> MLP FiM x Fairy Tail: Wizards in Equestria
>  by SonnL
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Chapter 1 (1/2): Fairy Tail's New Mission (edited)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Earth Land, Kingdom of Fiore

In Magnolia Town, Fairy Tail guild hall…

Inside the guild hall, the wizards of Fairy Tail are celebrating their victory in the war against the Alvarez Empire, in which the dark wizard Zeref and the feared King of Dragons, Acnologia, have been defeated.

The guild master, Makarov Dreyar, gave a speech.

“My children. It brings me great joy to see you all here. No doubt that the war with the Alvarez Empire will be long remembered. There were toils and tribulations, but with the help of allied guilds, we managed to overcome our greatest enemy yet!”

“YEEEEAAAAHHHHH!!!!” The Fairy Tail members cheered.

“However…” Makarov’s tone then shifts from cheerful to sad. “The first master, Mavis Vermillion, has sadly passed away. But…” He then goes back to being optimistic. “She gave her life for us. And we’ll forever be indebted to her. May she rest in peace.”

“May she rest in peace.” The Fairy Tail members repeated.

“Our future is in our hands now. Now then! On with the celebration!” Makarov declared.

The wizards in the guild eat, drink, and goof around to their heart’s content. As usual, Cana Alberona drank alcohol from a whole barrel, while her father, Gildarts Clive, wanted to spend some quality father-and-daughter time together.

On one side of the guild hall, there is Natsu Dragneel, Happy, and Lucy Heartfilia sitting together at a table. Happy was happily eating a fish and Natsu was scarfing down pieces of meat.

“So Lucy… What do you plan on doing?” Natsu said while his mouth was full.

“I’m thinking of continuing the book I’m writing. What about you?”

“Simple. I’m going to go on more quests!”

At another side of the guild hall, Gray Fullbuster and Juvia Lockser are together at another table.

“Gray, darling… I’m wondering… maybe it’s time to take our relationship to the next level.” Juvia said while blushing.

“Let’s not get crazy please.” Gray replied while being wierded out by Juvia’s advances.

Erza Scarlet sat alone at another table, eating a piece of strawberry cake and thinking about a certain someone. “I wonder how Jellal is doing. I wish he could join us.”

Also sitting together are Gajeel Redfox, Panther Lily, and Levy McGarden.

Levy said a few things to Gajeel. “You know Gajeel. I’m happy that you’re here with me. I was very scared that I was going to lose you.” During the battle against Bloodman of the Spriggan 12, it appeared that Gajeel was going to meet his end, but he miraculously survived. “If you had died back there, I…”

Gajeel patted Levy on the head.

“Let’s not dwell on the past. We’re here and that’s all that matters. And I promise I won’t put you through that ever again.” Gajeel assured Levy.

The Fairy Tail guild continued with their partying. Then suddenly, the guild hall started glowing and the entire building started shaking. Naturally, this alarmed the entire guild.

“AAAAAAAAAAAHHHH! What is happening?!” Happy started to panic.

“Now what?” Laxus Dreyar said.

The shaking continued and the glow illuminating the guild hall grew brighter. Happy held on to Natsu, Juvia held on to Gray, Wendy Marvell held on to Carla, Bisca Connell and Alzack Connell held on to their daughter Asuka, Levy and Gajeel held each other, and the Strauss siblings also held each other tight. Laxus stood by his grandfather’s side. All the Fairy Tail mages braced themselves for what’s coming. The glow got bright to the point that all the mages covered their eyes.

After a few minutes, the shaking stopped and the glow dimmed down. When the mages could open their eyes again, they saw that the guild hall and everyone in it appear to be fine.

“What just happened?” Gray asked bewildered.

“Whatever it was, it’s weird.” Gajeel commented.

“I thought something scary was coming.” Wendy said nervously.

Max Alors and Warren Rocko walked to the guild hall’s front entrance to take a look outside and what they see was going to surprise everyone. “Everyone! You need to look outside!” The two mages exclaimed.

All the mages then looked outside and discovered that they’re not in Magnolia anymore. They saw that the guild hall is right outside a town with a crystal castle.

“Did the guild hall just move to another location?” Erza asked.

“Where in the world are we?” Makarov wondered.

As if that wasn’t strange enough, the Fairy Tail mages suddenly found themselves in an infinite white space.

“What is going on here?!” Natsu was getting fed up with these strange turn of events.

“Greetings, Fairy Tail.” A voice suddenly called out to them. The mages turned their attention to where the voice was coming from. What they then saw appeared to be a bright yellow glowing entity resembling an alicorn.

“Who… or what are you?” Makarov inquired.

“My name is Aura Light. And I was responsible for bringing you to this world.”

“This world?” Erza wondered what Aura meant by that.

“Yes. You all are in another world. Right now, you are in the land of Equestria in the world of Equus.”

The Fairy Tail mages were dumbfounded by her statement. “Equus? Equestria?” That’s what some Fairy Tail members were thinking about.

Aura then gave a brief rundown on Equestria and its inhabitants. The Fairy Tail mages were perplexed after hearing about magical ponies and other creatures. Natsu, Wendy, and Gajeel showed interest about the dragons in this world. However, Aura did not tell them everything such as the names of some of these ponies and creatures.

“Ok. That was all interesting. But I must ask. Why did you bring us here?” Makarov asked.

“Because I have a request for the whole guild.”

“A request?”

“A dark force is about to declare war on Equestria. It is known as the Order of Scarlet Night. It consists of dark unicorns and their legions of monsters. Their master is my older twin sister, Scarlet Night, the alicorn of darkness.”

“Your sister?”

“4000 years ago, long before the existence of Equestria, Scarlet Night and her forces waged a terrible war on the land and tried to plunge it into darkness. To stop my sister, I made the ultimate sacrifice. Now, Scarlet Night’s servants are trying to revive her. My request is this, defend Equestria and ensure Scarlet Night’s downfall.”

“Just to be clear. You want my family to fight in another war?”

Aura then lowered her head and kneeled down. “Please, I beg of you. If nothing is done, innocents will suffer. The Order of Scarlet Night is too powerful for the defenders of Equestria to fight alone. The reason I turn to you is because I believe that your guild can help Equestria resist this great evil. I promise that your reward will be great.”

“I couldn’t help but wonder. How do you know about Fairy Tail?”

“I have been observing your guild for some time. I saw the battles your children fought in as well as how they overcame great adversity time and time again. So I ask you this, will you please accept my request?”

The Fairy Tail members pondered for a while. Natsu then stepped forward.

“I say we help her.”

“Natsu?” Lucy said.

“Look, I know we just met her. But I can’t turn my back on a world that’s in danger of being destroyed.” Natsu explained.

“I’ll also help out.” Gray agreed. “I can’t walk away from what I know is right.”

“If innocent lives are threatened, then I’ll do whatever it is within my power to protect them.” Erza declared.

“You know. It’s not everyday we get to see another world.” a random Fairy Tail member said.

“Yeah! We beat Zeref and Acnologia! We can do anything!”

No Fairy Tail members expressed any objections.

“Very well, it seems we are all in agreement.” Makarov stated.

“You all have my profound gratitude” Aura said with great relief.

Lucy raised her right hand. “Hold on! How long are we expected to stay in Equestria? Some of us do have rent to pay.”

“No need to worry. When you return to your world, you will find that only a short time has passed there.” Aura explained.

“Before I go, there’s something you need. Please take a look at your right wrist.” Aura instructed.

Each Fairy Tail member did as they’re told and find that they are wearing some kind of magical bracelet. Even the Exceeds were each given one.

“Allow me to explain how they work. They can display a holographic map of Equestria as well as showing their wearer’s position. You can select a location on the map and teleport there in an instant. The bracelets also enable you to store items in a pocket dimension and communicate with your fellow guildmates. You can take them off anytime you wish, and should they get lost or stolen, the bracelets will teleport back to their owners.”

“That sounds neat.” Happy said while gazing at his bracelet.

“There’s another thing I need to take care of. Natsu, Wendy, Gajeel, and Laxus. Please step forward.”

Once the four stand in front of Aura, she casted a spell on them. “This is a spell that prevents motion sickness. You four will be able to ride on vehicles without any problems. The spell will remain in effect until you return to Earth Land.”

“Really?! That’s sweet!” Natsu said excitedly. “That means I can ride on a train or a carriage without getting sick!”

“There’s just one more thing I want to say to you. To avoid any potential misunderstandings and confusions with the dragons in this world, please avoid using the term ‘dragon slayer’. Just say that you’re dragon wizards and that you use dragon magic.”

The mages then found themselves back in the guild hall.

“Well that was an interesting encounter.” Gildarts commented.

The mages then saw a vortex surrounded by dark clouds suddenly appeared in the sky above the nearby town. Coming out of the vortex was a swarm of large bug-like monsters resembling beetles, wasps, and mantises. The monsters proceeded to lay siege to the town.

“Look’s like that town’s in trouble!” Natsu was the first to rush into action.

Happy, Lucy, Gray, Erza, Wendy, Carla, Gajeel, and Panther Lily followed after him.





Rewinding time back a little…

The town of Ponyville…

It has been one year since Twilight Sparkle became ruler of Equestria. During this time, Ponyville is still mainly inhabited by ponies.

The town was celebrating the anniversary of Twilight’s ascension to the throne, and the ruler herself will be coming to Ponyville. Rainbow Dash’s job was to clear the skies. Pinkie and Applejack were in charge of the sweets and food with the assistance from the Cake Family and the whole Apple Family. Fluttershy rehearsed with her song bird choir, and Rarity worked on decorations. Starlight Glimmer oversaw the preparations with Trixie Lulamoon and Sunburst assisting her. Starlight thoroughly went over her checklist.

“You know Starlight. You are really starting to act like Twilight.” Trixie said.

“Really? You think so? I never thought about that.” Starlight replied.

Starlight, Trixie, and Sunburst then met up with Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Rarity.

“Hello everypony. How are the preparations?” Starlight asked her friends.

“I cleared away all the clouds.” Rainbow said proudly.

“Everything is marvelous.” Rarity answered while feeling pleased with herself.

“I can’t wait for Twilight to try the cakes I made for her!” Pinkie got excited while bouncing up and down.

“Good, good, and… Oh! Look who have just arrived!” Starlight noticed the royal family from the Crystal Empire.

“Princess Cadence, Shining Armor, and Flurry Heart. Welcome!” Starlight greeted the couple and their daughter.

“Hello to you too, Starlight.” Cadence returned the greeting. “We’re so glad that we can be here today. Flurry Heat has been looking forward to seeing Twilight the most.”

Celestia and Luna, former princesses of Equestria, as well as Twilight’s parents, Twilight Velvet and Night Light, also arrived at Ponyville for the occasion.

“Celestia! Luna! Mr. and Mrs. Sparkle! Great to have you here!” Pinkie cheerfully welcomed them.

“It’s so wonderful to see all of you.” Celestia said with a warm smile.

“How’s retirement?” Applejack asked.

“Calm and relaxing. Just like how we want it.” Luna answered.

The Young Six also gathered.

“Hey there! Happy that you six can join us.” Rainbow greeted Sandbar, Smolder, Ocellus, Gallus, Yona, and Silverstream.

“We’re glad to be here too.” Sandbar replied.

“Yona and friends cannot wait to see Twilight again!” The yak said with joy.

“So um, has anyone seen Discord?” Starlight asked.

“Nope, haven’t seen him all day.” Rainbow answered.

“I’m sure he’ll be here soon.” Fluttershy assured.

“Oooooooh! Look whose coming!?” Silverstream excitedly pointed at the sky.

A chariot pulled by a pair of pegasi arrived and on it is Twilight Sparkle herself and her royal advisor, Spike.

Once Twilight and Spike stepped off the chariot, they are met with a warm reception. The Young Six went up to her first and gave their greetings to their former teacher.

“Auntie Twilight!” Flurry Heart immediately flew to her aunt.

Twilight gave her niece a warm hug. “Flurry! How’s my favorite niece doing?” She then turned her attention to her other friends and family. “Everypony! I have finally arrived! I had a lot of tasks to complete before coming, but I’m here now to take part in this celebration with all of you!” Twilight noticed that Discord is absent. “Where’s Discord?”

“We haven’t seen him yet. But knowing him, I’m sure he’s somewhere close by preparing to pull some kind of prank.” Starlight answered.

Twilight and Cadence approached each other and performed their ladybug dance before hugging each other. Twilight then went on to hug each of her other friends and family.

“Now that we are all here, LET’S PARTY!!!!!!” Pinkie shouted with great enthusiasm. The others wholeheartedly agreed.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, a large puff of smoke appeared with a thunderous noise, and this alerted Twilight and the others. When the smoke cleared, ten strange-looking unicorns all wearing light-red cloaks emerged.

“We meet at last, Twilight Sparkle!” said the one who is standing in front of his peers. “If you’re wondering about your friend Discord, we sealed him away in the chaos dimension.”

Fluttershy was alarmed by that statement. “Discord is trapped there!” The rest of her friends were surprised too.

“W-who are you?” Twilight asked with both curiosity and concern.

“We are the Order of Scarlet Night! And we are here… TO DECLARE WAR!!!!!” The leader said menacingly.

“Declare war?! But why?!” Twilight as well as her friends and family were confused by this sudden declaration.

“The Order of Scarlet Night? I never heard of them.” Celestia stated.

“4000 years ago, we undertook a mission to destroy this land! And now, we have returned to finish the job!”

Rainbow Dash wasn’t going to hear any more of this. “I don’t know who you ponies are or where you came from, but if you’ve come looking for a fight, then you got one!”

“Rainbow Dash! Wait!” Twilight shouted.

Rainbow Dash flew towards the leader with incredible speed, intending to tackle him. She then crashed hard against a magical barrier. One of the other unicorns then struck the pegasus with a lightning bolt, sending her flying back to her friends.

“Rainbow Dash!” Her friends screeched. The bolt was nonlethal, but it still hurt as Rainbow Dash was lying on the ground in pain.

“Listen well Twilight Sparkle! And everycreature of Equestria! Very soon, you will all face destruction, the likes of which you have never seen before!”

There was then a big flash of light and the unicorns vanished. Twilight’s group was at a loss for words.

“I have a terrible feeling about this.” Fluttershy spoke with fear in her voice.

“Those unicorns were giving me the chills.” Spike said, also feeling uneasy.

The vortex surrounded by dark clouds appeared in the sky above and the swarm of bug-like monsters emerged. The Ponyville residents screamed and panicked. The monsters home in on their target, which is the Council of Friendship. Since Twilight and her friends are grouped together, the monsters go in one direction, towards them. The Mane 7 (including Starlight), Celestia, and Luna prepared to fight while Spike, Trixie, Sunburst, the Young Six, the Crystal Empire royal family, and Twilight’s parents stood back.

What happened next wasn’t what anycreature was expecting. Suddenly, Natsu attacked the lead monster from above and smashed it into the ground with a fist imbued with fire. The other monsters immediately recognized Natsu as a threat and charged at him.

“FIRE DRAGON WING ATTACK!” Natsu ignited two streams of fire from his hands and swung them at the incoming monsters, instantly destroying many more of them in the process.

Happy, Lucy, Gray, Erza, Wendy, Carla (in her human form), Gajeel, and Panther Lily (in his battle form) arrived at the scene.

“You always have a knack for going straight into danger. ICE-MAKE: HAMMER!” Gray squashed a large number of the monsters with a giant hammer of ice.

“Open! Gate of the Golden Bull, Taurus!” Lucy summoned Taurus. “And now. Star Dress: Taurus form!” Taurus swung his giant axe at the monsters while Lucy attacked with the whip in her hand.

“IRON DRAGON LANCE: DEMON LOGS!” Gajeel launched a large number of iron spears at their enemies multiple times in rapid succession.

“SKY DRAGON WAVE WIND!” Wendy also pitched in by attacking the monsters with a tornado.

Carla also fought using swift and powerful kicks.

Erza and Panther Lily attacked with their swords. In a few seconds flat, they cut down numerous monsters. A wasp monster charged at Erza with its stinger, but Erza simply sliced the monster in half.

As for Happy, he just watched from the sidelines.

Twilight Sparkle, her friends, her family, and every resident of Ponyville watched as the battle went on. They were completely awestruck as they witnessed a small group decimating an army of fearsome monsters with little to no effort. They also paid attention to what some of the strange bipedal beings were saying whenever they attack. They heard words like Fire Dragon, Ice-Make, Sky Dragon, and Iron Dragon. Twilight herself noticed that they look like the humans from the world Sunset Shimmer lives in, but wondered if they are actually humans at all.

Eventually, the strange beings destroyed all the monsters.

“Is this all of them?” Natsu asked.

“It appears so.” Erza said.

However, the vortex in the sky remained and a new monster arrived. It is a massive gigantic creature resembling a rhinoceros beetle and it stands around twenty meters tall.

“Looks like we got a big one.” Gajeel said without any worry.

The giant monster then charged at the wizards.

“REQUIP: THE KNIGHT!” Erza instantly dons her Heaven’s Wheel Armor. She then summoned hundreds of swords and launched them at the monster.

“ICE-MAKE: LANCE!” Gray attacked with multiple ice lances.

Lucy returned Taurus to the Celestial Spirit World. “Open Gate of the Archer, Sagittarius!” After she summoned her next Celestial Spirit, “Star Dress: Sagittarius Form!” Both Lucy and Sagittarius then fired a volley of magical arrows.

After taking all that punishment, the monster’s mouth then glowed orange as smoke came out of it. It then released a large torrent of fire. Natsu went in front of the flames and swallowed it all up.

All the spectators watched this with wide eyes and jaws dropping. They were all thinking, “DID THAT CREATURE ACTUALLY ATE ALL THOSE FLAMES?!!!!!!!”

“I wonder what fire tastes like” Pinkie became curious.

“Heh, Let’s show this monster how to really roar. FIRE DRAGON….”

“SKY DRAGON….”

“IRON DRAGON….”

“..…ROOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAR!!!!” From their mouths, Natsu, Wendy, and Gajeel unleashed tornadoes of fire, wind, and iron simultaneously. This combination attack severely damaged the monster and knocked it down.

All the spectators were now thinking, “WHAT KIND OF CREATURES ARE THEY?!!!!!!”

The monster was not yet finished as it was slowly getting back up. However, before it got back on its feet, Natsu leaped towards it.

“FIRE DRAGON KING DESTRUCTION FIST!!!!” Natsu attacked with a fist empowered by intense devastating flames.

That was the finishing blow. The monster wailed as its body burned and crumbled.

With the monster’s destruction, the dark vortex in the sky disappeared.
> Chapter 1 (2/2): Meetings and Introductions (edited)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Previously…

The alicorn of light, Aura Light, summoned the Fairy Tail guild to Equestria and requested them to protect it and ensure the downfall of an ancient evil known as Scarlet Night. The guild accepted the request.

Meanwhile, in the town of Ponyville, the Council of Friendship had an encounter with servants of Scarlet Night. After they declared war on Equestria, a monster attack occurred.

The attack has been thwarted by Natsu, Lucy, Gray, Erza, Wendy, Carla, Gajeel, and Panther Lily. Happy was there but did not do any fighting.





With the last monster defeated, the dark vortex disappeared and the sky returned to normal. The corpses of the monsters remained only for a short time as their corporeal forms evaporated soon after their deaths.

Carla and Panther Lily returned to their original forms. Erza returned to her default armor. Sagittarius was returned to the Celestial Spirit World and Lucy returned to her original outfit.

The Council of Friendship, Twilight’s other friends and family, the Young Six, the two former rulers of Equestria, and everypony in Ponyville just saw something extraordinary, which was a small group wiping out an army of monsters. The spectators were completely speechless and perplexed. After all, one of the strange beings can conjure, eat, and breathe out fire. Another can create ice objects at will, and the little one can summon powerful winds. These strangers not only defeated a monster that was far bigger than them, they absolutely destroyed it. They did not need a rainbow laser to achieve that. Just sheer brute force.

Natsu’s group then turned their attention to the spectators.

“So are those… the ponies?” Wendy asked.

“I knew this world is going to be strange, but this is starting to look like a child’s fantasy world.” Gajeel commented.

“Woah. How many different colors do they come in?” Natsu wondered.

The spectators were not close enough to hear what they were saying since they were not speaking as loudly as they were during the battle.

Back at Twilight’s side…

“D-did all that just happen? I… I wasn’t seeing things… was I?” Applejack asked while stuttering.

“I saw it too. After these mean-looking unicorns showed up, these large bug monsters came. And then, these creatures destroyed the monsters. They were like Fire Dragon this, Ice-Make that, Sky Dragon this, and Iron Dragon that” Pinkie explained.

Fluttershy noticed the three cat-like creatures. She wanted to fly up to them and talked to them, but she was intimidated by the other strange beings.

“What are they?” Sandbar asked.

“And how did they do all the things they did?” Smolder also became curious.

“They are strong.” Yona commented.

“Stronger than all those monsters.” Ocellus added.

“I wouldn’t want them to be our enemies.” Gallus said with concern.

“What should we do, sister? They are clearly dangerous. Should we restrain and question them?” Luna asked Celestia.

“Not a good idea Luna. You saw what they can do. There’s no telling what could happen if they are provoked. So far, they are not showing any ill-will towards us so I say we should wait and see what they do next.” Celestia replied.

“Mama. Papa. Who are they?” Flurry Heart asked curiously as she was held in Cadence’s hooves.

“I really have no idea sweetheart.” Cadence answered.

Twilight then regained her composure. “Girls. I’m going to try talking to them. We need to know who or what they are and what their purpose here is.”

As Twilight took a step forward, the Mane 7 suddenly found themselves in the infinite white space, the same place that Fairy Tail was in just prior to the monster attack. The seven ponies looked around confused.

“W-where are we?” Twilight wondered.

“Greetings. Council of Friendship.”

The Mane 7 then met Aura Light herself.

“Pleased to make your acquaintance. My name is Aura Light. And concerning the outsiders, I was the one who summoned them here.”

Twilight has so many questions in her mind right now. “Ok, who exactly are you? What is the Order of Scarlet Night? What are those beings that just fought the monsters? Are they humans? And why did you bring them here?”

“They are humans, just from a different world than the one you went to before. As you were already told, a terrible war is coming and those humans are champions I have chosen to assist you in the battle against the Order of Scarlet Night. I already explained the situation to them and they agreed to help.”

Aura proceeded to explain some things about the Order of Scarlet Night.

“So those ten unicorns we just saw are Scarlet Night’s servants?” Rarity asked for confirmation.

“Yes. But those ten belong to an elite group known as the Red Moon Generals. And believe me, among all the dark unicorns serving under Scarlet Night, they are the most dangerous. I say that they are far worse than all your previous enemies. Their master, even more so. And Rainbow Dash. You were incredibly lucky that the dark unicorn that shot you only used a very small percentage of his power. Any more and you could have died.”

Rainbow Dash gulped, remembering how painful that lightning bolt was.

Aura noticed that Fluttershy was shaking in her hooves. “Do not fear. The Red Moon Generals may be a formidable force, but I am completely confident that with the humans’ assistance, you will succeed. Please trust them. Anyway, I have some things to give you to better equip you for the impending war.”

Aura gave each of the Mane 7 the same magical bracelets that she had given to each Fairy Tail member and explained their functions. In addition, Twilight received a shining silver armor while her friends were given magical robes. Fluttershy was given an additional accessory in the form of a pair of hairpins. 

“W-what is this armor?!” Twilight was startled.

“And what are these robes?!” Rarity was equally as surprised.

The Mane 7 took a moment to look at their new outfits.

“The armor and the robes grant you some resistance to magic attacks. Twilight and Starlight’s magical powers are augmented, and the rest of you are given new abilities.”

“Hold on! You’re saying we get superpowers! Awesome!” Rainbow got excited.

“Applejack, you have a lasso that you can control, and you can manipulate the earth and all forms of rocks. Rainbow Dash, you can control the forces of nature such as thunderstorms and tornadoes.”

“Just like the power pony, Zapp!” Rainbow pointed out.

“Rarity, you can create energy constructs.”

“Like when I was the power pony, Radiance.” Rarity perked up.

“Pinkie, you can pull sparkly explosive objects out of your mane and fire explosive projectiles from your party cannon.”

Pinkie then pulled a sparkly cookie out of her mane and tossed it. The cookie exploded, with the explosion being bright pink and filled with glitter.

“Woooh! Let me try my party cannon!” Pinkie got all giddy as she pulled out her party cannon, preparing to fire it.

“NOT NOW PINKIE!!!!” Her friends shouted.

“Fluttershy, your power lies in your hairpins. You can create barriers for defense, heal wounds, and summon ethereal creatures to fight for you.”

“So… why am I the only one who received an armor?” Twilight wondered.

“For now, I’ll just say that the armor will have a pivotal role at some time in the future. Whenever you need them, you can summon your new garbs to you at will anytime, anywhere. Now, I shall leave you to get acquainted with your new allies. Best of luck.”

The Mane 7 then found themselves back in Ponyville and they are no longer wearing their new garbs for the time being.

Meanwhile, Natsu’s group was contemplating on how to approach the ponies.

“Can’t we just go over there and say hi?” Natsu asked.

“Natsu, let’s not forget that we’re outsiders in this world and they never saw our kind before. And judging by how they’re staring at us, it appears that they are intimidated by us. We need to approach this delicately. One wrong step and this can go south very quickly for us.” Lucy explained.

“She does raise a fair point” Erza agreed.

Carla stepped forward. “I’ll talk to them. I’m sure these equines will be more at ease if something as small and harmless as me speaks to them.”

“Will they be able to understand you?” Panther Lily asked.

“We were able to talk to Aura Light, so it’s worth a shot.”

Carla took several steps towards the ponies. “Hello there! I know that we may seem strange to you. In fact, we came from another world!”

The ponies then stared at the talking cat.

“We were brought here to this world by an entity that calls herself Aura Light! And we have been commissioned to help defend this world from an enemy known as the Order of Scarlet Night!”

The ponies were just confused. Aside from the Mane 7, they did not know anything about Aura Light or the Order of Scarlet Night.

Back to Twilight’s side….

“Alright girls. Aura said to trust them, so let’s trust them.” Twilight said.

Pinkie immediately dashed to Natsu’s group, startling them.

“Hey there! I’m Pinkie Pie!” Pinkie then asked so many questions in rapid speed that the wizards had a hard time following what she was saying.

They just stared silently at her, waiting for her to finish with her rambling. Once Pinkie finished speaking, she started breathing heavily from talking so much so fast.

“Did… you guys get what this pink pony just said?” Gray asked his guildmates.

“I remember her asking about favorite colors, what sweets we like, and if we like parties or not.” Natsu answered.

“At least we don’t have to worry about the language barrier.” Panther Lily said.

The rest of the Mane 7 and Spike approached the wizards while the other ponies and creatures kept their distance.

“Hello.” Twilight spoke up. “My friends and I just spoke to Aura Light and she said that you are here to help us.”

“And who are you? Oh, Sorry! Where are my manners?! We should be introducing ourselves first! I’m Erza Scarlet.”

“I’m Natsu Dragneel!”

“Gray Fullbuster.”

“Lucy Heartfilia.”

“Wendy Marvell”

“Gajeel Redfox”

“And I’m Happy!”

“Carla.”

“Panther Lily.”

“Oooooh! You three look so adorable!” Fluttershy said to Happy, Carla, and Panther Lily.

“Aye!” Happy responded.

“T-thanks, I guess.” Carla said.

“Pleased to make your acquaintance. I’m Twilight Sparkle, the princess of Equestria.” Twilight introduced herself.

“Princess?!” Erza immediately got down on one knee and bowed. “Please forgive us. We should have showed more respect.”

“She seems pretty nice.” Starlight commented about Erza.

“It’s fine. Let me introduce you to my friends. This is my royal advisor, Spike. And this is Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Starlight Glimmer.”

After this introduction, Gajeel was thinking, “What kind of names are those?”

“Anyway, what kind of powers do you have?!” Rainbow asked the wizards.

“What you all just did was beyond incredible!” Rarity said.

“Are you superheroes that came from a world similar to a comic book?” Spike asked with his eyes beaming.

“We are wizards, and we each have our own magical abilities.” Natsu explained.

“And we came from a world filled with magic.” Erza added.

“WHAT?! All those things you did were magic?!” Twilight then bubbled up with excitement. “You have to tell me more! Like, how does your magic work! And tell me about the world you came from!”

“Hold on!” Erza stopped her. “Pardon for the interruption. I know you all must have a lot of questions to ask and we’ll be happy to answer the best we can. But before we get to that, we want to first introduce you to our guild and to our master. They are also involved in this.”

“Wait! There are more of you?!” Twilight asked surprised.

“Yeah, Aura Light brought the whole guild hall here. It’s just right outside this town.” Gajeel anwered.

Natsu’s group then led the ponies to the guild hall.

“Here we are. Meet our guild. Fairy Tail.” Erza introduced the ponies to the guild.

All the Fairy Tail members that stayed at the guild hall couldn’t help but stare at the pastel-colored ponies. Asuka immediately became fascinated with them and Mirajane Strauss thinks they’re cute.

After formal introductions between Twilight and Makarov, Pinkie added another party to the anniversary celebration, a welcome-to-Equestria party for Fairy Tail. In the following moments, the wizards spent their time getting acquainted with the inhabitants of this world. Per Aura’s request, the dragon slayers referred to themselves as dragon mages that uses dragon magic. Some ponies are either fascinated or weirded out by the fact that Natsu eats fire and Gajeel eats iron. Meanwhile, Twilight learned a lot about Earth Land after interviewing numerous mages. Fluttershy had a nice long conversation with Happy, Carla, and Panther Lily. Some Fairy Tail members entertained the foals by showing their magical abilities. Laki Olietta used her Wood-Make magic to create wooden sculptures. Levy amazed the foals with her Solid Script magic. Romeo Conbolt displayed his ability to create flames of different colors. Gray and Juvia created ice sculptures together. Reedus Jonah painted portraits for Cranky Doodle Donkey and Matilda and for Lyra Heartstrings and Bon Bon.

After the party was finally over, Twilight returned to Canterlot with Spike and her parents. Cadence, Shining Armor, and Flurry Heart returned to the Crystal Empire. Celestia and Luna returned to Silver Shoals.

As for Fairy Tail, Starlight provided them guest rooms at the Castle of Friendship. They also began making preparations for the coming storm. The guild hall is set up as a base of operations. Levy and Freed Justine constructed a magical barrier around the guild hall and Ponyville and designed it to keep out dark unicorns and monsters. In the guild hall, Warren set up the Magic Radar to monitor for dark unicorn and monster activity.





As Aura Light explained, the Order of Scarlet Night consists of dark unicorns and their legions of monsters. At the top, there is the dark alicorn, Scarlet Night. Serving directly below her are the Red Moon Generals, the ten highest-ranking dark unicorns in the Order of Scarlet Night. Each of them received a portion of Scarlet Night’s magical power, which augments their own power. Each Red Moon General has a number engraved on their left eye. They are divided into two groups: the upper generals (numbered one to five) and the lower generals (also numbered one to five). The upper members have gold numbers while the lower members have silver numbers. The number signifies their ranking among the Red Moon Generals, based on their level of strength. The weakest is Lower 5 while the strongest is Upper 1.

Currently in Scarlet Night’s hidden fortress, the five upper generals were having a meeting.

Shadow Mayhem: Red Moon General Upper 5
(Stallion; left eye is green, right eye is yellow, both eyes have red sclera; dark gray coat; light gray mane and tail; wears a black mask that covers his face except the eyes)

Blade Dancer: Red Moon General Upper 4
(Mare; dark green eyes with gray sclera; light brown coat; indigo mane and tail)

Roaring Blaze: Red Moon General Upper 3
(Stallion; orange eyes with red sclera; dark orange coat; red and yellow mane and tail)

Sapphire Butterfly: Red Moon General Upper 2
(Mare; violet eyes with red sclera; light blue coat; dark blue mane and tail)

Dread Lord: Red Moon General Upper 1
(Stallion; red eyes with black sclera; white coat; black mane and tail)

The one thing all the dark unicorns have in common is that they possess red horns that shine like crystals.

While having their meeting, the upper generals watched the footage of Fairy Tail’s interference in the attack on Ponyville from a crystal screen.

“That was an unexpected development” Sapphire Butterfly commented.

“I can’t believe that they managed to destroy all those monsters! And none of these beings even suffered a single scratch!” Roaring Blaze exclaimed.

“The small white cat said that Aura Light brought them to this world” Shadow Mayhem pointed out.

“Grrrr. Of course she would try to make things difficult for us. I don’t know how, but apparently, she can bring creatures from other worlds.” Dread Lord said.

“So what about the plan?” Shadow Mayhem asked Dread Lord.

“Our plan hasn’t changed. Our war will still bring about negative emotions, which will create the negative energies needed to awaken Scarlet Night.”

“What should we do about the wizards?” Blade Dancer wondered.

“We should exercise caution. Aura Light is no fool. She would not go through the trouble of bringing them here unless she is certain that they can help her. After all, judging by how they fight, it is clear that they are no amateurs when it comes to battling. Nevertheless, we will have our monsters wreak havoc on various places in Equestria. As for these wizards, we will observe them and gauge on their capabilities. Right now, ensuring Scarlet Night’s awakening is our top priority.” Dread Lord explained.

“And depending on how this war goes, we may have to fight them ourselves eventually.” Sapphire Butterfly remarked.

“I hope I get a chance to meet the one with the red hair.” Blade Dancer took an interest in Erza.

“And that fire wizard piques my interest.” Roaring Blaze said.

“If there is nothing left to discuss, then meeting adjourned.” Dread Lord concluded the meeting.





It is night time in the Crystal Empire and most ponies there, including the royal family, are asleep. Inside Flurry Heart’s bedroom, the ghostly form of Aura Light emerged. She approached the little alicorn while she is soundly sleeping. From the tip of her horn, Aura created a small orb of light and levitated it to Flurry Heart. Once the orb entered her, Aura left while Flurry Heart remained unaware of her presence.
> Extra: Natsu and Happy's Little Stroll (edited)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It’s a bright sunny day in Equestria.

Two Fairy Tail members, Natsu and Happy, decided to do some exploring in this world. They first went to the Everfree Forest.

“So Natsu. Why did you choose this forest?” Happy asked.

“Because I heard that there are dangerous creatures living here. I want to see them for myself.” Natsu answered.

A pack of timberwolves jumped out of the nearby bushes and blocked Natsu and Happy’s path.

“Wow! Are those woodwolves?!” Natsu asked with wonder.

“I don’t think that’s what they’re called, Natsu.” Happy replied.

One of the timberwolves lunged at Natsu. On reflex, Natsu punched the timberwolf back.

“Oh, you want a fight? Bring it.” Natsu taunted.

All the timberwolves rushed at Natsu, trying to use their numbers to overwhelm him. Natsu fired up his fists and the timberwolves were reduced to a pile of ashes. He and Happy then continued walking on their merry way.

After walking for half an hour, Natsu was starting to get bored.

“Is there anything else out here?”

The moment Natsu asked that, he and Happy encountered a bugbear.

“Hey! Is this a beebear?!”

“Natsu, I think you’re getting its name wrong.”

The bugbear charged with its stinger aiming at Natsu. He dodged by jumping out of the way.

“Alright then, show me what you got!”

The bugbear flew towards Natsu again.

“FIRE DRAGON IRON FIST!” Natsu engulfed his fist in flames before throwing a punch.

The bugbear was defeated with one hit.

“Oh well, guess you’re not tough after all.” Natsu said casually before walking away.

Natsu and Happy later went to Froggy Bottom Bog.

“So why now this place, Natsu?” Happy asked while he and Natsu stood close to the swamp.

“I heard there’s something big living here.” Natsu was eager to see what he could find.

“Well, I already feel sorry for the next wild creature that you’re going to meet.”

A green smelly gas surrounded the two.

“Ugh, what’s this smell?!” Natsu asked while pinching his nose.

“It stinks!” Happy said with disgust.

The hydra emerged from the swamp.

“Hey there!” Natsu greeted the hydra.

The hydra gave a threatening roar and licked its lips.

“Looks like we just found your next unfortunate victim.” Happy said without a care in the world.

The hydra’s heads struck out at Natsu and Happy. Natsu used his agility to evade the heads while Happy flew away.

“FIRE DRAGON BRILLIANT FLAME!” After igniting both of his hands and combining the flames, Natsu threw a very large fireball.

The hydra is toast, and Natsu left disappointed while Happy continued tagging along.

Later, the two set up a campfire by a river in another location. The two were having lunch, and their meal is the fishes they caught from the river. Natsu grilled his fishes while Happy ate his food raw.

“Mmmmmm… I’m glad Equestria has yummy fishes too.” Happy said while eating the fish he was holding.

“It’s nice that we got some time to enjoy ourselves. There’s no telling how long the war is going to be.” Natsu commented.

Suddenly, a swarm of fly-ders appeared and surrounded the two.

“What the?! Where did they come from?!” Natsu exclaimed.

One of the fly-ders bit Natsu on the arm. “Ow! Hey! That hurt!” He immediately swatted the bug away. “What are these?! Spiderflies?!”

“These are my fishes! You can’t have any of them! Go away!” Happy yelled at the fly-ders.

One of them shot a web that covered the right side of Happy’s face.

“AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!! I got a web on my face!!!!!!” Happy started to panic.

The fly-ders started shooting webs at Natsu as well.

“Hey! You’re getting webs all over me! Cut it out!” Natsu shouted at the fly-ders.

“Natsu! I don’t think they’re going to listen! Do something!” Happy was getting covered in bite marks.

Natsu then breathed out fire and incinerated the entire swarm, not leaving a single trace of the bugs behind.

“Well that was a mess!” Natsu tried wiping the webs off his clothes. “I say we go back to Ponyville and get a bath.”

“Aye” Happy agreed.
> Extra: Gajeel Does the Unthinkable
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It’s another beautiful day in the town of Ponyville.

The party planner extraordinaire, Pinkie Pie, is giving party invitations to everypony and every member of Fairy Tail.

Maud’s birthday is coming and Pinkie wants every member of Fairy Tail to attend. Those who initially declined were hounded by Pinkie until they accept the invitation.

And then there are Gajeel and Panther Lily…

“I already told you I said NO! We are not coming!” Gajeel yells at Pinkie.

“PLEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAASE!!!!!! I promise there will be tons of fun and…”

“I don’t care about any of that! Now will you please leave us alone?!” Gajeel snaps.

However, everywhere Gajeel and Panther Lily go, they always find Pinkie saying the same word “please” over and over again.

Finally, Gajeel had enough.

“Alright! We’ll go to the party!” Gajeel seemingly relents.

“You pinkie promise?” Pinkie asks with her eyes beaming.

“Yes, we pinkie promise. Happy now?” Gajeel says impatiently.

“Um, Gajeel… I don’t think you should…” Panther Lily did not get a chance to finish his sentence.

“Yeeeeaaaaah!!!!” Pinkie hops away with glee.

Maud’s birthday party has arrived. All the guests enjoy themselves, socializing, drinking punch, and eating cake as well as some other assortment of sweets. Pinkie urges the Fairy Tail wizards to entertain Maud with their magical abilities.

However, there are two no-shows, those being Gajeel and Panther Lily. Pinkie waited hours for them to arrive but they never showed up.

The party has ended and Maud has left. To say that Pinkie is completely unhappy that Gajeel and Panther Lily did not show up after that pinkie promise would be an understatement. Her face turns red with anger and steam comes out of her ears.

“NOPONY BREAKS A PINKIE PROMISE!” Pinkie says in a demonic tone. This even frightens Erza and Laxus.

“Mommy, what’s wrong with Pinkie?” Pumpkin Cake asks her mother.

“Somepony just did the unthinkable!” Mrs. Cake answers while shaking with terror.

Elsewhere, Gajeel and Panther Lily are just finished slaying some monsters that were roaming the wilds.

“Um, Gajeel? Are you really sure about breaking the pinkie promise?” Panther Lily asks with some concern.

“It’s not my fault she wouldn’t take no for an answer. It was the only way to get her off our backs.” Gajeel answers.

“Gajeel, I really have an uneasy feeling about breaking the pinkie promise.”

“Seriously? We fought dark wizards, demons, and an army. I even faced death once. Why should we be worried about some pink party pony?”

“GAJEEEEEEEEEL!!!!!!! PANTHER LILLLLLLLLLLLLY!!!!!!!!” Pinkie can be heard in the distance.

Gajeel and Panther Lily’s blood run cold as they turn their attention to the angry Pinkie.

“YOU PINKIE PROMISED!!!!!!!!!!”

Gajeel and Panther Lily then flee for their lives. However, even if they used their magic bracelets to get away, Pinkie still manages to find them. No matter where they go, they soon learn the hard way that they can never get away from Pinkie Pie.
> Chapter 2 (1/4): A Superweapon and an Ultimatum
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Three days after their declaration of war, the Order of Scarlet Night began their attacks in earnest. However, thanks to the magical bracelets given to them by Aura Light, the Fairy Tail wizards can go to any place in Equestria at a moment’s notice.

Dodge Junction was attacked by an army of goblins wielding swords, spears, axes, maces, and crossbows. The ponies screamed and fled in terror as the goblins set their houses on fire. A little filly was also running for her life, but she tripped and fell. One of the goblins approached the small defenseless pony and prepared to stab her with a sword. The filly closed her eyes, preparing for the worst. She was then saved when Natsu fire punched the goblin in the face. As Natsu attacked the nearby goblins, Lucy picked up the filly and carried her to safety while Lucy’s Celestial Spirits, Taurus and Leo (who is commonly known as Loke), assisted Natsu with repelling the goblin army. After returning the filly to her parents, Lucy then joined the fight.

Elsewhere, Laxus and his group, the Thunder Legion (which consists of Freed, Bickslow, and Evergreen), destroyed a Scarlet Night base and defeated all the dark unicorns and monsters there.

Ponyville was also attacked by a horde of beast monsters. Thanks to the barrier constructed by Levy and Freed, none of the monsters could enter the town. Starlight, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Applejack, and Fluttershy donned their magical robes and took the opportunity to test out the powers that Aura granted them. With her enhanced magical power, Starlight can instantly disintegrate a lesser monster with one shot. Rainbow Dash summoned lightning storms and Applejack crushed the beasts with boulders. Rarity launched diamond-shaped projectiles at their enemies. Pinkie fired sparkly explosive bombs from her party cannon and Fluttershy summoned a stampede of ethereal bulls to repel the monsters.

Not all of Fairy Tail stays in Ponyville. The Strauss siblings volunteered to stay in the Crystal Empire to protect Shining Armor, Cadence, and Flurry Heart. Due to Twilight Sparkle being considered the most important pony in Equestria, Gildarts is entrusted with protecting Canterlot.

Speaking of Twilight herself, she is continuing with her royal duties with Spike’s assistance, though she missed the times when she was with her friends whenever the fate of Equestria hangs in the balance and she was anxious to wear the armor that Aura gave to her. Despite the dark unicorn and monster attacks occurring at various places, Fairy Tail fighting on Equestria’s behalf does put Twilight’s mind at ease. Ever since meeting Aura Light and the Order of Scarlet Night, Twilight became very curious about the two alicorns that she never knew existed. She searched the Canterlot archives, the library, and even the library’s restricted section, but she could not find any information pertaining to Aura Light and Scarlet Night. She tried calling out to Aura to ask her more about her history, but Aura never answered her.

Discord is still trapped in the chaos dimension due to a magical seal used by the Red Moon Generals and no one knows how to free him.

In spite of their efforts, Fairy Tail encountered some setbacks. Any attempt to capture a dark unicorn for interrogation has been futile. Whenever a dark unicorn is defeated in battle, they disintegrate even if they’re just incapacitated. Levy theorized that a curse is placed on them as a safeguard to prevent capture so they won’t divulge any important information, such as the location of Scarlet Night’s stronghold. As for the monsters that serve the dark unicorns, Fairy Tail did not have much luck gaining information from them either even from the variants capable of speech. Monsters’ evaporating after death prevented any detailed anatomical or biological studies. Also, any captured monster died off in captivity if they were unable to escape.

Time flew by and the fighting had gone on for over a month and so far, none of Fairy Tail has crossed paths with a Red Moon General yet. But, as they will soon see, the Order of Scarlet Night is proceeding with a nefarious plan and the Red Moon Generals will be making their move.

One day, a visual projection appeared in the skies above Ponyville and Canterlot, which drew the attention of everypony in these two locations as well as every member of Fairy Tail. The Fairy Tail members who were neither in Ponyville nor Canterlot were watching this through their magical bracelets. What they saw from the projection was a sight to behold. They saw a gigantic flying hexagonal-shaped ship, larger than any skyscraper, hovering directly above Mt. Everhoof.

A dark purple light began to emit from the bottom of the ship and this light turned into a concentrated magical energy beam of destruction. In the next moment, Mt. Everhoof was completely obliterated. Those who just witnessed this were completely stunned.

The image in the projection then shifted to a dark unicorn, one of the ten that wears a light-red cloak but his face was obscured by a hood.

“BEHOLD Equestria! This is our superweapon! The DOOM CRUISER! Did you see its awesome destructive power!?” The dark unicorn boasted proudly. He then took a moment to cackle.

“A superweapon?! Why do the bad guys always have to get one of those?!” Lucy said annoyed.

“Imagine the devastation this weapon can cause if used on a more populated area. This ship’s next target will be… Manehattan!” The dark unicorn went on with his speech.

Those who were currently watching this broadcast had a chill ran down their spine.

“Unless… both Twilight Sparkle and Fairy Tail agree to some demands!”

Everyone in Ponyville and Canterlot, especially Twilight, listened attentively.

“Here are our demands! First, Twilight Sparkle must surrender Equestria to the Order of Scarlet Night! Second, Fairy Tail must return to their realm and never come back to this world! If our demands are not met in four hours, Manehattan will be wiped off the map!” The dark unicorn took a moment to pause. “Honestly, we didn’t expect to unveil our superweapon this soon, but Fairy Tail has forced our hooves! Make no mistake! One way or another, we will bring Equestria to its knees and we’re not about to let a bunch of outsiders ruin our years of planning! Remember! You have four hours to accept our terms… or Manehattan is toast!”

The projection in the sky then faded away. Everyone who just watched the broadcast began talking amongst themselves concerning the dark unicorn’s threat.

Inside the Fairy Tail guild hall…

“Everyone! We really have a problem!” Mest Gryder spoke up. “I just saw Mt. Everhoof with my own eyes! That dark unicorn’s threat is no bluff!”

“And according to the Magic Radar, that ship is heading towards Manehattan!” Warren explained.

Twilight communicated with Makarov through the magic bracelets. “What should we do, Makarov?”

“Obviously… we are NOT going to do what they say! We are going to bring that weapon down!” Makarov declared.

“That’s right!” Natsu shouted out. “If those dark unicorn jerks think that thing is going to scare us, then they got another thing coming!”

“Gather around my children! We need to form a plan of attack!”
> Chapter 2 (2/4): Three Decisive Battles - part 1 (edited)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Inside the Fairy Tail guild hall, the wizards and the Mane 7 discussed their plan to attack the Doom Cruiser. Happy asked if they could just use the magic bracelets to teleport to inside the ship, but Aura explained that it doesn’t work that way. The bracelets only enable their wearers to teleport to specific locations that are part of Equestria and it does not include the inside of moving vehicles.

While going over their plan, they formed a strike team.

“I’ve decided on who will be attacking the Doom Cruiser! It’s going to be Natsu, Happy, Gajeel, Panther Lily, Erza, Laxus, Cana, Freed, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie!” Makarov selected the members of the strike team.

“Since I can’t make rocks out of thin air, I guess I won’t be much help up there.” Applejack stated.

“Wait, I should be taking part in this operation as well.” Twilight said.

“No, Princess Twilight. You need to stay and watch over Canterlot. Besides, there’s no telling how the Order of Scarlet Night is going to respond once the strike team attacks the superweapon.” Makarov said.

“But I…”

“Don’t worry Twilight. We got this!” Rainbow Dash assured Twilight.

“Twilight, darling. Your duties as ruler of Equestria come first. You can count on us to take some load off your shoulders.” Rarity chimed in.

Twilight pouted but did not make any arguments. After the meeting, she returned to Canterlot.

The strike team commenced with their operation. Natsu, Happy, Gajeel, Panther Lily, and Rainbow Dash flew to the Doom Cruiser, with Happy and Panther Lily carrying Natsu and Gajeel, respectively. The other members of the strike team, including Cana herself, were stored inside Cana’s magic cards, which were placed inside Gajeel’s pocket.

After flying for some time, the strike team approached the superweapon as it approached Manehattan.

“This is it! We’re getting close!” Gajeel said as the Doom Cruiser is in sight.

“I can’t wait to see that thing crash!” Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes.

“So uh, how close can we get before they try to stop us?” Happy asked curiously.

The five then began hearing faint sounds of alarm bells ringing coming from the ship.

“I guess they’ve noticed us!” Panther Lily shouted.

“That’s fine. I’m all fired up!” Natsu said.

The group spotted a loading door that was opening on the side of the ship as a swarm of gargoyles began to fly out of the hangar.

“See that loading dock? That’s our way in!” Rainbow Dash called up to her teammates.

“But first, we need to get past these freaks!” Gajeel pointed out.

The gargoyles began spitting fire balls at the group. Since fire doesn’t harm Natsu, he just used his arms to block the fiery projectiles. Panther Lily and Rainbow Dash performed some evasive flying.

“IRON DRAGON LANCE: DEMON LOGS!” Gajeel shot down numerous gargoyles with his rapid-firing iron spears.

“Get out of our way!” Rainbow Dash summoned a twister to blow away the gargoyles in their path.

The group then took a look at the ship’s entrance, which was beginning to slide shut its metal door.

“They’re closing the way in!” Happy shouted.

“FIRE DRAGON KING ROAR!” From his mouth, Natsu unleashed a large-scale blast of fire at the loading door. All gargoyles in the line of fire were instantly reduced to ashes. Natsu’s attack was powerful enough to create a gigantic hole on the loading door, allowing the wizards, Exceeds, and Rainbow Dash to fly right in.

The five successfully entered the Doom Cruiser and set foot in the hangar. After landing, Panther Lily transformed into his battle form.

“Haha! Aura’s anti-motion sickness spell is working like a charm! I don’t feel like barfing at all!” Natsu said excitedly.

“Alright you guys, come on out!” Gajeel took Cana’s cards out.

Cana promptly released herself and the rest of the strike team. “Okay! We’re ready to go!”

Once the whole strike team was fully assembled in the hangar, they heard the voice of the dark unicorn who broadcasted the Doom Cruiser coming from the loudspeakers. “WE HAVE INTRUDERS IN THE SHIP! MOBILIZE!”

“Oh yeah! Just try to stop us!” Rainbow Dash shouted.

Hundreds of goblin guards and gargoyles rushed in and surrounded the intruders. The goblins aboard the Doom Cruiser are equipped with more advanced weaponry such as electric batons and magic-powered rifles.

“IRON DRAGON ROAR!” From his mouth, Gajeel unleashed a powerful tornado of iron at the enemy forces.

Erza used Requip and switched her armor to Black Wing Armor. With her sword, Erza struck down a large crowd of surrounding foes.

Panther Lily also swung his sword at any enemies within striking distance.

Some of the goblins struck Laxus with their batons, but they did not hurt him one bit.

“Hey, that kinda tickles.” Laxus said with a glare. He immediately blew away his attackers with a surge of lightning.

The goblin riflemen aimed their rifles and fired while the gargoyles launched a barrage of fire balls. Natsu, Laxus, and Rainbow Dash evaded the enemy fire. Erza and Panther Lily used their swords to deflect. Gajeel blocked with his hardened arms. Happy, Cana, and Pinkie Pie stood behind Rarity as she conjured some shield constructs.

“DARK ÉCRITURE: REFLECT!” Freed reflected the incoming projectiles back at the enemy.

“IRON DRAGON SWORD!” Gajeel transformed his right arm into a jagged iron blade and began slashing away.

“LIGHTNING DRAGON IRON FIST!” Laxus struck a large number of goblins with a fist imbued with lightning.

“FIRE DRAGON BRILLIANT FLAME!” Natsu generated fire on both of his hands and then joined them, creating a larger flame, which he then used to create a massive and destructive explosion, taking out scores of enemies.

Rainbow Dash blew away the goblins and gargoyles with powerful gusts of wind.

While shielded by Rarity, Cana used her magic cards as explosive projectiles and Pinkie rapidly threw sparkly explosive cakes in multiple directions.

“More will be coming! We need to move!” Erza shouted out to her teammates as she cut down many more goblins and gargoyles.

The strike team then fought their way through the hangar. They ran to the nearest hallway and after they entered it, Gajeel created iron pillars to block off their pursuers.

The strike team took a moment to study a layout of the ship that had been placed up on the wall and then they split into two groups, Group A and Group B. Group A consisted of Natsu, Happy, Erza, Laxus, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie and they head for the ship’s core. Group B consisted of Gajeel, Panther Lily, Cana, and Freed and this group go for the bridge. The plan was for Group B to move the ship to a safe place before Group A sent it crashing.

As the two groups head through different hallways, the strike team heard the voice of the dark unicorn again and he sounded extremely irritated. “GET THEM! GET THEEEEEEEEM!”

“He sure is grumpy.” Pinkie commented before throwing a sparkly explosive cupcake at a group of goblin guards.

“I must say. This ship could use some better interior decorating.” Rarity said as she looked around the inside of the Doom Cruiser.

“I don’t think weapons of mass destruction were meant to look pleasant!” Happy said as he bashed a goblin’s head with a metal pipe.

Group A eventually got close to the core, but they noticed an enemy battalion right behind them.

“Pinkie Pie! Rarity! And Rainbow Dash! You three go to the core! We’ll hold them back!” Erza told the three ponies to continue forward.

Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie continued on to the core while Natsu, Happy, Erza, and Laxus held back the enemy.

Inside the core chamber…

“This must be the core.” Rarity said. The three ponies also noticed that the core is surrounded by a red magical barrier.

“STOP RIGHT THERE!” a voice shouted out to them.

The three ponies turned their attention to the source of the voice and they finally encountered the dark unicorn that broadcasted the Doom Cruiser. He is piloting a red monstrous octopus-like machine that was towering over the three of them. This time, the dark unicorn’s face is uncovered and on his left eye is the silver number 3.

Red Rage: Red Moon General Lower 3
(red eyes with gray sclera; dark red coat; red and white mane and tail)

“So you made it this far! Allow me to introduce myself! I am Red Rage, Red Moon General Lower 3!”

“You! You were one of the ten ruffians we saw during Twilight’s anniversary celebration!” Rarity said with disdain.

“That’s right! And this is as far as you’ll go! Before you can destroy the core, you’ll have to defeat me first! And that not’s going to happen!”

“You wish! We’re going to kick your flank!” Rainbow Dash shouted back.

“I like to see you try! How will you three fair against me? One of the Red Moon Generals!”





Inside Canterlot Castle, Twilight sat on her throne, still wondering if she should have went with the strike team regardless of what Makarov said.

Spike then walked up to Twilight with a newspaper in his hand.

“Twilight, you need to see this.” Spike handed the newspaper to Twilight, who picked it up with her magic.

On the newspaper, there is an article that caught Twilight’s attention. The article stated that ponies in some small towns and villagers lost their cutie marks, with the marks on their flanks being replaced with ‘X’ marks. Twilight was deeply concerned with this.

“I need to look into this.”

A royal guard rushed into the throne room with great urgency.

“Princess Twilight! We have an emergency! An army of monsters is invading Canterlot!”

“What?! Monsters are here?!” Spike was greatly alarmed.

At this moment, an army of goblins and gargoyles is laying siege to Canterlot.

“I’m glad I listened to Makarov.” Twilight then finally put on her armor and flew out of the throne room to confront the invaders.

The streets of Canterlot soon became a battlefield. Canterlot’s citizens fled to the castle for safety. The moment Twilight leaves her castle, the first things she saw are fire and smoke in the city.

Besides Gildarts, several Fairy Tail mages, including Alzack and Bisca, pitched in to assist the Canterlot royal guards in defending the city.

With his two revolvers, Alzack fired explosive magic bullets at the gargoyles, blowing their stone bodies into pieces. While using her magic pump-action shotgun, Bisca gunned down groups of goblins with each shot.

Twilight joined the battle as well. She fired a magical beam at a goblin and due to her enhanced magical power, the goblin was instantly vaporized. Many other goblins attacked Twilight with their crossbows and several gargoyles spit fire balls at her. Twilight protected herself from any incoming attack by surrounding herself with a magic bubble shield. She retaliates by firing magic beams at her attackers, destroying them too.

After ten minutes of constantly firing magic blasts, Twilight heard a roar coming from the distance. She then saw a gigantic bipedal dark crystal monster using its massive arms to crush any building in its path. Twilight quickly flew towards the crystal monster and fired a large magical beam at it. The creature was pushed back but it doesn’t appear to have suffered a single scratch. In response, it ran towards Twilight and tried swinging its arms at her. Twilight flew around the monster and fired more magic beams at it.

Somewhere in the capital, a dark unicorn with the silver number 2 on his left eye was on the attack. Using his magic, he materialized bombs out of thin air and threw them at random buildings, setting them ablaze.

“I had a feeling that Fairy Tail and the Council of Friendship will resist. They even had the audacity to attack our superweapon. I’ll show them. I’m taking over Canterlot right now. And once I see Princess Twilight Sparkle, I’m going to crush her… ruthlessly.”

A lone wizard stood in the dark unicorn’s way and that wizard is Gildarts.

“Oh? Looks like it’s one of those humans.” The dark unicorn noticed.

“So are you the one who is leading this invasion?” Gildarts asked.

War Spirit: Red Moon General Lower 2
(gray eyes with yellow sclera; green coat; silver mane and tail)

“Yes! I am War Spirit, Red Moon General Lower 2!” the dark unicorn introduced himself.

“A Red Moon General? I heard that your group is a big deal.”

“Tell you what. If you step aside, I’ll spare you.”

“I’m afraid I can’t do that. My job is defending Canterlot and that’s what I’m going to do.”

“Then it’s your funeral!”

War Spirit materialized numerous cannons and missiles and tried to bombard Gildarts with them.





Canterlot is not the only place being invaded. The Order of Scarlet Night also initiated an invasion on the Crystal Empire. The empire is under attack by a swarm of large winged insectoid-like monsters. Shining Armor is leading the royal guards into battle while his wife and daughter remain in the castle.

Aside from the Strauss siblings, a handful of Fairy Tail members including Bickslow and Evergreen are assisting the Crystal Empire. They either fight off the invading forces or help escort the citizens to safety.

On the east side of the empire, Bickslow and Evergreen are fighting the monsters.

“While Laxus and Freed deal with the Doom Cruiser, we can do our part here. Go babies!” Bickslow commanded his dolls to fire magic blasts at the monsters.

“FAIRY MACHINE GUN: LEPRECHAUN!” Evergreen released a torrent of energy needles made from concentrated dust.

“Curse these bugs! I was here to have lunch with Elfman and these monsters just have to ruin everything!” Evergreen was furious.

After Bickslow and Evergreen destroyed at least one hundred monsters, a gigantic centipede monster came out of the ground.

“Of course they send the big ones too.” Bickslow said.

The centipede monster lunged at Evergreen, but she evaded it by flying using her fairy-like wings.

“FAIRY BOMB: GREMLIN!” Evergreen surrounded the centipede monster with dust particles and then ignited them to create an explosion powerful enough to fell the monster.

“Well that was no problem at all.” Evergreen said with a smile.

Five more centipede monsters emerged.

“Oh come on!” Evergreen bellowed.

“Oh boy. Looks like we have our work cut out for us.” Bickslow sighed.

In the meantime, Mirajane (in her Satan Soul form) is battling the swarm, including several centipede monsters, on the west side of the empire. She attacks by firing a barrage of magical darkness projectiles from her hands.

Mirajane’s two siblings, Lisanna and Elfman, are fighting on the south side. Lisanna battled by using the claws of her ‘Animal Soul: Cat’ form and Elfman used ‘Full-Body Take Over, Beast Soul’.

As the battle in the Crystal Empire raged on, a dark unicorn mare wearing a light-red cloak marched into the south side of Crystal Empire. In addition to her cloak, she also wears six multi-colored sashes.

After Lisanna and Elfman fought for nearly over an hour, the monsters surrounding them suddenly left.

“They’re leaving already?!” Elfman was baffled.

“Hold on! Something’s coming!” Lisanna pointed at the dark unicorn approaching them. Her face is covered by a hood.

“You humans. What reason do you have to fight for this world? Is it because of some misguided sense of righteousness or did Aura Light promise you a grand reward?” the dark unicorn spoke.

“Are you a dark unicorn?” Lisanna asked.

“Isn’t it obvious? You know what’s going to happen next, do you?”

“If you’re here for a battle, then bring it! I’ll show you how a man fights!” Elfman shouted.

“Will you two be able to handle somepony like me?” The dark unicorn lifted her hood and revealed her face. On her left eye is the silver number 4.

“She has a number of her eye!” Lisanna noticed.

“That means she’s one of the Red Moon Generals!” Elfman said alarmed.

Cloth Demoness: Red Moon General Lower 4
(pink eyes with black sclera; yellow coat; dark purple mane and tail)

“You are correct. I am Cloth Demoness, Red Moon General Lower 4.”

“Lower 4? That’s a relief of some sort. At least you’re not an upper general.” Elfman said.

The general’s right eye twitched after she heard Elfman’s comment. “You will be wise not to take me lightly.” She said with a hint of anger in her voice.

Six crystal pony guards then arrived at the scene.

“Look! That must be a dark unicorn!”

“And she must be controlling the monsters!”

“So this means, if we subdue her, we can put a stop to this invasion!”

“No, wait! We don’t know what this dark unicorn is capable of!” Lisanna tried to warn the royal guards.

“CHARGE!” The guards ignored Lisanna and they rushed at the dark unicorn with their spears.

One of the general’s sashes stretched out towards the crystal pony guards, and in one swift motion, the pony guards were decapitated, much to Lisanna and Elfman’s horror.

“These weaklings do not interest me.” Cloth Demoness said casually. Two of her sashes then stretched out towards Lisanna and Elfman, aiming for their heads. The two siblings managed to narrowly avoid a fatal blow. Elfman quickly changed his form to ‘Beast Soul: Weretiger’.

Shining Armor came and fired magic beams at the dark unicorn, but she used her sashes to deflect them.

“Lisanna! Elfman! I’ll help you!”

“Shining Armor, watch out for the sashes! They’re deadly!” Lisanna warned Shining Armor.

Just then, one of the sashes extended towards Shining Armor in rapid speed. Shining Armor tried to block it with a magical shield, but the sash easily sliced through the shield and seriously wounded both of Shining Armor’s front legs, causing him to cry out in pain. Another sash then wrapped itself around Shining Armor and tossed him into a nearby crystal house, knocking him out.

“Fortunately for that one, I was told to leave him alive. But for you humans, you need to pay for trying to undermine our efforts.”

To Be Continued…
> Chapter 2 (3/4): Three Decisive Battles - part 2 (edited)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Order of Scarlet Night gave Twilight Sparkle and Fairy Tail an ultimatum, using the threat of their superweapon, the Doom Cruiser. Fairy Tail and the Council of Friendship initiated an operation to destroy the superweapon. In response, the Order of Scarlet Night launched simultaneous invasions on both Canterlot and the Crystal Empire.

In the Crystal Empire, Lisanna and Elfman encounter a dangerous foe in the form of Cloth Demoness, the Lower 4 of the Red Moon Generals.

The dark unicorn uses a set of sashes as weapons. Not only the sashes can extend in length, they are as lethal as blades. Furthermore, the speed of the sash swipes is no laughing matter.

So far, Lisanna managed to avoid any scratches. Unfortunately for Elfman, he is a bigger target and he had received several cuts on his torso.

Knowing that she can’t keep on evading forever, Lisanna decided to go for an attack. She had initial success in dodging the sashes due to her speed. However, before Lisanna could get close enough, Cloth Demoness increased the speed of her sash swipes. Both of Lisanna’s arms got grazed, but she jumped back before she could be sliced to shreds.

Elfman then changed to his ‘Beast Soul: Lizardman’ form, hoping that this form’s increased defenses could lessen the blows of the sash strikes. However, when the sashes struck him again, they still cut deep.

“Ugh! Even in this form, the cuts are still deep! What kind of cloth is she using?!”

“By themselves, they would be ordinary cloth. It’s my magic that makes these sashes sharp like blades.” Cloth Demoness explained.

“Elfman… Something’s wrong… My eyes… My vision… is getting blurry.” Lisanna collapsed to her knees as she held her head, trying to maintain her focus.

Elfman was also starting to feel something wrong. “Now that you mention it. I’m… not feeling well either… My head… is aching… My eyes… feel heavy… I can’t… see straight. Did that dark unicorn… did something to us?”

“My sashes are coated with a toxin. Effects include blurry vision and severe dizziness and headaches. It can also weaken body functions. The effects only last for a few hours, but it’s not like I’m going to give you two a chance to recover. I’ll be carving you both up. And I’ll start with the girl.”

The sashes rapidly extended towards Lisanna. Knowing that Lisanna would not be able to dodge the sashes, the one thing that comes to Elfman’s mind was protecting his sister by using his own body as a shield, which he did without any hesitation. Elfman grit his teeth as his back received multiple slashes.

“Aww. Protecting your comrade. How sweet. I’ll make your death as agonizing as possible.”

The sashes relentlessly assault Elfman. He continued shielding Lisanna as he took all the hits.

Cloth Demoness showed a sadistic smile as Elfman’s back is being covered in bloody cuts. However, she then noticed a dark-colored sphere coming right at her, but she jumped back and dodged it. Afterwards, she saw a figure descending from the sky. It is Mirajane, still in her Satan Soul form.

“It’s another one of those humans.”

“Lisanna… Elfman… Are you two okay?” Mirajane asked her siblings as she landed on the ground.

“Be careful Mirajane… That one is a Red Moon General!” Lisanna said weakly.

“And her sashes are poisonous... Don’t let them touch you!” Elfman warned Mirajane.

“I see… then you two can leave this one to me.” Mirajane said as her anger towards Cloth Demoness swells up inside her. “SATAN SOUL: MIRAJANE ALEGRIA!”

“And what is that form supposed to be?” Cloth Demoness asked curiously. However, the Lower 4 general could also feel the high amount of magic power being emitted from Mirajane. This even caused the dark unicorn to sweat.

“If you’re a Red Moon General, then I shouldn’t pull any punches.” Mirajane answered with a fierce look in her eyes.

“It doesn’t matter what you do! I’ll destroy you all the same!” Cloth Demoness aimed all six of her sashes at Mirajane.

Mirajane evaded the sash strikes and in a blink of an eye, Mirajane got close to Cloth Demoness. Before Cloth Demoness could even react, Mirajane grabbed her by the neck, slammed the dark unicorn’s head into the crystal ground with tremendous force, and then released a powerful magical explosion that created a huge smoke cloud and a large crater on the spot.

Cloth Demoness isn’t getting back up after something that brutal. Her body disintegrated as do all dark unicorns and monsters that suffered defeat at an enemy’s hands.

With the Red Moon General dealt with, Mirajane returned to her normal form since the Alegria form used up a lot of magic power. She then turned her attention to her brother and sister.

“Don’t worry you two, everything will be alright.” Mirajane reassured.

Sensing the Red Moon General’s defeat, the remaining monsters retreated from the Crystal Empire.

“They’re retreating. Is it over?” Bickslow wondered.

“It’s about time. I was starting to think this would never end.” Evergreen was relieved.





The Doom Cruiser is now over Manehattan. The ponies there panicked and screamed at the sight of the metal monstrosity in the sky.

Group B reached the bridge. A magical barrier blocked their way, but Freed used his magic to nullify it. Once Group B breached the bridge, the dark unicorns there tried to fight back, but Group B made short work of them.

“All too easy.” Gajeel said with a smile.

“Now we just need to find out how to control this ship” Freed pointed out.

Group B heard a squadron of goblin guards heading their way.

“Gajeel! Panther Lily! Can you keep them out!?” Freed asked the two.

“Leave it to us!” Gajeel answered as he and Panther Lily left the bridge to fight their enemies.

Meanwhile inside the core chamber, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie are currently facing against the Lower 3 of the Red Moon Generals, Red Rage.

The tentacles on Red Rage’s octopus mech lunged towards the three ponies. Rainbow Dash and Pinkie evaded them. Rarity deflected the tentacles using a construct with rotating blades.

Rainbow Dash threw lightning bolts at the mech, but they had no effect.

“They didn’t do a thing!” Rainbow Dash said surprised.

“Ha ha! Guess the power Aura gave you hardly amounts to anything!” Red Rage taunted.

“How about I aim for you instead!” Rainbow Dash aimed her lightning bolts directly at Red Rage. She threw the bolts, but the dark unicorn blocked them with a magical barrier.

“You think it would be that easy?! What a moron!”

Pinkie attacked the mech with her party cannon, but her attacks only made small dents on the machine. Red Rage used his magic to repair the small damage that Pinkie managed to inflict.

“I can repair my weapon faster than you can damage it!”

Rarity created harpoon constructs and launched them at the mech. However, the harpoons failed to pierce their target as they bounced off the mech.

“What kind of machine is he using?!” Rarity yelled.

“This machine is a construct created by my magic! But it’s far more superior to the measly constructs that miss pretty pony could conjure up!”

Rarity seethed with anger at Red Rage’s insult. She created a wrecking ball construct and swung it at Rage Rage with full force. Red Rage simply fired a red magic beam from his horn and destroyed Rarity’s construct.

The mech then fired missiles at the three ponies. Rainbow Dash evaded the missiles using her flying skills. Pinkie Pie jumped around and Rarity defended herself with a shield construct.

Right after Rainbow Dash dodged the missiles that were flying towards her, Red Rage shot her out of the air with a magic beam. One of the mech’s tentacles then grabbed Rainbow Dash before she hit the floor. Rainbow Dash struggled to break free, but the tentacle restraining her slammed her onto the floor.

“Rainbow Dash!” Both Pinkie and Rarity screamed.

The mech fired more missiles at the two ponies. Pinkie ran around while Rarity tried blocking the missiles with a shield construct. Pinkie was then immobilized by a magic beam fired by Red Rage. He proceeded to fire a beam at Rarity as well. The beam broke through Rarity’s shield and struck her, sending her reeling on the floor. Before Pinkie and Rarity could recover, the mech’s tentacles grabbed them. With that, all three ponies got caught in Red Rage’s clutches.

“Now, I’m going to squeeze the life out of you three!”

Rarity tried to create a construct, but the tentacle holding her tightened its grip, causing her to lose focus.

“I can’t wait to see the look on Princess Twilight’s face when three of her dearest companions perished by my hooves.”

Laxus suddenly zoomed into the core chamber like a lightning bolt. He flew past and shattered the tentacles restraining the three ponies.

“Laxus!” Rainbow Dash was glad to see him.

“You three stand back. Leave the rest to me.” Laxus said.

“Grrrrr. It’s one of those humans! Fine, I’ll destroy you too!” Red Rage fired his magic beams while his mech launched missiles at Laxus.

Laxus evaded the beams and missiles by moving around like lightning.

“LIGHTNING DRAGON IRON HAMMER!” Laxus gathered a large quantity of lightning in his fist and then punched the mech. This attack actually did serious damage as it formed very large cracks on the mech.

“Did he just…?! No! I can’t think about that right now! I need to get rid of this blasted human!” Red Rage then had his octopus mech flail its tentacles at Laxus, but he managed to evade them as well.

“LIGHTNING DRAGON HEAVENWARD HALBERD!” Laxus hurled a very large trident of lightning and this attack blew off a huge chunk of Red Rage’s mech.

“He can do this much damage to my construct so easily?! How powerful is this human?!”

While his whole body is engulfed in lightning, Laxus bolted towards the dark unicorn. Red Rage tried to stop him with the mech’s tentacles, but Laxus broke through them. Red Rage then put up a magical barrier, but Laxus easily shattered it. The dark unicorn’s eyes widened as Laxus flew right up to his face.

“ROARING THUNDER!” Laxus roared as he released a large burst of lightning from his fist.

This point-blank attack sent both Red Rage and his mech crashing violently into the wall. Afterwards, the mech completely broke apart and crumbled, meaning that Red Rage is down and out. The barrier protecting the core disappeared as well.

Back at the bridge, Freed managed to move the ship away from Manehattan and over the nearby sea.

Freed used the magic bracelet on his wrist to contact all members of the strike team. “The ship is over the sea! You can take out the core now!”

“Ooh! Ooh! Let me! Let me! Let me! Let me!” Pinkie requested while bouncing excitedly.

“Make it quick” Laxus replied.

With a wide smile on her face, Pinkie threw over ten sparkly explosive cakes at the core. Once the core took damage, it destabilized. Sparks were flying everywhere inside the core chamber and the ship began shaking uncontrollably.

“I guess it’s time for us to bail!” Rainbow Dash shouted out.

As the core overloaded, the ship began exploding from the inside. The strike team teleported out of the ship just before it was completely consumed in a fiery blaze.

Everypony in Manehattan was given a spectacle as they watched the Doom Cruiser plummet into the sea as a massive pile of burning metal.





Back in the Battle of Canterlot, the Lower 2 of the Red Moon Generals, War Spirit, is currently battling Gildarts.

War Spirit has spent over 30 minutes trying to get rid of Gildarts with bombs, cannons, and missiles, but he wasn’t having any luck. No matter what War Spirit attacked with, Gildarts used his Crush magic to nullify anything thrown at him.

“Got anything else?” Gildarts said with a bored expression.

Seeing Gildarts completely unharmed was starting to unnerve War Spirit. “W-what’s going on? W-why am I… a Red Moon General… is having this much trouble destroying a single being?!”

“Look. It’s clear that you’re not going to win. So why don’t you make this easier on yourself and surrender?”

“Surrender? That is never an option for us! I swore an oath to fight for Scarlet Night until my very last breath!”

War Spirit then materialized three incredibly large bombs, each with enough power to destroy a small town. He hurled them at Gildarts, hoping that it would achieve some results. Once again, this proved to be a useless gesture as Gildarts even shattered that attack.

“PURIFYING TRUTH: FIRMAMENT!” Finally deciding to end this battle, Gildarts imbued his fist with his Crush magic to unleash a powerful strike. War Spirit attempted to block Gildarts’ attack with a magical barrier, but it was no use as Gildarts easily broke through and dealt the decisive strike.

War Spirit was sent flying out of Canterlot and he crash landed somewhere far in the distance, with the impact of the landing leaving behind a huge crater. The injury he sustained from Gildarts’ attack was severe enough to cause him to disintegrate.

Meanwhile, Twilight is still battling the dark crystal monster. Though her attacks can push the monster back, the monster’s armor prevented it from suffering any considerable damage.

“What does it take to defeat this monster?!”

“Aim for the joints, Twilight.” Aura spoke to Twilight through a telepathic link.

“Aura?”

“The monster’s defenses are weakest at the joints. Aim there.”

Following Aura’s advice, Twilight fired her magic beams at the joints in the monster’s arms and legs. This tactic worked as the monster fell to its knees. However, the monster wasn’t about to let Twilight win. From its mouth, it launched a fiery stone projectile at Twilight. The alicorn managed to catch the projectile with telekinesis and then threw it back at the monster’s head with three times the force. The monster’s head got blown off and the rest of its body soon crumbled.

Near Canterlot Castle, Bisca used her double magic machine guns and decimated the remaining goblins and gargoyles with a storm of magical bullets.

With the defeat of the Red Moon General and all the monsters eliminated, the Battle of Canterlot has ended.

The operation to destroy the Doom Cruiser was a success and the Order of Scarlet Night’s invasions on Canterlot and the Crystal Empire have been foiled. In the aftermath, Fluttershy went to Canterlot to use her new powers to help heal the wounded while Wendy does the same at the Crystal Empire.
> Chapter 2 (4/4): Decisive Victory
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Inside Scarlet Night’s fortress, the remaining two lower Red Moon Generals have been summoned.

Thunder Blast: Red Moon General Lower 1
(stallion; yellow eyes with black sclera; sky blue coat; white mane and tail)

Darkspark: Red Moon General Lower 5
(mare; blue eyes with red sclera; purple-blue coat; magenta mane and tail)

“Hey Darkspark. How is the robbing-ponies-of-their-cutie-marks going on for you?” Thunder Blast greeted Darkspark.

“Oh, it’s exhilarating. Seeing the ponies despair over losing something precious to them is exquisite. Taking away something irreplaceable to them is an effective way to create negative emotions if I do say so myself.”

“So it’s just us two here? What is going on?” Thunder Blast wondered.

“Beats me. I’m just as confused as you are.” Darkspark answered.

“Thunder Blast… Darkspark… Thank you for coming.” Dread Lord has arrived.

“Hey Dread Lord. Why is it just us here? Where are the others?” Thunder Blast asked Dread Lord.

“The reason I called you two here… is because I have grave news that I need to share with you. War Spirit, Red Rage, and Cloth Demoness have been defeated.”

This news deeply stunned Thunder Blast and Darkspark.

“It can’t be! I thought defeating a Red Moon General is impossible for anypony other than Aura Light!” Darkspark shouted.

“It appears that Aura’s faith in Fairy Tail isn’t misplaced after all.” Dread Lord commented.

“Are these wizards from another world really this strong?” Darkspark asked.

“I can’t say for sure about the whole guild, but the fact remains that it has members who are… extremely formidable.” Dread Lord answered. “Anyways. Though the loss of three Red Moon Generals is a major setback, our mission isn’t over yet. When Scarlet Night returns, I’m confident that not even Fairy Tail will be able to stop us. You two continue doing what you do best to create negative emotions. But for now, avoid Ponyville, Canterlot, and the Crystal Empire. Dismissed.”

After leaving Scarlet Night’s fortress, Darkspark came up with an idea. “This could be a huge opportunity for me. If I play my cards right, I can rise up in the ranks.”





Inside the Fairy Tail guild hall, the wizards and the Mane 7 are having a celebration party, courtesy of Pinkie Pie.

“To the defeat of three Red Moon Generals!” the Mane 7 and the wizards cheered.

“We got this war in the bag!” a wizard shouted.

“Yeah! The Red Moon Generals got nothing on us!” another wizard chimed in.

“Enjoying your celebration?” Aura Light suddenly appeared as a disembodied spiritual head.

“Woah! Is that Aura Light?!” a wizard was startled.

“Hey Aura! Wanna party with us!?” Pinkie cheerfully asked.

“While it brings me great joy that you have achieved a decisive victory today, I must warn you not to become complacent. There’s no telling what the remaining Red Moon Generals are going to do. And there’s a possibility that the Lower 2, 3, and 4 positions won’t remain vacant for the duration of the war. Besides, before this war can end, you will have to eventually fight and defeat the upper generals as well. Don’t forget, Scarlet Night will return and she is a force to be reckoned with.”

“Don’t worry Aura! If any more of the Red Moon Generals show their faces, we’ll beat them! And when Scarlet Night comes back, we’ll beat her too.” Natsu said confidently.

“Aye!” Happy agreed.

Aura sighed for a moment. “Your confidence is admirable. Fine. Have some fun. You’ve earned it.”

“Aura, wait! I still have questions about 4000 years ago!” Twilight called out.

“There will be a time for that. Right now, your main concern is the war that’s happening in the present.” Aura then disappeared.

Twilight grumbled that Aura avoided giving her answers. Her six friends gathered around her to comfort her.

“Come on Twilight. Take this moment to relax. You had a rough day.” Applejack said.

“By the way Twilight. How was the armor that Aura gave you?” Starlight asked.

“To put it simply. I felt incredible magic power flowing through me.” Twilight then remembered something. “Ooh! I almost forgot. There’s something I need to discuss with you.”

Twilight then showed her six friends the newspaper article about ponies losing their cutie marks.

“Ponies are losing their cutie marks?! Who could be responsible for this?!” Rarity was aghast.

“Oh dear. I hope they’re okay.” Fluttershy said.

“It must be the work of a dark unicorn. It has to be.” AJ added.

“Great. So now somepony is copying past Starlight.” Rainbow Dash groaned.

Starlight winced at being reminded of her past.

“Anyway. We need to get to the bottom of this and stop the culprit as soon as possible.” Twilight said sternly.

“Oh. I hope it’s not one of the Red Moon Generals.” Fluttershy whimpered.

“But for now, let’s enjoy this party while it lasts!” Pinkie shouted.

The Mane 7 and the wizards went on with their celebration. All of Ponyville joined in as well. They partied until night arrived.



The Order of Scarlet Night suffered a huge blow due to the destruction of their superweapon and the defeat of three Red Moon Generals. This was a major victory for Fairy Tail and the Council of Friendship, but the war is far from over.
> Extra: Asuka and the CMCs
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It all started on the day Aura Light summoned the Fairy Tail guild to Equestria.

Right after Ponyville was saved from a monster attack, all of Fairy Tail made contact with the ponies. When she first laid eyes on these ponies, Asuka Connell marveled at them because of how colorful they are.

During the welcome-to-Equestria party, Asuka went around, looking for ponies to talk to.

The first two ponies that caught Asuka’s attention were Celestia and Luna since they are the tallest ponies around. The two were sitting together, watching their former subjects converse with the humans.

Asuka went up to them and Celestia noticed her.

“Oh, hello there.” Celestia greeted the little girl.

“You are both very pretty. May I touch your manes?” Asuka asked Celestia and Luna.

“Uh. Of course, little one.” Luna stuttered while Celestia chuckled.

Later on, Asuka wandered around, trying to decide on which pony to talk to. Most of the foals were busy watching some of the Fairy Tail wizards displaying their magical abilities. That’s when she spotted three certain fillies, the CMCs, talking amongst themselves.

“You saw how that pink-haired human with the scarf swallowed all that fire and then roasted that giant monster with just one hit. That was so awesome!” Sootaloo squeed.

“What about the one who can make hundreds of swords appear out of thin air? And the one with the power of ice? And the one who can make twisters? I think those were amazing!” Sweetie Belle pointed out.

“I think the one who can turn his arms into iron and the walking panther with the big sword are very cool.” Apple Bloom said.

Asuka then approached them.

“Hello, my name is Asuka Connell.”

“Howdy. I’m Apple Bloom.”

“I’m Sweetie Belle.”

“And I’m Scootaloo.”

“Can we be friends?” Asuka asked the CMCs.

“Of course! We love to make new friends!” the CMCs became excited.

“And you’re going to love Ponyville! It’s a very nice place!” Sweetie Belle said.

And on that moment, Asuka and the CMCs became great friends.

“So Asuka, can you do any magic?” Scootaloo asked.

“Not yet. But I’m sure when I’m older, I’ll be able to use the same kind of magic that Mommy and Daddy use.”

“So what kind of magic do your parents use?” Sweetie Belle asked curiously.

“They use Guns Magic.” Asuka answered.

“Guns Magic?” the CMCs asked curiously.

“Mommy and Daddy use a weapon like this.” Asuka showed the three fillies her toy gun. “This is just a toy that only shoots rubber bullets. The ones that Mommy and Daddy use fire magical bullets.”

“Wooooooaaaaaaaaaah.”

As Asuka bonded with the CMCs, Bisca and Alzack watched with a warm smile.

Since that day, Asuka has been playing with the CMCs frequently. They also introduced Asuka to the other young ponies in Ponyville, helping her befriend them as well.



 

Right outside the Castle of Friendship, around two weeks after Asuka met the CMCs…

“You’re leaving on a mission?” Asuka asked her parents.

“Yes Asuka. Mommy and Daddy are going to White Tail Woods to eliminate some monsters. Please be good while we’re gone.” Bisca said to Asuka.

“I will. Bye-bye Mommy. Bye-bye Daddy.”

“Have fun with your friends.” Alzack said before the couple used their Aura bracelets to teleport to their destination.

Afterwards, Asuka went to Sweet Apple Acres to meet up with the CMCs. After entering the farm, she ran into Big Mac and Sugar Belle.

“Hello” Asuka greeted the pony couple. “Is Apple Bloom here?”

“Eeyup” Big Mac answered.

“She’s in the house with Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo.” Sugar Belle explained.

As Asuka walked to the Apple Family’s house, Winona ran to her.

“Hello doggy.” Asuka petted the dog and she licked Asuka’s face in return. Asuka then went to the house and knocked on the front door. Applejack answered.

“Oh, good morning youngin.” Applejack greeted Asuka. “If you’re looking for the Cutie Mark Crusaders, they’re right inside. And you’re just in time too. Granny Smith is about to make some apple pies. Would you like some?”

“Of course! I love her pies!”

Asuka meets Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo in the dining room. Granny Smith brought some freshly-baked apple pies from the kitchen and placed them on the table. After eating some slices of pies, Asuka and the three fillies went outside.

“Asuka, we are doing a Cutie Mark day camp today. Want to join us?” Apple Bloom invited Asuka.

“Is that when you help other little ponies obtain those cutie marks? I’m in! I always wanted to see how ponies get a cutie mark.”

Asuka then joined the CMCs in their activities to help blank flanks discover their special talent. At the CMC clubhouse, many blank flanks gathered. There were three unicorn fillies, two unicorn colts, three pegasi colts, two pegasi fillies, four earth pony colts, and three earth pony fillies.

“Thank you for coming today.” Scootaloo greeted the blank flanks. “We are here to help you find your special talent. Are you all ready to get started?”

“Yeeeeaaaaaah!” All the blank flanks said with excitement.

Scootaloo then turned to her fellow crusaders and Asuka. “So what should be our first activity of the day?”

“I know! Maybe some of the ponies here have a special talent for marksmanship!” Asuka was the first to give her idea.

Near the Fairy Tail guild hall, Asuka displayed her marksmanship skills to the foals with her toy gun. She amazed them by hitting twenty bullseyes in a roll. The blank flanks then participated in this marksmanship activity, but they used bows and rubber arrows. None of the foals were able to come even close to scoring as high as Asuka. This activity went on for twenty minutes, and none of the blank flanks got a cutie mark.

“Nopony got a cutie mark. I guess this activity is a bust.” Sweetie Belle noticed.

“So, what should we do next?” Apple Bloom asked.

Asuka then pointed at the Fairy Tail guild hall. “Let’s ask around there.”

Asuka, the CMCs, and the blank flanks went to the Fairy Tail guild hall to see if any wizards would assist them.

“Here’s a thought. Maybe drinking whole barrels of alcohol can be your special talent.” Cana said before she drank a barrel.

“Cana! They’re children! You shouldn’t be giving them the idea of underage drinking!” Macao Conbolt reprimanded Cana for her suggestion.

“I was only kidding.” Cana said while drunk.

“Listen kids. Whatever you do, stay out of trouble and never do anything illegal.” Macao told the little ponies.

Asuka and the CMCs then asked Natsu, Lucy, and Happy.

“I know! Maybe some of you can get cutie marks for fighting monsters.” Natsu suggested.

“Natsu! You can’t suggest something so dangerous to the fillies and colts!” Lucy shouted.

“But it could be. You never known until you try.” Natsu pouted.

Lucy sighed for a brief moment. “Listen, children. I know you may be eager to find out about your special talent. But remember this. Nothing is worth risking your life over. So please avoid doing anything dangerous.” Lucy then had an idea. “Oh, I know! You could try writing!”

“What about fishing? It’s a safe and fun activity.” Happy gave his own suggestion.

“Fishing does sound more fun!” an earth pony colt said.

“Yeah!” the other foals agreed.

Lucy became depressed that her idea was rejected.

Asuka, the CMCs, and the blank flanks then went fishing at the river that flows through Ponyville. After thirty minutes, none of the blank flanks got a cutie mark.

“No luck again.” Scootaloo stated.

They went back to the guild hall and found Gray there.

“How about ice sculpting then? I can make all the ice blocks you need.” Gray said.

The blank flanks happily agreed to try this activity. With the ice blocks Gray created, each of the blank flanks went on to sculpt their respective ice blocks into any shape they wish. Once again, there was no new cutie marks.

The CMCs then spotted Erza. “Hey! Let’s ask her!” Sweetie Belle said.

“Okay.” Asuka then walked up to Erza. “Could you please show them how to use a sword? It could be the special talent for one of these ponies.” Asuka requested Erza to help.

“Teaching swordsmanship to fillies and colts? Sure, I got some time.” Erza agreed to help. She gave each of the little ponies small wooden swords to use. The unicorns use their magic while the pegasi and earth ponies use their mouths to carry their wooden swords. Erza started off with the basics such as stances and sword swinging. Even though the ponies are quadruped and don’t have hands, Erza managed to work around that. Erza’s lesson lasted for 40 minutes, but still no new cutie marks.

“That would be all for today. If you wish to continue the lessons, just let me know.” Erza said before leaving.

“We’re still not having any luck.” Scootaloo said with disappointment.

“The day is still young. There’s plenty more we can do before the Cutie Mark day camp is over.” Apple Bloom tried to cheer up Scootaloo.

Asuka then saw Reedus painting a portrait of a mountain. “Hey! We can try painting next!”

Upon Asuka’s request, Reedus gave the blank flanks painting lessons. The fillies and colts painted whatever comes to mind, but yet again, none of them got a cutie mark.

“Once again, nothing.” Sweetie Belle sighed.

“Hi there! I heard about this cutie mark activity you’re doing. Maybe I can help.” A Fairy Tail wizard approached them. It is Vijeeter Ecor.

“What magic do you use?” one of the unicorn fillies asked.

“I use Dance magic.”

“Dance magic? That doesn’t sound as awesome like fire, ice, wind, iron, and sword magic.” one of the pegasus colts commented.

“Now, now little ponies. Have you heard of the saying ‘do not judge a book by its cover’?”

Vijeeter started dancing. To the blank flanks’ surprise, they started dancing as well.

“W-woah, what’s going on?! My body is moving on its own!” one of the unicorn colts said as the little ponies were taken aback.

“Don’t worry. He’s just making you dance.” Asuka assured them.

As the little ponies were dancing, a miracle happened. One of the earth pony colts got his cutie mark.

“I don’t believe it! I got my Cutie Mark!” the colt started jumping around with joy.

“Well look here, I helped out after all!” Vijeeter had a wide grin on his face, seeing that his actions had left a positive impact.

The CMCs then went on to congratulate the colt for finding his special talent.

After the Cutie Mark day camp ended, Bisca and Alzack returned from their mission.

At the Castle of Friendship…

“Mommy! Daddy! Welcome back!” Asuka greeted her parents and they gave her a hug.

“Hello sweetie! How was your day?” Bisca asked Asuka.

“I was helping Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo with their Cutie Mark day camp.”

“Sounds like fun. How was it?” Alzack asked.

“Only one pony got a cutie mark. But the camp was lots of fun. We did so many things together.”

“I can’t wait to hear all about it.” Bisca said with a smile.
> Extra: Rainbow Dash vs. Jet
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

At the Fairy Tail guild hall, Rainbow Dash was having a conversation with the wizard named Jet.

“Hey Jet, I heard that your magic involves speed, right?”

“Yep, my magic is called High Speed. As you can guess from what it’s called, this magic enables me to move at extremely high speeds.”

“Really? How fast can you move?”

“I can show you.”

Jet then ran one lap around Ponyville while using High Speed.

“So what do you think?” Jet asked.

“Hmm. Not bad. Now let me show you what I can do.”

Rainbow Dash flew one lap around Ponyville with incredible speed.

“Woah. Looks like you’re fast too.” Jet was impressed.

“Well, not to brag, but I am the fastest flyer in Equestria.” Dash said with pride.

“That does sound impressive.”

“Say Jet. Want to have a race? Just you and me.”

“A race?”

“Yes. To see which of us is faster.”

Jet thought about for a moment. “ Sure, why not. It’ll be nice to do something other than fighting dark unicorns and monsters.” Jet accepted the challenge. “What’s the race course?”

“A race around Equestria, one lap, first one to reach the finish line wins.” Dash explained.

“Works for me. So when’s the race?”

“Tomorrow. 9 am.”

“You’re on.” Jet said eagerly.

Pinkie Pie overheard this conversation. “Oh my gosh! Everycreature needs to see this!”





On the next day…

News of the race spread quickly throughout Equestria, and ponies from far and wide as well as some other creatures had come to Ponyville. The Young Six and even Gilda had arrived. Twilight and Spike were also present to watch the race with their friends. The Fairy Tail guild will be spectating as well.

Warren set up a huge screen and Fairy Tail provided some Lacrima cameras so the spectators can view the race from Ponyville.

Pinkie Pie sat at a booth with a microphone. "Attention everycreature, the race will begin very soon!" Pinkie announced. "Please, find your seats! May we have the racers to the starting line!"

Jet and Dash approached the starting line.

“Everycreature. Please welcome our two race competitors.” Pinkie then pointed her hoof towards Dash. “First, we have the best flyer of Equestria, a member of the Council of Friendship, and the greatest loyal friend there is, Rainbow Da~sh!”. The ponies in the crowd cheered wildly.

“Go Rainbow Dash!” Scootaloo shouted.

Next, Pinkie pointed her hoof towards Jet. “Next up, we have one of the wizards from the Fairy Tail guild, who has the ability to run super fast. Please welcome Jet!” Now, the Fairy Tail wizards were cheering loudly.

“You got this Jet!” Droy yelled out.

“Racers. Please line up at the starting line.” Pinkie told Jet and Dash.

Jet and Dash took their spots at the starting line.

“Looks like we’ve got quite the crowd. Hope you don’t feel too embarrassed if you lose.” Jet said to Dash.

Dash chuckled. “I ain’t worried about that.” She said with confidence.

Makarov moved to the side of the starting line while on his wheelchair. “Listen up you two! We want a nice and fair race! No shoving or any kind of foul play! And Rainbow Dash, you’ll have to fly close to ground level and no using weather manipulation to your advantage!”

Jet and Rainbow Dash nodded.

“Both of you, on your mark!" Jet and Dash got into their best position as they waited for Makarov to signal the start of the race.

“Ready… Set… GO!”

Both Jet and Dash took off in a blink of an eye, leaving behind a huge dust cloud. Rainbow flew close to ground level next to Jet who was running.

“And they’re off! Which of these two will come out on top?” Pinkie said through her microphone.

Soon after the race started, the two had left Ponyville with the flying lacrima cameras following them. The two passed through the Everfree Forest and then raced through Ghastly Gorge, where they dodged some attacking quarray eels.

“Woah! What kind of creatures are those?! I should go to that place someday!” Natsu exclaimed after seeing the quarray eels.

Next, Jet and Dash passed by the rock farm. Marble saw the two racers went by.

“Hey! Quit dawdling! There’s work to do!” Limestone said to her sister.

While sitting at their seats, Wendy and Carla ate some cotton candy while watching the race. So far, Jet and Dash are neck and neck.

“She’s actually keeping up with Jet” Lucy commented.

“I have to admit. Rainbow Dash’s speed really is something.” Levy said.

At Appleloosa and Dodge Junction, the ponies went outside of their homes to catch a glimpse of the race. As Jet and Dash passed through these towns, the ponies cheered or watched in awe.

After going through Hayseed Swamp, the race course took them through Baltimare and then to Fillydelphia. In these cities, crowds of ponies gathered at the side of the streets. As Jet and Dash come and go, they heard the cheers of the ponies and occasionally waved at the crowds.

Pinkie made another announcement. “The two just passed through Fillydelphia! They are now halfway through the race! It seems these two are evenly matched and neither of them is letting up!”

The race continued through Hollow Shades and passed by Neighagra Falls. Jet and Dash then raced through the wide open grasslands as they head to the direction of Canterlot.

“I got to say! You’re faster than I thought!” Jet complimented Dash.

“You’re not so bad yourself!” Dash replied.

“Just you wait! I haven’t gotten serious yet!”

They passed the mountain where Canterlot is located and soon they could see the Castle of Friendship in the far distance.

“This is it folks! They are now approaching Ponyville!” Pinkie continued with the play-by-play. All the spectators continued watching with anticipation.

“This is the home stretch! Time for me to kick it up a notch!” With the finish line in sight, Jet pushed his magic to the limit, further increasing his speed and getting ahead of Rainbow Dash.

“Jet has taken the lead!” Pinkie said with wide eyes.

“Ha ha! Eat my dust Rainbow Dash!” Jet said with a smirk.

“Look! Jet’s about to win the race!” Happy was at the edge of his seat.

“Hold on. Rainbow Dash hasn’t used her ace in the hole yet.” Starlight stated.

Just when Jet thought the race was his, he heard a loud boom sound. Jet then looked behind him and saw an expanding rainbow-colored ring. Rainbow Dash did a Sonic Rainboom.

“There it is folks! The famous Sonic Rainboom!” Pinkie said with excitement.

“Sonic Rainboom?! You’re saying a rainbow-colored sonic boom is a thing in this world?!” one of the Fairy Tail wizards exclaimed.

“WHAT THE…?!” Jet’s eyes widened as Rainbow flew past him with a rainbow trail following her.

Rainbow Dash was the first to cross the finish line.

“And the winner is Rainbow Dash!” Pinkie announced.

The Fairy Tail wizards had surprised looks on their faces while the ponies and other creatures roared with cheers.

“YEEEEEEEAAAAAAAHHHH!!!!!!!!!!” Scootaloo yelled at the top of her lungs. It was so loud that anyone near her covered their ears.

“I can’t believe Jet lost.” Droy said surprised.

Jet soon arrived at the finish line, still surprised by the Sonic Rainboom. Dash then flew to him.

“Hey, it was a great race.” Dash extended her hoof to him.

Jet graciously accepted defeat. “Yeah, it was fun. That rainbow-colored sonic boom was really something. It took me by surprise.” Jet then shook Dash’s hoof.

“It’s called the Sonic Rainboom!” Dash said proudly.

“How did you learn to do that?” Jet asked.

“I’ll be happy to tell you all about that.” Dash replied.
> Chapter 3 (1/3): Darkspark's Scheme
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Long after Equestria was plunged into war, Fairy Tail and the Council of Friendship achieved their first decisive victory against the evil Order of Scarlet Night. The spirits of Equestria’s citizens couldn’t be any higher and the Fairy Tail mages are lauded as heroes for their efforts. With Fairy Tail around, Equestria has nothing to fear. Or so everypony believed.

The Order of Scarlet Night continued waging their war despite Fairy Tail’s constant interferences, and it wasn’t long before stronger monsters began appearing. Due to the monsters’ increasing threat level, the major Fairy Tail members such as Natsu, Lucy, Gray, Erza, Wendy, Juvia, Gajeel, and Laxus had been going out in the field more and more often.

Many also thought that after the defeat of three Red Moon Generals, the dark unicorns would be more afraid. While the defeat of three of their generals initially came as a huge shock to the dark unicorns, they soon saw it as new opportunities, and the majority of them began working to gain Dread Lord’s approval. After all, he currently holds the highest authority in the Order of Scarlet Night, only until Scarlet Night returns.

At Trottingham, Natsu subdued several dark unicorns that were terrorizing the city.

“When do I get to fight a Red Moon General?” Natsu groaned. “Now I wish I didn’t let Laxus beat me to the Lower 3.”

“Hold it right there!” Another dark unicorn confronted Natsu and he was holding a pegasus colt hostage.

“Make any sudden moves, and this colt gets it!” the dark unicorn threatened.

Happy got the jump on the dark unicorn while the latter’s attention was on Natsu. From above, Happy struck the dark unicorn on the head with a golf club, knocking him out and saving the colt.

In the Forbidden Jungle, Bisca and Alzack were preparing to raid an enemy camp. At the camp, goblins were moving around explosive materials while under the supervision of some dark unicorns.

Bisca was sitting at a high vantage point, observing the camp through the scope on her sniper rifle, while Alzack was hiding behind some bushes close to the camp. First, Bisca sniped at the dark unicorns. Once they’re eliminated, she fired shots at the explosives, detonating them. As the camp erupted into chaos from the explosions, Alzack rushed in guns blazing while Bisca provided some support.

At Manehattan Park, Gray and Juvia dealt with a pack of wolf monsters. Meanwhile, in front of the Manehattan theatre, Erza sliced apart a group of stone trolls.

“Thank you so much miss.” Coco Pommel expressed her gratitude to Erza.

“Not a problem, citizen.” Erza replied.





Aside from the ongoing war with the Order of Scarlet Night, there is a series of incidents in which ponies’ cutie marks were mysteriously replaced by X marks.

The Council of Friendship visited all the towns and villages where these incidents happened. They questioned all the victims, but were not able to obtain any promising leads. The victims even had no idea how they lost their cutie marks in the first place.

They eventually visited Starlight’s old village. The ponies living there became the most recent victims of the X mark cases.

“So you have no idea who or what took your cutie mark?” Twilight asked Party Favor.

“No clue. I woke up one morning and found this mark on my flank.” Party Favor answered.

“This is exactly what the other ponies said.” Twilight said sadly.

“How long are we going to live like this? This feels even more depressing than when Starlight ran this village. Not that I suspect her or anything. She is a completely different pony now after all.” Party Favor said nervously.

Twilight then thanked Party Favor for his time before meeting up with her friends.

“Got any useful information?” Twilight asked her friends.

“Afraid not. They all say the same thing. They woke up one morning with these X marks.” Applejack answered.

“Once again, we got nothing. Without a single lead, we are nowhere closer to solving this case.” Twilight was beginning to feel disheartened.

“Should we ask Fairy Tail to help with this investigation?” Fluttershy asked.

“Fairy Tail already has done so much for us. We also need to put in the effort to help our citizens. But I did ask them to let us know if they find anything.” Twilight replied.





While many dark unicorns were competing for a position in the Red Moon Generals, a certain dark unicorn, Darkspark, aimed to go above the rank of Lower 5 and her target is Ponyville. For some time, Darkspark has been coming up with a scheme to gain more recognition and humiliate Fairy Tail. However, for her scheme to work, she would need a lot of careful preparations. She has been studying Fairy Tail extensively. And she did it with the assistance of her spybugs, which are actually ordinary insects put under her spell and she can see through their eyes. She used them to observe Fairy Tail, both out in the field and in Ponyville. Since the spybugs are not monsters created by the Order of Scarlet Night, they can bypass the barrier surrounding Ponyville. She also occasionally hypnotized some reporters and journalists and used them to gather information from the Fairy Tail mages themselves, such as which of them are the most accomplished in the guild. Makarov and the other guild members had no idea that the ponies that were interviewing them were being used as spies. One story that interested Darkspark was how the guild had hit rock bottom for seven years during the absence of some certain members, and they rose back to fame only after those members returned. This gave Darkspark an idea of who to put on her list of foes to be most cautious about. She hated the idea that she needed to avoid a head-on confrontation with certain enemies, but she’s going to be smart about it lest she meets the same fate as the three lower generals who were defeated and many other dark unicorns. As for the Council of Friendship, Darkspark had a plan for them as well.





A few days after visiting Starlight’s old village, the Council of Friendship was having an important meeting inside the Castle of Friendship throne room.

“You got a lead?!” Twilight’s friends exclaimed.

“I received an anonymous tip. It said that the one responsible for the X marks is in Klugetown.” Twilight explained.

“You think we can trust… this anonymous tip?” Rainbow was being skeptical about it.

“We have no other leads. This is the only thing we can work with so far.” Twilight responded.

“This just seems too good to be true.” Rainbow said.

“But still, we need to look into this. Doing nothing won’t do us any good anyway.” Applejack commented.

After pondering for a moment, Fluttershy spoke up. “What if the culprit is a Red Moon General? Rainbow Dash, Pinkie, and Rarity, you encountered one of them at the Doom Cruiser.”

“Yeah, and he was super tough to fight.” Pinkie said.

“To be honest, we would have been in serious trouble if Laxus had not stepped in.” Rarity added.

“Don’t worry. No matter what foe we may encounter, we’ll face them together.” Twilight assured her friends.

“Yeah, and if all else fails, we have our Rainbow Laser.” Rainbow chimed in.

“Then it’s decided. We’re going to Klugetown.” Twilight said before concluding the meeting.

Twilight then teleported back to Canterlot to prepare for the trip to Klugetown.

“Ugh. I never thought I would be setting hoof in that place again.” Rarity said with displeasure.

Unbeknownst to them, Natsu and Happy were standing outside the throne room, listening in on their conversation.

“Happy, I know where we’re going next.” Natsu said to his partner.





In the Canterlot royal castle…

“Spike. I’ll be going to Klugetown and hopefully, we’ll be able to resolve this X mark case. In the meantime, I’m leaving you in charge of Canterlot.” Twilight told Spike.

“You got it, Twilight! You can count on me!” Spike saluted.

“And if there’s any trouble in Canterlot, Gildarts is here to help.”

“Yeah.” Spike chuckled. “Having an ally as powerful as him is truly reassuring.”

“Yes, I know.” Twilight smiled before leaving.

The Council of Friendship later arrived at Klugetown, hoping to catch their culprit. The first thing they did after arriving was meeting up with an acquaintance, Capper.

“Princess Twilight Sparkle! And friends! It’s great to see you all again! It has been a while!” Capper greeted the Council of Friendship.

“Good to see you too, Capper.” Twilight greeted back.

“So what brings you six to Klugetown?” Capper inquired. “I have a feeling that you didn’t come all this way for a casual visit.”

“There is a bizarre case that has been plaguing Equestria for some time. Ponies have been losing their cutie marks, which were being replaced by X marks.” Twilight answered.

“That does sound strange.” Capper commented.

“We came to Klugetown because we received an anonymous tip that the culprit is in this town. So Capper, are there any… strange unicorns here?” Rarity asked.

“Now that you mentioned it. There is a peculiar-looking unicorn living in Klugetown. And trust me, he doesn’t seem to be the pleasant type.” Capper explained.

“That must be the one we’ve been searching for!” Rainbow got excited.

Capper told the six where this unicorn lived and gave them directions. Twilight and her friends later arrived at an old and decrepit house.

“So this is where the unicorn lives?” Applejack asked.

“This does look like the kind of place a dark unicorn would hole up in.” Rainbow commented.

The Mane 6 then approached the house. Using her magic, Twilight opened the front door quietly. The six silently entered the house and searched the living room, kitchen, bedroom, and bathroom while remaining on the alert for any dark unicorn.

“Find anything?” Fluttershy asked.

“Nothing yet.” Applejack answered.

“Hey, look here.” Pinkie found a hatch on the floor in the living room.

Twilight opened the hatch and discovered stairs that lead to the basement.

“A basement. The perfect place to store stolen cutie marks.” Twilight quietly said.

They then went down the stairs until they reached a door. Twilight slowly opened the door and took a peek into the basement room. She saw no living thing in there, and they all entered the room to investigate. They did not find anything as the basement appeared to be completely empty.

“This place is empty. There’s nothing here.” Rainbow said distressed.

The moment she said that, the Mane 6 were caught in a stasis field, which is generated by a crystal on the basement’s ceiling. They found themselves completely frozen still, and they couldn’t even move their mouths to speak. They then heard cackling and hoofsteps coming down the stairs. A dark unicorn entered the basement and locked the door.

“I got you! You six have taken the bait, just like she said you would!” The dark unicorn said excitedly.

“Oh no! This is a trap!” Twilight thought. “I… I can’t use my magic! And I can’t summon my armor!”

“You won’t be able to escape. This stasis field completely inhibits all of your powers. I also added a little curse to this trap. This stasis field is also draining you of all your magic.”

The Mane Six’s minds were being filled with fear after hearing the dark unicorn’s words.

“Once you’re drained of all of your magic, I will maim each of you to the point that you won’t be able to move again. And when I deliver you six to Dread Lord, I’ll win his approval and join the ranks of the Red Moon Generals!”

Suddenly, Natsu burst through the door and struck the dark unicorn in the face with a fiery fist. The dark unicorn was incapacitated after he was sent crashing into the wall.

“This isn’t a Red Moon General either. What a letdown.” Natsu said with disappointment.

He then noticed the Mane Six’s current predicament and freed them by destroying the crystal on the basement ceiling. Lucy arrived at the basement shortly afterwards.

“Are you all alright?” Lucy asked.

“Yes, we’re fine.” Twilight said. “What are you two doing here?”

“Natsu overheard your conversation back at the Castle of Friendship. He decided to follow you here in case you would run into a Red Moon General. I went along with him to make sure he doesn’t do anything crazy.” Lucy explained.

“Anyway, was that dark unicorn the culprit behind the X marks?” Pinkie asked.

They then noticed that the dark unicorn Natsu knocked out had disintegrated.

“If only they can be taken alive.” Twilight grumbled.

“Then how will we find the stolen cutie marks?” Rarity asked.

“Right now, I’ll contact Gildarts and see how things are going at Canterlot.” Twilight then tried contacting Gildarts using her Aura bracelet but noticed that she could not get in touch with him. “This is strange. I can’t call him.”

The Mane 6, Natsu, and Lucy tried contacting the other Fairy Tail guild members, only to find out they couldn’t.

“Something’s wrong. Why couldn’t we contact anyone?” Lucy said.

Happy suddenly rushed into the basement. “Everyone! Come outside, quick!” He shouted.

They quickly exited the house and discovered that Klugetown is completely surrounded by a dome-shaped barrier.

A hologram of Darkspark appeared in the sky.

“Greetings, Council of Friendship!” the hologram said. “If you are viewing this message, then this means that the dark unicorn failed and you escaped the trap in the basement. But don’t go patting yourself on the back just yet. Because the barrier surrounding Klugetown is the real trap!”

“Does she think she can just trap us here?” Rainbow scoffed.

“And this trap isn’t something you can simply escape from; even teleportation won’t do you any good. Because this barrier is made with magic runes. Anyone inside is bound by its rules and the only way to escape is to follow them. And the rules I set are absolute.” The hologram continued with the explanation.

“This is like Freed’s magic!” Lucy noticed.

“Allow me to explain how this barrier works. First, it prevents any creature inside from leaving and any creature outside from entering, except for those I allow. Second, this barrier prevents any kind of communication with the outside, meaning you won’t be able to call for help, and those on the outside won’t be able to contact anyone on the inside either. Third, there is only one way to escape. The barrier will be deactivated once every monster that I’m about to unleash on Klugetown is defeated, and the number of monsters that need to be defeated is… 3000!”

“3000 monsters?! Are you kidding me?!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed.

“Good luck Council of Friendship! Hope you can protect the inhabitants of Klugetown and survive!” The hologram cackled before vanishing.

Numerous portals then appeared above Klugetown. Falling out of these portals are amorphous slime monsters covered with eyes, teeth, and spikes. Right after landing, the monsters began demolishing buildings and attacking the town’s inhabitants. The monsters also fire energy beams from the eyes. Klugetown quickly plunged into chaos and the inhabitants either sought shelter or armed themselves with whatever weapon they could find and fight back.

“So we have to defeat all these monsters. Better get started then.” Natsu fired up his fists.

“Hold on Natsu! Can we defeat 3000 monsters?!” Twilight shouted.

“No point thinking about it! Just fight!” Natsu gave his simple answer as he rushed to attack any monster in sight.

“Natsu’s right! Right now, we’re the only ones who can protect this town!” Lucy said as she took out her Celestial Spirit Gate Keys.

Twilight summoned her armor and her friends summoned their robes.





Back in Ponyville…

While out delivering mail, Derpy stopped by at the Fairy Tail guild hall.

“Hello! I have a package for a Makarov Dreyar!” Derpy said.

“I’m right here!” Makarov called out.

Derpy then gave Makarov the package and left the guild hall. Makarov then opened the package and took out a shiny light blue crystal.

“I wonder who sent this to me.” Makarov then placed the crystal on the counter.

The guild hall then received an alert.

“Everyone! We have an emergency situation!” Warren cried out.

“What is it?!” Makarov questioned.

“The Crystal Empire, Manehattan, Fillydelphia, and Baltimare are under attack! There are thousands of goblins, groups of giant metal titans, and hundreds of dark unicorns!”

“Jeez! The Order of Scarlet Night is going all out this time!” one of the wizards said.

“We have another problem! I can’t get a hold of Natsu, Happy, and Lucy!” Warren exclaimed.

“What do you mean you can’t get a hold of them?!” Makarov bellowed.

“I’m trying to get in contact with them, but they’re not responding! I can’t even reach them with telepathy!” Warren answered.

“Seriously?! Where could they be at a time like this?!” Gray said.

“There is no time to waste! We have a crisis on our hands! Gray, Erza, Wendy, Gajeel, Panther Lily, Juvia, Laxus, Freed, Bickslow, and Evergreen! Go out there and stop the monsters and the dark unicorns!” Makarov commanded.

The ten Fairy Tail members immediately departed. Many other guild members including Carla, Bisca, Alzack, Cana, and Mest joined to assist them.



Derpy also went to the School of Friendship to deliver a package there as well. The mailmare went to Starlight’s office and knocked on the door. Starlight answered and opened the door.

“Oh, hello there Derpy.” Starlight greeted.

“I have a package for you Starlight.” Derpy handed Starlight the package.

“A package for me?” Starlight took the package and Derpy left.

Starlight opened the package and took out a bright yellow stone.

“Ooh, this is a nice-looking stone. It will make a nice decoration for my office. But who gave it to me?”

She took the stone to her desk. “Now where should I put you?”

The stone suddenly glowed bright for a short time and once the light faded, Starlight was put to sleep.

Back at the guild hall, the crystal that Makarov received started shining. The moment Makarov noticed, the crystal released a stasis field that affects the entire guild hall. Makarov, Warren, and a few wizards that were inside the guild hall were caught in the stasis field. They are still conscious and aware, but they cannot move nor use their magic.

Meanwhile, Canterlot is under attack by an enemy no one expected. It was a massive swarm of fly-ders, all bred and weaponized by the Order of Scarlet Night. There were billions, if not trillions, of them and they swarmed every corner of Canterlot, including the royal castle. Terrified citizens flew into a panic as the fly-ders shot webs everywhere.

Spike used his fire breath but had to be careful not to set anything on fire. Gildarts also tried his best to help but had to hold back to avoid causing any collateral damage. However, no matter how many fly-ders they eliminated, there seemed to be no end to the swarm.



With Starlight put into a deep sleep, the Council of Friendship fallen into a trap, and all of Fairy Tail’s best wizards preoccupied elsewhere, it was time for Darkspark to strike Ponyville.

“My plan is working perfectly. Soon, I will no longer be at the bottom rung of the Red Moon Generals.”
> Chapter 3 (2/3): Darkspark's Attack
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

With all those she considered a legitimate threat away from Ponyville, Darkspark finally initiated her scheme.

In Ponyville, Darkspark has taken down a majority of the wizards that were not caught in the stasis field inside the guild hall, including Jet, Nab, and Vijeeter.

Max attempted to hinder the Red Moon General by surrounding her with a sandstorm, but she used her magic to blow it away.

“How did you get past the barrier?!” Max shouted.

“As if any barrier can stop me.” Darkspark answered with a smug look on her face.

“SAND SLASH!” Max launched a crescent-shaped blast of sand with great force.

“WOOD-MAKE: VIOLENT APPROACH!” Laki created a massive wooden spiked ball and fired it at Darkspark.

“SOLID SCRIPT: THUNDER!” Levy pointed her finger and shot the word Thunder, which turned into a bolt of lightning.

Reedus used his Pict magic to create a cannon, which then fired a cannonball.

“SECRET SEEDS: KNUCKLE PLANT!” Droy threw seeds on to the ground, which then grew into large vines with fists. The vines immediately lashed out at Darkspark.

“PURPLE RAIN!” From his hand, Macao fired dark purple fire projectiles.

“SMOKE CRUSH!” Wakaba created multiple fist-shaped smoke to attack Darkspark.

Darkspark blocked all incoming attacks with a magical barrier.

“She stopped all of our attacks!” Wakaba exclaimed.

Darkspark’s horn then lit up and released a blinding light. While the wizards were busy shielding their eyes, she fired a dark blue magical orb at them and they got blasted by a dark-colored explosion. Max, Reedus, Laki, Levy, Macao, and Wakaba were all rendered unconscious. Droy was still conscious, but was too injured to stand.

Another wizard, Kinana attempted a sneak attack.

“POISON AROMA!” Kinana tried to stop Darkspark with poisonous gas. Unfortunately, the gas had no effect on the dark unicorn.

“Nice try. But we Red Moon Generals all have immunity to poison.”

Darkspark fired a magic beam at Kinana and knocked her out. She then noticed Droy trying to call for help using his Aura bracelet.

“Somebody! Help us! A Red Moon General is here in Ponyville!”

Darkspark lifted Droy off the ground using levitation.

“Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but the barrier that you wizards placed around Ponyville to protect it is now working for me and I made it prevent any communication with the outside.”

She then slammed Droy into the ground four times before throwing him into a nearby house.

The barrier surrounding Ponyville is also made of magic runes and Darkspark altered the runes to suit her needs.

“Now that those wizards are dealt with, time for me to deprive all the ponies of this town of their cutie marks!” Darkspark got all giddy since she’s certain that nothing can go wrong for her.

Right now, the only wizard left in Ponyville is Romeo, who is at the School of Friendship. But just like the wizards Darkspark just incapacitated, Romeo is not part of her list of foes that she needed to be wary of.



Meanwhile in the School of Friendship’s headmare office, Starlight is imprisoned in a dream. In her dream, she was in her old village, ruling it with an iron hoof like she did before she met the six element bearers.

Apparently having no memory of her life after meeting Twilight, Starlight was happy to see the villagers living their lives with “smiles” and “equality”.





With seemingly no one left to stop her, the Ponyville residents were completely helpless against Darkspark.

“You get an X mark! You get an X mark! You get an X mark! And you get an X mark!” Darkspark whistled as she fired dark magical waves at every pony in her path.

Darkspark doesn’t actually pull a cutie mark off a pony’s flank and store it somewhere like Starlight did. What she did was transform the cutie marks into X marks. Nonetheless, the victims still lose their cutie mark talents.

The best the ponies could do was try to flee, but they could not escape the dark waves fired by Darkspark.

“Waaaaaaaaaaaah! My cutie mark!” Diamond Tiara started crying.

“Hey! I got something to say to you!” Filthy Rich shouted at Darkspark.

Darkspark quickly gave Filthy Rich a menacing glare, and it made him froze with fear.

“You got something to say. Go on. Say it!” Darkspark dared Filthy Rich. He was so scared that he couldn’t utter a single word. Darkspark then lifted him up with levitation.

“Wait! No! Please don’t hurt me!” Filthy Rich cried out.

Ignoring his pleas for mercy, Darkspark threw him through a window of a nearby shop.

“Daddy!” Diamond Tiara screamed as she rushed to her father.

Darkspark continued spreading misery in Ponyville unopposed. Even blank flank foals were given X marks. Some ponies tried to hide, but Darkspark’s dark waves can phase through walls and solid objects.

Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo grabbed and held on to Darkspark’s right rear hoof.

“Our cutie marks mean so much to us! Give them back!” Scootaloo demanded.

In response, Darkspark kicked the CMCs away from her.

“Let me tell you an important life lesson little fillies. The weak have no say in how they live. So you better get used to the new marks on your flanks because it is your fate to live the rest of your life with them.” Darkspark said coldly.

Asuka was so terrified that she did not move an inch. Thus, Darkspark did not pay her a glance.

“Hold it right there, missy!” Granny Smith yelled as she confronted Darkspark. “You should be ashamed of yourself! I oughta…”

Darkspark immediately silenced Granny Smith by using telekinesis to shut her mouth. “I will not be talked down to by a lowly old hag!” In a fit of anger, she hit Granny Smith with a magic beam, knocking her down to the ground.

“GRANNY SMITH!” Apple Bloom screeched as she, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo quickly went to Granny Smith’s side.

Without any concern, Darkspark continued on.





In her dream, Starlight continued enforcing her rule on her village. For a time, she was enjoying herself. However, that did not last long as she eventually felt something was amiss.

“What is this strange feeling that keeps nagging at me?” Starlight thought to herself. “Something inside me is telling me that all this… is not right. But why?”

“Wake up Starlight!” Trixie’s voice can be heard.

“Huh?! What was that?!”

“Please wake up!” This time it was Sunburst.

“Wake up! Waaaaaaaake uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuup!” Starlight heard Trixie’s voice again.

“Those voices. Why are they so familiar?”

And that’s when everything was started to come back to Starlight. She remembered her redemption, her reunion with Sunburst, meeting Trixie, and becoming the guidance counselor and later headmare of the School of Friendship. All her memories returned.

Starlight then looked at herself in the mirror and saw what she once was.

“This… this isn’t me! I’m not that pony anymore!”

“Wake up Starlight! We need your help!” Sunburst said.

“But… how did I get here!?” Starlight then came to a realization. “It must be that stone! I have to get out of here! But how?!”

An idea then came to Starlight’s mind. She quickly galloped to the cutie mark vault.

“I hope this works.”

Starlight then fired a powerful magical blast and destroyed the cutie mark vault. Afterwards, the world Starlight was imprisoned in slowly faded away into white.

She woke up back in the real world, back in her office in the School of Friendship, where Trixie and Sunburst were waiting for her.

“Starlight! Thank goodness! I was afraid you wouldn’t wake up!” Trixie hugged Starlight tightly.

“Starlight! You have to help us! Ponyville is under attack right now!” Sunburst shouted.

“Under attack?! By what?!” Starlight then noticed the X marks on Trixie and Sunburst’s flanks. “Your cutie marks?! What happened to your cutie marks?!”

“A dark unicorn is here! She is turning cutie marks into X marks!” Trixie exclaimed.

“That must be the one Twilight and the others were looking for! But what about all the Fairy Tail wizards here?!”

“They’ve all been beaten! You’re the only one who can save us now!” Trixie wailed.

“Seriously?!” Starlight was shocked by the news. She then tried to contact the Fairy Tail wizards on the outside with her Aura bracelet. “I cannot call for help!”

“It gets worse! The dark unicorn has trapped all of us here inside Ponyville! We can’t even use teleportation to get out!” Sunburst informed Starlight.

“I guess it’s up to me then.” Starlight said nervously. She then summoned her robe. “I’ll be going now! You two go help the students!”

Starlight took a quick glance at the stone that put her to sleep and obliterated it with her magic. She quickly left her office to confront the dark unicorn.

“I wish I have my own magic robe.” Trixie pouted.





At the courtyard in the School of Friendship, many more ponies, including Sandbar, fell victim to Darkspark’s rampage.

In an attempt to stop Darkspark, Romeo unleashed purple flames from his hands. The dark unicorn easily blocked his attack with a magical barrier.

“Everyone, run!” Romeo shouted as he tried to hold the Red Moon General back.

Smolder assisted him using her fire breath. Unfortunately, their combined flames were not able to break through Darkspark’s barrier.

She then used levitation to immobilize both Romeo and Smolder.

“Stooooooooop!” Silverstream screamed as she and Gallus rushed at Darkspark. The general then tossed Romeo and Smolder into the hippogriff and griffon.

“No dark unicorn hurt friends of Yona!” Yona charged at the dark unicorn, but she simply used levitation to throw Yona over her.

Ocellus transformed into a bugbear and also tried attacking Darkspark only to get blasted back by a magic beam.

“You’re lucky I’m more lenient with young ones. But get in my way again, and I won’t be as pleasant.” Darkspark warned Romeo and the Young Six.

Starlight then teleported to the courtyard.

“STOP RIGHT THERE!” Starlight bellowed.

“Starlight Glimmer?!” Darkspark was surprised since she never expected to see Starlight awake.

Starlight then noticed the number on Darkspark’s left eye.

“You’re eye. You’re Lower 5.”

“Yes. The name’s Darkspark. Pleased to make your acquaintance.”

“But. How were you able to overwhelm all the Fairy Tail wizards here?”

“Oh, were you under the impression that all the humans were capable of solving all your problems? Let me share something with you Starlight. After studying Fairy Tail for a long time, I found out that only a select few are powerful enough to rival the Red Moon Generals. The others… well… not so much.”

Starlight became more nervous since she would have to fight a Red Moon General without assistance from any of Fairy Tail’s elite members.

“I came up with a brilliant plan. I lured the Council of Friendship into a trap with an anonymous tip and I lured away all the strong humans by creating a situation that required their undivided attention. I take away the cutie marks of all the Ponyville ponies in broad daylight, and Fairy Tail suffers the shame of being unable to stop me. Anyway, I was going to come to you, but since you’re here, I’ll remove your cutie mark!”

Darkspark fired a dark magical wave at Starlight. The wave hit her, but Starlight’s cutie mark remained unchanged.

“What?!” Darkspark fired more dark waves, but they had no effect on Starlight.

“Tch. It appears that Aura’s magic is protecting you. I intended to take away every single cutie mark in Ponyville, but I suppose a single exception wouldn’t be a big deal.

“Enough! I’m ending this now!” Starlight shouted.

Both Starlight and Darkspark teleported to the outside sports field.

“Tell me something! Why are you taking away ponies’ cutie marks!?”

“Not that I have any obligation to explain myself to you, I’m just showing the weak that they have no control of their destinies. That’s how it was in the world I came from. The strong call the shots and the weak have no sway over anything. But I must admit. I did take a page out of your book. By the way Starlight, how was it being your old self?”

Starlight seethed with anger. “So you were responsible for that stone! You… You’re going to regret making me relive the worst part of my life!”

Back in the courtyard, Romeo gathered the Young Six together.

“Everyone, listen. I have an idea, but we have to work together on this. It’s going to be risky, but if we pull this off, I think we can turn this around.” Romeo said.

“What’s your plan?” Ocellus asked.

At the sports field, Starlight engaged Darkspark in a fierce battle. The unicorn and dark unicorn continuously fired magic beams at each other. Starlight avoided her opponent’s attacks by teleporting. Darkspark, on the other hoof, remained in one spot and just used her barrier to defend herself.

Starlight teleported to behind her opponent and she fired a beam in an attempt to attack Darkspark from behind. Once again, the dark unicorn blocked the beam with a barrier.

“Don’t bother trying to be sneaky. I can sense any spell coming at me.” Darkspark boasted.

Starlight and Darkspark continued attacking each other with magic beams. Neither of them was landing a hit on the other due to Starlight teleporting and Darkspark using her barrier.

“She’s strong! Even though she’s the lowest-ranking Red Moon General, she’s still tough!”

“You are proving to be more annoying than I expected. And I already wasted enough time with you. I guess I’ll just take the rest of the cutie marks in one go.”

Darkspark released a gigantic dark wave that spread throughout the entirety of Ponyville.

At Sweet Apple Acres, Big Mac and Sugar Belle were taken by surprise when their cutie marks suddenly turned into X marks.

“There. Now all the cutie marks in Ponyville are gone, with you being the sole exception.”

“You could have done that from the beginning! Then why spend so much time going around Ponyville?!”

“Because I was having fun watching ponies try to flee only to learn how pointless it was. But now you have spoiled my fun, Starlight. And I have no intention of leaving Ponyville without full satisfaction. So… I’m going to break you… both body and spirit.”

“I’m not going down so easily!” Starlight charged up her horn and fired a larger and more powerful beam at Darkspark.

This time, Darkspark conjured a magical mirror screen and it reflected Starlight’s attack back at her. Caught off guard, Starlight quickly put up a barrier to block her own attack. Darkspark then fired a dark blue magical orb, which exploded once it came into contact with Starlight’s barrier. The explosion broke through the barrier and sent Starlight flying into the nearby bleachers.

Darkspark then began choking Starlight with telekinesis. “Now how should I break you?”

“Hey!” Romeo got Darkspark’s attention as he and Smolder attacked her with their flames. However, the dark unicorn just blocked their attacks with a barrier.

“This again?” Darkspark merely rolled her eyes at the futility of Romeo and Smolder’s attacks.

Just like before, she immobilized Romeo and Smolder using levitation.

“I was going to let you two off easy, but it seems you both don’t have the brains to realize how much of a threat I am. So how am I going to make it perfectly clear to you? How about I break every bone in your body?”

Darkspark was then hit by a buckball, causing her to release her grip on Romeo and Smolder.

“Who threw that?!”

Sandbar and Yona threw more buckballs at the dark unicorn, but she caught them using levitation.

“Buckballs? Really? What do you hope to accomplish with these?” Darkspark asked annoyed.

Unbeknownst to her, Gallus and Silverstream were flying right above her, each carrying a bucket of sneezing powder, and they dumped the powder onto her while she was distracted.

“Now you’re making me angry! I… ah… Achoo!” Darkspark began sneezing uncontrollably.

While Darkspark lost focus due to her sneezing fit, Yona tackled her with full force. Darkspark actually felt that as she reeled on the ground.

Ocellus quickly flew towards Darkspark, transformed into a gorilla, and slammed her fists onto the dark unicorn as hard as she could, further staggering her.

Before the general could recover from the pain that Yona and Ocellus inflicted on her, Romeo ran to the dark unicorn, grasped her horn with both of his hands, and used his Purple Flare magic while his hands held tightly onto the horn. This stunt paid off as Romeo successfully broke Darkspark’s horn off.

She let out a bloodcurdling shriek that blew back Romeo and Ocellus.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!!! MY HOOOOOOOOOOOORN!!!!!!!!!” Darkspark screeched. “You braaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat! What have you done to me?! I’m going to smash your face for this!!!!!”

Before Darkspark could attack Romeo, Starlight blasted her away with a magic beam. She then used levitation to grab Darkspark and began throwing her around like a ragdoll. Eventually, the general was slammed hard into the ground. Starlight then fired a charged-up beam, which sent Darkspark flying many yards away until she crashed into a large boulder with enough force to shatter it.

As the tables turned on Darkspark, Freed and Bickslow arrived at the outskirts of Ponyville via teleportation.

“This is odd. Weren’t we supposed to be teleported to inside of Ponyville instead of out here? Bickslow asked.

“What’s even more concerning is that I still cannot get in touch with anyone inside the town.” Freed said.

Bickslow tried walking into Ponyville, but the barrier stopped him.

“Hey! What gives?! Why is the barrier not letting me through?!” Bickslow said surprised.

“Hold on. Something’s wrong.” Freed then examined the barrier. “The barrier was altered?!”

Freed then used his magic to open the barrier and Darkspark sensed this.

It’s only a matter of time before the rest of Fairy Tail is alerted to what’s going on in Ponyville. Knowing that staying in Ponyville any longer would spell doom for her, Darkspark made a hasty retreat. She used teleportation to get away and despite not having full control of her magic, she managed to teleport to someplace far away from Ponyville.

“Looks like she got away.” Starlight said.

“Wahoooo! We drove away a high-ranking dark unicorn! How awesome is that!?” Smolder cheered.

“I wish Headmare Starlight pummeled her some more, but it was satisfying seeing the look on her face when her horn broke. It was priceless!” Gallus commented.

“Yona and friends should celebrate!” Yona said excitedly.

“Um, everycreature. What about my cutie mark?” Sandbar showed that his cutie mark did not return.

It is unfortunately apparent that breaking Darkspark’s horn did not undo the spell that turns cutie marks into X marks.





At Klugetown, Natsu, Happy, Lucy, and the Council of Friendship went through a long and arduous battle, but they successfully defeated 3000 monsters and the barrier surrounding Klugetown deactivated.

“Finally, it’s over.” Happy said exhausted.

Meanwhile, the Mane 6 were having a group hug.

“We did it! We all survived!” Pinkie cheered.

“But my poor mane has been ruined!” Rarity cried out.

“Just be happy you’re alive.” Lucy said.

At Canterlot, all the unicorns pitched in and they managed to overcome the fly-der threat, though there was a lot of cleaning up that needed to be done.

“Look at all this mess.” Spike groaned. “I hope Twilight and the others are having better luck.”

Fairy Tail also managed to stop the monsters and the dark unicorns threatening the Crystal Empire, Manehattan, Fillydelphia, and Baltimare.





Starlight came to the guild hall and disabled the stasis field.

While those who were just released from the stasis field tend to the injured guild members, Freed and Bickslow checked on the Ponyville citizens. All the ponies were depressed, having lost their cutie mark talents. The two came across Diamond Tiara and the injured Filthy Rich.

“Are you alright sir?” Freed asked Filthy Rich.

“I’m fine… Ow!... I think I got some broken bones!”

“Easy there. I’ll take you to the hospital.” Bickslow offered to help.

As Bickslow tended to Filthy Rich, Freed continued checking on the citizens. He later found Asuka, the CMCs, and Granny Smith.

"Granny Smith, please wake up." Apple Bloom put her hooves on Granny Smith, trying to see if she could wake her up. "Please say something." But her physical contact and shaking weren't working. Tears were flowing down from Apple Bloom’s eyes as Granny Smith was not responding at all.

“Please excuse me.” Freed then checked for a pulse. “Oh no…”

“Is she going to be okay?” Apple Bloom whimpered.

“I… I wish I have better news.” Freed spoke with sadness in his voice.



On this day, a tragedy occurred in Ponyville.
> Chapter 3 (3/3): An Unforgettable Tragedy
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Not everything worked out the way Darkspark intended. She was expecting to leave Ponyville with a smile on her face, not with a broken horn. That would be the least of her worries as things were about to go further downhill for her.

In Scarlet Night’s fortress, Dread Lord was having a word with Darkspark and he was not pleased.

“Darkspark, words cannot express the sheer amount of disappointment I feel towards you.”

“But Dread Lord, my plan wasn’t a failure. I did take away all the cutie marks from the ponies in Ponyville and I even showed them that Fairy Tail is not infallible.”

“Not only you allowed a mere child and some inferior creatures get the better of you, you also allowed your horn to be broken! You do know that is a dark unicorn’s greatest shame! I gave you the freedom to do as you pleased, but I cannot overlook this unforgivable blunder of yours!”

“Dread Lord, please. I can still serve Scarlet Night. Just give me another chance.” Darkspark pleaded.

“Silence! I am stripping you of your rank!”

Darkspark screamed in pain as an X mark was magically carved over the number on her left eye.

“You are hereby expelled from the Red Moon Generals! And you are no longer welcome in the Order of Scarlet Night! Now leave and never return!”





In Ponyville, a funeral was being held for Granny Smith. Fairy Tail, the Mane 7, Spike, the Young Six, Celestia, Luna, all of Ponyville, the Apple Family, and Grand Pear had come to the funeral.

They all felt the sense of loss as a result of this terrible tragedy, but none were more devastated than Applejack, Apple Bloom, and Big Mac. Sugar Belle consoled her husband while Asuka, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo did the same for Apple Bloom.

“This… this can’t be real! Please tell me this isn’t real!” Applejack started sobbing as Rainbow and Rarity tearfully hugged her.

Applejack then turned to the wizards who were in Ponyville during Darkspark’s attack.

“How could you let this happen!?” Applejack cried out.

The wizards couldn’t come up with a response. They were so ashamed that they couldn’t look Applejack in the eye.

“I’m… I’m so sorry.” Makarov solemnly said as he lowered his head.

“You were supposed to protect everypony! Why couldn’t you do your jobs?!”

“Applejack!” Aura Light’s spiritual form appeared. “No one, except the Order of Scarlet Night, should be blamed for this! The ones you should be angry at are the dark unicorns who started this war!”

“Aura! Please! Tell me there is a way to bring Granny Smith back!” Applejack begged.

“…. I’m sorry Applejack. There is no way to bring her back. You only get one chance at life and once it’s lost, it’s gone forever.”

“This… this isn’t fair! Why Granny Smith had to die like this!? Didn’t you bring Fairy Tail here to protect Equestria!? What good are they… if they couldn’t even protect my grandmother!?”

“You are aware that the forces of the Order of Scarlet Night are massive and when I said that the Red Moon Generals are far worse than Equestria’s previous enemies, I really meant it. And that’s exactly why I summoned Fairy Tail to this world. Not only because the guild has members that are strong enough to match the Red Moon Generals, but also because I can count on the guild to see the war through to the end. Make no mistake Applejack. Fairy Tail will be instrumental in defeating Scarlet Night. But no matter what allies you may have, there was never any guarantee that a loved one won’t be taken from you. This is the cruel reality of war.”

“Don’t you have any idea how upset I am?! Do you know what’s it like to lose somepony dear to you?!” Applejack snapped.

“I know loss, Applejack. During the great war 4000 years ago, the Order of Scarlet Night brought so much devastation. They killed… tortured… and tormented hundreds of thousands. Foals… Families… All their lives came to an abrupt and violent end. It made my heart sank. Back then, I was the only one capable of stopping Scarlet Night and the Red Moon Generals. Even the lower generals were too powerful for anypony else.”

The Council of Friendship was stunned to hear the atrocities the Order of Scarlet Night committed.

“Take some time to grieve Applejack. But know that the Order of Scarlet Night will continue threatening innocent lives. Granny Smith isn’t coming back. Nothing can be done about that. But what you can do is fight to protect the innocent and prevent any more victims.”

Applejack wiped her tears. “You’re right. I’ll keep fighting… to make sure that nopony else will have to go through this!” She said with resolve.

Aura then turned to Fairy Tail.

“Remember this, Fairy Tail. No matter how big your victories may be, this war isn’t over until the Order of Scarlet Night is defeated. And until this war ends, it’s only going to get worse.”





While Ponyville mourned Granny Smith, Darkspark wandered the Everfree Forest, completely despondent after losing her place among the Red Moon Generals.

“What have I’ve been reduced to? Such bitter irony. After giving X marks to hundreds of ponies, who would have guessed that I would end up with an X mark?”

Darkspark fell deeper and deeper into her despair.
 
”I had the perfect scheme. After all the planning and preparations, where did it go wrong? It… It was… It was all because of them! That human boy… dragon… earth pony… griffon… hippogriff… changeling… and yak! The reason I’m suffering this disgrace is because they broke my horn! How can it be them?! Them! Of all things! This is absolutely absurd! I always assumed that the weak are incapable of anything and because of that assumption, I did not take them seriously. Curse them! Curse them all! They… they are going to pay for this! They’ll pay dearly! I can never go back to the Red Moon Generals. But the least I can do… is make all of them suffer!”

As her mind was filled with intense fury and rage, her body was then completely enveloped by a shroud of darkness and her mane transformed into bladed tendrils. The tendrils flailed violently, slicing apart the nearby trees. Darkspark has been completely overtaken by her desire for revenge and she has lost all sense of rationality. With Romeo and the Young Six as her targets, she made her way to Ponyville.

Darkspark soon reached the outskirts of Ponyville, but her approach did not go unnoticed. Natsu stood in her path. An intense fiery aura surrounded his whole body as he confronted the dark unicorn.

“Listen here! Applejack’s grandmother just died! An attack is the last thing Ponyville needs right now! Let them grieve in peace! If you’re going to disrupt the funeral, I’ll turn you into a pile of ashes!”

Darkspark couldn’t care less about the funeral. The one thing on her mind was revenge. The bladed tendrils from her mane lashed out at Natsu. Thanks to the fiery aura surrounding him, the tendrils burned away the moment they got close to him, leaving Natsu unscathed.

“You got yourself a one-way ticket to hell. FIRE DRAGON KING DESTRUCTION FIST!” Not pulling any punches, Natsu released a large quantity of devastating flames from his fist and unleashed it on Darkspark.

She was launched back by the sheer force of the attack and she tumbled on the ground. The dark shroud covering her body dissipated. With the dark unicorn subdued, the fiery aura surrounding Natsu faded away.

“Hold on! This dark unicorn looks familiar!” Natsu remembered the hologram of Darkspark back in Klugetown.

Macao and Happy arrived at the scene.

“It’s her! That’s the Red Moon General that attacked Ponyville!” Macao informed Natsu.

“I see.” Natsu quickly ran to Darkspark. “Hey you! I have something I want to ask you! Now tell me! Where is Scarlet Night’s fortress!?”

Darkspark did not respond as she remained motionless on the ground. Her body then started disintegrating.

“Nooooo! No! No! No! No! Don’t go yet! You still haven’t told me anything!”

It was no use. The dark unicorn crumbled away completely and nothing of her remained.

“At least you took down a Red Moon General. Just like you wanted.” Happy tried to look on the bright side.

“Yeah, I guess.” Natsu wasn’t feeling jolly about it, given the circumstances.

With Darkspark’s demise, the cutie marks of all her victims have been restored. The ponies in other towns and villages were completely overjoyed. Though the ponies of Ponyville were glad to get their cutie marks back, they were not in the spirit to celebrate. Natsu went back to Ponyville and explained what happened to the former Red Moon General. The Apple siblings received some measure of comfort, knowing that the dark unicorn responsible for their grandmother’s death got her comeuppance.



Even though another Red Moon General has fallen, it did not feel like a victory. Darkspark had played Fairy Tail and the Council of Friendship for fools. And the one thing her plan succeeded at was taking away Ponyville’s peace of mind.

The spell that robbed ponies of their cutie marks can be undone, but the loss of an innocent life is sadly irreversible. Having to watch Ponyville grieve over the death of a beloved pony hit Fairy Tail really hard. Granny Smith’s passing is a tragedy that will never be forgotten, and it will not be the last tragedy to happen in this war. However, no matter the pain and heartache, Fairy Tail and the Council of Friendship will continue the fight to defend Equestria.
> Chapter 4A: The Dragon Lands
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It has been around 4 months since the war started and it was starting to take an emotional toll on Equestria’s citizens. They all wanted their lives to go back to the way they were before the war, when they don’t have to live in constant fear of an attack by the dark unicorns and their monsters. The news of the tragedy that occurred in Ponyville certainly did not help ease their worries since it made them realize that Fairy Tail cannot always guarantee their safety.

Unfortunately, without a single clue on the location of Scarlet Night’s fortress, Fairy Tail and the Council of Friendship cannot take the fight to the Order of Scarlet Night and put an end to the war.

One week after Darkspark’s attack on Ponyville…

Inside Scarlet Night’s fortress, Roaring Blaze, Sapphire Butterfly, and Shadow Mayhem were having a casual conversation.

“You want to lead an invasion?” Sapphire Butterfly asked Roaring Blaze.

“Yeah! I’ve been cooped in here for too long!” Roaring Blaze answered. “War Spirit, Red Rage, Cloth Demoness, and Darkspark got their shot, and Thunder Blast is out there ravaging some foreign land! I’m itching to cause some destruction!”

“Dread Lord wants us upper ranks to guard Scarlet Night until she awakens. He also warned us that some of the humans are not to be underestimated.” Sapphire pointed out.

“That makes me all the more eager to fight them! I’ve wanted some excitement ever since this war started!” Roaring Blaze bellowed.

“Just don’t get too careless. With Darkspark’s downfall, the Red Moon Generals now have four vacant spots.” Shadow Mayhem remarked. “But I’m with Roaring Blaze. I think it’s time for the upper generals to take action. Thanks to Darkspark, Equestria’s faith in Fairy Tail has shaken. Now it’s a good opportunity to instill more fear.”





Three days later, Twilight Sparkle contacted the guild and requested for any available wizards to come speak with her at the Canterlot royal castle concerning an urgent matter.

Natsu, Happy, Lucy, Gray, Erza, Juvia, Wendy, Carla, Gajeel, and Panther Lily answered Twilight’s summons. After arriving at the Canterlot castle, they met Twilight in her throne room.

Also present in Twilight’s throne room are Spike, Smolder, Silverstream, and Aura in her disembodied spiritual head form.

“We have arrived, Princess Twilight.” Erza spoke while bowing.

“Please, just Twilight is fine. Anyway, thank you all for coming.” Twilight greeted the Fairy Tail members. “By the way… how is… Applejack doing?”

The Fairy Tail members became silent for a moment.

“She’s… trying to put up a strong front, but… she’s still hurting underneath.” Lucy solemnly answered.

“I… I feel like this is my fault. I was so eager to catch the dark unicorn responsible for the X marks that I allowed myself and my friends to fall into a trap.” Twilight said sadly.

“In war, you cannot predict everything. Blaming yourself isn’t going to help. All that matters is how you move forward, how you persevere.” Aura told Twilight.

“So what’s the urgent matter?” Gray asked.

“I have received a grave message from the Order of Scarlet Night.” Twilight answered.

This surprised the Fairy Tail members.

“From the Order of Scarlet Night?! What did they say?!” Erza exclaimed.

“According to the message, the Order of Scarlet Night is going to send their forces to attack the Dragon Lands and Mount Aris tomorrow morning at 8 AM. Aura Light also said that it’s possible that the upper members of the Red Moon Generals will be leading these attacks.”

“The upper ranks of the Red Moon Generals are finally going to step in?” Happy wondered.

“I informed Dragon Lord Ember and Queen Novo about the upcoming attacks. And they’re going to need help. Will any of you be willing to lend your aid?”

Natsu raised his right hand. “Sign me up for the Dragon Lands!”

“The Dragon Lands. I always wanted to visit that place. I’ll go with Salamander.” Gajeel said.

“I also wanted to see the homeland of the dragons! I’ll go there too!” Wendy also volunteered to go the Dragon Lands.

Happy, Carla, and Panther Lily decided to stick with their partners.

“Well then. I’ll go to Mount Aris.” Lucy volunteered to aid the hippogriffs.

“Volcanic areas are not my kind of place anyway, so I’m also going to Mount Aris.” Gray spoke up.

“Wherever Gray goes, I’ll go too.” Juvia declared.

“I heard Mount Aris has a nice beach. I’ll go there as well.” Erza stated.

“We’re not going there for vacation you know.” Lucy pointed out.

“Then it’s settled. Spike and Smolder will be joining those going to the Dragon Lands and Silverstream will be joining those going to Mount Aris.”

“Ooooh! I can’t wait to show you my home!” Silverstream said excitedly.

“One more thing. Natsu, Wendy, and Gajeel. I have something to give you.” Twilight then gave them magic items in the form of belts.

“Belts? What are these for?” Gajeel asked.

“These belts are enchanted with magic that will enable you to fly without the need for your Exceed companions to carry you.”

“Really?!” Natsu quickly put on his magic belt and tried to it out. He then began flying around in the throne room. “Look at me! I’m flying!”

Gray and Gajeel rolled their eyes at Natsu’s childish behavior while Lucy facepalmed.

“Alright, if you’re done goofing around Salamander, we need to get going!” Gajeel said as he and Wendy put on their belts.

Twilight then used her magic to create two portals, one leading to the Dragon Lands and the other leading to Mount Aris.

“There’s one thing I need to tell you. If you do encounter an upper rank of the Red Moon Generals, never let your guard down for even a moment.” Aura told the wizards.

“Spike, please be careful and come back safe.” Twilight said to Spike.

Natsu, Wendy, Gajeel, and their Exceed companions went through the portal leading to the Dragon Lands along with Smolder and Spike while Lucy, Gray, Juvia, and Erza went through the portal leading to Mount Aris along with Silverstream.

“Aura, I’ve been wondering. A unicorn as talented as Starlight was having difficulty fighting the Lower 5 in a one-on-one duel, even though Starlight’s magic power was enhanced, and she only gained the upper hoof after the dark unicorn’s horn was broken. Also, that Red Moon General was able to overpower the Fairy Tail wizards that were in Ponyville at the time. So, if even the lowest of the Red Moon Generals was a threat in her own right, how formidable are the upper generals?”

“Let’s just say that the upper generals are foes that even the Fairy Tail’s elite cannot take lightly.”





The Dragon Lands…

“Here we are. This is my home, the Dragon Lands.” Smolder said to Natsu’s group.

The three mages and the Exceeds marveled at the land of dragons.

“I’ll show you around later. We need to speak with Dragon Lord Ember first.”

Smolder and Spike then took the group to see Ember. When meeting the Dragon Lord, she wasn’t what the Fairy Tail members expected.

“This is the Dragon Lord? I thought she would be… bigger.” Natsu whispered to his guildmates. They nodded in agreement.

“So let me get this straight. The Order of Scarlet Night will be sending an army to attack the Dragon Lands and Twilight is sending just three humans to help us?” Ember questioned.

“Hey, what are we? Chopped liver?” Happy was dismayed that Ember apparently did notice him, Carla, and Panther Lily.

“Trust me, Dragon Lord Ember. I’ve seen them in action. Each of them is worth an army.” Smolder explained.

“That’s right!” Spike chimed in excitedly. “The humans possess incredible magical abilities that you wouldn’t believe!”

“I see. I suppose I should be grateful to you all for going out of your way to help. I already informed all the dragons about tomorrow’s attack. When the enemy comes, we’ll be ready. Spike, Smolder, accommodate our guests.”

After the meeting with Ember was done, Spike and Smolder took a walk with Natsu’s group while having a nice chat.

“So in the Gauntlet of Fire, the dragon that claims the bloodstone scepter first becomes the ruler of the Dragon Lands?” Wendy asked Spike.

“Pretty much. It was tough for me since I did not have my wings at the time. Luckily, Ember and I came to an agreement and helped each other. Though I got the scepter, I gave it to Ember and that’s how she became the Dragon Lord.” Spike explained.

“Hmmm. Maybe I should compete in the next Gauntlet of Fire.” Natsu imagined himself holding the bloodstone scepter.

“I don’t think Ember is going to retire any time soon.” Smolder said. “Come on. I want to introduce you all to my brother.”

Along the way, the group came across a dragon eating gems.

“Do the dragons of this world eat gems?” Gajeel asked.

“Yep. It’s my favorite food.” Spike answered.

“I wonder what gems taste like.” Natsu commented.

“What about the dragons from your world? Do they also eat gems?” Smolder asked the mages.

“Not that we know of.” Wendy said.

They eventually found Garble, who was hanging out with some other dragons.

“Hey Garble!” Smolder called out to her brother.

“Smolder!” Garble quickly gave his sister a hug. “I’m happy to see you back home! I heard about the war that is going on in Equestria. I’m glad that you’re not hurt.”

Garble then noticed the strange company that Smolder brought with her.

“What are they supposed to be?” Garble asked Smolder.

“As you should know already, the evil dark unicorns will send an army to attack the Dragon Lands. They are allies that volunteered to aid us.”

“Hey there! I’m Natsu! I’m a fire dragon sla- wizard! Fire dragon wizard!” Natsu introduced himself while holding his hand out for a handshake.

“Fire dragon wizard? What is that even supposed to be?” Garble scoffed.

“Basically, he can create fire.” Smolder answered. “He can even breathe out fire too.”

Garble and his friends burst out laughing.

“Seriously?” Garble and his friends showed off their fire breathing. “Can he really do that?”

Natsu then displayed his fire breath, which is far larger and wider than the fire breaths of Garble and his friends combined.

Garble and his friends’ eyes widened and their jaws dropped.

Smolder just rolled her eyes at her brother’s reaction. “Yeah, I know. I was also surprised when I first saw his powers.”

“What did you think about that?” Natsu asked with a smug look.

After Natsu did some lava surfing, Garble now thought highly of him.

“You know. I guess I assumed wrong about you. You’re not lame at all. You’re actually cool to hang out with.” Garble complimented Natsu.

Natsu and Garble put their arms around each other, acting like great buddies.

Natsu’s group then spent the rest of the day enjoying their moment of peace with Spike, Smolder, and Garble. It was the calm before the storm.





The next day has arrived. Thousands of dragons lined up on the mountainside. Ember wore a set of armor and held her scepter. Natsu, Gajeel, Wendy, and Panther Lily (in his battle form) stood on top of a mountain. As the time of battle drew nearer, they all carefully watched for any signs of the enemy.

All dragon hatchlings were placed in a shelter deep in the mountains, and Spike, Happy, and Carla were put in charge of watching over them.

As they waited for their enemy, the dragons were getting anxious.

“You nervous, bro?” Smolder asked Garble.

“You kidding? I’m ready to crush some monsters!” Garble said with gusto.

Suddenly, eighty giant pillars of light appeared over the sea. Coming out of each pillar is a metallic battleship armed with heavy mana-powered cannons. On each of these battleships are hundreds of goblins, equipped with mana-powered rifles, miniguns, and bazookas. Right after their arrival, the goblins began their attack as all the cannons opened fire.

Having never seen such weaponry, the dragons were caught off-guard and hundreds of them were caught in the explosions.

“Dragons! Attack!” Ember gave the command for the dragons to fight.

She and the other dragons took flight and flew towards the battleships.

“Fire at will!” The goblins aimed their weapons and fired away. The mana cannons were also targeting the approaching dragons.

The dragons were soon met with a storm of armor-piercing mana bullets as well as bazooka and cannon fire. Many dragons were shot out of the sky and they plummeted into the sea.

Four individuals were able to evade the enemy fire and began their assault on the ships. Natsu and Gajeel each can deal tremendous damage to a ship with one hit. Panther Lily used his sword to slice a ship apart. Wendy capsized another ship with a powerful tornado.

The dragons that have not been shot down soon began to unleash their fire breaths on the goblins once they got close enough to the battleships. The unlucky goblins screamed as their bodies were being incinerated. Some of the burning goblins quickly fell overboard.

In the following moments, the battle became more grueling as goblins get scorched while the dragons were either pierced by mana bullets or blasted by bazooka shots. Some dragons were rendered unable to fly after their wings were riddled with holes or blown off.

The dragons tried burning the ships, but they were built to resist the dragons’ flames. However, the larger dragons can still use their fangs and claws to rip them apart.

Despite having weapons that can kill dragons, there were far too many for the goblins to handle. And with Natsu, Gajeel, Wendy, and Panther Lily also on the attack, it wasn’t long before most of the fleet was decimated. However, the goblins and the battleships were only the first phase of the attack.

Out on the open sea far away from the Dragon Lands, there was a single ship. It is Roaring Blaze’s personal ship. While sitting on the deck on his ship, Roaring Blaze was watching the battle through his binoculars. Sitting next to him is a subordinate dark unicorn.

“Over 70 percent of the goblin troops have been wiped out.” The dark unicorn gave a report.

“That’s fine. The goblins are cannon fodder anyway. Now begin phase two.”

A giant portal then appeared in the sky. Emerging from the portal is an army of dark wyverns, and they wasted no time engaging the dragons in aerial combat. The wyverns attacked by firing dark energy beams from their mouths. Now, the dragons are fighting enemies both on the sea and in the air.

Wendy and Panther Lily took to the skies to battle the wyverns while Natsu and Gajeel continued attacking the battleships.

“SKY DRAGON ROAR!” Wendy released a tornado-like blast from her mouth and aimed her attack at the portal, taking down many of the wyverns in the process. Her attack had no effect on the portal and more wyverns kept coming through.

During the battle, Smolder and Garble were attacked by the wyverns.

“Garble, there are so many of them!” Smolder said while trying to fend off the wyverns.

“Don’t worry, Smolder! I’ll protect you!” Garble used his fire breath against the attacking wyverns.

“SKY DRAGON WING ATTACK!” Wendy generated a large whirlwind from each of her arms to repel the wyverns before Smolder and Garble were overwhelmed.

Back at Roaring Blaze’s ship, the general himself was preparing for battle.

“You’re going into battle?” The lesser dark unicorn asked.

“We have forty minutes before phase three. I’ll just kill some time by doing some dragon slaying.”

Using levitation on himself to fly, Roaring Blaze took off like a rocket and entered the battle.

Roaring Blaze began felling dragons by firing magic bolts that cause devastating explosions on impact. He moves so fast that the dragons had a hard time keeping track of him. His firing speed is also incredible as he was shooting down dragons left and right. The dragons had no defense against his destructive attacks.

Soon, Roaring Blaze noticed Natsu coming right at him with a fiery fist. With quick reflexes, the general evaded Natsu.

“Well well well, it’s the fire wizard. You and your friends put on quite a show when you first appeared in this world.”

“Are you the enemy leader!?” Natsu narrowed his eyes at the dark unicorn.

When Natsu got a clear look at Roaring Blaze’s face, he noticed the golden number 3 on the dark unicorn’s left eye.

“Are you an upper Red Moon General!?”

“Indeed I am! I am Roaring Blaze, Red Moon General Upper 3!”

“Finally! Now I have a chance to take down one of the big shots!”

“Oh I assure you. I won’t be defeated as easily as the lower generals!”

The general’s body was then surrounded by bright flames and he underwent a transformation. Once the flames cleared, the Upper 3 general took on a different form. In this new form, he stands around eight feet tall. He has scales, fangs, claws, talons, a pair of leathery wings, and a long reptilian tail. Roaring Blaze had assumed the form of a dragon. The only things that remained unchanged are his eyes and red horn.

“You can turn into a dragon?!” Natsu said surprised.

“Some of us dark unicorns are capable of changing our forms to some extent using transformation magic. And since this is the Dragon Lands, I thought it would be more fitting to battle in this form.”

From his mouth, Roaring Blaze launched an intense blast of fire at Natsu. However, when this fiery attack reached Natsu, he absorbed it by swallowing it all up.

“Thanks for the meal!” Natsu said with a grin.

“Oh that’s right! He can eat fire!” Roaring Blaze facepalmed.

“FIRE DRAGON IRON FIST!” Natsu engulfed his fist in flames as he charged at the general.

Roaring Blaze took the attack head-on without trying to defend himself. Natsu’s fire-imbued fist connected, but Roaring Blaze did not budge. The general quickly grabbed Natsu’s attacking arm and his whole body began glowing a bright yellow.

“Why is your body glowing?” Natsu asked curiously.

“I can do more than breathe out fire! I can also heat up my entire body, enabling me to burn anything through physical contact!” Roaring Blaze explained.

After holding onto Natsu’s arm for a moment, Roaring Blaze began to wonder why Natsu hasn’t started screaming in pain.

“Um, your arm is burning. Don’t you feel pain at all?”

Natsu smirked. “FIRE DRAGON TALON!” He knocked his opponent away with a powerful fire-enhanced kick.

Roaring Blaze took a look at Natsu’s arm and saw that it does not have a single burn mark on it.

“Your arm should have been charred! How is it still intact?!”

“Guess what?” Natsu chuckled. “Fire and heat don’t work on me!”

“Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?!” Roaring Blaze was taken aback.

“FIRE DRAGON FLAME ELBOW!... WING ATTACK!... SWORD HORN!” Natsu attacked with a bare punch while it was boosted from the intense, bursting flames from his elbow. He then swung two streams of fire from his hands and followed up by engulfing his entire body in flames and then propelled himself against his enemy at high speed, striking with a powerful headbutt.

To Natsu’s surprise, none of his attacks seemed to faze Roaring Blaze.

“Those were some nice hits.” Roaring Blaze complimented Natsu.

“What the heck?! I get that you’re supposed to be strong, but how durable are you?!”

“You see, human. Not only am I tough, but I also have resistance to fire, whether it’s natural or magic.”

“You got to be kidding me!”

“Well, this is just interesting. I’m starting to think it’s destiny that we cross paths. What say you? Let’s have a brawl! Just you and me!”

Natsu then cracked his knuckles. “You’re on!”

Natsu and Roaring Blaze charged towards each other and clashed their fists, with the impact creating a huge shockwave. The two quickly engaged in a fierce brawl as they continuously clashed their fists against each other in rapid speed. While clashing, Roaring Blaze was smiling.

“Hahaha! This fight is getting my blood pumping! I love it!” The general said excitedly.

Natsu and Roaring Blaze continued throwing their punches, with neither of them showing any signs of letting up.

“I must say, I’m happy that Aura Light brought you wizards here! Imagine how boring this war would be without you humans around!” Roaring Blaze commented.

“Glad I gave you something to look forward to! But I’m kicking your butt right here, right now! And the Order of Scarlet Night is losing an upper general today!” Natsu replied during the ongoing clash.

Roaring Blaze evaded Natsu’s next punch and struck him square in the stomach with a tail swing, launching him back a great distance.

“Natsu! I’ll help you!” Wendy arrived to offer her assistance.

“Stay back Wendy! This is an upper rank of the Red Moon Generals! I’ll deal with him! Go help the dragons!”

“Okay! I’ll enhance all your physical abilities with Deus Eques!”

After performing her enchantment, Wendy flew off to help the dragons battle the wyverns. “Good luck, Natsu!”

“If you’re done with your little chit-chat, let’s continue our fight!” Roaring Blaze rushed at Natsu.

After eliminating the rest of the goblins, Gajeel saw the fight between Natsu and Roaring Blaze. He then flew towards the dark unicorn in dragon form.

“IRON DRAGON CLUB!” Gajeel transformed his arm into a large iron club and knocked back Roaring Blaze with it.

“Another challenger?” Roaring Blaze narrowed his eyes at Gajeel.

“Hey! This is my fight!” Natsu shouted at Gajeel.

“Too bad Salamander! I want in on the action!” Gajeel replied.

“Now now, there’s no need to fight over me! I’ll happily take you both on!” A red aura surrounded Roaring Blaze’s body for a brief moment.

After Gajeel hardened his body in iron, he and Natsu initiated a combined assault as they both attacked the Upper 3 with a barrage of punches and kicks.

“Yes! Yeeeeees! This is the excitement I’ve been looking for! More! More! Moooooore!” The general roared.

No matter how many hits he took, Roaring Blaze just withstood them.

“Jeez! How many hits can this guy take?!” Gajeel exclaimed.

“That human girl isn’t the only one who can enhance physical abilities!” Roaring Blaze answered.

Eventually, Natsu and Gajeel both threw a powerful punch simultaneously, launching Roaring Blaze back a great distance.

The general then flew around the two wizards with incredible speed. He formed a giant orb of flames in his hands and threw it at Gajeel. Natsu intercepted the orb and ate it.

“Don’t eat my flames!” Roaring Blaze said annoyed.

Natsu rushed at the general and tried to kick him in the neck. Roaring Blaze grabbed Natsu’s leg, spun around like a twister, and threw Natsu into the sea with great force.

Gajeel then tried to punch the general in the face with his right fist, but the latter caught Gajeel’s fist with his left claws and sank his fangs into Gajeel’s right shoulder. The fangs are powerful enough to pierce even Gajeel’s iron-hardened skin.

Gajeel winced in pain as he felt the heat from Roaring Blaze’s claws and fangs. The wizard quickly transformed his left hand into a cylindrical iron mallet and attempted to break the general’s unicorn horn with it. The general quickly released Gajeel and flew back before the mallet connected.

“That was close! But you’re not breaking my horn off so easily!”

“IRON DRAGON ROAR!” From his mouth, Gajeel launched a tornado of iron.

Roaring Blaze countered with the intense blast of fire from his mouth. It overpowered Gajeel’s attack and Gajeel took a direct hit from the blast, which sent him crashing into a mountain.

Natsu flew out of the sea and towards Roaring Blaze at breakneck speed in an attempt to ram into him. The general kicked Natsu away and hit him with an explosive magic bolt. The wizard was spinning backwards in the air before recovering.

Before the general could press on the attack, he was interrupted when Garble came and used his fire breath on him.

“I got your back, Natsu!”

“No Garble! Don’t try to fight him!” Natsu warned Garble.

“Hey you phony dragon! You mess with my buddy Natsu, you mess with me!”

For Garble, it was over before he knew what hit him. The next thing the dragon saw was his chest being stabbed by Roaring Blaze’s claws.

“I don’t need any interruptions from a lesser creature that is not worth my time. Begone!” Roaring Blaze removed his claws from Garble’s chest, letting the dragon fall.

Natsu watched in horror and so did Smolder.

“GAAAAAAAAAAAARBLEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!” Smolder screamed.

She flew towards her brother and caught him before he plunged into the sea.

“You bastard! FLAME LOTUS: FIRE DRAGON FIST!” Out of rage, Natsu unleashed a continuous barrage of fire-enhanced punches at the general.

Roaring Blaze fought back against Natsu’s attack with his own barrage of punches. Eventually, Natsu kicked his enemy in the stomach. Roaring Blaze then attempted to slash Natsu’s face with his claws. Natsu avoided the claws by ducking and quickly retaliated by striking Roaring Blaze’s jaw with an uppercut.

Roaring Blaze grabbed Natsu by the neck and began strangling him. While struggling to breathe, Natsu repeatedly punched and kicked his foe in an attempt to break free. The general did not flinch no matter how hard Natsu hit. The wizard tried using Fire Dragon Talon again, but the general did not release his grip.

“I wish I could spare you. I would love to spar with you hundreds of times. But I must eliminate Scarlet Night’s enemies. So out of respect for you, I’ll give you a chance to say your last words. Go on. Don’t be shy. Better hurry before my grip becomes too tight and you black out.”

Natsu was about to activate his Lightning Fire Dragon Mode, but at that moment, Gajeel came to his aid.

“IRON DRAGON HARD FIST!” Gajeel slugged Roaring Blaze in the face with an iron-hardened fist and launched the general back.

Released from the general’s grasp, Natsu gasped for air.

“You again!” Roaring Blaze growled.

“You didn’t think I was finished back there, did you?!” Gajeel shouted.

“General! It’s time to begin phase three!” The subordinate dark unicorn told Roaring Blaze telepathically.

The general noticed that the wyvern portal had closed.

“My apologies, humans. It appears that time is up, and I must be going.”

“Hold on! You’re leaving?!” Natsu exclaimed.

“Sorry to cut this fight short. It was fun brawling with you, but this attack is entering its third and final phase. You can try chasing after me if you like, but I suggest you save your strength for what’s coming next.”

“What’s coming next?!” Gajeel asked.

“Oh you’ll see.” Roaring Blaze then teleported away from the battle.

“Get back here! I’m not done with you!” Natsu yelled.

Roaring Blaze teleported back to his ship and reverted back to his pony form.

“Is it ready?” Roaring Blaze asked the subordinate dark unicorn.

“Awaiting your command, general.” The dark unicorn answered.

Roaring Blaze let out a devious smile. “Summon the kaiju!”

Rising out of the sea is a colossal reptilian monster, standing around 500 feet tall. The kaiju roared as it made its presence known. The remaining dark wyverns immediately retreated.

“Oh my gosh! This thing is huuuuuuuuuuuuuge!” Natsu exclaimed.

The kaiju formed a gigantic sphere of energy in its mouth and soon fired it into the sky. The four Fairy Tail members and the dragons watched as the sphere exploded into countless smaller energy spheres. They rained down on the Dragon Lands like meteors, bringing devastation of great magnitude. Numerous dragons got hit by the falling spheres. Smolder was able to narrowly avoid them despite having to carry her brother. Natsu, Gajeel, and Wendy attacked the spheres using their magic, and Panther Lily used his sword to cut them apart.

The kaiju continued its onslaught by firing a mega beam from its mouth. The dragons that did not manage to get out of the line of fire were vaporized. The dragons tried using their fire breaths against the kaiju, but their attacks didn’t do anything. The kaiju also swung its claws at the dragons close to it. Any dragon that was struck by the kaiju’s claws were either killed or severely injured.

“If we don’t stop that thing, it will wipe out all of the dragons!” Wendy shouted.

Everyone then heard a roar coming from the mountains. Finally entering the fray is the previous Dragon Lord and Ember’s father, Torch.

“Foul beast! The Dragon Lands will not fall to the likes of you!” Torch bellowed.

He then breathed out a giant stream of fire and engulfed the kaiju in flames. The monster remained standing and it doesn’t appear to be bothered by Torch’s flames at all. The kaiju retaliated by firing its mega beam at Torch.

Torch’s eyes widened as he took a direct hit from the kaiju’s beam. Seeing that even Torch didn’t stand a chance, the other dragons’ morale dropped significantly.

“We cannot defeat that monster! We’re dooooooooooomed!” A dragon cried out.

At his ship, Roaring Blaze was watching the carnage.

“These dragons are done for. The kaiju was created specifically to annihilate them. This is it. When the kaiju finishes laying waste to the Dragon Lands, we’ll go in and mop up the leftovers.”

Back at the battle…

“Come on! It’s up to us to stop this monster!” Natsu said to his teammates.

“All physical abilities will be enhanced with Deus Eques!” Wendy casted the enchantment on herself and Gajeel. Natsu already received the enchantment during his earlier fight with Roaring Blaze.

“FIRE DRAGON BRILLIANT FLAME!” Natsu attacked the giant monster with a very massive explosion of fire.

“KARMA DEMON: IRON SPIRAL!” Gajeel transformed his legs into a giant drill and assaulted the kaiju with it.

The kaiju just shrugged off their attacks.

“SKY DRAGON WAVE WIND!” Wendy attacked with a large and powerful tornado.

“FLAME LOTUS: EXPLODING FLAME BLADE!” Natsu ignited his arms and generated long torrents of flames from them, which moved to hit the kaiju in a spiraling formation, with each connecting strike creating a powerful, burning explosion.

“KARMA DEMON: IRON GOD SWORD!” Gajeel clapped his hands together above his head, creating a gigantic iron sword. He then proceeded to swipe the sword down.

Once again, the kaiju took the attacks head-on without suffering any noticeable damage.

“Are our attacks even hurting this thing?!” Gajeel yelled.

“We can’t give up. We have to take this thing down! FIRE DRAGON KING DESTRUCTION FIST!” Natsu punched the monster while his fist was imbued with massive flames.

The kaiju then swung its claws at Natsu. The wizard got hit and was sent flying into a mountain. In the mountain where Natsu landed in, he groaned as he tried getting back up.

“Ow! That thing really hits hard!” Natsu grit his teeth while trying to ignore the pain.

After getting back on his feet, Natsu then noticed a pool of lava nearby.

“Of course! There are volcanoes here!” His face then showed a wide smile as he was looking at a huge power source.

Natsu proceeded to drink large volumes of lava. Once he finished drinking, he roared as he felt an incredible surge of power flowing through him and his body was engulfed in a bright blazing aura. Overflowing with power, Natsu took flight once again.

While Gajeel and Wendy were evading the kaiju’s attacks, Natsu flew towards the monster like a missile and rammed into its chest. The kaiju screamed as giant cracks formed all over its chest.

The kaiju tried swinging its claws at Natsu again, but he countered with a blazing punch that was powerful enough to not just push the kaiju’s hand back but also dealt serious damage to it.

Natsu then flew high into the sky and then back down to the kaiju in a dive-bomb attack. The monster attacked Natsu with its beam, but he powered through the attack and flew straight through the kaiju’s head, leaving a giant hole on it.

The kaiju collapsed and the remaining dragons cheered as it crumbled.

Roaring Blaze was completely awestruck as he witnessed the kaiju’s destruction.

“General… what should we do?”

“We’re pulling out now. With the kaiju destroyed, there is no point in continuing this battle. Besides, the humans entertained me and gained my respect, so I’ll reward them with this reprieve.”

Roaring Blaze and his ship disappeared via teleportation.

Back in the Dragon Lands, Ember later found her father barely clinging on to life. The kaiju’s attack had mortally wounded him.

“Father?”

“Em… ber…” That was all Torch could utter before the light in his eyes faded away.

Ember then collapsed to her knees and wept.





With the battle over and the Dragon Lands saved from complete annihilation, all surviving dragons were filled with relief. This attack by the Upper 3 general and his forces was nothing like the dragons had ever experienced before. Over a thousand dragons perished in the conflict. Those that survived now realized the kind of enemy Equestria is dealing with.

The shelter where Spike, Happy, Carla, and the dragon hatchlings stayed in was fortunately unaffected throughout the battle.

Soon after the kaiju’s defeat, Natsu’s group and the dragons tend to the wounded and Wendy got to work in healing them. Smolder begged Wendy to heal her brother. Unfortunately, the wound Garble got from Roaring Blaze was fatal, and he had already died long before the battle ended.

While the wounded are resting and recuperating, the dragons also got to work in making graves for the dead. Natsu and Spike helped Smolder in giving Garble a burial.

“Smolder… if there’s anything we can do…” Spike said while offering his condolence.

“I… I just need some time alone.” Smolder tearfully replied. “Natsu, just promise me one thing. Promise that you and your guild will destroy the Order of Scarlet Night!”

Natsu clenched his fists before saying his next words. “Count on it!”

Natsu then took a walk alone.

“These dark unicorns! How many are they going to hurt before they’re satisfied?!” Natsu then punched a boulder, shattering it. “Roaring Blaze! When I see you again, I swear I’ll make you pay for this!”
> Chapter 4B: Mount Aris
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Previously…

Princess Twilight Sparkle received word that the Order of Scarlet Night will attack the Dragon Lands and Mount Aris.

Natsu, Gajeel, Wendy, and the Exceeds went to the Dragon Lands with Spike and Smolder while Lucy, Gray, Erza, and Juvia went to Mount Aris with Silverstream.





Mount Aris, the day before the battle…

Lucy, Gray, Erza, Juvia, and Silverstream just passed through the portal leading to their destination, and they arrived at the Mount Aris train station. Because of the upcoming attack, all visitors were evacuated.

“Everyone, welcome to Mount Aris!” Silverstream said chirpily to the wizards, who took a moment to gaze at the mountain peak. “My father should be waiting for us! Come on!”

Silverstream then led the wizards to the hippogriff village. At the entrance, Silverstream’s father, Sky Beak, was there.

“Hey daddy!” Silverstream happily called out to her father.

“Silverstream! I’m glad to see you back home!” Sky Beak cheerfully greeted his daughter and gave her a hug. “Though I’m afraid that it will soon turn into a battlefield.”

“I know, but I’ve brought some help!” Silverstream showed her father the four wizards.

“Hello there. We’re from Fairy Tail. Princess Twilight Sparkle sent us.” Lucy said.

“Fairy Tail!” Sky Beak got excited and called the other hippogriffs. Very soon, many hippogriffs gathered around the wizards.

“Uh, hi.” Lucy waved her hand with a nervous smile.

“Welcome, wizards of Fairy Tail.” Sky Beak greeted. “We were told that we will be receiving aid from you. We heard so much about you, and Silverstream spoke highly of you in her letters. I wish you could visit Mount Aris under better circumstances, but we’re grateful to you for coming. Queen Novo wishes to speak with you personally, and I’ll escort you to her.”

As Sky Beak and Silverstream escorted Erza’s group to the peak of Mount Aris, the other hippogriffs continued to gawk at the four wizards. They later reached the top of Mount Aris, where Queen Novo was waiting. Also there with her are Princess Skystar and General Seaspray.

“Queen Novo. The wizards of Fairy Tail have arrived.” Sky Beak said once they arrived.

“Greetings, your majesty.” Erza greeted Novo while bowing. “We were informed that the Order of Scarlet Night will be attacking your kingdom tomorrow, and we have come to lend you our aid.”

“Yes, I heard so much about you humans and how you have been instrumental in keeping a terrible evil at bay. Now I don’t mean to sound ungrateful, but I was expecting more than just the four of you.” Novo spoke honestly.

“Oh trust me, Queen Novo! These four are among Fairy Tail’s elite members! And each elite member is capable of fighting hundreds of monsters no problem! I saw how amazing they are myself!” Silverstream got giddy while explaining about the four wizards. This caused the other hippogriffs to be astonished.

“Well if Silverstream vouches for you, then I suppose I should trust you. Wizards of Fairy Tail, please join General Seaspray in a strategy meeting and rest up for the battle tomorrow.”

“Mom! May I spend some time with the wizards? I have so many things I want to talk to them about!” Princess Skystar asked with her eyes beaming.

“After they’re done with the strategy meeting, you can spend as much time as you want with them for the rest of the day.” Novo answered.

Skystar squeed with a wide smile on her face.

Erza’s group then participated in Seaspray’s strategy meeting and discussed battle plans. Afterwards, the wizards and Silverstream had a nice long conversation with Skystar, which lasted until evening. Lucy, Erza, Gray, and Juvia later joined Silverstream and her family for dinner in the hippogriff village. The wizards were also given guest rooms for the night, where they could rest for the next day’s battle.





The next morning has arrived.

The wizards and the hippogriff warriors, including General Seaspray and Sky Beak, have prepared for the impending battle. Novo, Skystar, and all noncombatants took shelter in Seaquestria. A group of guards remained with Novo.

The battle began at 8 AM. Coming from the sea at high speeds was a horde of humanoid sea monsters with razor sharp teeth and claws.

“Archers! Prepare to fire!” Seaspray commanded.

All the archers did as they were ordered and aimed their arrows at the incoming monsters.

“Release!” Seaspray then ordered the archers to fire.

The hippogriff archers released a volley of arrows. Many monsters in the first wave cried out as they were pierced by the arrows.

Erza requipped her Lightning Empress Armor and with her Spear of Lightning, she unleashed lightning waves on the monsters while they were in the water, intending to destroy them all in one fell swoop. Unfortunately, her lightning did not have any effect on the monsters as they continued their charge towards Mount Aris, much to everyone’s surprise.

“Guess the Order of Scarlet Night was prepared for the possibility of one of us using lightning.” Erza commented.

Gray attacked with a volley of ice arrows.

“WATER SLICER!” Juvia sent scythe-like water blades at the monsters.

“Open! Gate of the Archer!” Lucy summoned Sagittarius. “Star Dress: Sagittarius form!” Lucy and Sagittarius then fired their own volley of magical arrows.

Erza requipped her Heaven’s Wheel Armor. She summoned hundreds of swords and launched them at the enemy.

The hippogriff archers continued firing their arrows. Within minutes, several hundreds of monsters have been slain.

The monsters began striking back by firing high-speed water shots from their mouths. The hippogriff archers were then dropping like flies while the monsters were getting closer to the shore.

“ICE-MAKE: FLOOR!” Gray attempted to stop the monsters in their tracks by freezing the sea.

Before the ice reached them, the monsters displayed their incredible leaping abilities by jumping all the way to the shore.

“Charge!” Seaspray ordered the hippogriff warriors to hold up their spears and rush towards the enemy.

With the monsters having finally reached land, the hippogriffs fought them head on. The monsters showed how vicious they are as they tore through any hippogriff that was less skilled in combat.

Erza requipped her Flame Empress Armor and with her Flame Sword, she slashed and incinerated large groups of monsters.

“ICE-MAKE: SAUCER!” Gray created a large spinning ice disk and launched it. It proceeded to cut down any monster in its path like a buzz-saw.

Juvia repelled any incoming monsters with waves of water.

“Open! Gate of the Lion!” Lucy summoned Loke. “Star Dress: Leo form!”

“Hey Lucy, how about we grab a drink once this battle is over?” Loke asked in a flirtatious manner.

“Less flirting, more fighting!” Lucy responded.

“Yes, my lady.” Loke said with a smile before fighting the monsters.

Eighty minutes after the battle started, large crab monsters that are over ten feet tall joined the fray and fought alongside the other monsters.

The hippogriffs engaged the crab monsters, only to discover that their arrows and spears are virtually useless against the monsters’ armor-like shells. Any hippogriff that attacked these crab monsters at close range quickly fall victim to their pincers. These monsters can also attack their enemies at a distance by releasing high-pressured streams of boiling water from their mouths.

“ICE-MAKE: ICE CANNON!” Gray created a large, long-barreled ice cannon and fired an ice cannonball at one of the crab monsters. His attack is powerful enough to smash through the monster’s shell and kill it.

“REGULUS IMPACT!” Loke gathered light into his fist and punched another crab monster, blasting it away with great force.

“REGULUS LUCY KICK!” After surrounding her foot with the light of Regulus, Lucy delivered a powerful kick to another one of the crab monsters, sending it flying.

While in her Purgatory Armor, Erza crushed some crab monsters with her large spiked mace.

As the hippogriffs struggled in this ferocious battle, Lucy, Erza, Gray, Juvia, and the two celestial spirits rushed around the battlefield, destroying as many monsters as they could in an effort to minimize the casualties on the hippogriff side.

Meanwhile, in an airship high in the sky, the Upper 4 of the Red Moon Generals, Blade Dancer, was observing the battle.

“How long before the megamonster is ready?” Blade Dancer asked a lesser dark unicorn.

“Forty-five minutes, general.” The dark unicorn answered.

“In that case, I’m going down there to have a little… fun.”

Blade Dancer then teleported to the battlefield. Right after she arrived, the nearby monsters immediately noticed her presence and fled from her vicinity. The hippogriff warriors that were fighting the monsters were at first confused but they soon noticed the dark unicorn as well.

“Hello birdies. I’ve come to play~.” Blade Dancer said with a malicious smile.

Using her magic, she materialized floating blades out of thin air and launched them at the hippogriffs. Due to the blades’ incredible velocity, the targeted hippogriffs were unable to block or evade them. Blade Dancer grinned as hippogriffs dropped to the ground, and many more of them soon fall victim to her attacks.

The general’s rampage was interrupted when Sagittarius fired a wave of arrows at her. She noticed the arrows and evaded them. Sagittarius fired more arrows at Blade Dancer, but the general used her flying blades to deflect them. She then launched her blades at the celestial spirit. The blades completely pierced through him and this blow was severe enough to force him to return to the Celestial Spirit World.

“Lucy… I’m sorry.” Sagittarius said as he faded away.

Afterwards, Blade Dancer noticed a concentrated beam of water coming her way and she dodged it by jumping to the side. The general then saw that her attacker was Juvia.

“Tch. I wanted to kill some more hippogriffs before fighting one of these humans.” Blade Dancer said disgruntled.

Once Juvia took a look at the dark unicorn’s face, she was alarmed to see the golden number 4 on her left eye.

“Everyone! A Red Moon General is here! It’s Upper 4!” Juvia informed her teammates through her Aura bracelet.

Blade Dancer attacked Juvia with her flying blades. Before the blades hit her, Juvia transformed her body into water and the blades just passed through her without harming her.

“WATER SLICER!” Juvia attacked the dark unicorn with blades of water.

Blade Dancer dodged Juvia’s attack by sidestepping it.

“WATER LOCK!” Juvia caught Blade Dancer in a large sphere of water, intending to incapacitate her by suffocation as there was no oxygen inside the sphere.

The general escaped the water sphere by simply teleporting out of it. She then launched more flying blades at the water wizard. Once again, Juvia turned her body into water to avoid any damage.

“I can turn my body into water. Your attacks won’t hurt me!”

The general then aimed her blades at the ground around Juvia.

“And what’s this going to do?” Juvia wondered.

The blades around her started glowing red and they soon exploded like bombs. Juvia screamed as she was engulfed in fiery explosions.

While Juvia was down on the ground, Blade Dancer launched a flying blade aiming for her head. Erza (while in her Heart Kreuz Armor) came to Juvia’s defense in the nick of time and deflected the blade.

“Thank you, Erza.” Juvia said as she got back on her feet.

“Juvia, let me handle this one. Go help Gray and the others.” Erza told Juvia.

“You got it!” When it comes to Gray, of course Juvia will comply.

Once Juvia is away, Erza turned her attention to the Red Moon General.

“Upper 4! Face me!” Erza yelled out to Blade Dancer while pointing her sword at the dark unicorn.

Blade Dancer responded by conjuring a multitude of flying blades and launched them at Erza. The wizard effortlessly deflected all the blades.

“Not bad. I can tell that you’re strong, even battle-hardened. My name is Blade Dancer. May I have your name, human?”

“It’s Erza Scarlet!”

“Well then Erza. I have been looking forward to battling you for quite some time, so don’t go disappointing me now.”





Inside Seaquestria, all those that took shelter there were all trembling in fear as they waited for the battle to end. All they could do was hope for the best.

“Trust in Fairy Tail. With them fighting, there’s no way the enemy can win.” Silverstream tried to reassure her brother and mother.

“I hope dad will be okay.” Terramar replied.

Meanwhile, Novo and Skystar stayed together in the throne room. The princess was just as frightened as the other seaponies while the queen did her best to remain calm.

“Mom… I’m scared.” Skystar whimpered.

“Don’t worry. We’ll be safe here.” Novo assured her daughter.

“I’m afraid you’re sadly mistaken.” A sinister voice said to them.

Novo and Skystar were then startled by an intruder that emerged out of the shadows.





As the monsters continued their onslaught on Mount Aris, Erza is battling the Red Moon General that is leading the attack. Lucy, Gray, Juvia, and Loke thought about giving Erza some back up, but they decided to trust in her capabilities and continue helping the hippogriffs fight off the monsters.

While deflecting or dodging Blade Dancer’s blade projectiles, Erza rushed towards the dark unicorn to get within striking distance.

Blade Dancer jumped back and launched a red glowing blade at Erza, who then used her sword to block the incoming blade. But the moment the red blade made contact with Erza’s sword, it exploded, causing Erza to be blown back and she tumbled on the ground.

The wizard quickly got back on her feet as the general sent more red blades coming her way. Erza leapt away, evading the explosions.

“So the ones that glow red will explode.” Erza observed.

Blade Dancer proceeded to assault Erza with a storm of red blades. Erza quickly requipped her Adamantine Armor and used its shields to defend herself. Thanks to this armor, Erza managed to withstand the explosions.

Once the explosions ceased, Erza requipped her Flight Armor. With the armor increasing her speed, she dashed towards the dark unicorn.

“FLIGHT ARMOR: SONIC CLAW!” Erza attempted to strike Blade Dancer with multiple slashes at high speed.

Before any of the slashes connected, Blade Dancer casted a evasion boost spell on herself and leapt back, dodging the strikes.

“Don’t think you will be able to strike me so easily! Evasion is one of my greatest skills!” The general leapt away again to increase her distance from Erza.

Erza pursued Blade Dancer as the upper general continuously attacked from afar with her flying blades. While running after the dark unicorn, Erza deflected the non-glowing blades while dodging the red ones. Blade Dancer kept leaping away, not giving Erza a chance to get close enough to strike her.

“I can’t defeat her if I can’t land a hit on her! And she’s not letting me get close to her! Guess I’ll have to use long-distance attacks then!”

Erza then requipped her Heaven’s Wheel Armor, summoned a large number of swords, and then launched them at Blade Dancer.

The general stopped the swords telekinetically and shattered them with a mere thought.

“Hahahaha! Foolish human! Flying swords are my specialty!” Blade Dancer boasted.

Erza requipped her Lightning Empress Armor and used her Spear of Lightning to fire a beam of lightning at Blade Dancer.

Blade Dancer’s horn lit up and a long wide blade materialized in the path of Erza’s attack. The blade absorbed all the lightning and then redirected it back at Erza. The wizard stopped the redirected attack with a lightning barrier.

Switching armors again, Erza requipped her Wind God Armor.

Blade Dancer sent another storm of red blades at her. Utilizing wind magic thanks to her Wind God Sword, Erza blew away the blades. The gust of wind created by Erza also blew back Blade Dancer. The general was sent rolling on the ground but she quickly recovered.

“It seems that attacking you at a distance is not getting me anywhere. Time for me to switch things up a bit.” Blade Dancer’s body was then engulfed in a bright green light and she changed forms.

Blade Dancer transformed into a bipedal humanoid metallic figure that stands around Erza’s height. She now possesses a pair of arms with long bladed claws and longswords for legs. While in this form, the general floats a few inches off the ground.

“What kind of form is that?” Erza asked.

“This is my pride and joy, my Blade Valkyrie form! Except for Aura Light, no foe that fought me in this form lived to tell about it! Now… let’s dance!”

Erza requipped her Clear Heart Clothing and summoned a katana to each of her hands.

“Come at me!” Erza challenged her opponent.

Blade Dancer charged towards Erza and engaged her in close combat. The general attacked by using her claws to perform a flurry of lightning-fast slashes, but Erza was able to parry them. Eventually, the general performed a sweep attack aiming for Erza’s legs. Erza dodged the claw sweep by jumping back.

Right after Erza’s feet touched the ground, Blade Dancer dashed towards the wizard and did a powerful thrust attack with her right leg sword. Erza countered the thrust attack by stomping her opponent’s leg sword into the ground.

“Now I got you!” Erza followed up with a sword swing aimed at the general’s neck.

Blade Dancer stopped Erza’s katana with her claws. The general then engulfed her left leg sword in a magical aura and swung it at Erza with high speed. Erza blocked the attack, but was still greatly pushed back by the sheer force. She slid back many feet away before coming to a halt.

After fighting through some monsters, Seaspray and Sky Beak saw Erza’s battle.

“Is that another enemy?” Sky Beak asked after seeing Erza’s opponent, not recognizing it as a dark unicorn due to her assuming a different form.

“It appears so. And it seems that Erza could use some help.” Seaspray stated.

“Agreed.”

Seaspray and Sky Beak then flew towards the battle between Erza and Blade Dancer.

“Erza! We shall assist you!” Seaspray said as he and Sky Beak charged towards the Red Moon General with their spears pointed at her.

“No! Stay away from her! She’s too dangerous!” Erza cried out to the two hippogriffs.

“Too late~!” With one swing of her claws, Blade Dancer launched crescent-shaped air blades at the approaching hippogriffs. Seaspray and Sky Beak met their end as the blades sliced through them.

In her righteous fury, Erza rushed Blade Dancer and attacked her with an overhead strike, which the general blocked with her claws.

“You fiend! One of those hippogriffs was a loving father and husband, and you just took him away from his family!” Erza bellowed with complete anguish.

“So what? I destroyed hundreds of families before, and I’ll gladly destroy a hundred more.” Blade Dancer replied callously as she pushed Erza back.

Erza pressed on her attack while channeling her rage into her sword strikes.

After blocking Erza’s attacks for a while, the general’s claws then emitted a bright blinding light, catching Erza off guard. While Erza put her arm over her eyes to shield them from the light, Blade Dancer went in for another strike with her claws. Thanks to her quick reaction time, Erza managed to avoid the full brunt of the attack, but she was still grazed.

Erza and Blade Dancer were then zigzagging across the battlefield, clashing against each other and trying to overpower the other. Soon, the general began swinging her claws at very rapid speeds, sending air blades at Erza.

“General, the megamonster is now ready to attack!” One of the dark unicorns on the airship telepathically informed Blade Dancer as Erza was dodging or slicing the air blades.

“Go ahead and unleash it!” The general commanded.

Emerging out of the sea is a colossal octopus-like monster. As it bellowed, the hippogriffs and the Fairy Tail wizards were startled by the monster’s sudden appearance.

“What is that?!” Erza exclaimed.

“The one that will bring utter destruction to Mount Aris, the kraken!” Blade Dancer declared.

The kraken then approached the shore and the other sea monsters retreated.

“Let’s put our fight on hold, Erza. You and your friends have a bigger problem to worry about.” Blade Dancer then changed back to her pony form and teleported back to her airship.

After returning to her airship, Blade Dancer went back to observing the battle and watched the kraken with anticipation. “Now let’s sit back and enjoy the show.”

As the kraken began its assault, the Fairy Tail wizards stepped up to face it while the hippogriffs fall back. The kraken struck out by thrashing with its tentacles, but the wizards evaded them.

Loke charged towards the kraken while dodging the tentacles.

“REGULUS GATLING IMPACT!” Loke repeatedly punched the kraken with each of his punches releasing a brilliant light.

The kraken was unfazed by this attack. One of its tentacles grabbed Loke and slammed him into the ground with enough force to incapacitate him. Unable to continue, Loke swiftly returned to the Celestial Spirit World.

“That monster took out Loke with one hit!” Juvia exclaimed.

“Let’s cut off the tentacles first!” Lucy suggested. “Star Dress: Cancer form!”

“ICE-MAKE: ICE BRINGER!” Gray formed two large ice swords, holding one in each hand.

With Lucy, Gray, and Erza using their swords and Juvia launching scythe-like water blades, the wizards severed some of the kraken’s attacking appendages. However, right after they were cut off, they grew back in a very short time.

“They regenerated!” Lucy said surprised.

“It seems that cutting off the tentacles won’t do us any good! They’ll grow back quickly! We have to focus our attacks on the main body!” Gray said.

“WATER CYCLONE!” Juvia casted a whirling torrent of water and used this water cyclone to attack the kraken, but it only slowed it down a bit.

Erza then requipped her Giant Armor.

“Gray, I need an opening!” Erza said as she prepared to throw her De-Malevo-Lance.

Gray fired a barrage of crescent-shaped ice blades to slice off the kraken’s tentacles. Before the tentacles grow back, Erza hurled her spear at the kraken. The spear was able to pierce the kraken’s skin, but it wasn’t deep enough, and this only enraged the monster.

“I think we only made it angry.” Gray pointed out.

The kraken opened its mouth wide and a gigantic sphere of water was forming inside it.

“Watch out! Another attack is coming!” Gray warned his teammates.

“Star Dress: Aquarius form!”

The kraken then released a giant torrent of water. Lucy stopped it by utilizing water magic.

“AQUA METRIA!” Lucy made the earth swell and surge like ocean waves and unleashed a tidal wave on the kraken.

The monster was pushed back, but it did not suffer any significant damage.

“ICE-MAKE: FREEZE LANCER!” Gray launched numerous ice lances that are powerful enough to destroy rock.

“ICE-MAKE: ICE GEYSER!” Gray followed up by creating a tower of ice spikes in an attempt to impale the kraken.

Erza requipped her Morning Star Armor.

“MORNING STAR: PHOTON SLICER!” Erza brought her two sabers together and pointed the tips at the kraken, and then fired an energy blast.

The kraken only suffered small scratches from Gray and Erza’s attacks. Aggravated, the monster flailed its tentacles violently, forcing the wizards back.

“Just how tough is this thing?!” Gray asked while evading the tentacles.

“While the tentacles are weak enough for us to cut off, the skin on the monster’s main body is extremely resilient!” Lucy stated.

“If the outside is so durable, then…” Erza requipped her Flight Armor again and rushed towards the kraken.

“Erza, wait! What are you going to do?!” Gray shouted.

Erza ran towards the kraken and sliced off any tentacle that attacked her. The monster opened its mouth again, preparing to devour her. Lucy, Gray, and Juvia gasped as they watched Erza leaped into the kraken’s mouth. Once she was inside, the monster immediately closed its mouth shut.

“ERZAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!” Her guildmates cried out.

With Erza seemingly dealt with, the kraken then focused its attention on the other three wizards.

“Juvia, let’s combine our powers and use Unison Raid!” Gray said.

“And I’ll use Urano Metria!” Lucy said.

Before they proceed, the kraken suddenly began writhing around in pain.

“Could it be? Is this Erza’s doing?” Lucy asked.

While inside the monster’s body, Erza was cutting and slicing apart its insides.

“Just as I thought! The insides are far weaker than the outer skin!” Erza said as she was slashing away.

After coughing out blood for several minutes, the kraken eventually dropped dead. With its demise, its body started disintegrating and breaking apart. Erza soon emerged out of the kraken’s crumbling corpse. She was covered in the monster’s blood, but it quickly evaporated off of her.

“Erza!” Her guildmates called out to her.

“Thank goodness you’re okay! You had us worry there for a moment!” Lucy said with great relief.

“Let’s not let our guards down just yet. We still need to keep an eye out for that upper general.” Erza told her teammates.

Back in Blade Dancer’s airship, the general was stunned by the kraken’s defeat.

“I have to admit. I never expected one of them to actually do something so daring as to attack the kraken from the inside like that. The kraken may have been destroyed, but I can still…”

“Blade Dancer!” Dread Lord began communicating with Upper 4 telepathically. “The battle is over! Return to the fortress immediately!”

“What?! No! I’m not done here! I haven’t killed Queen Novo and Princess Skystar yet!” Blade Dancer protested.

“Enough!” Dread Lord interrupted. “Do I need to remind you what our top priority is!?”

Blade Dancer begrudgingly complied with Dread Lord’s order and teleported herself and her airship back to Scarlet Night’s fortress.





The Fairy Tail wizards searched for any signs of the upper general and monsters. They found some stragglers, which they promptly eliminated.

One of Novo’s guards came out of Seaquestria. He was in terrible shape and he delivered some distressing news to the hippogriffs on the surface.

During the battle, Novo and Skystar were confronted by a shadowy entity. During the confrontation, the shadow killed most of Novo’s guards and severely wounded the rest. Skystar is completely unharmed, but Novo is not as fortunate. Her life is spared, but the attack from her assailant had left her crippled.

Inside Seaquestria, doctors are treating Novo’s injuries. As Skystar sat beside her mother, she recalled her encounter with the shadow.

“Princess Skystar, the reason you and your mother continue to breathe is because I allowed it. Never forget that no matter where you hide, there is no place in this world where you will be safe from us… ever.” That was what the shadow told Skystar before leaving.

Skystar was still shaken up from the experience.

Once it was confirmed that no more threats were present, all the noncombatants came out of hiding to see the aftermath of the battle. The hippogriff warriors who survived were overjoyed to be able to see and embrace their families again. But for those that perished, their loved ones were devastated.

All the deceased hippogriffs were gathered in one place and each of them was placed in a coffin as their loved ones grieved for them. Silverstream and Terramar tearfully hugged their mother as they mourned Sky Beak.

Erza sat alone on a large rock, completely lost in thought.

“Are you okay, Erza?” Lucy asked after walking up to her.

“I just… wished that this battle had a better outcome.” Erza replied. “We rarely get the chance to confront a Red Moon General. An upper rank finally appeared, and I allowed her to get away. To be honest, it’s frustrating. Right now, I can’t even bring myself to face Sky Beak’s family, not while his murderer is still out there.”

“We saved Mount Aris. That is still a victory in and of itself. I know it’s sad, but… we cannot save everyone. It’s like Aura said. This war isn’t going to get any easier, but we have to keep moving forward. Everycreature needs us, now more than ever.”

“If it weren’t for the dark unicorns and their war, no one would be grieving and mourning. Everything they’ve done… is completely abhorrent.”

“I feel the same way. We’ll never forgive the Order of Scarlet Night. And we’ll never stop fighting until we bring them down. But for now, I need to speak with Silverstream and her family. They as well as many other hippogriffs are going to need some emotional support.”

Lucy then went to Silverstream’s family, hoping to help them in any way she can.

“Silverstream… Terramar… Ocean Flow… Are you all right?” Lucy gently spoke to the family.

“Dad is gone… How can we be all right?” Terramar said as he continuously shed tears.

“Terramar… I know what you’re going through. Both of my parents passed away, so I know what it’s like to lose family.”

“And it’s not just her.” Gray joined in. “I too also lost my parents. When I was young, a demon took them away from me.”

As Lucy and Gray consoled Sky Beak’s family, Erza continued thinking about Blade Dancer.

“Blade Dancer… is killing all just a game to you? You will continue to take lives, and you won’t care who suffers. For all those you killed today, I promise… the next time we meet, I will have your head!”





Inside Scarlet Night’s fortress…

“What’s the big idea, Shadow Mayhem?! Queen Novo and Princess Skystar are my quarry!” Blade Dancer shouted at her fellow upper general.

“Simmer down, I didn’t take their lives. I did not harm Skystar and I only crippled Novo. The queen thought that she and her daughter would be safe hiding beneath the surface. I just wanted to prove her wrong.” Shadow Mayhem calmly explained.

“Well next time, tell me before you go after my targets! How will you feel if somepony else went after your intended prey!?”

This caused Shadow Mayhem to think carefully for a moment. “My apologies. I promise I won’t act out of line again.”

Blade Dancer sighed. “Sorry for the outburst. I’m just livid that I finally got a chance to lead an attack and I didn’t collect any trophies to show for it. I was looking forward to putting Novo and Skystar’s heads on display.”

Roaring Blaze then approached them.

“Hey there you two!” The Upper 3 general greeted with a smile. “So Blade Dancer, how was the attack on Mount Aris? How many hippogriffs did you kill?”

“Oh, I killed plenty.” Blade Dancer answered. “And you seem to be in high spirits even though you did not fully destroy the Dragon Lands. Why is that?”

“It’s because I had an enjoyable battle with the fire and iron wizards. Not going to lie, before this war started, I was worried that it was going to be a boring one-sided annihilation. In fact, I was worried that we wouldn’t have to lift our hooves. I’m glad we got foes that are actually worth our attention. These wizards are making conquering Equestria all the more rewarding.”





At the guild hall, Makarov received the news of the battles that occurred at the Dragon Lands and Mount Aris.

“I see. So two of the upper generals have revealed themselves.” Makarov said.

“So what happened, master? Were those two defeated?” Max asked, hoping for some great news.

“The attacks on the Dragon Lands and Mount Aris have been repelled, but… the two upper generals remained at large.” Makarov explained.

The Fairy Tail members inside the guild hall considered the second part of the news to be disconcerting.

“So not a single upper general has been beaten yet.”

“If they’re so strong, then how tough is it going to be to take down Scarlet Night?”
> Chapter 5: Upper 1 and Upper 2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

One day after the battles at the Dragon Lands and Mount Aris…

Inside Scarlet Night’s fortress, Dread Lord summoned his fellow upper generals for a meeting.

Dread Lord was the first to arrive at the meeting room and he patiently waited for the others. The other upper generals soon arrived and once they took their seats, the meeting began.

“Comrades, I thank you for coming.” Dread Lord gave his greetings. “I am pleased to inform you that we have gathered nearly 80% of the negative energies needed to awaken Scarlet Night. The time of our master’s return is coming ever closer. It won’t be long before we reached the endgame. Roaring Blaze and Blade Dancer, I would like to hear your opinions on the wizards you fought.”

“Erza certainly didn’t disappoint. And let me be clear on one thing. Nopony lays a hoof on her. She’s mine.” Blade Dancer replied.

“The humans are entertaining. That’s all I have to say.” Roaring Blaze said with a shrug. “By the way, Dread Lord. When are you going to finalize your decisions on the replacements for the lower ranks number two to five? Thunder Blast must be feeling pretty lonely being the only active lower general at the moment.”

“I assure you, Roaring Blaze. The final choice on the replacements will be made in due time.” Dread Lord answered.

“If I may, Dread Lord. I want to go cause some mayhem on a faraway land like Thunder Blast is doing now. I don’t wish to sit around twiddling my hooves waiting for the final battle.” Blade Dancer spoke.

“Fine, I’ll allow it.” Dread Lord gave his approval. “I’ll summon you back here when the final battle is at hoof.”

“Hey Blade Dancer. Mind if I tag along with you?” Roaring Blaze asked. “I could use some warm-ups before fighting Fairy Tail again.”

“Go find your own land to terrorize! And you should ask Dread Lord for his permission first!” Blade Dancer responded harshly.

“You may go too, Roaring Blaze.” Dread Lord sighed.

Once the meeting was over, Blade Dancer and Roaring Blaze were the first to exit the meeting room. Sapphire Butterfly soon followed and Shadow Mayhem left by disappearing into the shadows.

“Soon, master. You will rise again, and we will finish what we started four millenniums ago.” Dread Lord said to himself.

As the leader of the Red Moon Generals, Dread Lord took on many responsibilities including overseeing the creation of monsters, deciding where to deploy them, gathering and reviewing combat data, monitoring dark unicorn activity, and evaluating the dark unicorns that are seeking to fill in the vacant positions left behind by the defeated generals.

However, after being in the fortress for too long, Dread Lord decided to go on a mission himself. The location of interest is the alternate world inhabited by the human counterparts of the Equestrian ponies. He heard about magical Equestrian artifacts being found in that world, so he figured that there might be something that can help hasten Scarlet Night’s return. Also, he had an interest in seeing that world at least once. He is aware of the existence of portals leading to the alternate world, aside from the mirror portal that Twilight Sparkle used to travel there. After nearly a day of searching, he locating one of these portals and studied its properties. Dread Lord also sent scouts in the form of dark ravens created from his magic through the portal to search for objects that have anything to offer. In the meantime, Dread Lord conducted experiments in the fortress to create his own portal.

Several days later, one of the ravens reported back to Dread Lord, saying that it has found an object containing high amounts of dark magical energies. With that confirmation, the general commenced his mission. He successfully opened up a portal and entered through it along with the raven that reported back to him. Where he ended up at was an empty construction site in Canterlot City.

He remained in his pony form after entering the alternate world through the portal he created, but that did not matter to him since he could still use transformation magic to assume human form, which he did to blend in.

In human form, Dread Lord appears as a muscular young man in his early twenties, and his height is around six feet tall. He has long black spikey hair and pale skin. He still has red eyes with black sclera and the golden number 1 engraved on his left eye. In place of his unicorn horn is an oval-shaped red gem on his forehead. He still wears his light-red cloak and in addition, he also wears black baggy pants and a gray sash around his waist.

Before proceeding with his search, Dread Lord put a spell on the portal to make sure no one else go through it.





Meanwhile in Silver Shoals, Celestia and Luna were fighting against a group of rock golems.

From time to time, Silver Shoals was attacked by dark unicorns and monsters. However, thanks to the two alicorn sisters, Silver Shoals rarely needed Fairy Tail’s help.

After destroying all the rock golems, the two alicorns were ready to resume their peaceful hobbies.

“I wish we could spend at least a whole week without needing to vanquish any dark unicorns and monsters.” Luna grumbled.

“It could be worse, Luna. I heard Fairy Tail had fought more formidable monsters and the upper ranks of the Red Moon Generals at the Dragon Lands and Mount Aris. There’s no telling what the Order of Scarlet Night has in store.”

Luna then looked up into the sky and saw something. “Sister, there’s somepony coming.”

The sisters noticed a dark unicorn mare with a pair of large blue glittering butterfly wings flying in the sky and descending towards them. Once her hooves touched the ground, the wings vanished.

Celestia and Luna immediately put their guard up.

“Face us if you dare, dark unicorn! We already dealt with many of your kind and you will fall as well!” Luna bellowed.

“Wait a minute, Luna. This one is different.” Celestia saw the golden number 2 on the dark unicorn’s left eye.

“Greetings, Celestia and Luna. We first met at Ponyville when my comrades and I revealed ourselves to Equestria, but I didn’t formally introduce myself back then. I am Sapphire Butterfly, the Upper 2 of the Red Moon Generals.”

“What business do you have here?” Celestia asked.

“I came here because I’ve been curious about one thing. I’m curious about how will you both fair in a battle against me.” Sapphire answered.

“So you are here for a fight!” Luna narrowed her eyes.

“But in all honesty, I’m not expecting much from you two.” Sapphire said bluntly.

“Don’t belittle us! We’ll show you our power!” Luna growled.

“Exercise caution, Luna. She is the second highest of the Red Moon Generals, so she is more powerful than all the dark unicorns we’ve faced before.” Celestia warned her sister.





In the alternate world, Dread Lord was searching for a certain magical object while following the directions of his raven.

Around fifteen minutes after his arrival, he was walking through an alleyway. Also at the alleyway were three thugs taking a stroll.

“Come on! Let’s hit another bar!” The first thug said.

“Are you sure you want to drink any more?” The next thug asked.

“Of course! I’m fine!”

Dread Lord bumped into the first thug as he was walking by.

“Hey! Watch where you’re going, mister!” The thug confronted him.

“I’m sorry.” Dread Lord apologized and continued walking. However, the thug then grabbed his shoulder.

“Hold on just a minute! I’m not finished with you!” The thug said rudely.

“Please pardon me. There’s someplace I need to go.” Dread Lord tried to remain civil.

The thug responded by shoving him.

“Don’t think I’m letting you off the hook so easily! You got money on you? Hand over all your dough and I’ll let you walk away without putting you in a world of hurt.” The thug threatened.

The thug made a grave mistake in provoking Dread Lord. The general then grabbed his face and smashed his head into a nearby brick wall. As the other two thugs were startled, Dread Lord threw his victim at the ground right next to them.

“What did you do to my bro?!” The second thug snapped at Dread Lord.

“He’s dead! This man just killed him!” The third thug shrieked after checking on their friend, whose head is completely crushed.

“You bastard!” The second thug quickly took a small knife out of his pocket.

Faster than he can blink, the general struck him with an uppercut, launching him high into the air. He coughed out blood right before dropping back down to the concrete ground.

As the third thug was shaking in fear, Dread Lord gave him a menacing glare.

“Now will you let me pass? Or do I need to dispose of you as well?” Dread Lord asked in a calm yet terrifying tone.

“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaah! Monster!” The thug quickly turned around and ran.

With the thugs out of the way, the general continued on with his objective.

His raven later led him to a mall. Despite his attempt to blend in, Dread Lord received stares from some civilians. He then went to a jewelry store, the location of his objective. As he looked around, the raven pointed him to the object he was looking for, which is a small crimson crystal placed in a glass display box. He walked towards the crystal and he could indeed feel the dark magical energy emanating out of it.

“Hello sir. Is there anything I can help you with?” A store clerk politely asked.

“Thanks for asking, but I have found what I’m looking for.”

Dread Lord then shattered the glass display box with his hand and grabbed the crystal, not caring about all the witnesses.

“Thief! Somebody stop him!” The store clerk screamed.

A nearby security guard approached Dread Lord to apprehend him. The moment the security guard placed his hand on Dread Lord’s shoulder, the general quickly grabbed his hand and flung him away.

As for everyone else, the general merely ignored them as long they kept their distance and do not give him a reason to harm them.

As Dread Lord walked out of the jewelry store with the stolen crystal, a bystander took out his cell phone and called the police.

Right after exiting the mall, Dread Lord found himself confronted by a group of police officers.

“FREEZE! PUT YOUR HANDS IN THE AIR!” One of the officers shouted as they all aimed their guns at him.

In response, Dread Lord conjured a dark magical sphere in his hand and threw it at one of the police cars, obliterating it and any police officers close to it.

“OPEN FIRE! OPEN FIRE!”

The rest of the police fired their guns, but all the bullets were deflected by a magical force field surrounding Dread Lord. The general proceeded to destroy the other police cars with dark magical spheres. For the officers that were not caught in the explosions, the general fired dark magical beams from his index finger. The beams pierced through their targets, and they instantly dropped to the ground, either dead or in critical condition.

“W-what… the h-hell… is h-he?” A cop uttered before losing consciousness.

Dread Lord began walking away from the mall, but he then heard police sirens and saw more police cars heading in his direction. He summoned a flock of dark ravens to deal with the nuisances. The ravens swarmed over the police cars, causing them to crash.

With haste, Dread Lord made his way back to the empty construction site where the portal to Scarlet Night’s fortress was located. However, just when the portal was within his reach, a certain group found him.

“HEY YOU! HOLD IT RIGHT THERE!” A voice shouted out to him.

Dread Lord recognized the voice as Rainbow Dash’s. He quickly turned around and saw Sunset Shimmer and the human counterparts of the Council of Friendship.

Soon after Dread Lord left the mall, the Rainbooms went there to hang out and saw the destruction left behind. The nearby birds told Fluttershy what happened and they led them to the perpetrator.

“Who are you?! And were you responsible for the incident at the mall?!” Sunset questioned.

“Who I am doesn’t concern you, and there’s no need for us to fight. I was just about to leave and I have no quarrel with any of you, not now at least.” Dread Lord spoke as politely as possible.

“Too bad we’re not going to just let you walk away!” Rainbow shouted back.

Despite being aware of the death of police officers, the Rainbooms thought that they could take him on with their magical abilities.

Figuring that the Rainbooms would not leave him be even if he asked nicely, Dread Lord unleashed an intense aura of dark magical pressure as his eyes glowed a brighter red.

“I’m giving you seven a chance to keep your lives, but if you insist on continuing this confrontation, I promise I’ll be the last thing you’ll ever see! You’ll all be dead in an instant! So I suggest you think carefully before you decline my mercy!” Dread Lord made his threat very clear.

Sunset’s geode reacted to the magical pressure released by Dread Lord. She was able to see into his mind without her hand needing to touch him. What Sunset saw were destruction and death, and that shook her to the core. She fully realized that the person they’re facing is not a foe to be trifled with. Never before has she faced something truly terrifying.

All the Rainbooms collapsed to their knees as fear overtook them. They were all shivering not just from feeling Dread Lord’s power but also his murderous spirit. Pinkie Pie’s puffy hair deflated and Fluttershy could not stop crying.

Dread Lord then turned his back to the Rainbooms and walked towards the portal back to Scarlet Night’s fortress without saying another word.

Rainbow wasn’t about to let Dread Lord go without a fight. She mustered the strength to get back on her feet and prepared to attack him. However, Sunset quickly grabbed her arm, stopping her.

“Rainbow Dash… please don’t… he’ll really kill you.” Sunset whimpered.

Dread Lord went back to his world without any further interruptions and the portal completely closed behind him, leaving the Rainbooms to wonder who he was.





Back in Silver Shoals, Celestia and Luna were battling against Sapphire Butterfly.

The two alicorns fired their magical beams at Sapphire in a combined attack, but the general effortlessly blocked their beams with a dome-shaped shield. The sisters put in more power into their attacks, but Sapphire wasn’t budging.

While blocking their beams, Sapphire conjured a magical cloud of powdered ice that surrounded the two sisters. Once Celestia and Luna inhaled some of the powdered ice, they could feel their lungs freezing, which caused them to cease their attacks.

“Luna, don’t inhale this cloud!”

Celestia quickly dispelled the icy cloud with a magical light.

Storm clouds then covered the sky, and large forms of hail rained down on the two alicorns. Celestia and Luna protected themselves by using a barrier.

“Can she manipulate the weather?!” Luna exclaimed.

“Not just the weather.” Sapphire spoke.

The ground below the sisters suddenly erupted and they were launched into the air by large geysers of earth.

Celestia and Luna managed to recover in midair as they flapped their wings aggressively, but they were then struck by lightning released by the storm clouds above. The two screamed as they were electrocuted and they plummeted back down to the ground. After that lightning strike, the two were rendered immobilized.

“Don’t tell me it’s over.” Sapphire expressed her disappointment. She slowly trotted towards them as their bodies were twitching.

“It’s a shame that the alicorns of this era are so utterly weak. Scarlet Night and Aura Light. Those two were truly divine beings. You know what, Celestia? I was there at the wedding in Canterlot when you first encountered the changelings, and I must say that I was extremely disappointed at how you lost to Chrysalis. Embarrassing is an understatement. If Scarlet Night was the one who fought her, that bug queen would have been squashed… thousands of times over! And though Aura is our enemy, I still have great respect for her. Long ago, we upper generals, even all five of us together, couldn’t harm her in the slightest. Both of your powers together do not even come close to either of them! I suppose that there’ll never be any alicorns as great as them. I can easily destroy you two right now, but I decided to let you live long enough to see Scarlet Night’s return.”

Sapphire then took out two flasks from her cloak. Using her magic, the dark unicorn opened the flasks and they began siphoning the magical essence from the two alicorns. Celestia and Luna cried out as their magic was being drained. After a few minutes, the flasks completely took all their magic.

“Don’t worry. Your magic power will be put to better use.”

To add insult to injury, Sapphire stomped on Celestia’s face.

“Celestia, give your precious successor this message. Tell her that I’ll be seeing her one day. And for her sake, she better be ready.”

Finished with her business, Sapphire summoned her butterfly wings and flew away. Fortunately for Silver Shoals, the storm clouds vanished right after the Upper 2 left.





Inside the Canterlot royal castle, Twilight’s room…

Twilight received a message from Sunset concerning her encounter with a dangerous man. Twilight replied to Sunset’s message and asked her for more details. Sunset mentioned about seeing a number on the man’s left eye. After confirming that the man Sunset encountered was indeed the Red Moon General Upper 1, Twilight was deeply relieved that her friends in the other world are all alive and unharmed. That encounter could have turned ugly if Sunset had not stopped Rainbow Dash.

“To think that the Upper 1 went to the other world and stole from a jewelry store. What could he have taken that was so important?” Twilight wondered.

She then heard a knock on her door.

“Enter,” Twilight said.

Spike then walked into Twilight’s room with a letter in his hand.

“Twilight, you have a message. It came from Silver Shoals.” Spike showed her the letter.

Twilight took the letter with her magic. She read the message and her eyes widened with horror.

“Twilight… what’s wrong? What does the letter say?”

“It’s Celestia and Luna…”

Twilight quickly went to Silver Shoals and visited Celestia and Luna at the hospital. They both received serious injuries but they are recovering.

“Celestia… Luna… thank goodness you’re both all right.” Twilight said with a sigh of relief.

“I’m happy you came, Twilight. We’re sorry for making you worry.” Celestia apologized.

“No need to apologize. I’m just glad you two are still here.” Twilight gave the two sisters a hug.

“Twilight, there’s something important I need to tell you. That dark unicorn left a message for you.”

“What is it, Celestia?”

“She said that she’ll be seeing you one day. So there’s a likely possibility you’ll have to fight her in the near future.”

“And her power is overwhelming. Be careful.” Luna added.

Twilight began shuddering. She heard how Upper 4 fought someone as strong as Erza and how Upper 3 held his own against both Natsu and Gajeel. Thus, Twilight is terrified of the thought of facing against the Upper 2.

Once her visit at Silver Shoals was done, Twilight teleported back to the Canterlot castle. She informed her friends about Celestia and Luna’s condition. She also informed the Fairy Tail guild so they will send wizards to Silver Shoals in case if there’s any trouble. Moments later, a royal guard rushed to Twilight with urgent news.

“Princess Twilight! We got a problem!”

“What is it?” Twilight asked the guard with concern and worry.

“It’s Chrysalis, Cozy Glow, and Tirek! They have gone missing!”

“Whaaaaaaaaaaaat?!” Twilight exclaimed as her wings spread out.

Twilight and Spike went to the prison where the three villains were held at.

“What happened here?” Twilight asked a prison guard.

“I don’t know your majesty! One moment, they were there and the next, they were gone!” The guard answered.

“Do you think the Order of Scarlet Night took them?” Spike nervously asked Twilight.

“No doubt about it. And whatever they’re planning with them, it can’t be good.”





Back at Scarlet Night’s fortress, Dread Lord has returned after completing his mission in the alternate world. Dread Lord noticed that he was still in human form and changed back to pony form.

Sapphire Butterfly soon returned to the fortress after finishing with her field trip.

“I see you have returned, Dread Lord.” Sapphire said. “How was your trip to the other world?”

“To be honest, I wouldn’t mind going back there to sightsee after our war is over.”

“I also went on a little trip outside the fortress. I paid Celestia and Luna a visit at Silver Shoals and I took these from them.” Sapphire showed the two flasks containing Celestia and Luna’s magical essence.

“I see…”

“And before coming back, I got another gift for Scarlet Night. I acquired a magical artifact from an ancient ruin. The creature known as Ahuizotl tried to stop me and naturally, I entombed him.”

“Sapphire, may I see those flasks?” Dread Lord then took the two flasks. “I have an idea on what to do with these.”

Shadow Mayhem then arrived.

“I have brought these three, as requested.” The Upper 5 presented the stone statues of Chrysalis, Cozy Glow, and Tirek.

“Very good…” Dread Lord said as he approached the statues.

“Pleased to finally meet you. I have some use for you three.” The Upper 1 said ominously.

Dread Lord has a plan for them and he is going to see to it that they help the Order of Scarlet Night in one way or another, whether they want to or not.
> Extra: Contact with Discord
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ponyville. Day.

Fluttershy was doing one of her usual daily activities, which is feeding the animals in the Animal Sanctuary and around her cottage. The pegasus was singing blissfully as she was giving the food.

Angel Bunny suddenly ran up to Fluttershy, and he appeared to have something urgent to say.

“What is it, Angel?” Fluttershy asked.

Angel answered that there is someone waiting for her in the cottage.

“There’s someone in the cottage. Who could it be?” Fluttershy wondered.

Angel then said that she needed to see for herself and urged her to hurry.

Fluttershy went back to her cottage. Once she went inside, she was surprised to see a familiar face as she dropped her basket of food. The one Fluttershy is seeing is none other than the draconequus, Discord.

“Hello Fluttershy.” Discord greeted.

“Discord… is that really you?” Fluttershy couldn’t believe her eyes.

“Yes, Fluttershy… it’s me.”

“Discord!” Fluttershy flew towards Discord, wanting to give him a hug.

However, as she tried to embrace him, she went through him like he wasn’t actually there.

“Discord?”

“I’m sorry Fluttershy. What you’re seeing is just a projection. My real body is still imprisoned in the chaos dimension. Aside from creating this projection, I can’t do anything else in this world. I can’t even move a pebble.”

“Oh, I see. But how have you been?”

“Well… being stuck in my own home isn’t fun at all. Luckily, I can still see what’s going on in this world and watching the Fairy Tail wizards in action has been entertaining. And in case you’re wondering, I cannot see where Scarlet Night’s fortress is, unfortunately. And I cannot spy on the dark unicorns.”

Discord’s face then turned red with anger.

“Those accursed dark unicorns! If I could use my magic here, I would send them all to another dimension where I’ll force them to endure never-ending chaos for all eternity! Just who do they think they are?! Causing chaos in Equestria is my job!” Discord growled as he grinded his teeth.

“Discord, anything I can do to help?” Fluttershy gently asked.

Discord’s angry expression quickly turned into a happy one.

“My dear Fluttershy. Speaking to you is comforting enough for me.”

“Discord, I want to introduce you to our new friends.”

“Those wizards from another world? How about later today? I’ll let you know when I’m ready.”

“Okay, I have some errands I need to finish. I’ll see you again soon.”

After Fluttershy left the cottage, Discord rubbed his hands together while letting out a devious smile, thinking about having some fun with the wizards.





In the Castle of Friendship, Lucy was taking a nice warm shower.

As she was humming, Discord’s head suddenly popped out of the wall right in front of her face.

“Boo…”

Lucy screamed as she ran out of the shower while covering herself with a towel. Discord snickered before going somewhere else.

In Juvia’s room, Juvia was hugging and cuddling her Gray plushie, pretending it to be the real Gray. Discord’s face then appeared over the plushie’s face.

“Hello…”

Juvia shrieked as she threw the plushie on reflex. The plushie hit the wall and fell to the floor. Juvia then examined the plushie but saw that its face is normal.

“Was I imagining things?” Juvia asked herself.

In the castle’s library, Levy was sitting on a chair, reading a book.

When she turned to the next page, Discord’s head popped out of it. Levy was extremely startled that she fell back and tumbled on the floor. As she got back up, she could hear laughter echoing through the library.

“Who’s there?!” Levy said.

The laughter then faded away.

“What… was that?”

At a gym in Ponyville, Gajeel and Panther Lily (in his battle form) were there, working out. Gajeel was lifting a barbell while Panther Lily was lifting a dumbbell.

Discord performed a jump scare by suddenly appearing in front of Panther Lily while making a scary face.

“Aah!” Panther Lily yelped as he dropped his dumbbell. Unfortunately for him, he dropped the dumbbell on his foot, causing him to cry out in pain.

While searching for his next victim, Discord found Natsu and Happy fishing at the river.

“We haven’t caught a single fish yet.” Happy groaned.

“I’m getting bored. I feel like going back out there to fight monsters.” Natsu said.

Discord then emerged out of the river, causing Natsu and Happy to jump up in surprise.

“What is that?!” Happy shouted.

“Is it a monster?! Hold on! The barrier is supposed to keep monsters out!” Natsu exclaimed.

Discord taunted Natsu by sticking his tongue out and blowing a raspberry, and this riled Natsu up.

“Okay, I’m kicking your butt now!” Natsu fired up his fist, jumped towards Discord, and attempted to punch him.

Instead of hitting the draconequus, Natsu went through him.

“His attack didn’t even touch that thing!” Happy’s eyes widened.

As Natsu’s mind was processing this, he fell into the river. Discord cackled loudly before disappearing.

At the bowling alley, Jet and Droy were competing against Nab and Vijeeter in bowling.

It was Droy’s turn and he was aiming to strike down all the bowling pins. As he prepared to release his bowling ball, Discord did the same jump scare to him like he did to Panther Lily. This caused Droy to fall back and drop his bowling ball and it rolled down on the gutter.

“Droy, are you okay?!” Jet asked.

“Did you see that thing?! It just appeared out of nowhere and messed up our game!” Droy responded.

While sneaking around Ponyville looking for another wizard to prank, Discord spotted Wendy and Carla entering the Carousel Boutique.

Inside the Carousel Boutique, Wendy and Carla found Rarity lying on her fainting couch with her face buried in a pillow.

“Rarity, what’s wrong?” Wendy asked.

Rarity then removed the pillow from her face.

“It’s Gray! He did it again! No matter what shirt I made for him, he always takes it off without any warning!” Rarity bellowed.

“Sorry to hear that. It’s just Gray’s weird habit. Nothing we can do about it.” Wendy said with sympathy.

“No point in getting dramatic over it. It would just give you a headache.” Carla added.

“Anyway, I came to check on the new dress.” Wendy explained her reason for visiting the boutique.

Rarity immediately got off her couch with a smile.

“Ah! Your new dress is ready! Right this way darling!” Rarity said cheerfully.

Rarity then gave Wendy her new dress. The young wizard then went to a dressing room to try it on. Suddenly, Wendy let out a high pitched scream, which startled Rarity.

“Wendy, what’s wrong?!” Rarity wondered what could have frightened her.

“I saw something creepy!” Wendy answered.

Rarity then looked around but found nothing out of the ordinary.





Afternoon

After finishing with her errands, Fluttershy returned to her cottage and found Discord there, unaware of what he had been up to.

“Hello Discord. I just finished my chores. So are you ready to meet Fairy Tail?”

“As a matter of fact, I am. Shall we go to the Fairy Tail guild hall together?”

At the guild hall, the wizards were talking about something bizarre.

“Listen everyone, I saw something weird today! It just appeared for one moment and then vanished!” One wizard said.

“Now that you mentioned it, I also saw something strange today! It appeared to be a mishmash of different creatures into one!” Another wizard said.

“Does this thing happen to have something like a deer antler, a goat horn, one long fang, a goat beard, and bushy eyebrows?” Warren asked.

“Yeah! I remember the creature having something like those!” A wizard answered.

Fluttershy and Discord then arrived at the guild hall.

“Hello everyone, I have a friend that I want to introduce to you all. Meet Discord.” Fluttershy introduced the draconequus.

Discord waved his right hand with an innocent smile.

“Aaah! It’s that strange creature I saw!” Droy shouted as he pointed his finger at Discord.

“Natsu and I saw that thing too!” Happy said as well.

“Discord, what did you do?” Fluttershy asked the spirit of chaos with narrowed eyes.

“Oh… I was just… having a bit of fun.” Discord answered sheepishly.

“You intruded on my shower you pervert!” Lucy shouted.

“You made me hurt my foot you monster!” Panther Lily yelled at the draconequus.

“And you ruined our bowling game!” Droy added.

“Come on, no use crying over spilled milk.” Discord replied with a shrug. “Never mind that. Pleased to make your acquaintance. I am Discord, the spirit of chaos.”

“Wait a minute. I heard you were imprisoned in the chaos dimension.” Laki pointed out.

“Truthfully, I still am. You’re only seeing a projection I created. And before anyone asks, I cannot do anything else in this world so I won’t be able to assist you in the war against the Order of Scarlet Night. Believe me, I would love to give those dark unicorns a taste of my chaos magic if I could.”

Natsu then walked up to Discord.

“Hey Discord, I heard you’re powerful. So after you’re freed, I’ll challenge you to a battle, and I’m going to beat you.” Natsu challenged Discord.

“Good luck with that.” Discord responded with an amused smile as he patted Natsu on the head, though he can’t really touch him.
> Extra: Pound and Pumpkin's Matchmaking Attempt
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was another ordinary day at Sugarcube Corner.

Pinkie Pie was serving customers. Pound and Pumpkin Cake were also on the first floor, playing with Gummy.

Pinkie gave Derpy a box of muffins and right after the pegasus left, Juvia walked in.

“Hey there Juvia!” Pinkie greeted. “What can I get for you?”

“Hello Pinkie. I heard you’re great at baking.” Juvia spoke.

“You got it! Now how may I be of service?” Pinkie asked.

“I came here to ask for your help. You see… I want to make something for my darling, Gray.” Juvia explained. This caught Pound and Pumpkin’s attention.

“Say no more. Come this way please.” Pinkie then took Juvia to the kitchen. “So Juvia, what do you want to make for Gray?”

“I’m thinking that I want to make… cupcakes.”

“Okey dokey! Let’s get started!”

The Cake Twins watched as Pinkie guided Juvia through the baking process. After some trial and error, Juvia successfully baked a batch of chocolate cupcakes with blue-colored icing and sprinkles.

“Thanks so much, Pinkie. I’m going to give these to Gray right now.” Juvia left Sugarcube Corner with a box of the cupcakes she made with Pinkie’s help.

Curious to see how it will play out, the twins secretly followed Juvia, and they later reached the guild hall. After entering the guild hall, Juvia looked around until she found Gray, whom she eagerly approached.

“Hello Gray. I have a treat for you.” Juvia presented the box of cupcakes.

After taking a quick look at the cupcakes, Gray took one of the cupcakes and ate it.

“So, how was it?” Juvia asked.

Pound and Pumpkin Cake were watching closely to see Gray’s response.

“It’s okay, I guess.” Gray replied.

Gray then left the guild hall without taking another cupcake, though Juvia was still happy that he tried one. However, the twins were not satisfied with the outcome.

“Oh come on! That’s it?!” Pound Cake exclaimed.

“She worked hard on those cupcakes! Gray was supposed to be acting more romantic!” Pumpkin Cake commented.

“Those two are made for each other. They are the perfect pair! So they should be acting like one!” Pound Cake said.

The twins thought back to the time when Ponyville first met Fairy Tail and during the welcome-to-Equestria party, Pound and Pumpkin were mesmerized when Gray and Juvia created beautiful ice sculptures together.

“Pumpkin, there must be a way to bring them together.”

“Actually, there is. I just got an idea.” Pumpkin Cake spoke.

The twins have now made it their mission to make Gray and Juvia a true couple.





Back at Sugarcube Corner, inside the Cake Twins’ room…

“So what’s your plan, Pumpkin?” Pound Cake asked his sister.

“We’re going to use… a love potion!” Pumpkin Cake answered.

“You know how to make one?”

“Yes. I have been taking lessons from Starlight and Sunburst, and I have the recipe for the potion.”

The Cake Twins get to work on gathering the ingredients for the love potion. After collecting a tuft of cloud and a bright rainbow's glow, they returned to their room in Sugarcube Corner. Following the recipe’s instructions, the twins used a feather from Pound Cake’s wing to stir the mixture.

“It’s ready. Now, we just need to get those two together and have them drink this.” Pumpkin said.

With the potion in their hooves, the twins began the next part of their plan.

“Hey Pinkie, could you please tell Gray and Juvia to come to the gazebo?” Pumpkin asked the party planner.

“Sure Pumpkin, but what for?”

“My brother and I… have a special surprise for them.”

“Ooooooh. What is it?” Pinkie became curious.

“We can’t tell you. It’s a surprise.”

“Oh. Okay. I’ll tell Gray and Juvia to come to the gazebo right away.” Pinkie agreed to help without prying.

At the gazebo, the twins poured the potion into two cups as they waited for Gray and Juvia.

“Now, we just need to wait for them to arrive.” Pound Cake said as he was rubbing his hooves together.

“Look! Here they come!” Pumpkin spotted the two wizards arriving at the gazebo.

“Hiya, Gray and Juvia.” Pound Cake greeted.

“Hello there, Pound and Pumpkin Cake. Pinkie told us that you have a special surprise for us. What is it?” Juvia questioned.

“It’s this! It’s… uh, punch! We made this ourselves.” Pumpkin showed the cups of potion.

“The special surprise is punch?” Gray asked.

“Yes! We want you two to taste-test this punch!”

“But why us? Couldn’t you just ask anyone else?”

“Because… we thought you two would be perfect together… to test it. Together. So, uh, enjoy this punch.”

The twins then quickly ran off together leaving the confused wizards alone with the cups of potion. Gray and Juvia took a moment to look at the cups.

“I guess one sip won’t hurt.” Gray said.

The two wizards didn’t think too much about what the twins were up to, and they decided to humor the ponies. While hiding inside a bush, the two foals watched with anticipation as Gray and Juvia drank the potion.

After their cups were emptied, the two then gazed into each other’s eyes with purple swirls in them.

“Juvia…”

“Yes Gray?”

“Let’s spend the rest of our lives together.”

“Of course my darling.”

The two then began hugging each other with great affection.

“SUCCESS!!!!!!!” Pound and Pumpkin leaped into the air.

Gray and Juvia were then starting to get more intimate, which was making the twins a bit uncomfortable.

“Okay, no need for us to stay here. Let’s go back home.” Pound Cake said.

With their mission a success, the Cake Twins were heading back to their home with happy smiles.

“We did it! We did it! We did it! We did it!” The twins sang as they were hopping with joy.

The twins happened to pass by the CMCs, who became curious about what made Pound and Pumpkin so happy.

“Hey there Pound and Pumpkin Cake.” Apple Bloom called out to them.

“You two seem so happy. What happened?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“We got Gray and Juvia together!” The twins shouted out excitedly.

“Oh, tell us more about it. What exactly did you do?” Scootaloo inquired.

“It was easy. We made a love potion for them.” Pumpkin answered.

“You made a love potion?” Apple Bloom asked.

The twins nodded.

The CMCs immediately thought about the time they tried to get Big Mac and Cheerilee together.

“Pound, Pumpkin, are you really sure you made an actual love potion? May we see the recipe you used?” Apple Bloom requested.

Pumpkin then showed the CMCs the recipe she and her brother used. Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo looked at the recipe and their eyes widened with horror.

“Pound, Pumpkin… DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT YOU HAVE DONE?!!!!” Apple Bloom screeched.

“We made Gray and Juvia a couple, just like how it should be.” Pound answered proudly.

“You didn’t give them a love potion! YOU GAVE THEM A LOVE POISON!!!!” Sweetie Belle bellowed.

“A love poison?” The twins were confused.

“Here’s the story. Some prince a long time ago came up with this recipe and gave it to a princess he liked. He meant it to be a love potion, but things ended up badly. The prince and princess were so lost in each other's eyes that they couldn't perform their royal duties, and that led their kingdom to ruin.” Scootaloo explained.

“Gray and Juvia may not have royal duties, but they still got responsibilities! If we don’t fix this, they won’t fight dark unicorns and monsters, and they won’t defend Equestria!” Sweetie Belle added.

“Oh… that’s not good.” The twins winced as they realized their mistake.

“Fortunately, there’s a way to break the curse. We just need to keep Gray and Juvia from looking into each other’s eyes for one full hour.” Apple Bloom informed.

“I’ll go to the guild hall to get help!” Scootaloo wasted no time galloping to the Fairy Tail guild hall.

“And I’ll go get Starlight!” Sweetie Belle head for the School of Friendship.





At the guild hall…

“Did you see Gray and Juvia? They’ve been acting all… lovey-dovey.” Vijeeter spoke.

“I saw it too. Looks like they’re finally doing it. I’ve been wondering when this day would come.” Wakaba said.

“Everyone! Gray and Juvia need help!” Scootaloo yelled as she rushed inside the guild hall.

“What’s wrong? They seem happy together.” Happy questioned.

Scootaloo explains the situation.

“I see. So that’s what happened. I thought it was strange with the way they, especially Gray, were acting.” Erza commented.

“So we have to keep Gray and Juvia from looking into each other’s eyes for one hour to break the curse. Anyone got a plan on how to keep them separated for that long?” Macao asked.

“Will we have to use force to keep them apart? I sure don’t want to get in between them.” Levy said nervously.

“I do have an idea.” Erza spoke.

Later, Erza found Gray and Juvia together at Sugarcube Corner. They were sharing a large glass of chocolate shake.

“How is it, Gray? Do you like it?”

“It’s sweet, just like you my love.”

“Ugh. This really needs to stop.” Erza sighed.

She then approached the two. Luckily, they did not notice her because they were too focused on each other. Erza swiftly knocked them out by whacking their heads with her hand.

“My apologies, but this takes care of step one. Now we just need to keep you two separated for an hour.”

Thirty minutes later, Gray regained consciousness and found himself in the Castle of Friendship. He is imprisoned in a large magical sphere created by Starlight. Guarding him were Jet and Droy.

“Uh, Droy. He’s awake! And it’s not an hour yet!” Jet exclaimed.

“W-wha… Hey! Where am I?! Where is Juvia?!”

“Remain calm Gray. You’re affected by a love poison and you just need to wait for 30 more minutes, and the curse will break.” Droy spoke as calmly as possible.

“Let me out! Let me see Juvia!” Gray demanded. He then created an ice sword and began trying to break out of his prison.

“I hope this prison holds.” Jet said as he and Droy were getting anxious.

Meanwhile, Juvia woke up at the guild hall, where she is also imprisoned in a large magical sphere. Those watching over her were Lucy, Levy, Laki, Erza, and Sweetie Belle.

“Gray?” Juvia then looked around for Gray, but doesn’t see him. “Gray! Where are you?!”

“Um, Juvia. You and Gray drank a love poison, which is the reason you both were acting… well… weird. So… in order to go back to normal, you and Gray cannot see into each other’s eyes for… 25 more minutes.” Levy explained.

“I see what you’re doing. You’re all trying to take me away from Gray!” Juvia went berserk as she also began trying to break out of her prison, making Lucy, Levy, Laki, and Sweetie Belle nervous. Erza remained calm.

Back at the Castle of Friendship, Gray continued trying to break out of his prison.

“Uh Jet, how much longer do we have?”

“Just 20 minutes left!”

However, cracks were starting to form on the magic sphere.

“Oh no! He’s breaking out!” Jet and Droy started to panic.

Gray then broke free. Jet and Droy tried to block his path, but he just knocked them away as he ran past them.

“Too bad Freed is away on a mission. He could have made a foolproof prison.” Droy groaned.

Gray quickly exited the castle through the front door, but Natsu was standing right outside. At first, Gray did not pay Natsu a glance since he was too focused on finding Juvia. That was until Natsu sucker punched him. Gray tumbled back and he was definitely enraged.

“I’m going to have to stop you right there.” Natsu spoke.

“Don’t get in way Natsu! I need to see the love of my life!” Gray bellowed.

“Sorry Gray, but I need to keep you here until the curse breaks. But hey, maybe I can beat it out of you.”

Natsu and Gray proceeded to have an intense fist fight. Romeo and the Young Six were passing by.

“Why are Natsu and Gray fighting?” Yona asked.

“It’s just one of their sparring sessions. Don’t worry about it too much.” Romeo answered.

“But this looks serious. I hope they don’t hurt each other too bad.” Silverstream said with concern.

Apple Bloom and Scootaloo were also watching.

“Does this seem to be a bit… extreme?” Scootaloo asked Apple Bloom.

“I’m just glad we had it easy.” Apple Bloom shuddered.

Back at the guild hall, Juvia managed to break out of her prison. Once freed, she made a dash towards the guild hall’s entrance.

“She’s going to get away!” Sweetie Belle screamed.

“Not so fast! SOLID SCRIPT: HOLE!” Levy created a gigantic hole on the floor, which Juvia fell in.

“Quick Aries, cover her with your wool!” Lucy commanded as she summoned Aries.

“Yes Lucy!” Using her Wool Magic, Aries covered Juvia in pink wool while she was still in the hole.

Laki quickly covered the hole with wooden constructs.

“With any luck, Aries’ wool will keep Juvia calm just long enough for the remainder of the hour.” Lucy remarked.

For a time, the wool created by Aries was keeping Juvia calm and relaxed. However, when 10 minutes remained, Juvia remembered that she needed to see Gray. She busted out of the hole with a water cyclone and once again rushed towards the guild hall’s entrance.

Erza stood in Juvia’s path, but Juvia transformed into water, slipped past her, and successfully got out of the guild hall.

“We can’t let her see Gray! After her!” Erza shouted as her group pursued Juvia.

At the Castle of Friendship, Gray and Natsu continued trading blows with Romeo and the Young Six still watching. The fight has gone to the point where the two wizards are using their magic against each other.

“So how long is their sparring session going to last?” Gallus asked.

“Who knows? It might be a while.” Romeo replied.

“Um, are you really sure about letting them fight like this? This is getting kind of scary.” Ocellus said worryingly.

“I think it’s interesting seeing two Fairy Tail wizards going head-to-head.” Smolder commented casually.

“Graaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!” Juvia called out in the distance as she was running to Gray’s location. Erza’s group was right behind her.

“No! If they make eye contact, then the curse won’t be broken!” Lucy panicked.

Natsu was distracted by the approaching Juvia and during that moment, Gray knocked him aside.

“Juviaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!” Gray called out to Juvia while running towards her.

In the nick of time, Starlight arrived and used her magic to place blindfolds over their eyes. She then quickly immobilized both Gray and Juvia with a stasis spell.

An hour has passed, and the curse has been broken.

“W-what just happened? What was I doing?” Gray groaned as he came back to his senses.

“Good to have you back, Gray.” Natsu said with a smile.

“What happened? I don’t remember a thing.” Juvia was befuddled.

“I’m glad you’re back to normal.” Lucy said with a sigh.

The Cake Twins watched the events unfolded and they were relieved that their mistake has been rectified.

“Well, the problem’s solved. Next time, make sure you know what potion you’re making, Pumpkin Cake.” Pound said to his sister.

“Hey! You helped make the potion, so this is your fault too!” Pumpkin said back.

“Ahem!”

The Cake Twins nervously turned their heads around to see Starlight staring down at them.

“Pound and Pumpkin Cake, we need to talk.” Starlight said sternly to the twins.

“Uh… we’re sorry.” The twins said with sheepish smiles.

Starlight gave the Cake Twins a serious scolding. She also informed Mr. and Mrs. Cake about Pound and Pumpkin’s mischief and the twins were grounded.

Later in the Cake Twins’ room…

“So Pumpkin, want to get Natsu and Lucy together?”

Pumpkin Cake nodded her head with a smile.

Apparently, the twins have not learned their lesson as they planned another matchmaking attempt.
> Side Chapter: Applejack's Grief
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Silver Shoals. Day.

Celestia and Luna were just discharged from the hospital. Despite the injuries they suffered from their unpleasant encounter with Sapphire Butterfly, they were able to heal rather quickly though they still do not have their magic. Shortly after leaving the hospital, they returned to their abode, which is a small manor.

The two sisters prepared some tea and snacks. Then, they heard the doorbell rang.

“I’ll get it.” Celestia went to the front door to greet the visitor.

Once she opened the door, she saw that the visitor is Applejack.

“Applejack! To what do we owe the pleasure?” Celestia was surprised by Applejack’s sudden visit.

“Howdy, Celestia. I was just in the neighborhood, so I thought I should stop by for a visit. I’m… sorry for what happened to you and Luna.”

“Well thank you for visiting. It’s always wonderful to see a friend. Would you like to join us for some tea and snacks? We love to have some company.”

“Thanks Celestia. I could use a break.”

Applejack accepted Celestia’s invitation and joined the two alicorn sisters in the backyard of their retirement home. Celestia poured three cups of tea and filled three small plates with snacks.

“So Applejack…” Celestia pondered about how to start the conversation. “I heard that you have been working hard on monster hunting missions. And… how are your brother and sister doing?”

“… To be honest… It hasn’t been easy ever since Granny Smith passed away. In fact, the actual reason I came here was because I just needed somepony to talk to.”

“I see that you have something weighing on your mind. Feel free to speak to us. We’ll listen.” Celestia assured Applejack.

“I’ve… been feeling lost. This war is nothing like we’ve ever experienced before. In the past, everypony can just go back to living their normal lives as usual once we defeated our foes. After our victory against Chrysalis, Cozy Glow, and Tirek over a year ago, I thought we could handle anything and peace would last for many years to come. Nopony could have predicted that hundreds of malevolent unicorns would declare war and threatened to destroy Equestria with monsters that numbered in the thousands. None of us were prepared for a war against a force like that. Aura Light even said that the worst of the dark unicorns, the Red Moon Generals, and the dark alicorn, Scarlet Night, are on a different level compared to our previous foes. If it wasn’t for Fairy Tail, Equestria would have been overwhelmed already. After the defeat of the Red Moon Generals Lower 2, 3, and 4, I was confident that everything will work out and we’ll all go back to living our happy normal lives once the war ends. Then the Lower 5 came along. With an elaborate plan, she was able to attack Ponyville. With some assistance, Starlight managed to drive the dark unicorn away, but not before the unthinkable happened. Granny Smith was killed in cold blood when she stood up to the Red Moon General.”

“It was a terrible tragedy indeed.” Luna spoke with great sympathy.

“I’ll never forget that moment, when I returned to Ponyville after escaping the trap in Klugetown and received the horrible news. My heart sank when I saw Granny Smith, completely lifeless. I remembered saying goodbye to her before leaving for Klugetown. I had no idea that it would be the last time I ever spoke to her. That night, Apple Bloom cried herself to sleep, and Big Mac did not say a word for three days.”

“Did Fairy Tail try to help you and your siblings in any way?” Celestia asked.

“After Granny Smith’s funeral, Natsu, Lucy, Gray, Wendy, and Erza did try to console us by sharing their own experiences with loss. But at the time, I was too angry to listen. I’m grateful to Natsu for destroying the Lower 5, but a part of me wished that I had a chance to confront the dark unicorn so I could ask her why Granny Smith had to die. However… after some thinking, I guess it wouldn’t do me any good. The enemy is capable of anything, even something as heinous as murder. And after a life is taken away, it can never be returned. So even if the war ends, Granny Smith will still be gone. That’s the truth that I have to accept, no matter how harsh it is.”

“What about your friends? Have you spoken with them recently?” Luna asked.

“The truth is… I have been more distant towards them. I did not want to worry them, so I tried to act strong. To cope with my grief, I have been going to the front lines, battling the enemy head-on. Just the other day at Galloping Gorge, I fought a dark unicorn. He was attacking members of the Apple Family living there. I was able to defeat him and prevent him from taking any lives.”

“You have done a noble thing.” Celestia complimented.

“But… I did not stop with just defeating him. With all my strength, I stomped on the dark unicorn’s head… over and over again. And I continued even after he lost consciousness. I finally stopped when his body completely crumbled away. After that, I realized that at that moment, I allowed my anger to take hold of me, and that really scared me.” Applejack then broke down crying. “If it wasn’t for the Order of Scarlet Night, I would have lived my whole life without knowing this kind of pain and anguish. I hate the dark unicorns! I hate them so much that I actually want to destroy them all! I know I sound horrible saying this, but it’s true!”

Celestia and Luna then gave Applejack a comforting hug.

“You’re not the only one suffering. Smolder lost her brother, and Silverstream and Dragon Lord Ember lost their fathers.” Luna said.

“I’m glad you opened up to us about this, and we’re here for you. Let it all out.” Celestia gently spoke.

Applejack continued crying in the sisters’ warm embrace.

“Applejack, the future remains uncertain. But never forget that you have friends and family who will be there for you. Always hold on to them and never let them go. And it’s fine that you hate the dark unicorns. They need to be stopped and they may be unforgivable, but fight to protect those they seek to harm. Fight for justice, not vengeance. That will make you better than the dark unicorns, and that will make your grandmother proud.” Celestia advised.

“Thanks for listening. I… feel a lot better now. It’s like a huge weight has been lifted.” Applejack said gratefully.

Applejack’s Aura bracelet then started ringing and she received a monster alert.

“I have to get going now. There’s a monster that needs to be dealt with. I greatly appreciated your time. Thank you.”

“Good luck, Applejack. Come visit us again sometime. And if it’s all right, please bring your friends with you.” Celestia said.

Applejack then took her leave.

“She didn’t get to drink the tea.” Luna said sadly.





Elsewhere at a remote town, a towering walking tree monster was wreaking havoc. A dark unicorn was sitting on top of the monster, using his magic to control the creature. The dark unicorn cackled as the town’s citizens were fleeing and screaming in terror.

The monster’s rampage was put to an end when Applejack attacked it with several large boulders. The boulders were launched at incredible speed and the wooden monster was blown apart by the impact of the boulders. One of the boulders also hit the dark unicorn and he was crushed underneath it.

“We’re saved!” The townsponies began cheering for Applejack.

“Hold on, it’s not over!” Applejack told them as she saw more monsters approaching the town.

This time, it was a flock of avian monsters and a large group of trolls wielding spiked clubs. Applejack steeled herself for a big fight.

Suddenly, storm clouds filled the sky and the flying monsters were dropping like flies as lightning struck them. The one responsible was none other than Rainbow Dash.

“Don’t worry AJ! Leave the skies to me!” Rainbow Dash said.

To Applejack’s surprise, Rarity and Fluttershy also arrived.

“Rainbow Dash… Rarity… and Fluttershy. You came?”

“Darling, you never have to fight alone.” Rarity said.

Happy to see her friends, Applejack accepted their help. Applejack slowed down the trolls by shattering the ground beneath them. Rarity attacked the monsters with constructs in the form of giant sewing needles while Fluttershy summoned a pack of ethereal wolves.

Meanwhile, far away from the town, there was another dark unicorn watching how everything went down.

“Four members of the Council of Friendship are here! This is my lucky day! I can…”

“Hey there!” Said a cheerful voice coming from right behind him.

The dark unicorn quickly turned his head around and saw Pinkie Pie aiming her party cannon right at his face.

“When did she-” The dark unicorn’s thoughts were cut off as he was blasted away.

Back at the town, all the attacking monsters have been eliminated.

“Hey everypony…” Applejack greeted her friends. “Thanks for helping out. I’m… sorry for being distant lately.”

“We’re friends, Applejack. No matter what happens, we always stick together.” Rainbow Dash assured.

“Then until the war ends, let’s defeat as many monsters and dark unicorns as possible, together.” Applejack replied before she and her friends had a group hug.

Applejack then turned her attention to the cheering townsponies, among them being a filly and her parents. Applejack smiled after seeing that a family’s happiness has been protected.





Ponyville. Evening.

After returning to Ponyville, the first thing Applejack did was visiting Granny Smith’s grave.

“Granny Smith… I’m sorry… I’m very sorry that I haven’t been visiting like I should have. It was… hard for me to accept that we can never be together anymore. But I’ll always be thinking of you. I will never forget all you’ve done for me, Big Mac, and Apple Bloom. No matter what, you will always be in our hearts. I love you. So, please… watch over us. And please tell ma and pa I said hi and we’re doing a-okay.”

Having paid her respects, Applejack then returned to her home at Sweet Apple Acres.

“I’m back!” Applejack called out to her brother and sister.

“Applejack!” Apple Bloom went to give her older sister a hug.

“Hey Applejack, dinner will be ready soon.” Sugar Belle said.

“Sounds good, I am getting hungry. Apple Bloom, want to play some board games after dinner? I would like to spend some time with my family.”

“Yes, I want to spend some time with you too.” Apple Bloom smiled.
> Chapter 6 (1/3): Pawns of Evil
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The attacks from the Order of Scarlet Night have been as fierce as ever. Fairy Tail and the Council of Friendship tirelessly fought to protect as many innocent lives as possible. Unfortunately, they haven’t been making any real progress in defeating the enemy. Since Darkspark, not another Red Moon General, especially an upper rank, has fallen. As for the dark unicorns, they are close to achieving their objective in reviving Scarlet Night.


Fairy Tail guild hall, day

Star Swirl the Bearded came to Ponyville for a visit. He had already encountered some Fairy Tail wizards during the war, but he decided to see the guild hall and meet the master personally. Upon meeting Makarov, the two quickly became acquainted.

At one table, Makarov and Star Swirl sat at opposite sides, playing cards and having a nice chat.

“Did your children really cause so much trouble for you in your world?” Star Swirl asked Makarov.

“Believe me, you have no idea how many times I received complaints from the Magic Council.” Makarov answered while reminiscing.

“Sounds like they’re a handful. But I’ve met some of your children. They don’t seem like troublemakers, and I’ve heard many praises from those who were saved by them.”

“Oh they are a handful. But at the end of the day, they are my family and I can always count on them to do their best.” Makarov said with pride.

Meanwhile, Natsu, Happy, and Lucy were having a conversation at another table.

“Any idea how much longer this war is going to be?” Happy asked while eating a fish.

“If anyone has any idea on how to find Scarlet Night’s fortress, that would be great.” Lucy deadpanned.

----------------

Fairy Tail guild hall, the day after the battles at the Dragon Lands and Mount Aris

“Natsu! I just thought of something!” Lucy exclaimed.

“What is it, Lucy?” Natsu asked.

“The Upper 3 general you fought at the Dragon Lands! Maybe you can find Scarlet Night’s fortress if you trace his scent!”

“Um, Lucy… the thing is… he doesn’t have a scent.” Natsu replied hesitantly.

“What do you mean he doesn’t have a scent?! How is that possible?!” Lucy asked in disbelief.

“How should I know?! I was surprised he can turn into a dragon!”

--------------

“Apparently, the dark unicorns are thorough in keeping their fortress hidden.” Lucy said while laying her head on the table.

“Never mind that. Another upper general showed up at Silver Shoals and we missed it!” Natsu then turned his attention to Warren. “Hey Warren! Why didn’t we receive an alert when the Upper 2 appeared?!”

“The Magic Radar isn’t completely foolproof!” Warren retorted. “That dark unicorn must have used some kind of spell to avoid detection!”

“Then we need to be extra vigilant. A dark unicorn that can make a move without us knowing is concerning.” Lucy pointed out.

“Too bad we can’t predict when and where a Red Moon General will come.” Happy commented.

“We may not encounter one again until Scarlet Night awakens and who knows when that will happen.” Lucy responded.

“Well this war has to end eventually. I made a promise to Smolder. We’ll avenge all those who have been killed by the Order of Scarlet Night.” Natsu declared.





In Scarlet Night’s fortress, a plan to unleash some familiar foes onto Equestria has been initiated.

Inside a large wide open chamber, Dread Lord and Sapphire Butterfly finished constructing a series of magic circles on the floor with the stone statues of Chrysalis, Cozy Glow, and Tirek at the center.

“It’s done now.” Sapphire said after preparations were complete.

“Then let’s get this started.” Dread Lord’s horn lit up and the magic circles began to glow.

The statues became engulfed in a magical dark-colored light and it soon filled the entire chamber. After a few seconds, the light cleared away and the three villains have been completely reanimated. However, their appearances changed as well. Tirek is in his muscular form, but glowing purple veins can be seen on his arms and face, and his eyes completely glow red. Chrysalis’ body is fully green like an emerald. Cozy Glow is no longer a filly but a full-grown mare, and her coat is blue like ice.

“W-we… we’re free? And… I have my strength back?” Tirek stammered.

“H-hey… h-have I… become an a-adult?” Cozy Glow stuttered as she noticed her size.

“W-what happened to us? Why do we look… different?” Chrysalis was confused after gazing at herself and her two cohorts.

“Hello.” Dread Lord quickly got their attention. “I’ll get straight to the point. We share a common enemy and you three have been given an opportunity to exact revenge on those who humiliated and imprisoned you. I gave each of you power, but you also lose something in exchange. Tirek, you can no longer absorb magic from other beings. Chrysalis, you cannot shapeshift. And Cozy Glow, you lose some of your youth.”

“Tell us. Who are you?” Tirek questioned.

“All that matters is that you have another chance, so make the most of it.” Dread Lord then opened a portal for them to exit the fortress. “Now go cause as much chaos in Equestria to all your heart’s content and destroy any that stands in your way.”

“Very well. I do have a score to settle.” Chrysalis hissed, thinking about those she has a grudge against.

The three villains took their leave.

“I wonder. Should we have told them about Fairy Tail and should we have warned them about the consequences for defeat or capture?” Sapphire inquired.

“They don’t need to know anything. As far as I’m concerned, those three are nothing more than expendable pawns. I couldn’t care less about their lives. If Fairy Tail gets rid of them, that’s fine with me. That will save us the trouble of disposing of them ourselves. Truth be told, I planned to erase them from the beginning. I don’t see a reason for these eyesores to continue existing in this world. But rather than shattering their petrified bodies, I thought I should give them an opportunity to be useful.”

When releasing Chrysalis, Cozy Glow, and Tirek from their stone prison, Dread Lord used five spells. The first was the depetrification spell. The second was the spell that gave them power and altered their appearances but also take away something from them in exchange. The third spell was some kind of mind manipulation that makes them completely susceptible to Dread Lord’s influence so they would do his bidding without question, which was the reason they readily accepted everything Dread Lord told them. The fourth spell enables Dread Lord to keep tabs on them so they cannot act without him knowing. The fifth, and also the worst, is a curse that will disintegrate them if they are subdued or captured by an enemy or if Dread Lord decided to activate the curse himself. This is the same curse that is placed on every dark unicorn and monster. Even the Red Moon Generals did not make themselves exceptions to this.

“And… what about the flasks containing Celestia and Luna’s magical essences? What did you do to them?” Sapphire asked more questions.

“I’m glad you asked.” Dread Lord then showed two certain alicorns, the dark counterparts of Celestia and Luna.

“Are they…?”

“I present to you, Daybreaker and Nightmare Moon.”

“I… seriously wasn’t expecting this.”

“I thought it wouldn’t hurt to have a few extra pawns.” Dread Lord whispered to Sapphire.




Cloudsdale

At Cloudsdale, Cozy Glow assaulted the cloud city with snow storms. The villainous pegasus laughed maniacally as she was terrorizing the citizens. The Wonderbolts arrived at the scene to confront her.

“Pssh. How are you going to stop me?” Cozy Glow scoffed.

The Wonderbolts charged at her, but she easily blew them away with icy winds. Cozy then spotted a pegasus couple and a filly cowering in fear. She smiled menacingly as she slowly approached the family.

“SKY DRAGON ROAR!”

Cozy Glow was sent spinning in the air by a tornado-like blast.

“Carla, help with the evacuation! I’ll deal with the enemy!” Wendy told her partner.

“You can count on me!” Carla (in her human form) then led the pegasus family to safety.

Wendy and Carla do not possess the natural ability to walk on clouds, but Wendy can fly by using the magic belt given to her by Twilight some time ago and Carla can use Aera.

After Cozy Glow recovered from her spinning, she was confronted by the wizard who attacked her. Wendy assumed a battle stance, preparing for a fight.

“What in the world are you?!” Cozy Glow was shocked to see a being that she never saw before.

“You don’t know what I am? I thought your liberators would have told you about Fairy Tail?”

“I really don’t care!” Cozy Glow snapped back. “I won’t let anything get in the way of my fun!”

“Enhancing all elemental resistances, Deus Corona! Enhancing all physical abilities, Deus Eques!” Wendy was engulfed in a magical light as she casted the enchantments on herself.




Changeling Kingdom

“BRING ME THORAX!!!!” Chrysalis bellowed as she was wreaking havoc in the Changeling Kingdom by firing magic bolts aimlessly.

“It’s Chrysalis! Run for your lives!” A changeling screamed while fleeing from Chrysalis’ rampage.

“Is this what my hive has become? How unsightly! Once I’m in charge again, I will return my hive to its former glory!” Chrysalis growled as she continued firing magic bolts.

“Stop! If you want me, I’m right here!” To protect his subjects, Thorax showed himself to the former changeling queen.

Upon seeing Thorax, Chrysalis immediately used telekinesis to grab and slammed him into a wall.

“Don’t hurt my brother!” Pharynx transformed into his flying spider-like monster form and attempted to attack Chrysalis, but she blasted him away with a magic bolt.

“You helped ensure my downfall! You took away my reign! And you corrupted my subjects!” Chrysalis snarled at Thorax as she slowly approached him while keeping him pinned to the wall.

“I did nothing wrong!” Thorax defied. “The changelings have been living better lives thanks to…”

Chrysalis interrupted Thorax by slamming him into the wall again.

“I won’t hear anymore of this nonsense about friendship!” Chrysalis spat. “I’ll retake my hive and both you and Starlight will suffer the worst torture imaginable!”

“REGULUS IMPACT!” Loke struck Chrysalis with a fist imbued with light and sent her crashing into a wall. “Lucy, take Thorax and the other changelings to safety! I’ll take her on while you do!”

Lucy did as Loke said and led Thorax away. Chrysalis recovered from Loke’s attack.

“So, I guess you’re called Chrysalis.” Loke addressed the former changeling queen.

“What kind of creature are you?!” Chrysalis hissed.

“Didn’t the ones who freed you tell you anything?” Loke asked with a confused expression.

“Nevermind! If you’re here to interfere with my affairs, then you’re my enemy!”




Yakyakistan

At the yak kingdom, Daybreaker terrorized the inhabitants as she set houses on fire. The alicorn cackled madly as yaks fled for their lives.

Prince Rutherford and a group of yaks, all wearing armor, stepped forward to confront their attacker.

“Yaks will battle evil pony! Yaks will smash evil pony!” Rutherford bellowed as the yaks let out a battle cry.

Daybreaker then attacked the yaks by breathing out a stream of fire from her mouth. The yaks gasped as they were about to be scorched.

“ICE-MAKE: SHIELD!” Gray protected the yaks by creating a large shield of ice to block Daybreaker’s attack.

Meanwhile, Juvia used her water magic to put out the fires.

“Let us handle the enemy! Focus on evacuating the kingdom!” Gray told Rutherford.

“Yaks will retreat and leave evil pony to wizards from another world!” Rutherford and his fellow yaks fled to a safe distance.

“WATER SLICER!” Juvia attacked Daybreaker by launching scythe-like water blades at her. The alicorn put up a flame barrier to block Juvia’s attack.

“Is that an alicorn?!” Gray exclaimed.

“It can’t be Scarlet Night. She doesn’t even fit the description that Aura gave us.” Juvia pointed out.

“Listen well you two! I am Daybreaker! Fear me! For I will burn everything!” The alicorn boasted.

“Whatever she is, she’s clearly an enemy and we need to stop her.” Gray said.

Preparing for battle, Gray removed his shirt and Juvia took off her coat.

“Was removing a piece of your clothing really necessary?” Daybreaker gave them a perplexed look.




Canterlot

At the Canterlot royal castle, Twilight was meditating at the castle gardens to ease stress and anxiety. Celestia’s warning concerning the Upper 2 still lingers in Twilight’s mind.

“Can’t stop thinking about Sapphire Butterfly?” Aura Light asked telepathically.

“How can I not? I know there are three old foes to worry about, but you said it yourself that they don’t compare to the Red Moon Generals. And we’re talking about an upper general that is ranked higher than the two upper members that Fairy Tail encountered so far. To be honest, I’m terrified to think what she is capable of. Celestia and Luna didn’t stand a chance against her so how can I fare any better?”

“I see you’re plagued with doubt. I won’t sugarcoat it; Sapphire Butterfly will be a fearsome adversary to face. However, you and your friends will still be essential in ending this war, just as much as Fairy Tail. Don’t forget that you have my gift. Believe in the power you possess. I speak the truth when I say that the armor I gave you will help you immensely. In fact, it will be crucial in the final battle against Scarlet Night. You will see when the time comes.”

“When you put it that way, I feel a little less nervous. But I’m still greatly nervous.”

Aura then sensed an incoming threat. “Twilight! Beware! Danger approaching!”

As Twilight was alerted by Aura’s warning, a dark blue vortex suddenly appeared behind her and pulled her in.

When the princess came to, she found herself in the middle of an empty street in what appears to be Canterlot. She surveyed her surroundings and noticed that the sky is nothing but deep darkness. Twilight quickly guessed that she is in another dimension. She then flew to the roof of a nearby building for a better view of the Canterlot in the dark dimension, and it appeared to be deserted.

“H-hello! Is anypony there?” Twilight called out.

“It’s wonderful to see you again, Twilight Sparkle.” A familiar voice spoke to her.

A chill ran down Twilight’s spine as she turned her attention to the speaker. She then came face-to-face with her very first foe, Nightmare Moon.

“Fate sure works in mysterious ways. When we first met, you were just a lowly unicorn. And now, you’re an alicorn and the next ruler of Equestria no less.” Nightmare Moon remarked.

“N-Nightmare Moon?!” Twilight gasped.

“Yes, Twilight. I have returned.” Nightmare Moon smiled menacingly.

“Oh no. Did the Order of Scarlet Night corrupt Luna?”

“No. She is a completely separate entity. Luna is still with Celestia at Silver Shoals.” Aura eased Twilight’s worries.

“I have a score to settle with you. I would have brought about eternal night if it weren’t for you and your meddling friends!” Nightmare Moon snarled.

“Do not be afraid. You are more powerful than you were back then. You can do this.” Aura assured Twilight.

Twilight then magically equipped her armor and got into a fighting stance. “Let’s do this!”




Everfree Forest

Tirek slowly made his way to Ponyville as he razed the Everfree Forest to the ground with destructive beams.

His rampage came to a halt when he was struck in the head by a magic beam, causing him to flinch. He quickly turned his attention to where the beam came from and saw Twilight’s six friends, all wearing their magic robes.

“Ugh, looks like you had an awful makeover.” Rarity commented on Tirek’s current appearance.

“If it isn’t the ponies I hate the most. So what’s with the robes you’re all wearing? Some kind of fashion statement? And where is Twilight Sparkle?”

“Your biggest concern right now is us!” Starlight bellowed.

“And these robes are more than just a fashion statement, as you will soon see.” Rainbow Dash smirked.

“Whatever. I can deal with Sparkle after I take care of her friends.” Tirek smiled as he cracked his knuckles.
> Chapter 6 (2/3): Battle Against the Pawns
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Battle against Tirek

A magical orb formed between Tirek’s horns and he fired a beam at his enemies. Starlight repelled the beam with her own magic blast. Rainbow Dash proceeded to assault Tirek with a strong wind current.

Tirek crossed his arms and shielded his face from the wind current. Rainbow flew towards the centaur at super-fast speed and kicked the side of his head. Tirek then repeatedly tried to punch Rainbow Dash.

“Ha Ha! You’re too slow!” Rainbow mocked as she was dodging Tirek’s fists.

Tirek continued throwing his punches, trying to get a hit on Rainbow only to keep missing, much to his frustration. As his anger towards the ponies welled up inside of him, his body’s size increased by a few feet.

“Fly! My pretties!” Fluttershy summoned a flock of ethereal crows to attack Tirek.

“What are these?!” As the crows pecked and clawed at him, he flailed his arms around like he was swatting away flies.

“Fluttershy, can’t you just summon a huge army of those mystical creatures to attack him with?” Applejack asked.

“Summoning these creatures use up my stamina. The larger the creature or the more I summon at the same time, the more energy I uses. If I’m not careful with the usage of my powers, I can end up completely exhausted.” Fluttershy explained.

As Tirek was fending off the ethereal crows, Rarity and Starlight pelted him with diamond-shaped projectiles and magic beams, respectively.

“PARTY CANNON BLAST!” Pinkie fired her party cannon and Tirek was struck by a colorful, glittering explosion.

The centaur then levitated many large rocks and launched them towards the ponies. Applejack used her power and the rocks stopped in midair.

“Hate to break it to you, but I now have the ability to manipulate earth!” Applejack then launched the rocks back at Tirek with triple the speed and force, knocking him down.

Tirek’s frustration towards the ponies grew as he got back on his hooves and his size increased again.

“Um, girls… it looks like Tirek is… getter bigger.” Fluttershy nervously said.

“It seems the more he’s angry, the larger he becomes.” Starlight deduced.

“But is there a limit to how big he can get?” Rarity asked.

With a blood-curdling yell, Tirek stomped his two front hooves on the ground and unleashed a tremor that knocked the ponies off balance, except for Rainbow Dash since she was flying. Tirek quickly fired a large blast at Rarity. The attack hit its mark and injured her. He then attacked Fluttershy next, but her hairpins glowed blue and a bright blue barrier formed to block the attack. The centaur was about to fire another blast, but Rainbow interrupted him with powerful gusts of wind. Fluttershy flew to the downed Rarity to help her. The pegasus’ hairpins glowed pink and Rarity was covered in a pink light. After a few seconds, she was as good as new.

As Rainbow Dash zoomed around Tirek and evaded his arm swings, she landed multiple strikes on him with her hooves. As he seethed with rage, he became larger once again. From his mouth, Tirek let out an ultrasonic, super-loud roar that stunned Rainbow. He finally landed a hit as he slammed the rainbow-maned pegasus back with incredible strength, injuring her wing and sent her tumbling on the ground. As Rainbow groaned in pain, Fluttershy flew to her.

“You need to be careful!” Fluttershy then covered Rainbow Dash in a pink light and she was fully healed in no time.

“So the shy one has healing powers?! Then I need to eliminate her first!” Tirek thought as he prepared to fire a powerful magic blast at Fluttershy.

Applejack grabbed one of Tirek’s horns with her lasso and pulled it, causing him to misfire. Rarity struck his head with a large baseball bat construct, giving him a headache. Starlight followed up by hitting his face with a super-charged magic blast.

“Aaaah! My eyes!” Tirek cried.

“PARTY PIE ATTACK!” Pinkie hurled a sparkly pie at Tirek and covered his face in a glittering explosion.

“PARTY CAKE BARRAGE!” Pinkie then bombarded the centaur by throwing sparkly explosive cakes at him in rapid speed.

“Why are you naming your attacks?” Starlight asked Pinkie with an annoyed look.

“The Fairy Tail wizards do that all the time, so I want to try it too!” Pinkie answered with a cheerful smile as she continued with her attack.

“ENOUGH!!!!!” Tirek let out another ultrasonic roar.

The ponies covered their ears to protect their eardrums. A magic orb formed between Tirek’s horns and he was enlarging it as much as he can before unleashing it. Rainbow struck Tirek’s horns with lightning while he was still channeling magic in them. This resulted in an explosion, destroying both of his horns in the process.

“NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! MY HORNS!!!!” Tirek shrieked.

“Gotcha!” Rainbow began laughing.

Tirek’s growled as his anger went up, and so did his size.

“He’s still getting bigger?!” Pinkie screeched.

Tirek formed magic spheres in his hands and released a barrage of magic blasts. Starlight, Fluttershy, and Rarity defended themselves with barriers. Applejack protected herself with a stone wall. Rainbow and Pinkie dodged the blasts by moving around at high speed.

The centaur was then interrupted when he was bombarded by magic cards that exploded on impact.

“Who did that?!” Tirek bellowed as he turned his attention towards his attacker.

The ponies also saw that a Fairy Tail wizard has entered the fray, Cana Alberona.

“Mind if I join in?” Cana spoke.

“What a peculiar creature. You’re not from around here, are you?” Tirek said to the newcomer.

“You’re right. I’m not from this world, but I have heard about you. You tried to take over Equestria before, but if you’re here for another shot, then I’m afraid you’re out of luck.”




Wendy vs Cozy Glow

As she fought Wendy, Cozy Glow attacked with icy wind blasts.

“SKY DRAGON WING ATTACK!” Wendy generated whirlwinds of air from her arms and used them to repel her opponent’s attacks.

The wizard and the pegasus engaged in a back and forth clash as they used their magical abilities against each other.

“SKY DRAGON TALON!” Wendy generated large winds from her foot while swinging her leg down on the pegasus.

Cozy Glow dodged by flying to the side and pushed Wendy back with icy wind currents. The pegasus continued with her assault by unleashing icy whirlwinds. Wendy dodged them as she once again charged towards Cozy Glow.

“SKY DRAGON CRUSHING FANG!” With her attacking hand cloaked in a whirlwind, Wendy attempted to strike Cozy Glow with her fingertips, with the attack leaving behind a trail of wind.

Cozy Glow flew backwards before Wendy’s attack connected and struck back by generating a massive, spiraling current of icy wind that launched Wendy away from her.

“You… are starting to get on my nerves!!!!” Cozy Glow exclaimed with an infuriated expression.

Having lost patience, Cozy Glow completely engulfed Cloudsdale in a massive blizzard. Powerful cold winds were breaking apart and blowing away many buildings.

With Cloudsdale on the brink of destruction, Wendy decided to use more of her power. Strong gusts of wind surrounded her as her eyes and hair turned pink. Wendy has entered Dragon Force.

“Oh what now?” Cozy Glow wondered about the change in Wendy’s appearance.

Wendy flew towards Cozy Glow at breakneck speed and before the pegasus could react, the wizard punched her in the face and sent her flying back over several buildings. The wizard did not stop there as she zigzagged towards Cozy Glow at blinding speed. Wendy moved so fast that Cozy Glow could not counter in time, and so Wendy landed another punch.

The pegasus was then sent flying in the direction of the Cloudeseum. Once Cozy Glow was over it, Wendy struck her with an axe kick, sending the pegasus crashing into the cloud colosseum. Deeply enraged, Cozy Glow retaliated by attacking with an icy twister.

“SHATTERING LIGHT: SKY DRILL!” Wendy formed a fast wind barrier around herself and then unleashed a large powerful twister-like blast that completely overpowered and engulfed her enemy.

Cozy Glow was launched far away from Cloudsdale and she crashed into the land below. The impact created a large crater on the ground and she was knocked out cold. With her incapacitated, the blizzard destroying the cloud city has stopped. Wendy flew down to Cozy Glow’s location just in time to see her disintegrate.

“Carla, how are the Cloudsdale citizens?” Wendy asked her partner as they communicated with each other with their Aura bracelets.

“They’re all safe, Wendy.” Carla answered.

“That’s good to hear.”




Battle against Chrysalis

As Chrysalis battled Loke, she fired magic bolts from her horn. Loke dodged the bolts and rushed towards Chrysalis, preparing to deliver another light-imbued punch.

The changeling conjured a barrier to block Loke’s attack, but she was still pushed back. Loke continued throwing punches and as she was being pushed back, her barrier was cracking. When her barrier finally broke apart, Chrysalis stopped Loke with telekinesis and then flung him far away.

“Now where did Thorax run off to?” Chrysalis prepared to hunt down the changeling in question.

“REGULUS LUCY KICK!” After leading Thorax, his brother, and his subjects to safety, Lucy (in Star Dress: Leo Form) returned to the battle and kicked Chrysalis in the face with a light-imbued foot.

Chrysalis tumbled on the ground but quickly recovered.

“You! Where did you take Thorax!?” Chrysalis demanded.

She then assaulted Lucy by rapidly firing magic bolts at her. The Celestial wizard evaded the bolts and grabbed her weapon, an extending whip known as Fleuve d'étoiles. With this weapon, Lucy struck Chrysalis’ horn. As Chrysalis winced from this strike, Lucy wrapped her whip around the changeling’s neck and hurled her into some rubble. Chrysalis retaliated by releasing a magical shockwave that launched Lucy back.

While Lucy was on the ground, Chrysalis jumped on her and began wrapping her in a cocoon. Lucy quickly switched her Star Dress to Cancer form and used her twin blades to cut herself free and struck Chrysalis with multiple slashes, causing the changeling to cry out in pain.

Chrysalis then flew high into the air and rained down magic bolts on the Celestial wizard, who used her blades to deflect the bolts. Chrysalis increased the intensity of her attack by firing more magic bolts at increasing speed, and Lucy was beginning to struggle as some of the bolts grazed her.

Loke flew back and sent Chrysalis crashing back to the ground with a powerful punch.

“I’VE HAD ENOUGH OF YOU TWO STRANGE CREATURES GETTING IN MY WAY!!!!” Infuriated, Chrysalis attempted to impale Loke with her horn, but the Celestial spirit caught the horn with both of his hands and kicked her back. Chrysalis then fired a continuous magic beam, and Loke blocked it with his light-imbued arms.

While Loke kept Chrysalis distracted, Lucy summoned Gemini, who then took on the form of Lucy. The Celestial wizard and spirit joined hands as they chanted an incantation together.

“Oh stars far and wide that embody the heavens. By thy radiance, reveal thy form to me. I implore you oh Tetrabiblos, ruler of the stars. Let your unrestrained rage flow. With the 88 heavenly bodies. Shining! URANO METRIA!”

“W-what is this?!” Chrysalis’ eyes widened as the 88 constellations of the sky appeared as spheres and bestowed their power upon the caster. The changeling then screamed as Lucy and Gemini released the energy gathered in a tremendous attack against her.

After taking a powerful attack, Chrysalis was incapacitated and rendered unconscious. With that, her fate is sealed and her body disintegrated.

“It’s unfortunate. Starlight gave you a chance. You never have to be Equestria’s enemy, but you decided to seek revenge instead. I can’t say for certain if you deserved to be imprisoned in stone, but what I do know is that you made your choice and you reap what you sow. It’s such a pity that your decision to reject Starlight’s kindness ultimately led you to this. You were exploited by the Order of Scarlet Night, and then you died due to the curse placed on you by the dark unicorns. No salvation. Not even your bones remain. I’m sorry, but innocent lives were already lost in this war and we had to stop you.” Lucy solemnly said as she pondered why Chrysalis was so adamant about rejecting peace with the ponies.




Gray and Juvia vs Daybreaker

“ICE-MAKE: FREEZE LANCER!” Gray attacked Daybreaker by launching powerful ice lances.

The alicorn vaporized the ice lances with a fire shield. She then surrounded her whole body with intense flames and flew towards Gray and Juvia at incredible speed. The two wizards jumped out of the way to avoid incineration. Daybreaker turned around and charged towards the wizards again.

“WATER NEBULA!” Juvia pushed the alicorn back with two rotating waves of water and sent her reeling on the snow-covered ground.

“ICE-MAKE: KNUCKLE!” Gray created several ice fists that struck Daybreaker from below.

“WATER LOCK!” Juvia followed up by engulfing Daybreaker in a large sphere of water.

Gray then froze the water sphere and the alicorn with it. Daybreaker freed herself by heating up her body and melting the ice. Upon breaking free from her ice prison, she released a large wave of flames towards the wizards, but Gray blocked it with a wall of ice.

Completely irritated, Daybreaker conjured a giant sphere of fire and shot it into the sky. The sphere then exploded and fire rained down on Yakyakistan. Juvia conjured a water barrier to protect herself and Gray. The rain of fire lasted for a few seconds, but it inflicted severe devastation to the yak kingdom. Many of the buildings had been set ablaze.

“If we don’t end this battle soon, this entire kingdom will be burned down!” Juvia exclaimed.

“And how do you plan to defeat me? Are you going to use a rainbow?” Daybreaker asked sarcastically.

“We may not use rainbows, but we’ll show you the power of our bond!” Gray retorted.

Daybreaker charged her horn for a powerful attack while Gray and Juvia joined their hands together to combine their magic for a Unison Raid. Daybreaker’s horn shot out a wide fire beam, and the two wizards unleashed a combined magical blast of ice and water. The wizards’ attack pushed back Daybreaker’s and it soon engulfed the alicorn. Daybreaker screeched as her whole body was completely extinguished.

With the threat neutralized, Gray and Juvia proceeded to put out all the flames.

“You know, I just thought of something funny. If Natsu was the one who fought Daybreaker, he would probably come up with a silly idea of trying to eat her.” Gray jokingly said.

The two then giggled at the thought.




Twilight vs Nightmare Moon

Twilight and Nightmare Moon glared at each other while standing on the roof of a building. The latter made the first move by firing a beam at Twilight, who dodged by jumping to the side. Twilight took flight and Nightmare Moon flew after her. As she pursued Twilight, Nightmare Moon fired more beams, which Twilight managed to dodge.

“What’s the matter, Twilight Sparkle? Are you so helpless without your friends with you?” The evil alicorn snarked.

Her next beam almost hit Twilight, but she avoided it by teleporting. With Twilight out of her line of sight, Nightmare Moon looked around trying to find her.

“Where are you!?” Nightmare Moon shouted.

She was then struck by a large magic blast from above, sending her crashing into the ground. Twilight fired another blast, but Nightmare Moon quickly got up on her hooves and generated a shield to deflect the attack. The evil alicorn then summoned the Shadowbolts to assist her.

“GET HER!” Nightmare Moon ordered her minions.

The three dark pegasi took off like a rocket and flew towards Twilight. The princess of Equestria fired beams at her foes, but the Shadowbolts evaded them with their aerial maneuvers. Twilight generated a shield around herself when the Shadowbolts got close to her and began striking with their hooves.

With Twilight distracted, Nightmare Moon fired a bigger blast at her and shattered her shield, allowing the Shadowbolts to land multiple hits on her. Twilight was then hit by another magic blast, which sent her flying through a building. She crashed through the walls and fell to the ground, but thanks to her armor, Twilight did not feel much pain. However, the Shadowbolts did not let up on their assault.

Twilight’s horn lit up and she unleashed a large magical shockwave that disintegrated the three dark pegasi. With Nightmare Moon’s minions dealt with, Twilight looked up to see the evil alicorn hovering in the air staring her down. The two opposing alicorns then charged their horns, preparing to unleash a powerful attack.

At the same time, Twilight and Nightmare Moon shot fully powered beams at each other. Their attacks clashed and entered a power struggle.

“Twilight! You have the power! USE IT!” Aura encouraged.

“Give up, Twilight Sparkle! You cannot defeat me!” Nightmare Moon growled as she remained focused on overpowering her opponent.

“Yes… I… CAAAAAAAAAAAN!!!!” Twilight roared.

The ruler of Equestria summoned every ounce of determination she could muster and her body was engulfed in a radiant aura. Her horn released a beam of intense light that easily pushed back Nightmare Moon’s beam and quickly reached the evil alicorn.

“NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!” Nightmare Moon cried as the light burned her away.

With her opponent defeated, a bright vortex opened above Twilight and pulled her in. She soon returned to the castle garden of her Canterlot.

“I… I won… I actually did it!” Twilight started relishing in her victory.

“Yes, yes you did. Well done Twilight.” Aura congratulated her.

“Aura… is it really possible for me to defeat an upper general?”

“Yes, Twilight. As I said earlier, you have the power.”

Thanks to the destruction of Daybreaker and Nightmare Moon, Celestia and Luna’s magical essences have been released and they made their way back to their owners.

At Silver Shoals, Celestia and Luna could feel their magic returning as their horns glow.

“Sister! Our magic has returned!” Luna shot up with excitement.




Battle against Tirek cont.

Cana has joined the battle against Tirek. She assailed the centaur with magic cards that released bolts of lightning. Rainbow and Starlight also attacked with a lightning storm and rapid-firing magic bolts. Tirek crossed his arms and defended himself with a barrier.

Fluttershy summoned a group of ethereal serpents that popped out of the ground beneath Tirek and bit his legs, causing him to wince. While he was busy shaking them off and stomping on them, Pinkie initiated a surprise attack.

“PARTY CANNON RAPID FIRE!” With her party cannon, Pinkie bombarded Tirek with colorful rapid-firing cannon blasts.

Applejack then launched a giant boulder at the centaur, causing him to reel on the ground, but he quickly recovered. Applejack caught his neck with her lasso and tried to pull him down, but Tirek grabbed the lasso and flung the earth pony. Rarity pierced Tirek’s right front leg with a harpoon construct, causing him to cry out in pain.

“Ponies, I know a spell that should be powerful enough to take this guy down! But we’ll have a better chance if you can keep him still for just a few minutes!” Cana told her allies.

Applejack manipulated the earth to pull Tirek’s legs into the ground. Starlight then restrained his arms by wrapping magical chains around him, and Rarity used a cloth construct to cover his mouth.

“Cana! Now would be the time to use that spell of yours!” Starlight urged.

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

Tirek’s eyes widened as he was swallowed by the light that Cana unleashed. When the light died down after a short time, Cana and the ponies saw the centaur lying on the ground. They then took an opportunity to catch their breath.

“That. Was. AWESOOOOOOOOOOME!” Rainbow shouted excitedly at the top of her lungs.

“I would never have guessed that one who loves drinking alcohol would possess this kind of power.” Starlight was awestruck.

However, before they started celebrating, they heard groans coming from Tirek and their eyes widened with shock once they saw him slowly rising back up. While Cana’s Fairy Glitter did considerable damage, it wasn’t enough to put Tirek down.

“You little pest! That really hurt!” Tirek snarled and his size further increased.

“Oh come on! What does it take to beat him?!” Rainbow exclaimed.

“THAT’S IT! NO MORE GAMES! TIME TO OBLITERATE YOU!”

Tirek’s anger reached a boiling point, and a field of destructive energy surrounded his body. The energy field was slowly expanding and the ground beneath him was decaying. Cana and the ponies tried stopping him with ranged attacks, but the energy field neutralized anything thrown at him. Tirek raised both of his front hooves, preparing to stomp.

“Everyone, brace yourselves.” Starlight said nervously, expecting a powerful attack to come their way.

Tirek then stomped, but aside from cracking the ground beneath him, nothing else happened. There was no devastating attack heading towards Tirek’s enemies, much to everyone’s confusion. Also, the energy field surrounding Tirek had dissipated.

“Wha-what happened?” Tirek wondered.

“Guess I’ve arrived at the right time.” A man’s voice said.

Everyone’s attention then turned to the new arrival.

“DAD?!!!” Cana exclaimed.

“It’s Gildarts!!!” The six ponies said in unison.

“Hey sweetie! We haven’t been talking much lately! How have you been?” Gildarts cheerfully greeted his daughter.

“We’re in the middle of a serious battle right now!” Cana replied with an annoyed expression. “And why are you here!?”

“Now Cana, don’t be rude. You should be happy that your father came here to help.” Rarity lightly scolded her.

“It doesn’t matter how many of you there are, I’ll crush you all!” Tirek bellowed.

“Come on big guy! Do your worst!” Gildarts taunted.

Tirek snorted angrily and charged at Gildarts with a fist imbued with destructive energy. Gildarts imbued his fist with his Crush magic as he prepared to take Tirek head-on. The two clashed their fists, with the impact creating a massive shockwave and shattering the ground beneath them.

Tirek then attacked with his other fist, but Gildarts dodged it and punched him back. After sliding back many feet, the centaur retaliated by attacking the wizard with a barrage of magic blasts. Gildarts used his Crush magic to nullify the attacks. Tirek was interrupted when he was struck by Cana’s magic cards.

“Don’t think you’re getting all the fun, old man! We’ve been fighting this guy before you showed up!” Cana shouted.

“Uh, you came here after us.” Fluttershy told Cana.

Tirek unleashed one more ultrasonic roar, and once again, everyone except Tirek had to cover their ears.

“AAAAAAAAAAHHH!!! MY EARS!!!” Cana yelled.

“I don’t know how much more I can take!” Rarity screamed.

The roar did not last long as Tirek suddenly felt a sharp pain in his chest. He held his chest tightly as he was coughing out blood.

“He doesn’t look so good.” Pinkie remarked.

“Looks like his power is taking a toll on his body! He does have a limit!” Starlight surmised.

“So if he keeps fighting, he’ll drop eventually!” Rainbow chimed in.

“No… I’m not going to lose… NOT AGAIN!” Tirek hoarsely spoke as he was gasping for air.

His mind was in a frenzy. Fighting through the pain, he raised both of his hands over his head, generated a gigantic magic sphere, and erratically fired magic blasts in all directions. Starlight and Rarity shielded everyone with barriers.

To distract Tirek, Fluttershy summoned a massive flock of ethereal falcons, as many as she could with her remaining stamina. The falcons swarmed over Tirek, causing him to shift the focus of his attacks to them. With Tirek distracted, Gildarts rushed towards the centaur for one last attack.

“PURIFYING TRUTH: ABSOLUTE HEAVEN!” Gildarts imbued his left prosthetic arm with his Crush magic to deliver a powerful strike.

Tirek screamed as he was engulfed in a massive explosion. This attack resulted in a huge cloud of heavy smoke at the spot where Tirek stood.

Cana and the ponies watched the smoke carefully. As it was clearing away, they can see Tirek’s silhouette and he appeared to be still standing.

“Seriously?! It’s not over yet?!” Rainbow screeched while pulling her mane.

However, when the smoke completely cleared up, they could see Tirek’s eyes without any light in them, his mouth open, and his body unresponsive. The purple veins also stopped glowing. He had lost consciousness while standing.

“Okay! It’s over now!” Pinkie said chirpily.

With his body reaching its limit and all the damage he sustained during the battle, Tirek could not continue. This marked his defeat, and with his defeat, the disintegration curse activated. The six ponies, Cana, and Gildarts watched as Tirek’s body slowly crumbled away into dust.

“I guess he’s gone… for good this time.” Starlight commented.

“I know he was our enemy, but… it’s sad that his life had to end this way.” Fluttershy said sorrowfully.

“Better him than the ones we love.” Applejack did not show any sympathy for Tirek.

“With how the war has been going, I’ll take any good news. I sure am not going to miss him.” Rainbow Dash also did not feel any sadness for their foe.

“Cana, I’ve been thinking. The food at Canterlot is great. Maybe, after the war ends, we and the whole guild can all celebrate…”

Before he could finish his sentence, Gildarts suddenly started coughing. Blood was dripping out of his mouth and he quickly collapsed.

“Dad…?”

Once Cana and the ponies turned their attention to him, they gasped in horror to see Gildarts lying motionless on the ground with a dark red dagger stabbed into his back and Dread Lord standing right next to him. Dread Lord stared for a brief moment before vanishing.

“DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD!!!!” Cana shrieked as she and the ponies rushed to Gildarts.

“Dad! Stay with me! Please don’t die!” Cana cried out as she knelt on the ground beside her father.




Aftermath

Gildarts Clive, the ace of Fairy Tail, has been dealt a crippling blow. Fluttershy already tried using her healing ability, but it had no effect. Right after hearing about this terrible incident, Natsu, Happy, Lucy, Gray, Erza, Wendy, and Carla arrived at the Canterlot castle infirmary, where they found Gildarts lying on a bed and Cana sitting on a chair beside him. Gildarts is alive, but he is in a coma. The dagger that stabbed him contained a powerful deadly curse. It was a miracle that he survived.

“The doctors have no idea if he’ll ever wake up.” Cana said sadly to her guildmates.

“Wendy, can you help him?” Carla asked.

Wendy then tried using her healing magic, but Gildarts unfortunately did not regain consciousness.

“I’m sorry. I’m not sure if there’s anything I can do.” Wendy was disheartened.

“This… can’t be… not Gildarts.” Lucy stammered with a distraught expression.

“To think… something like this… could happen to him.” Happy uttered in disbelief.

“Chances are… we may have to battle Scarlet Night without him.” Erza said sorrowfully.

“Grrrrrrrrrr. I am so mad right now! The one who did this needs to pay!” Natsu spoke with intense anger.

“You’re not the only one angry here.” Gray told Natsu.

“Guys, I’ll be staying here with him. Until he wakes up, I’m going to be at his side.” Cana told her guildmates.

Natsu’s group later left the infirmary.

“Gildarts, I promise you. If I ever meet the one who put you in a coma, I’ll incinerate him.” Natsu swore to himself.




Scarlet Night’s Fortress

“Dread Lord, I commend you for eliminating Fairy Tail’s strongest wizard.” Sapphire Butterfly praised.

“I loathed employing such a dishonorable sneak attack, but I couldn’t pass up on an opportunity to remove him from the equation. An enemy of his caliber could pose a huge problem for us in the upcoming battle.”

“By the way, all the pawns have been eliminated.” Sapphire Butterfly informed.

“No matter. Nothing of value is lost.” Dread Lord said callously concerning the demise of the pawns.

“But what about Celestia and Luna’s magical essences? I went through the trouble of collecting them and now they’re back with their owners.” Sapphire pouted.

“Not to worry. I have something else in mind. SHADOW MAYHEM!!!”

Responding to Dread Lord’s call, Shadow Mayhem then appeared out of the shadows.

“Yes, Dread Lord?”

“It’s that time, the time that you have been waiting for.”

“You mean…?”

“Yes, Shadow Mayhem. You’re about to get your wish. You’re going to take away the happiness of the one you hate.”


The defeat of the five pawns was considered inconsequential to Dread Lord. But for Fairy Tail, their fighting force has weakened with their strongest member being put out of commission. Little do the wizards and the Council of Friendship know, a pivotal battle is on the horizon and it’s going to be their fiercest fight yet.
> Chapter 6 (3/3): Despair for a Princess
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

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.”
> Chapter 7 (1/2): Tales of the Past
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It all started over 4000 years ago, in a magical land that existed before Equestria. It was known as Starquestria, a vast land divided into multiple nations, each with its own ruler. Inhabiting this land were star unicorns, an ancient race of unicorns with white horns that could shine like stars. The two alicorns, Aura Light and Scarlet Night, maintained the balance of light and dark.

At one time, there was peace between the nations, but that peace did not last. Driven by greed and ambition, the star unicorns waged wars against each other for territory, resources, and personal glory. Fierce fighting erupted throughout Starquestria and it became a land filled with strife.


One day, a village was destroyed in a raid by soldiers from another nation. In the village, there was a young colt, the one that would later become known as Dread Lord. His name was Pale Star, and he was the sole survivor. He lost his home and his parents. He had an older brother, but he was away travelling at the time.

In the ruins of his devastated village, the colt sat alone just waiting to die. That was until he was approached by a tall pony. It was an alicorn with a dark crimson coat, a horn that shines like a ruby, reddish violet eyes with black sclera, and a long flowing light red mane and tail (rippling, sparkling, and partially translucent). It was Scarlet Night herself.

“You poor thing.” The alicorn gently spoke to the colt with great sympathy. “One as young as you should not have to die here alone. Come with me.”

Scarlet Night then took Pale Star under her wing and brought him back to her domain. When Pale Star asked the alicorn how she found him, she explained that she had the ability to sense despair. In her castle, Pale Star met many other foals that she took under her care, including Sapphire Butterfly, Roaring Blaze, Blade Dancer, and Soni, all from different nations. Even during the time Pale Star first met Soni, the latter wore a mask. As he got acquainted with them, he heard their stories on how each of them met Scarlet Night.


Roaring Blaze

In the country he came from, he was trained and forced to fight in battles as a foal soldier. He had no idea who his parents were. He was in the military as far as he could remember.

He would never forget the first battle he fought in. Soldiers died left and right and many suffered gruesome injuries. Despite all the horrific things he saw at such a young age, he continued serving as an obedient soldier. He was taught that soldiers follow orders.

In his fourth battle, he was grievously wounded. The military that he fought for did not bother trying to help him. He was abandoned and left for dead.

In the aftermath of the battle, Roaring Blaze laid dying on the quiet battlefield. Just as he was about to give up on living, he was found by Scarlet Night, who rescued him and nursed him back to health.


Blade Dancer

Before Blade Dancer met Scarlet Night, she was a filly with no name. She was born in a city full of corruption. It was an environment where everypony could easily betray one another to the point that one could only trust oneself. She was abandoned by her mother, who only saw her as a burden. Whenever she thought of her mother, she remembered these three words her mother said to her: You are worthless.

Left to fend for herself, the filly learned how to survive all on her own. Back then, she was only able to conjure small knives, but they could still be useful if used the right way.

While living in a hive of scum and villainy, the filly lived with one rule: if she wanted something, she would have to take it herself even if she had to kill for it. All that mattered to her was not being the one who ends up dead. Each day, she lived with the fear that it could be her last.

Eventually, her luck went south when she made enemies out of the wrong ponies, and they began hunting her down. Knowing that she would be killed or worse if she stayed, the filly fled the city through the sewers and ventured into the wilderness.

However, she soon discovered that surviving in the wilderness was no simple task as there were wild beasts that would prey on her. While resting, she kept herself awake, fearing that she could be attacked in her sleep. It wasn’t long before she started suffering from sleep deprivation.

Sometime later, she was attacked by a pack of vicious wolves. The filly managed to kill three of them, but more came and she was succumbing to fatigue. As the wolves cornered her, she thought it was the end of her. She closed her eyes waiting for her death to come. But it did not happen. When she opened her eyes, she saw the wolves shaking with fear for a few minutes before fleeing. As she wondered what frightened the wolves, she looked around and came face-to-face with Scarlet Night.

“Are you okay? You’re not hurt, are you?” Scarlet Night gently spoke to the filly.

Due to paranoia, she thought of Scarlet Night as another enemy and even attempted to kill her. The alicorn easily stopped her attacks and casted a sleep spell on her.

When she later woke up, she found herself lying on a comfortable bed in a nice room. Soon after she regained consciousness, Scarlet Night entered the room with a tray carrying a bowl of warm soup and a loaf of bread.

“I see you’re awake.” Scarlet Night said.

“W-where am I?” The filly asked nervously.

“You’re in my kingdom. Many refer to it as the Land of Darkness.” Scarlet Night informed as she placed the tray on the table next to the bed. “You must be hungry. You were completely exhausted when I found you. Please eat and regain your strength.”

The filly was taken aback after hearing that she was brought into another country and she was skeptical of Scarlet Night’s generosity. She was also surprised that the alicorn wasn’t showing any hostility towards her after she tried to attack her. She was hesitant to eat the food that Scarlet Night brought, but she heard her stomach growling. She reluctantly took a spoonful of the soup and after confirming that it wasn’t poisonous, she finished the rest of it and ate the loaf of bread.

“What is your name, young filly?” Scarlet Night asked.

“I… I don’t know.” The filly answered.

“You don’t know?” Scarlet Night raised an eyebrow. “Then how about I give you a name? How about… Blade Dancer?”

Even after Scarlet Night gave her food and shelter, Blade Dancer was still not trusting of her. She attempted to run away from the alicorn’s castle numerous times. Each time she would get lost and each time Scarlet Night would take her back safely without punishing her. Blade Dancer thought that the alicorn would give up on her sooner or later, but she never did.

After two months, she finally warmed up to Scarlet Night. Not only was the alicorn the first ever to show her kindness, she was like the mother she always wanted.


Soni

While listening to Soni’s story, Pale Star learned that the reason he wore a mask was to hide a terrible scar on his face.

Soni was born in a poor village. His parents were farmers and they struggled to make ends meet. Though they lived in poverty, Soni and his parents were still happy, and his mother was expecting another foal.

Unfortunately, the life he had with his parents came to a tragic end when Premium Shine, a young alicorn-born princess (which was extremely rare even in Starquestria), decided to purge her kingdom of all those she considered to be filth. In Starquestria, it was not uncommon for royals and nobles to oppress those of the lower social class and Premium Shine was one of the worst.

Premium Shine’s soldiers razed Soni’s village to the ground and massacred the villagers. The princess was also there to personally oversee the purge. While Soni helplessly watched the destruction of his village and the death of his family, he also noticed Premium Shine expressing delight at the carnage with a cruel smile. At that moment, rage towards the princess welled up inside of him.

The princess was born with wealth and power. She got to live in a life of luxury with full meals, fancy clothes, and a nice bed. She never even had to do anything to earn alicorn status. It was just given to her at the time of her birth. And in an instant, the princess who was born with everything took away his happiness like it was nothing, just because she felt entitled to do so.

Right after his parents and unborn sibling were slaughtered, the princess herself sadistically wounded his face and flung him into a running river. He was washed up somewhere far away. As he crawled on the ground with his face covered in blood, he struggled to stay alive.

“I can’t die… not yet… I have to kill her for what she did… I have to kill that princess.” Soni uttered as he vowed to exact vengeance on Premium Shine.

Luckily for him, he was found by Scarlet Night just as he was about to succumb to exhaustion. The alicorn took him back to her kingdom and treated his injuries. She offered to magically remove his scar, but Soni decided to keep it, wanting it as a reminder of his new life’s goal.

Because of his tragic loss, Soni developed an intense hatred for those who are born special.


Sapphire Butterfly

Long ago, she once lived in a humble village with her sister, who was one year younger than her. They lost their parents due to a plague, so the two fillies had been living on their own. Her sister, Little Cerulean, was frail, so Sapphire Butterfly had to take care of her.

Little Cerulean apologized many times for being weak, but Sapphire Butterfly never once saw her as a burden. Rather, she was her reason to live. One fond memory she had with Little Cerulean was watching the fireflies together with her under the moonlight. During that time, Sapphire promised to always protect her sister.

A few days later, Sapphire Butterfly went to the mountains to pick up berries. On the way back to her home, she saw smoke coming from her village and she felt a sense of dread running through her. She quickly returned to the village and was met with a horrific site. The village was attacked while she was away. Houses were left in ruins and corpses lied on the ground. She had no idea if it was bandits or soldiers from another country, but the first thing that came to her mind was finding her sister.

She rushed back to her house and found Little Cerulean lying in a pool of blood. Her heart sank upon seeing her little sister dead. In the end, Sapphire’s promise to protect her was nothing but words. Filled with grief over the fact that she wasn’t there for Little Cerulean when she needed her, Sapphire held her in her hooves and wailed for hours. She realized that even she had something more precious to her than her own life, others can easily trample over it. All Sapphire wanted was for both her and her sister to live their lives to the fullest together. Seeing Little Cerulean grow up happy would have been enough for her. But that would never come true, because they lived in a cruel and unfair world.

Sapphire spent days absentmindedly embracing her deceased sister until Scarlet Night came and told her that Little Cerulean should receive a proper burial to respect her soul. Sapphire buried her sister like the alicorn suggested, but she had lost her will to live. Scarlet Night convinced her to continue living and took Sapphire with her back to the Land of Darkness.





Over the years, Scarlet Night raised and educated the orphans. They studied and trained in the magical arts. From time to time, they were visited by Scarlet Night’s younger twin sister, Aura Light, an alicorn with a light yellow coat, a horn that could shine like the sun, eyes that were as blue as the clear sky, and a long white flowing mane and tail with some radiance to them. Occasionally, Scarlet Night took the orphans on field trips to Aura’s kingdom, commonly known as the Land of Light. Whenever the sisters visited each other, they would have tea together and Aura assisted in the orphans’ education. The two sometimes spar to keep each other’s battle skills sharp.

After many years, the orphans grew into adults. Some of them forged their own paths and had gone separate ways while the rest chose to remain with Scarlet Night as her acolytes.

Sometime after reaching adulthood, Pale Star had a chance reunion with his older brother, Pale Spark, in the Land of Darkness. Pale Spark was horrified when he returned to their home village to find it destroyed. He held on to the hope that Pale Star was still alive and searched for him for years. During their reunion, the two brothers spoke with each other for hours before Pale Spark went on another adventure, happy to know that his younger brother was alive and well.

During one visit to the Land of Light, Pale Star met his special somepony, a star unicorn mare named Pearl Glow. They married and had a son together.





The wars in Starquestria continued to escalate though none of the warring kingdoms dared to launch a full-scale invasion on the Land of Light and the Land of Darkness.

Taking a step towards creating a peaceful Starquestria, Aura Light invited the leaders of the other nations into her kingdom for a peace conference in the hopes that she could convince them to cease all hostilities.

Royals from the other countries and their escorts gathered at Aura’s castle. Scarlet Night and her acolytes were also there as guests. Soni saw Premium Shine, who came to the Land of Light with her son, a young star unicorn colt. Though Soni had the urge to attack the princess right there, he refrained from doing so because he knew better than to cause a scene.

During the welcome party where the guests can talk, eat, or drink, an assassin posing as a servant served wine spiked with poison to Aura Light and Scarlet Night. Aura drank her cup first and she was soon coughing out blood violently before collapsing on the floor, much to Scarlet Night’s horror.

Masked assassins wearing different uniforms then attacked the castle, and the guests fled. Soni let Premium Shine go because Scarlet Night’s safety was his bigger priority. Scarlet Night fought off the assassins while protecting her sister. She also noticed that the attackers were only targeting both her and Aura, completely ignoring the other royals. As her acolytes and Aura’s guards battled the assailants, the dark alicorn used a mind probing spell on an assassin she subdued and learned that some of the guests had conspired to kill both her and her sister so they could invade their kingdoms. All the assassins were eventually defeated and the ones that were not killed used poison to commit suicide. By the time the chaos in Aura’s castle had ended, the guests had returned to their countries. The Land of Light was put under lockdown after this incident.

Aura Light managed to survive the attempt on her life, but she fell into a coma. The poison that put her in a coma had no color, no taste, and no odor. It also wasn’t magical, which was why neither Aura nor Scarlet Night sensed it.

This incident would serve as the turning point in Scarlet Night’s life. For years, she felt the negativity caused by the wars occurring in Starquestria because of warmongering star unicorns. It was having an adverse effect on her psyche, but the assassination attempt on her and her sister finally drove Scarlet Night over the edge.





On the day after Aura Light fell into a coma, Scarlet Night spoke to her five best acolytes in the throne room of her castle concerning an important matter.

“I’ve come to a decision. For too long, these nations have been engaging in petty and pointless conflicts. I am going to put an end to all the fighting by conquering Starquestria. But I do not wish to do it alone. Will you five become my generals?”

The five unicorns bowed to her in response.

“It will be our honor, Scarlet Night.” Pale Star replied.

“We will do anything you command us to do.” Sapphire Butterfly said.

“Yes, I will follow you forever.” Blade Dancer declared.

“You can count on me to serve you to the best of my abilities.” Roaring Blaze joined in.

“Until I get my revenge, I’ll gladly fight for you.” Soni stated.

Scarlet Night imbued the five star unicorns with dark magical energies, turning their horns red and changing the sclera of their eyes from white to various shades of color. The five were the first to become dark unicorns. The dark alicorn also granted each of them a portion of her magical power, and that was how the Red Moon Generals were first formed. Pale Star became Dread Lord, and Soni became Shadow Mayhem. Afterwards, Scarlet Night proceeded to convert every combatant in her kingdom into dark unicorns. To reinforce her forces, she used some forbidden magic to create an army of monsters.

Showing no restraint, Scarlet Night and her five generals began the bloodiest conflict in Starquestria’s history. Scarlet Night donned red battle armor as she went to war.

Within a month, thousands had fallen to the dark alicorn and the Red Moon Generals, and hundreds of star unicorns from other countries were turned into dark unicorns after submitting to Scarlet Night.

As the great war went on, Roaring Blaze sought the thrill of battle, Blade Dancer developed a disturbing habit of collecting heads of noteworthy foes as trophies to signify her accomplishments, and Shadow Mayhem became infamous for torturing and crippling his enemies.

Six weeks after starting her conquest, Scarlet Night added five more dark unicorns to the ranks of the Red Moon Generals, those being Thunder Blast, War Spirit, Red Rage, Cloth Demoness, and Darkspark.





Three months after the great war began, the Order of Scarlet Night invaded Premium Shine’s kingdom. As the dark unicorns and their monster army raided the royal castle, Shadow Mayhem infiltrated the castle and his target was in the throne room.

“Your majesty, you must evacuate.” A royal guard urged the princess.

“But what about my son!?” Premium Shine showed concern for her child.

“You won’t have to worry about him anymore.” Shadow Mayhem appeared in the throne room with the colt in tow.

The Upper 5 had already killed the prince by breaking his neck.

“What have you done to my son?!” Premium Shine shrieked.

After dropping the colt’s lifeless body on the floor, Shadow Mayhem then lowered his mask, allowing the princess to see his scarred face.

“You took everything from me.” Shadow Mayhem spoke with unbridled fury.

“I don’t even know you!” The princess barked back.

“Of course you would forget those you deemed as trash, but I swear on this scar that this face will be the last thing you’ll ever see!” The general declared with murder in his eyes.

“KILL HIM!!!!” Premium Shine ordered her guards, but all of them were effortlessly killed by the dark unicorn.

All alone, the princess lashed out at Shadow Mayhem for murdering her son. With rage as his driving force, the general overpowered her.

For hours, Shadow Mayhem tortured and mutilated the princess. Dread Lord arrived at the throne room right after Premium Shine met a gruesome end.

“You did it. You finally got your revenge.” Dread Lord congratulated his fellow upper general. However, he noticed that there was no satisfaction on Shadow Mayhem’s face. Instead, his face showed an expression of confusion. “What’s the matter? Aren’t you happy?”

“S-something’s wrong… T-this burning anger inside of me… isn’t fading away.” Shadow Mayhem stammered. “But why? I killed her with my own hooves. I made her suffer. So why this rage still remains?! Haven’t I done enough?!”

Taking Premium Shine’s life and avenging his family did not bring him the peace he sought. Scarlet Night soon came to the throne room to praise him.

“Be proud of what you accomplished today. Embrace your anger. Let it be the source of your strength.” The dark alicorn told him.

Despite Scarlet Night’s words of encouragement, his rage became unbearable for him. He went on to massacre all of Premium Shine’s relatives and her royal guards and the families of those guards as well. Even foals were not spared from his wrath. But no matter how much blood he spilled, the rage never went away.





Sometime after Premium Shine’s kingdom was completely conquered, Dread Lord visited his wife and child in the Land of Light.

However, Pearl Glow was completely distraught over all the devastation that her husband had a hoof in.

“Pale Star, you understand what you and your comrades have been doing, don’t you? Not everypony you killed were soldiers. Many of them were innocent civilians, foals even. There’s… no taking this back.” Pearl Glow spoke with tears in her eyes.

“This war isn’t over yet. There’s still more work to do.” Dread Lord said in response.

“How long?! How long does all this death and destruction have to go on?! I… I can’t take this!!!” Pearl Glow began weeping while Dread Lord watched in silence.

After shedding tears for a few minutes, she continued by saying, “I… I’m taking our son somewhere far away, away from Starquestria. I don’t want him to grow up in a land that only knows war.”

Dread Lord continued being silent as he contemplated on his wife’s decision.

“Pale Star, please come with me. Help me raise our child. Let’s leave everything else behind while we still can!” Pearl Glow pleaded.

“I’m sorry, but you’re going to have to leave without me.” Dread Lord responded.

Pearl Glow was shocked by his answer.

“I will never abandon my master and I’m going to see this war through to the end. I’ve made my decision when I became a Red Moon General.”

And just like that, Pearl Glow left with their foal, and he never saw them again. Dread Lord made no attempt to stop her as he respected her decision. He also thought that it would indeed be best for their child to grow up somewhere away from the war.

Two days later, Dread Lord received some terrible news. His wife and child were murdered by enemies who had a grudge against him. For the first time since becoming a dark unicorn, he was filled with regret. As he grieved, he wondered if Pearl Glow and his son would still be alive if he had gone with them or convinced Pearl Glow to stay. After taking some time to mourn, he cast his regrets aside. It was already too late to do anything for his family and he swore to himself that he would keep fighting for Scarlet Night.

After devastating the royal capital of a kingdom one week later, Dread Lord was confronted by his brother.

“Pale Star! What you’re doing is wrong!” Pale Spark said.

“My master’s will is absolute. Whatever she wishes shall be done.” Dread Lord replied.

“Following orders without question is just making you a pawn! What would mother and father think if they see you now!?”

“Mother and father are dead, all because of wars stemming from greed and arrogance. Scarlet Night was the one who saved me while I was in the depths of despair, so I owe my life to her. We’re going to dismantle the current Starquestria and create a new nation.”

“And you’re going to murder all those who disagree with your master in the process?! How many ponies, husbands, wives, and foals will you kill for this new nation?!”

“Nothing you say will make me waver. I did not become a Red Moon General with weak resolve. I’m going to see the war through to the end and that’s final. You should just leave Starquestria and go back to traveling.”

“No! I refuse to let you continue on this path! If you’re not going to leave Scarlet Night, then you’ll have to kill me too!”

“Think about what you’re saying! I have no desire to fight you, but I’ll never betray Scarlet Night! Don’t make me choose between you and the one I’m indebted to!”

During that one time, Dread Lord actually felt conflicted. It wouldn’t be a problem if it was anypony else, but he was facing the only remaining blood relative he had. Since Pale Spark refused to budge, Dread Lord reluctantly fought and killed him.

As he gazed at his fallen brother, tears flowed down his face. That was the only time Dread Lord felt any remorse after taking a life. He gave Pale Spark a burial as a last sign of respect for him. With his wife, son, and brother gone, the only family he had left was Scarlet Night and the unicorns he grew up with.





As the Order of Scarlet Night became an increasing threat, the leaders of the nations that had not been fully conquered yet decided to put aside their differences and joined forces to fight the dark alicorn and her forces. Despite their combined efforts, it wasn’t enough. Scarlet Night and the Red Moon Generals remained undefeated.

Six months after the start of the great war, Aura Light finally awakened from her coma.

“She’s awake!” The head maid of Aura’s castle shouted excitedly before giving an order to the other servants. “Hurry! Inform the entire kingdom! And… send a letter to Scarlet Night.”

As Aura got off her bed, she still felt a bit unsteady.

“Take it easy your majesty.” The head maid urged. “You have been in a coma for six months.”

Aura was then informed about what happened during the peace conference. The servants also gave her a full meal to help with her recovery. She soon regained her strength, but she started to wonder why her sister had not arrived to see her yet. One of her servants had sent a letter to Scarlet Night, so Aura was expecting her to come rushing into her room and give her a tight hug.

“How’s my sister? Has she been well?” Aura asked.

The servants were hesitant to answer and after some silence, one of them explained all that transpired while Aura was in a coma. By the time Aura had awakened, Scarlet Night had essentially conquered Starquestria and only left the Land of Light untouched. Many who defied the dark alicorn were disposed of, and small pockets of resistance remained. What’s more was that she did not stop with just conquering Starquestria, she extended her campaign of conquest beyond Starquestria’s borders and had begun warring with other pony tribes and other creatures in foreign lands.

The alicorn of light was aghast to hear what Scarlet Night had done. She went around Starquestria to see the truth herself before arriving at the Land of Darkness. Aura was allowed into Scarlet Night’s castle, and she went to see Scarlet Night in the throne room.

“Hello Aura. It’s been a while.” Scarlet Night did not sound happy while greeting her sister. “I suppose you came here because you have heard about what I have been doing lately, have you?”

When Aura saw the look in Scarlet Night’s eyes, they were filled with cold anger.

“Sister, what happened to you?” Aura spoke with great unease.

“I’m done holding back. You’re attempt at a peaceful resolution had failed and I took matters into my own hooves. I’ll create a new world and I’m going to achieve that goal no matter what it takes even if blood has to be spilled.”

“How can you speak of taking lives so easily? Do you remember what mother taught us when we were fillies? Every life is sacred.”

“If everypony believed that, then there wouldn’t be any wars!” Scarlet Night snapped back.

“You think the solution to suffering is more suffering?”

“The solution is absolute dominance!”

“And how many lives are you willing to take for that? Have you forgotten what father told us after we became alicorns 800 years ago? Those with power have the responsibility to wield it with wisdom.”

“Tch. You’re wasting your time if you’re hoping to dissuade me. I’ve come too far to stop now. There will be no negotiations. If you want to stop me, you’ll have to destroy me.”

“Please don’t do this. You know I can’t fight you.” Aura continued trying to reason with her sister.

Having heard enough of Aura’s pleas, Scarlet Night shot a dark magic beam at her. Completely stunned by Scarlet Night’s descend into madness, Aura Light did not block the beam. After she was knocked down to the floor, Aura tearfully gazed up at her sister, who maintained a cold expression. Getting hit by the dark alicorn’s beam was painful, but what hurt Aura even more was her sister’s willingness to harm her with any hesitation.

“Do nothing or fight me. Those are your two options.” Scarlet Night said harshly.

The alicorn of light was shaken by how much her sister had changed. Scarlet Night was so unhinged to the point that words would not reach her. Distraught, Aura teleported back to her castle in the Land of Light. As she sat alone in her room, Aura broke down and sobbed for hours. Waking up to see that her sister had become a malevolent being with a hunger for destruction was heartbreaking for her.

As much as it pained her to fight Scarlet Night, Aura knew what needed to be done since she was the only one powerful enough to oppose her. Many lives had been lost and many more will die if she chose to do nothing. Aura Light donned golden battle armor and rose up against the Order of Scarlet Night.

One by one, Aura defeated and captured the lower members of the Red Moon Generals. She planned to put them on trial for their war crimes along with the upper members and Scarlet Night after stopping the war.





One month after awakening from her coma, Aura Light and her army launched an attack on the Land of Darkness.

At the top of the Mountain of Darkness, Scarlet Night was preparing to use a forbidden spell that would unleash worldwide cataclysm. It was an extremely complex spell even for Scarlet Night so it would need hours to prepare.

When Aura arrived at the mountain, the five upper generals intercepted her.

“It’s a shame that you five chose to support Scarlet Night’s insanity.” Aura said with pity towards the upper generals.

“We are her loyal and devoted servants, so of course we will fight for her sake.” Sapphire Butterfly responded.

“Each of us owes an immeasurable debt to her.” Blade Dancer added.

“Pale Star, you had a wife and a child. How can you live with this madness?” Aura asked Dread Lord.

“They’re gone and nothing is going to change that. But I’m not going to let that weaken my determination.” Dread Lord answered.

“I see. So that’s how it’s going to be then.” Aura spoke regretfully.

The five upper generals then fought Aura Light. The battle lasted for an hour and the alicorn of light soundly defeated them. Even though they all attacked her together, none of them were able to inflict a single injury on her. After all, her power was on par with Scarlet Night.

Dread Lord was rendered unconscious, but he managed to wake up a short time later. He groaned in pain as his body was covered in wounds. He looked around and saw his four fellow upper generals, all lying on the ground grievously wounded and completely unconscious.

“Roaring Blaze… Sapphire Butterfly… Shadow Mayhem… Blade Dancer… anypony?” Dread Lord called out to his comrades, but none of them responded. He did not have enough strength for a healing spell so he could not help any of them.

As he struggled to get back on his hooves, he could hear explosions and thunderous noises coming from the top of the mountain.

“Master…”

Dread Lord limped towards the top of the mountain and saw Scarlet Night engaging in a ferocious battle with Aura Light as both alicorns soared into the sky. The alicorn of light had interrupted the dark alicorn before the latter could complete her spell.

The battle between the two alicorns was a sight to see. Every time their magic collided, the air trembled. Even from a distance, Dread Lord could feel the wind pressure. As the battle raged on, Dread Lord shook with awe from watching Aura and Scarlet Night displaying their full power.

Eventually, Aura managed to land a mighty strike on the dark alicorn and sent her plummeting to the ground. Scarlet Night was also stunned by Aura’s attack, so the alicorn of light had the opportunity to finish off the alicorn of darkness right there. But instead of dealing the finishing blow, Aura made another attempt to plead with her sister.

“Sister, please. We shouldn’t be fighting like this. And there has been enough violence and bloodshed. I beseech you. Let’s put a stop to this war.”

The dark alicorn did not say anything in response and only glared at Aura with venomous eyes.

Dread Lord decided to act quickly since he was going to succumb to his wounds soon. Having experienced the regret of not protecting his wife and child and killing his brother, Dread Lord chose to use his last moments to help his master one final time, even if only a little.

The Upper 1 fired a magic bolt at Aura, but the latter sensed the attack and generated a shield around herself to block it. Scarlet Night, having recovered her strength, unleashed a powerful magic blast. Aura did not take any damage due to her shield being still active, but she was launched far away.

Dread Lord then collapsed, having used up all his remaining strength. Scarlet Night stood back up on her hooves and looked at him with a hint of sadness in her eyes.

“You fought valiantly on my behalf. I shall never forget your loyalty.” Scarlet Night told Dread Lord with an expression of appreciation.

The dark alicorn then casted a spell with several dark magic circles appearing over her, and that was the last thing Dread Lord saw before he blacked out.
> Chapter 7 (2/2): Prelude to All-Out War
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

As Dread Lord lost consciousness after interfering in the battle between Aura Light and Scarlet Night, he thought that was the end of him.

After losing consciousness, there was complete darkness and he could not feel anything. He thought he was crossing over to the other side, but eventually, he began hearing his own heartbeat and began feeling his limbs again.

“Am I… not dead yet?”

He slowly opened his eyes and woke up to a perplexing sight. He was in a red pod and there was not a single wound on his body. Though greatly confused, he remained calm. The pod opened on its own, releasing him. Dread Lord then found himself in a gigantic chamber containing hundreds of pods like the one he was just in. In these pods were his fellow dark unicorns, including the other nine Red Moon Generals. One by one, they awoke and were released from their pods. They did a head count and determined that a total of 842 dark unicorns were present.

As they explored their new surroundings, they discovered that they were in a dark fortress belonging to Scarlet Night, a fortress that Aura Light had no idea existed. The fortress was hidden from the outside world by concealment magic generated by some dark magic stones placed around the fortress. They came across Scarlet Night’s chamber, where they found her body inside a red cocoon. Thanks to a mystical clock in the fortress that also displayed the date and year, the dark unicorns discovered that 4000 years had passed. They had no idea how they ended up in this point in time, and Dread Lord wondered if the spell that Scarlet Night used before he lost consciousness had anything to do with it.

When they first saw the world outside the fortress, it was night time and they were completely baffled when they saw that the moon had a strange image resembling a unicorn’s head on it. The next morning, their first order of business was gathering information such as history and current structure of the world they woke up in.

The dark unicorns explored Equestria while keeping their presence concealed and avoided contact with the citizens. As a precaution, they used magic to remove their scent so any creature with a keen sense of smell could not trace them back to the fortress. As they gathered information, they could not find any historical records of the land they came from. Starquestria and everything connected to it had apparently faded away into obscurity. No pony alive in the current era would know about the battle between Scarlet Night and Aura Light or what happened to Starquestria after the great war ended.





After learning all they could about Equestria, all ten Red Moon Generals had a meeting together.

“We couldn’t find any information pertaining to 4000 years ago, but considering Scarlet Night’s current state, I think it’s safe to assume that she had failed.” Darkspark spoke.

“This is no longer the world we’re familiar with. It’s a shame that Starquestria and the great war have been forgotten.” Blade Dancer added.

“I still can’t believe how different the present world is from the one we left behind. It’s been so peaceful during the reign of this Princess Celestia.” War Spirit said.

“So the foals of this era get to live their lives without knowing the horrors of war. I’m truly envious.” Roaring Blaze commented while thinking about the hell he was forced to endure before meeting Scarlet Night.

“I could not help but think about Aura Light.” Thunder Blast began. “If Scarlet Night is here, is there a chance that Aura could be somewhere in this world as well?”

“It is a possibility that we cannot completely rule out, despite how unlikely it is.” Dread Lord replied.

“What should we do, Dread Lord?” Sapphire Butterfly asked. “As the Upper 1, you will have to lead us in Scarlet Night’s place.”

“You know what we must do. This land… and this world… all belong to Scarlet Night. As her loyal servants, we’re going to bring her back and finish what we started all those years ago.” Dread Lord declared.

The other dark unicorns agreed, but Dread Lord noticed something off about Shadow Mayhem.

“You got something on your mind, Shadow Mayhem?” Dread Lord asked the Upper 5.

“This… may come as a surprise to all of you.” Shadow Mayhem began. “But I have no desire to take part in conquering Equestria, and I wish to leave the Order of Scarlet Night.”

This indeed came as huge surprise to the other Red Moon Generals. Their eyes widened and their jaws dropped in response.

“You want to leave the Order of Scarlet Night?! Have you lost your senses?!” Blade Dancer shouted.

“Actually, I feel better than ever. The anger that had been plaguing me for so many years is no longer there.” Shadow Mayhem explained.

“But your anger did not go away after you got your revenge! Why now?!” Roaring Blaze asked.

“I don’t know and honestly, I don’t care.”

“All those battles together, and you’re throwing it all away?!” Thunder Blast angrily questioned.

“I fought to get rid of my rage, and now it’s gone. I no longer have a purpose here.” Shadow Mayhem calmly said without showing fear of any possible repercussions.

“How long have you known Scarlet Night?! How can you just turn your back on her?!” War Spirit berated.

“Enough!” Dread Lord intervened. “Shadow Mayhem, if that’s how you really feel, then we won’t stop you from leaving.”

The other generals were completely shocked by this.

“However,” Dread Lord continued. “There are a few things I want you to remember. First, you will not tell a soul about us under any circumstances. Also, if you become our enemy, you will not be shown any mercy.”

“Dread Lord, you’re not really going to let him leave, are you?” Cloth Demoness expressed her objection. 

Dread Lord ignored her. “Shadow Mayhem, do you understand what I just said?”

“I do.” Shadow Mayhem answered. “This is farewell then.”

Shadow Mayhem was surprised that Dread Lord was willing to let him go. He was expecting the Upper 1 to kill him or at least take away his rank. While they did grow up together, he knew full well about Dread Lord’s devotion to Scarlet Night, so he honestly did not think Dread Lord would be so lenient. Rather than dwelling on it, Shadow Mayhem took his leave.

As he departed, Shadow Mayhem left his cloak and mask behind, not planning on wearing them again. For the first time since the day he lost his family, he felt liberated. No longer driven by rage, he went on to live a quiet life, away from the Order of Scarlet Night, away from everything. Hours after leaving the fortress, he stopped by at a lake. As he was gazing at his own reflection, he used magic to make himself appear as an ordinary unicorn and hid away the scar on his face.

Back in the fortress, the dark unicorns began using its resources to build an army of monsters. Red Rage began his own personal project, the construction of the Doom Cruiser. Placed on each dark unicorn and monster is a disintegration curse that would activate when they’re defeated or captured by an enemy. The dark unicorns vowed that they would not leave any trace of themselves behind if they face defeat. No prisons, no trials, just a warrior’s death. The monsters were not given a choice as they were engineered to follow orders.





As the dark unicorns bided their time, they observed Equestria in the meantime as they planned and prepared.

Thanks to a book about predictions and prophecies, the dark unicorns read about Nightmare Moon’s upcoming return. This event occurred around eight months after the dark unicorns awakened in this new world.

The Red Moon Generals used spy bugs to observe the Summer Sun Celebration. From a crystal screen, the generals watched how the events played out. They witnessed the Mane 6’s triumph over Nightmare Moon, and they were not impressed.

“That… was anticlimactic.” Blade Dancer flatly commented right after seeing how Nightmare Moon was defeated.

“Seriously?! That’s it?! No destructive magic flying around! No blood, sweat, or tears! Just one big rainbow?!” Roaring Blaze exclaimed.

“If you ask me, Nightmare Moon’s attempts to hinder these mares were laughable. If it were us, we could have just finished them off in no time flat.” War Spirit scoffed.

After the defeat of Nightmare Moon and the return of Princess Luna, the dark unicorns continued with their observation of Equestria. Since the Summer Sun Celebration, they kept an eye on Twilight Sparkle and her five friends.

When Discord returned, the dark unicorns were actually worried because of his ability to warp reality, and they were greatly relieved when he was imprisoned in stone again. After that, they researched ways to counter the Lord of Chaos in case he would be free again.

Prior to Shining Armor and Cadance’s wedding, the Order of Scarlet Night caught wind that a threat was made against Canterlot thanks to their spies. Sapphire Butterfly chose to go to Canterlot to see the next series of events up close. She kept herself hidden during the changelings’ attack on Equestria’s capital. The Upper 2 returned to the fortress soon after Chrysalis’ plan was foiled, and the generals had another meeting to discuss the recent event.

“So Sapphire Butterfly, what are your thoughts?” Dread Lord inquired.

“The changeling attack said it all. Canterlot’s military is abysmal. Even the unicorns in the royal guard are ineffective. Honestly, I’ve seen star unicorn warriors who were far more competent than those amateurs.” Sapphire Butterfly commented.

“To be fair, they’re not living in an age of war like we did, so it’s no wonder they were so… inept.” Roaring Blaze added. “But then again, how could they expect to defend Equestria if they’re so weak?”

“As for Princess Celestia herself, she was subdued by Chrysalis after a short scuffle just because the latter got strength from feeding on the love from a single stallion. It was pathetic.” Sapphire continued. “Canterlot was just lucky because Chrysalis let her guard down and celebrated her victory prematurely.”

“So why can’t we just make our move?” Cloth Demoness questioned. “If Princess Celestia is so weak to lose to a mere bug, then we should have no problem destroying her.”

“I agree with Cloth Demoness.” Thunder Blast joined in. “The changeling queen is beneath our level, even if she fed on the love from every pony in Canterlot, so Princess Celestia is no threat to us. I’m sure Princess Luna is just as weak as well. I bet defeating both of them is a task that Darkspark can accomplish by herself.”

“No matter how strong or weak the enemy, we will not start a war half-cocked. It’s always best to be thoroughly prepared. Thus, we stick to the plan. We won’t reveal ourselves until we finished building our forces and the construction of the Doom Cruiser is completed. In the meantime, we will continue to observe Equestria as usual. It might encounter more threats besides Nightmare Moon, Discord, and Chrysalis.” Dread Lord stated.

One of the dark ravens arrived to give Dread Lord a report.

“I just received word that the changelings are still at large. I’m curious to see what Chrysalis will do next, assuming she hasn’t given up on taking over Equestria.”

The dark unicorns proceeded to watch the events that came after the wedding, such as: the return of the Crystal Empire, the reform of Discord, Twilight becoming an alicorn, Twilight going to the alternate world to retrieve her crown from Sunset Shimmer, the ordeal with Tirek, and the birth of the Castle of Friendship. After seeing the Mane 6’s first meeting with Starlight Glimmer, Darkspark got an idea on how to make ponies miserable.





While the dark unicorns were plotting and building their forces in secret, Shadow Mayhem wandered aimlessly around Equestria, planning to enjoy his quiet life in this land as much as possible before the Order of Scarlet Night declare war. While roaming the wilds, he survived on whatever edible plants and berries he could find. Thanks to his power, he never had to worry about predatory creatures. He occasionally stayed at a village or a town and did honest work to earn money. As a wanderer, he did not stay in one place for too long. He managed to avoid Tirek when he was stealing magic from ponies throughout Equestria.

A few days after Tirek’s defeat at the hooves of the Mane 6, he arrived at a remote village. He was completely exhausted from traveling a long distance on hoof and he collapsed right after his arrival. Soon, he was discovered by a certain earth pony mare and her parents (also earth ponies). They took him back to their home and gave him food, and Shadow Mayhem emptied his plate in a few moments.

After finishing his meal, Shadow Mayhem graciously bowed to the family.

“Thank you for your kindness.” Shadow Mayhem expressed his gratitude. “Let me help you out as payback. I’ll do any chore or task you ask. Cooking, cleaning, laundry, or grocery shopping. You name it.”

“Oh, don’t you worry. You don’t owe us anything.” The mother said kindly.

“I am Bright Flower and these are my parents.” The mare introduced herself and her family. “What’s your name?”

“M-my name?” Shadow Mayhem thought carefully for a moment. “It’s… Soni. Yes! My name is Soni!”

After hearing that he had no home, Bright Flower and her parents took him in. Using the name that he abandoned a long time ago, Shadow Mayhem helped the family out at their farm, where they grew various vegetables.

When he was asked about his past, he quickly made up a brief story that his parents died in an accident when he was young and he grew up in an orphanage. He avoided thinking too hard about his past, not wanting to risk his rage returning.

He spent around a year with Bright Flower and her parents. During his time with the family, he felt like he shouldn’t stay with them. He thought about leaving many times, but could not bring himself to do so. That was because he was feeling something he had not felt in a long time, happiness. And he did not want to let go of it. Bright Flower also developed romantic feelings for him.

One day, the village was having a festival and Bright Flower took the opportunity to spend the day alone with him. The two played games and ate various foods together.

While watching the fireworks together that night, Bright Flower decided to pop the question.

“Soni… I have something… really important to tell you.”

“What is it?” Shadow Mayhem asked curiously.

“You see, Soni… You have a special place in my heart. I… want us to spend the rest of our lives together. I want to start a family with you. Will you… marry me and make me the happiest mare in Equestria?”

He took a moment to process what Bright Flower just said to him before giving his answer.

“I’m sorry… but for reasons I can’t explain… I cannot reciprocate your feelings.” Shadow Mayhem rejected Bright Flower’s marriage proposal. “Also, you should not fall in love with me.”

“What…? But why?” Bright Flower felt dejected.

“It’s not you. It’s me. It’s just… I’m not deserving of love.”

“But that’s not true!” Bright Flower objected. “I love you because you’re nice and you worked hard for me and my parents.”

“I’m really sorry.” Shadow Mayhem apologized again. “I can’t tell you why I can’t marry you. I just can’t.”

Seeing that he had something weighing on his mind, Bright Flower relented. “It’s okay. I won’t force you to talk about it, but know that I’ll always be here for you.”

Shadow Mayhem felt guilty for making Bright Flower sad. Deep down, he was overjoyed when she asked him to marry her, but he could never forget all the lives he took in an effort to quell his rage. Even though it all happened over 4000 years ago, time doesn’t absolve him of his sins, and Bright Flower should not have a murderer like him for a husband. Shadow Mayhem could not tell her the truth about his past and Dread Lord expressly forbade him from telling anypony about the Order of Scarlet Night. He also had a lingering fear that his rage would resurface, but he hoped that staying with Bright Flower would prevent that from happening. However, fate had other plans.

One day after the royal Crystalling in the Crystal Empire…

Shadow Mayhem was out in the village market, helping Bright Flower and her father sell vegetables. A unicorn mare approached their stall.

“Hey there.” Shadow Mayhem greeted the unicorn, but then his eyes widened in shock.

“I see you’re doing well.” The unicorn said to him.

“Sapphire Butterfly?!”

The unicorn nodded. Even though she disguised herself as a normal unicorn, Shadow Mayhem still recognized her and he knew that she didn’t come for a casual visit.

“Soni, do you know her?” Bright Flower asked.

“I… need to speak with her alone for a moment.” Shadow Mayhem answered with a serious tone.

Sapphire Butterfly and Shadow Mayhem went outside the village to talk in private. Sapphire placed a sound-proof barrier around them so nopony could eavesdrop, especially Bright Flower, who was watching from afar.

“Why have you come here? Are you going to try to persuade me to return?” Shadow Mayhem questioned. “You better not be thinking of threatening Bright Flower and her parents. They have been kind to me.”

“Relax. I’m not here to hurt anypony. I just want to show you something… interesting.” Sapphire then gave Shadow Mayhem a newspaper.

He saw the article about Flurry Heart’s birth.

“What is this? Is this some sick joke?!” Shadow Mayhem raised his voice.

“It’s no joke. A princess has been born an alicorn.”

“Why…? Why are you showing me this?!”

“You would have found out eventually. Sorry for taking your time. I’ll be leaving now.”

Sapphire Butterfly took her leave as Shadow Mayhem furiously tore the newspaper to shreds.

At that moment, his tranquility had been shattered. The agonizing feeling that he hoped would never return had resurfaced. The scar that he hid away started burning, and Premium Shine, the one pony he wanted to forget about, kept appearing in his mind as if she was mocking him.

Shadow Mayhem returned to his room in Bright Flower’s house instead of going back to the village market. As he sat on his bed, his body twitched as it was consumed by the flames of hatred. The existence of a princess that has everything, even alicorn status, given to her on a silver platter the moment she was born is something that Shadow Mayhem cannot accept.

Later that evening, Bright Flower went to his room to check on him.

“Soni, what’s wrong?” Bright Flower was deeply concerned for him.

“Go away. Leave me.” Shadow Mayhem answered harshly.

“Was it something that unicorn said? What was on that newspaper?”

“I SAID LEAVE ME!!!” He snapped.

Bright Flower was frightened by his outburst.

“Sorry…” Shadow Mayhem regained control of himself. “I… need to be left alone right now.”

He remained in his room and he did not join the family for dinner that night. The next morning, Bright Flower went to his room again.

“Soni… I’m coming in.”

Bright Flower entered his room, but he was not there.

“Soni, where are you?”

She searched the house, her family’s farm, and the whole village, but she could not find him. He had already left and he did not leave any note behind.

Shadow Mayhem severed all ties with Bright Flower and removed his disguise. He wanted to go to the Crystal Empire and kill the alicorn infant, but he knew that Dread Lord would not allow him to do so. Even though he could easily assassinate Flurry Heart without being seen, it would still cause a huge uproar, and Dread Lord would not want any dark unicorn causing a major incident until the Order of Scarlet Night is ready to begin their war. Thus, he returned to Scarlet Night’s fortress.





Having returned to being the vengeful dark unicorn consumed by rage, Shadow Mayhem rejoined the Order of Scarlet Night.

“Good to have you back, comrade.” Dread Lord greeted Shadow Mayhem as he gave the Upper 5 back his cloak and mask.

“I can’t believe that it took the birth of an alicorn for you to rejoin us.” Roaring Blaze teased. That made Shadow Mayhem glared daggers at him.

“The Red Moon Generals are now whole again.” Sapphire Butterfly smiled.

However, War Spirit was not as welcoming.

“You abandoned your duties and you think you can just waltz back here and pretend it didn’t happen! It’s unacceptable!” War Spirit spoke to Shadow Mayhem in a furious tone. “I challenge you to a duel and if I win, I’m taking your rank!”

Normally, infighting is strictly forbidden in the Order of Scarlet Night. However, if there is any dissatisfaction between the members of the Red Moon Generals, a general may invoke the right to challenge another general of a higher rank to change their position in the hierarchy.

Shadow Mayhem accepted War Spirit’s challenge. The two fought with Shadow Mayhem emerging as the victor. Therefore, there was no change in the hierarchy and War Spirit begrudgingly accepted Shadow Mayhem back into the Order of Scarlet Night. Since this was only a dispute between Red Moon Generals, the disintegration curse did not apply in this case.

In the days that followed, Shadow Mayhem obsessively spied on Flurry Heart. Seeing her living the happy pampered life made him sick to his stomach. The one thing Flurry Heart did that really infuriated him was wasting away mash peas. When he was a colt, his parents had to work hard to make sure he was fed and living in poverty made him have a deep appreciation for food. Flurry Heart, on the other hoof, never had to worry about hunger and seeing her waste food without a care in the world made his blood boil. Each time she made a mess with the mash peas, Shadow Mayhem wished that he could punish her by shoving them down her throat. The Upper 5 swore that when the time comes, he would make the alicorn-born princess know true suffering.





The Order of Scarlet Night observed more events including Chrysalis’ second failed attempt to take over Equestria, the return of the Pillars and the Pony of Shadows, and the Storm King’s invasion. During the event in which Cozy Glow was stealing Equestria’s magic, Scarlet Night’s fortress and the dark unicorns remained unaffected. The Red Moon Generals rolled their eyes at Cozy Glow’s scheme because taking away Equestria’s magic would only come back to bite her when the Order of Scarlet Night begin their war. Later, the dark unicorns witnessed the events orchestrated by Discord, who was posing as Grogar at the time. They were deeply disappointed that Discord did not take any measures to ensure that the villains he assembled do not scheme behind his back.

Nearly one year after Twilight Sparkle was crowned ruler of Equestria, the construction of the Doom Cruiser was completed and the Order of Scarlet Night had created the desired number of monsters. The Red Moon Generals decided to make their first appearance during Twilight’s anniversary party at Ponyville. To ensure that Discord would never interfere in their war, they sealed him in the chaos dimension on the day before the party.

A few hours before Twilight arrived at Ponyville for her anniversary party…

“At last, we will reveal ourselves to Equestria. At last, we will bring hell to this land.” Red Rage was tingling with anticipation.

“The ponies of this era, the dragons, the yaks, the changelings, the griffons, the hippogriffs, and the kirins. None of them are prepared for what we have in store for them. We can crush them all, hundreds of times over. This war will make their last battle against Tirek, Chrysalis, and Cozy Glow look like child’s play.” Thunder Blast was eager to get the war started.

“Too bad this war is going to be a bore.” Roaring Blaze said flatly.

“I almost feel bad that we’re going to take away the smiles from all the foals, almost.” Darkspark grinned.

“I have one question. What if Princess Twilight Sparkle and her friends don’t survive the monster attack right after our introduction?” Sapphire Butterfly asked Dread Lord.

“If they don’t survive, then we won’t have to waste a single ounce of our energy on them, simple as that.” Dread Lord answered. “Either way, Equestria won’t be the same again once we’re done.”

“Don’t forget your promise, Dread Lord. Flurry Heart’s life is mine to destroy.” Shadow Mayhem said sternly.

Little did the dark unicorns know at the time, Aura Light had already sensed their plot from the ethereal plane.





Back in the present, Aura Light finished telling her story to the Mane 7 and Fairy Tail.

“My first big regret was having to go to war with my sister. I’ve always wondered… if I had been more careful, could I have prevented Scarlet Night from going down the path of destruction before it occurred? My second regret was being unable to end it all 4000 years ago. If I had not wavered, my sister would not have the chance to use the spell that sent her servants to this time. Because of my moment of weakness, many Equestrians have suffered and I’m deeply sorry for all those who lost loved ones. Fairy Tail, I sincerely apologize for dragging you all into this. If I could stop the Order of Scarlet Night myself, I would. But… there’s not much I can do after I lost my physical form.”

It took some time for all the listeners to process everything they heard. Cana, Mirajane, Elfman, Lisanna, Cadance, and Shining Armor also heard the story even though they’re not at the guild hall.

“Honestly, I can’t say I blame you for hesitating. Fighting your own family could never have been easy.” Gray said as he thought about the time he fought his father during Fairy Tail’s battle against the dark guild, Tartaros.

“It’s as you said before, you cannot predict everything.” Lucy chimed in. “We cannot change the past, but we can still fight for the future. We already accepted your request to ensure Scarlet Night’s downfall, and when we accepted a mission, we’re going to see it through to its end.”

“Gee, hearing this story made me think about how small and trivial my sad past was in comparison.” Starlight felt guilty for having a negative worldview on cutie marks just because Sunburst left her during their childhood.

Applejack had mixed feelings. A part of her wanted to blame Aura for everything that had happened. If the Order of Scarlet Night never came to the present, Equestria would not face a horrible war, and every creature would continue living their lives in peace. Applejack would be spending her days growing and harvesting apples with her family as usual, and Granny Smith would get to live happily until her life ends naturally instead of her life getting taken from her in a violent manner. However, Applejack thought about what Aura went through so she remained silent.

Bright Flower, who had just recently arrived at the guild hall, was heartbroken to hear that the stallion she loved was a dark unicorn that took part in mass murder.

“Well, this has been enlightening.” Twilight began. “But we have an important matter to focus on. We need to come up with a plan to find Flurry Heart.”

Just before anyone started brainstorming, the alarm on the Magic Radar started blaring, prompting Warren to check it.

“There’s a dark unicorn sitting just outside of Ponyville!” Warren exclaimed. “And it has a high magic power signature! It could be a Red Moon General!”

The Mane 7 and the wizards quickly went outside to confront the dark unicorn in question. Waiting for them was the Upper 1.

“Hello there.” Dread Lord spoke.

“You’re going to pay for what you did to Gildarts!” Natsu leaped towards the general with a fire-imbued fist.

“Natsu, wait!” Gray shouted.

Dread Lord simply launched Natsu back with a magic blast.

“Jeez Natsu, can you not rush into a fight without thinking first!?” Gray berated.

Aura then appeared before Dread Lord. “It’s been a long time, Pale Star.”

“Aura Light, so this is your current state.” Dread Lord remarked on Aura’s current spiritual form. “How pitiful. Long ago, you were Scarlet Night’s equal in terms of power. Now, you have fallen so low that you need outsiders to fight your battle.”

“Are you so bold to come here all by yourself?” Aura asked.

“I’m not actually here for a fight. I’m here to deliver this.” Dread Lord then tossed a piece of folded parchment.

Erza picked up the parchment and unfolded it.

“What is this?” Erza inquired.

“That is a map to our fortress.” Dread Lord answered.

All those present were taken by surprise.

“You’re giving us the location of your fortress?! Why would you do that?!” Erza exclaimed.

“Because we, the Order of Scarlet Night, now invite the Council of Friendship and Fairy Tail to face us in our element.”

Everyone was then rendered speechless by Dread Lord’s invitation.

“And how do we know this map is genuine and not some trick?” Erza further questioned.

“Aura Light can confirm it for you. The concealment spell that kept our fortress hidden has been lifted. I’m sure she can sense Scarlet Night.”

“Dread Lord!” Twilight spoke up. “Is Flurry Heart at the fortress!? Is she still alive!?”

“Yes, she is at the fortress and she is still alive. Shadow Mayhem is not done with her. To make sure she doesn’t die just yet, he healed her. And then he tortured her again, rinse and repeat.” The Upper 1 explained nonchalantly. He was also anticipating the reactions of all those listening and he was not disappointed as he saw expressions of horror, anger, and disgust.

On one hoof, Twilight was relieved that there is still hope to save Flurry Heart. But on the other hoof, she was disgusted to hear that Shadow Mayhem was only keeping her alive just to prolong her suffering.

“I cannot guarantee how long Shadow Mayhem intends to keep Flurry Heart alive. If you want her returned, breathing and in one piece, then you know what you must do. If you choose not to accept our invitation, I’m sure Shadow Mayhem will eventually return the little princess to the Crystal Empire. Piece… by… piece.”

Having said enough, Dread Lord teleported away.

“Aura, is what Dread Lord said was true? Can you sense Scarlet Night?” Carla asked.

“Yes, I can sense her. And I sense no deception from Dread Lord. Scarlet Night hasn’t awakened yet, but it is imminent.”

“That would explain why the dark unicorns chose not to hide their fortress anymore.” Panther Lily said.

Natsu tried to take a peek at the map, but Erza pulled it away from him.

“Natsu, don’t even think about charging in there all by yourself.” Erza said sternly. “We’re going to attack the fortress together, understand?”

“Okay, fine.” Natsu pouted.

“This is our chance. We can finally take the fight to the dark unicorns!” Twilight pointed out.

“True, but they’re expecting us. No doubt there will be an army waiting for us and I’m certain every dark unicorn, including the remaining Red Moon Generals, will be there as well.” Erza commented.

“It’s going to be one hell of a fight.” Gajeel chimed in. “And we’ll definitely have to get past the generals before we can reach Scarlet Night.”

“This could be it, the battle that will determine the fate of Equestria once and for all.” Starlight added.

“Oooooh, looks like we’re getting to the point in the story where every last major antagonist gets taken down one by one, and it all leads to… THE ULTIMATE BATTLE AGAINST THE FINAL ENEMY!!!!” Pinkie shouted out.

“There’s something I need to inform you all. I sense ten Red Moon Generals. It appears that the four lower generals that were defeated have been replaced.” Aura explained.

“Are you kidding me?! The number of Red Moon Generals has gone back to ten?!” Rainbow Dash screeched.

“This changes nothing. Our goal stays the same. We will defeat all the Red Moon Generals and Scarlet Night.” Erza declared.

“Then it’s settled. WE WILL ATTACK SCARLET NIGHT’S FORTRESS TONIGHT!!!!” Twilight bellowed with her Canterlot voice.

“Let’s do it!” Gray replied.

“This is what I’ve been looking forward to.” Gajeel said with an eager expression.

“This war has to end tonight.” Natsu said with a fierce look as he struck a fist into the palm of his other hand.
> Chapter 8 pt 1: Enter the Heart of Darkness
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Previously, Dread Lord gave Fairy Tail and the Council of Friendship the location of Scarlet Night’s fortress and an invitation to face the Order of Scarlet Night in an all-out battle.

With Scarlet Night’s return approaching and Flurry Heart’s life hanging in the balance, the Mane 7 and Fairy Tail planned to attack the enemy stronghold to rescue the little alicorn and end the war with the dark unicorns once and for all.


Canterlot

As the Canterlot army prepared for battle, Twilight spoke with Celestia and Luna inside the royal castle throne room.

“Celestia, Luna, thank you for coming on such short notice and thank you for agreeing to watch over Canterlot in my absence.” Twilight said gratefully to the alicorn sisters.

“It’s no problem, Twilight. We are happy to help you in any way.” Celestia said.

“How is the one known as Gildarts?” Luna asked.

“He’s… still in a coma, and his daughter, Cana, is staying here with him.” Twilight answered sadly. “It’s unfortunate that he won’t be able to help us right now.”

Celestia then walked up to her former student. “Twilight, this will no doubt be the most dangerous battle you’ll ever face.” She then hugged Twilight. “I’ll pray for your success, both in rescuing Flurry Heart and winning this war.”

Twilight then exited the throne room along with Spike, who will also be joining her.

“Us two back in this castle. Just like how it used to be.” Luna was feeling nostalgic.

“Yes, this does take me back. So many fond memories.” Celestia also began reminiscing.

Outside of Canterlot castle, Twilight gave a speech to the royal army after she donned her magical armor.

“For too long, the dark unicorns and their monsters have threatened our way of life and everything we hold dear! But no more! TONIGHT! WE’RE GOING TO END THEIR REIGN OF TERROR!” Twilight spoke with her Canterlot voice.

The soldiers immediately let out a roaring cheer.


Crystal Empire

At the Crystal Empire, Shining Armor was preparing to depart with the empire’s army.

“Cadance, I’ll be going now. There’s going to be a fierce battle ahead.” Shining Armor spoke to his wife.

“Please… please bring Flurry Heart back home safely. I don’t know what I’ll do if… if…” Cadance started sobbing.

Shining Armor quickly gave Cadance a comforting hug.

“We’ll get her back. I swear.” Shining Armor assured.


Ponyville

Back in Ponyville, the rest of the Mane 7 and many Fairy Tail members were also getting ready for the attack on Scarlet Night’s fortress. All of Ponyville had gathered to see them off and wished them luck.

“It’s finally happening, the moment that we have been brought to this world for. Tonight is when we complete our mission to annihilate the Order of Scarlet Night.” Natsu could barely contain his excitement.

“Aye!” Happy cheered.

“Asuka, we’ll be going to Scarlet Night’s fortress soon. This is going to be our biggest battle yet, and hopefully, it will be the last. If all goes well, then this war will be over.” Bisca said to her daughter.

“After this war ends, let’s go sightseeing in this world together.” Alzack added.

“Good luck, Mommy and Daddy.” Asuka said.

Other Fairy Tail wizards were also discussing on what they want to do after the war is over.

In the headmare’s office in the School of Friendship, Starlight was having an important discussion with Trixie and Sunburst.

“As you know, we finally have the location of Scarlet Night’s fortress.” Starlight explained. “The final battle has come at last. I’ll be participating in this fight and in the meantime, I’m leaving you two to watch over the school and the castle.”

“You can count on the Great and Powerful Trixie!” The school’s guidance counselor assured.

“Best of luck, Starlight.” Sunburst said.

Starlight then hugged both of them. “I will be back. I promise. Soon, this awful war will be put behind us.”

At the same time, the CMCs took the chance to speak to their older sisters (or sister-like figure in Scootaloo’s case) before they leave for the enemy’s stronghold.

“Rarity, please be careful.” Sweetie Belle said.

“Don’t worry darling. I will.” Rarity gave her sister a hug.

“Go get them Rainbow Dash!” Scootaloo cheered.

“You got it! I’ll be kicking flank in Scarlet Night’s fortress!” Rainbow Dash did a hoof bump with Scootaloo.

“Applejack, promise that you’ll come back home.” Apple Bloom pleaded.

“I promise Sugar Cube. After we win, let’s have a big celebration.” Applejack gave Apple Bloom a hug.

After she finished talking to her little sister, Applejack put on Granny Smith’s scarf for good luck.

Star Swirl also assembled his five fellow Pillars and they volunteered to join this battle.

“Are you really sure about joining us in the battle at Scarlet Night’s fortress?” Fluttershy asked the Pillars.

“Equestria is our home. We will fight to defend it.” Rockhoof answered.

“Please beware of the Red Moon Generals.” Fluttershy warned. “They are nothing like you ever faced before. Not only are they powerful, they are ruthless cold-hearted murderers that killed thousands.”

“Yeah, they are super-duper nasty times a thousand.” Pinkie added.

“If you fight one of them, there’s no telling if you’ll survive.” Fluttershy continued.

“We understand the risks, and we are willing to lay down our lives to ensure peace returns to Equestria.” Flash Magnus declared.

Meanwhile, Bright Flower sat alone outside of the Town Hall still distraught after hearing the truth about Soni. She held up his photo with tears in her eyes.

“Soni… this can’t be true. Are you really one of those terrible dark unicorns?” Bright Flower sniffled.

The revelation was a lot for her to take in. She wondered if her time together with him was all a lie, but she was still certain that the kindness he showed to her was genuine and she remembered seeing sadness in his eyes when he declined her marriage proposal. The one important thing currently on Bright Flower’s mind was that she needed to speak to Soni again. Somehow.


Inside Scarlet Night’s fortress

As they waited for their foes to arrive, the five upper members of the Red Moon Generals were having one last conversation together.

“Our enemies are coming. This time, all of us Red Moon Generals will be fighting them. Tonight, we’re going to settle this.” Dread Lord said.

“Fairy Tail has been our greatest complication.” Sapphire Butterfly chimed in. “Prior to this war, we were prepared to raze all of Equestria and the lands of their allies with our legions of monsters. None of us expected Aura Light to summon foes that can oppose us. There were 842 of us dark unicorns that made it to the present era, but now, only 135 of us remain.”

“Scarlet Night is coming back. Let tonight be the final chapter of this war.” Shadow Mayhem spoke.

“See you again soon, Erza.” Blade Dancer uttered.

“You really have a crush on that red-haired wizard, don’t you?” Roaring Blaze teased.

“If you consider my desire to collect her head with my own hooves as a crush, then you would be correct.” The Upper 4 responded.

“Can’t you take a joke?” Roaring Blaze deadpanned.





The forces of light soon arrived at the location of Scarlet Night’s fortress, which is inside a mountain west of Equestria. Twilight’s friends had donned their magic robes, and Twilight used a gateway spell to transport the armies of Canterlot and the Crystal Empire.

The pony soldiers are equipped with new weapons such as spears that can fire energy blasts and spherical bombs that explode on impact. They also underwent rigorous combat training with Fairy Tail members assisting. The wizards made sure not to go easy on them during their training. After all, the dark unicorns and the monsters sure won’t. Shining Armor, the Pillars, and every soldier were also given earring communication lacrimas and Spike received a communication lacrima contained in a small wristband fit for his size. These communication lacrimas can be used to communicate with those wearing Aura bracelets, the Mane 7 and the Fairy Tail wizards.

For Fairy Tail, those joining in on the attack include Natsu, Lucy, Gray, Erza, Gajeel, Juvia, Wendy, Levy, Laxus, Alzack, Bisca, the three Exceeds, the Strauss siblings, and the Thunder Legion.

Before leaving for Scarlet Night’s fortress, Natsu, Wendy, Gajeel, and Laxus got Flurry Heart’s scent from her favorite stuffed snail toy, so they could determine if Flurry Heart is inside the fortress.

“Is Flurry Heart in there?” Twilight asked.

“Her scent is coming from there. That I can say for sure.” Gajeel answered. Natsu, Wendy, and Laxus nodded in confirmation.

Some pegasi scouted the mountain fortress and they did not see any enemies stationed outside. The only visible entrance they discovered is a giant tunnel, big enough for an army to go through.

“I wonder. Wouldn’t it be better for the dark unicorns to wait for Scarlet Night to awaken before challenging us to an all-out battle?” Happy questioned.

“I guess they want us to be hasty in coming here, and they must be confident that the dark alicorn will awaken before we reach her.” Erza answered. “Anyway, since there are no visible enemies outside, it’s clear they’re waiting for us to approach the fortress before ambushing us.”

“Come on! Let’s go in there already!” Natsu exclaimed.

“We should come up with some sort of battle plan. We don’t know the layout of the fortress and we don’t know what monsters they’ll throw at us.” Twilight replied.

“There is no need for complicating plans. We find and rescue Flurry Heart and we eliminate every enemy in our way until all of the Red Moon Generals and Scarlet Night are defeated.” Erza told Twilight.

“I hope we’re not too late to save her.” Twilight expressed her concerns.

“Um, pardon me.” Happy got their attention. “Natsu just went ahead.”

Everyone then saw Natsu running towards the entrance of the fortress. Twilight’s jaw dropped and Erza facepalmed.

“That idiot just can’t stand still, can he?” Gray groaned.

“We then, LET’S COMMENCE THE ATTACK!!!” Twilight bellowed.

The forces of light then charged towards the tunnel leading to inside the fortress. However, before any of them reached the tunnel, all of them suddenly became engulfed in a purple light.

“W-what’s this?!” Twilight reacted in shock.

Everyone’s eyes widened as they were then covered by a bright flash.

A moment later, the Mane 7 found themselves inside a wide corridor. They were briefly disoriented.

“W-where are we? Where is everyone else?” Fluttershy asked.

“Are we inside the fortress?” Rarity pondered.

“I think we are in Scarlet Night’s stronghold.” Twilight answered. “Apparently, the dark unicorns used some kind of transport spell to bring us in here and separated us from the others in the process.”

“What about Fairy Tail? Shining Armor? The Pillars? And the Canterlot and Crystal Empire guards? Where are they?” Rainbow Dash inquired.

“They are probably all scattered in this place.” Pinkie answered.

Twilight then noticed that Spike was not with them. “Wait a minute. Where’s Spike?!”

“Twilight, are you there?” Spike’s voice is heard from Twilight’s Aura bracelet.

“Spike, where are you?” Twilight asked.

“I don’t know exactly, but I’m not alone. I’m with Happy and Carla right now.”

“Spike, we’re now in enemy territory. Exercise caution.”

“You too, Twilight. Take care.”

“So, how are we going to find Flurry Heart?” Starlight questioned.

“I’m not sure how we’ll find her, but the four dragon wizards can track Flurry Heart’s scent, so they would have better luck.” Twilight explained.

“We need to get moving. We’re not going to achieve anything by standing around here.” Applejack spoke.

A door suddenly appeared on a nearby wall and a group of amorphous slime monsters emerged out of it.

“Monsters incoming!” Pinkie bellowed.

“This is it girls! Our greatest battle has just begun! If we fall here, Equestria will fall with us!” Twilight’s horn glowed as she and her friends prepared to fight.
> Chapter 8 pt 2: Battle in the Enemy Stronghold I
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

At Scarlet Night’s fortress, a great conflict is taking place between the forces of those defending Equestria and the Order of Scarlet Night.

After the forces of light arrived, the dark unicorns casted a massive transport spell that brought their enemies into the fortress. The Mane 7, Fairy Tail wizards, the Pillars, and the pony forces of Canterlot and the Crystal Empire have been separated and sent to different places in the stronghold.

The battle that can determine Equestria’s future has begun.

Erza
After being sent into the fortress by the dark unicorns’ transport spell, Erza found herself alone in a large room.

“I’ve been separated from everyone else. I guess splitting us up was part of their strategy.” Erza spoke to herself.

Four grotesque horned humanoid monsters attempted to get the jump on Erza, but she instantly sliced them to pieces with her sword. However, more of these monsters approached her.

“They just keep coming, one after another. Okay then, come and get me.” Erza gave the monsters a murderous look.

Natsu
Needless to say, Natsu was charging through the fortress like a rampaging bull. He just blitzed through any foe in his way while leaving behind a trail of flames. The beast monsters in Natsu’s path stood their ground, but none of them could slow him down.

Eventually, Natsu encountered four dark unicorns. Two of them used water attack spells while the other two used ice beams. Their attacks hit Natsu, but they did not faze him at all.

“FIRE DRAGON WING ATTACK!” Natsu ignited two streams of fire from his hands and swung them at the dark unicorns, blowing them away and defeating them instantly.

“Roaring Blaze! Where are you!? COME OUT SO I CAN KICK YOUR BUTT RIGHT NOW!!!!” Natsu bellowed as he continued his rampage.

Spike, Happy, and Carla
The dragon and two Exceeds also encounter some enemies in the form of lizardmen monsters wielding swords.

“WHITE MOON!” Carla (in her human form) performed a cartwheel and then did a dropkick on top of a lizardman’s head.

As Carla fought using her kicks, Spike assisted her by breathing out a stream of green flames at their foes. Happy evaded the lizardmen’s sword strikes by flying around and attacked by bashing their heads with a metal pipe.

“You know Happy, it would be nice if you have another form like Carla and Panther Lily.” Spike said right before scorching a few of the lizardmen with his fire breath.

“It would be nice if you’re bigger.” Happy said back.

“This is not the time to be squabbling!” Carla shouted at both of them as she kicked another lizardman away. “There’s too many of them! We have to get away!”

Rather than trying to defeat all of the attacking lizardmen, the trio opted to flee from them. Happy took out a smoke bomb and used it.

After making their getaway, the three took a moment to catch their breath.

“The Aura bracelet’s ability to store things in a pocket dimension sure comes in handy.” Happy commented.

“Don’t let your guard down. More enemies could pop out at any moment.” Carla warned.

“Aren’t you two worried about Natsu and Wendy, your partners?” Spike asked.

“Wendy is capable of handling herself.” Carla replied.

“And knowing Natsu, he’s having the time of his life wreaking havoc in this fortress. Honestly, I feel bad for any monster or dark unicorn that is unfortunate enough to be in his path.” Happy stated.

“I hope he doesn’t forget that he also needs to help find Flurry Heart.” Carla remarked.

Alzack and Bisca
The couple was with a small group of Canterlot soldiers battling waves of bug monsters.

Alzack shot down numerous wasp monsters with his revolvers while Bisca used her machine gun to fire a barrage of magical bullets down a corridor at an approaching swarm of beetle monsters.

Lucy and Wendy
In another hallway, Lucy and Wendy were running from a swarm of ravenous rat monsters.

“WHY DOES IT HAVE TO BE RATS?!!!!” Lucy screeched.

“They’re so gross!!!” Wendy cried out.

The two wizards kept running until they reached a dead end. With nowhere else to run, Wendy turned around to face the monsters.

“SKY DRAGON ROAR!” Wendy released a tornado-like blast from her mouth, eliminating the rat monsters.

“I hope we don’t see any more of them.” Lucy sighed.

“I’m worried about Carla.” Wendy said.

“I’m sure we’ll meet up with her eventually, but for now, we should focus on finding Flurry Heart. Can you still trace her scent?”

“Yes, but with all these hallways and corridors, this fortress is like a maze.”

“I got an idea.” Lucy took out Virgo’s Celestial Spirit Gate Key. “Open! Gate of the Maiden, Virgo!”

“How may I assist you, princess?” Virgo asked Lucy right after she was summoned.

“You could use your power to make some shortcuts.” Lucy answered with a smile.

Before Virgo got to work, a door appeared out of thin air and a giant spider monster went through.

“This one is creepy!” Lucy grimaced.

Elfman and Lisanna
While running through the fortress after they were separated from Mirajane, Elfman (in Full-Body Take Over: Beast Soul form) and Lisanna (in Animal Soul: Cat form) encountered a squad of rifle wielding goblins.

As the goblins opened fire on the two siblings, Lisanna dodged the bullets and struck down several goblins by slashing them with her cat claws. Elfman powered through the enemy fire and crushed his foes by swinging his arms around.

Laxus
As for Laxus, he was just casually walking down a hallway with a trail of fallen and crumbling gargoyles behind him. He later came across a fork in his path.

“Which way should I go now?” Laxus wondered.

Shining Armor
Elsewhere in the fortress, Shining Armor and a group of Crystal Empire soldiers were battling against ogre monsters armed with maces. Thanks to their new spears and the combat training Fairy Tail helped out with throughout the war, the soldiers were able to hold their own. Shining Armor fought with a sword, which he controlled with levitation magic.

After the ogres were defeated, a troll with a gigantic iron club arrived and when it swung its club, Shining Armor used levitation magic to stop the club. He then used the troll’s own weapon to bash it on the head. While the troll was staggered, Shining Armor used his sword to slice the monster’s neck, killing it.

Another troll appeared and the soldiers bombarded it with energy blasts from their spears, and they managed to stun it with headshots. One of the soldiers then slayed the troll by blowing off its head with a bomb.

“Let’s keep moving.” Shining Armor commanded. “We need to find my daughter as soon as possible.”

Shining Armor was also seeking one dark unicorn in particular, both to get Flurry Heart’s whereabouts and revenge for all her pain and suffering.





The Mane 7 have fought their way through hordes of monsters in their search for Flurry Heart, but with the fortress like a labyrinth, they could only hope they were going in the right direction.

“Gee, how big is this place? We could be in here forever.” Rainbow Dash groaned as they wandered through one of the hundreds of passageways inside the fortress.

“Did you expect fighting the enemy in their element would be easy?” Starlight deadpanned.

“I wonder what scary monsters we’ll be seeing next.” Fluttershy was getting anxious.

“Hopefully, they won’t spit acid or anything icky.” Rarity shuddered.

They then heard sounds of a struggle in the direction they’re heading.

“Girls, do you hear something?” Twilight asked.

“Sounds like there’s a battle up ahead! Some of our allies could be there! Come on!” Rainbow urged.

The Mane 7 rushed onwards and when they went around a corner, they found the six Pillars under heavy attack by goblins and lizardmen.

All of the Pillars were covered in wounds. Flash Magnus and Rockhoof struggled to fend off the monsters while the other four were inside a dome-shaped barrier conjured by Star Swirl. Mistmane, Somnambula, and Meadowbrook were lying on the floor as Star Swirl focused his strength on the barrier. However, with the monsters’ relentless onslaught and Star Swirl’s weakened state, it would not be long before the barrier breaks apart. Flash Magnus and Rockhoof were also being pushed into a corner.

“It’s the Pillars! They’re in trouble, we need to help them!” Twilight exclaimed.

The Mane 7 wasted no time coming to their aid. Twilight and Starlight fired magic beams, Fluttershy summoned an ethereal bear, Pinkie rapidly threw sparkly explosive cupcakes, Applejack launched stone spikes, Rarity unleashed a barrage of needles, and Rainbow Dash summoned lightning bolts. Once the monsters were dealt with, Star Swirl lowered his barrier.

“You saved us. Thank you.” Star Swirl said gratefully.

“I’m glad we found you in time.” Applejack remarked.

“Seems like the monsters gave you all a rough time.” Rainbow chimed in.

“No, it wasn’t the monsters that wounded us. It was a dark unicorn, the one with the silver number 5 on his left eye.” Meadowbrook explained as she struggled to lift herself.

“You encountered the Lower 5 of the Red Moon Generals?!” Twilight’s eyes widened.

“You mean new Lower 5 since this one replaces the one that was defeated.” Pinkie corrected.

“Yes… and that dark unicorn is too powerful.” Rockhoof said in a depressed manner.

“We didn’t stand a chance. He could have destroyed us himself, but… he said that we were not worth the effort, so he just threw us to the monsters.” Star Swirl added while also feeling defeated.

“What’s the Red Moon General’s name? What are his powers?” Starlight asked.

“He calls himself Nightmare Art. As for his abilities, he carries a giant paint brush with him and he can manifest and control anything he draws with it.” Somnambula answered.

“He’s in the chamber up ahead.” Flash Magnus said as he pointed his hoof at the doors to the chamber where the dark unicorn resides.

“Don’t worry. We’ll deal with the Red Moon General.” Twilight assured.

“Will you be able to defeat him?” Star Swirl asked.

“Our powers grow stronger every time we use them. And we have been using our powers a lot during this war.” Rainbow bragged.

Fluttershy then stepped forward. “Hold still, I’ll heal your wounds.”

The pegasus then enveloped the Pillars in a healing pink magical light. In just a few seconds, Star Swirl, Somnambula, Meadowbrook, Flash Magnus, and Rockhoof were completely healed.

“This… this is incredible! All of my injuries are gone!” Rockhoof exclaimed excitedly.

However, everypony then noticed that Fluttershy’s healing light had no effect on Mistmane, who was still lying motionless on the floor.

“Mistmane? Isn’t she healed?” Rarity asked with a concerned look.

Fluttershy used her healing light on Mistmane a second time, but it failed once again. That’s when the pegasus came to a saddening realization.

“What’s wrong Fluttershy? Why can’t you heal Mistmane?” Pinkie asked with a worried expression.

“It’s… it’s because… I really can’t…” Fluttershy began weeping. “Mistmane… she’s… she’s gone…”

The rest of the Mane 7 and the other Pillars were stunned to learn of Mistmane’s fate.

“No… It can’t be…” Rarity tearfully uttered as everypony dismally lowered their heads in grief.

“Star Swirl, I’m sending you and the other Pillars out of the fortress.” Twilight then used a transport spell to send them out of Scarlet Night’s lair. “Come on girls. We need to keep going.”

“But Twilight…” Rarity spoke.

“There will be time for mourning later!” Twilight raised her voice. “This is exactly why we need to defeat the Order of Scarlet Night! To prevent any more tragedies! We have to end this war! And we have to do it here and now!”

The Mane 7 approached the doors to the chamber and Twilight used her magic to open them. As they entered, they saw the Lower 5 sitting by himself near the far end of the chamber, while carrying a giant paint brush on his back.

“Now I meet the Council of Friendship. I am Nightmare Art, Red Moon General Lower 5. Hopefully, you seven will be more entertaining than the last group of ponies that came here.” The dark unicorn said.

“You abhorrent fiend! You killed Mistmane!” Rarity screeched.

“Oh, so that old mare has kicked the bucket. Ha! She should have known that a warzone is no place for somepony like her.” Nightmare Art cruelly commented. “Since you only mentioned her, I guess the other Pillars are still alive. At least they got off easy.”

The Mane 7 were deeply furious that the general did not show a single shred of remorse, even though they already knew it’s a common trait among the dark unicorns.

“I have one question to ask.” Twilight began. “Where is my niece!?”

“I got nothing to tell you. If you’re looking for her, you’re on your own.” The Lower 5 answered.

“Then there’s no point in talking. We’re taking you down right now! And we’ll do it with the power that never failed us!” Twilight declared.

The six ponies who represented the Elements of Harmony hovered in the air while engulfed in a bright magical light.

“Oh no. They’re going to use their rainbow laser. Whatever should I do?” Nightmare Art said mockingly.

The Council of Friendship emitted a rainbow wave directly at the dark unicorn, but the Lower 5 used his picture magic to create a black hole in front of him, and it absorbed the incoming rainbow attack. With his brush, he also drew a bundle of dynamite and once it materialized, he hurled it at the six mares.

When the dynamite detonated, the explosion knocked them out of the air and the magical light surrounding them has ceased.

“He… stopped the rainbow laser?!” Starlight exclaimed.

“If you think I was going to allow myself to fall to your rainbow trick so easily, then you got another thing coming! Don’t underestimate somepony who had the honor of receiving a portion of Scarlet Night’s magical power!” The Lower 5 then laughed maniacally.

“Fine then.” Rainbow Dash growled as she and her friends got back on their hooves. “We’ll defeat you with the powers Aura gave us!”

“Pssh. So what if Aura gave you superpowers? You seven are still weaklings in my book.” Nightmare Art scoffed.





While searching for Flurry Heart, Lucy and Wendy utilized Virgo’s ability to drill holes to traverse the fortress more easily. However, they still needed to fight monsters and a few dark unicorns along the way.

Eventually, the group arrived at a botanical garden with trees, thorny vines, and flowers.

“They have a forest in here?” Lucy spoke.

“I guess we can expect plant-based monsters here.” Wendy added.

Lucy, Wendy, and Virgo walked carefully through the garden while keeping an eye out for any monsters. They soon came across a horrifying site. They found a group of dead Canterlot soldiers, wrapped in vines and mold growing on them.

“This is awful.” Wendy gasped in terror.

“Stay alert.” Lucy urged. “Who or whatever did this to them may come after us next.”

A vine suddenly lashed out at Lucy at great speeds.

“Princess, watch out!” Virgo jumped in the way of the vine and it pierced her in the chest.

“VIRGO!” Lucy and Wendy screamed.

“Sorry princess. Guess I need to be punished later.” Virgo apologized before returning to the Celestial Spirit World.

Shortly afterwards, a gigantic tree-like creature rose up, catching the two wizards’ attention. They also saw a dark unicorn mare sitting on the creature’s shoulder. On the mare’s left eye is the silver number 4.

“Two well-known Fairy Tail wizards. Now I got something good to use as fertilizer for my plants.” The Lower 4 spoke.

“Looks like we found a Red Moon General.” Lucy said as she and Wendy steeled themselves for a confrontation.

“I am the Lower 4. My name is Blossom Thorn.” The dark unicorn introduced herself. “I thought you should at least know the name of the one responsible for your demise.”

“Don’t think we’re going down without a fight.” Wendy retorted.

“Let me tell you a little surprise. You two already lost the battle.” The general said with a smug look.

“What do you mean by that?” Lucy questioned.

“Just take a look at your hand.”

Lucy and Wendy then looked at their hands and noticed green skin spots.

“W-what’s happening to us?!” Lucy gasped.

“You see all the flowers around you? They have been spreading spores into the very air you breathe. Once they are inhaled, the spores will spread throughout your bodies. The green tinge in the skin is just the first sign of infection. Within minutes, you will start experiencing difficulty in breathing as the spores infect your lungs, which will get worse by the second. And as you suffocate, your lives will come to an excruciating end.” The Lower 4 explained eerily. “Since all the flora here is controlled by my magic, the spores won’t affect me. I can just sit back and let the spores do the work.”

Blossom Thorn was expecting Lucy and Wendy to panic, but instead, they remained calm, much to the dark unicorn’s surprise. “You two are awfully calm considering that you’re about to die in a few minutes.”

“RAISE!” Wendy casted an enchantment that removed the affliction caused by the spores.

“What just happened?! How did you negate the effects of the spores?!” Blossom Thorn’s eyes widened in shock.

“I am an enchanter.” Wendy answered. “RE-RAISE!” She casted another enchantment. “And now your spores won’t affect us.”

“Tough luck, Blossom Thorn. Guess you won’t be sitting back after all.” Lucy smirked.

“Don’t think you’ll defeat me! You’re fighting in my turf, where my power is strongest!” Blossom Thorn snapped.
> Chapter 8 pt 3: Battle in the Enemy Stronghold II
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Freed
Having been separated from his teammates, Freed wandered in the fortress alone before he was confronted by simian monsters wielding spears.

With his sword, Freed parried any incoming spear strikes and cut down several of the attacking monsters.

“DARK ÉCRITURE: DESTRUCTION!” Freed struck down the rest of them with magical sword slashes.

“I have no time for small fry! I need to find Laxus and the others!”


Bickslow and Evergreen
After they were separated from everyone, the two members of the Thunder Legion ended up in the sewage system. There, they battled a horde of slug monsters.

“LINE FORMATION!” At Bickslow's command, all five of his dolls gathered in midair and then combined by standing on top of one another. The dolls then fired a large, vertical crescent-shaped beam that cut through and bifurcated any slug monster in its path.

“FAIRY MACHINE GUN: LEPRECHAUN!” Evergreen continuously launched a torrent of energy needles made from concentrated dust until all the monsters were destroyed.

“Why did we get sent to a place so filthy?!” Evergreen snarled. “Rarity would surely hate it here. I swear I’m going to take all my anger out on the next dark unicorn I see!”

“If they think splitting us up will give them the upper hand, or hoof, then let’s show them how wrong they are. I’m sure Laxus, Natsu, Gray, Erza, Gajeel, and Juvia are tearing through this fortress as we speak.” Bickslow grinned.

“Let’s get out of this sewer as quickly as possible. We have to find the others, and we need to save Shining Armor’s daughter, assuming we’re not too late.” Evergreen replied.

“Yeah, the Upper 5 general was a real piece of work.” Bickslow frowned. “I get that his family was taken from him by a cruel and spoiled princess that was born an alicorn, but what he did to Flurry Heart was too extreme. Flurry Heart didn’t deserve that kind of punishment since she is not that princess.”

“I hope Shining Armor doesn’t run into him. I don’t think an upper general is a foe that he can handle.”

The two wizards proceeded to search for the way out of the sewer.


Gray
Right after putting two dark unicorns in ice, Gray stumbled upon a dungeon where dark wyverns were kept in cages and cells. Once he entered the dungeon, all of the cages and cells automatically opened, releasing the monsters. Most of them went through doors that appeared in thin air, which sent them to other places in the fortress. Some of them spotted Gray and attacked him with dark energy blasts.

“ICE-MAKE: SHIELD!” Gray defended himself from the wyverns’ attacks by creating a large shield of ice in front of him.

He then fought back by firing a volley of ice arrows.


Juvia
Deeply worried about Gray, Juvia frantically searched for him.

“Don’t worry Gray! We’ll be together again soon!”

Three dark unicorns suddenly appeared and attacked her by firing flame bolts. Juvia deflected the bolts with whips of water and retaliated by blowing the dark unicorns away with a water cyclone.

“Nothing is going to stop me from finding my darling Gray!”


Gajeel, Levy, and Panther Lily
As battles went on throughout the fortress, the three were surrounded by orcs armed with hatchets.

Panther Lily fended off the orcs attacking him with a flurry of sword swings.

“IRON DRAGON CLUB!” Gajeel attacked the orc in front of him by transforming his arm into a large iron club. He then struck many more orcs by creating multiple smaller clubs from the end of the original club.

An orc swung a hatchet aiming for Gajeel’s neck, but he caught the hatchet with his teeth and broke it by biting down on it. He then grabbed and threw the orc at the other monsters.

“SOLID SCRIPT: FIRE!” Levy wrote the word, Fire, in midair and the materialized word ignited, incinerating some of the orcs upon contact.

Another orc charged at Levy from behind.

“Keep your hands off her!” Gajeel shouted as he punched the orc in the face.


Mirajane
While searching for her siblings, allies, and Flurry Heart, Mirajane (in her Satan Soul form) came across five stone golems. Upon seeing her, the golems quickly attacked her with energy blasts from their mouths. Mirajane withstood these attacks, emerging almost unscathed.

“DEMON BLAST!” Mirajane charged a large ball of dark energy between her hands and fired a dark purple beam at the golems, destroying them.

While flying through the corridor she was in, she heard a skirmish occurring. She rushed to the scene and arrived at a wide-open area where pony soldiers were battling an armored humanoid monster standing around 20 feet tall and wielding a gigantic battle axe.

The monster swung its axe and blew some of the soldiers away. The unicorns fired magic blasts from their horns while the non-unicorns fired energy blasts from their spears. Some of them threw bombs at the monster. Due to its armor, the monster hardly suffered any damage.

“Our attacks are ineffective!” A soldier cried out.

The monster was about to crush a soldier with an overhead strike, but Mirajane stepped in and stopped the axe with one hand. With her immense strength, Mirajane pushed the monster back.

“EVIL EXPLOSION!” Mirajane formed a dark colored sphere in her hands and fired it, striking the armored monster with a devastating explosion that is powerful enough to break its armor off.

With the monster’s defenses severely weakened, the pony soldiers fired a barrage of energy beams at the monster. Four pegasi impaled their spears into the monster’s chest and repeatedly fired energy blasts until the monster falls.

After the threat was neutralized, three soldiers expressed their gratitude towards Mirajane as they saluted her.

“Thank you, Mirajane Strauss!”

“Appreciate the backup!”

“I’m glad you’re on our side!”

“Don’t thank me just yet. The fight’s not over.” Mirajane replied as a platoon of goblins arrived.

Mirajane then switched her Satan Soul form to Mirajane Seilah.

“I order you all to sleep.” Using the Macro curse, Mirajane forced the goblins to sleep.

“Woah. That was easy.” A soldier complimented.





Lisanna and Elfman came across a group of lizardmen standing guard in front of a large iron door. As they fought the monsters, Lisanna used her speed and agility to evade attacks and counter, and Elfman used his brute strength to subdue the enemy.

Once the lizardmen are defeated, Elfman then used his fist to smash the door open. The two then entered a chamber filled with mist.

“What could be in here?” Lisanna wondered.

“This mist is thick. I can hardly see anything.” Elfman pointed out.

The two siblings then heard hoofsteps heading towards them.

“Something’s coming!” Lisanna was alerted to the approaching presence.

Emerging out of the mist was a dark unicorn mare and the siblings noticed the silver number 3 on her left eye.

“A Red Moon General?! She’s Lower 3!” Elfman exclaimed.

“My name is Grim Mist. Pleased to meet you.” The dark unicorn greeted.

“Just our luck. Remember the last time we fought a Red Moon General?” Lisanna said nervously.

“Yeah, I know. But there are times when a man has to stand and fight. And this is one of those times!” Elfman charged towards the Lower 3 and threw a punch.

However, when his fist connected, the dark unicorn’s body instantly transformed into mist.

“What the?!” Elfman pulled back.

After reforming, the Lower 3 formed a giant fist out of the surrounding mist and struck Elfman, sending him flying into a wall.

Lisanna then lunged at the general with incredible speed and attempted to slash her, but once again, the general turned into mist the moment Lisanna’s claws touched her.

Grim Mist then used the mist around her to grab Lisanna and slam her into the floor.

“It’s no use. With my ability to turn into mist at will, your attacks won’t harm me.” Grim Mist boasted.





Elsewhere in the fortress, the Mane 7 are engaging the Red Moon General Lower 5 in battle. While sitting on a floating carpet, Nightmare Art fought by bringing anything he drew to life.

Creatures that the dark unicorn manifested to combat the Mane 7 were cyclopes, minotaurs, wyverns, giant serpents, sentient storm clouds, and crystal titans. The wyverns and storm clouds guarded him, preventing anypony from just flying up to him.

When Rainbow Dash attempted to bust one of the storm clouds with her hooves, she was zapped and launched back by an electrical field the moment she touched it. She also tried using wind to blow away the storm clouds, but they blew out powerful gusts to match Rainbow’s attack.

Twilight fired magical beams, but the wyverns breathed out streams of dark purple flames to clash with her attacks.

While Twilight and Rainbow were preoccupied with the wyverns and storm clouds, the rest of the Mane 7 faced off against the cyclopes, minotaurs, giant serpents, and crystal titans.

Starlight fired a barrage of magic blasts, and Rarity conjured a volley of harpoon constructs. The cyclopes and minotaurs proved to be formidable as they used their spiked maces and axes to defend themselves from incoming attacks. Applejack managed to harm some of them by erupting large rock spikes from the floor. Starlight used telekinesis to take their weapons away and used them against the monsters. Meanwhile, Pinkie unleashed a bombardment of colorful cannon fire from multiple party cannons.

Fluttershy had a pack of ethereal wolves to battle the cyclopes, minotaurs, and serpents. An ethereal bear stood close to her like a bodyguard. One of the serpents lunged at Fluttershy, but the ethereal bear used its arms to stop the attacker. Pinkie then destroyed the serpent with a party cannon blast.

The crystal titans fired a storm of crystal shards from their hands, and Applejack blocked the projectiles with barriers of rocks. Rarity used giant wrecking ball constructs to attack the crystal titans, but these monsters are extremely durable.

The battle is chaotic, but the Mane 7 are able to defeat some of Nightmare Art’s creations. However, for each construct they managed to destroy, Nightmare Art created more to take its place.

“What do we do!? The general’s creations are standing between us and him and no matter how many we destroy, he’ll just make more!” Rarity complained.

“Hmmm, what should I create next?” Nightmare Art wondered as he scratched his mane.

While the general was lost in thought, pondering on what to manifest with his magic, Starlight quickly used telekinesis to grab his paint brush.

“Ha! Got your brush!” Starlight then blasted it into millions of tiny pieces. “Now that your brush is gone, you won’t be able to create anything.” The unicorn grinned.

However, Nightmare Art wasn’t fazed by the loss of his brush.

“You’re a fool to think it would be that simple. I don’t actually need that brush to use my magic!”
Nightmare Art’s mane became wavy and longer in length, and its color shifted to a multitude of colors.

The general proceeded to manifest more drawings directly from his mane while drawing in the air.

“He can use his own mane?!” Starlight exclaimed as her friends were also surprised.

“I’ll say this again. Never underestimate a Red Moon General!” The Lower 5 boasted. “And now, let’s switch things up a bit!”

What Nightmare Art created next were duplicates of ponies and creatures familiar to the Mane 7, and that certainly caught them off-guard as shocked expressions filled their faces.

“Oh, the irony! Over a year ago, they banded together to save you. Now, they’re here to fight you!” The general chuckled as his new creations charged at the Mane 7.

Rainbow used thunderbolts to repel the duplicates of the Wonderbolts as well as copies of some dragons, griffons, and hippogriffs. The fakes instantly exploded into splatters of paint when they crashed into the floor. Twilight and Starlight rapidly fired magic beams at duplicates of Ponyville and Canterlot residents. Fluttershy’s ethereal bear defended her from the fake changelings. Duplicates of Prince Rutherford and some yaks charged towards Pinkie, prompting her to blast them with her party cannon. Applejack crushed copies of some kirins, including Autumn Blaze, under a boulder. Rarity was forced to defend herself against copies of Coco Pommel and Sassy Saddles by repeatedly striking them with diamond-shaped shield constructs, and that experience made Rarity extremely uncomfortable.

“Twilight Sparkle!” The voice of her mentor caught Twilight’s attention, and she then saw copies of Celestia and Luna.

“Twilight, you should give up! There’s no point in continuing this fight!” The fake Celestia said.

“Against Scarlet Night, there can be no victory!” The fake Luna added.

The two duplicates both fired magic beams at Twilight, who quickly generated a barrier to shield herself.

“Resistance is futile!” The fake Celestia bellowed.

Twilight fought back by unleashing a powerful magical wave, destroying the two duplicates.

After Starlight eliminated copies of Trixie and Sunburst, the copy of her father, Firelight, then stood before her.

“Starlight! This is your father speaking! You will stand down this instant!” The fake Firelight demanded.

Starlight wasn’t falling for it as she instantly disintegrated the duplicate.

“As if I’m going to fall for that!” Starlight scoffed.

Fluttershy was approached by a copy of her brother, Zephyr Breeze.

“Fluttershy, it’s me, your dear brother.” The fake Zephyr Breeze said with a smile. “There’s no need to keep fighting. Please surrender and everything will be all right.”

Rainbow Dash promptly unleashed a powerful gust of wind on the fake Zephyr Breeze, sending the construct crashing into a wall and reducing it into a paint splatter.

“That actually felt good.” Rainbow said nonchalantly, which caused Fluttershy to briefly glare daggers at her.

“Oh come on! That wasn’t the real Zephyr Breeze!” Rainbow said in her defense.

“RAINBOW DASH!!!!!” Two voices familiar to Rainbow shouted out at her through a megaphone, causing the rainbow-maned pegasus to cover her ears.

She immediately turned her attention towards the speakers and she saw copies of her parents, Bow Hothoof and Windy Whistles. The copies continued shouting at Rainbow through the megaphones they were carrying, creating turbulence in an attempt to throw her off. Rainbow Dash was taken aback from seeing constructs resembling her parents, but she quickly reminded herself that they were also fakes and blew them away with a mighty gust.

“Using copies of my parents against me! How low can you go?!” Rainbow snarled at the Lower 5.

Fluttershy soon found herself confronted by duplicates of her animal friends, including Angel Bunny and Harry the bear. Despite knowing that they’re fakes, Fluttershy couldn’t bring herself to attack them. The duplicates do not share the same sentiment as they charged towards Fluttershy. However, even though the pegasus would not physically harm them, she still knows one technique to use.

“STOP!” Fluttershy bellowed as she utilized the stare, stopping the fake animals in their tracks. The stare was so effective that the fakes froze up in fear and then melted into puddles of paint on their own.

While fending off the Lower 5’s constructs by throwing a plethora of sparkly explosive pastries at them, Pinkie noticed a duplicate of Mudbriar approaching her.

“PARTY BAZOOKA SHOT!” With her party bazooka, Pinkie instantly destroyed the Mudbriar duplicate with a colorful explosive shot.

Right after obliterating the fake Mudbriar, Pinkie was then confronted by a duplicate of Maud.

“How dare you attack my boyfriend.” The fake Maud said in a monotonous and dry tone of voice, just like the real Maud would.

Seeing Maud’s face caused Pinkie to hesitate. Unfortunately for her, the fake won’t hesitate. The Maud duplicate lunged at Pinkie, attempting to strike her with her hooves. Despite the fake’s fast movements, Pinkie was able to dodge her attacker’s hooves. Twilight used telekinesis to pull the fake Maud away and slammed it into the floor with enough force to reduce it into paint splatter.

“Sorry Pinkie.” Twilight sheepishly apologized.

“Wait a minute. If he can create duplicates of our friends and family, then can he also create duplicates of the other Red Moon Generals?” Pinkie wondered.

“Shut your mouth, Pinkie! We don’t need to give him any ideas!” Rainbow yelled.

“Your party friend does bring up a good question. The truth is I cannot perfectly replicate those more powerful than me.” Nightmare Art explained. “However, that doesn’t make your situation all the more better.”

In the middle of the scuffle, Applejack was accosted by a duplicate of Granny Smith. Applejack’s eyes widened in shock upon seeing her grandmother’s face.

“Applejack, why didn’t you save me!? I needed you! Where were you when I was murdered!? It’s your fault I died! You’re nothing but a failure!” The fake Granny Smith said scornfully.

Even though Applejack knew that it was a construct, she was still stunned that it spoke with Granny Smith’s face and voice. Before it continued talking, Starlight quickly dispatched the fake with a magic beam.

“Applejack! Don’t listen to it! That’s not Granny Smith! It’s a trick to distract you!” Starlight shouted.

Applejack became deeply enraged by the stunt Nightmare Art just pulled.

“YOU ROTTEN VARMINT!!! DON’T PUT WORDS IN MY GRANDMA’S MOUTH!!! DON’T YOU DARE INSULT HER MEMORY!!!” Applejack bellowed with tears of anger.

With intense fury, Applejack launched a storm of rocks at the Lower 5 and his creations. She managed to destroy a majority of the duplicates and some of the artificial monsters, but the wyverns managed to defend Nightmare Art from the incoming rocks. Seeing that he had struck a nerve, Nightmare Art came up with a nefarious idea. He then descended to the floor and used his magic to surround himself with a multitude of Granny Smith duplicates.

“If you want to reach me, you will have to go through this dear old mare. So Council of Friendship, how many times are you willing to kill her again to get to me?” The general said with a twisted smile.

This psychological tactic was actually having an effect. The Council of Friendship was beginning to waver due to the memories of Granny Smith’s tragic death.

“Heh, just as I thought. There’s always something that makes you tick.” The dark unicorn thought while grinning. Just then, another devious idea popped up in his head. He added duplicates of Flurry Heart into the mix.

“Why haven’t you saved me yet?”

“How long are you going to let me suffer?” The Flurry Heart copies whimpered with desperate eyes.

Twilight was starting to tear up as she listened to the duplicates speaking with her niece’s voice.

To torment Applejack, Nightmare Art drew and manifested copies of Darkspark, the dark unicorn who took Granny Smith’s life.

“Hey Applejack! Look who’s here! It’s the one who murdered your grandmother!” Nightmare Art whistled.

“Your grandmother would still be alive if she didn’t dare talk down to me. Too bad she had to pay for her stupidity.” A Darkspark duplicate taunted. In response, Applejack angrily crushed the copy of the dark unicorn with a boulder.

“She should have known her place and for her insolence, she deserved to die.” Another Darkspark copy said, prompting Applejack to crush it as well.

The Darkspark duplicates continued mocking Applejack, causing her to furiously lash out at them. Nightmare Art took delight in watching Applejack lose herself in a fit of rage and waste her energy destroying constructs that he can easily replace.

“Applejack, please calm down!” Twilight pleaded. “Nightmare Art is playing mind games with you! Don’t fall for his provocations!”

The Lower 5 wasn’t finished as he thought of something else to throw at the Mane 7. He then used his magic to create duplicates of some Fairy Tail wizards: Jet, Droy, Macao, Wakaba, Max, Nab, Laki, and Kinana.

“Now this should be interesting.” The general smiled with anticipation. “I wish I could replicate the stronger humans, but these will still do nicely.”

The fake Jet rushed towards Pinkie at breakneck speed and attempted to land a powerful kick on her, but Pinkie’s quick reflexes enabled her to dodge the blow.

“PARTY CAKE BARRAGE!” With rapid speed, Pinkie threw sparkly explosive cakes at the Jet duplicate, but the fake dodged the cakes by running around at high speed.

The fake Wakaba and fake Kinana created smoke and poisonous gas, respectively. Rarity responded by conjuring an oscillating fan construct to blow the smoke and toxic gas away.

The fake Max unleased a sand storm, and Rainbow countered by using a twister to blow away the sand.

“This is getting annoying!” Rainbow expressed her frustration.

“I’m just glad he couldn’t create a copy of Natsu, Gray, Erza, Gajeel, Laxus, and especially Gildarts! I wouldn’t want to fight any of them!” Rarity remarked.

The fake Macao launched a barrage of purple fire blasts, and Starlight struck back with a barrage of magic rays.

The fake Droy threw a pack of seeds on the floor, which quickly turned into large vines. As the vines struck out at the Mane 7, Twilight used bursts of magic to destroy them.

The fake Nab summoned the ethereal figure of a wolf-like creature on its left arm while throwing a punch at Fluttershy, but her ethereal bear blocked the attack.

The fake Laki created multiple weapon-shaped blocks of wood that erupted from the floor, and Applejack countered by erupting large stone spikes from the floor as well.

“ENOUGH OF THIS!!!” Starlight casted an advanced freeze spell to stop the movements of Nightmare Art and his creations. The Red Moon General was caught off-guard as he and his constructs were held in place while they were covered in a magical aura.

“Grrrr. This won’t hold me for long!” Nightmare Art growled as he could still move his mouth.

Indeed, restraining an enemy as powerful as a Red Moon General and his constructs at the same time was putting a huge strain on Starlight.

“Now’s your chance! Hurry! I don’t know how long I can hold him!” Starlight urged.

With haste, the Council of Friendship joined together. As they float in the air while engulfed in a bright magical light, they unleashed their rainbow wave on the dark unicorn and this time, the Lower 5 wasn’t able to stop it.

“No! This isn’t supposed to end like this! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!” Nightmare Art screamed as the rainbow magic vaporized him. With his defeat, his creations faded away instantly.

After the Red Moon General was vanquished, the Mane 7 took a moment to catch their breath.

“Is it… is it over?” Rarity asked.

“Yaaaaaaaaay! We beat a Red Moon General!” Pinkie cheered.

“Yeah! We’re so awesome!” Rainbow Dash shouted as she relished in this victory.

“This is not the time to celebrate.” Twilight interjected. “This is only the beginning. There are nine more generals, and the one we just defeated was only the Lower 5, the lowest of the Red Moon Generals.”

“Aww, way to be a buzzkill, Twilight.” Rainbow groaned.

“Let me be frank, this battle is only going to get harder from here on out and our final enemy is Scarlet Night.” Twilight continued. “But before we reach the dark alicorn, we may have to face an upper general along the way. We may have to face… her.”

“You mean the one that fought Celestia and Luna a while back, right?” Applejack asked.

“Just to let you know, it took everything I had to immobilize Nightmare Art. So if we encounter another Red Moon General, don’t expect the same trick to work again.” Starlight commented.

Twilight nodded. “Come on girls. Let’s continue the search for Flurry Heart. Once she is safe, then we can focus on defeating the enemy.”

“Please hang in there, Flurry Heart. We’re coming to save you.” Fluttershy said.

“If Scarlet Night awakens before we reach her, I hope we’ll still have enough strength to fight her.” Starlight spoke nervously.

“We’ll have to. Failure is not an option.” Twilight replied.
> Chapter 8 pt 4: Battle in the Enemy Stronghold III
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

After Nightmare Art’s defeat, the news quickly spread amongst the remaining dark unicorns inside Scarlet Night’s fortress. 
 
“You’re not going to believe this! The Council of Friendship defeated the Lower 5!” A dark unicorn exclaimed while talking to another dark unicorn. 
 
“Are you serious?! How could a Red Moon General lose to them?!” The other dark unicorn said. 
 
“You got to be kidding me! He was done in by their rainbow magic! Nightmare Art, how dare you brought shame to the Red Moon Generals! Don’t let this fluke go to your heads, Council of Friendship!” Thunder Blast growled. 
 



Meanwhile, Spike, Happy, and Carla (back in her original form) were moving inside the vents, hoping to avoid any confrontations. 
 
“How long do we have to travel inside these vents?” Happy asked. 
 
“Just until we find any of our allies.” Carla answered. “In the meantime, I want to avoid a direct confrontation with the enemy as much as possible. I certainly don’t want to run into a dark unicorn right now.” 
 
“Um, Carla... we have seen monsters that came out of doors that suddenly appeared out of thin air.” Spike pointed out. “Who’s to say that monsters won’t appear in these vents at all?” 
 
“Well... I never said that we’ll be absolutely safe in here.” Carla replied. “It’s just-” 
 
Carla was interrupted when the three heard crawling noises coming from behind them. They turned their heads around and saw numerous ant monsters approaching them. Spike tried using his fire breath to ward them off, but more of these monsters kept coming. 
 
“RUN!!!” Happy shouted as the three immediately began fleeing from the monsters. 
 



Alzack and Bisca managed to survive fighting the plethora of monsters that reside in the fortress, but they had been separated from the pony soldiers they were with during a chaotic skirmish. 
 
After shooting their way through a large group of orcs, they entered a room with a lava pit. As they kept their eyes peeled for any enemies, the lava pit began to stir and the two wizards kept their weapons at the ready as something was rising out of the pit. It is a humanoid creature made of magma, standing roughly 30 feet tall. 
 
As the magma monster climbed out of the pit, Alzack fired several shots at it, but the bullets did not faze it. The monster then extended its arm and tried to swat him. Alzack was barely able to dodge as droplets of lava singed his coat. 
 
“Hey! Over here!” Bisca got the monster’s attention by firing multiple shotgun blasts, but the monster absorbed the shots. 
 
“Be careful, Bisca! One touch from that thing and it’s all over!” Alzack yelled to his wife. 
 
The monster threw a glob of magma at Bisca, but she shot it with her shotgun before it reached her. 
 
“GUNS MAGIC: TORNADO SHOT!” With both of his revolvers, Alzack shot two wind bullets simultaneously, which merged together to form a tornado attack moving towards the monster. 
 
The monster launched a large stream of lava from its mouth, clashing with Alzack’s attack. Bisca quickly switched her weapon to a bazooka and aimed for the head. She fired a powerful magic blast and successfully blew the monster’s head off. However, the head regenerated after a short time. 
 
“This isn’t good.” Bisca commented. 
 
The monster then rapidly threw magma globs at the duo, forcing them to either dodge or shoot down the projectiles with their revolvers and machine guns. 
 
“Bisca, I think our best bet is to run!” 
 
Facing against a fearsome monster, the two wizards decided to retreat, but the monster went after them as it wasn’t going to let any prey escape. While running, the wizards continued shooting the monster, hoping to slow it down at least. 
 
As the magma monster pursued Alzack and Bisca, two dark unicorns watched from inside a surveillance room. 
 
“They won’t be able to defeat that monster without destroying its core. Otherwise, it will just regenerate.” 
 
“And the best part is, the core constantly moves around in its body. It doesn’t have a fixed position.” 
 



For Juvia, finding Gray is her top priority at the moment, but she wasn’t having any luck so far. All she found were more enemies, which was beginning to frustrate her. 
 
“Where could he be?! How long would it take for me to find him?!” Juvia growled with her teeth showing. 
 
She then came across a chamber with a pool as big as a small lake. 
 
“Gray! Any chance you’re down there!?” 
 
A tentacle suddenly emerged from the water and attacked Juvia. At that moment, her body transformed into water, allowing the tentacle to phase through her without harming her. 
 
“Now what could it be?!” 
 
A total of twelve tentacles and then a head emerged from the pool. Juvia saw that it was a gigantic jellyfish monster. 
 
“My patience is wearing thin! WATER SLICER!” Juvia attacked by sending scythe-like water blades at the monster. 
 
A barrier of water suddenly surrounded the jellyfish monster and it absorbed Juvia’s attack. The monster’s entire body then surged with electricity, making Juvia nervous. With its tentacles, the jellyfish monster hurled electric spheres at the water wizard. Juvia avoided them by running and jumping away. 
 
“WATER CYCLONE!” Juvia cast a whirling torrent of water, but the monster’s aqua barrier prevented it from taking any damage. 
 
“Is my magic useless?!” Juvia exclaimed. 
 
The wizard was then assaulted by another barrage of electric spheres, forcing her to flee the chamber. The monster wasn’t finished as it left the pool to chase after Juvia. 
 



In a mist-filled chamber, Elfman and Lisanna were struggling against Grim Mist, the current Lower 3 of the Red Moon Generals. 
 
Elfman switched his form to Beast Soul: Weretiger while Lisanna is now in her Animal Soul: Harpy form. The brother tried attacking Grim Mist with fast claw strikes while the sister dive-bombed towards the general and struck with her talons. Unfortunately, any attack they used against the dark unicorn proved to be a useless gesture as they would just phase through her. 
 
“How are we going to be beat her if we can’t hurt her?!” Lisanna said. 
 
“You’re not.” Grim Mist answered. She then created mist spears and arrows and began hurling them at the siblings. Lisanna flew around to evade them, and Elfman either dodged or swiped at the mist projectiles. While the siblings were on the defensive, the general formed a giant out of mist. 
 
“Get them.” The dark unicorn ordered. 
 
With great speed, the mist giant stretched out its arms and grabbed both siblings. 
 
“This is your end.” Grim Mist said to the pair. 
 
The mist giant started squeezing the two wizards in its grasp. Elfman and Lisanna struggled to break free, but the giant continued tightening its grip. 
 
As the situation looked dire for Lisanna and Elfman, two more wizards arrived at the battle. 
 
“FAIRY BOMB: GREMLIN!” Evergreen dissipated the mist giant with a powerful explosion created by magical dust particles. 
 
Elfman and Lisanna dropped to the floor after they were freed from the mist giant’s grip. 
 
“Get her, babies!” At Bickslow’s command, his five dolls fired magic blasts at the Lower 3. The attacks hit their mark and the dark unicorn was engulfed in a destructive explosion. 
 
“Bickslow! Evergreen!” Lisanna was relieved to see them. 
 
“I’m sure glad to see you guys!” Elfman was also happy. 
 
“Hey there! Looks like you two could use a hand!” Bickslow greeted. 
 
“Good thing we’ve found you.” Evergreen spoke. 
 
After Bickslow’s attack, the general’s body reformed. 
 
“Two more Fairy Tail wizards? That’s good. The more I destroy, the better.” Grim Mist said. 
 
“A Red Moon General. This is the first time I’m actually meeting one.” Evergreen narrowed her eyes at the Lower 3. 
 
“This one is bad news. She can turn her body into mist to avoid any damage.” Elfman informed. 
 
“Eh, I’m sure we’ll figure something out.” Bickslow shrugged. 
 



At the botanical gardens, Lucy (in her Star Dress: Cancer form) and Wendy (in Dragon Force mode) are currently fighting against Blossom Thorn, the Lower 4 general.
 
The two wizards were continuously assaulted by thorny vines and whip-like branches that the general sent in their direction. Lucy used her blades to slash the vines and branches while Wendy repelled them with bursts of wind from her hands. 
 
“Minions! Make yourselves useful and bring me their heads!” Blossom Thorn bellowed. 
 
The Lower 4 is not the only problem that Lucy and Wendy have to deal with. The general also has her own personal underlings in the form of tree monsters fighting alongside her. The monsters surrounded the two wizards and charged towards them while flailing their arms. Lucy was able to cut down scores of them. 
 
“LEADING SKY ARROW!” Wendy cloaked her leg in a whirlwind while kicking away several of the tree monsters. 
 
“Tch. If the spores weren’t rendered useless, these two humans would have been dead already.” Blossom Thorn grumbled. 
 
“If we don’t take down that Red Moon General, this fight can go on forever!” Lucy exclaimed while cutting more vines, branches, and monsters. 
 
“I know! We can’t afford to waste our time here! We have to rescue Flurry Heart and defeat Scarlet Night as soon as possible!” Wendy replied while blowing away approaching monsters with a powerful gust. 
 
“You two are not going anywhere!” The general yelled out as her horn glowed. 
 
Hundreds of vines and branches were launched at the Fairy Tail duo from multiple directions. Wendy deflected all incoming attacks with a dome of wind, protecting herself and Lucy. 
 
“SKY DRAGON ROAR!” Wendy breathed out a tornado-like blast at the Lower 4. The tree behemoth that the general was sitting on quickly raised its arms and blocked the attack. The behemoth was pushed back, but the dark unicorn remained unharmed. 
 
The general then sent a twister of razor-sharp leaves at the two wizards. 
 
“SKY DRAGON WAVE WIND!” Wendy generated a large and powerful tornado that blew away Blossom Thorn’s leaf twister and some nearby tree monsters. 
 
Lucy quickly took out Cancer and Taurus’ Celestial spirit gate keys. 
 
“Open! Gate of the Giant Crab and Gate of the Golden Bull!” Lucy summoned Cancer and Taurus. 
 
“Need our help, baby?” Cancer asked. 
 
“Guess that dark unicorn over there is the one we need to crush. Since that’s a Red Moon General, Lucy will surely reward me with a smooooch later!” Taurus expressed eagerness to fight. 
 
“Both of your familiars are the most ridiculous things I’ve ever seen!” Blossom Thorn insulted the two Celestial spirits. 
 
Cancer and Taurus took offense to the general’s words as they both glared at the dark unicorn. 
 
“Not cool, baby!” Cancer snarled as he held up his scissors. 
 
“Yeah, looks like she needs to be taught a lesson!” Taurus huffed. 
 
Lucy, Wendy, and the two Celestial spirits made a dash towards the Lower 4. To impede them, the vines, branches, and monsters attacked with greater ferocity. 
 
Cancer displayed his amazing cutting skills as he used his scissors to cut the attacking vines and branches into pieces. 
 
“This is absurd! How can some measly scissors do that much damage?!” The general screeched. 
 
“Hey! I also got moooooves of my own!” Taurus swung his axe and obliterated numerous tree monsters. 
 
“Let’s go!” Lucy bellowed as they pressed on their assault. 
 
“You won’t get me so easily!” The dark unicorn growled as she threw some seeds on the ground. 
 
The seeds quickly grew into walking Venus flytrap monsters and they sprayed out some kind of dark purple liquid at the wizards and Celestial spirits, but they dodged by jumping out of the way. The liquid appears to be acidic as it melts anything it touches. 
 
“This is bad! If anything of that stuff touches us, we’ll be done for!” Wendy exclaimed. 
 
A flytrap monster then tried to devour Wendy, but Lucy managed to bisect it. As the group continued fighting their way towards the Lower 4, the tree behemoth opened its mouth and unleashed a bombardment of glowing seed-like projectiles over a wide area. On impact, they exploded like bombs. 
 
While the wizards and Celestial spirits evaded the explosions (which end up destroying many nearby monsters), Blossom Thorn charged up her horn. After a few minutes, she fired a large light green beam at Lucy, aiming to eliminate her and her Celestial spirits as well. Taurus jumped in front of the beam and blocked it with his axe. He successfully stopped the attack, but some of the vines latched onto his legs and pulled him away from his group. 
 
Taurus winced in pain due to the thorns and before he could free himself, the tree monsters swarmed him and pinned him to the ground. His three allies were about to rush to his aid, but the flytrap monsters forced them back by spraying their acid. 
 
“Don’t worry about me! Defeat that dark unicorn!” Taurus yelled to his allies. 
 
The monsters repeatedly pummeled Taurus until he was forced to return to the Celestial Spirit World. Lucy, Wendy, and Cancer continued the charge without him, but Blossom Thorn still has monsters to spare and the vines and branches kept coming. Some of the branches managed to grab Cancer’s arms. 
 
“Cancer!” Lucy worryingly shouted. 
 
“Don’t stop! Keep going!” Cancer urged right before one of the flytrap monsters chomped on his head. Fortunately for him, he doesn’t die. He simply returned to the Celestial Spirit World. 
 
The tree behemoth unleashed another barrage of seed bombs. Reacting quickly, Wendy generated a powerful gust of wind and sent the seed bombs back at the behemoth and the dark unicorn. Blossom Thorn used the vines and branches to intercept the seed bombs before they reached her. 
 
“I’ve grown tired of this! CRUSH THEM!!!” The Lower 4 commanded her tree behemoth. 
 
The tree behemoth lifted its arms, preparing to carry out its master’s command once the two wizards get within striking distance. 
 
“REGULUS GATLING IMPACT!” Loke, who got out of the Celestial Spirit World on his own, attacked the general and the tree behemoth from behind with a flurry of punches that released sphere-shaped explosions of light. 
 
“What just happened?!” Blossom Thorn was taken by surprise as Loke’s sneak attack blew apart the tree behemoth and sent her flying towards Lucy and Wendy. 
 
“SHATTERING LIGHT: SKY DRILL!” Seizing her chance, Wendy conjured a wind barrier around herself and Blossom Thorn while the latter was still in midair. Afterwards, the wind wall contracted inwards around the dark unicorn. 
 
Blossom Thorn cried out as she was sent spiraling in the air. While the dark unicorn was falling, Lucy leapt towards her and struck her with her twin blades. The general then crashed hard into the ground and was incapacitated. Defeated, her body disintegrated afterwards. However, the plant monsters in the garden remained active. 
 
“Guess we’re not done here yet.” Lucy groaned. 
 
The bright side is that the vines and branches are not attacking anymore and without their master, the monsters no longer have any coordination and they became easier to fight. Lucy, Wendy, and Loke proceeded to eliminate them until there are none left. 
 
Once all the monsters were slain, Lucy returned to her normal outfit and Wendy deactivated her Dragon Force mode. 
 
“Well, we’re done here. I’ll be around when you need me. Later.” Loke returned to the Celestial Spirit World. 
 
“Hurray! We just fought a Red Moon General and won!” Lucy smiled while giving a thumbs up. 
 
The two wizards then gave each other a high five for this victory. 
 
“The Lower 4 is finished, but we still have a long fight ahead and we still need to save Flurry Heart.” Wendy commented. 
 
“Then let’s get going.” Lucy then changed to her Star Dress: Virgo form. “Since Virgo is out of commission, I’ll have to do the digging.” 
 
The pair continued the search for Flurry Heart, with Wendy giving directions and Lucy drilling through walls. 
> Chapter 8 pt 5: Battle in the Enemy Stronghold IV
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Inside the vents, Happy, Carla, and Spike were running and fighting for their lives after encountering ant monsters. 
 
Spike fended off the attackers by using his fire breath and Happy swung his metal pipe. Unfortunately for Carla, the vents are too small for her human form to stand upright. 
 
“There’s too many of them! And more just keep coming!” Happy yelled. 
 
“And I’ll run out of steam eventually! We have to get out of the vents!” Spike said. 
 
“Look! I see a way out!” Carla pointed to a nearby vent opening. 
 
Upon finding an exit, the trio immediately went for it. They jumped out of the vents and ended up in a hallway. Luckily for them, the ant monsters did not pursue them further. 
 
“They’re... not following us.” Happy said with some relief. 
 
“Yeah, but now we know that even the vents aren’t safe.” Spike chimed in. 
 
“And we still haven’t found any of our friends.” Carla spoke in low spirits. “I know Wendy can take care of herself, but... I want to get back to her soon.” 
 
“I know how you feel. I also want to get back to Twilight.” Spike showed some sympathy. 
 
“Wait! I hear something!” Happy startled them. 
 
The three kept their ears peeled and they heard sounds of a battle occurring nearby. 
 
“Sounds like there’s a fight going on! Our friends could be there!” Spike got excited. 
 
With haste, they flew down the hallway and towards the source of the noise. Through a stroke of luck, the three came across a squad of Crystal Empire soldiers fighting a pack of beast monsters. 
 
“At least we have finally found some friendly faces.” Happy commented. 
 
“Come on! Let’s help them!” Carla changed back to her human form as the three rushed to assist the soldiers. 
 
Spike scorched several monsters with his fire breath and Carla used her swift and powerful kicks. Happy helped a soldier out by bashing a monster on the head, stunning it and giving the soldier an opening to deal a finishing blow with his spear. 
 
As the battle went on, some of the Crystal Empire soldiers approached and saluted Spike. 
 
“Oh Spike the Brave and Glorious! We are thrilled that you can join us!” 
 
“With you here, we got nothing to worry about!” 
 
“Please lead us in battle!” 
 
“Uh, okay. Come on everypony, we have a war to win!” Spike bellowed. 
 
The soldiers then let out thunderous cheers. 
 
“What a showoff.” Happy was a bit envious that Spike was getting the attention. 
 



Right after Lucy and Wendy defeated Blossom Thorn, Gray arrived at a wide-open room. There, he found a dark unicorn surrounded by dead pony soldiers. 
 
“Hm? Oh, a human has arrived.” The dark unicorn said. 
 
Gray also noticed the silver number 2 on the dark unicorn’s left eye. 
 
“I am the Red Moon General Lower 2. My name is Mercury Riot. A pleasure to meet you.” 
 
“Judging by your name, I guess your magic involves mercury.” Gray surmised. 
 
“That is correct.” The Lower 2 confirmed. “My power is generating and manipulating mercury at will.” 
 
Gray then noticed a nearby soldier still breathing. He quickly tried to tend to him, but the soldier sadly succumbed to his wounds. 
 
“Even if they don’t die right away, those that suffered a scratch from my attacks are still done for. You see, mercury is a toxic substance, and any wound inflicted by my magic is fatal since the mercury will enter the bloodstream.” The dark unicorn explained. 
 
“I’ve heard enough. I’m taking you down right now.” Gray uttered as he balled his fists. 
 
As Gray glared at Mercury Riot, the right half of the ice wizard’s body became covered in black. 
 
“What’s with that appearance?” Mercury Riot asked curiously. 
 
“Even though you’re a lower rank, I’m not going to hold back. Besides, I have no intention of wasting my time with you. I’ll make this as quick as possible so I can continue onwards toward Scarlet Night.” Gray declared. 
 
“You won’t go anywhere near her!” The general bellowed as he launched a barrage of small mercury spheres at Gray. 
 
The ice wizard blocked the spheres with an ice wall and retaliated by unleashing a storm of large ice shards at the dark unicorn. Mercury Riot quickly conjured a barrier consisting of layers of spiked mercury wires to defend himself. After blocking the ice shards, the Lower 2 sent his barrier towards Gray. 
 
“ICE DEMON RAGE!” Gray released a large beam of ice from his mouth. The ice beam froze and penetrated the barrier and headed straight for the general. 
 
Mercury Riot narrowly dodged the attack as he rolled to the side. He then created a multitude of mercury lances and launched them at his opponent. 
 
Gray quickly created ice swords and deflected the lances. For his next move, the Lower 2 created eight giant mercury scorpions and a swarm of smaller scorpions. 
 
“Get him! Take him down now!” The dark unicorn commanded all of his scorpions to rush Gray, hoping that at least one of them could inflict a wound on the ice wizard. 
 
Using the full extent of his Ice Demon Slayer Magic, Gray unleashed a flash freeze and completely froze everything in the room. The floor, walls, ceiling, and even the dark unicorn and his mercury scorpions are all covered in ice. Despite being frozen, Mercury Riot was still conscious. 
 
“I... can’t... use my magic! Is it because my horn is frozen!? I can’t get out! No...!” 
 
Unable to break out of his icy prison, Mercury Riot could only watch in fear as Gray approached him. 
 
“Is this it?! Is this the end for me?! And after everything I went through to become a Red Moon General! Why this?! Why now?! I thought I was going to do so much more!” 
 
“ICE DEMON ZEROTH DESTRUCTION FIST!” After covering his arms in ice gauntlets, Gray ended Mercury Riot with a devastating punch. 
 



Back in the battle against the Lower 3, Lisanna, Elfman, Bickslow, and Evergreen continued fighting the dark unicorn with no success. 
 
The general created mist wolves and falcons to attack her foes. Elfman and Lisanna fought off the mist creatures while Bickslow and Evergreen focused their attacks on Grim Mist. 
 
“BARYON FORMATION!” At Bickslow’s command, all five of his dolls spun around in a pentagonal pattern and then released a massive beam of energy towards Grim Mist. 
 
Once the beam struck, the Lower 3 was engulfed by a large explosion. However, after the explosion, the dark unicorn was reforming herself. 
 
“FAIRY MACHINE GUN: LEPRECHAUN!” Evergreen released a torrent of energy needles at the general while her body was reforming. 
 
Grim Mist remained unfazed as she still reformed without any issues. 
 
“We’re getting nowhere! None of our attacks are working at all!” Bickslow exclaimed. 
 
“And to think we’re dealing with a lower rank! She can’t be completely invincible!” Evergreen was also getting frustrated. 
 
“I think this fight has gone on long enough.” Grim Mist sighed. 
 
Evergreen was about to use more of her magical dust, but the general quickly enveloped her in mist. The Lower 3 also conjured mist arms and grabbed Bickslow’s dolls. 
 
“So are these dolls your only means of attack?” Grim Mist asked Bickslow. 
 
“No, not my babies!” Bickslow panicked. 
 
Some mist hands grabbed Bickslow and pinned him to the floor. 
 
“Bickslow! Evergreen!” Lisanna cried out as she and her brother were held back by the mist beasts. 
 
The general was about to dispose of Bickslow’s dolls, but the battle has another unexpected arrival. 
 
Freed jumped into the fray and slashed the mist arms holding the dolls. 
 
“Freed!” His four guildmates were overjoyed to see him. 
 
“How many times am I going to be interrupted before I can kill one of you humans?” The general groaned. 
 
“It’s time for this farce to end.” Freed uttered. 
 
Freed swung his sword and unleashed a long-distance slash, but he didn’t aim at the Lower 3. Instead, the slash went into the mist behind the dark unicorn. 
 
The other four wizards were confused on why Freed aimed his attack in another direction instead of at Grim Mist. A scream was then heard, indicating that Freed’s attack hit something. Afterwards, the dark unicorn in front of them suddenly dissipated and all the mist inside the chamber cleared away. At the spot where the scream came from was Grim Mist lying on the floor. 
 
“What the? Why is she over there?” Bickslow asked. 
 
“That’s the real Lower 3. She was concealing herself while your attention was focused on a mist duplicate.” Freed explained. 
 
“You mean all this time, she was actually hiding inside the mist while we were wasting our energy on a mist double?!” Lisanna exclaimed furiously. 
 
“That’s not a manly way to fight!” Elfman also bellowed angrily. 
 
“B-but how did you notice me?!” The real Grim Mist spoke as she recovered from Freed’s attack. 
 
“Before I stepped in, I took some time to observe the battle. While I was thinking of a plan to get around your supposed invulnerability, a thought occurred to me. You can create objects and even creatures out of mist. Then maybe, you also could create a clone of yourself to use as a decoy to throw your enemies off. I used my magic runes on my eyes to see inside the mist that filled this chamber, and that’s how I saw your true body.” Freed answered. 
 
The Lower 3 became furious at Freed for discovering her trick. She now viewed him as the biggest threat of the group. 
 
“I’ll destroy you first! Then I’ll quickly dispose of the other four!” Grim Mist bellowed as she conjured a plethora of swords and spears out of mist. 
 
“The one who will be destroyed is you! DARK ÉCRITURE: ABSOLUTE SHADOW!” By writing runes on himself, Freed turned into a dark armored knight. 
 
The Lower 3 hurled all of her mist weapons at Freed. With his immense speed, the wizard evaded the weapons and rushed towards the general. He then struck her with his right hand as the latter was unable to react in time. Freed’s strike had enough force to send Grim Mist crashing hard into a wall. After she fell to the floor, she became motionless and slowly crumbled away. 
 
With the dark unicorn defeated, Freed returned to his original form and his guildmates went to him to praise him. 
 
“It’s great to see you, Freed. The Thunder Legion is back together!” Bickslow said happily. 
 
“Yes, it’s wonderful to be back with friends.” Freed replied. “But we still got more friends to find and enemies to defeat.” 
 



As they have gone deeper in the fortress, the Mane 7 received word of Fairy Tail defeating three lower generals. 
 
“What wonderful news! More Red Moon Generals have fallen!” Rarity was elated. 
 
“We’re certainly getting closer to defeating the Order of Scarlet Night.” Starlight added. 
 
“Four generals down, six to go! If this keeps up, we’ll win this war for sure!” Rainbow Dash chimed in. 
 
“I can’t wait for the celebration party! It’s going to be huge!” Pinkie was bouncing with excitement. 
 
“I’m glad we have great allies on our side. If we had to fight all ten Red Moon Generals on our own, I’m not sure if I can handle all the stress.” Fluttershy commented. 
 
“Don’t get too comfortable just yet. Remember, we cannot relax until the rest of the generals and Scarlet Night are defeated.” Twilight replied. 
 
“Twilight’s right. The fight’s not over till it’s over.” Applejack agreed. 
 
“Oh, okay.” Fluttershy meekly said. 
 
The seven ponies then reached an iron door in their path. 
 
“Be on your guard. No telling what we’ll find behind this door.” Twilight then used her magic to open the door. On the other side is another chamber. 
 
The Mane 7 cautiously entered the chamber. As they anticipated for an enemy to appear, Twilight was suddenly engulfed in a purple light. 
 
“What’s happening?!” Twilight was taken aback before she vanished in a bright flash. 
 
“TWILIGHT!!!” Her friends exclaimed right after she disappeared. 
 
“What happened?! Where is she?!” Rainbow exclaimed. 
 
“I don’t know, but she was engulfed in the same light we were right before we were brought into the fortress.” Starlight answered. 
 
Another bright flash of light appeared in front of the six ponies and emerging out of it was a dark unicorn with his face covered by the hood of his cloak. 
 
“A dark unicorn!” Pinkie shouted. 
 
“This is as far as you’ll go. Your path ends here.” The dark unicorn spoke. 
 
“Where’s Twilight?!” Starlight demanded. 
 
“She has been sent to somewhere else in the fortress. A certain upper general wants some alone time with her. In the meantime, you six will be dealing with me.” 
 
The dark unicorn then lifted his hood and revealed his face. The six mares gasped once they saw the silver number 1 on his left eye. 
 
“Oh no. He’s Lower 1.” Fluttershy shivered. 
 
“The name is Thunder Blast and as you can see, I rank far higher than the general you all barely defeated. This time, you don’t have Princess Twilight with you, so that means your special rainbow magic is off the table.” 
 
“We’re not afraid of you!” Rainbow tried acting tough. 
 
“Oh, you should be, because none of you is going to walk away from this fight alive. Of all the lower generals, my power is the closest to the upper ranks. Also, during the great war, my kill count was over 5000. And in the present era, I claimed around 3000 lives prior to this battle.” Thunder Blast boasted. 
 
“You monster…” Rarity was disgusted with how the general spoke of mass killing like it was something to be proud of. 
 
“At first, I didn’t think I would be fighting you six. Disposing of lesser ponies shouldn’t have been a complicating task for Nightmare Art, and I’m seriously ticked that you actually managed to defeat him. A Red Moon General being beaten by the likes of you is something I cannot let slide.” 
 
“Wow, he has such a low opinion of us.” Pinkie muttered under her breath. 
 
“Therefore, I’m going to take it upon myself to remind you all how weak you are.” Thunder Blast declared while enveloped in an electric aura. 
 
Fluttershy began shaking in terror after listening to the Lower 1’s menacing declaration. 
 
“Come and do your worst! You won’t be able to kill us! In fact, you can’t kill us at all! We got a special kind of armor that makes us incapable of dying!” Pinkie boldly stated as her friends gave her blank stares. 
 
Thunder Blast was not amused. “I’m so going to enjoy killing the pink one.” The Lower 1 thought to himself. 
> Chapter 8 pt 6: Battle in the Enemy Stronghold V
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Inside a corridor, Alzack and Bisca were running for their lives from the pursuing magma monster. 
 
The monster was relentless, continuously throwing magma globs at the couple, who either dodge or shoot the magma globs with their firearms. 
 
“GUNS MAGIC: SUNLIGHT SHOT!” Alzack fired a bullet that created a large flash of light. 
 
The two wizards gained some distance when the monster was briefly blinded by the flash, but the creature soon resumed its pursuit. 
 
“That thing just doesn’t give up!” Bisca yelled. 
 
The monster’s body released streams of lava, which Alzack and Bisca barely evaded. 
 
Elsewhere, Juvia is pursued by the jellyfish monster. While trying to get away, the water wizard kept dodging her foe’s electrified tentacles and electric spheres. 
 
“You’re not getting me! I will be with Gray again no matter what!” Juvia bellowed. 
 
While fleeing, Juvia turned around a corner and saw the Connell couple and their pursuer heading in her direction. 
 
“Alzack! Bisca!” Juvia called out to them. 
 
“Juvia!” Alzack responded. “Thank goodness you’re here! We need help dealing with this monster behind us!” 
 
The couple then noticed the jellyfish monster chasing after Juvia. 
 
“I’ll help you, but can you take care of this one for me!? This monster is impervious to my magic!” Juvia asked her guildmates to fight the jellyfish monster. 
 
In the following moment, the water wizard and the Connell couple switched opponents. 
 
“OMNIDIRECTIONAL FORMATION!” Alzack surrounded the jellyfish monster with floating revolvers and shot at it from every direction. The bullets were able to pierce through the monster’s water barrier, and the monster flinched as it took some damage and its tentacles were shot off. 
 
Bisca followed up by firing a barrage of bullets with her dual machine guns. The monster wailed as its body was riddled with holes. 
 
While facing Juvia, the magma monster released a wide stream of lava from its mouth. 
 
“WATER NEBULA!” Juvia created two columns of water that rotated around each other and formed a helix. 
 
The two attacks entered a power struggle, but with her determination to reunite with Gray, Juvia managed to overpower the monster. It screamed as its body was being hardened by Juvia’s water magic. 
 
After the magma monster’s body was completely hardened, Bisca fired a bullet storm, chipping away the monster’s body and exposing the core, which is a glowing orange orb. Since the monster’s entire body hardened, the core became stationary. Bisca then destroyed the core and the monster disintegrated into a pile of ashes. 
 
“Glad that’s over with.” Bisca said with great relief. 
 
“But our objectives in this fortress have not been achieved yet.” Alzack replied. 
 
The Connell couple then saw Juvia running off, still fixated on finding Gray. 
 
“Juvia, wait! We need to stick together!” Bisca shouted as she and her husband followed after the water wizard. 
 



After they were separated from Twilight, the Mane 6 battled against the remaining lower general, Thunder Blast. 
 
Starlight fired magic beams, Applejack utilized geokinesis to launch rocks, and Rarity unleashed a volley of magical arrows. The Lower 1 effortlessly dodged their attacks by moving around like streaks of lightning. 
 
“SPARKLY SWEET STORM!” Pinkie rapidly threw sparkly explosive sweets of various kinds at the dark unicorn, but he easily dodged them as well. 
 
“Come on, try harder. I’m not even breaking a sweat.” Thunder Blast mocked. 
 
Rainbow Dash then tried attacking the general with a storm of lightning bolts, only for them to be absorbed by an electric force field surrounding him. 
 
“Bad idea.” Thunder Blast smiled right before firing a large beam of lightning at the rainbow-maned pegasus, and she narrowly dodged the beam. 
 
Fluttershy summoned an ethereal cheetah and it chased after the dark unicorn. Even though the ethereal creature moves faster than an ordinary cheetah, it still could not keep up with Thunder Blast as he was moving at the speed of lightning. 
 
Meanwhile, the other ponies continued attacking the Red Moon General. Starlight fired a barrage of magic beams, Rarity launched more arrows, Applejack tried erupting stone spikes from the floor, Rainbow tried using blasts of gust, and Pinkie continued throwing sparkly explosive sweets. Fluttershy summoned some ethereal falcons to help. 
 
Despite their efforts to land a hit on him, Thunder Blast kept evading all of their attacks. 
 
“He’s too fast! What do we do?!” Rarity squealed. 
 
“My turn.” The Lower 1 fired some electric-infused magical blasts at the ethereal cheetah and falcons, dissipating them instantly. 
 
He then fired a magical lightning bolt at Applejack. She raised a stone wall to defend herself. However, the bolt shifted direction and went around the wall. The earth pony’s eyes widened in surprise as the bolt struck her. 
 
Fluttershy immediately began flying towards Applejack to help her, but Thunder Blast suddenly appeared in front of the pegasus. 
 
“I don’t think so.” The general knocked her back with an electric-imbued punch, sending her reeling on the floor. 
 
Rainbow then flew towards Thunder Blast, intending to tackle him at breakneck speed, only to be repelled by an electric magical barrier conjured by the dark unicorn. He proceeded to fire a multitude of lightning bolts at the Mane 6. 
 
“Be careful! These bolts can change directions!” Starlight said to her friends. 
 
The Mane 6 were quickly put on the defensive as they tried to evade and defend themselves from the bolts. The bolts constantly shift directions with no predictable pattern, making them difficult to avoid. 
 
Thinking quickly, Starlight teleported her friends to her and conjured a dome-shaped magical barrier. The Mane 6 braced themselves as the barrier was taking the barrage of lightning bolts. 
 
“As I suspected, you mares are too weak. Your victory over Nightmare Art was just dumb luck.” Thunder Blast snidely commented. 
 
The dark unicorn then fired a massive beam of lightning that tore through Starlight’s barrier and blew away the Mane 6. Fluttershy attempted to use her healing light, but she was struck by a lightning bolt, which also damaged her hairpins. 
 
Thunder Blast zigzagged around at lightning-fast speed, repeatedly punching and kicking the Mane 6 with his electrified hooves. 
 
After a few minutes of pummeling, each of the Mane 6 could barely stand. 
 
“Okay, I’ve toyed with you six long enough. Let’s end this with a bang.” 
 
Thunder Blast then released an enormous pulse of lighting that spread throughout the chamber in an instant. Starlight blacked out after she was struck by the wave. 
 
While unconscious, Starlight dreamt of a world without war. In this dream, she was living a blissful life with her friends in Ponyville. However, this dream soon turned into a nightmare when dark unicorns and a horde of monsters arrived and attacked the town. Starlight watched in horror as the dark unicorns and monsters destroy everything in their path, including her friends. A dark unicorn suddenly appeared in front of her and attacked her with a magic blast. 
 
Starlight gasped as her eyes opened, having woken up back into reality. After coughing a few times, she then grunted as she struggled to stand back up, but due to the injuries she sustained, she collapsed to the floor again. 
 
“I see you’re still alive.” Thunder Blast uttered while looking down on Starlight. 
 
Starlight’s eyes immediately widened with fear as the Lower 1 stood right in front of her. 
 
“You’re one lucky pony.” The dark unicorn continued. “But I think it’s time for your luck to run out. Face it, compared to us, all the foes you encountered before were just third-rate amateurs who were too incompetent to take over Equestria. We had built a massive army, one that would make the Storm King’s forces look puny in comparison. And then some beings from another world just had to make things more difficult for us. They sure did a huge number on us. Because of them, we lost many of our brethren. If it wasn’t for Fairy Tail, you wouldn’t have survived this war for this long. But this time, they’re not going to save you.” 
 
Starlight attempted to fire a magic beam, only for the general to zap her before she could use her magic. 
 
“It’s pointless. You couldn’t land a single hit on me since the fight started, and you’ll never be able to, not in your condition.” Thunder Blast said while Starlight groaned in pain. “Take a look at your friends. Fluttershy and Rarity are out cold. Applejack and Rainbow Dash are writhing on the floor in pain. Both of Rainbow’s wings are injured, so she won’t be flying.” 
 
Starlight looked around and saw how bleak the situation was. It was as Thunder Blast said concerning Fluttershy, Rarity, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash. She also noticed Pinkie lying motionless on the floor. 
 
“As for poor Pinkie Pie, she has no pulse so she’s dead now.” The Lower 1 grinned. 
 
Starlight was completely stunned to hear what he said about Pinkie. 
 
“I bet you’re feeling it now Starlight, the feeling of crushing defeat. You and your friends are done for. Don’t feel bad about it. A dark unicorn of my rank besting lesser ponies of this era is the undisputed outcome anyway.” Thunder Blast continued smiling. 
 
“No… Pinkie… She can’t be gone! She just can’t!” Starlight whimpered. 
 
“I’m afraid you can’t deny reality. But not to worry, you will be joining her shortly. Just don’t struggle and it’ll all be over soon. If you’re thinking of escaping by teleporting, don’t bother, because I placed a barrier around this chamber that will prevent you from leaving this battle. I told you that you and your friends are not going to walk away from this confrontation with your lives, and I’m going to stay true to my word. So Starlight, do you have any last words to share?” Thunder Blast spoke as his horn lit up in an electrical aura. 
 
Seeing no way to turn the battle around, all Starlight could do was glare at the general in defiance. As she prepared for the end, the unexpected happened. 
 
A sparkly cupcake was thrown and it splattered on the Lower 1’s face. 
 
“Huh?” Thunder Blast showed a confused expression. 
 
As his mind was processing this, his face was completely engulfed in a colorful glittering explosion. The explosion damaged his horn and severely injured both of his eyes, rendering him blind. 
 
“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!!! MY EYES!!!! MY EYES!!!!” Thunder Blast cried in excruciating pain as he clutched his face. 
 
Starlight turned her attention to the one who threw the cupcake, and she was surprised and happy to see Pinkie alive and standing. 
 
“Ha Ha! I GOT YOU!” Pinkie shouted out with a proud smile. 
 
Hearing Pinkie’s voice completely took the general by surprise. 
 
“Pinkie Pie! You’re alive?! But how can this be?! I checked for your pulse! I was certain you died!” Thunder Blast loudly bellowed in disbelief. 
 
Instead of answering, Pinkie stuck her tongue out as she aimed her party bazooka. 
 
“SURPRISE ATTACK!” Pinkie fired her bazooka. Thunder Blast was hit by a colorful explosion and was sent rolling on the floor. 
 
Once the dark unicorn stopped rolling, he quickly got back on his hooves and he was deeply livid that Pinkie managed to harm him. 
 
“Don’t get cocky! I’ll kill you if it’s the last thing I do!” The Lower 1 roared at Pinkie while firing lightning bolts at her. 
 
With Thunder Blast’s attention on Pinkie, Starlight started channeling her magic, preparing for a charged-up attack. 
 
Pinkie evaded the bolts while taunting the Lower 1 by blowing raspberries at him. Despite her injuries, Pinkie could still move just fine. Because of his blindness, less control of his magic due to his damaged horn, and loss of focus due to pain and anguish, Thunder Blast kept missing his target as Pinkie was hopping towards him at incredible speed. Pinkie pulled a party bat out of her mane and swung it at the general, bashing him and knocking the wind out of him. While he was stunned from the blow, Pinkie continuously whacked him with the bat, like hitting a piñata. Pinkie soon swung her bat upwards with enough force to launch the dark unicorn all the way up to the ceiling. As he was falling, she leapt up to him and then hit him with a downward strike, sending him crashing back down to the floor with the impact leaving behind a huge dent. 
 
“This can’t be happening! Not to me! Not at the hooves of an inferior pony!” The Lower 1 wailed as he struggled to stand. 
 
Using wind to propel herself, Rainbow Dash rocketed towards the dark unicorn. With one of her front hooves, she slugged his head with a considerable amount of force, knocking him back down. 
 
“Well it’s time for you to be taken down a peg!” Rainbow roared as she then latched onto him and repeatedly punched his face using all the strength she could muster. 
 
Thunder Blast attempted to unleash an electric shockwave to blast Rainbow away, but the moment his horn glowed, she stopped him by striking his throat, causing him to choke. Rainbow continued punching, but the general eventually kicked her off him. 
 
Applejack suddenly wrapped her lasso around Thunder Blast’s neck. The lasso then tightened, causing him to struggle breathing. 
 
Once she finished charging her horn, Starlight unleashed a powerful magic blast. The general was then violently sent flying into a wall. The blast did not kill him, but he was left limping after falling to the floor. Applejack then sealed the deal by dropping a boulder on him, crushing his body except for his head and forelegs. 
 
“BRUTALITY!” Pinkie shouted out with sass. 
 
Beaten and broken, the Lower 1 groaned in agony. 
 
“I can’t move my body. Have I really lost? Am I going to die? Like this?! Ridiculous! Absolutely absurd! I didn’t even kill a single one of these pathetic mares! How could it end like this?! I had them beat! They were hopelessly outmatched! So why did I end up in this sorry state?! Curse that Pinkie Pie! This is all her fault! This all went south because I was outwitted by her! I should have fried her brain just to be absolutely sure! Damn it! Damn it all! If I could have a do-over, I swear I’ll make her suffer a thousand deaths for this!“ In his final moments, Thunder Blast anguished over the fact that ponies he considered to be beneath him were the ones who gave him the taste of bitter defeat. He soon disintegrated and the last of the lower generals is no more. 
 
“Yeeeeeaaaaaaaaah! The Lower 1 has been beaten!” Pinkie let out a huge cheer. 
 
“Pinkie, we need to tend to our friends.” Starlight said. 
 
“Ow! My wings hurt!” Rainbow cringed. 
 
“And my body’s aching all over.” Applejack moaned. 
 
Starlight went to Rarity and Fluttershy and woke them up. 
 
“Is it over?” Rarity asked after regaining consciousness. 
 
“Is everypony alright?” Fluttershy said softly. 
 
“Yes, the fight with Thunder Blast is over and we’re all okay.” Starlight answered. 
 
“We just pulled off another major win! First, we beat the weakest Red Moon General and now, we took down the strongest lower general!” Pinkie exclaimed excitedly. 
 
Starlight then used her magic to repair Fluttershy’s hairpins, and she healed everypony with her pink light. 
 
“Much better.” Rainbow said as she flapped her wings. 
 
“So Pinkie, how did you fake your death?” Starlight wondered. 
 
“Oh, I just stopped my pulse, giving myself the appearance of death.” Pinkie explained casually. 
 
“You know, I’m not going to question it. I’m just glad we made it through another tough battle.” Starlight went on. 
 
“Yeah, guess we didn’t need some deus ex machina power-up after all.” Pinkie remarked. 
 
Starlight then hugged Pinkie tightly. “Pinkie, don’t scare me like that again. For a moment, I thought we lost you.” 
 
“Come on, I already said we got this special kind of armor that keeps us from dying.” 
 
Rather than asking Pinkie to clarify about this “armor”, the six ponies got into a group hug. 
 
“I’m so happy we’re all still alive!” Fluttershy was crying uncontrollably with tears of joy. 
 
After ten seconds... 
 
“I hate to break up this moment, but... we have another problem. We need to find Twilight. If she’s facing an upper general as we speak, she’ll need our help.” Applejack commented. 
 
Rainbow then sighed. “No rest for the weary I guess.” 
 
“No rest until this whole battle ends. I’m definitely looking forward to some beauty sleep when this is all over.” Rarity said. 
 
 
 
With Thunder Blast’s defeat, the lower generals have been wiped out. Now, only the upper members stand between the forces of light and Scarlet Night. 
> Chapter 8 pt 7: Showdown with the Upper Generals part 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Shining Armor and his group galloped through a long corridor until they reached a hall with walls decorated with gemstones. Unbeknownst to his comrades, Shining Armor was not only searching for his daughter but also a certain enemy. A dark unicorn soon emerged out of the shadows, and that dark unicorn was the one who abducted and tortured Flurry Heart. 
 
“Shining Armor, I’ve been eager to meet you.” Shadow Mayhem spoke. 
 
Shining Armor and his soldiers felt a shivering chill upon meeting the Upper 5. However, Shining Armor’s feeling of dread was overshadowed by his rage towards the dark unicorn. Seeing his daughter’s torturer in the flesh was making his blood boil. 
 
“You monster! Tell me! Where is Flurry Heart!?” Shining Armor demanded. 
 
“She’s somewhere in this fortress, but you’re not going to see her again, at least not in the realm of the living.” The Upper 5 coldly replied. 
 
“When I saw you torture my daughter, I promised that I’ll kill you in the most painful way possible. I thought of all the things I’m going to do once I get my hooves on you!” Shining Armor grit his teeth as he could hardly contain his anger. 
 
“I have no apologies to give! I despise that thing with every fiber of my being!” Shadow Mayhem snarled back. 
 
“Wait your highness! I don’t think it’s a good idea to fight him!” One of Shining Armor’s comrades told him. 
 
“Quiet! I won’t be satisfied until I repay him a hundred…no… a thousand fold for all the pain Flurry Heart felt!” Shining Armor bellowed. 
 
“With all due respect, that dark unicorn is a Red Moon General! And he’s more powerful than the one that attacked the Crystal Empire months ago! He is far out of our league! You should let one of the Fairy Tail’s elite handle-“ 
 
The soldier’s words were cut off when he was shot in the head by a dark green magic bolt fired by Shadow Mayhem. Before the others were given a chance to react, the general shot magic bolts at the other five soldiers in Shining Armor’s group with great speed and precision, felling them instantly. Shining Armor was horrified to see his soldiers killed in a blink of an eye. 
 
“You should have known this already. When you face a Red Moon General, especially an upper rank like me, you better be prepared to meet death. However, I won’t kill you quickly. You’re one of the two ponies responsible for bringing that wretched thing into this world, so I’m going to take my time making you suffer.” Shadow Mayhem spoke with eyes that can invoke fear in anyone. 
 
The dreadful aura that the Upper 5 was emanating was even diminishing Shining Armor’s desire to kill him. 
 
“By the way, your daughter’s cries of agony were music to my ears.” The general continued with a taunt. 
 
With renewed rage, Shining Armor fired a magic beam at the dark unicorn, but the Upper 5 easily blocked it with a shadowy barrier. Undeterred, Shining Armor fired a more powerful beam. This time, the general dodged it. 
 
While enveloped in a shadowy shroud, Shadow Mayhem moved around like a black blur. Shining Armor fired a barrage of beams, trying in vain to get a hit on him. The general then appeared beside Shining Armor and kicked him in the side. 
 
After he was knocked down, Shining Armor quickly used telekinesis to grab his sword and swung it at Shadow Mayhem. The sword was caught by a shadow vine, and the Upper 5 obliterated it with a magic blast. Shining Armor then tried using his fallen soldiers’ spears, but another shadow vine landed a hard blow on his horn, causing him to stagger. The shadow vine then wrapped around Shining Armor’s right hind leg and bent it until its bones cracked, causing the unicorn to scream. 
 
“I’ll kill you! I swear I’m going to kill you!” Shining Armor cried out as he tried to fight the pain. 
 
Shadow Mayhem responded by whipping Shining Armor’s body with spiky shadow tendrils, leaving agonizing gashes. 
 
“No, you won’t. You’re the one who’s going to die. Next will be your wife, and I will show both of your corpses to your daughter. Then, I will erase all traces of the Crystal Empire, permanently.” Shadow Mayhem expressed how unhinged he is. 
 
The general then removed his mask, allowing Shining Armor to see his grotesque face. 
 
“I’ll make certain that Flurry Heart never returns to the life where everypony adores and pampers her. Your hate for me is nothing compared to the rage I’ve lived with for years! Do you have any idea what’s it like to have everything taken from you by somepony who had it all from the moment they’re born?! Do you have any idea what’s it like to go through your entire childhood with vengeance as your sole reason to live?!” 
 
“Why…” Shining Armor began whimpering. “Why did Flurry Heart have to suffer? Just because she was born an alicorn? She had nothing to do with the death of your family!” 
 
Shadow Mayhem gripped Shining Armor tightly with his shadow vines and slammed him harder against a wall. 
 
“Let me make myself perfectly clear. Your daughter’s crime was being born with absolutely everything and reminding me of the princess who destroyed my life and took my face! I’ll be damned if Flurry Heart gets to live her whole life happily without knowing what true pain is, especially after she denied me my chance to live a calm and quiet life! Now, the only way I can placate this burning flame inside of me is to take everything from her!” 
 
Somewhere else, Gajeel, Levy, and Panther Lily were battling several crab monsters. 
 
In mid battle, Gajeel was distracted by something. A crab monster charged at him, but Panther Lily cut it down. 
 
“Gajeel! This is not the time to be spacing out!” Panther Lily berated. 
 
“It’s Shining Armor!” Gajeel replied. “He’s close, but he’s in danger!” 
 
Speaking of Shining Armor, Shadow Mayhem has beaten him to within an inch of his life. His horn is cracked, his face is covered in blood, and he’s barely conscious. 
 
“Time to say farewell, Shining Armor.” The Upper 5 said spitefully as he prepared to skewer him with his shadow tendrils. 
 
In the nick of time, Panther Lily flew in and slashed the shadow tendrils with his sword, saving Shining Armor from certain death. Shadow Mayhem was taken aback by this interruption. 
 
“IRON DRAGON ROAR!” Gajeel released a tornado of iron from his mouth and blew the Upper 5 back. 
 
“Levy, Panther Lily, take Shining Armor to safety!” Gajeel told his guildmates. 
 
Levy quickly picked up the wounded stallion and carried him away. 
 
“Good luck, Gajeel.” Panther Lily said as he followed after Levy. 
 
Gajeel then narrowed his eyes at the dark unicorn. “I wanted another shot at the Upper 3, but I guess I’ll have to fight this one.” 
 
Shadow Mayhem recovered from Gajeel’s attack and he wasn’t about to let Shining Armor leave with his life. A shadowy serpent jumped out of the Upper 5’s mane. 
 
“Kill Shining Armor and the two with him.” Shadow Mayhem ordered his familiar. 
 
The serpent wasted no time slithering into the shadows in pursuit of the targets. 
 
“Levy! Panther Lily! Shadow Mayhem sent a shadow snake after you! Watch out!” Gajeel shouted out to them. 
 
Shadow Mayhem quickly fired a magic bolt at Gajeel, but the wizard transformed his arm into an iron club and blocked the bolt. 
 
“You stopped my attack. Impressive. And I struck with the intent to kill too.” Shadow Mayhem complimented. 
 
“Don’t worry Shining Armor. I’ll get this guy for you.” Gajeel uttered as he prepared to fight the Upper 5. 
 



After cutting down a large number of monsters and dark unicorns, Erza arrived at what appears to be a training hall. She proceeded with caution, expecting more foes to emerge out of the blue. 
 
Suddenly, a door appeared on the ceiling and as it opened, a plethora of blades rained down on Erza, who quickly jumped back to avoid the blades. She immediately knew who was responsible as she looked up at the door on the ceiling. Soon enough, a dark unicorn jumped through the door and landed in front of her, and the dark unicorn in question is none other than Erza’s sworn enemy. 
 
“Hello Erza, we meet again.” Blade Dancer greeted with a smile. “Glad to see you made it here in one piece.” 
 
“Blade Dancer! You’re going to answer for all the lives you took at Mount Aris!” Erza charged and took a swing at the Upper 4, but the latter dodged by leaping back a great distance. 
 
“Just so you know, Mount Aris isn’t the only place I attacked in the current era. After our previous encounter, I’ve kept myself busy by massacring creatures in a very distant land. It’s a shame that none of them came close to your level.” Blade Dancer said casually. 
 
Erza was aghast to hear what she did. “Tell me something. Even after slaughtering thousands, do you not feel anything?” 
 
“Oh I do feel something, a sense of accomplishment.” Blade Dancer answered with pride. 
 
This answer made Erza completely furious. 
 
“Everything I did was for Scarlet Night.” Blade Dancer continued. “My birth mother saw me as nothing more than a burden and left me alone in a world where I can only depend on myself. But Scarlet Night went out of her way to rescue me and gave me a home. And even though I acted ungrateful to her at first, she never abandoned me and continued caring for me as if I were her own. I love Scarlet Night and so I have no regrets killing for her.” 
 
Erza thought back to the night before the battle at Mount Aris. She remembered how happy Sky Beak was while having dinner with his wife and children, but because of Blade Dancer, Sky Beak will never experience another joyful moment with his family again, and his family will have to live with the tragedy of his death for the rest of their lives. The fact that the dark unicorns have no problem trampling on innocent lives like they were nothing filled Erza with rage. 
 
“Mark my words. When we’re done here, you and your fellow dark unicorns will not be causing any more grief and sorrow! YOU WON’T CLAIM ANY MORE VICTIMS!!!” Erza gripped her swords tightly with her eyes showing a fierce look. 
 
Upper 4 then transformed into her Blade Valkyrie form. “It’s time we finish our dance!” 
 



Laxus continued making his way through the fortress in a casual manner. Any dark unicorn and monster that stood in his path were easily dealt with. 
 
After slaying a troll, he entered a large open area that features many oversized trees made out of crystal. He soon discovered several dark wyverns perched on the branches of the crystal trees. The moment the wyverns saw Laxus, they dived down towards him while breathing out dark flames. Laxus dodged the flames and while enveloped in a lightning aura, he flew towards the wyverns and felled them with his fists. 
 
Right after landing back down on the floor, Laxus noticed a dark unicorn standing nearby and saw the golden number 3 on the left eye. 
 
“That’s the upper general that fought Natsu and Gajeel before.” Laxus thought. 
 
“Truthfully, I want to fight the fire wizard again, but Dread Lord insisted that I fight someone else.” The Upper 3 pouted. “Oh, where are my manners. I should introduce myself since we’ve never met before. I am Roaring Blaze, the Upper 3 of the Red Moon Generals.” 
 
“I honestly don’t care what your rank is.” Laxus replied in a disrespectful tone. “All I need to know is that I have to take you down.” 
 
Roaring Blaze then transformed into his dragon form. 
 
“Prepare to feel the burn!” The Upper 3 roared as his mouth was releasing steam. 
 
Laxus’ face began showing a hardened expression as lightning emanated out of him. 
 



After she was separated from her friends, Twilight ended up in an arena with many huge stone cubes floating in the air. 
 
“Oh no. Where are my friends?” A feeling of fear took hold as Twilight realized she was all alone. 
 
As she looked around, the alicorn spotted a magic bubble floating close to the ceiling. Lying inside the bubble is her niece, Flurry Heart. She is completely unconscious and in terrible shape. Her body is covered in bruises and small cuts, and her horn and wings are broken. It pained Twilight greatly to see her in such a state. 
 
“Flurry Heart…?” Twilight called out to her. 
 
“She’s alive, in case you’re wondering.” The voice of a certain mare is heard. 
 
Standing on one of the floating cubes is Sapphire Butterfly. She summoned her butterfly wings and descended to the floor. 
 
“Hello Princess Twilight, I’ve been waiting for this moment.” Sapphire said. 
 
A chill ran through Twilight’s spine as she came face-to-face with the Upper 2. The alicorn was so nervous that she couldn’t utter a single word. 
 
“Nervous? Well, too bad I won’t allow you to leave without first defeating me. Besides, I have two guests that you need to see.” 
 
Two more magic bubbles appeared right next to the one Flurry Heart is in. Inside these bubbles are none other than Twilight’s parents, Twilight Velvet and Night Light. The unicorn couple are both in bad shape like their granddaughter, but they are still conscious. The moment they saw Twilight, they began crying, screaming, and flailing their hooves. However, Twilight could not hear their voices. 
 
“The magic bubbles block out any sounds coming from them, but they can still hear us.” Sapphire Butterfly explained. 
 
Twilight was utterly shocked to see her parents. “Mom… Dad… What have you done to them?!” 
 
“Long story short, I captured and tortured them.” Sapphire answered. 
 
At that moment, burning anger was welling up inside Twilight. First, her niece and now, her parents. The alicorn felt like she wanted to scream in anguish. 
 
“I’m sure you already figured out what you need to do to free your niece and parents. You have my word that I won’t harm Flurry Heart, but your parents on the other hoof…” 
 
The magic bubbles containing Mr. and Mrs. Sparkle gave them an electric shock, causing them to cry in agony, much to Twilight’s horror. 
 
“If you don’t want them to die, then this shouldn’t be complicating. Fight me like you never have fought before. Your parents’ lives depend on it.” 
 
Twilight had a strong urge to lash out, but she quickly reminded herself of the foe she’s facing. 
 
“The Upper 2. Can I do it? Without my friends or Fairy Tail… Defeating the Lower 5 was a challenge even with my friends. Can I take on the second highest upper rank alone? No… It’s not a matter of if I can do it! I HAVE to do it!” Twilight put her fears aside and lit up her horn while showing a look of determination. 
 
“I can see you’re motivated. Good. Now give it your best shot.” Sapphire Butterfly spread her wings out as she prepared for battle. 
 
Meanwhile, in a room somewhere else in the fortress, four dark unicorns were watching the confrontation between Twilight and Sapphire Butterfly, which was being displayed on a crystal screen. The four were… invested in this fight. 
 
“500 Bits on Sapphire Butterfly!” 
 
“1000 on Sapphire!” 
 
“One Bit on Princess Twilight!” 
 
“That’s a waste of a coin!” 
 
All four dark unicorns began laughing hysterically. 
 



After rampaging for what felt like forever, Natsu ran up an incredibly long stairway until he reached a hall with stone pillars. 
 
“Grrr. Where is Roaring Blaze? If I had his scent, I could have found him already.” Natsu grumbled. 
 
As he wandered through the hall, he noticed a single dark unicorn approaching him. It is the Red Moon General with the golden number 1 on his left eye. 
 
“Dread Lord…” Natsu growled as he narrowed his eyes at the dark unicorn. 
 
The Upper 1 changed to his human form as he stood in front of Natsu. 
 
“Your name, what is it?” Dread Lord asked. “I like to know who I’m fighting against.” 
 
“It’s Natsu Dragneel!” The wizard answered promptly. 
 
“Natsu Dragneel… I can sense a battle spirit that has been set ablaze.” The general commented. 
 
“I was looking forward to fighting Roaring Blaze again to avenge Garble. However, since you’re the leader of the Red Moon Generals, this is just as perfect. Beating you will be a huge leap in ending this war. After all, I also made a promise to Gildarts.” 
 
“If you’re so eager to fight me, then let us do battle!” An aura of darkness erupted around Dread Lord. 
 
“I’m all fired up!” Natsu became engulfed in an aura of flames. 
 
As both combatants stared each other down, Dread Lord’s dark aura and Natsu’s fiery aura grew in intensity. 
> Chapter 8 pt 8: Showdown with the Upper Generals part 2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The battle inside Scarlet Night’s fortress has reached a critical point. After the defeat of the lower generals, the upper ranks stepped into the fray. 
 
A confrontation with Shadow Mayhem nearly cost Shining Armor his life, but he was saved by the timely intervention by Gajeel and Panther Lily. Levy and Panther Lily took away the badly wounded and unconscious Shining Armor while Gajeel stayed behind to confront the Upper 5. 
 
While seeking help for Shining Armor, Levy and Panther Lily were running down a hallway while Levy carried the unicorn on her back. The shadow serpent that Shadow Mayhem sent after them jumped out of the shadows, grew into gigantic size, and lunged at the trio. Panther Lily managed to block its fangs with his sword. 
 
“Levy, I’ll deal with this one! Take care of Shining Armor!” Panther Lily said as he held the serpent back, giving Levy and Shining Armor enough time to get away. 
 
The shadow serpent pulled back its head and lunged at the Exceed with greater force. With a mighty strike, Panther Lily sliced apart the serpent’s mouth. He then lopped off its head and quickly chopped its entire body into pieces. Instead of disintegrating, the creature reassembled itself and regenerated. 
 
“Okay, this may be a problem.” Panther Lily thought out loud. 
 
The serpent swiftly swung its tail at the Exceed with incredible speed. Panther Lily blocked the tail with his sword, but he was slammed into the wall by the sheer force. Even after that hard hit, Panther Lily continued standing his ground. 
 
After separating from Panther Lily, Levy ran into a swarm of bat monsters. 
 
“It’s too bad our Aura bracelets only transport their owners. Otherwise, I would have gotten Shining Armor out of this fortress by now!” Levy whined. 
 



While Panther Lily fought the shadow serpent and Levy protected Shining Armor, Gajeel entered a heated battle with Shadow Mayhem. 
 
The Upper 5 ferociously assaulted the wizard with shadow whips and magic blasts. Gajeel was able to defend himself by using his iron-hardened arms. 
 
“IRON DRAGON LANCE: DEMON LOGS!” Gajeel turned his arm into a large spearhead, from which he rapidly fired a large number of iron spears. 
 
Shadow Mayhem evaded the spears as he zipped around him like a black blur. After a few minutes of evading Gajeel’s barrage of iron spears, he then appeared beside the wizard, planning to strike him with a point-blank magic blast. With fast reflexes, the wizard got his opponent first by knocking him away with an iron club. 
 
“You’re not the first opponent with shadow-based powers that I’ve fought against!” Gajeel boasted as he landed five more iron club strikes on his foe in rapid succession. 
 
The Upper 5 quickly put up a barrier and blocked any further strikes. Not letting up, Gajeel turned both of his hands into cylindrical iron mallets and continuously swung them at the general, but the barrier held up. The wizard then raised both of his hands together above his head, created a gigantic iron mallet, and swung it downwards at the dark unicorn. 
 
Shadow Mayhem dodged by moving away like a shadow as a crater was created on the floor. The Upper 5 then tried to skewer Gajeel with a plethora of spiked shadow spears. The spears connected, but they failed to pierce through him due to him having hardened his entire body. Gajeel wasn’t completely unscathed, but he only sustained minor superficial wounds. 
 
“Even though he’s ranked lower than Roaring Blaze, I still need to remember that I’m dealing with an upper general.” The wizard thought. 
 
Shadow Mayhem conjured larger and sharper shadow spears and launched them. 
 
“IRON DRAGON SWORD!” Gajeel transformed his arm into a large, jagged iron blade, which he used to slash the spears. 
 
The wizard then swung his sword while extending it towards Shadow Mayhem. The general jumped out of the way and responded by unleashing a fierce flurry of bladed shadow whips. Gajeel stood his ground as he repelled the whips with his sword slashes. 
 
“You are formidable indeed. It’s been a long time since I faced an adversary that I need to take seriously.” The general commented. 
 
Shadow Mayhem’s body was then enveloped in a shapeless blob of darkness that grew to a size larger than Gajeel. The Upper 5 took on a different form, which is an amorphous mass of shadow. 
 
“I heard that the queen of the hippogriffs was crippled by a shadowy monster. That wouldn’t be you, would it?” Gajeel inquired. 
 
“Yes, that was me.” Shadow Mayhem confirmed. “I have a strong dislike for royals who prefer to hide from danger. I chose not to harm Princess Skystar because I have some level of respect for her for choosing to leave the safety of her home to aid Princess Twilight’s friends in their fight against the Storm King.” 
 
Gajeel thrusted his iron blade at his opponent, but once it touched the amorphous form, the blade got stuck in it. The wizard then tried using his Iron Dragon Roar, but his breath attack did not faze the general. 
 
In retaliation, Shadow Mayhem formed shadow claws and swiped Gajeel with amazing speed and power. The wizard was slammed into the wall with enormous force, and he coughed out blood after the heavy impact. The claws then swiftly grabbed Gajeel and repeatedly slammed him into the walls and floor violently, not giving him a chance to strike back. 
 
Eventually, Gajeel was pinned to the wall by a multitude of shadow claws. The Upper 5 applied more pressure into the claws, intending to crush Gajeel flat like a tin can. 
 
“It’s over! This fight is mine!” Shadow Mayhem believed that Gajeel’s defeat was certain. 
 
In response, Gajeel showed a small grin. “I wouldn’t be so sure about that. I still have one trick up my sleeve.” 
 
The wizard then underwent a transformation in which his iron body changed to blackish grey and cloaked in a shadowy aura. He has initiated his Iron Shadow Dragon Mode. 
 
“What’s this?” Shadow Mayhem was perplexed. 
 
While using the power of two elements, Gajeel transformed his arms into iron shadow blades and freed himself from Shadow Mayhem’s grasp by slicing the shadow claws apart. The general then attempted to impale Gajeel with shadow spikes, but the wizard changed to his shadow form and evaded the spikes. 
 
“You also have the ability to transform into shadows?!” The Upper 5 said in disbelief. 
 
“Surprised? Good thing I have been keeping some cards close to the chest.” Gajeel continued grinning. 
 
The Upper 5 sent waves of shadow claw slashes towards him, but the wizard used his shadow form to avoid the slashes. Gajeel then jumped high into the air above his opponent and transformed his legs into a giant drill that rotates at high speed. He then thrusted himself into his enemy’s shapeless form. With his right hand, he managed to grab and pull the Upper 5’s true body out of his shadow form. With his other arm, Gajeel struck the Upper 5 with an Iron Shadow Dragon Club. 
 
“GAH!” Shadow Mayhem felt that heavy blow as he was sent tumbling on the floor, but he swiftly recovered. 
 
“Haha! Not so tough now, are you?” Gajeel smiled. 
 
“Don’t get too full of yourself, human! There’s only one master of shadows AND THAT’S ME!!!!” Shadow Mayhem bellowed. 
 
“Too bad I’m about to end your whole career!” Gajeel retorted. 
 
While in their shadow forms, the two zigzagged on the floor and walls as they collided against each other. Soon, they were moving alongside each other on the floor’s surface until Gajeel once again grabbed and pulled his opponent’s body out. Not giving the dark unicorn a chance to react, the wizard quickly punched him hard in the stomach and threw him against the wall with enough force to shatter it. 
 
“IRON SHADOW DRAGON ROAR!” From his mouth, Gajeel released a powerful and destructive blast of iron and shadow. 
 
The Upper 5 screamed as he took the full brunt of the attack. After the blast, the dark unicorn fell to the floor and he appeared to be knocked unconscious. However, after a few seconds, he opened his eyes, got back up, and changed back to his shadow form. Even though he took considerable damage from Gajeel’s attack, the general wasn’t about to admit defeat. 
 
“No… I’m not going to fall here! Not now!” Shadow Mayhem snarled while panting. “I’m still not finished with Flurry Heart! That’s why I did everything in my power to keep her alive! I’m not through until I give her pain the worst anypony can imagine! I refuse to die before I can take away all she holds dear and completely destroy her soul!” A dark red aura engulfed him as his anger intensified. 
 
“You’re not hurting anyone ever again! And I’m done hearing about your resentment for Flurry Heart! Just take it with you to your grave!” 
 
The wizard and Upper 5 charged towards each other and resumed their back-and-forth clash, seeking to settle their fight once and for all. 
 
However, the battle took an unexpected turn when a certain earth pony mare arrived at the scene. 
 
“SONIIIIII!!!” The mare cried out. 
 
Both combatants immediately paused after hearing her voice. They then turned their attention to where the voice came from and they were surprised to see Bright Flower. The wizard and dark unicorn were completely taken aback by her unexpected arrival that they reverted to their original forms. 
 
“Soni… it’s you, isn’t it?” The earth pony said. 
 
“Bright Flower… why are you here?!” Shadow Mayhem managed to utter. 
 
“I… came to see you. After you left, I had been worried sick about you.” 
 
“Hold on a minute!” Gajeel interrupted. “How did you get here?!” 
 
“I brought her here.” Mest revealed himself. 
 
“Mest?! Why in the world would you do that?!” 
 
“Because Aura Light told me to.” Mest explained. “I know it’s crazy, but she kept insisting that Bright Flower needs to speak to Shadow Mayhem. Believe me, it was no small task getting here since it was difficult teleporting in a place I’ve never been to, but Aura assisted me in reaching your position. Even though it’s against my better judgement, I just had this feeling that I should do what Aura said.” 
 
“You… came all this way… to see me?” Shadow Mayhem asked Bright Flower with a befuddled expression. 
 
“Yes… I heard everything about you, and I needed to talk to you.” Bright Flower answered gently. 
 
“Now you know why I said that you should not fall in love with me. I couldn’t tell you before because the other dark unicorns would kill you if I had told you the truth. For what it’s worth, I really appreciated your kindness and hospitality, which is why you, your parents, and your village have been spared from any attacks. If you want an apology, then I apologize for leaving you without saying goodbye, but I’m not going to apologize for what I did to that princess. I cannot bring myself to accept her existence. Absolutely not. She is the embodiment of the one thing I loathe most of all.” 
 
“Soni, I learned that something terrible and unforgivable happened to you. It must be painful… having to grow up with hatred and the need for revenge.” 
 
“Save your sympathy. Murderers like me don’t need any. If you have heard everything about me, then you must be foolish to go through a lot of trouble to get here. You should know that I’m somepony you need to stay away from. The kind and gentle pony you knew as Soni was just an illusion. He died a long time ago, along with his family. This is what I really am!” Shadow Mayhem pointed a hoof at his own face. “How can you even look at me? I brutally tortured a filly, which I don’t feel the least bit guilty about, and you now see my true face. You should be revolted! I’m a horrible demon… cursed to live with anger and rage until the day I die!” 
 
“It doesn’t have to be this way! Let’s be together again and be happy like we used to!” Bright Flower pleaded. “I won’t pretend to know everything you’ve been through, but you’re in pain and I want to help you. Because I love you!” 
 
Shadow Mayhem was stunned beyond belief. After she learned the truth about him and saw his grotesque face, that was the last thing he expected her to say. 
 
“B-but why? H-how can you still love me?” Shadow Mayhem stammered. 
 
Before he knew it, Bright Flower wrapped her forelegs around him. 
 
“Soni… please… let go… and come back home with me.” 
 
As he felt Bright Flower’s warm embrace, Shadow Mayhem was reminded of all the happy memories they had together. He was deeply touched that he was actually shedding a small tear. His eyes were no longer showing any anger, only sadness. Even if Bright Flower is willing to accept him, there are many things he cannot take back. Also, his hatred for Flurry Heart and his desire to harm her still lingered. A part of him was telling him to kill Bright Flower to get her out of the way, but due to his genuine feelings for her, he did not want to harm her. Thus, he came to one decision. 
 
A shadow arm grabbed Bright Flower and threw her to Gajeel, who instinctively caught the earth pony with his hands. Shadow Mayhem’s horn lit up and he was then engulfed in a bright red explosion. 
 
“SONI!” Bright Flower cried out while Gajeel and Mest were completely baffled. 
 
Once the smoke cleared, Shadow Mayhem was still standing, but he lost his horn and his body was completely covered with deep wounds. 
 
“He… attacked himself?” Gajeel said confused. 
 
“Bright Flower… I have some final things to say… There was no way we could be together again. A life of happiness with somepony as kind as you… was never meant for me, not after all the sins I’ve committed.” As Shadow Mayhem said his piece, his body began to crumble away, albeit slowly. “I’ll forever be resented and despised by all those I’ve wronged. I already allowed my rage to define me... and the darkness inside my soul… will remain with me as long as I live. There’s no guarantee that I won’t end up hurting you… so it’s for the best that I meet my end now, before the rage takes hold of me again.” 
 
“Soni…!” Bright Flower rushed to him and hugged him again. “Soni, please… stay with me! Don’t go! Don’t leave me again!” She begged as she started sobbing. 
 
“Bright Flower, I want you to know that… I’m glad I met you. It felt great being happy and not consumed by hate. Our time together was… truly precious to me. I really wished… that it lasted forever. My one and only regret… is not being able to say this before. From the bottom of my heart, I… loved you too. Goodbye, Bright Flower.” Shadow Mayhem spoke his last words with a smile of gratitude. Afterwards, he completely disintegrated into dust. 
 
Back with Panther Lily, the shadow serpent that he was struggling against suddenly disappeared in a giant puff of black smoke. The Exceed took a moment to process this. 
 
“I-It’s gone? That means Gajeel has beaten him.” Panther Lily mused. 
 
He then contacted Gajeel via his Aura bracelet. “Hey Gajeel, did you defeat the Upper 5?” 
 
“He’s dead, but it wasn’t me who got him. It was beauty that killed the beast.” Gajeel answered. 
 
Panther Lily was bewildered by that statement. 
 
“By the way, how are Levy and Shining Armor?” Gajeel asked. 
 
“I got separated from them when I was fighting that dark unicorn’s pet.” 
 
“I see. I’ll contact Levy next. Let’s meet up again soon.” 
 
After Shadow Mayhem’s death, Bright Flower was devastated and she broke down crying. As she grieved, Mest slowly approached her. 
 
“Come on. I’ll take you back to Ponyville.” Mest said softly before he and the earth pony mare left the fortress via Mest’s teleportation magic. 
 
Gajeel then contacted Levy. “Levy, Shadow Mayhem is defeated. Are you and Shining Armor alright?” 
 
“The Upper 5 has fallen?! That’s great news!” Levy replied. “I’m fine, but Shining Armor is in terrible shape. He needs medical attention! I’m trying to find someone who can heal him. Lucy and Wendy are currently heading for Flurry Heart’s location so in the meantime, you should continue heading for Scarlet Night, while there’s still a chance to stop her before she awakens. We cannot allow any more bloodshed to happen.” 
 



Throughout the fortress, the forces of light heard news of the Upper 5’s downfall. The group of Crystal Empire soldiers that Spike, Happy, and Carla are with have joined up with a squad of Canterlot soldiers when they received the news. 
 
“Did you hear?! An upper general has been taken down!” A Canterlot soldier exclaimed. 
 
“Yeah! Chew on that you lousy dark unicorns!” A soldier from the Crystal Empire said. 
 
“Woah. More than half of the Red Moon Generals have been defeated. We’re really going to end this war tonight.” Spike said cheerfully. 
 
“What is your command, Spike the Brave and Glorious?” A Crystal Empire soldier asked the dragon. 
 
“Um, let’s rally all the remaining troops! We’re going to take this fortress!” Spike responded. 
 
The soldiers continued their charge with a boost in morale. 
 
“Some dragon is getting a big head.” Happy deadpanned. 
 
“Just let him have his moment.” Carla replied while rolling her eyes. 
 
Meanwhile in another hallway, Levy was frantically searching for anyone who can help Shining Armor. 
 
“Please hang on Shining Armor! You have to live! For your wife and daughter!” Levy urged him to stay alive. 
> Chapter 8 pt 9: Showdown with the Upper Generals part 3
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Order of Scarlet Night has suffered one major blow after another. The number of dark unicorns continues to dwindle as the forces of light were closing in on Scarlet Night. The lower ranks of the Red Moon Generals are gone and now, the upper ranks have lost one of its members, giving the forces of light more momentum in this battle. 
 
Meanwhile, while safeguarding Shining Armor, Levy encountered four gorilla monsters. 
 
“SOLID SCRIPT: STORM!” As the monsters charged towards her, Levy wrote the word “Storm” which created a strong gust of wind that pushed the monsters back. 
 
“SOLID SCRIPT: SWORD!” Levy then wrote the word “Sword” in the air and hurled the word at the monsters, slicing them. 
 
As she continued down the hall, a dark unicorn mare appeared in front of her and fired a dark magical beam at her. Levy quickly wrote the word “Guard” in the air, which created a barrier that blocked the beam. 
 
“SOLID SCRIPT: BULLET!” Levy waved her arm and created the word "Bullet", which fired a series of energy pellets at the dark unicorn, who generated a barrier to block the attack. 
 
“SOLID SCRIPT: DRILL!” Levy held out her hand and generated the word "Drill". The word started to spin towards the dark unicorn, emanating drill-like sounds as it broke through her barrier and struck her down. 
 
After overcoming numerous obstacles while keeping Shining Armor safe, Levy eventually reached a door in her path. She entered another hallway but one with numerous doors. As she wondered where to go next, a door on the left side of the hall suddenly opened. Levy put up her guard, preparing for another enemy encounter. Fortunately, what came through the door were no enemies but Starlight and the Council of Friendship. Levy happily called out to them. 
 
“Hey Levy!” Pinkie cheerfully greeted back. 
 
“Finally, a Fairy Tail wizard.” Starlight sighed in relief. 
 
The Mane 6 then noticed Shining Armor on Levy’s back. 
 
“It’s Shining Armor! What happened to him?!” Rainbow said. 
 
“The Upper 5 beat him up pretty bad, but Shining Armor is still breathing.” Levy replied. “Fluttershy, can you help him?” 
 
“Of course.” Fluttershy spoke softly. 
 
Levy laid Shining Armor gently on the floor, and Fluttershy enveloped him in her pink light, which fully healed him. 
 
“W-wha... what happened?” Shining Armor groaned as he regained consciousness. 
 
“You’re okay now, Shining Armor. The Upper 5 almost killed you. Fortunately, Gajeel, Panther Lily, and I arrived just in time to rescue you. While I was carrying you on my back, we got separated from my guildmates when Gajeel stayed to fight the dark unicorn and Panther Lily was fighting some kind of shadow snake. I was searching for help when we ran into the Council of Friendship. Fluttershy just used her power to heal you.” Levy explained. 
 
“Wait...! The Upper 5! Where is he?!” Shining Armor demanded. 
 
“He has been defeated. You don’t have to worry about him anymore.” Levy answered. 
 
“H-he... he’s gone?” The unicorn sounded surprised. 
 
“Yeah! Isn’t that great!?” Pinkie said chipperly. 
 
“No... no, no, no, no!” Shining Armor did not sound pleased, much to the confusion of the others. “Shadow Mayhem was supposed to be mine! I wanted to look at him in the eye and make him pay with my own hooves! But now that’s been taken from me, how am I supposed to get proper justice for Flurry Heart?!” 
 
Shining Armor expressed frustration that not only he did not kill Shadow Mayhem himself, he wasn’t present during the general’s demise. 
 
“Shining Armor... the upper general was too powerful. If my guildmates and I had not been there, you would have been killed.” Levy spoke gently. 
 
“You don’t understand!” Shining Armor snapped while showing tears of anguish. “When Flurry Heart’s torture was shown all over Equestria, I could only watch... helplessly! That tore me up inside! She was suffering, and I couldn’t do anything for her! With my chance to make him face judgement for his crime gone, I feel so useless!” 
 
Applejack then walked up to Shining Armor and looked him in the eye. 
 
“Listen here, you are not the only one hurting and upset about Flurry Heart.” Applejack said sternly. “To be completely honest with you, words can’t describe the pain I felt when Granny Smith died. After her funeral, I felt like breaking apart many times. What kept me going was having friends and family to fight for and my drive to not let the dark unicorns win. Even though I’m able to come to terms with Granny Smith’s death, it still haunts me to this day. If you had died, Flurry Heart would go through the pain of losing her father. Take comfort in the fact that Shadow Mayhem wasn’t given that satisfaction. What’s important is that you’re alive and can still reunite with your daughter.” 
 
Shining Armor lowered his head in understanding before turning to Levy. “Just answer this one question. Did Gajeel at least make him suffer?” He asked, hoping for some consolation. 
 
“I don’t know all the details. You would have to ask Gajeel later.” Levy answered. 
 
Shining Armor then noticed that Twilight wasn’t present. “Wait a minute. Where’s Twilight?” 
 
“Yeah, wasn’t she with you?” Levy also wondered. 
 
“She was with us.” Rarity answered. “But she has been transported to another place in the fortress. We believe the Upper 2 took her.” 
 
“Twily is with the Upper 2?!” Shining Armor was shocked. 
 
“We were searching for her when we ran into you and Levy.” Rarity continued. “Our Aura bracelets are pointing us to her location, but it won’t be easy getting to her since we don’t know the quickest route to her.” 
 
“Oh no! We have to find Twily!” Shining Armor was panicking before he took deep breaths. “Hold on, what about Flurry Heart?” 
 
“Lucy and Wendy are searching for your daughter now. Wendy can trace Flurry Heart’s scent.” Levy informed. 
 
“We can leave finding Flurry Heart to those two. I speak for all of us when I say that we’re really worried about Twilight.” Starlight said. 
 
Deciding to place his faith in Lucy and Wendy to find his daughter, Shining Armor joined the Mane 6 in their search for Twilight. Levy also decided to accompany them as well. 
 



At a training hall, the Upper 4 challenged Erza to another duel. However, the fight was put on pause when the general (in her Blade Valkyrie form) sensed Shadow Mayhem’s death. 
 
“Shadow Mayhem, how could you leave us like this!? Damn that wretched earth pony mare! The reason her village was never attacked was because of Shadow Mayhem’s affection for her, and now because of her, he’s gone! I promise, I’ll raze her village to the ground and I’ll make her watch as I brutally kill her parents in front of her!” Blade Dancer angrily declared. 
 
Erza (in her Clear Heart Clothing) lunged her sword at her opponent, but the latter dodged the attack by hovering to the side. 
 
“I already told you. You won’t claim any more lives! Because I’m going to end you right here, right now!” Erza bellowed. 
 
“Hmph! See if you can defeat me!” The Upper 4 replied in an arrogant tone. 
 
Their heated battle resumed as Erza fiercely clashed swords against the general’s bladed claws. Sparks were created from the impact of the blades. 
 
After parrying a claw slash, Erza kicked the Upper 4 back. As Erza charged towards her to continue the attack, Blade Dancer emitted bright light from her claws in an attempt to blind her enemy. Having already expected this, Erza immediately close her eyes and quickly switched the sword in her right hand to the Wind God Sword. She then swiftly launched a forward horizontal cyclone blast that sent the general flying into a wall. The Upper 4 quickly recovered and she began cackling with delight. 
 
“Fun...! This is so much fun! I haven’t been this excited in ages! I definitely want your head!” Blade Dancer was ecstatic. “I just wish that the many I slaughtered were as entertaining as you.” 
 
Erza then showed a menacing glare. “Just hearing you talk about killing so callously is making me sick to my stomach.” 
 
“Jeez, are you still hung up about all those worthless lives?” The Upper 4 deadpanned. 
 
“Inflicting pain on others without a second thought and moving on without any regrets! You couldn’t be any more outrageous! I swear, I won’t allow such evil to persist!” Erza shouted out furiously. 
 
“In war, it’s natural for deaths to occur.” Blade Dancer replied casually. “Besides, there’s no reason to let the weak live. They’re better off dead. You should feel honored that I complimented you. After all, you’re the first adversary who is facing my Blade Valkyrie form a second time.” 
 
Erza released an intense aura of anger, which actually caught the Upper 4 by surprise. 
 
“Such disregard for life, what’s so amusing about this?! Tell me then, what is the weight of a life to you?!” Erza asked. 
 
Blade Dancer was briefly shaken by the wizard’s aura of anger, but she quickly regained her composure and scoffed at Erza’s questions. “The lives of insects don’t matter to me in the slightest. I don’t care who I kill as long Master gives me praise for it.” 
 
A magical aura enveloped Blade Dancer as she swung her right sword leg at very high speed, sending out a sharp compressed blade of wind towards Erza, who used her swords to dissipate the incoming wind blade. However, in less than a second later, the Upper 4 zipped towards Erza and swung her right claws in a horizontal motion with blinding speed. 
 
Erza’s left arm received some serious cuts. The reason her arm wasn’t severed was because she leapt back fast enough. 
 
“That was close! If I had reacted any slower, she could have sliced my arm off!” Erza thought as she quickly bandaged her bleeding arm. 
 
“How do you like that? My magic power may not be as great as the three generals ranked above me, but I do pride myself on my swift and lightning-fast strikes!” The Upper 4 bragged. 
 
“I have to admit. Her speed is nothing to scoff at. She is certainly a deadly opponent for the unprepared.” 
 
Blade Dancer materialized a multitude of floating blades out of thin air and launched them as projectiles toward Erza, but the wizard deflected them. The general followed up by conjuring red-glowing blades and hurled them at the areas around Erza. 
 
As the wizard was keeping her distance from the explosions, Blade Dancer suddenly appeared behind her and attempted to decapitate her with her left sword leg. Erza ducked, dodging the fatal strike, and managed to counter by slashing the general’s torso. The Upper 4 quickly moved away as Erza performed a follow-up slash. 
 
“I must say, your reflexes are worthy of recognition.” Blade Dancer commended. 
 
The general then flailed her claws repeatedly in a rapid motion, launching spinning crescent-shaped air blades at Erza. The wizard canceled out the Upper 4’s attacks by using her Wind God Sword to create turbulent winds that dispersed the incoming air blades. 
 
Blade Dancer appeared in front of Erza and swung both claws downward diagonally with great force, unleashing powerful slashes in a cross pattern. When blocking the attack, Erza’s swords shattered in the process. The Upper 4 swung her right sword leg in a clockwise sweeping motion in an attempt to slice off Erza’s legs. The wizard dodged by doing a backflip as she requipped new swords into her hands. 
 
With both of her claws, Blade Dancer made multiple curved slashes layered over one another, creating a rising vortex of slashes and spinning crescent air blades. Erza quickly requipped her Heaven’s Wheel Armor and evaded the vortex by flying away. 
 
“HEAVEN’S WHEEL: PENTAGRAM SWORD!” Erza rushed back towards Blade Dancer and attacked with five quick slashes in the pattern of a pentagram. 
 
The Upper 4 blocked the slashes with her claws and forced Erza back with a flashing flurry of slashes from her left sword leg, each creating waves of wind blades. The general quickly followed up by releasing a wild barrage of claw slashes that sent out numerous chaotic cutting waves several meters in front of her. Erza wasn’t able to stop or dodge all the waves, so some of them damaged her armor and wounded her. 
 
Continuing with her onslaught, Blade Dancer unleashed a rain of red blades onto Erza, engulfing her in fiery explosions. Fortunately for the wizard, she had requipped her Flame Empress Armor, which greatly lessened the damage. 
 
Striking back, Erza used her Flame Sword to send out flaming slashing waves toward her enemy. The Upper 4 performed several slashes with her sword legs to defend herself from incoming attacks. 
 
Erza then switched her armor to Morning Star Armor. 
 
“MORNING STAR: PHOTON SLICER!” With her sabers, Erza fired a powerful energy blast. 
 
The general dodged the blast by zipping to the side. While swinging her claws, she created powerful multi-directional long-ranged cutting waves. As Erza evaded these waves, Blade Dancer swung her claws rapidly, spreading out a storm of crescent air blades. Erza was being pushed back as she was defending herself from her opponent’s relentless attacks. 
 
Blade Dancer continuously attacked with increased speed, sending out one barrage of cutting waves and crescent air blades after another, forcing Erza to go on the defensive and not giving her a chance to unleash another energy blast. 
 
“I can’t let her keep pushing me back like this! I have to defeat her or I’ll never reach Scarlet Night!” Needing to gain the upper hand, Erza requipped one of her most powerful armors, the Armadura Fairy. 
 
Blade Dancer created a stream of long-ranged vertical and horizontal cutting waves along with numerous crescent air blades. Using swords imbued with magical energies resembling green lightning, Erza gained her momentum as she sliced through the waves and air blades while charging towards the Upper 4. 
 
Once Erza finally closed the distance between her and Blade Dancer, Erza’s swords collided with the Upper 4’s claws, resulting in a huge explosion. The general’s claws shattered as she was launched back by the explosion. She slid back until she came to a screeching halt. Erza rushed towards her to press on the attack, but Blade Dancer stopped her by materializing a humongous wall of red blades in her path. The wizard jumped back just before the blades exploded. 
 
“Well done. You’re the second foe after Aura Light who managed to break these claws. However...” The general then magically regenerated her claws. “As long I can use magic, I can repair them good as new.” 
 
Blade Dancer was then engulfed in an aura with a dark green hue. “Prepare yourself. Now, I’m using my full power.” 
 
With her new claws, Blade Dancer created a gigantic cutting wave. When clashing against it, Erza was pushed back by the sheer force of the wave, until she charged her swords with more magic power and dissipated the wave. 
 
The general then created a chaotic vortex of powerful extremely long-ranged multi-directional cutting waves. Instead of going on the defensive again, Erza powered through her enemy’s attack while charging one of her swords with a large quantity of magic power, preparing to unleash a powerful piercing attack against the Upper 4, even if it means sustaining more wounds in the process. 
 
Blade Dancer channeled her magic power into her claws as she prepared to take Erza head-on. The wizard collided with the general once again, creating another gigantic explosion. Both were blown back, but Blade Dancer’s claws remained intact. The two combatants began panting, showing signs of exhaustion. 
 
“You know, you deserve a pat on the back. Not anyone can make me exert myself to this extent.” Blade Dancer gave her praise. 
 
“Thanks for the praise, but I can’t stay here for too long. We still have Scarlet Night to deal with, and I can’t afford to waste any more time.” Not wanting the battle to drag out any longer, Erza requipped another one of her strongest armors, the Nakagami Armor. 
 
“Just how many armors do you have?” Blade Dancer asked. 
 
“This will be the last one I’ll use for this duel, because I’m ending this fight right now.” Erza answered. 
 
“A big claim, Erza. Let’s see if you can back it up!” The Upper 4 created another chaotic vortex of powerful long-ranged multi-directional cutting waves, but with more ferocity. She also launched a storm of red blades for good measure. 
 
Erza swung her halberd and neutralized all incoming attacks. 
 
“What?! She cut through all my attacks just like that?!” 
 
“Blade Dancer, your powers were incredible! But it’s time to finish this!” Erza hollered as she thrusted herself towards Blade Dancer. 
 
Blade Dancer, in turn, charged towards Erza while spinning like a tornado with her claws spread out. 
 
“NAKAGAMI STARLIGHT!” Erza swung her halberd with great strength, cutting the space before her and delivering a devastating blow to the Upper 4. 
 
Blade Dancer reverted to her original pony form as she was sent spiraling in the air and crashing hard onto the floor. The general could no longer move after Erza’s attack. Thus, this fight has been decided. Blade Dancer has lost. The Upper 4’s body started to disintegrate, and Erza switched her armor back to Clear Heart Clothing. 
 
Seeing that she was fading away, Blade Dancer decided to ask Erza one question during her last moments. 
 
“Erza… answer me. Did you really mean it when you said… that my powers... were incredible?” The Upper 4 said weakly. 
 
Erza was silent for a few seconds before answering. “I truly did. However… I can never forgive you for killing.” 
 
“I see…” The general uttered in response. 
 
Erza then walked away, leaving the fallen Red Moon General alone. 
 
As her body was slowly disintegrating, Blade Dancer began reminiscing about her past, starting with the time her mother abandoned her. 
 
“You are worthless.” Her mother said cruelly before leaving her. 
 
“I... I wasn’t worthless. At the very least, Scarlet Night never thought so.” Blade Dancer then reminisced of her time with Scarlet Night after the alicorn took her in. She fondly remembered Scarlet Night giving her a name and the times she praised her whenever she made progress in her studies. She also remembered the joy she felt when Scarlet Night made her a Red Moon General and congratulated her after every successful mission. 
 
“My magic... my talents... were all recognized...” Content with knowing that she was acknowledged even by an enemy, Blade Dancer accepted her fate as she crumbled away completely. 
 
Erza soon exited the training hall, which has suffered extensive damage. Despite the wounds she received from the recent fight, she remained determined to see the battle in the fortress through to the end. 
 
“Sky Beak, I’ll tell your family that I have avenged you… once this is all over.” Erza promised to herself as she continued forward. 
> Chapter 8 pt 10: Showdown with the Upper Generals part 4
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Laxus vs Roaring Blaze 
 
As the battle between Laxus and the Upper 3 has gone underway, the dark unicorn in dragon form repeatedly breathed out streams of flames at the wizard. 
 
Laxus simply dodged by jumping around at fast speed and countered by launching lightning bolts at Roaring Blaze. Though the bolts struck him faster than he could react, the general just shrugged them off. 
 
With his hands, the Upper 3 formed a giant orb of fire and hurled it at Laxus. The wizard easily dodged it as the orb caused a humongous explosion on impact, leaving behind a gigantic smoky crater. 
 
The general suddenly appeared beside Laxus and swung his claws. Laxus ducked under the swing and attacked his opponent with a lightning-empowered fist, knocking the general back a long distance away. 
 
However, when Laxus’ fist connected to Roaring Blaze, his knuckles got singed. As Laxus winced from the burn he received, Roaring Blaze quickly rocketed back towards him and kicked him square in the stomach, leaving a large burn mark on it and sending Laxus flying back with a smoke trail. 
 
“Be careful. Unless you have resistance to heat, you’ll burn if you touch me.” Roaring Blaze said with a smug expression. 
 
Laxus got back on his feet while clutching the burn mark on his stomach. “That really stings, but it’ll take more than a few burns to best me. Besides, your power is nothing new to me. I’m already familiar with someone who wields fire.” 
 
“Insolent human, I’ll have you know that I’m not just a master of fire, I’M A LIVING FURNACE!!!!” The Upper 3 roared while ferocious flames formed around him. 
 
“Don’t care, didn’t ask.” Laxus replied nonchalantly. 
 
“Fair warning, human. No matter how strong you think you are, if you take me lightly, you’ll be in for an ugly surprise!” 
 
The general spread his wings and soared towards Laxus while engulfed in a fiery sphere, only for the wizard to leap out of the way. 
 
“LIGHTNING DRAGON ROAR!” From his mouth, Laxus unleashed a concentrated, destructive blast of lightning. 
 
At the same time, Roaring Blaze unleashed a powerful blast of fire from his mouth. The two attacks collided and cancelled each other out, creating an enormous explosion. 
 
The Upper 3 was then knocked down to the floor by a large lightning strike from above. He quickly rose back up, treating the attack like a minor nuisance. Roaring Blaze then came speeding towards Laxus and aimed to deliver a fatal strike by thrusting his claws at the wizard’s throat, but Laxus was able to move to the side at the last moment. 
 
“LIGHTNING DRAGON IRON FIST!” Laxus struck Roaring Blaze with a fist completely engulfed in lightning, landing a powerful blow without his hand directly touching his opponent. 
 
The general was pushed back, but he just brushed it off and came back at Laxus with a flurry of heat-imbued claw slashes. The wizard repeatedly moved left and right to evade the slashes. 
 
“LIGHTNING DRAGON IRON HAMMER!” Laxus gathered a large quantity of lightning in his fist and then punched the floor, sending out a torrent of lightning that engulfed his opponent. 
 
Roaring Blaze continued to stand his ground and fought back by generating circular waves of flames from his hands. Laxus was singed by the waves as he was forced back. 
 
“LIGHTNING DRAGON HEAVENWARD HALBERD!” Laxus formed a very large trident of lightning and hurled it at the Upper 3. 
 
The lightning trident successfully connected and it sent Roaring Blaze crashing hard into a crystal tree. However, the Upper 3 once again got back on his feet without showing any signs of pain. 
 
“What’s with this guy?! He took all my attacks like they were nothing!” Laxus was visibly unsettled. 
 
“Judging by the look on your face, I guess you’re wondering how am I able to withstand so much punishment. Let me put it this way. In addition to the scales of my dragon form, which have high resistance to both physical and magical attacks, my body is also reinforced by an invisible magical armor.” Roaring Blaze explained. 
 
“I hate to admit it, but the Upper 3 is definitely trouble. All the dark unicorns I’ve fought before were infants compared to this one.” 
 
Continuing the battle, Roaring Blaze materialized hundreds of fiery spheres high in the air above them. A rain of fire blasts was then unleashed onto the battlefield. As Laxus zipped around in lightning form, fiery craters were created on where the blasts landed. The wizard came up with one idea to gain the upper hand. 
 
“ROARING THUNDER!” Laxus rushed at the Upper 3 and released a large burst of lightning from his fist. He aimed his attack at the general’s horn, hoping he could weaken him by breaking it. 
 
The general was pushed away with immense force when the attack landed. Unfortunately, his horn remained intact. 
 
“Dammit! His horn didn’t break!” Laxus expressed annoyance. 
 
“So, you just tried to break my horn, huh? A nice idea, but I’m afraid it’s no small task. I used protective enchantments to make sure my horn won’t get damaged.” 
 
“No matter. Until this war ends, I’ll keep fighting even if it kills me.” The wizard remained undeterred. 
 
“A foe with great strength and unwavering resolve. I like that. Very well then, I’m now releasing all restraints!” 
 
Roaring Blaze’s body was then suddenly covered in a magical glow as the scales changed to a blue hue. Laxus went wide-eyed as the Upper 3’s dragon form slightly increased in size and his entire body became engulfed in an intense aura of bright blue flames. 
 
“Behold! This is my most powerful form! With it, I can incinerate whole armies and turn entire cities into a blazing inferno in just mere minutes! However, the drawback of using this form is that it uses up a large amount of magic power. If I stay in this form until it expires, I’ll be completely exhausted once I return to my pony form.” 
 
“I see.” Laxus flatly said while showing a calm expression. 
 
“This is the ninth time that I’ve used this form and it only failed me twice. The first was when I challenged Dread Lord for the Upper 1 position and the second was when I fought Aura Light. Now, let’s see how well you’ll fare. I’m confident that you’ll be reduced to cinders before long.” 
 
After entering his ultimate form, Roaring Blaze also released an intense heat wave that spread throughout the entire area. Laxus felt like he was standing in the middle of a scorching desert. And the worst part was that the temperature continued to rise as time went on. 
 
The Upper 3 created hundreds of blue flaming spheres high in the air before unleashing a rain of blue fiery blasts. Laxus evaded the blasts and rushed towards Roaring Blaze, planning to strike him with another point-blank attack, but the wizard was stopped in his tracks when the heat coming off of the general’s blue fiery aura burned him. 
 
“I’ll keep my distance if I were you.” Roaring Blaze whistled. “With all the heat coming from me, getting too close is enough to barbecue you.” 
 
“LIGHTNING DRAGON DEMOLITION FIST!” Laxus punched the air, releasing a giant, high-speed lightning blast in the shape of a fist. 
 
The general crossed his arms as the blast hit him, engulfing him in a massive, sparking explosion. However, the attack hardly fazed him. 
 
“Pitiful human. My destructive power not only increased, but my defenses as well.” The Upper 3 smirked. 
 
Roaring Blaze released a gigantic blast of blue fire from his mouth. Laxus responded by using another Lightning Dragon Roar. The two attacks clashed and there was a power struggle. It did not last long as the Upper 3’s attack pushed through and hit its mark. Laxus screamed as he was blown back and seared by the opposing blast. 
 
The general then conjured circular waves of blue flames and sent them towards the wizard. Laxus managed to recover in time and went behind a crystal tree for cover. The tree quickly collapsed due to the devastating power. 
 
“It appears you’re low on options.” Roaring Blaze mocked. “And before you even think of trying to hold out until my power wears off, I’ll let you know that I can stay in this form for up to three hours, and it’s only going to get hotter here with each passing second. You’ll succumb to heatstroke long before my form’s time limit is up. Right now, fleeing from this fight is your best chance for survival, unless you’re too stubborn for that.” 
 
“I’m not going to back down!” Laxus gritted his teeth. “You won’t have the pleasure of watching me run with my tail between my legs! The only direction I’m going is forward!” 
 
“Tough talk from someone who’s going to die.” Roaring Blaze then surrounded himself in a blue fire cyclone and from it, he released a continuous omni-directional barrage of blue fire balls. 
 
Laxus flew around at lightning-fast speed to dodge the projectiles, but due to the rising heat, his focus was beginning to wane and his movements were becoming more sluggish. Eventually, four of the fire balls struck him, engulfing him in blue fiery explosions and causing him to crash and reel on the floor. Satisfied with getting a few hits in, Roaring Blaze ceased his barrage. 
 
Laxus was writhing on the floor in agony, but through sheer willpower, he later got back on his feet, albeit with great difficulty. 
 
“I see you still got some fight in you.” The Upper 3 was actually impressed. “But it appears you’re reaching your limit, so you’ll be back down on the floor soon enough.” 
 
As Laxus was panting heavily, his vision was starting to get blurry. 
 
“This heat is unbearable. I feel like I’m going to pass out soon. I have to end this now!” Laxus then engulfed himself in a lightning aura that changed from yellow to a dark red hue, meaning that he initiated his Red Lightning Dragon Mode. “I was planning on saving this for later, but it’s do or die now.” 
 
“The color of your lightning can change to red? How interesting.” Roaring Blaze mused. 
 
“I only got one shot at this. I have to make it count!” Laxus then charged at Roaring Blaze at breakneck speed, intending to end this fight with one more attack. 
 
“You fool! If you get too close to me, your whole body will be charred!” Roaring Blaze shouted. 
 
“MEGATON: RED LIGHTNING!” While completely enveloped in his red lightning aura, Laxus threw a single empowered punch, while putting his all into this attack. 
 
Even though he was still scorched by the heat surrounding the Upper 3, Laxus’ attack successfully broke through his enemy’s defenses and ripped through his torso, leaving a large hole on it. Roaring Blaze’s eyes widened as he dropped to his knees and his fiery aura died down. 
 
“I am… defeated? I suppose it’s... not an entirely unpleasant feeling. Sorry, Scarlet Night. Guess I won’t be here to welcome you back.” Those were Roaring Blaze’s last thoughts before his body disintegrated into ashes. 
 
All the heat created by the general have dissipated, giving Laxus some respite. Feeling lightheaded after enduring the torturous heat and burns, he limped towards a crystal tree to rest against. 
 
“Damn, I’m in no shape to continue. It would be nice if Wendy, Fluttershy, or any unicorn that knows healing spells were here right now.” Laxus thought as he was catching his breath. 
 
However, while he was trying to rest, he was approached by dozens of spear-wielding orcs. 
 
“Gee, guess there’s never a dull moment in this place.” Laxus said as he struggled to stand. 
 
The orcs then charged at Laxus, intending to finish him off while he was in his weakened state. As the wizard steeled himself for the incoming mob of enemies, five of his guildmates arrived at the scene. The orcs were taken by surprise when they were assaulted by a sudden barrage of magic blasts fired by Bickslow’s dolls and energy needles fired by Evergreen. 
 
Lisanna (in her Animal Soul: Harpy form) grabbed two orcs with her talons and flew up high in the air before dropping the orcs on their fellow monsters. 
 
Elfman (in his Beast Soul: Lizardman form) sent an orc flying with a punch. Eight orcs thrusted their spears at him, only to be stopped by the scales on his body. Elfman responded by swinging his arm, launching his attackers back. He then grabbed two orcs by their necks and threw them at several other orcs. 
 
Some of the orcs remained focused on killing Laxus, but Freed stood in their way. 
 
“DARK ÉCRITURE: SLAY!” Freed slashed the orcs at high speed. 
 
Five of the orcs tried hurling their spears at Laxus, but Elfman used his own body to shield him. Freed, Bickslow, and Evergreen proceeded to swiftly eliminate the orcs and made sure that there were none left standing. 
 
“You guys sure are a sight for sore eyes.” Laxus smiled, happy to see his friends. He then passed out as he collapsed on the floor. 
 
“Laxus!” His guildmates rushed to him. 
 
“Is he alright?” Lisanna asked with concern. 
 
“He’s breathing, but these wounds are serious. He’s in no condition to continue fighting.” Freed noted. 
 
“I can’t believe that there was a dark unicorn capable of putting Laxus in this state.” Bickslow commented. 
 
“Judging by this sight, it must be one hell of a battle.” Elfman uttered as he saw all the damage in the area caused by the said battle. 
 



Somewhere else in the fortress, the Mane 6, Levy, and Shining Armor encountered gargoyles and hammer-wielding ogres on their way to Twilight’s location. 
 
Starlight and Shining Armor shot down several gargoyles with magic beams while also putting up a barrier to defend themselves from fire balls launched by the flying monsters. As Rainbow Dash flew in the air evading the fire balls, she unleashed lightning bolts to smite the remaining gargoyles, sending them crashing down to the floor. 
 
Levy wrote a word "Hole" on the floor, and when some ogres stepped on it, they fell into the floor. Rarity conjured spiked iron ball constructs and finished off the trapped monsters by dropping the constructs on their heads. While a flock of ethereal crows summoned by Fluttershy distracted the other ogres, Pinkie blasted most of them with her party cannon. Applejack impaled the remaining ogres with large stone spikes. 
 
“How many monsters we’ve destroyed so far? I’ve lost count.” Rainbow groaned. 
 
“At this rate, it’ll take forever to find Twilight!” Rarity whined. “Monsters can be found at every corner! And why does this fortress have to be so complex?! I wish we could go right to Twilight in a straight path!” 
 
“Wait a minute...” A thought just occurred to Pinkie. “Couldn’t Applejack use her earth manipulation powers to create tunnels through walls? And couldn’t Rarity conjure a gigantic drill construct? Levy could also use her magic to create a drill.” 
 
The group became silent for a moment. 
 
“Why didn’t we think of this earlier?!” Rainbow facehoofed. 
 
“At least we now know some solutions to our problem.” Starlight chuckled sheepishly. 
 
The nearby wall suddenly erupted open, startling the group. Coming out of the wall were Wendy and Lucy (in Star Dress: Virgo form). 
 
“Hey Lucy! Hey Wendy!” Pinkie cheerfully called out them while waving her hoof. 
 
“Oh, hey there!” Lucy greeted back. 
 
“Thank goodness we’ve found more Fairy Tail wizards!” Rarity was deeply relieved. 
 
“Lucy, Wendy, it’s great to see you two again!” Levy said happily. 
 
“Likewise, after many enemy encounters, it’s a relief to see some familiar friendly faces.” Wendy said. 
 
“So, what about my daughter? What about Flurry Heart?” Shining Armor asked. 
 
“We... still haven’t found her yet.” Lucy answered hesitantly. 
 
“Well, we’re also searching for somepony. We’re looking for Twilight.” Pinkie chimed in. 
 
Lucy and Wendy were then informed of the situation concerning the ruler of Equestria. 
 
“Oh no! Now Twilight is in big trouble!” Lucy exclaimed. 
 
“And we haven’t been able to contact her.” Fluttershy spoke sadly. 
 
Using her sense of smell, Wendy picked up on Twilight’s scent. “I got Twilight’s scent, and... it seems she’s close to Flurry Heart!” 
 
“Twilight must be trying to save her right now!” Pinkie surmised. 
 
“Guess you all should tag along with us. We’ll find both Twilight and Flurry Heat.” Lucy said with a smile and a thumbs up. 
 
“Then let’s go! There’s no time to waste!” Shining Armor urged. 
 
Afterwards, the seven ponies and Levy joined Lucy and Wendy as they made their way towards the two alicorns. 
> Chapter 8 pt 11: Showdown with the Upper Generals part 5
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Natsu vs Dread Lord, part 1 
 
“FIRE DRAGON IRON FIST!” Natsu attempted to punch Dread Lord in the face with a fist engulfed in flames. 
 
The Red Moon General in human form dodged by moving his head to the side and countered by striking Natsu hard in the stomach with a punch that released a dark magical shockwave, knocking Natsu back. The two had been in combat for over thirty minutes, and Natsu has yet to land a single hit on his opponent. 
 
The Upper 1 then summoned a flock of dark ravens to attack Natsu. 
 
“FIRE DRAGON ROAR!” Natsu incinerated the ravens with a wide stream of fire from his mouth. He then directed his fire breath attack towards Dread Lord, but the Upper 1 dispersed the flames with one hand. 
 
“FLAME LOTUS: FIRE DRAGON FIST!” Natsu followed up by rushing towards Dread Lord again with both of his fists ignited and unleashed a continuous barrage of fire-imbued punches. 
 
Dread Lord responded by attacking with his own barrage of punches that released dark magical shockwaves, and the clash of their attacks resulted in a huge smoke cloud. 
 
“FIRE DRAGON TALON!” Natsu leapt into the air and attacked with a fire-enhanced axe kick. 
 
The Upper 1 used his left arm, coated with his dark magic, to block the kick. He then repelled Natsu with a torrent of dark lightning from his right hand. The wizard was sent flying back but he managed to land on his feet as he skid back to a halt. 
 
“Is it required to say the name of your attacks out loud? If not, then I can’t say I understand the point of it.” Dread Lord remarked. 
 
“It’s just what I do!” Natsu retorted. 
 
“I’m curious. What kind of world you came from? You must have experienced your share of brutal conflicts to be this hardened.” 
 
“Oh, you have no idea.” 
 
The general then generated dark magical spheres in his hands and threw six of them at the wizard. 
 
“FIRE DRAGON WING ATTACK!” Natsu produced two large streams of fire, one from each of his arms, and swung them at the incoming spheres. 
 
The spheres created huge dark-colored explosions once they came into contact with the flames. Natsu swiftly dashed through the smoke cloud. 
 
“FIRE DRAGON FLAME ELBOW!” With his right arm, Natsu threw a punch while propelled by bursting flames from his elbow. 
 
Dread Lord caught the wizard’s fist with his left hand and discharged dark lightning. Natsu screamed as he was zapped by the general’s magic. 
 
While Natsu was stunned, the Upper 1 struck the wizard’s head with a powerful headbutt. He then punched Natsu once on the face, four times on the stomach (causing Natsu to cough out blood), one more time on the face, and finished up with a kick, sending Natsu crashing into a stone pillar, which cracked from the force of the impact. 
 
Natsu coughed a few times after taking those heavy hits, but he managed to stand on his feet. Suddenly, Dread Lord heard his master’s voice. 
 
“Dread Lord... How long are you going to fight that one human? It is not yet time. Do not let the enemy come here. You and Sapphire Butterfly are the only Red Moon Generals left. Don’t fail me.” Scarlet Night’s voice echoed in Dread Lord’s head. 
 
The general remained silent as he turned his attention back to Natsu. 
 
“I was going to save this for when I face Scarlet Night. But… I can’t afford to lose this fight!” Natsu became surrounded by an intense aura of scorching flames and his skin showed scale-like patterns. He has entered Dragon Force. 
 
Though intrigued by this, Dread Lord continued the fight by firing dark magic beams from his index finger. 
 
“FIRE DRAGON SWORD HORN!” As Natsu evaded the beams while his entire body was still ablaze, he propelled himself and flew towards the Upper 1 at high speed like a rocket, intending to strike him with a powerful fiery headbutt. 
 
The general quickly put both of his hands forward and conjured a multi-layered magical wall to stop his opponent. 
 
“FIRE DRAGON KING DESTRUCTION FIST!” After colliding with Dread Lord’s barrier, Natsu charged his fist and threw a punch with his fist releasing a large quantity of flames. 
 
The general continued holding his barrier up but after a brief struggle, Natsu managed to break through. Dread Lord crossed his arms as the wizard’s attack pushed him back a great distance. The Upper 1 remained on his feet and he avoided any damage by coating his entire body with his dark magic before the flames touched him. 
 
“Even though I used both of my arms, you still managed to push me back. That was no small feat.” Dread Lord complimented. 
 
“That’s good.” Natsu grinned. “Because I’m far from finished.” 
 



Twilight vs Sapphire Butterfly 
 
In an arena where Sapphire Butterfly was holding Twilight’s parents and niece prisoner, the ruler of Equestria and the Upper 2 were engaging each other in aerial combat. 
 
Twilight fired a big magic beam towards her opponent, and Sapphire simply blocked the attack with a barrier. The princess continued firing her beam, but the general was not budging. 
 
The dark unicorn then surrounded the alicorn with clouds of icy air. Twilight teleported away before the clouds could freeze her. She appeared behind Sapphire and launched another magic blast, but the Upper 2 dodged it effortlessly. Twilight released several more magic blasts, but the dark unicorn evaded them easily. 
 
Sapphire retaliated by creating powerful gusts of wind, throwing Twilight off balance. As the princess tried to avoid crashing into one of the floating stone cubes, the general unleashed a storm of large ice shards. The alicorn quickly formed a spherical barrier around herself. 
 
While her barrier shielded her from the ice shards, Twilight used telekinesis to grab some of the surrounding stone cubes and hurled them at the dark unicorn. The Upper 2 used some form of geokinesis to stop and crumble the cubes into smaller fragments before launching them back at Twilight as high-speed projectiles. They struck Twilight with enough force to send her crashing into a stone cube. As she was falling, the princess managed to recover in mid-air before hitting the floor. 
 
The general did not give Twilight any time to rest as she crumbled several more stone cubes into pieces and sent them towards the princess. In the nick of time, the alicorn managed to teleport to behind a nearby stone cube for cover. However, the cube Twilight was hiding behind rammed her, threatening to crush her against a wall. She teleported away just before she was flattened. 
 
Twilight fired another beam at Sapphire, but the dark unicorn merely blocked it with her own barrier. For her next move, Sapphire created numerous ice clouds that constantly blew out icy winds. As the air around her was freezing, the alicorn focused her efforts on eliminating the ice clouds with magic blasts. However, every time Twilight destroyed an ice cloud, the Upper 2 created a new one in its place. 
 
“Come on, Princess Twilight. I’m not using my full power, so do put in more effort to make this battle worthwhile.” The dark unicorn said with discontent. Ever since this fight started, it has been one-sided with Twilight struggling. 
 
“And don’t forget that your parents’ lives are at stake.” Sapphire then tortured Velvet and Night Light with another electric shock. 
 
This made Twilight even more nervous. As the princess dreaded over the thought of failing her parents, the general unleashed another barrage of ice shards. Twilight formed another spherical barrier around herself to defend against the incoming attacks. 
 
“I sense great fear in you, Princess Twilight. You also have hate and anger. But you’re not using them.” 
 
Twilight continued focusing her magic into her barrier as she was continuously assaulted by the ice shards and icy winds. It was taking her considerable effort to keep her barrier up. 
 
“Before, I said I wouldn’t hurt Flurry Heart because Shadow Mayhem wanted her for himself. But now that he’s gone, I’m no longer obligated to not harm her. And in her current condition, a single electric shock can kill her. So if you continue to not make this worth my time, she’s going to suffer for it as well.” Sapphire threatened. 
 
In response, Twilight released an enormous magical wave that dissipated all the ice clouds at once. In her anger, the alicorn released a barrage of rapid-fire magic blasts, but the Upper 2’s conjured a shield around herself to deflect the incoming blasts. 
 
The general then conjured dragon-shaped flame constructs that relentlessly attacked Twilight with streams of fire, forcing the alicorn on the defensive again. After a few minutes of blocking or evading the flames, Twilight managed to fire crescent-shaped magic waves to eliminate the constructs. However, at that moment, the alicorn found herself surrounded by storm clouds that swiftly unleashed lightning on her. 
 
The princess was unable to avoid the attack, and she shrieked as she felt the force of the lightning. She plummeted to the floor and her body was twitching from the electric shock. Twilight was looking tattered up and her armor has some cracks on it. Filled with despair, Velvet and Night Light were wailing and banging their hooves in their bubble prisons. 
 
The Upper 2 descended to the floor with a look of disappointment on her face. 
 
“Get up, princess! We’re not done!” The general yelled, but Twilight could not seem to find the strength to stand. 
 
Sapphire then thought back to a conversation she had with Blade Dancer before the battle in the fortress began. 
 
“Sapphire Butterfly, you shouldn’t waste your time with Princess Twilight. She is far beneath somepony of your caliber. A one-on-one battle with her would be completely underwhelming. If you ask me, Fairy Tail’s best members would be more entertaining.” Blade Dancer said. 
 
“That’s it! I’m killing one of your family members right now!” The general expressed her frustration as she turned her attention towards Twilight’s parents. 
 
“Alright then Mr. and Mrs. Sparkle, which of you is going to die? I’ll let you decide and you got ten seconds to make your decision. If you don’t choose, then I’ll kill Flurry Heart.” Tears were flowing down from their eyes as Sapphire Butterfly began her countdown. “10… 9… 8…” 
 
“No… don’t…” Twilight tearfully begged. 
 
“7… 6… 5…” 
 
“Please… stop…” 
 
“4… 3… 2…” 
 
“NOOOOOOOOO!!!!” Twilight mustered the strength to fire a magic blast, but the Upper 2 easily blocked it with a magic shield. 
 
“Really? I give that attack a one out of ten.” Sapphire was not impressed. 
 
Twilight quickly fired a stronger blast, but it still did not make a dent on the general’s shield. 
 
“Two out of ten.” Sapphire rolled her eyes. 
 
The alicorn charged magic into her horn and released an even bigger magic blast, but it still wasn’t enough. 
 
“Okay, I’ll be more generous and give that a four out of ten.” The general said derisively. “Well then, since your parents couldn’t make their decision, time to say goodbye to your niece.” 
 
Before Sapphire could proceed with executing Flurry Heart, Twilight let out a blood-curdling scream as her entire body was enveloped in a dark purple aura. Even the general was bewildered by this. The alicorn then launched a destructive magic blast at Sapphire Butterfly. The Upper 2’s shield blocked the blast, but it did manage to create a small crack on the shield. 
 
Overcome with fear, rage, and desperation, Twilight had gone berserk as she repeatedly fired large magic beams. As Sapphire shielded herself from the incoming beams, Twilight poured more and more power into her attacks, trying to break through her opponent’s shield and strike her down. Eventually, the shield disintegrated after taking so much punishment. 
 
“Now this is more like it.” Sapphire smiled. She dodged the next beam by hovering over it and unleashed a torrent of blue flames towards the princess. The latter used another magic blast to blow away the flames. 
 
Twilight then generated a large dark magical orb at the tip of her horn. The Upper 2 watched with anticipation as she waited for the alicorn’s next attack. 
 
However, the next attack never came. The dark magical orb suddenly dissipated and the dark aura surrounding Twilight faded away. The alicorn collapsed on the floor, apparently having spent all of her strength. 
 
As Twilight was wheezing with exhaustion, the general’s face was once again filled with disappointment. She then sent Twilight flying into a wall with a gust of wind. The princess coughed and groaned in pain after falling to the floor. 
 
“You have failed to meet my expectations. It was foolish of me to think that you could be an opponent worth destroying. This is the end then.” The dark unicorn began encasing Twilight in ice. “I’ll allow your parents some time to grieve over your demise, and then they and your niece will join you.” 
 
Tears began welling up in Twilight’s eyes as she felt the ice’s cold embrace. “Mom… Dad… Flurry Heart… I’m sorry… I’m so sorry…” 
 
After the ice overtook her, the alicorn’s vision faded into complete darkness. 
 
“Twilight… Twilight…” 
 
Twilight opened her eyes and found herself in the infinite white space with Aura Light. 
 
“Aura Light?” 
 
“Twilight, you cannot fall here. Equestria needs you.” 
 
“Aura... I... I can’t defeat her! She’s too powerful! Flurry Heart... and my parents... She’s going to kill them! All because I’m so weak!” Twilight sobbed, covering her face with her hooves as her tears flowed. 
 
“No, Twilight. Defeating the Upper 2 is not beyond your capability. You even have the power to defeat the Upper 1.” 
 
“Weren’t you watching the entire battle?!” Twilight snapped. “No matter how hard I tried, none of my attacks could harm her! And she wasn’t even fighting me seriously!” 
 
“Twilight, it’s time you learn the secret of your armor.” 
 
“Secret? What secret?” Twilight stared at Aura. 
 
“Before, when I gave you the armor, I only told you that it augments your magical power. But that’s not all there is to it. This armor you wear... holds my magical essence.” 
 
“Your magical essence?” 
 
“Twilight, you are my anchor to the physical realm and you are the host of my power.” 
 
“I... I possess your power?” 
 
“Yes, you tapped into a small portion of it once before, when you defeated Nightmare Moon back in Canterlot.” 
 
“But, how do I use your power?” 
 
“To wield my power, you must have the will and the resolve, and they’re only put to the test when facing against great adversity. Your fear of Sapphire Butterfly’s strength was holding you back. I’m not lying when I say you have what you need. So go fight and win, Twilight.” 
 
Twilight was shocked by the revelation about her armor. As she tried to process this, she still had some uncertainties. 
 
“I... I don’t know. Can I really wield such great power? I’m not sure if I can-” 
 
“Don’t overthink it!” Aura raised her voice. “Focus on what’s important right now! And that’s saving your parents and your niece!” 
 
Twilight was left speechless after Aura’s outburst. 
 
“My power is at your disposal! You just need the will to wield it! YOU CAN DO IT!” 
 
Back in reality, a large pillar of light formed around Twilight and all the ice encasing her was instantly vaporized. 
 
“W-what's happening?” The Upper 2 stammered. Twilight’s parents were also watching with awe. 
 
Once Twilight came back into view, all of her wounds healed, and the cracks on her armor vanished as it changed to a golden hue. 
 
“That armor! It’s a lot like hers!” Sapphire was taken aback by Twilight’s golden armor, which also reminded her of Aura Light in her armor. “And this magical pressure! No... It cannot be!” 
 
Remembering her defeat at Aura’s hooves long ago, the Upper 2 stopped holding back as she fired a massive beam of ice towards Twilight. The alicorn put up a barrier, and she was able to block the beam without flinching. 
 
Twilight then conjured a sword of light and sent it towards Sapphire Butterfly at high speed. The dark unicorn generated a shield to block it, but the sword cut through the shield like butter and slashed her. 
 
“GAH!” Sapphire cried out as Twilight finally inflicted a wound on her. 
 
The princess followed up by firing a magic blast, but Sapphire quickly flew up into the air to dodge it. 
 
“Don’t get ahead of yourself, Princess Twilight! You may have Aura’s power, but you’re NOT her!” The Upper 2 bellowed as she unleashed a lightning storm from her storm clouds. 
 
With a faster reaction time, Twilight formed a shield around herself and deflected the lightning strikes. She then dispelled the storm clouds with a volley of magic blasts. Sapphire released a rain of blue fiery blasts and gigantic explosions surrounded her opponent. The alicorn flew out of the smoke cloud unscathed and struck the dark unicorn with a magic beam. 
 
Sapphire was greatly pushed back, but she was able to recover before hitting a wall. She then used her magic to throw many stone cubes at Twilight, but the alicorn released a magical shockwave that instantly disintegrated the incoming cubes into dust. 
 
“This is not how I imagined this fight would be!” Sapphire anguished over the revelation that Twilight is a legitimate threat and not a lowly pony that the Red Moon Generals previously thought she was. 
 
Twilight proceeded to fire multiple beams at the general, and the latter flew around and conjured whips of fire and lightning to deflect the beams that nearly hit her. The dark unicorn then generated a powerful whirlwind, but Twilight used her magic to neutralize it. 
 
Not letting up, the Upper 2 rushed towards the princess and attacked with a ferocious flurry of fire and lightning whips. Twilight conjured a multitude of light swords and used them to parry the whips. Sparks and explosions were created as their powers clashed. The general created fire dragon constructs to assist her, only for them to be sliced apart by Twilight’s flying light swords. 
 
While Sapphire was in a frenzy trying to land a hit on Twilight, the alicorn unleashed another magic shockwave. The dark unicorn was blown back, but she was able to land on top of a stone cube. Twilight then conjured a spear of light and hurled it. The spear moved at blinding speed and it scraped the side of the Upper 2’s face as it flew past her. 
 
Filled with intense fury, Sapphire Butterfly’s body became enveloped in a dark blue aura. As she growled fiercely, she started charging magic into her horn, preparing to release a powerful and destructive attack. Twilight was engulfed in a bright radiant golden aura as she was charging up for her own attack. 
 
After ten seconds, Sapphire launched a humongous beam consisting of blue flames and lightning while Twilight fired a wide, massive beam of light. The two attacks clashed and entered into a beam struggle. The Upper 2 put all of her might into her attack, but the power that Twilight has in her corner is greater. Thus, the alicorn’s attack pushed through and reached the general. Sapphire Butterfly’s eyes widened as she was completely enshrouded by Twilight’s beam. 
 
Once Twilight’s attack ended, the general plummeted with a falling smoke trail and crashed hard into the arena floor. Her horn shattered and her body was completely battered. 
 
The alicorn then descended to the floor and took a moment to relish in her achievement. 
 
“I... I did it. I can’t believe I actually did it!” Twilight had a proud smile on her face. 
 
“And you used up to sixty percent of my power.” Aura told her. 
 
“Just sixty?” Twilight raised an eyebrow. 
 
“Yes, but you’ll still need 100% in order to rival Scarlet Night.” 
 
“So… how do I achieve 100% of your power?” 
 
“It… will not be as simple. To reach 100%, a strong emotional trigger is needed.” 
 
“By the way, why didn’t you tell me everything about my armor before?” Twilight inquired. 
 
“Because the dark unicorns were always watching, and I don’t want to risk the Red Moon Generals catching wind of your secret power. There’s no telling what they would do if they had been made fully aware of the power that lies within you at an earlier time. They may attempt to eliminate you just like how Dread Lord tried to assassinate Gildarts, and they don’t shy away from using underhanded tactics if they feel it’s absolutely necessary. Thus, I believed that it was to our advantage that the Red Moon Generals continued believing that you were beneath them until the time is right.” Aura explained. 
 
Twilight then heard Sapphire Butterfly groaning. She is still alive, but barely clinging to life. 
 
“Sapphire Butterfly, your horn is broken and you are in no condition to continue. You have lost.” Twilight told the fallen general. 
 
“I only lose if I give up.” Sapphire grit her teeth as her legs felt wobbly while trying to stand. “So what if my horn is broken? I’ll keep going as long I draw breath.” 
 
“Sapphire…” The general suddenly heard a filly’s voice coming from behind her. It was a voice familiar to her. 
 
“That voice… It can’t be…” Sapphire turned around to see the spirit of her deceased little sister. 
 
“Little Cerulean…” The dark unicorn uttered in disbelief. 
 
“Sapphire… please stop! You’ve done enough!” Little Cerulean pleaded with sad eyes. 
 
“No... I can’t stop now… I still need to fight.” 
 
“But why? Why do you need to fight?” 
 
“Because… after I lost you, I had… nothing to live for. Scarlet Night was the one who gave my life purpose again. I... have a duty to fulfill.” 
 
“Big sister, please! I’m begging you! Don’t hurt anypony again! Let’s be together on the other side!” Little Cerulean cried as she embraced her older sister. 
 
Sapphire Butterfly finally relented after seeing her little sister in tears. 
 
“Little Cerulean… my hooves are forever drenched in blood. I have killed so many. I’m not fit to call myself your sister.” 
 
“That doesn’t matter! No matter what, you’ll always be my sister, and I’ll always love you!” 
 
Moved by her sister’s love, Sapphire began to tear up. 
 
“I’m sorry!” Sapphire returned Little Cerulean’s embrace while sobbing. “I’m sorry for not being able to protect you! I’m sorry for not being with you when you needed me! I couldn’t keep my promise to you! Please forgive me!” 
 
“It’s okay, Sapphire Butterfly. We’ll never be apart again.” 
 
Afterwards, Sapphire Butterfly’s body dissipated into bright butterfly-shaped particles of light. Twilight watched as they rose high in the air before disappearing. 
 
Meanwhile, the dark unicorns who watched and betted on the fight were utterly stunned by Twilight’s victory. Their eyes were wide as dinner plates and their mouths were left hanging open. They were all expecting Twilight to lose miserably and the one who betted on her only did that as a joke. 
 
“Wow. Just wow. I didn’t really think I was going to win this bet,” uttered by the dark unicorn who betted one Bit on Twilight. 
 
With Sapphire Butterfly gone, the spell that was keeping the stone cubes afloat in the air became undone and they dropped to the floor. The bubbles imprisoning Velvet, Night Light, and Flurry Heart also broke apart, releasing the captives. Twilight caught the three with telekinesis as they were falling, and she gently placed her parents on the floor and Flurry Heart into her forehooves. 
 
Twilight’s parents wanted to hug their daughter immediately, but they were more concerned about Flurry Heart, considering the terrible condition she was in. 
 
“Oh, the poor little dear. How could anypony do something so terrible to her?” Velvet said. 
 
Twilight then bathed her niece and parents in a warm golden light. In a few seconds, all of their injuries have been completely healed and even Flurry Heart’s horn is completely restored. Shortly afterwards, the little alicorn slowly opened her eyes. 
 
“Auntie...?” Flurry Heart uttered after regaining consciousness. 
 
“Yes, Flurry Heart. It’s me.” Twilight answered with a warm smile. 
 
“Auntie Twily!” Flurry Heart cried out as she tightly embraced her aunt. For her, it’s like finally waking up from a horrible nightmare. “Auntie, that dark unicorn kept hurting me!” She whimpered. 
 
“No need to worry about him. He’s gone. He won’t hurt you anymore.” Twilight spoke softly. 
 
As Flurry Heart cried tears of overwhelming joy, Twilight gently stroked her head to comfort her. 
 
“There, there. You’re safe now.” Twilight said lovingly before turning to her parents. “Mom... Dad... Are you two alright?” 
 
Velvet and Night Light then joined in on the hug while also crying tears of joy. 
 
“Oh Twilight, we were so scared!” Velvet cried. 
 
“I thought it was the end for us!” Night Light wailed. 
 
Twilight continued embracing her niece and parents, letting them release their tears. This group hug lasted for a few more minutes. 
 
“Grandma, Grandpa, why are you two here?” Flurry Heart asked. 
 
“It’s... a long story. One that I don’t want to talk about right now.” Night Light answered. 
 
“Mom, Dad, I’m sending you two back home now.” 
 
Twilight used a transport spell to send her parents back to their home in Canterlot. 
 
“Auntie Twily...” 
 
“Yes, Flurry Heart?” 
 
“They took all of my magic. They gave it to the scary alicorn.” Flurry Heart tearfully explained, much to Twilight’s shock. 
 
“It’ll be all right. We’ll get your magic back.” Twilight assured. “I’m going to return you to your mother at the Crystal Empire, and I’ll inform your father that you’re safe.” 
 
Just as Twilight was about to send her niece back to the Crystal Empire, she was interrupted when the nearby wall suddenly burst open, which surprised the two alicorns. Coming out of the wall were the Mane 6, Lucy, Wendy, Levy, and Shining Armor. 
 
“Twilight! Flurry Heart!” Twilight’s friends shouted out with glee upon seeing them. 
 
“We found them, we found them, we found them, we found them, we found them!” Pinkie exclaimed while happily bouncing around. 
 
“My friends! Shining Armor! Lucy, Wendy, and Levy! You’re all here!” 
 
“Twilight, Flurry Heart, thank heavens!” Rarity expressed great relief. 
 
“We were so worried about you!” Fluttershy warmly added. 
 
“Flurry Heart!” Shining Armor said loudly as he raced towards his daughter. 
 
“Daddy!” The alicorn filly responded as she ran to her father. 
 
The two then embraced each another in a big hug while the others smiled happily at this reunion. 
 
“Flurry Heart, I’m so happy to see you again!” Shining Armor began crying uncontrollably. 
 
“Daddy, can we go back home? I want to see mommy.” Flurry Heart sniffled. 
 
“Of course, dear.” Shining Armor replied. 
 
“You can leave the rest to us, Shining Armor.” Twilight then sent Flurry Heart and Shining Armor back to the Crystal Empire. 
 
“It’s good to see that Flurry Heart is okay.” Wendy said. 
 
“That’s one main objective completed. Now, we can all focus on taking down Scarlet Night.” Lucy added. 
 
“Congrats on rescuing Flurry Heart, Twilight.” Applejack commended. 
 
“It wasn’t easy. I had to defeat Sapphire Butterfly.” 
 
“Twilight, you fought the Upper 2 and won?! That’s incredible!” Rarity was awestruck. 
 
“That’s 2000% cooler!” Rainbow exclaimed. 
 
“Wait a minute. Your armor is golden. I remember it used to be silver.” Levy pointed out. 
 
“Now that she mentioned it, your armor is different.” Starlight chimed in. 
 
Twilight then gave the full details on how she defeated Sapphire Butterfly. 
 
“Wow! So you have become a...” Pinkie pondered in thought for a moment. “... a Super Alicorn!” 
 
“Look, it’s great that Twilight defeated an upper general, but we shouldn’t be wasting our time here.” Lucy calmly stated. 
 
Twilight sent a telepathic message to all her allies, informing them of Flurry Heart’s rescue. 
 
“Come on girls. We have a war to end.” Twilight held her head up high as she and the group exited the arena. 
> Chapter 8 pt 12: The Last Red Moon General
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Previously, Twilight Sparkle discovered her latent power, defeated Sapphire Butterfly, and successfully rescued her parents and Flurry Heart. Having reunited with her friends and safely returned her niece and Shining Armor to the Crystal Empire, Twilight continued on with heading towards the next goal, Scarlet Night. With the defeat of the Upper 2, only one Red Moon General remains. 
 
In a snow-filled chamber, Mirajane and the pony soldiers with her encountered a towering yeti monster. The yeti attacked the group by releasing a breath of icy winds, prompting the unicorns to put up magical barriers to prevent themselves and their comrades from freezing. 
 
The monster then charged towards the soldiers, planning to use brute force. Mirajane transformed into her Satan Soul: Sitri form and stood in the monster’s path. The yeti threw a punch at the wizard, only for its fist to be struck by a flame-imbued kick powerful enough to push the monster back. As the monster cried out in pain from having its hand burned, Mirajane took it down with a fiery kick to the face. The soldiers cheered as the yeti crumbled away. 
 
“Flurry Heart is safe, and Natsu is battling the Upper 1. In the meantime, we should head to Scarlet Night’s chamber as quickly as possible.” Mirajane told the soldiers. 
 
“But should we be concerned about the fire dragon wizard?” A pegasus soldier asked. “He is fighting the strongest of the Red Moon Generals.” 
 
“No need to worry about him. I have no doubt that Natsu can defeat Dread Lord.” Mirajane assured. 
 
The soldiers began wondering how amazing Natsu must be if Mirajane has such confidence in him. 
 



Natsu vs Dread Lord, part 2 
 
Back to the confrontation between Natsu and Dread Lord, the Upper 1 just sensed the downfall of Sapphire Butterfly. 
 
“Is this… really happening? Am I now… the only Red Moon General standing?” The general was upset and visibly shaken by the loss of his closest companions. 
 
“Face it, Dread Lord. The Order of Scarlet Night is going to lose this war.” Natsu said with a smile. 
 
“This… isn’t over! Not yet!” Dread Lord snarled while clenching his fists. “Even if I’m the last dark unicorn, I won’t cease to uphold my duty! No matter what happens, I’m seeing my mission through to the end!” 
 
“So am I.” Natsu spoke with a hardened expression. 
 
Continuing their fight, Natsu and Dread Lord charged at each other with their fists empowered with their respective magic. They each threw a punch and their fists clashed, resulting in an intense shockwave. The wizard and the Upper 1 engaged in close combat, clashing their fists repeatedly at rapid speed. 
 
“Equestria’s future will be determined by its people! Not by you dark unicorns and your master!” Natsu bellowed while throwing his punches. 
 
The two continued with their fist fight until Dread Lord leapt back to gain some distance from Natsu. The general conjured many floating dark magical orbs that materialized all around his opponent. 
 
The orbs then released dark lightning bolts, attacking Natsu from multiple directions. The wizard used his agility to dodge the incoming bolts as he rushed towards Dread Lord. 
 
The Upper 1 then fired a stream of dark energy at the approaching wizard. The latter dodged the attack by sliding under it. Once the general was withing striking distance, the wizard attacked with a barrage of fiery punches. With hands coated in his dark magic, Dread Lord managed to catch both of Natsu’s fists. 
 
However, the moment Dread Lord caught Natsu’s fist, the wizard landed a blow to the general’s jaw with a rising fire-imbued kick, making him flinch. With that one opening, Natsu quickly grabbed Dread Lord. 
 
“FIRE DRAGON GRIP STRIKE!” With his grip on Dread Lord, Natsu released a vast amount of explosive flames at point-blank range. The Upper 1 winced and grunted as the flames were scorching him. 
 
Dread Lord kicked Natsu back and then slammed both of his hands onto the floor, unleashing a torrent of dark lightning that spread out across the floor. Natsu avoided the dark lightning by jumping over it. 
 
“FIRE DRAGON BRILLIANT FLAME!” While in midair, Natsu used both of his hands to generate a huge sphere of fire and hurled it at the Upper 1. 
 
Dread Lord quickly conjured a multi-layered barrier to block the attack. When it collided with the barrier, the fire sphere created a very massive and destructive explosion. Though the barrier prevented any harm to the Upper 1, the explosion was able to break most of its layers. 
 
“FLAME LOTUS: PHOENIX SWORD!” Natsu engulfed his entire body in fire and propelled himself towards Dread Lord, leaving behind a long wake of flames. He broke through the Upper 1’s weakened barrier and struck the general with a devastating headbutt. 
 
The Upper 1 cried out as Natsu rammed him through a wall, leading to another large open area with stone pillars. The red gem on Dread Lord’s forehead (which replaces the unicorn horn of his original pony form) glowed and released a powerful magical wave that launched Natsu back. 
 
Dread Lord summoned another flock of dark ravens. The ravens spread out and flew towards Natsu from multiple sides, but he burned them away with a swirling flaming vortex. 
 
The Upper 1’s gem fired a dark beam at Natsu, and the latter dodged by jumping to the side. The general then appeared beside him and aimed a back fist punch at the wizard’s head. 
 
Natsu ducked under the strike and responded with a flame-enhanced haymaker punch. Dread Lord evaded it and performed a spinning hook kick. Natsu blocked it with his arm, but the general’s kick left a large bruise on it. 
 
Dread Lord continued with a flashing flurry of straight kicks so fast that they create afterimages, with each kick producing powerful shockwaves. This attack launched Natsu into a wall with enough force to form giant cracks on it. The Upper 1 then rapidly punched the empty air in front of him repeatedly, creating a barrage of large shockwaves that flew towards Natsu. 
 
“FLAME LOTUS: EXPLODING FLAME BLADE!” Natsu ignited his arms and generated long spiraling torrents of flame. 
 
The flames cancelled out Dread Lord’s shockwaves and continued towards the general until he was engulfed in powerful, burning explosions. 
 
Natsu hoped that his attack would be enough to take Dread Lord down but when the smoke cleared out, the Upper 1 was still standing, much to the wizard’s shock. Furthermore, the general’s entire body appeared to be covered in dark armor. 
 
“Very impressive, Natsu Dragneel. I admit if I hadn’t used my armor spell, your attack would have done significant damage.” Dread Lord commented. 
 
Natsu propelled himself towards Dread Lord and threw a fiery punch. His fist connected, but his enemy wasn’t fazed. Not waiting for the Upper 1 to strike back, the wizard attacked with a continuous barrage of fire-imbued punches while pouring a lot of strength into them, but they only made small dents on the general’s armor. 
 
The Upper 1 then blew Natsu back with a shockwave-enhanced palm strike and hundreds of floating dark orbs materialized around the wizard. 
 
Dread Lord unleashed another barrage of shockwaves from his fists while the dark orbs released a storm of dark lightning bolts, putting Natsu in an unfavorable position as he faced attacks coming from all directions. The wizard stood strong as his body suffered so much punishment. Even after all that, Natsu remained on his feet, though he still struggled to stay standing. 
 
“You sure can take a beating!” Dread Lord was both impressed and annoyed. 
 
The Upper 1 crouched with both arms at the side of his body poised to strike, and he then lunged towards the wizard. 
 
“FIRE DRAGON KING ROAR!” From his mouth, Natsu released a humongous blast of searing hot flames that engulfed a large-scale area and scorched the floor beneath it. 
 
Though it took him considerable effort, Dread Lord managed to power through the attack while channeling magic into his armor to further boost its defenses. 
 
Once close enough to Natsu, the Upper 1 delivered a multitude of powerful shockwave-enhanced punches and kicks. He then placed both of his fists right in front of his opponent and focused his magic power to launch a more devastating shockwave in a forward direction. The wizard coughed up blood as he was sent flying back and tumbling on the floor. 
 
Dread Lord followed up by conjuring dark magical chains and used them to immobilize Natsu. The chains shocked him with dark electric energy, causing him to cry out in pain. With Natsu staggered, the general generated a large dark magical sphere in each hand, joined them together to create a bigger sphere, and threw it at Natsu, engulfing him in a massive dark-colored explosion. 
 
Once the smoke from the explosion cleared up, the general saw Natsu lying on the floor, with eyes whited out and his body motionless. 
 
“I must say. I did have to use a large amount of magic power to protect myself from that fire breath attack, but this fight is now done.” Dread Lord sighed. 
 
However, Natsu started coughing, drawing Dread Lord’s attention back to him. 
 
Natsu grunted and groaned as he rose back up. The Upper 1 stood still with widened eyes, stunned that not only Natsu survived his brutal attacks but was still able to rise back to his feet. “Just what the hell is he?! I encountered various creatures during the great war 4000 years ago, some considered to be monsters, but I never met anything like him!” 
 
Once on his feet again, Natsu let out a defiant roar. 
 
“Tch. Your tenacity is growing tiresome.” The Upper 1 scoffed. He then raised a hand as it glowed in a dark magical aura. 
 
A large dark blob appeared behind Natsu. With its tendrils, it restrained the wizard’s arms and legs and began pulling him in as Natsu struggled to break free. 
 
“I commend you for a valiant fight, but it’s time to end this.” 
 
Natsu’s continuous struggle appeared to be futile, and he was soon completely absorbed by the blob. It was finally the end for the wizard. 
 
Or so Dread Lord thought... 
 
Flames suddenly erupted from blob and it exploded. Natsu is revealed to be still alive, and he was enveloped in a pillar of fire, with lightning mixed with it. The wizard has entered his Lightning Fire Dragon Mode. 
 
“Are you kidding me?! How could he have any strength left?!” The general expressed his irritation. “And... Is he using lightning?! I thought he only uses fire!” 
 
Natsu zipped towards Dread Lord at lightning-fast speed and with a fist empowered with both fire and lightning, the wizard struck the Upper 1 square in the stomach. 
 
“He still has this much power?!” Dread Lord went wide-eyed as he felt the blow. The force of Natsu’s punch created large cracks on his armor and sent him flying through a few stone pillars, causing them to crumble. 
 
The Upper 1 quickly recovered, but he was growing frustrated. “Tell me, Natsu Dragneel! Do you have any other abilities that I should know about!?” 
 
“Like I’m going to tell you.” Natsu smirked. 
 
The Upper 1 proceeded to attack with a bombardment of dark magical rays. 
 
“DIE ALREADY, NATSU DRAGNEEL!!!!” Dread Lord yelled with seething anger. 
 
With great speed, Natsu evaded the rays and landed a successful punch to the general’s face, sending him tumbling on the floor. The wizard continued to strike his foe with punch after punch, knocking him around and chipping away at his armor. Natsu then generated lightning in one hand and fire in the other hand before bringing them together and engulfing Dread Lord in a very large fiery and sparking explosion. 
 
Aggravated, Dread Lord conjured a dark magical chain and grabbed Natsu with it. He swung the wizard around a few times and then slammed him down onto the floor hard enough to create a crater. The Upper 1 then jumped towards Natsu, aiming to crush him with a downward punch, but the latter managed to leap away before his fist landed. 
 
Dread Lord conjured numerous magic chains and wrapped them around Natsu in an attempt to bind him again, but the wizard managed to break free from them this time. 
 
“LIGHTNING FLAME DRAGON ROAR!” From his mouth, Natsu released an extremely large and destructive blast of flames and lightning. 
 
The Upper 1 put up a dome-shaped barrier around himself and he had to strain himself and pour a lot of power into his barrier to keep it from breaking, but this caused his armor to degrade even further. Afterwards, Natsu lunged towards the general, who put down his barrier to face the wizard head-on. 
 
With fists and feet augmented by their magic, the two combatants ferociously traded blows as they continuously punched and kicked each other. Dread Lord’s armor continued to break down after each strike. After landing and taking many hits, they eventually exchanged a strong punch to each other’s cheek, causing them both to slid back. 
 
Dread Lord then gathered magic power into his hands and thrusted both palms forward, sending out two large circular shockwaves that would strike his opponent with incredible force. 
 
“LIGHTNING FLAME DRAGON FIRING HAMMER!” Natsu engulfed lightning and fire around both fist and forearm and unleashed a devastating strike that cancelled out the general’s attack. 
 
In response, the Upper 1 joined his hands together and channeled large quantities of his magic, forming a huge sphere of darkness in his palms. 
 
“THIS IS IT!!!! I’M PUTTING YOU DOWN FOR GOOD THIS TIME!!!!” Dread Lord bellowed as he unleashed a massive blast towards Natsu. 
 
“FLAME LOTUS: EXPLODING LIGHTNING BLADE!” Engulfing one hand with lightning and the other with flames, Natsu swung his arms around and created a mighty vortex of fire and lightning that powered through the incoming blast and reached the general. 
 
Dread Lord gasped as he was enshrouded by the fire and lightning vortex. The Upper 1’s armor completely fell apart as he was sent flying back and crashing into the wall with tremendous force. The gem on his forehead shattered and the force of the impact caused the wall to break apart. 
 
Natsu collapsed to his knees with his head facing the floor, winded from using so much power. Due to exhaustion, he took the time to catch his breath. After panting heavily for several minutes, he then looked ahead. His eyes widened in shock to see Dread Lord on his feet and standing in front of him. The general just stood there in that one spot, not making any sudden moves. 
 
The wizard quickly stood back up and assumed a fighting stance, but he then noticed that Dread Lord’s gem is broken and he was no longer in his armored form. Also, his skin was peeling off and cracks were forming on his body, indicating that the general’s body was falling apart. 
 
“Has he… started to disintegrate? Is the fight over?” Natsu wondered. 
 
“Answer this one question, Natsu Dragneel. Where do you draw your strength from?” The general asked softly. 
 
Natsu was taken aback by Dread Lord’s sudden question but decided to answer anyway. 
 
“I don’t expect it’s something you would understand, since you fought for destruction. When we of the Fairy Tail guild accepted Aura’s request to take down Scarlet Night, it wasn’t for money or glory. Stopping murderers like you from having your way is the right thing to do. But since we came to this world, we made new friends and formed new bonds. The ponies... dragons... I consider the creatures of Equestria as my friends. The bonds we made are something worth fighting for. That’s where I got my strength. Friendship is what gives me power. And that goes the same for the guild as well.” 
 
“I see... Now it makes perfect sense why Aura Light chose your guild. Though I may have lost, your toils are far from finished. Good luck defeating Scarlet Night. Her power far exceeds my own.” Dread Lord then fell backwards until his back hit the floor with a loud thud. 
 
“Don’t underestimate Fairy Tail. We will finish what Aura Light couldn’t.” Natsu declared as he walked away and left the fallen general to die alone. 
 
“So, my life is finally coming to an end. After all the lives I took, I should be prepared for the day when I face death myself. I knew what I was getting into when I swore loyalty to Scarlet Night. But... did it have to be this way?” As his body was crumbling away, Dread Lord began reflecting on his life and the choices he made. “Why am I even dwelling on the past right now? Because of the debt of gratitude I owed to Scarlet Night, I never questioned all the things I’ve done and did her bidding without a second thought. But now that I’m dying without any feeling of contentment, I couldn’t help but wonder if I could have chosen a different path. Was my debt to Scarlet Night so important to me... that I walked the path of destruction alongside her... slaughtered thousands on her behalf... and betrayed even my own family? I discarded my wife and son. I killed my own brother. And after coming this far, what was it all for? In the end, I have… nothing. I have nothing. Now, all that awaits me... is the void.” 
 
With his last conscious thoughts, Dread Lord completely disintegrated, signifying the end of the Red Moon Generals. 
 
Weary from his fight with the Upper 1, Natsu slowly walked down a hallway while limping against the wall. 
 
“That fight sure took a lot out of me… but this is not the time to stop. This isn’t over… until Scarlet Night is defeated.” Natsu uttered with a determined expression. 
 
Meanwhile, in Scarlet Night’s chamber, her cocoon shook slightly. 
> Chapter 8 pt 13: The Ultimate Evil Awakens
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The forces of light is now one step away from ending the long conflict that has been plaguing Equestria. After a series of fierce battles, the Red Moon Generals have finally been dissolved. All that is left to end the war is destroying Scarlet Night. 
 
After the complete annihilation of the Red Moon Generals, the remaining few dark unicorns that have not yet fallen teleported to the entrance of Scarlet Night’s chamber, where they will make their last stand. 
 
Meanwhile, the Mane 7 and the three wizards with them have received word of Dread Lord’s defeat. 
 
“T-this... this is absolutely remarkable! All ten Red Moon Generals have fallen!” Rarity exclaimed with great excitement. 
 
“We have come a long way, and we’re now close to the finish line.” Levy added. 
 
“Aww, I wish I had a chance to kick an upper general’s flank.” Rainbow Dash pouted. 
 
“Rainbow Dash, we were lucky to survive the confrontation with the Lower 1.” Starlight pointed out. 
 
“Ugh, don’t remind us. I still remember how sore I felt after facing that beastly brute.” Rarity winced. 
 
“I for one do not envy those who had to fight the upper ranks.” Twilight said in a serious tone. “My recent ordeal with Sapphire Butterfly is something I won’t be forgetting anytime soon. To say it was tense would be an understatement. The fear I felt when she threatened to kill my family if I didn’t meet her expectations was nothing like I ever experienced before. The time when Chrysalis, Cozy Glow, and Tirek joined forces to conquer Equestria pales in comparison.” 
 
“I understand where you’re coming from, Twilight. I know how I’ll feel if my sister and brother were threatened in the same way.” Applejack comforted Twilight. 
 
“And I’m also concerned about Flurry Heart.” Twilight continued. “I healed all her physical wounds, but the mind is a different story. Who knows what effects all the torture she experienced could have on her mental state. I wouldn’t be surprised if she starts having nightmares.” 
 
“I know what you mean. No filly should have to go through a horrible experience like that.” Wendy said sadly. 
 
“Come on, everyone. Once we defeat Scarlet Night, we’ll be done with this war!” Pinkie said with positivity. 
 
“Yeah, but this is a foe who is even above the upper generals.” Starlight replied. “And I’ll be lying if I say I’m not extremely nervous. Even the strong wizards who fought the upper members of the Red Moon Generals did not walk away unscathed and had to use a great deal of effort to prevail. Not to mention, a wizard as powerful as Laxus fell unconscious after his fight with the Upper 3. There’s no telling what Scarlet Night is capable of.” 
 
“Look, I know how... difficult this war has been. And trust me, I’m also anxious.” Lucy chimed in. “But we’ve all been waiting for this battle and we have made it this far. Now, it’s time we finish this. And since Twilight possesses Aura Light’s power, we have a chance.” 
 
“Speaking of Aura, I’m going to have a long talk with her later.” Twilight responded. 
 
Later at a hallway intersection, the group ran into soldiers accompanying Spike, Carla, and Happy. 
 
“Twilight!” Spike happily called out to his big sister figure. 
 
“Wendy!” Carla (in her cat form) also cheerfully called out to her partner and close friend. 
 
“Spike!” 
 
“Carla!” 
 
Spike flew towards Twilight, and Carla flew towards Wendy. While expressing great relief, the princess and wizard proceeded to joyfully hug the dragon and Exceed, respectively. Happy was dismayed that he hasn’t reunited with Natsu yet. 
 
The soldiers from Canterlot approached Twilight and saluted her. 
 
“Princess Twilight Sparkle! It brings us great joy to see you well! And congratulations on defeating the Upper 2 and rescuing Princess Flurry Heart!” One of the soldiers said. 
 
“Princess Twilight! We’ve found her! We have reached Scarlet Night’s chamber!” Elsewhere, a soldier contacted Twilight through a communication lacrima. 
 
“Are there any Fairy Tail wizards with you!?” Twilight asked with great concern. 
 
“Negative, princess! But Scarlet Night is still in her cocoon! We can eliminate her right now!” 
 
“All of you, get out of there! Don’t go near Scarlet Night! Retreat to a safe distance and wait for Fairy Tail!” Twilight ordered with great urgency. 
 
Inside Scarlet Night’s chamber... 
 
After defeating all the dark unicorns guarding the chamber, a group of Canterlot and Crystal Empire soldiers surrounded the dark alicorn while she was still in her cocoon. 
 
“At long last, let’s destroy her and be done with it!” A Canterlot soldier said. 
 
The unicorns fired magic beams at the cocoon while the earth ponies and pegasi attacked by firing energy blasts from their spears or throwing bombs at it. Once they stopped after a few minutes, they were surprised that the cocoon did not suffer any damage. 
 
“Not a single scratch?! How tough is this cocoon?!” A Crystal Empire soldier exclaimed. 
 
“Wait! Hold on a minute! We got an order from Princess Twilight to fall back and go on standby until Fairy Tail arrives!” Another Canterlot soldier said. 
 
“Scarlet Night is just right there!” Another Crystal Empire soldier replied. “This isn’t the time to be waiting! We can’t let this chance slip by!” 
 
Suddenly, the cocoon became engulfed in a bright crimson light, which startled the pony troops. It then shook violently as it began to crack all the way from top to bottom until it finally exploded. Through the smoke cloud, a pair of glowing red eyes could be seen. Once the smoke cleared away, there stood Scarlet Night in all her glory. 
 
“Oh no! Scarlet Night has awakened!” A Canterlot soldier screamed right before he was obliterated by a dark red magic beam. 
 
The other soldiers quickly opened fire on Scarlet Night, but all the blasts were deflected by a barrier surrounding the dark alicorn. She then bombarded and decimated the soldiers with magic blasts of her own. 
 
Back to Twilight’s group, the princess was horrified to hear the soldiers’ screams as they were annihilated. 
 
“Fall back! Get away from Scarlet Night!” Twilight cried out, but it was no use. With due haste, Twilight and her group headed for the dark alicorn. 
 



After all the soldiers in her chamber are dead, Scarlet Night magically donned her red armor before walking out of the chamber. In the adjacent hall, she encountered more soldiers. They tried to hinder her with their magic and weapons, but their efforts were futile as the dark alicorn’s barrier nullified all incoming attacks. And just like the soldiers in her chamber, Scarlet Night swiftly eliminated them as well. 
 
As she walked down the hall, the dark alicorn was later approached by droves of goblins, lizardmen, orcs, trolls, and ogres. These monsters happened to be under the influence of Mirajane’s Macro curse, and she ordered them to attack Scarlet Night. The dark alicorn conjured a dark red cloud and sent it towards the monsters. The cloud expanded in size and enveloped all of the monsters at once. They soon let out blood-curdling screams as their bodies decayed and withered away. 
 
The hall then led her to a large open area, where Mirajane and another group of soldiers were waiting for her. The wizard transformed into her Satan Soul: Mirajane Alegria form as she prepared to fight the dark alicorn. 
 



In another place in the fortress, Natsu was limping down a hallway. After hearing about Scarlet Night’s awakening, he picked up the pace, trying to ignore the pain of the injuries he got from his fight with Dread Lord. However, in a few moments, he was about to have a miraculous encounter. 
 
At a hallway intersection, Natsu met a squad of Crystal Empire soldiers led by Flash Sentry as well as Gray and Erza. 
 
“Hey guys.” Natsu greeted with a look of relief. 
 
“You sure look terrible.” Gray casually commented on Natsu’s tattered appearance. 
 
“Nice to see you too, Gray.” Natsu replied with a hint of annoyance. 
 
A unicorn walked up to Natsu and casted a healing spell. “I healed most of your injuries, but I’m afraid I’m not proficient enough to completely restore you to tip-top shape. My apologies for not being able to do more to help you.” 
 
“It’s fine. Thanks a bunch.” Natsu expressed his appreciation. 
 
“Let’s go. Scarlet Night is not too far from here.” Erza said. 
 
“Mirajane is facing her now. We need to back her up.” Gray added. 
 
They then hurried to the location where Mirajane is confronting Scarlet Night. Once they reach there, Mirajane was launched into a wall close to them. 
 
“MIRAJANE!!!!” Natsu, Gray, and Erza cried out. 
 
Mirajane was greatly injured. She lost consciousness and reverted to her normal form. 
 
Feeling an intense magical pressure, the trio immediately turned their attention to where the pressure was coming from. Standing before them is the progenitor and master of the dark unicorns. Scarlet Night is completely unscathed, indicating that Mirajane was unable to lay a single scratch on her. 
 
“Flash Sentry, you and the other soldiers take Mirajane to safety. Natsu, Gray, and I will face Scarlet Night.” Erza told the pegasus. 
 
“But we cannot just leave you!” Flash Sentry protested. 
 
“An upper general doesn’t even compare to her! You won’t be able to accomplish anything if you try to fight her! You’ll only get in the way! So take Mirajane and get out of here!” Erza implored. 
 
“Very well then.” Flash Sentry reluctantly complied. He immediately placed Mirajane on his back and retreated with his fellow soldiers. 
 
After they left, the three wizards steeled themselves for their toughest battle yet. Scarlet Night did not utter a single word and only glared at them. The trio could feel the dark alicorn’s sheer malice, which even gave them goosebumps. Nevertheless, they were not about to back down after coming so far. Remembering all those who suffered because of the war, the three were determined to make things right. 
 
“This is it! We defeat her, and this war is over!” Erza declared. 
 
“All of your Red Moon Generals are toast! Now it’s your turn to go!” Natsu said to Scarlet Night while cracking his knuckles. 
 
Scarlet Night started off by firing a volley of magic beams at the three wizards. Natsu and Gray dodged while Erza used her swords to deflect the beams. 
 
Natsu ignited his fist and punched the empty air in Scarlet Night’s direction, sending a blast of fire towards her. Her barrier blocked the blast, leaving her completely unharmed. 
 
Erza requipped her Black Wing Armor and rushed towards the dark alicorn. Scarlet Night conjured several black spiked vines that erupted out of the floor in front of her. The vines functioned like whips and flailed at Erza. Gray quickly froze the vines in ice, enabling Erza to slash through them. 
 
“BLACK WING: MOON FLASH!” Erza attacked with two powerful slashes in a cross pattern. 
 
Scarlet Night’s barrier stopped the slashes, and she swiftly fired a beam at her attacker. Erza managed to block the beam with her sword, but she was sent flying back by the sheer power. 
 
Gray unleashed a storm of large ice shards on the dark alicorn, but it was utterly ineffective against her defenses. 
 
“FIRE DRAGON ROAR!” Natsu released a large stream of fire from his mouth. 
 
“ICE DEMON RAGE!” From his mouth, Gray unleashed a large beam of cold air, ice, and snow. 
 
Once again, a powerful barrier instantly appeared around Scarlet Night to protect her from harm. 
 
While the dark alicorn’s barrier was blocking Natsu and Gray’s breath attacks, Erza requipped her Giant Armor and hurled her De-Malevo-Lance. Scarlet Night simply fired a magic beam at Erza’s spear, causing it to explode into pieces. 
 
Scarlet Night then conjured a dark red cloud and sent it towards the three wizards. Knowing that the cloud could be lethal, Gray used his Ice Demon Slayer magic to freeze it. 
 
“ICE-MAKE: SILVER!” Gray then attempted to freeze Scarlet Night in a gigantic mass of ice, but her barrier prevented his magic from touching her and only the area around her was covered in ice. 
 
“FIRE DRAGON BRILLIANT FLAME!” Natsu generated fire in both hands and joined them together to create a giant sphere of flames. He threw it at Scarlet Night, surrounding her in a massive explosion. 
 
Erza requipped her Lightning Empress Armor and used her Spear of Lightning to fire multiple lightning beams. 
 
“ICE DEMON ZEROTH DESTRUCTION BOW!” Gray created an intricate ice bow and charged it with an ice arrow, which he then fired at Scarlet Night at high speed. 
 
Unfortunately, none of their attacks had any effect on the dark alicorn. They couldn’t break through her barrier, and she didn’t even move from one single spot since the fight started. 
 
“FLAME LOTUS: FIRE DRAGON FIST!” Natsu ignited his fists as he charged at Scarlet Night and unleashed a continuous barrage of flame-enhanced punches, but they were not achieving any results. 
 
The dark alicorn merely flapped one of her wings, blowing Natsu back with an intense wind pressure. 
 
She then launched a barrage of small spheres of darkness that home in on the wizards at incredible speed. Gray used ice swords to defend himself, Erza protected herself with her lightning spear, and Natsu punched and kicked the spheres coming at him. Scarlet Night continuously sent more dark spheres at the trio, keeping them on the defensive and not giving them any openings for a counterattack. 
 
Eventually, Scarlet Night stomped both of her front hooves on the floor, sending out large torrents of dark red lightning. Natsu, Gray, and Erza screamed as they felt the surge of dark electric energy. After that attack, the three wizards were writhing on the floor, groaning in pain. 
 
Afterwards, Scarlet Night conjured a portal beside her and proceeded towards it. The Mane 7, Spike, Lucy, Wendy, Carla, Levy, and Happy arrived just in time to see the dark alicorn leave and her portal immediately closed after she went through. 
 
“Was that... Scarlet Night?” Fluttershy uttered. 
 
“Natsu!” Happy cried out as he flew towards his friend. “Natsu, are you okay?! Please say something!” 
 
Natsu continued groaning in response. Twilight then healed the three wizards in a golden light. 
 
“Are you three alright?” Twilight asked. 
 
“We are now. But what about Scarlet Night?” Erza replied. 
 
“She is no longer in the fortress.” Aura Light explained. 
 
“Any idea where she went!?” Gray asked her. 
 
“I’m afraid not.” She answered. 
 
“So... does this mean that the ultimate final battle isn’t happening yet?” Pinkie questioned. 
 
“It looks that way.” Aura replied. 
 
The Council of Friendship and the Fairy Tail members present were completely distraught, considering after all they went through. 
 
“Dammit! We were so close!” Natsu slammed his fist on the floor. 
 
“But why did Scarlet Night just leave?” Lucy inquired. 
 
Afterwards, they all felt violent tremors. 
 
“Is that an earthquake?” Happy nervously asked. 
 
Rubble started falling from the ceiling and walls were breaking down. 
 
“The fortress is collapsing!” Fluttershy shrieked. 
 
“Twilight! Give me control of your body! There’s no time! Hurry!” Aura urged. 
 
Since there was no time to think, Twilight complied. Once in control, Aura casted a highly-advanced transport spell that instantly teleported the Council of Friendship, Fairy Tail, and all surviving soldiers out of the crumbling fortress. 
 



The battle in Scarlet Night’s fortress was relayed to all of Equestria and its neighboring allied kingdoms. Many had prayed for the Council of Friendship and Fairy Tail’s victory all night. Everycreature was overjoyed when they heard that all the dark unicorns have been destroyed, but they were deeply disheartened by the news that the forces of light failed to defeat Scarlet Night. With her still at large, no one could truly feel safe. Regardless of the outcome, the Crystal Empire celebrated Flurry Heart’s safe return. For Cadance and Shining Armor, it was more than enough. The Mane 7, Spike, and the wizards who participated in the battle returned to Ponyville to rest and recuperate. As for the Pillars, they decided to take their fallen friend, Mistmane, to her birthplace and give her a burial there. 
 
At an unknown location... 
 
In a gigantic cave somewhere far from Equestria, Scarlet Night constructed grave stones for the dark unicorns, with the graves for the upper generals larger than the rest. 
 
“I am deeply grateful to you all for your loyal service. It’s such a shame that I must continue on my own. I cannot change the past, but you all can take comfort in knowing that your efforts were not in vain.” The dark alicorn then left the cave. “Rest now... my children.” 
 
After leaving, she sealed the cave so nothing will disturb the graves. 
> 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. 
 
> Chapter 9 (2/2): The War's Conclusion
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It has been one long and difficult journey for Fairy Tail. They fought alongside a magical princess, a former dictator, a loyal athlete, an honest apple farmer, a kind animal caretaker, a joyful party planner, and a generous fashionista. 
 
They went into battle... to stop an evil so terrible... that it sought to extinguish all light. They fought for those who could not. 
 
And now... It’s all coming to an end. 
 



Equestria’s defenders successfully stopped one major catastrophe. However, their victory was cut short by the sudden reemergence of Scarlet Night. 
 
In the open field outside Canterlot... 
 
Right after receiving word of Scarlet Night’s reappearance, Natsu swiftly teleported to her current location. Upon arriving, the wizard spotted the dark alicorn standing in the open field all by herself. 
 
“SCARLET NIGHT!” Natsu shouted out to her. 
 
“You sure are quick to arrive here. Have you come for another humiliation?” Scarlet Night spoke to Natsu in a mocking tone. 
 
“I’ve come to end you!” Natsu roared. 
 
“You should know that I could have easily ended your life back at the fortress. You ever wondered why I didn’t. It’s because killing you would be a mercy that I’m not willing to grant. I want you to continue to struggle. I want you to live with the weight of your failure to end the war. You couldn’t stop me back then and you’re not going to, not today, tomorrow, or anytime in the future.” The dark alicorn continued being condescending. 
 
Enraged by Scarlet Night’s taunts, Natsu hurled a fiery blast at her, but she easily nullified the attack with her barrier. 
 
“Didn’t you learn anything?” Scarlet Night rolled her eyes. 
 
Arriving at the scene next were Gajeel and Laxus. 
 
“Oh, two more just showed up.” Scarlet Night noticed the new arrivals. 
 
“So, this is Scarlet Night in the flesh.” Gajeel uttered. 
 
“The final enemy.” Laxus said as he narrowed his eyes at the dark alicorn. 
 
Scarlet Night then conjured a multitude of dark magic spheres and launched them at the wizards. Natsu and Laxus repelled them by generating waves of fire and lightning. The alicorn followed up by firing a large dark red magic bolt and the trio jumped away to dodge a red-colored explosion. 
 
“IRON DRAGON LANCE: DEMON LOGS!” Gajeel turned his arm into a large spearhead, from which he unleashed a storm of iron spear projectiles, but all of them bounced off the barrier protecting Scarlet Night. 
 
The dark alicorn stomped one of her front hooves on the ground and sent out a torrent of dark lightning towards her opponents. Laxus quickly punched the ground and stopped the incoming attack with his own torrent of lightning. 
 
“FIRE DRAGON IRON FIST!” Natsu rushed at Scarlet Night with a fire-empowered fist and attempted to punch through her barrier. 
 
“IRON DRAGON HARD FIST!” Gajeel threw a punch with an iron-hardened fist. 
 
“LIGHTNING DRAGON IRON FIST!” Laxus also attacked with a fist engulfed in lightning. 
 
As their fists clashed with Scarlet Night’s barrier, they poured more power into their punches, but they were still not breaking through. The dark alicorn wasn’t even flinching. 
 
“Amateurs.” She then caught the wizards in a telekinetic grip, slammed them face first into the ground, and tossed them back like ragdolls. 
 
After flinging the trio, Scarlet Night summoned a dark red corrosive cloud and sent it towards her foes. Natsu swiftly blew out a stream of flames and burned the cloud away. 
 
The three wizards proceeded with a barrage of fire, iron, and lightning attacks, but Scarlet Night remained unharmed due to her barrier. 
 
“FIRE DRAGON...” 
 
“IRON DRAGON...” 
 
“LIGHTNING DRAGON...” 
 
“... ROOOOOOOOOOAAAAAR!!!!” The three unleashed a combined breath attack consisting of their respective elements, creating a gigantic explosion around Scarlet Night. 
 
However, when the smoke cleared, they saw that Scarlet Night remained unscathed. The attack proved to be another useless gesture. 
 
“We’re not laying a scratch on her! Her barrier is blocking everything we throw at her!” Gajeel exclaimed. 
 
“And she has been only using a fraction of her power. I hate to think how much trouble we’ll be in if she decides to get serious.” Laxus added. 
 
“Acnologia wasn’t unbeatable, so she can’t be either! FIRE DRAGON SWORD HORN!” 
 
Natsu launched himself towards Scarlet Night like a flaming rocket, but the dark alicorn simply smacked him away with her right wing. 
 
“You’ll never defeat me! I am... ALL-POWERFUL!!!!” Scarlet Night bellowed as her voice also sent out a powerful shockwave. 
 
Natsu, Gajeel, and Laxus were sent spiraling in the air and the three landed back onto the ground with a heavy impact a few moments later. 
 
As the trio groaned and grunted, a colossal red flash of light enveloped the land behind Scarlet Night and her army of Night Terrors emerged. 
 
“I’ll tell you now... After I finished conquering this world, I’ll find the realm you humans came from. You’ll all pay dearly for interfering. For what I’m going to do to your people, I’m going to enjoy it... very, very much.” Scarlet Night declared. 
 
Natsu, Gajeel, and Laxus rose back to their feet and prepared to face against the monster army. 
 
Suddenly, a large golden portal appeared near the trio, much to their surprise. Then one by one, the other Fairy Tail wizards walked through and soon, almost the entire guild arrived. Only Makarov, Warren, and Romeo were not present. 
 
“So, is this all?” Scarlet Night asked. 
 
“Not just us.” Lucy replied. 
 
As if on cue, another but bigger golden portal appeared. Out of it came the Mane 7, Spike, the former royal sisters, the Pillars, Shining Armor, the Wonderbolts, and the soldiers from Canterlot and the Crystal Empire. Numerous more portals then emerged and marching together were yaks, dragons, griffons, changelings, hippogriffs, and kirins. Rutherford, Ember, Thorax, and Pharynx were there to join the fight. Celaeno, her pirate crew, Tempest Shadow, and the Storm King’s former minions arrived as well. All of the kirins transformed into niriks as they prepared for battle. Scarlet Night wasn’t fazed by the forces that gathered to oppose her. 
  
“EVERY WIZARD AND EVERYCREATURE!!! CHAAAAAAAAAAARGE!!!! Twilight commanded in her royal Canterlot voice. 
 
While letting out battle cries, every wizard, pony, and creature charged towards their common enemy. The dark alicorn pointed her right front hoof forward, signaling her monsters to charge as well. 
 
The two opposing forces soon entered a titanic clash. There were magic blasts flying around. The dragons and niriks destroy monsters with fire. The yaks went to smashing. Changelings took on the form of ferocious beasts. Griffons and hippogriffs fought with spears and arrows. Tempest fired lightning beams. Jet zoomed around the battlefield, knocking down as many Night Terrors as he could. Laki used her Wood-Make magic to create multiple weapon-shaped wood that erupted from the ground and attacked the Night Terrors from below. Droy used his plant magic to sprout large vines to bind monsters. Max repelled enemies with sandstorms. Juvia unleashed water cyclones. Reedus materialized various beasts to fight the enemy. Applejack grabbed a monster by the neck with her lasso and pulled it down to the ground. Elfman (in his Beast Soul: Ape form) then finished off the monster by crushing its head with his fists. Panther Lily, Celaeno, and her crew cut down Night Terrors with their swords. Celestia and Luna flew side by side, shooting down the flying monsters with their magic blasts. Alzack and Bisca were gunning down enemies left and right. Lucy (in Star Dress: Leo form) fought alongside Loke and Capricorn. Macao and Wakaba stood back-to-back fending off incoming enemies with Purple Flare and Smoke magic, respectively. 
 
As her enemies engaged her army, Scarlet Night remained in a single spot, observing the battle as it unfolded. 
 
“SCARLET NIGHT!” Twilight called out, gaining her attention. 
 
After fighting through the Night Terrors, the Princess of Friendship now stood face-to-face with the alicorn of darkness. Joining Twilight in the confrontation are Starlight, the other five Friendship Council members, Natsu, Gray, Erza, Laxus, Wendy (in her Dragon Force mode), Gajeel, and Gildarts. The fourteen heroes stood side by side with the intention of slaying the evil alicorn once and for all. 
 
“Scarlet Night! We’re putting an end to your legacy of war!” The princess declared. 
 
“Come! I welcome anyone with the courage to challenge me!” The dark alicorn goaded her foes. 
 
“We got you outnumbered!” Rainbow Dash boasted. 
 
“Numbers aren’t everything. It’s power that wins a battle... absolute power.” Scarlet Night retorted. 
 
“Enhancing all elemental resistances, Deus Corona! Enhancing all physical abilities, Deus Eques!” Wendy casted the enchantments on herself and her allies. 
 
Twilight and Starlight followed up by casting a spell to further enhance Wendy’s enchantments. The two also casted a protection spell on the group, giving each member of the team an invisible armor. 
 
The final battle has begun. 
 
Twilight started off by firing a powerful beam, but it was negated by the dark alicorn’s barrier. 
 
“Flurry Heart’s magic, give it back!!!” Twilight demanded. 
 
“Alicorn magic is meant to be earned, and your niece never earned it. Tell her to get it back herself.” Scarlet Night sneered. 
 
“Then, I’ll take it back by force!” Twilight launched a beam big enough to enshroud Scarlet Night, but the latter’s barrier held up without a problem and she didn’t even take a single step. 
 
“Don’t kid yourself, Twilight Sparkle. You’re leagues below my level.” Scarlet Night mocked as a dark lightning bolt struck the princess from above. 
 
“HEAVEN’S WHEEL: SCATTERED PETALS!” After requipping her Heaven’s Wheel Armor, Erza summoned a plethora of swords and launched them all at Scarlet Night. 
 
“ICE-MAKE: FREEZE LANCER!” Gray joined in by launching multiple ice lances. 
 
The swords and the ice lances had no effect on Scarlet Night. The seven wizards then charged at her together while the Mane 7 stepped in to provide support. Twilight and Starlight fired beams, Applejack repeatedly hurled rocks, Fluttershy summoned a small flock of ethereal crows, Rarity conjured a barrage of energy needles, Pinkie fired a blast from her party cannon, and Rainbow Dash rained down lightning bolts on the dark alicorn. Their attacks had the same outcome. None of them fazed Scarlet Night. 
 
The dark alicorn also let out a blood-curdling shriek, releasing soundwaves that stopped the incoming wizards in their tracks. While they were stunned, Scarlet Night formed bladed whips out of her mane and flailed them at blinking speed. Each of the wizards received several cuts as they were knocked back by the whips. They were lucky that Scarlet Night did not aim for their heads and thanks to Twilight and Starlight’s protective spell, their injuries were not too serious. 
 
Fluttershy flew towards the wizards, intending to heal them. “Hang on! I’ll fix you all right up!” 
 
She attempted to use her healing power, but it wasn’t activating. 
 
“Oh no! Why can’t I use my healing light?!” Fluttershy was alarmed. 
 
“I’ll tell you why. Before this battle, I placed magic runes all over the battlefield and they negate all healing magic.” Scarlet Night explained. 
 
Fluttershy was completely dismayed to learn that her healing ability has been rendered useless. 
 
“Don’t worry! We got something that can help!” Twilight smirked. “Pinkie, toss it to me!” 
 
Pinkie pulled an object out of her mane and threw it to Twilight, who caught it with her magic. What she held using her telekinesis is Grogar’s bewitching bell. 
 
“Wait a minute. Isn’t that the same bell that was used by three of your old enemies over a year ago?” Gajeel asked inquisitively. 
 
“Correct, my iron-eating friend. This here will give us the advantage we need.” Twilight grinned. “It’s over for you, Scarlet Night! Time for you to lose your magic!” 
 
Twilight then tried to use the bell to drain Scarlet Night’s magic, but the bell wasn’t doing anything. 
 
“Um, Twi. Anytime now.” Applejack said. 
 
“Come on! Do something!” Twilight rapidly swung the bell up and down to make it work. 
 
“Sorry to rain on your parade.” Scarlet Night chuckled. “Even during my slumber, I’m not ignorant about the events that occurred in Equestria, especially those revolving around the Council of Friendship. After all, my loyal followers observed those events and I was able to see through their eyes. A few days after the battle in my fortress, I took the liberty of sneaking into the vault containing that bell and wiping away all of its power. Now, it’s nothing more than a useless paperweight.” 
 
“Of course final boss battles are not meant to be won easily.” Pinkie groaned in annoyance. 
 
“Oh, and I also located the Alicorn Amulet and absorbed its power.” Scarlet Night added. 
 
“WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?!!!” The Council of Friendship was shocked. 
 
“Oh, that’s just great! Scarlet Night gained even more power!” Rainbow grumbled. 
 
“Doesn’t matter. We keep fighting until we win!” Natsu clenched his fists. 
 
The heroes pressed on with their assault on their final enemy, but breaking through her barrier was already proving to be an exceptionally difficult task to accomplish. The dark alicorn has been assailed by one attack after another, but she wasn’t affected in the slightest. 
 
“ALL CRUSH!” Gildarts sent a blast imbued with his Crush magic towards Scarlet Night, but it was unable to shatter her barrier. 
 
“SKY DRAGON WAVE WIND!” Wendy generated a large and very powerful tornado, but it was also ineffective. 
 
Erza requipped her Armadura Fairy armor and dashed towards Scarlet Night with swords infused with green lightning energy. The wizard delivered several explosive slashes, with no positive results. Scarlet Night then used telekinesis to throw Erza back. 
 
Twilight conjured swords of light and sent them towards Scarlet Night, but none of them left a scratch on the barrier. 
 
Applejack threw a maelstrom of rocks, but the dark alicorn’s barrier deflected all of them. 
 
“Applejack, couldn’t you use your earth powers to drag Scarlet Night into the ground or raise stone spikes to attack her from below?” Rarity asked. 
 
“If I could, I would have. Her magic power is keeping me from manipulating the earth that she’s directly standing on.” Applejack answered. 
 
For her next move, Scarlet Night created a plethora of red crescent moon-shaped blades. In a wild barrage, she spread them out in multiple directions. 
 
To block, Twilight and Starlight generated shields, Gray formed an ice shield, Rarity created a multi-layered shield construct, and Applejack raised a dense stone wall. Rainbow Dash evaded by using her skillful and super-fast flying. Laxus zipped around like lightning. Pinkie could dodge due to her impressive agility and only a part of her mane got sliced off. Erza tried deflecting the incoming blades while Natsu and Wendy ran around to dodge, but some of the blades grazed them. Gajeel hardened his body as best he could though he still suffered scratches. Gildarts used his magic to shatter any blades coming at him. Fluttershy avoided the blades by simply lying low on the ground and keeping her head down. 
 
“ROARING THUNDER!” Laxus rushed at Scarlet Night and released a large burst of lightning from his fist, only for it to be blocked by her barrier. 
 
Scarlet Night responded by swatting him away hard with one of her mane whips. Meanwhile, Gajeel leaped high into the air. 
 
“KARMA DEMON: IRON SPIRAL!” Gajeel transformed his legs into a giant drill that rotated at high speed. He thrusted himself towards Scarlet Night at full force, but his drill wasn’t powerful enough to pierce through her barrier. 
 
The dark alicorn blew Gajeel back by firing a beam at him. Scarlet Night then created several large dark spheres and sent them high into the air. Once above the heroes, each of the spheres unleashed a rain of destructive blasts down on them. Twilight and Starlight used teleportation magic to bring their twelve allies close to them and conjured a dome-shaped barrier to shield against the blasts. The alicorn and unicorn had to combine their magic power to keep the barrier from breaking. After the barrage ended, the heroes were completely surrounded by small craters. 
 
A large number of storm creatures rushed in to aid the Mane 7 and the wizards. They all charged at Scarlet Night and tried to overpower her with their numbers and brute strength. They swarmed the dark alicorn and continuously swung their weapons at her. 
 
“No! She’s far too powerful! Get back!” Twilight implored, but the storm creatures continued with their attack. 
 
Unfortunately for them, the dark alicorn’s barrier made her untouchable. 
 
“I have no interest in playing with bottom feeders.” Scarlet Night said casually as she slaughtered the storm creatures by impaling them with dark spiked tendrils that erupted out of the ground. 
 
Furious, Rainbow Dash then flew up to an extremely high altitude, past the dark clouds in the sky. Once she was over the clouds, she divebombed towards Scarlet Night at breakneck speed, creating a Sonic Rainboom in the process. She flew like a missile while leaving behind a rainbow trail. 
 
The rainbow-maned pegasus soon collided with the dark alicorn’s barrier with astounding force and the resulting shockwave caused the ground beneath Scarlet Night to shatter. However, the dark alicorn remained unfazed. She then flapped one of her wings, releasing a gust that sent Rainbow Dash spiraling in the air. 
 
Rainbow managed to recover in midair, and Gildarts rushed towards Scarlet Night. She flailed her bladed whips at Gildarts, but he managed to deflect them with his arms. He then threw a punch with his left prosthetic arm to deliver a powerful explosive blast that created a massive explosion. Alas, it did not form a single crack on Scarlet Night’s barrier and she still didn’t budge. While Gildarts was stunned to see that his attack had no effect, one of the whips destroyed his prosthetic arm and the dark alicorn sent him flying back with a magic blast. 
 
“You really think you can corner me!?” Scarlet Night scoffed at her enemies’ futile efforts. “None of you can match me in power like Aura Light could! Try as you might, all you will find in this battle is despair!” 
 
Starlight was visibly unnerved by Scarlet Night’s apparent invincibility. “Can we really beat her?! What does it take to get through her barrier?! So far, nothing we did fazes her! At this rate, we’ll just be wasting magic power and we’ll still get nowhere close to defeating her!” 
 
“I hate to say this, but... I have no doubt that she could have killed us a hundred times over if she wanted to. The reason we’re still alive is because she’s holding back. It’s clear that she enjoys toying with us.” Gajeel chimed in. 
 
“Well I ain’t giving up. No matter how much the odds are against us, I’m fighting to the very end.” Natsu remained determined to see the battle through. 
 
“Your determination is admirable, but it can only get you so far.” Scarlet Night then generated a gigantic sphere of darkness over her head. It kept enlarging until it was around 10 meters wide. Its sheer size intimidated the fourteen heroes. 
 
“Um, I think we better dodge this one.” Rainbow said nervously. 
 
“But there are many others fighting in the battlefield! They could get caught up in the blast!” Wendy replied. 
 
The dark sphere released a supersized mega-beam. Knowing that the blast would wipe out anyone in the line of fire, Twilight, Starlight, and the seven wizards opted to try to stop it. The alicorn and unicorn fired the biggest beams they could. Erza requipped her Lightning Empress Armor and helped by firing a wide lightning beam from her spear. Natsu, Gray, Wendy, Gajeel, and Laxus unleashed their elemental breath attacks. Gildarts also used his magic to weaken the enemy’s attack. 
 
The heroes struggled to stop Scarlet Night’s mega-beam, but with tremendous effort, they successfully counteracted the dark alicorn’s attack. A monstrous explosion was created and Applejack raised stone walls for the heroes to hide behind. The stone walls crumbled down after taking the brunt of the resulting shockwave, but they did prevent the heroes from getting blown away. Scarlet Night wasn’t affected by the wind pressure because of her barrier. After stopping an attack so massive, Twilight, Starlight, and the seven wizards were out of breath. Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie were left shaking with terror. 
 
“I’m impressed that you managed to stop my last attack, though it seems that it took a lot of effort. If I unleash another blast like that, what will you do? Let’s find out.” The dark alicorn began generating another gigantic dark sphere. 
 
“Not good. She’s about to use another big attack!” Gray exclaimed as he and his allies braced themselves. 
 
Luckily, the next attack did not happen. Scarlet Night suddenly started coughing and wheezing. While she was writhing in agony, the dark sphere she was generating dissipated. 
 
“W-wha... what’s happening to me?!” Scarlet Night wondered as she felt searing pain coursing through her body. Her opponents were just as confused as well. 
 
“What’s wrong with her? Just a moment ago, she had no problem blocking our attacks.” Gajeel was very puzzled by this turn of events. 
 
“My spark is taking effect.” Aura answered. 
 
“Aura Light! Is this your doing?! What have you done to me?!” Scarlet Night screeched. 
 
“Long before Flurry Heart was captured, I planted a spark of light inside of her. When you absorbed her magic, you also absorbed that spark. I waited for the opportune moment to activate it, and that was just before the Council of Friendship and a sufficient number of powerful Fairy Tail members started fighting you together. It took some time for the effects to kick in, but as we speak, the spark is draining your power and destroying your body from the inside.” 
 
“Curse you, Aura! This won’t be enough to destroy me! I can decompose this spark of yours!” 
 
“Now’s your chance! Push her to the limit!” Aura urged the heroes. “My spark will inflict continuous pain on her body, and it will get worse the more power she uses or the weaker she gets!” 
 
“You got it! PARTY CANNON RAPID FIRE!” With her party cannon, Pinkie unleashed a bombardment of colorful rapid-firing cannon blasts. 
 
Twilight and Starlight released wide beams, Applejack launched another barrage of rocks, Rarity conjured a volley of energy arrows, and Rainbow summoned thunderstorms. Scarlet Night continued using her barrier to block any incoming attacks, but she was actually flinching this time. 
 
Natsu charged at her again with a fiery fist. At that moment, Scarlet Night suffered a seizure, causing her barrier to fail and enabling Natsu to strike her. The dark alicorn was sent skidding back after taking the blow. 
 
“Yes! I landed a hit on her!” Natsu shouted proudly. 
 
After taking a moment to process this, Scarlet Night was then bubbling with rage. She was utterly furious that a being other than Aura Light managed to harm her, even though the wound she received was only minor and superficial. 
 
“Mark my words! EQUESTRIA DIES TODAY!!! AND SO WILL ALL OF YOU!!!” Using her magic, Scarlet Night took control of the dark clouds above. 
 
The clouds unleashed a storm of dark red lightning, raining destruction on the entire battlefield. Twilight, Starlight, Rarity, Celestia, Luna, Shining Armor, Star Swirl, and many unicorns generated barriers to stop as many dark lightning bolts as they could. Those that could not create shields scurried around to avoid getting blasted. 
 
Fortunately, the storm did not last long as it stopped when Scarlet Night was wheezing again. Pinkie then threw a pie at her face, but it wasn’t the magical sparkly explosive kind. It was just an ordinary cherry pie. As the dark alicorn glared at Pinkie after the pie dropped to the ground, the party pony stuck her tongue out and blew a raspberry. Infuriated by the disrespect, Scarlet Night repeatedly fired magic bolts at her, but Pinkie effortlessly dodged the attacks by bouncing around. While Scarlet Night was focused on trying to get a hit on Pinkie, Gajeel landed a clean hit on the dark alicorn with his Iron Dragon Club. 
 
“Ha! Not so tough when your barrier’s not working like it used to! Now it’s our turn to dish out the pain!” Gajeel grinned. 
 
Twilight unleashed another magic blast. Unable to rely on her barrier anymore, Scarlet Night canceled out her enemy’s attack with a blast of her own. Fluttershy summoned another flock of ethereal crows and they swarmed the dark alicorn. 
 
While Scarlet Night was distracted by the ethereal crows, Pinkie splattered a sparkly pie on her face and the dark alicorn’s head was covered in a glittering explosion. She was trying a similar tactic that she once used against Thunder Blast, but it didn’t achieve the same results since Scarlet Night is far more resilient. 
 
“Dang it! I was hoping to blind her and damage her horn like I did with Thunder Blast!” Pinkie whined. 
 
“RAGING BOLT!” Laxus struck Scarlet Night with a large bolt of lightning. 
 
“LEADING SKY ARROW!” Wendy cloaked her leg in a whirlwind as she delivered a kick to the dark alicorn, pushing her back many feet away. 
 
With growing frustration, Scarlet Night released a bombardment of explosive magic projectiles all over the place. Erza switched her armor back to Armadura Fairy and charged forward while evading the explosions, and the dark alicorn tried using her bladed whips to keep the wizard back. With her energy-charged swords, Erza repelled the flailing whips. Once she got within striking distance, Erza aimed a sword slash at Scarlet Night’s neck in an attempt to behead her. The dark alicorn managed to save herself by casting a dark magic coating around her neck just before Erza’s sword connected. The wizard then tried to cut off her horn, but it is extremely durable. Scarlet Night promptly used her wings to blow Erza back. 
 
“ICE-MAKE: ICE CANNON!” Gray created a large, long-barreled ice cannon and fired an ice cannonball at the dark alicorn. It blew a portion of her mane off as she narrowly dodged it. 
 
Twilight proceeded with launching an explosive magic bolt. 
 
“FIRE DRAGON BRILLIANT FLAME!” Natsu flung a very large fireball. 
 
“LIGHTNING DRAGON DEMOLITION FIST!” Laxus released a high-speed lightning blast in the shape of a giant fist. 
 
The dark alicorn managed to jump away and avoided a massive explosion. 
 
“I’m getting weaker by the second and it’s difficult to focus with this burning pain eating away inside of me. If I stay, I risk facing death.” Scarlet Night then conjured thousands of dark floating orbs, with a majority of them forming a barricade between herself and the heroes, and each of them unleashed a storm of dark lightning on her enemies, forcing them to either block or evade. 
 
With the heroes held at bay, Scarlet Night begrudgingly decided that retreating is her best option for survival. “I hate fleeing from a battle, but I’ll just retreat... temporarily. I’ll teleport away from this battle for the time being and after I rid myself of this spark and recover all of my strength, I’ll return and make all of them face true terror!” 
 
She attempted to teleport, only to discover that she couldn’t. “What’s wrong?! Why can’t I teleport?!” 
 
“You’re not going anywhere, Scarlet Night. Aside from the continuous magic power draining and body deterioration, my spark prevents you from using teleportation or transport spells of any kind. As an added precaution, I took away your ability to fly as well, and you won’t be able to use levitation either.” Aura explained. 
 
“Then I’ll just use my allies! MONSTERS!!! COME TO MY AID AT ONCE!!!” Scarlet Night bellowed. 
 
To her surprise, none of the Night Terrors were following her command. They continued battling those who were not fighting the dark alicorn. 
 
“DIDN’T ANY OF YOU HEAR ME?!!! I SAID COME TO MY AID!!!” 
 
“Save your breath. The spark also interferes with your ability to communicate with your monsters, so you can’t give them any new orders. Too bad that one of the commands you gave them before the spark took effect was not to meddle in your battles. Even though I can’t restrict all of your powers, at least I can keep you from escaping. You will remain here, where the Friendship Council and Fairy Tail can fight you until they destroy you.” 
 
“You think you thought of everything! Twilight Sparkle is your anchor to this physical plane, isn’t she!? If I destroy her, then your power will be undone!” 
 
While the heroes were still busy defending themselves from the dark lightning-spewing orbs, she aimed a continuous destructive beam at Twilight, who formed a protective shield around herself. A sudden throbbing headache caused her attack to cease and all the dark orbs vanished. 
 
“Natsu! I got something for you!” Starlight conjured a magical flame and tossed it to Natsu. 
 
He grabbed the flame and swallowed it. With his power enhanced, Natsu entered Dragon Force. 
 
“FLAME LOTUS: EXPLODING FLAME BLADE!” Natsu created a powerful and highly destructive torrent of flames that barraged Scarlet Night. 
 
“Laxus! Here’s another power boost!” Rainbow created a massive storm cloud and sent a gigantic lightning bolt down on him. 
 
While his powers were magnified, Laxus entered his Red Lightning Dragon Mode and launched a large torrent of red lightning at the dark alicorn. She screamed in pain as she felt the devastating force of Natsu and Laxus’ attacks. 
 
“Time to go all out!” Gajeel took his last steel bar and consumed it, transforming his body into steel once more as he rushed at Scarlet Night. The latter tried to stop him by creating a chaotic vortex of crescent moon blades. 
 
“STEEL DRAGON SWORD!” Gajeel turned his hand into a long steel sword, cut through Scarlet Night’s defenses, and delivered a multitude of powerful slashes. 
 
Scarlet Night hardened her body to lessen the damage from Gajeel’s strikes and as she winced, she used magic to close her wounds. 
 
“She can heal herself?! SO NOT FAIR!!!” Pinkie grouched. 
 
“Don’t worry. She still uses up her stamina.” Aura assured. “Keep up the attack and whittle away her strength!” 
 
The heroes continued with their efforts to wear down Scarlet Night. Never before has she felt so incensed. At first, she held back because she felt that her opponents were not worth using her full power against and she never fathomed the possiblity that anyone other than her sister could be a threat to her. But now, she had to hold back as much as possible lest she worsens the speed of her corrosion. Aura’s spark was well concealed that the Red Moon Generals and even Scarlet Night did not notice it before, and it is so potent that the dark alicorn could not eliminate it right away. She would need time and concentration to extinguish it, but resisting the spark and fighting her enemies at the same time was proving rather difficult. As she desperately tried to ward off her foes with bladed whips, dark spiked tendrils, crescent moon blades, and dark magic blasts, she suffered another headache, providing an opening that her foes could capitalize on. 
 
Applejack dealt a painful blow by hurling a boulder at Scarlet Night. Pinkie covered the dark alicorn in sparkly cake and she was shortly enveloped in a big glittering explosion. While she was stunned, Natsu and Gildarts landed some punches. Gray pierced her with ice spears. Twilight slashed her with swords of light. Erza and Gajeel delivered several slashes as well. Wendy and Rainbow Dash sent her flying with a twister. While she was in midair, Laxus flew towards her like a streak of lightning. 
 
“LIGHTNING DRAGON JAW!” Laxus locked his lightning-imbued hands together in a tight fist and swung them down onto the dark alicorn, sending her back down to the ground. 
 
Scarlet Night conjured a dark magic bubble around herself to soften her landing, but she was then rammed by an ethereal rhino. 
 
“We can beat her! We’re going to win!” Rainbow bellowed as the battle was going in their favor. 
 
Twilight, Starlight, and Rarity wrapped magical chains around Scarlet Night and bound her in place. While immobilized, a thought was going through in the dark alicorn’s mind. 
 
“How did it come to this? Never in my wildest dreams had I imagined that my life would be in mortal danger, not like this. This was never supposed to happen. That’s the reason I attained power long ago. I remember the time when Aura and I first sought strength. When we were fillies, our home was once invaded by warmongering centaurs. Our mother was taken from us, but fortunately for us, Father was strong enough to protect us. The helplessness we experienced when we lost our mother was what made us decide to become the most powerful there is. After all, those with power have less to fear and are more capable of commanding respect than those who do not. That’s what I believed. Unlike the Princess of Friendship and her entourage, who needed trinkets to defeat their foes, my sister and I were able to overcome any obstacle with the strength we gained from years of rigorous training in which we constantly pushed ourselves beyond our limits. We not just studied magic. We also trained our bodies, mind, and spirit. Even after becoming alicorns, we never stopped improving our skills and reaching new heights. I was very proud of the fact that our power was second to none in all of Starquestria, if not the entire world. It makes me sick to think that the two alicorns who used to rule Equestria were so incompetent that they relied on lesser ponies to defend this weak land, time and time again. It’s laughable. I won’t allow myself to be overcome by those beneath me! NOT NOW, NOT EVER! ONLY MY EQUAL HAS THE RIGHT TO DESTROY ME IN COMBAT!!!!” 
 
Natsu, Erza, Gray, Gajeel, Laxus, and Gildarts then rushed at Scarlet Night, aiming to strike her down with one combined attack. 
 
“ENOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOUGH!!!!” With a deafening roar, she released an enormous omni-directional shockwave that spread out with terrifying speed. 
 
The Mane 7 and the seven wizards gasped as the magical wave came at them so fast that they hardly had any time to react. Twilight instinctively formed a barrier around herself, but the dark wave broke through and blew the princess back with staggering force. 
 
After she was sent reeling from the attack, Twilight groaned with immense pain. She struggled to stand but she felt incredibly weak in the legs. She then looked around and to her horror, she saw her thirteen allies all lying on the ground unconscious. Gajeel was no longer in his steel form. 
 
Meanwhile, Scarlet Night was having severe convulsions and difficulty breathing after her outburst. It took her time to regain her focus. 
 
“Now, all I have to do is end Twilight Sparkle!” The dark alicorn turned her attention towards the downed princess. 
 
But before she could attack Twilight, a group of dragons and niriks assaulted the dark alicorn with streams of fire. 
 
“This is vengeance for my kin!” A dragon bellowed. 
 
Scarlet Night cried out in pain as she was being scorched by their flames. The dragons and the niriks succeeded in drawing her attention away from Twilight, but they also made her frightfully angry. 
 
“FOOLS! I may be weakened, but I WILL NOT be brought down by lowly creatures such as yourselves! DROP DEAD YOU WORTHLESS INSECTS!!!!” 
 
In a fit of unbridled rage, Scarlet Night eradicated the attacking creatures with a volley of magic blasts. Shortly after she killed them, she was hit in the head by a magic beam. She then turned to the one responsible, Star Swirl. 
 
The Pillar kept firing beams at Scarlet Night, but she countered with her own powerful blast that knocked the elderly unicorn to the ground. She subsequently unleashed a stream of red flames towards him, and Star Swirl saw his life flashed before his eyes right before he was incinerated by the dark flames. The flames instantly consumed him, not giving him a chance to scream. Twilight’s eyes widened with terror, having witnessed the demise of the unicorn she admired. 
 
“Noooooooo...!!!” Rockhoof screamed in anguish as he charged towards Scarlet Night. 
 
Joining him were yaks, griffons, and changelings, including Pharynx. Scarlet Night created a cyclone of crescent moon blades and unleashed them on the attackers, killing Rockhoof, Pharynx, and all creatures caught up in the barrage. 
 
The dark alicorn was met with more disruptions as she was struck by more magic blasts. She then noticed Celestia and Luna attacking her from high up in the air. 
 
“We won’t let you destroy any more lives!!!” Celestia cried out. 
 
“Begone from this world!!!” Luna roared. 
 
The sisters continuously attacked Scarlet Night with magic beams, and the evil alicorn used her wings to shield herself. 
 
“Celestia... Luna... no... she’ll kill you too.” Twilight said weakly. 
 
“You two are nothing compared to me! I’ll show you both the might of a true alicorn!” Scarlet Night violently barraged the sisters with spears of darkness. 
 
The two alicorns generated a shield around themselves, but the dark spears pierced through and grievously wounded them, causing them to fall to the ground. 
 
“You both can die together. You two are eyesores that don’t even deserve to exist! GET OUT OF MY SIGHT!!!!” 
 
With pure spite, Scarlet Night then engulfed the sisters in a devastating dark red explosion. 
 
“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO...!!!!” Twilight cried. 
 
After the explosion, the two former rulers of Equestria lied on the ground... lifeless. 
 
Scarlet Night then suffered another coughing fit, which is much worse than the last as she was violently coughing out blood. She also had trouble breathing. 
 
“Curses... I got so worked up I worsened my corrosion.” She thought to herself while trying to get her breathing under control. 
 
Twilight gazed in despair at Celestia and Luna’s fallen forms. She tried crawling towards them only to see their bodies dissipated into particles of light. The Princess of Friendship was completely devastated as the cruel reality sank in. Even her beloved mentor has been taken from her, and she watched helplessly as it happened. 
 
“No more... No more...” Twilight sobbed. “NO MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORE!!!!” 
 
As she cried, an aura of intense light erupted and flared around her, which took Scarlet Night by surprise. Twilight’s coat, mane, and tail are all completely covered in a golden hue and her golden armor now shine like the sun. The dark alicorn stared in awe as she unwittingly enabled Twilight to find the emotional trigger she needed to reach Aura Light’s full power. 
 
After her transformation into her ultimate form, Twilight then rammed Scarlet Night at the speed of light. That knocked the wind out of the dark alicorn as she was launched back a great distance. 
 
While recovering from the hit, Scarlet Night gazed at Twilight in utter shock. For a quick moment, she actually saw Twilight as Aura Light. 
 
“Let’s end this!” Twilight uttered while glaring at her nemesis with fire in her eyes. 
 
The princess hurled a large trident of light, which Scarlet Night barely dodged by jumping to the side. Twilight continued with a bombardment of radiant magic bolts, and the dark alicorn responded in kind with a storm of dark bolts. 
 
The two entered a fierce magic firefight and both alicorns screamed in fury as they continuously fired a maelstrom of blasts at each other. Big explosions were created as their blasts collided. 
 
Scarlet Night was holding her own despite Twilight achieving her ultimate form, but the dark alicorn was put under more pressure since the spark inside her is still in effect. As she strained herself, she was bleeding from the nose and mouth. 
 
Determined to destroy Scarlet Night, Twilight did not let up for a moment. Due to increasing fatigue, Scarlet Night was struggling to keep up with Twilight’s relentless attacks. Thus, some of the light magic projectiles managed to hit their mark while none of the dark bolts managed to harm the princess. 
 
During the exchange of magical blasts, Scarlet Night attempted to skewer Twilight by summoning dark spiked tendrils. They rapidly lunged towards the princess, but this time, Twilight has the luxury of having a powerful barrier that blocks all enemy attacks, rendering the tendrils completely useless. 
 
Light and dark blasts continued to clash and flared like a fireworks display. Twilight had the upper hoof, but as she carried on with her onslaught, she was sweating and panting heavily. Apparently, the use of Aura’s full power is taxing on Twilight, and Scarlet Night noticed this. 
 
“Tch. She’s still nothing like my sister.” The dark alicorn thought as she continued exchanging magic blasts with Twilight. “She lacked the experience and the fortitude to wield the full extent of Aura Light’s immense power, so she won’t be able to stay in that form for long. But I’m at a disadvantage because Aura’s spark continues to weaken me! It’s already taking me strenuous effort just to keep myself alive! If it wasn’t for the accursed spark sapping my strength, I wouldn’t be struggling against this lesser alicorn in a one-on-one confrontation!” 
 
As the battle between the two alicorns raged on, the other Friendship Council members, Starlight, and the wizards that Scarlet Night knocked out earlier are regaining consciousness. 
 
Knowing that she needed to defeat Scarlet Night as soon as possible, Twilight increased the ferocity of her attacks and several of her magic bolts struck the dark alicorn dead on. 
 
As she continued sustaining damage, Scarlet Night’s deterioration reached a critical point. Her wings are starting to lose their feathers, her mane and tail are losing their sparkle, and the color of her coat is becoming paler. She was soon sent tumbling to the ground after receiving an explosive blast. 
 
“YOU’RE FINISHED!!!!” With Scarlet Night down on the ground, Twilight charged her horn up and was about to deal a decisive blow that could end the battle. But before she could unleash her next attack, her ultimate form reached its time limit and she reverted back to her previous form. “No... I was so close!!!!” 
 
“Now, YOU DIE!!!!” Seizing an opportunity, Scarlet Night sent waves of crescent moon blades towards Twilight while her guard was down. 
 
After getting back on her feet, Erza leaped in to aid Twilight. She had requipped her Ataraxia Armor and used her eight blade wings to deflect the dark moon blades. 
 
“NOT YOU AGAIN!!!!” Scarlet Night was unpleasantly surprised to see a familiar hindrance. 
 
“Don’t stop fighting, Twilight! It’s not over till it’s over!” Erza yelled before charging at Scarlet Night. 
 
The dark alicorn once again created bladed whips out of her mane and flailed them at Erza. 
 
“Erza, keep her busy while I charge up my magic. I will take her down with one shot!” Twilight said telepathically as she began focusing her magic into her horn. 
 
While Erza parried the whip strikes, Twilight was approached by Starlight. 
 
“Twilight, I’ll help you.” Starlight began transferring her magic power to Twilight. 
 
Having lost a considerable amount of strength after her bout with Twilight, Scarlet Night’s attacks have become more sluggish and her whips became brittle enough for Erza to cut through them. After slicing the whips, Erza sent her flying blades towards Scarlet Night. 
 
However, dark spiked tendrils emerged out of the ground and stopped the blades. With a scream, Scarlet Night released an ultrasonic blast. The sound waves connected to Erza, knocking her down and causing immense seizures, convulsions, and rendering her unable to breathe momentarily. 
 
“SURPRISE ATTACK!” Scarlet Night wasn’t given any respite as Pinkie blasted the dark alicorn with her party bazooka. 
 
“Hey! Guess who’s also back in the fight!!!” Pinkie hollered with a wide smile. 
 
“That maddening pink earth pony too?!” Scarlet Night then fired multiple blasts at Pinkie, which she was able to evade. 
 
“SPARKLY SWEET STORM!” Pinkie bombarded Scarlet Night with various kinds of sparkly explosive sweets. 
 
Scarlet Night countered by conjuring gusts of wind to blow Pinkie away. An ethereal cheetah then pounced on the dark alicorn and started mauling her. After a brief struggle, she fended off the beast by creating a magical pulse. Going all out, Fluttershy summoned a massive flock of ethereal falcons and a stampede of ethereal bulls. Scarlet Night summoned dark lightning-spewing orbs to repulse the incoming creatures. 
 
All the ethereal creatures soon faded away. Given her injured state and the amount of power she used when summoning numerous ethereal creatures at once, Fluttershy collapsed from exhaustion. 
 
Scarlet Night fired a stream of dark flames at the defenseless pegasus, but Gildarts jumped in and stopped the flames with his hand. The dark alicorn was suddenly grabbed by Natsu after he jumped on her back. 
 
“Burn to ashes! FIRE DRAGON GRIP STRIKE!” Natsu released a vast amount of explosive flames. 
 
After screeching for a short time, Scarlet Night launched Natsu away by discharging dark lightning. In the following moment, she found herself under siege by pony soldiers led by Shining Armor. 
 
“The Council of Friendship and Fairy Tail fought hard to defend Equestria! It’s time we return the favor!” Shining Armor rallied his comrades. 
 
Shining Armor and the unicorns attacked with a barrage of magic blasts while most of the non-unicorns fired energy bolts from their spears. Some earth pony soldiers bombarded the dark alicorn with bazooka fire. 
 
“More insufferable pests!!! I’LL OBLITERATE YOU TOO!!!!” Scarlet Night’s horn glowed as she prepared to retaliate against Twilight’s brother and his fellow soldiers. 
 
“ICE DEMON ZEROTH DESTRUCTION BOW!” Gray interrupted her by launching a high-speed ice arrow that turned into a spiky array of ice once it hit its mark. 
 
Scarlet Night could barely stand on her four hooves, but she was still too stubborn to fall. 
 
“Damn, she’s still standing! HURRY UP AND DIE YOU MONSTER!!!!” Gray bellowed. 
 
Scarlet Night was then forced into the ground when a giant hammer construct created by Rarity dropped on her from above. Afterwards, Applejack buried the dark alicorn under a mountain of rocks. Gajeel pitched in by piling heavy iron objects on the rock mountain, adding to the crushing weight. To free herself, Scarlet Night released a magic shockwave to blow the rocks and iron away, but exerting herself caused her to cough out blood again. 
 
Laxus unleashed a massive stream of red lightning, with Rainbow Dash adding her own lightning to the mix. 
 
“COME OOOOOOOOOON!!!! DISINTEGRATE ALREADY!!!!” Laxus roared as he and Rainbow poured on the lightning. 
 
After all that punishment, Scarlet Night was like a dead pony walking. Her deterioration has gotten to the point in which she could not recover from, but what kept her going was her rage and will to not lose to anyone she deemed to be inferior. 
 
“You will soon meet your demise, sister. I had foreseen it.” Aura once again spoke to Scarlet Night through telepathy. “You could have eliminated your tenacious foes if you had used your full power at the beginning, but because of how powerful you were, you always had a bad habit of taking any opponent who isn’t me lightly. Your arrogance will be your undoing. Your enemies don’t need to be stronger than you in order to kill you. I just have to make you weaker. Thanks to my efforts, attacks that are normally meaningless to you are now capable of bringing you down.” 
 
“Shut up...! Shut up...! SHUT UUUUUUUUUUUUUP!!!!” Scarlet Night replied. 
 
“I’m truly sorry, dear sister. I do not enjoy making you suffer like this, but I cannot allow you to continue your path of destruction. If destroying you is what needs to be done in order to stop you, then so be it. I hope Mother and Father can forgive you.” 
 
In the Crystal Empire royal castle throne room, Cadance and Flurry Heart waited anxiously for the final battle to end. 
 
“Council of Friendship... Fairy Tail... please win this.” Cadance prayed with all her heart. 
 
Back at the battle, Scarlet Night’s enemies were making one final push towards victory. 
 
“ICE DEMON ZEROTH LONG SWORD!” Gray created an ice longsword and slashed the dark alicorn, inflicting a deep cut and freezing her body. 
 
“MEGATON: RED LIGHTNING!” Laxus delivered a powerful punch with a fist coated in his red lightning. 
 
“NAKAGAMI STARLIGHT!” Erza, while in her Nakagami Armor, swung her halberd down on Scarlet Night with incredible force. 
 
“PURIFYING TRUTH: FIRMAMENT!” Gildarts landed a mighty strike with a fist imbued with his Crush magic. 
 
With Scarlet Night on her last legs, Gray, Laxus, Erza, and Gildarts put all their might into their attacks. While shrieking, the dark alicorn retaliated with another shockwave attack. Though it’s far weaker than the previous one, it still pushed back the four wizards. As they were blown back, Natsu and Gajeel stepped in. 
 
“FIRE DRAGON KING DESTRUCTION FIST!” Natsu threw a punch that released a large quantity of flames. 
 
“KARMA DEMON: IRON GOD SWORD!” Gajeel joined his hands together to create a gigantic iron sword and swiped it down on Scarlet Night. 
 
After their attacks connected, Twilight finished charging up her magic, with a giant orb of light formed at the tip of her horn. 
 
“SCARLET NIGHT! FOR YOUR CRIMES, IT’S TIME YOU FACE YOUR JUDGEMENT!” Twilight bellowed in her royal Canterlot voice as she released a humongous beam of light. 
 
Still refusing to accept defeat, Scarlet Night channeled her remaining strength into firing a wide blast of red darkness and their attacks entered a beam struggle. The dark alicorn stood firm even though she was reaching her limit, but Twilight on the other hoof felt like her power was increasing. 
 
“Twilight! I’m enchanting all of our magic power into you!” Wendy used her magic to transfer more power into Twilight. 
 
“Take her down, Twi!!!” Applejack shouted. 
 
“End this now!!!” Rainbow yelled. 
 
“FINISH HER!!!!” Natsu hollered. 
 
With the extra power given to her, Twilight’s attack pushed through. Realizing that she could not fight any longer, Scarlet Night closed her eyes in resignation, and she was then enshrouded in a gigantic dome of blinding light. 
 
Elsewhere on the battlefield, Bisca was shooting down some flying monsters with her machine guns when five of them swooped down on her. She managed to shoot four of them, but the fifth one was about to slash her with its claws. However, the monster quickly turned to dust before it could attack Bisca. 
 
The monsters throughout the battlefield disintegrated in droves until there are none left, and the dark clouds covering the skies have dispersed. 
 
As for Scarlet Night, once the smoke cleared up, it is revealed that her body has been turned to stone. Her stone form then slowly crumbled down into pieces and they were soon reduced to dust in the wind. 
 
There was complete silence in the open field, until... 
 
“SCARLET NIGHT HAS BEEN DEFEATED!!!! WE WOOOOOOOOOOOON!!!!” A Canterlot soldier shouted at the top of his lungs. 
 
In the next second, the sound of victory cheers erupted all over the entire field. With Equestria’s greatest enemy finally vanquished, many were completely overwhelmed with jubilation and started crying tears of joy. 
 
The weary combatants that just fought Scarlet Night spent the following moments letting this victory sink in. 
 
“I-is it... o-over?” Happy stuttered. 
 
“Yeah. Mission accomplished.” Natsu spoke with a smile as he sat on the ground. 
 
Suddenly, Discord popped out of thin air, now finally able to leave the chaos dimension. 
 
“HURRAAAAAAAAAAAY!!! YOU DID IT!!! YOU WON THE WAR!!!” Discord cheered while surrounded by flying trumpets and colorful explosions of confetti and streamers. 
 
“Discord, are you really free?” Fluttershy was surprised yet joyful to see him. 
 
Discord responded by giving the pegasus a hug. “Yes! The seal that kept me imprisoned in the chaos dimension has finally lost its power!” 
 
Fluttershy then snuggled in Discord’s embrace. “Oh Discord, I’m so happy it’s all over. I’ve never been so tired.” 
 
Discord snapped a finger and created a new prosthetic arm for Gildarts. “Consider that as thanks for saving Fluttershy.” 
 
As Fluttershy and the draconequus cuddled, Twilight got something to say to Aura. 
 
“Aura, there’s something I need to discuss with you. You knew all along that Shadow Mayhem would abduct Flurry Heart, didn’t you?” Twilight questioned. 
 
“During my years in the ethereal plane, I gained powers of precognition. If only I had this ability before the incident that drove my sister into madness.” 
 
“Aura, why didn’t you warn us?!! How could you allow Flurry Heart to suffer?!!” Twilight responded angrily. 
 
“Twilight... it was the only way. If I told you, this victory wouldn’t have happened. After I chose Fairy Tail to aid Equestria, I looked through countless possible futures, and I only managed to find one in which Scarlet Night loses. Allowing Flurry Heart to be captured was not a decision I took lightly. Without my spark to weaken Scarlet Night, you and your allies would have fought her to the death in vain.” 
 
“Really? Couldn’t we somehow get a friendship power boost or something like that?” Pinkie muttered. 
 
Aura’s explanation completely stunned Twilight to the point she was left frozen in shock trying to understand what she had just heard. Shining Armor was busy helping the wounded at the time so he didn’t hear this. In the meantime, Starlight had a question of her own. 
 
“I also wonder. Were you also aware of the location of Scarlet Night’s fortress even before Dread Lord revealed it himself?” 
 
“Yes, I was. And before you ask why I didn’t-” 
 
“Even if you reveal the location of Scarlet Night’s fortress, the dark unicorns had a contingency plan in case the fortress’ location was compromised. They would just transport their stronghold to a faraway land and later return to Equestria with their master. The battle in the fortress wouldn’t happen and the Red Moon Generals wouldn’t be defeated before Scarlet Night awakened and we would be at a huge disadvantage if we had to fight Scarlet Night and her generals at the same time. Scarlet Night would have given her generals more power, making them much more difficult to beat.” Pinkie explained for Aura. 
 
“Yes... that is correct.” 
 
“How could you have known that?” Starlight asked Pinkie. 
 
“Just a hunch.” Pinkie answered with a shrug. 
 
After taking the time to process the revelation that Aura knew what was going to happen to Flurry Heart but let it happen, Twilight was embittered. “I cannot accept this. Flurry shouldn’t have to pay for the sins of another princess! And now... she’s in so much pain! And not just her, but also her parents too!” 
 
“In life, we all have our own hurdles we need to overcome, and Flurry Heart is no exception. Shadow Mayhem believed her to be nothing more than a spoiled princess who is underserving of the power she was born with, and it’s up to her to prove him wrong. Shadow Mayhem couldn’t move forward, but she still can.” 
 
“Wait a minute. Since Scarlet Night is destroyed, that means Flurry Heart is going to get her magic back.” Pinkie tried to be optimistic. 
 
Twilight was pretty ticked, but she was too exhausted from the battle with Scarlet Night to enter a heated argument. 
 
“I understand if you’re upset with me. You have every right to despise me. After all, this war happened in the first place because of my moment of weakness during my battle with my sister. I actually knew deep down that she was beyond reason, but I let my love for her cloud my judgement. Many have paid the price for my failure, including your niece and your mentor. Hopefully, there won’t be any more regrets after today.” 
 
“Come on, we should tend to the wounded and the fallen.” Erza said. 
 
The end of the war has been relayed to Warren, Makarov, and Romeo. Meanwhile, messenger pegasi traveled around Equestria at extraordinary speed to spread the news of Scarlet Night’s defeat. One of them just arrived at the Crystal Empire. 
 
“EVERYPONY!!!! THE WAR IS OVER!!!! THE WAR IS OVER!!!! EQUESTRIA HAS PREVAILED!!!!” The messenger bellowed as loudly as he could for all to hear. 
 
Everypony took a few seconds to process this. What quickly followed were loud, thunderous cheers. 
 
“It’s over! It’s finally over!” A crystal pony cried as he can hardly contain his tears. 
 
“Does this mean there will be no more monsters?” A colt asked his mother. 
 
“Yes, dear. We can live in peace again.” The mother answered while hugging her foal with a tearful smile. 
 
In the royal castle, Cadance sighed with great relief as she listened to the cheers of her citizens. 
 
At last, after a harrowing battle, the war has ended. However, not everyone lived to see it. Thorax tearfully held his brother in his forelegs while the Council of Friendship and the remaining Pillars grieved for Celestia, Luna, Star Swirl, and Rockhoof. Nothing can be done to make up for the pain of losing loved ones, but those who survived must not only mourn but also carry on and live for the future. 
> Epilogue
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Scarlet Night’s defeat is a momentous occasion for Equestria. The day in which no one has to live in fear anymore has finally arrived. 
 
Right after receiving the news that the war is over, everycreature celebrated like there’s no tomorrow. At Canterlot, the Council of Friendship and Fairy Tail received a hero’s welcome. As they walked through the streets of this city, the citizens constantly showered them with admiration and praises. At the royal castle, Pinkie immediately got to work on setting up the celebration party, in which everycreature is invited. Twilight’s family also participated. As the party went underway, the Mane 7 and the wizards had the biggest feast they ever had. After eating and drinking as much as they could, they all partied to all their heart’s content. 
 
However, Twilight slipped away from the party and sat alone at a balcony. She leaned over the railing, looking out at Canterlot with a sad look. Applejack noticed this and approached her. 
 
“What’s wrong, Sugarcube? Why the long face?” Applejack asked with concern. “We finally won the war. You should be celebrating with us.” 
 
“It’s just...” Twilight then sighed. “I’m glad that the war has finally ended. But... Celestia... Luna... Star Swirl... and many others. They’re not here to celebrate with us. How can I be cheerful knowing that?” 
 
“Twi, I’m... also sad that this war didn’t have a happy ending for everycreature.” Applejack showed her sympathy. “But we can’t change what happened. We need to carry on... for their sakes. We can rest assured that after all of our struggles, no more lives will be lost. I’m not saying we should forget the past, but what we do moving forward is entirely up to us. The future is in our hooves now, so let’s make it a great one. We owe it to all those who are no longer with us.” 
 
“It’s reassuring to know I have friends I can confide in.” Twilight smiled while wiping away a tear. 
 
At the party, there were three other ponies still feeling a little down in the dumps, Flurry Heart and her parents in particular. Apparently, Flurry Heart’s magic did not return to her even after Scarlet Night’s destruction. She has been trying to cast a spell and fly, but her horn doesn’t glow and she couldn’t stay in the air for more than a second. 
 
“Don’t worry, Flurry Heart. I know everything will be alright.” Cadance tried to sound optimistic. 
 
“Yeah, you’ll be able to fly and use magic again. I’m sure of it.” Shining Armor also tried to sound hopeful. 
 
While most guests at the party were cheerful, Cadance and Shining Armor were deeply upset by their daughter’s plight. In fact, Flurry Heart hardly ate anything throughout the party. Her parents were at their wits’ end at this point and being unable to help their daughter made the royal couple feel miserable. This caught Pinkie’s attention and she quickly went over to them. 
 
“Come on, this is not the time to be sad. Have a cupcake.” Pinkie made an effort to cheer up Flurry Heart, which could also lift Cadance and Shining Armor’s spirits. 
 
“I’m sorry, Pinkie. But I’m not hungry.” Flurry Heart said sadly. 
 
Pinkie’s ears drooped with her face showing a downhearted expression, depressed that Flurry Heart still doesn’t smile. The Crystal Empire royal family left the party early, despite Pinkie’s pleading to get them to stay. Twilight held Pinkie back, telling her that it was best to give them some space. After leaving Canterlot, Flurry Heart felt guilty for making her parents and Pinkie very sad. When she returned to the Crystal Empire, the little alicorn knew what she must do. 
 
Throughout Equestria and the other kingdoms, everycreature continued celebrating for hours on end, wanting to enjoy the peace they have waited for so long to the fullest. But for one young filly, she still had one ordeal to overcome. 
 



Crystal Empire, later that night... 
 
Back in Flurry Heart’s dream, the nightmare entity returned to terrorize her. 
 
This time, the alicorn filly did not cower nor run away in fear. Instead, she did something unexpected. She went up to the nightmare and embraced it. Even the entity was taken aback by this. 
 
“I’m sorry for what happened to you. Nopony deserved to suffer a cruel injustice like you did. I know why you hate me, but I’m not like the princess who took your family, and I never will be. I swear I’ll be better. I will rule with love and compassion, just like my parents. That’s my promise.” Flurry Heart declared with strong resolution. 
 
In response to Flurry Heart’s declaration, the nightmare entity faded away. Twilight was also present in the dream world and she had just witnessed her niece facing her fear. 
 
“Flurry Heart, did you...?” Twilight was at a loss for words. 
 
“I will not live my whole life being afraid.” Flurry Heart replied. “And I won’t make Mommy and Daddy worry anymore. I’m going to prove my worth as an alicorn and make everypony proud.” 
 
Hearing this made Twilight felt like the proudest aunt ever. 
 
“Auntie Twily, can you please train me? I don’t want to be helpless ever again. I want to be strong, to protect all those I love. Will you guide me? Like how Great Auntie Celestia guided you?” 
 
“Of course.” Twilight answered with a happy smile. 
 
After breaking the curse, Flurry Heart slowly regained her ability to fly and use magic, much to her parents’ immense joy. Though still haunted by memories of Shadow Mayhem, she resolved to not let the trauma hold her down. Naturally, Pinkie threw a congratulation party for Flurry Heart, and the young princess finally smiled again, much to everyone’s delight. 
 



With the threat of Scarlet Night finally gone, the citizens can now focus on rebuilding all the damaged homes in the towns and villages that were evacuated prior to the emergence of the Night Terrors. Having been unable to assist his friends in the war, Discord decided to help in his own way. With a snap of a finger, all the repairs that would normally take days or weeks were completed in an instant. Thus, everypony that had to relocate are able to return to their original homes. The Pie Family returned to their rock farm and Zecora returned to living in the Everfree Forest. Droy and some wizards with plant-based magic helped out with restoring and rejuvenating all plant life in Equestria. They even helped the Apple Family grow new apple trees. 
 
As a reward for completing their quest, Aura Light provided Fairy Tail with the location of a hidden vault containing treasures belonging to her kingdom. The guild decided to keep twenty percent of the treasure and give the rest to Equestria and the other kingdoms. 
 
Three days after the end of the war, Twilight held an award ceremony for the Fairy Tail guild. At Canterlot Palace, the ruler of Equestria presented all the wizards with medals of honor. Every pony and other creature alike went wild with cheers. Every wizard stood proudly, waving at everyone. 
 
After the ceremony, the Council of Friendship later organized a nighttime event in Ponyville to honor and give prayer to all those who lost their lives during the war. Ponies and creatures from far and wide (including the surviving Pillars, Thorax, Gilda, Gallus, Ember, Smolder, Silverstream, and Terramar) gathered and made lanterns for departed loved ones. Once everycreature finished with making their lanterns, they lit them up and sent them floating into the sky. In the moment of silence and mourning, they all watched, most with tears in their eyes, as the night sky was filled with the light from these lanterns. 
 
On the next day, Equestria held a festival to celebrate the hard-earned peace. At the end of the festival, Fairy Tail performed their Fantasia Parade in Canterlot. Like the parade they performed in Magnolia during the Harvest Festival, the wizards rode on different floats and use their magic to entertain and dazzle the watching crowds. Only Makarov and Gildarts did not participate in the parade. 
 
Following the festival, everycreature have more or less returned to living their normal, everyday lives, and the Fairy Tail wizards went on to enjoy some much-needed vacation. While there are many places to go to, Las Pegasus was commonly visited by the wizards. Bright Flower returned to her village and moved on with her life. Snap Shutter and Mane Allgood took Scootaloo with them on a small family adventure. Alzack and Bisca also took their daughter out on a vacation around Equestria. Natsu and Happy went to places where dangerous wild beasts live. Fluttershy and Discord have tea together regularly. Erza, Lucy, Wendy, and Carla took part in a stage play in Manehattan. The audience enjoyed the show despite Erza’s bizarre acting. Pound and Pumpkin Cake plotted to make Natsu and Lucy fall in love with each other like they once tried with Gray and Juvia, but Starlight banned them from potion making once she caught wind of their plan. Twilight offered her parents a free vacation, but due to PTSD after their experience with Sapphire Butterfly, they quickly declined. Magic items from Earth Land, such as wind-reader glasses and light pens, were also introduced to Equestria. The wind-reader glasses is a most-wanted item for those who love to read, like Twilight and Moon Dancer, and the light pens quickly became popular with foals and other young creatures. 
 



Three months after the final battle, it was time for Fairy Tail to return to their world. Every wizard gathered at the guild hall to be sent back home. Thousands of ponies and creatures were also at Ponyville to bid farewell to Fairy Tail. Even the Crystal Empire royal family, Ember, Novo, Skystar, Thorax, and Rutherford were there as well. 
 
Asuka and the CMCs took their time to say their farewells. 
 
“Please don’t leave! Can’t you stay longer?” Sweetie Belle cried while talking to Asuka. 
 
“I’m sorry. I have to go back home. I belong there.” Asuka sadly replied. “But thanks to you, I have so many wonderful memories. I’m glad you’re my friends.” 
 
“We’re glad you’re our friend too!” Scootaloo sniffled. 
 
“We’re going to miss you!” Apple Bloom wailed as the CMCs and Asuka tearfully hugged. 
 
“I’m going to miss you too!” Asuka said. 
 
Romeo and the Young Six were also having one last conversation. 
 
“Do you really have to go?” Silverstream tearfully asked Romeo. 
 
“I’m afraid so. It has been fun, but I’ve been away from home for a long time.” Romeo answered. 
 
“It’s a shame you have to leave. We really did enjoy your company.” Smolder said. 
 
“Yona will miss human friend.” Yona spoke. 
 
“We wish you the best of luck.” Sandbar added. 
 
As Asuka joined her parents and Romeo joined his father, Flurry Heart said her farewell to the Strauss siblings, especially Lisanna, whom she frequently played with while the siblings stayed at the Crystal Empire. 
 
“Goodbye... Elfman, Mirajane, and Lisanna. Lisanna, I’m going to miss playing with you.” Flurry Heart said. 
 
“We’ll miss you too, Flurry Heart. Become a great princess.” Lisanna patted Flurry Heart’s head. 
 
Once every wizard is finished with saying their goodbyes, they all went inside the guild hall. 
 
“Is everyone ready?” Twilight asked with a sad expression. Pinkie was bawling her eyes out. 
 
“Yes, we are.” Makarov answered. 
 
“We will never forget you, Fairy Tail.” Tears were flowing down Twilight’s face. 
 
“Do not be sad, Twilight. There’s still a chance to meet them again. You’ll see. Someday.” Aura told her. 
 
The farewell was the hardest part for everyone, but there is a saying that all good things must come to an end. Twilight utilized Aura’s power to send Fairy Tail back to their home world. 
 
Just like when they were brought to Equestria, the entire guild hall shook as it glowed in a bright light, causing all the wizards to close their eyes. A few minutes later, the shaking stopped and the wizards could open their eyes again after the light faded. 
 
“A-are we back home?” Happy asked. 
 
“My Aura Bracelet. It’s gone.” Lucy said as she looked at her wrist. The other members of the guild also noticed that they don’t possess their Aura Bracelets anymore. 
 
“Hey, you guys!” A voice called out to them. 
 
Standing at the entrance of the guild hall is the guild master of Sabertooth, Sting Eucliffe. Beside him is his Exceed friend, Lector. 
 
“We’re back home.” Gajeel uttered. 
 
“What happened?! Where have you all been?!” Sting exclaimed. 
 
“Sting and Lector, what are you two doing here?” Natsu inquired. 
 
“We were just passing by. But never mind us! What about all of you?!” Sting replied. “Four days ago, the Sabertooth guild and I came here to Magnolia thinking we could join you in your victory celebration after the war with the Alvarez Empire and then we saw your guild hall engulfed in a giant pillar of light and vanished into thin air!” 
 
“Wait a minute. What day is today?” Erza interrupted. 
 
The Fairy Tail guild then discovered that only four days passed on Earth Land. 
 
“Woah. We’ve been in Equestria for months, but only four days passed in this world. When Aura said that only a short time would pass here, I didn’t think it would be this short.” Lucy spoke her thoughts out loud. 
 
“Can someone please explain what in the world happened here?!” Sting was still waiting for answers. 
 
“Yeah, where did you guys go?” Lector chimed in. 
 
“It’s... a long story.” Happy responded. 
 
Fairy Tail then explained about Equestria and the war with the Order of Scarlet Night. Sting tried his best to process everything he had just heard. 
 
“So let me get this straight. An ancient alicorn summoned you all to another world, with talking magical creatures. And the mission was to defeat her evil sister and evil unicorns.” 
 
“Yep, pretty much.” Gajeel said. 
 
Even though Sting and Lector found Fairy Tail’s story hard to believe, they decided not to question it. 
 
“Okay then, I’m going back home to inform my guild of your return. Just don’t go disappearing off the face of the world again. You really had us worried.” Sting then took his leave along with Lector. 
 
Soon after their return, the Fairy Tail wizards took some time to readjust back to their lives on Earth Land before taking job requests again, and Gildarts eventually regained his full power. 
 
One week after their return, Natsu, Happy, Lucy, Gray, Erza, Wendy, and Carla went out on a job together and were on their way to meet their client. During a train ride, Natsu and Wendy looked incredibly sick and they groaned as if they were in pain. 
 
“Looks like you both have motion sickness again.” Gray said. 
 
“This means that Aura’s spell that prevents motion sickness is no longer in effect.” Happy added. 
 
“It would be nice if that spell was permanent. That way, your weakness towards vehicles would have been a thing of the past.” Carla chimed in, and Erza nodded in agreement. 
 
“This... really... sucks!” Natsu uttered while trying hard not to vomit. 
 
As Natsu and Wendy continued groaning, Lucy looked out of the window at the clear blue sky. 
 
“I wonder how our friends in Equestria are doing.” The Celestial wizard thought. 
 



Equestria, in the distant future... 
 
Many years have passed since Scarlet Night’s downfall. Twilight and Spike have grown taller; Pinkie married and became a mother; Rainbow Dash is captain of a new generation of Wonderbolts; Yona and Sandbar are a couple; Gallus is a royal guard at Canterlot; Silverstream, Smolder, Ocellus, and the CMCs are teachers at the School of Friendship; Flurry Heart grew up to become a great princess; and the pony population is now living harmoniously with the other races. Also, Aura’s spirit completely merged with Twilight. She no longer sees Aura nor hears her voice, but she possesses all of her knowledge and memories. With Aura’s memories, Twilight wrote books about Starquestria and the tragedies that befell this ancient land, hoping that future generations won’t repeat the same mistakes. 
 
In present day, Equestria is celebrating the anniversary of Scarlet Night’s defeat. In every village, town, and city, everycreature enjoy great feasts and partake in various activities such as games, dancing, singing, and playing music. The foals and other young creatures would spend their time roleplaying or going around with their Fairy Tail dolls, plushies, or action figures. They would also listen to tales about Fairy Tail from the adults. The dragons’ favorite tale is Natsu destroying the gigantic kaiju while the hippogriffs’ favorite is Erza slaying the kraken. The yaks love the story of how Gray and Juvia once saved Yakyakistan. 
 
At Ponyville, Twilight’s student, Luster Dawn, was visiting the Fairy Tail monument. It is a replica of the Fairy Tail guild hall and this building was constructed three months after the wizards’ return to Earth Land. The interior has numerous magical crystals embedded on the walls and they displayed visual footages depicting major events during the war, such as the day the Council of Friendship first encountered the Order of Scarlet Night and Fairy Tail, the Doom Cruiser incident, Fairy Tail’s many exploits, the battle in Scarlet Night’s fortress, and the final battle. The crystals also showed Fairy Tail’s Fantasia Parade and the day the guild returned home. At the center inside the monument, there is a stone slab with all the wizards’ names carved on it. 
 
While gazing at the stone slab, Luster was soon joined by Twilight and Spike. 
 
“Back here again, I see.” Twilight greeted her student. 
 
“I can’t get enough of this place. I am fascinated with this guild of magic-wielding humans.” Luster responded with a happy smile. “I read the books about Starquestria and the origin of the Order of Scarlet Night. I watched all these crystals more times than I can count. I also read and listened to tales about the Scarlet Night War. You, Spike, and the Council of Friendship experienced the war first-hoof.” 
 
“We sure did. The Scarlet Night War was the greatest conflict we ever faced.” Spike said. “But lucky for us, we had allies.” 
 
“My parents were once saved by these wizards, so I’m very thankful towards them.” Luster said. 
 
“They were strong, brave, and full of compassion.” Twilight added. “They fought selflessly for the peace we have today, so they are deserving of our eternal gratitude. And we should also thank Aura Light for bringing them here and her part in Scarlet Night’s downfall.” 
 
“Speaking of Aura Light, is it true that you can no longer communicate with her?” Luster asked. 
 
“It is.” Twilight answered. “Now, her memories are all that remains of Starquestria’s dark history.” 
 
Luster then gazed at the crystals on the walls. “I wish I could meet Fairy Tail. They seem amazing.” 
 
“Actually, you’re going to get your chance.” The princess informed. 
 
Luster perked up after hearing this. 
 
“I’ve talked this over with my friends and we decided the time has come to establish contact with Fairy Tail’s home world. I will be making the grand announcement this evening. And tomorrow, my friends and I will connect our world with Earth Land.” 
 
“I am looking forward to see the look on the Fairy Tail wizards’ faces when we meet them again.” Spike mused. 
 
“Oooooh, I can’t wait! Yesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyes, yeeeeees!” Luster exclaimed as she bounced around Twilight and Spike with excitement. 
 
 
 
The End