The Honed Sword
Scootaloo looked out at the town in the Reservation for a long moment as the car pulled to a stop near Spirit Talker’s house. She had always wondered where she came from and here she was sitting in the middle of her father’s hometown.
She was nervous, she had never even considered what her family might be like. She was now going to have to do what she could to make sure that this town was safe, just like Canterlot. She had to do everything she could to make sure that the Order was stopped no matter where she was.
“Are you okay Scootaloo?” Sweetie asked as she looked at Scootaloo worriedly for a moment.
“About as well as I can be under the circumstances,” Scootaloo said with a sigh as she gave Sweetie a smile as she looked back at the house. “I don’t even know what to expect from this, do I have any other family members out there that I should expect?”
“Probably,” Apple Bloom said. “Really, Ah would love ta know yer family better. Right Sweetie?”
“Yeah, especially if I’m going to have any in-laws,” Sweetie said with a chuckle as she smiled up at Scootaloo. “So, how about we go get to know them a little bit better?”
“Yeah, that sounds good,” Scootaloo said as they opened up the car doors and headed up to the front door. Scootaloo paused a moment before she knocked on the door and took a deep breath, hoping that she was going to be able to figure this out before she finally knocked.
For a moment nothing happened before the door finally opened and a woman with green-ish yellow hair opened the door. She looked at Scootaloo surprised for a moment and then smiled a little. “You must be Scootaloo, mom said you should be coming by.”
“Mom?” Scootaloo asked.
“Spirit Talker, I’m your father’s older sister Holiday,” the woman said and offered Scootaloo a hand to shake which Scootaloo took and gave her a smile. “When mom said you had shown up in town I was surprised.”
“Yeah, well I was pretty surprised too,” Scootaloo said as she rubbed the back of her head sheepishly and then smiled. “This is my friend Apple Bloom and my girlfriend Sweetie Belle.”
“It’s nice ta meet yah,” Apple Bloom said with a smile as Holiday shook her and Sweetie Belle’s hands.
“Come in, come in,” Holiday said as she gestured for the three young women to follow her inside. “I’m so glad to finally meet you Scootaloo. After what happened to your father, well we didn’t really know what became of you.”
“A friend of my parents’ took me in,” Scootaloo said as she looked around. “They raised me like their own daughter and their daughter Rainbow Dash helped me out a lot. Between them and my friends here, well I’m lucky to have all of them.”
“Well, thank you both for being there for my niece when she needed her,” Holiday said with a smile as she hugged a surprised Scootaloo. “You’ll have to tell me everything, what’s your life like? What’s been going on lately?”
“Holiday dear, you don’t want to overwhelm the girl,” a woman’s voice said as a taller woman with dark purple and pink hair entered with a chuckle. “Sorry for Holiday, she’s just very excited to finally meet you.”
“No, no I totally understand,” Scootaloo said as Holiday released her from the hug. “I’m still kind of getting used to this honestly. I’ve only ever really had my adopted family and my friends, I didn’t even know anything about all of this.”
“It’s alright, we understand,” the second woman said with a soft smile. “Your father was a good man, sometimes it feels like the world is a little less bright without him and your mother around. How have you been? Are you okay with, well, everything?”
“It’s, complicated,” Scootaloo said as she played with her hair a little. “I thought I had come to terms with it a long time ago, but some things lately have brought up the memories of what happened and it hasn’t been easy to be honest.”
“You mean like the encounter with that thing in the desert?” Holiday asked and Scootaloo was about to say something when she answered. “Mom told us, we’ve been looking into the encounters lately and we’re just glad that you came out of it alive.”
“Where are my manners, I’m Lofty, Holiday’s wife,” Lofty said with a smile as she shook hands with Scootaloo. “It’s so good to finally meet you.”
Scootaloo blinked in surprise but smiled as she shook hands with the woman. She was starting to realize that she had a lot to learn about her family. She quickly introduced her friends and they all sat down.
“Where’s Spirit Talker?” Sweetie Belle asked.
“She’s meeting with some of the other leaders right now,” Holiday said with a soft sigh. “The fact of the matter is that this situation is just getting worse. We may honestly have to consider taking help from the agency.”
“They’re not that bad,” Apple Bloom said. “Ah mean, fer a super secret government organization dedicated ta fightin’ monsters at least. Ah’m not really sure what tha criteria is for that, but they seem alright ta me.”
“Perhaps, but a lot of folks around here don’t entirely trust the government,” Lofty said. “Or outsiders for that matter. Especially given that we need to start taking in extra revenue to help the Tribe.”
“Extra revenue?” Scootaloo asked as she raised an eyebrow. “What, are you going to start up a casino or something?”
“We’re not proud of the choice, but the decision has been made already,” Holiday said. “Though there has been opposition to the decision among the tribe. Perhaps that is what attracted this, thing to our lands.”
Scootaloo paused a moment, last night the monster had called them out for being outsiders. Was it possible that he was trying to drive them off the land and convince them not to build the casino? She didn’t like this, something about all of this made her even more uneasy when it came to that creature.
Then there was the encounter on the road the day before. She couldn’t help but feel that something about it was off, it didn’t have the same feel to it as an attack by the Order. Had that really been the monster or had they seen something else entirely?
Either way, she didn’t want to know, she just had to get her friends through this and defeat Alupah and hope that would stop whatever was going on.
“Well, that’s enough about tribal troubles,” Lofty said with a smile. “Tell me about yourselves, you came from Canterlot right? I’ve been there a few times, lovely city. How long have you three known each other?”
“Yeah, born and raised there,” Sweetie Belle said with a soft smile as she reached over and squeezed Scootaloo’s hand. “We’ve been friends ever since elementary school. Scootaloo here helped me deal with a bully that was causing problems for me, and later on we met Apple Bloom.”
“And we haven’t ever looked back,” Apple Bloom said with a chuckle.
“Well that’s wonderful,” Holiday said as they peppered the friends with more questions. They asked them about their families, their hobbies, other friends, various things that the girls answered the best they could.
Scootaloo smiled a little at that. She was happy to have a family, even if Rainbow Dash and her family had raised her it was good to know more about where she came form. She chuckled a little at her aunts who seemed to get excited over the smallest details.
“So, yah know everythin’ about us short of our shoe sizes,” Apple Bloom said with a chuckle. “Ah think Scootaloo would probably like ta know more about her aunts though.”
“Oh of course!” Holiday said with a smile. “Scootaloo I’m sure you have a lot of questions, what would you like to know?”
“Just anything really,” Scootaloo said with a shrug. “I never really thought about what might happen if I found out I had grandparents or aunts or uncles out there somewhere. Now that I’ve actually found you, well, I don’t even know where to begin.”
“Scootaloo, your father was a brave man, and my mother can be a little, stubborn at times,” Holiday said with a laugh and a roll of her eyes. “Unfortunately as a result they never got the chance to reconcile before what happened.”
“Heh, remember how long did it take her to actually accept our relationship?” Lofty asked with a chuckle.
“Oh yes!” Holiday said with a groan. “Though I suppose it could’ve been worse. She spent the first few months after I came out of the closet just calling you that woman despite the fact that she had known you for years.”
“Yes, but she did eventually come around,” Lofty said with a chuckle. “And now I’ve got the most wonderful wife I could ask for.”
“Uh, do we need ta leave ya’ll alone?” Apple Bloom asked and looked at Scootaloo. “Now Ah see where yah get it from.”
Scootaloo blushed a little as her aunts just laughed a little. “So, how did the two of you get together anyway?” Scootaloo asked.
“Well like Holiday said we had known each other for years,” Lofty said. “We were best friends growing up and, well our feelings just went from there. I’m sure you two know how that feels.”
“Yeah, I do,” Scootaloo said as she placed her hand gently on Sweetie’s. “All too well.”
Apple Bloom frowned a little and Holiday gave her a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry Apple Bloom, I’m sure there’s someone out there for you.”
“Yeah, thanks,” Apple Bloom said with a sigh, she wasn’t sure if she actually believed that but she hoped it was true. “Ah’ll be lucky if Ah find someone half as good as either of them really.”
“Apple Bloom, you’re our friend,” Scootaloo said. “We haven’t made you felt like a third wheel have you?”
“A little,” Apple Bloom admitted as she rubbed the back of her head a little. “Ah know its silly, Ah shouldn’t be worried about that kinda thing. Ah know yah don’t really mean ta.”
“Let us know if you ever need anything,” Scootaloo said with a sigh. “We’re your friends and we don’t want to do anything that would hurt you or make you uncomfortable.”
Apple Bloom nodded as the door opened and Spirit Talker came in. She gave the young women a smile and a nod. “It’s good to see you three again, I hope there wasn’t any further trouble last night.”
“No, it pretty much stayed away,” Scootaloo said with a shrug. “So, what did you and the others decide?”
“There’s still a lot of animosity towards the feds, but we’ve reached a choice,” Spirit Talker said as she sat down. “We will accept SMILE’s help on this matter, but only under the condition that we work with you and your friends Scootaloo.”
“Because I’m your granddaughter or because I can fight them?” Scootaloo asked.
“A little bit of both,” Spirit Talker said. “This thing is plaguing our town and Soul Metal isn’t enough to actually defeat them. Are you going to be okay fighting it now?”
“Yeah, I should be fine, I hope,” Scootaloo said with a sigh. “So, the question is who is the creature’s host?”
“Host?” Lofty asked.
“Yeah, tha way we figure it these things are created by tha card spirits makin’ deals with people or somethin’,” Apple Bloom said. “One of them, tha Five of Cups, took over our friend Diamond Tiara. Scootaloo saved her, is there anyone who might want ta do that?”
There was a pause as they seemed to be thinking that over before Holiday spoke up. “What about John Moonstorm? He spoke out the most against the project and has never really gotten along with any outsiders.”
“It’s, certainly possible,” Spirit Talker said. “I had hoped that he would be willing to listen to reason, but if he’s gone this far…”
“We’ll stop him,” Scootaloo said finally. “I promise you that, we’re not going to let anything happen to this town.”
“Maybe we can talk to him,” Sweetie suggested. “There’s got to be a way to make him listen to reason right?”
“Maybe, but it won’t be easy to do,” Spirit Talker said. “Don’t do anything too rash. He is still part of the tribe and we will deal with him on our own once the evil spirit’s control is dealt with.”
“Agreed,” Scootaloo said. “Is there anything else you can do to help us?”
Spirit Talker got up and took a box down off a shelf. She walked back to the three friends and opened it, revealing several knives that were made of the same metal Scootaloo had seen shine the night before.
“What are these?” Apple Bloom asked as she carefully picked one of them up and looked at it confused for a moment. “Some kind of knives?”
“Soul Metal forged knives, you can use these to fight against these monsters,” Spirit Talker said as she gave them a nod. “These are the weapons my ancestors used to fight against evil spirits and other monsters. In fact Scootaloo, my grandmother used these to fight alongside someone with abilities similar to yours over a century ago.”
Scootaloo blinked a little as Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom picked up the knives and held them carefully before putting them away. “I really have a lot to learn about my family don’t I?” Scootaloo asked.
“Yes, but that can come in time,” Spirit Talker said with a soft smile. “When you are ready, I will tell you everything you want to know about your family history.”
“Now, go save our town,” Lofty said as they gave Scootaloo one more hug. “I’m glad to finally meet you Scootaloo.”
“I’m glad to meet you too,” Scootaloo said as she hugged her aunts back. “And I look forward to learning more about where I came from.”
They nodded and Scootaloo headed out of the house with her friends.
00000
Sweetie leaned back against the car seat as Scootaloo and Apple Bloom talked with each other about what to do next. She was about to offer her opinion when her cell phone rang and she answered it. “Hello?”
“Hey Auntie Sweetie!” A girl’s voice said and Sweetie smiled a little at that.
“Hey Honey,” Sweetie said with a smile as she adjusted herself, she hadn’t expected to hear from her niece today. “What’s up?”
“Mama Rarity said Ah should call yah,” Honey Apple, the step-daughter of Sweetie’s older sister Rarity said. “Did yah forget what today was?”
“Oh, I’m sorry Honey I’ve been busy lately, I can’t believe I forgot,” Sweetie said as she facepalmed a little at her own forgetfulness. “Happy, uh… birthday? No, your birthday is in may isn’t it…”
“My recital was last night, did yah really forget?” Honey asked.
“No, no of course not!” Sweetie said as she rubbed her forehead a little, actually she had been so busy that she hadn’t remembered that she had that. “How’d it go?”
“Great,” Honey said. “Both mah moms and their friends were there, Ah wish yah and Auntie Scootaloo could’ve been there too.”
Sweetie smiled a little. Honey was Applejack’s daughter, having been born 9 years before while she was in high school. Rarity had helped Applejack through the ordeal and they had gotten married a few years ago before moving to New York.
Sometimes Sweetie missed her family and wished that she had come with them, but she was just glad that she was able to be with her friends.
She had been studying the violin and had her first recital the night before. Sweetie couldn’t believe that she had forgotten.
“I wish we could’ve been there too,” Sweetie said. “I’ll have to see the video if your moms took one.”
“Yeah, of course,” Honey said. “They seem worried about something though. Have yah heard about this Kamen Rider Justice thing that’s goin’ on in Canterlot?”
“I may have heard a few things,” Sweetie said with a chuckle as Scootaloo looked back at her and she gave her a wink. “I mean it is all over the internet and with that blog thing that showed up.”
“Yeah, Ah think its cool, Ah just wish Ah knew who she was,” Honey said. “Ah mean, Ah’ve got a friend from Japan who told me about Kamen Riders. Ah thought they were some sort of urban legend yah know? Stuff that fights monsters, it sounds more like a comic book ta me.”
“Yeah, well you never know,” Sweetie said as her friends started to walk back to the car. “I should get going Honey, say hi to your moms for you. I love you Honey.”
“Ah love yah too auntie Sweetie,” Honey said happily. “Ah just want ta ask yah one more question.”
“Anything,” Sweetie said.
“When are yah gonna marry Auntie Scootaloo?” Honey asked which made Sweetie’s eyes go wide as she did a double take. “What did Ah say?”
“Did your moms put you up to this?” Sweetie asked with a chuckle.
“Maaaaybe,” Honey answered.
“Well tell them that we’ll get married when we’re ready,” Sweetie said with a roll of her eyes before she talked loudly as Scootaloo opened the door. “Oh you know how it is, she’s still making me wait, I’m sure she’ll put a ring on this finger someday.”
Scootaloo just blinked in confusion as Honey giggled and Sweetie hung up the phone. “What was that about?”
“Just talking to Honey,” Sweetie said with a shake of her head. “Her violin recital was last night and we forgot to call her. So what’s the plan?”
“We’re going to wait for backup,” Scootaloo said as Apple Bloom got into the driver’s seat and started the car up again. “SMILE is already on the way to the house and we’re going to do what we can to stop this guy.”
“Do you think we can?” Sweetie asked. “I mean, you lost to him last time right?”
“Yeah, but I’ve got it this time,” Scootaloo said as she wrapped her arm around Sweetie gently and gave her a smile. “Agent Johnson helped me figure out how to fight and I think I’ve got the hang of it.”
“Yeah,” Apple Bloom said. “Though, if yah can summon new swords with every card in tha swords suit won’t yah need ta learn how ta use them?”
Scootaloo paused a moment and shrugged. “Yeah, probably, but lets just get going,” she said and Apple Bloom nodded as she headed down the road towards their destination.
00000
The car pulled to a stop a little ways down from the house that they had been pointed towards. Sweetie Drops and Pharynx were already there with their team preparing to enter the house as the girls got out of the car.
“Look who showed up,” Pharynx said as he looked up at the three of them.
“Hey, we got you this information, show some gratitude,” Sweetie Belle said.
“Pharynx, be nice, Scootaloo get ready if this really is the monster,” Sweetie Drops said as Scootaloo nodded and took out the Driver.
“And what are we supposed ta do?” Apple Bloom asked.
“Hang back, you have those knives right?” Sweetie Drops asked and they nodded. “Be careful, but if you get an opening I want you to use those knives. They will at the very least help weaken the creature.”
“Got it,” Sweetie said as Scootaloo put the Driver on and the belt formed around her.
“Henshin,” she said as she slid the card into her Driver.
“TIME TO TIP THE SCALES!” The Driver said as the energy flowed over her and formed the familiar black and green armor as the Arcana Rapier appeared in her hand.
“Alright, so what’s the plan?” Scootaloo asked as she looked back at Sweetie Drops who was holding a scanner pointed at the house.
“We’ve got readings coming from inside, they’re faint but it looks like Alupah was definitely here,” she said as she put the scanner away again. “That gives us enough reason to at least search the house.”
She nodded to the other agents who moved close to the door and knocked on the door. Scootaloo walked forward and checked through one of the windows, the house looked empty other than furniture. The lights were all turned off and there wasn’t any sign of movement.
So, if he was Alupah then he wasn’t home. She wasn’t really sure what to expect, but something about this made her a little uneasy as she gripped the hilt of her sword a little.
“Do you see something?” Pharynx whispered to her.
“No, it looks like it’s empty,” Scootaloo said as she looked back at the others as the agents at the door forced their way in. “Something about this whole thing feels wrong to me, you know what I mean?”
“Yeah,” Pharynx said with a shake of his head as they headed for the front door. “Stay back, we don’t know if this is actually that thing or if we’re dealing with something else entirely. If it turns out to be… what did he call himself?”
“Alupah,” Scootaloo said.
“Okay, these names are getting odd,” Pharynx said and Scootaloo just shrugged a little. “Come on, let’s go.”
As they searched the house it was just like Scootaloo had suspected, completely empty. There were a few signs of habitation but it didn’t look like they had been there in a few days. As she looked around, Scootaloo couldn’t help but feel like something was wrong about this place, she wanted to get out of there fast.
As she walked around she noticed that one of the agents seemed to be more distant and moved slowly away from the rest of the group. She narrowed her eyes from behind her visor and moved silently as she watched the agent go upstairs.
She started up the stairs once she was sure that the agent wasn’t going to see her. She cringed when she stepped on a creaking floorboard and the agent moved into view with his eyes wide.
“What the hell are you doing?” He demanded of her as he put his hand on his pistol. “Shouldn’t you be helping the others?”
“I could ask you the same thing,” Scootaloo said as she gripped the hilt of her rapier and stared him down. “What are you doing up here?”
The agent suddenly became more defensive. “Why should I tell you, this is SMILE business. You’re just a civilian that got lucky, how do I know you’re not really the monster? It is a shapeshifter after all.”
“What? How can you even think that,” Scootaloo said. “I know I’m me, you’re the one who’s acting weird!”
“What’s going on in here?” Sweetie Drops asked as she headed into the room and looked up at the Agent. “What are you doing Agent?”
“What does it look like I’m doing? I’m trying to find the monster,” the agent said indignantly.
“What’s your name?”
“Uh…” The agent said and finally scowled, raising his goggles to show that his eyes were, unnatural looking before his body shifted into that of Alupah and he drew his sword. “This isn’t over yet! I will save my people from this menace if its the last thing I do!”
Scootaloo ran up the stairs after the monster and thrust the Rapier forward only to have it be caught by his sword as he ran back into the top floor with the Rider close behind. He finally stopped at a broken window and turned into a bird again before flying through it.
“He was already in here…” Scootaloo said with a stomp of her foot as Sweetie Drops came into the room as they looked around, the room was trashed as if someone had been looking for something. “He must’ve been trying to get information on us and figured we wouldn’t pay any attention to another agent hanging around.”
“That must’ve been the readings I picked up,” Sweetie Drops said. “So, what was he doing up here?”
“I don’t know,” Scootaloo said as they started to look around the room for any sign of what Alupah had wanted. “There has to be something in here that he didn’t want us to…”
She stopped in mid-sentence as she pushed some items out of the way and found a piece of paper lying on the ground. She picked it up and read it, there were just some numbers and letters on it with the words “Meeting place” under it with the time 8 PM and today’s date.
“Hmm, these look like coordinates,” Sweetie Drops said as she took out her phone and typed it in. “It’s a few miles outside of town still on reservation land, do you think that’s what he was trying to get rid of?”
“Maybe,” Scootaloo said. “We should check it out at least. Let’s just hope that we’re not too late to stop him.”
“Yeah,” Sweetie Drops said as they continued to search the house. There wasn’t anything else to find that was suspicious at least, they just had to hope that everything really was going to be okay.
“Alright, clear out everyone,” Sweetie Drops said as they finally finished the search. “We need to re-group back at the camp and make sure that we’re all ready to go.”
Scootaloo sighed as she de-powered and headed back to the car. Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom were standing at the car and looked at her worriedly.
“Is everything okay?” Scootaloo asked.
“We thought we heard you calling for us,” Sweetie said as she hugged Scootaloo tightly. “When we looked up we saw that same thing from the road before it vanished.”
“Ah don’t like this,” Apple Bloom said with a shake of her head. “This whole thing feels wrong ta me, like we’re bein’ watched at all times. What happened in there?”
“He made himself look like an agent, but we think we have enough information,” Scootaloo said with a sigh as she hugged Sweetie Belle tightly. “We’re going to be okay, I promise. We’ll stop him before he hurts anyone else.”
“Okay, good,” Sweetie said as she sighed a little.
“So, what do we do now?” Apple Bloom asked.
“We need to get back to the camp and figure out where to go from here,” Scootaloo said with a sigh as they got back into the car. “I just hope that we’re going to be okay.”
“Me too,” Sweetie said as Apple Bloom started the car back up and Scootaloo pulled her in close.
00000
“Do you know anything about this location?” Sweetie Drops asked Spirit Talker who had come to the camp with Holiday and Lofty. She showed them an image taken from a satellite of the building that had been found at the coordinates.
“Yes, it’s an old hotel I believe,” Spirit Talker said as she gave her a nod. “It shut down years ago, it belonged to John Moonstorm’s grandfather. I believe the property is still in the family though they haven’t been doing much with it.”
“Well, it’s worth checking out then,” Scootaloo said as she looked at the picture. “How many people think that outsiders should be kept out?”
“Quite a few I’m afraid,” Holiday said. “I get where they’re coming from, but this isn’t the way to go about doing it. Are you sure that it’s really Moonstorm that’s causing this?”
“It was his house, but you’re right we have to consider everything,” Scootaloo said with a sigh as she looked back at her friends. “Let’s just hope that whoever we really have to deal with out there won’t cause too much of a problem.”
“You’re ready for this Scootaloo,” Agent Johnson said. “I’m not going to say it’ll be easy, but you can hold your own well enough against this thing. Just remember what I taught you.”
“Right,” Scootaloo said as she gulped a little. She really wasn’t sure if she was going to be able to take this monster down with a sword but she didn’t have much of a choice at this point. “I just hope you’re right.”
“Don’t worry Scoots, we’ve got your back,” Sweetie said as she placed a hand on Scootaloo’s shoulder. “You’re going to be just fine.”
“Thanks Sweetie,” Scootaloo said with a soft smile as she leaned in and gave her a soft kiss on the lips. “Come on, let’s get you ready to fight this thing.”
Sweetie nodded as they moved over towards where there were some targets set up. Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom started practicing on the targets with the knives that Spirit Talker had given them.
It took them some practice but they quickly got the hang of throwing the knives. The hard part was hitting it in a vital area. Sweetie finally tossed a knife that hit it in the center of mass and smiled a little as Scootaloo gave her a nod.
It wasn’t too much longer before Apple Bloom had done the same and the two had managed to work pretty effectively. Scoootaloo looked at Spirit Talker who gave her a smile and a nod.
“You’re both doing fine,” she said. “Keep this up and you should be able to help Scootaloo without any problem.”
“I hope so,” Sweetie said as she picked the knife she had thrown. “Thank you again for your help. I’m just glad that I have a chance to help Scootaloo, right Apple Bloom?”
“Right,” Apple Bloom said with a nod as she put away her own knife. “Still Ah kinda wish that we didn’t have ta do this right before a fight with a monster. Ah just hope that we’re gonna be okay doin’ this.”
“You’ll do fine,” Scootaloo said with a nod as she checked the time, they still had time before they had to go to the old hotel. “So, what do we do now?”
“Now, we eat and figure out what our plan is,” Sweetie Drops said and the friends nodded a little, they just hoped that this was the right way to do this.
00000
Scootaloo adjusted herself a little as she walked into the motel. With her hair now dyed to hide its natural purple and her darker skin she was able to blend in with the rest of the crowd, she pressed her hand to her ear.
“I’m in,” she said quietly into the earpiece they had fit her with.
“Be careful,” Sweetie Drops’ voice said on the other end. “You’ve got a lot of people around you and if one of them realizes you’re not from the town you’ll be made. Be careful Scootaloo, we don’t want you to put yourself at risk.”
“Got it,” Scootaloo said quietly as she was directed into the meeting area by someone. There was a large crowd already gathered and she moved into the crowd. She looked up at the front of the room where a man dressed in simple clothing was standing.
She looked around a little nervous for a moment. Thankfully they didn’t seem to notice that she didn’t belong there as they gathered around and waited for the man to start speaking. Scootaloo just hoped that this was the right thing to do.
“Everyone, I’m glad to see you here,” the man at the front of the room said. “The fact of the matter is that the outsiders and their federal government have infiltrated and corrupted our home. It was outside influences that lead to them making the decision that brings us all here. Now the outsiders have sent government agents because they believe that they can get us to tow the line. But we won’t let that happen! This is our land, and we’re not going to let them take it over! We now have the power to fight back, they cannot stand against my power!”
He stepped back and reached into his pocket as he took something out of his pocket. Scootaloo could barely recognize it as a card with the familiar back of one of the Tarot cards. He smirked as he held it up and the energy flew into his body as he transformed into Alupah.
“My power is greater than anything they can bring to bear against us,” Alupah said as he held his sword up. “Not even their so-called Kamen Rider Justice can’t stop me! She has tried, but I bested her and nothing she can do will stop me or the Order!”
Scootaloo frowned a little but everyone around her cheered. Alupah smiled as he looked out at them just as one of the guards at the door approached him. Scootaloo flinched a little, that had been the same one that let her in.
“I think my cover is blown,” she said quietly as she pressed the earpiece again. “What do you suggest?”
“Get out of there,” Sweetie Drops answered. “We don’t need to confirm their fears by putting them at risk. If you can get Alupah out of reach of his followers you’ll have the edge here. Do not endanger civilian lives unless absolutely necessary.”
“Understood,” Scootaloo said as she turned around and started back to the door only to be stopped by the sound of a voice calling out to her.
“Well, it seems the government’s stooge is right here in our midst, isn’t that right Scootaloo Dash?” Alupah said and she cringed a little. “You thought you could hide, but we know your face. And you may be half our blood, but you are nothing but a pawn for whatever government agency sent you!”
“You don’t have to do this here,” Scootaloo said as she placed her hand on her pocket where the Driver and cards were waiting. “You’re being used by the Order and that card spirit, they don’t care about you or your cause!”
“This power is all I need!” Alupah said. “The Order gave it to me and I will use it to drive out all the outsiders! For too long we’ve let them push us around, this is our land, and we’re no longer going to stand for them corrupting it! And I’m going to show you that power by taking down their Rider right here, right now!”
“Get out of here, all of you!” Scootaloo said, which surprised the gathered crowd as she took out her Driver. They just looked confused as they looked between her and Alupah. “If we fight you’ll likely get hurt, don’t you see he doesn’t care about what happens to you?”
A mutter went up from the crowd as they looked at her and then at Alupah. “Is that true?” One of them asked. “John, you said you wanted to help us, why are you making deals with that, thing anyway?”
“If you’re going to ignore what we have to do then go, I don’t need you! All I need is power, and I will use that power to drive them out of our lands!” Alupah shouted as he held his sword upright. “Run, run if you dare, but I will find you, I will find all of you!”
The crowd finally dispersed as Scootaloo smirked a little. “It looks like your followers are abandoning you,” she said as she put her Driver on and slid the cards into the slot on it. “Henshin!”
“TIME TO TIP THE SCALES!” The Driver said as energy flowed into Scootaloo and the armor formed around her.
“You’re still nothing more than a novice, I’ve got more power and skill with a sword than you ever will!” Alupah said as he walked forward, moving towards her as he held his sword out and gave her a wicked smirk. “It’s time to meet your maker, Kamen Rider.”
“It’s not over yet, I see your future and it’s not bright!” Scootaloo said with a smirk as she held the Rapier out. “I’m not so much of a novice anymore, and I’m about to take you down!”
“Just try me!” Alupah said as he swung his sword at her but she dodged the blow and thrust the sword forward, catching the monster off guard as it impacted his armor. He took a step back as Scootaloo took another step forward and thrust her Rapier at him only to have it be caught again with his sword.
“So you’ve gotten a little better, but you still don’t stand a chance against me!” Alupah said as he tried to attack her again but she avoided it again. “Stop moving and just stand still so I can hit you!”
“You really want to try and protect your home?” Scootaloo said as she thrust her sword forward again and cut him across the arm. “You can’t even defend yourself. You’re relying on power that isn’t even yours and will always come with a cost.”
“What do you know?” Alupah said as he swung his sword around again and was surprised as Scootaloo caught it with her own. “You don’t know the first thing about power, you’re nothing more than a pawn!”
“Said the pot to the kettle,” Scootaloo said as she kicked hard at him which sent him back. “The difference between you and me is that I’m doing this because I chose to!”
She ran forward and cut at Alupah with her sword and swung her fist and caught him off guard with it which sent him sprawling. He growled as he jumped to his feet and ran forward and kicked at her but Scootaloo managed to jump out of the way of the attack as he swung the sword at her again.
Scootaloo flinched a little as she felt the blade brush against her armor. She thrust it forward again and felt the feeling of it hit the monster’s body. She pulled it up and slashed across the creature’s face before she kicked at him again.
“You’ve been terrorizing the good people of this town for your own selfish reasons,” Scootaloo continued as she pushed him back. “And for that, I’m going to do everything I can to stop you! You are not going to keep terrorizing this town, and especially not my friends!”
She raised her sword and swung it at him which he barely was able to block only to be caught off guard by her fist that impacted his face.
“What in the name of the wheel… how did you become so strong?” Alupah said as he pulled himself up and swung his sword at her again which caught her across the arm.
“I’ve got something to fight for, that’s how, and it’s something stronger than you ever will!” Scootaloo said as she stabbed him and he let out a cry. “I’m fighting to save my friends, to save my family, you’re fighting for your own selfish reasons. You don’t know what’s best for your town, you only think you do! You’re nothing more than a monster to the core.”
“Why you little…” Alupah said as he swung the sword at her again only to have it be caught and then thrown aside as Scootaloo held the tip of the blade against his throat. She removed it and jumped up, her foot glowing with energy as she kicked down hard on the monster.
“JUSTICE KICK!” Scootaloo called out as she impacted the monster and sent it flying back as the energy dissipated from around it, leaving the man from before lying prone on the ground.
Scootaloo reached down and picked up the card that had fallen at his side and looked at it. It depicted a woman bound and blindfolded with eight swords around her.
“The Eight of Swords,” she said as the front door to the hotel flew open and Sweetie Drops and Pharynx came in flanked by more agents.
“Is that him?” Pharynx asked as he gestured towards the unconscious form near her.
“Yeah, that’s him,” Scootaloo said with a nod as she removed the cards from her Driver and the armor vanished from around her. She flinched a little when she saw her arm was bleeding from the cut he had made “He put up quite a fight.”
“What card is that?” Sweetie Drops asked as Pharynx and the other agents picked up the unconscious form of the former monster.
“The Eight of Swords,” Scootaloo said as she showed it to her. “You guys were right, Swords Suit. What do I do with it?”
“Hold onto it for now,” Sweetie Drops said with a sigh. “But don’t use it until you’re ready. That’s an eight card and it’ll use more energy than the ace you’ve been using. If you use it now it might drain you too much.”
Scootaloo paused a moment as she looked down at the card for a moment and nodded. She had just gotten the hang of the Arcana Rapier anyway, she didn’t want to have to get used to a whole new weapon at the same time.
“I think you should go see your girlfriend,” Pharynx said as they started out. “She’s been radioing us every few minutes since you left from back at the car we left them in. I think she’s worried about you.”
“Yeah, I can imagine,” Scootaloo said with a chuckle as she placed the Eight of Swords in her pocket with the other cards.
Now she had 3 of the Tarot cards, that just left the rest of the Swords Suit. She just hoped that she was going to be able to do this.
And she hoped that she wasn’t always going to have to do it alone.
00000
Caesar slammed his fist down on the arm of his seat in the throne room of the Court of the High Arcana. He had been watching the fight as it unfolded and he was furious, yet another failure on the part of his subjects.
“What in the name of the Wheel happened?” He demanded as he looked at Priellit. “And where was Kuagua? I though he was supposed to be there to help!”
“Yes, well apparently he got sidetracked on the way there,” Priellit said as she shuffled the deck of cards again. “No matter, we got what we needed from Alupah. The Wheel is spinning again, and we are getting closer to reaching our goal.”
“You had better be right,” Caesar said as he got up and slammed his hands down on the table across from her. “This makes four failures counting the Ace being taken by that new threat. SMILE has only ever brought one Rider to bear on us in the past, the last thing we need is to have to worry about two.”
“You have little to worry about Caesar,” the voice of the man in black said as he walked into the room. “I have managed to procure something that will be of great benefit to us.”
“And what is that?” Caesar asked as he narrowed his eyes at the man. “I do not like being kept in the dark and you know that.”
“Tsk tsk, patience my dear Caesar,” the man in black said as he leaned on his cane a little and reached into his pocket. “One of our wayward souls have come back to us. It is simply a matter of figuring out who would be best suited to wield her power.”
“What do you mean?” Caesar demanded. “What kind of game are you playing now? Which one of the lost cards did you reclaim?”
“All will become clear in time,” the man in black said as he held up the card. He waved his hand and images of people around Canterlot appeared on the screen. “Somewhere in this city there is someone who can wield the power of this card. It is simply a matter of finding her and making sure that she joins our side.”
Priellit frowned a little as she glanced at the man in black from her visible eye. She didn’t like what he was saying, it felt like something bigger was going on here.
“Of course my lord,” she said. “We will do everything in our power to make sure that she is found.”
“Be sure that you do,” the man in black said. “Our master doesn’t suffer those who make mistakes. You are both already on thin ice, but if you can find the one that is worthy then you will give us an advantage. Draw it when she is truly ready, and we will make our move.”
He held the card out to Priellit who took it and looked at it. It depicted a woman with long hair and dressed in a regal outfit. She placed it on the top of the summoning deck and shuffled through it for a moment before setting it back down.
“When the time comes,” she said with a nod. “But are you sure that you can make her turn? And what makes you so sure she will be able to wield it?”
“She will be ready,” the man in black said and reached into his coat and took out a device. “We will use SMILE’s own technology against them.”
He smiled a little as he looked at the device, it was a Tarot driver.
00000
“Scootaloo!” Sweetie said as she hugged Scootaloo tightly. “Oh thank goodness I was so worried about you…”
“I was fine, just a little bruised and cut,” Scootaloo said as she hugged Sweetie back, her arm had been bandaged on her way back. “Agent Johnson’s teaching helped me a lot. There wasn’t really anything to worry about.”
“Still, Ah’m glad yah made it back,” Apple Bloom said as she placed her hand gently on Scootaloo’s shoulder. “Are yah sure yer okay?”
“Yeah, it’ll take more than a sword wielding monster to take me out,” Scootaloo said with a chuckle as she pulled Apple Bloom into the hug. “I just wish you could’ve been there with me.”
“Well, the plan was to get him angry,” Sweetie said with a chuckle. “I guess that worked, but promise me next time we get to help.”
“I promise,” Scootaloo said as she kissed Sweetie Belle lightly. “So, what are we supposed to do now?”
“For now, Ah think we should stay here in town, at least fer a few more days,” Apple Bloom suggested. “Ah’d think yah want ta get ta know yer family a bit better. Sweetie Drops and Pharynx said they’d get everythin’ wrapped up here before they head back ta Canterlot.”
“Yeah, that sounds good,” Scootaloo said as they got into the car and Apple Bloom started the car back up again. “Is everything going to be okay? We’ve still got a lot going on right now, I just hope that everything is going to be okay.”
“Yeah,” Sweetie Belle said with a sigh as she shook her head a little. “You managed to defeat another monster, how do you feel?”
“Well, I managed to get another swords suit card,” Scootaloo said and then chuckled a little. “I feel like I should be holding a deck box or something. I mean, there’s a lot of cards out there still and I’ve still got what, 12 more cards?”
“Yeah, unless there’s something else we don’t know about,” Sweetie pointed out.
“Like what?” Apple Bloom asked.
“I don’t know, we don’t know about it,” Sweetie said with a chuckle. “But seriously, I think we need to be careful. Something about all of this makes me uneasy like the other shoe is waiting to drop.”
“Yeah, I know what you mean,” Scootaloo said as Apple Bloom started up the car and headed back towards the town.
One of the people from the crowd watched them go before he snapped his fingers and was replaced with the smiling face of Kuagua. The Harlequin watched them go as he drew in the sand with a stick.
“Such a shame you had to fail again Caesar,” he said as tilted his head a little. “But the war with SMILE is just beginning. I may be crazy but I’m smart enough to know we need to know everything that our little Rider is capable of.”
He laughed a little as he took a bow and vanished again. He would have to explain himself, but he knew that his information would be valuable. He just hoped that it was going to work out.
00000
“I’m glad you could stay a few more days,” Holiday said as she and Scootaloo walked into the living room of Spirit Talker’s home the next day. Sweetie and Apple Bloom were talking with Spirit Talker and Lofty and were laughing a little. “It’s good to be able to get to know my niece a bit better.”
“Yeah, now that thing is out of the way it’s good to finally be able to relax and get to know where I came from better,” Scootaloo said as she stretched out a little. “Still, it kind of feels like we missed something.”
“Yeah, Ah know what yah mean,” Apple Bloom said as they looked up at her. “That first encounter on tha road, do yah think that was Alupah or what? Somethin’ about that bugs me since he didn’t even know we were on our way at that point, so either he was waitin’ ta attack random drivers or...”
They all paused a moment as they let that sink in. If it wasn’t Alupah, then what had they seen on the road? Had it been Alupah, or had it been an actual Skinwalker?
Scootaloo shivered a little, she didn’t want to think about it. “Pharynx was right,” she finally said with a sigh. “In a world like this one, it’s hard to tell what might be out there.”
“Come, come, now’s not the time to dwell on such things,” Spirit Talker said. “Whether or not such things exist is not for us to consider. There are many mysteries in this world that humans are not meant to truly understand.”
“Yeah, you’re right,” Scootaloo said with a smile.
“Now, let’s celebrate, you’ve saved the town from a very real monster and I have my Granddaughter back,” Spirit Talker said with a soft smile. “If that’s not a reason to celebrate, I don’t know what is.”
Scootaloo smiled and took a seat as they continued to talk for awhile. She asked them a few questions about her family and they learned more about her life, she was happy to tell them everything they wanted to know.
She was just glad to have the chance to know where she came from. But soon she knew she’d have to go back and continue the fight.
But now, she would savor this time she had.
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No shit, Phar.
Seriously squeed at this, whenever a Rider busts out their Rider kick to finish off a monster, always a moment of awesome. Can't wait to see Rider Number two.
9275008 As I told Leyton awhile back, all the monster names are portmanteaus of their card names in different languages, so this is one of Eight of Swords. Unfortunately I forgot all the languages I used.
9275020
In hindsight, probably not really the best idea I would think. Not trying to be rude, just being logical.
9275102 Eh, I like it... I just probably should've written down which one is which language.
9275108
Might have been a good idea. Any you still remember, probably should. Actually, Google Translate has a language detector. It tries it's best, but at times can be fairly accurate.
9275121 Its not a bad naming convention though.
9275128
No, I admit it isn't.
Aww, so sweet
at least they are not as self-sabotaging as the Noman
Oh, wonder why
The plot thickens.
And I thought she would talk about another size
People in this family seem to like it outside of the closet
"And if we did, there is certainly a way of remedying that."
Huh, monster hunting seems to run in the family.
Huh, so Rarity is a mother, knowing your track record I can already guess who the other part of the relationship is
Ah, children, you just can't be mad at them.
Try Gurongi names, then we talk.
Or it's a trap.
Oh, this thing is sneaky...
Famous last words.
Believe me, that never works, at all.
Huh, she is growing into the role, I like it.
Yes...
YES! Nice, and here we have the Rider Kick, hah, nice and simple.
How, did he find a funny cactus or what?
Well, now this is interesting...
Yep, secondary Rider
A brand new toy!
We might never know... Or we could ask the author, but nah, where is the fun in that.
9276488
Yep, very sweet, sweet is good.
I do not get that reference.
Gee, I can't imagine why the Navajo wouldn't trust the government.
Yep, muwhahahahahahahaha.
*hits you with a green slipper*
Well to be fair they are human versions of Scootaloo's aunts from the book/comics, which have been stated to be a couple.
But yes.
Haha, no threesomes.
That's actually set-up for another fic I hope to write someday that is a Kamen Rider story set in the Old West.
Well step-mother, but yeah... you really shouldn't be surprised.
And I see that you weren't.
No, no you can't.
I will not say either way on her question.
*looks them up* Geez, you're right, that is weirder than my naming convention.
That or:
orig00.deviantart.net/ee4c/f/2018/310/4/8/not_a_trap_by_dragonqueenrachel-dcrc4di.png
Indeed, it is based on a rather terrifying creature.
Indeed, he's gone mad with power.
Indeed.
As she should, she has earned the title by now.
I felt obliged to give her one after all.
Okay honestly I forgot to write him into the fight so I had to make something up.
Or set up for a future Rider, we'll see.
Though we will see the second Rider soon.
Indeed, Scootaloo has gotten her first weapon upgrade, though she probably won't use it for awhile.
That is entirely up to you, I left it ambiguous so that the reader could decide which one it is.
9276514
Kamen Rider Dragon Knight, yeah their government organization was quite stupid if you think about it.
*pokes you in the back of your neck* now laugh my puppet!
Oh yeah, I remember that.
Aww
Huh, interesting.
^^ You are becoming predictable, but hey has its good sides, just watched that movie again thanks to you.
Well, there is a method to the madness.
She definitely did.
Yeah, a nice Rider Kick is always appreciated.
Ok, the cactus bit is now my headcanon
I was actually referring to the idea of a cardholder similar to OOO medal holder...
9276527
Yeah, I'm trying not to make SMILE stupid.
Nah.
I thought I might as well include them.
You'll live, besides Apple Bloom might be straight and that would just be awkward either way, I haven't decided yet. Apple Bloom is really hard to ship.
Yeah, but that's not for awhile.
I'm sure there is.
Given to her by the city she protects, just like W.
Gotta celebrate that tradition.
Fair enough.
Oh well I could probably do that.
Hope you're looking forward to the next chapter and the introduction of our second Rider.
9276548
Always a good idea.
Fair enough
Yeah, a nice little parallel.
True that.
Oh, I sure am looking forward to it, for multiple reasons.
9276553
Yep.
Yep, I'll think of something.
Yeah, W is great.
Wouldn't be much of a Rider otherwise.
Excellent.
9276595
oh, couldn't agree more, even after now 15 Rider seasons behind me it has not been dethroned, let's see if Blade can challenge it, even if I severely doubt it.
9276612 Oh heck no, Blade is nowhere close, Black is the only serious competition it has.
9276676
Well, I would say OOO and Fourze came very close, well, there is a reason these are number 2 and 3 on my Rider series ranking respectively.
9276690 Blade has good characters and a great ending but the poor quality of the writing, overuse of lens flares, lazy acting at times, and too many missed opportunities kinda ruins it
9276703
I will make my own opinion, hell that did wonders for Agito and Faiz, both series I immensely enjoyed.
9276709 Fair enough, just warning you.
9276722
If I pushed through Ryuki I will survive Blade
9276724 I have no idea if I'll watch Blade anytime soon, I'm almost done with W now and then Black is next, likely Fourze after that.
9276737
Have fun with that.
9276738 I will! Black is great!