//------------------------------// // Secrets Revealed // Story: A Passing Through Kamen Rider // by thunderclap //------------------------------// “A Kamen Rider?” Twilight asked, an eyebrow quirked. “What does that mean?” Wyatt ignored her and looked up at the window that Rainbow Dash crashed through and walked over to the building. He then jumped up and through the broken window in order to find the pegasus. He found her in a heap on the floor, blood oozing out of her and shards of glass protruding from various parts of her body. Wyatt had to fight the urge to vomit and shook his head to clear his thoughts. ‘I need to get her out of here quickly. Luckily, I’ve got just the thing for quickly,’ he thought as he pulled out two cards. He slotted the first card into the belt and the voice rang out. “Kamen Ride: Kabuto!” A flash of light surrounded him and Wyatt appeared in a new suit of armor. A majority of the suit was black with bits of silver on his legs and around his wrists. His chest piece was crimson with silver along the shoulders and bits of black showing underneath. The helmet was crimson as well with a silver mouth area and the blue eye portion was separated by what appeared to be a large horn. Just as Wyatt was about to slot the next card into his belt he heard someone coming into the house. He turned his head slightly and saw that Twilight and the others were coming up the stairs. “Wait!” Twilight shouted. “You still haven’t answered my question. What’s a… who are you?” She asked, noticing Wyatt’s new form. “What happened to the other one?” She and the others kept their focus on him and hadn’t noticed Rainbow Dash yet. “Now’s not the time for questions, Twilight.” Wyatt replied as he inserted the second card into the belt. “Attack Ride: Clock Up!” “Wai-” Twilight didn’t have the chance to finish her plea as she seemed to slow to a standstill. Wyatt moved past her and carefully cradled the injured pegasus and ran out of the house faster than the average eye could see. “-t!” Twilight finished as her eyes widened when she noticed that the armored individual was gone. “What… where did he go?” “Ah don’t rightly know, but isn’t this the house Rainbow Dash crashed through?” Applejack asked as she looked around the room. Fluttershy let out a loud gasp as she pointed at a spot on the floor. “Girls, there’s blood on the floor,” she whimpered. Twilight looked to where Fluttershy was pointing and nearly felt her stomach turn. “You’re right, no wonder he said there was no time for questions.” “He, darling?” Rarity questioned. “Yes, even though the voice was augmented, the proportions of the body suggest that whoever this ‘Kamen Rider’ is, they’re most likely male.” “Do you think both of them were the same person?” Pinkie Pie asked. “They were wearing really different outfits.” “I don’t know, I think we should head to the hospital. Considering everything that this person has done so far I’d say that’s where they’ve taken Rainbow Dash.” The girls all nodded and made their way out of the house. Wyatt rocketed through the streets of Ponyville, retracing his steps back to the hospital. He glanced down at the mare in his arms and paled under his helmet when he saw the condition she was in again. He didn’t know how long he was running, time was confusing due to his speed. But eventually he made it to the hospital and pushed his way inside. Wyatt looked around the room and wondered where he could put her. In an instant (relative to him) he decided to place her on the reception desk and ran back out the door. Once he was outside he found a secluded spot behind a tree and some bushes and pulled on the handles of his belt buckle. The grey silhouettes appeared and pulled away from Wyatt and reverted him back to his normal self. He let out a deep breath and slumped against the tree as he heard a scream from inside the hospital. He turned his head toward the disturbance and let out a sigh of relief when he heard further sounds of some kind of commotion. ‘I can’t believe I just did all that.’ He thought as he felt the area where the Undead had slashed at him. He flinched and had to bite back a groan. ‘Ugh, okay that hurts. But the fact that I could transform like that does make the idea that I’m crazy or hallucinating seem a lot more likely. So, now that I’m a Kamen Rider in what is most likely a hallucination, what do I do? Should I go public? Nah, I don’t think I’d like having the spotlight on me. But should I keep this a total secret?’ Wyatt lifted his shirt and flinched when he saw large, purple bruises where the Undead had attacked him. ‘I don’t think that’ll work. I’m going to be living with Twilight and she’s going to run tests on me. I don’t think she’s going to buy excuses like I fell down some stairs forever. Now what am I going to do with this?’ he asked himself, looking down at the Decade Driver. As soon as he did, the buckle and case seemed to disappear. ‘D-did that just really happen?’ He felt around his waist and the Driver really seemed to be gone. ‘Maybe it’ll appear again when I need it?’ He frowned at that thought. ‘Yeah, kinda hoping I won’t need it again.’ Wyatt let out another sigh as he got up and walked back into the hospital. The entire lobby was chaotic and Rainbow Dash was being taken down a hallway. Wyatt took a deep breath and widened his eyes as he locked his gaze on the gurney she was on. “Rainbow Dash!” Wyatt called out as a nurse moved to stop him from running into the gurney. “Sir, do you know this mare?” The nurse asked calmly but firmly. “A little,” Wyatt admitted. “She and her friends picked me up from the hospital today. What happened to her?” “We don’t know,” The nurse replied. “She just appeared here in a critical condition. She’s being taken to have glass shards removed from her and possible surgery.” “Would it be okay if I go back there while the doctors work on her? Her and her friends are the only ponies I really know here.” “I suppose there’s no harm with that,” The nurse replied seeming to think it over. “But if any of the doctors tell you to leave then I expect you to do as they say.” Wyatt nodded and followed the nurse down the hallway until he came up to a row of seats and a large pane of glass that showed a room where the doctors were preparing to work on Rainbow Dash. He sat down in one of the chairs and silently watched as the doctors set about their work. Wyatt didn’t know how long he was sitting before he heard someone say his name. “Wyatt, what are you doing here?” Twilight asked, confused. “Uh,” Wyatt started as he looked around and saw that they were the only ones within earshot. Once he was reassured that they were alone he got up and walked over to her. “Actually, the truth of it is… I’m that Kamen Rider.” He told her in a whisper. “Wha…“ Twilight started to screech before Wyatt covered her mouth with a hand. “Twilight, please don’t make a scene. I don’t want everyone to know about my abilities. Now, I’ll remove my hand if you promise not to make a scene. And In return, I promise to tell you everything I know when we get back to your place.” Twilight nodded and Wyatt removed his hand. “Okay, I promise,” she replied before starting some hand gestures. “Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye,” she punctuated the last part by covering an eye with a hand. The others mirrored her actions and repeated what she said. “There, a Pinkie Promise, I won’t break it.” Wyatt quirked an eyebrow and looked over to Pinkie Pie. “You have a promise named after you?” “Yup, though only ponies in Ponyville know about it.” She replied with a weak smile. The girls then turned to the window to look in on Rainbow Dash. Twilight then turned her head toward Wyatt. “Thank you for saving her, and us.” “You’re welcome,” Wyatt answered with a weak smile. “I don’t think I’d have been able to live with myself if I had just done nothing. Besides, Rainbow Dash said she’d show me some of her stunts. Can’t let anything happen to her before she does that,” Wyatt said, hoping to add some levity to the situation. “I guess you’re right,” Twilight replied. “We should probably go. I don’t think Rainbow Dash is going to be in any condition to talk to us. We’ll come back tomorrow. How are you by the way? That monster hit you quite a few times.” “No need to worry about me,” Wyatt replied with gusto as he tapped his chest with a fist. “I was protected from those attacks.” “Glad to hear it,” Twilight said with a smile. “You just got out of this place, I’d hate to have you get treated again. Now, let’s go to my home. You’ve got a lot of questions to answer. Not to mention Spike is probably worried sick by now.” “Spike?” Wyatt questioned with a raised eyebrow. “He’s my assistant at the town’s library. Actually, the library is where you’ll be staying with me.” “You live in a library?” Wyatt asked before looking over to the other girls. “On a scale of one to ten, how much of a nerd would you say that Twilight is?” “Hey!” Twilight shouted indignantly. “I think she breaks that scale to be honest,” Pinkie answered innocently. “Hey!” Twilight shouted, a little louder this time. “Well,” Rarity started, trying to choose her words carefully. “To be fair darling, you do have a tendency to get a bit obsessive and eccentric at times. Like when you sent the town into a frenzy due to a potentially overdue assignment.” “That was,” Twilight responded with a deep blush. “I mean, I thought that I was going to… let’s just get going to the library already.” Everyone (except Twilight) shared a laugh as they walked out of the hospital. As they walked through the town Wyatt noticed that the town’s ponies were slowly getting back into their normal routines after the monster attack from earlier. While the ponies went about their jobs and were cleaning up the broken window and the debris from the explosion, Wyatt readied his camera and knelt down on one knee as he snapped a quick picture of the ponies while they worked. “There we go, I think that one’ll turn out nice.” “Are you something of a photographer darling?” Rarity asked. “Yeah, it’s a hobby. Though I’m hoping to make it a part of my career.” Wyatt answered as he held up the camera with a smile. “Here’s hopin’ ya do,” Applejack offered with a tip of her hat. “Everypony should have a job they love.” “Thanks, I’m still thinking about what I want to do exactly. A lot of what I’ve been doing lately has been landscape stuff, but I’ve considered some other things.” “I would love to see some of your work, darling,” Rarity said with a small smile. “Sure, I just have to finish up the roll of film and I’ll develop them for you girls. Actually, I’ve got some photos from my world on here so I can show you that too.” “Really!” Twilight gushed as her face lit up. “That’s amazing! I’ll be able to see more of your kind!” “Heh, yeah. Though you should know that I took those photos at a convention so a lot of people you’ll see are in costumes of some kind.” “That should be interesting,” Twilight mused with a bright smile. “What kinds of costumes should we expect to see?” “Uhh, well some are from video games, some would be from comic books and a few other different media.” “I can’t wait to see them,” she said. “It sounds like a great opportunity to study part of your culture.” “Well, it’ll probably take a while for me to finish the roll. Hope you don’t mind waiting.” “No problem, I can be patient,” she replied as she stopped in front of a large tree. “Here we are, the Ponyville Library.” Wyatt quirked an eyebrow and looked around him. “Where? Is it behind the big tree here?” Twilight giggled at that and pointed at the tree. “The big tree is the library, Wyatt.” Wyatt gaped at that, staring intently at the tree. He then broke out into a wild grin and held up his camera. “So, I’m going to be staying in this place? That’s awesome!” he cheered as he snapped a picture. “I think I’m going to like staying in such an interesting place.” “I’m glad to hear it,” Twilight replied as she went up to the door and opened it. When she did a tiny, purple, lizard-like creature walked up to the doorway. “Hey Twilight, what took you so long?” The little lizard asked in what sounded like an adolescent male voice. “I’m sorry, Spike,” Twilight replied, kneeling down and patting him on the top of his green spines. “But there was a monster attack in the center of town.” “Seriously?” Spike asked with a nervous gulp. “What was it this time, bugbears, manticores, z-zombies?!” he cried, biting at his claws. “No Spike, it was nothing like that. Though I don’t know what the monster was,” she said, her face scrunching up in thought over the monster that had attacked her and her friends. “And the strange thing was that it was completely unaffected by my magic.” “What?!” Spike shouted, jumping in the air. “Then how did you all get rid of the thing? Is it still out there?” “Calm down, Spike,” Twilight told him, patting him on the head again. “The monster has been dealt with, but it wasn’t the girls and I that did it.” “Really, then who?” Twilight didn’t answer verbally, instead turning her head slightly toward Wyatt. Wyatt didn’t respond. He didn’t even seem to notice Twilight. His gaze was locked on Spike. “T-Twilight, is S-Spike a-a…” Twilight paled at Wyatt’s reaction and threw her hands up defensively. “Wyatt, please don’t panic. Yes Spike is a dragon but he’s still…” “That’s so awesome!” Wyatt beamed as he zipped over to the small drake. “Would you mind if I take a few photos of you? Never know when I’ll run into a real dragon again,” He asked hopefully, holding his camera up. “Sure,” Spike affirmed, his ego seeming to get a boost from the offer, “just be sure to get my good side.” Wyatt nodded eagerly and readied his camera, taking several pictures of the young dragon in different poses and from different angles. Even having Spike breathe fire for a more dramatic shot. Wyatt eventually stood up and thanked Spike. “Did you get enough shots, darling?” Rarity asked, covering her mouth with a hand to hide a snicker. “Yeah,” Wyatt chuckled. “Though that’s probably because I just used up the roll.” “Well then, how about we go inside and you can explain everything like you said you would back in the hospital?” Twilight asked, indicating the open door. “Alright,” Wyatt said, following her inside. Once everyone was seated Spike looked around and asked, “Hey, where’s Rainbow Dash?” “She got hurt during the monster attack,” Fluttershy explained softly. “B-but don’t worry, she’s going to be just fine,” she blurted out, hiding behind her pink mane. “Okay, so how did you defeat that monster?” Spike asked, turning to Wyatt. “Oh, I turned into a Kamen Rider and made it blow up,” he answered dismissively. “What is a Kamen Rider?” Twilight asked. “I guess the best way to explain it is to just say that a Kamen Rider is a type of super-hero. Kamen is the Japanese word for mask or masked and Rider usually refers to the fact that a Kamen Rider usually rides a motorcycle.” “What’s a motorcycle?” Twilight asked, taking notes. “You don’t know what a motorcycle is?” Wyatt asked, confused. The hospital had seemed to be quite modern, how could these ponies not know about motorcycles? “No, would you mind explaining it to me?” “It’s like a bicycle, but with a motor, hence the name.” “That does make sense,” Twilight replied, jotting down more notes. “Dude, you’re a super-hero?!” Spike cheered. “You’ve got to show me that! What are your powers? Do you have a catchphrase like the Power Ponies?” “I guess I have a catchphrase,” Wyatt replied, scratching his cheek in thought. “And I don’t think transforming when I don’t have to is a good idea.” Spike seemed to deflate with that and started to pout. “But I might be able to show you what I use to transform,” he offered, hoping to cheer the baby dragon up. “Nice!” Spike beamed, pumping a fist into the air. Wyatt closed his eyes and concentrated on having his Driver appear in his hand. After about a minute or so he felt a familiar weight in his hands and opened his eyes to see the buckle and the card case in them once more. “Whoa, how’d you do that?” Spike asked pointing at the items Wyatt was now holding. “I just sort of pictured them in my head and they appeared.” “Interesting,” Twilight stated, her horn lighting up and surrounding the buckle and case. She was silent for a few moments before she furrowed her brow and said, “There seems to be some kind of magic coming from these devices. Though it’s not a type of magic that I even recognize. Would you mind if I study this?” “Sure, but be careful with it, okay?” Wyatt told her. “I’d hate for you to break it in case another Undead shows up.” “Undead?” Pinkie questioned, tilting her head. “Like a vampire-pony?” She asked, throwing her arm around herself as though she was wearing a cape. “Or a zombie?” This time stretching her arms out in front of her and letting out a guttural moan as she stumbled over to Rarity. “See!” Spike cried, leaping into the air again. “I told you it was zombies!” “Actually, it’s not really a zombie,” Wyatt explained. “How do you know so much about this monster?” Fluttershy asked. “I mean, if you don’t mind me asking,” she squeaked. “This might be a little hard to believe,” Wyatt started, taking a deep breath. “But Kamen Riders, and monsters like the Undead are both part of a long running series of stories,” he then opened up the case and pulled out a card with a picture of a grey helmet ending in a horn-like curve and circular red eyes, showing it to the group. “This is the card for Kamen Rider Blade, the Undead are from his story.” “A story?” Twilight questioned. “You’re telling me that monsters like that are from some story where you’re from?” “Yeah, I don’t get it either,” Wyatt admitted. “But I’m telling you the truth.” “Can you turn into that Blade you mentioned like you did those other two, darling?” Rarity asked, pointing to the card. “I should be able to,” Wyatt affirmed, nodding. “What were the other two forms called?” Twilight asked. “Decade and Kabuto in order of their appearance. Decade is actually the base form for this belt.” “May I see your case?” Twilight asked, holding out a hand. “I’d like to take a look at these cards.” He shrugged and handed her the case. She carefully pulled out all the cards and flipped through them slowly with Spike peeking in next to her. “Fascinating, you said that the Undead was related to one of these Riders, do the others fight Undead, or some other type of monster?” “Well, Kuuga and Agito both fight the same type of monster, and Decade doesn’t really have an official monster,” he shared. “Other than that, each rider has their own type of monster that they would fight.” His eyes then widened as he came to a realization. “Oh god, Twilight, I just had a thought. If Undead are a thing in this world, maybe the other monsters will appear.” “I was thinking the same thing,” Twilight stated darkly. Everyone in the room seemed to shiver a bit at that, Pinkie’s mane deflating slightly as well. “Hey,” Spike chimed in, “if those monsters do show up then Wyatt here can just transform and beat them all up!” His energy seemed to be infectious because Pinkie Pie brightened up as well. “Yeah! And then you’ll be all like bam, zoom, pew, pew,” she cheered, miming out fighting moves. “Well, I gotta do what I can,” Wyatt replied with a weak smile. “There’s one more thing that I’m curious about,” Twilight started, looking over the cards. “Can you tell me what these greyed out cards are?” “Greyed out cards?” Wyatt asked, confused. “Can I see them?” Twilight handed him the cards and his eyes widened in realization. “Now I remember, these were there when I bought the case,” He then frowned. “Though the guy I bought it from said I’d be able to figure out how to get images to appear on them after I got the case. Well, I did and he still didn’t tell me what I’m supposed to do with these.” Wyatt scrutinized the cards and noticed something that he hadn’t before. “Hold on a second, this card has writing on it. ‘Displaced Ride’.” He read aloud. “What the hay is that supposed to mean?” Applejack asked, scratching her head. “I have no idea,” Wyatt admitted, “but it is a start.” “I think this’ll be enough for today,” Twilight spoke up. “We’ve all gone through a lot and should get our rest. Come on Wyatt, I’ll show you where you’ll be sleeping.” Twilight and the others got up but Wyatt stayed where he was sitting for a moment. “Can I get you all to promise me something first?” He asked. They all responded with a quick, “Yes?” simultaneously. “Can you please keep my being a Kamen Rider secret? I’d rather not stand out more than I already do. “If that’s what you want, then I’ll be happy to honor your request, darling,” Rarity told him with a nod. “Shoot, Ah don’t see much of a problem with keepin’ that a secret,” Applejack replied with a tilt of her hat. “Oh, um, I’ll do my best to keep your secret,” Fluttershy said with a sheepish smile. Pinkie didn’t say anything, instead she mimed out a few actions of her drawing her hand across her mouth, twisting it, seeming to dig a hole and filling it back up and stretching her arms out to draw out a large shape. “Umm, what was that supposed to mean?” Wyatt asked, puzzled. “I zipped my lip, locked it, buried it and built a house on top, duh!” Pinkie beamed. “Don’t you worry, I’m great at keeping secrets,” Spike bragged, puffing up his chest. “Twilight on the other hand, not so much.” To her credit, Twilight didn’t respond to that, instead choosing to level a subtle glare to the drake. “I’ll keep your secret, but with one small qualifier,” Twilight said, turning to Wyatt. “What is it?” “If Princess Celestia asks me directly about this, then I’ll have to tell her.” “You mentioned this princess earlier, who is she?” “I’ll tell you all about her tomorrow while we’re on the way to see Rainbow Dash at the hospital. For now, I think it’s best you get some rest. You might say that you’re okay after that fight, but I’m a little worried.” “Alright, sheesh, you sound like a mom right now,” Wyatt told her with a chuckle. “Trust me, you don’t even know the half of it,” Spike deadpanned while rolling his eyes. Twilight rolled her eyes as well as everyone said their goodbyes and went their separate ways. She then showed him the general layout of the library before she showed him to the basement. The room was filled with machinery and other scientific equipment with a small bed in a relatively empty corner and a small night stand beside it. “Sorry it’s not much, but that mattress is comfortable,” Twilight offered. “Thanks, it’s perfect,” Wyatt answered with a smile as he sat at the edge of the bed. “Good night,” she told him as she turned to walk back upstairs. “I hope you get plenty of rest.” “You don’t have to worry about me,” “Okay.” With that, she and Spike exited the basement, leaving Wyatt alone. He peeled out of his clothes, minus his boxers and set them and his meager belongings on the night stand. Except for his wallet. He opened it revealing several photos of his friends and family. Before he knew it, a small bit of moisture fell onto a picture of him with his mother and father that had been taken when he was much younger. This gave way to silent sobs as he clutched the wallet to his chest. “Mom, Dad, I wanna go home.”