My Little Pony: Friendship is Fate

by Kujo Blaze

...All right. Let's cooperate.

…There’s no choice from the start. There are too many things I don’t know, and I’m unskilled as a mage. Even if it’s temporary, if Rarity is going to give me a hoof, I don’t think there’s any better option.

“All right. I’ll take that offer, Rarity. Honestly, it will really help me out if you do so.”

“Then it’s decided. Let’s shake hoofs. For now, let’s stay allies until we beat Berserker.”

“Oh… I see. That’s how it’ll be, huh? I guess it can’t be helped, but that’s easier to understand.” I shake her hoof. …I’m a bit perplexed. The instant I feel Rarity’s soft hoof, I realize she is a mare. In comparison, my hoof covered in scratches from messing around with stuff is ill-suited. The instant I think so, I pull back, embarrassed.

“What? You don’t want to cooperate with me after all?”

“No, it’s not that. It’s a real help to be able to ally with you. It’s not that, so don’t worry about it.”

After making a puzzle face, “Ohhhhh.” She makes a malicious expression.

“W-What? I’ll take back the agreement if you say something stupid. I will. I really will!”

“Was that the first time you’ve held a mare’s hoof? You seem to have lots of friends, but you’re actually shy, Storm.”

“N-No! It’s not that, but…” I’m just embarrassed because it was Rarity… but I can never say such a thing, and certainly I have never touched a mare so strongly before. …Well, Pinkie is an exception. She’s more like somepony from a different planet than from a different sex. “Hey, hold on.” Wasn’t there something weird in what she just said…?

“Ahaha, you really do show your feelings on your face like I’ve heard. Well, I won’t ask you about it for now. It’ll be a problem if I poke fun at you and you get sulky. Then here’s a deposit. I’ll give you this, so think of it as proof of our alliance.” Rarity puts a book on the table. It looks just like a diary. There’s no title and it is wine-red. …The color seems to suit Rarity. “It’s my father’s, but I’ll give it to you since I don’t need it anymore. It’s not something a full Master needs, but I thought you might need it.” Rarity’s eyes tell me to take a look.

“…Then excuse me.” I open it to a random page. There’s nothing written in the book, but a strange image pops into my head. “…!?? Rarity, what is this?”

“It’s the status of each of the Servants. You already know the Harmony Grail War has its set of rules, right? It’s the same for the Servants. First of all, only seven heroic spirits are summoned. Those seven can be summoned only after they become one of the predetermined classes that the Harmony Grail has prepared in advance. Instead of bringing the actual heroic spirit, it made a class similar to the spirit and called it into that. Spiritual spells which call forth spirits put the spirit in the caster’s body, right? It’s like that. To call forth a spirit from a different timeframe, it’s easier to prepare a case for them in advance.”

“Class… oh, that’s why Saber is Saber!”

“That’s right. I told you heroic spirits need to hide their identity, right? That’s why they will never say their real names. Naturally, their summoned class becomes their name. So, the seven classes prepared are: Saber, Lancer, Archer, Rider, Caster, Assassin, Berserker. There is a change in one or two of the classes every Harmony Grail War, but we have a basic lineup this time. The standard opinion is that Saber is the best Servant. Each class has their own special characteristics, but the abilities of the Servants differ according to the rank of the heroic spirit summoned.”

“Rank of the heroic spirit… you mean how strong they were when they were alive?”

“That also, but what strengthens their ability is their popularity. What they did and what weapons they had do not change, but their basic abilities change depending on how famous they are in this time. Heroic spirits are like gods, so they grow stronger the more ponies worship them. I guess you can say it solidifies their presence. It’s the same as divine spirits falling to the rank of spirits when they lose their faith. Heroes that are forgotten by ponies do not have much power. But then, even if they are forgotten or unknown, if he was originally a powerful hero, then I think he can keep his powers to some extent.”

“…Then if it’s a hero everypony knows, and if their story was extraordinary.”

“They would undoubtedly be a Rank A Servant. Berserker might be the strongest in that regard too. After all, he is the most famous hero in Greek mythology. The heroes from the age of gods have special Noble Phantasms just because of that, and if the hero itself is strong to add to that, there’s nothing much we can do.”

“…Rarity. Um, what is this ‘Noble Phantasm’?”

“It’s the symbol that the Servant used in their life. Heroes and their holy swords or demonic swords come as a set, right? So in other words, their weapons.”

“…? Weapons… you mean like Saber’s invisible sword?”

“Yeah. I don’t know what history it has, but it certainly is her Noble Phantasm. I don’t think I even need to say, but heroes cannot stay in a legend with just their names. They each have a weapon that became their trademark. That is the most powerful weapon, called a Noble Phantasm, the crystallization of ponies’ desire for a miracle.”

“Hmm… so in short, a powerful magical item?”

“Right. To be blunt, heroes themselves cannot match powerful spells or divine mysteries. But it’s a different story when the Noble Phantasms come in. Heroes wielding Noble Phantasms can even defeat spirits of several ranks higher. It’s because most holy and demonic swords appearing in legends are close to the level of sorcery. Swords that kill dragons which are the most powerful fantasia race, shoes that run far and wide, and even god-killing demonic swords. …Anyways, the weapons heroes have are so extraordinary, it makes you wonder how they cannot be all-mighty. I’m not overstating saying that the battle between Servants is concentrated in the battle between the Noble Phantasms.”

“…So, Servants that are heroic spirits have at least one Noble Phantasm?”

“Yes. As a general rule, one hero can only hold one Noble Phantasm. Usually something like a sword or a spear. There’s this weapon called the mountain-destorying sword in Tartarus, right? You can only swing it once, but it’s a magical sword so one swing will even destroy a mountain and such. I think it’s kind of like that. However, Noble Phantasms are miracles that need to be activated by stating their true name, so it’s not something they can use easily.”

“…? It’s activated just by saying the weapon’s name, right? Why would that mean it can’t be used easily?”

“Hey now, if you know the name of the weapon, you can also tell which hero the Servant is. A hero and his weapon come as a set, so once you know the name of the weapon, you naturally know the name of the owner. If that happens, you know every strength and weakness of that Servant.”

“I see. Certainly, that’s true.” Saber did work out Lancer’s identity after he used his Noble Phantasm. Something like being Ireland’s foal of light…

“Hm.” So, if I summarize this… Servants are separated into classes, each of them a heroic spirit suited to their class. These heroic spirits hide their identity. And their weapons are their greatest trump card, but they cannot readily use them since they reveal their identity.

“That concludes the lecture on Servants. You should learn the details if you read that book, so take a look at it when you have the time. If you get used to it, you should be able to identify the Servant from intuition without the book.” Saying that, Rarity stands up.

“Well then, I’m heading home.”

“Huh? Yeah, thanks.” I look up at Rarity, who’s about to leave.

“Don’t take this the wrong way. Even though we’re cooperating right now, in our position, we will eventually have to fight. Once all the other Masters are dead, or even if they are alive, this fact will not change. So… it’ll be easier if you don’t think of me as a pony, Storm.” Clearly stating our position, Rarity goes home.

Continue.