//------------------------------// // Ride 20: Wolf in Sheep's Clothing // Story: Kamen Rider Achilles // by Axle the Cobalt Exorcist //------------------------------// Monday had once again arrived and the students of Canterlot High were preparing for another week of school. This included Flash, who had spent the entire weekend over the toilet bowl. To Flash's surprise, he had woken up that morning feeling completely fine. This had shocked him and his mother, though Flash had always been a quick recover when it came to colds. Even so, getting over the flu in just three days was a surprise for sure. His mother had offered him the option to stay home to be extra safe, but Flash was sick of being cooped up all day and decided he would go to school but be ready to head home should he find himself feeling under the weather again. So here he was, rolling up to the school on his bike. As he parked up, he thought about what had happened right before his sudden bout of flu occurred. Timber's threat was fresh in his mind, the teen knowing he should tell Twilight and the others about it. But would they believe him? Everyone in school knew about his history with the other Twilight and the weird situation between Flash and this world's Twilight. If he told them about what Timber did, would they believe him or think he was just trying to stir up trouble. He knew he could get Sunset to read his mind and see he was telling the truth, but then she might accidentally see something Achilles related. Flash didn't want that to happen. As he entered the school and headed down the hallway, he spotted the Rainbooms further down. Twilight was on the edge of the group, not partaking in the conversation. Flash had heard about the incident on Saturday and had also heard Twilight had begged her friends the next day to forgive her. They had, but she was still on thin ice. That was probably why when she saw him, she waved and gestured for him to come over. But Flash, still thinking about Timber's warning, chose to simply wave back and pass them without a word said. This did not go unnoticed. "Is Flash alright?" Pinkie asked, of course being the one most likely to notice when someone was upset. "He's probably still feeling like heck after being sick all weekend," Rainbow told her. Twilight wasn't so sure. He looked fine until he noticed her. After what had happened during the weekend, she was a little on edge about friends being upset at her. Sunset was also curious about Flash's sour attitude. But before she could think of talking to him, a familiar sound coming from her bag caught her attention and she reached in to take out her journal. The fusion of her and Princess Twilight's cutie marks was glowing, signalling the alicorn had sent a message. "What's up?" Applejack asked as Sunset opened the journal, reading through it. "Dear Sunset Shimmer. The tales you've been telling me about these Magi-Beasts and the strange armoured heroes that have appeared using Equestrian Magic has me worried something bigger might be on the horizon. As such, I've been looking into a way to help you and your friends fight them on a more even footing. I'll need a little more time, but once I've found it I'll be heading over to your world." "Awesome!" Rainbow smirked, "something to help us actually fight against the Magi-Beasts instead of playing backup." "Oh," Fluttershy began playing with her hair. "I hope it's something we can handle. I'd hate to become overwhelmed by it if it's too powerful." "I'm sure we can handle it," Applejack assured her as Rarity nodded. "Twilight wouldn't give us something that could put us in danger." "I hope you're right," Sunset agreed as the bell rang to signal the start of classes. "Let's head over to the portal during break and after school. Twilight will want us there as soon as possible to show us what she has." They all nodded before heading to their classes, all the while human Twilight was still curious about Flash's reaction to her earlier. At the same time, one student of the high school was running as fast as he could. Norman was one of the more...normal people of the town. He had normal hair, normal skin and normal...everything. He was so normal, it was kind of what made him stand out in the town. Right now, he was running late after having overslept and missed his bus. "Stupid alarm clock!" He cried for what might have been the twelfth time, "I'm so gonna get detention for this!" If only he new being late would be the least worst thing to happen to him that day. For atop one of the buildings of the school, Starlight was watching him run whilst holding up a card that was glowing "Perfect." Meanwhile, across town, we find Timber Spruce in a music store listening to some hard rock. The microphones were on his head as he shook them around, jamming to the sounds abusing his eardrums. He was so preoccupied with his music, he didn't noticed the little gadget known as Watchdog jump into the store and begin to bark at him. The other occupants turned to stare at him, only for Shining to show up and flash his badge. "Good boy," he told his little gadget. Watchdog happily yipped as he folded back up and Shining pocket him, turning his attention on Timber. The police officer moved over and tapped him on the shoulder, "gyah!" He spun around and threatened to punch Shining, also reaching for his Driver until he saw who it was. "Oh," he smirked, "hey bro." "Please don't call me that," Shining told him with a sour expression. "Why not. We're practically family." Shining had to fight back vomit at the image of what could possibly make them family, but quickly shook it off and took a deep breath. "I need to talk to you about something." Timber smirked, "oh I get it. Finally realised we need to do something about Achilles. Well, the first thing we need to focus on is all those other forms he has." "What?" Shining asked, "no. Nothing like that. Achilles isn't a bad guy so stop-" He took a deep breath, "I'm not arguing with you. I wanna know about the woman who gave you your Driver. Specifically, what she looked like." Timber raised an eyebrow at this, "come on." "Honestly," Timber scratched the back of his head, "I can't remember. At the time, I was more focused on the Driver." Shining groaned, clearly unhappy with the response. "I guess...sorry, can't think of anything." "How can you not remember what she looks like?" Shining asked. "Come on man, most brothers would be happy their sister's boyfriend can't remember what a girl looks like." "Most people would remember the face of a woman who gave them super powers. Well has she contacted you at all? A text...email...smoke signals." "No," Timber shook his head, "and that's kinda worrying me. I figured with how good I've been doing, she'd send me some kind of message congratulating me." Shining rolled his eyes at this, "guess she must be busy. Maybe she's working on another Driver to give to someone, not that she'll need to since I'm on the job." Shining was moments away from strangling the arrogant teen. But luckily, or unlucky, Timber was saved when Shining's phone went off. He took it out, finding it was an app he had that told him whenever the words Kamen Rider or Magi-Beast appeared on social media. As it turned out, someone had just snapped a picture of one. It was pretty blurry, but Shining could tell it was definitely a Magi-Beast. A furry one if he had to guess, looking pretty strong. And considering the one who posted the photo was a CHS Student, had a feeling that's where it was. "I gotta go!" He cried, turning to leave. But Timber began to follow. "It's a Magi-Beast, right?" Shining sighed, but nodded. "Great, our first team-up together. With us two working together, we're gonna have this thing in the bag before lunch. Shining groaned, but couldn't think of a way to get rid of him. Looks like he was forced to team-up with him...for now. Back at the school, Flash was sitting on the front steps of the building. Second period was likely about to end and Flash had missed the entire thing. His mother had given him a note saying he could leave if he was feeling sick and whilst he wasn't he had used it to get out of Mr Doodle's class. Flash hated doing it, but he couldn't focus. His first period hadn't gone great with how much he got lost in his own mind. All he could think about was how he was gonna tell the girls about Timber without making them made. However, nothing he through of felt like it would work. "Flash!" He spun around and as he did, he noticed Trixie standing at the front door frowning. "What are you doing here? There's a Magi-Beast attacking." That got Flash's attention. "What?" He stood up, as Trixie stepped up to him. "Norman's the host. Sunset and the rest of the girls are trying to stop him, but they need a Rider." Flash frowned at this, still not sure if he could handle being around Twilight with what was hanging over him. "Flash!" She snapped at him, "wake up. It's hero time." "Sorry," he looked away, "I'm not sure I can do it right now. I'm sure Shining is on the way." "Is this about what happened with Timber?" Trixie asked, Flash's frowned giving her the answer. "Dude, you've gotta get over this. You can't let Timber get away with what he did. Twilight deserves to know the truth." "I know," he told her. "But...I don't know why I'm feeling this way." He thought about what Timber had told him, making him remember all the strange feelings he felt around Twilight. "This just feels so...different." He looked over at the portal. "My feelings for the pony Twilight were nothing like this. She was nice and had an air of mystery to her, which was why I liked her. But I didn't really know anything about he. I thought my feelings for this Twilight were just run offs from my feelings for her, but they're so much stronger. I've spent time with her, gotten to know her. We have a load in common and when I'm with her...I just can't help enjoying myself." "All the more reason to tell Twilight the truth. If you care about her, don't let her be with that jerk." "Oh yeah," Flash rolled his eyes. "That'll work so well. I tell her about Timber and if she believes me and breaks up with him, I can just swoop in and start going out with her. That's a really great way to start a relationship." Trixie frowned, but knew he was right. She wanted to help, but had no idea how. Flash was about to give up and leave, but before he could a light caught his attention and made him look up. Trixie did the same and they were shocked to see the portal to Equestria activating, both of them rushing up to it just in time for Flash to catch someone as they shot out of it. "Wow!" She cried as Flash wrapped her arms around her, the teen's eyes going wide seeing who it was. "Twilight?" It was Twilight. The pony Twilight, who was dressed as she always was when visiting. She looked up and locked eyes with Flash, the two staring at one another for a moment before Twilight pulled away. "Flash!" She smiled, "it's...good to see you." "Thanks," Flash nodded. "So what are you doing here? Is something happening that needs you here to fix it? Or did Sunset tell you to come?" "It's...a long story," Twilight explained. "But I do need to see Sunset. Do you know where she is?" Before Flash could say anything, a loud scream made them turn to see Norman running around the side of the school. "Help!" He cried, as something leapt out from around the corner and unleashed a sound so loud it created a shockwave that hit the teen and knocked him flying. Flash gasped and rushed over, managing to catch the teen before he could hit the ground and break his fall. Flash did end up falling to the ground however, Norman landing atop of him. "Ow." "Sorry," Norman stated as Flash pushed him off and sat up to get a better look at what was attacking them. In a way, it looked like what most people would assume a werewolf would look like. It was a giant humanoid canine, with the head of a dog that had a long snout with sharp fangs. Its body was mostly covered in yellow fur, but it had a green mane around its neck and head with purple ears sticking out the top. Its right arm ended in a human arm, though still covered in fur with long sharp claws at the end of the fingers, but its left arm was nothing like that. Instead of a hand, it hand another dog's head sticking out the end of it. This dog's head was purple and had spines running from the top of its head up the arm and all the way to the shoulder. "What are you supposed to be?" Flash stood up, "a flea market on legs." "I'm Twice-Bite!" The Magi-Beast cried, raising his arm head and snapping his second mouth shut. "And you're gonna be in trouble if you get between me and my prey!" Norman became terrified seeing the beast focus on him, as balls of light flew off of him and into the Magi-Beast. "You don't scare us," Trixie told him as she stepped up. "You might look tough, but you're probably all bark and no bite." "Oh, I am all bark. And that's why I'm so tough!" He thrust his head arm forwards as the mouth opened and unleashed a powerful howl, which was so strong in fired a stream of sound towards them. The teens gasped an all leapt out of the way, the sound sailing passed them and almost hitting the portal. Twilight gasped at this, fearing her only way home's destruction. Flash also noticed this and quickly jumped up, running at Twice-Bite whilst Norman turned to leg it. The two-headed dog monster swung his claws at him, but Flash avoided them and grabbed both the beast's wrists as he tried to chomp down on him. "Flash!" Twilight cried, only to realised Flash was wrestling the Magi-Beast so that his back was to the portal. He was protecting her way home. "We have to do something." "Like what?" Trixie asked, "we don't have any way of fighting that thing." Twilight frowned and took off her bag, unzipping it to look inside. As she did, a soft light escaped. Flash grunted as he fought against the monster, really wishing he was morphed right about now. Alas, with Twilight there he couldn't. Meanwhile, Starlight was up on the school's roof watching. She smirked as she thought back to the situation earlier. The Rainbooms were fighting against Twice-Bite, Rarity using her shields to protect them from his sound attacks whilst Pinkie threw exploding sprinkles at him. But nothing they could do was causing any serious damage to him, the lot really wishing Princess Twilight was there with whatever she had promised to bring. "A'll give him a right punch to the face," Applejack cried from behind Rarity's shield. "Er...both faces. Break their jaws and see how they howl then." But as she rushed forward, passing Norman who Fluttershy and Sunset were protecting, something shot down and hit the ground at her feet. "What the hay!" She cried as she found the grass of the field was suddenly liquid. "What's happenin?" She sunk into the ground up to her waist, the ground then solidifying. "Applejack?" Twilight cried before another beam of light hit near Rainbow's feet. Even she wasn't fast enough to save herself from sinking, as the others soon followed. Once everyone except Norman was trapped, Starlight let herself be known. "Don't worry," she told them. "It'll ware off in about ten minutes." She turned to Twice-Bite, "long enough for you to do your job." Twice-Bite nodded and began to chase after Norman, who ran off screaming for help whilst the girls tried to pull themselves free. But whatever Starlight had done had turned the ground iron hard. Even Applejack couldn't break free of it. "Now let's see how this turns out," she smiled as Twice-Bite broke free of Flash's hold and tried to claw at him. Flash leapt back and as he did, he heard something. "Transform." Flash looked around, wondering who was saying that. "You have to transform now." The teen had a strange feeling he knew who was saying that, Flash taking out his Driver and looking at it. He felt a warm come from it, confirming it was the source of the voice. "But...Twilight," he looked up at her for a second before Twice-Bite unleashed another sonic blast. This one he wasn't able to dodge and was blasted backwards, Twilight crying out to him as he hit the ground. "Augh!" He groaned, sick of getting his but whooped. "That's it!" He jumped back to his feet, "now you've done it." He held up his Driver and Trixie's eyes went wide. "Flash, wait!" He slapped it onto his waist and took out the card, Twilight and the monster wondering what he was doing. But they soon got their answer. "Henshin!" He yelled as he placed the card inside, causing the device the activate. "OK!" “A HERO’S STORY YET TO BE TOLD! FIGHTING TO PROTECT ALL!” “R-R-R-RIDER!” The magical circle appeared, and passed over the teen’s body. In an instant, Flash was transformed into his Achilles persona. Twilight's eyes went wide at this sight, as Achilles took out his spear and began spinning it around before charging. The Magi-Beast was also surprised by this, but a slash from the spear quickly snapped it back into action. "So what if you're the Rider!" He cried, clawing at Achilles who blocked with his spear. "You don't look so tough!" He pushed the suited teen back before raising his hand mouth, letting out a might howl that shot towards Achilles. "Oh no you don't!" Achilles leapt up, the sonic blast making the ground explode as he shifted his spear into gun mode. And as he landed, he placed one of his other cards into the slot. "ALCHEMY FEEDBACK!" "Polymorphing!" As the Magi-Beast closed his mouth, Achilles fired a bright light from his weapon that shot towards it. It tried to blast it away, but before it could open its arm mouth the light struck it and suddenly morphed into a gooey substance that spread around the whole head. "What did you do!?" He roared as the goo suddenly solidified, turning into metal that sealed up his best weapon. It was so focused on the loss of its weapon, it didn't realise Achilles had changed his weapon back to spear form until he charged. And in the blink of an eye, he was behind the monster with his spear pointed forwards seconds before the front of Twice-Bite exploded. "AUGH!" He cried as he staggered around, but regained his footing and panted as Achilles turned back to him. "You've won this round!" He cried, quickly punching the ground and shattering the metal off of his arm head. He then fired a blast at the ground, kicking up a bunch of dirt that masked his escape. Monster gone, Achilles looked around to be sure nobody was watching before transforming back to his human form. He turned back to Twilight, whose mouth was still hung open is shock. "So," he scratched the back of his head, "I'm guessing you have questions." Up above, Starlight was watching in amusement. "This could be interesting." But she knew she had to go find her Magi-Beast, so left whilst Flash began to explain. A few minutes later, the Rainbooms were starting to escape their prisons. The ground slowly began to soften enough for Applejack and Twilight to pull them all free. As they did, a car and bike engine filled the air. They looked over to see Shining and Timber pull up in front of the school, both seeing the girl's current state. "TWILIGHT!" They cried, rushing over to the girl who was trying to focus on freeing herself. "How'd this happen?" Shining asked as she finally managed to rip the ground apart, making an opening that allowed the Riders to pull her out. "It was one of the Advanced," Twilight explained as Applejack broke through the ground and pulled herself up. "Unicorn. She trapped us here so her Magi-Beast to attack Norman." "Where is he?" Shining asked. "He ran," Rainbow told them as Applejack broke through the ground holding her. "Only thing he could do against that monster." "Oh," Fluttershy quivered as Twilight used her magic and pulled the rest of them free, "I hope he's okay. Who knows what that thing will do in order to make him panic." Shining sighed. "I hope Achilles found him." "No you don't," Timber frowned. "Achilles is probably gonna hand him over to the monster. Or trick him into thinking he's a good guy and make him panic more then he normally would." "Seriously dude?" Rainbow asked, "we don't have time for you Achilles hate. We gotta find Norman." "I'm all over it," Pinkie told her as she pulled her phone out and started looking through her contacts. "You have Norman's number?" Sunset asked. "I have everyone's number," Pinkie explained. "Every one of my friends is in my phone. Takes me a while to find the right number though." She kept looking. "Norman...Norman. Normic, Normulch, Norwhal-" "You really need to alphabetise your phone correctly," Twilight told her as Pinkie finally found the number. "Got him," she put it on speaker and they all listened as it rang. It picked up on the third ring, a very terrified sounding Norman answering quietly. "Hello?" "Norman," Sunset called to him, "are you okay?" "Yeah." "Where are you?" Rarity asked, "we have the Kamen Riders with us. They can protect you from the Magi-Beast." She then frowned, "what happened to the creature after you two ran off?" "Flash, Trixie and that girl that looks like Twilight saved me." The Rainbooms smiled hearing Princess Twilight was there, Shining also smiling at the mention of his partner whilst Timber frowned. "They managed to hold it off long enough for me to escape. I don't know what happened after that though." "Where are you?" Shining asked again. "I'm by that soap store. You know, the one that sounds like a million different bottles of perfume fell onto the floor." They all knew that store, which only the girliest of girls went too. "I thought that since this thing came from me, it might know everything about me. So I tried to think, where's the one place I'd never normally go." "Well hold tight," Sunset told him. "We're on our way." "Okay. But hurry up. All these aromas are giving me a headache." He hung up and the lot of them headed towards the Rider's vehicles, Shining jumping onto his bike and taking off at high speed whilst Timber waited for the girls to climb into the truck. "Couldn't do this with a bike," he told Rainbow before starting up the engine and driving off. At the same time, Flash, Trixie and Princess Twilight were on the hunt for Twice-Bite. Flash had sent his owl phone out to get a birds eye view, but so far there had been no sign of the Magi-Beast. At the same time, Flash came clean about everything to the alicorn turned human. How his Driver appeared. How he discovered what it could do. How he started fighting against the Magi-Beasts and protecting people whenever he could, and how his Driver was able to create new powers based on the Rainboom's abilities. Princess Twilight was certainly intrigued by all this. But she was also worried. "You took a big risk using Equestrian Magic," Twilight told him. "You've seen what it's done to overs in this world." Flash nodded, remembering those events vividly. "But it's also not transformed people," Trixie pointed out. "The Rainbooms have only ever gotten good powers from Equestrian Magic. Well...most of them." "I'll admit I was sceptical about using it at first," Flash told her. "And recently, I have been worrying about it." He remembered the voice he had heard before, "but I have to trust in this magic. Without it, a lot of people would have lost their lives." "I guess," Twilight nodded. "Just be careful. Getting to comfortable with it might result in problems." Flash frowned, but knew she might be right. "So you never told us what you're doing here," Trixie pointed out. "We kind of got off topic with the whole monster problem." Twilight nodded and took off her bag, unzipping it and opening it up. Doing so caused a light to come out, the pair looking inside and seeing something within it. It was a disk made out of a deep blue crystal. around the top was a set of orange runes that nether human could reconize. "What is that thing?" Flash asked, though he could feel the pulse of Equestrian Magic coming off of it. "This is a powerful relic," Twilight explained. "I'm hoping the girls can use it to increase their own magical power enough to be able to defeat the Magi-Beasts and these Advanced they told me about. I'm not sure how it could work, but it's better then nothing." "I guess," Flash nodded. In that moment, they heard the mechanical hooting and looked up to see the Owl Phone flying towards them. "Hey bud," he held out his hand for the machine to land on. "Find anything?" The owl shook its head, hooting apologetically. "Don't worry. I know you did your best. Take a break for now." The robot nodded before folding up, but then flashed to show its owner several missed calls he had gotten from Pinkie. . He pocketed the phone and as he did, he noticed something on Twilight's hand he hadn't before. A ring. "Twilight?" He frowned, "that's that?" He pointed at her hand and Twilight looked down at it, looking surprised before reaching up to her head. "Oh, right. No horn. Guess this had to go somewhere." Trixie looked at the ring and was shocked. "Is that...an engagement ring?" Twilight blushed, "yes. I've recently gotten engaged to someone from my world." She turned to Flash and looked sad, "I'm sorry. I don't want to hurt you, but we both know there's no way a relationship between us could work out. This is your home and mine is in Equestria." "Yeah," Flash sighed, "I know. It's fine. I'm happy for you. I'm sure you and Timber will be very happy together." Twilight looked surprised by this. "Timber? Whose Timber?" Flash frowned, now thoroughly confused. "I figured...since the other you was dating the Timber of this world...I mean everyone else seems to share romantic partners with their counterparts." "True," Twilight nodded, "but I'm not engaged to anypony named Timber." Flash couldn't believe he was hearing this. What could that mean? "So what's your fiances name?" Trixie asked, giving Flash a knowing look. Twilight blushed as she pushed her hair behind her ear and focused back on Flash, "he's your counterpart." Flash's eyes went wide, unable to comprehend what he was being told. "He's Captain Flash Sentry, head of the Royal Guard in Equestria." "Are you serious?" The Rider asked, with Twilight nodding. "Yeah, I know it sounds crazy. Honestly, when we first started dating I was worried I was just forcing the feelings I had for you onto him. But over time, I got to know him and realised we had a lot in common. We like the same books, the same type of treats and even our music tastes are similar. We have a lot in common, but he also showed me many new things I never thought I'd enjoy. It was amazing." Flash let all this information sink in. If this Twilight was engaged to another Flash, could that mean what he thought it mean? He shook his head, not wanting to get ahead of himself. Twilight was with Timber and even if Princess Twilight was engaged to Flash's counterpart, it didn't mean he was destined to be with her. Heck, for all he knew Princess Twilight could end up breaking off her engagement and eventually meeting the pony version of Timber. That thought made his head hurt. Over with the others, they had finally arrived at the store and found Norman. Sure enough, he was doing everything he could to stay calm but still a few stray lights flew out of him. "Are you okay?" Shining asked as he knelt down in front of him, Norman nodding. "Yeah, but I'm worried about Flash. Do you know if he's okay?" "No," Pinkie shook her head, "I tried calling him but he's not picking up." She looked worried, "I hope he and the others are okay." "He's a tough kid," Shining told her. "He'll be fine, even without magic or Rider powers." He turned to Norman, "right now we need to focus on keeping you calm so that Magi-Beast doesn't get any stronger." Norman nodded as Timber smirked. "Don't worry kid. You've got me protecting you. I haven't lost a victim yet." Norman frowned, clearly not liking being called a victim since several lights flew off of him. "Me and Achilles haven't lost any either," Shining told him. "Just...go keep an eye out. If you see the Magi-Beast, do whatever you can to take him down." "Got it partner," Timber saluted before walking off. Shining let out a sigh and turned back to Norman. Twilight and the Rainbooms went with Timber as they looked around, Timber appearing suspicious of everyone that walked by. "What are you doing?" Sunset asked, seeing Timber give a little old lady the stink eye. "Any one of these people could be one of those Advanced people, or Achilles, just waiting to get the drop on us and terrify Normile." "Norman," Rainbow corrected. "And...I guess you've got a point." "Of course I have a point," Timber told her. "Trust me, I know what I'm doing. As soon as one of those guys shows up, I'll blast'em right in the Driver. That'll power them down and we can finally see whose under those stupid suits." "You're not really going to attack Achilles, are you?" Fluttershy asked him, Timber throwing her a look that told her that's exactly what he was planning. "He's such a nice person. He saved my brother." "But you can't trust him," Timber stated. "I don't care what you guys think of him, he's a bad guy. He's keeping his identity a secret because he knows as soon as he makes his move and betrays you, he'll be able to slip back into hiding cause you don't know anything about him. Trust me, nobody who hides their face from public knowledge has good intentions." The girls all frowned, having grown tired of Timber's constant accusations of Achilles. But then Sunset remembered something, "he did try to tell us who he is." The girls and Timber all looked at her in shock, wondering what she was talking about. "I didn't always trust Achilles either, but then I saw him help a friend of mine. And afterwards, he offered to let me read his mind. He was willing to let me know who he was." "Yeah!" Pinkie smiled, "that proves he's not hiding something because he wants too. He must have his reason for keeping his identity hidden." "Or he was planning to do something to you," Timber stated. "You guys said he got a power up from each of you. Maybe he was only pretending to let you read his mind and when you touched him, he would have zapped away the rest of your magic and get even more powerful." The girls, minus Twilight, all groaned at how stubborn he was acting right now. It's like he couldn't accept he was actually wrong about something, even when it was completely obvious. Twilight, who was still unsure whether Timber was right or not, wanted to defend him but also didn't get into another arguement with her friends. She could tell both sides were wanting to hear what she thought, making her feel ready to throw up at the choice she had to make. Luckily, she guessed, something appeared to distract them from the question. "Hey there!" They looked around and gasped as someone suddenly slammed onto the street in front of them, hit with so much force that it shook the ground and made them all fall over. When the dust settled, Terra stepped out of the crater he had made and smirked at them. "What's up. Just heard I got a new friend whose having trouble finding his host. Glad I spotted you guys." He cracked his knuckles, "now I can help him fully form." Norman gulped as Shining pushed himself back to his feet and rushed forward, taking out the shield badge. "Don't get any closer. You're under arrest." Terra heard this and laughed. "You really think you can arrest me. Get real!" He charged and as he did, Shining slotted the badge into the Driver. “SHIELD...OF...JUSTICE!” "Henshin!" He cried as he charged forward, pulling the leaver that spun and opened the badge. “AR-AR-AR-ARGO!” In a flash, he transformed and raised his shield to guard against Terra's fist. The Advanced threw a punch and it had so much force, Argo couldn't help but stagger backwards. As he did, he pulled out his blaster “ARGO DEFENDER!!!” He quickly started blasting the monster, but Terra's armor protected him from the shots. "Nice try!" He cried as he started throwing more punches in his direction. "But nothing you do can stop me." Argo did his best to avoid the punches, but it wasn't an easy task. By this point, Timber had recovered enough to push himself up and place his Driver onto his whilst. "Henshin!" He cried, slotted the card inside and charging forward. “DEFENDER OF EARTH, THE HUNTING HOUND HERO!!!” “G-G-G-GAIA!!!” He transformed and just as Argo was about to fire at one of Terra's less armored sections, Timber leapt over him with his axe raised high. "I got this!" He yelled, swinging the weapon at Terra but the Advanced simply held up an armored glove in order to block it. Argo had to pull his blaster back, "are you trying to get shot?" Argo tried to move around Timber to get a better shot, but Terra seemed to notice this and grabbed Timber's axe-handle, swinging him around so that he was constantly between him and Argo. "Drop your axe and move!" "No way!" Timber groaned as he tried to pull his weapon from Terra's grip, "I'm not letting this oath out muscle me!" "Oath?" Terra growled, "only Cypher's allowed to call me that." He began to spin around, Timber managing to keep hold of his axe and follow him as he did. He gave it one mighty pull and as he did, Terra let go. "WOW!" He staggered backwards and tripped, falling into Argo and forcing the other Rider to leap backwards. "We gotta help'em!" Applejack cried, rushing forward with Pinkie, Twilight and Rainbow. But before they could do anything, Terra raised his heavily armored boot and slammed down into the ground with all of his might. This shook the ground again and caused several building to break apart as the girls fell to the ground. Norman almost fell as well, right as part of the building began to break off and fall towards him. They all gasped at this, but a laser fired from Argo destroyed the debris before it could hit him. However, this allowed Terra to rush in and grab the teen, throwing him over his shoulder. "NO!" Argo pushed himself to his feet, but Terra gave him a salute before running and hulk jumping into the air. He cleared several building before landing on another, making the whole thing shake. Argo let out a frustrated cry as he jumped to his feet and rushed over to his bike, getting on it and racing off before Timber and the girls could call out to him. "Come on!" Rainbow cried, the lot getting up. "We gotta follow them." Timber powered down and rushed over to where he had parked his truck, jumping in as the girls climbed aboard. "How the heck are we gonna find them?" Timber asked as they began to drive away, "we have no idea where they went." "My brother might have a way to track them down," Twilight hoped. And she was right. As Argo rolled down the street, he took out his watch and slotted it into a small opening on his bike. Watch Dog activated inside the machine and connected with the vehicle, allowing him to sniff a single scent from an even greater distance away. Luckily, Shining had taken the liberty of scanning Norman's scent in case something like this happened. And soon enough, he got a lock. "Perfect!" He then activated his suit's inbuilt phone, bringing up Flash's number and calling it. Flash and the girls were still searching for Twice-Bite when Flash's Owl Phone went off, the teen taking it out and seeing it was Shining Armor. "I'm here," he answered. "What's up?" "Terra showed up and kidnapped Norman," Flash's eyes went wide hearing this. "I've got their location and I'm sending it to you now." "Got it!" Flash nodded as they hung up and Flash checked his phone, getting a text a few moments later. "Alright, I gotta go." "I'm coming with you," Twilight told him. "I might not have any magic, but I can still help. Besides, if the girls show up I can give them the disk." Flash frowned, not liking this idea all that much. But then he nodded. "Alright, but you gotta be careful." Twilight nodded and they headed off, Twilight going with them and preparing her jellyfish drone in case they needed a little holographic help. Flash knew the area Shining had sent him and the three managed to get there pretty quickly, seeing it was an industrial estate. As they approached, they spotted Shining waiting outside. He spotted them and smirked, then looked confused. "Twilight?" He asked as they approached, "how'd you get here so quick. What happened to your glasses." He then began to worry. "Wait," he turned to Flash, "does she know?" Flash wondered what he meant, then realised what was going on. "Shining, this is Twilight's Equestrian Counterpart. The one from the pony world." Shining looked surprised by this, "and yes she knows. I had to transform to save our butts." "It's nice to meet you," Twilight smiled. "I'm sure my brother back home would be amazed to hear about you being a super hero in this world." Shining seemed a little weirded out by the sight of someone who wasn't his sister looking like her. But before he could say anything, the Watch Dog ran up to them and barked to say it had located Norman. "Come on!" He told them before rushing inside, putting his Driver back on with Flash doing the same. They followed the Watch Dog between multiple warehouses until they moved through an alleyway and the robot stopped, the four looking out at the street and seeing Norman. The teen was cowering as both Terra and Twice-Bite glared down at him. "RAAAAAAAAAAH!" Twice-Bite roared, scaring Norman and making several lights fly out of him. "Come on," the monster moaned. "Is that seriously all you're gonna give me." "Guess after a while you get used to it," Terra chuckled. "Well bud, we'll need to find another way to make him give you is life force." "How?" Twice-Bite asked, "we can't hurt him." "Correction," Terra smirked, "we can't kill him. There's plenty of ways to make him hurt without killing him." Twice-Bite seemed to like this idea, giggling like a hyena whilst Norman grew terrified. But before either of them could do what they were planning. "HENSHIN!" The pair spun around in time to see Achilles and Argo leap out of an alleyway and fire their blasters, hitting the pair and knocking them away from Norman as they landed. As they did, Achilles slotted a card. “Element change!" “OK!” "HUSSLE, MUSCLE, TRUE METAL OF STRENGTH!” “K-K-K-KNUCKLE!" The magic circle washed over him and morphed him into his physically strongest form, Achilles rushing forward as Terra regained his baring. He thrust his fists at him, Terra barely having time to put up a defence to block, duck and weave around him. As they though, Argo focused on Twice-Bite and started firing at him. The double-headed wolf howled in pain as the lasers bounced off of him, making him stagger backwards. Both Achilles and Argo were doing their best to push their opponents away from Norman, allowing Twilight and Trixie to rush in and help him. "You okay?" The pony turned human helped him up as Norman continued to unleash lights. "I'm slowly being drained by a psycho monster who just threatened to bite my feet off." "So," Trixie thought, "could be better." Norman rolled his eyes as he heard Achilles and Terra connect fists, the force of their punches sending out a shockwave that sent the others staggering. "Come on!" Trixie grabbed his arm and pulled him back towards the alley they had run out of, Twice-Bite noticing this and growling. "Oh no you don't!" He roared before jumping up to avoid Argo's lasers, then unleashed a sonic howl from his second mouth that struck them. The three cried out as they were knocked flying and hit the side of the building, all falling to the floor as Twice-Bite landed and launched another blast. This one struck the wall behind them, causing the metal of the building to break apart and fall towards them. They all flinched and braced themselves, but the pain never came. They looked up to see the items floating right above them, the lot glowing purple as they heard a grunting and looked over to see Twilight on the other side of the alleyway. "Move!" She cried as the three got up and ran out from under the debris, which she dropped seconds after they did. As she did, the rest of the Rainbooms and Timber arrived. "How'd you find us?" Trixie asked, as Argo began firing at Twice-Bite again and Achilles threw another punch. "Tracked my brother's phone signal," Twilight explained before turning to Norman. "How you feeling?" "I could be better," he replied. That little scare had caused a lot of his energy to be drained from him. "Well don't worry," Timber smirked as he stepped forward. "I'm here to save the day." But before he could focus on Twice-Bite, he heard sounds that made him look over and see Achilles and Terra fighting. "Those two." He put on his driver, "time to end this at the source." He ran forward and transformed before anyone could tell him to focus on Twice-Bite, the Rider leaping up and raising his axe high. Both Achilles and Terra heard him yell out and looked around to see him above to slash at them, the two jumping away as Timber slammed his axe into the ground. "You again," Terra growled. "Get lost, I don't wanna fight you." "Why?" Timber held up his axe, "scared you'll lose." "Hardly. Fighting you is boring. Achilles is much more fun to play with." Timber didn't seem to like this and charged, swinging his axe at the guy who easily dodged despite his size. "Face it, you can't compete against Achilles. He's got more power then you'll ever have. And you're not even good at this whole Rider things, considering how much you're getting in your teammate's ways. Heck, those girls are better at this then you." Timber glanced back and saw Twilight and Applejack throwing metal at Twice-Bite, distracting him enough to allow Argo to hit him several times. Achilles then transformed back to his base form and turning his spear into a blaster, trying to work around the other Rider in front of him. He turned back to Terra and beneath his helmet, he growled. "I'm the best Rider that'll ever live." "Beach please," Terra laughed. "You couldn't even kick Kuuga Mighty's ass!" He then leapt up and stomped on the ground with enough force to send shockwaves out, Achilles leaping up to avoid this as Timber was knocked off his feet. "Yeah, real good. Only the best fall for the same trick twice." Achilles fired at him and he blocked the attacks with his gloves, the grabbed Timber by the chest and lifted him up. Achilles was forced to stop shooting before Terra threw the other Rider at him, Achilles leaping to the side whilst Terra leapt towards the others. "Guys, look out!" But Terra slammed his feet into the ground, knocking the girls and Norman off their feet. He then reached down and grabbed Norman, throwing him over his shoulder. "We're leaving!" He yelled before taking several steps and leaping high into the air, Twice-Bite unleashing a sonic blast that distracted Shining enough to allow his escape. "No!" Shining cried, "not again!" He gave chase after Twice-Bite, whilst the girls picked themselves up. They were a little dizzy from the shockwave, making it hard to stand. "Just once I'd like to come here and have an easy visit," Princess Twilight moaned as Achilles rushed over to them. "We've gotta help them!" He yelled. He turned to chase after them, but before he could he found Timber's axe swinging at him. "WOW!" He leapt back, as Timber got between him and his destination. "What are you doing?" "Keeping you away from Argo so you can't stop him from stopping that thing." The others were shocked by this as he pointed his axe at Achilles, "it's time I took you down once and for all. I'm gonna find out who's under there and destroy you!" With that, he charged forward and started swinging his axe at Achilles. The other Rider did his best to evade him, but Timber's attacks were so strong he had no way to block without risk of injury. "Stop it!" Twilight told her boyfriend, but he didn't listen. She tried to use her magic to keep them apart. But whenever Timber was grabbed, a strange green energy shot out of his Driver and acted as a shield to protect him. "Timber!" "He has to be stopped!" Timber yelled as he leapt forward and swung his blade down. "I don't wanna fight you!" Achilles told the older teen as he blocked his axe with his spear, "but you're not leaving me any more choice!" He pushed Timber back and took out a card, placing it into his Driver as he charge forward. "S-S-S-STORM!" He leapt through the magic circle and morphed into his electric form, quickly taking to the air on his cyclone and flying out of Timber's reach. He then started throwing one lightning bolt after another, making Timber stagger back as Achilles slotted another charge. "B-B-B-BREEZE!" He flew down and transformed as he landed in front of Timber, going small to avoid his axe swing before leaping up and hitting him in the chest. Timber suddenly found himself on the receiving end of multiple small but powerful blows, knocking him away as Achilles returned to normal size and slotted another card. "X-X-X-EXPLODE! He morphed again and held up his Party Cannon Mini, firing the energy bolts that struck Timber and exploded into pink clouds. The Rider cried out as he endured these attacks, then before to charge forward and use his axe to deflect them. Achilles was forced to duck to avoid getting beheaded, only to then feel a foot slam into his chest and knock him to the ground. Timber raised his axe up, ready to swing it down, but before he could- "SURPRISE! Achilles switched his weapon into cannon mode and fired it into Timber's chest, blasting him backwards with incredible force that caused him to throw his axe away. As he landed, Achilles got up and reverted back to his base form. He looked Timber over as the Rider moaned, but pushed himself up. "Stop this," Achilles begged. "You've made a mistake, but don't make another by continuing." Timber growled, "I never make mistakes." He reached for his Driver and pressed the buttons, making the Driver unleash the energy. “GAIA FEEDBACK!” The others gasped and Achilles sighed, "so be it." He pressed his Driver's button. "RIDER FEEDBACK!" The two Riders powered up their final attacks, the magic circles shooting out of Achilles' Driver and surrounding Timber. Before the older Rider could react, Achilles leapt into the air and started bouncing off the circles. "Quit leaping around!" He roared, as Achilles reached the final circle. "THERE!" He rushed towards it and leapt into the air, the energy flowing off him and forming the axe shape above him. Achilles leapt off the circle and flew towards Timber, spinning around to bring his leg around to strike. Both Riders roared as they swung their feet at one another and collided, the energies from their attacks merging together as they tried to overpower the other. And eventually, this caused an explosion that consumed them both. "NOOOOO!" The girls cried, as the shockwaves shattered the glass of the nearby building. They watched and waited, until the two Riders fell out of the smoke. Achilles managed to spin around and land on his feet, though he staggered and needed his spear to keep himself up. As for Timber... "AUGH!" He cried as he crashed into the ground, rolling along the ground and glowing as his transformation suddenly shattered off of him. He lay there panting, some of his cloths burned and ripped with cuts and bruises seen on his body. He tried to push himself up, but his arms and legs gave out as he fell to the ground. The girls frowned at him, most believing he deserved this. But then Twilight began to step towards him, the lot worrying she might try to help him. But she didn't. Instead, she stopped a few feet away and stared at Timber as if she was staring at a pile of mud someone had just walked on her carpet. "Why?" She asked, "why are you doing this?" Timber looked up at her, "I thought you were a good person. You always seemed...so nice. What made you into this paranoid jerk." Timber didn't say anything, simply looking away. In the end, it was Achilles who spoke. "You can't put all the blame on him." They all turned to the Rider, as he pushed himself up. "He just...wasn't the right person for the power he has. You've all seen it more then anyone, how having just a little more power than anyone else can change a person." The girls all thought about it, remembering Sunset and Twilight's first attempts at using magic. At Gloriosa, Juniper and all the others who ended up getting Equestrian Magic. The seven of them could handle the power, but that didn't mean everyone could. "I don't know Timber well enough," Achilles explained. "Maybe he was the good person you say he was. But when you give someone the power to do whatever they want, it can give life to a side they might never have known existed." He looked over at Timber, "a side that wanted things that seemed impossible to get. Many believe they can create a perfect world if they had the power to do it, but because they don't they keep those thoughts buried. But when one is given power, suddenly those ideas don't seem impossible. And when nothing is impossible, nothing else matters. Many people are nice and kind because there is no other way of getting things. But with powers like Timber has, suddenly being nice isn't convenient. In short...power corrupts." Twilight turned to Timber and frowned, knowing Achilles might be right. If they took Timber's Driver away, would he return to his old self? “You idiot!” Everyone spun around and both Princess Twilight and Sunset gasped, for Starlight had just appeared from out of an alleyway between two warehouses. She did not look happy and when Timber saw her, he quickly pushed himself back to his feet and ran over to her. "Please," he told her, "I'm sorry. I did my best, but Achilles is just too strong." Starlight glared at him before anyone could say anything else, she swung her hand around and smacked him. Timber staggered backwards and fell onto his but, he and the others all shocked by what had just happened. "You really are pathetic," she told him. "Give you a tiny piece of power and you let it go to your head and make you think you're invincible. You should have called yourself Icarus. I'm starting to wish I'd given someone else that Driver." These words rung in everyone's ear, the lot quickly putting this and Timber's reaction to her together and realising what it must mean. “You're the one that gave Timber his Driver?” Sunset asked, looking Starlight over and noticing her purple appearance. The girl in question smiled and flicked her hair over her shoulder. “Of course," she told them. "He was my experiment." “Experiment?” Timber repeated, wondering what the heck she was talking about. "No, you said you wanted me to take Achilles down. You said I could become a hero." "Of course I said that," Starlight told him. "How else was I gonna get you to take the Driver. You were supposed to drive a wedge between Achilles and the girls, making them turn against him. You were supposed to drive away his closest allies and make him feel betrayed, allowing him to become more willing to join us instead of fight against us." "You want him to join you?" Timber asked. "Duh, look at him. He has more power then you'll ever dream of wielding. And he doesn't let it all go to his head. But you couldn't even do the simplest of tasks. But don’t feel too sad. I still have use of you.” Starlight then took out her driver and placed it one her waist, everyone's eyes going wide at this. "That Driver," Twilight whispered. "She can't be," Sunset's eyes went wide as she took out a card and slotted it into the device. “UNICORN!” In a flash of light, the teen girl was replaced by the armoured horse-themed monster. There was now no doubt in anyone's mind who she was. "Timber!" Twilight called out to him, "get away from her!" Timber, for once, did as he was told and tried to leap back to his feet and escape. "Oh, I don't think so!" Starlight held up her horn arm as it glowed, the same glow appearing around Timber before he was lifted into the air. "Timber!" Twilight cried, as Achilles pointed his blaster at Starlight. "Put him down!" "Or what?" She asked, "there's no way you can fire before I break his neck. So unless you want him dead, drop it!" Achilles glared at her for several seconds, then growled before lowering his weapon. Starlight smiled before turning back to Timber, who looked rather terrified. “You were meant to see what would happen if someone used the Advanced Driver without the comparability surgery. I did add some limiters to prevent the worst.” She held up her other hand as Timber's Driver shot out of Twilight's hand and into hers, clutching it tightly. And slowly, the Driver began to crack and break apart. Falling to the ground like dried mud off the side of a car, the Driver's outer layer was destroyed. And in doing so, an Advanced Driver was revealed. "No way," Rainbow whispered. Starlight smiled as she turned back to Timber, the Driver flying up and attaching itself to his waist. "Since you failed, I might as well see what happens to a human when given its full power.” She took out out a card and Timber's eyes went wide. "Please," he begged, "don't." But she didn't listen and the card flew up, Achilles rushing forward as it slotted in. “TIMBER WOLF!” Starlight let Timber go before leaping back, seconds before Achilles reached her and tries to slash at her with his spear. She teleported away, appearing on a nearby rooftop to watch the fun. Achilles turned to Timber, who had fallen to a staggering landing as the Driver activated. "Timber, take it of!" Timber nodded and tried to remove the Driver, but it wouldn't come off. Before anyone could think of a way to remove it, a green light shot out of the Driver and began to spread to Timber. Her cried out as the light morphed into a bunch of vines, which wrapped themselves around his entire body until only his head and the driver could be seen. "HELP ME!" Achilles slashed at the vines with his spear, but any he cut were instantly replaced. Then, the Driver started generating a bunch of branches. They began to fall to the ground and as they did, they started forming a shape. Achilles kept trying to free Timber, but nothing he did worked. Eventually the sticks finished forming a giant wolf's head, minus a lower jaw, which formed behind Timber. Once it was completed, the head swung down and Achilles was forced to leap back as it surrounded Timber. Everyone gasped at this, as the wolf's head started admitting a green light between the branches. The light grew brighter and brighter as the sticks rattled and shook before, finally, it exploded and everyone was forced to leap away to avoid getting stabbed. They focused on the spot and to their shock, something un-human was there. Where Timber used be, now stood a large mass of wood and leaves in the shape of a wolf. As the beast picked itself up, they got more details. It stood on all fours with metal armbands around its legs, whilst its chest had metal chest plate covering it. The Advanced Driver was around its waist and as it opened its eyes, they saw nothing but a green light. The beast looked around and when it saw them, it began to growl and slowly stalk towards it. “Oooh!" Starlight smiled from the building's top, "my own hunting hound." She tapped her chin. "I think I’ll call you...Splinter Hound!” "Timber!" Twilight cried, "are you in there?" But the beast only let out a mighty howl before leaping into the air, flying straight at Twilight with its claws ready to tear her apart.