Bould by Scales- Of Servants and Scales
Point of View: Ken
It took a while in order to help mom get acquainted to her newfound surroundings as well as make sure she was on “good terms” with the locals, but after a short while it seemed like she was getting used to living in the Hollow. When I first introduced her to Shayne and Aurox, Athena was… well intimidated by the daunting presence that Aurox posed with him being behind Shayne, but eventually things began to settle down a little and not have any sort of craziness result from it.
I was thankful for that, because right now I was wanting to go over what Revaan was trying to explain to me earlier, including this mutations thing that he had briefly mentioned earlier. If these mutations would somehow help give the two of us an advantage the next time that an Aspect attacks us, then it would be rather useful. Besides, it never helps to be prepared. Going back through the courtyard of the temple, I accessed Revaan’s chambers through the door that linked my room to his as I walked in casually. It almost looked like he was expecting me to return back to him at first glance when I saw him again.
“Hello again, Ken.” He greeted me calmly, noticing that I was by myself this time instead of having anyone or anypony accompany me. “Is everything alright?”
“Yes it is actually. Mom’s getting adjusted quite well to the hollow and also Maple offered her a place to stay.” I told him briefly before changing the subject. “But I didn’t come here to talk about that. I instead came back here so we could go over what you were telling me earlier. The mutations that you were briefly mentioning earlier.”
The dragon nodded, smirking to himself the moment I brought up the subject. “Ah yes, that is right… But this subject is not exactly something we can dive into immediately. To know more about mutations, you need to understand the originations of those mutations.” Moving one of his claws to a contraption on the other side of the room, the object glowed as it revealed three holographic images of what appeared to be dragons. However, not all of them looked exactly the same.
The first dragon in the middle looked a lot similar to Revaan by physical appearance. The second one on the right had arms that were bigger in size and a smaller set in wings. The third one though, looked like the dragon’s arms were their wings… and boy, they were a lot bigger than the other two. “There are three main types of dragons across all kin. The one in the middle, like myself, is known as a Rexor, the second one on the right is known as a Brutus and lastly, the third one on the left is known as a Wyrenn.”
“Hunh… Interesting…” I said to myself, recalling seeing some of the other types while at the Gauntlet of Fire. Several of them looked to be Brutus, but there were a few Rexor and Wyrenn scattered amongst the Dragon Lands. But there was still one thing that didn’t make sense despite the fact that this was indeed interesting. “What exactly do these mutations have to do with other types of dragons though?”
“Unlike other dragons, which grow and mature to the mutations of their type, Onyx dragons of one type could take on mutations of the other two.” Okay, now it was starting to make a lot more sense. Yet, I was still having to learn about how these types differentiate from one another. Of course, the physical appearances of them did explain some differences, but it did not explain their behaviors or the actions that they would take on the field of battle. It seemed like Revaan noticed this though because just as I was about to ask him about this, he began to explain it to me. “The difference is though based on how they are in combat and by solving problems.”
“Oh?” I asked him, folding my arms a bit as I saw him move the images to where they lined up on top of one another. “How so?”
“If you look at the Rexor image on the top, I’m going to show you.” Soon, after looking at it, it began to move as it was shown attacking a overgrown mantis creature with a combination of breath attacks, claw strikes, and smashing it’s tail into the disfigured bug’s face. “Rexor’s like myself balance their attacks between using their dragonbreath or fighting close quarters. However, it’s not the same case with the other two.”
I now looked at the second image as the first one faded away into nothingness, watching as the Brutus took on the same creature. However, what I noticed was that it did not use it’s breath attacks at all and instead used more physical strikes, including going as far as grabbing the mantis’ head and slamming it into the ground multiple times like how the Hulk tossed around Loki like a ragdoll in the first Avengers movie. “Brutus dragons… well, to put it in a term that you might understand… prefer the “claws on” approach when it comes to fighting. They have a very sturdy hide, can take lots of attacks from any creature they face and have a lot of options when dealing with an enemy up close. Unfortunately, they don’t have many options when it comes to fighting opponents who prefer to attack from a distance.”
Well, talk about being headstrong. That dragon look like the literal definition of that phrase… along with that one song by Trapt that I had stuck in my head when it originally came out. Nowadays… not so much. I watched that image fade into nothingness this time as the final dragon type was presented. As this one began to play, the Wyrenn attacked it’s opponent from the air. Harassing it with a variety of breath attacks and when the Mantis did try to strike it, it just easily flew out of the way of the boulder it hurled at them.
“Finally, Wyrenn’s are masters at two things. Breath attacks and aerial combat. They don’t have a lot of options if they are forced into close quarters, but Wyrenn’s have a variety of ways to get back up in the air or to gain distance between them and their opponent.” As Revaan dismissed the last image and removed the claw from the pedestal, he looked back at me and grinned briefly… before that serious look of his that I normally see from him came back. “Yet, even with the amount of options that you have for mutations… it all depends on one thing.”
Raising an eyebrow, I unfolded my arms as I asked a follow up question. “And that one thing is?”
The dragon took a deep breath and then looked back at me. “To put it simply…… You.” Wait, what now? How the hell do I exactly play a role in this?
“Remember… no matter how many times that you have had to fight on your own, you and I are a team. You have many options in order to fight against someone and so do I. How you choose to combat an opponent can also determine how I combat an opponent as well. So, your choices in mutations can affect how I assist you in combat… We are linked in more ways than one.” Okay, that made sense… wait… just what the hell was the last part suppose to mean?
“Could you clarify on that?” I asked him, hoping for an explanation.
“It would be better for me to show you rather than tell you,” The dragon insisted as he pointed a claw at my right arm. “Place your right hand over your heart and close your eyes.” Instead of trying to ask why or question what he was telling me, I did like what Revaan asked. But as soon as I closed my eyes, I felt something shift. Like my power being released if I were using one of my abilities.
However, when I was able to see again… Something was very different. For one thing, my level of sight was close to the ceiling. But when I lowered my head, I was beginning to personally question what was happening. Because right now… I was seeing myself standing with my dragon arm over my heart like what Revaan asked, but my arm was glowing. It didn’t make sense… until I looked at a mirror at the other end of the room and instead of seeing myself… I was seeing Revaan.
Holy… sh*t… I was now in control of Revaan.
“Now open your eyes…” I heard the dragon speak to me mentally. How I was suppose to do that was beyond me, but when I closed my eyes once more, I found myself back in my own body again as I looked back at Revaan. “The bond that we share is more than a link of our souls. It is also a link of our actions. How we fight together can be the difference between victory and defeat and sometimes… it may require for you to fight as me.”
Okay, I have to admit, that was freaking cool. But there has to be some sort of catch to this. “The downside to this technique is that you are standing still the whole time. So if something attacks you, it breaks your concentration and forces you to come back to your body in order to stop whoever was trying to attack you.” And there it is… Wonderful.
“So… have you made a decision on how you’ll do your mutations?” He then asked me. I already had an answer in mind before he showed me the new… skill. And my decision was still the same.
“I like you the way you are… But it doesn’t mean that we can’t diversify your options for combat. You’ll stay a Rexor and I’ll work your mutations so that way you can still be balanced in battle like I am.” I explained, going over to him. “Now, let’s get this all sorted out. I have a feeling that the two of us might get called upon by another Displaced soon.”
“And what makes you say that?” Revaan questioned as he looked back at me with a raised eyebrow. I could only answer honestly to him at this point as I looked back at him.
“Just a hunch I had earlier.”
Meanwhile…
“UGH! I’m so bored!” Caster yelled, leaning against Gilgamesh in a lazy fashion.
“Then go do something to keep your mind distracted then idiot.” Gilgamesh groaned as she pushed the fox girl off of her. “I mean really, you think you would found something to keep you entertained.”
“Yeah, but with Saber gone there’s not that much to do around here.” She pouted, looking at Gilgamesh with the eyes of a pleading puppy.
“Then go bug someone else. Why me of all people?”
“Because you’re the closest person around within a five mile radius. So come on, play with me!” Caster said as she lean in and wrapped her arms around her friend.
“The sooner Celestia returns, the sooner I can get some peace and quiet. Now if you don’t mind.” Gilgamesh snapped her fingers as a gold chain wrapped itself around Caster’s tail, and threw her out the window. “Piss off you annoying idiot!”
“You’re mean! If Saber was here, she would’ve lecture you for hurting me like that!”
“Yeah well she’s not here so screw you and leave me alone.” The golden haired girl growled. Only to notice something peculiar nearby as she looked to see what appeared to be a scale of some kind… which gave her an idea for how to not have Caster bug her constantly. “Hey Caster! Have some fun with this stupid looking scale thing!” She said as she threw the scale through the broken window, and at Caster’s head.
“Oww! Meanie!” Caster yelled, rubbing her head out of comfort from getting hit in the head.
“I’m a b*tch, you should know that by now.” The servant groaned. However, what exactly happened next was nothing that she would’ve expected.
Back to Ken
It took a while in order to set in some of the mutations for Revaan, but thanks to the stockpile of Gems we had, using the crystals was helpful in making it easier. Though, I did not want to consume ALL of the crystals that we had. Just use a few for now and focus on some later… Because right now, I was feeling something pull me backwards.
“Well, looks like your hunch earlier was right,” Revaan spoke up as he got up. “You ready to go see who’s calling us?”
“Just as ready as you are.” With that, both of us allowed for whoever was summoning us to bring us to their world. However, that summoner in particular could be better at making sure that the landing was a bit better. Because the moment we were launched out of the void, my face almost hit the ground and Revaan almost crashed into a tree. Some dust was coughed up from the landing, so right now, I couldn’t exactly tell who actually summoned us.
What I did know was that I heard two voices… and one was extremely pissed.
“You are so dead when I get my hands on you Caster!”
“That’s what you get for being a big meanie face!” Okay, who or what the hell was a Caster? Because all I can see now that the dust had cleared up a bit was a blond haired girl and some sort of fox… lady… person… I think?
“Well… That happened.” I sighed, looking back at Revaan. “You okay, Revaan?”
“Ehh, just a scratch. I’ve been through worse.” He said back to me… and around now was when we beginning to catch some attention. Specifically from the two that were chasing each other only a few minutes ago.
“Who the hell are you two?”
“I was going to ask the same question, strangely enough…” I replied back. “Though, I thought the custom was ladies first, if I’m not mistaken.” The sight of the castle behind them and the fact that one of them looked almost like a knight had me think that it would be better off if I just stayed calm and be myself. “I’m going to take a guess that one of you is… Caster I think it was?”
“That would be me~!” Well, that answered one question at least. Now I wonder who the other one was-. “Don’t mind Gilgamesh… She’s normally mean, jerky, and a b*tch.” And that’s question number two answered. Well, that was a lot easier than I thought.
“… I’m going to start hurting you now Caster… I don’t know when I’ll stop.” And that is just plain creepy for multiple reasons. Some that I don’t even want to reflect back on right now. Yeah, I should probably say something before Gilgamesh here starts trying to strangle her friend here.
“Well, I’m Ken and this guy here is my partner and friend Revaan,” I said, pointing my thumb back at the dragon behind me. “Should I take a guess that one of you came across an onyx scale of some kind?”
“That was Gilgamesh. She threw it at my head.”
“You little snitch.” Well, at least Caster is being honest.
“I guess that solves the question of how they came across your token,” Revaan said to me as he looked back at the two of them, not even flinching a bit as Caster began to try and juggle a few fireballs that look like a small sun in the palm of her hand. “Why one of them would throw it at someone else's head though… that is beyond me.”
“Who’s the small fry next to you?” The one named Gilgamesh then asked abruptly. I had just introduced myself only a few moments ago and now she’s asking for my name… well, this is off to a great start. “What the hell is up with his arm? What, did you lose your original one and have to get a replacement?”
“Not quite… Since I’m a Scalebound, my arm represents a pact that was forged between Revaan and I. If, for example, you tried throwing something at my head, then Revaan would also feel the impact of whatever it was hitting my face. So… if I die, Revaan dies,” I explained briefly. “Yet, this also provides me with some abilities too… No offense on the throwing something part by the way…” Adding on the last part was to make sure I did not make her angry on accident by referring to when she chucked my token at Caster’s head.
“None taken.” Came the reply from Gilgamesh as she looked back at Revaan and I before looking back at Caster and sighing. It seemed like she had something on her mind. Either that or she was waiting for something… or someone.
“Is something on your mind? You look like you’re waiting for somebody.” I asked politely, hoping that she doesn’t try to throw anything at my head for asking a redundant question like that.
“Oh nothing, just waiting for a friend of ours to return.” That… had me a little bit curious as I looked back at them.
“And who is your friend?” I then asked her for clarification.
“Saber, she pretty much our leader in a way.” She replied. I was beginning to notice a particular trend around now regarding the names. The names Saber and Caster sounded a lot like the names of classes that you would hear in a RPG while Gilgamesh is known as a famous figure in history. Still though, it was something I could ask them about-. Wait, what exactly is Caster doing?
“Caster, what the hell are you doing?”
“Juggling two black holes and three suns.” Okay, I would ask how is she actually doing that, but I rather spare myself from finding out. It must be her way of trying to cure herself of boredom from the looks of it.
“Hey! Whoever is making that noise, shut the… who the hay are you?” That voice sounded all too familiar… I now looked to see what appeared to be their version of Princess Celestia teleporting behind Caster and Gilgamesh as she looked at Revaan and I-. Oh god, is she only wearing a long sleeve shirt!? I would think that for being a princess that she would wear something less… well… revealing.
Clearing my throat, I now began to reply to the Alicorn that had just arrived. “I’m Ken and this here is my friend and partner Revaan… As for who summoned us… well-.”
That was when Caster interjected and shouted the first immediate thing that came to her mind. “Gilgamesh did it!” Which, of course… was not actually true.
“...You’re dead to me Caster.” Gilgamesh groaned, giving Caster a death stare that caused the fur on her tail to stand up on end like she was hit by lightning. All the while, Celestia was still confused as to what the hell actually happened… and what the hell was going on.
I let out a soft sigh as I looked back at the three of them. “If I had to guess, based on the brief amount of shouting I heard before these two actually noticed me, Gilgamesh found my token, threw it at Caster’s head so she would stop annoying her and once she was outside, both Revaan and I were summoned here on accident because she thought of it as a regular dragon scale and not my token.” Once I finished the brief summary, I saw Celestia process the information before looking back at Gilgamesh and Caster and then returning her gaze to me.
“I get the feel these two summoned you here huh?” I was going to mention that I did say that just a few moments ago, but I refrained myself. No need to have the situation get even more out of hand by me saying something stupid. “So, why are you here?”
“That… I was beginning to wonder myself,” I replied honestly as I looked back at Revaan before glancing over at Caster, who looked to be chasing her own tail in circles. “My only thought would be that somehow Caster wanted to find a way to cure her boredom and summoned me on accident because of it.”
“Yeah, things have been a bit… boring and calm for the past few days.” Uh, isn’t boring and calm supposed to be a good thing? Why are you saying it like it’s the exact opposite? “Interesting arm you got there.”
“Why thank you. It represents the pact that Revaan and I share with one another,” I told Celestia as I stretched it out for a minute. “Plus it also allows me to use interesting abilities in and out of combat on top of what I know already.” Shortly after I said that though, I saw Celestia give me an intrigued grin as she began to scratch her chin. Oh god, did I screw up somehow? Was it something I said?
“Did you say combat?”
“Uh… yes I did-.” I was cut off by her shortly after that. It looked like an idea came to her mind… and I was not so sure if I was going to like what was going to happen next.
“Perfect, then you can entertain me.” Wait, what? Before I could even ask, I felt the back of my collar lift up and my feet getting dragged across the ground by Celestia’s magic. Where she was taking me I had no idea… but I was beginning to get a thought of where we were going once we passed through a corridor with swords crossing one another and a shield behind it. “We’ll have our battle in here.”
Once I finally was set down, I hopped back onto my feet to see the numerous racks of weapons and armor along the side of what appeared to be a giant circle in the middle of the room. Things clicked in my mind immediately as I realized that where we were was more than just a fancy place to put up weapons and gear like an armory… this must have been the castle’s sparring grounds. It was a lot different from the one back at the temple, but it would serve it’s purpose for the time being… the only thing I couldn’t get out of my head though was what I was up against.
I was fighting a princess. Scratch that, I was fighting Celestia… and I wasn’t sure if that was suppose to be a good thing or a bad thing. “Alright, before we have out fight. Let change into something more suitable for this.” That myself had me take off my sleeveless jacket and set off to the side, stretching out my arms and having myself get ready in advance. “There we go.” When I looked back at her, I really did not know what to say. Princess Celestia, Diarch of the Sun, was wearing a wrestling outfit like you would see Rainbow Mika wear in Street Fighter V. Just with a color scheme similar to her mane. “Pinkie! Assistance please!”
Wait a minute… Pinkie? Oh… crap. This is some sort of tag team thing, isn’t it? “It’s Pinkie Pie Time!” Well, I guess we’re doing this then.
As I stretched my arms, I took the moment to ask Celestia a question. “Okay, before we start, are there any particular rules to this fight that I should know of before we start or is this a no rules kind of fight?”
“Pretty much just the standard. Get the pony to submit or knock them out and you win.” She told me, answering one of my questions. I still had another one that was important in my book.
“What about weapons? Are those allowed or not?” I wanted to ask that because even though I know hand to hand combat, a lot of the opponents I had to face used a particular weapon of some sorts. I didn’t want to be blindsided like when I had that short duel versus Athena earlier.
“Use any weapons you want. I have no problem with anypony using weapons in this fight.” Alright, that’s both questions solved. Even with my mind at ease about that, I would prefer to see what moves my opponent is capable of first before relying on my blades or dragon arms. Taking a stance, I now had both of my hands held out openly as I planted my feet in a fighting crouch, waiting to see what Celestia’s first move would be.
“Alright… I’m ready when you are.” I told her, waiting for her to make her move.
“With pleasure. Pinkie Pie, you’re up.” When I heard that, I quickly turned in Pinkie Pie’s direction, just as she was inches away from landing a punch directly in my face. Holy crap, for being a party mare, I never expected her to be that fast! “Pretty fast huh? Well, she is a berserker class, so it come to no surprise in my case.”
Her speed was not the only thing that surprised me. Anytime I dodged one of her attacks, the blow left a small crater sized hole wherever her fist landed. I even tried to fire a pulse of energy to blind her for a short time, but that didn’t even work. At one point, when I did strike her in the chest, all she did was giggle, laugh it off… and then proceeded to knock me to the ground. I needed to find a way to get out of this mess quickly-. Wait, where did she go?
“Right behind you!” Oh sh-! Just as I turned and saw her, Pinkie’s hand grabbed the back of my head… or to be more specific, my ponytail and forced me onto my knees. I moved my arms to the back of my head to try and pull myself away, but the mare had a grip of steel and it was impossible to break free. I needed to get out of this position… but how?
“Having a little trouble?” Celestia taunted me. Damn it all, I needed to get out of this hold Pinkie had on me. But how was I suppose to…… oh… well, if that’s the only way I’m getting out of this, then I guess I need to do it then. “There’s no shame in submitting defeat.”
I just chuckled, loosening the grip to where my right hand was not holding onto the back of my hair and just at the base where my ponytail met the rest of my head. “Oh I’m just getting started… I still have a lot of tricks up my non-existent sleeves.” Now, there was a reason why I said that… and it was not for Celestia’s amusement. What Pinkie was not paying attention to right now was the energy forming in my right hand… and it beginning to form what I needed to get myself out of this mess. “Wanna see one?”
“Let’s see what you got, human.” I smirked, concentrating more as I said two words that corresponded with the magic in my hand now.
Trace… on.
Immediately afterwards, I used the blade in my right hand to cut myself loose from Pinkie’s grip as I proceeded to give her a strong kick to her waist. Seconds later, I dismissed the sword as I used my dragon arm to pull myself to the other side of the room and away from the two mares. Cracking my knuckles, I now called upon Norok and Ruvaak Iiz as I looked back at them. “Like I said, I’m just getting started… You wouldn’t like it if I tried out on you too early now, right?”
“Interesting, but it’ll take more than that if you think you can beat Pinkie with those.”
“Oh trust me… these aren’t ordinary weapons…” I told her, watching Pinkie try to rush me as I prepared for her to come closer. At the moment she was inches from me, I stomped my foot down as Ruvaak Iiz conjured a frozen fist from the ground I stood on and sent her skidding backwards. “And I’m not going down without a fight.”
“Not bad, but you never faced a servant class Berserker before. Pinkie! You know what to do!” Okay, what the hell does she mean by Servant-?
“Right!” Quickly turning to my right, I saw Pinkie Pie again. Only this time with a massive sledgehammer that I wouldn’t be able to dodge by normal means. Switching gears, I dismissed my dragon arms and summoned my twin blades as I had my energy flow around me again. With all the training and new skills I’ve been through, I think I can finally be able to use Caex’s teachings without any severe backlash.
I am the bone of my sword…
Now from what I remember, Caex had taught me four abilities. Trace, which lets me form weapons using my energy; Caladbolg, which was a deadly long range attack with my bow; one other ability to use only on certain occasions… and this one for defensive purposes. “Rhos Alas!!”
“Oh! Pretty! But your Rhos Alas isn’t as strong as Archies!” Well, I don’t know who she was referring to, but it’s time to find out. Pouring more energy, the barrier formed around me and once Pinkie’s hammer hit it, I was able to hold my ground as the shock wave from the impact sent it flying backwards. One analogy for this ability was that it reminded me like an onion… and the reason why is because the shield provided by Rhos Alas had multiple different layers around it. I couldn’t exactly remember how many, but one of them was used up when blocking Pinkie Pie’s sledgehammer… and I think she was a bit startled by the fact of how powerful my defense was.
“Aw, only one? I was hoping that it would last a few hits from my party hammer.” She complained to herself, looking back at her hammer before turning to me. Why do I have a feeling that this is not going to end well? “Oh well, guess I’ll have to keep hammering away until it’s gone. Get it? Because of the hammer I have?” Oh I did get it alright. I got it to the point that when she swung at my barrier again, I summoned my halberd and used it to knock the hammer straight out of her hands with a well placed strike. Combat wasn’t always the best place for pretty speeches… or jokes for that matter. Even if it was Pinkie Pie, humor could distract someone just long enough in order for them to catch you by surprise.
Of course though… Pinkie Pie was an exception in some cases and right now just happened to be one of them. “Hey! That was my favorite hammer! Oh well, guess I have to use one of the spares I have on me.” Wait, she has a spare?
Just as I realized this, I saw her pull out another sledgehammer using the same kind of trick that my pinkie pie would use for bringing out her party cannon. Please don’t tell me she’s going to say a one liner about issuing out ‘hammer diplomacy’.
“It’s hammer time!” Okay, that’s just even worse! However, I noticed something flicker the moment she said that. One of her eyes was now glowing the color purple… and her smile was looking like she eagerly wanted to smash my face into the ground. “Let’s light this battle up, Pinkie Pie style. MJOLNIR!!!”
Okay, now this was now troubling… Very troubling. I watched that hammer of hers fly into her hand with ease, crackling with lightning now that filled the room. She smashed it on the ground, causing a shockwave that had me jumping out of the way and switch weapons as I took aim with my bow and fired a volley of arrows that I created by conjuring my pulse into a rapid fire assault. However, I soon noticed that after a while, the arrows were barely landing a scratch. So I had to try something else… if I actually get the chance to pull this off.
“You’ll need to do better then just dodge if you’re going to win!” I heard Pinkie boast, slamming her weapon again as she caused several pieces of the ground to come loose. Including behind her… which gave me an idea. Quickly, I used my speed and the abilities with my arm to make it look like I was coming at her… yet I was actually behind her… priming my next move.
“I am the bone of my sword…” I said to myself, knowing that the last time I used this move, the power in it was WAY too destructive for any mere pony to endure… but Pinkie didn’t appear to be any mere pony in this case. Especially when she was able to shrug off my previous attacks. “CALADBOLG!!”
I let the powered up shot fly forth, hoping that the impact from the shot would make some kind of dent as the energy from it went off, causing a powerful explosion inside the training room… However, when the dust settled… I was honestly surprised to see that Pinkie Pie only had a few minor bruises… instead of any major damage.
“She’s a Berserker Class kid. Archer skills can’t do much damage to a Berserker like her.” I heard Celestia say as I look back at her.
“Okay, I’ve heard a lot of things in the past few minutes, but what the hell are these classes you keep mentioning?” I then asked her as I dismissed my bow and brought back my twin blades using Trace on once more. “All I’m doing is fighting with a particular skill set since I’m trying to be diverse with the equipment that I can conjure.”
“I’ll explain after the battle, but all I can say is that you need more than that if you want to take Pinkie down.” She smirked, just as I dodged an incoming throw from Pinkie’s hammer at the last second. Damn, that was too close… Hmm… well if the range game wasn’t exactly working, then I guess the only other choice I have is melee combat.
“Alright then… Guess I need to try this one for size.” I smirked, the scales in my arm glowing vibrantly as they began to cover the rest of my body as I now was in my Dragon Armor form. This not only increased my defense by a massive amount, but also allowed me to move faster and add more force into my attacks than before. Case in point, I was able to get behind Pinkie in the blink of an eye. Though, I still found it surprising that she was able to have her weapon be able to counter mine in time.
“Nice try! But you don’t know about my Pinkie senses!” She said while I held my ground and had one arm hold my blade.
“True… but I do know you like surprises…” I grinned, using one of my legs to kick her in the chest to push her back as I threw the first two blades I had towards her and conjured another pair. Even with her senses, by having me change weapons quicker than she can regain her balance might help me with this… If not, I still had one last trick I could use in order to gain an advantage.
I kept doing this for a while, and even if I reverted back to myself, I still used different swords to keep Pinkie Pie guessing. However, when I summoned two curved blades that reminded me of Yin and Yang, it was then I heard Celestia speak up.
“Since when did you get Archer’s blades?”
“Who the hell is Archer?” I asked, dodging another one of Pinkie’s attacks as I focused on Pinkie Pie. Backing up a little, I looked at both of them. “Matter of fact, why do you keep on referring me to him?”
“Because those are the same skills that Archy has, you copycat!”
“I’m not a damn copycat! I have these powers because of an oath I swore from a elder dragon that was important to Revaan and I! This is the last thing I can remember him by since he’s dead!!!” I retorted back at them. “Caex was important to me… Important to us… he gave me hope when I didn’t have any… and I’m not letting you disrespect his memory with your accusations.”
“Oath?” Celestia said, looking at me with a puzzled glance.
“Yeah… would you like for me to say it?” I asked her, trying to keep myself calm.
“Let me hear it.” I nodded my head, closing my eyes as I calmly began to breath in and out. Then, I recited the words that followed.
“I am the bone of my sword… Steel is my body and fire is my blood… I have created a thousand blades, Unknown to death, nor known to life. Have withstood pain to create many weapons, yet these hands will never hold anything…” It took a bit for me to say the next part, but I did so with enough courage and confidence to follow through.
“So, as I pray…… Unlimited Blade Works.” I reopened my eyes, looking back at the two of them shortly afterwards. “From then on, I’ve had these abilities, but I’m still learning to understand and control them along with everything else… To quote a saying I know… A true master is an eternal student.”
“… That’s Archer’s oath.” I heard her say. Not in a snarky, upscene or ‘I told you so’ sort of way, but more of a shocked and surprised kind. I guess whoever this Archer guys is, I somehow must remind them of him that much apparently. “But the way that he does it is way better.”
“It’s not a competition…” I replied, looking at them for a moment. “Still, I just honestly did not expect for some of my abilities to be the same as his…” With that, I dismissed the blades I had and looked back at the two of them. “Still, even with that, it’s only a small portion of the things I’m capable of… and I must admit… both of you are really great fighters.” The complement was not something I just randomly said for the hell of it. I sincerely did mean that. Out of all the times I have been training with Displaced or fighting against them, Pinkie and Celestia were the strongest I’ve faced to this day… and I was lucky to actually have a chance to fight them now.
“Tag in Pinkie. It’s my turn to have a go at him.” Now this was getting interesting… I was curious to find out what Celestia was capable of personally. Back home, I remembered Twilight saying that she had been able to protect Equestria for thousands of years… if that was the case, I was now going to find out how she was able to do so. “Alrighty then, let’s see what you can do little boy~.”
I smirked a little as I took up position and readied myself. “Okay then… I believe the phrase though is ladies first.”
“With pleasure!” Immediately, she went on the offensive as I focused on defending myself and finding an opportunity to counter her attacks. However, her definition of combat was trying to hold my neck in a headlock before dropping down to try and drive my head into the ground. It was hard to try and think of a way to counter her attacks because of how quick she was… and I needed a way to slow her down and now…
That was when I noticed something different with my arm now… It was glowing a different color… I knew that teal green was energy, red was fire and brown was earth. But this one was a ice like blue… How this was happening, I was not sure, but so help me god I need this to work now! Once she tried getting a hold of me, I went under her and struck her with an open palm in the chest, using whatever energy I had to push her backwards… Though that push also caused several ice crystals to drop to the floor… Hang on… If Norok and Ruvaak Iiz were Twin Dragons… did that mean I have two pulses to correspond to that!? How come I didn’t realize THAT sooner!!?
“What’s the matter can’t keep up with me?”
“No it’s… different… I think I just discovered a new pulse,” I said to her. “Pulses refer to the elemental variation of the powers regarding my dragon arm. I have Energy, Fire and Earth… but right now… I think I realized that I have an Ice based pulse.” Flexing my hand a little and letting some energy free, it began to crystallize into ice immediately before I had it fade. “Personally, I may know why… But that’s not the main focus since I’m still learning the capabilities of it…” I took a deep breath, still finding the energy to straighten up and hold my ground. “You’re a good fighter… should we finish this?”
“You think you can finish this?” I grinned, taking a stance and straightening myself.
“Only if you can.” I told her, only to notice that Pinkie was not next to Celestia right now… Where did she go-?
“FINISHING MOVE!!!” Oh crap… I got a bad feeling about this. “Hope you’re ready kid!!” Without warning, Celestia went behind me, grabbed me by my waist and threw me in a suplex motion, only letting me go at the right moment to launch me towards Pinkie Pie. The earth pony was waiting for me there, putting me in a chokehold before throwing me upward into the air. Now I was beginning to realize why they had the whole Rainbow Mika thing going. Their outfits were similar, fight style was similar…
And they also knew how to pull off Rainbow Mika’s Critical Art as well. Now, when Aaron and I originally saw this, he joked about it and referred to one her moves, Flying Peach, as a “flying butt slam” because of a gag that was mentioned in Borderlands: The Pre Sequel. This… was exactly that same case… except that both Pinkie and Celestia were doing the same move at the same time… and my face was caught in the middle. Why are the most weirdest of things happening to me today?
It got even worse when gravity began to kick in, leading to my face being slammed into the ground just as the two mares fell to the ground. Both of them easily got up and brushed off any dust that was on their clothes, thinking that I was knocked out… Too bad for them, I don’t go down so easily. I struggled to get back up, putting as much strength as I can into my knees as I got back onto my feet and ignoring the small amount of blood that dripped from my forehead.
Celestia… well… seemed surprised about the fact that I could still stand… to an extent at least. “You just got smacked around by a Berserker and I and took a finishing move from the both of us, yet you're still standing... I would ask how but I stopped asking a long time ago.” I think that was suppose to be some kind of compliment? Whatever, just roll with it and keep calm.
“Well… I’m not one who easily backs down from a fight… especially when I have something worth protecting back home…” I replied, grabbing a spare soul shard that I kept in my back pocket and cracked it open. I always bring two of them just in case if things get out of hand and I needed a second wind to keep me going. Either that or if I needed to heal myself quickly like right now. Standing firm and upright, I looked back at them with a confident smile on my face as I took a deep breath. “I still have enough stamina to keep me going. If you want… I can handle a couple more rounds…”
“Oh my, I didn’t know you would be interesting in some fun time afterwards~.” I looked back at the both of them… not sure where this was going… or if I wanted to know exactly where this would be going afterwards. But, I didn’t want to come off as rude to them. So I just chuckled a little and brushed the dust off of my clothes as I look back at them. “But enough fun and games. It’s time for me to get serious.”
“Weren’t you just doing that a minute ago?” I asked, a little surprised by what she just said as I watched her crack her knuckles.
“Who said I don’t have a few tricks up my sleeves?” She smirked, looking back at me. She made a… very valid point when referring to tricks… But that didn’t mean that I had some tricks of my own as well.
“Well then, if that’s the case… then let’s begin. I rather not keep you waiting.” I said to her, getting myself ready for her next move. The custom was ladies first after all, and Celestia was eager to get started.
“You might want to be careful about saying that. You might end up regretting it.” She teased, shortly before getting ready to try and attack me. “Hope you can withstand this!” I planted my feet on the floor to hold my ground as she began to charge at me. Though, something told me that whatever she was going to do may catch me by surprise… after all, looks can be deceiving. “Don’t blink~.”
Heh… knew it… Quickly, I changed the pulse in my element again back to one of the ones I would use occasionally as my arm now glowed red and resembled fire now instead of an ice like white like before. Something told me that she would try to trick me and before you knew it, she disappeared right in front of me to perform a sneak attack from behind. The only thing though… was that I was actually expecting this. Just as she tried to punch me, I grabbed her hand with my left arm, countering her attack with one of my own as I began to channel a massive amount of fire energy through my dragon arm as I unleashed it directly at point blank range.
“Nice counterattack...but you should know that it won’t work on me.”
“I figured as much… but it allows me to test my instincts,” I replied back to the Alicorn, backing up a little and setting up some space between the two of us. “One can never be too prepared… In fact, it’s almost like you’re teaching me to be a better fighter.”
“In my years of fighting and meeting other displaced. There will always be someone stronger than you. For example, if you were fighting against Saber or Lancer, chances are you would be dead by now.”
“Thanks for the encouragement…” I sarcastically replied, before realizing something. “Oh, that right… you mentioned that you were going to explain to me what you mean by Servants. Because I can only guess that this Saber and Lancer that you just mentioned are also Servants, am I right?”
“And like I said before I’ll explain after the match. Weren’t you paying attention to what I just said?”
“Yeah, but we just finished one match before starting another, didn’t we? Or does this match have more that one round? Like best two out of three?” I wanted to ask so that way I was on the same page as they were and not acted like an idiot in the process. Sighing, Celestia then responded to what I just said.
“You’re fighting against the both of us remember? It’s still the same match.” Well, that explains that I guess. Even with the tag team tactics, I wasn’t sure if fighting Pinkie was a separate match or not. Now that she cleared things up, I thanked her while also focusing on Celestia’s attacks. Unlike Pinkie, who fought with weapons, Celestia was using martial arts and hand to hand combat. It was a nice change of pace, but then there was the fact that since this is a princess we are talking about… It’s going to take all that I had in order to fight her.
Most of the fight between her and I though forced me to keep my fingers crossed and my eyes open for if she tried to do anything out of the ordinary. This included waiting for the right chance to attack her when I was on the offensive since those opportunities did not exactly last long, as well as mixing up my attacks so she wouldn’t think I’m doing the same tactic twice. I had a few good solid strikes, but then again, since Celestia was immortal, my attack probably did not hurt her.
This kept going on for a while. Ten to fifteen minutes I think. By that time I had already used the second soul shard I had. Since I only carried two on me at all times, it means that if we were to continue, I would really strain out the muscles in my body if I pushed myself too far. But to my surprise… Celestia then caught me off guard with one final move.
Remember when I mentioned that flying peach move earlier? Well… Let’s just say that one teleportation from her lead to that happening… and unfortunately… she hit me dead in the face. Causing me to fall backwards… but not out of the ring.
“Okay… I honestly did not see that one coming…” I said, getting up and wiping the small amount of sweat off of my forehead as I looked back at her.
“I’m a bit surprise you’re still standing after that one.”
“Heh… I don’t go down or tire out so easily,” I replied back to her as I looked back at Pinkie, who was watching from the sidelines, before looking back at Celestia. “You’re a great fighter… as well as a good teacher. I’ve definitely learned some things from this.”
“Meh, I’m not a teacher. If I was then I would pretty much be ban from all the schools in Equestria.” That… surprised me personally. In my Equestria, Celestia was Twilight’s teacher and she was her own personal student. Either the rules had changed significantly… or I didn’t phrase it right.
“What about an apprentice? Did you take one under your wing or is that not exactly the case?” I then asked, trying to not assume anything.
“Buddy, if you knew the kind the things I’ve done before I became ruler of Equestria, then you would never want to be my apprentice.” Well, that was shot down rather immediately. Better change the subject then.
“Sorry about that… Hey, if the match is just about done, then maybe you help explain to me the whole thing with what Servants are… Of course, I didn’t mean to assume that the match is over if that was the case.” Saying the last part was in order to try and not make a fool out of myself as I looked back at Celestia, who sighed a bit before looking back at me.
“You really are determined about this huh? Okay, let me just change out of this and we can head over to my home and chat.” She replied to me, using a spell to change back into the original clothes she had before.
“I just figured that if I understand more about this world, the less that things would seem confusing.” I said to the Alicorn as I followed her and Pinkie out of the training ground to where her ‘home’ was. For a moment, I thought that the castle herself was her home. But then again, I didn’t want to assume. Two worlds can have plenty of similarities and differences and this was all just a learning experience for me. As we were walking, I soon noticed a house in the distance that looked similar to one of the ones that I would see all the time back home in Ponyville. Just a bit different in appearance on the outside.
When we got there, Pinkie held the door open for us as we both stepped inside. Both mares took a moment to get settled in, but after a little while, Celestia began the explanation that she promised me. “Okay, to make a long story short, servants in this world are legendary souls from your world. For example, you heard of the tale of King Arthur and the knights of the round table right?” I nodded my head in response as I looked back at her. One of my favorite subjects in school was history. Not just learning about events of the past, but also about culture and stories.
“Like Lancelot? Yeah, I have. Enjoyed them a lot when I was a kid actually.” I replied to her in response.
“Well, then imagine the old fairy tales of those humans becoming real.” Okay, now that made a lot of sense. After all, Pinkie did name her hammer the same thing Thor named his.
“Would that explain why Pinkie reminded me of Thor and also Gilgamesh?” I then asked, just for clarification.
“Pretty much yeah. Now imagine them in a class of their own. There’s eight classes of servant. Saber, Lancer, Archer, Caster, Rider, Berserker, Assassin, and Avenger.” She explained to me while showing to me some cards based on each of the classes. Some of them reminded me of those same stories like Hercules and Joan of Arc, but it was surprising to learn about each of them.
But one part was still… missing. “Well, that’s a lot to take in… Who do they serve though?” I then asked.
“I have about seven that serve under me. Mainly Twilight and her friends along with Gilgamesh.” That… made me notice why Pinkie was known as a Berserker. Each one of her friends and Pinkie herself was a separate Servant. But then again, there was Gilgamesh… and she sort of confused me.
“That makes sense… What class is Gilgamesh though? Is she one of the eight you already mentioned or in a class of her own?” I was curious about that because I heard Celestia refer to Caster and several of the other servants by their class instead of their names. But Gilgamesh seemed… different. Hopefully the Alicorn can help clear things up for me.
“Gilgamesh is the archer class seeing how she houses every servant’s noble phantasm weapons in her inventory.” Well, that was quite a surprise. That was for sure.
“Alright… thanks for the explanation. It helps a lot.” I said, sighing in relief for a moment before noticing something. “Hey, where’s Pinkie? Wasn’t she here a minute ago?”
“She should be back in Sugarcube Corner. Just because they’re Servants, doesn’t mean they have lives of their own to live out. I only call upon them when they’re available or if Equestria is in deep sh*t of danger.” Well, that was one way of describing it, that was for sure.
“Ah, I see. That makes sense.” I said in response, looking around for a moment before looking back at Celestia. “I just thought that she wouldn’t exactly like… you know… leave without saying goodbye or anything like that. It’s just strange, that’s all.” It did seem out of character for Pinkie to run off on her own without saying anything unless she was going to come back later… that or she was still here. Just in another room of the house.
“Well she’s either doing that or preparing a surprise party like she does with every displaced that come here.” Celestia explained. That was when he heard something upstairs, like if something fell over as I looked back at her.
“What was that?” I asked.
“I get the feeling that Luna is finally awake.” Celestia sighed. When I looked back at the table though, I now noticed a small note that wasn’t quite there before.
Come over to Sugarcube Corner. I got a special treat just for you. -Pinkie Pie.
Well, at least that answered two questions I had in the back of my mind.
“Looks like somepony has taken an interest in you~.” Celestia teased again, causing me to chuckle a bit.
“Yeah, it seems like it. Either that or she already has a surprise party planned… I’m going to have Revaan go back to my world and then go see for myself. I rather not have him get bored while I’m doing stuff here.” I said, having my arm glow a bit and telling him that he could go back to the temple now since I had a few things to take care of. “Wouldn’t you think she would invite you if it were a party though?”
“Due to recent events, I’m not allowed to go to her parties anymore without Luna present.”
“… Should I even ask why?” I replied back to her, tempted to ask out of curiosity.
“It’s best that you don’t ask. Also it’s on the list/book of things that I’m not allowed to do on my own.” Wait a minute, she has an ENTIRE book on that? Dear god, what kind of trouble has this Celestia gotten herself into!? “A lot to the point where I’m no longer allowed in thirty cities, three countries, and a few oceans.” Wait… How did she… Oh god, she just read my mind didn’t she? “Straight up pumpkin head. Took me a few years to get that law to read folks minds to pass.”
Now that’s… well… interesting… and an invasion of privacy. “O… kay, that is a lot to take in… also, my hair's brown, not orange.” I pointed out to her in addition to it. “Well, unless you and Luna want to come along, I guess I’ll be going to Sugarcube Corner then.”
“Number 1, 234. I am not allowed to go to any parties unless Luna is sober to go. And seeing how she face planted on the floor from that thumping sound, I’ll be here playing games.”
I raised an eyebrow at that as I looked up at the ceiling before looking back at her. “You sure? Wouldn’t you hear her in pain if she fell to the floor?”
“You be surprised how she can get after drinking too much.” Well, I’ll take her word for it then. But before I go, there was one thing I wanted to make sure and ask for.
“Hey, would it be possible that you guys had a token? I wouldn’t mind wanting to visit you guys again in the near future.” I told Celestia as she looked back at me.
“On the table next to the door. You’ll see a basket with multiple tokens. Two of them are talismans and a keychain of excalibur. The other is a golden axe next to it. Those are Caster, Saber, and Gilgamesh’s tokens… in that order.” Well, that was a lot easier than I thought. Walking to the door, I made sure to pick up all three of them as I looked back at her, thanking her for the chance to talk and also the chance to spar… Now to go find where Sugarcube Corner was…
Some time later…
When I finally was able to get back to the temple, I was sore out of my mind to the point that I was still partially sore when I woke up the next morning. Still, that didn’t prevent me from some things that I needed to take care while I was up. First was to set Saber, Caster, and Gilgamesh’s tokens with the others I had. Shortly after that, I was working on trying to make some more soul shards after using up two of them the other day. It required me to pool my energy into an empty crystal that was not broken because otherwise, it would leak out and cause some… problems. Trust me, the first time that happened a while ago was why there was a small patch of grass in the middle of the stone floor in the armory.
As I was finally coming to my senses though, I noticed Applejack trotting over to me. Not like in the usual ‘good morning’ kind of way though. “There ya are! I’ve been looking all over for ya!”
“Sorry AJ, I came back here late after getting summoned again.” I told her, noticing something immediately as I looked back at her. “Where’s Aaron?”
“He went with Rainbow Dash to some Daring Do convention thing in Manehattan, but that’s not why I was looking for you.” She told me as we trotted to the doorway that allowed us to travel to and from Ponyville rather quickly. “When Rarity and Pinkie Pie came back a little while ago from Manehattan… well…” The mare was quickly interrupted the moment that we both heard something come from the Carousel Boutique.
“Wait a minute… those cookies you gave me aren’t chocolate chip… Those… are… raisins. WHHHHHHYYYY-HY-HYYYYYY!?! SHAWTY!!!!!
“Uh, my name is Sweetie Belle, Ms. Tina-.”
“WHATEVER!! GET RID OF ALL OF THESE COOKIES!!! WIPE THE RAISIN ABOMINATIONS OFF THE MAP!!!” That was followed by the sound of what sounded like a plate breaking followed by another scream. “I JUST WANTED CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES!!! WHY DO BAD THINGS HAVE TO HAPPEN TO GOOD PEOPLE?!” I looked back at Applejack, wondering if it was actually a good idea to go inside. That was until she soon shouted out something else after hearing a few more plates crack and both of us seeing a trash bag thrown out of the back of the boutique… which then also exploded. “Yes!!! Nopony will have to fall to the poisonous evil that is raisins ever again… Come over here Huggabutt. Tina still loves you.”
Good lord… I’m not sure if enough aspirin in the world is going to help me overcome this headache.
End Chapter 25