My Little Pony: Friendship is Heaven
This is a story from a winter five years ago. It was a night with a beautiful moon. I wasn’t doing anything, just watching the moon with Doctor. Even though it was winter, the air wasn’t cold. The corridor was a little chilly, but it was a good night to enjoy the moon. Back then, Doctor didn’t leave the house often. Not going outside, he would just laze around the house carelessly. …I regret it even now, thinking back to it. Why didn’t I notice that it was like the actions of an animal that knows its time of death?
“I wanted to be a superhero when I was a child.” Suddenly. That stallion, himself a superhero in my child’s eyes, said that as if yearning for it.
“What? What do you mean by ‘wanted’? Did you give up?” I became angry and asked him. Doctor laughed apologetically and looked up at the sky.
“Yes, unfortunately. Being a hero is a time-limited thing, and it becomes hard to call yourself that when you grow up. I wish I’d found that out earlier.” I agreed with that. I didn’t know why, but I thought it couldn’t be wrong if Doctor said it.
“I see. Then I guess it couldn’t be helped.”
“Yeah. It really couldn’t be helped.” Doctor answers. So of course, my response was determined.
“Yeah, it can’t be helped, so I’ll take your place. It’s impossible since you’re an adult, but it should be all right for me. Let me take on your dream.” …I’ll make it come true. Before I could finish, my father laughed. He made a face like he didn’t even need to hear the rest.
After breathing in, Storm Whooves said… “Yeah… I’m relieved.” He quietly closed his eyes and ended his life. I did not cry because he looked so calm, as if he would wake up the next morning. It must also have to do with the fact that I’m used to seeing death. I just silently looked up at the winter moon and my sleeping father. There were no sounds of insects in the garden. All was silent. In the bright night, I remember only my eyes burning. I did not cry out, nor did I feel sad. But I could not stop my tears until the moon sank. That is the story from a winter five years ago. Perhaps I cried ten years worth of tears, since after that, there was nothing. Pinkie’s father planned the funeral, and I started living in this house by myself. Even though Doctor was gone, nothing changed. Storm Whooves would become a superhero like Doctor Whooves, so there was not time to be playing around. Yes. I never said it, but I clearly remember it. The figure of the stallion who saved a lone colt from an inferno. Doctor Whooves held up the dying foal and said “thank you”. Since then, he was the subject of my admiration. No pony saved me. I couldn’t save anypony. In it all, I was saved, and a pony was there to save me. That’s why I decided to become like him. Become a superhero, so that I could save ponies and let no pony be killed… just like him. Doctor died peacefully, leaving me his dream of becoming a superhero himself. It’s only natural for a foal to succeed his father. Storm Whooves must become a superhero and save somepony just like the old me. I swore that oath as a foal. To fulfill the dream of the stallion I admired most. …But honestly, I don’t get it. What this superhero thing is supposed to be, how to become one, how to make everypony happy like Doctor always said… and I became this thing called a Master and things like the rainbow-mane mare following me around is confusing my head and really…
“…!” When I open my eyes, I’m in a familiar room. “What, I’m in my own room?” As soon as I speak, I start to feel terribly sick. “Ugh… it tastes bad… in my mouth…” I taste blood. Maybe it was filling my mouth, but I breathe in thick air. I’m not sure why I feel like this. I feel really sick to my stomach, so I want to go to the bathroom and wash my face.
“All right.” I get up. I feel dizzy. I almost fall and support myself by putting a hoof against the wall. “…Ugh.” The nausea increases when I move. …No, this is more like pain than nausea. My body is heavy and it feels like my stomach is turning every time I move. Maybe somepony would feel like this if they had burning lead poured into their stomach. “…Ugh… Imagining that gives me a headache.” I wipe the sweat off my forehead and wobble out of my room. “…All right. I feel better now.” I wash my face and wipe the sweat off my body. “…?” There are bandages wrapped around my stomach for some reason. I can’t recall anything about them, so I leave them be for now. “…I’m hungry. I wonder if there are any leftovers…” Even though my stomach feels terrible, it seems my body wants energy. “Guh…” Putting my mind into it, I start to walk along the wall. I still feel dizzy, and my body feels dull. “Ow… Oww…” I walk forward, crying out miserably. …Really, what did I do before going to bed? I don’t remember any training that could have caused this pain. I reach the living room. Sweetie and Pinkie must be at school. There’s no breakfast prepared in the living room, and there’s none of Pinkie’s loudness. The living room is quiet, like an ordinary Sunday…
“Good morning. I’m afraid I came in without asking you, Storm.” … No, it’s not.
“Wha…!?” Rarity Jewel is sitting on a cushion. Her calmness makes me think I’m the guest in this house and not her. Yeah, that’s why I’m even more surprised. I don’t know how to answer her, so I sit down. And then, I take a deep breath and ask, “Rarity, why…”
“Hold on. Could you apologize first? I can’t calm down until I hear an apology for last night.” I don’t even have time to ask her why she’s here. Rarity is glaring at me like she’s really mad. It seems she’s really angry about last night, but what happened…?
“…Hold on.” I recall it now. That’s right, why am I so relaxed? I tried to save Saber and… Berserker blew away my stomach. “…Ugh.” The nausea returns. I feel a chill, remembering the feeling of having a hole in my body. Something in my stomach moves. It makes me feel sick. It makes me feel sick, but proves I’m still alive. Wait, that’s weird. Shouldn’t that have been instant death for me? “…That’s strange. Why the hay am I alive?”
“Do you remember? The stupid thing you did last night? If you do, then please reflect upon your actions.” Rarity lets out a “hmph” as she scolds me. …Huh, that’s really annoying. My head, which was frozen by the fact that Rarity is here, finally resumes activity again.
“What are you saying? There was nothing else to do at the time! Oh… well, it does look stupid if you just look at the results, but I was going to do it better. So it wasn’t a mistake.” I protest, glaring at her.
“…Hmph.” W-What? Why is she sighing? “Didn’t I tell you Servants disappear if their Master is killed? It’s crazy to try protect your Servant. Look, Saber will disappear if you’re killed. If you want to save Saber, think of a way to do so from a safe place. …Geez, don’t you understand that protecting your Servant with your life is just meaningless?”
“It’s not that I protected her with my life. I tried to save her, and it just happened to work out like that. I didn’t think things would end up like that either.” I did think I would be killed if I went near that monster, but that’s a different matter.
“…I see. You seem to be misunderstanding.” As if she’s read my mind, she sulks even more. “Look, Storm. I’ll come out and say it. I didn’t take you to the church to help you win. I was trying to help you stay alive even if you were left on your own. It seems you didn’t understand that part of it.”
“Help me stay alive…?”
“That’s right. You shouldn’t take risks if you realize that a loss equals your death. You seem to be somepony who would walk out at night by yourself even in a situation like this. If I threatened you, I thought you wouldn’t take risks and you might get through this.”
“I see. I didn’t notice that.” So that’s why she’s complaining to me about not realizing that and running at Berserker. “…? So why are you mad, Rarity? It shouldn’t bother you if I’m the one that made the mistake.”
“Of course it bothers me! You made me worry for a whole night!” Rarity loses her temper. …But I see. Honestly, I’m happy she’s worrying about me. Looking at the situation, it seems Rarity was the one who treated my injuries.
“I see. I guess you helped me out. Thank you.” I bow my head to show my thanks and apologize.
“Heh, if you understand, then we’ll let it slide. If you’ve learned from this, then think before acting next time.” Rarity looks away. Her gesture is snappy, but it seems she’s in a good mood again. “Then we’re done with what happened last night. I’ll move on the main topic, but which do you want to talk about? Last night or something serious?”
“…?” Rarity starts a conversation as if it’s natural to do so. Her straight-forwardness surprises me, but thinking about it, she came here for a reason. If she didn’t have business with me, she would have gone home already. What is it that Rarity, my enemy, wants to discuss in her enemy’s territory? I’m interested in that, and I also want to know what happened last night. It’s stupid not to ask. “I want to know what happened yesterday first.”
“That’s right. Knowing the current situation comes first. Wow, you’re pretty smart.” Smiling in satisfaction, Rarity describes yesterday’s events. It seems that Berserker left after I lost consciousness. She tells me that my body started to heal itself, and that it looked fine after about ten minutes. And she says she brought me here since I didn’t regain consciousness even after my wound healed, and that’s where we are right now. “The important thing is you survived on your own. I did help, but it was your own power that healed you. Don’t mistake that part.”
“It seems that way from what you told me. So you didn’t heal it?”
“Of course not. I can’t do anything like revive a dying pony any more. Storm Whooves himself healed his own wounds.”
“…Hm.” What can I do, now that she said that? My stomach is certainly healed, but I have doubts about Rarity’s story. I can’t use healing magic, let alone revival magic.
“Then the cause must be the Servant. Your Servant must be really powerful, or something went wrong during the summoning. …Well, I think it’s both, but I think some kind of line formed between you two.”
“A line? You mean like the karmic line connecting a familiar and a mage?”
“Oh, so you have a working knowledge of familiars? Then this should be easy to explain. In other words, Storm and Saber’s relationship is not a normal relationship like the one between a normal and their familiar. It looks like Saber has natural healing powers, so some of that may be flowing into you. Normally, the mage’s power flows into the familiar, but in your case, the familiar’s power is flowing into you and helping you out.”
“…Hmmm. So putting it simply, it’s like a river flowing upstream?”
“That’s a good way to put it. It is not naturally possible, but I bet Saber’s magical energy is so great that it can even change the flow of a river. That’s the only reason she is able to go against Berserker with her small size.”
“Not naturally possible… then is the relationship between you and Archer that of a normal mage and familiar?”
“Yes. He doesn’t listen too much of what I say, but we do still have such a relationship. The connection between a Servant and a Master is like that of gasoline and an engine. We provide the magical energy, and the Servant uses it. …Well, I guess there have been some Masters who shared their physical bodies with their Servants to obtain false immortality. Not dying until their Servants are dead, something like that… hey, are you listening, Storm?”
“Huh…? Yeah, I’m listening. Then, are you saying most wounds on my body will heal even if I don’t do anything?”
“Using your Servant’s magical energy. I don’t know how, but I’m sure the cause is in Saber’s materialization. I know you haven’t learned the curse of self-healing.”
“Of course not. My father never taught me anything that difficult.”
“No, I mean that if that’s the case, I’ve nothing to worry about. Don’t worry about it; it has nothing to do with you.”
“…?” What is it? Rarity’s words are indirect and hard to follow.
“Oh well. Just don’t do anything too reckless. It’s good that you survived this time, but you won’t survive if you get hurt like that again. You shouldn’t get optimistic and think you’ll survive any major injury.”
“I understand. I feel bad about getting hurt and having Saber helping me.”
“Idiot, that’s not the reason. I’m sure you’re not just using Saber’s magical energy to heal your wounds. You’re definitely using something. I don’t know what it is… your life span, your luck, or your savings account, but you’re definitely using something up.” Rarity gives a “hmph” once again. I feel the same way, but…
“Rarity, isn’t my savings account completely unrelated?”
“Of course it’s related! Magic uses up your money, so it’s something that drains your money the more you use it! I won’t allow myself to be wrong!” Rarity Jewel erupts with the fire of a personal grudge. It’s strange. The more I talk with her, the more I understand this is the real Rarity Jewel, and that the Rarity at school is just a mask she puts on. …No, it’s something I realized already yesterday.
“Well, putting the part about money aside. Is it okay if I ask you a serious question, Storm?”
“That’s why you stayed here, right? All right, I’ll listen.”
“Then I’ll be direct about it. What are you planning to do from now on?” She confronts me with the one question I don’t want to be asked. …No, that’s not it. It’s not that I don’t want her to ask me, but I haven’t made my mind up yet. I’m the one who wants to ask what I should do now.
“…Honestly, I don’t know. You say I should fight for the Harmony Grail, but I’ve never been in a fight between mages. First of all, I…” I want to try to avoid killing ponies, and most of all… “I’m not interested in something mysterious like the Harmony Grail. I’m not too sure about risking my life for something I don’t want.”
“I knew you’d say that. You’ll be killed by your Servant with an attitude like that.”
“Wha… Why would I!?”
“Because the Servant’s goal is also the Harmony Grail. They can be summoned by the Masters because obtaining the Harmony Grail is a condition of their summoning. The most important thing for a Servant is to obtain the Harmony Grail. They obey their Master and risk their life for their Master, because they have a chance of obtaining it. So just try saying that you don’t want the Harmony Grail. You can’t complain even if they kill you and call you a traitor.”
“…What? That’s weird. Servants are summoned by the Masters, right? So…”
“Do you think a Servant would obey a pony without being rewarded? The Harmony Grail grants the wish of whoever obtains it. The Servant of the Master who obtains it is no exception. Even Servants have their own wishes. That is why they respond to the otherwise impossible summoning. It’s not that Masters summon Servants to obtain the Harmony Grail. Servants answer the Masters’ call so they can obtain it.” Servants have their own desires…? Then, does that mean Saber has a wish she wants the Harmony Grail to grant. “That’s why the Servants try to eliminate other Servants even without orders from their Masters. Only one can obtain the Harmony Grail. They cannot accept other Masters obtaining it. Unlike their Masters, they don’t have the power to take away the Command Spells. So the only way they can disarm other Masters is to kill them. So even if the Master has no intention of fighting, battle is inevitable. A Master who is attacked by a Servant must fight it off with their own Servant. You heard enough from Blue to know that this is the nature of the Harmony Grail War, right?”
“Yeah, he told me that last night. But…” That means allowing your Servant to try to kill other Servants. I thought it would be over if I reached a compromise with other Masters, but if Servants are summoned to obtain the Harmony Grail and they will not give it up, then a battle between the Servants is inevitable. Then… The mare who fought to protect me is also ready to kill or be killed to obtain the Harmony Grail? “That’s awful. I don’t know about this heroic spirit thing, but Saber is pony. She was bleeding badly yesterday too.”
“Oh, don’t worry about that. There’s no life or death for Servants. Even if Servants are eliminated, they just go back to where they belong. Heroic spirits are phenomenon, they can’t be killed. The only ones that can be killed during a fight are Masters.”
“No, but still…” Even if it’s a temporary death… There’s still the fact that something pony-like has disappeared from this world.
“What? Are you saying it’s murder? Are you still carrying such a sense of justice even though you’re a mage?” Her comment is only natural. As a mage, death is always right beside me. I understand it and I’m already prepared for that. But still I’m not strong enough to judge ponies’ deaths as good or bad.
“Of course. I won’t fight anypony to the death.”
“Oh? So you’re just going to wait for the others to kill you? You’re ceding the victory to other Masters?”
“That’s not it. The point is to survive to the end, right? I don’t have any intention of killing others, but I’ll have no mercy in a fight to protect myself. If the enemies are out to kill me, they can’t complain if they are killed in return, right?”
“Oh, so you’ll be staying on the defensive. Then you’ll just be observing what other Masters are doing, right? So even of somepony like yesterday goes around killing everypony, you’re going to ignore it?” Somepony like yesterday? She must mean that inpony monster. Superpony strength that allows the destruction of a house or two with a single blow. Certainly, if that thing wished it, this town could be in ruins in just one night. And on top of that, the problem is that the Servants are normally in spirit form. Ponies can’t see those in spirit form. But since the Servants can affect the real world as spirits, you could call them the most powerful weapon. With the technology we have now, there are no weapons that can affect spiritual beings. Our attacks are useless against them, while theirs can still harm us. It’s more than just unfair game. Murder by a Servant is like natural death for normal ponies. Death caused by an invisible killer will just be treated as an accident or suicide.
“What is that? Servants… no, Masters and Servants don’t just attack other Masters? Don’t other ponies have nothing to do with them?”
“Yeah, I really wish that was the case. But if it were, you wouldn’t need a supervisor like Blue, would you? I should have said earlier. Servants are spirits. They are already complete, so they don’t grow. But magical energy used as fuel is different. The more they have available, the more they can use the powers they had in life. In that respect, they’re just like us mages… Do you understand?”
“I do so they can use magic repeatedly, right?” You could say magical energy is the gunpowder to fill a gun, and the mage is the gun itself. The type of gun depends on the abilities of the mage: pistol, rifle, machine gun, shotgun… Continuing with that metaphor, Servants are cannons. Using a large amount of gunpowder, they fire a large bullet.
“That’s right. Servants aren’t given their mana by nature. They act with the magical energy inside them. We Masters support them, so Servants can only use their powers using their own magical energy plus the magical energy of their Masters. But that means an amateur Master like you would be no match for other Masters, right? So there’s a loophole… well, I guess you could call it an obvious answer. Servants can supplement their magical energy from other sources. Servants are spirits, so they can get nourishment from eating things that are like them.”
“Hm?” Nourished by eating things that are like them…? “Things like them? You mean other spirits? But what kind of spirits would they eat?”
“It’s a simple answer. Nature spirits obtain power from nature itself. So where do you think Servants, pony spirits, get their power from?”
“Oh.” It is a simple answer. Just as we ponies eat meat, the pony spirits…
“Exactly. Usually, they replenish enough magical energy from their Masters. But it’s obvious that one gets more magical energy from many ponies than from just one pony, right? So, to put it bluntly, a weak Master makes his Servant eat ponies. Servants transform pony emotions and souls into magical energy. That is the most efficient way to make your Servant more powerful. There are many Masters who kill ponies as sacrifices for their Servants.”
“As sacrifices… so you’re saying that if a Master didn’t care about his methods, he would kill ponies to make his Servant stronger?”
“Yes. But I don’t think a smart Master would do such a thing. You see, even if Servants are powerful, there is a limit to their magical energy capacity. They can’t store magical energy beyond it, so there is a limit to how much they can kill to collect magical energy. The Association wouldn’t ignore you if you went around killing ponies, and most of all, other Masters might figure your Servant’s abilities and identify them from the cause of death. Not to mention the identity of the Master as well. It is highly advantageous in the Harmony Grail War to keep your identity a secret, so most Masters should use their Servants sparingly.” I see. Certainly, if nobody knows that you are a Master, there’s no danger of other Masters attacking you. Conversely, if you know who the other Masters are, you could definitely pull a surprise attack on them. By that theory, there won’t be many Masters that would have their Servants attack ponies and reveal their identity…
“I’m glad. Then there’s no problem. That means Servants won’t indiscriminately attack ponies without orders from their Master.”
“Right. They are heroes, right? Somepony who would go out and kill ponies wouldn’t be called a hero in a first place… well, no, I can’t really say that for sure. There are many examples of ponies becoming heroes just because they were mass murderers.” Rarity makes an ominous comment. As it seems to be her true feelings rather than just sarcasm, a bit of strain in her personality might be showing. “Let’s get back to the point. What are you going to do? Since you don’t want to kill ponies, you’re just going to watch, is that right?” I take back what I said. She really has a bad personality. She’s a real bully, putting me on the spot and asking me that with a smile.
“I’ll just have to stop them. The Masters will calm down once they lose their Servants, right?”
“Unbelievable. You say you won’t go out and kill other Masters, but you also say you’ll kill them if they do anything bad. Storm, do you realize you’re contradicting yourself?”
“Yeah, I know it’s selfish, but I can’t think of any other choices. I won’t change my decision no matter how much you argue against it.”
“Hmm. But there’s one problem with that. Would you like to know what it is?” She’s plotting something. With that face, she’s definitely plotting something. But as a stallion, I have to listen.
“O-Okay. What is it?”
“Do you remember the Master yesterday? The mare who was talking about killing you and me?” How could I forget? They attacked us mercilessly. “That mare will come to kill us. I think you know that too.” I… see. That mare is a Master too. Since she knows Rarity and I are Masters, she will come and attack us sooner or later. I don’t know if it’ll be today or tomorrow, but I do know it’s a death sentence. At least, I know I can’t stop such a monster. “Her Servant, Berserker, is on a different level. You can’t match it, being an inexperienced Master. You say you won’t do anything except defend yourself, but you won’t even be able to do that.”
“Sorry. But you wouldn’t be able to beat it either, right?”
“I wouldn’t be able to beat it head on. It’s the most powerful Servant in melee combat. I don’t think any previous Servant could match it. Even I wouldn’t be able to escape if Berserker attack me.”
“I feel the same way. I don’t think I’ll get another chance if they attack me again.” Unconsciously, I place my hoof on my stomach. The wound on my stomach is healed now. No, you couldn’t call it a wound. It was pretty much instant death. My nausea returns just at the thought of taking another blow like that.
“That’s right. Do you get it? You can’t choose to wait until the Harmony Grail is over without doing anything.”
“Yeah, I get it. But what are you trying to say? I don’t quite understand. Or are you enjoying watching me being condemned to death?”
“I don’t have such a bad taste. Geez, don’t get it after I’ve said so much? In short, I’m asking you if you want to join up with me.”
“…?” Hm, Hmmmm, hm? Um, if I take that at face value, that’s… “Join up!? You mean, me and you!?”
“Yes. My Archer received a fatal wound and is healing right now. It will take a while for him to heal fully, but he should still be about half as useful. And there are no problems with your Servant, but her Master is dragging her down, so she is half as useful as well. See, it adds up fine.”
“Huh. I’m not that bad.”
“Even though you’ve almost died three times from what I know of? I think you’re the first pony I’ve seen almost die three times in one day.”
“Guh… but that’s…”
“I’ll make the alliance worthwhile. I’ll forgive you for beating Archer and I’ll teach you about being a Master. Oh, and if we have time, I can look at your skills as a mage. How about it?” Ugh. That certainly is an attractive proposal. As I don’t know anything, Rarity would be useful teacher. And if I can help it, I don’t want to fight against her. Not because she’s the mare I admired at school. In fact, if I didn’t know her like this, I wouldn’t feel this much resistance. The Rarity Jewel in front of me is so different from how ponies describe her as an honor student. But talking to her, she is just Rarity and it seems she’s just as she appears. Well… in other words, I’m saying I find her so much more attractive this way that I’m wondering why I even have to tell myself this… “Storm? I want to hear you answer.” She urges me to respond. I shouldn’t even need to think twice about it. I’m a novice, and Rarity is at her full potential as a Master and a mage. Considering the events yesterday, it’d be smarter to join up with Rarity. I touch my stomach, the place I got cut. It’s wrapped in bandages, and touching it sends waves of pain and nausea through me. It’s only natural. I wasn’t just cut, I was almost split in half. Thanks to Rarity and Saber, I’m still alive. But as long as Berserker is after me, I’m a dead stallion. But something still lingers in the back of my mind. The black giantess called Berserker. The black mare, accompanied by the strongest Servant. The innocent, whimsical, and cruel mare, Luna. Luna Moon. That’s the name Trixie’s grandfather said. “Storm. I want to hear your response.”
“Oh… I’m sorry. I was thinking about that Luna mare. Joining up with you means we’ll be fighting her, right?”
“Yes. She’s ready to fight, so we just need to retaliate. We need to defeat all the Masters anyway. If she wants to kill use, we should do likewise.” Rarity’s mind is made up. In Rarity’s mind, that mare is just an enemy that must be defeated. But… I know there’s something wrong with me for thinking this way, but I don’t want to fight her. “Storm? I hope this isn’t the case, but don’t tell me her looks are deceiving you.” She glares at me. She’s sharp. I didn’t realize it, but my hesitation seems proof that I was being deceived. She is Berserker’s Master. If she has such a strong Servant, she must be a powerful mage. I shouldn’t focus too much on her outward appearance. I shouldn’t, but…
“I’m sorry, Rarity. I’m glad you’re worried about me, but I can’t give you the response you want. This is a serious matter, you know? I feel I shouldn’t rush to a decision.” I look directly back at her and answer. Rarity narrows her eyes a bit and nods emotionlessly.
“Then negotiations have failed. …Well, you have a point too. If you really want to win, you can’t trust anypony.”
“That’s not it. I trust you, Rarity. It’s just that I can’t decide on my own. If I’m Saber’s Master, I can’t make a promise without her consent.”
“I see. That is true. You are a Master now.” Giving a nod of understanding, Rarity turns away. She strides to the door, her mane fluttering behind her. But just before leaving, the mare who could have been my ally gives me one last look, and… “Goodbye. We will be enemies the next time we meet.” Like the mare Luna, she leaves a cold warning.
“Well.” I take a breath and analyze the situation. I haven’t had time to think since I saw that fight between Lancer and Archer last night. “Oh. I see. Then that must’ve been Rarity.” I finally realize it. I was stabbed by Lancer after that, was saved for some reason, and attacked by Lancer again… “Saber saved me, and I became a Master.” What I heard at the church. The killing called the Harmony Grail War. The Harmony Grail which grants any wish, given to the winner. I can’t absorb all the facts, but I have been attacked three times already. So I can’t sit here in confusion forever. I said I would fight, since I could not sit by and do nothing. I won’t allow any innocent ponies to get hurt. Since that day ten years ago, I have trained to become a superhero. I never thought I would be tested like this, but I won’t back out now. I’ll cast off all hesitation. Come to think of it, this is an opportunity. This is a chance to “help others” just like Doctor Whooves. But something lingers in the back of my mind… “Rejoice, Storm Whooves.” The backwards desire that should not be wished for… “Your wish will finally come true.” Might be a distorted wish for a superhero… “That can’t be. I didn’t want the Harmony Grail War.” There’s no need to hesitate. There is nothing wrong with the wish I’ve had for ten years. Storm Whooves will become a superhero. I have trained in magic to help others.
“All right. I need to talk with Saber.” I shake off the priest’s words and exit into the hallway. I look through the house. I look everywhere somepony could possibly be, including the guest rooms, but I can’t find her. “That’s strange… She’s in that outfit, so you’d think it’d be easy to find her.” And yet I can’t find her anywhere. I guess Servants can become spirits, but I can’t turn her into one anyway. No, first of all… “Even though they call me a Master, I don’t know anything about her.” I don’t know who she is or how she can exist. The only thing I understand is… No matter how superior they are, they can still get hurt in a fight and bleed if they are wounded. “Oh.” Saber is in the silent gym. But her appearance is different from yesterday. She sits on the wooden floor without her armor. Her cloths are now refined and suit her well as she sits quietly. I lose my voice at the sight. Sitting with her back straight and her eyes closed, Saber looks beautiful. Melting into the silence, she reminds me of pure water. And that removes the last of the doubts within me. Even if she is a Servant, there’s something pure about her. So… I won’t be led astray if I’m with her. “Saber.” I call out. Saber slowly opens her eyes and returns my gaze.
“You are awake, Storm.” A calm voice. Surprisingly suited to this place, her voice echoes through the gym as if permeating it.
“Yeah. I just got up. What were you doing here?”
“I was napping. I cannot treat you, so I thought I’d make sure I was in perfect condition.” Saber looks at me as she speaks. Well, um… I feel a tension, different from the kind I felt with Rarity. “Storm? What is it? Could it be that your body is still…?”
“N-No, there’s no problem…! I’m just perplexed for my own reasons, so don’t worry…!” I take a step back and shake my head.
“…?” Looking away from Saber, who is tilting her head questioningly, I calm my pounding heart.
“Calm down. What am I so tense about!?” I take a deep breath. But it doesn’t seem to die down quickly. In fact, I don’t think it ever will. “Man, why did she get changed…?” I complain without meaning to. Saber’s clothes are so real that they make me conscious of her marehood, whether I like it or not. She is terribly beautiful. I thought I figured that out yesterday, but she really hits me with it now. Perhaps her armor looked so surreal I didn’t notice yesterday. But when she dresses like a mare, I’m flustered, as any healthy stallion would be.
“Storm.” I tense up the moment our eyes meet. But I didn’t look for her just to say nothing. I’m troubled but I can’t stay quiet forever.
“All right. May I, Saber? It’ll be the first time we sit down and talk.” I make up my mind and talk to her. And then.
“Storm. Before that, there is something I would like to address regarding last night.” Her previous gentleness goes away and she stops me in displeasure.
“…? All right, what is it?”
“It is about last night. You are my Master. It is troubling if you take such actions. Battle is my duty, so you must concentrate on your role. If you go and die in vain, there is no way I can protect you.” She states it clearly. That makes the tension I was feeling vanish.
“W-What do you mean!? You would have been slashed if I didn’t do that!”
“In that case, I would have just died. It was not something you should have been hurt over. I repeat myself. Please do not do that again. There is no need for my Master to protect me, and there is no reason for it either.” She says this rather simply. It must be because she sounds so practical.
“Wha… don’t be stupid. You don’t need a reason to save a mare…!” I react without meaning to. Maybe she was surprised at being yelled at, but she pauses for a moment as if I did something unexpected. And then, she stares at me with indescribable dignity. “Uh…” I back up a bit, being stared at. Her looks makes me realize what I’ve said, and I suddenly feel embarrassed. “A-Anyway, I’m grateful you brought me home. Thank you.” I thank her while looking away. It’s awkward to thank her in the first place, but it’s even more awkward to thank her in this situation. But still, before anything else, I have to thank her for helping me.
“You are welcome. It is natural for a Servant to protect her Master, but I am happy to be thanked. You are very polite.”
“No. I’m not polite.” So there’s something I need to clarify right now. It’s something I should have asked her the moment we got back last night. If she really is my Servant… And if she really is going to be joining this battle… “Going back to our conversation, Saber. Oh, I’ll ask formally. Can I call you Saber?”
“Yes. Since I have formed a contract with you as a Servant, I am your sword. I shall follow your orders, defeat your enemies, and protect you.” She says without the slightest hesitation. There’s no room for argument.
“Become my sword, huh? Is that to win this Harmony Grail War?”
“…? Is that not why you have summoned me?”
“No. I only summoned you by chance. As you know, I’m only an amateur mage. I’m sorry, but I have neither the knowledge nor the power of a Master. But I’ve decided to fight, so I’ll fight. I’m an unskilled Master, are you okay with that?”
“Of course. You are my Master, Storm. This fact will not change. A Servant does not have the freedom choose her Master.” I see. Then I should try to respond to her to the best of my ability.
“All right. So you’re content with me as your Master?”
“Yes. But Storm, I shall not allow defeat for my Master. If you have no chance of victory, I shall make one for you. I will use any means possible to have you obtain the Harmony Grail. We Servants do not serve the Masters without compensation. We serve because we also desire the Harmony Grail.”
“Huh? Hold on. The Harmony Grail, you mean you want it too!?”
“Of course. After all, the only ones who can touch the Harmony Grail in spirit form are we Servants, who are also spirits. The Master that wins the Harmony Grail War will obtain the Harmony Grail through who served the winning Master will have its wish granted in compensation. That is the relationship between Masters and Servants.” I see. Now that she says it, it’s obvious something like a “heroic spirit” would never obey a mere pony. Since they have their own objectives, they serve the Master in exchange. Then that means Saber has a wish she wants granted. That is why she has no doubts. But…
“Hold on, Saber. You said any means possible, right? Does that mean you don’t care what measures you take to win the war? For example…” Doing something like what that priest said. Involving innocent ponies and creating a disaster like what happened ten years ago…
“Storm that is not a possibility. I can only do things I allow myself to do. I cannot betray my beliefs. It is against the knight’s oath to hurt those who are unarmed. But I must obey your orders. You will have to use one of your Command Spells to compensate for trampling over me.” I am overwhelmed by her angered voice. But still, I’m happy and relieved. Her lack of doubt gave her image of a cold fighting machine, but I know now that she is not cold-blooded killer.
“Yeah, I won’t let you do that. Like you said, we have to do our best with what we can do. I’m really sorry. I insulted you without realizing it.”
“Ah… no, I leapt to a conclusion without knowing your intentions. You are not at fault, so please raise your head…”
“Huh? Oh, sorry, I apologized without realizing it.” I raise my head. I don’t know what’s so funny, but Saber has a small smile on her face. “…?” Well, I’m glad she’s smiling, so I won’t ask her about it. “All right. Then can I ask you something else? A Master is a mage that summons Servants, right? That’s fine, but I don’t quite understand you ponies. Like Saber and Lancer, I know those aren’t your real names.”
“Yes, those are only names of the classes given to us. Very well, I shall describe it briefly since we have the chance. We Servants are heroic spirits. We each have won fame during our lives or have accomplished some great deed beyond pony ability. Whatever the means, we are beings that have reached the rank of gods with our strength.” That doesn’t even need to be said. Heroic spirits are heroes that had supernatural abilities while they were alive, whose fame was such that they were promoted into ranks of spirits after death instead of becoming mere ghosts. “But that is also to our disadvantage. As we are heroes, our weaknesses have been recorded. Revealing our names, revealing our identities, means revealing our weaknesses. It is no problem if we fight lower spirits, but we are all capable of defeating each other. If our weaknesses are revealed, the enemy will take advantage of them to defeat us.”
“I see. Heroes usually do have opponents they’re weak against. That’s why you’re hiding your real name and using the name Saber?”
“Yes. However, I am not called Saber only for that reason. There are seven Servants called forth by the Harmony Grail, and every one of these is selected according to their class.”
“Class? You mean like Saber and Archer?”
“Yes. Summoning a true heroic spirit is already almost a miracle. To summon seven is too much even for the Harmony Grail. As a solution, the Harmony Grail prepares seven vessels in advance and only calls forth heroic spirits compatible with these vessels. Those are the seven classes. Saber. Lancer. Archer. Rider. Caster. Assassin. Berserker. The Harmony Grail calls forth from all times the heroic spirits, with abilities corresponding to each of these classes. And those who receive these classes are called Servants.”
“I see. So you were a heroic spirit skilled with swords, so you were summoned as Saber?”
“Yes. There are heroic spirits that have multiple attributes, but I believe I am the best when it comes to swords. But that is also the weakness of the Saber class. Since I am not a mage, I can only defeat your enemies as your sword.”
“So you’re not well-suited to trickery. No, I don’t think that’s a weakness. You’re powerful, so that should be enough, right?”
“Storm, you cannot win this war just by being strong in battle. For instance, if your enemy is stronger than you in combat, what will you do?”
“Huh? Well… if I knew I couldn’t beat them in combat, I’d have to do something without fighting…” Having said that much, I understand. If the enemies are strong, you wouldn’t fight a proper battle. Beating opponents with your sword isn’t the only way to fight. If you can’t beat an enemy head-on, you’ll have to do it some other way.
“Exactly. If your enemy discovers you are skilled in combat, your enemy will most likely not challenge you in combat. And in that sense, Servants that lack ability will use any means possible. The Servant Assassin has low attributes, but has a special ability to hide its presence, and the Servant Caster is versed in magic that does not exist in this age. You cannot be optimistic because of a mere difference in power. And on top of that, we have our ‘Noble Phantasm’. No matter what kind of Servant we are, as heroic spirits, we have our guaranteed fatal attack.”
“Noble Phantasm…?” That’s not a term I’ve heard before. I think I might know what it means from the sound of it, though…
“Noble Phantasms are special weapons carried by Servants. Weapons like Lancer’s horn, Archer’s bow, and my sword are such. Heroes are not called heroes by themselves. Heroes have weapons that symbolize them and make them heroes. The hero and his weapon are one. So those who became heroic spirits wield a powerful weapon. That is the ‘Noble Phantasm’, the trump card for the Servants, and the thing we must take care of.” Saber says that Noble Phantasms are weapons that heroes wielded when they were alive. I recall that blue knight. The horn that absorbed magical energy from the air and pierced Saber’s chest with incredible movements. That was certainly not something fit for ponies. That horn itself carries a strong curse, but I also felt an overwhelming amount of magical energy in the word Lancer said back then. Then could it be…?
“Saber. Are Noble Phantasms magic? Lancer’s horn certainly seemed like a horn with history, but the horn itself wasn’t extraordinary. But that horn went beyond the realm of weapons with his words. Isn’t that some sort of magic?”
“Yes, Noble Phantasms are certainly similar to magic. For example, Lancer’s horn itself is a Noble Phantasm, but it demonstrates its full potential only when he puts magical energy into it and says its true name. A Noble Phantasm could be called a materialized divine mystery. As spells are necessary to activate magic, recitation of the true name is necessary to awaken and to activate the Noble Phantasm. But that is also dangerous. By saying the true name of their Noble Phantasm, the identity of the Servant is revealed.”
“Oh yeah. Heroes and their weapons are one. If you know the weapon’s name, you naturally know the identity of the owner.” Saber nods silently. That is why the Noble Phantasm is a trump card. In exchange for revealing the name, it launches an unavoidable fatal blow. But when it does not prove fatal… the Servant will expose all its weaknesses. “Then, Saber. Is your Noble Phantasm that invisible sword?”
“Yes. But I have not revealed its identity yet. No Servants should know my true name at this point.” Having said that, Saber looks down awkwardly for a second. “Storm. I have a request about that matter.”
“Huh? What kind of request?”
“About my real name. Usually, Servants give their true names to their Masters only, to determine future plans. But you are an inexperienced mage. A superior mage would be able to read your mind, so…”
“Oh, so you can’t tell me your real name? Yeah, you’re right. Like hypnotism, suggestion, or… well, I don’t think there’d be any, but if any other Master had mystic eyes, I might just start babbling about it. All right. Let’s do that. I’ll rely on you to decide when to use your Noble Phantasm.”
“Uh… um, can you really decide that so quickly?”
“It wasn’t easy. I thought it through. I agreed after thinking about it, so don’t worry.” Well. I get most of this stuff, but I still don’t have a grasp of the situation. This is strange, now that I think about it. Even though I’ve decided to fight, the only enemy I know is Rarity, and I don’t tend to fight her. Well, I shouldn’t be thinking like that because Rarity is ready to fight me any day. “Hey Saber, do Servants and Masters have some sort of mark? I don’t really know what I should be doing.”
“No. Unfortunately, there is no clear way to distinguish them. But if other Servants are bear, Servants are able to sense them. All the more if they are materialized. Servants themselves are powerful magic. I am sure you felt Berserker’s presence.”
“Ugh… That is true. But it’s bad to be able to tell only when you’re attacked. I need to at least know before they approach, so I can take some sort of countermeasure.”
“Then, how about searching for the Master’s presence? Masters are mages. Since they use magic for a living, they will leak magical energy. If you search for that, you may be able to identify the Masters in this town.”
“Sorry. Unfortunately, I can’t do that sort of thing.” After all, I didn’t even realize Rarity’s real identity, and she foes to the same school as I do. We were in the same building for two years, and on top of that, I’ve seen her several times. “Geez. No wonder ponies call me an amateur. The only evidence I’m even a Master is this Command Spell. It seems there’ll be lots of difficulties ahead.” I sigh. And then.
“Storm. Could you close your eyes for a moment?” Saber speaks with a serious expression on her face.
“…? Close my eyes? Why?”
“To prove that you are a Master. Just close your eyes and breathe normally.” I close my eyes. I feel a faint pressure on my forehead. Hey, it’s prickling. Could this be the end of her sword!?
“Saber? Hold on, are you doing something weird?”
“Master, please stay silent and concentrate on the tip of my forehoof. If you are a mage, you should feel my magical energy.”
“Hm.” I see, so it’s Saber’s hoof that’s touching me. I pull myself together and calm down. Then. What is this? “Saber, what was that?”
“You should not need to ask. You and I are connected by our contract, so it is only natural for you to be able to understand my status.”
“Understand? You mean, what just happened just now?”
“I do not know how you saw it. It is your standard that measures the Servant’s ability. Some Masters classify according to color, and some classify according to animals. So in other words, you perceive it in a way most comprehensible for you. This is a standard concept for a Master, so please check frequently. Like me, once you see somepony, you shall understand their details.” I see. I was a bit surprised it was so sudden, but I might be able to act a bit like a Master now. “Master. I have simplified things, but that is all the explanation I can give you.”
“Okay. It was quick, but I get it now. Sorry, Saber.”
“You should not be ‘sorry’. If you understand the situation, you should be deciding on a plan of action.” She leans forward expectantly. I see. Saber is the same type as Rarity: attack first. That’s good in its own way, but I can’t decide what to do when I don’t know what we should be doing. “Hmm… We should wait and see… but we can’t afford to do that. I don’t know anything about the other Masters and I’m curious about the Luna mare. We should be going out in search of other Masters, but…” I think it’s dangerous to wander around aimlessly. Damn. Maybe I should have cooperated with Rarity.
“Luna…? What about Berserker’s Master, Storm?”
“Huh…? Oh, no. I’m just wondering why she’s after us. And that wasn’t the first time I met her. I’ve met her before, and I’ve heard the name Moon before as well.” Then, after hearing the name “Moon,” Saber gives me a hard look. “Saber? Do you also know the name Moon?”
“Yes, I do. Let me ask you instead. Do you not know of that name?”
“Well, I’ve only heard of it. An unrelated stallion asked me how the Moon mare was doing before I even met her.”
“I see. Then you have not heard anything.” Saber closes her eyes and ponders. “This must be fate. You should go to the church if you would like to know about the Moon family. That priest should be able to answer your questions and guide you to the path you must take.”
“The church…? You mean the church we went to yesterday? But he told us we shouldn’t go back there unless I want to revoke my Command Spell.”
“He must have said that for expediency’s sake. That rule is only of the face he puts up for his association. It has no power if you are not part of their association.”
“Hm…” That is certainly true. Rarity belongs to the Magic Association, but we don’t. We wouldn’t gain anything from following their orders, so we can ignore them.
“Do you understand? That place may be a last resort for you, but are under no obligation to follow their orders.”
“You’re right. But I still want to avoid that place… And I don’t think I should go see that priest too much.” Blue Blood. That priest feels strange. It’s not that I feel enmity or danger. I must not see that stallion. I’m scared because I might crumble in front of him.
“I understand how you feel. I do not want to have business with him if I could help it.” She declares this with a straight face.
“…?” That’s unexpected. I never thought heroic spirits would have difficulty dealing with ponies, and most of all… “I know I don’t like him, but why don’t you? You haven’t even met him, right?”
“…” Saber hesitates. After frowning, she lifts up her face as if to shake off her hesitation. “He took part in the last Harmony Grail War. I do not know which Servant he had, but Doctor always took him seriously.”
“Huh?” I know that. I know that, but what did she just say? “Saber… Why do you know my father’s name?”
“I was Doctor’s Servant. Doctor Whooves was a Master in the last Harmony Grail War. He cooperated all the way through to the final fight. During the war, Doctor Whooves saw the priest as his greatest enemy. He believed the priest was the only one who could defeat us.”
“…” Hold on. Then what? My father was a Master in the last Harmony Grail War, fought along with Saber, and… He’s part of the cause of that disaster? “You’re lying. That can’t be true. Then why didn’t Blue tell me? Why didn’t my father tell me about it?”
“I do not know. I could never understand what Doctor was thinking. But I am sure the priest did not tell you because you did not ask him. He is a stallion who will answer you if you ask. He will tell you the truth if you inquire him about it.”
“…” Saber stares at me silently. The meaning of being a Master. Her pink eyes tell me to go to the church of my own will if I want to know about Doctor Whooves. “…” I head to the church. Saber must plan to watch over me, since she’s following me in that outfit. “…” I look up at the church. Even though Saber urged me to come here, I’m still not prepared. I don’t feel like going in there to ask the priest about what happened ten years ago.
“Master.” I turn back to the mare behind me. “I shall wait here. Please face the priest yourself.”
“I know. I came this far, so I won’t back down now.”
“Please do not tell the priest that I was summoned. You should not tell him that the same heroic spirit was summoned twice.”
“Okay. I’ll ask him only about Doctor. I’ll be back quickly, so wait for me here.”
“Very well. Please be careful, Storm. Call for me if danger approaches. That priest makes me uneasy. I do not know what will happen to you if you let your guard down.”
“I feel the same way. Don’t worry. I’ll escape and call you if anything happens.” I take a step onto the stairs. I enter the church, leaving Saber under the winter sky. I don’t see the priest in the chapel. In his place, I see a mare sitting in a chair. Her mane is rainbow. She must be a foreigner. “Excuse me. Is Father Blood here?” I ask her, not expecting a response. The mare slowly gets up. At that instant… All my muscles stiffen up. She walks to me. There’s something odd about that simple action. She is walking towards me in a casual manner. That’s all she’s doing, so… why am I getting ready to be killed by this mare?
“Oh…” The mare raises her forehoof. It reaches out for my neck and… Stops midair. “Hm. You are entranced by something unpleasant.” She withdraws. Yes, that is only natural. I’m actually the strange one for thinking she was going to kill me just because she was coming closer. “Wait right there. You have business with Blood, right?” She disappears behind the altar.
“…” Several minutes pass.
“I am surprised. Have you retired after only half a day, Storm Whooves?” Blood appears, greeting me with that annoying tone I remember from last night.
“That’s not it. I came here because I have something I want to ask you. I wouldn’t come here for any other reason.”
“Very well. I am a busy stallion, so I do not want ponies to be attached to me.” Blood draws closer, his firm hoofsteps filling the air. Is this what you call invisible pressure? He has a severe air about him that makes ponies conscious of their weakness. It must be a good characteristic for priests, but could it also be their greatest fault? “What is it? Go ahead and ask if you have a question. There is no need for greetings between us.” He’s right. There’s no need to be friends with him. I came here to confirm what Saber told me. I should ask him and quickly leave.
“There’s only one thing I need to ask you. Why didn’t you tell me about it?”
“Hmm. What did I not tell you?”
“It’s about my father. Why didn’t you tell me that Doctor Whooves was a Master in the previous Harmony Grail War?” He smiles. He does not look guilty. This stallion is enjoying the fact that Doctor’s name came out of my mouth. “Answer me. It’s natural for you to know if you’re the supervisor of the Harmony Grail War. So why didn’t you tell me about it?”
“Is it not obvious? What good would it do to you to know that your father was a Master? Doctor Whooves’ achievements have nothing to do with you.” His disinterested tone shows no opening for a rebuttal. Blood’s answer isn’t wrong. Even if my father was a great Master, it doesn’t mean I get any benefit out of it. But…
“No, there is a connection. Did I become a Master because I’m Doctor’s son?” I was raised as his son, and I studied magic as his apprentice. I became a Master just like him, and made a contract with the exact same heroic spirit. There has to be a meaning behind all this. “You said I became a Master by chance. I would’ve chosen to fight then and there if you’d told me that Doctor was a Master Why didn’t you tell me about it?”
“That is none of my concern. I have never heard of a Master’s title being hereditary, and in any case, you are not Doctor’s son. It is rare for an unprepared pony to be chosen as a Master. The Command Spell is usually not given to somepony who knows nothing of the Harmony Grail. I do not know why you were chosen as an exception.”
“Then I really don’t have a connection with my father? I was chosen to be a Master by chance, and my father saved me because…” He saved me out of pure good will?
“As far as I know. But I cannot understand the intentions of the Harmony Grail. I would like to say that you were chosen to be a Master by chance, but I suspect fate had a hoof in this. The Grail might want you to atone for Doctor Whooves’s sin of denying its power.”
“What? My father denied the Harmony Grail?”
“That is right. Your father came to this town to obtain it. His sole purpose was to obtain the Harmony Grail. The Harmony Grail answered his pure wish, and maybe the Harmony Grail thought he would be a fit owner. But Doctor Whooves betrayed the Harmony Grail. He destroyed the Harmony Grail at the very end. To end the Harmony Grail War, he betrayed the Harmony Grail which placed expectations on him and its longstanding desire.”
“He destroyed… the Harmony Grail…?” If that’s true, the Harmony Grail certainly would not approve of Doctor Whooves. But he wasn’t mistaken. A Harmony Grail that grants any wish. Mages kill each other to obtain it. The Harmony Grail is the cause of the conflict. My father did not betray anypony when he destroyed the Harmony Grail. He ended the Harmony Grail War as the superhero I always admired. “He didn’t betray anypony. Doctor destroyed the Harmony Grail probably because he thought there was no need for it. Doctor did not betray anything.”
“Hm. It seems you do not know what Doctor was like before. All right. There is little point to it, but I shall tell you the true identity of Doctor Whooves.” The priest smiles. It is the ominous smile of somepony intoxicated with delight.
“Doctor Whooves. He was a mage unrelated to the Harmony Grail War. He lived for his desires and objectives, and sought the Harmony Grail as a result. A miracle he could not make come true himself. An ideal he could not implement with mere pony power. He could not cast away his immature dream that should have been given up, and that is why he sought the Harmony Grail to make his wish come true. I do not know where he heard about the Harmony Grail War. It might have been that somepony else deemed him worthy. But I do not care how it happened. Either way, Doctor Whooves was hired as a Master. He was named the greatest Master by the Moon… The family of mages that is the cause of this ritual. Having learned from the previous three wars, the Moon family sought a Master specialized in battle. The magic of the Moon family is not suited for battle. Therefore, they put their trust in Doctor, a strong mage who did not belong to the Magic Association. They taught Doctor about the Harmony Grail, gave him power as a Master, and gave him a mare to produce a successor who would be more suited to combat. He would be formally accepted into the Moon family if he obtained the Harmony Grail. It was like accepting a commoner into a noble family. The Moon treated Doctor exceptionally, and it’s easy to imagine how much trust they had in Doctor. And Doctor answered their trust. Doctor defeated many Masters in the previous Harmony Grail War. I am the only one who survived after fighting him. Everypony else was killed for sure. He was precise, careful, brutal, and cruel. He showed no pity for his enemies. Once the decision was made, he killed. He killed a Servant, let the Master beg for help while crawling on the floor, and ruthlessly shot him in the head. He showed no emotion even after killing. Neither the supremacy of his strength nor guilt in killing the weak. In short, he was a machine. He did not have any emotions to begin with. There was no space for his pony emotions to enter.”
“What… my father was a machine…?”
“Yes, he killed. He did not think like you about not involving innocent ponies. He thoroughly attacked his enemy’s weakness, allowing no chance to counterattack. He used the enemy’s family as a shield and their friends as their shackles to win the war. Yes. If Doctor were in this war, he would be the Master you would hate the most. If being heartless is evil, he would be the greatest evil of all.”
“…”
“What? Are you not satisfied? I understand. Doctor Whooves is not a machine. He threw away his personal feelings for his goals. It was both his strength and weakness to cast off his emotions through his own will without even using self-suggestion. It would have been easy to prepare another ‘cold-hearted’ personality in him, but he must have believed such a pony would not obtain the Harmony Grail. He went so far, but… that same weakness made him betray everything. The Moon entrusted their longstanding desire to Doctor. The Harmony Grail appeared after fives masters were defeated. It was a wish that no pony could make come true, a wish Doctor Whooves desired. But he threw everything away at the last moment. That is the end of the last Harmony Grail War… the true nature of the mage you call your father. The Harmony Grail disappeared and the Harmony Grail War ended. The Moon retreated after being betrayed by Doctor, and they spent ten years preparing for the next Harmony Grail. Hm. Now that I think about it, they must have seen this Harmony Grail War coming. The previous war ended without any result. Unused magical energy carries over to the next war. They must have known the next war would begin shortly.”
“…” I can’t accept Blood’s story. That Doctor was a cold-hearted Master… And that a noble family of mages had a connection to my father… There’s no way I can accept it all when it all comes so suddenly. All I can tell from this is that Blood did not lie, and… “Blood. Did you hate Doctor?” The stallion before me, the one who is uninterested in everything, actually displays anger towards Doctor.
“Of course. We were at the opposite ends of the spectrum. We are natural enemies. Belles and Moon considered us the same kind, but we treated each other as natural enemies.”
“Natural enemies? You were on guard against my father like he was on guard against you?”
“No. We simply could not ignore each other. He was a saint beyond help. He could not forgive death, yet he killed to save other ponies. If one sacrifice were needed to save ten, he would kill the sacrifice himself without a second thought. He always prepared the minimum sacrifice to make his dream world where everypony could smile. That contradiction. A contradictory ideal is something I have as well, but we were not of the same kind. He lived for his ideal. He pursued his ideal until the moment he destroyed the Harmony Grail. That is why he had pride in himself, allowing him to become a machine without hesitation. That is our similarity and our difference. He had an iron mind unplagued by inner conflict. The reason he was never wounded… was he was wounded from the start. He was an artificial brute, just as I was an artificial priest.”
“…” ‘He was wounded from the start’. So that means the premise he believed in was wrong from the start. “Then are you saying you’re different? You take wounds and you’re not already wounded. You’re a normal pony that can be wounded if you get slashed at, right? Are you saying you’re different from Doctor because you’re a priest…?”
“Hm. Ponies would not consider us to be the same if that were the case. Ponies thought we were similar in another aspect. Let’s see. If you talk about being similar, you are more similar to him than I. You both have foal-like ideals. Believing in simplicity and shouldering the role of a criminal for the sake of that ideal. Turning yourselves into the greatest evil to eliminate all the small evils in this world. You and Doctor act like the saviors we call ‘anti-heroes.’”
“…? What is this anti-hero thing?”
“It is what it sounds like. It is the opposite of a hero, an unforgivable murderer.”
“Hey, that’s just a villain. Are you making fun of me?”
“Oh my. It seems you are misunderstanding me. I am welcoming you. You are Doctor’s son. Think about having your enemy’s son come to you for help. It is such a complex feeling that you cannot decide whether to be happy or sad.” The priests laughs silently. I don’t know his true intentions, but he doesn’t seem to be bored. “Well, about the anti-hero. They are beings whose existence itself is evil, but their actions are good deeds according to ponies. They are beings who ponies set up as saviors, even if they don’t want to be. Those are the heroic spirits called the anti-heroes. An example of this would be a sacrifice. Even if the sacrificed one is evil, he would become a hero if everyone in the village is saved because of the sacrifice, right? It would not matter to anypony whether the sacrifice was eaten or buried. If the one whom this disgrace was forced upon saves ponies, he would become a hero instead of a sinner.”
“Is this like getting a high promotion for dying in combat?”
“No, you are wrong. The important part is the minds of the ponies who set up the hero. A proper hero is created from respect, gratitude, and feelings of guilt. You cannot become an anti-hero from gratitude or guilt. Well, ponies forget their ugliness and substitute farce with tragedy. Heroes who died as evil will be treated as victims as time goes on, and they will not stay as pure evil.”
“Will not stay as pure evil?”
“Correct. Anti-heroes have to be both victim and assailant. They are created by the ponies, but are not a part of ponies. It is that contradiction which allows them to be ‘the enemy of the world’ exempt from all the restraining forces of the world. But then, there aren’t many pure anti-heroes. They are something that does not exist. They are merely what ponies wish to exist. They are an ideal that ponies have created, sacrifices to deny the original sin. Just think of the anti-hero as one of the wishes that will never come true; a synonym for peace.”
“…?”
“Hah. In short, it is a naïve dream that will never come true. You want to be a superhero like Doctor, right? Then you will be a great anti-hero. How about it? Why don’t you wish to become a hero when you obtain the Harmony Grail?”
“Hey now. A superhero isn’t like a hero. I don’t know what you’re trying to say, but I won’t fall for your cheap tricks.”
“Oh? How is it different?”
“I-I don’t know! It’s just different, okay!? And a hero is not something you try to be, but something you are at the end. I bet the only thing the Harmony Grail can give me is powers beyond my position.”
“I see. So you truly are a son of his, even if not blood-related. You both are hard-headed.” He must be making fun of me. As his smiles is friendly.
“Hm…” This guy hates my father. But he doesn’t anger me because… Well… He has yet to say anything bad about my father. “Hey. Wouldn’t you have gotten along with my father?” I ask him when I realize this.
“Oh. Why do you think so?”
“For no reason. I just thought so.”
“Then you are mistaken. I hate Doctor Whooves. We never even spoke. The one time we met, we tried to kill each other. I have already told you that we are exact opposites. Our wishes, our questions, are different. A question by the one who does not have it shall not be answered by the ones who does.” His eyes tell me that is why they would never have been able to get along.
“…? ‘The one who does not have it’? Are you saying that Doctor had something that you didn’t have?”
“Yes. I could not change my will itself for something I believed in. Well, we cannot be compared since our goals were different.”
“…?” Changing your will for something you believe in… Is that like saving ten by killing one, like he said earlier?
“You do not need to understand. Doctor Whooves desired peace. Isn’t it simple? But it was too simple for this complex world. He had to reject the extra parts that could not fit into that perfect shape. But he could not tolerate that. He sought a perfect shape, but still wanted to save the extra parts. But that is a miracle exceeding pony power. There is no such thing as a world without conflict. He sought the Harmony Grail to deny that fact. He sought his ideal, and after being faced with the fact that it was impossible, had no other choice but to rely on the Harmony Grail. That is the end of the man who was cornered by his own ideal. His dream was an impossible sorcery that could only be granted by ‘something that does not exist’ like the Harmony Grail.” A world without conflict. Did my father really believe in such a thing? He worked hard to become strong, but the more he matured, the more he was cornered by reality. But still, he still kept believing in his ideal and in the end, attained the miracle-granting Harmony Grail. Doctor Whooves must have experienced many failures by that time. First of all, to seek the Harmony Grail means knowing your wish is unattainable by normal means. He wore out and strayed far away from his ideal. But my father still sought the Harmony Grail. For his ideal and for everything he sacrificed.
“But my father destroyed the Harmony Grail. His wish was never granted, right?”
“Correct. It was his own self that betrayed him in the end. In that instant, I began to feel anger towards him. To be honest, I did not mind his wish. I was interested in the ‘peace’ that ponies wish for.”
“Isn’t the same for you as well? You’re a priest after all, right?” The priest nods, saying that a world without conflict is what everypony desires.
“But that is not my wish. First of all, I do not have such ordinary wishes.”
“You don’t have ordinary wishes…?”
“That’s right. An ideal world is one that is the most comfortable. For Doctor Whooves, it was a world without conflict. From the very beginning, his standard was different from mine.”
“…?”
“It is a simple story. There is n nothing that brings me happiness. It does not matter, let it be believing in ponies or having ponies believe in me. What other ponies called happiness did not bring me any joy.” He says this emotionlessly. He is not talking to me. It’s almost like a monologue. “Well, that is all. I answered your question if Doctor Whooves was a Master well enough.”
“Uh… no, hold on. It’s not just my father I want to know about. Um, well…” About my preparation for the role of Master and about how I should go about fighting from now on… I bet he’ll laugh and make fun of me if I asked something so stupid. I want to avoid that. In fact, I will avoid that.
“If you have any other questions, make it short. That took longer than I thought.”
“…!” No, there was something else I wanted to ask him about. Didn’t I come to this church because I wanted this question answered?
“Aren’t you concerned about the Moons? I would think they would want to kill you, since you are Doctor’s son.”
“…! Yeah, it’s about that…! First of all, who is this Moon? You said they are the cause of the Harmony Grail War or something.”
“Yes, they are the cause. I told you that the Harmony Grail War is a ritual, yes? If there is a ritual, it is natural for there to be a ritualist. There were some mages 200 years ago who found out there is a distortion in the ley line on this land. They offered their secret techniques to each other to create the Harmony Grail’s activation circle. That was the start of the Harmony Grail War. The three families involved in its creation are the legitimate owners of the Harmony Grail. The ones that created the Harmony Grail. The ones that devised the Command Spell which abuses the heroic spirits. The ones that offered the land and the technique to bore a hole into the world. Moon, Belle, and Jewel. They are the three families that started it all, with lineage and history far surpassing ours. The Jewels are the only ones from this land, but their fatherly master is that Schweinorg. Well, if the master is the kind pony I hear he is, it is ridiculous to group them according to race.”
“Hm. So the Moons are the leading family of the Harmony Grail War?”
“In the past, yes. But they are only participants now that the Harmony Grail summoning has failed and its ownership became uncertain. Now, their only roles is to create the vessel of the Harmony Grail. The same goes for Jewel and Belle. They are just families whose members have a higher likelihood of being chosen as Masters. But the Harmony Grail is what the Moon family proposed in the first place. Their history spans a thousand years. A family that lasted for a thousand years without spawning any branch families is rare. Do you understand, Storm Whooves? The Moon family has only pursued the fulfillment of the Harmony Grail for a thousand years. A thousand years. They are crazy, continuing their deeds from the time when barbarism such as mass murder was allowed for the sake of recovering harmony ground. They are not fanatics, not obstinate, nor crazy. They just held the hopeless cross to enforce the meaninglessness. That is why the Moon mages are beyond the domain of magic. They are monsters, never straying from their path, always attempting to achieve a common goal. Normally such ponies die off after a few decades. We cannot imagine their feeling of disgrace and frustration when they had to invite in a mage outside their family. But their desire to complete the Harmony Grail was stronger still. They repeated their mistake for 500 years. It took them 300 years to accept the fact that they could not obtain the Harmony Grail by themselves. And… it took them another 200 years to realize they could not obtain it unless they use their own powers. The Moon literally killed their emotions to cooperate with Belle and Jewel. As a result, their ownership of the Harmony Grail was taken away and they were reduced to mere participates in the war. They endured the disgrace, even going as far as contaminating their own bloodline by inviting in an outside mage. But unbelievably, Doctor Whooves betrayed them with the Harmony Grail in front of him. That is the connection between Doctor and the Moons. And that is yours connection with them.” I see. Then it’s natural for that mare to come after me. It’s natural for them not to let their betrayer’s son go if he becomes a Master. “Do you understand now? All the Masters have some sort of burden, but the obsession of the Belle and Moon families cannot be expressed into words. If the Belle family have carried their burden for five hundred years, the Moon family have carried theirs for a thousand. If anypony has the right to own the Harmony Grail, it would be one of them.”
“…” I’m at a loss for words. No stallion can stand against an obsession that has lasted for centuries.
“Do not be depressed. Doctor Whooves did betray them, but you do not need to condemn him for it. To put it another way, he held to his belief, even if it meant opposing a 1000 year old apparition. He threw away everything for that purpose. Isn’t that something to be proud of?” Ponies who accepted him… Something he protected by opposing a thousand years of history… I’m not buying everything the priest has told me, but if it really is true… If I am to call myself my father’s son, I have to follow my beliefs like he did… “What is wrong? Are you scared now that you’ve heard a thousand years?”
“No. I chose to fight, no matter what the reason is. I don’t care what the other Masters think. I won’t let something like the disaster ten years ago happen again.” I raise my head in determination. The priest nods, apparently satisfied.
“That is good enough. If that is your reason to fight, put your life on the line as you do so. There will be more victims the longer the war lasts. Risk your life like Doctor and lure your enemies in.”
“You’re saying what you want because it doesn’t concern you. You’re telling me to be bait?”
“You have nothing else to risk, so it cannot be helped. Well, it is not entirely hopeless. You have no ability to detect other Masters, but Servants can sense other Servants. If you have an excellent Servant, you need only wait.” I turn my back to him. There’s nothing else I need to ask. I’ve kept Saber waiting, so I should be going back now. “Hold on. Let me ask you something. Do you know any healing magic?”
“No. What about it?”
“Well, then bring any wounded ponies here. As part of The Church, I cannot overlook any victims. I can handle all the treatments unless they are beyond help.” I stop.
“I’m surprised. You can use healing magic? That’s banned in the Church, right?”
“It is outside of our jurisdiction, but I have acquired it. I once had somepony die in front of me. After that, I started to study it, and it seems I am more compatible with it than I thought. Oh, but I will ask for compensation if I am to heal you. I have to be fair as the supervisor.”
“I refuse. I wouldn’t come to you for help even if my life depended on it.” I turn away, and this time I really do leave. I leave the church. Saber must have been waiting under cover, as she appears as soon as I come through the door.
“Are you done with your inquiry, Storm?”
“Yeah. I heard about my father and what kind of a relationship he had with the Moon family. He also warned me about what I should do. He’s more talkative than he looks. He recommended a lot of things to me.”
“Huh…? T-That priest was cooperative?” I don’t know what’s wrong, but Saber is bewildered.
“…”
“S-Storm? What is wrong? Did he ask for something in compensation? Kuh, why did you not call for me!? You said you would call for me if there was any danger…!” I must have had a strange expression because Saber draws near and peers at my face.
“…”
“So what did he do to you, Storm…!? Your wound has not healed yet. You should know something like last night could happen again if you let your guard down…!” Saber draws even closer.
“…”
“Please show me your wound, Storm! I am partly responsible for it. I cannot let you die without returning my debt. I have not helped you as a Servant yet. I cannot allow our contract to end like this…!” Saber reaches for my shirt as if to rip it off. She doesn’t look scary at all, but rather…
“Kuh.” Oh, crap. I was trying to hold it in, but my laughter spills out.
“Storm?” Her hoof stops. She relizes what I’ve been trying to suppress and glares at me. “Storm. It is not good to enjoy somepony’s confusion.”
“…!” Her protest is so entertaining that it brings a smile to my face.
“Storm!”
“Heh… I’m sorry. I was just surprised because you were in such a panic. Um, it was a fortunate misunderstanding, or something like that.”
“…A ‘fortunate misunderstanding,’ eh? I feel some hidden meaning in that. Are you going to explain to me what it means?” I must have hit a nerve because she gets even more emotional. Saber’s like the class president type. She seriously gets mad when I do something stupid. And since she’s serious, her real character appears. “What are you smiling for…!? Is it that funny that I misunderstood your condition!?”
“I’m sorry. To be honest, I’m just happy. You’re really energetic right now.”
“…? There is nothing wrong with my condition, but what about it?”
“No, that’s not what I’m talking about. It’s just this is the first time I’ve seen your real personality. I’m glad I can see that you’re a mare.”
“Wha…” Saber jumps back. “W-What are you saying? The gender of the Servant does not matter. We are here only to fight, so please do not get happy over such a thing.” She glowers at me, probably because she’s mad or astonished.
“…” But I somehow don’t feel bad, and I’m still smiling. Even though she’s a Servant, she’s a pony as she appears. I don’t know about the other Servants, but the mare I made a contract with is not just a familiar that only knows combat. She said she has not helped me yet. She saved me from Lancer and she tried to let me escape from Berserker. She saved my life twice, but she still thinks she hasn’t helped me yet. “I wonder if she’s good-natured, or just a perfectionist.”
“W-What is that look? Even if you are my Master, there are some remarks I cannot ignore. I have appropriate plans if you say anything more.”
“All right, all right. I understand, so don’t get too mad. I’m just saying I’m glad you’re the one I made a contract with.”
“W-What are you saying? I was only summoned by you. I did not make a contract with you out of choice. You were the one who chose me.”
“It was only an accident, though. Yeah, that’s what I regret. I wanted to make the conscious choice to choose you.” I hold out my right hoof. This is something I wasn’t able to do at the very beginning. I have to make the promise I should’ve made before.
“Storm?”
“This is a bit late, but can i? This is the only way I know how.” Without a word, Saber walks over to me and shakes my hoof. Her slender hoof. I feel her warmth through my hoof. “Will you fight with me from now? I need your help, Saber.”
“My oath will not change. I was summoned to be your sword. And we both need each other’s help. I will borrow your strength to obtain the Harmony Grail. If you trust me, I will do my best to live up to that trust.” Her hoof is warm.
“…” The hesitation within me disappears without a trace. It has been half a day since the night it all began. I am finally able to realize that she is my ally who will fight alongside me. We will wait until nightfall to go out into the city. After some discussion, that is what we decided. As Blood said, I can’t sense other Masters. Saber is the only one who can sense our enemies, and even then, she’s only able to sense nearby Servants. So naturally, our plan is to walk around and find information. It’s like counting on luck, but it’s “risk but certain” according to Saber. Masters aren’t going to be holed up in their hideouts all the time. If the Harmony Grail War is a race, you have to do something to get ahead of the competition. That means the Servants search for enemy’s hideout while the Masters use magic to set up traps. We can use that to our advantage. Lots of magical energy will be needed if either one does something. Even though I can’t sense other mages, I can detect the lingering traces of their power. If we patrol the city looking for that, I’m sure we’ll find some signs of other Masters. This is information I’ll be getting by using myself as bait. I have no other method besides being bait, just like Blood said. We’ll start the patrols tonight. Saber told me to stay at the house, but I refused, saying I would go with her. After a long, unproductive talk…
“All right. But please promise you will always be with me. Can you swear not to go outside by yourself at night?” Saber finally accepted my point of view. Well. Our course of action is decided, but there are two more problems. “Storm. I have explained to you before, but I cannot afford to use too much magical energy, especially if we plan to patrol tonight.”
“Yeah. You’re going to sleep as much as you can to preserve magical energy, right? Since I can’t provide you with magical energy, you have to maintain your body yourself. So, saying you can regenerate 8 units of magical energy per day and you need 6 units to sustain yourself daily. That excess 2 units is what we can save up. And if you conserve well, you could use about 10 units during a battle, right?”
“That is true as long as I am not wounded or my armor does not become damaged. But against heroic spirits of such rank, that is not likely. To put it, I used about 50 units against Lancer, and about 200 units against Berserker.” She was pierced by Lancer, and her stomach was slashed by Berserker. It makes sense for her to have used a lot of magical energy to heal those wounds. It makes sense, but… “I did not use that magical energy to heal myself. I used it more to restore the armor that was destroyed. Most of my magical energy is fixed on protecting me.” …That’s how it is, according to her.
“So your armor is part of your body, right? So maintaining your body and your armor is the same thing. You have your armor off right now to preserve magical energy, right?”
“Yes. But things like this should not be necessary for other Servants. I can only disarm myself since I cannot turn into spirit form, but Servants such as Archer and Lancer can become spirits to reduce the burden on their Masters.”
“I see, I see. …Oh, I guess this is good enough.”
“Storm. It is helpful that you are preparing our meal, but do you not think it is easing the tension?”
“Huh? No, I don’t think so.” I don’t, but it is true my sense of urgency disappeared. I was surprised when Saber told me about her condition after our strategy meeting. As I don’t provide her with magical energy, she has her hands full with maintaining her body. I tried to change our course of action, saying that it should be impossible for her to fight in that condition, but… “Hey Saber. Let me ask you again, but how much magical energy do you have right now?”
“In your terms, I have about 1000 units.” So it’s something ridiculous like that. She said she spent about 200 against Berserker. But she still has that much magical energy remaining. And she says it’s not full. It’s scary to think how much magical energy she would’ve had with a proper Master. Her capacity is way beyond pony, and I stop stupidly thinking how many times more of my magical energy would take to fill her up. I finally understand why Rarity called Saber “the most superior Servant”.
“Of course I’m not nervous anymore. There’s nothing to worry about if you have that much magical energy and we only have to face six enemies.”
“That is only if I am to fight them. I told you earlier, but using a Noble Phantasm takes lots of magical energy. It is hard to use my Noble Phantasm in my current state. Therefore I must save up as much magical energy as I can.” Saber’s mad. I can’t tell if she’s mad at me for being a burden, or because I’m keeping her here when she has to sleep.
“I understand your magical energy is important, but so is food, right? I used leftovers for lunch, so please eat a proper meal for dinner. You can sleep after you eat.”
“All right. I do not intend to use my Noble Phantasm lightly. We shall talk about this later when you have a better understanding of what Servants are.” Saber says this in a dissatisfied manner and takes a seat. Good. She might complain, but she always listens to me. So the problem of “conserving magical energy” is settled now. In the first place, it’s not something we can do anything about, and the only way to help ourselves is to get a better understanding of our current situation. So… “But, Storm. You said you have two problems. What is the other problem?”
“Huh? Oh, it’ll come soon. Please do as I said.” I cut some white radishes and put them into the saucepan.
“…?” Saber tilts her head in confusion. There…
“I’m home! Are you cooking, Storm!?”
“Excuse me, Storm.” …I hear the usual voices from the entrance.
“…” The silence is painful. It’s only natural. Pinkie and Sweetie are confused, and they’re looking at me for an explanation.
“This is Saber. She’s going to be staying at this house starting today. Please give her your best regards.” It’s been ten minutes since that was my explanation to them. This lack of protest feels awkward. I want to take a sip of tea, but I feel like the sound of it would echo through the room, so the hot tea sits there untouched. But sitting here won’t solve anything. I have to move forward with courage. “We can’t turn her away since she came here for my father. She won’t stay long as she’s only here for sightseeing. Also, she’ll be staying in the separate building so it won’t be a problem.”
“…” The silence continues. By the way… I can understand why Pinkie and Sweetie are quiet, but why is Saber looking so surprised?
“Phew. Well, if she’s an acquaintance of Doctor, it can’t be helped. I heard he had some relatives overseas, so, was it… Saber? She seems reliable, so I have no objections.”
“Um. Pinkie, that’s…”
“I’m sorry. I understand how you feel, but this is Doctor’s house. It would be shameful for us ponies to throw out a foreigner who came here relying on us, right? It’s been getting dangerous lately, so we can’t just throw this cute mare out on the streets.”
“That’s true, but… is this okay with you, Storm?”
“Yeah, this is what I intended. I’m going to have Saber stay here for a while. Are you against it, Sweetie?”
“No, I do not mind if an acquaintance of yours stays here, but… um, Saber is…”
“Hm? Oh, it’s a strange name, right? She’s blunt like her name suggests, but I guarantee she’s a good pony. She might sound strange since she’s not used to Ponyville, but it’ll really help me out if you can help her out, Sweetie.”
“All right. If you’re fine with it, then I am too.” Is she nervous because Saber’s a foreigner? Sweetie nods while looking away from her. So it’s dinnertime. I put extra effort into dinner to welcome Saber and to make up for lunch. I made minced bonito salad, fried tofu with hot sauce, potato stew. The dinner I put so much effort into is… Unpopular with the main guest and my pupil.
“Wow, what is this Salad!? ‘Juicy’ and ‘tasty’ don’t begin to describe it! What did you do, Storm!? I have a better opinion of salad now!” Well… It’s all good since Pinkie’s enjoying it enough for the four of us. Dinner ends without trouble thanks to her. I don’t know what happened, but Pinkie gave some of her food to Saber. I guess Pinkie likes Saber because she’s quiet. Saber and Pinkie left to prepare Saber’s room. And Sweetie and I clean up after dinner. Well, there’s nothing wrong with that, because it’s part of the usual chores.
“I’ll wash the dishes, so can you clean the table? Oh, you don’t have to throw away the tempura oil. Can you put the lid on it and store it? It’s heavy. Can you handle it?”
“Huh…? Oh, yes. I’m stronger than I look, you know?” She picks up the pot of oil. Good, so since she does archery, I didn’t need to worry.
“Well, archery isn’t all about strength either…” I wash the dishes. Then…
“Huh? There’s less towels here, Storm. The paper towel roll is empty and the plates are moved around.”
“What? Let’s see… Oh, you’re right. Did somepony break in?”
“Hmm. I don’t think there are robbers that only steal towels.”
“Right. That’s no robber.” The plates have been moved around. The paper towels are gone. Some towels are missing. According to these clues… “Oh. That’s right. Rarity was here.” I remember now. Rarity was the one who treated me after that incident with Berserker. I’m pretty sure that she used the paper towels during my treatment.
“Storm. Do you mean Rarity Jewel?”
“Yeah. I had her come in. Um, I had a stupid accident and hurt myself. Rarity just happened to pass by and she kindly treated me. As expected from our school’s honor student, right? She’s so full of affection.” I don’t mean the last half, of course. My school’s proud honor student died last night. It’s highly regrettable, but the image of “Rarity Jewel as an honor student” died inside of me.
“Why?”
“Hm?”
“Why did Rarity come here? That’s strange. She has nothing to do with this place. I’m here, and she has no connection with Storm, so why?” Sweetie hangs her head and tries to control herself.
“…” I’m at loss for words at this sudden event. She hugs herself tightly as if enduring some uneasiness. The lights disappear. It’s eleven o’clock. We waited until the town fell asleep before we went outside.
“Well, Storm. Are we going to the center of town?”
“…” Sweetie’s state didn’t change after dinner’s cleanup. If anything, it got worse. She lost all her energy and was absent-minded, as if she had a fever. And on top of that, she didn’t want me to walk her home, so Pinkie had to take her.
“Or are you planning to go to the other town? It seems likely that other Masters are over there.”
“…” Come to think of it, Sweetie was acting strange the day before yesterday as well. She looked downcast and seemed afraid of something.
“Storm, Are you listening, Storm?”
“…”
“Storm! I am asking you what we should do tonight!”
“Huh!?” I raise my head in surprise. Saber is right in front of me, looking angry. “Sorry, I was spacing out. You’re asking me what we should do, right?”
“In that case, I need not repeat myself. There is a slight distortion of the ley-line in both towns. I am certain that the other Masters are doing something. We may be able to defeat one tonight, depending on where we go.”
“So you’re saying we might fight a Master all of a sudden? But what if it turns out to be that mare? You can’t beat Berserker, right?”
“Master. I am in perfect condition right now. Even though I do not receive any magical energy supply, I will not easily lose. …Well, all we can do against Luna is retreat. We do not know their Noble Phantasm, so we cannot use ours yet.”
“…” The only one Saber is cautious about of is Berserker. She does not talk about other possibilities… such as when we might encounter Rarity. For Saber, Rarity is merely an enemy she must defeat. But to me, Masters are ponies we have to stop, not kill. “Saber, let me confirm. We will stop fighting when the Masters and Servants surrender. My plan is to make them use up their Command Spells so they won’t be Masters anymore. Is that okay?”
“Understood. But Storm, if the enemy does not accept our proposition, then…”
“Yeah, then we’ll follow the rules of the Harmony Grail War. They should be ready for it if they’re fighting as Masters.” We start descending the hill. We can patrol this town or New Ponyville. Tonight, we will…
Go to New Ponyville
Secure the neighborhood
