Fate/Extra: Equestria

Week Two

The Hunters Becomes The Hunted

[Day Three]
Evening

Ever since I woke up this morning, I feel like I’m being watched by somepony. Like, I know they’re waiting for the right moment to strike when I’m not looking. So far I’ve been able to make myself stick around crowds so that whoever is watching me doesn’t try and attack. But I can’t keep this up for very long. Mainly because as the hours go by, more and more students are making to their private rooms for today to either rest up, train in the arena, or think up a strategy for their own fight to come.

M...Maybe I’m overthinking things. I should head over to the lunch room and get something to eat. That should clear my mind a bit. I began to make my way out of the classroom and head down to the first floor. The moment I set foot on the first floor foyer, a sudden chill runs through me and freezes me in place. I tried to say something or at least try to move my body, but I couldn’t. I can feel myself sweating, my heart beating as if it’s about to explode, and my brain telling me to run. Before I could even think of anything else to do, Saber appeared in front of me.

“Do not look behind yourself egghead. Should you do, then I can tell you that you’ll be dead upon seeing whoever is behind you.”

“Yeah, I don’t think I need you telling me that to know that someone’s behind me getting ready to kill me.” There’s no doubt that I’m being stalked by a Servant. That would explain why I couldn’t smell who it was seeing how humans would have a scent coming off them.

“So far the servant can’t hear us talking seeing how he’s at a distance. Breathe slowly and quietly. Do nothing that will draw attention to yourself as much.” So far the servant hasn’t made his or her move yet, might be due to the fact that I’ve been keeping myself around other people and I’m in an enclosed area. Heading out to the schoolyard would lead to a bad end, especially given the rules that we’re not allowed to fight outside of the arena. The Arena will have to do, seeing how we’ll be able to follow the rules and he or she can’t hide behind anything. I took a few deep breaths to calm down and prepare for action as Saber and I made eye contact.

“One...two...three!” I yelled as Saber and I bolted towards the Arena.

(Arena)

Together, Saber and I make a mad scramble for the Arena entrance. If we’ve come this far, maybe the servant followed us here as well. Before I could look at Saber, she soon took the lead as I saw her helmet appear onto her head.

“It’s too soon to relax, Twilight. I still sense that someone is out for your blood. We’ll have to get to an open area so that I can see where this coward is hiding. Talk about the hunters being the hunted. Not something I enjoy, especially when I’m the prey in this game.”

“Let's head over to the open space where I found the second proof of Dan’s servant. You’ll be able to retaliate there and might be able to see where the Servant is.” I said as Saber laughed in excitement.

“Smart move egghead. Hold on tight.”

“Wait what do you-” Before I could say anything, I felt Saber picked me up onto her shoulder and began to bolt it towards the open area from yesterday while taking out a few enemy programs along the way. In a matter of seconds, we made it to the area that I found the shaft to the arrow. I’m on full alert, a voice screams inside my head that I have to keep running, but I can’t. Would we even be able to get away from this servant if we did?

“So called that. Thanks for being such an easy-to-read Master.” My ears twitch upon hearing that familiar voice. It was Dan Blackmore’s servant. The moment I heard where his voice was coming from, I looked up to see him off in the distance of the arena. The moment I locked eyes with him, I could see an arrow heading towards me. I let out a yelp of surprise as Saber quickly moved in front of me and deflected the arrow off to the side.

“Ha! Nice try, bastard. Shooting from her blind spot was a smart move. However-!” Saber was able to block the arrow that had been aimed at me the moment we entered the Arena...or so I thought. A sharp pain started to spread throughout my body as I kneel down onto the floor. When I looked over myself, I saw two deep gashes on my right shoulder and right thigh. I felt myself getting nauseous...more nauseous than seeing the deep wound like that would warrant. Saber stopped the surprise attack, but while I was focused on running away, there was a second arrow. Well, two more to be accurate.

“Three arrows!? Laced with poison. The enemy’s an archer!” Saber said as I try to struggle to stay conscious as the poison starts to course through my system. Whoever that Servant is, they landed a really good shot. There’s no doubt that the enemy is an Archer. Especially the arrow I found. But what good is knowing that going to do me if I die? Before the poison spreads. I have to retreat to a safer place.

Matrix Level 1: Obtained!

“Egghead, can you stand?” Saber asked as I nodded a bit while pulling myself up. “Okay that’s a good sign, but can you move?” She asked as I tried to take a step forward, only for my legs to give way and caused me to fall onto the floor.

“Y-Yeah...I don’t think I can move that well.” I said before my ears twitched again upon hearing the sound of arrows being fired. Looking over to my left, I can see roughly three arrows heading towards me as Saber quickly deflected them off to the side.

“Bastard! Stop hiding like a coward and fight me!” She yelled as the archer laughed upon hearing that.

“I prefer not to have a full out battle. Especially with someone that I know could beat me in a fair fight. Plus, my goal is to make sure you both are eliminated before the final battle. Just to make things easier for my master.”

“This is another reason why I fucking hate Archers. They don’t know what it means to be in a real fight.” She said before grabbing me by the back of my shirt color and placing me under her arm. “We can't do much so long as he’s fighting at a distance and I’m not at full strength to use my Noble Phantasm at him. For now, we need to get the hell out of here before the poison takes full effect on you.”

“You think I’ll let you get away just like that?” He said as I heard him fire off another set of arrows at us. Saber quickly bolted to the left to avoid the arrows heading towards us as she quickly jumped into the air to avoid another set of arrows from behind. “You may be able to deflect my arrows, but all I have to do is keep you from getting to the exit long enough so that the poison can take effect.”

He has a point. Given Saber’s current level and the surprise attack from the Archer, I’ll be dead before we can get back to our safe place. Only option is that Saber plows her way throw the oncoming assault, but I don’t think she would be that reckless or stupid to-

“Better hold on egghead. Time to book it and run for the exit!” Okay, I stand corrected she is that reckless to do something like this. I was about to say something in response to this, but was cut off by a surge of magic expelling from her body as she began to bolt it down the hallway of the arena. While she was running, I could hear the archer’s arrows being fired from behind us, two of them hit Saber in the arm while the others hit someplace else...Don’t know what it hit, but I was able to hear it hit something...fleshy? It’s kinda hard to focus when the only thing you can hear is a high-pitch noise in your ears.

“Hang in there egghead, we’re almost there!” It was hard to hear Saber talking, but I could somewhat see the exit in front of us getting close. I can feel Saber’s speed decreasing as I notice her deflecting the arrows heading towards my head.

“Stubborn bastards aren’t you?” He said before firing another volley of arrows at us, only for Saber to quickly gather magic into her sword and unleash a shockwave with it by slamming the ground with her sword. Unknowingly to Saber, this was a smart move on her part. Mainly because her attack created a crimson colored dust cloud. Which gave us an advantage as it blocked Archer’s view of us so he couldn't take aim at us. “Dammit, you gotta be kidding me.”

While the dust cloud kept us hidden, we finally made it to the exit. Archer’s poison pretty much paralyzed my body. It took all of my strength just to stay conscious. At least we know something about Dan’s Servant, they are an Archer class servant.

Night

We finally made it back to our private room. It’s a good thing that nopony can enter into the room. That would be a huge problem, especially given the state that I’m in right now. Still, I’m a bit surprised that Dan would have his servant attack me like that. From the way he spoke and acted, you would think he would be the type that would fight fairly and without any underhanded tactics. But then again, I’m in a war. So it’s to be expected that something like this would happen.

“The enemy Servant seems to be an Archer, with poison arrows at their disposal.” Saber said before placing me in the makeshift bed that I usually try to sleep in. “That gray-haired knight is not as honorable as I imagined. He has been corrupted by the holy grail if he does something as underhanding as this. Fucking archers are almost as annoying as me trying to figure out if Tristan is awake or asleep at times.” I tried to say something, mainly asking her a question as to who this Tristan person is, but I think all that came out was something incoherent. “Save your strength egghead. The pain should go away seeing how you’re on school grounds, but we’ll have to head over to the nurse’s office so she can treat the poison. Even though the school ground will nullify the poison, that doesn’t mean it won't be a problem if you go back into the arena.”

Can’t deny that. There’s not much I can do at the moment. Especially seeing how I feel like my body is made of heavy lead. I let out an annoyed sigh as I felt my eyelids feeling heavy. Just in case, I’ll get checked out at the nurse’s office. If nothing else, I’ll worry less afterward. With that in mind, I let sleep take over me as I was knocked out into dreamland.

“Is this really how you want to do this Twilight? Isn’t there any other way to cure you of this sickness?”

Twilight opened her eyes to find herself in another dream like before. Only this time, she found herself in what appears to be in front of a school similar to the one she’s currently in, but much different. Looking around, she found what looked like a dark skinned human with similar hair color as her own, though there was two purple colored horns sticking out from the side of her head. Her supposed counterpart is talking to a girl with long red and yellow color hair as the two were standing in front of a statue.

“I’m running out of options, Sunset. The plan I had Applejack do didn’t pan out so well seeing how Celestia forgot that Princess Luna can read ponies minds via dreams. And because of that, I had to...alternate the plan.”

“Basically asking me if I had any cursed magical items from Equestria that I brought here due to...wanting to get revenge on Celestia.” Sunset said as Twilight nodded. “Surprisingly I do have the dagger you’re looking for.” She said before presenting Twilight a black colored dagger.

“Perfect! This is just the weapon I need!” Twilight yelled as she grabbed and examined it. “Now I can complete the final stage for my plan.”

“Twilight...is this really the way to go? Can’t you just use the elements of harmony to..uncorrupt you.”

“We did, and the outcome was that I looked like a demon. Not to mention it made things worse.” Twilight gestured to the horns on her head. “The voices and the visions, I’m able to see them when I’m either awake or asleep. It’s been nine months since I’ve come into contact with that black sludge substance that mysteriously appeared in manehattan. And so far, I’m losing more of my sanity as time goes by. And right now, I’m on the verge of breaking within one week.”

“M-Maybe the girls and I can do-” Before Sunset could finish, she felt Twilight pull her in close to her by her throat.

“THIS IS NOT UP FOR DEBATE SUNSET! I’ve been in a constant state of paranoia for the past nine months since that bitch of a Princess, Celestia got me into this mess and isn’t doing a damn thing to help me. Now because of her stupid cuck of a sister Princess Luna, my previous plan was thrown out the window! So right now I am desperate for a means for my friends or somepony to kill me when I do break! So you better not get involved in this or I swear to Faust herself. If you tell anyone about this. I will come to this world, make you my bitch of a slave to do as I please, and kill every last human on this planet! DO YOU HEAR ME!?”

“T-Twilight...I-I...Can’t...B-Breath.” Sunset said while trying to gasp for air. Twilight’s eyes widened upon realising what she was doing as she released her hold on Sunset, who took in a breath of fresh air before coughing vigorously.

“S-Sunset….I-”

“I-It’s fine...I know it wasn’t you that did that.” Sunset said while slowly collecting her composure. “J-Just take the dagger and do what you need to do.”

“Yeah...I’ll do that...Thank you Sunset.”

“When you do end up...breaking. Are you going to come here last?”

“I’m planning on destroying the machine that allows us to visit each other. You’ll still be able to visit...just every thirty moons.”

“...So...this will be the last time I’ll see you again...Are you sure there’s no other way to cure you or something?”

“I can’t find anything about this sickness I have in Equestria, nor do I hope to find one here in the human world from what you told me in the journal. This is the only method that I have left.”

“....Will Celestia and Luna survive this?” Sunset asked as Twilight stared at her for a moment before turning around to head towards the statue. “Twilight, answer me!!” Twilight stopped as she turned her head slightly for Sunset to see a tear run down her face. Sunset’s eyes widened at the realization as she tried to take a step forward, only for her friend to quickly enter through the portal of the statue. “Twilight! Wait!” Was all she could hear as she ran through the portal to the other side. Once Twilight was back in her world, her horns began to glow as she quickly fired off a beam of magic at the machine parts around the mirror. Once it made contact, the machine parts instantly turned to dust as she soon teleports the mirror to the crystal empire.

“I’m sorry Sunset. But what’s about to happen here...it’s going to be a bloodbath.” Twilight said as a wicked devilish grin appeared on her face. “A very...glorious fun...bloodbath.” While the memory of herself staggered off towards who knows where, the real Twilight watched the scene play out as she tried to move towards the memory of herself walking away. Only for her surroundings to start fading away into darkness.

“No! Not yet! I need to know what happens next! Just let me see more!” She asked only for it to be answered by feeling her legs sinking into the darkness. The alicorn began to struggle in an attempt to try and free herself, but all it did was make her sink more and more into the darkness. “No, let me go! Saber! Somepony! Anyone! HELP!” She yelled as she felt hands appear from the darkness to grab onto her and pulled her down into the darkness. The alicorn felt her throat burn from the stinging sensation she felt from the black sludge filling up her lungs. Twilight tries to struggle against the hands pulling her down deep into the darkness, but felt her strength quickly disappearing along with her vision slowly fading. “C-Celestia….”