The Red Scales
People really underestimate the social ritual of sharing food with someone.
When you offer someone food, you’re basically asking them to trust you, because the food could be poisoned and that is something no one can check without looking like an asshole. Also, when you share food with someone you basically tell them that you're entrusting your own life to them, because the visitor couldn't know how much food you have and if it and will be enough to reach the next city or village to get more.
'Well, the point is kind of moot here, because the food is literally all around us.' I thought while chewing on a piece of Manticore meat.
The taste was... strange, but in a good way. I wasn't really much of an expert, my mother wasn't that good at cooking, so more times than not our dinner was delivered from the nearest McDonalds...
I really didn't like that place.
It has nothing to do with the food, just their mascot...
You know, when I was a child, I had a phobia of Theme-Park's mascots. At that time, already emotionally repressed, I was suspicious of their instant friendliness, frozen grins and eagerness to lead me to the nearest man's toilet to show me Herman, the Hairy Snake. The secret mascot that is only shown to the good boys and girls with a weak sense of danger and even weaker gag reflexes.
The point is that I didn't overcome this fear before my mother took me and my sister to Disneyland, and the day became a tense and fearful avoidance game at the first sign of an oversized cranium. I was culminating in paroxysms of torment by the time the parade rolled around.
The grins.
A sea of grins!
Staring.
Judging.
Winnie the Pooh doing some foul, perverted windmill dance with his exposed forearms.
No, Goofy, I don't want to taste Herman's special milk!
...
...
...
'Suppressing the memories in one, two, three...'
...
...
...
'Alright, where was I?' My mind was a bit hazy. 'Oh yeah.'
The meat itself was pretty good, the taste reminded me of my Uncle's attempt to introduce me to bear's meat. It was somewhat similar. Not as soft though.
'I'm eating Manticore's meat in the company of a Griffon and a Unicorn.' If someone from home would have heard that particular thought, I would've been sent to the nearest psychiatric ward. 'And it's even worse because I can't find a better metaphor to demonstrate the impossibility of the situation.'
I took another big bite, still trying to decide what to do next. Well, I could try to visit those Princesses, but the idea left a bitter taste in my mouth. The two supposedly immortal beings were treated here like Gods with the capital 'G', and that left me a tad bit stupefied. Power always came with the price, the rule of Equivalent Exchange can't be broken without something powerful enough to bend reality to its whims.
Shirou Emiya could bypass it somewhat, but only because of his Reality Marble, and only when it came to his Projection because he didn't actually create anything, but pulled things from his internal world.
But there was one thing that made this place different.
There was no Gaia.
There was literally no resistance from the World itself to the changes that anyone will try and enforce with Magecraft. Therefore nothing prevented any local Magus from actually using their art to its full potential.
And this fact made them weak.
There was no challenge for them here, no obstacle that needed to be overcame, no reason to move forward. Their progress in Thaumaturgy was made due to curiosity rather than an actual need, and that was kind of sad. They just used Magecraft as a toy, as something that can be used for entertainment and shortcuts.
It made me sick.
Any Magus worth their salt would probably butcher the local population just for the disrespect they showed to the sacred art. Well, Tokiomi would probably have a stroke...
*Crunch*
'Well, shit...' I thought as I heard something crunching in my mouth.
Apparently I just ate a bone... again. After the first time I checked with my tongue if any of my teeth were broken or missing, and made a very... unnerving discovery. Having a mouth full of shark-like teeth that apparently could bite through bone with little to no resistance just added another cherry on top the shit-cake that was my day till now.
"If it's not a bother..." I heard Trixie, she was sitting near Gilda and munching on apple, that the Griffon had with her for some reason. "Can you tell us just what are you?"
This question caught me by surprise. I honestly hoped that she would just let me go without asking about my origins, but apparently my peaceful demeanor had a rather nasty negative side-effect.
"Wait, what do you mean by that?" Asked Gilda looking between me and Trixie.
"You probably can't sense it, but she is not an Earth-Pony." Said Trixie, making the Griffon look at me with wide eyes. "Earth-Ponies can't even channel Magic, actually molding it is an impossibility for them. But she performed both acts without even breaking a sweat. I could probably write off actual molding as a work of her sword, but the fact that she was able to channel Mana was more than enough for me. Her physical strength is beyond anything that can be achieved through Enchantments on her armor and body, her sheer durability is on par with a Dragon, if not higher, her speed is simply insane!" Trixie took a deep breath.
"So, she's strong, fast and tough?" Asked Gilda, not quite understanding what Trixie was telling her.
"It's not that simple!" I could see Trixie's eye twitching. "There's a limit to how much you can overstep the normal limitations of your body, and I'm not talking about the amount of Enchantments present at the same time. After a certain point your body will start to break down, incapable of handling the stress of moving at such speed. Even if you make your muscles, bones, skin and everything else durable enough, you'll still have a limit at how much something could be strengthened. She..." Trixie pointed at me. "...is not a Pony."
'Well, shit...' I listened very carefully to what she was saying and it was actually a very good observation. I looked from the corner of my eye at Trixie and Gilda, who was now looking at me, the first one with satisfaction, the second one with curiosity. 'What to do, what to do? I can probably give some basic explanation... Nah, it will only make them more curious. Well, lets see how they will react to the Truth.'
Basically, I was going to use them as the test subjects to see how they will react to the Type-Moon explanation of my nature, I hope it will end well and they won't attack. Its not like they could actually harm me, as far as my Saber-Senses were telling me, but it's better to be safe than sorry. On some level I knew that it was a bad idea, but I actually had no choice here.
I couldn't kill them, I wasn't a murderer!
I couldn't wipe their minds, I wasn't a Caster, and Trixie could probably undo the block given enough time.
I couldn't just run away, it will leave too many questions and Gilda could actually fly.
The best option here was to start talking, and basically bullshit my way through the whole thing. I really hope that my acting skills were up to the task, but Charisma: E in my Parameters made it hard to be optimistic.
"I'm complicated." I answered.
'And the award for the lamest answer goes to...' My mind supplied.
"First of all, can at least tell us where you came from?" Asked Trixie.
"You probably didn't hear about the place from which I hail, but if you insist." I made sure to emphasize the last word. "I came from the country called the United States of America, or USA as they are called today, from the city called New York." My bluntness was not appreciated.
"Never heard of it." Said Trixie, narrowing her eyes.
Her switch from the scared girl persona to this was as smooth and natural as a controlled demolition. She was probably trying to put up a strong facade, but I wasn't buying it for even a moment.
"I already told you, there is a very small chance that you've heard about this particular place." I answered with an even voice.
'Different dimension and all that jazz...' I thought. 'The problem here is that I don't know the workings of their Magical system, therefore I can't actually have a conversation with her without creating a couple of misunderstandings.'
"I'm not getting a better explanation, am I?" Asked Trixie.
"Correct." I even gave a slight nod in confirmation.
It's not like I couldn't explain it to her, I just didn't want to deal with the mess that my status as a guest from other dimension will create.
"Well, it’s only fair in this case." Answered Trixie. I actually blinked at how fast she surrendered. "But there is one thing that I want to know, and I want a full answer." She stared at me, waiting for my response.
I personally was mulling over her reaction to my butchered answer. She was too calm about it, like she already gained something from the answer, but I couldn't pinpoint what. There was absolutely no chance that she was somehow connected to Zelretch of all people, the old and annoying bloodsucking asshole had a tendency to leave his... objects of interest in a worse mental state than they were before meeting him. A humanized Unicorn was definitely an object of interest, and considering that she was sane, didn't display any obvious mental instabilities and wasn't eating her own shit while chanting Klaatu Barada Nikto in Bruce Lorne Campbell's voice, I could only conclude that she wasn't connected with the old Dead Apostle Ancestor.
'I don't have much of a choice here, am I?' I thought while giving Trixie a nod.
"What are you doing here?" She asked. "And I don't want to hear an answer akin of 'walking', or something as useless and pathetic. I need a full answer, what is the reason of your arrival in Equestria."
'Am I out of my mind?!' Thought Trixie, barely keeping up her stony facade.
Inside she was sweeting bullets and on the verge of wetting herself. The manner in which she spoke just now could get her killed, and considering how easy it was for this Saber to kill the Manticore, she won't stand a chance. Trixie knew that her tone and her weak attempt to appear 'bigger' than she really was could irritate the black being, but acting as a scared little girl won't get her any answers. The only thing that was keeping her from collapsing into a quivering mess and urinating herself while sucking her thumb, was her charged teleportation Spell, that wasn't visible because of her hat.
When the being answered her first question, about its nature, Trixie was conflicted. She knew, that she should ask for a clarification, but then she remembered the horrible vision she got when she first met Saber.
Trixie was a very good judge of character, it kind of comes with the job, and right now she could see that Saber wasn't as much of a monster, as Trixie first thought. Trixie knew to never judge a book by its cover, and right now she could see, that her first impression was a mistake.
Saber never tried to actually harm Trixie. Yes, she made some aggressive moves, but it was only in self-defense, and to get past the misunderstanding. Trixie was actually feeling guilty for attacking without thinking, she was better than that! She almost did the same thing that the villagers did to her.
Saber also didn't use her obviously intimidating presence to get anything from Trixie. There a lot of things you can tell about a person from the way he or she asks questions. Saber wasn't demanding anything, just asking politely without any actual pressure from her side, and even if Trixie only gave a bare minimum of information, she never asked for more, just moved to the next question. Trixie also felt guilty about that, giving someone the minimum of information, while demanding a full answer was very rude and absolutely unacceptable.
'I was acting just like them...' Thought Trixie.
She was about to say that Saber didn't need to answer, when the knight started talking.
"I want to get home." This made Trixie pause.
For the first time there was an actual emotion in Saber's voice.
And it was sadness.
During the whole conversation Saber didn't display any emotion in her voice or in her body-language, even her face was like it was carved from stone. Trixie didn't know if she was always that way, or if it was because of both her and the Griffon's presences, but Saber's monotonous voice was the only thing that they heard from her. And now Trixie apparently found something that broke the stoic facade of the black knight.
'This is too troublesome.' Thought Trixie.
The answer caught her unprepared, and she didn't know what to do. She really wasn't up to the task here, she was a more or less a simple person, with simple needs and desires, stuff like this just wasn't inside her comfort-zone. She wasn't a loner by any definition of the word, but she also wasn't as sociable as other Ponies. She just didn't quiet click with the others, it was always a tad bit awkward or uncomfortable in their presence, even if there wasn't many of them around here, she just didn't quiet fit into normal society.
'But I'm getting sidetracked.' She concentrated on the matter at hand. 'I still need to decide what to do.'
Well, Saber was alone and in unknown territory, with only her armor and sword. This situation strongly reminded Trixie of her own childhood, where she had to perform just to scrap enough money to buy food. Kindness was something that was almost hardwired in the brains of the local population, but Trixie didn't want pity or charity, she want to find herself, her own place in life.
In her eyes, Cutie Marks were just glorified tattoos that gave you a general idea of what kind of predisposition you have, but nothing more. Well, a cool tattoo on your hip can also be considered a bonus. All that crap about Fate and Destiny made her want to vomit.
Her Cutie Mark meant that she had a affinity towards 'Controlled Magic' and 'Artifacts'. The first meant that she was gifted with a very good control of her Magic, and with decent reserves that would only grow with time and practice, while the second meant that she was proficient in creating, constructing, enchanting and using any and all artifacts and magical items. But it didn't mean that she would do it for life! She was a pretty decent cook, knew how to apply First Aid, could prepare some passably good potions and of course was able to fight, even Saber complimented Trixie on her combat skills earlier.
'What else could I say?' Thought Trixie as she smiled.
"Well, sitting here won't do you any good." She said to Saber. "Tell us, can you reach your home by foot?"
"No. I will requirer the assistance of one particular individual, the only person capable of transporting me home." Answered Saber, her tone was even, without even a hint of any emotion.
"How will you find him?" Asked Trixie.
She didn't want to sound rude, but apparently Saber wasn't taking her questions as an insult, Trixie already decided on her course of action.
Trixie actually had a point.
The only way for me to get home was to find the old Zelretch, which was almost impossible, considering the fact that he was as slippery as a slimy snake when he didn't want to be found. I was sitting here without any way to find home, and strangely it didn't bother me.
Is this what people call acceptance?
'Note for the future: Punch myself in the face.' My mind supplied.
I really was in a sticky situation here, but there is always a way out, I just have to find it. Like earlier, when I was locked in that place near the river, I found an exit!
'More like made one, but that’s not important!' I thought. The problem at the moment was finding at least something, that will point me in the right direction. 'And I will probably have to ask for help.'
Right now it was the worst option. Asking for help always meant that you will need to trust the people you ask and hope that they will trust you too. But for someone with my visage it meant that it would be a miracle that someone will trust me. And it's not like I have a choice...
"There is no real method to find this particular individual..." I started.
'How the fuck did this happen?' I asked myself.
Right now I was walking along with Gilda behind Trixie, who apparently was leading us towards her secret stash. Apparently all her things were destroyed because of some morons, as she called them, and she only got a little bit of money on herself and the clothes on her back.
'Its like she got Charisma: A or something.' I could only sigh.
She even somehow persuaded Gilda to come with us. I personally didn't have anything against it, but the fact that she had done so with such ease was more than disturbing. I didn't have what many called a 'silver tongue', but winning in a battle of wits wasn't something unachievable for me.
And I lost without even a chance to fight back.
The fact that I was going to ask for her help anyway was kind of moot here, because I felt used and manipulated at the moment, and it was all that mattered. I wasn't a petty person, but the fact that someone made me do their bidding with such ease irked, and I really was starting to regret my decision to come with her.
'The pen is mightier than the sword indeed.' At least my sarcastic mind was still with me.
'I think I've been played...' Thought Gilda while walking beside Saber.
It happened just so damn fast. One moment they were all sitting and listening to Saber's explanation about her only chance to get home, then Trixie started talking and it somehow ended with Gilda agreeing to accompany the two. She didn't even notice when the conversation was redirected from one topic to another.
Well, she wasn't against helping out Saber, the girl actually gave her a big chunk of Manticore for free, and Gilda always repaid kindness with kindness. There was something in Saber that made it pretty easy for Gilda to get along with the dark swordswoman, her speech wasn't really expressive, but in the terms of wit and sarcasm she was alright in Gilda's book. It was just so easy to talk to her, and not like the other Griffons, but more like with someone not from any known category to Gilda.
The first thing that amazed Gilda was Saber's lack of disgust towards meat, she even ate it! One of the main training exercises in her military training was gathering food while in the wilds, which was pretty much the same as normal hunting, but without any actual tools. Attempting to create at least a small campfire during one of the more rainy days was a pain, and Gilda wasn't a fan of a raw meat, even if she technically could eat it without any negative consequences to her internal organs it still left a bad taste in her mouth. Gilda couldn't actually say if Ponies even could digest meat because she never actually saw one eat it, and considering that Trixie actually proved that Saber wasn't a Pony, the point was moot.
The second point that amazed her was Saber's willingness to kill. Yeah, it was a Manticore, but it was still pretty impressive. At first Gilda thought that she was a Pony, but now she wasn't so sure, there just wasn't any of the normal innocence in her that was practically oozing from other Ponies that Gilda met so far. The set of very sharp teeth that bit through bone like a hot knife through butter made it pretty clear that Saber wasn't a Pony, no matter how much she looked like one, and Gilda didn't actually care what she was. Killing was something all Griffons were familiar with from a young age, it was their parents that taught their child how to hunt and kill, but it was more of a tradition than anything in this day and age. Gilda herself spent about five weeks in the damn forest near the city that she lived in with her father, while trying to find the damn deer that her father ordered her to catch. Freaking critter was apparently used to being hunted and developed some pretty good instincts. When Gilda finally caught it, she made sure to put it down with extreme prejudice.
The third thing that surprised Gilda about Saber was her presence. Gilda was more than aware that Saber was in a position to kill both her and Trixie at a moment's notice while they were talking near the fire. Her sword was within arm's reach, her posture was relaxed only on first sight but Gilda's more experienced eyes picked up the small, but noticeable signs that Saber was still on high alert and would be able to move into a combat stance instantly. This was not a mere wandering swordswoman, this was a trained warrior that didn't even think about her actions, her body was just so well-trained that she didn't need to think about trivial things such as her sitting position or where to put her sword, it was all purely automatic. This was not a normal behavior by any means, even the Gewitter Waldläufer, the Elites of the Griffon Kingdom, weren't that good and these maniacs were practically bred for combat! Maybe Saber would agree to spar with Gilda? Gilda didn't have any illusions about the fact that she will be trashed by the knight, but to see someone of this caliber in battle would totally be worth it!
Gilda glanced at the black blade.
'If I survive the encounter...' She thought with a shudder, that damn sword was giving even her the creeps.
Trixie was pretty sure that she just did something that was close to impossible and was damn proud of herself!
'And proud of being able to not get myself bisected.' She thought.
She really didn't want to see what happened to the Ponies who got on Saber's bad side. Trixie internally was almost hyperventilating from the nerves, she was ready to teleport instantly the moment it looks like Saber is going to gut her. She wasn't even sure if she will be fast enough to get away, considering the whole mess with the Manticore. Only after Saber agreed and Gilda was persuaded to join them was Trixie was able to sigh in relief.
Trixie wasn't sure why she wanted to help Saber, the black knight just had something about her that put Trixie at ease when she promised to repay Trixie for her help. It was strange, but Trixie was absolutely sure that Saber was telling the truth, even if she almost wet herself not a minute ago.
Asking Gilda to come with them was also a bonus, you must never underestimate the usefulness of flight and a Griffon was one of the best in the air, no matter how much Pegasi bragged. Yes, Ponies were a tad bit more agile, but only because they were lighter and generally smaller than Griffons. Also, Griffons were predators and that made them far more dangerous in combat because of their instinct to kill their opponent, while Pegasi will merely try to defeat their opponent.
Trixie didn't approve of killing, but understood that sometimes it was necessary. Yes, it was bad, but sometimes there just wasn't any other way.
Right now she was heading toward a mountain where she hid her back-up cart. She didn't have a second trailer, because she didn't know that she would l ever even need one! The back-up cart was more of a buffer until she could get back on her feet. She wouldn't be able earn any money and the food will eventually run out so it was more like an emergency package, just a bit bigger than the normal one. She really hoped that no one found it and left her without the essentials.
She even had her crafting tools there, and they cost quite a bit! No crafter worth their salt will buy a tool for their craft, all tools must be made by hand and specifically for the crafter. That was the reason for the high cost, you'd need to buy a lot of resources to create a new tool, enchant it just right and then use it. Trixie spent a lot of time making her tools, they were her most treasured possessions. She never took them with her on any performance due to the risk of them being stolen.
She wouldn't be able to replace them for years after this fiasco.
Volcanic Steel alone will cost her more than she made in a year. Funny fact was that this particular steel didn't have anything to do with a real volcano, it was just forged with its essence, making it more heat-resistant than a Dragon. It was often used for weapons and blacksmiths tools, but only very high graded. Canterlot had only about three blacksmiths that used this particular steel for their tools, and only one that could actually make something from it. Trixie was very lucky that this blacksmith’s daughter was having a birthday and asked Trixie to perform, the show was one of the best in Trixie's career. Blue Flame, the blacksmith in question was so grateful for her show that he made the tools she need with a quarter discount!
'Ah, good times...' Thought Trixie. 'But I'm getting sidetracked.'
Right, she needed to remember how to get to the cave where she hid her cart, it's not like she was going to do something as dumb as hiding it in forest or better burying it underground, she was far smarter than that! The only problem right now was to climb on the mountain where the cave was.
'Yeah, no problem.'
I really hate this mountain right now.
Trixie was leading us for several hours now, I was pretty sure that it was midday right now, or at least close enough to it. It’s not like I needed rest or anything, but it was still mentally tiresome to just walk like that for hours.
I decided to do something productive while we were walking. One thing that I failed to figure out was the trick that all Servants used, the one where they hid their weapons. The trick itself wasn't hard to pull from the jumble of things that was flashing inside my head from time to time, making it actually work was another matter altogether. From time to time I was having an injection of information inside my mind, slowly giving more and more information about my new abilities and skills, while not painful, it was still a tad bit uncomfortable.
The only good thing was that I didn't get any of Arturia's memories, having two sets of them would have a negative effect on my psyche, I just know it. So far I was getting more information on how to fight, how to handle my sword, how to actually move in this body with maximum efficiency. The last one was actually very useful, I could now sit and do pretty much everything with my armor still on me. I knew how to remove it and turn it back into Prana, but I wasn't comfortable without it yet, better safe than sorry.
But back to me hiding my weapon. Excalibur Morgan was an awesome sword and all but without an actual way to carry it other than my hand, it was getting a tad bit annoying. The trick in hiding your weapon was in making it dematerialize, like slightly shifting it from existence, or to be more specific, I needed to pull out the essence that made it visible. It's really hard to explain. Basically, it was kind of similar to what Servants would do when shifting from their Material Body to their Spiritual Body, and that is the best way I can describe it.
The feeling was weird! It was like my sword was still with me, I could feel it, even instantly switch in which arm it was, but still slightly out of my reach, like I couldn't quite grasp it. When my sword just disappeared in particles of black, red and purple smoke Trixie and Gilda actually freaked out, but when I called it back and it instantly appeared they looked like I just grew a second head. I tried to explain it as best as I could, making sure to use the terms that wouldn't be so closely tied to Type-Moon, that no one except me would be able to understand them. Trixie apparently got at least the gist of it, Gilda looked a tad bit lost, but Trixie explained it to her in the local terms.
'At least there wasn't any jokes about me killing my sword...' I thought.
We reached the piedmont.
Alright, from this place that damn thing looked huge! I never actually climbed a mountain and the closest thing I did was climbing on that special wall in a Mall. So this was a novel experience to me, not that I wanted it.
I looked at Trixie and frowned. Earlier I asked her about her teleportation and she explained to me how it basically worked. Caster's Spatial Transportation was far better than this in my opinion. Yes, the range of the teleportation depended on the user's skill and energy capacity, and theoretically didn't have a limit, but the method was horrible. In Rowling's version of the skill the person was 'forced through a very tight rubber tube', while here you were basically forced to suffer the products of Gene Roddenberry's fantasy.
'If I could, I would've kissed my Magic Resistance: A, that made it impossible to teleport me.' I though.
Well, it not like I couldn't climb the mountain by myself, the only problem was that I didn't know where the cave was. I could probably carry Trixie, but it would be counterproductive with the speed that I would be moving. The only option I could see here was if Gilda will carry Trixie and I will just follow behind, I just hope that I wouldn't need to test if I could survive the fall from such a height. I looked up, trying to measure how tall the thing was.
'What the fuck?' I strained my eyes, trying to make out what was I seeing.
"Ms.Lulamoon, is there any flora at the top the mountain that can be considered flammable?" I asked.
Trixie looked at me, as did Gilda, both raising their eyebrows.
"First, please, call me Trixie." She said with a sigh. "Or at least Beatrix." She apparently was slowly losing the will to fight it.
"I'll take you request into consideration." Who said I couldn't have some harmless fun? "And my question?"
She furrowed her brows, apparently trying to remember something.
"None that I remember." She said finally. "There are trees, but they're rare and far in-between. Why do you ask?"
"Because I don't think that this amount of smoke can be made by a campfire." I pointed up with my clawed gauntlet.
Trixie and Gilda looked up.
Smoke. Black smoke was coming from the top of the mountain. It was coming from a particular place, and apparently the local wind-current was pulling the smoke in the direction that we came from. There wasn't much of it, but even with the lack of quantity, it was compensating with its quality, the damn cloud was so dense, that light couldn't even penetrate it, and it was slowly but surely growing.
Apparently some of the smoke escaped from the current and raised higher, creating a thick mist-like cloud around the top of the mountain, it was actually pretty impressive! Well, it was probably pretty bad for the environment, but who said that the threat can't be cool? It, also, wasn't actually my problem to begin with so it's not my place to care about the local flora.
"My cart! It’s probably caught up by the fire!" Suddenly exclaimed Trixie.
'Oh, shit...' I resisted the urge to facepalm.
"Ms.Gilda, can you carry Ms. Lulamoon up there?" I asked.
"Yeah, I can, but what about the fire?" Asked the Griffon without turning her head, she was still observing the smoke.
Out of us three her eyes were probably second only to mine, my status as a Servant gave me a perfect eyesight.
'Now I know why Iskander was standing on the top of the damn bridge while watching as Arturia was having her ass kicked by Diarmuid, he didn't need to get closer to see everything.' I thought.
"I will take care of the flames as soon as I locate the source, please take Ms.Lulamoon and fly up with her, she will be able to direct you towards the cave where her possessions are located." I said. "After locating said cave please find me and show me the direction towards it, I would probably be finished with the flames by that time."
Without waiting for a reply I crouched down a little and then jumped. With Prana Burst activated I almost flew upwards, leaving a pretty decent crated from the force of my take off.
'Believe it or not, I'm walking on air.' I hummed the song. 'I never thought I could feel so free~.'
Damn, Joey Scarbury knew what he was singing about! The sensation of flight was unbelievable! Earlier, when I tried to use Prana Burst for jumping I was more concerned with the landing than with the experience itself, but I could actually bathe in the sensation of flight that was rolling all over my body. I never felt anything quite like this, and won't ever forget this majestic feeling.
I could feel that my ascent was starting to slow down, looking down I could see that I covered a pretty big distance, the gaping Trixie and Gilda, still standing down there were a pretty amusing sight to see.
'Yep, I'm awesome!' I looked up and grinned, making sure that they won't see me breaking my emotionless facade.
Seeing a big enough ledge on my path I twisted my body in its direction, and planting my right foot on it. One more jump with an activated Prana Burst and I was again sailing upwards with great speed.
'Actually, I kind of said that I would take care of the fire, but...' I actually had to resist the urge to facepalm here. 'How the hell am I actually suppose to do it?'
Well, I could just use Invisible Air and blow the damn thing off the mountain, but the problem was that I didn't have the guarantee that the remains of whatever is burning up there won't just create a new fire, but this time in the forest down there. So this option was out, and with a good reason.
Next option was to use Burst Air and blew the thing up, but there was the same problem as with the first option. Giant forest fire was not my goal, no matter how awesome some people say it would be.
Well, it was a mountain and I could just throw the burning thing into the cleft with nothing flammable in it, basically isolating fire from the source of its fuel. It will be longer but the result was what actually mattered, so I really couldn't complain.
One more jump brought me even closer to my target.
'Never thought that I would end up in the situation like this.' This thought made me smirk. 'I'm living in a world similar to some pretty twisted RPG.'
Well, I hope that this place is better than a normal single-player RPG. I don't want my time here to be a monotonous 'grind', as it’s called. Basically it's when you enter a new area, gather Quests for a load of work-shy peasants who won't lift a finger to chase the cottagers out of their own toilets and who have about two faces and four hairstyles between them all, then you go to the dungeon and murder everyone you find, steal their pocket change, steal their trousers, then come back, hand in the Quests, sell all the trousers, and flee, like some kind of extremely dedicated wandering secondhand clothing salesman. It will suck more than being stuck in a place that is a twisted child of Tim Burton who knocked up David Lynch in Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory that did meth right up until the birth.
You see I'm a gamer in the same way that Ian Thorpe is a salmon. Okay, they both splash about in water, but you'd be embarrassed if you tried to make mousse out of Ian Thorpe. The biggest problem I had with many games was the incredible amount of shitty dialogs that took away time from the fighting or doing something actually useful! Somebody once said that a politician is a person who can talk for hours and never actually say anything. If that's true, any game's Hero could run for government and be emperor of the universe by mid-afternoon.
Honestly, if someone even attempted to monologue about Justice and other crap in front of me, I'll gut them. What idiot will just talk and talk while in a confrontation with a deadly enemy? It's like Hero is an incontinent who just drank six bottles of Mountain Dew, so full to bursting with dialogue that it leaks out at every turn.
'Oh, shit!' I almost missed the next ledge. 'Let this be a lesson for me to not let my thoughts wander away from current events!'
Falling down from such a height will be a pain in the ass, and I mean it literally! Well, Saber actually survived being trashed by Berserker, and with Avalon I will probably be alright, but I still don't want to test it.
'She's not a Pony...' Thought Trixie as she was pulled up by Gilda.
When Saber said that she will take care of the fire, Trixie was a bit perplexed about the proclamation. No matter how fast she was, Saber wouldn't be able to reach the fire faster than a Griffon who could just fly up there. Trixie got her answer a moment later when the swordswoman shot upward with incredible speed, her jump actually tore the ground apart! The amount of power that was needed for such a stunt made Trixie gape.
Earth-Ponies could jump pretty high with their strength increased passively by their Magic, but even they paled in comparison to this display. All doubts that Trixie had about Saber's nature were erased right then and there, Saber wasn't a Pony, because even the Princesses wouldn't be able to repeat whatever the knight did to launch herself up.
'She's not a Pony...' Trixie could only sigh.
Gilda was still trying to process what the hell she just saw. One moment Saber was standing there, and the next she somehow launched herself up like a shot from a cannon!
'Definitely going to ask for a spar later. She thought.
Gilda wasn't the most bloodthirsty kind of Griffon, but as any member of her race she carried what can only be called a Battle-Lust. Deep inside she actually craved battle, it was in her blood, in her heart, the drums that called for war. From a young age all Griffons were taught how to control themselves, so the urges won't overpower the will of the Griffon. Gilda once saw a Griffon who lost control, he was executed. The sheer bestial rage that she saw in his eyes scared her for life, he couldn't even think anymore, he was just a beast, an animal and nothing more.
Her trainer made sure to explain that these instincts, these urges were part of her, just one part of the whole being that she was. Some part of her will always desire battle, and she won't ignore it, she just won't be lead by it.
There was another reason that she followed Saber.
Her instincts were silent. In Saber's presence the annoying buzz in the back of her head was gone! Gilda once heard about such a phenomenon, her father told her once about his meeting with Bazarig, the legendary Verdrehten Kralle, a criminal who went insane, slaughtered his own division during the War and started to kill everyone in his path, no matter which faction they were.
Her father told her that when he met the monster, his instincts went silent too. It meant that he was in the presence of someone whose Warrior Spirit was so much larger than his own, that it actually made her father doubt the idea of actually confronting the criminal.
Gilda wasn't stupid, she knew that Saber was far stronger than she herself is now, and there wasn't even a chance that she could win against the swordswoman, but it only made her want to spar with her more!
I finally found the source of the smoke.
A cave.
It was a cave.
No, scratch that, it was the cave!
Trixie and Gilda were standing not far away, waiting for me to do something about the... source of the smoke.
'Someone, call Samurai Jack.' My left eyebrow twitched. 'He will probably want to inform Genndy Tartakovsky that there is a lawsuit that he can win hands down.'
In the cave, on the literal hill of treasures, was a sleeping giant, red, Dragon!
Well, it wasn't as big as the one from Type-Moon, but still it was pretty intimidating and resembled a typical European dragon of reddish color. I could see large wings on its back, a long tail and snout, there was also set of spikes along his spine.
'This shit is not gonna fly...' I could only sigh.
A member of the Transcendent Kind was sleeping right in front of me. They were almost unbeatable during the Age of Gods, being the pinnacle of the Phantasmal Species. Top dogs without any form of restraint from Alaya, even with their anti-human nature.
And personally I found it... lacking. There just wasn't any of that majestic presence that was described in the legends, no almost godly power rolling off the beast. It was just a big red winged lizard, and I really couldn't describe it in any other way.
'One more point for Rowling, she earned it.' I thought with a growing irritation.
Next thing I did will probably earn me a Darwin Award for the sheer stupidity. I walked right up the the beast and decided to test if it was intelligent. I know that it sounded stupid and dangerous, but the revelation of the fact that I was in a cave with a fire-breathing lizard from legends kind of put me into a state of emotional numbness, and therefore I didn't actually care what would happen.
"I'm sorry for interrupting your nap, but your OSA is creating a big problem for the surrounding flora and fauna and I will have to ask you to either find a cure for your ailment, or to relocate yourself." I was actually surprised that I could say it all with a straight face.
'I can't actually tell it that there is a cart full of pretty expensive stuff somewhere here, it will incinerate me on the spot.'
The beast woke up from the moment I started talking and now was looking at me with its bright orange, almost yellow cat-like eyes. The fact that it didn't try to actually eat me was a bonus and meant that it possessed at least a rudimentary form of intelligence. Dragons were supposed to be pretty smart, and I really hoped that it at least knew English.
'Why am I doing this again?' I thought. 'Oh, yes, now I remember! Trixie's cart! I'm going to be turned into BBQ because of some crappy tools.'
The Dragon growled at me, and I found one thing that was actually worse than being turned into a living torch. The smell from its maw! My sense of smell was far better than that of a normal human, and I would have been the first Servant to ever barf my insides out if not for the fact that I was able to hold my breath long enough for the smell to pass me somewhat. Damn it, I could actually see the green cloud that erupted from its mouth!
"I'm giving you a final warning before I will have to use force." I said as threateningly as I could.
It looked at me like I just told it a dumb joke, then it did a couple of really human-like stretches and fell down again, already half-asleep. Before fully falling asleep, it blew out a cloud of black smoke at me, giving me a proverbial finger.
'I think that this is a 'No'.' I thought.
Prana Burst can be used in many ways, from making my strikes stronger, to making my movements faster. It would allow for even a stick to become a weapon of great power at my Rank, but normal weapons without strong Divine protection will not be able to endure the Prana-fueled attack and will be destroyed with one blow.
But there is little bit of information that everyone forgets, Prana Burst makes the user stronger, not the weapon. Some morons will even say that the possession of the weapon is a requirement for the Skill! Well, they are probably confused because they never saw Saber using Prana Burst without any weapon in hand.
I charged the Prana Burst and delivered a crashing blow with my right fist right into the Dragon's snout.
'Beat this, Captain Falcon!' I thought gleefully.
The Dragon's head snapped back from the power of the attack, and I was pretty sure that I heard the sound of something breaking. Also, apparently I overdid it, because the Dragon actually bent backwards from the force of the punch and the top of its head collided with the wall behind it, creating a very sizable crater.
Not giving it time to regain equilibrium, I shot forward with another Prana Burst, delivering another blow right into its stomach. It was actually surprisingly soft when compared to its nose, my punch actually sent the beast flying backward right into the wall, creating a far bigger crater and it also made the Dragon's stomach collapse on itself! I jumped backwards, pushing myself off the beast, and saw it doubling over and coughing blood.
Alright, first of all, I'm not a heartless person and I know how to show compassion and kindness, so when it lifted its eyes I hesitated to attack again.
With the Cockatrice it was more of a self-defense, and all I saw was an animal looking for an easy meal. The Manticore was almost the same, but with the sole difference that it apparently was a tad bit smarter than the chicken-lizard and saw that I was far more dangerous than anything it ever met, but it still attacked. This time I was the initiator of the conflict, and this fact came with some responsibilities, one of which was the obligation to keep the fight from turning into a massacre.
When the Dragon looked at me, I saw fear in its eyes. I didn't like it, causing fear is not something to be proud of, but there are two types of this particular fear. The first one is when people are afraid of you because of who you are, and this fear is fully justified because of your own actions that made people around you be wary of your presence. The second one is when you're feared because of what you are, and this type of fear I really dislike.
Right now the Dragon was afraid of me because I was something that was capable of actually injuring it without any visible tool or Magic. I was a predator that was stronger than it, the Dragon knew it and this fact frightened the beast. At least it was intelligent enough to understand that, and it actually gave me hope that this confrontation won't escalate any further.
"You were warned, but chose to ignore the warning. What happened to you now is the result of your refusal to listen." I said in a monotone voice. "Your life right now is worth nothing more than me drawing my blade and slaying you like a beast, or you can prove that you possess intelligence and leave this cave on your own." I summoned Excalibur in my right hand and pointed at the Dragon. "What are you, a mindless beast that will be slaughtered, or an intelligent species that wants to live?"
I may have pulled the whole speech out of my ass, and stole a fair bit from Kouta Hirano, but it was the thought that counted, right? My Charisma: E apparently was working full blast because I really don't think that I would have been able to come up with something like that on a spot and under pressure. I could probably write off my calm attitude as a part of my new nature, but it would be too easy, because even when calm I wouldn't be able to put two words together with a bloody Dragon staring at me!
Well, apparently, my skills as a negotiator sucked, because the Dragon just stared at me like I grew a second head. There was an irritating feeling that I was forgetting something, it was buzzing at the back of my head, and I just couldn't put my finger onto what it was, and why it was important. Also, it made me feel like I already saw something similar and it ended up badly, at least for me. I would've hit my head against the wall, but it would look stupid and I really didn't want to ruin my image like that.
"What the Hay?" I suddenly heard.
This voice... It didn't belong to ether Gilda or Trixie! I turned my head to look at the speaker, but the Dragon decided to use my shift in attention to attack. The problem is that nobody can get a drop on a Servant, not being a Servant himself or herself, a normal living being just can't pull it off without a damn miracle or the help of really powerful and complex Magecraft. The only exception would be the Berserker, but only if the mad dog is already fighting someone, or if it was a pretty dumb one to begin with.
Jumping up I saw that the Dragon apparently was at least not as dumb as I thought. It was swinging its tail right above its head, making it pretty obvious that it was even more intelligent than I originally thought.
'If he will talk and his name is Smaug I will find a way to drag John Ronald Reuel Tolkien from the other side only to kill him myself!' I thought furiously.
Well, the Dragon apparently forgot that I was actually armed! I raised my sword and swung it down in a two-hand grip, putting as much power as I could into the attack and even utilizing Prana Burst.
Well, by Type-Moon standards my sword should have only scratched the scales and leaft me to the the mercy of the enraged beast. Even my almost comically overpowered Noble Phantasm would probably fail to cut through the hide of the high-tier Divine Beast, even if it apparently wasn't a fully grown one. But I already established that this Dragon was far from the legendary monsters of the Transcendent Kind.
By Rowling, I shouldn't have any problems chopping this thing into sushi, considering that her version of the Dragons was nothing more than an overgrown, slightly resistant to Magic and fire-breathing lizard. A big animal that apparently was able pull a couple of party-tricks and nothing more. The fourth movie kind of proved that the Dragons there weren't even sentient, no creature with more than two braincells would have followed Daniel Jacob Radcliffe on a broom.
Tolkien however was hanging somewhere in-between, with being closer to the escapades of the scar-headed boy, than to the world of dark and grim Magecraft where human life is worth next to nothing. His version of this particular mythical beast was somewhat stronger than the Rowling's overgrown lizard, but far weaker than Kinoko Nasu's titan of a creature. And apparently Tolkien was the one that was right.
My sword cut through the thick scales like hot knife through butter, severing the appendices and shortening it at least by half. The Dragon roared from pain, as blood sprayed from the stump that was its tail, cut off part falling onto the floor of the cave.
'Now I remember! The Dragon was behaving like a cornered animal, and apparently didn't believe when I said that I will let it go.' I wanted to punch myself. 'Well, better late than never.'
In fights to the death there was one very simple rule, if you have an advantage, use it! Right now I was above the beast, and that would mean that I had a perfect opportunity to limit its mobility. I let my Prana flow and swung my sword.
[Burst Air]
The attack reaped its left wing right off from the first joint and crashed into the floor, creating a powerful explosion that actually made the beast stumble from the shock wave. Another roar of pain made quite clear to me that this fight was far more deadly than the Dragons of this land was used to.
I thanked whatever deity that was looking after me for the fact that my balance and reflexes were enchanted to the high heavens, because landing on the thrashing beast's back was far harder than people in movies made it look like. I had to grab one of the long spikes on its neck with my left hand to keep myself at least somewhat anchored in place.
Without even thinking about it I swung my sword again at the nearest target, which coincidentally was the beast's other wing, leaving it without any hope of leaving the ground. Pulling myself forward and in the same time jumping while utilizing Prana Burst I was able to launch myself forward, and twisting in the air I landed while facing the Dragon.
I couldn't unleash Excalibur here, it would rip the cave apart and will also destroy Trixie's goods, therefore I needed something smaller and less destructive but still powerful enough to punch through the Dragon's scales.
And I had just the thing.
I switched my hands and positioned my sword on the left side and started pumping it with Prana, the blade soon was enveloped in the familiar visage, the same that preceded my first usage of the Excalibur, but this time it was far larger and longer. And then I attacked.
[Vortigern]
The first upward strike of the Prana-construction crashed into Dragon's chin, annihilating its jaw and probably cracking it skull pretty badly, its neck was probably broken. The beast didn't even have the time to make a sound, when the next strike, now coming from one-handed upward swing of my right arm, impacted its chest, I could practically hear as the creature's ribcage was crushed into small bits and pieces, the power of the blow actually lifting it a bit from the ground. The third and the last upward strike came from my left hand again, now it connected with its stomach probably destroying a good chunk of its internal organs, and lifting the Dragon even higher into the air.
I cut off the flow of Prana and the construction disappeared.
With a thud the dead body of the Dragon fell onto the floor of the cave.
Vortigern: Hammer of the Vile King, it's basically a technique when Saber swung this flame-like Prana-construction like a sword in an upward arc multiple times. It was a brute-force type of attack, but who could argue with the result?
"How... How could you?!" I heard a hysterical scream.
Turning around I found myself looking at what I only could identify as a Pegasus. She had moderate cyan eyes, that were right now staring at me as if she had a severe case of exophthalmos, long pale, light-grayish rose hair with the tips being curled slightly. She was a half-a-head taller than me, with a pair of the high E-Cup attached to her chest. She was wearing pale-yellow turtleneck sweater, light-brown long skirt and brown shoes. Oh, and of course a pair of pale, light-grayish gold wings coming from her back, that were outstretched in a pathetic attempt of being intimidating.
'... This should be illegal.' I thought as I looked at her chest. 'And if I'm right she isn't even wearing a bra, how the hell do they defy gravity?' My left eyebrow twitched.
"How could you k-kill this poor Dragon!" She couldn't apparently say the word 'kill' without stuttering. And damn, she's got a pair of good lungs on her! "He was just taking a nap and you killed him!" Well, I'm proven wrong, she can say it normally, but her hysterical voice was kind of annoying.
I really didn't need any of this crap right now. I just won a battle, and now some friendly, celery-munching hippie was berating me for not braiding the Dragon's hair and giggling while it was tearing me apart, this girl is clearly no stranger to the odd cheeseburger.
"He was attacking and I retaliated." I answered.
I didn't wait for her to answer, using my Agility: A I just appeared behind her and started walking forward. It brought me some strange sense of satisfaction when I could actually pull this stunt, the old but still very cool 'walk-through' with a one-liner. It's moments like this that I actually was glad that I wasn't human anymore, it was small but the spark was still there.
Suddenly I felt as my Saber-Senses started tingling and I stepped to the side so not to be hit by... an apple? I looked in the direction that it came from and saw another girl standing there, and if my guess was right, an Earth-Pony.
She was pretty tall, but not as much as the hippie, with moderate sap-green eyes, pale, light-grayish olive hair, and tanned skin. She had three freckles under each eye. She had an athletic figure with D-Cups plainly visible through her orange shirt, with rolled up sleeves. She was also wearing tight jeans with a black belt, grayish-brown cowboy boots, working gloves of the same color and a stetson with a red ribbon.
'Who the fuck throws an apple at an armored person?' I thought with another eye-twitch.
And she was looking at me like I just put down a dozen of orphans while raping their caretaker with my sword. The fear in her eyes was like she saw me as an armored answer to Stanley Kubrick, or something.
And she got another apple in her left hand.
This situation was getting ridiculous and I mean it not in a fun way. Who were these two? People just doesn't randomly appear out of nowhere, more so on top of a mountain that has a cave that has a damn Dragon of all things in it!
"Don't you dare ignore me!" Suddenly the hippie tried to grab my left shoulder.
Without even thinking I sidestepped her clumsy attempt at reaching me and instead grabbed her outstretched arm. One of the good methods of disabling an opponent on the early stages of the confrontation is to take hold of him or her. Keeping a good grip on this girl's arm I was basically limiting her movements and taking her hostage at the same time, the second part only applied if the cowgirl would want to actually fight.
"Fluttershy!" Apparently, she would.
'Seriously, Fluttershy, her parents must have hated her.' I thought.
Raising my sword without even looking I blocked the cowgirl's punch that was directed at my head, making sure to position the blade so the fist will connect with the flat side, I didn't want her to lose an arm or something like that. First apples, now this, I was starting to suspect that her house was apparently built on a leaking gas main, because nothing else would explain this amount of stupidity. Who would try to assault a swordswoman wearing armor in close combat while unarmed!?
Without a pause I delivered a fast blow in her midsection with the pommel of my sword, I was holding back a lot and even then I knocked out all air from her lungs and sent her flying backwards several meters. I really should start trying to control my strength, a tad bit more and I would've broke her in two. I could see a bit of blood escaping her mouth as she landed on the hard rock and tried to regain her breathing.
Turning back to the captured girl, who apparently ran out of juice and started quivering in my grip, I really considered the option of just letting her go, but the fact that she actually attacked me a couple of moments ago made this option unavailable.
"Now, can you please explain the reason you thought it would be acceptable to assault me without any provocation?" I asked as threateningly as I possible could.
She just whimpered in response, tears running down her cheeks. Suddenly she doubled over and vomited right in front of herself, only my hastily taken step back prevented my armored boots from being covered in half-digested food and bile.
'Oh, shit...' I could only think as the girl started coughing out the remains of her lunch on the floor.
Well, the Dragon in question:
And here are the Elements of Harmony:
Oh, and join my group! Lets move the theme together!
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there are words here and there that should be looked at and corrected for the story, they are spelled correctly but incorrect usage or disrupts the sentence structure and just why the hell am I thinking and typing in such a manner
????! it must be one of those days
nice chapter update to the story, the main six have never stuck me as the most realistic when confronting challenges that celestia throws them at with complete disregard for their safety and well being so their attacking a servant is QUITE realistic (for them
)
i want to see what happens as soon as twilight trys to make sense of her
Zero punctuation references FTW!!!!
Hmm. Okay. Seems close enough to rational behavior. Let the dragon's actions indicate its intelligence.
I was rather worried you'd write the "villain" moment without giving it sufficient justification, as approximately 50% of authors do.
Well, trying to compare the Type-Moon systems of magic to everything is a little unfair... Besides, who is to say that they aren't currently in development stages for... I dunno, something?
She just saw, firsthand, that dragons and manticores weren't quite what Type-Moon said, so why bother comparing Magecraft to pony magic? Besides, pony magic has time magic, which in the Type-Moon system is Magic with capital M.
MOAR!!!!!!!
Please?
Thank you for writing an actual realistic story with the characters in, well, character! Some rough spots here or there, but overall pretty good. Thanks for writing!
4118597 I'm curious to see how strong Twilight's magic will be, according to the ranking system used by Type-Moon. Maybe she'll surprise our Hero?
Glad to see you didn't have fluttershy's bullshit deus ex machina eyes work on her.
I'd like to point out that random italics really disrupt the rhythm of reading.
You shouldn't emphasize something in every sentence with italics.
'Beat this, Captain Falcon!' I thought gleefully.
It's not Captain Falcon it's Captain Copper Nipples!
What is this a crossover of?
excellent i must have more
4119351 agreed. while it doesn't bother me a whole lot, it's still kind of annoying. if i may suggest, try just italicizing the words that need the implied inflection in order for the reader to understand what your trying to say.
like this part here:
'stronger' and 'right' i felt didn't need to be in italics, but 'far' did, because it was being implied that the word 'far' plainly stated wouldn't properly convey the full meaning of just how much weaker Tolkiens dragon was compared to Kinoko Nasu's.
does that make sense? i've never tried to explain that before, so i'm not sure if that makes sense to anyone other than me.
Wow I really have to say that it would be best if you got a proofreader. My reason for saying this is shown in the picture.
quickmeme.com/img/09/097886c3fa84e0edcaf7892f97903860adb318a1660b50af71c3d061f028f6f4.jpg
Other than I like this story and how you intertwine canon events into it.
Man, shoutout to bringing reality into the MLP world. I'm really interested in seeing how strong Saber Alter is compared to such ponies like Celestia, Luna, Twilight, and Discord, since they are pretty much the strongest forces in the MLP world. You said it yourself that they never really had to push their magic to accomplish feats, and thus while the effects might seem impressive, its power is lacking. Can't wait for the next chapter, as we may just see a little bit more Excalibur Morgan against the mane 6. Keep goin and stay golden^^
The fun thing is that in all honesty,She's probably immune to absolutely everything on this planet,Elements included.
...she WAS kinda out of line killing the dragon. I mean, she realized that it was behaving like a cornered animal, at which point she had two options: she could be sane, and just leave the cave and give him space to make a break for it (because it should have been clear to him that he could not win that fight), or she could be bloodthirsty and chop his wing off (thereby making it IMPOSSIBLE for him to escape, and almost guaranteeing that she would need to strike down a creature that had shown reasonable evidence of intelligence). She went the bloodthirsty route. Fluttershy didn't approve. I have no real sympathy for Saber. I mean, sure, it's hard to think clearly in life-or-death situations, but that wasn't a life-or-death situation for her-- that dragon hardly even registered on her threat meter. Even if it wasn't a conscious decision, she did make a decision, and now she's being held accountable for it.
4118583 1) I'll try to correct that.
Servant is basically a 'Force of Nature' given form, so in a such a simple system of Magic the MLP:FiM have Jessica will be like a Nuke for a cavemen.
Jessica is still a person and tries to make sense of the world around her with the information she has from the books, manga, anime and movies.
She's not a psychopath or anything like that, she's just using the wrong gauge for this particular world.
Maybe with time she will build up the knowledge of MLP:FiM world enough to actually react accordingly, but right now she doesn't have any way of knowing how to properly interact with Magic or society. of this world.
I hope you'll like what I'm going to write next too!
And I will see what I can do about the mistakes...
And don't worry, I will make it worth your time!
And Jessica didn't known that this is not a life-or-death situation, for her it was an attack from a fucking Dragon that would have teared her apart was she human.
Also, even if looks like one, tough as one and strong as one, she is not as Servant mentally, in her head she's still human and reacts to the dangers as would human, remember the Manticore?
2) Well, they kind of don't know that Jessica is a Servant...
4118597 Twilight will have a 'Blue Screen of Death'...
4118648 Amen!
4118673 I'm trying to avoid such a thing.
4118910 1) She doesn't know anything about the local Magical system, and tries to make sense out of everything with what she knows.
2) Jessica doesn't have anything to work with, so she uses what she has to make sense of what she sees.
4118926 No problem!
4118970 Thank you for reading!
4119088 Mana: E at best.
4119189 Mana: A++ and Magic Resistance: A kind of made Fluttershy's Mystic Eyes useless against Jessica....
4119351 Force of habit...
4119420 ... Didn't get it...
4119464 Fate/Stay Night
4119502 Don't worry, there will be more, much more!
4119604 As I said, the Italic is more of a habit than a conscious choice...
4119611 Thank you.
4119674 Thank you!
4119905 Wait and see, just wait and see...
4120238 In her defense, Smaug shown some pretty damn high intelligence too, and she doesn't know how the Dragons of this world think or work, so she used the known to her behavior-patters to classify the beast, and when it attacked she placed it in the 'Smaug's bastard child' category and retaliated in the same way as she would have against the Evil, human-eating, villages-burning, peace-hating, greedy monster without any form of a compassion and/or understanding of others.
4120635 guessing you get comments on it a lot? sorry, i didn't mean to be annoying or anything. i still love the story! to be honest, the italics aren't a big deal, since the rest of the story, outside of a few grammar mistakes, is very well written.
4120635
If you look at captain falcon he has two copper buttons were his nipples are hence captain copper nipples.
4120635
Eeeeeeh...It's hard to sell me on that when she has time to clearly realize that the dragon is behaving like a cornered animal. It seems to me like if you can register thoughts like that clearly, you should be clear-headed enough to handle the logical conclusions of them.
And even if she DID decide the dragon was like Smaug, that just classifies it intelligence-wise-- killing him because she classified him like Smaug would be like killing Ghandi because he was human and Hitler was too, therefore Ghandi must be evil like Hitler. The logic just doesn't follow.
4120719 Nah, it's OK!
And thanks, it's always good when someone likes your work!
Maybe she understood it, but it didn't change the fact that it was attacking her!
4120724 ... I wouldn't have guessed it...
4120853 And how will you handle a murderous Dragon hell-bent on putting you six-feet-under?
She was thinking not in terms of a 'A Dragon just like Smaug', but an 'Evil, human-eating, vile, everyone-hating, greedy monster just like Smaug'.
4120635 Just be thankful your story is faptastic.
4121154
I think you mean heat.
4121425 or a cool word for deaf
4122267 Nope, he was right.
You sir get 5/5
Does she even know what that means?
4124359
4121165 Fap. Tastic.
4124536 I'm not even married...
4124555 You don't have to be to be faptastic.
4124561 Ok...
'Fap' - Plan to help large families
'-tastic' - Mean that something is very high on the emotion ladder.
You mean that I'm good at helping myself with my overly big family with more than ten children?
4124599
Fap; to masturbate.
Faptastic; to be easily masturbated to.
4124415 the word dare. It means "to have the courage to". So basically she just said
4124851 I know, for her it means the 'You're gonna love me!'-Mode.
This story was a lot better than I expected, glad I gave it a chance.
The missing words and grammatical mistakes already have been pointed out, maybe you could find a proofreader.
Hope you keep the tempo up
"show me your moves!"
-captain falcon
1 - Dragon was a dick, he deserved it.
2 - I like the mane 6's look.
I just love how she goes "this is not a trascendental titan, this is not a sage centuries old mystical creature, this is just a giant lizard with wings!"
First story i read with that premise for equestrian dragons (which they pretty much are).
Welp... Time to take a butcher knife and... you know the drill.
Because the visitor can't know how much food you have and if it will be enough to reach the next city.
While chewing on a piece of Manticore meat.
The taste reminded me of my Uncle's attempt to introduce me to bear meat.
Though.
I'm eating Manticore meat in the company of a Griffon and a Unicorn.
Sent.
Create.
Therefore.
If.
Bite.
Breath.
Quite.
Even if you make your muscles, bones, skin and everything else durable enough.
Leave.
I answered with an even voice.
Therefore.
Trixie knew to never judge a book by its cover.
She almost did the same thing that the villagers did to her.
Display.
Trixie didn't know if she was always that way, or if it was because of both her and the Griffon's presence.
She just didn't quite click with the others, it was always a tad bit awkward or uncomfortable in their presence.
She just didn't quite fit into normal society.
Well, Saber was alone and in unknown territory.
Trixie didn't want pity or charity, she just wanted to find herself, her own place in life.
Cutie Marks were just glorified tattoos that gave you a general idea of what kind of predisposition you have but nothing more.
Your.
And getting them is less painful
The first meant that she was gifted with very good control of her Magic and a decent reserve that would only grow with time and practice.
Tell us, can you reach your home by foot.
The only person capable of transporting me home.
Action.
And I will probably have to ask for help.
I personally didn't have anything against it but the fact that she had done so with such ease was more than disturbing.
Winning.
And it was all that mattered.
The pen is mightier than the sword indeed.
Notice.
It was just so easy to talk to her and not like with the other Griffons, but more like someone not from any known category to Gilda.
The first thing that amazed Gilda.
Couldn't.
The second point that amazed her.
There just wasn't any of the normal innocence that was practically oozing from the her compared to the other Ponies that Gilda has met so far.
The set of very sharp teeth that bit through bone like a hot knife through butter.
Killing was something all Griffons were familiar with from a young age, it was their parents that taught their child how to hunt and kill.
The third thing that surprised Gilda.
In a position to kill both her and Trixie at a moments notice.
Her sword was within arms reach, her posture was relaxed only on first sight but Gilda's more experienced eyes picked up the small but noticable signs that Saber was still on high alert.
Her body was so well trained that she didn't need to think about trivial things such as her sitting position or where to put her sword.
But to see someone of this caliber in battle would totally be worth it.
Glanced.
Was.
Even if she almost wet herself not a minute ago.
You must never underestimate the usefulness of flight.
Pegasi.
Pegasi.
Sometimes.
Wasn't.
Would.
The backup cart was more of a precaution.
Backup is more my preference here.
Quite.
Tools.
Canterlot had only about three blacksmiths that used this particular steel.
Making it actually work was another matter altogether.
Injection.
The only good thing was that I didn't get an of Arturia's memories.
Excalibur Morgan was an awesome sword and all but without an actual way to carry it other than my hand, it was getting a tad bit annoying.
Basically it was kind of similar to what Servants would do when shifting from their Material Body to their Spiritual Body.
Quite.
They.
That made it impossible to teleport me.' I thought.
Forgot to capitalise.
Both raising their eyebrows.
Without waiting for a reply, I crouched down.
Bathe.
One more jump with an activated Prana Burst.
Guarantee.
The next option was to use Burst Air and blow the thing up.
I can't imagine how Saber would sue Burst Air. It's like a mother suing their child for... I lost my train of thought
Would.
A.
The biggest problem I had with many games was the incredible amount of shitty dialogue.
((Psst, Metal Gear: Rising
))
Let this be a lesson to me to not let my thoughts wander away from current events.
Tore.
Because even the Princesses wouldn't be able to.
Craved.
A.
A.
Scarred.
Faction.
Snout.
Snot is well... the cartoon representation of gooey sticky... things coming from out of a sick characters nose
Therefore.
Either.
Forgot to capitalise.
And I would have been the first Servant to ever barf my insides out if not for the fact that I was able to hold my breath long enough.
Makes.
Captain.
Unless she suddenly thought in French, Mon Capitan
The Dragon's head snapped back.
And it also made the Dragon's stomach collapse on itself.
To.
Your life right now is worth nothing more than me drawing my blade and slaying you like a beast
A normal living being.
Well, the Dragon apparently forgot.
Well, by Type-Moon standards my sword should have only scratched the scales.
A big animal that apparently was able pull a couple of party tricks and nothing more.
Where human life is worth next to nothing.
But far weaker than Kinoko Nasu's titan of a creature.
Another roar of pain made it quite clear.
Enchanted.
To keep myself at least somewhat anchored in place.
Which coincidentally was the beasts other wing, leaving it without any hope of leaving the ground.
I couldn't unleash Excalibur here, it will rip the cave apart.
Therefore.
To punch through the Dragon's scales.
Then.
She had moderate cyan eyes that were right not staring at me as if she had a severe case of exophthalmos.
Do.
She's.
For not braiding the Dragon's hair.
It.
It's moments like this that I was actually glad.
D-Cups.
She was also wearing tight jeans with a black belt.
An.
Brad.
Raising.
Well... that was much longer than the last I think. Holy crap. But now we know the timeline in which she was injected into. And poor Saber, cursed with A-cups and forced to look at all the others with bigger cup sizes than her. At least she knows her priorities right?
4125637 Thank you.
4126095 Here is one: [Boot-to-da-Balls]
4126333 1) Thank you for actually seeing it!
2) Well, the best I could find that actually wasn't porn in some way or form.
4126462 They have some Magic in them, but lets be honest, they are kind of pathetic...
4127445 Don't worry comrade! The Boob's Theme will be soon resolved!
i really enjoy reading your story! just out of curiosity, why are some names of the griffons in german?
4128324 1) Congratulations, you're the first who actually guessed that it was German!
2) I thought it will be a proper equivalent when you compare Earth to the planet on which Equestria is.
3) And it's only title and the names of the squads/nick names/etc. in German.
4128366
Well, i am German so i don't really have to "guess" it
I don't know the mana rating so can anybody help me?
Also love the fic.
4124884
fail. lol