• Published 24th May 2016
  • 4,257 Views, 130 Comments

Fate/Equestria Girls - SamRose



The Holy Grail War comes to the city of Canterlot and Twilight is forced to participate. Set in an Alternate Universe.

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Chapter 4 - The Balance Between Life and War

A crystalline sword sank into the ground, a tired and wounded warrior resting against it. A gentle breeze blew through the air, petals of the nearby flowers flying around the injured maiden. The large pale moon illuminated everything in a gentle white light.

Before the injured warrior was a tall statue, the grave of a goddess that the warrior had worshiped in life. A life the warrior now looked back on with shame, and regret. Her blood splashed against the grass, her wounds refusing to close now.

In these last moments of her life, the warrior paid her respects to the one she had cared about most in life. Asking for forgiveness, though knowing she didn't deserve it. These would be the thoughts she carried into the next life.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Daylight filtered into Twilight's room, causing the sleeping girl to stir. There was still a throb of pain coming from her back, but compared to the last few days it was mercifully gentle. Her bed felt cozier that morning somehow, the blankets had an extra warmth to them they didn't usually have. She squeezed the blankets a little closer to her body, just wanting to enjoy the warm sensation for a little bit longer.

Twilight gently rolled over in bed, getting herself nice and comfortable to enjoy the feeling. Her eyes fluttered open, meeting the site of red and golden hair framing the face of a beautiful girl. Twilight's eyes widened in surprise, a blush forming on her face, before remembering that Saber had spent the night in the same bed as her last night.

The lavender girl curled up a little, just staring at Saber's sleeping face. The last time she had shared a bed with someone was during a sleepover at Spike's house at least eight years ago. The sensation of someone else being in her bed was weird and embarrassing, though not necessarily in a bad way. It wasn't like they had done anything last night, just slept in the same bed. There was something comforting about having another person sleeping next to you, especially someone you trusted.

Twilight studied Saber's face while she slept, entranced by how calm the beautiful girl was while she slept. Her skin seemed to radiate in the morning sun's light, giving Saber an otherworldly beauty to her. There was something about the girl that was drawing all of Twilight's attention and she couldn't explain what it was.

'Was that Saber I saw in my dream?' The image of the injured warrior came to mind, sitting amid that field of flowers before a large statue. She hadn't been able to get a good look at the warrior from the dream, but the sword in it had been unmistakably the one that Saber used.

A loose strand of red hair fell in front of Saber's face, partly obscuring Twilight's view. Twilight's brow furrowed at the strand, a little annoyed that it had interrupted her viewing. Almost instinctively she raised her hand up to move it aside, but hesitated for a moment realizing she might wake Saber up. She paused for a moment to watch Saber's breathing, seeing her chest rise and fall from deep sleep, and decided to take a chance. Without touching Saber's face she rested her fingers underneath the fallen hair strand and slowly lifted it up, carefully pushing it back up around her face and tucked back behind Saber's ear.

Saber's eyes slowly opened and looked directly into Twilight's, causing her to freeze in place as a deep blush quickly formed on her face. Saber merely blinked, before smiling at the blushing teen.

“Well, good morning Master.” Saber's smirk widened, before she sat up. The blankets gently fell to her lap as she stretched her arms out above her head.

“H-How long have you been awake?” Twilight managed to squeak out, her face still flush with embarrassment.

“Depends on your definition of sleeping. If you mean having lost conscious awareness of my surroundings while resting, then I've been awake all night.” Saber swung her legs over the edge of the bed. “If you just simply mean laying down with my eyes closed to restore some of my mana, then I only just woke up now.”

The answer didn't provide much comfort for Twilight, who only sunk further into her sheets with shame. Saber stood up and put her hands on her back, gently leaning back to to stretch further. She let out a rather satisfying groan as she did, which only made Twilight blush harder at the sound.

“Since you're awake, let's go ahead and get ready for the day. We've got a lot to talk about, and the sooner we get started the better.” Saber explained, before grabbing the bottom of the shirt she had slept in and pulling it off over her head. Twilight's eyes shot open in shock as the bare skin of Saber's back came into view, her jaw dropping at how brazenly her Servant was willing to get naked.

With a beet red face her eyes watched Saber's gorgeous figure walk across the room to where she had left her normal clothes the night before. Twilight put a hand to her mouth as Saber bent over at the waist, giving her a view of her perfect pantie-clad ass. Twilight's head began to swim, feeling like she very well just might pass out from the over stimulation. Saber turned her body and was carefully putting her jeans on one leg at a time, before stopping and looking over at Twilight in confusion.

“You gonna get up or just lay there all day?” Saber asked, furrowing her brow at her Master. Twilight responded to this in her usual calm and collected manner by rolling off of her side of the bed, dragging all of her blankets and sheets with her and hitting the ground with a loud but totally graceful thud. Saber blinked at the sight, before shrugging her shoulders and finishing getting dressed.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

After what had to easily be the most embarrassing morning Twilight had ever had, she managed to get dressed, take her medication, and head down for breakfast without further incident. She had been expecting Spike to be in the kitchen preparing breakfast, but instead found Rider humming a delightful tune as she was sauteing some rice and vegetables.

“I do hope you all don't mind my cooking, I'm not terribly familiar with modern recipes from your country, but it should be edible at the very least.” Rider's voice practically sang as she moved gracefully through the kitchen, readying different pots filled with different foods.

“It does smell wonderful,” Twilight smiled, smelling the wonderful fragrance of the exotic food being cooked. “Though I was expecting Spike to be cooking for us.”

“Oh darling, I simply couldn't allow my Spikey Wikey to cook while his injuries were still recovering!” Rider girlishly giggled as she seasoned a pot.

“Spikey Wikey?” Twilight raised an eyebrow turning to look at Spike, the boy just letting out an embarrassed groan.

“Rider, my shoulder is fine! The Draken Family has powerful self-sustaining healing magic, not only are my wounds already closed, but I can't even feel them anymore!” Spike defended himself.

“Be that as it may, it would be unladylike of me to just simply let you work while you're still recovering! At the very least it's just breakfast Spikey, I can do that much for you.” Rider stood her ground firmly, refusing to budge from her cooking spot. Spike just let out a defeated sigh as she slumped further into his seat at the table.

Spikey Wikey? Seriously?” Twilight snorted a little, chuckling at the cute nickname.

“Don't ask me, she just started calling me that last night.” Spike rolled his eyes, a blush forming on his cheeks. “I wasn't exactly going to tell her not to, you know?”

“You don't seem to be hating it either.” Twilight chuckled, causing Spike to groan again. There were very few times where Twilight was able to successfully tease and slightly embarrass Spike, usually it was the other way around.

“Oh I dunno, I think it's kind of cute.” Saber joined in on the teasing. “I think it really shows how close the two of you are, to be her precious little Spikey Wikey.” She emphasized the last words with a mocking tone. Spike just let out a longer groan of frustration, leaning forward and hiding his face behind his hand against the table. Twilight and Saber couldn't help but share a giggle at the flustered boy, enjoying the lighthearted moment.

“Breakfast is ready!” Rider sang across the kitchen as she quickly began adorning dishes with her creations. With beautiful grace, Rider quickly slid a plate in front of everyone sitting at the table. On the plate sat a pile of sauteed rice and vegetables on one side, carefully prepared sliced sausage on another, and still gently steaming small bowl of red soup. “Now it's not quite a traditional breakfast from my home land, but I thought you all would enjoy it as a breakfast meal. Plus I only had so much to work with from your fridge.”

“Everything looks wonderful Rider, thank you!” Twilight genuinely complimented, picking up her fork and taking a bite of the rice. While not quite the flavors she usually preferred for her rice, it certainly wasn't bad by any means.

“Oh wow, this is delicious Rider!” Spike sounded amazed as the food melted in his mouth. He wasted no time shoveling more of the delicious cooking into his mouth.

“Definitely better than I was expecting.” Saber teased with a mouthful of food. “Hope you made enough for a second serving at least.” the fiery Servant took delight in her gluttonous eating habits as she quickly devoured more food.

“I have taken your appetite into account and made a sufficient amount of another serving.” Rider declared with a haughty huff to her voice, as if appalled at the implication she wouldn't make enough for the people she was serving.

The group of four were enjoying their breakfast, when the sound of Twilight's front door opening and slamming shut interrupted them. Saber and Rider instinctively stood up, ready to defend their masters from any threat that was bold enough to just walk right on in.

“Oh, that's a new smell. Getting exotic with breakfast Spi-” Cheerilee's happy voice called out as she stepped into the kitchen, only to stop in surprise at the sight of two people she'd never seen before. “Oh uh, hello there, I don't believe we've met.”

Spike quickly and loudly cleared his throat as he stood up. “Cheerilee, this is my cousin Rider and her friend Saber. They're visiting from out of town right now and I was introducing them to Twilight. Saber, Rider, this is our teacher Cheerilee.” Twilight let out a sigh of relief as Spike quickly covered for everyone, Saber and Rider's guard slowly being lowered but not completely down.

“Oh well, it's very nice to meet you miss Cheerilee.” Rider said, giving a quick bow of her head before sitting back down at the table.

“What brings your school teacher around?” Saber asked still a little on the defensive, but slowly sitting back down as well.

“Cheerilee was a family friend through my parents, so I've known her since I was a kid. She often comes round to help me out around the house.” Twilight explained with a smile. “You could think of her more as my guardian than my school teacher.”

“It's certainly nice to meet you both as well.” Cheerilee nodded, giving a quick wave to the two new girls. “I was just coming over to check up on Twilight and Spike this morning, see if they were going to head to school or not.” Cheerilee smiled, walking up to Twilight and gently placing her hands on the teen's shoulders. Twilight stiffened a little as Cheerilee carefully rolled her thumbs between her shoulders. Twilight winced at the feeling, a small bit of pain shooting up from her back, though also being balanced by Cheerilee's gentle massage. “Spike told me what happened, though you seem to be doing better.”

“Yeah, I still have some pain, but I definitely needed the time away.” Twilight explained, gently rolling her shoulders alongside the massaging.

“Would you like to join us for breakfast?” Spike spoke up, smiling at the teacher.

“I'd certainly love to, but I don't have very long.” Cheerilee said, gently patting Twilight's shoulder before pulling out a spare seat at the table and sitting down. “So just for the moment, Saber, Rider, tell me a little about yourselves. It's not often Spike has guests from out of town.”

“What do you want to know?” Saber asked, raising an eyebrow in confusion.

“Oh you know, where you're from, hobbies you enjoy, maybe something your passionate about.” Cheerilee offered with a smile. “I just want to get to know you a little, since you'll apparently be spending most of your day with Twilight.”

Twilight blinked at Cheerilee's words before letting out a groan and putting a hand to her face. She had forgotten how overprotective her teacher could get around people she didn't know. She knew the animosity wouldn't be lost on the servants either, though to both of their credit they didn't react like they felt it.

“Well I'd love to tell you about myself!” Rider spoke up with a bright smile on her face, “I was born in Manehattan, fashion capital of the world! I've grown up admiring fashion for so long, I knew almost right away it was my dream to create marvelous fashion pieces that would be known world round! Of course, achieving such a dream takes time and dedication. Right now I'm training as an apprentice seamstress underneath a Master Tailor back in Manehatten, though I am taking a bit of a vacation to visit my dear cousin Spike.” Rider seemed proud of herself.

Twilight couldn't help but blink surprise, her jaw a little slack at how well Rider had just conjured up a believable story. Twilight leaned over to Spike and quickly whispered at him, “When did Rider...?”

“Don't ask me.” Spike whispered back, “The only thing we talked about was being introduced as cousins if need be, she made that all up herself!”

“A fashionista? That's quite the ambitious career goal, but an admirable one all the same.” Cheerilee smiled brightly at Rider, getting good vibes from the girl. The teacher turned to Saber next, expecting an enthusiastic reply in turn. “How about you? Any dreams for the future?”

“Dreams of the future?” Saber's brow furrowed as she tapped her fork against the remaining food on her plate. “Not... Really. I'm just sort of trying to find my place right now. I jump from job to job that's needed of me, and I just haven't found anything that really suits me. Rider here helps me out a lot with a place to stay, but that's all there is to me. I'm just a wanderer.”

“A story I hear from kids a lot these days. The world is so vast that it's hard to pick any one thing to settle down and do.” Cheerilee nodded her head in understanding. “Tell me, how old are you?”

Saber hesitated, looking at Twilight in thought before coming up with an answer. “I turned nineteen just two months ago.”

“And graduated from school I assume.” Cheerilee smiled as Saber quietly nodded. “It's fairly normal to not know what you want to do at your age yet. The economy isn't as strong as it used to be and finding a job that you're passionate to work for can seem like it's unreachable. But, if you keep your mind to it and work towards that goal, it'll be more reachable than you might think.”

“Sounds like you have some experience on the matter.” Saber spoke with a hint of surprise to her voice.

“A little, I'm definitely the youngest teacher at the school right now, that's for sure.” Cheerilee chuckled a little. “But I've been teaching for a few years now and I've heard plenty of similar stories. I'm sure once you find that one thing that sparks passion in your life, everything else will fall into place.”

“Well, let's hope there is something that sparks it then.” Saber gently shook her head before returning to eating her breakfast.

Cheerilee quickly checked her watch before standing up from the table. “Well, I really don't have anymore time to spend, I really just came to check up on Twilight but it was lovely to meet you two.” The pink teacher gently put a hand on Twilight's shoulder as she gave her student a smile. “I take it you'll be taking the day off again then?”

“Sorry.” Was all Twilight could say in return, giving Cheerilee a sheepish smile.

“Don't worry about it too much, it's Friday anyway so you can just think of it as a long weekend. I'll be sure to bring you all your makeup work later so your grades don't fall behind though.” Cheerilee's voice was chipper, before leaning in close and gently whispering in Twilight's ear, “And if those two give you any trouble what-so-ever, don't hesitate to call or text me and I'll come running. With a bat if necessary.”

Twilight could only let out an awkward laugh at that. “They've been nothing but angels Cheerilee, honest. You have nothing to worry about.” She tried to reassure her teacher as comfortingly as possible.

“Just keep an eye out then.” Cheerilee gave the last word of warning before pulling back up with a smile. “Anyways, I have a class that needs to be prepared for. See you kids later.” The teacher beamed as she headed out of the kitchen. Everyone collectively waited till they heard the front door closing, before Twilight and Spike let out a sigh of relief.

“Twilight,” Saber spoke up next, having finished eating, “Does she come around often?”

“Almost every morning at least.” Twilight explained with a smile. “She's been looking after me for so long that she's basically my Guardian. She'll cook me breakfast, help me get ready for school, make sure I can get to my Doctor appointments, all that stuff. I really don't know where I'd be right now without her.”

“So we can expect to see a lot more of her huh.” Saber shook her head frowning. “That's not a good thing Twilight.”

“I-It isn't?” Twilight hesitated, not expecting Saber's hostility.

“Twilight, we're in the middle of the Holy Grail War, and Cheerilee is obviously not a magus. If any of the other Masters see her hanging around you a lot or know how close you two are, they're going to take advantage of that fact.” Saber's tone had turned deadly serious, causing Twilight to shrink in her chair.

“B-But the war is supposed to just be between us Magi! We're supposed to fight when there's no threat to people seeing us or finding out about us, so why would they want to hurt someone unrelated to the war?” Twilight tried to argue against Saber's logic.

Saber merely let out a sigh at the response, standing up and picking up her plate and taking it over to the sink. “Spike, it seems Twilight doesn't know all the rules of this war. Would you kindly inform her of what would happen if a civilian happened to see a battle between Magi?”

Spike fidgeted in his seat uncomfortably, before letting out a sigh of his own as Saber starting washing her plate. “If a civilian should happen to bear witness to a battle between two Magi, we're supposed to silence them. The preferred method is with a memory altering spell... But if one isn't available to the Servant or Magi available... Well...” Twilight's eyes widened in shock at Spike's words.

“N-No! You can't be serious!” Twilight quickly stood, her chair screeching against the floor from the sudden movement. “We're supposed to kill them!? Just like that!? For wandering into a situation they had no idea about!?”

“The Mages Association has very strict rules on how events like this are meant to be handled Twilight.” Spike sighed, running a hand through his hair as he leaned against the table. “I'm not happy with it either, but the fact remains that if we have to, the Mages Association will cover up any civilian murders we commit so long as it's for the sake preventing magic from being exposed to the rest of the world.”

“So you'd just be willing to kill someone!? Just like that!?” Twilight cried, unable to believe her childhood friend was saying something so casually.

“Of course not!” Spike defended himself, glaring at Twilight. “I made sure to learn some memory altering spells just in case something like that happened! If I can avoid killing someone, I would prefer it.” He leaned back against his chair, crossing his arms and closing his eyes, a cold demeanor emanating from him. “But I'm not about to cry over someone I don't know or didn't care about dying. The life of a Magus is one stained with blood, I've known that ever since I became one.”

Twilight felt like she was going to be sick. She'd heard Spike talk about loving magic, she'd heard him go on and on about his lessons and how much he enjoyed being a Magus, but she had never heard him talk like this before. Like human life meant so little or was so worthless to him. That wasn't the friend she'd known all of her life.

Twilight nearly jumped in place as she felt a hand touch her shoulder, quickly turning to see Saber standing there. She was starting to visibly shake and the Servant was just trying to help her calm her nerves.

“Come on, let's move this conversation to the living room where you can be more comfortable. There's still a lot left to talk about.” Saber said calmly. Twilight hesitated, but gently nodded, heading to the living room with her arms over her stomach. Spike and Rider quickly cleaned up the rest of the plates and the four of them sat on the couches in Twilight's living room facing each other, Saber next to Twilight and Rider next to Spike.

“I just... It's so hard for me to wrap my head around.” Twilight spoke up, keeping her head low as she ran a hand through her bangs. “I've read about the Mages Association doing things like that in the past but... To actually feel the gravity of the situation in person...”

“Yeah, no one ever said being a Magus was easy.” Spike shook his head, leaning over and resting his elbows on his knees. “Listen, Twilight, I know a lot of this is still fairly new to you; in terms of Magi you're still fresh and learning, and this might be the only time in your life where you actually feel the weight of being a Magus. But my Grandmother has instilled these fundamentals of being a Magus into me since I was young. A Magus lives to transfer their magic to their progeny, so that it can grow stronger over time. A Magus mustn’t be afraid of death, be it themselves dying or killing others. And a Magus must understand that magic governs the world first and foremost. Every Magus who works for the Mages Association lives and breathes these tenants.”

“It doesn't seem right though!” Twilight looked up at Spike. “Magic isn't something that just anyone can learn, I get that being the reason we keep it secret, but why would we have to go so far as to kill witnesses if we can just alter their memories? It's so unnecessarily cruel!”

“Memory altering isn't perfect Twilight.” Spike shook his head, intertwining his fingers. “I've only tested it out once, just to make sure it worked, by making someone forget having written a note. But the magic is imperfect and unreliable. The bigger the memory, the harder it is to erase or keep hidden. Then there's always the possibility that something might trigger them to remember the events anyway, and then you have to deal with them again. So for most mages, the easier option is to just simply...”

“...Kill them off.” Twilight finished Spike's sentence, looking down at the floor.

“I don't like the idea anymore than you do Twilight, but that's just how it is. If I can avoid having to kill anyone uninvolved, I'm absolutely going to do everything in my power to do so. But if the time came where I had no other choice...” Spike trailed off again, just lightly shaking his head.

“...You... You haven't... Killed someone before, have you?” Twilight hesitated to ask, looking up at her childhood friend with trepidation.

“No.” Spike said firmly. “I've been fortunate enough that there haven't been any situations where I've had to do that. However, the Holy Grail War might very well be the first time I might have to. If we see Starlight again, I'm not going to hesitate to take her out.” The boy's voice with laced with venom as they escaped his mouth, Twilight having never heard him so genuinely angry before.

“...When Sombra told me that the easiest way to win the Grail was to kill the other Masters... I agreed with his reasoning and I thought I could prepare myself for that.” Twilight shook her head, wanting to just curl up right there. “But hearing you talk so casually about killing made the very thought of killing others just... So much more real than just saying I could do it. I was reasoning that killing the other Masters would be easier because they brought the Grail war upon themselves but... I don't know if I really have what it takes to kill anyone!”

“The first time is the hardest.” Saber finally spoke up. Twilight turned to look at the fiery headed Servant, who sat with her back to the couch and arms crossed. “It's a moment that'll live with you for the rest of your life. The more you do it though, the easier it gets. The easier it is for you to numb yourself from the feeling.” Saber opened her eyes, looking into Twilight's. “In this war, we will likely end up killing the other Masters. It's an inevitability you have to live with.” Saber then smiled a gentle smile. “However, you shouldn't just throw away how you feel about it right now either. Understanding the weight of human life should balance all of your actions. It keeps you human.”

Saber's words were both comforting and haunting to Twilight. She spoke from experience, but that same experience is what brought Twilight some modicum of comfort. The Grail War was going to be harder on her nerves than ever before, but if Saber was at her side, she would manage somehow.

“So, do we have a plan on what to do about Cheerilee to keep her as uninvolved in the war as possible?” Saber continued, turning to look at Spike.

“With Cheerilee not being a Magus, it should be a simple matter of me casting a spell to keep her away in the morning and afternoons. It won't hurt her, and it'll only be a temporary solution until the war is over. Is that okay with you Twilight?” Spike explained, looking at Twilight. Still reeling from her emotions, all she could do was give a quiet nod that seemed to satisfy Spike.

“Now that we've come to an understanding on all those topics,” Rider finally spoke up, clapping her hands together to draw attention, “We should focus on our strategy for the war. Needless to say, we were thoroughly unprepared for when Berserker showed up and we should prepare not only for further encounters with them, but what other surprises the other Masters might throw at us as well.”

“I agree with Rider on this once,” Saber nodded her head, “We need to spend today fortifying our defenses and coming up with strategies on how we're going to fight this war.”

With the conversation having moved on, Twilight took a deep breath to steel her still shaking nerves and sit up to listen in and contribute as needed.

“First thing first then, let's discuss what we've learned about Berserker.” Spike lead the conversation now, “What did you two learn about him in your fight?”

“They're a terrifyingly powerful brute.” Rider spoke first, “They have immense physical strength, far more than you'd aspect a normal Berserker class servant to have. And that's on top of their terrifying speed. They're a force to be reckoned with.”

“That's on top of their armor instantly nullifying any low-tier magic or physical used against it.” Saber shook her head. “My sword could barely even scratch it with my normal spells flowing through it. I had to damn-near activate my Noble Phantasm to start tearing into it.”

“The scary part of the fight is that we didn't get to see Berserker's Noble Phantasm either.” Rider folded her hands on her lap. “The simple fact that they were able to hold off both me and Saber with relative ease means they could very well be the strongest Servant in this war. I have a hard time imagining any of the other Servants coming even close to defeating him on their own.”

“You can tell that without knowing who the other Servants are?” Twilight blinked in surprise at the bold statement.

“While there are some exceptions, there's a general agreed upon hierarchy to the Servants.” Spike spoke up. “Generally the Saber class servant is considered the strongest as it has the best over-all stats of any of the other Servants. Following close behind are the Archer and Lancer class servants, as alongside Saber, they're considered the Knight class servants and are likely to spawn Heroic Spirits of well known legends. After them comes Rider, Caster, and Berserker, who generally have weaker stats but make up for that by having specialized skills. And then coming up in last with the lowest stats is the Assassin class. It's pretty much agreed upon that it's the worst class to get in the Grail War, as it's the only class not built to fight against other Servants.”

“Not meant to fight other Servants? But why would you...” Twilight stopped mid-sentence as she realized the answer to her own question.

“Killing other Masters is the easiest way to win, so what easier way to do that than with an Assassin?” Spike shook his head. “If we stay on our toes though, we likely won't have anything to worry about from Assassin.”

“With all that in mind, it's easy for us to gauge just how strong an enemies Servant is as a result.” Saber spoke up looking at Twilight. “So when we say Berserker is strong, it's not an understatement.” The servant then gave a cocky grin. “However, I can beat them.”

“You're certain of that?” Twilight asked in surprise, looking at her Servant.

“I'll have to go all out for it, but I'm sure of it.” Saber nodded her head. “Berserker's armor isn't impenetrable, and I'm sure I can handle whatever they have hidden up their sleeve.”

“Berserker still isn't anything for us to relax about though.” Rider spoke up this time. “As confident as Saber is in her abilities, we do have to keep in mind that Berserker isn't fighting alone. They have a powerful Master on their side, as Spike will explain.”

“I had a familiar go back to my house and search up what information we had on Starlight Glimmer in our archives.” Spike explained, looking grim. “I knew I'd heard about the Glimmer family before, but I didn't realize just who she was until my familiar found the information. The Glimmer family is one of the oldest and most powerful Magi families still alive in the Mages Association. Starlight is the newest member of it, and is considered by everyone to be a child prodigy.” Spike's words were heavy, causing Twilight to swallow her nerves as he spoke.

“Her name carries a lot of weight in the association. They have an insane amount of wealth and power at their disposal and a nearly bottomless well of resources behind them.” Spike glared at the floor, squeezing his fist as he explained. “And for some reason, she's set her sights on killing you Twilight.”

“But why!? I've never even met her before!” Twilight was as confused as she was frustrated. “She has no reason to pick a fight with me!”

“She could have a grudge with the Sparkle family in general.” Spike offered, “It's not unheard of for Magi families that have lasted a long time to have quarrels with each other that lasts generations.”

Twilight let out a groan as she buried her face in her hands at that. If Starlight really did have a grudge over something her former family members had done, then there was likely nothing she could do to persuade her from killing her. She was just going to have to rely on her companions to put a stop to Starlight's plans, as there was no way Twilight would even come close to being a match for someone as powerful as Starlight.

“The good news though, is that we now know Starlight and Berserker are after Twilight.” Spike spoke with confidence this time. “That makes it much easier to prepare for when she shows up again. If her and Berserker come to the house, we'll know right away. We can also keep simple familiars up that look for their specific mana as an early detection system. And if we play our cards right, we should even be able to take down Berserker and her Master.”

“We can discuss the specifics about how to fight Berserker as well.” Rider added, “But we should come up with a plan on how to find out who the other Masters and Servants are as well. We can't just expect them to reveal themselves for our convenience.”

“Right.” Spike nodded in agreement. The conversation on how to look for and deal with the other Masters and Servants lasted for several hours, the four of them working to the best of their abilities with the limited knowledge they had on hand.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Twilight carefully made her way around the broken rubble of what was once the stairway to her basement. She stepped into the middle of her workshop and looked around at the damage, before letting out a sigh. There was serious damage throughout her basement, most of it having come from the broken fragments of the sword she had tried to defend herself against Lancer with. When the shattered pieces had hit a surface, they had exploded with the contained magic. Stone, wood, glass, and metal was scattered everywhere and the room was nearly unrecognizable.

In it's current condition, her workshop would be unusable.

Letting out another sigh, she walked over to a door on one side of the room, quickly kicked any debris out from in front of it, and opened it up to reveal a small utility closet. She grabbed a broom from inside, and quickly began to sweep up a majority of the small debris from around the room. It would take a while, but she was going to get it cleaned up and usable again.

“Sorry about all this.” Saber's voice came from the stairwell, Twilight turning her head to look up and see the fiery redhead navigating the rubble. “Wish there was more I could have done to prevent it from getting this way.”

“It's alright, I can't possibly thank you enough for saving my life in the first place really.” Twilight shook her head, before turning back to her sweeping. “It'll take some cleaning, but I'll have this place looking like my workshop again in no time.”

“Do you not know any spells to help you clean faster?” Saber asked curiously, staring at Twilight's broomwork.

“I do... But I'd prefer to only cast repair spells on things that explicitly need it. Chunks of rock and debris I can just move move aside and throw out for now. Besides, I don't have the ability to use magic as freely as Spike does, so if I can do something by hand I prefer to do it that way.”

“That's fair.” Saber nodded in understanding as she moved over to the utility closet, “I can certainly help out at least then.”

“Oh, you don't have to if you don't want to.” Twilight blinked in surprise.

“Well it's a good thing I want to then.” Saber chuckled, grabbing a spare broom and quickly moving next to Twilight. “Besides, Spike and Rider are taking care of doubling the house's defensive wards and getting the familiars ready for surveillance, so I don't have anything else to do right now.”

“I... Well, I guess that's okay then.” Twilight didn't put up much of a fuss and just returned to sweeping. With the two of them at it, it wasn't long before the majority of the floor was cleared of the major sweepable debris and a nice pile had formed in the corner of the room to be dealt with later. With the sweeping done, Saber set to the task of clearing the stairwell while Twilight managed to take stock of the weapons and materials that had survived the attack.

As Twilight was counting out her remaining gem stash, one fell from the table and rolled across the floor. Putting them aside, she quickly walked over and kneeled down to pick it up, but paused as she stared down at the floor now that it was clear of the debris. The summoning circle that had called Saber forth and saved her life was still there, most of it faded and darkened from use and the magic clearly having been expended, but the markings were still visible. Twilight furrowed her brow at the circle, her mind realizing everything it being there implied.

“What's the matter?” Saber asked, dusting her hands as she walked over to Twilight.

“I... I just sort of realized...” Twilight stood up, looking away from Saber as she clutched her arm, “This circle was the entire reason I was even able to summon you. But the only ones who would have been able to set up the circle... Was my parents...”

“Your parents?” Saber tilted her head. “Were they preparing for the Grail War?”

“Yeah, they knew that the grail war was going to happen by the time I became head of the household, so they ended up trying to rush my development into becoming a powerful Magus.” Twilight lightly shook her head. “But to think they were planning so far ahead that the circle would even be here and functional...”

“How old is the circle then?” Saber asked curiously.

“...At least six years.” Twilight's response was quiet, though Saber heard her clearly.

“Six years huh? They couldn't have made it any sooner than then?” Saber bent down, running her hands against the circle, examining it for herself.

“It'd be impossible for them to have made it any sooner than that.” Twilight's voice hitched as she turned her body away from Saber. “Because... They died six years ago.”

“Oh.” Was Saber's response. “I had a feeling as much when you talked about Cheerilee being like your guardian and them being nowhere in sight, but still, I'm sorry for bringing it up.”

“No, it's fine.” Twilight shook her head. “It happened a long time ago, pretty much everyone knows they're gone by now. I wasn't trying to hide it from you either.”

“So, they even had a catalyst prepared for you as well, huh?” Saber put a hand to her chin in thought as she stood up, looking over the circle. “With this much preparation, I'm surprised you have so little knowledge about the war.”

“A catalyst?” Twilight blinked in surprise, turning to Saber. “A catalyst for what?”

“A catalyst for wha- Wait, are you serious?” Saber asked completely dumbfounded. “I knew summoning me was an accident, but you didn't even have some kind of catalyst prepared?” Twilight felt awkward, but slowly nodded her head. Saber felt her eye twitch, before letting out a groan and squeezing the bridge of her nose. “Twilight, it's impossible to summon a Servant unless you have a catalyst. The catalyst is what determines what Servant you summon, which is why you can't even summon a Servant if you don't have that.”

“O-Oh...” Was all Twilight could say in response. “I... I guess my parents did prepare one then? I just didn't know what it was...”

“So that means you have no idea what Servant I am, does it?” Saber crossed her arms, looking a little agitated at Twilight.

“I'm sorry...” Apologizing was all Twilight could do. “I didn't think it was important...”

“Good grief Twilight.” Saber let out another sigh, walking over to her Master and placing a hand on her shoulder. “You need to stop apologizing for things that aren't your fault. Look, it's a little frustrating that you're so unprepared for this, but it's nothing we can't work around. What's important is what we do from here on out, alright?”

“Okay...” Twilight sheepishly replied, looking up into her Servant's eyes. “So... What Servant are you?”

“I'll tell you so long as you keep it a secret from Spike, alright?” Saber said very seriously. “It's not that I don't trust him, but the fewer people who know the safer it is. Once a Servant's identity is revealed, you can learn their strengths and weaknesses just by looking up their heroic deeds in a book.”

“Like how we know that Lancer is Rainbow Dash?” Twilight thought back to the first night Saber had been summoned.

“Correct. Rainbow Dash is a famous Equestrian lancer from the age of Monarchs who became the right hand spear to the King. As such we can research her past deeds and know what kind of tricks we can expect from her. The same would be true if we knew who Rider or Berserker were.” Saber explained with a smile.

“Alright, I can promise that.” Twilight said with a nod. “I won't tell Spike or Rider your identity.”

“Thank you Twilight. As for who I am...” Saber smiled, before stepping away from Twilight. She stretched out her hand and summoned her crystalline sword and rested the tip against the ground, placing both hands on the handle as she turned to face Twilight. “In my homeland I am known as the Swordsman of Flames, the Phoenix given Flesh, and The Daughter of the Sun Goddess.” Saber gave a smirk. “But you may call me Sunset Shimmer.”

Twilight blinked in surprise as she felt her mouth start to gape. Saber seemed amused by the reaction, waiting for Twilight's brain to reboot you.

“A-Are you serious? You're THE Sunset Shimmer!?” Twilight gaped in surprise, unable to hold back her shock.

“The one and the same. I take it you've heard of me then.” Saber couldn't help but chuckle.

“Of course I've heard of you! You're the most famous Knight in Canterlot history! Your story has been passed down for ages, retold in so many different plays, it's an iconic story about tragedy and redemption! I've read about your legend at least three separate times in our library!” Twilight was beginning to ramble, completely unable to believe that a person she had read about in her childhood had sprung to life in her own home.

“No need to praise me too much there Twilight, trust me, I don't need my ego inflating that much.” Saber gave a light chuckle as she made her sword vanish. “Be sure to keep calling me Saber as well, but now you should know what I'm capable of and why when I say I can beat Berserker, I'm not just boasting.”

“Yeah, if it's you, I'm certain you can beat Berserker.” Twilight smiled, squeezing a fist confidently. “In fact, we could win the whole war if it's you!” Twilight hesitated a little at that statement, “On the condition I don't drag you down of course.”

“Hey, none of that, I actually like the confidence.” Saber said walking over to Twilight and wrapping an arm around her shoulder. Twilight blushed at the contact, but didn't move away. “If my Master has found the strength to win the Grail War, then nothing can stop us.”

“I certainly hope that's true.” Twilight couldn't help but giggle in response, suddenly feeling better about everything. She had no idea how she had ended up with such a powerful Servant, but she wasn't about to start complaining about it.

Twilight's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of her ring tone going off, a chipper little beat that was coming from the pocket in her skirt.

“That's a cute song, where's it from?” Saber asked as Twilight fished her phone out of her pocket.

“It's uh...” Twilight felt her face flushing with embarrassment as she explained. “There was a TV show about... Horses learning friendship when I was growing up, and it's the uh... The theme song.” Twilight looked at the screen to see who was calling.

“Heh, that seems to fit you just perfectly too.” Saber couldn't help but chuckle at it.

“Sorry Saber, I need to take this.” Twilight looked apologetically at her Servant.

“Hey, do what you gotta. I'll finish clearing the stairwell.” Saber explained, walking off towards the stairs. Twilight took a deep breath, exhaling slowly before answering the call.

“Hey Flash...” Twilight spoke nervously into the receiver.

“Hey, Twilight! I'm glad you answered, I wanted to talk to you about tonight.” Flash's voice came through the receiver somewhat melancholic.

“A-about tonight?” Twilight blinked in confusion, uncertain of what he was talking about.

“Yeah, we were going to go out on a date, remember?” Flash quickly reminded her. Twilight's eyes widened in shock, only just now realizing that it was Friday night and she had, in fact, agreed to go out with Flash that night. “However, you were absent from school the last two days and your friends told me that you were out sick. I just wanted to check in and see how you were feeling. If you still weren't feeling well I wanted you to know that we can totally reschedule, no problem.”

“O-Oh gosh, Flash, I'm sorry,” Twilight's automatic response spilled out, “Tonight turned out to be a really bad night for going out on our date. My condition flared up and then some people from out of town are visiting and it's a whole mess.”

“Hey, no worries about it Twi, you feeling better is absolutely top priority. Like I said we can just reschedule.” Flash seemed to be taking the news well. “How does Sunday night sound to you? I assume tomorrow would be a bad day since it's Lemon Zest's birthday.” Twilight mentally screamed at herself for also having forgotten that she was invited to one of her friend's birthday parties, especially after promising she really would be there this time.

“I-I'll see how my schedule plays out Flash.” Twilight tried her best to give a vague answer, “I-I agreed to go on a date and I will, but I'm not sure when I'll be free to. I'll try and make time for it, I promise.”

“Hey, you do what you gotta do Twilight.” Flash's voice was as perky as ever. “You feel better and I'll see you at Lemon Zest's party, alright?”

“Yeah, I will.” Twilight nodded, before realizing Flash couldn't see her and felt her face flush.

“Talk to ya later Twi.” Flash said his farewell before hanging up. Twilight let out a long sigh as she quickly pocketed her phone away.

“Trouble with the boyfriend?” Saber teased from across the room.

“He's not my boyfriend.” Twilight shook her head, “He's a guy who just... Seems to like me a lot... For some reason.” She shrugged her shoulders, crossing her arms. “He's a decent guy though, he's very nice and polite. He always treats me with respect, and I'm just... I'm not very good at this whole 'dating' thing. I have no idea what I'm supposed to do or say, and every time I try to talk about it, it feels like there are knots in my stomach.”

“I admit, you do seem more like the kind of girl who needs romance to happen to her, rather than seeking it yourself.” Saber teased again, causing Twilight to huff with a blush on her face. “But if what you say is true, he sounds like a decent enough guy. If you like him enough, that's worth pursuing.” Saber's face looked serious for a moment. “Though again, I would suggest waiting to do anything like dating till after the Grail War.”

“I know, I know, that's why I tried to give him a vague response.” Twilight shook her head at Saber. “I guess it's just that... I've never really felt attracted to anyone before. I don't know if I like Flash the way he likes me or not.”

“Wait, really? You've never even had a crush before?” Saber blinked in surprise.

“Is that really so hard to believe?” Twilight turned her head away, the blush not going away. “My childhood was primarily about becoming a Magus and everything that happened because of that. I never really stopped to consider... Romantic interests.”

“I don't know Twi, people usually have some idea of if they're interested in others or not by now.” Saber chucked the last of the debris out of the stairwell and into the rubble pile in the corner. “Though I suppose you could be Asexual as well, that's always an option.”

“No, I don't think that's the case.” Twilight furrowed her brow as her face grew more heated, remembering the image of Saber bending over to pick up her clothes from this morning. “I've felt sexual desire before just... Not usually about anyone in particular.” She absolutely neglected to mention she had at least thought of one person in a sexual way before.

“Well, I can't say I'm an expert on the subject either way.” Saber dusted her hands, before placing them on her hips and looking at Twilight with a smile. “I'd suggest just following your gut and seeing how it goes. Romance is as unpredictable as a fight, you never know when one move could change everything.”

“I'll keep that in mind.” Twilight tried to find comfort in the words, though they really only made her more nervous for her date with Flash.

“Twilight, Saber! We finished setting up out here!” Spike's voice called out from the top of the stairs. “I'm gonna get dinner started now!”

“Alright! Thanks Spike!” Saber called back up, waiting a moment for Spike to head to the kitchen. “Well, this room's at least a start. Want to take a break?”

“Yeah, a break and some food sounds great.” Twilight nodded her head, following Saber as the two of them headed up the stairs. Her brow furrowed in thought, trying to think of how to broach the subject she wanted to talk about. When nothing witty came to mind, she decided to go for broke and just ask.

“Hey, Saber?” Twilight called out.

“Hm?” Saber responded, turning her head just enough to look at Twilight.

“I know we're supposed to keep our interactions with our loved ones to a minimum... But uh... How do you feel about going to a party tomorrow?” Twilight offered an awkward smile.

Author's Note:

A good cool-down chapter after an action chapter, plus developing the relationships between our characters, setting up for future events, and exposition!

There will be plenty of shenanigans at the party next chapter though, looking forward to writing it~