//------------------------------// // The Pure Heart // Story: The Black Knight // by Zaralann //------------------------------// I saw many pathetic displays in my life, but this one actually took the cake. The only thing that this girl, Flyttershy, didn't do, was actually wet and shit herself. She was crying, whimpering, there was a big puddle of her vomit on the floor and I could practically feel her trembling. 'Just a moment ago she actually tried to attack me, what changed?' I asked myself, trying to keep the girl as far away as I could without actually releasing her, so if she would puke again, I won't be in the flow's path. I didn't think the fact that I actually captured her would damage her spirit so badly, so maybe she was... "Don't... you dare... touch her." I heard from the side. Turning, I saw the blond girl on her feet, still holding her stomach and with a little trail of blood running from her mouth, but a lot more stable than I thought she would be. Maybe it has something to do with the passive Reinforcement that all Earth-Ponies had? I don't think any normal human would have stood up after such a strike. Even if I was holding back the blow it should have immobilized her for some time. But no, she was standing, even if a bit wobbly, on her own and even attempting to take a step in my direction. 'Her breathing is pretty heavy, but nothing critical, I didn't damage her too badly.' I quickly concluded. I really didn't want to harm them, but it didn't mean that I wouldn't defend myself. It's a pretty big misconception that when you don't want to harm someone, you just need to dodge all of their attacks and wait ‘till they tire themselves out. It’s a lot easier, and safer, to just knock the person out and tie him or her up, that way he or she won't be able to attack or harm themselves by accident. "Applejack..." Mumbled the Pegasus in my grip. 'So, her name is Applejack.' I would have facepalmed if not for the sword in my hand. 'Like a beverage? Her parents were either total drunkards, or bootleggers.' This situation was getting ridiculous. These girls aren't fighters, not even close, but they still came into the Dragon's cave. For what reason I don't know, but it was still a pretty bold move. Or maybe they weren't brave, they were just very stupid, Gordon Freeman spoke the truth? I don't care either way, right now my priority was to get the damn cart and get out of here. Applejack charged. I was actually surprised by her pain-tolerance, considering that she was running with her stomach bruised pretty badly. It was a brave move, but still lacked in the intelligence department. With a single move I pulled Fluttershy right in front of Applejack and released her, letting the two girls collide and fall on the ground. 'Morons.' I thought with a shake of my head. While the two were trying to get their shit together, I calmly walked towards the exit of the cave. If Trixie had any space to spare on her cart we could probably take the treasures as our spoils of victory, I hope they will cost at least something. I don't really know how valuable gold and gems are in this world, but at home you could probably live till the end of your days without any need to work with the amount that was in the cave. I wasn't a greedy person, but money was something that everyone needed, one way or another, and I wasn't going to beg on the streets with a cap in hands for a couple of coins. My mind came to a screeching halt when I exited the cave. More new faces. First new face was a Unicorn. She was tall, taller than Trixie, slightly on a petite side, but still with some curves to show off on her body. She had very light brown skin, violet eyes, navy blue hair, with one violet and one rose strand that went straight across the middle of her head. On her forehead was a light grayish mulberry-colored horn. She was wearing blue jeans that didn't quite reach her ankles, purple and white sneakers, pink socks and a light purple jumper-shirt with white sleeves and collar. And there was a mix of fear and confusion on her face right now. 'Hm, she actually fits Trixie's description of that Unicorn with pathetic control over her Magic... Twilit Spankle? No...' I tried to remember the name, but because I didn't really listen to Trixie's rant the Unicorn's name didn't actually register with me. 'Eh, I really don't care one way or another.' It's not like she was important or something. The second one was an Earth-Pony. A very pink Earth-Pony. She had long and very curly brilliant raspberry hair, light cerulean eyes, slightly tan skin and pretty developed build. Her pale, light grayish raspberry shirt was stretched by her mid D-Cups, raspberry shorts held by suspenders of the same color and a belt of a far darker shade. She also wore a lighter and darker shade of pink striped stockings and dark pink shoes that was a tad bit similar to a clown’s shoes, the ones with the noses that were too big for any purpose. 'This one was actually described by Gilda, if I remember correctly.' At least I remembered what Gilda said, mostly because her story wasn't in a form of a rant, like Trixie's. Next to her was a Unicorn with long moderate indigo hair that curved at the ends, very light gray horn sticking out of her forehead, moderate azure eyes and she was pretty tall. She wore a white blouse with long sleeves that held back a pair of Mid C-Cups, light grayish violet long skirt, held by a wide black belt with a golden buckle. She was also wearing purple stockings and black shoes. 'For some reason I think she's more shocked by my clothes than by me.' I could almost feel as her eyes were practically undressing me. I barely suppressed a shudder. "Who the hay are you?" My instincts flared and I instantly turned around and slightly leaned backwards, so the rude girl won't be able to grab my collar-armor. It was a Pegasus, with the most bizarre hair that I have ever saw. It was light brilliant red, light brilliant vermillion, light gold, moderate sap green, brilliant cornflower blue and moderate violet, in other words, a freaking rainbow! It was pretty long, almost reaching her butt. She was wearing a very light cerulean sleeveless top, that didn't hide her low B-Cups, blue sport-pants with baggy legs, blue and white over-sized sneakers and on her hands were blue fingerless gloves. Oh, and a pair of very light cerulean wings were keeping her in the air right in front of me, with a pair of moderate cerise eyes trying to see through my visor. Her left hand was outstretched from her attempt to grab me. I saw Trixie and Gilda not far away, apparently a tad bit shocked from the whole ordeal. "Ms.Lulamoon, Ms.Gilda." I really wanted to say the next line, I couldn't make it sound as awesome as Alucard, but at least I could make a passable imitation. "The enemy has been silenced." They both understood what I was telling them, Trixie turned a tad bit green from the mental image. "I have to ask you to collect our target, Ms.Lulamoon, Ms.Gilda." She nodded, and started walking towards the entrance of the cave, Gilda not far behind. "Also, the enemy left a lot of very valuable resources behind, be sure to collect as much as you can take with you." "Don't you dare ignore me!" Screamed the Pegasi at me. 'Déjà vu.' I thought as I again dodged her attempt to grab me. "Is there any particular reason you're attacking me?" I asked in a flat tone. "Yea, there is!" She snapped at me. "What the hay happened there?!" She pointed at the cave. "We heard some crashing, the Dragon's roars and then the earth literally shook under our feet! What the hay did you do there?!" 'Oh, so she's scared.' I couldn't help but snort on the inside. "The beast, that was apparently residing in the cave, was given a choice. Either it would leave mostly unharmed, or I will have to use excessive force and remove it from this location. It made an attempt to kill me, I just retaliated." "You... You defeated a Dragon?!" Asked the white-horned Unicorn. "Correct." I didn't even turn to answer her, my eyes were still on the rude and probably violent Pegasus. "It misjudged my combat capabilities and thought that I would be an easy opponent to defeat, that was its first mistake. Second mistake it made when it tried to kill me. It was its last one." 'Maybe not the best way to tell them that I pulled Dennis Quaid and killed the beast.' I thought, as the group's faces displayed confusion. 'Oh, come on! They can't be that innocent!' I really wasn't looking forward to the next few minutes of this conversation. 'From what Trixie told me, this whole place is more or less a big fluffy piece of cotton, and something like a broken and bloody cadaver will be as shocking as a... Hm, I can't come up with anything. Well, more proof just how screwed up this place is when compared to my home.' "You..." I heard a growl from behind me. 'Oh, so she's still capable of moving on her own.' I thought. "Applejack?! What happened to you?" The rainbow-haired Pegasus darted towards her friend, at least I thought they were friends. "She..." Applejack, with the help from the Pegasi was able to fully stand up. "She killed the Dragon." There was so much venom in her voice that I thought that even thinking about such an act caused them actual physical pain. "What?!" Four voices exclaimed. "I already openly stated that the enemy was neutralized, I can't see any other way to interpret my earlier statement." I said. The silence that followed was only broken by Applejack's heavy breathing. I swear, I could actually hear crickets chirping. "... Why?" This question came came from the girl whose name I couldn't remember. Her voice was broken, and the word sounded more like a sob, than an actual attempt of communication. I really wasn't in the mood right now, and dealing with a bunch of innocent children that just had their first meeting with the real world was something that I really wanted to avoid. Don't get wrong, I'm not angry, it's just really annoying to talk to emotionally maimed kids. 'I'm not really sure how they even survived this long without being mauled by a wild animal or something.' In my eyes they were just children in adult bodies, nothing more. 'And I really suck when it comes to pulling out emotional speeches on demand, the whole mess with the Dragon can be considered an example of just how bad I am.' I didn't really care what they think about me, but Trixie and Gilda were still in the cave and probably loading Trixie's cart with treasures right now, and being attacked by civilians wasn't my idea of a good way to kill time. The only option I could see right now was me trying to distract the bunch until we would be able to leave. "It attacked with the intent to kill, I retaliated." I answered. The next thing that happened was something that I was actually hoping to avoid. As I said earlier, it is almost impossible to pull a surprise attack on a Servant, my Instinct: A gave me the power to feel the most favorable developments for oneself during battle, and with its high Rank it was close to true precognition. I was basically having a Sharingan without the monkey-see-monkey-do effect and without illusions, and I actually didn't need to physically see the opponent for it to work. A pretty big beam of pure Prana crashed against my protective sphere, that I called out right before the attack even began. The light brilliant raspberry beam, that was launched by the Unicorn, whose name I still couldn't remember, didn't even budge my defenses. I could feel the impact, but it wasn't even strong enough to be registered as a threat. With the diameter of beam being bigger than my height, it was lacking in power and density. It was more like a breeze, than the water-bullets that Trixie used. 'Well, this explains what Trixie meant about lack of control.' I thought with amusement. The attack died down and I let my Prana-bubble disappear. The girl that attacked me was shocked that her attack failed against my defense, her eyes were wide, mouth slightly open and she was trembling. I didn't know what she was hoping to accomplish with that attack, but she sure as hell failed. I fully turned towards her and started slowly walking, each of my steps making my armor clang creating a pretty impressive, even scary, visage. "This is the second time I was attacked by your group without provocation." I wasn't going to actually hurt them, but scaring them a tad bit was acceptable. "Now, I will retaliate." Utilizing Prana Burst I shot towards the Unicorn. "It attacked with the intent to kill, I retaliated." 'No...' Twilight Sparkle couldn't comprehend what was happening. The Dragon was dead. Dead. Dead. This... monster killed the Dragon! 'Why...?' The thought was running through her head again and again. She just couldn't understand. 'How could anyone be so... heartless to actually end another's life?' The idea was absolutely alien to her mind. Life is precious. The first lesson that every parent teaches their child. Life is... Twilight never saw someone dieing, and hoped to never witness such a tragedy. When someone's life ended, it meant that he or she couldn't help anyone anymore, couldn't do something good for others, couldn't laugh, couldn't smile, couldn't spend time with his or her friends. Life was beautiful. Life... And she ended it... Just like that. Twilight's mind went blank, the last statement repeating itself inside her head like a broken record. To treat someone's life so casually, to end it without even an ounce of remorse, to talk about it so casually. A Unicorn's Magic is strongly connected to their emotions, some Unicorns like Trixie trained to control their Magic regardless of their emotional state, Twilight didn't. Inside her head right now was an emotional equivalent of a storm, and her Magic responded to it. The only thing that Twilight wanted was to remove something that was wrong, something that she couldn't comprehend, something impossible. Magic, in its pure raw state, collected on the tip of her horn and shot forward not as a Spell of any kind, but as a pure beam of energy, the attack hitting her target not a second later. Normally, with such a large amount of Magic being used and considering that Twilight's power was far higher than other Unicorn's, the target should be disintegrated simply because of the amount of power being used. Magical beings will be able to stay intact, mostly at least, because of their own Magic protecting them from being fully affected by the blast. Even then the cadaver will be nothing more than a piece of charred flesh. Beasts like Dragons will be able to survive the initial blast, but the wound left afterwards would probably kill them, if left without any medical assistance. Twilight knew all these facts. When the mostly red spinning bubble of purple and black appeared around the monster, she was shocked into silence when her attack, even if not intentional, was blocked by the thin layer of shielding. 'Impossible...' The thought ran through Twilight's mind, as the sphere disappeared. She tensed up when the black armored figure fully turned towards her and started walking, her heavy steps sounded like a requiem knell in Twilight's ears. "This is the second time I was attacked by your group without provocation." The coldness of the voice made Twilight freeze on the spot. "Now, I will retaliate." The figure suddenly disappeared. I dodged to the left, making sure to avoid the Pegasus with the multicolored hair, who apparently tried to ambush me. 'Well, A for effort.' I thought sarcastically. 'But F for performance!' I twisted around and grabbed her leg and with a strong jerk swung her right onto the ground, wings down, the force of the impact made her cry out in pain. If her wings were even remotely similar to a bird's then she won't be able to use them for quite some time. They weren't broken, but a bad bruising can be almost as effective as a bone-fracture in this type of situation. I released my hold and leaned back a tad bit, avoiding a blast of of the same raspberry Magic that earlier failed to penetrate my protections. This one was more in line of a bullet than a laser, but still pretty weak and unfocused. Maybe I was unfit to judge with only Trixie's attacks to compare to, but who cares? I sidestepped another blast, when my instincts screamed for me to jump. Well, they never failed me so far, so... I jumped straight upwards, making sure to not get too high, as being airborne made me a far easier target. The moment my feet left ground I twisted my body and was able to control my flight, somewhat. Applejack apparently had enough fight left in her to try and deliver a low-kick. I was actually mentally applauding her durability and guts. With the amount of pain and damage done by my attack I thought she was done for, but she still found enough strength to actually attack me. 'These girls are actually not that bad, they could probably have enough power and skill together to give someone like Rin trouble.' I smirked slightly. 'But it's still not enough to put me down.' I landed on the ground and instantly turned around, sensing danger and saw a... cannon?! It was a very old-styled thing with unrealistic proportions, it was sky-blue with pink wheels. Each wheel had a flower drawn on it, and I could also see the fuse sticking from the top of the thing. I really couldn't even think of where to start listing all the things that were wrong with that piece of obviously defective artillery in front of me. Oh, and the pink-haired Earth-Pony was obviously going to fire it at me. Considering that the walls of cannon's barrel were too thin to actually contain the blast, I could only guess that it was somehow Enchanted to work despite its obvious wrong proportions and fragile structure. This was actually bad. Thompson Contender, the weapon of Emiya Kiritsugu, the first gun that was made into a Mystic Code. Mystic Code is a support weapon that a Magus carries as a magical artifact. Kiritsugu's single-shot gun was one of the most terrifying weapons in the whole franchise.  It is used in conjunction with Origin Bullets, which are special Conceptual Weapons that utilizes Kiritsugu's Origin, 'Severing and Binding', to its fullest extent by actualizing it within a target. The point was that more or less modern weapons mixed with the Magecraft could cause a tremendous amount of damage, if this thing was loaded with something akin of Kiritsugu's Origin Bullets I would be screwed. Considering that the group obviously was here to interact with the Dragon this was probably their back-up plan if the first one went south, and now a cannon that was suppose to put down a Dragon was pointed at me. 'I'm in deep shit.' I thought. I currently had all the characteristics of Arturia Pendragon, and that meant that her weaknesses were also mine. Arturia is the holder of the Element of the Red Dragon who carries the blood and the very magical power of a Phantasm in a human body. Due to the characteristics of a Dragon, she has trouble with existences such as Siegfried, who is associated with tales of culling Dragons and weapons with an Anti-Dragon attribute, such as Arondight. I really didn't want to find out how tough I am against a weapon with an obvious Anti-Dragon attribute. Avalon can't resurrect the dead, after all. 'Well, at least I think it can't... Better not to test it anyways.' I thought. Dodging won't actually do anything, because I will only delay the confrontation. I couldn't actually try and meet it head-on, I wouldn't know what will happen, and activating Avalon will be just a waste. Avalon: The Everdistant Utopia was my most powerful Noble Phantasm, even stronger and more valuable than my sword. As long as I had it, I was basically immortal, and using it to stop an attack from a Mystic Code will just leave a very bad taste in my mouth. 'Well, if I can't dodge or block, then I can only...' I barely suppressed a smirk. I never used Prana Burst to its full potential, because there just wasn't any reason for it, now I had that reason. The earth under my feet exploded, creating a massive crater from the force of my charge, my feet weren't even touching the ground, I was actually flying parallel to it. I actually thought that I heard a sonic-boom generated by my charge but it was just silly, no matter just how strong or fast I was, there were things that were still out of my reach and breaking the sonic-barrier was one of those things. I was in front of the cannon in an instant, the pink girl didn't even have time to blink as I swung my sword. "What do you think Saber is doing with the bunch?" Asked Gilda as she threw another bag full of treasures into the cart. Trixie's cart was pretty big but it wasn't big enough to load everything that was in the cave inside. Trixie simply tossed her a set of bags that were apparently Enchanted to be bigger on the inside and Gilda didn't even want to know what Trixie used them for, the strange bitter smell was enough of a warning. Considering how little of the loot was already loaded in the cart, they weren't even half-done, even with Trixie using Magic to speed up the process, some of the treasures here were specifically Enchanted to be resistant to Magic so Gilda had to be the one to load them inside the bags. "Probably kicking their collective asses." Absently answered Trixie guiding another load of golden coins into the bag. "And don't worry, Saber won't kill your friend, she's not a murderer." 'Tch, smart girl.' Thought Gilda. She was actually more worried that Dash would do something that will actually get her killed. Saber was a warrior, and Gilda was sure that she won't kill a defenseless opponent, but Dash always was a hothead, and... even after their last meeting in Ponyville, she still considered Dash her friend, even if the Pegasus didn't think the same. Excalibur Morgan: Sword of Promised Victory, the mightiest sword in history wasn't just a simple weapon, it was a Concept. It was so strongly associated with Victory that it became a permanent part of its existence. Rank: A++ made this particular sword almost unbeatable and the only thing that could overpower it is something that had a higher Rank and Concept that, for the lack of better word, was equal or stronger than Victory. But one thing about Excalibur that I was so fond of right now, is that it doesn't have the Dragon as a part of its Concept, and that would mean that any Anti-Dragon Enchantments that were applied to the cannon right now are next to useless! My blade cut through light-blue metal like it wasn't even there, separating the weapon in two identical pieces. I swung my sword from the left and upward, and therefore the tip was right now under pink-haired girls chin, the threat was obvious to everyone present. From the corner of my left eye I saw what was used as a cannonball. 'De fuck!?' My mind came to a screeching halt. Confetti. Streamers. 'What the fuck was she trying to accomplish?!' I couldn't even start to formulate a correct response to... this! My mind was still rebooting while trying to find a reasonable and logical explanation for this particular... anomaly. It only came up with blanks. 'Was she hoping that would make me laugh myself to death?!' Good thing that my senses weren't affected by the minor seizure that I was suffering, my left hand released the sword, leaving it fully supported by my right one, and, without even looking, caught a fist that was aimed directly at my temple. Again, I was pleasantly surprised by the sheer amount of physical strength that this body possessed, the punch was stopped instantly and I wasn't even trying. I turned my head slightly and saw the rainbow-haired girl attempting to overpower me. I'm really surprised just how tough these Ponies are, their Magic makes them faster, stronger and much more durable than normal humans, but it's still nowhere near what a proper Servant was capable of. Earth-Ponies, being physically the strongest, were at best Strength: E-, which was equal to five times any normal human's maximum strength. I, with a Strength: A, didn't even need to struggle to overcome their superior might. I sensed another attack coming, but didn't even bother to dodge or block. Again I was surprised by the girl's stubborn nature, she was probably going on fumes, guts and pure willpower, the little stream of blood escaping her mouth was a tad bit alarming. I really didn't want to actually kill any of them but it didn't stop me from mentally applauding Applejack as she drove her right fist right into my guts. If I was in the body of the Classic Saber, this attack would have at least made a minimal amount of sense, because there wouldn't be freaking armor in the way of Applejack's fist! I, with my Enhanced hearing was able to actually notice the cracking sound of her fingers breaking upon contact, she probably used every ounce of her strength in this punch, and if my armor was made from normal steel, the girl would've bended it inwards, leaving me with no other option other than removing it. But my armor was actually far stronger than any normal steel, and her attack didn't even leave a mark on it. 'I applaud their bravery but I pity their intelligence.' I thought as Applejack fell on her ass, clutching her hand with obviously broken fingers. 'I could only hope that she didn't actually break them, but just fractured.' I wasn't a malicious person, and actually crippling someone wasn't my intention, far from it. My instincts warned me that something was coming. I released the rainbow-haired girl's fist and jumped back just in time to actually dodge a rock the size of a car's wheel, that was apparently aimed at the back of my head. Turning to left I saw that both Unicorns were levitating a decent bunch of pretty big rocks around them. 'Good thinking, they know that Magic won't work so they switched to the purely physical attacks.' I thought as I dodged another rock. I also made note that the second, white-horned, Unicorn's Magic was light cornflower-blue color. I really didn't know if it was significant or not, so I just filed it away for later, you never know what could become useful with time. The next stone that came at me I just cut in two with my sword, the blade passing through the rock like it was passing through air. Another stone was shot at me, getting a bit cocky I punched it with my left fist, shattering the thing completely. They were delaying me, nothing more, and I was pretty sure that they will run out of juice sooner than me. I was more or less just toying with them, it would take me about five or so seconds to end the fight, but it would also result in their death. 'And that is why I'm still here and doing what can only be considered a weird and twisted version of babysitting.' The idea made me actually twitch. I never was good with children, that one time I was left with one ended up with both of us crying. 'And now I'm basically doing the job of a hired clown for a birthday party.' ...Being a good person sucks. I could probably just sit down and let them attack me until they run out of juice. There was absolutely no way for them to actually harm me anyways. Some people would say that I was arrogant, but after this little display of absolute lack of skill and actual power to back up their brave behavior... Trixie could actually fight, her tactics and skills were damn impressive, but what I was seeing right now could only be considered a fist-fight between a bunch of five year-olds and a Green Beret. Applejack held her right wrist, making sure to not try and move her, hopefully not broken, fingers. 'It was like punching a wall!' Thought the girl. She knew that she wasn't physically the strongest, and punching someone wearing armor was an incredibly dumb idea, but she was hoping that her punch would at least make her release Dash's hand, maybe even get her remove the sword from Pinkie's throat. She failed. Her attack didn't even make the damn girl twitch, it was like she didn't even register the attack. And now Applejack's right hand was useless, her stomach felt like someone tried to gut her alive, her vision was becoming blurry and the copper taste in her mouth made it blatantly obvious that she had internal bleeding. 'I can't even get up.' She thought as darkness started to appear at the corners of her vision, she was starting to lose consciousness. 'I have to get up, I need to help my...' "None of that, you've done enough damage for yourself already. We don't want you to die due to your own stupid stubbornness, right?" Applejack heard a familiar voice. Suddenly her vision was filled with pale light-grayish magenta light, and then she knew only darkness. Trixie sighed. She really didn't like to use this type of Magic. There were three ways of rendering someone unconscious with Magic. First was a pretty simple Spell that worked as a sedative. In about a minute or two the target would be put into peaceful and dreamless sleep, it was often used during complex operations where the patient needed to be motionless and calm. It was a very gentle and actually soothing process. Trixie learned it from a doctor in Manehattan, he was a very talented healer, but was absolutely horrible at card games. 'Teaching me some pretty nifty Magic only so I would forget about his debt? Moron...' Thought Trixie with a sigh. The second was more of a coma than anything else. The target was put into a state where his or her brain was basically switched off, and won't be waking up without outside assistance. This Spell was used on the most dangerous criminals due to them being too... well, dangerous to be transported or contained in their awakened state. The Spell took about ten minutes to cast and required a lot of Magic and skill to pull off. Trixie could probably use it once, twice if she pushed it, but then she would be too drained to even flare her horn. Creating such a complex Spell-Matrix that will basically leach on the target's own Magic to support itself, then actually connecting it to the victim's Magic and anchoring the layers properly to the brain... This was far too complex to be useful in a battle, but Trixie never passed up a a chance to learn something new. The best part was that each user created their own 'key' for the Spell, so only the original caster could remove the Spell without ripping the victim's Magic and/or brain to shreds. 'The first time I used it I thought that I would die from the sheer strain.' Trixie was powerful, but not that powerful and she wasn't afraid to admit it. 'At least I was able to pull off something that would normally would take four trained Unicorns to do.' The third variant was a Magical equivalent of a knock-out via baseball-bat-to-the-head. The caster needed to send a Magical shock-wave through the victim's brain, basically overloading it and knocking the person out. It didn't cost much and was pretty useful in battle, but there were several flaws in the Spell. First, there was absolutely no way to know just how long the person will be unconscious. It fully depended on the power of the person's mind and the amount of Magic they had. The second flaw was that you couldn't just pour more Magic into the Spell to make it last longer, because there was always a risk of actually frying the target's brain, which wasn't actually bad in battle, but made the actual reason for attempting to take the target alive moot. Considering that the battle was still going strong, Trixie had to use the third variant. Considering the fact that Applejack was exhausted, wounded and on the verge of collapsing on her own, Trixie used minimal force to knock the Earth-Pony out. It was actually also done so she won't try to join the fight again and get herself more injured. Trixie didn't like her, but it didn't mean that she wanted the cowgirl to actually die! Gilda was finishing with the cart, while Trixie was making sure that Saber was alright. 'Yeah...' Thought Trixie sarcastically. 'She could probably just stand still and let them attack her until they  collapsed from exhaustion.' Trixie saw how the Earth-Pony's punch didn't even make Saber twitch while she will be suffering from the broken bones and badly damaged organs. Earth-Ponies are the strongest in terms of sheer physical might, Pegasi coming in a close second with unicorns dragging far behind. Trixie had to exercise every day to make herself fast and strong enough to actually survive any type of close-combat, right now she could probably hold for about a minute or two against an Earth-Pony in hand-to-hand combat, but no longer. Magic gave Earth-Ponies not only greater speed and strength, but also stamina which makes them tougher and able to take far more punishment before collapsing. Right now Trixie was rethinking the last part. Saber was basically wiping the floor with the group, so to speak. She was moving with incredible speed, dodging everything that was thrown at her, and the things that she didn't dodge were just annihilated by her sword or fist. Trixie also noticed that Saber didn't even look in the direction of some of the attacks before avoiding them, it was like she could sense them... or see the future. The Unicorn preferred the former because it didn't break the fundamental laws of Magic. One thing was obvious, the battle was won before it even started. Saber wasn't someone who could be defeated by the six, now four, Ponies without any special equipment or an absurd amount of Magic backing them up. 'I don't think even the Princesses will be able to put Saber down.' Thought Trixie as she remembered back to when she first met her, and the monstrous power that she sensed from Saber. She never felt something so overwhelming, even Princess Celestia didn't have such an aura of pure raw power around her. 'It will be an interesting battle, even with the outcome already decided.' Rainbow Dash struggled to actually lift herself from ground, but her wings were being uncooperative and each time she tried to flap them there was a wave of pain shooting through her body. They weren't broken, she would have been lying on the ground and screaming in pure agony if that was the case. The bad bruising was a good way to keep her grounded she begrudgingly admitted. 'If only I could fly, I would've kicked her ass in ten seconds flat!' Thought Dash angrily as she struggled not to cry out in pain. She wasn't stupid, she knew that their group was outclassed, the sheer speed and power that this black bitch demonstrated was far beyond what any of them could accomplish. Dash was aware that she wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed, but she was proud of her ability to think fast on her feet, and right now she was angry at herself for not seeing it earlier. Their opponent wasn't normal, not by a long shot. Her speed was impossible, even Dash couldn't see all of her movements, and as a Pegasus that wanted to join Wonderbolts she trained her sight to track high-speed movements. Without this skill she would be next to useless at high speeds, everything would be a blur for her and that could actually get her killed. First and foremost, Wonderbols were a military unit and therefore it was expected that any recruit was ready to be trained for battle. Dash was maybe a tad bit arrogant, but she was more than aware of the fact that she wasn't even on the level to actually apply for the Academy. She was fast and agile... but that was it. She trained day and night to actually put herself on the same level as any new Academy Cadet, but she still had a long way to go. Some of Ponyville's citizens thought that she was lazy because they saw her only sleeping or eating, but that was because she trained most of the time alone and returned to Ponyville to rest and fill her hungry stomach. Now she had even less time to train because she was hanging out with her friends, but it was far better than her lonely routine that she kept up for several years. The only one who was actually aware of her ridiculously hard training regimen was Fluttershy, being her oldest friend and the only one Dash trusted to patch her up after some particularly bad training accidents. Some wounds she just couldn't sleep off with nature taking its course. Fluttershy, bless her kind and timid heart, still tried to persuade Dash to visit an actual doctor, but there was a higher chance of the sun freezing over than her visiting one of those cursed places. Rainbow Dash didn't like Hospitals, and nobody will ever be able to make her enter one. 'I hope Trixie finishes picking up the loot soon, because I'm getting really bored here.' I thought as I dodged another rock. The new tactic was good and all, but the whole rock-to-the-head approach was getting old fast. I wasn't a battle-crazy maniac, but the fact that all I did was dodge rocks and avoid the Pegasus' attempts to sucker-punch me... Yeah, the whole thing was kind of pathetic, and I really wanted to be anywhere but here right now. I grabbed the Pegasus’ wrist as she tried to punch me in the left shoulder, and pulled her between me and the pair of Unicorns. I wasn't actually going to use her as meat-shield, but they didn't know this little fact. The Pegasus struggled to get her hand free, but her physical strength wasn't up to the task, so she decided to go the other way around her predicament and used her close proximity to me. Her fist impacted my face and again I heard something crack, and again it wasn't me. Without even looking I threw the Pegasus over my shoulder, my patience was running thin. "All done." I heard Gilda's voice. Slightly turning my head I saw her dragging the cart behind her. 'Damn, that's a lot.' I thought as I saw the literal mountain of bags loaded on it. 'Not important right now, I need to finish up with the dragon-slayer wannabes.' Without warning I charged with an activated Prana Burst. The two Unicorns were still standing there, too shocked with what happened with their friend to actually keep the barrage of stones going. I wasn't going to miss this chance. The pommel of my sword connected with the white-horned Unicorn's stomach, making her double over. Without stopping I did something that I really wanted to try since I saw that this world had Unicorns, I head-butted her right under her horn. I just wanted to test a theory that Unicorns got a reinforced forehead, but apparently I was wrong. The girl was thrown back with a bleeding wound on her forehead, she lost consciousness before even hitting the ground. I turned towards the other Unicorn, who only now started turning towards me, my actions too fast for her to follow. My left hand shot forward grabbing her face. 'I really hope it will work.' I thought with a light frown, my next move actually worked only in the movies, but considering that Common Sense and Logic apparently went out drinking, it should work. With a push I shoved her head backwards and down, making the back of her head connect with the ground. I didn't use enough strength to actually crack her skull, but the fact that she was lying motionless and still alive with my hand on her face was reassuring. I let go of her face and stood up. "We're leaving." I said and started walking toward the pass from where the six girls apparently came. On the balcony of Canterlot Castle stood a young man with light amber hair, brilliant arctic blue eyes and a white suit with a white shirt and blue bow tie, his white shoes were polished and actually gleamed when sunlight fell upon them. On his forehead was a long sharp horn with a spiral pattern. He had a slightly tan skin tone and a lean but athletic build. "Is that all?" He asked, not taking his eyes off the horizon. "Yes, my Lord." Answered a figure standing behind him. The voice was distorted and it was impossible to tell if the speaker was male or female, the figure was covered from head to toe with a grey cloak. Even its face was covered, but the darkness of the hood was unnatural, obviously a Magical Enchantment. "This is an interesting development." Said the blond man. "Apparently our dear Princess didn't think that someone else would have wanted to take the matter in their own hands." The smirk was playing on his lips. "What can you tell me about the trio?" "Gilda, Griffon, seventeen years-old. She’s the only daughter of Tazurg, the famous Metzger from the Griffon Kingdom. She was trained very well, and can probably take several of the Royal Guards, alone, without breaking a sweat. If she was taught Blutzorn, then she could probably tear apart all of the Wonderbolts and keep going for some time." Answered the figure. "Oh, so the old bastard has a daughter?" There was absolutely no hostility in the blond's voice. "There’s a couple of trophies from the War that are going to be taken for restoration, not that anyone will actually miss them, hm?" "Beatrix Lulamoon, eighteen years-old. This one is actually very talented in Magic. Her skill with Spells and her high level of control makes it extremely hard to tell how strong she really is, but I would put her around Capitan level in raw power alone. In skill she's far above what is currently the norm in the Royal Guards. How she's not someone's Apprentice is a mystery to me, but I can honestly say that she's far stronger than she appears to be." "A Magical prodigy? Hm, it seems we're lucky that she somehow slipped through the cracks and didn't end up in my Aunt's little School for Gifted Unicorns." The last part came from blond's mouth with a sneer of disgust. "I think there will also be a couple of books missing in the Royal Library this year. A young and talented mind needs a good foundation to grow." "The last one was identified as Saber, or at least that is what she calls herself. Sir… she's an anomaly." The blond man turned slightly and raised an elegant eyebrow at the figure. "She was strong enough to massacre a Dragon by herself. Her sword cut through its scales without any resistance; her skill with a sword is extraordinary. I don't think anyone in Equestria can match her blow for blow. She was also able to use some form of Magical scythe-like blast that was also able to cut through the Dragon's scales. She once created a gigantic construct in a shape of a sword around her weapon and used it as a... club to kill her opponent. Her Magical protection-sphere can apparently block any form of Magical assault without any negative consequences." The figure sighed. "Her speed and strength are also insane and physically should be impossible, but she performed them with the skills of a master." "So, overpowered, Magic-resistant and apparently pretty smart." The blond's face showed that he was in deep thought. Suddenly a big grin appeared on his face. "Well now, I just must meet such a interesting group of Ladies." The figure sighed again at her superior's antics, this will be a very long day. "I was also able to check upon the condition of the Elements." Said the figure. "Hm, and how badly was my dearest Aunt's toys damaged?" The mirth in blond's voice was obvious. "Twilight Sparkle suffered a minor concussion and a flesh wound on the back of her head from the impact with the ground." "So, went down with one attack?" Asked the blond. "Yes." "I don't know what my Aunt thinks, but this is pathetic. She showed a lot of potential during that incident with the Dragon's egg, but apparently it was just a fluke." He sighed. "Her only direct attack was more in line with an overpowered Magical beam with no form or purpose." "Why my Aunt didn’t put her through any form of military training I will never know." The blond looked over his shoulder at the cloaked figure. "What about the others?" "Rainbow Dash has severely bruised wings, a broken middle finger on her left hand and apparently Ms. Lulamoon stunned her. Applejack has internal bleeding, fractured bones in four fingers on her right hand and a severe case of exhaustion, she was also stunned. Rarity had minor internal bruising and a flesh wound on her forehead, near the base of her horn. Apparently the second wound was the reason for her unconscious state. Fluttershy was found inside the cave curled up in a ball and trembling in a puddle of... her own vomit. Pinkamena Diane Pie was found catatonic, standing and looking at what appeared to be a blue cannon cut in two. Apparently the report of her appearance was wrong as well, her hair was straight when I saw her, not curly." "As expected, sending a bunch of unprepared civilians to get rid of the Dragon. Aunty is going senile." The blond closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Edit all the reports that are going to be written from the words of the Elements. We need to have a meeting with this trio before Celestia organizes a lynching mob. I, in the meanwhile, will make sure to distract her for the soon to be arriving letter from her student." The figure nodded and jumped over the balcony's edge. Princess Luna was lying in bed and looking at the picture of her and her elder sister when they were younger. Celestia was hugging her from behind, smiling, while Luna was beaming at the painter. They were together and they were happy, that was all that mattered then. 'But now...' Thought Luna sadly. Tia wasn't as she was back then. Something changed in her sister and it made Luna scared. There just was something wrong with the way her sister looked at everyone else, something that made the younger Princess shiver. Luna knew that she wasn't the most sociably adept person, and her ability to read others was lacking when compared to her sister, but even she could tell that there was something… something abnormal with Celestia's behavior. Little things could be noticed. Considering that Luna was far more proficient in combat than in politics, she was able to notice the small changes in Tia’s mien. Tia had this strange way of looking at anyone that was talking to her, as if she was waiting for something to happen, but after her interlocutor would say or do something she get’s that strange satisfied glint in her eyes. It lasts but just a moment, but Luna was able to catch it. Then there was the way that Tia talked about her student, Twilight Sparkle. Luna knew the girl, even if in passing, she talked with her after being freed from Nightmare Moon's hold. Twilight was a bright, friendly and very talented Unicorn. She had some problems with being a bit of a perfectionist and tends to freak out from some insignificant things, but this could be all fixed by simply giving her a much needed social experience. 'Me and her both.' Luna chuckled. Tia didn't talk about any of that, no. What actually interested her older sister was Twilight's progress in her studies of Friendship as a concept. Luna was actually curious enough to read a couple of the so-called reports, and was appalled! Luna knew that she wasn't the best when it came to making friends or interacting with the normal Ponies, but it couldn't be even compared to the disaster that was Twilight Sparkle! The girl was brilliant when it came to academic studies and Magic, but her social skills were abysmal! There was something wrong going on, and Luna was interested in finding out exactly what. After some digging around, she found where she needed to go to get the answers she wanted. Even though she was a bit rusty being sneaky and staying hidden, none of the guards noticed her slip into the Hall of Academic Records. There, she found Twilight’s file, and what she saw only raised more questions. 'What the hay was a Dragon's egg even doing there?!' Luna thought with a frown. To hatch a Dragon's egg you would need a lot of Magical power, and it was more than just impossible for a simple student barely old enough to channel the Arcane Energy properly! But somehow the egg was used to test Twilight, and only her. It was more than a bit suspicious considering that it could've actually killed the poor little girl! Magical exhaustion was something that Unicorns rarely survived, and with her being so young... Tia actually saved the girls life but only after the deed was done and the Dragon was hatched. This couldn't be a coincidence, Luna was sure that her sister had something to do with the terribly unfair and incredibly dangerous test that Twilight took. There just wasn't any other explanation for her rapid response to the situation, or response at all. The facility had a set of Magical Suppressors always at the ready to stop the uncontrolled spikes of Magic from the students. Children will always be children and the desire to do something cool most of the time meant that it was also something dangerous. 'But why weren't they activated on that particular day?' Thought Luna with another frown. 'Even with the amount of Magic that was needed to hatch that egg, they should have been only set to be a tad bit less sensitive, there wasn't any particular reason to switch them off outright!' This whole situation was far from a simple case of negligence, and Tia was somehow connected to it. This was the reason that Luna didn't ask Tia herself about the whole thing. There was something nagging Luna at the back of her mind, something so obvious that it was literally hanging on the tip of her tongue, but she just couldn't figure it out. The answer was hidden in plain sight, right under her nose, and she just couldn't see it, and it was frustrating! Luna never liked puzzles, she was more of an action type. While Tia always liked to talk things out, Luna was always one for the 'Horn Blazing' approach. The whole affair with Sombra would've been a disaster if not for Luna and her more violent nature. The red-horned freak didn't even know what happened until his sorry smoky ass was dragged under the ice and sealed forever. Tia actually tried to reason with the maniac, help him... Luna helped him get a one-way ticket to six-feet-under, even if the bastard pulled a quick-one and pulled the whole Crystal Empire with him. The damn bastard was far better than Luna gave him credit for, didn’t matter in the end though. Discord was another matter altogether. The pathetic Spirit only wanted to screw over the world and show them that his sense of humor was stolen from a five-year-old girl. He didn't even put up a fight, one blast from the Elements of Harmony and he was nothing more than a garden ornament! For some strange reason, Tia was the one who actually took him seriously that time. While Luna didn't see him as a real threat, the chocolate milk rain was actually a pretty interesting solution, concerning their food problems. Pity she wasn't able to actually catch and study one of the clouds. To recreate such a thing would have been very beneficial. 'Damn, and now I'm hungry...' But she was getting off-topic. Her main problem right now was that her sister sent Twilight to take care of the Dragon that was producing enough smoke in its sleep that it would have covered a pretty big portion of Equestria. Unfortunately, with it being infused with Dragon's Magic it won't simply dissipate with time and wind. Luna instantly thought about sending a squad of Royal Guards to remedy the issue, but Tia was very adamant that Twilight and her friends would be able to resolve the problem. It failed. Scrying wasn't something that Luna was really good at, and considering that her version involved a bowl full of water, the easiest of conductors for this type of Magic, she was glad to get such a good look at what actually happened in and near the cave. 'Who are you, Saber?' "Well, this is interesting." Muttered Trixie as she was going through the treasures that they acquired. Most of them were just golden coins and gems, but there were a couple of pretty interesting artifacts that she could probably use... Well, first she would need to understand what exactly they do, so she could utilize them properly. The problem with Enchanted items is that each Crafter has his or her own way of doing things, and there is no way of knowing what it is. Right now Trixie was basically trying to guess which Enchantment did what. She could recognize some of the Enchantments, but how they actually worked and interacted when activated was still a mystery to her. "Are you sure that none of these things are dangerous?" Asked Gilda again, as she studied the simple dagger with no guard and a red handle. "The dagger you're holding is Enchanted to act as a small bomb when thrown by releasing a weak shock-wave when it strikes the target." Answered Trixie without actually looking. Gilda barely restrained herself from dropping the thing. Her knowledge on the subject was limited due to her not being an actual user of the art, but even with the lack of proper education she could understand how some of the Spells worked. Griffons weren't really good at the type of Magic Unicorns used, but their skills in Alchemy was more than enough to compensate for it. It was actually funny how Ponies tried to recreate Alchemy and failed miserably. They just didn't understand how it worked and were really upset when the same process as their Magic didn't work. Gilda actually read one of Pony’s books on Alchemy and laughed her ass off, the concepts and hypothesis were so pathetic that she thought that the book was actually a prank, but apparently it was the real thing. Ponies thought that you had to 'believe' in the change and 'will' it to happen... 'I still can't believe that they were able to do anything with what they came up with.' Gilda held back a snort. Apparently someone got lucky and managed to slightly change one thing into another, and that made him so happy that he wrote a whole damn book about it. I was going through some pretty cheap trinkets when I sensed a presence. We stopped not far from the mountain, on the meadow near a small pond, and were going through the loot that was liberated from the deceased beast's cave, when my instincts screamed at me that we were being watched. Without even thinking I dropped the trinket, jumped in position between the cart and the place from where my senses were telling me the dangerous feeling was coming from, summoned my sword and took a stance. Gilda was right by me not a moment later. I actually applaud her speed, she was telling the truth about her military training. Trixie took position on the cart, the higher ground giving her an advantage in mid-to-long-range combat. "I'm not here to cause trouble or take your earned goods." The figure that stepped from behind the tree was fully covered by the cloak, even I couldn't see his or her face. "And your proof would be?" Asked Gilda. "I could probably take on Ms.Lulamoon..." From the corner of my left eye I saw how Trixie twitched. "...or Ms.Gilda, but it would be impossible to defeat both, and that's not counting you, Ms.Saber. I know my own limits and you will kill me faster than I would be able to even draw my weapon." I didn't move, but my eyes scanned the surrounding area, searching for any back-up that this gutsy individual had. My senses were far superior to anything that the locals had and if there was any back-up, it wasn't in any close proximity. I didn't relax, but I lowered my sword, showing that I was ready to listen to what he was going to say. Any wrong move will earn him a free vivisection. "My employer wants to meet you three and offer a proposition." I barely held back a snort. 'Blunt.' I thought. 'I'm not the smartest person in the world, but wasn't this an open admission that we were spied on?' This was bad, because the enemy that knows about your skills and powers can prepare ahead of time to counter them accordingly. The only thing that I didn't use was Excalibur's full power, and that will take some time to charge up. 'There is something wrong with this whole situation, I was found out too fast.' It's not like I was going to keep a low profile but this was too fast, even with the fact that I killed the Dragon. Something was wrong and I could feel it in my guts. News can travel fast but... 'Oh, shit.' I suddenly remembered the civilians that attacked me. If they were sent by this guy's employer and I kicked their asses... We were going to take their place and their load. Apparently I stumbled on the local version of Mafia, but with a more civilized approach. My mind was working faster than ever before, the situation was more than a tad bit grim, with the way that I defeated the... civilians? What the hell? The Mafia won't hire some untrained goons just to take down something as tough as a real Dragon, I was pretty damn sure that no one would be dumb enough to even try it. On the other hand, if the civilians were forced into confronting the beast, then I probably saved their lives by slaying it before they were able to confront it. They were basically sent on a suicide mission from which they weren't suppose to came back. Someone was probably watching to confirm their demise and that's how we were found out. Following this logic we would be asked to kill them now, because the whole thing with the Dragon went down the drain. 'I can already feel a headache coming...' I resisted the urge to pinch the bridge of my nose. I could probably bullshit my way out of it, if the 'Might is Right'-type of tactic will work, but nothing will protect Gilda and Trixie. I met them not long ago, but the point here was that they helped me and I helped them and until proven wrong I will consider them allies. It will be very unfitting for someone who has the identity of a King to abound her comrades. The first variant was to agree and meet this guy's boss. The problem here was that I wasn't sure if there was a way for the local Magecraft-users to set up a trap for me this fast. To analyze a being of my nature will probably take some time and resources, even if it was possible. The direct approach won't work, I was more than simply tough, I was one step from being literally immune to any and all Magic. So there wasn't a way for them to affect me directly, or at least I hoped there wasn't... They could probably take hostages, but I don't think there was anyone fast enough to stop me from interfering, but I didn't know what type of Magecraft the attacker would use on Trixie and Gilda, the death-clocks were more than just a grim possibility. The second variant was to tell the dude to screw himself. This will probably guarantee that a manhunt will be out for us. The possibility of being hunted like a criminal made me feel uneasy. I could go without food or water for pretty much unlimited periods of time, Trixie and Gilda not so much. Being always on the move... We will have to split, or there would be a higher chance of us being found... I really didn't want to think about it. And the fact the I will have to actually kill the attacker made me feel ill. Taking the life of the Dragon was one thing, but taking the life of something so close to an actual human as the locals were. Not happening any time soon. 'Well, shit.' I thought.