//------------------------------// // Part 2: Rhapsody - My Resolve // Story: MLP-Destiny's Play // by The Bricklayer //------------------------------// Ponyville: Fluttershy’s Cottage Fluttershy let out a whimper as she sunk down into her bed, the young mare fighting back a sob. More ponies lost to the Fangires, and to Kiva all because she simply didn’t get there in time! Looking down from his place in the rafters, Kivat sighed to himself and shook his head the little crimson bat giving an expression of pity. Honestly, he thought to himself as he watched Fluttershy sob to herself into her pillow, he wished this burden was given to someone else. Fluttershy shouldn’t be Kiva, even if her lineage demanded it. For years, her entire family lineage had kept the Fangires in check as part of the secretive Wonderful Blue Sky Organization, a secret branch of Celestia’s Solar Guard. But then that’s when it happened, Fluttershy’s father happened to fall in love with the previous queen of the Fangires, a mare named Posey. He wasn’t really sure of the entire story of what happened, and just how Fluttershy’s father had managed to wrangle three monsters from across Equestria into promising to protect his daughter. In order, they were Jiro the Timberwolf, Ramon the Siren and Riki, the legendary Frankenstein's Monster. As for how he did it, and how he managed to fight off the Fangires, it wasn’t like Kivat could just ask Fluttershy’s father really as he’d taken ill several years ago and passed away, unfortunately. “Fluttershy…” Kivat sighed to himself as he flapped down to her bedside table and stroked her with a wing. “You think you’re not the only one beating yourself up over this? I wanted to save those ponies just as much as you did. Sometimes we lose, we have to accept that.” “...I won’t accept that, I will never accept any ponies dying on my watch as acceptable losses!” Fluttershy hissed out at her sometimes friend. “Fluttershy, I wasn’t putting it like that!” Kivat stated, backing up a little from Fluttershy’s fearsome glare. “You must understand, not every battle will end in a victory, no matter how much we want them to. The Fangires, they’re fierce, relentless, and they will not give in until they are the sole remaining form of intelligent life on Equestria! Did… did I ever tell you what happened to Ramon’s race?” “N-No…” Fluttershy whispered, wiping away her tears and letting out a small sniffle. “Oh, it happened ages and ages ago, long before you and I were ever born, it was back during the time of my father, Kivat the Second. Back during the time of Starswirl the Bearded, actually. You remember what happened to the Dazzlings?” “Y-Yes,” Fluttershy stuttered out, nodding her head. “They… They wanted to rule all over Ponykind, so they used their voices to bring ponies under their control right?” “Yes, that’s true but that isn’t the full story. No, they were scared of the Fangires of that time. The King of the Fangires, he’d ordered the Siren race eliminated and the Dazzlings, they were on the run. They couldn’t fight back against the Fangires and their sheer power, nor could they go to the Princesses for help because all ponies distrusted the Siren race by pure instinct so the Dazzlings were forced to take matters into their own hooves,” Kivat explained. “So this is what they did, they used the only thing they knew how to use. Their singing, and the ability ingrained within it to bring ponies under their control to form an army to oppose the Fangires. The Blue Sky Organization, it didn’t exist back then so they were Ponykind’s only hope,” Kivat chuckled. “Imagine, Sirens of all creatures being the last hope of the pony race!” he stated in amusement at the sheer irony of it all before letting out a sad sigh. “So, what happened?” Fluttershy asked although she had a feeling she already knew the answer. “What do you think? It all went sour due to the actions of one pony. Sadly, Starswirl the Bearded, he misunderstood their intentions nor did he even know of the Fangires despite his great respite of knowledge. So, he did the only thing he thought just from his position, banish the Dazzlings to worlds unknown. Perhaps he did them a favor, sparing them from the slaughter that was to come, perhaps he didn’t if what you told me about Twilight’s experience with the Dazzlings in the present day is to be believed. Who’s to say?” Kivat shrugged. “I’d… I’d like to think he did,” Fluttershy whispered. “Starswirl, when I met him along with the other pillars, he was a good pony underneath all of that. He may have been a zealot in some respects but he didn’t understand everything such as friendship and the possibilities of there being more than one way to look at a problem as the situation with Stygian showed.” “Hmmm…” Kivat nodded. “Agreed. Once you put it that way, I suppose you have a point.” “So,” Fluttershy inquired with a raised eyebrow sitting herself on the foot of her bed. “If all of the Sirens were slaughtered, how did…?” she trailed off. “Ramon escape?” Kivat finished for her. “I have many theories, and I do want to bring them to Ramon, but to be honest I don’t think he’s willing to open up to me really. Perhaps you would have better luck really.” “I’ll… I’ll keep that in mind. I’ll pay him a visit sometime. Gosh, he must be getting lonely with only Jiro and Riki to keep him company…” she trailed off. “Oh, I doubt that. All of the Arms Monsters, they all play a mean game of poker,” Kivat replied. “I’ve joined them every so often, they always manage to clean me out!” he stated in a tone of indigence crossing his wings much like one would cross their arms. “...Dare I ask what you play with?” Fluttershy asked, with a small giggle. Kivat mumbled something under his breath, something Fluttershy couldn’t quite catch. “What was that?” she asked. “...Porn mags.” Kivat mumbled quietly. “What was that?” Fluttershy asked again. “I… I said porn mags!” Kivat sputtered out. “Riki and Jiro love them, and so do I, my my, those ponies with the long beautiful necks!” Next thing he knew, Kivat found himself smacked into a wall as Fluttershy huffed. Kivat groaned in pain and muttered to himself: “Damn pony hearing…” Fluttershy heard that too and threw a shoe at him. Later that day Fluttershy met up with her close friend Rainbow Dash at the local gym, with Rainbow found lifting weights and trying to improve her muscles. Or work off body fat, it depended on the day. Personally, Fluttershy knew Rainbow was just trying to impress her Wonderbolt comrade Soarin’ but Rainbow always denied it when asked if that was the case. “Celestia damnit…” Rainbow groaned out as she lifted some barbells that had to be at least fifty pounds or more. “Can’t shave off this extra body fat! I mean, I do not look good resembling a hog!” Personally, Fluttershy as she continued running on the treadmill she was on, didn’t quite see what Rainbow was on about. She wasn’t into mares -or at least she didn’t think she was- but even she could tell at this distance that Rainbow had a very flattering if somewhat boyish figure. Her sports bra and sweats definitely showed it off, and Fluttershy did take notice quite a few nearby colts had distracted themselves from their weight-shedding and were taking a few glances of their own at the Element of Loyalty’s figure. “Flutters, how do you do it?” Rainbow asked, momentarily putting the weights aside for the time being and looking over to her friend, who was dressed in just a simple gray sweatshirt and light blue jogging pants. “I mean, how? You’re barely out of the house as it is, except to buy groceries for your animals or whenever you get called on map missions, and yet you’re slimmer than me! And I’m in the Wonderbolts for cryin’ out loud!” Fluttershy overheard Rainbow’s pleading and secretly smirked before taking the earbuds out of her ear, deciding to tease her friend a little. The song that had been playing on her device was audible if you listened closely. “Your thoughts are all tangled up; They've been overcrowding you. Your strength produces weakness that you don't even realize... “Sharpen up, Wake up! I feel a special sensation! With a keen ear you can hear it, The future that is happening in the smallest moment…” If anyone had heard the full lyrics, they might have been caught off-guard by the song. Not exactly something they might have expected the sweetest pony in Ponyville to listen to really, a song called “Innocent Trap” for a very good reason. “I have my ways,” Fluttershy smiled as she adjusted the treadmill’s speed and slowed it down somewhat. “Trade secret, really.” “Aw come on Flutters, not even for your best friend?” Rainbow whined. “You gotta let me in on this, what’s your secret?” “Oh, come off it Rainbow dearie,” Rarity’s voice chimed in as she and Tempest walked in with a chiming of the gym’s front door, towels slung over their shoulders. Quite a few stallions cleared the room, not wanting to be in the same area as Tempest, whether it was due to her sheer stature and intimidating appearance or due to her past. Whatever the case, Tempest paid them no mind, and simply rolled her eyes. Pathetic, if she had to state her opinions on the matter. Simply and utterly pathetic. “And everyone wonders why I haven’t started dating anyone yet really…” Tempest thought to herself in a disgusted tone. “Simply because nobody is brave enough to even approach me or remember I put my past behind me. What do I have to do to prove to them I’ve changed? Kill Kiva? Is being part of Twilight’s personal guard simply not enough for them?” “Every lady is entitled to some secrets of their own, are they not?” Rarity asked, tying her curled dark violet hair back into a ponytail and sharing a glance with Tempest. She sighed, the poor mare had way too much pent-up stress. Needed to get out more, do more things aside from just chasing down criminals and guarding Twilight. Maybe she should set her up on a blind date? She knew plenty of stallions that could probably handle Tempest's… demeanor. “Unless…” Rarity thought to herself as she thought of Twilight and how close Tempest seemed to be with her friend. “Ms. Berrytwist’s tastes don’t run towards stallions… Hmm, I wonder. Nah, another time.” “Exactly,” Tempest agreed as she sat down at an arm curling machine and began using it to build up her already impressive biceps. “Leave the poor mare alone hmm? If she wants to tell you her little secret as to how she stays so slim, she will tell you in time.” As she sat to work on building up her biceps, Tempest smirked at Rainbow. “And another thing, you really don’t need to impress Soarin with your muscles or improve your figure. Pretty sure he’d like you just the way you are,” Tempest remarked. “I’m still new at this friendship thing, but even I know that.” “W-Who said I was trying to impress anyone?” Rainbow stammered out, and Rarity laughed. “Oh come off it dearie,” the fashionista smirked as she started up a treadmill next to Fluttershy. “Anyone with eyes can see it, the way you work yourself night and day here! Plus, you didn’t start coming to this gym anyways until after a certain birdie let loose Soarin’ occasionally came here.” Rarity remarked, and Tempest had to stifle a chuckle in the background. So busted. Rainbow was like an open book at times, anyone could read her. “T-That’s a lie!” Rainbow stammered out, her face flushed quite red. “And you all know it!” “Suurrrrre, whatever you say, darling…” Rarity trailed off, with a small smirk and a raised eyebrow. “Let us believe whatever you want. We know the real truth.” “I don’t understand why we’re here bantering about in idle gossip over Rainbow’s love life -or lack thereof- when there’s a real problem at hand, and we all know it,” Tempest huffed, as she momentarily stopped her bodybuilding. “Which is?” Rainbow inquired, with both Rarity and Fluttershy stopping whatever they were doing and listening in closely. “There’s been another… incident,” Tempest stated. “Another attack.” she continued, catching everyone’s interest at once and all eyes turned to her. “Y-You don’t mean…?” Rarity trailed off in a fearful stutter. “Yes, there was a blue moon seen last night, and several ponies at a nearby construction site were found by myself and some of the other guardsmen. Kiva’s struck again, I’m sure of it!” Tempest stated in frustration before swearing loudly. “Tempest, please!” Rarity admonished. “While I share your views on Kiva, this is a public space, so if you could tone your choice of language down a notch…?” “I apologize, Ms. Belle,” Tempest sighed. “It’s just… Well, Kiva attacking these ponies in the dead of night for no reason and then us being unable to stop him time and time again, it frustrates me to no end.” “Bastard…” Rainbow muttered to herself. “Ooh, how I’d like to give this ‘Kira’ or whatever he calls himself the old one-two!” “Kiva.” Tempest corrected. “I-I’m sorry,” Fluttershy whispered, but just loud enough for her three friends to hear her. “But how do we know it’s Kiva that’s attacking these poor ponies? I mean, do we have any proof of that?” “The insignia left by the killer, Kiva’s insignia is more than enough proof I say!” Tempest stated, with Rainbow nodding in agreement. Rarity stayed silent, seemingly lost in thought. “But has anyone actually seen Kiva doing these deeds?” Fluttershy asked. “How do we know he or she is actually doing it? It could be a frame-up.” Tempest briefly flashed back to a few hours before, with Grubber’s words which were remarkably similar to the Element of Kindness’s own. “Wild thought here,” Grubber remarked. “But what if the killer isn’t Kiva? What if it’s someone else? Someone we’re not looking at? I mean, have we ever actually ever seen Kiva kill anyone? Sure, his emblem has always been left at the scene of the crimes but how do we know the killer just didn’t plant that there to frame Kiva?” “Flutters listen,” Rainbow said as she walked over to her friend and put a hand on her shoulder. “I understand your kindness, and the ability to want to see the best in anyone more than anyone else here but you’ve got to face the facts here. Kiva’s a killer, and that’s the end of the matter.” “No, that’s just what you all believe!” Fluttershy replied angrily, and Rainbow took a step back. Whether it was due to shock or fear, Rainbow wasn’t exactly sure. “Because there’s nothing to say otherwise!” Rainbow argued back once she’d regained the capacity for speech, her voice raised to a shout. “Exactly, nothing to say otherwise. Nothing!” Fluttershy exclaimed. “If that’s the case, well, I’ll just have to find something!” As Fluttershy began to march out in a huff, Tempest laid a firm hand on her shoulder. “Listen, heed both my and your best friend’s warnings. Kiva is not to be trifled with, you should not and I repeat should not go even looking for him! He will kill you without a second thought!” “Well, we’ll just have to see about that won’t we?” Fluttershy stated, before taking her leave. She sighed. If only she could tell them… “So, that’ll be it then. My resolve, to prove to the world that Kiva is not a killer,” Fluttershy thought to herself. “But the question is… how?” Not far away from the gym, at a nearby playground sat a tan stallion in a black leather jacket with a chessboard and a rook as his Cutie Mark, an image of this Cutie Mark being stitched into the back of his jacket. His fur seemed to be covered in small scorch marks, and for a very good reason. Rook, AKA the Lion Fangire had this thing. These little games of his, which he called Time Plays. What he did, was find something seemingly of random and then attempt to kill ponies within twenty minutes. If he failed to do so, he would find some electrical wires and electrocute himself with them as punishment for his failure, as he had recently done for his failure to kill Kiva last night. “So, I failed…” Rook thought to himself as he approached a set of power lines and pulled them down, before screaming out in pain as the shock went through his body. “I must atone for my sins.” Eventually, he allowed himself release from this self-devised torment of his and continued on, wondering what his next ‘game’ would be. Perhaps it would be something truly fun indeed. If for whatever reason he won his little game, he would treat himself to some ice cream from Sugarcube Corner or wherever. “So,” he, with a distinct neighponiese accent asked a nearby mare who was out walking her dog. “Do you know of anything fun?” “F-Fun?” the mare stuttered out, all of her instincts telling her to just run from this man as fast and as far away as she could. But she swallowed her courage and answered anyway. “W-Well, I suppose there’s the gym. I mean, yummy right? Just watching those stallions build up their biceps and abs and whatnot!” “So that’s it,” Rook thought to himself, licking his lips in pleasure for what was to come. “My newest game.” “Arigato,” he stated before two green fangs popped out of nowhere and injected themselves into the mare’s neck before she dropped to the grass unseen thanks to the heavy cover of bushes between her and the playground. Rook looked towards his watched and pressed a button. With a small Beep! It set itself to a time limit of twenty minutes. “Time play…” Rook began. “Start. Gym goers, how explicitly interesting…” Later that day, Fluttershy paid a visit to Castle Doran using a secret underground tunnel from her cottage that led inside the Castle. As ever and true to Kivat’s words, Jiro and Riki were playing a game of poker using porn mags as the buy-ins. Ramon in his Siren form sat off to the right in a small man-made lake just shaking his head in disgust. “You know, you two are real pervs, ya know that right?” Ramon remarked, the green siren’s yellow eyes narrowed. “Clean up your act, the Lady’s entered the Castle!” Jiro let out a yelp of surprise while Riki just ate a corner of one of the magazines making a grunting sound, the legendary beast not really caring one bit. Wasn’t like he was raised to pony standards. How could you expect him to be, given he was a monster made out of various bits of old corpses and brought to life by a lightning bolt? Ramon facepalmed. “The creatures I put up with… I swear, even dragons are classier than you two. Even dragons…” he muttered. “Apologies for their behavior Lady Fluttershy, if I had known you were coming I would have taken the mags and drenched them making them unreadable.” “...It’s alright, I already knew about what they used instead of bits.” Fluttershy sighed, shaking her head, before giving a really nasty glare to both Riki and Jiro who tried to make themselves as small as they could, seeing a fearsome devil with horns of fire sorta resembling Tirek in a way instead of a sweet shy butter yellow pegasus. “Who blabbed?” Jiro asked. “Who do you think?” Riki muttered. “Had to be Kivat, he could never keep a secret from the Lady to save his life.” “...Fair enough,” Jiro admitted. “But I’m still blaming you, you walking pile of flesh.” “Timberwood.” Riki sniped back. “Jerk!” Jiro barked. “Bitch,” Riki grumbled. “Mutant freak.” Jiro sniped back, not really offended by the last remark because of how technically true it was but still he hated his compatriot all the same. And so the argument continued on, Fluttershy tuning it out rather used to the two’s little spats by now. “...Children, I’m surrounded by children,” Ramon muttered, using his fin to give the siren equivalent of a facepalm. Fluttershy didn’t both telling Ramon he was technically the youngest of the group. “Anyways, again apologizing for their behavior, I assume you came here because you wanted something my Lady?” the siren asked his Master of sorts. Long ago, Fluttershy’s father had managed to befriend the three oddballs and had turned them into his family’s retainers, asking them alongside Kivat to keep an eye on his little girl as she grew up should he fail to do so in any way. This sadly became true, as when Fluttershy was of a very young age, her father contacted a cancer of the lungs and passed away very shortly leaving this motley bunch alongside Kivat as Fluttershy’s adopted uncles and father figures. Her mother Posey knew none of this of course, nor did her brother and only assumed she was one of the sole constants in her daughter’s life family wise. Fluttershy, while turning rather meek after her father’s demise had taken a decidedly different direction from her brother who was rather outgoing. Pretty much the opposite of how things were when the two were children. Fluttershy, for her it had taken years to build up her confidence to even a small level of what it once was when she was a toddler, adventurous and willing to explore the world. She hadn’t quite reached those levels again yet, and she deep down inside suspected she never would but she would try her hardest if only for her father. Sadly, the constant put-downs in her life nowadays by people decrying Kiva as a monster instead of a savior -even if they didn’t know any better- didn’t help matters much. “Ramon, if I may,” Fluttershy asked nervously. “Can I ask you about your… past? You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to, but…” “No, no. You have a right to know. You have a right to know,” Ramon sighed, repeating certain phrases as he had a tendency to do when he either got nervous or embarrassed. Which was more often than one might think, despite Ramon being a big scary siren which was a known pony predator. He was young, hadn’t grown into his full size and plus he knew the ongoing threat of the Fangires kept him confined to Castle Doran until they were dealt with. “How I escaped the slaughter I mean. The Dazzlings weren’t the only members of my brethren to escape the wrath of the Fangire King. No, my great-great grandmother managed to survive, and give birth to my mom who gave birth to me in turn, our family dodging the Fangires as best we could but in the end… Well, I’m the last of my race left as far as I know really…” “Oh, Ramon…” Fluttershy whispered, stroking the teenage siren’s facial scale. “I promise you, I will not let your race’s demise go unavenged. That is part of my resolve of Kiva.” “Fluttershy…” Ramon whispered, a small tear dripping from his eye. “Don’t make a kid a promise, not if you don’t know if you can keep it. The Fangires, they’re powerful, they’re numerous and Rook? He’s only the weakest of the Checkmate Four.” “Kid’s right,” Jiro stated. “Very right indeed. Rook’s dangerous yes, but not the most dangerous of the Fangires. The King, the Queen, the Bishop? You can’t possibly hope to take them all on alone.” “I’m not alone, I have you all don’t I?” Fluttershy asked, before taking on a deep sigh. “Plus, if I can get my friends to see reason, then you’ll have all six Elements of Harmony on your side alongside the Princesses.” “Good luck with that one kid,” Jiro muttered. “For all they know, Kiva’s just a mass-murderer. They don’t see ponies turning into their true Fangire forms, all they see is the aftermath we five leave in our wake.” “Hey, have some faith in the girl why don’t you, ya bundle of firewood?” Riki grunted out, the massive muscle-bound creature with skin hard as rock cracking his neck. This was something he did out of habit even if there was no real need for it except to possibly look intimidating which wasn’t hard for him really. “She’s a lot stronger than she looks. Anyone else forced to bear the burden of being the newest Kiva, they probably would have cracked under the pressure. Cracked like an egg. But the Lady here? She hasn’t.” “...At least not yet.” Jiro muttered, with Fluttershy’s thoughts going along similar lines unbeknownst to any of the three Arms Monsters. “He’s right, Jiro’s completely right. M-Maybe I’m not cut out for all of this, stopping monsters and saving pony lives. Maybe I’m just not the mare my father and Kivat would have wanted me to be… But for the sake of ponykind, I will try. I will try, that is the best I can do at this point.” She had a brief flashback to her father, laying in his hospital bed. “Flutters, for the sake of our family, and by Faust I know you’re far too young to take up this burden, you need to protect the world.” “P-Protect the world from what daddy?” Fluttershy asked. “After I leave, you will learn. I’m sorry my daughter, I wish it didn’t have to be this way, I wish I didn’t have to pass on the burden I should be carrying to you but…” “But? But what?” Fluttershy asked before she realized her father’s hand had gone limp, and the heart rate monitor had flat-lined. “Daddy! DADDY!” It was only a short fifteen years later that Fluttershy had taken up her first night on the job as Kiva, when the Fangires decided to reemerge. “Kivat!” A quick henshin and a few short minutes of fists landing blows later, Fluttershy decided to deal with the dark blue Kirin-themed Fangire that had decided to start sucking lives from a few ponies off exploring the Whitetail Woods and finish the job. “WAKE UP!” A scarlet moon was seen in the sky that night, and shattered glass lay on the street with a massive imprint of a winged logo smashed into the ground thanks to one Darkness Moon Break. And so the legend of Kiva, the silent killer in the night had begun. Fluttershy wouldn’t know this until a few weeks later till it hit the papers at last, but someone had apparently seen her escaping from the scene of the crime and had photographed her Kiva form along with her insignia. Granted, it was possible the story had hit the papers sooner and was highly likely it had in fact and Fluttershy was only seeing a reprint due to her distaste for the Ponyville Chronicle which had first broken the story. But all the same, Kiva was now known to the world, and not in the way Fluttershy would have liked really to say the least. Suddenly, Fluttershy’s thoughts returned to the present and her head whipped around to the sound of Castle Doran’s bell ringing loudly, and she let out a whisper of “Fangire…” Meanwhile, at Princess Twilight’s castle, Tempest had returned from her little outing with Rarity, thoughts running rampant. A few short weeks ago, life was so simple. Just guard Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Friendship, and generally keep the town in order and stop things from going too insane. Well, too insane by Ponyville’s standards, considering she’d heard of a swarm of Parasprites chewing up the town a few years back only to be solved by the pink one serving as a one mare band chasing them off, or Twilight casting spells on everyone to make them fight over her childhood doll of all things just so she could have a friendship problem to solve. But then Kiva had to show his face, and she, along with the rest of the Elements of Harmony had to be formerly indoctrinated into the Wonderful Blue Sky organization considering all seven’s pasts experiences in fighting evil and kicking ass in general.  Apparently, if they were to be believed, they’d been formed centuries ago when Kiva first appeared and fought off Princess Luna and since then had devoted themselves to his capture if he ever were to appear again, fighting off various dangerous monsters such as hydras and bugbears in the meantime. “Grubber, what are you doing?” Tempest had to ask, seeing the little hedgehog chow down on a hoard of cake, probably doing Celestia and her somewhat large flanks proud. “What does it look like, I’m stress-eating! This whole Kiva thing’s got me out of whack, you know?” Grubber exclaimed through a mouthful of cake, Tempest grimacing in disgust. Grubber looked apologetic and swallowed his food. “You know, you really should try this stuff, it’s great! Seriously, Mrs. Cake? Makes the best vanilla oat sponge cake this side of Canterlot.” “No thanks, rots my teeth,” Tempest remarked. “Thank you Grubber, for trying to help but-” “I know, I know, you don’t need it. But seriously, you need to try and relax more. That intimidating look, -Yeah, that one right there with that big scowl!- always a huge turn-off for stallions. Or mares if you’re into that sorta thing. Not going to judge you,” Grubber shrugged. “Two things, cake and a good massage from Aloe and her sister. That’s what always manages to help me relax, calm my mind, enter my inner peace and all that.” Tempest sighed, Grubber, he meant well but he didn’t always know what was best for her at times. He was trying to make up for being such a bad partner over the years from their service to the Storm King, the invasion of Canterlot especially. After the entire friendship festival had ended, and all was said and done with the now free Storm Creatures returning to their homelands in the mountains of Yakyakistan, Tempest and Twilight had eventually found Grubber crying away from the judgemental eyes of everyone else. Apparently, he’d tried so much to put in a good effort in impressing Tempest and showing that he was cut out for the job, that Tempest’s constant rejections had finally cut him to the core. That big speech he’d prepared for Tempest’s entrance in Canterlot? Trying to impress her. His constant -Constantly terrible, Grubber himself admitted- jokes and offered pastries were attempts at cheering her up just a little as he always said that scowl never looked right on her face. And when the invasion truly began with the Storm King creating his long-awaited storm of the ages, he’d ran away and hid in fear and in shame of his constant failures. From that day forth, Tempest swore to keep Grubber by her side, laugh at his jokes no matter how bad they were and generally make him feel needed even going so far as appointing him as her second-in-command. “Oh, oh!” Grubber suddenly exclaimed. “I know that face, it’s your stressed about a problem face! Y’know, you and Princess Twilight seem to share that same face at times. That exact same face, that one right there!” “That obvious huh?” Tempest grimaced. “Yeah, I’ve been having trouble with-” “Kiva? Don’t worry amigo,” Grubber replied. “You’ll find the answer, I know you will.” “Were it so easy…” Tempest murmured to herself as she walked off. As she did so, she heard Grubber’s voice calling after her. “Hey, when you see Twilight, tell her the fridge is out of whipped cream!” Tempest sighed good-naturedly, a far cry from her former self indeed and met Princess Twilight in where else but the castle library. There the Princess was, clad in a midnight-blue dress amongst a veritable mountain of books all on vampires and killing them. Next to her sat some wooden stakes-possibly made of evergreen, Tempest had heard of its effectiveness- a silver cross and some holy water probably gathered from one of the nearby churches of Lady Faust. “You alright? Look like you’ve been up all night Princess,” Tempest asked, laying a hand on her friend’s shoulder. That much was true, Twilight’s face was baggy and her eyes were bloodshot with a nearly empty coffee mug saying ‘World’s Best Princess’ sitting nearby. Her face was resting in the pages of an open book, one very ancient tome probably pulled from Canterlot’s Archives if the subject matter was any indication. “No, Fizzlepop…” Twilight moaned, one of the few people Tempest actually trusted and allowed to call her by her real name. “Just… Just been combing through every book I can find on a way to deal with Kiva. Considering the bodies we’ve found, drained of blood, I think it’s safe to assume Kiva is some sort of Vampire.” “But the bodies we’ve also found, some of them have been shot or shattered like glass. Last I checked, Vampires don’t do that.” Tempest remarked, rubbing her chin in thought. For a brief moment, she considered both Grubber and Fluttershy’s words. Maybe they were right, maybe they were going in the wrong direction. She soon brushed those thoughts aside. No, Kiva was the primary culprit behind these serial killings. Maybe a few were copycat murders by some form of nutty worshippers, but Kiva had to be the main one doing this. “Like I said, some sort. Just what breed, I’m not sure yet, “ Twilight sighed. “I’ll figure it out.” “You always do…” Tempest smiled. “So, I presume you called me here for a reason?” Twilight blinked slowly in shock, not completely awake really before her eyes shot wide open and she muttered “Yes, yes. Now I remember. It’s ready, quite ready indeed!” She pulled an obviously fake book out from a shelf, and with a small click, a painting turned around to reveal what looked to be a belt along with a white and gold knuckle of some sort. “Fizzlepop Berrytwist, or Tempest Shadow if you prefer, I’d like to introduce you to the Intercept and Attack system or IXA for short. Version X, really.” “Wait, so this is the tenth version of a system, and from what I’ve been gathering about you remarking about a new power, I’m going to be the first one to actually use and test this system against Kiva?” Tempest asked in shock, caught off-guard as Twilight handed her the belt and the IXA Knuckle. “I… I don’t know what to say, this… this is an honor for you to entrust me with such a weapon.” “You, out of all the candidates the Blue Sky Organization went through, were the best choice for version 10 of the system,” Twilight nodded, taking a sip of her coffee. “However, I should feel free to warn you, while the IXA system has been refined over the years with various abilities being added or removed as time went on, there’s one problem that the Blue Sky Organization has always worried persisting as time went on. Namely, the toll this takes on the pony body. The first few users of IXA, back in its original state did wind up in the hospital from what they told me. Tempest, you don’t have to do this if you don’t want to…” Twilight trailed off, placing a hand on her friend’s shoulder out of concern. That had was quickly brushed away. “No, I have to. No, I want to, for the greater good. Even if it kills me, Kiva must be stopped no matter the cost.” Tempest stated as Twilight sighed once more. “If you say so…” she murmured as Tempest took notice of the little whistles attached to the belt’s holsters. “Can I just ask? What’s with these?” the mare remarked, holding up a white whistle with blue detailing. “Ah, yes. Those are my own little additions. I’ve taken notice in texts Kiva has used various whistles to activate various powers, so I decided to copy the system and give IXA the same ability. Technology to fight magic.” “Perfect,” Tempest smirked as she slung the belt around her waist. Kiva would not know what hit him now, he was no longer the only Kamen Rider in Equestria. “Fizzlepop?” Twilight asked nervously, kissing her friend on the cheek making them both blush in surprise. “Just… Just be careful okay?” “I will. Don’t worry Twilight,” Tempest stated. “And it’s Kamen Rider IXA now.” As she entered the darkened gym the tolls of Doran’s bells still ringing in her ears, Fluttershy let out a whispered “No…” as she saw several ponies already drained of their blood scattered about. None of them were close friends of hers nor had she ever even known their names but she let out a whimper all the same. More ponies attached to the trail of death she left behind. She then heard a harsh form of laughter as she saw a stallion with thick black hair laughing and rejoicing in this before squeaking in fear as she saw the emblem on his jacket. Rook turned and smiled as he saw the little pegasus quivering. “Oh, the perfect ending to my little game. Fluttershy herself! Yes, I will be treating myself tonight…” Rook smiled as his veins took on a stained glass tint before he changed with Fluttershy only able to watch in transfixed horror. Standing at least a foot tall above her in height was this leonine creature, with a pure white mane like death itself, two marble cupids blowing horns functioning as shoulder pads and legs covered in vine and brick. Fluttershy swallowed but did not let her fear consume her. She had a job to do and ponies to protect. “Kivat!” the pegasus called, with the little bat fluttering into the area. As Fluttershy let Kivat bite down on her arm, stained glass veins not unlike a Fangire’s covered her face and her eyes narrowed into bat-like slits as that strange distorted violin note filled the air only stopping when she had finished her transformation. Rook was so taken aback by this, with that being Fluttershy AKA Ponyville’s meekest resident actually being Kiva he just had to burst out laughing. “So, you’re the infamous Kiva, the Silent Killer in the Night?” Rook laughed. “I’m sorry, I just need a minute to recollect myself and rebuild the reality that you just shattered like my fellow Fangire.” “And you’re Rook, wanted by the Blue Sky Organization for the murder of 120 stallions, sixty mares, ten fillies, five foals, three goats-” “Not so silent now are we? Let me finish that for you. Oh yes, I know this last one! Five foals, three goats, and a rather nasty massacre of a certain species of fish! We all have our little problems.” Rook chuckled. “You’re going to pay for that,” Fluttershy growled, a whole new side of her coming to light now that she was behind the safety of Kiva’s mask. She was no longer the Element of Kindness, but Kamen Rider Kiva, the last defense of Ponykind from what lurked in the dark. “I actually have a few friends in that species you so delightfully slaughtered. Now normally, I’d just try and reason with you, hopefully take you alive to answer for your crimes against ponykind but in this case? I think I’ll make an exception.” Fluttershy remarked with a distinctly venomous and rather uncharacteristic snarl of rage. “So it seems perhaps punishing myself for my sins was a hasty mistake,” Rook commented as he bared his fangs. “For tonight I kill Kiva.” And so the battle began, with both combatants throwing powerful punches that sometimes landed, sometimes they didn’t. Rook threw a kick, but Kiva only caught it between her knee and her elbow before headbutting the leonine Fangire. “You know, you could help me if you were ever so inclined,” Rook offered as he fired needles from his claws like missiles with Kiva rolling out of the way. “I remember the original Kiva, what he was like. A real king of the monsters.” Fluttershy’s eyes widened under her helmet, before they narrowed. “I’d rather die before I submit to helping you in your sick games Rook.” “Oh, don't be boring. Everyone that says that dies,” Rook sighed in a bored tone. “And honestly, you really think you can keep this up forever? Endure the scorn of everyone you know and love, just to save a few measly ponies who don’t matter in the end?” he snarled, and Fluttershy faltered for a moment, long enough for Rook to kick her through the walls and outside into the small spot of woodland behind the gym. “Yeah, I thought so, you’re hardly invincible. A far cry from the original Kiva.” “Funny, I heard different,” Fluttershy stated in a sassy tone regaining a little bit of her confidence as she grabbed a tree trunk, and pulled it out of the ground before smacking Rook with it sending him flying into a boulder. The boulder was smashed into rubble as Fluttershy tossed the tree trunk aside with a loud thud. “The original Kiva, my predecessor? Princess Luna managed to draw him to a standstill. And she didn’t even have the powers of a Rider. Guess we know who the true ruler of the night is, huh?” “Lies!” Rook snarled out in rage before taking a swipe at Kiva, which was caught and Rook only earned himself a punch to the gut for his troubles. He staggered backwards but fired another volley of pin missiles at Fluttershy, who rolled to the left to dodge them. “I made a promise to Ramon, and the Siren race to defeat you, and avenge them. I do not break my promises,” the pegasus stated. “Tonight, you fall and your little time plays end,” she remarked, before drawing the Garulu Fuestle and placing it in Kivat’s mouth. “Garuru Saber!” the bat boomed, a different tune from before playing, this one sounding like an organ. A blue object crashed through the trees and into his other hand, chains wrapping around his arm and Kiva turning a dark blue shade, her helmet’s eyes along with Kivat’s own earning a dark blue tint as a timberwolf howled in the background. The object unfolded into a sharp gold-colored blade, with a wolf’s head as the hilt. Kiva crouched down, growling ferally. Springing forward, Fluttershy slashed at Rook’s chest. The fangire swiped at him, scoring a slash across the chest of his own. Kiva staggered, but looked unfazed. “Give it up, you can’t defeat me!” Rook snarled. “I am Rook, the hunter and one of the strongest of the Checkmate Four.” “And probably the most arrogant of the four, I’d like to think,” Fluttershy replied still in that sassy tone, before her tone turned softer. “I know my limits, I know I can’t defeat you as I am not. But by knowing their weaknesses, people can become stronger and surpass themselves. Break the chains that bind them.” “Well well, someone’s poetic…” Rook remarked with a dismissive snort as he and circled Fluttershy each other like the predators they were. “I read,” Fluttershy remarked with a small shrug. “But you yourself said, you’re weak. And you couldn’t defeat me in your current state.” Rook taunted as he ran towards Kiva triumphant arrogant laugher accompanying him. But Kiva smiled under her helmet and she only sidestepped out of the way and kicked Rook back through the hole into the ruined gym. “Maybe I was wrong,” Fluttershy remarked calmly. “You’re quick to anger, and anger leads to rash decisions. Just ask my friend Rainbow Dash, she could probably teach you a thing or two about that.” Rook roared in rage, before he charged once more at Kiva only for the Garulu Saber to strike him in the shoulder. Fluttershy backflipped away and spun once her boots touched the ground again taking advantage of the fangire’s shock to land another blow across the chest before kicking him in the wounded area making Rook stagger back. “This is my resolve, to defeat you,” Fluttershy stated as she landed another blow on Rook’s right shoulder. “And then once you are defeated, we’ll see who faces eternal judgment in the end.” Rook let out a nearly earsplitting roar of rage and swiped at Fluttershy again and again, who leaped out of reach of the attacks beginning to get a feel for Rook’s moves. Rile him up, and although he was dangerous in that state still, he managed to become much easier to predict. At least, that’s what she thought right up till the moment till Rook managed to flip her onto the ground sending the Garulu Saber out of reach as the fangire began stomping on her. “Who’s the big dog now?” Rook sneered before he let out a little yelp of pain as Kivat bit down on his foot. “Kivat is!” Kivat cried triumphantly as Rook leaped up and down in pain before Fluttershy recovered and scored a powerful blow to the gut making Rook stagger. “Tick tock Rook, clock’s ticking…” Kivat chuckled as the little bat returned to his roosting place on Fluttershy’s belt. Rook looked confused for a moment, before his eyes widened as he saw the little watch on his wrist click down to zero, his time play coming to an end. He snarled. “Another day Kiva, another day.” he warned, before turning tail and running off. Fluttershy, as she clutched her chest in pain managed to stagger out of sight as well and cancel her transformation resting up against a wall as Tempest arrived at about that moment dressed in full Friendship Guard armor. She’d heard the reports of a commotion coming from the gym, and so thinking it might have had something to do with her current quarry elected to take a look. For all she knew, it could have been some punk kids deciding to graffiti up the joint, but no lead was to be left open and no stone was to be left unturned. That was her resolve. “Damnit!” she shouted in frustration, stamping a hoof as she saw all of the dead lying about. “Kiva again!” She then heard a small whimpering of pain, and ran over to find Fluttershy resting up against the outside walls, clutching a bleeding chest marked by a series of slashes. From the safety of a nearby tree, Kivat watched as Tempest began bandaging Fluttershy’s wounds. “A-Are you alright?” Tempest stuttered out in shock, having never seen slashes like that before. They resembled a manticore’s but if that was the case Fluttershy had no right to be even alive. “What happened?” “K-Kiva,” Fluttershy whispered, knowing that if she blamed herself in a way it would throw her off the trail of suspicion from actually being Kiva. After all, nobody in their right minds would suspect her anyways, and they probably wouldn’t believe in Rook even if someone who was well-established in Ponyville’s community told them. “He attacked you? And you survived?” Tempest asked in shock, her eyes wide. “How did you…” “Played possum, made him think he’d killed me,” Fluttershy answered before she looked at Tempest’s belt. “What’s that? Doesn’t seem like standard Royal Guard issue to me.” “It’s nothing, nothing you need to worry about,” Tempest lied. “Hey, sure you’re going to be alright?” she asked kindly. “You look rather shook up.” “I was attacked by Kiva, I think I have a right to be a little shook up don’t you?” Fluttershy deadpanned as Tempest helped her up off the ground and began bandaging her wounds before a call came out from inside the gym. Tempest turned to another guard, a dark midnight blue pegasus named Star Hunter and asked for him to take care of Fluttershy as Tempest herself ran back inside the gym. “It’s okay Fluttershy, I gotcha. Nothin’ to worry about.” Star Hunter said kindly, helping Fluttershy walk to some nearby medical staff. Sure, Kiva usually left nothing behind to care for but everyone always held out hope there would be some survivors of his rampage. “Hey Tempest, come look at this!” Flash Sentry’s voice had exclaimed as he picked up the Garulu Saber, and Tempest ran over to see just a little of it before something crimson flew by in a blinding blur of motion and swiped it from the pegasus’ hands. “What the…?” Tempest murmured before she placed a hand to her chin and murmured: “Very interesting…”