Canterlot Zoo was in utter chaos, as a massive crime had taken place there.
Shining Armor arrived on the scene, as a bunch of uniformed officers were making sure the scene wasn't being contaminated by the populace. Shining walked through the yellow tape and into the park, where the staff and owners were waiting for him.
"What's the situation?" He asked the owner, who walked towards the enclosures with him.
"A lot of our animals have been stolen. At least one animal from each of the enclosures was taken. Lions, tigers, bears. Oh, my poor animals. What could have happened to them?"
"Security cameras?"
"All shut down moments before the animals went missing. The night watchmen were on the scene and confirmed all the animals were there when they checked on them. But when they went to check on another area, the cameras went down. As soon as the CCTV operator called him, he rushed back and found the animals were gone. But he couldn't have been gone for more than five minutes. How could they move the animals that fast?"
Shining wondered the same thing, as he headed into the lion enclosure.
The remaining lions had been moved to a different area, so Shining and the rest of the police could investigate the area. Shining did a sweep of the enclosure, but found nothing out of the ordinary. The rest of the force had also found nothing of interest. There had been no fingerprints, no footsteps and not even a piece of clothing the perpetrators left behind. How the thieves managed to get in without leaving a trace was unheard of.
It was then that Shining spotted something curious. He moved over to a section of the enclosure and picked up a small rock. One that was very different to the rest of the rocks in the enclosure. This one, only the size of a small pebble, was some kind of hardened amber.
Shining had seen this rock before. It was the same rock they had found after the fight at the aquarium, where the Mimic had attacked. The fact that it was here, made Shining worry.
Shining spent the rest of the day, studying the rest of the enclosure and searching for clues. But they all were just as untouched at the lion's enclosure, with Shining finding no other pieces of amber.
Shining chose to keep his amber discovery to himself, as he didn't want anyone else getting involved with the Mimics. He would need to talk to Flash about this himself.
When he finally got off work, he headed home.
It was a small apartment, with a single bedroom, small kitchen and tiny shower cubicle. It wasn't anything fancy, put it was the perfect place for a man living on his own. Not that he was really ever on his own.
As he stepped into the apartment, he heard movement in the kitchen and stepped into it to find his fiancée. A pink skinned woman with pink, purple and yellow hair. Cadance, the principal of Crystal Prep Academy. The most beautiful woman in the world, in Shining's eyes.
Cadance turned to him and smiled. "Hey." She moved over and the pair kissed, "tough day?"
"Confusing day. Animals from the zoo go missing and I can't figure out who did it."
"I'm sure you'll figure it out," Cadance assured him. "Just relax and don't stress about it. Let your brain rest and tomorrow, you'll have the crooks locked up before lunch." Shining smiled at this, as Cadance continued working on their dinner.
Shining was the luckiest guy in the world. He didn't know what he did to deserve a woman like Cadance. And when he thought about the secret he was keeping, he felt terrible. But he couldn't tell her about his double life as a Kamen Rider. At least, not until he knew what the heck was going on with him.
The rest of the night, the pair enjoyed a nice meal, snuggled up in their favourite pyjamas and watched TV together whilst enjoying each other's embrace.
The next day, Shining returned to the zoo.
The police officers there were fewer than before, whilst many people were hanging around outside the place waiting to see what was happening. "Stand back!" One officer announced. "I mean it. Stand back."
As Shining got closer, he noticed a group of teens amongst the crowd. One was Flash, who Shining expected to be there due to calling. But the others. "Twilight?" His sister looked around, the rest of her friends doing the same. "What are you doing here?"
"Hey Shining," Twilight smiled. "We heard about what happened. Fluttershy wanted to come. We thought maybe she could tell us what happened."
Shining frowned, only to then remember what Fluttershy's magical ability was. "Yeah. That might actually help. Alright. I'll let you in. Just be careful." She nodded and Shining talked to the officers guarding the entrance, the teens all being allowed inside.
As they headed in, Sunset turned to Flash. "What are you doing here?"
Flash frowned. "I wanna help too, you know. You don't need magical powers to do everything." Sunset frowned at this, clearly not buying that. But Flash walked ahead, as Shining led them towards the animal pens.
But as they did, they heard another voice speak out. "Twilight!" They looked around and were surprised to see Timber Spruce, the teen walking towards them dressed in a keeper's uniform. "Hey! Wasn't expecting to see you here." He and Twilight hugged.
"I wasn't expecting to see you. Since when have you worked here?"
"I just started a week ago. Thought it might be a good way to make some extra money. I was gonna take you on a special VIP tour, once I'd been here long enough to have that kind of pull." Twilight nodded. "What about you guys? I know why Shining's here, but why'd you come?" His gaze happened to fall on Flash, as Sunset spoke up.
"We're hoping Fluttershy, might be able to figure out what happened to the rest of the animals. What better witnesses, than the animals whose friends were stolen." Timber nodded, understanding that. But as they walked off, Timber frowned.
He took out his phone and started texting. If the Kamen Riders discovered anything, it could put a serious chink in their plan. "Hopefully, my new friends will be able to handle you for good this time."
They headed over to one of the lion pens and as soon as they were there, Fluttershy moved over and got the lion's attention. Her geode glowed as it roared, the girl listening to it. "Then what happened?" The lion kept making noises and she gasped. "That's awful!"
"What happened?" Shining asked.
"He said that his mate was stolen by a creature. Some kind of blob-like beast came into the pen and knocked him away, then grabbed his mate and sucked her inside of it. He tried to save her and slashed at the creature, but it didn't do anything. And when she was completely consumed, they both disappeared in a bright flash."
Shining frowned, as he remembered the piece of rock he had found. Was that part of the blob creature, knocked off by the slash. And if it was, that had to mean it really was a Mimic.
"You think these blob creatures attacked the rest of the animals?" Applejack asked, Fluttershy not sure what to say. She would only know once she talked to them.
It was then that Flash and Shining both felt something and looked around, Twilight noticing this reaction. "You okay?" Suddenly, an elephant's panicked cry caught their attention and Shining raced into action, the others following after him as they ran to the elephant's enclosure.
When they arrived, they were shocked to see the large beasts being attacked by something.
It was a humanoid cat creature, standing at around seven feet in height. its body was rather lean and covered in orange fur, which had black spots all over it. its feet were cat-like, but its hands were humanoid with long sharp claws. Its tail was almost as long as it was tall.
"It's a Mimic!" Applejack cried, as the beast tried to claw at the elephants.
"HEY!" Fluttershy cried, "leave them alone!" The cat creature turned to see them and roared. Then, in almost the blink of an eye, it was suddenly right on top of them with its claws ready to rip them apart.
Luckily, Rarity was able to put up a shield and protect them.
Twilight turned to Flash, Timber and her brother. "Get out of here!" Timber didn't need telling twice and raced off, not even looking back. Flash and Shining stayed for a moment, then noticed the beast cutting through the shields. "GO!" Twilight yelled, the pair finally leaving.
The girls all ponied up, ready to fight this thing. And as it broke through the crystal shield, Pinkie threw a bunch of sprinkles at it.
But the beast became a blur and dodged the following explosion, speeding away and landed behind them. "So fast," Rarity gasped.
"Not as fast as me." Rainbow prepared to attack, but Sunset stopped her.
"Hang on. You might be faster than that thing, but one swipe of its claws will cut you to bits!" Rainbow frowned, not wanting to risk it getting a lucky hit in. Rarity put up a dome of shields around them, as the creature flew forward and slashed at the dome. The girls frowned, as each slash carved part of Rarity's shield away. They were in trouble.
Flash and Shining managed to get somewhere away from prying eyes. Once they were sure they wouldn't be seen, they both took out their Mimicores and activated them.
"BLADE/BLITZ!"
Their belts appeared and the two quickly opened them up, slotting the Mimicores into place before striking a pose. "HENSHIN!" They cried together before slapping the belts shut, their Mimicores making the lights on their belts glow.
"MIMIC! SWORDFISH!"
"MIMIC! HERCULES BEETLE!"
The belts unleashed the slime, which flew into the air as the pair crossed their arms. As the slime fell atop them, it solidified to form the orange-brown cocoons. And soon enough, the cocoons shattered to reveal the Riders. Their armor quickly formed, as their suits spoke out in unison.
"Slicing through the ocean, with speed and precision unmatched!"
"Power that shatters everything, contained in a mighty horn!"
The Cheetah continued to slice at the dome, as the girls tried to think of a way to stop it.
Twilight noticed a trash can and focused on it, using her magic to make it fly towards the Mimic. But the creature noticed the movement and quickly turned towards it, slicing it to pieces with his claws. "NOW!" Sunset cried, Rarity creating an opening in the dome that Pinkie threw a cupcake through.
The Mimic spun around, as the sweet treat flew towards it.
The cake exploded and the Mimic was sent flying, the beast crashing into the ground with a roar. The girls cheered, but the Cheetah pushed itself back up. It didn't even look burned, the beast turning to them and glaring at Rarity closed the hole in her shield.
It looked ready to attack again, but a blue blur suddenly shot past it and the beast roared in pain.
The girls gasped, as the blur stopped to reveal Kamen Rider Shifter. The Swordfish themed warrior turned to the Cheetah, who picked itself up and growled as it glared at him. "Bring it on!" Shifter held up his blades and the two shot towards one another, slashing at each other as they tried to land a hit.
Rainbow was the only one able to follow the two, watching as their blades and claws slashed against one another with incredible speed. But no matter what, neither of them was able to overpower the other.
They eventually jumped apart, both catching their breath as they prepared to attack again. But before they could, a bunch of blasts almost struck the Cheetah.
Everyone turned to see Morphic, running towards them with his blaster out. The Cheetah suddenly found itself in a perilous position, both Riders ready to destroy it.
Morphic fired and the Cheetah went super speed to avoid the blasts, only for Shifter to chase after it. Whenever it focused on Morphic's blasts, Shifter attacked. And whenever it focused on Shifter, it slowed down enough for Morphic to hit it with his blaster. It was trapped.
"Yeah!" Rainbow cheered. "That's the way. Show that creep who the boss is."
"Two on one," Sunset nodded. "Normally, I'd be against those kinds of odds. But in this situation, I'm okay with it." The others agreed, only for Twilight to suddenly notice something.
Up in the sky, something was moving to their location. Something big and almost human in appearance. "What's that?" The others looked up and saw it. And as it got closer, they were able to make out its features.
It was a large humanoid hawk, with a pair of arms in front of its wings. Said wings were green, along with its head, chest and legs. The rest of its body had gray skin, whilst its lower legs and feet were yellow. Its beak was also yellow and it had a yellow line of feathers running along the top of its head.
"It's another Mimic!" Sunset gasped, as the creature suddenly dived down towards the Riders. "Look out!" Shifter came to a stop and at that moment, the Hawk grabbed him by the shoulders.
"WOW!" He was lifted into the air and carried away, the girls gasping as Morphic saw it.
He raised his weapon to fire, but the Cheetah acted before him. "GYAH!" The next thing he knew, he was getting slashes at the chest and thrown away.
He crashed into the ground, his armor having a gash running down the chest. He groaned, as the Cheetah rushed forward.
"Take this!" Morphic quickly raised his weapon and fired, but the feline Mimic was able to dodge each of his blasts and get in closer. The next thing he knew, his Blitz Blast was kicked out of his hand and the claws slashed against his armor again. "AUGH!"
"NO!" Twilight cried, whilst the others looked over at Shifter.
The Kamen Rider struggled against the grasp, finally managing to get his blades to cut into the creature.
It roared in pain, dropping him down to the ground. Luckily, a tree managed to break his fall and Shifter smashed his way through several branches before hitting the ground. "Oh." A squawk made him look up and see the Hawk fly down and land atop a lamppost.
Shifter pushed himself up, as the Mimic leapt into the air. Shifter tried to chase after it, running as fast as he could before leaping up. But even with his increased speed, he couldn't do anything against the creature. As soon as leapt up, the bird shifted in the air and the Rider couldn't change the direction of his attack.
The next thing he knew, the creature swooped down and struck from behind. "GYAH!" He crashed into the ground and rolled along the ground, as the Hawk flew back up. "Alright!" He pushed himself up and took out his other Mimicore. "Let's switch things up." He pressed the button and it activated.
"STRIKE!"
He quickly swapped the Mimicores and slammed the draw shut. "Shape Shift!"
The Mimicore glowed, as the belt spoke up. "MIMIC! LIGHTNING BUG!" His armor melted, recoloured and reshaped itself into Shifter's original form, the lines on his suit and the lights on his belt changing colour with it before settling. "Illuminate the light, striking through the darkness!"
The Hawk watched this and dived down, its claws at the ready. Shifter unleashed a blinding light from the torches on its body, forcing the beast to pull away. He cheered at this and leapt up, summoning energy to his legs. But the bird was able to recover and once again changed direction.
"No!" Shifter cried, unable to hit it with his attacks. Instead, the bird flew down before flying back up to attack from below. And Shifter could do nothing to stop it from slashing at him. "GYAH!" He fell to the ground and groaned, as the beast landed right on top of him with is talons on his chest. "Not good."
The Hawk raised its claws, ready to cut him to pieces. But before it could, a blue blur shot past and the Mimic was thrown off of him. "You okay?" Shifter turned to see Rainbow, smiling as she held a hand out.
"Thanks." He was pulled to his feet, as Applejack and Sunset arrived. "What about the other Mimic?"
"Twilight and the others are dealing with it," Sunset explained.
Sure enough, the others really were dealing with it.
Twilight threw whatever she could at the Mimic, whilst Pinkie and Rarity threw sweets and gems at it. That coupled with Morphic's blaster, had the creature on the run. Whenever it tried to get close, Rarity put up a shield to protect them.
It roared, annoyed that its prey was able to fight back. And as it jumped back, Morphic used that opening to fire through a gap in the crystals. It struck the cat and made it cry in pain, the blast having struck its side.
The beast growled and decided it wasn't gonna let itself be destroyed, so raced off in the opposite direction.
The Hawk flew down and Applejack grabbed some sacks of food from a nearby wheel barrow. She threw it and the bird was able to avoid them, but that let Shifter leapt up and deal a kick to its chest.
As it fell back, Rainbow grabbed a rock off the ground and ran around at high speed. She then threw the rock and it struck the hawk at a hundred miles an hour, exploding against it and making it cry out. This gave Shifter the chance to leap up again and deal another strike right to its face.
The beast squawked, as it fell to the ground and rolled to an eventual stop. It groaned at this, as Shifter prepared to use his finishing attack. But before he could, it spread its wings and leapt into the air. He flew so high, Shifter couldn't jump after it and Applejack wouldn't be able to throw anything without missing.
Now at a safe height, the beast flew off in the same direction the Cheetah ran to. As it did, Morphic and the girls reached them. "Did you get it?" Morphic asked, but then saw the retreating creature. "Damn. It got away too."
"They'll be back," Shifter stated. "And we need to find a way to beat them when they do." The others nodded, as Twilight turned to the Riders.
She had many questions and hoped she would get some answers. But before she could, Shifter's lights exploded and the girls were all blinded. They cried out, covering their eyes until the light faded away. And when it did, both Kamen Riders had vanished.
"Seriously?" Rainbow asked. "What's with them disappearing whenever the fun's over? The least they could do is stick around for a little bit." The others agreed, but knew the Riders weren't likely to do that.
The girls searched the zoo to make sure everything was alright. There wasn't anyone injured. No signs of the strange crystal and the animals were all accounted for. Everything was okay. And as they headed for the exit, they spotted Flash, Shining and Timber waiting for them.
"Hey!" Timber rushed over to Twilight, "are you okay?"
"Yeah," Twilight nodded, "The Kamen Riders showed up."
"Really?" Timber asked, glancing at Flash. "Did they beat the monsters?"
"Unfortunately, no." Sunset crossed her arms. "These ones were too much for them. But hopefully, they'll find a way to beat them the next time they show up." The others nodded, Flash and Shining sharing a look as they did so.
In the Mimic lair, Frill and Maya were tending to the Mimics that had returned.
Maya was placing the strange gel on the Cheetah's wounds, whilst Frill had his hands on the Hawk's head. "I see." He nodded, as if seeing something whilst touching the creature. "Those Kamen Riders didn't stand a chance against them."
"So then why did they come back here injured?" Maya asked, as she finished placing the gel on the cat.
"It's those girls. The ones with unusual powers. They managed to turn the tables on our friends here. If they hadn't been there, the Riders wouldn't be alive right now." Maya frowned at this, clearly wishing to deal with those girls. "They might be useful."
"How could they be useful?"
"If we can bring them over to our side, their abilities would suit us perfectly." Maya caught on and nodded, a smile on her lips as she moved over to a table and picked something up. It was a phone, but it had something connected to it that made it three times the size.
She tapped several buttons before holding it up to her ear. Moments later, Timber's voice spoke back. "What's up?"
"Gule. Are you with any of those girls right now? The ones with the strange powers?"
"They just left. Why?"
"The next time you're alone with one of them, grab them. I don't care which one. Bring them here and make sure you're not seen when you do it. We're going to add their abilities to our side."
"Got it. But it won't be easy. Those girls are hardly ever alone. I don't think I could grab more than one of them without them fighting back and drawing attention to me."
"Just grab them one at a time. Focus on the weakest member, if you have to. Just bring them here and we'll do the rest."
"Understood." With that, the phone went dead and Maya put it down. She turned to the Mimics that had just attacked and knew they needed to be sent out again, before the Riders had a chance to recover and come up with a plan.
Flash and Shining were still at the zoo, both sat on one of the benches as they thought about the fight they had had.
If it hadn't been for the girls, they would have been in real trouble. They knew they couldn't rely on the girls again, so they had to find a way to beat those Mimics. "What if I took on the Cheetah," Flash replied. "And you fight the Hawk. We're better equipped for handling those ones."
"Maybe," Shining nodded, "but what about the next time I face a faster opponent. Or the next time you face a flying one. We can't always expect to simply fight Mimics we're already good against."
Flash sighed. "You're right. Which leaves us with only one option." They both took out one of the empty Mimicores, both only having two available. "We'll have to find something to scan."
"I need something fast."
"And if my opponent's in the air, I need something that can fly up and face it." They nodded to each other before getting up and heading off. There were still plenty of animals in the zoo and they needed to find one that matched what they were looking for.
Flash headed over to the area where the birds of prey were kept. He looked around and saw many different types. Kestrels, ospreys, kites and many more. He had so many to choose from, but had no idea which to pick. Which would beat a hawk in a fight?
"I need more than that," Flash told himself. "Which of these birds has the abilities best suited for me to use?"
"Flash?" He looked around and spotted Twilight, who was walking towards him looking curious. "What are you doing here? It's not safe to be here on your own. What if a Mimic shows up?"
"Sorry," Flash scratched the back of his head. "I just...wanted to take a look around in case I couldn't come back for a while. What are you doing here?"
"Just making sure nothing happened during the last fight. It's possible the Mimics were planning to use the fight to take more animals." Flash nodded.
"So you really think it was the Mimics?"
"Honestly, I'm not sure. Shifter said they have the ability to copy other life forms. Makes sense they would steal a bunch of animals to copy the powers off. A cheetah and a hawk were two of the animals taken." Flash nodded. "I hope the Kamen Riders can find a way to beat them."
"Me too," Flash nodded as he looked around. "Say, random question. Which of these birds do you think is the best? If you could pick any of them to become, which would you choose?"
Twilight gave him a quizzical look, Flash praying he hadn't just shot himself in the foot. But then, she looked around at all the animals and hummed before moving over to one of the cages. Flash followed at they soon arrived at the bird of her choice. "This one."
Flash looked at the info board in front of the cage. "An owl?"
"Don't underestimate these guys. Owls might not look too impressive, but they're incredible hunters. Their wings make no noise when they fly and their eyesight is so good, it's practically night vision. Plus, they have an amazing sense of perception. If I was an owl and you tried to punch me, I'd see the punch coming, realize what was going to happen and be able to formulate three ways of stopping you in a single second."
"Wow. Nice. Though if your owl body is anything like your human body, it'd probably just stay standing there until I hit you." They both laughed at this, as Flash looked back at the creature in the cage. He let what Twilight said sink in and realised he had what he was looking for.
Twilight finally turned away from him and as she did, Flash took out his Mimicore. He held it up to the owl in the cage and let the light fly out and move over the bird. The creature clearly didn't like this, but the scan was too fast for even its high level of perception.
Once the scan was complete, the Mimicore glowed and began to blink with yellow dots. Letters appeared on the device, as the dots showed images of the owl in different posses. Flash smiled, quickly putting the device away before Twilight saw it.
At the same time, Shining had gone over to the habitats for the more four-legged creatures.
He looked around, trying to figure out which one could keep up with a cheetah. But Shining knew that feline was one of the fastest creatures in the animal kingdom. He looked online to try and find an animal that was faster, but the only one it told him about was the peregrine falcon, a bird that wasn't in captivity here.
"Shining?" He looked around and saw Fluttershy, walking towards him curiously. "Are you okay?"
Shining nodded. "I'm fine. Just looking around to make sure everything's okay. Didn't want anything to happen to these guys." Fluttershy nodded, understanding what he meant. "And I've never really thought about animals before. I've watched them, but this is the first time I've thought about their skills and abilities."
"I understand," Fluttershy nodded. "These animals really are amazing creatures. I just hope we can save the ones that were taken."
Shining nodded. "But to do that, the Riders are gonna need to find a way to beat those Mimics. Against a cheetah that can move super fast, how are you supposed to beat that?"
"Cheetahs are the fastest animals on the planet," Fluttershy agreed. "But they're not unbeatable. They can't use that speed forever." Shining let that information sink in and remembered how the Cheetah had had to stop at times, allowing him and the girls to get their attacks in. If it hadn't stopped, they wouldn't have stood a chance. But it couldn't.
"They don't just mimic the strengths," he realised. "They mimic the weaknesses too." Fluttershy shrugged, thinking the same thing. "So what do you think the Riders should do to exploit that weakness? If they can use the powers of other animals, I bet they're looking for one that'll help them beat that Cheetah."
Fluttershy hummed, clearly trying to think of an answer. Then, she moved over to one of the enclosures.
Shining followed her and they arrived at an area with a bunch of canine enclosures. He expected her to take him to the wolf paddock, but Fluttershy moved somewhere else. An enclosure with a bunch of sleek looking dog-like creatures. They weren't as muscular as a wolf, but they sure looked fast. And with the sharp looking claws, Shining had a feeling they could do some damage in a fight.
"Coyotes?" He read the sign, as Fluttershy nodded.
"One of the fastest predatory dogs in the animal kingdom. They can't move as fast as cheetahs, but they can still hit about fifty to sixty miles an hour. And the best part is they can keep running for a lot longer than a cheetah can."
"Really?" Shining smiled. That sounded exactly what he needed. "Let's hope the Riders know this. Too bad they're not here."
Fluttershy nodded, "maybe they'll realise it's the animal they need as well. They must know a lot about animals, so maybe they'll have the same idea we had." Shining nodded, as he waited for Fluttershy to turn away.
She did so and as soon as she did, he took out his Mimicore and held it up to the enclosure.
The light flew out and ran over the nearest coyote, scanning it and programming the device. As soon as the scan completed, the device flashed and letters appeared down the side of it. Red dots then appeared, showing the coyote in multiple different posses.
But as soon as the Mimicore was complete, a scream filled the air.
He and Fluttershy turned to the screams and Shining ran ahead, Fluttershy following. They ran through the zoo until they arrived at the giraffe enclosure, where they saw the Cheetah Mimic running around trying to injure the poor creatures.
"Leave them alone!" Fluttershy cried, making the Mimic turn to her.
It let out a roar before shooting towards them, moving like a blur until it leapt over the fence and landed in front of the two. Shining stepped in front of Fluttershy, his gun at the ready in a vain attempt to injure the creature. But before he could try, a squawk made him look up and see the Hawk Mimic.
It flew down and tried to grab them, but Shining managed to push Fluttershy down before it could hurt them. But his push might have been a little too strong, since Fluttershy cried out due to twisting her ankle.
Shining looked back over at the monsters, who looked ready to strike at any moment. But before they could, a trash can flew towards the Hawk and slammed into it. It cried, being knocked away and making everyone turn to see Twilight and Flash.
Twilight lifted another trash can up and threw it at the Cheetah, but the beast swung its claws around and cut the can to shreds. "Get out of here!" Twilight cried, throwing everything she could at the monsters. "I'll try and hold these things off." Flash and Shining shared a look and nodded, both running off in one direction with Shining helping Fluttershy escape.
Twilight threw whatever she could get her magical hands on. But the Mimics soon learned that was all she could do and quickly adapted. The Hawk spun around and kicked the trash can away, as Twilight realised she had nothing nearby to throw at them.
The Cheetah then sped forward, its claws ready to gouge her heart out. But at the last moment, a bright flash appeared behind it and the creature roared in pain.
It covered its eyes and staggered back, as Shifter leapt onto the scene beside Twilight. "You okay?"
Twilight nodded, "I'm fine. But what do we do? These things are strong. Especially that bird one."
"Don't worry," Shifter took something out. "I've come prepared." Twilight saw the strange looking screen device and watched, as he quickly pressed the button.
"FLIGHT!"
Shifter opened the draw on his belt and removed his other Mimicore, quickly placing the new one in to replace it. "Shape shift!" With that, he slammed the draw shut and the lights on his belt turned yellow.
"MIMIC! OWL!" The armour around his body began to melt once again before changing to a transparent yellow colour, then began reshaping itself before hardening to reveal Shifter's new form.
His mask was now a thick V-shape, with a beak-like design on the bottom and a zigzagged pattern around the edges to give it the design of feathers or fur. The area around his eyes appeared thicker, creating two rings that were connected to give them a goggle or glasses appearance.
The rest of his armour was pretty plain, with no lights or blades like his other two. But on the back of his armour were a pair of yellow wings no bigger than his hands. Finally, the lines on his suit turned yellow whilst his eyes changed to green.
As the armor settled, his belt unleashed new words. "Flying through the sky, seeking prey with all seeing vision!"
Twilight looked him over, amazed by the new look. She was even more amazed, when the tiny wings on his back suddenly grew ten times the size. Each wing was now as large as Shifter was tall, the two spreading out as he looked towards the Hawk.
"I hope you're ready," he pointed at the mimic. "Because the winds of victory have just shifted." With that, he leapt into the air and his wings actually carried him. Twilight gasped, watching as Shifter flew up and dealt a punch right to the bird's chest.
The creature cried out, as it was knocked back and Shifter chased after it to deal a kick to its face.
Twilight was still amazed by what she was seeing, but a growl made her look back and see the Cheetah had turned its attention away from the sky battle. It raised its claws, ready to attack again. Twilight frowned, knowing she had to be careful what she did.
Back with Shining and Fluttershy, the man was still trying to get the girl to safety.
Fluttershy flinched, as she kept hopping on one foot. Shining didn't want to leave her, but he also knew he had to get back and help fight the Mimics. What could he do?
He got his answer, when Timber suddenly appeared in front of them. "What's happening?" He asked, as the two reached him.
"The Mimics are attacking again." He handed Fluttershy over to him. "Get her to safety. I have to help." Before either of them could say anything, he turned to run off. Fluttershy called out for him to be careful, whilst Timber looked at Fluttershy with a smile.
'That was easier than I thought. Now, where to bring you?'
Back with the fight, Shifter continued to fly circles around the Hawk. Every time the monster attacked, Shifter was able to fly out of the way before curving around to deal a retaliatory attack.
Back on the ground, the Cheetah ran forward. But Twilight was ready and used her magic to grab a piece of rope that a keeper had dropped during the commotion. And as the Cheetah picked up speed, Twilight made it go tort and the monster tripped over it.
The beast howled, as it was sent rolling along until it came to a crash into the side of another enclosure.
Twilight couldn't help but laugh at this, as the monster began to push itself back to its feet. As it did, it turned to glare at the girl and Twilight frowned. It then charged again and Twilight tried to use the rope, but it quickly swung its claws around and sliced right through it.
Twilight gasped, as the creature then leapt forwards with both clawed hands at the ready.
But before it could even scratch, an energy blast hit it in the shoulder. It snarled, as it was knocked away from Twilight. She looked around and spotted Morphic, who was running forward with his blaster in hand. "You okay?" He asked, Twilight nodding at the Cheetah picked itself up. "Time for me to speed things up." He took out his new Mimicore and pressed the button, the image of the wolf-like creature appearing in the dots.
"RUSH!"
Morphic opened the draw on his belt and removed his Mimicore, replacing it with the new one. "Mega Morph!" With that, she slammed the draw inwards and the lights upon the side of his belt turned red.
"MIMIC! COYOTE!" The armor around his body began to melt and change from blue to a bright red colour, the amber slimming down before solidifying to form a thinner more streamlined armour.
The armour on his arms had three short white points sticking out the front above his hands, whilst his boots also had claws on the ends and cleats on the bottoms. His head armour formed to mimic the head of a canine with his eyes remaining yellow and a short snout sticking out like where his nose should be. Finally, the lines along his body turned red.
As the armor finished its transformation, the belt unleashed new words. "Howling velocity, increasing the tearing power of its fangs"
Twilight was once again amazed to see the Kamen Riders changing their animal motifs, this one looking incredibly fast. And sure enough, Morphic ran forward and turned into a blur.
The Cheetah did the same, the orange and red blurs flying around the place and colliding several times. Twilight could only watch in amazement, as they seemed to be at a stalemate and both landed a good distance away from one another. As they did, Morphic clutched his chest and Twilight saw several scratches down the front of his armor.
"Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," Morphic assured her. He then turned back to the Cheetah. "You won't get the drop on me again." The claws on the ends of his arms then turned to liquid before extending outwards, then solidified to form a trio of Wolverine style claws.
Back with Timber and Fluttershy, the two were making their way through the zoo.
Fluttershy was following Timber's lead, but couldn't help but notice the direction they were heading wasn't the way out of the zoo. "Why are we going this way? Shouldn't we be trying to get to safety?"
"We are," Timber told her. "But there's another way out of the park that shouldn't be as crowded." Fluttershy nodded, accepting this. Timber smiled, looking for a good place to complete his objective. But before he could try, he heard something.
"Fluttershy!" They looked around and saw Rainbow and the other Rainbooms, running towards them. "Are you okay?" Rainbow saw how Fluttershy was limping and Applejack quickly took her from Timber, lifting her up without worry.
"I'm fine. Just twisted my ankle. Timber was getting me somewhere safe."
"Thanks man," Rainbow told him.
"No problem," Timber forced a smile. He couldn't take all these girls on at once. He needed to keep his cover and fighting these girls would get the attention of the Riders. His plan was ruined. "Come on." He pointed in one direction. "The Kamen Riders can deal with the Mimics. Lets get out of their way." They all nodded and followed him out of the zoo, Timber steaming at his failure.
Back in the fight, Shifter and Morphic had their opponents on the ropes.
The Hawk flew towards Shifter and tried to slash at him, but Shifter curled his wings and barrel-rolled out of the way. The Rider then shot forward and dealt a punch straight to its side. The Hawk cried and tried to slash at him, but Shifter's owl vision allowed him to preserve this attack and easily avoid it.
"Nice try!" Shifter flew around the creature and his wings were so silent, the Hawk couldn't tell where he was and he dealt a powerful kick to its back.
At the same time, Morphic was able to keep up with the Cheetah's speed. And thanks to his new claws, he was able to slash at the beast before it could do the same.
"Raaaaah!" The beast roared, as it landed next to a lamppost and used its claws to cut through it. And when it tipped over, it kicked the metal structure towards Morphic.
The Kamen Rider saw it coming and turned into a completely still blur, not taking a step as the lamp reached him. His arms then moved like a flurry, his blades cutting the metal pole to ribbons without any effort.
Eventually, the last of the metal fell to the ground and Morphic shot forward. He swung his claws around and slashed them down the creature's chest, making it roar as it was sent flying backwards.
All the while, Twilight watched this happen and was completely amazed by how fast the battle had turned in the Rider's favour. She could barely follow Morphic and the Cheetah, but was able to watch as Shifter fought the Hawk.
Once again, the bird Mimic tried to slash at Shifter. But he dodged and grabbed the beast's arm, twisting it before dealing a powerful kick to its wing. The impact knocked the limb back and made it bend at an unnatural angle, making the Mimic roar as it felt its wing snap somewhere.
The Rider then spun around and threw the monster downwards. And as the Hawk crashed to the ground, injuring its wing even more, Shifter slammed the side of his belt.
"CLIMATIC FLIGHT!"
Shifter's wings grew larger and larger, until they were four times their normal size. He then started beating them, causing a powerful gust to appear and swirl around the Mimic. As the Hawk picked itself up, a tornado formed around it and lifted the monster into the air.
The Mimic squawked, as it tried to escape from the vortex. But nothing it did worked and as Shifter's wings shrank back to normal, he dived into the tornado. And unlike the Hawk, he wasn't fighting against the wind. He was using it to make him spin around, moving faster and faster by the second.
And as the tornado began to dissipate, he spun around so his feet were pointed towards the Hawk. Then, he thrust them forward as he spun, morphing him into a giant air drill.
The attack slammed into the Hawk, who screamed in pain as its body was dug into. And after a few moments of this, the tornado vanished and it was sent flying backwards into the ground. As it crashed into the earth, it sparked and Shifter flew out of his drill form.
He glided down and landed, right as the monster exploded behind him.
"YES!" Twilight cheered, only to then hear a roar and look around to see the Cheetah and Morphic stop flying around. The Cheetah had a bunch of cuts on its body and as Morphic dealt a swift kick to its chest, it was thrown backwards whilst Morphic did a back-flip.
When he landed, Morphic slammed the side of his belt and made it yell out.
"CLIMATIC RUSH!"
As the Cheetah picked itself up, Morphic shot forward and morphed into a blur. He was moving even faster than he had been before, too fast for the Mimic to counter in time and it shot past him. "GYAH!" It roared, feeling the claws slashing at him. This stopped it from being able to counter the next slash, then the next and the next and the next.
To anyone watching, it almost looked like Morphic had multiplied and the many clones were attacking him one after another. Eventually, after what had to be the hundredth slash, Morphic slid to a stop with his claws pointed forwards.
The Mimic swayed in place for several seconds before, finally, it fell to the ground and exploded with Morphic standing with his back to it.
Twilight stood there, amazed as she watched the Kamen Riders walk over to one another and high-five. They then turned to leave, but Twilight finally found her voice. "Wait!" they looked around. "Please, tell me. Who are you? How can you do all these things? And why are you the only ones that can hurt the Mimics?"
The pair glanced at one another, then back to her. "We wish we could tell you," Shifter stated. "But honestly, most of those questions even we don't have the answers to." Twilight frowned, wondering what he meant by that. "Maybe one day, we'll be able to tell you. But until then, just trust us. We're here to help."
Before Twilight could say anything else, the two raced off. Shifter took to the sky and Morphic raced off, Twilight watching them both disappear into the distance.
In the Mimic lab, Maya and Frill waited as Timber arrived.
As soon as he did, his body melted and transformed into his Mimic form. The pair stood there, glaring at him. "What?" They said nothing, Gule sighing. "I get it. I failed to get the girl here. It wasn't easy, you know. That place was covered in cameras. If I didn't take her somewhere out of the way, I would have been spotted."
"You could have been faster," Maya told him. "If you had gotten her there quicker, you would have been able to transport her here before the rest of those girls showed up."
"It's not like we lost anything important," Gule stated. "Out of all the girls, she had one of the worst powers. They wouldn't have been able to help us much."
"Maybe," Frill stated. "But there's no telling what else those girls might be able to do. But it doesn't matter anymore. The Riders are growing stronger. We need to find a way to deal with them before they get out of hand." He moved over to another area and stepped through a door, the other Mimics following.
They soon arrived at a large room, where many animals were located. But all of these animals were encased in amber cocoons, waiting to be used by a Mimic. Everything, from lions, tigers and bears. All ready to grant power to the Mimics. Power that the Riders couldn't hope to fight against.
Back at the zoo, the investigation was drawing to a close.
Shining Armor headed out of the park, having a feeling the Mimics wouldn't be showing up again. He and Flash would need to be careful. With more powerful animals stolen, they would likely be facing more powerful Mimics. He and Flash both had a single Mimicore left. They would need to use them wisely.
As he got in his car, he got a call from Cadance. She was calling to ask when he would be home, Shining smiling as he told her. He might be a superhero, but he was glad he could have times like now to enjoy. A reminder of what he was fighting for and what he needed to do in order to keep that safe.