Fate/Extra: Equestria

Week One

The Knight of Rebellion

Vs

The Captain of the Golden Hind

[Day Seven]
Evening

“Today is the Elimination Battle. I hope you’re fully prepared?” Kotomine said as we stood in front of the entrance door of the coliseum. To be honest...I feel like I ate a bunch of butterflies and they’re flying around in my stomach and I could barf them up at any moment. Here I am. The last day of the week. A day that will be the last for either Shinji or myself...will someone really die today? I mean...even though I can say the words, the idea that someone’s going to die is just too surreal. It can’t be reality. “When you are ready. You can do something trifling like stop by the commissary if needed.” I looked over at Saber who gave me a nod of confidence as I looked over at Kotomine.

“We’re ready.”

“You will now enter the coliseum and confront the opposing Master. Are you sure you’re ready? Remember, the only way to leave the coliseum is to win. If you are ready, I will open the gate.” He asked as I nodded. “The way to the coliseum is now open, young master. I wish you the best of luck and hope that you will return. Remember: It’s kill or be killed.” Kotomine stood by and watched as I pulled out the two Cipher key cards needed to enter. The cards quickly darted from out of my hand as they placed themselves onto the door. Once on the door, the chains that surrounded the door vanished as they slid open for us to enter. Once inside, we found ourselves in an elevator. And across from us were Shinji and his Servant Rider.

“Look who didn’t chicken out and run away. Ooh right, I forgot following directions is all you’re good at.” Shinji said as the elevator they’re in began to go down. “Get a clue, huh? Well, you can’t say I didn’t show you how awesome I was in the prep period. Never in a million years are you going to defeat me. Shoulda ran away when you had the chance!”

“I won’t know unless I try.” I replied. “I’m going to win this war and return home. No matter what.”

“...Excuse me? That’s some bull! Did you forget how I was able to mop the floor with you when we first fought in the arena? How many times do you plebes have to be reminded that you’ll never be on the level of a genius like me.” Shinji said as he placed a hand on his chin. “But, I guess I better get used to it, since nobody here can defeat me. My Servant El Draque and I are completely invincible. Man you have some seriously shitty luck to have gotten paired with ME in the first round. Don’t worry. Since you’re a creature from another world or something, I’ll make sure you go out with a big bang.”

“I’m starting to get very annoyed at this arrogant asshole.” Saber whispered as I nodded in agreement.

“Oh, hey! Check out my great idea! You’ve gotta hear this. Ready?” Oh this gonna be a good one. I simply nodded while still looking annoyed at him. “Always a goody-two shoes, gotta love it. Well, I hope you’ll take one more direction...Why don’t you lose on purpose this time? Anything else is a waste of time! Obviously even a landslide victory against you will cost me energy. Even decided battles like this one still are unfair because the victor has to waste their strength. That sounds lame, so do me a favor and just throw that match. Then I win, and don’t get hurt, see? Whatcha think? Makes total sense, huh? And you can even feel all warm and fuzzy for helping me out! And there’s something in it for you, right? Cuz if we fought for real, no way my Servant could hold back.Hell, I’ll even throw in some of the prize money I’ll win. All I want is the title, anyway. C’mon, is this a great idea or a great idea? Friends helping each other out and all that jazz.” ...This colt can’t be serious...Whoever raised this colt really did a poor job at it if he thinks I’m going to lose this fight. Especially with how I am now.

“I...reject your offer in letting you win this fight. You really think I’m that stupid to throw this fight, just because of the pointless crap you spat out?”

“You really want to fight me, huh?” Shinji asked as he sighs. “You’re a freaking idiot. I feel sorry for you. All this new power at your disposal is giving you an inflated ego.” He said as he looks over at Saber. “Hey, Servant. Why don’t you try talking some sense into the head of your stupid freak of a Master?”

““....Of all the rare idiots I have met, this is by far the most stupefying. A talking rat. All it mouths is gibberish, but still, a rare and impressive creature. A talking bear would at least be more fetching. This rat revels in slime and filth.” Saber answered as a dumbfounded expression appeared on Shinji’s face.

“Whaaa?! How dare you speak about me like that! You’re just a Servant!”

“Hahaha, they have a point, Master.” Rider added as Shinji turned his attention to his Servant.

“H-Hey! Whose side are you on?!”

“Your side, of course. You paid me, so I’ll fight ably by your side. Letting them throw the match would not satisfy either of us. I dislike giving less than my full effort. Let your winning instincts take over. Everything’s better if you fight for it. Food, women, victory. Besides, we’re villains. That means if nothing else we’re allowed to be splashy. If you’re going to be a villain, might as well be as flamboyant as you please. Don’t hold back.”

“I’m not a villain! D-Don’t call me that, you...evil woman!”

“Hahaha! Temper, temper, little one! You’ve got big balls for being such a tiny man. I admire that.” Rider said as she pats Shinji on the head, only for him to smack her hand away.

“Hey, stop! I said stop! Don’t pat my head, you baboon! And you reek of alcohol!”

“...Is it weird that I see them as being perfect for each other?” I said as I looked over at Saber who shrugs.

“Well Masters and Servants are sometimes paired by compatibility. I’m more worried that their chemistry will be constructive in battle.” Saber answered as we felt the elevator rumbles to a halt. “Guess we’re at our stop?”

“Hmph, I was going to spare your life if you surrendered. But since EVERYBODY insists, I’ll show you the vast difference in our abilities until you cry for mercy. Once El Draque makes Swiss cheese out of you, it’ll be too late!”

(Coliseum)

Once we stepped out of the elevator and down the hall to where the battle was to take place, I quickly covered my eyes at the blinding light that hit me. Once I felt the light starting to die down, I slowly began to open my eyes to see where we were...to my surprise and amazement. Saber and I found ourselves underwater standing on what appeared to be a broken ship. At first, I started to panic as I tried to ask for air...only to realize that I could breathe just fine. I looked over at Saber who was looking at me and trying her best not to bust out laughing.

“...You say anything and I will hurt you Saber.”

“Oh I won’t...but that doesn’t mean I won’t make fun of you for this later on if we survive.” Saber said as she looks around at the coliseum. “This is the Coliseum? Geez, talk about a let down. Would be nice to have some people here to watch the fight take place.” She said before summoning her sword into her hands. “I guess I’ll have to make up for this tackiness of the stage with my awesome display of bravery.”

“All bark and no bite. Right? That’s what they say, isn’t it? Well that’s you!” And just like that, the idiot ruined the moment. “I’m gonna humiliate you so bad that after this game you’ll never crawl out of your mom’s basement!”

“Oh, so your goal isn’t just victory, but humiliation? What a greedy little boy you are, Shinji.” Rider said as she drew out her twin pistols. “Very well, I’ll bring the rope for you to truss them up. Tie them to the mast or whatever your little heart desires.”

“Don’t even think about going easy on them, El Draque. They should have backed down when they could.”

“Hmph, mercy isn’t in my vocabulary. I have a thirst for the finer things in life, and it is all I care for. I may not always have good fortune, but with humans or bombs, there’s a certain fatal inevitability to life. Now, are you ready to go for broke? It’s time to splurge!” Rider yelled as she charges at Saber with the attempt to take her by surprise by hitting her with her pistols.

Saber drew her sword as she uses it to block the surprise attack and tries to counter with a straight jab with her sword. Rider quickly tilted her head to the side to avoid the jab of her sword, and tries to fire at Saber’s ribcage. The bullets bounced off Saber’s armor as Saber counters with a punch to the face, causing Rider to skid backwards. Once she comes to a halt, Rider looks up with a devilish grin on her face.

“Oh, this is going to be so much fun~!” The two servants said in union as Saber’s helmet appeared on her head as she takes up a fighting stance.

“Remember the plan Saber! Don’t give her an inch to fire her pistols from a distance!” I yelled as I pulled up a digital screen in ready to heal Saber if need be.

“Quit messing around El Draque! Finish that Saber off and kill her freak of a master!” Shinji yelled as three digital keyboards and a screen appear around him. “Must I do everything myself?” After pressing a few buttons, Shinji slammed his fist onto the keyboard as something was cast onto Saber. I began to scan Saber to see if anything was wrong, only to notice that all her states were brought down as I huffed.

“Switch to defense Saber! Whatever spell he cast, it lowered all your strength and defense.”

“Fucking little weasle. Can’t play fair so he decides to-” Saber was cut off mid-sentence as she felt Rider hit her in the face with her boots, causing Saber to skid to the side a bit. Just as Saber was about to jab Rider with her sword, I soon heard the sound of a gun being shot as I looked over to see Saber’s left leg bleeding from Rider shooting he in the leg with a bullet from her pistol.

“Haha! How’d you like that freak!?” Shinji asked as he gloated at his servant’s handy work. “You should’ve taken my offer and lost the match on purpose!” I deadpan at Shinji for a moment before looking over at Saber.

“You okay Saber?”

“Ha, you shouldn’t be worried about a flesh wound like this.” Saber said as she reached towards her wound, pulls out the bullet, and crushes it. “Though if you wouldn’t mind, I would greatly appreciate if you patch my leg up so that it wouldn’t cause a problem for me.” Oh right, almost forgot that I can heal Saber with magic or items. I reached into my pocket to pull out a piece of candy and toss it at Saber. As I saw it shattered into bits of ones and zeros, I saw Saber’s wound itself patch up as she noticed a grin appeared on the knight’s face.

Rider quickly began to unleash a hail of bullets upon Saber as she quickly took cover behind the mass of the broken ship. As Rider continued her assault on what was the remains of the mass, Saber quickly used her left gauntlet as a mirror to see Rider’s position for a quick second before quickly darting off to the side to get a better view of the pirate.

“She’s over there! Shoot her dammit! Shoot her!” Shinji ordered as Rider looked over to her left to see Saber quickly charging at her as her sword began to glow.

“Got you now! You’re finished!” Saber said as she brought up her sword and was about to slash Rider, only for her to quickly jump backwards as an explosion appeared from where Saber stood causing a cloud of smoke to engulf the area the knight is in. Once the smoke began to clear up, I could see Saber still standing but parts of her armor was beginning to crack.

“Not bad. Didn’t think you would be able to tank a blast like that.” Rider said as my eyes widened upon seeing four cannons appearing around the pirate from some kind of pocket dimension doors. “Guess it’s to be expected from someone from the Saber class servants. But how long can you keep on fighting if your armor breaks from my cannons!” She asked as she took aim and fired a barrage of cannonballs at Saber. She quickly began to dodge & slice the oncoming cannonballs heading towards her. While continuing this tactic for a while, I notice Rider knocking off pieces of Saber’s armor with her bullets. This caused Saber to stagger a bit as two cannons appear on both sides of Saber.

“Oh no.” I said before activating a barrier around Saber as Rider fired the cannon at Saber, causing an explosion to engulf Saber upon making contact.

“Haha! Serves that freak right for thinking she could win with a servant like that!” Shinji said as he continued to laugh and belittle me. As the cloud of smoke started to clear, it would reveal a battered and bleeding Saber with pieces of her armor chipped off. “What the!? How is she still alive!?” To be honest, I’m a bit surprised myself. I mean, I know the barrier I activated thanks to the code cast reduced the damage, but I didn’t think she would still be standing like it was nothing...could it be that she has a skill of some kind that let’s her continue fighting even after receiving damage like this?

“Hm, not a bad surprise attack Rider.” Saber said as she grins like a mad mare. “But you’ll need more than that to take me down.”

“Oh you are just a treat~.” Rider said as she took aim at the knight. “Let’s see how long you can last with that confidence of yours!” She yelled as the cannons from before appeared around Rider and began to fire at her. Saber lets out a primal yell as her body began to glow crimson red as she unleashed a powerful shockwave, causing the cannonballs to be knocked backwards and explode. Once they exploded, she quickly charged at Rider as she readies to strike her down with a vertical slash.

Rider was caught off guard by the speed from Saber as the knight delivered a deep gash towards her chest as she was sent falling down onto the floor and skids backwards a bit before stopping herself with her feet. She looks down at the deep wound on her chest as blood started to gush out a bit from the open wound. I gagged a bit from noticing it as I tried my best not to throw up. Saber would soon decened down towards Rider in an attempt to impale her sword into her chest, only for the pirate to perform a back flip as Saber’s impaled the ground. I looked up to see Rider standing on top of a piece of floating debri that was in the digital sea we’re in.

“Much as I would love to fight you for hours on end, I’m going to have to make this short and end this fight.” Rider said as I noticed the coliseum was getting dark and foggy for the most part.

“Dammit, was hoping she wouldn’t be using her noble phantasm.” Saber said as she took up a defensive stance. While she was doing that, I notice the coliseum we were in disappeared as we were now standing on nothing but water.

“Now you two are screwed!” Shinji said with a smug expression. “Behold! El Draque’s Noble Phantasm!” He said as I heard the sounds of cannon fire going off in the distance. Looking over at the wall of fog, Saber quickly took notice of a stray cannonballs heading towards her as she quickly jumps out of the way of it and lands off to the side of the explosion. Looking over from where the cannon came from, My eyes widened in surprise upon seeing an armada of ships making its way out of the fog like wall. Standing on the biggest ship of the armada was Rider with three large floating cannons around her.

“S-Saber...please tell me you have some kind of powerful move or something to deal with that?” I asked as Saber looked over at me with the same mad grin on her face. “Saber?”

“Nope...but that’s not gonna stop me from shoving my sword into the wrench’s chest!” She yelled as her body began to glow again and crimson like lightning bursting from off her body.

“Remember my name by the death from my passing!” Rider yelled as she makes her way to the front of the ship. “Temeroso el Draque! I am the woman who set the Sun!” She soon looked down at Saber as she along with her armada took aim. “You rascals, it’s time! The King of Storms, a swarm of ghosts, this is the beginning of the Wild Hunt!” With those final words, Rider fired upon Saber with a barrage of bullets from her twin pistols. Upon doing that, the twenty ship armada let loose their entire arsenal of cannonfire at the knight.

Time seemed to have slowed down for some reason because I noticed that her attack was slowly making their way towards Saber. Once they were close within Saber’s range of attacks, she quickly begins to dodge though most of cannon fire while cutting through the ones heading towards her path like butter as she made her way forwards. As Saber continued her forward charge, I noticed the ships were beginning to change their formation pattern as they soon formed a barrakad around Rider’s main ship, The Golden Hind.

“How hard is it to kill that woman!?” Shinji yelled as he started to type on the digital keyboard for a while before disappearing. “Hurry up and kill her already you stupid servant!”

“It’s not like I’m fighting against a human now am I?” Rider said as she ordered her ships to continue firing at Saber.

Saber continued to dodge, parry, and sliced through the hail of cannonfire aimed at her as I notice the same status from before appear on Saber again. Looking up, I notice saber starting to slow down as her reaction time was much slower than before. She soon lost her footing due to the cannonballs hitting the water around her as Rider too the opportunity to fire a beam of what I could guess was magic upon Saber.

“Oh shi-” Before she could finish, she was soon pelted upon by the triple cannon fire. This caused an explosion to erupt from where the knight was standing.

“Haha! That’s right, you should’ve taken up my offer to lose the battle on purpose and let me win!” Shinji said, gloating while busting out laughing. “A freak like you winning the Holy Grail War!? That is so ridiculous!”

“Hm, damn. I was having a good time with her.” Rider soon order the ships to hold their fire as she looks down at us. Once the combination of water and smoke stopped erupting and settled down, my eyes widen in shock upon not seeing Saber standing where she was before the cannonfire hit her. Rider smirked upon seeing nothing left of Saber as she turned her attention at Shinji. Oi! Master! I better be getting paid twice as much for this match!!”

“Seriously!? I already paid you before the match even started!” While the two began to bicker between each other, I looked down at the water to see Saber slowly pulling her head up from the water.

“How did you know you could sink down into the water?” I whispered as she simply shrugged.

“Didn’t think I could do that to be honest. But the moment I notice one of the cannonballs sinking into the water, I figure I could do it myself.” She answered before quickly pulling herself up from the water with her sword in hand. Once she was out, I noticed that she didn’t have her armor on and was now wearing nothing but her usual attire. I really need to ask around the school to see if I can get her something that isn’t so...revealing.

“Fair enough. Think you can still fight?” I asked as she looked up at Rider and nods. “Good. Now take. Her. Down!” Saber grinned upon me saying that as she lifted up her sword and threw it at Rider like a spear.

“Well I want to be paid double for my work! This match was starting to get interesting and I was about to reach my peak of thrill until she died on me! Now are you going to pay me again or-” Before Rider could finish her sentence, Saber’s sword impaled itself into Rider’s chest. Rider’s eyes widened upon feeling the sword run through her as she staggerly looked down at sword before looking behind her to see a watered and blood covered servant smirking at her. Rider smirked back as her noble phantasm began to disappear. “Not bad kid. I have to say that was a pretty good fight. Even if I did lower my guard at the last second.”

“Wh-What the hell?! How did my Servant get defeated by something like that?!” Shinji asked as he looked over at Rider who simply shrug as he looked back at Saber and I. “No matter how you look at it, I’m the best! At everything! I can’t lose in the first round!” He said before looking back at Rider. “It….It’s your fault, El Draque! This happened because you suck!”

“Oh sure, blame the Servant. That would make you feel better.” Saber said sarcastically.

“You don’t have a word in this freak! You must’ve cheated to cheat the system so you could win or something!”

“Huh? Flogging a waterlogged sailor, are we?” Rider said as she shook her head. “It won’t reverse your fortunes, master.”

“Argh! If you got the energy to talk back, then go fight! There’s no way I’m losing this!”

“Hmm, I don’t think that’s happening. Did you forget I’ve been stabbed in the heart? I’m going to disappear.”

“Say what?! You think you can run away and leave me here? I lost because of you!” Seriously...how can there be humans like him in this place. He can at least have some dignity in losing.

“....My fault? Perhaps. Or it could have been carelessness. Or a lack of tenacity, luck, ability, etc..” Rider said with a smirk. “Well whatever. Fortune is fickle and fate is what we make of it. We lost for a reason. We may be strong, but we didn’t have what it takes to win.”

“Why are you making it sound like somebody else’s problem? I did what I’m supposed to do! I’m the best!” He said as he stomped the ground around him. “It wasn’t supposed to go like this. You ruined everything by becoming my Servant! Useless! Damn it! I can’t believe I lost! This game sucks! Suuuucks!”

“Geez, what a sore loser.” Saber said as she grabbed me by the hand and started to pull me away from them. “Let’s go egghead, I’m tired and hungry after having to fight all out like that.”

“Hey...W-Wait! Hey! I’ve got an idea. How about you declare that I won the battle.” Shinji as Saber and I looked at him with tired deadpan expressions. “B-B-Because, you know, you just won this battle by accident! There’s a one-hundred percent chance you’ll lose in the second round. But I’ll win it for sure. Think about it. Isn’t it better for one of us to keep winning than for you to lose in the next round?”

“...You can’t be serious?” I said as Saber and I looked at each other for a moment before looking back at him. “You lost the fight, have some dignity in your loss Shinji.”

“Hey...Wait. I said wait! Can’t you see the equation? I’m saying I’ll share the Holy Grail with you!”

“Cut it out, Shinji. You lost and you know it. You can’t change what happened.” Rider said as Shinji quickly turned back at Rider.

“Shut up! We lost because of you! What makes you think you have the right to act so calm?!” Shinji ruffled up his own hair in anger as he looked back at Saber and I. “Damn it! You may have won this one game, but don’t get a big head over it. In real life, I’m still a champion! Listen, I don’t know who you are or where you came from. But when I get home, I’m gonna figure out who you really are and-” Just as Shinji was about to continue his rant, I soon noticed his hand changing to a different color. It looked like it’s corroding. “-Wha?! Wh-What the hell is going on? M-My body’s...disappearing?! I’ve never logged out like this!” While Shinji was busy looking at his corroding body, a red digital like wall appeared from the side as it soon stopped in front of Saber and I. Shinji lets out a desperate cry as his arms, legs, and torso gradually fizzle into blackness.

“Losers die in the Holy Grail War. As a Master, you should have known that, Shinji.” Rider said as she placed a hand to her hip as she shook her head.

“What?! D-Die?! But just our avatars get erased, right? There’s no way you can die in a virtual world.”

“Yes.You lose, you die. This is a “war,” not a “game.” Mostly everyone who joins this war ends up dead. The sole survivor is the only one who can go home alive.”

“Wha...No way! That isn’t funny…!” Shinji said as he began to tremble in fear from what he was being told. “But it’s a tournament! So it’s a game, right? RIght?! Aaagh...Wh-Why isn’t this stopping?! D-Do something! Isn’t a Servant supposed to help their Master?!”

“If it was easy to break the rules, they wouldn’t have created them in the first place. But, well...the good and bad both are sent off to another world in the end. It’s nothing to complain about.”

“Acting like you know so much…! Aren’t you ashamed at all!? First you lose...and now this…!” A serious expression appeared on Rider’s face as she walks over to Shinji, grabbed him by the collar, and glared at him with her one eye that hasn’t been corroded by blackness.

“Hmm? Am I ashamed? Of course I am. I’m so disgusted with myself that I could throw up. But, remember what I told you when we made our contract, little boy? Be prepared, because a villain’s final moments are laughably miserable!” She said before releasing her hold on Shinji and gave off a hearty laugh as her body was being erased from the system. “Considering the things you’ve done and said, this isn’t such a bad death. Just let yourself go, Shinji.” The Servant said as she looked over at Saber and I. Well mostly me as I tried my best to not burst out into tears at what I was seeing. “And you folks over there, let’s hear some laughter, huh? It’s sad when a clown doesn’t get a laugh.”

What could I say? All I could do was nod at what she said. It’s what I could only do at the time as I tried my best not to cry from what I’ve done. Rider simply shrugs as she grins at me with the brightest of smiles.

“It’s going to be tough from here on out for you kid. This is the outcome for you each time you win a fight with a Master and his or her servant. But don’t look so sad or give in into depression kid. Learn from this fight and press onwards with no regret. I’m sure you have someone waiting for you after all this. May the rest of your journey go well. I’d like it if you ended up stronger than me. In life, I fought against military ships. It’s against my nature to enjoy fighting weaker opponents.” She said before disappearing into black ashes.

“Heh, Even with her heart stabbed and her body disappearing. She still went out laughing like she enjoyed it. That's the world’s greatest navigator, and the first person to circumnavigate the world for yeah.” Saber said as we turn our attention towards Shinji...knowing what happen to Rider, Shinji knows what his fate will be.

“H-Hey! Who gave you permission to disappear like that?! You gotta help me! Don’t leave me!” He said as more and more of his body started to turn black. While looking around frantically for a while before looking at me. “Oh...Oh god…! Then, you! You help me! If it weren’t for you I wouldn’t be in this situation right now! You owe me!” Upon hearing him begging me to help him, I glared down at him in anger. Even if I had the ability to do something like that, why would I save somepony like him? All he did was boast about how good he was and tried to get me eliminated before the finals.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t do anything to help you.” I said as I glared coldly at him. “You brought this upon yourself when you thought this was a game to begin with.”

“No please I beg you! I’m sorry for calling you all thoses names! I’m sorry for cheating and stuff just please help me!”

“Just shut up and accept your death with some dignity you worm.” Saber said as she started at Shinji with malice and anger. “Pieces of shit like you really piss me off. You have no one but yourself to blame for your own defeat.”

“Waah! I’m really disappearing!? Why? Why does it feel like I’m going to die in real life, too?! What the hell?! This is Crazy! Help!” Shinji started to slam his fists against the digital wall in an attempt to try to either break it or for us to help him.“Why aren’t you helping me?! I’m only eight years old. I don’t want to die yet! Help me-!” With one more hit to the wall, Shinji’s body started to give way to his own weight as he soon crumbled into nothing but black ashes. Just like Rider did as her body disappeared. He’s gone...The human known as Shinji Matou has been erased from existence. The only thing that he has left behind...is me. The victor...And so, round one of the Holy Grail War comes to a close.