//------------------------------// // When Wyatt's Away the Twilights Will Play Pt. I // Story: A Passing Through Kamen Rider // by thunderclap //------------------------------// Somber sat on his throne, a quiet rage filling him. Wyatt had somehow eluded capture. Not only that, but the young man had kneecapped the food source for many of his monster factions. If King weren't already dead, he'd likely take a swing at the fangire himself. Now, he needed to find a new general to take over King's role. He couldn't put Midnight in the position, she was too valuable in her role. Blud had seemed too flighty lately. And Pinkamena was loyal, but far too unhinged to be left in charge of anything significant. "Miles away, oh Great Leader?" An irritating voice questioned, cutting off Somber's train of thought. Focusing his gaze, Somber was greeted by a familiar face. “I thought our business was concluded? Why are you sullying my throne with your presence?” "Oh silly meat bag," the man said, his facial features slowly shifting while he kept up his grin. He reclined on the arm rest of the throne. "My kind go where we please. But I thought you'd be interested in knowing that new cards have been shuffled into the deck." “Speak. Plainly,” Somber pressed, tapping his fingers on the arm rest. “I ask again, why are you here?” "Sorry, I forget how limited meat brain thinking is," the Displacer stated, stretching. "Another of my kind has given a girl cards like that boy of yours. Thought you'd like to know. You have that well thought out plan and all.” “What?” Somber responded, rising up out of his throne. His lips pulled back, revealing his fangs. “If you’ve known about this then why didn’t you do anything to stop them from giving some girl those cards?!” He froze, his body locked in place. Somber's form began to flicker and warp, holding the displacer’s attention. "Don't forget your station, oh great leader," the displaced said, his words oozing with mockery. "I'm not one of your servants. I only aid you because it amuses me. Nothing more, nothing less." He released his hold, dropping Somber to his knees. “But hey,” he started, returning to his carefree demeanor, “I can at least point you to the universe where the girl is.” Somber growled, struggling to still his shaking body. "The location then, if you would be so kind." Conjuring up a post-it note, the Displacer stuck it to the front of Somber’s armor. “There you go, since you asked nicely. Isn't it so much easier when you use your manners?" With that, the man vanished in thin air, leaving Somber alone with the note. Rising to his full height, Somber put a fist through one of the throne room’s crystal pillars. Pulling his fist back, he shook off the dust. Loathing welled in his breast; weakness was a trait he could not allow himself to possess. Sombra had been weak. Shining Armor had been weak. Somber Shield would not bear that stain. "You seem agitated." Somber turned his head slowly, fury shaking his body. Midnight stood at the doorway, holding her tablet to her chest. "I'm quite alright," Somber replied, retaking his throne. "You have impeccable timing, my dear. Something of utmost importance has come to my attention." Midnight’s gaze lingered on the pillar for a moment, but decided not to bring it up and approached the throne. “What is it, Great Leader?” "It seems an outside force has decided to tamper with my grand design." Smoke billowed from Somber's eyes, his hateful gaze focused past her. "Combatmen just won't do, not for this. We need something for... What's the word? Ah yes, blitzkrieg." "I have a few things that might suit that type of conflict, Great Leader,” Midnight stated, following the stallion’s gaze but finding nothing. "Drakkon's sentries would be most qualified, though, Drakkon may protest it as a waste of his resources." “That doesn’t matter,” Somber said, looking down at her. “Inform Drakkon his Great Leader requires some of his forces. Impress upon him this is a matter of utmost importance.” Biting her lip, Midnight nodded. “Of course, Great Leader, I'll inform Drakkon of your orders.” “Good." Somber seemed to release some tension from his body. “Now, what was your original reason for coming to my throne room, my dear?” "If my understanding of the Equestrian template is correct, it would appear my counterpart on 296965 will be ascending within the next few days. I thought you might like to interject on the matter." “Good work, Midnight,” Somber answered, putting a hand to her shoulder. “Once you mobilize Drakkon’s forces, I’ll let you decide how best to deal with Twilight. Consider it a show of faith for all you’ve done.” Midnight leaned into the touch, the world falling away. In that moment, Somber felt so much like her brother, sharing with her fraternal warmth. But then the moment was over, his still smoking eyes dragging her back to reality. "Thank you, Great Leader, I'll endeavour to use this honor to its fullest." “I know you will,” Somber said, removing his hand. “Now, I believe I’ll call for either Celestia or Luna. You’re dismissed, my dear.” Midnight bowed her head, making haste on her retreat from the throne room. Once she was out of the room, she summoned a dimensional rift and walked through. Her mind racing with possibilities on how to deal with her counterpart. Nana tsked, fluttering around Twilight’s lab. “We’re going to have to do some serious upgrading. There’s barely even electricity here! How  can your species live like this?!” Twilight sat at her work table, etching runes into a crystal. "Pretty comfortably, Nana," she answered, not looking away from her task. "If it bothers you so much you can always get to work on that." “I don’t even have the materials!” Nana threw her arms up before slumping over. “This is going to be a nightmare to deal with. I’m going to have to teach you whole branches of science, set up a manufacturing base. Why me?” "If it's too much work, you can go back in the capsule," Twilight offered, inserting the crystal into a strange device. "Maybe Phantom will work with us on some stealth tech?" Nana frowned, flittering about Twilight’s head. “What we need to be doing is jailbreaking the emitter. Having us all at once is a lot better than having to swap us out.” "I'm already working on something," Twilight said, adjusting the strange device. "I've noticed that even while using my Copy ring I can only use one of my forms. If this works, then I'll be able to use all four at once." Taking a seat on Twilight’s shoulder, she gazed down at Twilight’s handiwork. “Are you making a stopwatch? I don’t think you need magic rocks to do that.” Giggling, Twilight prodded the device. "The timer is so the spell can charge and stabilize. And keeping it on my wrist was convenient for use during battle. I’m using a bit of Starswirl’s time spell for its function.” "Sounds pretty clever," Nana said, leaning against Twilight's cheek. "Then again, I don't know much about magic. But is messing with time safe? That seems... unwise.” “It’ll be fine, Nana. Totally different from the last time I used the spell,” Twilight dismissed, closing up the device and putting it on her wrist. “I used special runes to contain the magic.” Lighting up her horn, she poured her magic into the device. “Now, to test this beauty!” Nana’s frown deepened. “I don’t know if that’s that best idea, Twilight. Shouldn’t you test it in stages?” “Of course I’ll test it in stages. I’ll start with making one clone and make sure they can maintain a different form from me.” Twilight’s magic brought the device to life, its faceplate lighting up in four different colors. Donning her armor, Twilight pushed the thumb on her device. "Magic Time!" it called out, the timer counting down. When it hit the blue section, she pressed the thumb again. "Water!" Despite the call, nothing happened at first, disappointing the unicorn. After a few silent moments, an odd colored smoke came out of the device. Twilight sighed, cancelling her transformation. “Well, at least it didn’t explode.” "Guess it's back to the drawing board on that one," Nana said, floating back up. "Pity, I was excited to see double of you boss lady." Removing the watch, Twilight turned it over in her hands. “I don’t understand. It should have worked. All my calculations were rock solid. I’ll have to take it apart again... maybe shift the thaumaturgical balances...” Setting it down, she pulled out her notebook and started jotting down equations. "Did I not take into account Starswirl's spell enough?” Lighting her horn, she floated over her copy of Starswirl’s spell. “What am I missing?”  Tapping her chin in thought, she scrawled out equations for a while. Narrowing her eyes, nothing seemed to be adding up. Closing her notebook, she rubbed at her eyes. “I’ll have to look at it again in the morning. Nothing is making sense right now.” Grumbling to herself, she packed up all of her materials. “Do you want me to do anything while you’re sleeping?” Nana asked, taking the air again. "Can you make a list of materials for me so you can start making upgrades?" Twilight requested, making her way up the stairs. "I might as well work on that until I have a breakthrough with that project." “Of course.” Nana nodded, already flitting about the room. “I’ll have it ready before dawn.” "Thank you, Nana," Twilight said, closing the door to the basement. The library was quiet, soft moonlight shining in from the windows. The rest of her family had gotten to sleep hours ago, despite Wyatt’s insistence on waiting up for her. Speaking of Wyatt, she could see he was passed out on the couch in the dim light, a book sitting next to his open hand. Using her magic, she floated the book up to take a closer look. The Ides of Mare. She was impressed, that was a classic. “See you in the morning,” she whispered, planting a kiss on his cheek. Covering him with a blanket, she went up to their bedroom. Wyatt was brought back to consciousness by a sudden bout of sunlight hitting his face. With a groan, he opened one of his eyes. He shot upright, suddenly noticing where he was. Somehow he was in Canterlot Castle. Glancing down at the ground, there was a magic circle of some kind, only adding to his confusion. “Okay, this is new, even for me,” he said to himself, pushing himself to his feet. “Uh... hello?” “Sister, is this truly the hero we sought?” an oddly familiar young voice questioned, turning towards the source. What he found was a very short Princess Luna, who looked no older than thirteen. He couldn’t help but stare at her unmoving, baby blue mane.   “Okay, a young looking Luna that doesn’t recognize me,” Wyatt said, rubbing the back of his head. “I’m guessing this is another world.” “Oh? You already know of us?” A teenage Celestia stepped into view, her mane a bright pink. “I’m afraid we do not yet know you. Would you be kind enough to share your name, hero?” Unable to resist, Wyatt pulled a camera from his pocket. “Sure, I’ll introduce myself. Can you just scooch closer to your sister real quick?” The white alicorn seemed confused, but followed his request. “Thanks, my name’s Wyatt Matthews, but I also go by Kamen Rider Decade when I’m suited up,” he explained, snapping a picture of the sisters.  Shaking off her confusion, she held her hand out. “It is a pleasure to meet you, Wyatt Matthews. I do regret it couldn’t be under better circumstances.”  Slipping his camera back into his pocket, Wyatt accepted the handshake. “It’s okay, I’m used to getting called when there’s trouble. How can I help?” Celestia motioned for Wyatt to follow her out of the room. “Recently, strange armored beings have come to our land, razing everything in their path. They strike so quickly, we haven’t been able to counter them.” “These armored figures, what do they look like?” Wyatt questioned, hoping to glean what sort of world he might be dealing with. “Multicolored? Have animal emblems on their armor?” “Yes, exactly,” Luna replied, nodding her head. “Is this something you’ve dealt with before?” “Yeah, once or twice,” Wyatt said, his features hardening. “How long have they been here?” “Not long, a week or so at the longest,” Celestia explained, leading Wyatt into a map room. “But with how little luck we’ve had so far, we thought it best to bring in assistance. Your card arriving seemed like a sign.” The room itself was dome shaped, the ceiling covered in star charts. The stars shimmered, twinkling against the painted night sky. Murals decorated the walls, detailing the geography of the world. Of course, spaces were blank. Probably from a lack of knowledge, Wyatt thought. At the center was a map table, giving a detailed depiction of Equestria itself. It looked like something that generals would use to direct the tides of war. Luna held up the card, her fingers running over the back. “It matches the ones a dear friend once carried with her.” Wyatt blinked, staring at the princess in disbelief. "Hold on, your friend had cards like mine? Was she a Kamen Rider too?" Celestia held up a hand, cutting him off. “I know we have many questions for each other but please, hold them until my student and her friends arrive.” Conjuring up a scroll, she wrote out a quick few lines before sending it off. “She shouldn’t take too long.” Sighing, Wyatt leaned against the map table. "Fine, but can I get some food? You guys brought me here before breakfast." “Of course. We’ll send for something. Please, feel free to walk around the room. Taking a seat at one end of the room, Wyatt drew Ninjor’s sword and started to clean it like Tsukiya taught him. The repetitive actions helped him clear his thoughts. The idea of another Decade intrigued him, or was the Displaced a DiEnd? It didn’t seem like too much of a stretch to think that he’d run into a DiEnd. He was in the middle of a large breakfast when the door opened and six figures walked in. Much to his surprise, it wasn't Twilight and the girls. At the front was a cream colored unicorn that he didn't recognize, followed by a bipedal cat, a diamond dog, a light blue and red female changeling, what he could only call a dragon pony and a young deer buck. “You... aren’t who I was expecting...” Wyatt muttered, looking between each of them. "And who were you expecting?" The unicorn questioned, adjusting her glasses. She was wearing a long dress, with a small cape that went around her neck and draped down to her shoulder blades. “Uh... Twilight Sparkle?” Wyatt offered. The six shared a look before the cat-man said, "You mean Captain Armor's little sister?" Wyatt frowned, rubbing his neck. “Uh... yeah? Where I’m from, she’s Celestia’s student. I have no idea who any of you are.” "I'm Moon Dancer, Celestia's student," the unicorn answered. "And these are my friends, Capper, Autumn Blaze, Ocellus, Rover and Bramble. Are you the hero the princesses called?” Rover scoffed, crossing his arms. “Hairless creature don’t look like much.”  Wyatt noted the thin clothes covering the canine, an outfit that reminded him of a karate gi, though with added leather shoulderpads. “Look like toothpick.” Wyatt chuckled, taking a bite of his food. "Yeah, people underestimate me a lot. But I'm a certified monster buster. Otherwise, I wouldn’t still be kicking.” “So um, why did you call us here, princesses?” Ocellus asked, poking her head out from the back of the group. “D-did those villains attack again?” “Not since the last time, but this is in regards to them,” Luna explained, looking around the room. “And Wyatt here has offered his aid in that regard; he has some experience with them.” Clearing his throat, Wyatt broke into a summary of Drakkon and his sentries. They didn’t seem to understand a lot of the associated terms, but they appeared to get most of it. His eyes traced over the map, taking in each attack mark. None of the names were the same, even some of the geography was different.  “So if these sentries normally go after what you call Rangers, then why are they here to do raids?” Capper asked, his eyes scanning the map. “We don’t have anything like that here. They aren’t after the Blastia cores and I haven’t heard anything about them actually looting anything.” Wyatt looked around the room, his gaze settling on the princesses. “You said that your friend had cards like mine, where is she?” Celestia frowned, putting a hand down on the map. “Velvet hasn’t been awake in a very long time. She was afraid her hunger would make her a danger to the world at large. That is why we made her, the Lord of Calamity, the warden of Tartarus.” “If these sentries aren’t after things from this world, they might be after something from mine,” Wyatt offered, pointing to Tartarus. “It’s only a matter of time before they think to break down the gates and storm Tartarus.” “If worst comes to worst, we could always drop Tartarus into the abyss,” Luna suggested, looking up at her sister. “And lose Velvet forever?” Celestia retorted, narrowing her eyes at her younger sister. “I never thought you would be so cold.” Luna snorted, poking Celestia’s chest. “And you forget just why we made her the warden. Nothing in that prison can escape.” “I could always go in there,” Wyatt chimed in, getting the sisters’ attention. “If we open the gates just enough for me to go in, nothing should escape and if I take the cards, these sentries will leave this world alone.” “Going into Tartarus by yourself is tantamount to suicide,” Capper argued, tapping a finger on the table. “Things best left forgotten make that forsaken place home.” Wyatt nodded, looking at the area of the map where Tartarus was. "I'm pretty used to my plans being stupid, suicidal or both."  It didn’t sound like the Tartarus back home, they hadn’t mentioned any killing miasma. “How dangerous is it?” "It's a demon jail, so you know, probably in the top ten for dangerous places," Autumn said, waving her hand in a circle. The dragon pony was wearing hide armor, giving her an intimidating air despite her upbeat demeanor. “I know they have a few dragons and the wispling queen.” "Wispling?" Wyatt repeated, a brow quirking at that. "What in the world is that?" Ocellus seemed to shrink in on herself. “W-when changelings are exposed to high levels of n-negative emotions, they turn into wisplings. T-there’s no cure s-so... most of them are confined to Tartarus.” It was a surreal experience, finding a world so different from his own. Questions almost slipped passed his lips, insensitive, almost blith questions. Wyatt spoke, needing to remind himself he could take nothing for granted. “Alright then, we need to come up with a plan.” "We'll need something that can repel demons," Moon Dancer suggested, lifting a tome from her hip. "And Ocellus will need some shielding from the negative emotions that any wisplings will exude." Cracking the book open, she flipped through the pages. “I’m pretty sure I can whip something up. I might need to anchor Ocellus to one of you.” "Rover volunteers," the diamond dog stated, nodding to Moon Dancer. He thumped a hand against his chest. “Strong heart make good anchor!” "Thank you, Rover," Ocellus said a small smile on her face. "I'll try to not get in your way too much." Celestia cleared her throat, getting the group’s attention. “I’ll ready an airship for your departure. I’ll leave the spellcrafting to you and Luna, Moondancer.” Walking towards the door, she gestured for Wyatt to follow. “Please follow me, Mr. Mathews.”  Quirking a brow, Wyatt followed the solar princess out of the room. He didn't know what she wanted, but it had to be important if it had to be said alone. “What’s on your mind, Princess? Are we late for gym class?” "Very cute, Mr. Matthews," the short mare said, rolling her eyes. “Do you need to make any more jabs at my juvenile appearance?” "Just one more," Wyatt said with a grin. "Then I'll be serious, promise. Does your throne have a built in booster seat?" He winced as Celestia threw a jab at his thigh. “Okay, ow! I had that coming, I guess.” He rubbed at his thigh, motioning for Celestia to proceed. “If you’re done?” She asked, giving him a flat stare.  She got a quick nod in response and he straightened himself up. “Go right ahead, I did promise after all.” Celestia cleared her throat, smoothing her dress out. “Velvet is under a deep sleep, a spell designed to keep her in stasis throughout the centuries. Only two things can break her from this spell. The unsanctioned release of a certain percentage of Tartarus’s inmates, and the key to her sarcophagus.” "A key you happen to have," Wyatt guessed, seeing where this was going. "But didn't Velvet want to stay asleep due to her hunger? Or are the cards in the coffin?" "Yes, obtaining the cards would mean waking her," she confirmed, stopping at a rather ornate door. “But I feel we might need her strength to face our enemy.” The door itself was decorated in scenes of battle, featuring a prominent figure with a wickedly clawed right arm.  Wyatt didn't recognize the figure, though judging by the outfit he'd guess she was a Displaced from a JRPG. He had to admit, he wouldn't want to be on the bad side of her demonic looking arm. Celestia’s magic wrapped around the demonic arm, closing the fingers into a fist. Creaking gears rumbled from the walls, sliding the door into the wall. “I’d ask that you do your best to keep my student and her friends safe. These sentries don’t belong on this world, they don’t follow our rules.” "Of course I'll keep her safe," Wyatt assured, peaking into the doorway. All he could see was inky blackness. “What uh, what you got in here, Princess? Awful lot of effort for what I assume is a key.” "Along with Velvet's sarcophagus key, there's also the means to safely enter Tartarus within," Celestia explained, using her magic to light the torches within the room. Getting a better look, it was clearly a vault of some kind. "As well as some artifacts I have gathered but they are irrelevant to what you're doing." Alcoves lined the walls, each housing some kind of artifact. Magical barriers pulsed at the opening of each alcove, separating the items from the visitors. Wyatt recognized the Alicorn Amulet in one such cell, though suitably matching the anime aesthetic.  Celestia led him to the far end of the vault, two items kept in one cell. The first was an orb, its surface swirling with shadow. The second was a wrought iron key, its handle shaped like a demon’s claw. Reaching into the alcove, Celestia pulled the two items through the magical barrier. “Simply place the orb in the corresponding slot on Tartarus’s door and it shall open to you.” She handed the items over and added, "And to get past Cerberus you must give him pets and one of his treats." Wyatt slipped the key into his pocket, putting the orb under his arm. “And where are his treats?” "We'll load some up in the airship that you'll be taking," Celestia assured. “Just don’t let Rover get his hands on them, Cerberus gets upset when he smells his treats on someone else’s breath.” “Uh right...” Wyatt muttered, rubbing his neck. “Sure...” “And that’s everything for the moment,” Celestia said, motioning for him to follow her out of the vault. “Relax and get to know my student and her friends, you’ll be alerted when the airship is ready.” “Uncle Spike, you have to get up.”  Sombra’s voice pierced the haven that was Spike’s sleep, dragging him back to the waking world. A disappointed growl emitted from his throat, a lazy eye opening to greet the colt. “Whaddya need, Sombra?” Pulling at the covers, Sombra looked towards the door. "You wouldn't believe me if I said, you gotta get up and see." Grabbing Spike’s arm, he did his best to pull the drake out of his bed. “Come on!” Reluctantly, Spike followed the colt out towards the kitchen. Once he left his room he could hear the muffled sounds of shouting. His first thought was that Twilight and Wyatt were having an argument and that was what was upsetting Sombra. “I told you, we’re not giving him just gems!” Twilight’s voice boomed, shaking the still recovering treehouse. "It's just one meal, what's the worst that could happen?" Spike had to do a double take, he could've sworn he had heard Twilight's voice again. “It’s not good for his health!” "Where's Wyatt?!" Twilight whined. "H-he'd know how to settle this." Spike finally entered the kitchen, finding a shocking scene. Instead of Wyatt and Twilight arguing, it was Twilight arguing with herself. Three other versions of herself. One was red with a dark red mane and her usual pink streak, the next was blue with the streak now purple, the next was green and the last was yellow. He also couldn't help but notice that the Twilights were more draconic than normal; patches of scales covered their body, their horns curved and split almost like an antler. Their manes continued down and around their necks much like a lion's. Their tails had also lengthed, having become quite leonine. "Uh, Twi?" Spike questioned, still trying to process what he was seeing. "Yes?" The quartet retorted, turning to face the drake in unison. “See?” Sombra asked, standing next to him. “I told you it was important.” Spike nodded slowly, unable to look away from his sister turned sisters. "Yeah, I'd say this is important. So uh, does one of you know what's going on here? Are you testing out some new spell or something?" “I think this has something to do with the experiment I was doing last night,” the green Twilight started, looking at Spike with her argument seemingly forgotten. “It was meant to allow me to create copies of myself that could use my different Wizard forms  at the same time. I thought nothing happened but when I woke up there were three copies of me running around and we look like this!” The red Twilight snorted, poking Green’s head. “You’re my copy!” “How do you know?” Green asked, sticking her tongue out. “Isn’t the most logical thing for all of us to assume we’re the original until we can investigate this and determine otherwise?” Spike sighed, holding his head in his hands for a moment. “Okay, so, I’m pretty sure none of you is the original.” Puffing smoke, Spike clapped his hands together. “Okay! How do we fix this and get the one Twilight back?” “W-we probably have to work on the Magic Timer again,” the blue Twilight offered, shuffling on her hooves. “Um, at least that’s what I think.” “No one asked you!” Red Twilight snapped, snarling at the timid girl. “Don’t yell at her!” Yellow snapped, glaring at her red counterpart. “She’s only trying to help!” Red got in Yellow’s face, her snarl growing. “Don’t tell me what to do!” “If you don’t get out of my face, then I will force you out of it,” Yellow warned, her horn starting to glow. Sombra wedged himself between them, pushing Red back with his magic. “Mom, you're acting like a foal. Calm down.” Green snickered while Yellow and Red turned their backs to each other with a snort. "How 'bout this, why don't we split up and work on this in our own ways? It's pretty clear we aren't good at working together." “That’s a terrible idea,” Spike muttered, looking between each of them. “I don’t want any of you leaving my sight.” Smirking, Red held up a certain finger and teleported out of the room.  Spike groaned, his shoulders sagging. “I didn’t need this today. This was supposed to be a lazy day, not magic crisis day...” Ushering Sombra into a chair, he did his best to make breakfast for the rest of them. "Look on the bright side, Spike," Green said, sitting down and munching on an amethyst. "What's the worst she could do out in town?" She blinked at Spike’s stare. “What? Why are you looking at me like that?” Shaking his head, Spike went back to cooking breakfast. It was going to be a long day, that much he knew. “Where’s dad?” Sombra asked, looking around the table. “Normally the smell of cooking breakfast wakes him up.” “He wasn’t there when we woke up,” Yellow said, leaning against the wall. “He must have been summoned during the night.” Sombra nodded, looking down at the table. “Hope he comes back soon.” It always bothered him when his father was called away. His father was strong, but he always had the fear that he wouldn’t come back. "Do you really wanna see the four versions of your mom fight over him?" Spike whispered, sliding some pancakes to his nephew. "Probably best he's gone right now.” Raising his voice, he patted Sombra on the head. “Now eat up, okay?”  Sombra started eating his pancakes, examining the versions of his mother. He kept looking for some sort of hint to one of them being the original, but nothing presented itself. Frowning, he concerned himself with his meal. Green attacked her meal, eating with Twilight's usual grace. Blue gingerly picked at her meal, as if eating too quickly would cause it to run away. Yellow ate slowly, displaying manners neither Spike nor Sombra knew Twilight had.  Spike started to eat his own meal, looking between the trio. "Sombra, I'm gonna be keeping an eye on these three, can you find Red?" “Uh, ya. I can find her.” Sombra nodded,  a frown tugging at his lips.  "If my guess is correct, she's more likely to listen to you," Spike offered. "But if she doesn't then get one of the girls to help you." Collecting everyone’s dishes, Sombra dropped them in the sink. Doubt weighed heavily on his shoulders, his dressing for the day an automatic action. Slipping out the door, his thoughts turned to places his mother would be likely to go to as he began his search. His first stop was the Quill and Sofa, his mother's favorite store. Unfortunately, there was no sign she had even been there. Even the stallion at the counter hadn't seen her. Wracking his brain, he checked the fast food restaurant since Red had skipped breakfast. “What do you mean you don’t serve gems?!” "Ma'am, there's just no profit in it," the manager said, shaking her head. "Plus I'm pretty sure it would be a health code nightmare to store them with the food." “Gems are food!” "Not according to pony biology," the manager retorted, rubbing at her temple. "Dragons don't deal with Equestria so there's nothing in the books to help us cater to them." “Do I look like a dragon to you!?” Red demanded, slamming a hand on the table. "No, but I've never seen one of your species and assumed it was dragon adjacent since you keep shouting about gems." Inserting himself into the conversation, Sombra took a seat across from Red. “She’ll have a double hayburger and fries. Lots of ketchup.” His mother's anger wasn’t something that showed itself often. Much of Red had to be from the dragon essence they now shared. "Hey, who are you t-" Red paused, her anger ebbing slightly. She even managed a smile. "Sombra!" Turning to the manager she nodded. "Yes, that'll do." Sombra put in an order for a soda, watching the manager slink off to another table. “You uh, could have handled that better. It’s a good thing you don’t really look like yourself, otherwise ponies would start talking.” "Anypony that bad mouths me would regret that instantly," Red dismissed, leaning on her hand. “I’m the princesses personal student, people know better than to upset me.” "Isn't it wrong to use status like that?" Sombra argued, a frown on his face. He couldn't believe what he was hearing, his mother would never use the princess to push others around. “You don’t actually think that, do you?” "What's the point of all the hard work I do if I just let ponies talk bad about me?" Red questioned, arching a brow. "Sometimes you gotta remind people that you're not a pushover. Really Sombra, you need to shine your spine more.” "You always taught me that kindness is the best way to reach people," he retorted, their food arriving. "Not by forcing others to respect you with station or power." Red snorted, rolling her eyes. “One of those weaklings told you that. I’m telling it like it is, Sombra. If you don’t show people how strong you are, they’ll walk all over you.” She took a bite of her burger, eating like a ravenous animal. "No it was you, back when there was only one of you," Sombra countered, picking up his soda. Were these really things his mother thought about? Was it just the unrestrained dragon within her?  Sombra frowned, his thoughts spiraling further and further out of control. He had to shake his head; none of that mattered. He knew his mother was good, she was more than the sum of these parts. “Why don’t we go back to the library? You can’t do any research without your lab.” "Fine, but I want to finish my burger first," Red relented, biting into her meal. “Aren’t you getting anything to eat? Here, have some of my fries.” "I just had pancakes," Sombra answered, though he still took a few of the offered fries. The act did put him at ease though. Despite Red seeming like a ball of pure draconic wrath, there was still some of his mother's nurturing tendencies there. Red tossed a few bits on the table, more than she needed for such a small meal. “Come on you, we got ponies to save.” Lifting Sombra onto her shoulders, she confidently strutted her way onto the streets of Ponyville. Sombra settled in on her shoulders, a sense of relief filling him. Getting Red to come back was almost too easy. As if the universe had read his mind, a gleaming object fell out of the sky. A whine built in his throat, watching in dismay as it began to open. The airship lurched, a hail of fire striking against the hull. Wyatt rushed up from below deck, vision erratically searching. Some type of gunship screamed past, followed by two more. They banked to the side, coming around for another strafing run. They almost reminded him of a stealth bomber mixed with a traditional jet. Summoning his belt, Wyatt slapped it to his waist. Pulling out a few cards, he knew just how to tackle the jets. Once he was in his Decade form, he slipped a new card into it. "Displaced Ride: X!" Wyatt's armor shifted, turning blue and resembling that of the Maverick hunter with the trusty buster in place of one of his hands. The biggest difference being that instead of an exposed face the helmet had green eye lenses and a mouth plate. Once the armor was done changing, he slid in yet another card. "Form Ride: Falcon!" The armor bulked up, gaining white areas with gold trim and jet-like wings were now on his back. Firing up the wings, Wyatt took off into the air. He surprised himself with how quick the new form was, racing up towards the gunships. Raising his arm, he built up a charged shot. Blue energy built up around his buster, a loud whine increasing in volume. He let the energy go, firing at one of the gunships.  He scored a direct hit, the gunship wobbling for a moment before correcting itself. One of the other jets pulled back, zeroing in on Wyatt. It opened fire, twin lasers racing towards him. Cutting the thrust of his wings, he let the blasts sail over him. “Oh, this form is amazing,” he muttered to himself, grinning like a kid.  Grabbing a card, he slipped it into his belt. "Attack Ride: Homing Torpedo!" Wyatt's  armor changed to gray and his buster shifted in shape. Lifting his arm, he fired a barrage of missiles at the gunships. The missiles tore through the closest gunships wing; the aircraft tumbling from the sky in a blaze of twisted steel. Wyatt felt elated, his new form working wonders. He raced towards the next jet, firing another missile. The jet banked to the side, his missile going wide. It returned fire, lasers streaking his way. Wyatt did a barrel roll, narrowly dodging the beams. Putting on more speed, he charged the jet. Landing on the nose, Wyatt looked up to find a pair of Pterodactyl Sentries in the seats. Grinning, he held up his buster and aimed it at one of the wings. “Maybe you should have invested in some shields?”  He fired at the wing, blowing it apart and sending it and its occupants on a collision course with the ground. He hopped off, ready to go after the third gunship. Wyatt swore as the gunship’s turrets swiveled, firing hot bolts of energy at him. He shot upward, ducking and weaving to avoid the hail of fire. He had been keeping a mental count of his shots and if his new form followed the game’s logic, he only had a couple left before he’d have to use a different weapon.  Wyatt doubted the same trick would work twice, the gunship would anticipate him charging it after what he had just pulled. He kept dodging, hoping a strategy would come to him. Think! He chided himself, wishing that Flash’s training had done more than beat technique’s into him. Inspiration struck him, angling himself into a nosedive. Rather than charge the ship, he went down into the treeline below, taking refuge in the canopy. As he thought, the gunship rained fire instantly down on where it had last seen him, causing a swath of trees to collapse. Just as it was about to reach him, Wyatt shot up from his hiding spot and fired the last of his torpedoes at it. The sole projectile tore into the aircraft, blowing a hole through its chassis. Plummeting the short distance to the ground, it plowed a sizable trench through the forest. Wyatt hovered over the forest, listening and watching for movement.  Sighing in relief, Wyatt’s eyes turned to the west. Tartarus rose above the forest, a behemoth of stone and metal. It’s massive size rivaled Canterlot, hard edged spires piercing the sky. Marvelous white stone shone in the sun, a contrast to its intended purpose. The entire structure hung suspended above a gaping hole, four bridges anchoring it to the chasms edges.  Several gunships hovered about the structure, many dispersing mastodon troops. Tanks had taken position at each bridge, launching shells at Tartarus’s gates.  Groaning, Wyatt slumped in midair. "Now there's tanks too? I really do have the worst luck." Looking over to the airship, he flew  towards what he guessed was the southern bridge. "They'll catch up." Descending into the forest, Wyatt reverted to his base form. Drakkon’s forces would be on high alert, which meant he had to be careful. Opening his card holder, he flipped through the pages. There had to be something for stealth.  He smacked his forehead, remembering one of his cards. He slipped it into the belt and pushed in the handles. "Attack Ride: Invisible!" He crept out of the forest and towards the southern tank encampment.  The sentries proved themselves to be nothing but well trained. A tight perimeter had been put in place, patrolled regularly by mastedon troops. Pterodactyl snipers provided overwatch from evenly spaced watch towers. Wyatt knew he had to be careful, one false step and he'd be caught even while invisible. He watched the mastodon patrols, looking for his opening to breach the perimeter. It took him longer than he'd have liked to find his breach point: a small section hidden behind a few trees. He spied one of the tanks, a plan hatching in his mind. He crept forward, making a careful beeline to the machine of war.  He kept his head on a swivel, making sure he didn't come into contact with any of the squads. Slowly but surely, he was up close and personal with one of the tanks. He hopped onto it, checking one last time, he made sure no one was looking his way while he slipped inside it. Drawing his sword, Wyatt slid down to where the crew was. He found a trio of mastodon sentries operating the controls, watching them work in a hope to understand the mechanics of it all. Silently, he thrust his sword at the leftmost, angling the blade so the attack looked like it came from his partner at the center. “What the hell!?” the sentry hissed, whipping his head around. “Did you just try to shank me!?” “What are you talking about?” the  central sentry asked. Working quickly, Wyatt unsheathed the combat knife the sentry had and planted it on his lap. The sight of the knife was enough to set the paranoid sentry off, tackling his perceived attacker and starting a brawl. The remaining sentry tried and failed to separate them and was caught in the middle. With the trio thoroughly distracted, Wyatt quickly took them out. Slipping another card into his belt, Wyatt split into three and took up the controls. "Okay, just think of it like arcade controls," he muttered to himself. The tank lurched forward at his clumsy command, banging into the neighboring tank.  There was a sudden crackle as the radio blared to life. "Beta Squad, why the hell are you breaking formation?! Turn off your engine immediately!” Wyatt cursed under his breath, pushing a button he hoped was the engines. He couldn't get discovered too quickly, not before he could do anything. Relief washed over him as the engine cut off.  “Disable that tank,” a command crackled over the radio. Relief turned to horror as he tried to think through his options. Only one seemed to come to mind. Motioning to his clone on what he assumed were the weapons controls, he gave the motion to open fire as he started the engines again. Green electricity surged from the controls, many of them blowing out in Wyatt’s face. He swore he felt a tooth cracked as his body tensed; the unknowable volts channeling through him. His heart fluttered, body slumping forward as the current abated. Cursing up a storm, he started heading for the exit. With the tank disabled, he'd need a new distraction. Another blast knocked him into the dirt, turning his limbs numb. Focusing his gaze, he locked onto an approaching figure.  “It almost worked.” The figure, a man, came into focus. He wore no identifying marks or outstanding clothing. Merely a long coat over a shirt and pants. The most striking thing about him, Wyatt quickly realised was the green. His hair, his eyes, the strange gem in his forehead. That, and the clearly psychotic grin cutting across his face. "And who are you supposed to be?" Wyatt asked, struggling to move his numbed limbs. "Not good enough for ranger powers?” Clicking his tongue, the man’s hand sparked to light with green energy. “I’m above stolen powers.” A wicked, angular dagger formed in his hand bearing a stylized ‘N’.  Wyatt pushed himself onto his knees, his addled mind attempting to recall where he had seen that symbol before. It was important, far more now than when he had first seen it. He slapped the side of his helmet, willing his misfiring synapses to work.  His eyes widened, sudden realization hitting him. "Psycho Ranger." “Why yes, I am quite... Psychotic.” Green energy covered the Psycho Ranger's body, condensing into solid form. The helmet was shaped like a creature of nightmares, eye lenses as black as night, the mouthpiece bearing sculpted fangs. The chest piece resembled a fused set of wings while the golden belt had the same 'N' as the dagger. The gauntlets and knee guards were bone white and made up of sharp angles. “Fuck me...” Wyatt muttered, staring in disbelief. Rock erupted besides him, as Rover emerged from the ground. “No time to rest. Get up and fight!” Growling at Wyatt, he pulled the dazed human to his feet. Snarling at Psycho Green, Rover brandished a rather large chain mace. "Careful, he's got some kind of numbing weapon," Wyatt warned, switching his Ride Booker to its gun mode. "Also, killer timing." Rover barked, hefting his mace. “Rover not scared. Earth beneath me!” Rock crept up Rover’s body, covering it entirely. Stone shifted, forging itself into metal. Silver and gold armor replaced the covering of earth, transforming Rover into a knight. “To battle!” Wyatt stood dumbfounded, watching passively as Rover charged the psycho ranger. “...You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me.”