//------------------------------// // Questions, Cautions, and Concerns // Story: Redeeming Darkness - 'Displaced' // by KukriRyuTsukino //------------------------------// Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns, Canterlot Thomas frowned as he dismissed his current Ranger form, that of Gingaman Red. “I don’t know where I am exactly, but I do know that thing isn’t supposed to be here… gut feeling,” he muttered. “Princess Celestia needs to know about…” Twilight started as her form flared before fading to reveal her civilian clothes, which were a bit wrinkled, but otherwise intact. She noticed the odd creature glancing her way before she heard Moon Dancer snort. “I love Celestia as much as the next pony, but I doubt she’ll even listen to this,” she said dryly. Thomas glanced skyward, noticing a winged form with a faintly golden aura trailing from it. “What makes you so confident in that? Someone tries to kidnap innocent… ponies… and you essentially want to sweep it under the rug and ignore it? You’re intelligent, obviously, or you wouldn’t be at a ‘gifted’ school. People or ponies, whichever, will notice when their own start mysteriously disappearing, especially if it’s young children. How do you think it would look if somepony knew about these possible disappearances yet did nothing to alert anyone else, nor try to stop it?” Thomas said dryly,  seeing Moon Dancer wince at his words. “Besides, even if you kept it a secret, those we protected… and saved… most likely wouldn’t. My experience… it isn’t those who hide things who are praised as heroes, but those who don’t hide who and what they are and what they stand for. You protect innocents, you’re a hero. You stand by and do nothing when you have the power or strength to protect them? You might as well assist those who harm them, then,” he sighed. “A bit overly blunt, I suppose, and harsh, indeed, but correct. I won’t say there aren’t things I do not hide, but why I would hide something is almost always for the betterment of my little ponies. I do not like the thought of someone trying to kidnap my subjects for unknown reasons? Do you have any ideas?” Princess Celestia cut in as her golden sandaled feet touched the grass, the resplendent cream and ivory dress belted with a mother-of-pearl belt as her chromatic pastel hair swayed in the breeze. “No, Princess, I don’t, and I’m reasonably sure that Moon Dancer and,” Twilight said, pausing as she glanced at the human, curious about him. “It’s Thomas, Thomas Oliver, and I’d agree with you that we don’t have any clues as to why those machines would attempt to kidnap anyone, but I doubt it’s for anything good or innocent,” he said wryly, grimacing slightly as he had the really strange feeling of an itch between his shoulder blades, yet it didn’t feel like a surface itch, but almost like something were stirring within him, like something was trying to come out. “Is something wrong with you? You’re twitching worse than that Ditzy Doo pegasus,” Moon Dancer said harshly. “I don’t know. Feels… itchy, like something inside me is trying to come out… localized around my shoulder blades, from what I can tell,” Thomas said dryly, through gritted teeth. He felt a light touch on his shoulder blades, inhaling sharply as he felt a dull ache growing sharper before he felt an intense burning erupt from his shoulders as what appeared to be wings of dense flames exploded from his skin, steaming blood splattering whoever was behind him as they staggered back as he quickly shed the top of his outfit, leaving his muscular torso exposed as the fabric ignited almost the moment it left his fingers. “Gah-ack!!” he heard as he glanced over his shoulder, seeing the wavering heat from the intense flames before he spotted Twilight stumbling back. He groaned as the flames abruptly went out, revealing deep auburn, copper and ruby wings with pale creamy silver undersides. ------- 𝌜𝌐𝌚𝌲𝌡------- He winced as he felt the breeze brushing over the feathers before he blinked, realizing he could feel the wings almost as an extension of himself. He did notice the surprised look on Celestia’s face, however, before a small, playful smile crossed her face that distinctly reminded him of that ‘Troll Face’ meme. “Somehow, that smile is creeping me out,” he muttered, shivering slightly. He watched one slim finger rise to Celestia’s lips as her eyes drifted closed as he felt his wings settling against his shoulders before he heard a high pitched whining as his gaze shot skyward, seeing what appeared to be strange octopus looking ships before his eyes narrowed as he saw Celestia’s eyes snap open. “What are those?” she said with mild wariness. “Nothing good… though… from where I’m from they’re… fake… not real, essentially created for television, though here… it’s pretty obvious they aren’t fake, especially with that drill based robot that attacked,” Thomas said dryly, grimacing. He knew they were called Takonpas, and that they had a land form and air form, but couldn’t remember much else about them. Celestia frowned slightly as, in a flare of golden light, her wings flared out. She bent her legs before she felt a hand touch her forearm. She paused, seeing Thomas, the odd creature, frowning slightly. “What troubles you?” “I’m getting the feeling that I’m forgetting something important, yet… at the same time, I think I have an idea,” he said slowly as his hand drifted to the small of his back before he pulled free the same Coin, onyx and amethyst, that she recalled seeing that had caught her eye. “What about your wings?” she said carefully. “If I’m right about my gut instinct, then they should be protected as well,” Thomas replied thoughtfully as he flipped the Coin into the air. It flipped three times before sliding into the slit within the belt as he caught the ruby Coin as it was ejected. He slid it into the case as the black fire, tipped with golden energy and pale silver energy, erupted, engulfing him as the belt called out “Hōkō, Kurākami!!” twice followed by his whispered “Henshin.” ------- 𝌜𝌐𝌚𝌲𝌡------- Thomas’ crystalline aquamarine-teal irises shone for a few seconds before his eyes widened as they flared a hot golden amber as his arms rose crossed over his chest and face as his clothes shimmered as chains of darkness shot at his arms and legs, wrapping around them almost lovingly before shattering into the armored suit of the Duke Org, Rouki, or as the ‘Power Rangers’ had called him, Zen-Aku. A stream of moonlight surged from the rising moon, engulfing him as the masked helm formed, protecting his mouth and throat, though surprisingly, the mask over his mouth was more formed with thicker plates and a vertical plate with seven horizontal slits crossing it over his mouth. ------- 𝌜𝌐𝌚𝌲𝌡------- The energy faded away, consumed into the armor. He exhaled slowly, a gust of icy steam escaping the mask. Unknown to him, this particular form bolstered his agility, power, and reflexes as well as allowing him some cryokinetic abilities. He felt a tingling at the now onyx belt around his hips, which appeared to have merged with the armored form. He blinked as a sphere of pale silvery white light shot out of the Coin, forming into an ornate nodaichi whose hilt landed lightly in his palm as his fingers curled around it in a firm grip. A very faint smirk crossed his face beneath the mask. “Nice blade,” he muttered appreciatively. “Hmmm, it appears you were correct,” Celestia said thoughtfully, as every single feather of the human’s new wings was sheathed in a layer of onyx metal. She had to wonder what else he could do.