Chapter 10-2: Crystalline Revelations
RIDER TIME Chapter 10, part 2
"Crystalline Revelations"
Before the attack began…
—----
“And your dragon’s gonna get traaaaapped~” Starlight sang tauntingly as a marble was propelled out of a miniature volcano and rolled next to a small game piece shaped like a dragon.
Her opponent, an orange stallion with a scruffy mane and beard, dressed in a stereotypical wizard’s cloak, whinnied with joy when the board opened up a trap door under his piece.
“Whoo…that’s always a hoot to see.” The stallion, named Sunburst, said contentedly.
“I’m glad we could do this again, Sunburst.” Starlight said.
“I am too…” Sunburst nodded. “I had no idea how much I missed this.”
The two of them sighed contentedly, as Starlight looked over to a nearby clock.
“Well, it’s almost time to go meet up with the others for dinner.” Starlight said.
“Ah, so it is…” Sunburst replied. There was a bit of silence in the air. The two stood up.
“I’m a little nervous, actually…” Starlight confided in her friend. “I know that Princess Twilight says I’m doing well in my friendship lessons, but…”
Sunburst just smiled. “Whatever happened between you and her, it’s all in the past, right?” He said.
Starlight nodded. “Yeah…it’s all in the past. You’re right.” The two of them nodded and went on their way.
“Sunburst is right…all of those other timelines are gone, and there was no lasting harm done…”
—---------
“Argh! You two are going to be the end of me, I swear!” Anton cursed as he carried several bags and boxes down the street.
“Oh, quit complaining!” Bon Bon retorted, also carrying large amounts of shopping.
“Ugh…why are we doing this again?” The human sighed.
They looked over to Lyra, who seemed to be having the time of her life. She was gazing at all sorts of shops.
“Oooh! You two, over here!” She beckoned her companions. The human and pony just sighed and rejoined their friend.
“Look at these!” She said. The three looked into a display case. Inside were three very ornate rings, each with a different colored jewel affixed to them.
Lyra looked over to her friends, and couldn’t help but think of them and herself in wedding attire. She could see Anton with the ruby ring, Bon Bon with the sapphire and herself with the emerald.
But to Anton and Bon Bon, it just seemed like Lyra was staring into space. Anton held his hand in front of her face and snapped his fingers a few times
“Buh?” Lyra babbled as she snapped back to reality.
“Weirdo.” The human grumbled. Lyra just playfully stuck her tongue out at him.
The human just rolled his eyes, until he saw some familiar looking vines sticking out of an alleyway… Anton shoved all the things he was carrying into Bon Bon’s arms and ran towards the vines.
“Wha- hey!” Bon Bon stumbled. “Rrrrgh! That little…” She growled as she tried to regain her balance.
“Something’s wrong, Bonny!” Lyra exclaimed. “The only reason he’d run off like that is-”
“...if he found what he was looking for!” Bon Bon finished the thought. “Lyra, take these back to our hotel room, I’ll go after him.” She commanded.
“But-” Lyra was about to complain, but Bon Bon just shot her a look.
“...be careful, Bonny…” She whimpered as she turned away. Bon Bon then ran in the direction Anton ran. What did he see?
—---------
Spike and Fluttershy were carrying the now-disguised Thorax to get medical help. They weren’t sure if they had anything that’d work on a Changeling, but they had to try.
“Hmm…” Thorax, calling himself “Crystal Hoof”, just hummed in thought.
“What’s wrong, Tho- I mean, Crystal Hoof?” Spike asked, correcting himself mid-sentence.
“It’s this whole situation with the Queen… how can all my fellow Changelings not see what’s happened?” The disguised drone pondered.
“Aren’t you guys supposed be a hive mind?” Spike asked. Thorax shook his head.
“That’s a misconception. There is a link between us, but it’s more about knowing if each of us are alive or not.” The changeling explained. “But…I know. I know that whoever that is, it’s not our Queen.”
Spike and Fluttershy couldn’t think of anything to say. Until they met Thorax, they thought changelings were inherently monsters. Unfortunately for them, they noticed a small squad of the aforementioned “monsters” sneaking around in the alleys.
“Changelings!?” Spike yelped. “Thorax, you’re not-” Spike started, but Thorax stopped him.
“No, Spike, I’m not with them. They must have shown up here recently.” Thorax explained. “Though, something about them feels…off.”
“Off how, exactly? I mean, if you don’t mind explaining.” Fluttershy asked.
“I can’t really put my finger on it…it’s like there’s something else in them besides their Changeling selves…something really dark.” Thorax noted. “We should follow them.”
“But, you’re still injured…” Fluttershy complained.
“But they’re still my people. If I can help them break free of whatever’s got a hold on them, maybe I can convince them to come to our side.” Thorax said, his resolve solidifying. He stood up and approached the marching creatures, dropping his disguise.
“Hey! You guys, it’s me! Thorax!” He said cheerfully. The other changelings seemed to not notice him at all.
“Hello? Guys?” Thorax continued. Spike and Fluttershy walked over, but the Changelings didn’t seem to notice them either, even with Spike waving a claw in front of their faces.
“This isn’t right…” Thorax was growing increasingly worried for his brethren. A few moments later, one of them started to twitch a bit.
“T-time…” It groaned.
“Huh?” Spike wondered as he, Fluttershy and Thorax all looked at the convulsing Changeling.
“T-TIME!” It yelled, as the others began to follow suit in spasming.
“R-RiDeR TiIiiIME!!!” The squad roared out as they were all covered in black energy and began changing, one by one, into armored blue creatures. Spike and Fluttershy both recognized what had happened to them.
“They’re all Another Riders!” Spike yelped. “We have to go warn the others!” Spike grabbed Thorax and Fluttershy and began running as fast as he could.
—-------
Shining Armor was taking a breather, reading a book while gently rocking his daughter’s crib.
“That kid wasn’t too bad.” He noted to himself. “Maybe Cadence was right about him, he may be a good fit for Twily after all.”
“Is that so, Captain Armor?” A new voice called out. Shining felt a chill as he turned to face the intruder.
“Who’s there!? Show yourself!” He commanded. He grunted and turned to see himself staring at the mask of the intruder, colored black and green with three spikes on its forehead, and markings that made its “eyes”.
“Who- where did you come from!?” Shining jumped back, taking a defensive stance. The intruder just turned to Flurry, gently sleeping in her crib.
“Such an innocent soul…it’s such a shame about my mission.” The intruder said, almost with a laugh. Shining, in a profound moment of paternal fury, lunged at the stranger, but it was almost like he wasn’t there…and now, neither was Flurry! He panicked and saw the stranger holding Flurry.
“If you value this one’s life, you will follow my commands.” The stranger ordered. Shining tried again to rush him, but heard a mechanical voice.
“PAUSE!” The voice rang out as Shining found himself unable to move his body.
“I only paused your body, and not your mind, so I can make you understand.” He pulled the device on his belt off, and attached it to his hand, forming it into a crude gun. He shot at Shining Armor a few times. Shining’s mind registered the agonizing pain.
“You will understand just how helpless you are…” The stranger changed the gun into a sword-shape and slashed him. The pain was unbearable.
“...and how worthless you are in the grand scheme of things.” He replaced the device onto his belt and delivered a fierce roundhouse kick to the back of Shining’s head. He then pressed the two buttons on his belt.
“RESTART!” And immediately, all the pain that was inflicted on Shining Armor hit him all at once.
“AAAARGH!!!” Shining yelled in sheer agony as he fell to the floor, blood starting to trickle from his wounds.
“I cannot say this hasn’t been…entertaining, but I do have a prior commitment.” The stranger turned to the door to see a very angry Princess Cadance and a platoon of guards pointing their weapons at him.
“Shiny!!!” Cadence yelped as soon as she noticed her husband. “Oh my goodness!” She teleported over, and began casting every single healing spell she knew. The guards, meanwhile, kept their gaze on the stranger.
“Hmph.” He just scoffed as he removed his belt, undoing his transformation…and all the guards immediately dropped their weapons and became paralyzed by terror.
“K-k-ki-KING SOMBRA!!!!” One of the guards shouted. Though they were elite crystal guards, the horror and pain that the evil king once wrought upon them still lingered. And it all came rushing back at the sight of him. It was then that Tom and the Elements also came running into the room…
—-----
Back in the present…
The girls, Tom and Spike all ran to the tallest tower, where Sombra was lying in wait. Tom wasn’t taking chances, and was already transformed.
Twilight’s mind was racing at a mile a minute.
“Why is King Sombra here!? The Crystal Heart vaporized him! Furthermore, why isn’t it affecting him now?” She had many questions.
The group reached the tower’s turret to see Sombra there, and Flurry Heart in his clutches.
“Release Flurry Heart right now, Sombra!” Twilight demanded.
“Of course.” He snapped his fingers and Flurry floated back over to Twilight. “After all, she was just bait.” He then pulled out his Driver. “Revenge!”
“A MANIPULATIVE GRUDGE! REVENGE OF CRONUS!” The belt announced as Sombra’s form changed into that of Kamen Rider Cronus.
“Sombra’s an evil Rider too!?” Rainbow Dash yelped. Tom pulled out his sword.
“Whatever your deal is, you better back off!” The rider commanded, but Cronus-Sombra just scoffed.
“Not just yet, boy.” The evil Rider replied. “Not all of the players are on the stage just yet.”
Almost as if on cue, a contingent of Another G3s appeared from a Helheim portal, carrying a hostage.
“Wait, that’s Starlight’s friend!” Twilight recognized the captured stallion.
“Indeed…” Cronus-Sombra said, as Starlight joined the group.
“Sunburst!” Starlight called out. Sunburst wriggled, trying to escape.
“And now, three…two…one…” At the end of his countdown, Kamen Rider Geiz came running in, with Lyra and Bon Bon hot on his tail.
“Now we can truly begin the show.” Sombra laughed…but Geiz wasn’t moving for some reason. Then he started to growl.
“Y…you…” Geiz seethed. “I finally found you!” He took his axe and lunged at the evil Rider.
“Stand still!” The red Rider commanded, but Cronus-Sombra dodged all his attacks.
“How pathetic.” Sombra just delivered a roundhouse kick to Geiz’s face, knocking him to the ground.
“Geiz! Are you okay?” Tom asked.
“Rrrgh…stay out of this! He’s MINE!” Geiz grunted as he got back up.
“Such rage…but I wonder if you’re aiming it at the correct person.” Sombra taunted.
“What are you talking about!? I saw you! You…you murdered them!” Geiz raged.
“I’m sorry, but I simply don’t recall.” Sombra shook his head.
“What is going on?” Tom asked. “Who got murdered?”
Sombra laughed. Then, Idunn-Chrysalis and Ouja-Discord appeared alongside him.
“You two as well…” Tom stared down the trio.
“Oh, stop with the angry eyes.” Ouja-Discord taunted. “Even under the mask, I can tell you’re glaring at us.”
“ANSWER ME!” Tom barked.
“How scary.” Sombra deadpanned. “Very well, if that’s what you want.” He produced a strange holographic screen, showing images of a world Tom and Anton recognized.
“That’s…that’s our home…that’s the World of Riders.” Tom gasped.
“Oh, but wait, it gets better!” Ouja-Discord laughed, as Sombra gave a small motion. The scene changed to a vision of the depicted city being destroyed, overrun by monsters that the ponies gasped at upon seeing.
“Discord…Chrysalis…Sombra…and others too.” Twilight noted. “And…how many of them are there!?”
She noticed that there weren’t just one of each of these familiar foes, but whole armies of them! Chrysalises leading armies of Changelings, Nightmare Moons firing upon the people, Discords all unleashing chocolate monsoons… the image was ghastly. And through it all, they saw many people, and many Kamen Riders…all dying from the actions of these villains.
“The World of Riders is gone…I know that already!” Anton growled. Tom was shocked at this news.
“...sorry you had to find out like that.” Anton murmured. “But now my question! How did you manage to do this!? Where did you come from!?”
“Oh, it’s quite simple.” Sombra noted, as he pointed to Starlight. “You can ask her.”
“Huh!?” The group yelped.
“You know exactly what he means, Starlight Glimmer, and you too, Twilight Sparkle!” Twilight’s eyes widened.
“No…it can’t be…” Horror and realization appeared on her face.
“But it is!” Idunn cackled. “Your little time-trip from a few months ago!”
“Twilight, what is she talking about?” Tom asked.
“You mean you don’t know?” Ouja-Discord asked mockingly. “Glim-glam there decided she was going to try to change time to ruin Twilight’s life, and ended up mucking things up! So many wonderful bad futures!”
“B-but those don’t exist anymore!” Twilight tried to argue back.
“Is that right…well, it seems that we exist just fine, right now.” Cronus-Sombra taunted. Geiz turned to Starlight Glimmer, shock and shame on her expression.
“That’s right, Starlight Glimmer…we exist because of what YOU did!”
—------
On a nearby tower, another human was observing the proceedings, as he took a picture of the scene.
“Well, it’s about time to get the ball rolling.” He said, as he pulled out a pink flask and drank from it. “Hope you can handle this, kiddo.”
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Talk about a bombshell at the end there.
I remember how the previous version of the story handled it but this version flows better.
Shouldn't he point out to Spike too since he was with Twilight during the whole time-travel fiasco with Starlight?
Short but awesome. Hope we get to the good part.
11287706
Technically Starlight was the one messed with time so it’s mainly her fault. Also for Woz, wasn’t Lyra supposed to be in the hotel like Bon Bon told her to?
11287824
She snuck out. Lyra doesn't listen very well.
11287847
Make sense
11287824
My point was Sombra pointed out to Twilight about knowing what Starlight did(since she was fighting here), wouldn't he point out to Spike on him knowing too since Spike was with Twilight when the two fought Starlight?
11288474
Here's the thing- do you really think Sombra CARED?
11288474
Woz got you there. Spike was more of a sidekick than a main character.
11288487
Hey Woz, do you think that Lyra was thinking of marrying Anton along with Bon Bon?
11289215
I can neither confirm nor deny this.
11289569
Okay, let’s go with unknown since it’s just starting and that Anton would be living with Lyra and Bonnie after the Crystal Empire event, much to the latter’s dismay.
11288487
Felt like he could have that pointed out anyway.
Sorry..
11288538
He was a main character in the show though..
11306240
I know that Tom is the main character of the story.
11306269
I know that.
I am talking about Spike though..
11314157
Not Spike.
That explains why this story is set when it is. Nicely done.