Fate/Amicitia

Chapters

War Council
Blast Radius
Choice and Consequence
Trauma
Locked Heart :: Master and Commander
Solutions
Vs Berserker
Sister's Watchful Eye
Night of Fire
Needed Rest
War Council II
Definition of Lies
Vs Assassin :: Twilight's Last Gleaming

War Council

Twilight regarded the sole of her hoof in silence. No candles lit the room, but the pale moonlight was more than enough to make out the three red marks marring the violet. Ruler had told her that normally there would have been some kind of bruise on the spot where these things would appear, but who would have thought to check the underside of their hoof for something like that?

The pattern they formed was pleasant looking. At the center was a six-pointed star. It was the same shape as the center star of her Cutie Mark. The realization made her a little ill. Wrapping around the star’s sides, almost protectively, were soft, curved lines. They were decorated and entwined with fanciful patterns that brought to mind a bird’s wing.

Her leg felt fifty pounds heavier every second she stared at the brand that she’d been marked with. She’d been in dangerous situations before. She’d had the fate of all Equestria on her shoulders before. But this wasn’t the same.
She’d faced awful peril. She’d faced dark creatures and darker magic. But she’d never faced the most primordial conflict of all.

She’d never faced Kill or Be Killed.

***

Twilight’s mouth was dry and her coat was matted with cold sweat as the thing that had called itself Ruler, or was it Arturia, loomed over her. Her message might as well have been written in Buffalo smoke signals for all the sense it made. Chosen? Master? Summon your Servant? Holy Grail War? It was gibberish, and her fear wasn’t helping. After a silence that felt like forever, Twilight managed to just barely choke out a shaky, “W-What?”

The armored thing let out a small sigh, and Twilight could have sworn that she saw a pout appear on her face. “Perhaps this method was unwise. When you managed to bypass the suggestion spell I’d placed at the dress shop without even noticing it, I’d assumed you were a magus of extraordinary caliber. I expected your workshop would be well protected, and surprise would be my only chance to reach you in private without attracting notice. Your world is even more different than I imagined.”

Dropping to one knee, she extended her armored hand to Twilight. “It seems I owe you another apology. To frighten a lady and trespass in her chambers in the dead of night is truly despicable behavior for a knight. I can only beg your pardon, Twilight Sparkle.”

The ferocity that had been pouring out of her gaze instantly evaporated. She granted Twilight a disarming smile as warm as the mid-day sun. The change was so immediate and so complete it left Twilight a bit stunned, and before she realized it she had taken the outstretched appendage and been gently hefted back onto her hooves.

“Well, I guess you did fix my window after your… um, entrance. I guess since you apologized we can just… call things even and start over? You gave a few different names back there…”

She rose back to her feet with a soft clank. “Ruler would be best. That is my Servant class and title, and as a Master it would be most appropriate for you to address me as such. Besides, my name won’t have any meaning for you.”

“Well then, Ruler, I… we should… would you like some tea?” Twilight decided it may have been the dumbest thing she’d said in her entire life. But amazingly, after a moment of surprise, Ruler’s smile came back even warmer than before.

“Yes, actually. It’s been too long since I had a nice cup of tea.”

***

Twilight felt like she’d gone a week without breathing as she finally floated a tray with a freshly brewed teapot and two cups into the main room and took a seat opposite Ruler, who was resting on her knees on a cushion next to a hastily cleared table. She noticed that the woman had somehow made her armor vanish, leaving her looking much less imposing and her blue dress much more refined. Without the metal coverings, her hands were extremely dainty. She took the offered cup and sipped her drink with royal poise. While preparing the tea, Twilight had gotten a few preliminary questions out of the way, and she believed the answers. Ruler was not there to hurt her, despite the aggressive entrance. Only to talk. She was willing to answer any questions and explain everything she could about her message, no matter how long Twilight needed to take. Spike hadn’t been harmed in any way, only been charmed by a light sleeping spell so he wouldn’t wake during her entrance, and he would be normal in the morning.

This left her with one very obvious place to begin. “Just what exactly are you?”

Setting her cup down, Ruler began. “There are several answers I expect you’d like to that question. Firstly, the name of my species is Human, and you should know that my kind is not native to any part of this world. Secondly, I am something of a magical entity, not a normal mortal. I mentioned to you that I am a Servant, and to explain in brief this means that I am a Heroic Spirit that has been summoned into a physical shell by the powers of the Holy Grail.”

“Whoa! Slow down!” Twilight’s head was already spinning. “You’re called a human, and you’re not from Equestria. I assume that you taking on a pony form is some kind of disguise or magic that your species can do, or maybe even just you can do –“ Ruler nodded to confirm this before Twilight moved on, “-and you’re not just any human, but you’re special somehow. So what’s a Heroic Spirit and what’s a Holy Grail?”

“It may be somewhat difficult to understand, since the worlds we come from are very different from what I’ve seen,” Ruler warned. “However, you seem to be a scholar, so perhaps you will comprehend. In my world there is great power in ideas and concepts. If enough people believe that a thing is real, it can be made real when before it was not. A Heroic Spirit is something that began as a human, but accomplished great enough deeds during their lifetime that other humans began to basically worship them after they died, passing down the stories of their lives for hundreds and thousands of years. Their names and their deeds became legends and myths, and because of the belief in their greatness other granted them by sharing these deeds, the concept of that person became a higher being, almost like a god. Do you understand?”

Twilight nodded hesitantly. It was difficult, but she thought she understood. What she was talking about brought to mind her idol in magical studies, Starswirl the Bearded. He created so much amazing magic that ponies everywhere still remembered his name (even if they didn’t recognize a costume in his likeness) over 1000 years after he’d passed away. The founders of Equestria, like Clover the Clever and Smart Cookie were similarly remembered in the story of Hearth’s Warming Eve. That tale had been passed down from pony to pony long after their times had ended, and their names had deep meaning as a result. “I think I see. So you were also a famous hero in your world? So famous that even after you were gone people still remembered you and you became one of these Heroic Spirits?”

“Well, I… yes.” Ruler was clearly glossing over something with that answer, but seemed very pleased at Twilight’s grasp of her explanation. “When any soul becomes a Heroic Spirit, it transcend the bonds of time and space, existing in a place called the Throne of Heroes. There, it is our duty to act as guardians, and because the Throne is outside of the limits of the normal cosmos, we are capable of appearing at any time or any place on any world, should there be a threat which merits our appearance. Even on a world without humans, like this one.”

This alarmed Twilight. “Wait, you were sent here to fight some great evil?”

Ruler shook her head. “No, no. I don’t want to confuse you with even more needless details, but suffice to say that if there was a situation where Heroic Spirits were needed to fight on this world, they would be this world’s Heroic Spirits first and foremost. I and the other Servants were brought here by different means for a different purpose. This brings us to the Holy Grail War.”

She paused to sip her tea once more. She seemed suddenly tense, as if she were not looking forward whatever she was going to say next. All Twilight knew for sure was that anything attached to the word ‘war’ couldn’t be good.

“The Holy Grail War is a magical ritual. The Grail itself is a device that has the power to summon Heroic Spirits into the world by limiting their powers. These are what we call Servants. There are seven in all, anchored to the world by a contract with seven magic users which the Grail itself selects. These are called Masters, and you have been chosen as one of them.”

“What’s the point of the ritual?” Twilight asked.

There was a pause. It was almost too brief to notice, but it was there. Then, Ruler replied, “To grant any wish that the winning Master and Servant desire.”

Twilight’s eyes went wide, the strange hesitation passing from her thoughts. “Wow… any wish at all?”

“Yes. However, this gift isn’t free. If the ritual has a ‘winner,’ then of course it must have six losers. And those places are decided by combat between the Servants. Those six which are defeated become the means by which the miracle of a granted wish is made manifest. In the end, unless you are the winner, a Servant’s only purpose is to be a log on a fire.”

Twilight’s momentary wonder was instantly gone. “You mean… the Servants have to destroy each other?”

Ruler gazed deeply into her teacup. “I’m afraid it’s much worse than that, Twilight Sparkle. Servants are already spirits, ghosts basically, so even if we were to die, we would simply return to the Throne unharmed. But Servants are extremely powerful, and command weapons and magic the likes of which you’ve never seen. Defeating another Servant is difficult.”

Her tone darkened. “But if he has no master, a Servant will cease to exist. Normal mortals, even those who are highly skilled in magic or arms, are helpless children before the power of a Servant. It’s not impossible that they could defeat the Servants in battle, but the odds are so slim they’re not even worth contemplating, let alone relying on. Which means the best strategy is usually for the Masters to have their Servants attempt to slay the other Masters.”

For Twilight Sparkle, it felt like time stopped. The gears in her head ground to a screeching halt, refusing to process what she’d just heard. But it wasn’t long before they began to click forward, one thought at a time. The Masters kill all the other Masters to win. The Masters are herself and six other ponies. Therefore, six other ponies… and even she…

“NO!” She stood up and slammed her hoof into the table “What you’re saying isn’t possible! There’s no pony in all of Equestria that would ever hurt another pony! Let alone… it just wouldn’t happen! I don’t know what kind of things you humans are, but we’re not like that! I won’t have any part of this and nopony else will either!”

Ruler sipped her drink calmly. “Perhaps you’re right. This is a very peaceful place based on the time I’ve been here.” She set down her cup, and looked Twilight Sparkle square in the eye, matching the pony’s righteous anger point for point with her own commanding spirit. “But think hard before you make that decision. Remember what is at stake. Any wish. Your heart’s deepest, most secret, most impossible desire. The thing you thought you could never have even if you worked your whole life for it, suddenly within your grasp. Are you so certain that there is not one member of your race who would be willing to do something terrible for that chance? Perhaps not choose to kill, but at the very least be willing to put others in danger if it meant their dream would be fulfilled?”

Twilight wanted to say no, and end the conversation then and there. She wanted it desperately. She wanted it more than anything she’d ever wanted. But she knew it wasn’t true. It had only been a few weeks ago, after all, that she had come within a bare few inches of her own end when a reckless Pegasus, Lightning Dust, had knocked her and her friend’s balloon out of the sky with a tornado. All just to make herself look good at the Wonderbolts' Academy. She’d been so consumed by her ambitions, when confronted with what could have happened all she had to say was, “Yeah, but they didn’t get hurt, right?”

It would be naïve to think that only one pony like that existed in the entire world. And if these Servants were as dangerous as Ruler claimed, their powers that unspeakable, the odds of a normal pony defeating or escaping from one that small, then all it would take for a tragedy was one single bad egg with one at their command.

“We have to stop this! Ruler, you’re telling me all these things, you must know how to stop this war from happening!”

“I…” Her eye’s looked pained, as if she were struggling with something inside. Her hand tightened into a fist, and she slammed it into the table in frustration. Finally, she simply sighed. “I cannot help you stop the Grail War, Twilight Sparkle. I am a Servant, and I am bound to the will of my Master. And as Ruler, my only Master is the Grail. I am not a competitor in this battle, I am a proctor. My task is to see that all the chosen Masters, including you, call forth your Servants, continue to fight toward victory, and abide by the rules. I can share information with you, as I have been, but only information which will help you fight, or help the Grail War move toward its conclusion.”

“Why? You’re supposed to be a great hero, right? A hero wouldn’t just stand by and let this happen! You have to help!”

In response, she placed her left arm on the table and partially rolled up her sleeve. Twilight gasped. The entire backside of her arm, from hand to elbow (and as far as she could see, continuing upward even further on the still covered part of the arm) was marked with intricate red tattoos. Patterned with sharp triangles at threatening angles and what looked like butterfly wings, the marks were an incredible sight, beautiful and somehow terrible. “These are why even a hero cannot defy the Grail War. They are called Command Spells, and they carry the authority of absolute obedience. Every Master is given three, allowing them to exert total control over their Servant and give them orders they would otherwise never obey up to three times. As a special element to my powers as the Ruler, I am given many more, and the power to use them over any other Servant, so that I can ensure the safety of the Grail and force the battle to continue if it stalls.

“But remember, I am the servant of the Grail, and the Grail is the source of the Command Spells. Which means it has infinite means by which to command me with absolute authority should I disobey.” As Ruler stared at the command spells, bitterness entered her facial expressions. Twilight wondered what she was thinking, but before she could muse too extensively about it, Ruler’s gaze returned to her. “If you wish to see that none are harmed by this battle, Twilight Sparkle, you have but one course: summon a Servant of your own, seek out the others, and defeat them before any bloodshed occurs. I cannot help you, nor give you any information that might lead you to a way to stop this battle through other means. You are already selected as a Master, and the Grail will not retract its choice. The only way to be released is to die before you summon your Servant, and if you do, the Grail will pick another in your place until all seven Servants appear.

"If even one dark soul has been chosen, he could slaughter every other Master until the Grail chooses a group who are all willing to fight. Even if only those who are good have been chosen and they all refuse to fight, remember that the Servants have the chance to have a wish granted as well. If the Master refuses to fight properly, they might attempt to kill other Masters until all the Servants are summoned just to ensure they have this chance. And I can tell you that four of Servants have already been summoned, so there is no point in hoping that every candidate will refuse and the other Servants shall never enter this world. It is too late for wishful thinking, Twilight Sparkle. Nothing can avert this fate.”

***

Twilight stared at her marked hoof. The Command Spells were red, she realized. Blood red.

The rest of her little meeting with Ruler had left her in a daze. She’d shown her where the Command Spells were on her body to prove once-and-for-all that Twilight had been chosen to be a Master. She’d explained the method by which Twilight could perform the summoning, drawing out a picture of what the circle looked like, instructed how to make it and what words to say to make it complete. It was completely unlike any magic Twilight had done before, but Ruler had assured her it would work. Then Ruler told her the final choice of what to do would have to be hers. And to top it all off, she thanked Twilight for the tea.

Twilight realized she should have kept grilling the Servant. Demanded to know who had made this Holy Grail, why they had sent it to Equestria from whatever world it came from, by what means, how she could send it back, what the rules that she alluded to were, who the other Masters were, how much time she had to make her choice, and a million other things. But all she could do was glare at that teacup. It was absurd, but somehow the fact that the bearer of such horrible information had taken her favorite tea made her indescribably angry. She sat their boiling with rage, trying to find words to convey her fury to this… alien invader, this herald of horrors from another world. But by the time she did, Ruler had returned to her pony form and vanished out the door. Twilight followed, but by the time she looked out into the street, there was no trace of her.

And so she’d begun glaring at the marks that had been forced on her by this despicable Holy Grail, forcing all the anger she hadn’t vented on Ruler onto them. There was a lot of anger to vent, so it took a long time. Finally, her clock struck one in the morning.

She had to fight. She couldn’t possibly fight. If she did nothing, ponies could die. If she fought, she could die. Or she might be responsible for other ponies dying when she made her Servant fight them. Of course, if she did nothing she might be indirectly responsible for other ponies dying who she might have saved. If she didn’t summon a Servant, she would be helpless if one of the others came after her. If she did summon a Servant, she might be forced to take a life when one of the others came after her. If she summoned a Servant, it might well have its own agenda that put ponies in danger, and she would have to deal with that. If she didn’t summon a Servant, she would have no way to oppose the agendas of the six other servants if they were something terrible.

She would have given anything to go back in time an hour and face the conflict of truth against storytelling. She didn’t want to be imagining the things she was imagining.

But no matter how many times she closed her eyes, the marks on her hoof weren’t going away.

Twilight set her face in stone and dried her tears. “I have no choice. If I sat here doing nothing while somepony was hurt, I’d never forgive myself. I have to believe that I can end this war without hurting anyone! I can get help from the girls, and Zecora, and the Princesses! We can do this together!”

She paused, and looked over to the wide open floor of her library. “But first things first.”

***

From atop the pointed dome of the Ponyville City Hall, Arturia Pendragon watched the night. She knew what was coming. She knew she had done precisely what was necessary, said the words that needed to be said for the remaining three Masters to fight. Her Charisma skill had doubtless been an asset in convincing such peaceful, loving creatures that fighting was the right path. Or maybe they were more like humans than they seemed, and all they needed were excuses to seek out their dreams at the expense of others.

She shook her head. Such pessimism was not befitting of the King of Knights. And those that had sent her would certainly look down on her if they knew she had lost so much hope before things had even begun. But that didn’t reduce her desire to fall on her sword in shame for facilitating this pointless battle on a peaceful world.

She held on. She had to believe that these little ponies would find out the truth, and discover an answer. Even without her help. After all, it was the entire reason this was happening. They had to succeed. Even with King Arthur and the power of Excalibur as their enemy.

The town’s clock tower struck two. She felt magical power surge in three different places around town.

“I wish you luck, Masters of the Sixth Holy Grail War.”

***

Twilight remembered every detail of Ruler’s instructions. Every intricacy of the magical circle from the other world that would allow the summoning. She’d learned a summoning spell before, but this was nothing like any pony magic. The words of the incantations didn’t even rhyme. But learning new magic and putting it into practice was the thing she was best at in the whole world, the special talent that had given her a Cutie Mark, and she wasn’t going to fail now.

She was told that fresh blood was the best medium for the spell, another sign of just what a mess she’d gotten into, but it was possible to substitute with other enchanted materials provided they were potent enough. In her case, since Ruler had explained that part of the spell took the form of a heartfelt request for the hero’s aid, Twilight knew just what to use from her alchemy laboratory: the powerful potion mixture of Seeds of Truth and Heart’s Desire. When she spoke out the words of the chant, if she was truly committed to this path, the mix would react to her honesty and passion, and the full power of her magic would be released.

As she poured out the liquid into the proper shapes and lines, she repeated the first part of the spell, which would complete the preparation of the circle.

“An origin of Silver and Iron. A Foundation of Stone. The Archduke of Contracts. Hear me, in the name of the great master, Schwienorg.” Ruler had told her that she couldn’t hesitate during this first part, so she didn’t stop to dwell on if she’d pronounced that name correctly, and went on, drawing a new line with each word. “Let a wall rise against the descending wind. Let the four cardinal gates be shut. Rise above the crown, and revolve the three-forked road that leads to the kingdom!”

Her beaker of potion flourished in the moonlight as she performed the last steps and dripped the last markings into place, not even pausing for a breath. “Fill. Fill. Fill. Fill. Fill. Repeat five times, and then shatter with every filling!”

There was no flash or spark, but it was done. She had to hope she’d done it all correctly. The next step of the ritual was to place a catalyst that would entice the arrival of the desired Heroic Spirit. But Ruler had noted that this Holy Grail was from a foreign world, and was only capable of calling forth Heroic Spirits from that place, not ones native to Equestria. That being the case, there were no catalysts to be had. Which meant that Twilight’s only choice was to use her own body as the catalyst. By default, this would call forth a hero that was spiritually compatible with her soul. Ruler had warned her that this could be very unpredictable. Twilight had to hope for the best.

Steeling herself, she stepped into place, and channeled pure, directionless magical energy. She allowed it to flow through her body and into the air and ground. When she reached the peak of energy she could circulate through herself, and felt like every cell was infused with power, she opened her eyes and spoke.

***

Elsewhere in Ponyville, at virtually the same moment, two others had completed their own summoning circles. They had used their own special components, and submitted themselves as their own catalysts. They were as ready as they would ever be. And they spoke the same words.

“I declare.”

Twilight strained as the flow of her own power into the circle overwhelmed her, but managed to speak the words.

“My will shall create your body, and your sword shall create my fate! Follow the call of the Holy Grail! If you shall accede to this mind and this reason, then come forth!”

The chanting caused the three circles to glow and blasts of wind to swirl around them. One of the other ponies could not bear to keep looking at the storm and shut their eyes, but stubbornly refused to quit and continued with the words.

“I hereby swear an oath! I shall become all that is virtuous in Heaven! I shall dispose of all that is evil in Hell!”

One of the three, no less taxed by the act than other two, spent the effort to speak additional words. The words seemed to be filled with dread and ill omens, but they could not stop.

“But let Chaos cloud your eyes! For you shall be one caged by madness, and I shall wield your chains!”

Twilight felt like she was going to burn alive with all the power flowing through her. But this was the end. She had to focus. She had to believe with every ounce of her heart. The words had to be true.

All three of them raised their hooves, exposing the Command Spells hidden upon them. The symbols lit up an evil red as the final stage of the contract was forged.

“From the Seventh Heaven, clad in the Trinity of Words, come forth from ring of restraint! Guardian of the Holy Scales!”

***

It took Twilight a moment to realize that she’d fainted. There had been a tremendous reflexive pulse of magic as she completed the spell, and it had been accompanied by a physical wave of force as the wind reached its peak. After channeling more power than she could ever remember doing before, the combination of the feedback and knockback had simply overwhelmed her. But she had only been out for a few seconds, as smoke and crackling energy was still filling the room. The moonlight couldn’t pierce any of it, and for a moment things were so still Twilight was afraid she’d failed.

And then she heard a voice.

On some level it reminded her of Rainbow Dash. Bold, self-confident, maybe just a bit arrogant and mocking. But this was a male’s voice. It rumbled like thunder. It carried authority, demanded respect. It was, for lack of a better description, a hero’s voice.

“A horse, of all things. To think that it would be this long after my death when the Gods see fit to play their final joke upon me.”

He stepped through the mist. He was tall, and his muscles incredibly defined. His skin was a shade of brown that was almost bronzed, and his long, carefully-tied hair was a rich, royal purple. A short, well-trimmed beard gave strong definition to his jaw line. He wore a simple but regal tunic of rich wool, died in dark blue shades and tied with a fine leather belt, from which hung a gleaming sword. The blade was just over two feet long, and narrowed along its entire length to a vicious stabbing point. He lazily draped his hand over the gold and ivory of the sword’s hilt, and with the other touched a simple stone necklace engraved with an unfamiliar symbol.

Twilight wasn’t sure what to say. Whoever this was, he had arrived. He was an awe-inspiring sight. And he was a reminder that there was no turning back. She was putting her life on the line. And he was her only hope.

At last, he spoke again. “I am Hector. Tamer of Horses. Prince of the invincible city of Troy. I have heeded your summons and come forth as the Servant, Saber.” He offered her a very small bow.

***

Standing before the other two summoners, two other servants spoke. One, a towering figure in pitch-black armor that made him seem more monster than man and obscured his every feature. The other, a figure of beauty with rose-colored hair, her leather greatcoat’s deep neckline and her clinging pants and tall boots leaving nothing to the imagination. One spoke with difficulty, the other with laughter. Both said the same words, joined by the mighty Hector. Words that may as well have been a starting gun… or an opening volley.

“I ask of you: Are you my Master?”

Author's Note

I'm sorry that after the last chapter was kind of wordy and infodumpy that this one was too. Fans of the Fate franchise will tell you that this sort of thing is par for the course/tradition though. Lots of wordy explanations and light philosophizing before the epic battles and such get going. Its sort of a necessary evil when you're setting up complex stuff or introducing new people to these settings. I can only pray that I managed to make it interesting enough that most of you weren't bored, as the Fate writers always manage to do for me.

Part of the reason I decided to push this chapter out right away was because it was sort of just part 2 of the introduction. Also because you all were so positive in your responses to the first part that I didn't want to leave you hanging until you at least saw that things were underway. :)

But anyway, now the Grail Wars have officially begun. So I hope you all look forward to what comes next now that the biggest expository bits are out of the way. Again, feel free to point out anything I screwed up too badly. I like to think I'm good at editing, but you know how it is with your own work.

Blast Radius

“Wow. It really worked.”

Twilight was, in her estimation, setting a new personal record for saying foolish things. But she was at least thankful she had managed to stop herself from offering this new Servant tea.

The human called Hector smiled wryly. “Ah, so the horse truly can speak. I’d thought perhaps the Grail was playing tricks on my mind. We Servants are granted knowledge of the time and place where we are summoned, but it was hard to imagine I was truly in a world ruled by talking animals.”

He wandered about the room, eyes glancing over the shelves of books, the furniture, the potted plants, taking stock of his new surroundings. The man was massive, and Twilight was momentarily grateful that the central room of her home was so spacious. She estimated his height at close to seven feet, about the same as Princess Celestia, and in a less open structure he’d probably risk bumping his head.

Shaking her head to clear it, she refocused on the task of introductions. “Um… well, anyway, hello! To answer your question, I suppose I am your ‘Master.’ My name is Twilight Sparkle. You said your name is Hector, right?”

The Servant halted his examination and frowned back at her. “A Master ought to know that it is patently unwise to refer to a Servant by name. Address me as Saber.”

Twilight actually felt herself wince. It felt like she’d just been scolded. “Oh! Sorry. I, uh… I’m feeling a teeny bit out of sorts here. Ruler said I should address her by her class instead of her name too.”

Saber raised an eyebrow. “So, a Ruler has been summoned as well? Not the usual state of affairs for a Grail War. Not surprising though. We are far from the ground where this contest was meant to take place. It is natural that the Grail would bring forth its shepherd to herd you all into your proper places.” He turned back to his snooping. “It seems I can read your script as well as speak your language. I have knowledge of all these objects you have around your home. And I can detect the flow of energy between us through the contract. There are no errors in my summoning that I can divine. I commend you, Twilight Sparkle. I am no magus, but performing a spell of another race could not have been a simple task. ”

Twilight smiled despite herself. She felt reassured to hear that everything had gone right. It wasn’t as though she’d get the chance to take a make-up test if she’d botched some part of the ritual. Plus, it somehow felt good to be praised after that initial chastisement. She got the feeling he wasn’t the type to be easily impressed.

Either satisfied or disinterested with the library, he turned his gaze back to Twilight and began to slowly circle around her. She wasn’t sure what he was doing, but his eyes, which were a gentle brown color, seemed to be looking very intently at her. She stood there feeling uncomfortable as he completed a full rotation around her, when he finally spoke again. “Your lines aren’t all bad, but you show several signs of a lifetime of poor muscle development. Wasp-waisted, cat-hammed thighs, knife-necked, and you’re narrow-breasted and wide-hipped as well. Plus you’re over at the knee on top of it all. I can’t say you have much going for you as a horse.”

At first Twilight wasn’t sure what he was talking about, but she went beet red with embarrassment as she realized he was talking about her body. She abruptly sat down and crossed her forelegs over herself, doing her best to hide behind them. “J… just what are you looking at?”

Hector seemed confused. “Your conformation, of course. I was renowned as a trainer and breeder of horse in Troy. It’s a bit difficult to fully evaluate your bone structure since your breed is so much smaller than those I’m familiar with. Still, what I can see makes it clear you’re not much for physical prowess. Some of it is certainly inherited, but you’ve exacerbated the issues with poor exercise. I doubt you’ll ever make much of a sport or warhorse.”

Twilight bristled. “I’ll have you know that I took fifth place in the Running of the Leaves one year! Just because I’m an ‘egghead,’ doesn’t mean I can’t run as well as... you know what, that doesn’t matter! How dare you… eyeball me like that!?”

“Oh ho, have I offended?” He seemed utterly amused as he plopped down on the wooden floor to meet Twilight as eye-level. “You’ve nothing to be bashful about. I’ve been caring for horses since I was a small boy. You don’t have any body part I haven’t seen before. Other than your horn.” He reached over and gave the tip of horn a playful tap, smirking all the while.

Saber’s assurance that Twilight’s body was nothing new to him, shockingly, did little to calm the frazzled mare. “Well, since you seem to be in the mood for an anatomy lesson, here Unicorn 101!” she growled, and she lashed out with a quick jolt of gravity magic, intending to pick him up and toss him against a bookshelf, teaching him a well-deserved lesson about respecting a lady’s boundaries.

But nothing happened, except Saber’s frown returned. “Master, what are you playing at? A spell of that caliber won’t affect me. Haven’t you seen my Magic Resistance rank is B?”

“Your what rank is what?”

There was a pause. Then Saber said, “You haven’t the slightest idea what you’re doing, do you?”

Twilight wasn’t sure how to answer. Her mind groped for a response, the words that would... she didn’t even know what. Should she confess her ignorance, that she had been thrust into this craziness only a few hours before? Or reassure him that she would learn whatever she needed to know? Twilight didn’t imagine either would make Saber happy.

Fortunately, by a certain definition of the word, the uncomfortable situation was interrupted as the library was rocked by what could only be a nearby explosion.

Twilight leapt suddenly to her feet, and Saber had his sword in hand in an instant. Her eyes darted around the room, but there were no signs of damage in the wake of the shaking and sound that had startled her. Without thinking, she dashed out the front door to investigate, not really registering the shouts of Saber telling her to wait.

***

The night air was pleasantly warm and a nearly full moon lit up the night sky, so it was easy for Twilight to gallop swiftly around the outside of the tree where her library was housed, looking for the origin of the disturbance. It didn’t take her long to locate. Not ten yards from the front door, in the middle of the road, was a scorched crater.

It wasn’t massive, only a few inches in diameter, but it was surprisingly deep, like somepony had taken a giant melon-baller to the ground. And all around the indent the earth had been scorched black. She could still feel heat radiating from the spot as she approached it. The smell of ashes from grass that had been disintegrated hung in the air. On a hunch Twilight glanced upward and saw a small hole had been torn through the canopy of her tree. Whatever had done this had missed striking her home by a matter of inches.

She was just mustering the courage to approach the small crater and investigate more thoroughly when her ear perked up. Another explosive noise, though this one was muffled by distance. Then another, and another. She concentrated and determined the direction of the sounds.

“Fluttershy’s house!”

She was at a full run before she’d even finished the words. It couldn’t be a coincidence. A near-miss disaster outside her home and dangerous sounds in the distance on the very night she’d learned of this “Grail War,” and summoned Saber? She wanted to believe that it was unrelated, but that was just wishful thinking. Without even giving her a moment to catch her breath after choosing to intervene in this madness, she was already being thrust into a battle. Today really had not been her day.

She didn’t know what was waiting for her. She didn’t really know what these Servants were capable of other than that they were incredibly strong. All she knew is that dangerous sounds were coming from a direction where one of her friends lived. But that was enough.

Suddenly a voice spoke up out of thin air. “Master, you must retreat to your home. This is foolhardy.”

Twilight almost tripped at the shock of Saber’s voice rising from nowhere, but managed to maintain her gait. “How are you talking to me?”

“I assumed my spiritual form so I could pursue you more easily. It’s an ability servants have. By shedding my physical body I can remain by your side without being visible. This is one of many things that you must know before we seek battle with the other Servants. For instance, if that noise had been an intentional attempt to draw you out of hiding, you would be dead at this moment.”

That thought hadn’t even crossed Twilight’s mind. It made her stomach want to do somersaults. But she didn’t allow herself to think about that. She couldn’t afford to spare any attention. “That doesn’t matter right now. Those sounds are coming from near one of my friend’s homes! She could be in danger!”

“Normally I would applaud your dedication to your comrades, truly. It is a worthy trait. But if that disturbance is being caused by a battle between Servants, you are not prepared for what we might face. You are throwing your life away.

Twilight screeched to a halt, her aching lungs drawing deep breaths, thankful for the momentary pause. She wasn’t sure exactly where to glare, she shifted her gaze around. “Listen to me. I don’t know anything about you, and I don’t know anything about this Grail War business. But I do know the only reason I agreed to take part is because there’s a very real chance that it’s going to get ponies hurt, and I want to stop that from happening. If you have a problem with that, then stay out of my way.” She turned back to the road. “I’m not going to hide behind my home’s walls, no matter what’s waiting for me out here. Especially not while my loved ones are in danger.”

A pregnant silence followed as Twilight returned to her speedy pace, and she wondered if Saber had indeed left her to her fate. Then his voice rose again. “When we arrive, attempt to stay hidden. Do not try to use your magic to fight; most Servants are protected from spells. Escape and avoidance are your best allies. Find your friend and get her to safety while I join whatever battle is taking place, and when you are safe I’ll withdraw.”

Twilight nodded her understanding, but Saber wasn’t finished. “There are two things I need you to accept before we begin this little rescue mission. First, understand that it is entirely possible that this friend of yours we’re going to help is one of the Masters. If that is the case it may be a trap. Remain on your guard at every moment.”

Twilight wanted to explain that Fluttershy wasn’t even a Unicorn, and even if she was, she was certainly so gentle and kind that there was hardly any danger. However, at this point she’d been running for nearly eight strait minutes and didn’t dare waste the air. She barely noticed that the booming noises had stopped. But that hardly meant the danger had passed.

“Second; the first, fundamental and for most purposes only rule of the Grail War is absolute secrecy. I assume Ruler told you, but in the case she did not I will make it very plain: It is the duty of every Master and Servant to silence any witnesses to our battles.”

Suddenly Twilight’s lungs weren’t burning quite so much, but only because her whole body had gone cold. “S-silence? You don’t mean…?”

“Yes.”

“No.”

Her immediate response seemed to catch the invisible hero off-guard. “This isn’t up for debate. It is the Grail War’s only iron-clad law, so much so that it even includes participants. Even a Master who intentionally or negligently endangers the secrecy of the War will be targeted and crushed without mercy by every other team.”

Twilight put as much venom into her voice as she could muster at a full sprint. “I thought I was clear before. Nopony is getting hurt if I can help it. I will not hurt any of the other Masters. I will not hurt any innocent bystander. And neither will you! I don’t care if I have to use every one of these Command thingies, you won’t lay one hoof… err, hand on any pony! Under any circumstances! Clear?”

To her shock, Saber actually laughed. “You are a surprising creature. Very well. I’m not inclined to butcher civilians in any case, so I will follow your order. But do not presume that the other Servants will do the same. Or for that matter, that the Ruler will let any observers go free. I imagine that maintaining the secrecy of these proceedings is one of her main functions, since there is no one else to enforce that rule on this world. Either way, the solution is simple. Ensure that there are no witnesses. Whether you have to lie, alter memories with your spells or knock someone unconscious, keep their eyes away from things they mustn’t see. That’s the only certain way.”

There was no more time to discuss the matter as Twilight charged around a turn and Fluttershy’s isolated cottage came into view.

***

Fluttershy's home was a stout, round building on top of a hill, overgrown with plants and bird houses. Even in the dead of night the place was picturesque and welcoming, the very image of a warm, loving home.

That image was unfortunately shattered as the eyes were drawn to the devastation that had once been its surroundings. Craters like the one that had been near Twilight’s home made the place look like a wasteland, and many of them here were much larger here. There wasn’t a blade of grass left standing anywhere around the hill the house was built on. Nearby trees had what looked like burning bites take out of them, and several had been outright toppled, snapped like twigs. The cages, chicken coop and other living spaces for the various creatures that Fluttershy cared for had been turned to ruins. It was nothing short of a miracle that the house had remained untouched.

Seeing no sign of her friend or whatever had caused this, Twilight immediately began pounding on the door. She called out “Fluttershy! Fluttershy, its Twilight! Are you there? Are you safe?”

After a solid minute of calling, a meek voice finally squeaked a response from behind the door. “I’m here Twilight. Something… it was… I didn’t…” Twilight could actually hear a dull clatter that could only be Fluttershy’s trembling hoof resting against the wooden door.

“It’s alright Fluttershy. Whatever it was, it’s gone now. You’re safe. Can you open the door please?”In reply, Twilight caught the sound of a deadbolt sliding out of place.

She gently opened the door, and discovered that the yellow Pegasus on the other side seemed completely unharmed at first glance, other than her coat being incredibly dirty. She was also completely covered by terrified animals. Chickens, mice, otters, birds, snakes, insects and even her pet bunny Angel had latched on to any spare bit of hair, back, shoulder or leg they could cling too, seeking solace from their surrogate mother. In the back of the room, which Fluttershy was rapidly retreating toward, larger animals like bears, beavers, flamingos and goats were cowering in fear and snuggled up to her the moment she got close. Fluttershy’s house wasn’t very spacious at the best of times, even though her furniture was petite and ornate. With every animal on the property crammed into that one corner it was downright claustrophobic. But Twilight suspected that swaddled feeling was just was Fluttershy needed at the moment.

Fluttershy herself seemed to be in shock, her eyes having a certain glassy quality as she stared at nothing in particular. Twilight approached her carefully. “Fluttershy, tell me what happened? Are you or any of your animals hurt? Did you… did you see what went on out there?”

She was quiet for a moment, and then she spoke up, still not looking at anything in particular. “There was a loud noise. Like a kaboom. It woke me up. And then more kabooms. They were so close. It was terrible. But then I realized… the critters. I couldn’t leave them Twilight. They needed me. So I flew right out my window. It was… there were kabooms all around me. Dirt was flying. Fire. I could barely see. The animals were so scared…”

Suddenly she stood up and grabbed Twilight by the shoulders. Tears filled her eyes. “Oh Twilight, it was just awful! I’ve never been so scared! But they needed me! They were crying for help! I rescued every single one, but… every time I thought it was over I heard another one calling out, and I knew I had to… OH TWILIGHT!” She started sobbing uncontrollably, mashing her face against Twilight’s mane and hugging her tightly. Twilight could only rub her friend’s head and offer her comfort in silence. Fluttershy could be tough when she had to be, but she was fundamentally fragile.

Whatever had caused that no-pony’s land outside her home, she had been in the thick of it making sure the creatures she cared for were safe. And with the danger to her charges over, and her adrenaline long gone, the poor Pegasus was letting all that fear she’d bottled up out.

But Twilight couldn’t afford to be sympathetic. She was encouraged by the fact that whatever had done this had seemingly gone out of its way not to damage Fluttershy’s home. Considering the odds involved, it had apparently also gone out of its way to avoid hurting any of the animals, or Fluttershy herself even while they were in the thick of the fighting. But the most important thing was confirming that Fluttershy was safe from any further threat. Twilight moved her friend so she could look her in the eye and chose her words carefully.

“Fluttershy, do you have any idea what caused all this? Did you see anything?”

To her relief, Fluttershy shook her head. “It was all so scary, and there was so much dirt and noise. All I saw was… rocks flying out of the sky. Like a meteor shower maybe.”

Twilight wasn’t sure what to make of that, but what mattered was that her friend hadn’t caught sight of anything that would endanger her. Still, she decided it was best to play things safe.

“Listen Fluttershy, you’re not going to feel safe here. Why don’t you go back to my place for tonight? Spike’s already asleep and I left the door open, so just go on in and use my bed. You’ll feel better, I promise. You can even take all your animals with you.”

Fluttershy seemed hesitant, eying her door with trepidation, but nodded after a moment of thought. Her animals were even more reluctant to leave, which proved to be a good thing as convincing them to leave their corner gave her something to focus on other than how terrifying the ordeal had been. It took only another minute or two for the whole train of creatures to be out the door and making its way down the road. Twilight promised that she would be right behind them, and fortunately Fluttershy didn’t question why she wanted to remain behind.

Once they were out of sight, Twilight whispered into the night, “Saber! Are you still here?” There was no answer. But in the back of her mind, Twilight felt she had an intuition as to where her Servant was, no doubt a side-effect of the contract. He was still very close. She remembered he told her to leave with Fluttershy and he would join them afterward.

Twilight bit her lip. She knew it would be best to stick to their plan. But she also knew that if he was fighting right now, he was outnumbered. If anything happened to him there would be no way for her to keep this Grail War in check. And after this? After seeing the aftermath just one battle between Servants could cause? After seeing what happened to one of her friends just from being caught in the crossfire, even without a single injury? She couldn’t afford to take that chance, no matter what the risks were.

Gritting her teeth, she marched toward the location where she’d sensed his presence: the nearby border of the Everfree Forest.

***

There were four of them in that meadow. One was Saber, his sword in hand and his blue robes gently fluttering in the wind. Twilight noticed for the first time that while the scabbard was studded with silver, the blade itself was made of bronze. It had a simple ripple pattern near the base of the blade, and its edge glinted even in the dull light of the moon. For some reason, he seemed to be very pleased, as if he were having the time of his life.

With a sound like a chiming bell, his glittering golden blade met with another that was almost pure white. The other weapon was a good bit longer than his own, but the extra reach did not seem to offer his opponent much advantage, as Saber parried slash after slash with seemingly little effort. But then the speed of the attacks increased. And increased. And increased again until they were almost a blur that Twilight couldn’t hope to follow. Saber seemed pressed to hold off the blows, his brow furrowed in concentration. And then a second pure white blade joined the first.

His opponent was another clad in armor, and judging by her face and slight frame she was a female. To Twilight’s eyes she was as ephemeral and beautiful as new-fallen snow. Instead of huge interlocking steel plates like Ruler had worn over her dress, her protection was made from a seemingly infinite number of tiny, laced-together metal rectangles, in a pattern that brought to mind dragon scales. They were worn over stylish black silk robes, and painted with beautiful, glossy red and gold lacquer, including some lovely flower patterns that made her light up the night. In her right hand she held a long, curved, single-edged sword made from steel. Twilight again noted the white color of the metal, nearly as pure as the pristine white makeup the warrior woman wore, which made her face look like it was made of flawless porcelain. The equally gorgeous dagger gripped in her off-hand, which had appeared from seemingly nowhere, had a menacing hook near the hilt.

Saber was forced to give ground as she pressed the attack. “Not one, but two blades? You have some nerve raising a sword against Saber, young lady. Into what class have you been summoned, that your skills with my weapon have not been degraded?”

The woman did not pause in the slightest, practically dancing through a fluid series of attacks designed to force open Saber’s guard. “This one humbly suggests that you hone your observational skills, Saber. Given time, perhaps enlightenment may yet reach you.”

Twilight’s breath came in gasps with every clash of the two servant’s swords, the chime of metal on metal that had almost seemed charming at first now making her skin crawl, as every moment seemed like it might be Saber’s last. Finally he received a reprieve, but only because both had no choice but to jump away before the ground beneath them exploded.

At the top of a tall oak on the edge of the meadow, another servant tracked both of them at once, flinging palm-sized stones down onto the battleground like a destructive rain, both Saber and the armored woman barely avoiding his shots. He was clad from head to toe in armor, making the female servant’s protection look meager in comparison. It was black as ink and made of thick metal plates much like Ruler’s, but showed not a single inch of the person hiding inside. The design of his shell was elaborate, with many decorative bits and symbols covering the metal, including a cross-shaped mark around the eye-slit of the helmet. He was tall, as tall as Saber, built like a tank, and surrounded by an aura of oppressive dread. He carried no visible weapon other than the explosive stones he was blasting down on the battlefield, which he seemed to be drawing from a simple burlap sack tied to his waist.

There was little doubt that this was the Servant who’d caused all the destruction around Fluttershy’s home and the near-miss at her own. Having watched him fight for a few minutes, Twilight was certain that he hadn’t been aiming for her incredibly distant home. It had simply been a stone that missed its target. She’d seen a few similar misses shoot out into the Everfree Forest and seem to sail for miles, not hitting the ground until they were beyond her vision. She could only hope that no creatures out there were less lucky than she had been.

As Saber and the female Servant dodged shot after shot, and a hideous gurgle of laughter echoed from inside the black knight’s shell, Twilight wondered where the enemy that she had seen occupying him during that sword duel had gone. She was soon answered by an almost deafening snapping sound as the tree the knight was perched on soared skyward like a missile. At the base of where that tree had been stood a pony.

Ruler had told her that the Grail could not call forth Equestrian Heroic Spirits, but she was either lying or mistaken because there was no pony in the entire world with the strength to uproot a tree and send it rocketing into the air with a single kick. And no pony she’d ever seen, even the Royal Guards, wore such elaborate armor. Like the black knight, this pony was in a full set of interlocking plates, armor unlike any she’d ever seen in her Equestrian History books. The pony’s armor was a mid-range shade of green. It covered the head, neck, shoulders and flanks entirely in metal, not letting a single bit of torso show. The legs and belly of the pony were also covered, though by much more flexible armor, seemingly built from tightly woven chain links. It ensured that not a single hair of the pony’s coat was visible. An unnatural yellow glow obscured the eye-holes of the helmet, and perhaps most bizarrely of all, the tail had apparently been replaced by a dense growth of spiny leaves and red berries. There was a small hole in the muzzle of the helmet right around where the pony’s mouth should be, and jammed through that hole like the bit of a bridle was a menacing looking axe.

That axe was put to good use as the armored pony charged at Saber, leaping into the air and spinning in an elaborate corkscrew maneuver, a virtual bladed whirlwind which Saber was only barely able to deflect.

While Saber engaged the new thread, a deranged battle cry washed over the forest as, still in midair, the black knight grasped hold of the very tree he was being propelled by. The entire thing began to glow the same evil red the rocks had previously, and with unfathomable strength he propelled the entire thing back toward the earth with even more force than the Pony servant had with its kick.

Twilight began to panic. If the explosion was in proportion to the size of the tree compared to the stones, it could wipe out everything for miles around, including her! But this fear never came to fruition thanks to the female warrior. She stood her ground, and her two swords began to melt into a sort of liquid metal, somehow reshaping themselves. A second later, they had taken the shape of a truly massive longbow, made of the same pristine almost-white steel as the swords had been, as well as a single arrow. Taking a statuesque stance, she performed a series of graceful, formulaic motions, each step clearly representing years of disciplined practice, as she loaded, aimed and fired her arrow.

The white-metal shaft collided with the pulsating tree some three stories above the meadow, and the explosion was like the sudden appearance of the midday sun. Twilight had to avert her eyes, and even when she opened them she was completely blind for a full thirty seconds as she tried to readjust to the dark and banish the spots from her vision. All the time she couldn’t see, the sounds of struggle never abated.

Finally, her vision cleared just as an eerie silence fell over the battlefield. The black knight had returned to the ground, but he was pinned on his back by the warrior woman. Her bow was gone, replaced by a long staff tipped with a sort of square-shaped restraining device, which was currently holding the knight’s neck to the dirt. She had a foot squarely on his armored chest.

Things were far from rosy for her though, because Saber had taken the opportunity to approach her from behind, and had the tip of his blade stuck squarely against her back, ready to strike. Twilight wondered why he hadn’t already attacked… until she saw what the knight had in his two hands. One was gripped squarely around the throat of the armored pony. The other held a new weapon: a rough handful of leaves he had clearly stripped out of its tail before he’d been taken down. Each one was pulsing red, as the other objects he’d touched had before. Given the close range and the positions they all found themselves in, none of them would survive if he threw them.

Saber finally spoke. “I’m sure none of us wants the disgrace of perishing on the first night, let alone giving the other servants such a painful advantage by so drastically thinning our ranks right out of the gate. Shall we call it a draw?”

For a moment nopony moved a muscle. Finally, with a shimmer of black and violet sparks, the knight vanished, no doubt entering the spiritual form Saber had mentioned, leaving the handful of leaves, instantly dispelled of whatever he’d done to them, drifting lazily to the ground. The sack of rocks lay abandoned as the only mark of his passing.

Now free, the armored pony rolled onto her feet, and without a sound bounded into the tree line and disappeared. Stepping carefully away from Saber’s sword, the warrior woman turned and bowed. “This one offers you thanks for an honorable contest, Lord Saber. Let us await our next contest, and the revelation of the superior warrior, with eagerness. This one earnestly hopes you do not fall in battle before that time.” She shared a deep bow, and likewise dissolved into a shower of red stars.

Twilight’s friends were amazing in her eyes, the peak of the measuring stick one uses to judge the world around them. Rarity was graceful. Applejack was strong. Rainbow Dash was fast. And as she stared in awe at the nearby meadow, clinging onto the tree she was hiding behind for dear life, she realized just what Ruler had meant when she said that all of them were nothing compared to Servants. She had only seen a bare few minutes of their battle as she’d approached, but that was enough to make her shake. She had finally seen what the Holy Grail War was. And it was as awe-inspiring as it was horrifying.

Saber stood in the center of what had been their arena as his opponent’s quickly retreated. His excitement was palpable. “You are worthy foes indeed, Heroic Spirits. But upon our next encounter, be ready to fight to the bitter end. We shall see whom the Fates favor!”

Twilight allowed herself a moment to relax as Saber saw his enemies off with his small speech. She and her Servant had survived their first battle unscathed. She sighed in utter relief. Until a sickening, fleshy thud met her ears.

Saber looked down at the arrow embedded squarely in his gut.

***

Author's Note

Action and suffering. It's just not Fate without that stuff. So here that stuff is. Enjoy!

Choice and Consequence

Saber stood frozen as blood began to flow around the arrow that had plunged into his gut. Twilight heard him mumble the word “impossible.” It was if he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. It was a feeling she could sympathize with, because she certainly didn’t want to believe it either.

As she watched the life-giving fluids drip out of the wounded human, Twilight felt as if life was draining from her body as well. Exhaustion from the run to Fluttershy’s cottage she’d previously ignored washed over her. Her limbs were sapped of strength at the sight of the wound, and her mind went hazy as the events of the last few hours replayed against her will. As strange and scary as things had been, Twilight wondered if she’d realized how real it all was until she saw that arrow pierce Saber. The explanations from Ruler had been difficult to hear, and the battle had been brutal to watch. But somehow that arrow, a blow struck with intent to kill, changed everything.

And so she charged.

Every instinct told her it was a mistake to leave her hiding place. She felt no surge of vigor to replace the dire fatigue that was drowning her. If anything, every step felt like it took a year off her life as she continued to watch Saber’s wound bleed. It wasn’t lost on her that she was doing precisely what the Servant had told her not to do either, and she certainly hadn’t forgotten the display she’d seen only moments earlier that made it clear how slim the odds were of her accomplishing anything.

But she charged anyway. She charged with the memory of Fluttershy’s blank stare and tears in her head and the smell of scorched earth in her nostrils. She charged because if anything happened to Saber, she would be powerless to prevent much worse. And she charged because his dumbfounded stare made it clear that he simply needed help.

Placing herself between the wounded Saber and the arrow’s origin, Twilight invoked the power of her horn. A force field large enough to cover them both quickly sprung into being. Sweat poured from her body in reaction to the volume of magic she was using, making her exhaustion even more pronounced, but she didn’t let herself stop.

She injected more and more energy into the dome-shaped barrier with a series of pulses, making it thicker and stacking multiple layers of protection within the boundary wall to increase its strength. It was the technique her brother used for force fields, and though it was a far cry from the version he used to protect entire cities, it was easily the strongest defensive spell she had ever cast.

When the second arrow came a moment later, that shield shattered like a dropped snow globe. Twilight’s vision switched off, and intense pain flooded her head as if someone had taken a hammer to her skull. She collapsed in a heap, hitting the dirt face first. Her subconscious brain, desperate to focus on anything other than the agony, wondered if it had hurt Shining Armor this badly when the Changeling army had broken his shield spell and made a note to ask him about it for research purposes if she was ever able to move again.

A faint sound of sliced air managed to penetrate her suffering and babbling thoughts, signaling the arrival of a third arrow. Twilight knew she had to move or try another spell, but her body refused to respond to any command. She couldn’t even muster the strength to turn her eyes toward the sound of the shot. She wondered idly if the Servant was attacking Saber again, or if he had turned his sights on the defenseless purple pony that had foolishly thrust herself into his sights.

Her thoughts received an unexpected answer when the dull whistle of the arrow was cut short by a deep metallic gong sounding directly above her. It was so unlike the sharp, sing-song ring Saber’s sword had caused when clashed with the female Servant’s white blade. This sound was deep, and strong. It was a permanent sound, like the sound an old textbook makes when you plop it onto a reading table in an empty library. Before it had fully faded, she heard the voice of Saber.

“Geras Aphthiton.”

Despite her debilitated state, Twilight sensed the unrecognizable words held profound meaning. The motivation of wanting to see what had happened allowed her to dredge a last ounce of strength, and she managed to turn her head toward the voice. She saw Saber, looming over her on hands and knees, covering her body with his own. His regal tunic was gone, and suit of armor was in its place.

There were only a few pieces to the whole ensemble. His chest guard was a single, unbroken piece of metal which wrapped around his whole torso. It was the same reddish-gold color as his sword, indicating it was made from bronze. This centerpiece had two additional bits of coverage: a series of simple plates that hung loose at waist-level and formed a sort of metal skirt, and a pair of simple, dome-shaped pauldrons encircling the shoulder joint.

That was all there was to the suit, aside from some separate protective plates clinging to the ankles and calves. No particular protection was afforded to the vulnerable neck, arms or thighs. A pony might be forgiven for thinking it inferior to all the other armor she’d seen the Servants wearing given how little of the body it covered. But even to Twilight’s ignorant eyes, this armor was something special.

For one thing, it was decorated in spectacular fashion. Each of the plates that made up the armor skirt had a different image of an animal, masterfully engraved into the finished metal. There was a snake, a deer, a lion, an eagle, and more she couldn’t make out in the dark. Each one was rendered in impossibly exquisite detail. Twilight could make out individual hairs and scales and feathers on each creature despite the small size of the images, and their poses gave a startling impression of personality, as if the creatures could spring to life. She was almost certain at one point that she’d seen one move.

The chest featured a raised relief of thin, wavy strings covered in broad leaves and bulbous growths, which Twilight recognized as kelp. They somehow evoked the image of an undersea vista, and like the animals seemed almost animate. Their journey toward the top of the armor was not unlike a real plant, stretching toward the sun. Finally, the shoulders each featured a different symbol; a hammer on the left, and an anvil on the right.

The armor was a work of art, a flawless masterpiece of craftsmanship and a pleasure to look upon despite the circumstances. But that wasn’t what had stood out to Twilight. It was the stars.

She’d thought they were her eyes (or for that matter, the pain) playing tricks at first, but as she looked more deeply, they became impossible to deny. Tiny points of light twinkled faintly in every square inch of the armor. She could see they weren’t from any kind of finish or polish, nor were they gems or some other sparkling object inlaid for decoration. They were some sort of integral essence, an inborn part of the bronze.

It was like she was looking through her telescope into a midnight sky. Some seemed closer, others further away, some were brighter or fainter, and she even swore she recognized a few constellations. Only this universe was somehow one with the metal. She didn’t know how that kind of effect was possible, even with magic. Whatever had created Saber’s armor had powers far beyond any pony.

The stars seemed to swirl in a carefree fashion, and her mind registered more of the deep, rich gongs in rapid succession. Some part of her knew the sounds were more arrows striking Saber’s armor. She should have been afraid. But somehow, as Twilight stared at the unreadable expression of her Servant and the hypnotic beauty of his armor, she felt safe. Her exhaustion encroached ever more on her mind and body, which were struggling to stay conscious.

Twilight felt Saber’s huge hand rest on her head. There was gentleness in the touch she would not have thought possible from the huge warrior. “You did well. Rest now. I will keep you safe.”

His permission banished the last of her willpower. Twilight felt the waking world disappear as the armor continued to sing.

***

Hector stood alone at the Scaean Gate. His eyes could not look upon Troy.

His gaze drifted to the rolling hills and plains beyond the city. Much of it was unrecognizable compared to his youth. After all, this land had been a battlefield for the two greatest armies in all of history for nearly ten years. It had been despoiled, crushed under the feet of thousands of men until nothing remained. All signs of its former beauty were burnt away by wind and sun.

There were two streams nearby which fed the holy river Scamander. As a boy he’d often ride near them. It was good land, easy on the hooves of young horses, and leaping over the waters trained them to jump without fear during battle. That it was also a favored gathering place for young women who loved nothing better than to tease and swoon when they saw their beloved prince only gave a lad more encouragement to ride there. There were no beautiful ladies there now. The streams didn’t run clear anymore, as fighting had stained them a sickly brown with dirt and blood.

He looked to the coastline. After his wedding, he’d walked that shore with his wife, Andromache. She was still nervous around him at the time, understandable in an arranged marriage. The smile she’d shown him the first time her eyes took in the Aegean Sea had looked like nothing less than a divine blessing on their union from Aphrodite. Now all he could see was the endless row of Greek ships run aground on that beach, protected by stout wooden walls. The previous day Hector had set fire to one of those ships after breaking through their battlements, and for a moment he’d truly believed he would again walk beside the waves in peace.

That dream was gone now. Their army had been routed. And it was his fault.

Had it been arrogance? Pride? Simple, earnest stupidity? What had led him to order the army to make camp on the battlefield instead of safely behind the walls? He remembered now. It was that special combination of desperation and hope. The last spark of life before a man drowned.

After the day’s battle drew to a close, Hector felt certain that the Gods had finally taken up the Trojan cause. They had seen that Hector and his men were worthier, and it showed as they surged forward on every front. After all their prayers and sacrifices, Zeus’s mighty hand had fallen heavily on the Greeks, and only the slimmest of chances had saved their fleet from the torch.

All Hector had to do was accept the divine charity, hold to his faith and continue to strike at the enemy beachhead while the Gods were on his side. He’d even bragged to his friends and brothers around the campfire that night, about the coming struggle and the honor he would win.

He had dismissed out of hand the fact that among those ships, Death was waiting. He had seen Death rouse himself for battle, seen him turn the entire Trojan army with nothing but the sound of his voice, and still he had laughed. And now Death was coming with no goal or reason but to take Hector’s life.

Death’s name was Achilles.

Through his might alone had the Greek’s rallied after days of constant defeat. By his hand had the Trojan lines shattered, brave soldiers fleeing for their lives like wounded dogs rather than men. Hector had watched Achilles butcher hundreds, enough to clog the flow of the river Scamander itself. He’d seen Achilles harry the beaten army from shoreline to city wall almost entirely without aid. Many brave champions had taken up the call of destiny and tried to fight the mad demigod, to stem the slaughter. He struck them all down without a shred of mercy. This was the monster Hector had unleashed upon his countrymen.

A voice rose from the peak of the great stone walls behind him. Hector refused to turn, but he listened. It was an ancient voice, strong but cracking from grief and fear. The voice of his father, King Priam.

“Hector, my son, stay not to face this man alone!” The old king could see much further than Hector from his high vantage. He had most likely caught sight of Achilles. The growing dread in his tone made it clear that the Greek champion was approaching.

Priam spoke of the other sons he had lost in the war, of the people’s need for Hector’s life to be preserved. He begged for his beloved heir to take pity on an old man, to not make him witness his first born brought to a bloody end right before his eyes.

Next to speak was his mother, Queen Hecuba. She too begged for her son to return to the safety of Troy. With no thought for shame or the eyes of her people, she bore her left breast to the bright light of day. “Spurn not this breast, but have pity upon me too! If I have ever given you comfort, think on it now, dear son. Come within the wall to protect us from this man. Stand not without to meet him.”

Hector would not allow his heart to be moved. He would not hide behind the walls of his home. Things had come to this because of his failures. And, if only for this brief moment, Achilles’ eyes were not fixed on Troy.

This was his duty as Prince. The mistake had been his. To retreat now would invite the eternal scorn of his men and people, and he could not bear that. To retreat now risked turning the wrath of Achilles on the whole of the city instead of a single man, and he could not allow that. This left only one path. He would stand his ground. And with all the strength of his lineage, all the hopes of his people, he would test himself on the scales of destiny against the greatest warrior since Hercules himself. He would win, or he would die.

Thus, Hector stood alone at the Scraean Gate. And through the dust of the battlefield, clad in armor of pure gold and hatred burning in his eyes, Achilles appeared.

***

Twilight awoke with a sharp gasp. She took several deep breaths, but the tension she felt throughout her body was slow to ease. She couldn’t remember ever having a dream so vivid.

Then again, she wasn’t sure it was a dream. There were names and faces and voices in the images that were completely alien to her, but also felt as familiar to her as her own friends and family. Her imagination could have conjured them up, but with so much detail? It seemed unlikely. And none of them were ponies either, only more humans.

Had she somehow seen into Saber’s memories while she slept? It was a strange thought, but it seemed to fit. He had been center stage for the entire little episode, and she remembered him mentioning that he was a prince and that his kingdom was named Troy.

She had to admit on a certain level it was exciting. She had been “standing,” on a whole different world, seeing things nopony had ever seen. As a Servant, Saber was supposed to be a famous hero from his world’s myths, so witnessing a moment from his life was a thrill, academically speaking. Still, she felt a little ashamed. It wasn’t as though he’d given her permission, and if someone had peaked into Twilight’s memories against her will it would certainly be upsetting.

Yet like any good reader who is denied seeing a story's ending, what bothered her most was curiosity. She had clearly seen a snippet from some kind of war where Saber had fought, but who were his enemies exactly, those “Greeks?” Why were they fighting? Who was Achilles and why did he seem to hate Saber so much? What was the outcome of their fight? And…

“When did I get home?” Twilight realized that she wasn’t exactly keeping her priorities straight when it dawned on her that she was lying in her own bed. She had almost been killed last night and had fallen unconscious while someone was shooting arrows at her!

Unexpectedly, she got a response from very close to her ear. “Um… I think around four in the morning? I didn’t think to check the clock. I’m sorry.”

Twilight shot out of bed like a bottle rocket, sending her blanket flying as she latched onto her window curtains in terror. Her eyes shot around her sleeping loft in a panic until they finally returned to her bed just as the blanket was floating back into place. Fluttershy blinked a few times before rolling herself free so she could readjust the mussed sheets. “Oh my! I’m so sorry Twilight. Did I surprise you?”

Twilight almost managed a sigh of relief before a gentle ripping noise indicated that her curtains could no longer support her weight. She tumbled to the floor in a rather inglorious fashion, but quickly managed to extract herself from the tangle.

“Fluttershy? Why were you sleeping next to me? No, wait, before that, are you okay? Last night was…” She found herself completely unable to come up with an appropriate word to fill that blank.

As she finished tucking and tidying Twilight’s bed, Fluttershy turned to her friend and put on a slightly strained smile. “I’m alright Twilight. I can’t think you enough for letting me stay here after that awful mess. It was a big help. Especially for my poor critters.” She gestured with her hoof toward the library floor, and Twilight peaked over. The ground was literally carpeted with animals of all shapes and sizes, most of which were still sleeping. How Twilight had managed to miss the sound of bear snoring was beyond her.

“As for why I was in your bed, well… I hope you don’t mind but… I was just too nervous in the guest room all by myself. I tried to ask your permission but you were out like a light, so I just took you upstairs and snuggled up with you. I didn’t know you were so jumpy early in the morning, or I would have just slept on the floor.”

Twilight relaxed a bit after hearing the explanation. “It’s fine Fluttershy. Sorry if I worried you, I just had a strange dream is all.”

“Oh really? What was it about?”

“Trust me, you do not want to kno-” Thinking of her dream suddenly brought a fresh panic. How did she get home exactly? Logic dictated that it must have been Saber who brought her here. What happened after she’d passed out? Did he win the fight or only manage to escape?

Had Fluttershy seen the human carrying her home?

Twilight grabbed her friend by the shoulders. “Fluttershy! Do you know how I got back last night?”

Caught off guard by Twilight’s behavior, Fluttershy still managed to shake her head. “I found you sleeping by the front door. I heard somepony knock, but by the time I got there they were already gone. I just tucked you into bed.”

That was good news. Saber’s mention of the ‘Rule of Secrecy,’ was still weighing on Twilight’s mind despite the tough front she’d put on while laying down the law on the subject. She hadn’t had much time to dwell on it at the moment, but it changed all her plans.

She’d initially planned to make a full report to Princess Celestia so she would know about this extraterrestrial magic that had invaded her kingdom and the danger the Servants might pose. Once that was done she’d have gone straight to her friends and enlisted their help in dealing with this Grail War business. Letters to the mayor telling her to cancel the festival, to Zecora asking if she knew anything about other worlds, to Ms. Cheerilee at the school telling her it might be wise to put classes on hold until this was all straitened out… If things hadn’t spiraled out of control, she almost certainly would have started drafting notes to everypony right after the summoning ritual. But after what she’d learned?

Saber had told her that anyone who gained knowledge of the Grail War was to be eliminated. Of course, Twilight knew she wasn’t going to enforce that rule under any circumstances. But even if every other Master was the same, Ruler was another matter.

She seemed kind despite how irrationally upset Twilight had been at her after their discussion. But even if she would never hurt an innocent pony by choice, it wasn’t her decision. Assuming the Command Spell’s power to control her was as absolute as she had claimed, the Holy Grail that she served could force her to attack anyone it wanted to preserve secrecy.

And after last night, Twilight was no longer so certain she could depend on the other Masters. Granted, nopony had been hurt by the battle near Fluttershy’s cottage. But everything else nearby had been turned to smoldering ruins. And there could be no denying that whoever was firing those arrows had not been intending to frighten. There was no proof that the Master had ordered their Servant to shoot at Twilight, but there was no proof that Master hadn’t given that order either.

Which all added up to one conclusion: telling anypony else about the Grail War would be putting their life in grave danger. Given how powerful the Servants were, even the Princess might not be safe.

A chilling thought occurred to Twilight. For that matter, telling another pony about the Grail War was putting herself in danger as well. If the pony she told was a Master, they would know she was one as well. All they had to do was feign ignorance, and she would instantly become a target.

This lead to another unpleasant idea, one that filled her with fear. Saber’s words from the night before echoed loudly in her mind, that it was possible Fluttershy herself was a Master and the entire situation was a trap. Could that really be possible?

All that destruction, a battle between three Servants right outside her door, and yet her house remained completely untouched. Every one of her precious animals escaped without a scratch despite being right in the middle of the crossfire. And she claimed to have not seen a single thing? It was a lot to swallow now that Twilight really thought about it. And it all gave Fluttershy a perfect excuse to reach the safety of Twilight’s library, far away from the place where Servants had been fighting. Far from a vulnerable, isolated location where the Servants could attack with impunity if they learned a Master lived there.

Her mind began racing. The Servant who’d fired those arrows hadn’t struck until after the battle had ended and only Saber was left. Why? Was that because he was waiting for an opportune moment? Or was it because Fluttershy had only sent him after she’d arrived at Twilight’s home and seen the summoning circle left painted on the floor?

Twilight’s heart was pounding in her ears as she looked at gentle, kind Fluttershy, most unassuming of ponies. She’d managed to keep her face from showing any feelings, but the silence had lasted for a couple of minutes and she was still holding her friend in place. The pegasus looked uncomfortable. Using a heavy dose of willpower, Twilight maintained a normal voice and asked, “Fluttershy, can I take a look at your front hooves please?”

Fluttershy raised a confused pink eyebrow. “Why?” she asked, her voice just boiling over with innocence. Her hesitation did not go unnoticed.

Twilight unconsciously squeezed her friend’s shoulders a little more tightly. “Please? It’s important.”

The world went into slow motion. Fluttershy started raising her forelegs. Twilight held her breath. She strained her senses to their limits. Would the attack come at the moment she saw the markings, trying to catch her in shock? Or before, while we was too focused to see it coming? A shield spell would be worthless. She would use a teleport spell instead. She would need to be quick to dodge whatever might-

Fluttershy’s hooves were the same blank yellow color they had always been. There was no sign of a Command Spell.

With nothing else to do, Twilight started giggling uncontrollably. In a few seconds she had fallen over laughing. Fluttershy seemed very confused. That made Twilight laugh even harder.

When her fit was over, Twilight saw that her friend had been waiting patiently for her to finish. She asked what was so funny, but Twilight just said that it was nothing and offered to make breakfast. The two had a light argument about who should do the cooking, but Twilight insisted and since it was her house she got her way. Her friend was more concerned about checking in on the animals anyway, as most of them had been awoken by Twilight’s cackling. Twilight happily accepted the excuse to be alone.

***

As Twilight’s largest pot happily bubbled away, cooking up enough oatmeal for Fluttershy’s entire circus of creatures, she allowed herself to look at the clock in the kitchen for the first time. It was only half past eight in the morning, but she felt rested enough given the circumstances. She was still quite sore, a fact that she hadn’t noticed until she’d tried to clamber down from her loft, but it was to be expected after all the high-level spellwork and other physical exertion she’d gotten up to last night.

She appreciated the silence of the kitchen. Spike had tried to follow her, insistent on assisting her as usual, but she had shooed him away with instructions to help Fluttershy check on their animal guests. Not only was she all-too familiar with Spike’s attempts to “help,” with food preparation, she needed a moment to collect herself.

Unfortunately, a moment was all she was afforded. Before even five minutes had passed Saber materialized in a shimmering cloud of blue. He appeared wearing his blue robes once again, leaning lazily against the sink counter with a small smile on his face.

“Good morning, Twilight Sparkle,” he said. His tone was actually quite cordial. And he’d used her name rather than referring to her as Master. Twilight hadn’t been sure what to expect from the Servant when they spoke again after last night, but cordial wasn’t high on her list.

Twilight lit up her horn and telekinetically lifted a spoon into the oatmeal, giving it a quick stir. It made her head throb to use any magic, but she couldn’t stir with her mouth and still talk. “Good Morning.”

She hesitated at what to say next. She felt like she should apologize for peaking into his memories in her sleep, but since this was the nicest he’d been since he first appeared she didn’t want to spoil the mood with a potentially touchy violation of privacy. She didn’t want to immediately launch into a debriefing of what had happened after she’d passed out either.

After another moment’s thought she finally said, “I suppose I owe you an apology for jumping in the way last night. You told me not to involve myself in the fight under any circumstance and I went and did it anyway.”

Saber stroked his violet beard thoughtfully at those words. “Well, on a certain level I’m glad to hear you say that. It means you recognize that you put yourself in grave danger, you appreciate the risks I had to take in saving you, and that the pain I saw you in when your spell was broken didn’t go to waste in teaching you those things.”

He paused, and his smile grew broader as he reached out and rested his hand on her head, just as he had last night. “Still, you owe no apologies to me. If anything, I am tremendously proud of you. If you must apologize, do so only to yourself for treating your life in a cavalier fashion.”

Twilight blinked several times. Her Servant was full of surprises this morning. “Proud of me? Why?”

“Is it not obvious to you? You acted with great courage in trying to aid me when my wound made me falter. Foolish, ignorant courage perhaps. But still, you saw what Servants were capable of during the skirmish, but remained undaunted and joined the fray when you saw me hesitate. In my time such behavior was to be lauded. To risk one’s life against a great opponent, to seek glory even in the face of death, is the essence of being a warrior.”

He paused as a sour look came over his face. “I indulged too many during my life who disdained battle even when it was their duty. I won’t deride one who seeks it for good cause, even if it not their place.”

The comment seemed important, and Twilight’s thoughts returned to the memories she’d seen, but she decided to wait. There would be other chances to ask and she wanted to keep the mood light. “Well, I didn’t exactly do it for glory or anything, but I appreciate the compliment.” She continued to stir the oatmeal.

Since the air between them was a bit clearer now, that left only one thing to discuss. “What happened after I lost consciousness?”

“Strangely enough, nothing.” He shook his head a bit, as if still finding it hard to believe. “Our enemy loosed only about three more shafts, as if he refused to believe I was stopping them. Then he vanished completely. He was already at the very edge of my ability to sense him, so there was no chance for me to pursue even if I hadn’t had to look after you. I didn’t catch so much as a glimpse. It could only have been Archer from that kind of distance; Assassin wouldn’t have the skill for such long-range shots.”

A troubled look passed over his face as he continued. “I got a brief look at the arrows before they vanished. They were made from bone rather than the white steel of our friend the warrior woman, so I can be thankful she didn’t praise me with one hand a slap me with the other I suppose. Still, it’s incredible that any arrow would be capable of hitting me. That is why my wound gave me pause.

“After I was certain he was gone I carried you here, knocked on the door so your friend could care for you and assumed my spirit form so I could observe, in case she was a Master as I feared.” His smile returned as he added, “Well done inspecting her by the way. After only a single battle you already display excellent instincts.”

Twilight sighed deeply. “Don’t remind me. I’m not exactly happy about my freakish paranoia. It was silly to suspect her anyway. Fluttershy couldn’t have summoned a Servant, she’s not a unicorn.”

“You mentioned that last night. If I were you I would not take such a thing for granted. I admit this is only a theory, but from the knowledge of your world imparted to me by the Grail it seems that all three of your kind’s races have magic, not only the unicorns. The pegasi can alter the weather and walk upon clouds, and the earth pony tribe are deeply linked to growing things and living creatures. To presume they cannot call forth a Servant because they lack a magical horn would be folly.”

Twilight wanted to slap herself and she let out a loud groan of frustration. She should have realized that much. It seemed so obvious once somepony said it out loud. “You’re right! That’s just great. I thought I could at least count on that much narrowing down who the Masters might be. Now I have nothing to go on. And with all the tourists in town on top of everything… what a disaster.”

Before too much of her depression could set in, Saber clapped his hands together. “None of that, Twilight Sparkle. I won’t have my Master sulking. Besides, things aren’t as bad as all that. If nothing else, last night gave you an excellent chance to gauge our competitors since three appeared at once. How did they rate in terms of parameters? Could you discern any of their skills or Noble Phantasms?”

Yet again, Twilight felt completely lost as Saber spouted what seemed like complete gibberish. In a moment he clearly realized she had no idea what he was talking about. His sigh of frustration was almost crushing. “Of course. I was so impressed by your valor I’d completely forgotten that you are a babe lost in the woods.”

Straitening his back and making his expression firm, Saber spoke in tones of command, setting aside the role of ‘servant,’ in favor of ‘sergeant.’

“That settles things. Finish your breakfast and eat well. When you are done, I will give you instruction as best I can. We must prepare you for war.”

Author's Note

I apologize for the delay in getting this chapter out, things in real life got into my writing time.

Also, the next chapter might also be delayed. I'm planning to blog about it, but the short version is that EQD rejected my petition to be on the story page on the grounds that my first chapter is god damn boring infodumping. I have thought long and hard on this since I got their response and have decided to rebuild that darn thing from the ground up so it'll be something more engaging at least, hopefully without totally losing my original intent.

Hopefully that's something to look forward too, but it'll slow down chapter five. Sorry.

Trauma

“Concentrate.”

Twilight felt foolish. She and Saber stood in the clearing where the previous night’s battle had taken place. He’d insisted on someplace isolated when they left to “run errands.” With Fluttershy back at the library there was no reason for anypony to be out this far. The Servants would certainly be avoiding the area as it was only a matter of time before the locals investigated the damage, but Twilight knew there had been no report yet because Fluttershy was too busy fussing over her animals to visit City Hall. They had at least a few hours before her maternal instincts abated enough for her to stop smothering the poor creatures with affection after such a traumatic event, and with Spike drafted into assisting her he hadn’t been able to follow.

Her first lesson in being a proper Master was to learn an important ability that all Masters shared. Saber told her she didn’t have to do anything special for it to work; no spell was necessary and she didn’t even need to channel magical energy. All that was needed was focus and eye contact with a Servant. And so she stared.

For his part, Saber was doing sword exercises. His grace could not be questioned as he moved smoothly through a variety of stances. Legs wide and blade low, he stepped backward and brought up the flat of the weapon to the left side of his body, blocking an imaginary slash. His bent his right knee and thrust his sword arm’s elbow forward, then followed through with wide horizontal slash. Next came a step forward, followed by a solid thrust of the sword’s point. He ducked beneath a phantom counter attack, and swept out his leg in an attempt to trip his non-existent sparring partner. The sweep turned into a full spin of his body, rising into an upward diagonal slash and, with a subtle motion of the wrist and shoulder, a vertical downward slash as a follow-through.

His movements were interesting to watch. Ponies had developed a variety of weapons and methods of using them over the centuries, but the human body seemed to allow an entire universe of combat techniques that just weren’t very feasible to a quadruped with hooves. His range of motion, his flexibility, the different angles of attack he could manage through those dexterous hands and arms, weren’t things a pony was capable of mimicking. And all of that wasn’t even considering his abilities as a Servant. The little show he was putting on was at a snail’s pace compared to how he’d fought before. Imagining even more complex techniques executed at a pace the eye couldn’t follow left Twilight amazed.

Saber didn’t even pause his exercises when he asked “Are you concentrating, Twilight Sparkle?” She felt herself blush under her fur like a school filly who’d just been called and found herself stumped. Presumably at least, since Twilight had never been in that situation when she was a school filly.

Clearing her mind, she tried to remember Saber’s instructions: keep your eyes locked on the Servant. If you know the Servant’s true name, hold it in your mind. Alongside that, focus on an image of knowledge.

Twilight forced herself not to blink as she imagined a well-worn encyclopedia from her shelf. Mentally, she pulled the book from that shelf and watched its page’s flutter open before her mind’s eye. She locked her thoughts on Saber’s name, Hector. Sections A through G of her imaginary book were brushed away, and the first page of H was blank, ready to be filled with knowledge. Her gaze was unbroken, taking in every flash of Saber’s sword, but her mind was focused only on the imaginary book. And finally, words began to appear.

***

Hector of Troy
Class: Saber

PARAMETERS
Strength: B+
Agility: B
Endurance: B
Mana: C
Luck: C

CLASS SKILLS
Riding: A+
Magic Resistance: B

PERSONAL SKILLS
Charisma: B
Protection of the Gods: A

NOBLE PHANTASM
Geras Aphthiton (The Glory of Heroic Immortality)
Anti-Unit, Rank B

***

“Oh! I can see it! Parameters, Skills and… ‘Noble Phantasm,’ is where your armor is listed.”

Saber halted his exercises and returned his weapon to its scabbard. “Excellent! It should become even easier over time. I know it’s not any kind of spell you’re used to, but this is a power that comes directly from the Grail itself. Even someone without any magic will have it, so it functions a bit differently.”

More and more words were filling in the imaginary page. It really was like a text book or reference guide, outlining the exact mechanics of the abilities of her Servant, and even a bit of historical context on where each ability came from. A lot of the terms and references didn’t make sense to her, but Twilight supposed that was to be expected since she was being fed information about things from another world. She resolved to study the entries in detail as soon as possible. “So, I’ll be able to get this kind of information about any other Servant I look at? Just like that?”

“Indeed. However, your ability to gather information is somewhat limited. You will only gain knowledge about abilities you see used or are explained to you. Until that happens one can only guess at a Servant’s powers based upon their legend. That is one of the two main reasons why a Servant must preserve their true identity.”

Twilight nodded. “What’s the second reason?” she asked.

“To hide the circumstances of our deaths. We are spirits after all.”

Twilight raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

“The legend of a hero is a story of that man’s life, so the ending is almost always death. Once the true name of a Servant is known to his enemies, they also know the means by which that hero met his end, and are free to exploit that knowledge. For example: There is a heroic spirit named Siegfried, renowned as a slayer of dragons. In life he bathed in dragon’s blood, and it made his body invincible. Except there was one spot the blood did not touch. And when the secret of that weak spot was given to an enemy, he was killed by a single blow from a simple hunting spear.”

Choosing to ignore the rather distasteful anecdote about bathing in dragon blood, Twilight still took the message to heart. “I see. If someone knows who you are, they’ll know all your weaknesses.”

Saber nodded in approval. “Your dwelling being a library is not just for show, Twilight Sparkle. I am blessed to enjoy a Master whose wits will soon outgrow her ignorance.”

“I guess one of your weaknesses is being lousy at compliments,” Twilight said, offering up a small eye roll.

Saber actually stroked his beard thoughtfully at that comment. “My brother Deiphobus told me something similar once. He seemed to think that my promise to split half of the spoils of a battle with the rest of my army while keeping half for myself was a rather small incentive. You remind me of him, somewhat.”

An amusing image of an exasperated younger brother trying to explain to a completely bewildered older brother why he was being thoughtless and greedy brought a smile to Twilight’s face. “I’ll take that as praise. It sounds like he was a smart young stallion.”

Saber’s expression became wistful. “That he was.” After a moment he followed up by saying, “Of course, he was also something of an insufferable know-it-all. I’ll be sure to judge you in that area so you can be certain of your similarity.”

Twilight managed to limit her response to an annoyed growl and a glare before standing up. “Alright, now that I’ve got that one down, what’s next on my training agenda?”

Saber began dissolving into his spirit form as he replied. “We head into town. I want to get the lay of the battlefield. And our next lesson is best suited to a crowded location.”

Twilight felt deep trepidation at his instructions. She hoped it was only because he’d referred to Ponyville as ‘the battlefield,’ but suspected there was more.

***

The streets of Ponyville were even more populated than they had been the previous day. Tourists eager to enjoy the Summer Sun Celebration were arriving every hour, and more and more workers were putting finishing touches on displays and stages and booths. The event was still eight days away, but with so many out-of-towners showing up early to take in the sights Ponyville’s pride was on the line. The locals were determined to make sure the place didn’t look like a half-built shanty town.

The net result of all the activity was a massive collection of ponies on almost every corner. Which made a stroll through the center of town perfect for Saber’s ends. But not for Twilight’s nerves.

The reality behind her earlier nervousness was all too clear. This was the first time she’d been around strangers since the Grail War had begun. On a normal day, Twilight would sometimes eavesdrop on the conversations of ponies on the street. It was nice to hear how her neighbors were getting along in life, how they were dealing with their troubles or celebrating their joys. With so many visitors there were a lot of stories to listen in on.

But Twilight couldn’t even force herself to hear. Her ears took in the voices, but didn’t process the words. She was afraid to allow the suddenly unfriendly world into her head. Equestria had become a very different place in a single day.

She took a breath to steady herself, but it didn’t help. Then she began walking. As she strolled along searching for particularly crowded spots, her mind shrank from external stimuli. With nothing else to think about, her thoughts turned unwillingly to the previous night.

Saber had called the Servant who attacked them Archer. She wondered just how far away he had been during his attack. Well beyond her vision, at the very least, and beyond Saber’s ability to pursue. To shoot so accurately in the dead of night through the trees was no small feat of skill. And in her mind, that made it likely that in broad daylight on open streets the Servant could be watching her and she’d never know.

Archer knew her identity thanks to her abortive rescue attempt. Even if he didn’t follow her home, he would certainly know her on sight if he was also scouting. Was he staring at her at that very moment, with an arrow notched in his bow, ready to finish what he’d started?

Her brain told her no, because of the Grail War’s rule of secrecy. Even if his Master allowed it, Archer couldn’t just shoot her down in the street. It would be impossible to cover up. But her gut, and the chill that had firmly gripped it, didn’t seem willing to accept that logic.

Twilight kept her pace, moving toward more dense groups of ponies. She thought it would make her feel safer, more anonymous in case an enemy was observing. But she soon realized the eyes of the unfamiliar ponies were just as bad.

The air was thicker in the throng of bodies, and Twilight felt her breath grow shorter as she plunged deeper into the crowd. She shuffled down the tightly packed streets in a haze. Every touch as she brushed by or squeezed through made her twitch. Her eyes scanned face after face. The reality that anypony could be a Master loomed in her mind. Was that pegasus letting her gaze linger just a little too long? Did that unicorn’s smile seem sinister?

She recognized the pounding of her heart and the intense firing of synapses. It was like when she’d suspected Fluttershy, but amplified a hundred fold. Twilight had lived her whole life with a fundamental belief that there was no reason not to trust other ponies. But now when she saw others, all that occupied her thoughts was Archer’s attack. The possibility that it had been ordered by a fellow pony was crushing her. It made her feel intensely, inescapably alone.

After pushing past one last group, Twilight entered an empty alleyway and turned a corner. Once away from others, she began to catch her breath. She leaned lifelessly against the brick wall to her left, trying to calm herself. When she’d laughed at the absurdity of it all after confirming Fluttershy’s ‘innocence,’ she thought that would be the end of this fear. Now she wanted to laugh at how naïve that had been.

“Are you well, Twilight?” It was Saber’s voice. He was still hidden in his spiritual form, but Twilight realized she could still sense his proximity clearly. The magical link of their Master-Servant contract was subtle, and losing track of it was easy. The reminder was a welcome one.

“I’ll be fine. I didn’t feel any sort of tingle from my Command Spell. You’re sure they react when other Masters are nearby?"

“Correct. Just as I have the ability to sense Servants even if they are in spiritual form. As both are conjured by the Grail, both react in the presence of an identical existence. It’s a resonance of sorts.”

Twilight replied, “Well, I didn’t notice anything in that crowd. This ‘scouting mission,’ hasn’t borne much fruit.”

“Not altogether surprising. Of the seven classes, my ability to detect enemies is the weakest because my direct combat abilities are strongest. As Saber, my senses are limited to around 200 meters. And a Master can hide from the Command Spell’s detection if their magical energy is weak or hidden.

However, our true goal is honing your skills as a Master. You must remain constantly aware of your surroundings, your bond with your Servant, and your Command Spells. Each could give you a warning which will save your life. Focus is your first weapon.”

Twilight sighed. “Focus. Right.” It sounded easy coming from Saber. But how was she supposed to focus when even looking at another pony filled her with dread, with fear that it was someone out for her life? She knew that Saber had been a soldier, to say nothing of his heroic status, but she was just a student. She wasn’t certain she was capable of handling this.

But if there was one thing she wasn’t going to do, it was just give up without trying. Ponyville was in danger until the Grail War was resolved, so she couldn’t step aside. Collecting herself, Twilight prepared to return to the crowd, resolved to keep her wits no matter what.

Sadly this resolve didn’t last, as the clamor of a door being kicked open behind her forced a squeak of surprise and a fearful leap out of Twilight’s traitorous body. Her display was met with a familiar laugh. “Wow Twilight, you sure are jumpy today! Get it? Jumpy! Because I made you jump! Ah, you just can’t argue with the classics.”

Pinkie Pie was carrying a large saddlebag full of soda bottles, presumably purchased from the store she’d just exited. She wore her usual smile, but her curly, cotton candy-colored mane seemed a little more haggard than usual. It was to be expected given how hard she was working. The baked goods of Sugarcube Corner were in high demand with the tourists after the Cake family’s participation in the National Dessert Competition in Canterlot. The opportunity to see an Element of Harmony probably wasn’t hurting business either.

“Hello Pinkie,” Twilight said, trying to keep her voice from cracking too badly. “What are you doing back here?”

The pink earth pony shook her rump, making her load of bottles jingle. “Just picking up some refreshments for the bakery. The streets are so crowded it’s faster to take the back alleys. Are you avoiding the crowds too?”

Twilight nodded. “Something like that. Do you need any help with those? You look tired.”

Pinkie shook her head. “Oh, don’t worry about me Twilight. I’ve got energy to spare!” She began to take her leave, only for her legs to begin visibly creaking and wobbling with every step. She laughed sheepishly and a small blush bloomed on her face. “Well, these are a little heavier than I thought. Maybe a teensy-weensy bit of help would be nice.”

Twilight’s own legs were still sore, and walking around hadn’t helped. Instead she lit up her horn, ignoring the protests of her aching head, and gently lifted a bit of the weight on each side of the saddlebag, taking about half the load off Pinkie’s back. “How’s that?”

Pinkie looked visibly relieved, and walked forward easily with her burden shared. “Thanks a bunch Twilight. When we get to Sugarcube Corner your lunch is on me.” As they made their way back to the street Twilight did her best to split her focus as Saber had instructed, minding her link to him and the mark on her hoof. Despite still feeling tense and fearful around the crowds, knowing that Saber was watching over her and having her friend by her side made things easier.

***

By the time the two ponies arrived at their destination Twilight felt ready to fall over from her throbbing head. Even the relatively light magical work had been a strain. Small talk with Pinkie along the way had been a welcome distraction from her previous thoughts, but releasing her spell on the bottles felt like an even greater relief.

Sugarcube Corner was as colorful as ever, its usual pink paint and candy-stripe pillars giving it the proper aura of fun for a dessert shop. In addition to those normal decorations, the Cakes had added sun and moon decorations and matching colored streamers to several open spots on the walls in honor of the season.

The bakery was crowded, as Twilight had expected. The Cakes had brought in extra seating to replace their normal display tables in the storefront, and she’d noticed the number of café tables outside had nearly doubled. Yet every chair seemed to be taken, and the line at the register stretched out the side door.

She saw Mr. and Mrs. Cake bustling behind the counter, dashing between ovens and display cases and customers with impressive energy. Even after several days of these kinds of crowds, they showed no signs of slowing down. Still, when Mr. Cake noticed Pinkie at the door with her load of soda, the relief on his face was palpable. “Pinkie! As soon as you get those put away we could use a hoof up here,” he called out while balancing a sheet of cookies and a few slices of pie on his two forehooves.

“You got it!” She began trotting toward the back of the bakery, but remembered to shout back at Twilight, “Try to find yourself a seat. As soon as I have a minute, I’ll whip you up a slice of our Summer Spicecake!”

Twilight waved to her in acknowledgement, and started scanning the room. Being alone in a crowd of strangers again wasn’t exactly stress-free, but she still sensed Saber by her side. His presence was reassuring enough that she wasn’t on the verge of a freak-out.

As she’d noticed before, almost every single chair in the shop was taken. There were a few ponies with spare chairs at the tables they occupied, but none that she knew, and even under normal circumstances she probably wouldn’t be up for accosting somepony she’d never met during a meal.

She was about to search outside when she noticed something absurd. Sitting at a small corner table was none other than Ruler. She was in her pony form of course, but there was no mistaking that elaborately braided mane, shining green eyes and flank-hiding cloak. She had a muffin carefully balanced on one of her hooves, and was taking dainty bites.

Twilight had crossed the room and stamped a hoof onto the Servant’s table before she’d even finished processing the image. “What are you doing here?” she demanded, her eyes staring daggers into the fake pony.

Ruler continued to chew her mouthful, swallowed, and finally answered, “Eating my lunch. Would you care to join me?”

“Are you kidding me?” It had taken significant willpower not to scream that particular sentence.

“Twilight Sparkle, I suggest you either sit or move on. You are drawing attention to yourself.”

Twilight froze, and then turned her head to see that several other ponies at nearby tables were staring at the obviously confrontational scene. When Twilight eyed them they quickly returned to their food and conversations, very pointedly avoiding the little corner table. Sighing in defeat, Twilight slumped into the spare chair at Ruler’s table. “Seriously though. You’re just having lunch? Aren’t you a ghost?”

An indignant look crossed Ruler’s face. “What difference should that make? Is it a crime to enjoy a well-prepared meal in the kingdom of Equestria?”

Twilight didn’t quite know how to answer that. She sat in silence for a minute or two while Ruler continued to munch on her muffin. Finally, she managed to find something else to say. “You left pretty abruptly the other night.”

Swallowing another mouthful, Ruler replied, “You seemed a bit distraught, so I thought it would be best to give you time alone to consider your course. I also had to see to my duties and ensure the remaining summoning rituals were performed correctly.”

“And they were?”

“Yes. I can confirm to you as a participating Master that all seven Servants have been successfully called to this land. The Holy Grail War began officially last night with the battle in which your Servant fought.”

“You know about that? I didn’t see you.”

“I was not there. The Ruler has the ability to detect Servants at a range of ten kilometers. Once the summoning was complete I spent the first night observing all participants remotely. I have full knowledge of all Servant identities, abilities and locations.”

Twilight sighed. “I don’t suppose sharing any part of that information is in your job description.”

“I’m afraid not. My service to the Grail dictates I attempt to maintain impartiality. It is not my place to give aid to any Master or Servant, unless good cause to do so arises.” She paused and smirked as she turned her gaze to the empty air over Twilight’s shoulder. “As an aside, I was impressed at the caliber of your summoning Twilight Sparkle. It is an honor to stand in the presence of the Prince of Troy. It is a boon to the battle that one of my fellow Nine Worthies of Chivalry is a contestant.”

Speaking quietly so as not to draw notice, Saber replied in a reasonably respectful tone. “The honor is mine. My Master mentioned that you named yourself during your first meeting, King of Knights. No heroic spirit would disdain the chance to exchange a greeting with the wielder of mighty Excalibur.”

Paying no mind to their exchange of pleasantries, Twilight continued her side of the conversation. “If you were observing the battle, then I guess you know that you were right to warn me about the others. Archer tried to…” She felt her face fall, and she wasn’t able to finish the sentence.

Ruler actually looked a bit sad at the admission. Twilight wondered why. “The temptation of the Holy Grail is great, Twilight Sparkle. It is for the best that you learned the true nature of the stakes.”

They sat in silence for a few minutes, any urge for further discussion drowned in negative emotions. Luckily Pinkie arrived with Twilight’s cake, as well as a cup of tea for her tablemate. “Here you go Twilight. Oh, I see you met Pen Dragon!”

Twilight cocked an eyebrow. “Pen Dragon?”

Pinkie nodded emphatically. “Yeah! It’s a cool name, right? She’s been coming in every day for every meal while she’s visiting Ponyville for the festival! Talk about a loyal customer. Even I might get tired of nothing but sweets after almost two weeks! Well, okay, that’s probably not true, but it seems like most other ponies would.”

Ruler sipped her tea nonchalantly while Twilight felt her suspicion grow. Every meal for two weeks? What was the Servant up to? “The tea is excellent Pinkamena. I appreciate your efforts to make it to my tastes.”

Pinkie stuck her tongue out. “I’d appreciate it if you stopped using my full name. Do you girls need anything else?”

“Pinkie, could you see if the Cakes have any of those gemstone cupcakes made up? Spike would love one.” Twilight didn’t want to take the chance that her friend would stick around to chat after serving them.

Once Pinkie was out of earshot, Twilight asked, “Why are you hanging around here so much that you needed a pseudonym Ms. Pen Dragon? I certainly hope you’re not up to something.”

Ruler’s face remained calm. “There’s no need to be rude, Twilight Sparkle. I simply enjoy the food here.” She became thoughtful as she looked at the last few bites of muffin on her plate. “It is made with a lot of care and love. It brings back fond memories. As does your friend Pinkamena. Her excitability and good humor remind me of someone I once knew.”

Twilight wasn’t entirely convinced, but she elected to let the matter drop. There wasn’t exactly much she could do about it at the moment. But she resolved to keep an eye on Sugarcube Corner all the same.

As she dug into her cake, Pinkie returned much sooner than she expected. “Sorry Twilight, no cupcakes for Spike today. It turns out Rarity came in early this morning and bought up our whole stock of gemstones.”

“That’s peculiar,” Twilight mused aloud. Rarity had already made dozens of dresses studded with gems for the festival crowd, could she have needed more that much?

***

As she made her way home that evening, Twilight’s thoughts were preoccupied. She’d spent several more nerve-wracking hours scouring every inch of downtown Ponyville with Saber, the fear of a surprise attack never quite abating despite his presence. She hadn’t once detected another Master through her Command Spell no matter where they wandered, nor had Saber sensed any other Servant.

That included Ruler as it turned out. Saber had speculated it might have something to do with her being able to assume the form of a pony, which he’d also confirmed was an ability he did not share, nor should any other Servant. A perk of her position as overseer no doubt.

But those things weren’t what were bothering her. She was concerned about Rarity. Part of their scouting trip had taken them past Carousel Boutique, and though the shop was closed with a sign on the door indicating the proprietor was out on business, Twilight could clearly see through the windows. And through those windows she saw that all of Rarity’s gorgeous summer dresses had been stripped of their gemstones.

It was a bizarre sight, and it was understandably worrisome. Had her friend’s shop been burglarized? It seemed unthinkable, but even without her pristine view of pony society collapsing under the fear of violence Twilight could have believed it was possible with so many strangers in town.

She resolved to find Rarity tomorrow and learn what had happened. Saber wanted to expand their scouting to include the rest of the town and its outskirts, but if something terrible had happened she wanted to make time to check in anyway. The Grail War was important, but she wasn’t going to disregard her friends for it, even if they couldn’t help her.

Twilight pushed her way through her door just as the sun was starting to dip toward the horizon. Inside she found Fluttershy picking up the last of her animal’s dinner dishes. “Welcome home Twilight! There’s food for you in the kitchen if you’re hungry.”

“I’m fine. Where’s Spike?”

“Rarity came by after you left this morning and invited him to go gem hunting. I wasn’t sure he should go without letting you know, but she was very insistent.”

Twilight felt her concern rising. “Fluttershy, I think Rarity’s shop might have been robbed. All the gems were missing from her display dresses.”

Fluttershy let out a surprisingly loud gasp. “Oh goodness! That’s terrible! Do you think she’s alright?”

“You’re the one who saw her. How did she seem?”

She put a hoof to her lip, thinking carefully. “Well, she did seem a bit nervous. She kept looking over to the door. And she seemed like she was in a hurry to get Spike and get out to the gem fields.”

Twilight frowned. That sounded bad. Rarity was probably quite upset. If she was staring out the door the whole time and trying to get away from town she was probably nervous. Fearful. Angry that her home had been violated. Twilight couldn’t have sympathized more.

“We should talk to her when she gets back. Let her know we’ll be here for her if she needs anything.”

Fluttershy was just nodding her agreement when Twilight’s Command Spell gave off a feeling of stinging pain.

Panic set in quickly. A Master had found her home. Were they just here to observe or attack? Was it Archer’s Master, the one she knew could be violent, or someone else? There was no way to know.

The faintest whisper of Saber’s voice floated by her ear, just barely loud enough to hear. “Master, a Servant is approaching. It is slow, but certainly coming here. Should I take physical form?”

She hissed back, “Not while Fluttershy can see you!”

“Did you say something Twilight?” Fluttershy asked.

“Oh, no, no. Nothing. Say, could you, uh…” The room was filled with Fluttershy’s animals. What excuse could she use to get her away from the house while they were here? Would it be too dangerous to send her out of the house in case the enemy team saw her? Were the animals in danger if they saw a Servant even though they couldn’t talk? She only had moments to consider the variables.

The pain in her hoof was a lot stronger than the ‘tingle,’ she’d been promised and made it hard to think. It felt like her brain was shutting down. All she could think of was that enemies were coming to her home. They were in all likelihood coming for her life.

Fluttershy stood there looking confused at Twilight’s half-finished sentence, but Twilight didn’t care. She was straining against her own thoughts, trying to guess what would be safest for her and Fluttershy. If they fled the enemy would surely notice, and then it would be a game of cat and mouse. It would give Fluttershy time to hide at least, but if the Servant was Archer it would be a shooting gallery. If they stayed and fought, Fluttershy would see and Twilight would have to be absolutely certain that the other Servant did not survive, or either it or Ruler might try to eliminate her. And that wasn’t even considering the possible destruction a battle could cause to the town.

Her mind was stuck. There were too many things to take into account, and every decision seemed bad. Saber whispered to her again, asking if he should prepare to fight. She told him to wait, that she would give the order if the moment came. Her voice was a little louder than before and the look on Fluttershy’s face was more confused than ever.

Then Twilight heard talking from beyond the door. Her Command Spell was throbbing. That was the voice of her enemy. The time to plan was over, and all Twilight could think was that at least she could finally put a face to her fear.

The door swung open. “…outdone yourself this time, Spike. I really can’t thank you enough for your help. If there’s…”

When Rarity saw Twilight she became very still. It didn’t even look like she was breathing. Her eyes had widened slightly but otherwise she was like a statue. Twilight thought she should be feeling some kind of emotion looking at her, but she just felt empty.

Without really thinking about it, Twilight lit her horn, just the smallest spark of magic. Rarity unfroze as she let out a yelp and picked up her right hoof, looking to see where the pain had come from. When her brain caught up to her reflexes, she couldn’t even muster the decency to put the hoof back down.

Saber’s voice whispered in her ear one last time. “There is no doubt. I sense the Servant by her side.”

Author's Note

The relaunch of Chapter 1 is still in progress, but I finally managed to get this chapter together so I decided to let it out for you all. It was kind of a tough one honestly, but I think it did everything I wanted it to do.

You can expect to see the "full text" of Saber's servant profile shortly, probably on my blog. As I hope the text made clear, Twilight can't see his full profile just yet, but everything she can see you'll be able to see. It, along with the other Servants, will be updated as the story progresses.

Locked Heart :: Master and Commander

There was silence as Twilight stared at Rarity, her horn still lit with magic. She noticed that Rarity’s horn had been lit from the moment she entered, though it wasn’t obvious why. The Command Spell on her hoof was throbbing, and the pain kept her brain from kicking into a more analytical mode. Sensation drowned her mind, keeping rationality at bay.

The evening breeze wafting through the door and brushing her face. The low hissing of her breath through flared nostrils. The sheen of Rarity’s pristine white coat. The image of Fluttershy’s confusion as she shot looks between the two unicorns, futilely attempting to understand the sudden tension. Such things were consuming all her brain’s processing power. Any attempt to think more deeply was blocked. All she could do was feel.

Rarity seemed just as frozen. Her breaths were shallow, her pupils dilated, her hoof still hanging in the air as she stood on three legs. Twilight managed to wonder about the significance of a slight tremble in those legs. Did it mean her friend was afraid, or angry, or sad, or simply coiled and ready to move?

Whatever spell had stuck them in time wasn’t permitted to last. Spike, still at Rarity’s side and showing remarkable ignorance of the mood, stood on his toes to take a look at the raised hoof. Awestruck by what he saw, he asked, “Rarity, when did you get a tattoo?! It’s so cool!”

That was all it took.

“Spike, get away from her!” Twilight sent a flash of magic his way before the sentence was even totally out of her mouth. By the time she was done speaking, Spike had been forcibly teleported from Rarity’s side, reappearing behind Twilight’s rear legs. Keeping her horn pointed squarely at Rarity, she shifted her stance slightly, maneuvering her body to block off as much as Spike as possible. She felt her ears flatten back against her head as she glared at her friend. The shaking in Rarity’s legs had gotten worse.

“What the hay, Twilight?” Spike asked. She didn’t answer. The little dragon was still in danger as long as a Servant was hidden in the room somewhere. She wasn’t about to break her lock on the enemy.

The enemy. That’s what Rarity was. Twilight took that thought and every emotion that could be associated with it and locked it behind the thickest wall in her heart. It would have crushed her then and there if she hadn’t.

“Rarity, you need to leave. Right now.” She said it calmly, her tone completely flat, but it seemed to set the room on fire.

Spike was outraged. “Twilight, what are you doing? Rarity is your friend! You can’t throw her out just because she got a tattoo! You’re acting—”

Fluttershy was dismayed. “How can you say that Twilight? You were just telling me about the ordeal poor Rarity went through. She needs—”

Of all things, Rarity actually started pleading. “Wait, Twilight! Let me explain! I understand what you must be thinking, but I swear to you it’s not—”

“QUIET!”

The echo of her order was deafening in the subsequent silence. The noise had certainly reached the neighboring homes. Twilight tried to recall the last time she’d raised her voice that loudly, especially to Spike or Fluttershy, and found nothing in recent memory. When she spoke again, her voice had returned to a flat, calm tone. “Rarity, go. Now.”

Rarity reacted to that last word like it was a whip crack, immediately taking a few ginger steps toward the door. She tried to lock eyes with Twilight, to send a message without words, but Twilight’s gaze sent back only one reply: “You’re not welcome here.”

She ran into the night. Twilight heard the creak of a metal wheel chasing after her, most likely the sound of whatever she’d been using her magic on. In seconds the sound faded to nothing.

“Rarity, wait! Come back!” Spike’s shouts went unanswered, so he moved to follow her. Fluttershy had taken flight and seemed ready to do the same. Before either of them could reach the entryway, the heavy oak door glowed with Twilight’s magic and slammed shut in front of them.

The young dragon was quickly running out of patience with his surrogate older sister. He turned back to Twilight, his eyes fixed in an angry slant. “What is wrong with you? Have you gone completely crazy? How could you be so rude to one of your best friends?”

The wall in Twilight’s heart stayed strong against his words. She knew she had no time to sooth his feelings or placate his juvenile crush on Rarity. “Spike, Fluttershy, I can’t let either of you leave the house tonight. It would probably be best if you both just went to bed early. I have work to do.”

Spike wasn’t biting. “I’m not doing anything until you explain—”

“I shouldn’t have to explain myself to my number one assistant, Spike. You’ve never once failed to do something I’ve asked you. Now I’m asking you to stay in this house and go to bed. Are you going to do that or not?”

Twilight had expected more defiance. She could have handled more defiance with ease. Instead she got a look of incredible hurt. She’d never tried to leverage his “position,” as her assistant against him before. That look was more than enough to make her mentally swear to never do it again. But she didn’t waver. She had to keep him safe.

Spike didn’t say another word. He turned his back on Twilight as he walked toward the stairs.

Twilight turned her eyes to Fluttershy, who seemed to be on the verge of tears, every breath accompanied by a gentle sniffle. It was clear that she didn’t understand what had come over her friend. Twilight wanted to tell her something to ease her mind, but her safety had to come first. “I’m going into my lab. I’ll be working for the rest of the night. You can have my bed to yourself. I’d appreciate it if you kept an eye on Spike until he falls asleep, I don’t want him to do something crazy like sneak out.”

“T-Twilight, I… I don’t understand.”

Twilight felt that wall in her heart start to crack. She couldn’t allow it. She wanted to let herself feel, so she could show some sympathy, some regret, anything to make Fluttershy understand that this was necessary and that things would work out. But she couldn’t risk letting her feelings out, allowing them to overwhelm her. She had work to do first.

“Take care of the animals Fluttershy. Then go to bed. Please.” She walked away without waiting for her friend’s response.

***

Twilight’s laboratory, which she’d set up in the somewhat secret basement beneath Golden Oak Library, wasn’t the most welcoming place. The roots of the tree above prodded through the walls in odd places, the machines gave off eerie green and blue light, and the air was musty and smelled of chemicals making it unpleasant to breath.

However, it was the perfect place to conduct experiments. It was quiet and secluded, and the earthen walls dampened any sounds and odors and thereby keep the neighbors from being outraged at the hours or emissions of Twilight’s work. And, if something went wrong, it would be ideal for containing potential disaster, like a fire. Putting up with this kind of environment was the price one paid for science.

Twilight realized she hadn’t really thought about those things since she’d set the place up. Then they were pragmatic concerns, things one had to consider but once satisfied could be forgotten. Now they were just more gloom for her to dwell on for no reason. But somehow those dark thoughts about unfriendly environs and the potential for horrible destruction made her feel slightly better. She supposed that misery loving company applied even when one was alone.

Not that she was alone. “Saber, you can come out now. Nopony will bother us down here.”

Her Servant assumed his physical form. She’d expected him to start poking around the new room as she’d seen him do in other new environments, or at least to start chatting about the place, but instead he seemed content to stare at her. Twilight found herself not caring.

“My Command Spell stopped hurting. I’m assuming that means Rarity is gone. Can you still sense the Servant that was with her.”

“No, they’ve passed beyond my range as well. The way you acted up there was a first.”

“Good.” She tried to make her ignoring the second part of his statement as obvious as possible. “That was a dangerous situation. The next time a Master tries to just walk into the building with a Servant we need to be ready. As long as Fluttershy and Spike are here you’re not free to fight, but that won’t stop anypony else.”

“That other Master is a friend of yours I gather? You dealt with the situation rather more… abruptly than I expected.”

Refusing the rise to his bait, Twilight continued talking. “We already know in terms of my magic something direct like a shield is useless, at least against Archer. We can’t assume it’ll fare any better against the others. But there has to be something we can do. The night she met me Ruler said she expected a difficult time getting into my ‘workshop,’ so spellcasters from your world must have some means of defending against Servants.”

“I’m afraid I know almost nothing about the ways of magi. I can’t be of any assistance to you in that area. You were also very short with your houseguests. So short they seemed taken aback in fact, particularly the little serpent. Are you sure that was the best way for you to handle things?”

Twilight caught herself grinding her teeth. She stopped herself and kept right on talking, making her way to a collection of machines against the far wall. “You may be more help than you think. I’m going to run some tests on you. If I can gather some information about what kind of magical creature you are, I might be able to come up with a spell that I can use as a defense.”

Saber didn’t seem very interested what she was saying, and appeared poised to send only more questions about her behavior her way. She was in no mood to indulge him. Before he could speak again, Twilight wheeled over a metal box covered in a variety of dials, switches and readouts and stuck an attached suction cup directly onto Saber’s forehead. He crossed his eyes in an attempt to get a look at the thing, finally distracted. She kept her eyes fixed firmly on her machine’s gauges as she turned on its power. “I’m going to need you to remain as still as possible for accurate readings. No talking.”

***

INTERLUDE 6-1

Rarity slammed the door shut behind her as she arrived at Carousel Boutique. She was out of breath. It was difficult to recall the last time she’s run so hard, and that didn’t even take into account the heavy mine cart full of gems she’d dragged along behind her with magic. The mere thought of such vulgar physical exertion would have made her tired on most days. But then, most days she didn’t have the level of motivation to get as far away from somepony as possible that Twilight had just provided.

The memory of that look in her friend’s eyes was a bitter one. Nopony had ever looked at Rarity that way before. Even in the most intense and wrathful of fights with her little sister Sweetie Belle, she’d never been shot a glare so overflowing with anger, betrayal and contempt.

Of course, Rarity knew she hadn’t exactly helped the matter. She’d been so shocked to see Twilight waiting for her that’d she hadn’t even been able to move. As that silence had stretched on for seconds that seemed like hours she’d wanted to speak, but somehow all the scenarios she’d rehearsed for speaking to Twilight about the Grail War had evaporated from her thoughts. When that moment she’d been dreading every moment since the previous night’s battle came without any warning she’d been left dumbstruck until it was far too late.

Recalling that there had been no warning set her own eyes into a glare. This disaster wasn’t Rarity’s fault after all, it was her accursed Servant! “Rider! You come out right this second!” she shouted to the air, stamping her hoof to punctuate her rage.

The Servant appeared in a brilliant cascade of teal lights. She had seated herself on the edge of the old mining cart, daintily crossing her legs and giving her master that infuriating bemused smile she always seemed to wear.

It was hard to ignore what a beautiful and stylish creature Rider was, even with the large scar running down the midline of her face. Her long hair, though tormented by split ends and uncontrollable bangs, was an exotic shade of raspberry pink that was unusual even among ponies. Her human body was shaped in a strange way, but had a wonderful aesthetic sense. Large udders were located high on her upper chest instead of near the bottom of her abdomen as they would be on a cow or other hoofed animal, and her hips flared wide at the top of slender legs, creating a sort of hourglass shape that was symmetrical and quite appealing.

Rider wore a long red coat that drew the eye in a way any designer would envy. The oversized cuffs and wide lapels played off the simple accents of golden buttons. A leather corset belt cinching the coat tightly to her waist combined with a similar leather collar around the neck drew attention to the generous curvature in between. The bottom of the coat flared open and revealed linen pantaloons clinging tightly to her body, pinned in place by knee-high black leather boots.

It all served to accentuate her figure without putting it on display in a gaudy fashion. And to top it all off the outfit was surprisingly functional (other than the high heels of the boots, though they didn’t seem to impede the Servant in the slightest), allowing her legs complete freedom of movement and only minimally restricting her arms and the flexibility of her torso. Rarity would have loved to shake the hoof, or hand as the case may have been, of whoever created the design.

But for once, Rarity’s anger was strong enough to outweigh her appreciation for fashion. “You knew Twilight was in there, didn’t you? You let me walk into that library without the slightest bit of warning!”

“As I recall, madam,” Rider replied, her surprisingly rough and tomboyish voice not really fitting her glamorous feminine looks at all, “right after we formed our contract you said you didn’t care about what I could sense, you just wanted me to keep you safe.”

Rarity narrowed her eyes at that little quip, remembering what had happened immediately after she had summoned Rider. It was possibly the most tasteless bit of dark humor she’d ever heard. “Are you being serious? I was in a panic when I said that! And you acted like you didn’t even hear me anyway!”

“A lady ought to be able to maintain her composure even in such dire straits. Far be it for a poor, simple sailor like myself to presume your state of mind, or question the meaning behind your words.” If anything, the smile on Rider’s face was getting wider.

Rarity was quickly learning to despise the woman. That incident after the summoning had been bad enough. But now it seemed she was going beyond negligence to intentional sabotage of her own Master, and for no better reason than a laugh. Something had surely gone wrong with the summoning spell, because the idea that such a miscreant was her most compatible hero was absurd.

Rarity stared with all the irritation she could muster as the Servant ran her fingers through the gems she’d sat herself on, picking up handfuls and letting them cascade back down like a rainbow waterfall. “You’re unbelievable. As if it weren’t disgusting enough that you’re demanding payment for your protection. Now thanks to you Twilight probably thinks… I can’t even imagine what Twilight thinks. After what happened to her last night…”

Rider scoffed. “Your little friend ought to be kissing your hooves. If you hadn’t forced me to chase Archer off he’d still be trying to put arrows through Saber’s armor. There aren’t many Grail Wars where a Master would waste a Command Spell saving one of their competitors.”

That comment compelled Rarity to pick up her right hoof and glance at the sign hidden there. The centerpiece of the image was a diamond, near identical to her cutie mark. That diamond was itself surrounded on the top and bottom by two halves of a larger diamond, the lines of the larger shape patterned after a braided stitch. Or rather, it had been. One of those two halves had faded and smudged, making it unrecognizable. The ruination of the symbol made it clear that one of her three Command Spells was expended.

Rarity remembered the previous night, the circumstance that had led her to such a costly expenditure. She and Rider had crested one of the taller hills to be found in the outskirts of Ponyville and for their efforts in climbing received an excellent view of the battle between four Servants in a clearing near the forest border. She’d observed the distant brawl through her favorite opera glasses, and what she’d seen was nothing short of amazing, the kind of battle that one found in storybooks. It had been quick, but breathtaking.

Then Twilight had appeared, and suddenly it wasn’t a show anymore. At first Rarity had been terrified that her friend had stumbled into the battlefield by accident, but it became obvious within seconds that she was there to protect the robed swordsman who’d remained after the fight to gloat and been shot with an arrow for his trouble. It had to be her Servant, meaning Twilight was a part of the Grail War as well.

When Rarity had thought about it after the fact it seemed obvious. After all, Twilight was the most gifted user of magic in all of Equestria, why wouldn’t the Grail want her to be a Master? And surely Twilight had some sort of wish. Someone so naturally inclined to introversion had to have some wild fantasy that the Grail could realize.

But in the moment all she’d been able to do was fear for Twilight’s safety. She’d watched the effortless crushing of her friend’s forcefield by the unseen attacker, whom Rider had called Archer. She’d watched the swordsman move to protect her when she passed out. Arrows had continued to pelt them even as they crouched helpless in the center of the clearing, and Rarity couldn’t remain idle. She’d ordered her own Servant to help them.

Rider refused. She was a mercenary, she’d explained for the second time that evening. A soldier of fortune. She wouldn’t fight without compensation, and Rarity had none to give at the moment.

The answer had been infuriating. She tried to reason with the woman, explain it was her friend who was in danger and that they had to help. Rider wouldn’t lift a finger, all sentiments lost on her mercantile mind. Anger took over, and Rarity had begun screaming at her. She’d paced and stamped, leveled every insult she could imagine and whined as loud as she could, all of which only seemed to make Rider snicker at her loss of composure.

But in the midst of her ravings, something had happened. Rarity couldn’t even remember exactly what she’d said, something along the lines of a demand that Rider act like the hero she was supposed to be. But whatever the exact words were, they were accompanied by a bright flash of red light coming from underneath her right front hoof.

Rider sighed at that point, combining annoyance and sheer disbelief into one amazing sound. But once she had, she bowed and gave her Master a dutiful and surprisingly unsarcastic “As you wish, madam.” One snap of her fingers later, the air above her head began to ripple like a disturbed pond. From that ripple appeared a single cannon.

It was certainly not one of Pinkie Pie’s party toys; it was made from black cast iron and trimmed with etched gold ornaments. The extreme length of its barrel and high caliber made it clear that it was a weapon of war. A hand-held telescope had appeared in Rider’s hand, and she peered toward the horizon. Rarity’s opera glasses weren’t the most powerful instruments, and had failed to see anything in the dark woods, but Rider’s gaze was set within moments. She had said, “Goodness, he’s very far away. Even for an Archer, he has impressive range. I can’t make out anything about him from here.”

She’d dismissed the spyglass back to whatever ether she’d pulled it from, and casually put a finger in her mouth, wetting it with saliva then holding it into the air to test the direction of the wind. Rarity was on the verge of a breakdown as more and more arrows bounced off the armor protecting Twilight, and just when she was about to start screaming for Rider to hurry, the cannon fired.

The sound was like a physical force at so close up, a deep pulse that went right to Rarity’s core. She couldn’t see the shot flying, and there was no sign of the impact, but within moments the arrows had stopped. Rider had set her hands on her hips, puffed out her ample chest with pride like a giant-sized rooster, and said “Ha! A fine hit! He’ll be nursing that wound for a while, I promise you that! The culverin must be mankind’s finest invention, to give his arm such reach. If only the poor man had been close enough for a shell. Round shot just doesn’t give you the same satisfaction as a juicy explosion.”

Rarity allowed her thoughts to turn back to the present as she looked at her hoof again. She hadn’t intended to use the Command Spell to order Rider to attack. And despite being a brute who loved explosions, Rider was correct when she said that Twilight was a competitor. But that didn’t really matter to Rarity. As much as she hoped she might have her wish fulfilled, the safety of her friend had to come first. She’d use up all her Command Spells in a heartbeat if it kept those she cared about out of harm’s way.

After all, this whole mess was supposed to be a game of sorts, a little brawl between magical creatures being directed by the ones who summoned them, with a prize at the end if you managed to win. At least, that was how the pony named Ruler had described it. The only reason Rarity had agreed to be part of it was because she’d been told very specifically that she didn’t have to hurt anypony to win.

Unfortunately, there was an obvious difference between not being necessary and not being able. And after almost dying once, Twilight understandably didn’t have any reason to trust anypony. Even a close friend who had rescued her.

Rarity sighed and scuffed at the floor. She wondered if Twilight would even listen to a word she had to say now that the proverbial cat was out of the bag. It was clear from how Twilight had acted that she needed help, but it was entirely possible that she would be too suspicious to accept it now. It was a no-win scenario.

But Rarity was not the Element of Generosity for nothing. She was certain there was some way to get through to Twilight, to make it clear she was on her side and that they could work together to stop whoever the maniac in control of Archer was. She wasn’t going to toss their friendship aside just because things seemed difficult.

All she needed was a plan…

INTERLUDE OUT

***

Twilight stepped away from her microscope and planted a hoof squarely on her forehead with a sigh. Hours of testing and analysis were starting to give her a migraine. She wasn’t making much headway in her attempts to secure her home against Servants, and what progress she was making was slow.

The issue was this power to resist magic Saber had, and which he claimed the majority of other Servants shared. It was a “class skill,” for the classes Saber, Archer, Lancer and Rider, meaning that any Servant summoned into those classes would have it at some level even if they’d had no talent for resisting magic in life. That was four out of the possible seven.

Additionally, there was nothing preventing two other classes, Berserker and Assassin, from having the ability to resist magic as a “personal skill,” they’d had during their lifetimes. And the seventh class, Caster, was itself dedicated to users of magic, so even without Magic Resistance (which they might also have as a personal skill) trying to beat one of them at their own specialty was asking to be disappointed.

While magic was almost useless, mundane protections were even more so. The Servant’s physical strength made things like walls and doors child’s play to break down. Physical traps like cages or pits could be escaped with ease by a Servant’s spirit form, as it was not bound by conventional matter. She’d even considered something outrageous, like a fire or blow dart trap right out of a Daring Do novel, but Saber had shot those ravings down. He’d explained that even in their physical bodies, Servants could not be damaged by harmful things purely of the mortal plane. As they remained spiritual beings even when they take on flesh and blood, only weapons with some spiritual power could harm them. For example, magic spells.

The whole thing was a paradox. Only magic could halt Servants, but Servants were all protected from magic to the point where it couldn’t hope to halt them. Whoever had conceived the system had a sick sense of humor.

But it wasn’t hopeless. After a lot of thought, Twilight did have one idea. But it would take time to prepare. It wasn’t a sure thing, and until it was ready she would remain vulnerable. She would have to rely on her anonymity to protect her until then.

Her anonymity with everypony except Archer’s potentially homicidal Master, of course. And Rarity…

She cut that thought off. She couldn’t afford it.

She glanced at the clock on the far wall of her laboratory and saw it was well past midnight, but long before sunrise. She knew what she had to do when morning came, but for now she was stuck. It made her restless, even angry, but there was nothing to be done.

She moved toward the stairs leading back to the house, but hesitated. Fluttershy and Spike were already asleep. It would be wrong to disturb them at this hour. She told herself the fact that it was also a convenient excuse to avoid even the smallest chance of them trying to talk to her about what had happened with Rarity wasn’t a factor.

There was an old reading couch tucked into a corner, dating back to when this room was nothing but library storage. It was dusty and uncomfortable, but it would serve as a bed for one night. She curled up, using her forelegs as a makeshift pillow, and let her eyes close. They felt like they had weights attached to them, and she realized how much more tired she was then she thought. “Saber, I’d appreciate it if you could wake me up at sunrise,” she said to the room at large.

The Servant had found a chair for himself and was sitting near one of the many machines his master had used to test his body. He’d rested an elbow on his knee and his chin in his hand, his father’s favorite thinking pose. Priam had once told his son that a king had to look wise and thoughtful at all times, even when his mind was blank. Saber’s mind was far from empty as he regarded the sleeping form of his Master.

Events were weighing heavily on her mind, that much was obvious. This world was a far more peaceful place than the one he’d called home, and she was ill suited to conflict such as this. She was smart, adaptable, and powerful in magic, but Twilight Sparkle was a peaceful soul at heart. The danger of the Grail War had become too vicious too quickly, and that was taking its toll.

He’d thought it would be best to remain silent, to allow her to deal with the strain in her own way. Now he questioned that judgment.

At the bakery, Ruler had called him one of the Nine Worthies of Chivalry. Chivalry was not a concept native to his lifetime, but as a heroic spirit his knowledge transcended time, so he recognized the meaning behind the title. Chivalry had many tenants, but perhaps the most fundamental was that it was the duty of a warrior to protect those who could not protect themselves. It was clear to him even after a single day that Twilight Sparkle was neither helpless nor weak. But he was not certain the burden of a soldier at war was something she was capable of protecting herself from.

He did not need to act yet. It was possible that she would find a way to deal with her feelings. And after all, a Servant should endeavor to maintain a certain distance from their Master. The Grail was the prize, and a Servant could not afford to become too attached to the one who summoned them if they truly wanted to make it their own.

But something about the bookish, sarcastic purple pony appealed to him. The thought of leaving her to her problems and remaining nothing but a weapon to her left a bad taste in his mouth. So he would continue to observe, to offer her advice and serve as her sounding board. Besides, even without becoming too close to her, there was one thing he could certainly do to alleviate Twilight Sparkle’s fears.

He could win.

***

Author's Note

I actually had to rewrite this chapter a couple of times before I was satisfied with it. I wasn't sure how much of Rarity's situation I wanted to make clear immediately and how much to hold back. As you can see I settled more on the former, though you don't know everything just yet.

Fate fans will probably recognize Rarity's servant, but if you didn't it should become clear before too long.

Still working on the Chapter 1 rewrite, but its tough. It's really true that starting and ending a story well are the hardest part.

Solutions

The next morning, Twilight slipped out of the cellar with as much stealth as she could muster. She had hoped to get out of the house before Spike and Fluttershy woke, and made her way toward the door with as much care as was possible in the silver gloom of early morning. Unfortunately she hadn’t taken into account the critters sleeping on her floor. Most were easy to avoid, but a few were almost invisible in near darkness.

One misplaced hoof found its way to the tail of a sleeping beaver that had blended perfectly with the wooden floor. Its high-pitched squeal began a chain reaction as those startled awake by the noise made their displeasure known with a variety of growls, tweets and shrieks. Fluttershy and Spike received a rude awakening, and when their red-eyed gazes fell on Twilight they weren’t inclined to roll over and go back to sleep.

Before either one could speak, Twilight bolted. She took refuge in the nearby bathroom and slammed the door behind her. The escape was a poor one. Her chosen sanctuary had no window and no other way out. Groaning with frustration, she looked into the mirror to compose herself. Twilight’s reflection seemed even more out of sorts than she expected as she tried to build the courage to walk out and deal with her friends.

She realized she was quite dirty. Her coat was frizzy and matted, and her mane looking greasy. She thought back on all the stress and physical exertion she’d been through recently, as well as the night sleeping on a couch in her poorly ventilated lab, and remembered that she hadn’t bathed in the last forty-eight hours.

Twilight decided to allow herself time for a hot shower. She climbed into her bathtub, and let the high-pressure nozzle do its work. The hot water flowed over her body and the room quickly filled with steam, and Twilight breathed deeply. Her body temperature rose. The humid air soothed her lungs like a knotted muscle finally being stretched. Relaxation snuck into her body through every pore.

She took her time and tried a variety of soaps and shampoos. Each scent came with a rich lather of bubbles which penetrated her coat to massage her skin. Every rinse seemed to wash away another bad memory. Even the sound of water hitting the porcelain tub and the sight of grime flowing off her body and down the drain were a bit hypnotic. She couldn’t help but let out a sigh of satisfaction when she finally turned off the flow and wrapped herself up with her softest towel.

It was an all too brief moment of recovery, and she was thankful for it. It would make lying to her friends that much easier.

After taking as long as possible to towel herself dry, she emerged behind a mask of confidence… only to discover a rather unfair trap. The table had been set with a magnificent breakfast spread of fruit and eggs. For a moment, the glow of her rejuvenating shower fooled her into thinking it was a wonderful sight, but a bit of thinking corrected that.

Twilight hadn’t eaten since the previous day’s lunch thanks to the incident with Rarity, and Fluttershy knew that. Such a lovely meal was certainly intended to entice her to sit down at the table, where she would be a sitting duck for the inevitable interrogation. Worse, if Twilight tried to skip out on the meal the act would be perfect ammunition to try to force her into a confrontation. A good old-fashioned guilt trip would certainly be a preamble to questioning no matter when she returned.

It was a trick Twilight’s mother had pulled many times when she would sneak out to practice magic or spend hours at the library. Twilight wondered if this sort of manipulative move fell under Fluttershy’s Element of Harmony as a type of “killing with kindness,” or if it was just something any pony with honed maternal instincts knew.

Fluttershy and Spike were already seated, waiting. Conceding her defeat, Twilight sat in the free chair and began eating without a word.

A period of silence followed, and as it stretched on Twilight observed her tablemates. Fluttershy occasionally glanced in Twilight’s direction like she might speak, but only saw fit to sigh and take another bite of the pear she’d been nursing, which was quickly being worn to a pencil-thin core. Despite her efforts to force Twilight to stop dodging, Fluttershy seemed reluctant to be the one to start the conversation. As for Spike, he hadn’t taken a bite of the special scrambled eggs seasoned with emerald dust Fluttershy had made for him. He was more interested in glaring angrily than talking.

These were good things for Twilight. All she had to do was eat and run before the social paralysis ran its course and she wouldn’t have to worry about trying to justify her actions. She didn’t need them to be happy with her as long as they remained safe. Fence mending could wait until the Grail War was over.

But Twilight’s good luck did not continue long, as Spike finally snapped. “So, are we just going to sit here eating or is Twilight going to explain herself? How could you just throw Rarity out of the house for no reason like that? I haven’t seen you be this rude to your friends since before we moved here from Canterlot! She was practically crying!”

Twilight didn’t have a good answer for him, so she sipped her orange juice to buy herself a moment. She knew she should have tried to come up with some kind of story to explain how she’d acted last night. But every time her thoughts turned to Rarity she felt intense anger that deflected her efforts.

If she was being honest with herself, she wasn’t even entirely sure why. She had been exceedingly careful to not give the reaction any thought all night, focusing all her powers of analysis on more pressing things. She’d justified this by determining that it didn’t matter how she felt about Rarity in the face of the reality that they were on opposing sides, and that hadn’t changed. Introspection was an indulgence she couldn’t afford so long as Spike and Fluttershy were unknowingly depending on her to protect them.

With no other options available to her as she finished swallowing, Twilight decided to bluff. “I have a good reason Spike. There’s no way I’d act that way unless I did. You’re just going to have to trust me on this.”

Spike crossed his arms and dug in his metaphorical heels. “It’s not going to be that easy Twilight. Fluttershy told me that you were talking about how worried you were about Rarity right before we walked in the house. As soon as you saw her you went completely bananas! So what could have changed your tune in just a few seconds like that?”

Twilight reflexively glared at Fluttershy, who managed an uncomfortable smile. Still, one could hardly blame her for telling the truth, and Twilight was sure she wanted answers as much as Spike. Fluttershy had been friends with Rarity long before Twilight had come to Ponyville, so if anything she had more reason to be bothered by the way Twilight acted.

There was no way out for her. Even if she wanted to try and paint Rarity as some kind of villain to explain throwing her out, like saying she was a Changeling or something equally desperate, there was no way they would believe it without some kind of proof. She certainly couldn’t tell them the truth either. This only left one option; take the fault on herself.

She sighed in resignation. “The truth is you were right Spike. I threw her out because she got a tattoo on her hoof.”

“What?!” Spike’s apparent outrage over the excuse came as something of a relief to Twilight. She was worried she wouldn’t be able to keep the sarcasm out of her voice when she said it. “I didn’t want to believe it, but I knew that had to be it! I know you can be stuffy sometimes, but this is one of your best friends! How could you be so judgmental?”

“Well, tattoos… carry serious health risks. They can… become infected and uh… they’re a mark of... amorality. So I can’t accept that she got one.” Twilight wasn’t accustomed to lying on her feet, but Spike’s look was seething, so at least he was buying her slightly absurd excuse. Fluttershy was silent, but she wore a noticeable frown.

Spike took a deep breath to calm himself, then closed his eyes and shook his head with disappointment. Adopting a slightly melodramatic tone, he said “For shame, Twilight Sparkle. I thought you’d learned more about friendship than this after all those letters you’d sent the Princess. I can’t even stand to look at you after hearing something so hateful come out of your mouth. I’ll excuse myself.”

Twilight stifled the urge to roll her eyes as the little dragon hopped down from his chair and made his way out of the room, but it was a better response than she’d expected. At least he wasn’t ranting or wearing that wounded look from the night before. She sipped again from her juice to try and calm herself. Then she almost choked when Fluttershy said, “I’m not a little kid Twilight. You’re not going to fool me with a nonsense lie like that. What’s really going on here? Um, you know if it’s not too much trouble to tell me.”

Fluttershy’s rare moment of assertiveness was a testament of Twilight’s continuing misfortune. “W-what do you mean Fluttershy? It’s totally the tattoo. I just can’t stand the thought of somepony… painting graffiti on the temple of their body.”

Fluttershy stared. Her eyebrows narrowed and she stared. Her pupil’s contracted and she stared. And in the space of a blink her stare had become THE Stare.

Twilight felt sweat beading on her neck as the yellow pony’s big blue eyes seemed like they might swallow her whole. Or drill right her skull. Or both. She felt the truth inside her start to boil, the heat of that stare making the words want to bubble out of her mouth.

Before the compulsion to speak overwhelmed her Twilight heard her front door creek open. Spike was about to leave the house.

“Spike! Where are you going?” she called out.

“I’m going to apologize to Rarity for you. She deserves to hear it even if you’re too pig-headed and ignorant to say it.” He tilted his snout high into the air, marking his absolute indignation, and marched over the threshold.

With a magical flash Twilight was away from Fluttershy’s eyes and blocking Spike’s way. She splayed out her legs and filled the doorframe, forcing Spike to backpedal a few steps. He started to ask “What—”

“Spike, I can’t let you see Rarity right now. It’s dangerous.” Twilight spoke without thinking, then immediately regretted it. Saying that meant that Spike’s next words would be…

“Dangerous? What are you talking about Twilight?”

“Um… well, you see… that tattoo she got is…” Her mind was a complete blank. The idea of spinning somepony getting a tattoo into some actual risk to life and limb was too absurd for her to contemplate.

Worse, her own brain was working against her. Even now, her attempts to think about Rarity to come up with some plausible excuse were being thwarted by her own subconscious. It was if a small voice in head was whispering Don’t think about Rarity. If you realize why you’re angry, you won’t forgive her.

She would have given all the bits in Ponyville for Pinkie Pie to pop in and save her with some bout of random madness that somehow made perfect sense, but she wasn’t so fortunate. Instead Spike said, “You can’t be serious. This is getting ridiculous. I’m leaving and you can’t stop me.”

Panic overwhelmed Twilight. Those last words, ‘you can’t stop me,’ echoed over and over in her head. Spike was set on leaving, on wandering about town unprotected from the Servants and their Masters. Enemies that he had no idea existed, would not be on guard against, and could not protect himself from even if he knew. And she couldn’t stop him.

Except she could.

Twilight took a single step back, and telekinetically slammed the door in Spike’s face. Paying no heed to the muffled shouting that followed, she then cast a spell. Her beam of magic struck the door, and moments later a purple film began to sprout from the wood like a mushroom. It stretched to fit the door frame, working its way into the cracks in the wood like vacuum-sealed plastic. Finally, a padlock made of solid light appeared at the center of this coating with a flourish of sparks.

Twilight fired more of the spells in rapid succession, targeting every visible window. She jogged around the library zapping every other window and the back door. It only took a few seconds to complete her circuit. Her home looked like it was covered in polka dots, but there wasn’t any way left in or out.

When she returned to the front door, she saw Spike had opened the door and found the translucent magical field in his way. His tiny scaled fists were pounding away, and he even tried a burst of green dragon fire, but Twilight knew his efforts were in vain.

The Lockdown Spell was very effective, which is why she’d bothered to learn it. After being forced to use a more traditional, and far more taxing, force field to secure her home during a little incident with the local school newspaper, she’d wanted something more efficient in case a similar situation came up again. While it could only be used on doors and windows it was virtually unbreakable.

As her assistant glared at her, Twilight felt more than a twinge of guilt. She wanted to explain herself, to tell him just how necessary it was to protect him from the Grail War. But she knew what the price of that knowledge was. “I’m sorry Spike, but this is the only way I can be sure you and Fluttershy will be safe. You have to stay inside. I’ll try to explain when I get back.”

She reminded herself this was only temporary. A stop-gap to buy her time to think and work on her plan to protect against Servant attacks. Such thoughts made it easier to walk away as Fluttershy joined Spike in staring at her from behind her magical prison.

Twilight’s senses told her Saber was with her as she marched toward the Everfree Forest, and she was thankful for his silence.

***

When she arrived at her destination, Twilight’s nose picked up the smell of cinnamon incense. She took the scent floating out of the windows of the cozy little hollowed-out tree as a good sign, since it most likely meant the one she had come to see was home. She gently rapped her hoof against the door, and a moment later a voice responded.

“I do believe my door was knocked. Enter please, it is not locked.”

Pushing the door aside, Twilight peered through ribbons of smoke and shadows and made out a familiar figure hunched over a cauldron. Zecora the zebra was a mysterious one even after all the time Twilight had known her. It wasn’t at all clear why she lived in the dangerous Everfree Forest, and she didn’t much like to talk about herself or whatever life she’d had before coming to Ponyville. But as the eerie glow of whatever she was working on illuminated the foreign pony’s striped body and made her golden jewelry sparkle, Twilight was reminded that there was one thing she knew for sure about Zecora; she was an absolute artist when it came to potion making.

Zecora offered Twilight a friendly smile as she turned her striking azure eyes away from the mixture. “A welcome sight! Come in Twilight. Would you care for a bite?” She nodded toward the cauldron. “I’ve made it just right.”

Twilight raised an eyebrow. “That’s your breakfast? Isn’t it a bit…”

“Bright? You need not fear the light. The flavor will delight.”

Twilight briefly wondered if that had been a setup so the zebra could show off how many sentences she could string her rhyming. She shook her head in refusal regardless. “I already ate. I actually came for another reason.”

“For me this visit is a plus. I also have something to discuss.” Zecora turned toward a shelf near her cauldron and bid Twilight to follow.

“Is that so? What did you need Zecora?”

“Two nights ago, the forest was disturbed. Tracing the source has left me perturbed.” The zebra pointed her hoof toward a small glass vial that appeared to be full of ashes. Twilight felt her stomach sink.

“A great explosion woke me from me from my slumber,” Zecora continued. “I searched and found a tree blown into lumber. At first I blamed a falling star. Still, the situation was bizarre. I took a sample from where the tree fell. My tests revealed traces of a spell.”

Twilight’s memory unwillingly turned to the battle in the clearing, where the Servant in the heavy black armor had wielded stones that exploded on contact. No doubt the wreckage Zecora had found came from one of his stray shots. Of course, she couldn’t tell Zecora that.

Twilight attempted to sound flippant. “Well, I’m sure it was nothing to be worried about. The Everfree Forest is filled with magical creatures. Even ones made out of magic like Timber Wolves. It was probably just some critter acting out.”

Zecora seemed to be dissatisfied. “Based on my tests on the debris, the magic was not of Everfree. Its traces were unlike any I’ve seen. And the spell’s raw power was almost obscene.”

A nervous laugh forced its way out of Twilight at that comment. If Zecora thought that little stone’s magic was obscene she should have seen the battle.

It was important that Zecora not look any further into her mystery, so it was time for Twilight to tell another lie. “Well, if you’re really that concerned about it I could send a message to Princess Celestia to see if she knows anything about explosion magic. But I’m sure it’s nothing.” She felt like that one had been a little easier. It wasn’t a feeling she appreciated.

“I am glad to hear you say. So, what brought you out my way?”

After a moment of hesitation, Twilight said “I need you to get something for me. It might be a bit dangerous, but you’re the only one I can trust with this right now, and it’s incredibly important.”

Noting Twilight’s serious tone, Zecora listened intently as Twilight explained what she wanted. Twilight almost wanted to laugh when she saw how wide the zebra’s eyes grew at the request. After all, Zecora was getting the easy part of the job. Twilight was the one who had to use this plan in battle. And there wouldn’t be any second chances if it failed.

***

On her way back out of the Everfree Forest, Twilight was still feeling bad. Though Zecora had agreed to assist her, she had nothing to think on during the trip back to town except Rarity (which she was still very set on not thinking about) and exactly how she was going to get away with locking Fluttershy and Spike in the library.

Even though she hadn’t really been clear-headed when she did it, she was glad she had. It was reassuring to know that both of the loved ones she was trying to keep away from danger where locked away in safety. It was still wrong of course, but desperate times called for desperate measures. If finding out a trusted friend was on opposing sides from you during a war wasn’t desperate than what was?

She kept twisting her thoughts around, desperate to find a way to justify herself as she walked down the dirt road. Preferably a way that would also keep them away from Rarity. Her intense mulling was finally interrupted when Saber’s voice appeared from the air.

“Twilight Sparkle, this isn’t the road that leads back to your home.”

“I know that. We were supposed to go on patrol again today and see if I could sense any Masters. We’ll have to give Rarity’s place a wide berth, but there are still plenty of spots we can check out.”

“Are you not concerned with the friends you locked inside the building?”

“Why should I be? They’re as safe as they can be in there. I doubt the Lockdown Spell will keep out a Servant, but it will certainly keep out any Masters, and the Servants can’t just breach the place by force in broad daylight.”

“Did you consider that a Servant can just pass through the walls and have them trapped like rats in a cage?”

Twilight rolled her eyes. “Of course I did. But if I let them wander around town they could be shot down in the streets or dragged into an alleyway, so it’s basically the same thing. And at least behind my spell there’s no danger of a Master getting their hooves on them. It’s the best of bad options.”

Saber sighed. “Well, at least you’re not in denial about how safe you’re actually making them. But I think perhaps your concern is misguided.”

“Misguided?!” Twilight couldn’t believe what she’d just heard. “Somepony out there tried to have Archer kill me in cold blood! And one of my best friends is my enemy in a fight to the death! What exactly do you expect me to do?!”

Saber took on his physical form, most likely so the full effect of his incredulous stare and stubbornly crossed arms would be conveyed with his words. “You do not know that Archer’s Master ordered him to attack. And you do not know your friend’s intentions, since you threw her into the night before she could speak to you. I will not say you are wrong to assume the worst, but if you allow yourself to be overwhelmed at every unexpected turn of fate during the Grail War your mind will snap long before the fighting ends.”

Twilight bristled. “Well excuse me Mr. Soldier. I’ve never fought a war before! I’m doing the best I can. I’m trying to learn all these skills you’re trying to teach me, and keep all my lies strait and keep all my friends alive and deal with the fact that someponies probably want me DEAD! I’m sorry that I’m getting a little overwhelmed!”

Saber sighed once again. “That is the problem. You are trying to shoulder the entire weight of the war alone. You can’t. No mortal can.” His jaw set in a strange expression as he added. “Even I… A God can shoulder a war alone, but it is beyond any mortal.”

Twilight felt her anger recede as she looked as Saber’s pensive face. There was still a lot she didn’t know about him and his history. At that moment, sharing might have done them both some good. But that was not to be.

A distant sound like the crack of thunder caught Twilight’s ear. She had enough time to wonder what it was before Saber was struck by a huge black missile. The swordsman and the thing that had struck him flew nearly fifty yards thanks to the force of the impact, the sound of screeching metal marking a struggle between them in mid-flight.

Despite her confusion, Twilight gave chase once the mess of black and blue hit the ground. When she approached, the sight she was greeted by made her gasp. Saber has his sword hand pinned behind his back and a black metal arm wrapped around his neck. Saber’s captor was none other than the Black Knight, the Servant from the battle two nights before that had attacked with exploding rocks.

Saber struggled against the steel grip of his captor, but the Servant seemed to hold him almost without effort. His sword was still in its sheath where he could not hope to reach it, and by the look on his face Twilight could tell the hold was causing him quite a bit of pain. Instinctively, Twilight lit her horn up. “You let him go you big bully, or I’ll…”

“That would be a mistake you can’t afford Twilight Sparkle.” The voice from the nearby copse of trees was amused, arrogant, and unfortunately familiar. “It would be difficult to keep Berserker under control if you were foolish enough to attack him.”

Twilight spun around and shot her most acidic glare at the source of the voice. The mare that trotted out of the trees had a look of joy in her violet eyes. She brushed her long white mane away from her face in a calculated gesture of elegance and superiority, ever the show mare. She adjusted her pointy, star-pattern hat as she reared back onto her hind legs and let the wind flutter through her matching cloak, striking her favorite dramatic pose.

“Of course, nothing is too difficult for the Great and Powerful Trixie! So if you must lash out to make yourself feel better, feel free.”

***

INTERLUDE 7-1

Rarity felt naked out in the open without her Servant. Not that she technically wore clothes most of the time, but regardless it was unsettling to be alone. Still, it was necessary. If what she’s learned a few minutes before ended up being true, leaving Rider behind was a small price to pay for the information. And if it wasn’t true, then coming back to the library unprotected to seek a parley, the plan she’d come up with the previous night, was the best chance she had at getting Twilight to talk. The poor thing was clearly in a bad state, and Rarity was determined to help.

As she pranced up the road, however, it quickly became apparent that talking to Twilight was most likely not in her immediate future. Based on that glowing polka dot pattern, her source was telling the truth.

Rarity rushed to the door and prodded the spell filling the frame with her hoof. It looked almost like a gelatin mold, but it felt like solid concrete to the touch. “Fluttershy? Spikey? Are you two in there? It’s Rarity.”

She didn’t want to believe that Twilight had trapped their friends insider her house with this spell, but that information also turned out to be accurate as Fluttershy flapped over to the proverbial prison bars. “Oh Rarity, thank goodness! If it’s not too much trouble, could you maybe possibly let us out of here? I’m afraid things have gotten a little tense.”

Before Rarity could ask what that meant, Spike came screaming to the barrier, pounding on it with his little claws. “Rarity! You’ve got to get us out of here! The beavers are gathering up all the furniture and threatening to make a lodge out of it! I had to fight Mr. Bear with a spatula to keep him from eating all the food! There’s a 40 minute bathroom line, and less than half of these animals know how a toilet works! It’s like a nightmare!”

The little dragon took off screaming with his hands wrapped around his head before Rarity could say anything, so she turned back to Fluttershy. “I’m sorry darling, but this level of spellcraft is way beyond me. Magical theory wasn’t exactly my best subject back in school, and Twilight writes term papers on the subject for fun.”

“Oh, well that’s ok. I’m sure we’ll be just fine. But I’d really appreciate it if you could go find Twilight and maybe convince her to let us out before things get… more tense.” There was the slightest crack in Fluttershy’s voice, and Rarity knew how hard she had to be trying to stay calm for her animal’s sake. The last thing they needed was their surrogate mother panicking.

“Of course, Fluttershy. You just sit tight. Um… if I may ask, why exactly did Twilight trap you all in here? Did she say anything?”

“Um… well…” Fluttershy hid herself behind her bangs, something she rarely did around her friends and a sign that Rarity had more to be concerned about than she realized.

Rarity cleared her throat, pressing the question. Finally, Fluttershy said, “She said… that she had to keep us away from you. Because you’re… dangerous. What was she talking about Rarity? What’s going on around here?”

Rarity felt her heart sink. She didn’t want to believe that Twilight had said such a horrid thing, but Fluttershy would never lie. She avoided the question and simply said, “Keep calm Fluttershy. I’ll be back as fast as I possibly can.”

She charged away. Her informant had told her that Twilight would be near the Everfree Forest if she wanted to find her. It wasn’t a matter of want anymore. Twilight needed help, and she needed it immediately. And the Element of Generosity wasn’t going to take no for an answer when she offered it.

***

Author's Note

It's been a long time, but I'm back! In case any of you are curious (or if any of you are even still around after so many months!) way back at the start of October when I was working on this chapter I was struck with two weeks strait of incredibly intense writer's block. I was finally working through it when out of nowhere I got a brand new job. Talk about bad timing (so to speak). I just had no time to work on this story with my new duties. But the soul still burned, and I never stopped wanting to get back to this story. So I worked on this piece by piece, and now I've finally got a new chapter ready!

My schedule has somewhat softened, so I can promise that there won't be another 4 month break anytime soon, and I'm already working on the next chapter. Hopefully. I'm just glad that I was able to get back before the start of the new year! Look forward to exciting things in the coming chapters! New Servants, New Powers, Battles, Mysteries, all that good Fate stuff. It's good to be back! I hope all of you will continue to give me good feedback and spread the word about this story to others, and I hope I will continue to improve my product with every new release!

Vs Berserker

The smug tone of the Great and Powerful Trixie’s voice was making Twilight want to kick something, but she forced herself to remain still. The Servant that Trixie had identified as Berserker had Saber completely trapped, and one wrong move might cause the knight to snap his captive’s arm, or worse.

Focusing her gaze, Twilight tried to get a reading on the knight’s abilities. The spell functioned just like during practice, but her imagined Encyclopedia of Servants didn’t give her much information. She saw that Berserker’s basic statistics were very close to Saber’s, but she took note that his Strength was ranked at A compared to Saber’s B+, which explained how he was able to hold his captive so easily.

She also saw only one of his skills, the class skill Mad Enhancement, rank C+. The mental book said it was an ability which exchanged mental stability for physical power, enhancing almost all of Berserker’s abilities but degrading his ability to think and speak to almost nothing. A particularly dark sort of magic.

“Good, Twilight Sparkle.” Trixie gestured grandly with each word, her ego inflating to ever greater proportions. “Keep pondering futile escape plans until you’re ready to admit you’ve been beaten. Trixie doesn’t want you whining about how you managed to come up with a way out of her brilliant trap long after she’s won the Grail War. Fair is fair, so Trixie will give you as much time as you need to accept your defeat.”

Twilight turned to face her attacker. She thought of their two previous encounters before the Grail War. The trouble that this traveling magician had made every time she’d come to Ponyville was certainly memorable. She’d tormented Twilight’s friends and neighbors as part of her magic act, just to make herself feel important and powerful. She’d told lies that almost led to a monster wrecking the town. She’d used powerful spells to banish Twilight to the Everfree Forest for doing nothing more than embarrassing her.

But most of all, Twilight remembered how Trixie had apologized for it all. How she’d said she’d finally understood what she’d done wrong. How she’d asked if she and Twilight could be friends.

Twilight’s facial muscles were tight and her face felt hot. She wasn’t sure what kind of expression she was wearing, but judging by Trixie’s reaction to it, it wasn’t a friendly face.

Ever the professional, Trixie continued the show despite a hostile audience. “There’s no reason to be so upset. While it’s true the Great and Powerful Trixie has completely outsmarted you, it’s to be expected. Only a true genius could have devised the plan to use Berserker’s ‘explosive,’ talents to launch an attack from well outside the range of your senses, and with a speed you couldn’t hope to defend against. And what hope would even the apprentice of Celestia have against a true genius?”

Berserker made a sound after she spoke, a sort of throaty gurgle from deep within his black armor. Twilight barely noticed, instead fixating on the magician. “I should have known you’d be one of the Masters, Trixie. I actually thought you’d learned something after the last time we met. What an idiot I was.”

Trixie raised an eyebrow at that comment, as if she were legitimately confused. “What are you talking about?”

“I thought you’d changed, mended your ways even if you still had that huge ego. But no, it was all a ruse wasn’t it?”

Trixie was back on four hooves, and her expression was more than a little troubled by Twilight’s words. “A ruse? Twilight, is something wrong? Trixie knows that she’s bested you on the battlefield, but you’re taking it much harder than she thought you would.”

She sounded so earnest. The fact that she could even say something like that was almost beyond Twilight’s ability to comprehend. But why should she be surprised that Trixie could play dumb with such a straight face? Compared to finding bloodlust and betrayal in the hearts of other ponies, what was something as simple as dishonesty?

But dishonesty wasn’t even the worst of it if this particular Servant was the one Trixie had summoned. “And now I’m not even enough for you. How dare you attack Fluttershy? Did it eat away at you that badly that she managed to fool you the last time you came to Ponyville? That it was the quiet, scared little pegasus that brought me back from my banishment to defeat you? I guess a Servant would be a useful tool for carrying out another pretty revenge scheme!”

Trixie’s expression was shocked for a brief moment, and then flushed with outrage of her own. “Attack Fluttershy? I’d never do anything like that! What’s wrong with you?”

Twilight stomped a hoof. “You can’t play dumb about this, I was there! I saw what Berserker’s exploding stones did to her home! The trees, the grass, the animal houses, it was all in ruins and HE’S the one that did it! Don’t you dare deny it!”

“I…” The showmare deflated a bit, but drifted back into character when she spoke again. “Yes, The Humble and Apologetic Trixie admits that Berserker was the one that caused that damage. Trixie didn’t intend for your friend’s home to become a battlefield, she didn’t even know who lived there. But she had no choice! A female servant with a silver sword attacked Trixie’s Berserker without provocation only a few minutes after she’d summoned him. Surely if you saw the battle you saw her as well? Fluttershy’s home was too close and got caught up in things by chance.”

Berserker made another gurgling noise, louder than the previous one. Twilight ignored it. “Right, right. I’m sure that you’re completely innocent. Who do you think you’re trying to fool? I know what I saw! And I know what Fluttershy told me, that even when she was trying to rescue her animals the rocks were falling all around her like a meteor shower. They never stopped for a second, even when she was right in the line of fire. Tell me, were you only trying to traumatize her for life as payback for foiling your last plan, or did you intend to kill her and botch the job?”

“Ki-” Trixie’s face suddenly flushed with anger. “What in the world has gotten into you Twilight Sparkle? You’re talking crazy, and insulting to boot! You really think I would do something like that? Even at my worst, I… I couldn’t ever… I’ll have you know that I made sure that Berserker wouldn’t-”

“SHUT UP! YOU STUPID NAG!” Both ponies started at the hard-edged shout. The words were followed by hideous, demented laughter. “Ah, what a pity, my Master is a fool. What a fate for the greatest knight of his age, to be a fool following a fool.”

Twilight turned her gaze back to the two Servants, and realized that the one speaking was Berserker. He kept talking, his tone shifting from jovial back to harsh. “This is the rightful fate of a man who chased love at the expense of duty, isn’t it? To suffer at the whim of a talking horse who knows nothing of the battlefield. She would tell her secrets and not even realize what she’s done. ‘Oh, dear enemy, shall I tell you the method of my attack so you’ll be prepared for it in the future? Shall I give clues to the location of my atelier? Shall I tell you of the FOOL THING, THE DAMN FOOL THING I DID TO MY BERSERKER?”

Another bout of giggles and his voice was happy again, “Yes, yes, this is my punishment. I betrayed my king and all my fellows, and so the Grail has betrayed me to Lady Trixie’s service. It’s only fair. God’s will! Divine justice! What a wonderful world this is, what a glory it is to be a knight.”

Berserker’s continued to ramble to himself under his breath, his helmet muffling whatever other words he was saying. Trixie appeared to be alternating between outrage at being called a stupid nag and abashed about how close she had come to revealing whatever she’d been about to say, but Twilight was simply puzzled. According to the description of Mad Enhancement from her analysis spell, Berserker should not have been capable of speech. She stared at the rambling Servant again, and could hardly believe what she saw: Mad Enhancement’s rank had fallen to D+, and Berserker’s strength had degraded to Rank B along with it.

“Saber! He’s become weaker! Throw him off!”

Saber smirked with pride at his master, and then wrenched his arm free from the black steel gauntlet that had pinned it behind his back. In one fluid motion he grasped the remaining arm to create a fulcrum point, pivoted on his hip and rolled his shoulder. His supernatural strength aided by perfect technique broke Berserker’s hold on his neck and slammed the armored warrior back-first onto the hard ground. Not done, Saber shifted his grip on the arm and began to spin, hefting the mass of metal as if it weighed nothing at all. Four, five, six mighty swings and finally he released Berserker, launching his enemy across the clearing in a lovely arc and delivering him to the hooves of Trixie.

Trixie began berating Berserker, and fortuitously Berserker quickly clambered to his feet and began berating her right back. Taking advantage of their dissension, Twilight rushed to Saber’s side and whispered, “What should we do?”

“Berserker is a dangerous Servant, Twilight. They are always unpredictable and volatile, this one perhaps more than others if his strength and sanity can vary like that. And then there is his ability. I’ve been considering it since the battle at the clearing, and I have a troubling theory. I believe he can make anything he touches into a Noble Phantasm. It’s the only explanation I can fathom for his ability to make a mundane stone or leaf into an explosive that harms Servants.”

“What do you mean? Your Noble Phantasm is your armor right? It’s powers are based on the deeds you did while you were alive. And I’m guessing it doesn’t explode if you throw it.”

Saber confirmed that Twilight was correct, but continued his explanation “There is a desperation attack Servants might use called Broken Phantasm. If you overload a Noble Phantasm with more magical energy than it can contain it becomes a one-shot weapon that has it incredible destructive power at the cost of the Phantasm being lost in the process. But it seems impossible that a Master could provide enough energy to a Servant for them to use that technique dozens of times in a row”

Twilight shot a glare at the still arguing pair. “I’ve met Trixie before, and as much as I hate to admit it she’s far above average for unicorns when it comes to magic. If anypony other than me could give a Servant enough energy for what you’re describing, it’s Trixie. It looks like your theory is sound, and that’s bad news for us. Your armor only protects against crafted weapons, right? All he has to do is pick up a stick and your best defense is useless.”

Saber nodded, agreeing with Twilight’s view of the situation. “He’s a difficult enemy, and we’re at a disadvantage this close to the forest if he can weaponize any loose debris. It might be prudent to try and negotiate. Berserker’s Master seemed distraught when you questioned her motives. If she truly isn’t interested in harming anyone other than Servants in this war, it’s possible she might be open to a cease fire, or even a truce.”

“No! She can’t be trusted! You don’t know what she’s like. She may have been pleading ignorance, but if we turn our backs she’ll pounce. And worse, Trixie already knows where I live. If there’s even a sliver of a chance she’s after Fluttershy for a past slight, we’ve got to take Berserker out of this war here and now.”

She might have imagined it, but Twilight thought for a moment she heard Saber let out an exasperated sigh. But when he spoke again, his voice was full of conviction. “So be it, Master. On your order, the Mad Warrior shall not leave this battlefield alive.”

By the time Twilight’s ears registered the scrape of Saber drawing his sword, he had already charged. As usual, Twilight couldn’t follow his incredible speed other than a brief flash of gold as the sun caught his sword’s edge. But even in the midst of a shouting match with his eyes turned away from danger, Berserker seemed to have no trouble dodging a tremendous overhead slash with a quick backstep.

It was an impressive bit of footwork, but it left the knight in reach of Saber’s free arm, which was a mistake. Pivoting, Saber wrapped his arm around Berserker’s armored waist and held him fast. Before his captive could react to being grabbed, he jumped. They wrestled briefly in midair, but Berserker was unable to squirm free before Saber slammed the knight squarely into the dirt, cushioning his own fall with his victim’s body.

Twilight deduced the purpose of the move as Saber rose with his sword at the ready, creating distance as Berserker struggled to shake off the impact. They’d ended up squarely in the center of the meadow. The ground was flat, hard and empty of any debris. There was nothing for Berserker to use against him and nowhere for him to escape. Close combat on an open field against an unarmed opponent, conditions any swordsman would envy.

“Berserker, you nitwit!” Trixie stamped a hoof in frustration. “I told you to pick something up to fight with! Now what are you going to do?”

“Master, fear not,” Berserker replied, his voice eerily normal. “This Servant is clearly a barbarian if he’s carrying a sword made of bronze. Being unarmed is a worthy handicap SO SHUT YOUR GOB FOR TWO SECONDS AND I’LL FIGHT HIM, YOU BOSSY FOOL!” Berserker recklessly charged, his steps unsteady, and lashed out with his armor-clad fist. The blow was obvious and lacked any finesse, and Saber sidestepped it easily. Berserker had overextended his follow-through, a costly mistake Saber would not leave unpunished. The bronze sword flashed toward the helpless arm, aiming to lop it off.

But when metal met metal, the armor didn’t give. Berserker bent his elbow and caught Saber’s sword, trapping it between forearm and bicep. Then he lashed out with his free fist.

This punch was much faster than the last and laser precise, clocking Saber directly in his jaw. A kick to gut as a follow-up sent the Servant of swords reeling back into a ready stance, looking a bit dazed. “HAHAHAHA, YOU IGNORANT HEATHEN. YOU THOUGHT TO TAKE MY ARM, TO MATCH BRONZE AGAINST CASTLE-FORGED STEEL? I’LL GUT YOU LIKE A SOW!”

The taunt was nonsense. In a battle between Servants trivialities such as the type of metal their equipment was made from were meaningless. Saber wondered if it was deliberate subterfuge or the ramblings of an addled mind, but didn’t have long to ponder the question as his opponent resumed his attack. Berserker continued to lash out, driving Saber back with a black storm of fists and feet and attempts to grapple. The difference between this onslaught of expert fisticuffs and that first wild right cross was night and day even to a layman. Berserker struck with purpose, every attack on target, no movement wasted. His jabs and knee kicks gently probed Saber’s defensive stance, and when he would commit to a larger attack he never left himself exposed like he did the first time. Every inch of his body was measured and tightly controlled by martial discipline that spoke of a lifetime on the battlefield.

Saber used his footwork and sword to good effect despite this tremendous advance. He kept his distance and made sure the tip of his blade was always in a place to threaten his target so it wouldn’t grow too bold. He parried the few punches that tried to sneak past his blade in an impressive shower of sparks, and otherwise ensured that any progress Berserker made was minimal and that laying a hand on him would prove impossible. Still, it was a frustrating exchange knowing that he was just as incapable of harming Berserker thanks to that protective suit.

It wasn’t as though the ancient warrior didn’t know how to fight an armored foe. You simply had to find a weak spot, be it exposed skin or a weakness in the metal. In the case of a full body casing like this, a joint or a gap between plates would be the thing to look for, allowing his blade to slip in like a serpent and find something vital so the man inside could die wondering how his precious protection had failed him. But before one could even try to find such a spot, one needed an opening to attack. And Berserker wasn’t providing one, keeping him squarely on defense. It was baffling. Berserker was a madman, how could he fight like a master?

Twilight, however, knew exactly why Berserker was fighting so well. As she observed the battle, another of Berserker’s skill was revealed to her analysis. The spell called it ‘Eternal Arms Mastership.’ A skill reserved for only the greatest warriors of an age, it protected the Servant from losing any proficiency in combat due to mental interference. Apparently even insanity was not exempt.

Step by step, Saber was driven back by Berserker’s exquisite offense. As he lost ground, Saber had been wondering what Berserker’s battle plan could be, since despite his skill it was virtually impossible for him to land a blow so long as Saber had the advantage of his sword. After all, it was ready to seek an unprotected spot if even the smallest chance presented itself. Now Saber realized just how far he’d been pushed away from the center of the meadow while he was concentrating on the fight. The veritable armory of the forest’s edge loomed at his back. Once they reached the trees, Berserker would need only seconds to get his hands on something and make it a bomb, and after that things would rapidly become bleak.

Saber took a chance. Relying on his reflexes, he allowed a heavier punch through his guard. At the last moment he moved, his neck muscles bending just so, and the black steel fist flew past its target. For a fraction of a second, Berserker was open.

The bronze sword swooped toward Berserker’s neck, and he had no choice but to block with his forearm unwilling to risk even the once-in-a-million chance that the sword might get through and take his head. Saber followed with a low cut toward the knee joint. Shaken by blocking the hard blow above, Berserker took a step back to dodge rather than risk the blade finding a soft spot. That was all the advantage Saber needed.

He stepped in and thrust for the heart, counting on the instincts of a battle-hardened opponent to react by reflex even knowing that the armor would protect him. He was rewarded, and Berserker fell back again, closing in his arms to form a wall between the sword tip and his torso. Saber continued to press, his blade probing for the vital places hiding behind the breast plate, and Berserker continued to retreat, acting on years of practice rather than the rational choice.

After a few more strike the knight finally countered, deflecting the sword to the side with one arm and delivering a monster hammer blow with the other. It could have broken his enemy’s collarbone, but Saber sidestepped and drove his shoulder into Berserker’s exposed chest. The tackle sent him stumbling backward, completely flat-footed.

The swordsman saw his moment as the knight flailed against gravity, his heavy armor making equilibrium difficult to recover. Taking his sword in a two-handed grip, he leapt high into the air. It was natural for Berserker’s eyes to follow his enemy, and time seemingly slowed as Saber turned the tip of his sword downward. Both servants knew that the match had been decided. Saber would put his full weight behind a downward thrust and force his sword into the one unarmored part of his opponent, the eyeslit of that helmet.

But as her Servant had been beaten back, Trixie had resumed her yelling “What are you doing? The Great and Powerful Trixie can’t believe this, stand your ground! You tin-plated twerp! You can’t lose to Twilight’s Servant! Arg, you’re pathetic! No wonder your special somepony dumped you!”

Instead of meat, bronze once again met steel. Saber’s was in disbelief, and Twilight couldn’t blame him. Berserker had clapped his hands together and caught the sword, holding it in place effortlessly even while Saber hung from the grip in mid-air. Twilight blinked as the mental book’s words blurred then came back into focus. Mad Enhancement’s rank had returned to its original rank, and so had Berserker’s stats.

The knight growled like a beast, and tossed the sword and its holder aside like a ragdoll. His attacker disposed of he could have struck with his enhanced strength, but instead he made a beeline dash toward the trees, much faster than he’d already been moving. Those insane giggles began boiling out of his armor once again as flaming destruction came closer with every step.
Saber only had moments to act. Twilight expected him to give chase, try to tackle Berserker to the ground and go for the eyes again. But instead he shoved his sword into the dirt.

“What are you doing?” Twilight shouted, on the verge of panic as she imagined another patch of wildness as a bombed-out ruin.

Saber stood and reached one arm back behind his head. “Aiming.”

A spear simple bronze-tipped wooden spear appeared in his hand, and before Twilight could speak again Saber had let it fly. It flew fast and true, its point never wavering as it sought Berserker’s back. It struck with authority, popping through the armor like a pin into its cushion and digging deep into flesh. The black knight fell to the ground.

“Your shell is tough Berserker, but I’ve broken tougher.” Saber had been hoping to keep his skill with javelin throwing hidden for a bit longer. Nobody expected Saber to be effective at range, so it was a good trump card. Not to mention that Hector’s ability to pierce armor with spears was so legendary that the mighty Ajax and his shield Rho Aius became legendary simply for NOT being pierced. It was a good way for his identity to be found out. But for the moment, Saber was simply glad it had worked.

Trixie was oddly quiet, the sight of her Servant’s fall too surreal. She didn’t want to believe that after all her talk she’d been beaten so soon. “Berserker? Are you-” She cut herself off and her eyes went wide as saucers. “Twilight! Stay back! In fact, back up even further!”

The warning in those words made Twilight’s anger at Trixie’s betrayal evaporate for just a moment. “What are you…?” And then heard the laughter.

She’d already heard Berserker cackle like a fiend several times, but this was different. It just kept building, louder and louder. His body began to twitch, the spear stuck in his back wobbling like a ship in a storm. Yes, that was what the laughter reminded Twilight of, a storm right on the horizon. The librarian in her scoffed for using such a cliché, but it was the only way to describe it. The laughter grew and grew in intensity, until finally it stopping be laughter and became an inhuman roar.

Twilight’s vision blurred again, and returned to focus with a startling image. Mad Enhancement – Rank: B+.

She didn’t even see him move, but Berserker was suddenly on his feet. And then he was gone again. He had to be charging, but this time there wasn’t even a blur. Saber took a stance, ready to block a blow Twilight couldn’t even perceive. She held her breath... until a deafening bang made her flinch, and the battlefield was instantly covered with thick smoke in a half-dozen different colors.

Twilight snapped her gaze over to Trixie. The unicorn’s hat was floating just off her head, exposing her faintly glowing horn. Ignoring the sting of her Command Seal, Twilight instead focused on the six colorful tubes floating around Trixie’s body. The smoke was still billowing out of their muzzles. “That idiot, he didn’t give me any warning. After that big stupid lecture about making sure nobody saw him using that. Luckily the Great and Powerful Trixie is a consummate professional with nerves of steel.”

Despite herself, Twilight was quite curious about what exactly those things were. Most likely they were some kind of variation on the magical fireworks she’d seen Trixie use in her magic show. If she weren’t an evil, vindictive potential murderer Twilight would love to discuss them with the other mare over some tea.

Before Twilight could ruminate too much on that thought Berserker bounded out of the smoke, landing at Trixie’s side. In the space of those few seconds his Mad Enhancement rank had fallen back to D+. “Master we must retreat immediately.”

“What? Never! The Great and Powerful Trixie won’t show her back to her greatest rival, it’d be a shame she could never live down.”

“WONDERFUL BECAUSE IF WE STAY HERE YOU CAN DIE, YOU EMPTY-HEADED… no arguments now.” Trixie made a startled noise as her Servant literally scooped her into his arms, cradling her gently against his body. Her face lit up in a small blush as the black knight quickly faded into the woods.

The smoke finally began to clear from the battlefield, and Saber stood tall, looking at the spot where their foes had disappeared. Twilight stared with him until she finally realized what had happened and quickly trotted over. “We can’t let them get away! He was obviously afraid of whatever happened in that smoke, we have to finish him now! Fluttershy might still-”

“Twilight, I’m afraid I can’t pursue him just now.”

“What? Why not?”

By way of response, Saber coughed up a mouthful of blood and fell to his knees. “Well, for one thing my sword arm is broken in three places. Also, I can’t feel my legs.”

***

INTERLUDE 8-1

Rider took a lengthy swig from a bottle of Caribbean rum. It burned pleasantly all the way down her throat, and she was glad she’d broken into her private stock. The knowledge of this world of Equestria she’d been granted was unclear as to whether the ponies brewed any sort of alcohol, and it was better to be safe than sorry (or sober) when one had a guest. Especially if that guest was doing everything in his power to remain unseen.

“Are you sure I can’t interest you in a drink? I feel terribly rude hogging it all to myself. You are the one who made my company the price for your information about Madam Rarity’s friend, but so far you haven’t said two words. If you’re feeling nervous, perhaps sharing a round will ease the tension.” She shook the bottle so the brown-gold nectar made a pleasant swishing sound, offering it to the empty air.

The voice that had been silent since Rarity left finally spoke. “I’m afraid not. I make it a point not to eat or drink what others prepare. Call it an occupation-related habit. I would think you might have some sympathy for that.”

The voice seemed to come from everywhere, stymieing any attempts to pinpoint its origin. A simple trick, but a useful one. Despite the rising sun now sitting high in the morning sky, Rider had yet to catch sight of the visitor. There were still a lot of shadows in Carousel Boutique thanks to closed curtains, and many other places to hide besides thanks to all the junk her Master used to prepare and present her dresses.

“Why should I?” She took another swig and then curled up on a plush couch that was a bit too small for her. “Even an Admiral is hardly worth poisoning. One sea dog is as interchangeable as any other.”

“True, but you’re no sea dog.”

“Is that so? Then what am I?”

The voice adopted an amused tone. “You, Rider, are something beyond a typical hero. From the moment we met two nights ago, I recognized the bearing of one who changed the destiny of nations. Even Saber is a pup compared to you.”

Rider couldn’t contain a smirk. “Ah, flattery! Now that’s a treasure. It sparkles and glitters and brings explosive joy, then disappears like a breeze. Tell me more.”

“I could compliment any number of superficial things. After all, you are quite beautiful.”

Rider drank again. “I love superficial things, so feel free.”

The voice made a hummed a bit, as if pondering, then said, “No, I have it. What else could I possibly compliment but your ambition?”

“My ambition? What makes you think I’m the ambitious type?”

A short laugh answered that question. “You’d have to a blind fool to not see your lust for coin. One can’t be as preoccupied with wealth as you and be devoid of ambition.”

Rider tipped her bottle in acknowledgement. “Very true. It seems I wear my heart on my sleeve. Shameful.”

“Of course, gold isn’t your true craving. That’s a means to an end. What you love foremost is adventure. Glory. It’s the only logical conclusion I can draw from observing you.”

“Is that so? I’m learning so much about myself today. And here I thought I was just another pirate out for a prize.” She took another gulp from her bottle. “Tell me, this little trick where you dictate to others what their true natures are, do you do it for everyone? Or am I a special case?”

“A special case. Many people say they would gladly trade a mundane life for a life of adventure. After all, adventure can give you wealth, power, and the adulation of the people. But all those things were already yours from birth, weren’t they? And you threw them away for the sea.”

“An interesting theory,” she said as she replaced the cork in her bottle. “But you’re not as insightful as you think you are. I come from a long line of farmers.”

“I forgive you for lying to me. After all, a lie is a small thing to preserve your dreams. You defied the will of God Himself for yours. Rather than farming, that I believe is the skill you learned from your father.”

It was an unexpected comment, and it melted Rider’s smile. Whoever this guest was, he spoke as if he knew her identity. And not the name she claimed as a Heroic Spirit. Her TRUE identity. And that was far beyond impossible.

She stood up, dropping her rum and putting a pistol in its place. “Just what are you after? Why did you send my Master away? What is the meaning behind this little farce?”

“I assure you Rider, I only wanted a bit of time to spend alone with you. I needed to confirm my initial impressions. And I did want to take the time for a chat. You will be an interesting opponent if you take me seriously, but I know how great men and women are. It’s natural for you to underestimate others. Now you have a firmer grasp on the situation. A morsel of information was a fair trade to ensure you’ll respect me properly moving forward.”

Rider said nothing, her eyes scanning the room. If only she could catch even the faintest glimpse of her guest, she would have a clue as to his identity. Any clue would do. But there was nothing. The advantage was his.

Finally, she replied, “Just be sure you have no regrets about putting me on guard. You’d have been better off under a false flag.”

“My only regret would be an easy victory. You didn’t even know we were playing. Now at least you have that. I suggest you take a turn soon.”

There was no further discussion. She didn’t know if he was gone or not, the entire time they’d spoken (and during their previous encounter for that matter) she’d never felt anything, as if he were a void. It was entirely possible he was still watching her.

The bottle of rum reappeared in Rider’s hand, and she cocked back her head and drained its contents. When it was empty, she let out a depressed sigh and flopped back onto the undersized chair, shutting her eyes. She mumbled “What a bother. All I wanted out of this Grail War was to bully my Master a bit. I need a nap.”

***

Author's Note

This chapter took a bit longer than I hoped sadly, and after I promised to get back on the ball after my hiatus! But the fact is that action scene's aren't my forte, so it took a while for me to gel on how I wanted to play it. Hopefully you'll all like it, because we haven't had one for a while!

As you'll see in the next chapter, the first "arc," of this story is starting to come to a head. Hopefully it'll be satisfying for you all, because one the big event ideas that drove me to write this story is coming up!

Lastly, I'll be updating the blog with new information about Saber AND the stuff Twilight now knows about Berserker from observing the battle. His true identity will be revealed before too much longer, so place your bets if you have ideas.

Sister's Watchful Eye

Interlude 9-1

Rarity came upon a little spot of meadow outside town. She’d been wandering for some time, since the directions she’d received from that mystery voice at her shop hadn’t been very specific. All the voice had said was to seek Twilight on the path between the Everfree Forest and the city, which was a lot of ground to cover. But Rarity soon realized this was the spot she’d been meant to find.

The signs of a struggle were everywhere. Other ponies might have missed the trampled grass and soil, but Rarity had sharp eyes and it was as clear to her as the hidden stitches of a ballroom gown. The smell of sulfur and a residue of magic hung in the air. Many of the impressions left in the earth were not hoofprints, but the oblong outline of the human foot. And there was one spot in particular where the ground was absolutely ruined, with deep cracks spreading in every direction. It had been the site of a spectacular collision.

Servants had been fighting in that meadow. Somepony had attacked Twilight… or Twilight had attacked somepony else. Considering her recent actions toward Fluttershy, Spike and even Rarity herself, it was hardly out of the realm of possibility that Twilight had gone after one of the other Masters in desperation. The thought of her friend hunting down and trying to hurt another pony made Rarity shiver.

On the bright side, it didn’t seem like much damage had been done. There was no blood or any other signs the combatants had been injured, so whoever had been the aggressor both sides had apparently withdrawn intact. That still left Rarity with a problem: judging by the prints, the two opponents had left in opposite directions.

In the direction toward town, there was a set of footprints with no accompanying hoof marks. Into the Everfree treeline there was a set of hoofprints and no signs of a Servant. Rarity had to find Twilight, to talk to her about this Grail War mess. But how was she to know which set of prints to follow?

The hoof marks leading into the forest were the same size as Twilight’s, but it was a common size for mares their age, hardly definitive proof. Alternately, it made sense that the Servant who left his footprints might lead to Twilight, because Twilight could teleport long distances, which meant no prints. But of course that was pure speculation and she had no proof at all.

Rarity tried to rationalize choosing between left and right, but in the end it came down to the simple fact: it would be much harder and much more dangerous to trace whoever had gone into the forest. And so she followed the human footprints.

As it turned out, the path she chose wasn’t all that easy either. The Servant had started by stepping into a small copse of trees alongside the road, and she almost lost the trail several times in the dense thicket. When she cleared the brush the tracks suddenly became few and far between, and covered hundreds of feet at a time. It seemed that her quarry had given up running and started jumping across huge distances to speed up his trip.

The tracks took her far from the road, and soon were frustrating to follow because the grass was becoming more untamed. They’d led Rarity to an area that was technically inside the city limits, but was largely abandoned. Fluttershy and the few other ponies around town that helped care for animals used the area as a sort of half-botanical garden, half-nature preserve. Whenever a denizen of Everfree was found in need of help, they could be brought here and rehabilitated in the familiarity of a habitat that grew wild rather than the tightly controlled foliage preferred by ponyfolk.

Rarity felt an eerie sensation along her spine as she stepped among the plants that she knew were growing without anypony to tend them. It was no Everfree Forest, but it was one little spot of chaos in the orderly land of Equestria, and it was enough to make her feel ill-at-ease. As she marched on, she saw that the human footprints were joined by hoofprints, indicating the Servant had met back up with its Master. But contrary to her hopes the hoofmark was not Twilight’s size.

“Wonderful. I came all this way after passing up Twilight’s own tracks! She could be halfway to Appeloosa by now if she took off into the forest. I’ll never find her! Fluttershy and Spike were counting on me to bring her back. What am I supposed to do now?” Rarity whined to the empty trees.

“Finding her opponent would be a start,” The trees answered back.

Rarity nearly jumped out of her skin, and the laughter told her who it was before she realized that she could sense the speaker’s presence. “Rider. I trust your little tea party went well and that’s why you’re trying to scare me out of my wits?”

“Madam, if I surprised you it’s your own fault. If you’d been paying attention you would have felt me moving toward you the moment I left your dress shop.”

Rarity knew she was right, but decided to pretend she hadn’t heard it and moved on. “Why should we find her opponent? Hunting down another Servant team besides Twilight can’t be very safe.”

Rider shrugged. “We find ourselves in need of information and the enemy is a likely source. Your friend’s Servant may have wounded this one, in which case we would have a tactical edge. They would be willing to treat with us to avoid a fight, and we might then to find out what they know about Twilight Sparkle and her Servant’s location. And even if they know nothing, we would learn the identity and location of this Master from the parley.”

Rarity thought that all made sense, but she was still hesitant. “We have no idea who this Servant might be. It could be Archer, and we know for a fact he’s dangerous. If we approach him without any kind of plan it could be a disaster.”

Rider planted her hands on her hips and shook her head in the most patronizing manner she could muster. “You really do need to work on your memory, madam. I wounded Archer at the battle the other night! If there was ever a time to risk running into him, it’s now.”

Though not thrilled with her tone, Rarity couldn’t fault Rider’s logic. “Alright, but stay alert. I’m sure they’re going to sense us coming.”

Rider smiled and gripped the air with her hand. There appeared an ornate weapon she’d seen Rider brandish before, a pistol. Its cherry wood handle and beautiful gold filigree made the deadly device look positively regal. “I hope so. An entrance without fanfare is no entrance at all.”

Interlude Out

***

Twilight Sparkle pushed through a sturdy bush with some difficulty… and walked right into her third spider web. She was thankful that this one didn’t include the spider, but she still started spitting and wiping at her face with her hoof, desperate to get the sticky sensation off. Fleeing into the Everfree Forest had seemed like such a good idea at the time. It would give them cover, make them difficult to follow. She’d completely forgotten how treacherous traveling through the area could be, especially off the few beaten paths.

She heard Saber’s laughter well up from the empty air. “It must be such a burden to live without fingers. My sympathies.”

Twilight rolled her eyes. “Shouldn’t you be writhing in agony from your many broken bones?”

“Fortunately, I don’t have any bones in my spirit form.”

Despite herself, Twilight found herself feeling worried. “You’re sure you’ll be alright? You were so injured by... whatever happened inside that cloud of smoke that you couldn’t even move.”

“Yes. Servants can regenerate non-fatal wounds very quickly, especially with a powerful Master like you fueling the recovery. It would be quicker if I could return to the summoning circle you drew at your home, but I’ll recover either way. Frankly, I’m much more concerned about what caused my injury than the injury itself.”

Twilight nodded as she squeezed around another tree. “It’s so frustrating that I couldn’t see. I was trying to analyze Berserker’s abilities the whole time, but when he finally did something major he gets hidden from sight. Trixie’s much smarter than I thought.”

Saber made a noise of acknowledgement. “Whatever he did to me, it must have involved a Noble Phantasm. Even though I couldn’t see I was fully braced and I blocked his strike perfectly. There’s no way it was a normal attack if it damaged me that badly without even touching me, no matter what kind of weapon he used.”

“I thought you said his Noble Phantasm was turning ordinary objects into weapons?” Twilight asked as she struggled her way up a hill.

“I said I suspected that. And even if that’s the case, there’s no rule that says a Servant may only have one Noble Phantasm. Whatever he swung at me must be one as well. And if he took the trouble to disguise it, it must be one so famous that anyone watching would know his identity once he showed it.”

Twilight continued to climb. The incline was getting steeper. “Well, speculating won’t get us anywhere. The bigger question is what we should do next. If you can’t fight right now we’re in danger. More importantly, so is everyone else. If Trixie knows you’re hurt she knows nobody is standing between her and Ponyville.”

Saber sighed. “For someone who thinks speculating won’t get us anywhere you’ve been doing a lot of it since we formed our contract.”

Twilight finally crested the hill and paused to rest. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means that in war, the biggest mistake you can make is to presume you know what will happen. From the moment you discovered your friend was a Master you’ve been pressing forward without thinking because you assume the worst case scenario rather than taking time to analyze the situation. So far, not thinking has earned you nothing. A scholar of your caliber ought to recognize that much.”

Twilight ground her teeth, trying to contain a rising wave of anger. She was tired of hearing Saber second guess her. How could she do anything but presume the worst? There were lives on the line! How could she leave anything to chance when one false step could mean the death of everyone she cared about?

She thought back to the dream she’d seen. The vision of Hector of Troy standing with his back to his home, facing a deadly foe because the lives of his entire city, his family, his wife and child, all hung in the balance. A situation he himself had caused through blind optimism and hope in a favorable turn of chance no less!

Grimacing at the air, Twilight felt the urge to say something hurtful well up, and gave a reply that was much bitterer than she’d intended, “Why should you complain? Ruler told me every Servant has his own wish. If I’m not trusting the other Masters, all that should mean to you is there’s nothing stopping you from fighting them! Why don’t you let me protect my friends my way and save your worries for yourself?”

There was a pregnant pause, and Twilight regretted her words. Saber had tried to support and help her at every turn thus far, even if it had been primarily motivated by his desire to win the Grail War. But before she could say anything else, Saber changed the subject. “So, what is our next move?”

Twilight sighed. “I’m not sure. We’re stuck between a rock and a hard place. Trixie and Berserker are still out there. Continuing with ‘presuming the worst,’ Fluttershy and Spike are in danger as long as Berserker is still in the Grail War. But now you’re injured, so you’re at a big disadvantage in a fight. We can’t go hunting them down.”

Saber joined her in pondering. “If we cannot seek out Berserker, but we must keep his attention from others, then the natural solution would be… ah, of course! Twilight, do you know of any structure in this forest where we could take refuge?”

Twilight raised an eyebrow. “You mean like Zecora’s hut? I don’t want to put her in any more danger.”

“No, her home is within a living tree, just like your library. What I intend won’t work there. I need a place that was man-made. Preferably with stone walls.”

“Zecora’s the only pony I know who lives in the forest, so I don’t think…” She stopped with an audible gasp as the obvious occurred to her. “Yes, I do know of one! It’s not in great shape, but-”

“Lead me there.”

***

Twilight and Saber, once again in his physical body, stood on the far side of a familiar wreck of a plank bridge. Even from this distance, their destination had a foreboding aura. It was the site of the greatest battle in Equestria’s history, housing for the most powerful magical artifacts ever discovered. And for Twilight was a place of intense memories.

She took a bracing breath, and said to Saber “Here it is: The Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters.”

The fortress was a wreck. The walls and towers were crumbling, the roofs had visible holes, and there was ivy and moss and other foliage sprouting from every brick. It was nothing short of a death trap, not fit for any Pony to inhabit. And in the absence of ponyfolk, almost any of the Everfree Forests inhabitants might have taken up residence, making the place even more dangerous.

After she and her friends had fought Nightmare Moon and become the bearers of the Elements of Harmony, she’d never had cause to come back to this castle. It was an interesting slice of history and there were sure to be wonderful artifacts and books hidden within. But the visible structural decay said to Twilight that any given floor, roof or wall could be a disaster waiting to happen if she came alone, and local superstitions and fears were more than enough to keep others away.

Judging from Saber’s pleased expression, he saw something different. “Wonderful. It’s hard to imagine mere horses were able to build such a magnificent stronghold. I suppose levitation, flight and strength can make up for lacking fingers after all.”

Twilight elected to let the quip about being “mere horses,” slide and gingerly stepped onto the bridge. Every breeze made the bridge sway and her stomach sink, and the wood creaked enough to make her flinch with every step. She remembered how Rainbow Dash had tied the mess of hopefully-not-rotting wood up so their party could reach the castle. At the time she’d been very preoccupied by the threats she and her friends had been dealing with, so she hadn’t had time to think about how precarious the bridge really was. Walking across it now was enough to make her wish for a Manticore attack or a bawling Sea Serpent just to let her think about something else.

For his part, Saber took one look at the bridge, disappeared into his spirit form, and seconds later reappeared on the far side. Twilight was flabbergasted for a moment, and then switched back to being annoyed. She weighed her options looking at how much bridge remained in front of her, and decided to throw caution to the wind and charged across the remaining distance. Her eyes unconsciously shut themselves in terror, which just made her fear veering off the side.

When she finally felt dirt under her hooves again she realized she hadn’t been breathing since she took off and let out a loud puff of air. Saber gave her a gentle pat on the back as if to reassure her that she’d made it, and for a moment she forgot that she was irritated with him. Then he said, “You know if you were that afraid you could have simply teleported across.”

Her annoyance only grew stronger when she socked him right in the gut as hard as she could. She knew his rock hard abdominal muscles had probably kept him from feeling a thing, while her hoof was sore.

Saber’s sword arm was still useless and barely able to move, so he held his bronze blade in his off-hand while he eased open the front gate with his shoulder. The large circular entry hall was dominated by a familiar sculpture of a stone orb on top of a pillar with six arms, each ending in an empty platform. Moss had overgrown it since Twilight last saw it, but it was still unmistakably the altar where she had first found the Elements of Harmony. “Still right where we left it. Saber, I understand why you wanted a building to hide out in, but why was it important you also have a statue?”

“I do not need any old statue for what I have in mind Twilight Sparkle, I need a palladium. And unless I’m mistaken this altar will serve that function perfectly.”

“What’s a palladium? I don’t think I’ve ever seen that term in my spellbooks.”

“It would be odd if you had. The name honors a sea goddess from my world named Pallas. The legend says that one of the great Goddesses of Olympus, Athena, was raised in her youth alongside a lesser goddess, Pallas. They lived as sisters, and as such constantly competed in feats of skill. One day they had a sparring match, and Athena accidently struck too harshly. Pallas was killed by her own sibling.”

Twilight’s thoughts flickered to her own sister-in-law, Princess Cadence, and the innocent sibling rivalries enjoyed by Rarity and Applejack with their younger sisters. She felt a deep pang of sadness as the thought of an accident that separated them forever, especially one the surviving sister had caused. “How awful.”

“Yes, Athena’s heart was broken at the loss. In honor of her sister, she took Pallas’ name as her own epithet. Then she used her sword to carve a statue of Pallas from wood, which became known as the original Palladium. That icon became an heirloom of the Royal House of Troy. Some said it was given to the progenitor of our family line by his mother Elektra, daughter of the Titan Atlas. Others said that it fell from the heavens on the spot where the city was to be founded as an omen to the first King of Troy, Ilos. It seemed like my father flipped a coin on which story he preferred every time me or one of my brother’s asked. He nearly drove Deiphobus mad changing details and names. Eventually he started taking notes to try and puzzle out the truth. In less than a year he had a whole rack full of them, and when he STILL couldn’t make sense of our family origin he snapped and burned the lot in the town square!” He laughed, practically tearing up at the boyhood memory. Twilight found herself giggling as well.

“Either way, the Palladium became a symbol of Troy… and the secret of the city’s reputation as an unconquerable power. King Ilos was a magus, and he used the statue as the focus of an incredible enchantment. The spell tapped into the very source of all magical energy, the underground leylines, and channeled that energy into every building in Troy to form a protective barrier. So long as the Palladium remained inside the walls, not a single stone could even be scratched, and any enemy that scaled the wall or snuck past the gate would pass through the protection and be cursed with weakness until they left.”

It almost sounded too good to be true. “So, you’re going to use the same spell now? I thought you said you didn’t know anything about magic.”

“I don’t know anything about magic. That is to say, the theories, the craft, the things you students of magic thinks of as being important. What I do know is the practical method for this one spell, as did every one of my brothers. It was the birthright of all Trojan Royalty, and it was our duty to know the means by which our people were kept safe.”

Twilight nodded. “I guess that makes sense. So, what is the method?”

He answered by slamming his blade point-first into the stone.

Twilight’s eyes grew wide and she felt like she was choking as she watched Saber carving symbols into the central sphere. Somehow she hadn’t expected this would involve taking a sword to an important piece of Equestrian history. Granted, the thing was rotting in a ruined castle rather than sitting in a museum or something, but it still made her feel a little ill. After a few more seconds Saber’s work was done, and a line of strange script was cut into the orb. He moved some of the vines covering the object to disguise the carving, then nodded ay a job well done.

Twilight waited for a few moments, then asked, “Is that all? I was expecting something… flashier.”

Saber raised an eyebrow. “It would not have been much of a ‘secret key,’ to Troy’s welfare if it made the walls glow or some other nonsense. As for the spell, it is simple because King Ilos used Divine Language in its crafting. There is no need for an elaborate ritual, I do not even need a Magic Circuit. All the power is in the word itself. And in the palladium of course. That is why it can’t just be any object, it must have been touched by divine power to fuel the effect of the words. This statue is perfect, I can feel the essence that lingers on it.”

It made sense to Twilight that the statue had some lingering power, it had held the Elements of Harmony for a millennium. She wasn’t sure about classifying the Elements as “divine,” but if the spell worked it worked and that was all that mattered. The walls she’d feared might crumble at a stiff breeze were now impregnable… hopefully.

“So now what do we do?” Twilight asked.

“The others will sense what we’ve done. The alteration of a leyline is too large to miss. Until they arrive, we practice the most important skill one can have during a siege. We wait.”

***

Interlude 9-2

Rarity and Rider snuck close to their target using the trees. They’d stumbled upon a stage-coach, a wagon large enough to live in that also featured a fold-out stage for public performances. They were popular among traveling performers. It only took Rarity one glance at the sign hanging from the front to recognize that she knew the owner, since the same one had hung over an identical stage-coach before it was smashed by an Ursa Minor.

“So, Twilight’s opponent was ‘The Great and Powerful,’ Trixie. That certainly explains why they had a fight. I can’t believe I suspected Twilight might have been the aggressor, if this thick-headed show-off is a Master I’m surprised she hasn’t accidentally burned the town down by now.” Rarity still hadn’t forgiven Trixie for desecrating her mane with a spell that mutated it into a green mess. A mare that would do something so unspeakable to another’s hair was capable of almost anything.

Rider’s pistol was poised as she stared intensely at the vehicle. “I sense the presence of her Servant as well. Which means he should sense me. They must be lying in wait for us.”

“What should we do?” Rarity asked.

“Do you think she’s laid any traps or other countermeasures?” Rider asked.

“I don’t think so,” Rarity replied.

Rider’s smirk may have been the most awful thing Rarity had ever seen. Before she could object the Servant had charged out of her cover and executed a beautiful flying kick right through the carriage door, weapons at the ready.

Rarity found herself charging in against her better judgment, lighting up her horn with magic on the run. She had no idea what to expect as a response to the brazen action of her Servant, but she feared it would be violent.

As it so happened, in a way she was right. As she entered the carriage she was greeted by the sight of Trixie pelting her armored servant with dishes as he sat hunched in a corner.

“…just pick me up and haul me away like a sack of potatoes? Do you take pleasure in humiliating me?!”

“My lady, I acquitted you with the full honor due to a lady of high stature… HAHA, YES, HIGH STATURE! You are the BARONESS OF MULES, OH GREAT MASTER! HAHAHA!”

“Don’t you laugh at me you maniac! Take this, and this! And of all people, Twilight Sparkle had to see my Servant retreat with his tail between his legs! I thought you were supposed to be some great hero! What a giant steaming LIE Ruler told me about the MIGHTY Berserker class! You’re a charlatan, and that’s coming from a professional stage magician!”

“Oh, what a treat! What a blessing! To run through time and space to a new world and still be gifted the song of STUPIDITY! God has smiled on this fallen knight! Say again, my beloved! Tell me that I am a failure! That my shortcomings are my own and have naught to do with you! You, who command my every move, regale me with the legend! Your words soothe my troubled head… my head, my head, MY HEAD… my heart… oh, my great King, has your champion come this far down from grace?”

Unbelievably, the knight began to sob, and Trixie’s angry gaze drooped. She set the plate she’d been ready to hurl down and eased to her Servant’s side, gently laying a hoof on his shoulder with concern.

Rarity was at a complete loss to understand any of what she was seeing or hearing, and by the look on Rider’s face she was as well. However, Rider quickly took it upon herself to end the bizarre scene, and before Rarity could again try to stop her she discharged one of her pistols directly into Trixie’s roof.

Trixie’s Servant was on his feet in less than the blink of an eye, a sub-human roar blaring from the depths of his armor as he grabbed a huge shard of broken dinner plate and reared back to throw it like a knife. Rarity was paralyzed with fear, but before he could let fly Trixie shouted, “Stop you fool! Her Master is with her!” Her words seemed to freeze him in place, and he stood completely still, his blank black helmet radiating aggression toward the two intruders.

Her Servant halted, the blue unicorn turned toward them as well. “How dare you damage the roof of the GREAT AND POWERFU- wait, don’t I know you? You’re… one of Twilight’s friends right? Rarity?”

Rarity put on her best war face. “I’m surprised you remember me! You were so busy traumatizing ponies the last time you were here, I wouldn’t have thought I’d stand out.”

Trixie tilted her head. “Well, I did think it was a bit odd that all it took to upset you was a tacky dress… but that doesn’t matter! I see that you are also a Master in this Holy Grail War! Why have you come before the Great and Powerful Trixie? Do you seek to do battle with my Berserker? Or are you here on Twilight Sparkle’s behalf to negotiate a rematch of our last fight?”

“So, you admit that you attacked Twilight! I swear if you hurt her…”

“Hurt her!?” Trixie seemed very upset at the comment, enough that Rarity shut her mouth in shock. “What is WRONG with you? Why would I do anything to hurt Twilight? Why would I do anything to hurt anypony? Do you all really think so little of me that you think I would do something so terrible over this GAME we’re playing? Even when I was corrupted by dark magic I never HURT anypony! You act like I’m some kind of moustache twirling villain! You all told me you wanted to be friends after the last time I was here! Some friends you are! Twilight was treating me just as terribly!”

Rarity paused. There was a lot to think about in that little rant, but one thing in particular stuck out: Trixie had called the Grail War a game. When Ruler had spoken with Rarity, she had put the conflict in very similar terms; that it was a contest, that the only fighting would be between Servants, that one could win the entire thing without anypony who wasn’t already a ghost coming to harm.

Rarity and Twilight had seen first-hand that there was at least one Master who didn’t see it that way. But Twilight had been the victim of the attack while Rarity was only a spectator. She had assumed that was why Twilight had acted the way she did when she discovered Rarity was a master… but the way Trixie spoke it sounded like things were even worse than she thought.

“Trixie, dear, I think maybe we ought to call a truce and compare our notes. Start from the beginning. Just what happened with Twilight?”

***

Rarity felt about the way Trixie’s face looked after they finished their talk. Her mind was buzzing with the details Trixie had shared about Twilight, the things she’d said when she saw who Trixie was, the aggressive way she’d been acting over the course of the fight. Rarity had certainly been suspicious of Trixie, but there was a large difference between treating someone with firm caution and laying out an accusation of attempted murder.

Trixie, for her part, had practically been sick when Rarity had explained what happened at the clearing, how Archer had nearly killed Twilight. She couldn’t believe she had executed an ambush against someone who’d nearly been eviscerated by long-distance arrow shots; the mere association was making her look green underneath her blue coat. She’d berated Berserker for not telling her before she remembered that he’d left the scene before the first shot, but the mad warrior was sane enough to contain the urge to snap at his Master.

“This is just dreadful,” Rarity finally said after an extended silence. “I mean, I knew there was something terribly wrong with Twilight after she kicked me out of the Library. She threw herself between Spike and I like I was a rabid Chimera! But this… she’s much worse than I could have imagined. I thought if I found her and talked to her things would be alright, but you tried to explain yourself and she didn’t even listen. She just assumed you were lying and then sicked her Servant on yours.”

“I think… er, The Great and Powerful Trixie agrees with your view of the situation. However, it’s obvious that we can’t simply leave Twilight Sparkle to her own devices in this Grail War. She is in need of help, and The Great and Powerful Trixie will not stand aside while a pony of lesser magical prowess could benefit from her aid.”

Rarity rolled her eyes. “Well, thank Celestia for that. So we’re in agreement that we need to do something. The question is what.”

Rider had remained quiet for most of their conversation, staring out a nearby window and enjoying the clear summer sky. Now she said, “It’s quite obvious. You need to join forces to destroy her Servant.”

Both ponies blanched at the ridiculous suggestion. “Oh yes Rider,” said Rarity, “Nothing will solve the problem of Twilight’s paranoia and fear of being killed faster than her friends teaming up and openly attacking her.”

“Be as snarky as you wish, madam, it doesn’t change the facts. Your friend Twilight is not in the proper humor for listening to reason. She is trapped in a corner like a rat, lashing out at everything passing near. If you leave her in the corner, her fear will grow with every passing second until it overwhelms her. And then she’ll do what every cornered rat does in its attempts to escape: try to tear something’s throat out.”

Rarity unconsciously lifted a hoof to her own throat at the analogy, then glared at it as if it had betrayed her. “However,” Rider went on, “If you remove the source of her fear… well, she may not recover overnight, but she can begin healing at least. The source of her fear is the Grail War, so you can either defeat every OTHER Servant, or you can defeat HER Servant and ensure she is no longer part of the contest. The faster and more certain option is clear.”

Rarity was ill-at-ease with this entire line of discussion, and Trixie was clearly no more comfortable. But then Rider slammed in the final nail. “You need to ask yourselves, dear Masters, what is more important to you. That your friend has love for you, or that your friend is safe from harm?”

The room was silent again until Berserker spoke up. “Rider, do you sense that disturbance?”

“Of course. I’m glad your head was clear enough for it Berserker.” She smirked at him.

“That is Saber’s doing. I recognize the spellcraft of the heathen gods of Greece even from here, so it must be him.”

“Oh? Interesting. Does that mean…”

“Yes, I know Saber’s true name. After our final clash I knew he could only be one Heroic Spirit. He is Hector, Prince of Troy.”

Rider looked thoughtful. “If he is the Prince of Troy, perhaps he has set himself up to face a siege. The Trojan army under his command held out against hundreds of Greek heroes for ten years. It stands to reason he has a plan for holding off a mere six heroes alone.”

Berserker rolled his neck in a menacing fashion. “Then he has made a grave error. Siege warfare is my specialty. All he has done is box himself into a coffin.”

Rarity and Trixie looked at each other. They still weren’t sure it was the right choice. But it was a perfect opportunity. They knew exactly where Saber and Twilight were, and if Berserker was right they had the perfect way to counter the obvious trap. Rarity’s throat felt dry as a desert when she finally said “If you can absolutely guarantee that Twilight won’t be harmed… then you’re right. I care about her too much to put our friendship over her safety. Trixie, we’ll work together… and take Twilight out of this Grail War for good.”

Trixie reached over to her nearby coat rack and attached her cape with a dramatic flourish before daintily levitating her hat into place. “The Great and Powerful Trixie agrees. We will work together and defeat Trixie’s beloved hated friend/rival Twilight Sparkle once and for all… for her own good.”

Rider laughed heartily. “What a treat! Who would have guessed I'd have the opportunity to star in a reenactment of The Illiad? Our Masters are Agamemnon and Odysseus, striking their bargain over the fair Twilight Helen, whom Hector has hidden away in his castle. And Berserker, you shall be Achilles and face Hector in the final battle. If only Shakespeare were here, he would weep with joy to see art come to life on the battlefield.”

Berserker laughed his psychotic laugh, clearly enjoying Rider’s joke even as it went right over the heads of the confused ponies. “And what shall your roll be in our little farce, Rider?”

The sky had been quickly fading toward night outside the carriage window, but as Rider smiled again it bloomed back into an eerie, unnatural gold. “The most important role of all, of course. How are the Greeks to reach Troy and rescue Helen… without their Thousand Ships?”

Interlude Out

Author's Note

Authors Notes: To those of you who held out hope that I would come back, I thank you! I'm sorry I disappeared for so long, especially after I had already disappeared for so long. I want to give a special shout-out to linkthetoaoftime aka KamenRiderHyrule, who took the time to send me PMs to let me know he still cared about the story.

I could go on about exactly why I took so long to make this update, but the short version is: I had most of this chapter done two months ago, and then it was eaten by my computer. I was depressed about it and it took me a long time to get the motivation going to rewrite. It might not have happened except I came back and say that in my absence my views and reviews had indeed increased a bit. And that made me want to give it another go. So thanks.

The next chapter is the BIG one. Berserker's true identity will be revealed, Rider's powers will become apparent, Saber and Twilight face their greatest tests yet, and some surprises are in store... keep your eyes open, because this one won't take another 4 months. For reals this time. :)

Night of Fire

Hector stood alone at the Scraean Gate. Through the dust of the battlefield, clad in armor of pure gold and hatred burning in his eyes, Achilles appeared.

The Greek hero stripped the helm from his head. He was a man of stark features, the lines of his face hard and angular. His hair was green, swept back and feathered into spikes, and his yellow gaze scorched the air. Hector could feel the warrior’s fury, but he stood as firm as the Trojan walls.

“Son of Peleus,” Hector addressed his foe, “ten years have the Greeks besieged this city, and never once have we met on the battlefield. The hands of the Gods are at work.”

Achilles tightened his grip around his spear. “Apollo will not rescue you this time, Prince Hector. I will have blood for blood.”

Hector thought’s drifted to the previous day. Among the Myrmidons who had followed Achilles from his homeland, only Patroclus was truly a friend to their leader. That morning, Patroclus had been an unstoppable force in battle. He’d appeared wearing Achilles’ own armor, hoping to inspire the men in the demigod’s absence, and he’d slain more than a dozen Trojans after taking the field. He pierced the battle lines and harried his enemies to the very gates of the city. It was luck as much as anything that Hector had arrived in time to stop him from leading an attack on the walls.

The battle that followed had been swift and brutal. Death had seemed only moments away with every thrust of the spear. Patroclus had fought with the fury of a legend, done great honor to his ancestors and to Achilles. But by the grace of the Gods, Hector triumphed and spilled the Greek’s lifeblood with a slash of his sword.

Hector slapped a hand against his chestplate, the armor he’d taken from Patroclus' corpse. The same armor had belonged to Achilles, and Achilles' father before, but was now his by right of conquest. Achilles saw the gesture and spat in the dirt. It was the only discussion either man could accept. Debating grievances, hoping for peace, neither remembered such foolish ideas had ever existed.

The fight should have begun then and there. But as he felt the eyes of his countrymen on him from the battlements, one last nagging thought compelled Hector to speak. “Let us form a pact, Achilles. We will agree before Gods and men that whoever is victorious shall leave the body of the other unmolested. We are the champions of our nations. Our people should have the opportunity to grieve for us, to conduct the funeral rights and honor our memories.”

Achilles laughed in Hector’s face. “Fool! Don’t dare speak to me of covenants." The warrior hefted his famous spear that it was said no mortal man could lift, the polished black ashwood shining in the Trojan sun. "Put forth your full strength Prince of Troy. There will be no covenants between men and lions!”

The demigod tossed his spear, his arm stronger than a bowstring. Hector backstepped on sheer instinct, and when the weapon struck the earth where he’d stood he felt the ground shake. Achilles surged forward. His words echoed in Hector’s mind.

Hector knew as his foe approached that he would die. Achilles would have his revenge. And he would not be satisfied until he also killed the whole remainder of the Trojan race. In his mind’s eye Hector saw images of his wife, his brothers, his parents… his beloved infant son.

The Prince of Troy fled for his life. The shame of it made him want to retch, but he would gladly sacrifice his honor to buy his son more time.

Hector made an initial escape, but it was nothing to celebrate. Achilles dogged him tirelessly as they circled the entire city three times. Stories claimed Achilles was the fastest man in the world. All the Greeks knew their champion as “Swift-Footed Achilles,” and Hector found himself uniquely situated to appreciate the truth behind those rumors. The prince knew every hill and valley of the Trojan countryside, and exploited the terrain to the fullest to keep his pursuer at a distance. But for all his tricks and evasions, he never gained a step of ground, never earned a moment of rest, and never escaped those vengeful eyes. Before the powers of a monster, the stratagems of a man were meaningless.

As he began his fourth circuit Hector felt his strength begin to ebb. Whether it had been divine aid or simple desperation that had driven his flight, it was fading quickly. His breath became heavy, his limbs turned to lead. But the pace of his degradation was not swift enough for cruel Fate. Without warning his foot caught a stone he had avoided on every previous pass, and his ankle twisted. He fell to the dirt.

Hector could only laugh. The great general, the heir to the invincible city, taken to his grave by a pebble in the road. He closed his eyes, thinking the next thing he would feel was Achilles’ spear in his belly. But instead he felt a hand grasp his and pull him to his feet. It was a soft hand. A scholar’s hand.

“Hardly the time for a nap in the field, Big Brother,” said Deiphobus. He ran a hand through his short crop of violet hair to brush it out of his eyes, his clean-shaven face betraying something between relief and annoyance. He was kitted for battle, wearing light armor of boiled leather and a spear slung over his shoulder.

Hector couldn’t believe his eyes. He touched his brother’s shoulder to test if he were real, and then wrapped him in a warm embrace. “Deiphobus! What are you doing here? You should be inside the walls.”

“Yes, I suppose I should be. But as a younger brother I’d be remiss if I allowed you to have a nap without some sort of molestation. War is no excuse for being lax in family duties.”

Hector smirked, but that faded when a glint of gold caught his eye. Achilles had halted his pursuit to observe Hector’s newly arrived aid from a distance. “You shouldn’t be here. It’s too dangerous. Achilles will…”

“You shouldn’t be here either, brother. Polydamas and I both warned you not to camp outside the walls. Then we all warned you not to stay out here and fight that beast alone! You never listen!” Deiphobus stopped and sighed. “But then, Mother and Father begged me to stay inside the walls as well, yet here I am. You’re really a bad influence.”

Hector slapped his brother’s shoulder. “You won’t hear me complain.” He turned to face Achilles, trusting his brother with his back. Achilles cautiously stalked toward them, protecting himself with a magnificent golden shield he had thus far not bothered to draw. It seemed the mighty demigod was not so confident with two Princes of Troy to contend with.

Hector stood firm and gripped his own spear. “The hour of my doom is not yet upon me, Achilles! You will not have the pleasure of driving your spear into the back of a runaway! Face me head on, and we shall see at last who the heavens will favor!”

Achilles glared at the pair, and said, “I suppose we will see at that.” He again tossed his jet-black spear, the power of his throw making it sing as it sliced through the air. Again Hector barely dodged, ducking and allowing the weapon to sail past him, knowing Deiphobus would avoid it and not daring to take his eyes off his enemy for a second. Now he had the advantage: Achilles was unarmed and would have to force his way past Hector to retrieve the weapon. If he did, Hector could strike him down, or entangle him and leave the death blow to his brother. This was his chance.

Hector reared back his mighty arm and let his spear fly with all the power he could muster. It was an even greater toss than the one that had nearly pierced the great shield of Ajax, the sum of all that defiance of the Trojan people in a single blow. Surely even Achilles had to respect the power of the throw, surely he would remember the tales of Hector’s spears and how they would shatter armor and skewer whole columns of men like chickens on a spit. His nerves would get the better of him, he would use that superhuman speed and charge forward, both to dodge and to reclaim his spear. When he did, the Prince of Troy would take him.

But Achilles did not charge. He raised that massive golden shield to block the projectile. And when the spear struck that shield it did not pierce through and strike the man behind it, it did not even stick deep in the metal as it did against Ajax. It shattered. The wooden shaft disintegrated into dust, and the bronze point fell uselessly to the dirt. The shield itself was not even scratched. Then Achilles came out from behind it, and his black spear was somehow back in his hand.

“Impossible!” Hector turned back to Deiphobus, hoping for some explanation from one of Troy’s most learned… but his brother was not there. Hector’s eyes were almost blinded as they took in a radiant being, a woman of handsome and reserved features surrounded by an aura of light. She was a stranger, but Hector knew her face. “Athena…?”

The woman smiled a cruel little smile, and offered him a wave goodbye before vanishing.

Hector turned back to Achilles, who had thrown his shield aside. He had not hesitated because he feared facing two men, he had hesitated because he recognized a God in disguise and wasn’t sure who she intended to aid. Now he knew. She had given him back his spear, she had caused Hector to throw his away, and she had closed the gap between them so there could be no more chances to run. Hector had been betrayed by the Gods themselves.

Achilles took his spear in a two-handed grip, scraping the weapon against the ground so that it growled like a wolf about to fall on a lamb. Hector looked away from those predatory eyes to the sword belted to his hip, now his only weapon. He drew that sword, and whispered “Gods on high, if you have any pity for this mortal, give me one blessing before the end. Let me not then die ingloriously and without a struggle. Let me first do some great thing that shall be told among men hereafter."

Hector charged, his bronze blade the exact shade of a fading sunset.

The Prince of Troy fell. Blood spurted from a mortal wound. Because his armor was taken as a prize, he could not have known that its seeming invulnerability had a weakness. The right collarbone, the crux between pauldron and neck guard was where Achilles had thrust his spear, and it had pierced through as if the god-forged bronze were parchment. As Hector bled he could only stare at the instrument of his death. He asked, “Will you send my body home, Achilles?”

“No. Your mother will never weep over your body Prince Hector. Its destiny is to be meat for dogs and vultures.”

Despite himself, Hector laughed. “Even in victory, your heart is hard as iron. Be wary, Son of Peleus. If you offend the gods by defiling a corpse you might suffer their capricious whims as well.”

Achilles spat in the dirt again. “Die, Hector, and I will accept my fate whensoever the gods see fit to send it.”

Blood filled Hector’s throat. The sky grew dim. Achilles stood and watched, making no move to end his enemy’s suffering. Such pain…

***

Twilight woke up with her lungs burning for air, though the sensation of drowning in blood swiftly faded. The dream had been so vivid, she’d felt like she WAS Hector battling Achilles. As she took deep, haggard breaths, she remembered how much she’d wanted to see how the story ended after her last dream. It wasn’t the glorious and happy conclusion she’d expected for a famous hero.

“Bad dream, Twilight Sparkle?” asked Hector. He was leaning lazily against a wall, staring out the remnants of a stained-glass window. They had taken refuge in a room atop one of the few standing towers, and the view of the Everfree Forest under the stars was breathtaking.

Again, Twilight hesitated to admit what she’d seen in her dreams. It wasn’t as though she was trying to peer into Saber’s past, but doing so without his permission, even by accident, seemed wrong. “Sort of.”

“The Oracles of my age often interpreted dreams as signs of the future, though at times their messages can be hard to fathom. You would be wise to consider what you saw carefully.” Hector said in a sage tone.

Twilight suppressed a sigh. A dream about giving your absolute trust to someone close to you in combat against a deadly enemy only to be betrayed and killed wasn’t exactly reassuring. She had all the doubts and fears about friends she could handle already.

“Twilight, there’s about to be a loud noise. Try not to be startled.”

Before she could ask what Saber was talking about, there was indeed a “loud noise,” in the form of a deafening explosion. Twilight rushed to the window just as the light of the blast was fading and what she saw left her speechless. It was an entire fleet of ships.

There were several dozen at least, approaching from every direction. They were massive, over a hundred feet long with masts that pierced the night sky. Although there was no wind that night, their sails billowed full, straining against their rigging as they glided over the tops of the trees as easily as they would the sea. Most were regal, the planks of their hulls pristine and decorated with elaborate woodwork, and each one with a unique figurehead in the image of a beautiful human woman. Strangely, every third or fourth ship was burning. Flames licked along the wood and canvas, covering their glory with char, but they were sailing no less swiftly than the others and they lit the rest of the armada with an eerie orange glow.

Twilight was in awe until the source of the explosion was made clear: The largest ship opened fire. The flash of cannon muzzles was followed by three more blasts, and Twilight instinctively dropped down from the window and shielded herself from expected debris. She stayed on the floor with hooves over her head for a few moments before Saber reminded her that she had nothing to fear. “The castle is still protected by the palladium. And besides, they are only targeting the outer wall. A warning shot.”

Brushing off her embarrassment, Twilight clambered back to the window. The ships had pulled in close and surrounded the castle, turning their broad sides toward the fortress and bringing to bear their full complement of guns. The entire perimeter was under blockade. Saber and Twilight were trapped.

Slightly back from the front line, the ship that had fired rose higher into the air. It was the most lavishly decorated of them all, its hull painted striking red and every gun port plated with gold. Oddly, it lacked a figurehead, but when a human woman with raspberry hair stepped out onto the ships’ prow like an actress to center stage, Twilight wondered if the omission wasn’t because no mere sculpture could have matched her beauty. She spoke boldly, her voice echoing through the forest. “Saber! Will you parley, or shall I give you no quarter?”

Saber nodded to Twilight, who cast a spell. A microphone of pure magic coalesced in his hand, and when he spoke into it his voice seemed to rise up from every door and hallway of the castle at once, amplifying it while obscuring its origin. “What have you come for, Shipmaster?”

“You, dear fellow! It is the wish of my Master that your Master be removed from the fighting. She fears that the stress of war has taken a toll on her dear friend. Before any further harm arises, it is our intent to end Twilight’s role in this little game. Give yourself up peacefully, and not only will your execution be painless, but I will personally see to your Master’s well-being for the duration of the War. On my honor.”

Saber scoffed. “The honor of a pirate? That’s cold comfort.”

The woman feigned injury at Saber’s words. “Oh, such indignity! That I should fight for Queen and Country all my life, serve as Admiral and Privateer under the banner of England, only to have my sacred word impugned. Is this the destiny of a Servant who is not fit to serve as one of the Three Knights? Is a mere Rider cursed to be thought of as a lower Hero? You are cruel indeed, Saber!” She wilted to her knees and draped the back of her hand over her face, posing for their benefit.

“Your performance is serviceable madam, but I lived in the age when theater was born. You’ll have to do better if you expect a rose from me,” sad Saber

Rider snorted out a laugh and stood up. “Ah, the favor of the audience is a fleeting treasure as well. Still Saber, if you will not trust me, trust my Master’s Command Seals. Twilight Sparkle will not be harmed if you give yourself up.”

Saber hesitated a moment before answering. “And what difference is that promise to me? What of my wishes?” Twilight’s eyes went wide with shock at those words, but then she remembered that she had been the one who cruelly told Saber to mind his own business and start thinking about himself.

“Oh my, an unexpected twist! To think one who besmirched a pirate’s good name would be so mercenary. You are long dead Saber. It is one thing to kill an opponent in battle, and at times the rules of the war or the power of the Command Spell may compel us to slay an innocent. But do you so despise your Master that you would willingly sacrifice her irreplaceable life for the selfish desires of a ghost?”

Twilight had averted her eyes, but Saber cupped her chin in his hand and turned her back, to make sure she heard his next words. “You mistake me, Rider. My Master is a noble creature. She is hard working and kind hearted, more so than many of the ‘heroes,’ I knew in my life. She deserves to be free of the burden she’s shouldered in this Grail War.” Twilight felt warm inside and silently mouthed a ‘thank you.’ Saber smirked back at her, and then continued, “But it seems she is too stubborn to willingly relieve that burden. You are right, it has harmed her. But I am her sword. It is my duty to see her safe from harm, physical or mental. The wishes I spoke of were not the miracle I seek from the grail, but my desire to see to her safety with my own hands. I will not entrust it to any other.”

Rider listened to Saber’s whole speech, and then began clapping. “Well said, sir, well said! Such a bond is truly priceless. I will consider it a personal honor to bring that treasure to a spectacular end! Steel yourselves! I am El Draque, the woman who set the sun, and this is my Noble Phantasm! Golden Wild Hunt!”

Rider signaled her fleet, and the ships opened fire as one.

If the sound of three cannons was deafening, the sound of hundreds was smothering. The noise was so great it made the air feel like it was a solid mass squeezing around her, and Twilight found it difficult to breath. The earth-shattering cacophony consumed everything, dulling her senses. Night became day as the barrels of the cannons flashed white like camera bulbs, and the shells they fired lit up a hellish orange when they exploded. The Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters rocked on its foundations… but not a single pebble came loose.

No matter how many cannonballs fell on the crumbling fortress, its walls held fast. The bombardment continued for nearly a full minute, and if she focused Twilight could actually feel how the cannons shifted their targets, focused with laser precision on different parts of the walls and towers, probed for structural weaknesses. But they found none.

The power of Rider’s attack was overwhelming, but the fact that Saber’s spell was rebuffing it with ease was nothing short of awe-inspiring. This too was the power of a Servant. Twilight was struck at what a total fool she had been to try and stand in Archer’s way with her own magic.

Suddenly, every cannon went silent. Twilight climbed back to the window to see what had happened but a haze of gun smoke had settled in the air, obscuring the enemy ships. It wasn’t until the ringing in her ears started to fade that she received an unwelcome clue in the form of a voice. “Twilight! Are you alright down there? I told her not to shoot but she wouldn’t listen! Twilight?”

“Rarity…” Twilight angrily snatched her microphone spell back from Saber. “Rarity, get out of here! I can’t deal with you right now! I don’t care how you want to try and justify yourself to me, there’s too much at stake! Trixie is…”

Rarity cut her off. “Trixie is here with me Twilight. We both agreed to work together to help you. If you’ll just hear me out…”

Twilight had stopped listening, or more accurately her brain had stopped processing sounds. Once again her thoughts had ground to a complete halt, unwilling to fully process what was happening. But inevitably they ticked forward: Rarity had joined forces with Trixie. Her supposed friend, one of the Elements of Harmony sworn to protect Equestria, in league with the Master of Berserker, the one who destroyed Fluttershy’s home, the one Twilight was risking everything to stop. Two betrayers, united against the one they betrayed.

She stopped herself again, this time by force. Those feelings and thoughts she’d buried when she first discovered Rarity was a Master were welling up, and she refused to accept them. She filed them all away, unwilling to let them run free through her heart, unwilling to place herself in a position where her friendship with Rarity might be broken forever. Instead, she spoke into her spell again. “I’m only going to say this once, Rarity. Take your Servant and go. Take Trixie with you. Leave Berserker. Do it now, or we’re all going to regret what happens next.”

***

Interlude 10-1

“I’m only going to say this once, Rarity. Take your Servant and go. Take Trixie with you. Leave Berserker. Do it now, or we’re all going to regret what happens next.”

Rarity wanted to faint, and not out of her normal lust for melodrama. Twilight’s words and tone were literally making her want to pass out through some dark combination or fear, pain and sickness. How had things spiraled this far out of her control? It had been mere days since this all began, and now her beloved friend was making threats while they stood on opposite sides of a war zone.

Rider did not share Rarity’s distaste. “She has much more fire than I would have expected. I thought a nice bombardment would have knocked some steel out of her spine.”

Before she realized what she was doing Rarity had jumped at her own Servant. Rider easily caught her out of the air and held her at arm’s length, and Rarity uselessly flailed her hooves like her cat Opalescence trying to avoid a bath, desperate to strike that smug face. “You! You! ARRRG! You fired those cannons after I begged you not to! We’re here to help her and you recklessly… if that spell hadn’t held up, she would have-!”

“Madam, control yourself! Have you no faith in me at all? If I’d thought for a moment that the spell would not hold after my test shots I would not have attacked. And you know that or you would have bound me with a Command Spell instead of only screaming at me to stop. Cease your tantrum!”

Rarity stopped swinging, but didn’t stop glaring. “We came here to help her,” Rarity repeated. “Even if you knew she would be safe, how could you so much as feign attacking her? If she doesn’t trust us she’ll never…”

Rider made an annoyed sound. “You’re still locked in that wrongheaded thinking, even after I made it clear what our mission was. You agreed to this course, madam. I told you from the start, being here means you are committed to Twilight’s safety, not her friendship. Even if she hates you in the end, she will live. I fired so she WOULD feel greater terror. If she was terrified enough then she might have given up. Now we have no choice but to expose her to far greater risk and storm the keep.”

Rarity finally went limp, and Rider set her back on the deck. Then she turned to the mass of metal slumped against the center mast. Berserker sat motionless, his breath seething, and Trixie sat next to him trying to hide her awe at the firepower Rider had put on display. “Well, Berserker,” Rider said, “It seems we have need of your vaunted seigecraft after all. My artillery cannot pierce Saber’s spell.”

Berserker snorted derisively. “Of course it couldn’t. It’s no mere spell, its divine language sorcery from the Age of the Gods, drawing on the full strength of a leyline. Blackest witchcraft, highest blasphemy, invented by half-breeds carrying the demon blood of the rats of Olympus. Even knowledge of such a spell is idolatry. The heathen masses worship false gods, the Magi those gods birth worship the false god of True Magic and The Root. Temptresses. Temptresses, all of them! How dare they seduce those who should serve God? It’s not their fault, not their fault… they were tempted away from righteousness. That was original sin…. original sin can’t be cleansed. It can only be atoned for… yes, atonement, that’s it. Cleanse it all with steel…”

He dragged himself to his feet, lost to his own murmuring, and walked to the edge of the deck. Trixie finally snapped out of her daze and said to her Servant, “Don’t forget your orders. You know what will happen if anything you do harms Twilight.”

“Of course, my lady. It would be most uncouth for a knight to betray his word. The Lady Twilight shall not be touched. BUT I SWEAR BEFORE GOD THAT I WILL BATHE IN SABER’S HERETIC BLOOD!” As he spoke, a black light flashed in his hand. In that hand appeared a beautiful, ornate warhorn. It was polished, inlaid with precious metals and stones, and it seemed to glow with some kind of in-born power… but whatever power it was, it was not a holy one. Rarity was captivated by the artifact’s beauty until she noticed that its shape was very familiar. It was far larger than it should have been, but there could be no mistake: the instrument was made from a unicorn’s horn.

“Sing the song of war, and bring salvation to those within you… my faithful Oliphant.” He blew a single, bitter note… and fell to one knee, clutching his chestplate in agony.

Trixie rushed to her Servant’s side, and tried to inspect him for injury before realizing it was pointless thanks to his armor. She settled on resting a hoof on his arm to provide some comfort. Through gritted teeth, Berserker said, “Rider. They will flush Saber from his hiding place. If he tries to escape, have your ships destroy him. If he stays within the castle, I’ll follow them in and cut him down myself.”

Rider had been wearing an enormous grin since Berserker said the name of his horn, and nodded eagerly. “It will be my pleasure. But if you don’t mind me saying, I hope I have the privilege of watching you gut him. A reenactment of the Illiad was already a treat, but now it seems I have been blessed with a double feature! Orlando Furioso was one of the most popular stories of my youth.” Berserker ignored her in favor of enduring his unseen pain.

For her part, Rarity was confused. It didn’t seem that the horn had done anything. The castle’s walls still stood strong. “Am I missing something? What did he do exactly?”

Rider pointed toward the other side of the ship, toward the trees. Rarity slowly approached the opposite rail, and peered out into the dark woods… but they weren’t dark at all. A silver mist was rising, and spreading through the trees at an alarming speed. It worked its way through every gap like blood through a vein, winding closer, and glowing brighter as it approached. But once it was close, Rarity saw that it was no mist.

“Army,” was too generous a term for them. They were human, although their bodies were not fully solid and they glowed that misty blue glow. They wore armor and carried weapons and looked ready for battle. But an army is a controlled, regimented, organized thing. What Rarity was looking upon was a swarm. They ran at full speed through the dense woods, their eyes totally lifeless but their bodies giving off a sense of fearful hunger and singular purpose. The sound of their armored footsteps and the clatter of their weapons against the trunks of the trees and low-hanging branches reminded her of the sound that the seemingly adorable Parasprites had made when their numbers swelled and they starting devouring everything; a ugly, raspy sort of sound amplified by incalculable numbers.

Rarity recoiled just as they were passing underneath the ship. She rushed back to the other side and watched as the first of them ran face first into the castle’s stone walls... and continued trying to run strait through the rock. Others came in from behind and slammed into the front line. Then more, and more. In less than thirty seconds they were starting to pile up on each other.

They climbed over their compatriot’s bodies, desperate to find their way past the obstacle but lacking the intelligence to find any other route but strait through. In the end their numbers were all they needed, and the human ladder allowed the first… man? Spirit? Soldier? Creature? Whatever you wanted to call it, it climbed the last foot of the wall and dropped to the other side. Then a dozen followed, and a dozen more. A second pile of bodies crested the wall, and a third further down. The moment each one landed on the far side of the wall, it kept right on running toward the castle.

Rarity looked away, and saw that more of them were coming from every other direction. They charged over the rope bridge she and her friends had crossed the first time they came here, and those who couldn’t fit cascaded over the edge of ravine. She wondered how long it would be before they flowed back up the sheer cliff face. “Sweet Celestia. There must be tens of thousands of them.”

“Hundreds of thousands,” answered a new voice. A voice Rarity remembered. A voice that caused Rider to immediately draw her pistol.

A shapeless black blob fell to the deck from the very top of the central mast. It came to rest only a few feet away from Berserker, and Trixie instinctively put herself between it and her injured Servant. Rarity knew better, and carefully stepped behind Rider’s leg. The black mass remained hard to make out in the darkness, but it soon became obvious that it was moving when something appeared from within its depths: a pitch-black human head wearing a terrifying white mask.

“Your turn was an impressive one, Rider. But you moved too quickly and aggressively. I’m afraid I have an opening here that I can’t ignore. I’m disappointed.”

Rider kept her weapon precisely trained, ready to put a shot right between the mask’s eyes. “You haven’t rolled your bones yet. Don’t declare yourself the winner too early, Assassin.”

Interlude Out

Author's Note

To those of you who have waited so long (if indeed any of you are left) welcome back! As I mentioned in the comments section on this story's birthday back in August, I had a very busy Summer and almost zero free time until September. After that... well, time just kept flying, but whenever I had a spare minute I came back to this. With the Fate/Stay Night anime now in full swing, I'm so happy to finally be back! Hopefully anyone who enjoys the series will see fit to once again grace my humble words with a bit of reading. It's good to be here again.

Needed Rest

“So after I apologized for acting so awful, we both went to the tattoo parlor and I, well…” Twilight lifted up her hoof, showing off the star-and-wings design of her Command Spells to Spike.

“Wow! So cool!” His little eyes were shining as he fawned over her ‘ink,’ but the young dragon was nothing if not stubborn, and he quickly went back to crossed arms and a grumpy voice. “Well, I’m still not exactly happy about you trapping us in here. Things were really hairy! By which I mean Mr. Bear sheds when he’s nervous!” He gestured across the room, where Twilight got to enjoy the sight of Fluttershy’s favorite ursine combing clumps of thick hair onto the floor with his claws.

Twilight and Rarity both made disgusted faces, but recovered quickly. “Well, you know Twilight. She can be a teensy bit manic at times. The important thing is that we’ve made up, and we all learned an important lesson, as always.”

“Yeah, can’t wait to send the Princess a report about this one.” Twilight hoped she was hiding the sarcasm in her voice.
She was amazed it was going so smoothly, but then what else should she have expected from one of Rarity’s ideas? If anyone knew how to soothe Spike’s feelings after an awkward moment, it was her.

After the battle Rider had ferried the whole party of unicorns and Servants back to Rarity’s home, where Twilight had promptly collapsed into a nearly comatose sleep. When she awoke, once again aching all over from how badly she’d been strained by her spellcasting, she felt like she wanted to sleep for another year at least. Unfortunately, Rarity had been there to remind her of the fact that she had to drag herself out of bed at least long enough to free her ‘captives,’ back at the library.

But there was a problem. Once they set Spike and Fluttershy free there were going to be a lot of questions. Why had Twilight had trapped them? What was the fight with Rarity really about? How had they resolved it?

Rarity’s plan to explain things was simple: stick to the absurd story Twilight had already fooled Spike with, the claim that she was upset her friend had gotten a tattoo. Disguise the whole ugly mess as their latest misadventure discovering the Magic of Friendship. Despite Fluttershy’s skepticism, if they both told the same story it wouldn’t seem that far removed from any other mundane little conflict that went too far. It was as though they’d never seen some small thing spiral into magical hijinks. It was just a matter of glossing over the more... extreme moments and focusing on making the whole thing seem as trivial as possible.

As far as Twilight could tell, Spike was more than happy to go along with that. “Now, can I count on you to clean this place up?”

He saluted. “Consider it done, boss!” He zipped away to find his cleaning supplies, and Twilight and Rarity shared a sigh of relief... until Fluttershy walked over with a sour look.

“I don’t know what was going on with you two, but it was obviously something much more serious than a silly tattoo! You better believe that I’m going to sit you both down and get a straight answer out of you… um, you know, eventually. When you feel like it. No rush. Sorry if that sounded mean…” As Fluttershy’s little speech tapered off into scuffing her hoof and staring intently at the floor, Twilight couldn’t help but smile. Things felt very normal, and it was a wonderful feeling.

The morning went by uneventfully. They cleaned, they chatted. Fluttershy even picked up a big take-out lunch for everyone while dropping by City Hall to let the authorities know about the damage to her home. Other than having to invent an excuse why Spike couldn’t use any kind of soap or water to get the hair off the floor (after all, despite not being easily visible anymore the alchemic residue that created Saber’s summoning circle was still there) it was as stress-free as Twilight had felt in days.

That changed rather suddenly as they were cleaning dishes and Fluttershy shared an announcement. “I spoke with Big Macintosh while I was out. Until my cottage is properly repaired my critters and I are going to be staying at Sweet Apple Acres.”

It wasn’t welcome news. Even though she’d sorted things with Rarity and Trixie, the fact remained that there was still a Grail War going on in Ponyville. The identities of four of the Masters were still unknown. Archer was still tremendously dangerous, and Assassin had at least been willing to terrorize Rarity even if he had yet to actually attack anypony other than Rider. Trixie claimed that Lancer was a threat as well, and the final Servant, Caster, had yet to reveal itself. Not to mention the suspect motivations of Ruler.

As things stood, Twilight was not eager to let a friend go somewhere she couldn’t provide protection. “Are you sure that’s a good idea Fluttershy? The farm is all the way on the other side of town. You’re much closer to your place here.”

Fluttershy fidgeted awkwardly before saying, “Well, to be honest some of my critters don’t really want to stay here anymore after being locked in.” Twilight felt her face contort with shame at that comment.

Fluttershy was quick to console her. “I mean, they’re not angry at you or anything! It’s just, you know, birds can get very upset when they’re stuck indoors, and prey animals don’t like the feeling of being trapped. It’s just their instincts. Besides, as nice as your home is there’s really not enough room for them all here. And the noise they make is probably disturbing your neighbors. They’ll do much better in the open farmland.”

There wasn’t much Twilight could do to dispute any of that, and it didn’t really feel right to try knowing that her own actions had made the animals uncomfortable with staying. But nagging worries gnawed at her. Sweet Apple Acres was isolated, far from prying eyes. With Applejack’s extended family in town there were a lot of potential masters lurking there. After all, as Saber had pointed out, there was no guarantee that only unicorns could be Masters when every pony species had it own forms of magic. Not to mention that conveniently the Apple Family had discovered a long-lost unicorn relative a few days earlier…

“Well, if you don’t mind my company I’ll help you walk your critters over. It’s the least I can do.” As exhausted as she was, until she and Saber had scouted the farm Twilight would never be able to sleep easy.

***

Interlude 12-1

Noon’s arrival was imminent. It was the time of day when every shadow died. But one endured.

Assassin wandered the green pastures of Ponyville’s outskirts in his corporeal form. Solitude during a lengthy trek on foot had always been something he enjoyed. It gave him time to plan, to ponder, to philosophize. He had been counted as a wise man in his life, by both followers and enemies, and he often contributed that reputation to those days alone on the road between cities where he had nothing but his own thoughts.

It was a hot summer day, with no wind and no clouds to dampen the sun. Heat baked the grass dry and it crunched under his feet. From the Grail’s gift of knowledge he knew that the pegasi of Equestria used magecraft to control the weather, and he wondered if those in charge of the town’s skies were slacking off in light of the upcoming festival.

Still, it was no bother to him. In his homeland the heat could be a death sentence. The frailest child would not even dignify a day like this by calling it ‘uncomfortable.’

What was a far greater concern was the pain in his chest. He passed a hand over his pectoral muscles and down his abdomen, knowing that there was no physical wound where Rider had shot him. Even the weakest Servant was not so delicate that he was unable to heal a few bullet holes, but the pain from her gunshots lingered nevertheless.

Perhaps it was some trick of her pistols? He had no way of knowing if they were simple spectral weapons or some sort of Noble Phantasm. Of course he knew Rider’s true identity, but she was an unusual case among Heroic Spirits, and her powers might take unusual forms because of that.

The alternative was that this was a phantom pain, something he was imagining. It wasn’t a thought that he relished. The leader of the Order of Assassins, the Hassan, was bound by duty and doctrine to be an enlightened being. The idea that he was allowing his mind to fool his body, the idea that he was so fixated on his defeat the night before, was a disgrace. How could allow something as mundane as pride warp his perception?

He had accepted Rider outplaying him, drawing him into a fight he could have avoided, with a laugh! He had taken great joy in their struggle! But his thoughts lingered on that last moment, when he had used pure skill and mental fortitude to corner her… and his Noble Phantasm had failed. Worse than failed, done nothing!

He didn’t dwell on Berserker surviving his attack by a hair, but to have Rider stand there and suffer no ill effect at all was disturbing. He needed a new plan, but all he could do as he wandered the still meadow was rub his chest, the constant ache shattering any train of thought.

His thoughts and the pain swirled in an incomprehensible tempest, and because of this he failed to notice as the heat and brightness of the sun started to fade. However, he did notice once an impossible fog settled over the field.

The sky went from brilliant clear blue to a twilight haze of stars, despite the sun still hanging high in the air, and with every step the haze became thicker. Assassin found himself compelled to keep walking and find the source of this oddity. He stepped into denser and denser mist that obscured everything from his sight, until finally a dull orange light appeared before him.

He approached it cautiously, and found it was a wooden doorway attached to a stone structure. He pushed the door open… and found paradise. A cozy fire burned in the hearth. Sculptures and paintings and tapestries filled the room. Every piece of furniture was of fine craftsmanship, both decorative and comfortable. Tables all around were filled with succulent meats, fresh fruits, bottles of wine, cream, and honey. Incense and scented candles burned, filling the air with the scent of spices.

Of course, he would have been quite remiss to not notice that every chair and couch in the place was occupied by a beautiful, buxom young woman.

A tall, blonde-haired girl with tanned skin in a sheer silken robe was the first to notice him. “Ah, a visitor! My lord, we bid you welcome.”

This was the cue for the others to rouse themselves. There were a dozen of them. Girls with hair of red, brown, black, silver, green, pure white and deep blue. Girls with eyes of emerald, sapphire, demonic ruby and wolf-like gold. Some had garments that clung tight to their bodies, showing off supple curves, and long legs. Others had flowing robes in various states of transparency, hiding everything and nothing behind satin and lace. They swarmed around him with smiles and giggles and soft hands, eagerly touching his arms, chest and face.

The tall blonde who had first spoken gently shoved the sea of softness aside. “Now, now, ladies. Give our fair lord room to breathe! You must forgive them. Most of them have never laid eyes on a man before. They have an… aching… curiosity.”

She took Assassin by the arm, holding it close to the softness of her breast. He could feel the warmth and the shape of her body through the thin fabric of her gown as she led him up some stairs. The others followed behind, stalking him with eager grins and blushes. “It is fortunate you’ve come to us, my lord! The master of this tower is gone, you see, slain by a great knight who sought to free us from perceived bondage. But he misjudged our situation so tragically! All the maidens of this castle desire is to serve.”

They reached the peak of the stairs, and she opened another door. Beyond that door was huge, decadent-looking bed. A bed which looked like it could easily accommodate a dozen at once.

The other girls flowed into the room, giggling and smirking as the blonde beauty led Assassin to the bed. The mattress was goose-down, beyond soft as he sat upon it. “My lord, I could see from the tower window that you are one in need of service. A wound haunts you, does it not?”

Assassin tilted his head. “Your eyes are sharp, maiden.”

The woman smiled. “You are in need of succor, my lord. And we are in need of a master to serve.”

From behind two girls approached, and they let their clothes drop to the floor. Each took their place at Assassin’s side, grasping one of his arms and holding them tightly against their exposed skin, letting their softness wrap around him. Their breath was heavy as they began to kiss his shoulders and neck, tasting his pitch-black skin.

The maidens pulled him back further onto the bed, and a third appeared behind him, her clothes already discarded, offering her lap as a pillow. His two attendants laid his head against her creamy thighs, the smell of her and the heat of her like a dream as she gently massaged his aching head. The other two pressed their bare bodies against him, their chests infinitely soft against his rock-hard abdominals. Their tongues began to trace his muscles just as the blonde girl crawled across the bed.

“Do we please you, my lord? We are, all of us, mere maidens. We do not know the ways of love.” She pulled her gorgeous face nose-to-nose with Assassin’s blank mask, laying her body flat against his, only a sliver of silk dividing them. The other two and his lovely pillow continued their ministrations as the blonde girl asked, “You will teach us, won’t you?”

Assassin let out a small laugh. “I was a teacher in life. Shall I give you your first lesson?”

The blonde woman’s smile rotted into a hateful sneer as she felt the cold steel of a dagger against her throat.

Assassin began his lecture, flashing back to his own vivid memories as he spoke. “On the day he was inducted into the Hashshashin, an acolyte of our Order was given potent drugs, his mind expanded to a state of nirvana and his body forced to the peak of physical sensitivity. Once this was done, he was taken to the Garden of Paradise. A true Eden on Earth. Anything he could ever wish for waited there. Every food he could crave was fed to him, every drink he could thirst for filled his cup, and every lustful fantasy that his mind could conceive was fulfilled again and again until he was utterly spent of desire. All by an army of hundreds, even thousands, of eager, loving virgin girls... and boys, and for that matter anything else that a more twisted mind might want. Once it was over, the newly minted Assassin was told the experience was a vision of his place in Heaven. It was the afterlife he would earn by serving the Order. Imagine it: infinite pleasure, for eternity, in exchange for their miserable mortal life. It is the perfect method of indoctrination, creating soldiers ready, even eager, to die for the Order."

He paused, giving her time to process his words and grimace at his dagger, before continuing. "It also serves another purpose. Once you’ve experienced the Garden, the memory never fades. Not even for those that rise to the highest ranks and learn it was all an illusion. That memory is an Assassin’s most powerful weapon. What pain or torture could ever harm him if he has that memory to relive? What treasure could ever hope to tempt him?” As he spoke, the other women began to disappear, even the one whose lap was his pillow. Assassin found them and their sudden egress quite interesting, because he was certain they were not just illusions.

By the time he was done speaking only the blonde laying over him was left. “So, Caster, having heard my lecture, have you fully grasped your miscalculation?”

“I suppose so, Old Man of the Mountain.” She remained very still, and so Assassin made a point to keep his knife very still as well.

“Tell me; is that your true face Caster? Be honest.”

“What a cheeky question. Where does your ‘true face,’ hide, Hassan-i-Sabbah?”

“Touché. You may step away now.”

Caster gingerly crawled back from the blade, all the way off the bed and back to her feet. Assassin stood up, his blade still poised, and as he did the castle began to fade. In only moments they were back in the meadow, the hot summer sun still beaming down.

“Assassin,” Caster began, “I come to you seeking an alliance.”

“Is that so? You must be a poor negotiator if you have to put that much work into softening up your mark.”

She struck a rather haughty pose. “How rude. Don’t disparage my charms just because you happen to be immune to them. They’ve corrupted even the most virtuous souls.”

He ignored her words and continued. “I have no need for an alliance. Only one Servant in this war is any threat to me.”

“Big words for a shadow. I assume you must mean your precious sea dog? Berserker already survived your Noble Phantasm once, and you’re a fool if you’re that dismissive of Archer.”

Assassin tilted his head in amusement. “So it would be the height of wisdom to instead put my trust in a temptress? Even Assassin knows that Caster cannot be trusted. Deception swims in the blood of every mage.”

Now it was Caster’s turn to smirk. “Well, if that’s how you really feel, by all means continue your walk. I am sorry to have troubled you. How is that pain in your chest, by the way?”

“Healing at a decent pace.”

“How does the grand master of a secret order of killers become so bad at lying?”

Assassin turned away and faded into his spiritual form, but as he did he heard Caster’s last words. “When you tire of the pain, return to me Assassin. I’ll be waiting to ease your burden.”

Interlude Out

***

Sweet Apple Acres was still bustling with activity. Apple Family members buzzed around the orchard, collecting as much of their premature harvest as possible. Time before the Summer Sun Celebration was running out. They were eager to maximize both their profits and the time they would get to enjoy the festivities.

Twilight was making a show inspecting "a fascinating fungal growth," on one of the trees, giving her a scientific excuse to let Fluttershy go on ahead, out of earshot. “So, what do you think Saber?”

Despite being invisible, she could almost see him stroking his beard in thought. “It's as I said Twilight, I can’t tell if any Servants have been near this land. I am no mage, sensing magical residue or energy signatures is not in my skill set.”

Twilight sighed. “Well, I had to ask at least. So, do you sense any Servant here now?”

“No. But that only means so much. If Lancer or Archer made their base on this farm I would have a chance to surprise them, the range of their detection is only slightly larger than mine. But they could easily be far from here on some sort of errand or scouting mission, and if Assassin or Caster were hiding here we’d never find them. Assassin can conceal his presence perfectly, and Caster would sense me coming far in advance and have all the time in the world to hide.”

Twilight let out an annoyed groan. "Well, I guess it's up to me." She focused her mind on her Command Spell, feeling for even the slightest twitch that would indicate the presence of a Master among the Apple Family.

She wandered the rows of apple trees, the cornfields, the cart paths, trying to look like she was just hiking and keeping he distance from the farm ponies. Based on what she'd seen with Trixie and Rarity, the Command Spell only reacted when the pony was actively using magic. Otherwise it remained dormant, masked from detection.

With a unicorn it was easy, if they were using their horn she would feel the reaction instantly. But how was one supposed to tell with an earth pony? Earth pony magic was very subtle. Even the greatest magical scholars were constantly debating even it's basic definition, other than the generally accepted theory that magic was what allowed them to work so well with plants. Attempts by pegasi and unicorns to operate farms tended to end with a lot of dead crops.

Unfortunately, even that one factoid wasn't any help. There was no planting or pruning or tending of any kind taking place in the orchard, just a harvest. Twilight doubted any magic was brought to bear during apple-bucking. Still, she wandered, trying to feel anything from any of the Apple Family ponies and coming up empty. She was so focused on her hoof she didn't notice there was someone else on the road until the conked heads.

Twilight rubbed the bump on her skull. "I'm sorry, are you ok?" she asked. The pony she'd hit was actually somewhat familiar. Her tan coat was immaculately groomed, and her long mane was an absolutely radiant golden blonde, painstakingly straitened and conditioned, with a slightly darker stripe running through her tail.

The other pony rubber a similar bump. "Yes. I'm so sorry, I'm just so exhausted today I didn't look where I was... oh, I know you! You're Applejack's friend. I met you when you moved to town during the last reunion. I'm Apple Cobbler, do you remember?"

A memory of being stuffed full of baked goods until she was sick the day she moved to Ponyville came to Twilight's mind. "Right, of course. Nice to see you again. I'm so glad that you all came into town to help Applejack with the harvest."

"Well, it wasn't exactly my first choice of leisure activity. I'm an exhibition baker, kicking apples off trees isn't exactly my forte. But when family calls I'll always be there. And now that AJ can't work Granny really needs the-"

Twilight cut her off. "What happened to Applejack?"

"You didn't hear? She collapsed in the field yesterday. It gave everyone quite a scare. She's resting at the house right now with Cousin Apple Island."

After almost forgetting why she'd come to Sweet Apple Acres out of worry for her friend, the mention of that name brought Twilight's thoughts back into focus. "Is she accepting visitors? I'd really like to talk with her about her condition."

Apple Cobbler said it shouldn't be a problem, then offered to walk back to the house with her. That was fine by Twilight. If Apple Island was a Master, the more witnesses around to make sure she couldn't do anything the better.

They made small talk about trivial things. Apple Cobbler told her what an exhibition baker was, basically a pony who made especially fine desserts for contests and high-society clientele. An artist of sorts, but with food as a medium. Having to look good for judges and fancy dinners certainly explained why she took such good care of herself, and why she wasn't eager to help with apple-bucking. She claimed that the networking she could do with all of the wealthy tourists coming into town for the Celebration would be worthy any amount of manual labor.

Twilight was content to let her talk about herself. Apple Cobbler seemed nice, but there were more important matters at hand. As they approached the house, Twilight mentally steeled herself. She would have to hide any reaction if she sensed or saw Apple Island had a command spell, or she would give herself away. It would take discipline, courage, and-

"DAG NABBIT BRAEBURN, YOU LET ME OUTTA THIS HAMMOCK RIGHT NOW OR I'M GONNA SHUCK YOU LIKE A CORN COB!"

Of all the things Twilight expected to see when she reached the house, Applejack held captive on the veranda, literally strapped into a hammock with leather belts, had not made the list.

Applejack was struggling, trying to escape her restful prison, but all she was succeeding in doing was twisting herself up more and more. Her cousin Braeburn, a handsome yellow stallion in a snappy vest, was shaking his head at her. "Cuz, I wouldn't have to tie you down if you'd just stay in your sick bed."

"I ain't sick! I just fell over, it wasn't anything to fuss about! I need to get back to work, the orders we've got comin' in for these apples could pay to renovate the whole west orchard! You know how many fruit bats are livin' in those trees?"

Braebrun actually got an annoyed look on his face, replacing his usual smug smile. "Now, I'm plum tired of arguing with you Cousin Applejack! You passed out in those trees, and Granny told you to stay in bed! Bed is where you're stayin'! You're lucky I'm letting you sit on the porch! Now why don't you actually trust somepony else for once in your life. In case you forgot, I've got an orchard of my own. I know how to buck apples, and I know how to make sure my workers are buckin' them properly too!"

The rant seemed to catch AJ off-guard, and she frowned at herself. "Well, I didn't mean... I'm sorry Braeburn. I'll leave you to it."

Twilight actually smiled as she walked up the wooden steps. "Well, I can't say I'm happy that once again worked yourself to the point of exhaustion. But being willing to trust someone else to do a job for you is a pretty big thing for you!"

"Oh, Twilight!" AJ blushed a bit at the comment, but decided to change the subject. "If you came to check on Fluttershy she's out at the barn getting the place ready for her critters."

"To be honest, I came to check on you. I couldn't believe you passed out working."

"Yeah. It's the darndest thing, I've been gettin' plenty of sleep and I made sure to share the load all I could. But every day I just feel more tuckered out. I really did learn my lesson last time I overworked myself. I just don't get it."

A new voice chimed in, seemingly from nowhere. "Yes, it's a real mystery. And since yesterday several more of our Apple family members are looking worn out, even the ones that went to bed early. It's as if something is just sucking the energy right out of them." Apple Island stepped out of a shadowy corner, her burnt-orange coat and red and green striped mane as striking as the first time.

Twilight didn't twitch, didn't react at all except for a friendly smile. "Yes, Apple Cobbler here did mention she'd been feeling tired. We bumped right into each other because of it."

"Oh, how awful. Were you hurt, Miss Twilight? Or you, Cousin Cobbler? I'd just feel awful if the only other member of our family who actually takes care of their hair had something happen to them."

The two shared a lady-like laugh, and got into a quick chat about the incident. Twilight did her best to remain calm. She stuck out like a sore thumb from the rest of her family, and not just because she was a unicorn and a full grown blank-flank, but nothing about Apple Island struck her as sinister. Still, if she was a Master, she could be extremely dangerous. She had not forgotten Archer, not forgotten he hadn't hesitated to try and take her life. Even Assassin had attacked Servants rather than ponies. He must have been under orders, which meant one of the remaining four masters was ruthless and deadly.

Twilight killed time, chatting with Applejack about whatever little nothing popped into her head. She kept stealing glances at Apple Island, hoping for a glimpse at the bottom of her front hooves. Her focus caused her to once again be startled when the front door of the house was kicked open.

"Your snack is served Cousin AJ!" shouted a particularly boisterous pony with a long green mane tied with a bow. She practically shoved a hot fruit tart in Applejack's mouth, allowing her no chance to argue about being waited on. A flashback to something similar reminded Twilight that this was Apple Fritter.

Apple Island paused her conversation to shout in their direction. "Fritter, dear, what did I say about being more considerate? We are trying to nurse Applejack to health, not choke her back to unconsciousness."

The young pony had been ready to shove a second tart down AJ's throat when she stopped herself and smiled sheepishly. "Hehe, sorry Cousin Island. I wasn't thinking." She let out a monster yawn that belied her apparently high spirits.

"It's alright dear, I know you're been tired too. I just hope we don't catch whatever is 'tuckering you all out,' as they say. Right, Applebloom?"

Twilight hadn't even noticed the small filly, who was balancing a cup of lemonade with a long straw on her rump. Applebloom had a worried look on her face as she regarded her trapped big sister and her yawning cousin. "Yeah. But they're all gonna be just fine, right Cousin Island?"

Apple Island gave her young relation a warm smile and a wink. "Of course, sweetness. I promised you didn't I? You and I will take good care of everypony until they're feeling better."

Applebloom seemed satisfied by this answer, and moved in closer so her sister could sip her drink. But at the last moment, her hoof caught a knot in the floor and she and her glass tumbled to the ground... only for both to be caught by a deep green magical aura. The same aura that glowed around Apple Island's horn.

Twilight held her breath, waiting for her hoof to be shocked by pain... but nothing happened. The spell continued as Apple Island set the glass on the ground and set Applebloom back on her hooves, and still she felt no reaction from the Command Spell. Once Applebloom was safe, the unicorn even walked over to give her a lecture about watching where one stepped, and rested her forehooves on the filly's shoulders, giving Twilight a clear view that both were unmarked! Despite all her worrying, Apple Island was not a Master after all.

Twilight's relief was immeasurable, so much so that she decided to stay and share Applejack's snack. Just as she had through the morning, she reveled in the feeling of normalcy. She wasted a good two hours asking Applebloom about her school, learning all about Apple Fritter's hobby whittling knick-knacks and giving them as gifts to her friends, getting hair care tips from Apple Cobbler that even Rarity didn't know, and refusing to be the one to untie poor Applejack. It was the most fun she'd had in what felt like years.

***

Finally, it came time for her to leave, and Apple Island offered to walk her to the gate. They trotted along in silence, enjoying the late-afternoon warmth. Twilight almost felt like she owed the other unicorn an apology, even though she hadn't actually said or done anything rude to her, but before she could think about it further Apple Island spoke.

"Miss Twilight, I want to tell you something in confidence. I didn't want to mention it in front of the others and worry them needlessly, especially Applebloom. But you're Princess Celestia's apprentice, I'd be a fool not to ask for your counsel."

Twilight told her to go on. "Something about this outbreak of fatigue isn't right. I suspect magic is to blame."

"What makes you say that?"

"I suppose you'd have to call it... intuition. I know I'm not an expert, but whatever is exhausting them does not seem natural. You see, after Applejack passed out in the field we made her rest, and by the end of the day she said she felt fine. But then she went to sleep, woke up the next day after a solid eight hours, and somehow she was exhausted again. How can SOME rest cause you to recover and then MORE rest make you worse? Now it's spreading as well. It affected Applejack strongly enough to knock her out, and the very next day it strikes a dozen other ponies, but only enough to make them bleary-eyed. A normal fruit bat just takes a little bit of juice from every fruit on the tree, you see, while a vampire fruit bat sucks the fruit into a dried out husk, seeds and all. But in either case, it's deliberate. Something is feeding, and in this case we're not discussing fruit juice. What could steal vitality itself other than magic?"

Every sentence made Twilight more and more concerned. Apple Island was right, it didn't seem natural, and odds of something like this not being related to the Grail War seemed awfully slim. It seemed her one-day vacation from fear and worry was over. "Thanks for telling me all this Apple Island. I want you to keep your eyes open for anything suspicious. If you sense anything magical that's out of the ordinary, or see any unusual creatures, I want you to come strait to me. Whatever you do, keep a low profile. I have a bad feeling about this."

Apple Island seemed quite relieved as she made her goodbyes. Twilight wished she could say the same. But whatever this was, at least she wasn't facing it alone. Tomorrow she, Trixie, Rarity and all their Servants would figure out what was happening at Sweet Apple Acres. She would have preferred to do it tonight... but she wasn't entirely sure she could walk all the way home before her aching body made HER pass out.

Not one to let an opportunity slide, Saber joked, "I hope you don't plan to make a habit out of forcing me to carry you home. Putting you to bed once was fine, but you're taking the title 'Servant,' a bit too literally if you keep expecting it."

Twilight smirked and began her long walk toward bed.

Author's Note

Well, I sure bit myself on the ass with two weeks. But here I am! I pressed on and got this up gosh darn it!

I originally was going to pledge three weeks but I decided to push myself. But unfortunately it's clear that two weeks is just not going to be workable. So I'm going to go with three. That way next time I can only be two days late instead of a week and two days late :unsuresweetie:

Anyway, a new phase of the story is here! Also some saucy stuff. No mollusks, but the night is still young! Hope you like it.

War Council II

“Well, I know of something similar, but-“

“That shouldn’t be possible,” Saber finished. Rider grimaced at being interrupted, but nodded her agreement.

They had gathered at the untamed grove where Trixie had parked her cart. She insisted on keeping her home base near the summoning circle remnants outside, which were aiding Berserker’s recovery from the battle.

Twilight had tried to argue that Berserker’s injuries made him unable to defend her which made it far more dangerous to be alone. Trixie couldn’t be persuaded. She claimed that her strategic brilliance dictated she remain hidden from the ponies in the city, as nopony could suspect her of being a Master if nopony knew she was in town. Questioning why she had agreed to have their meeting in her camp is secrecy was so paramount or how that plan helped when it came to the Master who’s Servant had already seen her earned only sarcasm.

Twilight concerned herself with the two Servant’s conversation instead. “What shouldn’t be possible?”

Rider explained. “Let's put aside the chance that this wave of exhaustion is some kind of magical attack or Noble Phantasm. It seems unlikely given the relative gentleness and seemingly random targeting of the effect. With that presumption, there is only one way for Servants to leave innocent bystanders in this sort of state: by feeding on their souls.”

“Feeding on their… what are you talking about?”

Saber continued, his face showing his distaste for the subject. “If a Master cannot provide sufficient energy for our needs, we Servants must use our own magical reserves to make up the difference. A mortal can restore that reserve through food and rest, but a spirit expends magical energy even at rest just to remain in the world. To restore our energy, there’s only one ‘food,’ we can use: the souls of living beings. We consume their very life in order to increase our power.”

Rarity's response was understandable, if tactless. “What kind of creatures are you so-called heroes?! You eat... life itself? That's monstrous!"

“Madam, before you condemn us let me state clearly that this is not something most Servants would do willingly. We are the icons and guardians of humanity. Any Heroic Spirit with even the smallest spark of pride would rather give up their wish and return to nothingness than devour a soul.” Rider sounded annoyed at the accusation, as if Rarity had actually gotten under her skin with the question.

Saber seemed to feel bad when he saw the look on Rarity's face, and he rushed ahead with his next point. “If a Servant were feeding on the life force of the Apple Family in small enough doses, fatigue would be the result. But it shouldn’t be possible. Human souls are only compatible with other human souls, we cannot ‘digest,’ the souls of animals or any other inhuman life. Once life energy is converted to magical energy compatibility isn’t a problem, but if a Servant tried to take life by force from a non-human it should be useless.”

The specific wording of that explanation reminded Twilight of something important. “Saber, the energy might be useless to a human Servant, but what about that armored pony?” She hadn’t given much thought to that most-mysterious combatant since the fight in the clearing. The green armor, the axe, the mane and tail made from holly, and the unbelievable strength made it clear the creature was a Servant. By Saber’s logic there was nothing stopping it feeding on Pony souls.

Saber wasn’t so certain. “That creature concerns me. I’m not sure how it could be a Servant. There are only seven participants in the Grail War. We have seen Rider, Assassin and Berserker. Back at that clearing Archer’s attack came from a different direction than the armored pony fled. That leaves only Caster and Lancer. It could be Lancer even if it wields an axe… but then what of the samurai we fought in that same battle? Trixie said she identified herself as Lancer. Surely the horse cannot be Caster with its strength and martial skill. Either they are both Lancer and there is no Caster, or one is an eighth Servant. Both of those things are impossible.”

“Perhaps instead of a Caster one of the Masters called a deviant class, something outside the normal seven? It has been known to happen. Or perhaps one is a Caster with the Double Class skill?” Rider chimed in.

“The odds of either of those things are supposed to be astronomical. Also, keep in mind that it should also be impossible for this Holy Grail to summon a Heroic Spirit that isn’t born of humanity. I only know of one Heroic Spirit horse in Earth's history, and that little creature was no Bucephalus. Nothing about it makes sense.”

The whole thing made Twilight’s head spin. She barely understood the convoluted mechanics of the ritual. Still, it didn’t take a deep insight to see that four or five ‘impossibles,’ made the soul eating theory hard to swallow.

Berserker was resting against an old willow tree, a faint glow around him from the scorched marks in the grass that made up his summoning circle. He had neither moved nor spoken since their meeting began, but at last he strained to speak. “Another possibility… the contract itself.”

Trixie had an enlightened look cross her features. “Oh yes! When The Great and Powerful Trixie met with Ruler, she gave a warning about the Berserker class. She said it puts a much larger magical burden on the Master than other Servants, and can even be dangerous. Obviously, Trixie is elite even among elite unicorns so she doesn’t even break a sweat meeting those advanced needs…” She noticed the look on Twilight and Rarity’s faces after her boastful non-sequitur, and coughed before concluding, “Perhaps the Apple family is suffering because they can't meet the Servant's requirements?"

That got Twilight’s attention. “Earth ponies and pegasi do have their own magic, so we’ve been assuming they could summon a Servant. But we never considered the possibility that they might not have enough magic to maintain it once they had one.”

Saber put on a concerned expression as a thought occurred. “Twilight, if that is the case would that not mean your friend is the summoner? She suffered the greatest drain on her strength, and it was only after she collapsed that the others showed symptoms.”

“You mean Applejack? But we saw her hooves in the hammock. She didn’t have a Command Spell.”

“If she’s passed the Servant contract on to others in her family, she could have passed those on as well.”

Rider piped in again. “There’s a bigger problem than who summoned the Servant. Apple Island said that several of these farmers have shown fatigue. If the drain is from the contract, how can it affect more than one at a time? And why is the damage so much less to these others than it was to your friend?”

Saber frowned, deep in thought. “Logic would suggest that either they each hold the contract for only a short time, or the contract has been somehow split between them. However, it's not possible for just anyone to become a Master. The grail only chooses a few to be capable of it. I don't think even thirty candidates would exist in the entire world for any one Grail War. There couldn't be a dozen just among one family. As for sharing the burden, even if the contract could be divided it would be suicide for the Servant. Our basic attributes are strongly influenced by our Master. Diluting that influence between a dozen could cripple even the most powerful hero.”

Rarity sulked into the grass. “Ugh. This whole Grail War affair gives me such a headache. It’s nothing but nonsensical rules and never-ending terror.”

“An astute observation, Madam. I’m afraid human magecraft is not for the faint of heart,” Rider chuckled. Rarity half-heartedly levitated a pebble and threw it at her, and she caught it easily and flicked it back, bouncing it off the very tip of her Master’s horn with a pinpoint shot.

Twilight stood up before the bickering intensified. “Well, moping isn’t going to do much. We have a few theories, but without more information they’ve all got gaping holes. Rarity, I want you go over to Sweet Apple Acres and see if you can find out more about this exhaustion problem. Get a list of everypony that’s sick, check on AJ, see if it’s getting worse. The more we know, the better chance we have of figuring out what, or who, is causing it.”

Rarity nodded, but Trixie let out a huff. “Well, Trixie can’t do any investigations. Her brilliant Grail War stratagems require that her presence remain unknown to the citizens of Ponyville.”

“That’s fine. I want you to go into the forest and meet Zecora. She was preparing something for me and it should be ready by now, so you can pick it up.”

“Zecora?! That spooky zebra who helped you humiliate Trixie with the fake magic necklace?”

“I would hope you’d remember her as the spooky zebra who helped rescue you from being brainwashed by dark magic,” Twilight replied, rolling her eyes.

Trixie cleared her throat and gave her tail a swish. “Yes, well… The Great and Powerful Trixie would be happy to aide her ally with this errand. And what will you be doing?”

“Making sure Ruler has an unpleasant lunch.”

***

Interlude 13-1

To the Great and Powerful Trixie, the Everfree Forest was a trifle. It was full of ancient beasts, treacherous illusions and the unrivaled force of nature free from the control of ponykind, but what was that to Equestria's greatest magician? Sure, she was shivering, but any fool could tell this midsummer day was chilly. Anypony who pointed out she was wearing a cloak and hat to help with that should have kept their fat mouths shut. Also she was not looking fearfully in the direction of suspicious noises, she was enjoying the scenery, so there!

What was not a trifle was the one she was going to meet. Trixie didn't know Zecora, their "introduction," was during the Alicorn Amulet incident. All she really knew was that the older mare was wise, skilled and probably didn't like her.

She did know a little about zebras in general. While traveling for her show she'd come across them on occasion. On the one hoof, they were much like ponies, similar in size and build, and were the only other creatures in the world known to have Cutie Marks. On the other, they were enigmatic by nature, just alien enough to make a pony uncomfortable. Their rhyming, their mysticism, even their peculiar brand of hornless magic all seemed just a little bit wrong. It wasn't even clear if zebras could use magic or if their spells were all smoke and mirrors.

Ponies often mistrusted zebras, even ostracized them. But that was ignorance, simple fear of the unknown. What made Trixie concerned was not the abstract unknown, but the more specific lack of knowledge. Zebras were walking, talking mysteries, and Trixie hated mysteries almost as much as she hated wheels.

A magician had to be in complete control of every aspect of a trick, of every element of their show including the audience watching it, or the fantasy would inevitably crumble. The fantasy was what made them watch, what kept their eyes on the show even if you insulted them to their faces. Trixie had never cared if the audience applauded her, but she needed their respect... only so they would fork over their bits of course. No other reason at all.

To control something you must understand it, and Trixie didn't understand zebras no matter how hard she tried. That was as good a reason as any to be afraid. Except she wasn't afraid, because the Great and Powerful Trixie knew no fear.

She still knew no fear as she walked up the dirt path to the warped tree hut, ignoring the spooky masks, and knocked boldly on the door. As it creaked open, a pulsating orange glow filled her vision, and a shadowy figure loomed large and terrible in its depths.

There was a figure crouched over that glow, and it shouted a warning. "Have you not a lick of sense? Leave, or face the consequence!" The voice was fierce and insistent, and Trixie did not hesitate to obey despite not feeling any fear at all.

As she fled back into the woods, it struck Trixie that the figure had probably been Zecora herself. Why had Zecora threatened her? Granted, she wasn't exactly Miss Popularity after he last two visits to town, but Trixie had never done anything to Zecora directly, certainly not anything to merit such a greeting. Was she so evil in the zebra's eyes after their last encounter that her mere presence would not be tolerated, not unlike how Twilight had acted during her fit of rage?

Trixie stopped herself and turned around. She refused to be chased off. She was there for a reason, and if Zecora didn't like her that was too bad. The Great and Powerful Trixie wouldn't succumb to fear (that she didn't even have) no matter how much orange glowing Zecora threw at her.

She dashed back to the hut and kicked the door in. "Listen you! The Great and Powerful Trixie doesn't respond well to threaaa..." Her carefully planned and extra-haughty response was forgotten as she got a better look inside.

Zecora's hooves were wrapped tightly around her cauldron, as if she were holding on for dear life. The orange glow came from whatever liquid was roiling within. There was a visible whirlpool in the center of the concoction, and even from the doorway Trixie thought she could feel some kind of suction, but not a single hair in her mane moved as if it were being drawn in. It was as if the sensation was only in her mind.

By the looks of her Zecora felt that pull as well, and far more intensely. Her grip on the cauldron and her grit teeth made it seem like she would be sucked in if she let up for a moment. She clearly needed help, but the moment Trixie took a step closer she felt that imaginary pulling sensation double in strength, and a second step made the feeling increase so much she almost fell over and wonder if she could even flee anymore.

"How can I stop this?" she shouted.

It was a struggle to speak, but Zecora finally managed to grunt out, "Dry up... the brew! A bolt... from the blue!"

It took a moment's thought for Trixie to divine that meant she had to get rid of the orange liquid. Fortunately, it was a job for which Trixie had the perfect spell. Her horn flashed, and a tiny cloud puffed into being, swelling in size and turning darker every moment until it let loose a lightning bolt!

Admittedly it wasn't a very big lightning bolt, but it did its job. The orange goo vaporized, leaving only a puff of steam. Unfortunately, the effect was not limited to the liquid, and Zecora let out a scream as electricity flowed through the cast-iron cauldron and into her body. She writhed in pain for a few moments, and then finally slumped to the floor.

There was stillness after that. Nothing moved except shadows on the wall from the cooking fire. Trixie eventually mustered the courage to take a few ginger steps and whisper, "Hello? Are you okay?"

By way of response, Zecora leapt to her hooves like she'd sat on a pin. She looked about the room in confusion while Trixie stumbled back in shock and landed on her rump with a loud "Oof!"

"What in the... ugh, my whole body is aching. It feels like each one of my bones has been breaking. And my head is a blank, was this caused by the potion? Perhaps... oh, a guest! Please forgive the commotion." After finally noticing she wasn’t alone, Zecora stopped talking to herself and moved to help her guest off the floor despite still being a bit wobbly herself.

Dazed as she was, it took Zecora a moment to recognize just who was in her home, but when she did things got curt in a hurry. "So Trixie, to what do I owe the displeasure? Have you come here to find yet another cursed treasure?"

Trixie glared. "That’s a fine attitude to take with the pony that just saved your life. What were you doing in there anyway?"

The comment stung, but not enough for Zecora to apologize. "I suppose telling you won't amount to a hassle. There is something amiss at the old ruined castle."

Trixie put on her most innocent of faces. "Castle? I've never heard of any castle around here."

Zecora barely even noticed Trixie's lie and began poking through a shelf full of magical reference texts. "I've been tracking a powerful magical force. I've found dozens of traces, but can’t pinpoint the source. There are only two things that I know as of yet: it is massive in scale, and it could be a threat."

There was really only one thing that she could be talking about, which meant Zecora was extremely lucky she hadn't found anything. "What makes you think whatever you're after is dangerous? Shouldn't you leave well enough alone?"

Locating the book she'd been searching for, Zecora began to flip through pages at high speed. "I cannot be so easygoing. Based on the castle, this power is growing. Twilight dismissed my concerns as well, which is why I was forced to attempt that spell."

"Just what kind of spell was that? It felt like it was pulling my mind in without touching my body."

Zecora gestured to one of her shelves without taking her eyes off her book, pointing out a large glass bottle with a decorative gold cap filled with a pink liquid. There was a label beneath the bottle.

TIME POTION. Allows astral projection to past events.
WARNING! Do not use unless activated by alicorn magic!

Trixie had never heard of any potion like that, but assuming the label was accurate Zecora had clearly been trying to see what caused the magical traces at the castle. In other words, the battle between the four Servants. Fortunately whatever she'd done to try and use the potion without an alicorn to activate it had failed, even if that failure had been nearly catastrophic.

She considered for a moment if she should try and deter Zecora from investigating any further. On the one hoof, if she succeeded in locating one of the Servants she could be killed. On the other, trying too hard to throw her off the scent might make Trixie look suspicious, especially given her past. If the other mare started investigating her, the odds of discovering something jumped significantly compared to random groping in the dark.

She decided to follow her own advice and leave well-enough alone for the moment. "Well, just keep in mind that The Great and Powerful Trixie may not be around the rescue you from your next mishap. Now, to business. Trixie's dearest arch-rival and frienemy Twilight Sparkle told her that you have been preparing something for her. She is here to pick up and deliver this… whatever."

Zecora snapped her book shut and put on a very suspicious face. "Of all ponies, you came for Twilight’s things? Just a scorpion, here to pick up a few stings?"

Trixie let out an angry snort, so irritated that she started using pronouns. "I don't know what that means, but I have a strong feeling it was an insult. If you must know, Twilight had another appointment that couldn't wait, and needs whatever you were preparing for her right away. Can we just skip the part where you assume I'm the ultimate evil and learned nothing from our last little incident? I'm getting sick of it. I don't even know what I'm picking up so how could I have a nefarious plan?"

Zecora seemed unmoved by the speech, and finally Trixie just sighed and turned to leave. "Fine then. You're welcome for saving your life." She pushed open the door, but paused when her ears caught an equally exasperated sigh.

"I suppose you have earned some small measure of trust. The presumption of guilt I admit was unjust. But heed my warning, clear and plain." Zecora paused and pulled out a small box made of polished metal. She opened the lid, revealing three small glass vials snuggled comfortably in a red satin inlay. "Misuse these, and I’ll show you pain."

The Great and Powerful Trixie rolled her eyes at the shaman's melodrama. Her eyes scanned the label on the box, wondering what could possibly merit that kind of sentiment.

A few minutes later, Trixie was taking very careful steps along the path back to Ponyville. Her levitation magic kept an iron grip on the box, as she didn't want to jostle its contents even slightly. She couldn't fathom what in Equestria Twilight wanted with those bottles, and felt more than a little upset that she was stuck as the courier for such cargo. The long, slow trip back, with every step full of fretting about what she was holding, would not be an enjoyable one.

However, as Trixie rounded a curve in the trail she found her worries about the box were not so urgent.

Standing in the path was a familiar figure, wearing black and red silk with a flower print. Her armor and war paint were gone, and her long black hair flowed around her instead of being gathered in a tail, but there was no mistaking that aura of grace. Nor would one mistake the pure white steel of the sword gripped in her hand. The Servant who called herself Lancer had returned.

"Good day to you, my lady. This one respectfully comes before you under orders from her Lord. It has been decreed that Trixie Lulamoon must be removed from this Grail War before the sun sets. With respect to propriety, this one therefore issues a formal letter of challenge.”

Her other slender hand emerged from the oversized sleeves of her dress with a simple sheet of folded paper, some kind of calligraphy scrawled vertically down its center. “This one offers you the opportunity to call forth your Servant in response to the challenge, as it would be preferable to conclude our previous duel. However, if you refuse this one will be forced to take your life."

Interlude Out

***

Sugercube Corner was no less busy than it had been during Twilight’s last visit. The Cakes were still bustling about, and Pinkie Pie's mane looked even more frazzled than it had before. But she didn't have time for sympathy. She was there to get answers, and the one who could give them to her was enjoying a cinnamon bun at the same table where Twilight had left her.

Moving with a purpose, Twilight pushed through the crowd and sat herself down in the empty chair across from the fake pony. "Hello ‘Pen Dragon.’ Enjoying your meal?" she asked, doing her best to keep her tone neutral.

"I am beginning to crave some variety, but my palette has not adapted well to flowers and grasses. I certainly can't complain about the quality. Your friend is an excellent baker."

Ruler's cordiality got under Twilight's skin immediately, but she endeavored to keep calm. "You have some explaining to do. I know what you told my friends to get them into this now, and it sure wasn't the same thing you told me. It's awfully convenient how you went into so much detail about how badly this thing could go and how many ponies could get hurt at our little tea party, but left that all out while you were talking about how it was nothing but a friendly competition for a magical wish with Rarity and Trixie. Where do you get off lying to trick us into this mess?"

Rage flashed in those big green eyes, a ripple in the sea of calm and control Ruler projected. She clearly did not like Twilight's question. "It would be unwise to impugn the honor of the King of Knights. The Grail War is a game as much as it is a ritual or a battle. How it is conducted is determined by the Masters. It is not in any way necessary to harm others just because it is possible, and many mages join the war simply to prove their superiority over the other participants and gain prestige even if they don't have an explicit wish in mind. I did not lie to either of your friends.”

Keeping a neutral tone was no longer Twilight’s priority. "You're seriously giving me the 'certain point of view,' argument? Everything you said was under false pretenses! You weren’t giving us warnings or advice or trying to help us achieve our goals! You were calculatedly manipulating us! Telling us whatever it took to fight your war for you!"

“Keep your voice down, Twilight Sparkle.” Ruler sipped at a cup of tea, perhaps buying herself a moment to construct her response. Twilight realized she really didn’t care what half-truth Ruler was going to use to justify her actions. This wasn’t what she had come for anyway.

“You’re the referee in this little ‘game,’ so I have a few game related questions and I want strait answers. Are there more than seven Servants in this war? Or any Servants that are outside the normal set of seven classes?”

“No to both. Although if there were a ‘Dual Class’ Servant I would not be able to tell you. My knowledge of Servant skills is not to be shared with participants.”

“Fine. Are there more than seven active Masters?”

“No.”

If Twilight could trust those answers they shot down their theory of a shared contract. But it shed no light on what the armored pony was. “Can you tell me if there is a Servant hiding at Sweet Apple Acres?”

“Servant locations are not information I can share.”

Twilight felt her temper flare again. “Something is wrong with the ponies there. Something is hurting them, draining their strength and leaving them exhausted! If it’s one of the Servants you can’t sit there and do nothing! You’re supposed to keep them in line!”

“If a Servant is responsible for what you’re describing, they have not broken any rules. So long as they maintain secrecy, there is nothing forbidding a Servant from victimizing bystanders for their own gain.”

Somehow Twilight hadn’t excepted the answer to be quite so blunt. “You’re a monster.”

Surprisingly, this time Ruler’s eyes seemed almost sad instead of upset. “You do not know how fortunate you are. I have seen Servants do much worse than spread fatigue because they knew their tactics could be disguised as accidents or natural disasters. I knew Servants who caused massive collateral damage to buildings and roads without a single care. They laughed at what fun they were having. I myself once dried up an entire river to defeat an opponent. I knew a Servant who drained all but the last drop of life from her victims, leaving comatose barely alive bodies across an entire city. There was another who attempted to melt hundreds of students inside a school into blood so she could feed on the magic contained in the flesh as well as the soul. And there was one… the atrocities he committed, all against helpless children... they were so heinous that I dare not speak of them. He was targeted for violations of the rule of secrecy, but only when his body count became so egregious that he could no longer use a mere mortal serial murderer as a mask for his actions.”

Every word of Ruler’s rant made Twilight more and more enraged and disgusted at first. Rarity’s question to Rider about what kind of creatures the so-called Heroic Spirits really were seemed more and more justified. But by the time Ruler was finished, she seemed almost as angry and sick as Twilight. These examples were not meant to be flippant or condescending. If anything, Ruler was upset remembering them, and perhaps was most upset because if such things happened here she couldn’t do anything about them due to her station.

Twilight thought back to that night where they had shared tea, moments when Ruler had hesitated in her responses or showed frustration at things which she was clearly hiding. For the first time, Twilight Sparkle questioned exactly who Arturia Pendragon was, and wondered if the role of proctor for the Holy Grail War wasn’t a terrible thing in its own right.

Unfortunately, there was too much at stake to have sympathy for the devil. “Everything about this Grail War is wrong. You’re wrong for helping move it along, whether you have a choice or not. My friends and I are going to stop it, one way or another.”

“So long as your method of ending the war involves at least six defeated Servants and no violations, you will have no argument from me.” Ruler went back to her food, and Twilight left without another word.

Once they were outside, Saber’s voice wafted into Twilight’s ear at a whisper low enough that nopony on the street could hear. “That was dangerous. King Arthur is one of the most powerful Heroic Spirits in history, and if you make her your enemy she needn’t even dispatch you herself. She has Command Spells which can control all the other Servants. If she wanted she could order me to kill you for her while she sat back and enjoyed her latest pastry.”

“I know that,” Twilight whispered back. “I just had to say something. If she wasn’t here, I could at least sound the alarm about this whole mess. I wouldn’t be waiting to find somepony I love dead because they didn’t know there was a war going on around them. I wouldn’t have to try and find some way to help the Apples without even telling them that something is wrong with them. Stopping her won’t end the battles, but it would be a start at least.”

Saber sighed. “Well, it would certainly be easier to defeat her if you hadn’t basically told her to watch her back for a knife. Still, it would be a privilege to cross swords with her.”

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. I’m not exactly ready to commit myself to potential suicide. For now, we stick to our current course. We find and deal with the other four teams and do whatever it takes to keep Ponyville safe from the crossfire. But if Ruler gives us any opportunity…”

Twilight’s eye caught a lonely stretch of fence by the side of the road, where a bottle sat on top of a post. On impulse, she fired off her magic. The violet beam struck home and the bottle burst into a thousand pieces.

“Hey! My soda!”

Twilight blushed deep red under her coat. “Oh my gosh! Sorry!”

***

Interlude 13-2

A flash of light. The sound of shattering glass. Embarrassed voices. All took a back seat to a sudden sting of pain in the left hoof.

Far above Twilight Sparkle, eyes watched from a stealthy perch on top of a stray cloud. Wings flapped in barely-contained excitement. At last, staying patient had paid off. Confirmation of that first suspicion, that same pain when she cast that spell, erased all doubt. She was indeed one of the Masters.

“Found you.”

Interlude Out

Author's Note

Delays, delays, delays. I spent the last two weeks constantly running around taking care of a time-sensative personal issue, and it didn't help when I got stuck for days trying to get Zecora's dialogue to not suck. But it's here at last! 3 week timer, reset!

A bit of an exposition dump chapter, but hopefully seeing the new team working together and some of the more interesting bits made it worthwhile. Also, updates to the Servant Character Sheets are overdue, so expect them this weekend!

Definition of Lies

There is a world out there, I know it very well.

It’s a world where no matter how dark an evil becomes, a happy ending is waiting.

And even the most twisted things can be redeemed.

Our world is no such place.

I’ve seen this story play out too many times.

Even the happiest paths end up bittersweet at best if you watch long enough.

I’ve decided to take some responsibility.

And anyway, I would think you would approve.

Some version of you once said that you hate when someone’s hard work goes unrewarded.

And given how things played out back then, this version of you clearly agrees.

So I’m sending this story there. One last run through the plot.

And on this route, there is no doubt in my mind there’s a Happy End waiting.

And all the evils of the world won’t be enough to change that.

***

The Summer Sun Celebration.

The words on a banner draped across Ponyville City Hall gave Twilight Sparkle chills as she walked through the town square. The young purple Unicorn remembered the first time she’d been in this town for the event. In retrospect they were happy memories. Memories of adventure and friendship and good feelings, at least when all was said and done. But at the time they were anything but.

At the time, she’d been angry, fearful. A few times she’d just wanted to break down crying, or scream: When she’d warned the Princess about the prophecy of Nightmare Moon’s return and been ignored, during the discomfort of being the center of attention for unfamiliar social interactions. And then came the terror of facing the monster Nightmare Moon herself. The weight of whatever awful fate would befall her kidnapped mentor, or even the whole world, if she were to fail. When she’d lived through those things, it had been terrible.

But all of that was in the past, and today nopony she could see was dwelling on gloomy thoughts. Ponyville was a buzzing beehive of activity as preparations for something huge were well underway. The market stalls were dressed up with wonderful, sunny colors and royal symbols, and they seemed to be practically bursting with new wares. Every inn, hostel, bed and breakfast and flophouse in town was freshening up its paint job, cleaning its windows and fluffing its pillows. Smoke was rising from Sugar Cube Corner’s ovens, and it wasn’t the only place that showed signs of metaphorical heavy lifting. Or, for that matter, literal heavy lifting, as Pegasi flitted through the skies and Earth Ponies dragged along carts laden down with heavy wooden beams and other construction supplies, taking them all over town. And on top of it all, every street was full of visitors from other parts of Equestria, taking in the sights and filling the air with excited chatter. It was a whirlwind that had been going on for nearly a week.

She wondered if Mayor Mare had asked to see her because she was having problems with scheduling and administration of all the work around town. As she opened the doors to City Hall and told the receptionist that she had an appointment, she resolved to be ready to do whatever the Mayor needed in order to help.

***

After the Mayor finished explaining her special request, Twilight’s earlier resolve was far from her mind.
She had a hard time imagining the look of bewilderment that was certainly painted on her face as she fought the urge to pace around the immaculate office of Ponyville’s Mayor. The silver-haired Earth Pony politician was leaning against her polished oak desk, hooves steepled in a thoughtful way and a salesman’s smile on her lips. She was clearly quite pleased with herself. “Come now, Twilight, there’s nothing to think about here! You act like it’d be the first time you’d ever given a speech to the town. You’ve never had a problem with the spotlight before.”

Twilight managed to find her voice. “Miss Mayor, that was different. This isn’t me telling everypony about something wonderful my friends have done, or sharing important news with them, or even trying to organize them for something. You just want me to get up on stage and… make up stories!”

The Mayor seemed aghast. “Twilight, that wasn’t my intent at all! How could you say such a thing?”

Twilight checked herself. The Mayor seemed legitimately hurt by her words, and seeing that Twilight scuffed at the ground bashfully with her hoof. After all, she had all-but accused the other pony of asking her to lie to the whole town. Politician she might be, but Mayor Mare had never been anything but a good and helpful part of the community, and Twilight couldn’t recall any time she’d been dishonest.

“Well, maybe you should explain this idea to me one more time. I suppose I just don’t understand what you’re asking of me.”

The Mayor hopped down from her desk with a cheerful, “Of course,” then walked over to a wall-mounted marker board that was covered in plans and photographs. Gesturing with her hoof, she began her pitch from square one.

“As you know, Twilight, last year’s Summer Sun Celebration was canceled by Princess Celestia. She felt a holiday that celebrated a terrible battle with Princess Luna which culminated in her thousand-year imprisonment was somewhat inappropriate after she was saved by you and your friends. Since the Celebration is a national event observed by ponies all over Equestria, rather than a more regional tradition like Nightmare Night, it was understandable that she wanted it to be downplayed. But for this year that’s changed, and the Celebration is back on!”

Twilight nodded along with the Mayor’s words. Princess Celestia had actually sent her a letter several days before the official announcement. It explained that Princess Luna had specially requested that the holiday be reinstated. After her experience visiting Ponyville during Nightmare Night, she understood that reminders of her past didn’t need to be unpleasant, especially if those reminders brought joy to her subjects. ‘And after all,’ Celestia had written, ‘No pony has more reason to celebrate the defeat of Nightmare Moon than my beloved sister.’

“As you may further recall from the town meeting we had shortly after that announcement, we here at City Hall see the reinstatement of this holiday as a golden opportunity for commerce and tourism to pick up during the normally slow summer months. After all, our humble town is the home of the Elements of Harmony, and the site of Nightmare Moon’s final defeat. That’s a claim to fame for the season if ever there was one!”

Technically, Twilight reminded herself, Nightmare Moon had been defeated in the ruins of the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters, out in the Everfree Forest. But she didn’t want to interrupt the Mayor’s roll, so she held her tongue.

“To that end-” the Mayor gestured broadly across the board to the litany of ideas for events, games, concerts, air shows, parties and other attractions, many of which Twilight had passed on the way over. “-we have been gearing up for the biggest event in Ponyville’s history, and visitors are already flocking to our humble town. Ticket sales for various events, room rentals, and the projections for food sales and other local commerce based on the last few days alone are off the charts!”

“I understand all that Miss Mayor,” Twilight finally spoke up, “Applejack and Pinkie Pie have told me about how much overtime they’re working to fill orders from restaurants all over town, and Rarity plans to practically double her summer profits with a few special seasonal designs. But I don’t see what this part you want me to play for you has to do with anything.”

The Mayor stepped back from the board and adjusted her glasses. “Well, the thing is Twilight… Honestly, as excited as I was setting all this up, in the last few days I’ve been worried that I didn’t take Princess Luna’s feelings into account. I know bringing back the Celebration was all her idea, but at the same time… Well, after Nightmare Night was over I just felt terrible. I know it all worked out in the end, but when I thought about myself cowering in the dirt instead of making her feel welcome, I was so ashamed.”

That wasn’t exactly the expected direction for the conversation to take. The way the Mayor slumped her shoulders and her drooping tail made it clear to Twilight just how serious she was, and how difficult it was to share this. She rested a hoof on the older woman’s shoulder. “It’s alright Mayor. Without you, things might not have turned around that night. You more than made up for any mistake you made.”

The Mayor offered her a sad little ‘thank you,’ smile. “Well, still. I want to make sure that I don’t make any mistakes this time. This is our chance to make a new beginning for the Summer Sun Celebration. With how big we’ve made this event, all eyes are going to be on Ponyville, and we’ve got a chance to set the tone for all of Equestria. I want to make sure that instead of another thousand years of remembering Princess Luna as a villain who was cast down, that we remember her as a friend that the Elements of Harmony saved from a terrible fate!” She moved her face very close to Twilights and looked her dead in the eyes. “And I need your help to make sure that happens, Twilight Sparkle.”

Twilight gave an uneasy smile as she broke eye contact and backed away from the uncomfortably close quarters, but tried to stay encouraging. “I see. That seems wonderful, Miss Mayor. So, basically all you want is for me to give a speech at the opening ceremony for the Celebration. You want me to tell the story of what happened when Nightmare Moon returned, and how we saved Princess Luna with the Elements, so we can ‘set the tone,’ for the event like you said. But earlier you told me you wanted me to embellish the story! I don’t understand that part. Don’t you want me to tell the truth? Isn’t that the whole point?”

“Of course I want that Twilight. But-” The Mayor sighed deeply, “-well, to be honest, some ponies don’t want to hear the truth. They’d much rather have a story.” She began to do a little pacing of her own. “Think about when Nightmare Moon first came into the ballroom on that day she was freed, for example. We were all in a panic because Princess Celestia was missing, and the very first thing anypony said to this dark, mysterious creature in our midst was to ask what she had done to the Princess. We didn’t have any reason to assume she was responsible for Celestia being gone. But it made sense to us because she was dark, and sinister, and she’d shown up in the wrong place at the wrong time, so she surely had to be guilty. That’s a story that makes sense to ponies. What if Nightmare Moon had been some innocent bystander instead of a powerful monster? Who knows what we might have done to her.”

Twilight had never even considered that before, but it made a lot of sense to her when put in those terms. Twilight herself had known all about the Mare in the Moon and the prophecy, so she’d had facts backing her up when she told everypony what was happening that night, but Rainbow Dash had just lashed out with no information at all. She was also reminded of the first time she’d seen Zecora, the mysterious Zebra, and how all her friends had acted fearful and prejudiced in the face of the unknown.

The Mayor continued, “If all you give people are the facts of what happened they’re going to use them to make up their own story Twilight. Believe me, I know from experience. You wouldn’t believe the kinds of rumors my secretary overheard around town when people were trying to ‘figure out’ why I dye my hair.” Despite the seriousness of the conversation, they both allowed themselves a chuckle at that comment.

“Anyway, when you get up on that stage, all I want is for you to take control of that narrative. Not necessarily to lie, I would never ask that of you. But if you think some detail might be too scary for a young filly, like when you all had to fight that Manticore, you could just skip over to the part when Fluttershy peacefully pulled the thorn from its paw. Or Princess Celestia being taken. It’s not really important to the story of saving Princess Luna that it happened. All it’s going to do if you bring that up is remind ponies that the first thing Nightmare Moon did when she arrived was hurt our beloved monarch, and that’s the last thing anypony wants to think about, or for that matter we want them thinking about. Forget worrying about every little factual detail and focus on telling a story that everypony will enjoy.” She offered Twilight a playful wink.

***

Twilight sat at her writing desk at the Ponyville Library, quill hovering overhead while wrapped in the purple glow of her magic. She hadn’t managed to convince herself to put it to paper.

In the end, she had agreed to the Mayor’s request to give a speech, but made no promises on the content. She felt like her head was going to split. Everything that the Mayor had said to her about stories, and the reasons they were putting on this festival, and helping Princess Luna, it all made sense. But it didn’t feel right somehow.

It was obvious that lying about things would be terrible. There wouldn’t be a whole Element of Harmony dedicated to honesty if lying was ever going to help anything. But was it really lying to just gloss over a few things, omit some information or twist a couple of facts to make somepony look better?

She decided she needed to talk it out, find a sounding board to help make up her mind. She glanced up at the library’s loft to check on her go-to for that sort of thing, and found that her faithful dragon assistant Spike was enjoying a nap. “Well then, I guess I’ll go visit the others. I’m sure they’ll know the right thing to do.”

She casually strolled across town and made her way to Sweet Apple Acres. It didn’t take her too long to find Applejack out in the fields, as the clack of hooves on apple trees was echoing across the hills and made for easy tracking.

Applebuck season was still some time off, but the demand for foodstuffs with the upcoming festivities had been so massive that the Apples couldn’t pass up the potential business. With Granny Smith’s begrudging blessing, spoken around grumbles of lowered quality given the earliness of the season, they had begun to harvest their crop, and profits were already pouring in as fast as they could ship out the fruit.

In fact, demand was so high, that the family had called in the proverbial cavalry. Apple clan members from distant corners of Equestria, their own harvest time a long way off, had appeared to help bring in as many crops as the hungry tourists could possibly eat. Some Twilight recognized. The brothers Red and Golden Delicious, excitable Braeburn, clumsy Caramel, and energetic Apple Fritter all caught her eye. There were more that she’d never seen before, and it made her happy, and relieved, that AJ had all the help she needed.

At last she located her friend, chatting amiably at the base of a bucked tree. She held her faithful hat in hoof, allowing the summer breeze to comb through her long blonde mane to cool herself off more quickly. Near her were her younger sister Applebloom, and another pony Twilight didn’t recognize. The new pony was a Unicorn, a fact which surprised Twilight a bit as she’d never met an Apple that wasn’t an Earth Pony. She was tall, had a sleek, slender build and a deep golden-orange coat. Her long mane, colored a wine red with streaks of forest green, as well as her tail were done up in glamorous curls. Rarity would have certainly approved. Most shocking of all, however, was that she did not have a Cutie Mark! A full-grown mare with a blank flank! It was clear why Applebloom was stalking around her like a curious puppy dog. Twilight made a stern mental note to not say anything. She would have to be sensitive.

Walking up with a wave of the hoof, Applejack invited her to join the conversation. “Twilight! Nice to see you. I’d like to introduce you to one of my more distant relations. This here is Apple Island. Apple Island, meet Twilight Sparkle. She’s none other than Princess Celestia’s personal magic apprentice!”

Twilight felt a blush coming on, but Apple Island remained composed and graceful, and craned her neck in a simple but elegant bow. “My goodness,” she began, her voice lacking any recognizable accent, “It’s certainly an honor to meet such an accomplished magic user. I’ve dabbled in such studies myself. I’m a bit of an odd-ball in this family I’m afraid.” She offered up a smile, and Twilight couldn’t help but smile back. There was a certain charm about this mare that made one instantly like her. When you looked into those dark red eyes, you just knew you were talking to a pony you could trust. Twilight reflected on how honesty worn on the sleeve must run in the family.

“She hails from one of our most distant branches, even further out than Uncle Apple Strudel. Heck, even Granny Smith didn’ recognize her when she first walked up the way. But you know how that old gal is, a cup of coffee and a nice chat and the memories came floodin’ back.”

“Well, I should hope so.” Twilight replied, “Even if she’s a distant relation, it seems like she’d be hard to forget. I mean, she’s a Unicorn, and she’s absolutely gorgeous. Plus she has no…” She managed to trail off without finishing the sentence, but the damage was done. If she’d slapped herself in the forehead any harder, there would have been a permanent hoofprint.

“Miss Twilight, you don’t need to be embarrassed,” Apple Island consoled her, amazingly not upset even slightly by Twilight’s massive social gaff. “Believe me when I say I have absolutely no concern over the fact that I don’t have a Cutie Mark. After all, it’s not like I’m missing a leg. It’s something I can easily do without.”

Twilight was amazed at her cool disposition. The idea of never finding your special talent, the one thing you were best at, was a troubling one. She’d told Applebloom and the other Cutie Mark Crusaders many times that it wasn’t something that could be forced and it would come in its own time, but that you might NEVER find it wasn’t even in the equation as far as Twilight was concerned. Still, if this pony was happy, Twilight wasn’t about to try and make her miserable. In all honesty, it was a wise point for view, and who was she to disagree?

“Oh, speak for yourself Cousin Island. I think I’d rather be missin’ a leg than never get my Cutie Mark.” Applebloom’s moping was unsurprising. It was obvious that she was enamored with the cool, pretty older mare, but she probably didn’t like hearing anypony say they were so unconcerned about the most important thing in her life.

Apple Island gave the young girls head a pat in a consoling gesture. “If anything, I’m sorry that I don’t have one for dear Applebloom’s sake. After I arrived and heard how troubled she is about her lack of a mark, I’d hoped my presence would make her a bit more chipper, but so far it’s been a mixed bag.”

“Well if you’d been able to magic a Cutie Mark up for me, I’d certainly be a lot more chippy-er,” she sighed. Twilight raised an eyebrow.

“You tried to get Apple Island to give you a Cutie Mark with magic? You know we’ve tried that before. Not to brag or anything, but why would you think any other Unicorn could do it if I couldn’t?”

Applebloom started a bit, and stumbled over her response. “Oh, uh, no reason. I just uh… thought it might work this time because I’m older now.” Twilight smiled and shook her head. The little filly had probably forgotten the entire episode and was embarrassed to admit it. With the sheer volume of schemes she’d tried to get her Cutie Mark, one slipping her mind was to be expected.

After getting a good natured laugh out of the way, Applejack turned back to her guest. “Well, now that the introductions are out of the way, what can I do ya for Twilight?”

Twilight briefly explained the Mayor’s request, making her concerns about bending the truth, even for a good cause, plain. Applejack nodded in a sage-like manner as Twilight laid out the pros and cons of the situation, and was deep in thought for several minutes after the tale was complete. “That’s quite a pickle you’ve got there Twilight. I mean, you know me; honesty is always the best policy as far as this Apple is concerned. But the Mayor’s got a point. I remember how rough Nightmare Night was on Princess Luna when you first walked up to me and asked me to show her a good time, so helpin’ her make a good impression can’t be a bad thing. Especially if you’re not really lyin’ to do it. I wish I could be more helpful, but I’m sure a somepony as smart as you will make the right decision.”

Applebloom spoke up, “You know Twilight, when me and the girls were writin’ for the school paper, some of the stories we wrote about other ponies were made up, some of them were completely true, and some were kind of in-between. It seemed like somepony was angry or sad no matter what we did. I don’ know if that helps, but… Well, maybe you should just write whatever you think will make everypony happy.”

***

“‘Whatever will make everypony happy,’ huh?” Twilight wondered aloud. She’d thought that after talking to Applejack everything would be crystal clear, sure that the Element of Honesty would see what the right thing was immediately. Now she was more confused than ever. She meandered her way across town trying to collect her thoughts, and found herself at the door of Rarity’s boutique. Deciding more advice was just what she needed, she approached the door… only to jump back as another pony stepped through.

It wasn’t anypony Twilight knew, which probably meant she was one of the tourists. She had a surprisingly intense look, her sparkling aqua-marine eyes giving off a feeling of authority and danger that reminded Twilight of the few times she’d met the Wonderbolts' captain, Spitfire. However, this was an Earth Pony rather than a Pegasus.

She was pale cream in color, not quite the sparkling pristine white of Rarity’s coat but closer to fresh milk. It was hard to gauge her build because most of her body was draped in a long, bright blue cloak, but she seemed on the small side, not very tall or muscular. Her spun-gold mane seemed cut very short at first, but the two long bangs framing her face, the single stray curl accenting her look, and the elaborate combination of braid and bun gathered at the back of her neck made it clear it was actually grown out quite a bit. Her tail length was also impressive, though it was tightly woven into a braid as well. Twilight wondered if the pony was trying to look more masculine, as she would undoubtedly give off a girlish air if she let her hair hang loose. As it was, the only mark of femininity was a simple blue ribbon helping to tie her hair.

The strange pony seemed very startled by Twilight being in the doorway, though it only showed on her face for a split second. Not wanting to be rude, Twilight offered an apology. “Oh, I’m sorry; did I get in your way? I was just trying to visit my friend, she owns this shop.”

The cloaked stranger regarded Twilight with a critical eye for a few somewhat uncomfortable moments without answering. Just when she was wondering if she should say something else, Twilight finally got a response. “Not at all. The error was mine. Forgive my rudeness; I wasn’t expecting anyone else to be around here.”

Twilight gave a polite nod. “Well, Rarity is an up-and-coming designer, so her boutique is more popular than some ponies might think. If anything it’s unusual that you were the only one around. But that’s good for me, since it means I won’t be bothering her with my visit. Anyway, I hope you’re enjoying your visit to Ponyville, Miss…?”

But the mare didn’t answer, instead ending the conversation by returning Twilight’s nod, and simply saying, “Yes, this is quite an interesting place. Thank you for the conversation. I’m certain I’ll see you again.”

Shrugging off the other pony’s strange behavior, she walked through the door and called out to her friend. “Rarity? Are you busy? I’m kind of in a jam and was hoping you could give me some advice.”

As always, Carousel Boutique was a wonderland of beauty, as gem-studded, high-fashion clothes covered mannequin after mannequin. Rarity’s summer line took up most of the display space. The theme, as she’d described it to the group, was “Hot Summer Sun and Hot Summer Nights.” On one side of the store she’d decorated with all the trappings of summer fun. Fanciful frilly swimsuits, sleek outdoorsy sets with shorts, boots and sleeveless shirts perfect for camping, and light, airy sundresses with broad hats and parasols lit up the room with whites, yellows and oranges. On the other side, things were done up like a trendy nightclub, with neon lights and standees of big buildings setting the stage for slick black suits and form-fitting silk evening wear that werew sure to turn every head on the dance floor. Best of all, every outfit had special gem inlays based on the Cutie Marks of Princesses’ Celestia and Luna, to specially commemorate the Summer Sun Celebration. Rarity had truly outdone herself for this event. Wherever she was.

After calling out a few more times, Twilight began peeking into the back rooms. It was several minutes before she finally located the white unicorn, rustling around in the room where she stored her special fabrics. She was muttering to herself, “Where is it? Where could I have put it? It’s got to be here somewhere.”

“Rarity!” Twilight called out to her friend, and was surprised as the sound of her voice made the other mare leap into the air in shock, like she’d been hit with a bucket of cold water. “Oh, I’m sorry. I startled you.”

“N…not at all darling! Why would I be startled? It’s just another average day here at Carousel Boutique after all!” She stepped away from the rolls of fabric in the storage closet and guided Twilight back onto the main floor. “Now, what can I do for you? Looking for a new dress for the festival?”

“No, nothing like that. I just need some advice. See, I-” She paused, as a thought occurred to her. Perhaps Applejack’s advice had been colored because she knew specifically that this speech was for the purpose of helping Princess Luna. Luna was a friend, and AJ had been pretty focused on her being the benefactor of the story when giving her non-committal answer. She might get a more honest view if she kept things vague.

“Let me ask you this: Is it OK to bend the truth, or maybe just leave some information out, when you’re telling a story if it helps somebody look better? I was thinking about it, because somepony I know wants me to write a little story about some true events that happened to me, but she wants me to kind of… dress up the facts a bit, make it more of a storybook story. I’m not really sure what to do. I don’t want to be dishonest, but it’s not exactly lying either, and I do want to help this pony out.”

Rarity rubbed a hoof under her chin. “Hmm… that is a tough question.” She gave it a few moments of thought, and then her eyes lit up. “Ah, I know. Now, this is a bit embarrassing so I’m afraid I can’t get too specific on the details. But once, when I thought it was important to make myself look good to others, I did more than bend the truth, I told a few outright lies.” Twilight’s eyes went wide as saucers at this admission. “Yes, yes, I know darling, it was dreadful of me. And the funny thing was, in the end, the lies I told didn’t really make any difference to the most important ponies. The ones whose opinions of me really mattered cared more about who I was than the fibs I’d made up to make myself seem better. And they never even found out that those things I said were lies, because in the end they were so unimportant that nobody remembered them.”

Twilight let out half of a sigh of relief, but Rarity wasn’t finished. “That all being said… I would be lying to you right now if I told you that the lies I told didn’t matter ever. They didn’t matter at the end, sure. And they didn’t matter to the ponies that were most important. But they did matter to some ponies along the way. Some of them may not have looked at me twice if I hadn’t created a few little fictions, and because they did, I got to experience some wonderful things. I don’t want to support lying, believe me. In the end I was sorry I’d ever bothered doing it and if I had to do it over again I wouldn’t have wasted the effort. But at the same time, my lying didn’t hurt anyone, and it did me some good, even if it was far less important than I thought it was.” Rarity noticed that Twilight’s mood seemed to have dipped during this part of the speech, and gently brushed a hoof past her cheek. “In your case, dear, from what you said it doesn’t seem like you’re telling lies at all. Just not telling every little sordid bit of the truth. Nor are you doing this for yourself, but to help somepony else. I think the only reason you’re so torn up is that no matter what you do, you’ll be doing the right thing.”

Twilight couldn’t say that her conflict was completely resolved, but Rarity’s heartfelt words had certainly soothed the irritation in her mind. She moved in and gave her friend a hug as a thank you. Their warm moment was soon interrupted by a loud, slightly obnoxious “Aaaaaaaaaw, how sweet!” from the far window. When they both replied with annoyed eye rolling, the raucous laughter of Rainbow Dash became unmistakable.

“You know, Rainbow Dash, some of us can express our emotions openly in moments other than life-and-death peril,” Rarity chided.

The baby-blue Pegasus flipped her rainbow colored mane and scoffed. “Yeah, yeah, I was just tweaking your tail. Give me a break here! I’ve been busting my feathers working on the weather scheme for this big festival. My nap schedule is way off.” Twilight giggled despite herself. “Anyway Twilight, you know what I think about your story thingy?”

Before Twilight could respond, Rarity interjected. “Rainbow Dash, were you eavesdropping on us?”

“Yes. Anyway, about this story thing, I think it’s just like Daring Do, you know? Those stories aren’t for real, even though some of them are based on real stuff. Daring Do is supposed to be an Archeologist, but nobody wants to hear a story about brushing dust off shards of pottery with a tiny brush for six months and then finding out if was some local housewife’s flower pot. So the writer dresses things up so it’s more exciting!”

Twilight nodded, but wasn’t totally convinced. “But Rainbow, this story isn’t totally made up based on a real thing like Daring Do. It’s supposed to be the actual story of something that happened to me.”

Rainbow Dash shrugged. “I don’t think that’s all that different. If I was going to write a story about me, I wouldn’t make it about days where I sit around taking naps or busting clouds, it’d be about stuff like when I saved all the Wonderbolts and Rarity at the Best Young Flier’s Competition!”

As she usually did when that little episode was brought up, Rarity looked a bit uncomfortable, but Twilight ignored her. “But that story wasn’t all action and heroics. I remember how crazy nervous you were. You even told me that you were switching numbers with other ponies so you wouldn’t have to go out and fly!”

It was Rainbow’s turn to look sheepish. “Well, yeah… look, when I read a book, the most important thing is that I enjoy the story! Some people might want to hear a story about somebody who messes up and is afraid and stuff. But when I read a book, I want my hero to be AWESOME! Cool and brave and tough, a real Pony’s Pony, you know? If you want my opinion of how you should write your story Twilight, that’s it: before you worry about being true, worry about being awesome! After all, if the story is about you, then you get to be the hero!”

***

Twilight groaned loud and long as she tossed another sheet of paper into a growing pile behind her chair. After Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie had proven too busy to offer her any advice, she’d returned home and tried attacking the problem head on by just starting to write and seeing where her words took her. Unfortunately, her words hadn’t taken her more than a couple sentences in after nearly four hours of trying. Whether she tried to be more truthful or more dramatized, nothing felt right. Spike had ended up being no help when he finally woke up, his advice amounting to, “I dunno, but I’m glad I’m not in your shoes,” without even the marginally helpful context of an opinion for both positions, which Applejack’s similar response had provided.

Another ball of paper joined the pile, and she found that she’d gone through another scroll. She planted her face into her desk and put her quill back in its inkwell. She wasn’t getting anywhere at this rate. She glanced upward toward her bed, taking in the glorious clear night and full moon in frame through her window. Maybe sleep would help. She still had more than a week before the Celebration, so she had time to mull this over and still finish the speech on time.

As she slouched up the ladder toward her bed, she sighed. “It may be my story, but I certainly didn’t feel like a hero then. And even if I’m trying to help someone, this mess isn’t making me feel like one either.”

She pulled open her blanket and flopped onto the mattress, enjoying its welcoming embrace. She turned back toward the window, her eyes already feeling heavy. A loud yawn escaped her. “Hero… I wonder what it even means to be a hero…”

Her eyes fluttered closed. And then shot back open in shock. She screamed.

Outside her window, on the branch of the tree the library was built into, stood a pony bathed in moonlight. Twilight’s terrified brain barely recognized that it was the same blonde-haired blue-caped pony she’d seen at Rarity’s shop. She was staring right at Twilight with those piercing blue-green eyes, her garment fluttering in the night breeze. Then, without any warning, she tensed her legs and launched herself through Twilight’s window, shattering it into a million pieces and landing inside the house.

Twilight next scream barely managed to make a squeak thanks to her fright, but she did manage to call out Spike’s name in a tiny voice. Impossibly, the little dragon was still asleep despite the clamor. The stranger spoke, in a voice as clear as a bell chime. “Your pet will not wake. I took precautions so that we could speak in private.” From beneath her cape, a malicious red glow flashed for a split second, and the glass shards and splintered wood that were littering the floor and bed sprang to life, floating into the air and reassembling like a jigsaw puzzle in the window frame. Once the window was completely back in shape, the cracks of the seemingly countless pieces seemed to flow away, and in seconds it was if nothing had ever happened. Other than the crazy pony who was still standing at the foot of her bed.

Twilight swallowed a lump in her throat, and leapt to her hooves, eyeing the ladder down to the ground floor and wondering if she could make the jump without hurting herself. “That was magic! How did you do that? You’re an Earth Pony, not a Unicorn!”

The invader said nothing. Desperate and too afraid for rational though, Twilight stepped onto the frame of her bed and tried to jump for safety. Unfortunately, her hoof slipped on the polished wood, and she flailed helplessly as she fell onto her back, hitting the floor of the loft hard.

The blonde pony stepped around the bed, and stood before Twilight with an air of menace. Twilight felt paralyzed, helpless. But the strange pony did not attack. What she did instead… defied belief.

An explosive burst of wind erupted from the Earth Pony’s body, her cape and tail whipping about wildly. Twilight’s bedding was tossed away, and she worried she herself or the still sleeping Spike might follow. This was certainly more magic, though it lacked the eerie red glow of the previous spell. As the wind swirled, a different glow wrapped around the intruder’s entire body, this one pale blue. And before Twilight’s eyes, she changed.

From behind the veil of the magical glow, the intruder’s entire shape changed. She grew taller, her spine and legs seemed to morph into a different shape, her limbs and facial structure going through radical alterations as entirely new body parts grew from nothing. The only things that seemed to remain the same were her haircut and her still intense eyes. It only took a few seconds, and when it was done, the pony was gone, and in its place was something Twilight had never seen before.

Trying to stay calm, Twilight thought like a student. The creature seemed like it might be a primate of some kind. Her limbs ended in, rather than any kind of paw or hoof or talon, things that the Spider Monkeys kept by Princess Celestia had. She recalled they were known as “feet,” and “hands,” depending on which limb they were attached to. She had no coat at all on what little pale-pinkish skin was visible, mostly on her face, though her mane was still there. Twilight saw she had only two legs, (the other two seemingly had become arms) as they were just visible poking out of the bottom of a long blue and gold dress with a bell-shaped skirt that concealed most of her abdomen. They were protected by thick metal barding or armor.

In fact, a lot of her was covered in armor. Her skirt had two large protective plates, and an ornate cuirass surrounded her chest. Her hands were completely obscured by huge gloves made from interlocking plates, one shaped almost like a mitten and the other more tight-fitting and articulated. A simple glance was enough to tell Twilight that, whatever kind of animal she was, she was a warrior, just like her brother Shining Armor.

The transformation complete, the rampaging winds finally subsided, but did not vanish. Instead, they seemed to die down in intensity, then gather together until they became just barely visible from swirling particulates. They took on an oblong shape, which the creature grasped in its hand like it was something solid. She loomed over Twilight’s fallen body, her alien but elegant new self framed by the pure white light of the moon. Finally, in the same voice as her pony form, she spoke:

“Twilight Sparkle. At the bidding of the Holy Grail, I bring you notice. You have been chosen, and granted the right to the title of Master. I am Ruler, by my name of Arturia Pendragon. I bid you, call forth your Servant. The Holy Grail War has begun.”

Author's Note

I've never really posted a fanfic before, so I hope you all enjoy this, it's been stuck in my head for a long time. I don't have a pre-reader, so if I made some big typo or gramatical gaff, feel free to share, it'd help me out.

Vs Assassin :: Twilight's Last Gleaming

Interlude 11-1

Wind howled across the deck of the ship, but it was the Servant, Assassin, that made a chill run up Rarity’s spine. Before he’d been a formless voice from the dark. Now, as he discarded his cloak into the gale, she put a face to her fear. So to speak.

Any facial features other than his mop of short purple hair were obscured by a mask. It resembled a bleached skull and was held in place by metal rings sunk deep into the flesh, possibly strait through the bone, taking dedication to accessories beyond the pale. The Servant’s clothes were light. His feet were wrapped in rags, and his leggings were loose and tied with a simple chord of rope. He wore a sleeveless longcoat which showed off his thin but muscular frame and a scarf wrapped around his neck. It struck Rarity as clothing suited to a desert, except everything was dyed black as tar. But then again, so was his skin.

Assassin offered a polite nod as he glided around the mast, ignoring the wounded Berserker. “Rider, despite my disappointment I must still offer respect. Only a few hours since you decided to take our game seriously and you manipulated two Masters, recruited one of the most dangerous Servants as an ally, left him wounded while he penned an enemy into a trap-”

“And I got you to come out into the open. Not exactly your favored ground,” Rider interrupted, keeping her pistols locked on target as she smirked.

Assassin tilted his head at that comment. “Interesting. I saw two Masters in the open, one of their protectors wounded, and assumed your overzealous pursuit of Saber had created an opportunity to strike. Was this only an elaborate ruse to lure me out?”

“Well… no. I didn’t know Berserker’s identity, so I didn’t know his Noble Phantasm would injure him. But I did want to get you to stop skulking in the shadows as soon as possible after our discussion. Usually if I make a big enough splash things end up going my way.”

The sound of snickering filled Rarity’s ears, and it soon bloomed into resounding laughter. Assassin doubled over, slapping his knee at Rider’s words. “I owe you an apology Rider! My disappointment was not warranted. In you, the Grail has provided the perfect opponent for this simple teacher. God is good.”

Berserker’s labored breathing and moans of pain went silent. “God is good, you say? I know that blessing…” Steel joints groaned with outrage as the Black Knight forced himself to his feet. He shoved Trixie out of his way and stalked toward Assassin, taking step after agonizing step heedless of his wound.

“Saracen. SARACEN! My king, do you see this? Across worlds and history, a hero born from our ancient enemy reveals himself! My oath to you, my king… THIS TIME I WON’T FAIL! THIS TIME I’LL-“

Assassin did not turn his eyes from Rider, but his arm shot backwards at an impossible angle with impossible speed. The appendage looked boneless as it bent in three places to slip through Berserker’s guard. Fingers cleaved strait through Berserker’s breastplate at the thickest point, and blood oozed out around them, a slow drip of red highlighting black-on-black.

Berserker stopped cold, and then Assassin said a single word: “Zabaniya!”

Berserker’s scream echoed through the Everfree Forest. He fell to his knees, and his arms shot back as if trying to pull free from his torso. Blood spurted like a geyser from the holes in his chest as he stumbled back from Assassin’s hand, and even more started to ooze from between his armor plates. He lost all control of his body, falling to the deck of the ship and seizing, crimson pooling around him like a lake. Rarity could only stare in shock until he collapsed.

“Berserker!” Trixie rushed to her Servant’s side, trying to rouse him by shaking him and calling him insulting names. She paid no heed as red soaked into her coat, her tail, even the hem of her cape.

Assassin’s lack of reaction made it clear Berserker was never a threat. His only care for his victim came in the form of an off-handed comment. “He survived. Battle Continuation, perhaps? Miscalculation.”

Rider whispered instructions to Rarity, her smile never leaving her lips. “Madam, if you jump the railing to port, you’ll find a longboat waiting for you. Take Trixie along.”

Rarity managed to keep her voice from shaking as she answered, “I can’t just leave you here with that thing! And what about Twilight?”

“We have to forget about Twilight for the moment. Saber and Berserker’s army will fight it out, hopefully they can take him without our help. But I can’t face Assassin with you here. He is a Servant specialized in the murder of Masters. If he gets past my guard for even a moment, he’ll slaughter you both.”

Rarity swallowed a lump in her throat. There was no arguing with that. “Can you defeat him, Rider?”

It seemed impossible, but her smirk actually grew wider. “My dear, just who the hell do you think you’re asking?”

Despite herself, Rarity smirked back. Then she screamed as loud as she could, “TRIXIE! JUMP LEFT! NOW!”

Rider discharged both her pistols the moment her Master moved. Rarity didn’t look to see if they hit their mark, but two more shots rang out as she jumped over the rail hundreds of feet above the ground… and fell safely into the waiting boat. She breathed a sigh of relief, but it was cut short when she was rocked by the landing of a familiar metal bulk. Trixie arrived a moment later, and the tiny vessel began to move away from Rider’s flagship.

“What are you doing? Why didn’t you have him return to his spirit form instead of tossing him in here?” Rarity demanded.

Trixie bristled at the question. “He can’t, you idiot! He’s unconscious! Trixie couldn’t leave him for that boneface to deliver the coop day grass!”

“First off, it’s coup-de-grace. Secondly, you could have been killed rescuing that maniac! You should have just forced him back into spirit form with a Command Spell if you were that desperate.”

“O… obviously the Great and Powerful Trixie has a more refined sense of strategy than you. Command Spells are priceless resources! Such a small risk to preserve one would be well worth it to any REAL competitor!” She shut her eyes and pointed her snout in the air, a gesture of contempt Rarity vowed to never allow herself to use again.

Rarity turned back to Rider’s ship. A cloud of gun smoke obscured the duel, but she still heard intermittent shots. She wondered how Rider was faring until the cloud reflected a flash of violet light, reminding her there was another battle raging.

Above the eerie host summoned by Berserker, Rarity saw a familiar figure on the roof of the tallest tower. That figure sent another flash, a beam of arcane energy, slicing downward into the mass of spiritual soldiers. It carved into them like a knife, blasting many into nothingness.

Rarity jerked the longboat’s rudder. As she hoped, the craft responded and changed its course. Trixie demanded an explanation, and Rarity gave one. “We can still do what we came here to do! We’re going to save Twilight, no matter what it takes!”

Interlude Out

***

An endless sea of sub-humanity filled the castle courtyard. The ghostly army was all tattered cloaks and rusty blades, any semblance of glory long since faded. Their flesh was pale and rotting on their bones, and their dead eyes and slack jaws were at odds with the purpose driving their limbs.

The courtyard of the castle was full of them. Only a small spot of ground was untouched by the dead, a spot where any spirit who appeared perished in an instant. The army of Oliphant mindlessly rushed into that breach again and again. They ignored the fallen just as they ignored the flash of tempered bronze.

Saber sliced through spectral metal and flesh as if they were nothing, ending wave after wave of soldiers. Each spirit he brought down vanished in a cloud of ashes, never so much as touching him. The gulf of power between a mere wraith and a Heroic Spirit was obvious. Saber’s blade sang through the battle lines, striking heads from shoulders, digging deep into bellies, piercing hearts and brains… yet they pressed forward, heedless of the danger, and in doing so became a force to be feared even by a hero.

Saber’s sword could not be in every place at once. Through sheer attrition Berserker’s troops caught him off guard. A dagger swept near his eye, a club aimed for his ribs, hands tried to grasp his wrists, and he avoided them all. But his defensive efforts left him open. When his blade was locked in mid-parry with three blades aimed for his heart, three more struck at his back. Nothing could escape such an attack.

But Saber spun free without as much as a scrape! He broke through the line, took new ground and cleared it of enemies with one mighty cleave, restarting the flow of battle from square one. Regardless of numbers, regardless of tactics, they could not pin him down. From her previous analysis, Twilight knew this was one of his Personal Skills. Disengage: The ability to break free of any combat, no matter how intense, and escape to safety. It was a useful talent for a man facing an army.

From her perch on the top of the tallest tower, Twilight Sparkle watched her Servant fight. He moved through the creatures inch by inch, dodging and carving and disengaging. The whole mass of evil flowed like water, parting before him and flowing back in his wake. He rode the wave of ghostly soldiers like one of the great ships surrounding the castle would have ridden a squall, always a moment from destruction but glorious in its element.

Twilight felt like she should be awestruck, but all she could do was worry. She knew Saber was a shadow of his full strength. She’d seen him move much faster on fresh legs, seen his sword a hundred times more elegant in his proper hand. Only the enemy’s weakness was keeping him alive, and as he expended more and more energy the gap in power would inevitably close. But then, that was why she was up there.

Saber’s plan was simple enough. The ghosts were brainless, able only to single-mindedly pursue their target. If Saber went below and fought them directly, Twilight would be completely safe, and his Geras Apthiton would make him effectively invincible against such weak opponents. But in his current state any progress in thinning their numbers would be slow. It could take days to defeat them all. Twilight's magical energy would be required to maintain a Noble Phantasm for so long, and even a Master like her would eventually run out, leaving Saber to vanish into nothingness.

However, if he limited himself to basic melee, with no Noble Phantasms or mana intensive skills, he could rely his own mana reserve through the battle. Twilight could then use all her magical energy for attacking, and with the power at her disposal eliminate dozens with every blast. He would line up the horde like an undead shooting gallery, and Twilight would mow them down en masse.

There were risks. He would be exposed to Rider, Berserker and the guns of the ships without his Noble Phantasm’s protection. But if they stayed hidden they would simply be found and overrun.

As Saber had explained his idea, Twilight remembered her vision of Hector’s betrayal, of trust on the battlefield leading to his demise. She couldn’t help but ask the question. “Can you trust me to help?”

Saber’s reply had been simple, and offered with a smile. “I chose to help prepare you for battle. Now I choose to trust that you are ready. Regardless of outcome, I won’t regret my choices.” He’d paused for about half a second, and then added “I hope you can say the same.”

Twilight’s beam scorched the air. The scent of ozone was dizzying, and the strain of another massive spell made her legs weak. Dozens of ghosts were destroyed by the light. The spot she’d cleared was refilled before her next blast was ready.

She was trying to empty the ocean a spoonful at a time. But progress was progress, and she estimated she was taking out around fifty for every one of Saber's. All she had to do was hold out and the plan WOULD work.

She fired again, and more ghosts disappeared. She’d already used more magic blasting than she’d used to summon Saber, defeat the Ursa Minor, and duel against the Alicorn Amulet combined. But Twilight couldn’t think about that. She refused to dwell on the paltry risk of her overuse of magic. Compared to Saber’s risk, it was nothing.

Twilight attacked, and felt one of her knees give out. She felt awful. Every muscle burned, her skin was so hot she wished she could take it off. The night wind did nothing to cool her, and she wasn’t sure if it was because the magic was shielding her from it, or making her entire body go numb. But she had to keep fighting. She had to help Saber. He’d trusted her, and he was the only one she could trust.

“TWILIGHT!”

Turning around was agony, but she had to confirm she wasn’t imagining it. To her dismay, the voice was real. “Rarity.”

Her friend looked almost angelic on the far side of the tower. Her face was all concern and love, her pure white coat reflected the moonlight, and the summer wind flowed elegantly through her mane and tail. In spite of everything, seeing Rarity made her feel happy. The pain and fear didn’t seem so bad when her friend was standing right there in front of her.

But her head knew better. You can’t afford to waste time on this, you have a battle to fight, her head told her. Don’t think about your friendship, don’t think about your feelings. Solve the problem.

“Oh Twilight, darling, you look awful. I…” She took a step forward, and Twilight lowered her head and scrapped the ground with her hoof. Rarity was… she wouldn’t think ‘an enemy.’ But she accepted ‘a danger.’ Fire wasn’t malicious either.

Rarity froze, but she kept talking. “Twilight, please. You have to know we’re not here to hurt you. We only want you to be safe. If Saber is gone you won’t have to worry about the Grail War anymore!”

The ‘we,’ caught Twilights ear, and she peeked over Rarity’s shoulder. Behind her was a boat of all things, and in that boat was Trixie… and Berserker! Rarity saw where her eyes went, and started to shout “Wait, you don’t-“

Twilight turned and rushed toward the edge of the tower. There were several lower roofs she could jump to safely. From there, she would teleport inside the castle and… suddenly she lost all equilibrium. She’d been suspended about a foot off the ground by a too-familiar glow.

She looked back over her shoulder. Rarity’s horn was lit, her levitation spell forcibly preventing Twilight’s escape. Her face looked like she couldn’t believe she’d done it. “Twilight, I…”

“Not smart.”

***

Interlude 11-2

Six shots. Eight shots. Ten shots. Rider pulled more and more flintlocks from nothing and discarded them just as quickly. The powder smoke was dense, but no impediment to her eyes. She could see that every shot was on its mark. She could also see every projectile stop dead in its path and hover around her target.

"That's no Magecraft. Telekinesis isn’t a common gift. You must be proud." She kept her voice taunting and mirthful.

Assassin laughed and let the lead balls fall. “I was worried blocking firearms would be more difficult. Their shots are small and quick.”

"Still, one can't help but wonder just how robust that ability is."

"Feel free to test me."

Rider surged forward, two fresh guns in hand. She unloaded both barrels, and both bullets stuck in the air. She threw one empty gun, aiming to crack Assassin's skull, but he swatted the improvised projectile away and met her charge with a curved dagger.

Rider flipped the second empty gun and swung it like a truncheon, clashing wood against iron. A new weapon appeared in her free hand, a boot knife, and she thrust for Assassin's throat. Her opponent caught the blade using a hidden weapon of his own, something between a brass knuckle and an animal's claw that easily trapped it.

They stood deadlocked for a moment, and Assassin tilted his head. "You're not very strong, are you? Saber or Lancer would have tossed me like a child's toy if I locked arms with them."

Rider smirked, hiding the strain as she tried to break through his grip. "Well, officers try to avoid manual labor. But who needs strength when you can just fight dirty?"

She lashed out with her boot and swept Assassin's leg, throwing him off-balance. She ripped the dagger from his hand, tossing away her empty flintlock so that it could be replaced with one loaded and primed. Assassin's masked face and empty eyes betrayed nothing, but Rider knew she had him.

The problem was Assassin's reflexes were too honed. He controlled his stumbling, changing his stance to regain balance. But she was too close, and had anticipated his recovery. At the moment he found his footing and reached for another knife, Rider was there. Her gun barrel pressed against his temple.

"Cheers." She fired. His arms went limp.

Rider clicked her tongue in annoyance. "That's hardly fair." Pulling back her gun, she was treated to the sight of a musketball snuggled up against Assassin's skin.

"If it makes you feel better, that took a considerable effort." His voice sounded strained, and this close she noticed excess sweat coating his body. "It's unfortunate I won't get to see your next tactic."

Assassin's arm struck and his fingers easily pierced her coat, digging into her abdomen. Rider coughed and felt a trickle of blood escape her lips. "Zabaniya!"

Rider dropped her weapons to the deck. She stared at Assassin's face and wondered what that mask was hiding. She breathed in the scent of black powder as the cloud around the deck dispersed. Time passed.

Cautiously, Assassin withdrew his hand, leaving a few shallow wounds to stain Rider's jacket. He stepped back, his body language radiating uncertainty.

"So, about that next tactic..." Rider grinned her nastiest grin as the last vestige of smoke vanished and two ships rose up on either side of the deck.

Cannon ports opened along both hulls, and a dozen culverins braced up on the boards. They sighted on the boarder who had been so brazen as to sneak onto their admiral's flagship. Rider raised her hand into the air. "Do you think these will be as easy to stop as the pistol shot?"

"Miscalculation..." Assassin ran for the ship's bow, turning his back on his target. Rider dropped her hand and the two ships opened fire, their round shot whistling as it lanced through the air.

Assassin dived right through the storm of metal, keeping as low as he could at full sprint and dodging wildly. His agility served him well, and ball after ball missed it's mark, hitting nothing but the ship on the opposite side.

Growing irritated by the inept aim, Rider snapped her fingers and a trio of black and gold cannons appeared around her head along with two fresh pistols. She took aim on the fleeing shadow. "Watch a real marksman, you cross-eyed deck apes!"

She squeezed both triggers and all three cannons unleashed hell. Assassin had just reached the bow, and with one fluid motion he jumped off, turned in mid-air and raised his hands. As one, the three iron balls came to an instant halt. But just before gravity took hold the two smaller projectiles zipped past their frozen brothers and sunk deep into their target's chest. He cried out as he fell from sight.

Rider rushed onto the prow with two new guns and aimed down at the trees, but Assassin had vanished. She sighed in annoyance, then suddenly remembered the pain of her wounded belly, wincing and letting out a groan.

She addressed the empty ship. "Leftenant, you have the deck. I'll be in sickbay. This wound needs to be medicated immediately. Heavily medicated."

Interlude Out

***

“Not smart.”

A simple surge of magic, and Twilight’s counterspell negated Rarity’s levitation. Then she went on offense, sending a wave of magic through the air. Rarity couldn’t react, and a simple Push spell struck her. It was just enough force to knock her off her hooves, no worse than she'd experienced from Pinkie Pie’s flying hugs. Still, the pained sound she made on impact made Twilight hate herself.

Undeterred by her emotions, she cast the spell again. She had to make sure Rarity wouldn’t block her escape, and another little nudge would make sure she got the message.

But this time Rarity was ready. She dodged the spell and was back on her hooves in an instant, then conjured a rather pathetic forcefield. “You have to stop Twilight! We can talk this out!”

“If you wanted to talk maybe you shouldn’t have come bearing cannonballs!” Twilight shaped her magic into a hammer and slammed Rarity’s shield, shattering it like glass. Her friend winced in pain, and a dark part of Twilight felt good that Rarity knew a tiny part of her suffering. She sent another Push spell, knocked Rarity over again, then darted for the roof’s edge.

Just before she could jump, a bolt of magic zapped a nearby pile of rubble. It moved to surround her, then transmogrified into an elaborately designed birdcage. Giving a furious snort, Twilight turned back to Rarity, who seemed proud of her trap’s fashionable look.

Twilight pulsed out power in every direction at once, exploding the jail into particles of sand. “You need to stop right now, Rarity. This isn’t a game. You’re no match for me in magic. Let me go right now, before you force me to do something drastic!”

Rarity bit her lip, but stood firm despite Twilight’s threat. “You don’t have to run Twilight! Trixie isn’t your enemy, and Berserker isn’t even conscious! Look, this all spiraled out of control. I did want to get rid of Saber. I thought it would be better for you to be out of the fighting. But Rider manipulated us into this confrontation! I should have never agreed to it, but we wanted to help you so badly! I was just afraid you wouldn’t listen to reason. But we can work though this together! I believe in our friendship!”

Every word sounded so pure and right, and they only made Twilight angrier. The feelings she had locked away that first night in the library were boiling, thoughts she’s refused to think fighting to come out. She felt power flowing through her body, and started to prepare something far less gentle than a Push spell.

Rarity shielded her eyes from the intensity, but managed to cast a spell of her own before Twilight’s was finished. At first nothing happened, and then world became a black void.

Twilight was confused until the darkness was broken by a flash of light, and then another, and then a hundred. Camera flashes. Neon spotlights traced through the black, music began to play, and an empty stage appeared in the gloom. Twilight couldn’t help but admire her friend’s ingenuity. The last time she’d seen this spell it had been a parlor trick, but this was a serious illusion, completely enclosing the tower and confounding all her senses.

“It’s going to take more than a fashion show for you to keep me here Rarity!” Twilight shouted. She started preparing a more potent counterspell, but Rarity’s voice wafted out from nowhere.

“Twilight, let me help you! Can’t you see you’re not yourself?”

Twilight laughed bitterly. “That’s rich coming from you. You betrayed your Element of Harmony to be part of this war!” The lock on her heart was breaking. The feelings she’d hidden from herself seeped through the cracks. She hoped Rarity would stop, she didn’t want to let it out.

She rushed her magic, but her friend kept talking. “Betrayed my Element? What are you talking about?”

“Don’t play dumb! How exactly does the Element of Generosity justify taking part in a battle to the death?!”

“Ruler told me this was a game, Twilight! Until I saw what happened at the clearing I thought-“

Twilight couldn’t believe what she’d just heard. “You were at the clearing?! You saw someone trying to murder me and just WATCHED?!”

“N-no! Twilight, I was the one who-“

“SHUT UP! JUST SHUT UP!” Twilight never finished her counterspell, her fury sending her back to using energy beams. She shot them in every direction at random, trying to blast her way free, not caring anymore for anypony’s safety, including her own. She might have kept blasting forever if her legs weren’t swept out from under her.

Rarity’s illusion faded back to the starry night sky, and Twilight found she’d been hog-tied. A rope enchanted with a periwinkle aura squeezed her ankles as the Great and Powerful Trixie stepped to Rarity’s side. Twilight prepared a spell to slice the rope to ribbons… only for a second rope to spring like a striking snake from under Trixie’s robe and wrap up her horn, snuffing her magic like a candle. Twilight was helpless.

“Twilight, Ruler lied to me! She said that Masters didn’t have to hurt each other to win! She told me I’d be like a coach or a spectator, not a combatant! And when I saw the truth in that clearing, I was the one who drove Archer away! I used one of my Command Spells to force Rider to rescue you!” Rarity showed her hoof to Twilight, once again revealing that one of the three marks of the magical brand was faded and smudged.

“The Great and Powerful Trixie thinks you should know, Ruler fed her almost the exact same story. She said the Holy Grail War was a friendly competition, a way to prove Trixie is the most superior spellcaster in all of Equestria without doing harm. She knew Trixie still craved to prove her superiority, but also that Trixie was hesitant about anything that might cause trouble after... previous mistakes. Ruler sold the Grail War to Trixie as something no more dangerous than a contact sport. Trixie isn’t after you for some evil revenge scheme. And she’s certainly not after Fluttershy!”

It made plenty of sense. Twilight harbored many suspicions about Ruler. It was believable that Rarity and Trixie had been manipulated into joining the war, been given different information than Twilight about the war’s nature, been told whatever they needed to hear so they would summon their Servants. It was possible Twilight had jumped to conclusions assuming that Trixie was out for revenge, and she had never wanted to presume the worst about Rarity.

But the problem was she couldn’t trust a word they said, and for the first time she let herself fully contemplate why. The final barrier in her head broke down, and that unforgivable thing she’d hidden from became clear.

Magical power erupted. Rarity and Trixie were thrown off their hooves and tumbled back across the tower, coming to rest at their little boat. The ropes that had bound Twilight were gone, vaporized in an instant. Her eyes were consumed by a blank white glow as she hovered in the air, magic crackling across her body in wild arcs. The energy inside her was greater than ever before, and Twilight knew that she was exceeding her maximum. But she didn’t care.

“You’re both LIARS! You expect me to just believe whatever you tell me, but every step of the way you’ve betrayed me! Rarity brought her Servant into my home! Trixie attacked me in the woods! And then you both came here together to kill my Servant, and you want me to just take you at your WORD that it was a big misunderstanding?!”

“Twilight, I-“

“ENOUGH! You think you can just explain away everything, convince me that it was all a mistake. But you can’t hide from what you did. Berserker nearly killed Fluttershy and all her animals with those exploding rocks, and even if I believed that she wasn't the target that still makes Trixie reckless and a danger to everypony!”

She set her eyes squarely on her friend. “But you Rarity, you’re much worse than her. You committed the worst sin possible! You knew the Grail War was dangerous, you KNEW that lives were at risk! And you WILLINGLY dragged Spike right into the middle of it!”

Rarity looked like she’d taken a knife through the heart, but Twilight was just warming up. “You exploited his little crush on you and put him in deadly danger by taking him out with you to the gem fields! You saw what Archer did; you KNEW one of the teams was targeting Masters! If you’d been attacked HE would have been in the crossfire between two Servants! And for what, so you could bring home a cart full of dress decorations?!"

There it was. The accusation she’d buried, the horror she’d refused to contemplate, the ultimate betrayal. There was no ignoring it, no letting bygones be bygones. A life had hung on the balance. Spike's life. She delivered the final blow. "SPIKE COULD HAVE DIED RARITY! WERE YOU TOO CARELESS TO EVEN CONSIDER THAT? OR DID YOU JUST NOT CARE?”

Twilight hovered there, damning the two ponies before her, daring them to try and defend their actions. Neither one looked up for a long time. Then Rarity stepped forward.

“You’re right Twilight. I put Spike in life-threatening peril. Regardless of any other factors, that’s the hard truth. You have every reason to hate me for that alone. I’ve failed you as a friend.” Rarity still wasn’t looking up, but Twilight could see tears dripping down onto the cold castle stones. “All this time I wanted to help you, but I hurt you much more badly than Archer did. It’s not his fault you’re acting this way, it’s mine. I’m the one that made you afraid for your loved ones, made you lash out at everyone trying to protect them. So I’m willing to suffer whatever consequence you see fit.”

Power hummed through Twilight’s entire being. Rarity was still crying, her shoulders shaking with sobs she was fighting to keep silent. She couldn't deny it, she wanted to hurt Rarity. A primal instinct inside her screamed that her friend should face a horrible punishment for what she’d done.

Revenge was the proper course according to her instincts. Revenge would send a message to the world that her family was never to be touched. Let Trixie go and tell everypony what you did to Rarity. Let every Master and every Servant see that even a friend wasn't safe if they threatened those she cared for most. Show them all her wrath, let THEM live in fear.

But through those sick, animal thoughts, something gave her pause. Just a few simple words: Regardless of the outcome, I won’t regret my choices. I hope you can say the same.

Despite her exhaustion, for the first time in days she felt her thoughts become whole. She wasn’t suppressing anything, wasn’t bottling up part of her brain to keep painful reality out. She didn’t need to run only on instinct alone, she could allow herself to process, allow herself to see more than the simple facts. And as she did, Saber’s words repeated. I won't regret my choices. I hope you can say the same.

“Rarity… if you were going to make an excuse for yourself… what would it be?” she finally asked.

Rarity still didn’t look up, but she spoke. “When I first summoned Rider, there was a Servant watching me. A Servant named Assassin. He scared me so badly even though he left without causing trouble... but then Rider told me she was a privateer. From then on she would only fight if I paid her a fee! I went around town to every store and bought out their gems, but it wasn’t enough. Then I ripped all the gems out of my dresses, and it still wasn’t enough! The only way was to get Spike to help me dig up more.”

Twilight wasn’t impressed by Rarity's story of looking to save her own skin, but she wasn’t finished. “I told her I could get her more with Spike’s help, but she told me I didn’t have enough to pay for protection while we worked. So I told her to forget about me and just protect Spike! She said that since he's small she could give me a discount. So-”

Twilight froze. “Wait. Protect Spike? As in, only Spike?”

Rarity finally looked up, her mascara ruined by tears. “I know Twilight, it wasn’t nearly good enough! There was no guarantee Rider could keep him safe just because she wasn’t protecting me! I was so stupid! But I thought that if something happened I could at least give myself up, give Rider time to run away with him. I was so selfish to delude myself like that! I… I just couldn’t think of any other way to get the gems! I’m a horrible pony! I betrayed my Element of Harmony, just like you said!”

As Rarity flogged herself with guilt Twilight felt the overcharged magic drain out of her, leaving her empty and bone tired. Spike had still been in danger, it was true. But not only had Rarity been aware of that fact all along, she had taken enormous risks to protect him.
Even if Rider was telling the truth and she wouldn’t fight without being paid, Rarity still had the Command Spells. She could have made her Servant provide protection. By paying Rider to only protect Spike she’d willingly given up that option, surrendering her only means of defense for somepony else. On top of that, she’d been ready to give herself up for execution if it meant Spike was even the smallest bit safer.

Spike was virtually a younger brother to Twilight. She would give anything including her life for him. But she could not claim she had never once put Spike in harm’s way.

She thought back to their recent battle in the Crystal Empire, and King Sombra. There came a moment when lives were at stake but Twilight was powerless. In that moment, she’d been forced to rely on Spike, leaving him to face incalculable peril without protection. Now, with her mind clear, she asked herself the question she should have had the courage to ask days ago: Was what Rarity did so much worse?

The scenarios weren’t exactly the same, and for all his puppy love Rarity was not Spike's family, which made a big difference. But Rarity was one of her closest friends in the world, and she had made dire assumptions about her motives and feelings. If he were here now and had all the facts she did, how would Spike judge Rarity’s choices? Or for that matter, Twilight’s choices?

"How did we get here?" Twilight asked nobody in particular.

Trixie volunteered an answer. “I think we all tried to do the right thing. Maybe we should have just been smart enough to question our own decisions as much as we were questioning everpony else's.”

Twilight made a derisive noise. She tried to think of something clever or poignant to say, then gave up and pulled herself back onto her hooves. "If you'll excuse me, Saber still needs my help."

Through all the drama on that little rooftop, the turmoil of the battle below had never paused. She could feel Saber's concern through their link. He had never stopped fighting and slaying the mindless beasts, but it seemed as though their numbers had not thinned in the slightest. No matter how tired she was, she knew that they needed to keep to their original plan, and not stop until every spirit was gone even if it took all night.

She lit up her horn, selected a target... and the purple glow was joined by two shades of blue.

Rarity and Trixie stood side-by-side with Twilight, charging their own magic and taking aim. Rarity's running, stained mascara didn't stop her from giving Twilight an encouraging wink. Trixie offered a smug look and said, "Trixie WILL be keeping score Twilight Sparkle."

Twilight fought back tears of her own as she said, "On three, girls. One! Tw-"

The army vanished. No warning, no grand pyrotechnic display. They simply faded out of existence. Saber stood alone and dumbfounded in the courtyard. Before she could even be bewildered, Twilight heard a very grumpy voice mumble, "Stupid nag. Changes her whole damn mind while a man's sleeping..."

Trixie rushed to Berserker's side, asking him a dozen questions about his health and pounding on his armor angrily with her hooves. For the first time Twilight noticed that the other pony was covered in brown and red stains. "Did he just...?"

Rarity nodded. "You really can't predict a madman I suppose. By the way, unless I’m mistaking the sensation, Rider is intoxicating herself. Which means our little battle is officially over."

Twilight only had one response to that. "So... now what?"

***

Interlude 11-3

Arturia Pendragon, the Servant Ruler, stood up in a small forest clearing, stretching her legs from the meditative pose she'd held for several hours. Then she frowned. Despite everything that had transpired, Saber, Rider, Berserker and Assassin had ALL left the battle alive. It was not a welcome ending, because it meant that she would hear-

"Ooh, poor Ruler. All your little plans for naught. Or is this how you wanted things to play out? A Worthy of Chivalry must appreciate all the love and understanding and mutual respect on display. It's so sickeningly honorable."

The voice of a woman came from a tiny globe of light, which danced lazily around Riler's head. The sound was like rich, red wine. It was sour, intoxicating, and filled one with the desire to open their lips and drink in every drop. The voice of temptation itself.

Ruler put on her best glare. "Caster, I told you not to disturb me again."

"It's time for you to reconsider my request," the voice said.

"No, it isn't," Ruler replied.

"You are deluding yourself. Those three are all close friends and all distrust you. They won't fight again."

"Their Servants won't permit them to reject the war."

Caster laughed. "You know better than that. Rider doesn't care about the Grail. Berserker can't tell memory from reality. And Saber is quickly coming to care more about his Master than his wish."

Ruler crossed her arms. "Then you and the others will have to find a way to overcome all three. On your own."

The voice laughed again. "Very well then, waste time and ignore the obvious problem. It’s what you’re best at, isn’t it, King of Knights?" The light winked out and the intruder's presence vanished.

Ruler returned to her knees, thinking of happier times when she'd knelt on polished wooden floors waiting for a home-cooked breakfast. She assured herself there was no problem. Even if Rider, Berserker and Saber all ceased their participation in the war, they could not bring it to a decisive halt. She still had Command Spells she could use to force them to fight, and they still had enemies that could defeat them, even as a team. The Grail War was not in danger. She would not take sides to see her task fulfilled, especially not with Caster.

At least, not yet.

Interlude Out

Author's Note

Welcome back readers. I have actually had this chapter finished since around mid-December. But since I was once again so delayed in getting it out, I made a promise to myself (in conjunction with a New Years resolution) that I would not return and publish it until I was ready to commit to making finishing this story a priority by holding myself to a serious schedule on it. So here I am. And here is my commitment: a new chapter every two weeks! Let's see if I have what it takes to respect deadlines...

Anyway, this chapter was pretty difficult. Building a conflict based on relatively minimal interaction, misinformation, supposition and irrationality born from fear isn't a simple thing. I hope I've managed to pull it off and the confrontation and resolution between Rarity, Twilight and Trixie was enjoyable and believable, especially the reveal of the true source of Twilight's anxiety and distrust. Also I hope the action was good, since this battle scenario was fairly tricky itself!

This chapter marks the end of what is roughly the first third of the story, sort of a Volume 1 (or Fate Route) if you will. Hopefully you'll all enjoy what's to come even more, and 1000 views and 60 likes is only the beginning!