Chapter 16: Riders Unmasked
“Heh…” Blood Stalk chuckled as he looked around. All of the students and staff were successfully restrained by their Guardians. “I’ve seen stories about school shootings…but this has got to be the first ever school takeover.”
“Focus, Stalk.” Rogue glowered as he panned around until he focused on two, identical girls. His gaze lingered longer than normal before he refocused. “This plan of yours better work.”
“Oh, don’t worry. It will…” The Cobra reassured as he walked around until he reached Scootaloo. “After all, there is no way the Riders can ignore such innocent people in mortal peril. Ain’t that right, kiddo?” He crouched over and pulled the girl close as if she were an old friend. Scootaloo quickly grew uncomfortable and disturbed around the less-than-sane man.
Swallowing her fear, she found her voice. “Wh-wh-what are you g-gonna do to us?”
“Hm. That is a good question, isn’t it?” He hummed and bobbed his head. “What should we do? Stab a few of you? Use some of you as target practice? Or maybe turn one of you into a Smash so you can kill the others?” He pulled out the Steam Blade and held it against her throat. “You wanna volunteer for that last one?” He took pleasure in the girl whimpering. “Could be fun~! For me anyway!”
The sight only enraged a certain, protective sister-figure. The rainbow-haired athlete’s teeth grinded as her muscles tensed. Her friends turned to her, worried she’d do something rash.
Scootaloo continued to whimper before Stalk finally made a decision. “Well, if you’re not gonna let me know, let me just decide for you.”
Something inside the athlete snapped.
“Let her go!” Rainbow Dash yelled out as she tore her arms out of the Guardian’s grip and grasped her geode before it could recover. She became super charged and sped over to the red armored man to tackle him away.
….only to get flung back by an electrical blast. She skidded across the wooden floor a few feet away from Stalk.
“Rainbow!” Her friends cried out in concern.
The athlete was dazed, twitching from the electric current that ran through her. Stalk walked over and grabbed her by the hair. He raised her to eye level. “Yeeeah hit and run tactics won’t work on us. My partner and I have contingencies for that. You should’ve paid more attention to that fight with the Riders on the blog.”
Rainbow Dash couldn’t formulate a coherent response.
“But I will admit you got guts. Sadly, we can’t have you all rowdy before the guests of honor show up. So be a good girl and put this on, will ya?” He pulled out a collar and clamped it around her throat. It was made of metal and had a blinking light on the front.
She handed the dazed girl over to a nearby Guardian. “And don’t worry everyone…” Stalk announced as he pulled out a handful of collars. “I’ve got favors for everybody!”
“…Why the hell are you doing this, Burner?!” One random student shouted out. All eyes whipped over to the screamer. “Are you just salty that the Riders took your precious Box?! Why don’t you and Sentry do all of us a favor and turn yourselves in before the Riders kick your asses, again!”
Stalk made a hand motion. The Guardian that restrained the yeller kicked the student down and pinned them in place with the butt of the rifle. The red armored man strolled over casually before crouching down and ruffles their hair.
“You know, I’m betting you’re one of those types of that simply hang around in the background, easily forgettable and unnoticed. A simple background character who can do nothing but curse the ones that take up the spotlight and leave you in the dark. And you tried to use this chaotic moment to muster up the courage for one act of bravely that will make you memorable. But sorry to break it to ya, kid.”
He grasped the student by the throat and lifted them up. “The only thing you’ll be remembered for is complete ignorance, unparalleled stupidity…and a potentially gruesome end.” A tendril shot out from Stalk’s gauntlet and stabbed into the student’s face. They screamed in agony as their skin become discolored. They thrashed and spasmed around the floor. "You see, let's play a little game. If you can survive my poison for six hours, it'll fade and you get to live. If you don't....then game over for you. Well, even if you do survive, you'll pretty much be crippled for life. So I guess it's a lose-lose for you."
The entire student body and staff save the Rainbooms were stunned. He just…poisoned a student, and was playing with their life?!
“Just to be clear!” he pointed out before anyone else could react. “Next one that acts out like Prissy-pants Mc-Scream here," He kicked the suffering teen lightly, "gets the same treatment. Capiche?” That immediately made them shut their mouths and prevented any further outbursts. “…now where was I? Oh, yes. The collars.” He resumed his task of placing the collars around everyone’s throats. The Rainbooms remained huddled and wary.
How could things possibly get worse?
“…Does anyone have a phone I can borrow?” Blood Stalk asked out of the blue.
Meanwhile…
Back at the lab, Team Build wondered what to do next. Micro was hard at work finalizing the Nebula Gas Can to be used in battle. The sooner it was ready, the sooner they have a weapon to beat Stalk and Rogue.
Sandalwood tried to remain calm and meditated in the corner of the room.
Sol did some basic exercises to alleviate pent up stress. He added more to his usual routine.
Flash played on his guitar. It was a habit of his to play whenever he got stuck on something and needed and outlet to figure something out. Right now though, it wasn’t working.
Each member of the team did their own thing…until the computer beeped of another notification.
“Oh great…what is it this time?” Sol asked as he finished his reps.
“It’s another update from the Build Blog.” Micro answered as he pulled up the window. “Another video’s been posted.”
“Seriously? Please tell me it’s not a meme video about the one posted yesterday…” Flash groaned.
“Only one way to find out.”
They clicked on the video and in doing so; Stalk's face appeared on the screen. "Saludos!" His appearance startled the boys.
"What the heck?" Sol cried.
"What's he doing?" Sandal asked. Flash was wondering that too, fearing the answer.
"For those of you who don't know me, I'm Blood Stalk. The devilishly handsome antagonist of this fair story." Though they couldn't see under the helmet, he suddenly got a serious look on his face. "Now listen riders, I know you're watching. So listen up." He shifted the camera around and the boys all gasped seeing their classmates inside what they realized was their school gymnasium. They also saw Rogue and multiple guardians in the background. "As you can see, I've taken and few...volunteers to play a fun game with." He reached down and grabbed one random student, showing it was Trixie.
"Let her go!" They heard a voice cry, recognizing it as Celestia. They then heard that voice let out a cry of pain, the camera shifting to show Rogue twisting her arm and making her fall back to the floor. Her sister, Luna, tried to move to help her, but she was restrained by the other Guardians.
"Anyway," the camera turned back to Stalk and Trixie. The armoured warrior pulled on her hair, making her head move back enough to reveal the coller. "See this? This collar has a small but very powerful explosive on it." He threw the girl away before pulling out a remote with several numbered buttons on it. "All it takes is a few presses to detonate one of them. Heck, it'll only take one press to make them all go off."
If the boys weren't paying attention before, they were now. They watched as the camera shifted to show every student and teacher were wearing one of those collars, even the rainbooms and-
"Princess Twilight!" Flash cried, unable to believe he was seeing his former crush there and in trouble. The camera shifted again and he spotted Scootaloo, his eyes going wide as his heartbeat went wild. "No."
The camera showed Stalk again. "I know what you're thinking. You're thinking, even he's not crazy enough to do something like that. Well," he held up the remote, "maybe I should blow a few random collars to show I am."
"NO!" The boys cried, fearing they may lose their friends.
Stalk just laughed, as if hearing their reaction. "That's what I thought. Now that I've got your attention, let's talk business." The camera turned again, showing the scared faces of all the hostages. "You people see the riders as these big heroes that should be respected. But let's see how heroic they really are when the chips are down." The camera shifted one last time, now back on Stalk's face. "It's ten-thirty now. You have until...oh, let's say six o'clock. Come to Canterlot High School and bring the real Pandora's Box and Fullbottles, all of them. Do that and we'll let the hostages go." The camera moved like it was being put down, only to once again shift to show Stalk's face. "Oh, and for every five minutes you're late, I'll blow one collar. Ciao~" With one final wave, the video ended.
The room was filled with silence. None of them could find it in themselves to speak after what they had just witnessed. They tasted ash. Their mouths were dry. It was hard to swallow.
Blood Stalk and Night Rogue were holding their school, friends, and family hostage. They gave them no room to refuse.
They were trapped.
“…We’re not seriously gonna do what he says, right?” Sol asked, breaking the tense silence. “If we do, who knows what they’ll do with the Box and our Fullbottles! They’ll just keep doing what they’re doing, and we wouldn’t be able to stop them!”
“But if we don’t comply, we’re going to have to watch our friends explode one by one at his hands!” Micro argued. “Do you want that to happen?!”
“Of course I don’t!” Sol argued before kicking his punching bag. “Damn those guys! Of all the dirty tricks they had to pull!”
“….what do we do now?” Sandalwood murmured, still shell-shocked. What were they going to do? How were they going to save everyone?! If they refused, their deaths would be on their heads. If they complied, they’d be handing the enemy what they want. Even if they did, there was no guarantee that Stalk would hold up his end of the bargain.
“…Micro.” Flash stated. His head was tilted so that his hair overshadowed his eyes. “…how much longer until the can is done?”
“A-A few more hours. I-I need set it in the purifier to finalize everything. It should be ready to use by then.”
“How many hours?” He asked.
“Should be no more than three.” Micro held up the container for the fused essence. Flash snatched it out of his hands before placing it inside the purifier’s chamber.
“Sandalwood, you’re up.” The musician turned to the green haired teen. He was about to say something before he stared into Flash’s eyes. He gulped, nodded, and quickly entered the chamber to start the process.
“Hey,” Sol called out. “You doing okay man?”
“…I just had to watch the damn troll that’s been causing us grief these past few months threaten and toy with the lives of my classmates, friends, and little sister.” Flash glowered as he turned to look Sol in the eye. The Fighter backpedaled. His eyes were narrowed and his glare was dark. Flash wasn’t mad…
He was absolutely livid.
“If he wants a fight ...then he’s sure as hell gonna get one!”
“There. You all have a few hours to live. But knowing your heroes, they’ll be here to save you. By the way, thank you very much, fizzy-hair!” Stalk tossed the phone back to the shell-shocked Pinkie Pie. The device bounced off her head before it clattered to the ground. The man just shrugged before strutting off.
The rest of the hostages were just as shell-shocked. They were wearing bombs that could be activated remotely, and the unhinged culprit was the one with the detonator. No one made so much as a peep, worried that even the slightest provocation would set him off. The only remaining noise in the room was Blood Stalk humming a merry tune while the poisoned student continued to groan in agony.
Just as the red armored man passed the Rainbooms…
“Why are you doing this?” Human Twilight demanded, causing him to pause mid-step. She had been the first to regain her composure and immediately voiced her question. However, her body still trembled in fear. She had mustered up whatever courage she had to simply ask. Just what did he gain from all of this chaos and terror?!
“Why you ask?” He spun around to face her. “It’s because it’s all part of an elaborate and overly complicated plan that none of you will understand...and simply because I can. I mean, it would definitely grab their attention, wouldn’t it?”
He then crouched down to her eye level. “And the best part about this? I can thoroughly enjoy messing with the Riders. It’s simply the most fun I’ve ever had.”
"…How do you even sleep at night?" She asked him, thoroughly disgusted. Stalk chuckled back.
"You know, I'm remarkably good company."
“You’re not!” She spat out. “You’re just a monster!”
Stalk tilted his head. Like a snake, his hand shot out and grabbed the bespectacled girl by the throat.
“Twilight!” Her friends yelled out, snapping out of their daze upon seeing their friend in danger. The lavender haired girl gasped as Stalk had a crushing grip around her windpipe whilst raising her up into the air. His fingers dug into the skin, squeezing the metal collar and causing a sharp pain in her neck.
“Maybe I am. But it’s people like you that make things super interesting. Always wondering, always thinking, always trying to understand as much as possible! It makes me want to open up your skull and pick your brain a bit…see what makes you tick…” His other hand inched closer to Twilight’s now-turning-blue face. Her vision started to blur from the lack of oxygen. She desperately wished for someone…anyone to stop him. If only…her brother was here…
Suddenly, a black and silver armored hand shot out to grab the wrist of the hand holding Twilight's neck. “Oh?” Stalk tilted his head to look up to Night Rogue.
“Enough, Stalk.” He added a bit of pressure, forcing Stalk to release his hold on her and let her breathe. She fell onto her rear, massaging her throat. “A hostage is no good to us dead. Quit fooling around and get back to work.”
“Fine, fine.” He pulled his arm out of the grip. “I wasn’t actually gonna kill her," he placed that arm on Rogue's shoulder. "Just mess with her for a bit. I mean, six hours is a long time. I’m bound to get bored.”
Twilight watched the exchange while gulping down air. With her skill to determine fine detail, she noticed Night Rogue go a little stiff. It only lasted a moment before he pushed the hand off him. “If you’re bored, then go back to doing your job.” Night Rogue ordered. “Don’t waste time fooling around with the prisoners. If we’re going to get back what was taken, they need to be in good condition…until the deadline.” He then walked away, stepping over the still-suffering student.
“Pft. Spoilsport.” Stalk stalked off in annoyance. The Rainbooms were left alone in their group. They went over to Sci-Twi, trying to help her recover from near-suffocation.
“This…is just unbelievable.” Pony Twilight whispered. Sunset turned to her.
“What do you mean?”
“That man, Blood Stalk…From what I can see, he acts too much like Discord. Having fun and toying with people.But other times…he is far crueler.” The Princess shivered.
Within an hour after the video had been posted on the Build Blog, countless people have seen and shared it with other social media sights. Word spread quickly, alerting not only the police about the hostage situation, but also the parents and family members of the captured students. They immediately dropped whatever they were doing and rushed over to the school. The media swooped in as well, wanting to learn more about what is going on.
The police had the school closed off in a barricade. And said barricade was being hounded by a mob of worried parents and guardians and news reporters.
“Let our children go!” One pair of parents exclaimed from behind the blockade.
“You monsters!”
“How could you do this to your fellow students?!”
Additionally, some of these parents have seen the video where the Riders fought Night Rogue and Blood Stalk, read the comments, and believed the latter two are the missing suspects. Suffice to say, panic swept over everyone in the crowd.
The news reporters tried to interview the police officer for situation updates, but they were just as in the dark as they are.
Rainbow Dash’s parents, Bow Hothoof and Windy Whistles, were some of the first ones to rush over when they realized that their daughter was held captive by a madman. They caught a glimpse of her unconscious on the floor in the video and flew into a rage. They had to be restrained by the police officers from simply barging in and put the students at risk.
Pinkie Pie’s family was also present. While some of them seemed calm and rational, those that truly knew them knew that their frowns were ones of anxiety and frustration. Except for Limestone Pie, who was one of the more vocal and expressive ones of Pinkie’s family. Maud had to properly restrain her from doing anything rash. Limestone spent the better part of an hour shouting profanities toward Faust.
Fluttershy’s parents were also worried beyond belief. First they hadn’t heard back from their son, Zephyr Breeze, for months and now their kind daughter was held hostage by a criminal terrorist.
In regards to Rarity and Sweetie’s parents, their mother fainted and their father was trying to wake her up, but he was close to a fainting spell as well.
Members of the Canterlot Research and Development Center also arrived upon learning that Pandora’s Box was involved. Director Night Light and Twilight Velvet were on the scene, beyond worried for her daughter and friends.
However, they were also concerned by something else.
“Still no answer?” Velvet questioned as Night Light pulled the phone away from his ear. He shook his head.
“Still nothing! It just went straight to voicemail!”
Ever since they saw that video, they had been trying to get in contact with their son. However, they had been unable to reach him. Every attempt was either denied or went to voicemail.
They were getting worried. First their daughter gets captured and their son isn’t responding. They figured they would find him in the police squad at the school, but there was no sign of him. Even when they questioned his fellow officers, they had no idea where he was either.
Something was wrong, there was no way Shining Armor would simply ignore a terrible act such as this. Especially not when it involved Twilight in danger. Just what was going on?!
“Velvet! Light!” A familiar voice called out and garnered their attention. They turned to see a familiar face squeeze through the crowd toward them.
“Cadence?!” Velvet exclaimed. “What are you doing here? Don’t you have work at Crystal Prep?”
“I let my Vice President handle things at Crystal Prep. This is more important! What’s the situation?” She questioned.
“Not good.” Night Light shook his head. “Nothing as changed. Everyone is still held captive and in danger. The Riders haven’t arrived yet. And we still can’t reach Shining Armor!”
“Wait, you haven’t been able to talk to him either?”
“Either? You mean you too?”
“I tried calling him before I left! It just went to his inbox!”
“Oh dear…” Velvet whispered worriedly. “I just hope he’s alright…”
While the three discussed about what is going on, another individual finally arrived on the scene. She did not go unnoticed by some people.
“Wait a minute…Isn’t that Misty Veil? The researcher?”
“Hold on, isn’t she the mother of one of the kids with the arrest warrant?”
“That means her son is behind this!”
The accusations kept piling up to their boiling point.
“THIS IS YOUR SON’S FAULT!” A voice screamed out before being followed by incoherent, anger-filled protests.The woman shied away from the agitated crowd, unsure how to handle it.
“…That’s enough!” Night Light yelled out as he, his wife, and Cadence walked up to the protesters. “Leave her be! She has done nothing to warrant your anger!”
“Of course she does! She’s the mother of that criminal!”
“So you’re holding the parent account for the child’s alleged crimes?”
“What’s there to be alleged?! It’s obvious he did it! And she was the one who raised him!”
“How is it obvious? That conclusion was made based on circumstantial evidence and theories! It does not prove that Flash is one of the Faust fighters!” Night Light argued.
“Maybe not, but there’s no denying that he worked with Faust to take the Box in the first place!”
“That is still being investigated! There is nothing concrete as of yet!”
While Night Light argued with and distracted the angry masses, Velvet and Cadence escorted Misty away.
“Are you alright?” The scientist asked the researcher.
“…barely. My son is in hiding and my daughter just got kidnapped by a madman. What’s worse is that people believe that Flash is one of those madmen inside the school!”
“Misty, please, calm down.” Cadence politely urged.
“Calm down…? Calm down?! How can I possibly do that?!” She snapped. “Everything has just gone to hell! Flash is missing and Scootaloo is a hostage! I could end up losing either or both of them! And you expect me to calm down?!”
“Misty…” Velvet whispered solemnly.
“I can’t…I just can’t lose anyone else, Velvet…” She broke out into sobs. She held her face in her hands as tears cascaded down her face. The two women pulled her into a comforting hug. “Trail is gone and it’s just us three…They’re all I have left.”
“…it will all be okay.” Velvet comforted her friend. She just hoped she didn’t just tell her a lie.
“Why aren’t you guys doing anything?!” One of the parents demanded the police officers. “Our kids are in there! Why aren’t you working to save them?!”
“Ma’am! Please calm down!” The policeman advised. “Right now, we can’t risk entering the building because the hostages are rigged with explosives! Aggravating their captors will only compel them to set them off!”
“No…!” The mother collapsed to the ground, her husband doing his best to support her. The others in the crowd felt the same despair. What were they supposed to do now?
They could only pray for the Masked Riders to show up soon.
At the Lab…
Micro sat at the super computer, running diagnostic scans on the can during the purification process. He wanted to be sure no mistakes took place. They were running out of time as is.
Sol Burner busied himself back packing their Fullbottles into a suitcase for the exchange. He hesitated placing his Dragon bottle in, as it was the only memento of his dad. But for the sake of the plan, he had to do it.
Flash sat in a chair as he stared at Pandora’s Box on the table. He closed his eyes and sighed. It was hard to believe that all of this insanity started because the strange object fell from space and landed on the city outskirts. And it all led up to his friends and family being held hostage by some madmen.
He had to...no…THEY had to put a stop to this madness. And they will. The musician turned away from his Box and back to his friends. “You know…we went through all sorts of craziness these past few months. But despite everything…I’m just glad you all went through this with me.”
Micro and Sol were surprised by his words, but smiled nonetheless. “The feeling is mutual.” Micro nodded. “I’m just sorry I dragged you all into this.”
“Hey, you didn’t drag me in, I volunteered myself.” Sol refuted with a smirk. “You wanted to learn what happened to your brother, while I wanted to find the truth about my dad. So we’re both guilty for trudging onward.”
“I guess you’re right.”
As the three discussed, the door to the Purificator opened and Sandalwood stumbled out. “I-It’s done…” Flash moved to support him before he could collapse.
“Thanks a lot, Sandal. You should probably get some rest now. We’ll see you when we get back.”
“No way, dude!” Sandalwood stopped him. His eyes were determined, despite the exhaustion. “We’re all in this together. I want to be there with you guys in the end.”
The others smiled, touched by his determination until the chamber door popped open with a loud Ding. And once again, Sol let out a manly yelp in surprise.
The four moved to the open door, staring at the object inside in awe.
“It’s amazing…”
“It’s awesome!”
“Faust is going down!”
“…Am I the only one wondering why it looks like a soda can?”
A Few Hours later…
Everyone was getting antsy. There was only ten minutes left for the deadline, and there was still no sign of the Masked Riders! They were given ration provisions and water as many refused to leave the site.
Blood Stalk and Night Rogue had moved all of the hostages outside for the exchange twenty minutes prior. All of the onlookers wanted nothing more than to storm past the blockade and attack Faust, but Stalk dissuaded them with his thumb hovering over the activation switch. Despite the terror, they seemed to be in safe condition. Like the crowd, the hostages were fed with ration bars and given water. They were even allowed bathroom breaks provided they had a Guardian escort.
They definitely kept their word that the hostages weren’t harmed until the deadline, all at Night Rogue’s behest, must to the confusion of the students.
“C’mon…where are they…?!” Trixie exclaimed, growing exceedingly nervous with each passing second.
“Should we panic?” A young teen named Snails asked his friend.
“I think we’re beyond that, dude.” His friend, Snips, replied.
“Rarity…I’m scared…” Sweetie Belle whimpered as she hugged her sister.
“Shh, shh…it will be okay. They’ll be here soon.” She cooed soothingly.
“Oh, they definitely will be.” Stalk said as he popped up behind them, startling the sisters. “Unless of course, they want to see all of your heads go kablamo!”
“Why are you doing this?!” Sunset demanded. “You said in your video that you wanted Pandora’s Box and all of their Fullbottles. But for what? What do you have to gain from them?!”
“Oh, that is quite elementary my dear, bacon-haired friend.” The Cobra said. “You see, I’m sure you’re already learned from your field trip that the Box houses unimaginable power; power that can be harnessed and controlled, but needs to be unlocked. And what’s a lock without a proper set of keys?”
Princess Twilight frowned as she processed the words. Her eyes widened in realization. “You’re saying these Fullbottles are the keys to open the Box?”
“Esattamente~!” He cheered. “See? Your strangely look-alike friend gets it…Still, didn’t realize you had a twin sister.” He whispered to the bespectacled Twilight, only to receive a silent glare.
“Stalk. One minute left.” Night Rogue interjected, reminding them of the time.
“Ah, right. A minute until the deadline. And five minutes after, one of you goes boom!” He announced to the crowd, much to their horror. “But who should it be first? How abooooooout….that one!” He covered his eyes and swiveled over the hostages with a pointed finger. He stopped whilst pointing at Scootaloo. “Well, it’s your lucky day, kid….you get to die first!”
“Guh…”The student that had been poisoned earlier finally keeled over. His skin was completely discolored. He lay still on the ground, his body breaking up into particles. Someone in the crowd screamed.
“…huh. Gotta give him props for holding out this long. Oh well…now you get to die second!” He said to the whimpering girl.
“No one’s dying on our watch!” A familiar, filtered voice yelled out.
The crowd and blockade parted like the red sea. Riding through were the disguised forms of Build and Cross-Z on their motorcycles. They each had a person seated behind them. Both the newcomers were garbed in dark jackets and wore helmets that obscured their faces.
The members of the Research Center and Cadence squeezed through the crowd, getting a better look at the arrivals. Night Light’s eyes were focused on Pandora’s Box strapped to the top of Build’s Machine Builder, which was another device he recognized.
“Th-those are…!” The four stepped off from their bikes. Build pressed a button, causing the Machine Builder to shrink and fold in on itself until it reverted to the Build Phone. He removed the Lion Fullbottle and placed it in the suitcase one of the helmeted men carried.
Everyone was dumbfounded by the strange feat. The motorcycle was a cell phone?!
"Huh," Stalk said as the four approached, "I was starting to wonder whether or not you'd show. You barely made it in time." The spotted the box and case in the non-rider's hands, "So you brought them then."
"Yeah," Build said deeply, "We did."
Stalk laughed at the boy's attempt to mask his voice, despite the mask already doing it. "No need for that. We already know who you are, so why leaving the rest of the public in the dark. Why don't you take those silly things off, hey Sentry." That word caught many people's attention, the students, teachers, and everyone in the crowd.
"Sentry?" Misty asked in confusion, silent praying that the one standing in front of her wasn't who she thought it was.
Build sighed, knowing the cat was out of the bag, before reaching up to remove his hood. Everyone saw a familiar mess of blue hair.
they then watched as Build reached to press something on his wrist. Seconds later, he was covered in light that quickly died down to reveal who had been wearing the get up.
Everyone was completely dumbfounded with wide eyes.
"FLASH!" Scootaloo screamed seeing her brother, while the rest of the hostages were just as shocked. Over in the crowd, Flash's mother was almost having a panic attack.
The two strangers removed their helmets, revealing themselves as Micro and Sandalwood. Cross-Z transformed out of his disguise as well, revealing himself to be Sol Burner and causing more people to gasp as well.
The four teens stood in front of the whole world, their secret known to everyone.
“Of course you would blab about our identities for your amusement.” Flash glared, an expression that was unfamiliar to those that knew him.
“What can I say? It’s fun messing with you guys.” The Cobra shrugged. The musician bit back and angry retort before sighing with a glare.
"Well," Flash said, "since we're practically telling each other's secrets." He turned to Rogue, "why don't you power down and show the world that’s under there...Shining Armor." This new statement caused even more confusion to fly over the crowd, along with horror for a few individuals.
Night Light, Twilight Velvet, and Cadence stood still as the dread crept in. Shining Armor?! It sure couldn’t be…could it?
"Shining?" Twilight asked, looking at the armored man that Flash had accused of being her brother. "Shining Armor...please don't let that be you."
Rogue just looked back at her, not even bothering to deny it.
"It's him alright," Flash told Twilight. "He's the one who leads Faust. The one who kidnapped innocent people and turned them into Smash. The one let those monsters out to attack innocent people, including you." He turned to Rogue, anger and hatred visible on his face. "But the only question I want answered is...why. Why would you do this? I know you care about Twilight, so why put her in so much danger." Rogue remained silent, "ANSWER ME!"
He continued to remain silent. Twilight couldn’t help but let a few tears leak out. Despite her heart wanting to deny it, her brain began to put the pieces together. How her brother had been acting out of character for weeks. The reason Rogue had cared about her well being, why he'd saved her from Stalk, everything.
Then she realized something. She knew her brother. Shining Armor would never do atrocities like this. She thought back to earlier, when he saved her from being choked by Stalk. How he seemed to freeze when Stalk touched him. She knew it was a long shot, but was it really possible? That Stalk was actually controlling him?
“You…you’re…Stalk is controlling you…right Shining?” She whimpered hopefully.
Her words were heard by Team Build, who slowly realized something. Stalk had the power to change people’s faces and mess with memories. What if it was true? Would it really be outlandish to believe that his power extends even to mind control?
If he is being controlled, then how could it be broken? How could they free him? Maybe if they captured him and kept him away from Stalk, it might fade on his own? Or would they need some sort of extreme external stimuli?
"…This is pointless," Rogue said before pulling out his Transteam Gun and pointing it at Twilight, causing her to freeze while her friends tried to move over to shield her, but were unable to as they were restrained by the Guardians.
“Twilight!” Her family cried out from the crowd.
"Hand over the box and bottles, or I shoot." Rogue ordered the musician.
Flash remained still, eyes defiant. "…I know you won't hurt Twilight. You forget, I'm a big brother too. I know how much you care for your little sister. Even if you were mind controlled, nothing would let you hurt your little sister. So I know you won't let her be hurt."
Rogue remained still for a moment, his hand started shaking as he slowly pulled away. Everyone saw this and realized this man might actually be Shining, to the dread of five individuals.
"…you're right." But instead of lowering the weapon, he simply changed its direction slightly. Now, it was pointed at Scootaloo. "And the same can be said for you."
“Scootaloo!” Misty cried. Now she was having a panic attack.
“Scoots!” Rainbow tried to rush at Night Rogue, but her friends held her back from doing something rash and setting the captors off.
“You damn coward!” Sol growled. Sandalwood and Micro restrained him from straight up tacking them.
“Now that you have a new ultimatum...give us the Box and the Bottles and everyone goes free. Or your sister gets a hole through her head.” He pressed the barrel against her skull for emphasis.
“And how do I know you won’t double cross us?” Flash glared.
“That’s the thing, Sentry....you can’t.” Stalk drawled. “But you’re not in a position to make demands. You have ten seconds.”
“...alright...”
Flash relented and went to grab the box and case, but Stalk spoke up. "Not you two. Send the nerd and the hippy."
“Hey!” Both Micro and Sandalwood took offense to that.
“Just do it, guys.” Flash told him. Begrudgingly, the two made their way across the gym and handed the items to the armored figures.
Rogue opened the briefcase and saw that all of the bottles and panels were accounted for. “Stalk.”
The Cobra-themed man placed a handheld device over the bottles. “…They’re the real ones. Every one accounted for.”
“Excellent.” He removed the gun from Scootaloo’s head and shoved her away.
“Here we go.” Stalk raised the detonator remote. “Thank you for your patronage~!” he pressed a button and all the collars beeped in unison.
“NO!” The boys yelled as they ran forward, trying desperately to save everyone. “Scootaloo! Everyone!”
The crowd froze with bated breaths and horror. Each beep was like hammering a nail into their collective coffin. Finally, the collars released one, prolonged beep…
…and died out as they unlocked themselves and clattered to the floor. Everyone froze in disbelief. The hostages that had the collars on stared at them on the ground. The atmosphere was silent…save for Blood Stalk’s laughter.
“Ahahaha…! That was priceless! Your faces were like ‘Uwah!’ it was freaking hilarious!” He slapped his knee before standing straight. “C’mon…am I really that heartless? Of course we were planning on letting them go. It’s no fun mindlessly killing everyone we meet…I prefer toying with them. Like I said, I enjoy messing with you guys!”
“…you’re a sick person.” Fluttershy glared with disgust.
“Oof. That hurts…well, not really.” Night Rogue slapped him in the back of the head.
“Enough.” He then ordered the other Guardians. “Release the hostages. We got what we came for.”
The robots complied and all the students and faculty were set free from their restraints.
“Flash!” Scootaloo yelled as she ran up and hugged her brother.
“I’m sorry I’m late. But it’s okay. I’m here now…” He returned the hug tightly and stroked her hair in a calming manner. The Rainbooms and Sweetie rushed up to them as well. And they all had their own questions.
“I can’t believe it! You guys were the Masked Riders this whole time?!” Rainbow screamed
“When did this happen?!” Princess Twilight demanded.
“How did this happen?!” Sci-Twi did the same.
“Does this mean you were the ones who saved us all of those times?” Fluttershy asked.
“Is that why y’all were disappearin’ for some reason or other?!” Applejack exclaimed.
Sweetie Belle rushed up and hugged Sol Burner tightly, catching the fighter off guard. “Thank you for saving us at the arena! Thank you, thank you, thank you!”
“Uh…yeah, sure…” Sol awkwardly patted her head, unsure how to properly handle this.
“I can’t believe this…” Sunset voiced, glancing between Flash and Sol and Micro and Sandalwood. “You guys were the Riders the whole time…and you two were the ones helping them?”
“Yeah…it’s a long story…” Micro added.
“Well, I certainly hope you’ll explain properly.” Rarity advised. She and her friends went through a stressful ordeal, and would definitely appreciate some answers.
“Did you guys unlock some sort of secret experiment that was involved in this whole Smash and Faust conspiracy craziness?!” Pinkie Pie screamed.
“Flash. Sol.” Celestia and Luna approached them. “I believe you all owe us an explanation.” It was a sentiment shared with the rest of the student body, police, and the crowd of parents and civilians surrounding them.
“I know, but we’ll explain later…after we take care of things.” Flash answered as he gently pushed Scootaloo away and into Rainbow’s arms. “Please watch her.” The athlete looked like she wanted to ask more, but upon seeing the fire in his eyes, she bit back her words and nodded.
Sol waddled over to Rarity while Sweetie Belle remained clung to him. “Uh…can you please?” Nodding, the fashionista pried her sister off of him. “Thanks a bunch.”
Both teens trudged through the crowd of parted students and glared at the two armored fighters. “Hey! We have some unfinished business here!”
Many were confused. Why were they aggravating the two men that just took their means of fighting back? They should’ve been fearful or hesitant ...but never have their friends and family seen them so determined before.
“Oh?” Stalk craned his head over to them. “And just what sort of business would that be?”
"Earlier, we agreed that I'd give Pandora’s Box and our Fullbottles to you in exchange for freeing the hostages," Flash told him before placing his Driver on his waist. "I didn't say anything about not trying to take them back once they were freed."
Rogue and Stalk both shared a confused look before laughing. "And how do you expect to do that?" Rogue asked before holding up the briefcase. "We know these are the real bottles and without them, you can't transform."
Flash just smiled. "You're right, I have given you all my bottles." He then reached into his jacket and pulled out a strange can like object with Build's face from Rabbit-Tank form on it. "But you didn't say anything about this."
“Hm?!” Stalk stared at the can in confusion and a bit of alarm.
“….Uh, Flash?” Pinkie Pie questioned. “I know everything’s gone cray-cray…but is now really a good time for a soda?!”
He responded by shaking the can, creating a fizzing sound, before popping the rim and making a pair of connectors pop out the bottom.
POP! FIZZ!
Flash then raised the bottle up before slamming it into the Driver.
"RABBIT TANK SPARKLING
The eyes of the face blinked left and right as the wheel on the Driver lit up. Flash grasped the handle and cranked it a few times. A series of tubes that formed the armor halves materialized. But instead of the standard model runner design, it more so resembled halves of a gear that contained his armor pieces.
“ARE YOU READY?!”
Flash spread his arms wide before shifting into a fighting stance.
“Henshin!” He stood straight as the armor halves converged onto him, forming a completed insignia of two gear halves split by a zig-zagging line. It left everyone speechless at the. His form glowed as the armor assembled over him. The runners dispersed into a mass of what could be best described as carbonated bubbles.
Once they all dissipated, his new armor was revealed. It resembled the Rabbit-Tank armor, but the design was more jagged like lightning bolts, and there were several white lines that outlined the armor in a similar fashion.
THE EFFERVESCENT BURST!
“RABBIT TANK SPARKLING!”
“YEAHHH!”
As Flash stood there in his new suit, everyone could only watch in awe at the sight of it. There was no doubt about it, Flash really was Masked Rider Build. Over at the barricade, several people had to act to catch Misty as she finally fainted.
Unlike his mother, Flash's sister had no plans of fainting. She didn't want to miss a second of this. "That's...that's my brother," she whispered before breaking out into a smile. She then yelled, "THAT'S MY BROTHER!"
Flash took this moment to push down on his spring leg before leaping forward. The power of the spring propelled him into the air faster than anyone can keep track of. One moment he was over with everyone else and the next, he was flying towards Rogue with his tank foot extended. "Yah!" He cried, Rogue and Stalk barely managing to jump back in time.
Flash's foot hit the ground with such force, it caused the whole area around them to shake and knock everyone but him off balance. Flash used this chance to swing his leg around to kick the box out of Stalk's hands before grabbing the bottle case by the handles. "Rainbow," he tossed the case behind him, "Twilight!"
Both Rainbooms heard their names and quickly realized what he was getting at, Rainbow using her speed to rush over to where Pandora's Box had fallen and grab it while Twilight used her magic to grab the airborne case pull it over to her. She caught it right as Rainbow returned with the box; now back on the good side.
The crowd cheered while Rogue and Stalk growled, both attempting to knock Build away and take their prizes back. "Not happening!" The Drill Crusher and Hawk Gatlinger appeared in his hands, using the two in tandem to push both armored warriors back.
"Amazing," Sunset said.
"He's awesome!" Pinkie cried, Sandalwood smirking.
"Of course. There's a reason we waited to the last minute to come."
Micro nodded, "We were using every spare moment we had helping Flash master his new power. Sorry about that by the way. Admittedly, we cut it a bit too close." They watched as Flash leapt back to avoid Rogue's gunfire, landing as he spun the barrel of his gun along the blade of his sword before firing a volley at them.
Micro then turned to Sol, "he could still use some help though. Sol nodded and turned to Twilight, who was still holding the case, opening it up and smiling as he pulled out his Fullbottle, as well as the Lock Fullbottle.
"Crozz!" He yelled as the little dragon flew in out of nowhere. It chirped and played electric samba, garnering most people’s attention.
“Where did that come from?” Applejack wondered.
“Oh! It’s so cute~!” Fluttershy squealed upon seeing the little Dragon. Crozz shifted to its adapter form and dropped into the fighter’s hand. He shook the Dragon bottle and inserted into the Dragon.
“WAKE UP!”
He then took out his Driver and slapped it on his waist, inserting Crozz.
“CROSS-Z DRAGON!”
He turned the crank and charged into the heat of battle. The armor runners manifesting as he moved.
“ARE YOU READY?”
“Henshin!”
The Armor segments combined onto his body as he reached the battle and tackled Blood Stalk away from Build and Rogue.
“WAKE UP BURNING!”
“GET CROSS-Z DRAGON!”
“YEAH!”
“Holy cow! He just performed the first ever running Henshin in the story!” Pinkie exclaimed, much to the confusion of others.
Stalk hopped back up and swung with his knife. Sol ducked under it and grabbed his overextended arm, using it to flip the Cobra over. However, the red armored man used the momentum to land properly on his feet and used his leg to destabilize the Dragon’s footing. Once that happened, he elbowed him in the throat and knocked him back.
“So we’re fighting now? Sorry, but I’m more interested in the power your friend has. They can play with you, though.” With a snap of his fingers, the Guardians assembled into their giant mech form, to the shock of the onlooking crowd. The mech opened fired haphazardly, forcing the people to panic and scramble away.
Rarity quickly formed a wall of diamond shields to protect everyone from getting hurt. It was difficult to maintain so many at once, but she was determined to prevent everyone from getting shot. The shields were able to deflect the bullets, leaving everyone safe.
Sol followed up by turning the crank on his Driver.
“BEAT CROZZER!”
He pulled the pommel once.
“HIT PARADE!”
He immediately jumped into the air until he reached the same height as the mech’s head. He raised his sword and delivered a downward, blazing swing.
“SMASH HIT!”
The attack struck the robot that held the monstrosity together. Once it was destroyed, the others followed suit in a chain reaction of explosions.
The display of sheer strength rendered everyone speechless. The media had turned their cameras to film everything since the Rider’s arrival. Suffice to say, the display of the two teens immediately convinced the neigh-sayers that were convinced in the Faust theory to be horribly, horribly wrong.
Sol landed in a crouch before turning to face Stalk, who had clapped at the display.
“Very impressive. You took care of that faster than I-“
He was cut off as Sol charged at him with an overhead slash. Stalk immediately blocked it.
“It ends here, Stalk!” Sol growled as he pulled one of his hands and struck the man in the face with a flaming fist.
The man stumbled back with a chuckle. “Oh ho ho…3.4 right off the bat! You’re getting better!”
“Shut it!” Sol swung again, but Stalk evaded it through a cartwheel. Once he was back on his feet, he back flipped behind Sol and struck out with a reverse spin hook kick. The fighter brought his weapon in the block it before throwing him off balance. Cross-Z dropped down for a sweep kick that knocked Stalk down. But once he landed on his back, he twirled his legs to kick him away before he recovered and rolled onto his feet.
“Not bad…how about this?!” He crossed his arms before flinging them out, allowing two energy Cobras to shoot out towards the Dragon. Sol cartwheel away from the first, and slammed his sword into the head of the second. But the first recovered and circled back, knocking him away.
He tumbled by landed in a crouch. He took out the Lock Fullbottle and inserted it into the Beat Crozzer. He pulled the Pommel three times.
“SPECIAL TUNE!”
“HIT PARADE!”
“HIT PARADE!
“HIT PARADE!”
“MEGA SLASH!”
Cross-Z stood tall with his sword held high. The blade was covered in blue flames while it radiated golden energy. The Cobras slithered toward him while he met their charge. He jumped into the air and delivered a diagonal slash. As it approached the apex of the swing, the blade extended into a massive energy version of the Bind Master key from Build’s KeyDragon form. It cut through the teal energy constructs like a hot knife through butter. Sol landed in a crouch as the snakes exploded behind him.
Stalk rushed at him with his Steam Blade. Sol tilted his head to avoid the first stab before batting his arm away. He grabbed the red armored man by the collar and slammed his head into his. The snake stumbled in a slight daze while Sol kept on attacking. He tossed his sword aside as he pummeled Stalk with a mad rush of punches and kicks.
However, Stalk didn’t seem too shaken up about it and just kept reciting numbers to the confusion of most people present. “3.4…3.5…3.6…and 3.7 now?!” Sol leaped up for a jumping axe kick to the throat, but Stalk snatched his leg while in the air.
“Almost…you’re almost there, little Sol Burner!” Stalk announced with glee. “You just keep growing at an astonishing rate! You keep breaking your limits!”
“I said shut it!” Sol gripped the ground and twisted his body using his core. His legs followed and kicked Stalk away in the face. He flipped back onto his feet and grabbed the Driver handle before turning it.
Out from nowhere, an energy construct in the form of a blue, eastern dragon covered in orange fire flew around Sol and coiled around him.
“Seriously! Where does that thing keep comin’ from?!” Applejack exclaimed.
“Yeah! It always appears from off screen!” Pinkie added.
“Not now! This is gonna be awesome you guys!” Rainbow advised.
Sol crouched down, legs and arms spread apart. The dragon behind him roared, its body growing brighter as power surged through his body, his right foot gathering blue flames.
“READY? GO!”
“DRAGONIC FINISH!”
He jumped for a kick while the Dragon released a burst of flame that both empowered and propelled him.
His foot met Blood Stalk’s guard in a fiery impact. Neither one wavered and the observers were on the edge of their seats, figuratively speaking. Stalk held his ground while Sol tried to add more force into the kick.
Soon, the stalemate produced an explosion that threw both fighters back. Stalk had been quick to recover as he brandished his steam blade and charged at Sol. The Dragon crossed his arms and defended against the knife before it could reach him.
Then a large explosion went off next to them.
While Sol took care of Blood Stalk, Flash and Night Rogue continued to duke it out.
Thanks to Sol’s intervention, he could divert all of his attention to opponent before him. Both fighters exchanged fire as Flash drew their fight away from the crowd to avoid hitting someone by mistake.
Thanks to his two firearms in hand, he was able to unleash more blasts than Night Rogue and laid the pressure on him. Growling in frustration, Rogue tumbled forward to avoid the energy bullets as he assembled his weapons into the Transteam Rifle.
“RIFLE MODE!”
He landed into a crouching position and shot the Drill Crusher out of Build’s hand with pinpoint accuracy. Using his free hand, Flash spun the barrel of the Hawk Gatlinger.
“TEN!”
“TWENTY!”
He sidestepped another laser blast and returned fire. The energy bullets pelted the ground toward Night Rogue. He rolled to the side and sprinted toward him while taking pot shots. Once he got in close enough, he swung the bladed end of the Rifle.
Flash simply held up his arm to block it. Before Rogue could follow up, Flash delivered a back leg that pushed him back upon impact. Growling, the Bat went for a punch to the face. But like before, Flash blocked the hook and countered with a palm strike that released a burst of energy upon impact that sent him stumbling back.
Night Rogue recovered and, to the shock of many, materialized a pair of bat wings and took to the air.
“Wait, he can seriously fly?!” Rainbow exclaimed.
“Now that’s just not fair!” Pinkie pouted.
But Flash wasn’t concerned. Despite the rain of fire delivered by Night Rogue’s rifle, he simply spun the barrel of the Hawk Gatlinger.
“TEN!”
“TWENTY!”
“THIRTY!”
“FORTY!”
“FIFTY!”
With each spin, the Six Gun Muzzle glowed brighter with gathered power, a familiar sight to Sunset and Applejack who were present to witness it.
“SIXTY!”
“SEVENTY!”
“EIGHTY!”
Crouching down, he jumped high into the air with his spring-loaded rabbit foot. While he couldn’t quite follow Rogue’s flight path in the air, he didn’t need to.
“NINETY!”
“ONE HUNDRED!”
“FULL BARREL!”
He just let the energy hawks do all the work. He pulled the trigger and set them loose. Night Rogue tried to maneuver and shake them off. But they were locked on and kept advancing.
But he refused to be taken down here. “Then how about this?!” Night Rogue roared as he crossed his arms over his chest before flinging them back. The emblem on his chest plate glowed. And from it came a swarm of energy bats meet the energy hawks head on and not only withstood them, but blew through them.
The flying horde then swarmed over Build as he landed on the ground.
The Rider swatted them or blasted them back with ease. However, there were too many swarming him at once. They clustered together attacked him continuously as they closed further and further.
“Flash!” Scootaloo yelled in worry. Rainbow held her back from going after him, knowing they were pretty much useless in a fight like this.
But their worries were unfounded as streams of pressurized energy bubbles burst through the small gaps in the swarm. With immense power, he blew the horde away. He followed up by dismissing his weapons and dropping to the ground.
To the surprise of everyone, he started to break-dance, using his arms to spin himself around while his legs remained in the air. As he did so, his boots emitted the same energy bubbles as earlier. With each spin, they twirled around and around until they formed into a miniature tornado of energy that sucked up all of the energy bats in, damaging them in the process.
Using his hand as an axis, he spun around like a top before he launched himself high into the air. He kicked through the tornado ascended higher into the sky.
“Impossible!” Night Rogue exclaimed. Build reoriented himself in the air and turned the crank on his Driver.
“READY? GO!”
To the amazement and bewilderment of all of the onlookers, a math equation formed in the space before Build. From the equation manifested an energy glyph in the form of a singularity that sucked the energy bats in.
“I don’t believe it…!” Twilight’s jaw dropped. “He actually made a singularity?!”
Flash extended his tank foot as he was drawn into the portal and impacted the horde of energy bats that were congested in the opening. Endless waves of energy bubbles shot through the portal and impacted Night Rogue on the other side on in the air. He tried to shield himself with his weapons, but they were blasted out of his hands. He tried to bat the bubbles away, but there were too many to stop. He tried to fly out of their range, but the waves prevented him from moving freely.
“SPARKLING FINISH!”
With a final battle cry, Flash shot through the Singularity and landed a direct kick on Night Rogue. The Bat tried to use his wings as a means of resistance to try and stop himself, but it was all for naught as he was pushed back. “N-No! This can’t…!”
“It’s over Night Rogue! The nightmare is over!”
“No…No….NOOOOO!!!!” The attack was too much to endure. The Bat was driven into the ground and continued moving until he was thrown back into the air then crashed into the ground in a tumble. Once he stopped, his transformation finally broke down.
Many in the crowd gasped. The loudest were from the Sparkle Family, Cadence, and the visiting Princess.
Even though they learned Night Rogue’s true identity earlier, it was still astonishing to see the truth with their own eyes.
Lying unconscious on his back was definitely Shining Armor.
Flash landed right next to him, sighing in relief. It was finally over.
Back with Sol, he and Stalk had just seen Flash’s big finish and defeated Night Rogue. “Guess your puppet got his strings cut!” Sol quipped as he pushed Stalk off of him and followed up with a reverse spin kick. “And you’re up next!”
“An amusing thought.” Stalk hummed as he caught the kick and pushed him back. “Unfortunately for you…my story doesn’t end here.”
“Huh?”
Moving much faster than before, Stalk closed the distance between him and Sol and pressed the nozzle of his gun to his chest. He pulled the trigger.
“STEAM BREAK!”
The massive energy blast fired point blank. It threw Sol away into the air, eliciting startled gasps from the audience. To add insult to injury, literally speaking, Stalk summoned two more energy cobra constructs and made them attack Sol while in midair. They clamped him with their jaws and drove him into the ground. They kept going until they crashed into the school building, tearing through brick and mortar as the wall collapsed on top of the draconic Rider.
“SOL!” His friends cried out in fear and worry.
“Well, it’s been fun, everyone!” Stalk announced. “But I’ve got places to be. Ciao~!” With a wave, Stalk used his Transteam Gun to teleport away in a burst of mist.
Flash glared at where Stalk used to be, but had more pressing concerns. He, along with the Rainbooms and their siblings, Micro, and Sandalwood rushed over to the pile of rubble that buried their friend.
“Sol, are you okay?!”
“If ya can hear us, just shout!”
“Please be okay, please be okay, please be okay!”
As the team worked to try and unearth Sol Burner, an armored hand punched through the rubble, scaring the living daylights of those that had been extremely close to it.
The broken pieces of concrete and brick shifted as the draconic Masked Rider pulled himself out of the rubble with a groan. “Ow…!”
“SOL!” His friends cheered as they helped him out of the broken pile and onto his feet. Applejack and Sandalwood helped him on his feet and supported him.
“Well, that freaking hurt…” He grunted.
“I think you should be more concerned with the fact that you're still alive!” Micro admonished. “We thought we lost you!”
“Well, it’ll take more than that to stop me ...pretty much killed my armor’s power though. Did we win?”
“We beat Night Rogue…but Blood Stalk got away.”
“Damn! It’s like we can’t even catch him, no matter how hard we try!”
“They’ll be other chances, dude.” Sandalwood reassured. “For now, let’s just be glad we saved everyone.”
“At the cost of secrecy…but we still did it.”
“I still can’t believe you guys were the Riders this whole time!” Rainbow added.
“And just when were you going to tell us this?” Sunset inquired.
“We actually hadn’t planned on it; secrecy and all that. But since everyone now knows, we’ll explain later.” Flash said as he removed the Sparkling can from his Driver while Sol removed Crozz from his. Their armors broke apart, leaving them in their civilian forms.
What none of them expected were deafening cheers from the civilians that witnessed their fight. During the loud commotion, Misty Veil finally regained consciousness. The Rainbooms families ran towards their respective daughters/granddaughters once the barricade was broken. The girls were hugged tightly by their respective parents. The Pie family held Pinkie as if afraid she’d disappear.
Rainbow’s parents were openly sobbing in relief that their daughter was okay.
The same was said for Fluttershy’s parents.
Rarity’s and Sweetie’s parents joined the club as they openly bawled in relief.
Granny Smith ran at a pace unfitting for her age and grabbed Applejack in a tight hug, afraid that she would lose her as well.
Misty rushed over to her daughter and scooped up Scootaloo tightly, unwilling to let go.
Micro’s and Sandalwood’s parents went to their sons as well. The other students went over to their family members, the adrenaline finally dying down and letting the stress show in forms of tears of joy, trembling, and screaming.
Meanwhile, Twilight, Sci-Twi, her parents, and Cadence rushed over to Shining Armor the moment the blockade opened up.
“Is he okay? Is he breathing?!” Velvet demanded as she knelt by her baby boy. Cadence felt for a pulse, feeling relieved when she felt one. The rise and fall of his chest also indicated his breathing.
“He’s alright, just unconscious.” But the moment she said that, his eyelids furrowed before they blinked open.
“Uh….what…what hit me?” He groaned as his vision focused. His gaze became locked on his family staring down at him. “Mom? Dad? Twily? Cadence? What…what’s going on?”
“Shining!” The members of the Sparkle Household, including the Princess pulled him in for a hug, confusing him even further.
“Oh, honey, I’m so glad you’re okay!” Velvet cried, relieved that he was still alive from that attack.
“Mom? What’s going on?” He winced as he felt his head throb. “Oh no, did I black out again?”
“Again?” Cadence asked, pulling away and looking at him in the eye. “What do you mean again? How long has this been happening?”
“Uh…a few…few months…” He answered. “I-I didn’t think it important to talk about. Why?”
Collectively, his family grew relieved. They realized that his blackouts must’ve been the instances when Stalk took control of him. But now he was free from that control.
“That’s bullshit!” One of the civilians yelled out. “You mean to say he just conveniently forgot everything that happened?!”
“He’s been freed from Stalk!”
“Like we can believe that!” Another shouted. “How do we know he’s not pretending?!”
“He’s just trying to trick us!”
“He needs to be restrained! Arrest him!”
The crowd grew riled and agitated. His family tried to defend him from the mob, but they refused to believe his claims. He still had no clue what they were talking about. What did he do?!
One member of a certain trio that stood off to the side had enough.
“SHUUUUUUT UUUUUUUP!!!!!” Sol yelled at the top of his lungs. His scream overwhelmed the collective noise and silenced everyone. Flash and Sunset had their ears plugged to prevent potential hearing loss. “Seriously! Just shut up! All of you! You’re all starting to sound like those guys on the blog that kept saying Flash and I were Stalk and Rogue! It’s annoying, and I seriously don’t have the patience for it right now so just shut up and listen! Shining Armor was Night Rogue, yeah, but Blood Stalk was using him as a puppet! And we can prove it too!”
“He’s right!” Flash said as he stepped up. “We have a surefire way to tell whether or not he’s lying. If you can all just calm down and wait, we can figure this out!”
The crowd murmured in confusion. The only ones who had an idea what he was talking about were the students and faculty that were aware of a certain girl’s magical ability.
The musician turned to face Sunset. “Sunset, I know you don’t like using your magic in public like this, but we need you right now to confirm our theory.”
“Don’t worry, I get it. I’m on it.” The fiery haired girl nodded before she knelt down next to Shining Armor and pressed a hand on his shoulder. Her eyes glowed white as she jumped into his mind.
Inside Shining Armor’s mind, Sunset saw a plethora of passing images. Just as Shining claimed, large portions of his memories were blacked out over the course of the past few months. He truly had no recollection of what took place while he was Night Rogue. She didn’t even see any memories of the chaos today.
All she saw were images from his workplace or with his friends and family. She even saw moments when he played video games with Flash at the arcade. Yet, she saw no memories of the Faust Raid itself, nor the press conferences he had over the news. She realized that those instances must have been when Stalk was in control over him.
Other than the deduction image, she saw nothing else that incriminated Shining Armor to be willingly committing his crimes as Night Rogue. Before he was about to leave, however, something caught her attention.
“Huh? What’s this?” She delved deeper into his mindscape.
It was from a memory around eight months ago. Around October. She could tell because of the passing images of Halloween decorations.
Then she finally found it. It was a scene of Shining Armor in his uniform inside a darkened room. She couldn’t quite hear what he was saying, everything sounding muffled. He was speaking to someone. But his form was blurry and indiscernible; it looked more like a moving, humanoid blur. But based on the tone of his distorted voice and figure outline, it seemed to be male.
What the blur did next surprised her. He pulled out a gun that was exactly like the one Blood Stalk and Night Rogue used, inserted a bottle into it, and pulled the trigger while raised to his temple.
The form was swallowed by a dark cloud of mist before it lit up in teal and red sparks. The mist dispersed. She gasped as it cleared, revealing the man to be Blood Stalk. He moves to attack, and the shock knocked her out of the mindscape.
“Gyagh!” She yelped while hyperventilating.
“Sunset Shimmer!” Princess Twilight exclaimed. “Are you okay?!”
“What happened?” Sol asked as he knelt down next to her.
“Did you see anything?” Flash mimicked the action.
“I…I saw Blood Stalk.” She answered, eliciting a collective gasp from the crowd. “He…he attacked Shining Armor months ago…just before the blackouts happened. Shining wasn’t…wasn’t aware of anything that happened. Just blank images. He really didn’t know what was going on…”
“So…does that mean he’s free?” Cadence asked tentatively. “He’s no longer his puppet?”
“I…I think so…” Sunset nodded. Shining’s family gave a collective sigh of relief.
“So…what happens now?” The fighter wondered aloud.
After everything had calmed down and the protests quelled, Shining Armor was handcuffed by his partner, Spearhead. Even if he didn’t remember anything as Night Rogue, he was still responsible for everything that happened.
Furthermore, he was still guilty of falsifying information about Faust during the Raid, insubordination, and under suspicion of manslaughter for shooting Dusk Walker. He was to be detained until further notice. The authorities wanted to question him in case any of his memories returned.
His family was not too thrilled by the outcome, but they were just relieved that he was free from that monster’s clutches. Maybe he can even help in the investigation if he remembers something about Faust.
But before he was escorted to a police van, Flash stepped forward.
"Shining." he called out, causing the two to stop and turn.
"Flash?"
"I know you don't remember anything while you were Night Rogue. But I want you to know that it's not your fault. None of it was."
The former officer gave a small grin, touched by the words. "Thanks...but I still have a lot to answer for. Even if I don't remember, I'm still guilty of what I did. Not to mention that Stalk is still out there somewhere. All I am is just a loose end to him."
"Don't worry. We'll find Stalk and stop him once and for all. As long as Sol and I are around, you'll be safe from him. You can count on that." He extended his hand. "Just remember that you have people to go back to. People who want to see you again. So no matter what, you have to return to them."
Glancing between him and his hand, Shining nodded with an unwavering face and grasped it, giving a firm shake. "I will. Thank you." With the final exchange, he was escorted inside the vehicle before driven off.
Most of the crowd went home with their children in tow. The only ones that truly remained were Team Build, the Rainbooms, and their parents.
However, the members of Team Build were surrounded by everyone that expected answers to the insanity of what happened, as well as their role within the underground war against Faust that had been happening the past few months.
At the lead of the group was a stern, Misty Veil with Scootaloo at her side. While she was relieved and worried beyond relief over her son, her parental instincts demanded an answer to what he had been doing under her nose.
“Young man.” Misty scolded her son as she crossed her arms. “You have a lot of explaining to do.”
“Yeah…I figured…” He sighed.
Up upon a nearby roof, Stalk was staring down at the police van turned a corner onto the street his rooftop was on.
He chuckled seeing his former puppet being driven out of his clutches. Or so he thought. "Sorry Shiny," the armored madman pulled out familiar-looking remote and started pressing several buttons. "But Faust is a company with a lifetime commitment. You don't get out of it that easily."
Inside the van, Shining and the guard sat in silence as the vehicle rolled down the road.
What they didn't know was that below the guard's seat, one of the collars they'd used to hold the school hostage was laying in wait. The light on the device blinked a rhythmic green color for several seconds until it suddenly stopped, the pause lasting several seconds, before flashing a steady red.
KA-BOOM!
Everyone was suddenly knocked off their feet by a shockwave, every pane of glass shattering. The ringing in their ears lasted several seconds before they all finally recovered, Flash being one of the first to regain their cognitive functions.
He looked over at where the explosion had come from and went wide-eyed seeing a cloud of smoke coming up from behind some buildings. His brain quickly rebooted and remembered that was the direction... "Oh no." Everyone else was beginning to recover when they noticed Flash picking himself up and pulling out the Build Phone, slotting a bottle into it and throwing it into the air as it morphed into its bike form.
"Flash?" Misty asked as her son got on the bike, "what are you-" She didn't get to finish as Flash kicked the engine into gear and drove off, many others slowly beginning to put the pieces together.
"Shining," Twilight whispered before picking herself up. Upon realizing what she meant, the others followed in pursuit.
Flash pushed his bike well over the speed limit as he swerved around the corner and drove onto the street that explosion was on, praying beyond hope he was wrong about what had caused it. But as his eyes caught sight of flames and he pulled to a stop, his heart almost stopped at the sight.
Burning away in front of him was a police van, the same one that Shining had been driven away in.
He got off his bike and stared at it, his entire body freezing at the sight. He didn't know how long he stayed there but he soon heard the sound of footsteps, not looking away from the blaze as everyone else reached the same spot as him.
Twilight and her family were standing there, looking at the van with the same horrified looks on their face. Cadence finally broke the silence, "NOOOOOOOO!" She screeched, covering her mouth and falling to her knees as others moved over to comfort her.
Velvet was also breaking out in tears as she threw her face into Night's chest, the man as white as a ghost.
And Twilight, she walking closer and closer to the flaming vehicle. She stepped passed Flash and stopped just in front of him, her brain completely failing to process what she was seeing. "Sh...Shining?"
Flash finally looked at her, realizing just how terrible she must feel. He raised a hand to place on her shoulder, but he just couldn't do it. He pulled back and looked at his hand, the same hand that had shaken Shining's as he promised he'd be safe from Stalk. This was his fault.
Micro, Sandal and Sol all looked down at the ground, all feeling just as guilty as Flash.
They had managed to save their friends, clear their names and put a major dent in Faust's plans…but at what cost?
Undisclosed location…
The sound of heels clicked as a female figure made their way through a dark corridor, eventually arriving at a set of double doors that she threw open to reveal a large room with a single spotlight behind the door.
The figure stepped under the spotlight, revealing herself as Chrysalis.
She smiled and snapped her fingers, causing many more lights to fill the room. It could be seen that she was standing on a balcony, looking down into the room that had hundreds of Guardians lined up in rows. The lot of them activated as soon as the lights were on, all standing to attention while awaiting orders.
Chrysalis smiled as she pulled out a phone, dialing a number before putting it to her ear. "Hello," she smirked, "I saw what happened. Shame about Shining."
"Yes," Stalk's voice replied, "it was hard but it was a sacrifice that was needed to make. As he so often put it, for the greater good."
"Yes. But at least now we can move ahead with our own plans. Project Crows has proven quite successful. We should be ready for full deployment in a few weeks. Now, about our other little experiment. When can Project Grease start the next phase?"
"Soon," Stalk told her, "this little debacle as caused a small setback for it. But I'll have what we need soon."
"You'd better."
"In the meantime, show our friends why they shouldn't relax. Might give you the chance to see firsthand what the Masked Riders can do."
"Oh, I've seen plenty. Make sure to get me what I need soon or the deal's off." With that, she cut the call and looked down at her swarm of robots. She truly felt like a queen. And soon, she would be one.
To be Continued…
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Me to those who dare oppose me.
Ahhhh....best character I have ever seen to symbolize me. A guy who DOESNT GIVE A DARN to those I hurt.
You know what they say...AN EYE FOR AN EYE!
If you are wondering, I am enjoying their Pain
No. I wondering that too. Got google for everything.
How the hell did he know my nicknames?!
That has got to be one tough gran ma.
Ouch. Thats one tough way to die...
And chrysalis is with them. Like a bee with a swarm of drones and workers to protect her. Daughter of a wh-
Please tell me that you didn't do what I thought you just did.
10045445
Oh he did. No one can survive an explosion like that.
10045469
The Riders have survived worse.
10045493
All I can say is remember Stalk’s words. Shining Armor isn’t getting out of it that easy. That’s all I can say.
10045590 Yeah, sure, spoil the surprise.
10045598
Well for anyone who has seen build would already get into some of the implications of the lines. Besides the fact how diferent is his story compared to Gen.
Anyway. What an amazing chapter though I wasn't expecting this amount of people finding out the identities and well while now they are seen as heroes I can expect that they can't go out in public as much as when they were wanted criminals.
I hope to see more of a reaction for those they will tell everything aka Rainbooms, P.Twilight and the families.
Also
Could't resist XD
Man, that was awesome! Flash’s RabbitTank Sparkling certainly lived up to the hype. I was hoping Flash and Sol would have been able to keep their identities a secret, but I guess it was the only true way to clear their names. I just hope it doesn’t cause too many problems for them in the future.
I’m glad Shining Armor is finally free. I highly doubt he is actually dead.
I had a funny idea Chrysalis was involved in this too. Her and Tirek are in on this conspiracy, but I wonder who else could be too? I can’t wait to see what happens next before the arc officially concludes.
10045493
But Shining isn't a rider. And he lost his Bat powers.
10045598
Yeah, I’m not good with being as vague as possible. Should’ve just not said anything.
10045697
Which means his incredibly injured. And pretty much his body are covered with scars and his organs have traces of metal fragments. Not to mention the drive through the hospital. And riding on the motorcycle aint helping much. So the car is needed for him to be delivered to the hospital, and since people have grudges against Night Rogue, I doubt people will lend help that easily. Which means Shining Armour might loose alot, and I mean ALOT of blood, if they just stared at the clattered remains. Which means chances of survival is....38% no. Lower than that: 29%
An excellent chapter to end the Night Rogue Arc and start up the Grease Arc. Great work with how everything went. Lots of emotion and action. Really cool.
Be the One!
https://youtu.be/G87WJDpNC8Y
I'm calling it now. Shining is still alive, and he's going to reappear as Kamen Rider Rogue. I'm betting my life insurance!
...not that I would. I'm many things, but I am not THAT dumb.
Sparkling is unveiled. Now all that's left is Grease, followed by Cross-Z Charge, and finally Hazard Trigger.
...maaaaaaan, you sons of bitches are gonna make me fear for Flash's mental state if your gonna have him go through the shit Sento did.
10045895 Wow. That's one of the best redoes of that song I've ever heard. Thanks.
My god. Shining, you poor man.
10045895
That should be added to the story
That would be a bummer if Shining was just mind controlled, I was expecting much more detailed 'for the greater good' speech from him as well as his motives to work with Faust. But this phrase about 'not getting out of it so easily' is my last hope
Is it wronged for me to think that was good for rainbow
Yup your brothers the hero you admired isn't it great