//------------------------------// // ... Revoke the Command Spell. // Story: My Little Pony: Friendship is Fate // by Kujo Blaze //------------------------------// I can’t approve of this. Such dirty killings are wrong. “What’s wrong? Will you fight or not? State now, Storm.” He doesn’t even need to ask me. “I won’t fight. I’ll abandon my right as a Master.” I look directly at the priest and answer. “I see. I’m disappointed, but it is the Master’s will. Storm Whooves has abandoned his rights as a Master and withdrawn from the Harmony Grail War. Is that acceptable, Rarity?” “…?” The priest addresses Rarity and not me. Rarity answers, “I don’t care. If that’s Storm’s choice, I can’t say anything about it.” “Hmm. I’ll take that sense of guilt as a yield. Then let us begin right away, Storm Whooves. Put your left foreleg out.” “Fine, but what are you going to do?” “It should be quick. I am merely erasing the Command Spell on your foreleg. There are two factors causing Masters to be Masters. One is the contract with the Servant, and the other is the Command Spell on your foreleg. You will be freed from the Harmony Grail War if you lose both of these.” The priest takes my left foreleg and, “This will hurt. Try to relax.” With a plunge. Rips off my arm with his bare hoofs. “GII!!?” My body jerks in pain. With a sound, somepony’s hoof enters my left foreleg. “Guh!?” It is not an illusion. If there were an illusion, it was that of my foreleg being ripped off. In reality, there isn’t a scratch on my foreleg. A stranger’s hoofs moves through my flesh. This is… yes, it’s just that the priest’s hoofs, which are transparent like a ghost, are sinking into my foreleg. “Done. The operation was successful.” “Uh, huh?” I look at my left foreleg. There are no wounds on my foreleg and only pain remains. In exchange for that unpleasantness… The Command Spell on my forehoof has changed shape. “The shape’s changed… no, is it that there’s fewer strokes on it now?” “Yes. There are three strokes for the Command Spell. Blue took two of those out from you. Like a spiritual doctor who removes the infected part without hurting the body.” “Spiritual doctor?” I think that’s a special mage who heals the body by treating the spirit. I hear their magic is a “curse” that can remove the infected part without using a surgical knife on the body… “I’m surprised. Spiritual treatment is an unusual act used in uncivilized areas. It’s not something a stallion of the church should know.” “Don’t say that. I was unfit to be a priest the moment I took up magic. So it should not matter if the kind of magic I know is unfit for a priest. Do not worry about the type. It was the only thing I was good at. I learned many magics, but this was the only one that fit me. My magical aptitude is specialized in “opening wounds”, for good or for bad. Thanks to that, I am inferior to even my student over there.” “For good or for bad? Of course it’s good. There aren’t many spiritual doctors as good as you in the Association, and there are only a few in the church that can handle spirits as well as you do,” said Rarity. “Who knows. No matter how great this healing method is, the spirit is only a contact treatment relying on the body. It is nothing close to a miracle that allows connection with the “soul”, the proof of existence independent of the body, but anyways, the treatment is complete. The rest is up to you, Storm Whooves. Use your last Command Spell to cut the contract between you and your Servant.” “…? Cut the contract with my Servant?” “Yes. Request abolition of contract before Saber, who’s waiting outside. I’m sure she won’t accept it, so Blue left you a Command Spell to force her to agree.” “That is correct. By using up your Command Spell and abolishing the contract with your Servant, you present to the other Masters that you are ‘harmless’. Then you are openly freed. A sane Master would not think of attacking a powerless Master. By relinquishing a power you have gained by chance, you will regain your peaceful life.” “……” I will break the contract with Saber by choice. That’s betraying her. Even if it was by chance, I called for her and she protected me. “……” Have I made the wrong choice? I cannot approve of Masters killing each other. I can’t approve of it, but if I can’t overlook it either, then… “What are you doing? No incantations are necessary to activate the Command Spell. All you have to do is to put your mind to it and order your Servant. You can tell her directly or you can just cut the contract here. Choose whichever you like.” “……” No. I’ve made my decision. I can’t take anything back now, and the priest probably wouldn’t allow it. “I’ll go and settle this directly with Saber. Then I won’t be a Master, right?” “Directly with Saber… Storm, that’s…” “Yes, I guarantee that. Go and inform your Servant of the parting. After that, I shall welcome you into the church as subject to protection.” The priest welcomes me, but I don’t know how serious he is. Anyways, I have no intention of putting myself in his care. I will only abandon my right as a Master. I will not ask for his help after that. “I refuse that. I won’t need your help. I’ll settle things with Saber and after I use up my Command Spell, I’m going home. That’ll be it. I will never see you again.” “I see. Well, certainly, we shall never meet again. Farewell, Storm Whooves. It is the path you have chosen yourself. Take pride in it.” “……” He doesn’t need to tell me that. I turn my back on him and leave the church. I exit the church. She is there in the stone-paved plaza, under the tall sky. “Have you finished your conversation, Master?” “Yeah, I learned what this Harmony Grail War thing is. And taking that into consideration, I decided. Saber, I withdraw from being a Master.” “……” Saber’s brow does twitchs. Her pink eyes seem to accept my decision, but reluctantly. “Does that mean you will be abandoning the contract with me?” “That’s right. I’m not fit to be a Master. …And you too, Saber. It would be better for you to form a contract with a proper Master, not one like me.” “Yes. If I am after a better winning chance in battle, I should form a contract with another mage. Archer’s Master is so much better than you.” “I see. Then I can abandon our contract now, right? I’ll use the Command Spell to cancel the contract, so you will be free.” “Storm, I will ask you only once. Will you change your mind?” “I will not change my mind. I have no intention to kill others.” I say so, looking directly at Saber. And at that time. The raincoat Saber is wearing sways. “Oh…” I blankly stare at the death in front of me. In the time it takes me to blink, Saber runs towards me, “Huh?” Sweeps my legs out from under me and knocks me over. “Ugh!?” Pain runs through my legs after a moment. T-There’s no blood. I still have my feet. “Agh…” I’m relieved that I still have my legs. Thank Hasbro. She only swept me with a metal rod. My legs hurt like they’re about to tear off, but it’s much better than having them cut off… “Storm. A mage who is no longer a Master will be killed by his Servant. No matter how inexperienced you are as a mage, you have the power to keep me in this world as you have called for me. …A Servant needs a Master. If you break your contract, I will kill you and take that body. Do you still say you will abandon your rights as a Master?” “……” I look up at Saber, concentrating my fading consciousness. There is no enmity or murderous intent in Saber’s expression. As natural as it is to breathe, Saber would kill me without emotion to stay in this world. But still… “That’s right. Even if I were to change my mind, I can’t do that. Not because I only have one Command Spell left. …I refused to fight. I refused to become a Master. Having such a pony as your Master would only result in defeat.” No matter how it came about, my mind gave up. If I have refused battle once, the second time must be the same. I would lament, every time I face danger, that I should not have entered the battle. It would be bad for both you and me to make such a pony your Master. “Then do you not mind being killed by me here? I cannot be a spirit. If I cannot absorb your soul, your body will face a painful death. You are going to accept that?” “Of course not. I don’t like fighting, but I like being killed even less. I know it won’t help, but I’ll resist until the last second and flee.” I gather my courage and glare back at Saber, not allowing myself to be overwhelmed by her. And then. “Saber?” “I understand. Use your Command Spell, Storm. It is your decision. I have no right to intervene.” “Huh?” “Don’t worry. It is just the case that I could not establish trust with my Master this time. If you abolish the contract with your Command Spell, I will be free. I should only be able to maintain this body for about two hours, but I will just have to find a new Master in that time.” Saber says so plainly. Spurred by those words, I pray to the Command Spell on my left hoof to abolish the contract. “You are now free. It was only a short union, but your magical energy was pleasant. I shall not see you again, but I shall pray that you safely survive this battle.” The silver armor recedes. “…!” Without realizing, I almost try to call after her, but I stop myself before I do such a stupid thing. I am not permitted to call out her name. She did not blame me for selfishly abandoning the contract, and she cared for my safety to the end. Since I have rejected her and backed out of the Harmony Grail War, I cannot call out and stop her… It is a silent night. Even though it’s past midnight, the town is too silent. “……” To be honest, it’s eerie. I don’t think I’m exaggerating. I think that word is very suitable for this atmosphere. “Sheesh. I wonder when it started to be like this?” It’s obvious. The Harmony Grail War. The secret battle between the six mages is stealing the life out of this town. “…!” My chest starts to hurt. The chest that was stabbed by Lancer only a few hours ago is aching. “Let’s go home. What good will it do to go back to the church now?” Enduring the pain in my chest, I head home. I’ll think about what I should do once I’m home. I should be able to calm down if I go home, take a bath, and relax a bit… But, I’ll think about what I should do when I get home. That thought itself was a mistake. “Huh?” Like a bad dream, it tells me that there is no road ahead of me. “I see. You’re alone now, big brother.” I raise my head at the mare’s voice. Under the blue moon, on top of the hill that should lead me back home, are a mare and a strange figure. “Gi…” And they burst. I didn’t even have a chance to see it, scream, nor turn and run. The black giantess standing there swings her weapon upwards, and just the sheer force of the weapon moving causes my right foreleg to “AHHHHHH!? AH, AHHHH, AH!” It flew off. It flew off. One of my forelegs flew off. It flew off from my shoulder and blood is spilling out like crazy and the road behind me is red like red paint’s smeared on it… and bones, bones are sticking out of my shoulder and… “Berserker, I don’t feel like playing chase, so just squash him.” “Gu, AHHHHHH!!” I roll. Both of my legs are bent the wrong way, with my hoofs bending forward from my knees down. “Ha… a, ah!?” My thoughts cannot catch up to the events. My thoughts cannot catch up to the events due to the pain. Berserker, I definitely heard that. Then, the monster in front of me… “Heehee, you’re well mannered, big brother. I know that, it’s that thing called assisted suicide, right? My grandfather said that Equestria ponies are a neck-cutting tribe who die by having their necks cut off while sitting Equestrian-style.” I begin to pass out. The mare’s innocent voice doesn’t match this situation. “Ah, don…” I look up. I can’t breathe. My lung, one of my lungs has been blown about fifty meters behind me. I fall onto the ground on my back. Both my legs have become like caterpillars. And they’re broken, so they can’t move. So I use my remaining left forehoof to drag myself away. “Oh, you can still move? But I’m sorry. You can’t run away now. And besides, it’s useless even if you do get away. Because even if you do, that body of yours will die in a matter of seconds.” “Ha” My body feels light. I’ve lost over half my blood already. It’s amazing I’m still conscious. My brain is starved of oxygen, and it should have stopped already. “But you can be relieved. It’s no fun if you die that easily, right? So I gave you a small hoof! Big brother will stay conscious no matter how much it hurts or how much of you gets destroyed until I crush your head. So… even if I do this, you’ll be able to writhe like a living thing.” “Gi, AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!” I’m crushed. By that shockwave of her weapon like a printing press, my lower half is crushed from the waist down. Things that use to be my legs and meat and bones are beautifully turned into two-dimensional objects. “Ah,Ahhhh, ahhhh!” I can’t die. There is only blood left in my head and my body does not function, and my nerves want to die and escape the pain, but my consciousness will not go away. “Phew, phew, pheew!” My throat sounds like a flute. It echoes inside my skull. My thoughts are still confused. But wanting to escape this pain, “Ah… you’re wrong. I’m not… a Master… any… more.” I tell the mare, as if asking for help. …An instant of hope. The mare gasps as if being surprised, “Yes, so what?” She says with an angelic smile. “Ah… ha.” My senses freeze. I will not be saved no matter what. I fully understand that I will be killed here. “Hm, maybe you’re small enough for me to pick up now. Then I’ll invite you to my castle, big brother. There are lots of tools once we get there, so let’s continue this there.” “……” My senses will not die no matter how much I am hurt. They will not die, so rationality freezes. I don’t know how much longer the head will last, but at this moment, Storm Whooves gives up all hope. ~The End~ Initiating Pinkie Gym… Session 1 (Pinkie Pie) “Hello! Is everypony doing fine? For all who died so easily, this is the assistance corner that solves all your problems in a flash, the Pinkie Gym! So. First of all, I would like to ask what the meaning of this corner is! It totally destroys the mood of the actual story! Answer, senior student! (Luna) This gym is the backstage that always saves the dull and stupid Storm. It can be said that this is the central foundation that supports “Fate” itself. It would not be an exaggeration to call this the main storyline of “Fate”! (Pinkie) Marvelous! Bravo! Oh bravo! Yes, well done. I think everypony’s starting to realize now, but this gym is an important part of “Fate”. Everypony, please don’t be tricked by those fake heroines that have large parts in the story, and if you see a dangerous choice, please choose it. Well, as for this Storm… Oh man, squashed lower body and only the head left? Somepony who would do such a thing must be brutal and cruel. What do you think about that, student? (Luna) No problem! This is a cute and pop genocide of love! (Pinkie) Unsatisfactory! Whack! (Luna) Owww… I-I made a mistake. This is the result of a weak big brother making this particular heroine angry. (Pinkie) That is exactly right. From now on, please choose cowardly choices like this as you’ll die a lot. But since this is supposed to be a Q&A corner, I shall help you with your problem. Senior student, what is the counter-measure this time? (Luna) Go back to the choice and choose the other one. (Pinkie) All right, well done. Unexpected deaths like this are set up all over the place. Well then, that’s it for this time! I shall wait for you at the next practice! (Luna) See you!