Authors' Notes- This project has been a long time coming. The co-authors who run this account have been plotting it for going on five months, and it's finally time for us to dive in and actually write it. It started out as our love letter to Lucy Heartfilia and evolved into a much grander work. This is our alternate Tenrou timeline, and it's going to be, if nothing else, a long story. We won't say too much right off the bat, because we don't want to give too much of the game away before we've even begun, but we hope that you'll enjoy the journey with us.

Before we jump in, though, we'd like to thank our beta team: Howlingmoonrise, Cthulhu With A Fez, and Professor Maka, who are absolute feedback angels. Our cover art was drawn by Scarl, one half of the writing team for this account.

And with that being said... on with the show!

For want of a nail, the shoe was lost
For want of a shoe, the horse was lost
For want of a horse, the rider was lost
For want of a rider, the message was lost
For want of a message, the battle was lost
For want of a battle, the kingdom was lost
And all for the want of a horseshoe nail

Chapter 1: For Want Of A Nail... Or In This Case, A Bottle

Contrary to popular belief, there were occasional evenings when the Fairy Tail guild hall actually resembled the place of business it was supposed to be, rather than the riot scene it became with some regularity. Not often, to be fair, but on the nights when Natsu was out of town on a job, and neither Gray nor Elfman had had too much to drink, and Gajeel wasn't in a performative mood, and no one had provoked Erza, and Wan and Joey weren't sitting too close to each other, and…

Well, quiet nights were few and far between.

Mirajane, for her part, liked the quiet nights. If forced to choose, she preferred the rowdy evenings, because they were familiar and comforting in an odd, noisy way. But the quiet nights were a blessing on evenings when she'd been on her feet too long and was running out of patience.

Tonight was one of those nights when the guild was taking mercy on her, and it was obvious why. Natsu had raced out of the hall earlier in the day to go and train, almost as soon as discussion of partnerships for the S-class exam had wrapped up. Evergreen had dragged Elfman out as well, though whether it was to acclimate to each others' magic as she claimed or because she simply wanted to avoid her teammates (with whom she was not especially pleased at the moment), Mirajane wasn't entirely certain. In fact, it seemed that all of the exam candidates had abandoned the guild hall for the evening.

All but one, that is.

Cana sat at the end of the bar, staring morosely into her drink. It wasn't really surprising to see her in a mood at this time of year. Ever since her first S-class trial, when she had lost to Laxus so badly, the first half of December had seen Cana out of sorts for going on half a decade now. Her repeated failures weighed so heavily on her. It worried Mira, but she was accustomed to pushing that particular worry aside.

In years past, Mira had tried to reassure Cana that it wasn't such a big deal, that there was no shame in losing to people like Erza— for after all, hadn't Erza put her to the ground a few times when they were childhood rivals?— that being S-Class wasn't really all it was cracked up to be anyway. But Cana had dismissed it all, refused to even listen, and that… well, that hurt. That Cana wouldn't even take her word for it was a bitter pill to swallow, and so Mirajane had given up.

That didn't stop her from worrying, though.

"Hey, Mira," Cana said suddenly, looking up with bleary eyes. "Can I get another shot, love?"

Mira couldn't help but smile at the pet name. "Are you sure? You've already had quite a lot," she said.

"Only twelve," Cana said, and let out a cynical sort of giggle.

"Twelve and I don't even know how many pints," she reminded her. "And that's just since three. You'd been drinking before you even came to the guild this morning."

"'M'fine, Mira," Cana said, waving a hand dismissively. It might have been more effective at being reassuring if it hadn't been the hand that was holding her mug. Cana looked at the spilled beer that had sloshed over the edge and onto the floor with a disappointed pout. "Aww, I was gonna drink that," she sighed.

Then she looked up with those big brown eyes of hers, which Mira always had such a hard time refusing, and said, "Come on, Mira, you know I can handle my liquor."

Mira could feel herself caving and resigned herself to it. She could never resist Cana's rare but devastating puppy dog look. "Fine, then. Whiskey again?"

"Mmm…" Cana tapped a finger to her lips, pondering. "I think vodka. And make it a double— no, a triple."

"Cana…"

"Please?"

Somehow the begging look intensified, and Mira sighed. "Alright, a triple, but no more after that, okay?" Pulling a lowball glass from under the bar, she poured out a triple shot of the premium Isenberg vodka that she knew Cana preferred. By the time she had finished, Cana was making grabby-hands motions toward the glass, and with a tolerant shake of her head, Mira slid it down the bar with practiced ease.

Cana caught the sliding glass with only minimal fumbling. "Thanks, babe." She downed it in a single smooth shot, then gave Mira a hazy grin.

"So who are you asking to be your partner in the trial?" Mira asked, wanting to divert the topic from the subject of liquor.

She herself had been Cana's partner twice, the year she lost to Mystogan and the year she lost— to Mira's utter shame— to Erza. And then the year after that, she had been selected as a competitor, and she had to admit, she felt a little guilty for beating Cana out. The year after that... Well, after that, it had only been six weeks since Lisanna's death (supposed death) and Master had suspended the exam out of respect. Last year there had been some issue with not having an adequate number of participants to hold a trial, so once again Cana had been denied the chance to become S-class. Mira had to admit, it would have been wonderful fun to partner with Cana again, but as one of the proctors of this year's exam, it obviously wouldn't be possible.

Cana merely grunted in response to the question.

Mira decided that was invitation enough to continue. "Maybe Laki would be a good choice," she suggested. "Especially given where the exam is being held, wood-make magic would be an asset. Or Macao? I know he's older, but the two of you have always been close. Although, if fire is needed, you can make that just fine yourself, so maybe not… hmm, or maybe Wendy? She's tougher than she looks according to Erza, and her support magic would be a nice backup. Ooh! I know! You should ask—"

She had been about to say Lucy, but Cana interrupted her sharply. "Can you just shut the fuck up?!"

Mira felt as if she'd been slapped. Cana might be caustic at times and had a sarcastic sense of humor, but she had never, never turned that against her. She nearly physically recoiled. "Cana—"

"I don't wanna hear about this. I don't wanna talk about it," Cana snapped. She was still having a hard time focusing on Mira's face— her eyes were trained somewhere in the vicinity of her left ear— but her look was sharp and angry.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I just wanted to help."

"Well, zip it. I don't want help."

Mira turned away. If Cana was going to be this prickly, she wanted no part of her foul mood. She stalked down to the end of the bar and began reorganizing the liquor bottles.

Cana, for her part, seemed to be back to staring into her beer.

Almost an hour later, it was nearing close up time for the bar, and Cana was still sitting almost exactly where she had been before. Mira hadn't spoken to her at all, though Kinana had refilled her mug several times before Mira sent her home for the evening.

"Time to close up," she said to Cana, almost succeeding in keeping her voice gentle.

Slurring her words even worse than usual, Cana whined, "Aw, already?"

"I'm afraid so."

"But I haven' had 'nough to drink."

Mira's lips pressed into a thin, tight line. "I think you've had too much," she said.

"You're jus' cutting me off 'cuz you wanna go home," she slurred. "Sell me the bottle, baby, I promise I won't tell."

There are certain moments in a person's life when a split-second decision has a bigger impact on the world and themselves than they ever truly know. Small moments, small choices, with consequences all out of proportion to their size. For Mirajane, though she did not know it, this was just such a moment.

In another life, maybe Mirajane relented. Whether it was out of sympathy or foolishness or a simple desire to get Cana out of her hair, maybe she gave in. Maybe she sold a half-full handle of vodka to Cana and sent her on her way. Maybe Cana wandered out into the snow in her thin clothes, upending the bottle again and again until her legs gave out and she stumbled into an alley and fell into a half-conscious stupor. Maybe a compassionate friend spotted her on her walk home and took her in and warmed her up and drew out the poison that had been festering in Cana's belly for nearly thirteen years.

Maybe in some other world, in some other life, all of that happened. But Mirajane, wavering on the edge of her better judgment, hesitated.

She considered Cana's foul temper that night, and how her drinking problem— which was no small issue at any time— always got so much worse at this time of year. Mira worried about Cana's drinking, of course she did. Everyone did. But she'd learned the hard way that Cana just plain didn't respond to her usual tactics- which Mira was fair enough to admit could be pushy at times- and for the last few years had limited herself to a few pointed remarks on the subject. Tonight, though… well, maybe it was because she had Lisanna back, because she felt more like her old self than she had in years. Or maybe Cana's waspish mood had hurt her more than she was willing to admit. Whatever the reason, she felt more prepared to be stern with her old friend than she had been in a long time.

"I think you've had too much," she repeated, plucking the empty glass from the bar top in front of Cana. "Why don't I get you a glass of water and then once I've finished closing things down here I'll walk you home?"

Cana squinted a little, eyebrows drawing together angrily as she tried to focus on the woman keeping her from her next drink. "I can walk jus' fine," she grumbled.

"I never said you couldn't," Mira replied placidly. Of course, Cana almost definitely couldn't walk in her condition, at least not with any hope of getting safely inside before she froze half to death in the snowy streets, but saying that aloud wouldn't get them anywhere. "But you should get some good sleep tonight. You'll want to be in good condition to start training with your partner tomor—"

"Would you shtop talkin' about the damn S-Class trials?" Cana growled.

Mira raised her hands, palms-outward in a placating gesture, and said, "Alright, we can drop the subject. But you do need to go home, I can't stay here all night."

Cana's energy looked to be on the downturn and her head sank to the bar top with a thunk. She mumbled incoherently into the wood, and Mira could only catch the words "maybe," "company," and "babe."

She couldn't quite keep herself from rolling her eyes. It had been a long time since she'd seen Cana this far gone— about a year, in fact— but it was pointless trying to argue with her now. In this state, it was best to just make decisions, because if you pushed hard enough, Cana would go along with it.

Mira glanced around the guild hall. Mostly everyone had gone home at this point, and those who remained weren't exactly the sorts she believed could handle getting Cana home in one piece. Lucy had just left a few minutes earlier, so she was out. Warren already had his hands full with Max, who had once again drunk himself into a stupor. An odd thing, considering that Mira could only remember pouring him a single shot of brandy several hours earlier, after which he had disappeared. It seemed that he had ended up underneath the table of a corner booth, arms and head hopelessly tangled in his own shirt.

The only two left were Joey Fullborn and Pantherlily. She smiled. The eldest Exceed had been putting in a lot of effort to learn more about the other members of the guild. As far as she could tell, he would pick one or two people a day and spend some time with them. He had been integrating into the guild's social structure quite well and at a far faster rate than his dragonslayer partner had been. He was respectful and, by all accounts, a good cat.

And it would seem that he was in the right place at the right time.

"Pantherlily? Could I ask you a favor?"

He looked up at her call and made his way over to the bar as he replied, "That depends on what you need Miss Mirajane, but I'll assist you if I can."

"Would you be so kind as to walk Cana back home to Fairy Hills? I have to finish up here, it's late, and it'll be even later by the time I'm done."

Pantherlily glanced between Cana and Mirajane and nodded. "You can count on me to get her home safely."

That potential problem out of the way, Mira's shoulders slumped in relief. "Thank you, Pantherlily." They made their way over to Cana's barstool and Mira gently prodded the top of her head. "Come on Cana, Pantherlily is going to walk you home."

Cana lifted her head with great effort and squinted into the space above Panther Lily. She slurred, "Phfffffft… Lilies are flllllowers, babe. Thhhey can' walk." However, she didn't argue and slid precariously to her feet, swaying as she slung her purse strap with dubious coordination over her head. She started staggering to the main door and Pantherlily made to follow her.

Before they made it too far though, Mira stage-whispered to Pantherlily, "Just so you know, Cana's… not exactly in the best of moods right now. If she says anything harsh, don't take it personally."

"Understood." Lily looked back over to his charge who was struggling with maintaining her balance, pushing against the 'pull' doors leading outside. He turned to leave and bade her farewell, "Good night, Miss Mirajane."

Mira watched them go, murmuring her own good night after them as they disappeared into the snowy night. Despite their earlier exchange, Mira couldn't help but hope that this year would be different for Cana. That old, slow building worry for her dear friend and her self-destructive tendencies came to the fore of her thoughts, and there was little doubt in Mira's mind that if something didn't change soon, Cana might do something more drastic than pickling herself.

Only time would tell.

As the First Division Commander of the Edolas Royal Army, and former Captain of the Holy Guard of Her Royal Divinity, Queen Chagotte of Extalia, Pantherlily had faced many challenges in his life. He had singlehandedly felled the Mad Legion-Beast of Traia, helmed the imperial forces of King Faust for the better part of a decade, and managed to route any number of ruffians from the royal palace during would-be assassination attempts. He was well-versed in managing villains and wastrels of all stripes. But none of his experience had prepared him for the amount of wrangling required by the simple task of chaperoning an intoxicated Cana Alberona.

At first, he had remained in what he referred to as his "reduced" Earthland form. Cana was a grown woman, and he had tried to do her the courtesy of allowing her to find her own way home without excessive interference on his part. Unfortunately, this proved almost immediately to be an awful idea, as Cana's attention span seemed to have shrunk down to almost nothing, and she was constantly wandering off after any little thing that caught her eye. They had managed to wander down two alleys in the first three minutes after leaving the guild; latching onto her fuzzy purse and trying to weigh her down to restrain her meandering did not work at all in his reduced form. It took him all of three blocks— and the awareness that her last drink must be hitting her, given how often she was tripping— to realize that he could not manage her when he stood all of 74cm.

Switching to his battle form with a tiresome burst of magical energy, he reached out and caught Cana by the elbow just in time to keep her from face-planting onto the cobblestones.

"You should be careful, Miss Cana," he said, not quite as sternly as he had meant to. "You have quite a trial ahead of you, and it would be a shame to disqualify yourself with an injury."

Whatever mood Mirajane had been referring to earlier seemed to have melted away, because Cana just giggled. "Oh calm down, Fluffy."

"F-Fluffy?"

"I'll do just fine disqualifying myself on my own merits," she continued, ignoring his mild affront at the nickname.

He frowned down at her. This was what qualified as a wizard of S-Class potential in Fairy Tail? A lack of confidence he could understand but… weren't they supposed to be exemplars of the guild itself? He thought so, if his interactions with Erza Scarlet were anything to go by. "You don't think you have what it takes then?"

Cana hiccuped and swerved dangerously towards a wall, then back into Pantherlily after he corrected her trajectory. She grumbled, "Eh… pro'ly not. Failed four times. And third time's the charm right?"

Lily's brows shot up at this comment. Miss Cana had been selected five different times? Obviously, Master Makarov had a great deal of faith in her abilities if he'd been willing to pick her time and time again for the trials. It would seem, though, that that faith in her abilities did not influence the woman's view of herself. Then again, failing over and over again did little to garner self-worth for some, so he could understand why she felt as she did. However, curiosity and concern prompted him to ask, "Why do you keep trying if that's the case?"

"Wha's the definition of madness again?" Cana mumbled before falling silent.

With answers like that, Pantherlily felt it crude to continue to pry.

A thought, however, occurred to him as Cana continued to weave erratically through the snowy streets of Magnolia, only escaping accident by the skin of her teeth even with his help. "Miss Cana… if I may ask," he ventured, "Are you quite sure we're going the right way?"

"Pffffft no, we're going the left way," she said with a hiccuppy giggle.

Pantherlily frowned. "Is Fairy Hills even in this direction?" he asked.

"Ahaha, I… I thhhiiiink so…?" Cana mumbled, going cross-eyed as she tried to focus on a snowflake that had landed on her nose.

"You're not sure?" Lily asked, aghast.

Cana shrugged, and his heart sank. He had no idea where he was going, and clearly Cana was too far gone to help out. He wasn't sure how much longer he could maintain his full form; with training he was sure he could improve his stamina, but the shock of arrival in such a magic-laden atmosphere had been hard on him. He estimated that he had another twenty minutes in him at the most-and that was if he didn't exert himself too much- before he was forced to revert. How on earth was he supposed to fulfill his promise to Miss Mirajane?

Right at that moment, like an answer to an unspoken prayer, Lucy Heartfilia appeared around a corner. His sensitive feline ears picked up the sound of her grumbling under her breath about a forgotten handbag.

"Miss Lucy!" he called out in relief, raising the arm that wasn't occupied with keeping Cana from face-planting in the gutter to wave the celestial mage down.

Lucy turned and spotted them down the cross-street. "Pantherlily? And… Cana?" Her eyebrows visibly raised at the two of them; Lily had to admit they were a somewhat unlikely duo.

"Miss Cana has… imbibed a bit too heavily," Lily said, and immediately felt vulgar for saying it. Exceeds brewed no ales, and it was considered decidedly impolitic to mention anyone who partook of human alcohols. Years serving King Faust and living among humans had never really cured him of the niceties of Exceed culture.

Lucy, clearly not under the weight of any such inhibition, merely sighed. "That happens sometimes. She tends to sober up pretty quickly, but she dives deep some nights. You doing okay, Cana?" She peered into her friend's face with a look of mild concern.

Cana hiccuped and let out a gurgling laugh, shaking her head in vacant amusement.

"She's not very coherent at the moment," Lily pointed out, rather unnecessarily.

"I can see that."

Cana mumbled something and reached up to fiddle with Lily's whiskers. Snorting and swatting her fingers away with his free hand, he looked to Lucy and, a little desperately, asked, "Do you know how to get to Fairy Hills from here? Miss Mirajane asked me to walk her home, but I'm afraid I don't know the way."

Lucy, who had been studying Cana with some concern, perked up and turned her attention properly back to Lily. "Sure, I can tell you how to get there. If you came from the guild, though, you're going totally the wrong direction."

Pantherlily groaned internally. "Oh. I see."

"Do you want to just bring her back to my house instead?" Lucy offered. "I only live a few more blocks from here, she could crash at my place for the night."

The offer warmed him. He was starting to understand how this guild worked, how it functioned as a family and each member looked out for their fellows. It was beginning to make sense to him how just a few ragtag members had toppled Faust's empire in a matter of days, all for the sake of their stolen friends. He hadn't known many, in Extalia or the Kingdom, who were so willing to care unreservedly for others.

"You're a very kind girl," Pantherlily said, "but I promised I would get her back to her own home safely. Just directions will be fine."

Lucy's expression cleared and she nodded. "A promise is a promise, I get it. Well, you'll want to turn back the way you came and head straight down the boulevard past the guild until you get to… um…" She frowned, her nose wrinkling up a little as she pondered. "I think it's Peach Street? No, Pear, sorry. And then you just take Pear straight down to the lakefront and you'll be able to see the path up the hill to the dorm from there. It's a big building, all by itself on the hill, so you can't miss it once you get to the shore drive. Although…" She gave Cana a leary look. "It might be better for you to just fly at this point, because I really don't think she's going to be able to walk much farther."

"Whaaaaaa're yu talkinnabout," Cana whined. "IIIIII can wal' jus' fine."

Her legs gave out from under her and she plopped down on the slushy cobblestones.

"...Right," Lucy said, eyebrows rising practically to her hairline. She glanced back up at Lily. "Are you sure you don't want me to take over?"

He shook his head. "No, Miss Lucy, I can handle things from here. Thank you for your direction."

"You're welcome, Lily."

She watched apprehensively as he scooped up the wavering Cana into his arms. Her suggestion was a good one, Lily decided, and if he had any hope of getting his charge home before his transformation wore off, he needed to take to the air. With a hard flap of his enormous wings, he lifted off into the sky, and turned in the direction Lucy had indicated for him.

In his arms, Cana went a little green. "Whoa," she mumbled. "Yer reeeeally fas'."

"Just close your eyes," he said. "You'll be in your own home in moments."

Cana, mercifully, obeyed. Within moments, she was asleep.

Authors' Notes, part 2- Chapter 2 will be posted on September 15th. We don't always anticipate being able to update that quickly, but we are going to try to commit to updating at least once a month. Both authors are adults with busy lives, but we think we can manage that much, at least! Any feedback you have time or inclination to leave would be much appreciated!