Author's Note
Hello there, I have just a bit more to say before you start.
1: The characters are all anthro, hence the tag. They have fingers and human traits, but with fur, horns, and wings.
2: All of the servants are going to be of my own design, none of them have appeared in the TYPE MOON anime or manga.
3: In the Author's Notes for each upcoming chapter will be updateing bios for Masters and Servants as they appear.
With that out of the way, have fun! Remember to like or leave a comment if the urge strikes, and I hope you stick around for the next update.
-Pride
On The Horizon
There were times when governing the nation of Equestria was a simple and easy task. There were times when Cloudsdale scheduled long periods of clear skies, times when the civilian populations got along, and times when Celestia was forced to close court early for lack of problems to solve. But if the frustrated groan issuing from the light diarch's throat was any indication, this was not one of those times.
The alicorn ruler paced the cherry wood floor of her chambers, a bead of sweat glistening on the opal fur of her brow as she visibly restrained herself from throwing the papers she had been reading into the all too inviting slot of her fireplace. Unfortunately, the problem that faced her was not one that could be solved with naught more than a fireplace. The princess sighed deeply, falling into the black velvet embrace of her desk chair, her hands rising to her face to massage her temples and tired eyes. No, this was most certainly not one of those times.
After a long moment, during which she did nothing other than contemplate the back of her eyelids, Celestia drew herself to a proper sitting position, peering down at the files in her grasp with a desperate apprehension that suggested more than anything that she had misread them the first time. And the second. And the third, and fourth, and seventh. But again, this was not one of those times.
It took her nine read throughs before Celestia finally sighed in reluctant defeat, gently dropping the papers onto her otherwise orderly desk. It was a disaster. The entire state of Equestria was...off. There was tension between neighbors, fights and civil disturbances occurring with alarming frequency; in fact, the only good thing she could see in the report was that the Royal Guard was finally earning the money they had made, yet for some reason that didn't make her feel better. Celestia slumped down, laying her head on her arms, her pale iridescent hair draping across her arms and desk.
She sat right back up a moment later, a puzzled expression evident on her face. She reached for the reports, pulling them together and back to her as she began to read again; as she did so her look of puzzlement slowly set into a frown, and then into a worried stare. 'No, that couldn't be right.' She read it again, her worry slowly turning into fear. 'It couldn't be...' She checked the dates, the map coordinates; and the fear turned into panic.
The recent growing unrest within Equestria hadn't come about all at once, it had started slowly, spreading down from the north over the course many moons... 'Wait. The north.' Celestia eyed the map of the region hanging from her wall, tracing the web of reports up towards the Crystal Empire, a sinking feeling mounting in her stomach.
She shook herself mentally, she was being over analytical, the incidents hadn't began until... Just after the elements returned from the Empire. Just after they stopped King Sombra's return...
And like a grotesque jigsaw puzzle, Celestia sat back and watched as the last piece fell into place. They had stopped Sombra's return to the Crystal Empire, stopped his return, but the Crystal Heart couldn't banish or seal dark entities like the Elements of Harmony could. Which meant... Celestia turned back to the map, looking over the visible trail of unrest which had spread like cancer from their northern neighbor's border. There could no longer be any doubt about the source of the problem. Sombra failed to reclaim his throne, but the magic that awoke when the seals binding him were broken, it remained very much intact.
Celestia's stomach tried to twist itself into a know as the implications of this hit her. Magic was taught to an apprentice for the same reason that noble households have a clear order of succession, so that the power, be it preverbal or literal, has somewhere to go. It there is no line of succession, then the power is in the open, drawing anyone around it into the increasingly bloody conflict that ensues. And that was just for the title of Baron, rampant magic tended to draw more blood; and with the level of dark magic left untended by its previous owner, King Sombra, there was only one way the magic would possibly choose its next master.
Celestia shivered as dread gripped her, the pale feathers of her wings twitching along with the chills that sporadically wracked her in time with the waves of fear. The world had not seen this kind of conflict since the days of Sombra's reign, and to this day still hadn't recovered from the atrocities committed by the combatants. Celestia instinctively grabbed her left hand, only to verify that its back was just as soft and white as it ever had been. She felt her breathing even out ever so slightly, but her mind was only just placated by the knowledge that she herself didn't bear the blood red mark of the combatant.
But it was only a matter of time. With the subtle havoc the magic was wreaking across the country, it couldn't be long until it began searching for a new master in earnest, and the thousand years of peace Equestia had prospered in, would come to an end. Equestria would be thrown into war, and there was nothing she could do to stop it. No, that wasn't exactly right; while Celestia was powerless to stop it, she could manipulate it. The slender white horn protruding from her forehead burst to life with a brilliant golden glow, instantly drawn by her magic, a book drifted swiftly into her outstretched hand. The thick black tome settled into her hands with a soft 'thud' the golden words on its front glimmering under the light of Celestia's magic. "The Law of Magical Succession."
The white princess opened the book and began to frantically leaf through its ancient and worn pages until she reached a large heading in black ink titled, "The Pony Grail War." Celestia swallowed, eyeing the the heading before she began to read. Her pink gaze devoured the script, but each passing line only confirmed what she already knew. When a strong enough magic was left without someone to inherit it, it sought out a master of its own, or seven masters to be precise. The magic would select the seven individuals it felt were most worthy or suited to wield it, the exact criteria or even method of this choice was unknown, and brand them with the incarnadine mark of the Master. The seven 'Masters' would then compete against each other, with the winner gaining possession of the magic.
Two such wars had actually occurred under Celestia's reign with little consequence, but this was due to the nature of the inherited magics, benevolent spells tended to pattern the competition after challenges or contests; it was the succession events of darker magic that had given the name Grail War its apt meaning. In instances like this, the seals contained a powerful magic which could be used to summon an entity which the book referred to as the 'Servant'. This was usually a notable figure from history who would be resurrected for the purpose of aiding their Master in the war.
Celestia's mouth twisted into a revolted snarl at the mere thought of such slave magic, that not even the glorious dead were safe from Sombra's cruelty. She massaged her temples again, trying to sort through the information available to formulate some kind of plan. Sombra's powers would go to whichever Master defeated the other six, but that didn't mean they had to kill them, just their servants. She almost vomited at the insensitivity of that thought, but held herself together and continued.
Whoever won would inherit the magic, and according to the rules of the contest, they would have a single wish granted; and that was the true danger, not the acquisition of Sombra's power, but the wish. There were no restrictions placed on that single wish, no conditions, no rules, just one wish which could be used for anything. That was unavoidable, and as such, Celestia could do nothing to stop the wish, but what she could do was help sway the odds as to who would be the one to make it.
The diarch got up from her desk and resumed her pacing, the onyx hem of her dress brushing over the polished floor. She could already think of a small list of candidates who Sombra's magic was likely to choose as Masters, they would have to be her first priority. Celestia doubted she would be selected to compete, but if she could find those who were before fighting actually broke out and convinced them to side with her, she had a chance to minimize the violence and destruction. It was still a risky proposition, and at least a few of the Masters were certain to resist her, but she held out hope that she would be able to get enough of them to see reason...enough to mitigate, if not prevent the disaster that the sun goddess couldn't help but feel was set to crest over the horizon.
Author's Note
Hey everypony, I'm sorry if this update seemed rushed when you were reading it, you know how it is, just trying to get exposition out of the way so you can get to the jucy stuff. I appologise for that, but dont worry, it's going to pick up soon, and attention to detail is something I do very well when I want to, so get ready! Anyway, I hope you enjoy, if you do please leave a comment or feedback, every little bit of self esteem counts!
Three Unwitting Masters
"All right! Today is going to be another wonderful day!" Twilight Sparkle recited to herself in front of her bathroom mirror, a wide smile on her face as she cleared the steam from said mirror. Turning to consult the list hanging next to the sink, one which she had long since memorized, the lavender mare began to check off her morning itinerary.
"Wake up at sunrise? Check! Shower for exactly seven minutes and forty two seconds? Check! Shampoo and conditioner? Check!" She continued to rattle off her morning ritual, her smile as wide and relaxed as ever. "Brush teeth? Check! Comb hair? Check! Get dressed? Check! Glowing red mark on the back of my hand? Che-" She paused, looking at her list. Then at her hand. Her list. Her hand. "Wait, that isn't on the list."
Sure enough, shining dimly through the lavender fur on the back of her left hand was a deep crimson sigil. It appeared to be an image of two stylized waves cresting in opposite directions, the line of symmetry maintained by a slender helix connecting the two waves down the center. Twilight stared at the mark for a few seconds before trying to rub it off. Then she wet her hand and tried again. Then she covered her hand in soap and tried scrubbing harder; but the mark refused to fade.
"What are you?" She mumbled under her breath, examining the marking, her checklist completely forgotten. Twilight reached for it slowly with her other hand, a finger slowly tracing the markings, but when she reached the end of the helix, she felt something radiating from the mark. The sigil suddenly burst to life, glowing brighter and brighter as Twilight felt something surge through her; the feeling was easily identifiable, magic, very powerful magic. A gasp involuntarily escaped her as the waves of old magic ran through her, touching her, coating her, becoming her. But as quickly as it started, the surge ended, leaving the lavender mare hunched over the sink panting hard.
"No... That most certainly was not on the list." She pants, looking down at her hand with more than a trace of justified apprehension. "With magic this strong... It wouldn't do good to study this on my own." Twilight muttered, running a hand through her violet mane. She slowly exited the bathroom, summoning a piece of parchment and a quill to her with her magic, quickly drafting a note to her assistant Spike, before making her way to the stairway, her heels clicking on the crystal steps as she descended.
"Celestia will know what to do... She has to." Twilight rationalized, trying to calm herself as she rushed through the eerie quiet of her castle. Of course Celestia would know, this was old magic, very old, and if there was one mage in all of Equestria who knew magic better than Twilight Sparkle, it was her former mentor turned colleague, Princess Celestia. Possessed by at least a sense of direction, the lavender mare strode confidently towards the massive front doors of her castle, pushed open those doors, and was immediately knocked off her feet in a mess of cerulean feathers.
"I told you Dashie, that one means that a door is about to open!" Came an all too recognizable bubbly voice from above the toppled mare.
"Pinkie! Rainbow!" Twilight groaned loudly, trying to shove the Pegasus off of her. "What a pleasant surprise." She grunted, freeing herself from the cyan mare and stumbling to her feet. "Not that I don't love it when you drop in, I just wish you wouldn't literally 'drop in'." She groaned, cracking her neck in the process.
"Eh... Sorry, my bad." Rainbow Dash replied in her scratchy voice, nervously running a hand through her mane. "Listen Twi, I'm like, super sorry for barging in, and knocking you over, but you see, Pinkie have a little problem; we wo-"
"We woke up this morning and somepony had tattooed our hands while we were sleeping!!!" Pinkie cut her off, grabbing Rainbow's left hand, and forcing it, along with her own, into Twilight's face. The purple mare felt her heart drop as she looked at the markings one the back of her friend's hands. Pinkie's bore a trio of chains spiraling into the shape of a heart, while Rainbow's featured a Phoenix curling around itself as it caught fire. The problem wasn't that her friends suddenly had tattoos, or that they felt attacked; no, the problem was that each of the markings on the backs of their hands, glowed a dim crimson, exactly the same as the marking on Twilight's own hand.
"Girls I-I don't think these are tattoos..." Twilight spoke softly, slowly raising her own hand to reveal the twin crimson waves marking her.
"But then what..?" Rainbow stuttered, shocked and more than a little confused at Twilight's similar affliction.
"I... I don't know just yet, but I think we best all get to Canterlot as fast as possible, I'm sure Celestia will have some clue as to what's going on." Twilight stumbled over her words, trying to conceal the fact that she was trying to reassure herself just as much, and perhaps more, than she was Rainbow.
"Oooohhhh! But why do we need to do that!?" Pinkie giggled bouncing up and down while pointing at the back of her hand. "These are obviously a chain of three seals planted on us by an ancient magic which allows us to summon and control the spirits of long dead heroes and legends in an epic battle for possession of said magic in what is known as a Pony Grail War, or as I call it, a covert game of rock, paper, scissors." Pinkie gave the two a playful yet exasperated look as though they were quite stupid for not coming to that 'obvious' conclusion. For their parts, Twilight and Rainbow just gaped back at the pink mare with a look somewhere between disbelief, confusion, and just a pinch of acceptance.
"I'm... I'm just going to ignore all of that." Rainbow said gingerly, looking back and forth between her friends. "Come on, lets get to Celestia, Twi's right, that does seem like our best bet of figuring it out."
"But I just told you what this was!" Pinkie whined, pouting like a little filly.
"Yeah, but no offense Pinkie, but I'd rather get a professional opinion than... Whatever that was." Pinkie huffed again at Rainbow, crossing her arms to add to her pout. She waved a hand dismissive at the two, almost as if to say, 'all right, go ahead, let Celestia tell you what I just finished telling you.
Twilight nodded in reply, taking this as confirmation that the two of them would be accompanying her to Canterlot. "All right, it's not long past sunrise, there should be a train leaving in about ten minutes, if we hurry we can make it!" She said, grabbing both mares by the wrist and pulling them in the direction of the station. "I just hope for once Pinkie's insane ramblings are wrong and we don't have a war on her hands..." Twilight prayed to whatever deity reigned supreme that her friend's nearly omniscient powers had faltered, but nevertheless she felt a sinking feeling in her gut. There were storm clouds on the horizon... And she just hoped they were ready when that storm hit.
