A/N: Hello and welcome to my first ever fanfic! I've only been on tumblr for a little over 7 months, but I've read countless Fairy Tale fanfics and me, being the FT lover that I am, wanted to give it a shot as well! I was listening to the song "The Farmer's Daughter" by Rodney Atkins and became inspired!

A hUUUUUge thanks to my senpai not-just-any-fangirl for giving me tips, ideas, and editing my first chapter. You and your writing are amazing and it still befuddles me that you still talk to a little snail like me 3 If you haven't already, you need to check out her story "What Hides In Plain Sight" because it is amaze balls.

Chapter 1: Dust In My Nose

The first thing he noticed was the smell.

Star dust. And a lot of it. It was weird, because it didn't make sense for it to be so strong in a place like this.

It's just a ranch. A huge ass ranch with its own fucking mountain range and forest.

Seriously, thousands of trees that were spread out over hundreds of acres were abruptly cut off by steep mountains with snow tipped peaks.

But he supposed the place needed to be big if they were going to have flying horses.

Pegasus. He remembered the name after one almost knocked its hoof into the back of his head.

They were pretty cool he had to admit. And Natsu Dragneel is not easily impressed any more.

Their wings of course were their most noticeable feature, beautiful, and strong. When fully out stretched a full-grown pegasus' wingspan could reach from forty, to forty-five feet wide. Their manes and tails trailed behind them like scarves in the wind, matching tufts of feathery and light hair extended from the backs of their heels. Their color range was more exotic than a regular horses', the common browns and blacks rarely seen in the herds.

Looking at the two up in the sky, Natsu's eyes were drawn to the one that almost hit him earlier. It was a charcoal black on his coat, white speckles splattered across it like paint, but come mid wing, it began to turn into a midnight blue with white feathers peeking out in random places. Almost like stars in the night sky. The other was entirely white. Literally, the whole thing. Even his eyes, which Natsu thought was kind of creepy. He could only make out these details due to his enhanced eye sight, no normal human capable of making out these details of the creatures at their current height.

But Natsu was no normal human.

The two beasts began to circle Natsu as they slowly lowered themselves from the sky. He was nearing the herd in the pasture on his right, and by now he had their full attention.

The black one landed first, a good thirty feet from him. The white one landed closer, taking up a seemingly defensive position between Natsu and the herd. He was shaking his head up and down and stomping at the ground with his front hooves, signaling the herd of Natsu's approach.

So he was the dominant one. This'll be interesting.

This situation was the exact reason why Makarov chose Natsu for this job. He could deal with animals better than anyone else in Fairy Tail, except for maybe Lisanna. But Lisanna and Natsu were two completely different people.

Natsu began to slowly, yet confidently approach the stallion. Even as the creature reared back and beat his mighty wings. Natsu showed no fear as he allowed the powerful gusts of wind to wash against him. While looking the animal in the eyes, Natsu began to emit a low, deep hum from within his throat. It wasn't threatening, nor was it a sign of submission. He was merely trying to convey to the beast that he meant no harm and just wanted acceptance.

At the sound of Natsu's hum, the pegasus stopped beating his wings to stretch them as high as he could, making himself seem bigger and more threatening. But Natsu was not intimidated. He continued his approach and hum until he was just a few feet from the beast, stopping to simply stare at it.

The pegasus broke first. Flaring its nostrils, it bent its head to Natsu's level to sniff him. After a few moments, the creature pressed its muzzle to Natsu's forehead and spread its wings in an arc around him as a sign of acceptance.

Tentatively, Natsu raised a hand to pet the beast. It jerked back at first, but Natsu tried again, and this time, the pegasus met him half way, allowing Natsu to stroke its neck.

"You did a good job," Natsu praised him. "If I was anyone else, I would have backed down."

The pegasus simply snorted, and left Natsu to return to its herd.

Natsu continued his walk on the dirt path to the residence of the farmer. All the while looking around, trying to see if there was anything abnormal that would explain the strong smell of star dust.

It was like he was in it. It was everywhere, in the air, in the earth. Nothing in the land didn't have at least a small trace of it. But it didn't make sense, there didn't seem to be anything special about this place. Sure, it was a pretty nice ranch, but nothing overly special aside from how big it was.

Several large pastures laid out on either side of the dirt path. A couple had wooden fences that reached about fifteen feet in height. Curious, Natsu walked closer to see just what kind of large animals were hidden behind these fences. But to Natsu's confusion, all he could see were sheep.

Sheep?

Why the hell would they make such huge fences for sheep? Natsu wondered. Yet no sooner had he thought it, the sheep whipped their heads up to look at him. And when a slight breeze brought Natsu's scent floating over to them, they immediately began to leap as far away from him as possible. Bounding several feet high into the air in a single jump.

Huh, that was kinda cool.

After witnessing that interesting spectacle, Natsu turned around to head back to the house.

Upon arriving at the front steps, he couldn't help but gawk at the sight. A three story mansion, white from the roof to the porch was set up before him. Eight pillars held up a deck that extended from the second floor and wrapped around the entire building. The only thing not white about this place were the two huge doors at the front of the mansion.

They were a light gold with two key holes, one on each door, that looked like only a certain large key could fit through. And above the doors were the words:

'The Celestial Plains: The Gate that separates and the Bridge that brings us together.'

Natsu didn't understand what that meant, but he just dismissed it as something family related.

After knocking a few times, the doors opened to reveal a man in his mid forties with graying hair and a mustache. He was wearing a business suit that Natsu would probably have to spend a months worth of living costs to pay for.

Jude Heartfilia didn't know what to think of the boy standing in his door way. First off, his hair was pink, and spiked out in every direction like he hadn't tried to do anything with it this morning. He was wearing a plain black v-neck shirt with ripped, blue denim jeans and brown combat boots. Around his neck was a white, scaly scarf that looked like it needed to be washed.

Jude Heartfilia was not impressed.

Although he had to admit that the boy looked like he could handle the job.

He was fit, extremely so, but not overly bulky. His skin was tanned to a dark, golden brown from obviously large amounts of time in the sun. He emitted an aura that was confident, maybe even a bit cocky, but he looked like he could handle himself well. When Jude looked up to see his eyes, they were shining with eagerness, and curiosity. He wasn't the least bit nervous. A large grin split across his face, crinkling the scar that started from his jaw line and tilted up to the corner of his right eye, almost touching his nose.

"Yo!" Natsu raised a hand in greeting. "I'm Natsu Dragneel from the organization Fairy Tail. I'm here about the job request you put out."

Jude looked at him for a few more seconds before answering.

"Jude Heartfilia. Owner of the Celestial Plains." He replied briskly.

Natsu was slightly surprised. He was expecting the guy to look more like, well, a farmer. You know, straw hat and over-alls. Jude looked like a CEO of a company that's never worked outside a day in his life.

He stepped aside to allow Natsu in, and immediately the star dust scent became increasingly stronger.

Where was it coming from? Natsu took a subtle sniff in Jude's direction. Nope. Not him. Of course, it couldn't be just him. It wouldn't explain why the entire ranch smelt like it too. Guess he'll have to do a bit of investigating. Maybe he'd ask Levy when he got back.

Jude led Natsu through a couple hallways until he reached a door at the end that brought them into a grand room. It was a large office-or was it a small library?-with bookshelves that reached the ceiling. Jude sat down at the mahogany desk in front of the window at the back wall and motioned for Natsu to do the same at the side opposite him.

"I'll expect you here early, six days a week, Monday through Saturday, at eight o' clock."

Great, he was using that tone of voice with him. If there was one thing that Natsu hated, it was being talked to like he was lower than the other person.

"Your shift will end at 7 or whenever you finish your duties for the day. You'll have an hour lunch break at noon and one other thirty minute break that you can use any time during the day. Your jobs won't be overly difficult, so you should have no problem getting them done in a timely manner."

Natsu simply nodded in response, Jude raising an eyebrow at his lack of verbal agreement. But continued none the less.

Boys like him knew nothing about manners, so he wasn't expecting too much from him.

"Today, I'm leaving for a business trip out of town, and won't be back for a few weeks. You'll be answering to Capricorn in the meantime."

Immediately, there was a knock at the door. A tall man, wearing a black suit and shades, walked into the room. He had white hair, and a white goatee. Natsu couldn't tell much about him from the man's face. It was completely neutral. But when he walked past Natsu to stand next to Jude in his chair, the star dust scent spiked.

It was like he was made of the stuff! Besides star dust, Natsu could detect the scent of light. It was…pure. For lack of a better word.

"Capricorn this is Natsu Dragneel. He's accepted the job request that I've put out. He'll be answering to you while I'm gone. Be sure to tell him everything he needs to know." Jude told Capricorn sternly.

They looked at each other for a bit longer. Seeming to have a private conversation before Capricorn replied.

"Yes Sir Heartfilia." Capricorn slightly bowed his head. "He will be well taught."

Satisfied with his response, Jude stood up from his chair to leave.

"Very good. I'll leave him to you then." Jude then directed his attention to Natsu. "Mr. Dragneel, I hope things go well for you." And with that, he walked out of his office, jacket and briefcase in hand, leaving Capricorn and Natsu by themselves.

A brief moment passed before Capricorn spoke to Natsu.

"Mr. Dragneel, if you'll follow me."

Capricorn led Natsu out of the office and into the hallway. As they were coming around a corner Natsu could tell that the scent of star dust and light was getting stronger. He could hear voices talking in hushed tones.

"-don't think this is a good idea."

"-know who he is?"

"-if he finds out about-"

Capricorn cleared his throat loudly to gain the attention of the ten individuals sitting hunched over on the plush sofas. Their heads snapped up, and upon seeing Natsu immediately stood up.

The smell, he could sense it from all of them! Something seriously weird was going on with this place, and he was going to find out what.

"Mr. Dragneel, this is the rest of the staff. Leo, Virgo, Taurus, Aquarius, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Aries, and Gemini, the twins."

Each person gave a nod and a small 'hello' when their name was called. All except for Aquarius. She looked at Natsu with a look of disdain. Her arms were crossed across her chest and a deep scowl was on her face. Natsu slightly narrowed his eyes at her, which didn't go unnoticed.

"Tsk," she scoffed," this is the brat that's going to be working with us? Where did Jude find him, the dump?"

Natsu growled slightly at the woman. " My name is Natsu Dragneel," he said proudly, "I'm from the organization Fairy Tail upon Jude's request."

Aquarius' eyes, along with everyone else's, widened at the name. "Fairy Tail? Oh you've got to be kidding! Those idiots can't do anything without destroying something! If he gets anywhere near Lu-"

"That's enough Aquarius." Leo cut her off sharply. He faced Natsu with a slight grin. "Sorry about her. She can be pretty bitter most of the time. That's just her though."

Aquarius sent a death glare at Leo and Natsu shivered slightly at the sight. She could be scary. "You'll see. Nothing good will come out of him being here." And with a last glare towards Natsu, she marched out of the room, Scorpio right on her heels.

Leo sighed. From what Natsu could see he was used to her over-dramatic tendencies.

"Leo," Capricorn addressed the orange haired male, " have everyone complete the rest of the chores and see if you can find our missing light." Leo raised an eyebrow at the last part, but still complied. He, along with the others, filed out of the room to complete their duties. Leo turned to look back at Natsu with a pondering glance before walking out the door.

"Come with me Mr. Dragneel." Capricorn said.

The rest of the afternoon Capricorn showed Natsu around the first floor of the mansion and the rest of the ranch. He wasn't allowed up to the second or third floors unless specifically asked by Jude himself and Capricorn was positive that he never would. Natsu didn't ask why he couldn't go up there. He was sure he wouldn't get an answer and if he did, it would probably be something vague that would leave him more confused about this place than he already was.

Capricorn showed him the large barn with piles of hay, different types of feed, and shavings. There were closets full of tools and supplies for various jobs around the ranch that he was shown how to use. Including the large red tractor in the corner.

Natsu liked that tractor. It was red. His favorite color. He fondly named it Igneel.

Next he was directed to a large chart up on the wall that had the different animals listed along with directions on how to care for them.

The names were simple enough, common ones that he knew. Cows, chickens,pigs, goats…But, why would have to wear ear muffs and ear plugs when feeding the pigs? And why would he have to wear a mask when herding the cows? Fire proof gloves for handling the chickens?! Were they serious?!

"Uh, hey Capricorn?" Natsu hesitantly asked. The man turned his head to look at Natsu. "Why do I have to wear all this crap when working with these animals?"

And for the first time, Natsu saw Capricorn's lips twitch up into a sly smile.

Natsu didn't trust that smile. Not one bit.

"You'll figure it out Mr. Dragneel. You're a smart young man, I'm sure." Capricorn chuckled a bit before his cool mask returned to his face. But before Natsu could say anything, they both could hear a commotion outside.

Capricorn perked up at the sound, his eyebrows raising. He didn't look at Natsu when he spoke next, not even while he was walking away from him.

"You can go home now Mr. Dragneel. It's already late afternoon, you can start tomorrow. Don't be late." And with that, Capricorn picked up his pace and walked out of the barn.

Natsu frowned slightly. What was going on? Was something wrong? When he walked outside, he saw those that he met earlier, along with a few others that he hadn't, in a group appearing to be surrounding something. All with smiles on their faces. Even Aquarius had a slight smile on her face.

He tried to see clearly what they were looking at, but they were too huddled around it. At one point, Capricorn stepped away slightly just enough for Natsu to catch a glimpse of golden strands of hair before the person was herded into the house.

Natsu looked up to see Aquarius already glaring at him. But just as quickly as he caught her gaze, she left, following the large group back into the house.

What was her problem? Why is this place so weird? Who was that person that they were all fussing over? Natsu had so many questions about this strange place. And he was excited to find out. Another adventure awaited him and he couldn't wait to get started.