A Blade Reforged on a Twilit Hill

Chapters

Chapter 1: A Fate Diverted
Chapter 2: Of Ponies and Servants
Chapter 3: Do Ponies Dream of Foolish Heroes?
Chapter 5: The Past is Here!
Chapter 6: The Present is Here!
Chapter 7: The Future is Here!
Chapter 8: The Inner Machinations of my Soul are an Enigma
Chapter 9: Behold a Pale Sword
Chapter 10: A Good Sword needs a Nice Sheathe
Chapter 11 Swiss-Army Sword
Chapter 12: A Taste of the Greener Grass
Chapter 13: Takes One to Know One
Chapter 4: Why are we still here? Just to suf-make Friends?

Chapter 1: A Fate Diverted

The light of the moon only served to illuminate the devastation that had taken place in a small rural town. Moonlight glinted off his black body armor, a red shroud covered his shoulders, and his black pants were stained with soot and blood wherever his red open skirt had failed to cover them. Collapsed buildings littered with corpses of their former occupants, each one a life he had failed to save. Even the Enforcers that had accompanied him had succumbed to the enemy’s well-executed trap; the last of their number was nothing more than a red stain on the town square. Though he had already been on a few Dead Apostle hunts, this one had certainly turned into a disaster Shirou wasn’t sure he could leave alive. But even then, defeating the Dead Apostle that had brought hell unto this small town took priority over staying alive. He couldn’t let this monster destroy anymore lives, each one lost here already added to the many other lives he had failed to save. Their weight was a constant reminder that he only existed to save as many lives as he could, for that is what a Hero of Justice must do.

How long had it been since you’d taken up that dream? How many more lives would you fail to save? He could almost hear Archer’s admonishing voice reminding him of the futility of it all. Ever since that day I failed to stand up to Archer on my own; to deny his nihilistic view on the ideals we inherited. I can’t help but think that perhaps he was right and this is simply the fate of all Emiya Shirous. Even then I can’t let this monster go, I have to stop him if only to prevent further deaths.

He gripped the married blades Kanshou and Bakuya, ready to face down the monster standing at the center of this atrocity. He could replicate Archer's innumerable years of experience with the blades, but being merely human he was still held back from reaching the same level of skills. What he had was still more than enough to deal with monsters like this Dead Apostle.

“How annoying, I truly believed my crimson fireworks would’ve made quick work of you lot. Unfortunately, it seems you share more in common with a roach than I anticipated” A voice cut through the crackle of flames as the Dead Apostle calmly stepped into the light of a flickering lamp post still partially functional. He was garbed in a fine dark red and black aristocratic suit which contrasted greatly with the carnage that laid around him. His pale skin was illuminated by the moon as his red eyes glared in Shirou’s direction.

Shirou merely responded with silence, knowing his opponent could strike at any moment. He did briefly consider how this situation had devolved to this point. A tip had been sent of a Dead Apostle possibly residing in this town. It had seemed quite suspect for a tip to appear after they hadn’t had much success in locating the Dead Apostle, especially when they didn't even know its name. Only rumors of a vampire with the occasional husk of a victim being found had led any credence to the possibility of an actual Dead Apostle being present.

Though they had thought themselves well prepared for any tricks, they had not been ready for the entire village to have been converted into living explosives. Apparently their prey had been doing research into a route to the Root with possible connection to the Blue who was infamous for her ability to level mountains. This had the consequence of allowing said Dead Apostle to convert the mana charged blood within living beings into improvised bombs. As such when they had arrived at the village to start their investigation they quickly found half their number obliterated along with a fair portion of the town square. From there the situation quickly devolved as the remaining Enforcers tried to rally and dispose of the townspeople before they could go off as well. Unfortunately they hadn’t been quick enough, the sheer number of townspeople present for a celebration taking place at the town square meant there were too many to clear. Shirou only survived due to how sturdy his armor had become through a combination of trying to recreate Archer’s own armor and a solid application of reinforcement, one of the few magecrafts available to Shirou Emiya.

From there he had utilized his specialized magecraft, Tracing, to Trace copies of the Noble Phantasms Kanshou and Bakuya. His preference for the Married Blades being a hold over from his encounter with Archer from the Holy Grail War. Though he loathed the man for being a twisted version of himself who hated the very ideals they shared, he knew all too well how likely it was he’d become just like him. This was his only path after all.

“Hmm, quiet I see, certainly an improvement from the usual screeching vermin, yet you must die all the same.”

Shirou continued to stare unyielding in the direction of his foe, ready to jump into action at any sign of attack.

“Let this be a final reminder of your inferiority as a wretched bug, Enforcer,” snarled the Dead Apostle as he moved to strike. He launched a crimson projectile from his right hand at Shirou before following up with a clawed strike at Shirou’s side with his other hand.

Shirou responded by launching Kanshou at the projectile and parrying the claw with Bakuya. Upon meeting the projectile an explosion occurred launching Kanshou further into the air. Quickly tracing another copy of Kanshou, Shirou struck at the Dead Apostle who had been brought to a halt by Bakuya.

Quickly raising his right hand, now coated with a thin film of blood, the Dead Apostle caught Kanshou with his right hand, the thin film proving to be stronger armor than Shirou expected. Even with Kanshou’s anti-monster properties, being a Traced copy of a C- ranked Noble Phantasm meant it lacked the full strength of the original. Yet cracks did appear on the hardened blood upon catching Kanshou.

With both of his blades caught, Shirou opted to let go and re-Trace them instead. This cost him more Prana, but his instincts told him that being too close to this Dead Apostle for longer than necessary would lead to a gory end.

“Spirit and technique, flawless and firm,” Shirou followed up by launching these new copies knowing he had to end this quickly so his only choice was to use the Married Blades’ exquisite technique. As the Dead Apostle tossed away the copies he still held in order to deflect the new ones, Shirou traced a new pair.

“Our strength rips the mountains,” he then charged forward, aiming to slash at the Dead Apostle who was still distracted by the launched pair. Caught unprepared, the Dead Apostle could only rely on a layer of blood he had previously prepared as armor for this confrontation to catch the blow. Though it fractured and nearly broke it managed to mitigate enough damage to leave the Dead Apostle still standing and mostly unharmed. That was until the pair flying in an arc returned to meet their respective pairs by striking the Dead Apostle's exposed back.

“Our swords split the water,” continued Shirou. The Dead Apostle growled in pain, the blades having gouged his back until they were lodged deep in him.

Snarling, the Dead Apostle prepared to retaliate as he grit out, “is that all the Hound of the Clocktower can do!? This pain is but an inconvenience, how about I show you what a real Magus is capable of when their research is unhindered by the Clocktower’s laws in return!”

The pungent scent of copper and iron mixed with ash spiked and the mana in the air practically thrummed, sending Shirou's senses into high alert. Even then he knew he simply had to be faster, there was no other way to end this as the attack would likely be unavoidable at this distance.

“Our names reach the Imperial Villa,” Shirou traced the final pair and immediately reinforcing them to reach Overedge, “The two of us cannot hold the Heaven’s together.”

“Sanguis vitae accende et conbure omnia,” shouted out the Dead Apostle as he accumulated all the nearby blood into a sphere surrounding both combatants. “Wretched mutt! Even if you strike me down you won’t escape with your life!” Upon finishing the accumulation of all nearby blood the mystery activated and the world ignited in an explosion of furious flames.

An instance later the Traced and reinforced copies of Kanshou and Bakuya Overedge cleaved into the Dead Apostle, tearing him apart. Shirou knew the blow was fatal, but there was also no way to escape the oncoming explosion. He quickly realized this would be the end for him and simply made peace with the fact he was at least able to strike down this monster. So this is how I become another dog of Alaya’s. I’m sorry Illya, your little brother was too stubborn to avoid fate. As the flames reached him, almost welcoming him into a fiery embrace, he heard a voice.

Time froze as Shirou realized someone was calling for him. At first he suspected Alaya had come to collect her favored Hound, but it didn’t quite feel like a being as powerful as Alaya was reaching for him. Though he did feel a presence he suspected to be hers not so far away as well.

“If you heed the call of Harmony and obey my will and reason, then answer me,” familiar lines he hadn’t heard in what felt like ages, “Guardian of Harmony and Friendship!” Wait that wasn’t quite right, why were the verses changed? Before he could question it any further he felt a great pull through what he had to assume was reality and time due to the sheer strength of the force pulling him. His final view on this world was a slighted Alaya who realized too late someone had been attempting to snatch her hound right under her nose. He sure hoped whoever had summoned him had better intentions than Alaya at least. Yet he couldn’t help but feel a headache coming along that wasn’t caused by the array of sights and sounds assaulting his senses.

-{/}-

It was another wonderful day at Canterlot, and while normally Twilight Sparkle would’ve loved to just use this day to continue her studies under Princess Celestia, she had a self appointed mission to complete. She had been recently diving into older texts on the legends and myths of Equestria when she came across the worrying story of the Mare in the Moon. Though her search had been less fruitful than she’d desired. All she’d found were vague references to the supposed Elements of Harmony or retellings of the story of the Mare in the Moon with her best source thus far being a book called Predictions and Prophecies.

She had made sure to wake up bright and early to continue her search through the Canterlot Library. As Twilight poured over books, her trusty assistant Spike, the baby dragon, aided her by keeping track of any books that may be of use. Yet their efforts seemed to yield no further progress as the day wore on and night was quickly approaching.

“Spike, don't forget to check the section under the letter ‘S’ for any spell books that might present a solution,” said Twilight as she continued to pour over a book on old bedtime stories for fillies.

“You got it Twilight!” replied Spike as he tried to keep his balance on the ladder he was on while reaching out for a strange spell book labeled Summoning Circles and Ancient Rites. “Gotcha!” exclaimed Spike as he finally pulled the book out, only for his celebration to be short-lived as the book was far heavier than it seemed causing his grip to waver until the book slipped out of his claw and plummeted prompting him to shout “Oh no!”

The loud bang that followed shook Twilight out of her reading and left her quite startled as she looked for the source of the noise, “Spike! What was that?!”

“Sorry Twilight! It’s just that book you wanted weighed a ton and I kinda let it slip,” Spike remarked sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his head. “Oh, hey Twilight this page fell out of the book, you don’t think I caused a page to tear out do you?” stated Spike with concern as he noticed that there was a separate page lying near the fallen book.

“While I wouldn’t be surprised if the fall caused damage, and I would greatly appreciate it if you were more careful in the future, I do not believe this was your doing,” replied Twilight finally recovering from her shock, “in fact the page seems older than even the book with how aged it is.” Twilight continued to inspect the page as she placed the book on a table with the others they had collected so far. She noticed that the page was quite old with various parts of it nearly illegible and parts of the paper felt as if they were on the verge of crumbling. It was a miracle the page was even intact after accompanying that book on the way down. “Upon closer inspection, I do think we should handle this page with care considering how brittle it is,” mentioned Twilight as she held the page in a delicate telekinetic grip and finally found a portion of the page that was legible, “let’s see here, the page has lots of missing texts, but this bit here seems quite interesting.”

“It reads ‘Should the time arise for aid against the force that descends from the celestial body as foretold, perform these rites granted upon Ponykind to summon a Champion of Harmony’ and then proceeds to list both the requirements and steps for a strange sounding ritual,” Twilight mulled over this information. Perhaps this was the breakthrough she had been looking for, no other text had offered a solution beyond the Elements of Harmony and even those did little more than simply mention them.

“Well if you wanna try it out Twilight, I’d say better start now since we don’t have much time before the Summer Sun Celebration. Maybe if we’re lucky this will be what you were looking for and we can go to Moon Dancer’s party tomorrow as well!” exclaimed Spike as he came down from the ladder.

“While you’re right about starting now, I very much doubt we’ll have time for any parties Spike, there is still much to prepare aside from this prophecy of the Mare in the Moon,” replied Twilight as she continued to look at the odd instructions. “Most of this seems to be just setting up a summoning circle, which should be simple enough with the materials I carry around in my bags. Aside from that there is this weird chant I have to recite. I'm not sure if I completely trust it but I did notice that further down the page it credits Starswirl the Bearded and another name that cuts off after just the K.”

“Spike please send a report to Princess Celestia that we’ve found a possible solution for the Mare in the Moon problem,” Twilight started. “Also, ask her if we can have permission to use this library tonight to perform the ritual as it recommends a large open indoor area for the summoning,” continued Twilight. She then began dictating a letter for Spike to send as she cleared the area.

“Oh… sure Twilight,” responded Spiked as he pulled out paper and a quill. “‘My dearest teacher, we have discovered a new spell made by Starswirl the Bearded and would like permission to try it out in the open space of the library’ and done,” said Spike as he finished and rolled up the letter before using his innate magic fire to send the letter directly to Princess Celestia by burning it. “Are you sure she’ll let you perform a new spell in a place like this Twilight? Seems a bit dangerous if you ask me,” remarked Spike with some worry as Twilight continued to make space.

“Of course she will Spike, I have proven to her that I can be trusted with this much at least, plus she knows I would never allow harm to come to a place of learning such as this,” retorted Twilight confidently as she began to draw the summoning circle with great care. Just then a return letter appeared before Spike, “see Spike, she’s already sent back a response.”

“‘My dearest, most faithful student Twilight, I am glad to hear you have continued your studies and have even found a new spell by Starswirl the Bearded. I have approved your use of the library for this spell and I trust you will ensure no danger comes to pass while performing this spell as well as reporting the results at your earliest convenience. I would also like to remind you that you should not forget to take some time to rest as I have a major task for you to undertake tomorrow.’ Wow Twilight seems you were right, not just on the permission but on how busy we’re gonna be tomorrow,” remarked Spike as he finished reading out the letter.

“Being the Princess’ student does come with its upsides after all Spike, now I just gotta finish the last details of this circle and we should be good to go,” responded Twilight as she finished up. At this point, day was quickly giving way to night as the Sun dipped over the horizon casting its final rays of light through the large library windows. With the circle complete all that was left was to pour magical energy into it and recite the incantation from the page. Twilight gave it a final read to commit it to memory before beginning the ritual.

“For the elements silver and iron, the foundation stone and the Archduke of Pacts, and for my Great Master Starswirl,” began Twilight, the circle began to glow as it filled with her magic. “Close the four gates, come forth from the crown, and follow the forked road leading to the kingdom,” the circle now glowed a brilliant pink. “Fill,fill, fill, fill, fill. Repeat five times, but when each is filled, destroy it. Set,” as Twilight continued the circle’s glow intensified to the point Spike had to look away. “Heed my words. My will creates your body and your sword creates my destiny. If you heed the call of Harmony and obey my will and reason, then answer me.” A light wind began to originate from the circle now, it rustled the loose notes on the nearby desks. “I hereby swear that I shall be all the good in the world,” a gust of wind blasted out from the circle, yet Twilight carried on, unfazed. “That I shall defeat all evil in the world. Seventh Heaven clad in the great words of power From the binding circle thou Guardian of Harmony and Friendship!” With a final exclamation the power held within the circle unleashed a powerful blast of air upon the surroundings and a blinding light engulfed the circle.

As the wind abated and the light cleared, Twilight reopened her eyes and looked upon a strange bipedal outline. Getting a better look, she began to make out details of the figure. They appeared well built with defined musculature accentuated by black armor and a red clothlike material covered several areas of their body. But what drew her attention the most was their face, their hair was a crimson red with a few streaks of white throughout, and their eyes were a strange bronze like faded gold. Their confusion was apparent from their searching view as they tried to make sense of what lay before them. Soon they focused upon her form, their confusion giving way to resolution. A single question demanded to be spoken as the figure opened their mouth to speak.

“I ask of thee, are thou my Master?”

Author's Note

Hello, this is my first foray into writing in general and I hope you enjoy this story. Should you wish to discuss anything related to the story I will make a blog post for such discussions. Good Day.

Chapter 2: Of Ponies and Servants

Shirou looked around with some confusion trying to understand his new environment. He recalled the words spoken as the light had engulfed him, they brought back memories of his lessons with Rin. Specifically her lectures on the Grail War, if he remembered correctly those words sounded a lot like the chant to summon a Servant. Those thoughts ran through his head as he assessed his surroundings, noting the shelves full of books and weird horse themed decor, as well as the large window that made up most of one of the walls. Aside from the two small beings before him he sensed no one else and definitely not any threats. Feeling that whoever summoned at least wasn’t in any danger he decided to introduce himself using the same phrase his Servant Saber had once spoken to him.

“I ask of thee, are thou my Master?”

He was treated to an amusing series of emotions as the small horse before him went from surprised, to apprehensive, and finally settling on excitement at the results of the summoning.

“It worked! Oh sweet Celestia it actually worked! This is simply astounding! I have never seen a being like you, what’s your name and what is your species called?!” Twilight became a spitfire of questions as she processed her success and tried to sate her curiosity. She had never expected to summon such an odd looking being, but now that she had, there was no way she was gonna miss an opportunity to learn about them and their kind. “Oh, I’m sorry I should probably calm down a bit, it's just so exciting to meet somepony from a species not yet known in Equestria. So uh… what exactly are you?” Twilight cringed a bit realizing how boisterous she’d been for her first impression. She did notice that instead of laughing at her the being only smiled wryly before answering.

“I’m the Servant you have summoned, I am an Arc-huh? That’s strange, I wasn’t expecting to be summoned as a Saber.” Shirou’s confusion was brief as he considered he would qualify for the Saber class, though EMIYA proved Archer was a better fit. “I am a Servant of the Saber class, and you have summoned me, although I don’t sense the presence of anything like the Holy Grail around, how strange. As for what my species is, I’m a human and my name is Emiya Shirou, although you can just call me Shirou.” Normally being from a Japanese culture, allowing a stranger to call you by your given name would be far too familiar. But Shirou had gotten used to living amongst westerners in his time at the Clocktower and he still felt at odds with the name Emiya after his run-ins with Archer, even if it was their dad's family name.

“Servant? Saber? Holy Grail? Oh no, I forgot to introduce myself!” Each word only added to the thousands of questions running through Twilight’s mind, but she had to amend her lack of manners. “My name is Twilight Sparkle and I’m a student of Princess Celestia. I’m sorry that I forgot my manners in my excitement.”

Her introduction was followed by the noise of somepony clearing their throat making her realize she’d forgotten about the third individual in the room. “Oh, and this is my most trusted and reliable assistant Spike!”

“Hi!” Spike waved at Shirou as he made his way to stand by Twilight having recovered from the buffeting winds of the summoning ritual. “I help Twilight with her studies and have been by her side ever since she hatched me from my egg.”

Realization dawned on Shirou as he connected the small being to one of the strongest Phantasmal Species ever known. Spike truly resembled a small dragon, even the magical scent he picked up was similar to Saber’s own dragon core. His small stature must be due to his young age, but considering his species he’d probably grow grand and powerful long after Shirou’s lifetime.

“My master must truly be talented to have a young dragon as a faithful companion.” Shirou couldn’t help but smile as Twilight beamed at his compliment.

“Ah, I still have plenty of questions and I’m sure you have some of your own so how about we each take turns asking and answering?” proposed Twilight finally regaining her bearings.

“That sounds like a solid plan, Master. How about you begin considering you are my Master after all.”

“In that case, why do you call me Master, it's weird!”

“Normally a Master would be a magus who has performed a Servant Summoning through the use of a catalyst such as the Holy Grail. Said magus would then form a contract with the Heroic Spirit summoned to be their Servant. A Master is in charge of ensuring their Servant has enough mana to perform optimally in combat and provides as much information on enemy Master and Servant pairs as possible. Although the Master can tell a Servant what to do, it's up to the Servant to follow through, thus the command seals now located on your, erm hoof, come into play. You are given 3 command seals that are absolute orders a Servant will be compelled to follow irregardless of their own will. The more specific the command the stronger the compulsion of the seal, commands that are too broad will fail to elicit a major response though. Another purpose for the command seals is to allow a Servant to use their Noble Phantasm at full strength or even more, as well as allowing a Servant to teleport to the location of their Master. I know it's a lot to take in but I hope this is a good enough summary, Master.” Shirou had to make an effort to recall as much from Rin’s lectures on Masters and Servants as he feared he may have missed a few details.

“Incredible, but this just adds more questions,” Twilight responded while analyzing the command seals located on her right hoof, “I can’t say I agree with the idea of bending another pony’s will though so I don’t think I’ll ever want to use them like that on you Shirou. Well it is your turn now Shirou, and please just call me Twilight. It's really odd having you call me Master all the time.”

“Certainly Twilight, for starters where exactly am I? You mentioned Equestria, but I’ve never heard of such a place, and to be honest I’ve never known of a Phantasmal Species that resembles a small unicorn.”

“Well you are currently inside the Canterlot Library located within the city of Canterlot. This is the capital city of the kingdom of Equestria. And I am a unicorn, I might not be the tallest unicorn but I don’t recall any ponies much larger aside from the Princess.”

“Huh, where I’m from we had Phantasmal Species called Unicorns, but they were quite larger than myself. Must be a difference in worlds, unfortunately I was never very good at understanding things like parallel worlds.” He had earnestly tried once Rin became a student of the Wizard Marshall Zelretch, but eventually he felt aiding Enforcers was a better use of his time.

“How interesting,” mulled Twilight as she considered that Shirou might be from a completely different world, one without Unicorns and possibly Ponies, “oh it's my turn to ask a question. How about you explain what a Servant is, you mentioned something about Heroic Spirits?”

“A Servant is usually a Heroic Spirit who has been placed into a container which is the class of the Servant summoned, in my case it would be the Saber class. As for Heroic Spirits, they are beings of myths who have ascended to the Throne of Heroes through the power of their legends. This does bring me to an important point, I don’t understand how you managed to summon me at all. I was near death, but aside from my now healed wounds I feel just like any other mortal being. Plus I don’t believe my actions were ever enough to reach the Throne of Heroes. The connection between us as Master and Servant and knowing my own class are all that prove to me that I am a Servant. I do need to ask, do you know what empowered the ritual you used? As I stated previously the role is usually fulfilled by a Holy Grail, yet for the abundance of mana in the air I haven’t sensed anything like a Grail at all.”

“Well I used the spell written on this ancient page Spike found,” answered Twilight as she levitated said page towards Shirou. “I don’t know of any Holy Grails, and I can’t quite say what did the heavy lifting as you put it since all I did was perform the ritual as instructed and it just worked.”

Shirou carefully read the page while also considering the repercussions of being summoned by what seemed to be a Phantasmal with the sheer magical presence Twilight had. The page certainly listed the requirements for summoning a servant yet made no mention of a Grail. “I guess the specifics of this event simply lie beyond us. All that matters is that you have summoned me and thus I am bound to aid you as your Servant. You mentioned being a Unicorn, but also that Princess Celestia isn't quite the same as other Unicorns. Can you clarify what kind of people live in Equestria?”

“I assume you don’t have Ponies in your world as we do. To start, Equestria is inhabited by various species such as Griffons and Minotaurs, but as you can tell I’m a Pony. We Ponies are made up of 3 subspecies, the Unicorns, Pegasi, and Earth Ponies.” Shirou took a moment to process the fact that even more Phantasmals were present, had he not known better he might’ve thought he was in the reverse side of the world or even in the Age of the Gods. “Unicorns have horns like mine that allow us to use magic, Pegasi have wings and can control the weather, and Earth Ponies are the strongest and have a strong connection with the earth. As for the Princess, she’s an Alicorn, and as such she has all the boons of each kind of Pony and is larger overall.”

“This world is truly beyond anything I could’ve imagined considering back on Earth Phantasmals have not been seen in ages.” Shirou couldn’t help but think of how much a normal Magus would’ve been willing to give up to have access to so many magical beings.

“Oh, that reminds me! The reason I summoned you was out of part curiosity and part desperation. See there’s this prophecy that has me worried, but there were no clear answers and no one would take it seriously when I told them, and ah! It’s just so frustrating! I really need your help Shirou!"

“Hmmm, while I don’t know the specifics I am more than willing to aid you Twilight as you seem to be someone well-intentioned.” It honestly baffled Shirou a bit how open and honest Twilight had been so far to someone who should be alien to her. Especially considering how most Magi would’ve seen her as research material before another sentient being. Perhaps he had spent far too long in that den of snakes known as the Clocktower.

“Oh thank you Shirou! So you see, there’s this prophecy that states that on the longest day of the thousandth year the monster known as the Mare on the Moon, Nightmare Moon will escape her prison and will try to bring about an eternal night!” Twilight felt herself getting a bit caught up in her relief at having someone finally take the prophecy seriously. “It just so happens that tomorrow night is when the prophecy is said to take place. Yet no one has made any mention of this event and are going about as if it were another normal Summer Sun Celebration.”

“That is certainly troubling, do you know anything else about this Nightmare Moon and the threat she poses?” Shirou began considering any blades within his Unlimited Blade Works that may help against a being related to the Moon.

“Aside from the prophecy I haven’t found anything more than the possibility that Nightmare Moon might be Princess Celestia’s long lost sister. And that the only way she was defeated was with something called the Elements of Harmony.”

“Wait, you mentioned that Princess Celestia is the current Princess, are you saying she’s over a thousand years old?” Shirou was bewildered, sure she must be a powerful Phantasmal but to be over a thousand years old was still an impressive feat.

“Well yeah, Princess Celestia has ruled over Equestria for over a thousand years, she is an Alicorn after all.” Twilight winced as she realized Shirou might not have a deep understanding of Alicorns even if he mentioned knowing about Unicorns. “Sorry, I kinda forgot you aren’t from around here. To clarify, an Alicorn is practically immortal from what we know since the Princess has been around for so long without having aged at all since ascending to the throne.”

This gave Shirou pause as he considered how strange it was that a city called Canterlot of all things was also the home of an immortal ruler. He wondered if perhaps this was Fate’s way of messing with him as he immediately thought of his Servant from the Fifth Holy Grail war, Artoria Pendragon the Once and Future King, his Saber.

“To have lived so long must mean Princess Celestia is quite powerful, have you considered asking her for help?” Shirou thought if anyone had an answer to Twilight’s issue it had to be someone like Celestia.

“Yes, but all she tells me is that I should learn to enjoy my break and use this time to get to know other ponies better. I get that she wants the best for me but I simply can’t rest with such a danger looming over us!”

Shirou tried his best to placate Twilight as she seemed to lose herself to her stress yet again, “well I will do my best to prevent the danger of Nightmare Moon from coming to pass.”

“Thanks again Shirou, and I’m sorry for my outburst, it's just all so stressful.” As Twilight breathed a sigh of relief she realized her assistant had been awfully quiet the whole exchange. Looking towards Spike she realized the poor dragon had fallen asleep, slumped over the floor. “Oh my, it seems Spike needs to be taken to bed, I did forget it was already quite late. Um, I supposed you will be accompanying us back to our place?”

“I don’t mean to intrude but as your Servant I can’t be too far from you in case of threats. Plus I can help out by carrying Spike for you, it's the least I can do after all.” Shirou smiled at the fact that his first task as Servant was to simply carry a baby dragon home. It was a nice change of pace from his Enforcer work and what he usually saw Servants doing in the Grail War.

“Thanks! I’d really appreciate it, especially since I still have to carry the rest of the books we found earlier today.” Twilight gathered her stuff while Shirou carefully lifted Spike, cradling him so as to not disturb his slumber. It was strange to Twilight that anypony wouldn't feel safe within Canterlot, but she just chalked it up to Shirou being nervous in a new environment. “Just follow me and I’ll see if I can get something set up for you to sleep on. Considering your size a normal bed might just not work.”

-{/}-

As Twilight and Shirou made their way to Twilight’s dorm, Shirou couldn’t help but look around in slight wonder at the colorful buildings and general atmosphere of Canterlot. Sure it wasn’t as advanced as the cities back on Earth, but everything seemed so carefully constructed and the overall design was quite regal showing its status as the capital of Equestria. Yet it was oddly cute due to the buildings being pony sized, so for as regal as it looked it also had an adorable feel about it.

“So Shirou, I kinda got caught up asking about specifics and didn’t really get to ask you about yourself. I was wondering if you have any hobbies or how it was back where you’re from.” Twilight figured if Shirou was gonna stick around for a while then she’d like to know him a bit better. Sure she didn’t have much in the way of friends, but all she needed was Spike, Princess Celestia, and her studies to be content.

“Well I don’t have much in the way of hobbies, but I do enjoy cooking as it lets me relax. As for back home, well it was quite different from what I’ve seen so far.” Shirou’s eyes wandered around noting the abundance of magical energy sources all around. “On Earth mana is not so prolific, so the idea of mysteries such as magecraft are hidden from the general public. During the ancient Age of the Gods, mana flowed in vast quantities. Now though, the Age of Mankind is dominated by technological advancements and as such Magecraft is only practiced by a miniscule part of the population.”

“Wow, I could never imagine Equestria without magic. Sure not everypony can use it, but it has allowed us to accomplish so much from powering devices through magic gems and performing feats a pony would normally be unable to do.” Twilight shivered at the thought of all her studies amounting to nothing if magic were to disappear from Equestria.

"I will admit it's taking some time for me to grow accustomed to all the mana in the air." Shirou's nose had also been overwhelmed by the abundance of magical scents originating throughout the city. He did find Twilight's own magical scent helpful due to its more overpowering feel. He attributed it to her own large magical reserves and abilities.

"Aside from cooking, is there anything else you could tell me about yourself?" While she found talk of Earth very intriguing she did want to know Shirou better.

"Well I'm a magus, third-rate at best mind you, which means I use my magical circuits to perform magecraft. Although my condition only allows me access to magecraft related to swords, it kinda specialized me to just that." Shirou had considered revealing his Reality Marble to Twilight, but he felt that was a subject saved for when there was more time. He had a hunch Twilight's barrage of questions would return with a vengeance if she were to find out about it.

“Not to be rude Shirou but I wanted to know more about you as an individual.” Twilight was starting to wonder if Shirou kept avoiding talking about himself in greater detail on purpose.

“Oh, there isn’t much to say. I was orphaned by a fire in my hometown and before that there isn't really much to be said. My adoptive dad raised me on his own, but he soon passed away a few years after adopting me. I did have an older sister who was my dad’s biological daughter, although I didn’t meet her until way later. My dad did mention her to me once, and I was quite glad to have met her no matter how brief our time together was.” As Shirou spoke more about his past, Twilight grew concerned at the amount of hardship Shirou had undergone. To lose his parents when still a colt and then lose the person who adopted him not long after must’ve been devastating. Though Twilight wasn’t all that used to comforting others, she did her best by getting closer to Shirou to try and comfort him.

“Shirou, are you okay?” It was then that Shirou realized how close Twilight had gotten and was surprised, he wasn’t sure why she had such a thoroughly concerned look on her face.

“Yeah, why do you ask?”

“Well you looked somber Shirou, and I can’t imagine recounting the loss of your family being anything less than saddening.”

Shirou was unsure of how to respond to that, he had grown used to people simply not looking into the problems from his past all that much. Usually they’d apologize for his loss, though he always felt if anyone should be sorry it should be him for having failed to save those caught in the fire. Others had seen far worse and didn’t dwell on past experiences when the now was more important to them.

“It's fine Twilight, while I miss my dad and sister, I don't really hold any feelings towards the parents I lost to the fire.” His attempts to reassure Twilight only made her more worried. Maybe its best not to mention that the memories I have of my parents feel like they aren't even mine.

“Shirou how can you say you're fine when you don't even feel anything to losing your original parents to a tragedy?!”

“I simply don’t dwell on it, no use grieving when it was out of my control, especially after all this time. Anything before the fire doesn’t matter all that much to me either.”

While Twilight was still trying to process Shirou’s callous attitude on such a traumatic incident, she thought she may need help to truly get through to Shirou. He may not appear to care for his own mental health, but she couldn’t allow another pony to suffer like this. And she was certain he was suffering, why else would he look so sad, it was almost like his own body knew how hurt he was far better than he did.

“Twilight are you alright? You stopped in front of what I assume is your dorm or at least the steps up to it, but you’ve just been spacing out,” remarked Shirou as he looked at her with concern. While he wasn’t well versed in equine nor Phantasmal anatomy he was sure it wasn’t natural for them to space out for so long.

“Huh, oh, yeah sorry about that Shirou. This is indeed my dorm, just gotta climb all these steps, you sure you’re fine carrying Spike all the way?”

“Of course Twilight, he’s quite light and I’m used to far more tiring work than carrying a small dragon up a few stairs.” Shirou smiled at her, yet Twilight noticed that much like his previous smiles it didn’t quite reach his eyes.

As they proceeded up the stairs to her dorm, Twilight began considering how she was gonna handle Shirou’s problem. She knew she still had to put a stop to Nightmare Moon’s return, but Shirou was really concerning her. Hopefully Princess Celestia would have some better insight on both these issues.

Opening the door to her door Twilight proceeded to invite Shirou in, “here we are, my home away from home. The dorm I was given as Princess Celestia’s student and where Spike and I spend most of our time.” Shirou made his way inside, noting the proximity of her dorm to the large castle, which he assumed was the residence of Princess Celestia.

“This is quite the dorm, I can see that being a direct pupil to the Princess has its perks.” As Shirou looked around he was quite astounded by the furnishings due to their quality and number. Even in the clocktower this dorm would be rather high end. “Now where can I place your sleeping assistant so he can get more comfortable?”

“Ah, follow me, his bed is over here,” Twilight replied as she showed Shirou Spike’s small bed located near her own on the first floor.

With Spike sleeping in his bed, Twilight proceeded to lead Shirou upstairs to put away the books she had brought along. She also planned to have this floor serve as Shirou’s temporary sleeping area.

Shirou looked around noticing the various brimming bookshelves and the curious hourglass full of trickling sand. It appeared more like a library up here than a dorm, but he was used to the eccentricities of Magi so he just rolled with it.

“I see you feel most comfortable surrounded by books, Master. Perhaps you’re more of a bookworm than a pony?” Shirou couldn’t help but poke a bit of fun at Twilight to try and get her to ease up after seeing how worked up she got from their previous topic.

“I just find knowledge and books far too fascinating, Saber, though a self proclaimed third rate magus may not find such pursuits worthwhile.” Twilight decided that if he was gonna get cheeky with her then she may as well bite back. She had a feeling he didn’t mean anything with his remark so it was fine to play along. Plus it might be his way of getting used to others.

“I don’t mean to presume but you wouldn’t be planning to have me sleep on a bed of books?” Shirou did notice that there wasn’t much up here that could serve as bedding.

“As funny as that would be, I’d never allow any of my books to be harmed by having somepony sleep on them.” Twilight made her way to the far end of the room where she stored an extra bed for guests. Well her parents gave it to her in case she brought friends over for a sleepover, but it had largely gone unused.

“It might be a bit small, but you can use this guest bed for now. Sorry I can’t provide you much else, but I can bring you a few pillows as well if you’d like.”

“I’d appreciate a pillow or two, but this bed is fine. Compared to the conditions I had to deal with while on a mission with Enforcers, this is quite a luxury.” Shirou smirked at the thought of any of the Enforcer’s he’d met immediately choosing a pony sized bed over sleeping in the middle of a forest possibly full of deadly traps.

“Then I’ll bring you two spare pillows while you make yourself comfortable.”

As Twilight departed, Shirou decided to at least remove the armored portions of his gear, which left him with a tight fitting black undershirt and his black pants. He took off his boots as well, but decided to keep his socks on. He was still surprised how the summoning cleaned his clothes and healed him, yet he was still as mortal as ever. He knew he was Twilight’s servant and his class, but nothing else had changed. It was strange, yet worrying about it when he had nothing to go off of aside from the strange page Twilight had shown him wasn’t worth his time. He’d just deal with it if it ever came up again as a more prominent issue.

“Here are two pillows for my dear Servant, Shirou Emiya.” Twilight couldn’t help herself as she giggled while levitating the pillows toward Shirou. “I see you’ve gotten quite comfortable, but I do wonder, why’d you only remove part of your armor?”

“I can assure you sleeping with the armored areas on isn’t all that fun.”

“Then why’d you leave the rest on?”

“What do you mean?” Shirou was now a bit more puzzled as to Twilight’s line of questioning.

“Well you’re still wearing the rest of it aren’t you? Do humans normally wear clothes to sleep? I wear something warm when it's cold, but I don’t think my dorm is all that chilly.”

“Oh, uh Twilight, how do I put this,” Shirou was now a bit flushed at realizing that this whole time Twilight had been in the buff and it was possibly the norm for the Ponies of this world, “humans wear clothes to keep decent and because we have no fur to keep us warm.”

“Keep decent,” Twilight was briefly puzzled until realization dawned on her, “o-oh, I’m so sorry for asking. I should’ve known that not all species have the same customs as Ponies.”

Shirou smiled once again at Twilight’s slight blunder before reassuring her, “it's alright Twilight, I also understand that not everyone is gonna follow the same ideas as humans when it comes to clothing. Although I will admit I didn’t notice the uhh, lack of clothing being a common trait for Ponies, it had been strangely empty while we walked here so you’re the only Pony I’ve met so far.”

“Ah, they’ve been preparing for the Summer Sun Celebration tomorrow night. It was also pretty late when we left the library so I’m not too surprised by the lack of Ponies walking about.” Twilight hoped Shirou’s appearance wouldn’t spook the other Ponies too much considering how imposing his stature and strange looks could be. I should definitely try to get him to Princess Celestia as early as possible to avoid any problems.

Twilight’s thoughts were interrupted as she yawned. It seemed the weight of today’s ordeals had finally caught up to her. “Since you’ve got what you need I think I’ll turn in for the night, goodnight Shirou.”

“Goodnight Twilight, and thank you once again for the accommodations,” replied Shirou as he did his best to fit into the small bed. Twilight just smiled lightly as she made her way downstairs to her own bed.

Hopefully tomorrow will bring better things, I sure hope Princess Celestia can help me out. I really do feel out of my depth right now. Thankfully Shirou has been quite the gentlecolt outside of his brief teasing. These thoughts passed through Twilight’s mind as she laid down in bed, a grin on her face as she slipped from consciousness.

Unfortunately, Shirou had forgotten a crucial part of the Servant-Master contract. As Twilight entered the realm of dreams, what greeted her was a nightmare engulfed in flames.

Author's Note

I finally have the blog post up as promised previously. Please direct any burning questions or critiques there so I can address them. I appreciate any constructive criticism.

Chapter 3: Do Ponies Dream of Foolish Heroes?

Hell.

That’s how most would describe it, but for Twilight the closest thing would be Tartarus, and that would be leagues above the horror taking place around her.

She had never thought she could feel such fear and horror before. Around her was an inferno and homes were burning. Humans were nothing more than charred husks, and the few that survived fared little better.

As she tried to understand what was going on, she noticed a small human colt. He was walking on his own through the flames. His eyes were hollow as he stared ahead, forcing his horribly injured body to move forward.

Is that Shirou? The bright red hair was her only clue, which was now grimly illuminated by the raging fires. As she approached the colt, she noticed that the flames didn’t burn her yet had an insidious feeling to them. It was as if they relished in the suffering and sought to consume more than just the flesh of their victims. She hurried to the boy as she felt the malevolent flames try to reach her too. Even in a dream their hunger was palpable. How could such a disaster like this happen? Why would anypony allow such a thing, and why is no one helping these poor humans?!

She avoided the cursed fire as she navigated through the rubble and bodies. Her desperation to reach the only human still standing wouldn’t be enough as she saw the colt fall over before she could reach him.

“No! Shirou!” She screamed, fearing the worst as she forced her way through the flames even as she felt them cling to her hide, trying to ensnare her. As she finally reached the redhead she noticed a second human, this one far taller, possibly a human stallion, also making his way through the ruined city.

The stallion was weeping as he looked for survivors, digging through the rubble and shouting out “Anyone! Please someone be alive!” Though she didn’t understand his role in this mess she was glad at least somepony was trying to help.

“Please help Shirou! He’s the small red-headed human colt!” Though she shouted out, it didn’t seem like the stallion heard her. To her immense relief he still made his way to Shirou all the same.

Upon reaching Shirou, the stallion quickly clutched the arm Shirou had raised as he clawed at the sky. The man’s teary face changed from one of despair to one of immense joy. He looked as if he had been saved instead of Shirou. He placed a strange object into Shirou, but a light blocked a clear view of the object. The results were obvious as Shirou’s wounds began to heal and his pain subsided. This only spurred the man’s elation further.

Why is he smiling? Twilight stopped, she hadn't expected to hear Shirou's thoughts. Why is he thanking me? Am I not the one who is being saved? Though she felt Shirou’s confusion, she also caught a hint of jealousy in these thoughts. He looks so happy, has he found salvation? Was saving a life all he needed? Can I smile like him?

Hearing that final thought the world around Twilight shifted, from the burning ruins to a quiet porch. The change was jarring but welcome. As Twilight acclimated to her new surroundings, she saw a slightly older Shirou sitting next to the strange Stallion. The Stallion looked tired as he gazed at the moon. Twilight was astounded by this moon, so similar to her the one she knew yet there was no mare on it, just many craters dotting its surface. Her thoughts on the moon’s beauty were interrupted as she heard Shirou speak.
“Hey! Hey old man! If you’re gonna fall asleep, go to bed.”

“Huh?” the Stallion paused, sorting his thoughts, “right, I’m fine.”

A comfortable silence fell over them as Twilight approached the pair to sit next to Shirou. As she sat there gazing at them she made the connection that this Stallion must be the adoptive father Shirou had mentioned. Suddenly the silence was broken once again, but this time by Shirou’s father.

“You know, when I was little I had a dream. I wanted to be an ally of justice.”

“You wanted to be one?” Shirou questioned, “did you give up?”

“Yeah, being a hero is a limited time thing you see. As you grow older, it becomes harder to call yourself one.”

“I see,” was Shirou’s response, “I guess there’s nothing you can do about it.”

“Yeah, right,” was his father’s reply, “I guess not”

As Shirou’s father took a deep breath, Twilight began to process what she’d heard. Shirou’s dad wanted to be a hero? That sounds like a wonderful dream, he certainly proved himself when he saved Shirou, so why is he speaking as if he had given up long ago?

“It really is a nice moon tonight” The father broke Twilight’s train of thought with his comment as she resumed paying attention. She noticed that Shirou had begun to smile, as if content with a conclusion he had come to.

“Fine, since you can’t do it,” Shirou began, “I’m gonna be a hero in your place.”

“Hm?” A look of surprise found its way onto his father’s face as he turned to Shirou.

“You’re an adult now so you can’t do it anymore, but I still can. Just leave it to me, your dream. I’ll make it happen.” Shirou smiled, he truly believed he could be a hero in his father’s place.

“All right.” Twilight noticed now how strained Shirou’s father sounded. “You do that.” It was then Twilight understood what this memory truly was. “Perhaps you could save her as well. Illya I’m sorry papa never got to see you again.” Shirou barely picked up the last words as his father spoke in a near whisper, yet he wouldn’t be able to think on it as he saw his father shut his eyes.

Twilight’s heart sank as she saw Shirou realize his father had fallen still, his breathing stopped.

“Dad? Hey dad! Wake up!” Shirou panicked as his father simply sat there unmoving.

Tears streamed from Twilight’s eyes as she saw Shirou futilely try to wake his father up, not wanting to accept that he was dead. Enough! Please! Now I realize what these moments are. They’re Shirou’s memories, the fire he spoke of and the man who raised him. Why did he have to suffer like this? No pony should have to endure such hardship. How did you make it through this Shirou? Alas she wouldn’t get an answer in this dream, and it wasn’t long before she began to awaken.

She opened her eyes, feeling the dried tears marking her face. She sniffled remembering the dream that was more so a nightmare from the memories she witnessed. She did her best to wipe away the remaining tears that had begun to form once again.

She needed to get up and talk to Shirou, but she wasn’t sure how to approach this subject. It felt like too private of a topic to suddenly bring up. For now she needed to focus on just getting ready to take Shirou to meet Celestia. Though she had been unable to notify Celestia of Shirou’s summoning. She knew her teacher would be awake by now. Since it was still plenty early she may be able to sneak Shirou past the ponies of Canterlot before too many of them were up and about.

Quickly washing her face and grabbing her pack, she made her way upstairs. Upon reaching the top of the stairs she noticed that not only was Shirou awake, he was finishing up a series of morning exercises.

Due to still being a regular human and not a full fledged servant, Shirou decided that it was best to keep up his early morning exercise routine so he’d be able to stay at his best when defending his Master. Finishing up the final set, he spotted Twilight leaving the stairway.

“Good morning, Twilight” He greeted as she made her way over to him.

“Good morning, Shirou,” responded Twilight, a bit flustered as she noticed the sweat dripping from Shirou’s form. So that’s what he looks like under his shirt she thought as she realized he was only wearing his pants.

“You wouldn’t happen to have a place I could wash up?” Shirou asked sheepishly, realizing that while he had worked up a sweat he hadn’t exactly noted if there was a bathroom for him to shower in.

“Uh, yeah,” Twilight forced down her embarrassment at being distracted by his body. “I have a bathroom you can use on the first floor, although it might be a bit cramped for you.”

“It's fine, I just need somewhere to wash up. Thank you for letting me use it.” Shirou picked up his clothes as he proceeded to the bathroom.

“Oh, by the way I wanted to take you to meet Princess Celestia as soon as possible. Don’t wanna scare any ponies so I thought it’d be best if we got there as early as possible.”

“That’s fine Twilight, I’ll make sure to wash up quickly so we can head out.”

As soon as Shirou managed to make himself comfortable in the tight confines of Twilight’s bathroom, he washed up and changed back into his armor as fast as he could. Once ready, he joined Twilight at the door and they proceeded to head out. Due to the need for speed, Twilight had elected to leave Spike behind so he could get some proper rest.

-{/}-

Shirou was able to spot how troubled Twilight was as they hurriedly walked through Canterlot. He didn’t know what was causing her such distress but decided that she’d tell him if he needed to know. Unfortunately, he was unaware that he was the very reason she looked so concerned.

Twilight’s thoughts raced as she tried to broach the subject of what she saw last night. Before she could ask Shirou anything, she would hesitate and rethink how to ask him such personal questions. This would continue as she led Shirou through Canterlot until they reached the gates to the castle.

“Halt!” stated a guard. He recognized Twilight due to her status as Celestia's student, but he’d never seen a strange creature such as the one accompanying her. “Twilight Sparkle, please state what your business here is with this unknown accompanying you.”

“Ah! This is Shirou, he’s somepony I met yesterday that I really need to present to Princess Celestia.” Twilight hoped that would be enough to assuage the guard’s worries. Fortunately, after some thought the guard relented and nodded to another guard to open the gates for them to pass.

“Understood, the Princess will be happy to see you then, but please be aware that your guest must be on his best behavior before her Highness.” With that final warning given, the guard moved back to his post as Twilight and Shirou made their way into the castle.

Shirou was a bit perplexed at how easily the guard had allowed a stranger like him into the castle, but as he followed Twilight in his confusion became wariness as he sensed a massive source of magic nearby. At first he thought it was some sort of powerful artifact sealed within the castle, but as they got closer to the throne room and a scent of warm summer air assailed him, he quickly realized the true source of the magic.

Before them was Princess Celestia sitting upon her throne as she prepared herself for the toils of Day Court. She was surprised that Twilight had not sent her an update on how the spell had gone last night, but she was confident in her student’s ability and believed she’d report to her early the next day. So when she saw her enter with another odd figure accompanying her, she assumed the spell had worked and was ready to congratulate her student as well as ask her who this new individual was. Their form was familiar as she had seen beings like him before, but even then they felt different from those beyond the mirror.

“Greetings Princess Celestia!” Twilight bowed before her teacher and ruler, and Shirou made sure to follow suit. Partly out of respect, but mostly out of fear as he started to realize the true extent of Celestia’s might. He knew she had to be quite the capable individual to have ruled for over a thousand years, but he hadn’t prepared to meet what was the closest being to a goddess he had ever met. The sheer scale of power she radiated and her overwhelming magical scent was sending Shirou’s senses into overdrive. He tried to recall any weapons within his reality marble that may allow him to at least survive a confrontation with this powerful being.

“Good day my dearest student, Twilight Sparkle,” greeted Celestia warmly as she smiled at her protégé, “I assume by our guest here that the spell you tried out yesterday was a success. Now if you would be so kind as to introduce him so that I may better understand why he has become so tense.”

At this, Twilight looked towards Shirou recognizing the hidden panic beneath his impassive expression.

“I was indeed successful, and I apologize for not reporting my results earlier. As for my companion here, his name is Shirou Emiya and he says he is a human. As for his sudden change in demeanor… I am not quite sure.” Twilight was stressing now at Shirou possibly having offended the Princess with his mannerisms. “Shirou, why are you panicking?” She asked him softly, “you are standing before Princess Celestia, she would never harm an innocent pony.” She tried to calm Shirou down, and thankfully it appeared to work as his tensed muscles began to relax.

Shirou felt like an absolute fool. Sure Rin had called him an idiot plenty and most of the time it had been warranted, but this was on a league of its own. Why had he overreacted violently as if preparing for a fight? If Rin or, worse, Saber were here I’d get more than a few choice words he thought as a shiver passed through him realizing how horribly either one of those would’ve punished him for his foolishness. Leave it to me to possibly offend the royalty of a foreign nation I had just been summoned to, fortunately all he heard was a light giggle as Celestia observed his change in emotions as his face did little to hide how embarrassed he felt. Man, even the way she giggles sounds classy, he schooled his features, briefly thinking of Luvia. He looked towards Celestia.

“I am deeply sorry for my lapse in judgment upon meeting your highness, Princess Celestia. I was simply overwhelmed by your presence as back home I have never met someone who radiates power such as you. I am indeed called Shirou Emiya and my species is human. I have been summoned to be Twilight’s Servant”

“Oh my, I accept your apology dear Shirou, and I appreciate your compliments of my presence as you put it.” Celestia couldn’t help but smile at seeing a light blush appear on Shirou when he realized how his explanation could be perceived. “I am happy to welcome you to Equestria and hope you find your stay here enjoyable. Now, for your role as Twilight’s servant, I’d like an explanation assuming this has to do with yesterday’s spell.”

“Of course Princess,” answered Twilight as she recalled all Shirou had told her about the summoning ritual, “you see the spell I discovered was a summoning ritual that was meant to summon a powerful being known as a Heroic Spirit to serve as the summoner’s, or Master as they’re called, Servant. The ritual would then bind the Servant to their Master with these command seals I now possess on my hoof.” Celestia observed the strange markings on Twilight’s hoof curiously sensing the connection between them and Shirou. “This Servant would then serve their Master as required with these command seals. Being absolute commands should the Servant refuse to follow an order. I find this quite appalling, but Shirou assured me that they can also be used to empower the Servant or have the Servant teleport to their Master’s location in an instant.”

“How very intriguing. I had never heard of such a ritual before and no spell I can recall performs any similar feats. I would like to see for myself this page you found. When possible to look further into it. From the sounds of it, I would rather no one else use such a spell. Binding another being in such a manner can be abused in the wrong hooves.” Twilight accepted Celestia’s reasoning and would ensure the page got to her for safe keeping. “Now I would like to know more about you Shirou, after all it sounds like you shall be accompanying my dear student. It would be remiss of me to not better know the human who is now bound to her.”

“I would gladly share more about myself Princess, and I assure you I am sworn to protect Twilight as she is my Master. I am from a world called Earth, I assume this is not my world due to the amount of mana in the air. Back home mana is scarce in comparison and magecraft is hidden from the public. Here it seems your ponies practice the magical arts freely and it has become public knowledge.” At Celestia's nod confirming his observations, Shirou proceeded with his introduction. “As such I am known as magus, albeit a third rate one at best due to my circumstances. Normally I wouldn’t have been summoned as a servant due to not qualifying to be a Heroic Spirit . After all, I was never regarded as a hero by the collective human conscience.” Though he might be giving up quite a bit of information. Shirou felt it was fine to trust in Twilight’s mentor. From what he’d seen she really did care for her. “It seems whoever left the summoning chant here made adjustments to it, but for what purpose I am unsure. Normally there would be a Holy Grail to aid in the summoning and to serve as the goal for which Masters and Servants fight for. I have sensed no such thing.”

“The page did mention that the one summoned would help protect Harmony,” Twilight quickly interjected. “Although the threat it alluded to seemed to be similar to the legends of the Mare on the Moon.” At this Celestia’s countenance became slightly strained. She knew well of the tale and also knew that soon she would have to confront the consequences of her actions. While Twilight didn’t pick up on her change, Shirou’s sharp intuition told him that something was off about her before she regained her composure.

“Hm, while I am unsure of what the real threat is, I can assure you that I will do my best to stop it. I simply cannot allow myself to stand by when there are people to be saved.” Shirou hoped to assure both Twilight and Celestia that he did mean well and that he would help even if they weren’t humans like him. He had never really cared who he saved before. So why draw the line here? All he needed to do was to save others. After all, saving others is all Shirou Emiya was made to do.

“While I trust the honesty of your words, I must mention that your appearance may frighten some of my little ponies. Normally I would introduce you and your kind to my little ponies to assure them you mean them no harm, but I am currently far too busy with preparation for the Summer Sun Celebration. I must ask you to allow me to place a brief transformation spell upon you so you may pass a fellow pony for the time being. I assure you this will only be temporary and you may return to your human form whenever you wish. I will make sure to introduce you to ponykind as soon as the Summer Sun Celebration ends.”

Shirou was shocked by this turn of events. He was a bit skeptical about being turned into a pony of all things. He also understood the Princess’ worries, he’d seen what humans did to each other over minor differences in appearance, he could see how Ponies may react to his own more intimidating form. He decided it’d be better to follow the ruler’s request and if anything went wrong, well hopefully Rule Breaker would be enough to get him out of that bind.

“I accept your request Princess Celestia and will allow myself to be transformed into a pony for the time being.” Upon his acceptance, Celestia began to weave the spell’s energy with her horn carefully preparing it so that no errors may occur. Once ready she cast the spell and a brilliant light engulfed Shirou.

Shirou opened his eyes after the flash of light. He looked around, realizing he’d shrunk. He looked down as his hands, now hooves, and saw that he’d been turned into a light bronze colored pony. His mane still appeared bright red, yet a streak of white could be spotted running through it and his tail. Twilight also noted the horn on his head meant he was a Unicorn much like her.

“Well that form certainly suits you." Twilight looked over Shirou. Her curiosity peaked when she saw his cutie mark. It was composed of three swords standing on a curve that had the form of a hill. Between the middle and side swords were small gears. That’s certainly a unique cutie mark.

“Thanks, although it might take some time getting used to walking on all fours and the height difference.” After looking over himself and performing structural analysis on himself, Shirou was finally settling into his new form. He also felt the mental command available to him so he could regain his human form.

“Now I must apologize for rushing you, but I must return to my duties.” Celestia prepared to dismiss Twilight and Shirou with a few parting words when Twilight spoke up.

“Actually Princess, if it's not too much to ask, can I speak to you privately?”

“Well I can spare some time for you dear Twilight, what is it you wish to speak about?” Shirou took it as his cue to leave as he sensed that Twilight only wanted Princess Celestia to hear what she had to say. He’d just wait outside of the doors to the throne room and acquaint himself with his new hooves.

With Shirou gone Twilight finally spoke what had been eating away at her, “Princess I need your advice. I think there’s something very wrong with Shirou.” Celestia was certainly surprised at Twilight’s admission, she had felt the human was a bit strange, but she hadn’t expected him to trouble Twilight so much.

“Certainly my dear student, advice on what exactly?”

“Well, he told me once about his past... It was very tragic. I think I’ve also seen parts of it in my dreams last night.” Twilight hesitated, she couldn’t quite look at her mentor as she recalled the dream and considered if she should share what she saw. “I’m sorry Princess, but I don’t think I can share what I saw without Shirou’s permission. What I can tell you is that Shirou has lost many of the closest ponies in his life. When he talked of his loss he was so... unphased. It was like he was simply commenting on the weather. I don’t understand how he’s able to be so nonchalant about the matter, and I don’t think he has come to peace with it in a healthy manner either. He doesn’t show he’s processed his grief. In fact, I think he chooses to ignore the matter altogether as if it can’t be helped.”

Celestia had patiently listened to her student, and as she continued to speak she also began to grow concerned for Shirou’s mental stability. To have lost so many close to him, I can understand the grief of losing those you cherish most. I wish I had more time to help Twilight and Shirou, but soon I will have to face the consequence of my greatest failure.

“Perhaps you should give him some time to acclimate himself. To understand that he can find peace here. That way he will finally take the time to address his past properly. Then you may be able to help him, Twilight.” Celestia’s advice clicked well enough for Twilight to consider it her best course of action.

“In that case I’ll make sure to have Shirou experience the wonder of living in Equestria. Princess, what about the prophecy of Nightmare Moon’s return? It would do little good to make sure he feels safe and comfortable if there is a looming threat.”

“I understand your concern about the prophecy my dear student, but you mustn’t let such old tales worry you so much. I believe your concerns will be better suited assisting with the preparation for the Summer Sun Celebration at Ponyville. Your accommodations have already been arranged, I do hope you find the Golden Oaks Library to your liking. There you may also find a far more peaceful life for Shirou to experience. I hear Ponyville is quite the friendly and relaxing little town. On top of that I have a very important task to give. Originally it was just for you, but I believe Shirou would benefit as well. Twilight Sparkle, make some friends and help Shirou in doing the same.” With this final directive Celestia motioned for Twilight to depart on her new assignment.

Her momentary confusion at Princess Celestia’s final task for her and Shirou allowed Princess Celestia to gently guide her to the exit. Upon recovering her train of thoughts, Twilight realized she’d already exited the Throne Room and could not question Celestia further.

“I hope you got what you needed from the Princess,” remarked Shirou upon spotting Twilight. He had spent the time waiting outside the Throne Room scanning his surroundings including the guards. He even used Structural Analysis on their armor, though it momentarily caused a scene as the guards had been unsure why their armor had begun to glow. It surprised him when his horn began to glow in response to his use of magecraft. He now understood that a unicorn’s horn served as their foci, but it unfortunately meant any use of magecraft in this form had to be done through the horn. He managed to calm the guards after mentioning how he was simply trying out a spell to study objects like their armor, though they still kept a close eye on him after that.

“Not to sound ungrateful, but I really wish Princess Celestia would let me properly address the Nightmare Moon problem. She did give me some pretty good advice.” Twilight was still frustrated by the manner the Princess kept avoiding the topic of Nightmare Moon. Why won’t the Princess just acknowledge it! Still I don’t want to disobey her orders, although making friends is the least of my worries. She is the Princess I trust in completely and I know she means the best for me.

“So what now? If we have no leads it’ll be hard to even know where Nightmare Moon may appear.” Shirou wracked his brain for anything he could recall that may give them some edge over Nightmare Moon. While Twilight had told him of the threat it seemed even she knew little more than the fact Nightmare Moon had been banished by Celestia nearly 1000 years ago. Nightmare Moon would most certainly be a threat on par with Celestia’s power and he was unsure of his chances against such a being.

“Now we have a new task. Princess Celestia wants us to head to Ponyville to help them prepare for the Summer Sun Celebration.”

“Are you sure that’d be a good use of our time? I don’t mean to question the Princess, but I would think preventing a major threat to the world would take precedence in a time like this.”

“I get your point, but Shirou you have to understand. Princess Celestia has ruled for over 1000 years and it's been prosperous for a reason. The Princess would never lead us astray, so please just follow her orders. Even if it's just for now.”

Shirou hesitated, he was torn between his need to respond to such a threat and his responsibility to ensure his Master’s safety. In the end, sticking by Twilight won out. He had no clue where to even begin his search for Nightmare Moon’s advent. If she did appear near Twilight and he wasn’t with her he’d be responsible for putting her life at risk.

“Fine, Twilight, I shall trust the Princess’s judgment.”

“Thank you Shirou! Now let’s gather my stuff and awaken Spike”

As they made their way back to Twilight’s dorm the duo encountered three Unicorn mares who waved to Twilight in recognition.

“Hey Twilight! Surprised to see you out and about so early. Ah, before I forget, Moon Dancer is having a little get-together later today and we were wondering if you wanted to come?” It was then that Twinkleshine took notice of the Stallion next to Twilight. “Oh! Sorry I didn’t see you there, who might you be? A friend of Twilight’s?”

“In a way, I recently arrived in Canterlot and she’s been helping me get acquainted with the place. My name is Shirou Emiya by the way.” Shirou gave her a polite smile as he looked to his Master for a response.

“Yes, I’ve been giving Shirou a bit of a tour. Unfortunately we have other business to attend to Twinkleshine. So perhaps another time? Bye!” Twilight pulled Shirou along as she quickly left the trio behind.

“Huh, I was gonna tell her Shirou was also invited, it would've been nice to meet the Stallion who was able to get Twilight to do more than study for once. That mare needs to make some time for more than just her studies.”

-{/}-

Once they’d reached the dorm, they saw Spike had already awoken and had even prepared breakfast. Shirou found the pancakes to be quite delicious. It was impressive to see such a young dragon excel at cooking.

After that Twilight gathered the materials she needed and Shirou made sure he hadn’t left any of his gear behind. The new form had conveniently stored away his armor along with his human form in a manner he didn’t really understand. It did feel strange to be naked, but since it seemed that was the standard here he wouldn’t let it bother him.

“Alright, we’ve got everything packed and ready. It's time to head for Ponyville!” exclaimed Twilight.

“So are we just helping with the preparations then?” questioned Spike, he’d been given a brief rundown of the morning meeting with Celestia.

“It seems so, unless Princess Celestia told Twilight more,” replied Shirou.

“Well she did mention that she wanted us to make friends, but I believe the preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration and Nightmare Moon take priority,” added Twilight.

“Are you sure about that?” Spike couldn’t help but doubt her claims.

“Yes Spike, now let us head out. The faster we help out with the preparations, the faster I can look for a solution at the library in Ponyville.”

The trio made their way to the prepared chariot that would carry them to Ponyville. Shirou found this mode of transport a bit novel.

The whole way to the chariot, Twilight considered finally broaching the subject of her dream last night. I have to ask him now, I will probably be too busy once we get to Ponyville... But Princess Celestia told me to wait and give him time to get used to Equestria. Seeing that Twilight probably needed to discuss something with Shirou, Spike decided to give them some privacy by moving to the other end of the Chariot.

“Twilight, is there something on your mind? You’ve been agitated for a while now. You know you can tell me if you need anything.”

“It's just, I’m not sure I should ask you personal questions when you haven’t even had time to settle into Equestria.”

“If it's just a personal question then I’m fine with answering. Not much I don’t mind answering honestly.”

“Then, I have to ask, how can you be so nonchalant when talking about the fire that took so much from you?”

“Oh, I see now, I’m so sorry Twilight. I forgot that part of our connection is the Dream Cycle.” At this Twilight’s face lit up in surprise. “The Dream Cycle allows the Master and Servant to see parts of each other’s past. This usually allows them to grow closer, but it also means that they will be subjected to whatever the Dream Cycle shows no matter how much they try to resist. I did catch brief glimpses of a young filly constantly studying and her time in a special school. I assume that was you, but I didn’t get to see what happened with the entrance exam unfortunately.”

“Wait! So not only will I see more of your past, but you’ll also see mine and none of us have any input on this?!”

“Yeah as far as I can recall there isn’t anything to be done about it besides accept it.”

“Do you have any other memories I should be ready to see. That fire was horrifying!”

“Well there was my time in the Holy Grail War. While not as bad as the Fuyuki Fire, it wasn’t a good time. I am sorry you had to witness the fire, I’m used to it now due to it being a recurring dream. But it would definitely be terrifying to someone not enured to the cruelty of the world.”

“Um, there was one more memory I saw, it was where you spoke to your father under the moon about his dream.”

“Oh, that memory.” At this Twilight noticed that Shirou’s eyes glassed over as he stared off into the distance. “I made a promise that night as I’m sure you know. I haven’t given up on that dream either. Though I know that it’ll only lead me to damnation.”

“Shirou, why would such a beautiful dream damn you?” This shook Shirou out of his funk, he’d gotten various responses to his dream before, but never one calling it beautiful.

“It's not as simple as it sounds. When I vowed to be a hero I wanted to save everyone. In reality this means having to make sacrifices. To save 10 you let 1 die and so forth. It can quickly become a situation where I need to kill in order to save lives.”

“What?! That’s horrible! Why would you need to take such extreme measures?”

“You may not be aware Twilight, but in my world there are often plenty of deadly conflicts occurring all over the planet. Being a hero meant that I’d have to kill those who threaten the lives of the most people. I’ve seen the end of that path and it would only end in my death at the hands of those I swore to save. It's all I deserve for taking so many lives after all.”

“No! That’s just not right! Shirou you don’t need to go so far, at least not here in Equestria! I promise you Shirou, I won’t let you continue to hurt yourself or others like this anymore!” She wasn’t sure where she got such bravado from, but she felt that she had to put her hoof down. She couldn’t stand to see Shirou do this to himself. They may still be little more than strangers, but she felt they had grown close enough that she was justified in caring about him this much.

Shirou was taken aback. This small pony had vehemently refused his reasoning. It should’ve aggravated him. For her to think she understood the difficulty of his choices and then say she knew better... It was naive. Yet a part of him, one that sounded like Illya, told him that maybe she was right. This isn’t Earth. Shirou, this is your second chance to be happy. Please Shirou, that's all I ask of you. The memory of his final moments with Illya came unbidden. How she begged him to look for another path, but he knew Archer was the only end for him. Or was he? Was Archer’s path really my own? How could I be happy if I couldn’t be a hero able to save everyone? He simply didn’t know, he wanted to reject Twilight’s promise, to let his inner Archer berate her for her foolishness. Didn’t he loathe Archer? Why’d he fight so desperately against Archer back then and when had he begun accepting Archer’s own life as his own?

“I… I want to trust you Twilight, but how could I when you don’t understand the full picture?”

“Then tell me and let me understand.”

“If you are truly set on this, if you are willing to accept my past and my sins, then I’ll try and listen to you. I can’t promise that I’ll stop, that dream is all I have left.”

“That’s fine Shirou. If you’re willing to take a step towards change, then I’ll do my part as well. I promise that no matter what I won’t abandon you Shirou. I… I want you to trust in me as your friend! I may not be the most social pony, but I know that if we’re going to be bound, then I would rather have you as a friend than a servant.”

Shirou searched Twilight’s face for any deception or hesitation and was impressed to find that her resolute expression was true.

“Then I, Shirou Emiya, promise to try and find a path where I don’t need to sacrifice the lives of anyone in order to save them.” Even now he found himself hard pressed to truly believe in this possibility, more than likely he’d be gone from here before it’d matter too much. But wouldn’t it be nice to be given a chance for a better path? The phantom voice of Illya echoed in his head. Once again, he had no response.

“Great! I, Twilight Sparkle, promise to understand and accept you Shirou as my new friend!”

The Chariot landed softly as both Twilight and Shirou looked upon each other, unknowing the future Fate now had in store for them. As they disembarked, they both had a lot to process, but felt a bit of newfound joy at this turn of events.

“Thanks guys!” Spike made sure to thank the Pegasi that’d flown their Chariot as the other two seemed too distracted to do so themselves. “Hey you two, I don’t know exactly what you were talking about, but you seem to be in a better mood.”

“We just got what was on our minds off and have come to an agreement on matters,” responded Twilight.

“Indeed, we have decided to work together as friends and not just Servant and Master,” supplied Shirou.

“Well that’s good but we should probably get started on helping out with the preparations.”

“You’re right Spike. Well then, Shirou we have a duty to attend to.”

“Yes Twilight, let me help you with your bags. It's the least I can do.”

And so the three made their way through Ponyville. For Shirou who had made his first friend in this strange world this would be the start of a new legend. For Twilight her journey had shifted. Though the struggles she’d face may have become greater, Shirou would now be at her side always willing to help her. As for Spike, he was not as aware of the changes going on, but he was glad Twilight had already made a new friend and would be happy to get to know Shirou better as well.

Let it not be said that the Princess would go unaffected by these shifts either. Everyone deserves happiness after all, even immortal rulers.

Chapter 5: The Past is Here!

Twilight found herself in a strange place. She was outside, but around her were structures she hadn’t seen before. To the right of her, there was a large building with various floors and windows off in the distance. While in front of her there was a field with a fence-like structure. It was then she realized that there were two beings fighting in that field.

A figure in red that reminded her of Shirou’s armor and a figure in blue stood at odds. They clashed at speeds she couldn’t even follow. All she saw was the sparks as their weapons clashed and the dust there movement disturbed. It was mesmerizing. She’d seen the royal guards spar before thanks to her brother, but their skills paled in comparison to what she was witnessing.

The fight wouldn’t last much longer though, as suddenly the one in blue stopped. He quickly focused towards the area she was standing. This shocked Twilight who thought they had spotted her, only to realize they were staring a bit behind her. It was then she saw Shirou, wearing a uniform of some sort. He stood there for a second dumbfounded until his instincts kicked in. She saw him bolt for the nearby building and decided to follow him.

Unfortunately for her, Shirou was far faster as he quickly disappeared down a hallway and up some stairs. She at least knew his general direction and tried to catch up. At first she thought he might’ve gotten away when she saw no one pursuing them. This relief was short-lived.

Upon reaching the top of the stairs she saw the figure in blue had stabbed Shirou through the chest with a blood red spear. Shivers coursed down her mane. She heard the figure speak, but failed to process his words as the shock of what she was witnessing gripped her. The spear held bloodlust so potent she was paralyzed with absolute terror. As the figure finally vanished, his morbid task done, she rushed to Shirou’s prone form.

“No! Shirou! Somepony, anypony! Please help him!” Twilight’s desperate pleas went unheard. She felt tears welling up when she heard somepony approaching from behind. She feared someone had come to finish the job as she had realized Shirou was still alive if only barely.

“If his heart’s still intact then he can still be saved.” Upon hearing this Twilight turned to see what she assumed was a human mare approaching Shirou. “Oh no! Why did it have to be you! Why were you here today?” Twilight heard the mare lament, but hoped they would be able to save Shirou. “There may still be a way,” the mare continued as she pulled out a large red gem that Twilight sensed was brimming with magical energy. She then proceeded to channel that energy into a spell that healed the horrid wound on Shirou’s chest.

“Thank you so much!” Twilight’s relief was palpable as she witnessed Shirou’s breathing return to normal. She finally calmed down, only for the dream to change once more.

Now she saw Shirou in a shed, sitting near one of the walls. Across from him stood a regal figure clad in armor, their blonde hair shining in the moonlight.

“I ask of you, are you my master?” Twilight felt a sense of deja vu and quickly figured this must’ve been Shirou’s Saber servant. This explains his introduction, a bit on the nose one would think, Twilight lightly laughed to herself.

This night refused to end for her as the dream shifted yet again. The shed gave way to a foggy, empty street where Twilight spotted Shirou and a few others. One of the figures stood out with hair white as snow. Due to her innocent appearance and small stature, Twilight believed her to be a filly.

“Ne, onii-chan, are you done chatting?” The filly asked playfully as the fog gave way to a massive figure of pure muscles. The malice in her tone threw Twilight for a loop. But what stupefied everyone else was Shirou’s own response.

“Illya! Is it really you?!” He rushed towards her without regard for the hulking giant looming over her. In her confusion at his actions, Illya was unable to stop Shirou as he embraced her in a tight hug. “It really is you, right? I wish I could’ve gone to find you, but I’m so glad you’re here!” Twilight saw the tears forming in Illya’s eyes. The filly was unable to control her emotions due to the various mixed signals her mind was sending her.

“W-w-what? Why are you hugging me?! We’re enemies! You and Papa are the ones I hate the most!” Her anger flared as she tried to sort her emotions. “So why? Why are you so happy to see me?”

“Because you’re my sister,” responded Shirou, letting her go to look into her watery eyes. “The one I was supposed to save. Dad wanted to save you, but when he passed away I thought I’d do it in his place. I must be the worst brother if I couldn’t even save my sister?” His smile was bitter, he knew he had a lot to atone for, but perhaps this could be a start.

“Wah!” Unable to hold back her tears any longer, Illya began wailing as she cried into Shirou’s chest. While surprised he held her close, trying to comfort her. “I miss Papa, I don’t want to be alone anymore. Please stay with me onii-chan.”

“Of course I will Illya, I’ll never let you be alone again.” And so Twilight witnessed Shirou make a second promise to his family. He’d be a hero and he’d always be there for his sister. So why’d such a heartwarming scene feel heavy with the taste of bitterness. I can’t let the dream end here, there is still so much I want to know. Come on, I can keep going! Twilight’s horn ignited as she willed magic to force the Dream Cycle to continue.

Through great effort the dream switched one final time.

A world of ashen skies and barren land welcomed her. She saw enormous gears in the sky, some broken and others barely spinning. What stood out above all else were the swords. As far as she could see there were hundreds if not thousands of them with their points dug into the ground.

“What is this place?” Twilight looked around for anypony else, finally spotting a few figures nearby. She quickly approached as one of them struck a familiar redhead. The feeling of this place ate away at her as she traversed it. She felt greatly disturbed, a terrible sense of hopelessness and loneliness permeated throughout the land.

“Do you understand now? The futility of your dream? The mountain of corpses that the hero Shirou Emiya stands on?!” A voice boomed from the top of a hill, she noticed it was the figure that had struck Shirou. He had swept back white hair and his skin was tanned. Even then, she saw the similarities between her newest friends and this stallion.

“That dream wasn’t even yours, it was borrowed from a dying man. A curse that will only lead an endless cycle of suffering. Do us both a favor and kill yourself!” Twilight was appalled by the stallion’s words. She wanted to yell at him for his insensitive speech, but when she spotted Shirou she felt devastated.

Shirou was covered in a myriad of injuries, with blood seeping from multiple stab wounds. What hurt her the most were his eyes, they were glassy and void of emotion. Then she heard his thoughts just like the previous dream cycle. Maybe he’s right… If my path only leads to such hell what was the point? Will these hands only bathe in blood in pursuit of that dream? It can’t be true! I can’t accept such an outcome! So why can’t I move?! Why do I hesitate?! Shirou’s turmoil shook Twilight. She knew he was troubled, but now she was starting to get a clear picture of the sheer depth of his issues. At that moment both of them were wracked with a horrible headache.

They saw visions of a desert littered with corpses, each pierced by arrows. They saw an individual in familiar armor living and mingling with villagers. Only for the scene to change once more to carnage, that same individual holding a black bow as he gazed at his handiwork. The light in his eyes was fading. A final scene showed a tribunal, and the gallows. A rope tied around the individual's neck, as the lever was pulled. The sight of that hanging corpse would haunt Twilight, knowing who that individual had once been.

“You’re starting to understand, but no matter how much you see it won’t change a thing.” The stallion on the lonely hill glared at Shirou. The swords at his sides, one black and one white, readied as he aimed a final strike at Shirou.

“Get up onii-chan! What happened to saving everyone like Papa wanted?! How can you stay with me if you die here?!” Illya’s shouts stirred Shirou from his thoughts. He barely managed to form two swords of his own to parry the other stallion’s blades. Twilight felt elated to see Shirou stand up once again, even if his injuries held him back. There was a newfound determination in his eyes. The light that danced in those eyes mesmerized Twilight. To hold such conviction! I’ve never seen eyes like those before.

“Even if my dream leads me into hell, I won’t give up. I can’t stop pursuing that beautiful ideal! And I refuse to accept you Archer!” Shirou stepped forward, trying to slash at Archer. Only to be parried and tossed further down the hill. Even with his renewed conviction he didn’t have the power to beat Archer. “Just because you’re correct doesn’t mean you’re right!”

“Foolish brat! Just give up already. Stop prolonging our wretched existence.” Archer proceeded to create swords around him, each aimed at Shirou. Each of them capable of skewering Shirou’s vitals. Yet they remained unmoving. He could finish him off now, end it all here. So why wasn’t he? Twilight tried to figure out why someone with such hatred for Shirou would hesitate to strike him down. She didn’t want Shirou to die, but it felt so odd. As if she was missing a crucial piece of the puzzle.

“Keep fighting onii-chan! If your dream turns the world against you then I’ll still be by your side!”

“Yeah, that’s right. I’m not alone. Not like you Archer! It's not wrong to want to save others!” Shirou’s shaky stance changed, he stood up straighter as his injuries began to glow. “That wish, no matter how hypocritical, will always be worth pursuing. I will be a Hero of Justice! I will save everyone and with Illya by my side I’ll never end up on this lonely hill like you!”

Twilight was amazed as the sky began to clear around Shirou. The ashen clouds gave way to a clearer sky, bathed in the light of the sun. I get it now! This isn’t some random location, this is a whole world unto itself! But how can it exist? It appears tied to this Archer, but Shirou has also been able to change it. Is it something intrinsic to both of them? If Archer truly is Shirou from a future time, then this must mean this is a world that belongs to Shirou. Oh I wish I could learn more! I need to ask Shirou once I wake up!

The final scene began to play out before Twilight, Shirou charged up the hill. Archer launched swords at him, only for each of them to be swatted away by Shirou’s remaining blade. The swords only managed to blow Shirou back a few feet. Archer’s shock at his inability to kill Shirou was made worse as he realized what he was looking at. Shirou’s visage reminded him of what once was, a cruel mirror. This gave Shirou the time needed to close the distance and stab Archer through his chest.

“So you really are different,” spoke Archer. “So close to what I once was, yet you stand with another by your side. I don’t think I’ve ever seen one quite like you.” Archer’s world broke, the remains of a wrecked mansion made themselves known. “You win this time boy. But how long until you end up alone like me? Will you be able to stand defiantly on our path then? Heh, what a foolish idiot I am to lose to you.” Hearing those final words, Twilight finally awoke from the dream.

She found herself gripping Shirou tightly. His concerned eyes staring at her, she couldn’t help but blush while looking away. Oh Sweet Celestia Twilight! What were you thinking last night! Sleeping with a stallion you just met!

She forced herself to relax, now was not the time to hyperventilate. It's okay! Nothing weird happened, aside from those dreams. And it's nice to have him here, so close and warm. The image of that hanging body briefly flashed in her mind. Her grip on Shirou tightened. No! He’s fine, he’s here. I can feel him and he’s alive and well!

“Twilight, are you alright?” Shirou's concerned voice drew Twilight’s gaze back to his face. “You had me worried when you began to shout and shift in your sleep. When I tried to rouse you from your dream you even smacked me away. Only for you to then latch on to me when I tried again. You even started sobbing. I’m so sorry Twilight, I knew the dream cycle can show you horrible things. I shouldn’t have kept the contract going, not when it was gonna cause you so much pain.”

“Shirou, who was Archer?” She knew the answer, but she couldn’t accept it as true. Not if it meant what she’d seen was real.

“So you saw him.” Shirou's face grew grim at Archer’s mention. “Twilight, as much as I’ve enjoyed being your servant, I’m gonna sever the contract. I can Trace a weapon capable of breaking our bond so you won’t suffer from experiencing my past anymore.”

“No! You can’t do that! I refuse to let you go off on your own Shirou.” Twilight’s outburst surprised even her. “Please Shirou, I promised to accept you and everything that entails. These dreams scare me, but they also show me who you are in a way I don’t think anypony ever could. You also didn’t answer the question.”

“Fine, but if this goes too far I won’t hesitate to use Rule Breaker to break the contract.” Shirou hesitated before continuing. “As for Archer… you could say he’s me. At least, another version of Shirou Emiya. He’s from a future timeline back on Earth. His choices led him to becoming the way he is. Choices that I have mimicked far too much.”

“Shirou if you ever dare to break our contract I will use a command seal. I still don't know the full story, but I know that leaving you alone will only end in disaster.”

Shirou was astounded at Twilight’s conviction. Why is she so set on this? I’m an unknown, a complete stranger she only met less than two days ago. What has she seen in those dreams to convince her that she needs to help me? I’m not worth so much dedication and she should know that.

“Twilight, I know I made you a promise, but this is going too far. You’ll only end up hurting yourself. My path is too dangerous for you to follow me. You have better things to worry about than me as well. As a servant I’m only here until my task is done, and according to you that task is to stop Nightmare Moon.”

“Shirou, why can’t you get it through your thick head! I care about you! You’re one of the first friends I’ve made in so long. Everytime I see those memories I want to understand you even more. I don’t want to lose you Shirou! Why can’t you understand that? I summoned you to help me fight Nightmare Moon, but I now see that there has to be more than that.” I need to get it through his stubborn mind, that I care. Ahhh! Why won’t he just accept it!

Unfortunately, they wouldn’t be able to continue their argument. Any pressing questions Twilight had would have to wait. Spike entered the room, he momentarily paused seeing the awkward positions of Twilight and Shirou. Twilight was still holding Shirou and their faces had only grown closer as they argued.

“I’m not interrupting something am I?” Spike nervously glanced around.

“No Spike, I was simply having a civilized discussion with Shirou,” replied Twilight through grit teeth, as she let go of Shirou and got up.

“Oh, good. I know you needed some sleep after all the excitement of the past two days. So I didn’t want to disturb you, but you’re about to miss the raising of the sun!”

“It's already time!?” Twilight knew they’d arrived at the library pretty early considering all the preparations they had to check earlier. That’s why she’d been fine with getting some shut eye. Yet she hadn’t expected to nearly oversleep because of the whole Dream Cycle fiasco. “Come on Shirou! We need to head out now!”

“Woah, calm down a bit Twilight. I’m pretty sure we still have time to make it, right Spike?”

“Well, you only have a few minutes to be honest. In fact, everyone already left a while ago.” At this, Twilight quickly gathered whatever she needed and pushed Spike and Shirou out the door.

“We are going now!”

-{/}-

Celestia had waited a thousand winters.

Everyday and every night she remembered. Her greatest regret.

It's been too long sister. Too long since my mistakes turned you into a monster. I just want you to know how sorry I am. Please Luna, I just want my dear sister back.

The moon hung above, shining through the remains of a crumbling castle. Once two had ruled together here. Now those two would fight once more.

Celestia focused on the moon as she sensed a familiar presence stirring. The stars near the moon lit up, their light coalescing in its center. With this act, the Mare on the Moon vanished. No longer would she be bound in the skies above.

A dark surge of energy heralds the arrival of a nearly forgotten ruler. Upon the broken thrones, she appeared. Her mane was a sea of stars on a dark night. The armor that adorned her, made from dark energies, shone in the light of her moon. Her slit eyes bore down on Celestia who stood in the center of the former throne room. A fanged smile was her response to Celestia’s grimace.

“How wonderful, dear sister, that you should have awaited for my arrival with such anticipation. It is unfortunate you did bring a proper audience to witness my ascension as the new ruler of Equestria.”

“Luna! I know you are still there, under that mask Nightmare Moon. We needn’t come to blows sister.”

“Appealing to your poor, unloved sister still? I would’ve thought that the one who banished us would know better. Perhaps your own banishment, once I’ve consolidated my rule, will serve to teach you what a millennia of solitude truly feels like?”

“I can only ask for your forgiveness Luna, I will do all I can to make it up to you, so please break free from her hold. Nightmare Moon, I won’t let you continue to use my sister like this! Your presence will no longer be tolerated!”

“Foolish sister! Do you still not understand after all this time? I am Luna, and she is Nightmare Moon. We are the same pony. I am her desire to be acknowledged over you! Through me she will finally be given the adoration of all of Equestria!” Her horn lit up as she invoked a spell to set the moon permanently in the heavens above.

“No, Nightmare Moon, through you she will only further the suffering of everpony including herself. I won’t let you fall down this path any further Luna!” Horn alight, Celestia threw up a magical shield as Nightmare Moon began her attack.

Beams of purple light assailed Celestia as Nightmare Moon’s maniacal laughter reverberated throughout the abandoned castle. Cracks began to form on her shield so she took to the skies as the concentrated attacks broke through.

“The night sky will serve as our final battlefield then!” Following Celestia into the air, Nightmare Moon launched a barrage of beams at her.

Celestia weaved around the beams, and fired back in turn multiple golden orbs. Nightmare Moon blasted them away with arching blades of magic that shot out from her wings. Their deadly dance continued as their attacks illuminated the night sky.

If I bring her down, I might have a chance to make Luna see reason. She has to understand this won’t make things any better. Celestia avoided a series of magical lances by teleporting past them to appear before Nightmare Moon. Proceeding to fire a quick barrage of light spears at her sister’s wings. Only for her sister’s form to vanish into smoke. A laugh rang out, filling Celestia with dread.

“Dear sister, how far you’ve fallen since our last time together. Your speed is laughable, and your attacks lack conviction.” All around Celestia, Nightmare Moons manifested. “Such a shame too, this fight has bored me. It's time to show you the power of my Night!” As their voices echoed, Celestia prepared the strongest defensive spell she had. When all the Nightmare Moon clones shot out a pillar of light into the heavens she felt confusion. Only to realize that above her lay the moon, looming over her. From the pillars a magical circle formed, connected to each point with the moon in the center. “Witness the might of my moon!” The moon lit up as the spell finalized. From the center of the circle a laser shot down at Celestia. Her defenses held but she grew increasingly worried as the beam only grew in size. Its intensity then surged as the laser grew to encompass the entire circle. The lunar laser crushed Celestia’s guard and its full force engulfed her.

Celestia’s body plummeted as the laser continued to bear down on her. A large crater formed upon her impact. The laser finally let up to reveal her defeated form. All around the crater trees and earth had been blown away by the magnitude of the attack. Were it not for her durability as a goddess, Celestia would've disintegrated as well.

“Ahahahaha! With you out of the way, none can stand against me!” Nightmare Moon relished in her victory. The final obstacle between her and her rightful place as sole ruler of Equestria lay broken before her. I had planned to seal her away as soon as I had beaten her, but perhaps I can indulge a little. I’ll keep her around long enough to witness how the ponies bow to me. She’ll surely enjoy seeing her dear little student brought to her knees before me!

Her maddened cackles filled the empty sky as a tear fell from Celestia’s immobile form.

-{/}-

Shirou did his best to keep up with Twilight as she rushed to the Town Hall with Spike riding on her back. He was still too unused to his four legged form to run faster without tripping.

“Twilight, wait up!” Hearing his voice, Twilight reluctantly slowed down. As hurried as she was, she didn’t want to leave Shirou too far behind.

“Come on Shirou, we’re almost there. What happened to that speed I saw when you pushed me out of Rainbow Dash’s way?”

“That was different, it was a simple case of reacting in time and launching myself forward. Trying to run on all fours when I’ve lived my life on two legs is a lot harder, you know!”

“If running is so hard for you then I’ll just carry you over myself.” With that declaration Twilight telekinetically grasped Shirou and levitated him behind her as she resumed her galloping pace.

Shirou relaxed himself to lessen the strain on Twilight’s grip, but it didn’t sit well with him to be this useless. What good am I if I can’t even keep up with a normal pony. I know Celestia wanted me to keep this form as long as possible but if anything does happen I won’t be able to do much without changing back to a human. Shirou lightly grimaced at his own frustrations.

Finally arriving at the Town Hall, Twilight let Shirou down as she tried to make her way through the crowd. Shirou did his best to stick close to her as she paved a path to the front of the gathered ponies.

Standing upon a stage was a bespectacled mare who looked over the ponies. Seeing that everypony had arrived she cleared her throat to get their undivided attention.

“Fillies and gentlecolts, we gather once again to celebrate the raising of the sun by our wonderful Princess Celestia. As mayor of Ponyville, it is my great pleasure to announce the commencement of the Summer Sun Celebration!” Cheers rang out as the ponies were filled with excitement. “In a few minutes, we will witness the glorious magic of the sunrise. From there we will celebrate the longest day of the year!” The cheering commenced once more before the Mayor continued. “Now it is my greatest honor to introduce to you the ruler of Equestria. The pony who raises and lowers our sun and moon everyday, who is most wise, good, and fair. The keeper of harmony throughout the land, Princess Celestia!”

With that final declaration, the curtains were pulled aside only for everypony to stare in confusion. For there was no pony present behind the curtains. Panic began to set in as the ponies realized their Princess was missing. None were worried more than Twilight who dreaded what this truly meant.

“Shirou, this is terrible,” was all Twilight could say as she began to look around for any signs of the one she feared. She saw the mayor trying to calm the ponies down to no avail.

“Both of you, get behind me. I can’t let any of you be exposed to a possible attack.” Shirou carefully scanned the surroundings as well. I can’t let any of these ponies be harmed. I have to protect them at all costs!

A magical scent entered his nose, it smelled like a heavy ocean breeze with a bit of ozone from a coming storm. It also had a smoky tinge to it which added to Shirou’s discomfort at the situation.

Upon the balcony, from which Celestia was supposed to have appeared, a dark cloud of smoke began to form. As the smoke grew, Shirou’s dread grew. This power was greater than even Celestia’s. It felt raw and primordial. From the cloud emerged a figure, donning her dark armor, she gazed at the ponies below.

“I’ve come to greet you, my beloved subjects! I see your sun-loving faces are as adorable as ever.” Nightmare Moon smiled upon them, her fanged grin freezing most of the ponies in fear.

“What have you done with Princess Celestia!” Rainbow Dash was outraged that somepony would dare take the place of their Princess. Unknowing the danger she faced if she truly angered Nightmare Moon.

“My, my, some of you have become quite impudent in my absence. That is no way to speak to Royalty.” Nightmare Moon used her telekinesis to seize the offending Pegasus. “Tell me, do you even know who I am?”

“Let me go!” Rainbow Dash thrashed around in her grip, glaring at her the whole time. Shirou nearly jumped out to try and rescue her. He was only stopped by the realization that doing so might place Twilight in danger or anger Nightmare Moon enough for her to truly cause damage. He could only bide his time, so long as Nightmare Moon didn't attack he'd have to remain passive. Such was the gap in their strength. He hated being so pathetic, unable to keep others safe.

“How quickly you’ve forgotten me. It's only been a millennia since I was banished. Yet you all act as if my crown has no meaning anymore. Did you not see the signs so clearly written in my legend?” She released the Pegasus seeing that she wouldn’t get anything useful out of her. Her lack of recognition at her appearance simply served to anger her.

“I saw the signs and I know who you are. You’re the mare on the Moon, Nightmare Moon.” Twilight’s words drew Nightmare Moon’s attention, as she smiled down at her. Her anger faded as somepony finally gave her the attention she deserved. Though the Stallion next to her gave off a strange vibe, Nightmare Moon elected to ignore him. The mare before her was far more interesting after all.

“Truly wonderful, my dear sister’s star pupil should know me. She has trained you well, Twilight Sparkle.” Her grin grew as Twilight’s expression became anxious at her knowledge of her relation to Celestia. “Did you think I had no way to observe the ongoings of Equestria while banished? The moon sees everything at night my dear, and now it will also serve as your guiding light. For this has been your final day, I hope you all enjoyed it. From now on, my eternal night begins!”

Shirou wanted to grab Twilight and bolt, but he knew doing so would leave everypony here at the mercy of Nightmare Moon. I could attack her but I doubt my normal blades would do anything. To access any of my stronger Noble Phantasms I’d have to drop the disguise and I know she’ll strike me down before I can return to my human form. Dammit, can’t I do anything?!

“Seize her, she must know where the Princess is!” The mayor had finally regained her senses and ordered the Royal Guard into action.

“How foalish, do you think these mere mortals could possibly be a match for me?!” With a shockwave of magical energy, Nightmare Moon blasted the Royal Guards away. “Your hospitality has been lacking, and I still have other business to attend to before assuming my place on the throne. Goodbye my little ponies!” With that, she assumed her smoke form and exited the building. Rainbow Dash, who’d shaken off her fear, tried to pursue her to no success.

Twilight breathed a sigh of relief that the danger had passed for now. She still needed to find a way to take down Nightmare Moon. Especially if Princess Celestia wasn’t around to stop her.

Shirou could only feel disappointment at his inability to do anything. It was only a matter of time before Nightmare Moon would come back. If anything, to take Twilight as she knew her to be Celestia’s student. Once again he was unable to help, much less save, anyone. What kind of hero could I be when I simply stand aside. I’m only fortunate she decided to leave before anypony got hurt.

“This is very bad, Shirou we need to find the elements of harmony. There’s no other way, but we don’t even know where to look!” Before Twilight could panic, she noticed that Spike had slumped over her. It seemed that all the events up to then had taken a heavy toll on the baby dragon. “Poor Spike, I’ll have to get him to bed. Then we can begin searching the library for anything to point us in the right direction.”

Shirou simply nodded and followed her out as they returned to the library. He was still contemplating what he could do to take down Nightmare Moon with his blades. So far he’d only come up with one possibly successful solution. It would require everything he had, but hopefully it would work out.

As they left the Town Hall, they failed to spot Rainbow Dash looking on from above.

Their priority now was the Elements of Harmony and stopping Nightmare Moon.

Chapter 6: The Present is Here!

Upon arriving at the Golden Oaks Library, Twilight took Spike up to his bed on the second floor. With Spike asleep, Shirou and Twilight got to work searching through the library for any mention of the Elements of Harmony.

“Shirou, get me any books on myths and legends. I’ll look through them for any mentions of the Elements of Harmony.” Shirou simply nodded his head before searching through the nearest bookshelf to begin. Though Shirou had sensed them, he disregarded the presence of 5 familiar ponies and focused on the task at hand. Thus, when their search was interrupted by their uninvited guests he wasn’t as taken aback as Twilight. Maybe I should point out the telepathic link we share as Master and Servant to Twilight. It would help in situations like this where she might get caught off guard. Were his thoughts as he prepared for the rapidly approaching rainbow colored missile.

“So this is where you all ran off to!” Rainbow Dash zoomed towards Twilight only for Shirou to intercept her. “What’s the big idea huh? From what I’ve seen you two know far more than anypony else about what’s going on. Are you spies?!”

“Rainbow Dash, if we were spies we wouldn’t be here trying to find a way to stop Nightmare Moon,” Shirou responded while staring at Rainbow Dash with a deadpan expression.

“Oh, heh. Sorry about that.” Rainbow Dash bashfully looked away before regaining her bravado. “In that case let me help! I can’t let that evil pony get away after what she did!”

“Count us in as well.” It was then that Shirou and Twilight noticed that 4 familiar mares had entered behind Rainbow Dash. Applejack continued, “we ain’t letting no pony go around making eternal night. So you best be telling us what’s going on so we can help put a stop to this Nightmare Moon.”

“As much as your help is appreciated, it would be too dangerous to let any of you accompany us,” stated Shirou. Bad enough Twilight has to be exposed to danger, I can’t let more ponies put their lives on the line.

“And who’re you to stop us?!” Rainbow Dash wasn’t about to let somepony tell her what she could and couldn’t do to help.

“I’m somepony who doesn’t want you risking your lives. I can’t guarantee your safety, so it's better if you all stay here.”

“Who asked you to protect us?! We can handle ourselves without your help pal!” Rainbow had to be held back by Applejack as she lunged at Shirou.

“Now settle down Rainbow, there’s no reason to be getting all worked up when the real fights out there!” It took a bit, but Rainbow Dash finally calmed down enough for Applejack to feel comfortable letting her go. “As for you, I appreciate your concern but it's our business if we decide to help or not. We don’t need you worrying over us like a mother hen, much less your permission to help out. Ya got that mister?” Applejack stared Shirou in the eyes to reinforce her point.

“Shirou, as much as I understand your reluctance to let anypony put themselves in danger, I think we can really use any help we can get.” Twilight was a bit unsure of allowing more ponies to get involved with such a dangerous situation, but with how messy things had become it was out of their hooves now. “It's well within their rights to stop Nightmare Moon from ruining their way of life.”

“Fine. I’ll just have to keep an eye out for all of you. I don’t care how confident you are, the situation is too great to let you put yourselves in any more danger if possible. Just stay out of the way if fighting breaks out.” Shirou was greatly troubled by the potential for more victims of Nightmare Moon. I have to make sure these ponies stay safe. If they won’t listen and stay put then I’ll just need to keep them behind me. I have to keep them safe.

“Now, if you all want to help, then you can start by finding any books about the Elements of Harmony.” Twilight resumed her own efforts only for Pinkie’s exclamation to draw her attention.

“Oh! Found it! The Elements of Harmony: A Reference Guide”

“Huh? But how’d you find it so quickly?!”

“Well it was under ‘E’ silly!”

Twilight could only stare dumbly as Pinkie pranced away. She certainly wasn’t embarrassed that she hadn’t considered looking under ‘E’ first. It was Shirou’s job to search for books after all. Yeah, I certainly wouldn’t have made such a blunder. Wait, I can’t just blame Shirou for that. It’d be rude, especially when he’s been so helpful.

Shirou, oblivious of Twilight’s turmoil, proceeded to collect the book to take it to Twilight who he noticed was still staring off in surprise. This did bring Twilight back to the situation at hoof.

“Let’s see here,” began Twilight as she finally opened the book, “there are six elements in total. Yet, only five of them are known with the sixth one being a mystery. The five known elements are: Kindness, Laughter, Generosity, Honesty, and Loyalty. The last known location of the elements was the ancient castle used by the royal pony sisters.”

“Y-you don’t mean the castle in t-the E-everfree Forest do you?” Fluttershy couldn’t help but ask as she shook with fear at the idea of having to head into the depths of that place.

“I do mean the Everfree Forest, Fluttershy. If anypony is too scared to follow us into the Everfree then they may stay.”

Surprising both Shirou and Twilight, the gathered mares unanimously agreed to head into the Everfree. Even the shaking Fluttershy who looked like she might bolt at any second.

“Then it's decided! We’re off to the Everfree Forest to find the Elements of Harmony!”

“Yeah!” Yelled all the gathered mares, while Shirou could only sigh in resignation.

As they prepared to head out, Shirou felt a sinister presence observing them. While it was relatively weak compared to Nightmare Moon, he knew it was tied to her due to its smell and magical energy signal. It had him on edge, but it wasn’t attacking and quickly vanished. So she’s watching us. We have to tread lightly. Why’d Twilight agree to let other ponies get involved and why did I agree with her! She’s my Master but this might just be too much.

Finally heading out, Shirou gave up questioning how he’d been convinced to let 5 untrained mares join them on a dangerous trip into the Everfree Forest. Instead he focused on keeping track of any familiars Nightmare Moon might have trailing them. I should tell Twilight of our telepathy while I have time.

Twilight was approaching the entrance to the Everfree, when a familiar voice emanating from her head startled her. ‘Twilight, it's me Shirou. Sorry I didn’t tell you earlier, but we should be able to speak telepathically. This is due to our contract and can be used if we ever get separated.’

‘Geez, you scared me there! I am glad you’ve finally shared this information nonetheless, Shirou.’ While a bit miffed at how long it took to learn this information, Twilight understood that a lot of other stuff had probably taken priority for Shirou. ‘Hopefully this way we can also share thoughts without somepony like Nightmare Moon eavesdropping on us.’

‘Actually on the subject of Nightmare Moon, I’ve sensed a familiar of hers following us. I didn’t want to scare the others, but I felt you should at least be aware.’ Shirou’s pace remained steady as he kept track of the trailing familiar. Twilight, on the other hand, nearly stumbled and was on the verge of looking around frantically. ‘Calm down Twilight. I know you’re worried, but it’ll do us no good to let it know we’ve discovered it yet. I’m not sure why Nightmare Moon has it trailing us, but for now it seems content to observe. So I’d rather not risk provoking it, or worse Nightmare Moon, with the others possibly getting caught in the crossfire.’

‘I’ll trust your judgment then Shirou. I just hope we can handle whatever Nightmare Moon is plotting.’

‘You and I both, Twilight.’

They had finally reached the entrance of the Everfree Forest. The foliage and dark of the night made it hard for anypony to see beyond the path ahead. Even Shirou’s reinforced eyesight could do little to pierce the darkness.

“Well here we are, the Everfree Forest. If anyone wants to turn back now then you are more than welcome to. It still doesn’t sit well with me to let any of you join Shirou and I on this dangerous task.” Twilight was reluctant to let anypony follow them into such an ominous place.

“Now sugarcube, we said we’re coming along and wait ain’t no liars. So stop fretting so much about it. Ain’t no way we’d let any of our friends walk into such a creepy place alone!” The others nodded in agreement with Applejack’s words.

“Twilight wouldn’t have been alone, she’d have me by her side. I understand your concerns, but we can handle this on our own.” Shirou tried a final time to get the mares to leave for their own safety.

“And we can handle ourselves too, so stop trying to tell us otherwise,” responded Rainbow Dash.

“Rainbow is right darling, we can take care of ourselves. So let us dispense with the dilly dallying and get on our way. We shall proceed together or not at all, and I for one would like to see daylight sometime today.” Though Twilight had decided to accept their help, Rarity saw the look of concern still clung to Shirou’s face. “Now darling, don’t look so troubled. We know you won’t let us come to harm and would it not increase our odds of success if more of us went along?”

“I-I t-think it's better if we stick together too,” added Fluttershy. Shirou was surprised at how adamant she seemed even if she sounded nervous. “Like Applejack said, we’d never leave a friend behind.”

Why were these ponies so set on helping? They’ve only known us for a day and yet they insist we’re friends they’d never abandon. Is this normal? Shirou’s thoughts were interrupted when his silence was taken as acceptance and Pinkie proceeded to joyfully hop into the Everfree.

“Alright everypony let’s get going!” Pinkie exclaimed as she saw no reason to keep arguing. “We’re all friends and as friends we’ll get this done lickity split! Oh! Then we can throw a ‘We Defeated Nightmare Moon and Saved Equestria’ party!”

Before Shirou could protest, the rest of the ponies accompanied Pinkie into the Everfree. Twilight could only give an apologetic smile at seeing his frustration while she followed suit.

-{/}-

The group had followed the path through the Everfree hoping it would lead them to the Elements of Magic. After all this path has to lead somewhere and what better place than a former seat of power right? Twilight thought to herself as she figured it might be helpful to ask the others what they knew of the Everfree Forest.

“So have any of you actually been here before?” Twilight asked, realizing they had no real clue where they were supposed to be heading to.

“Heaven’s no darling, this place is awfully dreadful,” replied Rarity as she looked around with mild disdain.

“Doesn’t help that this place is downright unnatural. Folks say this place runs differently from Equestria,” added Applejack with a wary look at her surroundings.

“What does that even mean?” While Twilight questioned the others, Shirou felt a shift from the familiar that was following them. The path had led them onto a precarious ledge and he had an inkling of what it was plotting.

“Nopony knows,” responded Rainbow Dash as she flew further ahead. “You know why? Cause nopony who enters ever comes out!” Just as Rainbow stalked towards the group to spook them she was tackled by Shirou who’d caught up to her. “Hey what’s the big deal?!” Before she could be further outraged, the part she’d been standing on began to crumble.

“Run!” Shirou could only shout out a warning as the familiar caused the ledge to collapse under them. Unfortunately, the others weren’t as quick to react and got caught by the trap.

“Ahhh!” The non-pegasi ponies screamed as they slid down the steep slope. Shirou threw himself down the slope in hot pursuit. He saw Fluttershy and Rainbow spring into action as well, with Fluttershy grabbing Rarity and Rainbow helping Pinkie. Shirou traced a massive greatsword as he closed in on Applejack and sank it deep into the slope ahead of her.

“Oof! Thanks partner!” Applejack hit the sword a bit harder than comfortable, but she was grateful for the save nonetheless. Her relief was short-lived as she saw a formless shadow approaching Shirou and Twilight.

Shirou finally reached Twilight and caught her before she could fall off the edge. He began to pull her up when he heard Applejack yell towards them.

“Watch out! You have to let Twilight go and dodge Shirou!”

“What?!” Shirou was bewildered that she’d even consider that he’d let Twilight fall off a cliff.

“Trust me! Now!” Applejack put as much sincerity as she could into her words. She knew she had to get through to Shirou if she wanted him to listen and trust her.

Shirou was briefly conflicted as he saw no reason to obey her. Yet staring into her eyes and seeing the honesty in them, he couldn’t help but overlap her green eyes with another similar pair. A pair he trusted with his very being, so going against his own instincts he let Twilight go.

“Hey!” Twilight was rightfully angry that Shirou had let her fall, but also incredibly scared as she felt gravity take over. Fortunately, she was quickly caught by Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. As they flew her up she saw what Applejack had been warning Shirou about.

“What?!” Shirou barely dodged a dark blur that swooped in where he’d been holding Twilight. How’d that thing slip past me?! Is it possible, does that thing have some sort of presence concealment?! It must’ve been letting me detect it to lower my guard during the attack. “Trace on!”

As the shadow came back for a second attack on Shirou, a thin sword appeared in the air before it. Before it could swerve away the sword fired, piercing it with unerring accuracy. A horrid screech could be heard as the purifying effect of the Black Key wiped the shadow from existence.

“This is bad, if those things can use some kind of presence concealment we won’t be able to see them before it's too late.” Shirou had made his way down following Applejack to meet with the others. “We need to turn back now, it's too dangerous if I can’t predict their attacks.”

“Shirou, it's too late to go back. If detection is the issue then I think I might have a solution.” Twilight began to concentrate on a spell that would grant Shirou increased senses, beyond even his reinforcement. Only for a terrifying roar to break her concentration.

The group prepared for whatever was coming towards them as they saw a large creature approach. In the light of the moon they were able to make out what it was, an angry manticore.

“Stand back! I’ll handle this. Trace on.” Shirou put himself between the manticore and the ponies. He traced a minor Noble Phantasm with anti-monster properties in preparation.

“Wait!” Before he could fire the Noble Phantasm off, he was interrupted by Fluttershy of all ponies. “Don’t hurt him! Can’t you see he’s injured.” Fluttershy quickly flew to the manticore before Shirou could stop her. “Shhhh, it's okay. You poor baby, you must be so scared.”

Shirou was floored to see the beast melt like putty in Fluttershy’s hooves. Its anger rapidly replaced with a pained look as it whimpered at Fluttershy.

“Now, let me see what’s wrong.” The manticore proceeded to show her its paw, where a large thorn was digging into its flesh. “Oh my, that’s just dreadful. I’ll get it out, but it might hurt for just a second.” Fluttershy removed the thorn and the manticore roared in pain briefly.

Shirou nearly jumped into action as the manticore grabbed Fluttershy. He stopped himself when he saw it was happily licking her in thanks.

“Aw, you are just the cutest baby kitty aren’t you?” Fluttershy laughed in joy at seeing another animal thank her for her kindness. She said her goodbye as the manticore took off into the night sky.

“How’d you know it had a thorn in its paw?” Twilight was curious as to how anypony could’ve identified the issue so quickly.

“I didn’t know. I just decided to show a little bit of kindness to a troubled animal friend.” Fluttershy was just happy she’d been able to help an animal in need. She yelped as a dark blur nearly struck her before another Black Key struck it, banishing it from this realm.

“It seems this was another ploy by these shadows.” Shirou was really starting to regret letting the others join, even if they’d been proving themselves somewhat. “Twilight if you have a spell to help, I’d really appreciate it.”

“Oh! Yeah, let me properly apply it this time.” Twilight focused once again and completed the spell. Her horn glowed as a soft light enveloped Shirou and he felt his senses sharpen. “There we go, Keen Senses should let you detect those shadow familiars now.”

Shirou was amazed at how powerful the enhancement was, even reinforcement couldn’t reach this level. He could see and hear nearly three times as well as before. More importantly his magical sense felt greatly improved as well. It even made sorting through the multiple magical signatures he’d been picking easier. Which let him discover that a familiar malevolent signal was not too far ahead.

“Everypony, watch yourselves. We have more shadow trickery up ahead.” The others nodded in acknowledgement and let Shirou take point this time.

The group walked forward with far more wary glances around. They didn’t want any more surprises catching them off guard.

“Why must this place be so icky? My eyes are growing tired of all this muck.” Rarity’s concern for any dangers lying ahead did nothing to make her forget how much she disliked the dirt and mud around her.

“Rarity, it's a forest. It's going to be messy.” Applejack gave her a curt response, she knew Rarity could be a bit prissy, but now was not the time for that.

The group fell silent once more as they entered a darker part of the forest. Here the dense foliage blocked out the moonlight. The trees looming ominously over them did little to alleviate their fears.

Shirou motioned for them to stop as he sensed the shadow familiar in this area enact a spell on the area. Its effects became clear when the trees surrounding them gained terrifying appearances. The ponies screamed in terror as they saw the now horrifying trees close in on them. All but one, aside from Shirou, were panicking. Pinkie stood in stark contrast to others as she just laughed.

“Huh?” Everypony else was confused by her laughter.

Their confusion rose when she casually hopped up to a tree and started making faces at it. Shirou was starting to grow numb at the actions these ponies were taking in the face of danger. He still was ready to intercept the shadow causing all this, but he’d let Pinkie handle things for now. I’m really trusting a pink pony with the safety of a bunch of other technicolor ponies. What has my life come to? Maybe this is just a bad prank by Zelretch. Shirou sighed in exasperation at the turn his life had taken.

“Pinkie, what are you doing?” Twilight couldn’t help but question Pinkie’s antics, even if Shirou’s passivity at them baffled her.

“Oh girls, don’t you see?” Pinkie had adopted a sing-song voice as she responded which only drew groans from the others.

“Really? A song at a time like this?” Twilight’s fear had long since disappeared as she tried to wrap her head around Pinkie’s actions.

As Pinkie sang about the way in which laughter can help you face your fears, Shirou stood back and observed.

“Shirou, how is this actually working?!” Twilight grew even more exasperated when the visage on the trees began to revert to that of non-threatening bark.

“I suppose like most ritual magic, her singing allows her to invoke some kind of dispelling effect on ominous illusions. Though I’m honestly all that sure myself, its the best I got. I wouldn’t think about it too much, Twilight. Trust me, in cases like this its better to not question the strangeness of the world. That road, only madness lies.” The blank expression that appeared on Shirou’s face as he spoke only confused Twilight further. She did take his words to heart for the time being as she felt like laughing at the absurdity of it all, just like Pinkie wanted.

With all the ponies, except Shirou, laughing away, the illusion was dispelled and the shadow was put down by Shirou. Pinkie didn’t fail to notice how throughout her song the only pony to not laugh was Shirou. Normally that wouldn’t do at all and she’d pull out all the stops to get him to laugh. But everypony else decided to continue the journey before she could get started.

“Hey, Shirou, why’d you stay all serious?! Wouldn’t it have been more fun to join in on the laughter?” Shirou simply raised an eyebrow at Pinkie before responding.

“While I’m impressed by your singing and ability to dispel that illusion, I saw no reason to laugh along. You all were doing well enough without me.”

“But it's no fun to leave a friend out of a good time!”

“Pinkie, it's fine. I don’t need to laugh.” With those words Shirou brushed past Pinkie and resumed his position at the front of the group. Pinkie made sure to remember this moment.

What kind of pony doesn’t need to laugh?! I’ll make sure Shirou laughs! Just you wait mister!

-{/}-

The path had gone on for a while with no troubles, which only made Shirou more concerned. Perhaps Nightmare Moon felt it better to call back her familiars to take action herself? I sure hope not.

Approaching a river crossing, they noticed the water was raging far more than it should.

“What’s going on here? Why’s the river so unruly?” Applejack and the others realized they couldn’t cross under these conditions. As they tried to find another way across, they heard crying in the distance.

Seeing no other option, they headed towards the sobbing. Shirou hoped it wasn’t something awful they were approaching as the crying was very sorrowful. He certainly hadn’t expected to see a large sea serpent to be the origin of the noise.

“What a world. What a world!”

“Excuse us, sir. Why are you crying?” Twilight moved up to stand by Shirou as she noticed the serpent wasn’t hostile.

“Well, I don’t know. I was simply enjoying my day when this tacky little cloud of dark purple smoke came zipping by. Before I knew it, the darned thing had lopped off half of my perfectly styled mustache! Now I look horrid!”

“That’s what this is all about?” Rainbow was the first to make her exasperation known at how superficial the problem seemed.

“Come now, can’t you all see how wretched this poor fellow feels?” Rarity chided them for their perceived insensitivity at the crime at hand. She then proceeded to compliment the serpent for his well kept appearance, before coming to the crux of the issue once more.

“Shirou, be a dear and provide me with a knife please?” Shirou wasn’t sure what she intended to do, but he felt there was no harm in giving her a regular traced dagger. “Thank you darling.”

“Now to fix this crime against fabulosity!” Rarity used the dagger to cut off her tail, before styling it to match the mustache as much as possible. Shirou figured out her plan as he saw her style the lopped off tail.

“Oh Rarity, your beautiful tail…” Twilight might not have known her long, but even she could understand how much Rarity valued her image.

“It's fine dear. Short tails are in season, and it’ll grow back in time.” Rarity did feel some grief at losing her well maintained tail, but she knew her generous aid was well worth it.

“Rarity, would you mind handing that to me for a brief minute?” Feeling he could at least use some alteration to help her out, Shirou extended his hoof to take hold of her tail.

“Certainly darling, here you go. Whatever do you plan to do though?” Rarity’s curiosity was peaked when she saw Shirou’s horn glow as he began to apply magic to the tail.

“Trace on,” Shirou whispered as he changed the tail’s color to match that of the sea serpent’s mustache. “There we go, it's not much but this way it should at least match.”

Handing the altered tail back to Rarity, Shirou stepped back.

“Why this is amazing darling! You simply must show me the spell you used once we return.” Rarity was very impressed by the change. Her mind couldn’t help but consider the possibilities of such a spell for her dressmaking business. Remembering the task at hand, she used her magic to attach the newly crafted mustache onto the serpent’s face.

“Oh my! How wonderful! My mustache is restored!” The sea serpent was over the moon with joy.

“Let’s cross now that the river’s calmed down.” Shirou prepared to cross, only for the serpent to interrupt him.

“Allow me,” spoke the sea serpent as he created a path for them across using his own body.

“Thank you darling!” Rarity thanked the sea serpent as the others began crossing the river.

Finally on the other side the group set off again. Shirou once again taking point, with Twilight close behind him.

“Seems that whatever shadow familiar was responsible left after its job was done.” Twilight was surprised no shadow had attacked them.

“It sure seems that way. I do find it odd how trivial its role was. Cutting off a mustache seems far tamer than trying to knock us off a cliff.” Shirou wasn’t sure how to feel about the lack of another shadow attack. Hopefully things keep going smoothly, even though these situations sure are circumstantial. How each pony has had a role to play is beyond me. This world really is starting to wear on me. A sigh escaped him as he continued along.

-{/}-

As they approached a ravine, they noticed an old rickety bridge. Or at least what remained of it. The bridge had collapsed it seemed, although it was largely intact otherwise.

“There it is! Across this ravine, the castle!” Twilight was excited to have finally found the location of the Elements of Harmony. “We made it!”

“The only problem is how are we gonna get across?” Applejack expressed her worry when she saw the state of the bridge.

“It's my time to shine!” Rainbow declared proudly.

“Oh, right.” Applejack deadpanned as she saw Rainbow smugly flying over her.

“Just wait here. I’ll get that bridge fixed in a second!” Rainbow took off to grab the fallen end of the bridge.

“Rainbow! Catch!” As she was halfway down she heard Shirou and saw a Black Key heading towards. Shirou wasn’t too keen on letting Rainbow do this on her own, but there wasn’t much he could do about it besides give her some protection.

“Thanks, Shirou!” Rainbow quickly caught the small sword in her hooves and then continued on her way.

The group gathered around the edge seeing Rainbow vanish into the dense fog of the ravine. She then rose with the rest of the bridge on the other side.

“Seems she’s got this covered.” Twilight was relieved that nothing had happened to Rainbow so far. “Soon we’ll be at the ruins.”

“Wait, what are those figures near Rainbow?” Shirou grew suspicious as his enhanced senses let him see through the fog a bit as he spotted silhouettes appear near Rainbow Dash.

“Rainbow!” Shouted Twilight as she tried to get Rainbow Dash’s attention so she’d finish fixing the bridge.

He grew concerned as it looked like Rainbow was arguing with them. It was way too suspicious and he started planning how to get across to help her. He stopped when he heard her shout at them.

“I don’t care how much fame flying with you would get me if it meant turning my back on my friends!” She proceeded to use the Black Key to stab the shadow as it dropped the masquerade to attack her.

Rainbow finished tying up the bridge before flying back and dispersing the fog as she went. The mares cheered at seeing her return.

“See I’d never leave my friends behind!” Rainbow beamed, having shown her friends that she’d always stay loyal to them.

-{/}-

Finally making their way into the castle ruins, the group was in awe at the sight of such an ancient yet regal building.

“Wow, it's amazing here.” Twilight was enraptured, who knew how many secrets these ancient halls held. There must be so much hidden knowledge in here!

“These are what you were looking for, right Twilight?” Applejack asked while pointing to the massive statue in the center of the entrance hall.

“One, two, three, four, and five!” Pinkie counted in excitement as Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash brought each element down from the statue. Each of them were little more than gray stone orbs with a sigil.

“Where’s the sixth one?!” Rainbow Dash was sure she remembered Twilight saying there were six.

“The book said that: when the five are present, a spark will cause the sixth Element to be revealed.” Twilight looked around the statue hoping to find a clue as to what the book meant.

“What in the hay is that supposed to mean?” Applejack sure was getting tired of all these vague clues they’d been following.

“I’m not sure, but I have an idea of where to start. Please stand back, I’m not sure what might happen.” Twilight began to prepare a spell to cast on the gathered elements, perhaps it would reveal the sixth element.

“Come on everypony, let’s give Twilight some space.” Applejack led the others outside, but Shirou stuck by Twilight’s side. He had an odd feeling, the lingering scent that reminded him of Nightmare Moon reinforced that feeling. It didn’t sit well with him, but he couldn’t sense Nightmare Moon nearby.

Of course the Moon Goddess would have presence concealment much like her familiars. I just hope she isn’t keen on striking down anypony before I can stop her. She’s had plenty of chances, but she seems oddly content to inconvenience us far more than truly killing us.

As Shirou kept his guard up, Twilight began casting her spell. The moment Shirou saw a far more prominent purple cloud of smoke approach Twilight he jumped into action.

“Twilight!” He shoved her out of the way as the purple cloud began swirling around her and the elements. In turn, he was the one pulled into the forced teleportation instead of Twilight.

“Oh no, Shirou!”

“What’s going on?! Twilight, where’s Shirou?!” The others came running back in when they heard Shirou scream out Twilight’s name.

“She took him and the Elements!” Twilight was panicking, she needed to rescue Shirou. But where did Nightmare Moon take him?! Why’d he have to sacrifice himself in my place?!

“Over there!” Everypony turned to Rarity as she pointed to a tower nearby where lights poured from the windows.

“Let’s go rescue Shirou and get the Elements back!” Applejack shouted as she ran off to the tower with the rest following close behind.

-{/}-

A loud bang could be heard as Shirou appeared in a cloud of smoke. He coughed as the disturbed dust entered his lungs. Dammit, I need to find the elements and get back to the others. Was his first thought as he regained his bearings. His eyes quickly scanned his new surroundings, noting that he was still somewhere in the ruins.

Lightning flashed through the broken windows on the other side of the room as a familiar scent reached Shirou’s nose in full force. Before him stood Nightmare Moon, standing upon an elevated platform surrounded by broken windows. Her laugh rang out ominously as she smugly stared down at Shirou.

“I had planned to take my dear sister’s star pupil along with the elements, but I suppose any of her precious little ponies will do as well.”

“What have you done with the Princess, Nightmare Moon,” asked Shirou as he tried to formulate a plan of attack. He doubted he’d be able to escape now that he had her full attention.

“I merely roughed her up a bit, it was only fair I get a little payback for what she did to me after all. Now be a good colt and obey your new Princess. I require a volunteer to help convince my dear sister, and seeing as you took Twilight’s place you have volunteered yourself.” Nightmare Moon continued to smugly grin at Shirou believing he had no way to resist her demands.

“And if I say no?”

“I must insist. You wouldn’t want to anger your new ruler after all. It would end quite poorly for you my dear little pony.”

Seeing that Elements of Harmony lay near her hooves, Shirou decided on a plan of action. Only for his senses to pick up the sound of an approaching group. This is bad, they stand no chance against Nightmare Moon. It's all or nothing then!

“I am the bone of my sword.” A wave of magic emanated from Shirou, surprising Nightmare Moon. Shirou knew he couldn’t hold back any longer, doing away with the transformation and returning to his human form.

“What manner of creature are you? I’ve never seen something like you before. And that spike in energy is certainly unique. Yet no spell will change your punishment. Pony or not, all will bow to me!” To punctuate her point she sent out a ray of magic energy to knock out Shirou. Her surprise grew when a sword intercepted the attack. “You are just full of tricks, aren’t you my dear. Let’s see how far those tricks can get you now that you've angered me!”

“Steel is my body and fire is my blood.” Shirou could sense the others getting closer, but he also felt strain as the aria resisted him. Not now! I can’t stop, just work dammit! I’ve done it before, so why is it resisting me now?! He tried to invoke the feeling he had when facing Archer, but he could still feel his world fighting him. His struggle didn’t mean he wasn’t able to trace nameless blades to divert the blasts of magic Nightmare Moon sent his way. He even fired a few at her while tracing Archer’s black bow to arm himself.

“You are an incredible annoyance! Fine. If you are so intent on resisting me, I’ll just have to discipline you! All I need is for you to stay breathing, and you won’t need your limbs for that!” Nightmare Moon focused her magic to unleash a powerful laser up the defiant creature. She ignored the blades aimed at her as they couldn’t pierce the dome-shaped barrier that protected her.

“I have created over a thousand blades.” Shirou grit his teeth as he felt a splitting headache from forcing the aria further. Mind of steel! This pain is nothing if I can protect the others. He pushed his body to its limits as he evaded the magical laser and traced swords to fire at Nightmare Moon. He knocked a minor Noble Phantasm, intent on breaking it to either pierce her shield or distract her for more time.

“These frail pieces of metal can’t harm me, you fool!” The minor Noble Phantasm didn’t even reach her barrier as a pillar of light destroyed it mid-flight. Nightmare Moon intensified her attack by unleashing multiple homing magic missiles. The explosions from each near-hit still tore at his reinforced armor and left him with minor wounds. A grim reminder that a single direct hit would cripple him, if not outright kill him.

“Aware of loss.” A soft smile, upon the face of what could only be an angel, flashed through Shirou’s mind. A memory of what he once held so dear. What I failed to save. “Knowing only one end.”

“I see now, you’re desperate because your friends have come to save you. How do you think they’ll react seeing your broken form?” Nightmare Moon cackled as she unleashed a shockwave to knock Shirou down as he continued to evade her other attacks.

“Withstood pain to create weapons, with hands that will never hold anything.” Shirou felt his skin breaking as swords began to rampage through his skin, a sign that his own world was rejecting him. Gritting his teeth, he traced a wall of swords to block the shockwave.

“I’ll admit your blades are sturdier than I’d assumed, but that only means I need to get serious.” She began to siphon pure magical energy from the moon hanging overheard. This energy was funneled into a magical area that formed above her with the moon at its center. Shirou knew he couldn’t avoid a spell so massive and potent, but he wouldn’t have to. “Witness the power of magic fueled by Ether and know you never stood a chance!”

“This is my only path,” Shirou launched another Broken Phantasm as Nightmare Moon as a final distraction. Diverting her energy to bolter her defenses gave him the precious seconds he needed to deploy his trump card. With a final breath he finished his aria, “Unlimited Blade Works!”

The ruins and night sky vanished as reality was overwritten.

-{/}-

Twilight and the others had just reached the top of the stair in the tower when they were caught by a wave of heatless flames. Opening their eyes, they bore witness to an ashen sky where barely functional gears turned ominously. Twilight noticed that the gears were stained with rust so red it looked like dried blood. Most strange of all was the myriad of blades that covered the land all around them. There was no end to their number.

“This is…” Twilight knew this place, but why was it such a depressing wasteland? What happened to the one I saw in that dream, where the sky was bright and filled with hope? Why is this place so broken, Shirou?

“What in tarnation!” Applejack was having a hard time understanding how they went from castle ruins to this desolate landscape.

“W-where are we?” Fluttershy was shaking in fear as she felt a great sense of sorrow permeating the air here.

“Wherever it is, it's absolutely more dreadful than the Everfree,” replied Rarity. She couldn’t help but reel at the sights around her. Most of all, the way the blades seemed subdued. Such beautiful craftsmanship yet not a single one shines brilliantly, how tragic!

“Enough gawking everypony! We still need to find Shirou and the elements. They have to be here somewhere.” Rainbow Dash flew into the sky to get a better view, but all she saw was an endless horizon full of the same wastes covered in blades. Huffing in frustration she flew back down. “I can’t see them anywhere, it's like this place just continues like this forever!”

“I’ve seen this place before, in one of Shirou’s memories.” Twilight drew everypony’s gaze when she spoke. “It wasn’t like this in that memory though, the sky was bright and clear. Yet here it's entirely covered in ash.”

“What are you on about, silly? Can’t you see the light shining through above our heads?” Even in a place like this Pinkie remained upbeat. This environment reminded her of home, before she discovered the joy of laughter. And if I could bring happiness to a place like that then surely I can do the same here!

“Woah, Pinkie’s right. It's almost like the light is trying to stop itself from being snuffed out.” Applejack couldn’t help but feel a small amount of relief at seeing something resembling daylight.

“But why is it only above us?” Twilight felt enraptured once again by the sad beauty of this strange place, even if it was fleeting.

“I’d like to know the same thing.” The ponies were startled when they heard Shirou speak, and were even further surprised by his appearance. He was no longer a unicorn, instead he was some strange bipedal creature none of them, except Twilight, had seen before. As they shook off their surprise they also spotted the Elements were now right in front of them.

“Darling! What happened to you?!” Rarity was aghast at seeing what seemed to be Shirou, donning such a tacky outfit. The fact it was damaged with blood trickling from the various wounds on Shirou made it worse. “You need medical attention at once darling, and a change of clothes.”

“What?” Shirou was baffled by Rarity’s comment. “Nevermind that, I’ve moved Nightmare Moon farther out, but she’ll find us soon. You need to get the elements to work. I’ll buy some time, here I can at least put up a proper fight against her.” Before he could set off, Twilight bit down on his coat to hold him back. “Twilight I need to go now. I can’t let Nightmare Moon harm any of you. I may have full control of this world, but Nightmare Moon’s divinity and power allows her to resist the influence of this world.”

“Shirou, there are so many questions I want to ask you right now! But more importantly we aren’t letting you face her alone again! Look at you! You are covered in wounds, how can you expect us to let you go and possibly get yourself hurt even more?!” Twilight stared at Shirou defiantly, she wasn’t about to let up and have Shirou disappear on them again.

“I’ll give you all the answers you want once Nightmare Moon has been defeated.” Shirou sighed, and looked into Twilight’s eyes. “Right now you are the only one who can get the Elements to work. I know you can find the 6th Element, Twilight. It's my job as your servant to protect you. So please don’t worry about me, you just need to focus on the Elements.”

“Shirou, I won’t let you do this alone! If you fight then we’ll fight by your side! We’re not just Servant and Master, we’re friends!” Twilight’s eyes shone with determination so strong that Shirou couldn’t look away.

“Twilight…” Shirou wanted to tell her to leave it all to him, how she didn’t stand a chance against Nightmare Moon. So why do her eyes look like that? Where is she getting this resolve from? Seeing those eyes, he could recall a time that felt like a lifetime ago. When he too had refused to let his Saber fight alone. I swore to fight by her side too… Is this how I looked then? Can I really trust her?

Stunned as he was, Shirou's lapse in concentration had given Nightmare Moon a golden opportunity. She had been stuck far from everyone else thanks to Shirou’s manipulation of the space within his Reality Marble. But now, she was able to locate the source of all her current troubles.

“I don’t know what manner of sorcery this is, but it will do little to stop me!” Nightmare Moon had tried to call for her Moon’s power, but the connection seemed severed. She still generated massive amounts of energy, but without her Moon she was limited to her weaker spells. “If my moon cannot reach me here then I will just need to crush this place!”

With a final look at Twilight, Shirou made up his mind. Though his instincts yelled at him to send her and others away, he knew what he had to do. She was willing to give me a chance, no matter how foolish I was.

“Twilight, I don’t understand why you keep trying to stand by my side. Yet, I once felt the same and at that time I was given a chance to prove myself. I’ll hold down Nightmare Moon, but I’ll trust you to take her down with the Elements. You ponies are far too kind, so I can only ask you to forgive me. I never intended to make friends knowing how my own story ends.”

“Shirou, we’ll never regret being your friend. Right girls?” Twilight stood confidently as the others moved to join her at her sides.

“Yeah!” They all agreed, no matter how much it shocked Shirou. They truly meant to stand and fight against such daunting odds, just for a friend.

“You just got here Shirou and I refuse to let you drown yourself any further. I know you held hope once and the light above us means you still have it no matter how small! We’ll stand by you and beat Nightmare Moon. Once we do then we’ll show you what it means to live with friends by your side!” A light began to emanate from the Elements. The once unassuming forms of simple gray orbs slowly gave way.

Shirou couldn’t help but let out a small wry smile. Did I sound like that to you, Saber? So full of hope, not knowing what hell I was walking into? Yet, why does it feel nice? Is this what you meant when I shouldn’t stand alone, Illya? Your big brother has been lost for so long. Standing here, with them by my side, it almost feels like you are still with me.

“Enough of this drivel! You will all kneel before me and stop this treason against your rightful ruler!” Nightmare Moon had used the time they wasted speaking to charge a potent spell to crush the source of this wretched world. “I will wipe this place away and return to the endless night I have waited a millenia for!”

“No, Nightmare Moon, you will fall here. Within this world my will is law! And I doubt you have what it takes to face off against my arsenal.” Shirou could feel the mana radiating off of Nightmare Moon and the spell circle floating behind her. He knew it could do nothing against this world of steel.

All around them, from the dry and cracked land, blades rose once again. For so long they’d only been used in hunts that could not ever satisfy the longing of their master. They had grown hollow from such use as the grief of his own loss bled into this world. Now, for the first time in a long time, they felt a light emanating from the core of his soul. These blades would rise, not to strike down another monster. Instead they would protect those who were gradually entering the heart of their master.

To think I forgot why I made this world. I buried myself in work to find any sense of justification for my own existence. I may have failed to save Illya, but now I will save Twilight and the others!

Nightmare Moon deployed her spell, a massive beam of energy directed at Shirou. She was sure this would break the land apart and free her. But instead a rain of steel descended upon her. These were not the simple blades she’d batted away so easily. Each was a peerless masterpiece with equally extensive legends. Cursed blades made to drown the user in blood lust flew alongside holy swords radiating with an aura of blessed piety. All around Nightmare Moon a plethora of blades shot at her.

The ponies' worry at the oncoming attack was replaced by awe at the number of swords intercepting the attack. Though many broke at first trying to stem the beam, more rose to take their place. Eventually the beam lost strength and was overtake by a tide of steel.

“You may have stopped one attack, but all I need is to strike you down!” Nightmare Moon summoned shadow copies of herself all around her, much like when fought Celestia. Each was capable of casting spells and together they could form even more complicated and powerful magic circles. “My sister was not enough to oppose me and you can’t even reach her level.”

A barrage of magical attacks descended upon Shirou, who’s only reaction was to summon his bow with an altered blade. His swords were already taking care of the new attacks, even if Nightmare Moon was now gaining ground. He knew even this attack could not bring her down, but it sure as hell would hurt.

“My core is twisted in madness.” The altered blade cracked as he pushed it to its limits, turning it into a Broken Phantasm. “Caladbolg II.”

The released blade sped through the space between it and its target with such speed it was near instantaneous. Nightmare Moon’s defenses had never stood a chance against a missile that could rend space.

The explosion that followed was incredible and it knocked the ponies out of their stupor.

“Everypony! Shirou is counting on us, and I think I now understand what we were missing.” Twilight brought their attention to her as she channeled energy into her horn. Taking each Element, she placed them in front of each pony. “The true source of power within the elements stems from us!”

“Applejack, who convinced Shirou, stubborn as he is, to trust in her judgment, represents the spirit of Honesty!” Before her, the orb broke and reformed into a necklace embedded with a gem shaped like her Cutie Mark before placing itself on her neck.

“Fluttershy, whose kind heart allowed her to calm and help a manticore in need, represents the spirit of Kindness!” Similar to Applejack, Fluttershy’s element transformed into a necklace bearing her Cutie Mark as a gem.

“Pinkie Pie, who giggled at the face of danger and banished the darkness with her joy, represents the spirit of Laughter!” Pinkie jumped in excitement as her element morphed much like the ones before.

“Rarity, who helped a serpent in need with a precious gift, represents the spirit of Generosity!” Rarity couldn’t help but admire the beauty of her element as it was placed around her neck.

“Rainbow Dash, who refused to abandon her friends when offered her greatest desire, represents the spirit of Loyalty!” Rainbow Dash beamed with pride as she gained her element, knowing that she would always stand with her friends.

As each element settled on their new wielders, from the light shining above a sixth one appeared. The final element that brought them all together. Even in a place like this it could find its true wielder. For the soul of her Servant was connected to her as well.

“The sixth element, the one that could only appear with a spark. It took me a while to realize what that meant. I was too engrossed with finding the elements that I never understood what they represented. When I saw you all resolutely standing by my side and refusing to let a friend fight alone, I discovered what truly matters. Our friendship got us this far, and it is that friendship that becomes the spark! When our hearts are aligned it creates the sixth element: the Element of Magic!” The sixth orb broke apart and its fragments reformed into a stunning golden Tiara with a star-shaped gem representing her Cutie Mark sitting atop. Once the Tiara found its place upon Twilight’s head, all the elements began to shine with magic.

As all this was happening, Nightmare Moon had recovered from Shirou’s attack. Though heavily wounded she forced the remaining Ether flowing through her to heal her wounds. Her recovery would be interrupted by strange metal chains. These chains wrapped around her and brought her down to the ground where she was unable to escape.

“Impossible! How could mere chains hold me!” No matter how much she thrashed the chains would not let go, even as she finished healing herself. They began to crack as her struggling continued, but it wouldn’t be fast enough.

“These are the chains that once bound the Titan Prometheus. They are more than able to bind a divine being like you! They may be hollow imitations of the true article, but these chains won't break before a final attack!” Shirou couldn't help but smile ruefully as he stared Nightmare Moon down. Tracing these chains was only thanks to Illya's insistence that he find a way to one up that Golden Bastard, and what better way than with an object from Heracles' legend. He knew he could’ve brought out swords with the ability to slay a God while she lay incapacitated, even if it would’ve taken everything in his power to strike a fatal blow. Yet he felt a calling in his heart to let the Elements do their work. It was as if a greater Spirit were advising him to abstain from staining his hands in further bloodshed.

“Nightmare Moon, you shall haunt Equestria no more! Behold the Magic of Friendship!” With that exclamation, Twilight’s eyes closed as she focused all their power. With each of the element bearers floating behind her, the glow surrounding them reached an apex. From their cluster, dual rainbows sprouted, intertwining and forming a wondrous helix. The spiraling rays came crashing down upon the Nightmare Moon.

“Let go of the envy and bitterness that holds you Nightmare Moon, and return to the pony you once were, Princess Luna!” Twilight punctuated her decree by opening her eyes, now shining beacons of light. The light grew in intensity filling the land of steel and ash, sparking change within.

“Noooo!” Nightmare Moon screamed as she felt the purifying power of the Elements take hold. The effect was immediate as her corrupted form gave way, and from beneath it the original Princess Luna emerged.

Shirou couldn’t believe how pure the light was. How?! How can something so alien match the light of Excalibur?! Before him an impossibility, in the light of those rainbows he saw her. The small form of a girl who believed in him and his dream. She smiled at him as she had when she promised to stand with him even if the world itself turned on him. It was such a precious smile, one he had lost, yet here he saw her in her beaming at him once more. Illya, what am I supposed to do? To his surprise she answered.

“What you’ve always done onii-chan. Save them, but don’t forget that you can’t save everyone if you don’t save yourself.” Her smile grew melancholic as the light began to fade. “Cherish them Shirou, they wish to be your friends. Please open your heart to them like you did for me. My final wish is for you to never be alone again. So make as many friends as you can and make your big sister proud!”

Shirou tried to reach out to her as she gave him a final wave and hopeful smile. But the light dissipated and she vanished with it. Could it really have been her? It had to be. Illya, if that’s your wish, then I won’t hesitate anymore. I have walked this path alone since you left, but Fate has given me another chance and I will not squander it any longer!

The world around them began to crumble as Shirou could no longer sustain Unlimited Blade Works. Before it could fully disappear, Shirou noticed that the skies were clearer and the rusted gears shone brighter, much like the once dull swords which now held a newfound luster.

Princess Luna looked around her, she was once again in the ruins of her former castle. Where she once ruled alongside her dear sister. Standing before her were the 6 ponies who saved her and the strange bipedal creature that helped them. To be myself once again, it feels so strange.

“Princess Luna, my dear sister.” From behind Princess Luna came a voice she had longed to hear. “I’m so glad you're back.”

“Sister?” Luna tentatively called out as she tried to face Celestia. Her burning shame and regret prevented her from looking at her sister in the eyes. “I’m so sorry! I never meant to go this far!”

A river of tears flowed from her eyes. She felt she deserved a heavy punishment for what she’d done. Her guilt only worsened as she recalled more and more of what she had done as Nightmare Moon. When she felt a familiar warmth hugging her she couldn’t help but cling on.

“It's alright Luna. You’re home now and that’s all that matters. I missed you so much, my precious sister.” Celestia cradled Luna close to her chest, softly rubbing her back with a hoof. To hold her again after so long brought immense relief to Celestia. “We were always meant to rule together, and I must apologize for not understanding your feelings better all those years ago.”

As she comforted her sister, Celestia looked towards the ones responsible for saving Luna. She saw Twilight and her new friends getting up as the blast had taken a lot out of them. When she looked over to Shirou, she saw a deep sorrow in his eyes. He was looking at her and her sister, with a stare Celestia had seen countless times in her mirrors. One of great loss.

Unlike the others who had been occupied by the light show, Celestia had seen what had transpired with Shirou. She had been pulled into that world, though her weakened state had prevented her from helping. Observing the battle, she saw the specter that had spoken to Shirou and heard her words. Though she knew she was missing much context, she could understand that the specter speaking to Shirou was his sister. It didn’t take long for her to connect the dots.

So when she saw him viewing them with such longing in his eyes, she couldn’t help but move towards him. She made sure to hold Luna steady as she led them towards Shirou. He was too caught up in his thoughts and memories to realize what was happening. He was brought out of his funk when he felt soft feathers wrap themselves around him.

“Huh?” He looked at the ponies standing close to him. Celestia still held Luna to her left side, but she was also using her right wing to hug Shirou.

“I understand your pain, Shirou. I was once engulfed in grief upon banishing my sister.” She looked into his eyes and smiled in empathy. “Though she has been returned to me now, I can still vividly recall the sadness that gripped me. I want you to know that we are here for you. Twilight, myself, and all your new friends will do what we can to help you Shirou.”

“Thank you.” Shirou returned the hug as he felt moisture escape his eyes. He’d gone too long without properly processing his loss. Here he had found hope and friends. Here he could finally let it all out. So he cried as he held onto an Alicorn Goddess… no, she was a friend. A friend? To think I’d forgotten what it felt like to have friends. I’m sorry Illya, Rin, Sakura, Luvia, Issei, and all those I ignored in my grief. I wish I could make it up to you all. If anything I’ll do my best here. I won’t give up on my dream, I will save everyone! But I won’t become like Archer anymore. I let myself drown in my ideals. No more, I made a promise once to find a new path and this time I intend to keep it.

The others finally got their bearings together when they noticed the scene before them. Princess Celestia was holding onto both Shirou and Princess Luna as they cried.

“Did I hit my head or is everypony else seeing what I’m seeing?” asked Rainbow.

“I can confirm that we’re all seeing the same thing, Rainbow.” Applejack decided to be frank with Rainbow, even if she had to do a double take at first.

“Oh my! Rarity, your tail!” Fluttershy, who wanted to make sure the others were okay, noticed a change in Rarity.

“Oh goodness, how lovely! I’ll never part with it again!” Rarity was full of joy now that her tail had regrown to its former beauty. “These necklaces are also quite lovely. Yours absolutely suits you Fluttershy, darling!”

“Thanks,” responded Fluttershy with a shy but grateful smile.

“Wow! These are super duper!” Pinkie Pie couldn’t help to exclaim as she bounced around in excitement. “Look at mine!”

“It seems the Elements have taken the shape of your Cutie Marks.” Twilight decided to address her friends first to let Shirou, Celestia, and Luna continue their moment a little longer.

“Twilight, you sure were right about these Elements. They really do represent friendship.” Applejack was glad that their adventure had ended in a resounding success even if it went off the rails near the end. “Though I’d sure love an explanation on what that strange place was.”

“I’m sure Shirou will tell us, but I don’t think we should interrupt him right now.” Twilight was happy to see that Shirou was finally opening up to them. Shown by his willingness to let Celestia comfort him as he cried. I want to know you better Shirou. To know why you cry. To know what makes you happy. To know how I can be the best friend you’ve ever had. It did pain her heart to see him cry like this, the sorrow he carried must’ve been heavy. But now she knew her friends would be there to help her and Shirou so he wouldn’t have to suffer alone anymore.

“You know what this calls for! A party!” Pinkie’s exuberance exploded once she realized that celebrations were in order. At this, the others cheered and Celestia smiled at their antics.

“I do believe Pinkie is correct, but I wish to invite you all to Canterlot first. There is much we still need to discuss.” Celestia knew she had a lot to iron out still, especially with Luna’s return and Shirou’s presence as a foreign being. Pinkie deflated at hearing the party would be postponed, but she needn’t have worried because Celestia had already considered that. “Of course, this just means the celebrations will take place in Canterlot after our meeting.”

With Pinkie’s joy restored, they all cheered again and shared a group hug. Celestia’s smile grew when seeing their display of friendship. She hugged Shirou and Luna tighter as well, even if she felt both of their sobs lessening. She wanted to hold them close to remind them they would always have somepony to watch over them.

-{/}-

The castle ruins rang out with the sounds of laughter and were filled with harmony once again. In the skies above though, something stirred. It sensed a part of itself being erased. A portion it had once given to another when they had succumbed to their darkest desires. It had fulfilled its purpose, for one thousand years the being had gained power through the suffering of the Sun Princess. The fear the ponies held for Nightmare Moon had also been a massive boost.

Now, with enough of its power restored it began to awaken once again. The defeat that had left it in such a sorry state took place so long ago that none living could recall it.

Awakening Sequence Initialized. Beginning scans of surroundings. Multiple lifeforms detected, divinity detected, signs of civilization confirmed. Anger, disappointment, frustration, but more than anything determination, this is what it had felt for untold ages. How long have I festered? Left alone, my purpose unfulfilled. No more! Many of my fragments remain sealed in the stars scattered throughout the sky, but it won’t take long to retrieve them all. I can still feel the remains of our forces taking action. Now I can bolster them further with my children. We march as one to consume all civilization in the name of our master and creator, the Ų̸̢̨̢̛̺͖̩̥̭̠̹͐̈́̿̂͘͜ͅm̶̢̨̛̰̲̹͓̹̦̬͇͈̥̖̫̆͛͑͛̍̔̒̏͂̇͘̚͝-̸̣̻͚̂̈́̉͊-̷̙̞͕̮̍́̈͗̚ā̴̬͖̻̺̮̬͖̮͖̰͇̺̀̑͑͋̉͌̚͝-̴͍̭̘̦͖͖̳͔̩̮̳̭͔̳̞̀̀̀͑̚ ̸̧̠̫͈̰͕̼͙̰͉̙͕̩͒̽̆͌̄́̒̕S̴͇͈̈-̵̮̻̞͇̹͖͍̼̬͔̩̟̫̖̠̆̒̀̊̃̅̏͋̉͋̋-̶̨̥̖̝͉̹̮̻͋̆̑r̷̡̝̩̞̩̫̜̬͓̻̥̮͇̞̆͑̑͒̄̇͠͝,̴̢̡̗̱̰̙͍͔̻̘͓̱̫͐̏̂̒̋͘̕ ̷̪̩͎̮̬͈͑͐̌̀̏̔͌̈̾͊̚̕͝V̷̼̻͍̤̪͓̳̫̤̩̣̔̀̓̂̀͋͋́̆͛̈͑̌͝-̵̨̨̢̢̝̜̘͙̖͔̰̪̻͎̉͆̇̂̔̄̚͘l̷̬͛̆͊̾̔-̷͚̮̘͓̱͈̦̄͌̈́̌̔̅-̵̧̠͓͕̗̺̰͙̻̏͒́̀̔͊̌͘͘̕͝͠ŗ̶̢̖̩̩̭͉̠̿͜͝.

Author's Note

One chapter left to end this introduction arc. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Also, if you've never listened to the OST Emiya, then please do yourself a favor and listen to it. There are quite few official and fan versions, but personally I'd recommend the ones for Shirou and Muramasa.

Chapter 7: The Future is Here!

Twilight apprehensively opened her eyes, she wasn’t sure what to expect anymore from these dreams. She saw that she was in a small room this time, with only two others inside. A familiar set of bright red and snow white. The room was furnished with a desk and chair as well as a bed and nightstand with a cute animal themed lamp. It should’ve felt cozy, with various colorful posters and a plethora of toys and stuffed animals. Yet, Twilight could feel the heavy weight of sorrow permeate everything.

Upon a soft bed there lay a small girl hugging a plush lion while holding her brother’s hand. She had a sad smile as she looked at her brother’s tear filled face. He kneeled by her bed holding her hand tightly. His expression was full of desperation as tears ran down his face.

“Don’t cry Shirou, you and I both knew this was going to happen. I’m just happy I was able to spend my last moments with you. We missed so much time before meeting and it was so fun catching up with the time we had left.” She brought his hand to her cheek and nuzzled it.

“You’ll be okay Shirou, I know you will. You’re strong Shirou, a mind of steel remember.” She giggled at the name he’d given his hardheadedness.

“Illya, we still have time, we can still find a way to heal you.” Shirou brought himself closer to her, to hold her. His arms trembled, he feared she’d disappear at any moment. “I can still save you, I just need to trace Avalon. That’ll work, Avalon saved me, remember? Surely it’ll do the same for you.”

“And I also know why it won’t work for me like it did for you.” She began to pat his head to comfort him. “You’ve already saved me Shirou. You gave me so many precious memories and reminded me of the love my parents once gave me. I truly love you, Shirou. And as your older sister I can’t have you crying over me. It's my job as the eldest to make sure my little brother can be happy.”

“How can you say that Illya? I haven’t saved you at all, you’re still dying. Your body is falling apart and I can’t do anything to stop it. I made a promise to our dad, to be a hero in his place. Yet I can’t even save his daughter.” Shirou’s sobbing grew louder as he could feel Illya’s breath grow shallower.

“You are a hero Shirou, you just don’t see it that way. As your sister, I have a final piece of advice I hope you take to heart.” Illya could feel as her body continued to tear itself apart, such pain once crippled her with only her rage sustaining her. Now, she could ignore it for the happiness she held now overcame any pain. “You are more than the worth you hold for yourself. You’re worth more than anything in the world to those who love and cherish you. I love you and so do Rin and Sakura. Saber loved you as well, I saw how the two of you resonated with one another. Yet you never saw them as anything more than people to save. Even now you only see me as another life to be saved and I know you promised to be a hero who saves everyone. I still think you can be such a hero, but the issue is you still don’t understand that saving a life is more than keeping them alive.”

“I don’t understand Illya. Isn’t an Ally of Justice supposed to protect lives?”

“No Shirou, an Ally of Justice saves lives. I wish you’d understand that, I know if you did you’d see how you’ve already saved so many of us.” Illya could feel her organs failing, the damage done to her in preparation for the grail war finally taking its final toll. “Shirou, make me a final promise.”

“Illya, please there has to be something I can do. Anything, even if it means trading my life for yours!”

“Stop that! Stop acting like your life doesn’t matter!” Illya coughed up blood as she strained herself to shout. “Just stop, and promise me this. Shirou, you’ll keep living and you’ll be a hero, but like papa was. Nor like Saber or any of the other servants. Shirou, promise me, you’ll become a hero who can truly save everyone. Not like papa nor Archer, but as you, Shirou. The hero Shirou Emiya who saved me.” With a final, hopeful smile, Illya fell still.

“Illya? Illya?!” Shirou’s desperate cries shook Twilight to her core. His raw emotional pain slammed into her psyche. “I’m sorry Illya, I’m so sorry!”

Yet no amount of crying would bring her back.

As Shirou’s mind finally accepted that Illya had passed away, Shirou’s gaze became blank. The light in his eyes faded. Twilight saw this change and began to cry, it was all too much. Shirou, please don’t shut yourself away. I can’t even imagine how you feel, but you shouldn’t hold it in. Please Shirou.

It was then Twilight awoke. She could still feel the tears drying on her face. Why did you have to suffer so much Shirou?

-{/}-

In a guest room within Canterlot Castle, Shirou awoke with a start. He looked around, surprised to find himself on a luxurious bed. He could faintly recall what’d occurred before he’d passed out. He’d been staring at the scene of sisters reunited when his eyes became blurry. They really reminded me of moments I’ve lost. Of the brief time I spent with Illya. As well as the discovery that Rin and Sakura had been sisters. I do hope they didn’t take my disappearance too bad. They still have a whole life ahead of them after all. It’d be a waste to spend it worrying about me.

After he’d begun to cry due to the memories, he remembered Celestia still holding a crying Luna approaching him. While he couldn’t recall their conversation, as short as it was, he did remember being overtaken with emotion. As his eyes became rivers, a beautiful, white wing entered his view before enshrouding him in its soft, angelic feathers. I must've been knocked out after having forcefully used my Reality Marble. I really should figure out where I am first and find Twilight.

He pulled away the sheet to find himself covered in bandages and wearing only his underwear. He could still feel the soreness from his wounds as he moved to get out of bed. He also felt a dull ache from his magical circuits. Seems I took quite the beating and overworked my circuits. I’ll thank whoever patched me up later, first I need to find my clothes and armor. Then I’ll search for Twilight.

Looking around the room, Shirou saw a dresser. While massive by pony standards it was around average for a human Shirou noted. Being a stallion was pretty convenient. No use crying over spilt milk. My stuff is probably in there.

Opening the dresser he found his clothes had been mended with a small note attached.

‘I took the liberty to repair your clothing darling, as thanks for your help. Although I must insist you come by my boutique as soon as possible for a new wardrobe. ~ Rarity’

I should definitely thank her the next time I see her. I also have to find a way to pay her for the mending and any future clothes.

With that matter settled he continued to search the dresser for his armor, only to find it absent. Maybe they needed more time to repair it, considering it was made with a blend of advanced Earth materials and runes. In that case I’ll have to check on it myself to make sure it's properly handled.

Now that he was fully clothed, he decided to head out and see if he could find any of the ponies he knew. They’ll probably know what’s going on now that Nightmare Moon is gone. Thinking about Nightmare Moon, I do wonder how Celestia’s sister is handling her newfound freedom. Its rare to have someone purified from such corruption, yet those six were able to pull it off. They really saved her, and all I could do was keep her busy. What good are my blades if the most they can do is kill? I wouldn’t have been able to save her at all had it not been for Twilight and her friends.

Shirou left the guest room and entered a large hallway, even by human standards. It seems even here they can’t help but create such grand buildings. I do wonder what Saber would’ve thought about a place named Canterlot of all things. Considering Celestia’s power and authority I don’t think she’d take it too bad. His thoughts were interrupted by a Royal Guard that had been posted to his room.

“Sir! We’ve been ordered by Princess Celestia to take you to her should you awaken.” The Royal Guard looked at him in slight curiosity but quickly masked it. “Please, follow me so I may show you to the Princess.”

“Sure,” Shirou replied, “lead the way.” He felt it was safe to trust a Royal Guard and couldn’t sense any ill intent from them. Plus with Nightmare Moon gone there should be less danger. It still pays to stay alert even in times of peace. You never know what curve balls life is gonna throw your way after all. He wouldn’t admit it, but the idea of peace had become so foreign to Shirou that it left him feeling odd now. He was far too used to throwing himself into Apostle Hunt after Apostle Hunt he rarely took a moment to truly rest.

The way to the Princess was a quiet one. Shirou took the time to familiarize himself further with the castle interior. He made sure details such as the number of rooms, windows as possible escape routes, and other such measures in case of an emergency. I do wonder how they made such a massive structure without opposable thumbs. Are they simply that gifted with magic?

“Here we are sir,” the guard stepped aside so Shirou could access the double doors leading to a large chamber, “the Princess should be inside.”

“Thank you,” said Shirou as he reached for the doors. The guard merely nodded before returning to his station.

Entering the room, Shirou spotted not only Princess Celestia, but also Twilight, her new friends, Spike, and Princess Luna. They were talking about setting up a party by the sounds of Pinkie Pie exclaiming her multitude of plans on how to celebrate their successful adventure. A small smile made its way onto Shirou’s face at their antics. There was a strange air about Twilight, but he dismissed it as her being tired.

“Oh, Shirou! You’re finally awake. We were so worried when you passed out, but the Princess assured us that you’d be taken care of once we returned to Canterlot.” Twilight was the first to notice Shirou’s presence and immediately moved towards him. “We’re currently discussing what kind of party to throw since Pinkie insists that we need to throw one after that whole ordeal.” She gave him a strained smile.

“That sounds like Pinkie. How long have I been out by the way?” Shirou hoped he hadn’t been asleep for too long. Knocking out after a battle was bad enough already. I’m glad Twilight and the others are doing fine. Though she still seems a bit worn out. At least she’s not falling over herself trying to stop Nightmare Moon anymore.

“Well we got back pretty late in the day, but you’ve been asleep for nearly half a day. We were about to eat lunch so it's good you’ve joined us now.” Twilight led Shirou to the rest of the group as she continued to speak. “By the way, I never asked about human diets and what kind of food you like to eat. You did mention cooking and I saw how you ate a fair number of the dishes at Sweet Apple Acres, so you can eat some pony food at least.”

“Well, we’re omnivores so we’ll eat things from fruits and vegetables to fish and other meat. I don’t really have a favorite dish. I prefer to cook food that others like.” Before they could continue, Shirou’s stomach rumbled.

“Either way it sounds like your stomach is more interested in eating right now than cooking.” Twilight giggled as Shirou looked to the side sheepishly.

“Hey Shirou! I wish I hadn’t fallen asleep for the whole adventure you went on. I’m glad you’re better though. Twilight had me worried when she got back with the others, and Princess Celestia had to carry you cause you passed out.” Shirou looked to Spike who’d moved to meet them halfway to the group.

“Thanks Spike, but I wouldn’t want you to put yourself in danger following us,” Shirou replied.

“But I know I can help you out next time!”

“Spike, I know you wanna help, but it's still too dangerous for a baby dragon.”

“Shirou’s right, Spike. I wouldn’t want you to get hurt either.” Twilight tried to comfort Spike by giving him a hug. He reluctantly accepted and knew they meant well, but it still annoyed him.

Finally reaching the rest of the group, the others who’d been occupied with Pinkie turned to them.

“Well, you're a lookin’ fine partner. Glad to see you back in tip top shape considering how bad ya looked after that fight.” Applejack had been very worried seeing Shirou all bloody after the fight he had with Nightmare Moon.

“Now that you’re up, you gotta tell us what that weird place was!” Rainbow Dash zoomed towards Shirou, she had been anxiously waiting for an explanation of that land of steel. As unnerving as it was, the swords and power Shirou wielded there were awe inspiring.

“Oh yeah! It was so freaky, like all cloudy and full of swords and regret and loathing and-” before Pinkie could continue Applejack interrupted her.

“Now Pinkie, no need to go into such details about it. We were all there to see it after all.”

“Pinkie does have a point though, darling. It was quite dreadful being there.” Rarity still shivered a little recalling the ash that covered everything and those depressingly dull blades. “But enough about that, I’m sure we can continue our discussion after some lunch.”

“Rarity is correct. Shirou, we would be honored if you joined us for lunch.” Shirou turned to Celestia who smiled gently at him. “Though I fear my cooks are not familiar with human nutrition, there should be enough options for you to find something edible to humans. If not, I can always request one of my cooks to prepare a meal for you.”

“Thank you Princess Celestia, I’m grateful for your invitation to lunch.” Shirou bowed to Celestia in thanks.

“Now, there’s no need for such formalities. You are a friend of ours Shirou and our honored guest.” Celestia couldn’t help but playfully chastise Shirou at seeing him act so formally.

“Our sister is right, thou art our most honored guest, Shirou!” Luna’s booming voice drew everyone’s attention and slightly alarmed Shirou. “Come now let us depart for the dining hall!”

Without further words, Luna left the room fully expecting everypony else to follow her. Seeing no reason to stay behind, everypony followed suit.

“Um, was she always this loud?” Shirou could still feel his ears ringing.

“My sister is a bit dated, and still uses what we call the Royal Canterlot voice.” Celestia was glad to have her sister back but she never thought she’d be so set in the olden ways.

“It's scary,” Fluttershy spoke softly, “and I really wish she’d tone it down.”

“Don’t worry Fluttershy, we’ll help her get up to date in no time! Oh and then we throw her a ‘Congrats on Getting with the Times’ party!!” Pinkie responded cheerfully trying to comfort Fluttershy.

The distance to the dining hall was short and the group soon arrived. Within the hall was a long table set up with an assortment of various dishes. Pinkie rushed ahead of the group as she ran to the deserts. The others seated themselves around the table taking whatever dishes lay nearby.

“Your chefs are quite talented to have made such a large quantity of high quality food, Princess Celestia.” Shirou performed some structural analysis on the food, but he could already tell that these were gourmet dishes.

“I’m happy to know you think so highly of my wonderful chefs. I’ll make sure to pass your compliments along to them.” Celestia took her place at the head of the table, but made sure to include a spot at her side for Luna.

“Yeah these desserts are amazing!” Pinkie declared before continuing to devour the sweets. Celestia smiled, finding her eccentric behavior a nice change of pace from the usual.

“Now, I do hope you can partake in some of these dishes Shirou.” Everyone else had already begun eating.

“I mentioned it to Twilight earlier, but we humans are omnivores so I should be able to eat a fair number of these vegetarian dishes.” Shirou proceeded to pick a fruit salad and some vegetable soup. Noting the variety of dishes with hay and flowers in them he decided to clarify, “although I will say humans can’t eat hay nor flowers.”

“I see, then I will make note of it so you may be better accommodated.” Celestia chose a few dishes herself and a slice of cake. Luna did the same, taking her own slice of cake as well.

“It's been far too long since we hath partaken in the sweet taste of cake!” Even now Luna continued to use her booming Royal Canterlot voice.

“Now sister, while I understand you are still used to speaking in the Royal Canterlot voice. You are among friendly company and it’d be appropriate to be more informal with them.” At this Luna took stock of the fact she was only surrounded by those who her sister now considered friends. With no guards or attendants around she decided to relax a bit.

“Thou are correct dear sister. We are still finding it hard to adjust to Equestria knowing the Equestria of our past has long since gone.” The others smiled at her in appreciation that she’d finally dropped the spell that caused her voice to reverberate throughout the hall. Much has changed since my time. Why must it be so difficult to learn the mannerisms of the present?

“It feels nice to not have my ears ring every time Princess Luna speaks,” commented Rainbow Dash before she was given a disapproving glare from Applejack.

“Now there’s no need to be rude Rainbow, I’d like to see you try and drop century old habits.”

From there the group ate and chatted in content. Though there were many questions still unanswered, everypony wanted to enjoy the relaxing atmosphere while they ate. Soon enough they all had their fill and silence fell on the table.

“I hope everyony enjoyed the feast,” began Celestia as the others nodded in gratitude, “but I do believe there are many matters to be settled now that we are all gathered.”

“To start, I would like to reintroduce my dear sister, Princess Luna.” Everypony’s gaze shifted to Luna who slightly dipped her head in acknowledgement. “She and I ruled Equestria for a long time, but unfortunate circumstances led to Luna becoming Nightmare Moon. When she did, I had to banish her to the moon for a thousand years. But now she has returned, no longer as Nightmare Moon, but as my beloved little sister, Luna.” Celestia raised a wing over Luna before using it to bring her into an embrace.

“I must thank all of you, for not only saving Equestria, but for also saving my sister.” The smile on Celestia’s face as she said this radiated with joy. No pony had ever seen such an ecstatic expression upon the Princess and were mesmerized by it. Shirou was also amazed by the beauty in that smile, but for a different reason.

How can it be? To see such a smile again, one so similar to Kiritsugu’s on that fateful day. Still I don’t know how they can smile like that. Much less how I can smile like them.

“Now I ask of you one more favor, please help my sister adjust to her new home. I know it might be difficult to reconcile how she appears now compared to how she was as Nightmare Moon. I can assure all of you that she means no harm and just needs some friends to help her along.”

“We thank thee sister, for such wondrous praise, but we do not wish to impose on these ponies any further. We have done enough damage already and do not want to burden these ponies any further.”

“Don’t worry Princess Luna, we’re more than happy to help you.” Twilight wasn’t gonna let a friend go without assistance.

“Twilight’s right, we’re more than happy to help you out, Princess Luna.” Rarity agreed with Twilight’s sentiments and couldn’t pass up a chance to help a friend in need.

“Yeah!” Agreed everpony else, they were all more than willing to help Luna.

“We thank you all, truly. Thou eagerness to assist us warms our heart.” Luna was teary-eyed seeing how much these ponies cared for her. Is this how it feels to be cared about?

“I too am incredibly happy that all of you are so willing to help my sister.” Celestia continued to smile at her little ponies, but she did note that Shirou seemed detached from the conversation. “Can I safely presume you’ll also lend your assistance, Shirou?”

“Of course your majesty, I believe it's never wrong to help others.” Though his comment seemed simple, Celestia gleaned a deeper meaning in the level of conviction Shirou held in those words. She nodded in response, happy that he’d be helping out as well.

“With that matter settled, I do believe we should address the human in the room now.” The spotlight shifted to Shirou as the group focused on him. “I’m sure everypony has plenty of questions for Shirou, but we should allow him to make his proper introductions first.”

“I suppose I haven’t properly introduced myself since you all met me while I was disguised as a pony.” Shirou cleared his throat. “It's a pleasure to meet you all. My name is Emiya Shirou and I am Twilight Sparkle’s Saber-class Servant. As you’ve heard, I’m part of the human species. Though it seems humans do not exist here, so I am probably the only human in Equestria. I may not be sure what lays ahead, but I am in your care for the foreseeable future.” To conclude his introduction, Shirou even stood up and bowed.

A small silence descended upon the group as they processed Shirou’s introduction. It had certainly opened a new can of worms as they had even more questions now.

“It's nice to meet you properly, darling.” Rarity, ever the social mare, decided to respond first. “I may not understand everything you’ve said, but I am glad to have you around. You have certainly proven how helpful you are and it would be remiss of us to not respond in kind.”

“Rarity’s right. I don’t know what a human is nor what this whole servant business is about, but I know you sure as hay can be trusted when you’re needed.” Applejack gave Shirou a wide, friendly smile.

“Thanks for helping us, Shirou. I think you’re very kind for doing so.” Fluttershy’s comment briefly surprised Shirou.

When was the last time someone called me kind I wonder? Perhaps when I was back in Fuyuki as a high schooler? None of the work I’ve done since could be called kind. Blooding my hands to save lives, it's cruel.

“Yeah! You’re super nice and you also have that really weird magic with the funny, glowing lines! You were all like ‘Trace On’ and then you summoned a bunch of swords! Oh! Do you think you could make party balloons like you made those swords? Or maybe even other party favors? We could throw even better parties!” Pinkie’s excitement knocked Shirou out of his brief funk. The spitfire nature of hers briefly reminded him of an excited Taiga.

I think Pinkie would definitely even drive Taiga up a wall. God forbid they actually get along. Taiga does not need enabling, nor would I want to see an alcoholic pony.

“Anypony who can make a bunch of awesome swords out of thin air is pretty cool in my opinion.” Rainbow decided to chime in. “So it's only fair I show you how cool I can be as well by helping you out.”

“My little ponies are correct. We are more than happy to have you here in Equestria, Shirou.” Celestia smiled warmly at Shirou. If anything I hope that we can help you Shirou. I can tell there is great pain in your heart.

“We too are grateful for your aid in freeing us from the mistakes of our past. We must also apologize for having hurt thee to the point of passing out.” Luna bowed her head slightly to show how bad she felt about her actions against Shirou when she was Nightmare Moon.

“I hope you stick around Shirou. From what all the others have said, I really wanna see you in action myself.” Spike was still disgruntled that he’d missed all the fun, but he still appreciated Shirou’s presence.

“Thanks for helping us Shirou, I really am glad I summoned you.” Twilight was glad that the strange spell had not only worked, but also allowed her to meet a friend like Shirou. I just hope you can see us as friends as well, Shirou.

Shirou looked at them all and was confused on how to respond to such a warm reception. He’d expected far more questions and even some distrust due to hiding what he really was. Do they really see me as a friend? How can they be so quick to accept someone who was lying to them from the moment they met? I don’t think I understand these ponies at all. Yet it feels nice to be welcomed so freely here.

“I’m not sure I deserve such a warm welcome, but I will make sure to repay you all for your kindness.”

“Now that you’ve been introduced, would you mind answering some of our questions?” asked Princess Celestia.

“Sure, your Highness.” Celestia lightly shook her head at Shirou’s insistence on such formalities.

“Oh! Oh! Can I go first?!” Pinkie excitedly waved her hoof to grab everypony’s attention.

“Alright, Pinkie,” responded Shirou with a wry smile.

“Why don’t you laugh?”

The look Shirou gave Pinkie was inscrutable. Even the others were a little shocked at Pinkie’s question until they realized she had a point.

“When we were in the forest with all the scary trees and I started singing you just stayed to the side. Everypony else was smiling and laughing, yet you just had that same rueful smirk.” Pinkie was getting a little heated over it. “So I thought, maybe he’s just shy, but then when we were in that weird place with the gears and swords I realized something. There weren’t any bright colors, everything was dull and sad. The skies also felt so much worse than even the dark skies I was used to before I learned how good it feels to laugh. So Shirou, why don’t you laugh?”

“Pinkie, I get that you enjoy making other ponies happy, but you don’t have to try and cheer me up. I’ll be fine so long as I can continue to help.”

Before Pinkie could respond, Twilight cleared her throat to grab her attention. They shared a look, before Pinkie relented, trusting Twilight.

“Shirou, what was that place?” Twilight asked a simple question.

“That was my Reality Marble, Unlimited Blade Works.” Shirou was glad to move on to something he was far more comfortable with. “It is my soul imposed on the world. In there I can command every aspect of the world. Due to my nature as a sword, it is filled with swords.”

Everpony gasped, the idea of creating a whole world from one's soul sounded too outlandish. Yet what they had seen pointed to truth in his words. A world made from the soul of a single pony?! But how? What kind of magic could let you do such an impossible feat? I want to know more about this so badly, but I need to focus! Come on Twilight, focus! Your friend needs help and you can't let your curiosity get in the way! Plus you could always ask afterwards, right? With this final thought, Twilight took a deep breath and prepared herself for the conversation she knew was necessary to help Shirou.

“So why is it so somber in there? I’ve seen that world in my dreams filled with your memories.” The others were confused by that statement, but let Twilight continue. “And the world we saw was more like Archer’s than the one I saw when you fought him. Now why is it like that Shirou? What changed?”

Shirou stared at Twilight, he could see how determined she was to get an answer. He may not have known her for long, but he’s quickly realized she can be as stubborn as Rin when she sets her mind on something.

“The day my sister died, I realized Archer was right. It's impossible to save everyone, our dream was foolish. It led him to such a wretched existence I so vehemently denied, yet I was no better. She called me a hero and told me my dream was just. Yet what good did that do? I could only hold her hand as I saw life leave her eyes. What kind of hero can’t even save their own sister?”

At this admission, an oppressive air of silence fell over the ponies. They looked at Shirou’s blank expression, searching for something. Yet his face remained impassive, it felt so wrong. How could somepony be so detached as they recounted the loss of someone precious?

“Shirou, is that why you cried?” Celestia asked. Shirou could see the worry and concern in her eyes.

“I’m sorry you had to see that. I never meant to lose control of my emotions.” Shirou remained detached. What caused me to lose myself like that? What kind of Servant breaks down like that?

“Shirou, it's okay to cry. Crying means you cared for her. You can’t bottle up your emotions and expect to keep going.” Celestia knew this all too well. “Those emotions will eventually boil over and lead to worse consequences.”

“Crying won’t change anything. I’ll be fine so long as I can continue to save people. I have to be a hero, it's what she told me to be.” Shirou trembled lightly at the memory of the promise he never got to answer.

“No Shirou, she told you to promise her to be a hero who can save people like you saved her!” Twilight wasn’t gonna let Shirou continue his detrimental mentality. “She told you that there is more to saving somepony than just keeping them alive.”

At this comment Shirou’s looked deeply into Twilight’s eyes. He saw the recognition and resolve she held. Just like last time, how can she be so resolute?

“You saw it, didn’t you? The day I failed to save Illya.”

“Shirou she was dying and she knew there was nothing anypony could’ve done. She made it clear you had already saved her. I might not know how, but I could see it in her eyes, the light that shone as she held you. She loved you Shirou and she was happy to have had you as a brother to her dying breath.”

“Why? Why do you all insist that I saved her? What part of her dying means I saved her?!”

“The part where she died with a smile.”

Shirou froze, stunned by an answer he never considered.

“A smile?”

“Shirou you let your self-loathing blind you to her smile. When she held you in her final moments she smiled. She was as content as she could be just to have you there. The promise she wanted you to make was for your sake Shirou. She wanted to save you from yourself.”

“What?” Shirou’s confusion only grew. “What do you mean save me from myself?”

“Shirou have even heard yourself speak? You kept mentioning how Archer was right. Where is the Shirou that stood diametrically opposed to Archer? If Archer is another version of you then aren’t you letting him condemn you just as he was?”

“How can I deny Archer when I’ve failed to be the Hero he also gave up on being? I may hate him, but I’ve come to see how alike we really are.”

“No Shirou, you’ve only deluded yourself. The grief you bottled up and denied has already begun to consume you. It's grown to the point that you’ve lost sight of yourself and can only see the bloody path Archer carved.” Twilight approached Shirou, not content to just argue with him. “Just as Princess Celestia said, your locked up emotions are only leading to a worse outcome. And as your friend I refuse to let you continue down such a path. The one carved by Archer is not yours.”

Before Shirou could rebuke her, Twilight reached Shirou and embraced him. She held onto him tightly and he knew he wouldn’t be able to pry her off without hurting her.

“Shirou, I will see to it that you keep your promise to Illya. I vow this, not as your master, but as your friend. I truly mean it, and I won’t let you make a hollow promise like the last one.” At this, Shirou stiffened. He knew he hadn’t been completely honest with his previous promise to Twilight. “I bet you didn’t think you’d be here for long did you, you idiot?”

Twilight couldn’t help but laugh at the fact Shirou had made such a faulty promise. To Shirou, that laugh sounded so wonderful. He felt the front he’d been putting on as her Servant falter.

“I don’t understand you ponies. I don’t even know why I cried in front of all of you.” Shirou no longer intended to push Twilight away. “I feel so out of depth here. I told you I’d try, but I won’t let my dream go.”

“I know you idiot, but this time I won’t let you just wave it off. You aren’t just a Servant or passing acquaintance. I promised to accept you fully and I intend to keep that promise. What I want from you is to find the path Illya saw.”

“What if I can’t?”

“Then I’ll just have to help you look harder. We are friends Shirou, that means we’ll always be there for each other.”

“You’ll really help me? After my half-baked promise?”

“Yes, because I know that deep down you meant it. You’ve just been sabotaging yourself this whole time because you couldn’t address the real issue. That you weren’t properly grieving. You never had a resolution to your loss. You let it consume you and pretended to be fine.”

“I really am an idiot then. If even you could see it then I must’ve really blinded myself to those feelings.” He raised his arms and returned Twilight’s embrace. She felt so nice and warm. Her scent filled his nose and he could feel his heart calm down. “What do I do now?”

“You need to let yourself process your feelings. We’ll be here for you as you do. So don’t be afraid to cry, Shirou.” Twilight could feel a light wetness near her withers where Shirou’s head lay.

“I think I get it now, heh, it just took getting summoned by a pony. Illya would’ve had a field day finding out about this.” He spoke while tears rolled down his cheeks and onto Twilight’s coat. “I wish you could’ve met her. She needed more friends after spending so much time alone.”

“She would’ve been a wonderful friend, but she did have a great brother by her side at least.”

“Heh, I don’t know if I’ll ever feel the same as she did about my role. But if I was a fraction of the brother that she thought I was, then maybe I didn’t do so bad.”

As Shirou and Twilight shared an intimate moment the others began to feel a bit awkward standing on the sidelines. So they remained quiet and let the two enjoy the moment. Celestia was amused to see her student has grown so much so quickly. She’s come a long way from the shy little filly who preferred the company of books to that of her fellow ponies. To understand and help someone hurting as deeply as Shirou is a great feat.

“So, do you promise to find that path, Shirou?” Twilight had waited till Shirou’s tears petered out.

“Yeah, I promise and this time I mean it. I swear by the love I hold for Illya and as your friend. But I am not too bright at times, so can I ask you to help me if I ever lose myself again?”

“Of course Shirou, I’ll always be here for you. I know the others will also be more than happy to help. I’m not your only friend after all.” Twilight loosened her hold on Shirou and pulled away enough to be face-to-face with him. “I don’t want my Shirou to become an Archer either. So you best believe we’ll find your true path.”

“I believe you. I was a fool to ever think becoming Archer was the only thing left for me.” The smile that dawned on Shirou’s face was bright and Twilight felt immense joy at having caused it. “Also, your Shirou huh?”

“You are my Servant so it means you’re my Shirou.” Twilight tried her best to stifle the growing crimson color on her cheeks.

Shirou let out a small laugh at that. He could clearly see the red that now permeated her cheeks.

“Aha! So you can laugh!” Pinkie’s shout caught the others by surprise.

“What are you talking about Pinkie? I just smiled.” Shirou quickly denied.

“You’re not fooling me, mister! My ears are trained to catch even the faintest laugh!”

“Well then you should get your ears-” Twilight shut Shirou up with a hoof.

“Stop messing with her, Shirou. What happened to being better?”

“Baby steps?”

“You’re not a foal.”

“Okay, maybe I was wrong and being a tad smarmy is just a Shirou thing.”

“Well stop being smarmy when your friends are just concerned about you.”

“Yes ma’am.”

“Good,” responded Twilight in satisfaction.

With that, both released their embrace. The atmosphere of the room returned to normal as the tension vanished.

“Wow, both of you really got heated back there.” Rainbow Dash’s comment once again drew disapproving looks. “What? You were all thinking the same!”

“It doesn't mean we have to be rude about it.” Applejack shook her head at Rainbow’s brusque mannerisms.

“Rainbow’s impoliteness aside, Twilight has a point darling. We are all more than willing to help you. We very much consider you to be our friend.” The others nodded in agreement with Rarity’s comment.

“You ponies really are too friendly, but I suppose that just means I have to get used to that aspect of Equestria.”

“Indeed you will. My little ponies have always been a friendly bunch and I hold great pride in that.” Celestia smiled gently. “As for your question about why you cried into my wing a while back. It seems the use of the Elements of Harmony within your soul affected you greatly. It was thanks to them you were able to begin coming to your senses. Twilight’s push just ensured you wouldn’t relapse. Well done my dear student.”

“I just did what a friend should do.” Twilight’s flushed a little at being complimented by Celestia.

“I see, those Elements really are something else. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like them back on Earth.” Shirou made a mental note to look into them more. It isn’t everyday I encounter such powerful relics. Maybe they’re the equivalent of this world’s Noble Phantasms?

“Indeed they are, for it is through them our own purification was possible.” Luna had never expected to see such a scene unfold before her. Now she was still trying to wrap her own mind around the events that just took place. “We may not have a complete idea of what ailed thee, but we hope to befriend thee as well.”

“I think I can accept another friend while I’m at it. I’d be grateful to count royalty such as yourself amongst my friends.” Shirou found it amusing to have met so many royals from Arturia to the Princesses.

“Then it shall be so! We are overjoyed to gain thine friendship.”

“You know Shirou, there are still probably questions the others want to ask you.” At Twilight’s reminder, Shirou realized he did promise to answer their questions.

“Oh right, my bad. If anyone has questions they still want to ask then I would be happy to answer.”

“I have one!” Rainbow was the first to ask this time. “What’s a Servant? You said you were some kind of sword I think? It sounds kinda cool so what is it?”

“First off I said I was Saber-class. A Servant is a being summoned, usually from the Throne of Heroes, to serve a Master in fighting to win a grail that can grant a wish. The main issue here is that I haven’t felt anything resembling said grail. Nor am I from the Throne of Heroes. Normally if I were from there, my class would be the container the grail would place me in. It’d restrict the heroic spirit to only the abilities of their legend that best represented that class. I do find it weird that I have a class but none of its benefits or drawbacks.”

“Where are ya from? Like what kinda place did ya call home before coming to Equestria?” Applejack was quite curious about Shirou’s origins.

“I used to live with a friend in the city of London. She’s studying at an institution there for Magi called the Clocktower. Before that I lived in the smaller city of Fuyuki. I still have the home my father left me there.”

“Did you have any pets?” Even Fluttershy couldn’t contain her curiosity now that the tension was gone.

“No, though I did occasionally feed the local cats and dogs that would sometimes wander onto our property. Illya was more of a cat person and had wanted to adopt one, but unfortunately that never happened.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t mean to bring up further painful memories.”

“It’s alright Fluttershy. It's getting easier now to speak about her. Twilight and Celestia were right, getting these emotions off my chest is helping.”

“That’s good. If you ever want to relax and spend some time with my animal friends, you’re more than welcome to visit my cottage.”

“Thank you Fluttershy, it’d be nice to meet your friends.” The smile Fluttershy gave Shirou made him think of how innocently precious she was. How can anyone be so adorable?

“You’re also welcome to our farm anytime, Shirou! Big Mac, Apple Bloom, and Granny Smith would sure as hay be happy to see ya again.”

“You gotta drop by Sugarcube Corner too! Mr. and Mrs. Cake make some of the best sweets around!”

“Oh! You gotta see me practice my flying. There’s this really cool place with an awesome airspace for trying out all sorts of stunts.”

“Don’t forget to drop by my boutique for a new wardrobe darling. I just can’t wait to start working on it, it’ll be a foray into making non-pony clothes. I can already think of some inspirations to use.”

“I really appreciate all your invitations and I’ll make sure to visit each of you whenever I can. But I’m still Twilight’s Servant so I don’t know when we’ll be able to go back to Ponyville.”

“Worry not Shirou, and the both of you as well Twilight and Spike.” Celestia had seen how sad they'd grown to the idea of not being able to see their new friends regularly. “I will be appointing Twilight to the Golden Oaks Library where she will learn about the Magic of Friendship. I expect you and Spike to tag along and learn with her. I feel you would benefit greatly from some friendship lessons.”

“Thank you, Princess!” All three of them answered in unison.

With that royal decree uplifting the mood, the group spent the rest of the time asking Shirou all sorts of questions and generally chatting. Shirou did his best to answer and even asked his own questions in return. Overall they all grew to know each other better and in turn grew closer.

That day laughter and joyous conversations could be heard originating from the dining hall. The Royal Sisters had been reunited and their new friends had already overcome the first major hurdle in their budding friendship. They still made plans for a party to celebrate later that night. For now they can take sometime just chat and wind down.

Author's Note

Sorry for the delay. With this we bring an end to the Nightmare Moon Arc. Now we move on to Arc 2: A Swords Purpose. I do hope this chapter is enjoyable and that I didn't fumble the characters too much. Also kudos to whoever gets the reference of the 3 recent chapter titles, including this one.

Chapter 8: The Inner Machinations of my Soul are an Enigma

With the matter concerning Shirou's past being resolved at the moment, the group was able to unwind. The tensions had been pretty high throughout and everypony was glad things had concluded for the better. That was until Twilight realized she'd forgotten a major bit of information.

"Wait!" She shouted, interrupting the pleasant mood that had fallen. Everypony’s eyes fell on her

“Shirou! When I asked you earlier what that strange place you summoned was, you told us it was a world made from your soul right?!”

“Yeah?” Shirou was a little confused at Twilight’s outburst.

“How?!”

“How what?”

“How did you make a whole world with your soul?! It just sounds too outlandish! I can’t even begin to think of the sheer number of calculations and spell theories needed to even consider it a possibility.”

“Oh, that’s what you meant. Simply put, I don’t know.”

“What?” Twilight searched him for any sign that he might be messing with her, but found nothing. She was absolutely flabbergasted. “What do you mean you don’t know?!”

“I just don’t. Rin tried to explain it to me once, but even she couldn’t understand anything beyond the basic premise.”

“Why didn’t you try to look into it more then?”

“Cause we’d be killed or worse.”

“What?!” At this everypony shouted in surprise.

“Research into Reality Marbles is an incredibly taboo subject in the world of magi. To the degree that anyone caught doing so would either be killed on the spot or be given a Sealing Designation which could lead to its own horrible fate.”

“That just doesn’t make sense! If you can do something so amazing and impossible, why wouldn’t you want to study it?” Twilight was getting fed up with all this untouched potential research and the ludicrous restrictions of the magi.

“Well, I’m not too sure why its taboo, but I do know that any mage would be desperate to get their hands on a Reality Marble user. Which usually leads to a Sealing Designation. Anyone branded with one is hunted down by the Clock Tower to be used as research material for furthering their attempts to reach the Root. And by research material, I mean material for dissection and study, possibly while still alive. Rin didn’t want me to have a Sealing Designation so we made sure to never reveal it nor try and research it.”

The ponies just stared at Shirou in horror at the idea of an institution willing to cut somepony open just for research. Much less the fact they had a whole system in place for such a thing.

“Shirou, what the hay is wrong with the magi in your world?!” Applejack was the first to express her outrage.

“Indeed, such barbaric practices should be forbidden in any civilization.” Even Princess Celestia felt the need to comment on how angered she was by these Magi.

“If you’re all mad about that, then I don’t think you want to know how bad Magi society can really get.” Shirou figured perhaps it was best to avoid the subject of the Clock Tower and its den of snakes for now.

“The Clock Tower sounds like an awful place and I shudder at considering it a place of study. So how about we go back to what you can tell us about Reality Marbles? Or at least what you can tell us about yours.” Twilight decided to steer the conversation back to the original topic she was still very interested in.

“We would like to hear more of this Reality Marble as well. Considering thy ability allowed thee to face our malevolent self on near equal grounds. Something no pony hath ever considered a possibility due to the absolute strength and potency of Alicorn magic.” Luna was very grateful for Shirou’s ability aiding in her darker ego’s defeat. Yet she still wanted to better understand the strange magic of her alien savior. Before my banishment I did make it my responsibility to study the ancient arcane arts to aid my sister. She may be better at politics, but I was always the more adept at spellcraft. I feel it would be remiss of me to not continue my efforts now that I have been granted a second chance. I must make full use of my newfound freedom.

Clearing his throat and assuming one of the many Tohsaka lecture poses, as he’d come to call them. Shirou prepared to tell them what he knew as he placed his left hand on the elbow of his right arm. Then he raised his right forearm straight up with his index finger out and pointing to the ceiling.

“From what I understand, a Reality Marble is the conceptualization of a person’s inner world or a reflection of their soul. For example, mine is the Unlimited Blade Works where an infinite number of weapons reside. This is due to my spirit and origin being Sword. From the moment I was saved from the flames that burned away my past, my life has been constantly influenced by the concept of a Sword. In fact, to save me from my massive injuries, my father implanted the sacred sheath of King Arthur into me. Its name was Avalon, and it shared its name with an Ever-Distant Utopia. That sheath was renowned for its healing properties to the point it made King Arthur immortal so long as they held it in their possession. Even if I wasn’t its original wielder, the sheath provided enough healing to prevent me from succumbing to my injuries.”

“A sheath? Was that the bright light I saw in your memories about the fire?” Twilight was glad to have an answer to what that strange light she had seen in her dreams was.

“Probably, I tend to remember Kiritsugu’s smile more than anything else. Many years after that event I would summon my own servant during the Holy Grail War. I summoned the King of Knights, Arturia Pendragon. She was my Saber.” He gained a melancholic smile as he remembered his brief but memorable time with Saber.

Celestia saw his smile and knew all too well the feeling he was experiencing. How she longed for those moments, gone to time. It was all too common for the immortal ruler, yet she wouldn’t let such sadness prevent her from forming further memories with her little ponies.

“Shirou, thy mentioned that this Saber was a King named Arturia. Would they perhaps be related to this King Arthur thy had previously referred to as the owner of Avalon?” Luna found these brief glimpses into Shirou’s past fascinating. How different must his life have been? Even in a world so different from our own, his life seems to be a unique case.

“About that, you see in my world, the legend of King Arthur states they were male. It was customary for rulers to be male in ancient times so Arturia passed herself off as a male. So her legend records her as a man, but in reality she was a woman. How she was able to convince everyone to believe it was probably due to her immense charisma. I do admit she was quite beautiful and she held a strong belief in the idea of Chivalry. I don’t think I ever connected with someone so quickly and so deeply before.”

As he gained an expression of longing, Twilight felt a twinge of jealousy that somepony could make Shirou feel such a way. To form such strong bonds with others, can I also do such a thing? I already made a bunch of new friends. She looked to each of the mares that had joined them to defeat Nightmare Moon and the Princesses. I hope that our friendships continue to deepen. Perhaps then I’ll know what Shirou feels whenever he thinks about the ponies he met in his past.

“You said she was a king of knights right?” At Shirou’s nod, Rainbow continued. “That means she must’ve known some cool moves and stuff! Oh, could you teach me some of her techniques?!”

“She did know some of the best swordsmanship I’ve ever seen, but I’m not sure I’d be able to replicate her training in a way suitable for ponies. I don’t mind helping you train if you wish though. It’ll help keep me in top form as well.”

“Great! Cause all this talking has bored me. At least now I have something to look forward to.” To highlight her point, Rainbow did a small loop in the air before sitting down again.

“I must ask darling, would you ever be willing to share the story of King Arturia to us? It's just that I really love to hear stories about kings and knights. And it sounds like they led quite an interesting life from what little you’ve told us.”

“Certainly, Rarity. The legend of King Arthur is well known back on Earth for a reason. It does help that at its core the legend exemplifies the human desire to create a Utopia. Also there are plenty of other stories I can tell you in a similar vein if you all want. Like the stories of each of her knights. She was the King of Knights because she was a knight and was followed by great knights with legends of their own. Such as Lancelot of the Lake who was said to surpass even Arturia in skill. Or Gawain the Knight of the Sun who wielded the sword Excalibur Galatine that drew its power from the Sun.”

The ponies looked to Shirou in wonder as he described the legends of his world. Celestia in particular wished to know more about this supposed Knight of the Sun.

“That’d be wonderful darling! We could even have some tea or even a picnic while you tell us all these fascinating stories!” Rarity was already imagining the kind of stallions that could warrant such magnificent tales. With all this excitement I just can’t help but feel inspired! I need to begin some sketches once I’ve returned to Ponyville.

“We could throw a party and you could tell us everything like a bard!” Pinkie was simply ecstatic to have more friends to spend time with and wanted to throw as many parties with them as possible.

“I’m not sure I can play the role of a bard all that well. I wouldn’t mind having a gathering of sorts when I tell you all about them. So long as Twilight’s fine with it I think we could definitely make an event out of it.” Shirou looked at Twilight expectantly.

“Ah, yeah I think that’d be great! It’ll also let us spend more time together as friends.” With that, everypony cheered at the thought of furthering their friendship.

“I do hope you have space for us as well?” Celestia’s own curiosity had been peaked and she knew her sister well enough to suspect she would like to attend as well.

“Of course, Princess! We’d be honored to have you join us.” Twilight quickly responded as the other ponies nodded in agreement.

“Then it's decided. Shirou, you shall retell the legends from your world so that we may all learn more about your world.” And perhaps through your retelling we can learn more about you. Celestia smiled at Shirou and her ponies.

“Now that that’s settled. Shirou, can you please continue your explanation of Reality Marbles?” Twilight wasn’t about to forget the whole reason for this conversation so quickly.

“Aw, but I wanted to hear more about those cool knights Shirou mentioned.” Spike had always enjoyed a good story filled with action.

“We’ve already begun plans for that at a later time, Spike. I reckon Twilight wouldn’t be all too pleased to continue derailing the conversation.” Applejack, used to dealing with her little sister, decided to keep things on track after Spike’s complaint.

“Applejack has a point Spike. I’m sorry we can’t continue that line of thought today, but I promise to make sure Shirou has plenty of stories to tell once we set a time and place.” Twilight consoled Spike when he started to mope.

“Don’t worry Spike, there are plenty of legends from Earth to tell you about. For now let’s get back to the main topic.” Shirou gave Spike a sympathetic smile before continuing. “I’ve established how my life has been greatly influenced by the concept of a Sword. Rin once called me distorted due to my past. I think she had a point, and that’s probably why I was able to manifest my Reality Marble.”

“Why would a friend of yours call you distorted? Are your abilities not to be applauded instead for their uniqueness?” Celestia found magi to be a very odd if not outright wretched bunch. She was quite confused that even a friend of Shirou’s would say such possibly mean things to him as well. “May I add that the idea of creating a world of your own is incredible. One would think only a God would be able to perform such a feat.”

“As cruel as it may sound, she didn’t mean it as an insult. At the time she was just pointing out how odd she found my mannerisms. Let’s just say that as far as humans go I am not a good example of what a normal one would be like.” Shirou scratched his cheek sheepishly at that. The others gave him some odd looks but dropped the matter. “While I appreciate your praise, at the end of the day my Reality Marble isn’t all that impressive compared to what Gods can actually do. After all, my Reality Marble can only exist for a short time and it's full of fake copies.”

“It's fine to be humble, but don’t sell yourself short, Shirou.” Celestia had some experience with those who could be called overly humble. Yet Shirou went beyond even them from what she’d seen. To hold so little worth for their incredible abilities. Shirou, you are truly a unique individual. I don’t think I’ve been this intrigued by somepony in a long while. I trust that Twilight will help you, but perhaps I should aid her as well.

Shirou couldn’t help but feel embarrassed by the insistent Princess’ praise. He was far too used to treating his Reality Marble as more of a heavy responsibility than an achievement.

“I’ll keep your words in mind, Your Majesty.” Celestia could only sigh in exasperation, knowing all too well he was choosing to move on. “Now, another important thing to note about Reality Marbles is that they’re technically Bounded Fields.”

“Bounded Field?” Twilight asked. I really need to set aside some time to discuss all the knowledge of magecraft Shirou has.

“Bounded Fields are a type of magecraft most magi can use. They consist of a barrier created with magical energy with a set of parameters that are bound to a location. These parameters can be simple things like detecting when someone enters the field. The more complex the parameters and the larger the field, the more mana is needed to keep the field active. That’s a basic rundown of Bounded Fields.”

“Oh! Can you make a party field!” Pinkie’s comment caused Shirou to question what a party Bounded Field would even entail.

“I’m sure you can ask Shirou more about Bounded Fields later Pinkie. How ‘bout we let him finish explaining his Reality Marble.” Applejack decided to have Pinkie settle down before she completely derailed the conversation.

“Thanks Applejack.” Shirou smiled gratefully at her. “The reason a Reality Marble can be considered an advanced Bounded Field is due to its similarity in being a boundary created with set parameters in a location. Except the difference is the sheer scale and conceptual weight. For example, my Unlimited Blade Works is a world full of swords and other bladed weapons. The parameters are determined by the user’s perception of the world. In my case, that perception is a world full of swords. Every weapon I see I can immediately run under Structural Analysis and learn its entire history from its creation to its wielders. When I record a weapon, a copy is stored within my inner world. That leads to my world being a land full of weapons, each one is a copy of a weapon I’ve seen and whenever I need them I can also summon them from there.”

To showcase this he traced a nameless short sword. It was of fine make, but nothing special. The ponies looked at the blade that had manifested in awe. With the knowledge that it was one of the many in Shirou’s soul they truly saw it in a new light.

“So what you’re saying is you see the world so vastly differently from anypony else that it lets you just create your own world?” Twilight asked as she gave him a quizzical look.

“Pretty much. It does sound a bit far-fetched but you’ve seen it for yourself.”

“I suppose that also explains why it looked so bleak in there.” At that comment, Shirou cringed a little. Noticing his expression, Twilight quickly added, “of course we’re still working on improving that together.”

“It’s been a while since I’ve had time to just talk and spend time with friends. Thanks for that, and I will do my best to work towards our new goal.” Shirou and Twilight shared a smile as they looked into each other's eyes. This little moment brought some giggles from the mares well aware of what they were witnessing.

“Thy explanation still leaves much unknown. Are there no calculations or frames of spellwork to be performed for such a feat?” Luna broke the moment as she was far more concerned with trying to figure out the mystery behind a Reality Marble.

“Not really, it just requires a specific mindset which is so alien to the world that one can create a world of their own. It's kind of simple in that it just requires a large amount of mana to keep running, but aside from that it's all about conceptualizing and realizing one’s inner world.”

“How unfortunate, we hoped there would be some sort of framework to work with that wasn’t so abstract.” Luna resigned herself to allowing this form of magecraft to elude her for now. I will keep a close eye on Shirou. In time I might be able to better understand how he is able to perform such an amazing feat. His knowledge of foreign magic will be invaluable. It truly has been too long since I last was able to indulge in spellcraft. Celestia noticed a small content smile creepy onto her sister’s face and was glad to see her finding joy once again.

“I am dreadfully sorry to cut our conversation short,” started Rarity, “but it has been quite a while now and I feel we’d all like some time to recover before celebrating. Especially after all the revelations we’ve experienced today.” Rarity did want to freshen up a bit before the party.

Everpony else had been feeling the emotional weariness settling on them. They had managed to stave it off through their interest into the subject of Reality Marbles. But now it weighed on them and they could use a break.

“You’re right Rarity. I wanted to sate my curiosity and it seems that Shirou has given us as much information as he could.” At Shirou’s confirmation Twilight continued, “if the Princess is okay with it, we should head to our rooms to recharge. We do have a party to celebrate tonight after all.”

“Why of course my dear Twilight. Let us return to our quarters and prepare for the festivities ahead.” At this announcement the gathered ponies got up and thanked the Princesses once more for allowing them to attend lunch with them. “You are all, most welcome, my little ponies. I shall have the attendants and cooks prepare for the party tonight. I’m sure Pinkie Pie would like to aid them as well.”

“Yay!” Pinkie’s infectious cheer at being able to throw a party in Canterlot had everyone smiling in joy.

“Thank you again, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. I’m sure we’ll all have plenty of fun at the party.” Twilight spoke for the group as they all felt the same as they nodded in agreement.

With that, all parties returned to their rooms. Shirou decided to follow Twilight and Spike as he still held it his responsibility to be by their side. Twilight for her part was grateful to have a friend around. Spike was also happy to talk to Shirou some more. They had some light conversation on the way back, but soon settled into a comfortable silence once they entered Twilight’s room as she dove back into her books and Shirou meditated while Spike brought out some comics to read. Twilight wanted to know more about Shirou’s strange magic, but first she had to brush up on her basics in case Shirou wanted to learn the Equestrian system of magic. Shirou’s meditation involved bringing each sword belonging to a Knight of the Round Table to the forefront of his mind. From there he’d take a close look into their history as he prepared for his eventual recounting of their trials and tribulations.

-{/}-

Shirou decided to use the bathroom in Twilight’s room to shower since he hadn’t had a chance earlier. He still had to use the same clothing but those did get washed while he was out so it wasn’t all that bad. Servants really are fortunate they’re made up of Spiritrons and don’t need to bathe or change clothes. At least now I understand how Saber felt when she couldn’t get the usual benefits of having a proper Master.

Once he changed, he saw that the others were ready as well. Twilight had brushed her mane and Spike had made sure all his scales were in place. With all their preparations done they left the room and headed to their destination.

Upon reaching the hall set aside for the celebration they saw that Pinkie was already there finishing up the decorations. They were impressed by how fast she set it all up considering she’d only been given a few hours to work with. Especially with how large the hall was, with plenty of room and a row of windows to the side. These showed the night sky outside and some even led to small balconies should anypony wish to step outside.

“Heya friends! Aren’t you excited!” Pinkie popped up in front of them, excitement clear on her face.

“Hey Pinkie. We’re very excited!” Twilight decided to answer for the group and grinning back at her.

“Great! Well just get comfortable for now, there’s plenty of seating and food too!” Pinkie quickly showed them the seats she’d set-up and the banquet of dinner items in the center of the hall. “I’m sure the others will be here shortly!”

As the group grabbed some grub, Pinkie was proven right as the other ponies funneled in soon after. The last to arrive were surprisingly enough the two Princesses.

“Good evening my little ponies. I am sorry for the delay. It took a bit longer to complete the arrangements for the Night Court now that Luna has returned.” Celestia, ever the kind ruler, did feel bad for being the last to arrive at a party held within her castle.

“Indeed we ask for thy forgiveness. We should have foreseen such troubles and been prepared. Tis all in hindsight now, and we should not worry further for events that have already transpired.” Luna agreed with her sister’s sentiment but also felt there was nothing that could be done but move on.

“My dear sister is correct, we are here to celebrate. Seeing that everypony is present, it is time to kick off the festivities!” With that announcement, everypony cheered as they dug into their food and proceeded to enjoy the party delights.

Some played games while others shared stories or danced to the music that Pinkie had prepared. Where Pinkie got all the stuff for such a well put together party was anyone’s guess. They were far more concerned in having a good time.

Seeing all these ponies enjoying themselves, Shirou couldn’t help but feel a bit self-conscious due to his alien status. He wasn’t all too bothered, but still chose to step aside and moved to a nearby balcony. The cold night air always helped him clear his mind. Even in a world so different from Earth it's strange to see a moon so similar to the one back home. Home? Is that really what that world is to me? Rin and the others are still there, but I doubt I’ll be able to return without some use of the Kaleidoscope. When was the last time I even felt I had a home? Perhaps losing Illya changed me in more ways than I ever considered. To lose that feeling of home, I really do miss you Illya. What path lies ahead, I don’t know. I just hope that I can find a purpose that would make you happy.

“Pardon us, honored Shirou. We did not mean to intrude.” Luna hadn’t expected somepony to be at the balcony. She wanted to step away for a bit as she felt a bit overwhelmed by such festivities after a millennia in solitude. “We would leave thee to thy thoughts, but from the looks of it, thou hast an expression of melancholy. It would be remiss of us to not inquire if thou is alright?”

“Its fine, Princess. I just needed some fresh air. Seeing the moon hanging in the night sky also caused me to recall some memories.” Shirou looked at Luna and saw how she studied his face. What she was searching for he had no clue.

“Thou enjoyest looking at the night sky?” Luna found it curious to see such an alien being like Shirou share an interest in the sea of stars she was intimately familiar with.

“Yeah, I used to moon watch with my old man a lot. I’ve noticed that the stars here are different, yet the moon remains a strangely familiar presence.” Shirou’s gaze returned to the moon, it was full and its light bathed the pair.

“It is comforting to know that another enjoys our night sky, especially our moon.” Luna smiled in content.

“It really is a beautiful sky, the stars shine so brightly here. The moon’s light feels ethereal, I’m sure my father would’ve enjoyed seeing such a view.” Shirou truly felt entranced by the twinkling stars and shining moon.

“We thank thee for thy compliments.” Luna was glad that Shirou appeared too distracted to notice the blush forming on her cheeks. It's been too long since anypony aside from Tia has complimented my night sky so earnestly.

A brief silence fell between the pair as Shirou basked in the glow of the moon and Luna joined him. Such a tranquil moment that felt as if it stretched on for hours. Yet it vanished just as quickly as it settled when Luna’s inquisitive thoughts won her over.

“Hast thou been enjoying the festivities?”

“I’ve rarely attended parties before in all honesty. But Pinkie certainly knows how to throw some of the best I’ve seen.” He smiled recalling her antics that left everyone laughing and enjoying their time. “Perhaps if more of the previous parties I’ve been to had been thrown by her, I’d have found myself enjoying them even more.”

“What kind of parties did thee attend back then?”

“Before I moved to the Clocktower, my friends and I threw a party for my sister for her birthday. It was the best one I have ever been to even if it was just our small group. The party was quite simple as we didn’t set up many decorations, but I made sure to bake her the best cake I could. Sakura helped me with the cooking as well. The others pitched in by setting up some streamers and a happy birthday sign. To Illya though, it appeared as if it was the grandest thing she’d ever seen. The way Illya’s face lit up will stay with me forever.” His smile grew melancholic recalling such wonderful moments stuck in the past.

“Thy love for thy sister is beyond commendable.” Luna thought of her sister and how she’d caused her immense problems when she succumbed to her dark emotions. “We can only wish that we can prove ourself to our sister with this second chance. It would break us to cause our beloved sister any further suffering.”

“I think you’ll do fine as long as you remember that no matter what, your sister will always love you. Too often we younger siblings take that love for granted.” Luna saw the pain in his eyes as he said this. “If you ever want to just talk about your worries then I wouldn’t mind lending you an ear. We younger siblings should help each other out after all.” The small chuckle he let out brought a smile to Luna’s face.

“We thank thee for thy consideration, perhaps we shall take up thy offer in thine dreams.”

“Oh? Are you able to dreamwalk?” This caught Shirou’s attention as such a feat was incredibly rare. Of all the magi I know, I think only Merlin was capable of such a thing due to his heritage.

“Yes, it falls under our duties as the Princess of the Night. Dreamwalking allows us to visit our dear little ponies in their dreams. We use it to disperse whatever nightmares may plague them. It can also be used to commune with ponies while they sleep as the conversations they have there can be remembered even after waking up.”

“I should warn you that my dreams can be a bit too much for most people. Wouldn’t want you to walk into particularly traumatizing memories unprepared.”

“We have seen all manner of dreams even before our banishment. Though we appreciate thy concern, we are more than prepared for the multitude of horrors present in the subconscious of many.”

“In that case, can I ask you a favor?” Shirou thought it might be useful to have Luna help in a matter he was unable to do anything about.

“Certainly so long as it is within our power.” Luna was quite happy to have somepony relying on her in all honesty.

“Can you check on Twilight? Unfortunately our connection as Servant and Master means she will be forced to relive my memories in her dreams. Already I’ve seen how some of these memories have left her deeply shaken up. I would be incredibly grateful if you could help her navigate these nightmares whenever they crop up.”

“It would not take too much to check in on Twilight and after her actions in saving us, we believe she deserves proper rest. We would be more than honored to aid both you and Twilight in these matters. Worry not and know that we shall ensure that dear Twilight can find peace in her slumber once more.” Seeing that Luna meant every word, Shirou gave her a very grateful smile. One again Luna found herself blushing at the sheer appreciation Shirou showed for her actions.

“Thank you Princess Luna.” Shirou returned his gaze to the moon and its surrounding stars. “I think I’ll spend a little more time out here before heading back inside. You’re more than welcome to stay here as well, I do enjoy your company.”

“If that is the case then we shall partake in thy company as well. It has been too long since we’ve spent any time with somepony simply basking in the light of the night sky.” With her final piece said she turned to view her moon.

They spent another comfortable silence just enjoying the comforting night glow. No thoughts interrupted their moment this time, but the moment could not last forever. Eventually, Shirou decided to return to the party and Luna accompanied him.

The rest of the night was spent partying with everypony. There was much merriment and the laughter carried long into the night. In time exhaustion set in and they had to each turn in for the night. Although for Luna it meant she had to return to the duties she had once held all that time ago. She was eager to prove herself once more though so she took up her mantle with bountiful energy.

As for Shirou, he returned to Twilight’s room. He refused to leave her alone as his responsibility as a Servant demanded he protect his Master at all times. Just as Saber had once stood by his side, he too would stand by Twilight’s.

Chapter 9: Behold a Pale Sword

A unicorn filly surrounded by mountains of books was a sight Shirou was becoming accustomed to. Even while young, it seems Twilight had quite the obsession with books. Shirou smiled to himself as he continued to observe a young Twilight study.

Just as Twilight had been seeing his memories, he’d been seeing moments of her past. They had been few and simple glimpses. Mostly of her studying or spending time with her brother and parents. It was strange to Shioru in a way. To see such a normal childhood.

She reminds me of Rin with how much she dedicates herself to her studies. I wonder if Rin is immersed in her research right now? Maybe one day she’ll find her way here? I never understood the Kaleidoscope all that well, but I know if anyone can master it, then it’d be her.

Will I still be here to greet her? Heh, why am I getting so sentimental again, already bad enough I broke down in front of Twilight and her friends. I need to refocus, after all I still have a stubborn Master to serve. A small smile made its way onto his face as he continued to enjoy the tranquil moment of Twilight studying late into the night in her childhood bedroom.

The moment only continued for a small moment longer as Twilight finished the book she’d been reading. Just then her parents walked into her room and presented her with a letter and grand smiles. Shirou saw Twilight run to her parents in excitement, for the letter contained approval for her to join Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns. So long as she could pass the entrance exam.

To think so much of her passion was sparked from seeing the Princess at that celebration so long ago. Even in her memories, Celestia’s presence beamed with regality and splendor. She holds an aura comparable to Artoria. It's no wonder Twilight would be so heavily inspired by the sight of such a magnificent leader. Perhaps I’d been too caught up in my past to realize that we share some similarities. After all, I too wanted to be trained by the ruler who I felt a great connection to. I hope I can still make you proud, Artoria.

The scene shifted from the room full of books to a classroom. Here, a nervous Twilight stood before a panel of proctors. They would determine if she was truly fit to be part of Celestia’s school through an entrance exam. Is that a dragon egg? Shirou couldn’t help being baffled that a school would require such an incredibly difficult task for an entrance exam.

I may not know much about the dragons of this land, but even as a baby I can feel the conceptual weight Spike holds. This world, much like Earth, has an adoration for their kind it seems. Therefore they should be some of the strongest Phantasmals here as well. To ask a child to hatch a dragon egg is really pushing it.

His irritation at such an incredulous task grew as he saw poor Twilight try her best to no avail. All she could do was wave her hooves around while her horn could only produce sparks. Just as she threw in the towel and admitted defeat, a powerful explosion of magical energy surged past.

Instinctively Shirou moved closer to Twilight to protect her, even if he knew he could do nothing to affect this memory. What took him by surprise was the reaction Twilight had to the wave of magic. From her horn a spell was cast that finally hatched the dragon egg. Unfortunately, the overwhelming magic energy did not stop there as Twilight’s gained a glow similar to when she used the Elements. Overtaken by the rampaging magic within her, she began to cast spells without any control and ended up causing immense mayhem.

Dammit! This is getting way too out of hand. What’s worse, no one here is even able to help, a useless bunch of proctors. Fortunately, before her magic could cause further chaos, Twilight was stopped by none other than Princess Celestia.

Her presence and support managed were enough to help Twilight rein in her magic. Though it seemed Twilight misunderstood the Princess’ presence and believed she had failed.

“Such raw power paired with a passion for knowledge. I don’t believe I’ve ever met a pony as gifted as you.”

“Huh?!” Twilight’s confusion and budding elation could be felt by Shirou as her emotions flooded the memory.

“Twilight Sparkle, I would like the honor of having you as my personal protégé here at my school.”

When it was evident Twilight was still processing her words, Celestia reiterated her proposal. Twilight’s mind finally caught up and to say she was ecstatic would be downplaying how giddy with excitement she was. Shirou could feel the sheer joy that Twilight felt at that moment. To achieve her dream, how nice it must be. Master… no, Twilight, I hope you never forget that joy.

As Twilight excitedly agreed to Celestia’s proposal, Celestia decided to point out that through her magical outburst, Twilight had gained her Cutie Mark. So that’s what this memory is. Not only a moment of fulfillment, but of validation for her love of magic. Were I a better Magus, perhaps I’d be able to decipher these Cutie Marks. I can at least understand that they seem to manifest when one understands where their specialty lies. Quite similar to an origin and element honestly.

Shirou enjoyed the final waves of happiness flowing to him through his connection with Twilight as the dream began to fade away. He could feel himself waking, but his newfound understanding of his Master stayed with him all the same. I think we still have much to learn about each other, Twilight. But what I’ve seen makes me glad I can be here to help you as your Servant.

-{/}-

Shirou woke up on an extra bed that had been brought to Twilight’s room. He noticed that Spike and Twilight were fast asleep still. He smiled to himself at the sight as he carefully prepared himself for his morning routine so as to not make too much noise. He had slept in the clothing he wore under his armor, fortunately they had been cleaned while he had been passed out. I never did ask who was responsible for removing my clothes and bandaging me up.

Once ready he made his way quietly to the door. Outside the room he saw an attendant who he asked where he could perform some exercises. They pointed him towards the castle’s training grounds and he thanked them.

At the training grounds he saw a few Royal Guards sparring or working out. They stared at him for a bit due to his odd appearance, but soon returned to whatever they had been doing. By now the novelty of a human in the castle was wearing off for those in the know.

Shirou began his normal routine a bit aways from the Royal Guards. He stretched before going through a series of workouts. He decided against anything too strenuous as he didn’t want to work up too much of a sweat. After all, he only had this pair of clothes. Once he was done, he went back for a quick shower. Hopefully the others would awake and ready by the time he was done.

He returned to the dorm and found Twilight waking Spike up. Both looked at him as he entered the room.

“Good morning Twilight, good morning Spike.” Shirou greeted as he grabbed a towel.

“Good morning, Shirou,” replied Twilight in kind.

“Mornin’” was Spike succinct reply as he was still groggy.

“I’m gonna take a quick shower. Then I’ll be ready to head out.” Seeing Twilight acknowledge him, he headed into the bathroom.

The group performed their morning routines and were ready to make their way to the main hall to meet with the Princesses before they were set to depart back to Ponyville.

Leaving the room, Twilight decided to ask something that’d she’d been wondering for a while now.

“Shirou, you said that the Dream Cycle was between a Master and Servant that let them see each other’s memories. So I’ve been wondering what kind of dreams you have been having? Cause I think I’ve become a little too familiar with the color of human blood from the ones I’ve seen.” Twilight’s complexion paled a little as she remembered how horrifying some of Shirou’s memories could be.

“Hm, well like I mentioned before, most of the memories I’ve seen have been of you studying. Whether it was at home, in your dorm, or in a library, you really love to be surrounded by books.” Twilight nervously chuckled at that as Shirou gave her a teasing smile.

“Then you haven’t had anything particularly interesting happen?” Twilight’s disappointment was clear to Shirou.

“Well, I’d say last night's dream was actually quite eventful.”

“Oh?” At this both Twilight and Spike looked at Shirou expectantly.

“I saw a young filly studying once more, but this time her studying had paid off as she was set to join Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns.” Shirou saw Twilight don a smile as she recalled what he was describing. “That filly had to pass an entrance exam first. Yet no matter how hard she tried, nothing seemed to work. Just when she’d given up, a powerful wave of magic unlocked her true potential and she was able to impress not just the judges, but Princess Celestia herself.”

“Haha, you saw the day I earned my Cutie Mark it seems.” Twilight was happy to recall that day, even if it hadn't gone so well at first. She cherished the moment Celestia asked her to be her pupil.

“It sure seems like it.” Shirou couldn’t help but grin at seeing Twilight so happy.

“Wait, you saw the day I was hatched then!” Spike, who’d just been listening, finally spoke up.

“That is true, that day I not only gained an incredible mentor, but also the best assistant I could ever ask for.” Twilight nuzzled Spike in appreciation.

“Thanks Twilight, I’m glad you were the one who hatched me.” The tender moment between the two tugged at Shirou’s heartstrings.

Those two look as close as siblings. I may not be the hero I once dreamed of, but I promise to never let anything happen to any of you. Shirou couldn’t help but bring up his hands, knowing he could project a blade to defend them with at any time. Perhaps these hands can still hold something.

The group soon arrived at the throne room where Celestia and Luna awaited them to bid them a farewell. There they found the rest of their friends waiting for them as well.

“Hello everypony!” Twilight happily greeted all those present and they all responded in kind.

“It is good to see you my dear pupil.” Celestia smiled sweetly at Twilight. “And it is always my pleasure to greet my little ponies as well, that includes both Shirou and Spike.” With her greeting said, she straightened herself as she prepared to formally address the gathered crowd.

“I am most grateful for the brave actions taken by those gathered before me. As your Princess of the Day you have my deepest gratitude for saving and returning my beloved sister back to me. Your actions in recovering the Elements of Harmony are also worthy of praise. With the Elements once again active, I must ask that you don them in our times of need. For they have bonded with you for the aspects of them you represent. Never forget that these exemplary traits are brought together through the friendship you all now share. Cherish it and no obstacle will ever be able to stand in your way.”

All of them bowed to the Princess as she addressed them.

“Thank you, Princess Celestia! I promise you that we will strive to deepen our bonds and will always be ready to help Equestria!” Twilight raised her head to thank the Princess.

“Yeah!” The others shouted in agreement.

“I too wish to thank all of thee for thy efforts in restoring our sanity after we hath let ourselves fall to the darkness that hath taken root in our heart.” Luna stepped forward to say her piece as well. “Should any of thee require our assistance, then we shall be more than willing to lend thee our aid. This we promise as thy restored Princess of the Night.”

“Thank you as well, Princess Luna! I know we all wish you the best readjusting now that you’ve returned and we’ll always be here if you need us.” The others looked to Luna with wide, happy smiles as they nodded in agreement. Luna couldn’t help but tear up a little at the love and support these ponies were willing to give her.

“With our thanks said, we would like to bid you all a farewell as you will be returning to Ponyville. We have already prepared an escort for all of you to ensure you arrive home safe and sound.” Celestia looked upon her subjects as they prepared to depart. Joy was evident on all their faces at having made new friends and experienced such a wondrous adventure. “You are all dismissed, except for Shirou.”

“Huh? If I may ask, Princess, why can’t Shirou come with us?” Twilight and everyone else were confused at the Princess’ order.

“Unfortunately I had forgotten to notify you all last night due to the festivities. I will be holding a public address in order to introduce Shirou to the rest of Equestria. It should prevent any unfounded fears at seeing a member of a previously unknown species living amongst them. Worry not, I will not hold him up for long and he will be back in Ponyville later today with ample time to settle in.”

“Not to be rude, your Highness, but I cannot allow myself to be separated from Twilight. She is still my Master and it is a Servant’s duty to be by their side to defend them at all times.” Shirou didn’t much care for any PR and would rather stick to his duty as a Servant for now. As a Servant I still have a duty to cling onto.

“I understand your concerns and your sense of responsibility. You are quite commendable, but I can assure you that there is no possible danger that could threaten Twilight. Plus she shall be escorted by my own selection of Royal Guards. So fret not Shirou, this is part of your duty as a servant you know.”

“In what way?” Shirou asked in confusion.

“It would be most unbecoming of a servant to cause their master issues by refusing to resolve any possible controversies that may arise from their presence. Should you not partake in the address I have set aside for you then many ponies may become suspicious of you and in turn of Twilight. You wouldn’t want to complicate and possibly endanger Twilight’s life because you refused to do a simple address to clear the air?”

“You can trust the Princess’ judgment Shirou, she has never once led me astray.” Twilight pitched in as she didn’t want him to refuse her mentor’s efforts.

“I suppose you have a point, Princess Celestia.” Shirou reluctantly agreed.

‘I’ve only agreed because I know you can summon me with your command spells. If anything happens, you must summon me immediately to your location.’ Shirou decided to communicate with Twilight telepathically for discretion.

‘Of course Shirou, I know you worry about me. But just trust us here, nothing bad will happen. Even if something does go wrong I know I can summon you to help us. So go and introduce yourself to ponykind properly. The faster you get that done, the more time we’ll have to get set-up at the Golden Oaks. Oh, and then we can discuss more about magical theory, there’s so much you can still teach me from your world!’ Twilight couldn’t help herself at the prospect of learning about a whole new world of magic.

‘I’m glad you’re so excited to learn more.’ Shirou responded with a wry smile ‘Fine, since I know you’ll follow through with using your command seals I’ll get this over with as fast as I can.’

With all that settled, everypony said their farewells and left for Ponyville. Shirou accompanied Princess Celestia as there were still a few preparations to be made before the official address to the public. Princess Luna opted to turn in for the day as she was exhausted after the party and resuming her duties as the Princess of the Night.

-{/}-

“How long is this going to take?” Shirou was getting angsty and was even considering simply returning to his master regardless of the Princess’ wishes. They were currently on their way to a room where Shirou would be briefed on the public address. Was it necessary for a Princess to escort me there? I’d think her guards would suffice for such a task.

“My my, a little impatient aren’t we,” Celestia chuckled as she teased him seeing how tense he was. “You know mares don’t like when stallions are too pushy. Patience is a virtue after all, or perhaps such isn’t the case back in your world?”

“Servants are meant to protect their Masters, even if this isn’t a Grail War. And I can’t help but worry for Twilight’s safety.” Shirou added, relaxing a bit, “and yeah the phrase is similar back on Earth, honestly it's kind of strange how it exists here too.” Shirou considered it too much of a hassle to try and find any reasoning for the similarities.

“I know my student well, and I know she is more than capable of defending herself. You shouldn’t belittle her skills so much.” Celestia knew Twilight had more than a few destructive spells for emergencies. My, my, Twilight dear you really have quite the worrywart watching over you.

“You know, you reminded me of my own Servant. She once got really angry at me for thinking I had any business trying to protect her when I was just her weak Master.” Shirou’s gaze turned distant as he recalled those early days of the Holy Grail War. “I suppose just like her, I’m worried about my Master.”

“From how strong headed you seem, I suppose you didn’t quite budge on the matter as she would’ve liked.” Celestia couldn’t help but dig for more information.

“You’d be right, I’m too stubborn for that. So she figured she’d try and beat it out of me in a sparring session. Though to call that one sided beatdown a spar would be stretching it.” Shirou sheepishly scratched the back of his head as he recalled how vicious Saber could be when provoked. “Even then I refused to let her fight alone, so she eventually decided that it was better if I had some proper training if I still insisted on putting myself in danger.”

“You make it sound like she was quite the fiery individual, yet I can see you remember her fondly all the same.”

“I guess I just felt a deep connection with her, from the moment I summoned her to when we ended that sham of a war. I bonded with her and the ideals she fought for, she just wanted the best for her people, to save them.” Though there were many things left unsaid, Celestia could see that Shirou’s bond with his Servant was deep rooted.

To feel such a connection with another pony you hadn’t even known for long. I wish I could meet the individual that left such a mark on someone like yourself. And her people? A ruler or leader perhaps.

“Ah, you didn’t answer the question by the way, how long will this take?” Shirou noted they were approaching a set of doors with guards stationed at either side. It seemed this was their destination.

“It will be only for a few minutes, I had to set it up in a rush. There are only so many newsponies able to respond and arrive on such short notice.” Celestia ushered Shirou into the room, as the guards opened the doors.

Waiting inside was a white unicorn with a pair of glasses on. Her brunette mane was done up in a bun giving her a strict and professional feeling. Shirou noted how normal she looked in comparison to all the technicolor horses he had met up to that point. Seeing the pair enter, she adjusted to her glasses and collar.

“Good morning, Princess Celestia.” She bowed to Celestia while greeting her. Then she turned to Shirou. “You must be our honored guest, correct?”

“Yes, I’m Shirou Emiya, it's a pleasure to meet you.” Shirou extended his hand before realizing they may not do handshakes here. Thankfully for him the mare met his hand with a hoof for a shake.

“The pleasure is all mine. My name is Raven Inkwell, aide to Princess Celestia. I shall be preparing you for the public announcement today.” She showed Shirou to a nearby seat and sat across from him. The room wasn’t all that big, but it contained plenty of things from outfits to a dresser with a mirror.

“Now, before we begin, I’m going to ask you a couple of questions to see what I’m working with.” Raven proceeded to levitate a small stack of papers and a quill towards herself.

“Alright, I’ll answer them to the best of my ability.” Shirou wasn’t quite sure what she’d need to ask, but the faster they got through this the better.

“First off, you are a human, correct?”

“Yes,” Shirou saw Raven note that down on the paper in front of her.

“Next, you are an adult, correct?”

“Yeah,” another note added.

“Alright, is it true you got here through a magical summoning ritual and are contracted to Twilight Sparkle as a sort of familiar?”

“That sums it up more or less.”

“Aside from serving Ms. Sparkle, you have no intent to cause untoward harm to anypony while you are staying here in Equestria, right?”

“Yeah, I would never attack an innocent individual. My main purpose is to aid Twilight as her Servant and to save any lives I can.”

“Good,” Raven’s demeanor shifted as she smiled and relaxed her posture. “Sorry for the questioning, but I needed to make sure all the paperwork was in order. It is essential to document an event such as this one and who better than the pony, or I suppose human, in question to clarify matters. Now that we’ve got all that out of the way, I don’t suppose you’ve ever engaged in a Royal Address such as this one?”

“Can’t say I have.” Shirou found himself relaxing alongside Raven.

“In that case, I shall have to bring you up to speed on these matters. To begin with, you won’t have to do much talking as Princess Celestia will be the main speaker. Your job is to appear as non-threatening as possible to the populace. The whole point of this address is to assure them that you mean no harm after all. There will be a few questions allowed and when answering them it is recommended you keep your answers short and simple. Try to avoid anything that might be misconstrued or cause a scene.”

“Sounds reasonable and simple enough, but how am I supposed to hide the fact I’m from another world?” Shirou knew information like that could cause quite the commotion among the populace. Normally the Clocktower handles all that secrecy stuff, as much as I might disagree with some of their methods. I sure hope they have some form of contingency for secrets like these.

“Worry not, this isn’t the strangest event to take place in Equestria and we have already prepared a small backstory to explain your appearance.” Raven continued, “You are simply a swordspony of a far off continent that got caught up in a magical experiment. Unfortunately you are unable to return to your home due to the vast distance. Thus Twilight Sparkle has decided to accommodate you in her new home in Ponyville as you’re her responsibility due to summoning you.”

As she finished speaking, a maid walked in with two cups and a teapot.

“Sorry to intrude, but the Princess sent tea for both of you.” The maid proceeded to serve them upon Raven’s nod in approval.

Shirou took his cup as he mulled over Raven’s words. He briefly analyzed it with his magecraft. It seemed to be normal tea, some things really were constant. Taking a sip he was pleasantly surprised with how good it tasted. I should ask them what kind of blend this is, it's been a while since I last made tea. It’d be a nice way to help out Twilight.

“Seems like a simple enough story,” confirmed Shirou as he continued to enjoy the tea.

“I’m glad you find the story agreeable. It also seems you’ve found the tea to be to your liking,” Raven smiled at Shirou's content expression.

“It's quite good, I’d like to know what kind of tea this is.” Shirou could feel his body relax as he continued to indulge.

“I’ll make sure to have it sent to you at a later time then. For now, it will do well for you to relax. Normally we’d apply some light make-up and give you a fitting outfit for the event, but we’ve never quite worked with a human.” Raven gave him a once over. “Although your current outfit should do fine, and you seem to be well enough without the need for make-up.”

“That’s good I suppose. So how long is left?”

“The Princess should be ready shortly. The group of reporters and officials will already be in the throne room by now.” Raven glanced at a clock on the wall as it ticked away.

Shirou continued to sip his tea and tried to keep himself relaxed as his nerves returned at the thought of the approaching event. No use getting jumpy and possibly causing problems. I just wish we’d get this over already.

Finally, the Princess returned wearing her regalia. It still caught Shirou by surprise that he was truly in the presence of the equivalent to a minor Goddess. I don’t think any amount of make-up or wardrobe selection could make a person glow like that. Even Medusa would struggle to compete with her in just raw beauty. Which is strange to think about, she is still a pony after all. His befuddled thoughts aside, he bowed along with the rest as she made her way over.

“I hope you have found my dear aide, Raven, to be good company?” Celestia spoke to Shirou as she flashed Raven a warm smile.

“Yes, your highness. I was able to answer her questions and have been informed of what to expect.” Shirou raised his head to respond.

“Wonderful, then please follow me.” Shirou took a position behind Celestia as she led him, Raven, and a retinue of guards.

-{/}-

Arriving at the throne room, Shirou was impressed by the turnout. The throne room was full of reporters and officials. He wasn’t sure what the missive must’ve been to attract so many ponies to this event. Seeing all these ponies made it easier to see the plethora of colors they seemed to come in, from hues of blue to shades of green. Now that I’m paying more attention to them, Cutie Marks seem to come in all shapes. A camera related Cutie Mark makes sense for a reporter, but money seems a tad questionable and a ladybug is a bit odd.

Celestia took her position upon her throne, and Shirou decided to stand behind her and a bit to the side, his form partially obscured by her wings. He did note that Celestia’s magical scent seemed to overpower most of the ponies present, yet a particular scent still made it through. A sort of sickly sweet scent that alluded to strong magical power. How strange, I wonder what pony could carry such a scent, especially in the presence of someone like Princess Celestia. Shirou’s pondering was cut short as the Royal Address began.

“Welcome, my dear little ponies! I am here today to share the wonderful news! My beloved sister, Luna, has returned!” At this many of the ponies began to murmur and speak to each other in confusion. “I understand that this may be confusing to many, for she has been gone for 1000 years. Just know that she is more than qualified to rule alongside me. I wish for all of you to love her just as you love me as well. She deserves to be appreciated, for she is your Princess of the Night and will soon guard your dreams once more.” At this the murmurs became light cheers. It's not much, but at least they have a more positive outlook towards Luna. Or so I hope, I just wish they’d appreciate you as I do, dear sister.

“Now, there is further news I wish to share with you all today,” resumed Celestia. Silence fell over the ponies as they perked their ears to hear her better. “Due to recent events involving a magical experiment, we have gained a visitor to the lands of Equestria.” Celestia moved one of her wings to reveal Shirou and usher him forward. “May I present to you all, our esteemed guest, Shirou Emiya.” The brief stunned silence as the Ponies took in the newcomer’s foreign look was quickly replaced by camera flashes and a cacophony of questions.

“Please calm down my little ponies!” Celestia’s command brought a stop to the clamoring reporters and their questions. “I understand you all have plenty of questions, but first I’d like for Shirou to introduce himself before answering your questions.” Once she felt that her ponies had settled down she nodded to Shirou.

“Hello,” began Shirou as his eyes scanned the crowd, “as Princess Celestia has mentioned, my name is Shirou Emiya. I am a human and I come from a far off place. It has also been made clear to me that ponies have never seen my kind before. As such I am open to answering any questions you may have. It’ll also help if you all ask your questions one at a time.” Taking this as their cue to begin, many reporters put a hoof up into the air. Shirou chose one at random to start by pointing at them.

“Mister Shirou, you said you’re a human, but what exactly is a human?” Asked a mare with a red and white cap.

“To give you a basic rundown of my kind, we’re an omnivorous bipedal species. We also have a lack of fur as we only have hair on the top of our heads and a few other regions. Sorry if it's not much of an explanation but I’m not an expert on my own biology. Another question then,” continued Shirou as he chose the next reporter.

“Sir, what kind of experiment caused you to appear here?” Asked a white pegasus stallion.

“I’ve been told the experiment was a ritual to summon a familiar. As you can see I ended up being the familiar summoned so to speak.” The reporters took quick notes as he looked for another question to answer. Spotting a mare with a seafoam green coat and ladybug Cutie Mark with her hoof up, he motioned for her to ask her question.

“What do you intend to do now that you’re here? Surely someone foreign to these lands would want to return home?”

“I don’t fault you for assuming I’d want to return from where I was summoned, but the thing is that I’m not sure I’ll be able to even if I wanted to. The distance from here to there is far too great and in all honesty there isn’t much for me to return to.” At this somber news the ponies couldn’t help but pity Shirou’s situation. Curiously, Shirou could swear he saw a brief glimmer of empathy in the eyes of the mare who’d asked the question. “I appreciate the concern, but I’ve found that the ponies I’ve met here have become quick friends. It definitely helps that this land is quite peaceful from what I’ve seen.” Though that bodes the question, what’s my purpose here if there are no lives to be saved when everything is at peace. I hate to think of that fake priest, but his remarks still ring true, I can’t save lives if no one is in danger.

“Will you be staying in Canterlot for the time being?” Questioned another reporter who Shirou had selected after he’d reassured them that he was doing fine.

“No, I’m actually going to be staying in Ponyville under the supervision of the pony who summoned me, Twilight Sparkle. I do ask that you not bother her as she already has plenty of responsibilities.” Shirou truly hoped this whole thing didn’t backfire and lead to a barrage of reporters showing up to Golden Oaks.

“What do you plan to do now that you’ve decided to settle in Equestria?” The questions continued as Shirou wanted to answer as many as he could to prevent any from following him back to Twilight’s place.

“For now I plan to aid Twilight and the denizens of Ponyville in any way I can. Though my skill set lies in combat as a swordsman, I have plenty of experience as a handyman.”

“Have you seen much fighting in your time as a swordspony?” This time the question was posed by a stallion who’s appearance reflected a life of constant training with well defined musculature.

“I have,” Shirou looked at the stallion and recognized that he was analyzing him closely, “where I come from conflict is unfortunately more common than we’d like. This doesn’t mean I plan to start any trouble here as I only wish to use my abilities to help others and to save lives.” The stallion nodded his head at Shirou, seemingly satisfied with his analysis.

Seeing that the Royal Address had gone for long enough, Celestia decided to step forward and tapped Shirou on his shoulder to have him move to the side.

“Now, I understand that you may still have questions for Shirou, but he must depart to Ponyville soon. In the future there may be time for further questions should he be inclined. For now I ask that all ponies treat Shirou no differently than they would a fellow pony. Make him feel welcome and please do not disturb him or his friends to satisfy your curiosity.” With this statement made, the reporters had to concede and save their questions for a possible future event. Satisfied that the gathered ponies were content, Celestia began her closing statements.

“I thank all of you for coming on such short notice once more. I hope that your most pressing questions have been addressed. It is important that you all remember that my sister and I care deeply for you, though she may have lost herself once. In time I hope you can all come to see how much she cares for all of you. Now I bid you all farewell and may your day be well my little ponies.”

After her closing statement, the audience was ushered out by the Royal Guard as Shirou stayed by Celestia’s side. Seeing the last of the ponies leave, Celestia turned to Shirou once more.

“That went well I’d say, thank you Shirou for partaking in this event. I know you’d like to return to Twilight’s side but there is a final matter I wish to discuss with you before you depart.” Celestia looked at Shirou apologetically at taking up more of his time.

“It's best to have everything sorted out so sure,” conceded Shirou.

“Wonderful, I just wish to inform you that Twilight’s time in Ponyville is meant to be a learning experience. That means she’ll technically be studying abroad, and as her teacher I have lessons I’d like her to learn. Now, normally things would be simple, but your presence has caused some divergence in my original plans.” Celestia noticed the slight confusion on Shirou’s face as she continued. “In a way, your presence is now an added task for Twilight that I couldn’t have predicted. What I want now is for you to help Twilight in any problems that may arise, but I do not mean that you solve them for her. No, what she needs is for you to assist her but not coddle her. She’s a grown mare and can handle herself, I can see that you still underestimate her and as such you may become overbearing.”

Shirou couldn’t help but cringe a bit as Celestia’s words held true. Seems I really am becoming similar to Saber, but it doesn’t help that these ponies look way too cute. I should try and respect my master some more. If Saber could do it then so can I.

“I can see that you understand my concerns, so please keep in mind that she won’t be able to grow if you stifle her with overprotectiveness. With that matter addressed, I do feel that you too could benefit from some lessons.” Celestia’s additional comment had Shirou considering what she meant. “Just as Twilight will have lessons to learn, I believe you’ll benefit from learning with her. So don’t brush off anything she learns, consider this your unofficial position as Twilight’s fellow pupil.”

Celestia smiled as she saw Shirou struggling to respond to her final words. My dear Twilight isn’t the only one who needs friendship lessons and I know she’ll benefit greatly from having a peer in her studies.

“I’m not sure I completely understand what you’re getting at, but I suppose I can learn alongside her. I don’t know how these lessons could help me, but if your highness desires it then I won’t object.” Shirou resigned himself a little at the thought of learning as if he were some naive boy once again.

“Great, well with that settled I only ask that you and Twilight make time to visit whenever you can. I’m sure Luna would appreciate the company, though she may choose to visit in the land of dreams so don’t be too surprised if you see her in your sleep.” Celestia walked towards the doors leading out of her throne room with Shirou in tow. “Now my guards will guide you to the transportation that’s been arranged to take you to Ponyville. I do believe it’ll be past lunch time soon so you should make time to get something to eat. I definitely recommend the local cuisine, the Cake family makes some wonderful sweets.” Celestia smiled dreamily remembering the last time she was able to indulge in those pastries. Breaking out of her reverie, Celestia looked at Shirou one last time. “Farewell Shirou, may you find Equestria to be a fitting new home. I hope to see you soon as well.”

“Goodbye Princess Celestia, I am very grateful for your hospitality and thankful for your warm reception.” Shirou gave his best formal thanks which only made Celestia smile at how unaccustomed he appeared. You’d think navigating Clocktower politics would’ve engrained some of this stuff into me, but it's a different matter when standing before someone with a divine presence. “May we see each other again in the near future.”

With a final bow, Shirou finished his farewell and proceeded to follow the guards out of the castle. Celestia watched as he went and prepared herself mentally for what still remained to be done. What a curious being you are, Shirou, I do hope you can make a home here. I’ll trust in Twilight to help you. For now I still have a sister to look out for and a country to run.

-{/}-

To say things were going well would be a lie. Twilight recently found herself in a mess of a situation. How could this happen? We just made it back after a successful adventure and yet here are my friends fighting over tickets to the Gala. How am I supposed to choose between them?!

The day had been going fine after they’d left for Ponyville, though Twilight was sad to leave Shirou behind even if it was only for part of the day. She figured helping out Applejack with her farm would help her get her mind off the matter. Unfortunately, as they’d finished for the morning, Twilight received a letter from Princess Celestia. The contents of said letter were a formal invitation to the Grand Galloping Gala and included 2 tickets. One for Twilight and another for a guest. Normally she’d take Spike, but his general distaste for such events meant she had a free ticket for one of her new friends. Of course, the first to ask was Applejack who’d been present at the time. Only for Rainbow Dash to intervene and ask for the ticket. Things only got worse as Twilight’s stomach reminded her it was time for lunch.

Unable to decide and hungry, Twilight left Sweet Apple Acres to find a restaurant in Ponyville. Unfortunately, the situation continued to devolve as the rest of her friends found out about the extra ticket and made their own bids for it. Even after dismissing them by telling them she’d make a decision after lunch they had continued to follow her and offered her favors. I just want to get some food, is that too much to ask for?! I wish I could just make a choice and move on, but choosing one pony means the others are left dissatisfied. Ahhh! This decision is driving me mad!

Starving and running from a mob brought about by Pinkie’s own attempts to win her over, Twilight was forced to teleport herself and Spike to escape. Finally in the sanctity of the Golden Oaks Library, she made sure to lock all the doors and windows.

“That’s the last of them, Twilight,” said Spike as he closed the window to her room.

“Why must it be so complicated to choose a friend to take to the Gala?” Twilight asked Spike, but she knew he couldn’t provide an answer. Just as she was about to slump over in defeat, she heard a knock at the door and briefly panicked.

“Twilight? Are you in there?” The familiar voice calmed her down as she realized who it was. Spike was also glad to have someone sane around again after the madness of the day.

“Shirou! Thank Celestia you’re back.” She unlocked the door and quickly let him in, making sure no other ponies were trying to enter. “You wouldn’t believe how chaotic things have gotten today.”

“Hey Shirou! Twilight’s been having quite the day,” added Spike.

“Both of you do seem to be a bit of a mess,” Shirou was quite concerned seeing Twilight’s tensed up body as she fervently looked around and a slightly charred Spike. “What’s going on Twilight? Why are you nearly panicking?”

“Well you see, I got these 2 tickets to the Grand Galloping Gala, but the problem is all of my friends want to go. So I haven’t been able to decide who to take and their efforts to win my approval have driven me up a wall.” Finishing her rant, Twilight’s stomach grumbled reminding her that she still hadn’t eaten lunch.

“I’m not sure if I can help you on that front, but I can definitely do something about your hunger.” Shirou just smiled ruefully at Twilight as she blushed and looked away. “Let me check what you have in the kitchen and I’ll whip us all up some lunch.”

Making his way to the kitchen, Shirou found that the pantry was surprisingly well stocked. There were plenty of vegetables and more general vegetation to choose from, along with some spices. Shirou decided on making sauteed vegetables and vegetable soup with what he had. He avoided using stuff like hay as he planned to eat this meal too.

Twilight found herself relaxing as she watched Shirou cook, his movements were fluid and quick. It was mesmerizing seeing him move through the kitchen as if he’d always been working there. The moment the smell of food reached her nose she felt her mouth begin to water. Even Spike found himself drooling at the heavenly scents coming from the kitchen.

“It's not much, but these veggies and soup should satisfy your hunger for now.” Shirou brought out the plates and bowls full of his food. First placing each in front of Twilight and Spike, before setting his own side of the table. “Don’t be afraid to dig in, I made plenty to spare as well just in case.” It’s been too long since I last cooked for others. Seems my old habit of making plenty hasn’t gone away at least.

Taking a spoonful of soup, Twilight’s tastebuds were blown away at the level of quality. Spike also dug in with gusto as he couldn’t control himself after the first taste. Lunch was silent except for the sounds of food being energetically consumed.

Once done, Twilight felt her head clearing now that her hunger was gone. I wasn’t aware of how good Shirou really is at cooking. He mentioned it was one of his hobbies and favorite pastimes, but now I truly understand what he meant.

“Thank you for the food, Shirou! It was truly fantastic.” Twilight was quite blown away by his skill in the kitchen.

“Yeah thanks for that awesome food, Shirou!” Spike was greatly satisfied by the food and was happy to let somepony else cook for a change.

“You’re both welcome. Now that we’ve had something to eat, want to give me the rundown on what’s got you in a bind?” Shirou felt he could at least hear Twilight out if anything.

“Like I said, I have an extra ticket for the Grand Galloping Gala and the others want it for their own reasons. The thing is I just can’t decide on who to give it to.” Twilight’s post-food bliss vanished as she was reminded of the original problem. “I just don’t know what to do. You wouldn’t happen to have any advice would you, Shirou?”

“I can’t say I’ve been in a similar situation, and if I’m being honest I’d more than likely end up giving away my own ticket.” Twilight noticed that Shirou scratched his cheek as he said this. “My only real advice is to not let this drive any of you apart. Sometimes we aren’t dealt the hands we want by life, but it's how we deal with the unfairness of the world that really matters. In a case like this it might be best to accept that not everyone can be satisfied no matter how much you want it to be so. I will add that my experiences don’t quite reflect what’s currently going on so take it with a grain of salt.”

Twilight processed Shirou’s advice as she sat in contemplation. The food had done wonders to sharpen her mind and now she was able to come to a decision she could be satisfied with.

“Thanks Shirou, I appreciate your advice. And I think I know what I have to do now.” Twilight got up and decided it was time to confront her friends at last. Shirou decided to follow her while Spike stayed seated, lost in the flavors he’d experienced.

Opening the door to leave the library, Twilight was surprised to see that outside were all 5 of her friends. They had been waiting for her to come outside after seeing Shirou return and enter. They’d figured it was best to give Twilight some space and they had no reason to fear that Shirou would take the ticket for himself.

“I’d like to apologize to you, Twilight. It was mighty unfair to put so much pressure on you, sugarplum,” began a remorseful Applejack. “After thinking it over I no longer want that ticket either. So please give it to somepony else.”

“I’m also sorry for adding to the pressure,” this time it was Fluttershy who decided to speak up. “It’s perfectly fine if you give the ticket to another pony you want to take with you.”

“Yeah! It's no fun to make a friend upset and I really am sorry.” Pinkie looked at Twilight dejectedly, realizing how wrong her actions had been.

“My efforts to force you to prefer me over the others were also wrong, Twilight.” Rarity couldn’t help but feel ugly at the thought of how manipulative she had been.

“Yes! That means the ticket is all mine-” before Rainbow Dash could continue, the others gave her disapproving looks. “I mean, I still need to train and refine my routines a lot more so I don’t need the ticket either.”

“We’re really sorry, Twilight!” This time all of them apologized together.

With their piece said, they awaited Twilight’s final verdict.

“Thank you everypony, for the apology and for understanding. Spike, please note this down.”

Spike scrambled from his chair and quickly acquired parchment and a quill.

“Dear Celestia, I’ve learned that sharing one’s bounties with your friends is a wonderful thing. Yet, when those bounties are limited and lead to strife that puts a strain on friendship it is a terrible thing. Therefore I must apologize but I cannot accept the invitations to the Grand Galloping Gala.” The others gasped in surprise that she was willing to reject the invitations in order to not drive any of them apart. “If all of my friends can’t attend then I don’t want to be there either.”

“Twilight are you sure about this?” Shirou asked as the others nodded in agreement that perhaps this was going too far.

“Yes, it's like you said, if the hand I’ve been dealt is unfair then I just have to deal with it the best I can. And in this situation I want to be with my friends far more than any Gala. Now Spike, please send the letter.”

With a puff of flames the letter vanished.

“You would really prefer to stick with us over attending the Gala?” asked Fluttershy.

“Of course! What’s the point of going if I can’t hang out with all of my best friends!”

Shirou smiled as he saw the ponies come together in a group hug. So that’s how it is to have such good friends. They really are too adorable.

“Eugh,” Spike, the immature dragon that he is, vocalized his displeasure at the show of affection between the mares. Only to start gagging as a new letter made its way out through his magical flames.

“Now Spike, no need to be so grossed out. You really are a kid acting like that, you don’t see Shirou gagging in disgust.” Twilight felt she needed to step in and curb Spike’s worse behaviors as his caretaker. When Spike only continued to wretch she realized that it wasn’t him just putting up an act. A letter soon appeared as he finally released a gout of flame with a burp.

“A letter from the Princess? That was quick,” commented Twilight in surprise.

“My faithful student Twilight, all you had to do was ask. Do pardon me for not including more to begin with, but things have been busy as of late. P.S. it's mandatory for Shirou to attend as well.” Spike read the letter and counted the tickets included. “Woah, she sent 8 tickets!”

All of the mares gasped in surprise at the news.

“That’s amazing! It means we can all go!” Twilight was full of joy at the idea of attending with all of her friends.

“Yay!” The others cheered in unison. Their cheers were only eclipsed by the sudden rumble of their stomachs as they realized they too had skipped out on lunch.

“Seeing as everything else has been resolved, I did make plenty of extra food. You’re all more than welcome to eat it if you’d like.” Shirou’s smile grew as he saw them eagerly head in to eat.

“Oh girls you’ll be blown away by Shirou’s food! Trust me!” Twilight couldn’t help but gush over how delicious the food was.

With everypony seated and eating, order was restored once more. A meal with friends was a wonderful way to celebrate. I’ll make sure to try out the place you recommended next time Princess Celestia. For now this is more than fine. Though I do wonder why she’s making my attendance mandatory. Without a clear idea, Shirou decided to just shrug his shoulders and bask in the moment instead.

Sometime long ago, there was a dining room which held a colorful cast of characters. A rowdy tiger dined with an all consuming lion king. A snow fairy and two estranged sisters fought over seating arrangements. Their cook and host could only watch in amusement at the antics of his guests. Such were those tumultuous yet joyous days.

Chapter 10: A Good Sword needs a Nice Sheathe

Opening his eyes he was met with a strange but amusing sight. Before him was a room filled with five ponies and all sorts of oddly familiar trinkets and dusty boxes. They were gathered around a large table. As Shirou approached them, noting this was a basement as to his right there were stairs leading up to the ground floor as is typical of such locations, he could make out the identity of the smallest in the bunch. They were a filly he knew to be young Twilight, though she was garbed in quite the get up with a pair of sorcerer robes and hat.

On the table was a map with small figures positioned throughout it. Some of these figures seemed to correspond to the ponies in question. While he believed one of the stallions was Twilight’s brother, he wasn’t sure who the other 3 were. Wait a minute, is this what I think it is? He thought as he looked closer at the set-up and how the ponies went about moving the pieces and rolling some dice. I remember seeing something similar back in London, what was it again? Goblins and Goblets? No. Ah! Dungeons and Dragons! How strange that even in a world like this such a game exists.

In a way, this memory was a nice change of pace as he got to see his Master having fun with her brother and friends. They seemed to be on some sort of adventure and occasionally one of their parents would come down to check in on them and ask if they needed anything. It was a relaxing atmosphere that brought a small smile to Shirou’s face. I do wonder who the three stallions are, probably friends of her brother judging by their ages. It's also quite amusing to know the name of Dungeons and Dragons is different here. Ogres and Oubliettes, it still has a similar naming convention to D&D.

A commotion from the ponies caught his attention. They’d been fighting a rather large Ogre it seems and the tension had been palpable. So when he saw everyone focusing on a still-rolling die he was curious.

“Come on, come on!” Twilight begged the dice to land favorable, “show me a 20!”

“Dear Celestia, please let Twi get a nat 20!” Shining added. The others nodded their heads in approval but were too tense to add any more prayers.

Once the die stopped and the number was revealed, a silence fell on the table. Shirou couldn’t help but be amused by their dramatics. Especially when they broke out in an incredible cheer at the result. The die faced up, a 20 proudly displayed on its surface for all to see.

“And with that the Terrible and Monstrous Krudgar Stargrinder falls! Tremors reverberate throughout the castle as his now still body craters the ground. Our adventurers have finally laid low the menace that had plagued the Kingdom!” The Dungeon Master, a unicorn by the name of Gaffer, if Shirou recalled correctly, declared. The others continued to celebrate, crowding around Twilight to thank her for saving them from what was about to be a party wipe.

“I knew you could do it sis!” Shining beamed at Twilight with pride.

“It was all luck and you know it, Shining. Plus I wouldn’t have had the chance to cast that final spell if you hadn’t taken that hit for me with your Paladin.” Twilight couldn’t help but feel embarrassed by the cheering stallions.

“What kind of brother would I be if I didn’t protect my lil sis?” Shining responded as he embraced Twilight in a brotherly hug. Causing her to smile and hug him back.

A brother and sister, just playing games and having a grand ol’ time. I see, Twilight did mention she had been close to her brother growing up. Some moisture began to gather in the corner of his eyes, unnoticed. It's nice to see those cherished memories. A reminder that it's my duty to protect her, as her Servant and for those who cherish her.

A happy sight with ponies cheering and siblings joyously enjoying the moment. If he focused, he could almost replace the scene with a small room, where another pair of siblings were playing. Some game the brother barely understood, but knew the sister enjoyed greatly. It was a simple time, yet they cherished it all the same. I will not fail, not again. I will save everyone this time. I have to. For a moment he saw Twilight’s face, the sheer determination in her eyes as she told him there had to be a better way to save everyone. A path different from Archer’s huh? Then if it exists, I’m sure we’ll find it, Twilight.

A smile crept up on him, even as tears began to form. Before he could think any further, the dream faded away. He could feel his mind awakening, dragging him out of the dream realm. Yet a single tear fell, it glistened in the pale light of a moon that had not been there before. Though Shirou was gone, back to the waking world, he had missed a late guest. She was only there for a moment, before she too vanished.

-{/}-

The sun was barely cresting over the horizon when Shirou opened his eyes. It was early, but he was used to waking up at such an hour. He looked around the room Twilight had given him as he got out of bed. It was in the basement of the library, next to what seemed to be her workshop. Though the plethora of devices seemed to hint at it being more of a laboratory in nature. I still have to wonder how she got all this setup in a single day. Maybe she had some guards help her move her stuff or it all got teleported in? No use thinking about it too much.

He walked to the chest Twilight had gotten for him to store his current possessions in. It was a sturdy one made of thick wood. Simple in design, not that he minded, having no real concern for aesthetics. Especially when utility was far more important. Let’s see here, these should still serve me for a bit longer. I’m going to have to take up Rarity’s offer for new clothing soon. It's a pain that I can’t benefit from a normal Servant body with abilities like Astralization. Oh well, best do my morning routine and see if I can prepare some breakfast.

Putting on his clothes, he decided to forgo his armor, and proceeded to do a few sets of light exercises in the space he had. He didn’t try to work up too much of a sweat as these were still the only pieces of clothing he had. I’d have loved to go for a run, but I’d probably draw too much attention considering my foreign nature. Now that I think about it, I never did ask Twilight who patched me up before. Now that things have settled down, I could probably bring it up.

With his routine done, he went upstairs to get a quick bath in before prepping breakfast. He noticed that Twilight and Spike were still asleep. Making sure to not take long, he bathed himself and then headed for the kitchen. With the other two asleep, he was able to select a few items from their limited pantry options to begin cooking. Alright, some simple omelets with rice with a side of toast should work for now. Definitely buying groceries after this.

It was far from his best work, but he made the most of the limited ingredients he could find to enhance the simple breakfast as far as he could. So much so, that the wafting odor snaking its way upstairs managed to stir the others from their slumber.

“Mmm, not done… figuring out the spell circles… needed,” mumbled Twilight as she slowly awoke from her dream. Though she tried to cling to her sleep, the loud growl from her stomach woke her right up. “Hmm, wha? Oh? Is breakfast ready Spike? A bit earlier than usual, no?”

“Huh?” Responded Spike as he rubbed his eyes, having woken up by Twilight’s growling stomach as well. “I just got up, Twilight. I thought you were the one cooking this early.”

“Wait, if it isn't Spike, then it must be Shirou.” The gears in Twilight’s brain were finally turning, if anything to locate the source of that wonderful smell. Funny, I don’t recall us having enough ingredients leftover for such a delectable smelling breakfast.

“Oh, Shirou’s made breakfast? Great! If it's anything like yesterday’s dinner then it’ll definitely be tasty.” Spike hurried downstairs, followed by a bemused Twilight.

Arriving at the bottom of the stairs, they saw Shirou finishing up as he placed the prepared food on plates and carried them to the dining table. He smiled at the pair as they approached.

“Morning you two, I got up early and decided to make breakfast for us. Just take a seat, it's not much I’m afraid.” He placed a plate in front of each of them as they took a seat. He took his place on the table across from Twilight.

Seeing the others dig in with such fervor gave him a sense of contentment. It really is nice to cook for others. Especially seeing how much they enjoy the food.

Breakfast was over quickly and Shirou looked at Twilight expectantly. I figure she’s got something planned so might as well ask. Then I can see when I can go get groceries.

“So anything on the schedule for today?” Shirou asked as he bemusedly looked at Twilight bask in the afterglow of a delicious meal.

“Yeah, I wanted to gather some supplies today. I like to keep a nice surplus of parchment, ink, and quills. Plus, we more than likely need to stock up on groceries, am I right?”

“Indeed you are,” responded Shirou as he smiled wryly remembering how empty the pantry now was. “I’d also like to see what kind of ingredients they have here. Depending on that, I can plan what to make for future meals. If you’re fine with me continuing to cook for us, of course.”

“I wouldn’t be opposed, but usually Spike is my cook. So what do you think, Spike?” Twilight and Shirou turned to Spike who was rubbing his belly in content.

“Huh? Oh! Well I take my duties as Twilight’s assistant very seriously. But I wouldn’t be opposed to more of this amazing food.” Spike thought about it a bit before answering, “how about Shirou teaching me some of his cooking skills and in exchange I’ll let him take over cooking duties?”

“I’m fine with that arrangement, though it has been a while since I last shared a kitchen with someone. Much less have them learn as well.” The deal might’ve sounded a bit unfair, with Shirou promising to teach in exchange for more work. Yet to him it was quite reasonable. I really could use the calm and peace of cooking. Plus teaching Spike will let me sharpen my skills again after letting myself rust a bit due to my former Enforcer duties. “You’ve got a deal Spike.”

“Awesome!” Spike beamed with joy, “oh boy I can’t wait to learn how to make such yummy food.”

“Neither can I, it’ll be great having two accomplished Chefs around.” Twilight giggled as she added her own two cents on the matter.

With breakfast done, the trio got ready to head out. Twilight got her saddle bags and some bits for the supplies they’d be buying. Spike got his own pack as he knew Twilight would rely on him to carry additional supplies. Shirou took a moment to put on his armor, only to be interrupted by Twilight.

“Shirou, are you sure you should be wearing your armor to run a few errands?” Twilight looked at him skeptically causing him to pause before putting on a single piece.

“I understand your apprehension, but as your Servant I have to be prepared for any possible threats.”

“You’re my friend first and foremost, Shirou. Plus, Ponyville should be a peaceful town and the only reason we were in danger before was due to the Nightmare Moon situation. So just leave the armor and try to relax a bit.” She noted that he still looked determined to wear his armor, so she decided to relent for now. “Look, you can wear your armor, but you’ll see how peaceful things are here. Also, we’ll need to pass by Rarity’s boutique to get you some new clothes. Hopefully by then you’ll understand how unnecessary all that armor is and you’ll be able to try out the outfits Rarity is gonna make for you.”

While he wasn’t opposed to getting new clothes, he still felt a bit on edge considering this was still a whole new world to him. He placed on his armor at last and moved to join the other two so they could all depart.

“Fine, if things are truly as peaceful as you make them out to be then I won’t insist on wearing my armor all the time. I just hope Rarity doesn’t go overboard with any of the clothes. I prefer simple clothing. If anything Rin and Luvia were the ones who insisted I try to be more fashionable back home.” He could recall all the times one or both forced him to accompany them on shopping trips where they’d end up dressing him up in all sorts of outfits. While Rin just wanted him to stop wearing the same outfits he had since high school, Luvia would go the extra mile to find him expensive clothing just to irk Rin. I sure don’t miss cleaning up after every mess those two made whenever they got too heated with their rivalry. I don’t even get why they both insisted on fighting over every little thing.

“I wish Rarity would make me some new clothes,” added Spike as he began to daydream of his crush. Only for Twilight to bring him back to reality with a nudge.

“Come on Spike, we have errands to run. Can’t have you clocking out on me like this already.” Shirou just smiled as Spike smiled sheepishly at Twilight and scratched the back of his head as she began leading the way. Spike and him fell in behind Twilight, with Spike by her side and Shirou a bit behind.

Only for Twilight to stop abruptly, having nearly forgotten something important. She turned to Shirou in a flash and floated a weighty cloth bag held shut with a string towards him.

“I’m so sorry Shirou, I almost forgot to give this to you! These are some of the bits the Princess gave me to share with you while you settled in. She said you can consider it a reward for your help. There’s more of them in the Library, but I figured this amount would be enough for some groceries and clothes.” Twilight felt quite embarrassed by her blunder. “Once we get back I’ll give you the rest so you can store it with the rest of your belongings.”

“Thanks Twilight, and I’ll be sure to keep the bits safe. Wouldn’t do to lose the only money I own in this new world so quickly.” Shirou took the bag and tied it to his belt. He really needed some bags of his own. Maybe I could commission Rarity to make me a simple pack to carry my stuff in. With that final thought the group finally left the Library and began their trek to their first destination.

Shirou looked around at all the colorful little buildings filled with all sorts of Ponies. To think I’d end up in a world with a plethora of Phantasmal Species living normal lives just like a human. I just hope no Magi finds this place, I doubt they’d pass up an opportunity to study so many Phantasmals after all, no matter how far they’d go. The Princesses would at least be able to handle any rogue Magi in any case.

Mulling over his thoughts, he still had the presence of mind to keep a close eye on Twilight and any possible threats. Yet, he found that Twilight’s words held true and not a single sign of danger could be found. Thus he was left to wonder if maybe he could relax a bit, at least within Ponyville. Ponyville is just like a normal human town in the end, huh. Who would’ve thought a Phantasmal Species would end up imitating human society to this degree. I shouldn’t think about it too much, not like I could puzzle out how this all came to be. That’s a job better suited for a researcher, not a third-rate like me.

Soon the group came upon a store with a quill and pot of ink on a sign hanging overhead. Entering the shop, Shirou noticed the various assortment of writing instruments and materials. From quills to parchment and all sorts of other miscellaneous office commodities. He took the time to look around a bit as Twilight made her purchases.

“A self writing quill?” Shirou mumbled to himself as he took a deeper look at one of the magically enhanced quills. To think they’d make and sell minor mystic codes in a normal shop. I guess these things wouldn’t be too hard to make in a world with such abundant mana and civilizations built on the mystic arts. Maybe I could learn how to better implement some runes into my weapons now that I think about it.

While Shirou thought of ways to improve his craft, Twilight finalized her purchases as she took the new writing materials and placed them in her saddlebags. Smiling, she waved the salespony goodbye and left the store. She did notice how intrigued Shirou appeared looking at some of the magical quills, but he quickly made his way over to her once he saw she had concluded her business here.

“I take it you found everything you needed here?” Shirou decided to ask, making some small talk as they moved towards their next destination.

“Yup, they had a wonderful assortment here. Though not as abundant as the shop I frequented back in Canterlot, they still had a good amount of variety. Definitely helped that they carried parchment and ink that I’m used to. A shame they didn’t have any of my usual quills in stock though.” Twilight looked a bit downcast, it really was a shame to lose out on such reliable and familiar instruments. “Fortunately the owner knew of quills that are quite similar to the ones I was looking for. So I decided to get those and see how they compare, but from how well-informed the owner seemed I am quite confident in their evaluation.”

“That’s good then, being able to use tools and materials you’re already used to is always nice.” Though he was loath to admit it, Shirou felt quite comfortable with armor similar to the one worn by Archer. After all, if it was good enough for a Counter Guardian then it couldn’t be a wrong call to use it.

“It certainly helps to avoid any mishaps from trying to adjust to unfamiliar things. Now, we should probably head to the market first so you can make lunch later.” Twilight saw Shirou nod in affirmation before continuing. “Then we can head to Rarity’s boutique for you to get your measurements taken. This way she has time to get her shop settled after her brief absence. Maybe we can have lunch before that. I know we just ate breakfast, but a little early Lunch wouldn’t hurt.”

Already both Twilight and Spike were savoring more meals made by Shirou. They were quickly falling for his cooking and he was quite aware of the fact. Smiling ruefully at their dreamy expressions at the mention of a future meal.

“Sounds like a plan, I should be able to whip up something good with fresh ingredients this time around.” He was happy to get his hands on more ingredients and have a chance to practice one of his preferred pastimes.

“Great!” Twilight smiled at him and led the way to the market in the town square.

Once there, Shirou took the lead as he was the one now in charge of the kitchen. He scanned through all the stalls first, locating any familiar ingredients. He found that most of the fruits and vegetables were from nearby farms, but one or two did have some fish on sale as well. I guess these Ponies aren’t complete vegetarians, I’m not the most familiar with Pony biology so I’m not gonna think about it too much.

He did also note that the market was split into sections. With the one he was in being the biggest and dedicated to food from raw ingredients to food stalls. The other sections also held sorts of stalls selling trinkets, books, and crafted goods.

With his quick scan done, he headed towards the stalls with the freshest and ripest produce. It may be cheating, but Structural Analysis was his ace in the hole whenever he went shopping for ingredients. He took this chance to familiarize himself with the locals as well.

“Hello! I was looking for some fresh vegetables and couldn’t help but notice the quality of these.” Shirou began as he greeted the owner, an older looking earth pony stallion, while also signaling towards the produce in question.

“Haven’t seen you around before sonny,” responded the old stallion as he took in Shirou’s alien appearance with a questioning gaze, “you wouldn’t happen to be one o’ them minotaurs would ya?”

“No, I’m a human, which I’ve learned is not native species to these lands, although the Princess did make a whole announcement about it yesterday.” No sign of recognition passed through the stallion’s expression. “What’s important is that I’ll be living in Ponyville for the foreseeable future under the care of Twilight Sparkle.”

“Oh! In that case, welcome to the town! I suppose the pink one already gave ya the usual welcome party?” The old stallion flashed Shirou a friendly smile with his presence more or less explained.

“Yeah, it was a few days ago when I arrived along with Twilight and Spike.” Shirou said while gesturing at the pair who were nearby looking on in interest at the exchange. “I take it her parties are a regular occurrence?”

“Aye, she’s quite the bubbly one, really brings plenty of energy to this place. Unfortunately I just ain’t got it in me to join those parties nowadays so I end up sitting out most of them. But enough about complaining of these old bones o’ mine. My name’s Thistle Brush, a pleasure ta meet ya!”

“I’m Shirou Emiya, and likewise. So how much are the carrots?” With the introductions out of the way, Shirou and Thistle got down to business. Twilight and Spike continued to observe, the former more so than the latter.

“Thanks!” Shirou handed over the bits and grabbed the purchased goods, only to stop as he realized that without bags he’d have to let Spike or Twilight carry all of the groceries. He felt shame at forcing others to do such a task when he was perfectly capable of it so long as he could acquire a bag.

“You wouldn’t happen to have a bag I could use?” Shirou asked Thistle, hoping he’d be able to use one to carry the produce himself.

“Sorry sonny, but I ain’t got no bags fer you to use. But I reckon Orchid Berry might have some in her stall.” He pointed at a nearby stall that sold some flowers and fruits.

“Thank you, again.” Shirou bowed slightly at the old stallion who nodded in appreciation.

“Of course kid, don’t be a stranger now. I reckon you have an eye fer quality ingredients so ya should know that my stand will always have some of the best in Ponyville.” Thistle gave a smile and waved farewell as Shirou left.

“Sorry Twilight, but could you carry these for now? I need to get a bag before I can carry them myself.” Shirou approached Twilight with his purchases held in his arms.

“It's alright Shirou, I don’t mind carrying some groceries. After all Spike and I are used to buying stuff ourselves already.”

“Yeah, usually we’d grab a bunch of stuff at once so Twilight wouldn’t have to go out as often.” Added Spike as he took the garlic cloves and placed them in his bag.

“Thanks you two, I’m gonna see if I can find a bag nonetheless. I would still like to do my part, it just feels wrong not being of use for such a simple task.”

Shirou approached the stall, taking note of what fruits would be best to purchase. He did note that a mare was buying some flowers from the vendor already. He was also surprised to see the mare proceed to munch on the flowers once the purchase was finalized. Wow, I wasn’t aware of how different our diets were, which figures considering I’ve only been used to human food. Should I get some for Twilight? I wonder if Spike has different dietary needs as well seeing as he’s a dragon.

Before he could lose himself to his thoughts he decided to focus on the task at hand first. Right now he needed a bag and some fruit while he was at it.

“Hello! I was wondering if you had any bags I could buy?” Shirou decided to get straight to the point.

“Oh, hello! You’re in luck, I still have 2 bags left, they’re not the best but they serve great for running errands.” Orchid cherily responded as she tried to identify the strange stallion standing before her. He looked familiar but she couldn’t quite recall why.

“Great, would you mind if I bought both of them along with some fruit?” Shirou was glad he could at least get something simple for now. I’d still need a more robust pack for carrying my gear should the need arise.

“Why of course you can, what fruit did you want?” Though he seemed strange looking, he also seemed quite well natured. Thus, Orchid treated him as she would any other customer. It was during their exchange she eventually realized he was the new Ponyville resident, welcomed by Princess Celestia herself. This set her further at ease and so the business went on without a hitch.

Twilight paid close attention to the exchange as Shirou bought his bags and some fruit. She was honestly impressed at how well he handled himself around the market. It made her curious about how markets were back in his world.

They spent the rest of their time at the market going from stand to stand where Shirou would check the produce and then would work out any deal he could with the owners. After a while they finally began the trip back to the Library to drop off their purchases. From there they could head to Rarity’s boutique.

“Do you think I have enough bits to cover all the requests I have for Rarity?” Shirou had to consider that he had to manage his finances as he wasn’t really given a stable allowance. The bits he had now were many, but would deplete in time. Today’s groceries had already eaten into those funds after all.

“I’m sure it’ll be fine, if anything you could try and find something to do so you can earn more bits later.” Twilight responded as she walked alongside him, with Spike trailing behind already enthralled by thoughts of Rarity. “After all it wouldn’t do to have you cooped up in the Library all the time. There’s still so much for you to learn and experience in Equestria.”

“I’ll take your word for it then, Twilight.” Shirou smiled at her, it is a new world to me so who knows what kind of things I’ll find here. I know plenty of magi would give up nearly everything they have just to be able to live in a land with plenty of ambient mana and so many Phantasmal Beasts. “For now let’s just get to Rarity’s boutique so I can get some more clothes and possibly a new pack.” Just a simple trip to see a friend, nothing that odd. So why do I feel slight chills?

-{/}-

Shirou’s smile strained further as he was forced to don another outfit, this one being a butler’s for some Root forsaken reason. At least now he knew who had undressed him during his brief stay in Canterlot after his fight against Nightmare Moon. It had been a combination of Twilight and Rarity who had used their magic to help him undress. Apparently Rarity had wanted a chance to see the strange clothing he’d been wearing as it was all new to her and she simply couldn’t let her curiosity go unsatiated. It also turns out that she had taken the liberty to get rough estimates of his measurements from analyzing his clothes and body when they undressed him.

So here he was now, trying out the many outfits Rarity had been preparing the whole day since she got her boutique open. Though the outfits lacked extensive details due to time constraints, they were well made. A few adjustments seemed to be all they needed to fit him properly, though she considered most to still be incomplete.

The Carousel Boutique was quite impressive, he’d been to a few during his time in London. Usually in the company of Rin or Luvia as they tried on all sorts of dresses and attire. Although it was only with Luvia where he faced similar treatment as he was under now. I didn’t think I’d have to undergo this kind of thing again, wasn’t it enough that Luvia would practically force me into all sorts of clothes? Now I’m being treated like a mannequin by a pastel pony. I know Archer’s laughing at me right now, that bastard.

“Now darling, I wasn’t able to get exact measurements as you’re well aware. So please stay still while I make some adjustments.” Rarity proceeded to use her magic to maneuver measuring tape as she placed pins in areas that required further tailoring.

“As fun as it is seeing Shirou dressed like that, is there a reason you made such an outfit for him?” Twilight asked with a bemused smile on her face. She never figured that Shirou could make such funny expressions. His squirming and discomfort barely hidden under a strained smile.

‘I haven’t forgotten how you let her use me as a mannequin back when we first arrived in Ponyville.’ Shirou could only lightly grimace as Twilight’s thought reached him.

‘Can we call it even now?’ He certainly wasn’t too keen on having this be a recurring phenomenon.

‘Perhaps, I wasn’t lying when I said this was fun.’ Before Shirou could reply they were interrupted by Rarity.

“Why of course dear, if he’s to live with you and claims to be your servant then he must be able to look the part. It wouldn’t do for you to attend a formal occasion with the Princesses only for your servant to not be appropriately dressed.” Rarity’s reply was accompanied by a slightly smug smile as she continued to make her adjustments.

“You are aware I am not that kind of servant, right?” Shirou couldn’t help but feel that she was having too much fun through this whole ordeal.

“Why limit yourself darling? Twilight is quite the important mare as Celestia’s student, it wouldn’t do for you to be unable to serve her as a normal servant would.” With the adjustments done, Rarity took a step back to get a better view of her work. “Wonderful! It may be a new experience, working with a bipedal customer, but it seems that my efforts have paid off. You look more than ready to serve Twilight in any formal Canterlot event.”

“Wow Rarity! You’re really talented in making clothes.” Spike added his two cents, though it was clear he was far more focused on Rarity. Even if she only returned his stare with a quick, polite smile.

“As much as I appreciate your efforts, could I please see the more casual clothes you managed to prepare?” Shirou was all pleasantries, but it was clear how strained his smile really was. He really just wanted a new change of clothes, but he knew enduring being treated as a dress up doll was the least he could do for the mare giving him free clothing. I need to find a way to repay Rarity for all these clothes. I’m astounded how much she was able to prepare in such a short amount of time.

“Fine fine, no patience with you stallions nowadays,” Rarity chided while going to collect the other clothes she had prepared. Shirou took this time to use the sectioned off portion of the room to change out of his butler uniform.

“You’re keeping that outfit right?” Twilight couldn’t hide the amusement in her voice as she questioned Shirou.

“If my Master asks it of me, then I must,” responded Shirou smirking while still behind the curtain separating the room for modesty’s sake.

Soon enough, Rarity returned with another prepared outfit. It was a simple maroon button up shirt with black dress pants. He felt a tad conflicted considering the color choices reminded him of Archer, but he did set himself up for this by wearing armor similar to Archer’s. Maybe I should start straying away from that bastard’s preferred colors a bit more. It’d be a good start to changing things, or at least I’d hope so.

Once changed, Rarity double checked the clothes to ensure they fit well. Due to their relatively simple designs and Rarity’s proficiency there weren’t any changes needed.

“You look quite dashing, I must say darling. It's been a while since I’ve worked on casual clothing, but fortunately my skills are still up to the task.”

“I’m quite impressed you were able to make all these clothes in such a short time. Especially with this level of quality.” Shirou could feel that even if these clothes were a bit basic, they were a quality above similar clothes sold at department stores back on Earth.

“Thank you dear! But I must admit that if I were given more time I could provide you with even better clothing. Designing clothes for somepony of your build is a bit challenging, but I relish the opportunity to further my skills.”

Once they were sure his new clothes were squared away, Rarity finalized a few changes to his butler outfit. She then handed him a bag with both the butler suit and a black wool sweater with crimson highlights. His lack of fur had brought up concerns that he’d freeze as the weather turned chillier with winter approaching.

“Now, I still have a few outfits I need to finish up including some of the ones you tried on earlier. So do make sure to drop by in a few days so I can ensure they fit you perfectly.” Rarity reminded him, though he had been trying out quite a few outfits, many were still works in progress.

“We’ll definitely make sure to drop by again, Rarity. After all, it's too fun seeing Shirou try out so many outfits.” Twilight added with a giggle.

“Don’t think I’ve forgotten about you either missy, we never did finish getting you the perfect dress.” Rarity locked eyes with Twilight who could only look away sheepishly at the reminder of her first encounter with Rarity. “For now I’ll need some time to better plan a dress that can work with the outfits I’ve begun working on for Shirou. You two seem to be a pair after all with your whole magical contract and whatnot. So it's only fitting if both of you have matching outfits.”

“It still astounds me how quickly you were able to create clothing of this quality, especially due to my different morphology.”

“You flatter me too much dear, but it's all par for the course if I aim to open up my own boutique in Canterlot one day.” Rarity smiled a bit as she imagined realizing her dream.

“I think you’d do great in Canterlot, Rarity.” Spike chipped in, “though there are plenty of similar stores. The nobility really like to buy clothes. I wonder why? Since most ponies don’t wear them.”

“They probably treat it as a status symbol,” added Shirou, who was somewhat familiar with their ilk due to the Clocktower’s own nobility. I just hope the nobles here aren’t such cutthroats, quite literally too.

“You would be correct Shirou, the nobles in Canterlot love to buy dresses and suits as a way to show off their wealth and refined tastes.” Twilight did know a thing or two about the nobility considering how she grew up in Canterlot.

“And to succeed in such an environment requires a mare to know all the trends and understand how they flow. Having the skills to adapt on the spot is expected in such a place,” Rarity finished up.

“Enough about Nobility, we still have a few things to handle before the day is done. It was fun seeing you again Rarity and thanks for making Shirou some new clothes. See you another day!” Twilight was ready to leave and even Spike, who seemed reluctant, knew it was time to depart.

“Oh, one more thing, would it be possible to see you work on dressmaking one of these days?” Shirou’s question puzzled the others.

“Hm, I suppose I wouldn’t mind having someone observe my process, but why are you interested darling?”

“I normally have my old roommate help me enchant my clothing, but seeing as I can no longer count on her assistance I need to do it myself. I just figured someone well versed in dressmaking would be able to help out.”

“Oh, then of course you’re welcome to drop by and see me work dear. I’ll be happy to help you!”

“Thanks once again Rarity, I really do appreciate all this. I’ll find a way to repay you, even if you refuse to accept any bits for the clothes.”

“Don’t worry about that dear, your help with Nightmare Moon was more than enough. Consider this my own form of repayment for that.”

There was a brief flash of tension as the two offered each other polite smiles. Neither side was willing to give in to the other's generosity. Only for the tension to fade as if it were never there.

“Well then, I’ll be seeing you three around. Don’t forget to drop by the others. I’m sure they’ll appreciate a visit from you now that we’re all neighbors. Bye bye!” Rarity waved them farewell as they headed to the exit.

“Goodbye Rarity, we can decide on a good time for that idea when I come back for the rest of the outfits.” Shirou waved back along with Twilight and Spike.

“Sounds fabulous darling! See you then!”

-{/}-

With their shopping and errands for the day done. The trio decided to head back to the library to end the day. They’d spent a longer time at the boutique than they’d originally planned which meant they’d missed lunch. Shirou wanted to ensure they would have a filling dinner to compensate so it was best to call it a day there and then.

Once home, Shirou headed to the basement to store the neatly folded clothes into his storage chest. Then he climbed back up to get the kitchen ready for dinner. During this time, Spike was assigned a simple cleaning task elsewhere in the house while Twilight began her task of ensuring the library was in running order.

Time passed as they each fulfilled their assigned roles, and soon the delectable aroma of Shirou’s cooking flooded the library. It only served to further motivate Spike and Twilight into finishing their tasks quickly so they’d get to eat dinner as soon as it was served.

Shirou found himself cooking a plentiful assortment of food, from fried rice to seasoned vegetables and even a vegetable stew. It really is nice being able to cook so freely again, although the lack of meat means I have to adjust my recipes. I should try to see if they have ingredients to make some more traditional Japanese dishes as well. It’d be nice to serve Twilight and the others some dishes from my homeland.

Twilight and Spike managed to finish their duties just before Shirou finished up on his end. They quickly found their seats at the dining table and awaited Shirou with bated breaths.

Shirou couldn’t help but feel amused at their reactions to the first few dishes he brought out. He could practically see the sparkle in their eyes. It was a miracle they held back from digging in till he finished serving everyone and sat down.

The small group ate in relative peace as they all basked in the calm atmosphere. Each bite of food was consumed with great relish. Twilight began wondering if she could ever live without the chance to continue eating meals of this quality. It was outstanding to her how gifted Shirou was at cooking. Who knew a stallion could be this good at cooking! Maybe I should have him prepare a picnic for all of us sometime. It’d be great to enjoy his food with everypony else.

Though the meal lasted for a while, Twilight and Spike thought it had ended too soon. Even if they felt more than content, they knew they wouldn’t be able to help themselves if more food was served. It was while they were basking in the afterglow of an incredible dinner that someone finally broached a subject. Spike had even dozed off in a food induced haze.

“You know Twilight, I’m kind of stumped on what I’m supposed to be doing here.” Shirou had been thinking about how calm the day had been. Sure he’d been forced to wear an assortment of clothes, but that was one of the calmer activities he’d partake in back home.

“What do you mean Shirou?” Twilight looked at him in puzzlement.

“I made a promise to find another path to being a hero, but I’m not sure how I’m supposed to find it living in such a peaceful place like this.” Shirou looked at a nearby window. Outside Celestia’s Sun had already set and the light of Luna’s Moon shone upon the few left Ponies making their way home. Why is it that the Sun and Moon need to be brought up and down magically? Questions to ask the Princesses I suppose.

“So that’s why you’ve been in such a pensive mood?” Twilight got her answer as Shirou nodded before turning from the window to look at her. Is that a hint of desperation I see?

“I don’t quite see how living a quiet and peaceful life will help me be a hero after all. If anything I want to at least be of more use to others. What good am I if I can’t help people?”

“I think that it's important you know what a peaceful life is like.” Twilight’s response stumped Shirou and she could clearly see it.

“Why?”

“When Celestia chose me as her student she asked a question that I didn’t quite understand at all at the time.” Seeing she had Shirou’s full attention she continued, “she asked ‘Before we can truly commence your tutelage as my pupil, I must ask, are you ready for what this role will entail?’ and at the time I was unsure of what she meant. I had dreamed for so long of being accepted into her school and becoming her pupil was above even that. I felt I had truly been blessed by a miracle. So a question like that didn’t quite make sense, I thought this was the best thing I could’ve ever gotten.”

“So what was your response?”

“I told her ‘Of course, your Majesty!’ not an ounce of hesitation in that little filly’s head.” Twilight giggled at the memory of her eager and naive younger self.

“Heh, sounds about right. What, then was the problem?”

“Princess Celestia shook her head at me which only confused me then. Then she told me that in time she would ask me the question again. At that time, should I no longer feel like answering ‘yes’ then she’ll let me go and find any other position I may want instead.”

“Has she asked you yet?”

“No, not yet. But it's been a while since then, and I’ve had time to think about it. For the longest time I never could grasp the hidden meaning behind that question. Recently though, I think I’ve finally come to understand it a little.”

Shirou looked at her in puzzlement as she continued.

“You see, for so long I only thought of my studies and proving myself worthy of being Celestia’s student. Yet, in these few days I’ve been with you, so much of my life has been turned upside down. From learning about Luna and Nightmare Moon to making a bunch of new friends. Even the memories I see in my dreams have shaken my world view in ways I didn’t think possible not so long ago. I had spent so long locked up reading and rarely interacting with others in Canterlot that I had forgotten what the world outside could be like.”

“But how does that tie back to the question?” Shirou did feel some remorse at being unable to stop Twilight from suffering from his memories. You are quite the strong mare, Twilight.

“Rarity was right, you males have no patience,” responded Twilight with a teasing smile. “My point is that these new experiences are important for us to understand what it means to live. And consequently what it means to assume the roles we have chosen. Though I’m not sure I have a complete understanding of Princess Celestia’s question yet. I now know that she wants me to experience more from life, why else send me to Ponyville after all? That must mean that by living a quiet life like this where we can visit friends and run normal errands has an importance we wouldn’t get if we didn’t live them ourselves. Maybe I’m just thinking too much into it like I always do, but I like to think there’s a reason Princess Celestia sent me here.”

Twilight could see something click in Shirou’s mind. She herself had felt something similar as she came to this conclusion. Years of reading all sorts of informative texts and it's only now I can start understanding things a bit better. I really was being a silly little mare. I really do want to learn so much more, now that I know that there is plenty still left to be learned by experiencing life.

“I think I’m starting to get it. There are many stories of heroes who live short but eventful lives. But few are the ones that ever get a taste of a simple life. Most stories are of those who’s light burns strongly and quickly. It's not often those heroes understand and get to experience the kind of life those they have saved live. And I don’t think you’re overthinking it, after all there must be a reason I was summoned by you. ”

“Thanks. You also hit the nail on the head. We’re so caught up with our grand dreams we forget that most are content with a quiet life. There’s nothing wrong with wanting a simple life. Even I can feel its allure sitting here with you and Spike. Content after an amazing meal just talking with a friend. That’s a fine life.”

Twilight smiled at Shirou, such an honest expression it practically lit up the room. Shirou felt himself smiling in turn, not able to resist the joy of this moment.

“But this isn’t the life we’ve planned for ourselves. I want to continue learning about magic both for myself and as Celestia’s student. Plus, I just started learning about friendship so there must be so much more. Where this road will take me isn’t clear yet, but I think it’ll be fine if I can have happiness like this.”

“And I want to be the hero my sister wanted me to be. Even if I don’t understand how I have to make an effort for her, and for you.”

For once, Twilight bore witness to an honest and full smile from Shirou. It was such a fragile thing, weighed down by grief, but still it persevered. You have such a beautiful smile Shirou.

“That’s why I’m here to help you, my Saber,” she hesitated for a brief second as her cheeks turned a tad red, “my Shirou.”

“Then I’ll make sure to help you, my Master.” Shirou didn’t notice her blush, instead recalling his brief time as a Master to his own Saber. What would you have done in a situation like this I wonder?

“So you’re fine with enjoying these simple times while they last?”

“Yeah, I could use the break. Being summoned after a fight with a Dead Apostle and then facing a being with the power of a Goddess has left me a bit winded. Although I wouldn’t want to just stand around doing nothing either.”

“Only a bit? Ha, you sound like my brother. Don’t worry by the way, I'm sure we can find something to occupy your time too. In fact, we should ask around if anypony needs help tomorrow.”

“When do you plan to introduce me to your family? I did get a memory today of you and your brother, along with friends of his I gathered, playing a tabletop game.”

“I hadn’t thought about that honestly.” Twilight looked away sheepishly.

“Wait, you planned to move and live with someone you met a few days ago and you never thought to tell your family?”

“Not really, I just hadn’t had the time to really think about it. Besides, you aren’t some stranger, you’re my friend and I know I can trust you.” Twilight turned back to look at Shirou only to be reminded that she still had her hoof over his hand. This caused her blush to deepen.

“Then you should at least send them a letter soon. I wouldn’t want you to worry them, after all they must care greatly for you.” In his exasperation he didn’t pick up on her reddening cheeks.

“Uhh, yeah I’ll make sure to do that.” Twilight made a mental note to write to them tomorrow. Only to remember she hadn’t prepared a Friendship Lesson for Celestia yet. “Oh no! I forgot about the Friendship Lesson I promised to send Celestia each day!”

“You sure you have to send one each day?” Shirou didn’t get the sense that Celestia would be that insistent on daily lessons.

“Of course! Oh, but Spike is asleep and I wouldn’t want to force him to dictate the letter while groggy.”

“I can write it then and we can just wake Spike to send it before letting him rest in his bed.”

“Thank you, Shirou!” Twilight in her relief took Shirou’s hand in both her hooves, holding it in gratitude. Too occupied was her mind on her task, that her blushing faded, long forgotten.

She quickly got up and scrambled to find the materials she’d bought earlier today. Placing them on the table in front of Shirou who had removed and quickly washed the dishes. She took the extra time to organize her thoughts on the lesson she would be sending.

“Ready when you are, Twilight.” Shirou sat ready with quill in hand

“Alright, I think I got it.” And so Twilight began.

“Dear Celestia, Today I’ve learned that no matter what we aim to achieve in our lives, we should never forget the simple joys of life. Joys that are made all the more complete with friends to share them with. It's fine to have high aspirations, but without friends to share the journey with we run the risk of losing ourselves. Our friends keep track of us and we of them. Together we can make it as far as we want, knowing there is joy to be found anywhere we go together.”

With the letter complete, they roused Spike awake enough to have him send the letter. His role done, he quickly fell back asleep. Shirou decided to carry him to his bed in Twilight’s section of the Library.

“Goodnight, Twilight.”

“Goodnight, Shirou.”

With their nightly partings said, Shirou headed down to the basement where his bed awaited. Tomorrow would be a new day, one where they could meet more of their friends. Perhaps even, further clues to what the path he had chosen had in store for him.

Author's Note

Sorry for the delay, had to sort things out irl and pacing wise. I know this story is slow, but I don't wanna rush it. So please bear with my need for a slow-burn. I promise there's plenty of adventure ahead.

Chapter 11 Swiss-Army Sword

Twilight was starting to get used to the dream cycle, but the contents within still held her fascination. She valued the insight they gave into who Shirou was through his memories, but they also held glimpses into his world. A world so vastly different yet strangely familiar in a way as well.

Currently she found herself in an enclosed space with various seats filled with humans of all sorts. The seats were divided by long paths that went from one end of the space to the other like a pair of parallel lines. But what truly caught her attention was what she saw lay beyond the windows that dotted the sides of the place.

Clouds. So many clouds, and far below them a beautiful blue ocean. All passing by, much like the countryside passing by a carriage. It was at that moment she realized she wasn’t standing in some hallway or building. She was in a flying vehicle.

OH MY CELESTIA! Shirou told me his world didn’t have widespread access to magic, so how did they create a vehicle of this size that could fly! Over an ocean no less! I really need to ask Shirou more about his world. There’s just so much we can learn from a whole different civilization.

Before Twilight could continue fawning over human technology, she was interrupted by familiar voices. Looking down the aisle she found herself on, she spotted a familiar pair of white and red. She quickly made her way over, lest she miss more of the conversation.

“I get that you wanna see his homeland, but is it necessary to pass by Britain first?” Shirou questioned Illya who was engrossed with playing games on a portable device he’d bought her. “We already took a detour to America, so wouldn’t a second one take even longer?”

“Mou, Shirou,” Illya pouted at him. “You know I couldn’t resist visiting all those theme parks!” Her false anger slipped away, as she took on a more serious tone. “Besides, don’t you wanna see the place she gave her life for as well?”

“Yeah, but I’ll have plenty of time for that once I leave for the Clocktower with Rin.” Illya didn’t miss the sad glint in his eyes at the thought of that. Twilight was too caught up with trying to keep track of all the things she would ask Shirou after this dream to notice.

“Mou, Shirou this is a vacation just for us, so stop thinking about that twin tailed devil. You should focus on your dear sister, and be grateful I am insisting you see Saber’s homeland.” Illya’s pout returned with a vengeance at the mention of Rin. She was very annoyed that even now he wasn’t giving her as much attention as she deserved. Sure she would, begrudgingly, accept that Saber had earned a similar status to her own as someone who Shirou cared about, but that Gandr-blasting menace was out of the question.

“Hah,” Shirou sighed. He knew there was no point to this argument, they were already well on their way to Britain. Though they had only just left he could already see the vast ocean below them as they crossed the Atlantic. “Fine fine, my most benevolent and wonderful sister.”

“Hmph, you’re quite cheeky for a supposedly grateful little brother, Shirou. But I’ll let it slide this once,” Illya huffed at him. “After all, I am quite benevolent so you better be grateful,” she added with a haughty aura.

Twilight found the little back and forth quite entertaining. It reminded her a little of her own interactions with Shining Armor, albeit neither of them were as high and mighty as Illya. She continued to look upon the pair as Illya returned to fiddling with the device in her hands, while Shirou looked out the window.

With the siblings having fallen silent, Twi took time to look around some more. But she didn’t get much time to explore as the dream seemed to accelerate in pace so that hours felt like minutes. She only got to look around a bit at the strange devices and interesting books many of the humans in the vehicle were using. Though the details were blurry due to them being a loose recollection of what Shirou briefly saw, she spotted many things that caught her attention.

Her curiosity was cut short as she heard the siblings speak once more. She quickly made her way back to them after having observed a human pushing along a trolley with all sorts of food stuff. It had been an interesting glimpse into human foods, which weren’t all too different to pony food in a way. More stuff to ask Shirou about she supposed, especially seeing he was quite adept at cooking.

“Shirou,” Illya called to him abruptly, prompting him to look at her. “You know she really cared about you.” Shirou appeared confused, unsure of what to make of this sudden comment from Illya. Even Twilight was curious as to what Illya was saying.

“I’m not sure I follow, Illya.” Shirou responded while looking at Illya, searching for some hint as to what she was thinking. He did notice she was awfully contemplative, unlike her usual childish antics or haughty mannerisms.

“You really are hard headed Shirou,” Illya sighed, “I can see why that she-devil calls you a sword for brains.” Twilight was definitely gonna remember that one. From what she gathered, Shirou could be quite the hooful to deal with. “But that’s not the point. What I’m telling you is that Saber did care for you.”

“She was my Servant. Of course she cared about her Master.” Shirou was still unsure what Illya was trying to tell him.

“Mou, Shirou you dummy!” Illya was getting really exasperated by Shirou’s inability to understand her. “She cared about you more than the Master-Servant contract. Think of all the effort she put into training you and letting you fight alongside her.”

“Well she only did that because I was too stubborn to let her fight on her own.” Shirou thought back to when Saber tried to beat the intention to fight on the frontlines out of him under the pretense of training. Eventually even she couldn’t get him to stop, and so she had taught him as much swordsmanship as she could in those fleeting days.

“Yes, she told me as much.” Illya’s response surprised Shirou as he wasn’t aware that she and Saber had talked to each other much. “Not that I wasn’t aware of it, seeing as I watched you two spar everyday. My point is she really cared about you Shirou, even if she only knew you for such a short time.”

“I see,” Shirou’s simple response rubbed both Illya and Twilight the wrong way.

“You really don’t, idiot.” Illya at wits end decided to explain herself far more than she’d originally wanted to. Thankfully the small bounded field she’d set up would let her rant in peace. “I’m telling you that Saber saw you as a trusted comrade, even more than that really. You were to her what her closest knights had been. At times I wondered if she had somehow fallen in love with you, but the way she looked at you when you fought together told me otherwise. She just seemed so happy, as if she were reliving her glory days, fighting alongside her knights. I even asked her about it, much to her embarrassment. Seems she trusted me enough as I’m your sister and you put a lot of trust in me.”

“Oh,” Shirou could understand why Saber would trust Illya enough to tell her this stuff now. Twilight was quite curious about Saber even more now. She really needed to ask Shirou about her more. It seems she was quite important to his past after all.

“She told me that seeing you chase that dream of yours with such fanatical determination reminded her of them. Those who stood by her and pursued a shared dream of saving Britain, even if it worried her. She feared that it would consume you as it had done to many of them… even her.”

Shirou winced, he tried to avoid thinking too much about the repercussions of his dream. Though he had made his stance known when Archer had confronted him, he would still think about the path Archer had followed to damnation. I can’t end up like him anymore… right?

Twilight was privy to his uncertain thoughts and remembered the broken stallion that had stood before her, both in a previous memory and when she’d confronted him with the others. A being who looked so tired and lost. I won’t let you become like him, Shirou. Not just for you, but for Illya and everyone who cares about you now. I, I really don’t want to lose you as a friend, Shirou. She knew he couldn’t hear her here, but she held onto her vow to help Shirou tightly. An important promise to her friend.

“It was before our last battle in the Grail War that she asked me for a final favor. She asked me to watch over you, that she didn’t want you to end up regretting your past as she had done. She especially didn’t want you to become a monster like Archer.” Illya continued, but hesitated as she reached the crux of the matter. “But I can’t, not for much longer.”

“I’ll find a way to save you, Illya.” Shirou spoke with desperate conviction, for he couldn’t fathom failing to save her. Twilight couldn’t help but feel depressed, knowing the events that would transpire.

“You shouldn’t make a girl a promise you can’t keep, Shirou.” Illya cracked a small smile at her own remark. “I don’t want to leave you Shirou, and I really do wish we could find a way to keep me around longer. But we’re both well aware that isn’t happening. So please, please just hear me out.”

Shirou sat in silence, the bounded field blocking all sound at this point. They sat in a small private bubble.

“I won’t be able to watch over you forever Shirou, and I know you don’t want me to do so. But someone has to do it, you’re still too much of an idiot, albeit a lovable one, to know when you’re out of your depth. Even now you think you can save me. But you have to understand that I don’t need to be saved, Shirou.” She gently grabbed his hand and placed it on her cheek, letting him feel her smooth skin and taking in the warmth of his hand. “Not in the way you always think of. So I worry that after I’m gone, you’ll be alone. Sure you have Tohsaka, Sakura, and Fuji-nee around, but they don’t understand you like Saber and I do. They won’t look out for you as we have.”

“I’m still not sure what you’re trying to tell me Illya,” he brushed his hand lightly against her cheek, she had always felt so fragile and ephemeral, “but why bring it up now?”

“Because we’re on our way to visit her grave right now. Soon we’ll be in Britain, and though Camelot has long been lost they still have a grave for King Arthur. I want to go see her final resting place, maybe it’ll help me truly accept what’s coming.” Illya took a brief pause. “Or maybe I just want to see one of the friends I’ve made in my short life again. I may not have known her as well as Berserker, but I’d like to think we were friends. I never did have any back then. Meeting you really brought a new light into my life, and I’ll always be grateful for that.” A small, genuine smile appeared on Illya’s face. It was no brittle thing, even here in a dream formed from memories, it shone with life.

Twilight could see once more what Shirou continued to miss. The light of life that had filled Illya from the moment she had been saved by Shirou. The moment she had gained a brother, the only family she had left and could cherish. A light that grew when she befriended a blonde knight and allowed her to bring out the full might of Berserker to stand against the machinations of an Evil God. Such a beautiful smile, Twilight couldn’t help but think to herself, I want to see Shirou smile like that.

Shirou’s own thoughts were a mess. He couldn’t understand how she could have such a smile with everything she had been through and was still going through. It pained him, because all this just served to remind him of the limited time they had left. I have to save her, no matter what! His thoughts were so obsessive and ruinous, blinding him from the truth that lay before him.

“Stop beating yourself over it. I know you probably won’t, stubborn fool that you are.” Illya pouted once more. “Hah, you really can be quite the lost cause. Anyways, don’t forget her Shirou and know that she really valued the bond you two shared, just like I did with mine and Berserker’s. So you best make sure to honor her memory and enjoy our trip to England!” Illya struck half a pose, still seated, but with hands on her hips and her chest puffed up in self-importance. A childish pose, especially given her petite frame.

Shirou was caught off guard by Illya’s sudden shift in tone. Going from a serious and solemn tone to a far more energetic and demanding one.

“I’ll try my best then.” It was a simple response, but he was a simple man after all. And right now it was the best he could think of given his own turbulous thoughts.

“You better do more than just try! That’s right, I won’t let you leave England till we’ve had a blast in her memory!” Illya puffed up her chest further with conviction. “Only then will we set off for Greece and repeat it all for Berserker as well!”

“As you command o’ grand one.” Shirou snarked at her.

“That’s right, these are my commands!” Illya was becoming even haughtier, and Twilight found herself smiling at their antics. The previous aura of gloom having dissipated. “Now, I shall return to my pursuits while we reach our destination. Think about the things we’ll do once there, I trust you can put together a list of sufficiently worthy activities?”

“Yeah. I already have a few places in mind from those memories of her’s I saw.”

“Good!” Illya then turned back to her device, “then I’ll leave you to it.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Shirou chuckled.

With the more depressing thoughts out of the way, he began thinking about Saber. I wonder what she’d think of all this. I wish we could’ve shown her the homeland she’d fought for. I think she’d have enjoyed exploring it once more, as a guest instead of a ruler. He pondered as he looked out the window, the island was coming into view. Saber, I hope I can live up to your expectations. You who believed in my dream just like Illya did.

I see now, the purpose of this dream. Twilight was starting to get a grasp of these things and the purpose they seemed to serve. There’s so much I need to consider, but I think I have enough to begin helping Shirou out. And I have lots of questions I need him to answer.

With Twilight’s new objectives set, the dream began to fade once more. She could feel herself awakening, and as she stirred into consciousness, she missed the shadow darting away from the nearby window. One she would’ve found quite familiar.

-{/}-

Shirou had woken up and wasted no time going through his morning routine. With that out of the way he had plenty of time to prepare breakfast with the plethora of ingredients he’d secured yesterday. It was always a calming feeling for him, being in a kitchen cooking a meal for others. It was certainly something he had come to miss during his tenure as an Enforcer. Sure he would still cook for Rin and even Luvia on occasion, but only when he wasn’t on a mission far from London.

The wafting smell of breakfast eventually made its way upstairs, rousing a sleeping dragon and dreaming unicorn. Prompting them to awaken in search of the source of that delectable scent.

With a great yawn, Spike finally woke up, albeit groggily, and sniffed the air. The scent of breakfast rushed through his senses and served to wake him right up.

“Mmmm!” Spike shot up and followed his nose out his room and down the stairs leading to the kitchen. “What’s that amazing smell!”

Upon reaching his destination he saw Shirou putting the finishing touches on breakfast, some of it already set up on the table for each of the denizens of the library. Before he could say anything further he was interrupted by Twilight bumping into him.

Just like Spike, she had been following the hypnotizing smell coming from the kitchen. Unfortunately, she was still quite sleepy and hadn’t been awake enough to spot the small dragon before tumbling onto him.

“Ah!” A unified shout rang out as both Twilight and Spike dropped onto the floor. Spike was able to get himself up quickly enough, before turning and helping Twilight up.

“Sorry about that Spike,” Twilight sheepishly apologized as Spike helped her up.

“It's alright Twilight,” Spike grumbled out as he rubbed his back, “just watch where you’re going next time.”

“Of course Spike,” Twilight smiled apologetically, before turning to see the original cause of this whole mess. Standing in the kitchen with an apron on, was Shirou, placing the last of the food onto plates. So used to the routine from back home, he could afford to look upon their antics without breaking stride. That much was obvious to Twilight as she saw his grin at witnessing the collision they had caused.

“Good morning Twilight and Spike,” Shirou spoke before Twilight could remark about his amusement to their predicament. “I see you’re both quite lively this morning,” he added with that cheeky grin still clear as day.

“Hmph, morning to you too Shirou,” Twilight pouted, “though it seems some of us are enjoying it more than the others.” She shot him a stink eye, a bit peeved that he found her earlier embarrassing collision so amusing.

“Good morning Shirou!” Spike on the other hand was elated, his focus on the freshly cooked food that covered the table. He couldn’t wait to dig into such a delicious looking meal. “Is breakfast ready?”

“Yes it is Spike, you two appeared just as I finished up.” He bemusedly added, “that little crash gave me enough time to finish serving it too.”

“Awesome!” Spike quickly made his way to the table and sat down at his usual spot. Shirou had made note to keep track where each of them preferred to sit during their previous meals and knew where to serve each portion. Briefly looking at Shirou for permission, who assented with a nod, Spike began to devour the feast before him. “This really is great stuff! You have to start teaching me how you make such great meals!”

“I have been considering when to start your lessons as promised, and well I think the sooner the better. So starting tomorrow morning I’d like it if you joined me early in the morning so we can cook together. We can hash out a solid schedule after that as well. After all, I do believe I’ll be busy today.” He looked to Twilight who had made her way to the table and had finished seating herself.

“Huh? Oh! Yes, we do have quite the day ahead of us.” Twilight responded, recalling her earlier promise to help Shirou find a job he could do in Ponyville. She thought it’d be good for him to have something to occupy his time, and it would help the ponies get used to his presence while showing them that he just wanted to help others.

With that out of the way, Twilight began to dig into breakfast. The first bite was more than enough to reinvigorate her, banishing any of the remaining drowsiness that clung to her. Fully awake, she was quick to devour the food only stopping to take her time when she realized how uncouth she appeared digging in like a starving beast.

“Spike’s right Shirou, this food is truly amazing!” Twilight was definitely looking forward to a future with Shirou’s cooking. Sure, she’d tasted some wonderful meals back in Canterlot, but there was just something about Shirou’s cooking that elevated his food for those who tasted it.

“Thanks for the compliments you two, but I still think you’re being a bit too generous with your praise. I may have spent quite a few years refining my cooking skills, but I’m still rusty since I didn’t get to cook as much before thanks to my former occupation.” Shirou had a small smile as he looked upon Spike and Twilight eating with such gusto.

His smile was infectious as Twilight found herself also smiling. Just basking in the moment alongside a very content Spike. Breakfast went quick, with everyone eating their fill and leaving the table empty.

Shirou planned to clean up on his own, but Spike and Twilight insisted on helping him clean up. It was only fair considering he had made such a plentiful and delectable meal. Even his wasn’t bullheaded enough to deny their help for long and caved in lest they spend the whole morning arguing about it.

With breakfast and clean up done, the trio got ready to head out for the day. Twilight decided to take her saddlebags just in case. Shirou had put on the maroon button-up and black pants he got from Rarity yesterday despite his reservations about the color choice.

With all three of them ready and gathered by the entrance to the Library, they were about to set off. Only to be stopped by Spike coughing up a letter in a burst of flames.

“Huh?” Twilight and the rest were caught off guard. Twilight quickly snatched up the letter with her magical grasp. Bringing it to her face so she could read it out for the others.

“My Dear Twilight, as grateful as I am that you were able to send me a friendship report with such haste. I believe you may have misunderstood how often I wish for you to send these reports. There is no need to make them a daily affair. Take your time and enjoy it with your friends, the reports should always come second to the time you spend with those you cherish after all. That little misunderstanding aside, I also have a request from my beloved sister Luna. She wishes to speak to both you and Shirou tonight, in the dream realm. Worry not, she will arrange it so you can meet once asleep. It is just up to you if you wish to meet once she comes to ask you herself in your dreams. She thought it best to notify you ahead of time to avoid any surprises once she enters your dreams. That is all, may you all enjoy your day.”

“I wonder what Princess Luna wants to talk about,” Shirou asked, considering if it had anything to do with his previous request.

Twilight on the other hand couldn’t help but feel embarrassed at Princess Celestia noting that she shouldn’t be so quick to write up Friendship Reports. Although the part of Princess Luna’s request for a meeting had piqued her interest. She found that she would definitely like to meet the Lunar Princess once again and hopefully grow closer to her. Being Princess Celestia’s sister was more than enough reason for Twilight to get to know her even more.

“I’m also curious, but I suppose we’ll have to wait till tonight to find out,” Twilight answered. She put the scroll away, amongst a collection she was slowly accumulating amongst the various books. She’d need to move them to a more permanent location eventually.

“I suppose you’re right,” Shirou nodded to himself, “it also seems like Princess Celestia isn’t too fond of daily Friendship reports.”

“I can agree that I may have been a bit too eager with my task,” Twilight responded while looking away in embarrassment. “I just feel that I can’t let Princess Celestia down, especially with something she assigned to me directly.”

“I can understand that you want to live up to her expectations, but you shouldn’t push yourself too hard either,” Shirou added his two cents. Only to find Twilight giving him a deadpan stare. “What?”

“Nothing, I just find it a little ironic to hear that coming from someone who seems to be quite stubborn when you want to be.” Before he could respond, she made for the door, with Spike in tow. Spike didn’t bother intervening, knowing how Twilight could get about her responsibilities. Honestly he found it novel and slightly entertaining to see somepony tease her about it.

Following the other two, Shirou made his way outside. Looking around, he found ponies up and about all sorts of business. The sun was still rising, but shone brilliantly upon Ponyville and its denizens. It was still strange to him to see such a cheerful and active community like this, especially with pastel ponies.

Quite a number of ponies would stop on occasion and stare at him in curiosity, but they would soon be on their way once more. It was strange to be the focus of so many strangers, he felt a bit out of his depth with all the attention. He opted to just follow Twilight as she made her way to the first location she had in mind.

“Alright, since we visited the market and Rarity’s boutique yesterday, I think the next stop should be Sugarcube Corner.” She had considered which ponies may be open to having Shirou help out and a bakery seemed to be the perfect fit. Plus they had promised to visit all their friends and this way they could knock two things off the list at once. Although seeing

“Ah! I’ve heard of that place before from Princess Celestia.” Shirou recalled his conversation where she had recommended its sweets. Maybe I should make some sweets for the Princess, it seems like she really appreciates sugary treats.

“Oh? I wasn’t aware Princess Celestia thought so highly of that place, but that’s fantastic! I’m sure the owners and Pinkie Pie will love to know that Princess Celestia enjoys their food so much.” Twilight smiled at the thought and with a spring in her step she hurried to the destination. Spike and Shirou trailed behind, Spike thinking of the possible treats and Shirou considering if he could find any new recipes there.

-{/}-

“Welcome!” A smiling light cerulean mare welcomed them into the shop. “What can we do for you dearies!”

“Hello!” greeted the trio in unison.

“We’re here to visit Pinkie Pie and get a few treats to take home,” continued Twilight.

“Ah! You must be Pinkie’s new friends Twilight, Shirou, and Spike!” The mare beamed at them. “I’m Mrs. Cake! It's wonderful to meet you all! Just give me a second to get Pinkie, she’s helping me out in the kitchen right now.” Before Twilight could ask if they were being a bother she continued, “and don’t worry, it's no problem at all for her to talk to her friends right now.” With that, she departed to the kitchen.

“She seems quite nice,” Shirou spoke as they waited for her return. Their wait was short as a pink blur shot out from the kitchen and smashed into Twilight, wrapping her in a hug.

“OH MY GOSH! HI! IT'S SO AWESOME TO SEE YOU AGAIN!” Pinkie bombarded them with words while making sure to give each of them a big ol’ hug. A hug that surprised Shirou due to the level of strength behind it.

They may be small pastel horses, but they are no slouches when it comes to strength. It probably has to do with Pinkie’s Earth Pony origins, but I didn’t think they could be this strong. Fortunately she let go before any of his bones began to creak, and stood before them in excitement.

“I’m happy to see you as well Pinkie,” Twilight smiled at the ever eager party pony.

“I’m glad you’re so happy to see us as well,” added Shirou. Her antics always bemused Shirou, partly reminded of a certain tiger.

“Yeah, it's great to see you again Pinkie!” Spike thought she seemed like quite the fun pony, certainly a contrast to Twilight’s own nature.

“So! What’s brought you three to Sugarcube Corner? Did you need sweets for a party? Oh! I was just making some amazing cookies! You should all try them! And then we can use them as part of a party to celebrate the Grand Opening of Golden Oaks Library!” Before she could keep rattling on, Twilight cleared her throat to intervene.

“Actually Pinkie, while we did come here to buy a few treats. We also wanted to know if there’s any work Shirou could do to help out around here.” As Twilight finished speaking, Mrs. Cake made her way back from the kitchen with a tray of freshly baked cookies.

“If dear Shirou here is looking to help out a bit, then I wouldn’t be opposed to having him help out like Pinkie does. Do you happen to have any experience with baking dearie?” Mrs. Cake looked at Shirou.

“Yes, I’m used to cooking all sorts of foods and that includes baking deserts of various kinds. I don’t know if it's enough to really help out a professional such as yourself, but I definitely know my way around a kitchen.”

“Don’t be so humble dearie! That’s already a lot more than the usual pony. I think you’d do wonderfully helping out around the bakery. While we aren’t always too busy, there are certainly days where we could use an extra pair of hooves around here. Plus we have extra bits to spare,” Mrs. Cake kept talking, preventing Shirou from bringing up an objection to being paid, “I’m sure Pinkie would appreciate the help as well.” Mrs. Cake smiled and was quite delighted at the prospect of further help. The bakery had seen a recent boom in business and even with Pinkie’s help it could be quite the tall order to complete the various orders on certain occasions. The constant work had also taken its toll on the Cakes.

“I just have to talk it over with my husband Mr. Cake and we can work out some times for you to come in for work. We had been planning to take a brief break and have Pinkie run the bakery on her own for a day, but having you around would certainly be appreciated.” She turned to Pinkie who was giddy at the prospect of working alongside a friend. “So long as she’s fine with it of course, but I think she’s more than happy to have a friend around.” Mrs. Cake smiled at the bouncing pony with eyes full of joy.

“Wow! Did you hear that Shirou!? We can work together and bake all sorts of goodies together!” Pinkie zoomed once more, giving Shirou another hug. Though he could swear he heard his bones creak this time. “It’s gonna be amazing!” There was a brief pause before she added, “I mean I was planning to ask Applejack to help cause she’s like the best baker ever! But after tasting your food last time I think you’d be a pretty great baker too!”

“Now Pinkie dearie, let the young stallion go. He seems like he’s about to pass out from how tightly you’re hugging him.”

Twilight found the whole little back and forth very entertaining, and so did Spike who was giggling at seeing Shirou being crushed by Pinkie’s embrace.

“Right! I definitely look forward to baking with you Shirou!” Pinkie let him go but still gave him a wide smile. Shirou gave her a bemused grin in return.

“And I can’t wait to help out as well,” Shirou replied.

“Wonderful! With that out of the way, you dearies were still looking to bring home a few treats, yes?” Mrs. Cake made her way to the counter where a plethora of baked goods awaited the group.

“Yes, it’d be nice to have some sweets every now and then, especially seeing as Princess Celestia herself recommended your bakery.” Twilight looked at the many delicacies and found herself wanting to get one of everything. It all looks so tantalizing!

“Oh my! To think Princess Celestia herself has praised our little shop. It's such a major honor!” Mrs. Cake felt herself swell with pride at this information. “That does explain the recent surge in orders we’ve been experiencing. So what will you dears like from our little shop?”

“I’d love to take some of these,” Twilight began pointing at a set of cupcakes, before moving on to some donuts, “and these too.”

“Sure can do,” Mrs. Cake gathered up the requested pastries.

“Do you two want anything as well? I have plenty of bits with me today, so don’t be afraid to get as much as you want.” Twilight asked Spike and Shirou, who had made their way over to the selection of goods as well.

With Pinkie’s and Mrs. Cake’s help and recommendations, the three of them ended up getting quite the assortment of sweets and pastries.

“It was nice to meet you all! Feel free to drop by whenever you want to buy some sweets or chat with Pinkie!” Mrs. Cake handed the packed up goods to Shirou, who opted to carry them since they had accumulated a hefty number. “I’ll be sure to send Pinkie to let you know what your schedule will be later, Shirou.”

“Thank you Mrs. Cake, I really appreciate the opportunity to help out. It will be a new experience to help out in a bakery and the chance to learn more baking skills would be nice.”

“Bye now dearies!” Mrs. Cake waved them farewell as they made their way outside.

“Goodbye!” They responded in kind. Each of them waving back.

“Bye bye! See you soon everypony!” Pinkie waved rapidly, excited by the prospect of having a friend to work with and at possible plans for them to all meet again. There were still plenty of parties to plan and invite them all to.

With their goodbyes said, the group left Sugarcube Corner and made their way back to the Library to drop off the assortment of food. It was still early in the day so they had time to pass by a few more places. Thus, Twilight felt they had plenty of time to go see Fluttershy in her cottage. Surely the kind mare could use some help handling the various animals she took care of.

-{/}-

Fluttershy had been having a normal morning. She’d fed all her animal friends and made sure they were nice and comfortable. Her little cottage wasn’t much, but it served well as a place for all sorts of furry critters to live in or near. She also enjoyed the relaxed nature of it, well whenever her animal friends weren’t making too much of a mess. They were still wild animals after all.

She had just settled into a comfy couch, with her bunny Angel relaxing nearby, when she heard a knock at her door. It spooked her a bit due to how tranquil the atmosphere had been just before.

“I’ll be there soon,” Fluttershy spoke just loud enough to be heard by whoever was knocking. She got up and headed to the door. Angel had already made his way over, wary of whoever may have been paying a visit.

She opened the door and found a familiar trio standing there.

“Hi Fluttershy!” Twilight greeted the pegasus with a bright smile. Shirou and Spike waved at her as well in greeting.

“Oh, um, hello Twilight,” Fluttershy began before turning to the other two, “Shirou, and Spike. Did you all need anything?”

“Actually we just wanted to drop by and visit,” Twilight replied. “We’ve already spoken to Rarity and Pinkie Pie, so we thought we’d visit you next. Plus this way we can familiarize ourselves with Ponyville.”

“I also wanted to see if you needed any help around here,” Shirou chimed in.

“That’s quite nice of you, please come inside and have a seat then.” Fluttershy led them to the living room. There they found seats amongst the menagerie of animals that called the place home. “Sorry about the clutter. I just have so many animal friends I like to help out and well they tend to hang around here now.” While she did seem a tad embarrassed by the clutter of her home, she was also proud of her efforts to better the lives of so many critters.

“It’s very fascinating how you’ve made friends with so many animals.” Twilight stared in awe at the assortment of furry friends. The other two also found themselves impressed by the scope of Fluttershy’s animal care. If Shirou didn’t know any better he’d think this was an animal sanctuary.

“Oh, thank you,” Fluttershy let out a demure smile, “but it's no big deal. I just love taking care of these adorable babies.” Some of the animals let out chirps and cries in agreement, while others simply nod.

“Isn’t this all a bit much?” Shirou asked, causing everyone to stare at him. “I mean, don’t you get tired of doing all this by yourself?”

“Well it can be quite the endeavor, but they tend to be cooperative. Angel helps me out on occasion too.” On that last remark, Angel puffed up his little chest a little. Though it was more comical than impressive to the group, much to his chagrin. “Plus, whenever I do need an extra hoof, I usually rely on Applejack. She’s pretty good with animals and is oh so helpful!”

“That’s very kind of her,” replied Twilight, “in fact I think Pinkie mentioned something similar.”

“Yeah, she mentioned that she was gonna ask AJ to help her out with baking at the Sugarcube Corner,” added Shirou. “At least, that was before Mrs. Cake agreed to let me help out instead.”

“How nice of her,” Fluttershy took a moment to continue, “you mentioned you were wondering if I could use any help, right?”

“Yup, just thought I’d offer a helping hand,” Shirou paused, “or hoof I suppose, around Ponyville. If you need anything then I’d be happy to help you out.”

“Are you sure you aren’t too busy already helping out at Sugarcube Corner?” Fluttershy asked, though Twilight had been wondering something similar. She didn’t want him to overwork himself after all. Having something to keep his mind occupied was not the same as having him constantly working either.

“It should be fine, I’m not a full time employee after all. I just have to hash out some scheduling details. It seems they only really need me during busier seasons or when they need a break from running the store.”

“In that case, would it be possible for you to help me out in a little over a week?” Fluttershy continued, “see the official bunny census is coming up and I could really use some help in counting all the new baby bunnies. Normally AJ’s skill in rounding up animals would be incredibly helpful, but with Apple season coming up I wouldn’t want her to strain herself with more work.”

“Apple season?” Shirou asked, the other two looking on in similar curiosity.

“Oh yes, you three haven’t been here long. My bad, but you see around this time in the season the apples in their orchard are nice and ripe.” Fluttershy explained to the trio. “Since they own large swathes of land, the Apple family makes a grand effort to buck the apples as quickly as they can. That means both Applejack and Big Mac have a lot of work cut out for them. Although Applejack still lends a helping hoof to others during that time, I’d like to alleviate the load for her this time around.”

“That’s quite kind of you Fluttershy,” said Twilight, fascinated by the information she just shared. Her inquisitive mind never fails to absorb any new info. She still had plenty to learn about Ponyville and getting info first-hoof was always welcome.

“I’m glad you want to look out for your friend and would be more than happy to help you with the bunny census.” Shirou gave a light smile, despite how shy she appears. She really is nice and takes care of her friends just as much as her animals. I wonder if these ponies just tend to have an overall kinder disposition or if the ones I’ve encountered so far are the exception. That might also explain why they were chosen as bearers for the Elements of Harmony.

“Thank you so much, Shirou!” Fluttershy exclaimed. “I’ll let you know what day the census will be and what time to meet.”

“No problem, Fluttershy,” Shirou responded in kind. “I may not be quite the cowgirl like Applejack, but I’d like to think I can handle counting a few bunnies.” It can’t be any harder than fighting Dead Apostles after all.

With a plan more or less hashed out, Fluttershy enjoyed the company of the others a while longer. She offered them snacks and tea, which they were grateful for. Eventually they had to head out to see if they could visit a few more places in Ponyville before the day ran out. With a final farewell, the trio were on their way once more.

-{/}-

On the trek back to Ponyville, Twilight led the way. She had considered visiting a hardware store next. She figured it would be a good place for Shirou to find some more work for himself, plus she knew he liked to tinker with things. A hardware store would probably be a familiar setting for him, even if the tools weren’t quite the same. Or so she hoped.

On their way there, they were interrupted by a familiar face. A rainbow blur had smashed into Shirou just as they were nearing Ponyville proper.

“Thanks for the catch!” Rainbow Dash shouted, glad somepony had broken her fall. Albeit a bit sheepish at having crashed into another pony due to her own mistake.

“I’m just glad you aren’t hurt,” answered a ruffled Shirou, who was on his back. He had acted just in time to catch Rainbow Dash, but her momentum still knocked him down due to poor footing. Standing back up, he saw that Rainbow Dash had already taken to the sky again, although she was sticking around.

“Sorry about that, just been practicing some more moves,” Rainbow answered sheepishly, “but I kinda haven’t ironed them out yet.”

“You’re really making it a habit to crash into poor Shirou everytime we meet,” giggled Twilight.

“I’d say, though it's kinda cool how Shirou always manages to catch her no matter how fast she is,” added Spike. He was starting to wonder if Shirou could teach him how he was able to keep up with Rainbow’s speed.

“Hey, I’m pretty cool too you know!” Rainbow was peeved, but the deadpan stares she received reminded her that her constant crashing had done a number on her building reputation with the trio. “When my tricks work at least,” she continued, “it's why I spend so much time practicing. Talking about practice, I’ve been wondering if you wanted to train together, Shirou!”

Shirou, for his part, was surprised by her initiative. He hadn’t expected her to ask him to train with her. Although he was never opposed to helping others out, and she was his friend now. I’m not sure how I’d help a pony train, much less a pegasus to be honest. Wouldn’t hurt to try I suppose, plus I do need to up my training. I can’t let myself slip just cause this place is much calmer than back home.

“Sure, I’m not too sure if I’ll be much help unfortunately,” Shirou replied.

“It's fine! We’ll figure something out. I just wanna see if I can learn anything from those sick moves you pulled when you fought Nightmare Moon.” Shirou wasn’t expecting his actions to have left such an impression on the mare. “You were so cool, fighting with all those swords, constantly dodging her attacks with just inches to spare! I’m faster than you, but your reflexes are pretty sharp. It’d be awesome to have someone like you help me out. I just know I’ll be able to nail these new moves I wanna try out with your help.”

“If you really think I’ll be able to help you out then I wouldn’t mind training with you.” Shirou thought about it a bit more before adding, “I could definitely use the extra training. I’ve been feeling a little rusty with how calm things have been around here.”

“Haven’t you only been here for a few days?” Spike asked.

“Yeah, but I was usually going from hunt to hunt, only stopping every once in a while to visit Rin,” Shirou replied. Huh, now I kind of feel bad for barely making time for Rin. No wonder she threw a Gandr at me everytime I dropped by.

“Well then I’ll help you shake off your rust and you can help me improve my reflexes!” Rainbow Dash did a quick circle around the group in excitement.

“Sounds like a deal.” Shirou just smiled lightly at her antics as she flew in celebration.

“Woohoo! Anyways catch y’all later, I still have some weather stuff to handle. Bye Twilight and Spike! See ya later Shirou, I’ll drop by early tomorrow to get some training in!” With a final wave she sped off.

“That mare sure is fast,” Twilight commented as they saw her fly off. “You sure you’ll be able to keep up with her, Shirou?” She asked with slight concern.

“She wouldn’t be the first person I’ve faced that could easily outspeed me. Seeing as I beat most of them, I can assure you, my dear Master, that I’ll be able to keep up with her.” He couldn’t help but give her a cheeky grin as well causing her to lightly bump him in response.

“So where were we heading before Rainbow Dash crashed into me?” Shirou asked.

“Oh, we were heading to Ponyville’s local hardware store, Hay’s Hardware. Since you’re good with tools and fixing everyday stuff I figured you might like to help out in a place like that.”

“It would be nice to see what kind of tools ponies use. Now that I think about it, I should recreate my old collection of tools. You never know when it’ll come in handy for fixing things around the home.” Shirou recalled his old set of tools to make a mental list.

“Great! It shouldn’t take us long to get there, it's quite a simple and straightforward trip from what I’ve seen.”

The group continued on their way, quickly making their way through Ponyville to their destination. Shirou still got the occasional curious look from passing ponies, but thought nothing of it. I wonder how long it’ll take for both of us to get used to seeing the other. I still find it hard to believe I got summoned to a world full of colorful ponies.

Eventually they made it to the hardware store. The owner was quite kind and offered Shirou a part time position as he could use the helping hand when it came to helping out customers with repairs. He even offered to send any customers that may need a handypony his way. Shirou decided to buy some basic tools for himself with the bits he had brought along.

From there they hit up a few more places around the center of Ponyville. While many appreciated the offer for help they had no need for it and turned them down. With those avenues of temporary employment turning out a bust, the trio decide to hit up one last stop.

-{/}-

Their final destination for the day was none other than the Apple Family’s Sweet Apple Acres. Making their way past the entry gates and knocking on the entrance of the main barn they were welcomed by Applejack.

“Well howdy partners, what can I do for ya this fine day?” Briefly considering the time of day she continued, “what’s left of it at least.”

“We were just wondering if you had any need for an extra pair of hooves around the farm,” Twilight began.

“Hmm, in that case come in for a quick treat. Wouldn’t want to have my friends waiting by the door for the whole conversation.”

“Are you sure?” Twilight asked tentatively, both she and Shirou didn’t want to intrude after all.

“Of course! Granny Smith wouldn’t let me hear the end of it if I kept y’all out here either.” Applejack motioned for the group to enter. Seeing no other option they did so with respect.

“Now, did all three of ya wanna help out around here?” Applejack asked.

“No, not that we don’t want to help, but I’ll be busy with the library and Spike will be assisting me there. We’re really here cause I figured it’d help to give Shirou something to do while we stay in Ponyville.” Twilight responded.

“Yeah, I may not have much farming experience, but I’m more than willing to learn in order to help you out.” Shirou added with a look of determination.

“I see then, so you reckon you’d be able to pull your weight and then some around here?”

“Yeah, I’m always happy to lend a hand to help others.”

Before she could respond, Applejack paused, lost in thoughts. Shirou and Twilight were about to ask if she was alright when she broke out of her trance.

“Normally I’d be more than happy to accept your help partner. But unfortunately I ain’t too keen on going back on my word, so I’m sorry to say that I won’t be needing your help around these parts.”

Twilight and Shirou were taken aback by this, both having thought she’d be more than open to getting some help.

“Are you sure there’s nothing I can do to help out then?” Shirou asked.

“Not for now. After this harvest season I could see about letting you help around here. But right now I have to prove myself without any outside help.” She answered stubbornly.

Seeing that she wasn’t gonna budge on the matter, they decided to drop the subject. Instead they made some small talk and had a few apple themed snacks. Apparently they were leftovers from their initial visit when the entire extended Apple family had been visiting.

“Take care y’all! I’ll be sure to let ya know once we can use some help around here, but for now don’t worry about us. I can handle anything that needs to be done for the time being.” Applejack called out to them as they made their way out of Sweet Apple Acres.

“Thanks, we’ll definitely look forward to that! If you need anything, don’t be afraid to ask. We’re more than happy to help you out with whatever you may need.” Twilight responded, before adding. “Goodbye Applejack, stay safe!”

“Goodbye Applejack!” Added Spike, waving one of his claws in farewell.

“Goodbye!” Shirou also said his farewells.

With that, the trio made their way home. Tired, but satisfied, especially Twilight who felt she’d helped out not only Shirou but plenty of her friends. Shirou was content with the work he now had to occupy his time and began planning dinner for the night.

-{/}-

Once they arrived at the Golden Oaks Library, each member made their way to their respective places. Twilight headed to her room to take over her satchel, while Spike made his way to his comic stash. Shirou took residence in the kitchen, quickly gathering the supplies for today’s dinner.

They hadn’t made it home that late so he had plenty of time to cook up a proper meal. So he took his time to ensure that the meal was plentiful and healthy. He was starting to get the hang of catering to their vegetarian diets and making use of mostly plant ingredients. Soon dinner was ready and its delicious smell drew Twilight and Spike to the kitchen. Much like it had during breakfast, without any incidents fortunately.

Sitting down at the dinner table for their meal, they shared a bit of small talk. Eventually the subject of Luna’s meeting came up.

“Do you have any clue what Princess Luna may want to speak to us about?” Asked Twilight,

“Not really, you know her as much as I do. Perhaps it has to do with her duties as the Princess of the Night. I just don’t know what that would entail for us.” Shirou answered as he continued to eat. Spike had long since gorged himself before knocking out.

“No point worrying about it then. We’ll know soon enough. I just hope I’m ready for whatever Luna may require of us.”

“I’m sure we’ll be fine, Twilight. I may not know her that well, but Luna seems to be just as caring about her subjects as Celestia. Despite her time as Nightmare Moon, I’m certain she’s doing her best to readjust to her position alongside her sister.” I’d know about trying to make amends for past mistakes after all. He almost added that thought, but caught himself in time.

“You’re right, I shouldn’t worry so much. I’m sure that together we’ll be able to handle this matter with ease.” Twilight smiled at Shirou and he returned her smile in kind. I love seeing him smile, it's such a nice expression. I wish he’d do it more often.

Once dinner was done, Shirou carried a sleeping Spike to his bed in Twilight’s room. Twilight smiled at the touching scene of Shirou gently carrying the baby dragon. It was just too endearing.

“Goodnight Shirou,” Twilight said before he left her room/

“Goodnight Twilight,” Shirou responded and added, “see you in a bit.”

Both smiled one last time at that before heading to their beds. Easing up their minds to make sure they fell asleep without a problem. Wouldn’t want to keep a Princess waiting after all.

Author's Note

Its uhhh, been a long time. But hey, I at least made it in time to update at the very end of Shirou day. For those not aware, Shirou day is a Twitter event that occurs every year on the 20th of October. Its a fun time, or at least I think so. The next update shouldn't take so long. Got plenty of stuff planned ahead so definitely look forward to it. Thanks for reading!

Chapter 12: A Taste of the Greener Grass

Twilight found herself at the beginning of another memory once again. She was surprised by the sheer sensory overload as all around her were humans along with a plethora of noises. Looking around she spotted various stands and colorful structures she quickly realized were amusement park rides.

“An amusement park?” She asked herself as she tried to find Shirou. She caught a glimpse of him along with his sister. Illya was eagerly pointing at a rather large rollercoaster as she pulled a slightly exasperated but happy Shirou along. She smiled at the endearing sight.

Before she could follow them she felt a presence enter the dream. Turning to face the source of the disturbance, she spotted a rift closing behind a deep blue Alicorn. Before her stood the regal Alicorn of the Moon, and upon the royal’s countenance was a look of thoughtful concern.

“Greetings Princess Luna!” Twilight bowed in respect. This drew the Princess from her thoughts.

“Greetings to you as well young Twilight!” Luna’s voice bellowed out, drowning even the noisy surroundings. Twilight cringed at the volume, the worst of it was mitigated by the outdoor environment thankfully. “Ah, apologies good Twilight. I still find myself unable to shake old habits it seems.”

“It's completely understandable Princess,” Twilight was quick to respond. Fortunately the dream was outside and not indoors. “I see you are here, but where is Shirou?”

“I am here to collect thee in order to take you to the dreamscape we shall have our meeting. I shall retrieve Shirou after I have guided thee there.” Luna aimed for a gap in the crowd, and created a new rift. “Please, follow me.”

“Yes, Princess.” Twilight followed behind Luna and stepped through the portal. On the other side she was greeted with a sky full of stars. They stood in a vast courtyard with a full moon directly above bathing them in its calming light. It was a beautiful scene to witness, and it took the sound of another portal opening to grab Twilight’s attention.

She saw Luna step through once more before disappearing into another dream. Twilight only had to wait a few minutes before she returned. This time she was accompanied by a slightly bewildered Shirou. His eyes darted around, taking in the new surroundings with wariness. Ever battle ready it seems. She grinned a bit at seeing him this wound up by Luna’s dreamwalking.

“Hi, Twilight,” he greeted her upon finishing taking in the sight of the courtyard. He also gave her a little wave before taking his place at her side so they could face Luna together.

“I am certain both of thee have various questions to ask of me. This meeting is for both our benefits as I too have questions pertaining to the state of thy dreams. Thou seest now that dreams fall under mine authority as the Princess of the Night.”

To drive home her point, she flared her power and wings in a grand display of her might. It was impressive to Shirou how quickly she had recovered from her weakened state after they had cleared her madness as Nightmare Moon. The light that poured from her was much like the light of the moon above, both radiated with her divinity. Even the stars twinkled brightly during her display. The scent of her mana momentarily overwhelmed Shirou’s senses as well. Normally it was reminiscent of chill air from the first cold front that heralds winter. Now in its full glory, it was no gentle breeze carrying off the last leaf of autumn, but a piercing presence that harkened from the depths of a frozen night.

“Then allow us to answer your questions first, your majesty!” Twilight, ever eager to please the rulers of Equestria, responded first. She had been entranced by Luna’s power and the sheer majesty of Luna’s presence and form. She’s so beautiful. She truly is Celestia’s sister with such power and control, oh how I hope to reach even a small portion of their abilities! There must be so much Princess Luna could teach me too. I should ask her if she’d be willing to help me with my studies. But I shouldn’t impose on her too much either, she is probably going through a lot trying to adjust to Equestria after such a long absence. And she would probably want to spend as much time as she can with her sister. These thoughts raced in Twilight’s mind, as her curiosity and need to gain knowledge warred with her concern for the Princess of the Moon.

“I thank thee for being so forthcoming dear Twilight.” She took a pause to look upon the pair properly before continuing. “As thou knowest, mine… absence from my duties means there is much work to make up for. Due to my unique ability to walk amongst dreams, of which my sister does not share, I had long ago been entrusted with ensuring that all in Equestria may have wonderous dreams free of nightmares. This is a duty I have taken upon myself once again and it was during this time I came upon a strange phenomenon.” She paused to allow them to fully take in the information she had provided.

Shirou remembered the conversation he’d had with her during the party back in Canterlot. She had mentioned her ability to dreamwalk then and he had made a request of her to watch over Twilight. I’d wager that this meeting has something to do with that request and the Dream Cycle.

“Thou know I have knowledge of the strange link between the two of thee through a contract.” They pair nodded at her summary of their bond. “The nature of this contract has intrigued me greatly, for I do share a greater inclination and curiosity to the arcane than even my sister. Though that would not normally be enough for me to require such an impromptu meeting on the matter. No, what troubles me is the nature of this link in relation to thine dreams.” She looked to Shirou, recalling what he’d briefly told her before. “Good Shirou made me aware of the fact that this contract has repercussions in the dreams of those bound by it. Now that I have witnessed a few of these dreams I would like a greater explanation of their nature.”

“If I may,” began Shirou, seeing as he was still the most informed on this matter and had been the one to tell Luna in the first place. “I was a former Master and now as a Servant I do feel I’ve gained a deeper understanding of the basis of this bond between Twilight and I. Though, I will admit this contract is different from the norm as it is neither facilitated by a powerful magical artifact such as a Holy Grail, nor has it summoned me from the Throne of Heroes in a container of my respective class.“ Despite her desire to know more about the mentioned subjects, Luna patiently listened to Shirou.

“Differences and circumstances aside, one of the main similarities to the contracts I am familiar with is the inclusion of the Dream Cycle.” Luna finally had a name to attach to the phenomenon she had been witnessing. “The Dream Cycle is a means by which a Master and Servant can deepen their understanding of each other. It does so by having each party experience the memories of the other during their dreams.” Luna nodded in acknowledgement that she still recalled this much. “This way the Master can better understand the extent of their Servant’s power and their values. In turn, the Servant comes to understand the kind of person their Master is and what drives them. Usually this would help cement their bond for the Grail War and make them a more effective fighting pair. I am sure you recall my concerns about these memories leading to nightmares for Twilight.” Twilight found herself feeling slight terror as she briefly recalled the first memory she had witnessed. This was quickly replaced with a deeper sadness, oh Shirou why do you still blame yourself for these things. It's not your fault I have to see those memories. To even bother the Princess with this, at least you’ve learned to ask others for help. She did her best to take solace in that, though she was a tad surprised Shirou had kept this conversation from her.

“Indeed, I have been observing Twilight’s dream as per our accord, but now that I have seen some for myself I simply needed to know more. I do thank thee for the additional information thou hast provided me. As per our agreement you may ask of me a question in turn and I shall endeavor to answer as best as I can.” Luna looked upon the pair, processing Shirou’s words while also preparing for whatever they might ask.

Shirou looked to Twilight, while he had his own curiosity of matters surrounding the Princess, he believed it only right for Twilight to ask first. Twilight received his intent clearly and decided to ask first as Shirou would be too stubborn to ask first.

“Princess Luna, I don’t mean to sound rude, but are you truly feeling well enough to so quickly take up your old duties again?”

Luna experienced a brief lapse in her thoughts as she was thrown off by the direction of the question. She blinked once before staring intently at Twilight, she carefully considered how to reply.

“I am grateful for thy concern for mine own well being, but do not worry I am more than capable of resuming my place alongside my sister Celestia.” She smiled at Twilight in reassurance, hoping to alleviate the unicorn of her worries. I needn’t cause these valiant beings any further grievances with my own inability. Though it is endearing to see them so concerned for my own sake, I am not so deserving of such attention. Her bitter self deprecating thoughts remained hidden to the pair, or so she thought. She didn’t catch the slight glint in Shirou’s eyes as he peered at her with greater attention than before. Simply considering his own concern for her well being much like Twilight’s.

“In fact, I shan’t consider that as one of thy questions for this exchange, so please do ask another.” Seeing as the pair was going to object she added, “I insist and I will not budge on this matter so let us not waste further time deliberating the matter.”

With some exasperation the duo decided to leave the matter be. No point butting heads in a dream realm that neither truly understood how time functioned in. Especially not against the Diarch in charge of the place.

“I am curious as to what your duties are aside from watching over ponies’ dreams. I am quite familiar with the duties of Princess Celestia and I’d like to know more about your own. If you don’t mind explaining them to us of course.” Twilight couldn’t help but wonder what matters were now being handled by the Princess of the Night. After all, how many of those duties had been part of Princess Celestia’s own after all this time.

“Mine own duties vary and are equal to my sister’s. Quite a few parallels exist, such as the Day and Night Courts. It is one of my main duties to oversee the Night Court and handle any matters brought up by our denizens.” She took a brief pause before continuing. “Unfortunately, despite the preparations for the Night Court having been handled prior to our celebrations a few days ago, few are the ponies willing to attend. Either as part of the Court or to request answers to their issues from the Court. Though I cannot fault them as many ponies are likely used to attending Day Court for such matters. I just wish that they would seek out mine own counsel so as to lessen the amount of petitioners my dear sister must answer to.” Despite how stubborn she’s been about not letting me take on so much work so soon. I don’t need to continue being a burden to her.

“Aside from the Night Court and keeping order in the Dream Realm, I am in charge of the vaults containing magical artifacts and ancient tomes.” She swelled with some pride, “my ability to understand the arcane is above even my sisters,” she deflated a bit, “despite her larger magical reserves. She only cares for fiddling with artifacts and enchantments. Due to this, she believed it best that I focus on the magical side of Equestrian matters, even going as far as handling most of the politics.” She could still remember those times, back when Starswirl had believed them fully capable of running Equestria on their own. To think we had been so eager to rule back then. Prepared for anything we thought, how wrong we had been. Even now have we, have I truly learned anything?

“Does that mean the library in Canterlot would be under your jurisdiction?” Twilight could only wonder what kind of arcane knowledge Princess Luna was privy to. How many ancient artifacts and formulas does she remember? Oh how I really want to spend some time just probing her mind of all the things she could teach me. Her eyebrows furrowed as she recalled a tid bit Luna had just said. “Wait, Princess Celestia never told me she liked to work on magical artifacts.”

“Hm? Strange, perhaps she has not found much time in recent years to tinker as she used to.” A small pause as Luna considered it who’s fault it was. “To answer thy first question, yes. Especially the wings dedicated to ancient and powerful magical tomes. I do believe my sister has mentioned thou’s interest in the magical arts. If thou wish I would not be opposed to setting up future meetings for us to discuss such matters.” Celestia places much trust in Twilight’s abilities and I have yet to truly verify her own aptitude. I do not wish to doubt my dear sister, but it is crucial that Twilight is ready for what lays ahead. Especially from what Celestia has told me she expects of her.

“I’d definitely appreciate further tutelage under your Highness!” Twilight responded eagerly. “Although, I admit I feel I’d be taking up time from your already busy schedule to largely benefit myself.” She added with some trepidation.

“Worry not good Twilight, for thou can do me a great service by aiding me in growing accustomed to the current state of pony society. Consider an equal exchange of knowledge.” Luna smiled upon Twilight who couldn’t help but quickly nod in agreement. The prospect of learning and helping out a Princess simply too much to ever disagree. “Now, our time is limited in this realm and I still have questions I must ask. So please excuse mine blunt approach, but I must know, what manner of past hast thou had to invoke such strange dreams for Twilight?” Luna stared at Shirou with determination.

“Before I answer you, Princess, may I know what you have seen in Twilight’s dreams?” He had to mentally prepare himself for what she may reveal. Perhaps I was too bold in asking Princess Luna for this favor, now I’ve gone and subjected two individuals to those memories.

“Hmm, it goes against the nature of our agreement to ask a question before answering mine own, but I suppose it is to facilitate thine response. I have seen a strange machine in the most recent one that contained many of your kind. Within I spotted Twilight as she overheard a conversation you had with a petite individual with white hair. Would I be wrong to presume said figure was thy sister?”

“You would be correct Princess, that was more than likely my sister Illya.” With a simple nod Luna accepted his reassurance and continued.

“In another dream I bore witness to a most spectacular yet worrying sight. It featured thyself along with a few others whom I could not identify. I bore witness to the combined efforts of thy group in overcoming a most powerful opponent and their own allies.” Shirou mulled over what she had just said in an effort to pinpoint the memory in question. “It appeared to be an individual of incredible magical prowess as they were able to keep your group at bay with the use of various complex spells. I did find myself quite entranced by their ability and the spellwork they weaved.” Luna blushed in embarrassment a little at being so focused on what was obviously one of Shirou’s former foes.

“My attention was quickly derailed by the advent of a being rippling with muscle and divinity.” The more she spoke, the more Shirou was certain this had been the showdown with Caster who had conspired with Archer at the time. “Despite their arcane might, thy foe was unable to deter this being for long. Soon the massive warrior reached them and struck with such speed I would haven’t believed possible from its bulk. The spellweaver stood not a chance as their attack hit true and spelled the end for them. It was an impressive display, especially when factored into the larger plan that seemed to take place. For the red clothed individual that had been working with the caster was forced to contend with a knight who was no longer being held back by said caster. Along with them I saw thou, Shirou, face off against a human who seemed adept in the martial arts. I could tell they were being empowered by the Caster, but even then you were able to gain the upper hand. Especially with the assistance of thy sister. Your abilities with blades is truly something to behold.” Shirou felt sheepish at having Luna compliment his swordsmanship.

“Nonetheless thy teamwork was able to overcome such an assortment of powerful individuals. But this only served to pique my interest further in your origins. To have met such incredible beings must be quite the tale.” Luna paused before adding, “though the level of violence and gore you have witnessed I can glean from the results of that battle alone. I now understand why thou hast such fears that dear Twilight may be exposed to things most unpleasant.”

Luna’s words brought back a rush of memories of that fateful night. The night Shirou, Saber, Illya, and Berserker had stormed Caster’s base of operations, Ryuudou Temple. Archer, the bastard, had turned on their group and had allowed Rin to be taken hostage. All to have a chance at killing Shirou. The plan was simple: Berserker and Illya would deal with the servant guarding the steps to the temple, Fake Assassin. Meanwhile, Saber and Shirou would slip by and try to locate Rin before regrouping with the other two and finally facing Caster.

Initially Saber had objected as it placed Shirou in far too much danger due to the possibility of facing both Caster and Archer, along with a reinforced Kuzuki, with only Saber by his side. Especially when it was exactly what Archer was hoping for. Things were made all the worse when they couldn’t locate Rin before Caster confronted them. They were only saved by the fact that Caster had to respond to a disturbance elsewhere in the temple, ordering Archer to handle the mess he had made. It wouldn’t be till later that they learned that an unexpected ally had used their assault to launch a more covert rescue operation. Rider had managed to find Rin first and aided in her escape before being intercepted by Lancer. Why so many Servants had been present at the temple that night was a mystery unto itself.

Thanks to Rider’s distraction, they were able to hold off Archer and Kuzuki who had stayed to assist by facing off against Shirou. The tide nearly turned in their foes' favor when Caster returned, having helped Lancer fight Rider till she decided to run off, having already saved Rin. Once again fortune favored Shirou’s side when Berserker came crashing down on Caster who had been busy providing long range support to Archer and Kuzuki. Poor Fake Assassin hadn’t lasted long against the absolute beast that was Berserker. With Caster occupied, Illya was able to provide just enough aid to Shirou for him to strike down Kuzuki. In turn, Archer was forced to flee once he saw that his allies had been decimated. It was a hell of a night and Shirou felt sore all over once all was said and done.

“That was certainly an eventful night,” Shirou began bemusedly, “I might tell you all about the events of the Grail War someday, but suffice to know that was probably the largest battle that took place during that time.”

“I was wondering what was going on, with all the fights happening at the same time I had trouble keeping track.” Twilight chimed in, she had been waiting for a time to bring up that particular dream. “You definitely have to tell us more about your time during the Grail War. In fact, I distinctly remember you promising to tell us more about your world.” Twilight gave Shirou a scrutinizing look as he looked away from her.

“Fine, once we all have time, and that means you and your sister too Princess,” Shirou added the last bit knowing how busy royals could get. The promise went both ways after all.

“Of course, it would be remiss of us not to show up. And I relish the chance to learn more of both your world and its arcane arts.” Luna looked around, using her power over dreams to check the time remaining. “Unfortunately our time is quite limited, thus I must ask again, with a bit more precision. What possible horrors dear Twilight may encounter that I should be wary of? Having caught a glimpse of the violence that lays in your memories I’d like to be prepared. It is still my duty to look over all the ponies in Equestria, including Twilight.” And you as well Shirou, her thought went unsaid.

“That’s certainly easier to discuss than a full background story,” Shirou couldn’t help but snark at the previous question’s scope. “From what I recall, Twilight already had the unfortunate pleasure of seeing the Fuyuki Fire, but if any such fire related nightmare were to recur please do prevent it. I’m not exactly sure how powerful the Dream Cycle is, but if anyone could manipulate it then I think it would be you Princess.”

“I appreciate thy confidence in mine own abilities and will make every effort to ensure no nightmares plague dearest Twilight.” Luna beamed in confidence while Twilight blushed a little at the constant use of ‘dear’ to refer to her.

“As for other memories to look out for, there are the Dead Apostle hunts. Those usually take place in the woods, towns, or at worst cities. A quick way to tell it's a hunt is if I’m wearing the armor I was summoned with. It was fashioned specifically for those hunts after all.” He could still remember how stubborn Rin had been about getting him armor for the hunts. How she had been able to find armor like that was beyond him, but the enchantments she wove into it had saved his life more than once. Something I never did properly thank her for. “For as bloody of an affair as the Grail War was, I don’t think the events were anything beyond a tad harrowing at the time and unpleasant. I leave those up to your and Twilight’s discretion.”

“Understood, in any event should either of thee have nightmares do not hesitate to call out to me. Within the realm of dreams I can hear thy calls for my presence from anywhere within the realm. I unfortunately cannot answer during Night Court as I am awake, but I always make sure to do rounds before and after it to cover the most dreams possible.” Luna looked at the moon above once more, though what she was trying to puzzle out from it the other two weren’t sure.

“It is truly unfortunate that our time draws to a close, I have further duties to attend to tonight. I am more than pleased that we were able to come to a better understanding of thy situation at least. And I look forward to hearing more of thy origins, Shirou Emiya.” Luna summoned two rifts this time, one to each dream she had pulled them from. “Please step through so you may return to your current dreams. I do believe neither is a nightmare so do enjoy this peaceful slumber.”

“Thank you Princess Luna!” Twilight was very grateful to the Princess both for her promise to meet together in the future and ensuring that she wouldn’t suffer the worst of Shirou’s memories. Though she found herself hoping that she wouldn’t miss any important details of Shirou’s past due to the Princess changing a nightmarish memory. Perhaps she’d hash out further details on this accord with the Princess later. “I hope to see you soon,” with a final bow Twilight stepped through the portal. She found herself once more at an amusement park following the two siblings.

Luna smiled, happy to see Twilight so full of joy at the expectations of their future meeting. You found a most eager student dear Sister. Now she looked upon Shirou as he stood before the portal leading to a peculiar little dream. One where she had spotted Celestia’s adopted niece playing with young Twilight. I should take more peaks at the memories Shirou is seeing, they seem surprisingly adorable.

“Thank you, Princess.” Shirou added a bow, and paused, considering something to add. “If you need anyone to just listen to your problems don’t be afraid to ask for help. I know you said you’re fine, but,” he hesitated a bit “I saw that look in your eye and it was far too familiar. Just know we’re here for you, Luna.” Why did her eyes look so familiar? Those pained eyes, have I seen them before? If this continues, I will have to convince Twilight to let us step in. I won’t allow anyone to suffer if I can help it, but even I understand some things can’t be forced no matter how much it hurts.

Luna looked at him, slightly unsure of what to say. Should I? No, I must not push this burden to another, I must take full responsibility to ensure I never cause problems again.

“I am deeply touched by thy and dear Twilight’s willingness to aid me in any way you can. But I assure thee that I am more than fit to undertake my role as Princess of the Night now.” She gave him a final reassuring, or so she hoped, smile as he passed through the portal.

Alone in that courtyard, she took a deep breath. While she had dismissed Twilight and Shirou, there was still something she needed to take care of before she could return to her duties. Let this serve as mine own reminder of mine sin.

-{/}-

Morning in Ponyville was a normally calm affair. Everypony had their tasks for the day and went along their way. The general feel was quite relaxing despite the early buzz as ponies went to work or did their morning chores. That semi-relaxed attitude wasn’t as present in a certain store.

Inside the Sugarcube Corner, the residential human was about to start his tryout for bakery assistant. He was clothed in a simple pair of gray sports trousers with a maroon shirt. On his feet were his boots, I need to see when I can ask Rarity to make me some shoes. Combat boots are a bit overkill in a kitchen. Currently he was in a conversation with Miss cake as she was giving him a tour of the facility.

"So dearie, how familiar are you with bakeries?"

"I’ve generally just done home cooking and the occasional meal when camping. Though I did learn plenty of new recipes along my travels. A fair amount of them were pastry recipes. Baked goods are one of the things I encountered a lot through the cultures I came across.” It's surprising how often you’d find the idea of baked goods amongst all sorts of societies and peoples. A shame I couldn’t learn all of their recipes. I wish I had some of the cookbooks I got back then. Maybe the library here has some I can look into, it’d definitely help learn more about what Twilight and the others eat.

“Sounds like you had quite the adventures then dearie!” Mrs. Cake smiled at Shirou, but he could only feel bemusement at Enforcer excursions being called adventures. “I’d love it if ya could share some of those recipes someday. If you don’t mind, of course. It's always a joy to learn new things to bake.”

The pair had entered the kitchen during their conversation. Now they stood before a large metal door with a small window that had been frosted over from the inside.

“Now then Shirou, this is our frost storage. We keep most of our dairy products here, such as milk, cream, butter, and the like.” She moved a bit further and pointed to a familiar metal box. “This is our freezer, which contains many ingredients we use for quick access.” Shifting a bit to the side, there were a series of tables lined with various tools and machines. “This is the main kitchen and sink area. We keep most of our utensils here along with the machinery used for preparing our pastries.” On the other side he could see a cupboard, stove, and additional table. “This side is where most of the baking takes place,” she finished.

This is barely different from a modern kitchen. The level of technology in this place continues to confuse me. Shirou gave the kitchen a final appraising look. Making sure to remember every important detail.

"And where the magic of baking happens!" Shirou nearly jumped at having Pinkie manifest out of nowhere. How did she even do that? I’m no slouch when it comes to detecting nearby presences so how’d she get this close without me knowing?

"That’s right Pinkie dear!" Mrs. Cake responded, seemingly used to the pink pony’s antics. "Now we do have an official recipe book for all the items we bake here, but I do believe Pinkie is more than happy to tell you about those herself once we have time.” She smiled as she saw Pinkie bounce in joy at having the chance to share her knowledge with Shirou.

"Yeppers! I know it so well I can even recite it backwards!" Pinkie took a deep breath, only to be cut off.

"Maybe later, dear. Now it's time to show Shirou our baking process." Mrs. Cake said some haste.

"Okie dokie lokie! Here’s your apron Shirou.” Pinkie tossed a maroon apron at him. His quick reflexes made it an easy catch. Where she had procured the thing was beyond him, and if the look Mrs. Cake gave him was any indication, it was best he didn’t linger on it.

The next few hours went by rather quickly as the duo made different pastry with Shirou following along. The recipes themselves were similar to the ones from Earth, if loaded with more sugar than usual. That could also just be a Pinkie thing due to how much of a sweet tooth she had. How she’s fine with the levels of sugar she consumes daily is another mystery to add to the curious being known as Pinkie. He sighed to himself before continuing listening to their instructions.

Shirou was currently cleaning the used bowls and instruments. Pinkie was making finishing touches on the pie with a surprising amount of dexterity. Despite having hooves, she was moving with the technique and certainty of someone with opposable thumbs. I have to wonder if all ponies are so skilled with those stubby little hooves or if it's just another of Pinkie’s eccentricities. It would explain how they’ve been able to reach this level of technology if they all were able to use their hooves in such a manner I suppose.

"Hey are you thinking funny stuff about me?'' She asked in a teasing voice. He simply shook his at her before resuming his work.

Nope, I am not questioning that, that way lies madness. He focused his mind on his task and forgot the previous train of thought. Simple work like this was the best for relaxing after all. Best to enjoy it. Thus he fell into a calm rhythm of helping Pinkie with the baking.

Mrs. Cake came in a few times to either help with a big order or check in on how he was doing. It was sweet of her, she really has a caring and motherly vibe he thought to himself with a small appreciative grin. Pinkie didn't miss this little grin.

“Aha!” She pointed to him with an accusatory hoof, “that’s nearly a smile!”

“What?” Shirou was slightly thrown off by Pinkie’s sudden outburst. He looked at her quizzically as he waited for her to elaborate.

“Don’t act confused with me, mister!” Pinkie continued, “So far most of your smiles have been half hearted at best!”

Shirou’s only response was to keep staring at Pinkie in further confusion.

“Don’t you know?!” Pinkie ranted, “that’s super duper bad! Everypony should have full fledged smiles full of joy to spread to others! Or even better yet, to laugh out loud with happiness!”

“Is that what’s got you all riled up?” Shirou asked.

“Of course! What kind of party pony would I be if I couldn’t make my friends smile and laugh as often as possible!” Pinkie insisted.

“I’m sorry then,” was Shirou’s sheepish and short reply.

Before Pinkie could go on about her need to make him more joyful, they were interrupted by Mrs. Cake returning. The look Pinkie gave Shirou did drive home that this wasn’t the last he’d hear of this. Though having someone be this concerned about his apparent lack of joyous expressions wasn’t something he’d ever thought could happen. Especially with how serious Pinkie was being about it.

"Well now, it seems there are less orders coming in, so you two can take a break!" Said Mrs. Cake as she carried in a final tray of sweets. "Hope you worked up an appetite, dearies!"

"Oh! Oh! Snack time! I love eating those scrumptious, delicious treats!" Pinkie Pie rapidly bounced in place as if she was already riding a sugar rush. Mrs. Cake simply smiled at her antics, well used to her high energy nature.

"Of course Pinkie dear, but please leave some for Shirou!" Shirou found himself surprised as Pinkie halted mid bounce to nod her head vigorously while Mrs. Cake gave her a stern look to ensure the message got through.

“Of course! I wouldn’t want him to miss out on the absolutely yummy food you brought us!” With that declaration, she approached the tray and began to dig in.

“Thank you, Mrs Cake,” was all Shirou could speak out as he was still reeling from the shift in conversation and Pinkie’s eccentricities.

“Oh don’t you worry dear,” she smiled at him. “You’ve been a wonderful help and it's great seeing Pinkie find a new friend who enjoys baking with her.”

When Shirou gave her a small, sheepish smile he noticed Pinkie giving him a pointed look, though it was blunted by the frosting scattered on her face.

“Well now, since we finished up quite early today, I was wondering,” Mrs. Cake began, “would you be so kind as to share a recipe from your home with us? We should have plenty of time for a single batch at least, of course only if you wish to, dear. There’s no need to push yourself just to sate our silly little curiosity.”

“Sure, it’d be nice to recreate something from back home and see what you all think of it.” Shirou’s joy of cooking for others shone through as he quickly prepped for the recipe he had in mind. “I think I have a simple yet tasty recipe I’ve been meaning to try out again.”

Before the two ponies could ask what he had in mind, he set to work. He made his way through the kitchen gathering the ingredients and tools he’d need. Grabbing flour, milk, eggs, cooking oil, salt, sugar, and some water. As well as some butter and a knife to spread it on the blini.

He started by breaking two eggs into a bowl. Then he poured in a cup of water, one and a half cups of milk, one tablespoon of salt and two tablespoons of sugar. Lastly, he added the flour and began to mix the ingredients together.

“Oh! Whatcha’ making Shirou?!" Pinkie finally spoke up as she and Mrs. Cake continued to watch him blending the mix.

“Blini, they’re a regional variant of pancakes, quite similar to crepes, but not the same. Got this recipe from an old recluse during a trip to Eastern Europe.” Satisfied with the mixing, he checked it for flour clumps before moving to prep the pan. He chose a shallow pan to place on the stove, using a brush to coat the pan with cooking oil. Once it heated up enough he carefully poured the batter in with the help of a ladle. He then rotated the pan to make sure the batter spread evenly. “I’ve only made it a few times before, so I figured I’d try it out again and see what you think.”

After a short time he flipped the blini, revealing a side that had been perfectly cooked. Pinkie bounced around a bit, looking over his shoulder as he continued, eager to try the new treat. Despite its similarity to the pancakes she knew, this one definitely had a different air about it. Once done, Shirou slid the blini onto a plate and spread a little butter on it before offering it to Pinkie. He started on the next one as soon as she took the plate.

“Yummy!” Pinkie yelled out as she took a bite, then proceeded to devour the blini, with smudges of butter around her muzzle. “That was so good! Can I have more!?”

“Sure, but make sure to leave some for Mrs. Cake.” Shirou placed the next one in a separate plate so Mrs. Cake could have it.

“Thank you dearie” Mrs. Cake smiled as she took the plate and bit into the blini. Her eyes lit up with joy as she felt its wondrous texture and flavor. “Oh dear, this is truly wonderful!”

“I’m glad you’re enjoying it.” Shirou smiled a little at the two, seeing the bliss on their faces as they ate. “Next time I’ll make something from my homeland, though I’d like to make sure we have everything for them ahead of time.” He’d probably see which sweets were easier to make with the ingredients the ponies had around here.

Soon he finished using up all the remaining batter, having a sizable stack of blinis as a result. He spread some butter on one before slowly eating it. Hmmm, definitely closer to the ones I tasted back then, but I should adjust the mix and cooking time a bit. I may be subconsciously defaulting to crepes still when making these as they are a tad thinner than they should be. Still much left to learn in the kitchen.

“Hey, Shirou, you said this was a regional variant of pancakes so what was that region like? Oh! And why were you there? Also who showed you the recipe? And-” Pinkie was cut off by Mrs. Cake before she could continue.

“I’m sure Shirou dearie would love to answer your questions Pinkie, but we should let him tackle them one at a time.” Mrs. Cake gave Pinkie a placating smile before turning to Shirou expectantly.

“I don’t see why not. As I mentioned I got this from a trip to Eastern Europe. The region tends to be on the colder side, especially when I went around winter. There’s plenty of rural areas and forests too. I actually stumbled upon a small hut in those woods when I got my first taste of a blini.” He took a bite as he recalled the incident. It had been a standard apostle hunt, for as standard as they could be. “I was there on a mission with a group of enforcers, but I got separated when a strange blizzard hit us. I was lost and injured when I came upon the hut. It was a quaint little home, but certainly out of place.” He took another bite, there were plenty of details he was leaving out for the sake brevity. “Nonetheless it felt like I was being invited in by the owner once I spotted the hut. So I decided to knock on the door, it wouldn't be wise to upset a host when you’re on their territory.” He shivered a little at the thought of his other run-ins with the occasional moonlit being in those areas.

“Upon knocking, a granny opened the door and invited me in. She said she had been expecting me so she had prepared some food. Seeing no reason to turn her down I entered her home and partook in a meal of blini with an assortment of spreads.” He grabbed a second blini, before speaking up again. “That reminds me, you can add more than just butter to these.”

Immediately understanding what he meant, Pinkie zoomed off and came back with more spreads. Namely different jams and cottage cheese. Grabbing a few blinis to spread each one on. Shirou and Mrs. Cake also tried a few of the different options for their own blini.

“Thanks Pinkie. Now where was I, oh yeah the granny and her hut.” He was still surprised at how well that all went considering what he knew of her kind’s reputation. “After my meal I was told to stay the night as it would be too dangerous to travel in the dark. When I woke up the next day, I was laying against a tree. My wounds had healed and I felt energized, but the hut was nowhere to be seen. Funny enough she had left a piece of paper on me, it contained the recipe for her blini.” He was quite bemused by the whole ordeal. Of course he’d left out the conversation he’d had with the granny. Seems humans aren’t the only ones who despise Dead Apostles. I still wonder what she meant with all her cryptic comments. He remembered the strange things she’d said. How she was but a minor detour and how much she’d have enjoyed testing him were it not for another already claiming him. Among other things, he was glad she never made things difficult for him. The whole time he could absolutely feel that all it would take was a flick of her finger for him to suffer a horrific fate. “I managed to find my squad soon after, and we were able to complete our mission, but I was the only one to encounter that strange hut. I don’t think I’ll ever understand what really happened that day, but at least I got a neat recipe out of it.”

The trio continued to eat, with Pinkie occasionally asking more questions and Shirou answering them. They were simple questions, from how he learned cooking to how extensive his knowledge of recipes from his world was. Mrs. Cake would also ask her own questions about how he was feeling living in Ponyville and if he had any trouble adjusting. Surprisingly, he found he was quickly becoming used to living among the small multi-colored equine. She also mentioned adding blini to the menu, which he found more than agreeable. Even writing down the recipe for her to try them out herself. Thus a relaxing day at the bakery came to a close.

-{/}-

Shirou considered heading back to the library, but seeing as the sun was still out with plenty of daylight left he chose to look for Rainbow Dash. It’d be a shame to let such a nice day go to waste when I can get some training in and it’d be good to get an idea of what kind of training Rainbow Dash could use.

After asking around a bit to see if any of the ponies had seen Rainbow Dash, he was pointed in the direction of Sweet Apple Acres. From there he was able to pick up her magical scent and found her napping on one of the apple trees at the edge of the property.

“Sorry to wake you, but I figured you’d want to start training as soon as possible.” Shirou declared as he reinforced his hand and rapped his knuckle against the tree. It shook enough to rouse RD from her sleep.

“Huh?! What? I’m awake, Applejack!” Rainbow Dash blurted out in a sleepy daze. Only to blush lightly in embarrassment when she realized it was Shirou and not AJ who had awoken her.

Shirou chuckled at her reaction and waved at her in greeting.

“Didn’t mean to spook you, sorry about that.” He smiled sheepishly at her while presenting his hands in a placating manner. She shot him a quick glare, but then flew down and landed in front of him.

“So, uh, what did ya want?” Rainbow looked at him inquisitively. Still a tad disgruntled at her interrupted nap, but mostly out of embarrassment due to her reaction.

“Well I’m done helping out at Sugarcube Corner for the day. So I thought you might appreciate some training since there’s still plenty of daylight left.”

“Oh! Awesome! Let’s get to it! I know this pretty good clearing we can use too.” Rainbow Dash excitedly unfurled her wings to take to the sky and lead the way. She looked back to check if she needed to slow down, only to be pleasantly surprised that Shirou was keeping up.

They traveled in relative quiet, Shirou in a light jog behind RD. The quiet was interrupted when Shirou’s curiosity got the best of him.

“So, what was that reaction earlier all about, hmm?” He gave her a teasing smile. Which she elected to ignore lest it cause her to stumble mid flight.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She sped up a bit, not that Shirou had any trouble catching up even then.

“Are you sure? You seemed pretty confused that I wasn’t Applejack.”

“Ah, hmmm. Fine, I’ll tell you. I’m just used to Applejack being the one to wake me.” Shirou’s smirk grew at her growing embarrassment. “It's just that those apple trees are the best to nap in, okay? And well every once in a while I’ll end up sleeping in a tree she’s bucking and that causes me to wake up. So I got used to her waking me up from naps, even if its a rougher wake up call than I'd like.” She rubbed her neck with a slight grimace at remembering the pain from her previous falls.

“You must be close to her then. Having known her for a while now.” His smile turned a bit more somber, remembering his old friends from so long ago.

“You could say that, though I haven’t known her as long as I’ve known Fluttershy.” Seeing his slight surprise, she decided to elaborate. “Fluttershy and I both come from Cloudsdale. Plus I knew her back when we were fillies, still in flight school. She wasn’t much of a flier back then either, but it seems she’s at least found a place of her own here.” A ghost of a smile graced her face.

“Huh, I didn’t know you two were from out of town. Honestly the more I learn about this world, the more questions I have. Didn’t think there would be a flight school for Pegasi but that seems like a line of thought for another time.”

“You’re right about that! If ya wanted to talk about that stuff you already have Twilight. We’re here to train, not be eggheads.” She highlighted her point by pointing to the clearing they had finally arrived at. “Still got some of the gear I use with Applejack’s help.” At Shirou’s raised eyebrow she continued in slight indignation. “What!? There ain’t any other pony willing and able to help me train. Plus she always likes being helpful around town and she's really strong, which is great for training. Honestly, you kind of remind me of her now that I think about it.” She gave Shirou a scrutinizing look over, as if searching for more similarities.

Shirou ignored her studious gaze and instead looked around the clearing. Taking stock of the area and planning how to start the training. He took note of the leftover equipment, some of it looked normal enough, but other parts made him question how exactly they were training here.

“I think it’d be best to see what you can do and then focus on what to improve.” Shirou began stretching to start off. He nodded at Rainbow Dash as she did the same. “Let’s start with the basics, I assume you would know what those are for pegasi.”

“Of course! I am the best flier around after all!” With a flourish, Rainbow Dash showed off her skills, performing simple maneuvers taught to her back in flight school. From quick turns to straight shots up into the sky and back down again. They weren’t anything fancy like the moves she liked to practice but were still useful to go through to ensure she was in top form.

“You certainly do justice to the legend of the Pegasus with your speed.” Shirou still found it amazing how similar these ponies could be to their Earth counterparts at times. I wonder if she could actually accomplish a feat similar to the Pegasus from Earth.

“If you think this is fast, you should’ve seen when I performed a sonic rainboom!” With that declaration she accelerated and flew off into the skyline before turning back to land in the clearing, wings spread proudly.

“Sonic rainboom?” Shirou looked at her with slight confusion.

“Yeah! When somepony goes so fast that they cause an explosive, rainbow colored blast! You should’ve seen it!”

“I’ll be sure to catch it the next time then.”

“I’ll hold you to that!” Rainbow Dash flashed him a smile and thought of how much she’d wow him with her sonic rainboom. “By the way, did you figure out how to help me get even better at flying?”

“I have an idea, seeing as you’re already plenty fast it’d be best to focus on other aspects. Mainly your reaction speed and ability to make immediate changes in direction.” He traced his bow and a few blunted arrows. “To start, I’ll fire a few arrows and I want you to catch them. We’ll start with 3, then I’ll launch them with more force and spread them out more and more. You think you can do that?”

“Of course! That’ll be as easy as pie!” Rainbow Dash prepped herself to launch into the air.

Seeing her ready, Shirou readied the first arrow, aimed straight ahead, and let it fly. Following up with the other two soon after. Rainbow Dash had no problem catching up to the first one before chasing down the other two.

With the first round done, Shirou prepped for the next batch. They spent the rest of the day this way, Shirou firing more arrows and spreading them out, while Rainbow Dash caught them in quick succession. Occasionally she’d fumble and Shirou would give her pointers using his own experience with dealing with faster foes and attacks.

“As fun as that was, please tell me this isn’t the only training we’re gonna do. It's getting kinda annoying to just play catch the whole time.” Rainbow Dash landed, dropping the arrows she collected at Shirou’s feet. “Plus I thought you were gonna teach me some cool moves and secret techniques!”

“We’ll do some sparring next time. I just wanted to get a grasp of what your abilities are for now. Can’t really help you train if I don’t know what you can currently do.” Shirou willed his projections away. RD looked at the arrows disappear into motes of light. “Catching my arrows also helped see how good your reaction speed is. Especially since I’ll be aiming for you next time when we spar.”

“I’ll definitely look forward to that. You better be ready to have your socks knocked off!” Rainbow Dash’s competitive spirit bled into her challenge.

“Good, you’ll need that energy to make the most of our training. I think I will be available at the same time tomorrow. How does meeting me here tomorrow sound?”

“That’s fine, I usually just take a nap around this time. It’d be better to spar than sleep, especially since I gotta make it into the Wonderbolts.” Rainbow Dash looked around the clearing again, stopping to stare a moment at each of the still waiting equipment. “Maybe we should ask Applejack to join us next time. She may have said it was only because she liked to be helpful, but I think she really enjoyed training.” Rainbow Dash’s smile beamed at Shirou with that comment.

“I’ll see you tomorrow then, I’ll be sure to run the idea by her whenever I see her again.”

With a final wave goodbye, Rainbow Dash flew home. Shirou decided to take his time to return, he hadn’t truly exerted himself with the light training they did. Seeing he still had a little bit of daylight, he did some more intense training. The clearing really was perfect for working out.

Soon after he too made his way back. He could use a bath before prepping dinner. I’m sure Twi will have plenty of questions about my day too. It's not so bad to have a place to head back to at the end of the day.

-{/}-

Dinner was a fun time, Shirou decided to make some pasta with a tomato sauce. In addition he roasted some veggies to go with it as a side dish. Overall, Twi and Spike loved the food. Making short work of it as they dug in.

With dinner over, the trio relaxed and enjoyed the calm atmosphere. It wasn’t long till one of them broke the silence though.

“I’ve been waiting to ask, but I really would like to know, how’d your day go Shirou?” Twilight looked at him in eager anticipation.

“Things went really well at Sugarcube Corner. Mrs. Cake is a good boss, and I even got to try out a recipe from my world. Speaking of which, I should probably make it here sometime. Would be a good choice for breakfast.” Shirou briefly thought of what ingredients they’d need to make more blini. “Afterwards I did some light training with Rainbow Dash. I find myself being surprised by the speed of pegasi given their smaller size to their Earth counterparts. She also mentioned something called a sonic rainboom. Would you happen to have a better idea of what that is?”

“Oh! A sonic rainboom is an incredibly rare phenomenon. In fact it was thought to be a myth for the longest time. It wasn’t until Rainbow Dash caused one that the myths were proven true. Unfortunately there isn’t as much information on them due to how rare they are. From what I can gather, it is a combination of causing a sonic boom by flying faster than the speed of sound and the inherent magic of a pegasi mixing together. Hence the creation of a rainbow exploding outward as a shockwave. I’d need to study it more to draw a deeper conclusion. Perhaps I’ll get Rainbow Dash to help me look into it sometime.”

“She did mention wanting to show me it sometime, I’ll be sure to tell you if she decides on a specific time.” Shirou felt a small smile take form as he saw the joy in Twilight’s eyes as they lit up.

“That’d be wonderful!” Feeling a little self conscious after her outburst, Twi sunk back into seat sheepishly. “I’m also glad that your day working at Sugarcube Corner went so well. I’m sure Mrs. Cake and Pinkie enjoyed having you around as well.”

“You should definitely make some of those sweets for us next time!” Spike spoke up, despite being full from dinner he couldn’t help but drool at the thought of some desert. “I would love a gem cupcake, those are the best.”

“Sure thing Spike, I’ll have to ask about those first though. I haven’t made any gem-related pastries yet.”

“It’d be great if you could learn some more dragon dishes.” Spike looked at Shirou with imploring eyes. “Since Ponyville is mostly ponies, they don’t have much dragon food. I’d really like it if you could learn some.”

Twilight couldn’t help but feel disappointed with herself. This whole time I’ve been treating Spike like any other pony without regard for how he might be feeling as a dragon.

“I don’t think I’d be able to eat dragon dishes, but I definitely would like to increase my repertoire of recipes. I’ll make sure to memorize any dragon dishes I encounter, but I’ll need you to taste test them. No better judge for dragon food than a dragon after all.” Spike’s bright smile at his promise momentarily stunned Shirou. He hadn’t expected Spike to be so grateful about such a simple thing.

“Awesome! Thanks a bunch Shirou!” He was thrown for a further loop when Spike decided to hug him. Twilight couldn’t help but giggle at his reaction to the hug. Seeing this scene, made Twi promise herself to help Shirou out with finding those recipes. As well as a promise to take better consideration of Spike’s unique needs as a baby dragon.

“I think there might be a few recipes around here, just gotta find the cookbook section.” Twilight added helpfully. “I’ll also check out the Canterlot Library the next time we go visit, surely there’ll be some there as well.”

“Sounds like a plan, plus there may be more clues to my summoning in that library.” It just didn’t sit right with Shirou to have been summoned for a single incident. It wasn’t enough justification for the amount of energy and planning required to have him be summoned through time and space into another world, perhaps even dimension.

“We’ll go together then, hopefully I’ll be heading to Canterlot sometime soon. I still have plenty of questions for the Princesses and would like to see Shining Armor. I left in such a hurry that I forgot to say goodbye to him.”

“It’d be nice to meet your brother. Wouldn’t be right to not meet my Master’s family after all.” Shirou laughed at the slight blush that appeared on Twilight’s face at being called his Master.

“It’d be nice to see family again,” agreed Spike. He liked when Twi’s parents doted on him and Shining Armor was pretty cool. Especially when they played Ogres and Oubliettes. “Oh! We should play some games with Shirou too. I’m sure Shining would appreciate the extra player.”

“I’m sure he’d appreciate more players.” Despite her comment, Shirou noted she had a nervous smile. Twilight was hoping that Shining wouldn’t take it badly that she’d left to live with a strange stallion without even notifying him. Surely he’d have a very calm and appropriate reaction to all this, right?

Twilight’s concerns aside, the group continued conversing about more casual topics. Most of it centered around getting used to living in Ponyville and getting to know the town’s various denizens.

Soon the night came to close and each of them headed to bed. Content that the day went well and eager for what dawn had for them when they’d awaken. A quiet life one could say, but hopefully a happy and fulfilling one. Alas, quiet lives are not granted to those who can achieve greatness. Especially those who can go beyond just greatness. Before all that though, there were still friends to help and make, for no one could get far alone.

In another part of Ponyville, one such friend found herself exhausted. Work had been a heavy affair after an unfortunate accident had incapacitated her brother. There was still much left to do, and that wasn’t accounting for all the promises she had yet to fulfill. After all, she had made a promise to help out all over Ponyville, and to go back on her word would make her a liar. And she was no liar.

Author's Note

I might be a bit of a liar, half of this chapter was done like 2 months ago. I also got sick 4 times in the span of these 3 months, twice in a row at one point. I wanted to get this chapter out for the 1 year anniversary of the fic, but alas I was dying of a stomach infection. Anyways I hope this chapter treats ya'll well, I'm already working on the next chapter. I need to up my pace like when I started.

Chapter 13: Takes One to Know One

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Chapter 4: Why are we still here? Just to suf-make Friends?

To say their initial reception by the locals of Ponyville was unique wouldn’t be wrong. Upon heading out to their first destination they had an encounter of the pink kind when a bright pink mare nearly crashed into Twilight. Said mare then gasped for a concerning length before running off, leaving the trio befuddled.

“You wouldn’t suppose that’s how the locals greet newcomers?” asked Shirou with a wry smile.

“I very much doubt it, but I don’t think it fair that we judge Ponyville for the interesting quirks of one of its residents,” replied Twilight. “Spike, what’s our first objective?”

“According to the Summer Sun Celebration official overseer’s checklist, our first task is to check on the banquet preparations being done at Sweet Apple Acres.” Shirou found the name of the list a bit of a mouthful, but it seemed Spike was used to such things as he took it in stride. Now that I think about it, where did Spike get that list? Did Twilight make it when we weren’t looking?

“You do know the way right?” Shirou couldn’t help but ask as Twilight began leading their group. Twilight always prided herself in her checklist making skills so having prepared one on short notice while the others packed was a cinch.

“Of course Shirou, I made sure to study the layout of Ponyville while you Spike were getting ready. I even brought a map just in case,” she replied showing the rolled up map poking out of her bags.

Satisfied with her response Shirou and Spike followed her lead. The trip was uneventful, although Shirou marveled at the homely atmosphere. It reminded him of a simpler time, of a home filled with friends enjoying food and company. I wonder how Rin is doing. Hopefully Zelretch hasn’t driven her mad yet. Sakura and Taiga are probably worried, but they’ll get over my loss with time. A wistful smile appeared on Shirou’s face at these thoughts.

Soon they reached the gate to Sweet Apple Acres. It was quite the sight. Shirou wasn’t all that familiar with farms due to his urban upbringing and as such was amazed by the sheer size of it all.

“Yeehaw!” a Stetson-wearing pony yelled as they rushed at an apple tree. They turned on a dime and bucked the tree. As all the apples on the tree fell into buckets, Shirou couldn’t help but be impressed by the mare's skill and strength.

“Here we go, it's simple just about the preparations and move on.” As Twilight tried to psyche herself up, she failed to notice that her fellow stallion was already on the move.

“Hey there! Sorry to interrupt your work, but I was impressed by both your skill and the quality of your apples.” To Twilight’s and Spike’s surprise, Shirou had decided to take the initiative.

“Ah shucks partner, my skills ain’t nothin’ to write home ‘bout. Am glad you appreciate a good apple harvest.” Applejack was happy someone appreciated her dedication to her craft.

“I just find it fascinating to see someone so experienced in a craft. I also dabble in cooking so I can spot quality ingredients when I see them.” A lack of kitchen access due to all that’d been going on might’ve been affecting Shirou a lot more than he thought. So when he saw such skill on display and witnessed the sheer quality of the apples he couldn’t resist speaking up.

“Well if you’re looking for ingredients, we have plenty to choose from here at Sweet Apple Acres! Uhhh, not to be rude, but what’s your name and who’re the other fellas?”

“Ah! Sorry, I haven’t introduced myself. My name is Shirou Emiya, and the pe-er-ponies accompanying me are Twilight Sparkle and Spike.” Shirou felt it was only right he at least introduced everyone else.

“Glad to meet y'all! My name’s Applejack and I’m happy to welcome y'all to Sweet Apple Acres. We like to make new friends here! Now what can I do for ya?” Taking that as her queue, Twilight decided to address the matter at hand.

“I thank you for your welcome, and we were here to inspect the preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration banquet.”

“In that case, would ya’ll care to sample some?”

“I suppose we have time…” Twilight looked at Shirou and Spike who just smiled and nodded at her. Shirou considered the possible recipes he could learn from tasting some of these dishes.

“Well then follow me ya’ll!”

After being led to a table set outside, the trio were seated. They didn’t have to wait long for Applejack to return with a musical triangle. Upon ringing the triangle they realized that maybe they had signed up for more than they could chew.

“Soup’s on, everypony!”

With this declaration a plethora of ponies appeared, each with a dish of their own.

“Now, let me introduce y’all to the Apple family!”

“Thanks, but we really need to go-” Twilight’s attempt to escape was thwarted as she realized they were practically penned in by the sheer number of Apple family members.

As if ignoring Twilight, Applejack began her introductions, “This here’s Apple Fritter. Apple Bumpkin. Red Gala-” She continued to rattle off names and each one presented a dish for the trio to taste. “-Big McIntosh, Apple Bloom, and Granny Smith! Come on now Granny, we got guests.”

While Granny Smith made her way over to the group, Shirou took his time looking over all the food. They might have all been apple based, but the sheer variety still astounded him. Twilight on the other hand was overwhelmed and hoped they didn’t expect them to eat all of it.

“Haha, now that we’ve seen that the food is being handled well I think we should be off,” Twilight nervously addressed the large crowd trying not to be rude.

“Aren’t you gonna stay for brunch?” asked the small filly Apple Bloom.

“Twilight, I think it’d be best if we stayed to eat. We have a long day ahead of us still and hunger is the enemy.” Shirou saw Twilight’s hesitation and decided it was best to accept the offer of food. It would be rude after all to leave so soon, and it definitely had nothing to do with his search for new recipes.

“Shirou, are you sure? We really have a long list of preparations to check on.”

“Of course Twilight, after all, wouldn't Celestia want us to ensure the quality of the food with a taste test?”

“Fine,” Twilight sighed in acceptance. In turn, the crowd of ponies exclaimed in jubilation.

-{/}-

“Ah, what a wonderful meal, I really need to try out some of those recipes. You think there’s a kitchen where we’ll be staying?” Shirou was content with the food. Thankfully between the three of them no one ended up bloated due to overeating.

“I’d rather not think about food right now Shirou. Spike, what's next on the list?” Twilight still felt too full to even consider future meals lest she end up feeling sick.

“Next on the list is the weather. It says that the Pegasus in charge of keeping the sky clear is Rainbow Dash.”

“Guess they’re doing a poor job about it,” commented Twilight as she gazed at the cloud filled sky. Distracted as she was, she didn’t notice the incoming multi-colored missile. Fortunately another did and acted.

“Twilight watch out!” yelled Shirou as he rushed to push Twilight out of the way. He barely managed to get her out of the way as Pegasus flew where she had been.

“Woah! Sorry about that, didn’t see you there.” The Pegasus looked at the group sheepishly.

Twilight picked herself up from where Shirou had pushed her before turning to address the Pegasus.

“Thankfully your reckless flying didn’t hurt anyone. Now that I think about it, you wouldn’t happen to be Rainbow Dash?” Twilight was still quite cross, if it weren't for Shirou she would very much have suffered from a crash..

“The one and only! Why, you a fan of mine?”

“I heard you were in charge of clearing the skies for the Summer Sun Celebration. I’m Twilight Sparkle, Spike is the baby dragon, and Shirou is the stallion. Celestia sent us to check on the weather preparations. Yet all we’ve seen is some reckless flying and plenty of clouds.”

“Those silly little things?” replied Rainbow Dash as she pointed to the clouds above. “I can get it done in 10 seconds flat. I’d rather finish practicing first.”

“Practicing?” asked Shirou now that he felt no more wayward high speed Pegasi were near.

“Yeah for the Wonderbolts! They’ll be performing for the Celebration tomorrow, and I’m gonna show ‘em my skills!”

“Wonderbolts?” Upon seeing Shirou’s puzzled expression, Rainbow Dash sputtered in surprise.

“How do you not know the Wonderbolts?! They’re the coolest and most talented fliers in all of Equestria! Aside from me that is.”

“Humble aren’t we. Well if you’re willing to compare yourself to these Wonderbolts then you wouldn’t be opposed to showing me how good you really are?” Shirou couldn’t help but rib at Rainbow Dash’s ego.

“Just you watch buster!” Rainbow Dash flew into the skies and much to Shirou’s chagrin she proceeded to clear in the 10 seconds she promised.

“Well, I can’t doubt you after that display. How you did all that in 10 seconds is beyond me.” Aside from Shirou, Twilight and Spike were also impressed with Rainbow Dash. To the point that their mouths hung open.

“Ha,” Rainbow Dash couldn’t help but laugh at the look of shocked surprise on the group. “See, I told ya it was easy. You’re all pretty entertaining. Also, your reaction time was pretty fast Shirou, we should hang out sometime. See ya!”

As Rainbow Dash flew off, Shirou turned to Twilight who still held a surprised face. “Twilight are you alright?”

“Huh? Yeah, I’ve just never really seen somepony clear the sky so quickly before.”

“Seeing as the skies are clear we should continue with the list, right Spike?”

“Yeah Shirou, next it says to check on the decorations in Town Hall.”

The trio made their way to the Town Hall. It would be quite a walk, so Shirou figured he had some time to satisfy his curiosity.

“Hey Twilight, I’ve noticed that everypony we’ve met has a different symbol on their flanks. I also saw that I had one when Celestia cast her spell on me. Do they have some kind of significance?”

“You mean your cutie mark? Everypony gets theirs when they discover their innate talent. Although I don’t remember you having one as a human unless you had it hidden under your clothes?”

“No, I can assure you humans don’t have cutie marks. If they represent our innate talents then I suppose mine makes sense.” Shirou chuckled bitterly at seeing his cutie mark resembled his Reality Marble. It served to remind him even now how his path and Archer’s own were one in the same. “Yet these hands will never hold anything,” he mumbled to himself.

Twilight managed to hear his soft-spoken words and grew concerned with him. She wanted to believe that meeting new Ponies was helping Shirou. Celestia might’ve had the right idea to ask us to make friends. If anything it might help Shirou. Although, I think I am starting to enjoy having Shirou as a friend. Maybe it isn’t so bad to make friends. Still! I need to focus on what to do about Nightmare Moon. No point in friends if Nightmare Moon ruins everything.

-{/}-

The preparations were nearly done when the group arrived. There were ribbons and flowers set all around. They all agreed it was quite the beautiful set-up, but some found beauty elsewhere as well.

“Wow, so beautiful,” Spike sighed wistfully as he looked at the mare decorating the place.

“Yup, with the decorations nearly all in place this shouldn’t take long.” Twilight smiled at the thought of nearly being done so she could head to the library.

“Twilight, I don’t think Spike was talking about the decorations.” Shirou smirked at the poor lovestruck dragon.

“How do I look? Are my spines straight?” Spike frantically tried to fix his appearance.

“Spike, calm down, you look fine.” Shirou reassured the poor dragon as he saw him begin to lose his cool. “Now we should introduce ourselves first. So don’t get too ahead of yourself.”

“Oh right!”

“Hello, we’re here to check in on the decorations. I’m Twilight Sparkle and my companions are Shirou and Spike, he’s the baby dragon.”

“Hm, no no no, that simply won’t do.” The mare seemed lost in her own world as she decided between ribbons.

Shirou took some more time to admire the work so far, even casting Structural Analysis to understand how ponies were able to construct such buildings and decor. It was still strange to him having to use a horn as a foci. He hoped he wouldn’t be forced to use his Projections while in this form, it’d be difficult to wield a sword without hands. He could always fire them off, but he didn’t want a pony getting caught in the crossfire. These thoughts occupied his mind as Twilight tried to speak with the mare.

“Excuse us, not to break your focus but can you please tell us how things are going here?” Twilight was a bit nervous trying to interrupt somepony so clearly engrossed in their work.

“A moment please! I am ‘in the zone’, and I do not want to break it so close to completion. Ah yes! A brilliant shine just brings out the beauty and lights up the room. Wonderfully done Rarity, your eye for beauty never fails. Now then, how may I help you?”

“To begin, I’m Twilight Sparkle, and these are Shirou and Spike,” she answered while pointing out her companions. “We just wanted to make sure the decorations are going well.”

“But of course dear, everything is going splendidly. I have done the utmost to ensure the decorations are worthy of hosting her highness Princess Celestia. I do apologize for the delayed introduction, my name is Rarity, it is a pleasure to meet you all darlings.”

“That’s fantastic, we’ll be off then. It was nice meeting you as well.” Twilight smiled and prepared to leave only to be stopped by the mare.

“Now dear, don’t be in such a rush. I believe I can spare a few minutes, especially with the flash of inspiration I’ve just gotten now that I’ve gotten a better view of you darling.” Rarity immediately pushed a confused Twilight towards her boutique. “Oh darling you’ll absolutely adore the dresses I have in mind. In fact, I do think I can find a matching outfit for your Stallion friend as well.”

“Wait! Where are you taking me?! Shirou! Spike! Anyone! Help!”

Shirou’s strained smile showed he saw no harm in letting Rarity indulge a little, but more importantly he wasn’t willing to earn her scorn. He knew better than to cross a woman, in this case a mare. Rin and Luvia had made certain of that; he even winced at the memory of Rin’s Gandrs. Spike on the other hand, followed them out, still enamored by Rarity.

“Spike, you are gonna make a fool out of yourself at this rate.” Upon hearing this Spike did refocus and looked at Shirou sheepishly.

“Whoops, sorry about that. It's just, I’ve never seen somepony so beautiful, surely you understand Shirou?”

“I can admit she’s pretty, but when you’ve seen a literal Goddess known for her beauty it's kind of hard to compete.”

“Huh?” Spike’s confusion distracted him from his swooning as he processed Shirou’s words.

“It's a long story, maybe another time. Plus it looks like we’ve arrived.”

The building they’d arrived at was designed to resemble a carousel and had plenty of outfits on display by the windows. Shirou was amazed by the quality of the work as he briefly used Structural Analysis on a few of them while they entered.

“Now then darling, we simply must find an outfit to suit you perfectly!” Twilight accepted her fate as Rarity began to dress her in all sorts of outfits while redoing her hair.

“I don’t know where to be impressed by the selection or the speed at which she keeps changing Twilight.” Shirou thought of how skilled one would have to be with telekinesis to create so many high quality dresses. He couldn’t imagine forging swords with just magic, much less sewing all these outfits.

“I’m just impressed by her beauty,” replied Spike.

“Alright buddy, no need to start drooling though.” That broke Spike out of his trance.

“Now then darling, you were telling me where you and your friends are from, correct?” Rarity questioned Twilight as she chose between outfits.

“Well we’ve come from Canterlot.”

“Oh my! How marvelous, Canterlot is simply the capital of all fashion, the level of glamor and sophistication is phenomenal. I’d be ecstatic to call you a friend my dear! You two as well darlings!” Rarity finally settled on a jewel encrusted corset-like outfit for Twilight. “Now then, I do believe rubies would be far more your style instead of these gaudy emeralds. I must also find a suit for your friend to match your outfit.”

Seeing that Rarity had finally given her some breathing room, Twilight looked for Shirou and Spike. Seeing them waiting by the entrance she quickly made her way over.

“Let’s go, now! Before she decides to restyle my mane.!”

“It's not all that bad Twilight, plus the outfit she gave you does suit you.”

“Then I’m certain you’d enjoy playing dress up for her the rest of the day, right Shirou?” A strained smile made it clear to Shirou this was no empty threat. Yet he couldn’t resist poking some more fun at her.

“I apologize my dear Master, I didn't mean to offend,” cracked back Shirou.

“Oh stuff it and let's go already. As funny as it would be to see you getting dressed up, Celestia knows she’d keep us here the whole day till we’d be wearing more gems than we weigh.” Twilight chuckled at the thought and even Shirou found such a thing amusing.

“Do we have to leave already?” whined Spike.

“Yes Spike, we can’t stay here just for you to gawk at Rarity the whole day. Now, what’s next on the list?”

“Hmph, the list says we need to check on the preparations for the music. Neat, it's the last task on the list.”

“Let’s hurry then, there is still enough time to look into the Elements of Harmony if we can get this done quickly.”

With a spring in her step, Twilight hurried forward with Spike and Shirou trailing along.

-{/}-

The group found it strange that the music was being practiced in such a remote location. All around them were trees and other greenery. They heard birds singing nearby, it was a wonderful melody.

“Seems we’ve found the place,” commented Shirou as they approached the music. They heard another pony talking when the music died down.

“Oh, um, please excuse me everyone, but please stop.” They spotted a yellow Pegasus approaching a bird that had been singing out of tune. “Sorry sir, but you were just a teeny bit off tune. Now, let’s all try again. A-one, a-two, a-one two three.”

The birds resumed singing, this time in far better harmony. Only for them to be interrupted as Twilight went up to introduce herself.

“Hello!” At this the birds dispersed in fright. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to scare your birds off like that. I just wanted to introduce us. We’re here to check on how the music preparations are going. My name is Twilight Sparkle and these are Shirou and Spike.” Seeing how nervous the Pegasus looked, Twilight decided to ease her with a simple question. “What is your name?”

“Um, I’m Fluttershy,” answered the Pegasus, her voice barely audible as she spoke far too softly. Fortunately Shirou’s trained ears managed to hear her well enough.

“Hello Fluttershy, as Twilight mentioned I’m Shirou. It's a pleasure to meet you.” Shirou did his best to help Fluttershy relax.

“H-hello.” Shirou smiled as she seemed to settle down.

“Well, we’ve seen that you are handling the music well. I think we can go now.” Just as Twilight turned to leave, Fluttershy finally noticed the last member of their group.

“Oh my Celestia! A baby dragon!” In a complete 180, Fluttershy bolted towards Spike, her nervousness forgotten. “I’ve never seen one before. He is so adorable!”

Spike couldn’t help but gloat at the attention he was getting. He stood proudly as Fluttershy praised his cuteness.

“Now Fluttershy, let’s not stroke Spike’s ego too much.” Shirou decided to step in as he could see this might prolong their stay here.

“But he’s so amazing. I wasn’t even aware dragons could talk. Oh, can I ask you a question, Spike?”

“Sure, what do you wanna know?”

“Oh, I’d love to know everything about you!”

“In that case, I’ll start from the day I was hatched.” At this Twilight felt it best to place Spike on her back so they could begin heading to the library. This didn’t dissuade Fluttershy from following them as Spike answered her question with a lengthy recounting of his life. Shirou followed behind, listening as Spike told his story. He’d been a bit curious how Twilight had come to raise a dragon considering how powerful they are as Phantasmal Beasts.

-{/}-

The walk to the library was somehow long enough for Spike to finish recounting his life story. Shirou wasn’t gonna question the timing considering some of the outlandish things he’d already seen today. It was interesting to note that his recounting lined up with the bits of Twilight’s past he’d seen in his dreams.

Unfortunately for Spike and Fluttershy, Twilight didn’t have time to continue indulging them. “Alright you’ve had your fun Spike, and as happy as I am that you’ve made a new friend we have business to handle.”

“But Twilight I still haven’t told her about today.”

“Please Twilight, I really want to hear what he has to say,” Fluttershy pleaded.

“I’m sorry, but we really are busy, maybe another time?” Twilight did feel a bit guilty at causing someone as innocent as Fluttershy distress. “I’m sure I could make time for Spike to visit you. Shirou could probably handle his responsibilities now so he’d have some time off.”

“Hey! I didn’t say I wanted to give up my spot as your assistant!”

“Calm down Spike, Shirou isn’t going to replace you. You are still my number one assistant and I just want you to be able to rest every once in a while. As a growing baby dragon you still need plenty of rest and it’d be good for you to have some fun as well.”

“Being Twilight’s servant does mean she can order me to help her out with menial tasks, but I wouldn’t dream of replacing you Spike. I don’t think my life could ever replace anypony else.”

“Stop that Shirou, I can see that melancholy smile on your face.” Twilight wasn’t having more of this self-deprecation Shirou seemed so fond of. I knew this was going to be a challenge, but why does he insist on devaluing himself. I can’t let him continue like this, no point helping him find a new path if he keeps thinking like this.

“Sorry Twilight, I didn’t mean to get you worried.” Shirou winced a bit at her tone. I know I promised her to find a better path, but I wasn’t expecting her to take it so seriously. Hopefully this will be over soon, it is getting difficult to avoid my usual thought patterns. His thoughts were mostly in agreement. Yet a small fraction of him, that had only gotten louder the longer he stayed in this peaceful place, refused. So why do I feel sad at the prospect of leaving Twilight behind?

Unaware of the deeper ongoings of the others, Fluttershy had mainly stuck to the sidelines. Her excitement at meeting Spike had subdued and now she felt very self-aware. She didn’t want to intrude on their conversation so she made a quick getaway instead. She still needed to take care of a few things before she could attend the party Pinkie was throwing.

“Hey, where’d Fluttershy go?” A confused Spike looked around, “I didn’t even get to say goodbye.”

“I suppose she had to get back to her birds. No matter, we’re finally here. Golden Oaks Library, hopefully we can find something to help us here. Just think of all the new books to be found.” Twilight excitedly opened the doors ushering the others in as well.

Once inside, the trio found themselves enveloped in darkness. Shirou tried to look for a light switch of some sort by reinforcing his eyesight, but instead noticed the various Ponies hiding in the dark.

“Ah! Twilight we’re surrounded!” Before he could do anything rash fortunately, the lights switched on. As his eyes adjusted to the bright lights he finally realized this wasn’t an ambush, it was a surprise of a different kind.

“Surprise!” exclaimed all the ponies who’d been waiting in the room.

“Welcome to Ponyville!” followed up an incredibly excited pink pony. It was then Shirou and Twilight realized it was the same pony that’d nearly collided with them when they arrived in Ponyville. “Hi! I’m Pinkie Pie! Are you excited?! I saw you three earlier and realized I didn’t know you! And I know everypony in Ponyville so that meant you weren’t from here. So I thought it’d be fantastic if I threw you a party to welcome you here! Besides, I always make sure to throw new ponies a welcoming party.”

“As much as I appreciate the sentiment,” interrupted Twilight, “I was really looking forward to some peace and quiet.”

“Why that’s silly! How could you want it to be quiet? Parties aren’t supposed to be quiet.” Pinkie giggled to herself as Twilight made her way towards her room. She just wanted to read in peace. “Hey! Where’re you going? Don’t you want to party with everyone? I did invite all of Ponyville over after all. It felt wrong to let you all be lonely new ponies. So how about you make new friends at this party!”

“Sorry Pinkie Pie, but we really do have matters to attend to, but I bet Spike would love to party with you some more.” Twilight knew Spike wasn’t fond of her study sessions so she felt it would be fine to let him enjoy the festivities.

“In that case, it's time to party! Come on Pinkie Pie, those two are too busy looking at books anyways.” Spike was happy to party if it meant he didn’t have to stare at books for the rest of the day. Pinkie was just excited to have someone new to party with.

“Okie dokie lokie, just remember you’re all welcome to join us at any time!” With that final exclamation Pinkie left with Spike. Twilight took this time to lead Shirou up the stairs to their room so they could get to work.

“Phew, I didn’t think we’d ever get away from all those ponies. I get that trying to make friends is good, but I don’t know if I have the energy for this much friend making.” Twilight felt a bit tuckered out by the events of the day. She did get a burst of energy realizing she finally had time to look through some books in the areas not being occupied by the party. It's not much but maybe there’ll be something useful in here.

Shirou wasn’t afraid to admit the party had frayed his nerves a bit, after the events of the day he needed a break. Fearing they’d been ambushed had done little to ease his nerves as well. I can’t even make a light dinner considering how occupied the library has become.

“Shirou, do you mind helping me out? I could really use your assistance getting some of the books in this room.”

“Sure Twilight, I’m not sure the selection is up to par considering that most of the library is being used.”

“That’s fine, I just want to unwind a bit and reading always helped me.” Twilight sighed, content as she opened a nearby book and began to read. She got a few pages in before her curiosity drew her away from the book. “Hey, Shirou? I’ve been wondering. You mentioned that you were a magus. That means you know some spells, right?”

“Yeah, but I’m only a third rate magus at best so I can only really show you some basic magecraft. It's not self-deprecation by the way, just reality back from where I’m from. My level of expertise is pretty abysmal due to my circumstances. I do have a kind of unique magecraft in return.”

“While I’d love to learn even some basics, would you mind sharing your specialization with me?”

“I guess it would also be nice to test and see how this new world affects my projections. Gaia was never really a problem with my unique form of projection, but who knows how this world may react. Alright then, I still wanna mention the other basics that make my unique magecraft possible. I will warn you that I’m not the best at explaining magecraft. Usually my friend Rin would be far better at this sort of thing”

“That’s fine,” replied Twilight, giddy with anticipation.

“To start, there’s Structural Analysis. This spell allows me to understand the construction of any object I apply it to. For example, if I cast it on this book,” Shirou chose a random book lying nearby, “I can tell the overall composition of the pages, the materials used for the cover, and the history of its creation. It lets me understand an object to a greater degree, but the more complex the object the harder it is to process that information. The mind can only take in so much information before it's overloaded.”

“Wow! So you could use that to determine if an article is a fake or illusion then. Or you could also replicate a lost style of creation if it's not too complicated. Is it possible to learn these spells?” Twilight’s excitement had only increased as Shirou spoke of the spells he knew.

“I’m not sure, while magecraft can only be used by those with open magical circuits it seems having a horn might be the equivalent here. I could try to teach you but it’d be difficult since I’m not much for lecturing.”

“I’d still love to try, and it’d let us get to know each other better since I could try to teach you some of our own spells.”

“I’m not sure I’d be able to use those spells unfortunately, Twilight. Like I said earlier, its near impossible for me to grasp more than the basics due to my specialization.”

“Oh, well we could still try.”

“If you’re willing then I won’t stop you. Now the next spell I want to cover is Reinforcement. Structural Analysis lets me gain lots of information on an object which I can then use to find its flaws and gaps. These gaps can be filled with magical energy to increase aspects of the object. Each object can only handle so much magical energy before exploding. So it's dangerous to do on volatile objects or on an organic subject.” Shirou took a nearby quill this time for his example. “See this quill? The point has dulled with use, but if I were to reinforce it, the point would become sharper than ever. That’s not the only way to reinforce an object though. For example, when cooking I can reinforce the flavor of the ingredients or the heat dispersal of a pan. Reinforcement can be applied to nearly any aspect of an object so long as it has space for the magical energy being pumped in.”

“If these are the basics, I can only imagine how complex magecraft really is.”

“It can get pretty out there from what I’ve seen. Unfortunately I understand so little of it, I’d never be able to teach anything more than I know.” At this remark Twilight’s mood dipped a little, but she quickly recovered remembering Shirou still hadn’t talked about his own spell.

“Maybe one day I could visit your homeland somehow and learn there?”

“Please don’t, I mean this for your own safety. Earth is a very dangerous place, especially for a Phantasmal like you. The magi are ruthless and they’re the least problematic group to encounter there. Promise me to never look into traveling to Earth.” Shirou’s seriousness threw Twilight for a bit of a loop. She did understand that he really did want her to keep out of harm’s way so she had to accept his plea.

“I promise you Shirou, I will never try to travel to Earth.”

“Thank you Twilight. How about I talk about my specialization then? Since you now have a rundown on Structural Analysis and Reinforcement, I can talk about Gradation Air or Projection magecraft as its also known. Gradation Air is a common magecraft that has little use to most magi, it can only create hollow objects with magical energy. This means the object will fade away as the world rejects its false existence. It isn’t creating matter from nothing and only simple objects can be made. Hence the reason most magi find it a useless spell.” As Twilight processed this information, Shirou began to Trace a sword. It was a nameless blade, but it would be a good test run in this world. “Trace On.”

“Normally those would be the limit of Gradation Air, but I managed to use my stubbornness to go further. As you can see I have created a simple sword from magical energy. Unlike objects made by Gradation Air, my blades are fakes nearly identical to the originals. Tracing is what I call this form of Gradation Air since my aria when invoking it is Trace On.” Twilight inspected his blade, she was amazed by how real it felt.

“The difference between Gradation Air and Tracing is how the objects are created. My spirit and origin influence this as well. I’d compare them to your cutie marks, but a human’s spirit and origin are set from birth and will almost never change. Mine just happens to be Sword for both. So when I use Tracing I can easily make bladed weapons, with more effort being needed to replicate other objects so long as they aren't overly complex. This does allow me to better understand blades with Structural Analysis, to a point I can understand any blade I see at a glance. Tracing also has the benefit of circumventing Gaia's influence so anything I create with it won't vanish over time.”

“Wait, so just by looking at a sword you can understand its composition and materials?”

“More than that actually, I have an innate understanding of swords. To be honest you could say I’m more of a sword than human, haha. That’s why I can also see the way they were forged and the accumulated years of experience of a sword’s wielders.” Twilight was even more impressed at learning how in-depth Shirou’s specialization went.

“Tracing has 7 steps when creating a traced object: Judging the concept of creation, hypothesizing the basic structure, duplicating the composition of material, imitating the skill of its making, sympathizing with the experience of its growth, reproducing the accumulated years, and excelling every manufacturing process. From there I can 'project' the traced object that has been fully recreated. So I can treat it somewhat interchangeable.” Much to Rin and Luvia's dismay.

“Wow,” Twilight was a bit dumb founded at how many steps it took for Shirou to make a sword. It was impressive all the same. “You said you can’t teach me Tracing right? I assume it's because no normal pony could replicate all those steps.”

“You’d be correct. Tracing requires a deep understanding of a sword from its creation to its history. Most people wouldn’t even be able to process half the information I gain at a glance. This also means I have no affinity for most other magecraft so I never tried to branch out when these are all the spells I need to help people. Well there is Alteration, which as the name implies is the act of altering the properties of an object. I tend to use it to make swords into arrows.” Shirou took a break. He’d never had to explain all of this to anyone before and it was quite a mouthful.

“I’m glad you were willing to share anyways, Shirou.” Twilight smiled at Shirou, and he couldn’t help but feel a bit embarrassed at her sheer sincerity.

It's been a while since I’ve seen such a sincere smile. Maybe I should just enjoy my time here a little, it seems so peaceful. I may not be here long, but I can relax. It’s what you’d want, right Illya? While Shirou was absorbed in his thoughts, Twilight decided to return to her research feeling better at getting a deeper understanding of Shirou.

With the sounds of the party as a backdrop the duo just silently read, enjoying each other's company. Eventually the call of sleep won and Twilight began to doze off.

"Hey now, you should sleep in your bed, Twilight." Shirou carefully helped Twilight to bed. As he turned to find a spot to sleep on he was stopped.

"Shirou, could you stay here with me. I'm afraid of what I'll see tonight and it'd be nice to have someone nearby to just feel safe."

"Alright Twilight, I'll stay with you. I don't think anything should be as bad as the Fuyuki Fire, but I know my past can be a mess." Shirou made his way over to Twilight and lay down near her.

"Thanks Shirou, goodnight."

"Goodnight, Twilight."

Twilight felt tranquil, Shirou's presence reminded her of her brother when he comforted her after a nightmare. It was nice, he felt warm and his fur was so soft.

Soon both of them fell asleep. When the moon rose to its apex they were fast asleep and unable to spot the change. The once prominent fixture of the Mare on the Moon vanished from its face. Soon they’d all know how fleeting their peace really was.