Unexpected Visitors
Wyatt stared out over the desert, the sun hanging low in the sky. There were no signs of A.K. as far as he could see. A breeze rolled through, hinting at the bitter cold that the night would bring. He turned back to the others, each of them watching as Little Strongheart examined the makeshift firepit that the rogue author had most likely left behind.
“We missed her by a few days,” Strongheart commented, rising to her hooves. “But, I can tell you she was alone.”
Applejack frowned and tilted her hat up. “This might be a tall order, but can ya tell which way she went?”
Strongheart walked a bit away, meandering her way around camp. “She’s pretty good at covering her tracks.” Frowning, she gazed off into the desert. “She might have headed towards Dodge Junction.”
Pinkie tilted her head, lowering herself down to the ground to stare at the firepit and camp. “Weird, it’s almost like A.K. has a lot of experience keeping ponies from following her.” She hopped to her hooves with a bright smile. “She must’ve done a lot of research for her books!”
“She knew enough to kick my ass,” Wyatt commented, kicking at a pebble.
Twilight put a hand on his shoulder, giving him a reassuring smile. “To be fair, she did have the element of surprise. She doesn’t exactly look like somepony that could toss a grown stallion over her shoulder.”
Wyatt nodded. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”
Strongheart cleared her throat. “If we’re going to continue tracking this mare, we might want to gather some firewood. I don’t think it would be a good idea to keep going. The night will be cold and we’ll want to keep warm.”
Twilight gave Wyatt a look and motioned to his waist before motioning her head towards Strongheart. “Should we tell her?” she whispered.
Wyatt thought for a moment before nodding. “Better to tell her now, than have her freak out later.” Raising his voice, he got Strongheart’s attention. “Hey, so... we have to tell you something. It’s a secret though, so we’d appreciate you not telling anyone else.”
Strongheart quirked a brow. “I can keep a secret, what is it?”
“You remember that guy with the flaming sticks that showed up when that monster attacked? That was me.”
Strongheart’s eyes widened and stared at him in disbelief for a moment. “That is quite the claim. Forgive me for saying this, but you don’t seem like the warrior type.”
Wyatt chuckled, rubbing his arm. “Yeah, I’ve only been doing this for the last couple weeks. Not too good at it yet. Or, at least not good at fighting giant monsters.” He cleared his throat, clapping his hands together. “So, how about we set up camp now?”
Everyone nodded in affirmation and split off into pairs to gather firewood. Wyatt was with Twilight, his eyes scanning the ground. Every once in awhile he’d find twigs or dried up grass that would be useful. The sun was just poking out from below the horizon and the two were about to return to the group when Wyatt noticed a glint. He turned his head and spotted a blue crystal hovering above the ground that he could’ve sworn hadn’t been there before. He adjusted the sticks and kindling in his hands so he could easily pick it up. At once, he heard two female voices in his head.
“To those who are not afraid to see the light and rise like a phoenix to stop those who will harm others, use this crystal to summon us, the Blade Queen and Thunder Phoenix, and a brave new frontier will be opened, but for those who wish us to do harm to others that don’t deserve it, beware…”
Wyatt blinked, staring at the crystal in disbelief. “Uh Twilight, are talking crystals a normal thing in Equestria?”
Twilight turned back to him, noticing the crystal in his hand. “No, that’s not a normal thing.” She leaned in and lit up her horn, a purple aura surrounding the crystal. “Hmm, there’s a strange magic surrounding this. It almost reminds me of what I felt on your driver. You’d better keep that safe.”
He nodded and clutched the crystal tight. “The thing said that I could use it to summon two people. Called themselves the Blade Queen and Thunder Phoenix.”
Twilight quirked a brow and held out her hand. He got the message and let her have it. She scrutinized it, continuing to probe at it with her magic. “I’ve never heard of using crystals for that sort of thing.”
“Should I give it a try?” he asked. “They said they protected people.”
“I suppose we could,” she said. “But we might want to be on guard just in case.” She examined the crystal for a moment before deciding to send a bolt of magic into it. The crystal started to glow and she set it onto the ground, stepping away from it.
There was a flash of light that blinded the two for a moment. When they were able to see again, the crystal had been replaced by two people. Both of them were female and were wearing armor. The most striking thing about one of them was the wings that seemed to be made of pure electricity on her back. She also had bright, brown hair that she had pulled back into a ponytail. She had on a yellow skirt that reminded Wyatt of something he had seen in a museum exhibit on Rome. A single sword was sheathed at her side.
The other woman had snow white hair and icy blue eyes. She had heavier armor and a tattered blue cape that hung down to her ankles while a pair of wings sprung from her back. She had a stylized kite shield strapped to her arm that had a gem resting in its center. At the top of the shield were several blue, diamond shapes. A feathered skirt hung around her waist and legs, and in her left hand, she was armed with a single blade,with seven smaller translucent blades that flickered in and out of existence as they circled the sword. Both girls were looking around in confusion.
“Huh, so that’s why they’re called Blade Queen and Thunder Phoenix,” Wyatt commented, staring at them both in fascination.
The white haired girl then focused on him before then staring at Twilight in shock. “What the…?!” She exclaimed, stumbling backwards in shock before tripping on a rock and knocking down her companion in the process. There was a clatter of metal as the two landed on the ground.
“Ow! Mira, what was that about?!” The brown haired girl groaned as she picked herself up, before noticing the other two near them. “Oh…”
Twilight’s mouth opened and closed for a moment as she tried to process their reaction to the sight of her. “Um, I’m sorry if I startled you. Are the two of you okay?”
“Y-yeah, just… never seen you looking like a cross between a human and a pony before, Twi. Were you experimenting on a new spell or something? And….” She then realized where she was. “Oh… Twi's gonna love this…” she groaned and facepalmed.
Twilight’s muzzle scrunched up in thought, eyeing the two newcomers critically. “Are you two from another world like Wyatt? Is that why you said my name as if you were talking about somepony else?”
The girl nodded sheepishly. “I'm Cassandra, Cassie for short. And this is my sister, Miriam. Mira to her friends.” She said. Mira gave a shy nod.
“It’s nice to meet the two of you,” Wyatt said. He chuckled a little bit and waved a hand over the landscape. “Sorry we didn’t bring you to a nicer location.”
Cassie rolled her eyes. “Compared to an apocalyptic Equestria, this is a welcome change from where we’ve been.” She said with a small smile.
Wyatt nodded, filing away the comment under, “Things to ask about later”. “I’m Wyatt by the way.” He held his hand out.
Cassie extended her own hand and shook his hand. “Nice to meet you.” She said. Turning to Twilight, she said “Yes, both Mira and I are from a different world altogether.”
“Fascinating, then there must be a countless number of worlds out there. Maybe even worlds beyond having humans or ponies,” Twilight muttered to herself.
Cassie gave a small laugh. “Don't give yourself an aneurysm overthinking this matter.” She said.
Wyatt laughed with her. “From my experience, Twi isn’t one to stop thinking about something until she’s figured it out.” He looked out at the horizon. “And I’m thinking we should continue this back with the others, nightfall is almost here.”
Mira shivered as the wind whipped through her armor, her now long hair whipping around her face . “L-lets…” she said, rubbing her arms.
Twilight and Wyatt led them back to the camp. It was a quick walk, though the light of the sun was all but gone by the time they met up with everyone. Pinkie was of course the first one to react.
She gasped and rushed over to the two women. “Oh my gosh, you two brought new friends with you!” She paused and deflated slightly. “Aww, and I don’t have any party supplies on me.”
Applejack came up behind the pink mare and hoisted her up by the collar. “Pinkie, Ah think ya need to calm down a bit. They look like they need some space.”
“Sorry.” Pinkie flashed them a sheepish smile.
“It's okay.” Mira said softly, looking around at the group assembled.
“Glad t’hear it,” Aj replied, setting Pinkie down.
Everyone then started to build the fire, opting for a log cabin style as per Strongheart’s instructions. Once they were done, Strongheart then used a striker and flint on the kindling in the center to get it started. Everyone then went into their supplies and set up chairs around the growing fire. Both Cassie and Mira opted to sit on the ground.
“So um, where exactly are you from?” Fluttershy asked, a green blanket wrapped around her torso.
Cassie sighed. “Originally, we’re from a world called Earth. It's like Equestria, but the dominant species are known as humans. Unfortunately, we’re a very war like race. Since the beginning of civilization, we’ve fought more wars than can be counted. There are some good humans that try and help others, but for the most part, we are ruled by governments that are either corrupt or tyrannical.” She fiddled with her ponytail. “Both Mira and I were at a convention for a game we play called Brave Frontier. She was dressed as Blade Queen Sefia, at least until she changed into the next form of her character a few months earlier, I was dressed as Phoenix Thunder Rayla. Mira decided to pick up a replica of a battle crystal to look at in one of the tents… we didn't know that what would happen next would change our lives forever…” She then stared into the flames, memories flashing through her eyes.
Wyatt rubbed the back of his head, staring into the fire with her. “I guess that’s pretty true. Though I think another category of people can be described as those that want to do good, but go about it completely wrong.”
Mira gave a small chuckle. “Anyways, the minute I picked up that crystal, we were sent 10,000 years into our Equestria’s past. We ended helping Celestia and Luna stop Discord, but at the cost of us turning to stone with him. That battle also ended up with us turned into ponies.”
“On the bright side, it looks like you were able to return to normal,” Twilight offered.
“You can thank Nicko for that.” Cassie said with a laugh. “He was the first Displaced we encountered.”
“Displaced?” Wyatt repeated, his brow furrowing.
“Didn’t you have cards that said Displaced on them, darling?” Rarity asked, a blanket draped over her lap.
He nodded, summoning his case into his hand. He opened it up and pulled out one of the grayed out cards. “Yeah, I did.”
“From what we were told, Displaced, are people who were dressed up as a character from a movie, game, book, or even a TV show and get sent to Equestria by someone called the Merchant or a similar event that sends them there. And each Equestria is different, but they all share one thing in common: the ponies.” Mira spoke up, nodded her head towards the Mane 6.
“That sounds like what happened to me,” Wyatt told them, slotting the card back into the case. He barely registered a small flash in the corner of his eye before he put the case away. “I was dressed as Kamen Rider Decade before I got sent here. I thought I was getting a good deal on the case I was just holding. Now, I’m stuck here in a world full of monsters.”
“Us, we have to deal with four gods and goddesses that are hell bent on destroying all ponies in Equestria.” Mira then shivered. “We've already had an encounter with one of their Allies… a madwoman called Kafka. Wherever she walked, sickness followed. She managed to lay the whole of Ponyville low, and left both me and Cassie too weak to even stand…”
“That sounds awful,” Fluttershy said, putting a hand to her muzzle. “W-were there any casualties?”
“Thankfully, there weren't. But it took us weeks to recover from the mist her snake emitted.” Mira replied. “Tilith herself ended up feeling nauseous.”
The girls all let out a sigh of relief, their shoulders relaxing. Wyatt picked up a stick and stoked the fire a bit.
“Sounds like you’ve had a pretty eventful time in your Equestria,” Wyatt commented.
“Yep… and we’ve had a few encounters with other Displaced in their worlds, including an asshole that nearly killed me and Mira.” Cassie said.
“I’ve never run into any others,” Wyatt said. He chuckled weakly. “Though I guess that was obvious due to the way I reacted to the term for us.”
Both girls giggled. “Same with us when Nicko was in our Equestria.” Mira said.
“Judging from what you said just now, not all Displaced are friendly,” Twilight commented. “Is that right?”
“Not really, some can be pretty arrogant. The guy we ended up fighting was a Merc that got sent to his Equestria by unknown means as a half demonic being called a Killer Prince.” Mira explained with a small glare at Cassie. “Cassie ended up running her mouth and nearly got us both killed by him going bat shit insane. And I was in my character’s third form at the time.”
Wyatt chuckled. “And let me guess, that wasn’t even your final form?”
“It's… hard to explain. In Brave Frontier, your character unit is rated by a star system, my third form is what's known as a five star unit. To go up a rank, you evolve them into a new form.” Mira said.
Wyatt nodded. “I think I get it, I’ve seen similar systems in other games.”
Cassie then gave a small grin. “Wanna see a cool trick?” She asked.
Wyatt returned her grin. “Sure, I’ll show you one of mine too to be fair.”
Cassie then stepped back before a glowing circle appeared around her right hand. “Redcap, I call upon you!” She chanted before there was a flash of light and a Goblin like creature stood in front of her. It wore a worn black shirt and carried a large club. But its most noticeable feature was the red cap on its head.
“You called, mistress?” It asked in a squeaky voice. Cassie didn't answer, instead banishing it with a single stroke of her sword.
“That wasn’t very nice,” Fluttershy said, a pout on her face as she stared at the spot where the creature had been standing.
Cassie shrugged. “It's the only way to send them back to Grand Gaia.” She said. “Don't worry, it didn't hurt him.”
Fluttershy had an unsure look on her face. “If you say so.” She brushed a part of her mane out of her face and turned her head. “Still seems too mean,” she muttered.
Cassie rolled her eyes before saying, “Anyone have any questions?”
“What else can you do?” Twilight asked. “Your abilities seem pretty extensive judging by the kind of summoning you just did.”
“We have three different attacks, called brave bursts. The third is the most powerful, but it drains the person after using it.” Cassie said. “As for summoning units… if Mira and I wanted to, we could summon one of the Six Heroes of Grand Gaia.”
“Ah’m confused,” Applejack admitted, scratching her head. “Ya’ll er more confusin’ than Wyatt.”
“Well, we humans are a confusing race.” Cassie said with a small grin. She then concentrated before her wings solidified, turning into a pair of tawny brown feathered wings. Small arcs of electricity jumped from time to time across the feathers.
Strongheart watched in interest. “You’re like a thunderbird.”
“Yeah, in a way, I kinda am.” Cassie said, shifting her wings. “But my power is a double edged sword…”
“What do you mean?” Strong heart asked, placing a pot over the fire. “Do your powers cause you harm?”
“No… but if I keep fighting for too long or if I get too upset, I may lose control to the beast within me. Like Mira, I have a final form, but… it's one that may end up hurting others.” Cassie said, shivering. “My Omni form… Bennu Edge Rayla.”
Wyatt watched as Strongheart poured water into the pot. “Yeah, that’s all going over my head, and I’m the guy who can turn into at least ten different people.”
“What I mean is, my Omni form has the potential to go insane and end up going on a rampage. And I wouldn't be able to do anything to stop it.” Cassie said.
“Right.” Wyatt noted Twilight had taken out a scroll, the sounds of her scribbling heard over the crackling fire. “Man, she doesn’t waste time does she? You should see her back in Ponyville.”
Both girls chuckled. “Our Twi’s the same way.” Mira said. “Just not as study intensive.”
Twilight chuckled and sat her scroll in her lap. “I just like learning about new things. When I see something that’s a complete unknown, I want to figure out how it works. You’re not alone in being sent to ancient Equestria. Apparently, two kamen riders appeared in our history, too.”
Both girls looked at Twilight with interest. “So in a way, our world paralleled some events of your world.” Mira said.
“Well, I doubt you have a human nation on your world.” Wyatt stirred the fire again. “Apparently there’s a tribe of them here on another continent. There used to be two but after some fighting, they merged into one.”
Cassie looked thoughtful while Mira brushed her hair out of her face.
“According to the princesses, after certain events that involved monsters and the previous two riders, the humans have put themselves in a state of isolationism,” Twilight explained. “This has caused them to fall out of our history books. Even I didn’t know about them until they told me about them recently.”
“What exactly were these monsters like?” Mira asked.
“They were the Gurongi,” Wyatt explained. “They had a goal to complete what they called the Gegeru game. Said game involved killing people.”
Both girls looked sickened at the description. “That's… terrible!” Cassie said.
“Well, they are called monsters after all,” Wyatt pointed out. “Or, were in this case seeing as they’re all gone now. The other two riders made sure of that.”
“I'm glad to hear that. If that had happened in our world, we would have done the same thing to those beasts……” Mira said.
Wyatt sighed, rubbing at his chest where the monster had hit him. “Well, there are still things aside from the Gurongi in the world. The other enemies of the Kamen Riders that I can turn into. I just fought one a couple days ago.”
“Some kinda big ol’ spider thing,” Applejack cut in. Wyatt watched her for a moment, watching as she set up a pot and started to cook. “Ah haven’t seen somethin’ that big since that ursa came ta town.”
“Luckily Wyatt and the buffalo were able to drive that dreadful thing off,” Rarity said.
Mira shuddered. “Makes me glad we only have dragons in our world, except for the occasional demon…” she said.
“It hasn’t been that bad so far,” Wyatt offered. “I’ve only had to fight one monster at a time and I’ve only gotten a few scrapes and bruises.”
Cassie gave him a raised eyebrow. “That sounds like you're putting that lightly.”
Wyatt turned his head and chuckled weakly. “The driver does a lot of the work. If I didn’t have it and didn’t know how to use it then I’d have broken a bone by now at the very least.” He winced and scratched at the bandages on his face. “Uh, this one doesn’t count. I didn’t get it while fighting a monster.”
“What happened?” Mira asked.
Wyatt sighed, rubbing his neck. “Some famous author was snooping in Twilight’s basement and I tried to confront them calmly. Then, she put me in some kind of arm lock and interrogated me. And finally, once she got the idea to come out this way, she punched me in the nose and knocked me out.”
Both girls winced. “Ouch, that must've been a rude awakening.” Cassie said. She then frowned. “What exactly did she ask you about?”
“She asked me if I knew where Agito was,” Wyatt replied. “How she knew about him is sort of a mystery.”
“Agito?” Mira asked. “Who is that?”
“It’s the name of one of the previous two riders I was talking about. Unlike me, I guess they stopped using their real names.”
“So…. Why would she be looking for him?” Cassie asked.
Twilight frowned, looking down at her lap. “We don’t know, it’s one of the reasons we’re following after her. Humans aren’t exactly common knowledge, and if I didn’t know, I can’t imagine how A.K Yearling found out.”
“Did she sound panicked when she asked you?” Mira questioned Wyatt.
Wyatt shook his head. “Well, she didn’t really ask. More like, threw me against a wall and demanded rather angrily. She sounded pissed.”
Cassie raised an eyebrow. “Why would she be angry at you?” She asked.
“I didn’t say she was angry with me,” Wyatt corrected. “I just said she sounded angry.”
“So I’m guessing the reason you guys are out here is because of this pony?” Mira asked.
“We came out here to find A.K Yearling because she assaulted Wyatt,” Twilight responded, a bit of irritation in her voice. “She knows something about Agito and we need to know what that is.”
“There’s probably a reason she was acting like that, but what that reason is…” Cassie shrugged. “But how Mira and I come into this, I’m still unsure of how we can help you guys.”
“Any help you could provide would be appreciated,” Twilight said, giving the two a smile. “There is also the problem of the giant monster that attacked us a few days ago.”
“Great, now we have Godzilla to worry about?” Cassie joked half-heartedly.
“More like a big spider,” Wyatt added, gesturing with his hands. “I managed to drive it off, but, it was a bit too strong for me to beat, even with the buffalo backing me up.”
“Okay, not Godzilla, more like Ebirah then.” Noticing Mira’s surprised look, Cassie held up her hands. “What? I used to watch some of the old Godzilla films.”
“God knows where it is now.” Wyatt watched as Little Strong Heart began to make a stew.
“Those kinds of monsters used to trouble my ancestors all the time. We learned to drive them off with our chanting. No one had seen any hint of them for at least a generation.”
“Until now?” Mira asked, tracing something in the dirt. “Why would they start attacking after that long?”
Wyatt frowned, wracking his mind for possibilities. “I’m sure there’s a reason for all the sudden monster attacks, and whatever it is, I’m sure it isn’t good.”
Cassie also frowned as she accepted a bowl of stew from Strong Heart. “Do you know if they're being controlled by someone?” she asked, wincing as some of the steaming liquid spilt from her bowl and hit her skin.
Wyatt shook his head, taking a bowl of stew for himself. “I haven’t seen any signs of control on them. Though, I haven’t exactly been able to take one alive for study.” He took a sip, finding the warmth welcome in the desert cold. “The overall villains of Kamen Rider Decade was a group called Dai-Shocker. They wanted to take over the multi-verse. Think of them like Shadaloo from Street Fighter.”
Cassie gave an awkward chuckle. “I never really got into Street Fighter, so I wouldn't really know the organizations…” she said.
Wyatt rubbed the side of his head. “Okay, then I guess the important thing to note is that they recruited monsters from other universes to work for them.”
“So like what the main villains in the Power Rangers series do?” Mira asked.
“That’s actually a pretty good comparison all things considered,” Wyatt told her.
“So, not t’derail the important conversation, but Ah can’t help but feel like ya two have only talked about yer powers and not yerselves this whole time.” Applejack commented, taking a big gulp of her stew.
Mira gulped nervously. Cassie put a hand on her shoulder and spoke up. “Well, our lives weren't really that exciting, at least mine wasn't. Not until Mira came into my life. My parents adopted her after she lost hers in a fire a few years before.”
Rarity frowned. “Oh how awful. I am so sorry to hear that, darling.” She offered Mira a sympathetic look.
“I-it’s alright.” Mira said, looking like she was trying to swallow back tears.
“The school we went to didn't really help things either, if she wasn't being teased about losing her parents, she was teased for her white hair.” Cassie pinched the bridge of her nose. “I can't remember the amount of times I’ve had to tell those bullies to back off.”
Applejack had a stern look on her face, shaking her head. “Who in tarnation would ever tease somepony for losing their parents? That’s just too cruel!” She snorted, downing the rest of her stew.
“Unfortunately, it's one of humanity's failings. We are capable of great good, but we can also be heartless to our own kind.” Cassie said. “Those particular kids were from rich families, so they were all kinds of snobs.”
“Bet none of them woulda opened their mouths if they knew what it was like,” Applejack grumbled.
“Yeah. But anyways, the two of us had our own hobbies, we also made a few friends, one of which Mira has a crush on.” Cassie gave a small grin at a now embarrassed Mira. “But they somehow disappeared after going to a convention… turns out the same thing that turned us into our characters happened to them.”
“You know, I watched a crazy guy online go on about the con disappearances,” Wyatt spoke up, taking another sip from his bowl. “I didn’t really pay that much attention to him though.” He stared down into his soup, sighing. “A part of me wish I did. My parents...” the words died in his throat, and he went silent.
“I’m really sorry…” Cassie said, putting a hand on his shoulder. “I miss my mom and dad also.”
“Thanks,” Wyatt said. “Guess I should’ve paid more attention to the warning. Though, Equestria isn’t all bad.” He cracked a weak smile, looking between the girls. “And I get to be a superhero.”
Both Mira and Cassie gave a small chuckle at that. Mira then yawned, leaning against Cassie as her eyes began to grow heavy.
“Why don’t we finish dinner, and turn in for the night?” Rarity asked, glancing between the sisters. “I would be happy to share my tent.”
“Thanks Rarity.” Cassie said, nudging Mira.“We’d be honored.”
Wyatt gathered up the dirty bowls, putting them in a pile. “I’ll do the dishes tonight then keep an eye out for anything that tries to get into the camp.”
As Cassie helped Mira to her feet, she thought back to her Mane 6. I hope they're doing okay and not too worried about us… She thought. Although Tillith is probably keeping their spirits up. A small smile crept across her lips.
Wyatt watched as the girls piled into their tents. Once the last tent was closed he grabbed a washcloth and started doing the dishes as best he could. He looked out past the light of the fire, wondering if the monster he had driven back was still licking its wounds somewhere.
The sound of a tent flap opening caused him to turn and see Cassie exit Rarity's tent, her armor having been replaced by regular clothing, and walk to the edge of the camp before sitting down and look up into the sky.
Placing the dish down, he moved over to her. “You alright?”
“Yeah, just trying to collect my thoughts.” She said, her wings shifting.
“I’ll give ya a penny for them,” he joked, pretending to fish around in his pocket.
Cassie laughed at that. “You must've been quite the jokester back on Earth.”
Wyatt shrugged. “With my friends I was. To everyone else I was the quiet kid who never went anywhere without a camera.”
“Were you planning on being a news cameraman?” Cassie joked.
“Wrong kind of camera,” Wyatt replied, chuckling. “Though I was possibly going into journalism on Earth.” He looked up at the sky. “Wound up working on a pony newspaper instead. Good news though, print media isn’t dead in this world.” He turned to her with a smile.
“Both Mira and I are still trying to catch-up on past events after the two of us got sealed by the elements in order to stop Discord.” Cassie said. “We’ve recently gotten to Luna becoming Nightmare Moon…”
Wyatt chuckled, shaking his head. “Twilight’s been teaching me history too. Apparently, Sergeant Pepper was a war hero here.”
“Did he have a Lonely Hearts Club Band with him too?” Cassie asked.
“That’s what I said!” Wyatt said, throwing his arms up. “But no, they were on the other side.”
Cassie burst into laughter at that. When her giggles subsided, she looked up at the sky and the expanse of stars. “It’s weird, back on Earth you couldn't really appreciate the beauty of the night sky.” she said.
“I lived out in a place like this,” Wyatt said, indicating the desert. “When my friends and I went out, we saw all kinds of stars.” He looked up with her. “Never gets old though.”
“I can see why.” Cassie said.
“Yeah, never thought I’d miss the place until now,” he said. “I used to hang out with a friend on a Navajo reservation. I even tried Peyote once.”
Cassie winced. “Bet you regretted that.” She said. “You wouldn't catch me trying that stuff.”
“My friend told me it would’ve been disrespectful to turn it down.” Wyatt rubbed the back of his neck. “It was… trippy for lack of a better word.”
“I bet. I honestly hate substances like that. It's caused more trouble than it's worth.” Cassie said.
“I know I’ve had my fill of them for a lifetime,” Wyatt agreed. “Besides, Equestria has enough trippy sights without altering my brain chemistry.”
“Tell me about it…” Cassie said with a giggle. “Seeing so many colorful ponies sometimes makes me wonder if this is a dream or if it’s a fantasy…”
Wyatt put his hands in his pockets, looking up at the sky. The two fell into an easy silence, which lasted for several minutes. “I better get back to those dishes.” He turned, walking back to the pile.
Cassie nodded as she stood up. “Need any help?” she asked.
“Sure.” Wyatt smiled at her. He took a seat next to the wash basin, offering her a sponge and a bowl. “Beats doing it all by myself.”
Taking both, Cassie began to work on the bowl, a few strands of her hair falling in front of her face as she scrubbed. She began to grunt with the effort.
“Do you have anyone special? Back in your Equestria, I mean.” Wyatt retrieved his bowl, starting to scrub it. “You two have been around longer than I have.”
Cassie shook her head. “No, I never really could bring myself to date a pony. If I was still a Pegasus, maybe, but as a human? It just feels awkward.” she said. “Mira’s starting to date Sasha at Beacon. So she’s lucky.”
Wyatt looked down into the water, a sigh escaping his lips. Was it worse for him? The ponies here were almost human, barring the extra limbs and fur. He hadn’t felt like he was in the Uncanny Valley. But, would that change now that he actively thought about it?
“Everything okay?” Cassie asked, a worried look in her golden eyes.
Wyatt scrubbed a little harder, his nose scrunching up as he considered sharing his thoughts. In the end, he figured a little more soul baring wouldn’t hurt. “I was just wondering about how I’d feel dating a pony from this Equestria. Worst case scenario is that I never get to go home, so non-human dating might come up.”
“From what I’ve heard from some of the displaced I’ve met at Beacon, you can actually date other displaced, you just need to keep their token on hand in case you want to call them over.” Cassie said as she picked up another bowl and began to work on it, pausing now and then to brush her hair out of her face.
“That’d be one hell of a long distance relationship,” Wyatt commented, moving on to another dish. “It’s something to keep in mind though.”
Cassie gave a half hearted laugh. “It’s working for Mira, she gets to see the guy she had a crush on during school hours at Beacon. Me, I’m not really trying to get to know any of the guys there. Not worth it for me.”
Hearing the word crush brought up recent memories for Wyatt, causing him to scrub even harder. The bowl in his hand became spotless, but he kept trying to make it cleaner.
“Um, Wyatt? Scrub any harder and you might break the bowl.” Cassie said.
“Huh?” Wyatt snapped out of his daze, turning his head to look at her.
“The bowl’s clean. Are you sure you're okay?” Cassie asked, looking at him. Her own bowl laid forgotten in her hand.
Wyatt sighed, setting the bowl down. “Right before I got displaced, I confessed to an old friend, and she told me it was best we just stayed that way. Guess that’s for the best though, I did get stuck here after all.”
He felt a wing wrap around him in a comforting hug. “Remember, you're not alone in this multiverse.” Cassie said.
Wyatt nodded, a soft sigh escaping his lips. “Thanks, Cassie, that means a lot.”
She gave a small smile before she went back to working on her bowl. She then began to sing softly, some of the lyrics Wyatt didn't catch, but one verse he did hear was “We could be heroes, me and you…”
Wyatt chuckled a little, quickly finishing up the dishes. “Pretty appropriate choice of song,” he commented, drying off his hands.
“I used to listen to her a lot back on Earth. She was one of my favorite singers then.” Cassie said, a small blush forming on her cheeks.
“Nothing to be embarrassed about,” Wyatt told her, giving her a smile. “I listened to a lot of older stuff back on Earth. Especially Pink Floyd whenever my friend Floyd was with me.” A chuckle escaped his lips. “You know, his parents almost named him Pink Floyd.”
Cassie also laughed at that. “Now that would be funny.” she said.
“He’d never hear the end of it if his parents had gone through with it,” he told her with a grin.
“I bet. He’d probably have legions of fans asking for his autograph.” Cassie joked.
Wyatt laughed. “I’m sure he wouldn’t mind having adoring fans.”
Cassie then yawned, shivering as a breeze blew through the camp and causing her to wrap her wings around herself. “I’m gonna get some sleep. See you in the morning.” She said, turning towards Rarity's tent.
Wyatt told her good night and took a seat by the dying campfire. He let his gaze settle towards the desert, keeping watch for anything that tried to get in.
Cassie meanwhile laid on her bedmat, thinking over the conversation she and Wyatt had. A few minutes later she was asleep, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.
Morning eventually came and the chill of the night gave way as the sun made itself known. Wyatt yawned as he got out of his tent, his watch having been uneventful. Twilight stepped out of her tent, waving to Wyatt as she stifled a yawn.
“How was your night?” she asked, fishing out equipment to help get breakfast started.
“It was pretty good,” Wyatt answered, running his hands through his hair in an attempt to fix it. “Cassie helped me with the dishes and we talked some more.” An idea hit him, and he waved Twilight over. “You remember those Displaced Ride cards from before?”
Twilight nodded. “Yes, do you have an idea on how to use them?”
Wyatt shook his head. “No, but it just clicked in my head. Cassie and her sister are Displaced, right?” He closed his eyes, summoning up his card case. He flipped it open and sifted through his cards. “Aha!” He pulled out two sets of cards, these ones bearing Cassie and Mira’s likenesses. “Seems I get cards for the displaced I meet. Wonder what they do?”
“There’s only one way to find out,” Twilight said, taking one of the cards and reading it. “Final Form Ride? That sounds interesting.”
“Not a whole lot of people around to see me.” Wyatt passed her his card case, summoning his belt and placing it around his waist. “Let’s see what this thing can do.”
He quickly changed into Decade and pulled out one of the Displaced Ride cards. He took a deep breath and slotted it in.
“Displaced Ride!” The belt called out, a ring of light appearing around him. “Mira!”
In a flash of light, Wyatt’s armor changed. Instead of fuschia and black, the main colors were silver, gold and blue. It was a bit bulkier, resembling a traditional knight’s with shoulder pads that resembled Mira’s crystal wings. The gauntlets had blue gems on the back of the hand that looked like what was embedded in her shield. There were golden patterns along the chest with his own Decade crest at the center of it.
“This is new.” Wyatt looked at his hands, flexing his fingers. “You got a mirror summoning spell on ya?”
Twilight rolled her eyes. “No Wyatt, I don’t have one of those. But I’m sure Rarity brought a mirror with her, I’ll go borrow it from her.”
Twilight ducked into Rarity’s tent for a few moments before returning with a hand mirror. She held it up so he could get a good look at himself.
Wyatt whistled, leaning towards the mirror. “Not bad, definitely shiny. It looks like I don’t turn into the person, but a rider form of them.” He rested his hands on his chest. “Good thing too, I dunno how I’d feel about turning into a girl.”
“Wh-what’s going on?” Mira asked as she walked out of Rarity's tent, letting out a yawn as she did so.
“I was just trying something out,” Wyatt replied, turning to face her. “This was the result.” He waved a hand over himself.
Mira studied him over. “Guess that's what my armor would look like if I was a boy.” She said, a small smile on her face. “Minus the helmet and shoulder pads.”
Wyatt nodded. “Yeah, I like the look. It’s a bit more ornate than my other forms.” He rapped his knuckles on the chestplate. “This might be seeing some use.”
“You might have the armor, but can you control the powers I use?” Mira asked, her armor appearing on her body. Her sword with its 7 orbiting blades and shield in both her hands. “My attacks are pure light. Any enemy hit are temporarily blinded and burned at the same time.”
Wyatt took out a card and slotted it into the belt. “Attack Ride: Holy Eight Blades!”
A flash of light surrounded Wyatt and duplicates of her weapons appeared in his hands and around him. He took a step back, giving the sword a testing swing. “This feels pretty natural.”
“If you have my powers, then you should know that I have two different powerful attacks, known as brave bursts. The first is the standard, called Rogue Bind Fencer, both this and my super brave burst, Atomic Nova have a chance of paralyzing your foes.” Mira explained.
Wyatt nodded. “That sounds pretty useful.”
“If you’re done showing off, we should eat,” Little Strongheart spoke up, gazing off into the distance. “We’re not far behind your pegasus, and I don’t want to lose her trail. It’ll take forever to find it again.” Grabbing a few items, she began another fire, getting another stew brewing.
Wyatt chuckled and returned to normal before taking a seat by the fire. “That’s the last thing I need.”
Cassie soon walked out of Rarity's tent, rubbing her eyes. Both her hair and the feathers on her wings were rumpled from sleep. “Morning…” She said.
“Good morning,” Wyatt greeted. He chuckled at the condition of her hair and feathers. “With bed head like that, I’d say you had a good night’s sleep.”
“Huh?” Cassie's hand flew to her head. She then began to laugh. “Yeah, I guess so.”
The group sat down for breakfast, sharing a rather pleasant conversation. At Little Strongheart’s urging, they got back on A.K’s trail, following it deeper into the prairie. After a few hours of walking, they came to the remain of a camp, with several large tracks in the ground.
“What could have made those?” Cassie asked, pointing at the tracks.
Twilight and Little Strongheart knelt down towards the tracks, examining them. Strongheart then looked over the rest of the camp before turning back to the group.
“This was her camp,” she said. “And she was forced out of it.”
“But by what?” Mira asked, looking around nervously. “Surely there isn't anything bigger than a dragon out here, right?”
“It might have been that Makamou that attacked the buffalo,” Wyatt pointed out. “That’s the only thing I can think of.” Conjuring up his belt, he buckled it on. “How good are you girls at making sound?”
“Yelling wise or in general?” Cassie asked, an eyebrow raised. “If this is where I think it is going, I’m unsure what you have in mind…”
“Makamou are extremely weak to sound,” Wyatt informed, stepping around the remains of the campfire. “I can’t take it on by myself, and even with the buffalo, we just scared it off.”
“The only loud noise I can really make is a thunderclap…” Cassie said.
“We’ll just have to hope it works, huh?” Wyatt inserted the Hibiki card, though reframed from activating his belt. “If it did attack A.K, she either got away, or...” he let the idea linger, wincing at the horrified looks that spread through the group. “Either way, we can’t just let it wander around out here.”
“Agreed…” Mira said, leaning on her blade.
“I suppose we should try to find try to find Ms. Yearling,” Rarity spoke up, trying to ease her stomach.
“I hope she’s okay...” Fluttershy hid behind her mane, letting out a soft whimper.
“Same… ” Mira said, her wings shifting. “I don't like it when people or ponies get hurt…”
Fluttershy took to the skies, while the other girls spread out amongst the area. Wyatt himself climbed up an outcropping. From his position, he took stock of the area, noting the seemingly endless red dirt and cacti.
Cassie soared above the ground, her eyes scanning for any tracks. She soon spotted a group of smaller tracks, along with what looked to be blood splatters heading towards the east. “Over here! I found something!” she called out.
“What’d you find?” Wyatt called, sliding down to the ground. He rushed over, cursing when he saw the blood on the ground. “Please tell me you didn’t find her... body...”
Cassie shook her head. “No, but she’s probably injured. These tracks lead east. She can't have gone far with whatever injury she got.” she said.
“We’ll find out when we find her,” Little Strongheart huffed,kneeling down by one of the bloodstains. “It’s fresh, only about a day old. Start looking for a trail.”
“Like that one?” Mira asked, pointing at a line of hoofprints that had drops of blood alongside it, plus what looked like a drag mark.
“Yeah, something like that.” Little Strongheart moved over, following the tracks with her eyes. “We have to hurry, who knows how much blood she’s lost.”
Cassie looked at Wyatt. “You think she’s okay?” She asked.
Wyatt looked out the trail, making a note of their sizes and the distance between them. “I’m not an expert on this or anything, but I think if we get to her soon then we should be able to keep her from bleeding out.”
“Unless she's already done that herself. I noticed some strips of cloth cut from that tent back in the camp.” Mira said. “And the blood is just the runoff?”
Twilight came up to Mira’s side, staring at the blood. “We can only hope. I don’t know how well she’ll be able to navigate though,” she held up a broken half of red frames for glasses, “I found this by a rock.”
Rarity came up with a tattered shawl in her hands. “And I found this… piece of clothing not far from it. Though her losing it might’ve been a favor.” Rarity made a disgusted face as she glanced down at it. Both Cassie and Mira giggled.
“Guess we follow the trail from here…” Cassie said.
Wyatt walked over to the trail of blood. “Then let’s get started. Time is of the essence here.”
He started walking, leaving a hand on the handle of his driver while keeping his eyes and ears open for the monster.
Both Cassie and Mira soared above them, their wings spread out. Once and awhile, Mira tumbled as her wings still weren't used to flying for so long before catching herself.
Their trip lasted for an hour and led them to a group of plateaus. Wyatt’s eyes narrowed, the hair on the back of his neck starting to stand up. He came to a sudden stop, scanning the area. “A.K Yearling?” he called, shifting his feet. “We’re here to help!”
Everything was silent for a few moments before the group made out the faint sound of a groan.
“I see her!” Cassie said, pointing to a mustard yellow Pegasus with a light/dark striped mane and tail and magenta colored eyes near a rock outcropping. Her right wing was wrapped in cloth strips as a rudimentary bandage, while she wore a pith helmet and vest.
Twilight gasped, rushing over to the injured mare and pulling out a first aid kit to better dress the mare’s wounds. She looked into the mare’s eyes, an awestruck look on her face. “You’re not A.K. Yearling, you’re Daring Do!”
“Who?” Cassie and Mira asked simultaneously.
“I didn’t need any help!” Daring Do hissed, pushing Twilight away. “You had no reason to follow me out here!” Getting to her hooves, she braced herself against the outcropping. “Go back to your library and leave me be!”
“I’m pretty sure we’ve got a reason to follow you here,” Wyatt countered, pointing at his bandaged face. “That notwithstanding, you won’t be able to fight that monster right now.”
“Please, we can help you stop the beast.” Mira said.
Daring grit her teeth, taking a shaky step forward. “I don’t need to stop it. I’ve gotta keep going or I’ll lose track of him again.”
“Of who?” Cassie asked, blocking her path. “You’re in no shape to be walking right now.”
Daring growled, shoving Cassie out of her way. “I told you, leave me alone.” She stumbled forward, ignoring the pain. “It’s none of your business.”
“She’s after Agito,” Wyatt said, putting himself in front of Daring. “The real question is why she’s after him.”
“Go to Tartarus,” Daring hissed, attempting to push past Wyatt, before collapsing against him.
Wyatt helped keep her stable, a neutral look on his face. “I’m just gonna assume that means what I think it does.” He motioned to Twilight, getting Daring to lay down again. “Now, stop being stubborn and accept our help.”
Twilight thanked him and continued to dress Daring’s wounds, the pegasus grumbling to herself the entire time. “I can’t believe you're really Daring Do,” she commented. “How did you hide it for so long?”
“Living out in the middle of nowhere and dressing like an old mare,” Daring replied, her feathers ruffled.
“Twi, let's fangirl later.” Cassie said. “I don't think she's really comfortable with it.”
Twilight coughed into her hand and nodded, a blush peppering her cheeks. “Right, I’ll just focus on the first aid.”
Mira then handed a green bottle to Daring. “Here, drink this. It’ll help you heal faster.” she said.
Daring grumbled and accepted the offered bottle. She gave Mira a quick thanks and took a long gulp of the liquid inside before making a retching sound.
Cassie chuckled as she scanned for threats in the area, her wings folded behind her.
Wyatt looked out as well, nothing sticking out in the area. He was getting a bad feeling about how still everything seemed. Turning to Daring, he sighed. “Are you gonna tell us why you're looking for Agito, or start yelling insults again?”
“It’s still none of your business,” Daring shot back. She shifted, a bit of metal visible around her neck. “Just fix me up and get out of here.”
“That’s not gonna happen,” Wyatt told her. “If we don’t know why you’re looking for Agito, then we don’t know if you’re trying to threaten him. And of course there’s the matter of how you know about him in the first place.”
“And what's on your neck?” Mira asked.
Daring shifted, taking a hand and toying with her neck. “Nothing, just a necklace.” Glaring at Twilight, she adjusted her wings. “You done yet?”
Twilight took a quick look at her work before nodding and taking a step back. “There, that should take care of it.”
Mira looked at Daring. “Why exactly are you looking for this “Agito”? Does he have something to do with your past?” She asked.
“Is everypony here deaf or something?” Daring growled, turning away from the group. “I’m not talking about why I’m after him. So stop asking.”
She felt a hand spin her around, finding Cassie's frustrated eyes looking into her own eyes. “You don't seem to get that they want to help you. Going it alone isn’t going to help you in the long run, so I would suggest accepting their help.” The winged human growled.
Daring snorted. “I’ve gone it alone for years and I’ve always come out on top in the end. I don’t need help, what I need is to get going before Agito’s trail goes cold.”
“Because you’ve been lucky so far. But your luck is going to run out sometimes, and like it or not, you’ll need others to help you.” Cassie said.
Daring glared at the young woman, adjusting her hat on her head. “Lady, luck has had nothing to do with why I’ve been so successful. You don’t know anything about me so don’t act like you do.”
“You’re right, I don't.” Cassie said. “But your eyes are telling a different story. You’re glad that we came when we did. What you're doing is just a front to avoid thanking us. Kinda like a certain pegasus.” she said.
Daring hardened her gaze. “Don’t tell me what ‘my eyes’ are saying. I’m not telling you anything, so you're better off not wasting anymore of your time.”
“That’s fine, you won’t have to tell us anything,” Wyatt told her, smirking. “Because we’re just gonna follow you until you find Agito.”
Daring barred her teeth. “Are all humans such arrogant flankholes!?”
“Depends on who you ask,” he replied, chuckling.
“In this case, we’re worried about you.” Mira said. “Whether or not you’re confident in your abilities, you can't take on everything alone. I know what that feeling’s like, and to this day, it still scares me.”
“I don’t need all of you to talk to me like you’re my bucking mother,” Daring growled. “I work alone, that’s how I like it.” She turned, moving away from them. “Not you, not that damn spider thing, nothing is going to get in my way!”
“Wait, did you say spider thing?” Cassie asked, sharing a shocked look with the rest of the group.
“Yeah, that’s the thing that messed up my camp,” Daring huffed, rubbing her injured wing. “Lost a lot of good supplies. Got me pretty good too.”
“Did you see where it went?” Wyatt questioned. “It wasn’t anywhere near your camp anymore.”
“I lost it in the night.” Daring shock her head. Her shoulders slumped, and she looked back at the. “You’re not going to leave me alone, are you?”
“Nope,” Pinkie said with a grin, carefully throwing an arm around Daring’s shoulders. “You’re stuck with us.”
Daring pulled away from Pinkie, sitting down. A course chuckle escaped her throat. She put her head back, speaking in what Wyatt thought sounded like Japanese.
He made a note of that for later. “I think we should set up camp here,” Wyatt commented. “Daring’s in no condition to walk any further and the cover limits how that monster can come at us.”
Both Cassie and Mira nodded in agreement. The others shared a similar sentiment and began preparing the camp. With everyone working together, it took just under an hour. Wyatt gave up his tent so that Daring could have a place to properly rest up.
“I don’t need your tent,” Daring muttered, gazing up at Wyatt. “You can keep your charity kid.”
“Just accept the gesture and heal up alright?” Wyatt told her, slowly chopping vegetables to help make lunch. “Can’t exactly let you use yours. So, you gonna tell me how you know Japanese? Or, am I going to be told to go to Tartarus again?”
“I’ve been all over the world, I know a lot of languages,” Daring dismissed, rolling onto her side.
“Japanese isn’t a language here,” Wyatt countered, not looking up from his work. “Which means, you had to learn it from someone. And since Agito is from where I’m from...”
“I don’t know what you’re thinking, but keep it to yourself,” Daring warned in a low tone so only he could hear. “I’ll break your jaw next, kid.”
Cassie soon came back with a load of firewood collected from branches that had fallen into the plateau. Dropping the load off nearby, she sat down next to Mira and the other girls. “It’s hot as a dragon’s flame out there…” she said, wiping some sweat off.
“Good thing it gets cold at night.” Wyatt gave Daring a look. “We should have brought more blankets, or used Spike as a space heater.”
“I don’t think Spike would appreciate being used as a tool like that,” Twilight said, a small frown on her face.
“Relax.” Wyatt put his hands up. “It was just a joke, honest.” Opening up his mouth to speak, the words were drowned out as a screeching roar filled the air. “Looks like it’s go time.” Dropping his knife, he activated his belt.
“Kamen Ride: Hibiki!”
In a flash, Wyatt was in his Hibiki armor, weapons at the ready as the spider-like monster came into view. It screeched again, its spear like legs stabbing into the ground with each step. Pinchers held high, it skittered over, smashing through anything in the way.
“Wyatt, besides sound, is this thing weak to anything else?” Cassie asked, her sword drawn and ready.
“Besides hitting it really hard? No.” Wyatt answered, charging at the monster.
He swung his weapons at its legs, directing it away from the girls as it lashed out with a pincer.
“Hey spider cakes! Taste this, ASTINIC FALL!” Cassie shouted as she slammed her blade down onto the beast, electricity then smashing into it and sending it stumbling back as the thunderclap accompanying the attack hit it like a physical blow.
Twilight took a position outside of Daring’s tent, putting a shield around the rest of the camp. “I’ll keep this up as long as I can, just make sure it doesn’t hit it. I need a lot of concentration for this.” Closing her eyes, she steadied her breathing, focusing her mind on the shield.
Mira stood nearby, her sword and shield at the ready in case Cassie and Wyatt were unable to keep the beast contained. The creature raised a pincer, slamming it down on Mira. Wyatt jumped up, landing on the beast’s back while it was distracted with Mira. He brought down his weapons in a series of blows, loud drumbeats echoing through the camp.
“MIRA! Let go of her, you Ebirah wannabe!” Cassie shouted, before she flew forward and sunk her blade into a chunk off the spider’s armor, an electrical blast then jolting through the beast and causing it to let go of Mira, who stumbled back and collapsed.
Wyatt had to crouch down and grab onto an armor plate on the monster’s head as it collapsed to prevent himself from falling. He righted himself quickly and resumed his attack. “How many times to I have to hit you!?” Wyatt growled, his voice barely audible over his attacks.
Cassie, meanwhile had brought Mira back to the group and settled her on a nearby pillar. “Just stay here and don't move.” she said.
“Not… a problem…” Mira groaned. Her armor was heavily dented from being held in the spider’s pincer, and from her pained look, a broken rib.
Turning back to the fight, she streaked out and held her hand up. A massive thunderclap then sounded and caused the beast to screech in pain from the sound.
Wyatt turned to Cassie, pulling a card out of his case. “Hey Cassie, I need you to get over here so I can try something!” he called out, slotting the card into his belt.
Cassie flew over to him. “What’s the plan?” she asked.
“This.” He pressed the handles of his belt together, getting behind her.
“Final Form Ride: Cassie!” the belt boomed.
“This might tickle a little,” Wyatt warned, inserting his hands into her back, a ripple going through it. With a deft movement of his hands, Cassie shot into the air and her form started to shift.
“Wha- What's happening?!” she yelped.
“A power boost if I did this right,” Wyatt told her, watching the scene unfold with interest.
Cassie cried out in shock as her arms fused to her wings, while her armor disappeared and her feet turned into talons. “No… no, NO! Not this!” she screamed, fear showing in her eyes. Her neck and face elongated and her teeth became sharper. A tail then sprouted and in an instant, Cassie had turned into the very thing she dreaded becoming. The dragon then roared a challenge at the spider, its massive wings spread.
Wyatt took that as a cue to jump off the spider's head, looking at what Cassie had turned into with fascination. “This could either go really well, or very poorly,” he said to himself.
With a snarl, the Dragon flew forward, firing a massive bolt of lightning at the spider and sending it flying backwards. It came to a skidding stop, righting itself and lashing out at the dragon. It grabbed one of the dragon’s legs in its pincer, squeezing with all its might and trying to pull the dragon from the sky. The dragon roared with rage and flew upwards, taking the spider along with it. It then began to spin, going faster and faster. The spider let out a high pitched squeal, grabbing the dragon’s other leg with its other pincer.
Then to everyone's shock, the dragon spoke. “Not gonna let go, ey? Then let's see how you like THIS!” It then dived down and thrust its legs forward so that the spider would take the brunt of the force. The two impacted with the force of a meteorite, throwing up a huge dust cloud and obscuring the two combatants.
The spider tossed the dragon out of the cloud, struggling to get back up. Many of it’s legs had been crushed from the impact, and it’s shell cracked open in several places.
“Maxium Drive!” A synthesized voice shouted out. Several blasts of energy slammed into the spider’s battered body, finally putting it out of its misery.
The dragon then collapsed, before it began to change. In seconds, Cassie was in the spot the dragon had occupied. She stood up, and everyone was shocked to see tears streaming down her cheeks.
Wyatt reverted to normal and rushed over to her. “Cassie, are you okay?” he asked, a panicked look in his eyes. “I’m so sorry, I had no idea it would do that to you.”
“N-never a-again. I’m not going to go through that again!” She then collapsed onto Wyatt’s shoulder, sobs wracking her body.
Not knowing what else to do, Wyatt put his hands on her shoulders and let her cry. “I’ll never use that card on you again, I promise,” he assured her, his mind barely registering the growing wet spot on his shoulder.
The moment Twilight dropped the shield, Daring ran past the pair, coming to the halt a few feet away. “The Tartarus have you been!?” she shouted, shaking with rage. “You just couldn’t wait to leave me, could you?! You didn’t even come to my graduation!”
It was only then that Wyatt registered the man standing in front of Daring. Clad in black armor, and sporting a silver skull helmet, the man stood silently, a black pistol in his hand. A scarf hung from his neck flowing in the night breeze. Upon closer inspection, Wyatt noted the man wasn’t human, noting he had hooves instead of feet.
“Daring, that’s not Agito,” Wyatt told her, glaring at the figure. “That’s Kamen Rider Skull.”
“What?” Daring asked, her eyes going wide. She took a step back, looking over every inch of Skull.
Skull brought his hand up, giving a two fingered salute. Adjusting his hat, he turned, leaping over an outcropping and vanishing from sight.
Wyatt briefly considered following after Skull. Despite the headstart he likely could’ve caught up with him using Kabuto. Despite an urge for answers, he decided not to chase Skull. Skull seemed to have been baited by the other rider and the last thing he needed was to fall into a trap.
“It wasn’t him...” Daring muttered to herself, staring off after Skull. She sank to her knees, shoulders sagging. “Faust, I’m an idiot.”
“It sounds like you and Agito were close,” Twilight noted, approaching the mare from behind. “Considering you expected him to attend your graduation.”
“It’s alright, you can tell us,” Fluttershy encouraged, walking to Daring. She knelt down, putting a hand on her shoulder. “It’s not healthy to keep everything bottled up. I bet you’ll feel a lot better if you tell us.”
Daring grunted, letting her shoulders sag. “You girls really don’t take no for an answer,” she muttered. She shook her head, sighing. “Guess there’s no point in hiding it since you saw me like that. Agito’s my dad. He adopted me when I was little.”
Cassie looked up at Daring. “What happened to your real parents?” she asked, her voice still shaky.
“Tartarus if I know.” Daring shrugged, a hint of bitterness in her voice. “I ran out of the orphanage when I was three. Never bothered to go back.” Standing up, she braced herself against Fluttershy. “So, who was the Skull guy?”
“I can’t tell you who was behind the mask,” Wyatt told her. “They were a pony, I could tell that much.” He frowned, eyeing Daring curiously. “You haven’t actually seen Agito in rider form, have you?”
“No,” Daring admitted. “He described riders as guys in armor, but he’d never turn into his rider form. Wouldn’t say why.”
“Right.” Wyatt shock his head. Not only were Agito and Kuuga a thing, now he had to worry about Riders with Gaia Memories. Sensing Twilight’s already building urge to ask questions, he cut her off. “I’ll tell you everything I know about Skull when we get back to town.”
“What about Agito?” Daring asked, grunting as she tried to stand under her own power. “I don’t know if I’ll ever be this close to finding him again.”
“You need a hospital,” Wyatt pressed, his tone firm. “Celestia hoped knowledge of my presence would bring him out of hiding. If that doesn’t work, we’ll think of something else. But, you will die if we don’t get you to a doctor.”
Cassie turned to look at Mira, who was still laying on the outcropping. Taking a deep breath, she pulled a yellow vial from her pocket and flew over to her sister. “Here, drink this.” she said as she helped Mira gulp down the contents. Mira then cried out in pain as her rib reset itself before sighing in relief. Helping her to her feet, Cassie looked over at the group. “We’re ready.” she said.
Daring stared, looking at the vial. “Please tell me you have more of those?”
Cassie nodded. She then tossed another one to her. “It’s a tonic potion, able to cure Injury, Weakness, and Sickness ailments.” she said.
Daring caught the vial, quickly uncorking it and downing the contents in a single gulp. Gritting her teeth, she shuddered as her body knit itself back together. “That, hurt like a bitch...”
“Tell me about it…” Mira muttered. Her armor was soon replaced by regular clothes.
“Is everyone done with all the arguing and magic stuff?” Strongheart asked, looking between Wyatt and the sisters. “Good. If we’re going back, we should head out now and cover as much ground as we can, I don’t want to run into another one of those monsters.”
Cassie nodded with a shudder, the memories of what she went through still fresh in her mind. “Y-yeah, let's go…”
“Cassie, wait. We need to go back home to our Equestria.” Mira said. She turned to Wyatt. “Was there anything else you needed to know about us?” she asked.
Wyatt thought for a moment before nodding. “What was that thing I used to summon you? It kinda worked like a rider card, so, I imagine it’s something like that.”
“Our token?” Cassie asked. “It’s something called a battle crystal. It helps power up our brave burst attacks faster.”
Wyatt blinked owlishly. “What’s a token?”
“It’s… kinda like both a summoning device and a calling card for a displaced.” Mira said. “Each one varies on each Displaced.”
“And you use them to summon other Displaced?” Twilight asked, putting her hand on her chin. “Certainly sounds like how Wyatt explained the Rider cards. How do you make them?”
“Pick something that represents your character and focus some of your soul into it. Then say a message to let others know what your intentions are, whether for good or evil.” Cassie said. “It then gets sent into the void and split into millions of copies, one for each displaced.”
Wyatt thought for a moment, summoning up his card case. He slipped his Decade card out, gazing at it intently. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath. ‘Sending this out will probably get me dragged into a bunch of stuff. But, if I can help, I should.’ Focusing on the card, he spoke. “I am the passing through Kamen Rider. If you ever need a helping hand, just hold this card up, and call for Decade.”
Acting on instinct, he pulled his arm back, he jerked it forward, throwing the card out in front of him. It glowed, passing through a transparent wall, before it arked back like a boomerang, flying back at him. Catching it, Wyatt let out a sigh of relief .
“I was worried I wouldn’t get it back.” Replacing the card, he dispelled the card case. “Thanks for helping out. Uh, sorry all that stuff happened.” He rubbed his neck, awkwardly kicking a rock. “It was nice to see some fellow humans again.”
“It was nice meeting you too.” Mira said, a small smile on her lips. She nudged Cassie, who mumbled something they didn't catch. Mira then noticed her sister's cheeks and gave an inward grin. Oooh, I’m so not letting forget about this… she thought.
“So...” Wyatt clapped his hands together. “How do I send you girls home?”
Recalling what they learned at Beacon, Mira said, “Some displaced have their own way of getting to their home, but for those who don't, just say “Our contract is complete.””
Clearing his throat, Wyatt straightened up his stance. “Cassie, Mira, our contract is complete.”
At once, a portal opened behind the two girls. Mira waved to the group before entering the portal. Cassie hesitated before looking over at Wyatt. “Good luck. I.. I hope we can see each other again someday.” she said.
“I hope so too.” Wyatt gave her a smile, waving after her.
Cassie smiled back, before walking through the portal. It then closed with a snap.
Wyatt nodded, putting his hands in his pockets. “They were nice.” He raised an eyebrow, noting the looks the girls were giving him. “What?”
Rarity spoke up, her eyes twinkling mischievously. “Cassie certainly seemed to get along with you, darling.”
Applejack groaned, facepalming. “Rarity, the boy's got enough on his plate as it is. Don’t be teasin’ him for havin’ fillies take interest.”
Wyatt chuckled nervously, a faint blush peppering his cheeks as he rubbed the back of his head. “Come on you guys, there’s no way she likes me like that... Right?” Glancing between them desperately, he let out another chuckle. “Right?” His shoulders sagged as the group erupted into snickers and giggles. “Why me?”
An older stallion grunted as he descended the stairs, his chest heaving. “Daughter, I have returned.” Stepping down into her lab, he placed a belt on the table. “The system worked, as thou said.”
“Thank you, Father,” a gray mare said, taking the belt and attaching it to a device. A screen sprang to life, displaying a series of numbers. “Are you experiencing any ill effects from it?”
“Just some tiredness,” he responded, peering over her shoulder. “Mine speed was increased, but the effort was still the same.”
“The belt is meant to enhance your capabilities while feeling natural,” she replied, jotting down notes. “The memory?” she asked, holding her hand out. Once the stallion placed it in her hand, she plugged it into the device. “No change in the memory. The test was a complete success.”
Standing up, she made her away to a shelf, containing a more complete version of the belt. “I need to start running tests on the complete version.” Taking the belt off the shelf, she turned to her father. “I’ll need some time to find a compatible pair.”
“I am glad I could be of assistance to thee,” the older stallion said, bowing his head towards the mare. “I saw something of note during my test, a new rider has appeared. His form does not appear to be related to the legendary brothers’. There was a mare with him. She wore the mark of Agito.”
The mare paused on her way back to her seat. “I didn’t know Agito had vassals.”
“Her relationship did not appear to be that of a vassal,” the stallion said, finding a seat next to her. “It seemed more personal judging by her words. Thy sister was with them as well.”
“That must mean we can find this new rider in Ponyville,” the mare said. She then paused, a thought striking her at the mention of her sister. She rose from her seat, walking over to her equipment and starting to work. “You can go up now, I’ll probably be at this for a while.”
The stallion nodded, bidding her goodnight and making his way upstairs.
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I had a blast doing this crossover, and I wouldn't be surprised if readers shipped Wyatt and Cassie, XD
interesting can't wit to see more
pinkies dad is skull I'm calling it now. it was the way he talked and he is an old earth pony
8515201
yep, definitely pinkie's family mainly due to the fact that gaia memories come from the earth, and with rock farmers, who could be closer to the earth?. Gray mare would be any of the sisters, though money is on Maud as she seems the science-y one of the trio. Makes me wonder who Accel would be regarding that group.
8516463
But she was going for a degree in rocks, my money is on Marble Pie, also, Limestone Pie isn't grey, she's purple with grey hair.. so it's either maud or marble..
First Twilight, now another Displaced character? Am I going to have to call Wyatt Peter Parker? XD
Yeah, it's not like you assaulted one of her friends... oh wait
Ah, I see it speaks the universal language of violence
Oh yes, please!
Wait, what? Oh, nice!
Maybe a bit of an understatement