//------------------------------// // Chapter One: The Unicorn and The Queen // Story: Fate/Equestria: Fragmented Memories // by ElementBrigade //------------------------------// Fate/Equestria Fragmented Memories Chapter One The Unicorn and The Queen 1. awakening/binary pony heaven The mare of the everyday sloughs off. A war between magi. The Wheel of fate turns. Weak one, temper your sword, and defend the value of your life. 1st week The First Selection Combatants Remaining: 999-128 Twilight’s eyes slowly open as she finds herself lying in the middle of a burning city that was once known as Canterlot. She tried her best to pull herself up, but her body felt heavy. Tried as she did it felt like someone or something was keeping her down on the ground against her will. She lifts her head a bit to see if that was the case, only to notice the giant blood-leaking hole on her abdomen. The unicorn soon placed her head back down as she noticed a strange shadowy figure standing over her with visible tears running down its face, and falling onto Twilight’s face. As she felt the tears hit her face, she couldn't help but cry along with the shadowy figure. The Sky Burns Houses and Homes Collapse into ruin. Ponies fall to the ground. Roads come to an end. The Conflict started here. In this small peaceful city. With this, the world that was will be restored. It is here that I alone survived and died Don’t remember/Never forget. Oblivion is salvation and sin. Never forget. I was born from Destiny This must be a nightmare. This had to be somewhere; it could be anywhere, these events that occurred in the true memories of foal hood. A torrent of blood flows from my wound, and a voice resonating with bitter resentment can be heard. Lives fade away without a thought. My friends, family, and strangers: All gone. Soldiers with swords, families trying to hold together, A grotesque struggle to the last, until a gentle peace descends as death comes to claim them. -I have no regrets about what I’ve done. The question of “why?” never left me. Even with the divide between conflict and catastrophe, why Did such a tragedy occur? No, more importantly- why has this world been turned into Tartarus on Equis? The mare wondered what this dream was about. She took notice of the flames covering the city slowly dying down after she heard the sound of thunder. Looking up at the sky, she saw clouds forming above her as it began to rain down upon her and the ruined city. A gentle rain begins to fall. All things once living fade away, leaving only me and the shadow behind. Amidst the helplessness and despair, I feel their soul’s last feelings are of rage and regret The rain wets their cheeks as their eyes close one last time, dying forgotten and alone. Seeing this, I felt tears roll down my face and smiled upon what I have been shown. If I can live again, I will definitely- But there are no second chances. And before long, the rain has cleansed the scorched land. As the unicorn continued to stare at the cloud-covered sky, a blinding light filled the area she was in. She quickly closes her eyes to protect herself from being blinded by the light as it engulfed her and the shadow. Never forget. I was born from Destiny What that means Somehow, please do not forget me. [Day One: Morning] [Nurse's Office] Twilight felt something warm hit her face as she was asleep. She slowly began to open her as her blurred vision started to clear up. Upon waking up, she found herself in some kind of office that you would see in a school or hospital. The unicorn blinked in surprise at finding herself in a place like this. The unicorn quickly remembered the dream she had as she quickly pulled herself up and took the covers off herself to see if she had a hole in her abdomen. To her relief, she didn’t have a hole in her abdomen or anywhere else on her body. With the thought of her being injured taken care of, she started to scan the room. So far this was the nurse’s office…but something feels…off about it. “I see you’re finally awake. As to be expected from a member of the Fang clan.” said a regal and elegant voice. Twilight was startled by the voice in the room. She started to scan the room to find out where it came from. “W-who’s there? S-Show yourself?” Twilight asked as the source of the voice made itself visible to her. The unicorn’s eyes widened upon seeing a woman with long silver-white hair wearing black, sickly blue, and white armor robe-like dress, and a spear-like staff in her hand. “I was beginning to worry that I would have to get the nurse to use smelling salt to walk you up. Nevertheless, it’s good to see that you’re awake.” The woman said as she looked at Twilight up and down. “Hard to believe I would be summoned by a fairy from the Fang clan. Nevertheless, with you as my master.” She said while smiling at Twilight with confidence. Though that seems to vanish upon asking Twilight a question. “You are fully aware of what the Holy Grail War is…right?” “Holy Grail War?” Twilight asked as she tilted her head in confusion. “You…don’t know about the holy grail war? Why would you join something that you do not know of?” She asked while placing a hand on her chin. “Unless you were tricked into joining the war?” “Um…I honestly don’t know how I ended up here. Nor do I know much of who I am.” Twilight said, which took the servant by surprise. “Do you…at least know your name?” “T-Twilight Sparkle.” The unicorn said as she noticed the knight blinking at her. “Is something wrong?” “An odd name for..a fairy. At least I think you're a fairy.” The woman said while eyeing Twilight up and down. “Unicorn actually…” Twilight said which caused the woman to blink in slight surprise by hearing this. “Right…while regrettable that you lost your memories during the migration to the Mooncell, ignorance is not something that I will tolerate or let slide. So, I will inform you about what you’re in right now.” “And that would be?” “Right now, you are in the Holy Grail War. A war in which many mages fight tooth and nail for the wish-granting Holy Grail.” “Wait, so I’m in a war to get the holy grail to obtain a wish?” Twilight asked as the woman nodded. “That is correct. Early on, The Holy Grail War was the name given to the ceremony magi held to gain the Grail. In truth, the war was a bloody fight from which the sole survivor would be granted the Holy Grail. To make it sound a bit easy to understand, the war you’re in now is an approximation of the original Holy Grail War, just in a tournament-style war where when you win your first match, you move on to the next one.” “I’m…finding this hard to believe,” Twilight said as she moved to the edge of the bed. “Well more confusing to be honest. I mean, I don’t even know who you are, and yet you’re telling me I’m your master? You can see why I’m a bit suspicious about why I should listen to you or believe what you’re saying.” “I can understand you not believing what I’m saying seeing how we just met. But what I’m saying is the truth. You and I are currently stuck here in this place, like it or not. In this war, to win is to live; to lose is to die. There is only one way to avoid death, and that is to fight.” The woman said as she folded her arms. “The rules are simple, two mages are assigned to fight each other with their Servants. The person who defeats the other master’s servant wins the fight.” “Servants?” Twilight asked as the woman pointed to herself as an example “We Servants are the only line of defense when fighting other master’s Servants. The Mage who loses to their opponent is stripped of both their Command Seals and their life.” The servant said as she pointed at Twilight’s right hand. Looking down, she noticed the command seal on her hand as it let off a quick glow the moment Twilight touched it. “You will face a series of battles before you reach the Holy Grail. I’d go into details about it, but I think getting hands-on experience might do you better than a long detailed explanation. All you need to know is that you must win if you want to escape this place. It’s pretty simple, no?” “I…don’t think that it’s simple…this is a bit confusing.” “Hm, do you at least know what a Servant is?” The woman asked as Twilight shook her head. “I see…seems your memory loss is that bad if you don’t know the basics of Servants and Masters. Something must have happened during the transfer with your mind not being able to come to the Mooncell. Nevertheless, I will inform you about what a Servant is.” She said before presenting herself to Twilight. “Servants are legendary souls called from the past to help Masters win in the Holy Grail War. Only those whose deeds are acknowledged long after their deaths become legendary souls. The Servants recreated here by the holy grail are drawn from those legends that endured. We are soldiers, here to guide and protect our master who summoned us.” “Okay, I guess that makes sense when you think about it. Is there some kind of category for Servants? Like do they rank from power, speed, or endurance?” Twilight asked as the woman watched the unicorn rambling on. “Hm, had you not told me you were a unicorn, I would’ve assumed you were a fairy from the Fang Clan.” “Fang clan? What do you mean by that?” Twilight asked as the servant reached for a mirror to show the unicorn her reflection. From what the unicorn could see, she had brown skin, dark purple hair with a light purple highlight in the middle of her bangs, a unicorn horn, a tail, and horse ears. “The Fang Clan of Britain had similar animalistic features as you do. Only a bit different that a lot of them had fur covering their body. Except for Barghest. Though given how you said you were a unicorn from some kind of…lostbelt where humans have fused with mythical creatures.” “I’m…pretty sure I’m not like that…At least I think I’m not. Maybe just refer to me as a pony and leave it at that…okay?” “Suppose it’s better to think you’re yaga than a fairy. Back to what I was saying. To answer your question, yes. Servants are divided into seven classes. Originally, the classes of Legendary Souls were hidden, but things have changed over time.” She said before walking in front of Twilight. “Saber, Lancer, Archer, Rider, Berserker, Caster, and Assassin.” “Okay, I take it with the spear in your hand, I can assume you're from the lancer class?” “You would think that, but no.” She answered before taking a seat on the bed Twilight was on. “For some reason, I was summoned as a berserker.” “If you don’t mind me asking, what sort of class is the berserker class?” “In the short term. The mad warrior class of heroic spirits. Those who are summoned into the class trade their sanity for a large boost in power, though sometimes depending on the servant, they can still obtain their sanity. This class is usually for magi who have summoned a heroic spirit with insufficient abilities and attributes. And given how you have no memories of who you are, I can assume that you fall under that category and why I was summoned as a berserker instead of a caster or lancer class servant.” She said before looking over herself. “Or wear armor that belongs to a Saber. Lancer, or Archer class…For the time being, you will refer to my class name, Berserker.” “Is that your real name?” “No, it’s just something so that the other masters won’t figure out my true name or look up information about my true identity. A Master who knows their opponent's true identity spells trouble for you and me. So for safety reasons and until I can trust you, I won’t tell you my name.” “I suppose that’s understandable.” “I will share my name once I have learned a little more about you. I can understand your unease at knowing nothing at all. But rest assured, I will tell you later on. For now, let’s focus on the holy grail war.” Berserker said as a confident smile appeared on her face. “Keep in mind. You may be my master, but I am a Queen. I expect you to be in perfect condition, so we’ll be training both physically and magically given how you’re a reservoir of magical energy.” “Um...that’s good I guess,” Twilight said before mulling over the situation in her head. “I’m not going to lie, all this information that Berserker told me about is...a bit confusing and unsettling for the most part. Holy Grail War, Servants, The Grail. What am I even doing here, to begin with? More importantly...who am I if I’m being perfectly honest about it? I don’t remember anything other than my name and some basic stuff about...weird pony stuff. But other than that, I don’t remember anything else-” Just as she was beginning to lose herself in her thoughts, she felt something hard hit her head and let out a yelp of pain. “Pay attention, my new subject.” “What the hay was that for!?” Twilight yelled while rubbing the top of her head. “Don’t you know hitting somepony on the head is dangerous!?” “You were staring off into the distance and ignoring me when I was calling out your name. Hitting you would get you out of your…wait did you say somepony?” “Yeah, I did, why?” Twilight asked as Berserker stared at the unicorn with a deadpan expression on her face. “Um...did I say something wrong?” She asked before feeling the servant move closer to her face and flicking Twilight on the nose, causing her to yelp again and cover her nose. “It’s pronounced somebody, not somepony. You say puns like that every time, and I will flick your nose each time until you learn not to do that.” “You can’t just do that, who do you think you are?” “Your queen, who will be educating you on human knowledge,” Berserker said with a smirk on her face. “Do you understand?” She asked as Twilight slowly nodded. “Good, now with that taken care of. It’s time for us to have a look around the battleground. This is so we can know where we’re going and where we need to go or spy on our opponent if needed.” With that, Berserker made herself disappear, but Twilight could feel her presence nearby. The unicorn could only assume that this is how servants stay out of sight from other people and possibly other servants. Just as Twilight was about to stand up from the bed she was in, the door to the room opened. The unicorn looked over to the doorway to see a girl with long purple hair enter the room and smiled upon seeing Twilight standing up. “Ah, you’re finally awake? I’m so relieved.” She said before walking over towards Twilight she eyed her up and down. “You don’t seem to have any injuries from where I found you, so feel free to leave when you feel like it. But before you do that, you might want to put on some clothes before you leave.” Twilight raised an eyebrow at this as she looked over at the reflection in the window beside her. Her eyes widened at the sudden realization of being naked as she quickly grabbed the covers of the bed and used them as a means to cover her exposed body. The girl that said this giggled at the unicorn’s reaction as she walked over to the closet in the room and reached in to hand me a set of clothes to put on. All the while, Twilight can hear Berserker laughing at her in the background. “T-Thanks for the pair of clothes….um.” “Sakura Matou. And you’re welcome.” She said while Twilight quickly put on the spare set of clothes she gave her. “If you haven’t noticed by now. Your memories should be restored by the SE.RA.PH. So do not worry. Any magi that seek the Holy Grail have their memories suppressed and are given false ones of that of an average high school student. Only Masters who managed to recover themselves are allowed to enter the main tournament.” She said as Twilight paused upon hearing her say that and looked over at her. “Now that you have regained your memories, please try to review them to make sure they’re complete.” “That would explain why I can’t remember anything from my past other than my name...But if that was the case, then why haven’t my memories returned yet? Outside of my name, I can’t recall anything of my past. This isn’t good, not good at all if I cannot remember a single thing that happened to me before then!” Twilight shook her head to get her thoughts straight before asking Sakura a question. “What if your memory isn’t restored? Because I can’t remember anything about my past, nor anything else besides some basic knowledge that’s common to me.” “I’m sorry, but I cannot help you with that. I, Sakura Matou, am just a custodial AI.” “.....You’re a what?” “An AI. Artificial intelligence is what the term AI means. All I can do is heal people when they’re sick, injured, or if they need a medkit to help treat their wounds themselves. If you don’t have your memories back, then there might have been a glitch with SE.RA.PH. that might have caused this. But I can give you something that might be able to help you in the tournament,” Sakura said as she reached into her pocket to pull out a strange light blue object and handed it over to Twilight who finished putting her clothes on. “What is that?” Twilight asked as she hesitantly took the strange object into her hands and began to look it over. Once she tapped on it a bit, the object quickly expanded as the unicorn gasped in surprise. “It’s your portable terminal. As a participant, you should pay attention to any messages that appear on your terminal. This can also be used to store information on the Masters and their Servants for when you have to fight them.” Sakura said before going back to her desk. “Do your best in the Tournament ma’am. And I hope you come out on top.” Twilight could only nod as she made her way out of the nurse’s office and into the hallway. “Well she may not have been able to help me get my memories back, but at least she gave me something to help me hold on to information,” Twilight said before pressing the portable terminal as it returned to being a small rectangular object and placed it into her pocket. Once she placed the terminal into her pocket, her stomach began to growl. “Guess I haven’t eaten anything in quite some time.” “Getting hungry I take it?” Berserker asked as she appeared beside Twilight she nodded with a blush on her face. “Wouldn’t be surprised, you have been sleeping for the past twelve hours or so. Let’s get you something to eat before we have a look around the school.” “Do you know where we can find some food in this place?” Twilight asked as Berserker pointed a finger toward the staircase in the distance. “There’s a cafe down those stairs in the school commissary from what I overheard from some people walking down the hallway. The people there should be able to give you something to eat...I mean if they don't mind looking at your pony-like features.” Berserker said before disappearing in a flash. Twilight nodded as she began to make her way to the stairs and headed downstairs to the commissary. Once she stepped a foot into the room, the room quickly fell silent as she saw the combatants of the holy grail war looking at her. “Huh, you know I should’ve taken into account that most humans would be surprised to see a talking mythical creature enter the commissary. Guess this is going to be a normal thing for you until they can look past the fact you’re a horse.” “Well, don’t I feel special,” Twilight said before sighing and making her way over to the female student behind the counter in front of me. Once she got there, she noticed that the human was busy doing something so she cleared her throat to get her attention. “Um, excuse me, ma’am. Is this the place to get something to eat?” “Yep, we sell both foods and items for you and your-” Once she turned around, her eyes widened in shock upon seeing Twilight. Twilight gave off an awkward wave along with a smile, as she tried her best not to be threatening or anything for that matter. “Oh, my, god! That outfit is so amazing! What kind of code or hack did you use to make yourself look like this!?” She asked while touching Twilight’s face to get a better view of it. “It’s so well detailed to the point where it’s real.” “I...don’t know what you mean by that, but this is real, no hacking or codes of any kind,” Twilight answered as she tried to pull her head out of the human’s grip. “B-Berserker…help me please?” She asked before feeling the human’s grip lessen as Berserker casually used her strength to release her grip on Twilight’s face. “Please try not to hurt my subject. I kinda need her if I’m gonna win the Holy Grail War.” She said before placing the human behind the counter via magic. “I am so, so sorry about that. It’s just that your master looked like something I would see in a manga and I couldn’t help but do that to her. I hope you can forgive me for doing that madam?” “Just....ask before doing something like that again please?” Twilight said as cracked her neck a bit. “I’m Twilight Sparkle, and this is my…um…Servant, Berserker.” “Pleasure to meet you both. The name’s Heather, let me be the first to welcome you both to the Holy Grail War.” “Um, thanks. Anyway, is this the place where I can get something to eat?” “Indeed it is,” Heather said before pointing to a sign behind herself. “In hell, money conquers all, welcome to the Tsukumihara Academy Commissary! How can I help you two today?” “My subject here requires food. Do you have anything that might be suitable for a horse?” Berserker asked as Twilight deadpan at her. “I mean, for a pony….a talking unicorn pony hybrid.” She said, which caused Twilight to snort in annoyance before looking over at the human girl who was reaching for something in the display case. “Well, the only thing I have available for food would be Yakisoba Bread and Curry Bread.” She said before showing them what they look like. “They may look weird looking, but they do taste good with a drink to go along with it. And it’s made fresh so you don’t have to worry about coming here and getting it when it’s cold.” “Perfect, then she’ll take those,” Berserker said as the human handed them over to Twilight. “You’re just going to give me these just like that? Don’t I have to pay for them or something? It would be rude if I were to just take them without having to pay you back for them.” “Oh don’t worry about paying. Think of this as an apology for touching you like that. Plus I get the feeling that you’re a new master in the holy grail wars right?” Heather asked as Twilight nodded. “I figured seeing how I’ve never seen someone like you before. I kinda thought you were a Servant given the way you look. But when I saw that you had a Servant of your own, I guess I was mistaken for assuming that.” “Oh, well thanks for the food I guess? It feels kinda weird that I don’t have to pay for this, but if you’re okay with this, then I shouldn’t be complaining about it. Thank you very much.” “You’re welcome! Be sure to come by my shop if you need some more food or supplies to help you in battle~” She said as Twilight nodded before waving goodbye to the human while headed up the stairs. “That was weird and bizarre on so many levels of weirdness,” Twilight said as she started to pull the wrapping off of the Curry Bread. “Well, you can’t blame her for doing that,” Berserker said as she made herself invisible while following Twilight. “Girls like that will find someone like you adorable to the point where they will touch you like that. So be prepared to see that happening a lot depending on who the person is.” “She could’ve at least asked before doing that to me. I mean really, hasn't anypony heard of personal space?” Twilight said before feeling Berserker flick her nose before taking a bite out of the curry bread causing her to yelp. “As I said, I’ll keep doing that until you break that nasty habit of saying horse puns.” “...I’m starting to have second thoughts about having you as a partner right now,” Twilight said while rubbing her nose from the pain she felt from the flick. “Before I say anything that I might regret saying later on. Is there a place where I can eat in peace without humans looking at me?” Twilight asked as she walked by some of the students in the hallway looking at her as if she was a target for something or someone. “The rooftop should be an okay place to eat. Just continue up the stairs and you should be there.” Berserker said as Twilight headed upstairs to the rooftop.