Night

I leave Sweetie, who has club activities, and head to the school building. The schoolyard is full of spirited students running around.

“……” But still, there’s something oddly wrong here. The school is like it always is. The students at morning practice are lively, and the new school building is spotless. “…Maybe it’s just my imagination.” But when I close my eyes, the air completely changes. The school building is covered with stains like membranes, and the students running around the schoolyard seem like empty dolls. “…Maybe I’m just tired.” I shake my head to clear it. I head to the lifeless building.

School ends early on Saturdays. Classes end before noon, and after I finish helping Applejack afterwards, the sun is starting to set.

“Well, let’s head home.” I pack up and leave my classroom. And then.

“Oh, you’re still here, Storm?” I bump into Trixie. There are a couple of mares behind her, being rowdy.

“You were still here even though you had nothing to do? Oh yeah, you were sticking up for the student council again, right? I envy you. You can get good reports from the school without doing any club activities.”

“I’m not helping the student council. It’s only natural for a student to fix the school equipment, right? After all, we’re the ones using them.”

“Heh, keep talking like that. For you, everything is natural. Didn’t I tell you that I hate how you act like a good stallion?”

“Hm? …Sorry, I don’t remember that. I thought that was just the sort of thing you say, so I didn’t really notice it.”

“…!! Heh, fine. Then you’re going to fix everything at this school?”

“Fixing everything would be impossible. The most I can do is take care of things.”

“All right, then do me a favor. Our archery club is in kind of a mess right now. It’s a bid disordered, and some of the bows need strings attached. If you have time, can you do that too? You used to be a member. Don’t just stick to the student council, and you should be useful to us sometimes as well.”

“What? Trixie, didn’t Pinkie tell you to do that?”

“That’s right. You’ll be scolded tomorrow if you don’t do it properly.”

“But the shop will close if I start cleaning now. It’s fine if he does it, right?”

“I don’t know. Besides, an outsider wouldn’t know how.”

“Are you sure? Trixie said he used to be in the archery club, so we can let him do it.” They’re getting rowdy behind Trixie. It seems they’re in the archery club, but they must be members that Trixie recruited recently as I don’t know them.

“I’ll leave it to you, then. The key’s in the usual place, so go ahead. You don’t mind, right Storm?”

“No. I have some free time, so this isn’t a bad thing to do once in a while.”

“Haha, thanks! Let’s go, everypony. He says he’ll do the boring chores for us!”

“Oh, wait Trixie! Oh yes, please take care of the cleaning, Storm.” The cleaning ends quite easily as I know the place well. It took a while as it is quite big, but it was fun cleaning the place I used until a year and a half ago. I picked up a bow thinking it might be okay to shoot just once, but since it wasn’t mine, I decided not to. If I ever want to, I can just bring my own bow and come here.

“…But there are so many more carbon bows now. There was only one when I was in my first year.” Carbon-based bows are good, unlike wood and plastic bows. But the biggest problem is the price, and they’re not something we could buy with the club budget. Back then, Trixie was the only one using it… are the new members rich too?

“…What a waste. You can modify a wooden bow a lot more.” Well, I guess that’s personal taste right there. When I look at the clock, it’s way past curfew. It’s a little after seven o’clock. The gates should be closed by now, so there’s no reason to rush now. …But still. Was this gym always this dirty? There are loads of places that look unkept.

“…Well, another hour or two won’t matter now that I’ve done this much.” I’ve started this, so I’ll finish the job. The wind is blowing. It’s so cold that my cheeks are getting numb. …Ponyville isn’t usually cold during the winter, but it is cold tonight of all nights.

“……” My breath hangs around as a white cloud. I wrap up my body to hold off the cold. “No wonder it’s dark… the moon’s behind the clouds.” There’s no light in the sky when I look up. Because of the strong winds, the clouds are moving fast. It’s past curfew and there’s no sign of life in the empty school. It seems this place is filled only with chill, as it’s all silent.

“…?” Just now… I think I hear something. “…I do hear something. Is it coming from the school grounds…?” This night. I must have been curious about the sound that broke the silence. To investigate it, I find myself heading there even though I somehow know that I mustn’t. I go to the schoolyard.

“…Ponies?” Well, they only look like that from a distance. It’s a dark night with no light. If I want to know more, I’ll have to go closer to the schoolyard. I can hear the sounds louder now. It’s the sound of metal hitting metal. That must mean somepony is fighting with weapons there.

“…That’s stupid. What the hell am I thinking…?” I dismiss the image from my mind with a bitter smile and walk on. …At that time. Maybe my instincts noticed the danger, as I hid myself as I approached. I don’t know if this is fortunate or not. But anyways, when I get by a tree that is big enough to hide myself, I take a closer look at the source of the sound… My mind stops completely.

“…What the…” There’s something strange there. A pony in red and a pony in blue. They are dangerously armed, and as their ominous appearance suggests, they are actually slashing at each other. I can’t understand. I can’t follow them with my eyes. My brain does not work properly, faced with their impossible movements. But the clang of their weapons tells me they are trying to kill each other.

“……” I just knew immediately when I saw them… They are not pony. They are probably just things that look like ponies. I can tell not because I’m learning magic. Anypony would realize they’re not pony. After all, ponies can’t move like that. So they are something no pony should associate with.

“……” I can feel their murderous intent even from a distance. …I’m going to die. My body understands faster than my brain that I will definitely die if I stay here. That’s why my heart is racing so fast. As a living thing like them, I sense that they’re living things made only to kill.

“……” …They’re using weapons made only to kill. I remember the murder yesterday. They said the family was killed with some weapon like a sword.

“…!” I shouldn’t watch any longer. But my body won’t follow my commands and I can’t even breathe. My mind wants to run away, but my judgment tells me I’ll be seen the moment I run away. …More than the conflict within me, my body is just numb. Even though I’m a good forty meters away, I can’t breathe properly, and it’s like I have a spear pointed right at my back.

“……” The sounds stop. The figures separate and stand facing each other. The moment I feel relief at the end of their battle, I sense an even stronger intention to kill.

“…!!” My heart stops. The numbness in my body becomes convulsions, and I clench my teeth to try to hold my trembling body.

“What the hell is he!?” An overwhelming amount of magical energy is flowing into the stallion in blue. Doctor showed me once what it’s like to draw in magical energy from the surroundings. It was a beautiful magic that impressed even an amateur like me. But that thing is different. Just as even the simple task of drinking water could seem ugly if it goes too far, what he is doing is so excessive that anypony with knowledge of magical energy would hate it. “……” He’s going to die. The stallion in red is going to die. It’s a blow with that much concentrated magical energy. There’s no way he’ll be able to survive it. He’ll die. He’s not pony, so something merely like a pony will die. That is… That’s… something I can just ignore? That doubt takes my mind off of them. The binds on my body disappear, and the instant I take a deep breath…

“Who’s there!?” The stallion in blue stares at me, who’s hiding.

“…!!” The blue stallion’s body sinks. Just that motion tells me that I’m his target now.

“Ahhh…!” My legs start running automatically. I finally realize that it is an action to escape death, and I put all the energy in my body into running away. I don’t know how fast I run, but before I know it, I’m in the school building.

“How stupid of me.” I regret my actions, panting heavily. I should have run into town to get away. What am I doing, fleeing to such a deserted place? And a school, of all things. Isn’t there some better place to hide than here? Anyways, why do I think I’ll be killed if I don’t escape?

“Haa…Haa, haa…” My heart aches from running so much. Turning around, I can sense nothing pursuing me. The only sound in the air is the sound of my hoofsteps. “Ah… haa, haa.” So, I can finally rest. I stop my hoofs, unable to take another step, send oxygen to my pumping heart, and look up to finally realize that I am safe.

“…Man… what was that…?” I recall the scene from earlier while catching my breath. Anyway, I’m sure that it wasn’t something I should have seen. Some things like ponies were fighting in the school grounds. That’s all I can remember. But there was something else I saw, out of the corner of my eye.

“…Wasn’t there somepony else too…” But I can’t remember what the figure looked like. To be honest, I didn’t have the composure to notice anything other than those two fighting. “Well, anyways…”

“The chase is over, right?” The voice comes from right in front of me. “Yo. You ran pretty far.” He speaks in a friendly tone.

“……” I can’t breathe. My brain stops, and even though I cannot think… …I vaguely understand that I am going to die.

“You know better than anypony that you can’t escape, right? Ponies who get killed are usually like that. It’s nothing to be embarrassed about. You don’t have to feel ashamed.” The horn is casually raised. “You were just unlucky, colt. Well, you saw us, so die.” And the stallion’s horn mercilessly pierces Storm Whooves’s heart. There wasn’t even time to dodge it. All the training I did was for nothing. I knew I was going to be killed. I knew I was going to be pierced by that horn, yet I could not move at all.

“Aa… ah.” The world distorts. My body grows cold. Feeling vanishes from my hoofs. “Gah…” I cough up blood, once. More blood should have come up, but it only happens once. Perhaps the stallion’s horn is special. The blood slowly clots and the heart that should have exploded stops working with just a single pierce.

“……” I can’t see well. There’s no feeling in me. I feel like a jellyfish floating in the dark sea at night. I don’t feel any pain already. The world is white, and only I am black. So, rather than feeling like I’m dead, it’s more like the world around me has disappeared. I know this. I felt this ten years ago. This is how somepony feels when dying.

“Dead stallions tell no tales. It’s only natural for the weak to die, but…” I cannot concentrate on my vision. “Man, you really make me do unpleasant jobs. It’s a joke that a hero is acting like this.” I can only hear voices. “I know, I have no complaints. I saw the mare’s Servant, so I’ll go back.” A voice filled with irritation. And after that, I hear hoofsteps running through the hallway. “Archer, huh? I want to finish the match with him, but I have to follow my Master’s plan. …Geez, I don’t like him.” The voice suddenly disappears. I guess he jumped out of a window or something. And after that… Hoofsteps approach me and stop. In that brief period. …More hoofsteps. I can’t… hear… much… now…

“…Follow him, Archer. Lancer will probably go back to his Master. This won’t be worth it unless we at least find out what his Master looks like.” …Whose voice was that? I concentrate my fading mind, but I can’t remember anything. Right now, my breathing is too noisy. My lungs must still be alive. The air coming out of my mouth is a loud as a hurricane.

“…But it’s amazing he isn’t dead yet.” I sense somepony looking at my face. Perhaps my breathing was loud as the figure tries to close my mouth and…

“…Stop it. Why does it have to be you?” I hear the pony grit their teeth, then they touch me without hesitation.

“…Reforge the damaged organ and use it as a substitute, and restore the heart in the process, huh? If I succeed, I’ll be accepted to the Clock Tower instantly…” A pain-filled voice. With that, my mind stops fading. “……” Feeling returns to my body. Slowly, bit by bit, like a drop of water going down a leaf, feeling returns to my body. “……” What is the pony doing? The pony is sweating and places their hoof on my chest with all their heart. “……” When I notice, the place where the pony placed their hoof is terribly hot. It must be so hot that the frozen blood melted and started to flow again.

“Phew.” I sense somepony take a deep breath and sit down. “I’m tired…” I hear a clang of something falling. “…Well, I guess it can’t be helped. Forgive me, Father. Your daughter is terribly heartless.” And that’s it. The pony speaks to mock themself, and leaves. “……” My heart resumes its activity. And then, my mind stops. …This is not the sleep of death. This is a restful sleep, to recover the energy to wake up again.

“Ah… guh.” I wake up. I feel sick. My whole body is in pain, and I have a sharp headache each time my heart throbs.

“What… happened?” I can’t remember because of the sharp headache. My body is cold, probably from lying on the floor for a long time. The only certain thing is my ripped uniform, and my own blood on the floor.

“…!” I get up with a hazy head. The spot where I was lying looks like a murder scene.

“…Damn, I really…” …Had my chest pierced?

“…Hah… guh…” Bearing the pain, I enter the closet classroom. Moving to the locker with unsteady steps, I take out a mop and a bucket.

“…Huh… what am I doing…?” I’m still in a panic. Why do I still think I have to clean up, when I’ve just met something totally outrageous and been killed instantly? Am I an idiot?

“…Haa… haa… damn, it won’t come off…” …I wipe the floor with the mop. With unsteady hoofs, I manage to get the blood wiped off, and pick up any trash lying around and put it into my pocket. …Maybe I’m destroying the evidence. I’m still in a daze, so perhaps that’s why I’m doing something so absurd.

“…Ah… haa… haa… haa…” I put back the mop and bucket, and leave the school like a zombie. …I get hotter as I walk. The air is so cold, but it feels like my body is burning. …When I get home, the day has already changed. There’s no pony home. Neither Pinkie nor Sweetie is around now.

“…Ah… haa, haa, haa.” I collapse to the floor. I lie on the ground and finally calm down. “……” I take a deep breath. When I inhale, my heart cries in pain as if cracking apart. …No, that’s wrong. It wasn’t just cracked. It had a hole in it, but it healed, and the wound tries to open up again when I inhale.

“…So it’s true that I was almost killed.” No, that’s wrong too. I wasn’t almost killed… I was actually killed. But I’m still alive in spite of that, because somepony saved me.

“…I wonder who it was. I should at least thank them.” Since the pony was there, that pony might have something to do with them. But that makes no difference to the fact that the pony saved me. I have to thank them one of these days.

“Ah… guh…” The moment I let my guard down, the pain returns. At the same time, I feel like vomiting. “Ah… hah, guh…!” I sit up and resist the sickness. “…Huh…” I place my hoof on my bare chest where the uniform is ripped. Even though I was saved, I did have a hole in my chest. That feeling. Such an unpleasant feeling, a horn entering my body, isn’t something I can forget easily.

“…Damn, I’ll have nightmares about this for a while.” If I close my eyes, it feels like the horn is still in me. I shake off that illusion and try to calm down.

“…All right, I’m starting to calm down.” The result of all that training every night. Just taking a few deep breaths clears my mind, and the heat and nausea vanish from my body. “So, about those stallions…” A stallion in blue and a stallion in red. They looked pony, but I don’t think they were. Were they like ghosts or something? But I’ve never heard of ghosts with form, able to associate directly with ponies. And they were talking too. If they have their own will, it’s hard for me to think of them as ghosts. …I’ve heard that the only ghosts with a body are spirits, but aren’t they shaped differently from ponies…?

“…No, that’s not the problem.” There’s another fundamental problem. …Those two who were killing each other. …The murderous burglar that has appeared in the neighborhood. …The ongoing ominous events in Ponyville. “……” All I can tell with such thoughts is that it’s way out of my league.

“…If Father was still alive…” Perhaps because the wound on my chest is so vivid, I complain about things I shouldn’t. “…Idiot. I’ve already decided to do whatever I can, even when I don’t understand.” Complaining comes later. First, I have to decide whether or not it’s my concern.

“…!?” The bell hung from the ceiling rings. This is a mage’s house, even if only a poor one. There is a boundary field that alerts me when a stranger enters the property. “A burglar, at a time like this…?” As I speak, I realize my foolishness. That can’t be it. With this timing, right after that strange incident, that can’t be it. There’s an intruder. Not a burglar, but an assassin who’s here for my life. Because I remember that stallion saying… ‘You saw us, so die.’

“……” The house is filled with silence. In the silent darkness, the murderous intent I felt at school is slowly drawing closer. “…!!” My throat gulps. I feel a sharp chill running down my spine. I will be instantly pierced if I move from this room. “…!!” I frantically contain the scream about to escape my mouth. The instant I release it, the assassin will happily jump in and take the opportunity to kill me. …If that happens, it will be just like before. Unprepared, I will be pierced by that horn again.

“…Ah… haa, ah…” The moment I think about it, my breathing goes wild. Damn it. I’m ashamed that I’m about to give up my saved life so easily and that I’m afraid. “Guh.” Gritting my teeth and holding my chest, I try to restrain myself. I should get used to it. This is the second time. This is the second time I’m about to be killed. That alone is enough to make me want it to end differently from last time. Besides, I’m a mage. What have I been learning for the past eight years, if I can’t even protect my own life?

“…All right, let’s do it.” Enough thinking, right now, I just have to counter the intruder. “…First of all, I need a weapon.” Even though I’m a mage, all I can do is “strengthen” something that could be a weapon. To fight, I need a weapon. The shed has lots of things that could become weapons, but it’s too far away. If I’m attacked when I leave the living room, it will just be a repeat of what happened earlier. …It’ll be difficult, but I have to find a weapon here. Something long and thin would be best. My opponent’s weapon is a horn, so something like a knife won’t do. It would be great if there were a wooden sword or something, but of course, there’s nothing. If anything here could be a weapon, it’s…

“Man… only the poster Pinkie left here…” I’m disappointed. But despite that, I’m determined even in this hopeless situation. Things are already as bad as they can be, so they can’t get any worse. So all I have to do is run forward until I run out of energy. “…Trace, on.” With the words that suggest my reconstruction, I channel magical energy into the 60cm long poster. I have to turn into something that can repel that horn, so I need to channel magical energy into every corner and solidify it.

“Basic quality, analyze.” I extend my consciousness. As if soaking my blood into the poster through my skin, I permeate magical energy into it. “Basic quality, reinforce.” A sense that I’ve hit the bottom, right before the magical energy overflows from it…

“Trace, off.” I cut off all connection with the poster and shudder at the feeling of success. The poster is now as hard as metal. But it is as light as it was before, so I couldn’t ask for a better sword.

“I… did it.” How many years has it been since I last succeeded the strengthening magic? It’s kind of ironic. The magic I’ve never been able to achieve since Doctor died is finally working in this kind of a situation. “Anyways, now…” I might be able to do something. I have some knowledge of how to use a sword. I hold the poster with wings and stand up. I’ll die anyway if I stay here, and I don’t think I would be able to flee even if I escaped this house. So all I can do is to run straight to the shed and make a stronger weapon.

“Phew.” Come if you’re going to come, it won’t be like before. And the instant I think that… “…!” My whole spine shivers. When did he arrive? Appearing from the ceiling, the stallion drops straight at me. “Wha… huh?” Sliver light descends upon me. The stallion that seems to have come straight through the ceiling descends to pierce my head.

“You…!!” I frantically escape by rolling forward. He lands softly while I keep rolling. But I stop rolling and stand with my freshly-made sword in wing.

“……” He turns to face me, looking bored. “…You’re causing unnecessary troubles. I was being considerate by killing you before you noticed me.” He raises his horn again, seemingly uninterested.

“……” I don’t know why, but he lacks the spirit he had at the schoolground. In that case, I might be able to outwit him…!

“…Geez. I never thought I’d kill the same pony twice in one day. I guess it just means the pony world is always filled with bloodshed.” The stallion is complaining as if he thinks nothing of me.

“……” I slowly move backwards. It’s about three more meters to the window. Once out the window, it’s about twenty meters to the shed. Then, I can run off this instant…

“See ya. Don’t come back this time, stallion.” He says blankly, as if sighing it out.

“Ahhh!?” Pain assails my right wing. “…?” It happened in an instant. The stallion’s horn is thrust, without time for me to react. …I would have faced my second death with that blow. But what prevented it was my newly-made sword. He must have thought it was just paper. The horn, thrust as if the poster wasn’t there, was deflected by it and only skimmed my right wing.

“…Wow. That’s a strange technique you’ve got there.” The stallion’s expression goes away. His carelessness disappears, and he’s now staring at me with beast-like eyes.

“Agh.” I screwed up. I was just being stupidly optimistic when I thought I could do something. The thing before me is a monster beyond belief. Painfully, I realize my foolishness for letting my guard down even slightly against him. …That’s right. If I’d been really desperate, I should have run frantically to the window as soon as I miraculously avoided his first attack…!

“I thought you were just a colt, but I see… I do feel some magical energy from you, even though it’s weak. That must be why you you’re alive even after I stabbed you through the heart.” He points his horn at me.

“……” I won’t be able to block it. I can’t possibly block that lightning-fast blow. If his weapon were a sword, I might have been able to at least prepare for it. But that’s a horn. A sword follows a line, but a horn has a point. How am I supposed to block a blow from a point that I can’t even see coming?

“Good, it looks like I might be able to have a little fun.” The stallion’s body descends. In that instant… His horn is swung, sideways. I block the horn coming at my face with just my instincts.

“Guh…!?”

“Good colt. Here comes the next one…!” There’s a huge whirlwind. I don’t know how he’s moving the horn in this small room, but it makes a beautiful arc and…

“…!!!” …Comes to attack my body from the other side…! “Gah…!!?” My constructed sword, moved to stop it, bends. Is he using a hammer!? Damn, this numbness feels like I’ve broken the bones in my wing! “Damn, you…!”

“Huh?” I swing the sword instinctively. He must take me lightly as he hasn’t pulled back his horn, so I flick away the shaft with my sword!

“Guh…!” The wings that hit it go numb. The sword bends even more, and the stallion’s horn only moves slightly.

“…You’re useless. I gave you a chance, but you didn’t do anything worthwhile. Well, I guess it’s asking too much to expect a good armed fight from a mage…” The stallion was just playing with me. He let me hit him once, since I blocked him twice. …But I used up my one and only chance for just a makeshift attack. That’s why he sees no point in fighting me anymore. “…You’ve let me down. I’ll just kill you now, colt.” He readies his horn again.

“Say…” During that smell unnecessary movement… “…What you want, you idiot!” Without looking behind me, I jump out the window…! “Haa, haa, ha…” I break the window with my back and roll outside. I roll a few times, get up, and… “Haa!” Without a thought, I turn and swing behind me.

“Hmh…!” The stallion hesitates a moment, as I deflected his horn thrust. As I expected, if I jump out the window, he would definitely come after me. And he would kill me even before I could get up. That’s why I expected the fatal blow and swung at it. It was a bold plan. I would have died if it was a second too late or a second too early. But considering the difference in our skill, I could never have been too early. So all I had to do was get up as fast as possible and swing at what was coming behind me. The result was perfect. I won my bet and deflected the stallion’s horn…!

“Ha, ah…!” I quickly regain my balance. Now, I have to make it to the shed before he recovers!

“…Fly.”

“Huh…?” The stallion who supposedly has his horn knocked away comes up to me empty-horned and… …Spins and executes a roundhouse kick. “……” The scenery flies past me. My battered chest is numb and I cannot breathe. No, what’s more surprising is, I’m flying. I never in my dreams thought that I would be sent flying by a mere roundhouse ki… “Guh…!” I fall to the ground from my back. I hit a wall and come crashing down. “Guha, ah…!” I can’t breathe. My vision is blurred. I manage to stand, supporting myself against the wall of my destination, the shed.

“Haa, haa.” I track the stallion with my blurry vision. …I must have been kicked twenty meters. The stallion approaches, with horn ready. “Guh…!” I’ll be killed. I’ll definitely be killed. The stallion will be here in a second. If I don’t want to die now, I have to get up and face… him… “……” The horn comes out at me. I can’t even turn around fully, and my collapsing body faces the stallion’s horn.

“Damn, if you’re a stallion, keep yourself together…!” How fortunate. I got lucky as I couldn’t hold myself up and my knees collapsed. The horn goes over my head and hits the door of the shed, opening it.

“Oh…” So, this is my last chance. If I go in the shed, there should be something that I could use as a weapon… “Guh…!” I enter the shed. There… “Here, this is it.” A fatal, inescapable blow is thrust. “You!” And I block it. I unroll the poster and make it into a one-time shield.

“Hmm…!?” A huge impact; the opened-up poster did block the horn, but it was not strong enough. It’s pierced through and transforms back into its original paper.

“Ah, Guh…!” Hit by the impact of the thrust horn, I’m flung to the wall. “Agh…” I fall on my butt and recover myself. When I raise my head to try to find a weapon…

“Checkmate. That was a pretty surprising move, colt.” The stallion is pointing the horn at me.

“……” This is it. The stallion’s horn is pointed directly at my heart. I know this… This is the smell of death I felt just a few hours ago.

“…But I don’t understand. You’re quick-witted, but you suck at magic. It seems like you have talent, but I guess you’re just too young.” …I can’t hear him. My mind is focused only on the weapon in front of me. It’s only natural, because I’ll die when that thing is thrust. So everything else is gone from my mind. What else can I think about now that things have ended up like this?

“It’s unlikely, but maybe you were the seventh one. Well, this is it for you even if that’s the case.” The stallion’s horn moves. The movement I couldn’t even see before looks like it’s in slow-motion now. The running silver light, The horn moves straight for my heart. It will spill blood in the next second. I know this feeling. The feeling of metal running into me… The taste of blood coming up my throat… The sense of the world around me disappearing… I felt all of it earlier. …And I have to experience it again? Really? I don’t understand. Why do I have to go through this? …This is bullshit. I can’t accept this. I can’t just die here meaninglessly. I was saved. I was saved, so I can’t die so easily. I have to live and fulfill my obligations. If I die, I can’t do that. But the horn will pierce me. The horn will cut into my flesh and pierce my heart.

“……” It pisses me off. It’s ridiculous to kill somepony that easily. It’s ridiculous for me to die so easily. Dying twice in one day, that’s ridiculous as well. Damn, everything is so screwed up that I can’t contain it all and… “Damn it, I…” Won’t be killed meaninglessly… by somepony like you…!

“Huh?” Truly, it… “What…!?” …It appeared like magic. In a blinding light, it appears from behind me. My mind stops. All I know is that the figure who appeared is a mare. The moment it appears, it repels the horn thrust at my heart and steps up to the enemy without hesitation.

“…Can it be!? The seventh Servant…!?” The stallion readies his deflected horn, and the mare swings something she is holding. Sparks fly twice. A strong wind; the stallion hesitates, receiving a heavy blow from the mare.

“Kuh!” He must have realized he is at a disadvantage, as he jumps out of the shed with bestial speed. While keeping her guard against the stallion, she quietly turns to me. The wind is strong today. The clouds drift and the moon appears for a brief moment. The silver light that shines into the shed lights up the mare in knightly form.

“……” I’m speechless. Not because I’m confused by the sudden turn of events. I’m at a loss for words because of this mare’s overwhelming beauty.

“……” The mare stares at me happily with her Pink eyes. “Hey, did ya call?” She says in an over joyful voice.

“Huh…?” I don’t know who she is or what she’s talking about. All I know is this small mare is the same kind of being as the stallion outside.

“……” The mare says nothing and just stares at me silently. …How can I put this? The figure in front of me is so special that I forget the situation, that the stallion could come and attack any second. It feels like time has stopped just around me. The fear of death has disappeared and only the mare fills my vision. I’m Servant Saber, I answer your call. Please tell me what to do, Master.” She speaks again. The instant I hear the words Master and Servant…

“…!!” A pain shoots through my left hoof. It’s like a hot iron has been placed on my hoof. I grab my left hoof instinctively. That must have been the signal, as the mare nods her lovely face.

“From this time, my sword will be with you and your life is with me. Now we got the boring contract out of the way.”

“Contract? What are you talking about…!?” Even I have some knowledge of magic. I understand what that word means. But the mare doesn’t answer me and looks away with the same grace she had when she nodded. …She looks at the door of the shed. There stands the stallion, his horn ready.

“……” She moves faster than I can think. The knightly mare leaps out of the shed without hesitation. “…!” I get up and follow the mare, even forgetting the pain in my body. There’s no way that mare will be a match for him. Even armored like that, she is a mare smaller than me.

“Sto…!” My words are silenced by the sound. “Wha…?” I can’t believe my eyes. This time, my head really goes blank. “What is she?” The sound of weapons; the moon is hidden behind the clouds and the yard has returned to its original darkness. In it, sparks are born from steel hitting steel. The horn-wielding stallion wordlessly attacks the mare who jumped out of the shed. But the mare parries the blow of the horn and knocks away all following attacks, driving the stallion back with every blow

“……” I… I can’t believe it. The mare called Saber is overpowering that stallion. …The battle has begun. What happened between me and him earlier wasn’t a battle. A battle is a fight between two ponies who can kill each other. Whatever the difference in skills, if each has a way to kill the other, then you can call it a battle. Their fight is a battle in that sense too. The stallion’s horn that I couldn’t even see is thrown with even more power. But… The mare parries is with the “Thing” in her wings and closes in on the stallion.

“Damn…!” The stallion retreats a bit. He holds his holds his horn defensively to protect his ribs as the mare goes for them. “Guh…!” For a moment, the stallion’s horn glows. It was a blow like an explosion, and I guess it really was one. The instant the stallion blocks the “thing” the mare’s holding, the horn on his head glows as if electrified. The stallion, and even I, can tell what that is. That is a force of magical energy so strong that it’s visible. In each of the mare’s blows is a terrible amount of magical energy. That outrageous amount of magical energy is penetrating the opponent’s horn just by touching it. Such a thing… it must take such a force just to block it. If you think of the stallion’s horn as an accurate sniper rifle, the blows of the mare are like those of a powerful shotgun. Every time the mare swings, the yard is filled with light. But… That isn’t what’s overpowering the stallion.

“Coward, what are you doing, hiding your weapon…!” The stallion complains while avoiding the mare’s fierce attacks.

“……” The mare doesn’t answer, but only attacks even more with the “thing” in her wings…!

“You…!” The stallion retreats with not even a chance for a counterattack. That’s only natural, because the mare’s weapon is invisible. As he cannot sense her range, it would be careless to attack recklessly. Yes, it is invisible. The mare definitely has “something” in her wings. But as you can’t see what shape it is or how long it is, you can’t tell anything about it. Perhaps it’s totally invisible, as it does not show up even when sparks fly off from it.

“Damn.” The stallion must be having a hard time defending against it, as his moves aren’t as sharp. “Heh” And the mare lets out a voice for the first time. She swings her “weapon” with more fury. A storm of swings without a pause! The flying sparks remind me of a blacksmith hitting iron. …The horn-wielding stallion blocks them, clucking his tongue. I must say, I admire his skills even though he tried to kill me. The stallion is blocking invisible blows, watching only the opponent’s legs and wings!

“Fuh…!” But that’s it. You only need to beat down somepony who’s gone defensive. As if to say so, the mare steps even closer to the stallion and… Delivers a blow with all her might, as if smashing him down…!

“Don’t underestimate me, fool…!” He must see this as his opportunity as the stallion disappears. No, he jumped back, making it look like he disappeared. The mare’s blow cuts through air and destroys the ground kicking up dust. The blow, swung as a final one, was easily dodged!

“Idiot, what is she doing…!?” I can tell even from a distance. I don’t know about the careful blows from before, but such a big blow won’t be able to touch that stallion. Even that stallion’s body must have been straining under all those attacks. But he suppressed it for an instant, and jumped away. As if this blow will determine the victor…!

“Ha…!” The stallion who jumped back several meters jumps as soon as he lands. As if reversing his retreat, he jumps at the mare. In contrast, the mare still has her weapon stuck in the ground.

“…!” That opening is irrevocable. The white horn returns in less than a second, and… The mare twirls her body with the weapon still in the ground.

“…!” So the contest lasts less than a second. The stallion sees his mistake and tries to hold back, while the mare uses her whole body to execute her blow!

“Guh…!”

“……” The stallion blown away and the mare who blew him away both seem discontent. It’s only natural. They each launched their blows to kill each other. Even if they allowed them to escape immediate danger, they were worthless. Their distance opens. The two stare at each other silently.

“…What is wrong, Lancer? Are you just going to stand there? If you will not come, I will.”

“…Hah, you’re going to come and die? I don’t mind, but let me ask you first. You Noble Phantasm, is it a sword?” The stallion glares, as if right into her heart.

“Who knows? It might be a battle axe or it might be a spear. It might even be a bow, Lancer.”

“Heh, keep talking, Saber.” Perhaps it’s really funny for him. The stallion… the one called Lancer lowers his horn. It looks like he’s indicating that he doesn’t want to fight anymore.

“…?” The mare is puzzled by Lancer’s action. But I know that stance. It was used in that fight a few hours ago in the schoolyard. It’s the fatal move that was supposed to have ended the show.

“…I’ll ask just in case since this is our first meeting. Do you want to call it even?”

“……”

“It’s not a bad deal, right? See, that senile Master over there is useless, and it so happens my Master is a coward. I think it’s in both our interests to hold off on this match until we’re better prepared.”

“…I refuse. You will fall here, Lancer.”

“I see. Geez, all I wanted to do was check things out, you know? I didn’t want to stay long once a Servant came out.” It seems like the air around them distorted. Lancer lowers his stance. A chill runs through the air that moment. It’s exactly like back then. The magical energy rumbles in a whirlpool, centered on that horn.

“Noble Phantasm…!” The mare readies her apparent sword and glares at the enemy in front of her. The mare, facing the enemy, knows better than I how dangerous he is.

“…See ya. I’ll take that heart of yours!” The beast jumps. Lancer instantly appears in front of the mare, as if he teleported, and… Thrusts his horn at the mare’s feet.

“……” It was a bad move, even to my eyes. With the horn already lowered, it wouldn’t be effective to aim low at the mare. To prove my point, the mare jumps over the horn and moves forward to slash Lancer away, at that moment.

“Heart…” With words themselves charged with magical energy “Struck…!” The horn thrust at the mare’s feet rushes towards her heart.

“…!?” Her body rises into the air. The mare is driven up into the air by the blow of the horn and she crashes down… no, lands on the ground. “Ha, kuh…!” …She’s bleeding. The mare, who hasn’t even received a scratch so far, is bleeding badly from her chest. “A curse… no, a reversal of causality…!” She speaks in pain. …I’m surprised too. No, since I saw it from a distance, I can tell better than her that the attack just now was a strange one.

The horn was definitely aimed at her hoofs. But it suddenly changed its course, moving strangely in an impossible direction, and pierced the mare’s heart. But the horn itself has not grown or bent. It looked so natural that it makes one think that the horn was already in her heart… and for that reason, it’s strange. It’s not as simple as the horn changing its course and piercing her heart. The horn did not change its course, but changed the means so that the result would be so.

…The horn thrust with the name carried the “result” of “piercing her heart” as a premise. In other words, the process and the result were reversed. As long as there was the result of the horn piercing her heart, the course of the horn was merely added later to prove that fact; an evil thorn that breaks through all defenses, a horn that pierces the heart every time it’s used, a weapon that determines your fate just by its use. How can anypony block such a ridiculous attack? However the enemy tries to doge it, the horn will pierce their heart without fail. …That’s why this move is fatal; a cursed horn that always pierces the opponent with one thrust.

But… The mare has evaded it by a small margin. She is wounded, but it was not a fatal blow. In a sense, her actions were more impossible than the horn. The instant the horn was thrust; she turned and jumped back with all her might, as if she knew this was going to happen. Either she had incredible luck or enough divine protection to nullify the curse of the lance. Either way, she avoided a fatal blow and sullied the horn’s name.

“Haa, haa.” The mare catches her breath. The blood that was running so much has stopped, and even her stabbed wound is healing.

“……” I guess that’s extraordinary. I knew she wasn’t normal, but still, that’s too strange. Like her skills to fight against Lancer, like the incredible magical energy in each of her blows, and like her body that heals by itself… this mare clearly surpasses Lancer. …But that was only up to now. Even if it’s healing, her wound is deep. If Lancer attacks her now, she’ll be defeated without even being able to defend herself. But, with this overwhelming advantage, Lancer doesn’t move. He glares at the mare, grinding his teeth so hard that I can hear it.

“You evaded it, Saber. My fatal Heart Struck.” A voice that seems to echo from the ground.

“…!? Heart Struck… you are Canterlot’s stallion of armor!” Lancer frowns. His hostility disappears and he clucks his tongue in annoyance.

“…I screwed up. If I’m going to use this move, it needs to be fatal. Geez, I guess being too famous is bad too…” The pressure goes away. Lancer doesn’t even attack the wounded mare and simply turns his back and moves to the edge of the yard. “It is the rule of Servants to fight to the death if your identity is discovered… but unfortunately, my Master is a coward. He’s telling me to go back since you have evaded my horn.”

“…You are running away, Lancer?”

“Yeah. I don’t mind if you come after me, Saber. Just be prepared to die when you do.” With one bound, Lancer easily jumps over the wall and disappears.

“Wait, Lancer…!” The wounded mare starts running to pursue the enemy.

“I-Is she stupid…!?” I run through the yard with all my strength. I think that the mare will go after him if I don’t stop her instantly. …But there was no need for that. When the mare tries to jump over the wall, she clenches her chest and stops.

“Kuh…” I run to her and stare at her. No, I tried to approach her to call out to her, but I forget about it the instant I come near her.

“……” …To put it simply, everything about her is absurd. Now that I’m near her, I can tell that the shining armor she wears is really heavy. The old-fashioned cloth is smooth, a vivid blue. …No, that isn’t what fascinates me. The mare, who seems to be a few years younger than me, is beautiful. The rainbow mane lit by the moonlight is finely textured, as if it’s an actual rainbow. The face, with some sign of naivety, has elegance, and her cyan skin looks soft.

“……” I can’t call out to her because I am fascinated by her beauty, and also for another reason. “…Why.” Because seeing the mare fighting and getting hurt somehow made me mad. No matter how strong she is or how armored she is, I think it’s wrong for a mare to have to fight. All the while I’m fascinated with her, the mare has her hoof on her chest. But that ends quickly. The mare lets her chest go and looks up as if the pain has gone away. She stares directly at me. I’m not sure how I should talk to her, but I notice something about her.

“…The wound is… gone…?” Even though it missed her heart, that horn stabbed her in the chest. But she’s unscathed. …I’ve heard of healing magics, but I didn’t see her using anything like that. So that must mean she automatically heals even when she is wounded.

“…!!” Then my brain switches gear. This is no time to be fascinated by her. She is strange being. I can’t let my guard down until I know what she is. “Who… are you?” I take half a step back and ask her.

“…? What do you mean? I am the Servant Saber. …You called me, so I don’t think you have to confirm it.” The mare answers.

“The Servant Saber…?”

“Yep, just call me Saber.” She replies without hesitation. Her tone is polite yet gentle, and just hearing it makes my head go blank…

“…!!” …Hey, what am I getting excited about…!? “I-I see. That’s a strange name.” I hide my burning face with my hoof and reply really stupidly. I don’t know what else to say. I wouldn’t know of any such thing to say. Since I asked her name, isn’t it natural for her to introduce herself? In that case, it would be impolite to stay silent like this. “…I’m Storm. My name is Storm Whooves, and I live in this house.” What am I doing? Are my answers getting stupider? But she told me her name, so I should answer too. I know I’m confused right now, but I have to be polite no matter who this is.

“……” The mare… Saber just stares at me without changing her expression.

“No, wait. I take that back. That’s not what I meant to ask you. Actually…”

“I know. You are not a formal Master, right?”

“Huh…?”

“But you are still my Master. As long as we have made a contract, I will not betray you. There is no need for you to be so cautious.”

“Uh…?” Crap. I can hear her words, but they make no sense to me. All I know is that she’s calling me with a ridiculous word like “Master”. “That’s wrong. My name isn’t ‘Master’.”

“Then I’ll call you Storm. Yep, I like the sound of that better.”

“…!” As soon as she says my name, I think my face lit up on fire. Shouldn’t you call somepony by their last name on a first meeting…!?

“Wait a minute. Why are you calling me… Ow..!” Pain suddenly runs through my left hoof. “I-It’s burning…!” My hoof is burning. My hoof feels like it’s in a fire, and on it is a strange mark that looks like a tattoo. “What the…”

“That is called a Command Spell, Storm. It is the three claims on a Servant’s obedience, and the life of a Master. Please do not waste them.”

“W-Who…” Before I can finish “are you?”, the air around her changes.

“…Storm, heal my wounds.” She speaks in a cold voice. It seems her attention is on something far away, behind the wall, and not on me. But is she expecting me to heal her…?

“Wait, you’re asking me? I’m sorry, but I don’t know any such difficult magic. Besides, it’s already healed.” Saber frowns a bit. …I think I said something really wrong there.

“…Then I shall face them as I am now. The regeneration only healed the outside, but one more fight should not be a problem.”

“…? One more what…?”

“There are two enemies outside. Judging by their presence, it should only take a few seconds to defeat them.” Saying so, Saber jumps lightly. Just like Lancer, she leaps over the wall and disappears outside. I’m left alone in the yard.

“…Enemies outside?” As soon as I say it aloud, I realize what it means. “Hold on, are you going to fight again…!?” My body starts to move. Without thinking, I run to the gate with full force. “Haa, haa, haa…!” I run to the gate, unlock it with trembling hands, and jump outside.

“Saber, where are you…!?” I search through the dark. The moon is hidden, now of all times, and it’s completely dark. But… I hear something nearby. “There…!?” I run to the small road with no sigh of anypony on it. …It all happens in an instant. Saber is confronting a familiar stallion in red. Saber runs at the stallion in red without hesitation, takes his guard down with one blow, and…

Stop Saber!

Don't stop her.

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