MLP FiM x Fairy Tail: Wizards in Equestria

by SonnL

Chapter 9 (1/2): Darkness Over Equestria

The battle in the fortress of darkness marked the end for the dark unicorns. Yet, Fairy Tail’s mission remains incomplete. The dark unicorns’ master, Scarlet Night, escaped and went into hiding. Therefore, a great threat continues to loom over Equestria.

Since the battle in Scarlet Night’s fortress, the monsters that the dark unicorns created stopped appearing. Many assumed that they were destroyed along with the fortress. Even so, the Council of Friendship and Fairy Tail knew not to let their guards down as they also had the feeling that a huge storm is brewing. Discord is still imprisoned in the chaos dimension, meaning that the seal is still active.

Three days after the battle, Twilight had a terrifying vision of a monster invasion on a grand scale, the likes of which Equestria has never experienced before. Due to this vision, Twilight’s decreed that those living in small villages or anywhere outside of large populated areas relocate to large towns or cities. Therefore, Zecora and Pinkie’s family moved to Ponyville. The Pie Family even brought Holder's Boulder with them, not wanting to leave it unprotected. Scootaloo’s parents, Snap Shutter and Mane Allgood, also returned to Ponyville to be with their daughter. Preparing for the worst-case scenario, magical barriers of protection are formed around every town and city to safeguard the civilians. Extra measures were also implemented to make sure the barriers won’t be used against the citizens like how Darkspark once used Ponyville’s barrier to her advantage. To bolster the royal armies of Equestria and the Crystal Empire, new weapons were mass-produced: bazookas, cannons, mortars, and gatling guns. Many unicorns intensively studied magic for combat. Shining Armor also trained hard, motivated by the anger and helplessness he felt when facing Shadow Mayhem. Equestria also shared resources and assisted the Dragon Lands, Changeling Hive, Griffonstone, Yakyakistan, Mount Aris, and the Kirin Village in setting up defenses.

For two weeks since Twilight had her vision, not a single enemy appeared, which allowed citizen relocation and setting up protective barriers to be completed without incident. Just as the citizens were starting to question Twilight’s vision, they would soon see that the princess was right to take it seriously. On the night of the next day, a new enemy emerged. They are dark black human-sized monsters with glowing red veins, yellow eyes, sharp teeth, and large claws. Some of them possess wings. Hundreds of thousands of these new monsters appeared all over the land, and as they run amok, Fairy Tail, the Council of Friendship, the Pillars, the two former royal sisters, and the armies of Equestria, the Crystal Empire, and the other kingdoms fought them. While fighting the monsters, Natsu repeatedly demanded them to divulge Scarlet Night’s whereabouts. Unfortunately, they apparently don’t talk and they were more interested in destruction than communicating with anyone. With their new weapons, the Equestrian and Crystal Empire royal soldiers were able to mow down droves of monsters easily. The pegasi also utilized storm clouds for battle. However, no matter how many monsters were destroyed, the hordes appear endless. It was a long and grueling night, but the invasion ceased when dawn arrived. All monsters vanished just before the sun rose over the horizon, giving the wizards and everycreature some respite. After that night, all abandoned villages were left in ruins but thanks to the barriers surrounding the towns and cities, there were no civilian casualties.

The monsters returned on the next night and again on the night after that. Since these creatures of darkness only attack during the night, they became known as Night Terrors. While all civilians were safe behind a barrier, many of them could hardly sleep peacefully with fierce battles going on.

Four days after the Night Terrors first appeared, Gildarts has awoken from his coma. However, the cursed dagger that stabbed him drained a significant portion of his power. He is still strong enough to fight, but it is unknown when or if he will return to full strength. Nonetheless, everyone was thrilled to have him back.

The Mane 7 trained during the day, so they can be better prepared for the inevitable confrontation with Scarlet Night. They even trained with the Fairy Tail guild. Twilight is now more than a match for every strong wizard, but she only has been able to achieve up to 70% of Aura’s power.

For three weeks, Equestria’s defenders have been fending off the Night Terrors’ attacks, but Scarlet Night has yet to reappear.

---

One dark night, Flurry Heart found herself walking alone in a dark forest.

“Hello?” The alicorn filly called out, but no one answered her. “Mommy? Daddy? Where are you?”

As fear gripped her, Flurry heard hoofsteps coming towards her from behind. When she turned around, her eyes widened in pure terror upon seeing a nightmarish entity resembling Shadow Mayhem.

“Guess who’s back?” The nightmare snarled.

“No... no... nooooooooooooo!!!” She shrieked as she galloped away.

She ran as fast as her little legs could carry her, but she didn’t get far as shadowy vines ensnared her. As she cried and squirmed, the nightmare slowly and menacingly approached her.

“Go away!!! Please leave me alone!!!” Flurry wailed.

Suddenly, a wave of light freed the little alicorn and pushed the nightmare away from her. Now standing between the cowering Flurry Heart and the nightmare is Twilight.

Undeterred by Twilight’s presence, the nightmare rushed towards Flurry Heart, but the Princess of Friendship easily repelled it with a blast of light.

“Shadow Mayhem, you have made my niece suffer long enough!” Twilight growled.

“Wrong... As long she lives, I’ll never stop coming back.” The nightmare eerily replied before retreating back into the darkness.

“Aunty Twily... I can’t take it anymore! Please make him go away forever!” Flurry cried as Twilight gave her a comforting embrace.

The next day...

On the following morning, Twilight had a meeting with her fellow Friendship Council members in the Castle of Friendship throne room.

“Flurry Heart had another nightmare?” Applejack asked Twilight.

“Yes, she could never get a peaceful night sleep without any intervention from me or Luna.” Twilight answered. “The problem is, Luna and I are mostly busy fighting the Night Terrors each night and there are many other ponies and creatures who also experience nightmares.”

“So even in death, he continues to torment Flurry Heart.” Applejack commented.

“It’s bad enough that he traumatized the poor filly, but to think that he also inflicted a curse that forces her to experience awful nightmares.” Rarity added.

“She couldn’t use any magic, she has been unable to fly even though her wings are in good condition, and she has an overwhelming fear of the dark.” Twilight went on.

“And she doesn’t smile anymore. Not even a party could cheer her up.” Pinkie said sadly.

“I can’t stand seeing Flurry Heart so miserable. And the nightmare that keeps haunting her, this can’t go on like this.” Twilight expressed her concerns.

“Aura, is there anything you can do?” Rainbow Dash asked. “You must know how to break the curse.”

“This curse is given power by the hatred of the caster. The greater the hatred, the more powerful the curse. And you all know the extent of Shadow Mayhem’s hatred for Flurry Heart.” Aura explained.

“Is Flurry Heart doomed to be haunted by Shadow Mayhem forever?” Fluttershy questioned.

“There is one way to break the curse. But you’re not going to like it, because this is entirely up to Flurry Heart.”

Later at the Crystal Empire royal castle...

“Flurry Heart, you can’t live without sleeping.” Cadance said.

“No! I won’t go to sleep! If I do, he’ll come after me again!” Flurry screeched.

Cadance and Shining Armor never have been so distressed in their life. Cadance was beginning to shed tears of woe when Twilight arrived.

“Oh Twilight!” Cadance quickly went to her sister-in-law. “Please tell me you can help Flurry Heart!” She begged while seeking any kind of hope.

Twilight let out a sigh before saying, “Let me speak with her.”

The Princess of Friendship then went to talk to her niece.

“Auntie Twily, please stop the dark unicorn from coming back!” Flurry pleaded.

“Flurry Heart, this is going to be... very difficult. You need to confront the nightmare. That is the only way to break Shadow Mayhem’s curse.” Twilight said with a heavy heart.

“But I can’t! I just can’t!” Flurry was even more distraught.

“That’s right. You’ll never see the end of me. Your misery will go on forever.” The nightmare’s voice echoed in the filly’s head.

“Flurry, I’m afraid I don’t have an easier solution. No one else can break the curse for you. If you can’t find the strength to conquer your fear, then for your whole life... you will always be afraid.” Twilight said in a sorrowful tone.

“W-why does this have to happen to me?! I... I wish I was never born an alicorn!!!” Flurry shouted before weeping.

Cloudsdale
Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash returned to her house at Cloudsdale.

After feeding her pet tortoise, Tank, the pegasus heard a knock on the front door. When she answered the door, she was surprised to see Gilda.

“Hey Dash.” Gilda greeted.

“Oh, hello Gilda.” Rainbow greeted back. “What brings you here?”

“I just... need to talk to a friend.” Gilda answered with a glum expression. “It’s Grampa Gruff. He... passed away.”

“Oh no! What happened to him?!” Rainbow exclaimed.

“Last night, Griffonstone had another battle with these Night Terrors. We had help from the lightning dragon wizard and his three pals. But Grampa Gruff...”

“Did the monsters got him?!” Rainbow interrupted.

“No, the monsters didn’t kill him. He died from heart failure. All the stress from last night’s monster attack took a toll on him.” Gilda explained as her eyes started to tear up.

“If you need a shoulder to cry on, I’m right here.” Rainbow comforted.

Fairy Tail guild hall
“We should be looking for Scarlet Night! As long she’s out there, the Night Terrors will keep coming back!” Natsu yelled.

“Aura already told us there’s no point searching for her.” Lucy replied. “She won’t allow us to find her until she decides to get her own hooves dirty.”

“So we’re just going to play the waiting game?! I’m not going to sit around here waiting for her to come out of hiding!”

“You do know how vast this world is, right?” Gray interjected. “For all we know, she could be in a land far away from Equestria.”

“The best we can do right now is to keep the citizens of Equestria safe. You might as well save your energy for the next battle tonight rather than going around searching aimlessly for Scarlet Night.” Carla chimed in.

Natsu then slammed his fist on a table. “This is so frustrating! We just need to defeat one enemy! JUST ONE! And this will all be over!”

He then angrily walked out of the guild hall. Once outside, he took a deep breath and then...

“SCARLET NIGHT!!! QUIT HIDING AND FACE US, YOU COWARD!!!!”

Much to the other wizards’ chagrin, Natsu continued yelling at the top of his lungs for nearly half an hour. Though annoyed, they thought it was best to let him vent.

Ponyville
At a café, Bright Flower sat by herself and ordered a cup of tea. She is still heartbroken and needed time to deal with her sorrows.

In regard to Shadow Mayhem’s death, the official story is that Gajeel ended the dark unicorn’s life with his own hands. When Shining Armor asked Gajeel for his side of the story, the wizard told him what he wanted to hear instead of revealing that the Upper 5 committed suicide on his own volition, which Shining Armor might interpret as taking the easy way out. Gajeel did not enjoy lying, but he did it to ease Shining Armor’s bitterness over not getting the revenge he wanted. Bright Flower’s personal connection with Shadow Mayhem remains unknown to the public, and only the Mane 7 and Fairy Tail know the truth.

While taking a sip from her tea cup, Bright Flower overheard a conversation between Lyra and Bon Bon.

“I heard Princess Flurry Heart hasn’t smiled once since her rescue.” Bon Bon said.

“The poor dear. After what she went through, who can blame her? We all saw what the Upper 5 dark unicorn did to her. I still can’t get that horrible image out of my head.” Lyra commented.

“I don’t think any of us can ever forget that. Just saying it was terrible is an understatement. I’m glad Gajeel destroyed him.” Bon Bon continued.

“Honestly, I thought Sombra, Cozy Glow, Chrysalis, and Tirek were bad, but the dark unicorns were something else. I shudder at the thought that evil as repulsive as them actually existed. That Red Moon General was the worst kind of scum, worse than the dark unicorn who murdered Granny Smith. How could he do something so awful to a sweet little filly?” Lyra expressed her disgust.

As Bright Flower gazed sadly into her tea cup, Erza approached and sat beside her.

“Are you doing okay, Bright Flower?” Erza asked gently.

“I’m still thinking about Soni.” The mare answered. “For a long time, I tried to understand why he suddenly left me. Then, I learned that he was an ancient war criminal, a dreadful murderer. That was so much to take in. And just when I finally saw him again, he killed himself. I know he had done terrible, even unforgivable, things. I kept telling myself that the Soni I remembered and loved was real, but I suppose I was foolish to even think that we could ever be together again.”

“It’s true that many would consider Shadow Mayhem to be irredeemable, but... he took his own life for your sake. He chose death to protect you from himself, showing how much he truly cared about you. That was proof that he had a heart somewhere underneath. You don’t need to make a judgement on his life or his death. Just remember the one called Soni and why you loved him.” Erza gave her words of comfort.

Elsewhere in Ponyville, Pinkie was visiting her family at their temporary residence. When she arrived, she saw Limestone talking to Asuka and some foals.

“Listen closely, because I’m only going to say this once. Don’t. Touch. Holder’s Boulder! See the sign there!” Limestone said with a threatening stare while also pointing to the ‘Do Not Touch’ sign she placed next to the boulder.

“Hello there, Limestone!” Pinkie cheerfully called out to her sister as Asuka and the foals left.

“Oh, hey Pinkie.” Limestone replied in her usual grumpy tone.

“I’m so happy that you, Mom, Dad, Marble, and Maud are all staying in Ponyville. That way, I can see the whole family anytime I want!” Pinkie bounced around joyfully. “By the way, how is Ponyville?”

“Everything is just peachy.” Limestone remarked sarcastically. “When is Scarlet Night going to be defeated? I want to return to the rock farm as soon as possible.”

“You have to be patient. The war will end eventually. I just know it.”

“That’s just great. We’re probably going to be stuck here forever.” Limestone grumbled, not sharing Pinkie’s optimism. “I wonder if Fairy Tail is even doing their job.”

Pinkie’s smile quickly turned into a frown. She then looked Limestone in the eye with a serious expression, which even made the grumpy mare nervous.

“Fairy Tail has done more for Equestria than you ever know. We wouldn’t be able to get this far at all if it weren’t for their help. You have no idea how lucky we are to have allies like them.” Pinkie said sternly.

---

At 1:30 pm, an unsettling phenomenon occurred.

Dark grey clouds with red streaks and flashes completely covered the skies, blocking out the sun, and a colossal magic circle appeared around Equestria. The crimson light emanating from this circle is large enough to seen from Ponyville.

Soon after the magic circle emerged, all plant life in Equestria, such as the grass and trees, were all slowly dying and withering away. The trees in the Everfree Forest were all crumbling down. At Sweet Apple Acres, the Apple Family was alarmed to see all of the apple trees dying. At a flower shop, Lily Valley, Daisy, and Roseluck were in a state of absolute panic.

“All of the flowers are wilting!” Lily exclaimed.

“This is horrible!” Daisy screeched.

“The horror! The horror!” Roseluck cried out. The three florists then fainted simultaneously.

The wizards of the Fairy Tail guild, the Mane 7, the alicorn sisters of sun and moon, and the Pillars all quickly gathered at the guild hall.

“Everyone, as you can see, we have a situation.” Warren began the briefing. “A gargantuan magic circle has appeared around Equestria. No doubt this is Scarlet Night’s doing. As we speak, all plant life in Equestria are dying, and we are receiving reports that animals that feed on plants have gotten gravely ill.”

“Oh no.” Fluttershy said softly.

“So if nothing is done about this magic circle, Equestria will be reduced to a barren wasteland.” Lucy remarked.

“How do we stop this magic circle?” Star Swirl asked.

“This magic circle has four power cores. They are located on the north, south, east, and west points of the circle. You must destroy all four cores to completely neutralize the circle.” Aura explained.

Four teams were then assembled to eliminate the power cores. Twilight, Spike, Pinkie, Natsu, Happy, Flash Magnus, Lucy, and Mirajane will go to the north core. Gajeel, Panther Lily, Levy, Starlight, Somnambula, Luna, and Erza will go to the south core. Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Laxus, Freed, Bickslow, Evergreen, Meadowbrook, Celestia, Wendy, and Carla will go to the west core. Gildarts, Cana, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rockhoof, Star Swirl, Gray, and Juvia will go to the east core.

Since the north core is close to the Crystal Empire, Shining Armor and a brigade of Crystal Empire soldiers mobilized to assist Twilight’s group. Meanwhile, brigades of Canterlot troops will assist the other three teams.

North
Upon arriving at the location of the north core, Twilight’s team and the Crystal Empire army gazed at the core, which is a huge glowing red orb.

“That must be the northern power core.” Twilight said.

“Let’s smash it.” Natsu ignited his fist.

“Be careful. I doubt Scarlet Night would allow us to destroy the cores so easily.” Twilight cautioned.

Before anyone gets close to the north core, it morphed into the form of a siren.

“The core can change shape?” Happy was perplexed.

With its mouth, the north core fired a large beam of destructive energy, which Twilight canceled out with her own magic beam.

“And it can attack too?!” Happy exclaimed.

Shortly afterwards, a swarm of Night Terrors emerged and surrounded the team and Crystal Empire army.

“Night Terrors?! But it’s not even nighttime yet!” Pinkie hollered.

“Since the dark clouds block out the sun, Scarlet Night can apparently summon them now.” Lucy noted.

South
After deploying, the south team and a battalion of Canterlot soldiers arrived at the location of the southern power core.

“Gajeel, I have something for you.” Starlight gave the wizard a small bag.

Gajeel then looked inside the bag and discovered two steel bars.

“Steel bars?” Gajeel said with a curious look.

“These steel bars are infused with magic. Eating one will enhance your power, but use them sparingly.” The unicorn explained.

“We have no time to waste. We must destroy that power core.” Luna spoke with urgency.

As its enemies approached it, the south core changed to a sphinx.

West
“What are we waiting for!? Let’s break it!” Rainbow Dash flew towards the west core at breakneck speed, intending to shatter it with her hooves.

“Rainbow Dash, hold on!” Rarity shouted.

In response to an incoming threat, the core emitted an energy wave that pushed the rainbow-maned pegasus back.

“Okay, maybe that wasn’t such a good idea.” Rainbow groaned.

“You think?” Rarity rolled her eyes.

“Looks like a combined attack is our best option.” Celestia commented.

The west core then changed to a cerberus.

“I wasn’t expecting that.” Bickslow said.

East
“You know, you don’t always have to keep watching out for me.” Gildarts said to Cana.

“Put a sock in it, old man! You’re still not at full power, and I’m making sure nothing terrible happens to you again!” Cana replied sternly.

Gildarts pouted, but he was internally happy that Cana is showing much concern for him.

“We must hurry! The fate of Equestria is at stake!” Star Swirl bellowed.

As the team and the Canterlot soldiers with them prepared to attack the east core, it changed to a hydra.

-----
Like with the north team, swarms of Night Terrors appeared and surrounded the other three groups.

North core
As the operation to destroy the core went underway, Shining Armor and his soldiers engaged the Night Terrors.

Lucy summoned Loke, Taurus, and Scorpio and then changed into her Star Dress: Taurus form.

“EARTH WAVE!” With Taurus’ power, Lucy struck the ground with her whip, rupturing the earth in the area in front of her and felling the monsters standing above it.

Taurus swung his axe around, Loke fought using his light-imbued fists, and Scorpio unleashed a sand tornado on the monster horde. Mirajane transformed into her Satan Soul: Mirajane Seilah form and used her Macro curse against the Night Terrors. She took control of some, but not all, of the monsters and turned them into allies. Happy used a metal baseball bat as a weapon, Flash Magnus wielded his shield, and Spike used his fire breath to fend off monsters.

Twilight teleported herself, Natsu, and Pinkie close to the core so they could battle it. The core fired another energy beam, but Twilight blocked it by conjuring a large shield construct. She struck back with a magic blast, but the core evaded it by flying to the side.

“FIRE DRAGON ROAR!” Natsu unleashed a wide stream of flames from his mouth, but the core dodged that attack as well.

“PARTY CANNON RAPID FIRE!” Pinkie attacked with colorful rapid-firing party cannon blasts.

The core constantly flew around, avoiding any damage. Despite its size, the core is incredibly fast. It then let out an ear-piercing screech that gives a migraine to anyone that hears it. Even the Night Terrors are affected by it.

“This thing’s voice is so annoying!” Natsu grunted while covering his ears.

Pinkie helped out Twilight and Natsu by providing them earmuffs that she conveniently had with her.

“FIRE DRAGON WING ATTACK!” As he leapt towards the core, Natsu ignited two streams of fire from his hands and swung them at it.

The core stopped its screeching and dodged the attack. It prepared to fire an energy beam as it was charging up in its mouth. However, winged Night Terrors that were under Mirajane’s control caught the core by surprise as they swarmed and attacked it with their claws.

“FIRE DRAGON BRILLIANT FLAME!” With the core distracted, Natsu generated fire on both hands and joined them to create a gigantic sphere of flames, which he then hurled at the core, engulfing it in a massive and destructive explosion.

The core was stunned by the explosion, and before it could recover, Twilight dealt the finishing blow by firing a humongous beam of light at it. Once the beam hit its mark, the core shattered and dissipated.

South core
While fighting alongside the Canterlot soldiers, Luna released a barrage of magic blasts at the monsters. Levy attacked with Solid Script: Fire. Erza requipped her Flight Armor and cut down scores of foes with amazing speed.

Panther Lily, Gajeel, and Starlight fought through the Night Terrors to reach the core. The Exceed cut down as many enemies as he could to open up a path for his partner and the unicorn. Thanks to the efforts of their allies, Gajeel and Starlight faced the core directly.

“IRON DRAGON CLUB!” Gajeel transformed his arm into a large iron club and extended it towards the core, but the core deflected the attack with a swing of its massive paw.

The core hissed before raising a paw, claws unsheathed, and attempted to crush the wizard. Gajeel leapt to the side and Starlight fired a magic bolt at the core’s face.

The core roared in anguish as it repeatedly and violently swung its paws down. Gajeel ran around and Starlight utilized teleportation to avoid getting crushed.

“IRON DRAGON SWORD!” Gajeel transformed his arm into a large, jagged iron blade.

He then struck the core with his blade, but it failed to put a scratch on the core’s hide. The core responded by stomping a paw on the wizard and pinned him to the ground.

Gajeel struggled to push the paw off him, but Starlight rescued him by teleporting him out of the core’s clutches.

The unicorn fired a more powerful blast, but it only irritated the core even further. As the core prepared to pounce on Starlight, Somnambula caught its attention by flying close around it.

While the core was busy trying to swat Somnambula with its paws, Gajeel took one of his steel bars and devoured it, transforming his body into steel.

“STEEL DRAGON SWORD!” Gajeel transformed his hand into a long steel sword and slashed the core multiple times. The wizard managed to cut the core apart and destroyed it.

West core
In the battle against the west core, Meadowbrook, Celestia, Carla, the Thunder Legion, and the royal soldiers combated the Night Terrors while Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Laxus, and Wendy focused on the core.

“SKY DRAGON ROAR!” Wendy released a tornado-like blast from her mouth.

The core stood its ground as it took the attack and Rarity launched a barrage of arrow and spear constructs. Unfazed, the core’s three heads struck back by spitting out dark fiery energy spheres.

“SKY DRAGON WING ATTACK!” Wendy generated large whirlwinds from her arms and blew away the spheres, making them explode.

Rarity conjured a giant drill construct and launched it at the core. The heads roared and sent out shockwaves that shattered the construct.

Laxus and Rainbow then unleashed continuous lightning strikes, but they did not appear to do any damage.

The core bellowed and fired a bombardment of energy spheres, making the group scatter to dodge the blasts. While evading, Rainbow suddenly came up with a plan.

“Laxus! I got an idea!” Rainbow called out to him.

“What is it?” Laxus asked.

“I’m going to create the biggest storm cloud I can and aim all the lightning at you!” Rainbow explained.

Knowing what Rainbow Dash was planning, Laxus smiled before saying, “Do it!”

Rainbow created an enormous storm cloud, the biggest one possible, and sent a massive lightning storm down on Laxus.

Laxus then absorbed all the lightning, and with a surge in power, he hurled a giant lightning lance that flew towards the core at terrifying speed. It pierced through the core, causing it to explode.

East core
As Star Swirl, Rockhoof, Fluttershy, Gray, and Juvia assisted the Canterlot soldiers in keeping the Night Terrors preoccupied, Gildarts, Cana, and Applejack confronted the core.

The core’s four heads breathed out streams of destructive energy, and Applejack blocked them by raising towering stone walls.

Applejack then hurled boulders while Cana threw magic cards that explode on impact, but their attack barely fazed the core.

“ALL CRUSH!” Gildarts thrusted his hand forward and created a blast infused with his Crush magic in an attempt to disintegrate the core.

The core withstood the attack and retaliated by stomping on the ground, causing a quake that knocked the earth pony and two wizards off their feet.

One of the core’s heads blew out an energy stream at Gildarts, but he stopped it with both hands imbued with his magic. Since he is not as powerful as he used to be, it took him some effort to cancel out the attack.

The core approached Gildarts with the intention of using its heads to chomp on him. As the heads prepared to attack, Applejack collapsed the ground beneath the core, causing it to lose its footing.

“PURIFYING TRUTH: ABSOLUTE HEAVEN!” After imbuing his prosthetic arm with his Crush magic, Gildarts delivered a powerful strike and engulfed the core in a massive explosion.

His attack did considerable damage, but it wasn’t enough to destroy the core. It roared furiously and its heads then lunged at the wizard, forcing him to jump back.

“Dammit! If I had my full strength, my attack would have done much more damage!” Gildarts grumbled.

“Assemble! O river of light that’s guided by fairies! Shine your light so that I may vanquish the fangs of wickedness!” Cana chanted as a glowing emblem appeared on her right arm and she was enveloped in a pillar of light. “FAIRY GLITTER!”

Cana unleashed a gigantic blast of light and thanks to the damage done by Gildarts’ attack, Fairy Glitter completely obliterated the core.

---

With all four cores destroyed, the magic circle vanished, and the Night Terrors immediately withdrew.

“You did it! You guys stopped the magic circle!” Warren exclaimed excitedly as he spoke to all four teams via the Aura bracelet.

“But there is one thing that concerns me. Look up.” Twilight’s attention turned towards the sky. “The dark clouds covering the skies still remain.”

Back in the guild hall, the Magic Radar showed Warren something that caused him to jump up in shock.

“Everyone, you’re not going to believe this! It’s Scarlet Night! She has resurfaced! She is in the plains north of Canterlot!”

This took everyone by surprise.

Pinkie let out a loud gasp. “It’s finally happening! IT’S THE FINAL BOSS BATTLE!!!!”

“So she finally decides to show up again! Let’s not keep her waiting then! Time to finish this!” Natsu wasted no time using his Aura bracelet to transport to the dark alicorn’s location.

“Natsu, wait!” Lucy cried out, but Natsu already left.