Lucy's First Day at the Guild

"Mm-hm, so you wanted to join Fairy Tail, right?" Ed looked at the uneasy Lucy before him and said with a smile, "Relax. As long as you're not some dark wizard, there's no real threshold for joining Fairy Tail. Welcome in advance, Lucy."

Lucy's face lit up with excitement at his words. "Really?! I can join too?" "Of course. But it's pretty late today, so get some rest first. Tomorrow, come back to the guild with Natsu and me." Ed waved a hand and left the still-excited Lucy behind.

Early the next morning, they boarded a train back to Magnolia. On the train, Ed looked through the latest newspaper in his hands and said to Natsu, "Oh-ho, yesterday's little stunt made the papers. You destroyed half of Hargeon Port. The old man's probably getting chewed out by the Magic Council again."

"Who... told... that guy... to pretend... to be Fairy Tail..." Natsu lay sprawled across his seat, his face deathly pale as he spoke in a feeble voice.

"Um... is he okay?" Lucy asked worriedly as she looked at Natsu.

"He's fine. Natsu's just a little carsick." Happy sat beside him, biting into a fish without even looking up as he spoke to Lucy.

"You call that 'a little'? He looks like he's about to die!" Lucy could not understand why Ed and Happy were so calm.

"It's fine. He just looks miserable, that's all. Hmm... how about this?" Ed stood up and drove a heavy punch straight into Natsu's abdomen. Looking at the unconscious Natsu, he flashed Lucy an eight-toothed grin. "He feels much better now."

Are these people really okay? Cold sweat streamed down Lucy's back.

Before long, they arrived in Magnolia and stood at the entrance of the Fairy Tail guild. Ed pushed the door open and shouted, "We're back!" "Ah, you're back, Ed."

Hearing Ed's voice, Mira came straight over and looked him over from head to toe. "Doesn't look like you got hurt. Did the job go smoothly?"

"Other than taking a bit long, nothing much happened. Oh, right. This is a newcomer who wants to join the guild. Could you stamp her mark for her?" Ed suddenly remembered Lucy behind him and stepped aside to introduce her to Mira.

"Ah... Mira in the flesh... Huh? Oh! Um... I'm Lucy, and I'd like to join..." Lucy was still starstruck at meeting her idol when Ed introduced her to Mira. Just as she was about to introduce herself properly, she heard a gust of wind by her ear.

"The information you gave me about the Fire Dragon was complete bullshit!" Natsu streaked past Lucy like the wind and delivered a flying kick, sending a wizard seated at a dining table flying.

"Whaaat?!" Lucy stared at Natsu in shock, only to hear the man loudly protest, "I only told you some rumor I heard!"

"What the hell did you say?!" Natsu got even angrier and pounced on him, raining down punches and kicks. Their fight was like a lit fuse, detonating the entire guild as everyone started brawling.

"Huh? That bastard Natsu's back?" Hearing Natsu's voice, Gray stood up and charged at him. "It's time to settle what happened last time!" "You pervert, put some clothes on before you come over!" Natsu rolled his eyes and said disdainfully. "Since when?!" Gray paled and hurried off to find clothes.

Watching people fight everywhere she looked, Lucy blankly asked Ed and Mira, "Um... you two... is this normal?"

"Yeah, yeah... don't mind it. This is Fairy Tail's daily life. Nothing could be more normal." Just as Ed finished speaking, he saw a table flying toward Mira. He was about to catch it when a thick arm smashed the table away.

"You should get some rest after just getting back, Brother Ed." Ed turned around to see Elfman standing behind him. Then he charged into the crowd. "A man settles things with his fists!" He joined the fray at once.

"Mm... I still miss the Elfman who used to be fairly quiet..." Ed murmured to Mira.

"Isn't it because when you trained him two years ago, you kept saying things like, 'You're a man!' and 'A man has to be strong!'?" Mira said irritably as she looked at Ed's innocent expression. Then she turned to Lucy. "Come over here. I'll stamp your guild mark."

Lucy was about to follow her when the people still fighting seemed to get truly heated. Bursts of magic power began rising, and just as it was about to turn into a magical showdown, a massive figure suddenly appeared in the center of the hall.

"Stop this at once, you little brats!" Lucy was badly startled by the thunderous roar, but then she heard Mira and Ed greeting the figure beside her. "I'm back, old man. The job's complete."

"Ah, Master, you're here."

"Ma... Master?" Lucy blinked in disbelief. The giant figure suppressed the troublemakers, then rapidly shrank into a tiny old man. "This is Fairy Tail's master? Makarov Dreyar, one of the Ten Wizard Saints?"

"Hm? You're back, Ed. Looks like this job was no challenge for you at all. Is this a newcomer? Hello there." Seeing the tiny Makarov greet her, Lucy quickly bowed in response.

Makarov nodded to Lucy, then jumped up to the second floor and began lecturing the crowd below. "You bastards do nothing but cause trouble all day! Do you have any idea how many notices the Magic Council has sent us? Do you know how much scolding I've had to take?!"

Makarov waved the thick stack of documents in his hand and shouted at the crowd. "But to hell with them!"

Makarov set the documents in his hand on fire, casually tossed them to Natsu, and shouted, "A wizard can only grow stronger by holding firm to his convictions! Walk without hesitation down the path you've chosen! That is Fairy Tail!" "Yeah!!" Everyone roared in response.

Lucy was swept up in the moment and shouted along with them. Then she followed Mira to get her guild mark. Taking out the stamp, Mira asked Lucy, "What color do you want? And where would you like it?"

"Pink, on the back of my hand. Thank you, Miss Mira." Lucy's face was filled with joy as she looked at the mark on her hand.

"Come to think of it, Lucy, right? What kind of magic do you use?" Ed asked curiously from the side.

"Ah, Celestial Spirit Magic." Lucy was still somewhat reserved around Ed. "Oh? Celestial Spirit Magic? That's rare. I don't think our guild has anyone else who uses it. Well then, I look forward to working with you, Lucy."

"Mm!"