Twilight finds herself stuck in a bloody conflict the likes she never could have imagined. Thankfully, she's got a cute boy to help her out.
Twilight Sparkle was used to a lot of strange things. So when she pursued the strange unicorn who had stolen her crown through a portal, she thought she could handle whatever came her way. Unfortunately for her, she finds herself involved in a war far greater then she could have imagined. Thankfully, she's got a cute boy to help her survive. Fifth war/EQG 1 mixup.
{Excerpt from the private archive of Starswirl the Bearded concerning his ‘Mirror Project’}
When confronted by the nature of different realities, I had known beforehoof that I would have to steal my heart. Many of the worlds I had come across were vastly different from my own. Many of them deadly. However, I have never come across one as conflicting to me than that of ‘Earth’. Populated by humans, these naked apes, I had found myself one of them. It certainly was an experience.
For years, I traversed this world. Interacting with the humans, I quickly realized that they were the only race on this planet. Unlike our own which houses dozens of them, they alone stood tall. It would appear that this very reason is why they as a species house a sense of arrogance to their world. For I have never come across a race so prone to war and ideological conflict as this one with their own kind.
Oh yes, we of ponykind have had our share of conflicts. No one is without blood on their hooves, but the sheer scale that these humans will wage war with each other is unprecedented. They are quite clever when it comes to the art of killing and I would be wary of our kind coming into contact with them.
That isn’t to say that I have not found any good within them. Many of the people on my travels have aided me out of the kindness of their hearts. There is the spark of friendship within them that maybe one day will bloom like it has fortunately done within our kind.
However, the greatest find I have come across is their magic. The magic of this world is… dying for a lack of a better term. The few mages I have come across show magical promise but nothing more than your usual child level. However, this has forced them to come up with… unconventional means of magical usage. Many of which would be considered dark arts in our world.
I do not trust them. Not one of these mages. It would, in my opinion, better for these humans to lose magic altogether for it their misuse has caused the death of many an innocent person, despite my best efforts.
In times to come, perhaps we may interact with humans. Mayhaps they could be our allies, but I will hope beyond hope that their magic users are gone by that time. One ponders what insanity they will bring into the world as time goes on… ________________________________________________________________________
The forest around Fuyuki was especially quiet this night. Normally there would be some insects chirping or little creatures scurrying about in the dark. None of them were present now except for one type of creature. Their black feathers cast shadows on the small bits of light from the moon that shined down through the trees. The crows could sense what was near. A being of power. An unnatural power that scared the living daylights out of most creatures. Yet they stayed. They stayed for one fact and one fact alone.
This creature was dying.
They could smell it. They could almost taste it. This creature was not for this earth and was leaving it soon. Then they were going to feast. Feast to their heart's content. This food looked similar to the two legged beings that usually wandered these parts. Some of the elder crows could attest to how good one of them could taste. The younger crows wanted to try one. Maybe this creature tasted the same.
The creature that they were following wore a long purple and black robe. The gasps were pained and feminine. The cloaked figures curved shape also gave credence to her gender. She gritted her teeth as she kept going. Not once did she stop. She would not give herself to carrion birds, even though a part of herself knew her body would disappear once she died. Scavengers sometimes wouldn’t wait for their prey to die to feed.
The woman couldn’t believe this was how she was going to die. Again. So early in the war. Without putting up at least one fight. Nothing. She had been summoned by a despicable master to do his bidding. Typical. This was all typical. She was screwed over by a selfish man. She should have seen this coming. She had been hurt once and now she was hurt again. This time, she was thankful that she got to kill that slimeball before the end.
And save the children. She wasn’t completely harmless although she did wince slightly as she remembered her own. While she had hated the man she had loved, she… she was not in the right frame of mind. The gods… this whole world liked to toy with her as it did when they made her kill her own brother. Then her children… Perhaps this was karma coming to bite but it tasted sour. These were not events made by her own choices. She was forced to do them all. Forced to commit atrocities and evil. Now she would die once again due to ill fate. At the very least, saving those children and stopping that madman gave her some sense of justice.
“I was wondering why I felt something magical nearby,” a young woman’s voice spoke up.
The fallen woman raised up her head, “Who’s there? I still have enough energy to destroy you.”
She pushed herself up to kneel on the ground. This person, whoever they were, knew about magic. Perhaps they knew what she was. Perhaps not. Either way, to so boldly talk to her even in this state meant that this person was strong, or at least they believed themselves to be strong with magic.
“I’m right here,” a young woman stepped out from the shadows. She was definitely pretty in an otherworldly way like her, which bespoke of someone a bit more than a human. Framing her pretty face was long elegant locks of red and yellow hair. She could tell they were natural like her own flowing purple hair. Her clothes were even more odd. She wore a biker jacket with some metal stubs around the collar. A purple shirt lied underneath with an image of a half red and half yellow sun. She wore a short orange skirt and long black boots with a purple image on the front.
“What… what are you?” The fallen woman said, unsure of what to do.
“Someone who came to help you,” the woman smirked and already the fallen woman knew she wasn’t the most trustful person. She moved forward and leaned down, offering a hand. “So why don’t I get you somewhere safe, miss…”
“Caster,” the fallen woman answered as she took the hand. “You can call me Caster.”
The strange woman smiled as she helped Caster up, pulling one of her arms around her shoulder. “Name’s Sunset Shimmer and before you ask, yes it’s my natural name.” She snorted, “I have to say that you have the most normal sounding name that I’ve met so far here.”
“It’s not my real name,” Caster said.
Sunset pouted, “Of course it isn’t. You humans and your strange naming conventions. So let’s get you home and you have some explaining to do.”
Caster, once known in life as Princess Medea, still did not know what to make of her master. Of all the creatures she thought she would come under contract with, a former unicorn was not one of them. Sure she had known that they existed in her time. Her father had even shown her one in her youth. However, there was a difference.
Unicorns did not talk.
Sunset had of course taken offense to this. That was an hour long conversation that Caster could only groan at remembering. Otherwise, her new master was fine for the most part. She and her did share a similar sense of betrayal although Caster could quite clearly tell that Sunset was not a lost cause as it were. She had not killed a soul in her plans for revenge. Perhaps Caster would make sure that stayed that way. She wasn’t completely cold hearted after all.
However, said revenge now led them to a horse statue on school property.
“Master,” Caster spoke up. “Are you sure this is a wise plan?”
Sunset sighed, “Let me go over it again. I will go through this portal,” Sunset gestured to the statue. “Get the Element of Magic. Bring it back here and then use it to make myself an alicorn. It’s so very simple.”
“But what about the Grail War?” Caster remarked.
Yes, that was something that had floored Sunset when she had first heard about it. It took her a full two minutes to comprehend it but at the end of the discussion, Sunset was eager to get the Grail in order to fulfill her wish. Although, again, she didn’t seem to eager on the killing part. That would come with time if push came to shove.
“If the crown doesn’t work, then we’ll win this war to make my wish come true.” Sunset said. “And don’t worry, if the crown does work, beating the other masters and servants will be a piece of cake.”
“And you’re sure that I can’t come with you?”
Sunset gave her a deadpan stare, “You’d end up hugging everyone.”
“I would not,” Caster crossed her arms.
“You wouldn’t let go of me when I turned into a unicorn,” Sunset deadpanned as she held up a finger. Then two more. “Three hours.”
Caster sighed, “Very well. I’ll wait out here in case of an enemy servant.”
“You do that,” with that said, Sunset entered the portal.
Again, it was so very strange to know that a world akin to the age of gods was still very much present and alive. Truly the world was a strange place.
At that moment, her eyes widened and she summoned a bolt of magic to strike into the forest. A blue blur raced through the leafage before jumping out. The handsome blue clad man smiled, wielding a long red spear.
“Oh?” The man, no, servant chuckled as he looked her up and down. “So my first opponent in this war is a pretty lady?”
“Do not underestimate me, Lancer.” Caster scowled.
“What gave that away?” Lancer smirked as he tapped his spear, before getting into a battle posture. “I’ll make sure to give you a quick death.”
Caster knew that fighting one of the three knight classes wasn’t ideal, especially in this environment and by herself. She would have to do her best to hold him off until her master arrived.
Within the confines of the Crystal Empires spiraling castle, all was calm and collected. Apart from a few guards patrolling the hallways, none were really that active. There wasn’t any reason to be. No one assumed that a threat could hit them here in the heart of the empire. Sombra was taken care of and Queen Chrysalis would be a fool to attack here. Not anytime soon. So they all slumbered.
Including a certain purple princess. Sleep, however, did not come easy for her. Her wings fumbled about behind her in her sleep. Her new appendages were something she still was getting used to. She was thankful to how quickly she had gotten at least some hang of them. Usually most everything came naturally to her, at least with a little effort, so having something like a new set of wings trip her up so much agitated her. Still, she knew she would get the hang of them soon enough.
If only her crown was as easy to take care of…
It felt… so heavy on her head. As though the world was crushing her skull. She knew she had nothing really to worry about. She had her friends and the other princesses to help her. She could do this. Yet, she was a pony who loved to worry about things. Her new position was so sudden and unexpected that she felt it would take a long while before she became comfortable with it. If that ever came to pass.
Her slumber was disturbed the moment she heard something crash into the floor.
“Huh?” Spike’s voice rung in her ear. “What?”
Twilight drearily woke up, rubbing her head to get rid of the small headache she still felt from her argument with Spike the previous night. She’d have to make it up to him somehow. That’s when she turned to see a cloaked pony standing in her room. Her eyes widened as she saw what laid in her saddlebag.
“My crown,” the words left her mouth in a fit of panic. “She’s got my crown!”
Fear. Fear started to overtake her form in that moment. Twice now she had to deal with the Elements of Harmony out of her hooves. A third time with one of her friends willingly not using hers. In all those times, fear gripped her. Without the Elements of Harmony, Equestria would fall. Some foe would come along stronger then the last and take over with nary any effort with strong magic or a powerful army. The Elements were their lifeline.
She would not let it be taken. She would secure it and bring this perp to justice. There was no way this pony was going to get away.
{1 minute later}
And she got away. Twilight laid there on the crystal floor as she watched the yellow unicorn mock her and leave through the portal. Just laid there and watched it happen. She had lost the Element of Magic. Her responsibility. Her treasure. Gone. Pain raced through her heart as she felt the sting of failure.
How many ponies would suffer because of her?
How much of her world would be destroyed because of her?
What would this pony do with her Element now that she had let her escape?
All those thoughts and more raced through her mind during that moment. She hadn’t even been a princess for that long and now this happened. Was she truly worthy of her position or was Princess Celestia wrong about her?
“We have to get Celestia,” Twilight gulped. Her mentor would know what to do.
“Why don’t we just go after her?” Rainbow Dash, her brash pegasus friend spoke up. Her wings were flared as she readied herself to charge forth. “We can take her together.”
“No Rainbow,” Twilight stood up. “We can’t rush into this. This mirror was made by Starswirl the Bearded himself. We don’t know where it could lead.”
Rainbow huffed, “Well then let’s get the princesses then because I'm ready to kick somepony’s butt.”
Sakura just wanted it to end. She just wanted it all to end. The pain. Every day. Every single day it was the same. She had gotten used to it. She had come to expect it. That was how her world worked now. She couldn’t fight it. It was futile. Her beloved uncle had shown her that. He had died trying to fight her grandfather. Futile.
Futile.
Futile.
It was all futile.
Yet she would endure. It wasn’t so bad. Her grandfather wasn’t evil and neither was her brother. He was just misunderstood. Yes, that was it. He made her do… bad things but she was not a good girl. He was just correcting her. Even when they hurt, he still cared. Shinji loved her like a good brother should. She was grateful.
Yet why did she fear him?
No, that was just crazy talk. He was a good brother.
Then why was she hiding tonight?
It was just a long day. She was going to rest here by this horse statue. Nothing unusual about that. Yes, just rest here. Then she would get everything in order and see her beloved senpai again. Shirou was so cute when he was sleeping. It was a shame she would have to wake him. Of course, then she would get to spend some time with him.
He was safe.
Yes he was. He was safe to be around. Her senpai taught her all sorts of things, like cooking and cleaning. How to have fun. Yes, he was safe and she loved being around him.
“Ow,” something then smacked into the back of her head. Rubbing it softly, she looked down to see a golden tiara with a series of blue gems along its length. At the height of it, a purple star was formed. Sakura blinked in confusion as she picked it up. She idly wondered why would someone leave something like this here. Did they lose it? It was a hard thing to lose with how special it looked.
As she mused about that, she couldn’t help but find it tingled to the touch. As though she was drawn to it. Like it had its own bit of power that sung to her. She knew it was just in her head of course. Most likely she was just hungry and thinking things. That was it.
A loud explosion rocked the area, causing her to let out a squeal of fright. She hadn’t been around here that long and that explosion sounded quite close. Clutching the tiara, Sakura decided to go home. She was sure her grandfather and brother were asleep by now so they wouldn’t notice her. She could find the owner of the tiara later.
Caster huffed as Lancer dodged another magical lazor. He was living up to his position as servant of the lance. His agility and maneuverability were insane. Thankfully, her master was a being of the age of gods as it were. That meant she was running at full capacity. She had even managed to hit Lancer once or twice, however neither blow had been fatal or even all that damaging. More glancing hits. Still though, she had kept him at a distance.
"Well now," Lancer grinned as he dodged another incoming projectile. "I've actually broken a sweat. I don't do that often."
"I would hope so," Caster spoke, readying to finish this. "It would be disgraceful if I didn't at least make you work for your victory."
Lancer narrowed his eyes, "Yes, which is why I think I want to keep playing. At least for a bit longer."
"Caster!" Sunset's voice cried out in her mind through their link. "I can't find it. I can't find it!"
Caster gritted her teeth. With how frantic Sunset sounded, she needed to get over there fast. Of course, she couldn't just do that with a servant trailing her.
"Unfortunately for you," she prepared her spells. She had to pull them off perfectly or this would end with her death. "I don't have that time."
With that said, she enacted her plan. Lancer charged, grinning his bloodthirsty grin that had brought a bit of fear into her heart. She didn't move a muscle as he struck. As the spear ran through her, Lancer started to frown. She simply smiled and vanished.
Only to have the real Caster appear beside him and slam a spell into his side. Lancer was sent flying, letting out a pained cry. She knew he wasn't dead or such, but it would give her enough time to disappear with her master. She was thankful she knew a spell to create a doppelganger. Lancer wouldn't fall for it a second time so she had to plan around that. She'd enjoy breaking that servant's face in.
It didn't take long for her to get back to the statue. Her master was on her hands and knees looking around it frantically, "It's here. It's here. It's got to be here somewhere."
"Master," Caster hurriedly spoke. "We don't have much time. Lancer will be back soon."
"No," Sunset got up and glared at her. "I'm not leaving without my crown. I had it with me and..." she tapped her side before growling. "And my satchel is gone too! Damn magic portal must have ruined it somehow."
"We'll find it later," Caster reached for her, only to have Sunset pull back.
"I am staying and getting my crown back," Sunset retorted. She held up her hand to show the command seals. "I need that crown. I need it. I really need it, Caster."
Caster huffed in anger and agitation. She could see the desire for the crown. The wanting. As though she wouldn't be complete without it. It was not healthy and she knew that from experience. So she did the only thing she could think of.
She slapped her.
"Master," Caster spoke. "We don't have time for this. The crown is missing and Lancer is on our tail. We must leave."
Sunset put a hand to her sore cheek. Her face betrayed a bit of hurt, "Yes.... yes we'll leave."
Caster sighed, feeling terrible about striking her. While it was true she was the witch of betrayal and would have gladly killed most masters like her own, the girl before her was different. She wasn't human. She wasn't a man. She just reminded herself of when she was younger and just starting on the road that would pave her own doom. "I will find that crown for you, master. I swear it."
Sunset sighed and nodded, "I know you will, Caster." That's when she took Caster's hand and they teleported.
Twilight couldn’t help but twitch slightly as she stood in the throne room of the crystal empire. After last night’s event, she couldn’t sleep a wink. Staying up and playing scenario after scenario over in her head, each getting increasingly worse then the last. That didn’t do anything good for her nerves. She was just thankful she got a few hours of shuteye before then or she’d be even worse right now. It didn’t help how impassive Celestia looked at this moment.
For all of her life, Celestia had a motherly warmth to her. She was basically Equestria’s mom, shielding it from harm in her large wings. Just as she did with Twilight on her bad days. She looked up to the solar monarch. She wanted nothing more then to please her and yet now she felt as if Celestia was disappointed with her. She refused to think of the visions Sombra’s mirror showed her. She had to at least put up a strong front. She could take what was thrown her way.
She hoped.
The throne room was simple but elegant. Fitting for Princess Cadance who sat in the highest chair. The other two princess, Princess Luna and Princess Celestia, stood by each side of the tall crystal throne. Twilight’s friends all stared up at them. Well, all but one.
“What in tarnation is taking that gal so long?” Applejack grumbled as she adjusted her stetson on her head for the tenth time solely out of boredom.
“I’m sure she has a good reason,” Fluttershy interjected to try and diffuse some of Applejack’s tension.
“Probably powdering her nose,” Rainbow Dash scoffed as she scuffed the ground. “Why can’t we just hear what the princesses have to say and tell Rarity afterwards? There’s no time to lose. That pony could do who knows what to the Element of Magic.”
“I would rather you all be present when I explain the situation,” Celestia responded. “I don’t want to go through with this twice. Besides, we already have a solution to this problem.” She smiled, which alleviated some of their concerns. When Celestia smiled, it was like gazing into the warm sun. Minus harm to your eyes of course.
Just then, the door’s of the throne room burst open. Rarity huffed as she trotted inside, “I’m sorry everyone. My hair was giving me all sorts of trouble.”
“Should have guessed it was her hair,” Rainbow grumbled quietly to Applejack, who let out an amused snort.
“Now that you are all present,” Celestia said, garnering all of their attention. “I think you all are deserving of an explanation.”
The ponies gathered nodded, letting out little ‘uh-huhs’ and ‘yeah’.
Celestia closed her eyes slowly and took in a deep breath. Twilight could tell that whatever she was dredging up from her memory wasn’t a pleasant one. Then she opened up her eyes, “The culprit you are looking for is none other then Sunset Shimmer, my former pupil.”
The mares gasped.
Twilight took a step forward, “But she didn’t look that much older then me.”
“That is correct,” Celestia nodded. “She was my prize pupil right before I found you. She was a promising star, like yourself. Had she not fled when she had I had every hope she would have become the Element of Magic. Unfortunately, that was not meant to be. Sunset Shimmer led greed and temptation plague her heart. She wanted nothing more then to gather more and more power and become like me,” she spread out her wings. “An alicorn.”
Twilight ruffled her feathery wings, “So she wants to use the Element of Magic to make that happen.”
“Yes,” Celestia said. “I tried to dissuade her. She was not ready. She did not have the right mindset to ascend and even if she did, she would be a danger to everyone around her. Thankfully there were few ways to achieve this and most of those are closely guarded by hoof picked soldiers and other creatures. The Element of Magic on the other hoof might just be her ticket to achieving her goal.”
“So you want us to go over there and kick her butt, right?” Rainbow smiled and puffed out her chest. “I think we can manage this.”
“No,” Celestia firmly spoke, slamming a hoof into the ground hard enough to shake the room. The main six let out little yelps of panic at that. “You are not to enter that realm. Not yet. There are… some things you must know. The world that my precious former student entered is not as kind as ours.”
“Starswirl had visited this world shortly before I became Nightmare Moon,” Princess Luna spoke up. “So I remember this one clearly. He was both fascinated and terrified by the creatures on the other side. Humans as he called them. They are not to be trifled with.”
“Can’t we just be friends?” Fluttershy timidly asked. “I mean, they can’t all be bad.”
“And I’m sure most of them aren’t,” Celestia nodded. “However, we can’t take any risks on this venture. If they are peaceful, perhaps we will open a channel of diplomacy. If they are hostile, the portal will be destroyed so they can never threaten our homeland.”
“Let’s hope for the former,” Cadance smiled. “And I think we all know the right pony for the job.”
“Twilight,” Luna looked down at her with a stern gaze. “We have decided to send you and you alone to this world to retrieve the crown and my sister’s pupil.”
“Why can’t we go with her?” Pinkie Pie raised a hoof. “I mean, how else are we supposed to establish good will if I’m not there to throw a party!”
Celestia raised a hoof to silence her, “We must be discreet about this. If they learn about our world before we are ready, or if they think we are a threat, they could do something drastic. We may be strong, but we have no idea what they are currently capable of.”
Luna nodded, “Exactly. It would be foolhardy for us to engage them this early.”
“We talked about this, auntie.” Cadance sighed. “We are not fighting the humans.”
Luna pouted, “Perhaps later.”
“I trust in you, my shining pupil.” Celestia smiled down at Twilight which alleviated some of her concerns. “I know there was some good in my former pupil and knowing how well you did with my sister and even Discord, no doubt you will perform well on this venture.”
Twilight stood there for a moment, mulling over all of this. Should she really brave this human world all alone? However, her doubts were swept away when she looked at Celestia. She had never steered her wrong. Not once. She was always there for her. So she nodded, “I’ll do it.”
Celestia nodded, “Very well. We shall meet at the mirror within the hour to see you off. We musn’t wait much longer. Who knows what Sunset Shimmer is up to.”
Said mare turned human was stomping around in circles inside her current living abode. Given that she could still use her magic, she opted to using her druidic spells to create a wooden house for herself. This saved her from having to worry about rent and the lonely location in the forest meant she could experiment without worrying about anyone seeing her perform magic.
Caster was peacefully sitting on the floor, sipping from a small tea cup. She watched quietly as her master raged and fumed again and again over what had transpired. She was very thankful that her master could teleport so readily. While she was confident in her own abilities, Lancer had proven to be an opponent she would need to be wary of. Next time she would not fight on unknown territory. She’d draw him in to her own and smash him to pieces there. For now, she waited for the chance to calm her furious master.
Sunset stopped and held out her hands in front of herself, looking at her palms. “I had it with me. It was right on my side and now it’s gone! How the buck does that happen? The hay did I do to deserve this?!!”
“Master,” Caster spoke up, drawing her attention. “I think you need to calm down. While we may have lost the crown, we can still find it later. Besides, we have more important things to worry about?”
“More important?” Sunset looked at her as if she had grown a second head. “More important? There is nothing more important than this! I deserve that crown. Not that purple dunce! I worked myself to the bone.” She moved closer, “I studied harder than everyone. I am the rightful owner of those accursed wings, not her. I should be an alicorn!”
“And you will be one when we win this war,” Caster sternly stared her down. The servant of magic stood up and placed a hand on Sunset’s shoulder. “You must trust me on this, Sunset. We will find that crown but the other servants aren’t going to let us do so easily. If we take them out, it will make the search that much easier.”
Sunset huffed and her shoulders slumped, “I know. I know, but I had that crown in my hands-”
“Hooves.”
Sunset blinked in confusion before narrowing her eyes, “Don’t be smart with me.”
Caster smirked, “Oh? Would you rather an imbecile for a servant? I’m sorry if I can’t play the part.”
Sunset sighed, “Oh shut up.”
Caster chuckled and patted her cheek, “You are too adorable not to tease, my master.”
Sunset blushed lightly as she rolled her eyes, “Yeah, whatever.” She rolled her shoulders, “Now however, I’ll have to get ready for school.”
Caster let her go to gather her things, “Why ever do you still go to that place? You are far too skilled to learn anything there.”
“It’s a great place to learn about human history and habits,” Sunset said before smirking. “Besides, there’s a certain boy there. He will work on anything for free.” She cackled, “So very useful.”
“In other news,” the news reporter spoke clearly. “Another riot has sprung about in downtown Fuyuki. This is the sixth one this week and further testimonies of citizens have noted increased levels of aggression elsewhere. Experts on the matter have attributed this all due to gas leaks that have dispersed chemicals into the air that agitate our senses and lead to heightened levels of aggression.”
“How charming,” a golden haired man said with a cocky grin. The young handsome young man was splayed down on top of a luxurious red chair. A few bottles of wine were strewn about him as he kept watching the television. The basement he had to live in didn’t offer much for him to do so getting watching television was his only real outlet.
This was all just another slight against humans. He would kill a good number of people for creating this so called ‘reality tv’. That being said, he was honestly intrigued by what this mongrel of a reporter was talking about. A gas leak? No doubt this was due to a servant’s actions or something of the kind. It was far too close to the Grail War’s beginning to be a coincidence. He couldn’t wait till they were all summoned. Then he could finally show these mongrels who was the true king and get his wish.
Anyone who looked upon this man would know that he was no ordinary human. He was much more than that. So much more. It would be an insult to say differently. For this man was none other then the Archer of the previous Holy Grail War, Gilgamesh. King of Heroes.
“In other news, the new hit sensation ‘The Dazzlings’ have decided to extend their stay in our fair city. Many fans have started to flock here-”
“It would seem that these gas leaks are becoming a nuisance,” a stern voice spoke up with a hint of mirth. Gilgamesh turned to see a catholic priest start walking his way. “Truly those people are misfortunate to be effected in such a way.”
“Truly,” Gilgamesh smirked, knowing how Kirei Kotomine truly felt about this. “It would seem we are blessed by an interesting train of events leading up to this next Holy Grail War. Perhaps I shall find them entertaining. If not, then I shall certainly punish these fools for getting my hopes up.”
Kirei bowed his head, “Oh I’m sure you’ll enjoy what is to come.”
“So what servants haven’t been summoned yet?” Gilgamesh asked. He took a sip from the wine glass in his hand, noting how poor the wine of this era tasted. Another slight against these humans. They needed to be taught a lesson.
“So far only Berserker, Caster, and Lancer have been summoned.” Kirei explained. “Assassin, Archer, Saber and Rider have yet to be revealed.”
Gilgamesh groaned, “Four servants have yet to show their faces? What disrespect. They should come forth at once and get this war started. I am growing impatient and they wouldn’t like to see me impatient.”
“I’m sure those servants will be summoned within the next few days,” Kirei did his best to assuage Gilgamesh. His temper was something of legends. “Perhaps some entertainment would help you?”
“Oh?” Gilgamesh raised an eyebrow. “Are you referring to those three women? What were they called? The Dazzlings?”
“A simple band but I have heard wonders,” Kirei’s grin turned vicious. “It helps that anger and pain seems to follow in their wake. Such happy coincidences.”
Gilgamesh could already tell what creatures he was dealing with. All the clues were right there in front of him so he chuckled, “To think I would live long enough to see another siren, let alone three. I thought they were wiped out.”
“You know of them?”
Gilgamesh raised his glass, “I dare say half of them are related to me. Such beautiful creatures. I couldn’t resist.”
“Shall we take care of them?” Kirei asked, gesturing to the reporter talking about the band. The picture on the screen showed three beautiful women. Only their faces and shoulders were shown but each had a strange hairdo of different colors.
“They aren’t important,” Gilgamesh rolled his eyes. “Let them have their fun with the mongrels. If they amuse me, perhaps I shall take them under my wing~ Until then, I shall focus my attention on this war.”
In another part of the city, a boy awoke. To the mortal eyes, he was nothing special. Just a regular japanese student, like thousands other like him. Of course, his red hair made him stand out a bit but he was nothing to speak of. He was just a normal teenager.
A normal teenager with a desire to aid others. Which is why he had made his way to school hours earlier than everyone else. Every day, he would be called to help someone in need. Whether it be with their homework or with a machine. He would stand up and make sure they never despaired. That was his mission in life. He would help everyone.
It was just this morning that the boy was called in to fix a heater. The area was getting rather warm so some cool air was needed to make the students comfortable. It was obviously broken so he was called in to fix it. Why? Because he didn’t ask for payment of course. That was fine with him. As long as he got to help, he was happy.
This boy’s name was Shirou Emiya.
And he was about to find this very morning wasn’t going to go about like all the others.
"As you already know," Luna started to speak. Everypony, and Spike, had gathered at a special room inside the castle. It had taken a while to get to here as it was hidden deep within the bowels of the castle. She stood beside a large mirror. "This is no ordinary mirror. It is one of Starswirl's magical mirrors created to link between our world and another. It was said to open every thirty moons."
"We do not know if it will stay open for long," Celestia continued talking with the ponies. "Or if Sunset has found a way to keep the portal open. Who knows what spells my former pupil has found on the other side."
"Be as it may," Luna said. "We must act as if the mirror will only stay open for a week's time. While normally Starswirl would only keep these open for two or three days, it would seem that this world's own magic is sufficient enough to allow larger spans of time. This will be perfect for you."
"Why wasn't I told about these mirrors before?" Twilight asked.
"I did my best to hide them," Celestia responded before grimacing. "They are far too dangerous to keep them out in the open. Most of them were destroyed but this one…' She closed her eyes and tried to collect herself.
Twilight had never seen Celestia so distraught before. She was actually shaking as if she was scared of something. To think something actually scared her. She had been scared yes when Discord came back, but she was able to keep herself collected. But now? This unnerved her unlike anything else.
Luna trotted over and nuzzled her sister, "Be still my sister." She turned to the others, "This one is special. My sister decided to keep this one active. It was moved here to the Crystal Empire when it came back. The location was perfect since it would seem that Sunset's knowledge of this mirror was one of the reasons she fell off the righteous path."
"I had hoped she would come around and see things my way," Celestia opened up her eyes, her shaking stopped. "That she would see reason. I had first showed this mirror in hopes of guiding her down the right pathway but it would seem I was too careless. Not to mention she has not come back to my warm embrace. Instead she has chosen the fate of the wicked. I want you, Twilight Sparkle, to bring her back from this fate she has forced upon herself."
Twilight nodded, "I will."
"However the crown should be your first priority," Luna narrowed her eyes. "It does not belong in that world. We cannot know what effects the magic of the humans will do to it or what it will do to them. In either case, Sunset Shimmer could inadvertently cause great harm to many citizens of that realm."
Cadance walked over and nuzzled Twilight, who returned it. "We trust you absolutely, Twilight. Only a pony as smart as you could pull this off."
"Thank you, Cadance." Twilight smiled.
"Are you ready?" Celestia asked. When Twilight nodded, Celestia continued. "Then do not hesitate. We will stay here and watch over the portal. Make sure no one knows of what you really are or our world. Bring Sunset and the crown back to us and also," she tapped Twilight's nose with a wing feather. "Make some friends."
Luna rolled her eyes, "A friendship lesson? At this juncture? At this point in her mission?"
Celestia smirked, "Yes. Perhaps the humans could teach my student a few things or her them. You never know. Besides, more friends wouldn't hurt."
Twilight smiled, "I won't let you down, Princess."
"Don't you worry, Twilight." Pinkie Pie waved at her. "I'll be sure to get your return party up and running. Be sure to bring back a lot of friends."
"And do be careful, Darling." Rarity spoke with concern. "I don't know what we'd do without you."
"If you're in trouble, call us." Rainbow said as she flared her wings. "We'll come over to kick their butts."
"Darn tootin," Applejack nodded.
"Umm, just try not to get hurt." Fluttershy meekly said. "I put some medical supplies in your pack just in case though."
"And I'm grateful," Twilight said. She looked over her friends. Her heart swelled to think that she was lucky enough to meet them all. "I'm grateful to have all of you. I won't fail." With that she turned back to the mirror. Steeling herself, she moved forward and entered the mirror.
Spike was behind everyone quivering. He had always been by Twilight's side. Ever since he was born, he was with her. In all that time he knew he was one of the things keeping her stable since… Twilight wasn't the most sane ponies around. Still she was like a big sister and the last thing he wanted to see was her getting hurt. So he did the only thing that came to mind.
He raced on after her.
"Spike," he idly heard the girls shout out before he jumped into the portal.
The sensations racing through the pair were tremendous. Moving from one dimension to another wasn't so simple. It wasn't like just walking from one room to another. It was as if the body was stretched thin and tight as if it was made of taffy. It wasn't painful but it was extremely uncomfortable. Twilight couldn't help but scream at the sensation, although she was inwardly taking notes. She loved learning new things even if they were… strange.
Except for some of Rarity's more… mature romance novels. Some of the stuff in them were just off.
This was off but in an way that made her sick to her stomach. She hated the fact that she would have to go through with this again, but to save her country, no, to save both worlds she had to endure it. This was her duty as a princess. She failed once. She would not fail again.
She let out an 'oof' as she fell to the ground. It would seem that she'd have to get used to being thrown out of these portals. Perhaps she'd have to figure out a way to make them easier to cross over. She had completed one spell of Starswirl's before. One more wouldn't hurt.
She started to open up her eyes when she heard a familiar voice.
"Twilight?"
"Huh, Spike? You're not supposed to-" Trying to clear her head from the sensations plaguing her, she turned her head. She blinked in surprise, finding herself staring at a purple dog with green ears and a spike collar. "Spike? Are you… a dog?"
Spike turned around, looking at himself in dismay. "I think so?"
A thousand things ran through Twilight's mind at that moment. Why was her number one assistant a dog? Did something go wrong in the portal? Did she accidentally use a spell? How could this have happened and so casually. What sort of magic did Starswirl use to have this effect. She'd have to study this for sure.
"But I have no idea what you?" Spike looked at her as if she was a circus freak.
"Spike, why would you-" Twilight lifted up her arms. For a moment, she stared at them. They weren't hooves. They were spindly, non-pony arms with hands that had little fingers. They were like the minotaur's own hands. Was she a minotaur now? HOW COULD THIS HAVE HAPPENED?!
What if this was permanent? What if she had to live the rest of her life without hooves and now little fingers? Could she still use magic? Would Princess Celestia still teach her? Twilight could only do one thing with this all coming down on her.
She screamed.
Shirou Emiya always wanted to be a Hero of Justice. His adopted father helped shape that dream and he wanted to finish it. To make him proud. It also helped that he actually really did enjoy helping people. Seeing a smile on other's faces always brought him a little bit of joy and knowing he had made someone's life better was just an ecstatic sensation. He would do whatever it took to help anyone in need.
So when he heard someone screaming, he ran as quickly as his feet could take him. He didn't stop to question or think about it. He just ran. Thankfully, it didn't take long to find out who was screaming. Right beside the horse statue, which was something planted there by the founder of the school a long time ago, was a rather strangely dressed girl.
She wore a blue shirt similar to a girl's uniform, buttoned up and ready for school with a red bow tie around her neck. However her skirt was strangely colored. It was purple with a lighter purple star like signature on the side. Her high purple boots were splayed at her side as she screamed. Her long, luxurious hair was several shades of purple, probably used highlights to get that done.
Still now, he couldn't just stare at her and let her scream. Then he started to see her wave her hands around as if they were monsters. He had enough when she started to pull her fingers and looked really freaked out. So he stepped forward, "Hey, are you alright?"
The girl immediately stopped screaming and looked at him. He could already tell she was beautiful. No, beautiful didn't do her justice. She was otherworldly. As though there was something more to her. Her purple eyes were ones he was sure a guy could drown in. She gulped and fidgeted, "Ummm, sorry. I just got frustrated is all."
"Are you sure that's all?" Shirou asked as he took a step forward. He heard a little growl and looked down to see… a purple dog. "Eesy boy, I'm not going to hurt her."
"Spike, shush." Twilight quickly pulled him into her arms. She chuckled awkwardly. "Sorry, I'm new here so I don't know how to act around people."
Shirou nodded. It wasn't uncommon to get transfer students. He was just thankful she could speak fluent Japanese. He had some trouble with past students who only knew some of the language. "Alright, if that's the case." He held out his hand, "I'm Shirou Emiya. Nice to meet you."
The girl smiled and it was actually rather pretty, "I'm Twilight Sparkle."
Shirou raised an eyebrow, but didn't comment on it. She was a foreigner after all. He could tell that easily by her face. Obviously European. "So did they not tell you about the dresscode?"
Twilight's eyes widened, "Dr-Dresscode?" Her voice stuttered.
Shirou frowned and nodded, "Yeah, I know that's not a thing in most of the west but this school is rather traditional." When he started to see her shake and start to panic, he held up a hand. "I know where the school keeps some spare dresses. I can pull a few strings and get you a couple to wear."
Twilight's smile widened, "Thank you. I don't know what I'd do without you right now."
Shirou scratched the back of his head and chuckled, "I'm just trying to help is all." He reached his hand back down to her which she took again. She let out a little yelp as he helped her stand up again.
Twilight looked down at her two long legs and gulped, "Uhhh, I guess we walk on two legs here right?"
Shirou was honestly confused by that, "Yes?"
Twilight then chuckled nervously, " See? I'm a foreigner. We say strange things." She took a step forward. Actually, it was more like a terrible attempt at a step. She almost fell over but Shirou pulled him against himself to steady her.
"Are you alright?"
Twilight looked up at him. He idly noted her cheeks were red as her eyes shimmered, "Umm, yeah. My legs just are… off right now."
Shirou nodded, "Then let me help you." He could hear her gulp before she nodded. Slowly but surely he walked to school. His arms were around Twilight, keeping her stable in her gait. He sometimes had to stop to help her get used to walking again.
He was thankful that by the time they got inside, she could at least walk well enough on her own. She smiled over at him.
"Than you, Shirou."
"Again, I just wanted to help." As he looked at her smiling and relieved face, his wish was as strong as ever. He would be a hero of justice.
Hate.
Pure hatred flowed through the people in the restaurant as three individuals sang. Arguments boiled over. People got up from their chairs as they shouted. So much energy flowed through the air.
Three individuals were unaffected by the discourse. Their hoodies kept everyone from noticing them. They rocked back and forth, melodies springing from their mouth that sounded incredibly beautiful. One could get lost in them. Only they could see the green mist that coiled around the people before it went up into their red gems.
"Perfect," one girl purred. Her large puffy orange hair was the hardest to hide inside of her hoodie. It was a good thing they had magic or it would have been impossible. "That should be enough."
"I don't see why we have to do this," a gruff feminine voice said from another one. She crossed her arms. "We've got a ton of magic already."
"Yeah," a bubbly voice giggled. "People are, like, literally throwing themselves at us. It's great."
"And did you forget the magi?" The puffy haired one spoke up. "We may be stronger then them, but they are persistent. We lost them once two centuries ago. I will not go through another witch hunt so we must grow stronger in order to face them. Besides, we all can feel the build up of magic. Something is going to happen. I want to be prepared for it."
"Oh we'll kick their butt like we've done everything here," the purple haired one smirked. "What more could it throw at us?"
"Tacos," the blue haired one said seriously. The other two glared at her, "What? I could go for some tacos. I'm starving."
The orange haired one sighed, "Fine, we'll order some tacos. Then we prepare."
"Here you go," Shirou smiled as he gave her a new set of clothes. In all honesty, it wouldn't be too different then her old one besides the colors so he thought she would fit right in. "This should do it. Lucky you that we still have this size. Issei was complaining about a few budget cuts so I assumed we were low on extra clothes."
Twilight didn't know what she did in her life to warrant such luck, but she thanked it all the same. Shirou was a Celestia blessed savior in her eyes. He told her all about the school as they made their way in. She'd never have gotten so much information so quickly if it wasn't for him. The clothes also helped, although she doubted Sunset would stick around a school for long. Then again, it was right next to the portal. The best way to keep an eye on it was to attend school so that could work in her favor.
Twilight bowed her head, "Thank you so much, Shirou."
Shirou chuckled and shook his head, "Again, I'm just happy to help."
"No, I really have to thank you. I doubt I'd be able to do all of this by myself."
Twilight was still getting used to her new legs. Bipedalism was not something she had ever studied up on, at least when it came to doing it herself. So she was in new waters. That was never a place she ever liked to be in. If it wasn't for Shirou, she knew she'd be freaking out severely right now. A part of her knew there were plenty of other changes too, like her muzzle. Just looking at Shirou, she knew it was much smaller. Flat even. It was weird and she'd find it a bit gross in most situations, but right now it seemed to work out fine for Shirou so it must work out fine for herself.
"So anyways," Twilight wiped a few bangs of hair out of her face nervously as she stood there. She was always a bit awkward with new people. "So what type of classes are there here?"
"They didn't tell you?" Shirou asked to which she shook her head. "Well how about you stick close to me for today. I'll show you around. Is that alright?"
Twilight smiled, "Oh yes, that'll be excellent."
He was just so helpful. Oh, she just wanted to hug him~ If this was what everyone was like here, maybe their two worlds weren't so different. She was sure that Starswirl may have been exaggerating or the humans had changed. Twilight moved over to a table and put her clothes down on it. She idly watched Shirou as he started to work on some mechanical device known as a 'Heater'. Usually most houses in Equestria had some form of insulation. Most usually through spells or little devices like fans. Internal heaters were a new invention in Equestria and to see one here told her that the humans were probably on par with Equestria when it came to tech. Good. That meant she wouldn't flounder about with this world's tech.
She reached down and pulled up her shirt…
Right before she could take the shirt over her head, Shirou spoke up.
"Whoa!" He shot up to his feet and held out his hand. His face was bright red as he looked away, "You shouldn't be doing that here."
Twilight paused and turned towards him. Her fingers were still lifting her shirt over her chest as she perked her head to the side in curiosity. She idly noted the large fleshy mounds on her chest covered by a purple underwear like garment, "Doing what?"
"Taking off your clothes," Shirou quickly spoke. She noted his voice was a bit stuttered and she found it all just cute. "Go to the restroom and change please. I'll get this done by the time you get back."
Twilight huffed, but nodded. It must be a human thing, she noted. So she took the clothes and walked out into the hallways. It was like any school she had been at in her youth, though her own school was much larger and fancier. Then again, it was Celestia's own private school. Only the best could get in, which always filled her with pride to know she was the very best. Not that she liked to brag about that of course.
She frowned as she finally came upon something she thought was the restroom. For some reason there were two of them right next to each other. That was odd. Why not just have one big one? It would give you enough room and separating them was pointless. The symbols over them must have meant something but she didn't know what. So she just shrugged and entered the restroom.
She was glad that they had mirrors. She really wanted to see what she looked like. While she had seen some of her new body, and Shirou did give her a good idea about what humans look like overall, a closer inspection was in order. It didn't take her that long to get out of most of her clothes except for her panties and the chest panty? She didn't know what to call it. Gripping the mounds she gasped and then blinked in acknowledgment.
Ah, so these were her breasts. It made sense that they were up here on her chest. Bipeds wouldn't be able to move around so well with them between their legs. She had seen some pictures of minotaur females that had these. She just wondered why her own were so big. Maybe it was typical of female humans. Still though, all this clothing was uncomfortable. She'd have to figure out if there were any areas she could go without.
Her face though. She idly touched it, noting how non-existent her muzzle was. Seeing it so flat was odd. Yet it wasn't scary. At least not anymore. She idly pondered if the portal just normalized her body and self. It would make sense, especially since she could easily communicate with the humans of this world.
Oh that hadn't escaped her notice. She found herself hard pressed to believe two different species world's apart had the same language. No doubt Starswirl the Bearded was ingenious enough to have it where the portal would translate languages. So she didn't have to worry about communication. Nor did she have to worry about her new body. It was safe after all.
"You know," Spike spoke up. "I don't think it's that bad. You're all gangly looking but cute in a way."
Twilight snorted, "You don't have to try to make me feel better, but thanks Spike."
Spike smiled, "You're welcome. Still though, you got the better of the two options. I'm a dog."
"A purple talking dog," Twilight had to admit, even in her world that would be strange. Diamond Dogs could talk but they weren't exactly like average canines. As well, they all came in only a short bit of colors. Perhaps she could tell people she died his coat. "Just don't try and talk around other people. We don't want them to catch on that something is wrong."
Spike gave her a salute, "I gotcha, Twilight. I'll be as quiet as can be."
Twilight's smile twinkled. She didn't know what she'd do without Spike. He was her number one assistant for a reason. She leaned down and pulled him into a hug, "And don't you worry. We'll find the crown in no time. Then you can go back to your ol' dragon self." She giggled when she saw his tail wagging.
The moment was ended when she heard someone opening the door. She turned around to see a glass wearing human about her and Shirou's age. His mouth was agape as he just stared at her.
The moment of silence was rather awkward. Twilight nervously waved at him, "Hello? I'm just changing is all. Normal human stuff to do." She moved to unclip the little clothing around her chest, "Shouldn't be long!"
She was of course stopped when the boy yelled, "WHAT?"
"Of all the things to walk into!" Issei Ryuudou paced back and forth in front of Twilight and Shirou.
Twilight fidgeted in her seat. She had changed into her new uniform after his insistence. Humans seemed nervous about their clothing. She'd have to remember that when in public. She raised her head to look at him. He wasn't as athletic as Shirou as she could tell he had a build underneath his clothing, but he seemed fit and stern. Obviously he had some power here and was a stickler for rules. She could sympathize with that. He reminded herself of, well, herself before she went to Ponyville.
"Why were you changing your clothes in the boy's bathroom?" Issei shouted as he pointed at her.
"I told you," Twilight muttered. "I didn't know it was the boy's bathroom. We don't have separate bathrooms for the sexes where I'm from."
"Then why weren't you guiding her?" Issei's pointing finger shifted to Shirou.
"I didn't know that she didn't know," Shirou quickly said anxiously.
'Inconceivable," Issei pinched the bridge of his nose. "For a transfer student, you seem to be out of the loop about some things. Shirou, as you have promised to take care of her for the time being, it is your duty to make sure that she gets set straight soon."
Shirou nodded, "Don't worry. I've got this."
"And you young lady," Issei turned back to Twilight. "You are not to bring your tie died dog to school. No animals allowed."
Twilight sighed and nodded, "I understand. I just didn't have anywhere to keep him so I just sorta… brought him with me."
"Then be sure to find somewhere he can stay for the time being," Issei crossed his arms. "This school is run like a tight ship. I don't want to see you being thrown overboard because of a few rookie mistakes."
Twilight nodded again," I understand."
"Good," Issei sighed. "Now, I don't want you to start off on the wrong foot. I'm sure you'll enjoy your time here at our school. If you have any problems, contact me or ask Shirou. We'll help you as much as we can."
Twilight smiled. Not just one, but two helpful people. Humanity must be really good and kind like ponies. Why would anyone worry about coming here? She opened up her mouth to thank him before someone shouted.
"Hey, four eyed freak! Where the fuck are you?" A harsh and slimy sounding voice cried out.
Issei groaned as he seemed to deflate, "I'll go deal with that before he barges in. Take care of her and we should do well today."
"I won't leave her side," Shirou stated as Issei left the room. He sighed and rubbed his head.
Twilight frowned, "I'm sorry about that. I didn't mean to get him on your case."
"It's no problem," Shirou smiled as he waved off her concern. "Issei just means well is all. He's usually a friendly guy. I'm sure you'll get along. Still though, if you want to do something, you'll have to talk to me first."
Twilight smiled and nodded, "Of course."
Shirou lent out a hand to shake, "A promise."
Twilight's cheeks turned a bit red as she looked at his smile. She knew it was odd how she warmed up or how she liked this human's smile. Perhaps it was the mirror messing with her hormones. Either way, she liked it. She took his hand and shaked it, "A promise."
Sunset gritted her teeth as she walked to school. Sometimes she felt so angry that she just wanted to burn down the building. Some of the students and teachers just irked her. Too many idiots. Too many perverts. Too many… everything. Humans irritated her, but she kept at it. A routine she would not break out of until she had the crown.
Now though she had a reason to go. No doubt she would find the person who had the crown. They'd either be an idiot and keep it around, no doubt trying to be a 'good person' and return it. That would be the easiest to deal with. The other option was that they left it at their house. Which meant she would have to rely on magical signatures. Not a strong point of hers, but she had someone with a little more refinery in that option.
"No one will buy this," Caster deadpanned as she walked beside her. She was currently also wearing the school uniform.
"What did you say, big sis?" Sunset smirked. "I couldn't hear you over how clever I am~"
"Why can't I just stay in my spectral form?"
"Because no one would suspect an ordinary student to be an ancient spirit participating in a battle royal for a wish from the holy grail," Sunset held up a finger.
"But I am a woman, not a child." Caster flipped her hair back with a hand. "I don't see how I can fit in as a student."
"One, you look as young as I do." Sunset commented. "And I'm actually older than I appear as well. Portal hijinks or whatever. The thing is, humans are stupid."
Caster nodded, "Yes, I have enough experience in that regard."
"So they'll just see you as a pretty gal and move on. It'll help you get close to some of them and weasel some information out of them. They aren't so forthcoming with me after all," Sunset wiggled her fingers. "Also, a little magical manipulation of the mind doesn't hurt."
Caster nodded with a smirk, "Yes, now that should be easy. Very well. I'll look out for any traces of this crown. Should be easy enough… by the way, is this skirt too small?"
Sunset shrugged, "Don't ask me. You humans and your hatred of nudity still weirds me out. I think it makes you look cute."
Caster smiled with a small blush adorning her face, "Thank you, master~"
"... Just don't call me that in front of everyone else." Not that she didn't like hearing that from Caster, but appearances were everything in this world. She couldn't help but smirk. If all went well, she'd have the crown back in her hands by the end of the day. Then she could wipe whatever smirk was on Celestia's face at the moment. Oh it would be glorious. Until then… more school.
Yay. Of course, it wasn't all that bad. That Shirou was a lad that was rather helpful. Whether it be with machines, which still astounded her, or with other things. Perhaps she'd get him to help her out in some way or form with this war. A cute guy like him could be useful. That and maybe a date…
Most people would be nervous and spiteful if they were forced to go back to school, especially high school. It was a nerve wracking and agitating time of one's life, especially if one had to relieve those days. Twilight was not one of those people. In fact, she eagerly skipped to her class to learn as much as she could. Perhaps it was because of her sheltered upbringing that she wasn't exposed to the worst parts of school or she just love learning. Probably both. This was a perfect opportunity for her as well to learn as much as she could about these humans.
It would be astounding if she could bring back some new technology or piece of knowledge back to her own world. Then she could share it with everyone. Perhaps she'd even write a book about it so they would understand where she was coming from. Books were the best way to understand the world around them. That was a fact. Why, she wouldn't know what she'd do if there were no books. She'd go mad. Thankfully there were some. Shirou even had to drag her away from the school library just so they could make it to class on time. Twilight understood where he was coming from. She had never been late before. She was a straight A student for a reason.
However, that didn't mean she didn't hate the fact that she couldn't just spend every waking moment in the library. Hopefully she could find a local one in the city. Those should be rather big and full of all sorts of knowledge. Not to mention the teachers would give her all sorts of information. As well as mannerisms and traditions of the local populace. While she hadn't really gone outside of Equestria much at all, her readings had told her that different areas contained their own sets of dos and don'ts. She just would need to be careful to avoid the 'don'ts'.
Shirou noted the big smile on his face, "You seem awfully happy."
"It's my first day after all," Twilight said. "I can't wait to learn more about this country. I've always wanted to visit a place like this but never had the time."
"Oh? Don't get out much?"
"Oh I get out a lot," Twilight waved off his question. "It's just it's always in my country and I mostly just stay in my hometown or the capital."
Shirou nodded, "I see. Well I'm glad you're happy to learn more about Japan. If you have any questions, ask me. We've had a few foreigners fumble about when they first arrive so I don't want to see the same thing happen to you."
Twilight gave him a thumbs up, "You've got it. I just hope I can get along with the other students."
"Oh don't worry about it," Shirou smiled, which did calm Twilight down. She noted that her cheeks felt warm when she looked at his smile. "They'll love you. Trust me. You're a likable girl."
Twilight nervously moved her hand up and giggled, playing with her hair. "Yeah, likable. Like you."
"I try," Shirou said before the duo finally made it to their classroom.
The moment the duo made it inside, Twilight instantly found herself in a familiar problem. Her hand, something that she still found odd to have, was inside another person's hand and being shaked like there was no tomorrow. The only reason she didn't react to it is because of Pinkie Pie. One tended to get used to surprises when you lived with a mare like her.
"Welcome!" The bright and bubbly woman spoke. "I'm so glad to meet our new student. Issei told me about you before he headed off to his class." She zipped Twilight in front of the others, "Hey everyone. Meet your new student, Twilight Sparkle."
Twilight was frozen in place. Not just because she was a socially backward mare who tended to not do so well in front of a ton of people, but also because of this woman. She was just so like Pinkie that it was scary. She even talked like her. If she turns out to be this world's Pinkie Pie, Twilight… didn't know what she'd do. She liked PInkie Pie but she tended to note that she also found her annoying. Out of all her friends, Pinkie was the one she found herself spending the least amount of time with. Still a good friend mind you, but not one she could spend all day with. She hoped this new woman wouldn't be as bad.
"Ehehehe," Twilight awkwardly laughed as an equally awkward smile broke out across her face. "Umm, nice to meet you all?"
"Why don't you have a seat right over there beside Shirou," the woman said before she gasped. "I almost forgot to introduce myself. I'm Taiga Fujimura. I'll be your teacher today," she smirked at Shirou. "And if your play your cards right, you can call me big sister~"
Twilight blinked in confusion, "Big sister?" Her head tilted to the side.
Shirou just rolled his eyes and gently pushed Twilight along, "Come on. She's just messing with you."
Just as the two sat down, another pair of students walked in. The first one was a beautiful young woman with long light purple hair. Nothing out of the ordinary although Twilight noted that she looked more like herself in facial construction then the locals. It was the other person who caught her interest. Her eyes widened as she saw the same curly red and yellow hair from earlier. Upon her face was also the exact same cocky expression. This was it. This was the person who stole her crown. She just knew it.
Which was why she wanted to tear out her hair because confronting her in a classroom was out of the question. She was going to learn about this world, damnit. Also, other people could get hurt if a fight broke out. She'd just have to confront her after class.
"Oh?" Taiga said as she looked at the purple haired girl. "Another new student?"
"I guess you weren't informed, Miss Fujimura." Sunset smirked as she crossed her arms. "This is a transfer student and a close friend of mine from my home country. Her name's Mei Day."
'Mei Day' smiled, "It is nice to meet you, Miss Fujimura." Mei gave a small squeak of surprise when Taiga caught her hand in her own and shook it violently.
"And it is nice to meet you too," Taiga smiled. "I hope you enjoy your stay here in Japan."
"I'm sure I will," Mei smiled and followed Sunset.
Sunset stopped before Twilight and quirked an eyebrow. Twilight had to stop herself from confronting the woman right then and there, "What are you doing?"
Twilight blinked in confusion, "Ummm, sitting?"
"That's my spot," Sunset scowled. "I always sit by Shirou."
"Shimmer,," Shirou spoke up. "She's new here. I've been helping out to try and get her accustomed to the school. So maybe it's best she has this seat today. We can always hang out later."
"Hmph," Sunset crossed her arms and looked away. "It's just like you to play peacemaker, Shirou. I'll let her take that seat but listen up new girl. Don't try anything funny with Shirou, do you hear me? He's too nice for his own good." She stormed off with a confused Mei Day in toe.
"Don't worry about her," Shirou said. "She may act tough, but she's a good person at heart."
Twilight honestly doubted that. While she did like to think the best of ponies, she has met those vile to the core. Sombra came to mind. Discord sort of did. Even if he was 'reformed' she still didn't trust him. She still however would offer Sunset a friendly hand once this was over, but getting the crown away from her was a prerogative. She just needed to find a way to do it.
Class had gone swimmingly with all things considered. She had learned quite a bit about this world in just a short amount of time. She was just thankful they were going over history today. Hearing about the samurai was really interesting and a bit disturbing. The thought of constantly fighting your neighbors and actually killing them made her skin crawl. It reminded her of the old tales of before Equestria unified. How the three tribes would fight sometimes. Whether it be the Earths striking back at the other tribes pushing them around or the Pegasi and Unicorns fighting over ground and power. It was sad to think about. Thankfully it seemed that both Japan and Equestria became unified and stopped the fighting.
Perhaps Japan and Equestria had a lot more in common than she thought. Ooooh, maybe they could become allies. The thought of the information and technology they could share just made her giddy.
The only issue with that was Sunset Shimmer. She hadn't been able to confront her yet. Class was more important at the moment. That and she didn't want to cause a scene. No doubt Sunset's connections here would make her seem like the bad guy if she struck out against her. Sunset's use of the crown could harm civilians and any chance of an alliance with Japan would be null and void for a while if ever. A Similar thing happened with the yaks when some were harmed by Sombra before the celestial sisters defeated him. While the Crystal Empire was a nation of itself, it still relied heavily on Equestrian aid and was made up of ponies. Yaks didn't care if there were any differences. They just isolated themselves. Japan could do the same.
So she needed to do this logically. She'd confront her alone so they could talk some heart to heart. Maybe she could appeal to Sunset's better nature. She had to have one. All ponies had one. Well, except for Sombra but he must have been an exception to the rule. Yes, she'd do her best to get on Sunset's side. Maybe they could even be friends.
Her musings were cut short as she rounded the corner. She bumped into someone and they both fell to the ground.
"Ow," a female voice spoke up. "Watch where you're going."
"Sorry," Twilight said as Shirou helped her up. Before her was a brown haired girl that kept it in pigtails. "My mind was elsewhere. That happens a bit too often with me." She chuckled awkwardly and rubbed the back of her head.
"It's my fault," Shirou spoke up. "I'm the one in charge of taking care of her. I should have noticed she wasn't paying attention to her surroundings earlier."
"And there you go, Shirou." The woman sighed and shook her head. "Apologizing when you did nothing wrong. Stop being a white knight for once."
"I'm sorry?" Shirou spoke, unsure of what to say to that.
The woman sighed, "I'm Rin Tohsaka by the way. Nice to meet you." She lent out a hand.
Twilight eagerly took it in hers, "Nice to meet you as well. I hope we can be friends."
Rin pulled her hand back, "Yeah, well. I don't really have much time for new friends right now. Maybe later." She stared at Twilight for a moment. Her eyes widening slightly before narrowing. Then she walked off.
Twilight noted she seemed to have the same disposition as Sunset. Well except for the evil smirking although she wouldn't put it past Rin to have an evil smirk too. Hopefully she could be her friend as well. Rin seemed like the type that could always use another friend to cheer her up.
"I see you've met the wicked witch of the east," Issei sneered as he looked at the retreating visage of Tohsaka. He walked over to the pair. "Watch out for her. She's as bad as the other witch in this school."
"Maybe," Twilight said. "But have you tried being her friend? It might help make her a bit more open to others."
Issei gaped, "Being her friend? I dread the thought of being around that witch for more then a few seconds."
"Issei and Tohsaka's fued goes a long ways back," Shirou spoke up as he lifted a finger to give a small lecture. "I don't know what started it but neither of them will back down."
"I do my best to avoid her," Issei scowled. "But it's become increasingly hard the last couple of years with that Shimmer girl around. Trying to avoid one always puts me on the warpath of the other."
"They aren't out to get you," Shirou said. Issei just gave him a deadpan stare which made Shirou flinch. "Okay, maybe a bit."
"This sounds like a friendship problem," Twilight rubbed her chin, trying to think of a way to bring them all together.
"Don't butt in," issei huffed. "Now, how was your first day here?"
Twilight smiled, "Pretty good. There's so much about this country I have to learn. I mean, just today I've seen quite a few parallels with my own country. It's so exciting to see the similarities and differences."
Issei smiled, "That's true enough. Every country has their own quirks but we can all get along."
"Unlike you and the 'witches'," Shirou smirked.
Issei glared at him, "Oh shut up and run back home, will you?"
"Senpai!" Another voice called out to them. They looked over to see a beautiful, purple haired girl walk up to them.
Issei just grinned and elbowed Shirou, "I'll just leave you and your girlfriend alone." He walked off.
Twilight felt a pang of agitation at hearing that. She didn't know why. It was none of her business this cute guy had a girlfriend. Gah! She thought he was cute again. Curse this new body and it's hormones.
"She's not my girlfriend," Shirou mumbled with a huff.
Twilight felt at ease. Again, she reminded herself that was stupid. She was on a mission. There was no time to hang out with cute boys.
"Senpai," the girl gave a small but sweet smile. "Who's she?"
"This is Twilight Sparkle," Shirou gestured to her. "She's the new girl and I volunteered to show her around."
"I see," the girl shyly looked at her. "Ummm, I'm Sakura Matou. It's nice to meet you." She bowed.
Her quiet voice. Shy demeanor. Her niceness and just how cute she was… Was this Fluttershy? It couldn't be. Wrong hair color but then again, parallel universe and all.
"It's nice to meet you too, Sakura." Twilight bowed in return. "I hope we can be friends."
Sakura smiled and pushed a hair behind her ear, "I hope so too."
"So now that school's over," Shirou started. "Where do you live? I'll walk you there."
Twilight's eyes widened as her mouth hung open. She hadn't thought of that. She had just got here and… Oh this was bad. Really bad. She needed to think of something, "Well, I sort of…. Don't have a home here. The transfer was sort of… last minute. So they didn't book a home for me."
Sakura gasped, "That's terrible. Senpai, we have to help her."
Shirou nodded, a determined look in his eyes that made Twilight blush. "You can stay at my house until you get things worked out."
Twilight's eyes widened, "I don't want to impose."
"Sparkle," Shirou said. "I want to help you. I would hate myself if I just left you to fend for yourself."
Twilight fidgeted in place, a bit hot and bothered. Her hand twiddled with a lock of her hair, "Well, if you put it that way. Sure. I can live with you."
Twilight did not catch the angry, but super cute pout on Sakura's face. She was however happy to have someone with good intentions helping her out. A base of operations was also good. With something like this, she could safely scout this world without having to go back through the portal every day. This was perfect.
Now if only she could stop blushing.
Sunset peered around the corner, her teeth grinding against each other. "Who does she think she is? Living with Shirou? He's my personal fixer upper. She can't just come here and take him away."
Caster sighed as she watched her master spy on the trio. Ever since class had started, Sunset had been glaring daggers at Twilight. She knew why. Even with her 'hatred' of humanity, Sunset had a fondness of Shirou. She just would never admit it. It was plain to see really. Medea knew that feeling and look all too well. If Shirou turned out to be anything like Jason though, she'd be happy to kill him like she should have done to the real Jason. "Sunset, he is none of our concern. Neither is that girl. We have to focus on the war."
"I know," Sunset snarled. "But there's something fishy about her. Do you detect-"
"She's a mage like you," Caster said. "Almost feels like yours as well."
"So she might be from my world?" Sunset felt her temper rise then she grinned. "It's that perky princess isn't it? She thinks she can barge right into this conflict and take back her crown. Ohohoho, this is good. I get to win this war, take the crown, and rub that thief's nose into the dirt. Oh if only Celestia was here to see this. Then it would be perfect." She rubbed her hands together as she cackled.
Caster rolled her eyes and started to push her away, "How about we take this conversation home. We don't want anyone hearing this."
Sunset pouted but nodded, "True. While using magic to manipulate the school board into accepting you wasn't that much, I'd rather face any competition at full strength. Seems our trick might have worked a bit too well if they are so happy to see Twilight here too."
Caster smirked, "I guess we're just too good."
Sunset returned it, "I'm so lucky to have you as a servant."
Twilight hadn’t found anything out of the ordinary in this school. For the most part, it was like any school she could find in Equestria. Well for big cities. Small towns usually just threw kids of all ages together to give them a decent education. It still worked since the teachers had cutie marks for the profession like her own town’s Cheerilee. It was comforting to see so many similarities but she was eager for some differences.
“Whoa~”
Which is why when she saw ‘cars’ for the first time, she was ecstatic. She squealed as she rubbed her hands over the surface. It was so smooth to the touch. A little hot from the sun above too reflecting off the surface.
“And you say these things run on oil?” Twilight asked. It was a disgusting prospect some in Equestria thought about using. Coal was used for trains but most modes of transportation were guided by other ponies or through wind energy. Though some were against the idea back in her own world due to the possibility of polluting the sky. Coal burning sometimes had to be cleared away by pegasi when it became a problem.
Shirou nodded, “Yeah. You don’t have cars where you live?”
Twilight froze up a bit. It sounded like these things were everywhere in this world. That exited her. The thought of such machines could really help Equestria and show off the advancement of this world. Yet she had walked into a bit of a problem. If she said ‘no’ then he’d be curious and suspicious.
She turned around and laughed nervously, “Well… no. I lived a sheltered life and we used ponies to get around.”
Sakura smiled, “Ah, so you lived out in the countryside.”
“Yes,” Twilight pointed at her. “Yes, that is exactly it. Just a country gal at heart. That’s me.”
Sakura frowned but said nothing.
Shirou just chuckled, “You don’t have to be nervous about that. We get a few people from out in the fields now and again. Not everyone uses a car and they are sometimes a pain to fix.”
Twilight’s eyes lit up, “You’ve fixed them? So that means you know how they work.”
“Well-”
Twilight grabbed his hand and brought it to her chest as she stared up at him hopefully, “Teach me.”
Seeing his hand pressed up against her breasts, Sakura angrily pouted. Twilight again didn’t really notice.
Shirou gulped nervously and nodded, “Yeah, I’ll teach you a few things. Let’s do that later though.”
“Right,” Twilight nodded and let go of his hand. “Lead the way.”
“Hey, Shirou!” A familiar and demanding voice called out to them. They looked over to see Sunset Shimmer walk on over to them with the new girl, Mei Day.
Sakura let out an eep of surprise and fear and hid behind Shirou. Twilight felt a twitch of anger. Sakura was just like Fluttershy and making Fluttershy cry out in fear was a crime. Sunset truly was a villain. Putting on a brave face, Twilight reaffirmed her mission. She would protect the cute Sakura and reform Sunset.
“Hey Sunset,” Shirou smiled as he met her halfway. “What did you need?”
Sunset crossed her arms, “My freezer broke again. I was hoping you’d come over and fix it for me.” She pointed at him aggressively, “And that’s not a request. That’s a demand. You know I can’t live without that thing.”
Shirou chuckled and nodded, “I’ll come over tomorrow to check it out.”
“You better,” Sunset looked around Shirou to spy Sakura and Twilight. She narrowed her eyes. “I see you’ve been hanging around with one of the new girls.”
“So have you,” Shirou pointed out.
Sunset moved her jaw side to side slightly in agitation, “Yes, well. I knew her beforehand. She though,” she pointed at Twilight. “She’s new.”
“It’s nice to meet you face to face, Sunset” Twilight lent out her hand, hoping to at least make a good impression on her soon to be friend. “We’ve got a lot to talk about.”
Sunset just stared at the hand before rolling her eyes, “Yes we do, but later. Just don’t get too cozy with my fixer upper, Twilight Sparkle.” She turned and left.
“She’s so mean,” Sakura piped up.
“She has her moments,” Shirou stated before they departed.
Twilight had to admit, aside from the cars and paved roads, the houses didn’t look all that different from some city housing. The larger cities were honestly more advanced with even electrical wiring being implemented for some machines and phones. While she preferred using Spike to talk to others and letters as she loved paper, she could see why phones had caught on recently. So when she came to Shirou’s small house, it seemed nice. The doors were weird since they didn’t use door knobs and just slide back and forth but that was okay.
“So do you want me to walk you home, Sakura?” Shirou asked at the front door.
Sakura shook her head with a sweet smile, “No. I want to make sure Sparkle warms up to your home.”
“Thank you so much,” Twilight smiled. Sakura was so sweet, polite and kind. She really was like Fluttershy. They were going to be the best of friends. Maybe she could bring her along to Equestria one day. She might love it there.
Twilight failed to notice the look Sakura gave her. Which would translate into the cutest ‘I’m making sure you don’t touch my man’ look in history. Of course, it wasn’t as chilling as the look Rarity had secretly given her when she found out that Twilight had a handsome brother who was Captain of the Royal Guards who she never told her about.
The trio entered the house and quickly found themselves looking at a chipper Taiga Fujimura sitting at a small table. She eagerly waved at them, “Heyo kiddos!”
“Eh?” Twilight quirked an eyebrow. “What’s our teacher doing here?”
“She’s my guardian and sort of big sis,” Shirou said. “She also always comes here to eat since she can’t cook by herself.”
Sakura giggled, “Shirou is her personal chef.”
Taiga pouted and crossed her arms, “Hey, don’t be like that. You come over to eat with us all the time so I could say the same about you. Besides, I love spending time with my little Shirou.”
Twilight blinked at this. So Taiga couldn’t cook or liked to have other people cook for her? Well it seems she wasn’t a perfect copy of Pinkie like she thought. Pinkie wouldn’t stand by and just let other people do the cooking. She’d jump right into the kitchen and make something. Well it was always baked and sweet goods but still. Still though, Taiga’s energy was just as infectious as her pink friend.
“Oh you’re going to love his cooking,” Taiga snapped Twilight out of her little imposed daze. Shirou had walked off into the kitchen. “Shirou’s a master cook. It’s why I don’t go out to eat anymore. None of them can compare.”
“Or you’re just stingy with your money,” Shirou called back, causing Taiga to go ‘ack’ and topple over onto her side.
“So Sparkle,” Taiga said to her. “How’re you liking it here so far?”
Twilight’s smile grew, “I love it here. There’s just so much in Japan I’ve never seen or heard of before. I can’t wait to tell everyone back home all about it.”
“That’s great to hear,” Taiga gave a thumbs up. “I’m sure you’ve enjoyed spending time with our cute Shirou over here.”
Twilight blushed and played with a lock of her hair. Ugh, why did she have to feel so flustered about that guy. She must met the cute, sensitive, nice, caring, helpful, muscular guy today. She was just hot is all, “He’s nice.”
Taiga smiled and chuckled before she eyed Sakura, “Maybe you should try harder, Sakura. Things won’t stay the same forever you know~”
Twilight blinked in confusion and turned to look at Sakura who was pouting, “What is she talking about?”
Sakura quickly smiled, “Oh it’s nothing to be worried about. I’m just happy to have Shirou as my best friend.”
Twilight nodded, “I know the feeling. It’s nice to have some best friends. I didn’t really know that until recently.”
“Ah the loner type,” Taiga nodded. “Sorry to hear that but that’s changed.” She put a hand on her chest, “Why, you can consider me your friend too.”
Twilight’s smile only grew further, “That’s wonderful.”
It didn’t take long for Shirou to cook up something. He brought forth some cooked noodles of some kind. When she asked what it was, they called it ‘Soba’. Twilight was more then eager to try some food from a new world. So she eagerly took a bite.
Then her body froze. The moment it touched her lips her taste buds exploded with flavor. It was so rich and delicious that she couldn’t stop crying as she smiled, chewing and savoring every ounce of the food. Taiga and Sakura both chuckled at the display while Shirou looked on with delight. Twilight then surprised them when she threw her head down and started to devour the food like an animal.
To be honest, even amongst Equestrians, Twilight was a messy eater. Anyone who had seen her scarf down hayburgers knew that well enough. She really never cared for her appearances since as long as she got no food on her books, everything was good. Then she pulled her head back after finishing the bowl with a wide smile on her face. Her eyes glittered in delight as she started up at the cook.
“You… I…” She was at a loss for words. She felt her heart beating faster as she looked up at him.
As it would appear, it’s not just men who can be won through food.
“I get that a lot,” Shirou chuckled. “I’m just happy you enjoyed it.”
“I loved it,” Twilight fought the urge to tackle and cuddle this man for giving her such a good meal. Truly if she was going to live here with him, she’d never go hungry or wanting.
“That was my first reaction when I had his cooking,” Taiga said with a chuckle. “You can’t go wrong with our little chef here.”
There was no way this day could have gone as well as it did. Well it could have gone better if she had found the crown, but besides that, it was great. She had made new friends, found Sunset Shimmer, and learned a bunch of new things about this world. Oh there was just so much that she could write a book about when she went back home. Maybe she could spread more of the magic of friendship here.
Sakura and Taiga had left a while after they finished eating. Twilight couldn’t wait to meet them again, but her mission came first. Sunset had to be stopped. This world didn’t deserve to face the wrath of whatever monstrosity she’d unleash. Of course in the meantime, that meant she was alone…
With Shirou…
Who was a cute boy her age…
In the same house…
Well, she was not going to fall for it. She was a grown mare. He was a human. This was just her new body playing tricks on her. Yeah, that was it. She just needed to keep that in mind and she wouldn’t fall asleep thinking about snuggling up to him.
“So,” Spike was the one snuggling up to her tonight. She had to admit, having a puppy version of him was nice. “What are we going to do?”
“Confront Sunset about the crown,” Twilight firmly said. “That’s the first thing I’m going to do tomorrow.”
“You know she won’t give it to you,” Spike said.
“I know that,” Twilight huffed and sat up. “Which is why we’re going to have to work our way through this. I’m sure Sunset can be reasoned with.” Spike raised an eyebrow, “Okay, maybe not. Still, I’m strong enough to kick some sense into her. I don’t want to go that way, but Rainbow Dash is right. Fighting can solve some problems.”
“But you’re going to have to train,” Spike pointed out. “You’re not used to this new body.”
“Well I can still use magic well enough,” her hand glowed red as she levitated a few objects around herself. “However, moving around is a bit wonky still. So maybe I do need to train myself.”
“Well that and you suck at fighting,” Spike deadpanned causing Twilight to roll her eyes. “Anyways, I think the shed would be a good place to do that. It’s nice, quiet, and out of sight.”
Caster sighed as she idly watched her master break her freezer. It was almost as entertaining as the romance novel she had in her hands. Apparently, there were quite a number of them available and Caster had been stockpiling some for personal research, “And pray tell, why are you doing this?”
“I have to make sure he doesn’t fall into that grubby Princess’s hands,” Sunset smiled as she moved away from her hard work. “Shirou Emiya is mine. I’ve spent years trying to get that thick headed idiot to do what I want, whenever I want. I’m not going to let some floozy get their hands on him.”
Caster quirked an eyebrow, “And you’re sure you’re not into him?”
Sunset blushed but scoffed at the idea, “Bah, he’s too stupid and trusting for my tastes. No, I just like the thought of having him in my pocket when I need him.”
“If this princess is such a burden,” Caster said. “Why don’t we eliminate her right now?”
“Not happening,” Sunset scowled. “I want to beat her, not kill her. I want to do it with my own hands and with her special crown. As I ascend into alicornhood, she will watch in despair as I take everything back that she stole from me.” Magic poured out in waves around her as she scowled.
“I understand the desire for revenge,” Caster said, really meaning it this time. “But please, don’t let it cloud your judgement. We’re still in a war if you don’t remember. Lancer is out there and he is formidable. We don’t know about the others and that’s honestly worrying.”
Sunset rolled her eyes, “We can take them. You’ve got the strongest magic user in the world with you. Some sickly magic humans aren’t going to bring us down.”
Caster frowned, “I just hope you’re right.”
“Oh quit doubting me and read your trashy novel.”
Caster scowled, “It’s not trashy!”
“It’s basically porn!”
“It is not porn. Maybe if you read it, you’d help bag that boyfriend of yours.”
Twilight couldn't help but smile as she looked at the interior of the shed. It was small but large enough to do a few spells without having to worry about limitations. Well at least with most of her spells anyways. She could use a spell to make the inside larger than the outside, which is how she got some of her rooms in the library to work, but that was overkill. That and it would be impossible to hide from Shirou. No doubt he uses this shed now and again.
"This is perfect," Twilight smiled down at her assistant. She kneeled and rubbed his head affectionately. "Thank you, Spike."
Spike panted and smiled from the attention, "You're welcome. Happy to be of service."
"Now," Twilight stood up and surveyed the room. "Let's test out a few spells."
As she lifted a hand, Twilight had to note how little magic there was in the air. It was almost pathetic levels. The type of magical energy you'd find in basic flora yet it was everywhere. No, most flora back at home had more energy. Twilight was thankful she didn't need to draw any real energy from her surroundings to make her spells work. It was all internal and everything was working just fine. She just made a mental note not to tax herself. She couldn't rely on the abundant magic in her world to give her a boost if she needed one.
Her hand glowed. Another peculiar thing about this world. It felt weird doing magic with her forehooves, well her hands in this case. Now this would take some getting used to when it came to using hand gestures and the like. Her magic cascaded around the objects in the shed before they levitated. She smiled as they floated as well as a leaf in the wind.
"Well levitation works," Twilight nodded as she set everything back down. She snapped her fingers and a box became a potted plant, "And my transformation magic is also working perfectly." She put her hands on her hips, "I think I don't have anything to worry about, Spike."
"Uhh, Twilight?" Spike spoke up. When she looked at him, he pointed at something. "What is that?"
"What is what?" Twilight peered over and narrowed her eyes. They widened the moment she found his object of interest. It was a large circle in a pentagram design. Twilight walked over and peered down at it. Obviously, it was intended for magical use. She should know. She had seen some of these types of spells before in her books.
There were many ways of concocting magic. Drawing out your spells was one way. It was time consuming and took a lot of effort but could pay off in the long run if you played your cards right. They weren't a speciality of hers and she honestly didn't care for them. She would rather spend her time learning quicktime spells then these and having the extra time to read her books.
She leaned down and stroked her chin, "It seems old and worn. Even if it's not Equestrian, I think I can get a gist of it if I pump some magic into it."
"Now that's a bad idea," Spike said. "Why don't we just leave it alone?"
"Oh Spike," Twilight smiled at him. "I'm not going to do anything major."
Spike shot her a deadpanned stare, "Twilight, you rewrote your friend's cutie marks and their entire lives just because you were curious about a Starswirl spell."
"How was I supposed to know it was an incantation," Twilight huffed.
"Are you saying you wouldn't have activated the spell if you had known?" When Twilight was silent, he huffed. "And all of the other times you went off the handle to know new magic?"
"Okay, okay." Twilight huffed once again. "But I'll be careful this time."
"You said that before," Spike grumbled, awaiting whatever was about to happen.
As Twilight traced the shape of the lines, she felt the brimming magic underneath them. They were worn as she said but still active. If she pumped just a little…
Her eyes sparkled as she saw a little life flash into the sigil. Now she could see it more clearly, "I see it. Ohhhhhh, it's a summoning spell. A really complicated one. Why would they need something like this?" She peered around it, "It seems to lock onto a magical signature of some kind but… but what? What sort of being could it summoned?"
Spike's eyes widened, "Oh no, Twilight. Stop it. Stop it right now."
"If I can perform this spell-"
"Twilight think about this for a moment."
"Then I can simply undo it since it seems to target beings made of pure magic-"
"This is a really bad idea."
"Ah-ha, this is a great idea Spike." Twilight smiled, "I can finally come into contact with a magical creature of this world. So stop worrying. It doesn't seem to be a powerful spell so all should be good."
"Yeah, like Starswirl's spell." Spike mentioned again but was promptly ignored.
Twilight closed her eyes. She had to focus. This experiment was crucial for her. She needed to learn everything about this world and no spell would go unturned. It had worked out well for her thus far in her life. Well, a lot of them backfired but still. She was Princess Twilight Sparkle. Every spell would be mastered, even the Dark magic ones. That's when she felt it. It was connecting but it was so… off.
She gritted her teeth and pushed. She pushed and poured her magic into it. Maybe it was broken. Maybe it was coded to an individual. She didn't know but there was one thing that she would never do. She would never give up when it came to magic. She was the Element of Magic. She would conquer this spell.
"Twilight," Spike shouted. "Stop! It's acting all weird."
Indeed, the air around her seemed to crackle with magic. Again, Twilight ignored it and pushed on through. She would not back down. That's when she felt it. A presence the likes of Sombra and Nightmare Moon. She gasped and felt fear. Fear dripping to her core. That… thing noticed her.
The nightmares were here too?
That's when she then felt a burning sensation in her hand. It felt like something was being seared into it. She let out a cry of pain and fell backwards.
"Twilight!" Spike ran to her side.
Twilight flinched from the pain and patted Spike's head, "I'm fine, Spike. Nothing-" She stopped speaking when she looked at the back of her hand. It was a red marking of some kind. It looked oddly enough like her own cutie mark, "What…?"
"Hello?" A cute voice piped up. Twilight and Spike looked up and their jaws dropped. Before them wasn't some monster or creature Twilight thought it was. It was a little girl with white hair and green eyes. Her small body was covered in a black vest and thong with some black leggings to go with it. The little girl looked at her as she tilted her head, "Are you my mommy?"
"...What?" Twilight started to panic. This wasn't what she planned. Not at all. She gulped and stood up, "Ummm… hello?" She waved at her with an awkward smile.
The little girl gave a real enthusiastic one and a wave too, "Hi! Are you our mommy?"
Twilight blinked in confusion, "Well… you see. I used the spell here since I wanted to find out what it does and-"
"Brought us here," the little girl's smile grew. "That means your our mommy!"
Twilight's eyes widened, "Your…. Your mommy?"
"Yay~" The little girl rushed forward and hugged her. "We have a new mommy."
Twilight's mind was racing a mile a minute. She had activated an unknown spell and now she had summoned a little girl? And what was worse is that she thought she was her mother. Wait, was it true? She had heard of spells like this. That can create children. One such object was an enchanted mirror. This though? Did she… did she make a child just now?
Was she a mother?
What would her mom and dad think?
What would Shining Armor think?
WHAT WOULD PRINCESS CELESTIA THINK?!
"Mommy," the little girl spoke up. "Are you okay?"
Twilight looked down to see the little girl frowning. Now while she wasn't the best with people, she would not stand idly by while a little girl was sad. She patted her head, "There, there. I'm alright. Just surprised is all. I didn't expect to be a mommy today."
"And we didn't expect a pretty mommy like you," the girl hopped backwards. "We're Assassin."
"And I'm Twilight Sparkle," Twilight picked up her little dog. "And this is Spike my number one assistant."
"Hey," Spike gave a wave.
Assassin gasped, "The doggy can talk?"
Twilight chuckled, "Of course he can and he can do a lot of other things too."
"Wow," Assassin's eyes sparkled. It reminded her of when she was young and saw something new. "That's so awesome. We have the best mommy."
Twilight chuckled a bit more before stopping. It hit her again. She was a mother now… Well shoot. She'd need to think about this. She needed to plan. She needed to take every book in the local libraries about child raising and read them. All of them. Thoroughly. With a lot of notepads. It would require a lot of time and effort, but motherhood was worth it. "I'm going to die…" She groaned when she thought it through again.
Assassin giggled, "Mommy is silly."
"Like you wouldn't believe," Spike grumbled. That's when his ears perked up. "Someone's coming?"
"Eh?" Twilight blinked in confusion as Spike ran into the shed's interior. She started to panic. What if they saw Assassin? She was a magical being. They could hurt her. They could take her away from her. She just met this little girl but gosh darn it, she was the princess of friendship. She was a lonely little girl who was going to get the love she deserved.
That and she had to make sure that no one discovered magic. Princess Celestia would not take kindly to that. So when she looked down, she gasped as Assassin was gone.
That's when Shirou Emiya opened the door. He stepped inside and looked at her, "Are you alright? I heard some sounds coming out from here and some screaming."
Twilight gulped and nervously laughed, "Oh I just fell. I wanted to practice some stretches is all. I like doing that in private."
Shirou stared at her for a moment before nodding, "Alright." He walked on over and kneeled downwards, causing her to blush from how close his face was to hers. "You're not hurt, are you?"
Shirou frowned and stood up, gently helping her to her feet. Her body tingled at his touch to which she grumbled inwardly about, "Alright, but if you're hurting in the morning, just let me know."
Twilight smiled, "Thank you, Shirou." She was so lucky to have met this guy.
Twilight laid in bed as she had been helped inside by Shirou. Spike was by her side and she hoped to see Assassin here as well. Maybe she should go and get her. It would be lonely in the shed.
That's when Assassin materialized out of the air by her side, "Hi, mommy."
Twilight gave a startled gasp before patting her chest, "What are… how did…" She groaned and opened up the sheets to let in Assassin. The little girl squealed and hopped into the bed, cuddling up to the woman. "I don't care." She laid the blanket over them and pulled Assassin in close, "I'll freak out tomorrow morning." She yawned, "Good night, Assassin."
"Good night, mommy."
Twilight knew this was a big shake up to their plans. A child was not someone you brought on a mission like this. She'd just have to figure out how to keep her out of danger. That and maybe talk to her mother about Assassin. She guessed Twilight Velvet would be a grandmother sooner than she thought.
A really strange thought but hey. She was an alicorn princess. Strangeness came with the territory. She'd study Assassin in the morn and figure out what sort of creature she was. Then she could understand more of this world's magic.
Hopefully Assassin could use some and if she couldn't. Twilight giggled in her almost slumber. She was eager to teach her 'daughter' some spells. She'd have to figure out a way around this 'daughter' thing but it was cute. That and she'd definitely have to keep her out of the prying eyes of the people here. She liked Shirou, but he wasn't ready to learn about magic. It was a harsh decision but eventually he would. She'd be glad to give him a tour of Equestria, after Assassin go to have one of course.
With that thought in mind, she fell into a deep slumber.
Twilight couldn't help but hold onto the warm body in front of her. She didn't know exactly who it was, but in her sleepy state, she didn't care. She felt like she needed to hold them to her for comfort. It was an odd feeling but she actually liked it. A smile crept onto her face as the waking world finally started to come to her. Her eyes fluttered open and a small part of her wondered if last night was a dream. She couldn't have summoned a small child, right? A small child that was hers…
It was a dream. Oh sure, she had been teased by her mother about having grandchildren. That had died down after Shining had gotten married. Now she could be content to be an aunt but that wasn't the end of it. Twilight would never say it, but at the back of her mind, she always wanted to be a mother. Perhaps it was her own natural instincts. Ponies are very family oriented creatures after all. That she knew of. If it was just instincts, she could keep it to herself like everypony else. It was just a dream.
So she opened her eyes and looked down at what she held in her arms.
"Hi mommy," a small child smiled up at her.
Twilight wanted to scream in fright. Last night was real. It was all real. Normally she would scream, but the smile the child gave her stopped her from going on a tangent…. For about a few seconds. She let out a loud yelp and rolled over. Unfortunately, that meant she fell out of her bed. She let out a small groan from the sensation.
"Mommy!" The little girl, Assassin if she remembered, rushed over to her side. "Are you okay?"
Twilight blinked in surprise as she looked at the girl. She was real. Last night actually happened. She had summoned a magical being… and that being was now her daughter. Twilight closed her eyes. No. She couldn't panic. This wasn't the time for it. She moved her hand over her chest back and forth away from her as she started to regulate her breathing. It was a trick her former babysitter and now sister in law, Princess Cadance, had taught her.
Once she was done, she looked up at Assassin with a smile. "Of course I am. Mommy's just a bit surprised to see you here is all."
The girl tilted her head to the side, "Why? We wanted to be with mommy. Is that… bad?" The girl seemed to shrink away slightly.
"No, no, no." Twilight shook her head, quickly going up to pat the girl on the head. This instantly put the girl in a better mood as she smiled happily. "I'm just a worrywart. I'm glad you're okay, Assassin."
"And we're glad mommy's okay too," Assassin smiled up at her.
Twilight noticed that she talked in third person. This wasn't anything new to her. Princess Luna used to do the same thing. She did help her out of it, but now wasn't the time. Besides, she was sure that Luna could help her better once they returned to Equestria. Oh, it would be so exciting to see how Assassin interacted with pony magic. She'd have to make sure it was safe for her of course. Even if she was curious, she wouldn't hurt someone to know the answer. This went especially for her new daughter.
… Which she still needed to research about. Being a mother was an unknown and that never sat well with her.
"Oh good," Spike spoke up. "You're awake. Was hoping to talk to you a bit before Shirou wakes up."
"Why is mommy living with a man?" Assassin asked. "Is he our daddy?"
Twilight blushed heavily at the thought. Making a baby with Shirou? That was ludicrous. Absurd.
Hot.
She smacked her cheeks to clear away that malicious thought, "No he's not."
"Then can I eat him?" Assassin asked like she was talking about the weather.
Both Spike and Twilight just stared at her for a moment, both equally disturbed by the notion. Twilight stood up and sat down on the bed, "Assassin, sweetie. We do not eat people."
"Why not?"
"Because that's bad," Twilight wagged her finger at her. "That's harming someone who's done no wrong to you. Even if they have, there is always a chance to turn someone's life around. You should never kill and eat people."
"But people are bad," Assassin huffed. "They hurt us. Not like mommy." She hugged Twilight, "Mommy is warm and light. You're different."
Twilight smiled and patted her head, "Well, mommy doesn't want you to go around killing anyone okay?"
Assassin nodded, "Okay."
"Besides," Twilight asked. A small bit of her was curious about this. "Why would you eat anyone?"
"Because I'm hungry," Assassin frowned. "We're a servant so we need magic to survive so that means we have to eat souls to make ourselves strong."
Twilight paled at the thought of eating another person's soul. Now that was disturbing, "Well do you feel 'hungry' right now?"
Assassin paused to think about it before shaking her head, "Mommy has a lot of magic. We're good. Although, we'd still like to eat something."
Twilight booped her nose, "No people. I'll go get you some cereal or something."
"And how are you going to explain two meals?" Spike quirked an eyebrow.
"Well…" Twilight rubbed her head. "I'll just be really sneaky about it. Shirou is a nice guy. I'm sure he won't mind giving a growing girl an extra meal."
Spike huffed, "Just because you're cute, doesn't mean he won't be suspicious."
"I am not cute."
Spike gave her a deadpan stare, "Twilight, even if you're a bookworm and I'm a dragon, I can tell. That and the number of suitors you had even before becoming an alicorn were more than I can count."
Twilight blinked in surprise, "I had suitors."
"You never noticed them," Spike tapped his nose. "Too busy burying your face into a book."
Twilight huffed and rolled her eyes, "Well sorry a girl wants to further her education." She gasped and looked at Assassin, "Oh no. I almost forgot about Assassin." She had a daughter and she hadn't given her a single book yet.
She was the worst mother ever!
Twilight immediately went into her bookbag and looked through it. She gave a sigh of relief before she pulled out the history book. "There we go. Knowledge." She gave it to Assassin, "Remember, Assassin. Books are our friends."
Assassin nodded, "Yes mommy."
"Please don't turn her into an egghead," Spike groaned. "I already can barely survive keeping up with one."
Twilight narrowed her eyes, "Just for that, no ice cream for a week." Spike's groaning grew louder, "Oh stop being a big baby. If you're a good boy, I'll forget about it."
Their little banter was cut short when someone knocked on the door.
"Hey Sparkle?" Shirou called out to her. "Are you alright? I heard you cry out."
"Oh I just fell out of bed," Twilight called out to him before turning to Assassin and whispering. "I need you to be good for mommy and don't show yourself to anyone. They can't know about magic."
Assassin nodded, "We've got it, mommy." Then she turned invisible.
Twilight smiled. That would surely come in handy when she went to school. She couldn't just drop off Assassin anywhere. So she turned to Spike, "Watch over Assassin."
Spike saluted her, "You can count on me."
"Can we come with you, mommy?" Assassin popped back into existence.
Twilight shook her head and leaned down. She kissed Assassin's forehead. While she wasn't familiar with how one should be a mother, she remembered what her own mother did for her. Yes, while this situation was strange, Equestrians were known for going with the flow if something wasn't going to hurt them. "You stay here with your Uncle Spike. I'll be back in no time."
"You promise?"
Twilight smiled and nuzzled her, causing the girl to giggle. "I promise."
Within a church in the city of Fuyuki, a priest stood before a statue of Christ hanging from the cross. There weren't any people present aside from him which was understandable. Japan had few christians, as the nation was mostly Shinto or Buddhists. The absence of the faithful did not bother the priest. Neither did seeing the tortured visage of Christ.
The sinful nature inside relished the image, for reasons that were most certainly unholy. He would never speak of it of course. No doubt God put those thoughts within him. Why else would he be as he is now? His hands that clasped themselves over the bible opened it, reading the holy scripture for guidance and to pass the time.
That's when the doors were thrust open, "Kirei, what are you doing? I thought we were going to replenish my energy and yet I find you absent from our little dungeon."
The priest closed his book and turned to look at the arrogant man before him. He was wearing a lackadaisy outfit and a gold necklace. His blonde hair framed itself over the smug look on the handsome man, "I was just thinking about a few things and needed some time with the Lord."
The man sneered, "That God of yours. I fail to see why you need worship such a foolish creature when you have someone of my magnificence around."
"I do not know how to respond to that," Kirei sighed, knowing full well his guest's views on the gods. "Assassin has been summoned."
The golden man smiled, "The servant of shadows? Excellent. Hopefully this one will prove to be more entertaining than the last miserable one you summoned. Now that was a disgrace to servants everywhere."
"They performed their job well," Kirei countered even if he felt no connection with his previous servant in the fourth war. In fact, he couldn't recall much of any deep connection with anyone in his life. Such was his fate.
"To die, of course." The man clapped. "Perhaps I'll seek out this Assassin and get a good look myself."
"Gilgamesh," Kirei spoke up. "You aren't supposed to reveal yourself."
"I will do what I want," Gilgamesh snapped. "I am not just some mongrel you can order around, Kirei. You must remember that. I favor you but that can only get you so far with me. Besides, I am no fool. I will watch from afar. However, if they do interest me, I shall take them as my own." He gave a wistful sigh, "If only my beloved Saber could have joined us."
"Only a miracle could allow for you to meet her again."
"A miracle," Gilgamesh raised an eyebrow. "Then why don't you ask your corpse god for one. Maybe he'll grant me my wish."
"The Lord does not-"
"The Lord will answer to the King," Gilgamesh scoffed. "My new world order shall be ruled by none other than myself. I tire of this conversation, Kirei. Come. Let us finish with those mongrels you keep downstairs. I grow weary."
Kirei sighed and went to follow. The servant of the shadows was one not to be taken lightly. He only hoped that the servant would be in the hands of someone unlike his rival and didn't know how to use an assassin efficiently. Knowing most magus, that was probably the case. If it wasn't the case, well, Kirei would look forward to putting them down himself.
She never thought she'd catch herself spacing out in class before today. Twilight Sparkle, princess of friendship, was a studious mare. Well, a woman in this case. She always paid attention to class but today she just wasn't into it. It left her both surprised and at a loss but it was true.
She knew it was because of everything happening. She was in a new world all alone, hunting down someone who spurned Celestia and friendship. Who stole the crown that house the Element of Magic. If she didn't return it to Equestria, they might end up facing another Discord level threat they couldn't beat on their own. On top of that, she was a mother now. She didn't know how to cope with all of that. Thankfully, she caught enough of the teacher's lesson to get the gist and answer a question or two when they called on her. That was good.
However she knew that the school library probably wouldn't have much in the manner of books on motherhood. That was something she was going to have to search for in the city library. Now that made her squirm in excitement. So much knowledge at her fingertips~ She was definitely going to bring Assassin with her. She needed as many books as possible. Who knows when she last had one.
Of course, she inwardly slapped herself. She couldn't lose sight of her true mission. Sunset still had the crown. It was odd as to why she hadn't done anything with it yet. Perhaps she had some long term plan in mind. No matter. She had dealt with arrogant magic users before. She could deal with some former pupil of her mentor. She could easily juggle this new school life and motherhood.
Her stomach grumbled. Of course, that was after she got something to eat. Ah lunchtime. It was so long ago when she used to go to the cafeteria to eat something with… Huh. Did she eat with other ponies? She could swear there was something at the back of her mind. Maybe she was forgetting something. Oh she'd think on it later. Food now.
She licked her lips as she surveyed the food. It all seemed good so she got herself some apples and vegetables and…
That was meat. That was meat in front of her. Why would there be meat unless…
SHE WAS AN OMNIVORE NOW!
Twilight shook slightly. She didn't want to think about it. She didn't want to think about the animals slaughtered for these humans. It was fine. She'd survive like the times she went to the griffons. At least humans could eat vegetables and the like. Griffons primarily ate meat and they were rather… open about it. Still though, it made her a bit sick to know that she might have to come to rely on meat. She really needed to find the crown and fast.
Taking the tray in her hands, she moved towards the table with Shirou and Sakura. The two people she had grown closest too over the course of the past few days. Shirou was just so helpful and cute that she couldn't help but like him. Of course, him being 'cute' was still a strange feeling given his species. She was thankful he was willing to have lunch here given how he commented he usually eats alone. Food is best shared with others after all. Sakura on the other hand was just like Fluttershy in most respects. She wanted to do everything in her power to protect her.
She let out a little 'eep' as she felt herself collide with someone. She shook herself and smiled apologetically at the spindly looking teen before her, "I'm sorry. I wasn't paying attention to where I was going."
"Of course you weren't," the boy sneered before he peered at her. Then he smiled and it honestly creeped her out. "We haven't met. I'm Shinji Matou and you are?"
"Twilight Sparkle," she smiled nervously back. Even if he was creepy, she shouldn't judge him. He could be a very nice guy.
"Ah the new girl," Shinji took a step forward, closing whatever distance there was between them. "I think you would love to sit by me. I'd help you get acquainted with Japan."
"Well that is very nice, but I already have Shirou helping me."
Shinji frowned, "Shirou Emiya?"
"Yes, that's me." Shirou spoke up from behind and both of them turned to look at him.
"Shirou," Twilight moved around Shinji. "You should have warned me about the meat. I nearly threw up over there."
Shirou gave her a soft smile, "I'm sorry. If I had known-"
"I should have told you," Twilight said. "Sorry. I get a bit jumpy around meat. I just… don't like the thought of it is all."
"I understand," Shirou nodded and lead her to the table with Sakura. "Do you want to join, Shinji?"
Shinji gritted his teeth, "And why is Sakura over there with you?"
"She's my new friend," Twilight spoke honestly. "I wanted to sit with her, just like Shirou."
"Ah," Shinji let out a breath. "I'll pass on that, but I do hope to see you later. I can show you a good time." He winked at her, which made Twilight's skin crawl for some reason.
She just hoped he wasn't always creepy.
Twilight was a bit sad this night as she, Spike, and Assassin stood inside the shed that she had summoned the latter. Well as sad as she could after eating more of Shirou's food. He was a master chef. It was like she was eating pure happiness. She should definitely get him to cook with Pinkie Pie one day. They would be the best duo, though Pinkie still was only best with baked goods and sweets. Anyways, she wasn't in her best mood.
That was because she hadn't been able to go to the library that day. Apparently Shirou and Sakura had a paper to finish and they wanted to get it done that night. She understood but that meant she couldn't read her new books. She was desperate to know more about this world and if it had magic. That and motherhood books.
Speaking of which, she glanced over at Assassin. She was sitting down and reading a book. Her face was covered by one of the textbooks she had given her. Twilight couldn't help but smile proudly at her. New mother or not, her daughter was going to grow up to be a bright star. She was going to give her all the book love she could give and the little one deserved it. She was a good kid, aside from the killing intent. Which wasn't that off given how she wasn't exactly the most sane person herself.
She still kicked herself for hexing children into physical violence and not feeling a shred of guilt until long after the fact. She had made sure to apologize to the CMC and their sisters. It had worked out in the end although Rarity seemed to stick needles into her for a few months afterwards whenever she helped with making her dresses. She said nothing because she knew she sort of deserved it but that was all in the past.
So she would never dislike Assassin for that mind set. She'd just do her best to correct it so no one got hurt. That and so her little girl could live a full and normal life. Her mother did well for her and she would do that for her own child. Even if the circumstances for her creation were…. Strange.
"So," Spike spoke up from his spot not five feet from her person as she crouched low to the ground. "What are you doing?"
"Studying," Twilight wrote down a few notes into the notepad she had in her fingers. Fingers. That was something she was still getting used to seeing on her 'hands'.
"I got that," Spike responded. "But what are you hoping to learn? Didn't you already figure out how it works?"
"Yes but I want to see if I can replicate it," Twilight said as she continued to write.
Spike stared at her for a moment, "Twilight, that's a bad idea."
"I'm not going to activate it," Twilight rolled her eyes. "I just want to put it back in place so whoever made it won't miss it. You can never be too sure about magic and I'd hate to ruin someone else's experiment just because of my own curiosity. I only have one issue."
"What?"
"I need a blood sacrifice."
"And here is where I stop you from diving into stupid and crazy ville," Spike shuddered. "Didn't we explain to Assassin that killing was wrong?"
"Exactly," Twilight grinned. "Which is why tomorrow we'll gather some rocks and turn them into chicks. It won't be killing something if it technically isn't alive."
Spike narrowed his eyes, "That still seems really wrong to me."
"Oh hush and let me concentrate," Twilight said. She stuck out her hand to feel over the old lines. Even if she had activated the spell, she found it odd how there was barely any trace left of it. It was as if the world itself was doing its best to erase magic. Thankfully she hadn't felt anything of the sort. Perhaps the 'natural' magic of this world eroded quickly or there was something foreign about this spell. Either way, the only way to know is if she experimented.
It would of course require some sacrifices. As she told Spike, she'd used animated beings instead of real ones. While technically, they did become 'real', they didn't count under Equestrian law. It's why some sacrificial spells could be used but only under the watchful eyes of instructors and law enforcement. Given that she was a princess, Twilight was sure she could get away with this attempt. At least, for now.
She nodded as she smiled. It didn't seem like a complicated spell. She was thankful she had such a good memory. Princess Twilight Sparkle was the princess of magic after all. Even before she got the crown and found her friends, spells always came easy to her. Once she was able to perform a spell, no matter what, she could always perform it again. So now she just needed the right ingredients. A part of her thought about letting Assassin kill the 'animated' life forms but thought against it.
Her daughter would grow up to be a kind soul. Twilight hated killing anything, but if it was for the sake of knowledge, she'd do it. Now she just had to turn some rocks or small objects into some frogs or birds. That's when she heard a sound. It made her frown. It was a sound that made her pause in her experiment.
It was a sniffle.
Twilight blinked in confusion before turning to see Assassin. Her little hands were shaking and she couldn't see Assassin's face still. It didn't sound good. Was she sick? Could a being like her get sick? Was it her fault since she was magical too? The princess stood up and walked over to the little girl, "Assassin? Are you okay? Are you sick?"
She peered over the book and her body went rigid. Assassin was crying. She was sobbing her little eyes out and it made her heart sink. It made her inwardly panic. A small part of her even wanted to destroy something. Just anything to make her little one happy. She looked back at Spike, "Head back inside. I'll call for you when Assassin's better."
Spike knew Twilight wanted to be alone with Assassin and try out this 'mommy' thing. A small part of him wanted to stay to help, but he knew better. Twilight could be a dense idiot sometimes, but she was a carrying soul. He simply nodded, "Okay." Then he walked away.
Twilight sat beside Assassin, "What's wrong?" She moved her hand closer to her, but stopped the moment the magical girl flinched.
"We're sorry," the little girl whimpered. "We're sorry. Please, please don't hate us."
That… that felt like someone just stabbed her in the heart. Hearing Assassin talk like that. Flinch away from her… Twilight couldn't help but feel hurt. "Assassin, what did I do wrong?"
"We're sorry," Assassin didn't seem to hear her. She dropped the book and curled up into herself. "We're sorry. Please don't hate us. We're sorry."
"Assassin-"
"Please don't hate us. Please don't hit us."
Twilight's eyes widened, "Hit you?" What was the meaning of this? Who could hit her? Who would dare hit her little girl to make her like this? She would tear them to pieces!
"Please don't hit us and leave. We're sorry. We're sorry. We're-"
"Assassin," Twilight pulled Assassin into a hug, causing her to gasp in surprise. She caressed the little girl to her bosom, gently rubbing her back. "It's okay. I will never hit your or leave you. I'm not that kind of person."
"But…"
Twilight kissed her head, "In my country, ponies treat each other with kindness. I've only known you for a short time, but I will never let you go. I promise that." She moved her head back to smile down at Assassin. Using her fingers, she wiped away her tears. "So please stop crying. I care about you, my… daughter." It felt so good to say that.
Assassin sniffed, "But… We can't read and you love reading and we…"
Twilight's eyes widened and she wanted to smack herself. Why hadn't she asked before? She felt so stupid and selfish. Her daughter was hurting and it was all her fault. What sort of mother didn't teach their daughter the beauty of reading? She steeled herself and pressed on, "Then I'll just teach you then. In no time flat, you'll be a master of reading."
Assassin sniffed again and hugged her, "You're going to teach us to read?"
Twilight nodded and patted her head, "Of course I am. I would be a terrible mother if I didn't."
Assassin stared up at her, her face beaming. Her smile was the widest she could muster as she stared up at Twilight as if she was the best thing ever, "We love you, mommy!"
That just made her heart melt and soar at the same time. Twilight's cheeks heated up at the cute sight before her and hugged her daughter, "I love you too, Assassin. I couldn't ask for a better kid then you."
Twilight could postpone the experiment tonight. She had a daughter to teach. Besides, tomorrow was a day off from school. She had plenty of time to do something then. For now, she had to cheer up her little girl.
Sakura lay inside her home. As always, she felt so miserable here. Even now, she could feel the worm stirring inside of her. A constant reminder of her place in this family. She wasn't a person. She was less than a person. Someone to be used for the family's wishes. It made her sad but she had learned to deal with it. That is until she met Shirou.
She could never stop herself from smiling when she thought of the kind boy. He was her reason for getting up in the morning. He made her feel whole again.
Then Twilight came along. Oh Twilight was a nice girl. In fact, Sakura wouldn't be lying when she thought of her as a friend in the making. Yet Twilight seemed to quickly grow close to Shirou. She could see it in Twilight's eyes even if she didn't know it yet. She knew that feeling because she also felt it. Maybe she should talk to Twilight about it.
No. That would be too embarrassing. She could wait it out. Twilight wasn't staying here that long anyways. As well, she wasn't Sunset. Sunset was her tormentor and she was also after Shirou for one reason or another. Now she was someone to look out for. Of course, Shirou was too good for her. Sakura knew that as well.
She gritted her teeth as her anger started to bubble up. No. She shouldn't think about that. She had to suppress those types of thoughts. That's when she reached underneath her pillow and all of a sudden, her body felt better.
The jewel tiara hadn't taken much to smuggle into the house. Her grandfather never really cared for what type of jewelry she brought over anyways. He was nice deep down. She knew it but still. A small conspiratorial part of herself knew she was fooling herself with that thought but she couldn't let herself think that aloud.
The jewel tiara made her feel safe. It made the hate go away and the fear. Not to mention the pain. The worm inside her always went still. It was as if it was being suppressed. It wasn't going anywhere, but it made it all the more bearable.
Yes she was still going to find the owner of the tiara. She could wait though. For now, she would lay in peace. Thinking of Shirou and her new friend Twilight, who's jealousy went away bit by bit as she held the tiara in her fingers.
Twilight was giddy beyond belief. She finally was able to get to a library! Better yet, she was going with Shirou! The human was really helpful and she wouldn't get anywhere without him. No, that was literally true. He had to direct her a few times when she got lost. The human city was impressive but it wasn't too unique. She had been to big 'modern' cities of Equestria. Aside from the cars, it wasn't too different from them. That was good.
A part of her knew that she should be going after Sunset Shimmer right now. She should get the crown and go back home, hopefully with Sunset in toe. It would be stupid to leave her behind in this world, lest she try something like this again. That or try something malicious with the people here with the magic she possessed. Being a student of Celestia meant that Sunset had some impressive skills under her belt.
However, Sunset hadn't tried anything. Nadda. Which meant either Sunset was biding her time or couldn't use the power of the crown. That didn't make her any less dangerous, but it did mean that Sunset wasn't a 'threat' as of yet. As well, Twilight needed to understand more of this world if she was going to act in it. If she pulled something off and got in trouble, it didn't matter if she 'won'. She'd ruin relations with this world and possibly something bad could happen to her and Sunset. That was unacceptable.
So she would study as much as she can. That and the motherhood books. Couldn't forget about those. Thankfully she didn't mention that part to Shirou. She didn't want to spook him. Which reminded her. Shirou Emiya had interacted with Sunset. They even seemed to know about each other well enough.
"So Shirou," Twilight spoke up as they made their way to the library. "Do you know Sunset Shimmer well?"
"Hmmm?" Shirou turned his head to her. "Well, sort of. We don't spend a lot of time together aside from when she asks me to fix some of her stuff."
"And?" Twilight got a bit closer.
"Why are you so curious about her?"
Twilight's eyes widened and she laughed nervously, "She's an old classmate. She probably doesn't remember me but I want to know if she's the same as I remember."
Shirou nodded, "Well a lot of people in the school don't like her. They say she's bossy, mean, and she does everything in her power to have 'control' over the school. I dont' really buy the last part, but she is a bit much. However, I think she has some good in her. When I'm around her, just between us, she seems… a bit more relaxed. A bit more open."
"More open?" Twilight asked. If that was the case, maybe she could really redeem Sunset without blasting her with the Elements of Harmony.
Shirou nodded again, "Yeah. I've been trying to help Sunset open up to others but she's sort of like Shinji in some ways." He sighed, "Sometimes it's hard to know what to do around them."
Twilight nodded, "Right. I'll do my best then, Shirou."
Shirou smiled at her, which made her heart skip a beat. "I know you will. You don't seem the type to do things halfway."
Twilight chuckled, "You've got that right. I like to look for the best in people. It works out most of the time."
"But not all?"
Twilight sighed, "There are just some people you can't save." She balled up her fists as she remembered Sombra. Reading of the horrors he inflicted upon his people was one thing. Seeing the utter despair he had put them through? It made her hate him utterly. She did not regret destroying him. "But that only goes for heartless monsters. Most people have at least some semblence of good in them."
Shirou nodded, 'Yeah, but even then. I don't think I would feel good about just ending their lives. Even if they are a monster, I'd like to think I could save them."
Twilight quirked an eyebrow, "Sounds like someone wants to be a hero."
"A hero of justice," Shirou answered immediately.
Twilight couldn't help but let a smile grow, "Now that's something I'd like to see. Maybe I could help you out with that. One hero to another."
"Oh?" Shirou smirked. "So you're a hero?"
"Guilty," Twilight wagged a finger in his face. "But I'm not telling you how~"
Shirou, "Fine, keep your secrets." He turned his head, "Ah, there it is."
The moment he gestured to the library, Twilight squealed and ran inside. Shirou almost couldn't believe the speed in which she did that. It was almost cartoonish in a way given the slight dust image she left behind.
"Books!"
She ran through the place, twirling in excitement.
"So many new books!"
"Shhh," several people shushed her.
Twilight giggled nervously, "Sorry." She turned to see Shirou behind her and before she knew it, she threw her arms around him in a hug. "Thank you so much!"
Shirou blinked a few times before returning the hug, "Hey, you wanted to go to the library. It's the least I could do."
Twilight again thanked Celestia for meeting this guy. She pulled away, "You are the best. Now, I gotta get a few things. You can look around."
Shirou quirked an eyebrow, "Any reason you don't want me to help you look around?"
Twilight gulped and nervously rubbed her arm, "Well…" She had to think of something, "I like to study on my own and, well, there are certain topics I'd rather just study… alone."
Shirou nodded and started to walk off, "I'll find you in about an hour?"
Twilight nodded. That would be fine for a first visit. Next time would be longer, "Yeah, that sounds good."
It didn't take her long to find what she was looking for. Unfortunately she couldn't find anything on magic. At least nothing scientific and factual. It was all fiction. That was absurd. Did the people of this world really not believe in magic? Of course, perhaps that was the case. She had seen no one use magic here. Maybe they didn't remember it anymore. It wasn't absurd. She had read the old tales of Tirek who had absorbed magic. That was if he was real. She never got around to asking Celestia about him.
Still though, she had enough books to help her other cases on getting to know about this world. That went especially for motherhood as she had a large stack by her person. Hopefully she could speed read before Shirou came over.
"Seems someone's interested in motherhood," an older voice spoke up. Twilight looked up to see an elderly librarian smiling down at her. "Scholarly interest?"
Twilight laughed nervously, "Yeah, that's it. All scholarly and all that."
"So have you found anything interesting?"
"Oh it's just a few things," Twilight tapped her finger on a growing pile of notes. "I'm noting a small pattern about a few things. The playtime segments are garnering a lot of attention for me."
The librarian chuckled and shook her head, "I've never really understood why people think books will help them understand how to raise children. In my experience, no one child is the same."
"You have experience?"
"Three children and five grandchildren," the librarian smiled motherly.
Twilight stood up and stared at her with rapt attention, "Tell me everything you know!"
The librarian's eyes widened, "Ah… I see. You're really interested?"
Twilight nodded excitingly and held up a notepad and pen, "I need to know."
"You really need to know?"
"Yes, I do."
"So can you answer a question?"
"Yes, anything."
"How many children do you have?"
"One…" Twilight paused before snapping at herself inwardly. It had slipped out. "How could you tell?"
"It's the frantic look in your eyes," the librarian said. "I've seen that look in first time mothers all the time."
Twilight sat down in her chair, "How did they cope?"
"It depended on the person," the librarian said. "But there is no greater joy than watching your child grow up with your own eyes. I'm sure you've taken to your child?"
Twilight nodded and a small smile came to her face, "Yes. It happened so fast. I didn't know how it all started." She huffed and buried her face in her hands, "No, I know how it started. I was just so… eager to know and experience something new. I should have thought about the consequences."
The librarian nodded, "Young people sometimes tend to forget about the morrow and only focus on today. It happens and I'm sorry, but I'm sure your child is a blessing in of itself. Is it-"
"A girl," Twilight cut in with a proud smile. "She'll take after her mother no doubt."
The librarian laughed, "A modest mother, eh? So about the husband."
"There…" Twilight paused, trying to think up an excuse. This had already gone on longer then it should have.
The librarian frowned, "Ah I see. Well I'm sure you can find someone more suited for the job in no time. You are young and rather pretty, if I do say so myself."
Twilight blushed lightly in embarrassment, "I'm not that pretty."
"Don't think less of yourself," the librarian turned to leave. "I better get back to my duties. Feel free to come back any time and bring that daughter of yours with you."
Twilight huffed and got back to reading. She was a nice woman. Perhaps she would bring Assassin here. It was a great place of learning and the best people she had ever met were librarians. Yes, that was a stupendous idea!
"Motherhood?" A suave and beautifully rich male voice spoke up beside her. "An interesting subject."
Twilight let out a little yelp as she stood up and turned. She saw a charmingly dressed, handsome male figure. He grinned at her in a way that made her skin crawl. Yet it wasn't like Shinji's way. It was… different.
"It suits you though," the man said. "Such a pristine beauty like you giving onto this little world another charming little girl."
"And you are?"
"You can call me Gil for now," the man bowed his head but his smirk never left his face. "Are you having trouble fitting in here?"
Twilight nodded, "Yeah, it's not like my hometown that's for sure." He didn't seem dangerous so Twilight allowed herself to relax.
"I felt the same way," he crossed his arms. "Waking up to this world. To Japan, day in and out. I honestly find it droll."
"I find it exciting," Twilight grinned. "It's a whole new world to me. Everything's just so new and different and the people are so nice and understanding. I wish I could come here sooner."
The man rolled his eyes, "I see." He paused, "But you might not always think that. Humans tend to be disappointing after a while."
"That's a bit pessimistic, don't you think?"
Gil chuckled, "Perhaps. I like to be realistic. You however," he took a step closer and Twilight found herself staring at the man. Her heart beat a bit quicker. "You are different. You're new. I find that exciting, don't you think?"
Twilight gulped, "Well, I'm just me. Twilight Sparkle. I'm no one special."
"With a name like that, I doubt it." Gil peered down a bit closer, "You are not a normal girl, Twilight Sparkle."
"A-And you know that, why?" Twilight gulped, feeling even more nervous and light headed then before.
"I'm a very good judge of character," Gil answered. "Perhaps I could become a better judge over, say, dinner?"
Twilight's mind went into overdrive. Dinner? With this guy? She just met him? Oh this was bad. She couldn't let this handsome guy distract her from… her missions. She needed someone to get her out of this because she wasn't sure if she could just say no. There was just something about this guy that wouldn't take such an answer lightly.
"Twilight," Shirou came around a bookcase and stopped. Twilight never knew she could be so relieved to see her knight in shining armor before. "Are you in the middle of something?"
Gil narrowed his eyes, "Yes, but I think it can wait." He took one of Twilight's hands and kissed the back of it, causing her to blush profusely. "I'll see you later, Twilight Sparkle." With that said, he walked off.
"Who was that guy?" Shirou asked once he was out of earshot.
"Gil, I think" Twilight gulped. Ugh, this body. She shouldn't be so hormonal about boys so close to her. She should focus on Shirou- no, she meant the crown. Yes, that was it. She shook her head, "Never mind. I think I'm done for today."
Shirou peered over her shoulder, "Motherhood?"
"Curiosity!" Twilight shouted.
"SHHHHH!" Harsh mutters could be heard.
"Sorry," Twilight sheepishly said, hoping she'd fall through the floors right then and there. She had to change the topic quick. Thankfully, she had the perfect one in mind. "So... could you by any chance tell me where Sunset lives? I might want to check up on her soon enough."
Twilight was sweating as she stared down at the sigils. Everything was in place. Everything was in order. She just had to do one thing and the spell would be done. Yet she stalled. Her body shook slightly as she raised her hand. Why did she do that, she wondered.
It was the chirping. When she had told herself it would be easy, she believed it to be true. She had read all about it in her books. The creatures before her weren’t alive. Not in any true sense. They were mimics. Non-living material given the simulation of life. Yes they were ‘organic’ but not truly alive by the consensus of the magical community.
Yet as she looked at the small chicks chirping, she couldn’t help but freeze. This wasn’t how she pictured this moment. Nor could she just quickly kill them and be done with it. They looked so lively. Just like the real thing. It unnerved her. It made her feel sick. Did she actually think this was a good idea? What was wrong with her?
“You know you don’t have to do this,” Spike spoke up. “I told you this was a bad idea.”
Twilight huffed, “Okay, I’ll give you this one. I just want to complete it in case I messed up a mage’s hard work but…”
“You can’t do it,” Spike nodded. “No shame in it, Twi. How about we just go get some shut eye. It’ll help get your mind off of this.”
“Yeah,” Twilight scratched her head. It was getting dark out. She still had to find Sunset and confront her, “You’re right. I’ll tuck Assassin into bed and then go after Sunset.”
Twilight and Spike turned to leave and just as the exited the shack they both heard the sound of something slicing flesh and chicken shrieks cut short. They quickly rushed back inside to find a smiling Assassin and several dead chicks.
“We’re helping!” Assassin cheered.
Twilight just stared at Assassin with her mouth agape.
Spike facepalmed, “I should have seen this coming.” He shook Twilight’s leg, snapping her out of her stupor.
Twilight shook her head and glared at Assassin, “Assassin! What did you do?”
Assassin frowned, “Mommy wanted to complete her spell but was having trouble. We wanted to help so mommy would smile and give us headpats. We like it when mommy does that.”
Twilight let out a sigh, “Yes, but I’ve told you before. I don’t like it when you kill things. Yes, I was talking about people but you shouldn’t just kill other animals too.”
Assassin blinked in confusion, “But that’s what we’re good at, mommy. We kill. That’s why we’re here.”
“No,” Twilight said firmly before kneeling in front of her. “You’re here because I got curious about this world’s magic. I brought you here because of that. Granted I didn’t know you would be the result, but I honestly… couldn’t be happier to have more family.” She reached out and hugged Assassin, “I want you to be happy Assassin. You can’t do that if you kill things all the time.”
Assassin hugged her back, “But-”
“No buts,” Twilight rubbed her head. “You’re a ‘Sparkle’ now so that means you have to abide by my rules. So I want to see more smiles and less killing.” She idly noted how the magic flashed slightly, signifying the spell was complete. Now someone just needed to activate it. At least something good came from this.
Spike’s ears perked up, “Someone’s coming.”
Twilight’s eyes widened, “Okay, Assassin. I want you to come with me but keep to the shadows.”
“Okay mommy,” Assassin smiled up at her.”
“And remember,” Twilight booped Assassin’s nose. “No killing. Spike, distract them until I get back.” With that said, she teleported away. ___________________________________________________________________________
Sunset couldn’t help but pace the room. Caster knew why she was doing it. The crown was still on her mind. In all honesty, Caster couldn’t care less about it. Once they won the war, they could wish for anything they wanted. Sunset could have all the power she could ever dream of. Yet it seemed she was still hung up on getting it through a magical artifact like the crown. From what she heard, it was powerful but no Holy Grail.
Caster was currently kneeling before a small table, drinking a bit of tea. “Are you done yet?”
“No,” Sunset raised a finger to silence her. “How about we put up a spell. A sort of barrier. One that could detect Equestrian magic.”
“Won’t that ‘Twilight’ girl set it off every time she arrives?” Caster opted. “Since she is also here for the crown-”
“Then we’ll see two signatures,” Sunset cut her off, stopping to stare at her. “One for her. One for the thief. Unless Twilight catches the thief first.” She stomped her foot, “Gah. I hate this. I hate waiting. I should be out there finding it and showing Celestia what she messed up.”
“And you’ll have your revenge,” Caster said before going silence. Screams of her past demons started to rear themselves in the back of your mind. “But you probably won’t enjoy it.”
“Pfft, says you.” Sunset smirked. “I am going to enjoy breaking Twilight and rubbing it into my old mentor’s face. Oh it’s going to be marvelous.”
Caster opened up her mouth to respond before she paused and stood up, “Someone’s entered my boundary field.”
Sunset paused and stared at her, “Really? This soon? I was about to get some shut eye.” She grumbled.
“Master,” Caster sighed. “Take this seriously.”
“Oh I am,” a ball of fire appeared in Sunset’s right hand. “I want to make whoever came here pay. Hopefully we’ll knock out one servant if we’re really lucky.”
Caster just hoped it wasn’t one of the knight classes. Assassin wouldn’t give itself away like this and Lancer and Saber would be resistant or even immune to many of her magical attacks if she was unlucky. The rest were ‘possibilities’. Oh sure, her master was strong enough to give her energy to be a top tier servant but she did not have the optimism of her master. The battle with Lancer beforehand was too close.
Walking out into the woods was a dangerous idea. Normally Sunset would cast an invisibility spell, but those weren’t the most ideal. They needed absolute concentration and best used when standing still. No. She wanted to attract whoever was trespassing and deal with them swiftly. Then they stopped, each one preparing to blast the immediate area to bits.
“Come out, whoever you are!” Sunset yelled into the forest. “I know you’re there. No sense in hiding anymore.”
A moment passed and there was silence.
Caster frowned and gave a small sigh. She lifted a hand and brought it down, firing a bolt of energy into the forest. Immediately, she heard someone yelp.
Sunset quirked an eyebrow, “You knew they were there?”
“Lucky guess,” Caster responded.
It was none other than Twilight Sparkle who stepped forward. She glared at Sunset, “I’m here for the crown.”
“And I don’t have it, you idiot.” Sunset scowled. “If I did, I’d have already marched back to Equestria as an alicorn. You would know that if you had any brains, but I guess they let anyone be an alicorn these days.”
“You don’t have it?” Twilight scrunched up her face in confusion. “Then how did you lose it?”
“I’m not telling you,” Sunset said. “I’m not an idiot like some people. Now leave or I’ll make you leave.”
“Master,” Caster glanced at Twilight’s hand. “She has as a servant.”
Sunset glanced down before groaning, “You even forgot to wear gloves to hide your markings?” Sunset pulled up her own gloved hand. “How stupid can you get?”
“What this?” Twilight pulled up her hand. “Oh I got this when I summoned Assassin.”
“You even told me what servant you have!” Sunset threw up her arms in exasperation. “Don’t you know anything about the Holy Grail War?”
“... The what?”
Sunset pinched her nose, “Look, why don’t you take your servant and go back to Equestria and sit this one out.”
“Master, I could just kill her now and we would be one step closer to victory.” Caster piped up.
“WHAT?!!” Twilight shouted, taking a step back in utter horror.
“We agree on not killing any of the masters,” Sunset stomped her foot. “Do not force me to Command Seal you on this, Caster. I don’t need to waste one already.”
Caster inclined her head, “If that’s the case.” She pulled up a strange, purple dagger. “I could simply steal her servant.”
“You can do that?”
Caster shrugged, “Apparently. I’ve never tried it before but this should sever her connection to Assassin. We have enough energy to supply Assassin ourselves.”
Sunset stroked her chin before nodding, “Alright, having two servants is a plus in my book.”
Caster grinned maliciously, “Don’t worry, Twilight Sparkle. This will only hurt for a second-Gods damnit!” She stumbled to the side as a small knife pierced her shoulder. Sunset caught her before she could fall.
Assassin appeared beside Twilight, “Don’t touch my mommy.”
“Assassin,” Twilight hissed. “I told you to stay hidden.”
“But they were going to hurt mommy,” Assassin smiled. “Don’t worry. I didn’t kill her.” She held up another knife, “Can I stab the other person, mommy?”
“No more stabbing,” Twilight snatched the knife from her hands.
Sunset glared at her, “What the hay, Twilight? I thought a princess was better than this. Using a child in a war.”
“I don’t know what war you’re talking about,” Twilight sighed in agitation. “And I’m not sending Assassin to fight.”
“She’s a servant,” Sunset seethed. “They were born to fight and you happened to pick a little kid to do your dirty work for you. I wonder how you’ll feel when she kills someone under your watch. I’m sure Princess Celestia will be delighted to know what you’ve done.”
Twilight’s eyes widened, “I am not putting anyone in harm’s way. I just want the crown.”
“You aren’t getting anything from me,” Sunset raised a hand, causing energy to flow around it. “Not the crown and certainly not the grail. Now leave.”
“Master,” Caster grunted as she tore the knife from her body. “I can take her. She’s not a strong servant.”
“Do you want to kill a child?”
Caster flinched, “No, but-”
“Then shut it,” Sunset snapped. “Get out of here. Now, Twilight Sparkle.”
Twilight gulped and teleported herself and Assassin away.
Sunset sighed. This was worse than expected. Now they had to kill a child… She couldn’t do that. No Equestrian would do that. What was wrong with this world? It was messed up in every single way. No child should be forced to fight and kill. She looked to Caster, “Come on. We’ll heal that wound in no time.”
Twilight felt sick when she got back to the shack. A war? Assassin was a fighter but… okay she was definitely made to fight. There was still good in her. For Pete’s sake, she was a child. She would never send her out to kill. Never. Even then… the thought of losing her, even if she just met her, made her feel sick. She squeezed Assassin’s little hand, “You aren’t dying on me, Assassin. We’ll make it through this alive. I promise you that.”
Assassin looked up at her, “Mommy will protect us?”
Twilight smiled, “Of course I will. Now let’s get you to bed before Shirou gets suspicious.”
“Too late,” Shirou’s voice came from behind her.
Twilight gulped as she turned around. She saw Spike in Shirou’s arms, looking nervous with a stern Shirou Emiya staring her down. She laughed nervously, “Hey, Shirou…”
“We need to talk,” Shirou said, brokering no disagreements on that.
Shirou wasn't an idiot nor was he clueless when it came to other people. At least compared to what some people thought he was. Oh yes, he had heard a few things that were whispered behind his back. That he was a sort of airhead when it came to girls. That wasn't true. He lived with two of them after all. Well three now. Sakura came over enough that she was family and Twilight was living with him now.
So he could tell when someone was hiding something. Sakura was one thing. He couldn't barge into her home to make sure everything was okay, no matter how much he wanted to sometimes. Shinji was a good friend but he tested his patience occasionally. Twilight Sparkle was another.
That wasn't a name he was familiar with in the west. Of course, it could always be the case she had hippie parents. He had heard stories about how some American parents wanted to give their children really strange, nature names. They were usually stupid when he heard them but he wasn't one to judge people on their names alone.
No, he knew Twilight was a good woman. Innocent and pretty cute. She was on the Rin level of beauty. Well the Rin and Sakura level of beauty but he wasn't sure if he should consider Sakura. She was like a sister to him. Anyways, Twilight did seem like a good person akin to Sakura.
However she seemed… strange to put a word to it. Especially since he had seen her going into his shack a bit. His private shack. He hadn't said a thing yet because he thought it was innocent but he had heard some screams and other noises in their. He was sure she'd tell him but not a word. So he decided to take it into his own hands.
He was not prepared to see a bloody circle filled with dead chicks when he opened the shack. One such bird was in the paw of the little dog who hadn't noticed him enter. Thankfully the door was open so it wasn't hard to walk in.
"And now I have to clean this up," the dog, Spike he remembered, snorted. "Typical."
"...You can talk?" Shirou's world almost came to a standstill. If he wasn't already aware of magic, he'd be freaking out.
The dog yelped and turned around, "No I can't… shoot."
Which lead him to the present. He had witnessed a talking dog. Something akin to a satanic ritual being performed in front of him. Okay, that was a bit of a stretch. His father had explained how bloody magic could be but still. It was one thing to hear about it. It was another to see it. Then he saw Twilight and a little girl appear before him in a flash. Teleportation? Now that was a type of magic he'd never seen before.
Even if it was Twilight, he was still wary of her. He had learned enough about magi to know they weren't exactly the nicest bunch. They killed and destroyed plenty of lives and property over the centuries for their own selfish desires. Yet he didn't feel at all any maliciousness about Twilight. Perhaps she hadn't been ingrained with that sort of mentality. She was still young after all and not everyone of a particular group was evil. That never worked. So he decided to listen to her story.
Besides, she was rather kind and the way she held the little girl made his heart melt.
"- And that's what happened." Twilight Sparkle finished. The pair of them were sitting down on the ground with Assassin in her lap and Spike at her side.
Shirou was silent for a moment as he tried his best to process what he was hearing. He took in a deep breath before gazing straight at her face, "So you're from Equestria."
Twilight nodded.
"Which makes you an alicorn in a human body."
"Yep."
"And you're after Sunset, who's also a pony."
"Yep."
"And you somehow became a mother."
"Pretty much."
"And now you're stuck in a war that could kill you and your daughter?"
Twilight hugged Assassin close to her body, "Yes." Her voice was small.
Never let it be said Shirou wasn't chivalrous. The moment he saw that, he wanted to smash everyone who wanted in on this war. They would hurt her if all that she was saying was true. If it wasn't for the Grail, it would be for the crown. Even if it wasn't Sunset, no doubt most any magi would salivate at the idea of 'The Element of Magic'. Not to mention a portal to a world filled with magic. He had to protect them.
He nodded, "Alright, at least you're being honest with me."
"...Do you hate me now?"
Shirou blinked in confusion at that. She looked like she was about to cry, "What are you talking about?"
"I've been lying to you," Twilight said, sniffing. "And… and I could have gotten you hurt. I still could get you hurt."
She was about to cry because she was worried about him? Shirou stood up and walked towards her. He knelt down as she looked up at him in confusion. He put a hand on her shoulder.
"I will protect. As a hero of justice, it's my duty."
"Eh?" Twilight looked confused. "But-"
"You had the best of intentions," Shirou smiled at her, noting that her cheeks were heating up. Perhaps they should go inside. It was hot outside after all. "I'll do my best to help you as long as you stay in this world."
"Thank you," Twilight's smile was rather cute, now that he thought about it.
"So does that mean we have a daddy now?" Assassin asked, causing the two in question to blush heavily and stare at her.
Spike laughed, "Well you'd make quite the pair."
"Shut up, Spike." Twilight seethed.
Shirou shook his head. He didn't have time to dwell on that sort of teasing. Besides, it's not like it would work out anyways. A pony princess and him? That sounded like a fantasy. This was real life where they were fighting a magical war between the spirits of dead heroes and fictional characters all the while looking for a crown that was the embodiment of magic to help save a kingdom of ponies….
You know, why couldn't he just have a simple life?
He turned towards the circle. A small part of himself felt drawn to it, "So this is the thing you used to summon Assassin?"
"Yeah," Twilight nodded. "It was all set so all I had to do was channel some magic into it. It was weird. It was almost as if it didn't want to respond at first. Perhaps it just wasn't meant for me or our two kinds of magic aren't too compatible."
"You're definitely going to have to teach me more about your magic after this," Shirou said before glancing down at the sigils. He hadn't noticed it before. It was so strange. He was sure he must have touched this spot as well in all of his time in here. Did he just not have enough prana? Perhaps he just wasn't ready for this war. He idly let his finger trace over the sigils. He wouldn't blame anyone but…
He glanced at Twilight and his hand clenched. She was too good to be put in harm's way and Assassin… no child should be forced to fight. Sure she was creepy and tried to stab him twice while Sparkle was explaining but still. He was a Hero of Justice. He wasn't going to stand by while someone hurt innocent people. No matter what. He would stop them. He would save everyone.
Suddenly, there was a flash and the magic surged into life. Shirou let out a gasp as he fell back on his rump. Assassin jumped out of Twilight's arms with a knife in both hands while Twilight jumped to her feet with magic laced around her hands.
Before them stood a short but rather pretty blonde woman. She wore something of a battle dress with armor on top and across her arms and a long flowing bottom. It looked beautiful on her. Shirou could only look on and stare as her eyes shimmered in the low light from the moon. She was breathtaking.
"Are you my master?" Her voice bespoke authority.
"Can we stab her, mommy?" Assassin asked.
Before anyone could say anything, the blonde knight turned to stare at Assassin for a split second. Her eyes widened and a gust of wind appeared in her hands, obscuring the weapon she was carrying. She struck, attempting to bisect Assassin. The servant of the shadows nimbly jumped over the blade and backflipped outside. The mysterious new woman followed.
Twilight and Shirou stared at each other in surprise before rushing outside. The first thing they saw was the mysterious knight slashing at Assassin with speed and grace not seen in any mortal. If she was up against even the best trained swordsman, no doubt she would win. However, Assassin wasn't playing by those rules. The small child servant was jumping and weaving out of the way of the mysterious blade. As the knight slashed downwards, Assassin jumped back and twirled in the air. She threw a knife which the knight blocked before coming to the ground, having to dodge once more as the knight pressed her attack.
"I don't know how much longer Assassin can keep dodging," Twilight said, obviously worried about her child. "We have to stop her."
Shirou wanted to do something. He couldn't just let this woman harm Assassin. Not on his watch. He of course would have to be careful. This woman, who was probably carrying some sort of sword given how she was fighting, was dangerous. He need to be cautious. He turned into his shed and his eyes widened. It was stupid. Pretty stupid but it had to be done. He picked up a pipe and used his 'Reinforcement' magic to make it stronger. He gripped it tightly and nodded. "I'll stop it."
Twilight put a hand on his shoulder, "You can't. She'll kill you."
"Better me then Assassin," Shirou countered before smiling. "But hopefully it won't come down to this."
Twilight grew red again and nodded, "So… what should we do?"
"Give me an opening."
The knight and Assassin kept on fighting. Assassin rolled out from another swipe of her sword. It was obvious the little girl could keep this up but the look on her face told him another story. She knew she couldn't win an upright fight. She was made to attack from the shadows, not the front. As well, Shirou remembered Twilight telling him how she was trying to teach Assassin to not kill.
Which meant Assassin had no chance if this fight continued.
"Stop it or we'll stab you!" Assassin shouted.
"You won't have the chance," the knight shouted as she stabbed forward with speed and precision.
Assassin was quicker. Just as the knight stabbed forward, Assassin jumped right onto the blade. She nimbly ran right up it and pressed a knife to her neck. Her eyes looked hers dead on as she said deadly calm, "We had the chance."
The knight paused. No doubt she couldn't do anything to get the little girl off of her without some sort of damage. However, one thing came to her mind. She didn't let it show. Instead her sword burst outward with a magical gust attack, "Strike air!"
Assassin was sent flying and then tumbling along the ground. A few grunts were heard as she finally came to a stop. The knight wouldn't let her get up as she sped right to her with a prepared strike.
"Now!" Shirou shouted as he ran.
Twilight held her hand forward and a wall of purple magic appeared right before Assassin. It wasn't her strongest spell nor did she pump a ton into it. It was just enough to stop her, she was sure. However the moment the knight struck it, it shattered. Twilight gasped and took a step backwards. It was like the magic didn't really affect her. She was sure it should have. Assassin still was affected by her magic.
It did cause the knight's sword to move backwards slightly from the blow. The knight's eyes widened in shock from the sudden shield. That gave Shirou just enough time to rush forward and grab Assassin. He rolled out of the way, keeping the little girl's body out of sight from the knight's.
"What are you doing?" The knight shouted. "She is an enemy servant. I must eliminate her."
"She's a little girl," Shirou stood up with Assassin in one arm and his pipe in another. "You will not hurt her."
The knight gritted her teeth, "Did you summon me?"
"Yes."
"Then you are my master," the knight said. "That means I must protect you. She is a servant. Assassin, I believe. She will kill you."
"That doesn't make any sense and I don't care," Shirou shouted. "She is a little girl and the child of my friend. If you want to hurt her, you'll have to go through me."
Twilight teleported in front of him, "And me."
The knight glared at them for a moment before dismissing her sword. She sighed, "Master, could you perhaps explain to me what is going on?"
Twilight smiled, "Yes and to do that, how about we go inside. Shirou can cook us up something."
"I don't particularly want to eat with my enemy," the knight said.
"How about a friend?" Twilight stuck out a hand towards the knight.
The knight blinked in confusion, "A friend? Are you not a master as well?"
"... I think?" Twilight scratched her head. "In all honesty, I don't know all the details about this 'war'."
The knight sighed even deeper this time, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Typical. Very well, I shall inform you of this war… after I get something to eat."
The knight, who had introduced herself as Saber, sat in silence before the table. None of this was strange to her. The Holy Grail would give servants enough information to get by in modern times. Of course, they did not include everything. If a servant could not read, they were not given that ability. They would however be up to date on the verbal language, news, and other such events or machinery. A part of her was upset about that. The first time seeing an airplane in the previous war should have been a special thing but the surprise was ruined.
Such thoughts made her miss Irisviel but that was for another time.
She shook those thoughts away. Now wasn’t the time for nostalgia or such things. She had to keep a cool head. Dwelling on the past would get her killed. Almost immediately so due to another servant being present. This was not her first time sitting down with another servant. The fourth war had produced a rather… strange set of circumstances. That drinking session had made her hate the pair dining with her. So far, the other servant hadn’t garnered that much hatred from her. Of course the night was still young. She could be surprised.
As well she had to keep her guard up since this was Assassin. The last one could create copies of themselves. If that was the case, she had to keep an eye on her master. Even if that wasn’t the case, Assassin servants were tricky to deal with. She was fast but an Assassin could be faster or use some trick to put the fight in their favor. For that, her attention would never leave the servant of the shadows.
Which is why she felt… conflicted at looking at the scene. The servant wasn’t doing anything evil. Far from it. The servant that looked like a little girl was sitting in her master’s lap. The pair of them were looking at what appeared to be a children’s book. They were… acting akin to a mother and daughter. In any other circumstance, she would feel awkward. Such moments were special and should not be trodden upon.
Yet this couldn’t be. This was an enemy. An evil spirit that killed in the night. Assassins were not little children who liked to be read stories by their mother. It made her feel a little sick to her stomach to see the grail summon like her. A child! One that wore such clothing no less. It made her question whether the Grail was sick of the mind or if Assassin’s master was some secret pervert. From what she had seen, that was unlikely. She was almost like Irisviel and she would never be so obscene.
Yet that didn’t bother her master, this Twilight Sparkle. An odd name but this was a grail war. She should expect such things. Besides, much has changed from her original time. Names were of course going to change. She still found Japanese names odd sometimes too.
“Now are you enjoying yourself, Assassin?” Twilight looked down at the servant in her lap.
Assassin nodded, “Yep.”
“That’s good to hear,” Twilight smiled. “Now I’ve been reading up on something and it reminded me of what my mother would say. Music is one of the best helpers. So there’s a little song I know that can help you. Do you know the alphabet?”
Assassin was silent for a moment before shaking her head side to side, “What’s that?”
“It’s these shapes,” Twilight pointed to the page. “Each is a letter and they all make words and have different sounds. So I think this one song will help.”
“Oooh, we want to hear mommy sing.”
Twilight giggled, before starting. “A, B, C, D-”
Saber just stared at her incredulously. This Twilight Sparkle’s voice was mesmerizing. Not totally entrancing, but a part of her wanted to start singing with her. Possibly dance too. Was it magic? Unlikely. She was of the Saber class. It would take something immense to do that if anything at all.
The other part of her was amazed by how loving she was. She treated Assassin as if she was her actual child. That was unheard of. Magi were known to be cruel and even the ‘kind’ ones weren’t this loving. At least, not any that she had met. Oh Merlin was nice but he hardly was the father type even on his best of days.
As the song ended, Assassin clapped her little hands. “Yay~”
“I know, I know.” Twilight rubbed the servant’s head slightly. “Now let’s sing it together.”
As she watched the pair sing the ABCs, Saber felt a ping of guilt. She wanted the Holy Grail more than anything. It was her ticket to salvation. To correct the wrongs of her past. Yet one of the things she must do is… kill a child? Break apart this happy family? Was life so cruel as to torture a third time?
“Very good,” Twilight said as they finished, smiling widely down at Assassin. “You’re learning fast, Assassin. You make me so proud.”
Assassin giggled, “You’re a great teacher, mommy.”
“Why thank you.”
“Why?” Saber found herself speaking up.
Twilight looked at her in confusion, “Why what?”
“Why are you being so kind to her?” Saber asked. “She is a servant. A killer and yet you treat her as a child.”
“Should a master treat their servant poorly?”
Saber shook her head, “No. That’s not what I’m saying. She is not of your blood and you tell me you only have met her a couple of days ago. What inspires you to take her close to your bosom as if you had birthed her yourself?”
“She is my child,” Twilight pulled Assassin close. “Yeah it’s sudden and honestly I’m still as surprised as you that I’m doing this. Yet, I can’t just turn her away. She needs me and I brought her into this world even if I didn’t do it the conventional way.”
“And we love mommy for it,” Assassin smiled up at her.
“That doesn’t make any sense,” Saber glared at her. An old memory of a certain blonde came to mind. “She won’t be here forever. Once the war is said and done, she will leave.”
“No,” Assassin frowned. “We want to stay with mommy.”
“This world isn’t meant for you,” Saber countered. “None of us are.” Why did servants want to stay here? First it was Rider and now this Assassin? They were making it harder for everyone else.
“Well I’m not of this world either,” Twilight said. “I’m leaving once I get the crown and Assassin is coming with me.”
Saber sighed. Of course. She had told her about that little snidbit too, “Yes I am aware of that fact but why are you wasting time on songs and children stories? Shouldn’t you be preparing for the Grail War?”
“I still don’t know much about that other then you have to fight other masters,” Twilight said. “We should probably wait for Shirou to come back before continuing to talk about that. He should know too.”
“And he… doesn’t know?” Saber asked.
Twilight shrugged, “He didn’t seem to.”
Saber sighed. This was was strange. That’s when her nose picked up on something. It smelled so… so good~ She turned to see Shirou carrying in some dishes.
“Decided to make some Miso Soup,” Shirou said as he placed bowls before them and sat down himself. “Sorry if it’s not my best. I tried to keep in mind that Sparkle’s a vegetarian.”
Saber nodded and then picked up her chopsticks. Strange things they were. She glanced at Twilight Sparkle who had placed Assassin beside her. She didn’t eat the soup like Saber and Shirou did. She moved her face down and started to eat straight out of the bowl. Assassin giggled and followed suit.
Saber tapped the table, “What are you two doing? Eat like civilized people.”
“Don’t be mean, Saber.” Shirou commented as he started to eat.
Saber huffed and went to eat. She would show them manners… then she tasted it…
She loved it! She devoured it like a wild animal, almost inhaling all of the soup. Then she thrust it at Shirou, “MORE!”
Shirou looked at her in surprise before he chuckled, “After we discuss the war.”
Saber frowned but put her bowl down. She chose to ignore the giggling Assassin or the smug look on Twilight, “Very well.” She made a mental note to protect her master even more so. She needed more of his cooking. Stat.
“So it’s about fighting other servants for a grail?” Twilight asked.
Saber nodded, “Yes. It is about fighting for the Holy Grail, a wish granting device.”
Saber glared at her, “What are you talking about?”
“Wish granting devices never work out,” Twilight spoke. “If the device is impartial, it might not get the meaning of the wish. If the device has a conscious, it could choose to get the wish wrong in some way. There are far too many variables honestly and it’s a cheap way to get around your problems-”
Saber smashed her fist into the table, “It is why we are here! We all have a wish and we will do our best to get it.”
“Saber,” Shirou put a hand on her shoulder. “Calm down. She didn’t mean anything against you. She’s just speaking her mind.”
“Sorry,” Twilight squeaked out, causing Assassin to glare at Saber.
Saber sighed, “I am sorry about that outburst, but yes. It grants one wish to both the master and servant who win the war. There are several servants in total: Assassin, Archer, Saber, Rider, Lancer, Caster, and Berserker. I am of course of the Saber class and your ‘daughter’ is of the Assassin class.”
“So you just beat other servants, right?” Twilight asked.
Saber nodded, “Yes, we do not have to kill the masters.”
“...Kill?” Twilight blinked in confusion. “Why do you have to kill the other servants?”
“It is necessary,” Saber simply said. “We have to kill the other servants in order to get the grail.”
Twilight hugged Assassin close to herself, “No one is killing Assassin and she does not have to kill anyone either.”
“The war will go on whether you like it or not, Miss Sparkle.” Saber pointed out. “It is inevitable. In order to get out wish-”
“No,” Twilight firmly said. “No wish is worth bloodshed. Only dark mages think like that. Evil creatures of the night who want to take over the lands. Why would anyone follow such a system?”
“Because mages are not nice by nature,” Shirou but into the conversation. “My father told me enough about them. How they can be selfish and hurt other people. I didn’t like to hear about it. Yet… it made me want to achieve my dream even more so.”
“Your dream, master?” Saber leaned in closer.
“I want to be a hero of justice,” Shirou firmly stated. “And to do that, I have to stop evil people from hurting each other. To save everyone.”
Twilight smiled and eagerly nodded, “Exactly. As the Princess of Friendship, it is my duty to protect those around me and bring joy and friendship to everyone.”
“So that’s why I’ll fight in this war.”
“...Eh?” Twilight looked at him in confusion, “But Shirou. That means you have to kill-”
“I don’t have to,” Shirou said. “There is another way.”
“There is no other way,” Saber said. “The other masters will kill you.”
“Then I’ll stop them,” Shirou’s eyes gaze back at her with determination. “I’ll stop them from hurting other people.”
“And if they don’t stop?” Saber narrowed her eyes. “What then? Will you stay your blade?”
“Then I’ll…” Shirou didn’t seem to like his next train of thought. “End them.”
“You can’t,” Twilight frantically said. “You can’t kill anyone. Everyone deserves a second chance.”
“Everyone?” Saber shook her head and chuckled. “Not everyone deserves a second chance. Not everyone can be redeemed. Tell me, Sparkle. Have you ever met someone who you could not redeem with magic or friendship?”
Twilight flinched. The unicorn could hear the mad laughter of Sombra. His foul magic working its way through her. How he would have left her to die in that illusion. How he hurt all those ponies with his spells and how he tried to… kill Spike. “Yes.”
“And what did you do?”
“...” Twilight looked down onto her lap. “We blew him up.”
Saber didn’t like causing her grief especially by drudging up old memories. Yet she felt it needed to be done, “There always is evil in the world. It is up to us heroes to stop them.”
Shirou nodded, “Yes.” He moved over quickly to sit beside Twilight. “But we’ll do our best to help those who surrender. If a master or servant doesn’t want to fight, we won’t hurt them.”
Saber found herself gritting her teeth. She wanted her wish. She utterly needed it but the hero in her demanded she abided by those rules. It was not chivalrous after all to harm someone who doesn’t want to fight or gives up. She nodded, “I will abide by those rules but the Holy Grail is not a simple matter. Sooner or later, we will fight.”
“Then I’ll blast you with the Elements,” Twilight firmly stated. “You and that Grail. Hopefully it’ll stop all of this nonsense once and for all.”
“Elements?” Saber blinked in confusion.
“Oh I am of the Element of Magic,” Twilight smiled. “There are six of us: Magic, Laughter, Generosity, Loyalty, Honesty, and Kindness. We all make up the Elements of Harmony, the greatest magical artifacts in Equestria. We use them to help fight any foe that’s too great for the princesses to fight off.”
“Ah,” Saber nodded. Such artifacts weren’t something unusual given her own weapon. “And what brought you here?”
“A former student of my mentor stole the Element of Magic,” Twilight explained. “I came here to get it back and bring her to justice.”
“And you must fight here to get it back?”
“Yep and since she has a servant, it’s going to be harder.”
Saber sighed, “So you must fight in this war then. I very much doubt it will end well for your homeland if she wins the grail.”
“Sunset may be a bad pony but she can still be saved,” Twilight confidently said.
“I wish I had your optimism,” Saber said. “However, I am my master’s servant. I shall follow his command and since you two are allies, it seems I will have to fight for both this grail war and to get your Element of Magic back.”
“Thank you,” Twilight said.
“Yes,” Shirou said. “Thank you, Saber.”
“Think nothing of it,” Saber nodded. “Just don’t use up your command seals.”
“....Our what?” Both Twilight and Shirou said in unison.
Saber sighed and resisted the urge to facepalm. This was going to be a long night indeed.
Shirou gave out a long yawn as he trudged along. It was still early morning but he liked to get up a bit early to do a few things. Usually it was to practice when no one was around. Well that wasn’t always the case. Sakura sometimes came over rather early but he did his best to keep her out of the know how. His old man had made it abundantly clear that normal people shouldn’t know about magic. He would do his best to protect her from it as best as he could.
Speaking of protecting, Twilight Sparkle came to mind. She was good and sweet. There was not a single bone in her body that gave any killing vibes. Yet she was now in a war where killing was required. There was a cruel and sick irony about that. Shirou’s fists tightened. He hated the thought of her having to go through with it or someone actually taking her from him… well more like someone killing her in general. She wasn’t his of course. She was cute but still…
He would protect her regardless. Her and Assassin. Saber too. Even if she denied said aid and thought herself above such help, he would do so regardless. No one was dying on his watch. He was going to stop that from happening even if he had to destroy the grail himself. He’d do it.
He idly opened up the door to the room where the washer and dryer were. His groggy mind didn’t immediately register there was another person in there until he was half way inside. He blinked a few times before blushing deeply and covering his eyes.
There before him was a bare naked Twilight writing down something in a notepad. She was sitting down so he didn’t see her nether region, thankfully enough, but still. She turned to smile at him and waved, “Oh hey, Shirou. I was just cleaning my clothes and I found these machines fascinating. I believe we have similar ones in Equestria but I think yours is a bit more advanced. I’m not so sure. I don’t know a lot about these machines so maybe I could cross reference them. I just ask since I usually use my magic and some water to do most of the cleaning.”
“Why are you naked?” Shirou gulped, doing his best not to look. He was still a hot blooded youth after all and Twilight had a full figure. She wasn’t Sakura levels of full but she was up there.
“Oh because my clothes were dirty,” Twilight paused for a moment before sighing. “Really? You have a taboo about being naked in the house too?”
“You aren’t supposed to do that with other people around,” Shirou stated.
Twilight sighed again, “Alright, fine. I will respect your traditions even if they are bizarre.” A second later, she spoke. “Fine, I’m clothed.”
Shirou opened his eyes and uncovered his face. His face blushed again and hid his face, ‘You’re just wearing a towel.”
“And yet, you can’t see my naughty bits.”
“You’re not covering your chest!”
Indeed, Twilight had used the towel to cover her nether region and a good portion of her legs. She frowned, “And what’s wrong with my chest?”
“Girls aren’t supposed to show it out like that.”
“But I saw a lot of guys have no shirts on when they were running and no one said anything.”
“Well they are guys.”
“So guys can go about with no shirt on but girls can’t?”
“Yes… kind of?” Shirou gulped, hoping he wasn’t stepping into one of those ‘no go’ zones with girls.
Twilight groaned, “I can’t tell if this is sexist or some really bizarre biological thing but this is another world. I’ll abide by that.” Something sparkled in the air, telling him she was using magic. “Here.”
He opened and gave a sigh of relief. She was wearing a towel over her chest too, but looked rather agitated. “I’ll ask Taiga if she has some spare clothes and to take you clothe’s shopping.”
“Well a nice dress would be nice,” Twilight nodded. She held out a finger to point at him, “Next time, tell me these things before hand. For all I know, I could have just offered you to have sex with me.”
“... Oh look at the time!” Shirou blushed and turned around. “I better go cook something.”
“...” Twilight blushed profusely. “It’s not like that! I wouldn’t… I mean you are cute… I just wanted to…”
And with that, the two dorks clumsily rushed out of the room while knocking each other about. Sorry’s were exchanged.
Saber really did not want to think about being allied with the servant of shadows. She both disliked assassins in general and the previous war’s Assassin was… Huh. She never really did meet them outside of Rider killing them off. It was honestly a waste. Perhaps servant Assassins weren’t all that cracked up or the previous war’s master of them was sloppy. Probably the former. Still though, she would have to begrudgingly go along with this alliance. It didn’t mean she had to like it though.
So she kept to herself after her master had retired. She just hoped he’d make more of his food. She would never say it out loud, but just thinking of that cooking made her stomach rumble. She wanted more. She was of course a king. She would never beg. That was beneath her. Still though, maybe he had some leftovers. Yes, she could go and sneak some more.
As she entered the kitchen, she saw none other then Assassin and a strange little purple dog. The little Assassin looked to be trying to reach a jar of some kind while the dog was… talking.
“Assassin,” the dog spoke. “Come on. A bit closer.”
Assassin gave another bit of effort and grabbed the jar. She squealed in joy and brought it down. She opened it to reveal some cookies. She gave one to the dog, “Here you go, big brother.”
“Well thank you,” the dog grinned and started to eat his cookie.
Saber chose that moment to walk in, “What are you doing? Sweets are for desert. You’ll ruin your appetite for a proper meal.” She didn’t know why she said that. It was just an instinct that came over her when those children did something like that.
Assassin pouted and put the jar back, “Awww, but I just wanted a cookie.”
Saber walked over and put the jar higher up in the cupboard, “You can have cookies later and that’s only if Shirou lets you. Now,” she turned to the dog. “You can talk, yes?”
Spike gulped and stared up at her, “Yeah… I didn’t expect to see another dragon here.”
“Dragon?” Saber quirked an eye at that. “How would… what are you?”
“I’m a dragon,” the little dog preenly said with a paw on his little chest. “Spike to be exact. Twilight’s number one assistant.”
“And you are her brother?” She pointed to Assassin.
“Well… kinda?” Spike shrugged. “More like an uncle really since Twilight’s more of a sister to me. I know some people say she’s like a mom, but she’s not that much older. Besides, she doesn’t really act her age a lot of the times anyways.”
“I see,” Saber said before looking at Assassin. “Assassin. I thought you were better then this. Going behind your mother’s back to steal?”
Assassin’s eyes widened and she started to shake in fear, “We… We… please don’t tell mommy. We don’t want mommy to hate us.”
A part of her understood that feeling. She hated to disappoint her father. However, such thoughts always brought forth another image. One of a blonde knight who looked so eager and happy to be her son. Perhaps she should have handled that meeting with more tact. Just another reason for her to gain the grail. Which meant she had to kill this child soon enough.
She had done terrible things before. More bloodshed, even if disgusting, would be necessary in order to win. Ending this one happy family was… was something she would have to do eventually. “Just make sure you don’t do it again, alright?”
Assassin nodded eagerly, “Yes, yes. We promise.”
“And you,” Saber turned to glare at Spike who flinched at it. “Make sure she acts right. You are a guardian. Act like it.”
“Yes, my lord.” Spike gulped and bowed. It was instinctual. While dragons were solo creatures, they still had a lord. A lord who ruled absolutely amongst their kind. What they said went. Saber had the heart of a lord even if she did not have the scepter.
Adagio couldn’t help but smirk as she left the office. Just another human. So easily manipulated. With this act, they had acquired the usage of a stage for their show. A big one she might add. That meant they could have enough to feed them for a while. Perhaps they’d even get a smidgen of their original powers back. It had been a while since they last were able to cut loose. The last time was during WW2 and the only truly competent foe had been this one Russian magus they fought. He was talented but a human nonetheless. She idly missed that regime. So much terror and fear. Stalin was good but Adagio found herself and her sisters on the run more then they liked with that man in charge.
“That was too easy,” Aria smirked as she flipped a golden coin up into the air and caught it.
“For realzies,” Sonata cackled. She had picked up some jargon in America and it annoyed her sisters. “I thought they were so going to put up a better fight. Can you believe how much these humans will drool over these?” Sonata cupped her breasts.
“Animals, the lot of them.” Adagio chuckled darkly. “And soon we will feast off of them like the animals they are. Who knows, we might even cause a city wide riot. Gods know how long it has been since the last one we started.”
“Oh I would love to see that,” a smooth voice spoke out.
The three sisters turned around to stare at an incredibly attractive blonde man walking up to them. Adagio scowled and took a few steps forward, “What do you want?”
“Oh I just want to get to know you,” the man smirked and tilted his head to the side slightly. “You’re a curiosity I haven’t seen in ages.”
“Curiosity?” Adagio quirked an eyebrow. What was he on about, she thought.
“Oh you aren’t as interesting as the fair maiden but you three have something…” His eyes widened as did his grin. His head was held up high. “Sirens~ Ah, I’ve missed listening to your calls.”
“Look here, bud.” Aria stomped on closer. “If you think you can blackmail us, you’ve got another thing coming.”
“For realzies,” Sonata nodded and crossed her arms.
The man held up his hands and chuckled, “Nothing of the sort. I just wanted to meet you and possibly work out a few things.”
“Like what?” Adagio sized him up. He didn’t seem all that threatening but she was a big girl. Over a thousand years old in fact. That much time gave her the much needed wisdom to know that one should never judge someone on initial appearances. They could be hiding something and this man was definitely hiding something.
Twilight didn't know where she was. She knew it was dark and misty. What little light that gleamed about showed her that she was in some sort of city. It certainly wasn't Fuyuki or any Equestrian city she knew of. She would have guessed where she was if not for the fact that she had talked with Luna about her dream magic. Given that Luna could walk within dreams, she had left a few tips to recognize whether you were in one.
This felt like one when she remembered the cues. So she didn't have to worry about being lost or dragged into some evil sorcerers lair. However, she felt powerless. Like she couldn't really affect anything around her. It was a scary effect and it didn't help that the place she was looking at was all kinds of creepy. It would have fit right into a horror story or Nightmare Night decoration.
Twilight watched as a figure stumbled through the city's haze. It was a woman and her clothes were ragged and worn. She wanted to go and help her but she couldn't do anything. She was stuck. So she simply watched as the woman looked up and other people walked past her.
"Please… I'm so hungry." The woman whimpered. "Please help me."
No one moved. As the woman got closer, one of the men smacked her aside with his cane. "Move it, you fucking beggar. I don't have the time to deal with you."
Twilight gasped. She knew there were mean ponies back in her own world. She had dealt with some angry ones in big cities, but they never hit her or used such foul language. She desperately wanted to make him apologize.
Then the scene changed to a back alley. A man and his son was pushed up against a wall by a large group of evil looking men.
"You forgot our payment," one of them grinned.
"I… I'll get it," the man whimpered. "Please don't hurt me. It's been a slow month."
"Course you will cause you won't have to pay for your son anymore," the man cackled as the group pulled the young boy away. As the man reached out to grab his son, he was smacked into the wall again. She heard the father's pained cries of grief.
Twilight watched as they started to beat the young boy to death. It made her sick. Why was this happening? Money? He was only a child and you can always get more. It wasn't worth killing someone over.
The scene shifted again. This time… a young girl, barely into her teens was being dragged to the ground by two men. They were tearing at her clothes and… She didn't want to see. She wanted this to end.
Twilight was sick. She felt such sickness as the scenes kept playing. Murder. Rape. Theft. Hatred. All over and over again. What was this place? Why were they doing this? It was wrong. It was just wrong.
'Stop please'
'I'll do anything, just don't hurt them'
'Please let me go'
She wanted to block out the voices. She wanted it all to go away. Yet over and over and over again new images appeared. Was this a trick? Was this a curse planted on her somehow? She had to find a way to stop it. Please just stop it.
And that was when she woke up screaming. Twilight panted as she held herself, afraid of what she had seen. Yet she was so very much glad it was over.
"Twilight/Mommy!" Both Spike and Assassin were at her side. Assassin had been sleeping beside her and so had jumped up with a knife in hand.
"I'm fine," Twilight quickly said. She patted both of their heads. "I'm fine. I just had a bad nightmare is all."
That's when Assassin looked away, "You saw it, didn't you?"
Twilight furrowed her brow, "What are you talking about, Assassin?"
"Servants and masters can see stuff in their dreams," Assassin explained. "We're connected that way so…"
Twilight's eyes widened, "Those were your memories?" That made her feel even worse about seeing them. No wonder Assassin was always so on edge.
Assassin shook her head, "No. We don't have memories. We aren't exactly alive. We just are and… we just see the world as it is. We see the pain and hatred." She sniffed, wiping away some of her tears on her arm. "We never had a mommy to love us."
Twilight immediately took her in her arms. She didn't notice she was crying until she saw the tears hit Assassin's head. "You have me now. You aren't going to have those nightmares anymore. I'll get Princess Luna to fix that."
"She… she can make them stop?" Assassin looked up at her with hopeful, cute and shimmering eyes.
Twilight nodded, "Yes, yes she can."
"Oh you're up for an adventure," Spike grinned. "Luna's great with dream magic. You can ask Scootaloo all about it when we visit Ponyville."
"Oooh," Twilight giggled. "You definitely would fit right in with the Cutie Mark Crusaders. They could always use another member."
"We… we could have friends?" Assassin's lower lip trembled. When Twilight nodded again, Assassin buried her face in her chest.
Twilight lovingly stroked her back until she stopped whimpering, "Assassin, you don't have to cry anymore. I'm here and I will make sure you smile every day from now on."
Suddenly, the door was opened. In the doorway was none other then Saber and Shirou. "We heard something. Are you alright?" They shouted in unison.
Twilight chuckled at the display, "We're fine. I just had a nightmare."
"Ahhh," Saber frowned, looking on in sympathy. Obviously she knew why she was screaming but didn't say it out loud. "Shall Shirou stay the night to comfort you?"
"Wh-what?" Twilight and Shirou sputtered, blushing profusely.
"A true knight should always be there when a lady is in trouble," Saber narrowed her eyes. "Shirou, sleep with this girl to assuage her troubles."
Shirou's mouth opened and closed but he didn't say anything. He was red as a tomato at this point.
"Do it for your child!" Saber pointed at Assassin.
"Bu-bu-but," Twilight sputtered, just as red as Shirou.
"Come sleep with us, daddy." Assassin smiled and held out an arm to him.
Shirou's shoulders sagged, "You know what? I'll just do it. Not like I can talk my way out of this." He went over and laid right next to the bed. He yelped when Saber picked him up and put him on the bed. "What was that for?"
"It is best to sleep with your spouse in the same bed," Saber explained. "It is how me and my wife did things. As was me and my sister in our younger years."
"O-Okay," Shirou gulped. He kept his back to Twilight as the two whimpered in embarrassment. He watched as Saber laid down on the floor. "What are you doing?"
"I shall not let you sleep alone," Saber said. "It is my duty to keep you safe."
"Oh just get in the bed," Spike snorted. "You might as well at this point. It's big enough for all of you."
Saber frowned but nodded, "Very well." She stood up and got on the bedside opposite of Shirou.
"Yay~" Assassin giggled. "Aunty Saber is sleeping with us."
"Wh-wha," Saber had a light blush to her face. "I am not your Aunty."
"You kind of are," Twilight giggled, more than happy to turn the embarrassment onto someone else.
Saber huffed and the rest of the night was spent in peace and quiet. No one had any nightmares that night.
Sunset wasn't born yesterday. She could tell right off the bat that this was an inner illusion inside her head. A dream like vision. She had read and researched quite a few types of magics while researching on how to become an alicorn. This was one of them. It wasn't something any unicorn could perform but just in case, she had taught herself to tell the signs. So she decided to idly watch what happened. Hopefully it wouldn't end up with it attacking her. She really didn't have much in the way of defenses other then rudimentary mental blocks against weak mental attacks.
She blinked in surprise at the scenery. It was like the most beautiful bedroom she had ever seen. Only comparable to Celestia's own private room. Sunset knew instantly this was meant for royalty. That's when someone rushed into the room. She gasped at what she saw.
It was Caster except she didn't have her elvish ears and was crying and screaming. She didn't hear most of it other then something about 'cursing the gods' and 'Jason'. Sunset may not be knowledgeable about certain human things, but cursing gods was never a good idea. She couldn't do anything about it.
That's when the image grabbed a knife. She started to stab the beds. She started to stab the bedding and everything about, trashing the room in her rage. Yet it just made her more and more pissed. Sunset knew she was so angry and distraught, she couldn't think straight. Heck, she looked crazed right now.
It was at that moment that two young boys rushed into the room.
"Mommy," the younger one spoke up. "Are you okay?"
Caster stopped screaming. She started to shake as she turned to them. Her eyes were bloodshot and crazed as she glared at the two children, "Jason… Jason… He made me feel such pain carrying you. Forced me to have you!"
"Mom," the older one gulped. "Mom, you're scaring us."
"You aren't mine," she used her magic to close the door behind them. "The gods forced me to birth you little degenerates! I curse him. I curse them. I curse everything."
"Mommy," the youngest one earnestly moved forward to hug her leg. "Stop scaring me. I-"
Sunset nearly screamed as Caster plunged her knife into his head. Then she started to stab and cut more so. The other boy screamed, rushing over to help his brother only to be cut down as well. She didn't stop until they were small pieces, screaming in incoherent rage. Finally, when she was done, Caster held up her bloody hands and took a step back.
Her crazed eyes started to cool down. It looked like she was coming back to her senses. Then she shakily looked at the remains of what had been her children. That's when a pained cry of anguish escaped her lips. She clutched her head, shaking it about in agony.
A burly man smashed his way into the room, staring at the carnage in disbelief. "Medea… why?"
Caster stopped shaking and glared up at him, "YOU DID THIS! You did all of this! Damn you. Damn you to the pits of Tartarus for Hades," she started to smash her foot into the ground as though to call up the god. "Is the only god I trust to make your life as miserable as mine!" Then she rushed to the window and disappeared.
Sunset screamed as she woke up. She shakily looked around, dreading to see Caster at that moment. She couldn't fathom to think if that vision was real. Unfortunately at that moment, Caster was kneeling beside her. She was wearing the school uniform this time and had a small, sad smile on her face.
"You saw something, didn't you?"
Sunset shakily nodded her head, "Your kids…"
Caster's smile fell and she looked away, "I… I have no excuse. I was just so angry. So confused," she tapped her head. "I wasn't all here at that moment. The gods had messed with my head to make me fall for Jason," she said the name with venom. "They… they were a part of him."
"But they were your kids," Sunset shot back. The thought of murdering your own children was unthinkable in Equestria. It had never happened in their history.
"I KNOW!' Caster screamed, tears started to fall down her cheeks. She cupped her face in her hands, "I know. I raised them. They were such good boys. Always looking out for me when he was out partying or sleeping around. They were… such nice boys and I… I…" She started to sob.
Sunset didn't pause when she hugged her. She immediately pulled her into a hug, nestling up against her servant. "Stop it. It's over."
"But I remember holding them," Caster cried into her shirt. "I-"
"You weren't yourself, Caster." Sunset said.
"But I was," Caster moved closer. "I was and I remember it."
"The gods messed with your head, remember?" Sunset said, pulling back to wipe away Caster's tears and stare her in the face. "You're here and you can change your fate now."
"I… I just wanted my happy ending," Caster whimpered. "I just wanted to be happy with someone who loved me. That's all I ever wanted."
"And I'm going to give you that wish," Sunset narrowed her eyes. "Even if we have to destroy everyone to do it. I swear it, Caster."
Caster sniffled and gave her a tired smile, "Thank you, master."
"Hmmm," Sunset frowned.
"Okay," Caster rolled her eyes. "Thank you, Sunset."
Twilight happily hummed to herself as she went through her locker. It was a strange thing having a locker really. Back in her old school days, you just carried what you needed to each class. Given how magically adept you had to be in order to make it into the school, this was no problem. She had heard that lockers were something usually used more often by the pegasi and earth pony schools. That made sense to her so she wasn't shocked to see humans using them as well.
She just hoped that Saber was okay. She had decided to stay and watch over Assassin. Twilight knew those two were antsy around each other but someone needed to look after her daughter and she couldn't think of anyone better. Spike was certainly trustworthy but he was a dog at the moment. He couldn't make her a meal or the usual bouts of cleaning like Saber could. She just hoped Saber and Assassin could learn to get along.
"Oh hey, you're the new girl right?"
Twilight blinked in confusion before she looked over. It was a school girl like her with brown, about shoulder length hair. She smiled and gave her an awkward wave, "Yeah, I am."
"I'm Ayako Mitsuzuri," she leant out a hand, which Twilight shook. "It's nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you too," Twilight ended the handshake. An idle part of her thought this was a great chance to make another possible friend and aid. She had heard of Ayako before. A big member of the Archery class. This meant that she knew quite a number of students. That could help her narrow it down when it came to who took the crown. "So what are you here for?"
"Oh just to say hi," Ayako said. "That and to check up on you. Are you doing well in our school so far?"
"So far, so good." Twilight said. "Although I've only made two friends so far."
"Yeah, Sakura told me about that." Ayako's grin turned teasing. "Lucky girl. Getting Shirou to sleep with you."
Twilight blushed and moved her hands in front of her as she waved them about, "It's not like that at all! We only slept together once and-" She put her hands in front of her face.
Ayako's eyes widened, "I was only teasing about you living with him. The same bed huh? That's pretty serious stuff. You sure you aren't taking this too fast?"
"I just had a bad dream and he was there to comfort me," Twilight sputtered, trying to compose herself. "Nothing more then that."
Ayako nodded, "Should have known. Guy's too good to try anything too unsavory. You're lucky to be staying with him honestly."
Twilight slightly blushed as she fiddled with her hair, "Yeah, I am."
Ayako chuckled, "Say, why don't you come to archery practice."
Twilight frowned, "But I'm not an archer. I've never shot a bow in my life." Which was honestly true. She had seen it happen enough times however to get the gist so she might be able to do it. That might require magic which would be hard to conceal. At least she assumed these were normal arrows instead of the larger ice arrows that the Equestrian Games used.
"I can teach you," Ayako smiled. "Come on. It could be fun and hey, you might get Shirou to come along."
"I don't see why he would," Twilight said. "He'd just be watching me fail."
"And then he could help you," Ayako got closer and whispered into her ear. "Like getting behind you to fix your form. His hands roaming your body to correct your stance."
Twilight's blush only grew more powerful as she started to imagine him doing that to her. She squealed in fright and jumped back, "No, no, no. He wouldn't… I couldn't… we just met…"
Ayako laughed, "I'm only teasing you. He wouldn't do that, unless you let him. I could help with that stuff in the meantime."
Twilight let out a relieved breath. It wouldn't be so anxious if Ayako did it. They were both girls and girls didn't lewd each other… Besides in some of those lewd comics Spike tries to hide from her but she found anyway. She really needed to talk about those with him. "Alright, I'll come."
Ayako clapped her hands together, "Perfect."
"And here we are," Ayako happily called out as they made it to the archery range. "It's not much, but it's basically a second home for us archery lovers."
"Well I'm glad to know it's so welcoming," Twilight smiled. Ayako seemed like a wonderful lady. She could definitely see Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash befriending her. One for her overly friendly attitude and the other for her combativeness and love of sports. Yeah, the princess of friendship could definitely see this friendship blooming.
"And if you ever feel like joining in," Ayako continued to say. "Just let me know. I'll teach you the ropes. We're down a member so we'd appreciate if you'd actually give us a shot."
"Oh please do," a slimey voice spoke up. The duo turned to see a purple haired youthful boy. "I was hoping to see you again, Sparkle."
"Oh Shinji," Twilight smiled and waved at him. Yeah his smile still creeped her out but she was sure he wasn't all bad. Even if she was, she could turn him around. Hopefully it wouldn't involve shooting him with magic.
"You know each other?" Ayako glanced curiously at Twilight while she spared a glare to Shinji.
"Barely," Shinji stopped a few feet from them. He eyed Twilight up and down, his eyes lingering on her chest. "I was hoping we'd get to know each other better."
Ayako stepped in front of her Twilight and crossed her arms, "I don't think so, Shinji. I promised to look after her while she's here."
Shinji sneered, "Oh really? I hardly see how you can do it better then I? I can take care of her just fine without you."
"If you actually believe I'll leave you alone with her, you are dumber than I thought."
Shinji's sneer turned into a savage scowl, "What did you just say, Ayako? Do you know who you are talking to? I am Shinji Matou. You will treat me with respect."
"You have to earn respect," Ayako scoffed.
Twilight immediately got in between the two and nervously waved her arms in front of them, "Hey, stop it you two. We're all friends here."
"No we aren't," both Shinji and Ayako glared at each other.
"Okay," Twilight nervously chuckled, "Archery enthusiasts then. So let's not fight and get to shooting arrows."
Ayako clapped her hands, "Sounds like a plan. Now let's get started!" She grabbed Twilight's hand and stormed off.
Twilight waved back at Shinji, "See you soon."
Shinji waved back, "See you too."
"And you'll see my fist if you keep up with that attitude," Ayako called back.
Twilight and Ayako were silent for a while as they changed and got ready to fire some arrows. As they walked out to the firing range, Twilight looked over at her new friend. "Say, why don't you like Shinji?"
"Apart from him being an asshole?" Ayako asked, which caused Twilight to cringe. She was still getting used to human swears. "He's mean to everyone and he hits on all the girls. I still remember when he tried to get into my pants." She shivered, "It doesn't help that he's especially bad with Sakura."
"But she's his sister," Twilight said. She spoke from experience. Just the thought of Shining Armor being mean to her was unheard of. The changeling incident didn't count since he was mind controlled. "No one would ever hurt their sister."
"You'd be surprised what some people are capable of," Ayako said before they started to hear some yelling. "Speak of the devil."
As they neared the location, there were several people there. Obviously they were other members of the archery club. In the center were three people. Shinji, Sakura, who had on black gloves, and a strange little girl with pink locks. She was for some reason wearing the school's boy's uniform.
"-And you thought it would be a good idea to bring him here?" Shinji shouted.
"He is really nice," Sakura fidgeted.
"You were supposed to stay at the house," Shinji scowled down at the pink haired girl. "Not accompany Sakura to school."
"Oh quit your whining," the pink haired girl pouted and put her hands on her hips. "I at least got on the right uniform even though the girl uniform would have been cuter."
"That's not the point," Shinji groaned. "And now I'm making a scene. Wonderful."
"Hey Sakura," Twilight waved over at them. "Who's your new friend?"
"Oooh," the girl walked up to her. "You're cuter than imagined."
Twilight smiled and chuckled, "Thank you. So are you. Though I have to wonder why you're wearing the boy's uniform."
"And I'm Sakura's new friend," the 'boy?' grabbed both of their hands and shook them. "I'm from France. The name's Astolfo by the way."
Shinji seethed and stomped his foot, "Stop that."
"Stop what?" Astolfo turned and smiled back at him. "Stop doing what?"
"You aren't… that's not…. Stop that!" Shinji pointed his finger at him in pure rage.
"Shinji," Sakura gulped. "Stop being mean to Astolfo."
"Yeah," Astolfo put chuckled and waved him off. "It's really unappealing. No wonder none of the girls really like you."
Ayako laughed as Shinji sputtered for a response, "I like him. Can I keep him?"
"Depends on your kink?" Astolfo cheerily smiled before laughing. "Oh no, I'm open for everything. Joking though. Maybe~"
"Oh he's definitely a keeper," Ayako said. "Foreign too? Oh that's nice. You're lucky Sakura. Now you've got two cute boys around you."
Sakura blushed, "Ummm, it's not like that at all."
"Enough of this!" Shinji stomped in pure frustration. "Let's get back to shooting things."
"Way ahead of you," Ayako smiled before turning to Twilight. "Now watch me, okay?"
Twilight nodded, "Alright." She eagerly popped out a notebook and pen. She would record this in great detail before trying. Ooooh, if only she had a book on archery. Then she could study it to her heart's content. Ah, the library! It surely had some archery books.
"A cute bookworm? Nice." Astolfo held up a thumb in cheer. "Maybe I can help you study. I'm great at that sort of stuff."
"That's really thoughtful of you," Twilight grinned. This outing was turning out to be better then she thought. Who knew she could meet and make so many new friends. Yes, it'd be easier to find the crown now with everyone on her side.
Shinji scowled as he looked at the servant they had summoned. Everything they had worked for. Everything he had wished for was now going to be thrown in the gutter. He threw the book down on the ground, "You useless whore!" He turned to a shivering Sakura. "You couldn't summon the right servant. This is not Medusa."
"Nope," Rider cheerily saluted them. He was a pink haired little man who looked so much like a girl that it was obviously a crime. He easily beat out a lot of women in the beauty department. He was wearing a medieval knightly dress of some sort. "Astolfo, one of the Twelve Paladins of Charlemagne, reporting for Rider service. Are you my master?"
Shinji got in front of him, "Yes I am your master. You will obey me and-"
"Oh I wasn't talking to you," Rider effortlessly pushed him to the ground before walking to Sakura. "Are you my master?"
Sakura gulped in fear and nodded, "Yes, but he's supposed to be your master. I just summoned you."
"Then that's all I need," Astolfo smiled and gripped her hands gently into his own. "You've got a friend in me, master. I promise I won't let you down."
"Hey!" Shinji shouted as he raised a book. "You are going to transfer that pathetic servant to me, remember? Now get over here before I smack your head with this thing."
Just as Sakura whimpered as she feared the pain, the book was pierced by a lance. Shinji yelped in girlish fright as he stared at the remains. Astolfo swiped his lance to the side, sending it flying.
"I don't think so," Astolfo narrowed his eyes. "I've got a master so be nice to her or I'll do something bad to you next time."
"I don't need a girl patronizing me," Shinji shook his fist.
"Oh I'm a boy."
Shinji stared at him.
Shinji was broken
"Why does everyone do that when I tell them the truth?" Rider quirked an eyebrow. Then he turned to Sakura. "So ready to get know each other?"
"...You're really a boy?" Sakura asked.
"Yes I am," Rider gestured with his thumb to his chest.
Shirou was used to staying up late at school. Something was always breaking somewhere. That was partially due to how old the school was and partially because reinforcement wasn't a permanent solution to problems. So he sometimes had to go back and fix things again. Thankfully over the years he had gotten better at mechanics so he didn't have to rely on it as much but still.
The job was simple. He'd only need another half hour to fix it completely. Then he could go home. Twilight and the others were most likely asleep by now. Although, he wasn't sure if servants really needed it. Saber had told him once she could go without sleep for some time. He hoped she wasn't doing that tonight. She needed rest, even if she was a servant. He'd have to talk to her about that later.
Shirou smiled as he finished his project. The projector wasn't going to give them any problems for a while. He really hoped they did something about the school budget. It was honestly getting annoying having to constantly fix broken machines.
He stood up and rubbed his hands together, "That should do it for now. Now I just have to go home and make Saber a late night snack."
Shirou Emiya had quickly learned that Saber was a glutton. He was thankful that Assassin and Twilight Sparkle didn't share her level of appetite. Otherwise, he'd be broke. He was thankful for his caretaker helping out with the expenses.
That's when he heard a loud clash of some sorts outside. He quirked an eyebrow and made to move outside.
"Don't go out there!" An effeminate voice called out to him.
Shirou stopped in his tracks, "Who's that?"
"Uhhh, this is your conscious. It's very scary outside. Don't go. Oooooh!"
"Okay," Shirou crossed his arms. "This isn't funny. Come out now."
"I'm in your head, silly." The voice chuckled but then let out a gasp when he started moving forward. "Oh come on, you can't leave now."
Shirou decided to leave now. He gripped the doorknob and opened it.
Only to meet the form of a young girl with pink hair wearing a knight like dress. Her arms were out as if to stop him. "I can't let you go out there. My master made it very clear that I needed to keep you safe."
"So you're a servant then?" Shirou was on edge. Saber and Assassin had made it very clear that servants could kill opposing masters. That was something he wouldn't stand for but he planned for just in case. He couldn't die needlessly after all. So he had his hands in leather gloves to hide his command seals.
"Ehhhh… I wasn't supposed to show you that," the servant chuckled nervously and rubbed the back of their head. "Anyways, you shouldn't go out there. You'll get hurt."
"Why? What's going on?"
The servant looked around, obviously trying to think of something to say to get him to shut up and do what she said. "Just listen to me okay? Trust me on this. You don't want to go out there."
Shirou stared at the servant for a moment. Now that it got louder, a part of him thought it sounded like someone was fighting. If that was the case, someone could get hurt. He should go out there right now and stop it. Even if they were servants, a master or a bystander could get caught in the crossfire or even targeted. Yet he couldn't just diss a servant. Even a weak one would still kick his ass, what with him not being a trained magus and all that.
"Fine, lead the way." Besides, it wouldn't hurt to follow the advice of a cute girl.
She smiled and it was a dazzling smile, "Gotcha. Don't worry, nothing bad will happen as long as you are with me."
Rin Tohsaka watched the fight between Lancer and her Archer intently. It was obvious that both of them were firm warriors. That was to be expected in a Holy Grail War. She'd be disappointed if her servant was anything less than perfect, even if he wasn't a Saber. He still fought well against his opponent in close quarters combat.
However, Rin hoped it wouldn't last long. This was Lancer she was talking about. This servant was made for up close combat. He was proving that quite simply enough already. If her servant didn't clinch this victory soon, Lancer might get a lucky blow or worse use a Noble Phantasm. She just hoped Archer was smart enough to get it. Given he got close a couple of times, she thought he just might.
'I don't care how dirty you get,' Rin talked to her servant telepathically through the link they shared, 'Finish him.'
'Gladly,' Archer said. She could detect some satisfaction in the idea of killing him. As though it was personal somehow. She didn't fret on it. As long as she won, she didn't care about the small details like that.
Archer blocked another stab from Lancer and knocked it to the side, making a swing with one of his short swords. Lancer twisted to the side and smacked his spear into Archer's side. Archer let out a small 'ooph' as he was pushed aside, quickly jumping back to avoid another strike.
"Getting closer, Archer." Lancer smirked. "I can honestly say I didn't think I'd have as much fun as I am now with your class."
"Can't say the same for myself," Archer smirked, readying himself for what was to come.
"Awww, really?" Lancer faked a pout before chuckling, "Shame though. My master told me to use my noble phantasm if a fight carries on for too long. Guess you're going to die now." He leaned down and his spear started to glow red.
Rin's eyes widened, "He's using his Noble Phantasm now?" Her heart started to beat faster. No. She couldn't lose. Not when she had just got into the war. She and Archer needed to think of something and think of it quickly or else-
"OW OW OW OW!" A feminine voice called out in pain. "Stupid stairs!"
"Ohohoho," Lancer grinned. "Seemed I wasn't imagining things." He called off his Noble Phantasm and stood up straight, "Seems we've got a servant in the wings. Mind if I pop in and say hello, Archer? We'll continue this another time."
Archer frowned. Rin could sense he was confused, "By all means. I'll kill you then."
"As if," Lancer then ran over to the school building.
"There was another servant nearby and you didn't tell me?!" Rin shouted as she marched over towards Archer.
Archer shrugged, "I didn't know what to make of them. I wasn't expecting a servant to be in the school to be honest."
"Well obviously there is one," Rin snorted and sighed. "Let's go and see if we can tail them. We might get to kill the winner if we're lucky."
"I'd advise against doing that,' Archer narrowed his eyes as he stared at the building. "We should let things play out. Maybe it could turn out to our advantage. Besides, what if this is a trap? It's not unheard of for masters to work together during a Holy Grail War. Two servants working together would be disastrous. I am a skilled servant, but even I would struggle against two of the best heroes to ever grace this earth."
"That may be so," Rin crossed her arms. "But this happening on my territory. I will not let an opportunity like this pass me by. Who knows, we might get to know a thing or two about these servants. I don't want to live in ignorance and question whether one is dead or not."
Archer sighed, "Very well, but let's give the two servants a moment or two to fight before walking onto the scene. I think a small break will do us some good."
"I will let you strike when I think it's best," Rin said firmly and started to walk, "But I think we will give them a bit of space for a moment. Whoever is the master of this mysterious servant is a dead man walking."
"Or dead woman."
Rin glared at him as she held up a finger, "Don't get technical with me! It's a saying." Her glare deepened at the amused smirk on his face, "Don't make me use a command seal on you to shut up."
"Given you wasted one already on something stupid, I could imagine you doing that." Archer waved her off before going incorporeal.
Rin seethed, gritting her teeth. "Why did I have to get stuck with the most irksome servant in the war? I should have gotten Saber."
"Stupid stairs," The now informed Rider muttered as she rubbed her back. "Why do they have to make them like that anyways?"
"Were stairs different in your time?" Shirou asked, helping her stand.
"Kind of, sort of." Rider shrugged, "Just don't tell anyone I fell down a flight of stairs. I don't think I could live with that shame if a servant like myself suffered from that."
"Oh please," Lancer came right into the doorway. He leaned on it, smirking. "Like I'll let you live long enough to know that shame."
"AHHHH!" Rider jumped into Shirou's arms, burying her face into his neck.
Lancer frowned as he looked between the glaring teen and scared girl, "Ummm, so who's the servant?"
Rider jumped out of his arms and gave a triumphant grin, as though she hadn't just fallen down the stairs and jumped into a young boy's arms in terror, "I am Rider, Astolfo of the Twelve Heroes of Charlamagne!" The servant of the horse summoned a lance and pointed it at Lancer, "Prepare to meet your doom."
Lancer scratched his cheek, "You know you're not supposed to shout out your True Name, right?"
"Oh who cares about that," Rider waved him off. "It's not like it's going to change anything. Now come on. Give me your name."
Lancer narrowed his eyes, "This isn't a game, you know."
"I'm just trying to be friendly," Rider huffed. "Geez, learn to live a little."
"Well I'm no coward," Lancer snorted. "Name's Cú Chulainn. Got it memorized?" He tapped the side of his head. Then he got his spear ready and moved in closer to start up the fight. That's when Shirou moved in front of Rider with his fists raised, "Are you stupid? Getting in the way of a servant battle is suicide, kid."
"I"m not going to stand back and let you kill an innocent girl who's done nothing but help me," Shirou glared at the servant before him. As a Hero of Justice, he needed to keep his cool even though he knew he might die.
"Actually I'm a boy," Rider said.
Shirou and Lancer looked at him with cocked heads, "Eh?"
"Yep, one hundred percent male here." Rider gave a smile and a wave. "Also, I'm straight so you don't have to worry about me doing anything to you cuties."
Lancer and Shirou did not respond.
They were broken.
"So… do you want to keep fighting or what?" Rider quirked an eyebrow.
"Enough of this shit," Lancer narrowed his eyes and got into a battle stance. "You die now." With that, he launched himself forward.
Rider pushed Shirou to the side and blocked the blow, "Go! Run now!"
"I can't leave you," Shirou shouted as Rider parried another strike and jumped back.
"I can't hold him off forever," Rider pointed to the exit. "Escape and fight another day."
"You talk as if I'll let you two go!" Lancer kept up his assault. It was obvious that Rider was doing everything in his power just to keep up.
Shirou gritted his teeth. He couldn't leave Rider by himself. He needed to think of something quick or Rider would die. He closed his eyes. He remembered Saber talking about a link between master and servant. How they could talk to each other. He hoped it would work from this distance.
'Saber, I'm at the school. Send help. There's a servant here.'
There was a brief pause, 'Master, stay safe! I'm on my way!'
Shirou opened his eyes and watched as Lancer kicked Rider into the wall.
"You talk a big game," Lancer smirked as he advanced on his downed opponent. "But you really aren't cut out for this war, Rider. I'm actually disappointed. You pissed me off with how weak you are!"
"Not everyone is a roided out Irishman," Rider spat back as he stood up, weapon at the ready. "I didn't become a hero for nothing. I bled just as much as you to get on the throne and into this war so don't take me lightly."
Lancer's grin only grew, "Now that's the spirit. Let me give you a warrior's death!" Just as he sprung, a bright light shone. "What the fuck?"
Rider moved on his own accord, touching the tip of his lance against Lancer's right leg. Immediately, it dissappeared.
"What the fuck?" Lancer grunted as he tumbled on his own remaining leg. His right wasn't 'gone' but it wasn't physical at the moment. That's when he looked up to see two servants over him, one carrying an invisible weapon and the other small knives. Both of them were cute girls.
"What the actuall fuck?!" Lancer snarled. "Where… how…. This was my fight, you hear me?"
"And I normally would honor that," the young blond, obviously a Saber if he was forced to guess, narrowed her eyes. "But you have put my master in danger, Lancer."
"I could be Rider," Lancer said.
"I'm Rider, actually." Rider gestured at themselves.
"Shut up, Rider!" Lancer shouted before he felt a blade on his neck.
"Do you have any last words, Lancer?" Saber scowled at him.
Lancer was silent for a few seconds before snorting, "Next time." With that, he vanished.
Saber snorted, "His master summoned back to his side with a command seal."
"Why didn't you stab him, Auntie?" Assassin asked.
Saber blushed slightly at being called that and huffed, "I must show you a thing or two about honor, Assassin. It would not have been the right thing to kill him just as lost his leg to another opponent."
"You're really wise, Auntie." Assassin smiled up at her, causing Saber to puff out her chest with pride.
"Shirou," Twilight moved over and inspected him. She pulled him into a hug, unintentionally burying his face in her cleavage. "Are you alright? I teleported here as quickly as I could when Saber told me about the trouble you were in. I'm sorry if I didn't get here in time."
Shirou pulled back so he could breath, though he secretly did like being pushed up against her melons. "I'm fine. Rider saved me."
Twilight blinked in confusion before turning to Rider. She gasped, "You're a servant?"
"Guilty," Rider waved at her.
"I thank you for your aid, Rider." Saber strode forward and lent out a hand. "May we women in arms continue this war with honor."
Rider took her hand and shook it, "I'm actually a boy."
Saber actually did respond.
"So… you're a crossdresser like myself?"
Rider gasped and pulled her close, "You are one of my people?"
Saber blinked for a moment before nodding, "It can be fun, but tiring sometimes."
"Finally someone understands the joys of crossdressing!"
"I can't believe it," Rin looked around the corner.
"I know," Archer remarked. "Who would have thought crossdressing servants were actually a thing. I hope they don't start a club."
"That isn't the point!" Rin said and moved away quickly. "Three servants are working together, Archer. Three. We're lucky they're busy talking so they don't come after us."
"Hasty retreat, I take it."
"Yes," Rin snarled as she burned the image of Shirou into her mind. "Then we talk to Shirou after this. He's got a lot to answer for. Hiding his entry into this war. The never."
"Yes, who could ever lie about being a master." Archer snarked. "Such a thing is unthinkable."
"Don't make me command seal your mouth!"
"I'd rather you seal it with your lips," Archer leaned down as she blushed, "That'd be much more fruitful for the both of us."
"Whhaaa," Rin blushed and sputtered, "I hate you so much."
"That's what they all say," Archer picked her up and ran, not noticing the small Assassin spying on the fleeing pair.
Shirou honestly couldn’t believe the day he just had. Well night actually. Yes he had been getting used to being involved in a Holy Grail War but actually being involved in a fight? That was beyond him. He of course knew that his dream of being a hero of justice would put him in the path of violence and that someone would eventually kill him. That much was obvious. He wasn’t stupid. Yet almost dying isn’t something you can truly prepare yourself the first time it happens.
He was determined to change that about himself. His friends had to step up and save him. For all they knew, they were going into a trap. He wouldn’t let that happen again. He needed to get stronger to protect them now that the war really was off to a start.
Twilight had decided to teleport them home and apart from a slight bit of uneasiness, it was alright. A pretty quick and effective means of getting around. Maybe he could learn that spell. It would make helping others that much easier. He’d have to talk to Twilight about this later. Of course the slight uneasiness meant his feet were a bit unstable and he tripped.
“Whoa!” Twilight said in confusion as they landed on the ground. She looked down and found Shirou’s head between her breasts. While she didn’t place any real importance on them, this was still a boy on top of her. So she blushed profusely, “Sh-Shirou?”
Shirou quickly stood up with a blush of his own, “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. It won’t happen-”
“Senpai!” Was the voice that rang out when they entered the room.
“Whoa!” Shirou said as he was knocked to the ground. He looked down to see Sakura hugging him tight, “Sakura? What are you doing here?”
“Rider told me that you were in trouble through our link,” Sakura whimpered, “So I rushed on over here to make sure you were safe and then I got worried when you weren’t here. I’m just… so glad you’re alright.”
“I take it you are Rider’s master?” Saber spoke up.
“Yep,” Rider grinned as he gestured towards his master, “This here is the best master I could ask for.”
“Well I have to say, thank you.” Twilight smiled, “If it wasn’t for Rider, Shirou could have gotten seriously hurt.”
Sakura gasped and looked him over, “You weren’t hurt, were you?”
Shirou shook his head and helped the pair of them stand up, “I’m fine, Sakura. You don’t have to worry about me. I’m more worried about you being in this war.”
Sakura looked away, “Well… you see… how do I put this…”
“She’s a mage,” Rider shrugged, “Stuff like this happens.”
“Rider!” Sakura looked at him in shock and Rider put his hands over his mouth.
“So you’re a mage like me then,” Shirou stated.
Sakura looked back at him, “You’re a mage too?”
“Have been all my life.”
“I’m something of a mage myself,” Twilight waved, “Although, not one from this world however.”
Kirei tapped his fingers together. He had almost lost Lancer. He had to use a command seal to save him. The only thing stopping him from seething at that was the fact that he had several more. Even with that said, it was likely they knew his servant’s true name. They had seen Lancer start his NP. They had fought and talked with him. That was enough to have a guess.
Of course, it wouldn’t change anything. Lancer’s Noble Phantasm wasn’t something you could defend against willy nilly nor did he have any great weakness from his myths. No, he should be fine even if they figure out his true name. What did irritate him was the fact that it seemed several masters were working together. That put a damper on things. That meant he had to work around it lest he throw Lancer against two or more servants at a time.
They’d have to be more cautious. Wait until they separate and pick them off. Perhaps Kirei needed to send Lancer off against the lone masters that hadn’t gotten with anyone. Weed them out before they joined into a large collective. It’d be too late to stop them at that point.
He needed something to off balance this alliance.
“Seems someone is troubled,” Gilgamesh walked in with a wine of glass in hand. He took a sip of it as he smirked over at Kirei, “One would think you’d be happy. The war is off to a good start.”
“Aside from growing enemy alliances,” Kirei stated.
“Do you really think anyone can stand up to a king?” Gilgamesh chuckled, “Besides, between me and Lancer alone, we could kill everyone in this war. However, if you want me to ease your mind, I think I’ve found something to help us.”
“Those girls you’ve been talking to?” Kirei noted the fact that Gilgamesh had been seen with the new sensations, The Sirens.
Gilgamesh’s grin only grew, “They are like me. Beings from the ages of gods! I never thought I’d get to meet such beauties in this era. What’s more, they say they were from another world. Trapped here by some magician.”
“So you want to help them? How noble of you.”
“In exchange, they are willing to help me get to this land.” Gilgamesh sneered into his wine glass, “I hate this world. It’s forgotten what it means to be ‘human’ and what struggle really is. No self worth to it. After I burn this one, I want to go live in this ‘Equestria’. Perhaps it will be a kingdom I can rule in peace.”
Kirei nodded, “Just so long as they can truly help us.”
“Oh don’t underestimate sirens,” Gilgamesh’s chuckle was dark, “They are known for leading others astray~”
“Useless!” Zouken shouted as he stared down at his ‘grandson’. The whimpering sod was bowing straight to the ground, quivering in fear. Zouken had no idea how his genes could have ever come to eventually create such a creature. A spineless git in every sense of the words. It was so agitating. So frustrating. He wanted to kill him on the spot! “You are telling me you were unable to form the contract with your servant.”
“Y-Yes.” Shinji squeaked out.
“And Sakura has been able to withstand your rightful dominance?” Zouken had been manipulating the boy for years. He needed Sakura broken in every sense of the word. He was still thinking about killing this Shirou kid to really drive it home. He was too much of a positive influence on her.
“She’s being a bitch!” Shinji slammed his hand into the ground, “She doesn’t listen to me and she took my servant. I hate her.”
“Stop crying like a child,” Zouken sneered. He truly felt Shinji deserved nothing more then to be worm food. “You still can make this right.”
“I… I can?” Shinji gulped, thanking every god in existence for this chance.
“I need you to keep an eye on your sister,” Zouken said. “Keep tabs on her and report to me.”
“B-But-”
“Go!” Zouken’s voice scared him into running for it. He sighed. This was a disaster. Rider was a powerful servant in the right hands. Sure she was wasted on Shinji and he didn’t expect him to ‘win’, but he needed to at least get a bit closer before everything went downhill. On top of that, he could potentially lose control of Sakura.
He would not let that stand. So he went off to go to his personal room. He had an item there that could help him out with this. Assassin had already been summoned. That he was sure of. He had tried summoning Assassin earlier without success. That was troubling. The Assassin he had in mind would surely have won him the war. Now he had to be creative. He had to bend the rules.
Just as the Einzberns had done once before.
So he brought out the item and went to work. The blood was from some unimportant people he had dragged off the street. No one would miss them and even if they did, they’d never be able to track them all the way here. They were dead already and their bodies given to the worms. They shouldn’t complain anyways. They wouldn’t have lived significant lives anyway you look at it. They were regular, non-magic folk. Just pawns to use.
He placed the item in the circle and started the chant. It was old and slightly altered but it would do. He could feel power coursing through the summoning device. Yes, this was it. This was his chance to get his wish.
That’s when the summoning was complete and a servant of his own stood before him. Before him was a young woman with pale skin. Her golden eyes blazed with hatred beyond anything he had seen before. SHe was covered in black armor except for her black skirt which showed off her thighs. A black cape with a blood red sign of the french people was on her back. Her blond-silver hair was held in place by her black helmet. Stockings kept most of her legs covered.
“I am servant Avenger,” she glared at Zouken, “Are you my master? Speak now before I burn you alive.”
Zouken smiled and gave a swift nod, “Yes, I am your master.”
“Then I shall serve,” the servant sneered. “For the time being. Do best to remember I won’t take insults lightly. Command seals can only take you so far.”
The sheer hatred was suffocating. Thankfully Zouken really didn’t need to breathe anymore. He inwardly cackled. There was no way anyone could best a servant of his magnitude by themselves. You’d need several to take her on and even then, that would be pushing it. Yes, the war was his now.
Another pale girl sat in her bed a long distance off. Her red eyes were skimming over a book as she lightly hummed. A part of her was disappointed she didn’t get to see her older brother today but that was no biggie. She’d see him soon enough and then squeeze out the answers she sought. Oh yes, she’d make him suffer. Suffer for taking her father away.
She looked up from her book to stare at Berserker. Initially, she hated the hulking servant. His large mass and frightful features didn’t help get her invested in him. It wasn’t until he had saved her from those wolves did she grow to appreciate having a servant like him. She giggled, “Just you wait, Berserker. We’re going to win this war and meet big brother. That sounds nice.”
She only got a grunt from him as he dematerialized.
Illyasviel cackled evily. Yes, she had summoned the most powerful being in this war. There was not a soul that could stop her and her quest now. She was unstoppable.
“Illya,” Sella knocked on the door, “It’s time to go to bed.”
“I don’t wanna,” Illya huffed, “I’m reading and plotting my victory!”
“You can’t plot anything with a tired mind,” one of her beloved maids spoke. They were the closest things she had to friends and very helpful. In fact, she didn’t know what she’d do without them.
Illya huffed, “You can’t make me.”
“Don’t make me come in there,” Sella shot back.
Illya gulped. Sella was not one to be trifled with. So she got under the covers, “Alright, but you’ve got to make it up to me in the morning. I expect a fantastic breakfast.”
“And you will get it,” Sella spoke. “Good night, Master Illya.”
“Good night, Sella.” Illya closed her eyes and dreamed of her family.
Sunset huffed as she kicked her legs around, “You know, isn’t there some way we can kick Twilight out of this war without killing her or that kid?”
The two had stayed at home this afternoon, going over strategy after strategy.
“I do have some manner of ideas,” Caster stated, “However, I want to keep it to myself for the time being. I can’t have the enemy know what I have planned.”
“Do you really think I’m the type to blad about that stuff?”
Caster shook her head, “No, but I do think you aren’t thinking clearly when it comes to that boy Shirou. He is looking after Twilight and that Assassin of hers. Stands to reason he might be an enemy in this war.”
Sunset crossed her arms, “Things were never this difficult in Equestria. Always cut and dry. Quick answers to everything. I really wish I was back there sometimes.”
“In life, you can’t always get what you want.” Caster said, “As for Twilight, we can deal with her when she gets somewhere alone. Assassin will not sneak up on me twice. That much I assure you.”
“And in the meantime,” Sunset lifted a finger and smiled, “I can talk to Shirou about him coming over to look at my stuff.”
Caster sighed, “You are hopeless.”
“Oh I don’t like him that way,” Sunset blushed and huffed, “He’s just so easy to manipulate.”
“If you say so,” Caster teasingly said as she watched her master and friend fume.
Twilight yawned as she groggily woke up. She smiled down at Assassin as she held her in her arms. The little girl was snuggling up to her and didn’t seem to want to let go. Twilight couldn’t blame her. She was the same according to her mother. A little cuddle bug. Of course, Shining Armor always teased her about it. Then played a few pranks.
Which is why she was rather scared of ladybugs come to think of it.
Ladybugs aside, her daughter was something she couldn’t help but cherish more so each day she spent here. She leaned down and kissed her head, “Assassin. Assassin, mommy has to get up. It’s morning.”
Assassin mumbled softly and rubbed her face into Twilight’s chest, “I don’t wanna get up.”
Twilight giggled and brushed her hair softly with her hand, “Well I have to go to school and I like to get up a bit early to get a few things done before then. You can sleep with Spike until I get back.”
Assassin hugged her tighter, “But I don’t want mommy to go.”
Twilight hugged her closer, “Yes, but you’re just going to bare with me. Someday you’ll have to go to school too and I can’t be there for you all day.”
“Then I don’t wanna go to school.”
Twilight pulled back and looked down at her, “Assassin. Just because we spend some time apart, it doesn’t mean I don’t care about you. Distance can’t stop friendship and it certainly can’t stop a family from loving each other. Do you understand me?”
Assassin was silent for a moment before nodding, “I think so.”
“Good,” Twilight kissed her head, “Now I’m just going to go now but we can play a bit when I get back home, alright.”
“Alright,” Assassin smiled which warmed Twilight’s heart.
It didn’t take long for Twilight to get downstairs after that. Thankfully, her magic let her get her clothes on in no time. While she did like to do things by hoof, she was still getting used to her new body in some ways. It was just easier to just snap her fingers and get it done then. As she went into the kitchen, she spied Sakura making some food.
“Oh hey Sakura,” Twilight smiled, “I didn’t expect to see you up this early.”
Sakura looked over at her a bit surprised before smiling, “Ah Twilight. Yeah, I like to come over and fix things up for Shirou. Sometimes he stays up too late and sleeps in so I have to make sure he makes it to school as well as prepare breakfast.”
Twilight nodded, “That sounds like him. Do you need any help?”
“If you could help me put the food into our lunch boxes, that would be great.”
“Sounds simple enough,” so Twilight went to work besides Sakura and they went at it for about a minute in silence.
“What’s your world like?” Sakura spoke up, breaking the silence.
“Oh it’s pretty peaceful, monster attacks aside.” Twilight smiled, “Ponies control the weather. Magic is everywhere and we have a good sense of community. When I came here, I was just surprised by so much. It’s so different yet it’s similar in some respects. We don’t have these ‘cars’ or other pieces of technology you do.”
Sakura nodded, “I can see that. You probably don’t need so much technology with magic everywhere. I’m glad you’re enjoying your stay in our world.”
“So am I,” Twilight said, “Maybe when this is all over, I can take you to visit my hometown. I’m sure you’d like it there.”
Sakura paused for a moment and frowned, “I can’t leave.”
Twilight looked at her in confusion, “Why can’t you?”
“My grandfather wouldn’t let me,” Sakura said softly, “He’s not a… He just knows better then I do. About everything.”
“Well if he cares about you,” Twilight pointed out, “Then he’d let you go visit a friend. The portal should be open long enough for a quick visit. It’s not like it’s permanent.”
“Don’t let him know,” Sakura said firmly.
Twilight paused, seeing how tense her new friend was. “Sakura…”
“Please don’t let him know,” Sakura looked her in the eyes, “He can’t know. Please don’t tell him.”
Twilight sighed and nodded, “I’ll make sure your grandfather doesn’t know about my world and myself. I promise you that.”
Sakura nodded, “Good. My grandfather…” She shivered, “Let’s move on please.”
“Yeah,” Twilight said, “So you and Shirou are childhood friends?” She asked hoping to move on to a happier conversation.
“He helped me smile,” Sakura said, “He always looks out for me so I try to do the same for him. We practice together and laugh together. I can be myself around him and I think he feels the same way.”
“Now that’s a good friendship as I’ve ever heard one,” Twilight nodded, “Shirou does seem like a really nice guy, so it’s nice to know he was always like that.”
“Do you like him?”
Twilight was caught off guard by the question. She blushed and played with a strand of her hair, “Of course I do. As a friend!” She waved her hands in front of herself, “Just a friend. That’s it.”
Sakura stared at her for a moment. She was looking right at her, as though peering into her very soul. It made her so nervous, “Alright. It’s good to see him make another friend.” Then she went back to what she was doing.
Twilight let out a sigh. She didn’t know why she was sighing. It was just a simple question. Yet… No. She was looking too much into it. Besides, Shirou was a friend. Just because he was really cute, helpful, willing to help others so selfishly….
“Read ‘em and weep, girls.” Adagio smirked as she put her cards down on the table. Her two sisters groaned as they watched their eldest sister take all of the coins to herself. She cackled, “It just gets easier and easier with you two.”
“I hate this game,” Aria folded her arms together.
“Maybe you should get better then,” Adagio teased.
The trio had found the human world interesting in that there was always something to waste time on. Whether it was self enjoyment with food, watching people fight after a performance, or a game of sorts. They’d take this place over Equestria any day of the year. The only problem was the lack of magic. That meant they weren’t nearly as strong as they should have been. Oh there was magic around and it could at least give them enough to transform.
Yet it wouldn’t be for long. They’d rarely used it in the thousand years they’d been on the planet. It’s why this world had a plethora of tales of sirens even from only a few encounters. After those encounters, they’d have to stockpile magic again. It helped since mages and ‘heroes’ tended to try and kill them. Like that boy with pink hair and a dress. Oh how he got annoying with his acts of heroism. They were just lucky he didn’t tell anyone and those myths fell on the wayside. The sisters did not want to be remembered for losing to a pink crossdresser.
If they ever saw him again, they’d… they’d… oh they didn’t know what they’d do. Thankfully he was long dead. He’d have to be. He was one of the first beings they met in this world. The only thing they missed about those times was the coming ‘Dark Ages’ of Europe. Oh how much angst and anger they created. So wonderful~
“So do you trust that goldie locks?” Aria asked.
“I think he’s cute,” Sonata smiled, “For a human I mean.”
“I don’t care if he’s cute,” Adagio scoffed, “He’ll give us what we want. Power. All we have to do is push around a few spirits and teenagers. That sounds easy enough.”
“If it was easy, he’d do it himself.” Aria scoffed, “He’s playing us. Who’s to say that these ‘spirits’ won’t kill us?”
“We’ve faced heroes before and survived.”
“We were banished to another world by heroes,” Aria raised a finger then another, “And heroes have almost skinned us alive on a few occasions. Remember that time Sonata got shot by Calamity Jane?”
Sonata rolled her shoulder, “She was a big meanie. Why was she so mad anyways? I didn’t kill anyone close to her.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Adagio snorted, “We have access to more magic now then we did then. We’ll take them on and win.”
“If you say so,” Aria said, still not looking convinced.
“Are you doubting your king?” Gilgamesh’s pompous voice came into the picture as he walked into the room.
“Oh it’s golden cutie,” Sonata waved at him with a big smile plastered on her face, “Heyo!”
“What are you doing here?” Adagio quirked an eyebrow, “I thought you wouldn’t need our help for a few days.”
“Things have escalated,” Gilgamesh said with an idle wave of his hand, “It seems my master is a tad worried about a little alliance. I can see his point. They almost killed Lancer. Their magic and teamwork could be something troublesome. So I thought you could possibly test them.”
Adagio smirked, “And see how ‘strong’ their little alliance is?”
Gilgamesh nodded, “Exactly. I knew you’d catch on quick.”
Sonata squealed in happiness and clapped her hands, “Oh we get to fight heroes again. It’s been so long since I’ve tasted a hero. Are they still ripe with energy and juicy on the inside?”
“I’d say so,” Gilgamesh said, “I take it you lot can handle them?”
Adagio cackled, “Oh please. Don’t you dare doubt us for a second. We’re experts on breaking up friendships.”
“Except for Starswirl and his buddies,” Aria mumbled, which earned a sharp look from Adagio.
“We don’t talk about them,” Adagio hissed. It sounded inhuman with the slight hiss.
Gilgamesh found it rather charming, so he chuckled. “Well I don’t care who this ‘Starswirl’ is. He’s long gone and in another world if I’m not mistaken. If you play your cards right, you might even get to repay his homeland a tad for his injustice. Just don’t mess it up too much. I’d rather not have my new kingdom in ruins. I already have to rebuild this world once I burn it down, I don’t need to worry too much about the other.”
Aria huffed, “Why do you need to burn it down though? I think it’s alright. There’s enough strife here to last forever.”
Gilgamesh frowned, “I will not tolerate weakness. Besides, the fires will create anew a world of meaning again. You don’t have to concern yourselves with the manner in which I do so. Just take care of this Twilight and Shirou and whoever else they are working with.”
“With pleasure,” Adagio got up.
“Just wait until nightfall.”
Adagio pouted, “You and your rules, but alright. Then we will strike at midnight.”
Rin chewed on her pencil as she looked down at a blank sheet of paper. This morning, she had decided to write down her future plans yet everything was blank. She knew there would be team ups in this war. It happened in previous ones but this? Using such skillful magic in such tandem? Teleporting a servant without a command seal? She needed to think and think hard, especially since she went to school with some of the masters.
“You seem upset,” Archer materialized next to her.
“Aren’t you concerned, Archer?” Rin threw her pencil and paper on the table before her, “She could teleport and they were able to almost kill a servant that almost skewered you.”
“Debatable,” Archer crossed his arms, “I wouldn’t worry about them. The pink haired servant seemed rather weak and they only won that fight because of the element of surprise. If you give me the opportunity, I could take out pinkie quickly enough. I don’t know enough about the child servant, but I’d take it she’s on his level of competence and power.”
“And what of the obvious Saber?” Rin asked. The power emanating off of the feminine servant awe inspiring or was that just her charisma stats?
“Tricky,” Archer said, “I’d have to find underhanded to win in a straight fight.”
“Then do so,” Rin said, “I don’t care how you do it, we have to win this war. Just make sure that Shirou Emiya and that other girl aren’t hurt.”
“You want me to leave the masters alone?” Archer quirked an eyebrow, “How altruistic… and stupid of you.”
“They are fellow students,” Rin huffed before feeling his eyes bore into her, “Fine, we’ll take them out if they become too much of a nuisance but I sincerely doubt it. I’ve only met Twilight a few times, but she seems like a bit of an airhead and too goodie two shoes. Same with Shirou. So we don’t have to worry about them too much.”
“And the mysterious third master?”
“We’ll meet them soon enough,” Rin got up, “Now it’s time for school. I want you to keep an eye on me and make sure the other masters don’t try anything funny.”
“I’ll do my best to watch your back,” Archer smirked, “It helps that you’ve got a nice one.” He dematerialized just as Rin threw her pencil at him. She could hear him chuckling.
“Stupid servant,” she slightly blushed. She’d let it slide for now. Who cared if a really handsome man thought she looked hot…. She didn’t. Not at all. Nope. Not one bit.
If Celestia was going to be honest with herself, this whole fiasco was easily one of the worst ones in her long reign. Oh sure, this was no Discord, Chrysalis or Sombra. There was no ‘big bad’ to battle, at least not yet. This didn’t do anything to assuage her from feeling dread.
Her former apprentice had stolen the Element of Magic and took it to another world. A world Celestia knew was without true harmony and rather chaotic. Its people weren’t necessarily evil. She had met a few nice ones, such as King Arthur on occasion when Starswirl had decided to visit that world. Yet there was so much bloodshed and violence.
She didn’t even want to begin to ponder what her former apprentice had experienced on the other side. She may have ousted her for her behavior, but Celestia still cared about Sunset. She just hoped nothing seriously bad happened to her. On that remark, she wished the same for her own apprentice, now princess.
While she was uncertain about her star pupil’s doings at the moment, she was certain about the state of her sister currently. Right now she was sitting by her bed, watching as she took haggard breaths. She was sweating through her fur. The color of her fur was paler as though it was being bleached from her form. Celestia had never seen her like this before and that worried her. She had lost her sister once and she wasn’t going to lose her again. Hopefully this was temporary.
“Rest easy, Luna.” Celestia kissed her sister’s forehead. “You’ll get better soon enough.”
“Sister,” Luna croaked out, causing Celestia’s ears to perk up. These were the first words she had said in several hours, “I’m sorry.”
“Shhh, don’t stress yourself.” Celestia nuzzled her, “It’s alright. I’m not blaming you for anything.”
“You should,” Luna huffed, “I tried to peer into the other world. I wanted to see what was going on and if Twilight was safe. However, I felt something. Something so dark that it reminded me of the Nightmare.”
Celestia’s eyes widened, “Has it escaped to the human world?” A million scenarios played in her mind about such a situation. The humans would be hit by a force they wouldn’t understand and it could spell destruction.
Luna shook her head slowly, “No, it felt… worse.”
“How so?”
“The Nightmare plays on your insecurities,” Luna explained. “It drowns you in despair and forces you to act on it, fueling your anger. There was no despair. Just anger. Pure unadulterated anger. I’ve never felt anything like it, so…”
“You tried to investigate,” Celestia finished for her.
Luna nodded, “Yes and it grabbed a hold of me. I did everything I could to escape and... “ Her eyes widened, “It stole the Tantabus.”
“The what?” Celestia furrowed her brow in confusion.
“I’ve… been using the Tantabus as a means of punishment for my sins,” Luna looked away, ashamed of what she was saying. “It is nothing but a pure nightmare. An echo of the one that possessed me. If it has it, it could use it to wreak untold havor on the real world.”
Celestia frowned, “Luna, why would you create such a thing? You have nothing to atone for. I’ve told you that time and time again. The Nightmare was the one at fault-”
“And I gave it access to do as it pleased,” Luna snapped at her. “I allowed it inside and let it hurt you and scare the ponies of the realm. I deserve every bit of punishment.”
Celestia quickly hugged her little sister, “No. None of that. I won’t have you give in to despair so easily. You’re my sister, Luna. I can’t have you lose yourself to that emotion again. Not if I can help it.”
Luna nuzzled her, “I’m sorry, sister.”
“There is nothing to be sorry about,” Celestia said, “I will make sure Twilight is informed about this. In the meantime, get some rest. You need to regain your strength.”
“I love you, sister.”
“As do I, my Luna.”
Celestia knew she had to talk to her about the Tantabus and Luna’s inner turmoil. She couldn’t just let her sister wallow in fear and despair, hurting herself in some manner. No. That wasn’t acceptable. Of course, that would have to wait till this whole mess blows over. She hoped Twilight could fix this soon enough.
Avenger sat alone in her master’s house. Normally she would have loved nothing more than to go out and kill her enemies as soon as possible. Why shouldn’t she? She was most assuredly the strongest servant in the Holy Grail War, in her opinion. Everyone would end up burned alive, or staked. Probably both if she was feeling really angry that day.
Yet her master believed she wasn’t ready. That he didn’t have enough information on the other servants. That he wasn’t going to lose her so early in the war. Bah. She wanted to burn him alive. He was disgusting and unworthy of her. Unfortunately he had command seals, so she had to play nice. At least for now. Once they were gone, she would kill him gladly and take the grail for herself. Then she would watch France burn.
She looked down at her hand and a purple shadow started to weave around it. She didn’t know what it was. It was not part of her myth. It was alive yet it wasn’t at the same time. A creature of magic. They were a strange bunch. If she was still her saintly self, she would have been honestly wary of it. In fact, she would have destroyed it. It was nothing but pure hate.
Yet that’s why she kept it. She didn’t tell her master about this creature. She kept that to herself. Telling him would allow him another leverage over her. She wouldn’t have that. No. She would use this creature. This ‘Tantabus’. The name came to her as if by instinct.
She balled up her fist. She wouldn’t let her master push her around. She would do as she pleased. Her eyes narrowed and she thrust her fist forward. The shadow surged forward and started to swirl in the air, growing larger. A shape started to form in it until before her stood something akin to a purple shadow of her own form.
“Find the other servants,” Avenger snarled. “Watch them and report back. Don’t fight them… yet. I want to keep you a secret after all.”
The shadow tilted its head to the side and momentarily Avenger wondered if it could understand her. Then it nodded and the shadow disappeared.
Avenger smiled and crossed her arms in victory. This war was as good as hers.
Assassin couldn’t help but lean into her mommy’s embrace. She was happy they both got to sleep in the same bed. Well, they and Spike. Aunty Saber was in another room with her other mommy… or was he a daddy? She wasn’t familiar with that word and honestly mommy sounded better. Mommy liked Shirou so he must be good. She wouldn’t lie to Assassin.
As she laid there next to her, Assassin let her hand play over her mommy’s stomach. She loved being home. Safe and quiet. Just with her mommy. This was perfect.
Her hand pushed a bit more firmly.
Safe and quiet. She loved being home. She wanted to stay there. To be secure and warm. She shook her head. She was fine. She didn’t have to worry about anything. Her mommy was there and she would take care of her.
Her hand pressed even harder causing her mother to stir. She wanted to be home. To go home. Where it was safe and warm. A knife appeared in her hand as her mind focused on it. She wanted to be there, where she was never wanted. It would be so easy. Just a few cuts and it would happen.
“What are you doing?”
Assassin looked up to see Spike. He was giving her a concerned gaze, glancing at the knife in her hand. “We want to go home.”
Spike the dog frowned, “But you are kinda of home. Well not our home, but it’s safe enough here. Also, what’s up with the knife.”
“We want to go home,” Assassin muttered. She felt a bit conflicted now that Spike was up. Should she go through with it now.
Twilight yawned, sitting up and forcing Assassin and Spike to move a bit away. Her lips parted a few times as she groggily looked around. She smiled at Spike, “Good morning Spike.” Then she turned to Assassin, “Good morning-” Her eyes fell on the knife, “Assassin? Are we in danger?”
“We want to go home,” Assassin said, but looked away. Cutting up her mommy didn’t sound so good anymore but she wanted to go back there. She wanted it so badly.
Twilight blinked in confusion, before smiling. “Don’t you worry a thing about that. Once we’ve got the crown and this whole stupid war business is over, we’ll go home. I’ve got a mountain of books for you to read and so many friends for you to make. You’ll love it there.”
Assassin shook her head and moved forward. She tapped Twilight’s abdomen, “We want to go home.”
Twilight stared at her tummy and gave it a pat, “Ahhh….. Okay, I’m still not following.”
“I think she wants to go inside,” Spike looked disgusted, “I’m only guessing here but she was about to stab you.”
“Spike,” Twilight gave him a small glare, “Assassin would never do that. I’m sure this is just a misunderstanding.”
“It didn’t look like one to me,” Spike huffed, “I don’t want you to get hurt, Twilight. Unless she’s got a good explanation, I’ll call it like I see it.”
“Assassin,” Twilight looked at her and then the knife, “You weren’t going to stab me, were you?”
Assassin looked away, “We just… We just want to go where it’s safe. Where it’s home. They never wanted us there. They got rid of us. Threw us in the trash. Never loved, so we want to go back there and be loved.”
Twilight pulled her into a hug, “And you are loved. So very much so, but you can’t get that by stabbing people and…” She sighed and pulled back, “Assassin, it doesn’t work like that.”
“We can try.”
“No it literally can’t work like that,” Twilight rolled over and got her book bag, “Don’t worry. I’ve got some anatomy books from the library here and this is the perfect time for a lecture on human biology. It’s actually quite fascinating.”
“...Eh?” Assassin tilted her head in confusion.
Spike groaned, “Here she goes again.”
*five minutes later*
Saber wasn’t tired. As a servant, sleep wasn’t necessary, although it did help in conserving spiritual energy. That was something she needed to look out for more so given her master was rather weak. He didn’t seem to be stupid but she would have to watch how she operated as to not drain him. Perhaps she would ask Twilight for assistance if she was indeed rather powerful in the mystic arts.
“Aunty Saber!” Assassin came running and hid behind her legs, “Save us.”
Saber blinked in confusion, “Whatever are you-”
“Assassin,” Twilight came running with a chart in hand, “We haven’t even started on the uterus.”
“We don’t want to go there anymore!” Assassin shouted, “It’s gross.”
“Yes, the body can be quite gross but it also can be quite fascinating.”
Saber blinked a couple of times before she processed everything.Then she looked down at a purple dog.
“You’ll get used to it,” Spike said.
Saber began to ponder how her lives in the past led up to this moment.
Rider couldn’t help but skip along to school today. Everything seemed to be working out for the best. Well, everything except spending time with that slimey bug of a grandfather his master had. He still really creeped him out and to be honest, he wanted to get rid of that person. He just screamed ‘I’m evil’. Had he been alive, he’d have done it already. Consequences be damned, but this was a Holy Grail War. He’d have to bear it.
Regardless, he was feeling up. His master was happy. He was going to team up with two other servants. Three servants together in a Holy Grail War meant that the competition was going to be wiped out! At least, he believed that would be the case unless a master summoned a god tier servant. Still, he knew he’d have to fight Assassin and Saber eventually, but until then, he’d get to be their friend. He couldn’t wait to get to know them since he didn’t get to talk to them much before. Saber had made it clear that they would discuss things more so today and made him stay in another room.
His master though, he was honestly thankful he had been summoned by her. She was demure, and there was a darkness behind that, but she was just so nice. She was helpful and she didn’t push him around. He also had to admit, she was a total knockout in the looks department. As a ladies man himself, Rider could appreciate beauty when he saw it. So if he ever needed mana, oh boy was he looking forward to it.
Now as for the other masters, they were pretty sweet as well. Shirou seemed like a hero in the making and Rider hoped he pulled through with it. Now Twilight though, she was both fine and really smart. Didn’t really seem like the type to participate in a war, but then again, neither did Sakura. He made a mental note to keep both of them out of harm’s way.
He also made a mental note of how close Twilight was to Shirou. Seemed she might have started to like him. Good for him. All heroes deserved pretty ladies~
“So I was thinking,” Twilight spoke to Shirou, “How about during our breaks, we head to the library to check up on historical figures? I’m sure it’ll tell us some interesting aspects of our servants.”
“Why don’t we just ask them?” Shirou said.
Twilight nervously chuckled and scratched her cheek, “Well… that would be rather awkward and I honestly don’t think Assassin knows a lot about her history or at least cares to make it cohesive. She is rather young after all and I don’t want to bring up any bad memories.”
Shirou nodded, “We can do that.” He turned his head to Sakura,”Are you up for it after school?”
“Hmmm?” Sakura seemed to not be paying attention. She shook her head and waved them off, “No thank you. I think I’m okay with just going back home once school’s over. My brother wanted to talk to me anyways about a few things.”
Shirou frowned, “Well, I could bring you a few books tomorrow if you want.”
“That would be great, Shirou.” Sakura smiled. Just as the two other masters turned their heads back to talk to each other, Sakura’s smile vanished.
Rider could see her hands ball into fists. He frowned, “Are you alright, Sakura?”
Sakura looked at him in confusion before smiling, “I’m alright, Rider. You don’t have to worry about me.”
“Worrying about you is kind of my job,” Rider pointed out, raising a finger as he did so. “You’re a master and I’m your servant. I kind of go ‘poof’ if something happens to you. So spill. What’s on your mind?”
Sakura didn’t say anything. She just looked at the pair in front of her. Rider looked at them for a moment, blinking a few times before he looked back at her.
“So you like him?”
Sakura blushed and shook her head, “I don’t-”
Rider chuckled, “Oh you do~ Now this is fantastic. Why don’t you just-”
“I can’t,” Sakura clenched her teeth together and looked away. Her body was shivering slightly.
Rider frowned, “What do you mean you can’t? If you like him, tell him.”
“I can’t,” Sakura said as though that explained everything, “Besides, he deserves better and it wouldn’t work anyways. So drop it.”
“That doesn’t sound like you want to drop it,” Rider said, “Who’s-”
“Drop it,” Sakura held up her hand with the command seals.
Rider’s eyes widened. She was threatening to use a command seal over this issue. Command seals were precious. To even think of using one now… His heart sank as he looked at her anguished face. Rider put a fist over his heart, “I’ll drop it.”
He would. Seeing her relieved face, he knew he would do his best to make her happy. Whether that meant getting her together with Shirou or not, he would make Sakura the happiest master in the war. That much he could promise.
Rider could tell Sakura was still bothered by something. Well he already knew what that something was, but it was a bit funny to see her bump into Shirou or cling to his arm tightly here or there when Twilight was near. It was made even more hilarious with Twilight being unaware with Sakura’s frustration. He was watching a comedy in the making. He just hoped it didn’t evolve into a tragedy.
Speaking of tragedy, he ate another piece of the school lunch. He honestly didn’t know how humans could simultaneously have the best of food and the worst of food at the same time. They had access to so many things, but school lunches seemed to be cheap. Well it wasn’t completely bad but he had hoped for better stuff in the future. At least these apples were so great and juicy~
As he was enjoying himself, he felt a presence enter the area. He spied over at a girl with red and yellow hair, which wasn’t really strange given his pink hair and Sakura’s purple hair, and a lighter purple haired woman. Something about that second woman made his skin crawl. It was almost like she was a servant or something. Well that couldn’t be true because what was the likelyhood that she was-
“Master!” Rider pointed at them, “That’s a servant-”
Sakura quickly put a hand over his mouth, “Shhh, you’re not supposed to say stuff about the war out loud.”
“Right,” his muffled voice spoke from behind her hand. She pulled it away and saw the other two peer on over at them, “So you guys know that’s a servant?”
“Yep,” Twilight nodded, which caused Shirou to look at her incredulously. “I met her a few days ago. I didn’t expect Sunset to become her master.”
“When were you going to tell me Sunset was a master?” Shirou asked in an exasperated tone.
Twilight blinked a few times before laughing nervously, “Well… it never came up?”
Sakura and Rider sweatdropped at hearing this. Apparently, Twilight could be a bit clueless sometimes.
Speaking of masters, Sunset walked on over to them and sat her tray down on the table. Her apparent servant sat down beside her. Sunset glared on over at Rider, “So… you guys are just racking up the ‘friends’ in your little group, aren’t you?”
“Sunset-” Shirou started.
Sunset glared and pointed an accusing finger at him, “Don’t you start. You still haven’t come to my house yet.”
Sakura looked confused and a little hurt, “Shirou, what is she talking about?”
“I just needed to fix a few things in her home,” Shirou quickly spoke. He may be a bit clueless about somethings, but he knew that it was best to clear things up with girls as soon as you could. A few bad encounters with Taiga told him that much, “That’s all.”
“My, my,” the beautiful ‘servant’ of Sunset spoke. “So quick to defend yourself. Were you really planning on taking advantage of my beautiful master?”
Sunset started to sputter and blush, “Don’t you start, Caster.”
“Should you be revealing my servant class so readily?”
“Oh they already know,” Sunset said. “Twilight’s seen us and this guy over here,” she pointed to Rider. “Is a servant so he can sense you.”
“I’m Rider by the way,” he waved.
“Charmed,” Caster gave a small wave back. “So I take it you aren’t going to fight me.”
“Not until after school,” Rider gave her a thumbs up, “So until then, let’s be the best of friends.”
Caster noticed where his eyes drifted, “My eyes are up here.”
“I’ve made my choice.”
Caster’s eyes narrowed, “Your death will not be swift.”
“Awww, don’t be like that.” Rider pouted and crossed his arms, “I was just messing with you.”
“So you have no interest-”
“Never said that,” Rider held up a finger, “I just like having fun with people is all. I do want to be your friend.”
“And friendship is really important,” Twilight spoke up. She passed out a couple of books to Sunset and Caster, “I’ve brought over a few guidebooks on the art of friendship and its benefits. How about we do a study session later.”
Sunset looked at the book and then at Twilight with an annoyed expression, “You want to lecture me… on friendship.”
“Well you really need it,” Twilight said, “I mean, you did sorta do a lot of bad things and left Celestia’s side. If we can teach you the magic of friendship, then we can all go back home. I can introduce you to my other friends and-”
“You aren’t getting the crown,” Sunset growled, “I might not have it but you surely won’t get it if it’s the last thing I do. I will use its power to become an alicorn and show that upstart princess who threw me away how wrong she is.”
“Celestia does care for you, Sunset.”
“She only cares about herself,” Sunset slammed a fist into the table, “And her precious ‘friendship’. Bah. I can live my life without a single friend.”
“Sunset…” Twilight’s expression turned downtrodden upon hearing that.
“I… I don’t think a life without friends is something you should be proud of,” Sakura spoke up. She was fidgeting in her seat when Sunset turned her gaze to her. “It’s not… ideal.”
“And why would you say that? I can live pretty happily by myself.”
“Because I was alone once,” Sakura said, “I was alone and had no one. Life felt so empty and cold and then Shirou came into my life. He was my first friend and I could smile again. So… I think you’re wrong about friendship, Sunset.”
Sunset scowled, which got worse when she spied Shirou patting Sakura’s shoulder in sympathy. “I just came over here to check up on Shirou. I didn’t come here to be lectured on friendship.”
“I’m sorry, Sunset.” Shirou bowed his head, “I’ve just had a lot on my plate. I’ll make sure to come by tonight to fix your problem.”
Sunset smirked, “There. That’s better.” Then a small blush came to her face, “If you don’t mind, you could stay over tonight. Caster and I will keep you safe since it’s not good to be out after dark during a Holy Grail War.”
Unnoticed by Shirou, both Sakura and Twilight were boring holes into his head with their gazes. Of course they weren’t glaring, but Rider could feel their intense gaze from where he was sitting.
“I’m sorry, but I have to get back home no matter what.” Shirou said, “I thank you for the offer though.”
“But I can totally make it if you want a sleepover,” Rider eagerly waved his hand.
“I will end you if you try,” Caster said firmly, “You are still a rival servant after all.”
“Well that doesn’t mean we can’t be friends,” Rider pointed out.
Before the conversation could continue any longer, a trio of voices started to spill into the hall. Everyone looked to the kitchen doors as they swung open and in walked three beautiful women dressed in lavish clothing. Their voices caught everyone’s attention as they sang. Their subtle movements were mesmerizing. Their eyes were enchanting. Everything about them was enticing. They had everyone’s attention to a supernatural degree.
The group at the table were watching the trio with less awe and more apprehensive. The music wasn’t getting to them as it had everyone else in the cafeteria. So they watched the trio in silence, waiting for something to happen.
Rider, however, was rubbing his chin in thought. He recognized these girls somewhere before. Their voices were familiar as were the side effects. Heck, even their faces were familiar. Yet he couldn’t quite place it. It was like it was alluding him. Then the girl with twintails turned around and he got a good look at her well rounded booty. His eyes widened and he stood up.
“I remember that butt!”
The girls stopped singing and looked over at him. They gasped before baring their teeth in anger. Their formation was quite clear. They wanted to smack the person before them.
“You can’t be alive,” the orange haired one spoke up. “You’re just a kid who looks like that idiot so shut up.”
“Oh don’t be like that, Adagio.” Rider grinned as he put his hands on his hips, “I enjoyed our battles all those years ago. Nice outfit, Sonata.”
“Why thank you,” Sonata smiled before her sisters smacked the back of her head.
“Don’t fall for that, you idiot.” The third sister spoke up, “If it’s him, we can just kill him now and get him out of our hair.”
“Aria,” Rider’s waving grew heavier, “You’re still rocking that bod, I see. Wanna have another roll in the hay like we used to.”
Aria’s eyes nearly bulged out of her skull as her jaw dropped. She was blushing up a storm and stuttering as she looked at Rider.
Adagio narrowed her eyes, “You can’t be serious. You… Wait, that explains why you were gone so long that one time and had trouble walking when you came back…” She threw her arms up in the air, “Unbelievable. He’s our enemy and you… gah.”
“Ooooh, details~” Sonata got closer to her stuttering sister.
“I can-” Rider started.
Aria took a deep breath and let loose a gush of sonic music. The soundwave hit Rider and smashed him into the wall, “You aren’t doing anything but dying, you little midget!”
Caster sighed and looked to her master, “Shall we?”
“Knock out the people in the school first and then we can,” Sunset said.
With a nod, Caster’s hand glowed. A mist started to form around the school and the students and teachers alike started to fall unconscious. This was made easier because they had laid some spells around the school beforehand for something like this. Caster had made sure that they wouldn’t be detected by the likes of Rin or other magi.
“Now then,” Sunset lit her fist up in fire magic, “How do you wish to fall today?”
Off in the distance, another opponent was waiting for her time to shine. Illya stared off out the window of her temporary base. She hadn’t been able to participate in the war just yet. Nor had she met the ‘brother’ that had taken her beloved father away from her. That had to change. She needed to find him and given the fact that ‘incidents’ were starting to happen around the area, the war had already begun.
That meant she had to act. She stared up at Berserker. The hulking figure of black muscle and pure hatred. He wasn’t able to talk for various reasons, but that didn’t matter to her. What mattered was his strength. He was obedient as well so he would do anything she asked of him.
She grinned, “Tonight, Shirou Emiya is going to die as well as his servant. I just know that bastard has one. Daddy wouldn’t take in a loser after all.”
Berserker said nothing, but his presence was reassuring to her regardless.
“So let’s make it a night to remember,” Illya chuckled.
