn uttered with a smile. “I’m sure you four are all elated to be part of this prestigious group, but do not be content with just being among the Red Moon Generals. With your promotion comes an even greater responsibility. The master will be revived soon, and the time for all-out battle is upon us.” In a faraway land, the Lower 1 general, Thunder Blast, had been busy causing mass destruction there. One of Dread Lord’s ravens delivered a message to him while he stood next to a mountain of corpses of the creatures he had just slain. “So, Dread Lord is finally ordering me to return. That can only mean one thing. Scarlet Night’s awakening is near.” Thunder Blast mused. A portal to Scarlet Night’s fortress suddenly opened up near him. “Time for me to head back home.” Thunder Blast then walked through the portal. In preparation for the great battle ahead, Dread Lord ordered all dark unicorns to gather at Scarlet Night’s fortress. Blade Dancer also received the message and was returning as well. Back at Ponyville, the Council of Friendship and Fairy Tail were still reeling from watching the broadcast. “Unforgivable.” Makarov uttered while expressing complete disdain towards the Upper 5 general’s actions. Some, including Natsu, were beyond furious. Natsu gritted his teeth and clenched his fists so tightly he felt like breaking something. “How dreadful.” Rarity muttered with a horrified expression. “Oh that poor filly.” Fluttershy was in tears, thinking about Flurry Heart’s pain. “There’s something that concerns me.” Gajeel spoke up. Everyone’s attention then turned to him. “I saw the look in his eyes. They were completely filled with hate. I may be going on a limb here, but I think the Upper 5 has it out for Flurry Heart, like he has some kind of grudge against her.” Gajeel explained. “This may be hard to believe, but Gajeel is actually correct.” Aura confirmed. “BUT WHY?!!! What reason he has to hate Flurry Heart?!!! What could she have done to deserve this?!!! This doesn’t make any sense!!!” Twilight questioned while raising her voice. “I have… many things to explain. I also must confess. Princess Twilight wanted to know more about 4000 years ago, but I’ve been keeping it to myself. I’ve decided to bring the past to light.” “So now you’re going to talk?” Twilight asked bitterly. “Yes. It’s time I tell you everything. About my sister and how the Order of Scarlet Night came to be.”