//------------------------------// // First Dinner // Story: The Fifth Holy Grail War: A Pony's Perspective // by Evowizard25 //------------------------------// The knight, who had introduced herself as Saber, sat in silence before the table. None of this was strange to her. The Holy Grail would give servants enough information to get by in modern times. Of course, they did not include everything. If a servant could not read, they were not given that ability. They would however be up to date on the verbal language, news, and other such events or machinery. A part of her was upset about that. The first time seeing an airplane in the previous war should have been a special thing but the surprise was ruined. Such thoughts made her miss Irisviel but that was for another time. She shook those thoughts away. Now wasn’t the time for nostalgia or such things. She had to keep a cool head. Dwelling on the past would get her killed. Almost immediately so due to another servant being present. This was not her first time sitting down with another servant. The fourth war had produced a rather… strange set of circumstances. That drinking session had made her hate the pair dining with her. So far, the other servant hadn’t garnered that much hatred from her. Of course the night was still young. She could be surprised. As well she had to keep her guard up since this was Assassin. The last one could create copies of themselves. If that was the case, she had to keep an eye on her master. Even if that wasn’t the case, Assassin servants were tricky to deal with. She was fast but an Assassin could be faster or use some trick to put the fight in their favor. For that, her attention would never leave the servant of the shadows. Which is why she felt… conflicted at looking at the scene. The servant wasn’t doing anything evil. Far from it. The servant that looked like a little girl was sitting in her master’s lap. The pair of them were looking at what appeared to be a children’s book. They were… acting akin to a mother and daughter. In any other circumstance, she would feel awkward. Such moments were special and should not be trodden upon. Yet this couldn’t be. This was an enemy. An evil spirit that killed in the night. Assassins were not little children who liked to be read stories by their mother. It made her feel a little sick to her stomach to see the grail summon like her. A child! One that wore such clothing no less. It made her question whether the Grail was sick of the mind or if Assassin’s master was some secret pervert. From what she had seen, that was unlikely. She was almost like Irisviel and she would never be so obscene. Yet that didn’t bother her master, this Twilight Sparkle. An odd name but this was a grail war. She should expect such things. Besides, much has changed from her original time. Names were of course going to change. She still found Japanese names odd sometimes too. “Now are you enjoying yourself, Assassin?” Twilight looked down at the servant in her lap. Assassin nodded, “Yep.” “That’s good to hear,” Twilight smiled. “Now I’ve been reading up on something and it reminded me of what my mother would say. Music is one of the best helpers. So there’s a little song I know that can help you. Do you know the alphabet?” Assassin was silent for a moment before shaking her head side to side, “What’s that?” “It’s these shapes,” Twilight pointed to the page. “Each is a letter and they all make words and have different sounds. So I think this one song will help.” “Oooh, we want to hear mommy sing.” Twilight giggled, before starting. “A, B, C, D-” Saber just stared at her incredulously. This Twilight Sparkle’s voice was mesmerizing. Not totally entrancing, but a part of her wanted to start singing with her. Possibly dance too. Was it magic? Unlikely. She was of the Saber class. It would take something immense to do that if anything at all. The other part of her was amazed by how loving she was. She treated Assassin as if she was her actual child. That was unheard of. Magi were known to be cruel and even the ‘kind’ ones weren’t this loving. At least, not any that she had met. Oh Merlin was nice but he hardly was the father type even on his best of days. As the song ended, Assassin clapped her little hands. “Yay~” “I know, I know.” Twilight rubbed the servant’s head slightly. “Now let’s sing it together.” As she watched the pair sing the ABCs, Saber felt a ping of guilt. She wanted the Holy Grail more than anything. It was her ticket to salvation. To correct the wrongs of her past. Yet one of the things she must do is… kill a child? Break apart this happy family? Was life so cruel as to torture a third time? “Very good,” Twilight said as they finished, smiling widely down at Assassin. “You’re learning fast, Assassin. You make me so proud.” Assassin giggled, “You’re a great teacher, mommy.” “Why thank you.” “Why?” Saber found herself speaking up. Twilight looked at her in confusion, “Why what?” “Why are you being so kind to her?” Saber asked. “She is a servant. A killer and yet you treat her as a child.” “Should a master treat their servant poorly?” Saber shook her head, “No. That’s not what I’m saying. She is not of your blood and you tell me you only have met her a couple of days ago. What inspires you to take her close to your bosom as if you had birthed her yourself?” “She is my child,” Twilight pulled Assassin close. “Yeah it’s sudden and honestly I’m still as surprised as you that I’m doing this. Yet, I can’t just turn her away. She needs me and I brought her into this world even if I didn’t do it the conventional way.” “And we love mommy for it,” Assassin smiled up at her. “That doesn’t make any sense,” Saber glared at her. An old memory of a certain blonde came to mind. “She won’t be here forever. Once the war is said and done, she will leave.” “No,” Assassin frowned. “We want to stay with mommy.” “This world isn’t meant for you,” Saber countered. “None of us are.” Why did servants want to stay here? First it was Rider and now this Assassin? They were making it harder for everyone else. “Well I’m not of this world either,” Twilight said. “I’m leaving once I get the crown and Assassin is coming with me.” Saber sighed. Of course. She had told her about that little snidbit too, “Yes I am aware of that fact but why are you wasting time on songs and children stories? Shouldn’t you be preparing for the Grail War?” “I still don’t know much about that other then you have to fight other masters,” Twilight said. “We should probably wait for Shirou to come back before continuing to talk about that. He should know too.” “And he… doesn’t know?” Saber asked. Twilight shrugged, “He didn’t seem to.” Saber sighed. This was was strange. That’s when her nose picked up on something. It smelled so… so good~ She turned to see Shirou carrying in some dishes. “Decided to make some Miso Soup,” Shirou said as he placed bowls before them and sat down himself. “Sorry if it’s not my best. I tried to keep in mind that Sparkle’s a vegetarian.” Saber nodded and then picked up her chopsticks. Strange things they were. She glanced at Twilight Sparkle who had placed Assassin beside her. She didn’t eat the soup like Saber and Shirou did. She moved her face down and started to eat straight out of the bowl. Assassin giggled and followed suit. Saber tapped the table, “What are you two doing? Eat like civilized people.” “Don’t be mean, Saber.” Shirou commented as he started to eat. Saber huffed and went to eat. She would show them manners… then she tasted it… She loved it! She devoured it like a wild animal, almost inhaling all of the soup. Then she thrust it at Shirou, “MORE!” Shirou looked at her in surprise before he chuckled, “After we discuss the war.” Saber frowned but put her bowl down. She chose to ignore the giggling Assassin or the smug look on Twilight, “Very well.” She made a mental note to protect her master even more so. She needed more of his cooking. Stat. “So it’s about fighting other servants for a grail?” Twilight asked. Saber nodded, “Yes. It is about fighting for the Holy Grail, a wish granting device.” “It grants wishes?” Twilight gasped before pulling herself back. “That… that’s horrible!” Saber glared at her, “What are you talking about?” “Wish granting devices never work out,” Twilight spoke. “If the device is impartial, it might not get the meaning of the wish. If the device has a conscious, it could choose to get the wish wrong in some way. There are far too many variables honestly and it’s a cheap way to get around your problems-” Saber smashed her fist into the table, “It is why we are here! We all have a wish and we will do our best to get it.” “Saber,” Shirou put a hand on her shoulder. “Calm down. She didn’t mean anything against you. She’s just speaking her mind.” “Sorry,” Twilight squeaked out, causing Assassin to glare at Saber. Saber sighed, “I am sorry about that outburst, but yes. It grants one wish to both the master and servant who win the war. There are several servants in total: Assassin, Archer, Saber, Rider, Lancer, Caster, and Berserker. I am of course of the Saber class and your ‘daughter’ is of the Assassin class.” “So you just beat other servants, right?” Twilight asked. Saber nodded, “Yes, we do not have to kill the masters.” “...Kill?” Twilight blinked in confusion. “Why do you have to kill the other servants?” “It is necessary,” Saber simply said. “We have to kill the other servants in order to get the grail.” Twilight hugged Assassin close to herself, “No one is killing Assassin and she does not have to kill anyone either.” “The war will go on whether you like it or not, Miss Sparkle.” Saber pointed out. “It is inevitable. In order to get out wish-” “No,” Twilight firmly said. “No wish is worth bloodshed. Only dark mages think like that. Evil creatures of the night who want to take over the lands. Why would anyone follow such a system?” “Because mages are not nice by nature,” Shirou but into the conversation. “My father told me enough about them. How they can be selfish and hurt other people. I didn’t like to hear about it. Yet… it made me want to achieve my dream even more so.” “Your dream, master?” Saber leaned in closer. “I want to be a hero of justice,” Shirou firmly stated. “And to do that, I have to stop evil people from hurting each other. To save everyone.” Twilight smiled and eagerly nodded, “Exactly. As the Princess of Friendship, it is my duty to protect those around me and bring joy and friendship to everyone.” “So that’s why I’ll fight in this war.” “...Eh?” Twilight looked at him in confusion, “But Shirou. That means you have to kill-” “I don’t have to,” Shirou said. “There is another way.” “There is no other way,” Saber said. “The other masters will kill you.” “Then I’ll stop them,” Shirou’s eyes gaze back at her with determination. “I’ll stop them from hurting other people.” “And if they don’t stop?” Saber narrowed her eyes. “What then? Will you stay your blade?” “Then I’ll…” Shirou didn’t seem to like his next train of thought. “End them.” “You can’t,” Twilight frantically said. “You can’t kill anyone. Everyone deserves a second chance.” “Everyone?” Saber shook her head and chuckled. “Not everyone deserves a second chance. Not everyone can be redeemed. Tell me, Sparkle. Have you ever met someone who you could not redeem with magic or friendship?” Twilight flinched. The unicorn could hear the mad laughter of Sombra. His foul magic working its way through her. How he would have left her to die in that illusion. How he hurt all those ponies with his spells and how he tried to… kill Spike. “Yes.” “And what did you do?” “...” Twilight looked down onto her lap. “We blew him up.” Saber didn’t like causing her grief especially by drudging up old memories. Yet she felt it needed to be done, “There always is evil in the world. It is up to us heroes to stop them.” Shirou nodded, “Yes.” He moved over quickly to sit beside Twilight. “But we’ll do our best to help those who surrender. If a master or servant doesn’t want to fight, we won’t hurt them.” Saber found herself gritting her teeth. She wanted her wish. She utterly needed it but the hero in her demanded she abided by those rules. It was not chivalrous after all to harm someone who doesn’t want to fight or gives up. She nodded, “I will abide by those rules but the Holy Grail is not a simple matter. Sooner or later, we will fight.” “Then I’ll blast you with the Elements,” Twilight firmly stated. “You and that Grail. Hopefully it’ll stop all of this nonsense once and for all.” “Elements?” Saber blinked in confusion. “Oh I am of the Element of Magic,” Twilight smiled. “There are six of us: Magic, Laughter, Generosity, Loyalty, Honesty, and Kindness. We all make up the Elements of Harmony, the greatest magical artifacts in Equestria. We use them to help fight any foe that’s too great for the princesses to fight off.” “Ah,” Saber nodded. Such artifacts weren’t something unusual given her own weapon. “And what brought you here?” “A former student of my mentor stole the Element of Magic,” Twilight explained. “I came here to get it back and bring her to justice.” “And you must fight here to get it back?” “Yep and since she has a servant, it’s going to be harder.” Saber sighed, “So you must fight in this war then. I very much doubt it will end well for your homeland if she wins the grail.” “Sunset may be a bad pony but she can still be saved,” Twilight confidently said. “I wish I had your optimism,” Saber said. “However, I am my master’s servant. I shall follow his command and since you two are allies, it seems I will have to fight for both this grail war and to get your Element of Magic back.” “Thank you,” Twilight said. “Yes,” Shirou said. “Thank you, Saber.” “Think nothing of it,” Saber nodded. “Just don’t use up your command seals.” “....Our what?” Both Twilight and Shirou said in unison. Saber sighed and resisted the urge to facepalm. This was going to be a long night indeed.