They Mostly Come out at Night... Mostly.
One week ago
Lightning Dust gave her wings a light flap, attempting to bleed out some of her tension. She could hardly believe it, all her hard work was paying off. A little over a day ago, she received a letter; a Wonderbolts acceptance letter. She hummed, folding her wings. That was an exaggeration, but it pumped her up more than just an academy acceptance letter.
The Whinnyapolis sun beamed from on high, making the wait for the airship even worse. She had made her dad promise not to pull any strings for her. Looking down at the letter in her hands, a frown etched itself to her face. What if he had ignored her? That was certainly just like him. She thanked her lucky stars that her name was nothing like his. Nopony was going to connect her to Wind Rider, the Wonderbolt legend, and accuse her of not earning her place. ‘Guy needs to retire already. Go find some floozy and buy a home in Trottingham or something’ She snorted, picturing herself trying to spend long weekends visiting her dad in a snobby city like that. The icing on the cake was imagining having a new step-mom that was her age.
Her mirth was interrupted by the sound of claws on stone. “It always lightens the heart to hear the laughter of youth.” The voice was rough and deep, positively ancient by Lightning’s guess. “Tell me, what’s amused you, my feathered friend.”
Turning around, an odd sight greeted her; a dragon stood on the airship platform. Despite what she had heard of ancient dragons; this one was roughly her height. The drake was hunched over, a heavy cloak covering most of his features, though not his red eyes.
“Oh, it’s kinda only funny for me maybe?” Lightning prefaced, slightly embarrassed by her outburst. “I pictured my dad retiring and marrying a mare my age. Seems silly I’d be calling somepony like that my mom, dontcha know?” She blanched, her dreaded accent had reared its ugly head.
“Ah, mating habits are the same no matter the species,” the drake commented, a coughing laugh leaving his snout. “Only less fighting when it comes to you scaleless ones.”
It was Lightning’s turn to laugh, pulling out a bottle of water from her bag as a silent offering for the drake’s cough. “Depending on the situation, us scaleless will get in fights over that too. Especially in my case; I’m pretty bad at the whole stable relationship thing.”
Taking the bottle, the drake quickly drank half of it. “Ah. Thank you, that cough always comes on this time of day. The downside of living as long as I have; nothing works quite as good as it used to.”
“Don’t mention it, wouldn’t feel right to just do nothing,” Lightning replied, waving a hand at him. “And hey, living as long as you have must have some perks too, right? There’s probably centuries worth of stories in that head of yours.”
Reaching into his cloak, the drake produced a trio of coins. “More than you’d ever imagine, friend. Take these for example.” Tossing them up into the air, he caught them with the other claw. Pinching one between his thumb and index claw, he showed off its splendor to Lightning. “Supposedly, they were crafted by a powerful dragon at the behest of his ruler. Said to grant their owner incredible power.”
“Wow, that’s one heck of a story, mister,” Lightning commented, watching the coins transfer hands. “Do they actually work for you?”
Laughing again, he held his hand out in offering. “I can’t say that they have. They’ve been more of a conversational piece. Why don’t you take these three? I have far too many already. Perhaps they can do more for you than they have for me.”
Waving a hand in front of her, Lightning smiled. “There’s no need for that, mister. I can’t take something that’s connected to dragon legends. I feel like I don’t know enough to respect them.”
“You’d be respecting them more than the dragons are,” he countered, moving his hand closer. “Better you have them and share their story, then wind up in some idiot’s hoard never to see the light of day again.”
Frowning, Lightning held her hand out to meet the elder dragon’s. “Alright, if you really think it’s okay. Maybe I’ll find some way to make them a keychain or necklace without damaging them?”
Purring in content, he dropped the coins into her hand. “They are yours to do with as you please, young pony. A gift from an old, wandering dragon. Something to tell the hatchlings, yes?”
Chuckling, Lightning put the coins in her pocket. “If I ever manage to keep a relationship going, I’ll tell them the story. My name’s Lightning Dust, what’s yours?”
Clicking his tongue, he smiled. “You can call me Calamity.”
“Oddly negative name for a nice guy like you,” she complimented, pulling her hand out of her pocket. A horn blew, Lightning turning her head to find an airship approaching. “I think that’s my ride, it was nice chatting with you, Calamity.”
“Goodbye, Lightning Dust,” Calamity replied, giving a light wave. “May good fortune find you.”
She returned the wave, jogging up to the docking ship. “I shouldn’t need luck! I’ve been working my flank off for this!” Lightning couldn’t keep the smile off her face, her new coins clattering together in her pocket. Once she had found a seat, she decided to inspect the trinkets. A yellow coin depicted a large cat, a red coin depicted what looked like a peacock and the last one was blue and pictured a killer whale.
Rolling the coins around in her hand, focusing on the yellow one. “Hmm, I think that’s a cheetah. Maybe this’ll be a good luck charm for my training?”
Agito tossed a few more sticks onto the fire, taking a seat across from Daring. “That should keep for a few more hours.” Removing his cloak, he carefully folded it up. “It’s been a long time since we’ve been together like this, D.D.”
Taking her hat off, Daring finished setting up their sleeping rolls. “Yeah, good times. Certainly has taken the edge off all the craziness of what we’re looking for.”
Placing his cloak down next to him, Agito removed his mask. “I feel like I should make up for my absence. There’s a lot you still don’t know about me, Daring. I think it’s about time we fixed that.”
Daring sat down across from him, the flames of the campfire framing his face. “Wow, this must’ve actually eaten at you. It used to be I had to pester you for weeks before you’d tell me anything.”
“Yeah well, I love you a lot and you deserve to know.” Leaning back on a rock, Agito ran a hand through his beard. “Believe it or not, your uncle and I spent a lot of time with the Pillars of Equestria.”
“You’ve made passing comments about them,” Daring noted, keeping an eye on one of his little habits. Whenever her father was uncomfortable, he’d fuss with his beard. “But whenever I asked a follow-up question you’d just grunt.”
“Mostly because I still want to break Starswirl's jaw,” Agito replied, his gaze hardening. “Sure, he was good at magic. He was also a huge dick. A mean spirited misanthrope that bordered on being racist. Asshole treated Stygian like garbage.”
“Did he ever tell you he was trying to make his own rider tech?” Daring questioned, unbothered by her father’s story. Plenty of journals written by people who had dealt with Starswirl had often referred to him as antisocial at the best of times. His tailor in particular used very colorful language in regards to the mage.
“No, but that doesn’t surprise.” Summoning up a sword, Agito planted it in the ground. “Guy taught Celestia and Luna all they know about keeping secrets. Probably the reason Luna ended up going crazy. Putting that guy around kids was a terrible idea.”
“I’ll tell you more about it later,” Daring assured him, nodding in thought. Celestia had been right, Starswirl hadn’t trusted her father or uncle with his project. “Who’s Stygian? He wasn’t a Pillar.”
Giving his daughter a stern look, Agito clarified. “Yes, Daring, Stygian was a Pillar. In fact, if it wasn’t for him, the Pillars never would have joined together.” His tone became bitter, his words venomous. “Starswirl treated him like slime, never gave him thanks or praise. Constantly put him down for his weak magic. Asshole couldn’t even remember the kid’s name.” Leaning in, Agito scoffed. “You wanna know the worst part?”
Daring quirked a brow, resisting the urge to flinch under her father’s harsh eyes. She suddenly felt like a filly who had been caught getting in a fight again. “What’s worse than that?”
“Beardy was Stygian’s idol,” Agito elaborated, gripping the handle of his sword. “Never even knew. Styg just never had it in him to say anything. Always said he wanted to earn his respect first. Poor kid never got it.”
Shaking her head, Daring let her gaze lower to the fire, watching the embers crackle and fly up into the air. “Sounds rough. What happened to Stygian?”
“Dunno.” Agito lessened his grip, the venom in his voice melting into shame. “When your uncle died, I wasn’t in a very good place. I filled my time with as much meaningless sex and what passed for narcotics back then as I could. I drove everyone away from me; my friends, my colleagues.” His volume lowered. “My girlfriend. By the time I pulled myself out of it, the pillars were gone and Celestia had banished Luna to moon.”
“Hold on, you had a girlfriend?” Daring questioned, her ears flicking and her head snapping upward. “Okay, I’m not letting that slip by. Spill it.”
“Yeah, I had a girlfriend. Her name was Adagio Dazzle and she was a siren.” A small smile spread across his lips. “She had an ego a mile wide and the most 80’s hair you can imagine but damn if I didn’t love her.”
“You dated a siren?” Daring questioned, her jaw dropping. “I don’t know if I should be impressed or worried for you.”
“Hey, I loved Adagio,” Agito all but snapped. Holding a hand up, he sighed. “Sorry, I’m not mad at you. I just...haven’t talked to anyone about this stuff. I was in a drug induced haze and I abandoned her. Found out later she and her sisters got banished to another world by bearded idiot and the Pillars.”
“I’m sorry too,” Daring said, a frown on her face. “I wish I could’ve met her.” Standing up, she moved over to her father’s side. “Maybe if things had gone differently, I’d have called her Mom?”
Putting his arm around her, his mood seemed to brighten. “I dunno about that. Sirens are pretty vain. She wouldn’t want anyone to know she’s old enough to be someone’s mom.” Smirking at her, his eyes twinkled. “I ever tell you that Somnambula had a nice ass? Meadowbrook had this super sexy southern accent. If it wasn’t for Adagio, I might have hooked up with one of them.”
Daring grinned with him, trying to picture her father sneaking glances at the historical figures. “Oh yeah? How nice of an ass are we talking about? If you’ve seen magazines with Fleur De Lis on them, how does Somnambula stack up to her?”
“Oh Somnambula blows her out of the water.” Agito laughed, slapping her shoulder. “Had this Egyptian thing going on. Also had a lot of see-through clothes.”
Daring whistled, trying to bring the illustrations she had seen of the Pillar to life. “Makes me wish I was around back then.” Leaning on his shoulder, she imagined Somnambula posing erotically. “I would have loved to see that.”
“Pretty sure you’d have had a thing for Flash Magnus too,” Agito added, not even needing to look down to know his daughter was smirking to herself. “Dude worked out and had a habit of rushing into danger. Guy had mares throwing themselves at his hooves.”
Chuckling, Daring stoked the fire, the flames jumping for a moment. “I dunno, I think I would’ve gone after Rockhoof. The illustrations always make him look like he was built like a house.”
Agito shifted, tilting his sword towards her. “You feel that?” he asked, gazing out behind the fire. “If anything happens, take this sword. I can grab another.” Standing up, he scanned the surrounding area. “Anyone out there?”
No answer came aside from the night breeze. This didn’t ease Agito’s mind, his guard staying up as he continued to check for signs of life. The flickering form of a mare staggered out of the dark, her clothes burned and blackened. Agito’s brow quirked, but his guard remained up. “Okay, never seen a fully manifested apparition before. Spirit, can you communicate with me?”
The spirit zoomed across the fire, her hands going for his throat. “My eyes! My eyes!” Moving her head back, she gave him a perfect look at the burned out sockets that had once been her eyes.
Agito tried to push the spirit off him, only for his hands to pass right through her. “Daring, hit her with the sword!”
Daring jumped up from her seat, grabbing the sword on her way. With a defiant shout, she stabbed the ghost right between her eye sockets. The spirit shrieked, releasing her grip on Agito. “My eyes! Give me back my eyes!”
“Dad, let’s run!” Daring boomed, swiping at the spirit again and grabbing what supplies she could. Which luckily included her backpack. “I don’t really know how to fight angry spirits!”
Agito didn’t argue with her, salvaging what he could of the supplies too. Waving an arm to her, he started dashing off into the wilderness. “I hate fighting ghosts! You never get anywhere quickly!”
Daring followed after him, stealing a glance back at the spirit. “Are you seriously telling me you’ve fought ghosts before?!”
“A few, none of them fully manifested like that. They don’t like my weapons, so there's that.” Summoning another sword, he set the blade aflame to light their way. “Never had one trying to strangle me before.”
“Think this has to do with the temple to this Arisen figure?” Daring questioned, shaking the sword in her hand in an attempt to get it to glow as well. “It did say spirits were involved.”
“Considering that ghost looked liked like one of the ponies in your parent’s photo, yeah I’d say it is.”
Daring shuddered, thinking on the ghost they had seen. “What’s my mom’s ghost doing here? And why would she attack us?” Running through what she knew, Daring felt her teeth grit. “That bastard’s got control of her, doesn’t he?”
Agito glanced over his shoulder, checking to see if the ghost was on their tail. “That might be the best answer we got. We might find out once we find that temple.” Satisfied that there was no sign of her, he stopped running. He looked down, starting to inspect what he had managed to save. “Looks like we got most of it.”
Daring sighed in relief, taking the moment to catch her breath. “Good, there’s no one around for miles to sell us supplies.” Taking the time to orient herself, she frowned. The empty deserts of Saddle Arabia had given way to ruins. A town lay around them, cast in shadow by the moonlight.
Agito took in their surroundings as well, humming in thought. “Let’s try to find a relatively intact building and hole up for the night.”
Daring kept her hands on the sword. “Dad, I'm starting to think we might have been chased here.” Stepping closer to her, her ears flicked back and forth. “I hear a whole lot of voices and not many hoof steps.”
Agito whipped his head around, suddenly hearing murmured whispers from a chorus of voices. Just past the light offered by his sword, he swore he could see wispy movements in the shadows. “Your uncle and I should have splurged for a proton pack. A Camera Obscura at least. But no, we had to cosplay bugmen.”
“Is now really the time for dumb references?!” Daring hissed, putting her back to Agito’s as the shimmering forms of various ponies surrounded them.
“Not dumb when both of those things can get rid of ghosts!” Striking out, Agito slashed through a stallion with a broken neck. He couldn't help but cringe as it shrieked in pain.
Daring followed suit, stabbing a dripping wet looking mare in the stomach. The shade wailed, a horrifying waterlogged sound escaping her throat. “Yeah, well you don't have either, so stop complaining!”
Not needing to be told twice, Agito ignored the pained sounds of the spirits and attempted to cut a path for him and his daughter to make their escape.
Daring swung at another spirit, a teenage colt with noticeable rope burns around his neck as he reached for her throat. She followed her father, her lungs burning from exertion. “There has to be somewhere they can’t follow!”
Agito scrunched his face up, looking at the supplies he was carrying. “D.D., I need you to hold some of this; I’m gonna try something.” Pulling out a piece of paper and pen, he handed the rest of the supplies to his daughter.
Ignoring her protests, Agito scraped the deepest corners of his mind for the knowledge he needed. ‘This would be so much easier with a brush. Doing this with a pen may just make the whole thing not work.’ Clicking his tongue, he pressed on, writing the symbol for a god and muttered a mantra of protection his grandfather had taught him.
“Right there!” he pointed to a relatively intact building, one of the few that still had four walls and a roof. He grit his teeth, taking a swipe from a mauled mare in the back. “Daring, how you doing back there!?”
“Still standing!” Daring shouted, ducking her head to avoid losing it to a stab from an Equestrian guard missing an eye. “But they’re gaining on me!”
“Just make it to the door!” Adding on a burst of speed, he slapped the makeshift talisman on the door fame. “You believe in me, right?”
“Yeah!” Daring dove, managing to tuck and roll into the doorframe. She panted, her chest heaving as she tried to compose herself. “What’s the plan here? Reenacting that Assault movie?”
“That makes one of us,” Agito muttered, stepping towards the doorway. The talisman shimmered slightly in the moonlight, standing out against the dark. His heart seized as a ghostly foal stepped closer, only to recoil a foot away from the building. He sighed in relief, letting the point of his sword dip. “Okay, so that does work. Remind me to light a candle and say a prayer to your great-grandfather when we’re out of this mess, okay?”
Daring watched the display, more than a little unnerved as a ghostly mob formed. “I’ll do one with you. I think I remember how.” Sitting back, she gazed at the talisman. “Makes you wonder, doesn’t it?”
“About what? How a talisman to a Japanese god can work when this world has no equivalent to Japan?” Agito questioned, taking a seat next to his daughter. “Maybe Faust heard it and decided to answer it herself?”
“Honestly, don’t care who answered it right about now,” Daring commented, setting her supplies down. “Think we’ll need to put one of those on other entrances?”
“That should be good.” Leaning against her, both of Agito’s swords faded from existence. “I think I need a nap. You wanna take first watch?”
“Sure,” Daring said, reaching into her pack and pulling out a blanket. “Mind teaching me how to make one of those in case it gives out during the night?” A snore was Agito’s response, the man already sleeping on her shoulder. Sighing, Daring wrapped her and the man up in the blanket. “Always hated how quickly you went out,” she muttered, offering a silent prayer that the talisman would keep the haunting hoard out.
Lightning Dust checked her reflection in her locker’s mirror, grinning to herself at how the trainee uniform fit her. Like normal Wonderbolt uniforms, it was form fitting. Which for her meant her assets were nicely highlighted. A part of her considered trying her luck seducing Soarin, that was a stallion she had spent a night or two dreaming about. But she tossed it aside, she was bound and determined to impress them with her own skills. Like her speed, there was a reason her father had named her Lightning.
‘About the only good thing he gave me.’ Shaking her head, she slapped her face. “Come on, Dust. Focus. You’re here for you, not him.” Jabbing a finger at her reflection, she added, “You’re gonna become a Wonderbolt, and nothing’s gonna stop ya.”
“Geez, Dust. I know you’re full of yourself but if you stare at your reflection anymore you’re gonna end up making out with it,” Dash teased, peering into the room. “You ready or what?”
“Sorry,” Lightning replied, shutting her locker. “I was doing my ritual to psych myself up. What, you think performance like mine is achieved without a routine?” she questioned, grinning at her wing mare. “Besides, I know you’ve been staring.” Winking at her, she made her way over.
“In your dreams, Dust,” Dash replied, chuckling and nudging Lightning in the side. “How can I be staring at you when there’s Spitfire walking around in that uniform that’s a size too small?”
Dust bit her lip, picturing the image in her mind. “Yeah, her ass looks so tight in that thing.”
“If ponies wouldn’t accuse me of trying to cheat my way into the Wonderbolts, I’d so make a move,” Dash elaborated, giving her wings a flap. “Spitfire is easily one of the top ten hottest mares in Equestria. Right up there with that Countess Coloratura.”
“Ugh, no way! She’s way too plastic.” Dust stuck her tongue out. “Have some standards, Dash.” She let the conversation die as they stepped out onto the grounds. The Bolts didn’t seem to mind banter, but Spitfire had made it clear to leave it in the locker room. They filed onto the landing strip with the other recruits. Dust could hardly contain herself, eagerly awaiting their next exercise.
Spitfire strolled onto the field, the harsh light of the sun reflecting off her sunglasses. “Good morning cadets; another glorious day in the bolts! You’ve made it this far, but can you handle another day of training?”
“Ma’am, yes ma’am!” the recruits all answered in unison, standing up straight at attention.
“I didn’t hear you, you featherless sons of pigeons!” Spitfire shouted, glaring at them.
“Ma’am, yes ma’am!” the recruits repeated, their voices carrying far off into the field.
“That’s better! Now! You’re going to get with your flight partners and run the training course again. Time to beat is three minutes! Get moving!” Spitfire ordered, gesturing with her wing.
Dash and Dust fistbumped, moving over to the starting line. Stretching out, Dust asked, “So, care to show these slowpokes how it's done and make a new record?”
“Hay yeah! We’ll leave that record in the dust!” Pulling her goggles down, Dash spread her wings out. “You ready for this?”
“Always,” Dust answered, pulling on her own goggles. “Let's go!” Jumping up, she flapped her wings and rocketed towards the first obstacle. Confidence pumped through her veins, infusing every part of her body. It pushed her speed faster and faster, quickly charging to her limits.
‘Not enough,’ she thought, controlling her breathing while she and Dash cleared all the obstacles far ahead of their peers. ‘I need to be better than Dad. I need more speed!’
A yellow crackle moved through her mane, indistinguishable from its natural colors. Before she knew it, the obstacles started to blur past her, unnatural speed surging through her. Glancing behind her, she noted Dash was struggling to keep up with her. Annoyance shot through her unbidden, her eyes trained on Dash.
“Come on, Dash!” Dust urged, waving a hand forwards. “We're so close to beating this record!” Beating her wings, she added to her already insane speed. “We can’t chicken out now!”
Dash's eyes widened all of a sudden, rushing forward and grabbing Lightning's tail. The aqua mare suddenly stopped, an obstacle slamming down where she would have been. Panting, Dash said, “There's a difference between being chicken and keeping your eye on the course.”
Shaking her head, Dust stared at the obstacle. “I didn’t see it. I was just going so fast...”
Dash smiled, nudging Dust in the side. “That's why you have me as your wing mare. I'll watch your flank whenever you lose your head. Now come on! We can still do this!”
“Right, let's go!” Zipping through the obstacle, Lightning kept her speed under control. ‘We still got a few seconds, just gotta keep a level head and that record is ours!’
The two pressed on, clearing the rest of the obstacles with ease. “New record!” Spitfire called out, looking at her stopwatch. “Two minutes, fifty-nine seconds! Lightning Dust, Rainbow Dash!”
“Woo!” Lightning Dust shouted, thrusting a fist into the air. “There we go! I told you we could do it, Dash!”
“Never doubted you for a second!” Dash assured, grinning from ear to ear. “Who's the best team at the academy?” She held her hand up, looking at Dust expectantly.
“That'd have to be us!” Dust replied, high-fiving her wing mare. “Especially you back there. You kept me from getting knocked out of the obstacle course. Thanks.”
“No prob, that’s what wing ponies are supposed to do.” Eyeing Dust critically, Dash gestured to the course. “What happened up there? You got a speed boost out of nowhere.”
“I dunno,” Dust admitted, going over to her gym bag and grabbing a towel. “I just wanted to beat that record so bad and started to go faster.” Pulling her goggles up, she wiped at her face. “Guess I’m a stronger flier than I thought.”
Dash quirked a brow, the gears in her head slowly turning. “Yeah, that must be it,” she replied, her voice full of uncertainty. ‘Okay, we seriously need to invent those phone things Wyatt talks about. I can’t leave without getting kicked out for missing practice, which means, ugh, letter writing.’
Torches staved off the darkness of the night, Luna’s moon high in the sky. The jungle teemed with life, many a predator stalking the foliage for a meal. Ahuizotl paced around his den, his path paved with scattered papers. Notes and maps covered nearly every inch of the room; along with more than one wanted poster of Daring Do. The bulk of the papers had information about artifacts on them, while others had his scrawled out plans to trap Daring should she interfere. His only problem; there was nothing he could find worth stealing. The best artifact he could find seemed to give him dominion over butterflies. Hardly a capable force to grant him the rule he wanted.
Grumbling to himself, he stalked over to the pieces that sounded like they were made of more expensive materials so he could sell them. Keeping himself and his lackeys fed wasn't cheap after all.
“This would be so much easier if she hadn’t vanished,” he muttered, a hand tracing a drawing of a two curved, handheld blades. “She always had some lead to some powerful relic.” Moving over, he saw a statuette of a falcon that looked promising. “It's not like her to go this long without hunting something down.”
“You just have to have the right bait.” A voice carried over the wind, dancing over Ahuizotl’s ear like a bird’s song. “Something I thought you’d have learned by now.”
Ahuizotl’s ears swiveled, trying to detect the source of the noise. The voice itself was one he instantly recognized. “Padre? How can that be. You died when I was still a cub.”
“Is that what your Madre told you?” Something stepped into the room, right through the hut wall. Standing in the moonlight was a skeleton, one whose bones shimmered purple, green and a whole other host of colors. “She was a fiesty one, hijo, but she never had much of a nerve.”
“Dios mio,” Ahuizotl muttered, taking in the skeletal figure. “Padre, you are nothing but bones. How are you here?” The insult to his mother stung, but that bite was far exceeded by awe. “Are you... are you cursed?”
“Quite the opposite, hijo,” his father replied, flexing the fingers on his tail hand, “this is a blessing. But it is one that is incomplete. I need your help to claim a prize far more valuable than any of these paltry trinkets.”
“Paltry?!” Ahuizotl bristled, wounded pride overcoming his daze. “I have tracked down some of the most powerful relics in known history!” Grinning, he flicked his tail hand. “I even managed to get my hands on one of those Eternal Flowers.”
The skeletal being laughed, a hollow sound that rattled his ribs. “So many little gato has become immortal hm? Ah, but what is immortality if it doesn’t come with power?” Waving his tail, a sharp cry split the air.
A low moan followed, another figure stepping into the room. This one was a teenage dragon, his neck and right wing bent at sickening angles.
“The lingering souls of this world are mine to command, Ahui.” the skeleton’s tail began to glow, third hand glowing a ghostly blue. “And when I have finished the necessary sacrifice, even those spirits who have crossed over will be mine. Why, I could even bring back your dear sweet Madre.”
“How are you doing this?” Ahuizotl questioned fear bleeding into his awe and overtaking his pride. “This is unreal.”
“Oh, Ahui, it is very real.” Beckoning with his tail, Ahuizotl’s father turned back to the wall. “We have much to do; the sacrifice has almost reached the temple. We must make haste if we are to give her a proper greeting.”
Ahuizotl paused, weighing his options. His mother had always taught him that his father was someone not to be trusted. However, the promise of seeing her and hearing her voice one more time was so very tempting. “Please, Madre, watch over me.” Moving towards the door, he followed the ghostly form of his father into the night.
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Oh crap. Anyone but her...
You know this is kinda honestly disturbing in a way right, a father and daughter talking about who they's like to fuck in front of each other right? Long dead people they'd like to fuck at that. Still, I do feel sorry for Agito, if only mildly as I still hate him for not helping the other Riders considering what happened to Adagio.
9278994
Eh... I really don’t mind the way Agito is acting myself. Immortality can be more of a curse then a blessing if you don’t have someone to help counter the bad times.
And when you get as old as he is, your
to give are far and few between outside of what family your able to make and hold.
9279094
Fair point I suppose, but doesn't stop it from being that little bit disturbing to read.
Okay, wow, so much has happened, I’m getting even more worried. Agito’s past, Daring’s potential fate, Lightning’s possession of those tokens, the dead coming back to life. Fucking Hell, even hearing what Star Swirl said to one of the Pillars is bad, Christ. Poor guy.
Damn I suddenly got a feeling that everything is about to go seriously sideways. Also I hope you redeem Lighting Dust and not let her become a revenge obsessed mare like she is in canon.
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Sorry if you were disturbed by that conversation. I was drawing on my own experience with my dad. I guess we have a more casual rapport than some.
All right, I've seen these stories all over the place. What, in the nine rings of hell, is a kamen rider?!?!?!?!
The feeling concerning Swirl Star is mutual.
9279535
Here's a good introduction to Kamen Rider.
That said, good chapter as always.
9279408
Given Spike's lined up to be OOO, and and he already has some of the core medals including at least one full set I can't honestly see Lightning being a hero here. I'm willing to bet the Time Jackers are somehow involved and she'll become Another OOO from ZI-O.
Oh, great, madam reckless.
Oh, that sounds familiar.
Don't let Stable Tech hear that if you want to survive the Balefire-bombs
I was joking!
Who wouldn'?
I can see it, you are both not the best of individuals.
Brain.exe stopped working
Oh yeah, Fatal Frame Equestria would have been way more fun, sure?
"Meh, I heard she has more a thing for country bumpkins than athletes, better try someone else."
Oh, joy, Spitfire...
9279535
I think I let my favorite Rider speak for me:
9280174
Why would she become Another OOO when we've shown what happens when people gain the medals?
9280271
You keep harping on Agito, but it's very clear the guy suffers from PTSD and more than a little depression.
9280347
Hey, I'm just speculating here, and I notice ZI-0 or anything from it is conveniently absent.
9280271
We're all gonna die...
Pats on back I know that feeling.
9280354
I get that, I truly do, but that still doesn't mean I have to like him, especially after I finished Agito and Shouichi Tsugamii is in every aspect a better man than him. He almost feels like the antithesis to his character, or at least the most important parts, bouncing back from everything if the situation calls for it and this Agito has not done it, he hasn't done it for over a thousand years. I don't just see the character, I also see the legacy behind him and the legacy of his title and he has not lived up to it in a long time, so I don't like him.
9280385
Wait, you know that feeling? And I always thought it has stopped working the moment you were born
9280354
Because he's got a reason to, granted he's now going after his daughter out of sheer fatherly concern but there are times he could have stepped in to help Wyatt and company fight off the monsters plaguing Equestria, his home. You don't just drop your responsibilities as being a Kamen Rider especially when you know people are in danger. Seems this Agito never got that memo at times. I suspect his brother would be somewhat disgusted with him.
9280274
Well said Haruto. That's why I love you.
9280394
Put it perfectly my friend. The moment you chose to become a Kamen Rider out of your own free will is the moment you accept what is coming with it, protecting the world for the rest of your life! The title of Kamen Rider is a legacy, something you don't bear haphazardly. It means that whenever someone cries out for help you are going to listen and come, no matter who that person is and in what situation you are, because this is what it means to be a Kamen Rider and Agito has been running away from this responsibility for over a millennia, a responsibility his brother paid with his life, willingly. This is the reason I don't like him.
9280413
Exactly.
9280392
Maybe it has... smirks Might explain a bit.
9279478
It's fine, I suppose everyone has different tastes. In related crap, I actually listened to Fourze's full theme, and on re-listen it's actually pretty fun and infectious just like Gentaro himself.
9280413
9280394
You guys are buying into the hero mythos way too much. Depression and mental trauma can cripple people, even with therapy and medication. Agito has been helping the past thousand years, just not as a rider, which was demonstrated in Klungtown; which is when he first heard about Wyatt and the monsters. He's never gotten help or seen anyone about it because Equestria hasn't had that capacity for the last millennium.
9280835
I'm going to say it again, I get why he is acting the way he is, but, again, I don't have to like it.
The only one that can get him out of his depression is he himself, but over the past millennia, he has just been running away, not facing what ultimately suffocates him. This is why I can't like him, he has been stuck for all this time, putting on a mask, shunning the people that could help him, letting them think he is dead. I'm sorry but these are not signs of a good man, sure he helps, but only when he stumbles upon it after one of his tracks through the wild, there a part of him that are good, but the overwhelming amount of his character is rotten.
Being depressed is not a get out of jail free card. Every Rider has at one point failed to uphold what is expected of a Kamen Rider, but what separates them from Agito is that they continue to move forward, he has been stuck for over a millennia. The character just strikes me as unlikable since has lived the last thousand years only concerned with himself, with his pain, rolling in self-pity instead of actually facing his problems and he doesn't even realize it.
Again, I get why he is acting the way he is, but it is in my opinion not an excuse to act the way he does. there is only one person that can save him and that person is just ignoring him.
And even if he only learned about the monster attacks now, he hasn't made any attempt to step in, so yeah, still doesn't help.
9280882
9280835
This, all of this. It's happened to Riders before, like Wateru who is a prime example. But he, along with everyone else has managed to move forwards past their trauma and grown as characters. I get Agito and his issues, but he needs to move on. But sadly, he hasn't and isn't worthy to bear the title of Kamen Rider until he manages to do so.
I guess you could say he was... **puts on shades** passing through.
.... +1000 points for giving the sirens actual character.
9281551
Get out.
9280882
I'm confused as to when you think Agito could have helped, when he only found out in Klungtown travelled to on foot to Ponyville, which would be at least a month +, found Daring and left with her. There were no monsters to fight, at all. Also, no, Kuuga would not be disgusted with him..
9282013
I said that he has made no attempt to help, or even considered it ever since he found out about the monsters and Riders.
Ok, you are co-writer, your word is law, still from what I know and heard about him, it does somewhat strike me as weird. He put down his life to save this world and Agito pretty much abandons it, at least I would be somewhat pissed at that, but what do I know about Kuuga, we have not really seen him.
9281895
Sorry, never seen that movie.
9282807
No, I mean leave. That was a terrible joke.
9282810
I know. I was making a pun.
And thank you. I make an effort to make my puns as terrible as possible.
9282812
...You are a terrible excuse of a human being.
9282815
Aw, I'm flattered.
9282821
THAT WAS AN INSULT!
9282823
You're gonna have to say something nice about my puns if you truly wanna insult me.
Reading all the comments and seeing some people taking a Japanese kid's show too seriously. XD
Also, there is a thing called character development. It doesn't happen overnight.Nice chap as always. I loved the interactions between Agito and Daring and I enjoyed getting more info on Agito's life 1000 years ago (Man, he really was a dudebro XD).
Lightning Dust is seeming eerily similar to another certain story's version. A...Wild story. I can only imagine what she'll do when she gains access to those coins.
I still think Daring is gonna be Ghost. All the hints keep pointing towards it. If that is what's gonna happen, I really look forward to it.
I look forward to the next chap.
9282833
9282848
Eh, I had the idea of Lightning being Wind Rides daughter since Rarity Investigates first aired. Would have been a better ep if he framed Dash as revenge for getting Dust axed.
9282986
Behold people, another example of fans being more clever than professional writers, lol.
9282848
Trouble is Spidey, at least in my case I'm a story reviewer. It's my job to point out flaws where I see them and Agito is one massive whopping flaw really, at least in terms of characterization. If he's planned to have some sort of heroic comeback, it's been pushed off for far too long and right he just looks like he doesn't give a damn to anypony not named Daring.
9284179
With all due respect Brick, do you seriously expect Agito to just change his ways in 1 or 2 chaps? Besides, this story is a Decade Displaced story, not the Chronicles of Agito. Of course he's gonna get a little less time and take a while to change his ways.
I notice you and Layton keep comparing him to characters like Wataru and the like.
The thing is, though....he's not them. Nor should he be. And that's a good thing. Besides, he not only lost his brother, but had a falling out with the princesses, plus probably a shit ton of other crap happened to him over a thousand years.
We don't know what that's like because we haven't discovered immortality yet. (Nor will we ever unless we find real life Energems.)
I'd figure you'd understand that point best considering what you've been doing with Emily in Wild Access.
This is basically the same thing, except, to be frank, a tad more realistic.
Again, with all due respect.
9284191
Ok, I'm going to unpack this, first the 1, 2 chapter thing. Well, his story went for far longer than that, for over 1000 years, so sure we only saw him for a few chapters, but that doesn't mean that his development starts now, it should have been going on for far longer, but it hasn't and there is where we have our problems. We see the entire history of the character and judge him from that standpoint.
And he was mentioned really early on in the story, made out to be one of the most important characters in the setting and the next big goal for our heroes and then just disappears for forever. He is important for Decades story, even if this is not his story. And after such a long time he just feels like a letdown in all honesty.
We keep comparing them to these characters because they have stuff in common. Sure depression is always unique but the unifying factor is that the only person that can get you out of it is you yourself. Others can push you in the right direction, but you have to move past it yourself and he hasn't done that, he has been hiding from the world for 1000 years and that just puts me off from the character. And these characters are the closest you find in Kamen Rider to him since they all share that depression with him in some way so I would say comparing them is fair game.
And the shit tone of stuff happened to him comment is nothing else but speculation, I agree that some things have to be assumed about certain characters, like Starlight and her way towards becoming a cult leader. Losing her friend had a profound effect on her and influenced her life from that point onwards so it is to be assumed that she developed with that in mind the entire time she has lived past that point. That is something not actually state in the show but can be assumed because it's logical, that more stuff might have happened to Agito is however rather baseless. Sure stuff has happened to him, some good some bad but we can't really say much about that since we don't know about it.
Sure, we can't really guess it, but we can assume, the people you love die of old age, you feel a stranger in a world you once knew and time becomes something that feels arbitrarily, the thing is, he can actually escape at least one of these problems and can ask about advice for the last from Celestia, but he didn't, he was to occupied by his own grief and anguish. That is what turns me off from the character.
And something regarding that, we are discussing character development on a fan story mixing a show for little girls and little boys, I would say we are ALL way past the point of taking it too seriously
9284250
Is this...is this for real? I'm...I'm actually seeing real, logical, and legitimate arguments on the internet!? PREPOSTEROUS!
On a serious note, yes, I do agree with you in that Agito should've gotten more focus throughout the story. I have said so in a previous chap. That is a legitimate complaint.
Again, fair point. Oh great Faust, I am seeing well constructed arguments!
But I still stand by my point in that the difference between Wataru and Agito is that Agito has lived for 1000 years and Wataru had to be told by his girlfriend's ghost to let go, while Agito has probably not gotten even a whisper of Kuuga's spirit telling him to move on. Wataru probably wouldn't have moved on as soon as he did if not for that spirit crap. Sorry, but I'm gonna have to say Agito's arc here is being better handled. In my opinion, at least.
This is a character flaw, not a writing flaw. If all characters were as pure and good as, say, comic Captain America or Superman, it'd get pretty boring. Characters aren't supposed to be flawless, nor should they be.
9284298
Well, if you want a good discussion its the only thing you can do and I love discussions, helps me see things from different angles and helps me to understand what I personaly like in a story.
And thanks for agreeing with me on that point.
I can't say much about Wataru since I have yet to see Hibiki to Kiva, I was just trying to explain why Brick/Autumn was using him as an example.
Oh, I know it is a character flaw, but this character flaw can turn people away from certain characters. Hell, I love the cast of Faiz and they are all extremely flawed human being, but what I liked about them was that they tried to overcome it, all in their own time, but they did. Mari, for example, was a character that thanks to the loss of her real parents had fear of things changing and so was afraid of the thought that people could change what lead her to believe that the first impression of a person is how they are always going to be, even assuming stuff based on irrelevant traits like being a Nekojita. That way of thinking leads to a lot of horrible behavior from her towards Takumi but she got better, she learned to overcome her issues and Agito has not. This is why I dislike him, personaly. The dislike of his character is not objective, it's subjective. And that was what we were trying to argue for, a dislike for the character and laying out our reasons why.
9284316
*personally
And you're welcome. I do enjoy calmly discussing different viewpoints from my own. It's a breath of fresh air from the usual attitude of the internet where if you have a minority opinion, you're hounded like a rabid dog. XD
Alrighty. You should watch Kiva, though. It's a really good show, though kinda slow at first.
Wow, Faiz sounds really good. I've only seen the first episode myself, wasn't too impressed by it.
And thank you. The way you and Brick were speaking made it sound like you thought he was a horribly written character, thus the writing was bad. Thanks for clearing it up.
This....all of this.
Thank you. You are smart!