Canterlot Knights

"What the hell are you doing here?" Saber asked.

"I followed you home," Rainbow said.

"Do you have any idea how creepy that is?"

"Is it creepy?"

"Yes! It's very creepy!"

"Sorry, I was just curious."

"Curious? I already told you everything, so why do you need to know where I live?!" Saber was very fed up. More with himself than anything else. He had been very careless about covering his tracks and it seemed like it was just then catching up to him. It dawned on him that here was a pony who knew his name, what he looked like, and where he lived. He had hoped for at least one night of sleep before he had to move somewhere else.

"Okay," he said, "I have one request..."

"Shoot."

"Can I get one night of sleep before you turn me into the Royal Guard?"

"Why?"

"Well it's a real hobby of mine. Why do you think? I'm really tired, that's why," Saber said as he grew more and more annoyed with the Rainbow colored mare.

"I don't know... maybe if you show me around your mansion here."

"No."

"Oh come on."

"No."

"I'll just let myself in, it's no big deal." She began to walk through the doorway.

"Yeah, it is." Saber struck her in the chest and knocked her back a few feet onto his lawn. "Go home Dash, I'll be gone by morning. You can look around my house then." Rainbow was about to respond but decided not to. She sighed angrily and took off. She purposely flew away slowly, just to piss Saber off.

Saber closed the door to his home and hung his suit jacket on a nearby coat hanger. He was ready for his long awaited night of sleep. He walked through the main corridor and he heard the house settling. His head quickly turned to face the noise, but he relaxed when he realized nothing was there. He walked up the steps and headed into his bedroom.

He stopped in his doorway. He stretched out his forelegs and yawned. He stood there for a moment, then dove to the ground as blasts of magic ripped through the wooden door frame and the nearby wall. Saber stayed flat on the ground, forelegs crossed over his head as everything around him exploded in a fury of light, sound, and heat. His bed caught fire, illuminating the otherwise dark mansion.

The blasts stopped. Now was Saber's chance. He bolted out the door and down the hallway as two unicorns resumed firing upon him. He ran downstairs only to find about a dozen other unicorns waiting for him. "Woah woah woah woah, guys. Wait!" Saber yelled. They hesitated with opening fire. "Can't we talk about this?" They didn't hesitate after that. Saber took cover in the nearby study as the stairs were shredded into a million tiny pieces of wood and marble. 'Nopony can just be reasonable, can they?'

Saber looked over to a nearby piece of wood that was a moment ago a part of the door frame on the floor and grabbed it. He flung it through the air and into the neck of one of the unicorns. The others stood back, shocked and disgusted by the gruesome display as blood squirted from the poor pony's throat. Saber used this to charge and knock down two unicorns and swiftly spin his legs to knock down three more. The others, now back to their senses, put Saber right in their sights and opened fire. He jumped out of the way as their magic shredded the unicorns on the ground. Two were turned into stains on the floor, two others were mortally wounded, one was lucky and wasn't hit bad.

Saber shot out his hoof like a bolt of lightning. It met a young unicorn's face and slammed his head against the wall. That still left five others. Saber dove into the next room as they blasted more magic in his direction. He knew he'd have to put them down for good, or at least for a long while. More bolts whizzed by his ears. They made such a shrill noise as they went by and such a thunderous one as they made contact with the room around him. He looked over to a sword that had hung on the wall for decoration and had since been knocked down. 'That'll do,' he thought.

Saber took the sword and barrel rolled around the floor and beside the unicorns. He slashed upwards, cutting the chest of an older pony. Crimson blood spurted out at Saber as the pony screamed in pain. The two ponies who had attacked Saber upstairs had come down to join the fray. One of them sent a bolt straight through Saber's hind leg. Saber grit his teeth as his leg screamed out for him. 'Don't stop,' he thought, 'take the pain.'

Saber used that pain to fuel his next strike. He slashed the pony with all his might, but something was different this time. The pony fell to the ground but did not bleed. Instead of blood there were shards of gold. The pony was wearing armor underneath his cloak. Saber had seen the plating enough times to recognize it in a heartbeat. At least one of his attackers was an officer of the Canterlot Royal Guard.

Saber spun his hooves and the blade met the neck of another pony. Both the sword and Saber himself were covered in the rich liquid. It was a truly gruesome sight, and it would only get worse. One of the last two ponies tried a fire spell, but just as sparks began to emerge from his horn Saber took a piece of the broken armor and flung it into his eye. This saddened Saber, as he was hoping it would hit his neck and make the whole ordeal much quicker for the pony. Instead he screamed in agony as flames engulfed the staircase and nearby wall.

The fire made Saber sweat even more than he had been sweating so far. By this point in time his suit was in tatters, barely recognizable with the tears which showed open wounds, with the stains of blood from both Saber and the other ponies, and at that point with sweat. The last unicorn charged at Saber and he quickly ducked and sent the blade through his stomach. Saber breathed heavily as he just stared at the bodies. He didn't noticed that he let the sword slip from his hoof and fall to the ground. He needed a few moments to access the situation.

"I wouldn't let that sword go so soon friend. You just might need it." Saber slowly turned to see more cloaked ponies standing in his doorway. He was being addressed by the one who was clearly in charge. He was larger than the others and seemed to have a different demeanor about him. Saber could tell that the others were there because somepony told them to be there. They were to do a job and then leave. The leader seemed like he was there with a purpose. A drive. Saber could see it in his eyes, because Saber felt something very similar to it.

"So," Saber said as he gave the pony in shattered gold armor a kick, "the Royal Guard finally caught up with me. To be honest I thought this would go differently. I thought it would be quieter, cleaner, and much less damaging to my house."

"I'm sorry that we didn't meet your expectations," the pony said. A sickly smile spread across his face. The others were scared. They saw the bodies around Sabers feet and felt the nervous sweat roll down their brows. The leader just stood there smiling. "I always hated this place," Saber said. He gave a very deep, very sad sigh. "But I guess it doesn't matter now."

"No, I guess not. If it's any consolation, we're not serving the law and we won't be taking you alive."

"That makes me feel much better. Seriously, I feel all tingly inside now."

"I like you. Your abilities are impressive, even if your methods lack refinement. Tell me, do you have any formal training?"

"Fencing for years, but other than that I'm self taught."

"I can tell. But you do have natural talent, and even some unnatural. I have an eye for talent, and after seeing you fight I'm even more sure of it. I give you this one chance to abandon your foolish crusade and join us. Be something more than what you are now."

"And what is that?"

"A killer, of course."

"Obviously. Also, what crusade?"

"This little revenge tirade that you've been on. It's so petty. Can't you understand that your family died for a good reason. For a good cause." It suddenly hit Saber. His voice, he recognized it. It was the voice from the alley where Thunder Flames died. "If you tell me that reason, I'll join you," Saber said. The pony laughed to himself. "Can you even tell how much insincerity is dripping from your lips right now. You are a terrible liar and it's a shame that it's come to this."

"Yes, a crying shame. So seven on one seems fair enough," Saber said as he picked up his sword. "No, no, no. These stallions are here only to ensure that every inch of this house burns to the ground and that you don't escape. You'll just be fighting me tonight." Saber was worried. He knew his powers had to come from somewhere, and just then he feared that this pony just might be it. For a moment the stood silently staring each other down, neither of them flinching even an inch.

The pony then dashed straight towards Saber and headbutted him. Saber staggered, pain encompassing him as he tried to regain his footing. He felt as if he was spinning in the air and he couldn't stop. He couldn't see for a moment, then his vision returned just as the pony swung his hoof at Saber. He deflected it with his sword and in the process left a deep cut in the pony's front leg. He didn't pay much mind to it.

"Look at that," he said, lifting his leg so that blood dripped on the floor, "Do you have a blade you can lend me, just for today?"

"Sorry, we're all out." Saber slashed at the pony, only to have him duck out of the way and strike Saber in the stomach. The pony then lifted Saber completely off the ground and threw him straight through a burning wall. The wood and plaster splintered and broke as Saber made hard contact with the ground. The pony stepped in and picked up a sword laying on the ground.

"This will do," he said. He swung the sword a few times for practice as Saber slowly got back on his hooves. "If I recall correctly, your father was a collector of swords. Was he not?" Saber spit out a mouthful of blood. "He was." Saber's breathing was heavy. His leg ached from the earlier wound and then this pony headbutted him and threw him through a wall. Saber's abilities didn't help much now. This pony seemed to have been moving faster and hitting harder than even he could. He might have as well not had his powers. Saber stared at the pony with both a deep curiosity and a deep hatred.

"I know what you're thinking, and you know the answer. Yes, I knew your family. Yes, I'm just as strong and fast as you are, probably even more so. And yes, I killed that little bitch sister of yours." He said that to get a reaction from Saber, and he got what he wanted. Saber charged him with all his rage. He slashed violently at the pony, losing all self control. The pony wanted to see just what Saber had in him and he saw it. Saber forced him back into the hallway where two of the other ponies were spreading the fire. They exchanged a look and were about to join the fray when the leader told them not to.

The Saber and the other pony stared each other down with Saber still seething, although he took this moment to catch his breath and try to regain focus. It didn't work, as one arrogant smile from the pony enraged him once more. He charged as the pony had expected and didn't even see him move. The pony ducked under Saber and punched upward, blasting him through the ceiling and onto the next floor. As Saber struggled to get up the pony followed him through the hole his body created and kicked Saber back to the floor. He knocked Saber's sword away and tossed his own aside as well. The pony picked Saber up and threw him across the hall. Saber stood his ground as the pony let loose a flurry of attacks.

Saber had to close his eyes from the pain, as it was more extreme than he had ever felt before. He could feel his ribs break and his skull crack. His skin grew purple where it was hit, his stomach churned as the pony's knee met it, and blood trickled from his mouth. Saber swung at the pony and hit air. 'Clear your head. Remember the books,' Saber thought. He tried to think on his self taught fighting skills but they were no use against the pony. He clearly had more training and the same powers as Saber. He was also relentless in a fight.

The pony took Saber's front right leg and struck him hard at the knee, breaking it with a loud crunch. Saber screamed in pain as he clutched his broken leg. Tears stung his eyes as the pony let him drop to the floor. Saber tried to get away but all he could manage with two and a half working legs was a slow limp. He hadn't noticed how much his hind leg was hurting until now. The pony walked to where he dropped his sword, picked it up, then walked back to Saber. He grabbed Saber by the neck and slammed him against a nearby window as his magic floated the sword around his head.

"Such a shame," the pony said, "even at your angriest you are just pathetic. I told them you could have joined us. It was no secret that you hated your parents just as much as we did. We could have let you in. Could have handled it better than we did. Instead it turns out your sister gave you my powers and the whole thing sent you on this damn foolish crusade." The pony stabbed Saber in the gut. The pain swept through Saber's body as blood began to spill out. "But seeing you know, I should have guessed you would have messed it up. You never seemed to have much potential to begin with." The pony shoved Saber through the window, sword still in his torso.

Saber was only falling from the second floor but the fall seemed like an eternity. He wasn't angry anymore. He wasn't thinking of how he was going to get out of this situation. As he stared at his burning home and he fell so slowly to the ground, only one thought was on his mind. 'I failed.' The pony stood in the window and Saber fall. 'I failed.' Broken glass and blood fell around him in slow motion, almost completely still even. 'I failed.' Saber felt the heat from the fire and the throbbing of his stomach, but he didn't feel it when he hit the ground. 'I failed.'

He knew he was going to die. He could feel life leaving him as he just laid there on the ground motionless. His body was broken as he experienced blinding pain like nothing else he had felt before. He couldn't even move, and he knew it was over. But then something happened. He did move. He went off the ground against his own free will. He didn't stand, he was lifted higher than the ground. He went higher and higher and farther and farther away from the house. The pony watched from the window as he left.

Even if Saber's mouth wasn't full of blood he'd doubt that he could think of anything to say. At first he saw Canterlot moving below him but soon after he just saw colors moving around. The sounds of the city became fainter and fainter over time. Eventually the moving stopped and he heard voices that sounded further away with every passing second. "Rainbow!" one said, "Who is that? Why did you bring him he- oh my goddess."

"Guys, he's hurt really bad and I don't know what to do. You've got to help!"

And then Saber saw, heard, and felt nothing.