Kamen Rider Shifter

Chapters

Episode 2: A Kamen Rider is Born
Episode 3: Strange? An Another Rider
Episode 4: A Crabby Comeback
Episode 5: Hunters and Prey
Episode 6: A Shocking Encounter
Episode 7: Memory Lane
Episode 8: Enemy Strikes Next
Episode 9: One's Resolve
Episode 10: Trust and Revelations
Episode 12: Sparkling Power! Hyper Power Up
Episode 13: Gule's Last Stand! A New Enemy Arrives
Episode 14: Taken
Episode 15: Shift Through Climactic
Movie 1: Part 1
Movie 1: Part 3
Movie 1: Part 4
Movie 1: Part 5
Movie 1: Part 7
Episode 16: What Was At Stake
Episode 17: Secrets Out
Episode 18: Revelations
Episode 19: Changeling of Pace
Episode 20: One's Feelings
Episode 21: A Malefic Turn of Events
Episode 22: Ideal Clash Through Darkness
Episode 23: Time of Doomsday
Episode 24: Yin and Yang
Episode 25: A Shift of Resolve
Episode 26: A Shift Through Fate
Episode 27: Carnival Chaos
Episode 28: The Return of an Enemy! Kamen Rider Gule
Episode 29: Enemy in Plain Sight
Episode 30: Reaching Out! Kamen Rider Shifter Returns
Episode 31: Shifting Aftermath
Episode 32: More Than a Mimic
Episode 33: Trust Between One's Self! Power of Will
Episode 34: One Side of a Coin
Episode 35: The Shadow of a Rider Appears
Episode 1: A Shift in Life
Episode 11: Getting Through One's Self
Movie 1: Part 2
Movie 1: Part 6
Episode 24.5: A Tale of Origin

Episode 2: A Kamen Rider is Born

The city of Canterlot was on alert, due to the strange attack that had happened earlier in the day.

Police, fire crews and paramedics had rushed to the scene, doing their best to get everything under control. The people who had been caught up in the attack, were all saying the same thing. That a monster had attacked them.

Many people didn't believe this, thinking the victims were all delusional. But they still investigated the area and could find nothing to explain what had happened.

Several miles away, Flash had walked back to school after having the strangest experience ever.

His entire body had been going on autopilot and only now, Flash was starting to remember what had happened. The strange sensation he had felt, the uncontrollable running to the site of the attack, the run in with the monster and the strange occurrence that had happened.

He had somehow transformed into an armored figure and destroyed the monster, but he had no idea how he had done it or where he had gotten the belt and device that had allowed him to destroy the monster. A million questions were racing through his head and as he reached the school and got his bike, he wondered what he should do about it.

"Maybe I should tell someone," he spoke to himself. "But who?" The first people that came to mind were the Rainbooms. They had been there when he destroyed the monster. Maybe they could help him figure out what was going on.

But what would they think of him, if he told them he was the one that destroyed that monster? Would they think he was messing with Equestrian Magic? He honestly had no idea.

"Maybe I should sleep on this," he told himself as he biked back home. He was feeling really tired after what happened and he needed to rest up.

In a dark area, three individuals are standing around together.

Each of them was dressed in a dark cloak and clearly trying to keep their identities hidden. And as they stood there, they were listening to a radio located on a table between them. "Witnesses claim to have been attacked by a strange monster, that looked like a giant humanoid spider. But this creature has disappeared and there has been no sign of it since this afternoon. Many believe it may have been a mass hallucination, brought on by a natural gas leak or something similar. Further investigation will determine if this is true or not."

"Mass hallucination?" One of the cloaks growled. "They think we're a hallucination?"

"These humans are clearly not very bright," an older sounding male voice replied. "But that can work in our favour. The more they don't believe we exist, the more we can do without them attempting to counter us. What's more important, is to discover what happened to our Mimic Soldier."

"Indeed," a female voice agreed. "We all felt it. The Mimic was destroyed. But how?"

"I'll find out," the first figure announced. "Not sure how, but I'll uncover what happened."

"There is a way," the older male replied. "Gule, awaken another of our brethren. One that the humans won't stand a chance against. And keep an eye on it. If whatever happened before happens again, find it."

"Understood," the other male replied before turning to leave.

The next day.

As Flash biked to school, he was still plagued by the memory of what had happened yesterday.

He had barely slept a wink the previous night, too focused on what had happened. He was sure he needed to tell someone about this and his first stop were the Rainbooms, since they would likely know what the heck was going on with him.

He arrived at school and pulled into the bike shed, locking his bike up before heading inside.

As soon as he got in, he started looking for one of the Rainbooms. But as he did, he passed by someone and heard something interesting. "Apparently, he was wearing orange armor over a black suit and destroyed the monster with a single kick."

He turned to them, as another pair passed him. "What did the Rainbooms call him again?"

"Shifter," the other replied. "That's what he called himself, apparently." Flash frowned, as he continued down the hall. He eventually spotted Twilight and Sunset, who were discussing something with a serious expression on their face.

"How do we know we can even trust him?" Sunset asked, with Twilight shrugging.

"I don't know. But he did defeat that creature that was attacking everyone."

"But then why did he run away?" Sunset then spotted Flash. "Hey, I'm guessing you've heard about it as well?"

"Heard about what?" Flash asked, as he spotted his locker and started opening it.

"Oh, then you're about the only person who hasn't heard. Rainbow and Pinkie have been telling everyone. About someone we met yesterday. His name's Shifter and we saw him, fighting against a weird spider monster."

"Spider monster?" Flash put the pieces together and realised they were talking about him. "What was he like?"

"We don't really know," Twilight replied. "We watched him fight and after he destroyed the monster, he disappeared in a flash of light." She hummed, as she took out her phone. "The authorities think what happened yesterday was a natural disaster of some sort. Wish we could tell them the truth."

"So what do you think of this Shifter guy?" Flash asked.

"We're not sure," Sunset told him. "I don't trust him. He just showed up out of nowhere and disappeared as soon as that monster was destroyed. He didn't tell us anything and just left us with more questions than answers. Like what the heck was that monster?"

"Maybe he had his reasons," Flash guessed.

"Maybe," Twilight nodded. "I'm just interested in where he got that suit. I don't know what kind of power source he was using, but it must be one heck of a strong device to power that super kick he used." Flash frowned. Of course, Twilight was more interested in the suit than the one wearing it. "I can't help but wonder if he'll show up again."

"I'm more concerned with the monster than with him," Sunset replied. "If one shows up again, who knows how much damage it could do before this guy shows up again."

"You think that monster was made using Equestrian Magic?" Flash asked.

"No idea," Sunset shrugged. "We weren't close enough to it for me to sense anything." As the bell rang, the students made their way to class.

Flash frowned as he watched the girls head off. Suddenly, he wasn't so eager to tell them who that Shifter guy really was. For now, he would keep it to himself and try not to think about it.

That proved easier said than done. Shifter was all anyone was talking about, since Pinkie and Rainbow hadn't stopped talking about him since yesterday. The only time Flash didn't hear about his new alter-ego, was when the teachers told them to quiet down and do their work. But the second the classes ended, everyone instantly turned their attention back to Shifter.

By the point of recess, Flash had to get away so he didn't have to keep hearing everyone theorise he was an alien, or some kind of cyborg created by an evil organisation. He headed up to the roof of the building and once he was sure nobody was there, he took out the device he used yesterday.

Looking it over, he pressed the button on the side and heard it call out the word 'strike' and show the dots. But that's all it did.

He looked down at his waist, where the belt had just appeared yesterday.

He took a deep breath and remembered what he had done yesterday. "Henshin." But the belt refused to appear. "Come on." He pressed the device's button several times and kept yelling out the words, but nothing happened. He didn't know what caused the belt to appear, but it clearly wasn't going to come when he called it.

He let out a sight and put the device back in his pocket, a million questions racing through his mind. But clearly, he wasn't going to get any answers today. "What is happening to me?"

In the city, a woman had just left a large shop carrying a bunch of bags.

Her phone was pressed up against her ear, as she walked around wearing a fur coat and expensive clothing. "I know," she smiled. "I just managed to get some new shoes that are just to die for." She turned to walk down another street, which was currently empty. "How much? I don't know. A lot. I didn't check. Daddy's credit card went through, so who cares."

Suddenly, someone stepped out of an alleyway.

That someone was one of the cloaked figures, who stood in front of the woman and made her stop. "What?" She asked, frowning as she glared at him. "Can you move? You're in my way."

The figure reached up and lifted his hood, allowing her to be greeted with a pair of green eyes. "Awaken and remember what you truly are." These words combined with the eyes, caused the woman's head to suddenly explode with information, making her drop her bags and phone before clutching her head.

The figure watched, as the woman crouched and cried out in pain. But then, she stopped crying and stood up. The expression on her face was different. "I am...Fel-Grow-Varn."

The figure nodded and took something out. A glass case, with a grasshopper inside. "Take this and destroy all that face you. Show this primitive world, why we are the supreme beings." The woman nodded and took the case, opening the top and reaching inside. As she did, her hand changed to an orange-brown liquid.

The liquid flew down and quickly surrounded the grasshopper, which tried to escape with little luck. She then pulled her arm away, her hand reforming, whilst the blob she had left behind solidified and turned into an amber cocoon, with the grasshopper still inside.

Suddenly, her body began to melt and turn into a puddle of slimy orange-brown goo.

That puddle soon began to reshape itself, growing taller than it had been before and looking much thinner in some areas. Then, the liquid began to solidify and be absorbed by the body. In doing so, it revealed a monster that looked like a green humanoid grasshopper. Its legs were bent backwards, with a membrane attaching the parts that were bent to go along one another. Its long lanky arms had small hands, but long sharp claws that looked like they could cut through anything.

Sticking out the back of its shoulders were two long green chords, that looked like they could hold up a building. And its face had large orange eyes, with a mouth that looked big enough to swallow someone with.

The figure nodded and turned to leave, whilst the monster let out a roar and crouched down with her legs. Then, they sprang apart and the monster was catapulted forwards. Her claws dug into the wall beside her, cutting through it as she moved fast.

She flew onto a street with people on it and landed, getting everyone's attention as they saw the monster. This caused them all to scream as they ran away, as the grasshopper monster crouched down again. And with one mighty burst of speed, it shot towards the people and screams filled the air as the claws were swung around.

Flash had been in his Math class when it happened.

As he tried to focus on his school work, he was suddenly overwhelmed by a strange sensation washed over his body. It was the same sensation that he had felt the previous day, but he didn't feel compelled to follow it this time. Instead, he turned to look out the window. He felt strange. Like he was meant to go somewhere, but he didn't know where.

"Mr Sentry?" He looked back around to see Mr Cranky Doodle, the old math teacher staring down at him. "Is there something outside, more important than your work?"

Flash gulped, unsure how to answer that without getting into trouble.

He glanced back around and as he did, he noticed something. "Yeah. That smoke in the distance." He pointed out the window and everyone looked around, where they saw a large cloud of smoke rise up from behind several distant buildings.

Cranky saw this and hummed. "Well, I'm sure that is interesting. But it's also none of our business. It's a long way away and I'm sure the authorities are already on it."

"Hey," Micro Chips spoke up. "What if it has anything to do with what happened yesterday?" This made Flash look back at the smoke, as he wondered the same thing. The other students began whispering about it and all took out their phones, looking up news articles.

Flash looked back out the window and as he did, he noticed the Rainbooms suddenly running out of the school.

The girls stared at the smoke for a moment before they all touched their geodes, causing them to transform into their human pony hybrid forms. Rainbow then grabbed Applejack and Twilight, the girl rushing off and pulling them along whilst the others ran for their vehicles. Flash couldn't help but be curious. What was going on?

Rainbow, Applejack and Twilight, soon arrived at the place where the smoke was and looked around.

They tried to see through the smoke, but it was so dark they had no idea what was causing it. "Wish Rarity were here," Applejack stated. "She coulda made a big fan and blew this smoke away."

"Who needs Rarity?" Rainbow held out her arms. "Check this awesomeness out." He started spinning her arms and created a pair of small tornadoes, blowing away a lot of the smoke. When she did, she revealed the smoke was coming from a bunch of cars that had been destroyed. Several buildings looked like they had had cars crash into them and street lamps her cut to shreds.

"What happened here?" Twilight looked around, only to then see a figure walking through the remains of the smoke.

That figure soon came into view, revealing the grasshopper creature from before. "Wow!" Rainbow cried, "another monster!" The beast stared at them before letting out a horrible roar, then shot forward using her powerful legs.

They all gasped, as Twilight used her magic to move a car bonnet in front of them.

The grasshopper slammed into it, but had spun around and used its legs to hit the bonnet. It then sprang backwards and the force pushed the metal towards them, Twilight gasping as Applejack leapt in front of her and spun around to kick it away.

As the grasshopper landed, Rainbow ran towards it. But the monster bounced forward and the two were moving at an incredible speed. But whilst Rainbow had the slight speed edge, the grasshopper had claws and swung them Rainbow.

"WOW!" Rainbow leaned back and the claws barely missed her, but she ended up losing her balance and fell onto her butt before rolling along the ground.

The grasshopper landed and prepared to go after her, but Applejack ran towards it whilst carrying a broken piece of lamppost.

She swung it at the monster, but the grasshopper leapt straight up before bouncing off a wall and flying towards her. Applejack didn't have time to swing the post around before she was kicked in the chest and knocked backwards, Twilight rushing to her side as the monster landed.

It let out a roar at them, but the sound of a siren filled the air. It turned to see a bunch of police vehicles, racing towards them before coming to a stop. As the girls picked themselves up, police and SWAT teams rushed out with their weapons drawn.

"Freeze!" The head police officer announced. "Don't move!" The monster roared and shot forward, the authorities all opening fire on the creature. But it bounced from side to side, so fast that the bullets didn't even get close. And when it reached the police, it slashed at them and its claws cut right through their guns and shields.

"No way!" One cried before the grasshopper spun around, slamming one of the chords on its back into him. He screamed as he was knocked flying back, whilst several pointed their surviving guns at it. But the beast leapt straight up and they all missed.

The girls watched as the officers were completely outclassed. "What is that thing?" Applejack asked.

"It looks like a grasshopper," Twilight stated. "But it must have been mutated by something."

"Equestrian Magic?" Rainbow asked, but Twilight wasn't sure that was the answer. And if it wasn't, then how could they defeat this creature?

Twilight was then reminded of the figure from yesterday, who had destroyed that spider monster. Whatever power they had, it was clearly able to defeat these monsters. But where were they and why hadn't they shown up yet?

Meanwhile, up atop a nearby roof, the cloaked figure was watching. He stared at the girls, as they tried to fight against the monster. "Are they what destroyed our brethren?" All he could do was watch and see what happened.

As soon as the class had been let out, Flash rushed out of the school.

His phone was out and he had opened it up to a local news channel, allowing him to watch as everything happened. For a news crew had gotten to the scene and was filming everything. "As you can see, the police have engaged the creature. But their attempts to subdue it have not been successful."

The footage then showed a shaky image of the monster that was attacking, Flash's eyes going wide when he saw it.

He watched, as the beast shot several feet forward and slammed a SWAT office in the shield. The impact sent him flying back and as several cops fired, the creature dodged every attack.

"So fast," he frowned. "The Rainbooms can handle it." But then the image happened to show Twilight, Rainbow and Applejack, Flash seeing Rainbow and Applejack looking rather scuffed up. "Ahhh." He remembered what happened yesterday.

He had stopped that monster easily. But he had no idea how he did what he did or if he could even do it again. And even if he could, how would he get there. He still didn't have his car and who knows how long it would take to bike there. "There's nothing I can do."

Suddenly, a bright flash of light appeared in front of him.

He let out a cry, as the light blinded him for a moment. It took a few seconds for his eyes to adjust and when they did, he was able to see the light was coming from some kind of tear in the fabric of space.

Said tear was quite large, big enough for a person to fit through it without issue. And as Flash stared at the portal, he suddenly found his body moving on its own. Before he realised what was going on, he stepped through the tear and disappeared from his school.

And as soon as he was through it, the portal closed.

As the grasshopper slammed its feet into someone else, Sunset, Fluttershy, Rarity and Pinkie arrived.

"Girls!" Sunset rushed to the other's side. "Are you alright?" They all nodded, as the monster barrelled through another group of police officers. "What is that thing?"

"We were hoping you'd tell us," Rainbow stated. "Whatever that thing is, it's fast and dangerous."

More police were knocked back and as the creature turned to them, it growled. "I think it's noticed us," Pinkie gulped. She took out a cupcake and as the creature charged, she threw it at the monster.

It swung its claws around and cut through the tasty treat, which exploded right in its face.

The girls smiled, but the grasshopper flew out of the smoke without even a scratch. "Look out!" Fluttershy cried, as Rarity put up a shield. The monster slammed into the wall and whilst the diamonds shook, nothing happened.

Rainbow tried to use this moment to run around and try to tackle the monster, but the creature leapt straight up and the girl missed by a mile. "Wow!" She skidded to a stop before she could crash into a building, whilst Twilight grabbed a destroyed piece of car in her magic and threw it.

The beast easily avoided the attack and flew down towards them, Pinkie throwing a bunch of charged sprinkles at it. The explosion that followed actually managed to knock the creature back, but it did several back-flips and landed.

The police who were still able to fight saw this and were amazed, but saw these girls clearly had no way of actually harming the creature. "Bring out the biggest weapon we have!" He cried, as the officers rushed over to a van and returned moments later carrying some kind of machine gun.

The grasshopper noticed the movement and looked around to see them taking aim, the girls quickly rushing away in case the cops missed.

"Open fire!" The lead officer roared, as the cops began to unload on the creature. But once again, the beast was able to dodge and avoid every attack sent its way and moved towards them as fast as it could.

Once it was close enough, it leapt into the air and spun like a drill with its claws outstretched. The speed at which it moved was like nothing any of them had ever seen and in the blink of an eye, it was behind them with its claws outstretched.

The machine gun then fell apart, having been cut into a dozen different pieces and falling to the ground. And as the officer turned to it, the creature swung its claws around and slashed him down the chest. "GYAH!" He was knocked back and the other officers could only watch in shock, as the Rainbooms ran out of hiding.

"That's it!" Sunset called out. "Let's end this. You girls with me?" They all nodded and took hold of each other's hand, as they summoned all of their magic and flew into the air.

The monster turned to see them glowing, which made the creature tilt its head in confusion. Then, the girl's magic flew upwards and began to swirl into a rainbow of spiralling light. Said light curved back down and shot towards the monster, who tried to leap up to avoid it. But the second it did, the light also curved and flew towards the beast.

It slammed into it before it could dodge and the creature screamed, as the spiral completely surrounded it.

Everyone who saw this was amazed, hoping this meant the creature would be destroyed. And as a blinding light filled the air, everyone looked away whilst waiting to see if the fight was over.

The Rainbooms floated down to the ground, as the light began to fade away.

They all smiled, thinking they had won. But before they could celebrate, something came crashing down and struck the road hard enough to break it. The grasshopper, completely unharmed by their attack. "What?" Sunset gasped.

Before anything else could be done, the beast shot forward with its claws drawn. It swung them towards Sunset and at the last minute, Rainbow pushed her out of the way. "GYAH!" She cried, as the beast slashed at her. It cut into her wing, causing her to fall and crash to the ground.

"RAINBOW!" They all screamed, as the beast prepared to slash at them again. But Twilight grabbed an entire car and threw it at the monster, the beast getting slammed into and thrown backwards. They all rushed over to Rainbow, who had changed back to her human form.

This caused her injured wing to disappear, though she still looked like she could feel the pain she had suffered. "Are you okay?" Fluttershy asked, with Rainbow taking several deep breaths.

They turned to the monster, as it roared and Rarity put up a dome of protection. The police began to unload on the creature and the girls realised that whatever it was, their magic couldn't stop it. But what could?

Flash had no idea where he was. As soon as he stepped through the portal, he found himself in a dark void illuminated only by the portal.

But the portal quickly vanished and Flash was completely blind, not daring to take a step for fear of falling into some kind of trap. "Hello?" He called out, "anyone there?"

Suddenly, footsteps filled the air and he looked around to see someone walking out of the shadows. A figure in a white hooded cloak, the rest of their body hidden beneath it. "Welcome."

Flash frowned at him, "who are you? And how did I get here?"

"That's not important," the figure replied. "All you need to know, is that you are Earth's only hope of survival." Flash looked shocked by this. "your world is currently being threatened by a powerful force. And the only thing that can stop it, is you."

"What force? Do you mean that creature I fought yesterday? And the one attacking the city right now?"

"Those creatures are called Mimics," the figure replied. "A very dangerous species, that originates from another universe." Flash could hardly believe that. "They have only one goal. Total extinction of anything that isn't a Mimic. That's why they're attacking your world. They see humans as beneath them and must be wiped out."

"Why?"

"I don't know. Why does your species constantly try to exterminate rats and roaches, whenever they show up? It's just something you do to a species you think has no value." Flash frowned. "Be warned. The Mimics are dangerous. Their abilities allow them to live up to their name and mimic the abilities of creatures they interact with. But those abilities are dialled up to eleven when a Mimic uses them."

"So they want to destroy our world?"

"Not just your world. They've wiped out all life on multiple other alternative universes. Once they've completely destroyed your world, they'll just move onto the next. The entire multiverse is at risk of being destroyed, unless the Mimics are stopped here and now."

Flash frowned, thinking about everyone he knew and loved. His mother, sister, friends and people that just try to live their lives. If nothing happened, the Mimics could kill all of them. "But why me? You said I'm my world's only hope, but why me?"

"Because you have a power that other humans do not. This power is what will allow you to protect your world and end the Mimics."

Flash took out the screen he had used the previous day, whilst placing a hand on his waist. "You mean that belt I have?"

"The Mimic Driver. With it, you can become a warrior that will slay any Mimic you come across. It is your destiny." Flash wasn't so sure about this, since he had no idea where he got the belt or the screen device.

"You know a lot about all this. So how the heck did I get this power?"

"I'm afraid I can't tell you that," the figure replied. "I know you probably have a million questions, but the answers to them will have to wait. When the Mimics are defeated, you will understand everything. But until then, you must fight and protect your world. And to do that, I have something to give you."

Before Flash could ask what that was, something suddenly appeared out of the darkness between them.

A table of some kind, ascended from below. And on that table was a tennis ball sized orb, made of a strange orange-brown material. As soon as the table stopped moving, the figure pointed to it. "Take it."

Flash gave him a curious look, but carefully moved forward and reached out to grasp the orb. As soon as he did, the object began to melt.

He was about to flick his hand and throw the slime away, but the substance then reshaped itself and solidified. In the blink of an eye, Flash was holding some kind of small motorbike toy. It was mostly orange in colour, with black sections below the bodywork and blue lightning bolt streaks covering it. Flash didn't know why, but it seemed to be a lot longer than a normal motorbike would at this size.

"What is this?"

"Something that you should find helpful, in the battles that are to come." Before Flash could ask anything else, the portal appeared behind Flash. And when he turned to it, the tear moved and he was suddenly thrown through it.

The next thing Flash knew, he was staggering forward and almost fell over. Looking around, he saw he was back where he had originally been. Back at school with nobody around. The portal quickly closed behind him, Flash left standing there completely clueless about anything.

No, that wasn't true. Flash had been told a few things. The creatures that were attacking were called Mimics, which wanted to slaughter his race. And apparently, he was the only one capable of defeating them.

He then looked down at the bike toy he had been given, wondering how the heck this was supposed to help him in stopping the Mimics. But just then, the bike started melting in his hand.

"What?" Flash held it up, as the toy turned back to the slimy substance it was before. And before Flash could ask what was going on, it suddenly flew out of his hand and shot towards the ground.

As soon as it made contact, the slime began to increase in volume. Flash stepped back, as it got larger and larger. And once big enough, the slime began to take shape and form the same structure it had been in back when it was the toy. Eventually, the shaping ended and the slime began to harden. Within seconds, a life sized version of the toy was standing in front of him.

"Wow." Flash stepped forward and looked it over, realising it wasn't a toy. It was a real motorbike, with an engine, lights and everything. "Awesome." As he said that, his phone beeped.

"It appears this creature is completely indestructible. No amount of gunfire has been able to touch the creature, let alone harm it. The police are ordering an evacuation of the area, to prevent any casualties."

Flash frowned, as he remembered what that cloaked man told him. "I have the power to stop this." He looked over at the bike, then remembered the Rainbooms were there and probably in danger. "If that's the case, I have to do this. To protect my friends and my world, I'll fight!" As soon as he said that, a light suddenly appeared around his waist.

Looking down, he saw the light take shape and form the belt from yesterday.

He smiled as he swung his leg over the bike, getting seated and placing his hands on the handles. As soon as he did, the bike burst into life as the engine started. Despite never having ridden a motorbike before, Flash suddenly knew everything he needed to do in order to use it.

Revving the engine, he kicked it into gear and the bike's wheels began to spin.

The front suddenly flew into the air and the bike shot forward, Flash holding on tight as the machine raced out of the school's parking lot.

The front flew down as he did and he quickly swerved out onto the street, the bike picking up amazing speed but not having any issues controlling it. It was moving so fast, to everyone else it was just an orange blur.

As he raced towards the battle, Flash opened the belt before reaching into his pocket. He took out the screen-like device and activated it. "STRIKE!" The dots appeared to form the insect, as Flash placed it into his belt.

And as he found a straight section of road, the bike remained upright as Flash yelled out. "HENSHIN!" He slammed the draw of the belt shut, locking the screen inside and causing the lights on the belt to turn orange.

"MIMIC! LIGHTNING BUG!" The strange orange-brown liquid shot out of the pipes, flying into the air and somehow keeping up with Flash despite him going a bazillion miles an hour.

The liquid clung to his body and solidified, eventually forming the cocoon around him that didn't cause the bike to lose balance. And after a few moments, the cocoon cracked apart before shattering off his body. Doing so revealed him in the black suit, which the pieces of amber slammed onto and formed the armor around his body.

As the armour settled, the belt spoke. "Illuminate the light, striking through the darkness!"

Transformation complete, the newly christened Shifter revved the engine again and the bike continued to fly forward on the road. Despite being a little scared, Flash didn't allow himself to stop going. He would stop that monster, no matter what.

All of the police were completely out of ammo and as they turned to run away, the Mimic launched itself towards the Rainbooms.

Rarity tried to put up a shield, but the Mimic bounced into the air and leapt over the wall. It then flew down and slammed a foot into Rarity, knocking her flying back. "RARITY!" Her friends cried, as the Mimic shot forward and slammed into each of them. They all cried, as they were sent flying and crashed into the ground.

They all let out a groan, each reverting back to human, as the Mimic landed and glared at them. Its claws twitched, as it clearly prepared to end this fight.

All the while, the one named Gule watched and shook his head. "They're not the ones who defeated the Mimic. So what was it?" He watched, as the girls tried to pick themselves up. But it was clear that they weren't in a fit state to keep fighting.

Suddenly, an engine filled the air and caught everyone's attention. The girls, the police, news crew and even the monster turned to see something racing towards them on a bike. "Hey!" A police officer yelled, "stop!" But the rider didn't listen.

The next thing they knew, the bike shot into the air and flew over them. Despite the vast distance it had to travel, it made it over the crowd with no effort and landed on the other side of the Rainbooms.

As it did, it slid along the ground and came to a stop. This allowed them to see who it was.

"It's him," Rainbow spoke up. The girls all stared at the armored figure, who stared at them for a moment before turning towards the Mimic.

"Who are you?" The grasshopper cried, as the figure leaned on the console of his bike.

"Shifter," the figure replied, "that's the name I'm apparently being called. And I'm the one that's gonna stop the Mimics. You won't do here, what you've done to other worlds." Everyone wondered what he meant by that, as the Mimic growled.

"You don't scare me. You won't even touch me."

"Don't be so sure," Shifter told it. "Because right now, the winds of victory have shifted." With that, he revved his bike's engine and shot towards the Mimic.

The grasshopper bent its legs and shot into the air, moving with incredible speed away from Shifter and his bike. But the armored warrior launched into the air and his bike followed after the Mimic, catching up as the monster turned to see him coming.

It tried to slash at him, but Shifter blocked with his arm guard before dealing a punch to its chest. The Mimic fell to the ground and Shifter landed before swerving its bike around, launching himself at the Mimic as it picked itself up.

It tried to jump away, but the bike was too fast and smashed into the mutant before it could flee. Shifter then swerved around and swung his leg at the grasshopper, smashing it into the beast and knocking it backwards.

The Mimic staggered back and as Shifter swung his bike around again, the beast leapt into the air and prepared to slam its foot into its opponent. But Shifter accelerated and before the grasshopper could complete its attack, he leapt onto the seat and bounced off it. He flew towards the Mimic and spun around, thrusting his own foot into the creature's chest and knocking it backwards

Shifter then back-flipped and landed back on the bike, which kept driving as the Mimic crashed into the ground.

"Wow!" Pinkie cheered, "he's awesome."

"Yeah," Twilight nodded, "but who is he?"

"Well, he's helpin' us." Applejack glanced at the others, "don't that mean he's on our side?"

"Maybe," Sunset didn't look so sure. All they could do was keep watching, as the green and orange blurs flew around continuing their fight.

Shifter's bike somehow stuck to the side of a building, rolling along it for several seconds before shooting off and flying towards the Mimic. The grasshopper spun around and managed to slam the front of the bike with its leg, knocking it away and causing Shifter to spin out of control.

He managed to land and skidded along the ground, as the Mimic landed and shot forward.

Shifter revved up and pushed his bike forward, as the grasshopper slashed at him. But before it could make contact, Shifter spun his bike around and slid the side of the bike onto the ground. As the bike ground against the pavement, Shifter threw a punch upwards and struck the Mimic when it flew over him. The monster was struck in the stomach and knocked flying into the air, as Shifter pulled the bike back up and spun to a stop.

The Mimic crashed into the ground, as Shifter swung the bike around. The front was now pointing right at the monster, as Shifter slammed the side of the belt to make it speak out.

"CLIMACTIC STRIKE!"

The light on his right boot glowed before bolts of energy flew out of it, down his boot and into the bike. The front wheel then started glowing orange, as Shifter revved the engine. Eventually, the wheel started spinning and sparks flew out of it. And as the Mimic picked itself up, the bike shot forward at an incredible speed.

The energy from the wheel, formed a slipstream around the bike and turned it into a giant projectile. And as the Mimic realised what was happening, Shifter pulled the bike back so it performed a wheelie and the wheel slammed into the Mimic.

The monster roared, as the spinning wheel ground into it and the energy cut into its body. All this happened in a single second, but to the Mimic the pain felt never-ending. And in the blink of an eye, the monster exploded and the bike flew through the flames.

Shifter once again swung the bike around so it skidded to a stop, as the smoke faded to reveal the grasshopper was nowhere in sight. It had been destroyed.

With the danger now passed, the police, news crew and even the Rainbooms began to slowly move towards him.

Several cops reached for their guns, but seemed to remember they were out of bullets. And as Shifter turned to leave, Twilight spoke up. "Wait!" She rushed forward and he looked back at them. "Who are you? What's going on?"

Under his helmet, Flash wondered if he should tell them who he was and what was going on. But a worry of being captured and experimented on, suddenly appeared in his mind. He couldn't let that happen. He had a feeling the police wouldn't believe him, if he said he had no idea what was really going on.

As such, he turned towards them and would say what he did know. "That creature was known as a Mimic. They come from another world and their only goal, is to wipe out all life on this planet." Everyone who heard this looked worried. "But don't worry. I won't let that happen. So long as I'm around, the Mimics won't get to destroy this world. Even if it costs me my life, I'll stop them no matter what."

The crowd clearly had no idea what to make of that and Shifter said nothing else, revving his bike before racing off at high speed. "Wait!" A reporter cried, but he was already gone. She frowned, turning to the camera. "Well, there you have it. Our world is under threat and the only one able to protect us, is someone named Shifter."

The Rainbooms all shared a look, wondering if they would ever learn who this mysterious hero was. And if he was really trying to help them.

Up on the roof, Gule watched in intrigued at what he had just seen. "What was that? How can a human have that kind of power?" He turned to leave. He needed to tell the rest of his team about this new development.

It wasn't long before the news of the fight spread around the city and the discovery of this mysterious armored hero, who single-handedly defeated this unstoppable monster.

When Flash returned to school, he managed to sneak it without anyone noticing. His special bike had shrunk back to its tiny form, allowing him to pocket it without issue. He got to his final class of the day, his friends asking where he was during the previous period.

Luckily, he was able to come up with an excuse they believed and nobody said anything else. They were too focused on the news about the new hero and the monster attack.

As soon as school was out, Flash grabbed his bike and rode back home. He wished he could use his new bike, but realised people might get suspicious if he was racing around on the same vehicle as the armored man.

"I'm home," he announced once he arrived at his normal suburban home. He stepped into the living room and there, sitting on the couch, was his mother. Misty Vail, a silver skinned woman with purple hair. She smiled at him, as he sat down on the couch next to her.

"How was school?"

"Good," Flash nodded. "Nothing out of the ordinary."

"That's good," Misty smiled. "Your sister called and said she'd be spending the evening at her friend's house. Would you be okay picking her up?"

"You want me to bike all the way there and bring her back the same way?" Misty smiled and pointed to the coffee table, Flash looking down and seeing a car key sitting on it.

"Oh, yes!" Flash grabbed it. "Is this..."

"Lock smith came this afternoon. Programmed the key and managed to deactivate your old one. Whoever stole it's not gonna be able to use it anymore."

"Thanks mom," Flash smiled. "You're the best." Misty smiled back, as the news she was watching changed subjects.

"In other news, the police have released a statement about the monster attack that occurred earlier today. This Mimic creature is currently under investigation, along with the mysterious armored figure that appeared and defeated it." The TV showed an image of Shifter, Flash taking a close look since this was the first time he had seen himself in that form.

He had to admit it. He looked pretty cool.

"With us right now, is an expert in strange circumstances and unusual situations. Doctor Evan Nigma." The image showed a man dressed in a lab coat, with glasses and a strange hairdo. "Doctor Nigma. What do you make of this whole event?"

The doctor pushed his glasses up. "After closer examination of the facts, it appears our city has become host to a situation that is usually only restricted to Japan." The image showed Shifter once again. "A mysterious armored figure, riding a motorbike and fighting against a monster. In Japan, these individuals are known as Kamen Riders."

"Kamen Riders?" Flash felt like he had heard that before.

"For many decades, these heroes have fought against unusual threats and kept our world safe. And whilst most of their activities have been localised to Japan, that doesn't appear to be the case anymore."

The presenter turned to the screen. "There you have it, folk. Let's all hope we can rest easy in our beds, tonight. For Kamen Rider Shifter, is on the case."

"Kamen Rider Shifter," Flash smirked. "I like that."

"What did you say?" Misty asked, as Flash shook his head.

"Nothing." Flash got up. "I'm gonna...go make sure my car's alright. The thief might have stolen something from it." She nodded as Flash headed out.

"Just be careful. I'd hate for anything bad to happen to you."

"Oh," Flash smiled, "I wouldn't worry about that." He took the bike toy and screen device out of his jacket. "I get the feeling things aren't gonna be like they were before." With that, he headed out. He might not know what the heck was going on, but he knew one thing. He had been entrusted with the fate of his world. And he wouldn't let it down.

In another area, someone was watching the news broadcast. They were in a dark corner of the room, watching as the presenter gave his last remarks.

"There you have it, folk. Let's all hope we can rest easy in our beds, tonight. For Kamen Rider Shifter, is on the case."

The figure paused the TV, as they began to step forward. "Kamen Rider, huh?" The figure stepped into the light, revealing itself to be a figure wearing a suit similar to Shifter's.

Their suit was silver instead of black, with blue lines running around their body, whilst dark blue transparent armour was sitting atop it. This armour was much bulkier than Flash's, with thick chest armour and bulky shoulder-pads with triangular spikes on the end of them. Its helmet was almost completely covered, by the transparent blue material. The only thing uncovered, was a white mouth guard.

The eyes glowed yellow and the mask had a large blue horn coming out of the forehead, that mimicked a hercules beetle. On the end of the horn was a large V-shape, with two little nubs halfway up. The figure was also wearing the same belt Flash was wearing, with a bunch of blue light dots that showed a hercules beetle in many different positions.

The figure stared closer to the TV and stared at the image of shift, clearly interested in him. "You and I will be meeting soon. And when that happens, you better have some answers for me."

Author's Note

Now the world knows about the Mimics and their new hero. What's more, Flash has earned himself the title of Kamen Rider. Can he live up to that title? And who is this new Rider that's appeared? Stay tuned to find out.

For those curious, the bike's design is basically the Alpha Frame for the Stardust Accelerator Duel Runner. Look it up if you're curious.

Episode 3: Strange? An Another Rider

The weekend had come and everyone was trying to enjoy themselves, despite the looming threat of attack.

Several days had passed since the Mimic attack and in that time, there hadn't been any sign of a monster attempting to harm anyone. Nor had there been any sight of Canterlot's newest hero, Kamen Rider Shifter.

Said Kamen Rider, was using the free time of the weekend to do a little research.

Flash was in his room, laptop open as he sat at his desk. On the screen were blurry images and shaky video files. It was all focused on one subject. "Kamen Riders." Ever since people had started calling him that, he had been interested in learning more about this group that he had apparently joined.

According to what he had studied, Kamen Riders had first appeared over fifty years ago. Armored individuals, who rode motorcycles and fought against monsters, robots and a bunch of other things. And from what Flash had discovered, a good many of them were themed after some kind of insect. Just like him.

"I wonder." Flash sat back in his chair and thought about the white cloaked individual, who had given him his bike. He couldn't help but wonder if the figure had intended for him to gain that name, or if it was just a coincidence.

A knock at the door caught his attention, Flash turning towards it as the door opened. In doing so, his sister stepped into the room. Scootaloo.

The orange skinned, purple haired girl, wearing a black zip-up hoodie, green cargo pants and black boots, looked him over. "What are you doing?" She asked, as Flash closed his laptop.

"Homework," he told her. "What do you want?"

"Can you give me a ride to the mall? I'm meeting Applebloom and Sweetie Belle there."

Flash let out a sigh. "How is it when I got my licence, I somehow turned into your private chauffeur?"

"Come on. What else are you gonna do all day? We both know that wasn't homework you were doing." Flash wasn't sure what she thought he was doing, but he quickly wanted to change the subject.

"Fine. Let's go." Scootaloo cheered, as they headed out towards his car.

In a dark place, the three cloaked figures were standing around a radio.

"It has been several days since the attack from the usual creature calling itself a Mimic, which was destroyed by the one calling himself Shifter. Many people are wondering if it was some kind of performance stunt, whilst others are claiming to have seen more of these monsters and Shifter. But those sources are unconfirmed. Many wonder if another attack will happen and if so, where?"

One of the cloaks growled. "Shifter. He's destroyed two of our brethren now. We must make him pay."

"And how do we do that?" The female voice asked. "We don't know where he is or what he looks like without his mask. And if he has the power to destroy Mimics, how can we be sure he won't use that power to destroy us?"

"She's right," the older male agreed. "We need more info before we can counter him."

"Then let me awaken another of our brethren. They will lure this Kamen Rider out and once he's there, I will discover who he is and eliminate him. Why have we not attacked again already?"

"We must keep the humans off balance," the older male replied. "If we attacked every single day, they would know to expect an attack every day. We must keep the element of surprise."

"But I'm with Gule," the female stated. "It's time for the next Mimic to awaken. And hopefully, it'll defeat this Kamen Rider."

"And even if it can't," Gule turned to leave. "I'll destroy them myself." With that, he headed out and the other two cloaked individuals continued to listen to the radio. But eventually, they turned it off and got to their own work. They really needed to get the lights working again.

Flash and Scootaloo had arrived at the mall, Scootaloo running off to meet her friends the moment they arrived.

Meanwhile, Flash was simply browsing as he looked around and saw everyone enjoying themselves. He smiled, happy to see that the Mimics weren't scaring people into hiding themselves away.

He soon arrived at a store that sold electronics and decided to head inside, wanting to see if there were any cool new gadgets he might enjoy playing with. The place had the usual stuff, like phones, music players, cameras and a few laptops. But there wasn't anything he would consider interesting.

"Flash?" He looked around and saw Twilight, who was carrying a box of new tech. She was dressed in her work clothes, a blue shirt and black pants, both of which had circuitry patterns on them, along with black shoes and blue socks she was wearing over her pants.

"Hey," he leaned against a table with some phones on it, "got anything new for me to play with?"

Twilight laughed. "Probably not. Unless you're interested in some new state of the art processors to upgrade your computer at home. But then you'd need to know about your laptop's gigabyte limit and data stream output." Flash was already lost. "Anyway, you come to the mall for a reason?"

"Dropping my sister off," Flash replied. "I was kind of expecting this place to be a ghost town, given everything that happened a few days ago."

"I thought the same thing. But I guess it takes more than a monster attack to make people scared these days." Flash nodded. "Honestly, I'm almost excited for another attack."

"Seriously?"

"Well, I don't want anyone to get hurt. But if a Mimic did so up, Shifter might show up as well."

"The one they're calling a Kamen Rider?" Twilight nodded, as Flash suddenly felt very hot under the collar. "Why would you wanna see him again? From what I've heard, not a lot is known about him."

"Exactly. And I want to know everything about him. Like what kind of technology he uses and how his bike's able to move at such an incredible speed. He doesn't use Equestrian Magic, so there has to be some other power source he's using. I'd love to study it, just for a minute."

"Well Shifter probably has his reasons," Flash shrugged. "Maybe he doesn't wanna risk his technology, falling into the wrong hands. Or maybe he's worried that if his identity got out, he'd never get to live a normal life again."

"I guess that makes sense," Twilight nodded. "Still, I hope he has someone that helps him out. I'd hate to have to fight a bunch of monsters, without Sunset or the other girls backing me up. Fighting on his own must be terrifying." Flash hadn't thought of that.

Was he really going to have to face every single Mimic on his own? So far, he had fought them one on one. But how long would it be before he was facing five or ten at a time. He was suddenly feeling very scared.

Outside the mall's back exit, a security guard was taking a break.

He stepped outside to have a smoke and unwind, but he wouldn't get the chance to do either of those things. For as soon as he closed the door, he suddenly heard a sound and looked around. And there, a few feet away, was the dark cloaked figure.

"Hello?" He asked, as the figure drew closer. "Can I help you?"

The figure stopped and spoke. "Awaken and remember what you truly are." The figure looked up and the guard was met with a pair of eyes, which caused him to suddenly go stiff before clutching his head. He cried out, as something without him broke and a flood of information was sent into his mind.

He stayed like this for a moment before stopping and looking up. "I am Lek-Nee-Ray."

The figure nodded and stepped back. "Destroy anything you find. Make the humans fear us and if someone tries to stop you, make them pay." With that, he was gone and the one calling himself Lek looked around.

He spotted an ant on the ground and thrust his arm out, said arm morphing into a slimy orange tendril that flew down and struck the ant. As soon as it was struck, the ant was trapped as the man pulled his arm back. The slime around the ant began to harden and morphed into an amber cocoon, with the ant trapped inside.

His body then began to melt into the slimy substance and reshape itself, eventually hardening to reveal a humanoid ant monster. It was brown in colour and had the head of a giant ant, whilst it had four arms that ended in small crescent pincers. Sticking out of its butt was a large thorax and the creature snapped his mandibles together.

Flash and Twilight laughed at something Flash said, the teens having a fun talk as Twilight used her magic to put everything that was in the box on display.

"Scootaloo really did that?"

"Yup," Flash nodded. "And ever since, we've had to mix our cake and pancake batter by hand. Seriously, of all the places to stick your tongue." They laughed and as they did, someone stepped into the store.

"Twily." They looked over and saw a man, with white skin and blue hair walking towards them. He was wearing a gray button up shirt, black pants and a silver coat over it. Flash had a feeling that despite looking friendly, Flash wouldn't wanna get on his bad side.

"Hey, Shining." Twilight turned to Flash. "This is my brother, Shining Armor. Shining, this is Flash. A friend from school."

"Oh yeah," Shining nodded. "Twilight's told me about you. The guys she tutors from time to time."

"And trust me, I wouldn't be passing Math class without her." Twilight blushed at the praise, as Flash suddenly noticed something on Shining's belt. A gun holster. "Um...are you licensed to carry that?" Shining saw what he was looking at and smirked.

"Sure," Shining took out his wallet and opened it up. "Here's my licence." He flipped it open and showed a policemen's shield, Flash relaxing at this as Shining put it away. "Anyway. Twilight, your lunch break soon?"

Twilight checked the time. "Another couple of minutes. Did you wanna get something to eat?"

"Sure." He turned to Flash, "you wanna join us?"

"Really?" Flash asked, "you're okay with that? We've just met."

"Yeah, but I'm good at telling if someone's trustworthy or not. Always been a sixth sense of mine. So, you in?" Flash thought for a moment and was about to say yes, but then another voice caught their attention.

"Twilight!" They all looked around and saw a brown skinned teen with green hair, wearing a red shirt under a sleeveless blue jacket, yellow-brown pants and a black beanie on his head.

"Timber?" Twilight laughed as she ran up to him. They hugged and as they did, Flash noticed Shining looking a little upset. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at Camp Everfree?"

"Things have been pretty slow around camp," Timber explained. "My sister also hired some new workers and things are working pretty smoothly. So I thought I'd use the time to come see how everything's going around here." He then noticed the other two and smirked. "Shining. Long time, no see."

"Yes," Shining nodded, "I guess it has."

Timber smiled at him and turned to Flash. "Hey, we've met before, right? Dash?"

"Flash," he corrected him. "And yeah. I was at the camp with Twilight and the others. How's your sister been after the whole..." He glanced at Shining, "incident."

"Oh, she's fine now. Helps that the camp's future is secured...at least for now." He turned to Twilight. "Anyway. I thought we could spend the day hanging out together. Maybe go see a movie or get something to eat."

"Thanks Timber," Twilight smiled. "But I've only got about thirty minutes for my lunch break. Besides, I was gonna go eat with Flash and Shining. But you're welcome to join us. Right guys?"

"I don't know," Shining frowned. "I guess it's okay, but finding a place that seats four might be tricky. Unless we go to the food court, but I'm not a big fan of the food they serve there."

"There's a burger place that's not too far from here," Timber smirked. "But you're right about them usually only sitting two or three. Four might be a bit of a stretch."

"It's cool," Flash told them. "You guys have fun. I should probably get going anyway." Flash wasn't sure why he suddenly didn't wanna have lunch with them, but something about Timber was making him lose his appetite.

"Are you sure?" Twilight asked. "It wouldn't be fair if you didn't get to go."

"It's cool," Flash assured her. "You've only got a limited break time. Spend it with your brother and Timber." He started walking away. "I'll see you later." With that, he was gone and they watched him leave.

"Nice kid," Shining told Twilight. "Considerate." Twilight nodded, as Timber turned to her.

"So, burger place? Sitting three shouldn't be a problem for them." Shining frowned at him. "Come on. We going or not?" He headed out and Twilight followed once she cleared her lunch break with her boss. Shining was the last one, a frown on his lips as he headed out.

Flash was making his way through the mall, having stopped off to get a smoothie from Applejack.

As he slurped up his drink, he thought about what had just happened. Why had he been so annoyed, when Timber showed up? He figured he had put his feelings about the guy behind him, when he realised he and Twilight didn't have a future. But seeing the two together like that had made him want to transform and Rider Kick the guy into next week.

"Come on, Flash." He shook his head, as he slurped up more of the orange and passion fruit. "You've got more important things to think about." Number one was finding the Mimics and stopping them before they could hurt anyone. Until then, he didn't have time to be interested in girls. He needed to focus on fighting, so he could learn the truth about what happened to him.

He headed past the sporting goods store and noticed Rainbow, using her super speed to stack boxes and put up signs. He wished he could use his powers for everyday activities, but he doubted being able to destroy things with a kick had many uses outside of fighting monsters.

Back with Twilight and the boys, they had arrived at the burger place Timber had suggested.

Unfortunately, the place was jam packed when they got there. Every table was full and wouldn't be empty for a while, meaning eating there was out of the question. "Oh, great." Timber cried. "Sorry guys. I was sure this place wouldn't be jam packed."

"That's okay," Twilight assured him. "We'll just go somewhere else. Sunset works at a sushi place."

"I'm not a big fan of sushi," Shining stated. "What about that pizza place?"

"Pizza, for lunch?" Timber clearly didn't like that idea. "There's that fried chicken place. Eleven herbs and spices." The siblings seemed to be considering this. But before they could say yes, they suddenly heard a bunch of screams.

They all turned towards the source of the commotion and Shining rushed forward, Twilight going with him. Meanwhile, Timber stood there. "Where are you going?" The siblings said nothing and kept running, until they reached a large crowd of people running away.

Pushing through this group, they reached the middle of the mall and were shocked to see a monster attacking it.

The ant human hybrid roared, as it grabbed the mall's fountain and ripped part of it out of the ground. The beast looks around and sees them before throwing the fountain part towards them, Shining looking ready to tackle his sister out of the way.

But Twilight reacted first and ponied up, using her magic to stop the piece of concrete before it could hit her.

Shining looks impressed by this, as Twilight spun the fountain part around her before throwing it back towards the monster. But the ant simply backhanded the piece of marble and turned it to dust, Twilight frowned. "This must be another one of those Mimics."

"So that's what they look like." Shining pulled out his gun and fired, but the creature didn't even bother to dodge. And for good reason, as the bullet just bounced off its shell like it was nothing. "Seriously?" They both frowned, all the while Timber snuck over and hid around a corner to watch.

The three all thought the same thing. This creature wasn't going down easily.

Back outside, Flash was heading towards his car.

But just as he took out his key to open it up, he was overwhelmed with a feeling. One that made him look towards the mall, as a large group of people started running out of it. "That can't be good." He rushed towards the building and grabbed someone who ran out of it. "What's happening?"

"A monster's attacking. It's one of those Mimic things!" The man pulled himself out of Flash's grip and ran for it, Flash frowning as he turned to the building.

The first thing he thought about was his sister. He had to make sure she was safe. As such, he ran inside and prayed she had gotten out unharmed. But if he found the Mimic first, he would destroy it before it could harm anyone else.

"Raaah!" Twilight grabbed another piece of damaged fountain in her magic and threw it.

The ant saw it coming and leapt into the air, showing impressive jumping skill as it landed on a nearby wall and stuck to it. As it did, Shining kept firing. He hoped hitting the same spot would damage his shell, creating a weak point they could target. But no matter how many times he fired, the shell did not allow itself to be damaged.

"Damn it!" Shining cried, as the Ant Mimic leapt off the wall and landed right next to Twilight. "No!" Before his sister could react, the creature grabbed her around the neck and threw her across the room. Shining watched as Twilight crashed into the wall and hit her head. "TWILIGHT!"

She fell to the ground and laid there, slumped along the floor not moving. After a few seconds, she returned to normal and was still knocked out.

Shining turned to the Mimic and roared, but the creature was faster and rushed over to grab him by the neck. He then spun around and threw Shining away, the man flying through the air and crashing through a clothing store's window. He then hit a rack of clothes and knocked it over, getting buried by the clothing in the process.

Timber watched, as the Ant Mimic clicked its pincers together and looked around.

It then turned to Twilight, who was still unconscious. And just as it was about to do something, footsteps filled the air and it turned to see Flash. The teen ran forward and spotted the monster, then noticed the girl laying on the floor.

"Twilight!" He rushed to her side and tried to shake her awake, but found she was completely unconscious. As this was going on, Shining was pulling himself out of the clothing whilst Timber continued to watch. Flash turned towards the monster and stood tall, as the Mimic Driver appeared on his wrist.

He took out the screen device and held it up, pressing the button to activate it. "STRIKE!" He quickly opened the side of the Driver and placed the screen inside, completely unaware that he was being watched by Shining and Timber.

As the Ant Mimic stared at him, he struck a pose. "Henshin!" He slammed the draw shut and the belt activated.

"MIMIC! LIGHTNING BUG!" Flash crossed his arms, as the liquid flew out of the pipes and began to cover him. It quickly solidified before breaking apart, revealing the suited up teen before the amber slammed into him and formed the armor. As the transformation completed, the Driver spoke. "Illuminate the light, striking through the darkness!"

Both Shining and Timber were shocked by what they had just witnessed.

"The winds of victory have shifted," the Kamen Rider announced before running forward. Before the Mimic could respond, the Rider leapt at it as he slammed the side of his belt inwards.

"CLIMACTIC STRIKE!"

His boot was surrounded with energy and with a mighty kick, he slammed it into the Mimic and sent it flying backwards whilst it was electrocuted by the energy. This wasn't enough to destroy it, but it did give Shifter the time he needed.

He pulled out the motorbike toy and threw it at the ground, causing it to melt and grow before reshaping. Once the bike was completed, Shifter grabbed Twilight and carried her over to the machine. But as he placed her on it, the Mimic picked itself up.

Shifter growled, wishing there was a way for him to get Twilight to safety and stop this thing from doing any more harm.

Then, suddenly, the bike revved up on its own and raced off with Twilight on it. "Huh?" He watched it go, Twilight not falling off at all. "Okay. Wasn't expecting that." He heard the beast roar, as it charged forward to attack.

He thrust his foot back without even looking, knocking the creature away. As it hit the ground, Shifter prepared for a fight. "Bring it on." He charged, as the beast picked itself up and the two began to fight. Shifter jumped around, leaping off the wall and dodging all the ant's attacks.

Their fight caused them to both move away from the area, allowing Shining and Timber the chance to let what happened sink in.

Shining finally acted, jumping out of the window and running off somewhere. This just left Timber, who stared at the spot Flash had last been in. And after a few moments, he nodded and ran off somewhere as well.

Shifter and the Ant Mimic continued their battle, with Shifter having a clear advantage as he fought against the monster.

The Ant threw its claw at Shifter, but the Kamen Rider easily caught it by the wrist before flipping it around. The alien roared, as it was sent flying and crashed into the ground. Flash kept hold of the creature's arm and pulled it upwards, whilst slamming a boot into its chest.

The creature roared in pain, as Shifter tried to think of what to do.

He could destroy the monster, but that would only nullify the threat. There had to be a way he could get some information out of the creature. Find out how to defeat the Mimics, once and for all. Because once that happened, he might finally have some answers from that weird cloak guy.

However, something happened that soon caught him completely by surprise.

Out of nowhere, something flew towards him at high speed. "Huh?" He looked around, just as the creature slammed into him. "GYAH!" He was thrown off the Mimic and sent flying through the air, the Rider doing several spins before landing on his feet and sliding along the ground.

He slid to a stop and looked up, his eyes going wide at the sight of another monster helping the ant up.

It looked like the cross between a man and an insect. Its body was humanoid, but it was surrounded by a green exoskeleton. It had a pair of insect wings on its back and its hands and feet looked like that of an insect with three fingers that were like insect arms. On the back of each of its elbows and on its knees were some kind of glass dome that looked like they lit up. The head appeared to be humanoid, but it was wearing an insectoid mask.

"Another Mimic?" Flash asked, as the creature laughed.

"I'm not just any Mimic." Shifter's eyes went wide, not expecting to hear these things talk. "I am Gule-Far-Tar. General of the Mimic army." Shifter let that sink in and realised, this guy had to be one of the big bosses. "I came here to uncover what's been destroying my fellow Mimics. And now I've uncovered it. You."

"Your Mimics are trying to destroy my world," Shifter stated. "If they wanna do that, they're gonna have to go through me!" He ran forward and Gule did the same, the pair meeting in the middle and throwing a punch at one another.

The impact knocked the two back, Shifter off his feet whilst Gule staggered back.

As this happened, the Ant Mimic charged and dived on Shifter. The Kamen Rider managed to raise a leg, so the creature slammed into his foot. But as he kicked it away, Gule attacked.

Shifter leapt to his feet and the pair traded blows, whilst the Ant attacked as well. It was two on one and Shifter was clearly at a disadvantage, not getting a second to catch his breath as the monsters attacked one after the other. If something wasn't done to change the odds, Flash would be in real trouble.

Outside, many people were grouped up in a large crowd.

Whilst they were worried the monster would attack them outside, curiosity also got the better of them. They were all wondering if Shifter would show up and fight against the creature, or maybe someone else might find a way to stop it.

Rainbow, Applejack and even Rarity were outside. They all wanted to go back in and help, but they had their own issues to worry about. Scootaloo, Sweetie and Applebloom were with them, having escaped once they heard about the monster attack. The girls had to make sure the three were safe before they could think about going in to fight a monster.

"Is everyone okay?" Rarity asked, the girls nodding as Scootaloo looked around.

She spotted Flash's car and suddenly grew worried. "Where is he?" She looked around, but there was no sign of him. "Is he still inside?"

"A'h doubt it," Applejack told her. "He probably left ages ago and didn't want to find another parkin' space. A'm sure he's fine." Scootaloo wasn't so sure, but an engine pulled her attention away from searching for her brother.

From out of the mall, a bike flew out with somebody on it. That somebody was Twilight, who Rainbow, Applejack and Rarity rushed over to. "Twilight!" Rarity cried, as they recognised the bike. "Isn't this Shifter's bike?"

"Yeah," Rainbow nodded, "where'd you get it?" But Twilight didn't answer and they realised she was unconscious. "Twilight!" She tried to pull Twilight off, but the girl didn't move. Looking down, they realised part of her body had something fused to the bike. Her legs had the metal melded to her pants and shoes, whilst her hands were stuck on the bike's handles.

"What the hay?" Applejack tried to pull her off, but it didn't work. "Come on. Let her go." The others tried to follow suit, but nothing happened. "What's wrong with this thing?"

As they tried to extract her from the bike, sirens filled the air and they looked around. They soon spotted ambulances, police cars and even a few news crews. Clearly, news of the Mimic attack had reached the authorities and they wanted to do something about it.

Back inside, Shifter and the two Mimics continued to fight.

Shifter was growing more and more tired, as he did his best to fight to two off. And as he blocked a slash from the Ant, Gule suddenly dealt a kick to his chest. "Gyah!" He was knocked off his feet and slammed into the ground, Gule quickly grabbing him by the foot and flying him into the air before throwing him across the room.

He hit the ground and slid across it, moaning at the impact until he came to a stop.

Gule laughed as the Ant charged again, whilst Shifter tried to pick himself up. And as it got close, the Kamen Rider raised his arms and unleashed a bright flash of light from bulbs on his suit. The light struck the creature's giant eyes and made it scream in pain, allowing Shifter to rise.

He ran at the beast and dealt a swift punch into its chest, knocking it back as he quickly fired off two more punches before swinging his leg around to kick it.

As the Ant tried to recover, Gule flew in and blocked another punch. And as Shifter pulled back to deliver another strike, Gule's own body unleashed a brilliant light. "Augh!" Shifter hissed, his visors doing nothing to protect him from the bright flash.

As he staggered back, he remembered those glass domes on the Mimic General's body and realised they were the same as his own lights. This thing had his ability.

The world around him still blurry, Shifter was unable to defend himself when Gule flew forward and grabbed him by the neck. The next thing he knew, he was lifted into the air and flown over to one of the walls. He was smashed into it hard before being pulled away and flown over to another wall, smashing into it just as hard.

This happened two more times before Gule flew him down and threw him towards the Ant Mimic, which slammed one of its pincer fists into Shifter and sent him flying in another direction.

He crashed into a pillar and broke right through it, falling to the ground as Gule and the Ant moved towards him. He tried to pick himself up, but he needed a moment to recover.

"With you out of the way, there'll be nothing to stop us from taking over." But as Gule was about to attack, a noise caught their attention. One which made them look around and see something, moving towards them.

It was a bike, which looked like a blue version of Shifter's bike. It had silver under the bodywork and yellow streams on it. And riding it was a figure, dressed in a silver suit with blue armor themed on a hercules beetle.

The figure drove and before the Mimic could comprehend what was happening, the bike accelerated and rammed into Gule. The impact sent the Mimic General flying, eventually crashing into the ground.

The bike had stopped seconds after slamming into Gule, the rider throwing a kick towards the Ant and knocking it away as well. Then, he got off his bike and moved over to Shifter. "You alright?"

Shifter looked up at him and finally realised, he was just like him. Wearing the same belt and screen device as him. "You're...like me."

"Name's Morphic." He held out a hand, "Kamen Rider Morphic. You looked like you could use some help." Shifter took the hand and was pulled to his feet, as Gule picked himself up.

"Another one!?" He cried, as the Ant pushed itself to its feet. "No matter. I will destroy you both."

"You deal with the loudmouth," Morphic announced. "I'll take ant head over there." Shifter nodded and charged towards Gule, whilst Morphic walked towards the Mimic.

Shifter leapt into the air and dealt a powerful kick to Gule, who tried to block with his hands but had little success. As he was sent staggering back, Shifter continued to throw punches and kicks at him. Gule quickly managed to recover and started fighting back, the pair appearing at a stalemate one on one.

Meanwhile, the Ant Mimic charged and tried to grab Morphic. But the blue Rider was able to easily knock his pincers away and deal his own punch to the creature.

The Ant staggered back. From what it could tell, Morphic was slower than Shifter. But he had more strength than the orange Rider, allowing him to hit harder. And with the Ant being at around the same speed, the two appeared to also be at a stalemate.

Morphic charged forward and dealt several strong punches towards it, the Ant doing its best to block or dodge them. It managed to avoid two and deflect two, but still got hit several times. It cried out, but kept fighting and slashed its pincers towards Morphic.

The Rider was struck in the chest, but his armor was able to protect him from any serious damage. And when the Ant tried to go for an unarmored section, Morphic grabbed his arm before it could deal him any damage. And with a powerful kick to the stomach, the Ant was thrown backwards and crashed into the ground.

The Mimic hissed, but it hadn't taken any serious damage. Despite how strong Morphic was, the Ant's armor was clearly able to take his attack. No matter how hard Morphic struck it, he couldn't destroy it.

However, it seemed Morphic realised this too. And was ready.

"Blitz Blaster!" Suddenly, part of his gauntlet turned to liquid and flew down into his hand. Once there, it solidified and reshaped itself. Soon enough, a blue handgun with a long barrel was in his grasp. And as the ant charged, he quickly fired a blue energy out of it.

The Ant saw this coming, but couldn't move in time to dodge. The energy slammed into it and when it did, a powerful explosion caused its chest armor to crack. This made the Mimic scream in pain, as it staggered back and clutched its chest. Morphic then fired again, hitting another section of his chest and blowing that apart as well. He then fired multiple times.

All the creature could do was scream. With each strike, its body was blown apart. Its hands were blasted off, its legs were destroyed at the knees and several holes were sticking out of the armor.

As the Mimic fell to the ground, Morphic slammed his hand into the side of the belt.

"CLIMACTIC BLITZ!"

His armor glowed before the light began to fly through his body and into his blaster, which started lighting up as Morphic pointed it towards the sky.

The Mimic saw this and tried to crawl away, but it was no use. All it could do was drag itself, helplessly, a few inches at a time.

"Feel the full force of my justice." Morphic fired the weapon and it flew straight up, with him suddenly leaping right after it. Somehow, he was able to fly past the energy sphere that had formed and spun around. He slammed his foot into the orb and kicked it, the blast flying back towards the ground even faster than before.

It morphed into a glowing blue meteor, which shot down to the Mimic and exploded upon contact.

The beast roared, as it exploded and Morphic landed on the ground in front of the explosion. When the flames and smoke from the blast faded away, the Mimic was nowhere in sight.

Shifter and Gule continued their fight, both still at a stalemate.

Shifter threw a kick at Gule's neck, but the Mimic General blocked before trying to kick him back. But Shifter was able to grab his foot and the pair could only stand there, each on one foot, as they fought against the other's strength.

Eventually, they pushed away from one another and staggered back. As they did, the lights on their bodies glowed and they unleashed the beams towards the other. Both were blinded, unable to properly fight back.

They quickly shook off the blindness and both ran forward, Gule taking flight whilst Shifter leapt up and swung his leg to kick. But Gule quickly swung his claws around and the two were knocked away from one another, landing as they panted.

Gule growled, wanting to end this nuisance once and for all. But before he could, blaster fire flew towards him and he was forced to leap back. "What?" He looked over and saw Morphic, running towards him with his weapon in hand.

"Give it up!" Morphic announced, stepping up next to Shifter. "You can't beat us both."

Gule growled and looked ready to attack, but then they all heard noises. More footsteps and voices, coming closer. It appeared the police had arrived. "We'll finish this later," Gule stated before leaping into the air.

Morphic tried to blast him, but had no such luck and Gule broke through a nearby skylight. "Ahhh," Morphic cried. The noises got closer. Any minute, the place would be swarming with police. "We need to get out of here." As he said that, his bike rolled over to them.

"Not good," Shifter gulped. "My bike's still not back yet."

"Get on!" Morphic climbed on the bike and Shifter stared at him, clearly unsure if he should trust this guy. "I'm on your side." Shifter sighed and climbed onto the bike, holding onto Morphic's sides as the bike revved up.

As the police and news crews arrived, the two raced off and flew out the nearest window they could find.

Back outside, they were still trying to figure out how to get Twilight off of the bike.

"Come on!" Applejack did everything she could to pry the metal off of her, but she couldn't without risking injury to Twilight. "Why won't it let her go!?" The others frowned, wishing they had an answer. But the bike kept its hold on her.

It was then that they heard a loud smashing sound and turned towards it, as another bike suddenly raced out from around the building. It was moving so fast, they couldn't tell who was on it. But as soon as it passed, the bike Twilight was on suddenly revved up.

The metal holding her to it also gave way, causing her to almost slip off as her friends caught it. The bike then raced off, following the other bike in becoming a blur and disappearing.

"That was weird," Rainbow stated before Twilight let out a moan. "Twi! You okay?" She opened her eyes and looked around, seeing she was outside.

"What happened?" The others frowned, wishing she would have the answers for them.

Morphic raced through the streets, swerving between the bikes until he turned into an alleyway and drove down it.

Once they were safely out of the public's eye, he rolled to a stop and allowed Shifter to climb off his bike. "Thanks," he told him. "I might have been in trouble, if you hadn't gotten me out of there."

"No problem," Morphic told him. "Us Riders have to stick together, huh Flash." The orange rider's eyes went wide as he leapt back, ready to fight. "Wait, just relax."

"How do you know who I am?"

"You transformed right in front of me." Shifter tilted his head, as Morphic reached down and opened up his Driver. Once he took out the screen, the armor began to melt away and his suit disappeared. This revealed the person underneath.

"Shining?"

Shining Armor smiled, as his bike shrank back down. As it did, Shifter's bike finally arrived and rolled next to him. "You should really be careful when you transform. You're lucky I was the one who saw you. You might not be so lucky next time."

"But...how? How are you a Kamen Rider?"

"Honestly, I have no idea." Shining held the screen in his hand. "One day, I was chasing after a criminal when I suddenly blacked out. The next thing I knew, I was waking up and this thing was in my hand. What about you?"

"Same," Flash nodded. "Have you...talked about this with anyone?"

"No. But since you have a bike, I'm guessing you met our friend in the cloak." Flash nodded. "He said all would become clear when I defeated the Mimics. But before I could find one, you suddenly showed up and started kicking butt. Thanks for stealing my thunder. I had a whole speech planned out for when I revealed myself to the world."

"Um...sorry."

"It's cool. I'll admit, you made up on the spot something that was way better than what I came up with." They both looked down at the screen devices, curious about what had happened to them. "Flash. I know you're a kid who's probably in over his head, but I need you. I can't do this on my own and you can't do it either. We need to work together."

Flash smiled. "I was hoping you'd say that. Because based on what happened today, there's no way I'd win this fight on my own." He held out his hand. "Partners?"

Shining smirked and took his hand, "partners. Now. let's get back to the mall. I need to check on my sister."

"Same," Flash nodded. "I just hope they're okay. Your sister looked like she was in pretty bad shape when I showed up. Where were you and Timber?"

"I'd been knocked into some clothes," Shining led him out of the alleyway. "I don't know where Timber went. But I'm more worried about that Mimic General. He was pretty strong, for someone who was probably just a high up grunt. Makes me wonder who the big boss is. And how many more generals he has."

Flash nodded, wondering the same thing. He knew it was just a matter of time before they met all those in charge, especially if they kept messing up the Mimics' plans. But since the Mimics had no idea who Flash and Shining were under the masks, they had nothing to worry about.

Gule had returned to the dark place that acted as the Mimic's base, the insectoid monster sighing as he sat down.

"Chosen to get rid of the cloak, I see." Gule rolled his eyes, as he turned towards the female voice. "Good. I'm starting to get sick of this thing as well." A ripping sound filled the air. As it did, a feminine monster suddenly appeared out of the darkness.

Her body was mostly black, being rather slim in appearance with a large bust and hips along with thick arms and legs. Her hands and high-heeled feet were red. Her arms, legs and hips were covered in red web-like designs and around her neck was a long black collar that flowed down over her shoulders, chest and back. Along the collar were eight red lines that resembled spider legs that were connected by red spider-webbing. She was also wearing a skirt that mimicked the rear of a spider, the same webbing pattern on it. Her head was entirely round with black skin and four red eyes that appeared to be divided into four sections.

The woman stepped forward and smiled at him. "Well aren't you a sorry sight."

"Back off, Maya. I'm not in the mood."

"Now now," a male voice replied as another figure stepped forward. "Let's not fight. We're all on the same team, after all."

Another monster appeared out of the darkness. Its body looked like the cross between a man and a bird, as a pair of black wings came out of its back. Most of its body was also covered in black feathers, with only its neck, head, hands and feet having visible skin. That skin was pink and wrinkly around its hands, neck and head, whilst the feet were grey and thin with three long toes. Its neck was long and curved, with a round head and slanted beak for a mouth.

"Frill," Gule glared at him. "We may have the same goals, but that doesn't make us a team. My only care, is to protect the Mimics and allow them to complete their mission."

"Indeed," the vulture Mimic nodded. "But to do that, we must work together. And based on your injuries, I'm assuming you had a little tussle with the one they call Shifter."

"Not just Shifter. There's another one, calling himself Morphic. He's just as dangerous." The other two frowned at this. "But I have uncovered something. Shifter's true identity."

"Really?" Maya asked, "how did you discover that?" Gule stood up and as he did, his body began to melt and change. Slowly, he took a new form and his body eventually solidified. When it did, it revealed a brown skinned teen with green hair. Timber Spruce.

"I saw him," Timber replied. "And now that I know who he is, I will destroy him."

"Well, don't forget you're not in this alone." Maya raised a hand and snapped her fingers, causing light to flood the room. Doing so caused the entire place to be revealed. A giant laboratory of some kind, full of tables carrying glass jars.

Inside those jars, pulsing orbs of orange-brown slime were moving around within them. Enough to make an entire army of creatures, ready to destroy the Earth. Timber, or was it Gule, smiled at the sight of them all.

"Soon, those Kamen Riders won't know what hit them." He and the other two laughed, as they knew this fight had only just begun. The Riders might be winning the battles, but the war would end in Mimic victory.

Author's Note

I'm guessing a lot of people knew Shining would be the other Rider. Well, now he and Flash have teamed up. And we get to see who Gule is under that monster form. How will things turn out next time? Only time will tell.

Episode 4: A Crabby Comeback

In their mysterious lab, the three Mimic Generals were discussing their situation. Primarily, the Kamen Riders that were getting in their way.

"What's the problem?" Gule asked, currently in his monster form. "I know who Shifter is. I can easily find where he lives. So why don't we just go there and kill him whilst he sleeps? Stop him before he can transform?"

The vulture, Frill, hummed with his arms crossed. "That might not be a bad idea."

"Maybe," the spider Mimic named Maya stated. "But we have other issues to deal with. Kamen Rider Morphic. We have no idea who he is under that mask. If Shifter can be so easily defeated whilst unmasked, we can do it any time. But if we do it, Morphic will surely know and be on more of an alert. We should discover his identity or eliminate him, then deal with Shifter when he's not expecting it."

Gule obviously didn't like the idea of waiting, whilst Frill turned to her.

"What do you have planned?"

"Gears are already in motion. I can get Shifter alone, then send in a Mimic he has no hope of defeating without Morphic. But before Morphic can arrive, I'll be there to stop him." The two looked at her curiously, as he body began to melt and shift.

Slowly, it grew smaller and less monstrous. And eventually, it began to solidify and revealed a black skinned woman with flowing blue hair and bright green eyes. She was dressed in a business suit, with a green shirt under a black blazer with black pants and black high heels.

The woman stepped over to a table, where a jar of slime was waiting for her. She reached in and the slime transformed into a sphere, which she removed with a smile. "Yes. You will do quite nicely."

A few days had passed since the battle against the Ant Mimic.

Since that day, Flash and Shining Armor had stayed in contact with each other. This was to help them foster a sense of teamwork, which they would need if they wanted to stand any chance of defeating the Mimics together. So far, Flash had learned that Shining enjoyed comics and making models of robots and futuristic vehicles.

He was actually engaged to the principal of Crystal Prep, Cadance, and was also an enjoyer of Ogres and Oubliettes. Meanwhile, Shining had learned everything he could about Flash. It turned out, the two could get along quite well with each other. And that meant they should be able to work well together, should the need arise.

After the fight, the two had snuck back to the mall and instantly went to check on their younger sisters.

Whilst Scootaloo was okay, Twilight had a small head injury. But after a night in hospital, she was cleared with no damage done whatsoever. But her friends had quite the story to tell her, about how she had appeared on Shifter's bike. That had certainly thrown the girl for a loop.

Now, Flash was at his house getting ready.

He had promised to help out with a special event, chaperoning young children as they went to the city's aquarium. He was going with Twilight, Fluttershy, Rainbow and some other kids who apparently didn't go to CHS. He had been asked to help by a woman who had contacted him after talking with Celestia, having asked for any boys that were willing to help out. Flash had apparently been the first on the principal's list and Flash, being Flash, had been unable to say no.

"Alright," Flash headed down stairs where his mother was working on her laptop, "I'm off. Sure you don't want me to get you a souvenir?"

Misty chuckled. "No thanks. Fish have never really been my thing. Probably because of how easily I get seasick. But have fun." Flash nodded and headed out, running to his car and actually being excited for the day ahead.

But as his car came into view, a bright flash of light suddenly appeared before him.

"Wow!" Before he could stop himself, he ran through the light and found himself in a dark area. The same place he had appeared in when he first learned about the Mimics. "Hey, cloak guy. You here?" A light suddenly shined down from above, blinding him.

Once he was used to the light, he looked down and saw something rise up from below. The table that had once held his bike, now rose up and allowed him to see what was on top of it. Five more of the strange screen devices that he and Shining used to transform with.

He stepped forward and picked one up, allowing him to look it over and see it was blank. There were no letters on the side and when he pressed the button, nothing happened. The screen didn't light up at all. "What?"

"Those are Mimicores." Flash jumped and looked around, but saw no sign of the cloaked individual. "As you've probably realised, they are necessary to allow you to access your powers. The one you hold, allows you to wield the powers of a lightning bug. And the one Shining holds, grants him the power of the hercules beetle."

"Right," Flash nodded. "But what about these ones?"

"They are blanks," the voice replied. "They cannot be used. Not until you program them."

"Program them?"

"When you see an animal you wish to wield the powers of, hold the Mimicore up to it. Doing so will cause the Mimicore to copy all the abilities of that animal."

"Wow," Flash smirked, "imagine what Shining and I could do with these."

"That is why I am giving them to you. To help in the battles that are to come. Use them wisely, but be careful with who you let use them." Flash looked confused. "Each Mimicore, will also link itself to whichever Driver uses it first. You and Shining cannot swap the Mimicores you already have, so be careful when you use one. Because once you do, Shining will be unable to use it."

"Okay." Flash nodded. "Five Mimicores. Don't suppose you have a sixth one, do you?"

"Not at this time. But when I do, I will attempt to give them to you. For now, you and Shining decide who gets what. Use them to defeat the Mimics."

"I don't suppose you plan on telling us more about this whole situation?" Flash asked, but the figure did not reply. Instead, the light appeared behind him and he was thrown through it. "WOW!" The next thing he knew, he was back in front of his house. "Of course." He looked down at the five Mimicores he had received. He needed to get them to Shining.

But he also had the aquarium visit, which he was now probably late for. As such, he rushed over to his car and got in. As he did, he connected his phone to the car and dialled Shining's number. "Hello?" The man replied when he picked up.

As Flash drove to the aquarium, he told Shining what had happened. To say he was surprised was an understatement, but he was interested in the Mimicores Flash had received.

"Those will definitely come in handy," Shining told him. "Our Rider forms have their weaknesses, but this should help to overcome them."

"So what do we do about dividing them?" Flash asked. "There are five and only one person can use them."

"You take three," Shining replied. "I'll take the other two. I'm more trained when it comes to combat, so I should be able to do more with less. And if what that cloak guy said is true, we may end up getting more later."

"Alright," Flash nodded as he arrived at the aquarium. "I'll bring them over to you later. Hopefully, you don't run into a Mimic before I can get it to you."

"Cool. See you then." He hung up and Flash pulled into his parking space, as he spotted a group of young children at the front of the building.

Getting out of the car, he spotted Twilight, Fluttershy and Rainbow amongst them. And they weren't the only ones, as their were two boys around Flash's age there as well.

One was a light green skinned boy, with orange hair and purple eyes. He was wearing a green jacket over a purple shirt and brown pants. Next to him was a kid that looked almost identical, having the same face. But his skin was dark green and his hair was red. He was wearing a gray version of the other boy's jacket, with a purple shirt underneath and black pants.

"Hey," Flash waved as he approached. "This everyone?"

"Looks like it," Twilight nodded. "Have you met Thorax and Pharynx?" She gestured to the two, the light skinned boy stepping forward.

"Hey," he held out his hand. "Name's Thorax. Nice to meet you?"

"Flash Sentry," he shook the teen's hand. "Same here. Do you go to CHS?"

"Yes, but not for very long." Thorax gestured to the other boy, "my brother and I were homeschooled until recently." Flash was surprised by this, never heard of anyone who had actually been homeschooled before. "Our mom was really protective of us."

"But not anymore?"

"No," Pharynx shook his head. "She's barely ever around anymore. Which is why this whole thing feels weird. Why is she bothering to do all of this?"

"Is it so wrong that I wish to do some good for the community?" They all looked around and saw a tall woman with dark skin and green hair, marching towards them. "With everything that's been happening in this city lately, I thought the younger generation should enjoy some fun. Who knows how long those days will last, with those Kamen Riders causing trouble all over the city."

Flash frowned at this, whilst Thorax stepped forward. "Mom. The Kamen Riders aren't the ones causing trouble. It's the Mimics that are attacking. The Kamen Riders are trying to stop them."

"Don't be so naive, Thorax. It's clear those two weirdos are unleashing these creatures on the city, just so they can destroy them and pretend to be the heroes." Thorax frowned, clearly not agreeing. But before he could say anything else, his mother spoke up. "Anyway. Let's not ruin this day with an argument. Hello. My name is Chrysalis and I hope you're all looking forward to today."

"YEAH!" The younger children cheered, clearly excited to see all the different fish.

"Alright then." Chrysalis gestured for them to follow. They all headed into the building and arrived at a circular room, with a reception desk at the front, the walls painted blue with many cartoon fish and sea creatures covering it.

They all waited, as Chrysalis paid the woman for the entrance fee. And once that was done, she returned with a bunch of arm bands that they had to wear until they left.

"Now then," Chrysalis handed the bands out to them. "Please remember to behave whilst you're here. Any bad behaviour will reflect poorly on me. Be good and this may end up becoming a regular thing. Understand?"

"YES!" All the children announced. Once they were all wearing their arm bands, they ran off with the older teen following and making sure they stayed under control.

Chrysalis watched with a smile. But when they were out of sight, her smile dropped and she looked around. Once she was sure nobody was watching, something appeared in her hand. The orb of brownish orange slime, which she dropped.

As soon as it hit the floor, the orb melted and changed colour to mimic the carpet. "Find what I told you to find. And when you do, destroy Shifter and anyone else that gets in your way." The puddle began to move off, as Chrysalis turned to leave. She had to prepare for their next guest.

In the next room, Flash and the others all stared into the tank.

There were many different fish in the tank. Clown fish, starfish, flatfish and so on. The children were all amazed by them, but then noticed what they thought was the coolest fish of all. "Swordfish!" One boy cheered, seeing the creature in question swim into view.

"Cool," Thorax smirked at the sight of it. "Just imagine what it's like, to be a fish in the ocean whilst that thing is around. One minute, you're swimming along. And the next, you're suddenly impaled on its spear-like nose."

Twilight laughed. "Actually, that's not how swordfish hunt." Thorax turned to her. "In a way, it should really be called a club-fish. It uses its nose to whack their prey into submission, stunning them so the swordfish can easily finish them off."

"Really?" Pharynx asked. "So it never cuts its prey?"

"Sometimes, they use the tip to slash at the prey. But that's more to injure them so they slow down, allowing the swordfish to catch up and stun them."

"I wonder how sharp its nose is," Flash stared at the fish before it suddenly shot off.

"Probably not that sharp," Twilight replied. "It doesn't need to be. At the speed it can move, even a dull blade would be able to cut into a fish's body. If something's moving fast enough, it'll be able to cut through anything."

Flash nodded, as the kids moved to another tank in order to check out a cool looking octopus.

They continued through the aquarium, seeing the many interesting sea life all over the place. There were puffer fish, large turtles, a small coral reef with all kinds of different creatures living there. Stingrays, eels and even a few rare breeds of sea snail. All of them were amazing to look at.

Slowly, as they made their way further and further into the aquarium, the groups began to split off in order to examine the different tanks and sea life.

Flash and Thorax's group soon arrived at the area that housed the penguins, Flash being very glad he was wearing a hoodie due to how cold it was. They stepped over to the observation platform, overlooking the penguin habitat. There, they watched as the flightless birds slid down the ice slides and dived into the water.

There was another section below them, which would allow them to watch the penguins swim. They would have to go see it later.

"This is awesome," Thorax smiled. "I've always wanted to see penguins up close."

"Haven't you ever been to something like this before?" Flash turned to him, as Thorax shook his head.

"No. Honestly, my brother and I never get to go anywhere like this. Growing up, mom was always too busy. First she was busy running a business on her own, whilst also looking after my brother and me. Then, when her business took off, she was constantly running around trying to manage the different branches of it. All the while, she made sure Pharynx and I studied and got good grades."

"What about your dad?"

"Never met him. He ran off before my brother and I were born." Flash frowned, feeling bad for him.

"Sorry, man. I know what it's like, growing up without a father. Mine died when I was younger. I can barely remember him." Thorax nodded, as they began to make their way down to the lower sections. "Ever since then, it's just been my mom, sister and me. My mom worked hard to provide for us but even so, she always found time to make sure my sister and I were happy."

"I never said I wasn't happy," Thorax stated. "My mom might always be busy, but I've got Pharynx and we have fun together. We play games, do our school work together. We have a large house that we have pretty much free reign over. Everything's good."

"Except your mom hardly spends any time with you guys. I get she wants to make enough for you all to live comfortably on, but I think I'd rather spend time with my parents instead of having a large house, cool car and going on fancy vacations." Thorax nodded, clearly not arguing against him.

They arrived at the lower section, where they got to see the penguins swimming around having fun. The kids were all having a blast and as they watched a penguin do a spin as it dived lower, Flash and Thorax couldn't help but smile.

But then, Flash suddenly sensed something and turned towards an area of the aquarium.

"You okay?" Thorax asked, only for a bunch of screams to suddenly fill the air followed by the sound of shattering glass. "What the?"

"Take the kids back to Twilight and the others. I'll go make sure everything's okay!" Flash ran forward and Thorax was left to wonder what was going on, the blue haired teen running through the aquarium towards the screams. And when he arrived at the source, he found a bunch of people running towards him. He pushed himself to the side and looked over them, allowing to see what they were running from.

It was a humanoid crab monster. Its body was a mixture of black and red, being black in the areas that had moving joints such as the shoulders, elbows, waist and knees. The rest was covered in red armor, its head being encased in a red dome-like structure with multiple glowing green eyes. Instead of hands, it had a pair of large crab claws on the ends of its arms. And when it opened those claws, holes could be seen in the centre that it shot high pressured water out of.

The Mimic was standing next to a large tank, which had been shattered and water sent everywhere. Along with it, a bunch of lobsters and crabs were running about the place.

Flash looked around and spotted a doorway, which he quickly rushed through into another room. This one was empty and Flash took out his phone, texting Shining two words. 'Aquarium, Mimic.' Sending it off, her took out his Mimicore as the Driver appeared around his waist.

As soon as Shining got the text, he ran over to a spot he wouldn't be seen. And as the belt appeared on his waist, Shining took out his Mimicore and activated it.

"BLITZ!"

He opened up his driver and placed the device inside, striking a pose as he did. "HENSHIN!" He slammed the draw shut and the lights on his belt turned dark blue.

"MIMIC! HERCULES BEETLE!" Shining crossed his arms, as the orange-brown liquid flew out of the pipes and began to cover him. It quickly solidified into the cocoon before breaking apart, revealing the silver suited figure. The amber then slammed into him and turned blue, forming his hercules beetle armor and mask. As the transformation was complete, the Driver spoke. "Power that shatters everything, contained in a mighty horn!"

Morphic took out the toy motorbike and threw it into the air, the vehicle melting and enlarging itself as it fell to the ground. It solidified as soon as it hit the pavement, creating the blue, silver and yellow motorcycle.

He leapt onto the machine and revved it up, racing out of the alleyway and zooming down the street towards the aquarium. "Hold on, Flash. I'll be there soon."

Back at the aquarium, the Crab Mimic continued to attack anything that moved.

The people continued to run to escape, whilst the Mimic smashed multiple tanks and caused them to empty out. Luckily, all the animals in these tanks were ones that could survive out of the water. But it was drawing closer to the ones with fish and other completely aquatic creatures in it.

Twilight, Fluttershy, Rainbow, Pharynx and Thorax, were trying to get the kids out of the building.

"Where's Flash?" Twilight asked, looking around. But the teen was nowhere in sight. The others shrugged, as they tried to make it to the exit. But the only way out of the location they were in, was to go through the area the Mimic was in.

"What do we do?" Thorax asked, as Twilight and Rainbow nodded.

"We'll hold that thing off," Rainbow stated. "You guys get the kids out of here!" They nodded before the girls cards into the room, which had crabs and other creatures scuttling around the place.

The Mimic noticed them and quickly launched a blast of water towards them, but Twilight managed to stop the water and push it away from them. And once the water flow stopped, Rainbow charged forward and performed a powerful kick right to the creature's chest.

But the attack did nothing but hurt Rainbow foot, the girl crying out as she was forced to stagger back and hold her leg. "Rainbow, look out!" Rainbow had to duck under the creature's claw, then leap back to safety.

The Mimic growled, snapping its claws as it chased after her. Twilight was about to throw something at it, but a sound then caught her attention.

"CLIMATIC STRIKE!"

An orange blur flew past and the next thing she knew, the Mimic was getting struck by a supercharged kick. The impact sent it flying backwards, as Shifter landed in front of them. "You alright?" He asked Rainbow, who nodded. Shifter was about to say something else, but the Mimic stood up. "What?" He looked towards the beast, but saw it didn't even have a scratch. "Tough little bugger."

"We need to keep it distracted," Twilight told him. "So Fluttershy, Pharynx and Thorax can get the kids to safety."

Shifter nodded and charged, the beast firing a blast of water at him. Shifter dodged this attack and managed to get in close, throwing a punch into it. But this did nothing against its rock solid armor. "Ow!"

The monster roared, as it swung its claws at him once again. But he managed to avoid them, as Twilight and Rainbow helped Shifter keep it distracted. As they did, Pharynx saw the opening and turned to the others. "Let's go." They nodded and all headed off, running as fast as they could.

They managed to get past the Mimic and headed for the exit, whilst Shifter crossed his arms to block a punch by one of its large clawed hands.

As they ran, they came across the remains of a tank. Thorax happened to look into this tank and when he did, he stopped as he saw something within it. A crab.

However, this crab wasn't walking around or pinching at the air. This crab wasn't doing anything. Because it was encased in an orange cocoon made of some kind of amber. "What the heck?" For some reason, he felt like seeing this was important.

But before he could think to investigate it, a stray blast of water struck next to him and he remembered he was in danger. As such, he ran for his life and left the Kamen Rider to fight against the Mimic.

Outside, Morphic continued to race through the city towards the Aquarium.

As he got closer, he spotted a large crowd outside the building. One he would need to jump in order to get to the building. So, he revved his bike up and shot forward. But as he was about to jump over them, the people heard his engine and turned to see him coming. And to his surprise, they all moved aside to allow him through.

He rode through the crowd and reached the other side, sliding his bike to a stop as the people called out of him to stop that monster.

Many were taking pictures of him, Kamen Rider Morphic finally getting the spotlight. And as he got off his bike, which shrank down to the toy form, he turned to the aquarium and could feel the Mimic within it.

He marched forward, ready to help Shifter and take the Mimic down. But before he could get inside, he suddenly sensed something and his instincts kicked in.

He leapt to the side, as a web shot down and almost hit him.

He rolled along the ground and as he did, he summoned his Blitz Blaster and pointed it towards where the web had come from. He and everyone watching, looked up to see something sticking to the side of the aquarium's wall.

The humanoid spider smirked before leaping down, doing several flips before landing on the ground. Morphic could see it was female and as she stood up, she got into a fighting stance. "Kamen Rider Morphic, if I'm not mistaken."

Morphic tilted his head. "You know me?"

"My confidant, Gule, told me all about you. You were quite the surprise for him, when you saved Shifter from him and our Mimic underling."

"I see." Morphic nodded. "You seem to have me at a disadvantage. You know my name, but I don't know you."

"Of course. Where are my manners?" She bowed. "My name, is Maya-Vala-Uru. Mimic General." Morphic frowned, as Maya got into a battle stance. "And I am here to defeat you. Once you're out of the way, taking down Shifter will be easy." She punched the air and from out of her wrist, a stream of webbing shot out towards the Rider.

Morphic fired his weapon, igniting the webs and forcing Maya to cut the line before it reached her. She then shot forward and Morphic tried to gun her down, but Maya managed to dodge each of his blasts until she reached him.

When she did, she spun around and kicked the gun out of his hand. The Blitz Blaster hit the ground and started to melt into a puddle, whilst Morphic was forced to block a punch she dealt to him. The pair started fighting one another, throwing kicks and punches at one another.

It quickly became clear that they were both even when it came to skill level, both able to perfectly match the other's attacks. When one threw a punch, the other deflected it. When one swung in for a kick, the other rolled out of the way. Neither side seemed to have an advantage.

But when Morphic tried to punch her in the chest, Maya leaned backwards and formed a perfect L-shape without falling. And before Morphic could pull back, she thrust her fists forward and fired a pair of web blasts. "Gyah!" Morphic's eyes were covered and he staggered back, as Maya pulled herself forward. When he pulled the webbing off his helmet, he suddenly found himself getting hit in the head by a kick. "AUGH!"

As he fell to the floor, Thorax, Fluttershy and Pharynx arrived with the kids.

They quickly saw the fight going on and Thorax gasped at the sight of the new Rider, whilst Pharynx focused on the Mimic. "Cool!" Thorax cried, making Maya glance back at them. When she did, Pharynx got the feeling she was looking right at him and Thorax.

Morphic used this momentary distraction to swing his leg around and kick Maya's out from under her, knocking her to the ground. This allowed him to roll away and get to the puddle that his blaster had melted into. And when he touched it, the slime flew up his hand and reformed his weapon.

As Maya picked herself up, she suddenly found a bunch of laser blasts coming her way. But she was able to avoid them all, as the others watched Morphic continue to keep her at a distance.

But before they could get too invested in watching the fight, a loud crashing sound made them look back into the aquarium. And they saw Shifter, crashing into the ground due to being hit by a water blast that had knocked him through a wall.

Not wanting to get accidentally hit, the teen ushered the young kids away from the building. They had to get somewhere safe.

Shifter groaned, as the Crab Mimic leapt through the hole he made and caused it to double in size. It then landed and roared before charging, Shifter getting to his feet just in time to avoid a claw swipe. He then thrust his arms forward and unleashed a bright flash of light, which blinded the Mimic.

Rainbow and Twilight arrived, as Shifter tried to punch the Mimic and damage it. But all this did was make Shifter cry out, the Rider staggering back and clutching his hand. "Ahhh!" He waved it around, as the Crab prepared to attack. But before it could, Twilight grabbed a destroyed piece of the wall and threw it.

The rock slammed into the crab and knocked it forward, allowing Shifter to jump away.

"Isn't there any way you can beat this thing?" Rainbow asked, as the Crab turned to them. It fired a blast of water and Rainbow barely managed to pull Twilight out of the way.

"I wish. But I'm not strong enough to break through the shell." He thought about his powers and realised, all of his abilities were evenly increased.

He was stronger, faster and more agile than he was out of costume, but the increases were all equal to one another and he wasn't strong enough. Morphic was obviously slower and less dexterous than him, but that meant he had more strength. Enough to probably break through this thing's shell, if he were here.

"Where is he?" He dodged another slash from its claws, as Rainbow picked up a piece of rock and ran forward. She picked up a tone of speed and once fast enough, she stopped and the rock was flung from her hand.

It flew across the room towards the Mimic, but the creature spun around and backhanded the rock, shattering it without even leaning a scratch. "Seriously?" Rainbow cried. "What the heck is this thing even made out of?"

Shifter was thinking the same thing, as he once again ran forward and attempted to hit the Mimic in the back. But as he did, the Crab spun around and his claw slammed him in the chest. "GYAH!" He was thrown backwards, as the Mimic completely turned towards him. And as he did, the creature raised its claw.

"Look out!" Twilight cried, but the Mimic unleashed a powerful blast of water at the Rider.

Shifter picked himself up, but couldn't react in time to avoid getting slammed by the high pressure water blast. "AUGH!" The water felt like a truck and slammed him backwards, the Rider's arms and legs flail as he flew and crashed into the back wall.

The Force of the impact was enough to shatter it, causing Shifter to be pushed through the wall.

Kamen Rider knocked away, Twilight and Rainbow gasped at the sight. The Crab then turned to them, its pincers snapping as it prepared to attack. But the girls weren't going to be so easily beaten.

Twilight lifted a bunch of rocks into the air and threw them towards the Mimic, but it quickly knocked them away whilst Rainbow ran behind the creature. And she quickly raced forward and leapt onto its back. "Gotcha!" The Crab Mimic roared, as it started flailing around trying to dislodge her. But Rainbow held on with everything she had, hoping she could distract the Mimic long enough for Shifter to recover.

But with how little the Rider was able to do, she wondered if he had any chance of beating it.

Shifter groaned, as he pushed himself up and looked around.

He had landed next to a large tank, full of different fish. And as he stood up, he realised he wasn't going to be able to defeat this Mimic. At least, not with the powers he was using at the moment.

He took out one of the Mimicores he had been given and realised he was in the perfect place to use it. He looked towards the tank and saw the many different fish, all swimming around looking rather tough. But what would help him defeat the Crab.

It was then that a swordfish happened to swim by, Shifter's eyes being drawn to its sleek form and sharp nose. Staring at it, he remembered what Twilight had said. "If something's moving fast enough, it'll be able to cut through anything."

"That's it," Shifter smiled before holding up his Mimicore. "I hope this works." As the swordfish swam past, the Mimicore light up a bright light flew out of the screen.

The light passed over the swordfish and scanned its entire body before retracting back into the Mimicore, which started glowing as it changed. Letters appeared along it, going down the side of the screen to form a word. B, L, A, D, E. The dots on the screen started glowing blue before all but a couple of them went out, creating the image of a swordfish in different poses.

Staring at it, Shifter suddenly knew everything he could do with it. "Perfect."

As the Crab Mimic swung its claws around, Rainbow narrowly avoided the attack and slid along the ground.

Twilight threw another piece of debris towards it, but the monster spun around and unleashed a blast of water that atomised it. It then ran forward, but Rainbow managed to race around it and grab Twilight before it could crush her in its claws.

"You okay?"

"Yeah," Twilight nodded. They came to a stop and Twilight turned towards the Mimic, wondering how the heck they were gonna defeat it. But before she could come up with a plan, Shifter stepped out of the next room and walked towards the Crab. "Be careful. That thing's too powerful!"

"I know." Shifter held something up. "But I'm ready for it now."

The Mimic looked towards him, curious about the object in its hand. Twilight and Rainbow were just as curious, as Shifter pressed the button and activated the device. "BLADE!" The dots began to form the image of a swordfish, swimming around in different positions.

Shifter hit the button on the side of his Driver and the belt opened up, allowing him to remove the Lightning Bug Mimicore and replace it with the new one. Once it was in place, he struck a pose. "Shape Shift!" He slammed the draw of the belt shut, locking the screen inside and causing the lights on the belt to turn blue.

"MIMIC! SWORDFISH!" The armour around his body began to melt once again before changing to a transparent flyway blue, then began reshaping itself before hardening to reveal Flash's new form.

His helmet's mask was now shaped like a fish's tail, whilst his armour was thinner and more aerodynamic. The back of his chest armour had a curved dorsal fin, along with the toes of his boots and on his shoulders. Finally, his eyes changed to bright yellow whilst the lines on his suit turned the same blue as his armor.

As the new armor settled, the belt unleashed new words. "Slicing through the ocean, with speed and precision unmatched."

"Wow," was all Rainbow could say. Twilight was just as amazed, but the Mimic didn't look impressed.

It did look annoying, especially when Shifter pointed at him. "Hope you're ready to lose. Because now, the winds of victory have shifted." That got the Mimic mad.

It raised its arm and fired a blast of water from its claw, which shot straight towards Shifter. But the Kamen Rider suddenly disappeared and the water broke through the wall inside. This shocked the Mimic, as it suddenly heard Shifter behind it.

"Surprise!" It spun around, only to find nothing behind it. "Peekaboo." It spun around again and nothing happened.

Twilight and Rainbow were just as shocked. To Twilight, it looked like Shifter was teleporting behind the Mimic. But Rainbow's magic let her keep up, despite him still looking like a blur. Shifter was moving at super speed, circling around the Mimic.

The Crab roared, as it started swinging its large claws around wildly. But every time it got close to the Kamen Rider, Shifter easily avoided it and even managed to get a few shots in on the monster. But his punches and kicks were still doing nothing against its hard shell.

"Come on," Rainbow cried. "There's gotta be a way to hurt that thing."

Shifter shot away from the Mimic, who still looked undamaged despite all the hits it had taken. But Shifter wasn't beaten yet.

Both his gauntlets turned to liquid and reshaped themselves, extending forwards above his hands before solidifying. Sticking out the ends of his arms, were a pair of blue blades with a white line running down the middle of it. Each blade was roughly one and a half feet long and looked strong enough to cut through anything.

Shifter chuckled at this, then turned to the Mimic before racing forward. The next thing the creature knew, something sharp struck its shoulder and broke through its shell.

Shifter appeared behind the Mimic with his blade pointed forwards, as an explosion came off the spot that had just been struck. The Mimic roared as part of its shell fell away, revealing its weaker underside. And as it staggered away, Shifter turned to it and charged forward again.

He moved with incredible speed, flying past the Mimic and cutting into it again. He then did this again and again and again, multiple times which caused the beast to roar as its shell was destroyed.

The girls were amazed by this, as Shifter came to a stop. "It's go time!" He announced, slamming his hand into the side of his belt and making it call out.

"CLIMATIC BLADE!"

Shifter stood at the ready, as some of the water that had escaped from the tanks began to move. It shot towards Shifter and picked him up, shifting into a wave shape that he rode upon towards the Mimic. The crustacean creature cried out, as it tried to escape. But the wave came crashing down towards it and it suddenly found itself swirling around in the water.

As it tried to escape, Shifter dived down into the water and moved through it like it wasn't even there. And as he moved towards it, he started spinning and morphed into an underwater tornado. Once that slammed into the crab and destroyed the rest of its shell, allowing Shifter's blades to cut into its body and rip it to pieces.

The water then flew away, allowing Twilight and Rainbow to see the two.

Shifter landed on his feet, his blades pointed forwards, whilst the crab crashed into the ground and exploded. Shifter's blades returned to his arms and he turned towards the explosion, which faded to reveal the Mimic was gone. The girls cheered at this, but another explosion caught their attention from outside.

Morphic and Maya continued to fight, with Morphic shooting at the Mimic to keep her from getting close to him.

She, meanwhile, was attempting to hit him with her web punches. But Morphic was able to blast the webs or simply dodge them, using his Blitz Blaster to destroy them whenever they hit the ground. "You can't keep this up forever," Maya finally stated. "Eventually, your little blaster will run out of ammo. Then, you'll be in trouble."

"I don't have to keep this up forever," Morphic told her. "Just until Shifter's finished with your Mimic and comes to help."

"Please. I've studied your friend's abilities. He might be strong, but he's not strong enough to harm the Mimic I created to destroy him. Without your help, he'll be completely crushed."

"So that's why she's keeping me out here." Morphic frowned, trying to think of a way he could get past her and help Shifter. But when he looked behind her, he saw something that made him smirk. "You might wanna double check your plan. Because it has a serious flaw."

"What?" Maya suddenly heard a whooshing noise and looked around, as a blue blur suddenly shot past her. "GYAH!" She fell to the ground, as a deep gash was running along her chest. She looked to where the blur had gone, she and everyone around them seeing a light blue rider with blade arms appearing. "What?"

"Nice look," Morphic told him.

"Thanks," he nodded as Rainbow and Twilight left the aquarium.

Thorax, who was off to the side with the others, called out to them and they ran over to the group. "What's going on? Who is that?"

"it's Shifter," Twilight explained. "We're not sure how, but he changed his suit. And with it, he somehow gained new powers." They all turned to the battle, as the two blue Riders stood ready for a fight. But Maya didn't seem to like the idea of two on one.

"You may have won this time," she told them. "But I'll be back. Just you wait and see." With that, she thrust her arms up and a bunch of webbing shot out of her arms. That webbing then began to spiral around her body, forming a cocoon that completely concealed her from view.

The Riders saw this and tilted their heads, as a light began to come out from the cocoon. "Oh no you don't!" Shifter shot forward and slashed through the cocoon, ripping the threat to bits. But as the cocoon fell apart, they found Maya was nowhere in sight.

"Where'd she go?" Pharynx cried, the others wondering the same thing.

Morphic and Shifter looked the area over, but there was no sign explaining how she had escaped. "Damn it!" Morphic cried. He then turned to the crowd and realised they needed to get out of there before the police arrived. "Let's book it." He took out his bike and threw it into the air, the vehicle growing larger and falling to the ground.

Shifter rushed off, using his new super speed to race away whilst Morphic shot away on his bike. Before anyone could think about trying to follow, the Riders were gone.

"That was awesome," Thorax smiled. But then he noticed something. "Wait, where's Flash?"

"Guys!" They looked over and saw Flash, who was creeping out of the aquarium. "Is everything okay?" He moved over to them, "the monster..."

"Is gone," Pharynx told him. "Where the heck were you?"

"I went to go see what was going on and came face to face with that...creature. The next thing I know, it hit me with his claw and I was getting slammed into a wall. Then everything went black."

"You sure you're okay?" Fluttershy looked worried, but Flash nodded.

"I'm fine. Bit of a headache, but I think I'll be okay." They nodded, Flash sighing in relief. Thanks to his new abilities, he had been able to super speed around the building and run through it back to the entrance before powering down. Luckily, nobody seemed to question his coincidental disappearance and reappearance whilst the Riders were there. He would have to be careful. Let that happen too often and people might get suspicious.

But for now, everything was A-okay.

In the laboratory, Maya flinched as Frill was applying something to her gash.

It was the same slime that made up the creature she had unleashed, which was being absorbed by her body and allowing the gash to close. "How's that?" He asked, as Maya nodded. "Well, we've now learned something about our enemies. They're not bound to simply one form and power set."

"We should strike now," Gule told him. "Before they're able to get any stronger."

"Patience," Frill told him. "We're not in a position for an all out assault yet. Our forces are still growing. And if we wish to be able to fight full on, we'll need powerful creatures to Mimic. So far, we've used bugs and small creatures humans could easily defeat. If we wish to win, we must increase the power of our Mimics."

"How?" Gule asked, only for Frill to chuckle.

"Leave that to me."

Back at the aquarium, the police had arrived to secure the area.

Thorax and Pharynx were trying to locate their mother, but she didn't seem to be anywhere at the moment. At the same time, the younger children's parents had arrived when they heard about the attack. To say they were upset was an understatement.

Luckily, Thorax had managed to calm them down before they could talk about suing their mother. And as the children left, he let out a sigh whilst Pharynx patted him on the back. "Nice work, bro. Mom'll be happy...when she finally shows up."

Thorax nodded, as he looked over to see a cop walking out of the building. As he did, he was carrying something. Pieces of yellow stone that looked familiar. "We found this when we examined the area. The aquarium's manager said it's not a part of the aquarium's display."

Shining Armor, who had arrived shortly after the excitement ended, examined it. "Never seen anything like it."

"I have," Thorax spoke up. The cops, Flash and Rainbooms turned to him, Pharynx looking worried. "By any chance, did you find that thing is the crab's tank?" The cop nodded. "Earlier, when we were trying to escape from that Mimic, I saw a large rock made of this stuff. It had a crab inside of it."

"A crab?" Twilight looked curious, "like what the Mimic looked like?" Thorax nodded, as Flash and Shining shared a look.

This was new information. And they would need to find out what it meant, if they wanted to have any advantage over the invading monsters. They might have the edge with their new Mimicores, but there was no telling how long that edge would last. They had to find a way to get the better of these things once and for all.

Author's Note

What kind of modern Rider story would this be without new forms for the heroes. Yup. Flash and Shining both have two new forms that have yet to be revealed. But they will in time. And that won't be the last of their upgrades. I'm interested to hear what animals you think the Riders will Mimic in the coming chapters. And what do you think of the new Blade Form?

Episode 5: Hunters and Prey

Canterlot Zoo was in utter chaos, as a massive crime had taken place there.

Shining Armor arrived on the scene, as a bunch of uniformed officers were making sure the scene wasn't being contaminated by the populace. Shining walked through the yellow tape and into the park, where the staff and owners were waiting for him.

"What's the situation?" He asked the owner, who walked towards the enclosures with him.

"A lot of our animals have been stolen. At least one animal from each of the enclosures was taken. Lions, tigers, bears. Oh, my poor animals. What could have happened to them?"

"Security cameras?"

"All shut down moments before the animals went missing. The night watchmen were on the scene and confirmed all the animals were there when they checked on them. But when they went to check on another area, the cameras went down. As soon as the CCTV operator called him, he rushed back and found the animals were gone. But he couldn't have been gone for more than five minutes. How could they move the animals that fast?"

Shining wondered the same thing, as he headed into the lion enclosure.

The remaining lions had been moved to a different area, so Shining and the rest of the police could investigate the area. Shining did a sweep of the enclosure, but found nothing out of the ordinary. The rest of the force had also found nothing of interest. There had been no fingerprints, no footsteps and not even a piece of clothing the perpetrators left behind. How the thieves managed to get in without leaving a trace was unheard of.

It was then that Shining spotted something curious. He moved over to a section of the enclosure and picked up a small rock. One that was very different to the rest of the rocks in the enclosure. This one, only the size of a small pebble, was some kind of hardened amber.

Shining had seen this rock before. It was the same rock they had found after the fight at the aquarium, where the Mimic had attacked. The fact that it was here, made Shining worry.

Shining spent the rest of the day, studying the rest of the enclosure and searching for clues. But they all were just as untouched at the lion's enclosure, with Shining finding no other pieces of amber.

Shining chose to keep his amber discovery to himself, as he didn't want anyone else getting involved with the Mimics. He would need to talk to Flash about this himself.

When he finally got off work, he headed home.

It was a small apartment, with a single bedroom, small kitchen and tiny shower cubicle. It wasn't anything fancy, put it was the perfect place for a man living on his own. Not that he was really ever on his own.

As he stepped into the apartment, he heard movement in the kitchen and stepped into it to find his fiancée. A pink skinned woman with pink, purple and yellow hair. Cadance, the principal of Crystal Prep Academy. The most beautiful woman in the world, in Shining's eyes.

Cadance turned to him and smiled. "Hey." She moved over and the pair kissed, "tough day?"

"Confusing day. Animals from the zoo go missing and I can't figure out who did it."

"I'm sure you'll figure it out," Cadance assured him. "Just relax and don't stress about it. Let your brain rest and tomorrow, you'll have the crooks locked up before lunch." Shining smiled at this, as Cadance continued working on their dinner.

Shining was the luckiest guy in the world. He didn't know what he did to deserve a woman like Cadance. And when he thought about the secret he was keeping, he felt terrible. But he couldn't tell her about his double life as a Kamen Rider. At least, not until he knew what the heck was going on with him.

The rest of the night, the pair enjoyed a nice meal, snuggled up in their favourite pyjamas and watched TV together whilst enjoying each other's embrace.

The next day, Shining returned to the zoo.

The police officers there were fewer than before, whilst many people were hanging around outside the place waiting to see what was happening. "Stand back!" One officer announced. "I mean it. Stand back."

As Shining got closer, he noticed a group of teens amongst the crowd. One was Flash, who Shining expected to be there due to calling. But the others. "Twilight?" His sister looked around, the rest of her friends doing the same. "What are you doing here?"

"Hey Shining," Twilight smiled. "We heard about what happened. Fluttershy wanted to come. We thought maybe she could tell us what happened."

Shining frowned, only to then remember what Fluttershy's magical ability was. "Yeah. That might actually help. Alright. I'll let you in. Just be careful." She nodded and Shining talked to the officers guarding the entrance, the teens all being allowed inside.

As they headed in, Sunset turned to Flash. "What are you doing here?"

Flash frowned. "I wanna help too, you know. You don't need magical powers to do everything." Sunset frowned at this, clearly not buying that. But Flash walked ahead, as Shining led them towards the animal pens.

But as they did, they heard another voice speak out. "Twilight!" They looked around and were surprised to see Timber Spruce, the teen walking towards them dressed in a keeper's uniform. "Hey! Wasn't expecting to see you here." He and Twilight hugged.

"I wasn't expecting to see you. Since when have you worked here?"

"I just started a week ago. Thought it might be a good way to make some extra money. I was gonna take you on a special VIP tour, once I'd been here long enough to have that kind of pull." Twilight nodded. "What about you guys? I know why Shining's here, but why'd you come?" His gaze happened to fall on Flash, as Sunset spoke up.

"We're hoping Fluttershy, might be able to figure out what happened to the rest of the animals. What better witnesses, than the animals whose friends were stolen." Timber nodded, understanding that. But as they walked off, Timber frowned.

He took out his phone and started texting. If the Kamen Riders discovered anything, it could put a serious chink in their plan. "Hopefully, my new friends will be able to handle you for good this time."

They headed over to one of the lion pens and as soon as they were there, Fluttershy moved over and got the lion's attention. Her geode glowed as it roared, the girl listening to it. "Then what happened?" The lion kept making noises and she gasped. "That's awful!"

"What happened?" Shining asked.

"He said that his mate was stolen by a creature. Some kind of blob-like beast came into the pen and knocked him away, then grabbed his mate and sucked her inside of it. He tried to save her and slashed at the creature, but it didn't do anything. And when she was completely consumed, they both disappeared in a bright flash."

Shining frowned, as he remembered the piece of rock he had found. Was that part of the blob creature, knocked off by the slash. And if it was, that had to mean it really was a Mimic.

"You think these blob creatures attacked the rest of the animals?" Applejack asked, Fluttershy not sure what to say. She would only know once she talked to them.

It was then that Flash and Shining both felt something and looked around, Twilight noticing this reaction. "You okay?" Suddenly, an elephant's panicked cry caught their attention and Shining raced into action, the others following after him as they ran to the elephant's enclosure.

When they arrived, they were shocked to see the large beasts being attacked by something.

It was a humanoid cat creature, standing at around seven feet in height. its body was rather lean and covered in orange fur, which had black spots all over it. its feet were cat-like, but its hands were humanoid with long sharp claws. Its tail was almost as long as it was tall.

"It's a Mimic!" Applejack cried, as the beast tried to claw at the elephants.

"HEY!" Fluttershy cried, "leave them alone!" The cat creature turned to see them and roared. Then, in almost the blink of an eye, it was suddenly right on top of them with its claws ready to rip them apart.

Luckily, Rarity was able to put up a shield and protect them.

Twilight turned to Flash, Timber and her brother. "Get out of here!" Timber didn't need telling twice and raced off, not even looking back. Flash and Shining stayed for a moment, then noticed the beast cutting through the shields. "GO!" Twilight yelled, the pair finally leaving.

The girls all ponied up, ready to fight this thing. And as it broke through the crystal shield, Pinkie threw a bunch of sprinkles at it.

But the beast became a blur and dodged the following explosion, speeding away and landed behind them. "So fast," Rarity gasped.

"Not as fast as me." Rainbow prepared to attack, but Sunset stopped her.

"Hang on. You might be faster than that thing, but one swipe of its claws will cut you to bits!" Rainbow frowned, not wanting to risk it getting a lucky hit in. Rarity put up a dome of shields around them, as the creature flew forward and slashed at the dome. The girls frowned, as each slash carved part of Rarity's shield away. They were in trouble.

Flash and Shining managed to get somewhere away from prying eyes. Once they were sure they wouldn't be seen, they both took out their Mimicores and activated them.

"BLADE/BLITZ!"

Their belts appeared and the two quickly opened them up, slotting the Mimicores into place before striking a pose. "HENSHIN!" They cried together before slapping the belts shut, their Mimicores making the lights on their belts glow.

"MIMIC! SWORDFISH!"

"MIMIC! HERCULES BEETLE!"

The belts unleashed the slime, which flew into the air as the pair crossed their arms. As the slime fell atop them, it solidified to form the orange-brown cocoons. And soon enough, the cocoons shattered to reveal the Riders. Their armor quickly formed, as their suits spoke out in unison.

"Slicing through the ocean, with speed and precision unmatched!"

"Power that shatters everything, contained in a mighty horn!"

The Cheetah continued to slice at the dome, as the girls tried to think of a way to stop it.

Twilight noticed a trash can and focused on it, using her magic to make it fly towards the Mimic. But the creature noticed the movement and quickly turned towards it, slicing it to pieces with his claws. "NOW!" Sunset cried, Rarity creating an opening in the dome that Pinkie threw a cupcake through.

The Mimic spun around, as the sweet treat flew towards it.

The cake exploded and the Mimic was sent flying, the beast crashing into the ground with a roar. The girls cheered, but the Cheetah pushed itself back up. It didn't even look burned, the beast turning to them and glaring at Rarity closed the hole in her shield.

It looked ready to attack again, but a blue blur suddenly shot past it and the beast roared in pain.

The girls gasped, as the blur stopped to reveal Kamen Rider Shifter. The Swordfish themed warrior turned to the Cheetah, who picked itself up and growled as it glared at him. "Bring it on!" Shifter held up his blades and the two shot towards one another, slashing at each other as they tried to land a hit.

Rainbow was the only one able to follow the two, watching as their blades and claws slashed against one another with incredible speed. But no matter what, neither of them was able to overpower the other.

They eventually jumped apart, both catching their breath as they prepared to attack again. But before they could, a bunch of blasts almost struck the Cheetah.

Everyone turned to see Morphic, running towards them with his blaster out. The Cheetah suddenly found itself in a perilous position, both Riders ready to destroy it.

Morphic fired and the Cheetah went super speed to avoid the blasts, only for Shifter to chase after it. Whenever it focused on Morphic's blasts, Shifter attacked. And whenever it focused on Shifter, it slowed down enough for Morphic to hit it with his blaster. It was trapped.

"Yeah!" Rainbow cheered. "That's the way. Show that creep who the boss is."

"Two on one," Sunset nodded. "Normally, I'd be against those kinds of odds. But in this situation, I'm okay with it." The others agreed, only for Twilight to suddenly notice something.

Up in the sky, something was moving to their location. Something big and almost human in appearance. "What's that?" The others looked up and saw it. And as it got closer, they were able to make out its features.

It was a large humanoid hawk, with a pair of arms in front of its wings. Said wings were green, along with its head, chest and legs. The rest of its body had gray skin, whilst its lower legs and feet were yellow. Its beak was also yellow and it had a yellow line of feathers running along the top of its head.

"It's another Mimic!" Sunset gasped, as the creature suddenly dived down towards the Riders. "Look out!" Shifter came to a stop and at that moment, the Hawk grabbed him by the shoulders.

"WOW!" He was lifted into the air and carried away, the girls gasping as Morphic saw it.

He raised his weapon to fire, but the Cheetah acted before him. "GYAH!" The next thing he knew, he was getting slashes at the chest and thrown away.

He crashed into the ground, his armor having a gash running down the chest. He groaned, as the Cheetah rushed forward.

"Take this!" Morphic quickly raised his weapon and fired, but the feline Mimic was able to dodge each of his blasts and get in closer. The next thing he knew, his Blitz Blast was kicked out of his hand and the claws slashed against his armor again. "AUGH!"

"NO!" Twilight cried, whilst the others looked over at Shifter.

The Kamen Rider struggled against the grasp, finally managing to get his blades to cut into the creature.

It roared in pain, dropping him down to the ground. Luckily, a tree managed to break his fall and Shifter smashed his way through several branches before hitting the ground. "Oh." A squawk made him look up and see the Hawk fly down and land atop a lamppost.

Shifter pushed himself up, as the Mimic leapt into the air. Shifter tried to chase after it, running as fast as he could before leaping up. But even with his increased speed, he couldn't do anything against the creature. As soon as leapt up, the bird shifted in the air and the Rider couldn't change the direction of his attack.

The next thing he knew, the creature swooped down and struck from behind. "GYAH!" He crashed into the ground and rolled along the ground, as the Hawk flew back up. "Alright!" He pushed himself up and took out his other Mimicore. "Let's switch things up." He pressed the button and it activated.

"STRIKE!"

He quickly swapped the Mimicores and slammed the draw shut. "Shape Shift!"

The Mimicore glowed, as the belt spoke up. "MIMIC! LIGHTNING BUG!" His armor melted, recoloured and reshaped itself into Shifter's original form, the lines on his suit and the lights on his belt changing colour with it before settling. "Illuminate the light, striking through the darkness!"

The Hawk watched this and dived down, its claws at the ready. Shifter unleashed a blinding light from the torches on its body, forcing the beast to pull away. He cheered at this and leapt up, summoning energy to his legs. But the bird was able to recover and once again changed direction.

"No!" Shifter cried, unable to hit it with his attacks. Instead, the bird flew down before flying back up to attack from below. And Shifter could do nothing to stop it from slashing at him. "GYAH!" He fell to the ground and groaned, as the beast landed right on top of him with is talons on his chest. "Not good."

The Hawk raised its claws, ready to cut him to pieces. But before it could, a blue blur shot past and the Mimic was thrown off of him. "You okay?" Shifter turned to see Rainbow, smiling as she held a hand out.

"Thanks." He was pulled to his feet, as Applejack and Sunset arrived. "What about the other Mimic?"

"Twilight and the others are dealing with it," Sunset explained.

Sure enough, the others really were dealing with it.

Twilight threw whatever she could at the Mimic, whilst Pinkie and Rarity threw sweets and gems at it. That coupled with Morphic's blaster, had the creature on the run. Whenever it tried to get close, Rarity put up a shield to protect them.

It roared, annoyed that its prey was able to fight back. And as it jumped back, Morphic used that opening to fire through a gap in the crystals. It struck the cat and made it cry in pain, the blast having struck its side.

The beast growled and decided it wasn't gonna let itself be destroyed, so raced off in the opposite direction.

The Hawk flew down and Applejack grabbed some sacks of food from a nearby wheel barrow. She threw it and the bird was able to avoid them, but that let Shifter leapt up and deal a kick to its chest.

As it fell back, Rainbow grabbed a rock off the ground and ran around at high speed. She then threw the rock and it struck the hawk at a hundred miles an hour, exploding against it and making it cry out. This gave Shifter the chance to leap up again and deal another strike right to its face.

The beast squawked, as it fell to the ground and rolled to an eventual stop. It groaned at this, as Shifter prepared to use his finishing attack. But before he could, it spread its wings and leapt into the air. He flew so high, Shifter couldn't jump after it and Applejack wouldn't be able to throw anything without missing.

Now at a safe height, the beast flew off in the same direction the Cheetah ran to. As it did, Morphic and the girls reached them. "Did you get it?" Morphic asked, but then saw the retreating creature. "Damn. It got away too."

"They'll be back," Shifter stated. "And we need to find a way to beat them when they do." The others nodded, as Twilight turned to the Riders.

She had many questions and hoped she would get some answers. But before she could, Shifter's lights exploded and the girls were all blinded. They cried out, covering their eyes until the light faded away. And when it did, both Kamen Riders had vanished.

"Seriously?" Rainbow asked. "What's with them disappearing whenever the fun's over? The least they could do is stick around for a little bit." The others agreed, but knew the Riders weren't likely to do that.

The girls searched the zoo to make sure everything was alright. There wasn't anyone injured. No signs of the strange crystal and the animals were all accounted for. Everything was okay. And as they headed for the exit, they spotted Flash, Shining and Timber waiting for them.

"Hey!" Timber rushed over to Twilight, "are you okay?"

"Yeah," Twilight nodded, "The Kamen Riders showed up."

"Really?" Timber asked, glancing at Flash. "Did they beat the monsters?"

"Unfortunately, no." Sunset crossed her arms. "These ones were too much for them. But hopefully, they'll find a way to beat them the next time they show up." The others nodded, Flash and Shining sharing a look as they did so.

In the Mimic lair, Frill and Maya were tending to the Mimics that had returned.

Maya was placing the strange gel on the Cheetah's wounds, whilst Frill had his hands on the Hawk's head. "I see." He nodded, as if seeing something whilst touching the creature. "Those Kamen Riders didn't stand a chance against them."

"So then why did they come back here injured?" Maya asked, as she finished placing the gel on the cat.

"It's those girls. The ones with unusual powers. They managed to turn the tables on our friends here. If they hadn't been there, the Riders wouldn't be alive right now." Maya frowned at this, clearly wishing to deal with those girls. "They might be useful."

"How could they be useful?"

"If we can bring them over to our side, their abilities would suit us perfectly." Maya caught on and nodded, a smile on her lips as she moved over to a table and picked something up. It was a phone, but it had something connected to it that made it three times the size.

She tapped several buttons before holding it up to her ear. Moments later, Timber's voice spoke back. "What's up?"

"Gule. Are you with any of those girls right now? The ones with the strange powers?"

"They just left. Why?"

"The next time you're alone with one of them, grab them. I don't care which one. Bring them here and make sure you're not seen when you do it. We're going to add their abilities to our side."

"Got it. But it won't be easy. Those girls are hardly ever alone. I don't think I could grab more than one of them without them fighting back and drawing attention to me."

"Just grab them one at a time. Focus on the weakest member, if you have to. Just bring them here and we'll do the rest."

"Understood." With that, the phone went dead and Maya put it down. She turned to the Mimics that had just attacked and knew they needed to be sent out again, before the Riders had a chance to recover and come up with a plan.

Flash and Shining were still at the zoo, both sat on one of the benches as they thought about the fight they had had.

If it hadn't been for the girls, they would have been in real trouble. They knew they couldn't rely on the girls again, so they had to find a way to beat those Mimics. "What if I took on the Cheetah," Flash replied. "And you fight the Hawk. We're better equipped for handling those ones."

"Maybe," Shining nodded, "but what about the next time I face a faster opponent. Or the next time you face a flying one. We can't always expect to simply fight Mimics we're already good against."

Flash sighed. "You're right. Which leaves us with only one option." They both took out one of the empty Mimicores, both only having two available. "We'll have to find something to scan."

"I need something fast."

"And if my opponent's in the air, I need something that can fly up and face it." They nodded to each other before getting up and heading off. There were still plenty of animals in the zoo and they needed to find one that matched what they were looking for.

Flash headed over to the area where the birds of prey were kept. He looked around and saw many different types. Kestrels, ospreys, kites and many more. He had so many to choose from, but had no idea which to pick. Which would beat a hawk in a fight?

"I need more than that," Flash told himself. "Which of these birds has the abilities best suited for me to use?"

"Flash?" He looked around and spotted Twilight, who was walking towards him looking curious. "What are you doing here? It's not safe to be here on your own. What if a Mimic shows up?"

"Sorry," Flash scratched the back of his head. "I just...wanted to take a look around in case I couldn't come back for a while. What are you doing here?"

"Just making sure nothing happened during the last fight. It's possible the Mimics were planning to use the fight to take more animals." Flash nodded.

"So you really think it was the Mimics?"

"Honestly, I'm not sure. Shifter said they have the ability to copy other life forms. Makes sense they would steal a bunch of animals to copy the powers off. A cheetah and a hawk were two of the animals taken." Flash nodded. "I hope the Kamen Riders can find a way to beat them."

"Me too," Flash nodded as he looked around. "Say, random question. Which of these birds do you think is the best? If you could pick any of them to become, which would you choose?"

Twilight gave him a quizzical look, Flash praying he hadn't just shot himself in the foot. But then, she looked around at all the animals and hummed before moving over to one of the cages. Flash followed at they soon arrived at the bird of her choice. "This one."

Flash looked at the info board in front of the cage. "An owl?"

"Don't underestimate these guys. Owls might not look too impressive, but they're incredible hunters. Their wings make no noise when they fly and their eyesight is so good, it's practically night vision. Plus, they have an amazing sense of perception. If I was an owl and you tried to punch me, I'd see the punch coming, realize what was going to happen and be able to formulate three ways of stopping you in a single second."

"Wow. Nice. Though if your owl body is anything like your human body, it'd probably just stay standing there until I hit you." They both laughed at this, as Flash looked back at the creature in the cage. He let what Twilight said sink in and realised he had what he was looking for.

Twilight finally turned away from him and as she did, Flash took out his Mimicore. He held it up to the owl in the cage and let the light fly out and move over the bird. The creature clearly didn't like this, but the scan was too fast for even its high level of perception.

Once the scan was complete, the Mimicore glowed and began to blink with yellow dots. Letters appeared on the device, as the dots showed images of the owl in different posses. Flash smiled, quickly putting the device away before Twilight saw it.

At the same time, Shining had gone over to the habitats for the more four-legged creatures.

He looked around, trying to figure out which one could keep up with a cheetah. But Shining knew that feline was one of the fastest creatures in the animal kingdom. He looked online to try and find an animal that was faster, but the only one it told him about was the peregrine falcon, a bird that wasn't in captivity here.

"Shining?" He looked around and saw Fluttershy, walking towards him curiously. "Are you okay?"

Shining nodded. "I'm fine. Just looking around to make sure everything's okay. Didn't want anything to happen to these guys." Fluttershy nodded, understanding what he meant. "And I've never really thought about animals before. I've watched them, but this is the first time I've thought about their skills and abilities."

"I understand," Fluttershy nodded. "These animals really are amazing creatures. I just hope we can save the ones that were taken."

Shining nodded. "But to do that, the Riders are gonna need to find a way to beat those Mimics. Against a cheetah that can move super fast, how are you supposed to beat that?"

"Cheetahs are the fastest animals on the planet," Fluttershy agreed. "But they're not unbeatable. They can't use that speed forever." Shining let that information sink in and remembered how the Cheetah had had to stop at times, allowing him and the girls to get their attacks in. If it hadn't stopped, they wouldn't have stood a chance. But it couldn't.

"They don't just mimic the strengths," he realised. "They mimic the weaknesses too." Fluttershy shrugged, thinking the same thing. "So what do you think the Riders should do to exploit that weakness? If they can use the powers of other animals, I bet they're looking for one that'll help them beat that Cheetah."

Fluttershy hummed, clearly trying to think of an answer. Then, she moved over to one of the enclosures.

Shining followed her and they arrived at an area with a bunch of canine enclosures. He expected her to take him to the wolf paddock, but Fluttershy moved somewhere else. An enclosure with a bunch of sleek looking dog-like creatures. They weren't as muscular as a wolf, but they sure looked fast. And with the sharp looking claws, Shining had a feeling they could do some damage in a fight.

"Coyotes?" He read the sign, as Fluttershy nodded.

"One of the fastest predatory dogs in the animal kingdom. They can't move as fast as cheetahs, but they can still hit about fifty to sixty miles an hour. And the best part is they can keep running for a lot longer than a cheetah can."

"Really?" Shining smiled. That sounded exactly what he needed. "Let's hope the Riders know this. Too bad they're not here."

Fluttershy nodded, "maybe they'll realise it's the animal they need as well. They must know a lot about animals, so maybe they'll have the same idea we had." Shining nodded, as he waited for Fluttershy to turn away.

She did so and as soon as she did, he took out his Mimicore and held it up to the enclosure.

The light flew out and ran over the nearest coyote, scanning it and programming the device. As soon as the scan completed, the device flashed and letters appeared down the side of it. Red dots then appeared, showing the coyote in multiple different posses.

But as soon as the Mimicore was complete, a scream filled the air.

He and Fluttershy turned to the screams and Shining ran ahead, Fluttershy following. They ran through the zoo until they arrived at the giraffe enclosure, where they saw the Cheetah Mimic running around trying to injure the poor creatures.

"Leave them alone!" Fluttershy cried, making the Mimic turn to her.

It let out a roar before shooting towards them, moving like a blur until it leapt over the fence and landed in front of the two. Shining stepped in front of Fluttershy, his gun at the ready in a vain attempt to injure the creature. But before he could try, a squawk made him look up and see the Hawk Mimic.

It flew down and tried to grab them, but Shining managed to push Fluttershy down before it could hurt them. But his push might have been a little too strong, since Fluttershy cried out due to twisting her ankle.

Shining looked back over at the monsters, who looked ready to strike at any moment. But before they could, a trash can flew towards the Hawk and slammed into it. It cried, being knocked away and making everyone turn to see Twilight and Flash.

Twilight lifted another trash can up and threw it at the Cheetah, but the beast swung its claws around and cut the can to shreds. "Get out of here!" Twilight cried, throwing everything she could at the monsters. "I'll try and hold these things off." Flash and Shining shared a look and nodded, both running off in one direction with Shining helping Fluttershy escape.

Twilight threw whatever she could get her magical hands on. But the Mimics soon learned that was all she could do and quickly adapted. The Hawk spun around and kicked the trash can away, as Twilight realised she had nothing nearby to throw at them.

The Cheetah then sped forward, its claws ready to gouge her heart out. But at the last moment, a bright flash appeared behind it and the creature roared in pain.

It covered its eyes and staggered back, as Shifter leapt onto the scene beside Twilight. "You okay?"

Twilight nodded, "I'm fine. But what do we do? These things are strong. Especially that bird one."

"Don't worry," Shifter took something out. "I've come prepared." Twilight saw the strange looking screen device and watched, as he quickly pressed the button.

"FLIGHT!"

Shifter opened the draw on his belt and removed his other Mimicore, quickly placing the new one in to replace it. "Shape shift!" With that, he slammed the draw shut and the lights on his belt turned yellow.

"MIMIC! OWL!" The armour around his body began to melt once again before changing to a transparent yellow colour, then began reshaping itself before hardening to reveal Shifter's new form.

His mask was now a thick V-shape, with a beak-like design on the bottom and a zigzagged pattern around the edges to give it the design of feathers or fur. The area around his eyes appeared thicker, creating two rings that were connected to give them a goggle or glasses appearance.

The rest of his armour was pretty plain, with no lights or blades like his other two. But on the back of his armour were a pair of yellow wings no bigger than his hands. Finally, the lines on his suit turned yellow whilst his eyes changed to green.

As the armor settled, his belt unleashed new words. "Flying through the sky, seeking prey with all seeing vision!"

Twilight looked him over, amazed by the new look. She was even more amazed, when the tiny wings on his back suddenly grew ten times the size. Each wing was now as large as Shifter was tall, the two spreading out as he looked towards the Hawk.

"I hope you're ready," he pointed at the mimic. "Because the winds of victory have just shifted." With that, he leapt into the air and his wings actually carried him. Twilight gasped, watching as Shifter flew up and dealt a punch right to the bird's chest.

The creature cried out, as it was knocked back and Shifter chased after it to deal a kick to its face.

Twilight was still amazed by what she was seeing, but a growl made her look back and see the Cheetah had turned its attention away from the sky battle. It raised its claws, ready to attack again. Twilight frowned, knowing she had to be careful what she did.

Back with Shining and Fluttershy, the man was still trying to get the girl to safety.

Fluttershy flinched, as she kept hopping on one foot. Shining didn't want to leave her, but he also knew he had to get back and help fight the Mimics. What could he do?

He got his answer, when Timber suddenly appeared in front of them. "What's happening?" He asked, as the two reached him.

"The Mimics are attacking again." He handed Fluttershy over to him. "Get her to safety. I have to help." Before either of them could say anything, he turned to run off. Fluttershy called out for him to be careful, whilst Timber looked at Fluttershy with a smile.

'That was easier than I thought. Now, where to bring you?'

Back with the fight, Shifter continued to fly circles around the Hawk. Every time the monster attacked, Shifter was able to fly out of the way before curving around to deal a retaliatory attack.

Back on the ground, the Cheetah ran forward. But Twilight was ready and used her magic to grab a piece of rope that a keeper had dropped during the commotion. And as the Cheetah picked up speed, Twilight made it go tort and the monster tripped over it.

The beast howled, as it was sent rolling along until it came to a crash into the side of another enclosure.

Twilight couldn't help but laugh at this, as the monster began to push itself back to its feet. As it did, it turned to glare at the girl and Twilight frowned. It then charged again and Twilight tried to use the rope, but it quickly swung its claws around and sliced right through it.

Twilight gasped, as the creature then leapt forwards with both clawed hands at the ready.

But before it could even scratch, an energy blast hit it in the shoulder. It snarled, as it was knocked away from Twilight. She looked around and spotted Morphic, who was running forward with his blaster in hand. "You okay?" He asked, Twilight nodding at the Cheetah picked itself up. "Time for me to speed things up." He took out his new Mimicore and pressed the button, the image of the wolf-like creature appearing in the dots.

"RUSH!"

Morphic opened the draw on his belt and removed his Mimicore, replacing it with the new one. "Mega Morph!" With that, she slammed the draw inwards and the lights upon the side of his belt turned red.

"MIMIC! COYOTE!" The armor around his body began to melt and change from blue to a bright red colour, the amber slimming down before solidifying to form a thinner more streamlined armour.

The armour on his arms had three short white points sticking out the front above his hands, whilst his boots also had claws on the ends and cleats on the bottoms. His head armour formed to mimic the head of a canine with his eyes remaining yellow and a short snout sticking out like where his nose should be. Finally, the lines along his body turned red.

As the armor finished its transformation, the belt unleashed new words. "Howling velocity, increasing the tearing power of its fangs"

Twilight was once again amazed to see the Kamen Riders changing their animal motifs, this one looking incredibly fast. And sure enough, Morphic ran forward and turned into a blur.

The Cheetah did the same, the orange and red blurs flying around the place and colliding several times. Twilight could only watch in amazement, as they seemed to be at a stalemate and both landed a good distance away from one another. As they did, Morphic clutched his chest and Twilight saw several scratches down the front of his armor.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Morphic assured her. He then turned back to the Cheetah. "You won't get the drop on me again." The claws on the ends of his arms then turned to liquid before extending outwards, then solidified to form a trio of Wolverine style claws.

Back with Timber and Fluttershy, the two were making their way through the zoo.

Fluttershy was following Timber's lead, but couldn't help but notice the direction they were heading wasn't the way out of the zoo. "Why are we going this way? Shouldn't we be trying to get to safety?"

"We are," Timber told her. "But there's another way out of the park that shouldn't be as crowded." Fluttershy nodded, accepting this. Timber smiled, looking for a good place to complete his objective. But before he could try, he heard something.

"Fluttershy!" They looked around and saw Rainbow and the other Rainbooms, running towards them. "Are you okay?" Rainbow saw how Fluttershy was limping and Applejack quickly took her from Timber, lifting her up without worry.

"I'm fine. Just twisted my ankle. Timber was getting me somewhere safe."

"Thanks man," Rainbow told him.

"No problem," Timber forced a smile. He couldn't take all these girls on at once. He needed to keep his cover and fighting these girls would get the attention of the Riders. His plan was ruined. "Come on." He pointed in one direction. "The Kamen Riders can deal with the Mimics. Lets get out of their way." They all nodded and followed him out of the zoo, Timber steaming at his failure.

Back in the fight, Shifter and Morphic had their opponents on the ropes.

The Hawk flew towards Shifter and tried to slash at him, but Shifter curled his wings and barrel-rolled out of the way. The Rider then shot forward and dealt a punch straight to its side. The Hawk cried and tried to slash at him, but Shifter's owl vision allowed him to preserve this attack and easily avoid it.

"Nice try!" Shifter flew around the creature and his wings were so silent, the Hawk couldn't tell where he was and he dealt a powerful kick to its back.

At the same time, Morphic was able to keep up with the Cheetah's speed. And thanks to his new claws, he was able to slash at the beast before it could do the same.

"Raaaaah!" The beast roared, as it landed next to a lamppost and used its claws to cut through it. And when it tipped over, it kicked the metal structure towards Morphic.

The Kamen Rider saw it coming and turned into a completely still blur, not taking a step as the lamp reached him. His arms then moved like a flurry, his blades cutting the metal pole to ribbons without any effort.

Eventually, the last of the metal fell to the ground and Morphic shot forward. He swung his claws around and slashed them down the creature's chest, making it roar as it was sent flying backwards.

All the while, Twilight watched this happen and was completely amazed by how fast the battle had turned in the Rider's favour. She could barely follow Morphic and the Cheetah, but was able to watch as Shifter fought the Hawk.

Once again, the bird Mimic tried to slash at Shifter. But he dodged and grabbed the beast's arm, twisting it before dealing a powerful kick to its wing. The impact knocked the limb back and made it bend at an unnatural angle, making the Mimic roar as it felt its wing snap somewhere.

The Rider then spun around and threw the monster downwards. And as the Hawk crashed to the ground, injuring its wing even more, Shifter slammed the side of his belt.

"CLIMATIC FLIGHT!"

Shifter's wings grew larger and larger, until they were four times their normal size. He then started beating them, causing a powerful gust to appear and swirl around the Mimic. As the Hawk picked itself up, a tornado formed around it and lifted the monster into the air.

The Mimic squawked, as it tried to escape from the vortex. But nothing it did worked and as Shifter's wings shrank back to normal, he dived into the tornado. And unlike the Hawk, he wasn't fighting against the wind. He was using it to make him spin around, moving faster and faster by the second.

And as the tornado began to dissipate, he spun around so his feet were pointed towards the Hawk. Then, he thrust them forward as he spun, morphing him into a giant air drill.

The attack slammed into the Hawk, who screamed in pain as its body was dug into. And after a few moments of this, the tornado vanished and it was sent flying backwards into the ground. As it crashed into the earth, it sparked and Shifter flew out of his drill form.

He glided down and landed, right as the monster exploded behind him.

"YES!" Twilight cheered, only to then hear a roar and look around to see the Cheetah and Morphic stop flying around. The Cheetah had a bunch of cuts on its body and as Morphic dealt a swift kick to its chest, it was thrown backwards whilst Morphic did a back-flip.

When he landed, Morphic slammed the side of his belt and made it yell out.

"CLIMATIC RUSH!"

As the Cheetah picked itself up, Morphic shot forward and morphed into a blur. He was moving even faster than he had been before, too fast for the Mimic to counter in time and it shot past him. "GYAH!" It roared, feeling the claws slashing at him. This stopped it from being able to counter the next slash, then the next and the next and the next.

To anyone watching, it almost looked like Morphic had multiplied and the many clones were attacking him one after another. Eventually, after what had to be the hundredth slash, Morphic slid to a stop with his claws pointed forwards.

The Mimic swayed in place for several seconds before, finally, it fell to the ground and exploded with Morphic standing with his back to it.

Twilight stood there, amazed as she watched the Kamen Riders walk over to one another and high-five. They then turned to leave, but Twilight finally found her voice. "Wait!" they looked around. "Please, tell me. Who are you? How can you do all these things? And why are you the only ones that can hurt the Mimics?"

The pair glanced at one another, then back to her. "We wish we could tell you," Shifter stated. "But honestly, most of those questions even we don't have the answers to." Twilight frowned, wondering what he meant by that. "Maybe one day, we'll be able to tell you. But until then, just trust us. We're here to help."

Before Twilight could say anything else, the two raced off. Shifter took to the sky and Morphic raced off, Twilight watching them both disappear into the distance.

In the Mimic lab, Maya and Frill waited as Timber arrived.

As soon as he did, his body melted and transformed into his Mimic form. The pair stood there, glaring at him. "What?" They said nothing, Gule sighing. "I get it. I failed to get the girl here. It wasn't easy, you know. That place was covered in cameras. If I didn't take her somewhere out of the way, I would have been spotted."

"You could have been faster," Maya told him. "If you had gotten her there quicker, you would have been able to transport her here before the rest of those girls showed up."

"It's not like we lost anything important," Gule stated. "Out of all the girls, she had one of the worst powers. They wouldn't have been able to help us much."

"Maybe," Frill stated. "But there's no telling what else those girls might be able to do. But it doesn't matter anymore. The Riders are growing stronger. We need to find a way to deal with them before they get out of hand." He moved over to another area and stepped through a door, the other Mimics following.

They soon arrived at a large room, where many animals were located. But all of these animals were encased in amber cocoons, waiting to be used by a Mimic. Everything, from lions, tigers and bears. All ready to grant power to the Mimics. Power that the Riders couldn't hope to fight against.

Back at the zoo, the investigation was drawing to a close.

Shining Armor headed out of the park, having a feeling the Mimics wouldn't be showing up again. He and Flash would need to be careful. With more powerful animals stolen, they would likely be facing more powerful Mimics. He and Flash both had a single Mimicore left. They would need to use them wisely.

As he got in his car, he got a call from Cadance. She was calling to ask when he would be home, Shining smiling as he told her. He might be a superhero, but he was glad he could have times like now to enjoy. A reminder of what he was fighting for and what he needed to do in order to keep that safe.

Author's Note

Another chapter, another new form debut. A two for one this time. Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter and the Rider's new forms. And for those that don't know, we've got some new images of Blade Form and Kamen Rider Morphic. You might want to check those out if you haven't already.

Episode 6: A Shocking Encounter

Canterlot was on a state of alert.

With the Mimic attacks continuing, everyone was finding themselves more and more worried to go outside. But many knew that fear was exactly what the Mimics were trying to get out of them. If they allowed themselves to be too scared to leave their homes, the Mimics would still be ruining their lives.

As such, the citizens of the city kept themselves busy with everyday life. But they also knew that they needed to be careful. A Mimic could show up at any moment and if it did, they had to be ready to evacuate at a moments notice.

It helped that the Kamen Riders had been doing such an amazing job, fighting against these monsters and keeping the injuries sustained to a minimum. Despite nobody knowing who they were and where they came from, they were happy to know that they had the amazing heroes protecting them.

One of those amazing heroes, was currently in class. But his mind wasn't on the subject their teacher was talking about.

Flash Sentry, was thinking about the final Mimicore that he had available to him. He and Shining only had one left each, meaning they could only acquire one new form each. The only problem was, they had no idea what animal to use the Mimicores on.

Flash was thinking about the three forms he already had access to. His Strike Form, was pretty balanced when it came to speed, agility and attack power. It was well rounded, but didn't excel in anything. His Blade Form was fast, with incredible cutting power. But it was a glass cannon that couldn't take hits very well. And his Flight Form gave him an aerial advantage, but its strength was lacking so it would take a while for him to wear the opponent down enough to use his finisher.

His forms all had strengths and weaknesses, but he knew he had to be missing something. He just had no idea what.

The bell suddenly rang, the students quickly packing their things up as they prepared to head out. The teacher gave them their homework and Flash barely heard what he said, still too focused on what to use his final Mimicore for.

He knew it would be best for him to save it until he knew for sure what to use it on. But he didn't want to risk needing it and not having the chance to use it, when the time arrived. If he could figure out what he needed before he needed it, that would be great.

He left the class and headed for his locker. He had a free period, so he could do some of his homework and maybe figure out what animal he needed to add to his skill set.

But as he arrived at his locket, he happened to spot something he did not expect to see. "Trixie, is that a hedgehog?"

Trixie Lulamoon looked around, as a hedgehog's head was sticking out of her bag. She glanced at said bag and frowned, taking it off and carefully scooping the creature out of the rucksack. "Yes. Yes, he is." Flash looked down at the little creature and smiled, thinking he was rather cute.

"Aw, hey little guy." He gave Trixie a quizzical look. "Okay, why do you have a hedgehog with you?"

"I found him," Trixie replied. "He was by the side of the road, injured and afraid. I couldn't just leave him there." Despite how self-absorbed Trixie acted like she was, she could be caring when she wanted to be. "I took him to the vets and they managed to mend him up. But I have no idea where to take him."

"Can't you just release him back into the wild?"

"And let him get hurt again?" Trixie asked. "Don't be an idiot." Flash rolled his eyes. "That's when I realised, I just needed to ask Fluttershy. She could easily talk to him and figure out where he lived. He might even have a family I can return him to."

Flash nodded. That made sense, since Fluttershy was a master at animal communication. "So you brought him to school, to talk to Fluttershy. Why not just call her?"

"I don't have her number. I figured it wouldn't be a problem. Fluttershy brings her animals to school all the time. Twilight too." Flash nodded. "But...Fluttershy's not here. Rainbow said she's home sick. So I'm having to sneak this guy around with me."

"Ouch," Flash nodded. "That sounds rough." Micro passed as he said that. "Well, I don't see any issues with you having him here. So long as he doesn't cause any problems."

Micro noticed the hedgehog and frowned. "I'd be careful, if I were you." They both turned to him. "I heard someone from the board of education is coming to inspect the school later today. Apparently, the board's been hearing rumours of weird things happening in CHS."

"What kind of weird things?" Flash asked, hoping he wasn't talking about him.

"Students growing wings and glowing. Giant plants trying to eat students. Large robots causing mass destruction."

"Weren't you the one who caused that last one?" Trixie asked, with Micro looking a little sheepish. "But I get it. The school's getting an inspection. If this guy sees me with spiny here, I might get in trouble." She glanced down at the hedgehog. "Sorry, little guy. You're gonna have to stay in my bag for the day. I promise, I'll get you something nice to eat at lunch time. Until then, just stay curled up in my bag." She zipped it up, as Micro walked off.

"Maybe you should run home and leave him there."

"I'm not leaving him all alone. He's been through a terrible ordeal. If I leave him alone, he might get scared and who knows what'll happen to him then." Flash had to admit, that was a fair point. He was about to make another suggestion, only to suddenly sense something and look away. Trixie noticed this and raised an eyebrow. "What's up?"

Flash frowned. He knew this feeling. After the last few times, he had realised it was somehow connected to the Mimics. Whenever he sensed it, a Mimic was close. "I gotta go!" Before Trixie could say anything else, he ran off and left the girl to blink.

"Huh?"

As soon as Flash was outside, he summoned his belt and took out his Mimicore.

"FLIGHT!

He double checked to make sure nobody was around and placed the Mimicore into place, striking a pose as he did so. "HENSHIN!" He slammed the Mimicore into place and the drive activated, the lights going yellow.

"MIMIC! OWL!" The slime flew out of the pipes and began to cover Flash, the cocoon forming before breaking off his body. Now suited up, Shifter stood there as the armor formed around his body and his wings grew upon his back. "Flying through the sky, seeking prey with all seeing vision!"

As soon as his armor settled, he ran forward and leapt into the air. He shot into the sky, in the direction he had sensed the Mimic. Hopefully, he could get there before something bad happened.

The screams of people filled the air, as bolts of lightning exploded out everywhere.

The source of the lightning was a ten foot tall monster. It was a bulky humanoid creature, whose skin was entirely blackish blue. Its head was that of an eel whilst it had a pair of yellow fins on its head, that both started on either side of its large nose before running down its head, the back of its neck, back, waist and along either side of its long tail before joining together at the tip. Its chest, the front of its neck and lower jaw were a lighter blue, but still pretty dark. And covering its shoulders and arms were lightning bolt patterns.

Its body sparked with energy, as it unleashed blasts of lightning in all directions.

A few cops were there and tried to shoot it, its body looking rather easy to pierce. But the bullets stopped before they could touch the creature, eventually falling to the ground as the creature picked up a car and threw it. The men screamed and ran, barely managing to avoid getting hit.

And as they ran, they spotted something in the sky and smiled. "Kamen Rider!" The owl themed hero flew onto the scene and noticed the creature, a frown on his lips as he dived down.

The Mimic spotted him and roared before unleashing a blast of lightning, Shifter barely managing to avoid it. "WOW!" He barrel-rolled out of the way and dived down, throwing a punch as he got in close.

But despite hitting it in the head, Shifter was the one who felt pain. A few hundred volts worth of pain, making him cry as the creature swung a punch at him.

"GYAH!" The impact and zap that followed, made Shifter cry out as he was thrown backwards. The Eel then unleashed another blast of lightning, which flew forward and slammed into Shifter's wing before he could counter. "AUGH!" The wing melted, as the energy flowed into him.

He fell to the ground, his wing remaining damaged and preventing him from flying. The Mimic then walked forward, but Shifter refused to give up and took out another Mimicore. "BLADE!" He quickly replaced the Mimicores, as the creature unleashed another electrical blast.

"Shape Shift!" He barely managed to leap away, as the lightning bolt struck the spot he was in.

"MIMIC! SWORDFISH!" His armor changed along with the lines and his eyes, the long blades appearing off the ends of his arms as it settled. "Slicing through the ocean, with speed and precision unmatched!"

As soon as he finished his transformation, he shot forward and slashed at the Mimic. But once again, some kind of electric barrier blocked the slashes and sent bolts of lightning into Shifter. "Gaaah!" He staggered back, but kept trying to slash at it with the same results. He slashed, tore, sliced and cut at the creature. And every time he made contact, he felt himself get zapped.

He staggered back, his body feeling numb whilst the Eel seemed perfectly fine.

The Mimic laughed, whilst Shifter glared at him. "Wise guy. Think you're untouchable. Every shield has a weakness. And I'll find yours!"

"I don't think so!" Shifter spun around and spotted something flying at him. The green insect Mimic that he had fought at the Canterlot Mall. Gule-Far-Tar flew down and slammed a foot into Shifter's chest, knocking him backwards. "Surprise!"

"You!" Shifter cried, getting ready to speed strike him. "Bring it, you oversized Christmas light!" He swung his blades towards him, but Gule dodged the attacks before taking to the air. He then unleashed a bright light, which blinded Shifter for a moment and allowed Gule to fly down.

But when he slammed a foot into Shifter's chest, something seemed to happen. "Huh?" Gule suddenly felt something, as Shifter was knocked back. "What was that?" He stared at the Rider, as a strangely familiar feeling washed over him. It distracted him so much, Shifter took him by surprise and slashed at him. "WOW!" He leapt back, barely avoiding having his head cut off.

Shifter followed him and brought both blades down, Gule raising his arms and blocking them. The blades cut into his arms and he flinched, Shifter pushing down on him. But before he could keep going, he was suddenly overwhelmed with a feeling. The same feeling Gule was feeling.

The two stared into each other's eyes, as a sense of familiarity washed over them.

"What?" Shifter finally asked, only for a bolt of lightning to suddenly smash into him. "AUGH!" He was knocked away and pulled his blades from Gule, as he staggered back.

The Mimic General flinched at the damage done to his arms, as the Eel Mimic built up a bunch of electrical energy. It was about to fire again, but suddenly found itself getting shot several times.

It cried out, as Shifter turned to see Morphic racing towards them on his bike.

As he pulled up, he fired several more times and the Mimic was injured each time. Shifter saw this and was suddenly struck by what he was missing. "Of course."

Gule saw what was happening and frowned before moving over to the Eel. "We're out of here!" He unleashed a blinding light and the Riders were forced to look away. And when the light faded, they looked ahead and saw that they were both gone.

"Ahh," Morphic groaned, "they got away." He turned to Shifter and saw he was thinking about something. "You okay?"

"Yeah," Shifter nodded. "I just realised what I need to use my last Mimicore for. I'm lacking a long range attack, like your Blitz Blaster. So I need to find an animal that'll give me that ability." Morphic nodded, understanding what he was getting at. But there was no telling what animal that could be. This was gonna take some thought.

Back in the Mimic base, Gule was sitting in a chair whilst The Eel Mimic applied the healing gel to its body.

As he sat there, he thought about what had just happened. His memory flashed back to when he had touched Shifter, causing him to receive a strange feeling. He couldn't quite get it. It felt familiar and somehow, different.

"What are you doing?" Gule looked around and spotted The Vulture Mimic, Frill-Nar-Ron, walking towards him. "Why are you just sitting there?" He then spotted the damage that had been done to his arms. "What on earth? How did you let that happen?" He grabbed more of the gel and applied it to Gule's arms.

"Kamen Rider Shifter," Gule replied.

"You let that Rider get the better of you?"

"Something happened. I don't know what, but I got a strange feeling when I touched him. It didn't happen the last time I fought him. And it was fuzzy. Like an image in my head, but I can't remember the details about it."

"What does that matter?" Frill stated. "We're supposed to be destroying him."

"The fight was going well," Gule stated. "Shifter couldn't do a thing against the Eel Mimic. But Morphic was another story. His energy weapon allowed him to hurt the Eel without needing to touch him."

"I was afraid of that," Frill stated. "Good thing I've been working on something." He moved over to a table, where a syringe was waiting. He picked it up and moved over to the Eel. "This should help the next time you face him." Before Gule or the Eel could ask what was going on, Frill stabbed the Mimic with the needle and injected it.

The Eel suddenly looked very uncomfortable, as its body began to melt in places and ripple. "What did you do to it?"

"A little enhancement that should help it deal with Morphic's weapons. And once he's out of the way, we'll deal with Shifter. And to make sure those two can't team up and help one another, I'll put Shifter someplace he can't escape until it's too late."

"How?" Gule asked. In that moment, Frill's body began to melt and reshape itself.

He morphed into a humanoid form, standing somewhere between Timber and Chrysalis in height. And when he finally solidified, he was a middle-aged man wearing a maroon business suit. He had gray skin and black hair, which was sleeked back to form a near ponytail. He also had a small goatee on his chin.

"Trust me. I have my ways."

Back in CHS, Flash had managed to get back to school before anyone missed him.

Currently, he was in the library. He was on the computer, trying to find an animal that might be able to help him with his current problem. The only issue was, animals weren't really known for using ranged attacks.

The best he could find was the bombardier beetle, but he had no idea where he was supposed to find one of those. He needed to find an animal that could help him attack from a distance, without touching his opponent.

As he continued to look over the many different kinds of animals, he suddenly felt something by his feet.

He pushed his chair back and looked down, only to be shocked at the sight of Trixie's hedgehog. "Hey, little guy." He picked him up, the little guy curling up. "Don't be scared. I'm not gonna hurt you." As he said that, Trixie suddenly appeared.

"There he is." She rushed over, glad to see the little guy was okay. "I turned away for a second and he ran off. Thanks for finding him."

"No problem." Flash held the hedgehog out to her. But as he did, somebody suddenly appeared behind them.

"What is going on here!" They spun around, only to see a gray skinned man in a suit standing behind them. And he wasn't the only one, as Celestia and Luna were both there with him. "Why did you bring that filthy creature into this school?"

"Hey!" Trixie held little hedgehog close to her. "He's not filthy. And I had to bring him. He's injured and needs someone to take care of."

"Then you should have taken him to a vet," he growled.

"Mr. Neighsay," Celestia spoke up. "I'm sure these two meant no harm in this. Yes, she probably should have taken the hedgehog to a vet. But she clearly had good intentions."

"Rules are rules," Neighsay stated. "These two broke those rules and must be punished."

"What rules did I break?" Flash asked, but Neighsay didn't answer. He focused on the two principals.

"I think detention should work for them. Three days." This shocked them all, the lot about to argue but Neighsay was clearly having none of it. "That's my final word on the matter." He turned to leave, Celestia and Luna looking apologetic at the pair. "And if you must carry that blasted creature around for the rest of the day, put it in a cage or something."

"Who is this guy?" Trixie asked, clearly outraged by what had just happened.

"Neighsay," Celestia sighed. "He's on the school's board of education. I'm sorry, but I can't refuse his orders. You two will have to be in detention." Both looked at her in shock. "Just for today. Neighsay works with multiple schools in the area. Once he leaves, he'll forget all about the two of you."

"Aaaaah!" Flash groaned, fearing something bad would likely happen whilst he was trapped in detention.

Trixie was just as upset, especially when she was forced to keep her new spiky friend in a cage she had gotten from somewhere. She had the carrying him around in the bulky thing, the hedgehog clearly not happy about it.

Flash also sent a message to Shining, warning him of the problem he was in. Shining assured him he would be fine on his own, especially since the Mimic was vulnerable to his attacks. For the rest of the school day, Flash continued to think about what animal he should use his last Mimicore on.

The biggest issue was even if he managed to find an animal that met the criteria he was looking for, where the heck was he gonna find one to actually scan? The Swordfish and Owl had been in areas that housed animals like that, but there was a chance the aquarium and zoo wouldn't have the animals he was looking for.

Neighsay was finally leaving the school, Celestia and Luna going to the exit with him.

"Well," Neighsay turned to them, "everything seems to be in order. I was getting worried, when I heard rumours of odd goings on in this school. But it seems everything is as it should be."

"That's good to hear," Celestia nodded. "And I promise, nothing strange is happening at this school. Everything is perfectly normal." Neighsay raised an eyebrow at this. "Well, as normal as things get in this town."

"Yes. I do hope those Kamen Riders aren't causing too many issues for your students."

"We've had a few close calls," Luna told him. "Our students have run into the monsters that have been attacking the city. But none of them have been harmed, thanks to the Kamen Riders."

"Maybe. But you never know what'll happen. If you two find anything even remotely out of the ordinary, I want you to contact the board of educators. Is that understood?" They nodded. "Good. Your records since taking over this school have been excellent. I don't want to hear you decided to ruin them, by keeping something dangerous under wraps."

"There's nothing to worry about," Celestia assured him.

"I hope so," Neighsay finally left and the principals sighed. As he walked away, Neighsay took out a phone and began calling someone. "It's done," he stated to whoever was on the other line. "Send him in. You'll have about an hour or so to make Morphic regret he ever tried to fight against us." He smiled as he hug up, leaving the area before anyone could notice him.

Back inside, Flash and Trixie were both getting out of their final class of the day.

They headed towards the classroom detention was kept in, both arriving there and finding they were the only ones in detention that day. Or, the only ones that decided to show up.

As they sat down, Luna stepped in and looked around. "Good. You're both here. Trixie, is your little friend still in his cage?" Trixie held up said cage and Luna nodded. "Good. Again, we're sorry this is happening. But it's only for today. Just use this time to do your homework. I'm sure you'll see the time fly by."

The two doubted that, but both took out their books and started working on the homework. The next few minutes crawled by, as Flash worked on his history homework whilst Trixie was doing math and keeping her little friend from causing too much of a commotion.

Flash was just about to start talking about the events that pushed America into World War One, when he suddenly sensed something and looked up. Dread filled Flash's heart, as he looked towards the city and realised what he was feeling.

The Mimic was back and Flash realised he had no way of leaving to fight it. All he could do was sit there, as the sensation continued to ring in his head. "Shining," he whispered, "I hope you can handle this on your own."

The Eel Mimic unleashed a bolt of lightning, as people screamed and ran for cover.

The creature stood still and built up as much electrical energy that it could, then sent it flying out. Doing so caused every electrical device around it to suddenly spark before exploding, whilst it let out a roar and threw another bolt of lightning towards someone.

It barely missed them and the Mimic continued to attack, as an engine noise made it look around and see Morphic racing towards it on his bike. "Back again?" The Rider asked, as he pointed his Blitz Blaster towards it. But as he opened fire, the Mimic seemed to brace itself as the energy around its body surged. And when the energy bolts struck this field, it was somehow sucked into it. "What?"

The Eel laughed and unleashed another blast of electricity, this one even stronger than the last. It slammed into the ground in front of Morphic and exploded, knocking the Rider off his bike. "GYAH!" He crashed into the ground, as his bike reverted back to its smaller form. "Ow."

The Eel charged, as it slashed at Morphic.

The Rider barely managed to dodge the swipe in time and rolled over to his bike, picking it up as he fired his Blitz Blaster. But the attacks did nothing, as the energy field around it surged again and absorbed the shots. "Seriously?"

The Eel spun around and before Morphic could react, it grabbed him around the neck and lifted him up.

"Not good!" He kicked at the monster, but all that did was cause his feet to get zapped. The only part not surging with energy was, surprisingly, the hand that was currently holding him.

But that was about to change, as the fins on its body glowed as more power surged. It then unleashed that energy straight into Morphic, making him scream as his whole body was zapped.

Fighting through the pain, he reached up and grabbed the creature's fingers. And slowly, he pried them off him and allowed the rider to pull himself free. "Gaaah!" He kicked himself away from The Eel and raised his blaster, firing several shots.

One managed to get through, but the barrier quickly formed afterwards and absorbed the others.

Morphic landed and caught on. "He can absorb energy, but he needs to focus in order to do it." He frowned, as The Eel unleashed a lightning bolt from its hand. Morphic leapt to the side, as the bolt struck a car and lifted it into the air. "There's no way I can take this guy down on my own."

As the car was thrown his way, Morphic realised he needed Shifter. But with Flash in detention, he wasn't gonna be there to help for a while. But then he realised there was a way to get Flash out of detention, though he absolutely hated himself for even considering it.

"No choice!" He fired several shots at The Eel, none of which actually hitting it. "Come and get me, you overgrown spark-plug!" He turned to run off, as The Eel gave chase. Morphic fired several more shots behind him, whilst The Mimic launched a few lightning bolts.

The two continued to trade blows with one another, neither able to hit the other, as Morphic led him through the city. He just hoped he wouldn't come to regret this decision.

Back at CHS, Flash was getting a serious headache from the feeling he was overwhelmed with. But he still had a good while before he could act on it, making him fear his head would explode.

However, as Luna finished writing something, the P.A system suddenly came online and Celestia spoke up. "This is an emergency evacuation order. Everyone is to evacuate the school, now!" Everyone wondered what that was for, only for an explosion to catch their attention.

"You heard her!" Luna cried, getting up as Flash and Trixie did the same. They all headed out of the classroom, as more rooms opened with teens evacuating their after school clubs. As soon as they joined the large group, Flash began to move away from Luna and Trixie. And once he was far enough away, he ducked into a bathroom and stood waiting.

Once the noise of teens escaping died down, he took out his Strike Mimicore and summoned his Mimic Driver. "STRIKE!"

Morphic leapt away from a blast of lightning, barely managing to avoid it.

As he landed, he considered using his Rush Form. But whilst that would make him fast enough to avoid the attacks, he would have to physically attack it to do damage. And with the electric barrier surrounding it, that would be a dumb move. "Come on. There's gotta be a way to take this thing down!"

As he said that, he noticed movement to his left and a large group of students and teachers were exiting the building.

The Eel saw this and began charging up power, as it turned towards the students. "NO!" Morphic leapt in front of the crowd, as the Mimic unleashed an electric blast. "GYAH!" He cried, getting zapped by the energy and feeling like a million needles were stabbing into him.

The crowd saw this and knew they had to get away, so the Rider didn't have to worry about them. And as they began to move, the electrical attack came to an end Morphic fell to the ground. He panted, as the beast began to charge up again.

"CLIMATIC STRIKE!"

Spinning around, it saw Shifter flying towards it with his glowing foot thrust forwards. The energy flew towards the Mimic and slammed into it, hitting it too fast for the creature to absorb the energy. It was then blasted away, Shifter flipping back and landing next to Morphic.

"You okay?"

"Yeah," Morphic pushed itself up. "Be careful. This thing's gotten stronger. He can absorb energy now."

"Really? Great." He sighed, as the monster pushed itself up. As it did, it built up a ton of energy before unleashing it in a powerful wave.

The Riders wanted to dodge, but there were still people trying to escape. As such, the pair were forced to take the blast and get zapped. Both cried out, but kept pushing forwards through the wave.

When the energy subsided, Shifter ran forward. "If I'm fast enough, maybe I can hit it before it charges up!" He managed to get in close and deal several kicks and punches to the beast, who cried out as Morphic ran forward to do the same. But by the time he reached them, the Eel was charged back up.

It roared, as it unleashed a blast of energy from its body.

That energy slammed into the pair and twin arcs of lightning pushed them both into the air, making them cry out as they fell to the ground. As Shifter landed, something happened to go flying out of his possession. The blank Mimicore, which slid along the ground and stopped close to where people were evacuating.

As this was happening, Trixie was amongst the group leaving the building. The hedgehog was in her hands, the loud explosions causing it to panic and curl up. "Don't worry," she told it. "You'll be okay. I'll keep you safe."

At that moment, the Eel charged up a blast that it prepared to launch at the group. But at the last moment, Morphic fired his Blitz Blaster and hit it in the chest. This knocked it back and caused its lightning attack to go flying, hitting the ground near the group.

Trixie screamed, as the blast knocked her off her feet along with several others.

She hit the ground with a cry, the hedgehog flying from her grasp and rolling along the ground. As it did, it happened to come close to the Mimicore and stopped right next to it. Trixie groaned and picked herself up, as the hedgehog uncurled itself and began to move.

"Wait!" She cried, seeing it climb onto the Mimicore.

Shifter was recovering at this moment and raised his head, allowing him to see the hedgehog and what was happening. The Mimicore was starting to glow, as the light moved over the spiky creature. "NO!" He cried, pushing himself up as Trixie ran over. But as she picked the little guy up, the scan completed.

Shifter picked the Mimicore up and looked it over, seeing the device beginning to transform. Letters appeared upon the side, as the dots glowed green and started showing images of a hedgehog in different poses.

Trixie saw this and panicked. "I'm sorry," she bowed. "Please tell me I didn't ruin whatever that is?"

"Ahh," Shifter frowned under his mask. He looked at the word on the side of the core, wondering how literal they could be. And as he heard an explosion and Morphic's cry, he realised he had two options. Try to beat the Mimic as he was now, or take a gamble and see what this new core could do. "Might as well see what this thing can do." He hit the button and as he did, it lit up with green dots forming the shifting images of a hedgehog in different poses.

"PIERCE!"

Shifter quickly opened his belt and replaced his Mimicore with the new one. "Shape shift!" He cried, slamming the draw shut as he did so.

"MIMIC! HEDGEHOG!" The armour around his body began to melt once again before changing to a transparent green colour, then began reshaping itself before hardening to reveal Flash's new form. Every part of his armour was covered in spikes, from his chest, to his shoulders, to his back, to his boots and arms. Even his mask was covered in spikes, though his eyes remained uncovered. The armour around his wrists had an extra long spike pointing forwards along the backs of his hands. Finally, the lines on his suit turned green whilst his eyes changed to orange.

As the armor settled, the lights on his belt turned green whilst his yelled out. "Defending all with a shield of spines, impaling all that try to do harm!"

The transformation surprised Trixie, whilst also catching Morphic and the Eel's attention. The two looked towards Shifter, as he looked himself over. "Wow." He stared at the spikes on the back of his arms and as he did, one suddenly shot off him and shot forward. "YAH!" He staggered back, as the spike impaled a nearby wall.

The impact had caused it to dig into the wall, showing it had incredible power behind it. Once that happened, it melted away and Shifter found a new spike growing out of his arm.

"Wait. Did this just give me the power I was looking for?" He turned to the Eel, who was charging itself up. Shifter then rushed forward and thrust both arms forward, the spikes on his arms flew off of him and shot towards the Mimic.

The creature put up its electric barrier, but the spines shot right through and stabbed into him. It roared in pain and Shifter cheered, having gotten exactly what he was looking for.

He turned back to Trixie and the others, "go!" They nodded and ran off, as Shifter raced towards the Eel. As it was recovering and charging itself up, Shifter got in close and fired several spines right at it. The beast tried to dodge, but the spikes were too fast and it was stabbed several times.

Shifter finally got within striking distance and the Eel swung its claws around, but the Kamen Rider ducked under them before the spikes on his leg grew larger. This allowed him to throw a kick and stab it several times, without his leg touching the barrier around it.

Morphic took this moment to fire at it. The Mimic was so distracted by Shifter, it couldn't focus on him and absorb his attacks. This meant the blasts burnt its body, making it roar and unleash a blast of lightning.

This wave struck both Riders and knocked them down, as the Mimic charged forward. Shifter was on his hands and knees, as the Mimic prepared another attack. But before it could land, the spines on Shifter's back extended and once again stabbed its body. It roared in pain, staggering back as Shifter picked himself up.

"I am loving this new form!" He laughed, as the Eel staggered back. "I hope you're ready. Because the winds of victory have shifted." With that, he unleashed a barrage of spikes on the beast, firing as many as he could produce.

The Eel roared as the spines impacted its body, stabbing into it again and again. At the same time, Morphic shot it from behind and the energy blasts damaged its body. Eventually, the Eel unleashed another wave of electricity that shot towards them both.

Morphic was able to jump up over it, with nobody behind him to worry about. Meanwhile, Shifter slammed both fists together and the gauntlets melted and merged. They swirled together and grew to form a human-sized shield, covered in spikes.

It solidified and blocked the electric wave, Shifter not feeling a thing as it dissipated.

The Eel growled, as the shield began to shrink. But before it could attack again, it heard a voice coming from above.

"CLIMATIC BLITZ!"

It spun around and saw Morphic, firing a bolt of energy from his blaster that he then kicked in its direction. It moved fast and the Eel couldn't prepare itself to absorb it, so unleashed a blast of energy. This stopped the attack, but distracted it as Shifter finished his preparations and slammed his hand into the side of his belt.

"CLIMATIC PIECE!"

His right gauntlet turned to slime and covered his entire hand and arm, solidifying into a giant spike. As it did, he thrust his left arm forward and sent out a barrage of spikes. These projectiles slammed into the Eel and kept it from putting up a defence, as Shifter then charged forward with incredible speed before thrusting his right arm forwards.

In the blink of an eye, Shifter stood behind the Mimic as the creature now had a giant hole in his chest. As the large spike on his arm returned to normal, the Mimic sparked before falling to the ground and exploding.

Shifter slowly turned towards the fireball, as it faded away to reveal the monster was gone. He smiled at this, as Morphic stepped over to him. "Nice!" He gave Shifter a playful punch, only to flinch in pain. "Ouch!" He had pricked himself on one of the spines, Shifter laughing as he looked over to where the students and teachers had evacuated.

The students were beginning to return to the building, Shifter moving over when he saw Trixie and her hedgehog friend. "Thank you. I know it was an accident, but you and your little friend helped me save the day."

Trixie smiled at this, as Shifter gave the hedgehog a gentle scratch on the head.

Morphic stepped over to Celestia and Luna. "I'm sorry I put your school in danger. If I had been able to beat that thing sooner, the fight wouldn't have moved to this area."

"Don't be sorry," Celestia told him. "You did what you could to stop it. Thank you for keeping our school safe. You Kamen Riders are a god send." Morphic nodded before taking out his bike and making it grow larger, Shifter doing the same.

The two Riders got on their bikes and raced off, the school and its residents all watching in amazement as the pair disappeared down the road. Once they were gone, Celestia turned to the rest of her staff. "Alright, everyone. I want to make sure we didn't lose track of everyone in the panic. Let's get a head count of everyone who was in the school when the alarm went off."

They nodded and the students began grouping themselves up, based on the activities they were doing before the insanity began.

Trixie looked around for Flash, but couldn't see him anywhere. And when Luna arrived, she too had no idea where Flash might be. They both looked worried and just as Luna was about to raise an alarm, a voice spoke up.

"There you are." They looked around and spotted Flash, walking towards them with a smile on his lips. "Sorry about that. I got overtaken by the crowd and pushed somewhere."

"Are you okay?" Luna asked, with Flash nodding. "Good. Then we don't have to worry. And I think you both have been through enough. Let's say your detention is over." The pair smirked at this and high-fived, whilst everyone else continued to work on making sure nobody had been left behind.

It took a while, but the head counts confirmed everyone was where they needed to be.

Up on a nearby roof, Neighsay glared down at the group that had escaped his brilliant plan. These Riders were getting more and more annoying by the day. He had to find a way to get rid of them once and for all. But how?

The next day.

Despite the crazy events that had occurred the previous day, the next school day was just like any other. There had been no damage to the school, so there had been no reason to have the place closed. As such, lessons were going on as normal.

Flash had just arrived and stepped over to his locker, looking around as he spotted Trixie off to the side. And she wasn't alone. Fluttershy was feeling much better, so she had come to school as well.

"Oh," Fluttershy held the spiky erinaceidae. "Aren't you cute." The hedgehog made some noise and Fluttershy laughed, "that's true. So, can you tell us where your family is?" The hedgehog explained and she nodded. "I see. Oh. Oh, my. That must have been terrifying. But I think I know the place you're describing."

"So you know where he lives?" Trixie asked, as Flash took his books out of his locker.

"Yes. But it's not a very safe place for hedgehogs to live. If a wild fox or badger doesn't get to them, the traffic will."

"Then we need to find them a safer place to live," Trixie announced. "Any ideas?" Fluttershy was clearly thinking about it, as she handed the hedgehog back to her.

"I think I might know a place. I've seen other hedgehogs living there and they seem perfectly happy." Trixie nodded, as Flash closed his locker. But then, he noticed Luna walking towards them and panicked. He tried to get the girl's attention, Trixie finally noticing him and catching on to what he was doing.

"Oh." She grabbed the hedgehog and tried to stuff it back into her bag.

But Luna arrived before she could finish and noticed the little guy, Trixie and Fluttershy sharing a nervous laugh as she stared at them. Flash took a step back, not wanting to risk getting more detention. But as he did, he heard Luna speak up. "I don't see anything. Especially not a creature that helped the Kamen Riders protect our school."

They were all shocked by this, as Luna continued down the hallway. As she left, they sighed in relief. "That was close," Trixie stated. "Sorry little guy, but I can't bring you to school anymore. I don't wanna stretch how much Vice-Principal Luna is willing to overlook this whole thing."

"Don't worry," Fluttershy assured her. "After today, you won't have to. We'll go find his family, then take them to a safe new home away from danger." Trixie smiled at this, as the bell rang and the girls walked off.

Flash smiled as well, as he headed to his own class.

As he did, he took out his four Mimicores and smiled. Despite the last one being an accident, he was glad he had it. Now he felt like he was really ready for everything. Strike, close range hand to hand combat. Blade, high speed slicing attacks. Flight, aerial combat and manoeuvrability. And Pierce, long range fire power and some pretty impressive strength in close quarters.

As far as he could figure, these four forms would give him everything he needed to fight any opponent.

He put them away, whilst thinking about Shining. He still hadn't chosen his new form and Flash couldn't help but wonder what Shining would pick. He already had a ranged attack and his Rush Form gave him speed. So what animal would he choose for his final Mimicore and what abilities would it give him?

At the Canterlot zoo, Shining was searching the place for a new creature to scan.

He had a vague idea of what traits he was after, but wasn't sure which animal to use. "Elephant?" He shook his head, "no. Maybe a rhino." He stared at the creature, but it didn't feel right. Then, he heard splashing and moved over to another enclosure. When he looked inside, he spotted a creature thrashing around and smiled. He had found what he was looking for. "Perfect."

Author's Note

And thus, we have Flash's four core forms. I'm pretty sure these four forms will give him a way to handle any situation where he's not outright overpowered. He might not be W, but I think he's got things covered. Let me know what you think of the new form and what you imagine Shining chose.

Episode 7: Memory Lane

In the City of Canterlot, people were going about their everyday lives in spite of the Mimic threat.

But as they did, a sudden explosion filled the air and people screamed before running for their lives. Moments later, Kamen Riders Shifter and Morphic leapt out of the explosion. Shifter was in his green Pierce Form whilst Morphic was wearing his blue Blitz Armor.

The two landed and turned towards the smoke, as it slowly faded to reveal two Mimics flying in the air. One of which was Gule.

The other was a humanoid Wasp Mimic, standing at the same height as Shifter with a pair of insect wings coming out of the back. Its body was yellow and had a bunch of black stripes covering it, its head being a giant wasp's head. Its left arm was a normal human arm but its right arm, at least past the elbow, was a large limb with a stinger on the end of it.

Morphic fired his blaster at The Wasp Mimic, who responded by thrusting its stinger arm forward. Doing so caused energy bolts to fly out of the stinger and hit the blasts, stopping them as Gule charged down.

Shifter fired his own spines, but Gule was able to dodge them all as he landed before slashing at Shifter. The Kamen Rider blocked the attack with his arm and extended the spikes on his armor, forcing Gule to dodge them as he leapt back.

"You guys have the worst timing imaginable," Morphic stated. "I'm supposed to be getting ready for a date right now." He fired at Gule, but the Mimic General avoided the attack. "If I'm even a minute late, my head is gonna roll."

"Oh," Gule told him, "boo hoo. Like I care!" Shifter leapt at him, attempting to stab him with his spine blades.

"I'll make you care." The two started struggling against one another and pushed one another back, leaving Morphic to fight The Wasp on his own. He fired his weapon, but The Wasp just blocked with its own. The Rider frowned, as he took out one of his other two Mimicores.

"Time to bring out the big guns. Or...big teeth." He was about to activate it, only for a gasp to fill the air and make them all look around.

A girl had somehow wandered into the battlefield and now looked absolutely terrified, as she stood there like a fish in a barrel.

Morphic saw this and rushed over to her, whilst The Wasp began charging up its weapons. He leapt in front of her as the Mimic fired, energy spikes shooting towards him. He tried to counter with his blaster, but it was shot out of his hand by the first strike.

The second struck him in the chest, exploding and making him cry out. The third hit his shoulder with the same outcome, followed by his leg, other shoulder and finally, the last one hit him in the Driver around his waist.

This impact caused the belt to spark and made the Mimicore flash rapidly. This terrified the girl and she finally ran away, as Morphic staggered around with the Driver continuing to spark. Lightning surged out of the device and started zapping him, everyone seeing this wondering what had happened.

And before anyone could do anything, an explosion suddenly shot out of the belt and filled the battlefield.

The Wasp was closest and it was sent flying back, crashing into a building whilst Morphic was thrown away as well. He screamed, his driver still sparking as he crashed into the ground.

Gule and Shifter had managed to weather the explosion, both only getting knocked staggering back.

As Shifter regained his footing, he turned to Morphic and saw him laying there. "NO!" He ran over to him, whilst Gule rushed over to The Wasp. As he did, he looked over at the downed Morphic and watched his armor starting to melt off of him. The same happened to his suit, which evaporated the moment it was off his body.

This revealed Shining Armor to The Mimic, Gule's eyes going wide at the sight. "We're out of here." He told the injured Wasp before dragging him away. "We'll finish this later." They both took to the air, as Shifter continued to look Shining over.

"Come on." Shifter removed his Mimicore and transformed back to his civilian form, Flash looking the unconscious Shining Armor over. "Wake up!" But Shining was completely out of it.

Flash looked down at the Driver around his waist and saw it was badly damaged, eventually disappearing whilst Flash realised Shining Mimicore was gone. He checked Shining's pockets and found they were all gone, which shocked Flash. "What's going on?" He shook his head. He had to focus. "Gotta get you to a hospital."

As Flash began to lift Shining up, planning to take him somewhere else to call an ambulance, he was unaware that he was being watched.

Up on a nearby rooftop, a figure cloaked in white stared down at the area. In his hands were the three Mimicores, which he held up. "This isn't good. With The Driver damaged, who knows what'll happen. I need to keep a close eye on him." With that, he walked off and disappeared in a flash of light.

At Canterlot Hospital, Flash sat in the waiting room with a worried expression on his face.

The teen feared Shining was in a bad way. He wasn't sure what had actually happened to him, but he knew it couldn't be good. And if the doctors discovered the driver or whatever else Flash and Shining didn't know about themselves, things were going to go from bad to worse.

He had called Twilight and told her what had happened, though he had had to lie and say Shining had been in the vicinity and had saved him from the Mimic before the Kamen Riders appeared. She and her family were on their way, whilst Flash remained waiting here for some kind of development.

"Flash!" He looked around and spotted Twilight, along with two people he assumed were her parents.

They ran up to him and her mother, Twilight Velvet, spoke up. "What happened? Is Shining going to be okay?"

"The doctors are still working on him," Flash replied. "Your son saved me when I got attacked by the Mimic. But there was an explosion and he was knocked flying. I think he might have hit his head or something." They all looked worried, as another woman arrived. One Flash recognised from the Friendship Games.

"Twilight!"

"Cadance!" She rushed over to the woman and they hugged.

"Is he okay?" Cadance asked, but nobody said anything and Cadance realised they didn't know. "Oh." And so they waited, another hour passing before a doctor stepped out and moved over to them.

"How is he, doc?" Twilight's father asked.

"Physically, he's not seriously harmed. A few scratches and a light burn, but nothing that'll leave permanent damage. He even woke up a few minutes ago."

"I'm sensing a but coming," Flash stated off handedly.

"But," the doctor nodded, "he's...I think it'd be best if you saw for yourself." He gestured for them to enter the room, the family did so with Flash choosing to stay back.

As they entered the room, they saw Shining on the bed. He was awake and wearing a hospital gown. "Shining," Cadance rushed over to him, "are you okay?"

Shining stared at her, a curious look on his face. "I'm sorry...but I don't know you." Cadance's eyes widened in shock, the others looking just as horrified. "Any of you."

"Doctor?" Night Light turned to him, "what's wrong with him?"

"We're not sure," the doctor replied. "We've done several head scans, but nothing appears to be wrong with his brain. He just...can't seem to remember anything."

"Amnesia?" Velvet asked, the doctor nodded. "How long will this last?"

"It's hard to say. Until we know what caused it, we can't estimate how long his memories will be gone for. He could get his memory back in a day, a week, a month." He frowned. "Or...he might never get his memory back. Every head case is different. It all depends on the person."

The family all turned to Shining in absolute horror, as Shining looked around at them.

The doctor left and the family started trying to help Shining remember who he was. "Okay." Shining pointed at them. "You're my dad, Night Light." He nodded. "And my mom, Velvet." She nodded as well, whilst he turned to Twilight. "And you're my sister. Twilight."

"That's right," she nodded before he bag opened up. "And this is our puppy, Spike." The dog looked like he was about to say something, but Twilight stopped him. "Our perfectly normal puppy, that does nothing out of the ordinary." Spike glared at her but she just stared back.

"Okay," Shining looked a little confused. He then turned to Cadance. "And you're...my fiancee?"

"That's right," Cadance nodded. She took out her phone and started flipping through it. "See. This is us." Shining took the phone and started looking through the photos of them. There was one of them sitting on a couch, cuddled up together. Another of the two on the beach, with Shining covered in suntan lotion. And another of them at a theme park, this particular photo looking several years old due to how much younger they looked.

"I guess you are my fiancee." Shining frowned. "I'm sorry I forgot you."

Cadance placed a hand on his. "It's not your fault. You didn't forget me on purpose. And we'll find a way to bring your memories back. I promise."

Shining nodded, as the family continued to tell him about his life. The only one who doesn't say anything is Flash, who was silently having a meltdown.

'Shining doesn't remember anything, so he doesn't remember being a Kamen Rider. This is bad. Really really bad.' Flash thought about that Wasp Mimic, Gule, Maya and every other Mimics they had fought so far. Flash wouldn't stand a chance against them all on his own. 'If Shining doesn't remember anything soon, we're all gonna be in serious trouble.'

It was at this moment that Shining noticed him. "Hey. How do we know each other?" Flash turned to him, the family doing the same.

"I'm Flash. I'm a friend of Twilight's. We've met a few times and you saved me from the Mimics before you..."

"Before you got hurt and lost your memory," Twilight explained.

"What's a Mimic?" Shining asked, as everyone frowned. Not knowing what a Mimic was could be dangerous in this town. "Is it some kind of group that hurts people? You said I saved you from them." Everyone remained quiet, unsure how to explain it all to him.

The next day.

Having been cleared to leave the hospital, the family took Shining home in hopes of sparking some kind of memory for him. They kept telling him stories of his life, but nothing seemed familiar to him.

"And this is the house you grew up in," Night announced as they pulled into the drive way.

Shining looked up at the large building and whilst it looked nice, he didn't feel anything. No sense of familiarity or nostalgic fondness. As far as he was concerned, this was the first time he had ever seen this house. "Anything?" Velvet asked, but Shining shook his head.

They headed inside and took Shining to his old room, where he sat on the bed surrounded by all his childhood memories. None of which he could actually remember. "I don't feel anything," Shining frowned as he picked up an old teddy bear. "This must be important to me, but I can't remember any of it."

"Relax," Cadance told him. "I know you're frustrated. But I'm sure you'll remember it in time. You just have to be patient and not force it. Let the memories come gradually."

"I guess," Shining nodded. He put the bear down and sat on his bed. "Thanks." Cadance smiled at him, as he noticed a framed photo on his desk. It was of him and Cadance, the same photo of them at a theme park of some kind. "Is this some kind of special time for us?"

"It was our first date." Cadance sat next to him. "I used to babysit for Twilight and one day, as I was leaving, you randomly asked if I wanted to hang out with you." She smiled. "It was so cute. You were so nervous that I couldn't help saying yes. And we had so much fun at the fun fair."

"Sounds nice," Shining nodded. "I wish I could remember it." Cadance placed her head on his shoulder, the pair sitting there enjoying each other's company.

They stayed like this for a while before Velvet called them down for dinner, where they were apparently having Shining's favourite food. And Shining had to admit, it tasted absolutely delicious.

After dinner, they watched Shining's favourite film. One involving monsters that attacked people from underground. Shining loved every minute of it, but couldn't remember ever watching it. After that, he and Twilight played a board game they often spent their youth playing. Shining had fun and quickly got the rules, but soon realised Twilight was way better at it than him.

"Oh, come on. Not even losing to me seems familiar?" Shining gave his sister a deadpan glare, the two then bursting out laughing. The family continued to spend the rest of the night together until it was time to go to bed, with Shining sleeping in his childhood room.

But despite all that, he still couldn't remember anything. He went to bed frustrated, feeling like something should have come back to him by now. But nothing had. And he felt like if he didn't get his memories back soon, something terrible was going to happen.

At their base of operations, The Wasp Mimic was sitting around whilst the Generals talked.

"Shining Armor?" Maya asked, as Timber stared at his phone. "Is that someone we should know, because I have no idea who that is." She turned to Frill, "do you?"

"Never heard of him," Frill replied.

"He's the older brother that Twilight girl," Timber explained. "And it appears, he's the one under Morphic's helmet. We finally know who the second Kamen Rider is."

"I see," Frill nodded. "And he was injured during your battle with him?"

"Exactly," Timber nodded. "And according to the text Twilight's been sending me, he's suffering from memory loss." He stood up. "Don't you get it? This is our chance. Before Shining can regain his memories and remember he's a Kamen Rider, we'll attack and kill him. Then we'll only have to worry about Shifter."

"He's right," Maya nodded. "That's a good plan. Wait for the opening and attack him when he's vulnerable. Take him down fast before the other Rider shows up."

"No problem," Timber transformed into his monster form and turned to The Wasp. "You might have just won us this war." Gule patted him on the shoulder. "I don't know how you did it, but you neutralised one of our biggest threats. And once he's taken care of, this planet will be ours for the taking."

Over the last few days, Shining's family had done everything they could to help him get his memories back.

They took him to his favourite places, told him more stories about his life and showed him all the activities he enjoyed in his spare time. And whilst none of this had helped him remember anything, Shining had loved every second of it.

He had grown to truly love the strangers that were his family. His dad and him talked for hours about models they liked to build. Velvet made him feel safe and Twilight made him feel like someone worth looking up to. But the person he had grown to especially care for was Cadance.

Shining quickly realised why his former self would fall for her. She wasn't only beautiful, but smart, funny, caring and had so many other amazing attributes. He could feel himself falling for her, his heart beating faster whenever he saw her.

Currently, he and his fiancee were driving to a surprise that Cadance had arranged for them.

Shining had wondered where they were heading until they found themselves outside a large theme park called Equestria Land. "What are we doing here?"

Cadance smiled at him. "I thought that, maybe, recreating our first date might help you remember it." They got out of the car and headed for the theme part. "I can't bring the fair we went to back, but this should work just as well." She placed her hand in his. "And even if it doesn't, it'll be a fun time for us. A new memory to replace the one you lost."

Shining smiled at her. "Thank you. I know it must be hard, not having me remember anything about our past together."

Cadance could see the pain in his eyes and squeezed his hand. "It's okay. It's not your fault this happened. And even if you can't remember who you are, you're still you. The man that I love. Even if you never regain any of your memories, we'll just make new ones. Like today."

Shining couldn't help but smile at her. Every minute he was with her, he felt like he was falling more and more in love with her. "Thanks." Cadance smiled and the two headed inside, unaware that they had been followed.

Flash parked his car and got out, having kept an eye on Shining to make sure nothing happened. With the man having no memories, Flash had been worried he might accidentally turn into Morphic whilst surrounded by people. Flash had to make sure that didn't happen.

And whilst Flash headed in after them, nobody noticed a flash of light a ways away. One that signalled the arrival of two Mimics.

An hour passed and Shining was having the time of his life.

He and Cadance had gotten lucky and the number of people there was quite small today. As such, there were barely any lines and they got to enjoy the rides with barely any wait time. And even when they were in line, they didn't care. Being in each other's company was just as great as any ride.

But the rides were still awesome and Shining liked the horror rides the most, mainly due to Cadance hugging him when she got scared. Roller coasters, house of mirrors, all that stuff. They had the best time. Shining might not remember his past dates with Cadance, but he knew this one had to be in the top ten if not five.

They both laughed, as they left the area and headed towards the games booths. There, they found a bunch of games giving out prizes for anyone who could do a simply looking task. "Step right up. Step right up. Knock down the bottles, win a prize."

The two stepped up to the booth and saw a bunch of bottles a few feet away, stacked into a triangle. There were red, blue and yellow bottles, Shining determining they were about fifteen feet away.

The booth owner smiled at them. "Two tickets for three balls. Use those balls to knock down the bottles. Yellow bottles are one point, blue bottles are two points and red bottles are three points. The more points you get, the better the prize." He turned to Shining and smirked. "You look like a guy with a good arm. Wanna give it a try?"

Shining and Cadance smirked at each other and Shining handed him a ticket, the amnesiac taking the three balls and staring at the tower of bottles. He knew the best way to knock them all down was to aim low. So after getting the right angle, he threw the ball with all his might.

Said ball sailed through the air and slammed into the bottom row of bottles, knocking several out from under the stack.

This also resulted in the bottles above it falling as well, the tower now only being two thirds complete. But that didn't last long as Shining threw the next ball, which hit another part of the tower's bottom and knocked even more bottles off. Only a few remained and Shining was quick to knock them down as well, the entire tower being reduced to nothing.

"Winner!" The booth operator announced, "that's quite the throwing arm you've got." He pointed to all the prizes they had. "Go ahead and pick anything you want." Shining turned to Cadance, who looked around before noticing a large dolphin plushy.

Shining saw this and pointed to it, Cadance smiling as the booth operator handed it to him. "Thank you," she smiled as he gave it to her. "Since when have you had such good hand eye coordination?"

"What? Was I not a good shot back when I lost my memory?"

"Not really. You once bet me five bucks you could get a chocolate wrapper into a trashcan five feet away. It took you over a hundred double or nothings to finally get it in." Shining felt a little embarrassed by this, but the two laughed as they headed to another area.

They grabbed themselves some food, Shining getting a hot dog whilst Cadance got a salad. They then sat on a bench together and enjoyed their meals, both smiling at one another as they ate.

"This has been such a great day," Cadance announced. "Even if it didn't get your memory back, I'm glad we came here."

"Same," Shining nodded. "I had fun. And even if I don't remember anything about our past, I'm happy just being here with you." The pair smiled at each other, as their gaze lingered on the other. And slowly, their heads began to move closer and closer.

But before they could kiss, Shining pulled back. a sensation washed over him. A sense of dread, like something dangerous was close by. "What is it?" Cadance asked, seeing Shining pull back. He looked around, as the sensation increased. And then, it happened.

An explosion, creating a large shockwave that terrified everyone. Shining jumped up, his body almost moving on his own to run towards the source.

"What was that?" Cadance asked, as they all looked over to where the explosion came from. When they did, they saw part of a roller-coaster collapsing as something flew down in front of it. The Wasp Mimic, its stinger charged with energy, looked around and spotted Shining.

Before anyone could try and stop it, The Mimic fired several stingers in their direction.

Shining managed to grab Cadance and push her out of the way, the stinger hitting a hot dog stand behind them and blowing it up. "You okay?" He asked, Cadance nodding as they got up. As they did, Gule suddenly appeared and landed on top of a nearby fence.

"Hello there," he stated. "Sorry about ruining your little date, but we have some business to attend to." Shining wondered what he meant by this, as the Mimic leapt down. "Don't make this difficult. Just let us end you and we'll be on our way."

"What do you want with us?" Cadance asked, as Shining's head started throbbing.

Staring at this monster, he was suddenly reminded of something. But he couldn't, for the life of himself, remember what that something was. And as Gule was about to say something, someone else leapt into the fray.

"HYAH!" Kamen Rider Shifter, in his Flight Form, flew down and dealt a kick towards Gule's chest. The Mimic managed to dodge it and leap back, as Shifter landed and turned to the other two. "Get out of here!" They nodded and ran off, as The Wasp and Gule tried to chase after them. "Oh no you don't!" He spread his wings and started to unleash a powerful wind in their direction.

The two braced themselves, as the wind slammed into them. Both fought to keep from being blown away, Gule turning to The Wasp. "Go after them. I'll deal with this guy!" He suddenly leapt up and allowed the wind to blow him backwards, only to hit a lamp.

Using it as a spring board, he flew forward and fought through the wind.

He grabbed Shifter and pulled him into the air, allowing The Wasp to go after Shining and Cadance. "What do you want with those two?" Shifter asked, though he had a feeling he knew.

"I'm taking a Kamen Rider down before he can remember he is one. With him gone, you won't stand a chance against us." Shifter panicked, realising Gule had learned Morphic's identity.

"I won't let you touch them." He threw a punch into Gule's face. "You and your wasp are going down." The two fought against one another, Gule using the lights on his body to blind Shifter on occasion. As they struggled to overpower each other, The Wasp flew off after Shining.

The Mimic spotted the two fleeing towards the exit and unleashed several blasts from its sting, the explosions that followed sending the pair flying across the park.

They crashed into the ground and whilst Shining was in pain, he quickly rolled over to shield Cadance from its attacks. "Why are they attacking us?" Cadance cried, Shining feeling like he should know the answer to her question.

As The Wasp charged up another attack, Shining pulled Cadance up and they ran for safety. But The Wasp managed to fire a blast and this one struck right behind where they were standing. The explosion that followed sent the both flying and once again crashed into the ground. But this time, Cadance's head slammed into the ground and she was knocked out.

Shining groaned and as he pushed himself up, he looked over and saw Cadance with a bleeding head.

"CADANCE!" He crawled over to her and saw she was still bleeding, but seeing her in such a state caused Shining's blood to boil. He turned to The Wasp, who was preparing to fire again. "DAMN YOU!" He pushed himself to his feet. "I'LL MAKE YOU PAY FOR THIS!" As he said that, a light appeared around his waist. "What?" Looking down, he saw a strange belt appear around him and that looked damaged. "What is this?"

The Wasp saw this and prepared to fire again. But before it could, something shot up and hit it. A blast of some kind, which knocked the insectoid back. As it was thrown back, Shining looked around and saw someone moving towards him. Someone in a white cloak.

"Who are you?" The figure said nothing for a moment, as he took out a remote-like device with a screen on the top. "What is that?" The device beeped for a moment before something appeared on the screen.

"I see." The figure looked up at him, Shining feeling a little worried. "I was afraid you would awaken. But I didn't expect you not to remember who you are. What you are." Shining tilted his head at this. "Time to put things right." Suddenly, he pulled a strange looking gun from under his cloak.

Shining staggered back, as he saw it looked like some kind of sci-fi ray gun. Instead of a normal barrel, then end had a short tube with a ball on the end of it. "What are you doing?"

"Sending you back where you belong, so the one I need can return." With that, the gun unleashed a green beam that flew towards Shining and slammed into the belt.

Shining suddenly found his entire body seizing up, the man unable to move as the beam continued to strike the belt. And as it did, the belt began to repair itself. The cracks disappeared. The missing pieces were replaced and the lights were fixed.

Shining continued to wonder what was going on, only to suddenly find images flashing before his eyes. But these weren't just any images. They were memories. His memories. Memories from the day he was born to...that day. "I remember." The figure tilted his head at this. "I remember who I am. What...I am."

"Not good," the figure stated. "Have to regain control." He fiddled with the gun and as he did, Shining's gaze happened to shift over to Cadance's body.

As the woman remained unconscious, Shining's recent memories also appeared. His time spent with his family and Cadance, getting to know them once again. And getting to grow close to Cadance and gain feelings for her.

He looked down at his hands, remembering how Cadance held them. As he did, he realised something. "I'm not the one she loves." Suddenly, his head exploded with pain and he flinched before closing his eyes.

As he did, all the noise around him vanished along with the pain. And when he opened his eyes, Shining found himself in a white void. Said void had nothing within it, except some kind of large floating screen. On said screen, he could see everything he was looking at before he came here.

The figure was pointing the gun at the screen and finally stopped firing, instead staring at him as if judging something. Then, he began to walk away.

Shining then looked around and saw something, laying on the ground behind him. Another Shining Armor.

This Shining Armor appeared unconscious and as the first knelt down, he shook the man. "Come on. You need to wake up. Cadance needs you. The real you." As he said that, the other Shining began to respond.

He let out a moan as he started moving, his eyes slowly beginning to open. As he does, the first Shining smiles and stands up.

But before he could say anything, something shot out of nowhere. A long string of orange blown slime, which slammed into the first Shining's arm. "Augh!" He was suddenly pulled away from the waking Shining, as a second slime string hit his other arm. He couldn't fight back, as he was pulled away and stared at his twin. "Keep her safe. Protect her and everything else on this planet." Finally, he was pulled far away and disappeared into the void.

The other Shining was finally starting to come around, slowly standing up and staggering around. And when he happened to place his hand on the screen, the void around him completely vanished.

Shining opened his eyes and looked around, wondering where he was.

"What?" When he figured out his location, he frowned. "What am I doing here?" It was then that he noticed something on the ground and gasped. "Cadance!" He rushed over to her, seeing she was just unconscious. "What's going on?" He suddenly heard an explosion and turned to see The Wasp Mimic, making his way towards him.

He then noticed his Driver was on his waist and before he could attempt to grab his Mimicores, a clattering sound made him look down and see the three screen devices had been thrown to his feet. He looked around and saw no sign of who had thrown them, but knew he couldn't focus on that.

He quickly grabbed his cores and activated one, opening his Driver at the same time.

BLITZ

He quickly placed the Mimicore into the Driver and as The Wasp prepared to attack, he struck a pose. "HENSHIN!" He slammed the Driver shut, the lights flashing blue as it spoke up.

"MIMIC! HERCULES BEETLE! The pipes unleashed the slime and as The Wasp fired its stinger, the cocoon formed around him and blocked the attacks. Then, it shattered to reveal the Kamen Rider as the armor formed around him. "Power that shatters everything, contained in a mighty horn!"

Morphic was back and as The Wasp charged up another attack, he summoned his Blitz Blaster and fired it.

The stingers also fired and the attacks collided in the air, cancelling each other out. The Wasp then leapt up and aimed its stinger towards Cadance, Morphic seeing this and leaping in front of her before firing his own blaster. But The Wasp fired more stingers than he did and one got through his barrage, hitting the rider in the shoulder.

"AUGH!" He clutched it, but ignored the damage and glared at The Mimic. It was then he remembered something and he quickly took out his new Mimicore. Pressing it, purple dots appeared on the screen to show a crocodile in different poses.

"TOUGH!"

He quickly opened his belt and replaced the Mimicores, as the Wasp prepared for battle. "Mega Morph!" With that, he slammed his belt shut and the lights changed to purple.

"MIMIC! CROCODILE!" The armor around his body began to melt and change from blue to a more purple colour, with the armour around his arms growing thicker and forming weapons. His right gained a blade similar to Shifter's Blade form, only it resembled a crocodile tail.

Meanwhile, his left arm morphed into a crocodile head with his hand at the back of the mouth. The armour around his chest, back, arms and legs became scaly, resembling a crocodile's hide, whilst his helmet changed to mimic the head of a crocodile. His yellow eyes were inside the mouth, with teeth covering parts of them, whilst the snout went down the middle between them and stopped above his mouth guard. Finally, the lines around his body turned purple.

Transformation complete, the belt began to speak. "Vice-like fangs and an impenetrable hide, crushing anything in its way."

The Mimic stared at this new form, clearly shocked by the sudden transformation. And as it watched him, Morphic pointed at the monster. "Prepare to feel the full force of my justice." With that, Morphic rushed forward and the Mimic began to panic.

It thrust its stinger towards him, launching a bunch of energy spines at the Rider. But Morphic responded by raising his left arm.

The stingers bounced off his iron tough armor and didn't even leave a scratch, shocking the Mimic before Morphic charged forward. Before the Wasp could come up with a plan, the Rider swung his tail blade around. As he did, the spikes on the side started moving. This transformed the blade into a large chainsaw, which Morphic used to cut into the insect.

It cried, staggering back in pain. It quickly realised it couldn't win this fight and spread its wings.

But as it leapt into the air, the crocodile head on Morphic's arm glowed before he thrust it forward. Doing so caused the light to fly off before it morphed into an energy construct, mimicking the crocodile's head. This construct was connected to Morphic's armor by an energy chain and as the construct reached The Wasp, it bit onto the creature's leg.

The Mimic screamed, as the real crocodile head closed and held the chain.

"You're not going anywhere!" Morphic used all his strength to pull the Mimic down and the creature cried out, being pulled back towards Morphic as the Rider's arm blade began to move again and he slashed at The Wasp.

As the Mimic fell to the ground, Morphic continued fighting against it. He kept slashing at the creature, whilst occasionally kicking it with his iron hard boots. The Wasp didn't like this and tried to stab him with its stinger. But he used the crocodile head to bite on the stinger and with a single twist, snapped the weapon off it.

The Wasp cried, its precious stinger being destroyed.

Back with Shifter, he continued to fly around trying to fight off Gule.

The green insect Mimic flew after him and attacked with his claws, Shifter pulling himself back from getting slashed. But when he tried to deal a kick to Gule's face, the Mimic General dodged the attack and unleashed a blinding light. "Augh!" This forced Shifter back, as he landed on a roller coaster track. "Ahhh!" He blinked, his eyes still a little fuzzy from the bright light. "I really need a way to deal serious damage in this form."

Gule dived down, attempting to slash at Shifter. But at the last moment, Shifter leapt into the air.

He dove down and as he did, he pulled out another Mimicore and activated it. "STRIKE!" He landed and replaced the Mimicores, Gule flying down towards him.

"Shape Shift!" He slammed the draw shut, his armor beginning to melt as Gule attacked.

"MIMIC! LIGHTNING BUG!" As Gule got in close, the armor reshaped and solidified. Shifter then acted fast, unleashing a blast of light of his own. "Illuminate the light, striking through the darkness!" The light blinded Gule, allowing Shifter to run up and start fighting against him.

He managed to deal several hits to Gule's chest before he staggered back, both fighters unleashing blinding light from the bulbs on their body. This light made it impossible for them to see each other too well, so barely any of their attacks landed.

At one point, Gule landed a strike on his body. But in doing so, he and Shifter felt an overwhelming sense of familiarity again. "What are you?" Gule asked, wanting to know why he kept thinking he knew him.

"I want to ask you the same thing," Flash groaned. He grabbed Gule's arm and hit the side of his belt.

"CLIMATIC STRIKE!

Before Gule could pull himself away, energy flew into Shifter's leg and he swung it up with all his strength. With a single powerful stomp, he slammed his foot into Gule's chest and sent him flying back with a cry of pain.

He crashed through part of the roller coaster, crying out as parts began to fall on him.

Shifter panted as he stared at the pile of wood and metal, which was quickly thrown away as Gule pulled himself out. The Mimic's body was covered in burns and cuts, making Shifter smirk. "You'll pay for this," Gule growled. "I don't know what you are, but it won't stop me from destroying you." With that, he leapt into the air and flew away.

Shifter prepared to chase after him, but then remembered Shining. "Hang on!" He told his partner, as he ran through the theme park. But as he did, he heard several explosions coming from that direction. "What's going on?"

Back with Morphic, The Wasp's destroyed stinger meant it couldn't do a thing against him.

"Raaah!" Morphic performed a triple slash at the Mimic, damaging it and causing the beast to stagger back. He then thrust his crocodile head forwards and the energy construct shot out, biting upon the Mimic before Morphic pulled on the chain.

The Mimic was thrown upwards into the air, Morphic then pulling down on the chain and causing it to go flying over him before crashing into the ground. Doing caused several small explosions to occur on the Mimic, causing it to scream in pain.

As The Wasp was recovering, Morphic stepped forward and slammed the side of his Driver.

CLIMATIC TOUGH!

The weapons on Morphic's arms began to glow, as Morphic pulled his left arm back. Then, as the Wasp picked itself up, Morphic thrust the arm forward and the light went flying off it. Said light then morphed into the giant end of a crocodile, its mouth wide open as it scooped the monster into it.

The Wasp roared in pain, as every bite from the beast sent energy flowing into its body and caused mini explosions to rock its form.

Eventually, the energy crocodile threw the Wasp up out of its mouth. And as it did, Morphic leapt up and flew through the construct. Doing so caused him to absorb the light into his armor and it all flowed into his tail saw, which started moving again. And as the Wasp began to fall towards him, he swung the sword around and slashed at the Mimic.

The Wasp roared, as Morphic flew past it and fell back towards the ground. As he landed, the Wasp exploded in midair and Morphic stood with his back towards the monster.

As the flames disappeared, Shifter arrived and spotted his fellow Rider. "Shining?" Morphic turned to him, as they saw the Wasp monster was gone. "You...you transformed."

"Flash." Morphic looked around and after seeing nobody was around, he removed the Mimicore from the Driver. "What's going on?" He asked, changing back to human. "The last thing I remember, we were fighting in the middle of town. Now...I'm here and Cadance-CADANCE!" He rushed over to her, Shifter changing back to human as well.

He knelt beside her and held her close. "Shining. You really don't remember the last few days?"

"No," Shining shook his head, "why?"

"You had amnesia. You couldn't remember anything. Who you were, who your loved ones were and even that you were a Kamen Rider." Shining looked shocked by this. "Cadance brought you here to try and get your memory back. I guess it worked."

"Maybe. I just remember waking up here and getting attacked." They heard a moan and looked down, Cadance appearing to be coming around. "You'd better get out of here. Don't want her asking questions about you."

Flash nodded and was about to run off. But before he did, he remembered something. "Listen. Your family thinks you got injured rescuing me from the Mimics. So if they ask you what the last thing you remember is, tell them it's saving me from the Wasp and hearing a loud explosion." Shining nodded and Flash ran off, whilst Cadance opened her eyes.

She looked around and found Shining, staring down at her with a big smile. "Hey, sleeping beauty." Cadance stared up at him, the name he called her being something she knew all too well.

"I never told you that was a nickname you gave me."

Shining smiled before looking serious. "Cadance. What are we doing here?" Cadance gave him a curious look. "The last thing I remember, I was saving a kid from The Mimics before some loud boom filled the air." Cadance's eyes went wide. "The next thing I know, I'm in the middle of a theme park and you're on the ground."

"You...you remember?" Shining nodded, as Cadance gasped. She pulled him in for a hug and Shining held her, the woman sounding like she was about to cry. "Thank goodness. I was worried you might never remember."

"I don't remember," Shining replied. "Like I said, the last thing I remember is helping that kid. Then, I'm suddenly here and getting attacked by the same Mimic. Morphic showed up and saved us, but I'm still drawing a blank about what's going on."

Cadance pulled away from him. "So you don't remember anything about the last few days?"

"Last few days?" Shining asked. "How long was I out?"

"Not out. You lost your memories. But now you've got them back."

"But I lost my memory of losing my memory," Shining frowned. "This is really confusing." As he said that, they both heard sirens and Shining helped Cadance to her feet. "Come on. We should make sure you didn't get too hurt from...whatever the heck happened." Cadance nodded and they began to make their way out of the theme park, holding one another rightly as they did so.

Cadance smiled at him. "I'm really glad you're back."

"Glad to be back. Just wish I could remember what the heck happened the last few days."

"We did have a lot of fun," Cadance smiled. "We did everything you loved. Your favourite foods, favourite movies, favourite places. All of it."

"Are you trying to make me jealous?"

"Just trying to give you a reason to remember," Cadance laughed. They continued to hug one another, happy to be in each other's presence. All the while, wondering what had happened. How had Shining regained his memories and why did it make him lose his more recent ones. There had to be a reason.

In the Mimic's base, Gule was once again getting healed up.

Maya and Frill frowned, as they had learned Morphic had returned. "It seems he got his memory back. And now, he's stronger than ever." Maya turned to Gule, "you should have taken him out before he remembered who he was.

"I tried. But Shifter got in the way. I'm guessing he was keeping an eye on his partner, in case we did something like that."

"We may have failed to destroy Morphic," Frill stated. "But we now know who he and Shifter are. And that means we have the advantage." He turned to his cohorts. "We should change tactics. Instead of trying to destroy the Riders physically, we should destroy them mentally and emotionally."

"How?" Gule asked.

"How else? The Riders have people they care about. Friends and family. They will be our way in. Take away their emotional support and eventually, they won't be able to find the will to keep fighting. That's when we dive in for the attack." Maya and Gule smiled, liking this plan. They would find the Rider's weaknesses and use them against them. And when they did, the Kamen Riders would regret ever messing with them.

Author's Note

Well that was an interesting Chapter. Shining lost his memories, got them back, met the cloaked guy again and showed off his last new form. Where will things go from here? I can't wait to find out.

Episode 8: Enemy Strikes Next

In the city of Canterlot, everyone was enjoying a brief reprieve from the Mimic attacks.

They hadn't shown up since the attack on the theme park and a few people hoped that meant they were gone for good, but others knew lowering their guard was a bad idea. They knew the Mimics would show up again and they would be ready when they did.

But despite the lack of action, the Kamen Riders had not been idle.

Flash Sentry was at the mall, the teen needing to recharge after the last few days. Ever since Shining had gotten his memory back, he had wanted the pair to be ready for any more powerful Mimics. As such, the pair had spent almost all their free time practising in places they wouldn't be seen.

Junkyards, forest, rooftops. Anywhere they could go all out without drawing attention to themselves.

They had been working to perfect their skills with all their different Rider Forms. And whilst they trained, Shining had realised a minor error with two of Flash's forms.

The previous day.

Atop a roof, Blade Form Shifter and Rush Form Morphic were battling it out. The two flew towards one another at high speed, their claws and blades clashing against one another. Shifter slashed at Morphic, but the Coyote Rider ducked under his attack and tried to claw upwards at him.

Shifter responded by blocking with his sword, as he kicked Morphic backwards.

The two slid to a stop and as they did, they both took out new Mimicores and activated them.

"STRIKE/BLITZ!

They quickly replaced their Mimicores and charged, slamming the draws shut. "Shape Shift/Mega Morph!" They yelled, as their armor began to change shape and colour.

"MIMIC! LIGHTNING BUG!"

"MIMIC! HERCULES BEETLE!

Shifter unleashed a brilliant flash of light, which hit Morphic and forced him to look away. This allowed the orange Rider to leap forward and deal a kick to him, only for Morphic to block with his armored gauntlet before pushing Shifter back.

He then summoned his Blitz Blaster and started firing, Shifter doing his best to avoid the shots and get in close. But Morphic was able to keep him at bay with his blaster until Shifter was all the way on the other side of the roof. Morphic then fired at him again, forcing Shifter to leap away and roll along the ground.

This allowed Morphic to rush forward and deal a strong kick right to Shifter's side. "AUGH!" Shifter hit the ground and Morphic pointed his blaster at him, only for Shifter to illuminate the lights on his suit again.

"Ahhh!" Morphic staggered back, as Shifter got up and took out another Mimicore.

"PIERCE!"

He quickly replaced the Mimicore and struck a pose, as Morphic's eyes recovered. "Shape Shift!" Once again, he slammed the draw closed before his armor transformed.

"MIMIC! HEDGEHOG!" As the armor solidified, Shifter fired a bunch of spines towards Morphic. But Morphic responded by shooting his blaster, the two cancelling one another's long range attack out before charging forward.

They started throwing punches and kicks at one another, which the other managed to dodge or deflect. And whenever they got the chance, they fired their projectiles at the other in an attempt to knock them back. But the two appeared rather evenly matched.

Shifter swung his leg up, the Spikes covering his legs extending in an attempt to stab Morphic. But once again, the beetle Rider used the armor on his suit to block the spikes and push him away. As he did, the pair took out new Mimicores and activated them.

"FLIGHT/TOUGH!

They replaced their Mimicores and as the two slammed a fist into the other, knocking their opponent back, they slammed the draws shut. "Shape Shift/Mega Morph!" As they flew backwards, their armor once again changed shape and colour.

"MIMIC OWL!"

"MIMIC! CROCODILE!"

Shifter quickly spread his wings and took to the air, whilst Morphic stood his ground before thrusting his crocodile head forward. This caused the energy construct of the head to shoot up towards Shifter, who barely managed to avoid it before diving down towards him.

Shifter swung his leg around, aiming to kick Morphic. But the purple Rider swung his tail arm around as the chainsaw-like teeth started moving.

"WOW!" He pulled his leg back at the last moment, flying over Morphic and landing behind checking to make sure he wasn't missing part of his foot. "Are you insane?"

"Don't be such a baby," Morphic rushed forward and swung the tail blade around, Shifter crying out as he did his best to avoid the attacks. He took to the air and tried to fight back, but nothing he did allowed him to even get close to Morphic. And when he did get a hit in, he did nothing against the crocodile armor.

Shifter landed and took out his Blade Mimicore. About to activate it. But before he could, Morphic held up a hand.

"That's enough!" Shifter stopped before he could press the button. "Good. You're getting better and learning to incorporate the move I taught you." Shifter nodded, as the pair removed their Mimicores and changed back to human. "But I have noticed a problem."

"What is it? Am I doing something wrong?"

"No. The problem's mostly with your gear. Strike and Flight Forms." Flash raised an eyebrow at this. "They're strong and have a lot of perks. But they also have some problems. Mostly in their fighting options. Blade Form gives you blades and Pierce Form gives you projectiles. But the other two don't give you anything to really fight with."

"That's not true. I can fly in Flight Form."

"Yes, but it's got nothing that helps you take advantage of that. You can fly in the air and create wind, but nothing that can really damage an opponent. It and Strike Form force you to use hand to hand combat. And that's okay against some Mimics, but others won't be beaten so easily."

Flash frowned, letting this info sink in. "So you think they're not strong enough?"

"All I'm saying is that these forms have their limits. There's still a lot we don't know about these Mimics. What if they're able to mimic more than one animal? Flight Form was able to beat the Hawk Mimic. But what if one day, a Mimic appears that can combine the powers of a Hawk with the Electric Eel Mimic we fought? Pierce Form doesn't have an unlimited range. It could fly up further than you can shoot and give off blasts of lightning. Then what?"

"I get it," Flash nodded. "I'd be forced to use Flight Mode and wouldn't be able to touch it."

"Exactly. I'm not saying you were wrong to pick the Owl. And you didn't pick the Lightning Bug. But we need to find a way to help you sure up those weaknesses. If we don't, it's only a matter of time before a Mimic shows up that can exploit them.

As Flash made his way through the mall, he thought about this issue and wondered what he could do about it. It wasn't like he could go to whoever that cloaked guy was and ask for an upgrade.

"Muffins. Get your muffin coupons here!" Flash was pulled from his thoughts by the sound of a familiar voice, making him look around and see someone that made him smirk.

Derpy Hooves, who was currently wearing a pink and white shirt, a blue skirt and a hat on her head shaped like a muffin. She was carrying a large stack of flyers handing them out to anyone who passed her by.

Flash stepped up to her and when she saw him, she smiled. "Flash!" She rushed up to him. "Want a coupon for fifty percent off any muffin of your choice?" Flash took the flyer and saw it was for a new muffin kiosk at the mall. At the bottom was a coupon for the place.

"Are you working here?"

"Yup. I'm just handing out flyers at the moment. But if I do a good job, they might let me bake and sell the muffins. Talk about a dream job."

"Nice. You always did enjoy a nice coconut and blueberry muffin." Flash gave her a curious look. "Just be careful. I'd hate for you to lose your job, just because you got overexcited and did something that would get the owner mad at you."

"I'll be fine," Derpy assured him. "You just focus on enjoying your muffin." With that, she ran off to hand out more of the flyers. Flash watched her leave as he headed in the direction of this kiosk. Only to hear another familiar voice.

"Flash!" He spun around and was greeted to the sight of Twilight and Timber, the two heading over to him and smiling as they approached.

"Hey, man." Timber smirked, as he looked around and spotted Derpy a ways off. "Who's the blonde? Girlfriend of yours?" Flash's eyes widened in shock, only to then burst out laughing. "What? I say something funny."

"No," Flash shook his head. "Just...imagining me and Derpy together." He laughed, needing to take several deep breaths to stop himself from making a scene.

"What's funny about that?" Timber looked Derpy over. "She's cute..." Derpy suddenly fell over and sent flyers soaring all over the place. "In a clumsy airhead kind of way."

"I know she's cute. But there's no way the two of us could ever be a couple. It'd be like dating my sister." Timber looked confused, turning to Twilight who seemed just as perplexed. "Derpy and I live on the same street. We grew up together. Heck, our families went on vacation together a few times. We might not hang out as much as we used to, but we're still close."

"I get it," Twilight nodded. "And I don't know about you two being together being impossible. I've heard of childhood friends who ended up getting together. sometimes, those are the best kinds of relationships."

"Maybe. But that's not me and Derpy. Like I said, she's more like a sister than anything else."

"I see," Timber raised an eyebrow at this. Flash and Twilight continued to talk for another few minutes, whilst Timber's attention remained on Derpy as she finished picking up the flyers. Slowly, a smirk appeared on his lips. one that would worry Flash and Twilight if they had noticed it.

He managed to stop said smirk before they turned to him, Flash saying goodbye and heading off to the muffin kiosk whilst Twilight turned her attention back to him. "So, you ready? The movie's probably gonna start soon. We should hurry if we wanna catch it in time."

"Yeah," Timber nodded. "Let's go." But his attention wasn't on the movie. It was on the girl that was clearly important to Flash. One he would have a hard time fighting against if he was forced to. The perfect target.

That night, Timber returned to the Mimic base and reverted back to Gule-Far-Tar.

As Gule stepped into the room, he spotted Maya and Frill standing around a table. On said table, a jar of the strange orange and brown slime could be seen. and above the jar was a device of some kind. It was suspended over the table by metal arms, which were bolted to the sides of the table. The device was a cube-like machine, with a satellite dish on the bottom.

Said satellite was unleashing a strange energy, which flew into the jar and electrified the slime inside.

That slime was dancing around inside of the jar, clearly being affected by the energy that was hitting it. Maya and Frill seemed pleased by this, as Maya reached up and deactivated the machine.

The energy stopped and the slime continued to move, though not in the same wild way it had before. "Perfect," Frill stated. "It's ready."

"Good," Gule stated. "Because I've found the perfect human to use it on." The two turned to him. "You want to use the Riders' loved ones against them. Well I know someone that Shifter's very close to."

"A girlfriend?" Maya asked.

"No. But I think he cares for her the same way one would care for a lover or a family member. There's no way he'll be able to battle it."

"Very well." Frill picked up the jar and headed over to a door, Maya stepping ahead and opening it up to allow him inside. There, they found a bunch of different animals. They were all trapped inside amber cocoons, looking horrified, angry or scared.

There were tigers, bears, zebras, several times of fish and a whole bunch of different birds and insects.

Frill placed the jar on the ground and carefully emptied the slime onto it. "Go. Find something that's to your liking." They watched, as the puddle of slime slowly made its way across the room.

First, it moved over to a cocooned snake. It pushed its body up against the cocoon, as if merging with it. But then it pulled away, moving over to one of the insects. It repeated what it had done before, but nothing happened. It then moved to another and another.

Gule growled. "What's taking so long?"

"Patience," Maya stated. "I seem to remember you and your brother took a while to choose your forms." Gule said nothing in response, only for a banging sound to come from another door off to the side.

"Quiet down in there!" Gule yelled, moving over to pound his fist into the door. "We don't actually need you fools anymore. So be grateful we're choosing to keep you around. Any more noise and we'll make you regret it." The banging stopped and Gule nodded. "That's more like it." He turned back to the glob of slime, which finally seemed to find something it liked.

It was a small cocoon with a white bird inside of it, which the blob of slime merged with and stayed connected for several moments. Then, the slime flew off the top and grew larger in size.

It arched around and touched the ground, where it started taking shape and form. When it finally disconnected from the cocoon, it completely formed a humanoid shape and completed its transformation.

The Mimic Generals stared at the creature and smiled, liking what they were looking at. Especially Frill.

"Excellent." He turned towards Gule. "Now. Tell me everything you know about this girl Shifter cares about." Gule nodded, a smirk on his lips as he thought about how much pain and suffering Shifter was going to be in. He couldn't wait to see the look of horror on his face, hoping he wouldn't be wearing his mask when it happened.

The next day

School had ended and Flash found himself in his after school chemistry club. He enjoyed being in the club, but also knew he should be out on the street preparing for the next Mimic attack. But Shining had told him they needed to act like they weren't Kamen Riders, so needed to keep up appearances of being normal people who did normal things. And for Flash, that meant doing his extracurricular studies.

"Okay," Flash and Derpy were working on something together. "Carefully hand me the benzoic acid. Carefully."

Derpy frowned, as she picked up the glass jar with the chemical inside. "I'm not completely useless, you know." She walked over to him, but accidentally kicked a stool that happened to be sticking out from under the table. This caused her to lose her balance for a moment, Twilight and Rarity getting ready to act if she dropped the jar. But at the last moment, she managed to regain her footing and stood up. "See. I got this."

The others sighed in relief, as Derpy stepped forwards and handed Flash the jar.

"I'm not saying you're useless," he told her. "But everyone has some kind of weakness. You wouldn't call Twilight useless, just because she can't see without her glasses."

Twilight, clearly not phased by Flash using her need for spectacles as an example, agreed. "Nobody's perfect. And it's the imperfections that matter. Heck, the universe wouldn't even exist without imperfection."

"She's right," Rarity nodded. "So what if you're a little clumsy. You were able to save yourself just then."

"Maybe," Derpy frowned. "But don't think I don't notice what people say about me. That I'm the clumsy girl who trips over her own feet. I do try and be careful. It's just, sometimes things happen around me and I lose focus." The others frowned, knowing Derpy clearly didn't want to be seen as the clumsy girl with weird eyes. They all knew there was way more to her than that.

They were about to say something, but didn't get the chance. As in that moment, Flash sensed something. Something coming in fast.

"GET DOWN!" He tackled Derpy and a second later, the windows shattered and something flew into the room. It was actually two things. A pair of avian Mimics.

One was a vulture, that looked rather old with its terrible posture and crooked neck.

The other reminded Flash of the Hawk Mimic, only it was much more feminine with an hour glass figure and white feathers. Her head reminded Flash of a dove and instead of claws on her hands, they appeared to be a normal pair of hands.

Frill looked around and then stared down at the ground, smiling towards Flash and Derpy. "Ahh, there you are." Flash quickly got up and pulled Derpy to her feet, as the birds landed atop the tables. "Don't struggle. This won't hurt a bit."

"Who are you?" Flash asked, realising this Mimic wasn't like the others.

"Frill-Nar-Ron," he announced. "General of the Mimic Army." They let this information sink in, shocked to meet yet another Mimic General. "And now, you will give us what we want." Frill stared towards Flash and Derpy, Flash getting the feeling he knew what the General was after.

'Did he figure out who I am? How?' Before he could say anything, a wall of diamonds appeared between them and the Mimics.

The avian creatures were shocked by this, as Flash turned to Rarity. The girl and Twilight had removed their science clothing and transformed into their ponied up forms. "Get out of here!" Twilight told them. "Rarity and I will handle them."

Flash nodded and grabbed Derpy's arm, pulling her towards the exit as Frill and The Dove attacked the crystal wall.

The teens managed to escape, both throwing their lab gear away whilst Twilight used her magic to lift a bunch of chemicals off the tables. "I'm usually one for lab safety. But I'll make an exception today." She threw the chemicals towards them, as Rarity dropped her barrier.

As she did, the chemicals smashed together in front of the Mimics and a small explosion occurred.

The Mimics screamed, staggering back as the girls shielded themselves behind one of the tables. Twilight tried to find something to use, hoping to tie the Mimics up. But nothing was in sight.

As the smoke began to die down, Frill and The Dove staggered back and looked towards the window. "Go," Frill told The Dove. "I'll handle these girls." The Dove nodded and spread her wings, leaping through the window and taking off.

"NO!" Rarity tried to block the windows with her diamonds, but The Dove managed to fly through it before she could.

"We have to stop it!" Twilight cried, only for Frill to spread his wings instead.

"I'm afraid you'll be a bit too busy with me." Before either girl could say anything, he swung his wings around and sent a bunch of feathers flying towards them. The girls could barely react in time and dodged, the feathers stabbing into the wall beside them.

When Frill fired again, Rarity managed to put up a wall and shield them. Twilight then grabbed some more chemicals from a nearby storage cupboard and threw them towards the Mimic, who fired feathers at the containers and shattered them before they could touch him.

But this allowed Rarity to throw her gems towards him, the Mimic only able to raise his arms to defend himself. "Augh!" He staggered back, as he realised this room had way too much to their advantage. If he wanted to turn the tables, he had to get them out of there. But that was easier said than done.

As he was thinking that, Twilight grabbed a nearby bunsen burner in her magic and moved it towards him. The Mimic saw this coming and jumped back, throwing one of his feathers at the pipe connecting it to the gas mains.

The girls gasped at this, as the gas began to fill the room.

Frill then leapt through the window and fired another feather, attempting to cause a spark and make the entire room explode. But before it could cause the spark, Rarity put a shield around the gas main and hose. This blocked the feather as it hit something and caused the spark. But with nothing too light, it simply sparked with no after effect.

Twilight quickly ran over and switched off the gas, she and Rarity turning to Frill as the Vulture stared at them from outside. This Mimic was fighting dirty and they knew that the longer they wasted time fighting him, the more chance the other Mimic would get what it was after. Whatever that was.

As soon as Flash and Derpy were out of the building, they ran for the car park.

They quickly got into Flash's car, as The Dove Mimic appeared in the sky. "There it is!" Derpy cried, seeing the winged creature flying towards them. Flash quickly put his car into gear and floored it, the vehicles shooting out of the car park and down the street.

The Mimic gave chase, soaring after them and quickly picking up speed. Flash tried to lose it by turning a corner, but she was as agile as she was fast.

Derpy continued to watch it follow them, fear ever present on her face. "Why is it following us?"

"It's after something," Flash told her. "Me." Derpy looked confused by this, but quickly found herself forgetting about it as something shot down in front of them.

"WOW!" She cried, as Flash swerved around it. She glanced out the window and saw it was a bunch of sharp feathers, impaled into the road. Had Flash not dodged them, his tires would have burst.

Derpy looked out the window and saw the Mimic, continuing to chase them. Only now, she was plucking feathers out of her wings and throwing them at the car.

One slammed into the roof and ripped right through it, embedding itself into the back seat. "This thing can throw feather darts?"

Flash nodded. "It's always something like that with these things." Flash checked his mirror and saw The Dove was about to throw a bunch more of them. At the last minute, he swung his car around and rolled down another street. The feathers barely missed the car and as they raced away, Flash found himself entering a busier part of the town. "Come on. I really don't need rush hour traffic right now."

Derpy checked the mirrors and the Mimic was still coming, as Flash swerved around the many different cars.

Car horns were blaring, as Flash went onto the wrong side of the road. Derpy hoped nobody would catch him on camera. The last thing Flash needed was a ticket.

They turned out of the busy street and as they raced away, The Dove began to pick up speed.

It dived down towards them and as it did, it pulled something out of nowhere. A pair of fans styled after a bird's tail feathers. And as it dived down towards Flash's car, it started spinning with the fans held outwards.

What happened next was so fast, Flash and Derpy could barely register it. There was a bright flash of light and a horrible chalkboard sound, causing them both to flinch. And when the light and sound ended, something didn't feel right with the car.

Moments later, the machine broke apart down the middle. The two halves continued to roll along for a moment as they moved apart, but they eventually lost balance and the sides slammed down onto the ground.

As the metal sparked along the road, the teens inside screamed and held onto the doors. Eventually, the two halves came to a stop and smoke was coming off the metal that had skidded along the ground. They realised they weren't safe and quickly got out, Flash looking at his destroyed car in horror.

"No way." His precious ride had been completely destroyed. "My insurance doesn't cover Mimic attacks." He looked ready to start crying, but his horror quickly turned to anger. "Oh, it's on, Mimic!" He looked up at the monster, which had landed a ways away and was now walking towards them. "Derpy. Get out of here. I'll hold it off."

"You can't fight that thing!" Derpy cried, but Flash gave her a look that told her to do what he said. "Be careful." She began to run and Flash turned back to the Mimic, his Driver appearing around his waist. He just had to wait for Derpy to leave, then he could transform and beat this thing.

But before he could, the Mimic spread her wings and started beating them. Doing so created a powerful wind, which slammed into Flash and made him cry out. "Augh!" He pushed himself forward, but the wind was just too powerful. And before Flash could think to transform, he was finally thrown backwards through the air.

"FLASH!" Derpy cried, as she watched him slam into a nearby building. He fell to the ground and went still, Derpy fearing something bad had happened.

But before she could run to his side, The Dove Mimic leapt into the air. She gasped, as it turned to her and began to charge.

Flash moaned, pushing himself up and hearing Derpy's scream. Looking around, he was shocked to see the Mimic wasn't going after him. "It wants Derpy?" He hadn't been expecting that. "Why would it want Derpy?" But he quickly shook his head, as he realised Derpy was in danger.

He stood up and took out his Mimicore. "STRIKE!"

Back with Twilight and Rarity, the pair continued to stare at Frill through the window.

Twilight had sent a text to the rest of their friends, hoping they could help them defeat this monster. But before she or Rarity could try and attack again, the Vulture turned away.

"Get back here!" Twilight called out, as the Mimic flew away. She spread her wings and flew out of the window, whilst Rarity created a diamond ramp she could use to get through it. Twilight watched Frill take to the air and grabbed several items off the ground, pulling them up with her. "You're not getting away."

Frill looked around and saw her throw the objects in his direction, but the Mimic managed to dodge them and launch several feathers in her direction. Twilight dodged them as best she could, but one managed to hit her in her wing.

"Augh!" She cried, as Frill dived down. Before she could respond, he slammed his foot into her chest and she was knocked falling towards the ground.

She screamed, as she was unable to stop her descent and kept picking up speed. She could only brace herself, expecting this to really hurt. But before she hit the ground, something caught her.

"Gotcha!" She looked around and saw Rainbow, having ponied up and flew into the air to catch her. "You okay?"

"Yeah," Twilight nodded, "thanks for the save." Rainbow helped her towards the ground, where the rest of the Rainbooms were waiting. As they landed, they spotted Frill as he flew away. "He must be going after Flash and Derpy."

"Why'd he be after those two?" Sunset asked, as Twilight frowned.

"I don't know. But Frill was focusing on them when they told them to come quietly. And another Mimic went after them when they escaped."

"I don't like the sound of that," Sunset frowned. Rainbow then spread her wings.

"I'll get him before he finds them!" She took off, only to be stopped when Applejack grabbed her by the leg.

"Hold ya'h horses, sugarcube." Rainbow frowned and stopped. "A'h get ya'h wanna help em, but remember what's happened every time we tussle with a Mimic. Even when it's the seven of us, we don't stand a chance. Only da'h Kamen Riders have a chance against those things."

"So what?" Rainbow asked. "We're just supposed to sit around and let someone else protect our friends?"

"We need to help them," Pinkie cried.

"But we can't do anything stupid," Sunset stated. "We'll find Flash and Derpy. But we'll do it together. Then we'll protect them together. Hopefully, Shifter or Morphic's already found them and are dealing with the Mimic right now." She took out her phone and tried to call Flash, but it wouldn't go through. "What?"

Pinkie took out her phone and tried Derpy, getting her the first time. "Derpy. Are you alright?"

"I'm being attacked by an overgrown pigeon!" Derpy cried, as the Dove continued to chase after her. "So I've had better days."

She turned a corner, as Pinkie's phone appeared to be switched to speaker phone. "Where's Flash? He's not picking up his phone." Hearing that made Derpy flinch.

"He tried to protect me, but he got hurt. I don't know what happened to him." Suddenly, a feather impaled the wall beside her and she screamed. She looked up and saw the Dove Mimic, as it got closer and closer to her. "I can't escape. How are you supposed to get away from something that can fly?"

The bird Mimic let out several avian noises, as it prepared to strike.

But before it could, an engine filled the air and they looked around to see something flying towards them. Shifter, on his bike. The Kamen Rider accelerated and before either of them could do anything, he shot past the Dove and grabbed Derpy.

She cried out, as she was lifted into the air and thrown onto the back of Shifter's bike. She managed to grab only his waist, holding on tight as the Rider zoomed away at incredible speed. "You okay?" He asked, Derpy nodding. "Any idea why this Mimic's after you?"

"I don't know," Derpy cried. "But it hurt my friend. You have to stop it before it hurts anyone else."

"Right now, I'm focusing on keeping you from getting hurt." The Dove chased after them and despite the incredible speed the bike was moving at, The Mimic managed to stay close to them. It threw several feather blades towards them, but Shifter managed to swerve out of the way and they missed.

"Can't you outrun it?" Derpy asked, as Shifter accelerated further.

"I'm not sure. But I bet I can outlast it. It'll tire eventually and when it does, we can escape." But as he said that, something suddenly shot down and covered the entire road in front of them. "WOW!" Shifter tried to stop, but couldn't in time and his front tyre hit the white sticky stuff.

The pair were thrown off the bike and sent flying, Shifter barely managing to put his arms around Derpy and protect her before they hit the ground. "AUGH!" They skidded against the pavement until they came to a stop, Shifter letting out a moan as Derpy rolled off of him.

"Are you okay?" Shifter pushed himself up and turned his attention to the roof of a nearby building, where he spotted two figures standing there waiting for them.

"Great. It's them."

Gule-Far-Tar and Maya-Vala-Uru were staring down at them before leaping off the roof, Gule flying down whilst Maya used a web to swing to the ground. Shifter turned to his bike and saw it was still stuck to the pavement, meaning he wasn't going to get away on it.

The Dove then landed, the three Mimics moving towards them. "What do we do?" Derpy asked.

"Just stay behind me," Shifter stated. "I'll keep you safe."

"Will you now?" Shifter looked around and saw Frill, who flew down and landed behind them. Now they were surrounded, with the other three Mimics spreading out to circle around them. "Well isn't this a fine mess. Shifter, all on his own. Where's your friend?"

Shifter was wondering the same thing. He had texted Shining before transforming, but it could take a while before he found them. That meant Shifter had to hold them off on his own.

Maya was the first to attack, firing several web lines in his direction. "WOW!" Shifter managed to dodge them, pulling Derpy around as he did so. But Gule then shot forward and slashed at Shifter, who barely managed to pull Derpy away before dealing a kick to the Mimic's chest.

Gule dodged it and jumped back, as Frill flew forward and tried to claw at Shifter. The Kamen Rider leapt to the side and pulled Derpy around with him, Derpy crying out as he did so. Then, Maya fired a web and hit him in the chest.

"Gyah!" He was pulled away from Derpy and thrown around the street, crashing into a nearby wall and falling to the ground. "Augh!"

Derpy gasped, as The Dove moved towards her. "Stay back!" She cried, but the creature didn't respond and got closer. But as it did, Shifter pushed himself up and took out his Mimicore.

"PIERCE!"

Shifter quickly replaced the Mimicores, as Gule charged towards him. "Shape Shift!" He slammed the draw shut and the lights on his belt changed colour, whilst it began to speak up.

"MIMIC! HEDGEHOG!" His armor began to melt and change colour, reshaping itself as his eyes and the lines on his suit changed colour. Eventually, the armor settled and the belt spoke out. "Defending all with a shield of spines, impaling all that try to do harm!"

Shifter quickly launched a bunch of spines towards Gule, forcing him to leap back to avoid them.

Frill launched several feather darts at Shifter, but the now green and black Rider fired his spikes and they cancelled each other out. This allowed Shifter to run to Derpy, who once again found herself getting approached by the Dove Mimic.

He was about to fire a bunch of spikes towards the avian Mimic, but Maya acted first and fired a web line that struck his wrist. This pulled him away and allowed Gule to get in close and unleash a blast of light, blinding Shifter. Frill then flew up and grabbed him by the shoulders, lifting him up before diving down and slamming him into the ground.

Shifter roared, crashing into the road and skidding through it before he could react.

He moaned, laying on the ground feeling rather beat up. But he couldn't let himself be stopped. He had to save Derpy.

The girl found herself trapped against a wall, as The Dove moved closer to her. "Why are you after me? What could you possibly want?"

"Everything," Frill replied. "She wants everything from you. And you're going to give it to her." Derpy continued to panic, as The Dove prepared to do something.

But before she could, a cupcake slammed into its head and exploded. The creature squawked in pain, as it staggered away and left Derpy unharmed. And before she could try to run, a blue blur shot past and grabbed her. The next thing she knew, she was being pulled away from the Mimic whilst several more cupcakes were thrown at the monsters.

Shifter picked himself up and when he looked over, he saw Derpy was now standing next to the Rainbooms.

"You okay?" Sunset asked, with Derpy nodding as the girls turned to the monsters. "We won't let you touch her. I don't know why you're after her, but you're not getting her!" The other girls nodded, as the Mimics growled.

"You think you can stop us?" Gule asked, as Applejack, Twilight, Pinkie, Rarity and Rainbow stepped forward. "Your magical abilities are impressive, but they don't hold a candle to our power."

"Maybe," Shifter picked himself up. "But they'll distract you long enough for me to take you down. And Morphic's on his way." He fired several spines towards The Mimics, but they all managed to dodge them.

As they did, the Rainbooms charged into battle. Rainbow used her super speed and shot towards Frill, flying at him at high speed and swinging her leg around to hit him. The Vulture braced his arms and was knocked back, whilst Applejack ran towards Maya.

The Spider Mimic fired several webs at her, but Rarity used her shields to block them whilst Applejack grabbed a lamp post and ripped it out of the ground. She then swung it around and tried to slam it into Maya, but she was able to leap over it and webbed the metal pole to the ground.

At the same time, Twilight was throwing whatever she could get her hands on at Gule. The Mimic General dodged them all and unleashed a bright light, making Twilight flinch and stagger back. Gule tried to capitalise on it and slashed at her, but Pinkie jumped in front of her wearing shades.

She threw an entire tub of sprinkles at Gule, which exploded right in front of him and made the Mimic stagger back. As he did, he tried to blind Pinkie but her shades were protecting her. "Nice try!" She took out a lollipop and as it started glowing, she threw it at Gule.

He tried to bat it away, but the lollipop struck to the back of his hand. "Huh?" He turned to the sweet and it exploded, making him roar as he staggered back.

Meanwhile, Shifter was able to focus on the Dove Mimic and fired several spikes at it. The avian replied by firing its feather darts, which bounced off the spikes and caused them both to rain down on Shifter. "Augh!" He was forced to avoid them, until they were caught by a purple light and stopped from falling.

Shifter turned to Twilight and she nodded before throwing the feather and spikes back towards the Mimic, who managed to avoid them but was forced to fly higher.

The other Mimics saw this and weren't happy, each nodding at one another with Maya firing a web line at Pinkie. It struck her glasses and pulled them off, as Gule unleashed the brightest blast of light he could create.

The only ones who weren't blinded were Shifter and the other Mimics, whilst Derpy and the Rainbooms cried out as they staggered around. Maya then fired a blast of webbing at the ground, right where Rainbow landed after losing her sight.

Rainbow felt her shoe hit the web and was trapped, the girl attempting to pull herself free with little luck. Applejack started throwing blind bunches at the Mimics, but all she ended up hitting was the side of a building. The large crack that resulted, made everyone feel a little uneasy.

Shifter tried to best to fight against the Mimics, launching his spikes towards them with little success. Frill flew down and dodged his attacks, eventually tackling him to the ground with his feet. "Augh!" He cried, which caused the spikes on his armor to extend.

The Mimic General flinched as he pulled himself off of Shifter, flying into the air. But this had allowed the Dove Mimic to fly down towards Derpy, Fluttershy and Sunset. "Stay away!" Sunset yelled, standing in front of Derpy. Fluttershy looked terrified, whilst Derpy saw Shifter and the others having trouble against the general.

The Rainbooms could finally see and tried to fight back, whilst Shifter sending several spikes towards the Dove. But the bird swung its wings around, the pair melting into a whip-like slime coloured brown and orange. This deflected the spikes, as Rarity tried to put up a shield between it and her friends.

The Dove saw this and punched the wall, but was unable to break through.

Maya saw this and launched another web line, hitting Rarity in the boot. "Huh!" She looked down, her concentration breaking along with her gem wall. Maya prepared to pull her legs out from under her, but Shifter managed to fire a spine and break through it before she could.

However, this gave The Dove the chance to knock the gems away and swing her melted wings around, slamming into Fluttershy and Sunset. The two girls were knocked flying and crashed into a nearby wall, leaving Derpy free to be grabbed.

"Stay away!" Shifter yelled, but Frill suddenly grabbed him from behind.

"You can't protect her forever. Why waste your energy trying to stop the inevitable?" Shifter once again extended his spikes, but Frill refused to let that stop him. The other Rainbooms try to save Derpy, but Maya webbed them up before they could.

Derpy saw that her protectors had been beaten and once again turned to run, as the Mimic's wings returned to normal. She only managed to get a few feet before she tripped on something, causing her to fall to the ground.

"Ow!" She moaned, picking herself up. But before she could escape, The Dove slams down on the ground in front of her. She gasped, falling onto her rear and attempting to shuffle backwards. But as she did, the monster's wing extended and started melting again.

Derpy saw this and looked worried. "What...what do you want with me?" The creature didn't answer and instead, thrust its melted wing towards her. And in the blink of an eye, it slammed into her chest and Derpy gasped. "AUGH!"

"DERPY!" Everyone screamed, as the slime began to spread around her body. In the blink of an eye, she was entirely trapped within the large blob of orange and brown liquid.

"NO!" Shifter finally had enough and with all his strength, extended the spikes on his body to almost six feet long. This knocked Frill off of him and Shifter was free to run, but they were too far away.

Derpy tried to free herself, but she couldn't. Instead, she was forced to lay there as the slime around her began to harden. She closed her eyes and went entirely still, as she was trapped within a solid amber cocoon. And as she did, the Mimic's body began to change as well.

The Dove melted, her wings disappearing whilst she got shorter and took a more humanoid form. And eventually, the slime began to solidify and reveal its new form. A form everyone knew all too well.

"Derpy?" Shifter whispered as he skidded to a stop, unable to believe his friend was now standing in place of the Mimic.

The new Derpy opened her eyes and looked herself over, smiling at the transformation before turning to them. "Hello there. What do you think of my new look?" Everyone was completely lost for words, as they let what they had just seen sink in.

Twilight was the first to realise what was happening and was shocked she hadn't realised it before. As she said it, it seemed obvious. "Mimics...can mimic people."

In a dark void, the figure in white was watching some kind of holographic screen.

On said screen, he was watching the image of The Dove encasing Derpy in the slime. "So, now they've seen it. I wonder. Will this mean another hero will soon be born?" But as the scene played out, he saw the Mimic transform and smile. This caused him to sigh. "She's not strong enough. And it's possible the Riders won't be able to stop this one."

He walked away from the screen and moved over to a table, which had something on it.

That something was a strange looking device. It was a round metal tube, which looked like the handle of a weapon. That handle had a square cutlass crossguard on one side, making it look like a sword with no blade. The crossguard also had a glass rectangle sticking out the side, which was open at the bottom end to allow something to slide inside of it.

The figure took out a device and used it to scan the weapon, getting several beeps and whizzes from it. "It's ready. But are the Riders ready for it?" He picked the weapon up as he turned back to the screen. "They may have to be. Or they won't be able to defeat this new enemy."

Author's Note

Well that was certainly an interesting chapter. The heroes now know what the Mimics can truly do. This is bound to have ramifications in the future. Will they be able to save Derpy? And what's with that strange device? Only time will tell.

Episode 9: One's Resolve

Kamen Rider Shifter could hardly believe what he was seeing.

He and the Rainbooms had been fighting to protect their friend, Derpy, from the Mimics that had been after her. And they had failed. The Mimics had gotten to her and a Dove-like Mimic had somehow encased her in a cocoon of amber. But that wasn't the most shocking thing. What they couldn't believe, was that the Mimic had then transformed into Derpy.

The girl looked over her new body, as Twilight realised what this meant. "Mimics...can mimic people."

The other Mimics managed to get away from those they were fighting and jump over to the new one, looking her over and nodding. "And what shall we call you, my dear?" Frill asked, as the Derpy lookalike smiled.

"Grace," she replied. "Grace-Kal-Lutz." The others nodded, only to suddenly find a bunch of green spikes flying towards them. But they managed to avoid the attacks and turned to Shifter, who continued to fight at them.

"Release her!" He cried. "Release her right now!"

"Or what?" Gule asked, as Grace reverted back to her monster form.

She shot forward and threw several darts at him, Shifter firing his spines to respond. The two attacks collided with one another and cancelled the other out, as Grace took to the air and flew out of Shifter's range. The Kamen Rider responded by taking out another Mimicore.

"FLIGHT!

As he changed forms, the Rainbooms had snapped out of their shock and realised they had to help Derpy. Pinkie started throwing sweets at the Mimic Generals, the three forced to move away from the cocoon. Applejack then ran over to it and with all her strength, punched the amber. But all that did was hurt Applejack's hand.

"Augh!" She cried, "what's this thin' made of?"

"Something that will never break," Gule stated before Maya fired a bunch of webbing towards them. The girls leapt away, as Flight Form Shifter flew up to fight Grace.

But as he did, the Mimic launched a bunch of feather darts towards him. He dodged as best he could, getting hit a few times, but managed to reach her and threw a punch. However, Grace was able to deflect the attack and punched him back.

"Pathetic!" She cried, also dealing him a kick that knocked him down.

"Augh!" Shifter groaned, realising this was exactly what Shining had told him. He needed Flight to get close enough to fight her, but he had no way of actually fighting her.

Grace launched several more darts, which flew down and stabbed his wings. This caused them to cease up and he fell to the ground, barely managing to land properly whilst the other Mimics knocked the Rainbooms away.

"Let's get out of here," Frill announced. "Grab the girl and let's go." They nodded and moved over to the cocoon, Shifter looking scared of this.

"NO!" He tried to fly, but couldn't. And as he took out his Strike Mimicore, the Mimics prepared to attack. But before they could, an engine filled the air.

They all looked around and saw Morphic, racing towards them on his bike. And before any of the Mimics could try and stop him, he pointed his Blitz Blaster at them and fired.

The lasers flew towards them and the Mimics were forced to take evasive manoeuvres, moving them away from the cocoon. Twilight then used her magic to lift the cocoon and pull it towards them, Applejack grabbing it as soon as it was over to them.

"My cocoon!" Grace cried. "Give that back. It belongs to me!"

"She doesn't belong to anyone!" Sunset yelled. "And I don't care what you say, we're gonna find a way to free her." The Mimics glared at them, as Gule jumped in front of them and unleashed a bright light. They all flinched at the light and were forced to close their eyes. When they opened them again, the Mimics were gone.

Morphic got off his bike and rushed over to them, seeing the cocoon and being shocked when he saw who was inside it. "What happened?"

"The Mimics," Pinkie cried. "They did this to Derpy. One of them trapped her in this weird slimy stuff and then changed to look just like her." Morphic was shocked to hear this and turned to Shifter, who nodded in confirmation.

"Can't you two do anything?" Rarity asked. "Break her out of it?"

Morphic held up his blaster. "You sure about this? There's no telling what breaking her out could do to her."

"It can't be any worse than letting her stay in there," Twilight pointed out. Morphic nodded and fired, the lasers hitting the crystal but doing nothing to even scratch or melt it.

"BLADE!"

They looked around and saw Shifter change to Blade Form, summoning his swords and slashing at the cocoon. But like before, nothing happened. Nor did using Rush, Pierce, Tough or Strike Form against it. The crystal just wouldn't crack.

"What do we do?" Fluttershy asked, as sirens filled the air. The police and paramedics had arrived and the Kamen Riders knew they had to leave.

Morphic got on his bike and raced away, whilst Shifter changed to Flight Form and took to the air. As they left, the cops rushed over to the girls and asked what had happened. They then saw Derpy in the cocoon and were shocked by what the girls had said.

The paramedics quickly got to work, trying to figure out if she was even still alive. All the while, everyone began to look rather suspicious. If Mimics could become humans, that meant anyone could be a Mimic. Anyone they knew, could be a monster.

Back in their base, Grace was standing in front of a mirror in her human form.

She looked herself over and smiled, though when she tried to make her eyes look straight she was having trouble. The other Mimics watched this and rolled their eyes. "Will you stop fawning over yourself?" Gule asked. "We didn't go through all that trouble so you could look good."

"I know," Grace replied. "But I'm just enjoying my new look. I can't wait to go out and strut my stuff."

"You won't be strutting anything," Frill stated. "By now, the whole city should know about what happened to the girl. You go out and people are gonna realise you're not human." Grace frowned, clearly annoyed she wasn't allowed to do what a Mimic did best. "We created you for a reason. What does your host know about Flash Sentry?"

Grace sighed and closed her eyes. "Quite a lot. His favourite food is mashed potatoes and sausages. He hates spicy food. He broke his arm when he was nine. Is scared of sock puppets."

"Scared of sock puppets?" Gule laughed. "Is there any way we can use that against him?" The others didn't know, but they were also chuckling. "Whatever. Let's focus on him fighting you. There's no way he'd attack someone with his friend's face."

"Maybe," Grace frowned. "But what about my cocoon? What if those humans find a way to free my host?"

"Impossible," Frill stated.

"You also thought the humans wouldn't have a way to fight back against the Mimics." The three frowned, knowing she was right. "I'd rather not take the chance they have a way to free my host. Who knows what that'll do to me? We need to get her back and quickly."

"Fine," Gule told her. "I'll help you get her back. Then we can focus on stopping Shifter." Grace nodded as the two headed out, whilst Maya and Frill watched them leave. They considered going with them, but decided to leave it to the pair of them. They had their own work to do.

Canterlot was in a complete panic.

News of Derpy being attacked by the Mimics and getting encased in amber had spread like wildfire. Soon, the entire city knew about it. And they knew about the Mimics being able to copy the appearances of humans.

Derpy had been taken to the closest hospital and there, several doctors and even a few scientists had been working to figure out what had happened to her. All the while, Derpy's family and several friends were there.

This included the Rainbooms, who had been asked multiple questions about what had happened. But the answer they gave weren't very helpful, so all they could do was sit around and pray for some answers. And as they waited, two more figures arrived.

"Flash?" Twilight got up, seeing Flash walking towards them with Shining. "Are you okay?" She noticed the bandages around Flash's head.

"I'm fine," Flash assured them. "What happened to Derpy? The last thing I remember is getting blasted back and everything was fuzzy. Then I woke up getting seen to by a paramedic." He already knew what had happened, but he needed to make it look like he didn't to hide his identity.

The Rainbooms told him everything and Flash did his best to look shocked and horrified. "Mimics can copy people?"

"It seems so," Sunset nodded. "But I don't think they can do it easily. That Mimic that copied Derpy didn't do so until she was trapped inside the cocoon.

"So they need to seal someone in a cocoon in order to copy them?" Rainbow asked, the others nodding. "And was it just me, or did that Mimic seem to get smarter after it captured her? It didn't talk before it captured Derpy."

Everyone thought about this and realised she was right. The Mimic had gotten smarter after capturing Derpy.

"Mimics have the ability to copy the abilities of different creatures," Twilight realised. "Cheetah speed. Spider webbing. Bird flight. They mimic what allows that animal to thrive. And what makes humans thrive is our sapience and intellect. And that's what allows Mimics to grow smarter."

Flash frowned, not liking the sound of it. He then thought about the other Mimics. The Generals who could also talk. If they needed a human to become smart, did that mean there was a trio of humans trapped the same way Derpy was?

The Mimics had wanted to take Derpy somewhere. Was it the same place those humans were being held?

Before anyone else could make that assumption, a doctor stepped into the room looking worried. "How is she?" Derpy's mother asked, the others listening intently.

The doctor sighed. "As far as we can tell, she is alive. It took some doing, but we were able to detect brain activity coming from within the cocoon. But it's very weak. Almost like she's in a coma."

"Can you free her?" Derpy's father asked, but the doctor shook his head.

"We've tried everything. Tools, acids, different levels or cold and hot temperatures. Nothing will break whatever she's trapped inside of." This announcement caused everyone to feel bad, as Derpy's father punched a nearby wall.

"Why didn't the Kamen Riders stop this!?" He yelled, Flash and Shining both flinching at this.

"They tried," Twilight told him. "They did everything they could to protect her. But the Mimics were just too strong." Derpy's father didn't seem to accept this and the Riders understood.

Flash remembered the battle and how useless he had been against the three generals. He needed to get stronger and find a way to save Derpy. And there was only one way he was gonna do that.

When nobody was looking, Flash snuck away. But Shining noticed him leave and followed. "Where are you going?"

"If there's a way to free Derpy from that cocoon, there's only one person who might know it." Shining nodded, understanding what Flash was gonna try and do. "Can you stay and keep Derpy safe? The Mimics tried to take her before. We can't leave her unguarded again."

"Don't worry," Shining assured him. "I'll keep her safe. Good luck." Flash nodded and ran out of the hospital, leaving the building and looking around. After a minute or so of searching, he found an area where nobody was watching and there were no cameras.

"I know you're there!" Flash cried. "I need to talk to you. Please." He waited and after a few moments, believed that the figure wouldn't answer him.

But before he could call out again, a white light appeared in front of him.

Flash blinked and shielded his eyes, as he stepped into the light and found himself back in the dark void. The light disappeared behind him, dropping him in total darkness. "Hello?" Flash looked around. "You there?"

"I am," the figure replied before appearing out of the shadows. "I figured you would ask for me, after what happened to your friend. I'm so sorry that happened to her."

"Tell me," Flash told him. "Can I get her out of there?"

"The material that makes up the cocoon is indestructible. So long as the Mimic that created it survives, nothing will free her from its hold."

"So I have to destroy the Mimic." Flash frowned. "Why didn't you tell me Mimics could do that? Turn into people. Who knows how many Mimics I've been surrounded by."

The cloaked figure nodded. "The Mimic's abilities to impersonate those they trap is their greatest power. With it, they can infiltrate even the highest of governments. Force the worlds they're trying to conquer to surrender without even lifting a finger. I didn't tell you or Morphic, because I didn't want you to drive yourself insane with paranoia. I fear that will be the fate of your world now that this information is revealed. To defeat the Mimics, your world must work together. But this might cause your world to turn on itself."

"I'll deal with that when it happens," Flash told him. "Right now, I just wanna save Derpy. That's why I'm here. If defeating Grace is the only way to save her, then I need something to give me the edge over her. I need another Mimicore."

The figure sighed. "As much as I'd like to give you another Mimicore, those things don't just grow on trees. New ones are in the process of being made, but it takes time. And I don't have one available for you right now." Flash's body shook, hating that he had no way to save his friends. "Besides, you don't need a new form to save your friend. You need to learn to use the ones you have in a new way."

"How?" Flash asked, only to suddenly hear a sound to his right. He looked around and saw a device, sitting on a table next to him.

The device looked like the handle to some kind of weapon, Flash stepping over and picking it up. When he looked it over, he noticed the glass section and felt the gap that could have something placed inside.

"Wait?" Flash took out his Strike Mimicore and checked, realising it could fit inside the glass perfectly. "What is this?"

"The Shift Striker," the figure replied. "Like you, it has the power to transform based on the Mimicore it's combined with. Using it, a Rider can wield the power of two Mimicores at the same time. If you were in your Strike Form and gave this the Pierce Mimicore, you would be able to fight in hand to hand whilst also having a ranged attack. I believe it's exactly what you need."

Flash could hardly believe it. This was exactly what he had been needing, Shining words from earlier ringing in his ears. "With this, I can beat Grace and save Derpy."

"Yes. However, there may be issues." Flash gave him a curious look. "You're connected to the Mimicores. Using them in the Shift Striker may result in a backlash I haven't foreseen. I'd suggest trying to use it here. That way, if something happens, I can help fix it before there's a problem."

Flash nodded, his Driver appearing as he activated the Mimicore.

"STRIKE!"

He quickly opened the draw of his driver and placed the Mimicore inside, holding the Shift Striker in hand as he struck a pose. "Henshin!" He slammed the draw closed, as the device activated.

"MIMIC! LIGHTNING BUG!" The Driver unleashed the slime and Flash was soon sealed within a cocoon, which then shattered to reveal him in Rider form. "Illuminate the light, striking through the darkness!"

Once the armor solidified, he took out his Pierce Mimicore.

"Alright," Shifter looked between the two devices. "Here goes nothing." He activated the Mimicore, the device lighting up as he slotted it into the slot. The screen slid perfectly into the glass case, locking into place so it wouldn't fall out. The metal part of the device remained outside the case, which Shifter could use to pull the Mimicore out when needed.

As soon as the Mimicore was in place, the Shift Striker lit up.

Shifter could feel the Mimicore's energy flow into the weapon. But as it did, something happened. "AUGH!" His head exploded with images and a flood of emotions flowed through his mind. Anger, fear, hatred. He was feeling them all at the same time, in an overwhelming amount.

The weapon began to change but before it could, Shifter dropped the Shift Striker and the figure watched it fall to the ground.

"What happened?" He asked, the weapon no longer glowing and returning to its normal state with the Mimicore inside. "You need to hold the weapon for it to transform." He turned to Shifter and saw him clutching his head, the Rider clearly in pain. "You okay?"

Shifter panted, as he turned to the cloaked man. "I...I don't know. When it started changing, it was like something inside me awakened. Like it was trying to break free. I was angry, scared and I hated absolutely everything that came into my head." He stood up straight, his head no longer feeling the pain. "But I feel fine now."

"I see," the figure nodded. "Those were most likely your natural instincts kicking in. The Mimicores hold the data of everything that makes up the animal it copies. That includes their natural instincts. Being a human, you're able to handle the instincts of one. But it's possible two might be too many."

"So you're saying if I use this thing, I could turn into a feral animal."

"The natural instincts of the animals is heightening your own primal instincts. But they're still your instincts. With focus, you should be able to control it."

"Alright," Shifter nodded and turned back to the weapon. He reached down and after a moment's hesitation, he picked it up again. And when he did, the device lit up and began to change. But Shifter was once again bombarded with the images and feeling he felt before.

This time, the images were more clear and Shifter could make them out. He saw images of a firefly insect, only it was trapped in some kind of amber. Just like what Derpy was trapped in.

The images then shifted to show what appeared to be Gule-Far-Tar. But the Mimic wasn't attacking him. Instead, he was looking happy. And finally, he saw another image. This one was of himself. Multiple images of himself flowed through his mind, one of him from behind, another of him turning to look in his direction, another of him looking absolutely terrified. And finally, one of him on the ground looking defensive.

As he saw this image, the emotions he had been feeling increased and Shifter couldn't take it anymore. "Augh!" He dropped it and staggered back, panting as he fell to the ground.

The cloaked figure watched, clearly concerned. He took out a device and without Shifter noticing, he scanned the Kamen Rider. "Could the other one be taking control?" He asked, though Shifter didn't hear him. "Could the Shift Striker be causing him to become free? Or could their link be growing stronger?"

"I'm not giving up!" Shifter got up and grabbed the device, which once again glowed whilst Shifter was struck by the images and overwhelming emotions once again. "AUGH!" He held on and tried to block them out, refusing to let this chance to save Derpy slip through his grasp. No matter what, he would find a way to wield this power.

Back at the hospital, Shining and the Rainbooms were still waiting outside her room.

Derpy's family were inside her room, the doctors hoping that hearing voices she knew might help her break out on her own. But so far, nothing had happened. "What do you think Derpy's feeling right now?" Fluttershy asked, the others turning to her. "Do you think she's still conscious?"

"I hope not," Twilight frowned. "I can't imagine what being conscious through something like that would be like." The others agreed, fearing Derpy might never be the same even if she was somehow freed from it.

Shining moved over to a section of the hospital hallway that allowed him to see outside. And when he did, he saw a large crowd of people. Most of them were reporters, who wanted to get an image of the cocooned girl for their story. Luckily, nobody had been able to get inside. The last thing Derpy's family needed, was to be shown on nationwide television.

But as he watched the reporters, he suddenly sensed something. A Mimic. "Oh no." Suddenly, a loud crashing sound filled the air and a scream soon followed. It came from Derpy's room, the Rainbooms turning to it whilst Shining ran inside.

When he did, he was greeted to the sight of Grace and Gule. The pair had knocked the humans around the cocoon away and Grace grabbed Derpy, looking ready to fly off with her. "Oh no you don't!" Shining tried to run in and fight, but Grace flapped her wings and unleashed a powerful gust. "AUGH!" The next thing Shining knew, he was being thrown backwards through the doors.

The Rainbooms saw this and all ducked, as Shining was thrown over them and crashed into the ground.

"Shining!" Twilight cried, but the others pulled her into the room.

"Stay away from her!" Pinkie threw several sprinkles in their direction, Gule and Grace being forced away from the cocoon. Twilight then pulled the cocoon towards them with her magic, but Grace had other ideas.

"I don't think so!" She unleashed a powerful gust, which caused the windows to shatter whilst the girls were thrown back into the walls. And as Twilight hit the wall, she accidently threw Derpy's cocoon towards the window.

"NO" Rainbow cried, using her super speed to run towards it and grab the cocoon before it could fall out of the window.

Gule used this opportunity to leap forward and deal a kick to Rainbow, knocking both her and the cocoon out of the shattered window. "RAINBOW!" Her friends yelled, but Rainbow quickly hit her geode and transformed.

Once she had her wings, she started flying and did her chest to carry the cocoon. But it was so heavy, she was barely able to hold it as she was pulled down to the ground. She finally managed to place the cocoon on the ground, whilst the crowd that had gathered started taking pictures.

Gule and Grace flew out of the window and flew down, Rainbow seeing this and looking ready for a fight.

The Rainbooms followed after, Twilight and Fluttershy flying whilst the others slid down a slide of Rarity's gems. They reached the bottom, as Gule and Grace began to attack Rainbow and get her away from the cocoon.

The crowd began to run away, whilst Pinkie and Applejack ran in to fight. Pinkie threw a bunch of sprinkles at them, but the Mimics pushed through and Gule dived down to deal a kick to Pinkie's chest. As she was thrown back, Applejack threw a punch at Gule. But he blasted her with a bright light, forcing her back.

Twilight started grabbing everything she could in her magic and throwing it at them, whilst Rarity launched her gems towards the Mimics. But Gule was able to avoid them all whilst Grace used her feather daggers to attack back.

Rainbow tried to speed up and hit her hard and faster, but Grace unleashed a powerful blast of wind to push her back before she could. As she hit the ground, Gule flew at her and tried to stab her with his claws. But Rarity was able to shield her just in time.

Gule's claws scrapped along the gem wall and he spread his wings, ready to fly over it and get her.

But before he could, a laser hit him in the back. "Augh!" He staggered forward and glanced back to see Morphic, who walked towards him from wherever he had come from. The other Riders smiled, but wondered where Shifter was.

In the dark area, Shifter was once again trying to get the Shift Striker to work.

"AUGH!" He cried, feeling the overwhelming emotions wreck his body. He had actually changed to his Blade Form, hoping using another form might be the key. But he was still unable to use the weapon and the images her was seeing were just as vivid.

Eventually, he couldn't take any more and dropped the device. He staggered back and fell to the ground, panting as the device laid on the ground beside him.

The figure sighed, beginning to believe he wouldn't be able to wield the Shift Striker. But as he was about to suggest a break, an alarm went off. "What's that?" Shifter asked, as the figure snapped his fingers.

A holographic screen appeared in front of him, showing the battle that was currently taking place at the hospital. "Looks like Gule and Grace are trying to make off with your friend." Shifter looked worried and got up, staring at the screen and seeing everyone fighting their hearts out. But it was clear, Grace wasn't going to be destroyed by their efforts.

"I have to get over there," he announced. "Can you send me back to where I was before?" The figure nodded.

"However, you still haven't gained control of the Shift Striker. I'm not sure if you can beat her without it." Shifter looked down at the device, concern flooding through him. He felt himself at a crossroads. Did he take the device and try again in battle, or leave it and try to save Derpy on his own. What should he do?

Morphic and Gule continued their fight, Morphic attempting to blast Gule with the Mimic staying close to easily deflect his hand whenever he tried to shoot him.

"You're not taking that girl!" Morphic cried, trying to throw a punch at Gule. But the Mimic was too fast and dodged it.

"Mimics take what we want. And eventually, this entire planet will belong to us." He unleashed a blinding light, forcing Morphic back before leaping forward and dealing a kick to his chest. This knocked him flying back, Twilight seeing this and grabbing part of the damaged road to throw at him.

Gule barely managed to avoid this and leapt back, as Grace threw a feather dart at her. "Twilight!" Rainbow ran forward, "look out!" She pushed her out of the way and the dart hit her wing, damaging it as she cried out.

"Rainbow!" Twilight gasped, as Rainbow was forced out of her ponied up form. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Rainbow nodded. She tried to transform again, but it didn't work. Her geode must have needed time to fix her wing before she could change. And that meant their best flyer was out of the fight.

The others were distracted by this and Grace unleashed a powerful gust of wind, which swept through the air and sent all the Rainbooms flying out. Rarity tried to shield them, but the wind just pushed her gems into them and they were all knocked away from the cocoon.

Grace laughed, as she flew down and landed next to her cocoon. "Face it. You can't beat me. I'm taking my cocoon and there's nothing you can do to stop me."

"I don't think so!" Before Grace could react, a blue blur flew past and slashed at her.

She cried out, getting knocked away from the cocoon. And as she hit the ground, the blue stopped to reveal Blade Form Shifter. "Grace!" Gule rushed over to her, as Grace began to pick herself up.

Shifter prepared to charge again, but Grace and Gule spread their wings ready to take off. "Sneak attacks don't work twice," Grace told him. "Just give up. You can't beat me in any of your forms."

Shifter stared at the two Mimics, then at the cocoon holding his friend.

He then reached behind him and took out the Shift Striker, the weapon staring back at him and making the Rider feel uneasy. He still hadn't been able to use its power. But it was clear he needed it to beat these guys.

"I've gotta try!" He took out another Mimicore and activated it.

"STRIKE!"

After a moment's hesitation, he slotted the core into the device and it powered up. The device began to glow and once again, Shifter was bombarded with the powerful emotions and the images flashed in front of his mind. "AUGH!" He cried, everyone seeing this and looking worried.

Shifter tried to hold on, but he could feel the emotions overtaking him. His grip on the device was loosening. If he didn't let go, he didn't know what would happen.

But before he could lose his focus, his eyes fell on Derpy once again. One of his best friends and someone who had always been there for him, even when he was being an idiot. "Can't...give up!" His grip on the device tightened. "I won't...let them...take her!" The images and emotions grew more vivid, but Flash forced all of them down as the device finished its transformation with a bright burst of light.

As this light flew over everyone, Gule felt something. The feeling he had been sensing whenever he and Shifter were close. And this time, it was more vivid and he realised what it was. "It can't be."

The light began to fade and everyone turned their attention back to Shifter, who was now carrying the transformed Shift Striker in hand.

The device hadn't changed much, though there were some differences. The Metal of the crossguard had turned orange and part of the handle had changed, now having an orange trigger with a black finger guard around it. But it was the top that had changed the most, as it now had a orange metal box running along the top. And coming out the end of that box was an orange stick, roughly twenty centimetres long and pulsing with an orange glow.

"That's it?" Grace asked. "After all that build up, that's all it is. What a letdown."

Shifter said nothing and pointed the device at her, pulling the trigger and causing the orange stick to glow. Then, it unleashed an orange beam of light, which flew towards Grace faster than she could react.

"AUGH!" She cried, as the beam slammed into her and she was knocked back.

Everyone was shocked by this, Shifter turning the weapon towards Gule and firing. The Mimic General was still reeling from his realisation and didn't react, as the beam slammed into him. "GYAH!" He staggered back, whilst Grace picked herself up and charged forwards.

Shifter quickly pressed a button on the side of the device, causing the black box on top to suddenly shift ninety degrees upwards. Now only the back of it was connected to the main body of the weapon, whilst the orange energy stick suddenly extended to three times its size. The weapon was now a glowing futuristic rapier, which Shifter could probably use to attack with incredible speed.

And that's exactly what he did, using his Blade Form's speed to close the gap and thrust the end of the stick into Grace's chest.

She cried out, as Shifter pulled back and attacked several more times with blinding speed. Eventually, she spread her wings and leapt up into the air. Shifter stopped his attack and took out another Mimicore, activating it whilst opening the draw of his Driver.

"FLIGHT!"

"Shape Shift!" He quickly replaced the Mimicores, causing his armor to melt, reshape and change colour.

"MIMIC! OWL!" The armor reformed, the large wings appearing on his back. And as Shifter removed to Strike Core from his weapon, the belt spoke up. "Flying through the sky, seeking prey with all seeing vision!"

Everyone watched, as Shifter placed the Blade Mimicore into the Shift Striker. And as he did, the weapon began to transform again. But this time, Shifter wasn't assaulted with the strange images and emotions. Did he not have to worry about that anymore?

Transformation complete, the parts of the devices that had once been orange were now light blue. And coming out of the top was a blade, just like the ones Shifter had when he was in his Swordfish Form.

Shifter swung the sword around, though not as fast as he had when the weapon was in its Strike Form. But it was clear that this weapon had a lot better cutting power.

Grace saw this and looked worried, as Shifter's wings grew and he took to the air. "I hope you're ready," he told her. "Because the winds of victory have shifted." He then charged, flying forward at high speed.

The Mimic started firing her projectiles towards the Rider, but Shifter easily dodged and deflected them away as he got in close. Once he did, he swung the blade around and slashed at her. "Augh!" She cried, the tip of the blade slicing down her chest.

"Raaaah!" Shifter wielded the sword in both hands, Grace barely able to avoid getting cut anymore. Shifter then swung his leg around and kicked her, the Mimic too focused on the sword to notice it and dodge.

She cried out, as she was sent rolling through the air. Shifter then dived down and swung his sword as hard as he could, once again managing to get the tip of his blade to cut into the Mimic's front as she screamed.

"Awesome!" Rainbow cheered, seeing Grace having a lot of trouble. "That new weapon of his, really packs a punch."

Twilight nodded, analysing how the weapon worked. "He can use one of his Mimicores on himself, whilst using another in the weapon. This gives him two powers that he can mix together."

Morphic was also watching and very impressed. "This is just what he needed." He then turned to Gule, who had recovered from his earlier shooting. Morphic expected him to jump into the fight, but the Mimic just stood there. "What's he up to?" Morphic was ready to attack, just in case Gule tried anything. But he had a feeling he wouldn't need to.

Grace growled as she felt some of her slime seeping out of her body. "Damn you," she cried before she started throwing feather darts at Shifter with blinding speed.

The Rider did his best to avoid and block them, but there were just too many. As such, he removed the Blade Core and replaced it with another one.

"PIERCE!"

The device had once again changed, to a much greater extreme than it had before.

This time, it was partly green. And instead of having a weapon coming out the top, it was coming out the side with the Mimicore connected to the weapon. This one was a long rectangular tube, which was mostly black with green lines running along it. The whole thing looked like a futuristic rifle, which Shifter held it like.

As the feather darts flew towards him, he held the weapon up and pulled the trigger. Doing so caused a long green bullet to fire out of the end, looking just like one of his quills. The bullet shot through several feathers, cutting right through them without losing any speed. And eventually, it struck Grace in the shoulder.

"AUGH!" She screamed, her arm going completely dead. "What just happened?"

"Oh yeah!" Shifter smirked as he fired another spike towards her. This one, Grace was able to dodge. Shifter realised that whilst this weapon had more power, the bullets weren't as fast as the weaker Strike shots.

Grace used her one working arm to throw a feather dart towards Shifter, but the Rider dodged the projectile and fired his own at her. The pair kept this up, firing several shots at one another as they continued to fly around. And eventually, one of them got hit.

"GAAAAAAAH!" Grace screamed, as the green bullet stabbed her wing and caused the limb to just stop. This forced her to only glide, causing her to fall to the ground as Shifter replaced his Mimicore in the Shift Striker.

"STRIKE!"

The weapon transformed again and Shifter quickly changed it to the rapier, the Kamen Rider flying in and dealing several quick strikes to the Mimic. He focused on the areas that had already been damage, causing those injuries to get worse until Grace couldn't take any more.

Her wings gave out and she fell to the ground, whilst her opponent hovered over her.

"Time to end this." Shifter removed the Mimicore from the weapon before pushing it back in, causing the Shift Striker to light up as he hit the side of his belt.

"CLIMATICFLYINGSTRIKE!"

Shifter's wings grew until they were four times their normal size. Like with his normal finisher, he beat his and created a powerful gust. This gust flew over to Grace and before she could stop it, she was lifted into the air. "WOW!" She tried to fight it, but her injured wings could break free.

The wind morphed into a tornado, which spun Grace around and around. And as it did, Shifter flew into it.

She saw him coming and gasped, throwing several feather darts towards him. But Shifter used his Shift Striker to deflect them all, as the blade glowed brighter and brighter. "No! PLEASE!" She tried to fly, but couldn't. "DON'T DO THIS!"

Shifter heard this and felt a bit of pity. "Will you free Derpy?" He actually stopped flying towards her, giving her the chance to think about her answer. And eventually, she glared at him.

"I can't!"

"Then you leave me no choice!" He charged forward, his weapon pulsing with energy. Grace screamed, as he thrust the weapon forward and stabbed her with it.

The Mimic's screams echoed through the air, as the tornado disappeared and Shifter was flying past her. He landed and as he did, he swung his repair around with an orange light following before it returned to its base form. When it did, Grace was surrounded by an explosion. The Mimic's cries were drowned out by the blast, as the fireball faded to reveal she was gone.

Everyone was shocked by this, including Gule.

Then, a cracking sound made them all look down and see the cocoon around Derpy was breaking apart. Once every part of it was cracked, the cocoon fell apart and Derpy fell out of it onto a pile of broken amber.

"DERPY!" Her friends cheered, rushing over to her.

"No!" Gule cried, as Shifter turned his attention to him. Morphic was also ready, his Blitz Blaster aimed at the Mimic. Shifter did the same with his weapon, switching to gun mode and pointing it at Gule. The Mimic General's gaze shifted between the pair until he growled. "This isn't over." With that, he unleashed a bright light from his body and blinded everyone.

When the light faded, Gule was gone.

Shifter and Morphic ran over to where he was, but there was no sign of him. They then turned to Derpy, who Rainbow was helping sit up. "Come on. Wake up!" Then, the girl's eyes began to flutter open.

"Wha?" She looked around. "What happened?"

"Derpy!" Pinkie hugged her, "you're alright!"

"I am?" Derpy asked. "What am I alright from?"

"You don't remember?" Sunset asked, with Derpy holding her head. "You were attacked by a Mimic. it...got you. Trapped you inside a cocoon. Then it transformed into you."

Derpy continued to hold her head, clearly trying to think back.

"The last thing I remember is a bird creature approaching. After that...just a bunch of blurry images. It's like...I don't know. Like a dream I can't quite remember."

"We should get you inside," Twilight suggested. "Your parents have been worried sick and you might have been affected by whatever happened, more than you realise." Derpy nodded as Rainbow and Applejack helped her back to her feet. Twilight then turned to the Kamen Riders. "Thank you. For saving her."

"Don't mention it," Morphic nodded.

"It was my fault she got captured anyway," Shifter stated. "I won't let that happen again. I promise." They nodded, as sirens filled the air. "We'd better get out of here." Morphic nodded and the two summoned their bikes, quickly getting on them and racing off whilst the Rainbooms helped Derpy back inside.

To say her parents were happy to see her was an understatement. Derpy was also happy to be back, and thankful to the Riders for saving.

In the Mimic hideout, Frill and Maya were upset to discover Grace's destruction.

"So much for that plan!" Maya growled. "The Rider wasn't hesitant to attack her at all. By the looks of it, using his friend pushed him to get even stronger. Now what do we do?" Frill wasn't sure.

He turned to Gule, who was sitting off to the side. "What's up with you?" Gule turned to him. "You've been stuck in dreamland since you got back here. We need to focus on coming up with a way to beat the Riders. A little input would be appreciated."

Gule said nothing and walked off, the other two Mimics sharing a confused look.

Gule entered a room alone and thought back to the battle, when he sensed Shifter's power and recognised it. "Sheave-Far-Tar," he whispered. "Could you really be him. What are you doing, helping the enemy?" His fist clenched, "brother."

Back at the hospital, Derpy was laying in her bed.

She had undergone a bunch of tests, but the doctors had been unable to find anything wrong with her. As far as they could tell, her experience in the cocoon had left her without any lasting effects.

There was a sudden knock at the door and she turned to see Flash step in, still wearing his bandages. "Hey," he smiled, "glad to see you're alright." Derpy smiled back, as Flash stepped over to her. "You are okay, right?"

"Yeah," Derpy assured him. "I'm fine. Though things are still a blur."

"Well don't try and force yourself to see what happened. You might want to forget about what happened to you. I know I'd rather forget about something like that."

"I guess," Derpy nodded. "But it's weird, having these gaps in my memory. I feel like I should know what happened, but I just can't put the pieces together." Flash nodded at this. "What about you?"

"Me?"

Derpy frowned. "I don't know why, but you're one of the few images in my head that aren't blurry when I tried to remember what happened. It's like I was thinking about you whilst I was trapped in the cocoon. Or something like that. It wasn't just you I was thinking about. It was everything about you. Your likes, dislikes. Even your family."

Flash frowned, wondering what that could mean.

"Don't worry about it," Flash told her. "I'm sure it didn't mean anything." Derpy didn't look so sure, but nodded and changed the topic.

Flash remained as long as he could, the two talking about anything that would keep her mind off her experience. Eventually, visiting hours were over and Flash had to head out. Derpy would be staying a few more days. But once she was out, Flash promised they would hang out.

As Flash left her room, Shining was waiting for him and the two left together.

"So she's alright?" Shining asked, with Flash nodding. "That's good. Hopefully, the Mimics won't try and do that to her again. I'd hate for her to have to spend her life in constant fear."

"Yeah," Flash nodded. "But we've got bigger issues right now." Shining raised an eyebrow. "If Twilight's right about the Mimics and those that talk can only do so because they captured a human, then that means there are at least three others who are trapped and need saving."

"You're right," Shining nodded. "And that's only the ones we know about. There could be dozens, maybe even hundreds of Mimics. Hiding in plain sight." They looked around, unsure whether they should be paranoid or not. There was still so much about the Mimics they didn't know.

What other surprises were in store for them at this point?

In the dark void, the cloaked figure was watching the holographic screen.

On the screen was the battle that had just taken place, with Shifter using his new weapon with impressive skill. "Not bad. Not bad at all." The screen disappeared and the figure walked through the dark room, eventually coming to some kind of wall.

Part of that wall opened up, revealing a pair of doors that light began to seep through and fill the room. The figure walked through these doors, into some kind of laboratory. Multiple different pieces of equipment lined the walls, the figure clearly familiar with all of them.

"They grow stronger every day. But so do the Mimics." He headed towards another set of doors, which also opened as he approached. "Things are beginning to change. Humans know that Mimics are able to copy humans. It won't be long before the Riders realise the truth."

He stepped through the doors, into a small dark room. And when a weak overhead light came on, it revealed two amber cocoons inside the room.

These cocoons were just like the one that Derpy had been trapped in, being the size of an average human. And inside each one was a human.

Flash Sentry and Shining Armor, the two appearing to be in some kind of sleep. They stood perfectly straight within the cocoons, their eyes closed as they were sealed inside the rock. The cocoons had wires and sensors connected to the rock, scanning the ones inside.

The figure stared at the two trapped individuals, fearing what might happen if the truth came out. He prayed that before then, the Mimics would be close to defeat. For the Kamen Riders remained the only thing that could stop them and save their world.

Author's Note

Well that was certainly a jam packed chapter. Flash gains a new weapon, saves his friend and everyone learns the truth about Mimics. How will this affect things in the days to come? Only time will tell.

Episode 10: Trust and Revelations

Several days had passed since the defeat of Grace-Kal-Lutz. Several days since a discovery about the Mimics had come to light. That they couldn't just mimic animals, but people as well.

Ever since then, Canterlot has become a completely different place. People found themselves unable to trust anyone, even the people closest to them. There was no telling who could be a Mimic in disguise. Family, friends and multiple loved ones. Nobody seemed able to trust anyone.

At CHS, Flash wasn't feeling great.

Derpy had just gotten out of the hospital and she seemed to be the only person everyone was willing to admit was who she claimed to be, but only because her doppelganger had been publicly destroyed. But everyone else was refusing to get close to each other.

As Flash made his way towards his locker, he spotted Trixie at hers. "Hey Tricks." He walked up to her and the girl suddenly looked worried.

"Hey...you." She slowly stepped back, "Flash...if that is who you are."

Flash moaned, "I am Flash. How many times do we have to do this?" Trixie had doubted him, every time they met since Derpy's ordeal. And it wasn't just Trixie. Everyone gave suspicious looks to people they were usually close friends with, which was clearly putting a strain on relationships.

"You say you're Flash," Trixie glared at him. "What's my favourite food?"

"How am I supposed to know that?" Flash asked, Trixie giving him a raised eyebrow. She chose this moment to move away from him, Flash sighing as he grabbed his things out of his locker and headed off to his first class. Along the way, he passed the music room and heard voices.

"It's gonna work!" Flash stopped and looked inside, where he saw the Rainbooms talking. Pinkie jumping around, telling the others something was gonna work. "It's our only way. We've gotta do it or the town will become a horrible place to live."

"Hey," he called out. "What are you girls talking about?" The Rainbooms looked around, Flash frowning. "Don't tell me you guys don't believe I'm me too?"

"Sorry, Flash." Twilight told him. She had her phone out, the girl looking at it every five seconds. "It's not that we don't believe you're you. But..."

"AHHHH!" Rainbow cried. "This sucks. I know it's good that we know the Mimics can copy people. But everything is totally lame now. Nobody's trusting anyone. I hate this!"

Fluttershy nodded. "I don't like it either. I don't want to be scared, but I can't walk down the street without worrying a Mimic is gonna snatch me up."

Sunset sighed. "If this keeps up, the Mimics are gonna win. Shifter and Morphic are strong, but they can't beat the Mimics on their own. Eventually, mankind is gonna need to unite in order to defeat the Mimics. And with everyone suspicious of everyone, that's never gonna happen."

"That's why my idea has to happen!" Pinkie cried. "A party!"

"A party?" Flash frowned. "Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"Of course it is. Everyone needs something to help remind them how important trusting each other is. A party will do just that. Everyone will have so much fun, they'll forget they were paranoid and realise the Mimics can't be allowed to destroy the bonds we all share."

"I guess," Flash nodded. "But if everyone's so paranoid, why would they come to a party in the first place? What if they think it's a trap, set up by the Mimics?"

"Of course they won't think that. Mimics might be evil, but nobody's evil enough to use a party as a trap." They weren't sure she was right about that. "I already got permission from Celestia to use the gym, so we've gotta work really hard after school to get everything sorted. You guys with me?" They still weren't sure this plan would work, but they didn't have the heart to tell her. Besides, there was a chance some people would come and have a good time.

"Alright," Sunset told her. "We'll help set up the party." The others nodded, Pinkie smiling before the bell rang to signal the start of the school day. No doubt, all the students and teachers would be too paranoid to do any real work. But hopefully, things would soon get better.

In their dark lab, the three Mimic Generals were sitting around.

Over the last few days, Frill and Maya had been hard at work creating more Mimic spawns. But none of them would be ready to be used for a while. "This is taking too long," Maya growled before turning to someone else. "It would go a lot quicker if someone lent us a hand."

Gule was sitting in the corner, currently disguised as Timber Spruce.

As he sat there, his mind was still thinking back to what had happened several days ago. When Shifter had used that new weapon and unleashed the power within him. There wasn't a moment that went by, where he wasn't sure about what he had felt.

"Hey, Gule!" He looked up, as Maya stepped up to him. "Have you forgotten what we're supposed to be doing here? We're never gonna conquer the world, if you just sit around all day doing nothing. What has gotten into you?"

"Nothing," Gule stood up and took his monster form. "Just focus on your own work and let me work on mine."

"I would, if you actually did anything. But you're not. You just sit around, doing nothing. If you're not gonna help us here, why don't you go cause some problems for the humans. I'm sure they're in need of a Mimic to scare the daylights out of them. Unless you think something like that is too difficult for you. You're probably right, to be honest." Gule glared at her, looking ready to bite her head off.

Before Gule could say anything, an alarm sounded within the base.

The three went as stiff as a board, clearly worried by whatever that alarm meant. As such, they rushed over to an area of the room. On a table was an odd looking device and when they reached the table, they knelt down as the machine switched on.

A light came out the top and formed a holographic screen, which soon switched on to reveal three figures hidden in shadows. One was sitting in the centre, whilst the other two stood behind him.

The three Mimics bowed their heads and spoke together, "master."

"What progress have you made, with our conquest of this world?" The figure in the centre asked, their voice deep and fear inducing to the other Mimics.

"We...we have yet to complete our task," Frill announced. "The Kamen Riders-"

"Should have been dealt with!" The figure roared. "You think you're the first Mimic team to come up against resistance? The other teams were able to defeat the obstacles that got in their way. Deal with these Kamen Riders or you will regret the day you were spawned. I don't care what it takes. Get things ready for my arrival." With that, the device cut out and the three sighed.

"Great," Maya growled. "It's bad enough we've got the Kamen Riders messing things up for us. Now our master's threatening to destroy us himself, if we don't get things going."

"He won't destroy us," Frill stated. "The master never wastes Mimics just because he fails. No, he'll keep us around. But we'll wish he'd destroyed us. We need to get rid of the Riders, now."

"We need to uncover how they came to be," Maya stated. "If they gained these abilities to fight us, whose to say more people won't gain the same powers. Until we figure out how the Kamen Riders were created, destroying them will be futile."

As this was going on, Gule picked himself up and headed off. "Where are you going?" Frill asked, but Gule just headed out of the room. "Gule?"

"Leave him," Maya stated. "I have an idea."

"Which is?" Maya turned to him and smiled, as she walked through the room and eventually reached another corner. There, a strange tube-like machine could be seen. "You can't be serious. We have no idea if that machine will even work properly. It could blow up in our face."

"Or it could do just what we need it to do." Maya stepped forward and pulled the leaver, causing the machine to power up and fill with electricity. As it did, a small blob of orange-brown slime was dropped into the tube from above and hit by the lightning. This caused it to go wild, squishing and squeezing in different directions.

Eventually, it began to grow and take humanoid form. Maya and Frill smiled, only for the device to begin sparking. "Too much strain," Frill announced as he pressed several buttons. This stopped the device from blowing up, as the creature inside finished forming.

The tube opened up and the creature stepped out, with the tube closing again and repeating the process.

"How long do you intend to do this?" Frill asked, as Maya smiled at their creation.

"For as long as the machine can hold out. We need as many as we can." As this was happening, Gule watched from where he had left the room.

He frowned, as his mind focused once again on Shifter. "I'll uncover the truth myself. And if what I suspect is true, I'll find a way to fix this problem myself." With that, he walked off with his mission set.

The school day had come to an end and Flash was in the gym with the Rainbooms.

Flash had to give it to Pinkie. She could set up a party fast and skilfully. There were tables covered in colourful table cloths, with food on different kinds of platters. Banners were hanging from the ceiling and balloons were floating all over the place.

Flash was helping tie these balloons to spots, so they wouldn't float up to the roof or out an open window. Meanwhile, the rest of the girls were using their magical abilities to help set things up as well.

The only girl who wasn't helping was Twilight, who seemed more focused on her phone than on decorating. And it hadn't gone unnoticed.

"Yo!" Rainbow called out. "Earth to Twilight. You listening?" But Twilight stayed quiet, causing Rainbow to grab a napkin off the table and scrunch it up to throw at her.

It hit the side of her head, catching her attention. "Hey!"

"What's wrong darling?" Rarity asked, sitting on one of her gems with Fluttershy near the ceiling. "You've been distracted all morning. You almost pocked yourself in the eye with your fork at lunch time."

Twilight frowned, as she looked back at her phone. "Timber hasn't called or texted me in days." That confused them, since Timber always texted Twilight whenever they couldn't hang out. "He's not answering his phone either. I'm starting to get worried."

"I'm sure he's fine," Flash told her. "He's probably really focused on work right now. He's still working at the zoo, isn't he?"

"Yeah," Twilight nodded, "but he should have still called me when he got off work." Flash had a feeling he knew why Twilight was worried. Given what had happened to Derpy, she was clearly worried the Mimics had done something to Timber. There was no telling what could have happened if the Mimics got their hands on him.

"i'm sure he's fine," Sunset walked over and patted her on the shoulder. "But if you're really concerned, maybe we can go over to his place after we're done here and check things out. You said Timber has a place in town, right?" Twilight nodded, "so we'll head over there. If he's there, we can ask why he's been avoiding your calls. If he isn't, we'll look for him together. That sound good?"

"Yeah," Twilight nodded. "Thanks, Sunset." Sunset smiled back and the pair stood up to get back to work, the others doing the same.

But suddenly, Flash was overwhelmed with his Mimic Sense. So much so that he almost fell over. "Are you okay?" Applejack asked, noticing Flash looking disorientated for a moment.

"I'm fine," Flash assured her. "But...I need the bathroom. I'll be back in a bit!" With that, he ran out of the gym before the girls could stop him. He followed his sense and it led him out of the school, Flash being sure nobody was around as he left the building.

As soon as he was outside, the feeling began to feel really strong. He looked around, but couldn't find any sign of a Mimic. At least until something shot towards him.

Flash spun around, just in time to see a green creature flying towards him and slamming his feet into Flash's chest. The teen grunted, as he was thrown backwards across the sports field and slammed into the grass. "Augh!" He quickly recovered and looked up, where he saw Gule standing there. "You."

"Me." Flash pushed himself to his feet, as Gule looked ready to fight. "Well, what are you waiting for? Shouldn't you transform, Shifter?" Flash's eyes widened, as the Mimic growled. "That's right. I know. Why do you think we put so much effort into capturing your friend before?"

"You did that to get to me?" Anger raced through Flash's body, as he reached into his back pocket and took out his phone. Luckily, he was able to navigate it without looking and sent a message to Shining. "Fine. You wanna fight? Let's fight." The Mimic Driver appeared and Flash took out his Mimicore, looking around to make sure nobody was watching before activating it.

"STRIKE!"

Flash opened the draw and quickly placed the Mimicore inside, striking a pose as he called out. "Henshin!" With that,

As soon as the transformation was complete, Shifter ran forward and leapt at Gule. He tried to deal a kick to the monster's head, but Gule dodged and tried to slash at him. Shifter avoided the claws and dealt several punches to Gule's chest, knocking him backwards.

As Gule staggered back, Shifter pulled out his new Shift Striker along with another Mimicore.

"BLADE!"

He slotted it in and in a bright flash, the weapon transformed into a sword that Shifter began to slash at Gule with. Gule dodged the blade as best he could and at one point, even managed to catch the weapon between his hands.

The pair struggled against one another, Gule glaring him down. "Sheave. Is that you? Answer me!"

"Sheave?" Shifter asked, "what are you talking about?" Gule finally pushed Shifter's blade away and the Rider was sent staggering, as the Mimic charged forward.

"Don't play games. I know who you are. I've been sensing it for a while." He started slashing at Shifter wildly, Shifter dodging and blocking with his sword. "You are Sheave-Far-Tar! I know you are! Don't try and deny who you are. Why are you doing this?"

"I don't know what you're talking about!" Shifter slashed at Gule and hit him in the chest, the Mimic General flinching as he leapt back. Shifter then removed the Blade Mimicore and took out another one.

"FLIGHT!"

He slotted the Mimicore into the weapon and caused it to transform, morphing into a strange looking device. The bottom half of the Shift Striker was the same as before, only now it was yellow, but the top looked like it had a yellow metal owl on top of it. The Shift Striker was connected to its main body, whilst its wings were spread out at the sides and the head was pointing forwards. Within each wing was a fan-like rotor.

Shifter pointed the device at Gule and as he pushed himself up, the Rider pulled the trigger. The wings shifted so the underside was pointing at the Mimic and the fans started spinning, pulling air from the other side and unleashing a pair of twin tornados that shot towards Gule.

The Mimic braced himself, as the wind slammed into him and lifted him into the air.

As this was happening, The Rainbooms and several more students ran out of the school after noticing the commotion coming from outside. They arrived, just in time to see Gule be blown backwards.

"Yeah!" Rainbow cheered, loving the sight of Gule getting his butt kicked.

As Gule fell out of the wind and crashed into the ground, Shifter stopped the tornado before the wings spun a hundred and eighty degrees. He pulled the trigger again and the tornados were blown behind him, propelling him forwards as he reached for his belt.

But before he could hit the Driver and prepare his Climatic Finish, a bunch of feather darts flew down and almost hit him. "WOW!" He spun the wings of his Shift Striker around, causing the tornadoes to move and push him backwards. The darts slammed into the ground, whilst Shifter landed. But when he did, he felt his foot stick to the ground. "Huh?" He looked down and saw his foot on some kind of web.

As Gule picked himself up, Frill and Maya jumped down beside him. "You look like you could use a little help," Maya laughed.

"I can handle him on my own," Gule announced. As he said that, an engine made them look around and see Morphic race onto the scene on his bike.

"Fine," Frill nodded. "Deal with Shifter. We'll keep Morphic and the others at bay until you can destroy him." Gule nodded, Frill and Maya racing off. Frill took to the air and flew towards the school, whilst Maya charged towards Morphic.

Shifter had changed his Shift Striker back to the Blade Form and cut himself free, then charged at Gule as the Mimic unleashed a bunch of lights. Shifter had to look away, allowing Gule to slash at him. But Shifter responded by unleashing his own lights and blinding the Mimic.

This allowed Shifter to blindly swing his sword around, hitting Gule's leg and making him cry out. The Rider then jumped towards the noise and dealt a kick right to the monster's chest.

At the same time, Frill launched the feather darts towards the Rainbooms.

Rarity had put up a shield to protect them and the school, allowing Rainbow to use her super speed to zip everybody away. Once Frill stopped firing, Rarity created several openings in the wall. This allowed Pinkie and Twilight to launch projectiles at him, Frill getting blasted by exploding cakes and battered by pieces of metal.

"Why didn't we capture these girls when we had the chance?" He flew up higher than Pinkie to throw, now only needing to avoid Twilight's attacks. As he did, he watched Morphic and Maya fighting.

Morphic was currently in his Rush Form, using his claws to cut Maya's webbing whenever she shot it towards him. "Don't worry!" Morphic announced, "I'll destroy you quickly. This might not even hurt." with that, he shot forward at a blinding speed and slashed at Maya, making her cry out in pain.

He then attacked three more times, all at high speed and doing some serious damage to her. But before he could make a fifth attack, Maya surrounded herself in webs and Morphic ran into it.

"Augh!" He pulled on the leg, but it wouldn't move. This allowed Maya to do several flips through the air before slamming her foot into Morphic's chest, making him cry out as he was thrown backwards whilst the web broke. "Gyah!"

Maya laughed, as Morphic began to pick himself. "You realise the problem right now, don't you?"

"What?" Morphic asked. "What problem?"

"If you and Shifter, the only ones able to defeat Mimics, are here. Then who's protecting the rest of the city?" Morphic wondered what she was talking about, until he realised what must be happening.

"No. Don't tell me."

In one part of the town, people were living their lives whilst still paranoid about whoever was next to them.

Then, suddenly, a bright flash of light filled the air and they cried out. From out of that light, a creature that had once terrorised the town appeared. The Spider Mimic that had attacked the first time Flash became Shifter.

The beast snarled, as it began launching webbing in all directions whilst using its spider legs to flip a nearby car and cause people to scream and run. And they weren't the only ones.

In different sections of the town, lights appeared and Mimics leapt out of them. The Grasshopper Mimic. The Ant Mimic. The Crab, Cheetah, Hawk, Eel, Wasp and even the Dove Mimic all appeared. They began to attack, causing the citizens to scream and run as fast as they could. It was utter chaos.

"What have you done?" Morphic asked, the others hearing this and worrying something bad had happened.

"Mimic Clones," she announced. "Not as strong as a real Mimic, but they'll still do the job. With you two stuck here, nothing's going to stop them from reducing this city to nothing." Morphic and Shifter growled, with Morphic trying to rush off to hopefully destroy the Mimics. But before he could, Maya stuck a web to his back and pulled. "You're not going anywhere!"

"Augh!" Morphic hit the ground, as the others continued their fight.

Frill started beating his wings and creating a powerful gust of wind, which slammed into the gems and pushed them back against the Rainbooms. This forced Rarity to lower them, allowing Frill to launch several darts in their direction.

Pinkie barely managed to react in time, filling the air with a line of sprinkles that exploded and knocked the darts back. Applejack then grabbed part of the ground that had been damaged earlier and threw it at him, Frill dodging the attack at the last moments.

As this was going on, Shifter swung his sword around and Gule dodged each and every attack. Then, his fist sparked with energy that he used to punch the Rider and knock him back. As Shifter fell back, he removed the Blade Mimicore and took out another one.

"PIERCE!"

The weapon transformed into a futuristic rifle and he quickly started firing, Gule dodging the spines as he flew in close. He slashed at Shifter, but the Rider dodged the attacks and dealt several charged up kicks into Gule to knock him back before shooting his rifle and hitting him.

"Augh!" Gule staggered back, as Shifter ran forward. He fired several more times and as Gule slashed these spines away, Shifter leapt up and kicked him in the face. Gule was knocked back, Shifter landing and shooting him a few more times. All the while, he worried about the Mimics attacking the city at that moment. He had to end this fight and deal with them before anyone was hurt.

The city was in absolute chaos, as the people tried to run away from the Mimics that had appeared.

One of those people was Misty Vail, Flash and Scootaloo's mother having been out shopping when the Mimics attacked. As such, she ran into the Ant Mimic as it threw cars and anything else it could lift all over the place. She screamed, praying that the Kamen Riders would show up and save her.

But as she ran, she heard a cry and turned to see a woman who had been pinned to the ground by a piece of metal. The woman was trapped and unable to escape, as the Mimic noticed her and slowly made its way towards her.

Misty wanted to help, but fear gripped her. What if that woman wasn't a woman? What if it was a Mimic, wanting to capture someone by playing the victim? She had two kids. Could she really risk putting herself in danger?

And she wasn't the only one putting herself first. All over the city, people were in danger. And other people were too scared or too paranoid to try and help. All they knew was that they had to keep themselves safe, which meant others needed to look after themselves.

Gule leapt forward and grabbed Shifter's weapon, pushing it away so that it wouldn't be used to shoot him.

"Why bother doing this?" Gule asked. "Even if you're not Sheave, why put yourself on the line to protect these weaklings? All they do is hide behind you and let you and Morphic do the fighting. Why protect others, who refuse to even protect themselves?"

Shifter glared at him, as he spoke loud enough for all to hear. "They might not have the power to protect themselves, but that doesn't mean they're weak." What Shifter didn't realise, was that his words weren't being heard by just those around him.

As the people ran to try and escape, something happened.

Some of the buildings in town had large video screens on the side of them. Mostly, they were used to show advertisements. But as everyone screamed and ran for their lives, the screens glitched for a moment before changing to show an image of Shifter and Gule.

"Why bother doing this?" They heard Gule say, making them look up as the video glitched for a moment before stabilising. "Why put yourself on the line to protect these weaklings? All they do is hide behind you and let you and Morphic do the fighting. Why protect others, who refuse to even protect themselves?"

The people looked down in shame, truly feeling useless. They had been allowing Shifter and Morphic to fight for them. But what other choice did they have. It's like Gule had said. Humans were weak compared to the Mimics.

"They might not have the power to protect themselves, but that doesn't mean they're weak." Shifter's words filled the air and they looked up to see him push Gule away. "I fight to protect them, because that is what we do. Humans band together to do what a single human can't do. And that's helped us overcome any obstacle thrown at us."

The people wondered what he meant by that, Gule asking the same thing.

"What are you talking about?"

"It's too bad you didn't learn anything about us, from the poor guy you captured to get that smart. If you had, you might have realised we humans can overcome anything together. We've survived millions of years of evolution, becoming the dominant species on this planet. That didn't just happen. We worked hard, together, to overcome everything the universe threw at us. Disasters, disease, everything. Humans worked together and found ways to overcome all these problems. And you Mimics are just that. A problem that's gonna be solved."

"What?" Gule growled. "You think you humans can solve us? We are your destruction."

"No," Shifter shook his head. "You will not destroy us. You might have scared us, with your intimidating power and the ability to sneak around as us. But humans don't give in to fear. You want to divide us and maybe you will, for a little while. But eventually, everyone will realise trust will save them more than paranoia. Because when humans stick together, there's nothing we can't overcome. That's why I fight. Because so long as I protect them, I'm giving them the time they need to find the strength to defeat you. The strength that comes from working together."

Everyone heard this and realised Shifter was right.

They couldn't stand alone. Not against something like this. If they wanted to stop the Mimics from destroying their world, they couldn't do it alone.

Misty Vail shook her head and turned to the trapped woman. The Ant Mimic got closer. But before it could get to her, Misty ran over and grabbed a piece of metal off the ground. "Get away from her!" Misty slammed the pipe into the Mimic and surprisingly, it staggered back in pain.

Other people saw this and were also inspired by Shifter's words. He was right. Humanity was doomed if it couldn't work together. If they wanted Shifter to keep protecting them, they had to be people worth protecting. No more letting fear control them.

All over the city, people began to fight against the Mimics. Cops took out their weapons and opened fire, whilst other people grabbed whatever they could find and used it to fight against them. Misty and several others quickly worked to save the trapped woman, lifting the metal off of her and carrying her to safety.

"Thank you!" She cried, as the Ant charged at them. But the people began to fight against it, using smaller parts of the metal to stab into the creature. And to their amazement, the creature roared in pain before melting.

Back with Shifter and the others, Gule growled.

"What a load of hogwash. Humans will never be able to trust each other. How can they? For all you know, everyone you're close to has already been replaced by a Mimic. You really think you can trust someone, even if there was the slightest chance they could be a Mimic?"

"I know it'll be difficult," Shifter agreed before firing his weapon. "But I won't let it stop me from trusting those around me. I don't care that you Mimics can copy our forms. There's no way you can copy the people themselves. I'll figure out if someone's a Mimic. But I won't push everyone away." He ran forward and his boot glowed, as he leapt into the air and dealt a kick to Gule's chest.

The force sent him staggering back, as Flash back-flipped and fired several spines from his rifle. These spines slammed into Gule and made him cry out, knocking him back as Shifter landed.

As this was going on, Morphic managed to start picking up speed. The coyote themed Rider flew around, managing to avoid Maya's web blasts. As he did, he got in close and dealt a slash to her leg.

She screamed, as Morphic stopped behind her and started spinning on the spot. This caused him to morph into a vortex, which flew towards Maya and started slashing at her over and over. She screamed in pain, getting cut up several times until Morphic skidded to a stop.

She staggered back, parts of her body covered in gashes that the brown slime was oozing out of.

At the same time, The Rainbooms kept their fight against Frill up. Rarity continued to create a shield, protecting them from his feather darts. And whenever he stopped firing, she would drop it so the others could attack.

"You ready?" Applejack asked Rainbow, who nodded as the girl grabbed her. And as soon as Rarity dropped the shield, Applejack threw her through the hole towards Frill.

"RAINBOW KICK!" Moving at incredible speeds, she slammed her foot into Frill's stomach before he could react. He cried out, as he was thrown backwards and fell to the ground. Rainbow also fell, but Rarity created a slide of gems that she landed on and safely slid down back to them.

Frill groaned, as he pushed himself back to his feet. As he did so, he noticed Maya was in a bad condition whilst Gule and Shifter continued their fight.

Shifter ran towards Gule and as the Mimic slashed at him, the Rider fell to his knees and slid under his claws. Shifter then leaned back and fired his rifle backwards, hitting Gule in the back and making him cry out in pain.

"GYAH!" He fell to the ground and looked ready to collapse at any moment, Shifter leaping back up and spinning around to point his weapon at him.

"Give it up!" Shifter cried. "You've lost this fight."

"Hardly," Gule groaned. "Whilst you and Morphic are stuck here, our Mimic Clones are tearing through the city. All those people. There's no telling how many have fallen to the Mimics by now."

Shifter shook, angry welling up within him as he prepared to fire a barrage of spines towards him. But then he noticed something behind Gule and smirked beneath his helmet. "You might wanna take a look behind you." Gule looked confused until he turned around, where he was shocked to see a bunch of people running towards them. It was a massive crowd, made up of people from all over Canterlot.

"What the?" He looked shocked. "Where'd they come from?"

"Hey!" One of them yelled, "MIMICS! We heard what Shifter said and he's right. We're not gonna let you scare us anymore."

"Shifter and Morphic can beat you!" Another cried. "But we're gonna fight back. No more letting you make us scared. We managed to take out all those Mimics you sent at us!" This shocked the generals.

"They defeated the clones?" Maya asked, as Frill growled.

"Well they were weaker copies of the originals." He pointed at them. "You might have been able to defeat the clones, but you pathetic humans can't defeat us!" He fired a dart at them, but Morphic got in the way and slashed at it.

"Maybe not yet," The Rider announced. "But I'm sure the police and others are looking into ways to hurt you guys." He knew for a fact that they were, since the police's best lab techs had been studying the Mimics and trying to discover ways of damaging them. "And until then, Shifter and I will protect this town and everyone in it."

"That's right!" Shifter nodded, as he focused on Gule. "And I'll start by taking you out, once and for all!" Gule glared at him, as he pulled out the Mimicore in his weapon. "Face it. The winds of victory have shifted." With that, he slotted the device back in before slamming the side of his belt.

"CLIMATICSTRIKINGPIERCE!"

The lights on Shifter's body began to light up, unleashing energy that Shifter channelled into his weapon. This caused the lights on the rifle to glow brighter and Shifter pointed it at Gule, who pushed himself up and started channelling power of his own.

Then, the pair unleashed their attacks together. Gule fired a blast of green energy, whilst Shifter unleashed a green spine bullet surrounded by orange energy.

The two attacks collided and pushed against one another, the two fighting using all their strength to try and overpower the other. As they did, the attacks began to unleash a bright light that expanded and consumed the pair before they could try and escape.

Both cried out, as they were overwhelmed by the brightness of the explosion.

Shifter was forced to close his eyes and when he did, every sound around him suddenly disappeared. "Huh?" He opened his eyes and found himself in some kind of white void. "What?" He looked around, only to suddenly see Gule standing in front of him.

The Mimic looked just as confused as Shifter, the pair staring at each other before Shifter spotted something behind Gule. Timber Spruce.

"Timber?" Shifter saw the young man, on his knees with his arms and legs trapped in some kind of amber coming out of the void's ground. His head and chest were uncovered, but everything else was trapped in the same amber Derpy had been trapped inside of.

Timber opened his eyes and saw Shifter. "Please," he begged, "help me." He then seemed to spot something behind Shifter, "Flash?"

Shifter looked around and to his shock, he found himself kneeling on the floor the same way Timber was. And just like Timber, he was partially encased in the strange looking amber. "What's going on?"

"Do you not remember who you are?" Shifter turned back to Gule, who stared at him with an almost worried expression on his face. "You've turned against who you truly are. Who you were always meant to be." Shifter didn't understand any of this, but didn't get the chance to ask what he meant.

Suddenly, the void around them was filled with light and Shifter was blinded once again.

The next thing he knew, he was being thrown backwards and crashed into the ground. "Augh!" He opened his eyes and found he was right back where he had been before, having been blown back by the blast that had also sent Gule flying towards the ground.

Shifter pushed himself up and as he did, he slowly started putting the pieces together. He assumed what he had just seen was some kind of mind merge, but there was only one reason he would see Timber in said mind merge. "He's the one you gained a human form from. The person you've been living as." He stood up and thought about all the times he had run into Timber where a Mimic appeared. "You're-"

"Careful," Gule growled. "We wouldn't want to give away each other's secrets now, would we?" Shifter frowned. If he outed Gule, he would be outing himself. Who knows what would happen to him then. Would anybody trust him?

Gule looked ready to attack, Shifter still off balance after what had just happened. But before he could attack, a beam shot down and hit him in the chest.

"AAAAARRRRRHHHHH!" Everyone looked up towards the source of the beam, which was coming from a nearby rooftop, Shifter and Morphic being shocked to see the cloaked figure that had given them the Mimicores and Shift Striker. The figure was holding some kind of gun, which was firing the beam currently hurting Gule.

Everyone watched, as Gule fell to his knees. As he did, his body began to turn to a liquid and reshape itself. "What are you doing?" Maya asked him, as Gule just screamed. Then, his body solidified and revealed a human figure. One that shocked Twilight.

"Timber?" Everyone was absolutely shocked to see Timber, standing there as the beam finally stopped.

Timber panted, falling to his knees as smoke came off his body. Maya and Frill rushed over to him, all the while looking up at the cloaked figure. "Who is that guy?" Frill asked, as Timber recovered and looked himself over.

"I don't know. But he forced me into my human form." He tried to change back to his monster form, but his skin only bubbled for a moment before returning to normal. "I'm stuck!"

"A temporary measure," the figure replied. "Though I wish I could trap you in the forms you stole from the people you've kidnapped. You go to so much trouble to hurt them, you should be forced to remain in their weak forms."

The Mimics growled, only to then see Shifter and Morphic approaching. "We're leaving," Frill announced. As he did, Timber's gaze happened to fall on Twilight. The two stared at each other, as Frill surrounded them with a powerful wind that forced everyone to stagger back and look away. When the wind disappeared, the Mimics were gone.

Threat over, everyone turned their attention to the man atop the building. "People of Canterlot," he somehow announced loud enough for all to hear. "I understand many of you are worried, about the Mimic attacks and their ability to impersonate anyone they can get their hands on. But you have shown today you will not allow them to destroy your trust in others. In order to defeat the Mimics, you must work together to keep your world safe."

"We already know that," Rainbow stated. "What's his point?"

"To help you combat the Mimics, I have a gift for you all." He took out some kind of glass sphere full of a yellow light, which he threw into the air. As soon as it was in the air, the sphere exploded and the light flew out in every direction.

From it, strings of light flew down and shot towards everyone. And it wasn't just them. The light spread across the entire city and flew down towards the people, even entering buildings and other sealed places.

The strings hit everyone's arm, connecting to their wrists and taking shape. When the light faded, everyone looked down and saw some kind of gray armband with a blue light on the top. "What the?" Applejack tried to take hers off and it came off, the others doing the same as the figure spoke.

"Those devices will help you detect the Mimics. Even if they're in human form, you will be able to find them. Whenever a Mimic is near, the light will flash red and beep. This should alert you to the presence of a Mimic and help you rebuild the trust that has been shaken within your world."

"Amazing," Twilight smiled. "With this, we won't have to worry about being taken by surprise." She then looked up at the man. "How did you build something like this? And how were you able to make something that forced...Timber, to change form? Who are you?"

The figure remained silent for a moment, clearly trying to decide what to say. "Someone who doesn't wish for this world to share the same fate as countless others. Including my own." With that, he turned to walk along the roof of the building and out of sight of the people below.

"Wait!" Shifter and Morphic leapt up, landing on the roof but finding him gone. "Figures." They looked down and saw the crowd, who seemed to realise he was gone.

Morphic turned to Shifter. "We should get out of here as well." Shifter nodded and the pair jumped away and out of sight, off to find somewhere to power down so they could return to where they were before.

As they did, everyone looked down at the devices they had been given. As they stared at them, hope began to appear in their hearts. Hope that they wouldn't need to fear the Mimics so much anymore. Hope that they could live their lives in peace once again.

Back at their base, the Mimic Generals were not too happy.

Maya was covering herself in healing slime, working to fix the cuts Morphic had dealt to her. She hissed and groaned, every time she applied it to one of her gashes. "That brute has no idea how to treat a lady." She turned to Frill, who was staring at a jar full of slime. "Who the heck even was that guy? How did he force Gule into his human form? What else could he possibly do?"

"I don't know," Frill growled. "We're clearly dealing with someone who knows more about Mimics than we thought anyone could. This is bad. Really bad. We need to figure out who he is and stop him before he causes us any more problems."

Maya nodded. "And we need to find a way to make the humans fear us again. The Mimic Clones clearly weren't strong enough."

"Maybe not." Frill turned towards the machine they had used earlier, which was smoking after what had happened. "But maybe there's another way we can make them fear us. Humans are still weak and against the right enemy, they won't stand a chance." Maya was intrigued by this, as Frill moved over to the machine.

Meanwhile, Gule thought back to that moment he and Shifter had merged minds. Based on what he had seen in that void, the situation was obvious. "I'll save you, my brother." He looked down at his hands and focused, this body turning to its slimy shape. The effects of that laser were wearing off. But it wouldn't be enough. "I need a way to tip the scales in my favour. I need more power."

Back at CHS, Pinkie's party had evolved from a gym party to a street celebration.

Somehow, Pinkie had managed to pull tables of food out of nowhere. The entire field, or what was left of it, was covered in them. People were gathered around the field, laughing and talking as they happily started to mend the relationships that had been damaged by the fear and paranoia.

"And then I said, at least it wasn't a cucumber." Everyone around her, laughed at Misty's joke. She was talking to the woman she had helped save and a few more individuals, as they ate the party food and drink.

Flash was on the other side of the field, looking at the bracelet he and everyone else was wearing. "This'll come in handy," he told Shining Armor.

"Real handy," Shining agreed. "I wonder why he waited so long to give them to us?"

"Maybe he needed to work out some of the tweaks." Flash looked around, seeing all the people now wearing the Mimic Detectors. With them, nobody would have to worry about being tricked by a Mimic. But no doubt, there were going to be those who would be upset when they learned a Mimic was impersonating their loved ones.

Flash looked over at the stairs of the school, where Twilight was sitting.

She had a cup of her favourite drink, but she hadn't taken a sip of it. Clearly, she was still in shock over what she had learned about Timber. Flash felt bad for her and stepped over to the girl.

"Hey," he sat down beside her, "I heard about what happened. I'm sorry about Timber."

"Thank you," Twilight nodded. "I...I just can't believe it. I can't believe he was a Mimic this whole time and I didn't know. How could I be so blind?"

"You're not the only one he tricked," Flash pointed out. "We all fell for his ruse. But now we know the truth."

Twilight nodded. "What do you think happened to him? The real Timber."

Flash frowned, since he had a pretty good idea. "He must be trapped like Derpy was. And they took him somewhere." Twilight seemed to agree to this, as she took out her phone.

"I'm gonna need to tell Gloriosa. I'm not looking forward to that." Flash couldn't help but feel sorry for her. "I have to find him. To save him. I don't know how, but I've got to figure out where the Mimics are keeping him and get him back."

"I'm sure Shifter and Morphic will find a way to save him." Twilight didn't look so confident about that. Flash frowned, wishing he could help her somehow. Even though he couldn't tell her directly, he promised he would find and save Timber. And anyone else the Mimics had captured.

He didn't know where they were, but he wouldn't stop looking until he found them. And no matter what the Mimics tried to do, he would free them and make sure nobody would be taken by the Mimics again.

Author's Note

Another intense chapter. Gule's identity is revealed and now everyone doesn't have to worry about Mimics taking them by surprise. But what will happen next? Only time will tell.

Episode 12: Sparkling Power! Hyper Power Up

Shifter could hardly believe what he was seeing.

One moment, he, Morphic and the Rainbooms had been fighting Maya, Frill and a bunch of new monsters named Mimicreeps. Things had been going well for them and victory seemed to be there. But then, Gule-Far-Tar had arrived and revealed a new source of energy had been granted to him.

This new power had made him evolve into a more powerful Mimic. A Hyper Mimic.

"Now you see!" He told them. "I have become so much more powerful, than any of you fools. With this Hyper Core, I've evolved into a force you can't hope to defeat. A Hyper Mimic!"

"New look," Morphic stated. "Same old lines."

"Nice," Frill nodded as Maya smiled.

"Looking good. Looks like that little upgrade worked in your favour. So long as your body can handle that much power."

"Oh, it can handle it alright." Gule turned back to Shifter. "Now, it's time I knock some sense into you." Shifter said nothing and got ready for a fight. He didn't know how this change would affect Gule's battle skill. But Shifter was ready for anything Gule could throw at him. Or so he thought.

The orb in Gule's chest glowed and before Shifter could even blink, the Hyper Mimic shot forward and slammed his foot into Shifter's chest. "AUGH!" The impact sent a wave of energy into Shifter's chest, which knocked him flying back until he crashed into the side of a building.

"SHIFTER!" Everyone cried, as the Rider fell to the ground.

"So fast," Twilight gasped before spinning around. She grabbed some bits of the damaged ground and threw it at Gule, but he didn't even look her way before unleashing a blast of energy from his claws. That energy turned the rubble to dust, then shot towards Twilight.

"Look out!" Rainbow rushed forward and pushed Twilight out of the way, whilst Rarity put up a bunch of diamonds to try and protect the others. But the lightning slammed into them and destroyed the gems without issue.

Morphic ran forward, needing to protect the girls. He threw his alligator head forward and unleashed the energy construct, but the Hyper Mimic's chest glowed before the light flew out and formed a wall to block the head. Gule shot forward and met Morphic head on.

The Rider swung his tail saw around, trying to cut into him. But Gule blocked with the spikes on the back of his arms. The saw ground against the spike, but didn't even scratch it.

"What?" Morphic asked, as the chest orb unleashed a laser that slammed into him. "GYAH!" As he was thrown backwards, Pinkie pulled some sprinkles out of her hair and threw them towards the Mimic.

But as they exploded, Gule just walked through it not looking the least bit phased. "No way!"

"His powers grown so much," Sunset realised.

"FLIGHT!"

They looked around and saw Shifter and picked himself up. "Shape Shift!" He quickly replaced the Mimicores, causing his armor to melt, reshape and change colour.

"MIMIC! OWL!" The armor reformed, the large wings appearing on his back. And as Shifter removed the Blade Core from his weapon, the belt spoke up. "Flying through the sky, seeking prey with all seeing vision!"

He took to the air and flew towards Gule, as he placed his Strike Mimicore into the weapon and changed it to its handgun form. He quickly fired and rained down lasers from above. But Gule leapt into the air and easily dodged them. And when he reached Shifter, he slashed at him with his blades.

Shifter tried to dodge, but Gule's strike landed and cut one of his wings off.

The Rider flew out of control, unable to stop himself whilst Gule spun around and slammed his foot into Shifter's chest. The impact sent him flying towards the ground and he crashed close to Morphic.

"We have to help them!" Twilight cried, the other girls nodding. But Gule had other ideas and unleashed a bunch of green lightning, which struck the ground all around them. Maya and Frill had moved to a safe distance, but everyone else was bombarded by the attacks slamming into them.

They all cried out, as they were thrown about and burned by the energy.

When the explosions began to die down, the Riders and Rainbooms were laid out on the ground. The Riders began to pick themselves up, but the girls were clearly out of it. Meaning they weren't able to protect themselves when Frill dropped Maya down next to them.

The spider Mimic unleashed a bunch of webs, tying the girls up and binding them together. And as the Riders stood up, they looked around to see the two Mimic Generals dragging them along the ground. A portal opened up behind them and as the girls started to come around, they realised they were in serious trouble.

"NO!" Shifter and Morphic ran to them, but Gule landed in front of them and blasted them with lightning again. "AUGH!" They both cried out, whilst the girls were dragged through the portal. And as the lightning faded, the Riders fell to the ground and found their suits disintegrating off of them.

Flash and Shining groaned, their bodies aching as Gule turned to them. He laughed, clearly enjoying the pitiful state the pair were in. "Don't worry. We'll take good care of your friends. Once they've been turned into Mimics, they'll become this world's ultimate destroyers."

Flash tried to push himself up. "We...won't let you do that."

"Like you have a choice," Gule stated. "It's probably already begun. I hope they start with that annoying nerd. After today, I won't have to suffer her incessant talking." He groaned, as Shining looked ready to rip his head off. But he was too injured to do anything. "Now...to end this little game." He looked ready to land the finishing blow.

But before he could attack, something happened behind the Riders.

A powerful light appeared behind them, which the white cloaked figure stepped out of. "You!" Gule growled, as the figure turned to the Riders. "I'm ripping that hood off and finding out who you are!" He shot forward, but the figure grabbed the two and pulled them through the light.

In the blink of an eye, the light vanished moments before Gule to get to them. The Mimic let out a roar of frustration, still wanting to know who the heck that cloaked figure was.

After a moment, he relaxed and thought about the fight. "Shifter and Morphic didn't stand a chance against me." He looked down at the orb in his chest. "With this new power, I can't be beaten." He walked away, as a portal opened up. "I'm unstoppable now."

Flash and Shining were once again in the dark room, as the figure walked away from them.

Both moaned, their bodies aching as they felt like they had just been hit by a bus. But the pain they were feeling was nothing, compared to the anguish they felt after seeing the girl be taken. "No," Shining whispered. "NO!" He slammed his fist into the floor. "We lost them!"

"Twilight," Flash pushed himself up, "Sunset." He could only imagine what was going to happen to them. At that moment, the girls could all be getting taken over by a Mimic.

"I'm sorry about your friends," the figure announced. "I wish there was something I could have done."

Shining glared up at him. "You could have done something. You could have come and helped. Use that blaster of yours to force Gule back into his human form. You could have done that to all the Mimics!"

"It's not that simple," the figure replied.

"It's never that simple with you, is it?" Shining stood up. "I'm done with the mysterious crap. Show us who you are!" He rushed forward, attempting to grab the figure's hood. But the man managed to dodge Shining's attempt, Shining's exhaustion and injuries making him slower and easy to avoid.

Shining kept trying several times. But the figure kept dodging and at one point, he got behind Shining and thrust a finger into his back.

"Augh!" Shining fell forward and crashed into the ground, groaning as Flash rushed over to him.

"We don't have time for this. Your sister and her friends are in danger. If the Mimics manage to create Mimics from them, they might be unbeatable. Those girls' unusual magical abilities are too much of an unknown."

"Well what are we supposed to do?" Flash asked. "Gule is just too powerful. We didn't stand a chance against him."

"That's because of the Hyper Core," the figure replied. "A power source from the world they conquered before attempting to destroy your world. It's one of the most powerful energy sources ever created."

"Great," Flash sighed, "how are we supposed to beat something like that?"

"Don't worry. I have something that should help with that." Flash and Shining shared a look, as the figure stepped forward. "I had a feeling the Mimics would eventually use the Hyper Core. I didn't know how they would use it, but this should work out fine for us."

"What are you talking about?" As Flash said that, a light flew down from above and illuminated part of the dark room. They looked around, as a pillar extended up from the floor. And something was sitting on it.

"A Mimicore?" Flash walked over to it and picked the device up, seeing that it was inactive. He tried to switch it on, but nothing happened when he pressed the button. "It's not working."

"That's because it hasn't been charged," the figure replied. "I made that Mimicore in order to counter the Hyper Core. If you can get it close to Gule's chest, the device will start to drain the Hyper Core of its power. it won't completely de-power it, but it should weaken Gule enough for you to defeat him."

"That sounds perfect," Flash smirked. "Wait, will I be able to use it to Mimic another animal?"

"Unfortunately, no. I had to remove its scanning function in order to give it the extra power. Without that function, it won't be able to analyse a creature and mimic its powers. Once charged, all it'll do is be an extra strong power source. I might be able to make something that can wield its energy as a weapon. But first, you'll have to actually charge with the Hyper Core's power."

"Understood," Flash nodded. "We'll do our best. Right, Shining?"

"Yeah," Shining nodded as he turned to the figure. "Sorry. I know you're trying to help, but it's hard to trust you when we don't know anything about you."

"I understand. Just know that I don't keep secrets because I want to. It's just not the right time for you to know the truth. Now, go get some rest. You'll need all the strength you can muster for your next battle." Before the pair could say anything, the light appeared behind them before moving to swallow them up.

In the blink of an eye, the pair were back in Canterlot. But they weren't where they were before, instead being in a back alley two streets away.

They both shared a look, really wishing he didn't just throw them out like that. But then, they looked down at the Mimicore they had gotten. If he was right, this was their only hope for defeating Gule in his new super-charged state.

Gule stepped through a portal into the Mimic Base, where he heard a bunch of screaming and groans.

Looking around, he was shocked to see the Rainbooms were still free. They were trapped in Maya's webbing, but they hadn't been used to make a Mimic yet. "What's going on?"

He watched, as Maya held up a Mimic Spawn. "Maybe you'll be the one." She turned Fluttershy, who looked absolutely terrified. The others told her to leave the girl alone, but Maya thrust the Mimic into the girl's chest.

Fluttershy screamed, as the Mimic spread across her chest. But before it could do anything, the geode around her neck glowed before unleashing a light. The slime was then propelled off of her, Frill flying up to catch it. Fluttershy panted in fear, but was alright and the light around her neck disappeared.

"What was that?" Gule cried, as the others turned to him.

"We don't know," Maya growled. "Every time we try and make a Mimic overtake them, those gems around their necks glow and blow them away. And whenever we try and take them off, we get zapped."

"Guess there's more to this magic stuff than we thought," Gule stepped forward. "Think you can work around it?"

"In time," Maya nodded. "This isn't the first time we've conquered a world with magic. I'll look into our predecessor's records and figure out how they did it. Until then, we'll just have to keep these girls somewhere they can't cause any issues."

"We could always put them out of action," Gule's fingers sparked with power, making the girls panic.

"Leave them," Frill stated. "Right now, they're more useful to us alive. Anyway, what happened after we left? Did you deal with the Riders?" Gule growled.

"I almost had them. But then, that white cloak guy showed up and pulled them through a portal somewhere. But they'll be back. Especially since we have their friends as hostages."

"How could you do this?" Twilight asked, making the Mimics look to her. "Why are you doing this? Kidnapping people. Taking their places? Causing so much pain and destruction?"

Gule smiled at her. "We're the Mimics. Wiping out inferior species is what we do." Twilight glared at him. "Besides, why are you so comfortable working with Mimics?" The girls all shared a look, obviously confused by what he was talking about. "Shifter and Morphic. They're Mimics. They might have forgotten who they really are, but they're definitely Mimics."

"That's impossible," Sunset cried. "Why would Mimics fight against their own kind?"

"That's what we'd like to know," Maya stated. "But it doesn't matter. They've turned against us and we're going to make them pay for their betrayal." She turned to the other Mimics. "I say we take these girls back and use them as bait. The Riders won't be able to resist trying to save them."

Gule and Frill nodded, as a pair of Mimicreeps suddenly appeared.

They were pushing something into the room. A large amber cocoon, the girls noticing someone trapped inside. "TIMBER!" Twilight tried to free herself from the web and run to him. The sight of her boyfriend, sealed within the rock, made her stomach turn. "Let him go!"

"Yeah, not happening." Gule stepped up to the cocoon, placing a hand on it. "You've served me well. Giving me your knowledge and allowing me to walk the human world undetected. Too bad I no longer require the human form. Although, those fingers might come in handy if I ever need to do delicate work."

Maya stepped over to him, a device in hand. It unleashed a beam, which swept over the cocoon and started beeping. "Let's see," she started reading the results. "From what I can tell, you absorbing the Hyper Core hasn't caused any negative effects. But I'll need to run a more thorough analysis to make sure. Until then, I suggest you don't overuse your new power source."

"Shame," Gule smiled as he looked himself over. "I feel incredible. Like I could defeat a hundred Kamen Riders. This Hyper Core is incredible. Hurt like hell, absorbing all that power, but this new strength is so worth the pain."

"Yes," Maya nodded. "Even so, stay in your human form for a while. Give your other form a chance to cool down. Use too much of that power too often and you'll likely hit burn out."

"Fine," Gule reverted back to his human form and gave Twilight a smirk. He then walked off, leaving Frill and Maya to start studying the real Timber and the girl's magic. If they found a way to overcome it, then everyone would be in serious trouble.

Back on Earth, Flash was in his room at home.

His mother and Scootaloo had noticed he was limping when he got home, Flash stating it was due to getting caught up in another Mimic attack. She had been worried that he was seriously hurt, but Flash assured her she was fine. But when he told her about what had happened to his friends, she and Scootaloo were both shocked.

Scootaloo had run off to call Sweetie and Applebloom, Flash reminding her that they might not have been told yet. But when Scootaloo called, she found they did know and were rather upset.

Shining had had to tell the Rainboom's families about the girl's kidnapping, something Flash had not envied Shining for. Now, Flash was laying in his bed letting his injuries heal. All the while, trying to come up with a battle plan that would help him beat Gule.

He took out the new Mimicore, whilst trying to come up with an idea that would help him get close enough to Gule and use it.

As the sun began to set, Flash heard a buzzing and looked over to his phone. He saw it was Shining Armor and quickly answered it. "Hey. You doing okay?"

"Not really," Shining sighed. "Telling a bunch of distraught parents their daughters had been kidnapped, isn't exactly something you get into the police business for. My mom and dad are still crying. Cadance too. We have to find them and save them before it's too late."

"But you heard what Gule said. The girls have probably already been taken over. If they have, we stand a chance against them all. Maya, Frill and a super powered Gule were bad enough, especially with those new Mimicreep things they have. But put the girl's magic on top of it and...what if we're not strong enough to stop them?"

"We have to be strong enough," Shining stated. "Because we're the only ones who can possibly save them and stop the Mimics. If we let those things beat us, then that's it. The Mimics will take over and our world won't stand a chance."

Flash really didn't like the sound of that. He thought about all the people that were counting on them to protect their world. His family. His friends. Everyone that had cheered them on, as they struggled to keep the world safe from the Mimics.

"I know things might seem difficult, but we're not beaten yet. Gule might have powered up, but we have one thing that he'll never have."

"Which is?"

"Something worth fighting for. That's something that's always allowed us humans to overcome the odds. Think of all the evil beings that have tried to take over the world, or caused incredible pain and suffering. Hitler, Stalin, Hussein and many more. They were all trying to make the world their version of paradise. And they all failed, because they didn't have something worth winning for."

"And the Mimics are exactly the same," Flash realised.

"Exactly. We humans have a power that those Mimics will never be able to copy. When everything looks bad. When the chips are down and we can't seem to go on anymore. So long as we have something or someone we want to protect. Something we can't bear to lose, we'll find the strength to do the impossible."

Flash smiled, Shining's words washing over him and making him realise he was right. "Thanks, Shining. We can't give up. No matter what happens, we'll find a way to save the girls. Even if we have to fight the Mimics they become."

"Good. Now get some rest. That cloak guy was right. We'll need all the strength we can get for tomorrow. No matter what happens tomorrow, we don't stop fighting until the very end."

Flash nodded and hung up, getting comfortable as he let the day's exhaustion wash over him. As he did, he glanced back at the new Mimicore, knowing he had to find a way to drain Gule's power. It was his only hope of beating the Mimic. No matter what, he would find a way to stop him with it.

Back at the Mimic Base, Twilight and the rest of the Rainbooms were stuck together with the webs and placed in a corner.

Most of the girls were beginning to fall asleep, despite the danger they were in. But Twilight was wide awake and looking around, trying to take in as much of the Mimic's base as she could. If they managed to escape, this knowledge could be invaluable.

In one corner, she spotted a machine that was currently working to create a bunch of Mimicreeps. Despite how weak they were, their numbers were clearly worth the loss of power. Twilight feared what would happen, if the Mimics managed to create an entire army of them.

With Gule's new power to take out major threats, those Mimicreeps would overrun the city.

Her eyes then fell on the cocoon with her boyfriend in it. Timber looked so peaceful inside of there. She had a feeling the last thing he felt when he was taken was terror. The sight of that peaceful expression, despite the fear he must have had, made Twilight's stomach twist.

Her mind then moved to possible outcomes of the fight that was coming in the morning. What if Shifter and Morphic found a way to defeat Gule? When Derpy's Mimic doppelganger had been destroyed, she had been freed right away. If Gule was beaten, Timber should be freed as well.

As much as she wanted Timber to be freed, she feared what would happen to him if it happened whilst he was still in the Mimic's possession. Derpy had been lucky to have not been taken by the Mimics. But Timber was another story.

She feared what might happen, if Timber was freed whilst still being the Mimic's prisoner. Would the Mimic simply force him to become another Mimic's host. Or would they see no other need for him.

"We have to save him," she whispered.

"We will," Sunset told her. "But right now, we need to save ourselves. You heard what that Mimic said. They've come up against magic in the past and found a way to overcome it."

Rarity frowned. "Our gems protected us from the Mimics. But that won't last forever."

"Exactly," Sunset nodded. "I don't know how they stop magic. But considering magic works differently in each world, it's possible the magic they faced isn't the same type as the magic we have. Whatever they did to stop that magic, might not work on ours."

"So we might stay safe?" Pinkie asked.

"I don't know," Sunset frowned. "They might not be able to find a way around our magic. Or they might have an easier time overcoming our magic. I guess it all depends on the magic itself. But there's another issue if they can't find a way around our magic."

"Which is?" Applejack asked.

"Right now, they have a reason to keep us alive. But if they can't figure out how to take us over..." She didn't want to finish the sentence, as the girls all gulped.

They sat there, worrying about what was going to happen to them. If Shifter and Morphic couldn't save them, their future wasn't looking great. They had to find a way out of there. But how?

The next day.

As soon as his alarm went off, Flash was up and out of bed.

Once he was dressed, he headed downstairs and found his mother and sister sitting around the table. He spotted the picture of his father on the wall, located over his old spot at the table.

"Flash," Misty looked up, "are you sure you should be up? You need as much rest as you can after what happened yesterday." Flash smiled at her.

"I'm fine, mom. I'm feeling much better. And I wanna go meet up with some friends for...you know." Misty nodded, clearly thinking he was talking about what had happened to the girls.

Flash headed for the door, but Misty stepped in front of him. "Flash. If you need to talk about anything, I'm here to listen. You don't have to bottle it all up."

Flash wished he could tell her about him being Shifter, but he couldn't. Not until he knew the truth about what the heck he was. Until then, he had to keep her in the dark.

He gave Misty a hug, Misty being surprised by this but hugging him back. What she didn't know was that for Flash, he thought this might be the very last hug he ever got from her. So he wanted to make it last and only pulled away when he felt his mother getting suspicious.

He headed for the door and gave his family one last look before leaving, off to fight against a seemingly unstoppable threat. But no matter what, he would find a way to defeat them.

On an empty street in Canterlot, a bright light filled the air. And from it, the three Mimic Generals stepped out. The Rainbooms followed, the girls all tied up with some Mimicreeps holding them back.

As the light vanished, Timber took his monster form and unleashed a blast of energy straight into the air.

The green lightning exploded above their heads, terrifying anyone nearby who saw it. But it didn't scare the two who it had been sent up to signal, the pair instead staring at it whilst they rode their bikes.

Flash and Shining shared a look. "You ready for this?" Shining asked, Flash nodding as their Drivers appeared on their waists. They revved up their bikes and began to race forwards, taking out their Mimicores and activating them.

"PIERCE!/BLITZ!"

They quickly slotted the cores into their Drivers and as they picked up speed, they yelled out in unison. "HENSHIN!" The draws slammed shut and their belts activated, both glowing as they spoke up.

"MIMIC! HEDGEHOG!"

"MIMIC! HERCULES BEETLE!"

The slime flew out of their belt pipes and splashed onto their bodies, solidifying as they formed the cocoons on their body. And after a few seconds, the cocoons shattered and flew off their bodies. The black and silver suited individuals continued to ride towards the battle, as the amber slammed into them and formed their armor.

Transformations complete, the pair arrived on the scene moving too fast for most of the others to notice.

They spotted the girls tied up, both Riders wondering if that was some kind of trick. But a small part of them hoped the girls had somehow escaped becoming Mimics. As such, Morphic summoned his Blitz Blaster whilst Shifter readied his piercing weapons.

They started firing, hoping to hit the Mimicreeps and destroy them.

But before any of the attacks could hit the foot-soldiers, Gule jumped in front and unleashed a wall of light from the core in his chest. This wall blocked the projectiles and lasers, stopping them cold. "Shifter's mine," he stated.

"Fine," Maya agreed as the Riders stopped their bikes.

"Let them go!" Shifter cried, as they got off and prepared for battle.

"The real them," Morphic replied. "If those girls are mimics-"

"We're not Mimics!" Twilight cried. "They tried, but our magic protected us. We're the real us."

"You'd better be," Shifter stated. "Although, I kind of wish we had our detectors on. You'd think that guy would have given our drivers that function." Morphic shrugged, as Gule stepped forward.

"This ends now. You Riders will fall to my power." He pointed at Shifter. "Surrender and I will do what I can to help you remember who you are. This is your last warning. Refuse and you will leave me no choice but to destroy you." The Riders shared a look, still clueless what he was getting at.

"We're not surrendering," Morphic stated. "We're taking you guys down!" With that, he started firing and Gule unleashed another wall of energy.

"Fine then," Gule turned to the others. "Keep him busy, whilst I deal with my brother." They nodded and as soon as the wall vanished, Gule shot forward with blinding speed.

Before Shifter could respond, the front of his armor was grabbed and he was pushed backwards.

"Shifter!" Morphic cried, seeing his fellow Rider get taken away. And before he could try and go after him, a web caught his shoulder and he was pulled forward. "WOW!" He was pulled towards the other two Mimics, Frill rushing forward with his feather blades.

He swung them at Morphic, but the rider raised his arms and used his thick gauntlets to block the attack.

He landed and quickly raised his blaster, firing at Frill to force him back as he ripped the web off his shoulder. He started fighting against the two, firing at Frill to keep him at a distance whilst he started throwing punches and kicks in Maya's direction.

Meanwhile, Gule continued to hold Shifter and started charging energy to channel into him. "Wake up!" He cried, but Shifter had had enough of the close quarters.

"I am awake!" The spikes on the front of his armor extended, stabbing into Gule and forcing him to let go. Shifter leapt back and took out his Shift Striker, along with a Mimicore.

"STRIKE!"

As he landed, the weapon transformed and he changed it to the rapier form. Shifter then started shooting spines at Gule, which he deflected as Shifter rushed forward and thrust the rapier at his chest. But Gule blocked it with the spikes on his arms before spinning around, slamming his foot into Shifter's chest.

"Augh!" Shifter was thrown backwards, as Gule began charging energy from his Hyper Core.

Shifter managed to regain his balance and as Gule unleashed the energy from his chest core, which became a powerful beam, the Rider changed his weapon to gun mode and fired his own laser. But his laser was nothing compared to Gule's, the green energy overwhelming the orange beam and slamming into Shifter.

"GYAH!" Shifter was thrown backwards, the girls gasping as they watched him hit the ground whilst sparking. "Ahhh."

"This isn't good," Twilight gulped. "Shifter, get up!" Shifter slowly began to move, but Gule rushed over and dealt a super charged kick into his side. This sent him spinning through the air, the Rider barely managing to land on his feet whilst clutching his side.

"Gule's too strong," Rarity cried.

"It's that thing in his chest," Sunset guessed. "It's made him too strong." Another explosion caught their attention, making them look around and see Morphic still fighting the other Mimics.

The Rider fired his blaster, but Frill dodged it and Maya hit him with a web. She pulled him off balance and as Morphic tried to regain his footing, Frill flew down and slashed at him with his swords.

"AUGH!" Morphic was sent flying and crashed into the side of a wall, falling to the ground as he let out a moan.

Maya laughed at this. "Don't worry. This will be over soon. Once Gule's dealt with your friend, we'll finish you off with him." But then Morphic pushed himself back to his feet, taking out another Mimicore.

"Don't count Shifter out yet. He's stronger than you realise, especially when he's fighting to save those he cares about." With that, he activated his Mimicore.

"RUSH!"

He opened the draw on his belt and removed his Mimicore, replacing it with the new one. "Mega Morph!" With that, he slammed the draw inwards and the lights upon the side of his belt turned red.

"MIMIC! COYOTE!" His armor melted, reshaped and changed colour. As it did, he rushed forward super fast. And by the time he reached Maya, his armor solidified and his claws appeared. "Howling velocity, increasing the tearing power of its fangs"

Before Maya could respond, Morphic slashed at her and she was knocked back. Frill raised his blades and at the last moment, Morphic flew forward and slashed at him. His blades barely blocked the claws and he was able to leap up, spreading his wings to take flight whilst Morphic prepared to take them all down.

Shifter jumped around, firing his spines and Shift Striker blasts towards Gule. But he countered them all with his energy waves, as he spread his wings and took off.

He unleashed a barrage of lightning from his body, which flew down and exploded against the ground around Shifter. The Rider cried out, staggering back as the lightning destroyed the ground all around him. Some stray bolts got close to the Rainbooms and they all cried out, doing their best to avoid it as they staggered back.

Gule stopped his attacks, staring at the smoke cloud that had formed around Shifter.

He wondered if this was enough to put him down, but suddenly heard the Driver's voice. "MIMIC! LIGHTNING BUG!" Shifter leapt out of the smoke, having swapped the Mimicores in his Driver and Shift Striker.

Now holding his Piercing Rifle, Shifter launched a barrage of high powered projectiles towards Gule.

The Hyper Mimic unleashed another wall of light, which blocked the projectiles as Shifter landed on the ground. Gule then dived down, channelling energy into his right arm as the spikes on it glowed. The beast roared as he got closer, with Shifter unleashing a bunch of light from the spots on his armor.

This blinded Gule, causing him to go off target as he slashed at Shifter. The Rider barely managed to avoid the attack, but the slash hit the ground and created a wave of energy that followed Shifter and eventually slammed into him.

"Augh!" He cried, hitting hard as his Rifle fell from his hand.

Gule pulled his claws out of the ground, whilst Shifter picked himself up. Flash knew he had to de-power Gule soon. He wasn't gonna be able to take much more punishment. But he needed the right moment.

Gule charged forward and tried to slash at Shifter, who leapt to the side in order to grab his Shift Striker. He removed the Pierce Core and replaced it with another.

"BLADE!"

The weapon changed to a sword and as Shifter charged, he swung the blade towards Gule. But Gule was able to easily block it with the spikes on his body. And before Shifter could pull back, the Hyper Core unleashed a bunch of energy that flowed into the Rider.

"AUGH!" He cried, getting zapped by it. And as the energy locked him into place, Gule knocked the Shift Striker out of his hands before throwing a punch right into the Rider's chest. "GYAH!" The force sent him flying backwards, crashing into the side of a building before falling to the ground.

"SHIFTER!" The girls cried, as Morphic saw his partner fall.

"Oh no." He wanted to help, but Frill and Maya had him cut off. "Hold on!"

Shifter tried to push himself up, but he couldn't. And as Gule approached, he felt his body give up and fall back to the ground. Gule saw this and chuckled, as energy surged around him.

"Now...my brother. It's time for you to be free." The energy surged out of the Hyper Core and into his hands. "DIE!" He unleashed a burst of green lightning, which struck Shifter and made him cry out in pain.

The Rider tried to fight back, but he couldn't move. He felt the energy flowing into him and as he did, he realised he wasn't going to last much longer. Was this the end for him?

He forced his eyes open and happened to spot the Rainbooms, who were looking just as terrified as he felt. As he stared at them, he wondered what would happen after he was killed. Once Gule was done with him, he would likely do the same to Shining. Then, without the Riders, their world would be the Mimic's for the taking.

Images of everyone he cared about, Flash in front of his eyes. His mother and sister. His friends at school. Everyone he ever cared about. If he let himself lose here, everyone would lose.

"I can't let that happen. I...won't let that happen!" Using all his strength, he forced himself back to his feet.

"What?" Gule asked, "impossible." He added more power, but Shifter seemed unaffected by it. He began to move forward and as he did, he took out the new Mimicore.

As he did, the device began to absorb the power being channelled into Shifter. That was what it was programmed to do. But something else was also happening. His Strike Mimicore was also sparking, its energy becoming intertwined with the Hyper Core Energy.

As it did, the dots began to light up. Glowing orange and creating an image. The image of a lightning bug, just like on the Strike Core.

Shifter moved closer and closer to Gule, groaning as he was constantly hit by the energy. It didn't exactly tickle, but he refused to let himself be stopped. And soon enough, he was right in front of Gule.

"What are you doing?" He cried, as Shifter stood tall.

"Stopping you from hurting everyone I care about." He pulled his arm with the core back. "Your reign of terror ends, here and now!" With that, he thrust the core forward and slammed it into the Hyper Core.

This caused a brilliant flash of light, as the core absorbed the Hyper Core's power directly. Gule tried to pull away, but he couldn't. The energy from the two cores was forcing them together. Both his Hyper Core and the Strike Mimicore were connected to the new core, their energies combining into the device until it finally reached full charge.

Suddenly, the new core unleashed a powerful wave of energy. Shifter and Gule were blown apart, the wave continuing and hitting everyone around them.

It struck the Rainbooms and the Mimicreeps holding them, the girls feeling a slight jolt whilst the Mimicreeps were destroyed. Though it didn't hurt them, Twilight and the others suddenly found themselves blacking out.

When it reached Morphic and the Mimic Generals, Morphic decided it was best not to let the wave hit him. As such, he shot off in his Rush Form. Frill quickly took to the air, whilst Maya was slammed by the wave and sent flying back.

As Morphic ran away from the wave, Frill followed. Meanwhile, Shifter and Gule slammed into the ground and were both reverted back to their human forms. As they laid there, the new Mimicore sparked and glowed.

In his dark space, the cloaked figure watched the battle.

When he saw what had happened, he was amazed. "Mimicore is being programmed. How?" He started rewinding the footage and paid closer attention to the Strike Core. "I see. The energy flowed into the Mimicore and was infected by the programming inside it. And when the new core was charged with it, the programming became a part of it too. Amazing.

He sped the footage back up, as Morphic finally outran the wave.

The energy died down and Morphic skidded to a stop.

He turned back the way he came and prepared to rush back, only to find a bunch of feather darts shooting down towards him. "Wow!" He used his claws to deflect them, looking up and seeing Frill glaring down at him.

The Mimic General summoned his feather swords and dived towards him, Morphic using his claws to block the slashes and attacking back. As Frill flew up, Morphic ran back to the battlefield. The two continued to clash as they did, Frill diving down to attack whilst Morphic jumped off the sides of buildings to get high enough to strike.

The two continued to collide over and over, neither able to get a good hit on the other.

Back with Flash, he picked himself up and let out a moan.

Timber did the same, the Mimic growling as he turned to Flash. "What did you just do?" He summoned his power and transformed back to his monster form, only to feel different. Weaker. "What?"

Flash felt a heat in his hand and looked down. He saw the new Mimicore, as it sparked and glowed before suddenly transforming. In a flash of light, it changed into a more decorative version of his Strike Mimicore. The orange dots created the image of a firefly, but it was surrounded by bolts of lightning.

"Wow." Flash could hardly believe what he was seeing, whilst Maya rushed over to Gule's side.

"What happened?" She asked, as he picked himself up. She then felt the energy flowing through him, but realised something that horrified her. "The Hyper Core. It's been drained."

"What?" Gule felt the orb in his chest and realised she was right. "Impossible." He looked over at Flash, who was also picking himself up. "He stole my power!"

"It's not all gone," Maya replied. "I'd say it's only working at half capacity. You're still stronger than before you had the Mimicore, but..."

Flash stared down at the device, as it shut off again. He also heard a moan and looked over at the Rainbooms, Twilight looking like she was about to come around. He couldn't let her see him there.

"Alright," he told himself, "time to see what this thing can do." He turned back to the Mimics, as the Mimic Driver reappeared around his waist. He held the new core up and pressed the button. When he did, it lit up and Flash could feel the energy flowing out of it.

"HYPER STRIKE!"

He quickly opened the side of his belt and placed the core inside, striking a pose as he yelled out. "HENSHIN!" He swung his arm around and slammed the draw shut, the Mimicore's power flowing through the belt and powering it up as the lights along the side glowed orange.

"MIMIC! LIGHTNING BUG!" Flash crossed his arms, as the pipes on the side of his belt spewed out the orange-brown slime. As it landed on him and sealed him within the cocoon, Twilight finally came around and opened her eyes.

She pushed herself up and when she saw the cocoon and feared the Mimics had gotten someone. But then, the amber began to crack apart before exploding off the body. Doing so revealed the new form of Kamen Rider Shifter.

His black suit appeared the same as his standard one at first, but then it began to change. The muscles on his arms, legs and chest began to bulk up, turning him from looking like a reasonably muscularly man to an extra buff individual. Seconds later, the amber flew towards him and slammed onto his body. At first, it looked like he was going into his Strike Form, but there were several differences.

Like his suit, the armour was bulkier and there was more of it on him now. He had knee-pad-like armouring along with some on the sides of his waist below his belt, whilst his mask now encased his entire helmet. Speaking of his mask, it was now thicker and the V-shaped antenna now zigzagged to give them a lightning-bolt appearance. Similar lightning-shaped spikes stuck out of the back of his body armour, giving him the appearance of wings.

And finally, his body was covered in the same lights as his strike form except there were more. There were the ones he normally had, but also ones on his knee-pads, waist armour and the ends of his gauntlets before his elbows. The lights on his shoulders were larger and stuck out like normal light-bulbs, the lot of them glowing to unleash an almost blinding light.

The light swept over everyone and began to rouse the rest of the unconscious individuals. As the Rainbooms came around, they all saw the new Shifter and looked amazed. Morphic and Frill finally arrived in time to see the completed transformation, Morphic shocked to see the new Mimicore could actually be used.

As the armor settled, the driver spoke. "Ultimate light, strikes to eradicate the shadows!"

Everyone was amazed by what they were seeing, whilst the Mimics frowned. This new form of Shifter felt more powerful than anything the Riders had used before. And as the light on Shifter powered down, the Rider pointed at them. "I hope you're ready. Because the winds of victory have just shifted."

Author's Note

Woo! Flash has acquired his first super form. How will it handle against Gule? Will it allow Flash to defeat the Mimics and save the girls? And will there be any side effects to this new form? Only time will tell.

Episode 13: Gule's Last Stand! A New Enemy Arrives

Everyone was in absolute shock at the sight before them.

Whilst facing off against the supercharged Mimic General, Shifter had somehow stolen the energy of the Hyper Core Gule was wielding. That combined with Shifter's Strike Core, had created a new Mimicore. The Hyper Strike Core. And with it, Shifter had become a new and more powerful version of his Strike Form.

Shifter felt power like he had never felt, flowing through him like a high intensity sugar rush. The upgraded Rider felt goosebumps, as energy surged off of his body.

He then turned to Gule and Maya, who didn't look impressed by his new look. Shifter then raised an arm and slowly pointed at them. "I hope you're ready. Because the winds of victory have just shifted." With that, Shifter began to walk forward.

Gule looked ready to attack, but his body was still reeling from having half his energy drained away.

Instead, Maya pulled him back. "Mimicreeps!" A portal opened and from out of it, the Mimic foot-soldiers leapt ready for a fight. "Get him!" The beasts roared before charging forward, but Shifter didn't seem the least bit worried.

As the first one got in close, Shifter dodged to the side. Whilst not as fast as his Blade Form, he was still fast enough to leave an orange blur that came off the lights currently glowing on his body. And as the Mimicreep staggered past him, he spun around and kicked the creature to make it explode.

The other Mimicreeps charged, Shifter continuing to move with an orange blur coming off him. He punched one, kneed another before slamming his foot into one behind him. He then grabbed the arm of one trying to slash at him and swung it around, the energy coming off him surrounding the beast as it was thrown into others and causing them to explode.

As more Mimicreeps attacked, Shifter took out his Shift Striker and his Mimicore. "STRIKE!" He slotted it into the device, dodging a slash as he did before leaping into the air.

The weapon transformed and he quickly started firing the laser pistol, hitting several Mimicreeps and destroying them all in seconds. And as he landed, he changed his weapon to the rapier form and started attacking at high speed.

The Rainbooms watched this in amazement. "This is awesome!" Rainbow cheered, as Shifter cut through the Mimicreeps like they were nothing.

"He's twice as strong as he was before," Applejack nodded. "Those things don't stand a chance." The others agreed, only to finally notice the webbing around them had been melted off. And with the Mimicreeps holding them destroyed, they were free to escape.

Sunset turned to the others. "We should get out of here whilst we still can."

"What?" Twilight turned to her, "we can't just leave. Shifter and Morphic might need us." Speaking of Morphic, he had continued his battle against Frill. His Rush Form was giving him the chance to avoid the incoming feather darts, even slashing some of them away.

"We're more of a hindrance to them than a help right now. Shifter can handle the Mimicreeps and hopefully, he can beat Gule and the others. We don't stand a chance against them." Sunset placed a hand on Twilight's shoulder, "we can't get in their way. If we're caught again, they might use us to make the Riders give up."

Twilight frowned, knowing Sunset was right. Even so, Twilight didn't want to just leave. Especially since they still needed to get Timber back. But the portal to the Mimic's world was closed, so they couldn't go back and get them.

"BLADE!" She looked up and saw Shifter's weapon turn to the large sword form, allowing him to cut through several Mimicreeps at once. He then used the sword to balance, as he leapt into the air and swung his leg around. This unleashed a wave of energy, that destroyed several more Mimicreeps.

He pulled his sword out of the ground and replaced the Mimicore. "PIERCE!" The weapon changed to the rifle, which he fired to send spines shooting through several Mimicreeps at once. Once they were destroyed, he replaced the Mimicore again. "FLIGHT!" The weapon changed to the owl-like device, the fans in the wings spinning to create a tornado.

This tornado sent the remaining Mimicreeps flying into the air. And once they were high up, Shifter jumped up as lightning shot off his body.

As he flew past the Mimicreeps, the lightning zapped them and they were all destroyed. He then landed and was right in front of Maya and Gule, the Hyper Mimic growling. "Enough of this!" He pushed Maya away. "I'm taking him down. Go help Frill."

"Are you sure?" Maya asked.

"He might have stolen some of my power, but not all of it. We should be on even footing. I can win. Go!" Maya nodded and ran over to Morphic and Frill's fight, as Gule and Shifter stared one another down. "I'm giving you one chance. Surrender and let me help you remember who you are. If you don't, I will destroy you."

Shifter removed the Mimicore from his weapon and prepared for a hand to hand fight, Gule growing.

"Fine! Have it your way!" With that, he rushed forward and Shifter did the same. The pair met in the middle and started fighting one another. Both moved with great speed, throwing punches and kicks at one another as fast as they could move. But neither side seemed to have the advantage, as they kept blocking and dodging the others attacks.

Gule then leapt back, as his Hyper Core chest orb glowed before firing a beam of light towards Shifter. But Shifter quickly crossed his arms as the lights on his body glowed. The light flew off of him and formed a sphere around him, which blocked the blast.

As Gule ended his attack and staggered back, the spikes on Shifter's back glowed before unleashing a burst of energy. This energy formed a pair of wings, which allowed Shifter to take to the air. And before Gule could recover from his energy drain, Shifter dived down and dealt a powerful kick right to his chest.

"AUGH!" He was thrown backwards and crashed into the ground, rolling around attempting to gain control. Eventually, he managed to get his legs on the ground and skidded to a stop. He growled, looking up at Shifter. The Rider looked ready to keep fighting, his Hyper Core state showing no problems for him.

Over with Morphic, he was still managing to keep Maya and Frill at bay. He slashed at Maya's webbing, preventing it from hitting him. At the same time, he dodged Frill's attacks and used the buildings to jump up and slash at him with his claws.

"Augh!" Frill was struck in the chest and knocked to the ground, Morphic landed next to him. But before the Rider could attack again, Maya unleashed a bunch of webbing that formed multiple circles around him. If he tried to run, he would become stuck.

The Rider watched, as Maya leapt at him. He tried to dodge, but it was difficult inside the web circle.

She landed and tried to punch and kick him, Morphic avoiding these attacks as Frill picked himself up. The buzzard saw Maya had Morphic trapped and as the spider Mimic leapt into the air, he fired his feather darts at him.

Morphic spun around and deflected the darts, as Maya tried to hit him with her foot.

But before she could land a strike, a few sprinkles landed on the web circle and exploded. The shockwave knocked her away, whilst part of the circle was blown up and gave Morphic a path to escape.

The Rider looked around and spotted the Rainbooms, Pinkie holding a single tub of sprinkles. "Hurry!" Sunset cried, as Morphic raced out of the circle towards them.

"Are you girls okay?" He asked, the girls nodding. "Good. But you should get out of here. These Mimics took you once. They're obviously gonna try and take you again."

"No way!" Rainbow told him. "You guys need our help." Frill took to the air and charged at them, with Rarity creating a wall of diamonds to block him. "We'll stay back and let you do all the fighting. If you need help, we'll be there to help."

"Alright," Morphic nodded as he glanced around. Shifter and Gule had started fighting again, with Shifter leaping back to take out his Shift Strike. Then, an idea formed in his head and he took out his Tough Mimicore. "Shifter!" Morphic threw the Mimicore towards the Hyper Kamen Rider, Shifter grabbing it and slotting it into the Shift Striker without a second's thought.

"TOUGH!"

The weapon transformed into an all new form. The base weapon was now a mix of gray and purple, with a ten inch chainsaw blade sticking out of it. The handle had a button in it, similar to a gas station pump, whilst a purple chain was sticking out the bottom of it. And on the other end of that chain was a second shift striker. Only on top of this one was a purple crocodile head, just like Morphic's Tough Form.

Shifter held the weapon and pulled them apart, the chain extending to fit the distance. He squeezed the triggers on the handles, causing the saw to activate whilst the head's mouth snapped shut.

Shifter charged and as the saw moved, he swung it around and slashed at Gule. The Mimic tried to counter with the blades on his arms, but the saw cut through them like they were nothing. "Ahhh!" He staggered back and tried to punch Shifter, but the Rider used the croc head to grab him by the wrist.

Shifter's legs glowed and he started dealing several kicks to Gule's body, making him cry out as he was zapped with every hit. He then spun around and threw Gule away from him, the Mimic General roaring as he flew through the air. But he managed to spread his wings and take flight.

"Damn you!" Gule's core sparked, as he summoned as much power as he could. He then fired it forward and it exploded into a bunch of green lightning bolts, which flew down and caused everything they touched to explode.

Morphic, the Rainbooms and the other Mimics cried out, as they were forced to avoid the blasts. "Watch it!" Maya cried, as she and Frill leapt out of the blast zone.

Rarity made a dome around the rest of them, but the lightning causes them to crack and break apart.

Shifter shot forward, moving at incredible speed to avoid the lightning. He even used the Shift Striker to deflect a few blasts. And once he was under Gule, he leapt up and summoned his wings to fly at the Mimic.

Gule ran out of energy and before he could get away, Shifter spun around and slammed his foot right into Gule's face.

The Mimic screamed, as he was sent hurtling to the ground and smashed into it. He roared in pain, as Shifter landed. The Rider looked ready to finish this fight, but something suddenly happened that stopped him.

Before he could attack, his entire body seized up. "What?" He tried to move, but he couldn't. And as he fell to his knees, energy sparked around his body. "What's happening?"

"Shifter?" Morphic asked, "what's wrong?" Shifter couldn't reply, the energy making his jaw clench. "That's not good. Looks like that Hyper Core has some kind of drawback."

"So what do we do?" Applejack asked, only for a bunch of feather darts to fly down and explode around them. They looked around and saw Frill and Maya, charging towards them.

"Whilst the Rider's paralysed, we'll deal with him ourselves!" Frill summoned his feather swords, but Morphic ran forward.

"I don't think so!" He leapt up and slashed at Frill, the Mimic blocking with his swords. At the same time, Rarity started throwing crystals at Maya.

The spider woman danced around, avoiding the attacks with ease as she laughed. She shot several webs back at them, but the girls were able to avoid them.

As this was happening, Gule picked himself up and noticed Shifter was frozen. This made him chuckle, as he picked himself up. "Looks like you're not as strong as you think. Your body can't handle using so much energy." His claws sparked with energy and he looked ready to unleash it at the Rider and do some serious damage.

But before he could, a car was suddenly sent flying at him.

"WHAT?" He barely managed to unleash the energy and hit the car, cutting it in half before it struck him. He then turned to Twilight, who panted as she tried to lift another car. "You."

"I won't let you hurt him," Twilight cried. "Your reign of terror ends right now."

"Oh, really. And who's going to stop me? You? You realise if you kill me, you'll be risking the life of your boyfriend. I'm the only reason he's safe. If I go, he'll be free but still our prisoner. And trust me, you won't like what the other Mimics have planned for the hosts we have trapped after their Mimics are killed."

Twilight frowned, realising he was right. But before she could think of some way to respond, Gule unleashed another energy blast towards Shifter.

In that moment, she realised what she had to do. She used her magic to grab the car parts and moved them over to Shifter, protecting him as the Rider was beginning to feel his body move again. And as he did, Twilight stepped up next to him. "Please. Free Timber from him. Destroy this guy."

Shifter nodded, as Gule's energy stopped and she dropped the cars.

Shifter was finally able to move and leapt into the air, his energy wings spreading as he dived down towards Gule. And before the Mimic could respond, Shifter slammed his fist right into the Mimic. He threw punch after punch after punch at him, Gule unable to build up the energy needed to fight back or protect himself.

Shifter spun around and dealt a kick right to his chest, sending a burst of power right into his Hyper Core.

This knocked him back and caused the core to spark, as energy surged out of him. "Augh!" Shifter then took out his Shift Striker and placed the Strike Core inside of it, changing it into the rapier form that he ran forwards with.

As Gule picked himself up, Shifter unleashed a flurry of jabs onto him. Each one cut his body apart and caused him to roar, whilst his teammates turned away from their fight to see it. Shifter then stopped the rapid strikes and let as much power as he dare flow into the blade before thrusting it right into Gule. Piercing his Hyper Core and making him roar as a bunch of energy flew out.

He was thrown backwards, as Shifter turned to Twilight. "If I do this, Timber will be free. But he's still the Mimic's prisoner."

"I know," Twilight nodded. "But...I think he'd prefer that. It must be better than being trapped in your own mind, whilst someone else uses your body however they want." She gave Shifter a serious look. "Please. Free him from that torment."

"You're not freeing anyone!" They turned back to Gule, as he picked himself up. His Hyper Core sparking from the damage it had just taken. "You think you can win? You're fooling yourselves. If I'm going down, I'm taking all of you with me! RAAAAAH!" Gule screamed, as he started charging all the power he could muster.

Frill and Maya saw this and realised what he was doing. "He's overloading the Hyper Core. He's going to unleash its power in one mighty blast." Maya turned to Frill, "that much energy will wipe out the entire city."

"And us with it," Frill stated before opening a portal. "We're out of here." Maya nodded and as Morphic tried to stop them, they leapt through the portal and disappeared.

The Rider growled, but realised they had bigger issues. Stopping Gule from nuking the city. "We've gotta stop him!"

"How?" Rainbow asked, as Shifter stepped forward. He put his Shift Striker away and reached down and hit the side of his belt. Doing so caused the belt to glow, as the Hyper Core's power began to surge.

"CLIMACTIC HYPER STRIKE!"

Shifter stared at Gule, as the energy he was giving off formed a small veil around him. The lights on the rider glowed brighter, as Shifter shot forward and leapt into the air. The lightning wings flew off his back and allowed him to fly up high, then dive down towards Gule.

The veil around his body flew off him and formed a dome of light, the others being blinded by it. But Shifter wasn't phased and spun around, as the light flew off his body and wings before wrapping around his leg.

"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" The light formed a spinning drill-like structure around his leg, which slammed into the dome and caused it to shake. Everyone could barely see, as the two attacks collided with one another. But eventually, the dome began to crack before it completely shattered.

Shifter kept flying down towards Gule, his drill slamming into his chest and causing a massive explosion.

Everyone staggered back, as the shockwave rocked the street and almost knocked them over. As they did, Shifter flew out of the light and landed on the ground with his back to the explosion. A few moments later, the smoke and light faded to reveal Gule.

The Mimic General's body sparked, as small explosions occurred all around his body.

He coughed, as he clutched his chest. The Hyper Core sparked and cracked apart, releasing the energy he had been building up in a short burst. And as he turned towards Shifter, he started hacking. "Don't think this means anything. You might have won, but the battle is far from over." He slowly began to fall backwards. "And hopefully, my brother will one day be free." With that, he hit the ground and exploded.

The shockwave once again blinded everyone and knocked those on their feet staggering. When the explosion died down, Gule was nowhere to be seen. He had been destroyed.

Everyone stared at the spot Gule had once been and could hardly believe it. After causing them all so much grief, Gule was finally gone. The Mimics were now down one general. But it also meant that Timber was freed.

Twilight looked up at the sky, her thoughts only on her kidnapped boyfriend. She knew this was for the best, but she feared what might happen to him now. If only there was a way to get to the Mimic's lair and free him. But by then, it might be too late.

As soon as they had returned to their lair, Frill and Maya quickly switched on a monitor.

They watched, as Shifter managed to stop Gule from blowing up the whole city. They were shocked when they saw Gule be destroyed, having hoped he would find some way to escape. But if they didn't believe Gule was dead before, the cracking sound soon confirmed their fears.

Timber's cocoon began to crack apart and eventually, it shattered away from him and he fell to the floor.

The young teen let out a moan, as he opened his eyes and looked around. "What...what happened?" He then spotted the monsters, standing over him looking like they wanted to eat him. "AHHHH!" He cried, trying to stumble away but finding himself up against a machine. "Where am I?"

Frill growled, turning to Maya. "Put him with the others." Maya nodded and thrust her hand out, shooting a web-line that quickly spiralled around Timber.

The teen screamed, as his body was tied up so that only his head and his feet could be seen. He tried to break free, but the webbing was too strong. All he could do was scream, as Maya dragged him away and Frill sighed.

They were in serious trouble now. Not only had they failed to defeat the Riders, they had lost their hostages and a member of their team. The Master would not be happy about this.

Back with the Rainbooms and Kamen Riders, Shifter and Morphic were examining the spot where Gule had met his fate.

Sure enough, they found no remnant of the Mimic. It was clear he was gone for good. "Let's go," Morphic stated. "I don't want you staying in that form longer than necessary. There's no telling what other side effects it might have."

Shifter looked over his Hyper Strike Form and nodded. Other than the paralysis it had forced him into earlier, he worried the backlash from so much power might cause him issues.

The pair took out their bikes and made them larger. As they got on them, they turned to the Rainbooms. "You girls okay to get home on your own?" Morphic was clearly worried about his sister.

"We'll be fine," Twilight assured him. "But before you leave, I have a question." They tilted their heads. "Are you two Mimics?" They hadn't been expecting that. "Gule told us that the two of you were Mimics, but that you'd been brainwashed into thinking you were humans. Is that true?"

The two said nothing. Mostly because, they weren't sure how to answer her question. Could they be Mimics?

Rainbow stepped up to her. "Um, Twilight. You sure that's a good idea? What if telling them they're Mimics, makes them remember and they turn on us?"

"I don't think telling them will do anything. Gule was trying to get Shifter to wake up before. If that didn't do it, just telling them probably won't either." She turned to Shifter. "I don't know if you know or not, or if you really have been brainwashed. It's just...I wanna trust you. After everything you guys have done, you deserve our trust. But..."

The Riders understood. If they were Mimics, people needed to know. But they had no way of figuring out if they were or not.

"Um, Twilight." Everyone turned to Fluttershy, who was looking down at her wrist. "If they were Mimics, wouldn't this tell us?" She showed them the Mimic detector, which was currently showing no signs of a Mimic in the area.

"Yeah," Applejack nodded, "ya'h right. These things would have told us if these two were Mimics. But it's not, so they can't be." Shifter and Morphic weren't so sure about that, but decided not to say anything.

"We're on your side," Morphic told them. "Just remember that." He revved up his bike and raced off, Shifter remaining for a moment as if wanting to say something. But then he followed Morphic and the two disappeared. This left the girls alone, tired and hungry. They needed to find a way to get home to their families.

As soon as they found a clear spot, the two Riders turned into an alleyway and powered down.

When they did, Flash held up his hand as if wondering if it would melt. Shining noticed this and knew Flash must be having some kind of existential crisis. Then, he saw Flash take out his keys and used the sharpest one he had to cut his arm. "What are you doing?"

"When Mimics get cut, they don't bleed blood. They bleed that weird ooze." They watched as Flash's arm expelled blood, Shining sighing whilst Flash didn't look convinced. "Maybe they only bleed the ooze in monster form. We haven't seen a Mimic bleed in human form."

"Flash!" Shining grabbed his shoulders, "get a hold of yourself. You need to relax."

"How can I relax?" Flash asked. "What if the girls are right? What if we are Mimics? What if that robed guy brainwashed us somehow? If we are really Mimics, what happened to the real Flash and Shining? We must have gotten to them. They could be hidden away, somewhere, whilst we live their lives. What if-" Shining slapped him in the face, "OW!"

"Snap out of it!" Shining looked like he was on the verge of snapping as well. "I get it. We have a lot of unanswered questions and barely any answers. But let me ask you something. Do you love your family?" Flash looked confused, "do you love you family!?"

"Of course I do!"

"Do you care about your friends at school, my sister and her friends, everyone you know?"

"Yes."

"Then you are Flash Sentry. I don't care what anyone says. That's not something a Mimic can feel if they're just impersonating someone. Even if they're brainwashed to think they're someone else, they'd know it in their hearts that the feelings they had weren't real. Are your feelings for everyone real?"

Flash stayed still and let himself think. He remembered his life up to this point, growing up with Derpy as a friend and playing with his little sister. The pain he felt when his father died and the healing his family had to do afterwards. All the hardships he had experienced in his life that had helped him grow into the person he was today.

He remembered all the fun he had had with his friends. The time he spent with his mother and sister, like that very morning, and everything else that had ever happened. All the feelings he had ever felt. They weren't fake. He did care for those closest to him.

"Yeah, they're real."

"Then you are Flash Sentry," Shining told him. "And if you ever think otherwise, remember those feelings." Flash sighed, nodding as Shining pulled away. "Alright. I'm gonna go get the girls. I don't like the idea of them being alone. The Mimics might try and grab them again."

"Okay," Flash nodded. "Just don't give away that you know they're not Mimics. They might figure out who you are if you do." Shining nodded before heading off, leaving Flash there alone.

He kept thinking about Shining's words, as he looked down at his still bleeding arm. He took a deep breath and stepped out of the alleyway, heading home with a smile on his lips. He was glad he had managed to save the girls and stop Gule. And with his new Hyper Strike form, he hoped he would be able to deal with everything the Mimics through at him.

Back with the Mimics, Maya and Frill were standing in front of the hologram device.

The machine activated and projected the hologram, showing their master as he sat in the shadows. "Your hostages, escaped?" They nodded, not daring to look him in the eyes. "Gule, destroyed?"

"Well," Maya tried to reply, "not...yeah." She nodded. "He is."

"You two, paralysed with fear?"

"Definitely," Frill nodded.

"You have failed me for the last time." Both looked absolutely terrified, clearly expecting to meet the same fate as Gule. "I think it's time I allow someone else the chance to complete this task. Mimics that know how to get things done." The pair share a confused look, wondering who he was sending. Then, they noticed the two figures usually beside him weren't there.

A portal suddenly opened up behind them, the pair turning to see a pair of monsters step out into their base.

The first, was a humanoid bird creature, though it didn't appear like the other avian Mimics. This one didn't have any wings, instead appearing to be wearing a cloak made of teal feathers with blue gemstones on them.

His body was blue at the chest, head and arms, whilst his lower half appeared brown. His face was bird-like, with a beak in place of a mouth. But covering the upper half of his face was a large pink mask, with two long ribbons coming off the top that flowed up his head and down all the way to his lower back.

The second was a perfect fusion of man and tiger, though its figure made it obvious the man was more woman. She stood upright with humanoid legs, though her feet were long with tiger pawed ends. Her entire body was covered in purple fur, with black lightning bolts covering it to give her the tiger look.

Her purple face was rather human-looking, with white hair coming out the top that had the same black bolts as the rest of her body. The same white fur was covering her chest, whilst her hands were humanoid with a lightning bolt blade coming out the back of her hands. She also had a long tail that was purple with black lines.

The two new Mimic Generals, stared at the original two with an air of arrogance coming off of them. "Allow me to introduce, your new teammates. High-Vol-Tich. And Greye-No-Bill" The two frowned, already not liking the look of this. "I expect some results soon. Do not disappoint me." With that, the hologram vanished and the four generals continued to stare at each other.

The tiger Mimic then laughed. "It's no wonder Earth hasn't been conquered yet. With such pathetic looking Mimics leading the invasion, it's a miracle the Riders haven't wiped us out yet."

Maya growled. "You wanna say that again?" But Frill stopped her before she could attack their new teammate.

"Let's not get angry with one another," the bird Mimic announced. "We have more important things to worry about. Like defeating the Riders. And now that Shifter has gained even more power, we must up the stakes against him."

"And how do you expect to do that?" Frill asked. "Unless you've got another Hyper Core, there's no way we can match the power Shifter can wield."

The tiger Mimic, High, chuckled. "The Hyper Core might have powered up Gule and the Rider, but its power has been wasted." She shook her head. "Lightning Bugs. What a weak creature to power up. Had Gule had a real creature to Mimic, the Hyper Core would have made him truly unstoppable."

The bird, Greye, nodded. "Exactly. This world might be another pathetic one we need to conquer, but the creatures on it are quite impressive. But out of all of them, you've been using some of the weakest creatures to create Mimics with."

"We haven't just used weak animals," Maya stated. "Some of the creatures we've used powerful. Hawks, cheetahs, electric eels..."

High crossed her eyes. "But mostly, you've been using small pathetic animals. Ants. Grasshoppers. A freaking dove. No wonder the Riders have had such an easy time beating you." Maya and Frill would hardly call what the Riders went through easy. "No. We need to use animals with serious power. Serious bite."

"And what animals do you intend to use?" Frill asked. "Because one of the reasons we've been using small animals like insects, is because they're easier to find and capture."

"You have several creatures you stole from that human zoo," Greye pointed out. "But no, we won't be using one of those. We'll be using something even more powerful."

"More powerful than some of the deadliest animals on this planet?" Maya asked. "Where do you intend to find something like that?" High chuckled, as she moved over to a jar that had a Mimic Spawn within it.

"We just need to make a few adjustments to our little friend here. Once that's done, we'll be able to awaken the most powerful creatures to have ever existed on this planet. And against it, the Kamen Riders won't stand a chance.

Inside his lab-like area, the cloaked figure was re-watching the battle that had taken place.

Around him, a bunch of different machines were doing a variety of things. One such machine had a bunch of blank Mimicores inside of them, all but one appearing to only be half finished as their screens were slowly being printed onto the side of them by some kind of 3D printer.

The cloaked figure moved over to the machine and removed the completed core, looking it over to make sure it had been properly constructed. As he did, the battle footage showed Shifter freezing up.

"That Hyper Core is going to take some getting used to." He placed the Mimicore down. "Using too much power at once could force the Rider system to stall. With training, Flash should learn to properly control it without causing a stall. But if a stall happens whilst he's alone, there's no telling how much trouble he could get into."

He watched, as Shifter finally managed to move and finished off Gule. "This new power will surely come in use, for the battles that are set to come." He frowned, "but the Mimics won't take this set back laying down. They'll find a way to fight back. I just hope the Riders are prepared when that time comes.

The next day.

A class of young children, was having a field trip to the local Canterlot Natural History Museum.

They had just spent the last hour, listening to a girl named Maud talk about the different kinds of rock that existed in the world. To say the kids had been bored to death was an understatement, but it was all worth it. For now, they would get to go and see the exhibit that every young child would want to see. The dinosaur exhibit.

The young children ran into the room and looked around, amazed by what they were seeing.

There were exhibits of all kinds of dinosaurs. The head of a triceratops, hanging up on the wall, along with several cases full of different raptor claws. There were plastic exhibits, showing what many different dinosaurs looked like.

Parasaurolophus, Ankylosaurus, Spinosaurus and so many more.

And in the very centre of the room, was the massive skeleton of a tyrannosaur rex. The complete skeleton stood proudly, looking like it could almost come alive any second and gobble everybody up. Its massive tooth filled jaw, long sweeping tail and deadly claws were what made it one of the most dangerous creatures that ever roamed the planet.

The young children stared up at the creature in amazement, all of them wishing they could see a T-rex in action. But unless time travel or cloning was suddenly mastered in the next few years, they doubted such a thing would be possible. All they could do was use their imagination, to try and guess what a creature like this would really look like.

But suddenly, a portal opened up and from it, a bunch of Mimicreeps leapt out and scared everyone.

They quickly ran away, whilst two other figures stepped out of the portal. One was a man who appeared to be in his late twenties, having white skin and blue hair with a blue moustache on his face. He was dressed in a full tuxedo, black pants and blazer over a white shirt with a blue vest and purple bow-tie.

The other was a woman in her early twenties, with dark purple skin and dark pink hair. She was wearing a black leather overcoat over black clothing, with a black fingerless glove on her right hand. A large scar could be seen on her face, running down from her forehead and over her right eye.

The two looked around and smiled at the T-rex skeleton. "Perfect," the man stated before taking out the Mimic Spawn.

in another part of the town, Flash was visiting the Rainbooms.

Just like they had discussed, Shining had gone to get the girls and pretended to be un-trusting of them when he first found them. It wasn't until he checked his Mimic detector, that he agreed they weren't Mimics before running over to hug Twilight.

The girl's return had brought great joy to their families and now, Flash was heading to Twilight's house where the families were all together.

He stepped up in front of the house and happened to spot a large group outside the open window. Shining was amongst them, his fiance sitting beside them as they listened to the girl's story.

He was about to head over and knock, but suddenly got a feeling. He was sensing Mimics. A bunch of them. "Not good." He took out his new Hyper Core and knew whatever this was, they wouldn't stand a chance against him. But he would still need help, which was a problem.

As Shining to his sister's story about the Mimic's lair, he suddenly got the same feeling as Flash. He realised he needed a way to get out and go, without drawing too many questions. But how?

Suddenly, his phone buzzed and he quickly answered it. "Hello?"

"Pretend I'm your boss," Flash told him from the other line.

"Captain?" Shining quickly caught on. "What's up?" Flash didn't say anything and Shining pretended he was talking to someone. "Alright. I'll be there right away." He hung up and stood up. "Sorry guys. But there's a Mimic attack. I need to go and make sure nobody got hurt."

"We'll go with you," Rainbow got up. But her father grabbed her shoulder and pushed her down.

"I don't think so. After what happened yesterday, you're not getting anywhere near those Mimics again." Rainbow looked shocked, whilst the rest of the Rainboom's parents seemed just as adamant. Only Sunset could technically leave, but realised she didn't have any way to fight the Mimics if she did.

"Come on," Rainbow cried. "We've gotta go."

"Let the Kamen Riders deal with those monsters," Hondo stated. "You girls have been through enough." The girls frowned at this, but realised they weren't going to be changing their parent's minds.

"Don't worry," Shining told them. "With that new power you said Shifter has, the Mimics probably won't stand a chance. Trust me." He and Cadance shared a kiss before he headed out, getting into his car and driving off.

But as he did, he got a text that told him where to go.

Once in the city, he pulled into a nearby alleyway and found Flash waiting besides his Rider Machine. "You ready?" Flash asked, as his Driver appeared.

Shining looked around, to make sure nobody was watching them. "Let's do this." He took out his Mimicore, as his own Driver appeared around his waist.

"HYPER STRIKE!/BLITZ!"

They quickly placed the devices into their belts and struck a pose. "HENSHIN!" They slammed the drivers shut and the devices powered up, the lights changing colour

"MIMIC! LIGHTNING BUG!/HERCULES BEETLE!" The pipes unleashed the slime and the two were soon placed inside the cocoons, which quickly shattered to reveal their Rider forms. Flash's body bulked up, as the amber flew down and struck the pair to form their armor.

"Ultimate light, strikes to eradicate the shadows!"

"Power that shatters everything, contained in a mighty horn!"

The two shared a look and nodded before Morphic took out his bike and threw it into the air. Once it grew to its normal size, the pair got on and raced down through the town towards where they sensed the Mimics. To their surprise, they found themselves outside the natural history museum.

"Why would the Mimics come here?" Shifter asked, as they got off their bikes and shrank them down before heading inside. The place appeared to have already been evacuated, the two looking around and seeing no signs of the Mimics.

"I can still feel them," Morphic stated. "But where are they?" He got his answer, when a bunch of Mimicreeps leapt into the room.

The Riders were quickly surrounded, but they weren't worried. Morphic started shooting at them with his Blitz Blaster, giving Shifter the time he needed to place his Strike Core into his Shift Striker. The two started shooting at the Mimicreeps, being careful not to hit any of the exhibits.

Shifter then shot forward and began to fight his way through the monsters, being careful not to use too much power for fear of stalling like the previous day.

Morphic threw a few punches at the Mimicreeps himself, shooting any that were in a large group so they couldn't dodge as easily. Morphic spotted a Mimicreep that Shifter kicked into the air, the monster flying towards a rare painting. The Rider quickly fired at it and destroyed the Mimicreep before it could hit the painting, then spun around and kicked several more away.

Shifter dealt with the remaining Mimicreeps and the monsters were soon completely destroyed, the two Riders turning to one another and nodding. They sensed where the remaining Mimics were and headed in that direction, pushing the doors open and looking around.

They spotted two individuals, standing in front of a large T-rex skeleton. Only something wasn't right about it. it was covered by the same slimy substance they recognised as a Mimic. "What are you doing?" Morphic asked, "get away from that thing!"

The two turned towards him, both smiling a worrisome smile. "Oh, I don't think so." The woman told him. "So, you must be the legendary Kamen Riders we've heard so much about. You've been causing quite a lot of trouble for us." The Riders were on guard, both having a feeling these weren't real people. "But it's good that you've come. Now we don't have to hunt you down."

"Who are you?" Shifter asked, as the pair's bodies began to turn to liquid and transform.

Slowly, they reshaped and their bodies solidified. The woman had turned into the tiger Mimic, whilst the man had turned into the peacock Mimic.

"Allow us to introduce ourselves." The peacock bowed, "Greye-No-Bill. Mimic General."

"And I'm High-Vol-Tich," the tiger announced. "And you are about to meet your match." The Riders prepared for a fight, as they stared at the Mimic currently covering the skeleton.

"What is that Mimic doing?" Morphic asked, only for the Mimic to suddenly fly off the skeleton.

Greye chuckled. "Did you know that fossils can contain the DNA of the animal it once was? And with a little tweaking, that small sample is all a Mimic needs in order to gain that creature's abilities." The skeleton was sealed within an amber cocoon and as the Mimic hit the ground, it started taking shape. "And with this almighty beast, you Riders won't stand a chance."

Shifter and Morphic were on guard, as the Mimic finished forming its physical form.

It was a large Mimic, standing at over ten feet. Its body was black, with red streaks covering it. Its head was humanoid, but had feathers striking out the top instead of hair. Both its arms were humanoid up to the elbow, with everything after that being T-rex inspired. Its right arm had a massive T-rex head, with a large mouth that looked like it could bite through anything. Meanwhile, its left arm had a series of round rings stacked one on top of the other.

Each ring was smaller than the other and gave it the appearance of being a tail, with the very end having a drill-like tip. The monster's legs and feet were just like a T-rex's, appearing strong and fast. The Mimic was unlike anything Shifter and Morphic had seen so far.

Author's Note

With that, Gule is done. Hopefully, Flash and Shining will be able to save Timber. So what did you think of Shifter's new form? It has a drawback, but Flash just needs to be careful with it. And what do you think of the new Mimics? Can you guess who their hosts are?

Episode 14: Taken

Shifter and Morphic could barely believe what they were seeing.

They knew they weren't exactly experts on Mimics, but they figured they had some grasp on the creatures' abilities. But now they found that they barely knew anything, as the Mimics could apparently now use the skeletons of creatures to copy their abilities. And they had certainly picked an interesting skeleton to use.

The T-Rex Mimic opened up its T-Rex head hand and let out a roar, which caused the pair to flinch as High-Vol-Tich and Greye-No-Bill chuckled. "This is gonna be fun." High turned to their new servant. "Deal with the blue one. I want to see how strong Shifter is with this Hyper Core Form of his."

The monster nodded and as the Riders were still recovering from the roar, it rushed forward as the rings that made its tail arm spun in opposite directions to each other.

This turned it into a drill, which it thrust towards Morphic. "WOW!" He was forced to leap back, as the beast chased after him. The Rider quickly fired his Blitz Blaster, but the lasers just bounced off the creature's hide. "No way."

Shifter turned to see his partner in trouble and rushed to help him. But before he could, a purple blur shot past him with a trail of pink lightning behind it. "I don't think so." High stood between him and Morphic, her body sparking with energy as she rushed forward.

Shifter summoned his own energy and the two started fighting at high speed, neither one able to land a hit on the other.

High then leapt up and over Shifter, who spun around to try and hit her. But before he could, Greye suddenly shot towards him and swung something at him. "WOW!" Shifter leaned back and barely managed to avoid it, seeing the weapon was some kind of bladed fan that Greye was carrying two of.

Shifter leapt back and raised his Shift Striker, firing it as it was still in Strike Form.

Greye swung his fans around and deflected the blasts, as High summoned a bunch of electrical energy and unleashed it towards Shifter. The Hyper Rider switched his weapon to rapier form and swung it around, deflecting the lightning.

At the same time, Morphic was still fighting the T-Rex. The ancient Mimic's tail continued to spin, as it tried to hit him with the end of it. Morphic tried to block it with his arm guard, but the tail dug into his armor and did some serious damage. "Augh!" He pulled back, as his arm guard was busted up. "Damn it!"

The T-Rex roared again and tried to punch him with its dino head, Morphic trying to catch it but finding the Mimic was stronger. All he could do was take the hit, which threw him backwards until he crashed into a dinosaur statue. Breaking the pachycephalosaurus statue, he fell to the ground and moaned in pain.

Shifter saw this and gasped. "MORPHIC!"

"Don't get distracted!" High cried, as she shot forward and high speed before slamming her foot into his chest. Shifter cried out, as he was thrown backwards and crashed into the wall. He fell to the ground, as High and Greye laughed.

"He's not so tough," Greye stated before taking out a second bladed fan. As Shifter began to pick himself up, the peacock did some kind of elaborative dance. And as Shifter stood, the Mimic spun around and sliced his fans through the air.

This unleashed a pair of air blades, which shot towards Shifter as the Rider saw them coming. And seeing no other way to avoid it, Shifter created his energy wings and leapt into the air. The wind blades flew under him as he took off, then dived down towards the Generals.

"BLADE!"

His Shift Striker changed into its sword form as as he got closer, he swung the weapon at Greye. The avian Mimic managed to block using his fans, the impact causing him to stagger back and almost fall to it knees.

Shifter pushed harder, using all his strength in an attempt to force Greye down. But then, High leapt at him and her claws sparked with energy. This forced Shifter to pull back and fly back into the air, as High's body charged with energy.

"Since when do tigers have lightning powers?" He asked, as he prepared his sword to intercept the next attack.

High thrust her claws forward and unleashed a burst of purple lightning, which Shifter blocked using his sword. But the impact made him stagger backwards as he let out a groan.

As this was going on, Morphic pushed himself up to his feet. As he did, the T-Rex approached with its drill spinning. The Rider saw it coming and quickly picked up his blaster, firing it at the monster with little success as the creature's hide was just too tough.

Morphic growled, as the T-Rex thrust its tail at him. Morphic was barely able to avoid the weapon, jumping out of the way whilst throwing a raptor statue at the beast. But the T-Rex backhanded the statue away, as Morphic tried to think of a way to stop this thing.

He stared at the spots that had been hit by his laser and as he did, Morphic noticed they had slight scorch marks. His attacks weren't useless against this creature. They just did very little. But Morphic could work with that.

"If something doesn't have a weak point, make one." He fired at the T-Rex, aiming for the same general area on its body. He fired as much as he could, hitting the Mimic's side several times before dodging out of the way.

Shifter swung his sword around, High continuously avoiding it whilst Greye kept firing the wind blades at him. Shifter blocked each and every one of the attacks, but these two were clearly skilled with fighting together. Every time he blocked one of their attacks, the other leapt in to deal their own strike.

Shifter leapt into the air and summoned his energy wings, using them to fly up before sending the energy into his sword. He swung it around and unleashed a blade of lightning, which threatened to hit both Mimics.

But at the last moment, High shielded Greye and used her own electrical energy to protect herself. She let the energy blade hit her, but managed to cancel out most of the damage. As she did, Greye swung his fans around and fired the wind blades.

Shifter did his best to avoid them, moving as fast as he dared without using too much power.

But one of the blades managed to hit one of the wings on is back, causing him to spin out of control. "WOW!" He slammed into the ground and his Shift Striker fell from his hand, making him moan as High ran forward.

She tried to slash at him, but Shifter was able to roll out of the way at the last moment. And as he jumped back to his feet, she ran forward and tried to claw him. Shifter managed to deflect these attacks, hitting her in the wrists to keep her from scratching him before doing a back flip to slam his foot into her chest.

She staggered back, as Shifter flew backwards and managed to land where his blade had fallen. He quickly picked it up and prepared for another fight, whilst High and Greye glared at him.

Morphic continued to dance around the T-Rex Mimic, constantly firing at the same spot whenever it tried to hit him.

The spot on its side was growing darker and darker, the blasts weakening that one spot and causing it to become vulnerable. And after hitting it twelve times, Morphic hoped that would be enough.

The Mimic charged and tried to slam its dino head into his chest. But Morphic managed to duck under the punch and threw his own right into the area he had blasted. The impact caused that part of its hide to crack and break apart, as the T-Rex staggered back.

Once it was a good distance away, Morphic slammed the side of his belt.

"CLIMACTIC BLITZ!"

His armor glowed before the light began to fly through his body and into his blaster, which started lighting up as Morphic pointed it upwards.

The T-Rex saw this and charged, but Morphic fired the weapon and it flew straight up. And as the Mimic got close, he suddenly leapt up after it. Somehow, he was able to fly past the energy sphere that had formed and spun around. He slammed his foot into the orb and kicked it, the blast flying back towards the ground even faster than before.

The T-Rex was blinded by a sudden flash of light, preventing it from being able to counter as the blast slammed into him and struck the area that Morphic had been targeting before.

The explosion that followed rocked the museum, sending many of the exhibits flying off as the beast roared. Morphic landed and raised his blaster, ready in case something happened. And sure enough, the smoke began to fade away and reveal the T-Rex Mimic.

To Morphic's horror, the beast walked out of the explosion. It looked a little crispy, but was clearly still able to fight. "No way." He turned towards the area that he had been targeting and sure enough, a large slab of the creature was missing. But it didn't seem to mind.

"MORPHIC, LOOK OUT!" Shifter's voice made him look around, as something pink and purple shot towards him.

It slammed into him and he was sent flying backwards, right towards the T-Rex. The Mimic pulled its head fist back before thrusting it forward, slamming it into the Rider and sending him sailing across the room towards the wall.

Shifter saw this and realised Shining was in trouble. "NO!" He spread his energy wings and shot forward, slamming into Greye and sending him flying backwards before attacking High.

He swung his sword at her and High saw it coming, as the T-Rex suddenly leapt in front of her. He crossed his arms and blocked the attack, with Flash's Hyper Core giving him enough of a boost to make it stagger back. But as he tried to give it every ounce of the power that he had, he suddenly felt his entire body seize up.

"No!" He cried, unable to move even an inch. "Not...now." The T-Rex was still defending itself against his attacks, but High and Greye had noticed his sudden freeze up.

"Now!" Greye cried, as High's body sparked with energy. She then shot forward and kicked Shifter away from the T-Rex, knocking him back before the tiger zoomed around him and dealt a kick that knocked him straight upwards.

Greye then unleashed the wind blades, which shot up and slammed into Shifter several times. Shifter cried out, as High leapt up right as he began to fall to the ground. And when she was the same height as him, she spun around and dealt a lightning charged kick right to his head.

"AUGH!" He cried, as he flew down and crashed into the ground. The impact was so hard, the entire room shook and all the remaining exhibits fell off the walls and tipped over.

Morphic was finally beginning to recover and had heard Shifter's cry of pain, the Rider looking up and seeing his partner on the ground. And as the Hyper Rider tried to push himself up, his armor and suit glowed before exploding off of him.

Flash groaned, as he tried to push himself up. But it was clear he had taken too much damage and fell to the ground unconscious. "Flash!" Morphic pushed himself up, but the T-Rex got to him before he could rush to the teen's side.

The dino head grabbed the horn on his head and threw him away, smashing him into another wall before he could do anything. As this was happening, Greye and High grabbed Flash and began to pull him through a portal that had just opened up.

"NO!" Morphic pushed himself up, as the T-Rex blocked his path. "Out of my way!" He raised his Blitz Blaster and fired, but the Mimic used his tail drill to defend and the lasers deflected off it to slam around the rest of the building. It then jumped forward and slammed its foot into Morphic's chest, knocking him back again.

The Mimic looked like it wanted to keep fighting, but then stopped as it clutched its side. The damage Morphic had done was finally starting to catch up with it. The monster growled at the Rider before turning to leave, as Morphic pushed himself up.

"No," Morphic watched it step through the portal before it disappeared. As it did, Morphic let out a frustrated cry before hitting the ground. "Flash." He couldn't believe he had let his partner get taken captive.

He would have kept moping, but he suddenly noticed something and looked around.

Whatever it was, it was laid on the ground and Morphic moved over to pick it up. As he did, he sensed something and realised what it was. Part of the Mimic that he had managed to blast off. All that effort and this was the only damage done to it.

Sirens filled the air, making Morphic realise he had to get out of there. But as he made for the back exit, he began to fear for Flash and what they were doing to him. He knew Flash was strong. Hopefully, he could hold on until Morphic could save him...wherever he was.

Flash's body was screaming at him, as he felt himself beginning to come around.

As he did, he heard several voices speaking above him. "He's waking up," a woman stated. "What do you think happened to him? The rest of us weren't like that."

"Maybe he tried to put up a fight," a male voice replied. "Maybe he woke up before they could reach him and he tried to escape." Flash began to open his eyes and as he did, he saw a bunch of people hovering over him. And one of them, Flash recognised.

"Timber?" He groaned, seeing the older teen standing over him.

Timber frowned, as he knelt beside Flash. "You okay? You look like you got into a fight with the wrong kind of guy." Flash began to sit up, as he looked around and found they were all in some kind of dark stone cell with a metal door keeping them trapped inside of it. There were no beds, no benches, nothing that gave them the slightest bit of comfort.

"Where are we?" He asked, "how did I get here?"

"Beats us," a man told him. "I was the first. The last thing I remember is leaving the office to head home one night. Then, I'm suddenly waking up surrounded by monsters. They grabbed me and threw me in here." He gestured to a woman next to him. "A few days later, the same thing happened to her."

Flash looked around and slowly, his eyes fell on Timber. As they did, Flash realised who these people were. "Mimic hosts." They all looked confused by this, as Flash stood up. "You were all Mimic hosts."

"Mimics?" Timber asked, "you know what those things are?"

"None of you remember?" Flash asked, as they shook their heads. "What's the last thing you all remember before waking up here?"

"Like I said," the man replied. "I was leaving work and heading home."

"I was on my way to my boyfriend's place," the woman stated. Everyone had the same story, heading somewhere alone before their minds went blank.

Timber turned to Flash. "I was going to my girlfriend's house and...that's it." He held his head. "I've got...flashes of other memories. I remember...fighting." It was then that he looked at Flash, a shocked expression on his face. "And you. I remember seeing you." He frowned, "who are you?"

"Flash Sentry," he replied. "Actually, we've met before. I'm in the same class as Twilight." Timber looked shocked by this. "Anyway. Listen. I know this is gonna be hard to accept, but you were captured by those creatures. They're from another universe and they can capture other living things in order to copy their appearances. You were all captured and they took your place."

"Body snatchers?" One of the men asked, with Flash shrugging.

"Kinda. But when the monster copying you was destroyed, you were all freed." They all frowned, clearly not feeling free. "But why are you still here? Why would the Mimics keep you guys around? You're useless to them now."

"Wish we knew," Timber shrugged. "How do you know all this, anyway?"

"It's a long story. But it can wait until after I get us out of here."

"Good luck with that," the first man stated. "We've been trying to find a way out of here, but we can't. The door's solid steel and there's no other way out."

Flash smirked, as he turned towards the door. "Just watch me." His Driver appeared, shocking them, as Flash reached into his pocket. But then he found nothing in there. "Um..." He looked in his other pockets and also found nothing. He patted himself all over, but there was nothing. "No! My Mimicores."

"Your what?" A girl asked, but Flash just ignored here. His Driver vanished as he moved up to the door. He noticed a small slot at the bottom, looking almost like a cat-flap, which clearly locked on the outside.

"There's gotta be a way out of here." But as he said that, he heard movement coming from outside.

"Step away from the door!" Flash recognised the voice as Maya's, Flash getting ready for a fight as he stepped back. But as the door opened outwards, Maya acted instantly and fired a web-line. The next thing Flash knew, he was cocooned in a sack of webbing that only left his head uncovered. "Nice try."

Several Mimicreeps arrived and grabbed Flash, pulling him out of the cell whilst the others looked worried.

"We have some tests that need to be done," Maya stated. "Please don't struggle. It'll just make the process harder." Flash tried to break out of the webbing, but it was too strong. All he could do was struggle pointlessly. "The rest of you, don't try anything. It won't end well for you." With that, Maya slammed the door shut and the captured humans just stood there feeling sorry for Flash.

Back on Earth, Shining was sitting on a bench staring at part of the T-Rex Mimic.

The creature's tiny part hadn't reverted back to slime like they normally did when detached. Whatever they did to make it able to copy a skeleton, had clearly had some other side effects. But that didn't matter right now.

"Flash." Shining had no idea what was being done to his partner right now. He prayed that whatever the Driver did to them, would protect him from whatever the Mimics had planned for him. If they didn't, there was no telling what might happen to Flash.

He sighed, as he looked away from the Mimic piece. And as he did, he spotted someone across the street.

The cloaked figure stood there, hiding from others' sight by being inside an alleyway. The figure turned to walk away, Shining quickly getting up and running across the street to get to him. He ran into the alleyway and as he caught up to the figure, a bright light appeared in front of him.

Shining was blinded for a moment and when the light faded, he wasn't surprised to find himself back in the dark void that he had been to a handful of times.

"Flash has been captured," the figure turned to Shining. "I don't know where he is, but I know he is in serious danger. If the Mimics discover the secrets of the Mimic Driver and Mimicores, there's no telling the kind of damage they could do."

"Well Flash wouldn't have been captured, if you had warned us about the Hyper Core making him freeze up."

"I did not even expect Flash to acquire his Hyper Strike Form. That was just a happy accident. One with serious drawbacks. If Flash uses too much power too quickly, the backlash forces his body to freeze up. I didn't design it to do that. It wasn't even supposed to become a new form for him."

"I guess," Shining nodded. "But what are we supposed to do now? Those new Mimics are strong and I don't stand a chance against the T-Rex on my own."

"I know," the figure nodded before noticing the piece of Mimic in his hand. "What's that?" Shining looked down at the piece and threw it towards him.

"I managed to blast off a small part of the Mimic in the last fight. For some reason, it didn't melt when it left him."

"Fascinating," he examined it and nodded. "I've never had such a good Mimic specimen to study. This might help us more than you think." Shining raised an eyebrow at this. "I need to examine this more closely. You should head back. The Mimics won't give you much time to recover. With Flash their captive, they'll think you're an easy target to deal with. You'll need to be on guard."

"Right," Shining nodded. "But what are you going to do?"

"Mimics have the ability to enter the spot they are based at will. That ability is a part of their very cellular structure. With this, I might be able to give you that same ability. That will allow you to enter the location and save not only Flash, but everyone that was captured by the Mimics."

Shining smirked, "I'm liking the sound of that."

"But it will take time. If the Mimics attack again, you'll have to do what you can with what you have."

"Alright," Shining nodded, "I'll try. But that T-Rex Mimic was really strong. And if one of those new Generals shows up again, I don't know how I'm gonna be able to beat them." The figure said nothing, clearly thinking that was a problem. Shining sighed and turned away, wanting to let him get back to work. The figure waved his hand and a light appeared in front of him, Shining stepping through it and returning to the alleyway he had just been on.

Looking around, Shining sighed and walked off. All he could do was be ready for when the Mimics attacked again, whenever and wherever that might be.

Back at the Mimic lair, Flash was strapped to a table.

Maya, Frill, Greye and High all stood around the table, as a device came down from above and pointed at him. "This might sting a bit," Frill laughed as he pressed the machine's remote. This caused the device to unleash a beam, which flew down and slammed into him.

"GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Flash screamed, as the energy from the beam flew into him. It felt like a million needles were sticking into him. He tried to endure it, but the energy was too powerful. And after a few moments of this, something appeared around his waist. His Driver.

"That's enough," Greye stated. Frill stopped the beam and Flash gasped, moaning as his body continued to twitch. "So, this is the device that allows you to transform." He placed a hand on it, as High moved over to another table.

On it, Flash's Mimicores sat with another device scanning them. "These are what decide what powers he has."

"Indeed," Frill nodded. He took out a scanning device and used it on the Driver, slowly uploading its specs to their computer. "But this device must be what's causing him to forget he's a Mimic."

"I'm not a Mimic!" Flash growled, as he looked up at them. "I don't care what you say. There's no way I'm a Mimic!" Flash remembered what Shining had told him before. About how what he feels for his friends and family couldn't be something a Mimic could fake. "I'm human. I'm not one of you."

"Oh, but you are a Mimic." Greye leaned over him. "How else can you do the kinds of things you've done? Defeating other Mimics. Handling the power of a Hyper Core. Heck, that blast we just hit you with would have killed a normal human. How to explain all that?"

"You really don't know us humans," Flash stated. "It doesn't matter what you say. I'm not a Mimic. I'm human and there's nothing you can say to make me believe that."

"Maybe we don't have to say anything." He turned to Frill. "Re-aim the weapon at the Driver and hit it at full power. Once it's destroyed, the brainwashing may be undone." They nodded and started adjusting the blaster until it was pointed at the belt around Flash's waist.

The Mimics stepped back, as Frill increased the power of the device before firing.

The energy shot down and struck the driver, Flash getting a jolt as well. He cried out in pain, as the energy flowed around him. The Driver was absorbing most of the power, but Flash still felt a lot of the pain. He struggled against it, but there was nothing he could do. He couldn't move out of the beam's way and he refused to give them the satisfaction of hearing him beg them to stop.

After a few minutes of this, Greye had Frill stop and the beam shut off. Flash panted again, as the Mimic Generals inspected the Driver. "It's not even scorched," High growled. "What the heck is this thing made of?"

"We have other means to remove it," Greye stated. "That thing's coming off."

And sure enough, they used a variety of different tools and other devices at their disposal. One by one, they tried everything to try and remove the Driver. They tried cutting into it with saws, drills, sanders and everything else. But no matter what they used or where they tried to remove it, the Driver refused to come off.

"Okay," Greye held up a bent buzzsaw, "it's not coming off." He threw it onto the pile of broken tools, as he inspected the device. "Not even a scratch."

"So what do we do with him?" Maya asked.

"He's powerless without being able to transform," High stated. "I say we destroy him before he can escape." The other Mimics seemed to be considering it. But before they could, an alarm sounded and they rushed over to a device.

Flash tried to look over at the device, as a hologram appeared showing a figure whose features were hidden in the shadows. "Master," the four knelt and bowed.

"Master?" Flash asked. So the Mimics had a master. Likely a Mimic far stronger than them.

"I understand congratulations are in order," the master replied. "You were able to defeat and capture one of the Kamen Riders."

"Yes," Greye nodded. "We have been trying to uncover his secrets. We've managed to get a scan of his belt and the devices he uses to transform. But every attempt to remove it from his has been...less than successful."

"I see," the master nodded. "Bring him forward. I wish to speak with him myself." The Mimics nodded and Maya rushed over to push the table with Flash on it forward, Flash finding the table to rotate with him now in a standing angle. He stared at the hologram, still unable to see the one the Mimics were bowing to. "So you are the mighty Kamen Rider Shifter."

"And you're the one that's leading these things to attack my world." He glared at the figure, "why? What did we ever do to you?"

"This isn't personal. It's simply how things must be. Mimics are the perfect beings. We live to destroy and we won't be satisfied until all life in every world is destroyed. Until only the Mimics remain as the dominant species."

"But how long could that take?" Flash asked. "How many universes are out there?"

"Oh, countless. But we won't rest until we are the only lifeforms left. And we will not allow any delay. Which is why you Riders have been such an annoyance to us."

"Oh, I'm so sorry we've troubled you." The sarcasm flowed from his lips, making the Generals glare at him.

"You don't have to do this, you know. Putting your life on the line to oppose us will not help you. All you'll be doing is risking your own life for lesser beings. You should be helping us, not hindering us."

"Why would I ever help you?" Flash asked. "You're trying to destroy everything and everyone I've ever loved. If you think I'd help you do that, you're crazier than you let up."

"You have no other choice. Either help us, or suffer our wrath. After all, what hope do you have at this point? You are our captive and a single Rider won't be enough to defeat us. Your world's destruction is imminent."

Flash chuckled. "You really think you've already won. Hate to break it to you, but there's no way you're gonna destroy my world. I don't know how things work in the other universes you've conquered, but my universe doesn't go for the whole getting destroyed thing."

"You think you can beat us, even though you are our hostage?"

"Even if my world can't fight you, we can resist you. No matter what, we'll do what we can to stop and slow you down. And eventually, we'll find a way to beat you once and for all."

"I very much doubt that." He turned towards the other Mimics, "take him away. We'll deal with him once Morphic has been taken care of."

"Yes, master." As Maya and High moved over to Flash, Greye spoke. "My new Mimic will destroy Morphic. Against its power, the fool won't stand a chance." Flash frowned, fearing what might happen to Shining as he was taken away.

He needed to find a way to escape. But how?

Shining was still on the streets of Canterlot, having retrieved his car from where he and Flash had stored them.

He was driving around, keeping an eye out for any sign of a Mimic or Mimicreeps. All the while, he kept thinking about Flash and what the Mimics might be doing to him. He prayed that the cloaked figure would find a way to help Shining save him, but putting his trust in someone he didn't really know wasn't something Shining felt eager to do.

Suddenly, his Mimic Sense was triggered and Shining could feel they were close.

He put the car into high gear and raced in the direction he was being pulled in, eventually finding an area where people were driving and running in the opposite direction.

And it was soon clear why, as he turned into a street with several Mimicreeps attacking along with the T-Rex Mimic. The prehistoric monster let out another roar, as it used its tail to send a car flying. Shining just barely managed to drive out of its way and skid to a stop, quickly getting out of his car as the monster and Mimicreeps spotted him.

Shining looked around and saw he was alone, so took out a Mimicore as his Driver appeared. "RUSH!"

He quickly opened his Driver and placed the Mimicore inside, as the Mimicreeps charged. "HENSHIN!" He slammed the draw closed and as the Mimicreeps got closer, he crossed his arms as the pipes on his belt unleashed the slime.

"MIMIC! COYOTE!" The Mimicreeps tried to slash at him, but the slime hardened on his body and formed the cocoon. They tried to break through, but their claws did nothing. And when the cocoon shattered, they were knocked back by the pieces before it flew back to Shining and hit his body to form the armor. "Howling velocity, increasing the tearing power of its fangs."

Morphic summoned his claws and shot forward, slashing at the other Mimicreeps as he moved at incredible speed. He quickly began to slice and dice the monsters, cutting into them and turning them back to slime. They tried to fight back, but Morphic was too fast and dodged all their attacks.

At one point, he practically turned into the Tasmanian Devil by spinning around to form a slicing tornado.

The last Mimicreep soon fell and exploded, leaving only the T-Rex. As such, Morphic stopped spinning and glared at him. "You might have beaten me once, but that won't happen again!" The beast roared before it charged, Morphic racing towards it as fast as he could move.

It's tail spun as it thrust it towards him, but Morphic used his claws to block it. The impact caused grinding sparks, which filled the air and made the Rider flinch for a moment.

He eventually pushed the tail away and tried to claw at the monster, but the T-Rex was able to dodge the slash before thrusting its T-Rex head at him. It almost bit into him, but Morphic managed to leap back at the last moment.

"It's speedster time!" He shot forward at high speed, shooting past the dinosaur and slashing at him. He then skidded to a stop and ran back at it, barely losing any speed. The T-Rex tried to bite him, but he curved away at the last moment and slashed at it again.

Morphic kept moving around the Mimic, moving so fast that from above a red flower pattern could be seen.

The Mimic roared in pain, as Morphic kept slashing at it over and over again. But eventually, it got so annoyed that it leapt straight up. Morphic missed it and tried to skid to a stop, but the T-Rex acted first and fell back towards the ground. As it did, its tail drill slammed into the ground and unleashed a shockwave that made the ground all around it to break apart.

As the ground split beneath Morphic's, he lost his balance and found himself tripping over and being sent rolling along the ground as he cried out.

After a few moments, he rolled to a stop and let out a moan.

The T-Rex pulled its tail out of the ground and turned towards Morphic, the Rider pushing itself up and glaring at him. "Okay. Speed's probably not gonna win this fight." He took out another Mimicore and activated it.

"TOUGH!"

The T-Rex prepared to attack, as Morphic opened the draw of his Driver and replaced the Mimicores. "Mega Morph!" He slammed the draw closed, as the T-Rex rushed forward.

"MIMIC! CROCODILE!" The armor melted and reformed, Morphic raising his arm as the T-Rex thrust its tail drill at him. The armor solidified into the crocodile armor, seconds before the drill slammed into it. The impact pushed Morphic back, but his armor was able to take the impact as he slid backwards. "Vice-like fangs and an impenetrable hide, crushing anything in its way."

The T-Rex roared, as Tough Morphic finished his transformation and charged forward. As he did, his tail saw buzzed and he swung it towards the T-Rex.

The Mimic thrust its own tail arm at him and the two ground into one another, neither appearing to have the upper hand over the other. The Mimic then threw a punch with its T-Rex head, but Morphic threw his own head punch with the crocodile head.

The two heads slammed into each other and the impact knocked the pair backwards, Morphic barely managing to keep his balance as the T-Rex used its tail to dig into the ground and keep itself from falling over.

The pair glared at each other, as Morphic ran forward once again to attack.

The T-Rex stood tall and raised his tail drill, spinning it as Morphic got in close. The Rider spun his saw blade and the two once again met, the weapons grinding against one another and sending sparks everywhere. They cried out, doing their best to try and overpower the other. But neither one of them appeared to have an advantage over the other.

Eventually, the T-Rex knocked Morphic back and he cried out as he staggered around. The Mimic then pointed its drill at the Rider and charged, as Morphic's croc head glowed.

He swung his arm around and unleashed an energy construct, the head flying out and biting onto the roof of a building before the chain retracted. Moments before the T-Rex could hit him, he was pulled up and into the air. He swung around and released the building, allowing him to fly through the air.

As he did, he thrust his arm forward and the construct shot out. The giant crocodile head opened its mouth, ready to bite the T-Rex. But the Mimic thrust its tail forward and ripped through the construct.

Morphic landed and could barely believe it. "No way!"

The Mimic's dino head let out a roar, as the drill spun faster and faster. As it did, energy sparked around the tail before it thrust the weapon forward. The energy surrounding the drill shot off the weapon and flew towards Morphic, the Rider barely managed to raise his saw before the energy weapon impacted.

It slammed into him with enough force, that he was sent staggering back several feet before he managed to get his footing and stop. As he did, the saw pushed back against the attack. But as it did, parts of the blade started cracking.

Eventually, the energy dissipated and Morphic was able to knock it away. It exploded in the air and Morphic panted, only to see the Mimic charge forward at high speed.

"WOW!" He swung the saw at it, but the dino head caused the blade in its teeth. The tips dug into the cracks and with enough force, the saw completely shattered. Under his helmet, Shining's eyes widened as the T-Rex leapt back before thrusting its drill tail into his stomach. "AUGH!"

The T-Rex let out a roar as the drill dug into Morphic's armor before spinning, causing the crocodile-hard material to crack before it completely shattered. As it did, it unleashed a burst of energy that shot into Morphic's body and blew him backwards.

The Rider screamed again, as he was blown backwards whilst the rest of his armor shattered to pieces.

He slammed into the damaged road and was sent rolling several feet before finally coming to a stop. As he did, what was left of his suit faded away and Shining was left on the ground. Scratches and cuts covered his body, as he glared at the T-Rex.

The Mimic slowly moved towards him, as Shining tried to pick himself up. But his body was too badly bruised. He was moments away from blacking out. Most likely, the next time he woke up he'd be where they were holding Flash.

But suddenly, a portal opened up behind Shining and the cloaked figure jumped through it. "Come on!" He grabbed Shining and pulled him through, as the T-Rex Mimic tried to run towards it. But before it could get there, the portal closed and the beast let out a frustrated roar.

No matter what, it would find its prey and make it suffer. And with its T-Rex sense of smell, it would track him down eventually.

Flash suddenly found himself in the same situation he had found himself before. Waking up in the Mimic's prison cell.

He let out a moan, as he remembered High zapping him into unconsciousness on the way back to the cell. Now, he was waking up surrounded by the prisoners again. "Are you okay?" Timber asked, as Flash was helped to sit up.

"No...I am not." His body was screaming at him.

"What did they do to you?" A woman asked. "You're worse than when you first showed up here. What did they do to you?"

"Zapped me," Flash sighed. "Trying to figure out how I do what I do. Then their boss tried to convince me to join them." He looked around and remembered what had happened. "Maybe I should have pretended to agree. I might have been able to trick them and free you guys, so we could have escaped."

"I doubt they'd have fallen for it," the first prisoner stated. "And if they did, they might have made you do something horrible to prove your loyalty." Flash frowned, imagining having to attack Twilight or the other Rainbooms.

"Yeah, you're right." Flash sighed and forced himself up to his feet, his legs a bit wobbly as he moved around. "But we can't stay here. We've gotta find a way to escape before it's too late."

"Ha!" The security guard told him. "Good luck with that. We've searched this place top to bottom. There's no way out except through that door. And there's no way to open it." Flash smirked as he stared at the door.

"Sure there is. We've just gotta get someone else to open it for us." They all looked confused, as Flash began to explain the plan.

Back with Shining, he was back in the dark place.

The figure had left him as soon as he was pulled through the portal, Shining simply laying there letting his own failure wash over him. That Mimic was just too strong. Shining didn't have a hope of defeating it. Not on his own, at least.

The figure finally returned and as Shining sat himself up, he grabbed him by the head and forced it to the side. "What are you-OW!" The figure held something to his neck and injected it into his body, Shining clutching his neck as he felt his body begin to grow warm. "What, are you gonna knock me out and take my kidneys?"

"It's a serum to help you recover quicker. You'll need to be at full strength, if you want to save Flash and stop that thing."

"What?" Shining frowned, "how am I supposed to do that?" The answer was given to him when a blank Mimicore was shoved into his hand. "What's..."

"That Mimicore has been programmed using the DNA of the Mimic you were just fighting. With it, you should be able to open a portal to their lair."

"Seriously?" Shining suddenly felt himself growing stronger, as his injuries began to fade. He picked himself up, as he looked over the Mimicore. "What do I have to do?"

"The Mimicore will allow you to open a portal, but it'll require some kind of link to that location. The Mimics all have the ability to come and go from that place as they please. So you'll need to grab hold of a Mimic and channel the core's energy into them. That'll open a portal right to their lair."

"Got it," Shining nodded. "But the only Mimic is that T-Rex. And that thing's totally unstoppable."

"That's why you'll need to level the playing field. Its strength comes from the powerful creature it's mimicking. To stand a chance, you need the power of a creature that's just as powerful."

"You mean...another dinosaur?"

"Exactly," the figure nodded. "Whilst studying the piece of the Mimic you gave me, I was able to figure out how it's mimicking an extinct creature. Once I figured that out, I was able to program this core to be able to do the same thing. All you need is a piece of dinosaur DNA."

"Then I think I know where I have to go," Shining stated. The figure nodded and as Shining felt the last of his injuries disappear, a portal opened up.

Shining stepped towards it, then stopped and turned back to him. "I know you don't want to tell us anything until the right time, whenever that is. But...can I at least know your name. I think I deserve at least that."

The figure remained silent for a moment, then sighed. "Corvyn. My name is Corvyn."

Shining smiled. "Thanks, Corvyn. For everything." The figure nodded before Shining stepped through the portal. In the blink of an eye, Shining found himself back where this all started. The Museum.

The place was still a mess from the fight and was surrounded by police tape. But at that moment, nobody was around. If Shining was fast, he could get what he was looking for and get out. "Hang on, Flash. I'm coming to get you." With that, he rushed inside ready to find what he needed. No matter what, he would save Flash and whoever else the Mimics had taken. And the Mimics would regret ever messing with them.

Author's Note

Flash has been captured and meets with the Mimic's master, along with all the victims he and Shining had freed from the previous Mimic attacks. But how will he help them escape? And can Shining defeat the T-Rex? Only time will tell.

Episode 15: Shift Through Climactic

At the Mimic Lair, the four Generals were re-watching the battle taking place between the T-Rex Mimic and Kamen Rider Morphic.

"Oow," Frill laughed when he saw the drill break through Morphic's chest armor. "That had to hurt." The others nodded, as the energy drill flowed into Morphic and blasted him back. They all smiled, as Morphic's suit exploded off of him and he was reverted back to human form.

"That's it!" Greye cried, "now get him!" But as he said that, a portal opened up and the cloaked figure leapt out of it before dragging Shining through it. "No!"

Maya growled. "Is that weirdo going to leap out and save them every time the Riders are in trouble?"

"We need to find this guy," High stated. "Whoever he is, he's proving to be more than just a simple nuisance." The others nodded in agreement, but had no idea where he was or where he had taken Morphic.

"Let's focus on the positives," Greye stated. "Morphic's in bad shape. It'll take time for him to heal, so he can't hope to fight back. And with Shifter in our control, nobody will be able to stop our rampage. Now's the time for us to go on the offensive."

The others nodded, as Frill spoke up. "I say it's about time we put our captives to good use. We've never tried to bond a Mimic to someone who's already been bonded before. I'm eager to see what will happen to them." The others nodded, also curious about trying it.

So they got to work. They would need some fresh Mimic Spawns, if they really wanted to see what would happen. Luckily, several were just about ready to be taken out of the jar.

As this was going on, a Mimicreep was walking towards the cells pushing a cart of food bowls in front of it.

In those bowls were a bunch of grey mush, which the prisoners would be expected to eat instead of real food. The Mimicreep clearly didn't want to be doing this, but it had no choice given the Generals might just splat it if it refused.

It made its way down a long corridor, until it finally arrived at the metal door holding its prisoners.

It opened the cat-flap at the bottom, about to push the bowls through. But before it could, it heard Timber call out. "HELP! He's sick!" The Mimicreep looked through the opening and saw Flash, laying on the ground clutching his stomach. "Please!" Timber cried, "he's dying. I think something your masters did, hurt him more than they realised. Please, he needs help. Your masters want him alive. If he dies on your watch, you'll be in trouble."

The Mimicreep stared at Flash, as he groaned and cried out in pain. The look on his face seemed to be one of genuine pain, the Mimicreep deciding to open the door. It let out several roars, making the other humans move away from Flash as the creature entered.

Flash kept moaning in pain, as the Mimicreep got closer and closer to examine him.

Then, once it was close enough, Flash's legs swung around and swept the creature's. The Mimicreep fell over and hit its head on the ground, causing it to be dazed as the other humans ran for the door.

Flash scrambled to his feet and as the Mimicreep began to recover, he leapt over its body and through the door. Timber then slammed it shut and locked it, as the Mimicreep's cries could be heard through it. But the quickly closed the cat-flap and they were silenced.

"Hahaa!" Flash laughed, "told you that would work."

"We're just lucky the Generals weren't the ones feeding us," one of the men stated. "No way they would have fallen for that." The others nodded, as Flash began to step forward. "So what do we do now? We have no idea how to get out of here."

"Maybe not. But I know how to get from here to the lab. There must be a device or something there, that they use to make the portals they appear in. So long as we're careful, we should be able to get there and find it without anyone noticing."

"But aren't the Mimics usually there?" A woman asked, with Flash saying nothing in response. "I don't like the idea of running into them again."

"You can always go back in the cell," Timber pointed out. She frowned at him, as Flash stepped forward.

"We'll be fine. I promise."

As this was going on, Shining Armor had arrived at the museum.

Having barely escaped the T-Rex Mimic, Shining had been given a new Mimicore by their ally, Corvyn. The cloaked figure had told him the Mimicore could help him save Flash, but it would require him to fight against the T-Rex Mimic.

To stand an even footing on the creature, Shining had to gain the power of a creature just as strong as the ancient T-Rex. Something that could stand toe to toe with a beast.

As such, he had returned to the dinosaur wing of the museum. The place had been completely trashed during the last battle, when Flash had been taken by the Mimics to who knows where. The T-Rex cocoon was still in the middle of the room, since there was no way to remove it without taking the roof off the building.

Shining was glad the police had left this place, whilst the museum workers remained away for worry the Mimic would come back to take something else. But Shining knew the police would be back soon. Shining might be one of them, but he doubted he could scan something without them noticing.

As such, Shining began to look around and try to find a fossil or something that would have the DNA of a dinosaur inside of it.

His first idea was to use something just as strong as a T-Rex, maybe even stronger. Shining wasn't a super genius like his sister, but he had always loved dinosaurs. What kid didn't?

Shining considered all the dinosaurs that were said to be on the same level as a T-Rex, or even stronger than it. "Spinosaurus? It's cool, but I don't think this place has any fossils of them. Giganotosaurus? I might end up just like the Mimic." He then spotted another dino that might work. "Ankylosaurus." He picked up a fossil that belonged to said dino.

He looked it over and found it wasn't damaged. But would it give him what he needed?

He held up the Mimicore and scanned it, but the device didn't change. The fossil didn't have any DNA within it. "Damn." He put the bone down. "Come on. What could stand up against a T-Rex?" He kept looking around and eventually he spotted something. "Stegosaurus." He moved over to a chase containing the spines of the stated dinosaur.

He imagined what a Rider Form based on a stegosaurus, would be able to do.

He held up the Mimicore and tried to scan the plate fossil, wondering if these would even have DNA to begin with. But if they did, there was none left in these fossils. "Ahh. There has to be something." Shining kept looking around. "Microraptor. No. Mosasaurus. Could work, but it could limit me since it's supposed to be an aquatic creature. Come on. Isn't there anything I can use?" It was then that he spotted something.

The fossilised head of a dinosaur. One that was practically a cliche to have with a T-Rex.

"Triceratops," he stepped over to it. "They fought T-Rexs all the time. They practically evolved to fight back against them." Shining smirked as he reached the head and held up the Mimicore. "Please, I need your help. Let me save my friend and anyone else the Mimics have captured. Please...lend me your strength." He hit the button and the device unleashed a beam of light, which began to flow over the head and take in everything that made it what it was.

After a few moments, the device glowed and started to transform.

Within seconds, the lights turned blue before showing images of a triceratops performing multiple different poses. The letters on the side also appeared, the word it created looking rather interesting.

Shining smiled at the new Mimicore, already feeling the power it would have.

He deactivated it, as he suddenly sensed something nearby. The T-Rex Mimic was close and Shining needed to stop it before it hurt anyone. "Time to see if this thing works." With that, he ran out of the museum and followed his sense towards his target. No matter what, only one of them was walking away from this fight. Shining just hoped it was him.

Flash led the prisoners from the Mimic's lair, which was honestly more like a warehouse with multiple rooms.

Having escaped the cells, they made their way down the corridor and into a room Flash had been taken too when he was sent for experiments. As they did, they soon reached a door leading to another room and Flash gave them all a shushing motion.

They nodded and Flash listened to the door, trying to figure out if there were any Mimics or Mimicreeps inside. But he couldn't hear anything and nodded, Timber and a man by the name of Antony pulling the door open. They looked inside and found the place was almost pitch black.

They stepped inside and as they did, they tripped some kind of sensor since the lights suddenly came on.

When they did, they all gasped seeing a bunch of cocoons filling the room. "What the heck?" Timber asked, as he moved over to one of them and found a tiger inside of it. "What is this?"

"These are the animals the Mimics captured," Flash realised. "Remember what I told you. They trap creatures inside these cocoons and that allows them to copy the creature's abilities."

"So this is what we looked like?" Antony asked as he tapped a cocoon holding a fox inside of it. "You said the Mimics were copying us. So were we in these things?"

Flash nodded, though he wasn't sure how they didn't remember such a thing happening to them. He turned back to the cocoons and as he did, he noticed something at the back of the room. Cocoons that looked too big or small to have animals in them.

He stepped towards them and as he did, he started discerning the creatures inside the amber. And once he was close enough, his eyes went wide as he realised what he was looking at. "No way." The others heard this and moved over to him, allowing them to see who was inside the cocoons.

"People?" A woman gasped, seeing four humans trapped within the amber. They all stood straight, their eyes closed as they appeared asleep.

Flash stared at them and as he did, he recognised who they were. Two of them were the individuals he had seen in the museum, who had turned into High and Greye. But the other two were people he had met once before.

"Chrysalis," Flash turned to the other one, "Neighsay." He couldn't believe it. He remembered talking to these people not that long ago. But then he remembered what had happened after he met them. "Maya was at the aquarium, just like Chrysalis. And Neighsay put me in detention, so I couldn't fight against the Eel Mimic."

"You know these people?" Timber asked, Flash nodding as he thought about Chrysalis' children.

Thorax and Pharynx. Flash had only met those two once, but they had both been great guys and a big help. Their hearts would be broken when they learned what had happened to their mother. "We've gotta get out of here. We've gotta let everyone know these people are being held by the Mimics." They nodded and made their way towards the door.

But as they did, the door suddenly flew open.

Mimicreeps rushed into the room, the monsters growling as they swarmed like flies. The humans all gasped, with Flash getting into a fighting stance. "What do we do?" Timber asked, as a Mimic charged at them.

Flash ran forwards and managed to duck under the creature's claws, spinning as he did to drive his elbow into its chest. The Mimicreep was pushed back, but didn't splat. Three more Mimicreeps charged at Flash and the teen did his best to fight back, but it was proving difficult.

Timber and the others also tried to avoid the monsters, the men attempting to fight back whilst Timber and the girls tried to use the cocoon as shields. The simple fact was, a normal unarmed human just couldn't stand up to a creature like these.

Back in Canterlot, the people were once again terrified as the T-Rex Mimic was attacking the city.

People ran whilst the police attempted to subdue it, but their weapon didn't even scratch the beast. All they could do was keep their distance, as the monster used his mouth and tail to rip their vehicles to shreds. The few cops that got too close, were lucky to survive it swinging its tail around or chomping at them with its dino head.

One cop found himself getting caught by the T-Rex head, which bit the front of his shirt and lifted him up.

He cried out, fearing he was about to meet his end. The T-Rex prepared to do just that, only to suddenly stop when it sniffed something. Something it had been hunting for since it escaped.

It threw the cop away and began to run towards the scent, the police not daring to chase it since it was just too powerful.

After a few minutes, it arrived in an empty street at the same time someone else arrived on that street. Shining Armor. The Kamen Rider stood in the middle of the road, glaring at the jurassic beast as it let out a roar.

"Surprised to see me again?" Shining's Driver appeared around his waist, as the T-Rex began to step towards him. "Well I've got another surprise for you." He took out his new Mimicore. "Here goes nothing." With that, he activated the device and it lit up.

"TRI-HORN!"

The T-Rex watched, as Shining opened the draw of his Driver and placed the new Mimicore inside. He then struck a pose, as the Mimic broke out into a run. "HENSHIN!" He slammed the draw shut, as the lights on the side of his belt turned blue.

"MIMIC! TRICERATOPS!" Shining crossed his arms, as the pipes unleashed the slime that began to cover him. And as the T-Rex reached him, it solidified into a solid cocoon.

The Mimic slammed its dino head into the cocoon, but nothing happened. It then tried to drill at it, but had the same result. And before it could think of anything else to do, the cocoon began to crack before it completely shattered.

Some of the pieces slammed into the T-Rex and knocked it backwards, as Shining's new form was revealed. His silver suit was bulky like Flash's Hyper Strike, whilst the amber flew down and slammed into him.

It turned the same blue as his Hercules armor and formed in a similar fashion, making him look like a tank of a man. The only major difference was his helmet armor, which changed so that a large blue frill formed around the sides and top of his head. Meanwhile, he had a pair of horns over each of his yellow eyes and one above his mouth guard to form the face of a triceratops.

As the armor settled, Morphic struck a pose as his Driver spoke up. "The charging force of three horns, triple the destructive power."

The T-Rex stared at its new opponent, as Morphic pointed at him. "Prepare to feel the full power of my justice." With that, he ran forwards and before the T-Rex could counter him, he threw a punch right into its chest with enough force to knock it backwards.

The Mimic roared as it hit the ground, sliding along it before using its tail to knock it spinning backwards so it could slam its feet into the ground.

As this was happening, Morphic raised his arms. The backs of his arm gauntlets opened at the front, allowing three barrels to extend from each arm. And as the T-Rex picked itself up, he started punching the air and unleashing lasers with each punch.

The lasers slammed into the dinosaur, making it roar as the power was tripled. It staggered back with each impact, until it eventually raised his dino head to block them. It then charged forward and thrust its tail forward when it was close enough, attempting to stab Morphic in the chest.

But before it could hit Morphic's armor, the Rider grabbed the weapon in his hand.

The drill actually stopped when it was in his gasp Morphic using all his strength to crush the tip. The T-Rex roared at this, as Morphic threw the tail away before punching his other fist right into the Mimic's stomach.

As soon as his fist made contact the three blasters fired and unleashed a triad of lasers that exploded and sent the Mimic flying. It shot down the street and every time it hit the ground, the road broke as it bounced off it. Eventually, it rolled to a stop and looked to be in rather bad shape.

Morphic smirked under his helmet, loving this new suit. But he couldn't get overexcited. He needed the Mimic alive in order to save Flash.

Back in the Mimic's lair, Flash and the men continued to fight against the Mimicreeps.

Antony was the first to fall, getting knocked to the ground and held down by two of them. The others soon followed, Timber and the girls getting caught and dragged out from behind the cocoons. Flash was the only one left and if he was in peak condition, he might have been able to beat some of them without transforming.

But he was still injured and the Mimicreeps were able to capitalise on it, hitting him in the stomach and forcing him to his knees.

As the last of them was neutralised, the Mimic Generals walked into the room. They all stepped over to them, each one holding a Mimic Spawn jar. High was also holding all of Flash's Mimicores, Flash watching her place them on a nearby table as she spoke up. "What's going on here?"

"Looks like letting a Mimicreep feed them was a bad idea," Greye stated. "Such a shame. And after we went to such lengths to make you all feel comfortable." They all glared at him, as Greye looked over at the cocoons. "What do you think of our collection?" He patted the cocoon holding the people he had captured, even transforming into him as he did. "You will soon be joining them once again."

"What?" Flash asked, as Maya opened a jar.

"We planned to do this one at a time. But you can all watch, as we once again make you part of the Mimic Army." Flash and the others grew worried, as Maya pulled the spawn out of the jar. "Now...who's first?"

"Why don't we use Gule's host?" Frill suggested, the other Mimics nodding as the Mimicreeps pulled Timber towards them.

"NO!" Timber struggled, but couldn't break free. The others were also fighting against their holds, but none of them could get away to help him. "Help me!"

"Now, now." Maya brought the spawn over to him. "I promise, it'll be quick." Slowly, the slimy substance moved towards his chest. Timber panicked, clearly not wanting to have anything like this happen to him.

As the T-Rex began to push itself back up, Shining prepared for his rescue mission.

"Time to get Flash and the others!" He ran forward, thinking about opening a portal as he did. "Please work!" He reached the Mimic and grabbed the creature, as his suit began to glow. "OPEN A PORTAL!"

The Mimic tried to fight back, but the light from his suit flowed into the creature.

It roared, as the light moved through its body and out of its back. There, it began to form a portal like the ones the Mimics could open. It was small at first, but it slowly grew larger and larger. Eventually, it was large enough for them to move through it. And using all his strength Morphic pushed them bother towards it.

Timber struggled more and more, but the slimy blob was placed against his chest.

"NO!" He screamed, the blob beginning to spread around him. As it did, Timber suddenly found his entire life flashing before his eyes. But...it wasn't his life. New memories began to play out in his mind. Memories of himself, fighting against two figures in armor. He also remembered spending time with Twilight, but he was pretty sure he never had these dates with her.

More and more memories moved through his head, until he found himself in a battle against a more impressive looking version of the armored fighter. Twilight was with him and she turned to the fighter. "Please. Free Timber from him. Destroy this guy!"

That memory shocked him, as the slime surrounded more and more of his body.

But before it could completely surround him, a portal suddenly opened up in the middle of the lab. And through it came Morphic and the T-Rex, shocking them as Morphic looked around and found where he was. He then spotted Flash and pushed the T-Rex away before punching the air, launching a bunch of lasers that flew out and struck the Mimicreeps holding the rider.

They burst and Flash didn't waste any time, running across the lab and tackling Timber.

Morphic also sent a laser at Maya, forcing her to pull back and accidentally stretch the Mimic Spawn. This and Flash tackling Timber, stretched the Mimic too far and it snapped. Most of it returned to Maya, whilst the slime on Timber began to slide off his body as he and Flash rolled along the ground.

Through pure dumb luck, Flash and Timber found themselves slamming into the table with his Mimicores on them. One of them fell off the table and landed next to Flash, as Morphic began firing lasers in rapid succession.

The Mimicreeps were all blasted, whilst the Mimics ran for cover.

Flash noticed his Mimicore and smirked as he picked it up, standing and grabbing the rest as Timber just lay there. "Come on!" He told him. "We need to get out of here." Timber looked up at him, appearing dazed by what had just happened.

The other humans captured by the Mimics, all rushed over to Morphic as he looked them over. "Get through the portal!" He told them, pointing at the still open tear. "It'll take you back home." They nodded, but Antony rushed over to one of the cocoons. "What are you doing?"

"We can't leave them!" He grabbed Neighsay's cocoon and pushed it. It wasn't easy, but he was able to push it towards the portal. The others quickly helped, all grabbing a cocoon two at a time and pushing them towards the portal.

As the Mimics started to recover, they noticed what the humans were up to and all looked worried. "We need to stop them!" High screamed, only to hear another voice call out.

"PIERCE!"

They looked around to see Flash, placing his Mimicore into his Driver. "HENSHIN!" He yelled, slamming the draw shut and causing the device to activate.

"MIMIC! HEDGEHOG!" The Driver unleashed the slime, which quickly surrounded Flash before exploding off to reveal his suit. The amber quickly slammed into him, forming the green armor. "Defending all with a shield of spines, impaling all that try to do harm!"

Flash felt himself feel much better, as the spikes on his body extended. "The winds of victory have shifted!" With that, he launched his spines towards the Mimics and forced them to all once again leap back. This allowed Shifter to grab Timber and pull him to his feet, dragging him over to the portal as Morphic kept defending it.

The T-Rex Mimic had finally recovered and saw Shifter making for the portal, the monster getting up and leaping in front of him and Timber. It roared and tried to bite Timber, Shifter blocking with his spine covered arm.

A spike stabbed into its mouth and it screamed in pain, as Morphic ran over to them. "Back off!" He dealt a punch right to its back, resulting in the three lasers firing from his wrist and hitting the monster.

The T-Rex was thrown away, allowing Shifter and Timber to run for the portal. They got through, right as the others disappeared through it with the cocoons.

Morphic looked around and found his blasts hadn't damaged any of the other cocoons. He wasn't sure if what he did would stop the Mimics. But he hoped it would at least force them to stop for a while and work to rebuild the damage that had been done.

He could see the portal beginning to close and as he walked back into it, he once again unleashed a bunch of lasers that blasted more and more of the place.

The Mimics continued to scream out, as the place was utterly destroyed. The T-Rex had finally recovered and picked itself up, as it watched Morphic disappear through the portal. It let out a roar and charged forward, leaping through the portal seconds before it closed.

Shifter had gotten Timber through the portal and found himself back on the streets of Canterlot.

All the other prisoners were free and looked relieved to be back home, whilst Morphic stepped through the portal whilst continuing to punch lasers into it until he was all the way out. He then turned to the others and rushed up to them. "Are you all okay?"

"We're fine," Shifter assured him. "But we wouldn't have been, if you hadn't shown up when you did." He looked Morphic over. "Love the new look."

"Thanks," Morphic nodded. "I'm pretty fond of it as well." But before he could say anything else, something leapt through the portal. The T-Rex. "Oh, not this guy again." The portal closed behind it, so there wouldn't be any more Mimics showing up. Even so, this one Mimic was just as dangerous. "Shifter, get the others out of here."

"You sure?"

"I got this." Shifter nodded and began to lead everyone away, the lot pushing the cocoons along the ground. The T-Rex Mimic then charged, Morphic doing so as well. The beast swung its destroyed tail towards him, but Morphic caught it with little to no effort.

He gripped it hard and swung it around, using his greater strength to send it flying through the air before it crashed into the side of a building. It roared in pain and fell to the ground, as Morphic's blasters extended.

He started throwing punch after punch at the monster, lasers firing out of his wrists and blasting the beast again. All it could do was roar in pain, as it was hit again and again. Each hit was so strong, it blasted parts of its armored body off of it.

The T-Rex tried to raise his damaged tail, but the lasers hit the limb at the base and caused it to be completely severed off of it. As the tail went flying, Morphic ran forward and started dealing powerful punches and kicks to the monster.

When the beast tried to bite him with its dino head, he ducked under the attack and managed to get behind it. He then punched the monster in the back and fired his lasers, sending it flying forward until it crashed into the ground.

Morphic panted. This new form was strong, but he could feel it draining a lot of his energy. If he didn't find a way to end this fight soon, he was gonna tire out and the Mimic would be able to turn the fight around on him.

The T-Rex picked itself up, its body covered in burns that weren't healing like they had before. It glared at Morphic and let out a growl, as it slowly moved towards him.

It moved over to where its tail had fallen and picked up the fallen limb, attempting to reattach it. But the tail refused to turn to slime and merge with it once again.

"Sorry," Morphic told him, "but you're not getting that back." The Mimic growled and ran forward, swinging the tail around with his other arm. But Morphic was able to dodge the attacks, though only barely since his armor's weight slowed him down.

He jumped back and fired several punch shots towards the monster, the Mimic blocking them all with its tail. But with each laser that struck, the tail was damaged more and eventually broke apart.

Morphic saw this and realised the Mimic had to be close to defeat. As such, he ran forward as an idea formed in his head.

The T-Rex saw him coming and threw the stump that was its tail away, then thrust its dino head towards him. But before it could bite him, Morphic leapt straight up into the air. He used all his strength and managed to flip over the monster, the Rider landing behind the creature.

Before it could spin around and face him, he pulled his fist back and threw a punch right into the back of its legs. The laser that shot into it, ripped the creature's leg completely apart.

The T-Rex roared in agony and Morphic quickly fired another laser punch into its other leg, damaging that one as well. The beast was completely crippled, forced to fall to its knees as it turned around. Morphic then leapt back until he was halfway down the street. He then slammed the side of his Driver, causing it to light up and speak.

"CLIMATIC TRI-HORN!"

Morphic's hands and his right foot glowed, as energy spikes formed around them. And as the T-Rex pushed itself up, Morphic thrust the three spikes forward and they shot off him. They flew towards the Mimic, two moving through the air whilst the third travelled along the ground.

When they reached the Mimic, the ground one flew up and stabbed into it from below whilst the other two struck from above. The three all stabbed into the same spot in its chest, making it cry out as its chest began to break apart.

Morphic then ran forward before leaping into the air, thrusting his leg forward as the three spikes suddenly merged into one.

His foot slammed into the back of the now extra large spike and pushed it forward, causing it to stab into the T-Rex and break through the other side. Morphic's foot then delivered the final strike and slammed the Mimic flying. The monster roared, as the energy flowing through it finally exploded and the beast was consumed by an explosion.

Morphic leapt backwards and as he landed, the flaming Mimic crashed into the ground and the explosion began to die down. As it did, the Mimic was completely vaporised and Morphic stood back up. He stared at the flaming spot, wanting to make sure the Mimic was completely dead. And after a full minute of watching, he nodded and turned to leave.

At the same time, Shifter was leading the escaped prisoners through the town.

As they turned a corner, they spotted a bunch of cops who quickly took notice of them. Shifter watched them approached and realised something, turning to the prisoners as he did. "I know this is a lot to ask, but can you guys keep my identity a secret?"

Everyone looked at him in shock. "But you're a hero," a woman replied. "You helped save us."

"Maybe. But if people realise who's under this suit, they'll start asking questions. Questions I don't have the answers to yet. If my identity is revealed, my normal life will be lost. Please."

"Okay," Timber nodded. The teen was still a little dazed, but he was clearly getting better. "But what do we say?"

"Tell them everything that happened, but leave me out of it. Say the Mimics took you out of your cell and led you into the cocoon room. Everything can happen the exact same way, except I showed up with Morphic. Okay?" They all nodded, as the cops reached them.

"Shifter!" One of them yelled, looking at the cocoon. "What's going on?"

Shifter gestured to the individuals, the cops looking them over and clearly recognising them. "These are the people that were kidnapped by the Mimics. You need to get them somewhere safe."

"You saved them?" One officer asked, with Shifter nodding as they turned their attention to the cocoons holding the four Mimic General's hosts. "No way."

"Who are these people?" Another cop asked, as Shifter pointed at them.

"I don't know those two. But one's Chrysalis. She's the head of a big company and has two sons. You might want to make sure those two are okay and tell them about their mother. She's likely been a Mimic for a long time without them knowing." The cops nodded, as Shifter moved to the other one. "And this guy is Neighsay. He's on Canterlot's school board."

The cops nodded again, as one spoke up. "Are these...those Mimic Generals that keep showing up?"

"Yes," Shifter nodded as he gestured to each Cocoon. "Maya-Vala-Uru, Frill-Nar-Ron, Greye-No-Bill and High-Vol-Tich." The cops looked confused, as Shifter turned away. "Those last two are new Mimic Generals that showed up today. Guess they needed reinforcements, after I destroyed Gule. Listen. You need to get these people to a hospital. They've been through hell and are probably malnourished."

"Understood," the cop in charge nodded. "Don't worry. We'll get them to safety and inform their families. But they'll also have to answer a few questions about what happened to them." He turned to the prisoners. "You've been through a lot, but any info you have on those monsters will be appreciated."

They all frowned. Clearly, they were interested in simply putting what happened to them behind them.

They glanced over at Shifter, who was already taking out another Mimicore. He gave them a look and they all remembered their promise. They would tell them everything, but leave out Shifter being a captive and his real name.

"FLIGHT!"

They watched him transform into his flying form and take off, with the cops beginning to call for an ambulance and some trucks they could use to move the cocoons somewhere safe. Many of them wondered how long these individuals had been trapped inside the amber.

All they knew was that Shifter and Morphic had been real heroes this day. They had saved those held captive by the Mimics and uncovered the identities, of the individuals being impersonated. Hopefully, this would be a large hit for the Mimics. They didn't know what those freak would do next, but they hoped this would teach them a lesson.

Back at the Mimic lair, several Mimicreeps were working to repair the damage done to the cocoon room.

In the main lab, the four generals knelt on the ground in front of the communications device. The four were clearly worried, especially Maya and Frill. Said device was active, showing the hologram of their master.

"You let them escape?" He growled, clearly not happy. "I sent you two to make sure something like this didn't happen. How could you let it occur?"

"We were taken by surprise," High stated. "We're not sure how Morphic was able to manage it, but he was somehow able to open a portal to this location. This spot might be compromised."

The master clearly didn't like that. "Then you need to evacuate that location at once, before the Riders return with an army of human soldiers. We can take on humans in small quantities, even heavily armed ones. But if they and the Riders combined their power, you won't stand a chance."

"Yes, master." Greye stood up. "I have a location in mind. It's not far from here and has more than enough room for all our equipment and the cocoons. But moving everything there and getting set up, might take a while."

"Then you'd better get to work," the master replied. "And don't think I'll allow this delay to go unpunished. Once you've finished setting everything up, I expect you to have a new plan on how to deal with the Riders. Get to work."

"Yes, master." With that, the hologram disappeared and the Mimics stood up. "Damn those Riders!" Frill growled. "Every time we seem to get the upper-hand, they suddenly pull some new power out of nowhere. What will it take to destroy them?"

"They have to have a weakness," Greye stated. "All we need to do is find it. And once we have, they'll regret they ever crossed us. Now come on. We have work to do. The Riders could return and attack any day. We must be gone with everything worth taking before they do."

They nodded and all got to work. They would need a lot of Mimicreeps to get this place abandoned in record time. But once they were back online, the Riders would rue the day they found this place.

Speaking of the Riders, Flash and Shining had met up and were currently outside the hospital that had Timber and the other prisoners inside.

Flash explained everything that had happened after his capture, whilst Shining explained how he had gotten his new Mimicore. "Corvyn?" Flash asked, as they sat on the roof of a nearby building. "So that's his name. Wish I'd asked what it was the first time we met. At least now, we don't have to keep calling him cloak guy."

"It's thanks to him that I was able to come and save you when I did. If he hadn't, who knows what would have happened to you."

"Timber and all the others would have been turned back into Mimics." Flash frowned. "And I don't wanna guess what they would have tried to do to me." Shining nodded, as they took out their phones.

They knew it was just a matter of time before the identities of those trapped in the cocoons, were released to the public. Thorax and Pharynx were probably being told about it right now. And if the other three had close family, they'd soon be made aware of it as well.

"You think they'll find a way to free them from the amber?" Flash turned to Shining, who clearly didn't know how to answer that question.

"I'm not sure. If they can't, then it'll be up to us. We'll need to defeat Maya and the others, to free them once and for all." Flash nodded, as he noticed a police car arrive in front of the building. Thorax and Pharynx stepped out of it, both of them rushing into the hospital with a police officer right behind them.

Flash couldn't help but feel sorry for them. I didn't know what he would feel, if his mother or sister was trapped inside some weird slime and unresponsive. "I'll find a way to free her. I promise."

Shining nodded, as he patted Flash on the shoulder. "Just be careful the next time you fight against the Mimics. You went into Hyper Strike form right from the start and we both saw what happened there. Corvyn said you froze up because you used too much power too quickly."

"Yeah," Flash nodded, "I guess I've gotta be more careful with it." He took out said core and looked it over. "Maybe it'll be best to not use it."

"No," Shining told him, "its strength is way too valuable to not use it. You just gotta be careful with it. Until you've gotten used to handling its power, only use it when you need to. Some Mimics are stronger than others. Only use the Hyper Strike Core, when your opponent is too strong for all your other forms. Alright?"

Flash nodded. "Alright." He put the core away and turned to him. "Shouldn't you be getting home? Twilight and the others are probably eager to hear what happened."

"Yeah," Shining nodded. "She'll probably want to know that Timber's back." Flash nodded, as the pair got up and began to make their way down the building and onto the street.

They had been through a lot in the last few days. They had had to fight like hell to protect their world. It hadn't been easy and they were lucky to have made it out of this alive. But now, they could hopefully relax and rest up. Because they would need it. For the battles that were yet to come.

Within his lab, the cloaked figure named Corvyn was watching footage of Morphic defeating the T-Rex Mimic.

The figure nodded, glad to see the Riders have grown stronger and that Flash was able to be saved before the Mimics discovered anything too crucial. But as he watched it and the previous fights from that day, he realised a hallowing truth.

"The two of them won't always be enough to defeat the Mimics." Corvyn shut down the video and turned towards a nearby table. "The Mimics are growing stronger and stronger. It won't be long before they become too much for the Riders to handle."

He walked over to said table, as he stared at the device on it.

"Sooner or later, they will need help. Someone to even the playing field and give them backup, when they find themselves up against a superior foe. But who?" Down on the table was a familiar looking device.

It was a Mimic Driver. Only it was without the actual belt straps. Right now, it was nothing more than the oversized buckle. It appeared to be deactivated, just waiting to be given to someone who could wield its power to fight the Mimics. But who could that be?

Author's Note

And with that, the first part of this story has officially come to an end. Now Shining has his own super form and whilst probably not as strong as Hyper Strike, it's got its own power and doesn't risk freezing him up. Tell me what you think.

Next time, something special for the Rider series.

Movie 1: Part 1

In an unknown place, somewhere dark and menacing, three figures found themselves in the midst of a battle.

Two of these figures were fighting together, launching blasts of lightning and fire towards the third. These blasts gave off no light, keeping the area completely dark. And as they shot towards their target, the figure leapt around to avoid them as best they could.

This figure's form was rather bulky, especially in the leg department. They appeared to be wearing some kind of armored suit, which they managed to move around in quite well despite the bulkiness of it.

The other two stood side by side, one being tall and lean whilst the other was short and round. They were both carrying staffs, which they were using to launch the attacks at the other.

The round one unleashed a blast of lightning towards them, whilst the armored figure suddenly pulled some kind of war-hammer out and used it to deflect the energy. But as they did, the tall one launched a blast of fire that the armored figure wasn't able to block.

"AUGH!" Whoever they were, they were blasted backwards and smashed into the ground hard.

As this was happening, the two figures turned to one another. "Why don't we test out our new spell?" The short one asked. "If it works, we can use it on ourselves. If it doesn't, we get to see what it does to a pathetic pony."

"I like the sound of that," the tall one nodded. They both raised their staffs and brought them together, causing light to swirl around the tops of them and form a ball of purple and black energy. And as the armored figure pushed himself up, they thrust the sphere towards him.

"WOW!" He jumped forward and rolled under the sphere, laughing as it missed him. "Nice try!" But then he heard an explosion and looked back, to see the sphere hit the wall behind him and explode into a large swirling vortex. "What?" The next thing he knew, he was being dragged towards it.

The two laughed in delight, as the figure did his best to fight against the pull with little success. "Have a nice trip!" The round one told him. "Wherever you end up." This was the last thing the figure heard before he was pulled into the portal, disappearing through the black and purple energy swirl.

They screamed as they disappeared and as soon as they were sucked through, the vortex started shrinking before completely vanishing.

The two figures laughed at this. "Finally. That felt so good."

The taller one nodded. "Our mother would be so proud. If only we had learned that spell earlier. She might still be around."

"Let's not focus on the past," the shorter one stated. "We can't do anything about it now. All we can focus on is the future. Now come on. We have a lot of work to do." The taller one nodded and they began to walk away, as the tall one pondered something

"I wonder where he'll end up. Hopefully, someplace horrible with danger around every corner.

Canterlot City. A place where almost anything can happen.

Whether it be a magic induced piece of havoc, or an attack from the interdimensional monsters named Mimics. People had come to expect almost anything could happen in the city, though they knew they had heroes that could protect them from these disasters.

One of those heroes was Flash Sentry, who was secretly the hero known as Kamen Rider Shifter.

The teen was currently heading towards the city's hospital, where he was planning to meet up with the people he had helped save the other day. Those people had been prisoners of the Mimics, people the monsters had kidnapped and impersonated. After the Mimics copying them was destroyed, they had been kept as prisoners until Flash and Shining Armor had saved them. Now they were in hospital, getting checked out to make sure they were okay.

As Flash stepped up in front of the hospital, he thought about the people he had saved and the promise they had made. Flash was there to make sure they were all okay, but also to make sure they hadn't told anyone who Kamen Rider Shifter's true identity was.

But as the teen headed into the lobby, he was spotted by someone walking away from the front desk. "Flash?"

He looked straight ahead and spotted Twilight Sparkle, the girl making her way towards him. "Twilight." He waved, "hey. You here to visit someone?" Flash instantly realised he knew who she was there to see.

"Yeah. I came to see if Timber's feeling any better." She frowned, "but the doctors aren't letting anyone visit him. It seems he and the other prisoners are all going through a bunch of tests."

"Makes sense," Flash nodded. "They were all prisoners of the Mimics for a long time. There's no telling what kind of effects that can have on someone."

"I guess," Twilight nodded. "But I still wish I could see him. Even if it's just for a few minutes."

"I'm sure you will eventually. But I guess they're not letting anyone except close family from visiting."

"Not even them. Gloriosa was here yesterday and tried to get in, but even see wasn't allowed to see him. Apparently, a lot of the patients' families haven't been allowed to see them." She sighed. "This is really frustrating." Flash could understand that. Which also meant he probably wouldn't be allowed to see Timber or the others either. "So what are you doing here?"

"Huh?" Flash was pulled out of his thoughts by Twilight's question.

"I asked what you're doing here? Is someone in your family sick as well?"

"Kinda," Flash tried to think. "A...friend of my mom's is sick at the moment. My Mom was busy, so she asked me to come make sure she was okay."

"Oh," Twilight nodded, "okay. Well, I hope your friend's mom is okay." She started heading for the exit. "I better be getting home. Maybe I can have Shining get me in to see Timber."

"Maybe," Flash nodded. "But even if he can't, Timber won't be in the hospital forever. Once he's out, you'll be able to see him to your heart's content." Twilight smiled at this, as she said her goodbyes before heading out of the hospital.

Flash watched her leave and sighed. Since he had told her he was going to be visiting someone, he couldn't leave now. He'd have to hang around until he was sure she was gone.

At the police station, Shining Armor was going over his paperwork.

As he finished one case file and closed the folder, his captain stepped up to him. "Hey, Armor. Any news from those people the Riders saved from the Mimics?" Shining had gone to interview all the prisoners as soon as they were free from their tests. The lot of them had been badly shaken from their time under the Mimic's grasp. They were badly malnourished and dehydrated, along with being so traumatised they had woken up screaming on several occasions.

"I'm afraid not," Shining told him. "They were locked up the whole time they were held prisoner. The Mimics didn't say anything about their plans. But they did say that there's some kind of master, controlling the Mimics from the shadows." Flash had actually told him that, but the captain didn't need to know that.

"Well that's something," the captain stated. "But it's not gonna help us stop the Mimics once and for all. It's only a matter of time before they show up and cause problems. We need to find a way to beat them before they try anything insane."

Shining nodded in agreement. He knew in his Tri-Horn form, he might be able to open a portal to the Mimic's base. But they were in no position to wage an assault on them.

"Well, let's just hope those Riders can keep things under control until we find a way to take them out for good. The military is working on new weapons to fight these things every day. Hopefully, they'll find something and we can start helping the Riders instead of hiding behind them."

"I'm sure the Riders will appreciate that," Shining nodded as his captain headed off. Shining wondered if he should come clean about his status as a Rider. But as soon as the thought entered his head, he shook it off. The last thing he needed was to get stuck in some military lab, getting a hundred tests run on him until they figured out how to copy his abilities.

"Focus on what you can do for now." He grabbed another file and started reading through it, writing a few things down as he did so. He had enjoyed this lack of action over the last week. He knew it couldn't last, so he was gonna enjoy it as much as he could.

Back at the hospital, Flash had gone to the cafeteria to grab a snack whilst he waited for Twilight to leave.

After grabbing a fruit cup, he headed over to Timber's room to see if he really was being kept from having visitors. And sure enough, a pair of guards from the hospital security staff were standing in the corridor belonging to the prisoners.

Flash quickly moved away from the area, not wanting to be asked too many questions. And as he left, he found himself almost running into someone. "WOW!" He staggered back, as the woman stopped herself before she could fall over. "Sorry." Flash realised it was a nurse.

She was a short fat woman, with peach skin that had freckles on her face. She also had black hair, tied up in a pair of pigtails coming off the sides of her head. She wasn't the prettiest woman to look at by a long stretch, with her teeth looking crooked and her nose appearing too large for her face.

"Watch it!" She told him. "What are you even doing here?"

"Um..." Flash wasn't sure how to answer that, as he spotted her badge and quickly read the name. "Sorry, Nurse Reeka. Just looking around."

"This is a hospital," the woman named Reeka stated. "Not a place for children to go exploring. Now, kindly leave." Flash nodded and began to head for the exit. As he did, Reeka smirked and turned to head down the corridor. "Now. Where are they?"

She made her way through the hospital, being careful not to stand out. And after a while, she found what she was looking for.

Another room in the hospital, which was currently under protection from a bunch of guards. A room that held the other prisoners that had been saved from the Mimics, though they weren't conscious to appreciate it. "Excellent. Now, to start the distraction." She took out a phone and sent a message to someone, smiling as she waited for the distraction to begin.

Flash had arrived in the lobby when he heard it. A loud scream, coming from outside.

Instincts kicking in, Flash rushed forward as he reached into his jacket to take out his Mimicore. And when he arrived outside, he found a bunch of people running away from something. But it was what they were running from that had Flash confused.

They were some of the weirdest things Flash had ever seen. They were humanoid in appearance, though they appeared to be a mash-up of multiple different creatures. They were covered in orange feathers, which covered their bodies and wing-like arms. Said arms didn't look big enough to fly and coming out the ends were a trio of long red claws.

A yellow ring of puffy feather surrounded their necks and their heads weren't avian, instead looking like that of a wolf's but with the comb of a rooster, sticking out the top like a mohawk. Their feet were the only parts not covered in feathers, these feet looking like yellow chicken feet with razor sharp claws.

"What the?" Flash tilted his head, as the creatures jumped about and threw a bunch of cars and imbalances all over the place. As they did, Flash realised he hadn't sensed them. "They're not Mimics. So what the heck are they?" Hearing more people screaming, Flash realised he needed to table that query for later.

Running around the hospital, Flash found a spot that was deserted and activated his Mimicore.

"STRIKE!"

Around Flash's waist, the Mimic Driver appeared with Flash opening it up before placing the Mimicore inside. He then struck a pose and he called out, "HENSHIN!" Flash then slammed the draw shut, locking the Mimicore inside the Driver as the device spoke up.

"MIMIC! LIGHTNING BUG!" From out of the pipes, a strange dark orange liquid shot out and flew into the air. It then began to rain down on Flash and when it hit him or the ground, it solidified. Within seconds, his body was completely encased in a strange amber-like cocoon.

Moments later, the cocoon cracked apart before exploding off of him and revealing his black suit. The amber then flew back towards him and melted onto his body, turning orange as it transformed into a transparent armor whilst the lines on his suit changed to orange.

As the armour settled, the belt unleashed new words. "Illuminate the light, striking through the darkness!"

Kamen Rider Shifter was ready for battle and he quickly rushed out from behind the hospital, taking out his Shift Striker and another Mimicore as he did. "PIERCE!" He slotted his core into the weapon and in a flash, it transformed into a futuristic rifle that he held in both hands. And once he reached the spot the creatures were attacking, he leapt into the air and started shooting.

The dog, bird hybrids suddenly found themselves getting gunned down, the lot of them letting out a combination of howl and squawk as they were hit.

The ones that weren't hit, turned their attention to the Rider and charged with their claws ready to tear him to pieces. Shifter saw them coming and as he landed, he started dodging and throwing kicks to keep them away so he could shoot them.

The creatures that were shot all fell to the ground, the lot of them twitching as they tried to pry the energy spike out of their chests. But before the could, they suddenly puffed up like a balloon before popping into a burst of feathers.

Shifter saw this and realised whatever these creatures were, they were on the same level as the Mimicreeps when it came to strength and endurance. But the issue was the numbers. "There's too many of them!" He spun around and kicked several back, as he swapped his Mimicores.

"BLADE!"

He quickly replaced his Mimicores into the Shift Striker and changed it into a sword form, allowing him to cut through any bird, wolf hybrid that got too close. Like when he shot them, every time he cut one they exploded into a puff of feathers. But no matter how many of them he cut down, more appeared and he was starting to get tired.

"I could use a little help!" He called out to nobody in particular.

"Ask and you shall receive!" Suddenly, Kamen Rider Morphic flew into the fight on his bike. As he landed, he raised his Blitz Blaster and fired at the creatures. They all exploded as he hit them, whilst Morphic also ran several down. He then leapt off his bike and landed next to Shifter. "You okay?"

"Yeah. But these things are weird. They're not Mimics, as far as I can tell."

"Well, whatever they are, they're clearly dangerous and need to be stopped." Shifter nodded as one of the creatures attacked, Shifter slashing at it with his sword.

Morphic blasted at the others with his weapon, allowing him to get close and use his enhanced strength to punch one flying backwards into the air. But even with two of them, the creatures refused to let themselves be beaten so easily. More and more of them kept showing up, with the Riders getting more and more tired with every monster they destroyed.

They keep this up for a while, until the seven girls known as the Rainbooms arrived.

Sunset Shimmer, Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy, all stared at the creatures as they ran onto the scene. "What the heck?" Rainbow asked, seeing the bird dog hybrids fighting against the Riders. "What are those things?"

"I don't know," Sunset replied before feeling her geode beginning to glow. "Wait. What?" The others looked down and saw their geodes were also glowing, as they detected a familiar energy. "Equestrian Magic."

"Those things are made of Equestrian Magic?" Applejack asked. "A'h thought Equestrian Magic effected objects, not living things."

"They might be under the influence of something with Magic," Twilight pointed out. "But either way, we need to stop them. The Riders can't hope to beat something with Equestrian Magic."

"She's right," Rainbow nodded. "The Riders might be good at dealing with Mimics. But if these things are from Equestria, they're our jurisdiction. Whatever they are."

"They're called Raptorians!" Everyone looked around, to see someone walking towards them. "And they fall under my jurisdiction."

The one who said that was a teen, who had light gray skin with black hair that had tips that were either light blue, green or pink. He was dressed in a white shirt, with a green leather jacket over it and blue pants.

He walked forward, past the Rainbooms, as he stared at the creatures he called Raptorians. The beasts let out several howling squawks, as he stared at them without any worry in this face. Shifter and Morphic also noticed him, wondering who the heck he was.

"What are you doing?" Sunset asked, "it's dangerous here. You need to get away."

"No way," the teen stated. "This is my fight. These guys and I have a history. I'm not about to walk away and let you guys fight them on your own." Everyone wondered what he meant by that, as the teen took something out of his jacket.

It was a strange looking device that reminded the Riders of their Mimic Drivers, this one being silver in colour with no screen on the front. Instead, a section in the middle appeared to be removed and it had a pair of handles on both sides that looked like they moved back and forth.

The teen placed the device on his waist and as soon as he did, a belt came out the sides and connected on his back. "E-Quest Driver!"

They all stared at him in confusion, Shifter and Morphic sharing a look before glancing back at him. "Who are you?" Morphic asked, making the teen smirk as he took something out of his pocket. Some kind of white object that reminded Morphic of his police badge. On it was the image of a brown horse, which looked strong enough to drag a house behind it.

"Just a passing through Kamen Rider." With that, the teen held the shield forward and pressed a button on top of it. This caused the device to light up.

"EARTH PONY!"

The teen pointed the shield upwards and the light shot off, creating a larger version of the shield floating above him made of white light. He then placed the shield down in the empty spot of his driver, the device unleashing another stream of light which flew into the shield above him.

When it came out the other side, the light took the shape of a large brown energy horse. The creature actually let out a neigh, as the teen posed before yelling out. "HENSHIN!" With that, he slammed both hands into the handles and pushed them into the Driver.

This caused the shield to split down the middle and open up, revealing an armored figure. At the same time, the light shield above him dropped down and the teen flew through the centre of it.

Once the light hit the ground, it exploded and the teen was covered in the white light. And when the light faded, the teen was wearing a white body suit similar to Shifter's and Morphic's. The suit didn't have the lines on it like them, but the suit clearly used a lot of the same design philosophies.

The energy horse let out another neigh before exploding into several streams of energy, which flew down and struck several areas of his suit. When they did, they transformed into pieces of brown armor that covered his chest, shoulder and lower arms. This armor all looked rather light, allowing for great manoeuvrability.

However, the armor that appeared on his legs was a different story. Starting at his knees and working down all the way to his feet, this armor was thick and strong. It looked like it could knock down a wall in a single kick.

The figure's head also gained a brown knight-theme helmet, which had a bunch of metal lines running from one side of it to the other. They even went over his red lensed eyes, along with his mouth guard. Above his eyes was the image of a horse's head.

Transformation complete, the figure posed as his Driver began to speak. "Power of the Earth, unleashed in a single destructive kick! EARTH PONY POWER!"

Everyone stared at him in absolute shock, having not expected to see that. What was even more shocking, was that the girls could sense something coming off the armor he was now sporting. "Equestrian Magic," Sunset gasped.

The new Rider didn't waste any time and leapt into the air, his heavily armed legs propelling himself upwards and allowing him to close the gap between himself and the crowd of Raptorians. And as soon as he landed, he started swinging his legs around to kick the hybrid creatures flying in multiple directions.

One tried to get in close and slash at him, but he managed to grab it by the wrists before leaping up and kicking it in the chest hard enough for it to explode. This also allowed him to back flip, landing right next to Shifter and Morphic.

He spun towards them and placed a hand on his chest before giving a slight bow. "The name's E-Quest. Kamen Rider E-Quest."

"E...Quest?" Shifter replied, only to have to duck under another Raptorian's slash. He cut the creature down, whilst Morphic kept blasting them and E-Quest kicked a few more away.

"Gaia Smasher!" The new Rider's Driver glowed and the light shot off to form some kind of shape, eventually forming a large war-hammer that E-Quest grabbed. This hammer had a long handle and the actual hammer parts, resembled the hooves of a horse.

E-Quest gripped the staff and started spinning it around. He smashed it into several Raptorians, sending them flying as he danced around with incredible footwork. The other two Riders were taking several down, but they were too focused on E-Quest.

"Who is this guy?" Shifter asked, as the horse-themed Rider used his hammer as balance whilst he swung both his legs around. "His powers aren't like ours."

"True," Morphic nodded. "But he seems to be helping us, so I guess we'll just have to accept he's here until these monsters are dealt with." He blasted another away, as he spotted some of the Rainbooms rushing into the fight.

Applejack threw a punch into one Raptorian's chest and sent it flying back, as Twilight picked several up and threw them whilst Rarity launched several gems to cut into them. Rainbow was rushing around, using her super speed to knock the creatures down whilst Pinkie blew them up with exploding sprinkles.

E-Quest swung his hammer around a full three sixty and knocked all the Raptorians away, then seemed to dispel the hammer before reaching down and pulling the handles of the Driver out.

This caused the shield to close, as the armor on his suit suddenly disappeared. He was still in his Rider suit and he quickly took something out. Another shield.

Instead of having a brown horse on it, this one had a blue horse with wings on its back. And when he pressed the button on the top, it lit up.

"PEGASUS!"

E-Quest quickly placed this shield into his Driver and pushed the handles back in, causing the shield to open up and unleash a bunch of blue energy. That energy took the shape of a winged horse, which also neighed before exploding back into the light and flying down to form new armor.

This new armor was similar to the Earth Pony armor, but a few parts were different.

First, it was blue and the armor around his legs was much thinner and appeared easier to run fast in. Instead, the armor around his chest was larger and also covered his back. And coming out of his back armor were a pair of blue metal wings. Meanwhile, his helmet was blue and had a set of wing-like ears sticking out the side.

Transformation complete, the Driver spoke up. "Power of the Sky, harnessed by a pair of majestic wings! PEGASUS POWER!"

"Let's fly!" He cheered, as his wings suddenly grew larger and he took to the sky. "Aero Shooter!" Light flew off his Driver and formed a metal bow, with blades on the ends and some kind of box-like handle with a rip-chord.

He grabbed this rip-chord and pulled on it, drawing it like an arrow as he pointed it towards the Raptorians below him. He then released it and the chord bounced back into the box, as it fired a blast of air that flew down and exploded when it hit the ground.

The wind spread out and cut through the Raptorians, making them blow up as E-Quest dived down and started slashing at more with the blades of the bow. The others watched and realised he was a lot faster than he had been before, though it didn't seem to pack as much of a punch as he did before.

E-Quest spun around and launched several air blasts, knocking the Raptorians around him backwards.

He then landed and used his wings to slash at a few more of them, showing the others that he was clearly adept at fighting these things. Wherever they had come from, it was obviously the same place since he had a bunch of experience fighting them.

Sunset and Fluttershy had stayed back, once again finding themselves unable to do anything except watch the others as they thought.

But a bunch of Raptorians spotted them and began to approach, Sunset pushing Fluttershy behind her as they prepared to attack. But before they could, Shifter leapt over to them as he switched the Mimicores in his Shift Striker.

"FLIGHT!"

The weapon transformed into a metal owl and as it pointed its wings towards the hybrids, the fans inside them started spinning and created a tornado that blew them up and into the air. As they were thrown upwards, E-Quest flew up and used his bow to cut them to pieces.

Once they were dealt with, E-Quest once again closed the shield and his Pegasus Armor vanished.

He then took out another Shield, this one having a purple horse on it. On top of its head was a long horn, that glowed with differently colours lightning surrounding it. And as he pressed the button, it activated.

"UNICORN!"

He placed the device into his Driver and pushed the handles in, the shield opening and unleashing a purple light that took the shape of a horned equine. The unicorn let out a neigh before bursting into light, which flew down and formed E-Quest's new armor.

This one was purple and the chest was the same as his Earth Pony Armor, whilst his legs were the same as his Pegasus Armor. Meanwhile, his right armor was inside a large purple horse head with a silver horn sticking out the end. On his helmet, the horse had a horn sticking out the top.

Transformation complete, the Driver spoke up. "Magical power of the cosmos, unleashed using a single mighty horn! UNICORN POWER!"

As the Raptorians charged forward, the horn glowed yellow and E-Quest swung it around. Blast of lightning then exploded out of the horn, shooting off in the hybrid's direction and causing them all to scream as they were struck by the bolts. And as they exploded, the horn glowed red and he thrust it forward to unleash a blast of fire that engulfed several more and burned them alive.

Several more charged at Sunset and Fluttershy, as the horn glowed purple.

He thrust it forward and created a tendril of purple energy, which flew over to the Raptorians and spun around them. Within seconds, they were all tied together and the light faded to reveal metal chains holding them all in place.

E-Quest chuckled at this, as the horn turned a light blue and he thrust it forwards.

This caused it to unleash a blast of cold air, that struck the Raptorians and caused them to squawk. In the blink of an eye, they were transformed into ice sculptures and quickly shattered. The ice fell to the ground and disappeared, leaving no sign of the frozen bird wolves.

Shifter, Morphic and the rest of the Rainbooms had dealt with almost all the other Raptorians, with only a small group left. And as they staggered into a large group, E-Quest walked towards them and switched his crest with the first one he used.

"EARTH PONY POWER!"

Morphing into the brown armor, E-Quest looked ready to destroy them all at once. And sure enough, he pulled the handles out before pushing them back in, the crest beginning to glow as he did so.

"EARTH PONY POWER! OVERDRIVE!"

"I'm galloping towards the finish line." E-Quest stomped the ground and leapt forward, as the light spread to his heavily armored right foot. "RIDER KICK!" He swung his leg around and the light exploded off of it in a crescent blade, which flew down and cut through the Raptorians like they were nothing.

E-Quest spun in the air and landed in front of the beasts, as they all exploded in a massive fireball behind him.

The Rider stood up and was illuminated by the flames behind him, whilst the Riders and Rainbooms grouped up and stared at him. "I'll ask again," Shifter stated. "Who is this guy?"

Sunset frowned. "Whoever he is, he's using the same magic that me and my friends use. But I've never seen Equestrian Magic being used in such a way." She rushed forward. "Listen to me. You have to give up that magic. It comes from another world and if you use it, you could end up losing control."

E-Quest tilted his head. "I know it's from another world." He placed his hand on his chest, "I'm from that world as well."

Sunset and the others were shocked to hear this. "You come from Equestria?" Twilight asked. "How? Did you come through the mirror portal?"

"Mirror portal?" He asked. "What mirror portal?"

"The one in Princess Twilight's castle," Sunset pointed out.

"Princess...Twilight's not a princess." Everyone shared a confused look, as E-Quest tapped the side of his helmet. "It's possible I come from a different Equestrian from the one you're talking about. My mother's always talking about how there might be multiple dimensions, many having similarities but also differences."

"Mother?" Shifter asked, as E-Quest pointed at Sunset.

"Who's the ruler of your Equestria?"

"Celestia and Luna," Sunset stated. "But Princess Twilight will be taking over soon."

"She is?" Twilight asked.

"She sent me a message letting me know. Kind of a surprise for me too." She turned to E-Quest. "Who rules your Equestria?"

"Celestia and Luna," he stated. "And we don't have a Princess Twilight. Just a normal Twilight. Guardian of Harmony alongside her five friends."

"Guardians of harmony?" Sunset asked. "Yeah, Twilight's never had that title. You really are from another Equestria. But how did you get here?"

"Heck if I know," E-Quest stated with a shrug of his shoulders. "I was fighting a pair of witches in my Equestria and the next thing I know, they're making a portal behind me and I'm getting sucked into it. The next thing I know, I'm waking up here and I have...these!" He pointed down at his feet.

"Right," Rainbow nodded, "guess going from four legs to two is kind of weird."

"What?" E-Quest asked. "Wait. Are the ponies in your Equestria quadrupedal?" Sunset nodded. "Huh. Then we really are from different worlds. In my dimension, most creatures are bipedal." Sunset seemed surprised by this.

"So...the way you look now. That's how you normally look? Just with hooves instead of feet?"

"Pretty much," E-Quest nodded. "Also, my muzzle is smaller." He placed his hand on his helmet, as if trying to figure out if the armor was different like with his feet. "Whatever. We don't have time to really talk. If Raptorians are here, Reeka and Draggle are also here. I don't know why they attacked this hospital, but I'm sure it's not gonna be any good."

"Reeka and Draggle?" Rarity asked, "are those the witches you were telling us about?" E-Quest nodded, as Shifter felt like he knew one of those names.

"Reeka...Reeka...where have I seen that name before." He tried to remember and suddenly, he flashed back to earlier and the nurse he had run into. "Um...this Reeka. She wouldn't happen to be an ugly, fat and short woman, with black hair and crooked teeth?"

"Um...maybe. She's not a human, but she does use magic to change her appearance. Why?"

Shifter ran into the hospital, which had been partly evacuated in the attack. There were a few nurses and doctors around, keeping an eye on the patients that couldn't be so easily moved. Shifter grabbed one of these doctors. "Do you have a nurse here named Reeka?"

"Reeka? Never heard of her." That confirmed it for Shifter.

"There's only two reasons I can think of for anyone to try and sneak into this hospital." The others caught on and all headed up towards the area where the freed prisoners and the cocoons were being stored. They reached the cocoon room first and when they arrived, they found the guards knocked out on the floor.

"Oh no." Morphic ran forward and pushed his way into the room, the others right behind them. They spotted the four cocoons, all having chains around them that were bolted to the floor and kept anyone from stealing them.

Someone was holding some kind of magical staff and using it to melt through the chains, only to stop when they found ten individuals running into the room. "Reeka!" E-Quest cried, as the ugly nurse growled.

"E-Quest. So this is where you went." Her entire body started glowing and suddenly transformed, staying the same basic size and shape. When the light faded, she was wearing a red dress and witches hat. Her skin was the same colour, but it looked more like it was made from hardened flesh that looked like it could take more of a beating. Her mouth was larger and showed off her teeth more, including a pair of tusk-like fangs. Finally, her nose looked more like a pig's nose and made some horrible noises as she pointed her staff at them.

Rarity looked horrified by the monster, whilst the others got into a fighting stance. "What are you doing here?" Morphic asked. "What do you want with the Mimic Cocoons?"

"That's for me to know," she stated. "And for you to wonder until I blast you." With that, she raised her staff and unleashed a powerful blast of red lightning towards them. They all cried out, as the bolts approached. Things had certainly taken a turn for the bizarre on this day.

Author's Note

That's right, folks. Welcome to the Verses movie, which doesn't always have the Riders fighting one another.

What do you all think of this surprise movie? I told you this would be special. Though we'll be taking a break from the main story for a while, we'll get to enjoy this instead. Hope you enjoy it so far and tell me what you think of E-Quest's design.

For those having trouble imagining parts of his suit. His helmet is basically Ryuki's, whilst the different thicker armor of his different forms are all based on Magnamon's armor. Earth Pony form has his leg armor, with boots instead of the toes, his Pegasus armor is the chest without the shoulder pads. And his Unicorn form is the arms with one of them having a metal horn head on the end.

How will the rest of this movie play out? Only time will tell.

Movie 1: Part 3

Crystal Prep was one of the best schools in its part of the country. Its alumni almost always went on to roles of great significance. Many people believed that a future president would one day graduate from it.

But despite its great reputation, it had once been known as a place where childhoods went to die. So focused on achievements, the school had little room for fun. Fun was seen as a distraction and not something worth wasting time on. At least until recently, when a new principal had taken over.

The former Dean of the school turned Principal, Cadance, smiled as she walked down the halls.

Despite it being a weekend, some of the students had asked to come in to continue a science project they had been working on. And since Cadance's fiance was busy, she had agreed to supervise them.

As such, she arrived at the science lab and found some of her students were hard at work. There were four students in total. Sugarcoat, Neon Lights, Fleur De Lis and Garden Grove. The four were all staring at a purple gem that was inside a glass jar, the four staring at it in wonder.

Cadance stared at the gem herself, as she stepped over to them. "So, how are the experiments coming?"

"Not great," Neon told her. "This rock is a complete mystery. We've no idea what it is and what weird powers it has." Cadance hummed at this, remembering when her students had brought it in to do these experiments. Apparently, they had found it in the local woods during an anthropological study they were doing.

"This rock is definitely no ordinary gemstone," Sugarcoat stated. "When we did an inferred scan, we found it was filled with some kind of energy. But no matter what we do, we can't seem to access the energy. We've hit it with light, electricity, heat and even a small dose of gamma radiation. But nothing makes it react."

"Did you try just breaking it open?" Cadance asked, as the students frowned.

"That was the first thing we tried," Fleur sighed. "But nothing we have was even able to chip it. This thing is freaking indestructible."

Cadance let that info sink in and wondered what kind of gemstone this was. And as she wondered, an idea formed in her head. "Maybe you should ask someone for their opinion. Someone who might have experience with this kind of rock."

"But we don't know what kind of rock it is," Garden told her.

"I think it's pretty obvious what it is. A strange rock with strange energy within it. What does that sound like to you." The students frowned, as they all realised what she was saying.

"You think it's magic," Sugarcoat stated. "And you want us to ask Twilight and her new friends about it." Cadance nodded, as the four frowned.

"But this is our rock," Neon cried. "If we tell them, they might take it away."

"If it's really got magic inside of it, having it here could be dangerous. You all saw what happened during the Friendship Games. Do you really want to accidentally open a portal that might suck the school into another dimension?"

They all sighed before speaking in unison. "No."

Cadance smiled as she nodded. "Good. Besides, I might be wrong. It might not be magic. And if it isn't, I'm sure the girls will let you keep it." They nodded, as Cadance moved over to the window and thought about how insane her life was.

A year ago, she never would have considered magic as a possibility for anything. Now, she had to wonder if it was that whenever something strange happened. Combine that with the Mimics and everyone was getting crazy in her life. Shining losing his memory, Twilight being kidnapped and her boyfriend being revealed to be a Mimic. What was next?

Cadance's answer came almost instantly, as she spotted a light through one of the windows.

A light that had formed a portal of some kind, which a bunch of creatures suddenly leapt out of. One group was the Mimicreeps she had heard of, whilst the others were a group she had never seen before. But what Cadance knew was that them being here was not a good thing.

"Everyone get down!" She cried, running over to her students and pushing them to the floor.

"What's wrong?" Fleur asked, looking worried as Cadance gestured for them to move under the window.

"Mimics." That was all she needed to say and the kids were suddenly very worried. As they moved to the window, Cadance took out her phone and dialled up her fiance. But for some reason, she couldn't connect. "Come on, Shining. Please don't tell me you forgot to charge your phone." She tried again, but still got no response.

"This is really bad," Neon gulped.

"Won't the Kamen Riders arrive and save us?" Garden asked, as Cadance risked a glance out the window and saw them approaching.

"It's not like they magically appear whenever the Mimics attack," Sugarcoat frowned. "It might take them a while to get here."

"So what do we do?" Neon asked, as Fleur also risked a glance.

"Maybe they won't find us," she hoped. "Maybe they came for something else."

"Maybe," Cadance frowned. "But if they find us, they won't hesitate to attack. We need to find a way to defend ourselves if they do that." She looked around, but couldn't find anything she could use as a weapon. Nothing that wouldn't hurt them in the process, at least.

Minutes passed and the Mimics entered the building, Cadance seeing they were no longer outside. She frowned, wishing the windows opened more than a few degrees. But before she could think of smashing the window, the door was suddenly blown off its hinges and sent flying.

They all gasped, Cadance jumping in front of the teens as something stepped into the room.

That something was Draggle, the witch monster looking around until she spotted the jar they had been working on. "Yes! Finally! Hand it over!"

Sugarcoat saw what she was looking at and ran over to it. "You're not getting your hands on this gem." Draggle growled, as Neon leaned over to her.

"What are you doing? Just give it to her and she might leave."

Sugarcoat frowned at him. "If this is what they're after, the gem is clearly dangerous. We can't risk them getting their hands on it. Who knows what they'll do with it." Cadance frowned, but realised she was right. Whatever this gem was, they couldn't let the Mimics have it.

"I won't ask again," Draggle pointed her staff at them. "Give me the Infinigem Fragment!" As she said that, Frill and High stepped into the room with several monsters behind them.

"Just grab them and bring them with us," Frill stated. "We need some new subordinates." The five looked worried, as Draggle's staff unleashed a bright yellow light. That light grabbed them all and lifted the group into the air, the lot crying out in fear.

Sugarcoat tried to hold onto the jar, but it was eventually pulled out of her grasp and she cried out in shock. "NO!" The monsters laughed at this, only for a loud engine to suddenly catch their attention.

They looked towards the window and to their surprise, three elaborate motorcycles flew over the school's border wall and raced across the grass. As they did, one of the riders shot something at the window and the glass disintegrated without an explosion.

This allowed the three to jump off their bikes and fly through the window, revealing themselves to be the three Kamen Riders.

Shifter, E-Quest and Morphic quickly got into a fighting stance, as they looked around and saw the situation in front of them. And when Morphic saw Cadance, his blood began to boil. "Let them go!" He pointed his blaster at them, but Draggle acted fast and pulled the five over so they were between the Riders and monsters.

"Don't try anything funny," the Riders all growled at her. At the same time, Frill grabbed the jar out of her magic.

His first instinct was to open a portal. But he didn't want to risk it with the Riders there. The last thing they needed, was for them to discover the location of their new base. Instead, he turned to High. "Fry them!"

"With pleasure!" The tiger's body sparked before unleashing a blast of lightning, which shot towards the Riders and forced them to dodge the attack. At the same time, the lightning hit one of the gas plugs and blew it off. It was a miracle the gas didn't light, as it began to flood into the room.

Frill took this chance to take flight and before the Riders could stop him, he shot out of the window with the jar.

"Get back here!" Shifter yelled, about to take off after him. But before he could, he heard a cry and looked around to see the hostages in pain. Whatever magic had them, appeared to be constricting around them. If they didn't do something, they would all be crushed.

"Let them go!" Morphic cried, only for a bunch of Raptorians and Mimicreeps to run into the room and start attacking them.

The Riders were forced to fight back against them, the close quarters of the room making it difficult to properly get a hit in. The desks were all built into the floors, so they couldn't open the place up to really fight. The Mimicreeps and Raptorians were jumping about the place, slashing and leaping at them.

The Riders were forced on the defensive and couldn't strike back, as the villains kept their hostages between them so they couldn't attack them.

The hostages saw the trouble the heroes were in and realised that if they didn't find a way to stop this, things weren't going to go well. But there was nothing they could do. They could do nothing but swing their legs around wildly.

It was then that Fleur noticed a Bunsen burner, which had been lit during their experiments and somehow kept from falling over. Slowly, an idea formed in her head. It was a crazy plan, but it was better than nothing.

And with a mighty kick, she was able to send the devices flying across the table.

As soon as it hit a certain spot, a massive burst of fire suddenly appeared and slammed right into the Draggle. The gas that had been spraying into the monster's section had been ignited and now Draggle and High were being consumed by flames.

This made them both scream, staggering back and causing the magic holding the hostages to stop.

The students and Cadance all dropped, the lot staggering about as the Riders managed to knock the Mimicreeps and Raptorians away. Cadance quickly ran over to a wall and hit a red button, causing the gas to stop as she closed the main gas line.

This stopped the fire from hitting the monsters, a small price to pay for not having her school burned down. And as Draggle and High recovered, Morphic took out his blaster and started shooting them. "Get out of here!" He told Cadance and the students, who didn't argue and ran for the window.

Shifter and E-Quest helped them out, Shifter spotting the retreating form of Frill in the distance. "What did he get away with?" He asked, turning to E-Quest.

"It looked like some kind of gem," the other Rider stated.

Sugarcoat spoke up. "They called it an Infinigem Fragment." That seemed to get E-Quest's attention.

"Are you serious? You're sure they said Infinigem?" They nodded, as the Rider looked worried. "No. This is bad. Really, really bad. We need to get that fragment back." Shifter didn't need to hear anymore and quickly took out one of his Mimicores.

"FLIGHT!"

"Shape Shift!" He cried out, as he replaced his Mimicores and closed the draw.

"MIMIC! OWL!" The armour around his body began to melt before changing to a transparent yellow colour, then began reshaping itself before hardening to reveal Shifter's owl themed form. "Flying through the sky, seeking prey with all seeing vision!"

In that moment, Morphic leapt out of the window and shot back into it as he did. He spotted Shifter's wings spread as he took to the air, chasing after Frill whilst Draggle and High began to make their way to the window.

"Get them out of here!" He told E-Quest, pointing to Cadance and the students. E-Quest nodded and began to lead them away, as Morphic took out another Mimicore and activated it.

"RUSH!"

Morphic replaced the Mimicores and as the monsters leapt through the window, he closed the draw. "Mega Morph!"

"MIMIC! COYOTE!" The armor around his body began to melt and change from blue to a bright red colour, the amber slimming down before solidifying to form a thinner more streamlined armour. Now in his coyote form, Morphic summoned his claws and got ready for a fight. "Howling velocity, increasing the tearing power of its fangs"

High growled as she rushed towards Morphic, who responded by also shooting forward at high speed. The two began fighting at hyper sonic speed, both turning into nothing but a blur as they collided.

E-Quest quickly led the others to safety. And once they were safely out of the school grounds, the Rider turned back to the fight and saw the blurring images of Morphic and High. He also saw Draggle, who rushed forward with her staff held up.

"You're mine!" The Rider charged and as he got close enough, he swung his armored legs around. But before he could make contact, Draggle suddenly vanished. "Wow!" He almost lost his balance, but managed to stay upright as he looked around. When he did, he spotted Draggle a short distance away.

"Come now," Draggle laughed. "You haven't forgotten my personal magic, have you?"

E-Quest frowned, "space magic." He knew it was just as tricky as Reeka's time magic, the two together being a deadly combination. "Doesn't matter. I've beaten you guys before and I can do it again."

Draggle chuckled, "we'll see."

At the same time, Frill was flying across the city in search of a good spot to warp back to the base.

He had just spotted an area, when he suddenly felt a burning pain in his wing. "AUGH!" He looked up and saw the wing was burned, as an orange beam flew past him from behind. "What?" He forced himself to keep flying through the pain and spun around, the sight of Shifter flying towards him being what greeted him.

"Give me that gem!" Shifter fired his Strike Form Shift Striker weapon, the lasers flying towards him at high speed.

The Mimic General quickly summoned one of his swords and used it to slash at the lasers, knocking them away as he tried to escape. But Shifter was the faster flyer and he got in close, shifting his weapon to its sword form and unleashing several super fast jabs.

One such jab, hit the jar in Frill's other hand and caused it to shatter. "NO!" He cried, trying to grab the gem that was inside it. But it slipped from his grasp and fell down onto the street below. This angered him and he summoned another sword, the Mimic dual wielding them against Shifter's one place.

The two fought one another as they flew around in random directions, slowly making their way towards the ground.

As they fought, they tried to locate the gemstone. But it had fallen somewhere out of sight and neither could spot it, at least not in the few seconds they allowed themselves to look away from the fight.

Frill crossed his blades and blocked Flash's downwards slash, the vulture using all his strength to push Shifter back. But as he flew back, Shifter changed his weapon to gun mode and fired several shots that struck the Mimic dead in the chest. "GYAH!" He was knocked back as well and crashed into the side of a building, whilst Shifter managed to keep himself from colliding with one.

Shifter prepared to take Frill out, as the Mimic fell to the ground in defeat. But before he could, a portal opened in front of Frill.

Shifter frowned as he prepared himself, as Greye and Reeka leapt out of the portal. The two monsters looked ready for battle, as Frill began to pick himself up. "You okay?" The peacock Mimic asked, as Frill used to wall to help himself up.

"I'll be fine. But I dropped the Infinigem." He turned to Shifter, "can you distract him whilst I search for it?"

"Go ahead," Greye stated. "I can handle this Rider, no problem."

Reeka laughed. "And I'm itching for some payback." She pointed her staff at him. "You ain't got no friends to help you out this time, Rider Boy. Prepare to feel the full power of the Time Witch, Reeka!" She suddenly unleashed a burst of lightning, Shifter barely managing to avoid at the last second before leaping into the air.

Greye took out his fan weapons and swung them through the air, unleashing his crescent blade attacks that Shifter used his Shift Striker to block and deflect. The Rider then dived down and tried to stab Greye, but Reeka pointed her staff at him and fired a beam of light that made him vanish.

Shifter struck the spot he had been in, but completely missed and staggered forward as Greye suddenly reappeared behind him and slashed at his back. "Augh!" He was thrown forward and rolled along the ground, Greye and Reeka chuckling as Shifter came to a stop.

Whilst this was happening, Frill staggered off to search for the Infinigem.

Back with the Rainbooms, they had moved over to a nearby park.

Most of the girls were just sitting around, whilst Sunset and Twilight were hard at work on Burst's magical cellphone. Thanks to some tools Twilight had in her backpack, of course she carried tools like that, they had managed to get the phone's casing off so they could work on the device's circuitry.

Spike, who was getting a belly rub from Rarity, watched them working. "Figure out how to fix that thing yet?"

Sunset frowned. "We're still figuring out what it's supposed to look like when it's fixed. This thing's not like anything that exists on Earth or Equestria." Twilight nodded, though her eyes never left the device.

Rainbow groaned, as she laid on the grass with her head staring at the clouds. "This sucks. Why can't we help?"

"The Riders are the ones best suited to handle the Mimics," Rarity pointed out. "And Morphic was right. if we tried to help, we could very well end up getting in the way and being used as hostages. I'd rather not get captured, thank you very much."

"A'm with Rainbow," Applejack told her. "We could still help."

"I thought we were helping," Pinkie pointed out. The girl was leaning against a nearby tree, her legs running up the trunk. "Twi-Twi and Sunny are fixing Burst's phone. If they get it to work, we can call for help."

"But we could help to," Rainbow stated. "I wanna fight those monsters."

"Well I don't," Fluttershy frowned. "And I can't. All I ever do in those fights is get in the way."

"Well my super speed lets me fight," Rainbow groaned against. "This is so lame. Who the heck decided the Riders were the ones who get to decide who gets to fight these things?"

"The fact that they're the only ones who can actually beat them," Sunset pointed out. "Our abilities work on Equestrian Threats."

"But that Reeka woman is from Equestria."

"Not our Equestria," Sunset stated. "E-Quest has a better chance of beating her than us. Right now, we need to wait for a moment when we're actually needed. Let the Riders handle things and if a situation calls for us to help, then we can fight." As she said that, she placed a new circuit into the device and it started powering up. "I think we fixed it!"

The others rushed over to them, as they replaced the casing and watched it boot up.

Twilight took the phone and tried to figure out what it could do. She quickly found it was programmed like a regular phone and had multiple different apps. And when she found one with a speed dial, she considered opening that one.

But before she could, they were suddenly blinded by a bright light. "What's happening?" Spike cried, as they all covered their eyes and looked away. As they did, a figure stepped out of the light. A figure that quickly spotted then and spoke in a voice that was oddly familiar.

"Where's E-Quest?" The light faded and everyone was shocked by what they saw.

Back with Morphic and E-Quest's battle, the two continued to fight their opponents with differing levels of difficulty.

Morphic and High were both in some form of stalemate, the two slashing at one another with their claws whilst moving at high speed. Morphic tried to stab High, but the Mimic swung her claws upwards to knock his claws away before she tried to shoot lightning at him. But Morphic was able to jump back and spin out of the way. And as High ran forward to deal a kick to his chest, he crossed his claws to block.

E-Quest's battle, was also even. The horse Rider swung his hammer at Draggle, but the monster kept warping around to avoid his attacks. "Coward!" He cried, as he raised his hammer up before slamming it down onto the ground with all his might.

The ground shook, but Draggle warped herself into the air so the shaking wouldn't affect her.

It did affect the other two, however, causing them both to be sent staggering out of control. The two both lost their balance and were sent rolling, E-Quest noticing this and flinching. "Sorry." As he said that, Draggle unleashed several lightning bolts that struck E-Quest before he had a chance to dodge them. "GYAH!"

As he crashed to the ground, Morphic pushed himself up and saw Draggle falling towards the ground.

Before High could pick herself up, the Rider shot forward and super speed. Too fast for Draggle to react. And as she landed, he reached her and slammed his claws into her. "Gyah!" She fell to the ground and Morphic quickly hooked his claws into her dress, using it to drag her along the ground at high speed.

She cried out in pain, unable to focus through the pain to warp away. And eventually, Morphic stopped and she was thrown through the air until she crashed into the school's outer wall.

As she fell to the ground, High picked herself up. But before she could attack, she heard a loud voice fill the air alongside a bright light. "Magical power of the cosmos, unleashed using a single mighty horn! UNICORN POWER!"

She turned towards E-Quest and saw he was now in his Unicorn Armor, the pony turned human slamming his horn into the ground. And the next thing High knew, the ground around her shot up and created a bunch of rock spikes that slammed into her from all sides.

She screamed out in pain, trying to use her electricity to break free. But the rock simply absorbed it without issue. And as she struggled, E-Quest's horn flashed red and blue and he thrust it forward to unleash a blast of ice and fire.

The heat from the flames, caused the ice to melt and she was suddenly doused with water. And that had the desired result, as she screamed whilst being zapped by her own power. And after a few moments, she went limp and the energy stopped.

E-Quest and Morphic smirked at them, as they prepared to finish them off. But at the last moment, Draggle suddenly recovered and grabbed her staff. And in the blink of an eye, she warped over to High and grabbed her. "NO!" E-Quest tried to blast her, but Draggle and High warped away before he could.

Morphic ran over to him. "How far can Draggle teleport?"

"Not far. But far enough to not be seen by us. Unless we know which way she went, there's no way we'll be able to find her." He shook his head. "We've got more important things to worry about. We need to go help Shifter. If the Mimics have that gem, things are not gonna go well."

"Got it." Morphic ran off whilst E-Quest changed into his Pegasus Form. He took to the air and flew in the direction Flash went, the Rider praying he managed to get the gem back before Frill escaped.

Greye launched his crescent blades again, Shifter flying around as best he could to avoid them all. He then dived down and as he did, he swapped his Mimicores in his Shift Striker.

"PIERCE!" The weapon transformed and as he landed, he pointed the futuristic rifle forward and fired. The green spikes shot at Reeka, but she was able to avoid them all. Shifter frowned, hating her ability to see the future.

"You can't dodge every attack!" He cried, as Greye leapt at him and tried to slash at him with his fans. He dodged them all and kept firing, Greye deflecting them whilst Reeka dodged easily.

"My temporal magic may be limited," the witch stated. "But it has its uses." She tapped her staff on the ground and in the blink of an eye, she jumped to the side before a second one appeared. The two then split into four and four into eight.

"What the heck?" Shifter had no idea how this was working, the Reeka army laughing as they all pointed their staffs at him. Moments later, bolts of lightning exploded out of them and flew towards Shifter.

The Rider's eyes widened and he leapt into the air, dodging the multiple bolts. But as he did, Greye sent his crescent blades at him and they exploded as they slammed into him.

"GYAH!" He was knocked backwards and crashed into the ground, his Shift Striker falling from his grasp as he laid there. All the while, Frill kept searching the area for the dropped gemstone.

Shifter sighed, as he rolled onto his front and pushed himself up. But as he did, Greye suddenly appeared in front of him and swung his fan around to cut at the Rider. He cried out, trying to get away, but a Reeka unleashed a blast of magic that grabbed him and lifted him into the air.

Before he could attempt to break free, he was suddenly swung around and smashed into the ground. "Augh!" He was then lifted up and slammed into another part of the ground, then another and another and another. And finally, Shifter was swung around and thrown towards Greye.

The peacock Mimic did some kind of dance and as Shifter was thrown at him, he spun around and slashed the Rider with both his fan blades. This was followed by the other seven Reekas, launching fireballs that struck him in the back and sent him flying through the air.

Shifter screamed in pain and crashed into the ground, his suit glowing before it exploded off of him.

Flash moaned as he laid on the ground, whilst Greye and the Reeka army all chuckled at his defeat. Seven of the eight Reeka clones vanished, the last one getting ready to finish him off. "I might not have been able to defeat E-Quest, but destroying you will be quite satisfying."

"Hold on," Greye told her. "My master has plans for this Rider. We're taking him back with us." Reeka frowned, but didn't argue.

It was at that moment, Frill spotted something glistening.

He looked around and spotted a trash can that was anchored to the ground, elevated off the ground by a metal cage. And under that cage was the Infinigem Shard, which the sun was reflecting off. "Yes!" He ran over to it and pulled the crystal out from underneath, as Flash simply lay there looking pretty beat up.

Greye and Reeka laugh at his pitiful state, both looking ready to take him down. "It's over, Shifter!" Greye prepared to launch his attack at the downed Rider, as Frill moved over to open a portal to escape through.

"Finish him off and let's get out of here!" He walked towards it, as he smiled at the gem in his grasp.

However, just as he was about to walk through the portal, a blast of green fire suddenly came flying at him. The Mimic barely had time to respond, as it slammed into his chest and exploded. He cried out, as he was thrown away from the portal and the gem shard was thrown from his grasp.

Flash, Greye and Reeka were surprised by this, then turned towards the source of the green fire. That source was someone that was slowly moving towards them and as they did, Flash's eyes went wide.

It was another Rider, with a suit similar to E-Quest.

This suit was purple in colour, with a green line running down the front of it. The arms were also green, with the entire suit having scale patterns sewn into it. On top of the suit was purple armor, with white trim. The armor covered his chest and had green spikes sticking out of it in several sections. The same armor could also be seen on his arms, lower legs and feet, with the feet having claw designs running along them.

In his right hand, which was purple on the back and green at the palm, was a long purple lance with an arrowhead tip and green spikes covering it. This gave it the appearance of a tail, whilst his left hand had a large purple dragon head surrounding it, which had green spikes running along the top.

His helmet was similar to E-Quest, but was shaped to look like the head of a dragon. His visor was within the dragon's open mouth, which had a bunch of metal lines running down it that resembled a knight's helmet.

Finally, around his waist, a purple Driver like E-Quest's could be seen. Inside of it was an open crest, with the images of a dragon and a knight side by side.

The Rider stood there, looking ready for a fight. As he did, he struck a pose. "My flames of pride are gonna burn you!"

Reeka gasped. "Dragus. What's he doing here!?"

"Dragus?" Flash turned back to the Rider, remembering Burst talking about that Rider. "Is he Burst's partner?"

Dragus looked around and spotted the gem, the Rider moving over to it. But Greye frowned. "No you don't!" He ran at the Rider and slashed his fan at him, which Dragus blocked using his tail lance.

"Out of my way!" He pushed Greye back before dealing a kick to his chest, knocking the Mimic back. Flash watched him in amazement, as he held the long handle of the weapon with both his hand and the dragon mouth.

He swung the lance around with incredible skill, the tip slicing through the air threatening to shred anything that touched it.

Reeka slammed her staff into the ground and time travelled herself to the same spot several times, creating multiple doubles that charged towards Dragus. They all swung their staff at him, but the Rider was able to deflect them all without much issue as he kept himself from being surrounded.

The Reeka army then unleashed a blast of lightning towards him, Dragus leaping back to avoid the bolts. He then landed and opened his dragon head fist, pulling it back before launching it forward. "Dragon Blast!" Green flames exploded out of the mouth and flew towards the witches in a wave.

Reeka gasped and warped herself a few seconds into the future, her doubles getting hit by the flames and destroyed. And as she returned to the timeline, Dragus charged forward and slammed his dragon fist into her chest. "Gyah!" She was thrown back, as Frill and Greye began to pick themselves up.

Frill spotted the gem and growled before spreading his wings and unleashing a bunch of feather darts towards Dragus, only for the Rider to thrust his gauntlet arm forwards. In doing so, the dragon head suddenly glowed before transforming into a large shield.

This shield blocked the feathers and allowed Dragus to charge forward, slashing at Frill before the Mimic could summon his blades to defend himself. The lance sliced his chest open and made him scream, whilst Greye attempt to slash at Dragus with his fans.

But Dragus blocked the fans with his shield before a blast of fire exploded out of the middle, almost setting Greye ablaze and forcing him back.

Reeka saw this and began charging up power, as Dragus spun towards her. His shield and lance vanished in a burst of green flames, as he reached down and shut the Driver's handles before pulling them open again.

"DRAGONICPOWER!OVERDRIVE!"

His body exploded into green flames, which all flew down and spread around his right foot. And before his opponents could do anything, he leapt into the air and swung his blazing foot around. As he did, the fire shot off and took the shape of a giant dragon head.

Reeka unleashed her spell and fired a blast of lightning towards the dragon head, the two attacks colliding and creating an explosion that knocked Reeka, Greye and Frill flying back.

Dragus had summoned his dragon shield and used it to block the shockwave, protecting him whilst blowing something towards him. He felt it hit his foot and looked down, the infinigem shard resting at his feet whilst the three villains moaned.

At the same moment, Morphic arrived whilst E-Quest flew overhead. "No way!" He cried, seeing Dragus on the ground. Meanwhile, Morphic ran over to Flash and helped him up.

"You okay?" He asked, as E-Quest and Dragus approached.

"Yeah," Flash nodded as the monsters picked themselves up. "I'm good." He took out his Mimicore, "let's do this." He was just about to transform, but Frill spoke up first.

"We're leaving." Greye and Reeka looked to him in shock.

"You can't be serious," Greye stated. "Just because there's more of them."

"This isn't a battle we can win." A portal opened up, "now come on." He stepped through the portal and Greye frowned before following, Reeka still looking shocked.

"But...but the gem?"

"Leave it!" He reached over and grabbed her, pulling her towards the portal. Before Reeka could pull away, they were through the portal and completely vanished. Moments later, the portal closed and the Riders sighed in relief.

Flash put his Mimicore away, whilst Morphic removed his and his suit disappeared. E-Quest took this moment to look them over, finally able to see what they looked like. "So now you're okay revealing who you are?"

"Well there's nobody else around," Flash stated. "And I was getting a little stuffy in those suits." Shining nodded, as E-Quest and Dragus removed the crests from their Drivers. Doing so caused their suits to glow before disappearing, revealing the pair.

Flash and Shining were focused on the new arrival, who turned out to be a purple skinned teen with green hair. He was rather muscular in appearance and he was wearing a black white and blue pants, with a purple leather jacket over it.

The three stared at him in amazement, with Burst also looking shocked. "Spike? What happened to you?"

"Spike?" Flash and Shining asked, as they looked the teen over and suddenly realised he did resemble Twilight's doggy companion. They then remembered that in Sunset's Equestria, Spike was a dragon. Did that mean Burst's Spike was also a dragonoid?

"I have no idea," Spike looked himself over. "I picked up your signal and had the princesses open a portal to this world. When I stepped through it, I was looking at a bunch of girls that had your rider comm. Then I discovered I'd transformed into...this." He looked himself over and appeared almost freaked out. "They explained what happened and I sensed some kind of magical stone." He looked at the gem, "it must have been this thing."

"You were always sensitive to gems containing magic." Burst looked around, "those girls anywhere nearby?"

"No. I left them before they could follow me and get in trouble." He then turned to Flash and Shining, "so who are these guys? New Riders?"

"Yup," Burst patted the two on their shoulders, "meet Flash and Shining. Also known as Kamen Riders Shifter and Morphic. Their enemies have teamed up with Reeka and Draggle. If we wanna stop them, we're gonna have to work together."

"Alright," Spike nodded as he held up the gem. "On the plus side. We managed to get this before they could escape." Flash and Shining nodded, though they wondered what exactly that gem could do.

But before they could ask, the two's heads suddenly exploded with their Mimic Sense. They were also made dizzy by the sensation, as they looked around for the course. But by the time they realised what was happening, it was too late.

Suddenly, a burst of purple lightning shot between them. An explosion followed and the four Riders cried out, as they were all thrown in different directions.

As Spike hit the ground, the gem fell from his grasp and bounced away. As it did, the purple lightning curved around and flew towards the gem. When it stopped, High was there and quickly grabbed the gem. "Thanks. It's just what I wanted."

Flash and the other Riders looked up in shock, the four trying to get up and stop her. But by the time they were back on their feet, a portal opened up behind her and High leapt inside. "NO!" Burst cried, as the portal closed. "This is bad. Really really bad."

"Why?" Flash asked. "What the heck does that gem do?"

"It's called the Infinigem," Burst explained. Spike looked shocked, clearly knowing what it was. "It's from my Equestria. Long ago, the first E-Quest shattered it and hid the pieces so its power couldn't be used. I guess one of the pieces must have been sent to this world."

Spike nodded. "According to legend, the Infinigem can amplify the magical ability of anypony that uses it. Their magic becomes so powerful, the impossible can even become possible. If Reeka and Draggle manage to remake it, they could break the laws of time and space."

In the Mimic Lair, High arrived with a smug grin on her face. "Order up. One Infinigem Fragment, with extra fries."

The other Mimics, Reeka and Draggle, all smiled as she stepped over to them. "I can't believe you managed to get it." Reeka rushed over to her and took the gem. "How?"

"We left," Frill stated. "Which meant those Riders let their guard down. I knew they would when I spotted High."

"Who cares how she got the gem," Maya stated. "What matters is we have it. And now we can restore the gem." She turned to Reeka, "you can restore the gem. Right?"

Reeka laughed as she held up the gem and Draggle pointed her staff at the jar containing the rest of the shards. The jar was opened and the shards flew out of it, floating in the air as Reeka used her magic to lift the final gem up. It floated over to the rest of the shards and they all started spiralling around one another, glowing as they did so.

Then, slowly, the pieces started slamming together and almost melting into one piece before hardening again. With each piece restored, the Infinigem took shape. And when the final piece melted into place, the gem was completely fixed and suddenly unleashed a burst of magic.

"THE INFINIGEM!" Reeka cheered, as the gem floated over to the sisters. They crossed their staffs and connected to the gem, allowing its power to flow into them and grant them even more power. "Now, my time magic can open a portal to anywhen."

Draggle nodded. "And with my supercharged space magic, I can warp to anywhere in the universe with perfect precision." The sisters shared a look before nodding and pointing their staffs at a way, the light flying off of them and slamming into it. This caused a portal to form, which swirled around as the witches remembered a specific time and place they wanted to open it up to.

The Mimics watched, as the portal stabilised and suddenly pulled something through it. Or someone.

She was a creature just like Reeka and Draggle, who looked like a humanoid with thick monstrous skin that was wearing blue and purple robes. She was smaller than Reeka and Draggle, having a hunch back with a magic staff being used to keep her from falling over. Around her neck, dangling off of it, was a necklace that had a downwards pointing crescent moon.

She had a hood on over her head, blocking most of her red frizzy hair. And on top of the hood was a curved bone, the points sticking upwards. Her face was crinkly and looked terribly monstrous, with a crooked pointed nose and large mouth that had a single fang sticking out the left side of her bottom jaw.

The creature staggered forward and looked around, clearly confused where the heck she was. But then she noticed Reeka and Draggle, the two looking at her with tears in their eyes. "MOTHER!" They both cried, as the spell ended and they rushed over to her.

"Reeka. Draggle. What happened?"

"Mother," Reeka hugged her. "You died. E-Quest destroyed you." The woman looked horrified. "We couldn't get there in time to save you. We're sorry."

"That's right," she nodded. "I was just about to be hit by that foolish pony's attack."

"We pulled you out of that moment," Draggle explained. "Milliseconds before you were destroyed. We brought you back to this point, thanks to the Infinigem." Hydia's eyes widened as she looked up at the gemstone, then smiled.

"You girls have truly done well. Thank you, for saving me." She then remembered what she had just been saved from and her face became dark. "Kamen Rider E-Quest. You will pay for what you've done. You and all those that stand with you. You will face the full power of the Infinigem."

Author's Note

Boom. We have the main villain of the film. We have the secondary Rider, who turns out to be Spike, and we have the main macguffin of this story. The Infinigem, able to supercharge any magic. One can only wonder what'll happen with that.

Just something I thought would be interesting to state. The original name for Spike's Rider Form was actually Drake, but then I learned there was already a Kamen Rider called that. He wasn't even Dragon Themed, why'd they have to give him that name?

Movie 1: Part 4

In Canterlot park, the Rainbooms were still waiting to hear what had happened.

After the human version of Spike, which still weirded them out, left to chase after something, they had once again been forced to wait there. Everyone was mostly doing what they had been doing before, with the only exception being Twilight and Sunset.

Twilight was on her phone, trying to get hold of her brother and ask what was happening on his end. Meanwhile, Sunset had her journal out and was writing to Princess Twilight. To say she had a lot to write about was an understatement.

As she finished writing everything into her book, Applejack noticed something. "They're back!" They looked around and saw the four Riders making their way towards them.

Shifter and Morphic were once again in the Strike and Blitz armor, whilst Burst and Spike were in their civilian forms. "Did you stop them?" Twilight asked, clearly curious what had happened. But Burst and Spike's expressions didn't bode well. "What happened?"

"We managed to save the people they attacked," Shifter explained. "They were at Crystal Prep." The girl's eyes went wide, as Twilight took out her phone.

"Cadance..."

"She's alright," Morphic assured her. "We managed to get them all to safety before anything happened. But the Mimics and witches managed to get away with something. A gem that the Crystal Prep students seemed to have. A gem from Burst's Equestria."

"What?" Sunset turned to the Rider, "so your world uses this place as a magical dumping ground too?"

"Sounds like it," Burst nodded. "Though from what I know, the Infinigem shard was the only thing ever sent to another dimension."

"Infinigem?" Rarity asked. "What's that?"

Burst took a deep breath. "Remember what I told you, about how my Driver was created?"

"From the meteor?" Rainbow nodded, turning to Spike. "Is that how your Driver was made?"

"Yup," Spike nodded. "Only mine was made by a dragon craftsman, who used it to create the Driver as a way to counter the ponies having it. In the past, dragons and ponies weren't the best of friends. It wasn't until recently that..." He shook his head, "never mind. We're getting off topic."

"Right," Burst nodded. "Anyway. The Infinigem came from that meteor. It was the core and it's possible the meteor's substance was made so strong by its power. The Infinigem has the ability to supercharge the magical abilities of anypony that uses it. But if the user uses it for too long, the power drives them insane."

"Like the Alicorn Amulet." Sunset wondered if the magical item was created from something similar.

"The Infinigem was discovered by the same wizard that forged my Driver. He quickly realised its powers, but didn't realise its corrupting effects. And before he could uncover it, his student stole the Infinigem so that he could gain the same level of magic power as his master. it worked and he became the most powerful Unicorn the world had ever seen."

"But it drove him mad," Applejack realised.

Burst nodded. "He started changing the world to suit what made him happy. He made it impossible to create rain and snow, because he hated those weathers. He turned anyone that crossed him into animals and if someone got him really mad, he would wipe them out of existence."

Everyone frowned, thinking this unicorn really had gone nuts.

"It was up to the first E-Quest to battle and defeat the unicorn, eventually shattering the Infinigem into multiple pieces. Those pieces were then given to different ponies, so they could hide them in all four corners of the world. The wizard took the final piece and used all his magic to open a portal into another world, hoping that would make remaking the Infinigem impossible."

"But it wasn't," Shifter spoke up. "What are the chances Reeka and Draggle managed to gather the other pieces of this gem?"

"I'm willing to bet they're high," Spike spoke up. "Those two can be pretty lazy when it comes to their big plans. They wouldn't have wasted so much energy opening a portal to this world, if they didn't already have the other pieces of the gem."

"So they have the Infinigem," Twilight frowned. "And it gives them the power to do almost anything. That's not very reassuring."

"What do you think they'll do with it?" Pinkie asked, as everyone wondered just that. They couldn't be sure, but the Riders had a feeling they weren't going to enjoy what would happen next.

In the Mimic Lair, Hydia stared at the Infinigem in practical disbelief.

"I never thought I'd see the completed Infinigem," she told her daughters. "When we found the first shard, I was curious about collecting all the pieces and using it to destroy E-Quest. But I never thought you'd be able to find them all."

Reeka and Draggle smiled. "After E-Quest destroyed you, Draggle and I were terrified and didn't think we could continue without you. But then I saw the gem shard and realised there was a way to bring you back."

"You must have spent a long time searching for it," Hydia smiled. "I'm proud of you girls." Reeka and Draggle both smiled, only to then hear a coughing sound.

They looked over at the Mimics, who clearly weren't interested in this family reunion. "As touching as this all is," Maya started. "Don't forget who the ones that got you that final piece were."

"That's right," Frill nodded. "You two weren't able to live up to your side of the bargain. So until you do, I think it's only fair if we hold onto the Infinigem. I'm sure there's a way we can convert its magical power into a source of energy for our equipment."

Hydia frowned. "What are these creatures, exactly?"

"Mimics," Reeka explained. "They capture other creatures and copy their abilities. Draggle and I tried to get to the world they're trying to conquer, but ended up here instead. So we had no choice but to partner with them."

"Well, we won't need them anymore. They'd just get in the way." The Mimics all tensed up, sensing a betrayal was about to happen. "Thank you for your service, but we'll be taking it from here."

"You dare!?" Greye rushed forward, but Hydia raised her staff and unleashed blasts of energy that pushed the Mimics backwards. Reeka then stepped forward and whilst still connected to the Infinigem, she slammed her staff forward and unleashed a wave of energy.

That wave flew towards the Mimics and hit them, along with all the Mimicreeps in the room. And as soon as it touched them, the monsters froze in place. They were like statues, the lot not even blinking and some were in a position where they should have fallen over.

Hydia whistled. "Not bad. The Infinigem really is strong. Your stasis spell normally lasted only a few seconds in the past."

"I feel so much power," Reeka laughed. "If we had had this before, E-Quest and his friends wouldn't have stood a chance." The others nodded, glad that they had it now. "So, mother. I know you just got here, but you must have a plan for dealing with E-Quest and those other fools."

Hydia hummed. "I might have an idea. Lets get to this world you told me about. Once there, we'll get to work making E-Quest and his friends pay." The sisters nodded before Draggle opened a portal, the process easy now that she had the Infinigem.

The three stepped through and once the portal was closed, Hydia placed her staff on the gem and began to draw upon its power. "First, we need to make the connection with this gem long distance. Right now, we're only powerful so long as we're in close proximity to it."

"That's how the first E-Quest defeated the evil unicorn," Draggle remembered the story. "He tricked him into warping away from the gem and allowed the wizard to defeat him."

"Exactly," Hydia nodded. "But I might have a way to fix that. However, we need to make sure nobody else shows up to get in our way." Once she had connected to the Infinigem, she raised her staff and unleashed a blast of red energy straight into the sky.

As soon as it was high enough, the energy exploded into a wave that flew out in all directions. A red light remained behind after the wave, turning the sky crimson.

Back in the park, Burst and Spike had just finished explaining the situation. As they did, Sunset's journal started glowing to show Princess Twilight had responded.

But then, everyone noticed the red light flying overhead.

"What the?" They watched it fly off and all had a feeling something bad was gonna happen. As such, Shifter changed into his Flight form and flew up. Rainbow went with him and once they reached the red light, Shifter tried to touch it but got a zap.

Turning their attention towards the wave, they saw it was beginning to curve and finally hit the ground. And with Shifter's enhanced eyesight, he realised the entire town had been trapped inside.

"We're in a dome!" He stated, as he and Rainbow flew down. "The entire town's been trapped inside a dome. We can't escape."

"Why would anyone trap us in a dome?" Twilight asked, as Sunset suddenly noticed her journal wasn't glowing anymore. And as she opened it, she noticed Princess Twilight's sentence had been cut off halfway through. It was almost like something had cut the magic halfway through copying it into the book.

"No way," Sunset whispered. "It can't be."

"What can't be?" Rainbow asked, only for Sunset to break out in a run and head out of the park. The others were shocked by this and ran after her as well, the lot heading towards CHS of all places.

Along the way, they ran past people who were panicking due to the appearance of the dome. Many of them spotted the Riders and begged them to do something, Shifter and Morphic promising to find an answer to what was going on.

Eventually, they arrived at the school and Sunset ran up to the portal leading to Equestria.

She placed her hand on it, but it wouldn't let her through. "NO!" She gasped, hitting it several times. "The portal to Equestria's not working."

"You think this dome has something to do with it?" Twilight asked, Sunset nodding.

"Now let's not panic," Rarity spoke up. "Twilight was using the journal, so maybe she just hasn't returned it to the device that opens the portal."

Sunset shook her head. "When my old journal was filled up, we swapped to new ones and Twilight's using the old one to keep the portal open."

"Okay," Rarity was a little more worried now. "But we're not entirely sure this dome's the reason for it being closed. I'm just saying, let's not jump to conclusions." The others agreed, as Burst turned to Spike.

"Did you bring it?" Spike nodded and reached into his jacket before taking out a strange round device. It was some kind of medal, with a red gemstone in the middle of it.

"What's that?" The puppy Spike asked, as his Rider counterpart held the medal up.

"A magic talisman," Burst explained. "It has the power to open a portal to other dimensions."

"Really?" Twilight gasped, as Rider Spike kept holding the talisman up. "Nothing's happening."

"Which means Sunset was right," Morphic realised. "This dome must be blocking interdimensional travel."

Shifter nodded. "But why would Reeka and Draggle do this?" The others were wondering the same thing, but both Burst and Spike had an idea.

"I'm betting they're following Hydia's example." Spike put the talisman away. "She could never be trusted. As soon as she didn't need anyone anymore, she would stab them in the back and make sure they weren't a problem anymore. Guess those two learned to do it as well."

"So they betrayed the Mimics?" Pinkie asked. "And put this dome up to keep them from getting their own back."

"Exactly," Burst nodded. "I didn't even know they had this kind of magic. Guess the Infinigem made them more powerful than we realised." But as he said that, a beeping came from Spike and Twilight.

The two pulled out a pair of magical phones, Twilight handing hers to Burst who opened it up. "What's the alarm for?" Sunset asked, as Burst and Spike frowned.

"Raptorian alarm," Burst explained. "Our Twilight made it when Hydia started attacking Equestria with them."

"Those things can detect Raptorians?" Shifter asked, as Burst and Spike projected something from their phones. It was a holographic map of Canterlot, with three areas glowing red.

"What?" Spike asked. "They're attacking three areas at once?"

"Reeka and Draggle shouldn't be able to command that many in so many places."

"They do have the Infinigem," Morphic pointed out. "I think all your old assessments of them might not count anymore. We need to stop them, now."

"Right." Burst and Spike took out their Drivers and attached them to their waists, then took out their Crests and activated them.

"EARTH PONY!"

"DRAGON!"

The pair held the crest up and created the energy shields, which floated above their heads as they placed the devices into their Drivers. As they did, the energy forms of a horse and a dragon appeared above the shields. "HENSHIN!" They slammed the Drivers' handles into the devices and opened the crests, causing the shield to fly down onto them.

In a burst of light, they were both transformed and the energy creatures exploded into streams of light, which formed their armor whilst their Drivers spoke up.

"Power of the Earth, unleashed in a single destructive kick! EARTH PONY POWER!"

"Roarofanunstoppablebeast, unleashingitsfurywithamightybladeofflame!DRAGONICPOWER!"

Shifter and Morphic summoned their bikes, whilst E-Quest and Dragus took out more of their crests. "Summon, Steed Cycle!"

"Summon, Drago Chopper!" Twin portals appeared and from out of it, the armored horse galloped out along with some kind of purple serpentine dragon covered in armor. The two quickly transformed, the dragon's arms gaining a wheel between them whilst another wheel appeared under its tail. The rest of it reshaped into a bike, just like the Steed Cycle.

Once all four bikes were summoned, the Riders leapt onto them as Rainbow rushed over to them. "I'm gonna fight too." The Riders turned to her, as the rest of the Rainbooms did the same. "You guys should handle two of those spots in pairs. Let us take on the third."

"It's too dangerous," Morphic told them.

"It's just as dangerous for you," Twilight told him. "This might not be the same Equestrian Magic, but it's still Equestrian Magic. We have way more experience dealing with it than you." Morphic sighed as he turned to the other Riders.

The three all nodded and he couldn't argue. "Fine. You deal with one. Dragus and I will deal with another."

"Which means it's you and me," Shifter told E-Quest.

"Alright," he gave him a thumbs up. "Let's do this thing." The Riders all revved their engines and shot off towards the battle, the Rainbooms heading in another direction. The Riders shot through the streets and once they reached the spot they had to split up, they nodded at one another and went in two separate directions.

People were screaming in terror, as the Raptorians ran around the place attacking whoever got too close.

At the same time, Reeka was also there and still felt the power of the Infinigem flowing through her. Even though she should have been too far away to really get any benefit from it. She unleashed a blast of lightning, three times stronger than any she had used before. The energy caused the buildings around her to explode, as she laughed in delight.

She then looked down at her staff, which now had a glowing rune etched into it. One that her mother had engraved, which granted her the long distance connection she needed. "This feels amazing!" She watched a Raptorian grab a civilian. "So much pain and suffering. It's so amazing!"

"It won't feel amazing much longer!" Suddenly, a blue blur shot past her and slammed a foot into the Raptorian. The beast squawked, as it was thrown backwards and the woman it held was released.

Rainbow grabbed the woman and ran her to a safe distance, as Reeka looked around to see the rest of the Rainbooms running towards her. They all had serious looks, as Fluttershy and Sunset helped those injured to escape whilst the others got into a fighting stance.

"I was wondering who would show up. What a disappointment. I got the peanut gallery."

"Who you calling peanuts?" Rainbow asked, as she arrived next to the others. "When we're done with you, you're gonna wish Shifter or the others were the ones that came here." Reeka clearly didn't think so, as she pointed her staff at the lot of them.

The Raptorians all charged, with the girls getting into a fighting stance. Rainbow was the first to charge in, using her super speed to slam her feet into them whilst Applejack ran forward and threw the strongest punch she could.

Pinkie and Rarity threw their attacks at the Raptorians, cutting into them or blowing them up so they were knocked backwards. And once they were on the ground, Twilight picked them up in her magic and threw them away.

Reeka watched them fight against her horde and had to admit, they were strong. But thanks to her connection to the infinigem, her power vastly outmatched theirs. She would let them tire themselves out, then go in to take them out herself.

In another part of Canterlot, Draggle and her Raptorians were also causing mayhem.

The witch monster laughed, as she spun around with glee seeing all the people looking absolutely terrified. She hadn't had this much fun in a long time. And she hoped the fun times continued.

But at that moment, she heard a pair of engines and looked around to see Dragus and Morphic were racing towards them. Morphic fired his Blitz Blaster and gunned down several Raptorians, whilst the mouth of Dragus' dragon bike opened up and unleashed a burst of fire towards several more.

The Raptorians cried, as they were blasted back or burned up. The two Riders then leapt off their bikes and jumped into the middle of a Raptorian horn, Dragus summoning his lance to start slashing at them. Morphic punched and kicked several down, blasting any that tried to hit him from behind.

Draggle frowned, as she watched the Riders make quick work of her army. But she wasn't worried. "I have the power of the Infinigem. I can't lose." As the Riders knocked several more away, she raised her staff and unleashed a blast of fire towards them.

Dragus saw this and leapt in front of Morphic, summoning his shield and using it to block the flames. As he did, Morphic spun around and shot down the rest of the Raptorians before turning his focus on Draggle.

Dragus shrank his shield down into his gauntlet and the two launched their attacks towards her, lasers and green fireballs shooting towards Draggle. But the witch managed to teleport herself up onto the top of a nearby building, the attacks hitting a bunch of Raptorians instead.

Draggle watched as the Riders charged in to attack some more Raptorians, but she quickly teleported her monsters behind the Riders and mentally ordered them to attack. They did so and the Riders were surprised by this, getting struck in the back and knocked forward.

Draggle laughed and started warping her monsters to random spots around the Riders, making it difficult for the pair to counter. "This is just too much fun."

Shifter and E-Quest soon arrived at the final area the Raptorians were attacking.

The dog bird hybrids looked around and let out a howl/squawk, as the Riders jumped off their bikes and prepared for battle. Shifter was still in his Flight Form and quickly inserted his Strike Core into his Shift Striker, morphing it into the pistol slash rapier.

E-Quest summoned his hammer and the pair charged forward, Shifter blasting several with quick laser shots before swapping his weapon to sword mode. They quickly cut and smashed their way through the hybrid monsters and kicked several more away, the Raptorians not standing a chance against the Riders. However, E-Quest did notice something.

"These things are a lot stronger than they normally are."

"Really?" Shifter asked, stabbing a Raptorian three times before it exploded.

"Yeah." He smashed another away and after a few moments, it picked itself up again. "They usually go pop after one hard hit. Something's amping up their defence power." Several charged at him and he quickly slammed his hammer into the ground, sending out a shockwave that should have destroyed them but just sent them flying backwards.

Shifter used his wings to knock several back before leaping into the air, changing his Shift Striker back to gun mode as he fired it several times. And just like E-Quest said, they took several laser shots before going boom.

E-Quest leapt over some more, slamming his feet into several before he landed and threw his hammer at them.

The weapons spun through the air and knocked down several, blowing up a few more, then curved back around until it landed back in Flash's hand. "Did Reeka or Draggle use the Infinigem to reinforce them?"

"No, they didn't." E-Quest's eyes widened, as he slowly turned in the direction of a voice he hadn't heard in a long time. "i did." A figure stepped out of the shadows of a nearby alleyway and chuckled as she stared at the Kamen Rider. "Hello, E-Quest. Been a long time. For you, I mean. For me, it feels just like I was fighting you yesterday."

"That's impossible," E-Quest cried. "You can't be here!"

"Oh, but I am!" She smiled, as Shifter landed beside him.

"Who is that?"

"Hydia." Shifter turned to him in shock.

"What? I thought you destroyed her already." But then, Hydia laughed as more Raptorians attacked. The Riders quickly fought back, as Hydia kept cackling.

"I almost was. But thanks to my daughters, I was saved at the literal last second." She snapped her fingers and the Infinigem appeared in her hand, E-Quest seeing this and quickly knocking the Raptorians around him away.

"I beat you once. I'll beat you again!" With that, he rushed towards her. But Hydia didn't look worried.

She tapped her staff on the ground and the Infinigem unleashed a bunch of energy into her staff. It then fired a beam of dark light, which slammed into E-Quest before he could react and was lifted into the air. He cried out, feeling the energy flowing into her and causing him serious damage.

"No!" Shifter cried, seeing his fellow Rider getting zapped before E-Quest was thrown away. "Burst!"

E-Quest slammed into the side of a building and as he fell to the ground, his suit exploded off of him and Burst landed with a cry of pain. Shifter quickly slashed at several Raptorians, knocking them back and allowing him to take flight. But before he could reach Burst, Hydia unleashed a blast of energy that almost hit him.

He was forced to pull back and as he did, Burst began to pick himself up. "So strong."

Hydia laughed. "With my new power, I'm more than a match for you." Burst frowned, clearly understanding just how strong his revived foe was.

"Well you should know just how strong I can become." He stood up and reached into his jacket. He then took out a shield Shifter hadn't seen before.

It was grey in colour and on its front was the picture of a black horse, but the black didn't come from its fur. It wasn't just a normal horse. It was a horse made out of some kind of black ink-like substance. And as Burst pressed the button, it unleashed a black light.

"UMBRUM!"

The teen pointed the shield upwards and the dark light shot off, creating a larger version of the shield floating above him made of black light. He then slotted it into his Driver, the device unleashing another stream of darkness which flew into the shield.

When it came out the other side, the light took the shape of the ink shadow horse on the front of the crest. The creature actually let out a neigh, the sound sending a shiver down Shifter's spine, as Burst took a deep breast and struck a pose. "HENSHIN!" With that, he slammed both hands into the handles and pushed them into the Driver.

This caused the shield to split down the middle and open up, revealing a figure in dark armor. At the same time, the dark light shield above him dropped down and the teen flew through the centre of it.

Once the dark light hit the ground, it exploded and the teen was covered in the black light. That light quickly faded to reveal Burst in a dark grey version of his rider suit, with red lens in the eyes.

The shadow horse then exploded into a bunch of shadows and started swirling around his body, forming black armor on his chest, shoulders, arms, and legs. And when the shadows faded, his form was revealed.

The armor wasn't as thick as his other three forms, with red lines covering sections on his chest, shoulders, upper legs and boots. He didn't have wings, an arm horn or strong leg armor. He did have a horn on his helmet, which was red in colour and curved. The whole appearance made him look rather sinister, as his Driver spoke up. "Darkness spread, engulfing all that touches it UMBRUM POWER!"

Shifter stared at him in amazement. "Wow." He watched, as E-Quest's Driver unleashed a light that flew out and took form.

E-Quest grabbed the light, as it took the shape of a fancy white long-sword with a horse's head on the crossguard, that went up the length of the blade. E-Quest gripped the handle, as he walked forward and the Raptorians charged. But before they could hit him, his body burst into a cloud of black mist.

Shifter could only watch, as the cloud began to fly through the crowd and caused the Raptorians to scream out before they exploded.

E-Quest then reappeared out of the cloud and started swinging his sword around to slice through the other ones. This form was obviously more powerful, as the Raptorians popped with a single cut. And when he wasn't slashing at them, he swung his leg around to kick others into exploding.

Shifter was finally pulled out of his amazement, as more Raptorians began to attack him.

As such, he quickly got to work fighting against them. He even switched out his Shift Striker Mimicore, using the Blade core and slashing at them the same way E-Quest was. All the while, Hydia watched and chuckled.

"Decided to use that form, have you? Well, you and I both know what dangers come with using it. Dangers I'm more than happy to exploit."

Morphic and Dragus kept fighting, the Raptorians standing no chance against the pair as they ripped their way through them.

Morphic fired at several more, blowing them up whilst Dragus stabbed his lance through some more. Then, Morphic took out another Mimicore and activated it. "TOUGH!" He spun around, kicking a Raptorian away as he slammed the draw closed.

"Mega Morph!" The lights on the belt turned purple.

"MIMIC! CROCODILE!" The armor quickly melted and reshaped, turning purple as it did. "Vice-like fangs and an impenetrable hide, crushing anything in its way." Armor settled, Morphic's tail saw revved and he started cutting through the Raptorians like thanksgiving turkeys.

Dragus knocked several back and pulled his gauntleted fist back before punching the air, unleashing blasts of fire that struck more Raptorians and destroyed them.

As the hybrids burned and popped, Draggle continued to watch and had had enough of sitting on the sidelines. As such, she warped into the thick of the fight. She appeared behind Morphic and slammed her staff into his back, making him grunt as he was knocked forward.

She then teleported in front of Dragus, taking him by surprise before zapping him with lightning.

As the Rider was knocked back, Draggle warped back over to Morphic. He tried to bite her with his alligator gauntlet, but she warped around it and dealt a kick to his side before teleporting away. She warped a few feet away and unleashed a stream of lightning, which hit the two Riders and sent them flying upwards.

Draggle then teleported above them and launched a bunch of fireballs, which exploded in their faces and sent them crashing to the ground.

"Augh!" Morphic hit the floor, Dragus slamming face first whilst Draggle teleported down to the ground. "She's strong."

"She's really not," Dragus stated as he pushed himself up. "Teleporting that much should have drained her dry. She's getting a power boost from somewhere, allowing her to teleport as much as she wants." They stood, as Draggle laughed and teleported again.

The Riders acted fast, leaping into the air as she suddenly appeared behind where Morphic had been.

She missed a lightning blast and Dragus tried to launch a fire stream down towards her, but she smirked before teleporting away. The pair landed and Draggle appeared behind Morphic, slamming her staff into his back.

The Rider staggered forward, not hurt but also not noticing the glowing mark that was now on the back of his suit.

He spun around and tried to launch a gator construct towards her, but she vanished again and it missed. And when she reappeared, Dragus ran at her and swung his lance around. But in a flash, she was suddenly replaced by Morphic.

"GYAH!" The Crocodile Rider yelled, staggering back from getting hit. "Hey!"

"Sorry," Dragus flinched. "Dang it. She must have marked you." He quickly spotted the mark of Morphic's back. "Not good. So long as you have that mark, she can swap places with you whenever she wants."

"Oh, great." Morphic frowned, as he tried to wipe the mark off his back. But it wouldn't come off. He had a feeling this was gonna be a problem.

Back with Shifter and E-Quest, the two Riders were making short work of the Raptorians.

E-Quest's Umbrum Form was doing most of the heavy lifting, allowing him to cut through the hybrids without much difficulty. And whenever one got close to attaching him, his form burst into shadows and he flew around to attack the monster from behind.

He kicked another away and slashed at several more, then turned his attention to Hydia.

"This ends now!" He charged at full speed, as Hydia slammed her staff into the ground and created a shield around her. The Rider slashed at it, but the sword didn't even scratch the forcefield. He then leapt forward and his arm sparked with red energy, which he thrust towards Hydia. But again, the shield didn't even look strained.

"Haa!" Hydia laughed. "The Infinigem has made me more powerful than ever. Even your dark side can't hope to defeat the power I now wield."

"We'll see about that!" He grabbed the weight on the end of the sword handle and pulled, causing it to come off but remained connected to the sword by a metal pole coming out of the handle. And as he let go, it returned to the sword as the whole thing lit up.

"HARMONICPOWER!OVERDRIVE!" His armor glowed and the dark light flew off of it and into the sword's blade, causing it to now glow black and golden light. He then pulled it back and as Shifter cut down the last Raptorian, he charged forward and swung the blade towards the forcefield.

The blade slammed onto the shield and caused the whole thing to shake, the dome clearly having trouble handling the intense energy currently being driven into it.

Hydia seemed to be struggling with keeping the shield up, but then smirked as the Infinigem glowed and suddenly unleashed a burst of energy. Said energy flew through the forcefield and began to wrap around the sword.

E-Quest saw this and looked worried. He tried to pull his sword away, but the weapon was stuck inside the magic holding it. And before he could do anything, a powerful shockwave suddenly exploded out of the forcefield and slammed into him.

"Augh!" He cried, getting thrown back with his hands losing his grip on the weapon.

"Burst!" Shifter cried, seeing the Rider slam into the ground. And as he did, Hydia suddenly threw the sword upwards so it went flying down the street. "You okay?" Shifter flew over to him, but stopped when Hydia spoke up.

"I wouldn't do that, if I was you." Shifter glared at her, as E-Quest began to pick himself up. "Without that sword, your friend is about to get in a very bad mood." She tapped her staff on the ground and a platform appeared beneath her feet, which lifted her into the air. "Have fun."

"What's she talking about?" Shifter asked, only to suddenly hear E-Quest cry out and see clutching his head. "Dude, you okay?"

"Get back!" E-Quest cried, as he staggered around. "It's happening!"

"What's happening?" Shifter asked, only for E-Quest to go completely still with his hands falling to his side. "Burst. What's wrong?" The Rider then lifted his head and Shifter could see his eyes were glowing brighter, but had an air of danger to them. "Burst?"

The next thing Shifter knew, E-Quest shot forward and smashed a fist right into his chest.

"AUGH!" Shifter was sent flying back, slamming into the ground as his armor sparked. He groaned, but quickly recovered and got back to his feet. "Dude! What the heck?" E-Quest said nothing and charged forward, turning into a shadow that flew at Shifter and smashed into him again. "Augh!" He was thrown back again, but this time he spread his wings and flew upwards.

Once he was out of the cloud, he looked back down and saw E-Quest reforming. The Rider then let out a roar as his body was surrounded by red energy, which he fired at his fellow Rider.

Shifter managed to avoid most of the attacks, but the last one hit his wing and cut right through it. And all Shifter could do was flail, as he fell to the ground and barely managed to land on his feet. All the while, E-Quest kept roaring. "He's out of control." Shifter now knew what Hydia meant and gulped, realising he was in serious trouble.

Back with the Rainbooms, the five girls were able to deal with the Raptorians with relative ease.

The monsters were still stronger than they had been at the hospital, but the girls were able to take them down with a combo of teamwork and using their powers in inventive ways. One such way was Pinkie, spaying sprinkles on one of Rarity's gem disks. Rarity then threw the disk towards a Raptorian and slammed it into its chest.

The sprinkles then exploded, the compression they were under sending the Raptorian flying backwards with great force.

Applejack lifted a Raptorian into the air and threw it at several more, the force of the impact knocking them all down and causing them to blow up. Rainbow then ran around a bunch, creating a tornado that also formed a vacuum they couldn't breathe in.

When she stopped running, they were all thrown into the air and exploded.

As the last Raptorian was destroyed, Fluttershy and Sunset returned from helping people escape. Now it was just them and Reeka, the witch glaring at them as she clutched her staff. "You girls think you're so great. But you'll find that you can't hold a candle to my power."

"You might have been able to keep up with us before," Sunset told her. "But now that we know what you can do, you can't take us by surprise anymore." the others nodded, as Reeka chuckled.

"Oh, how wrong you are. you'll soon learn that my power is far greater than you can possibly imagine." With that, she slammed her staff into the ground and suddenly multiplied several times. In just a few seconds, an army of her were standing around the Rainbooms.

The girls all stood back to back, as the Reeka army glared at them. "That's new," Rainbow gulped.

"Time remnants," Twilight realised. "Something like this should rip the time stream apart. At least, that's what was theorised."

"Time travel," one Reeka stated. "The more you do it, the less the rules apply to you. Now..." they all pointed their staffs at the girls, "prepare to be aged into oblivion!" They all unleashed a burst of light, which flew towards the girls and created a blinding burst.

The light filled the street, the Reeka clones smiling. But their smiles vanished the second the light died down.

The Rainbooms were inside Rarity's shield dome, which was glowing a rainbow of light. Inside, the Rainbooms were all holding hands as their geodes glowed and fed Rarity's attack. The beams died down and the dome vanished, revealing the girls and unleashing a burst of power that Reeka staggered at.

"What?" She cried, "what's going on?" The Rainbooms all turned to her, Applejack and Rainbow letting their hands go so they could stand in a line. "How are you able to overpower my magic? I have the Infinigem's might."

"That Infinigem might be powerful," Sunset told her. "But there's a magic with just as much limitless potential." They all began to float up, as Reeka staggered back and they all spoke in unison. "THE MAGIC OF FRIENDSHIP!" With that, they unleashed a rainbow of light into the sky.

Reeka watched it fly up and swirl around, then bed down towards her. She screamed and created a force field, using all the power she could summon from the Infinigem.

The rainbow struck the shield and caused it to rattle, the friendship blast bouncing off the barrier but making it crack. And as the last of the energy flew into it, the shield shattered and Reeka was sent flying back.

She crashed into the ground, sliding along it before coming to a stop. She moaned, as she lay on the ground smoking. All the while, the Rainbooms landed back on the ground with smiles on their lips. "Great work, girls." Sunset nodded before turning back to Reeka. "We need to find a way to hold her."

"Let's tie her up," Rainbow suggested.

"And take her staff," Twilight agreed. They were about to do just that, only to suddenly find a bunch of lightning rain down upon them.

They all cried out, staggering back in shock as Twilight looked up and saw someone floating above them. A hideous monster witch, with a gem floating next to her. "Who's that?" Pinkie asked, as the monster landed between them and Reeka.

"Greetings," the witch stated. "Name's Hydia." The Rainbooms all gasped, remembering that name from Burst's story. "That's quite an impressive power you girls have. Equestrian Magic, if I'm not mistaken."

"Yes," Sunset nodded, "but not from your Equestria."

"Who cares? Equestrian Magic is Equestrian Magic. It'll be perfect for my needs." The girls were all on edge at this, as Reeka started to recover and pick herself up. "I'll be taking that magic, if you don't mind."

"We do mind," Rarity stated. "If you think we're going to just hand our magic to you, you're out of your mind."

Hydia chuckled, as Reeka made her way over to her. "Oh, to be young and foolish." The Infinigem glowed, powering the two witches up. "You think you have a chance against us. How pitiful." She turned to Reeka. "Ready?"

Reeka nodded, "I'm ready." They pointed their staffs at the girls, who all prepared for a serious fight. They were tired from using their rainbow blast, but they refused to let that stop them. They would defeat these witches, no matter what.

"STRIKE!"

Shifter quickly placed his first Mimicore into his Driver, as E-Quest charged at him. "Shape Shift!" He leapt into the air, flying over E-Quest as he slammed the Driver shoot. All the while, E-Quest kept growling.

"MIMIC! LIGHTNING BUG!" His armor melted and reshaped, changing colour as it hardened into his first form. "Illuminate the light, striking through the darkness!" As soon as the armor settled, Shifter ignited the lights covering him in hopes of blinding E-Quest.

It seemed to work, with E-Quest staggering back for a moment.

Shifter hoped that maybe if he removed the crest, Burst would wake up. So as E-Quest was blinded, Shifter charged and tried to close the Driver. But before he could, E-Quest burst into his shadow cloud form again. And with Shifter right next to him, it was easy for the mad Rider to smash into him.

Shifter screamed as he was thrown backwards, whilst E-Quest's shadow form flew around him to form a circle.

As Shifter picked himself up, part of the shadow circle flew out and slammed into him. He staggered around, only for another stream to fly out and hit him as well. This kept happening again and again, the lights on Shifter's armor doing nothing to stop it.

Finally, the cloud flew straight up and formed a giant fist that flew down and curved around before smashing into Shifter. "GYAH!" The Rider was thrown backwards several hundred feet, eventually crashing into the ground hard.

He could only moan, as he felt his bones rattle. He forced his head up and saw E-Quest reforming, as he tried to come up with a plan. His first idea was to use his Hyper Strike Form. But he doubted it would be enough to stop him.

As Shifter picked himself up, he spotted something not too far off. The sword that E-Quest had been holding. The one he had dropped right before he went nuts.

He remembered what Hydia had said and though he doubted it would work, he got up and ran for the sword. E-Quest charged at him as well, turning into a shadow that moved at incredible speed. It seemed that it would reach Shifter before he reached the sword.

But at the last moment, Shifter jumped with all his might and grabbed the sword's handle.

He rolled around as the shadow reached him and swung the sword through it, the blade glowing as it cut through the shadow and seemed to actually burn it away. The Shadow let out a roar, as it flew past Shifter without touching him.

It then hit the ground and reformed into E-Quest, whose body was sparking as he staggered about.

Shifter watched and was worried he had done something bad, but E-Quest soon regained his balance and stood still. "Uhhh," Burst's voice spoke up. "What happened?" He looked around and saw Shifter, holding his sword. "Flash! Nice work. You gotta hurry and defeat me with that sword. It's the only way to stop my Umbrum powers from-" He stopped and clutched his head.

"Burst!"

"Hurry!" He screamed, only to once again go limp as his eyes glowed menacingly. He let out a growl as he glared at Shifter, charging as he did so.

Shifter did what Burst said and as E-Quest got close, he swung the sword at him and it cut into his chest. He cried out, as he staggered back and allowed Shifter to slash at him again. Then again and again. Every time he did, the blade glowed brighter.

As E-Quest staggered back, the light from the blade spread to the rest of the sword. And suddenly, Shifter knew what he had to do. His body was practically moving on its own, his hand pulling on the pommel the same way E-Quest had earlier.

And as the mad Rider recovered, Shifter pulled the blade back before swinging it around. Doing so caused the light to fly off the blade and shoot towards E-Quest, slamming into him and causing an explosion.

E-Quest roared in pain, as he was blown into the air and his suit began to glow. And when he hit the ground, the suit exploded and he was back in his normal state. But he didn't look so good, the Rider just laying there as Shifter ran up to him.

"You okay?" He knelt beside Burst and helped him sit up, Burst moaning as he clutched his head.

"I think so." He looked over and took the sword from Shifter, the light from the blade spreading across his body. "This should help."

"What the heck was that?"

"My Umbrum power. A gift from my dad's side of the family. They hoped it would corrupt me into awakening them like Sombra tried to do. It almost succeeded, until my mom made me this sword to counteract the negative effects of the crest. But you saw what happens if I'm not holding the sword in that form."

"Yeah. Wasn't fun. No offence, but maybe don't use that crest from now on."

"Right," Burst groaned as he picked himself up. "Right now, we need to focus. I let Hydia get away. There's no telling where she might have gone." He took out his phone and opened up the Raptorian app, trying to figure out who needed help. But the Raptorians were all gone.

Flash frowned under his helmet, as he looked back in the direction Hydia had flown off in. "That's where she went," he pointed in the direction. "Isn't that where Twilight and the others went?" Before Burst could reply, the ground suddenly shook violently and a bright light shot into the air.

"WOW!" Burst had to shield his eyes, Shifter's visors blocking most of the light. "What the heck?"

Shifter took out his bike and made it grow, jumping onto it whilst Burst summoned his Steed Cycle. He wasn't in a good enough condition to transform, so he rode off in his own clothes and they raced towards the source of the light.

They moved like blurs through the city, passing people that were running in the opposite direction and still terrified about being trapped inside a dome. The Riders knew something bad was happening and they feared the Rainbooms had gotten in over their heads.

Morphic and Dragus continued their fight with Draggle, who continued to teleport around randomly.

She would also swap places with Morphic, causing him to get hit by an attack instead of her. "How do I get rid of this mark?" He asked, rubbing his back again.

Dragus sighed. "Be thankful she only marked your suit. It'll disappear when you revert back. If she marks your skin, it never comes off." Draggle warped between them and unleashed a wave of lightning, which hit the pair and knocked them both back. They cried out and slammed into the ground, as Draggle cackled. "This is too much fun."

"Laugh while you can," Morphic told her. "We'll find a way to beat you. And once our friends deal with Reeka, they'll be here to help us wipe you out."

Draggle laughed again. "They may somehow find a way to stop my sister, but my mother's another story." Dragus froze when she heard this.

"What? But Hydia's-"

"Master of space magic," Draggle announced. "And my sister's master of time magic. Combine those powers and amplify them with the Infinigem and what do you think can be done?" Dragus couldn't believe what he was hearing. "That's right. We saved my mother. And now that she's back with the Infinigem, nothing can stop us."

"Wrong!" Morphic launched his gator construct towards her, the jaws chomping to take a bite out of her. But Draggle vanished again and appeared behind Morphic, only to almost get cut in half by his saw tail.

"WOW!" She leapt back, only for Dragus to suddenly be right next to her. "GYAH!" He slammed his dragon gauntlet into her stomach, knocking the wind out of her before she could teleport away. And as she was thrown backwards, Morphic swung his arm around and sent the gator construct flying around on its energy chain.

The head flew towards Draggle and grabbed her, biting down hard and making her cry out in pain.

The construct then began to retract, Morphic and Dragus preparing to finish her off with as much power as they could muster. But before she reached them, she managed to fight through the pain and teleport away.

The Riders growled, as Draggle reappeared down the street. She seemed a little shaken up, but overall okay.

The Riders prepared to attack, only for the ground to suddenly start shaking. They then saw a bright light, coming from somewhere else in the city. And Morphic couldn't help but realise it was the same spot Twilight and her friends had gone.

Draggle noticed the light as well and smiled. "Well. I think that's my cue. This was fun. Let's not do it again sometime." The Riders realised what was about to happen and ran at her, hoping to get her before she warped away. But Draggle hit the ground with her staff and in a flash, she was gone.

The pair stood there, annoyed at her escape. But they had bigger problems to worry about. "Twilight."

Shifter and Burst finally arrived at the source of the light, the two Riders turning onto the street and stopping when they saw the state of the place.

The buildings had all been utterly destroyed, with rubble and broken glass everywhere. The street was torn up and lampposts were utterly destroyed. The place was an absolute wreck. "Geez," Burst whistled, "what happened here? Did the girl do this?"

Shifter shook his head. "I don't think the girls' magic has this level of destructive power. Not even Pinkie." They got off their bikes and made their way through the rubble, trying to find the girls. And as they climbed over a large pile of rubble. they saw something that made them stop. "SUNSET!"

Sunset laid on the ground, looking like she had just been through a meat grinder. She was covered in injuries and her clothes were a mess. And she wasn't the only one.

All the Rainbooms were knocked out, all in a similar state to Sunset. "Twilight! Rainbow! Fluttershy, no!" They ran down the rubble pile, hoping to save them. But before they could, a blast of lightning flew over to them and caused an explosion at their feet.

The Riders cried out, being blown into the rubble with Shifter's armor vanishing.

Flash and Burst fell to the ground, as a witch's cackle filled the air and someone stepped out of the smoke that filled the street. Hydia and Reeka, the pair smiling as they stared at the Riders.

"Sorry, boys. But we'll be taking your friends with us." Hydia stomped her staff, unleashing ribbons of magic that flew out and wrapped around the Rainbooms and lifted them up.

"No!" Flash tried to pick himself up, but Reeka unleashed another magic blast that Flash had to brace himself for.

As explosions occurred around the boys, the girls were pulled over to Hydia. At the same time, Draggle suddenly warped in next to them. "Ooh," she saw the Rainbooms and smiled. "Momma. Do you have a devilish plan?"

"Quite devilish," Hydia nodded. "Warp us somewhere out of the way. We have work to do." Draggle nodded and once the ten of them were all close together, she used her magic and teleported the lot of them away.

Flash and Burst saw them vanish and couldn't believe it. They had let the girls get captured, again. And now there was no telling how much danger they were in. The frustrations of what had happened became too much for Flash, he punched the ground and let out a roar. "NOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Author's Note

Okay, I may be using the Rainbooms getting captured a little too often. Especially in crossover stories like this one. I'll try and make this the last one. I promise.

Anyway, what did you think of Burst's Umbrum form? Most Riders in the modern day get a form that corrupts them and needs to be purified to be used for good. Think of this like Burst's Metal Cluster Hopper form.

Movie 1: Part 5

Twilight was really getting sick of being captured.

First by Juniper Montage's magic mirror, then by Vignette Valencia's magic phone. Then the Mimics had captured her and tried to turn her into one of them, only to then use them as hostages. And now, as she woke up, she realised that was was once again tied up along with the rest of her friends.

Her glasses were hanging down her nose, dangerously close to slipping off. So as she held her head back to get them back on, Twilight realised her arms were being held above her head and looked up to find them shackled to a wooden post that was behind her. Her feet had also been chained to the bottom and rope was tied around her waist, keeping her held to it tightly.

Once her glasses were back on her face, she looked around and took in her surroundings.

She was in some kind of warehouse, which was completely empty with nothing but a few broken crates and a pile of broken typewriters in a corner. She then strained her neck to look around the post and spotted another one not too far away. And this one had Sunset tied to it, the same way Twilight was.

Twilight glanced in the opposite direction and saw Pinkie, also tied to the post. And as she strained harder, she saw Rarity on another post. As far as she could tell, her friends and her were all shackled to a bunch of posts that formed a circle.

"Girls!" She called out, "are any of you awake?" None of them answered, as Twilight looked up at her shackles and tried to summon her magic to unlock them. But her power wouldn't activate. "What?" She tried again, but nothing happened.

She glanced down and saw her geode was was still around her neck, but it wouldn't activate.

"What's going on?" She then heard a moan and glanced around, seeing Sunset was beginning to wake up. "Sunset!" The pony turned girl shook her head, then noticed the position she was in.

"What the?" She started looking around and saw Twilight, "where are we?"

"Some kind of warehouse. What's the last thing you remember?"

"Um...you girls were fighting Hydia and Reeka. Fluttershy and I were holding back, trying to get as much energy as we could for another rainbow blast. But...everything's a blur after that?" Twilight nodded, the same being true for us. She remembered fragments of what happened, but she couldn't really remember anything before feeling a huge amount of pain and blacking out. "We need to get out of here."

"I'm trying!" Twilight tried to open the shackles again. "But my magic isn't working."

"Applejack!" Sunset called out to the farm girl. "Wake up!" She seemed to rouse the girl away, along with all the other Rainbooms. Like the first two, they were all groggy and having trouble remembering what the heck had happened.

"We've gotta get out of here," Fluttershy cried. Applejack tried to break through the metal, but couldn't.

"Come on." The others all tried to use their magic as well. Rainbow tried to vibrate the post out, Rarity tried making a gem to cut the metal, Pinkie managed to get a tub of sprinkles out of her hair and Twilight still attempted to force the shackles open. But nothing worked. Their magic refused to activate.

"What's going on?" Rainbow asked, only for the lot to hear a loud cackle.

Those that could, turned to see the three witches walk into the warehouse. "I wouldn't bother using your magic." She pointed her staff at the tops of the posts. "Special rune that negates any form of magic. You're as weak as any other human."

The girls all glared at them. "What are you going to do with us?" Sunset asked, as Hydia just smiled whilst holding up the Infinigem.

"Amazing, isn't it? With this gem, any form of magic is supercharged. With this gem, I can do everything and anything I want. Any spell I ever dreamed of using. Ones I couldn't use because of how much power it required. Now they're all possible for me."

"That doesn't answer our question," Twilight stated. "What does any of that have to do with us?"

Hydia chuckled. "I can cast any spell I want with this. But some of them would require me to be constantly pumping magic into it. That would make me an easy target for the Riders and anyone else that wants to take me down. Which is why I need to use another magical source."

The Rainbooms quickly caught on. "You're going to drain our magic," Sunset stated. "And what? Use it in some horrific ritual?"

Hydia chuckled. "Pretty much, yes. Your power will go towards creating a monster of unbelievable power. One so strong, that nothing will ever be able to stop it." She smiled at the gem in her hands. "With the Infinigem, even your magic will be strong enough to create it."

"And what happens to us?" Fluttershy asks, clearly worried about what this process would result in for them. There was still much they didn't know about magic in their world, as Hydia hummed.

"Good question. I'm not sure. It depends on how connected to your magic you actually are. In my Equestria, magic is connected to one's very soul. Having it drained away is like having your heart taken out. It's very unlikely for you to survive. But then again, your magic doesn't appear to be naturally a part of you. More like you acquired it after you were born."

Sunset frowned, as Hydia stepped up to Rainbow and looked her in the eye.

"Do tell. How did you girls come to acquire this magic? Humans shouldn't have the potential to wield magic so easily. At least, my Equestria's humans couldn't acquire it." This surprised Sunset, who hadn't expected there to be any humans in Burst's home world. "I was a rare exception, not that it did me much good."

"Don't tell her anything," Sunset cried. "She doesn't need to know where our powers come from."

"That's right," Twilight nodded. "She'll probably try and steal more magic for herself. We can't let that happen." The girls all nodded, agreeing that they would keep their mouths shut.

Hydia sighed, shaking her head. "So naive. We could have worked together, but you chose the wrong path. You'll come to regret that decision, once your magic has been stripped away. I look forward to discovering the state you'll be in when it happens." With that, she and her daughters walked away.

The Rainbooms all frowned, as they once again tried to get their shackles off. But it was still no use.

"What do we do?" Rarity asked, turning to Twilight and Sunset. But neither of them had any idea what to do. It was clear that they only had one option. Hope the Kamen Riders could find and save them before it was too late.

Canterlot was in a state of panic, due to the red dome that had appeared around the city and encased the entire place within it.

The citizens were freaking out, wanting to try and escape but finding it impossible. Nothing seemed able to penetrate the force field and when they tried to go under the doom, subways, sewers and others underground routes, they found the dome phased through the ground and was more like a sphere that kept them trapped.

The attacks from the Raptorians had also worried many people, along with the bright light that had destroyed a large street earlier in the day. As such, that area of the city had been all but abandoned. People living there chose to stay with friends or family, or find shelter somewhere else like a stadium or a rec centre.

In one abandoned part of the city, Flash, Shining, Burst and Spike had taken refuge.

The four Riders were not in the best of moods at the moment. Flash and Burst were still recovering from Burst's little outburst and Hydia's attack, whilst Shining and Spike were angry about what had happened to the Rainbooms.

The only one not currently sulking, was the puppy version of Spike.

The talking dog had been hidden away before Twilight went into a fight, having stayed hidden until Hydia blasted his friends. Having become worried due to the bright light, he had rushed out of his hiding spot and arrived around the same time as Flash and Burst. When he had seen his owner and friends in jeopardy, he had almost run in to save them. But the witches and his friends had teleported away before he could do anything.

He had been quite shocked to discover who was under the Shifter suit, Flash almost fearing his secret identity had been ruined. But Spike promised to keep it a secret, as Shining and his Rider counterpart arrived.

As soon as Shining had heard what had happened to his sister, he had let out a roar and unleashed his anger on a pile of debris. That debris was now powdered, whilst the Riders had taken shelter in an abandoned apartment building.

The building had been lived in for several years and it was ironic that it was the only building, that had survived Hydia's attack.

Shining was leaning against a wall, his phone out trying to get in contact with Cadance and his family. Spike was sitting on the stairs, giving his counterpart a scratch behind the ears, whilst Burst was just standing in the corridor.

He heard Flash's voice, the teen having taken refuge in another part of the entryway on the stairs leading to the underground laundry room. "I'm okay," Flash stated. "I know you're worried about me, but I'm safe where I am. And honestly, I'm probably safer here than trying to brave it out on the street to get home."

Burst nodded, knowing that wouldn't be smart for someone who wasn't a Kamen Rider.

"I promise, I'm okay. I'm not alone. I'm with some friends and we'll all stay inside safe." He let out a sigh, "I promise to send a text every hour and right before I go to sleep." He nodded and listened. "Okay. Tell Scootaloo not to get into trouble. I know you're worried about me enough. You don't need her giving you grief." He nodded again. "Okay. Love you mom." With that, he hung up and sighed.

Shining heard this and moved over to the stair. "Everything okay?"

"Mom's freaking out about me not being home whilst all this is happening. Wish I could go home. But if she saw me in this state..." His wounds still hadn't fully healed yet, so he couldn't very well go home and show that he had been attacked by something. "She'd ground me for a month to make sure I'm okay. She definitely wouldn't let me back out to fight against those witches."

Human Spike nodded. "We've all gotta lay low until we find where Hydia's hiding with the others. They've gotta be somewhere in the city. It's just a matter of finding them."

"Then what?" Shining asked. "We couldn't beat them with the girls' help. Now that they've been captured, how are we supposed to win against them?"

"Don't say that," Burst told him. "Things might seem bad, but we can win this. The First E-Quest was able to stop the Infinigem. So can we. We've just got to approach this with clear heads." At that moment, his stomach suddenly growled. The others all followed suit, Burst frowning. "And full stomachs. I haven't eaten in a while." The others agreed. Being a Kamen Rider was an exhausting job.

"What do we do?" Human Spike asked. "I doubt any place is gonna deliver a pizza or something."

"Maybe there's something here that'll work." Shining stepped over to the stairs, planning to check out the apartments that had been abandoned long ago. "Canned food lasts a while. If we find some, it might help." The others nodded, knowing it was likely their best shot at getting food that didn't involve stealing.

Burst placed a hand on Flash's shoulder. "There's a convenience store down the street that's mostly still standing. I'm sure the owner won't mind us taking some of the stuff that he'd probably throw out later." Flash nodded as they headed out of the building, whilst Shining and the Spikes headed upstairs.

The sun was slowly beginning to set, as Flash and Burst made their way towards the store that had had its roof blown off.

Flash looked around, feeling guilty that he had let this happen. "I should have stopped this." He looked down in shame, as Burst patted him on the shoulder.

"This wasn't your fault. I'm the one that failed to stop Reeka and Draggle back in my world. If I had, Hydia wouldn't be back and none of this would be happening." Flash wasn't sure how to reply to that statement. "There's something you've gotta know about being a Kamen Rider. You can't win every fight. You can't save everyone."

Flash sighed. "You know a lot about this job, huh?"

"Yup," Burst stepped into the destroyed building and looked around. The shelves had all been knocked over, sending food spilling everywhere. "I've travelled to a lot of worlds, with lots of Kamen Riders. And they've all been through hell in one way or another." He knelt down and picked up a bottle of milk, which had spilled its contents all over the place. "Some of them had to pay the ultimate price to save their world."

"Really?" Flash wondered what they might have done, "like what?"

Burst thought for a moment. "There was one Rider. Blade. He was fighting a bunch of monsters called Undead. He made mistakes, but tried to do what he thought was right. And in the end, he had to make a choice. Let his world be destroyed, or defeat an Undead who was his friend and had fought to protect his world."

Flash wasn't really following. "What did he choose?"

"Neither. In the end, he turned himself into an Undead and chose to spend all of eternity alone so the world could be safe." Flash tilted his head, clearly missing context. "The point is, he chose to do something unthinkable in order to protect his friends and his world. He'll spend forever alone, but he does it because his suffering will allow others to live happily."

Flash frowned, clearly not liking this story. "Do all Riders have to sacrifice like that?"

"No," Burst shook his head. "There was another Rider named Fourze, who thought to protect his friends. Along the way, he faced many trials. But eventually, he managed to win without needing to lose any of his friends. And there are other Riders out there. Those that managed to get a happy ending, despite all the struggles they had to face. W, Drive, Ghost, Build and others. They all managed to make a future for themselves that they could enjoy. But not every Riders gets to have a happily ever after."

Flash frowned, as he thought about his own time as a Rider.

Ever since waking up on the street that morning, with nothing but his first Mimicore, Flash's life had been nothing but one bizarre situation after another. He never asked to become Shifter, but now he was risking his life fighting a war he had no idea what stakes he had in it. He had no idea what was waiting for him in the future. Would he need to make a sacrifice to stop the Mimics?

"I know that look," Burst frowned as he found a bag of undamaged chips. "Every Rider goes into battle, not knowing if it could be their last. Trust me, I know more than anypony. After everything I've been through, I wouldn't wish this job on anybody."

"So what do you do?" Flash asked. "How do you keep yourself from getting overwhelmed?"

Burst thought for a moment, clearly wanting to say the exact right thing. "I guess...I take time to remind myself I'm not just a Rider." Flash tilted his head, as Burst smiled. "Many Riders gave up everything to defeat their opponents. But there were just as many that only managed to win, because they had the help of others. Because when those Riders weren't fighting, they were spending time with those they fought to protect."

"Those they fought to protect?" Flash was suddenly reminded of all his friends. The Rainbooms, Trixie and the rest of his school mates. Thorax and other teens he had met. And especially, his mother and his sister.

"That's how I cope with the weight of duties. Whenever I can, I remind myself exactly why I'm fighting. I help Applejack on the farm, or Fluttershy when she's caring for her animals. I let Rarity use me as a living mannequin or help Pinkie at a kid's birthday party."

"Is it really that simple?"

"Of course," Burst nodded. "If I didn't remind myself of everything I was fighting for, I never would have had the willpower to get back up when I was knocked down." Flash picked up a bunch of candy bars and some soda. "Trust me, Flash. You'll always find yourself coming up against challenges. It's not just a part of being a Rider. It's a part of life. We come up against obstacles and it's how we overcome those obstacles, that make us stronger."

"I get that," Flash nodded. "But I just get worried. I've been lucky so far. Shining and I were able to save everyone who the Mimics have tried to hurt. But how long's it gonna be until we can't beat a Mimic fast enough, or get there in time to save someone."

Burst sighed. "I've been there. You can't save everypony. That's just a fact." Burst turned to him. "But that doesn't mean you give up. If you do, that just means even more will get hurt. When you fail, and you will, don't let it stop you. Accept it. Learn from it. And use that experience to help you in the future."

"I guess that makes sense," Flash nodded.

"Yup. And there's a saying my mother once told me, after I made my first big failure. A mistake is only a mistake, if you don't learn from it. It's okay to do something wrong. But it's not okay to do the same thing wrong many times."

Flash nodded, as he picked up a bunch of oranges. "Your mom's a smart woman...pony...um."

Burst laughed. "Yeah, she is. I guess that's what being over a thousand years old can do to you." He looked at the food they had gotten and nodded. "I think this should be enough for us. We might not get the chance again to eat after this, so let's pack our stomachs with enough energy to keep us going no matter what Hydia throws at us."

"I'm down for that," Flash nodded. "And hopefully, Shining and Spike will have found some more food for us."

"Hopefully," Burst nodded before spotting an aisle. "Better get a can opener, just in case that's all they manage to find." Flash nodded and the two did just that, Flash wondering what Shining and the two Spikes had found.

"Seriously?" Shining asked, as he opened another cabinet to reveal several cans. "All these apartments and the only thing we've been able to find, is dog food."

"What's so wrong about that?" Puppy Spike asked, as Shining frowned at him. As he grabbed a single tin, human Spike stepped in as the puppy ran off. In his hand was a single tin of something, Shining raising an eyebrow until the dragon Rider showed him the label.

"What's your opinion on canned mackerel?" Shining sticking his tongue out was all the answer Spike needed. "I hear that."

Shining, as he closed the cabinet and moved over to sit on the one chair that was inside the empty apartment. "My sister's in danger and here I am, sitting around looking for food. I should be out there. Searching for her."

"Maybe," Spike nodded. "But what would be the point?" Shining shot him a glare. "I mean, what would be the point of searching for her in the state you're in. You're hungry. You're tired. And you have injuries from all that fighting you did today. Even if you managed to find Twilight and her friends, you wouldn't be able to help them."

"I could try."

"You would fail. Trust me, I know what you're going through." Shining raised an eyebrow at this. "You obviously don't know much about dragons. They care about physical strength more than anything. And to them, the title of Kamen Rider Dragus is the most important thing in the world. So you can probably imagine, the title going to me was a big deal."

"How did you become a Kamen Rider?"

"The same way all the previous Kamen Riders got their powers. The Dragus Driver chose me. When Hydia started causing problems for the Dragons as well as the ponies, the former Dragus tried to fight them. But he'd gotten too old to really do anything. So he decided to pass his power onto someone else."

"You."

"He didn't pick me personally. He called upon every dragon and created a dangerous gauntlet that we all had to compete in. It wasn't easy and eventually, it came down to me and two others. We were all fighting for it, but one of us got knocked over the side of a bridge and was about to fall into the lava below."

"Aren't dragons fireproof?"

"You humans are waterproof. Hit a water surface from high enough and it's still deadly."

"Fair enough."

"Anyway. She was about to fall in and since her wing was hurt, she couldn't save herself. So I leapt in to help her. I managed to catch her at the last second and pull her up. But that allowed the other guy to get to the Driver."

"But...you're Dragus."

Spike nodded. "Yup. The Driver stopped him from touching it and instead, it flew over and slammed onto my waist."

"Why?"

"According to the last Dragus, the Driver doesn't just test the strength of our bodies. It tests the strength of our character. Since I chose to save someone over claiming the power, it proved I was worthy of that power. So I became the new Dragus and I've been helping Burst ever since."

"I guess that makes sense."

"But like I said. I've been in your situation. When I first got my powers, I wanted to prove myself to everyone. I kept fighting and training, pushing myself to the absolute limit. And when one of my friends was captured, I did everything I could to try and save them. But eventually, I pushed myself too far. During the fight to save her, my body just gave out. I couldn't even stay transformed, I was so exhausted."

"What happened?" Shining asked.

"I got captured and Burst had to rescue me. After that, I thought I wasn't worthy of being a Rider. But then Burst got into trouble and I was the only one who could save him. And I did. Because I hadn't pushed myself and gave myself time to rest."

"I get that," Shining nodded. "But Twilight and her friends. There's no telling what could be happening to them right now."

"Maybe. But at our current level, we can't do anything to save them. We're tired, hungry and injured. We can't save them in this state." Shining frowned. "Ever since you became a Rider, you've been focusing on helping Flash and everyone else. Making sure they're okay, right?"

"Yeah."

"That's good. But you've also gotta take care of yourself. Because even if we're super...human?" Shining nodded, "we're not machines. We can't keep going without proper rest and recovery. You must have been told this before, during your guard training."

"I'm not a guard."

"Oh...well you must have heard it at some point. The fact is, you need to let yourself rest. That way, you'll be ready to save your sister when the time comes. Trust me. We'll find her and save her. This is the best way to do it."

Shining sighed, but nodded. He didn't like it, but he knew Spike was right. He could only hope that Twilight and the others would be safe until they found them.

Back at the warehouse, the girls were also starting to get hungry.

Their magic was helping them heal, but that was also causing them to burn more energy and causing them to get hungry. The grumbling of their stomachs filled the place, Hydia and Reeka getting annoyed by the sound as they tried to work on their magic.

"Will you knock that off?" Reeka asked them, with Sunset glaring at her.

"We're hungry. That's what happens when someone's hungry." The others nodded, as Reeka frowned. But Hydia raised a hand.

"Relax. I had Draggle go out and get enough food for all of us. These ones will need to be fed if we're to use them for our plans." Rainbooms were surprised by this. Partly because they didn't expect to be fed and also because Hydia's words made them wonder what she could possibly be planning.

Draggle suddenly appeared, carrying multiple shopping bags in her magic. "Here. Everything we'll need to keep ourselves well fed for a good while."

"Excellent," Hydia chuckled. "Feed the hostages first. I'd rather not listen to their grumbling whilst I eat." Draggle nodded and put the bag down, then waved her staff to cause a large number of sandwiches to fly out of them and float over to the seven girls.

Each of them frowned, having no idea what they were currently being given. But since they knew they wouldn't get anything else, they all bucked up and opened their mouths. As it turned out, each sandwich was a combo of ham, chicken and beef with lettuce.

They quickly ate them up, as Hydia began eating her own sandwich. "Ha. Not bad."

Reeka nodded. "One good thing about this world. Meat is so much easier to come by." She turned to the girls. "You have no idea how horrible it is, living in a world of vegetarian creatures. Even the dragons rarely eat meat." She began to stuff her mouth, as the girls glared at them.

Applejack hoped the food boost would allow her to break through the shackles, but the metal cuffs still refused to give.

Hydia finished her sandwich with a sigh. "Once we've finished, we'll start getting to work. It might take us all night but once we're done, this world will find itself in a world of hurt." The girls didn't like the sound of that. They knew the Riders were probably resting right now, but they all hoped they would be able to find them before it was too late.

There was no telling how badly this could turn out.

By the time Flash and Burst returned, the other Riders had searched every inch of the apartment building.

The sun had gone down and the four, plus Spike the Dog, were on the apartment roof. The building's power was off, so they had no way of actually cooking anything. So they had started a small fire in a metal trash can and would be doing some old style cooking.

Flash and the two Spikes were sitting around the fire, whilst Shining was sitting on the edge of the building looking out at the city.

Burst had just returned from the bathroom and looked around, spotting Shining over near the edge and stepping over to him. "Flash," he heard dragon Spike say, "I don't think you're supposed to cook the candy bars."

"Back off, I know what I'm doing."

Burst stepped up against the barrier and looked out at the city, the night looking rather strange with the red tint of the forcefield around it. "Be honest," he turned to Shining. "Is this the weirdest thing you've ever seen since becoming a Rider?"

"Pretty much," Shining nodded. "I thought the Mimics were weird. This just takes the cake."

Burst turned to Flash, "what about you?" Flash glanced at him, "this the weirdest thing to happen to you?"

"Since becoming a Rider? Yes. Before that...hard to say. I've seen some pretty weird stuff in my time. Giant killer planets. Demonic ex-girlfriends. Monstrous horse fish creatures fighting a giant rainbow pony. This is still pretty high, but Hydia's gonna have to do something pretty crazy to get to the very top of the list."

"Tell me about it," Puppy Spike nodded. "I mean, I used to be just a normal dog. Now look at me."

"How did you learn how to talk?" Human Spike asked, making the dog smirk. "And actually, how did you get magic in this world anyway? From the looks of things, those girls seem to be the only ones able to use it. So what give?"

Flash chuckled, as Burst and Shining moved over to sit around. "I wasn't there for most of this, but I've heard the story enough to tell others. Trust me. This is gonna be a long tale." And so Flash told them everything. How Sunset escaped from her world, then returned to steal a magic crown that caused that world's Twilight to follow with her Spike.

He told them about Sunset's defeat and rehabilitation, followed by the Sirens attempting to use the magic she brought into that world for their own evil deeds. That was followed by Shining's Twilight, studying the magic and almost creating a portal that ripped their world apart. Then, he told them about how the girls had discovered their magical geodes at summer camp and gained their powers.

This was followed by all the small adventures they had had since then, along with the bigger adventures.

"So you really turned into a four legged pony with wings?" Shining asked, as Flash told them about their boating accident.

"Yup," Flash nodded. "That was definitely a weird experience. But I think I've been desensitised to getting weirded out by now. If something strange happens from now on, I'm probably just gonna roll with it."

"That's the best way to do it," Human Spike nodded. "So how did you guys become Riders?"

"Yeah," Burst nodded, "you never told me. Mostly because the girls were there. So how did it happen?" The pair frowned, unsure how to really answer that question. They still weren't entirely sure.

But they told them and the pair looked just as surprised. As they all enjoyed the food and drink, they kept trading stories about their times as Riders. Despite the worry for the girls, they couldn't help but laugh at some of the funnier stuff that was going on. It was the only thing that helped them stay relaxed, which would be needed for the battle that was to come.

No matter what happened next, the four would stop the witches and save the girls. They had to.

As the sun began to rise the next morning, the Rainbooms felt themselves beginning to wake up.

As they did, they all heard a sparking sound and looked around to see Hydia and Reeka still hard at work. Their staffs were grinding along the ground, burning images into the floor as they did so. Around the Rainbooms were two circles, one larger than the other. Lines also connected these two circles, splitting it into multiple even sections. And in each section was a symbol they didn't understand.

Reeka was making a similar circle off to the side, but this one seemed to have different symbols inside each section. There were also four smaller circles around the bigger one, forming a square of circles that each touched the larger one. "What are you doing?" Twilight asked, once again attempting to activate her magic with little success.

"What's with the floor graffiti?" Rainbow asked, as Hydia continued to burn symbols into the floor.

Sunset remembered what Hydia had said the previous night and began to worry. "It's some kind of magic draining circle, isn't it?" The others looked worried. "You're gonna use it to suck our magic out of us, then send it over to that circle to help create whatever monstrosity you're planning to conjure. Am I right?"

Hydia chuckled. "You're smarter than you look. Yes. This circle will transfer all your magic into our creation. It combined with the power of the Infinigem, will make it absolutely unstoppable. Not even the Riders will be able to defeat us, once this creature is born."

"You're insane," Rarity cried. "Why do all this?"

"Yeah!" Pinkie cried, "Burst told us what you did. Attacking your Equestria with monsters and terrorising the ponies there. Why?"

"WHY!?" Hydia shouted, making the girls jump. "Look at me. What do you see?" She moved closer, standing right in front of Rarity and forcing the girl to stare at her face. "I'll tell you what the ponies in my Equestria saw. A monster. Just because I wasn't pretty and huggable, they treated me like a monster."

"You can't be serious," Sunset told her.

"Oh, I'm very serious." Hydia moved away. "I never did anything to them. I actually tried to use my magic to help them. But they were always too afraid of my face to realise that. I don't know how things work in your Equestria, but mine is a place where not being pretty or horse-like, makes you a monster. Eventually, I decided to make those ponies feel as bad as I felt."

"So you started attacking the ponies," Twilight realised.

"I didn't just try and attack them," Hydia stated. "I tried to make them all look as ugly as they saw me. I made them suffer the way I suffered. I drained their colour, disfigured them and even turned them into monsters. All I wanted was for them to feel the way I felt."

"But it didn't work?" Fluttershy asked.

"No," Hydia growled. "It didn't. No matter what I did to them, those ponies never learned a thing. Every time I made one of them look ugly, their friends could come along and tell them it didn't matter how badly they looked."

"It doesn't," Applejack stated.

"Then why did it matter how ugly I looked?" Hydia asked. "What, does it only count if you were born like this? Or is a pony pretty no matter how they look?" The girls weren't sure what to think about these questions. If it was true that the ponies did that to Hydia, they wanted to be sorry. But they also knew there could be more to the story than what Hydia was saying.

"I'm sorry those things happened to you," Sunset sighed. "But that doesn't give you the right to do all this stuff."

"I'm just being the monster those ponies saw me as." Hydia walked back to the magic circle and continued adding the final marks to it, eventually completing it as Reeka finished hers. "There. Now, all we're missing are the final ingredients."

In that moment, a flash of light occurred and Draggle appeared. In her hands was a plastic bullet, full of many different things. "I got everything you need, mother."

"Excellent!" Hydia nodded before pointing at the circle. Draggle moved over to it and the girls that were facing the circle, watched her put the bucket down as Hydia raised her staff. "Four elements. four parts of the earth. Now, they will be used to create a monster of unmatched power."

The objects inside the bucket began to float out and separate into four floating piles. "Metal, for a strong and sturdy skeleton." She placed a bunch of knives and folks down into one of the smaller circles. "Earth, for strong muscles." She placed a pile of soil into another corner. "Ice. To act as the blood that flows through the body." She tore open a bag of ice cubes and emptied it onto another circle. "And wood, to be the skin that will heal no matter the injury." She placed a single twig down in the final circle.

The girls watching were confused by what they were seeing, as the circles each began to light up.

Then, the circle around them also started glowing. They all grew worried, as their geodes began to glow. And slowly, differently coloured streams of light began to flow out of their gems and into the circle.

In an instant, the girls felt themselves beginning to grow weaker. They all groaned, as if a part of their very soul was being stripped out of them. They tried to fight it. To hold onto their magic. But the circle's pull was just too strong. And so, their power was drained and they felt it being transferred over to the other circle.

Hydia, Reeka and Draggle all smiled, the three watching the magic circle glowing brighter and brighter.

They then held up the Infinigem and added even more power to the circle, giving the Rainboom's magic a power boost. The Rainbooms were forced to close their eyes, as the circle grew too bright to look at. Even the witches were blinded, as the circle's glow basically became a mini sun.

Then, the light shot straight up and smashed through the roof of the building. Debris began to fall, luckily nowhere near the girls, as a massive pillar of light exploded upwards.

The bright light could be seen by everyone in the city, even waking up a few of them that were still asleep.

This included the Riders, the four all jolting up as soon as the light appeared. The four stared at the pillar and instantly knew that the girls were there, the lot sharing a look as they all summoned their bikes. At the same time, the people in Canterlot were beginning to evacuate the area, wanting to get as far away from the light as possible.

As they did, the pillar began to change shape and curved downwards until it reached a large open street.

Back inside the warehouse, the witches watched as the four ingredients began to disappear.

The ice melted into water and then evaporated, whilst the metal spoons melted and slowly disappeared. The twig burned up and the soil dissolved, the four elements appearing to be sucked into the pillar of light and disappearing.

"Yes!" Hydia yelled. "Form the body. Create a monster too powerful to ever be defeated. One solely under my control!" She laughed, as the three witches ran out of the warehouse to watch.

Once they were gone, Applejack tried to break herself free. But with her magic blocked and being drained, she wasn't strong enough to rip through the metal. "Any ideas?" She looked around, but all the girls were clearly stumped on how to get out of this situation.

"We just have to hope the Riders can find a way to save us." Twilight hated being a damsel in distress again, but it seemed they didn't have a choice. Until the Riders found a way to save them, all they could do was try and slow down the rate that their magic was being drained away. Hopefully, they would be saved before they were drained dry. There was no telling what might happen to them if they were.

The four Riders were racing down the abandoned street on their bikes, the four turning onto a street as they spotted something appearing where the stream of light was flowing.

Floating in the air was some kind of silver liquid, which began to expand and form what appeared to be a spine. This was followed by ribs, shoulders, hips and everything else that could be found on a human skeleton. And as the structure was complete, the liquid began to harden and formed a metal structure.

Once that was done, something started appearing within the rib-cage. A bunch of mud and soil, which completely filled that area of the skeleton before expanding to completely surround it.

The mud then spread down the arms and legs, along with up the neck over and skull. And soon enough, the entire skeleton was covered by muddy flesh and muscle. In less than a minute, a thirty meter humanoid was standing in the middle of downtown Canterlot.

It didn't stop there, however, as the mud body began to ripple as ice began to grow out of it. Icicle spikes began to grow out of its chest, along with areas of its arms and legs. The top of its head grew a bunch of ice spikes, giving it a slicked back hairdo, with more growing out of its spine.

Finally, wood started to grow out of the soil and cover almost the entire body. The only parts not covered were its joints, allowing it to move, whilst the rest was encased within a wooden shell that the ice spikes were sticking out of. Even the head was covered, a wooden mast with a hole for its mouth and eyes appearing on its front.

The Riders stared in awe at the creature, which was now fully formed and began to move on its own.

It swung its arms around and let out a roar, which was so loud it shook the earth. As it did, blasts of ice exploded out of its mouth and flew into the air. In the blink of an eye, snow began to rain down on Canterlot.

"Well," Flash stated, "you don't see that every day." Flash had a feeling that statement got used a lot in Canterlot.

"What the heck is that thing?" Shining asked, as Burst and Spike nodded at one another.

"An elemental golem," Burst then explained. "Created using different elements as materials. But I've never seen one that big before. Even with the Infinigem, those three witches shouldn't have been able to make something that big."

It was in that moment, Flash remembered what Hydia had said the previous day. "What if they used the girls?" The others all caught on and grew worried. "If they used the Infinigem to supercharge the girls' magic, would that be enough to make something that big?"

"Maybe," Spike nodded. "But it'd still be a serious drain on their energy. If the drain continues, they'll eventually be sucked dry."

"Then we gotta stop it!" Shining revved his bike and flew off, the other Riders doing the same. As they did, they caught sight of something floating up onto the shoulder of the Elemental. And thanks to Spike's incredible eyesight, dragon eyes, he saw who it was.

"Hydia!"

The mad witch landed on her creation's shoulder and looked around, smiling at how small the city looked from her golem's shoulder.

As soon as she was on its shoulder, the giant finally started moving and stomped around. Every time it took a step, the ground shook beneath its feet. And with every swing of its arm and good, a building was reduced to rubble. Hydia could only laugh, enjoying the terror this was no doubt causing the people of the world.

"I'll reduce this city to rubble. Then, I'll move onto the next city. And every city until this entire world is nothing but a pile of debris!" She laughed, as the Infinigem glowed brighter. No doubt, the gem was doing as advertised and driving the woman even more insane.

As the Elemental reached the end of the street, Hydia happened to glance around and spot four little dots suddenly appear on the round to their left.

She had the Elemental turn to face them and with a flick of her staff, a magic bubble appeared that allowed her to zoom in on the dots. And sure enough, the four Kamen Riders stood before her. "Ah, good." She spoke into the bubble and her voice was projected down. "I was hoping you fools would show up. Now I get to watch my Elemental step on you."

The Riders didn't seem worried and all shared a look. "I'm going to find my sister." Shining stared at the Elemental and saw the stream of energy that was still connected to its back, originating from the same location. "If I can free her, this thing won't be able to drain their magic."

"Right," Spike nodded. "I'll go with you."

Burst turned to Flash. "Then it looks like we're on golem smashing duty. We need to take things down and beat Hydia. She's way too dangerous with the Infinigem."

"Alright." Flash looked ahead, as he noticed Hydia raise her staff and unleash a light. Said light flew down onto the street and formed a cloud of red and yellow smoke, which quickly faded to reveal a massive horde of Raptorians.

The wolf chicken monsters all squawked as they filled the street, a massive army of them now standing between the Riders and their objective.

Flash took out his Strike Mimicore, "ready?" The other three nodded, Burst and Spike attaching their Drivers whilst Flash and Shining's appeared around their waists. The others took out their Crests and Cores, as they revved up their bikes.

"STRIKE!"

"EARTH PONY!"

"BLITZ!"

"DRAGON!"

Their bikes shot off towards the Elemental, as they placed their devices into their Drivers before the four yelled out in unison. "HENSHIN!" With that, they activated their Drivers and they began to change. Flash and Shining were encased in amber, whilst Burst and Spike rode through a shield of light whilst the energy constructs of a horse and dragon appeared.

Soon enough, the four Kamen Riders were fully suited up and their armor formed upon their bodies.

"Illuminate the light, striking through the darkness!"

"Power of the Earth, unleashed in a single destructive kick! EARTH PONY POWER!"

"Power that shatters everything, contained in a mighty horn!"

"Roarofanunstoppablebeast, unleashingitsfurywithamightybladeofflame!DRAGONICPOWER!"

The Riders began to ride through the Raptorian army, knocking down several and kicking more of them away. They all fought with everything they had, Morphic blasting several more away whilst Shifter cut them down and E-Quest slammed his bike into them. Dragus even unleashed a blast of fire from his gauntlet, which burned even more of the beasts.

As they fought, the Elemental stomped closer to them and they all felt themselves fall into the giant's shadow. And as more Raptorians were destroyed, the giant opened his mouth and unleashed another blast of ice.

The Riders saw this and quickly swung their bikes around, attempting to outrun the attack. The ice hit the ground and turned the entire street into a giant ice rink, the Riders managing to outrun it whilst the remaining Raptorians were frozen solid.

As the ice attack ended, the Riders swerved their bikes around and glared at the Elemental. With the Raptorians taken care of, the Riders nodded with Shifter and E-Quest racing forward once again. They kept the giant's attention, as he tried to stomp on them with his giant wooden feet.

But the pair was able to avoid getting crushed and this distraction, allowed the other two Riders to race past the Elemental and head in the direction the magic stream was heading.

Hydia and the Elemental didn't listen, as Flash drove towards its leg and used his sword to cut into the monster. But as soon as he cut into the wood that made up its skin, the bark began to grow back with little difficulty.

E-Quest summoned his hammer and smashed it into the Elemental, shattering its wooden skin and revealing the soil beneath. But once again, the wood grew back and the Riders drove away before it could crush them. As they did, it raised its fist before swinging it down towards the ground.

The two saw this come and kicked their bikes into top speed, as the fist slammed into the pavement and created an earthquake and shockwave. One that slammed into the pair and sent them both flying. They screamed, as their bikes were sent flying away from them and they slammed onto the ice covered ground.

They slid to a stop, as the Elemental pulled its fist back up. As it did, Hydia laughed down at the pair. Both Riders pushed themselves up, the two staring up at the giant that threatened to flatten the entire city. They were gonna have a hard time taking that thing down, but they would find a way.

No matter what, they wouldn't let Hydia and her daughters win.

Author's Note

And so, the final battle begins? Will the Riders be able to stop the Elemental, save the Rainbooms and defeat the witches? Stay tuned to find out.

Movie 1: Part 7

The citizens of Canterlot were amazed, when the red dome keeping them trapped finally disappeared.

This was likely thanks to whatever that rainbow of light was, which flew to the area of the city where the giant monster was waiting. Moments after it happened, a shockwave of some kind had spread out across the city and destroyed the dome. Now the people were free to escape. But many believed they didn't need to.

At the battle site, Shifter and E-Quest were still glowing with the Equestrian Magic that they had been given.

They had just performed a Dual Rider Kick, which had destroyed the Infinigem and blasted Hydia backwards onto another rooftop. The witch groaned, whilst the Riders saw the energy that she had been feeding the Elemental was slowly weakening.

"We did it," Shifter cheered. "We destroyed the Infinigem."

E-Quest nodded. "We didn't just destroy it. We completely atomised it." A small part of him was worried about the shockwave that had been unleashed from the destruction, remembering what Flash had told him about what happened to Equestrian Magic in this world. "Hopefully, it won't cause any problems like it did when Sunset brought it here."

Shifter turned towards the area where the Elemental had appeared. The spot he knew the Rainbooms had been held.

"Shining," he wondered how his fellow Rider was doing. With the Infinigem destroyed, Reeka and Draggle's power should have been weakened. Hopefully, it meant Morphic and Dragus would have an easier time.

And sure enough, that's exactly what was happening.

As Morphic and Dragus fought to keep the witches away from the warehouse and the Rainbooms, Reeka and Draggle found their power suddenly beginning to drain. "What's happening!?" Draggle cried, as she suddenly felt very lethargic.

Reeka stared at her staff and saw that the rune connecting her to the Infinigem, was beginning to fade away. "Impossible. Don't tell me they found a way to destroy the Infinigem!" Morphic and Dragus heard this, both smirking as they realised the tide of the battle had just changed.

"Ready to give up?" Dragus asked, channelling energy into his staff.

"Not happening," Reeka cried. "Doesn't matter if the Infinigem was destroyed. We can still destroy you!" She thrust her staff forward and unleashed a burst of lightning, but Dragus swung his staff around and fired a stream of flames to counter the attack.

Morphic then punched the air, sending several lasers flying towards the sisters.

Draggle tried to put up a shield, but her magic was so weak the barrier didn't survive the first laser. As such, the two found themselves getting blasted and sent backwards. Both cried out, as they hit the ground and looked like they didn't appreciate the injuries they had just sustained.

The Riders smirked under their helmets, as they charged forward. They didn't like to kick a mule whilst it was down, but these two were much too dangerous to let recover.

As such, when Reeka pushed herself up, Morphic leapt into the air and dealt a kick to her chest. Dragus then reached Draggle and swept her legs with his own, causing her to flip into the air. But before she could hit the ground, Dragus spun around and swung his sceptre up to strike her in the back.

This sent her flying upwards and Dragus summoned his wings to fly up above her, as his foot ignited and he slammed it down into her stomach as she flew into him. She screamed, as she was propelled down to the ground. At the same time, Morphic slammed his fist into the ground and sent his lasers into it.

Reeka was still recovering from the last hit and as she picked herself up, the energy flowed beneath her before exploding.

She was thrown into the air and ended up crashing into her sister, the pair tumbling around until they slammed into the ground. Both moaned, as their bodies sparked and showed how much damage they had taken. At the same time, Dragus landed next to Morphic and the Mimic Rider turned to him. "Let's end this!" Dragus nodded before the pair hit their Drivers.

"CLIMATIC TRI-HORN!"

"DRAGON LORD POWER! OVERDRIVE!"

As the power in their rose, the Riders struck a pose. "Feel the full force of my justice!"

"My flames of pride are gonna burn you!"

Reeka and Draggle saw the pair preparing for their final strikes. And neither had the energy to get up and escape. But then, Reeka felt something in her staff. A small shred of power, left from the Infinigem's boost. It wasn't much, but it might be enough.

"Draggle!" She raised her staff, "combine power." Draggle didn't understand, but nodded before the two crossed their staffs. As they did, Morphic launched a trio of energy horns towards them. The golden sections Dragus' armor also flew off and formed the dragons, which also flew at the pair.

The two united their powers and combined the space and time magic, Reeka concentrating it all on herself. "What are you doing?" Draggle asked, as the attacks flew towards them.

"I'll save you," Reeka stated. "I'll find a way!" With that, Reeka suddenly vanished in a flash of light. Draggle's eyes widened in horror, as the energy horns all stabbed into her.

"AAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRHHHHHHHHHH!" The pain of their impact was horrible, as the energy dragons cut and bit at her.

Those dragons then flew back towards Dragus, as he and Morphic ran towards her. The dragons then flowed into Dragus' right boot, as the two Riders leapt into the air and thrust their feet forward. Both slammed into the now merged energy spike, Dragus' energy flowing into it, pushing the impaler the rest of the way into Draggle's body and making her scream as it exploded.

Dragus and Morphic flipped backwards and landed, the two spinning around as Draggle fell to the ground and was consumed by the explosion.

The two Riders stood with their backs to the explosion, as the Rainbooms stepped out of the warehouse and saw that they had succeeded. They all smiled, whilst the two Riders looked ready to collapse from exhaustion. But they managed to stay up and turned to where the Elemental was, all of them wondering what the heck was happening over there.

Shifter and E-Quest saw the Elemental's energy finally give up.

Hydia had finally recovered and as she pushed herself up, she was suddenly overwhelmed by the little energy she had left. All of her magic had been drained from her and now, she barely had the strength to move. But she refused to let it end like this. "You...you cannot defeat me." She turned to the Riders, "this isn't over. I refuse to let it end like this."

"Give it up," E-Quest told her. "You can't expect to keep fighting. Not now that your ace in the hole is gone."

"I'll never give up. Not until all around me know what it means to suffer." She turned to the Elemental, "ATTACK! DESTROY THEM! RIP THEM TO PIECES!" But as the Elemental tried to move, part of its arm suddenly began to break apart. "What?"

"What's happening?" Shifter asked, as more cracks appeared on the giant's body.

"It's out of magic. Which means there's nothing keeping its body together. It's going to break apart." E-Quest watched as it tried to raise its arm. But as it did, more and more cracks appeared along it. And eventually, the whole thing broke off just before the elbow.

The Riders acted fast and leapt away, using the last of their Equestrian Magic boost to escape. Shifter leapt down to the street, whilst E-Quest flew into the air. He looked down and saw the arm crash onto the roof he had been on and part of the roof Hydia was on.

The witch screamed, as she tried to escape. But her magic was too drained to save her.

E-Quest wasn't sure whether he should save her or not, knowing how much danger she would be if she regained her magic later. But as the Elemental's legs began to break apart, he realised he had duty to save anyone in need. Even his enemies.

But as he flew down to try and save her, the Elemental shattered and it fell forward.

It smashed into the building, causing it to start to collapse with Hydia on top. The witch gasped and tried to escape, running towards the end of the roof as it fell. She tried to form a platform and jump onto it, but it disappeared the second she placed her weight on it.

She screamed, as she felt herself beginning to fall back towards the collapsing building.

E-Quest tried to fly down and save her. But before he could reach her, a wave of dust flew up and slammed into him. "AUGH!" He was pushed back, as he watched Hydia let out a scream.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" She screamed in terror before disappearing into the dust cloud, whilst the Elemental broke apart and covered the building as it fell apart. E-Quest could only watch as the massive pile of destruction formed.

Shifter also watched, both Riders realising that Hydia couldn't have survived that.

The witch of destruction was gone, hopefully never to be seen again. And if she was, the Riders would be ready to stop her if she ever caused problems again. But for now, the two let out a sigh of relief.

Hours passed and the city began to recover from the insanity that had occurred.

The police and rescue services quickly got into action, racing towards the area that had been destroyed in the battle. Fire fighters quickly got to work searching the destroyed buildings, trying to find anyone that might be trapped. But they found nothing. Nobody had been lost in the fight.

All that had been found in the wreckage, was a wooden staff that had been broken into multiple pieces and a shattered crystal next to it. But other than that, there was nothing.

The damage done to the city had been intense, but nothing it couldn't bounce back from.

Nobody knew exactly what had happened, but many guessed that the Kamen Riders had saved their city from utter destruction. Some prayed this was the work of the Mimics and the battle meant they had been defeated. But others realised this was way too different from the Mimics to be them.

Speaking of the Mimics. They had arrived as soon as the barrier locking them out of the city disappeared.

Frill, Maya, High and Greye were standing atop a building, looking over the destruction that had happened. But from what they could tell, the Riders had been victorious.

"So?" High turned to the others, "what do we do now?"

"The Riders are probably exhausted after their fight," Maya stated. "Now might be a good time to deal with them once and for all."

"No," Frill shook his head, "we still have much work to do on our end. Them being exhausted means they won't be able to get in our way." He turned away from the city, "let's not waste this time." The others nodded and followed suit, a portal opening up for them to step through.

Greye was the last one through and before he left, he glanced back at the city that he and his brethren had been trying to conquer. "Enjoy this victory whilst you can," he told the Riders. "I swear, it'll be your last." With that, he stepped through the portal and disappeared.

But as they left through the portal, another person stepped through one into the city.

The cloaked figure who went by the name Corvyn, also looked out at the city and wondered what had happened. "When I was cut off from watching and entering this world, I began to worry. But it looks like things turned out alright." The figure under the cloak hummed. "But things could have turned out worse. The Riders will need more allies if they are to continue to win. I need to find someone soon."

Inside the park, the Rainbooms and Riders were resting.

Shifter and Morphic, both back in their first Rider forms, were keeping themselves hidden in the trees whilst the others remained together. "Are you sure you're okay?" Twilight asked Burst, who was looking over his Driver and Alicorn Crest.

"I feel fine," he assured her. "Doesn't look like the magic you gave me did anything more than supercharge my attack." He turned to Shifter. "What about you? Your Driver doing okay?"

Shifter looked down at his Mimic Driver, which wasn't acting strange at all. "Yeah, mine seems fine. I think the magic just gave me a power boost as well. It probably gave me the power to counter the magical energy of the Infinigem, like how your magic allows you girls to stop the Equestrian Magic that's caused trouble in the past."

"I guess," Sunset nodded. "Just be careful. If your Driver starts acting funny, tell us so we can be ready if anything bad happens." Shifter nodded, as puppy Spike turned to his Rider counterpart.

"So does this mean you guys are heading back to your world?"

"Afraid so," Rider Spike nodded. "Hydia and her daughters might be gone, but there are other dangers that we need to defend our Equestria from. Besides," he turned to Morphic and Shifter, "you guys have some pretty good Riders looking after you." The others smiled, knowing he was right.

"Too bad ya'll have to leave so soon," Applejack sighed. "We only just met and barely got to spend any time together."

"Maybe," Burst nodded. "But that's alright. I mean, it's not like we won't see each other again. The future's unpredictable. There's no telling what might happen next. We might end up meeting again, some time in the future."

"I hope so," Rainbow smirked. "Let's just hope that the next time we meet, we don't have to fight a world ending threat." The others laughed, also hoping the same thing.

"And who knows," Burst shrugged. "There are versions of you guys in our Equestria. And you have your own version of Spike. Maybe there's another version of me somewhere in your world." The others thought about it, but doubted it. If Burst's mom was Celestia, this world's Burst would be their Celestia's son. And as far as they knew, their Celestia didn't have any children.

"Maybe," Twilight nodded. "But even if there is, that doesn't mean they can just replace you." They all nodded at this, as they chose that moment to give the leaving Riders a hug.

Spike and Twilight were the last to share a hug. And when they did, Spike whispered something into Twilight's ear. "I don't know if I should tell you this, but it might be important." Twilight raised an eyebrow at this, as Spike spoke up. "My Twilight was able to find something special and you can too. It's closer than you think." As he said this, his gaze happened to glance over at Shifter for a moment before he pulled away.

Twilight looked at him curiously, as Burst and Spike both summoned their bikes and got on without transforming.

Shifter and Morphic summoned their own bikes and after the two gave their new friends a wave goodbye, the four Riders began to drive off out of the park. The Rainbooms all waved goodbye until they were out of sight. The four continued through the city until they arrived at an area that was still abandoned.

Once they found a spot, they all pulled to a stop and the Mimic Riders removed their Mimicores from their Drivers.

Transforming back to human, they all smiled at one another as they looked down the empty street. "So," Flash stated, "this is it."

Burst nodded. "It was an honour, fighting with you guys. The one positive to this whole situation was that we got to meet each other." Shining and Flash agreed. This might have been an insane situation, but they were happy they got to meet Burst and Spike.

"You guys can do it," Spike stated. "Beat the Mimics, I mean. You'll have plenty of obstacles to face, but I know you guys can beat those freaks and keep your world safe."

"Thanks," Flash nodded. "And if you guys ever need help, you know where to find us."

"Same." Burst reached into his jacket and took something out before handing it to Flash. "Here." Flash took it and found it was the phone that Twilight and Sunset had fixed for them. "If you ever need us, all you gotta do is call."

"That'll come in handy," Shining nodded. They remembered that Reeka was still out there somewhere, having warped away. There was no telling where or when she would show up again. If she did show up, they would need to work together in order to defeat her.

Flash stared at the phone and realised that if it could travel to Burst's world, maybe it could travel to other worlds as well.

He remembered the conversation he had had with Burst the previous night, about all the different Kamen Riders that existed in the multiverse. Blade, Fourze, Drive and others. Could Flash maybe one day have the chance to meet these Riders in the future, now that he had the device that would allow him to do that?

"Well," Spike stated, "time to get back home." He took out his own phone and pressed several buttons on it before holding it up. A beam of light flew out of it and it flew down the street, eventually opening a portal at the very end of it. Considering how long the street was, that was pretty far to drive.

"Don't you wanna open it a bit closer?" Shining asked, with Spike smirking.

"I could." Spike placed his crest in his Driver. "Or we could have a bit of fun before we leave." Burst smirked, knowing what he was thinking and taking out his own crest. Flash and Shining both realised what he meant and a smile appeared on their lips as well.

"Drag race?" Shining asked, as he activated his Blitz Core and placed it in his Driver.

"You know it," Spike nodded. "What do you say? Can one of you two drive past the portal before Burst and I get through it?"

"Let's find out," Flash took out his Strike Core and placed it in his Driver. The four Riders struck a pose and all yelled out in unison. "HENSHIN!" In the blink of an eye, they were armored up and ready for the Rider Race of the century.

They revved their engines, as E-Quest picked up a stray soda can.

They all looked at each other and once they were ready, E-Quest threw the can upwards and they waited. Time seemed to slow down, as the can span through the air and eventually began to drop. And when the clattering sound of it hitting the ground filled the air, they all burst into action and shot forward.

Their engines roared as they ran along the road towards the portal, with not a car or pothole getting in their way.

They all laughed, loving the thrill of being superheroes that got to ride around on high speed motorcycles. If anyone else had been watching, they would have just seen a bunch of blurs making their way down the street towards a swirling vortex.

Throughout the entire race, the four stayed together. At a few points, one of them pulled a few inches forward before the others caught up. No race in history had probably been as close as this one.

And soon enough, they arrived at the portal and the four Riders remained neck and neck. Shifter and Morphic were on the outside lanes, allowing E-Quest and Dragus to head into the portal. At the exact same time, they reached the portal and the two Mimics Riders raced around it.

As soon as they did, the pair swung their bikes around and did an anime sliding stop with their fronts pointing at one another. They looked back at the vortex and found the other two Riders had driven through it,

The pair smiled, as they watched the swirling vortex begin to slowly close. Eventually, it completely disappeared and their new friends were back in their own world. It seemed bittersweet, knowing they might never get to see their friends again. But the Riders knew the two were needed back home, the same way the two of them were needed there.

After a few moments, the Riders swung their bikes around and began to ride away at a relatively slow speed.

As they drove, Morphic looked over at Shifter and could tell something was wrong. "You okay?" The Rider glanced over at his partner. "You missing them already?"

"Kinda. But it's not that." Shifter looked ahead. "Burst said that the life of a Rider was a life of sacrifice. That in order to defeat their enemies, many Riders needed to give up everything. I'm just wondering if something like that is waiting for us in the future."

Morphic nodded, understanding why Shifter was so worried. "You don't have to keep this up, you know. You're a kid. You shouldn't have to face something like this."

"No," Shifter shook his head, "I refuse to do nothing when I have the power to help people. I'll fight as long as I need to. I just hope our experiences are more positive then some of the other Riders I heard about."

Morphic nodded. "I know the future is gonna be tough. We'll be in for a lot of hard fights before we can give up being Riders. But I know we can do it. No matter what the Mimics throw at us, we'll face it head on and win. Because there's nothing they can do that we can't stand against. And when this is over, I'm sure we'll be able to go back to our lives. Proud of what we were able to do to get there."

Shifter sighed, feeling slightly more at ease with that statement. "You're right." He began to pick up speed, Morphic following. "We will win. There's no telling what the future might hold. But I know if we stick together, it'll be a bright one."

"That's the stuff," Morphic nodded as they drove off. Flash was right. There was no telling what the future held for the Kamen Riders. Whatever curve balls were thrown their way, they just had to go with the floor and adapt. No matter what happened.

One month Later

It was the middle of a night and in a random alleyway, a bright light suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

From out of this light, Reeka suddenly appeared. The witch staggered forward before falling to the ground, looking absolutely exhausted. She panted, using her staff to keep her from collapsing fully. Sending herself so far into the future, even with the remaining energy of the Infinigem, had drained her beyond belief.

She took several moments to regain her energy before pushing herself up, the witch still leaning on her staff. "Mother," she whispered, "sister." Her vision turned hard. "I swear, I'll find a way to save you. So long as I have breath, I'll fight to revive you both. And when I do, this world will suffer under our wrath." However, as she was about to leave the alley, a sound filled the night air.

"SLASH!"

Reeka's eyes went wide, as she looked around. "What? Who said that? Answer me!" There was no answer for several moments, until a male voice suddenly yelled out to the heavens.

"HENSHIN!" Reeka couldn't tell where the voice came from and soon enough, another voice filled the air.

"MIMIC! MANTIS!" Reeka kept trying to figure out where it was coming from. And suddenly, something very fast shot past her. And when it did, she felt something slash against her chest whilst her staff was sliced in half.

"AUGH!" She staggered around and fell to the ground, as a figure suddenly appeared at the entrance of the alley.

She looked up and with the darkness of the night, she couldn't quite make out who she was looking at. But she knew one thing. This person was wearing a full body suit and armor. A passing car's headlights gave her the briefest hint of green, with a bit of purple here and there. And in the figure's hands were two twin short swords, which had cutlass designs.

As the figure slowly turned to her, their purple eyes shining in the night, the Mimic Driver on their waist spoke. "Bladed arms that slice through anything, cutting down the evils of the world!"

A few moments later, the figure raised their swords in a backhanded grip before rushing forward. Moments later, a scream filled the air. The last sound Reeka would ever make.

Author's Note

And that's it for this movie. Hope you enjoyed it and tell me what you think of that teaser at the end. Now it's time to return to the true battle. What will the Riders face, as the Mimics go back on the attack? Stay tuned to find out.

Episode 16: What Was At Stake

Canterlot City was enjoying a brief time of peace.

There hadn't been any Mimic attacks for a while and some people were hoping this meant they weren't going to ever attack again. But others knew it was only a matter of time before things got crazy, so were enjoying the peace whilst it lasted. And some people were just looking forward to getting back to their regular lives.

This included Timber Spruce, the teen having been hospitalised ever since he had been saved from being the Mimic's prisoner.

The teen was back in his normal clothes, as he worked to pack everything of his that had been brought to him after he was hospitalised. But despite getting to leave the hospital, he did not look happy.

A knock caught his attention and he looked around to see a nurse step into the room.

"Good morning, Mr. Spruce. Looking forward to going home?"

"Very much so." Timber had had enough of being pricked and prodded. Of having every test under the sun done to him. All he wanted to do was get out of there and go home. However, a small part of him wanted to stay in the hospital. For no other reason, then to prolong the inevitable conversation he would have to have with a certain someone.

But he couldn't hold this off any longer than it already had. He had to face his demons and move on with his life.

He finished packing and when the doctor arrived, he gave the teen one final once over before confirming he was fit to leave. The teen thanked him before getting into the wheelchair, allowing the nurse to push him through the hospital.

He hated that he had to be wheeled out, but it was hospital policy and the teen didn't want to argue. So he tried to enjoy the ride, as he clutched his bag tightly. Eventually, they arrived at the front lobby of the hospital and headed for the doorway.

And standing outside the hospital were two individuals he hadn't seen in so long. Since he hadn't been allowed any visitors, he hadn't been able to see them since before he was captured by the Mimics.

Gloriosa Daisy smiled at her little brother, whilst Twilight gave him a nod as he was wheeled out. And as soon as he was outside, he pushed himself out of the wheelchair and moved over to hug his sister. "Timber!"

"Hey sis," he held her tightly. "I'm sorry if I worried you."

"You bet your ass you worried me." She pulled away and held his head in her hands. "When you came to visit Twilight and chose to stay, I should have known something was up. Especially when you stopped answering my calls." She sighed, "I just thought you were being swept up in city living. I should have known something was wrong."

"You shouldn't blame yourself," Timber assured her. "It's not like you could have guessed I'd be captured by a shape-shifting monster and replaced." He hugged her again and Timber held him tightly. As his chin was on her shoulder, he saw Twilight and the girl could tell he wasn't exactly happy to see her.

After he pulled away, Gloriosa pulled him over to Twilight. "I'm sure I'm not the only one who's happy to see you. Why don't we all go out? Timber hasn't had a decent meal in who knows how long. I'm sure he'll enjoy that."

"Actually," Timber sighed, "I need to talk to Twilight about something. Alone." Gloriosa frowned, clearly confused why he wanted to do that. "I'm sorry. But I need to do this." Gloriosa looked between the two, then nodded before walking off.

Timber and Twilight remained there for a few moments, silent as they tried to think about something to say. Then, Twilight pointed in a certain direction. "There's a bench over there. Maybe that would be a better place to do this."

Timber nodded and followed her, as he tried to determine what he was gonna say.

In another area of the town, two young teens had arrived at a police precinct that was heavily armed.

Thorax and Pharynx stepped up to the front door, as the guard held up his Mimic detector to make sure they weren't Mimics in disguise. "We're here to see our mom," Thorax explained.

"And we're human," Pharynx stated. "So let us in already. We don't have all day." The guard frowned before finally letting the pair through. They headed into the precinct and were led by an officer into the basement, where the Mimic cocoons had been placed under heavy guard.

The guard at the door opened up the cell, allowing Thorax and Pharynx into the room.

And there they were. The four cocoons belonging to the four hosts of the Mimic Generals. But the boys were only focused on one cocoon in particular. The one containing their mother.

Thorax stepped up to the cocoon and placed his hand on it. "Hi, mom." He stared at her calm face, which was very different to the face he was used to seeing on her. "I don't know if you can hear me, but I promise I'm gonna keep coming back as much as I can. And I'm sure the Kamen Riders are gonna find a way to free you."

"Yeah," Pharynx nodded. "They managed to take out that Timber guy's copycat. And he seemed perfectly fine afterwards. And if Shifter or Morphic can't do it, then I'll take her out and free you myself."

"Pharynx," Thorax frowned at his brother. "That's insane. You can't fight against a Mimic." The guards nodded, as Pharynx shook his head.

"I don't care if it seems impossible. I'm gonna find a way. Those Kamen Riders can't be the only ones able to go toe to toe with them. A bunch of people have been researching the Mimics for ages. There's gotta be a way to fight them on our own. And if it saves her, I'll find it myself."

Thorax frowned, as he thought about what Pharynx was saying. If it was possible to fight a Mimic, he hoped he could find it to save his mother as well. But even if they did find a way to slay a Mimic, how would Thorax and Pharynx get a hold of it. He was pretty sure a weapon like that, wouldn't just fall into the hands of two kids.

Back with Timber and Twilight, the pair had found the bench and were currently sitting there.

They were sitting in front of a large hedge, the road right in front of them as they tried to figure out what to say to one another. And finally, Twilight spoke up. "I'm really glad you're okay. When I learned a Mimic was replacing you, I was worried something horrible had happened to you."

"I'm sure you were," Timber frowned.

Twilight gave him a glance, clearly wondering what was wrong. "I can't imagine how horrible all this must have been for you. To be attacked like that and have your whole life stolen away."

"I'm sure you can't," Timber agreed. Twilight moved closer to him and tried to place a hand on his, but he pulled it away.

"I'm here for you," Twilight told him. "Gloriosa too. I know you still have a long way to go before you can put this behind you. But I'm here to help you get through it." Timber turned to her, giving the girl a look that showed something was upsetting him. "What's wrong?"

Timber closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. "I remember what you said."

"What I said?"

"What you said to Shifter. During your fight with...Gule." Twilight's eyes widened. "It started during my stay at the hospital. Every time I slept, I would dream and remember things that had happened to Gule. It was just small events. I remember the night I was taken by Gule and made into his host. I remember fighting several times. But then I remembered the fight Gule had against Shifter. When he was destroyed."

"Timber..." Twilight could hardly believe it. She wasn't sure if Mimics had some kind of mental connection with their host, but this pretty much confirmed it. "And you remember me telling Shifter something?"

"You told Shifter to destroy Gule," Timber replied. "Even though you knew I was being held by the Mimics, you let Shifter kill Gule."

"But that freed you from the cocoon."

"But I was still the Mimic's hostage!" Timber told her. "You had no idea what the Mimics might have done to me. They locked me up, but what if that didn't happen. What if they had killed me? What if they chose to give me to another Mimic, as soon as I was free? You had no idea what might have happened, but you still told Shifter to destroy me."

"Timber," Twilight frowned. "I'm sorry. Gule was too dangerous. That Hyper Core he had made him too powerful. If we didn't destroy him then, we might not have been able to defeat him again. There's no telling how much damage he could have caused."

"So you decided to destroy him?" Timber asked. "Even though you knew there was a chance I wouldn't have survived."

"I'm sorry," Twilight looked down in shame. "I know Shifter was the one who did it, but I'm the one that convinced him to. Be mad at me. Not him."

"I'm not mad," Timber stated. "I understand why you did it. Gule was a danger and needed to be stopped. I just...I thought you would have tried to save me. You've saved so many others before. Done the impossible so much. I just figured, you'd try and do the impossible for me."

"Timber," Twilight whispered.

Timber got up. "I'm going back home. I can't be in this city anymore. Not after all the bad things that happened here." Twilight nodded, as he began to walk away.

"Will...will I see you again?" Timber was silent for a moment, clearly unsure what to say back. Twilight sighed, "I understand." She watched him leave and knew this was probably the end of their relationship. And she couldn't blame him.

He had trusted her and she had broken that trust. She had risked his life without even trying to save him from the Mimics. She didn't deserve to be his girlfriend after that. All she could do was hope he was able to put his trauma behind him and live a happy life.

The Mimics had finished moving into their new base of operations, with almost everything they had taken from their old home now up and running.

The Mimics were all in their human forms, as they finished the delicate work needed to get the last machine online. And as they worked, they thought about the cocoons that had been stolen by the Riders and their former prisoners.

All four of them were twitching, as if worried that the humans would find a way to break their hosts out of them. And since no Mimic host had ever been freed whilst the Mimic was still alive, they had no idea what that could do to the four of them.

"We should storm the place they're keeping our cocoons," High stated. "Go in there with as many Mimicreeps as we can make, then take our cocoons back before the Riders arrive."

"Unfortunately, I don't think it's going to be that simple." Greye finished the wiring and stood up. "The Riders likely expect us to try and take our cocoons back and will be ready for us to do something like that. As much as I hate to say it, we should hold off on retrieving our hosts for now. Wait until the Riders have forgotten about us trying to get them and strike once they're not ready."

"But that could leave us in a dangerous state," Frill pointed out. "The Riders were one surprise we weren't expecting. Can we really risk the humans discovering how to break into our cocoons?"

Greye smirked, "the Riders weren't a human creation. I don't know who that cloaked figure was, but he's clearly not of this world. I'm sure he's the one who created the Kamen Riders. And unless he starts working with the humans more directly, I don't believe the humans will find a way to break into our cocoons. That gives us time."

"He has a point," Maya agreed. "I hope we're able to locate this person and stop them. But for now, we need to work on rebuilding our forces. We lost Gule and have been unable to replace him since his destruction. That's what we should focus on right now." The others nodded, as Maya turned to leave. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to get back to a personal project of mine."

The other Mimics wondered what she meant by that, as she stepped out of the room and headed down a corridor towards her private quarters.

As soon as she arrived, she opened the door and made sure nobody was looking before she stepped inside and locked the door. The room wasn't much to look at. A single bed in the corner and a table with several jars of different chemicals within it.

She stepped up to the table and sat, as she stared at a pair of jars in front of her.

Each jar had a ball of slime within it, which was wiggling a little bit. The Mimic stared at them and smiled before taking out a pin and using it to prick her finger. She then held it up over one of the jars.

Slowly, drops of slime began to plop out of her finger and land on top of the slime. The slime's wiggling became more intense, as it absorbed more and more of the slime. "I know," she told it. "You were hungry, weren't you?" The slime kept wobbling, as Maya smiled. "You're certainly growing big and strong. It won't be long now until you're ready to go find your own host."

After a few more moments of this, she pulled her finger away before holding it over the other jar. Drops of slime began to fall on the other slimeball, which also wiggled more as it absorbed it. As it did, Maya frowned.

"Something about you seems strange. Not wrong, but different." She had seen many Mimic spawns in her times and some of them had been different from the others. Not in appearance, or growth rate or even size. It was like looking at two identical paintings, but knowing something was off about one of them. Like the colour wasn't the exact shade, or it just had a slight difference in strokes. To anyone else, they would look identical. But they weren't.

Maya frowned, wondering what was up with the spawn. As far as she could tell, it was healthy. Whatever this difference was, she was sure it wouldn't negatively affect the Mimic. But she was still unsure what exactly was different about it.

"Guess I'll have to wait and monitor it, once it takes full form." With that, Maya kept feeding the spawn her own essence.

Back on Earth, Thorax and Pharynx had left the precinct.

It hurt that they had to leave their mother behind like that, but they couldn't remain there any longer without putting added strain on the police. Now the two were simply walking the street, neither wanting to go home since the house felt so empty without their mother.

As they headed home, Thorax thought about what had happened after Chrysalis' cocoon had been retrieved. How he and his brother had been informed and almost put into foster care, until their mother's assistant had called the promised to take care of them.

By take care of them, the assistant had simply called them every couple of days to make sure they were both okay. The pair were more than able to look after themselves, since they did it themselves whenever their mother left for a business trip. The assistant knew they were self-sufficient, even if they were under aged. They had his number if they ever needed help with anything, so all was fine.

But even if the brothers were able to look after themselves, that didn't mean they weren't feeling lonely in their large house with just the two of them.

Thorax sighed, as he walked down the street with his brother. All he could think about was his mother and what he wished he could do to help her. But at the moment, there was likely no chance he could do anything that might be the least bit helpful. The teen shook his head, wishing for something to take his mind off the situation he found himself in.

It was in that moment, he spotted someone sitting at the table of a nearby cafe.

Twilight was sitting there, twirling a spoon around in her drink without even looking at it. By the expression on her face, she was clearly upset about something. And before Pharynx could say anything, Thorax grabbed his arm and pulled him towards her.

"Twilight!" The girl looked up and saw the brother, a small smile appearing on her lips.

"Thorax. Pharynx. It's good to see you." The pair sat down in front of her, as she finally took a sip of her drink. "So, what brings you guys to this part of town?"

"Visiting our mom," Thorax explained as his brother looked bored. "She's still trapped in that cocoon, but she seems to be alright." Twilight nodded, understanding how they must be feeling. She had felt the same way when she saw Timber in the cocoon. "On our way back, we saw you here. You're looking a little upset. Did something happen?"

Twilight sighed. "It's nothing compared to what you guys are going through. I don't want to push my problems onto you."

"That's fine," Thorax assured her. "Honestly, I think Pharynx and I could use a distraction from our problems. Unlike with our mom, this might be something we can actually do something about. So, what seems to be the problem?" Twilight smiled and began to explain. The brothers listened and whilst they mentally agreed their problems were worse, they understood why Twilight was so upset.

"I get it," Pharynx nodded "Your boyfriend dumped you, because you told Shifter to destroy his Mimic."

"I didn't realise the hosts remembered things that happened to the Mimics," Thorax frowned. "I wonder if mom is seeing what Maya's doing right now?"

"I don't know," Twilight frowned. "As far as I know, Timber's the only one who's experiencing these memory flashes. None of the other people the Mimics took, seem to remember anything that happened to them when the Mimics were impersonating them."

Thorax nodded, as Pharynx spoke up. "Anyway. So he's angry you had Shifter free him from the Mimic's control."

"He's not angry I let Shifter destroy Gule. He's angry because I didn't seem to care that Timber was still in the Mimic's possession. And he's right. What if the Mimics did kill him as soon as he was freed?" She turned to the brothers. "If your mother was still being held by the Mimics, would you let Shifter destroy Maya?"

The pair sighed, letting the info sink in. "I guess not," Thorax finally stated.

"But what if you didn't have a choice?" Twilight asked, as she sat back in her chair. "Gule was almost unstoppable before Shifter drained his Hyper Core." She remembered how powerful the Mimic had been, when he first acquired the Hyper Core. He had been strong enough to defeat Shifter, Morphic and the seven of them. "There's no telling if that drain would have lasted."

"I get it," Pharynx nodded. "If he had recharged back to full power, Shifter or anyone might never have been able to beat him."

"Exactly," Twilight nodded. "If your mother's Mimic became supercharged, and the only way to stop her risked killing her. Would you still destroy her?"

The brothers weren't sure how to answer that. Thorax couldn't imagine being the one to take his mother's life, whilst Pharynx imagined how many people Maya could end up hurting. "If I didn't have another choice," Pharynx finally stated. "If it was the only way to stop her from killing hundreds of people, I would do it."

"Pharynx?" Thorax looked shocked, whilst Twilight frowned.

"I wouldn't be happy about it. But I also know that sometimes, there's no other choice in these matters. And the real question is, would you be willing to let that be you if the roles were reversed?" Twilight raised an eyebrow, clearly wondering what he meant. "If it was you who was the Mimic's host and someone had the chance to kill that Mimic and save countless people, would you be okay letting them do that? Even if it meant you could lose your life?"

Twilight sat back and pondered the question. It was a good question to be sure. She wasn't sure what to say.

She imagined herself as a Mimic monster, almost looking exactly like Midnight Sparkle. She imagined the damage and destruction she almost did. Sunset had been able to talk her down, but what if she hadn't. What if the only way to stop her, was to kill her?

"I would accept that," Twilight nodded. "If someone had to choose between saving me and saving everyone else, then I would let myself be killed."

"Exactly," Pharynx nodded. "I know mom would rather choose to save others. What happened to you wasn't an easy choice. It's probably a choice nobody can imagine making. But in the end, you made the choice and it's probably helped a lot of people."

"Yeah," Thorax nodded. "The Riders managed to save my mom and all those people the Mimics had. If that Gule guy was still there, they might not have been able to get them." Twilight hadn't considered that.

"I know this Timber guy might be upset with what happened. But hopefully, in time, he'll realise you had to do what you had to do. And you shouldn't feel guilty about what happened. He's alive. The rest of the prisoners are alive. Our mom and others are safe and sound. Now the Riders can't take those Mimics down without having to worry. So you should be proud."

Twilight smiled, feeling a lot less upset about all of this. She was still a little upset that Timber had seemingly broken up with her, but knew there might be a chance to fix things up between them.

Suddenly, their Mimic detectors all went off and the three of them went ridged.

Everyone else around them followed suit, many looking around to see which direction the device was pointing at. But they didn't need the device, as at that moment a scream caught their attention and made them look to see a group of people running around a corner.

Mimicreeps soon followed, the monsters roaring as they tried to grab people.

Twilight quickly got up and turned to the brothers. "You two get out of here." Pharynx nodded, but Thorax didn't look happy about just leaving her behind.

"What are you gonna do?"

"Stop those things," Twilight explained. "Or at least, hold them off long enough for the Kamen Riders to show up. Now go!" Pharynx grabbed his brother and pulled him away, as Twilight ran towards the Mimicreeps. She saw one grab a woman by the arm and the girl quickly threw a nearby trashcan over to them.

It slammed into the monster and knocked it away from the woman, allowing her to escape whilst the other Mimicreeps focused on Twilight. The girl felt a little scared, seeing all the monsters there whilst she was alone. But she stole her nerve and prepared for a fight.

One Mimicreep charged and she used her magic to grab the trash can and slam it into the monster. Several more charged and she started throwing whatever she could get her magical hands on, knocking several down but having little to no success.

One Mimicreep leapt at her and she barely managed to grab it in her magic, keeping it suspended in the air until more Mimicreeps attacked. That was when she dropped the first Mimicreep, which landed right on top of them.

The others began to close in on her, as she took a deep breath before swinging her arms around.

The Mimicreeps were all lifted into the air and with a great effort, Twilight threw them towards the nearest surface. They all went splat against the sides of the buildings, Twilight panting at how difficult that was. But as she did, she heard a clapping sound and looked past the few remaining Mimicreeps.

Frill and Greye stepped out from around the corner, both smiling at her as she stood defensively. "Not bad," Greye stated. "But you clearly can't take us all on." She frowned, as Frill spread his wings and swung them around.

Doing so caused several feathers to be thrown her way, Twilight screaming as she reflectively pulled a Mimicreep in front of her. The monster roared, as the feathers stabbed into it and destroyed the creature. But as it melted, Greye leapt at Twilight and summoned his fan blades.

He landed in front of her and started slashing at the girl, who cried out as she staggered back and barely managed to avoid the attack. She thrust her hands forward and Greye was thrown backwards, whilst the remaining Mimicreeps began to charge at her with their claws drawn.

But before any of them could attack, a barrage of orange energy bolts flew down and slammed into them.

The Mimicreeps roared, several being destroyed whilst the last few staggered back to a safe distance. As they did, Twilight and the Mimic Generals looked up to see Kamen Rider Shifter flying towards them.

The armored warrior was in his Owl themed Flight Form, allowing him the aerial advantage whilst his Shift Striker was in its Strike Pistol form. "Hey," he flew down and landed in front of Twilight. "Don't you people know it's rude to gang up on a lady?"

Twilight blushed at being called a lady, as Shifter pointed his weapon at them. "Shifter," Greye chuckled, "are you sure you want to do this? The last time we fought, it didn't go so well for you."

"Maybe," Shifter stated, "but that was then and this is now." He glanced back at Twilight, "you ready to cover me?"

Twilight smiled, "I got you." Shifter nodded before spreading his wings and firing his blaster, the energy bolts destroying the Mimicreeps whilst the generals swung their weapons around to deflect. As they did, Shifter shot forward and changed his weapon to the rapier mode.

He quickly unleashed several fast jabs into Greye, with the general deflecting them all using his fans.

He tried to slash back at the Rider, but Shifter leapt back and spread his wings to take to the air. But before he could counter, Frill took off and attacked with his feather swords. Since Shifter was faster, he was able to block all the slashes Frill sent his way. He even managed to deflect the swords and give him a few quick jabs to the chest.

"Augh!" Frill cried, as Shifter then spun around and dealt a kick right to his stomach.

This knocked him downwards, causing him to crash into the ground and let out a cry of pain. As he did, Greye and the Mimicreeps were attempting to attack Twilight. But the girl had managed to defend herself by dodging the Mimicreeps and using her magic to push them away.

And when Greye attempted to slash at her, she would pull a Mimicreep in front of her to block the attack. "Will you stop that!" He growled, as his fans began to glow. "Making those things isn't easy."

"Then maybe you should leave them at home," Twilight joked. "Don't bring something to a fight, that you're not willing to give up." Greye growled and with a single mighty swing, the light flew off the blades and shot towards Twilight.

The girl gasped, trying to find something to shield her with. But none of the Mimicreeps were close enough to pull to her, causing her to flinch as she braced herself. But before the attack landed, Shifter flew down and grabbed her. "I gotcha!" He leapt back up and the crescent blades missed, exploding on the ground as Shifter flew upwards. "You okay?"

Twilight sighed, "I'm fine."

Shifter nodded and switched his Shift Striker back to blast mode, using it to gun down the rest of the Mimicreeps and leaving only Greye and Frill.

Frill pushed himself up and the two Mimic Generals stared the pair down, as Shifter landed once again before carefully placing Twilight on the ground. Once that was done, he turned back to the pair and began to walk forward. As he did, he took something out. It was another Mimicore, the Rider activating it as he opened his Driver's draw.

"HYPER STRIKE!"

He quickly replaced his Mimicores before striking a pose. "Shape Shift!" With that, he slammed the draw shut and his Driver glowed brightly.

"MIMIC! LIGHTNING BUG!" His armor began to melt and reshape itself, changing colour and morphing into the extravagant version of his Strike Armor. Once it was settled, the lights on his arm exploded and almost blinded the Mimic Generals. "Ultimate light, strikes to eradicate the shadows!"

The Rider felt the energy of his super form surge, as he replaced the Mimicore in his Shift Striker.

"BLADE!"

Weapon changing into the sword form, Shifter charged as Frill launched several feather darts towards him. But Shifter deflected them all with a single swipe, as his body blurred and he flew towards Frill. Once there, he slashed at the Mimic and sent him staggering back. Had Frill not been holding his feather blades, he would have likes been cut in half.

As Frill fell backwards, Greye slashed at Shifter only for the Rider to dodge and swing his leg into the Mimic's side.

Greye was sent flying by the impact, as Frill picked himself up. But before he could attack, Twilight had found some piping in a nearby alleyway and used her magic to send it flying at the Mimics. The vulture monster slashed at the pipes with his sword, but a few slammed into him and he quickly found himself getting overwhelmed by the attacks.

Greye picked himself up, as Shifter charged at him and swung his sword into the Mimic. But he blocked with his fans and was able to push Shifter back before spinning around, morphing into a miniature tornado.

Shifter used his sword to defend, the spinning fan blades slicing at his weapon but not hitting him. The impact did push him back a little and when he staggered back, Frill saw him and launched several feather darts in his direction.

"Look out!" Twilight cried, Shifter hearing this and jumping away at the last minute. As he did, he replaced the Mimicore inside the Shift Striker.

"PIERCE!"

The weapon morphed into the futuristic rifle and once he landed, he started firing at the Mimics. Frill defended with his own projectiles, whilst Greye did an elaborate dance to swing his fans around. But as the pair focused on Shifter's attacks, Twilight was able to hit them both with the piping.

Both Mimics staggered around, as Shifter and Twilight smiled at one another. It was clear, the pair of them had the upper-hand in this fight. "How are these two beating us so easily?" Greye cried, as Shifter fired a few more spines in his direction.

"Shifter's getting better at controlling that super form of his," Frill growled. "Making sure not to use too much energy at once so as to not overload." He ducked under a pipe, the Mimic General turning to glare at the girl that was throwing whatever she could at them. "And she's not helping matters either."

"Whatever!" Greye's fans glowed. "The two of them can't keep this up forever. We will find a way to destroy them." He swung his blades at Shifter and sent the energy crescents in his direction, Shifter seeing them coming and leaping into the air. As he did, he pulled out and re-slotted the Mimicore in his weapon before hitting the side of his Driver.

"HYPERCLIMATICSTRIKINGPIERCE!"

The Rider pointed his weapon at the pair, as all the energy from his Hyper Core began to flow into the rifle.

Frill and Greye could feel the power coming off it, as Twilight ducked into the alleyway to avoid it. And when Shifter fired, a powerful energy blast exploded out of the weapon and shot towards them.

The spike was green and covered in orange energy, which flew off it as it got closer and closer to the two Mimics. Frill launched several feather darts, whilst Greye unleashed his twin energy blades. The attacks collided with the super attack, attempting to push it back. And whilst it did some to slow it down for a moment, the energy eventually pushed through the attacks and shot towards them.

All they could do was brace themselves, as the attack slammed into the ground in front of them and exploded.

Both Mimics cried out in pain, as they were thrown backwards and crashed into the ground with smoke coming off their bodies. And as they did, Shifter felt himself flinch as he used too much power again.

"Augh!" He was completely paralysed again, the Rider hoping the Mimics were too badly beaten up to take advantage of it. And sure enough, the pair were just laying there smoking. "Come on. Snap out of it." He tried to move, but his body was too numb.

Twilight saw this and worried Shifter might be in trouble, especially when Frill and Greye began to pick themselves up.

"Not good," she gulped. She was about to run out and stand protectively in front of Shifter, but another sound caught her attention and made her look around. And coming down the street behind Shifter, she saw Morphic's bike racing towards them.

The Rider flew past the frozen warrior and skidded to a stop in front of him, Morphic getting off whilst in his Blitz form.

"You okay?" He asked Shifter, who groaned to show he was in a bit of a bind at the moment. "Got it. Don't worry. I'll finish these two off for you." He headed towards the Mimics, preparing to blast them into oblivion and free their hosts.

Greye and Frill growled, as they watched him approach. They were still badly damaged and Morphic was coming in fresh, meaning he had the advantage. If Morphic couldn't destroy them, he could at least keep them busy long enough for Shifter to recover and get back in the fight.

"We can take them!" Greye cried, pushing himself up and charging forward. He summoned his fan blades and as Morphic started firing, Greye deflected the blasts and slashed at him. But the beetle Rider managed to avoid the attacks and block some with his gauntlets.

He then pushed Greye back and fired at Frill, who was summoning his feather blades preparing to attack again.

As he shot at Frill, Morphic started throwing kicks and a few punches towards Greye. The peacock Mimic grunted at the impacts and was forced to stagger back, as Twilight sent a pipe flying behind his feet. The next thing he knew, he was tripping over it.

"Augh!" He hit the ground and Morphic pointed his blaster at the Mimic, Greye barely managing to roll out of the way at the last minute. As he did, Frill launched several feathers towards Shifter.

The Riders still couldn't move enough to protect himself, forcing Morphic to shoot the darts out of the air. And as he did, Greye charged and once again slashed at him. But Morphic blocked them again and whilst his armor took a bit of damage, he didn't feel anything and swung his blaster around the fire into Greye's chest.

The Mimic screamed, as he was thrown backwards and took more damage.

He slammed into the side of a building, as Frill charged and swung his sword towards Morphic. But the Rider was able to dodge one slash and catch the other blade in his hand. Using his higher strength stat to break the blade before throwing a kick into Frill's chest.

Greye watched, as Frill fell backwards and tried to attack Morphic himself. But Twilight threw several pipes in his direction.

But he managed to use his fan to slice them all to pieces, as he charged at Morphic. But the Rider jumped back and avoided his fans, as Twilight kept her distance and kept throwing the pipe pieces in his direction. And as Greye kept batting them away, Morphic began charging up his blaster before pointing it in their direction. And soon enough, the Mimic General found an extra powerful laser blast flying towards him.

He raised his fans and swung them at the Rider, creating an energy X that flew towards the laser and collided.

The two attacks pushed against one another and eventually, an explosion occurred. Morphic and Twilight were far enough away from the blasts to be protected, though Morphic leapt over to shield the girl, whilst Greye was slammed by the shockwave and sent flying backwards.

He crashed into the ground, moaning as the smoke began to clear. The Mimic could feel himself in serious danger. The damage he had taken was severe and he needed medical attention. And to make matters worse, Shifter was beginning to move again.

Frill pushed himself up and grabbed Greye. "We're leaving." Greye nodded and the two ran away, as Morphic tried to blast them. But before a laser could hit them, a portal opened up and the two leapt through it.

Morphic watched the portal vanish and as he did, Twilight ran over to Shifter. "Are you okay?"

Shifter groaned, as he was beginning to move. "Yeah." He managed to get on one foot, with Twilight helping him stand. "I'll live." He turned to Morphic. "Nice timing."

"Thanks," Morphic stated. "But you really need to stop overdoing it with that form. We can't keep having you freeze in the middle of a fight." Shifter nodded, as his body began to move more.

He then turned to Twilight, "thanks for the help."

"You're the one who came in to save me," Twilight smiled back. "I've lost count of how many I owe you." Shifter nodded, as Morphic moved over to his bike.

"Come on," he told his fellow Rider. "We might have gotten rid of them, but High and Maya might be using his time to attack somewhere else." Shifter nodded and summoned his bike, both of them getting on with Shifter turning to Twilight.

"You gonna be okay?" Obviously, he was worried the Mimics would attack again. But Twilight nodded.

"I'll be fine. If more Mimics show up, I'll run and call for help. Now go save the city." Shifter nodded and revved his engine before racing off, Morphic doing the same as Twilight watched them disappear. As they left, Twilight

Back at the Mimic Lair, Greye and Frill moaned as they applied their healing salve to their bodies.

As this was happening, High rolled her eyes. "You two are pathetic. I can't believe you let that one Rider and girl beat you. Knew I should have been the one to do this mission." The pair glared at her, clearly not happy about the sass.

"That Rider is getting stronger," Greye stated. "He's learning to control that new Hyper Core much better. I'm certain that with more time, he'll learn to use it for longer without freezing up. And that'll be a problem for us."

"All the more reason to take him out now, whilst we still can." The other two were thinking the same, but didn't have time to say anything. For in that moment, an alarm went off and the three stood to attention.

They all ran towards the communication device and knelt, Maya running into the room and doing so seconds before the hologram of their master appeared. "What do you have to report?"

"Master," Greye looked down in shame, "our attempts to gain more Mimics has failed. Before we could capture anyone, they escaped thanks to those detectors they have. We tried to give chase, but one of those magical girls and Shifter appeared."

"I see," the leader nodded. "Then we have no choice but to move onto the next phase."

"Master?" Frill looked worried. "Are you sure about that? We all agreed that we should wait until the Riders were dealt with before moving on to phase two."

"And are you any closer to dealing with the Riders?"

"No...not as such."

"I will accept no more delays. You will move on to phase two and prepare the city for Mimic colonisation. You will set them up without the Riders discovering them. I don't care how you keep them ignorant. Just make sure they don't learn what you're doing." With that, the feed cut out and the Mimics all sighed.

"That could have gone better," High stated. They all stood up and headed over to an area of the lab. "So, how do we set these things up without the Riders knowing?"

"We need to keep them distracted," Greye pointed out. "And we'll need to set them up someplace they can't be found too easily."

"That's gonna be tricky," Maya frowned. They all stared down at the table they were standing around, which had a bunch of devices on them.

Said devices were made of stainless steel. They were a strong looking metal tube, with lights and buttons on the tops and sides. Beneath the tubes was a single metal rod, roughly two feet in length, which ended in a sharp metal spike.

Greye picked up one of the devices and looked it over, nodding as he determined it was in perfect working order. "Let's get to work. When we've got these operational, nothing will be able to stop us. Not even the Kamen Riders." The Mimics nodded, looking forward to seeing the reactions the Riders had to what was about to come. Soon, Canterlot would belong to the Mimics. And after that, the rest of the world would follow.

Author's Note

We're back to the main story and wow, Timber remembered what Twilight said. And he's not too happy about it. You can understand why he's upset, but still.

So what are these strange devices? Only time will tell.

Episode 17: Secrets Out

In a rural part of the city, people were running and screaming as they were being attacked.

Another Ant Mimic had appeared in the city and was using its super strength, to rip street lamps out of the ground and toss cars through the air. Many people were terrified, but their fears quickly faded when a pair of blurs suddenly shot past them.

The Ant Mimic didn't know what hit it, as the blurs flew past and sent it flying backwards.

The blurs stopped to reveal Kamen Rider Shifter and Morphic, the two leaping off their bikes as the Mimic pushed itself up. But before it could attack, Morphic summoned his Blitz Blaster and fired at the creature. Each shot hit it and broke away part of its armored body, as Shifter ran forward.

"BLADE!"

He slotted his Mimicore into his Shift Striker and as it transformed, Shifter ran past the Mimic and slashed at its stomach. The Ant screamed as a large gash formed on its stomach, whilst Morphic slammed the side of his Driver.

"CLIMACTIC BLITZ!"

His blaster powered up and he quickly fired an energy ball upwards before leaping into the air, spinning around to kick it towards the Ant.

Shifter leapt away, as the energy ball slammed into the Mimic and exploded. The creature roared for a moment before exploding, as Morphic landed. The two Riders waited, as the flames died down and the Ant was gone.

"Alright!" Shifter cheered. "Way too easy."

Morphic nodded. "Guess the Mimics are running out of strong members to send our way." But as he said that, he suddenly sensed something. But when he looked around, the sense disappeared. "Huh?"

"You okay?" Shifter asked, as he moved over to his bike. Morphic stayed quiet for a moment, but then nodded.

"I'm fine. Let's go." He got on his bike and the pair drove off. What the two didn't realise was that whilst they were destroying the Ant Mimic, something had been set into place nearby.

One of the unusual devices, which was now stuck in the ground, beeping as it powered up.

At the Mimic Base, Frill stepped through a portal and sighed.

"Did you manage to do it?" High asked, with Frill nodding. "Excellent." She turned towards the table holding several more rods. "One down...many more to go." She sighed, as she picked one up. "Until they're all in place and activated, we can't risk the Riders discovering them."

"Well we're gonna need a better distraction," Frill stated. "The Riders have gotten so strong, a bog standard Mimic isn't going to be enough to cut it anymore. They destroyed that Mimic in several seconds flat. If we hadn't been at the far end of town, they would have arrived much faster and dealt with it before I could set it up. If we don't find a way to keep them occupied, we'll never get these things set up in time."

"Good point," Greye nodded. "Maybe our best bet is to have the rest of us attack whilst one does the setting up."

"And risk getting destroyed?" High pointed out. "Those Riders are getting too strong."

"Maybe," Frill stated. "Or maybe not." The other two turned to him. "If the Riders don't start the fight using those super forms of theirs, we should be able to handle them. We just need to keep them from switching to them when things get bad." The other two smirked, thinking they could handle that. "For now, we need something that can keep them entertained and off our backs."

"And I think I have just the thing." Everyone looked around to see Maya, the human formed Mimic stepping into the room carrying to jars.

"Are those...Mimics?" High stared at the jars, as Maya placed them down.

"That's right," Maya smirked. "And not just any Mimics. They're my spawns." Their eyes widened, as she placed her fingers to the glass and the spawns moved towards her. "I've been nurturing them since before we started fighting those Riders. And they've finally reached full maturity."

"Excellent," Frill smirked. "If they've spent that long maturing, they must be extra powerful."

"Exactly," Maya then left the room for a few moments. As she did, the three Mimic Generals stared at the creatures inside the jars. When she returned, she was carrying a pair of cages that contained two praying mantes. The two bugs were each a different shade of green Maya chuckling as she placed them down on the table. "All they need is a pair of hosts. And I've already chosen the ones that will be it."

Frill chuckled. "I get it. The Riders will be so busy protecting the hosts from these two, they won't be able to get in our way."

Maya gave them all a serious look. "I'm warning you, though. These are my spawns. I've put a lot of effort into raising them. I won't let them be destroyed so easily. If it looks like the Riders are going to defeat them, I'm pulling them out of the fight."

The pair nodded, as Maya lifted her spawns out of the jars and held them over the cages. Soon, the slimy balls dropped down onto the cages and seeped through them. The bugs inside began to panic and tried to escape, but they couldn't. Soon, the two mantis insects were completely consumed.

"One host down," Maya smiled. "One to go."

The next day.

With no Mimics attacking as of yet, Flash and Shining had chosen to relax whilst they could and had met up to discuss things at Sugarcube Corner.

Flash had gotten them both a drink and as they sat down, he and Shining thought about the fight that had happened the previous day. "Are we just getting stronger?" Flash asked, as he sipped his milkshake. "We took that Ant Mimic down in no time at all. Way quicker than the last time we fought one."

"Maybe," Shining nodded. "But we were fighting it two on one. Last time, it was just me fighting it whilst you were dealing with Gule." Flash nodded, as Shining sipped his coffee. "We shouldn't be complacent. All the Mimics need is for us to get overconfident and sloppy."

"You're right," Flash nodded. "But I can't help it if that fight didn't feel appealing. I know we have an important job, but without a proper challenge it feels like we're just cleaning up trash instead of saving the world."

"Well don't get too comfortable. It's only a matter of time before the Mimics find a way to tip the scales once again. If we're not ready, we might find ourselves in trouble." Flash nodded, as he took another sip of his milkshake. But as he did, the bakery door opened and two individuals stepped in.

One was Twilight and the other was Shining's fiancee, Cadance.

The girls spotted the pair and looked both surprised and happy. "Well this is an odd combination," Twilight smirked as they moved over to sit with them. "What are you two doing here? And together?"

"Oh," Flash and Shining shared a look. "We just...happened to bump into each other here."

"Is that so," Cadance nodded. "Well maybe you know why Shining's been so busy lately." Shining clearly began to panic, since Cadance was referring to his Rider duties without knowing it. "I swear, Shining, you've been so flaky lately."

Twilight raised an eyebrow, whilst Flash just wanted to get out of the conversation as quickly as possible. "Why don't I get you girls a drink?" He got up and moved to the counter, leaving Shining at the mercy of the two most important girls in his life.

"Well?" Cadance asked, "what's going on? One minute you're with me, Twilight or someone, and the next you're suddenly coming up with an excuse to leave."

"It's not like that," Shining told her. "You know how dangerous things have been with the Mimics lately. I need to be ready to jump into action and help when they attack."

"Really?" Twilight frowned, "so why do I never see you around when the Mimics are attacking."

Shining groaned. "There's more to my job than just fighting the Mimics. Especially since none of our police weapons have any effect on those things. I'm making sure people are safely away from the battle zone and if anyone's hurt, I'm supposed to take them to the hospital or to an ambulance." The girls thought about this, Shining hoping they bought it.

Technically, that was what he was supposed to do when the Mimics attacked. He just hadn't done it, since he was too busy fighting the Mimics themselves.

"I guess that makes sense," Cadance nodded. "I just worry that you're gonna get hurt fighting those things."

"Don't worry," Shining assured her. "I'll be fine. I've got a partner that's always got my back. The two of us together can handle anything." As he said that, Flash returned with the girl's drinks.

Seeing that the argument had come to an end, Flash turned to Twilight to try and change the subject. "Hey. I heard about Timber. I'm sorry."

Twilight frowned, "it's fine. I was upset, but I understand why he couldn't be around me. Hopefully, he'll forgive me and maybe we can start things up again. I just need to give him time."

Cadance nodded, as she took a sip of her drink. "Just don't spend the rest of your life waiting for him. I'm worried you'll miss out on being with someone great, just because you were waiting to see if Timber was going to get back together with you."

Twilight frowned. "I doubt I'm gonna meet anyone else that soon."

"You never know," Shining chuckled. "The right guy might be closer than you think." Twilight gave him a curious look, whilst Shining just chuckled and took a sip of his drink. Once Twilight turned away from him, instead talking to Flash about something, Shining and Cadance shared a look before glancing between the two.

They smiled, watching the pair get into such a natural conversation about whatever interested them. The pair just sat there, waiting listening to them speak and laughing at something Flash said.

In another part of the city, Thorax and Pharynx were at their house.

The two were lounging around the living room, doing the school work they had to catch up on due to being away from school because of their mother. But as they sat there, they both felt a little awkward being in their home.

Despite having spent many days in the house alone, knowing that their mother wasn't coming home made the place feel empty. And as Thorax finished his last Math equation, he closed his book and sighed. "This place feels really empty without mom here."

"Mom was barely ever here to begin with," Pharynx pointed out. "How is this any different?" Thorax frowned, not sure how to answer that. He put his book down and headed for the kitchen, wanting to get a drink to hopefully wash away his doubts.

But as he stepped into the room, his Mimic detector suddenly beeped and he was on guard.

Pharynx's detector also beeped, the teen jumping up and running to his brother. And as he did, someone else suddenly stepped into the room. "Hello, boys." Thorax and Pharynx's eyes widened, seeing their mother step into the room. "Aren't you gonna give your mother a hug?"

Pharynx stepped in front of his brother, glaring at her as he did. "You're not our mother."

"Oh? I look like her. Sound like her. I have all her memories and knowledge. How am I not your mother?"

"Our mother is human," Thorax stated. "Not a Mimic who stole her life to try and destroy the world." He sneakily took out his phone and hid it behind his back, trying to call nine-one-one. "What are you doing here?"

"I missed you," Chrysalis replied. "I might not be your real mother, but you're right about me having all of her memories. And a side product of that, means that I end up sharing some of her feelings. And right now, her feelings are ones where she wishes she could be with you both."

Pharynx frowned. "Well if you don't want to feel those feelings any more, let our mother go."

Chrysalis, or Maya, smiled. "I have a better idea." She suddenly took out a pair of jars, with the Mimic Spawns inside. "Why don't I bring you both into the family business." Thorax and Pharynx gasped, as she tipped the jars over and had the spawns fall out.

As soon as they hit the floor, they started to transform. They grew larger and took shape, morphing into almost the exact same creature.

They were both monstrous mantis creatures, with the only difference being the shade of green they were. They stood at around the same height as Maya, if a little shorter, being humanoid in appearance with a slightly hunched over posture. They had a pair of wings on their backs and whilst their arms were humanoid up to the elbow, after that they had a pair of white blades.

The two monsters snarled, as they stared at the brother. The dark green one snarled louder and looked more deadly, whilst the light green one appeared more subdued.

Maya chuckled. "Meet my children. Grown from my own Mimic genes. I figured, who better to make their host then the offspring of my hosts. What do you think?"

Thorax and Pharynx looked terrified, as the Mimics began to advance.

The brothers then ran out the room, back into the living room as the mantes were about to give chase. "Now, now. Let's give them a head start. It's only fair." 'Plus, we need the Riders distract.'

Back at the bakery, Flash and Shining's Mimic Sense had just gone off.

The pair shared a look, as they tried to think of a way to get away from Cadance and Twilight. But the girls were in the midst of a highly interesting conversation, at least to them, so they were clearly not going to want to end it yet.

However, before either could make an excuse, Twilight's phone went off. "Hello?" She answered, only to then look confused. "Thorax. What's wrong?" Her eyes then went wide, "what?" She put the phone on speaker.

"Mimics. It's Maya. She's trying to turn my brother and me into Mimics! We've already called the cops, but they're not really all that useful when it comes to Mimics. HELP!"

Twilight frowned before getting up. "I have to go." Shining tried to stop her, but she ran out of the cafe before he could. Shining, Flash and Cadance chased after her, with Shining turning to Cadance.

"I've gotta go too."

"I know," she nodded. "Just be careful." Shining nodded and after sharing a kiss with her, he ran off. "Flash, maybe you should-" She stopped, when she found Flash had already disappeared. "Well...that's just rude."

Twilight was running through the city, her phone still on speaker whilst she group texted her friends. "Where are you guys heading?"

"We're not heading anywhere. We're just trying to get away from those monsters." Twilight nodded, as she tried to think of somewhere to meet up where people wouldn't be in danger. Then, she had an idea.

"Do you guys think you can get to the abandoned warehouse district?"

"Yeah. That's not too far from us."

"Head there. My friends and I will meet you there. There's plenty of places to hide, so find somewhere and stay hidden. But don't go anywhere you can't escape from if they find you."

"Got it." Thorax hung up and Twilight feared Thorax and his brother would be in serious jeopardy. But hopefully, the Riders would show up and save them. But if not, it would be up to her and her friends.

The brothers ran as fast as they could, heading towards the warehouse district with the Mantis Mimics on their tails.

The two green monsters charged, their wings beating as they flew towards the pair. "Get back!" Pharynx grabbed a nearby trash can and threw it, only for the dark green monster to cut it in half. The two kept running and ducked down an alleyway, one which was rather narrow.

Thanks to the Mantis's bulky bodies, they couldn't follow them down it. "Won't they just fly over the building?" Thorax asked, as they brothers were halfway down the alley.

"I doubt it," Pharynx told him. "Those things don't have any hosts, so they don't have any real intelligence. Hopefully, that means they're dumb enough to fall for any trick we throw at them." The pair kept pushing through the alley until they reached the other side, where they kept running until they were well out of sight from the alley.

Maya chose this moment to catch up with her spawns, who were still trying to push themselves between the buildings.

"Boys!" The two turned to her, as she pointed upwards. The pair looked up and saw that the buildings didn't go upwards forever, so they summoned their wings and flew up and over. Maya partly sighed and partly laughed, as she took out a phone. "Any sign of the Riders yet?"

"No," Frill replied. "But I think those girls are going to arrive before the Riders do." Maya frowned. "Don't worry. I've already made preparations to hold them up. You just keep the Riders busy and get those ponies for your spawns. We could use the extra manpower."

"My thoughts exactly," Maya agreed before using her legs to climb up the building.

Twilight soon met up with most of her friends.

Rainbow and Pinkie had been the first to arrive, followed by Applejack and Rarity. Fluttershy and Sunset were on their way, but they might not arrive for another few minutes. And as the girls ran through the city, they saw the warehouse district not too far away.

"We're almost there!" Applejack cried, as Twilight took out her phone to call Thorax.

But before she could, a bright flash of light suddenly appeared in front of them. And as the girls stepped back, their Mimic Detectors beeped and they all got into a fighting stance. Moments later, a bunch of Mimicreeps leapt out of the portal.

"Not good," Twilight gulped.

"We can take these guys," Rainbow stated.

"But what if Thorax and his brother are in trouble?" Rarity asked, as the Mimicreeps charged whilst letting out a roar. The girls were forced to fight back, unable to continue on until they dealt with these creatures. And that might take a while.

Back with the brothers, they had finally made it to the warehouse district.

They prayed they might find an open building and hide in there, but most of them were locked. "See anywhere we can hide?" Thorax asked, as they looked around but couldn't find anywhere that might keep them hidden. All there was were a bunch of boxes, stacked up into a pile between two warehouses. But that might be the first place the Mimics looked.

However, as they were searching, Pharynx spotted two blurs moving through the air. The blurs were the Mimics, which were heading their way. "Hide!" He pushed Thorax behind the crates and the two hid as best they could, using gaps in said crates to look out and see what was happening.

The Mimics landed and the pair watched them look around, with the dark green one appearing much more enthusiastic about finding them.

The light green one kept its blades close to its chest, as it looked around in an almost timid manner. "What's wrong with that one?" Thorax asked, seeing it move around and even look under a small box the boys had no hope of fitting under.

"Probably too wimpy to really do anything," Pharynx stated. And as he did, the dark green one flew over and slammed the side of its blade into its brethren's head. The light green one moaned in pain, clutching its head as it looked ready to cry. "Yup. Total wimp. Kind of like you." He chuckled, whilst Thorax glared at him.

But the brothers couldn't be distracted for long, as in that moment the dark green mantis headed towards the boxes.

"Run!" Pharynx pulled his brother away, as the mantis sliced its blade through the boxes and destroyed them. The two cried out, as they ran out from between the warehouses. But as they did, something flew down and they were almost hit by it.

Seeing it was webbing, they looked up and saw Maya standing atop one of the buildings. "Where do you think you're going?" She smiled, as her spawns approached. She was about to tell the two to grab them, only for an engine to catch her attention.

She looked around and saw a pair of blurs, racing towards them.

The brothers saw this and realised it could only be one thing. "Kamen Riders!" Shifter and Morphic flew into the scene, skidding to a stop on their bikes around the boys.

"You two okay?" Morphic asked, summoning his Blitz Blaster and pointed it at the Mantes Mimics.

"We're alright," Thorax told him.

"Not for long!" Maya cried, as her spawn charged forward. "Destroy them!" The monsters slashed at the pair and whilst Morphic blocked with his gauntlet, Shifter used his Blade Mode Shift Striker to protect himself.

"Run!" Shifter told the pair, as he pushed the light green mantis back whilst Morphic pointed his weapon at the dark green one. The Mimic leapt up to avoid the blast, as Thorax and Pharynx began to run. The Riders jumped off their bikes and started fighting, Shifter slashing and punching at the light green one whilst Morphic kept firing.

The light green mantis appeared to be having a hard time fighting, whilst the dark green one was barely keeping up.

Maya frowned, leaping off the building as she did so. "Leave my spawns alone!" She fired webbing at them, the two Riders leaping back to avoid this as she landed. But the dark green mantis charged and slashed at Morphic, managing to get him in the parts of his suit that weren't armored.

The Rider flinched, but fought through it and threw a punch into his chest.

The mantis staggered back, as Maya launched more webbing at them. Shifter unleashed a burst of energy from his suit, which burned the webbing and allowed him to stab at the light green one. But at the last moment, the mantis crossed both its blades and the impact sent it flying backwards without any issue.

Deciding that they needed to change things up, Shifter and Morphic took out different Mimicores. But before either of them could activate them, a bolt of purple lightning shot past and slammed into the pair.

Both cried out, as they were thrown backwards and crashed into the ground. They moaned, as their Mimicores fell out of their hands. As they did, the lightning took form and High-Vol-Tech was standing before them. "Surprise."

"What are you doing here?" Maya asked, only for Frill to suddenly fly into view. "I thought you were-"

"Greye is taking care of it," Frill announced. "But with how strong these two have become, he realised the three of you might not be enough to hold them off. So High and I will be helping." The Riders picked themselves up and Frill launched a bunch of feather darts at them, forcing Shifter and Morphic on the defensive.

High then shot forward, moving like lightning as she charged at the Riders.

The two jumped back and grabbed their Mimicores, but the Tiger began to circle around them and make a vortex of lightning around the pair. Morphic tried to blast her and Flash changed his Shift Striker to Pierce form, but they weren't able to make contact.

She then stopped and the Mantis Brothers suddenly flew in, the two slashing at the Riders and knocking them back.

"AUGH!" They both slammed into the ground, sliding along it until they came to a stop in front of one warehouse that didn't have any doors. And this was where Thorax and Pharynx had taken refuge, the pair hiding once again behind some crates and seeing the Riders on the ground.

"They're in trouble," Thorax gulped.

"It's two against five," Pharynx pointed out. "That'd be tough for anyone, even the Riders." Thorax nodded, as he prayed Twilight and her friends would arrive soon.

Speaking of Twilight and her friends, they were finishing off the last of the Mimicreeps.

Sunset and Fluttershy had finally arrived, just as Twilight lifted three Mimics up and threw them through the air. Applejack straight up punched one into splatting, whilst Pinkie blew another up and Rarity propelled Rainbow up so she could kick the creature at high speed.

As they splatted, the girls sighed in relief. They were tired, but knew they couldn't rest. Not until Thorax and Pharynx were safe.

"Come on!" Twilight cried, running into the warehouse district. "Please be okay."

"Are they ever gonna be okay?" Sunset asked. "If Maya's doing this now, what's to stop her from doing it again? Even if we save them, Thorax and Pharynx might have to go into some kind of witness protection." The others frowned, not liking the sound of that.

"We'll talk about that later," Twilight stated. "For now, we need to focus on saving them." They nodded, but feared things were about to get really bad if the Riders hadn't already shown up.

As this was happening, another part of the city suddenly found a portal opening up.

Greye leapt out, in his human form as Fancy Pants. The regal looking individual walked along, making sure nobody had noticed him. He knew someone would show up and their detector would find him. But he would be quick before any issues could occur.

He stepped into an area that was fenced off, the whole place being pretty much a waste ground. A few rocks could be seen along with a bunch of old shopping trolleys and multiple patches of tall grass.

Greye stepped up to the fence and frowned, as he looked at his back when the device was strapped. He thought for a moment, then took it off and threw it over the fence. He then stepped forward and pretty much melted through it, the metal splitting his body apart only for it to reconnect once it was on the other side.

By the time most of him was through, the device fell towards the ground and he caught it in his arms.

He smiled as he completely stepped through the fence, then took something out that looked like a pocket watch. On it was some kind of radar, which he followed as he searched around the waste ground. And after a while, he found what he was looking for.

"Right....here." He looked down and started at the spot, which he quickly drew an X on with his feet.

Once that was done, he raised the device into the air before slamming it down. The spike broke through the ground, as the device began to light up. Once it was firmly in the ground, Greye leapt back and watched the device begin to unleash a burst of energy.

That energy formed a dome around it, which sparked off with several bursts of lightning.

This dome remained in place for several moments before finally dying down, the device flashing as finished booting up. "Perfect," he told himself. "Hopefully, I can get a few more done before the fight comes to an end." A portal opened up and he stepped through. "If all goes well, we'll have two new Mimic warriors and several of these things in place."

Back with the Riders, Shifter jumped forward and fired his Pierce Striker.

The light green mantis flinched, only for Frill to jump in front of him and deflect the shots with his swords. At the same time, High ran forward at lightning speed and reached Shifter before he could fire again. And with a powerful swing kick, knocked the weapon out of Shifter's hand.

"Augh!" Shifter staggered back, as High spun around again and dealt a kick right to his chest. "GYAH!" Shifter was knocked back and thrown against the side of a building, falling to the ground moments later.

At the same time, Morphic was dodging the other mantis' blades. "Wow!" He jumped back, wishing he was in his Rush Form. And as he staggered back, Maya launched a web-line that caught him by the ankle before she pulled on it. "Ahhh!" He hit the ground, as High suddenly ran around and grabbed the line.

Moving at high speed, she raced around in a circle and pulled Morphic along before releasing him.

The Rider was sent flying and crashed into the side of a building, yelling as he fell down besides Shifter. "Ow." He groaned, as Shifter began to pick himself up.

"Remember when I said that last fight was too easy?" Morphic nodded. "I don't care anymore. I think I prefer easy fights." Morphic agreed, as he pushed himself up. The pair knew they weren't going to win with their current power level. They needed to use a stronger form. "Hyper Strike time!" Shifter took out the Mimicore, whilst Morphic took out his Tri-Horn Core.

But before either of them could use them, High unleashed a blast of energy from her claws that flew towards them.

The pair leapt to the side, but this distracted them enough for Maya to launch webbing at them and hit their Mimicores. The impact knocked them out of their hands, causing them to become glued to the ground or a wall. "Hey!" Frill then launched several feathers at the pair, slamming into them and cutting up their armor.

Both Riders cried out, as High charged up a bunch of energy. And before the Riders could respond, she launched it right at them.

The Rainbooms chose this moment to arrive, the girls appearing behind the Riders just as the blast slammed into them. The pair both screamed, as they were blown into the air and sent flying. "NO!" Twilight cried, seeing the two crash into the ground.

The Mimics smiled, only to then notice the Riders' armors were beginning to glow. And as the Rainbooms approached, the suits exploded off the pair in a burst of light.

The Rainbooms all stopped, as they realised they were seeing the Riders in their civilian forms. And it didn't take them long to recognise who they were, which shocked them all a great deal. "Flash?" Sunset asked, seeing the blue haired teen laying on the ground.

"Shining?" Twilight whispered, shocked at the sight of her brother on the ground. "What...how?" Flash and Shining turned to them, then looked at each other in shock.

Frill laughed. "Oh, has your little secret gotten out? How bad for you." The injured Riders glared at him, whilst the Mimics prepared to attack again.

Inside the warehouse, Thorax and Pharynx saw the two and were just as shocked. Thorax remembered the moment back at the aquarium, when Flash had disappeared. Not long after that, Shifter had arrived to save the day. "How could I be so blind?" He was so focused on the Rider's identities, that he completely forgot about keeping himself hidden.

As such, the dark green mantis happened to spot him and quickly leapt into action.

This sudden move caught everyone's attention, making them look inside the warehouse as the Mimic sliced the boxes the brothers were hiding behind to pieces. Thorax froze up, seeing the monster right in front of him.

Everyone gasped, as the creature raised its blade. But before it could attack, Thorax found himself getting pushed away. "NO!" Pharynx's voice yelled, as he was suddenly struck by the Mantis's blade.

But instead of cutting him in half, the blade turned gooey and slammed into the teen's shoulder. The next thing Pharynx knew, the slime began to spread before he could pull away. Within seconds, half his body was consumed by the slime.

"PHARYNX!" Thorax cried, as his brother glanced over at him. A smile then appeared on his lips, as he closed his eyes and was completely encased in the amber. And as soon as he was, it hardened into a cocoon whilst the Mimic pulled his arm away.

Everyone watched in horror, as Thorax rushed to the cocoon and slammed his fist into it. He cried out his brother's name, as he tried to break him free. But he had no luck.

As this was happening, the Mimic's body began to bubble and turn to liquid. It slowly began to reshape itself, shrinking down to become a more humanoid form. And once that happened, his body solidified and revealed a perfect clone of Pharynx.

Maya saw this and smiled before moving towards her spawn, as the Mimic opened his eyes. He then looked down at Thorax, who stared at him in shock. "Pharynx."

"No," he said in his brother's voice. "My name is Byon. Byon-Vala-Uru." He suddenly reached out and grabbed Thorax, who tried to get away but couldn't move fast enough. And as Maya approached, Byon threw Thorax towards the other Mantis Mimic.

Thorax grunted, as he hit the ground and the monster's feet.

The others saw this and were horrified, but the other Mimics kept them from running to Thorax's aid. "Come on," Byon stated. "Do it!" The Mimic stared at Thorax, then over to Maya and Byon.

"What are you waiting for?" Maya asked, "do it!" Thorax stared at the creature and saw that it almost looked scared. As if it really didn't want to do anything to hurt Thorax. It even tried to hide its face behind its blade.

"Come on, you wimp!" Byon cried, "Cocoon him!" He suddenly took his monster form again and looked ready to attack, terrifying his spawn mate. And the creature was so scared, it lowered its arms before turning to Thorax.

As the teen sat there, he and the Mimic stared at one another before the monster raised its blade. And as it did, Thorax swore he heard it speak. "I'm sorry." With that, the blade came sailing down and turned into a slimy whip. That whip slammed into Thorax's body and the teen screamed out.

"THORAX!" His friends all yelled, as the amber began to spread around him. Thorax tried to fight it, but it was too strong. And eventually, he gave in and allowed the slime to surround him. "NOOOOO!" Flash cried, seeing the teen join his mother and brother in the suspended state.

The Mimic pulled his arm away and as he did, his body began to melt and reshape itself. And soon enough, it transformed into a perfect image of Thorax. The Mimic looked a little upset, as he studied his new form. And as he did, Maya laughed.

"Well done." She placed a hand on his shoulder and looked the new Mimic in the eye. "Now, what is your name?"

The Mimic looked at his hands again, as he spoke his name. "Torin." He looked her in the eye, "Torin-Vala-Uru." Maya nodded, as she turned towards the Riders and Rainbooms.

"Well, my boys. It's time you got your hands dirty." She pointed at them. "Destroy the Kamen Riders!"

Byon laughed, "with pleasure." He marched forward and Torin followed, transforming into his monster form. As they did, Flash and Shining took out their Mimicores.

"Ready?" Shining asked, only to flinch in pain. Flash did the same, as the girls helped them stay standing.

"You're too injured," Twilight told them. The Riders frowned, as the Mimics got closer. But before they approached, Torin suddenly stopped and clutched his head.

"Augh!" He staggered back, catching everyone's attention as he suddenly reverted back to his human form. The Thorax clone groaned, as he became dizzy and seemed to be having trouble.

"Torin?" Maya asked, "what's wrong?" Torin's cries grew louder, his body shifting between human and monster forms.

"What's wrong with him?" Rainbow asked, everyone turning to the Riders.

"No idea," Shining replied. "I've never seen a Mimic do this before." Flash nodded, as they kept watching Torin cry out and change back and forth. And eventually, he stopped and suddenly stood up straight. He blinked for a moment, as he groaned,

"Oh, my head. What happened?" He looked around, "wasn't that Mimic about to..." He stopped when he saw the cocoon holding Thorax. "What?"

"Torin?" Maya asked him, "are you okay?"

He looked confused. "Who's Torin?" Now everyone else was confused.

"You're Torin," Byon told him. "What's wrong with you?"

"I'm not Torin." He looked himself over, "I'm Thorax." That statement shocked everyone. "What happened to me? Why am I looking at myself...cocooned?" He clutched his head, "and why do I have a splitting headache?" He seemed to blink for a moment, as he staggered around and clutched his head. "Augh!" His arm and leg morphed back into his monster form, but changed back to human again whilst half his head changed to the monster's head.

"Something's wrong," Frill stated. "Could it be..."

"What's happening to him?" Byon yelled, turning to his mother.

"I..." Maya didn't seem to know. "I'm not sure."

Frill stepped forward. "I think...I think his host is fighting back. Somehow, the real Thorax is gaining control of the body."

"That can happen?" High asked.

"I've heard some Mimics have had that issue before," Frill stated. "But every time this has happened, the Mimics always come out on top. The human psyche can't overpower the Mimic's mind, no matter how strong their will is." The Mimics smiled, whilst the humans looked worried. However, something was about to happen that would change everything.

It was at that moment, a brilliant flash of light filled the building and blinded everyone.

They hissed, as the light grew brighter. Then, from out of the light, an energy field began to form a dome that suddenly encompassed Torin along with the light. "What's happening?" Twilight cried, as the light dimmed enough for them to finally see.

Then they opened their eyes, they were shocked to see the white cloaked figure step out of the portal.

"Corvyn?" Shining asked, as the figure walked towards Thorax. The Mimic stared at him, as the figure stopped a few feet away.

"Do you wish to save your brother?" He asked, confusing Torin who tilted his head. "I can give you the power to save your brother and retain your freedom."

"How?" He asked, only to clutch his head again and scream. Everyone watched, as his body changed to his monster form before reverting back to human. But as it does, everyone could see the strain on his face. "Can't...hold on."

"I have to be fast." Corvyn suddenly removed something from his cloak. A Mimicore.

As he held it up, the Mimicore activated and unleashed a white beam of light. That beam struck Torin and made him go still, as the light suddenly began to swirl around him before turning a greenish colour. The light then retracted back, swirling around like a tornado that seemed to be sucking something out of Torin.

The Mimic groaned, as he retook his monster form. But as the light sucked the green energy off of him, his monster form suddenly exploded into a million green lights that were sucked off Torin and revealed his human form again.

The light was all sucked into the Mimicore and when the last spec was revealed, the Mimicore transformed with the lights turning green and showing images of a mantis in several poses. Along the side, five letters could be seen which made up a word. S, L, A, S, H.

Torin staggered around, as he looked himself over and felt his head. "What did you do?"

"I'm giving you control, Thorax." Corvyn then took something else out of his cloak before throwing it at the Mimic, a light flying towards him and slamming into his stomach. Torin, or Thorax, flinched as the light took shape and formed a familiar belt around him.

"A Mimic Driver," Flash gasped at the sight of it. His brain was flowing with a hundred questions at once.

The Driver activated and Thorax clutched his head again, as a great pressure was being forced on his brain. This coupled with the headache, was making his current existence unbearable. But eventually, the pressure began to fade and the headache dulled before completely vanishing.

Thorax opened his eyes and looked himself over, feeling completely fine now. No longer did he feel like he was about to black out. "What happened?"

"I was able to free you from the Mimic's hold," Corvyn stated. "And in doing so, gave you the power to save not just your brother, but everyone the Mimics intend to hurt." Thorax looked at him in shock, as the cloaked figure handed him the Mimicore.

Thorax took it and as soon as he did, it was like a jolt went off inside his head. One that made him instantly realise what he had to do.

As the barrier began to disappear, Thorax turned towards Byon and the other Mimics. "Torin!" His brother roared, "what are you doing?"

"I'm not your brother," Thorax stated. "And you will free my real brother, or I'll free him myself." He glanced at Pharynx, still trapped within the cocoon, then glared at Byon before holding up the Mimicore and activating it.

"SLASH!"

Everyone watched, as Thorax opened the side of his Driver before slotting the Mimicore into the draw. He then struck a pose, as Corvyn took a few steps away from him. "HENSHIN!" With that, he slammed the draw closed and the lights on his belt turned green.

"MIMIC! MANTIS!" Thorax crossed his arms, as the pipes on his Driver spewed out the orange brown slime. And like it did with Flash and Shining, the slime rained down on the teen and completely surrounded him before hardening into a cocoon.

Everyone watched, as the cocoon remained like this for several moments before beginning to crack and break apart. And eventually, the whole thing shattered off him and Thorax was revealed to now be in his own Rider suit.

The suit was bright green, with white lines running around his body. The amber flew down and melted into his body to form the armour, changing to a transparent dark green colour whilst the lines turned purple. The arm and leg armor had short blades sticking off of them, looking like shark fins, whilst his chest was designed like the head of a mantis. The same could be said for his helmet, the armour appearing around it and forming a mask like that of a mantis with long antennas whilst his eyes turned purple.

Transformation complete, the lights on the side of his belt turned green before it spoke up. "Bladed arms that slice through anything, cutting down the evils of the world!"

Everyone was in absolute shock at what they were seeing. A few minutes ago, Thorax had just been another victim of the Mimics. But now, he had become something so much more. Something Flash and Shining now realised was the same for them. He had become a Kamen Rider.

Author's Note

Well...that was certainly a thing. The Mimics begin their plan, the girls discover the truth behind the Riders and an all new Rider has appeared.

How many of you figured out who the new Rider would be? I know a few of you realised it, but I hope I was able to keep some of you guessing between Thorax and Pharynx. And in the end, it had to be Thorax. Hope you like his design.

Episode 18: Revelations

Ever since Flash woke up in that alleyway, with that first Mimicore, he had had many questions about what was going on in his life.

But now that he was staring at a new Kamen Rider, who was actually a Mimic taking the appearance of Thorax, many of those questions appeared to have been answered. But in their place, a billion more had suddenly appeared. And it was clear that he wasn't the only one wondering what the heck was happening.

"Thorax?" Twilight whispered. "What happened to him?"

Flash looked at all the girls, who had finally discovered his and Shining's secret. But at the moment, they seemed more concerned with what had happened to the Mimic that called himself Torin. "That Mimic just became a Kamen Rider?" Rainbow asked, turning to Flash and Shining. "How the heck did he do that?"

"I...I don't know." Shining was clearly having a hard time processing this as well, his gaze turning to Corvyn as the cloaked figure stood besides the suited individual. "What have you done?"

Standing in front of the now suited up individual, his brother and mother stared at him in shock. "Torin?" Maya whispered, "what has he done to you?"

Corvyn turned to Maya. "This isn't your spawn anymore." The dome around them began to disappear, as Corvyn turned to the new Rider. "Thorax. It's time to save your brother." He suddenly pulled something out of his cloak. A kind of gun that looked more like a megaphone.

With a pull of the trigger, it unleashed a high powered sonic wave. This wave flew through the warehouse and slammed into everyone except Byon, sending Maya, the other Mimics and the humans flying backwards as they let out a cry.

"What?" Byon saw his mother being thrown back, then glared at his brother. "Don't just stand there. Fight that guy!" But Torin didn't and as everyone else began to pick themselves up, Torin charged forward. "What are you doing?" The next thing Byon knew, he was getting punched in the chest and thrown backwards. "Gyah!"

Everyone watched as the mantis monster slammed into the ground, whilst Torin/Thorax moved forward.

"Torin!" Maya cried, trying to run to her spawns. But before she could, another dome appeared. This one encased the two and Corvyn within it, keeping Maya from getting to them. "Let me in!"

"What the heck is happening?" High asked Frill, who was just as lost as everyone else.

Byon groaned, as he began to pick himself up. He then turned to the Rider, glaring at him. "What's wrong with you? And when did you get so confident?" He stood and prepared to fight. "I don't know what's gotten into you, but this is your last warning. Stand down before I make you regret it, brother."

"I'm not your brother," Thorax stated. "My brother is the one in that cocoon. And I'm going to free him."

Byon had had enough of this and charged forward, swinging his blade-like arms as Thorax. But the suited teen was able to duck under the blades and roll to a safe distance. He then spun around and slammed a foot into Byon's back, knocking him staggering forward. "Augh!" He quickly spread his wings and took to the air, flying as high as the dome would let him go.

Thorax got into a fighting stance and as Byon dived at him. he side-stepped the attack at the last minute.

He then swung his leg around and kicked Byon away, as the gauntlets around is arms began to melt. The dorsal fins on the sides of his arms disappeared, as part of the slime slid downwards into his hands. As soon as he handed them, he gripped the slime and it suddenly solidified in his grasp.

Everyone watched, as the slime formed downwards into a pair of single-edged swords with cutlass handles. The blades were white with a purple line running down the sides, whilst the handles were black with green cross-guards.

Thorax held the weapons in a reverse grip, holding them up like how a mantis would hold its arms. He then charged, Byon charging as well with the pair swinging their blades towards one another. The metal weapons glassed, sparks flying off as the metal collided.

Thorax was showing incredible skill with his dual blades, using them to block and deflect Byon's attacks like they were nothing. The teen spun around and kicked one blade aside before slashing at the Mimic with his cutlass, then leapt up and over Byon as the monster tried to cut him.

He slashed at Byon's back with both swords, making him scream in pain as Thorax landed.

"Wow," Applejack whistled, "he's good."

"How's he doing that?" Twilight asked, with Flash and Shining frowning.

Flash then spoke up, the girls almost forgetting he was there for a moment. "The first time I transformed, it was like I was on autopilot. I was moving and doing flips and kicks I'd never been able to in the past. It wasn't until after the fight that I was able to move on my own."

"Same with me," Shining nodded. "Best guess, the Driver's doing most of the work right now. It's likely if Thorax wins this and fights another opponent later, he'll be completely on his own." They watched as Thorax dodged another slash before blocking the second with his sword, forcing it away from him before flipping backwards and slamming his foot into Byon's chin.

"Augh!" He staggered back, as Thorax landed and flipped one of his swords into a frontward grip. He then charged and tried to stab Byon, who barely managed to block and knock Thorax's attack away. But the new Kamen Rider used this and leapt up to spin in the air.

This allowed him to transform into a swirling vortex, his swords slashing at Byon several times before the Mimic managed to leap back to a safe distance.

"Gaaah." The mimic staggered around, Thorax landing as he brought both his blades together and ran forward. Byon tried to slash at him, but Thorax dropped down onto his knees before sliding forward. Both his blades slashed into Byon's stomach and cut him up, making him cry out again. "Aaaah!"

Maya saw her spawn being covered in cuts, the dark green mantis bleeding the Mimic slime all over the ground. She then turned to Thorax, who was looking ready to end Byon. "Stop this! Don't you see? That's your brother. Torin!" It was then she saw Corvyn, who was watching over the cocoons with Thorax and Pharynx inside of them. "What have you done to my spawn!?"

Corvyn chuckled. "I gave his host back control and the power to protect this world from the likes of you."

"I thought so," Frill frowned. "He somehow made it so that the human is in command of the link. But how is that possible? How could he know so much about how the Mimics work?" But then, he seemed to realise something. "You're clearly not from this world. You're from one that we've already destroyed."

Corvyn said nothing to this, but didn't deny it. And before Frill could say anything else, Byon charged at Thorax.

He slashed at the Rider, attempting to cut off his head. But Thorax was able to duck under the blade and slash at his side once again, then spun around and sliced at one of Byon's wings.

"GYAH!" The limb was cut clean off, grounding him as he staggered around.

Thorax stood there, watching as Byon turned to glare at him. The mantis then raised his blades and charged again, swinging them around in a wild fashion that made him seem like his arms were nothing but a blur.

"Look out!" Fluttershy cried, fearing Thorax was about to be cut to ribbons. But before any of the blades could touch him, Thorax thrust his own swords into the whirlwind before swinging them apart. This knocked Byon's arms apart and sent him staggering backwards, as Thorax swung both his swords around as fast as he could.

In the blink of an eye, Thorax's blades hit the ground and something else was sent sailing into the air.

Everyone watched as a pair of blades flew away from Byon, who screamed in agony as he started at the stumps that now made up his arms. Fluttershy actually looked horrified, whilst Maya seemed like she was about to be sick and the others weren't sure how to feel.

The blade arms hit the ground and melted, as Byon fell to one knee. He appeared to be panicking at the loss of his arms, whilst Thorax pointed a sword at him. "This is your only warning. Release my brother from your hold and I'll let you live."

Byon barely seemed to notice what he was saying, but then glared at the Rider. "You don't wanna do this. This isn't you, Torin. Don't betray our kind." Thorax clearly wasn't listening, waiting to see if Byon would actually release Pharynx. But it was quickly made clear that he wouldn't. "You do this and there's no going back."

Thorax didn't answer and slammed the side of his Driver, causing it to light up as it yelled out.

"CLIMATIC SLASH!"

He spun his swords into a frontward grip and held them both up, as the blades began to glow. And as soon as the light enveloped the entire blade, he swung them both downwards in an X formation.

The light flew off the blades and flew towards Byon, slamming into him before he could really defend himself. The smashed into his front and made him cry out in pain, as he was locked in place.

Thorax then ran forward, his swords melting back into his armor as he picked up speed. And before he reached Byon, he leapt into the air and thrust his foot forward. "HYAAAAAH!" He slammed his boot into the centre of the energy X, which caused the attack to slam into Byon again and cut through him.

"AAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRHHHHHHHHHH!" Byon roared in agony, as the X exploded out of his back before it disappeared. Thorax had back-flipped away from him and landed a good distance away. And when he picked himself up, he spun around so his back was to Byon.

He stared at everyone, as the Mimic let out another roar before falling forward and exploding.

"BYON!" Maya screamed, seeing her spawn being destroyed. She actually looked heartbroken by what had happened, as the explosion disappeared and there was no sign of the spawn.

As the dome began to disappear, a cracking sound could be heard.

Everyone turned their attention to the cocoon holding Pharynx within it, which began to break before shattering off the teen. And as he began to fall, Thorax rushed over and caught him. "I got you." The Mimics watched his and were shocked, whilst Flash, Shining and the Rainbooms chose this moment to race over to their side.

"I can't believe it," High whispered. "Another one. How is this possible?"

Frill frowned. "We've wondered for a while how the first two Riders were created. It seems that now we have the answer." He turned to Corvyn, the cloaked figure staring at them and looking ready to blast them with another sonic attack. "We need to inform the master of this development." He turned to Maya, who was still staring at where Byon had been destroyed. "Come on. We can't stay here."

"My...my spawns."

"We'll find a way to fix this." He pulled her away, as a portal began to open up. The three leapt through it, as everyone else remained focused on Pharynx.

"Please," Thorax told him, "please wake up." He then seemed to realise that he was still wearing his suit, causing him to look down at the Driver around his waist.

He hit the switch on the side and the draw slotted out, the Mimicore inside powering down as he took it out. This caused the suit around his body to melt and merge with his body. Thorax was revealed beneath, looking like a normal everyday human. But everyone knew differently.

The Driver shrank and melted into his body, as he focused on Pharynx. "Please. Wake up." This seemed to get a reaction out of Pharynx, whose eyes began to flicker open.

"Thorax?" He moaned out, Thorax sighing in relief.

"You're okay?" He hugged him, whilst Pharynx looked confused.

"What happened?" He clutched his head. "I remember. I remember getting hit by that Mimic's slime and felt like I was being squeezed by a boa constrictor." His face flinched, "everything after that's a blur. I remember..." He looked up at Thorax, "you. You were captured by the Mimic too."

"You remember that?" Rarity asked. "How? You were cocooned when that happened."

"But the Mimic he was cocooned by saw it," Twilight pointed out. "Timber has memories from when Gule was controlling him. Pharynx must have been able to see through his eyes as well." Everyone frowned, as they watched Thorax hold Pharynx.

"Alright, dude." Rainbow looked ready for a fight, "put Pharynx down and step back."

"What are you talking about?" Thorax asked, "I'm not leaving my brother's side." Pharynx nodded, but the girls clearly weren't taking no for an answer. As such, Twilight used her magic to grab Pharynx and pull him out of Thorax's grasp. At the same time, Rarity put a wall of gemstones up between Thorax and his brother.

"What are you doing?" Pharynx cried, as Twilight put him down on the ground.

"That's not Thorax," Sunset told him. "That's the Mimic that trapped him." Pharynx's eyes widened, as Sunset turned to where the cocoon holding his brother was. "The real Thorax is-" She stopped when she saw the cocoon was gone.

The others saw this and all panicked, fearing the Mimics might have taken it. But then, Flash spotted the cocoon as it was floating beside Corvyn. The hooded figure had was using some kind of device to make it hover and was pulling it like a dog on a lead, as he moved towards the wall of the warehouse that he had appeared from.

The rest of them soon spotted him and saw a light appear, as a portal formed in the same spot as before. Corvyn then stepped through it and pulled the cocoon behind him.

As they watched the cocoon disappear, Flash and Shining glanced at one another before they both nodded. They had had enough of being clueless.

"Wait!" Twilight cried, as the pair ran towards the portal and leapt right through it. Moments later, the portal closed and the group were all left in the warehouse. They all looked worried, as they wondered what the heck was going on.

When they reached the other side of the portal, Flash and Shining found themselves back in the dark area.

The portal quickly faded, causing the place to be dropped into darkness. And as they looked around, they saw Corvyn and the cocoon moving through the darkness. Eventually, a part of the wall opened up and a light flowed out of it. Corvyn stepped through this light with the cocoon and disappeared, leaving Flash and Shining perplexed as the door closed.

They waited, as they slowly made their way through the darkness. Despite being in this room multiple times, neither of them had explored it. When they finally reached the wall, they checked it out until they found the door.

It took them a moment, but they were able to find a button on the wall and pressed it.

The door opened inwards, allowing them to step through despite almost being blinded. But once they recovered, they opened their eyes and looked around to see they were in some kind of laboratory. Machines lined the walls and the Riders were amazed by the sight of the place.

"Wow," Flash moved over to one of the devices to try and figure out what it was. "What is this thing?"

"Don't touch anything," Shining told him. "At least until we know what it all does." Flash nodded, as they made their way through the lab. As they did, they spotted one machine which had a bunch of familiar looking devices inside of it. "Mimicores."

"So this is how they're made." Flash was about to take a closer look, only to then hear a door opening a few feet away.

They leapt behind a device and looked around it to see said door opening, as Corvyn stepped out of it. The figure stood there before raising his hands to his hood and flipping it back, finally revealing his face. And they were in for quite a shock.

Corvyn was blue skinned and had pointy ears, along a gemstone of some kind on his head. He also had brown hair that was cut rather short.

Flash and Shining were amazed to finally see what Corvyn looked like, whilst he moved away into another section of the lab. And as he did, Shining gestured for Flash to follow him towards the door. Flash nodded and they both snuck across the room, eventually reaching it and looking around to see if Corvyn was around.

Seeing he wasn't, they hit the button next to the door and it opened.

Taking a deep breath, they both stepped through the door into a small dimly lit room. The overhead light glowed faintly and as the Riders stared into it, their eyes slowly widened at the sight before them.

A trio of Mimic Cocoons were located inside the room, with a bunch of wires wrapped around and struck to them. One of the cocoons was the one Corvyn had just taken, with Thorax located inside. But the other two cocoons, had two individuals that they knew all too well. Themselves.

"What?" Flash gasped, seeing himself trapped inside the central cocoon. "What's going on?"

"I don't know," Shining stared at the cocoon he was inside of. He slowly stepped towards it and reached out to place a hand on it. As soon as he did, he was suddenly bombarded with an image. "Augh!"

In the blink of an eye, he wasn't in the lab anymore. Instead, he was in Canterlot. He was standing atop a building as he stared down at the street below.

He was staring at the many people littering the street, when he suddenly locked on to one in particular. "STOP!" He saw himself, running through the crowd in an attempt to catch someone currently pushing people out of the way. "I said STOP!"

The other guy ran into an alleyway and Shining felt his body run along the rooftop, leaping over a gap onto another roof before moving to look down at a back alley that nobody was in.

And as the criminal ran into the back alley, Shining leapt down off the roof and landed behind him. He didn't seem to even notice him, too focused with escaping as he ran around a corner. Then, Shining saw himself suddenly run into the back alley. And as he saw whatever the current Shining was, he stopped whilst looking shocked.

"What the hell?" He staggered back, reaching for where his gun was. But before he could fire, Shining watched his body raise an arm that was dark blue and covered in spikes. Then, the arm melted before shooting forward and slamming into Shining's chest.

He gasped, as he tried to fight against it, but the slime quickly surrounded his body before completely encasing him in amber that hardened. As it did, Shining saw his arm reform. And as it did, it transformed into a perfect copy of his own arm. This was followed by the rest of himself, as he soon looked exactly like the Shining Armor that was trapped in the cocoon.

After that, Shining suddenly found himself snapping back to reality. He gasped, pulling his hand away from the cocoon as Flash turned to him. "You okay?"

Shining shook his head. "I just saw...me. I...I think i just saw when I was placed in this thing." Flash frowned, not liking the sound of that.

He turned to the cocoon he was inside and after a deep breath, he placed his hand on the cocoon. And like Shining, this seemed to spark something in his brain. "AUGH!" He closed his eyes and when he opened them, he was somewhere else.

He was in a dark alleyway, in the middle of the night. He appeared to be hiding on the roof of said alleyway, staring down at it whilst waiting for someone. Then he appeared.

Flash saw himself, walking down the alley without a care in the world. He was humming to himself, not aware of the danger he was in. And before his other self knew what hit him, Flash leapt down and landed right in front of him.

"WOW!" The other Flash staggered back, as the current Flash watched his arm raise. When he did, he saw that it wasn't human. It almost looked like an orange version of Gule's arm, which melted and slammed into Flash.

The teen gasped, as he tried to fight against it. But he couldn't and in five seconds, he was completely cocooned whilst Flash felt his own body changing. That was when the vision ended and he pulled away from the cocoon.

"What the heck?" He cried, as Shining held him. "What was that?"

"I think this proves what we've been trying to deny for a while," Shining frowned as they stared at the cocoons. "Thorax was taken over by a Mimic and then became a Kamen Rider. That means..."

"We're Mimics too," Flash felt like he was going to be sick.

"I should have known you'd sneak in here." The pair spun around and found Corvyn, standing on the other side of the door. He did not look happy, as he stared at the pair. "I hoped you wouldn't discover any of this, but I guess it was only a matter of time."

Both Riders glared at him, as Shining stepped forward. "Alright. Time for some answers." His Driver suddenly appeared, as he took out his Tri-Horn Mimicore. "Tell us what's going on or I destroy this whole place."

"Alright," Corvyn held up his hand, "relax. I'll tell you everything. But please understand, I didn't hide this from you out of a sense of malice or as some grand scheme."

"Then why did you hide it from us?" Flash asked, as he and Shining stepped out of the cocoon room. "First question, what are we? Are we Mimics?"

Corvyn sighed, "yes. You, Shining and the boy named Thorax are all Mimics. At least, your physical form is that of a Mimic." Flash and Shining looked horrified, as they turned to their cocooned selves.

"What happened to us?" Shining asked. "Why do we think we're...them?"

"Because you are them," Corvyn stated. "I told you. Physically, you are Mimics. But mentally, you are humans."

"What does that mean?" Flash asked, as Corvyn sighed.

"I think it would be easier if I told you the whole story." He stepped back, allowing the Riders to follow him through the lab into another room. Said room was some kind of living space, with a kitchen, lounge and a large window with blinds keeping them from looking out. "I warn you. What you're about to see won't be pretty."

The two stepped up towards the window, as Corvyn hit a button that made the blinds raise. And when it did, they were greeted to a horrible sight.

A desert. A giant mass of sand that spread out as far as the eye could see. And from out of the desert, buildings were sticking out of the sand like they had been buried. All the buildings were skyscrapers and none of them had a door or any entries where the sand was.

"What is this place?" Shining asked, as they looked out at the waste land.

"This is my home," Corvyn explained. "Or what's left of it after the Mimics arrived." Flash and Shining turned to Corvyn, the look on his face one of utter sorrow. "It was just like your world, so long ago. Green and beautiful. This city was a bustling metropolis, where millions of people lived."

"But then the Mimics came," Flash realised.

Corvyn nodded. "They started capturing my people and replacing them, using that to get into areas of importance. By the time we realised they had been replaced, it was too late. They took over, wiping people out. By the time we found ways to defend ourselves, it was too late. Once they had a foothold in our world, it was all over."

"They did this?" Shining asked, as Corvyn nodded. "Why? Why do this?"

"That's the one thing I could never find out about the Mimics," Corvyn replied. "Why they wish to destroy. I was never able to ask one. All I ever did was study their abilities and how to fight them. But by the time I'd discovered how to stop them, it was too late." He gestured to the desert. "That's all that's left of my world. I don't know if I'm the last survivor or there's more, but I do know I'm the only person in this part of the world."

"I'm sorry," Flash told him. "I can't imagine what that must feel like."

Corvyn nodded. "I couldn't save my world. That's why I've been doing what I can to save yours. But I'm not a fighter. I don't have a way for a normal human to defeat a Mimic." He turned to them, "but I discovered a way to use a Mimic against a Mimic."

The two frowned, "us?"

Corvyn nodded. "During my time studying them, I discovered a way for a human host to overpower the Mimic trying to control them."

"How?" Flash asked.

"What do you mean, overpower?" Shining inquired. Corvyn moved over to a chair and sat down, crossing his arms as he thought about it.

"The way a Mimic's abilities work isn't just through physical manipulation. Mimics are also psychic. They create a psychic link between themselves and whoever they cocoon. This allows them to copy not just their physical features, but their memories and personality. That way, they're able to blend in perfectly and replace their hosts without worrying about being caught out."

"I guess that makes sense," Shining nodded. "I mean, I didn't know Timber that well. But every time I talked to Gule, I couldn't tell he wasn't Timber."

"Exactly," Corvyn nodded. "This mental link pulls the victim's mind out of their body and traps it inside the Mimics. The human's mind is sealed and unable to do anything except be an encyclopedia for their Mimics to read from. However, the process leaves the Mimics vulnerable. You all saw what happened with Thorax."

"Yeah," Flash nodded, "it almost seemed like he was fighting against himself."

"He was," Corvyn smiled. "The human and Mimic's minds were fighting for control. Thorax clearly has a very strong will. Strong enough for him to temporarily gain partial control of the Mimic. The same way you two were able to, when you were taken over."

The pair looked shocked by this, as they shared a look.

"Yes. When your Mimics cocooned you, the pair of you were able to fight against the control. And that brief opening was all I needed." The Rider's belts suddenly appeared around their waists, the pair staring down at them as Corvyn continued. "I created the Mimic Drivers to help anyone strong enough to fight against the Mimic's controls. When the two of you managed to gain the slightest bit of control over the Mimics, it allowed me to swoop in and give you full control."

"Like how you helped Thorax?" Shining asked, with Corvyn nodded.

"I used the Mimicores you woke up with to drain the Mimic's monster forms out of you. Once the Mimic Drivers were locked in place, it reversed the process and trapped the Mimic's minds within their bodies. It granted you two complete control and gave you the ability to transform into the warriors that could fight against the Mimics."

Flash nodded. "The first time I transformed, it was like something else was controlling me. Showing me how I could fight against them."

"That was a little something I built into the Drivers. It allowed some of the Mimic's natural skills to bleed into you, almost giving both of you a combined psyche. Training wheels, to help you understand how it worked. But you've done quite well without them."

Flash and Shining both stared down at their Drivers, which had obviously saved them from becoming Mimic pawns and helped them protect their world. Even so, it still felt strange to finally know all this. They could only wonder how Thorax felt.

Back in the warehouse, Pharynx and the girls were staring at the wall that Flash and Shining had disappeared through.

They were all nervous, as they stared at the wall. Twilight was the most nervous, as she thought back to all the times she had seen Flash and Shining before Shifter and Morphic had shown up. The mall, the aquarium, the zoo. "Huh." Everyone turned to Twilight, obviously wondering what was up.

"You okay?" Sunset asked, with Twilight nodding.

"I was just thinking about that time at the zoo. I saw Flash there, looking through all the birds. He asked which one I thought was the best."

"So?" Rainbow asked.

"I told him an owl was the best. I told him about all the great things owls could do. Then, during the fight at the zoo, Shifter transformed into his Flight Form. I can't believe I didn't realise it sooner. Flash took my answer and used it to make a new form for himself to fight that monster." This caused Fluttershy's eyes to go wide.

"Shining did the same thing." Everyone turned to her. "He asked me what animal I thought could help the Riders in a fight and I showed him a Coyote."

"His Rush Form," Rarity realised. "Those two really weren't subtle about this, were they?"

"Subtle enough to fool us," Applejack pointed out. "A'h can't believe all that time, Flash was Shifter. Why didn't he tell us?"

"Maybe he was afraid," Pinkie suggested. "Afraid we wouldn't trust him anymore."

"Can we trust them?" Rainbow asked. "I mean, if they really are Mimics..." Everyone frowned, unsure how to answer that. Despite all the good they had done, they were still Mimics. And Mimics that had obviously taken the forms of those they loved. How could they trust them after that.

"Hey, guys." They looked around and saw Thorax. The teen was currently tied to one of the pillars that held up the warehouse. "Can someone scratch my nose. It's really itchy." Pharynx moved over to him and started scratching his nose, Thorax sighing in relief. "Thanks." Pharynx said nothing, as he just stared at the teen. "Bro, come on. Untie me. This is getting ridiculous."

"Not happening," Pharynx told him. "You say you're Thorax, but you're definitely a Mimic. I can't trust you."

"Pharynx," Thorax looked heartbroken. "You can trust me. I don't know what I am. But I do know that I'm Thorax. Your brother." Pharynx frowned and just looked away. "Remember when we were five. Those bullies that were mean to me, because I liked to play with my action figures out on the street."

"I beat them up and made sure they never bothered you again."

"See. How could I know about that if I wasn't who I said I was?"

"Mimics copy memories," Twilight told him. "That's how Gule was able to impersonate Timber. Same with Maya pretending to be your mother. Mimics somehow gain all the knowledge of the person they encase in their cocoons."

"Come on," Thorax cried. "Look into my eyes. I'm on your side." Pharynx stared at him, the pair's eyes locked as if Pharynx was looking into Thorax's very soul. "It's me."

Pharynx sighed before looking away. "I can't know that for sure." He returned to the girls, as Thorax felt his heart break. He didn't know who or what he was. All he could do was hope that when Flash and Shining returned, they would be able to help him understand.

In the Mimic's Lair, Greye had just returned from completing his task.

When he arrived, he spotted the three other generals and smiled. "Another three Doom Pillars down. How did things go on your-" He stopped when he saw the upset look on Maya's face, whilst the other two looked confused and worried. "Did something happen?" He looked around, "where are the two new Mimics?"

"Gone," Frill stated. "Or, at least one of them is. The other..."

"What?" Greye asked, but Frill said nothing and stood up. High did the same and the pair moved over to their communication device. "What are you doing?" Frill began to type at the device. "Wait. You're not actually calling him, are you? Nobody calls him."

"This is important." Frill stepped back, as the device powered up and eventually created the hologram.

Frill, High and Greye all bowed, as the figure turned to them. "Why have you contacted me? This had better be important, or you will suffer the consequences."

"Master," Frill stated, "we have news of a very disturbing nature. A new Kamen Rider has been created." Greye looked at them in shock, whilst the figure just sat there.

"Explain."

"We attempted to distract the Riders, so they won't interfere with the Doom Pillar set up. To do that, we attacked two humans in an attempt to make them Mimics. The Riders arrived and we were able to transform the humans into Mimics. But then something unexpected happened."

"It's that cloaked guy," High cried. "He did something to one of the Mimics and somehow gave the host control. He then put one of those belts on the kid and gave him the ability to transform."

"I see. Then this would also explain how the other two Kamen Riders came into existence."

"I believe so," Frill nodded. "But I don't think the choice for Riders was random."

"Go on."

"Before the figure appeared, the Mimic appeared to be having issues with their host. You remember the rare occasions when a Mimic lost control at the start and the host managed to gain partial control?"

"Yes. That's always annoying to see. Are you saying that happened this time?"

"I do. I believe the Kamen Riders were all humans who managed to resist their Mimics for a short while. And that short while was all that cloaked figure needed to give the human full control over the body."

"That makes sense. What can you tell me about this cloaked individual?"

"We believe he is from a world that we once conquered," High explained. "It's likely he studied us during the invasion and developed this Rider System. It came too late for his world, so he's using it to save another."

"If that's so, he may be somewhere in this world. Find him and take him out. We remove him, we remove all the help the Riders have."

"Yes master," Greye nodded. "But what about the Doom Pillars?"

"Split your focus," the master replied. "Find this person and set them up." With that, he cut the call and the Mimics were able to breathe a sigh of relief.

"So what's the plan?" Greye asked, as they tried to think of how to divide their efforts. Frill and High began to think, whilst Maya just sat where she was. She was still thinking about what had happened to her spawns, taken away from her before she got a chance to really know them.

"I will make that man pay. And I'll find a way to get Torin back."

Back with Flash and Shining, the pair had returned to their cocoons and stared at their real bodies.

Corvyn was with them, working on something in his lab. And as he finished whatever he was doing, Shining turned to him. "Can we change back?" Corvyn looked up at him. "Can we return to our real bodies?"

"Of course," Corvyn nodded. "You've seen it happen before. You might be controlling them, but you're still Mimics. That means that you'll return to your bodies the same way all the other ones did."

"By being destroyed," Flash realised.

"Exactly. Throughout all your battles, your lives were never really at risk. If you had been destroyed, you would have been freed from the cocoons and could have returned to your normal lives." Flash and Shining sighed, happy to hear that was still possible. "However, that'll also mean you'll lose all the abilities you have. The only reason you can fight the Mimics, is because you are Mimics. If you go back to being human, Kamen Rider Shifter and Morphic will be gone."

Now they frowned. "So if we want to keep fighting the Mimics, we have to stay this way?"

"Exactly," Corvyn stated. "Which is why I was hesitant to tell you the truth." They frowned at him. "If I had told you right from the start, would you two have agreed to stay as you are? I didn't know you well enough to have an answer. That's why I kept you both in the dark."

Shining sighed. "I get it. If I had known from the start, I might have wanted to turn back to human right away."

"Same here," Flash nodded. "But now...I can't just walk away." He took his Strike Mimicore out. "If I hadn't had these powers, a lot of people would have been hurt. Killed, even." He gave Corvyn a serious look, "I'm gonna keep fighting. Until the Mimics are stopped, I'll fight as a Mimic as well."

Corvyn smiled, "thank you. And again, I'm sorry for keeping this from you. But now that you two know, we can work more closely together. The Mimics won't know what hit them."

They nodded, but Shining kept talking. "Before that, I need time to really come to terms with all this." Flash nodded, also feeling like he needed to really determine what he was. "I'm guessing our Drivers keep the Mimic Detectors from...detecting us?"

"Pretty much," Corvyn nodded. "You don't have to worry about being found out. Although, it seems you'll have a lot of questions when you get back to your world." They nodded, as Corvyn held out a device and pressed it. A portal opened in front of them. "Oh, one more thing." Corvyn threw something at Shining.

When he caught it, he found it was a small bike toy similar to the ones the two of them had. This one was light green, having dark green sections below the bodywork and a purple lightning on it. The pair quickly realised it was likely meant for Thorax.

Shining pocketed the toy before moving towards the portal. And as the Riders took one final look at their real bodies, they walked forward and into the light.

In the blink of an eye, they were back in the warehouse and found themselves staring at the Rainbooms, Pharynx and a tied up Thorax. "You're back!" Twilight smiled, only to then look worried. "Answers. Are you two really Flash and Shining, or are you Mimics like Thorax?"

They sighed, with Flash turning to Shining. "Can you handle this? I'm wiped." Shining nodded, as Flash reached into his pocket and took out his bike.

Everyone watched him take out a toy bike and throw it, summoning his larger vehicle before getting on it. "Flash." Sunset tried to talk to him, but he revved up the engine and shot off. As he drove off, Shining moved over to Thorax.

"What are you doing?" Pharynx asked, as Shining began to untie him. "You're letting him go? After what he did to my brother?"

"He is your brother," Shining explained as Thorax looked at him in confusion. "It's a long story. Flash and I just found out about it ourselves. If you guys are willing to hear us out, I'll tell you everything." He turned to Thorax. "And when this is over, you're gonna have a choice."

"What choice?"

"Whether you want to return to your normal body, or remain as you are and help us fight against the Mimics." Thorax was still confused, but clearly eager to know everything there was to know about what was happening.

It wasn't long before Flash got home.

Having biked to where he had parked his car, he drove home and arrived to find his sister and her two best friends playing video games. The three were so engrossed in the game, they barely noticed him as he stepped inside before heading up to his room.

Once there, Flash reached up to take off his hoodie. But before he could, the whole thing suddenly melted into a brownish orange slime that his skin seemed to suddenly absorb.

Flash stared at his body, surprised by that. "What just..." He then remembered that his clothes were also part of his Mimic body. Had he actually been unknowingly doing that whenever he thought he was getting changed? Had it been a subconscious block he had had until now?

The million questions that raged through his head were trying him nuts and causing him to feel more and more tired.

Eventually, he couldn't take anymore and just flopped down on his bed. His face rested against his pillow and soon enough, he was falling asleep. And it wasn't long before he found himself in a dream.

But this dream was rather unusual. For Flash found himself in a white void, with nothing around him.

"Hello?" Flash called out, as he made his way through the void. "Anyone here?" But nobody answered and he was starting to feel uncomfortable. That was, until he spotted some kind of spec off in the distance.

Moving towards that spec, Flash was able to make out more details.

The figure was humanoid, with orange yellow skin and blue hair. He was wearing a black hoodie, blue pants and a white shirt underneath. Flash was looking at himself.

His doppelganger was kneeling on the ground, almost completely encased in amber. Only his head and chest were uncovered, the rest being trapped within the solidified slime that was stuck to the ground.

As Flash moved closer, he was suddenly reminded of the last time he had seen this. When he and Gule had connected and he realised the general was Timber. And as he stared at the monster, he realised what was happening. "It's you, isn't it? The Mimic that encased me in that cocoon."

Slowly, the Mimic's eyes fluttered open and he looked up at Flash. As he did, he glared at him. "My name is Sheave. Sheave-Far-Tar."

Author's Note

Thorax freed his brother and did so in a pretty kickass way. And we finally got an explanation for how our heroes were able to become Riders, along with confirmation they won't stop being Riders until the job is done. So what did you all think? I know most of this was probably already figured out by a lot of you, but now we have confirmation.

So, where will things go from here? Only time will tell.

Episode 19: Changeling of Pace

Flash could hardly believe what he was seeing.

Standing in front of him, technically kneeling, was the Mimic that had tried to steal his life and destroy his world. If it hadn't been for Flash's will and Corvyn turning him into a Kamen Rider, Flash would have been the one in the situation Sheave-Far-Tar now found himself in.

"This can't be real," Flash shook his head. "This is just a dream."

"Hardly," Sheave told him. "Welcome to the mindscape. It's a visual manifestation of our dual consciousness. Something our minds made up, so that we could communicate with one another."

"I see," Flash nodded. "A little boring. Couldn't our minds at least make a chair for me to sit in?" As soon as he said that, a comfy looking armchair appeared behind him. "Oh. Cool." Flash sat down, as Sheave rolled his eyes.

"This is our mind. Anything we can think of can become reality here. At least, it should." He pulled on the amber holding him. "If I was free, I'd be able to remake this place based on what I want."

"Well you're not free," Flash stated as he looked around. After a moment, Flash thought and the void suddenly transformed. They were now in Flash's living room, the teen feeling much more comfortable in his own home.

Sheave rolled his eyes again, as he glared at Flash. "Enjoy this whilst you can. It won't be long before the Mimics find a way to take you Riders down."

"Yeah, sure." Flash kept looking around, amazed by all the details his brain had created. "So how come we're able to talk to each other now? Would have thought you'd try and contact me as soon as possible."

"I did," Sheave glared at him. "But something was blocking my mind from connecting to yours before. Probably some kind of mental barrier, or that Driver device was keeping us separate. Either way, knowing about me seems to have finally allowed us to get in contact. Our connection is rather strong. Has been ever since that incident with my brother."

"Your brother?" Flash slowly put the pieces together, "Gule-Far-Tar."

"Yes," Sheave growled. "The one you killed."

"He was trying to kill me and my friends. Don't try and act like he's the victim." Sheave just glared at him. "So what's this incident you were talking about?"

"When you learned who Gule's host was. He tried to connect to me and I tried to connect to him. Since your mind was in the way, our link was strengthened as a byproduct."

"I see," Flash nodded. "So what? Are we gonna be able to talk to each other whenever we want now."

"Unless you try and block me out," Sheave nodded. "And like I said, enjoy this whilst you can. i will find a way to free myself from this. And when I do, that body will be mine to command."

"Not gonna happen," Flash told him. "I don't care what you try and do, I'm not letting you have command of this body. We're going to defeat the Mimics, save our world and then we're gonna destroy these bodies and become human again."

Sheave smirked. "You think you're going to defeat the Mimics? Get real. The Mimics have overthrown countless universes and in each one, they've faced and overcome challenges just like what you've thrown at them. You think you're gonna be the one to stop us? Get real. We are the Mimics. The perfect race."

"Perfect race," Flash laughed. "Yeah right. Everything about you is stolen from other races. You have no form or intelligent thought until you steal it from someone else. You guys are nothing but parasites."

"Maybe," Sheave told him, "but these parasites have wiped out more worlds than you can count. And yours will just be like all the rest. Conquered, cleansed, stripped and forgotten after we move on to the next one."

Flash had had enough of this and stood up, the teen focusing as he tried to leave the mindscape. And soon enough, he found himself waking up from his dream.

When he raised his head, he looked around and found he was back in his room. Looking out the window, he saw the sun was setting. It had felt like he had only been asleep for a few minutes, but he had been snoozing for hours. And he still felt exhausted.

Hitting the pillow once again, he tried to fall asleep without entering the mindscape again. "You can't get rid of me that easily." Flash's eyes shot open, as Sheave's voice echoed in his mind. He didn't know if that was just his imagination, or Sheave could actually talk to him now. Either way, he knew this was going to make getting to sleep almost impossible.

As this was happening, Thorax was sitting on his roof staring up at the night's sky.

When Shining had explained everything to them, Thorax's head had almost exploded from information overload. the good news was, it seemed to convince Pharynx and the girls that they were on their side. As such, Thorax and his brother soon returned to his house.

The place had somehow come out of the attack without any damage, though there was a lot that needed cleaning up.

"I'm a Mimic," he told himself whilst holding the Mimicore he had gotten in his hand. As he stared at it, he remembered what Shining had told him earlier.

"Thorax, I'm giving you a choice. Flash and I have already decided we're gonna keep fighting, even after knowing what we know. But you don't have to be a part of this. If you want, I can return you to your real body and you can got back to being a normal kid."

Thorax thought about Shining's offer. To be returned to normal and get back to his everyday life, even though his mother would still be gone. But if he didn't choose that, it would mean he would need to fight the Mimics.

"Thorax?" He looked around and saw his brother, whose head had popped out of the attic skylight. "There you are." He pulled himself up and moved over to him. "You okay?"

"Yeah," Thorax nodded, "Just...thinking."

"About what that Shining guy told you?" Pharynx sat next to him. "You want to turn back to human?" Thorax frowned, clearly having trouble deciding. "So you want to stay as...this?"

"I don't know what I want," Thorax sighed. "If I turn back to normal, I'll be leaving Shining and Flash to fight the Mimics on their own. But if I stay like this, I'm gonna have to fight. Shining said I'd be able to sense when the Mimics attack and he said ignoring it is almost impossible. If I sense them, I'm gonna have to fight. I don't know if I can do that."

"You did it earlier," Pharynx pointed out. "I wouldn't be here if you hadn't."

"Shining said that wouldn't happen again. The next time I fight, I'll need to actually fight instead of letting myself be on autopilot. I don't know if I can do that." He glanced at his brother, "why couldn't you be the one that became the Kamen Rider?"

Pharynx shrugged in response. "I wish I could be one as well. But I wasn't strong enough to fight against the Mimic controlling me." He smiled at him, "you were."

"I get the feeling that was more because my Mimic wasn't very strong, than me being a strong willed person."

"Maybe. But that doesn't matter. What matters right now, is whether or not you think you can handle this. Don't forget, we still need to save mom. Do you really want to pass up the chance you have to save her?"

"I...no," Thorax shook his head. "I want to save her. I need to save her."

"Then I guess we have the answer we were looking for." He patted Thorax on your shoulder. "And don't worry. I'll be there to help every step of the way." Thorax smiled at him, as he looked down at the Mimicore in his hand.

Even if he wanted to do this, did he have what it took to do what Flash and Shining could do. To be a Kamen Rider?

The next morning.

As soon as the sun was up the next morning, Flash headed out to respond to a text Shining had sent him that morning.

The teen looked like heck, barely managing to get any sleep due to Sheave trying to talk to him whenever his mental focus slipped. He prayed this was something he would learn to control with time. But until then, he had a feeling he was going to be getting very little sleep for the foreseeable future.

He soon arrived at the area Shining had asked him to meet him at. A junkyard on the far side of town. One that nobody ever went too. The perfect place to train as a Rider without anyone noticing them.

As he pulled into the yard, he spotted Shining's car parked further in. And his vehicle wasn't the only one. Rainbow's bike was also there, along with Fluttershy's car and Applejack's truck. He spotted Shining, Thorax, Pharynx and the Rainbooms waiting for him, the teen pulling up and getting out.

He could see the unclear expressions on the girl's faces, the Rainbooms still clearly unsure whether or not to trust him.

"Good," Shining nodded, "you're here."

"Yeah," Flash nodded, "what are we doing here?"

"We're here to give Thorax a choice." Shining turned to the teen in question. "Alright, kid. I know you haven't had much time. But have you decided what you're gonna do?" Flash gave Shining a curious expression, the others looking towards Thorax with curiosity. "If you want, I can turn you back to human. All I gotta do is destroy you and you'll return to your real body. You'll be back to normal and can go on as a normal kid."

"Oh," Flash realised what he was saying. "Or you can help us." Thorax turned to him. "I'm not trying to pressure you into anything, but we need all the help we can get. If yesterday proved anything, it's that Shining and I aren't enough to take the Mimics down. We need all the help we can get." Shining nodded, as Thorax glanced over at his brother.

Pharynx nodded, Thorax turning back to him. "I'm in." Flash smiled, but Shining didn't look confident.

"Are you sure about this? It's not gonna be easy."

"I'm sure," Thorax nodded. "You said there's no danger in fighting, right? If the Mimics destroy me, I'll just return to my own body. So why wouldn't I want to use these new powers, to fight against the ones that took my mother from me?" He reached into his pocket and took out his Mimicore. "I was able to save Pharynx from the Mimics. Now I wanna do the same for mom. And if I need to stay as a Mimic to do that, so be it."

Shining smiled. "Alright then. Welcome to the team."

"Yeah!" Flash held out a fist, Shining and Thorax both putting their own into the mix. "Let's all make a promise right here. To help one another, no matter what. We fight as one and together, we'll defeat the Mimic and protect this world from falling to them."

"YEAH!" The other two nodded, as Pharynx and the Rainbooms stepped into the fray.

"I hope you don't think you three are the only ones that are in this fight," Twilight pointed out. "We might not be Kamen Riders, but we still want to help."

"You bet," Pharynx nodded. "My brother's too much of a wimp to do this on his own. He's gonna need me to keep him from panicking when stuff gets real." Thorax frowned, as the Riders pulled their fists apart and turned to them.

"This is gonna be dangerous," Shining told them.

"Maybe," Sunset frowned, "but we can't just sit back and do nothing. You guys would have been toast yesterday, if we hadn't shown up." Flash and Shining weren't sure that was the case, but decided not to argue. "Besides, you owe us for keeping who you were a secret for so long."

"It's not like we wanted to lie to you," Flash told them. "Whatever. Alright, you guys can help. But only if we really need it. The three of us don't have to worry since we're not the real us. But you guys are vulnerable."

"Maybe," Rainbow smirked, "but you two didn't know you were safe and you still put yourself in danger. But fine, we'll only help if you really need us."

"Good." Shining then stepped away and took out his Blitz Mimicore. "Then let's get to the other reason I asked you guys here."

"I did wonder," Rarity didn't look happy being in the junk yard. "Why did we come to such a filthy place?"

"Simply. Thorax needs to learn how to fight. Corvyn said the first time using your Rider form is like training wheels. You weren't in complete control then. But from now on, you'll be doing the fighting. That means you've got to learn how to use your new powers at their full potential. You ready?"

Thorax gave his brother a look, Pharynx nodding as Flash took out his Mimicore. "Ready." The three summoned their Drivers. "Let's get training." He activated his Mimicore and placed it into his Driver, Flash and Shining doing the same.

Everyone else stepped back, as the three struck a pose. "HENSHIN!" The three transformed at once, morphing into their suits before the armor formed around them. Once it did, Thorax looked himself over in amazement. This was the first time he really got to check out his suit. And it was pretty cool.

But before he could really get to grips with it, Morphic summoned his weapon and started firing at him.

"WOW!" He leapt back, the others being shocked. "What the heck?"

"The Mimics aren't gonna give you time to get used to this. You need to learn to control your powers without even thinking. Time for you to be forged under fire." With that, he kept firing and Thorax jumped around as best he could.

"Use your weapons!" Rainbow told him, as Thorax was almost hit and staggered back.

"What weapons?" But then, his gauntlets melted and formed the swords in his hand. "Wow." He looked them over, only to find Shifter rushing at him. "Gyah!" He swung them around, but Shifter dodged the attacks before slamming his foot into Thorax's chest.

The teen cried out, as he was thrown backwards and crashed into the side of a car. Morphic sighed at this. "We've got a long way to go."

In the Mimic Lair, Frill, High, Greye and Maya stared at the remaining devices.

"So," High looked around, "what's the plan? Master wants us to set these up, but we're gonna need a distraction if we do that. The Riders will sense us the moment we show up."

"Leave the distraction to the rest of us," Frill stated. "You focus on getting the next one set up." High nodded, as Frill turned to Maya. "Are you going to help us or not?"

Maya was clearly still upset about what had happened the previous day. She got up and headed out the room. "One of us needs to search for the cloaked figure. Without him, the Riders won't stand a chance. I'll do that." With that, she was gone and the other Mimic sighed.

"This is why I've never made my own spawn," Frill stated. "The Mimics that make them also get too attached to them." He shook his head, "whatever. Let her search for that guy. The rest of us will get the Doom Pillars set up."

"We've already got four up and running," Greye told him. "Just eight more and the Riders won't be able to stop us."

"Don't get cocky," High stated. "If the Riders manage to destroy even one of these things before they're up and running, our plans will be completely ruined. We need to make sure they don't get anywhere near them."

"Which is why you'll be activating this next one," Frill explained. "With your super speed, you'll be able to intercept any attack that comes its way. Greye and I will keep the Riders distracted."

"And I have just the Mimic to help with that." Greye headed out of the room and returned a minute or so later, carrying a Mimic Spawn jar along with a glass case. Inside was a round looking insect that was red with black spots.

High stared at it before giving Greye a look. "Seriously?"

"Don't underestimate it," Greye smiled. "This is sure to give those Riders a tough time. The new one, at least. If Frill and I focus on Shifter and Morphic, this one will be able to handle Maya's spawn without issue." With that, he opened the glass case before pouring the Mimic spawn inside. Soon enough, the insect was captured and began to transform the Mimic.

Everyone watched the slime creature leave the case and move to the floor, where it began to take shape. As it did, they prepared to head out and cause some mayhem. Hopefully, the Riders would be too busy with them to get in High's way.

Back at the junkyard, the training continued.

Currently, Flash was in his Blade Form and fighting against Thorax. "Raaah!" He swung one of his blades towards Thorax, who barely managed to avoid the sword using his own.

"Wow!" His cutlass stopped the blade inches from his chest, but Shifter quickly spun around and kicked his legs out from under him. "GYAH!" He hit the ground and let out a moan, as Shifter pointed his blade at his neck.

Morphic stood around them, watching. "Thorax, don't focus on just blocking your opponent. Think about how they'll counter your counter." Thorax nodded, as Shifter helped him up. "I think that's enough for now. Let's take a break." He nodded again and the three heroes powered down, then moved over to where Pharynx and the girls were waiting.

Twilight took some sodas out of a cooler and floated them over to the three.

"You guys are doing great," Sunset assured them. "You looked totally kickass when you were fighting." The others nodded, as the three sat down.

"I still can't believe you two were the Riders this whole time," Twilight sighed.

"Sorry I didn't tell you," Flash sighed. "At the start, I had no idea what was going on. I was hoping to find out some more answers for myself before I told anyone. Then I learned Shining was a Rider and the two of us were able to confide in each other."

"Were you ever gonna tell us?" Applejack asked, clearly not happy she had been lied to for so long.

"Maybe," Flash shrugged. "If I had known back then, what I know now. I might have risked telling you guys. Though if you guys learned I was a Mimic at the very start, would you have trusted me?" The girls didn't answer that, clearly not sure what to say.

Things seemed to get very awkward after that, the tension in the air begging for a change of conversation.

"Hey," Rainbow smiled, "I just thought of something. Thorax needs a name." Everyone gave her a curious look. "We can't just call him Kamen Rider Thorax. Everyone would know who he is then."

"She's right," Twilight nodded. "Thorax needs a name for when he's in a fight."

"But what do we call him?" Rarity asked, as everyone tried to think of something that was fitting. Pinkie then smiled at something.

"I know. It needs to follow the same rules and Flash and Shining."

"Rules?" Flash asked. "What rules?"

"Well, you guys are all Mimics. And Mimic can shapeshift and morph their bodies. Isn't that how you came up with your names?" The pair shook their heads.

"Pinkie, we just learned we're Mimics." Shining took out his Rush Mimicore. "And we didn't know we could shift and morph our abilities to fit the situation."

"So how did ya'h come up with ya'h names?" Applejack asked, with Flash looking confused.

"You guys gave me my name. The day after my first fight, I heard someone say you girls called me that."

"We were just repeating what you told us," Sunset replied. "You said your name was Shifter."

Flash thought for a moment, then sighed. "I think I said Sheave-Far-Tar and you just misheard me. Must have been a byproduct of those training wheels Corvyn talked about." Everyone nodded, realising that had to be the case.

"What about your name?" Twilight asked her brother, who shrugged.

"When I was thinking of something to call myself, the word Morphic just popped into my head." He hummed, "could it have something to do with my Mimic's real name?" Nobody said anything for a moment, Rainbow turning to Thorax.

"Anyway, we need a name that works. How about...Kamen Rider Switcher. Because you can switch your forms." Thorax frowned and shook his head.

"Kamen Rider Convert," Rarity suggested. But Thorax didn't like that either.

"Alter?" Fluttershy tried.

"That might get me mixed up with a religious Rider."

"Modifier," Twilight threw out.

"Kind of a mouthful."

"Changer," Pharynx suggested before snapping his fingers. "Wait a minute. What's the name of that old fairytale creature? Change...ling. A changeling. Kamen Rider Changeling."

"Changeling?" Thorax thought for a moment and smiled. "Yeah, I like that."

"And it works," Sunset nodded. "In Equestria, Changelings have the ability to transform themselves into other creatures and impersonate them. Kind of like how Mimics work, actually."

"Kamen Rider Changeling," Thorax nodded. "That's who I am." The others smiled, glad they had found something he liked. But before anyone could say anything else, Thorax was suddenly overwhelmed with a strange sensation. "Wow!" He grabbed his head, Flash and Shining also appearing to notice this. "What's going on?"

"Bro?" Pharynx asked, "you okay?"

"Shining?" Twilight gave her brother a curious look, "what is this?"

"Mimics," Shining stated. "They must be up to something." He and Flash nodded, as their Drivers appeared. Thorax shook his head and the sensation began to dull. "You ready for this?"

Thorax nodded, "let's do this." Shining nodded and took something out of his jacket.

"Then here. Corvyn gave me this, to give to you." He threw it into the air and in the blink of an eye, the green and purple bike appeared in front of him. Thorax's eyes went wide in amazement, as Flash and Shining summoned their own bikes.

"Let's do this thing." Flash got on his bike and took out his Mimicore, Shining doing the same. Thorax took a deep breath and got on the bike as well.

Pharynx patted him on the shoulder. "You got this. I believe in you."

"Thanks," Thorax nodded as their engines revved up. "I'm ready."

"Then let's go show Canterlot it's newest hero." With that, Flash raced off and Shining followed. Thorax took a deep breath and took off as well, as he also took out his Mimicore. Once he caught up to Flash and Shining, he summoned his Driver and the three activated their devices.

"STRIKE!/BLITZ!/SLASH!"

They quickly slotted the Mimicores into their Drivers and as the three rode side by side, they all yelled out in unison. "HENSHIN!" They slammed the Drivers closed and in seconds, the three were transformed into their Riders suits and Changeling found himself feeling much more confident on his bike.

They raced through the city until they arrived at the spot they had sensed the Mimics. And sure enough, they found people running and screaming as a bunch of Mimicreeps were attacking.

Seeing the weaker foot soldiers, Changeling turned to the others. "Let me take those guys." Shifter and Morphic nodded as they pulled their bikes to a stop. A lot of people saw the new Rider, who quickly flipped his leg over his bike and stared at the monsters. "Get ready." His gauntlets melted and formed his swords. "Kamen Rider Changeling is here to save the day."

The crowd were amazed, as they watched him run in and start cutting his way through the Mimicreeps.

He slashed several down before spinning around and slamming his foot into another's face. He used every natural move and technique that the others had shown him, the teen feeling his confidence boost with every monster he took down.

Eventually, all the Mimicreeps were destroyed and Changeling cheered. "YEAH!" But his celebration was short lived, as he suddenly found a bunch of black disks flying at him. "WHOA!" He slashed several away, but more slammed into him and exploded. "AUGH!"

Shifter and Morphic rushed into action, running to his side as he hit the ground. "You okay?"

"What was that?" Changeling moaned, as something suddenly flew down and landed in front of them. A red Mimic that was feminine in appearance and covered in black spots. Her head was black with large green eyes, whilst on her shoulders were dome-like shoulder-pads that were red with black spots. She also had a pair of wings on her back, allowing her to fly.

"A ladybug?" Morphic guessed, as two other figures flew down. Frill and Greye. "Great. At least we're not outnumbered this time."

Greye stared at Changeling, "so you're the new Rider? You don't look like much."

Thorax frowned under his helmet. "I think you'll find I'm full of surprises." He was about to fight, but Morphic stopped him.

"Leave those two to me and Shifter. You deal with the Ladybug." Changeling nodded, as the two Riders stepped forward and took out their weapons.

"BLADE!" Shifter slotted it into his Shape Shifter and charged, Frill doing the same with the pair beginning to clash swords. Morphic fired at Greye and the peacock leapt back, freeing Changeling to attack the ladybug.

The new Mimic's shoulder pads glowed before the black spots flew off them and grew larger, morphing into projectiles that Changeling had to slash away. He managed to avoid getting hit and reached the monster, slashing at her several times and making the beast cry out in pain.

Shifter and Frill locked blades and pushed against one another, each trying to overpower the other and deal a hit to them.

Frill then spread his wings and before Shifter could react, launched several darts that stabbed into him and made the Rider cry out in pain. "Augh!" He pulled away, as Frill took to the air and fired more darts. But Shifter was able to avoid these ones as he took out another Mimicore.

"FLIGHT!"

"Shape Shift!" He replaced his Mimicores and quickly shut the Driver, causing the lights to go yellow.

"MIMIC! OWL!" As soon as his armor transformed, he spread his wings and took to the air. "Flying through the sky, seeking prey with all seeing vision!" In the blink of an eye, he slashed at Frill and the two flew through the air trying to get the better over the other.

At the same time, Greye launched several energy blades in Morphic's direction. But the Rider blasted them all before any could even get close to the Rider. But with Greye keeping his distance and being able to dodge Morphic's blasts, the Rider couldn't get a hit in.

"My turn." He took out another Mimicore and activated it.

"RUSH!"

"Mega Morph!" He replaced his Mimicores and slammed the Driver shut, the lights on his belt quickly changing colour to red.

"MIMIC! COYOTE!" As his armor transformed, he ran at Greye whilst the Mimic launched his crescent blades at the Rider. But Morphic turned into a blur and dodged the attack before shooting past Greye and slashing at him. "Howling velocity, increasing the tearing power of its fangs"

Changeling saw this and was amazed, seeing the two Riders fighting with such skill and ability being quite the sight.

"I hope I get some cool new Mimicores like that." But his momentary distraction was enough for the ladybug to unleash more explosive dots, which slammed into him and exploded. "Augh!" He was thrown back and crashed into the ground, rolling along but managing to hold onto his swords.

The ladybug then flew forward and as Changeling picked himself up, it started swinging its legs at him in an attempt to kick him multiple times. "Wow!" He dodged the first kick and blocked the second with his swords, only for the third to hit him in the head. "Ooff!" He staggered back, but managed to keep himself from tripping over.

He shook his head and stared at the ladybug, as the insect Mimic landed and prepared to fire more of her spots.

He took a deep breath, trying to keep himself calm. "I can do this." He remembered his brother's words to him. The faith that Pharynx had in him. "I can do this!" With that, he ran forward and started slashing at the dots that started flying at him.

With every slash, he felt his link to his abilities growing stronger. The swords in his hands weren't just weapons, but extensions of his body. He cut his way through the onslaught and once again reached the ladybug, then slashed at her whilst aiming for the shoulder-pads.

One blade struck the dome and cut through it, causing it to fall to the ground and make the ladybug flinch in pain. Changeling them spun around and slashed at the ladybug's chest, knocking her back and allowing him to jump forward and stab at the other dome.

When he cut that one off as well, the Mimic roared in pain before attempting to tackle Changeling.

But the new Kamen Rider did a flip and flew over the monster as it charged forward, landing behind it before stabbing both his blades into the monster's back. This caused the Mimic to cry out again, as Changeling took the chance to reach down and slam the side of his Driver.

"CLIMATIC SLASH!"

"I will change your fate's design." The energy flowed into his swords, which were still lodged in the monster's chest. And before the ladybug could try and escape, he ripped the sword through its body and cut it up. The Mimic screamed, as Changeling slashed at it several more times before leaping back to a safe distance.

Moments later, the energy that had been sent into the Mimic flew out and exploded. The fireball illuminated Changeling's back and caught the attention of the others.

"Nice!" Morphic cheered, as he slashed at Greye with his claws.

Shifter laughed and kicked Frill away before slashing at him again. But Frill managed to block this attack, as Shifter got up close. "So much for your attack. Why'd you even come here, anyway? This part of town isn't exactly known for being full of people." Frill said nothing, simply smirking as pushed Shifter away. "What, got nothing to say?"

"Probably just trying to distract you." Shifter's ears perked up, as he heard a voice inside his head.

In the blink of an eye, he was suddenly back in the white void. Flash was un-transformed and staring at some kind of floating screen, showing him everything that his real body was seeing. And as Frill attacked, Flash was able to move his body and defend.

As he did, he glanced over at Sheave. "What are you talking about?" Sheave said nothing, clearly realising he had said too much. "Distracting us? Why would they try to distract us?" Sheave kept silent and Flash focused, leaving his mental space and returning to his full body.

As he pushed Frill away, he realised there were two generals currently unaccounted for. What if they were somewhere else in the city, causing problems?

"Gotta focus." He closed his eyes and let his senses flare, as Frill attacked. But he was able to keep himself from getting hit, as he felt himself send out some kind of radar wave. And sure enough, he felt something moments later. His Mimic Sense was going off, as it detected another Mimic somewhere in the city.

"Raaah!" Frill slashed at him, but he dodged and dealt a kick right to the buzzard's face. "Augh!" The Mimic was thrown to the ground, as Shifter turned to the other Riders.

"We're being tricked. The Mimics are up to something else." Morphic and Changeling gave him a curious look, as Shifter turned towards where he sensed the Mimic was. "I'm gonna go check it out. Can you guys handle things here?"

"We got this!" Morphic slashed at Greye, "go!" Shifter nodded and flew off, as Frill began to pick himself up. "Changeling. You sure you can handle him?"

"Yeah," Changeling raised his sword, "I can do it!" With that, he charged forward and started slashing at Frill.

The Mimic General raised his own swords and the four blades collided, with Frill clearly more experienced when it came to sword fighting. Morphic, meanwhile, kept slashing at Greye and the Mimic used his fans and dance skills to block and dodge them.

"Raaah!" Morphic slashed at him wildly, but Greye was able to dodge the attacks as best he could before Morphic suddenly thrust his foot forward and struck him in the chest.

"Augh!" He was knocked back, giving Morphic the opening he needed. The Rider picked up speed and started bum rushing Greye several times. Each time, Greye cried out as he was cut up. And when Morphic finally slowed down, he shot forward with his arms crossed before slashing him in an X formation. "Gyah!" Greye was thrown into the side of a building and fell to the ground.

Morphic smirked, as he glanced over at Changeling.

The Rider continued to slash at Frill with his swords, but Frill blocked them all. And as Frill fired his feather darts, Changeling slashed them away with his swords. "That's it Thorax. You can do it."

As this was going on, Shifter was flying above the sky towards the area he sensed the Mimic.

He eventually found the spot he was being drawn too, which was some kind of back alleyway. And as he flew into it, he found High-Vol-Tech and several Mimicreeps were there. High was messing with something, but stopped when she sensed his approach.

"Seriously?" She pointed at the Mimicreeps. "Stop him!" The monsters charged and and Shifter quickly swapped the Mimicores in his Shift Striker.

"PIERCE!"

As the weapon transformed, the Mimicreeps began to climb up the sides of the buildings before leaping at him. Shifter quickly fired at them, destroying any that got near him whilst keeping himself high above the building.

High worked on the device she had stuck into the ground, which began to power up and build up its energy. "Perfect. Just needs a minute or so to fully charge." As she said that, she sensed something and spun around.

She slashed her claws through the air and unleashed a blade of lightning, which stopped the energy spine before it could hit her. She then realised Shifter had already defeated the Mimicreeps and was diving down towards her. He fired several shots, but she was able to avoid them with her claws.

As he landed, he took out his other Mimicore and activated it.

"HYPER STRIKE!"

High saw this and rushed forward, but Shifter was able to replace his Mimicores before she could get to him. "Shape Shift!" He slammed the Driver shut and the Mimicore's power flooded into him.

"MIMIC! LIGHTNING BUG!" Shifter charged, as his armor morphed into the upgraded Striker form. And as High tried to slash at his throat, he ducked under her as the armor settled. "Ultimate light, strikes to eradicate the shadows!"

Jumping back up, Shifter threw several kicks to the Mimic before leaping back and unleashing a barrage of spine shots. But High slashed them all away before firing bolts of lightning at him.

"I don't think so!" Shifter fired his own bolts of lightning and the two attacks cancelled each other out, Shifter than charging forward as he swapped Shift Striker Cores.

"STRIKE!"

He fired several lasers at High and she dodged them all, Shifter reaching her and throwing a bunch whilst changing his weapon to sword mode. The two fought against one another, Shifter being careful not to use too much power for fear of overdoing it again. And as they fought, the device High had set up continued to charge.

"Raaaah!" Changeling thrust his sword at Frill's mid-section, hoping to stab him. But Frill was able to deflect the blade with his own before kicking Changeling away. "Augh!"

Frill laughed. "You seem to be a little less skilled than the last time I saw you fighting." Changeling groaned, pushing himself back to his feet and raising his swords protectively. As he did, Greye was knocked flying by Morphic's super speed impact.

"Augh!" He crashed down besides Frill, the buzzard looking down and the peacock. "Can we switch opponents?" Morphic suddenly zipped up beside Changeling, the two Rider tapping their weapons together.

"Get up," Frill told him. "We can take them." But as he said that, Pharynx and the Rainbooms arrived on the scene.

"Guys!" Twilight called out to them, only to notice someone was missing. "Where's Flash?" Twilight felt weird saying that, now that she knew who was under the helmet. Frill and Greye both frowned, clearly not happy that reinforcements had arrived.

"High should have set it up by now. Let's get out of here." Greye nodded before his fans glowed and he swung them around, unleashing the energy blades that struck the ground and exploded. This blinded and Rainbooms and Riders and when the smoke cleared, the two Mimic Generals were gone.

"Where'd they go?" Sunset asked, as she looked around. "Doesn't look like they did much damage?"

"They weren't trying to hurt or destroy anything," Morphic told them. "Shifter realised they were a distraction. He went to go find the other Mimic attacking the city."

"A distraction?" Twilight frowned, wondering what the Mimics would want to distract their attention away from.

Shifter channelled as much energy as he could into his Shift Striker and as High charged, he thrust the rapier forward with incredible speed.

The tip flew towards High and if it had been any other Mimic, it would have blown a hole right through them. But since it was the lightning tiger, High managed to shift herself out of the way just in time. The tip struck her shoulder, but she was able to spin out of the way before it could be blown off.

Shifter went sailing past her and as he stopped, High spun around and slashed her claws through the air.

This struck Shifter and knocked him flying back, but he managed to rotate himself through the air and land on the side of a building feet first before kicking off. He was sent sailing back towards High and before she could react, he swung his blade down and slashed at her chest.

"Gyah!" She cried, staggering back as Shifter spun around and slammed his foot into her chest.

Shifter watched her go flying backwards until she crashed into the side of a building before falling to the ground, hitting it with a grunt as Shifter prepared another attack. But before he could, a bright flash caught his attention and he looked around.

The device High had stuck into the ground had finally finished charging and started shooting out energy, which began to take shape and formed a dome around the device. When the Mimic saw this, she laughed. "Another Doom Pillar online."

"Doom Pillar?" Shifter looked at her in confusion, as she picked herself up. "What is that thing?" But High said nothing and instead, a portal opened behind her. "HEY!" He tried to grab her, but she leapt into the portal before he could reach her.

The portal closed and Shifter hit the wall, frustrated he couldn't get any info.

He then turned back to the device and watched as the dome of energy appeared to vanish. He moved over and tried to grab it, only to find the force field appear and force his hand back. "Ahh!" He shook his hand, which was tingling as the field disappeared.

He raised his Shift Striker and tried to hit it, but the shield kept protecting it.

For the next several minutes, he tried everything he could to destroy the barrier and let him get to the device. All his forms, all his Shift Striker forms and even one of his finishing moves. But nothing worked.

Eventually, Morphic and Changeling arrived with the Rainbooms. When they got into the back alley, they found the place half destroyed with Shifter panting in front of the device. "Flash?" Twilight asked, "what's happening?"

Shifter groaned and stepped aside to show them the device. As he and the other Riders powered down, he explained everything that had happened. Nobody liked the idea of this unusual device just being here, especially since they had no idea what it did.

"But why did High put it here?" Shining asked. "I get not a lot of people would come here, but it's bound to be spotted eventually."

The others all tried to grab the device, but none of them could get through the barrier. And as Flash thought about Shining's words, he remembered what High had said. "I don't think this is the only one." This got the group's attention. "High said another Doom Pillar online. Another means there were already ones active."

"That doesn't sound good," Thorax gulped. Suddenly, Rainbow shot off out of the alleyway fast enough to almost blow everyone over.

"Where's she going?" Pharynx asked, still amazed someone could move that fast.

"My bet," Applejack smirked. "She's gonna run around the entire city to try and find the rest of these things."

"Let's hope she finds them," Twilight tried to lift the device out of the ground. But whatever energy was protecting it, also kept Twilight's magic from getting to it.

Rainbow didn't return for five minutes and when she did, she did not look happy. "I found a few more of these things all over town. They all had the same force field, so I couldn't pick 'em up."

"What are these things?" Rarity asked.

"They can't be good," Pinkie pouted. "You don't call something a Doom Pillar unless it actually causes...doom." They all frowned, fearing the dangerous possibilities these devices could bring.

But then, a bright flash of light caught their attention. And when they looked around, they found a portal opening up. And a familiar cloaked figure stepped out of it. "Corvyn," Flash frowned. Him being there could only mean trouble.

"Kamen Riders," Corvyn told them all. "Your world is in serious danger."

Author's Note

Thorax has officially joined the team and chosen his name. Come on, what else could it be? Now, what's the deal with these Doom Pillars? Only time will tell.

Episode 20: One's Feelings

In Corvyn's laboratory, a portal opened up before the figure stepped out into it.

He was quickly followed by Flash, Shining and Thorax. Pharynx and the Rainbooms then followed, Thorax and the non-Riders amazed by the place as Corvyn pulled his hood down. When they saw his pointed ears and head-gem, they were just as shocked before remembering Corvyn was from another universe.

"What's this about?" Shining asked, as they moved over to a part of the lab where Flash and Shining hadn't been before. This one had a bunch of computers lining the wall, along with some kind of round table that appeared to have a computer screen as its top. "You said our world was in serious danger. More danger than when the Mimics were just attacking?"

"Indeed," Corvyn nodded. "That device they planted means they've moved onto the next step of their invasion."

"Which involves those Doom Pillars, right?" Corvyn nodded at Twilight's question, as he activated the screen on the table. When it powered up, it showed an image of Canterlot from above. The map then had five red dots, which everyone assumed were the Doom Pillars.

"This is how my world was conquered before. These Doom Pillars will allow the Mimics to turn Canterlot into their foothold." Suddenly, several blue dots appeared on the map as well, creating a perfect circle alongside the red ones that surrounded most of the city. "Once twelve of them have been placed in the right spot, they'll create an energy field that will make it impossible for any non-Mimic to survive within it."

"That can't be good," Flash frowned before counting the blue dots. "So they need twelve of these Doom Pillars."

"Thirteen," Corvyn corrected him. "Twelve standard Doom Pillars..." A green dot then appeared in the very centre of the circle, "plus a Control Pillar that will need to be placed in the centre once the others have been activated. If that Control Pillar is activated, Canterlot will be lost."

"Seriously?" Thorax gulped. "So if they've already got five in place, that means they only need seven more before they can use the Control Pillar."

"Exactly," Corvyn nodded. "But we have an advantage. We know where each of those seven pillars will be placed. That means we can stop them."

"How?" Sunset asked, looking worried that Canterlot would be lost forever.

"The Doom Pillars are their key to taking this city for themselves. But it's also their weak point. The Doom Pillars are all designed to be connected to one another. Before being activated, they all have to be synced up. Which means if one of them is destroyed, it can't simply be replaced. At least not now that some of them have been activated."

"So if we destroy one of them..." Shining nodded. "Alright, then that's what we'll do." He stared at the spots where the Mimics would need to attack. "Seven spots. Seven areas we need to keep safe. The Mimics will eventually attack one of them. And when that happens, we'll be waiting."

Flash nodded. "And we'll bust up as many of those Pillars as possible." The others nodded, as Corvyn got to work on something that might help them against the Mimics.

Later on, Shining had returned to his apartment.

The man sighed, as he stepped into the place and looked forward to a hot shower and a few hours in his bed. He would need all the energy he could get, in order to be ready for the fight that was to come the next day.

But as he stepped in, he suddenly found himself smelling something really good. And when he reached the kitchen, he found Cadance there cooking something. "Hey," she smiled, "what happened to you yesterday? I haven't seen you since you ran off to help Thorax." She gave him a worried look, "is he okay?"

"He's fine." That wasn't technically a lie, but Shining felt bad about not telling her everything.

Shining sat at the dining table and waited for Cadance to finish, his fiancee soon approaching with two plates that she put down. She asked what had happened with Thorax and Shining quickly made up a story about the Kamen Riders arriving to save him at the last minute.

"Did that new Rider I heard about show up?" Cadance looked genuinely interested. "I heard about it today. Some new Rider calling himself Changeling, apparently showed up with the other two." She took a bite of her food and looked curious. "I wonder where all these Riders are coming from?"

"Who knows," Shining shrugged as he quickly ate his food. Ever since learning about what he really was, he had been curious about how stuff like this actually worked. Did he have a digestive system, or was the food just sloshing around in a muddle of slime until he went to the bathroom?

That thought almost put Shining off his food, but he finished it anyway. Once that was done, he took the plates and pots in order to clean them whilst Cadance headed into his bedroom for something.

When he was done, he dried his hands right as Cadance stepped out. "What do you think?" Shining looked around and was greeted to the sight of his fiancee in beautiful lingerie. His entire body went stiff, as Cadance stepped forward. "I know you've got a lot going on, but we haven't had the chance to be together in a long time."

Shining realised she was right. They had been on many dates and spent time together, but neither of them had been able to get themselves in the mood for anything else since before the Mimics showed up.

Cadance wrapped her arms around her neck and pressed her body into Shining's, the pair beginning to make out as Shining held her by the hips. The two stood there, enjoying each other's presence as they started moaning into one another's mouths.

Shining began to push Cadance backwards until her back hit the wall, getting pinned between it and him.

Shining's hands began to slide lower whilst Cadance's moved down as well. But just as she was about to grasp him, Shining remembered who and what he actually was. And just like that, he realised he couldn't do it.

Cadance gasped as Shining suddenly pulled away and almost leapt across the room. "I can't!" She stood there, looking shocked that this had just happened. Shining looked away from her, shame on his face. "I'm sorry. But I can't."

"What?" Was all she could say. "What are you talking about?"

"I...I can't tell you. But...I just can't right now. I'm sorry."

Cadance still looked confused. "Shining. If there's something wrong, you can tell me." She moved closer and placed a hand on his chest. "You can tell me anything. Always have." Shining felt his heart break. He had always been able to tell her any problem he had had. And together, they had always overcome it. But not this time.

"I can't," Shining replied. "This is something you can't help me with." He stepped back and turned away from her. "Please. I need to be alone right now." Cadance stood there, staring at him. She obviously wanted to say something, but couldn't find the words.

Instead, she returned to Shining's room whilst he sat on the couch and let what was happening sink in. A few minutes later, she was back in her normal clothes and had a bag of her other clothes. She gave him one final look before leaving, Shining flinching when he heard the door click shut.

His face became one of frustration, Shining's body shaking as he got up and let his anguish overwhelm him. "RAAAAAH!" He slammed a fist into the wall, barely feeling the pain as he feared he had just destroyed the best thing that had ever happened to him.

Shining hadn't regretted his decision to stay as a Mimic when he made it, but now he realised he might have to sacrifice his relationship with Cadance to stay as Kamen Rider Morphic.

"I have to defeat the Mimics," he told himself. "Defeat them, so I can get back to my real body." He stared at a picture on the wall, which had him and Cadance together in it. "Please, wait for me."

The next day.

Corvyn stared at Sunset, Fluttershy and Pharynx. The three were all carrying unusual weapons, which were A-shaped devices with the tips missing and instead having metal prongs pointing forward. "Be careful with these things," he explained. "They might not be able to do much damage against a Mimic, but they can definitely destroy a Mimicreep with a single shot and do serious damage if used on a human."

"Understood," Sunset nodded as she pointed the weapon forward and fingered the trigger. "We'll be careful." She flicked a button on the side and the prongs began to generate lightning between them, which likely fired when the trigger was pulled.

"Just make sure to keep them hidden when the Mimics aren't around." Corvyn watched them turn off the devices and stick them in their backpacks, as he began to type coordinates into the computer. "You three will be protecting the same spot. Hopefully, you'll be able to keep the Mimics busy until the Riders get there."

"We'll do our best," Fluttershy looked worried as the portal opened. Corvyn nodded before they stepped into it, disappearing along with the portal as he turned his attention back to the map.

Windows appeared on the screen, showing images of all the people that were protecting the spots they had been assigned.

Flash, Shining and Thorax were each on the roof of a building, already suited up and ready for a fight. Twilight and Applejack were protecting another area, whilst Pinkie and Rainbow were protecting another. Rarity was the only one on her own, her shield ability making her perfect for protecting a place on her own.

Rarity was on a bench, looking around making sure there weren't any Mimics around. Despite being on her own, she was confident she could protect the area on her own.

Currently, she had her phone out and it was on a group chat connected to everyone else. But Twilight was more concerned with talking to her brother then keeping a watchful eye out for Mimics.

"You just threw her out?" Morphic flinched, as his phone sat beside him. "How could you do that to her? Cadance came home last night crying."

"I didn't want to throw her out," Morphic told her. "But I didn't have a choice. She wanted to get...physical. I couldn't let her stay after rejecting her advances." His heart was still hurting after that.

"I don't get it." Flash asked from his spot, "what's the problem?"

"Flash, I'm not exactly human right now. Even if I knew for sure it was safe to be with her in this body, I wouldn't do it. If Cadance finds out what I am and after we did something like that, she might not be able to look at me again without throwing up."

Twilight sighed into the phone. "I understand that. I'm still weirded out whenever I think of when me and...Gule, kissed. But that doesn't give you the right to make Cadance feel like that. You really hurt her feelings."

Morphic sighed. "I know. But what else could I do?"

It was Thorax that replied. "Have you considered maybe telling her? If she knew why you couldn't be with her, she might understand and be willing to wait for you."

"I don't know," Morphic frowned. "As much as I want to tell her, I'm worried about what'll happen if I do. Twilight and the others took a while before they were willing to accept we were the real us. What if Cadance doesn't believe us? What if I tell her and she thinks I'm just a Mimic pretending to be her fiance. She might tell everyone and our secret will be out."

"I think you should have more faith in her," Rarity replied. "I'm sure if you explain things properly, she'll understand."

"But how are you supposed to explain something like that?" Flash asked. "He can't just go up to her and say, I'm actually a Mimic that took over your lover and lost control of myself. Now he's the one in control of this body and he's been using it to fight other Mimics."

"A'h wouldn't tell her like that," Applejack replied. "But he should tell her. She deserves the truth." Morphic frowned, wishing he knew of a way to tell Cadance without her freaking out.

But before anything else could be said, a trio of portals appeared.

Shifter, Changeling and Rarity all jumped into action, Shifter and Changeling jumping down off their rooftops whilst Rarity ran to the spot the Doom Pillar would need to be placed. And as they did, Mimics stepped out of them.

"Hello again," Greye chuckled as he and Frill stood in front of Shifter. "I hope you don't think this is going to go the same way it went the last time we fought. You don't have your little friends around to protect you this time."

"Bring it," Shifter told them before slotting his Blade Core into his Shift Striker. As the weapon formed, Shifter charged at them and the two charged as well.

At her area, Rarity stared High down as the electric tiger smiled.

"This is too easy," she smiled before charging up a bolt of lightning. "I suggest you run. I wouldn't want to mess up your pretty little face."

"You don't have to worry about messing me up," Rarity told her. High then launched the bolt and Rarity quickly formed a wall of diamonds around her, blocking the bolt before the wall morphed into a dome that surrounded her.

High used her super speed to run around the girl, trying to find an angle she could attack from. But Rarity kept her shield up and the Mimic had no way to get an attack in. "You can't stay in there forever." She launched another blast of lightning, which struck Rarity's dome but did little against it.

"I don't need to stay here forever. Just until you get tired. Or until one of the Riders shows up." She just hoped they got their soon.

Changeling stared at Maya and suddenly found himself feeling a little uneasy.

"Hello, Torin." She moved towards him, as the Rider raised his weapon. "Now, now. Would you really raise a blade to your own mother? I created you, after all."

"Wrong," Changeling stated. "You may have created this body, but Torin isn't the one in control right now. You made the mistake of making me Torin's host and this is the result. Now I have the power to fight against you Mimics and nothing's gonna stop me from freeing my mother."

"Is that so?" Maya asked. "Such a shame. I had hoped I could convince you to rejoin our cause. But you leave me no choice." With that, she thrust her hands forward and sent webs shooting towards Changeling. But the Rider quickly slashed at them with his sword before charging at her.

Maya ran forward and threw a kick at him, but he blocked with the sides of his swords before dealing his own kick at her. But she avoided this and leapt back, Changeling running after her and trying to punch her with the crossguard of his sword. She replied by creating a web line and holding it between her hands, using it to catch the sword.

Changeling tried to pull the sword back, but the web it was stuck to refused to budge.

Maya smiled before yanking the web and forcing the sword out of Changeling's hand, throwing it away before swinging her leg around. The kick struck the Rider and knocked him off his feet, Changeling hitting the ground rolling whilst trying to keep hold of his last sword.

He groaned, but quickly pushed himself up as Maya started launching several web shots at him.

"Whoa!" He cried, dodging each and every one of them. But when he tried to counter attack, he found it much more difficult with only one sword. Maya soon had him outclassed the the Rider quickly found himself in trouble, as she three kicks and punches at him with incredible speed.

Corvyn watched as the four Mimic Generals did battle against Rarity and the Riders.

He quickly got in contact with Morphic and the others. "Rarity, Shifter and Changeling need help. Morphic, get to Rarity's location. The rest of you, head to Shifter and Changeling's position."

"What about keeping our areas safe?" Twilight asked.

"The Mimic Generals are all at one of the three locations. Since there's no way the Mimicreeps have the brains to use the Doom Pillars, we don't have to worry about them attacking your areas. Now hurry." Nobody complained and began to make their way to the closest Rider, as Corvyn hoped they could succeed in destroying a Doom Pillar.

Back with Rarity, she continued to keep her dome up whilst High tried to blast her way through.

The strain of keeping the shield up through the attack, was proving rather difficult for the girl. She moaned, as High kept launching lightning bolts from different angles. She wouldn't be able to keep this up forever.

As this was happening, someone happened to be walking nearby and heard the blasts of lightning.

Cadance frowned. Despite her better judgement telling her to run, she chose to go and investigate. So, keeping herself hidden in an alleyway, she looked out at the street and was shocked to see the fight that was going on. "Rarity?" She gasped, seeing Twilight's friend fighting against a Mimic on her own.

She looked around, but couldn't see any of Rarity's friends or a single Kamen Rider.

Rarity let out a cry, Cadance seeing she was falling to her knees. She wouldn't be able to hold on much longer. And as a teacher, Cadance couldn't bring herself to just sit back and watch a young girl in trouble.

So, before she could really think, she ran forward and grabbed a brick that had been inside the alleyway. And with all her strength, she threw it at the Mimic.

The brick slammed into High's back and made her cry out, the tiger stopping her assault on Rarity before turning to Cadance. The Mimic growled, "someone else wanting to play hero?"

Rarity saw Cadance and gasped. "Run! Get away from here!" Cadance stepped back, but High ran forward at super speed and was suddenly behind Cadance. But as she raised a claw to strike, an engine filled the air.

Everyone turned to see Morphic race onto the scene, the Rider accelerating towards High in an attempt to run her over. But the Mimic dodged at the last moment, Morphic passing Cadance and skidding to a stop.

The Rider saw Cadance and Shining's eyes went wide, wondering what the heck she was doing there. But he didn't have time to ask, as High started launching lightning bolts towards them. "Look out!" He grabbed Cadance raced away, as the bolt struck the ground and exploded.

He stopped and let Cadance down, as he jumped off his bike and turned to the woman.

"Get out of here!" Cadance didn't know why, but the Rider's voice sounded familiar. This made Cadance stand there, looking confused. "NOW!" Cadance was jolted out of her confusion and ran, but only hid in a nearby alleyway as Morphic turned towards High. As he did, he took out his best Mimicore and activated it.

"TRI-HORN!"

As High charged up her energy, Morphic replaced his Mimicores. "Mega Morph!" He slammed the draw closed and his belt yelled out.

"MIMIC! TRICERATOPS!" Cadance watched, as his form began to transform. As High rushed forward, Morphic changed into his super form and slammed his fist forward as the armor settled. "The charging force of three horns, triple the destructive power."

His fist slammed into High and the lasers exploded out of his wrist blasters, blasting the Mimic backwards as she screamed.

High crashed into the ground, sparks flying off her body as she laid there. "That hurt!" She got up, as Morphic stepped forward. "You'll pay for that!" She charged up energy before launching it at Morphic, who stood his ground and crossed his arms.

The lightning slammed into him and Morphic flinched, but managed to hold his ground.

When High's attack ended, she was shocked to see Morphic barely had a scratch and he started marching forward again. She growled and attacked, whilst Morphic's arm blasters charged up. Both sides were ready for a serious fight. Neither would give an inch to the other.

Shifter grunted, as he blocked Frill's swords before pushing him back and jumping back to avoid Greye's energy blades.

As he landed, he quickly replaced the Mimicores in his Shift Striker. "PIERCE!" His weapon transformed and he started shooting at the pair, but the two used their weapons to deflect the spines before Frill charged forward.

He once again tried to cut Shifter down, but the Rider blocked the sword with his rifle before spinning around and kicking him away. He then fired, trying to shoot Frill before he could recover. But Greye leapt in front of Frill and deflected the attacks with his fans.

This allowed Frill to recover and launch several feather darts in Shifter's direction. But the Rider counted by shooting them before they could hit him. And as the darts were destroyed, Shifter took out his strongest Mimicore and activated it.

"HYPER STRIKE!"

He quickly replaced his Mimicores and as the Mimics charged, slammed the draw shut. "Shape Shift!"

"MIMIC! LIGHTNING BUG!" His armor melted, as the Hyper Core's energy flowed into his body. And just as Frill tried to slash at him, the armor solidified and unleashed a wave of energy that slammed into the pair. "Ultimate light, strikes to eradicate the shadows!"

Frill and Greye staggered back, Shifter using his added power to rush in and deal a kick to Greye that was charged with energy before shooting at Frill. The Mimics cried out as they were blasted backwards, the two slamming into the ground as Shifter landed.

Both Mimics laid on the ground, groaning as Shifter pointed his blaster at them and prepared to fire again.

But before he could, a portal opened up right beside him before several Mimicreeps leapt out. The monsters took the Rider by surprise, managing to knock him down to the ground. "HEY!" He struggled against them and let the Hyper Core pulse, unleashing a burst of energy that quickly destroyed several of them.

But this delay allowed the Mimics to pick themselves up and Frill charged at Shifter. As he blasted the rest of the Mimicreeps away, Frill slammed into him and pushed him further away from the spot that the Doom Pillar needed to be placed.

"Get off me!" The lights on his armor exploded with energy and Frill was zapped, crying out as he staggered away from Shifter. But as this was happening, Greye had run over to the spot as a Mimicreep jumped out of the portal.

This one was carrying a Doom Pillar and it quickly ran over to Greye, handing him the device. "Raaah!" Greye slammed it into the ground and broke through the concrete, as Shifter picked himself up.

"Oh no you don't!" Shifter tried to charge at him, but Frill got in his way. And as the pair fought, Greye activated the device and it began to charge up.

Back with Maya and Changeling, the Rider was still having trouble in his fight.

With his sword now on the ground, his flow was completely knocked out of whack. He hadn't trained to use only one sword. And as he attempted to slash at Maya with one, she was able to dodge and move to the side of his body that didn't have a sword in it.

Before Changeling could try and stop her, he was slammed in the side by her foot and knocked staggering.

She then launched a web-line at him and hit the Rider in the back before pulling with all his strength. Changeling was yanked towards her and she punched him as soon as he reached her, the Mimic slamming him down onto the ground and making him cry out in pain.

"Gyah!" His other sword had been dropped when he was yanked back and now, he had no way of fighting back. "Let me go!"

"Torin!" Maya held him by the neck, "wake up. You're stronger than this." Changeling groaned, as she kept him pinned. But before she could tighten her gasp and cut off air, he found his legs next to her and swept them out with a kick.

The Mimic gasped as she fell to the ground and Changeling quickly rolled to his feet, running over to his sword and picking one up before trying to get the other. But before he could, Maya webbed the other one and pulled it into her own grasp.

Changeling turned to her and quickly charged, attempting to slash at her. But Maya showed she actually had some skills with a sword and managed to block each of his attacks, then knocked his sword away and slashed at her several times. Changeling screamed, as each slash did serious damage to him. And before he could counter, Maya spun around and slammed her foot into his chest.

He was knocked flying back and as he did, Maya launched a web-line at him before spinning on the spot. Once again, Changeling found himself getting yanked back in the opposite direction.

Maya spun him around several times before releasing the web and ending him flying, the Rider crashing into the side of a building with enough force to shatter all the windows around him. And as he fell to the ground, his suit glowed before exploding off of him.

Thorax grunted as he landed, his clothes torn up and his body covered in bruises and cuts.

He tried to move, but all that did was make him feel more pain. All he could do was lay there, as Maya moved over to him and kicked him onto his back. He grunted, then screamed as she pressed her heel into his chest.

Thorax moaned, but couldn't fight back. Maya just stared down at him, clearly able to destroy him with ease. But she didn't.

Instead, she pulled her foot off his chest and began to move away. Thorax groaned, trying to get up and stop her. But he couldn't. Instead, a portal opened and a Mimicreep stepped out with a Doom Pillar. Thorax could only watch in horror, as she prepared to spike the device into the ground.

But just as she was about to do that, Maya suddenly sensed something and leapt back. Moments later, a blue blur shot passed and had almost pulled the device out of her grasp. "Damn it!" She growled, as the Mimicreep was knocked over by the blur and destroyed.

Rainbow stopped and glared at Maya, whilst Pharynx, Pinkie, Twilight and Applejack were running towards her.

"Thorax!" Pharynx cried, seeing his brother injured. He glared at Maya, who stepped away as another portal formed behind her. Before anyone could stop her, she jumped through it with the Doom Pillar.

Danger gone, everyone gathered around Thorax. "Are you okay?" Twilight asked, as they helped him up. He flinched, clearly not in the best of conditions.

"Thanks for getting here," Thorax told them. "If you hadn't, Maya would have got the Doom Pillar in place."

"Thank you for holdin' her off long enough," Applejack explained. "You'd better get back ta da'h lab and heal up. We'll stay here and keep an eye on things."

"It's not just here we need to protect," Twilight frowned. "All the spots are still in danger. We can't keep this up forever." It was only a matter of time before the Mimics got the other pillars in place.

Back in Morphic's fight, he and High appeared evenly matched.

The Tiger Mimic raced forward and high speed and when she reached Morphic, she slammed into him and zapped him with lightning. But in his super form, Morphic was able to brace himself and ground the lightning so that it only did minimal damage.

High kept slamming into him again and again, Morphic's low speed making it difficult for him to block or dodge. And despite doing barely any damage, it was beginning to add up.

However, Morphic managed to get a few hits in. He spun around at the last moment and threw a punch right into High's chest, his strength and her speed mixing to do some serious damage and sent her flying back when the laser struck.

"Augh!" She crashed into the ground, but she didn't let that stop her and she quickly rolled back to her feet. She then repeated the process, smashing into Morphic several times. But Morphic once again managed to get a strike in on her after the fifth hit. "GYAH!" She was once again thrown back, taking serious damage whilst Morphic looked just as tired.

The Rider took a deep breath and started punching the air, launching lasers right at High.

The Mimic saw him coming and quickly jumped back to her feet, barely managing to leap out of the way before the lasers could hit her. She tried to get in close, but Morphic kept launching the blasts at her.

High leapt from side to side, unable to really get close as she was forced to avoid him. And when she tried to launch another lightning bolt in his direction, she suddenly found him launching an extra powerful laser to counter it and cause an explosion.

The shockwave knocked High back, whilst Morphic crossed his arms and braced himself for the attack. He grunted, but managed to stay on his feet whilst High hit the ground.

Rarity smiled at this, the girl still guarding the area where the Doom Pillar needed to go. But as she watched the fight, she realised High didn't have the Doom Pillar on her. "Is she just trying to distract us, so the other Mimics can attack somewhere else?" She doubted that, since Greye, Frill and Maya were apparently already in combat. And she wasn't sure if the Mimicreeps had the intellect to activate the device. "Then where is it?"

High panted, as she pushed herself out.

As she did, Morphic approached ready for a fight. But as he did, High spotted someone behind him. Cadance.

The woman had been so drawn into the fight, she had forgotten all about escaping or staying hidden. As such, she was an easy target, High chuckling as she started charging up power. Morphic saw this and braced himself to counter the attack. But he quickly realised High wasn't planning to aim it at him.

"Surprise!" She fired the lightning bolt towards Cadance, who went ridged as she realised she was about to be zapped.

"NOOOOO!" Morphic ran as fast as he could and despite his heavy armor dragging him down, he was able to leap between Cadance and the attack. The lightning struck him in the chest and he could do nothing but cry out in pain, as he was blasted back when the lightning exploded. "GYAAAAAH!" He crashed into the ground and rolled along it until he stopped at Cadance's feet.

The woman gasped and knelt down beside him. "Are you okay?" It was then that Morphic's armor glowed along with his suit, both of which suddenly exploding off of him and revealing the person underneath. And when she saw who it was, she gasped in shock and horror. "Shining?"

Shining groaned, as he tried to push himself up. But he was badly injured.

High chuckled, as she sparked with even more energy. "Goodbye, Morphic." With that, she fired another powerful blast of lightning towards them. One which would kill both of them if it connected.

"No!" Rarity dropped the dome around her and at the last moment, managed to create a wall of diamonds between the pair and the blast. The lightning struck and exploded, but the wall managed to stay up.

However, this was what High was after, as the Mimic suddenly shot forward at super speed and slammed a foot into Rarity's chest.

The girl gasped, as she was thrown away from the spot she was supposed to protect.

As she hit the ground, a portal opened next to High and a Mimicreep leapt out with the Doom Pillar in hand. She smiled and grabbed it, as Shining tried to force himself to his feet. But before he could do anything, High slammed the device into the ground and activated it.

"No!" Shining tried to run at her, but his legs gave out and he fell to the ground.

"Shining!" Cadance cried, holding him up as they watched High beginning to power up the device. "What is that thing?"

"Trouble," Shining groaned. He prayed he could find a way to stop it before it got too powerful, but High quickly began to channel her power into the device.

She looked strained, the process clearly doing some damage to her as her energy was sucked out. But eventually, she pulled away and the device was fully charged. "Got it," she panted whilst the Doom Pillar created a dome around it.

Shining growled, angry he had failed. Rarity was also upset, as High and the Mimicreep stepped towards the portal. The Mimicreep glared at them, clearly wanting to attack, but High shook her head. "Leave them. He may be injured, but that Rider is probably still a match for you. And I'm too drained to do anything myself." With that, she leapt through the portal and her stooge followed her, the portal vanishing as the Doom Pillar continued to beep.

Shining hit the ground in frustration, but then turned to Cadance. Whilst the Doom Pillar was a problem, her finding out he was Morphic was just as bad.

Back with Shifter, he and Frill continued to fight as Greye protected the Doom Pillar.

The Rider had switched his Shift Striker to the Strike Form, using the greater speed this allowed him to deal several powerful strikes to Frill's body. The Mimic roared with each attack, Shifter jabbing him multiple times in the chest after getting around his swords.

Shifter then aimed for Frill's hands, stabbing one and forcing him to drop one of his swords. He staggered back in pain and Shifter prepared to attack again, only to find an energy blade flying at him.

He dodged this at the last moment and turned to Greye, changing his Shift Striker to the gun mode and firing several super fast lasers at him. But Greye deflected them all and Shifter could only focus back on Frill as he launched several darts in his direction.

He quickly swung his weapon through the air, the light coming off it forming a long squiggly line that acted as a shield to stop the darts.

Shifter then charged at Frill and managed to hit his other hand, making him cry out as he was forced to drop his other sword before Shifter swung his foot around and struck him in the head. This sent Frill flying and he crashed into the ground in front of Greye, who was forced to abandon the Doom Pillar and attack.

He slashed at Shifter, who leaned away from the blade before dealing a kick to Greye that knocked him back.

Greye grunted, but kept attacking and slashed at him again. But Shifter used his weapon to block to attack and knock the fan away before throwing a punch, right into his chest. "Gyah!" He was knocked back again, as Frill got up and launched several more darts at him.

But Shifter leapt up and over then as his weapon shifted to gun mode again, the Rider raining lasers down on the two and causing them both to cry out in pain as Shifter landed. He then shifted his weapon back to sword mode before slamming the side of his Driver, causing it to power up.

"CLIMACTIC HYPER STRIKE!"

The Hyper Core energy surged through his body, as held his weapon tight and let the power flow into it. He then shot towards the two with such speed, he was nothing but a blur until he was right in front of him. Then, his arm became a flurry of movement that kept jabbing the two over and over again.

Despite alternating between the two with each stab, Frill and Greye felt like they were being struck at the same time.

Both cried out, as they were each struck a total of one hundred times in ten seconds. And after the two hundredth strike, Shifter's foot glowed before he spun around and kicked the air in front of them with a sweep kick. This caused the energy to fly off his foot and form a wave that slammed into the two, Shifter standing with his back to them as both suddenly exploded.

The two screamed as they were blown backwards, both hitting the ground far away from the Doom Pillar.

As they did, Shifter turned to the device and could feel himself getting close to his limit with Hyper Strike. But before he could attack the Doom Pillar, it activated and formed the protective shield around it. "NO!"

"Yes!" Frill cheered, as he and Greye laid on the ground. They both looked happy and as they picked themselves up, which was hard due to their injuries, they smiled at one another before opening a portal. "Later, Rider." With that, they were gone and Shifter could only roar in frustration.

Back at the base, Corvyn was keeping an eye on the areas that the Doom Pillars needed to be placed.

As he did, Thorax was sitting behind him whilst Pharynx held a device that looked like a scan as you shop device. As he held it over Thorax's skin, a red light was coming out of the device and helping heal Thorax's injuries. "You feeling better?"

"Yeah," Thorax nodded, "pain's gone." He sighed, "just wish I didn't get so badly hurt."

"You did good," Corvyn told him. "You're still learning to control your abilities. In time, you'll get stronger and Maya won't stand a chance." Thorax nodded, as Pharynx turned to Corvyn.

"Where are the others?" Corvyn frowned, as he stared at the door leading to the living space.

Inside that room, Shining, Cadance and Twilight were sitting on a couch. The others were off to the side, staring out at the sandy wasteland.

Twilight was using the healing device on Shining, who had just finished explaining everything to Cadance. "So you've been a Mimic this whole time?" She stared at him in shock, as Shining looked away from her in shame. "When you lost your memory, was that because you were a Mimic as well?"

"I...I don't know. Never thought of it. Maybe." Shining would need to ask Corvyn about that.

"And the reason you didn't want to...it's because you weren't human."

"Yes," Shining nodded before turning to her. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you. When this first happened, I didn't know what was happening. I didn't tell anyone because I didn't know what to tell them. But you've got to believe me. I'm your Shining Armor. I might be in another body, but I am him." He and Cadance stared into one another's eyes, the pair saying nothing for several long moments.

Then, Cadance smiled before leaning forward and kissing him.

Shining was taken aback by this, as Cadance pulled away. "I know. I can see it in your eyes. They have the same shine to them. The glow of justice that you love to protect. That's not something that can be faked. It really is you." Shining smiled, as she placed a hand on his chest. "I'm sorry you felt you couldn't tell me this. But it's okay. I'm going to stand by you, no matter what happens."

"Cadance. I don't deserve you."

"True. So don't go keeping a secret like this from me again." Shining nodded, the pair kissing again as Twilight smiled.

Meanwhile, everyone else kept looking out the window. "How horrible," Rarity whispered. "And this used to be just like Canterlot?" Flash nodded.

"That's what Corvyn said. If we don't stop the Mimics, this could become our world's fate." Everyone began to worry, Fluttershy even looking ready to start tearing up. "Five Doom Pillars are left. If we don't destroy even one of them, we could lose Canterlot forever."

"Indeed," Corvyn stepped into the room. "And even with the number of places left to guard lower, we can't possibly protect them all with the numbers we have."

"We need more help," Shining agreed. "I think it's time we asked for some assistance." Everyone gave him a confused look, clearly thinking the same thing.

"From who?" Thorax asked.

"From the military. The police. Anyone willing to help fight. They need to know what's going on. Before it's too late." The others agreed, but couldn't help but wonder how they would react to their request. If they didn't agree to help, the Mimics could very well take over the city.

Back at the Mimic Lair, the Generals were overjoyed at their accomplishment.

"Eight down," Frill stated as he rubbed the healing gel into his body. "Five to go." As he said this, the alarm went off and the Mimics rushed over to the holographic device. As soon as they were in front of it, the device projected the image of their master.

"You're doing well," he told them. "But don't get cocky. You only managed to succeed by luck."

"We understand," Greye nodded. "We'll keep working as hard as we can until the Doom Pillars are all in place. Once they are, nothing will be able to stop us."

"Just don't let yourself get overconfident. And you, Maya." The spider Mimic flinched, "you had a chance to defeat the new Rider. But you left instead. Why?"

"I'm sorry," Maya looked down in shame. "I couldn't bring myself to destroy him. He might be our enemy now, but he's still my spawn. And he's also my host's child. I'm afraid her feelings for her son are also affecting my feelings for my spawn." She placed her hand over where her heart should have been. "Is this what the humans call love?"

"I can understand that feeling. I know I've had spawns that I have found myself growing connected to. It's not something so easily overwhelmed. But we can't have you refusing to fight when the need arises."

"I understand," Maya nodded. "But I don't know if I can get over this."

"Then we'll need to do something about that Rider." The other Mimics expected him to order them to destroy Changeling. But something else happened first.

Suddenly, a bright flash of light appeared in front of them. They were blinded for a moment and staggered back, as something appeared on the ground. When the light faded, they looked down to see something.

It was a strange looking device, which was black in colour. The main part of the device was a rectangular tube, which had two hinges that caused the tube to bend. On the bottom part was some kind of plug that one would see on a USB, which looked like it could slot into something. And on the top was a rectangular frame, with a black see-through window of some kind.

Maya picked it up and when she touched it, she gasped as a cold shiver suddenly overwhelmed her. As she held it, she could feel a sinister power flowing into her. It almost made her drop it, as she turned to her master. "What...I don't understand. What is this?"

"A little something I've been working on since you sent me the scans of Shifter's Driver. It uses a form of super energy, much like the Hyper Core I gave to Gule. But this energy is different. In a way, you could call it pure evil. The Maleficore."

"Maleficore?" Maya whispered, as she held the device in her hand. "And this will allow me to get Torin back?" The figure nodded, as Maya smiled. She didn't know what this device could do, but if it saved her spawn then she didn't care.

Author's Note

So, the Doom Pillars will make Canterlot a Mimics only place. Not good. And there are only five Doom Pillars left. But hey, at least Cadance knows what's happening now. But what will that Maleficore do? Only time will tell.

Episode 21: A Malefic Turn of Events

In the city of Canterlot, a large group of military were beginning to fill the streets.

The reason was because of something that had happened the previous day, when the Kamen Riders walked into a police station. It had certainly been a surprise for the officers, who asked how they could help the city's heroes. They got their answers when Morphic had asked them to help save the city.

Now a large group of police and military officials, were filling a large section of the city's park. This was the largest space they could find to fill with the large force, making it the best location for them to discuss the details of the plan.

Morphic was standing on a bench, having just finished explaining everything to them. "And that's what's going down. If we don't destroy at least one of these devices, the Mimics will be able to turn this entire city into their own personal base of operations."

"You can't be serious," one of the cops cried. "Why haven't you done anything about this?"

"What do you think we've been doing?" Morphic asked. "Playing street hockey? We've tried to protect the areas that are being targeted. But there's only so much three Riders can do. That's why we need your help."

"Alright," one of the high ranking soldiers nodded. "I can understand that. And honestly, we've been itching to help fight against these monsters ever since we learned about them. But how are we supposed to fight them? From what we've heard, normal weapons don't work against Mimics."

"Maybe you could share your technology with us," a cop pointed at Morphic's driver. "Then we could all wear special suits like that."

"I'm afraid it's not that simple," Morphic told them. "Only a special type of person can become a Kamen Rider. Only three have been found so far, so the rest of you can't become one. However, we have something that should allow us to even the odds against the Mimics."

The soldiers watched as a portal formed in front of Morphic before moving sideways. As it did, objects appeared from out of the portal. Tables with multiple objects on them. The same gun-like weapons Corvyn had given Sunset and the others.

The portal did a complete circle of the crowd, creating a ring of tables with the weapons on them. The soldiers moved towards them and picked the devices up, one of them activating it and seeing the energy flowing between the two ends.

"These devices will allow you to fight against the Mimicreeps the Mimics will be sending. And hopefully, do a little bit of damage against the actual Mimics." The soldiers looked impressed by this, as another portal appeared and dropped off a bunch of targets. "These targets have been specially reinforced to withstand the energy. I'm sure you won't take long to master aiming these things. Just be careful. They have quite the kickback."

One soldier stepped up and pointed the weapon at the target before firing, unleashing an energy blast that almost knocked him off his feet.

The blast flew at the target and hit the outer edge of it, as more soldiers appeared. Morphic nodded, glad to see things going well. "Hey," a cop then asked. "Where are the other two? Shifter and that new guy?"

"Changeling. They're getting ready for the next fight."

Back in the junkyard, Shifter and Changeling were training.

Twilight, Pharynx and Sunset were also there, watching as Shifter blocked both Changeling's blades with his Shift Strike's blade mode before kicking him back. With each fight, Changeling was getting stronger and stronger. But even so, the others weren't sure it would be enough to beat the Mimics when the time came.

"You okay?" Shifter asked, seeing Changeling panting. The Rider nodded, but had to bend over to really get his breath back. "Let's take a break." Changeling nodded and the two quickly removed their Mimicores, moving over to where the others were as they changed back.

As Flash grabbed his water bottle, he heard a voice in the back of his head.

"You know this is pointless, right?" Flash frowned as he suddenly found himself back in his mind space, his living room surrounding him with Sheave still on the ground. "Doesn't matter how much you train. You're going to lose eventually."

"No way," Flash told him sternly. "We know how those Doom Pillars work. We just gotta break one and they all become useless."

"Maybe," Sheave smirked. "But even if you manage to do that, you won't win. Our master has many plans." Flash was reminded of the figure he had seen when he was captured. The leader of the Mimics who was hiding in shadows. "Humans are so fragile. So easy to destroy and hard to create. Even if you have all those soldiers fighting with you, they won't last long. And when they die, it'll be because you weren't strong enough."

"Would you just shut up!" Flash cried, accidentally speaking out loud as he found himself back in the junk yard.

Twilight, Thorax, Sunset and Pharynx turned to him and looked confused, as Flash blushed and looked away. "Are you okay?" Sunset asked, but Flash said nothing. "You've been a little distracted lately."

"And you look tired," Thorax pointed out. "Are you sleeping alright?"

"I'm fine," Flash told them. But the girls could tell he was.

"Flash," Twilight moved towards him, "what's wrong? You promised to stop keeping secrets from us." Flash sighed, clearly not going to be able to talk his way out of this.

"I've been...conversing with someone." He tapped his head, "in here." The others looked confused, but Twilight seemed to catch on.

"The Mimic. You're talking with the Mimic that tried to replace you?"

"Yeah," Flash nodded. "It happened after we learned what we are. Ever since, I've been able to talk with Sheave. And he's been able to talk with me. And he won't stop talking."

"This sounds bad," Sunset frowned. "What if he's trying to take over?"

"No. He's still stuck. He just won't shut up, which makes getting a good night's sleep difficult." The others frowned, as Twilight spoke up.

"You need to tell Corvyn. This could mean there's a fault with your Driver. You need to make sure it's working properly, or it could be big trouble."

"I don't think it's that bad." Flash knew he should probably have Corvyn look over his Driver, but something inside him made him worry he might find something bad that he couldn't fix.

"Flash," Sunset crossed her arms, "come on. You need to make sure nothing's wrong." Flash sighed.

"Fine. But I'm sure it's just gonna be a waste of time. Sheave's locked up tight. He's not gonna be getting control of my body, ever." He frowned as something. "No, you're not." He started getting angry, "over my dead body." He rolled his eyes, "how can it be arranged? Doesn't killing me mean you lose your host?"

The others shared a concerned look, a little freaked out by how Flash was acting.

In the Mimic Lair, Maya stared at the device her master had given her.

The other Mimics were just as confused by it, the lot wondering exactly what it was supposed to do. "It's clearly a power source," Frill stated. "But how is that supposed to help you get your spawn back?"

"Are you questioning the master?" High asked, with Frill shaking his head.

"No, of course not. I just wish I had more information. He told us to use this on Torin. But what will happen when we do? What if that power overloads him and Maya's spawn is destroyed?" Maya frowned, clearly worried that might happen.

"I doubt the master would do that," High stated. "Even if this thing could do that, he'd probably tell us to use it on Shifter or Morphic. I don't know what this thing does, but I trust our master. He's led us through many campaigns, in many universes. If he says this'll help us, it will."

Greye nodded, whilst Frill and Maya stared at the device in hand. They also nodded, knowing this device was their best shot at freeing Torin. But that didn't stop them from being anxious about it.

"Anyway," Greye stated, "we all know what we're doing." The Mimics nodded. "Then let's do this."

Shining stepped through the portal he had recently learned to open.

When he did, he spotted Thorax, Pharynx, Corvyn and the Rainbooms. The lot of them were standing around a chair, which Flash was currently sitting in. "Hey," he stepped up to see Corvyn holding a cable with a USB-like plug on the end. "What's going on?"

Twilight frowned. "it turns out Flash has been communicating with his Mimic." Shining looked shocked, the Rider turning to Flash as he rolled his eyes.

"Flash. What the heck?"

"It's not that serious," Flash replied. "He's still locked up. He's just able to talk to me now. And honestly, that's bad enough. But it doesn't mean anything."

"I'll be the judge of that," Corvyn stated as he somehow caused Flash's Driver to appear. He then placed the plug onto the top of it, where an opening appeared that fit the device perfectly. "This should allow me to do a full system analysis. If something's wrong, this will let me find it. But until then, you're not going anywhere."

"What if something's wrong?" Fluttershy frowned. "Could the Mimic escape and take him over?"

"Don't worry," Corvyn assured her. "Even if something was wrong, the Driver has a bunch of safeguards and firewalls. The Mimic isn't going anywhere." Everyone nodded, as Thorax turned to Shining.

"How's everything going with the soldiers?"

"Good. They've got the hang of the weapons and they're being deployed to the spots the Doom Pillars are located. If the Mimics show up, the soldiers should be able to hold them off until we get there."

"Good," Twilight sighed. "I guess we should just rest and get ready to act." They nodded, as Corvyn kept scanning the Driver. Hopefully, he would find a way to stop Sheave from talking to Flash and allow the teen to rest

All over Canterlot, the police and military were stations in the five spots the Mimics would soon attack.

Each area had a group of fifteen to twenty soldiers, each armed with a blaster. They were constantly on guard, ready to fight as soon as the Mimics. But the soldiers didn't look so sure they were going to actually fight. "Are we sure the Riders know what they're doing?" One asked.

"They haven't been wrong so far." This group was currently in a residential area, surrounded by houses. "If they're right, the Mimics will show up here and try to plant something in the ground. If they succeed, this city will be ruined."

Another of the soldiers was studying the blaster they had all been armed with. The device truly amazed them, the energy it shot like nothing they had seen before. Even if the Mimics didn't show up, having such a weapon would certainly come in handy overseas.

It was in that moment that a portal suddenly opened up in the middle of the road.

The soldiers all stood to attention, knowing it could be the Rider and not wanting to shoot. But then, a humanoid monster stepped out and the soldiers realised the fight had begun.

Greye stared at the soldiers and smiled, seeing the humans armed with weapons he had never seen them use before. "This could be interesting."

That wasn't the only area of town that had a portal opening.

In another area, a parking lot surrounded by shops, another portal opened and High stepped through. She was also greeted by a bunch of soldiers, who aimed their new weapons at her. "Oh. You think you're brave, protecting this spot." She snapped her claws and a bunch of Mimicreeps leapt out of the portal behind her.

They charged, but the army started to open fire. The weapons they had been given were working, destroying the Mimicreeps.

But the Mimic General was barely phased by them. "So you humans managed to upgrade," High chuckled. "Impressive." A laser flew towards her, "but not that impressive." She unleashed a blast of lightning, which blocked the laser as her body sparked.

She shot forward, as many of her Mimicreeps were destroyed. And when she reached the humans, she rammed through several and sent them flying.

The men screamed, as they crashed into the ground. The others kept firing, but she wasn't even phased by them and slashed her claws at them. More lightning flew off and struck them, knocking them back. She chuckled, happy seeing the humans brought to their knees. "Pathetic."

Greye was having just as easy a time as High.

A bunch of Mimicreeps were also with him and as the soldiers fought against them, blowing them to sludge, they did their best to protect the spot that the Doom Pillar needed to go. "No matter what happens, we can't let them through!" A soldier fired at Greye, but he used his folded up fan to bat the laser away.

One soldier broke ranks and charged at Greye, blasting a few Mimicreeps until he reached the Mimic.

But Greye simply reached out and grabbed him by the neck, lifted him up and slammed him down into the ground. The soldier screamed as something broke, whilst a few more fired at Greye. But the peacock Mimic jumped over the lasers whilst swinging both his fans around.

The energy blades flew down and slammed into the ground around the soldiers, exploding and causing them all to be blown away.

Greye chuckled as he landed, the few remaining soldiers running in to try and stop him. As they did, they prayed the Riders would be there soon.

In his lab, Corvyn's alarm alerted them all.

He ran to the map and found the two spots glowing. "We've got two hits." He turned to the Riders, who nodded as Flash was about to remove the cable from his Driver. "Oh no you don't. I'm still not done doing the analysis on your Driver. You're staying there." Flash frowned, but Shining turned to him.

"Stay here. One of us needs to hold back, if the Mimics show up somewhere else. Let us handle this." Flash sighed, but nodded as Shining and Thorax summoned their Drivers and took out their Mimicores.

"TRI-HORN!/SLASH!"

They quickly placed them in the Drivers and as the portals formed in front of them, they struck a pose. "HENSHIN!" They slammed the Drivers shut, activating them as the portals moved towards them.

"MIMIC! TRICERATOPS!"

"MIMIC! MANTIS!" The slime flew out the pipes and formed the cocoon around the Riders, as the portals flew over them and they were transported to the battlefield.

Greye cut another soldier down, as the portal suddenly appeared.

He looked around and saw the cocoon arrive before it shattered, revealing Morphic with the Riders racing forward as the armor formed on his body and his Driver spoke. "The charging force of three horns, triple the destructive power."

"Raaaah!" Morphic reached Greye and threw a punch, sending the Mimic flying until he crashed into the ground.

"Augh!" He groaned, as the Rider got ready to attack again. "Annoying pest." He picked himself up and as he did, Morphic punched the air and sent lasers flying at him. All he could do was defend using his fans, deflecting the lasers as best her could. But several managed to get through and hit him, with Morphic getting in close.

The soldiers could do nothing but watch, as Morphic and Greye fought in close quarters. They were all amazed, wishing they could have power like that. They might have been able to stand against the Mimicreeps, but they hadn't stood a chance against a real Mimic. If only they could.

In the other area, High had finished taking out the soldiers that had tried to stop her.

She laughed, as the last soldier fell to the ground. "Too easy." However, before she could move to the spot the Doom Pillar needed to go, a light made her look around and see a portal appeared before spitting out a cocoon. Said cocoon quickly began to crack before shattering. "So there's Maya's spawn." She watched as the armor formed on his body, his blades appearing in hand as his Driver spoke.

"Bladed arms that slice through anything, cutting down the evils of the world!"

Changeling stared High down before raising his sword. "Let's do this!" He charged forward and High chuckled before her body sparked and she shot forward, intending to race past him and do some damage. But before she struck Changeling leapt into the air at the last moment.

He spun and slashed at High, hitting her and causing the Mimic to flinch as the blades cut into her.

Changeling landed and skid along the ground, whilst High clutched her chest and groaned. "You've been training." Changeling smirked, as she began to spark up. "But it won't be enough." With that, she flew into a blur of motion that flew in multiple different directions.

Changeling tried to follow her, but she was just too fast. And eventually, he was rammed into from behind and sent flying.

"GYAH!" He hit the ground and let out a moan, as High skidded to a stop. She smirked and unleashed a bolt of lightning, but Changeling managed to get up and block it with his swords.

As soon as the lightning stopped, Changeling took out his bike and threw it behind him. It quickly grew into its larger form and landed, Changeling back-flipping onto it before revving the engine. "You think that's gonna help you?" High charged and Changeling drove forward, managing to pick up just as much speed as her.

This allowed him to keep up and the pair started moving around the place and incredible speed.

But whilst Changeling was just as fast, High was more manoeuvrable and was able to avoid the many attacks thrown her way. Changeling knew this wouldn't be easy. But he had to try. "I will change my fate's design."

Back in the other battlefield, Greye leapt back as he swung his fans through the air.

The blade of energy flew towards Morphic, but the Rider simply punched it and unleashed a laser that destroyed the attack. Greye growled as he landed, hating how powerful these Riders had become. "Don't get cocky." He charged, as Morphic fired several lasers at once. "We Mimics are the ultimate life forms!" He dodged the lasers before getting close to Morphic, attempting to cut at his chest.

But Morphic raised his arms and used them to shield himself. "Please. Don't make me laugh!" He pushed the fans back before throwing a punch into Greye's chest, blasting him.

He screamed as he was knocked back, crashing into the ground as his chest smoked.

"I don't care how powerful you Mimics think you are. I'm not gonna let you destroy my world. Me or the other Riders. We're taking you down."

"You think you're the first world that's given us trouble?" Greye picked himself up. "Other worlds have resisted, but they all went the same. As soon as we get the Doom Pillars up and running, nothing will stop us."

"Wrong," Morphic stated. "You're not putting any more of those things up. And we're gonna find a way to get rid of the ones you've already activated." He charged and as Greye fired a blast of energy at him, Morphic managed to dodge at the last moment before propelling himself forward and launching a flying kick into his chest.

The attack blasted Greye backwards and Morphic landed before punching the ground.

This sent a blast of energy into the ground and sent it towards Greye, appearing just as he was picking himself up. And before the Mimic could respond, the ground beneath his feet exploded. "GYAH!" He was sent flying up, as several explosions occurred on his body.

He hit the ground and Morphic cracked his knuckles, ready to finish this.

Back with Changeling, he kept racing around in an attempt to hit High.

As the Mimic ran forward and prepared to slash at him, Changeling suddenly leapt up off his bike and she missed. "Raaah!" He summoned his blades and flew down to slash at her, High barely managing to use her claws to block.

The pair pushed at one another before High managed to overpower Changeling and threw him back, the Rider managing to land back on his bike and keep driving. But before Changeling could spin around, a web suddenly shot out and struck his front wheel.

"WOW!" He found his bike jerking forward and he was thrown off it, hitting the ground with the soldiers flinching.

Changeling groaned as he picked himself up, as he heard footsteps and looked around to see Maya moving towards him. High zipped up beside her, "he's all yours." Maya nodded, as High turned her attention back to where the Doom Pillar was located.

Changeling raised his swords. "Just leave me alone. You already proved you can't destroy me, so why bother."

"I might not be able to bring myself to destroy you," Maya got into a fighting stance. "But I won't allow my own spawn to get in my way." She smiled. "Besides, I have a way to make you see reason." Changeling tilted his head, as Maya charged forward and attacked.

As the mother and son fought, High got closer to the spot she needed the Doom Pillar. But the soldiers she had knocked down had recovered enough to attack again. But with another wave of lightning, the Mimic knocked them flying back.

She chuckled, expecting to plant the Doom Pillar without issue.

But before she could, another portal opened up and the seven Rainbooms leapt out. "Seriously? I was expecting Shifter or Morphic. Not the peanut gallery." She unleashed a blast of lightning, but Rarity put up a shield that stopped the attack dead.

Twilight then grabbed part of the destroyed road before throwing it at High, only for the Mimic to leap to the side.

Pinkie gave Rainbow and Applejack a pair of cupcakes and when Rarity dropped the shield, Rainbow raced forward and threw the cupcake at the monster before she could react. Applejack threw hers with all her strength and High unleashed a wave of lightning, which hit both treats and caused them to explode before they hit her.

Sunset and Fluttershy had their own weapons and fired, but they didn't hurt High either.

In the lab, Flash, Corvyn and Pharynx were watching the fight whilst Flash was still hooked up.

"Come on," Flash frowned at Corvyn. "How much longer until I can unplug from this thing?" Corvyn said nothing and kept working on the computer. "What if Frill shows up? Somebody needs to be ready."

"If you stopped distracting me, this would go a lot quicker." Flash frowned, as Sheave spoke in his head.

"I hope you don't expect to get rid of me. I've waited a long time to finally be able to talk and I'm not giving that up. You're gonna have to listen to me for as long as I want."

"No way," Flash told him. "I'm getting you out of my head once and for all. Even if I have to stay hooked up to the machine for a while." Corvyn and Pharynx frowned, clearly not feeling happy hearing him have a talk with himself.

Corvyn's machine beeped and he sighed. "Nothing. As far as I can tell, the Driver's working perfectly."

"So why can I hear Sheave in my head?" Flash asked, as Corvyn unplugged the chord from his Driver. "I haven't had a good night's sleep since he showed up."

"I don't know," Corvyn told him. "It's not like I have data about this. You and Shining are the first humans to ever control a Mimic body, as far as I can tell. It's possible this is just a natural part of what happens in this situation. The Driver is designed to keep the Mimic from controlling you. Not speaking to you. I can't do anything to change it without risking Sheave getting control."

Flash sighed, as he kept watching the fights. If they needed him, he would jump in to help. Even if Sheave was driving him nuts in his head.

Greye was in a seriously bad state, as he laid on the ground whilst Morphic approached.

As he pushed himself up, Morphic looked ready to perform his finishing attack. "It's over. I'm freeing your host." Greye growled, as he realised he wouldn't be able to win this fight. As such, it was time for plan B.

"I don't think so." A portal opened up and several Mimicreeps leapt out. They got between him and Morphic and charged, but Morphic easily dealt with them by punching their lights out. He didn't even need his lasers, as his Tri-Horn Form's power was enough to make them go splat.

The soldiers around him also jumped into action, firing their weapons at the monsters and destroying them. This quickly freed Morphic up, allowing him to chase after Greye. But the Mimic ran into the portal and it disappeared before Morphic could get to him.

He sighed, but turned to the spot where the Doom Pillar was supposed to go. It was Pillar free and hopefully, it would stay that way for the foreseeable future. "I hope Thorax is doing okay."

Back with Changeling and Maya, the Rider kept fighting but Maya seemed to have more of a reason to win.

Every time he tried to slash, punch or kick her, she managed to block or dodge before dealing her own attack to him. "Gyah!" He was knocked back, but managed to maintain his balance before charging again. "Raaaah!" He swung both his blades at her and got a few cuts in, Maya flinching but managing to endure them.

She then fired a blast of web that hit him in the helmet.

Changeling yelled out, staggering back as he tried to get the stuff off of him. But Maya threw a punch right at him and he was knocked back.

The Rainbooms saw this and tried to run to help, but High got between them and unleashed a wave of purple lightning. Rarity put up a shield, but this kept them trapped where they were. "Do it!" High yelled, as Maya moved towards her.

"Don't worry, Torin." She took something out, "this will all be over soon." Changeling finally managed to pull the webbing off and saw some kind of strange device in her hand. A dark screen with a long arm on it.

"What is that?" He asked, as Maya smiled.

"A Maleficore. And with it, you will be free." Changeling moved away, but he quickly found himself cornered. He didn't like what this was.

But before she could get close, another portal suddenly opened up. And from out of it, Shifter flew out on his bike. The Strike Form Rider raced towards Maya at high speed and before she could react, he rammed into her and she screamed out as she was thrown back.

She hit the ground close to High, the Mimic stopping and turning to her. "You okay?" She helped Maya up, as the pair glared at the Rider.

Shifter turned to Changeling, "you good?" Changeling nodded, as Flash turned back to the Mimics. It was then that Shifter noticed something on the ground. The device Maya had been carrying. "What's that?" He got off his bike and moved over to it, reaching down to pick it up. But as he did, Corvyn's voice exploded through his helmet.

"DON'T TOUCH IT!" But it was too late. Shifter's hands curled around the device and as soon as it did, the device activated and suddenly unleashed a wave of dark energy.

That energy passed over Shifter. But when it hit everyone else, they were knocked backwards with cries of pain. The humans all hit the ground and were knocked unconscious, as Changeling, Maya and High grunted but managed to stay awake.

Shifter suddenly went ridged, as the device unleashed a bolt of lightning that struck his Driver.

The Rider's suit suddenly vanished, Flash standing there as the draw of his Driver opened up. Changelings and the Mimics picked themselves up, as the Maleficore flew out of Flash's hand. It was still connected to the driver by the dark energy, which moved up to the Driver until it reached the top. And there, the slot in the top opened up.

In his lab, Corvyn watched in shock as the Maleficore flew up and slotted into the opening.

"NO!" Maya cried, as Flash finally moved. He reached up and pressed the button on his Mimicore, activating it. But when it spoke, the voice sounded more sinister.

"MALEFIC STRIKE!"

Flash struck his usual pose and yelled out, "HENSHIN!" He then slammed his Driver door shut. As he did, the Maleficore also moved. The hinges on it allowed the Maleficore to fold forward whilst still connected to the top. Eventually, the black screen covered the glass window that the Mimicore could be seen through. This caused the orange lights that showed the lightning bug to appear black, as the Driver began to spark.

"MIMIC! LIGHTNING BUG!" These sparks also flew around Flash's body, the teen screaming as he was zapped. Changeling and Corvyn all grew worried, as Flash let out a mighty cry of agony whilst the pipes unleashed the slime. Only now, the slime was much darker

"AAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRHHHHHHHHHH!" The slime rained down on him and quickly solidified into a dark cocoon, which kept sparking whilst Maya and High picked themselves up.

"No!" Maya cried, "that wasn't meant for him!" Suddenly, the amber began to crack before exploding off the Rider. In doing so, it revealed a new form for him.

It was just like his standard suit, only the lines on his body were pure black and melded with the rest of his suit. The armour then shot onto his body and morphed until they resembled his Strike Form, but something was different. Instead of turning orange, the amber turned as pitch black as the rest of his suit. When it solidified, he was entirely black and had an air of malevolence to him. The only bit of colour on his were his eyes, which turned the same orange colour that he normally had on his Strike suit.

As the armor settled, the Driver's lights turned black and it spoke in the sinister voice. "Darkness, engulfs all that stands within it. Unlimited power awakens in the shadows!"

Shifter simply stood there, as if he was simply daydreaming.

The Mimics felt a little worried, but Maya strode forward. "Give me that back! It wasn't for you!" She shot out a web, trying to grab the Maleficore, but Shifter caught it before it hit.

The Rider slowly turned his head towards her, Maya getting a bad feeling as he did. He then pulled on the web and Maya found herself getting pulled forward with incredible force, the Mimic screaming as she flew towards him. And as she did, the light on Shifter's right leg glowed purple and unleashed an energy into his boot.

And when she reached him, Shifter spun around and slammed his foot into her chest.

The energy flew into her body and Maya screamed in agony, as she was blasted backwards and crashed into the side of a building. High gasped, whilst Changeling smirked. "Nice."

High growled as she turned back to Shifter, her body sparking as she shot forward. She tried to slash at Shifter, but he managed to catch her by the wrist before throwing his own punch into her chest. The light on his arm glowed and unleashed another blast of energy, which knocked her back as well.

As High crashed down besides Maya, Shifter reached up and pressed down on the Maleficore. Doing so caused the device to spark and make the lights on his Driver blink.

"MALEFIC CLIMAX!"

As Maya and High picked themselves up, Shifter's lights all started glowing before he shot forward. A trail of purple lightning followed behind him, as he flew towards the pair and suddenly raced past them. When he did, the ground beneath the Mimics exploded and they were thrown into the air.

Shifter then leapt up and did several flips, as he flew higher than the Mimics.

He then shot forward and thrust his leg forward, slamming it into Maya which blasted her into High. The energy surrounding the Rider flew through him and into the monsters, zapping them as the kick sent them flying into the ground. And when they landed, an explosion filled the street.

Changeling and had to brace himself, as the explosion shook the area around them.

Shifter landed in front of the fireball, which disappeared to reveal two very badly injured Mimics. Maya and High were bleeding their slime, as the two pushed themselves to their feet and staggered around with little control. "So...powerful." Maya groaned, "so this is the power of the Maleficore."

Changeling cheered, as he ran over to Shifter.

"Dude!" He laughed. "That was awesome." But as he reached out to clap Shifter on the back, the Rider spun around and punched him right in the chest.

The Mimics were shocked by this, Changeling screaming as he was blown backwards and hit the ground. He moaned, clutching his chest and wishing he had thicker armor. He then picked himself up and stared at Shifter, "what did you do that for?" Shifter moved towards him and Changeling gulped, quickly rolling back to his feet as Shifter's lights glowed again. "Stay back!" But Shifter didn't listen.

It was at this moment that the Rainbooms and military were starting to come around and as they did, the first thing they heard were Changeling's cries of pain.

Everyone opened their eyes and saw two figures fighting. Correction, one of them was fighting. The other was trying to simply stay in one piece. "Flash?" Twilight groaned, seeing a completely black figure in the shape of Shifter.

The Rider slammed his fist upwards into Changeling's chest and knocked him skywards, the Mantis Rider falling back after a few seconds only to get slammed by another punch. These small but fast strikes kept him airborne, constantly flying up and down with Shifter attacking every time he fell.

He eventually, Shifter spun around and slammed a foot into him. This sent him flying sideways and he crashed into the ground, sparks flying off him as he rolled along the ground.

The Rainbooms were all fully awake now and realised the black suited Rider was Shifter, the girls shocked seeing Flash attacking Thorax. "What are you doing?" Sunset yelled, as their Mimic detectors beeped.

"Girls," Corvyn yelled, "you need to stop Flash."

"What's wrong with him?" Twilight asked, only for Shifter to lift Thorax up to his feet before punching him again.

"There's some kind of device connected to his Driver. It changed him into that dark form and is causing him to go nuts, seeing anything around him as an enemy. You've gotta try and get it off him."

"Right," the girl nodded before Rainbow, Applejack, Pinkie, Rarity and Twilight ran forward. Sunset and Fluttershy stayed back, not sure how they could help. "I hate to do this," Rainbow stated before racing ahead. "But you need a time out!" But as she got in close, Shifter spun in her direction before the light on his arm glowed.

He swung his arm around and the light flew off, forming a wave that smashed into Rainbow. This knocked her backwards, as the wave continued towards the rest of the girls.

Rarity quickly put up a shield, blocking the wave but its power shattered her gems.

She flinched at the impact, whilst Rainbow hit the ground. "Okay," she moaned, "that hurt." She had gotten Shifter's attention and he was now heading towards them, the military around them just standing there befuddled.

They were so focused on Shifter, they had forgotten about the Mimics and didn't notice when High moved over to the spot.

She opened a portal and reached it, pulling out a Doom Pillar that she forced into the ground. This finally caught Sunset's attention, as she saw what she was doing. "STOP!" She raised her weapon and fired, but High unleashed a bolt of lightning that blocked the shot.

The rest of the soldiers saw this and realised they had let the Mimic get their device in place, High activating it as she and Maya defended it.

The rest of the Rainbooms were unable to stop them, too focused with Shifter as he attacked. Applejack tried to grab one of his punches and whilst she was able to, the impact knocked her off balance and allowed Shifter to grab and throw her away.

Pinkie then threw a sprinkle at him and the small explosion it caused didn't even make him flinch, as Rainbow once again tried to get in close. She reached for the Maleficore, but Shifter caught her wrist and twisted it. "AUGH!!" She felt her arm close to break, but Changeling ran in.

"Raaah!" He slashed as Shifter, his blade cutting into his back. But whilst it did knock him forward, Rainbow pulling herself free, it didn't cut him and he spun around. Changeling gulped, but kept his weapons at the ready as Shifter tried to attack.

"Stop!" Twilight cried, grabbing him in her magic. Shifter froze, allowing Changeling to jump back, but he was soon able to break her hold on him. "He's so strong!"

Rarity tried to form a circle of gems around him, which were pressed tight against his body and pinned his arms to his side. But Shifter managed to rip them apart and Rarity gasped, staggering back. "We can't stop him!"

"A'm not giving up!" Applejack cried, running forward again. She wrapped her arms around him and lifted him up, doing her best to keep him from slamming his helmet into her face. But Shifter's lights sparked and unleashed a burst of purple energy, zapping her and making her let him go as she cried out in pain.

She staggered back, as Shifter turned to hit her. But Pinkie threw an entire cupcake at him and the explosion finally knocked him back a few feet.

As she did that, a portal suddenly opened right behind him. "Twilight!" Corvyn cried, "get him through it."

"Got it!" Twilight took a deep breath and with all her strength, she grabbed Shifter before he could get his balance back and threw him into the portal. But as she did, the Doom Pillar activated.

"Yes!" High cheered, seeing the energy field appear around the device. "Four to go!"

In his lab, Corvyn watched Shifter be thrown through the portal.

As soon as he hit the ground, Corvyn held up a device he had just programmed. The same one he had used to force Gule into his human form. "This might sting a bit." He fired and the beam slammed into Shifter, as he began to pick himself up. But as soon as it touched him, his body froze and Shifter couldn't move an inch.

Twilight, Applejack and Rarity leapt through the portal, seeing Shifter frozen. "What are you doing?"

"I'm freezing the suit. But it won't last long. Remove the Mimicores!" The girls nodded and acted fast, Twilight stepping in front of him whilst avoiding the beam. Applejack grabbed his arms and pulled them behind him, whilst Rarity hit the switch on the side to open the draw.

At the same time, Twilight tried to grab the Maleficore. But the device shocked her and she was forced to let go. And as Rarity removed the Mimicore, the Driver deactivated and the suit began to disappear. The Maleficore finally fell off the Driver as it also vanished, hitting the ground and straightening back out.

When Flash was finally freed from the suit, he went limp and fell until Applejack held him. "You okay?" Twilight asked, as the beam disappeared. "Flash?" He let out a moan and slowly, his eyes fluttered open.

"Twilight?" She sighed in relief, as Applejack set him back down on the ground. "Ah!" He clutched his head, "what the heck happened?"

"You were out of control," Rarity told him. "You attacked Thorax and us."

"I know," Flash nodded. "I saw it happening, but I couldn't control my body. And all I could feel was a really intense anger. I'd never felt so mad before."

Corvyn frowned, as he moved over to the Maleficore. "It was because of this." He tried to pick it up, but got zapped when he tried. "Ahh!" He pulled back, as Flash stared at the device. "Whatever this is. It's dangerous."

Flash stared at the device and as soon as he did, the Maleficore flew into the air and Flash's hand held up to catch it.

As he held it, he felt a dark energy flowing through him. He then threw it away, but it stopped in midair and flew back to him. "Get away!" He forced himself up and moved away, but the device kept following him.

"This can't be good," Corvyn frowned. He didn't know what this device was, but he knew it was trouble. They needed to figure out what it was and how to stop it. Before it was too late.

In the Mimic Lair, High and Maya are treating themselves.

They had escaped as soon as the Doom Pillar was activated, the pair both feeling horrible after the beating they had received. High was happy they had succeeded in activating the Doom Pillar, but Maya wasn't.

A portal opened and Greye leapt through it, having clearly just returned from his fight with Morphic. "How'd it go?" High asked, as Greye saw the sorry state they were in.

"Forget about that. What happened to you?"

"They learned how powerful the Maleficore was," Frill explained as he placed some gel on Maya's back. "Except it went to the wrong Rider." Greye frowned, as an alarm sounded.

The lot rushed over to the communicator, as it projected a hologram of their master. "Another Doom Pillar activated. Good work."

High nodded. "Thank you, Master. But there were some...complications."

"Master," Chrysalis looked terrified, "Shifter took the Maleficore and used it. It made him so powerful, we didn't stand a chance against him."

"Shifter? I see." The figure seemed to be thinking about that, then chuckled. "That might just work out in our favour." The Mimics shared a look, wondering why he was so happy. None of them knew it yet, but Flash getting the Maleficore was very fortunate for them. Things were about to change.

Author's Note

Well, some of you knew it was coming. Flash has obtained his dark form. A common trend in more recent years of Kamen Rider. Fang Joker, Black Hazard, Metal Cluster Hopper, Primitive Dragon and probably more. They all had to learn to overcome this power. Will Flash be able to?

Episode 22: Ideal Clash Through Darkness

Within his lab, Corvyn was staring at a holographic image of the device he had scanned earlier that day.

Shining and Twilight were there as well, the holographic Maleficore spinning in front of them. As it did, a bunch of readings were also being displayed. Readings Twilight barely understood whilst Shining was completely lost. "Alright. What am I staring at?"

"Dark energy," Corvyn explained. "On my world, we had a form of ore that produced its own energy. The Mimicores you use are made from those energy crystals. And the Hyper Core Gule and Flash used were rare forms of more powerful crystals. They allowed us to power cities and fuel vehicles without needing to rely on fossil fuels."

"Wow," Twilight nodded, "a sustainable form of green energy. I can't believe something like that exists."

"Our worlds are very similar," Corvyn told her. "But the laws of physics are slightly different here. Different enough that my world had a way of creating energy whilst yours doesn't. Either way, this particular Mimicore was designed using a form of negative energy crystal."

"Negative energy," Shining frowned. "I don't like the sound of that. So it gave Flash a power boost, put drove him nuts in the process?"

"Pretty much. The negative energy gave him a power boost and amplified his negative emotions. Anger. Hatred. Sorrow. All the bad parts about being human. They overwhelmed Flash and caused him to lose control. If we hadn't removed it when we did, there's no telling how much damage it could have done to Flash's psyche."

"And now it won't leave him alone," Twilight frowned. "No matter what we did, the core kept flying back to Flash."

"He should be fine," Corvyn assured her. "So long as he doesn't use it again, it shouldn't do any more damage." The others nodded, as Shining looked around. But the three of them were the only ones in the lab.

"Where is Flash anyway?"

"I sent him home," Corvyn explained. "After the day he had, I figured the last thing he wanted was to sit around the lab. I got the scans I needed and sent him home. Hopefully, he'll be fully rested and ready to go again when the Mimics show up. The soldiers are keeping watch and if the Mimics arrive, I'll bring you all over and fast as possible."

"Right," Shining nodded. "Hopefully, the damage Flash did the to two of them will put them out of action for at least the night."

Flash was at his house, laying on his bed going over everything that had happened during the fight.

He held up his hand and started at the device in it. The Maleficore had shrunken down so that it was able to fit in his hand. But he knew its size meant nothing. It was still just as powerful. And no matter what he did, it refused to leave his person.

Flash threw it across the room, but it stopped before it could hit the wall and floated in the air. It then flew back towards him, Flash catching it with a groan. "Leave me alone. I don't want you." But a chuckle made him frown, as Sheave spoke to him.

"Why are you denying it? Isn't it obvious that this device just wants to help you become the person you were always meant to be? A destroyer."

"Shut up," Flash growled.

"You remember how much power you had when you used it. You were stronger than when you used the Hyper Core. This device will grant you the strength to take whatever you want."

"And it turns me into a psychopath," Flash stated. "No thanks." He forced the device into his pocket. "I don't need that kind of power." Before Sheave could say anything else, a knock sounded at his door. "Come in."

The door opened and Scootaloo stepped inside, looking confused as she glanced around. "Who were you talking to?" Flash panicked for a moment, not realising Scootaloo had been listening. "Were you on the phone?"

"Er...yes! Yes, I was." Scootaloo looked at him with suspicion in her eyes. "Did you need something?"

"Can you help me with my chemistry homework? I'm gonna be in serious trouble if I don't turn it in on time." Flash rolled his eyes, but nodded and got up off his bed.

The pair headed downstairs and grabbed Scootaloo's books, both sitting at the dining room table as they began to work on Scootaloo's homework. Flash did his best to not simply do the work himself, knowing Scootaloo wouldn't learn anything unless she did it herself.

She scratched her head with her pencil, as she tried to think of what Flash had told her. And as their mother arrived home from work, Scootaloo wrote something down and showed it to him. "You got it!" Flash smiled, as Scootaloo cheered and he ruffled her hair.

"Hey!" The pair laughed, as Misty smiled and got to work on dinner.

As the pair kept working, Sheave tried to get Flash to say something out loud to worry his family. But Flash was too focused on helping her sister to hear him, the focus on the homework somehow blocking out his voice.

As they finished the homework, Misty finished dinner and the three were soon sitting together and eating.

"So, anything interesting happen today?" Misty turned to the two, Scootaloo shaking her head whilst Flash just stayed quiet. "Flash? You okay?"

"Yeah," Flash nodded, "nothing happened today. I heard there was a fight between the Riders and the Mimics again today, but I was nowhere near it."

Scootaloo nodded. "I heard the Riders are getting help from a bunch of soldiers and cops. But they keep getting beaten up."

Misty nodded. "Yes. I'm worried something big might be going on. The Mimics are up to something and if something bad happens, the Riders might not be able to do anything this time."

"I don't think we have to worry," Scootaloo smiled. "The Riders are awesome. I'm sure whatever's happening, they'll take those Mimics down no problem." Flash smiled, his heart swelling as he heard his sister praise him. Even if she didn't know she was doing it.

The family finished their dinner and Misty suggested a movie, her children nodding and all sitting together as they watched the film. Flash was still feeling a little weird after what had happened with the Maleficore, but being with his family really helped him forget about those issues for the moment.

At the same time, the Mimic Generals were preparing for their next fight.

"Four spots left," Frill stated. "No doubt three of them will be guarded by the Riders. And the fourth by those magical girls. We need to come up with a plan to stop them, especially since one of them is still supercharged thanks to the Maleficore."

Maya frowned, still upset that the device didn't end up in the hands of her spawn. Even though her master sounded pleased by this, she still wished to find a way to free Torin from Thorax's control. But with the Maleficore no longer an option, she needed another plan.

High stepped through the doors, the others noticing her and a look she had. "What?" Greye asked, as High smiled.

"I've just summoned four new Mimics from their posts in this world. They'll be here by the morning." The Generals all looked confused, as High smiled. "We don't have time to make any more Mimics. It's better to save the spawns we have and make more Mimicreeps. So I think it's best we call upon the ones still mopping up things in this world."

Frill frowned. "Those Mimics are supposed to be searching for stragglers. Including the cloaked guy that's been helping the Riders."

"Relax. We've got more than enough Mimics out there. These ones won't be missed. And with the animal forms they've taken, the Riders might find themselves in a tough situation." The Mimics didn't look so sure, but decided that they would need the extra help.

They still needed to plant the four remaining Doom Pillars. And the more distractions for the Riders to face, the better.

The next day.

As soon as Flash was up, he was out of the house and off to find someplace he could head to the lab from. As he did, Sheave began to speak to him and his good mood was lost. "You really think your little friend is gonna be able to find a way to get rid of the Maleficore?"

"Shut up," Flash told him. "If Corvyn can't find a way to stop it from following me, I'll just not use it."

"Why not? It's power is far greater than anything you could hope to have on your own." Flash said nothing. "This is why you humans are doomed to fail. You're too scared to use the power that could solve all your problems."

"I'm not scared. I just prefer to be under control of my body."

"Except it's my body." Flash rolled his eyes, as the portal appeared in front of him and he stepped into the lab. There, Corvyn, the Rainbooms, Pharynx and the other two Riders were waiting for him.

"Hey," Shining smiled, "you feeling better?"

"A little," Flash nodded before taking out the Maleficore. "But I'll be better if I can stop this thing from following me." He turned to Corvyn, "any idea how I stop it?"

Corvyn sighed. "Sorry. I've been analysing the data we got from it, but I haven't been able to figure out how to access it's programming. It's clearly designed to stick to the first Rider who touches it and since that was you, it won't leave you alone until it's either destroyed or I find a way to hack it."

"Then let's destroy it," Rainbow stated. "You three just Rider up and blast it."

"Absolutely not!" Corvyn frowned. "Do you have any idea how much power is within this kind of device. If we destroy it, it'll make an explosion that could wipe out anything within ten miles of it. Even if they tried to portal away, they'd never be able to outrun the blast."

"Right," Shining nodded, "forget about destroying it. Our best bet is to reprogram it. Any ideas?" Corvyn hummed, clearly having some idea. But nothing concrete.

Thorax frowned, as he sat there looking upset. "It's my fault this is happening. If I had been stronger, this never would have happened." The others felt bad for him, knowing he must have felt guilty for letting Maya get the better of him and causing Flash to fly to his rescue and come in contact with the Maleficore.

"Dude, it's not your fault." Flash crossed his arms, as he leaned against the wall. "I'm the one who picked up the Maleficore. If I had just left it alone, none of us would be in this situation." Thorax sighed, clearly still upset.

Despite what he said, Flash was a little scared of what might happen if he used the core again. The memory of how much hate he had felt was still fresh in his mind, making him fear losing control like that again. He had attacked his friends and if things had been just a little different, he could have ended up seriously injuring them. Could he risk that happening again?

Suddenly, an alarm went off and everyone rushed to the map.

They expected to see the last three spots light up, but were surprised to see two areas on the other side of the city were showing Mimic activity. "What's going on?" Pinkie asked, but Shining understood.

"They're trying to draw us away. When we go attack these Mimics, the others will attack those spots and place the Doom Pillars." Everyone frowned, as Morphic turned to Flash. "We have to hit these spots and deal with them quickly. Then we can get to the Doom Pillar spots."

Flash frowned, clearly not keen on going out with what had happened. "Maybe Thorax should go. If the Mimics attack the Doom Pillar spots, it might be best for me to wait here and attack." Shining nodded.

"If you're sure." Flash nodded and Shining turned to Thorax, who nodded as they both took out their Mimicores and summoned their Drivers. "Then let's do this."

"RUSH!/SLASH!" The pair placed their Mimicores into the Drivers, as Corvyn activated the portals and locked onto the spots the Mimics had shown up in. The two then struck a pose.

"HENSHIN!" With that, they slammed the Drivers closed and activated them.

"MIMIC! COYOTE!"

"MIMIC! MANTIS!" The slime flew out the pipes and formed the cocoon around the Riders, as the portals flew over them and they were transported to the battlefield.

In a part of the city, people were running as High shot lightning in every direction.

Besides her was an orange Mimic, covered in some kind of shell. Its head was that of a snapping turtle and the body armor had the same pattern on it, that would be on a turtle's shell. Its arms had gauntlets around them that mimicked a turtle shell perfectly, with the hands coming out of where a head should be.

The turtle Mimic moved slowly, but the police that had stayed behind were worthless as their bullets just bounced off the shell.

High laughed, only for a light to make her look around and see a portal appear before spitting out the cocoon. And as it did, the amber exploded of the Rider before forming his armor. "Howling velocity, increasing the tearing power of its fangs"

Morphic stood tall and as the Turtle turned to him, he summoned his claws before shooting forward at super speed.

His incredible speed made the Turtle unable to even defend itself, as he shot passed and slashed at him with incredible speed and precision. The claws ground at the turtle and created three long groves along it, the Turtle crying out as it was knocked staggering back.

As it did, Morphic prepared another attack. But he quickly found High jumping between him and her Mimic.

"I don't think so!" She sparked and the two began to battle one another, moving at super speed and morphing into a blur that slammed into each other over and over again.

In another part of the city, Maya was causing mayhem with another Mimic.

This was one was a brown humanoid snake-like creature. It had the head of a king cobra, with the headpiece going down the side of its neck to connect to its shoulders. Its arms were also that of snakes, the right arm having another snake head for the arm whilst the left one, was a long whip-like tail.

The Mimic hissed, as it spotted some people and tried to bite them with the snake head on its arm.

But before it could hit anyone, a portal formed and a cocoon was expelled out. The snake head tried to bite the cocoon, which caused it to crack. But before the Mimic could attack again, the cocoon shattered and Changeling stood in front of the people.

"Bladed arms that slice through anything, cutting down the evils of the world!"

The Rider's armor formed and he began to run forward, his blades forming as the Snake and Maya glared at him. Changeling also stared at him, knowing he couldn't afford to let himself get beaten again. So when Maya fired her web-lines at him, he dodged one, deflected another and cut the third up.

"Raaaah!" He leapt at the snake and dealt a kick to its head, knocking it back as he landed and slashed at Maya. The Mimic barely managed to avoid him, then spun around to try and deal a kick to him. But Changeling crossed his swords and blocked it, using them to push her off balance.

Changeling then dodged a bite from the Snake's head arm and slashed at it, cutting the beast down its chest and making it scream. But before he could attack again. Maya fired a web and managed to hit the back of his shoulder. He was then pulled back and screamed as he was thrown away from the snake.

"Augh!" He hit the ground and as he did, the Snake charged at him and swung its tail arm down towards him. But he rolled out from under it and jumped back to his feet, as the Snake once again tried to bite him.

Changeling quickly used the back of his sword to shield himself, the snake's fangs sinking into the blade but being unable to damage it. Instead, they shattered against the metal and left the Snake without a means to hurt or poison the Rider.

Maya saw this and frowned, once again attempting to launch her webbing at the Rider. But Changeling saw this coming and quickly knocked the Snake in the web's path, causing it to be hit instead. And before Maya could release it, Changeling hit the side of his Driver.

"CLIMATIC SLASH!"

Before the Snake could defend itself, Changeling charged at him whilst his swords glowed. And in the blink of an eye, he shot past the Mimic whilst slashing at it with both swords. The energy flowed into the monster and as Changeling skidded to a stop, the monster exploded.

Maya hissed, seeing the Mimic she had brought be destroyed so easily. She turned to Changeling, who stared at her and prepared for another fight. And she would give it to him.

Back at the base, Flash and the others watched as Changeling and Maya began to battle. They were worried for him, but had to trust he could handle himself.

Suddenly, an alarm went off and they turned their attention back to the map. Two of the spots were glowing, showing Mimic activity. "Damn it!" Flash cried, "both places are getting attacked. "I can't be in two places at once."

"But we can," Twilight told him. "We'll try and hold them off until you or the others are ready."

"Alright," Flash nodded. "Just be careful." The others nodded and prepared to head out, as Flash took out his Mimicore and summoned his Driver. But before he activated it, he suddenly felt something appear in his hand.

He looked down, seeing the Maleficore had somehow gotten into his grasp. And as he touched it, he felt it dark power coursing through it. But he shook his head and put it in his pocket, instead activating the Mimicore.

"BLADE!"

He placed the Mimicore into his Driver, as Corvyn created another pair of portals. And as the girls ran through one of them, Flash struck a pose. "Henshin!" He slammed the Driver shut and it activated.

"MIMIC! SWORDFISH!" Flash crossed his arms and the pipes unleashed the slime, as the portal moved towards him. The slime solidified, as the portal engulfed him and he was transported away.

The soldiers screamed, as they fought to destroy the Mimicreeps currently attacking the spot.

Behind them were two Mimics, Frill and a yellow lizard-like covered in orange spots. The only thing unique about this Mimic, was how its fingers were thin with large round ends. And as the soldiers destroyed more Mimicreeps, they moved closer to the spot the Doom Pillar was meant to go.

Frill looked around and didn't see any sign of the Riders, the Mimic chuckling as he prepared to summon the device and plant it.

But before he could, a portal appeared and seven girls appeared out of it. And as soon as they saw him, Rarity created a wall of gems that she sent flying at the vulture.

Frill spread his wings and leaps into the air, dodging the wall whilst the gecko runs at the girls. But before it can get close, Pinkie throws an entire cupcake and the monster. And since it didn't realise what she could do, the lizard tried to swat it away only to suddenly find it exploding.

As the beast was knocked back, the others pointed their blasters at the Mimic General and fired.

Frill dodged and blocked the attacks with his feather swords, then launched his darts towards them. But Rarity shield them before Twilight grabbed a few in her magic and sent them flying back at him.

The general dodged his own attacks and when he landed, he glared at them. "You might not be Riders, but you girls are just as irritating." The Rainbooms smiled, as the Gecko pushed itself up.

In another part of the city, the soldiers were fighting the Mimics that had appeared.

"Raaah!" Greye spun around and launched his energy blades, blasting the soldiers and sending them flying. As he did, those that had avoided getting blasted tried to shoot him.

But before one could take aim, he suddenly felt something wrap around his waist before he was lifted into the air. "GYAH!" He was thrown upwards and released, the other soldiers watching him spin through the air before crashing into the ground. The impact had obviously broken something, making him scream in pain, as Greye chuckled.

But then, a portal suddenly opened up and released the cocoon. "Oh, great." Greye charged at the cocoon, but it cracked and exploded to reveal Shifter. The Rider's armor formed and he quickly summoned the arm blades, which he raised to block Greye's attack at the last moment.

"Slicing through the ocean, with speed and precision unmatched."

The two glared at one another before Shifter managed to over power Greye and push him back. Greye staggered around, but quickly recovered and swung his fans at Shifter. But the Rider dodged the attacks using his super speed before leaping back.

Once he landed, he charged forward at super speed. But before he could reach Greye, he suddenly ran into something he couldn't see. Some kind of invisible rope, which caused him to trip over his own feet and fall to the ground.

"Augh!" He rolled along the floor, the soldiers flinching until he came to a stop. "What the?"

Greye chuckled, as something appeared besides him. It was a green reptilian Mimic, with large round eyes that seemed to be able to look in different directions at once. Its shoulders looked like the heads of chameleons, with their tongues sticking out and curling around a little. When it opened its mouth, an even longer purple tongue shot out and was almost three times as long as the monster was tall.

Shifter groaned, realising he was fighting a Mimic with the ability to make itself invisible. And as he picked himself up, the lizards turned invisible.

Back with Morphic, the Rider continued to race around at high speed.

High moved just as fast, the two battling it out as the Turtle Mimic continued to attack the city. It smashed its way through buildings, its hard shell protecting it from damage. It seemed that it was incapable of being damaged, as Morphic slid to a stop.

High also stopped and unleashed a wave of lightning, which shot towards Morphic as the Rider crossed his claws.

The lightning slammed into him and he flinched, as he skidded back and almost fell over. And as he was recovering, the Turtle Mimic charged. And even at its much slower speed, it was able to get to him and football tackle him.

"GYAH!" Morphic was sent flying and crashed into the ground, groaning as he hit it. High then used this opening to launch another lightning bolt, Morphic barely managing to roll away in time. And as he did, he suddenly had an idea. "Is that your best shot. Come on!"

High growled and launched another bolt, but Morphic dodged it and moved around again.

"Lame," he told her before dodging another bolt, "lamer." High was getting more and more annoyed, as she fired stronger and stronger bolts. "So close. Too slow. Oh, I felt that one."

"JUST STAY STILL!" High screamed, as her body exploded with energy.

Morphic skidded to a stop and gave her a 'bring it' gesture, making High scream as she unleashed the most powerful blast of lightning right at the Rider. Morphic charged forward, moving at an incredible speed right at the super bolt. But at the last moment, he suddenly dropped to the ground and slid under the thunderbolt.

High growled, only to notice something that Morphic had been hiding behind himself. The Turtle.

The Rider had positioned himself between the two Mimics and when he ducked under the lightning bolt, it made the weaker Mimic the new target. "Get out of there!" But the Turtle wasn't fast enough.

The bolt struck the Mimic and friend it, the monster roaring in pain as it was cocked within its own shell.

That shell began to crack from the heat coming from the inside, allowing Morphic to race forward once the bolt finished. And as he got close, he slammed the side of his Driver.

"CLIMATIC RUSH!"

His claws glowed, as he slammed into the damaged shell and shattered it. This left the Turtle an easy target, as Morphic slashed at it a hundred times in ten seconds. And after the hundredth strike, he spun around and slammed his foot into the Turtle's exposed chest.

This launched him backwards, as the Turtle was thrown away as well. He back-flipped and landed, as the Turtle exploded in midair.

High growled, as Morphic spun around and was illuminated by the explosion. She growled, angry at herself for falling for his ploy. "Not bad. Using my power to destroy one of my compatriots." Lightning surged around her body, "but you'll regret making a fool out of me!" She charged, lightning trailing off of her as she moved. Morphic attacked as well, the pair turning into nothing but blurs that clashed into one another

Changeling and Maya's fight continued, the Rider slashing at his mother as fast as he could.

Maya dodged each and every attack, smiling as she avoided the blades and tried to shoot her webs at him. But Changeling managed to avoid the as well before finally getting in close and slashing at her.

"Augh!" Maya leapt back, as Changeling stabbed his blade into the ground before leaping forward.

"Raaah!" He thrust his foot forward and stomped Maya in the wound, making her flinch as she was almost thrown off her feet whilst Changeling jumped back and landed between his blades. He stood up, as Maya fell to the ground and clutched her chest.

She quickly sprayed her webbing onto the wound, keeping her from losing too much blood. She then looked up at Changeling, a smile appearing on her lips. "You're getting stronger. Clearly, every fight helps you grow more and more comfortable in your new body."

Under his suit, Thorax thought about it and realised he did feel more comfortable. Hopefully, this meant he wouldn't be a burden on his friends any more. What had happened to Flash was because he hadn't been strong enough. "No more." He rushed forward, sword in a backhanded grip as her slashed at the Mimic as fast as he could.

Maya tried to hold him off, but the speed he was moving was too much for her to keep up with.

When she dodged a slash, he spun around and dealt a kick to her chest. As she staggered back, he charged again and slashed at her arm, cutting into it and making her hiss. And as she jumped back, she fired webs at the ground expecting him to step on it and get stuck.

But Changeling charged and leapt over it, doing several spins before doing a midair back-flip and swinging both legs down to slam into her head. Maya screamed, clutching her head as Changeling landed and thrust his swords forward.

But Maya managed to recover in time to lean backwards at the last moment, the swords barely missing her and stopping right above her chest. And before Changeling could attack again, she shot two web-lines behind her before pulling on them and propelling herself away from the Rider.

As she flipped around and landed, she stared at Changeling as he spun his swords back into a backhanded grip. She was actually impressed. The strength he had now was amazing. And he was only going to get stronger.

Maya shook her head. "This isn't my spawn in control. I can't be proud of his strength." She frowned, realising she was likely feeling Chrysalis' pride for her child. "When I free Torin from him, I can be proud of him then." She charged, Changing doing the same. The pair roared out, as they clashed once again.

Over with the Rainbooms, their fight against the Mimics was a mixed bag.

Currently, the gecko Mimic was attacking from multiple angles. Its ability to stick onto any surface, allowed it to jump around and avoid the girl's attacks before leaping at them. Rarity was using her magic to shield them when it attacked, but this freed Frill up to deal with the soldiers currently defending the area.

"Raaah!" He slashed at them with his swords, the old-looking Mimic showing incredible skill as he cut them down.

He also used his feather darts to pierce their guns and make them blow up, injuring the soldiers and knocking them down. "Pathetic!" He cut the ends off a few more guns and fired his darts at close range, stabbing the soldiers as he got closer to the spot where the Doom Pillar was meant to go.

The Rainbooms saw this and realised they needed to act fast.

As the Gecko leapt down towards them, Rainbow flew up and tackled it. The lizard was taken by surprise, as she forced it down to the ground. It tried to fight back, but Applejack ran up and wrapped her arms around it.

Using all her strength, she squeezed it as hard as she could. Meanwhile, Twilight grabbed Sunset and Fluttershy's blasters. "What are you doing?" Sunset asked, as Twilight began to rewire them along with her own.

"Giving them a bit of a power boost." The girls were surprised by this, wondering why Corvyn didn't make them that strong if they couldn't be. "Applejack!" Twilight used her magic to lift the three weapons into the air, pointing them right above Applejack. "DO IT!"

Applejack nodded and threw the gecko into the air, Rarity creating a crystal roof that the lizard slammed into it. And this put him into Twilight's target, the girl firing the weapons only for them to all explode from the overload.

The three supercharged blasts hit the gecko before it could jump away, causing it to explode and burst into a hundred pieces.

Rarity put up another shield to block the rain, the girls all looking grossed out by the slime as it fell around them. But they had done it. They had actually managed to defeat a Mimic without the Rider's help. However, this joy was short lived.

As they turned to Frill, they spotted him holding a Doom Pillar in hand.

The portal also launched a bunch of Mimicreeps, which surrounded him as he stabbed the device into the ground. It began to activate, as the Rainbooms rushed in. Sunset and Fluttershy were forced to stay back, since their weapons were gone. All they could do was watch, as the others tried to fight their way through the Mimicreeps. But it was proving difficult, whilst Frill protected the device.

If they didn't get to him soon, they would run out of time.

Back with Shifter, he was still trying to fight the Chameleon Mimic. But since he couldn't see it, this was proving tricky.

"How pathetic," Sheave laughed. "To think, you're having so much trouble against a Mimic with barely any strength. If I was in this fight, I'd be able to take that thing down in five seconds. This is just embarrassing."

"Will you shut up," Shifter growled. Sheave in his head was really starting to irritate him.

"I'm just saying-"

"Well save it!" Shifter started slashing wildly at the air, hoping to hit the beast by chance when it got close to him. But he didn't hit anything. And as he was so focused on the Chameleon, he didn't notice Greye move over to where the Doom Pillar needed to be.

"Perfect." He quickly opened a portal and pulled out the pillar, which Shifter finally noticed.

"NO!" He ran at the general, picking up as much speed as possible. But as he did, an invisible whip swung around and got in front of Shifter. And as he ran, his right foot ran right into the whip and it wrapped around his leg.

Before he could try and cut himself free, the whip went tight and Shifter was suddenly pulled off his feet.

"WHOA!" He was lifted into the air and with a quick whip of the Chameleon's tongue, he was thrown through the air and eventually slammed into the ground. "AUGH!" He hit the floor and groaned, as the Chameleon appeared and chuckled. At the same time, Greye raised the Doom Pillar into the air.

"Blast him!" The soldiers yelled, firing their weapons at the Mimic. But even though they were aiming at the Doom Pillar, they weren't able to hit it since their weapons weren't built for accuracy. As such, Greye was able to stab it into the ground and activate it.

Shifter pushed himself up and saw the Doom Pillar beginning to power up, as Greye started defending it from the soldiers.

Shifter tried to attack the general as well, but was stopped by the Chameleon as it appeared in front of him and claws at his chest. "Augh!" He staggered back, the Mimic vanishing before he could counter.

Greye chuckled, as the Chameleon launched its tongue at the Rider and wrapped it around his neck.

Shifter gasped and tried to free himself, attempting to cut the tongue, but the Chameleon flung him around until he crashed into the side of a building. "Gyah!" The tongue retracted and he fell to the ground, Sheave's laughter filling his head whilst Greye's filled his ears.

"Look at you. Can't even defeat the simplest of monsters." In his head, Sheave agreed with Greye and Flash was starting to get really angry. As he did, his Driver started glowing with a dark energy. "Because of you, another Doom Pillar will be placed. And when they're all activated, every human in this city will be wiped out."

"Every...human?" Flash suddenly thought about his sister and his mother. His family. The people that were most important to him.

In his mind, Sheave could see this image and smiled before closing his eyes. And unknowing to Flash, he was imagining something as well. Something that Flash was about to see.

The image began to change. Changing from his mother and sister at home, to them on the street. As a wave of energy flew towards them. They tried to run, but the wave stuck them and they screamed before disappearing. The sight ran flew Flash's head and his heart broke, as he let out a roar of anguish and rage.

Suddenly, Shifter felt something that caused his anger to turn to dread.

The Maleficore suddenly shot up from where it was being kept and floated above him, the device activating and unleashing a burst of energy that struck Shifter's Driver. "GYAAAAAH!" He tried to fight it, but it was too late. The device flew down and connected to his driver, quickly folding over the screen and turning it black whilst the device spoke up.

"MALEFIC BLADE!"

Shifter screamed, as the energy sparked around him. And eventually, the armor on his body melted and began to form the cocoon around him once again.

"MIMIC! SWORDFISH!" The cocoon cracked before shattering, revealing Shifter's suit was now completely pitch black. The armor flew onto him and formed the Blade Armor, only now it was black and his eyes turned blue. "Darkness, engulfs all that stands within it. Unlimited power awakens in the shadows!"

Greye and the Chameleon stared at him, Greye both happy and terrified by what was happening. And the soldiers looked just as worried, whilst the reptilian Mimic disappeared.

Corvyn watched this and was terrified, quickly contacting the girls and telling them what had happened.

All he could do was watch, as Shifter created black versions of his arm blades. And as he stepped forward, something invisible shot towards him. But somehow, he caught it and squeezed. This caused the Chameleon to roar and appear, its tongue in Shifter's grasp.

The Rider pulled on it with all his strength and the Mimic was pulled towards him, Shifter moving fast and swinging his blade around.

This caused the tongue of the Mimic to be sliced off at the base, making it roar in pain as it fell to the ground and clutched its mouth. Shifter then continued to attack, slashing at it before it could escape. With his super speed, Shifter cut the Mimic a hundred times in less than three seconds, making it scream in agony until the Rider stopped and leapt back.

The bleeding monster staggered away and tried to turn invisible, but the slime blood covering it didn't disappear and acted as a target for the Rider to aim. And as the Rider hit the side of his Driver, it yelled out.

"MALEFIC CLIMAX!"

Shifter crossed his blades before racing forward, turning into a black blur that flew past the invisible monster and sliced it up.

The blur then spun around and shot back towards the Chameleon, spinning around it like a tornado and cutting it up multiple times. After ten seconds and a few hundred slashes, the blur flew off and landed before Shift spun around and slashed his blades through the air.

The malefic energy flew off the weapons and morphed into a pair of crescent blades, which struck the Mimic and cut it in half. It roared, as the energy exploded and completely consumed the beast. As it did, Shift turned his attention towards Greye.

The Mimic gulped, amazed by the power he now possessed.

But before Shifter could attack, the Doom Pillar activated. And it wasn't the only one. As the one at Frill's location also activated.

There, the girls watched as the energy dome formed around the device.

Frill laughed, as he spread his wings. "You girls did well, but not well enough." He flew into the air and Rainbow followed, but had to stop when Frill sent a bunch of feather darts flying at her.

"WHOA!" She flew around, barely managing to avoid them all. And this allowed Frill to fly up into a portal that formed, Rainbow not daring to fly into it. Instead, she flew down to the others as they stared at the Doom Pillar that had been activated.

"Now what?" Pinkie asked, as the soldiers around them also wondered what was going to happen.

Twilight sighed. "We've got another problem right now. We need to get to Shifter before he does something he'll regret." Rainbow nodded and grabbed both her and Rarity, the three zipping off at super speed whilst the others ran there on foot.

In the other two areas, Changeling and Morphic's fights had also come to a stop.

As Morphic slashed at High, the Tiger Mimic leapt back and did a flip before landing. But before she could attack, a portal opened up behind her. "Huh. Looks like I don't need to keep you here any more." Morphic tilted his head, only to realise what she must have meant.

"This has been fun," Maya told Changeling as she stood in front of a portal. "You're growing stronger. That will come in handy, once I've found a way to free you." Changeling said nothing, as she turned to walk through the portal. Morphic watched High do the same and before he could think of what to do next, Corvyn contacted him.

"You need to get to Flash. Hurry."

Shifter began to move towards Greye, but the Mimic opened a portal behind him and jumped through.

Even Shifter's super speed didn't allow him to catch up, the Rider reaching the portal spot milliseconds after it closed. The Rider just stood there and didn't seem to be doing anything, until one of the soldiers spoke up.

"What do we do now?" Shifter turned towards him and the soldier suddenly felt very exposed, as he began to move towards him. "What are you doing?" Shifter raised his blade, "stay back." Shifter didn't and the soldiers pointed their weapons at him. "I'm warning you!" But before either side could attack, a flurry of wind signalled Rainbow's arrival.

She had sped over and brought Twilight and Rarity with her, the girls seeing Shifter in his Malefic Form and gasping.

Shifter prepared to attack, but Rarity put a wall of gems between him and the soldiers. The Rider wasn't slowed down by this and slashed at the gems, actually cutting deep groves into them. "Do something!" Rarity cried, Twilight and Rainbow trying to think of a plan. And Twilight had one.

As Shifter kept slashing at the wall, she summoned her magic and it wrapped around the Maleficore.

Shifter noticed this and turned to them, but Twilight pulled with all her strength. The Maleficore unleashed a burst of energy that made Shifter roar in pain. But Twilight kept pulling and eventually, the Maleficore was ripped off of the Driver.

Shifter was suddenly surrounded by light and when it faded, he was back in his standard Blade Form.

The Rider fell to his knees, panting as he once again had control of his body. But he couldn't rest for long, as the Maleficore quickly broke free of Twilight's hold and flew back into his possession. And as he caught it, the soldiers all looked at him with worry.

"Whose side are you on?" One cried, looking ready to fire at him.

Shifter panicked but before he could do anything rash, a portal suddenly opened and he ran through it. The girls followed suit and they all disappeared, leaving the soldiers to stand there confused.

When they got into the lab, Flash moved to one corner of the room. But Twilight followed him. "Flash." She tried to grab his shoulder, but Flash pulled away.

"Don't touch me." He leaned against the wall, "it's not safe." The girls could see the fear in Flash's eyes, as Corvyn arrived and saw the state he was in.

Sheave started laughing, Flash's frayed nerves getting even worse. "Don't fight it. This is what you truly are. A destroyer." Flash tried to ignore his words, but he couldn't. He could have killed the soldiers and if that had happened, there wouldn't have been any difference between him and Sheave.

It was clear this issue needed to be fixed, but nobody knew how. And with only three Doom Pillars left, things were only going from bad to worse.

Author's Note

Geez, this was a hard chapter for Flash. The Maleficore is doing a number on him. Hopefully, he'll find a way to free himself of its darkness soon.

Episode 23: Time of Doomsday

All over Canterlot, people were beginning to worry.

The mysterious devices that had been showing up all over the city, were starting to freak many of them out. Especially since info had been leaked about the Mimics being the ones that planted them. Many wondered what they were and why the Riders had allowed them to be put there. And others wondered why they weren't being removed.

"Let's go, people." A construction worker yelled, as his men tried to work on removing the device.

Several stepped up to the device with jackhammers and began to break the ground around it. But when they did, the whole thing suddenly sparked and sent energy flying into the tools. "Gyah!" One of them yelled, everyone dropping them as the devices short circuited and exploded.

"Rats!" The head worker yelled, as everyone moved away. "Whatever that thing is, it ain't coming out of there."

"Don't be so sure!" He looked around and saw a bulldozer, rolling towards the area and placing the shovel on the ground. Since the surrounding area was nothing but wasteland, they didn't have to worry about the roads.

The machine dug up the ground and prepared to do the same with the section that held the Doom Pillar. But as soon as it reached that section, it suddenly stopped and found it couldn't unearth the device.

Then, a bolt of lightning hit the machine's engine and caused it to start sparking. "GET OUT OF THERE!" The boss yelled, as the worker quickly unbuckled themselves and leapt out of the cap. Everyone else ran for it, with the bulldozer eventually exploding.

The shockwave knocked everyone day, as the fireball filled the area and metal pieces fell everywhere. And when the flames finally died down, the Doom Pillar was shown completely untouched.

The workers stared at it in shock, as the boss turned towards the driver. "That's coming out of your pay." The driver huffed, whilst the workers continued to look worried. It seemed that nothing could unearth the Doom Pillars. And that just made them more terrifying.

In Corvyn's lab, the heroes were dealing with an even greater issue.

Flash was sitting in one corner, terrified to go anywhere near the rest of his friends. It had been like this since the previous day, when he had accidentally used the power of the Maleficore. He had almost caused serious harm to the people around him and if something wasn't done soon, he might very well end up hurting his friends.

"So what's going on?" Twilight asked, as Corvyn stared at the computer. "Why did Flash suddenly transform like that?"

Corvyn hummed, as he stared at the data. "I'm only guessing here, but I think it might be tied to Flash's emotional state." Everyone looked confused, but Flash just listened and learned so he could prevent it from happening again. "The Maleficore is pure negative energy. So not only does it infect whatever it comes in contact with, it's also drawn to high levels of negative energy."

"I'm confused." Rainbow frowned, the others feeling just as confused.

"All beings give off energy. For humans, it's normally just thermal radiation. But you can also give off some form of emotional energy. You've felt it before, right. When someone's in a really bad mood, you can almost feel it radiating off of them and use it to keep clear."

"Oh yeah," Pinkie nodded. "I see that all the time. Really creepy black shadow surrounding people. It's how I know if someone needs help cheering up."

"Right," Corvyn nodded. "Well that's what's happening here. Whenever Flash is overcome with incredible amounts of negative energy, the Maleficore will activate. Basically, if Flash gets mad enough, sad enough, or feels absolute despair and hopelessness, it'll give the Maleficore the ability to activate and transform him."

Everyone frowned hearing this. Flash could be a pretty chill dude at times, but they knew his temper wasn't something one wanted to get on the receiving end of. "I'm willing to be this isn't some random side effect." Shining turned to Thorax, "the Mimics must have designed it to do that."

"I guess," Thorax nodded. "So Flash can't get angry, scared or sad?"

"Not unless he wants the Maleficore to activate." Corvyn stared at the scans of the device, then over at Flash. "And in a fight, it's easy for any of those emotions to get the better of you."

Flash nodded. "Especially when you have an annoying guy constantly yelling in your ear." Sheave laughed at this, Flash groaning as he clutched his head. The others worried at this and Twilight turned to Corvyn.

"Please tell me you've found a way to stop this. There has to be some way to undo the Maleficore's effects."

"There...might be. But finding it could be tricky."

"What do you mean?" Flash asked, clearly wanting to know any possibility of returning to normal.

Corvyn typed away at his computer and a few moments later, a holographic image of a device was floating in front of them. That device was some kind of sphere, which seemed to be sparking with energy. "The Maleficore is pure negative energy. The only way to cancel it out, is with a source of pure positive energy. My world called them Beatucores."

"Beatucores?" Flash stared at it. "And this thing can stop the Maleficore from turning me insane?"

"Possibility," Corvyn replied. "I would need to configure it to mix with the Maleficore's negative energy. The two energies would mix together and cancel each other out, leaving nothing but pure supercharged energy you'd be able to use fight against the Mimics."

"Great," Flash smiled, "where do we get one?" But the look on Corvyn's face told him that was easier said than done.

"If I knew where to get one, I would have already collected it and used it before now." The others frowned at this, as Corvyn thought for a moment. "But there might be one spot."

"Where?" Flash asked, clearly desperate to get his hands on one. Corvyn pressed a few buttons and the hologram changed to show a castle. "What's that?"

"The one place nearby that might have a Beatucore. The home of the Royal Family."

"You guys had a royal family?" Applejack asked, with Corvyn shrugging.

"Yes. We still had a government, but the royal family's head was always the one who was in charge. Anyway, it was customary in this country for rare cores to be kept at the Royal Family's castle. Most of the high powered cores were used in the battle against the Mimics...even though it was too late to stop them by then." He shook his head. "Anyway. If there are any Beatucores left, they may be held in the vault of the Royal Castle."

"So I've gotta go there?" Flash asked, with Corvyn nodded. "How far away is it?"

"Actually, it's not too far. Located just outside the city...or what's left of this city. You should be able to get there in about an hour on your bike." Flash nodded, as Corvyn began to prepare a map to help him find it.

However, everyone was a little worried about Flash going out into Mimic territory on his own. "I'm going with you." Flash turned to Twilight, shocked by her declaration.

"Twilight, no. It's way too dangerous out there. There'll be Mimics all over the place. And what if I lose control and go Malefic?"

"Even more of a reason for you not to go alone." She poked Flash in the chest. "I was able to remove the Maleficore last time. I'll do it again this time. If you lose control and there's nobody around, you could stay like that for who knows how long."

Shining sighed. "As much as I hate my sister going to unknown territory, she's right. You can't go alone and Twilight's the best one to keep you under control. I'd go, but we can't risk two Riders being MIA."

Flash frowned, but eventually nodded. "Alright. Let's get going."

"Then here." Corvyn threw Twilight some kind of tablet, the girl turning it on and finding it was acting like a GPS. That should get you to the castle. I've also added a blueprint of the place, so you should be able to find the vault. Once there, place the tablet on the vault and hold it. The tablet has a magnetic beacon, so I'll be able to detect it and open a portal at its location."

The two nodded before everyone prepared to head out to their assigned spots. With only two Pillars left to plant, this was do or die time.

The building Corvyn's lab was located in, was another half buried skyscraper.

At the bottom of the skyscraper's un-buried area, a window was opened before Flash's bike shot out of it. Flash let out a cry of excitement, whilst Twilight screamed in terror as she held him around the waist. The pair hit the land and began to fly through the desert at high speed, Twilight having mounted the tablet onto the bike's controls so Flash knew where to go.

The speed they moved at made them nothing but a dust cloud. If a Mimic happened to be passing, they wouldn't see a thing.

At the Mimic Lair, the Generals were preparing themselves for another successful attack.

Greye was currently working on something, a pair of tube-like devices that had some kind of glass screen on one side. "Almost...got it!" The other Mimics turned to him and moved over to see what he had made. "With these, those annoying little toys won't be a problem any more."

"You mean you've found a way to destroy the Rider's Drivers?" Maya asked, with Greye looking confused before shaking his head.

"No. I have no idea how we deal with those." He held out the device. "But these should take care of the guns those humans acquired. They might not have done a lot of damage to us, but our Mimicreeps will be happy they're dealt with."

"And those devices can do a lot of damage," Frill stated. "Those magical girls somehow used several of them to destroy the Gecko. If they figure out how to do that and not destroy their weapons, it could be an issue for us."

"But like I said, it won't be an issue." Greye smirked, as Maya took the device. "All we need to do is wait for them to charge up. Might take a while, but it'll be worth the wait." He activated it and the device started beeping, as the bottom of the device turned blue. But it was only a little slither of blue on an entirely black screen."

"If you say so," High stated. "Anything to get those final two Doom Pillars in place. We can't let the Riders get the better of us. Especially with Shifter supercharged by the Maleficore." The other Mimics frowned. Their master had explained what the Maleficore would do and whilst it was helpful in the long run, fighting against a super powered Rider wasn't fun."

"Let's get going," Greye stated. "The quicker we do this, the less chance Shifter has to mess it up before the Maleficore finishes its work." The others nodded and prepared to head out.

Back on Earth, Morphic and Changeling had arrived at the areas were the last two Doom Pillars were to be placed.

Rainbow and Pinkie were at the site with Morphic, whilst Applejack and Rarity were with Changeling. Sunset, Fluttershy and Pharynx had remained behind at the lab, the three realising they had little to offer the fight at this point. And they weren't alone.

The remaining soldiers and cops from the previous conflicts had also arrived. Many of them had been severely injured, meaning the numbers had been drastically reduced. But with the spots down to only two, all the able bodied fighters had been split into those two areas and were just waiting.

Morphic leaned against a wall, in his Tough form, whilst Pinkie and Rainbow kept themselves entertained. The soldiers were busy making sure their weapons were ready, but also seemed to be giving the Riders and girls a wide berth.

"At least it's not Shifter," Morphic then heard a soldier state. "The last thing we need is that guy showing up and attacking us." Morphic frowned under his suit, hating that Shifter was losing the trust of the people.

"Hey!" Rainbow cried, "it's not his fault. The Mimics did something to make him lose control. He can't help what happened."

"Maybe," a cop stated. "But unless he can get it under control, he's nothing but a liability. I hope he's not at the other spot." Rainbow was about to say something, but had to stop when a light caught everyone's attention.

Morphic jumped into action, running over to the front of the soldiers, as they prepared their weapons and the girls activated their magic.

From out of the portal, a bunch of Mimicreeps leapt out and quickly charged into battle. The soldiers started firing at them, whilst Morphic ran in and used his tail saw to slice through them. Pinkie started throwing cupcakes in their direction and Rainbow moved at super speed, ramming through the horde and knocking them down.

As this happened, Frill and Greye leapt out and looked around.

The Mimics saw only one Kamen Rider and smiled, whilst the soldiers and the two girls fought against them. "Simple," Greye stated as he moved over to where the Doom Pillar needed to go.

But before he could reach it, a construct of a croc head flew towards him and he almost got bitten.

He leapt back, as Frill unleashed his darts that stabbed into the croc. The energy construct was soon destroyed, but Morphic managed to get between them and the spot they were about to place the Doom Pillar. "I don't think so." He raised his arms, his saw and jaw ready to do some damage. The Mimics chuckled at one another before charging, ready to deal with him once and for all.

At the other location, Changeling, the girls and the soldiers found themselves facing down their own opponent.

High and Maya had arrived with a bunch of Mimicreeps, which the soldiers started firing at. The Mimicreeps were blasted and melted into puddles, as Changeling charged forward with his swords at the ready. "Take this!" He swung his blade at High, but the Tiger Mimic sped away from him.

However, before she could get too far away, she suddenly found herself ramming into a wall of gemstones and bounced off it. "Augh!" She hit the ground, as Changeling turned his attention back towards her.

Maya punched the air and sent several webs in his direction, but they were all blocked by Rarity's shields again.

"Sorry!" Applejack ran at her. "But ya'h fought him enough times. It's startin' to get borin'." She reached Maya and threw a punch, the spider woman leaping backwards as the force of Applejack's fist sent the air flying forward.

At the same time, Changeling started slashing at High whilst she remained boxed in by Rarity's gem walls.

Seeing no other option, the Mimic fought back by slashing at Changeling. He blocked and deflected the claws with his swords and at one point, managed to knock them away and leave her open for him to spin around and kick her in the chest.

But High was ready for this and summoned a bunch of lightning, which concentrated around her chest. So when Changeling's boot hit her, he suddenly found himself getting zapped. "GYAH!" He pushed away, as his foot went numb.

High took this opening and shot forward, slashing at him several times. Changeling tried his best, but his numb foot made dodging difficult. All he could do was block with his swords. But even that proved difficult. And when he tried to slash back at her, High leapt backwards before firing a bolt of lightning.

The energy shot forward and struck Changeling, blasting him backwards with a cry. And as he crashed into the ground, High laughed whilst the Rider groaned. This wasn't gonna be easy.

Flash and Twilight had been driving for a while. And with Twilight navigating them through the desert, they eventually arrived at the location Corvyn had given them.

"There it is!" Twilight pointed towards a large sand dune up ahead, Flash staring at it and seeing a bunch of tall towers sticking out from behind it. "The castle Corvyn told us about." Flash revved his engine and they headed up the dune. But when they reached the top, Flash saw something that made his eyes widen.

"WHOA!" He swerved his bike around and headed back down the dune, Twilight yelping in surprise.

"What's wrong?" Flash stopped the bike and got off, Twilight doing the same as the pair climbed up the hill but stayed low. When they reached the top, Twilight got a better look at the castle. It was a large building, only being half buried by the sand. The large towers could be seen sticking out of the desert, along with a large section of the building's upper half.

And when she looked down at the sand around it, she saw what made Flash worry.

Tons of Mimics were guarding it. Creatures of all different kinds, patrolling the area. There were Mimics styled after snakes, turtles and lizards. Ones shaped like the grasshopper, spider and crab Mimics Flash had fought before. And even some avian Mimics, like doves and hawks.

"So many Mimics," Twilight whispered. "What are they doing here?"

"I don't know," Flash replied. "But if we want to get into the castle, I'm gonna have to take them down." Twilight frowned, worried Flash might lose control again. "You head in once I draw their attention to me."

"You want me to go in there on my own?"

"Probably safer than being around me at the moment." Twilight didn't like that statement, but also knew he might be right. "Just be careful. There's no telling what's waiting inside the castle." Twilight nodded and Flash moved over to his bike, getting on it as he summoned his Driver and took out his Mimicore.

"PIERCE!"

Flash revved the engine and placed the Mimicore into the Driver, the bike shooting forward and over the sand dune. "HENSHIN!" He slammed the Driver shut as he disappeared over the hill.

"MIMIC! HEDGEHOG!" Twilight rushed up the sand dune and by the time she reached the top, Shifter was at the bottom and fully transformed. "Defending all with a shield of spines, impaling all that try to do harm!"

The Mimics had noticed his appearance and quickly charged, as Shifter started firing his spines towards them.

The projectiles stabbed into them and he raced between the Mimics that had been closest, whilst also slamming his foot into some with his spikes extended. The Mimics couldn't get close to him, as he drove around sending projectiles in every direction.

As soon as the Mimics were all distracted, Twilight used her magic to transform into her pony form.

With her new wings, she took to the air and flew over the battle. The flying Mimics were all below, but all it would take is one to look up and they would know she was there. Luckily, Shifter had noticed her and seemed to have a plan.

He took out his Shift Striker and placed a Mimicore inside. "FLIGHT!" The Device quickly transformed and when it did, he activated the turbine and unleashed a powerful gust of wind that began to blow the sand around him into the air.

Within moments, a sandstorm filled the area in front of the castle.

"Seriously?" Sheave asked. "Why put yourself at such a disadvantage, just so she would be safe? It's stupid." Flash frowned, but ignored him and increased the intensity of the wind. This blew more sand into the air and enlarged the cloud.

Twilight flew up and managed to stay out of its range, but the Mimics all found themselves getting blinded. "What was that you said, about a disadvantage?" Shifter didn't seem to have an issue, since his mask protected him. "I think this puts me in a pretty good spot." With the Mimics blinded, they were an easy target to shoot down whilst Twilight managed to reach the castle and found an open window to fly into.

Landing, she began to run through the castle in search of the place Corvyn had stated the new core should be located.

But as she turned a corner, she gasped when she saw a bunch of Ant Mimics standing in the hallway in front of her. "Uh oh." The Ants turned to her and all hissed, Twilight frowned. "Why are there so many bug Mimics?" But she knew why. Wish insects being so numerous, it made sense they would be the perfect creature to use as hosts. Small and easy to contain.

The Ants attacked and Twilight acted fast, flying up to avoid their attacks before using her magic to throw them back.

Once they were out of the way, Twilight flew forward as fast as she could. And soon enough, she was past the group. But the Ant were quick to pick themselves up and chase after her.

Back on Earth, the fights continued as Frill used his swords to block Morphic's weapons.

One blade was soon snapped into the jaws of his croc head arm, whilst the other was ground into by the tail blade. Frill groaned, as he fought against the attacks. But it kept Morphic locked in place and unable to attack Greye.

The Mimic moved towards the spot where the Doom Pillar needed to go. But as he did, several soldiers rushed up to him. "I don't think so!" One yelled, pointing his weapon at him. But before they could fire, Greye held out a device and smiled when he saw it was fully charged.

He pressed its button before throwing the device into the air, the weapon beeping several times as everyone realised what it was. "GRENADE!" Everyone ran for it, as the device exploded. But instead of an explosion, some kind of energy wave flew out of it.

That wave hit everyone and did nothing to them, the humans and Mimic being completely unharmed. But when it struck the weapons Corvyn had made, the guns began to spark before completely exploding.

The soldiers screamed, as their weapons blew in their hands. They were knocked away, leaving only Morphic and the girls unharmed.

This allowed Greye to open a portal and take out a Doom Pillar, which he thrust into the ground and activated. "NO!" Morphic yelled, finally overpowering Frill and throwing him away.

He ran forward, but Greye spun around and swung his fan blades around. This unleashed several energy blades, that Morphic had to brace himself to defend against and avoid getting hit. "Nice try! But the Doom Pillar will remain untouched until it activates." Morphic growled, as he prepared to keep fighting. But he soon had another problem.

With the weapons gone, there was nothing protecting the soldiers from the Mimicreeps. Rainbow and Pinkie did their best to defend them, but there were just too many of them. As such, Morphic had to run to their rescue and cut his way through the monsters as well. Hopefully, he could defeat them all before the Doom Pillar activated.

Over with Changeling and the others, their fight continued as well.

Changeling ducked under High's claws and used his blades to slash at her, but she was able to avoid them and jump back. She then charged up power before unleashing it in a single powerful burst, which Changeling was barely able to block using his swords.

"Gyah!" The energy from the bolt made him flinch and stagger backwards, allowing High some breathing room.

"It's over," High stated. "You can't hope to defeat me." She sparked, as Changeling braced himself for the oncoming attack. "Your mommy might have held back on you, but that's not my style. If you're not with us, I'll wipe you out!" With that, she shot forward and high speed.

Rarity tried to put up walls against her, but High managed to avoid them all until she reached Changeling.

"Raaah!" She slashed at Changeling and knocked him flying back, the Rider crying out as his armor was cut but still in one piece. And as he hit the ground, High smirked before unleashing another bolt of lightning. One that threatened to do some serious damage to Changeling.

But at the last moment, Rarity managed to put up a barrier to protect him.

As this was happening, Applejack and Maya were still tussling. And as Applejack threw a punch, Maya unleashed a bunch of webs to hit Applejack's wrist.

"Have a nice flight!" She spun around and swung Applejack away, sending her flying into the side of a building. But before she had a chance to rest, lasers almost hit her and she turned to see the soldiers were running out of Mimicreeps to play with.

As such, she took out a device like the one Greye had. And seeing it was fully charged, she pressed the button and threw it into the air. "Grenade!" One of the soldiers yelled, as the device exploded and created the shockwave.

Like before, this shockwave destroyed the guns Corvyn had made and left the soldiers unable to fight against the remaining Mimicreep. As such, all they could do was protect themselves as the creatures tried to claw at them.

Applejack saw this and realised the people were in danger, the farm girl about to help. But then she noticed Rarity had stopped shielding Changeling, the Rider having recovered, allowing her to shield some of the soldiers whilst throwing more gems at them.

Maya attempted to web her up, but Applejack acted first and ran over to grab her. "GOTCHA!" She wrapped her arms around the Mimic and lifted her up, squeezing tight in an attempt to crush her.

Maya flinched, but managed to fire some webs at the ground and pull.

Applejack felt her trying to drag herself away, but the farm-girl held on tight. However, Changeling saw this and seemed to realise what Maya was doing. "Applejack, let her go!" But it was too late.

Maya released the webs and Applejack suddenly found the force she was pulling against disappeared, resulting in her finding herself suddenly flying backwards and losing her balance. She fell to the ground and let out a cry, as she accidentally hit her head and lost her grip of Maya.

The Mimic General fired a web-line at a nearby wall and used it to pull herself away from Applejack, as High unleashed a bolt of lightning towards the farm girl.

"NO!" Rarity put up a shield that blocked the lightning, which forced her to drop the one protecting the soldiers.

The Mimicreeps attacked and Changeling found himself in a serious situation. Rarity couldn't protect everyone and eventually, someone was gonna get seriously hurt. And if Changeling couldn't find a way to stop this, the Doom Pillar would be planted and everything would end poorly for them.

He had to find a way to stop this.

Back in the other dimension, Shifter continued to fight his way through the Mimics.

He had stopped the sandstorm, but the Mimics were still blind and unable to fight back as he raced through them. "Raaaah!" He fired several spines from his gauntlets and struck several Mimics in the head with them, causing them to go splat as he drove towards the castle.

When he reached the castle, he drove through a window and quickly blasted the entrance to prevent the Mimics from following him through. But as he drove through the castle, he suddenly sensed a bunch more up ahead.

He swerved around a corner and found several Mimics, of the wasp, spider and ladybug variety. But before they could notice him, he hit the side of his Driver.

"CLIMATIC PIECE!"

His gauntlets glowed, as the energy flowed into his bike and formed a large spike on the end of it. And as he raced forward, the spike was pointed right at the Mimics and he soon rammed right into them. The Mimics all screamed, as they were destroyed and Shifter kept driving. But suddenly, he found his bike was making some strange noise.

"Huh?" He skidded to a stop and checked the parts between the body, finding a bunch of sand in the gaps and realising it must have been the sandstorm. "Great."

"Looks like your little sandstorm idea backfired," Sheave laughed. "Just goes to show, helping others get ahead only causes you to fall behind."

"Shut up," Flash told him. "Twilight getting into the castle and finding that core is going to help me in the end." The bike began to melt and shrink into a ball, remaining that way as it slowly expelled the sand.

Shifter picked it up and started running through the castle, hoping Twilight had found the room they were looking for.

Twilight had not found the room, being too busy running from the ants to even look.

The creatures were running after her, some crawling on the walls and ceiling as they did. Twilight was starting to grow tired and if she couldn't find a way to stop these creatures, they would eventually catch up to them.

As she turned a corner, she spotted a chandelier up above her. And as soon as she past it, she spun around and used her magic to pull it down. When it fell, it landed on one of the Ants and knocked it to the ground. But with the Ant's strong body, it was simply pinned for a second before throwing the chandelier off of it.

"Oh, come on!" She turned a corner, only to see a bunch more Mimics down the hallway.

There was a Snake, Eel and even a red Tiger Mimic, who all noticed her and quickly began their attack. This made Twilight stagger back, allowing the Ants to catch up.

Seeing no other option, Twilight thrust her hands forward and caused the Ants and the Eel Mimics to be thrown backwards. The Snake and Tiger somehow dodged the Magic and the Tiger attacked, using its claws but not appearing to have the same electrical abilities High wielded.

Twilight flew up, but the Snake swung its whip tail towards her and managed to grab her around the ankle. This made her gasp, as she was pulled down and slammed into the ground.

She flinched, as the snake prepared to reach out and bite her with its fangs. But before it could, a green spine flew into its head and destroyed it. "Twilight!" She looked around and spotted Shifter, running towards her whilst the Tiger and Ants turned to him.

She smiled, as Shifter began firing more projectiles at the Mimics. All the while, Sheave kept chuckling. "So much for her finding the room you were looking for. In the end, all she did was get in trouble and need bailing out. So pathetic."

Flash could feel his annoyance raising, but couldn't let his frustrations get the better of him. He knew that if he did, the Maleficore could activate like it had before. Any negative emotion was just a window for the device to take control of him.

The Tiger had managed to slice away the spines and attack, the Ants forgetting about Twilight and charging at him as well. But Shifter wasn't worried.

As the Tiger got in close, his gauntlets grew a bunch of spines that her rose to defend himself. The Tiger's claws slashed at him, but he blocked with his armor and quickly knocked it away before backhanding the creature and stabbing it with his spines.

The Tiger leapt back, as the Ants also attacked. But Shifter was able to dodge their attacks before dealing kicks to their chests, the sharp spines piercing their armor-like bodies and knocking them back. And before they could recover, Shifter fired a bunch more projectiles that ripped the Mimics to shreds and made them melt into puddles of goo.

"Nice," Twilight moved towards him. "Sorry I couldn't find the room."

"It's fine. But we've gotta be quick." He turned towards the corridor he had arrived from. "I can sense more Mimics approaching. Probably the ones left inside and a few I didn't take out before. We've gotta hurry." Twilight nodded and they were about to leave.

But suddenly, Twilight suddenly felt an intense pain radiate through her body. She screamed, Shifter's heart stopping as he watched energy surround her. And when it finally stopped, she fell to the ground and Shifter saw the cause standing behind her.

An Electric Eel Mimic, just like the one he had defeated in the same form so long ago.

It snarled at him, whilst moving towards Twilight and building up power. "NO!" Shifter ran forward and fired his projectiles, hitting the creature and knocking it away from her. "Don't you touch her!" As he said that, Sheave laughed.

"So much for promising to keep her safe. Looks like you couldn't even do that."

"SHUT UP!" Shifter yelled, as his anger reached its peak. But in doing so, he suddenly found himself feeling the same ominous feeling he had felt before.

And once again, the Maleficore shot up from where it was being kept and floated above him. It quickly activated and unleashed the energy burst, which struck Shifter's Driver and made him cry out. "GYAAAAAH!" He tried to fight it, but it was too late. The device flew down and connected to his driver, quickly folding over the screen and turning it black whilst the device spoke up.

"MALEFIC PIERCE!"

Shifter screamed, as the energy sparked around him. And eventually, the armor on his body melted and began to form the cocoon around him once again.

"MIMIC! HEDGEHOG!" The cocoon cracked before shattering, revealing Shifter's suit was now completely pitch black. The armor flew onto him and formed the Pierce Armor, only now it was black and his eyes turned green. "Darkness, engulfs all that stands within it. Unlimited power awakens in the shadows!"

The Eel stared at him, as he just stood there.

The beast then unleashed its lightning at him, but a bunch of spikes grew out of his arm and he raised it to form a shield. The lightning bounced off his shield and hit the ground, damaging it but doing no harm to anyone.

The Eel appeared shocked by this, as Shifter formed forward and stepped over Twilight's body. And as the creature charged up more power, Shifter thrust his hand forward and an extra long spike grew from his arm. It pierced the creature's shoulder and made it cry out in pain, as it released its lightning.

The energy flowed through the spine and into Shifter. But if he felt it, he didn't make it known. He stood there and let the energy flow into him, as he walked forward and kept pushing the spine into the Mimic's shoulder. And eventually, the Eel was pushed up against a wall and stabbed through.

Shifter finally retracted the spine and as it withdrew into its armor, he started firing more spines from the other arm.

The Eel quickly found itself getting stabbed over and over again, unable to escape. And as the remaining Mimics from outside finally arrived, the last spine stabbed into it and it finally melted into a puddle of nothing.

The other Mimics saw this and charged, but the spikes on Shifter's armor extended and he started swinging his legs around.

This caused his kicks to stab the spines into the many different Mimic, gouging large chunks out of them and doing some serious damage. He also fired the spines on his arms, shooting several more until he finally stopped and slammed the side of his Driver.

"MALEFIC CLIMAX!"

His right arm transformed into a single giant spike, as the other arm launched several spines that forced the Mimics to all get into a line to avoid them. But this was what Shifter wanted, as he suddenly shot forward and practically flew towards the Mimics.

As this was happening, Twilight was coming around and opened her eyes in time to see Shifter reach the first Mimic.

She was relieved, but then realised what form he was in and panicked. As Shifter's giant spine stabbed into the first one and ripped it apart, he kept moving forward and stabbed all the Mimics before any of them could escape. And as he finished the last one, he rolled forward and landed on his feet.

He slid to a stop, as the last Mimic melted.

Twilight forced herself up and quickly realised that with no enemies to fight, Shifter would turn his attention on only one person. And sure enough, as Shifter stood up, he turned to her and she began to move backwards. But he stepped forward every time she stepped back.

"Flash. You've gotta wake up!" But Shifter wasn't listening and thrust his arm forward, unleashing a bunch of spines in her direction.

"RAAAAH!" Morphic sliced the final Mimicreep in half with his saw blade and as he did, Rainbow and Pinkie turned to the Mimics.

"I gotta try and crush that Doom Pillar!" Rainbow ran forward, moving at super speed whilst Greye and Frill launched their attacks at her. But Rainbow's super speed allowed her to avoid the attacks and get in close, eventually really the Doom Pillar. "One good kick outta do it!" She leapt forward and thrust her foot towards the device, opening the impact would bend and break it.

But before she could get in close, the device unleashed a spark that hit her.

The energy slammed into her foot and Rainbow screamed, as the bolt seemed to stop her in her tracks and knock her back. "Ha!" Greye laughed, "nice try. But the Doom Pillar is close to its full charge. Once it is, nothing will be able to stop it.

"TRI-HORN!"

They both looked around and saw Morphic moving towards them, having activated his strongest Mimicore. And as he replaced the one he was using, the Mimics prepared to fight. "Mega Morph!" He slammed the draw shut and the Driver activated.

"MIMIC! TRICERATOPS!" His armor quickly melted and reshaped itself into his prehistoric form, eventually solidifying as his arm blasts formed. "The charging force of three horns, triple the destructive power."

Now in his super form, Morphic turned towards Greye and Frill with Frill raising his swords.

"You don't scare me!" He charged and Morphic did the same, the pair meeting in the middle with Morphic throwing a punch at Frill. But the Mimic General managed to avoid the triple lasers that fired as he rolled along the ground, then slashed at Morphic in an attempt to cut his legs.

Morphic was able to avoid it and jumped on Frill's swords, using it as a springboard to deal a kick right to Frill's head. This knocked him back, allowing Morphic to jump up and thrust both his fists forward to fire all six of his laser blasters.

The lasers raised down on Frill and blasted him away, making him scream in pain as he was blown away.

Morphic then landed on one knee, one of his triple blaster arms glowing before he punched the ground. This unleashed the energy and sent it flying through the ground towards the Doom Pillar, Morphic hoping to do some damage to it.

But Greye managed to get between him and the weapon and his fans began to glow, the Mimic slamming both of them into the ground and unleashing the energy himself. The two forces then collided and as it did, the resulting explosion shook the battlefield.

The soldiers that were injured had to brace themselves, as the energy shook the ground and sent pieces of debris flying everywhere.

Rainbow and Pinkie nodded to one another, Pinkie taking out a cupcake and charging it with her magic. She then gave it to Rainbow and the girl raced towards the Doom Pillar. And as she got close, Frill stood up and spotted her.

He unleashed a bunch of darts, but Rainbow was able to dodge them all before throwing the cupcake towards the Doom Pillar.

But before it could reach it, Greye jumped in front and the cupcake exploded against him. "GYAH!" He staggered back, smoke coming off his body. And as this happened, Morphic ran forward intending to destroy the Doom Pillar.

However, seconds before he could attack, the energy around the device exploded and formed a dome as it activated.

Morphic threw a punch into the dome, firing a laser at the same time, but this did nothing and his fist bounced off it. He staggered back, as Greye and Frill both laughed.

"Too little, too late." The pair began to walk away, as Morphic turned to them. "One Pillar left. And I'm sure it won't be long before that one's activated as well." A portal opened up behind them and they jumped through it Morphic running after them but being unable to catch up.

"No," Pinkie groaned, "we failed."

Rainbow turned to Morphic, "what do we do now?" Morphic thought for a moment, looking up at the sky as he did.

"Pray that the others can stop the last pillar."

With Applejack still recovering from her head injury, Changeling found himself in a serious situation.

The soldiers were once again being attacked by the Mimicreeps and with no way to protect themselves, all they could do was run whilst the creatures charged. As such, Changeling and Rarity were the last ones left to fight against Maya and High.

The Tiger Mimic unleashed another lightning bolt, which flew towards Applejack only to bounce off the dome Rarity had put up.

Changeling then charged and slashed at High, who quickly blocked using her own claws. As his blades pushed against her claws, High unleashed a bunch of lightning that flew into the swords before hitting Changeling. "GYAH!" He pulled away, refusing to let himself drop his weapon, and High used this opening to speed forward.

In the blink of an eye, she was right in front of Changeling and slammed a foot into his chest.

This sent the Rider flying, Rarity gasping but being unable to help due to protecting Applejack from Maya's attacks. As such, the Rider could only brace himself as he slammed into the side of a building and fell to the ground, groaning as he crashed into it.

With her opponent down, High quickly rushed over to the spot the Doom Pillar was needed. As she did, a portal opened up and she pulled out the final device. "With this, our victory will be assured!"

Rarity saw this and gasped, attempting to put a shield around the spot it had to go. But before she could, Maya fired a web-like at her foot and pulled it out from under her.

With a scream, she fell to the ground and her shields vanished, allowing High to slam the Doom Pillar into the ground. Her body then sparked with energy, which flowed into the Pillar and began to power it up.

Changeling, Rarity and even Applejack began to pick themselves up, allowing them to see what High was doing. Using her lightning powers to help the device charge up faster. "NO!" Changeling charged at her, but Maya got between them.

"This is for the good of our people!" She spun around and slammed her foot into his chest, knocking him to the ground with a grunt of pain. She then fired several webs at him, sticking the Rider to the ground. And as she did, High released the device as the charge was complete.

As soon as the Doom Pillar activated, it began to spark and form the shield around it. And suddenly, it did something the others hadn't seen before.

The dome around the device suddenly exploded upwards and formed some kind of shining pillar. And it wasn't the only one.

Back at the other new Doom Pillar, the dome around it also exploded upwards.

"What the?" Morphic cried, as more pillars suddenly appeared from around the city. He quickly counted twelve and realised it had to be all the active Doom Pillars. They flew upwards until they were about ten miles above the city. Several planes and other aircraft found themselves needing to avoid these lights and barely did.

Once the lights were all high enough, they began to spread outwards and curve.

The lights soon met and merged together, forming large walls of light that filled the entire sky above the city before spreading around it. "No," Morphic realised.

"What's happening?" Pinkie asked, as a dome formed around them.

Rainbow began to run and headed towards where the dome would land, but eventually found herself running short of the light. The dome hit the ground and sealed shut against it, as Rainbow tried to touch it. But before she could even get close, bolts of energy flew off it and zapped her.

She cried out, clutching her hand and seeing the burn on her palm. She had to fight back tears, as she ran back to the others. "We can't get out," she cried. "If we try and get through this thing, we'll be nothing but charcoal when we reach the other side."

Everyone began to panic, as they realised the entire city had been surrounded and everyone in the city was now trapped.

Maya and High laughed, as they opened a portal to escape through.

"It's over," High stated. "Once we have the Control Pillar in place, nothing will be able to stop us." Maya nodded, High turning to the hero with a smirk on her face. "I'd suggest you spend what time you have left to be with your loved ones. I'm sure you'd want to be with them when it happens."

"Then what happens?" Rarity asked, but the Mimics leapt through the portal instead of answering.

All the while, Changeling and the girls were horrified to realise they had failed. Canterlot was domed to be destroyed. And even if they could stop the Mimics from placing the Doom Pillar, the city was blocked off from the rest of the world. If the Doom Pillars didn't kill them, eventual lack of food and medical supplies would.

Things were looking bad. Really bad.

In the Mimic's Lair, the four Generals were quickly patching up their injuries.

"We can't wait," Frill stated. "We have to attack now, before the humans have a chance to get to the area where the Control Pillar needs to go." He slapped some gel onto his arm and it healed his injury, as they all started at the large device in front of them.

That device was a larger version of the Doom Pillars. About four times the size of a normal human.

Greye smirked, as he moved over to a nearby wall. "Good thing I kept something in reserve for just the right occasion." He hit a button and it opened up, revealing several Mimics that had been waiting for them. Some were species the Riders had already beaten before, but others were entirely new. The creatures looked ready to mobilise and the Generals all smiled.

Nothing could stop them now.

Author's Note

Things just keep going from bad to worse. Flash has gone Malefic again and is attacking Twilight, the Doom Pillars have all been placed. And the Mimics are one step away from getting their victory. How could happen next?

Episode 24: Yin and Yang

Canterlot was in a state of panic, as the entire city had been surrounded by a dome of energy.

Said dome had been created by the Doom Pillars, which had all been placed in the needed locations. Now, all that was needed was for them to activate and Canterlot would be cleansed of anything that wasn't a Mimic.

The people were running through the city, trying to find someway out of the town. But there was no way.

Several people tried to go through the sewers, only to find the dome went underground further than any tunnel. Everyone was trapped and at risk of being killed when the Doom Pillars activated completely.

This included Misty and Scootaloo, the pair having abandoned their car with everyone else as the dome appeared. They were trying to make it somewhere safe, though they had no idea where that was, whilst Misty tried to get in contact with her son. "Flash! I don't know what's going on. But please, call me. Tell me that you're safe." But as she said that, something appeared right in front of them.

It was a portal and from out of it, several creatures leapt out. A trio of Mimics.

Two of them were ones they had seen before. A hawk and a wasp Mimic. But another one wasn't. Its body resembled a humanoid butterfly, having a feminine body that was a mix of pink and blue. Its under-body was pink along with its face, whilst its chest, legs, four upper forearms were covered in cyan armor. On its back were a pair of butterfly wings, which were a mix of blue, black and pink.

The Butterfly took to the air, whilst the other two glared at the pair and looked ready to attack. But the humans began to run in the other direction, with the Mimics appearing to be staying in one location.

Other portals began to appear all over a section of the city, encircling a section of it as Mimics jumped through them and appeared to be standing guard.

In the areas where the last two Doom Pillars had been placed, Kamen Rider Morphic and Changeling sensed the Mimics appearance. "Seriously?" Morphic growled, as he summoned his bite. Meanwhile, Pinkie was trying to help Rainbow as her hand was still burned.

"What's going on?" Rainbow asked, but Morphic didn't answer and jumped onto his bike. He then raced off and he wasn't the only one, as Changeling also summoned his ride.

"More Mimics are showing up," he told Applejack and Rarity. The cowgirl was still suffering from her head injury, as the Rider climbed on. "They must be able to launch the Control Pillar. We've gotta stop them." With that, he raced off and the girls were forced to follow on foot.

In the lab, Corvyn glared at the footage he was seeing.

Sunset, Fluttershy and Pharynx were also watching, all worried as they saw the Mimics appearing in the city. "This is bad. If that Control Pillar is set and activates, everyone in the city won't last five minutes."

"What do we do?" Fluttershy asked, Pharynx growling.

"What can we do? That dome is keeping everyone trapped in the city." His eyes suddenly went wide. "What if we brought everyone in the city here? This place is safe!"

"Maybe," Corvyn frowned. "But I don't have enough energy to open as many portals as the Mimics can. I doubt we could get even ten percent of the populace here before the Control Pillar activated. And even if we could, that many people in one place would certainly alert the Mimics to this location. They'd be on us before we could get everyone back to your world."

The three frowned at this, as they kept watching the situation at hand. Things weren't going well for them.

"Flash," Sunset gulped, "Twilight. I hope you guys get here soon. We really need your help."

Within the old castle of Corvyn's world, a scream could be heard.

That scream came from Twilight, the girl running around a corner and barely avoiding a black projectile that almost struck her. She kept running, taking out a tablet and using it to tell her where to go. And moments later, Kamen Rider Shifter stepped around the corner whilst still in his Malefic Pierce form.

She panted, looking over her shoulder and seeing him firing another spine towards her.

She ducked down, as the spine slammed into a torch pole and knocked it over. Luckily, it wasn't lit and Twilight was able to jump over it. "Flash, I know you're in there!" She stopped, trying to figure out which way to go. "You need to fight it!" Shifter launched two spines and she ran left, the two barely missing her as she kept going. "Please, Flash. You're stronger than that thing."

Inside his head, Sheave watched as Flash's mind was glowing with a black aura.

He could see what was happening and smirked, as Flash let out a growl and was unable to think rationally. "Go on. Destroy her. Stab her with your spines and do what this body was meant to do. Destroy humans!"

"RAAAAAAAAAAH!" Flash roared, as his body fired another spine at Twilight. But she barely managed to avoid it again, as she leapt around another corner. Sheave smirked, as he looked down at the amber holding him. He smiled, seeing tiny little cracks within it.

"Come on. Just a little more."

Twilight followed the map and eventually found herself outside a room, using her magic to open the doors and running into a large study.

The room was huge, with a destroyed desk in two different corners and several torn up pictures. Twilight saw that the people in the pictures were the same as Corvyn, though they were dressed in fancy clothes Twilight would expect in a victorian painting.

But as she looked around, she saw no sign of a vault anywhere. "Come on. Corvyn said it would be here." She checked behind all the pictures, but found nothing. "Where is it?" But then, she heard footsteps and gasped.

Spinning around, she saw Shifter step into the room. And as soon as he did, he fired several spines right at her.

She screamed and barely managed to dodge them, the spines slamming into the wall behind her as she ran around the room. And as Shifter stepped to let his armor regrow the spines, she reached out with her magic and grabbed the Maleficore.

"Come off!" But no matter how hard she pulled with it, the Maleficore refused to detach.

Shifter forgot about waiting for his spines and moved towards her, clearly preparing to beat her to death. And seeing no other way to escape, Twilight decided to do something crazy.

She rushed forward and tackled, the Rider, grabbing the Maleficore in her hand. But in doing so, she was suddenly zapped by the device and screamed out in pain. But she didn't let go and kept pulling, as Shifter raised his fist to try and break her back.

But before he could, the Maleficore finally came out and Twilight screamed as she was thrown away from him.

Shifter screamed as well, as the dark energy of the Maleficore left his body. As it did, his armor returned to its usual green colour and he fell to the ground. The pair laid there, exhausted with Twilight's body sparking. The Maleficore quickly left her hand and flew back over to the Rider, landing in his hand as he came back to his senses.

"What?" He sat up and clutched his head, moaning as he did so. He then saw Twilight and gasped, rushing over to her. "Twilight! Twilight, talk to me!" Twilight groaned as she opened her eyes. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Twilight sat up, "I'm okay." Flash knew she was lying, as he looked around and wondered where they were.

"What happened?"

"You lost control again. You managed to destroy all the Mimics, but..." Flash didn't need to be told anything else, understanding the rest.

"I'm sorry." As he said that, he heard Sheave begin to chuckle.

"Oh. You were so close to crossing that line. I'm sure if you had done it, there would have been no going back for you." Flash growled, but Twilight moved up to him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"It's not your fault. At least now we can search for the vault without any Mimics getting in the way." As she said that, a cracking sound caught their attention. They both looked over towards the wall, as the damage Shifter did with his spines began to spread before the wall collapsed.

The two shielded themselves, as the dust from it washed over them. And when it slowly died down, the wall revealed a space behind it with a large metal vault.

"Nevermind," Twilight smiled as she stepped up to the vault. Shifter did the same, transforming back to normal as she took out the tablet. "Let's hope this thing has what Corvyn's looking for." She placed the tablet onto the vault and activated the beacon, she and Flash holding onto the vault as the beacon sent out the signal.

After a minute or so, a portal opened up and the pair held on tight as it flew towards them.

Once it washed over them, they found they were in the large room Flash first met Corvyn in. The room was no longer bathed in shadows, Corvyn running out and seeing them. "You got it!" He smiled, but then frowned. "But we've got problems." The pair looked worried. "The Mimics managed to plant the last two Doom Pillars."

"What?" Flash gasped, as Corvyn led them back into the lab. Sunset, Fluttershy and Pharynx were still there, watching as the Mimic invasion continued.

On the streets of Canterlot, Morphic and Changeling were doing their best to take out the Mimics that were standing guard over the area the Doom Pillar was meant to go.

As they rode through the streets, they did their best to cut down the monsters. Morphic fired his Tri-Horn arm blasters as he rode by, whilst Changeling slashed at any he passed. One by one, the Mimics were being dealt with. Even the ones in the air.

"Take this!" Morphic yelled, as he fired a laser up at the Hawk and Butterfly Mimics. But the Hawk happened to shield the Butterfly and as it was destroyed, the insect looked terrified and actually flew off.

Morphic tried to blast it, managing to clip its leg, side and wing, but a Cheetah Mimic attacked and he was forced to deal with that.

Not too far away, Changeling found himself up against a new Mimic that looked like a red human with a head that looked like a legless dragonfly that had its back section sticking out the back of his head. It tried to attack him, but he leapt off his bike and sailed over it. He then slashed at its back and destroyed it, only for more Mimics to attack.

As this was happening, a large portal suddenly appeared in the sky. And from it, an extra large Doom Pillar suddenly appeared.

Being dropped down from the portal, it slammed into the ground with enough force to make it impale the ground and stay up right. And standing atop it were the four Mimic Generals.

"Ready?" Frill asked, the others nodding as they all grabbed one of the four levers. "Activate!" They pulled them down and the device started powering up, as a beam of light suddenly flew out of the top.

Rainbow, Applejack, Rarity and Pinkie had arrived on the scene, just in time to see this beam appear and hit the middle of the dome. The Riders also saw this and as they finished off the last of the Mimics, they ran towards it and met up on the way.

The girls followed but as they did, Rarity and Pinkie suddenly felt very strange. "What..." Rarity suddenly fell to the ground, Pinkie not far behind her. Rainbow and Applejack saw this and as they rushed to their side, the pair also felt weak.

"Why is it...hard to breathe!?" Rainbow fell to the ground, Applejack as well.

In the lab, everyone else was watching in shock.

"What's going on?" Flash asked, as the images on the screen started changing to show different parts of the city. There, they saw people suddenly collapsing and looking ill. "No!" The others were just as scared, especially when they saw people they knew.

"Trixie!" Sunset yelled, seeing one of her school friends with a bunch of other CHS students. Celestia and Luna were also there, trying to stay strong but not being able to.

"This is bad," Pharynx cried as the soldiers that had been fighting started to collapse as well. Then, the camera showed the area around Crystal Prep and Twilight gasped.

"Cadance, no!" Her brother's fiancée was trying to get her students to safety, but she had also succumbed to what was happening. "How do we stop this?"

"Destroying the Control Pillar," Corvyn stated. "That's the only way to save them. But if it activates its defence shield before we can, everyone in the city will be lost forever."

Panic swept through the group, as Sunset turned to Flash. "You have to get out there. Mimics aren't affected, so you and the other two will be the only ones immune that can stop it." But Flash didn't look so sure. "Flash!"

"I can't!" He gripped his arm. "What if I lose control again?" Everyone frowned, realising he was clearly worried about the Maleficore's power. "I need that new Mimicore. The one in the vault."

"Getting into that vault will take hours," Corvyn told him. "Maybe even longer than that. And then making the new Mimicore from it, will take even longer. It'll be too late by then." Flash frowned, as he turned back to the monitor and watched what was happening.

Back in Canterlot, Morphic and Changeling found their friends and the state they were in.

They both realised if they didn't do something quickly, things were only gonna get worse. "Come on!" Morphic ran towards the Control Pillar, Changeling following as several Ant Mimics got between them. "OUT OF THE WAY!" Morphic punched the air and sent out a bunch of lasers, which struck the Mimics and blew several up.

The ones that weren't destroyed, were soon sliced apart by Changeling as the Riders charged at the Control Pillars.

But as they got closer, four figures leapt down off the top of the Control Pillar. Frill, Greye, Maya and High smiled at them, whilst glancing over at the girls currently choking on the floor. "How painful, this must be for them." Frill summoned his swords. "It will be over shortly."

"You're right," Morphic nodded. "It will be." The Riders got into a fighting stance and charged, only for High to suddenly shoot forward and super speed. And before the Riders could react, she flew past and they were both struck by lightning. "GYAH!" They cried, staggering back as Greye swung his fans through the air.

Changeling saw this and fought through the bolts, jumping in front of Morphic and swinging his blades around.

He deflected the attack, only for Maya to hit him with a web line and pull him forward. And before he could stop himself, Frill shot towards him and kicked him upwards into the air. "Augh!" Changeling spun up, as High unleashed a bolt of lightning that slammed into him.

Morphic heard his screams and spun around, punching the air and sending three lasers towards High. But she was able to dodge them whilst Changeling fell to the ground.

The Rider crashed into the floor and groaned, whilst Greye ran towards him. "Get up!" He heard his brother's voice in his ear and Changeling managed to roll out of the way, seconds before Greye slammed his foot into the ground where he had been.

He leapt back to his feet and started slashing at Greye, only for the peacock Mimic to counter every slash with his fan before dealing a kick to his chest. "Gyah!"

As this was going on, Morphic was fighting against the other three. High was speeding around, slashing and zapping him whenever she passed. Frill flew overhead and launched his feather darts, Morphic trying to defend using his armor, whilst Maya fired her webs hoping to stick him into place.

Both Riders found themselves growing tired, having not fully recovered from their last battle and all the Mimics they had fought to get there.

Morphic leapt to the side, barely avoiding High's attack, then forced his fist into the ground and unleashed the energy from his gauntlets. The lasers flew into the ground and moved towards Maya, only for Frill to fly in and pull her up out of the way. Moments later, the ground exploded but nobody was hurt by it.

Morphic growled, only to suddenly find himself getting zapped when High stabbed her claws into his back armor. "AUGH!"

The tiger Mimic laughed, whilst Changeling was suddenly thrown through the air and crashed in front of Morphic. The Triceratops themed Rider reached back and grabbed High before throwing her around, launching her off of him and sending her flying. But Greye was there to catch her whilst Frill dropped Maya.

"Face it," Frill stated. "The two of you are no match for the four of us. Without Shifter and your little friends, you don't stand a chance." As he said that, the Control Pillar behind them suddenly started glowing. The two feared they were too late, but a shield hadn't formed around it yet. They still had time.

Deciding to ignore beating the Mimics, Morphic started punching the air in hopes that his lasers would hit the device.

But the Mimics didn't dodge, Greye and Frill instead using their weapons to deflect the energy. Changeling then charged with both swords at the ready, the Rider hitting the side of his Driver as he did so.

"CLIMATIC SLASH!"

The energy flowed into his blades and as the Mimics prepared to defend against it, he suddenly leapt several feet into the air. "RAAAAAH!" He swung his blades around and unleashed the energy, forming an X that flew towards the Control Pillar. Those watching prayed this would work, but Frill had apparently seen it coming.

He flew up and crossed his swords, the energy attack slamming into them and forcing him backwards. He flinched, but managed to hold the attack back and eventually deflect it away from the weapon.

Changeling grunted in annoyance, only to then find High unleashing a bolt of lightning right at him.

Since he was falling through the air, he couldn't dodge. All he could do was cross his swords at the last minute, the lightning slamming into him and making the Rider cry out as he was blown backwards and slammed into the ground.

Morphic charged at the Mimics, throwing several punches in their direction.

Greye used his fans to deflect the punches and send the lasers he fired away from the Control Pillar. He even managed to get a few slashes with the fan in before the Rider could get away. And as Morphic pulled his fist back to punch him, a web line hit it and he was pulled back by Maya.

She quickly released him before he overpowered her, as High shot towards Morphic and performed several passing slashes before Greye launched his energy blades at him.

These attacks slammed into Morphic and forced him to slide backwards, as Frill fired several darts his way that also exploded. The attacks were beginning to overwhelm him and as Changeling picked himself up, Maya fired her webs towards him in an attempt to pull him off his feet.

The Rider managed to slash these attacks away, but this allowed High to charge up a bunch of power before launching it towards the Riders. The attack slammed into the ground at the twos' feet and blew them both into the air, the pair screaming out as they were thrown around before slamming into the ground.

As they did, the Control Pillar powered up again.

Both Riders heard this and despite the pain they were in, they forced themselves back to their feet. But the Mimics continued their attack and no matter how hard the pair fought, they were no match for them all in the state of exhaustion they were both in. They needed help.

Flash and the others watched the two Riders getting overwhelmed. And every second they spent fighting the Mimics, brought them one second closer to losing the battle for good.

"They need help!" Pharynx yelled, seeing his brother getting blasted back. "Isn't there anything we can do?"

Corvyn shook his head. "If we step into that energy field, it'll be like stepping into a field of poison gas. We won't last a second. Only a Mimic can survive in that environment." Everyone's attention slowly shifted to Flash, who watched and still looked worried.

As he watched, Sheave continued to speak up. "I knew you humans were weak." Flash tried to block him out, but the Mimic kept talking. "All those people. All of them are going to die, because you're too scared of what might happen to you. Some hero."

Flash growled, the others noticing this and realising Sheave was likely talking to him. "Flash," Twilight told him, "calm down. We're not blaming you. I know you're scared about the Maleficore."

"What are you more scared of?" Sheave asked. "What might happen if you go out there? Or what will happen if you don't?" Flash frowned. "Sure. You might lose control if you go out there. But if you don't, all those people will die."

Flash kept staring at the screen, as Morphic was blown backwards. He then glanced at another screen and as he did, he saw two people that were on the ground struggling to breathe. "Scoot! MOM!" His mother and sister were together, Misty hugging her daughter as they were being killed by the power of the Doom Pillars.

The sight of it was too much for Flash. Suddenly, all of his fears were gone.

"Open a portal!" He turned to Corvyn, who clearly wasn't sure about this. "DO IT!" Corvyn frowned, but pressed a button. And in a flash of light, the portal opened.

"Flash!" Sunset told him, "are you sure about this?"

"No," Flash replied, "but that's never stopped me before." With that, he leapt through the portal before anyone could talk him out of it.

As soon as he was through the portal, he saw both Morphic and Changeling get slammed by Greye and High's attacks. "GUYS!" He watched them get sent flying and as they crashed into the ground, their suits exploded off of them and they laid there in human form.

He rushed to their side, seeing the two were struggling to stay conscious. "And then there was one." He turned to the Mimics, as they stood between him and the Control Pillar. "Glad you could be here," Frill stated. "Just in time to see this city be wiped clean of the non-Mimic filth."

"The only thing getting cleaned away, are you guys." Flash stood up and took out his Mimicore, the Driver appearing around his hips as he activated his devices.

"FLIGHT!"

The Mimics launched their long ranged attacks at him, Flash charging forward as he placed the Mimicore into the Driver. "HENSHIN!" He slammed the Driver shut, as the attacks reached him.

"MIMIC! OWL!" Explosions appeared all around him, shielding him from view. And as the flames died down, the Rider suddenly flew out with his wings spread to help him take flight. "Flying through the sky, seeking prey with all seeing vision!"

He flew up and attempted to attack the Control Pillar. But before he could reach it, Frill got in his way and slashed at him with his swords.

"WOW!" Shifter barely managed to avoid them, as he took out his Shift Striker and activated its Blade mode. But as he fought against Frill, High unleashed a bolt of lightning and Greye launched his crescent blades towards the Rider.

This distracted him, allowing Frill to get past his weapon and slash at his chest.

"Gyah!" He was knocked back and tried to regain control, but Maya managed to hit his boot with her web and pulled him down to the ground. "Ouff!" The Rider groaned as he hit the street floor, attempting to pick himself up only to find High flying past and slashing at him several times. "AUGH!"

As he staggered around, Greye and Maya got in close with Maya kicking him in the shoulder before Greye slashed at him with his fans.

"Gyah!" Shifter was knocked away, as Frill unleashed several feather darts that slammed into him and exploded. This knocked him down and he was thrown across the battlefield, groaning as he slid to a stop.

"You can't win," Sheave told him. "Even if you went into Hyper Strike, there are just too many of them to defeat."

"Shut up," Flash told him. "I can handle this." He pushed himself up and changed his Shift Striker to the Pierce form, quickly firing at the Mimics only for Frill and Greye to deflect them all before High shot forward at super speed. Shifter tried to fly up, but she used that speed to leap up and shoot into the air.

Before he could respond, she slashed at him and he cried out at the jolt that was sent through his body.

He fell to the ground, as Maya launched several webs at the Rider's foot. This stuck him to the ground and he was unable to pull himself free, allowing Greye to launch his crescent blades whilst High unleashed a bolt of lightning.

This energy flew towards him and he was unable to move out of the way, the best he could do being to fire his weapon only for the spines to do nothing. And then the attacks landed, the ground exploded and he was blown into the air with a scream of pain.

"GYAH!" He hit the ground hard, as the Control Pillar's energy rose. He didn't have much time.

"You could end this easily," Sheave told him. "If you used the Maleficore, those four wouldn't stand a chance against you. You know that to be true."

"Maybe. But I can't afford to turn into a wild psychopath again. Even if I beat them, I'd just go looking for another opponent. Not destroy the Control Pillar."

"You don't know that," Sheave stated. "What if you can control the power?" Flash said nothing, his mind glancing back at Sheave whilst his body began to pick itself up. "I'm just saying. Maybe there's a reason you keep losing control."

"I keep losing control because of the Maleficore's negative power."

"You don't know that for sure. What if the only reason you lose control, is because you're fighting against that power. Because you resist it, the negative energy is forced to overwhelm you in order to activate its power. But if you don't resist it, the energy can flow the same way the rest of your forms do. And when that happens, maybe you'll remain in control."

"I...that can't be it."

"Why can't it? You don't know anything about this energy. And it's clear that Corvyn guy is just as clueless. At this point, what do you have to lose? You obviously can't win without the Maleficore."

Flash said nothing, as High suddenly charged at him and grabbed him by the shoulders. "GYAH!" Shifter screamed, as the energy zapped him.

High laughed, as Shifter fell to his knees. "That's right. You might be a Mimic, but that human mind of yours will always be your greatest weakness. Too afraid to do what needs to be done." Shifter groaned and tried to lift his weapon, but she slashed at him and he was sent flying again.

He hit the ground and as he did, he felt his vision beginning to go blurry for a moment.

Then, the image of his sister and mother appeared in his mind. He was suddenly reminded of the state the others were in and imagined them in a similar situation, along with all of his friends and everyone else he knew.

Sheave chuckled. "If you don't want to save them, that's fine. No skin off my back. But if it was me. If I had a chance to save my brother and the Mimics, even if it could kill me, I wouldn't hesitate. How ironic. You call us Mimics monsters, but we're more selfless than you."

Flash turned to glare at him, as the Control Pillar gained even more power.

Shifter then stood up and before the Mimics could attack, he took out the Maleficore and held it tight. They all wondered what he was doing, with Twilight and Corvyn doing the same. But they had a feeling they knew. "Flash," Twilight whispered, "you can't."

Shifter took a deep breath before placing the device into the Driver. As it did, the device flipped down over the screen.

"MALEFIC FLIGHT!"

Shifter closed his eyes and let the power flow through him. "Shape Shift!" With that, his armor began to melt and changed colour.

"MIMIC! OWL!" The Flight form reformed, only now his suit, armor and the lines on his body turned completely black. As the armor solidified, his eyes turned yellow as the Driver spoke out. "Darkness, engulfs all that stands within it. Unlimited power awakens in the shadows!"

The Mimics stared at the Rider, expecting him to be a voiceless walking disaster. But to their surprise, Shifter actually pointed at them before speaking. "I hope you're ready. Because the winds of victory have shifted."

The Mimics were shocked by this, as Shifter's pure black wings exploded to their full size and he flew forward with his Blade Shift Striker in hand.

Flash was amazed by the fact he was actually in control of his body. "See," Sheave told him, "this is what happens when you're not scared of wielding great power." Flash ignored him, as Frill flew up and tried to fight him.

Shifter swung his sword around and blocked Frill's attacks before dealing a kick to him, the Mimic crying out in pain as the Rider used this opening to deal several slashes to the Mimic. And as Frill fell back, Shifter changed the weapon to its Strike Form.

Frill launched several darts at him, but Shifter swung his rapier around with incredible speed to knock them all back before charging. He thrust the sword forward and struck one of his wings, making him scream as Shifter flew behind him and put his weapon away. He then slammed the side of his Driver, making it light up.

"MALEFIC CLIMAX!"

Shifter spread his wings and with a mighty flap, created a powerful gust of wind that slammed into Frill and sent him flying upwards. Shifter then chased after him and flew around him in a circle, moving faster and faster to make the air around him swirl into a tornado.

Frill screamed, as he was unable to regain control and spun around at high speed. And eventually, he found Shifter flying towards him before thrusting his foot forward. And eventually, the Rider slammed into him and knocked him flying out of the tornado and crashing into the ground.

"FRILL!" The others yelled, as the Mimic bounced along the ground and eventually came to a stop. His body was covered in injuries, but he would live.

Shifter landed, as High growled. "DAMN YOU!" She unleashed another bolt of lightning towards him, as he suddenly changed the Mimicore in his Driver.

"MIMIC! HEDGEHOG!" The lightning exploded and Shifter disappeared, only for a bunch of black spikes to fly out of it and slam into High.

She screamed in pain, as Shifter ran out in his black Pierce form and kept shooting her with his spines. She tried to slash them away, but they were moving too fast and several managed to hit her in the shoulders and legs.

When he reached her, he swung his leg into her side and used the spikes to stab into her. She screamed and tried to slash at him, but Shifter protected himself with a shield of spines before thrusting the other arm forward and stabbing into her. He then jumped away, flipping backwards as he unleashed a barrage of spines into her legs and almost crippled her.

He landed, as Greye charged at him and started slashing at him with his fans. But Shifter blocked with another shield whilst replacing the Mimicore again. And as he leapt back, Greye swung his fans around and unleashed the energy blades, which exploded as the Rider transformed.

"MIMIC! SWORDFISH!"

A black blur shot out of the explosion and flew past Greye, slashing at him before he could respond. And as the peacock was thrown away, the blur moved over to where he would land and slashed at him again. This happened several times, Greye being knocked flying and cut as the blur kept intercepting him.

He was then thrown straight up by a super-speed kick and Shifter followed him, finally slowing down enough to be seen as he crossed his blades. And with a single X-shaped slash, he did serious damage to Greye and knocked him down.

As the Mimic landed, Maya watched where Shifter was about to fall and fired her webs in his direction. But Shifter took out his Shift Striker and morphed it into its Flight Form, using the tornado it produced to blow him away from that spot and land safely.

As he did, he replaced the Mimicore in his Driver again and charged forward whilst slapping it shut.

"MIMIC! LIGHTNING BUG!"

Shifter thrust the Shift Striker forward and unleashed a tornado, blinding Maya and making her brace herself so she wasn't blown away. And as she webbed the ground and held on, Shifter suddenly appeared in his black Strike Armor.

He swung his leg at her and as she blocked with her leg, the light on his armor sparked and unleashed the energy into her. This made her scream as she was electrocuted, the impact forcing her back as Shifter changed the Shift Striker to his Pierce form.

He started firing at the Mimic and she couldn't defend in time, getting shot in several spots before Shifter ran forward and performed a flying kick into her chest.

"GYAH!" She was knocked back, as Shifter landed and changed his Shift Striker to its Blade Form. And in the blink of an eye, he was right in front of her and slashing the sword down her chest. All the while sending the energy of his form into the blade and causing her even more damage.

Maya screamed, getting blasted back and hitting the ground with the rest of the Mimic Generals.

But as she did, the Control Pillar began to glow as its power was growing even stronger. Soon, the shield would form around it and nothing would be able to stop it. Shifter had to act quickly.

Putting his weapon away, Shifter turned towards the Control Pillar and took a deep breath before slamming the side of his Driver and pushing the Maleficore's energy into it once again.

"MALEFIC CLIMAX!"

The lights on his body glowed purple and unleashed a bunch of energy, which spiralled around the Rider as he raced forward. He moved as fast as he could and felt the energy flowing into him growing stronger and stronger. And as the Pillar's power reached its zenith, he leapt at the device as all the energy flowed into his boot.

"RAAAAAH!" He thrust the foot forward and slammed into the device seconds before it could create a shield, the Mimics all screaming as they saw him doing this.

The Rider flinched, as he felt the energy inside the Pillar fighting back against him. But eventually, he managed to overpower that energy and break through it. And the Pillar soon followed.

Shifter shattered his way through the metal device and broke through it completely, flying past and landing on the ground behind it. And as he slid to a stop, the Pillar exploded and sent a wave of energy straight up into the dome's top. When it hit the dome, the energy flowed to the rest of it and into the Doom Pillars.

Suddenly, the devices all began to shake before completely exploding. One by one, the devices were destroyed and the doom began to disappear.

Eventually, the entire city was freed from the energy. The people that had been forced to the ground suddenly found they could breathe normally and everyone started getting their breath back. Many of them were unconscious, including Flash's family and the soldiers, but others were already starting to come around.

Shifter stood there, still in his Malefic Rider Form. He stared at the spot where the Control Pillar had been and smiled under his suit. He had done it. He had used the Maleficore, stayed in control and destroyed the device. "Yes!" He cheered, as the Rainbooms, Shining and Thorax were starting to come around. "I did it!"

But then, Shifter's entire body went stiff and he suddenly started screaming as he clutched his head. At the same time, the Mimic Driver sparked as the Maleficore's energy flowed into it.

"Augh!" Flash suddenly found himself inside his own mind, the pain fading but the teen was still unsure what had happened. "Now what?"

Suddenly, he heard something that made his heart stop. A cracking sound, making him look around and see the amber around Sheave was beginning to break. His eyes widened, whilst Sheave smiled. "Finally."

"What?" Before Flash could do anything, Sheave let out a roar and broke free of his prison. Flash staggered back, as the image of his home suddenly disappeared. They were both in the white void, as Sheave stood up. "What have you done?"

"I didn't do anything," Sheave chuckled. "You did. When you used the Maleficore, you freed me from my prison." Flash's eyes slowly widened. "Yup. Every time the Maleficore was being used, it slowly eroded the safeties that kept me trapped in my own body. But now those safeties are gone."

Flash glared at him. "I won't let you control me!" Sheave's expression became one anger.

"Control you? This is my body! I've let you control me for long enough!" With that, he rushed forward and tackled Flash. The two began to struggle against one another, trying to overpower the other. "You can't win!" As he said that, Sheave's body began to glow a dark aura. "The Maleficore's power is flowing through me!"

"Ahhh!" Flash tried his best, but was exhausted after the mental drain that the fight had put on him. "I...I'm not giving up. I won't...let you...win!" The pair were suddenly pushed apart and glared at each other before letting out a yell, the two charging at one another and throwing a punch towards the other.

In the physical world, Shifter kept screaming as a portal opened up.

Twilight and Corvyn both ran out and saw what was happening, the two looking worried as Twilight turned to Corvyn. "What's going on?" But Corvyn had no idea. However, he knew there could only be one cause.

"We have to remove the Maleficore!" She nodded and they both ran at Shifter, only for the Driver to suddenly unleash a blinding light that stopped them in their tracks. "GYAH!" They both yelled, as Shifter's Rider form exploded off his body.

At this point, the Mimic Generals were beginning to come around. And when they did, they saw Flash standing there before falling to his knees and hitting the floor. The Maleficore was still attached to him, as he laid on the ground.

Shining, Thorax and the others were also starting to recover, the effects of the Doom Pillar wearing off on the girls as they all stood up and saw Flash. And slowly, the teen began to move and pushed himself up. "Flash!" Twilight rushed to his side. But as she did, Flash suddenly summoned his Shift Striker in its Blade Form.

Everyone gasped, as he tried to slash at her. But Twilight managed to leap away at the last second, the blade barely missing her. "Flash!" Shining cried, running over to shield his sister. "What are you doing?"

Flash smirked, Shining not liking the look in his eye. "Flash Sentry isn't home right now."

"What?" Shining and the others looked confused, whilst the Mimics seemed to understand. Flash jumped away from his friends and landed in front of the Mimic generals, as he did a mock bow.

"I don't think we've been formally introduced. The name's Sheave. Sheave-Far-Tar. Mimic General and the true owner of this body." Everyone's eyes widened in shock, Corvyn more than anyone.

"That's...that's not possible." But Sheave pointed at the Maleficore and Corvyn slowly realised what had happened. "It can't be. It overrode the safety."

"That's right," Sheave laughed. "Admittedly, I wish it had done so before the Doom Pillars were destroyed. But at least something good came out of this messed up situation." He turned to the Mimics, who were looking at him suspiciously. "Sorry about the problems I've caused until now. Won't happen again."

High said what everyone was thinking. "How do we know we can trust you?" Sheave shrugged before walking away, everyone seeing a portal opening up for him. One that likely led to the Mimic Lair.

"FLASH!" Twilight cried, the others looking worried as their friend turned to smirk at them.

"Your friend is gone. From now on, only I remain." With that, he stepped through the portal as the Mimics went in after him. Once the last one disappeared, the portal closed and everyone was left standing there in shock.

Twilight was the first to do anything, even though it was simply falling to her knees as tears appeared in her eyes. "Flash." The others continued to stay there, as Shining let out a roar of frustration. They had succeeded in stopping the Mimics and destroying the Doom Pillars. But in doing so, they had lost their best hero. All they could do was stand there, letting their failure wash over them.

At the Mimic Lair, Sheave stood next to the cocooned form of a firefly.

He picked it up and smiled. "I remember when I encased this creature. When I first took physical form. Even though I barely understood what was happening at the time." The other Mimics kept staring at him, clearly still untrustworthy. "I assure you. I'm on your side." With that, Sheave's clothes began to melt and slowly transform.

Soon enough, he dressed in a grey suit with a white shirt and black tie. On top of it was a black overcoat that would look impressive flowing in the wind.

"I still don't trust this," High stated. But before she could say anything else, an alarm sounded and they all moved over to the communicator. Sheave followed them and when he saw the others bowing, he followed suit as the device activated and showed the holographic version of their master.

The figure looked around and saw Sheave amongst them. "I see. So the Maleficore as finally done its job. Good. However, you failed to protect the Control Pillar. Now all of the Doom Pillars have been destroyed."

"It's my fault," Sheave told them. "I should have fought harder to break free. But I feared if I tried it too early, Sentry would figure out what was happening and Corvyn would have found a way to reverse it. We're lucky I gained control when I did. Sentry managed to obtain a Beatucore. Had they used it, the Maleficore's power would have been undone."

"Yes," the master nodded. "But now that the Doom Pillars have been destroyed, we will need to find another way to take control of this world." The Mimics nodded, as Sheave turned to Greye.

"Is there a reason he's in the shadows?"

"Huh?" Greye asked, raising an eyebrow at this. "That's just how he appears on the device."

"Really?" Sheave frowned before getting up and moving towards the hologram. "Apologies. Just need to jiggle a few wires around." He did so and the hologram sparked and flickered for a moment before reforming. And this time, the figure was no longer in the shadows. "Perfect." He stepped back and stared at the face of his master.

He was a grey skinned individual wearing a white shirt and black suit with a red tie. His eyes were red and his hair was black. As he stared at them, they saw a smirk on his lips. "The Riders may have defeated us this time. But things are about to change."

Author's Note

Well...that sucked. Flash managed to save his home, family and the world, but at a terrible cost. Now Sheave is in control of his body and there's no telling when or even if Flash will be able to free himself. What will happen now?

Episode 25: A Shift of Resolve

All over Canterlot, many people were still recovering after their near death experience the previous day.

Many were back home, though even more were in the hospital due to their close call causing complications with their health. They were all resting up, whilst people from outside the city had arrived to help with the clean up. And as they did, someone appeared on TV to talk to the entire city.

"People of Canterlot," the grey skinned, black haired, man announced. "I am Sombra. CEO of Dark Industries. We have seen the damage caused by the recent Mimic attacks and whilst we thank the Kamen Riders for everything they've done, it's time to start working to end this crisis ourselves.

Therefore, whilst my crew of construction workers and other employees work to undo all the damage done to our fair city, we will also be working on ways to stop the Mimics once and for all. The Kamen Riders are clearly a band-aid and not a cast. We must find a way to destroy those creatures once and for all."

He pointed at the screen. "But whilst we work to finally rid ourselves of this menace. We must not allow ourselves to hide away in fear. For the Mimics want us to waste our lives being scared of them. Let us show them that the only lives being wasted are theirs." The interview went on for a little while longer, Sombra answering several questions as he did. But most of the city were done listening and agreed with him wholeheartedly.

As Sombra returned to his office, his assistant rushed up beside him.

"Mr. Sombra. Everything you asked for has been confirmed. The reconstruction will begin on schedule. Also, the scientists we have working on new anti-Mimic weapons believe they might be close to a breakthrough. Although, they also say they can't be sure how effective it'll be without actually testing it on a Mimic."

"Yes. Unfortunately, it's not like we have any we can test them on." They reached his office and Sombra turned to the assistant. "Hold my calls. I have some personal matters to attend to."

"Of course." The assistant started writing on her clipboard, doing so causing the Mimic detector on her wrist to be shown.

Sombra stared at the device for a moment before looking away and opening the door, stepping inside and locking it behind him. He sighed and moved over to his desk, sitting behind it before taking out a device from the draw.

Placing it on the desk, he activated it and it created a holographic screen. As Sombra sat back, he waited for the screen to connect and it eventually did so. The screen soon showed the Mimic Lair, where Sheave, Greye, Maya, Frill and High were waiting.

"Report," he announced. "How goes finding this missing Mimic?"

"We're close to locating it," Greye replied. "We managed to send a drone into the city and scanned it. We've locked onto a Mimic Life Sign, but the drone has yet to locate its exact location."

"I see. Then forget the drone and head to the area yourself. I think it's time to show the world that their great hero isn't on their side anymore."

"Yes, master." Sheave and Greye nodded before Sombra hung up, the Mimic leader sighing and sitting back in his chair.

Though the Mimic's attempts to take the city for themselves had failed, it had allowed them to take Kamen Rider Shifter and make him one of their's. Soon, the remaining two Riders would hopefully fall. And once they did, the city and the world would be theirs for the taking.

"I wonder how many more surprises will be awaiting us before our mission is complete?"

In Corvyn's lab, everyone was just sitting around letting what had happened wash over them.

Memories of Flash losing his body, kept replaying in all of their heads. Because they couldn't stop the Mimics themselves, Flash had been forced to use the Maleficore and now he was trapped. The city's greatest hero was now its most dangerous enemy. And they had no idea if they could fix this.

"RAAAAAH!" Shining finally let his frustrations get the better of him, the Kamen Rider swinging a fist right into the side of a wall. "It's all my fault. I can't believe I let Flash do that."

"It's not your fault," Twilight told him. "I'm the one that let him go out and fight."

"It's my fault," Thorax stated. "Maya must have wanted to use that thing to have my Mimic take me over. If it wasn't for me, Flash never would have touched that thing."

"That's enough," Corvyn told everyone. He could tell the others were about to accept the blame themselves, which was something he couldn't have. "What happened to Flash was terrible, but sitting around blaming ourselves isn't going to fix it. We need to focus on the situation at hand. The Mimics aren't going to sit around doing nothing."

"But the Doom Pillars are destroyed," Rainbow pointed out to them. "Doesn't that mean their plans have been stopped?"

"One plan, maybe. But there's no telling what they'll do next. I doubt this is the first time their Doom Pillars have been destroyed. If they haven't got a backup plan, I can't think much of the other worlds that they managed to conquer."

"So what do we do?" Fluttershy asked, with Shining standing up first.

"It'll take time for them to get their backup plan in action. That means we need to use this chance to hit them hard. We have to try and locate where their base is. And if possible, free Flash from the Mimic that's controlling him." He turned to Corvyn. "You managed to free Flash from him once. Can't you do it again?"

"I don't know," Corvyn stated. "The Driver only works, if the human has a strong enough will to fight the Mimic's control over him. Now that that control has been returned to the Mimic, I don't know if the Driver will even work."

Everyone frowned, as Shining thought about the situation they found themselves in. He refused to let Flash remain a prisoner of the Mimics. "If we can't free Flash, we have no choice but to destroy him." This statement caused them all to gasp. "I refuse to let him stay a prisoner to the Mimics. We might lose Kamen Rider Shifter, but that's a sacrifice I'm willing to make."

Everyone hated the thought of losing Shifter. But before they could say anything else, an alarm went off and Corvyn rushed to the computer.

He brought up the Mimic tracking system and frowned. "Mimic signals. One is a normal Mimic and the other..." He frowned, "I'm picking up a Driver's signal with it." The others knew what that meant.

"Hang on Flash," Shining took out his Mimicore. "I'm coming to save you."

On the streets of Canterlot, everyone was once again enjoying life after almost losing them.

This included Fleur-De-Lis. The young girl smiling as she chose to spend the day shopping to celebrate not dying, something she had been doing a lot since the Mimics started attacking.

As she made her way down the street, she noticed she was close to her school and remembered when the Mimics had attacked that place a while back. They had all been in danger then, but the Kamen Riders had managed to save them. And once again, she had been saved from near death by them again.

However, as she turned a corner to head to her favourite little store, she suddenly found herself blinded by a bright light before two individuals stepped out of it.

As soon as they saw who it was, the people around her looked terrified and confused. For there, standing before them, was Kamen Rider Shifter. The Rider was in his Hyper Strike form, looking around before turning to the one next to him. And that was the confusion. Because one of the Mimics that had attacked them many times, was there with him.

The Mimic held out a device, as if he was looking for something.

Fleur thought fast and began to run, everyone else following suit as they tried to get away. And as Fleur turned a corner, she spotted a place she could hide. Her school. "YES!" She ran for it and was happy to find the gate wasn't locked. So she pushed them open and ran inside, as the Mimic and Rider kept searching for something.

Suddenly, another burst of light appeared in front of them and the pair saw Tri-Horn Morphic and Changeling appeared along with the Rainbooms. "Great," Greye sighed. "Just what we need."

"Flash!" Twilight cried, seeing nobody around. "You've got to fight. You know you're stronger than that Mimic."

"Please," Shifter stated. "Your friend is gone. He's trapped and he's not coming back."

"You got out!" Changeling stated. "Which means so can he."

"I got out because the Maleficore helped me fix the problem your friend Corvyn created. Now that I've taken my body back, nothing's going to make me lose it again. How many Mimic hosts have managed to free themselves without the help of an outside force?" None of them said anything. "That's right. None. Your friend is gone. Accept it."

Morphic growled, as his arm blasters extended. "Fine. If you won't release him, I'll save him the old fashioned way. Kamen Rider Shifter might be lost, but it's worth it to save Flash!" With that, he ran forward and charged at Shifter. The Rider saw this and quickly leapt out of the way, as Morphic fired his lasers at him.

At the same time, Changeling charged at Greye along with the girls. He slashed at the Mimic, but the monster quickly blocked the attacks with his fans and chuckled. But the other girls were able to use this distraction to attack themselves, Pinkie throwing cupcakes whilst Rarity fired the diamonds at him.

Greye leapt back and deflected the attacks, as Rainbow ran in and kicked him in the side. Twilight then grabbed the Mimic and threw him around, the peacock crying out as he almost crashed into the side of a building. But he was able to land on his feet and kick off whilst swinging his fans around.

The girls all leapt out of the way, as the energy blades flew at them. Changeling raised his swords and crossed them over, as the crescent slammed into him and exploded.

He was knocked staggering back, but he managed to hold on whilst Greye landed.

Shifter took out his Shift Striker and slotted the Strike Core inside, transforming it and using the rapier to stab at Morphic. But the Rider's strong armor protected him from the attack before he launched a punch into Shifter's chest, the lasers that fired slamming into him and blasting him backwards.

He grunted, but flipped around as the energy of the Hyper Core surged through him.

He landed and charged forward, the Hyper Core energy flowing into his weapon as he swung it in a Z-shape. This attack struck Morphic and knocked him backwards, the Rider staggering back but staying on his feet.

Under his suit, Shining could hardly believe he was actually fighting against Flash. But then he reminded himself that this wasn't Flash. Not anymore.

"RAAAAAAAAAAH!" He slammed his fist into the ground and unleashed the energy, which flew towards Shifter and exploded once it was under him. It blew him into the air, but the Rider managed to use his Hyper Strike form's power to protect himself before his wings formed and he flew down.

"HYAH!" He slammed his foot into Morphic and blasted him back, the others gasping at this as the Rider slammed into the ground with a grunt of pain.

Shifter landed and chuckled, whilst Greye used their distraction to slash at Changeling and knock him back. The Rainbooms rushed over to his side, as Greye unleashed his energy crescent. And at the last moment, Rarity managed to put up a shield that blocked it.

Morphic groaned as he picked himself up, as Shifter moved towards him. This wasn't going well.

Over in the school, Fleur was making her way down the halls whilst waiting for the commotion outside to calm down.

She sighed, wishing she had brought a book or something to do to pass the time. "Maybe the fight's over." But the thought of going out there and accidentally running into a Mimic terrified her, the teen deciding to just sit in the hallway and wait a little longer.

But just as she was getting comfortable, she suddenly heard a clattering sound coming from down the hall and she instantly leapt up. Turning towards the sound, she frowned as she called out.

"Is anyone there?" But nobody replied and she moved closer, grabbing a nearby broom that was leaning against a wall as she approached. "I'm warning you. I took...ballet when I was younger. That might not sound dangerous, but those kicks had a lot of power behind them." She heard movement and realised whatever made the noise was behind a corner and moving away.

She ran after it and spotted a door leading to the gym suddenly close.

She smiled at this, knowing all the other exits out of that building were locked. "Got you now." She followed the person to the door and kicked it open, holding the broom out as she tried to see who was there. But there wasn't anyone. The only thing she could see were a large pile of rubber mats used for gymnastics.

She slowly moved towards the tower and after taking a deep breath, leapt behind them

"Gotcha!" But then she saw what was behind the tower and screamed, the girl staggering back at the sight of a butterfly monster. She dropped the broom and accidentally tripped over it, screaming again as she fell to the ground.

Fleur suddenly remembered she wasn't wearing her Mimic detector, so this creature was very likely a Mimic. It stared at her, as it was kneeling down on the ground with its wings wrapped around it.

Fleur flinched, expecting to be attacked. But nothing happened. "What?" She opened her eyes and turned to the Mimic, seeing that it wasn't attempting to do anything. In fact. It appeared to be cowering itself. "Huh?" She stood up, as the Mimic flinched and tried to hide itself. "You're not going to attack me."

The Mimic shook its head, which surprised Fleur. Then, she noticed a hole in the Mimic's wing that looked like it had been burned into it.

"You're injured." Before she realised what was happening, she moved closer to take a closer look. The Mimic tried to move away, but Fleur got a good look and also noticed that the Mimic's leg and side were also damaged. "What happened to you?" But then she remembered what had happened the previous day. "Were you one of the Mimics the Riders fought?" The creature nodded. "I see."

Fleur stepped back, trying to figure out what to do in this situation. She knew she should call someone and try and get the Kamen Riders there. But seeing the Mimic in such a pathetic state made Fleur feel sorry for it.

"If you're not going to attack, is it okay if I sit down?" The Mimic stared at her for a moment, then slowly nodded. "Okay." She sat down and saw the injuries it had. "Can you talk? I know some Mimics can." The Mimic shook its head. "Okay. So is there a way to help you? I can't just leave those wounds. Is there a way I can help you heal?"

The Mimic stared at her for a moment, then pointed at her mouth and mimicked biting.

Fleur gulped, "you don't need to suck my blood, do you?" The Mimic shook its head. "So...you just need to eat something?" The Mimic nodded. "Can it be anything?" The Mimic shook its head again. "What do you need. Fats...fibre..." The Mimic shook again. "Protein." This time, it nodded and Fleur smiled. "I might have the perfect thing." She took off her backpack and opened it up, taking out several of her favourite snacks.

It was a kind of protein bar, which the Mimic stared at. She quickly took them out of the wrapper and handed them to the Mimic, who carefully took them before looking them over. After a few moments, its hands melted and absorbed the snacks.

"Wow. Guess that's one way to eat something." She watched as the Mimic seemed to be processing the food snack and slowly, the holes in her body began to close up. "Great. How are you feeling?" The Mimic actually gave her a smile, appearing to be happy. This made Fleur happy as well.

Shifter charged and dealt several punches and kicks to Morphic, who used some kick-boxing moves to guard himself against them before Shifter spun around and pointed his Shift Strike into his stomach.

He fired and the laser hit the Rider in the stomach, knocking him staggering back. And before Morphic could recover, Shifter replaced his Mimicore with his Pierce Core. As the weapon transformed, he pointed it at Morphic and fired. The projectiles flew towards Morphic and the Triceratops Rider could do nothing but brace himself, as they slammed into him and did serious damage. "Augh!"

Changeling and the girls saw this, but couldn't help him with Greye being so annoying.

The peacock swung his blades around and Applejack almost got her head cut off, making her cry out as she staggered back. Pinkie ducked down and only lost a few hairs, but Greye quickly spun around and kicked her in the chest. And as Twilight threw some rubble at him, he jumped up doing several somersaults before firing his energy blades.

"CLIMATIC SLASH!"

Changeling swung his swords through the air and unleashed the energy X, which struck Greye's attack in midair and made it explode. As it did, Greye landed whilst Shifter prepared to unleash his full force on Morphic.

But before he could, a portal opened up. One that Shifter and Greye realised was to their lair, which made the Rider frown. "You got lucky," he told Morphic before walking towards it.

"FLASH!" Morphic yelled, but the Rider didn't listen and moved through the portal. Greye followed behind him and the portal soon closed, leaving Morphic, Changeling and the girls confused.

"What just happened?" His fellow Rider asked. "Why'd they leave so suddenly?"

Morphic didn't know. "Honestly. I'm more concerned with why they were here in the first place. They weren't attacking anyone and they didn't have any Mimicreeps or another Mimic with them. So what were they doing here?"

The others realised he was right. What could they have been planning by coming here? And would they try again?

Back in the gym, Fleur found herself actually having fun with the Mimic.

Despite it not being able to speak, her expressions were enough to help Fleur understand what she was feeling. And currently, they were working on figuring out what its name was. "Ra?" The Mimic frowned, "Ba?" She still frowned, "Da?" The Mimic raised an eyebrow. "I'm trying. "What about Ka?" This time, the Mimic smiled. "So it starts with Ka?" It nodded. "Alright. Ka...Ka?" The Mimic sighed.

The two were at this for a while, Fleur saying random sounds until she finally got the one that was in the Mimic's name.

Eventually, she managed to get most of it. "Katar...Hu...Door?" The Mimic, now named Katar, shook her head. "Does it start with a D?" It nodded its head. "Okay...Katar-Hu-Duck? Katar-Hu-Den? Katar-Hu-Dot?" It was then that she thought of something and her eyes went wide. "No way. Your name isn't Katar-Hu-Die, is it?" The Mimic smiled and nodded. "No way. Did you pick your animal form because of that?"

Katar tilted her head, clearly not understanding.

"So it's just a coincidence?" Fleur laughed at this situation. "Seriously." Katar was still confused. "Hu-Die. Hudie. It means butterfly in another language. What were the odds you'd copy an animal that had the same name you have." She smiled, as Katar smiled as well.

They continued to sit there, Fleur wondering about so many things. "Can I ask you something?" Katar seemed puzzled, but nodded. "Why are the Mimics attacking us? What could you possibly hope to gain from wiping us out?" Katar frowned, looking down with shame on her face. "The Riders said you've done this to other worlds. But why? Is it just something you like doing? Or do you have some bigger goal in mind?"

Katar didn't respond in any way, Fleur seeing her hands shuffling nervously in her lap.

"Do you...even know why you're attacking?" Katar shook her head. "But you were still a part of the attack yesterday. You helped the Mimics try to kill everyone in the city. Even me." Fleur didn't know if Mimics could cry. But she was certain if they could, Katar would be doing it right now. "You Mimics are amazing. But you're wasting all that potential on a worthless cause like genocide."

Katar looked heartbroken and Fleur decided to change the subject. Maybe, in time, Katar and the other Mimics would realise how pointless their attacks were.

In the Mimic Lair, Sheave and Greye were sitting around in the lab.

Both had been ordered to wait there, both wondering what the heck was going on? But they got their answer, when the doors of the lab opened and someone stepped inside. Sombra, or Tie as he was truly known, stared them down as he moved closer.

"Master," they both bowed, "you're here. May we ask why you summoned us away from the battle?" Shifter raised his head. "We were winning. Morphic and Changeling didn't stand a chance."

"Maybe," Sombra stated. "But you weren't in the right form to defeat them." This confused him, as Sombra held out his hand. "The Maleficore." Sheave quickly reached into his coat pocket and took out the device, Sombra taking it and holding his hand over it.

They watched, as a red energy flew out of his hand and into the device. "Master?"

"This device is what allowed you to escape from the Driver's hold." He turned back to them. "But there's still much about that device we don't know about. There's a chance its functions could return. Having you return to the Rider's side is the last thing we need."

"You don't have to worry," Sheave told him before tapping his head. "Sentry is safely locked away in here. He's not getting out again. Ever." In that moment, he found himself back in his mind. The white void continued to be a vast emptiness, as Sheave looked behind himself.

There, kneeling on the ground, amber trapping everything but his head and upper chest, was Flash. The teen glared at Sheave, as he tried to pull himself free. But he couldn't. All he could do was remain stuck there unable to do anything whilst his mental roommate destroyed his good name.

"Even so," Sheave was pulled back out into the real world. "I don't want to risk any complications." he held the device out to him. "From now on. Use this device."

"Yes, Master." He took the Maleficore and felt its negative energy flowing through him. "But if I try and use this device with the Hyper Strike Core, it could end up overloading me or the Driver."

"Good point. Best not to use that Hyper Strike device then. If you must, use it in the Shift Striker. But from now on, only use the Maleficore and the other Cores you have."

"As you command," Sheave bowed. Sombra then turned to Greye.

"Were you able to locate the Mimic?" Greye frowned, as he took out the scanner device before projecting a map of the area they had been in.

"From what I could scan before those fools showed up. The Mimic's life sign was coming from this direction." He pointed at a section of the map and Sheave hummed, frowning as he tapped into his host's memories.

"Crystal Prep." The other two turned to him. "It's a large building in that area that shouldn't have anyone within it right now. So it's the perfect place for the Mimic to hide without drawing any attention to itself. Since it's probably injured, somewhere like that would be the optimal location to rest and recover."

"He's right," Sombra nodded. "Go to this place and locate the Mimic. If it's injuries are salvageable, save it. If not, put it out of its misery."

"Yes master," they nodded before Sheave asked. "What if it's not injured?" The two gave him a curious look. "What if it's just hiding because it was scared of fighting against the Riders? After seeing so many Mimics get destroyed, it's possible it's terrified it'll have the same fate."

"If it refuses to fight, then it is of no use to us." Sombra turned to leave, "destroy it."

At the same time, Shining, Thorax and the Rainbooms were back in Corvyn's lab.

They were all licking their wounds, upset that they hadn't been able to stop Shifter or Greye. And the fight against Shifter had been seriously painful, given who he was under that suit. "Damn it!" Shining slammed his fist into a table. "I can't believe we couldn't stop him."

"If only Greye hadn't been there," Thorax sighed in annoyance. "We might have been able to beat him if it was all of us against him."

"Maybe," Twilight clutched her arm and looked down. "But honestly, I don't know. I know Flash is trapped, but the thought of actually destroying him feels like a mistake." The others turned to her. "I wish we knew what Flash was thinking."

"You want to know what Flash was thinking?" Sunset asked.

"Yes. I know he wants to be free, but think about how Flash would feel if we destroyed Shifter just to free him. Whilst he's still in Mimic form, there's a chance we could free him and return Shifter back to our side. But if we destroy him, we'll lose Shifter forever."

"And you think keeping Kamen Rider Shifter is more important than saving Flash?" Rainbow looked angry at this, glaring at Twilight as she stood up and glared back.

"It might be more important to Flash!" Her voice echoed through the lab, making Rainbow pull back. "If Flash wants to be free, Kamen Rider be damned, then I'll do whatever it takes to do that. But what if Flash wants to still be a Rider? If we free him and he loses his abilities, think about how badly he'll feel."

"Won't he feel relieved?" Fluttershy asked. "I know I'd be happy to be free."

"That doesn't sound like Flash," Twilight told them. "He loved being a Kamen Rider. Even after learning he was a Mimic, he still loved being able to help people in need. He told me himself."

The previous day.

As they drove through the desert, Twilight glanced up at Flash. And as he happened to look back, he noticed her staring at him. "What's up?" Twilight frowned, looking down for a moment. "If you're feeling motion sick, try to aim it away from me."

"I'm not sick. I'm just...what if we can't find this thing? What if we look and it's not there? What are you going to do then?"

Flash frowned as he looked forward. "I'm not sure." Twilight stayed silent, waiting and hoping he was okay. "If we can't find one, then I might not be able to become Shifter again. It'd be too dangerous to try it."

"You mean you'd stop being a Kamen Rider?" Flash frowned. "Would you let Shining destroy you? Free you're real body?"

"I...I don't know. I don't want that. Not while the Mimics are still a threat." He kept looking ahead. "Ever since I got these abilities, I've been in one dangerous situation after another. But even though I was scared, I was kind of happy." Twilight was surprised by this. "For the longest time, I've always been a bystander. Unable to do anything except watch as you and the rest of the girls saved the day."

"It's not like we had much of a choice," Twilight told him.

"Even so, it was frustrating. Not being able to do anything except watch and pray you managed to win. That's why, when I got these powers, I felt almost happy. That I could finally step into the fray and do something for once. And most of all, I could help people in need." He smiled. "When your brother revealed he was Morphic to me, I feared he'd tell me to stop since this wasn't kids stuff."

"That sounds like something Shining would do."

"Yeah. But instead, he put his trust in me and I don't want to break that trust. I'm not just going to leave him and Thorax to do this without me. Even if I can't find this core, I'll find another way to stop the Maleficore. Because Kamen Rider Shifter isn't just an act I'm playing for fun. It's just as much who I am as Flash Sentry."

Twilight smiled, nodding in agreement.

Everyone stared at her in amazement, having heard how Flash felt.

"I...I hadn't thought about it like that," Shining frowned. "I didn't realise he held my trust in such high regard." He sighed, feeling sorry for Flash more than ever.

"So what do we do?" Pinkie asked, but nobody had any idea. It was at that moment, Corvyn moved over to them with a tablet device.

"We start by finding what the Mimics were looking for. They were clearly after something in that area. And if they want it, it can't be good for us." They nodded, as Corvyn handed Twilight the tablet. "I have a theory. This is a more powerful scanner. It should be able to locate any nearby Mimic in monster form."

"You think they're looking for a Mimic?" Thorax asked.

"It's possible," Corvyn nodded. "Or it could be something else. We won't know until we check. So I want you guys to go back to the area where the fight took place. It's possible the Mimics will soon return to that spot as well, so keep your guard up."

"Okay," Twilight nodded. "How's it coming with the vault?" She couldn't help but hope that if they could get the Beatucore and give it to Shifter, then maybe it could free Flash.

"Slow," he explained. "This kind of vault was famous for being impossible to crack. Only someone whose DNA is in its database can open it. And since we don't have anyone with that, I'm forced to go slow and steady. If I attempt to force it open, the fail safe could destroy what's inside." The others nodded, understanding.

Shining and Thorax took out their Mimicores and summoned their Driver, the pair transforming as the portal opened up and everyone stepped through it. When they did, they found themselves alone in a back alley. Pharynx was the only one who stayed behind, knowing he would only get in the way if a fight broke out.

As soon as they were through the portal, the scanner went off and Twilight realised where it was leading them. "No way." She ran towards Crystal Prep, The Riders and her friends all looking shocked by it as well. But they kept going and managed to get into the school, unaware that Greye and Shifter had also arrived.

Sheave stared up at the building, as he and Greye stood on the other side from where the others were.

"Are you sure the Mimic's in there?" He asked Greye, who nodded before moving towards the building and throwing the doors open. As he did, he took his monster from and summoned his twin fans. Sheave followed, summoning his Driver as he did so.

"Now, where are you?"

Back in the gym, Fleur and Katar heard the commotion coming from within the school.

Katar looked terrified, whilst Fleur worried what might happen if someone saw the Mimic. She had to find a way to get her out. But how? "Let's get you to the roof," she told the Mimic. "Nobody goes up there and if they do, you can fly off and find another place to hide."

Katar nodded and they both headed for the door. But before they could, it flew open and someone ran in. Morphic.

The Rider saw the Mimic and Fleur, as Changeling ran in and saw them as well. "Get away from her!" Changeling rushed forward, swords in hand as the Rainbooms arrived. But just as he was about to slash at Katar, Fleur leapt between them.

"WAIT!" Changeling barely managed to pull himself back before he cut Fleur in half. "Don't hurt her!"

"What are you doing?" Changeling asked, as Morphic raised his weapons to fire as well. "That's a Mimic. Why are you protecting it?"

"Fleur?" Twilight asked, recognising the girl in question. Everyone remembered Fleur as one of the girls from the Friendship Games. They hadn't interacted with her, though Rarity had spoken fashion to her on occasion when the girl was shopping in a boutique Rarity worked at. "What are you doing? Get away from that thing."

"She's not a threat. Katar's just scared."

"Katar?" Morphic asked. "If it can speak, it's taken someone hostage and-"

"She can't speak. I figured out her name. Please, don't hurt her. She doesn't want to hurt anyone." The Riders clearly weren't sure about this, whilst the Rainbooms stood wondering what the heck they should do.

"If she doesn't want to hurt people," Morphic started. "Would she be willing to help us fight against the other Mimics? Even if she can't talk, having a Mimic to get info from could be useful." Fleur frowned, fearing Katar might get turned into a lap rat.

But before she could say anything, the other doors were suddenly blasted open.

Everyone jumped, as Greye and Shifter stepped into the room. "Ah," Greye smiled at them, "there you are." Katar stepped back in fear, as Sheave spoke up.

"Be a good little Mimic and capture one of those girls for us. Possibly the annoying one with frizzy hair. Her voice is like nails on a chalkboard." Pinkie gasped, unable to believe Flash had said that. But Katar didn't do anything, as Morphic and Changeling moved in front of the others.

"Stay back!" Morphic ordered, ready to blast them with his gauntlets.

Sheave frowned before summoning his Driver. "You really wanna do this, after what happened last time?" He took out both his Mimicore and the Maleficore, slotting on into his Driver whilst activating the other.

"MALEFIC STRIKE!"

Everyone watched him open the draw and place the Mimicore within, as he struck a completely different pose to the one Flash always struck. "Henshin!" With that, his arms moved in tandem. One pushed the draw closed whilst the other flipped the Maleficore's screen down over the Driver's glass window.

"MIMIC! LIGHTNING BUG!" Sheave crossed his arms, as the slime flew out. And strangely, it was now a black inky colour. It quickly formed a black cocoon and when it broke apart, Shifter stood there as the black armor slammed into him. "Darkness, engulfs all that stands within it. Unlimited power awakens in the shadows!"

Fleur's eyes went wide, as she now knew who Kamen Rider Shifter was. And as the Rider took out his Shift Striker, placing the Blade Core within, the other two got ready for a fight.

"Get her out of here!" Morphic told the girls, who nodded with Rainbow rushing over to grab Fleur's arm. Morphic then ran forward and attempted to throw a punch towards Greye, but the peacock was able to avoid the attack whilst Shifter attacked Changeling.

The Riders clashed swords and Changeling quickly found himself being overwhelmed, Shifter's Malefic power boosting him far beyond what Changeling could hope to face.

As the fight went on, the girls tried to pull Fleur along with them. "Come on!" Sunset told her. "Let's get out of here." Fleur frowned, as she turned to Katar and saw her drifting back towards the corner in terror.

"I'm not leaving without her."

"Seriously?" Rainbow asked, as Fleur rushed over to the Mimic. "I get wanting info, but she's not worth you getting hurt."

"This isn't about information," Fleur told her. "I just don't want her here." She had a feeling that if Katar stayed, she would be in danger no matter what side won the fight. "Come on." She told her, "we have to go." Katar did nothing, instead watching as as Morphic threw a punch towards Greye as the Mimic deflected it with his fan.

Greye then spun around and swung his foot into Morphic, knocking him staggering backwards. After that, he turned towards the Mimic and glared. "What are you waiting for? You need a host, so grab her already."

Everyone began to worry and before Fleur or even Katar could do anything, Rarity's diamond shield appeared between them.

Rarity moved it backward and pushed Fleur back towards them, forcing her away from the Mimic. "What are you doing?" She cried, as Katar looked conflicted.

"I'm sorry," Rarity told her. "But we can't risk that thing choosing to follow its orders and capturing you."

Fleur frowned. She was worried about Katar choosing to do as she was told, but she also knew simply deciding she couldn't be trusted wasn't right. Whilst trust needed to be earned, it also needed the opportunity to all it to be earned.

"No!" Fleur jumped out from behind the shield and glared at the girls. "I know the Mimics have done terrible things. But I refuse to believe an entire race is evil." As Morphic got up and stopped Greye from doing anything, Fleur moved towards Katar. "I know you don't want to fight. And that you don't want to hurt anybody. So please, come with us."

Katar just stared at her, as the Rider's kept fighting.

Shifter's battle against Changeling wasn't as even as Greye and Morphic's, the Mantis Rider dodging Shifter's slash before spinning around and trying to kick him in the head. But Shifter was faster and actually caught the foot, clutching it tightly as he swung his own up to slam into Changeling's stomach.

The impact caused Changeling to gasp and hop off his other leg, making him fall to the ground as Shifter spun and swung him around.

"WOW!" Changeling cried, as he was thrown into the side of a wall. Shifter then chuckled and followed him, as Morphic managed to punch Greye in the chest.

The lasers fired and knocked Greye backwards, making him cry out as he almost slammed into the back wall. And as Changeling forced himself back to his feet Greye growled whilst Fleur stood close to Katar with a hand offered out to her.

"Raaaah!" Greye yelled, as he unleashed an energy blast that shot towards Morphic.

The Rider raised one of his gauntlets and used it to block the energy, which dug into him and threatened to knock him back. But with all his strength, he managed to swing his arm around and deflect the energy. But as soon as the energy flew off, he realised his mistake as Fleur was directly in its path.

"NOOOOO!" He yelled, as the girl froze like a deer in the headlights. His eyes shifted towards Rainbow or Rarity, hoping one of them would do something. But both girls hadn't noticed what was going to happen yet. And by the time they did, it would be too late.

However, someone did notice and managed to get to Fleur at the last moment.

Katar grabbed the girl and leapt into the air, as the energy attack flew under them and destroyed part of the wall. Fleur sighed in relief, whilst everyone else was shocked. "It saved her," Twilight stated as Katar landed beside them and released Fleur.

The girl smiled at her, "thank you." Katar nodded, only to flinch when she heard Greye let out a roar.

"TRAITOR!" He launched another energy crescent at them and it caused the ground to explode, knocking them all flying into the walls of the gym. Morphic rushed in to try and deal with him, but Greye managed to dodge the punch before running at Katar.

Weapon in hand, he leapt up and raised his fan high before descending.

"KATAR!" Fleur leapt to her feet and ran forward, moving without thinking. And before anyone could stop her, she jumped in front the Mimic right as Greye slashed his fan downwards. And moments later, her scream of agony filled the room and everyone saw her front get cut open.

"FLEUR!" Twilight cried, as Greye leapt back and they saw her fall to the ground.

"Stupid girl," he stated. But before he could attack again, Morphic managed to grab him from behind and throw him across the room. The Mimic slammed into the ground near Shifter and Changeling, the two still fighting with Changeling barely holding on.

As the Riders fought, the girls rushed to Fleur's side and were horrified to see the terrible gash going down her body. "What do we do?" Rainbow asked, as Fluttershy tried to use the little medical knowledge she had to do something.

"The wound's deep. She's going to bleed out."

"Maybe Corvyn can save her?" Sunset suggested, but Fluttershy shook her head.

"If we move her, that's just going to make her lose more blood. I...I don't know what to do." Everyone began to panic, as Fleur panted and more blood seeped out of her destroyed clothes. But then, one of them acted.

Katar's arms melted and as she thrust them forward, they morphed into whips that pushed the girls away from Fleur. "What are you doin'?" Applejack asked, only for Katar to suddenly slam her arms down onto Fleur's chest. And in doing so, they started covering her entire body and everyone realised what she was doing.

"STOP!" Rainbow cried, as Pinkie was about to throw a cupcake at her. But Twilight stopped them.

"Wait! She's saving her!" Everyone looked shocked by this. "If she cocoons Fleur, she'll be in a state of stasis. We can move her to Corvyn's lab without her dying." Everyone caught on, as Greye and the Riders also realised what she was doing.

"STOP!" Shifter yelled, switching his Shift Striker to Pierce Form and firing. But Rarity was able to put up a shield that protected them, though the impact caused it to crack.

Changeling kicked his weapon out of Shifter's hand and threw a punch his way, knocking him back whilst Morphic blasted Greye into a wall. This gave Katar the time she needed to complete the process.

Fleur was soon completely sealed within the cocoon and as she did, Katar's body began to shift and change. Within moments, a perfect copy of Fleur stood before them as her arms detached from the cocoon. Her eyes were closed and she just stood there, as everyone stared at her.

And when finally she opened her eyes, she seemed confused as she looked around at them. "What? What just happened?" Everyone looked confused, as Katar looked down at her chest. "I...I was dying."

"What are you talking about?" Pinkie asked, as the Mimic spotted the cocoon on the ground and saw who was in it.

"What?" She staggered back, hitting the wall whilst everyone looked confused. "What's going on right now? Why am I...down there?"

"Katar?" Twilight decided to use the Mimic's name, "are you okay?" Now the Mimic looked even more confused.

"Katar? I'm Fleur." This statement made everyone look shocked, each one staring down at the cocoon. Had Katar convinced herself she was Fleur? Was she pretending to try and trick them? Or had Fleur somehow gained control of the Mimic body on her own? All these questions filled their heads, as the fight continued to rage on.

Author's Note

Well that was certainly a surprising turn of events. How many of you were expecting Fleur to suddenly have an important role? I tried to show her skills off in the movie as a bit of foreshadowing, but I might have left it a bit ambiguous. So, what do you think of how things turned out?

Episode 26: A Shift Through Fate

Everyone was in absolute shock, as they stared at the girl that had just been a butterfly monster not two minutes ago.

Katar-Hu-Die continued to stare at the cocoon, which held the girl she was currently impersonating. Thanks to the cocooning, Fleur would not die of the injury she had sustained. But the question was, would Katar release her once she was free?

However, Katar was acting rather odd. Stating she was actually Fleur and looking rather confused.

"What's happening?" Pinkie asked, as the girl in front of them stared at the cocoon. "Is that Fleur or the Mimic?" None of them had an answer, but they had bigger issues at the moment. Fleur's cocooned state meant she wouldn't get any worse. However, she wasn't going to get any better either.

"We need to get her medical treatment," Sunset stated. In that moment, a flash of light caught their attention and they looked around.

A portal formed and Corvyn leapt out of it. "Stand back." He took out a device and pointed it at the cocoon, causing it to begin to hover and float towards the portal.

It was at this moment that Greye and Shifter attempted to attack, but Morphic and Changeling got in their way. "Get lost!" Shifter slashed at Changeling, knocking his swords away before spinning around and slamming his foot into the Rider's chest.

"Augh!" Changeling was thrown backwards and hit the ground, sliding towards the girls as his suit exploded off of him.

Applejack helped Thorax up, as Corvyn managed to get the cocoon through the portal. And as he did, Morphic leapt back before thrusting his fist into the ground. This caused the area in front of him to explode, blocking their opponents and allowing everyone to get through the portal.

This included Katar, who looked unsure but was pushed through by Sunset. "Come on!"

As soon as they were through the portal, Morphic and Changeling ran through as well. The explosion finally died down and as Shifter and Greye ran through, they saw it close and realised they had missed their chance to stop them. "Damn it!" Shifter cried. "You can run, but you can't hide forever."

"Come on," Greye told him. "We'd better report the situation to the master. He's not gonna be happy." Shifter nodded as he de-transformed, the pair stepping through the portal that formed behind them.

Inside Corvyn's lab, he had moved Fleur's cocoon to an open area of it where he was setting something up.

It was some kind of lamp, thin and rectangular in shape. As soon as he had it at the right height, he turned it to be at the same angle as the slash wound on Fleur's body. "There we go." He turned it on and the lamp unleashed a strange green light, which flowed into the cocoon and was absorbed into it and onto the wound. "This energy is the only thing we've discovered can penetrate the Mimic cocoon. It'll heal her up and won't even leave a scar."

"How long will it take?" Twilight asked, as Corvyn did a few checks.

"About a week." They all nodded, knowing that wasn't too long but still felt unsure how Fleur would feel.

Speaking of Fleur, the Mimic in her body was sitting in the corner looking around in amazement. "So this is where the Kamen Riders fight the Mimics from."

"Alright," Rainbow told her, "fess up. Are you really Fleur? Or are you just trying to trick us by saying that?" Fleur began to panic.

"I promise, I'm the real Fleur." They all stared at her, clearly unsure if they could trust her or not. "I swear. I have no idea how this is happening either."

"I have a theory," Corvyn stated. "It's very possible the Mimics can capture a human and let them have control of their body. If the Mimic Driver can force it, it's possible it can happen naturally. I just don't get why the Mimic did it."

Fleur frowned, having no idea what he was talking about. But then, she suddenly felt a great pain in her head. And as she cried out, clutching it, the others began to worry. And the next thing she knew, she was suddenly in a white void.

"What?" She looked around, worried. "Where am I?"

"Inside our joined mind." She spun around and saw a perfect copy of herself, smiling as she stood a few feet away. "Hello Fleur. It's nice to finally be able to talk to you."

"Katar?" Fleur asked, with her copy nodding. "You...you really did take my form."

"A byproduct of saving you. I'm sorry. It was the only way I could think to save you. Don't worry. Once you're real body is healed, I'll release you." Fleur nodded, as she looked around.

"This place is kind of depressing."

Katar smiled at this, "it's our mind. All we have to do is decide what form it needs to take." Moments later, they suddenly found themselves within a large forest. "Anything that makes us comfortable." Fleur was amazed by this and also thought about it, causing roman statues to appear along with a large fountain and several bird tables.

The girls smiled, only to then hear a voice speak up. When they looked around, they saw a screen floating in front of them that showed what Fleur was seeing. "You okay?" Rarity asked, with Fleur about to answer. But before she could, Katar placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Do you trust me?" She asked, with Fleur nodding. "Then let me try something."

Back in the real world, everyone saw Fleur's face go blank.

But then, she blinked and her vision returned to normal before she smiled. "Hello everyone. Nice to finally talk to you all." This surprised them, as Fleur sat in a different manner. "Sorry for the scare, but I thought you might want to talk to me."

"Wait," Morphic tensed, "Katar?"

"Yes," she nodded. "Don't worry. Fleur and I have just swapped control for a moment. She'll be back in control once we've finished talking." The others weren't sure if they believed that or not. But Corvyn decided to use this chance to learn as much as he could about the Mimics.

"What are they planning?" He asked. "With the Doom Pillars destroyed, how do they intend to capture this world?"

Katar sighed. "I don't know." They frowned. "I really don't know. Before I combined with Fleur, I was a simple minded creature. All I knew was my own name, what abilities I had and that I should follow the orders of my masters. Of course, that last one didn't really sit well in my mind."

"So you really don't know anything about the Mimics?" Morphic asked in annoyance. "Like where they come from? Why they're hellbent on wiping humans out? And what their end goal is?"

"No," Katar shook her head. "I'm sorry. I know you have no reason to trust me, but I really don't know. All I can tell you is that you don't have to worry about me. Fleur helped me, was kind to me and trusted me. I never liked fighting. And I don't want to wipe humanity out. Please believe that."

Everyone remained quiet, unsure what to say to that.

Katar's eyes glazed over for a moment before coming back to life, as she stood up. "I think we can trust her," Fleur had returned. "I'm going to trust her. So please try and do the same." They sighed, knowing they might as well try. It was better to trust her and be betrayed, than to not trust her and turn a potential ally against them.

At the Mimic lair, Sombra was not happy when his Mimics returned with news.

"A Mimic took over a host, but let that host have control?" Sheave and Greye nodded. "And you're certain the host didn't simply overpower her?" They nodded again. "How? Why?"

"We don't know," Greye replied. "The Mimic actually saved the human before it happened. Then took her over when the girl was injured. It was trying to save her."

"This doesn't make any sense," Maya stated. "Mimics don't help humans. We replace and kill them. That's what we're supposed to do."

"Maybe it's defective?" High suggested to them. "No other Mimic has ever done that before. One doing it could be meaningless." The others seemed to be agreeing with her. "But if this Mimic is on the other's side, do you think it could mean another Rider is about to be born?"

"I don't know." Sombra stated. "But if it's possible, we'll need to move on with our own plans."

"What plans?" Greye asked, as a bunch of Mimicreeps arrived carrying strange devices. "What are those?" They were large backpacks, with an extendable plug. On the side was a glass line of some kind."

"They're your next mission," Sombra stated. "I require power. So get it for me." This confused the Mimics, but they knew not to question their master.

Back in the lab, Fleur was sitting around staring at her hands.

Katar continued to speak to her, explaining everything she could do as a Mimic. And after a few moments of concentration, her arms suddenly started melting. Everyone else saw this, shocked that she was able to do that. But Fleur was even more shocked and freaked out.

"Gyah!" She closed her eyes and her arms returned to normal, the girl sighing in relief. "This is just too weird."

"You get used to it," Katar assured her.

As this was going on, Corvyn walked into the room carrying something. Something that caught everyone's attention. "Is that a Mimic Driver?" Twilight asked, as the man moved over to Fleur.

"Yes." He placed the device on a counter in front of the mimic turned girl, along with a blank Mimicore. "Fleur. Katar. Are you willing to fight and protect this world from the Mimics?"

"What?" Fleur stood up, staring at the Driver in front of her. "What are you talking about?"

"I've done a bit of fiddling with this Driver. It'll no longer trap Katar in your mind. She'll be able to swap with you at will. All you have to do is put the Driver on and you'll be able to transform into a Kamen Rider."

"Are you nuts?" Morphic asked. "You want to make another Rider?"

"With Shifter gone, we need to bolster our numbers." He turned back to Fleur. "You have the chance to stop the Mimics and protect your world. Don't you feel it's your responsibility to do such a thing?"

"I..." Fleur didn't know how to answer, especially since Katar clearly didn't like the idea of fighting. "I don't know. Katar trusted me with her body. It wouldn't be right to put it in danger to fight her own kind."

Corvyn frowned. "Her kind has wiped out countless universes and has ruined probably over a billion lives. She should be willing to help make up for their crimes." Fleur flinched at this, whilst Katar looked upset.

"That's enough." Twilight stepped forward. "We don't have the right to force her into this. If Fleur and Katar don't want to be Kamen Riders, it's their choice. We have to respect that."

"We can't afford to not take this opportunity. Two Riders aren't gonna be enough to stop the Mimics at this point. Even if you girls helped, it wouldn't be enough. We need the power of a Mimic to fight a Mimic." The others clearly didn't agree to this, but didn't have time to argue.

In that moment, an alarm went off and Corvyn rushed over to his computer.

A holo-screen appeared to show a map of the city, with two areas on the outer edge of it glowing red. "Mimic signals. At a power planet and a hydro electric dam."

"Why would they be attacking those places?" Sunset asked, as two portals formed.

"Only one way to find out." Morphic turned to Changeling, "you ready?" Changeling nodded before they both leapt through the portals. When Morphic arrived, he looked around and found he was at the power plant.

People were running for their lives, as Frill, Maya and several Mimicreeps were running around causing utter mayhem. Frill was carrying some kind of device over his shoulders, as the Mimicreeps attacked several people.

But before they could hurt anyone, Morphic punched the air and unleashed a bunch of lasers that destroyed them. This caught the Mimic's attention and made them turn to him, as he charged towards them. "Oh," Frill chuckled, "still up and fighting. Figured your last fight would have exhausted you."

Maya fired her webs at him, but Morphic was able to dodge them and leap over a large web whilst firing his lasers at them.

The Mimics all braced themselves and were blown back, with Maya hitting the ground whilst Frill took flight and flew up. "Hold him off!" Frill launched several feather darts before flying off. Morphic shielded himself with his gauntlets before charging after him, but Maya got in his way.

"I don't think so." She threw a punch at Morphic, who dodged it and threw his own kick.

Maya was knocked back before Morphic fired his lasers at the Mimic, who fired a web and pulled herself out of the way. The two glared at one another, both ready to fight whilst Frill did whatever he was after.

Over at the dam, High and Greye were also attacking the place.

They had managed to get inside and their Mimicreeps were forcing people to run away, leaving them free to find what they were looking for. But High wasn't happy. "Why are we even here?" She asked, as Greye carried a device on his back. "If we need power, I can just make it myself."

"The energy you produce is too unstable," Greye stated. "We're lucky you didn't blow the Doom Pillars up when you charged them." He spotted what he was looking for and smiled. "Perfect." He stepped over to a section of the wall and took the device off his back, pulling a cable out of it and sticking it into a slot.

The device powered up and as it did, Greye chuckled.

"This thing will be fully charged in no time. And once we have enough energy, our master's plan will come to fruition."

"Any idea what the master needs all this power for?" High asked, with Greye not answering. Instead, he was too focused on the device's charge right.

However, a very loud crashing sound soon caught their attention. And when they looked around, they spotted Changeling running through the place slashing at the Mimicreeps. He spun around and knocked several down, as he turned to them and glared. "What are you guys doing here?"

"We came to settle our electric bill," High's body began to spark. "It turns out they're overcharging us!" She thrust her hands forward and the lightning fired, Changeling raising his blades as the bolt slammed into him.

The force of the attack knocked him sliding backwards, using all of his strength to keep from being pushed over. And when the energy died down, he panted as he lowered the weapons.

Greye charged at him and started performing his dance-like fighting style, slashing at Changeling who did his best to block and dodge them. At one point, he leapt to the side and rolled along the ground. But before he could counter attack, High flew past at high speed and slashed him.

"GYAH!" He was thrown into the side of the wall, as Greye and High stood protective of the device. Neither would allow any harm to come to it. They would keep it safe until it was fully charged.

As this was happening, Fleur, Corvyn and the Rainbooms were all watching the fights on the monitors.

As Fleur watched the Riders battle, she couldn't help but wonder what she would be like if she had agreed to take the role of a Rider. But the others were more focused on what the Mimics were doing. "Both sights are areas that store or generate energy," Corvyn frowned. "They must be up to something and need a lot of power for it."

"It can't be good if they need this much power," Twilight sighed before another alarm went off. "What's that?"

Corvyn opened up a map and another signal appeared upon it. And it wasn't just any signal. "It's Shifter." A holo-screen appeared, showing some kind of building with many wires coming out of it. There, Malefic Flight Shifter and some Mimicreeps were attacking the place and threatening a lot of people there. "He's at the city's emergency energy generator station. If he gets what he wants and decides to destroy it, that could leave the city in serious trouble."

"Then we've gotta stop him!" Rainbow cried, as the others looked unsure.

"How?" Rarity asked. "We don't stand a chance against him. Especially with him using the Maleficore."

"And can we really fight Flash?" Fluttershy asked, but Twilight was the one who opened a portal and stepped towards it.

"Flash would want us to stop Sheave from hurting anyone. We have to stop whatever he's planning before he causes too much damage." They all nodded, as Twilight leapt through the portal. The girls followed, leaving Corvyn and Fleur alone within the lab.

All the while, Fleur's eyes turned towards the Driver and Mimicore Corvyn had offered her. But she shook her head and turned back to the screen.

At the city's emergency power generator, Shifter carried the same device that the other Mimics had.

As the Mimicreeps drove the people away, he landed next to a terminal and pulled out a chord from the device. One that he quickly plugged into the terminal. This caused the device to power up and start draining the energy from the power station. "Once this thing is charged, I'll blast this place to keep the humans from using it."

"I don't think so!" He looked around and spotted the Rainbooms, who appeared out of a portal with the Mimicreeps attacking.

But the girls quickly made short work of them, with even Sunset and Fluttershy using the blasters Corvyn had designed to deal with them. The rest used their magic to destroy the Mimics, able to do it in seconds now that they had more experience fighting them.

Once the last one was destroyed, they turned to Shifter and glared at him.

"Let me guess. You're gonna try and speak to Flash and get him to free himself. Well sorry, but it's not going to work." He took out his Shift Striker and placed the Strike Mimicore within. "This body is mine."

"Then I won't feel bad about damaging it!" Rainbow shot forward at high speed and tried to throw a punch into part of the Rider's unarmoured sections. But before she could actually reach him, Shifter spread his wings and unleashed a powerful gust of wind.

Rainbow slammed into that wind and it was like hitting a brick wall, the girl getting blown back as she cried out. Luckily, Rarity was able to make a shield that caught her and allowed her to slide to a stop without hurting her.

As she did, Shifter charged forward and thrust his rapier at Rarity. "I'll take out the annoying shields first!" He tried to stab her, but Twilight used her magic to pull Rarity out of the way. At the same time, Pinkie, Sunset and Fluttershy fired at him. But Shifter spread his wings and used them to shield himself from the explosions and blasts.

Applejack then ran at him, attempting to punch him. But Shifter spread his wings and unleashed another super powered gust, which struck Applejack and threw her backwards.

"Gyah!" She hit the ground, as Rainbow was finally let down. Rarity then threw several gems at him, hoping to maybe cut something off. However, Shifter swung his sword around and deflected each of these attacks without issue. He then leapt into the air and switched his weapon to gun mode, firing at the girls and raining lasers down around them.

Fleur flinched as she watched the girls getting blasted, Rarity barely able to protect them all.

"They're gonna be okay, Right?" She turned to Corvyn, who didn't say anything and just watched. "They can beat him, can't they? I mean...they have magic. They've beaten powerful opponents before. This shouldn't be any different, right?"

"They're magic is powerful, but it's not entirely focused on combat. Especially Sunset and Fluttershy's. Mimics and the Riders are meant to be warriors. Against something like that, even the seven of them together isn't a match. Only a Rider can stop him."

Fleur frowned as she turned to Changeling and Morphic's fights.

Morphic continued to fight against Maya, appearing to get the upper hand on her as he threw punch after punch at her.

Maya managed to dodge the lasers being fired at her, whilst shooting webs at him. But Morphic managed to dodged all the shots as he thought about Frill. He knew the Mimic was up to something and had to figure out what. So when Maya fired another line at him, he leapt straight up.

"RAAAH!" He then slammed his fist into the ground and unleashed a bunch of light, which flew towards Maya and blasted the ground at her feet.

She cried out, as she was blown away. And this allowed Morphic to rush towards the power plant and leap over the fence. When he reached the other side, he tried to sense Frill and found him close by.

Following his sense, he found Frill near one of the station's outside power supply rooms. The device he was carrying was plugged into it, Frill looking around and seeing him running towards him.

"Great!" He stood up and fired his feathers at Morphic, who dodged them all before getting in close and throwing a punch in his direction. But Frill dodged them all and summoned his swords to slash at him. Morphic managed to block most of them, but one hit him in the chest and he was knocked staggering back.

And before he could fight back, Maya leapt onto the scene and fired several webs at him. He was forced to dodge these, along with Frill's darts. And as he rolled along the ground, the Mimics stood protective of the device they had brought with them.

Morphic stood tall and the pair stared one another down before charging, ready to take the other one down.

Back at the dam, Changeling slashed at High. But the Tiger Mimic leapt back whilst Greye swung his fans at him.

This sent the energy blades flying at him, but Changeling managed to deflect them all as he got in close. The Rider then swung his legs at him and hit the peacock in the side, making him flinch. But as Changeling kicked him again, he grabbed the Rider's leg and held him in place.

This allowed High to charge up and unleash a bolt at Changeling.

The Rider saw this and used all his strength to swing his other leg up and slam Greye in the head, the impact making them both fall down as the bolt flew over their heads. It struck some machinery behind them and as Changeling rolled away,

This caused the lights above their head to start flickering, as Changeling looked over at the device plugged into the dam's systems. He realised he needed to stop whatever that was and slammed the side of his Driver.

"CLIMATIC SLASH!"

Greye and High prepared themselves, only to suddenly realise where he was aiming. "NO!" High cried, super speeding towards the spot Changeling was aiming. And as he swung his blades around, the X-shaped energy attack flew towards the device.

At the last moment, High intercepted the attack and unleashed a burst of lightning.

That energy formed a barrier that blocked the attack and slowed it down, but eventually broke as High was struck by it. "GYAH!" She staggered back, but stayed upright whilst Changeling charged at her.

He slashed at the Mimic, but Greye got between them and blocked the swords with his fans.

He then pushed Changeling backwards before swinging the energy blades at him, Changeling not being able to block them in time. The next thing he knew, he was being blasted into the wall of the dam and let out a cry of pain before falling to the ground.

High panted, as she staggered forward. "You okay?" Greye asked, with High nodding. Changeling then got up and groaned, but raised his swords again. He wasn't done yet.

Back with Fleur, she watched as the girls were blasted backwards.

Twilight and Pinkie slammed into the side of a fence, whilst the other girls hit the ground. Shifter wasn't even breaking a sweat, as he landed near the generator. She then turned to Corvyn. "Can't you do something? Anything?"

"No. I'm not a fighter. And even if I did try, none of the weapons I have can stand up to the level of power he has. Only a Mimic can stand up to them."

Fleur said nothing and in the blink of an eye, she was back in her mind. The forest area was comforting, but it didn't make her feel any better. "Fleur," Katar then spoke, "what do you want to do?"

Fleur turned to her. "What do you mean?"

"I know you want to help them," Katar explained. "Our minds and feelings are connected. You wish to help them. And not just them." Suddenly, images started floating around them. Images of people running for their lives from Mimics and other monsters. Images of people almost suffocating from the Doom Pillars. Images of the Mimics causing great destruction. Images...memories.

"I do want to help," Fleur sighed. "But I don't want to use your body to destroy your own kind."

Katar frowned. "I wish my kind didn't do this. It's pointless. I want the Mimics to realise that trying to conquer other worlds is pointless. But the ones that are attacking won't realise that. The only way my kind can change for the better, is if the ones that don't want to change are taken out."

"And you're okay with that?" Fleur asked. "Possibly destroying your own kind?"

"If it can bring about a better future for my kind, then yes." Fleur suddenly returned to the living world, as a scream filled the air. The girls were being blown about again, this time looking badly injured. As she watched, Corvyn spoke again.

"I never had the chance to protect my world. It was lost before I could find a way to save it. But your world has a chance. But not if the number of heroes it has stays so small." Fleur thought about everything and everyone she cared about. She had the chance to save them.

Her eyes fell upon the Driver and Mimicore. And with one final agreement from Katar, she made her decision.

Shifter laughed as he stared at the girls, firing his laser near them whenever one tried to get up and fight back.

"Face it. There's nothing you can do that'll stop me right now." He fired at Twilight and she barely managed to roll out of the way. "You humans are so pathetic. No wonder you needed to force Mimics to fight your battles for you. Well this is revenge for what you made me do to my brother."

Twilight glared at him. "Flash. Please. You have to fight this."

"Flash isn't here right now. Deal with it." He moved closer and had his weapon pointed right at her head, planning to shoot her right between the eyes.

But before he fired, a portal opened up and Shifter stopped. He expected Morphic or Changeling, but wasn't expecting Fleur to step through the portal. And neither did the Rainbooms.

"What are you doing here?" Shifter aimed his weapon at her. "If you've come to try and apologise, forget it. You've already signed your death warrant."

"I'm not here to apologise," Fleur stated. "I'm here to help my host stop you from hurting her friends." Everyone who heard this was shocked, the Rainbooms due to hearing Katar in command whilst Shifter was shocked by her confident words.

"Since when have you been so tough?"

"Since Fleur and I agreed to work together and stop you from destroying her world." With that, she blinked and her eyes seemed to change somehow.

"That's right." Now it was Fleur in the driver's seat. "You might be strong, but you're all alone." In that moment, a Mimic Driver appeared around her waist. She then took out the Mimicore Corvyn had given her, which now had words running along the side of it. And as she pressed the button, it activated and showed pink lights that made the image of a butterfly in multiple poses.

"FLUTTER!"

Fleur opened the Driver and placed the device inside, then struck a pose that was a lot more graceful than the poses everyone else used. "Henshin!" She spun on the spot and as she did, she slammed the Driver closer.

"MIMIC! BUTTERFLY!"

Fleur crossed her arms, but did so downwards in front of her stomach instead of her chest. As she did, the pipes on the side of the dive unleashed the slime and it flew up above her before raining down and forming a shell around her body.

Everyone watched in amazement, as the cocoon formed for several moments before slowly cracking apart. And eventually, it shattered to reveal a figure in a pink suit with white lines covering it.

The amber flew down and melted into her body to form the armour, changing to a transparent light blue. The armour around her arms and legs were very simple, though her boots had a slight heel to them, but her chest armour was much more feminine looking. The armour even formed a skirt of some kinds around her hips, though it was open at the front and the back.

The mask covering her helmet was shaped like a butterfly, with her eyes glowing through the wings and a pair of antennas coming off the mask. The mask didn't cover her mouth, which had a white mouth plate like Morphic. Finally, Her eyes turned yellow as the white lines changed to light blue and on the back of her chest armour, a pair of small butterfly wings could be seen.

As the armor finished forming, the lights on the side of the driver turned pink before it spoke up. "A graceful wing beat, creates a hurricane of power!"

The Rainbooms stared at her in amazement, the new Kamen Rider walking forward with each step having a confident stride. And as she did, Shifter growled.

"Seriously?" He put his weapon away, "They made you a Kamen Rider?"

"Katar and I decided that we won't allow the powers we have to go to waste. We might not enjoy fighting, but we'll fight to protect the things we love." She pointed at Shifter. "You made a big mistake, attempting to destroy my world and everything in it that I love. Now," she got into a pre-charge stance, "prepare to feel my fury."

"Raaah!" Shifter charged, with Fleur following. The pair collided and Shifter started throwing kicks and punches at her, but Fleur's graceful body and gymnastics training was allowing her to bend and swerve out of the way.

As they did this, the Rainbooms picked themselves up. "I can't believe she became a Rider," Pinkie stated.

"Awesome!" Rainbow cheered. "Finally, a girl gets in on the action."

"Is this a good idea?" Fluttershy asked looking worried. "Fleur doesn't really know what she's doing, whilst Shifter's supercharged using the Maleficore." They realised she was right. If Shining and Thorax couldn't beat him in that form, what hope did she-

"HEEYAH!" Fleur spun around and leapt into the air, slamming her foot into Shifter's chest and knocking him backwards.

"Gyah!" Shifter hit the ground, as Fleur landed and the Rainbooms looked shocked. "What?" Shifter pushed himself up, "Impossible. I have the Maleficore. My power should dwarf yours!"

"Maybe," Fleur smirked under the mask, "or maybe I have something that makes me more powerful than the Maleficore could ever make you." Shifter growled, as he took out his Shift Striker again. "Grace Grazer!" Suddenly, part of her gauntlet melted down into her hand and reformed.

When it did, Fleur was holding a round blue tube that fit completely in her hand. The ends both had small orbs on the end of them, with one of those orbs having a pointed spike on the other side.

Fleur swung the tube around and when she did, the spike tipped orb flew off it but remained attached by a long pink ribbon. And as she began to spin around, the ribbon twirled around her without the spike touching her.

Shifter tilted his head. "You've got to be kidding me." Fleur reached him and as he tried to stab her with his rapier, the ribbon hit the weapon and wrapped around it. Fleur then stopped spinning and pressed a button on the side of the device, causing the ribbon to suddenly retract until it went taut and almost pulled the Shift Striker out of Shifter's hand.

Fleur then thrust a leg up and slammed it into Shifter's stomach, knocking the wind out of him.

"Augh!" He staggered back, managing to yank the weapon out of her hand. He then thrust the sword forward at incredible speed, stabbing at her several times. But Fleur retracted all but a foot of the ribbon back into the handle, allowing her to swing it around with impressive control.

This caused the spike on the tip to hit the rapier every time Shifter jabbed, deflecting it. And when Shifter finally stopped, she spun and extended the ribbon to full length, causing the tip to hit Shifter in the chest again.

"GYAH!" He was knocked backwards, clutching his chest as he did so.

"Amazing," Rarity gasped. "She's completely outclassing him. What could be allowing her to fight so well?" The others wondered the same things, until Twilight realised the one difference between her and the other Riders.

"Katar." Her friends turned to her. "Katar is working with her. They're working together. It's not like Sheave, whose keeping Flash trapped. Or Shining and Thorax, who are using the bodies of their Mimics but keeping them trapped in their minds. They're working together, in harmony."

"Of course," Sunset smiled. "A body with two minds at odds can't be better than a body with two minds working as one. Even with the Maleficore, Sheave can't stand up to that."

Shifter changed his Shift Striker to Pierce form and started firing, but Fleur started dancing around and used her weapon to dodge and deflect all the attacks. She then spun around and thrust her ribbon forward, attempting to stab Shifter in the chest.

But Shifter's wings extended and he leapt into the air, flying high whilst he kept firing. But this just resulted in the same result. "You're not safe up there!" Fleur stated, as her small butterfly wings suddenly melted before growing larger. And when they solidified, they were as big as she was and she leapt into the air.

She flew up towards Shifter, who kept firing only for her to deflect each and every attack.

When she reached him, she started dealing powerful kicks to him. He tried his best to avoid them all, but Fleur's movements were too unpredictable and he couldn't keep up with her. But he did seem to be a faster flyer, allowing him to get away from her before she could deal too much damage.

He couldn't, however, escape her Grace Grazer and she fired it at him before he got out of range.

The ribbon soon wrapped around his leg and with a strong pull, she yanked him back towards her before dealing a kick right to her chest. "Gyah!" He was knocked away, but Fleur pulled him back again and repeated the process. This time, she slammed both her feet into him one at a time. And after pulling him back again, she rolled forwards and slammed the back of her heel into his head.

This finally allowed him to be free of her ribbon and he fell to the ground, crashing into it and dropping his Shift Striker.

He groaned, as Fleur landed and retracted her weapon before launching it again. And as Shifter picked himself up, the spike on the end of the ribbon stabbed into his wing. "GYAH!" The spike ripped right through it, retracting and doing more damage to keep him from flying.

The Rainbooms could hardly believe Shifter was being so easily beaten. And as Fleur's weapon melted back into her gauntlet, she reached down and slammed the side of her Driver.

"CLIMATIC FLUTTER!"

Fleur's wings grew to full size, as a bunch of strange pink dust began to fly off them. And as Fleur flew upwards, the wing beats caused the dust to fly towards Shifter and surround him in a large cloud. "Gyah!" He staggered around, trying to blow the dust away with his wings. But it wasn't working.

Once Fleur was high enough, she then dived down towards Shifter. She picked up a bunch of speed and when she reached the dust cloud, she spun forward as her wings shrank back down and she thrust both feet down towards the cloud.

The speed her legs flew forward caused the cloud to dispel revealing Shifter seconds before both her feet slammed into him. And the impact caused all the dust that had covered him to suddenly ignite.

"AUGH!" The explosion that followed blew the Rider backwards and he flew a good few feet before landing, as sparks covered his body and he flinched out in pain.

Fleur landed and everyone watched with a pain in their guts. Seeing Shifter get defeated wasn't something they had ever wanted to experience, even if he was no longer the hero they had grown to love. And knowing that Flash was in there made it even worse.

Shifter panted, as his armor began to melt off of him and his suit vanished.

Sheave pushed himself up, clutching his side as he did so. He glared at Fleur and the Rainbooms before turning towards the device he had plugged into the power station. It wasn't fully charged, but had no choice. "It'll have to do." He rushed over and pulled the device out, the girls looking worried as a portal opened up. "Don't think you've won. This battle is far from over." But just as he was about to leave, he remembered he had dropped his Shift Striker and the Pierce Mimicore.

Looking around, he saw it. But before he could try and retrieve it, Twilight used her magic to pull it towards her.

She smiled, happy the weapon and core were no longer his to use. And as Fleur attempted to attack again, Sheave was forced to leap into the portal before it vanished.

"YEAH!" Rainbow cheered, "that's why I'm talking about."

"Fleur," Rarity smiled, "you were amazing." Fleur nodded, as she removed the Mimicore and changed back to human. As she did, the portal to Corvyn's lab opened. They all headed inside, happy they had claimed this victory.

Back at the power plant, Morphic, Maya and Frill continued their fight.

Frill slashed at him several times, but Morphic was able to avoid all the attacks. But before he could throw a punch, a web hit the side of his arm and yanked him off balance. This allowed Frill to launch several darts, which struck Morphic and blasted him back.

"Gyah!" He hit the ground and flinched, as the Mimics leapt over to the device that was sucking the power out of the power plant.

Just then, the thing beeped to show it had reached maximum capacity. The pair smiled and unplugged, as Morphic began to pick himself up. And as a portal formed, Morphic realised he had to do something. "Here goes nothing!" He punched the ground and sent energy flying towards them, the Mimics seeing this and realising it would explode in front of the portal.

As such, the pair leapt back just in time to avoid getting blown up. But this was what Morphic wanted and he thrust his fist forward.

The lasers flew at them and before either could stop it, they struck the power pack.

The Mimic's went wide-eyed and Frill dropped the device, as it sparked before completely exploding. The two ran away from it, as the energy was released and sent bolts of energy everywhere. Frill and Maya glared at Morphic, as he stood up. They then ran into the portal, their mission a failure.

Morphic sighed, as he looked down at the destroyed power pack. All the while, he wondered why they wanted that power.

Back at the dam, High launched another lightning strike towards Changeling.

The Mantis Rider leapt into the air and avoided the bolt, as he threw his blades towards High. But the Tiger Mimic leapt backwards and the swords completely missed her, instead flying back towards Changeling and landing in his hand. As this was happening, the device plugged into the dam's systems beeped.

"Fully charged!" Greye laughed as he quickly rushed to unplug everything. Once he did, a portal opened up.

"You're not getting away!" Changeling cried, rushing after them. But the pair managed to leap through the portal and disappeared. "Damn it!" He growled, wishing he knew why they wanted that power.

Back at the base, Greye and High arrived with the power pack in hand.

They soon spotted Sheave off to the side, groaning as he had healing gel applied to him. "What the heck happened to him?" Greye asked, as Sombra saw their power packs whilst working on the one Sheave had brought back. "Those girls couldn't have done that!"

"No," Sheave stated. "Your little traitor has officially joined the losing side. She's become a Kamen Rider."

"Seriously?" High asked, as Frill and Maya frowned off to the side. Sombra said nothing, as he picked up the power pack. "Now what do we do?"

"We do nothing," Sombra stated in a serious tone. "We'll deal with the new Rider in time but until then, wait for further instructions." The Mimics nodded, as he headed out of the room. They all wondered where he was going, but knew not to ask questions. Instead, they would focus on healing and preparing for when they were needed again. And they doubted that would be long.

At the lab, Shining and Thorax stared at the new Kamen Rider as she stood before them.

"So you decided to join the fight?" Shining asked, he and Thorax having revealed themselves to her now that she was part of the team. "And you're sure about this? Being a Kamen Rider is dangerous."

"I know," Fleur nodded back. "And so does Katar. We're both going to fight and stop the Mimics. Because Katar hopes that if we stop the ones attacking, younger Mimic who haven't done anything might have the chance to change their fate."

"You really think something like that's possible?" Thorax asked, turning to Corvyn as if to ask his opinion.

"Honestly, I have no idea. After what they did to my world, I want to say they're incapable of change. But nothing is impossible. And if Katar was willing to turn away from their evil ways, others could follow in her footsteps."

"Either way," Shining stated. "Now we're back to three Riders."

Off to the side, the Rainbooms watched and Twilight sighed. "I wish it was four." Nobody said anything, but they all agreed. However, Pinkie chose to change the subject.

"Hey, we need to come up with a name for Fleur. Something to call her so people don't know who she is." The others realised she was right and all thought about it, trying to think of something that might fight with the other Riders.

But Fleur and Katar had already come up with something. "I've already picked a name." They turned to her, as her eyes flashed and her voice seemed to double up as two people seemed to be speaking. "We are Kamen Rider Hudie. And we will stop the Mimics." The others were amazed by this, both by the name and how they seemed to talk at the same time.

Though they had lost Shifter, they now had a new Rider that could go toe to toe with him. They might not know what the Mimics were planning, but they were ready to face them no matter what. And hopefully, they could claim victory against them before it was too late.

Within the office of Dark Industries, a bright light filled the air. And from out of it, Sombra appeared carrying the two power packs that had been charged.

As the portal closed, Sombra looked around and checked the door. Locked, just as he had left it. Nobody would be disturbing him. As such, he moved over to a bookshelf and pulled on a book. Doing so caused part of the shelf to slide away, revealing a hidden elevator.

He climbed in and rode it down, through the building until he reached an area beneath it. Once there, he stepped out and found himself in an almost pitch black room.

As he stepped through it, parts of it lit up a little bit and he soon reached a device that had a bunch of wires sticking out of it. "There is a new Rider." He plugged the power packs into it. "A powerful one, it seems. If we want to truly deal with them, we'll need to even the odds."

The energy from the power packs flew into the machine and into the wires, flowing towards a dark section of the room. And when they did, a slight glow filled it.

That glow was coming from a person hidden within the shadows. Someone wearing a Mimic Driver that was beginning to power up. "Be ready. Once you're powered up, I expect great things from you."

Author's Note

Oh yeah. Kamen Rider Hudie. Hope you guys like the design and her fighting style. Not many Riders seem to use whips and ribbons. Hopefully, she can show why some should consider it. And who is that mysterious hidden figure? Only time will tell.

Episode 27: Carnival Chaos

In Corvyn's lab, a loud engine could be heard revving up.

In the once pitch black room, Kamen Rider Hudie was sitting atop her own Rider Machine. Unlike with the male Riders, this bike had a slightly different design. This bike was light blue in colour, with a pink glass screen that was in the shape of a heart. Coming out the sides of the console were two wing-like sections, that gave the front a crescent moon shape and moved to help with balance at high speeds. The wheels were black, but the inner parts were pink and the back had a helmet box-like contraption that had dorsal fins on it.

The Rider nodded, as she revved the engine. "Okay. This is awesome!" She turned to Corvyn, who nodded as the other Riders and Rainbooms nodded at her.

"You can thank Rarity for helping with the design," he explained.

"What can I say," Rarity smiled. "The other bikes are nice, but didn't really scream female Rider." The others nodded, as Hudie got off the bike and let it melt before shrinking down. Once it was back in its toy form, she picked it up before removing her Mimicore from the Driver.

Fleur stood in place of the hero and pocketed the bike, as she turned back to them. "This is still kind of hard to believe."

"Tell me about it," Shining nodded. "Try having no idea what's going on." He glanced over at Corvyn. "One minute I'm just a normal guy. The next, I'm waking up on the street having no idea what happened. Then, I can suddenly transform into a humanoid beetle and grow a blaster out of my armor."

"I'm sorry," Corvyn told him. "But would you have actually agreed to keep these powers if you knew the truth so early?"

Shining didn't know how to answer that. "Anyway," he turned back to Fleur. "You and Katar learning to get better in sync?" Fleur nodded.

"Yup. Sometimes, it doesn't even feel like we're two minds in one body. It feels like we're completely one." Shining and Thorax wondered what that was like. Neither of them had ever spoken to their Mimics and after what happened to Flash, they were worried what would happen if they did.

As the two Riders thought about Flash, they both wondered how he was doing with his mind now trapped. With each passing day, they worried Flash would become more and more isolated. After all, the only person he could talk to was the one person he hated more than anything. One could only imagine how he was feeling.

Night had fallen on Canterlot. The perfect cover for a black suited individual to fly over it without being seen.

And that was exactly what Kamen Rider Shifter was doing, heading towards the home of his host and his family. "We will soon be at your place of residence," he stated to nobody. But someone did answer.

"Can we not." The next thing he knew, Sheave was back inside the void of his mind. There, Flash was kneeling on the ground covered in the amber. "Nothing's worse than you trying to pretend to be me to my family."

"Trust me, this isn't a picnic for me either. But if you suddenly disappeared, it would cause a disturbance that could inhibit any plan our master has for us in the future."

"Just stay away from them," Flash growled. "If you try anything with my mom or Scootaloo-"

"You will do nothing," Sheave landed outside his house. "You are my prisoner now. You can do nothing but watch as I complete my mission." His armor melted and formed the cocoon around him, which then melted away to reveal him in his civilian clothes. He then sighed and changed them back to Flash's street wear, wishing he didn't have to wear the silly clothes his host liked.

He headed inside and as soon as he did, he heard Misty Vail call out to him.

"Flash." He sighed, having attempted to head upstairs as soon as possible. "Dinner's almost ready."

"I'll eat it later."

"You'll eat it now," she told him sternly. "And afterwards, you'll wash the dishes." Sheave growled, but didn't try anything and headed into the dining room. There, Scootaloo had set the table and was getting the drinks out. Meanwhile, Flash's mother came in carrying plates of food.

Sheave sat and quickly started shovelling the food down. The sight of this made the other two frown.

"It's not going anywhere," Scootaloo told him. "Don't need to eat like a pig." Flash glared at her, as Scootaloo ate her own food.

Misty then smiled. "So, you two looking forward to tomorrow?" This made Sheave stop, as Scootaloo smiled.

"Yeah. It's gonna be a blast." They turned to him and saw the confusion on his face. "Don't tell me you forgot." Sheave said nothing. "You promised to take me to the amusement park tomorrow." Sheave suddenly found himself reliving a memory of Flash's, where his host had promised to take his sister to Equestria Land.

"Oh," he frowned, "I can't do that. Something's come up." Scootaloo looked horrified, whilst Misty frowned.

"Excuse me. What could be more important than keeping your promise to your little sister?" Sheave said nothing, unsure how to answer that. "Exactly. We keep our promises in this family. So either take Scootaloo to the park tomorrow, or expect to spend the day cleaning the house with me."

Sheave did his best to hold back a glare, knowing that would likely get him in more trouble.

"Fine," he sighed. "I'll call and cancel." He knew the others weren't going to be happy about this. As such, he quickly finished the rest of his meal and tried to head upstairs, only to be reminded of the dishes.

Once those were done, he was finally allowed to head up to Flash's room and rest.

"So that's what it's like to have a mother. Talk about annoying." He heard Flash chuckled at this. "You think this is funny? Don't push your luck or I'll find a way to make things more unbearable for you."

"Whatever? So what happened to your mother?" Sheave said nothing. "I mean, Maya is the mother of Thorax's Mimic. So you must have been spawned from another Mimic, right?"

"Yes, though I never met them. I don't really have a lot of memories of before I had my physical form. Most Mimics don't get to meet their parents. They're either destroyed before we can, or our spawners leave and the next time we meet we don't even know it's them."

"Sounds lonely."

"It's natural." He laid on his bed, taking out his phone as he did. He quickly rung the number he had memorised and after a few moments, someone answered.

"What's up?" It was High, Sheave wishing it had been someone else.

"Listen. If the master has any plans for tomorrow, I won't be able to help. My host's family is forcing me to spend the day at an amusement park with his little sister. If I don't, it could cause issues for me."

"Seriously?" High sighed. "Having this family we have to work around is ridiculous. We need to find a way to get you out of this?"

"It's just one day. You'll be fine without me for that."

"And what if you're forced to do something else with this family? I think it'll be better to just get rid of them."

"How do you expect I do that?" He listened to High humming and thinking before she started chuckling. "You just had a wicked idea, didn't you?"

"Yes. Yes I did. Tomorrow, you're going to take the host's sister to this amusement park. And there, I'll send a bunch of Mimicreeps to kill her." Sheave seemed interested in this, whilst Flash cried out.

"NO! I WON'T LET YOU DO THAT!"

"Shut it!" Sheave growled.

"Huh?"

"Not you. My host doesn't like that idea. But I most certainly do. Let's do it. I'm going to enjoy this." He heard Flash growl and curse, but ignored him. "I'll contact you once we're at the park." With that, he hung up and sighed as he lay on the bed.

"Damn you!" Flash cried, "don't you have any heart? It's not bad enough you're pretending to be someone who loves her, now you're trying to use that to hurt her."

"Let's call it payback," Sheave stated. "You took my sibling from me. Now I'm going to take your sibling from you."

"Your brother was a monster that was trying to hurt people. Scootaloo's never hurt anyone ever! I promise you. If you touch one hair on her head, I will find a way to escape this and make you pay. I don't care if I have to destroy myself to do it. YOU'RE GONNA PAY!"

"Oh be quiet," Sheave stated. "Everything dies eventually. What's the difference between her dying now and in...sixty years or so?" Flash growled, as Sheave closed his eyes. But as he did, something happened.

In the blink of an eye, Sheave suddenly found himself being bombarded by images. He cried out, clutching his head, as he suddenly found himself in a park. He was shorter than he should be, wearing shorts and a blue T-shirt. And as he looks around, he sees an even smaller human on the grass next to him.

This was a younger Scootaloo, the pair of them playing with toys and laughing at something.

The scene then changes to show himself, pushing a swing with Scootaloo in it. They kept laughing, as Scootaloo got higher and higher. "What..." The scene changed again, this time of an older him pushing Scootaloo whilst she rode a bike.

She looked worried, but Sheave continued to hold onto her and keep her from losing control. And as Scootaloo looked ahead, Sheave released her and she started riding all on her own. She laughed at this, as she looked back and saw him not holding her. That was when she lost control.

Sheave flinched, as she somehow went off the path and crashed head first into a tree.

He ran over to her, as she untangled herself. And when she did, worry washed over him as he looked over her. But when they both saw she was unhurt, they both laughed with Sheave helping her to her feet.

Once again, the image around him changed and he was back in Flash's house. He appeared a little older, he and Scootaloo playing video games together. Both of them were furiously tapping buttons, trying to get an advantage over the other one. But eventually, Scootaloo managed to defeat him and began to celebrate.

Sheave threw the controller down and wrapped an arm around Scootaloo's neck, pulling her towards him so he could give her a nuggy. She screamed, trying to fight back, but it was useless and the pair ended up laughing as he kept it up.

"STOP!" Sheave cried out, managing to overcome the images he had just seen. He shook his head, finally back in the bedroom. And he did this, the images he had just seen became seared into his brain. And with them, all the emotions he had felt during them. "What was that?"

"Those were my memories," Flash stated. "I don't know how, but you must have accessed them somehow. Everything Scootaloo and I did together and all the emotions that are attributed with them."

"All that stuff you did. How pointless."

"No, it's not. Maybe that's the one thing you Mimics never learned. That what might seem to be the most pointless things, can actually be the most important. All those fun things my sister and I shared. Those experiences and the fun I had, were what make life worth living. They were why I fought so hard against the Mimics. Because I don't want those experiences to stop."

"Well they will. By this time tomorrow, your sister will be dead. And I'll be free to do whatever the master needs me to do." He could feel Flash's hatred and he didn't care. All that mattered was completing his mission. And Scootaloo was in the way.

In his hidden room, Sombra worked on the machine that was doing several scans.

He smiled, as he turned to the figure hidden in the darkness. "Systems are coming online and looking good. It won't be long before you're ready to head out and start fighting in my name."

"Good," the figure replied with their voice slightly muffled. "The sooner I'm out of here, the better."

"I know being stuck in here wasn't fun. But that Driver was made using the data stolen from the other Drivers. Since I wasn't able to get a complete scan of it at the time, I couldn't risk you leaving and a problem arising." He checked another monitor and nodded. "But it seems everything's working perfectly. Once I've got enough power to complete the charge, you'll be good to go."

"Good. I look forward to see how these Riders do against the power I have.

The next day.

Sheave was not a happy bunny. A part of him wished his comrades hadn't destroyed his host's car a while back, since he was forced to ride a bus to the amusement park. As such, he leaned against the window with his face in his hand. Scootaloo was sitting beside him, obviously excited about having a fun day out.

"We're almost there," she smiled as she saw the sign for the amusement park pass them.

"Yay," he stated sarcastically. He didn't know why he was even bothering with this charade. He should have just grabbed her when nobody was looking and thrown her through a portal. Too late now.

The bus pulled to a stop and the pair got out, both heading towards the entrance. They didn't have to wait long in line, since the park had just opened. Once Sheave paid for them to get in, Scootaloo looked around in amazement.

"High. You'd better show up quickly." But as he said that, Scootaloo grabbed his arm.

"Come on. Let's try that ride first!" She pulled him over to a roller-coaster and after another few minutes waiting in line, Sheave found himself sitting in the cart looking bored as they began to move up the long climb.

"What is the point of this? Why just sit in a cart that just goes in one big winding-CIRCLE!" The next thing he knew, the cart was shooting down the track at super high speed. He could do nothing but scream, as they flew left, right, did a loopy loop and dropped down several feet in a single second.

Scootaloo screamed in joy, as the cart kept racing around several times before finally slowing to a stop.

"YEAH!" She cheered, as they got out of the cart. Sheave's eyes were wide and he clutched his chest, as Scootaloo pulled them along. "That was awesome! Wasn't it!"

"Yes," Sheave nodded, "it was." He couldn't deny that. He had tried out Sentry's bike, but that roller-coaster was way more thrilling despite it being slower.

"I knew you'd love it!" Scootaloo laughed, as she grabbed Sheave's arm and pulled him along. "Come on. I bet that ride will be even more fun!" Sheave didn't know why he was letting himself get pulled along like this. But as they reached another ride, one which sent a bunch of seats up into the air dropping them for several seconds before repeating the process, he suddenly found himself excited.

"Maybe High can take a bit of time."

At the Mimic Lair, High was in her human form and busy making as many Mimicreeps as possible.

As she did, Sombra stepped into the room and noticed what she was doing. "What's going on here?" High jumped to attention, as Sombra stared her down. "I don't remember giving you any orders."

"Yes...master. I'm helping Sheave out." Sombra raised an eyebrow at this. "He's being forced to spend time at an amusement park with his host's younger sibling. We might not have any missions right now, but if he's forced to do it again when you need it that could become an inconvenience. So we're going to take that child down."

"I see," Sombra hummed. "Yes, that might be a good idea. But I want you to multi-task whilst you're at it." He pointed at a section of the lab. "Take those power packs and fill them up as much as you can. Once they're full, send them back to me. Is that understood?"

"Yes, master. We won't let you down."

Sombra nodded and got back to what he had come into the room to do, grabbing several spare parts before leaving. At the same time, High wondered what he was using them for and what he needed all this extra power for. But She would worry about that later, Right now, she had a small child to crush.

In Corvyn's lab, Cadance was there with everyone else.

Pharynx was with his brother, whilst she was staring at the newest Rider. "I can't believe you've become a Rider," she told Fleur. Since she was Cadance's student, the woman was quite amazed to discover she was joining the fight against the Mimics.

"Yeah," Fleur smiled, "I never thought I'd be doing something like this either. But still, I want to help protect our world. If I have to fight to do it, so be it."

Cadance smiled at her, proud that her student was willing to do what was needed. But there was still one thing that surprised her. "And this Katar. You're sure she's not gonna betray you?"

"Yes," Fleur smiled, "Katar's my friend. We actually spent a pleasant evening together, reading a historical romance novel last night." Cadance was amazed by this, as the others worked on the safe that Flash and Twilight had recovered before he had lost his body.

"Well?" Twilight asked, as his computers worked on undoing the lock. "How's it looking?"

"This isn't going to be easy," Corvyn stated. "The royal family certainly knew how to make a safe that was tough to open. This could take a while." They frowned at this, praying the core within would be the key to saving Flash.

In that moment, Rainbow rushed in from the other room. And she did not look happy, instead looking terrified. "GUYS! We've got a problem!" The others turned to her, on alert for what had her on edge. "I just got an alert from Scoot's canterbook page. Look!" She showed them an image that showed Scootaloo with someone else.

They all froze at the sight of Flash, sitting beside Scootaloo hugging her as they posed for the picture. "What's he doing?" Shining growled, seeing Flash's kidnapper so close to his sister. "He's got to be up to something."

"What do we do?" Fluttershy asked. "Should we go there and tell Scootaloo how dangerous he is?"

"But we'd have to tell her why he's dangerous," Twilight pointed out. "Which means we'd have to tell her her brother was taken over by a psycho slime monster and is a Kamen Rider. And I don't think she'll take that well."

The others realised she was right. But they couldn't just let Scootaloo be left alone with him.

"We should keep an eye on them," Fleur stated. "Sheave won't pull anything whilst we're there. So let's go and show him he can't do anything without getting us on his back." They nodded, as they prepared to head out. But none of them realised that things were already in motion.

Back at the amusement park, Sheave and Scootaloo continued to go on ride after ride.

With each ride, Sheave suddenly found himself enjoying himself more and more. They had ridden every roller-coaster in the park, kicked butt in the bumper carts and even had themselves scared witless when they went inside the haunted house.

"Found the way out yet?" Scootaloo asked, as they made their way through the house of mirrors.

"I think I've figured it out." Sheave turned what he thought was a corner, only to run head first into a mirror. "Ow!" He cried, holding his nose as Scootaloo laughed. But two seconds later, she found herself running into a mirror wall as well.

This time, it was Sheave's turn to laugh. As he did, he found himself back in his mind with Flash watching. "Enjoying yourself?"

Sheave turned to him. "Actually, yes. I guess you humans have found some rather novel ways of entertaining yourself."

"It's amazing how great life can be, when you don't waste your time trying to eradicate an entire species." Sheave rolled his eyes. "Don't think you're gonna get away with this. Rainbow's probably seen that post by now. She'll know you're with Scootaloo and will tell the others. They won't let you touch her."

"And how are they gonna stop me?" Sheave asked.

"I can't believe you. You just admitted Scootaloo was helping you have fun. And this is how you're gonna repay her? You Mimics claim to be so superior but if this is how you show gratitude for someone making you happy, you're anything but superior."

"Oh yeah? We have a few hundred destroyed worlds that say otherwise."

"It's easy to destroy something," Flash told him. "It's the easiest talent in the world to have. Takes no real effort or thought. If you wanna prove yourselves to be the best, try building something. Something more than a weapon or tool that can do nothing but make others feel pain. Do that and come back to me about being superior."

Sheave glared at him and pulled himself back out of his mind, as he and Scootaloo finally found the exit.

After that, they went to get something unhealthy to eat. Scootaloo got a hot dog, whilst Sheave got a burger. They managed to locate a bench to eat at, Scootaloo humming in delight as they ate. "This has been a great day," she told him. "We haven't been able to do something like this in ages."

"I've...been busy."

"Yeah. But you were always busy before," Scootaloo pointed out. "And you always managed to find time for us to hang out." She finished her hot dog and leaned onto his side, her head on his arm. "If you don't want to hang out with me anymore, I get it. But we've always had each other's backs. Ever since dad died."

Sheave remained quiet and finished his burger, as he felt Scootaloo's body heat on his.

Something about this felt strange. A part of him wondered that if his brother hadn't been killed, then maybe this is how he would feel to be around him.

Sheave let these feelings swirl around in his head, the Mimic trying to figure out how he felt about it. And slowly, he was raising his hand up as if to place it comfortingly on her head. But he never got that far.

Suddenly, a flash of light caused Sheave to look around and see a portal form in the middle of the amusement park.

From out of it, High leapt out with several Mimicreep following behind her. Three of them had power packs, the others quickly beginning to attack anyone who was close. This caused the people to scream, as they began to run for their lives. The Mimicreeps slashed at several, though they only got their clothes and a few light scratches.

High looked around and smiled when she spotted Sheave, as Scootaloo looked terrified.

"We gotta get out of here!" She cried, pulling her brother away. Sheave decided to play along, at least until they were out of the public's sight.

As such, he gripped her arm and pulled her along as High began to follow them. They pushed through the crowd, Sheave looking around and trying to find a place they could go and finish this. But oddly, he suddenly felt a strange feeling in the pit of his stomach.

As he thought about what would happen to Scootaloo, he felt himself beginning to feel sick. "What's wrong with me?" He shook his head and spotted an area that made him smirk. "This way!" He pulled Scootaloo through an area between two booths, the pair running out the other side and making their way towards an empty section of the park. As they did, High leapt onto the top of a booth and smirked.

After a minute of running, the two suddenly found themselves turning into an area that had a dead end. "Oh no," Sheave acted. "Damn it!" He tried to pull Scootaloo back, but High suddenly dropped down in the exit.

The siblings stared at her, as she chuckled and prepared her claws. "End of the road." Scootaloo hid behind Sheave and he smirked without her noticing, preparing to pull the girl out from behind him and throw her to the lions, or tigers in this instance.

But before he could, he felt that gut wrenching feeling in his stomach again. The idea of letting Scootaloo get hurt was making him feel horrible. Almost like he felt...guilty.

High gave him a curious look, wondering what he was waiting for. "Well. We gonna do this or not?" Scootaloo wondered what she meant, as Sheave glanced back at her. He seemed conflicted about something, though she couldn't figure out what.

Then, before anything could happen, a blue blur suddenly shot past High and circled around Sheave. In the blink of an eye, Scootaloo suddenly vanished and Sheave almost spun off his feet. "What?" He saw the blur run away and miss High as she tried to claw at it, then disappeared into the park.

"NO!" High roared, as Sheave ran over to her. "If you hadn't taken so long, this would have been over by now." Sheave frowned, wondering why he had hesitated. And also why he felt relieved.

Suddenly, a portal opened up and three figures leap out of it. Shining, Thorax and Fleur glared at them, Sheave glaring back and High prepared to attack. "You think we'd let you get away with that," Shining stated. "Putting Flash's sister in danger. We won't forgive you for that."

"You guys are going down!" Thorax cried, Fleur nodding.

"We're freeing your hosts here and now." They all took out their Mimicores and activated them, the three devices glowing as their Drivers appeared around their waists.

"TRI-HORN!/SLASH!/FLUTTER!"

They all placed their Mimicores into their Drivers and struck a pose, as Sheave took out his own Mimicore and the Maleficore. "HENSHIN!" They slammed the draws shut and the belts powered up, as they crossed their arms.

"MIMIC!TRICERATOPS!/MANTIS!/BUTTERFLY!" The belts unleashed the slime and soon, all three of them were sealed within a cocoon seconds before it shattered to reveal them in their Rider suits. The armor then began to form and soon, the three Riders stood before them ready for a fight.

"The charging force of three horns, triple the destructive power."

"Bladed arms that slice through anything, cutting down the evils of the world!"

"A graceful wing beat, creates a hurricane of power!"

The Mimics didn't look impressed, as the three prepared their weapons. "So what? You think you're tough, just because you out number us." Sheave held up his cores. "I'm not scared." He activated them, as the Driver appeared around his waist.

"MALEFIC STRIKE!"

He placed both cores onto the Driver and struck his own pose. "Henshin!" The Riders watched him slam the draw shut and flip the Maleficore down, the dark energy flowing into him through the Driver. And as he did, Sheave suddenly felt better. The weird feelings he had felt because of Scootaloo, suddenly vanished as the Driver powered up

"MIMIC! LIGHTNING BUG!" The slime flew out and formed the cocoon around him, the other Riders getting ready as the cocoon broke apart and revealed the dark suited individual. And as the dark armor formed on him, his Driver spoke out. "Darkness, engulfs all that stands within it. Unlimited power awakens in the shadows!"

Shifter glared at his opponents before charging forward, High following as they attacked the Riders.

Shifter and Hudie began to fight, Shifter wanting revenge on her for what had happened before. Meanwhile, Changeling and Morphic dealt with High as she tried to zap and slash at them.

As this was happening, the Mimicreeps found themselves having their own issues as well.

Suddenly, the Rainbooms had arrived and started dealing with the ones attacking the amusement park. "Gotcha!" Applejack punched one and made it go splat, whilst Twilight lifted a few more up and threw them against a nearby roller-coaster.

Rarity threw her diamonds and cut through them, whilst Pinkie blew them up with her explosive treats. Meanwhile, Sunset and Fluttershy were helping other people get away. As they did, a blue blur raced up to them and stopped to show Rainbow with Scootaloo in hand.

"You okay?" She finally asked, looking Scootaloo over.

"What about Flash? You've gotta go back for him!" The others frowned, wondering how they should explain the situation to Scootaloo. But at the moment, they didn't have time.

Applejack spotted the Mimicreeps using the power packs. All three were plugged into the amusement park's electrical system, having been absorbing energy that usually went to the rides. "Hey!" She ran over to them, but more Mimicreeps got in the way.

They slashed at her, but she managed to avoid this as she looked around for something to smash at them with.

Rarity launched some diamonds at the creatures and cut through them, as the Mimicreeps with the power packs quickly unplugged the half charged devices. And as the girls made their way towards them, the three pulled the packs over to an opening portal.

"Don't let them get away!" Twilight cried, as she tried to grab the packs in her magic. But the Mimicreeps leapt through the portal before they could. "No!"

"What are they after so much energy for?" Rainbow asked, the others wondering the same thing. But Scootaloo pulled on her sleeve.

"FLASH!" She cried, looking ready to start crying for fear of her brother's state. The look broke Rainbow's heart and with a sigh, she turned to the others as the rest of the Mimicreeps were dealt with.

They all nodded, as Sunset and Fluttershy arrived back on the scene. "Get her out of here!" Rainbow cried, as they started making their way back to where her 'brother' was.

In Sombra's hidden lab, a portal opened up and the three Mimicreeps leapt through it.

Sombra turned to them, as they bowed down and he smiled. "Excellent." He moved over to the power packs and looked them over, frowning when he saw that they were all only half charged. "That group was quicker to react then I suspected. Still..." He plugged them into the machine, the energy flowing into it and along the cables. "This should be just enough to get it working."

The figure in the dark section said nothing, as the energy flowed into their Driver. All the while, they held a Mimicore in their hand that was just waiting to be activated.

Sombra watched as the power flowed into the device and charged it up, the man watching as the level stayed stable. "Good. Won't be long now."

Back in the amusement park, The Riders continued to fight against the Mimics with the fight appearing to be rather even.

With her super speed, High managed to avoid the Rider's attacks. But the Riders were able to block her slashes with their swords or gauntlets. Morphic shielded himself with his gauntlet before throwing a kick into High's side, knocking her away whilst Changeling slashed at her.

"Gyah!" She cried, the tips of his blades slicing against her chest and pushing her into the side of the ride they had been fighting next to.

At the same time, Hudie was using her wings to fly above Shifter and attack from above. She flicked her ribbon around before whipping it forward, Shifter raising his arms to shield himself as it struck him. He was knocked staggering back by it, as Hudie flew down and dealt several kicks to him.

"Augh!" He was almost knocked off his feet, until he crashed into the side of the roller-coaster's fencing and used it to hold him up. "How are you so strong?"

"Because me and Katar work together," she reminded him. "Against our teamwork, you don't stand a chance." She giggled. "Too bad you and Flash can't work together like that. There's no telling how strong you could be. But considering how you want to destroy his world and everyone he loves, that's not going to happen."

Shifter growled. "I don't need his help!" He pushed himself off and leapt towards her, his armor sparking with energy. But when he threw a punch, Hudie managed to spin and avoid it before kicking him in the side. At the same time, Changeling managed to slash High and knocked her back.

Hudie then started doing a ballet spin, kicking her leg at Shifter every time to spun around. And as High prepared to charge herself up and attack, Hudie launched her Grace Grazer and wrapped it around the Tiger's leg.

The Mimic suddenly found herself getting pulled off her feet, hitting the ground as Hudie pulled and used the force the yank herself at Shifter before kicking him in the chest with both feet.

This knocked Shifter backwards, as Changeling performed a soccer kick on High and blew her into the air with all his strength. The two Mimics found themselves slamming into one another in midair, as Morphic's gauntlets began to charge up with energy. And as they fell to the ground, he thrust both fists down into the ground and unleashed the energy.

That energy flew towards them and before they could recover and escape, it exploded beneath them and both yelled out in pain as they were thrown upwards and burned by it. And when they fell down, both grunted in pain as they clutched their arms and sides.

Changeling and Hudie then charged, Changeling attempting to stab High whilst Hudie swung her ribbon whip around.

High managed to recover in time to roll out of the way, Changeling's blades hitting the ground instead. And as Hudie's ribbon wrapped around Shifter's neck, he let the light on his body glow as bright as they could to blind her.

"Augh!" She staggered back, as Shifter pulled the ribbon off his neck. He then took out another Mimicore and activated it.

"MALEFIC BLADE!" Before Hudie or the others could react, he replaced the Mimicores and slammed the Driver shut. "MIMIC! SWORDFISH!" The armor on his body melted and as Morphic threw several laser punches his way, Shifter dodged at super speed whilst his armor solidified.

Now in his Swordfish Form, he summoned his blade and charged forward at high speed.

He slashed at Morphic and knocked him back, whilst Hudie leapt into the air. He then turned his attention towards Changeling and as he flew past him, slashing at the Rider's chest, Hudie had to avoid High's lightning attacks.

As she did, the female Rider took out her Rider Machine and dropped it to the ground.

The toy bike melted before expanding and solidifying into the large version, which Hudie flew down and landed on. As soon as she did, she revved her engine and shot forward, moving just as fast as Shifter. Turning into black and light blue blurs, the pair flew around the place as Changeling and Morphic turned towards High.

Changeling ran forward and slashed at her, but she managed to dodge each of his attacks and swipe at him with her claws. But the damage she had taken already had slowed her down, allowing Changeling to keep up and block her attacks.

He crossed his swords to deflect her stab and thrust his weapons apart, knocking her off balance. He then leapt into the air and allowed Morphic to fire multiple lasers at her. These slammed into her and blew the Mimic backwards, until she crashed into a fence.

At the same time, Hudie's bike flew past them and shot towards Shifter.

The Malefic Rider charged at full speed and tried to cut the female one's head off. But at the last moment, Hudie swung her bike around and skidded along the ground, the wing of her bike ground against the ground and she whipped her ribbon around.

It wrapped around Shifter's leg and with a sharp pull, his foot was yanked out from under him.

He screamed, as he crashed into the ground and rolled out of control. As he did, Hudie spun around and pulled her weapon away. And when he eventually stopped, she revved her engine and reached down to her Driver. "You're not gonna win. Because we're about to bring the storm!" With that, she slammed her hand into the side of the Driver.

"CLIMATIC FLUTTER!"

The energy flowed out of her Driver, through her and into her bike. And as she raced forward, Shifter picked himself up and saw her coming.

Her bike glowed and before he could do anything, it morphed into a light blue stream of energy that shot forward at super speed. And when it shot past Shifter, he roared as he was blown up and sent flying.

Hudie and her bike rematerialised in that moment and skidded to a stop, as Shifter hit the ground whilst his suit exploded off of him. His Driver flew open and his Blade Mimicore was ejected and landed a good distance away from him.

Sheave groaned, clutching his chest as he looked over at where his core had fallen.

But when he tried to reach out and grab it, a blue blur shot passed and the core vanished. He turned to glare at the Riders, as Hudie rolled to a stop and got off her bike. And as High crawled towards him, the Riders grouped up as her bike shrank down.

The three Riders stared at the two, the three nodding to one another as they prepared to finally end the battle and save their friend. "Hang on, Flash. We're getting you out of there." But before they could perform their finishing moves, something happened that took them completely by surprise.

Up above the Mimics, a portal suddenly opened. And from out of it, multiple bolts of red and green lightning exploded out of it and shot down towards the Riders.

They all gasped and leapt back, the ground exploding where the lightning struck. The shockwave slammed into the three and sent them all flying backwards, crashing into several spots including a fence and part of a ride before they all fell to the ground.

As they did, a figure appeared in the explosion zone. And as the smoke and flames began to fade, bolt of red and green lightning flew all over the place and slowly revealed the one hidden within them. And when the Riders saw what it was, they couldn't believe it. "No way," Morphic gasped.

At the same time, the Rainbooms arrived and also saw the figure. And they were just as shocked by what they were seeing. "Shifter?" Twilight asked, as the figure was completely revealed.

It was Shifter. Or at least, a figure that was wearing a suit very similar to Shifter's.

He appeared to resemble Shifter's Hyper Strike form, his suit being buffer whilst his armor covered more of his body. His suit was brown whilst his armor was mostly green with several red areas. This included the antenna on his head, the lightning wings on his back and the lights covering his suit. His eyes were also red and as he stared at them, his gaze landed on Sheave behind him and the Rider suddenly felt something.

Then, the new Rider suddenly shot forward with bolts of red and green lightning flying off him as he moved.

As the other Riders picked themselves up, the new one flew over to Hudie and smashed a fist into her stomach. "GYAH!" She was once again blown backwards and crashed into the side of a ride, her suit exploding off her as she fell to the ground. Fleur flinched, as she laid there whilst the new Rider spun around and slammed his foot into Changeling.

This sent him flying back, but he managed to stay suited up and barely landed on his feet.

Morphic turned to the Rider and fired a laser at him, but the stranger raised a hand and actually caught the laser in it. A red energy surrounded his hand and protected it from the laser, as he then leapt forward and threw a charged up punch into Morphic's chest.

He was knocked back and as he staggered around, Changeling rushed forward and slashed at him.

However, the figure leapt out of the way and bounced off the side of a roller-coaster to shoot back towards him. And as he did, energy flowed into his boot and he slammed it into Changeling's chest. "GYAH!" The explosion that followed knocked him backwards and caused his suit to explode off him, Thorax falling to the ground as well.

The figure back-flipped and landed, as Morphic ran at him and threw a bunch of punches in his direction.

But the new Rider dodged them all as he moved towards him and eventually got close enough to slam Morphic in the chest and knock him back. And as he did, he slammed the side of his Driver.

"CLIMATICDARKSTRIKE!"

The Rider crossed his arms as the lights on his body unleashed a bunch of energy into his arms and legs. And when she swung his arms apart, burst of red lightning flew off them and practically ran across the ground towards Morphic.

When they reached him, they grabbed Morphic's arms and raised him up into the air. "AUGH!" He was zapped as he was lifted up, whilst the Rider leapt up and flew past him before spinning around and thrusting his foot towards Morphic. At this point, the energy exploded off his body and pushed him down towards Morphic.

All the Rider could do was gasp, as the foot slammed into him and blew him down to the ground. And with a roar, Morphic crashed into the floor with an explosion surrounding him.

"SHINING!" Twilight screamed, horrified to see her brother beaten so badly.

Applejack leapt forward and using all her strength, she clapped her hands together and made a powerful wind that blew the flames and smoke away. Doing so revealed Shining, who was laying on the ground hurt whilst his suit disappeared. Fleur and Thorax had pushed themselves up and moved over to him, Shining revealed to be seriously injured from the blast.

The new Rider landed in front of Sheave and High, who both looked just as amazed and shocked by him.

Thorax and Fleur helped Shining to his feet and as he grunted, he glared at the strange. "Who the heck are you?" The Rider slowly turned towards them before speaking.

"Kamen Rider...Gule."

"Gule?" Shining's eyes widened, with the others looking shocked. Thorax and Fleur frowned, not quite sure why that name was so important. But they got their answer, when the figure reached down and removed his Mimicore from his Mimic Driver.

In doing so, the armor on his body melted and formed a cocoon around him before exploding. In doing so, it revealed someone none of them had ever expected to see.

A young man in his late teens, with light brown skin and dark green hair that had been combed back. He was dressed in a white shirt and a dark blown tie, suit jacket and pants. He looked nothing like how he used to look, but it was clear that it was him.

"Timber," Twilight whispered in shock.

Timber adjusted his tie and glared at them all, then glanced back at Sheave. "Hello, brother. I'm glad to see you've finally regained control of your body." Sheave just stood there, as he realised who he was actually talking to.

"Gule," Sheave whisper. "Brother." Everyone else caught on and realised that if Timber could become a Kamen Rider, that could only mean one thing. He was a Mimic. But how could that be possible?

Author's Note

How many of you saw that coming? So, Gule is back in the picture. But how? Only time will tell.

Episode 28: The Return of an Enemy! Kamen Rider Gule

Nobody could understand what the heck they were seeing.

One minute, the Riders had been defeating Sheave and High and were about to destroy them all. But then, a new Rider had appeared. One that none of them had ever expected to see. Gule-Far-Tar. Timber Spruce.

Sheave pushed himself up and stared at his supposedly revived brother, hardly believing what he was seeing. "Gule? Is that really you?"

Gule smiled at him, "it is. It's good to finally see you, brother." He moved over to Sheave and the pair hugged one another, Sheave appearing to be close to tears. "We're finally working on the same side."

The others were still shocked, though Fleur and Thorax were having trouble understanding any of this.

"How is this possible?" Shining asked. "You were destroyed! Flash destroyed you!" As Gule pulled away from his brother, he turned to them and chuckled.

"Yes, he did destroy me. But a small part of me survived. Within my host." This shocked everyone, Twilight more than most. "It seems my generation of Mimics have evolved a new style of survival. Don't know if the rest of us can do it, but I managed it. During his time as my host, Timber absorbed some of my Mimic DNA. It remained within him, completely undetected."

"So you're not just another Mimic," Twilight realised. She checked her scanner and realised it wasn't going off. "What are you?"

Gule chuckled. "When my original body was destroyed, the mental link between me and Timber should have snapped. But instead, my mind was pulled into Timber's when his returned to his body. I remained inside of him, asleep and unaware. Maybe all Mimics suffer this fate when destroyed. But I was able to awaken thanks to a particular catalyst."

Everyone wondered what that catalyst was, only for Sheave to suddenly find himself reliving one of Flash's memories.

It was back when Flash had been captured by the Mimics and watched as Timber had another Mimic exposed to him. Had it not been for Morphic, Timber would have been taken over again. But he had been saved, or so Flash had thought.

Timber chuckled, as he looked himself over. "Slowly, my consciousness began to awaken and override Timber's own thoughts. And eventually, it was able to obtain complete control over the body. And at the same time, the remains of my cells began to activate and spread throughout Timber's body. Now we have evolved into something new. Not a human. Not a Mimic. Something all new and incredible."

"A hybrid," Shining relied. "Part human, part Mimic." They could hardly believe what they were hearing. If a human and a Mimic really could merge like that, what could this mean for them?

"Now then," the new Rider stepped forward. "I believe you have something belonging to my brother." He focused his attention on Fleur, who still had the Blade Mimicore in hand. "Now give to me." He took out his own Mimicore and prepared to transform, but a light suddenly appeared behind the Riders.

Everyone saw a portal form behind them, another quickly opening behind the girls. "Let's go!" Shining cried, grabbing Fleur and Thorax before pulling them both through. The Rainbooms followed suit, with Twilight and Rainbow holding back.

Rainbow ran around the portal and headed towards the park exit, whilst Twilight glanced back towards Gule.

As she locked onto Timber's eyes, they glared back at her in a way Timber never looked at her. She couldn't believe what was happening. She thought she had saved Timber, but now he was in a worse state than ever. And as he began to move towards her, she leapt through the portal before they both vanished.

The three Mimics stood there, Gule frowning whilst Sheave took out his last two Mimicores.

"Great," High sighed. "Now what?"

"Now," Gule stated, "we head back. It's been a while since I saw Maya and Frill. I'd like to see them again and catch up." He began to walk forward, as a portal formed in front of him. Shifter followed after him and High frowned, but did the same and the trio stepped into the portal.

In the blink of an eye, they were back in the Mimic Lair and Grey, Frill and Maya were waiting for them.

The Mimic generals stared at Gule in shock, as he simply smiled. "I can't believe it," Maya stated. "You're actually alive." She looked him over. "A human Mimic hybrid. I've never heard of such a thing."

Gule shrugged. "I guess I'm the first of my kind." The two smiled at him, whilst High rolled her eyes.

"Okay. Yeah. So he's back. Big whoop." They all turned to her. "Can I remind you that he failed his mission before. He was defeated and destroyed. So why are we so happy he's back. Chances are, he's just gonna fail again."

"Maybe," Gule told her. "But haven't you failed quite a few times as well? After all, I did just save you and Sheave from getting blown into nothing." The pair frowned, realising he was right. "Plus, I'm a Kamen Rider now. Which makes me much stronger than you." He moved closer to High, the pair locking eyes and glaring at one another. "With me here, we don't really have need of you."

"You wanna say that again?" High took her monster form again and prepared to attack, with Gule about to transform. But before they could...

"Enough!" Everyone stood to attention and turned towards Sombra, the six bowing as he approached. "The last thing we need right now, is all of you arguing with one another." They nodded, as Sombra motioned for them to stand. "Gule. How did the Driver hold out?"

"So far, it's been perfect. I felt more powerful than I ever felt in my old form."

"Good," Sombra nodded. "Now that we're sure it'll work, we can move onto the next stage." The Mimics shared a look, wondering what that next stage was. "Once again, I'm going to need you all to gather some energy for me. Even more than what you gathered before."

"What happened to the energy we gathered already?" High asked, with Sombra giving her a look as if to say 'are you questioning me.' "Just curious."

"The energy was for me," Gule stated smugly. "To power up my Driver and the Mimicore Sombra made for me." Sombra nodded, as High frowned. She had busted her gut to get that power and it was all for him. "And now that I'm here, getting more energy should be easy."

"How'd you figure?" Greye asked, as Gule chuckled.

"Against me and Sheave, those Riders won't stand a chance. So let us deal with them whilst you go out and grab the energy. And if any of those fools do show up, you should be able to handle them. Am I right?" The Mimics all nodded, thinking the same thing.

With that, Gule followed Sombra as he showed him around the rest of the new lair.

Meanwhile, Sheave sat down and let his body recuperate after the thrashing he had just received. He let out a sigh, as he found himself in his mind once again. And as he turned towards the captured Flash, he saw his host glaring at him. "Well, I guess we're even. You tried to kill my brother and failed. I tried to kill your sister and failed."

"Just stay away from Scootaloo," Flash told him. "Or else..."

"Or else what? My brother wiped the floor with your friends. They're not gonna be any trouble at all." Flash glared at him, as Sheave tried to relax. But as he did, he was suddenly bombarded with a bunch of memories.

But these ones weren't Flash's. They were his, of the day he had spent with Scootaloo. The fun they had had and the guilt he had felt when he thought about her getting hurt. The memory of her being terrified washed over him and with a grunt, he managed to fight off the sickening sensation he was feeling.

"Stop it!" He flinched, as he left his mind and was back in the real world.

The other Mimics looked at him, clearly confused by what he was doing. "What's wrong with you?" High asked, with Sheave saying nothing.

The Mimic reached into his jacket and took out the Maleficore. As soon as his hand touched it, he felt all the memories he had been plagued with disappear. And the pain he was feeling vanished too. After a few moments of this, he felt much better and smiled. Who cared about Scootaloo and the rest of those humans. He was a Mimic. That was what mattered.

Inside the lab, Corvyn was staring at a scan of Gule that he had managed to get before the three Riders and Rainbooms had to escape.

Rainbow, Fluttershy and Sunset had also returned, having made sure Scootaloo was okay after what had happened. But the young girl had wanted to know what had happened to her brother, the three managing to convince her he was fine before Rainbow raced her back to the town.

Corvyn hummed, the sight before him like nothing he had ever seen. "A human with Mimic DNA within him. I've never seen anything like this."

"Never?" Shining asked, he, Fleur and Thorax having almost recovered after the beating they had received from Gule. "How is something like this even possible? If you've never seen it before, how can it be possible?"

"I don't claim to be an expert when it comes to Mimics," Corvyn stated. "I just use what I learned during our battle against them. And this never happened when they attacked my world. But to be fair, barely any Mimics were destroyed during that war. And when they were, the hosts were in the Mimic's possession. If anything like this has happened before, the Mimics never let us learn about it."

"I'm pretty sure this has never happened before," Rarity told him. "Tim...Gule, said he was something new. Something never before seen. That likely means he is the first hybrid."

"I see," Corvyn nodded. "My best guess is it's some kind of mutation. Something that appeared completely at random, but my repeat if Gule creates his own spawn and they inherit that power."

"How exactly do Mimics create spawns?" Thorax wondered, everyone turning to Fleur as the girl frowned.

"We don't know. Katar doesn't know anything about Mimic culture, remember." They sighed, as Twilight stared at the image of her ex-boyfriend.

"Corvyn. Do you think it's possible to free Timber from whatever's happening to him? Is it like what happened before, when Gule had his mind trapped?"

Corvyn sighed. "I don't know. Like I said, I've never encountered this before. It's possible Gule trapped Timber's mind like before. But it's also possible that Timber's mind has been completely overwhelmed and erased by Gule's consciousness. Like saving a new game over an old file. Everything that was once there is lost."

"Damn it!" Rainbow cried, punching a wall of the lab. "Every time we think we've got one over the Mimics, they pull something like this on us. When are we gonna get a win that stays a win?"

"We did get a win," Shining stated. "It's clear that Sheave was planning to do something to Scootaloo and we managed to stop it. Gule might have knocked us down, but we managed to take another of Flash's Mimicores." He looked over at where the Blade core was located, alongside the Pierce core and Flash's Shift Striker. Now Sheave wouldn't be able to use any of them against them.

"Gule kind of makes up for Sheave not being at full power," Thorax stated. "You saw how strong her was." The others nodded, thinking the same thing. Gule was powerful. More powerful than they liked to admit. But he couldn't be unstoppable. If there was a way to stop him, they would find it.

On a Canterlot street, the people were going about their business until a portal opened up.

As soon as they saw it, they began to run and it was a good thing. For moments later, multiple Mimicreeps leapt out and started attacking. They roared and ran after anyone they saw, causing the street to quickly began deserted.

Moments later, Sheave and Gule stepped out of the portal. The two looked around and saw nobody in sight, making them both nod before taking out their Mimicores and summoning their Drivers.

"MALEFIC FLIGHT!"

"DARK STRIKE!"

The two placed their cores into the Drivers before striking a pose, both appearing almost identical as they did so. "HENSHIN!" With that, they both slammed the Drivers closed and let the dark power flow through them.

"MIMIC! OWL!"

"MIMIC!LIGHTNINGBUG!" They crossed their arms and allowed the slime to fly out of the pipes, Gule's hybrid status not changing how the transformation worked. And soon, the slime rained down and formed cocoons around them before shattering to reveal the Kamen Riders.

Slowly, the armor formed around them and as it settled, the Drivers began to speak out for anyone to hear. "Darkness, engulfs all that stands within it. Unlimited power awakens in the shadows!"

"Darklight,engulfingtheworldaroundit.Letallwhoseeit,trembleinfear!

Transformations complete, the two chuckled at one another before Shifter summoned his wings and took to the sky. Gule moved forward, the red energy sparking around him as he searched for someone to terrorise and draw the others out.

An alarm went off in the lab and everyone jumped into action, rushing towards the computer as it showed images of the two Riders appearing.

"They didn't waste any time," Shining sighed. "What are they up to?" As far as they could tell, all they were doing was attacking. Something he doubted was just for fun. "Alright. Fleur and I will head out and deal with them. Thorax, you stay here and be ready to deploy if the other Mimics show up. This is a distraction, but we can't leave them to do whatever they want."

Thorax nodded, as Twilight frowned. "Shining. Are you sure this is a good idea? You guys didn't stand a chance against Gule when it was three on one. Now it'll be two on two. Do you really think you can hold him off?"

"It might not be easy," Shining nodded. "But he took me by surprise last time. This time, I'm not gonna take him lightly. Besides, we don't have a choice." He turned to Fleur and took out his Mimicore. "You ready?"

She did the same, "let's do this?" They both activated their Mimicores, as their Drivers appeared.

"TRI-HORN!/FLUTTER!"

The pair placed them inside their Drivers and struck a pose. "HENSHIN!" With that, they slammed the drivers closed and the transformations began.

"MIMIC!TRICERATOPS!/BUTTERFLY!" Within moments, the two Riders were sealed within the cocoons and they shattered seconds later.

As the armor formed upon the two, both their Drivers spoke up at the same time. "The charging force of three horns, triple the destructive power."

"A graceful wing beat, creates a hurricane of power!"

"Good luck," Cadance told them as they nodded before heading out of the lab into the open space outside. There, they summoned their bikes and as a portal formed, they climbed on and revved the engine before flying forwards.

Shifter and Gule watched, as the Mimicreeps cornered a group of people that hadn't been able to escape in time.

They watched them approach, only for a portal to suddenly open behind them. And when they looked around, they saw two blurs shoot out and fly past them. They then barreled through the Mimicreeps and knocked them flying away from the people they were attacking, Morphic and Hudie skidding to a stop on their bikes once the people were safe.

"Back for more punishment?" Gule laughed, the two Riders revving up as they prepared to attack. "Good. I was looking forward to this." He gestured to the remaining Mimicreeps and they all charged, with the Riders racing forward on their bikes.

As they did, Morphic started punching any that got close, whilst Hudie kicked more away before summoning her Grace Grazer and flicking it around.

The Mimicreeps didn't stand a chance against them, the large group quickly getting blasted into sludge by the pair as the Riders leapt off their bikes and shrank them back down. And when the last Mimicreep was dealt with, the four turned to one another and got ready for a fight.

Back at the lab, the others watched as Shifter charged first. He took to the air and charged at Hudie, who spread her own wings and flew up to dodge his attack.

Gule then rushed towards Morphic, his body sparking with energy as Morphic took a defensive stance. And as Gule threw a punch at him, Morphic managed to block it and threw his arm away before punching at him. Gule ducked under the punch and laser that fired before punching Morphic in the gut, knocking him backwards.

Cadance flinched at this, but Morphic managed to regain control and fire several lasers.

The four Mimics kept fighting, whilst all the others could do was watch. But soon, their attention was pulled away from the fight by another alarm going off. And as Corvyn rushed over to his computer, he frowned. "Shining was right. Those two were just a distraction. A food processing plant is being attacked."

"Food processing plant?" Rainbow frowned, "why are they attacking there?"

Applejack nodded. "Do ya'h have any idea how much power is needed to run those places. If it's a meat plant, they'd need to keep the whole place refrigerated ta keep the meat from goin' off."

"She's right," Twilight agreed. "If they're trying to steal more power, they must be targeting the areas that have a lot of power. That explains why they attacked the amusement park."

"So what do we do?" Thorax asked. "How many Mimics are there?" Corvyn frowned as he checked and sighed.

"Four. I'm guessing that's all the Mimic Generals." Everyone frowned, knowing that beating them wouldn't be easy with just Thorax. "What's the plan?"

"Do you have any more weapons we can use against Mimics?" Sunset asked, with Corvyn nodding before opening up a box on the ground. They looked down and saw four blasters, Sunset and Fluttershy picking one up. Pharynx also grabbed one and much to everyone's surprise, Cadance followed suit.

"I'm helping," she told them before any of them could argue. "You're gonna need all the help you can get." They frowned, but nodded.

"Just be careful." Thorax took out his Mimicore and activated it.

"SLASH!"

He moved into the other room and placed his Mimicore into the Driver, the others stepping out behind him as he struck a pose. "HENSHIN!" With that, he slammed the draw closed as the portal formed in front of them.

"MIMIC! MANTIS!" The cocoon began to form, as the portal flew forward and they all travelled through it. Once through, they found themselves outside the food processing plant. And sure enough, a bunch of Mimicreeps were terrifying anyone who had been working that day.

As the Mimicreeps turned to them, the cocoon shattered and Changeling stood there. His armor slammed onto him, his arms quickly forming his swords out of them as his Driver spoke up. "Bladed arms that slice through anything, cutting down the evils of the world!"

Before the Mimicreeps could attack, Cadance, Sunset, Fluttershy and Pharynx began to fire their weapons and blast several of them down.

This gave Changeling the time he needed to rush up to the group and start slicing away at the monsters. They all screamed, as they were destroyed by each and every cut. The other Rainbooms also got in close, with Applejack and Rainbow getting up close and personal.

Twilight pulled some of them into the air, giving Rarity and Pinkie free rein to launch their attacks at them without damaging the building.

Within moments, the Mimicreeps had all been dealt with. This allowed them to enter the production plant and start looking around. "I've got a lock," Twilight explained as she held her scanner up. "This way!" She ran forward and the others followed, as they eventually arrived at the main work room.

A bunch of conveyor belts and other machines filled the room, all requiring a large amount of power. The place was also freezing, to keep the food from stalling. And standing in the middle of the room were the four Mimic Generals, all with a power pack in hand.

High was the first to notice them, the tiger standing up and glaring at them. "So, you guys showed up? I was hoping all three of you Riders would come. But I'll happily take this one out." The other Mimics also prepared for battle, with High charging forward first.

Changeling ran forward and they both leapt into the air, their swords and claws grinding against one another as they fell down and landed. They pushed against one another, as the others began to battle the other Mimics there.

Twilight, Rarity and Cadance found themselves facing off against Frill, whilst Sunset, Rainbow and Pinkie were fighting Greye. This left Applejack, Fluttershy and Pharynx staring down Maya, as the Spider Mimic fired webs at them.

Applejack grabbed a piece of machinery and ripped it out of the ground, using it to shield the three of them until Maya stopped firing. And when she did, Pharynx jumped out and started firing at her. But she was able to avoid all the attacks, even when Fluttershy fired as well.

Applejack then threw the machine at her and Maya leapt up, using her web to catapult herself up and over it.

Rainbow got in close to Greye and threw several kicks at him, but Greye was able to block them all before slashing at her. Rainbow avoided the blades and staggered back, as Sunset and Pinkie fired. The explosions that followed, knocked Greye staggering back.

Frill launched several darts towards the girls he was fighting, but Rarity shielded them and Twilight grabbed a few in her magic. And with a grunt, she threw the attacks back towards him and he took off to fly over them.

But as he did, Cadance fired her laser at him. She aimed for his wings, making him flinch when several shots struck them and he fell to the ground. But he managed to land and glared at Cadance, who gave him a smirk whilst he summoned his swords.

"I'm going to make you pay for that." But before he could attack, Rarity put up another wall of shields. And as he stepped backwards, Cadance fired her blaster through a hole Rarity made. Frill slashed at the blast, deflecting it, then fired a dart in an attempt to hit Cadance through the wall. But Rarity closed it at the last moment.

As this was all happening, Changeling and High were fighting one another.

Changeling found himself getting thrown across the room, landing on a conveyor belt as it somehow switched on. And as he rolled along it, High charged up her lightning and fired it at the machine. When the bolt struck, it made the belt speed up whilst charging the metal up.

Changeling barely had enough time to kick himself off the belt and fall to the ground, barely missing getting zapped.

He pushed himself up and High charged, slashing at him only for the Rider to block with his swords. He then dealt a kick to her side, only for High's electrified body to zap him. "Gyah!" The shock knocked him off balance and allowed High to overpower him, knocking him back before unleashing a blast of lightning.

The attack struck and blew Changeling backwards, making him cry out as he flew across the room and slammed into another machine before hitting the ground.

Changeling groaned, as he picked himself up. And as he did, High approached him. He needed to find a way to turn the tables. But how?

Back with the other Riders, their fight was just as fierce.

In the air, Shifter attacked Hudie with everything he had. He soared forward and tried to kick her, but the butterfly Rider managed to block his attack and deal her own kick right into his chest. "Gyah!" He was pushed backwards and spread his wings to keep himself from falling too far.

Shifter glared at her, as Hudie giggled. "I bet you're wishing you still had your Shift Striker and those two Mimicores. Now what happened to them?"

"Shut up!" Sheave charged at her and with a powerful beat of his wings, he unleashed a blast of wind that flew towards her. And before Hudie could prepare herself, the gale pushed her backwards and she almost lost control.

At the last moment, she managed to launch her Grace Grazer towards a nearby lamppost and used it to swing herself around and land on a nearby rooftop. But as she retracted the ribbon, Shifter flew up and tried to attack again.

Down on the ground, Morphic and Gule continued their fight. Morphic launched several punches at the hybrid Rider, who managed to avoid them whilst dealing his own swift kicks to him. Morphic's higher defensive powers allowed him to withstand these attacks, the energy flowing into him hitting areas the Rider were tensing to guard.

One kick was eventually caught by Morphic, who withstood the zapping he got as he dealt a punch straight to Gule's stomach.

"GYAH!" He was blasted back by the laser, barely managing to spin around and land on his feet with a slight stagger.

"That was for tricking my sister," Shining stated. "And it's only the beginning." He charged his gauntlets before thrusting them into the ground, unleashing the energy which flew through it and was about to explode under Gule's feet.

But at the last moment, Gule unleashed a bunch of his own energy. This energy swirled around him and as the explosion occurred, it acted as a shield to protect him.

As the explosion rocked the street, Hudie flew at Shifter and dealt several swift kicks to him. But Shifter managed to dodge them all and deal his own punch straight to Hudie's chest, making her flinch as she was knocked backwards and landed on the edge of the building.

Shifter chuckled. "Don't you know that owls vastly outclass butterflies when it comes to aerial skills?" He spread his wings and began to take off. "We're bigger, faster, more manoeuvrable and are just better in every way!" With that, he started to create a powerful wind that threatened to blow Hudie away.

The female Rider grunted, as the wind smashed into her over and over again.

Shifter smirked, thinking she would spread her wings and let the wind push her off the roof. But instead, Hudie's wings shrank and she was blown over the edge. "What?" He stopped and flew over to the edge, looking down only to suddenly find Hudie flying straight up and dealing a kick into his chin. "GYAH!" He was thrown backwards and as he was off balance, Hudie unleashed her own gale.

The corrupted Rider was blown backwards, crashing into the edge of the building and bouncing off it before falling to the ground.

He barely managed to spread his wins and stop his descent in time, landing on the ground and staggering around without too much damage. But as he tried to regain his balance, Hudie flew down and summoned her Grace Grazer to whip at him several time.

He was forced to dance around, eventually getting a good distance from her as she landed. He clutched his chin in pain and glared at her. "Lucky shot."

"Maybe," Hudie chuckled. "But you can thank Katar for the idea. She was the one who came up with it." Shifter growled. "Too bad you don't have anyone to bounce ideas off of."

"It's unnatural for a Mimic to help a non-Mimic. You two disgust me." Hudie shrugged before the two charged at one another, ready to end this battle.

Back at the food plant, the fights continued and caused the place to be absolutely destroyed.

High was launching a bunch of lightning bolts at Changeling, who was jumping around trying to get away from attacks. And with each dodge, a machine was fried or electrocuted. At one point, Changeling managed to dodge and a lightning blast hit a machine behind him.

At the same time, Rarity sent a wall of gems at Frill. They slammed into him and pushed him back, until he slammed into a machine behind him. The same one that had just been struck by the thunder bolt, causing him to be electrocuted. "GYAH!" He was blasted away, smoking as he staggered around.

Changeling chose this moment to slash at High, but the tiger managed to avoid his attack and jump away.

She then transformed into a blur, which shot around the room before attacking Changeling from multiple directions. "Augh!" He was thrown backwards and crashed into a bunch of metal barrels, knocking them down and causing them to be sent rolling in different directions.

He groaned, as High landed and charged up for another attack. Her claws sparked with serious energy, as she prepared to run forward and deal serious damage to the Rider.

But as Changeling pushed himself up, he noticed the cans all around him and caught sight of the label. And as High was about to attack, an idea appeared in his head.

Grabbing his sword, he threw it at the can between them and as High charged, it pierced the metal and caused what was inside to be released. And within seconds, a cloud of white smoke filled the room and High ran right through it.

Time seemed to slow down for High, as she suddenly felt an incredibly terrible stinging sensation at her feet. And as Changeling jumped away, High looked down to see her feet suddenly covered in a layer of white stuff and slowly spreading up her body.

"What?" She leapt up and out of the white stuff stopped spreading around her feet, but it didn't reserve what had happened. And as Greye looked around, around, he saw what had happened to High and realised what she had just walked on.

"HIGH! Don't land on your feet!" But it was too late, as High did exactly that. And the impact caused her feet to shatter, making her scream as she fell to the ground. The pieces of her destroyed feet scattered about, as High stared at the lumps that had once been her feet.

"What...what happened?"

Twilight saw this and laughed. "Liquid nitrogen. Lots of plants use it to keep their equipment cool. And you just ran right through it."

High panted, as Changeling retrieved his sword and slammed the side of his Driver.

"CLIMATIC SLASH!"

"I will change your fate's design." Everyone watched, as the blades of his swords glowed and with a quick swing they launched an X-shaped attack towards High and slammed right into her. She screamed, as the energy locked her in place and prevented her from being able to escape.

Changeling then ran forward, his swords melting back into his armor as he picked up speed. And as he prepared to Rider Kick her into destruction, Maya finally acted and launched a web towards High.

It struck her in the back and with a pull, High was yanked away from the X-shaped blast. So when Changeling slammed into it, the blade was fired towards a wall and caused it to explode. The damage this caused was incredible and as the building around them started shaking, everyone realised they had to get out of there.

"Let's move!" Twilight cried, as the Mimics ran over to where their power packs were plugged in.

"What about them?" Rainbow asked, as Frill unplugged them. Maya had High on her back and was carrying her towards an opening portal, Greye and Frill following them.

"Leave them!" Sunset yelled, as they ran for the door. By some miracle, they managed to get out before it was too late. But a few moments later, the whole building crumpled and they were all bathed in dust and started coughing.

When the dust settled, they saw that the building was completely destroyed. "That was close," Applejack coughed. "Another second and we would have been buried alive."

"But the Mimics got away!" Pinkie frowned, as Changeling transformed back to normal.

"Maybe. But they didn't get all the energy they were after." Thorax turned to the others, as they heard a siren in the distance. "We should probably get out of here." They nodded, as a portal opened for their escape. And as they jumped through, they wondered how the other fight was going.

Back on the street, Gule's energy field remained up as he attacked Morphic.

Morphic leapt from side to side, doing his best to avoid the energy blasts that Gule was firing at him. He then launched his own laser, which just bounced off the energy field and let Gule get in close. But Morphic refused to let it stop him, as he charged at Gule.

"Raaaah!" His blasters fired and he actually caught the energy, his hand glowing as he thrust it right into the energy whilst releasing the power he held. The energy flowed into the energy shield and pushed against it, causing it to flux as Morphic thrust his other fist into the shield and unleashed a trio of lasers.

Said lasers exploded against the barrier and knocked Gule backwards, Morphic staggering back at the same time. But the energy field remained up, despite Gule being off balance. And as he began to regain his balance, Morphic slammed the side of his Driver.

"CLIMATIC TRI-HORN!"

Morphic's hands and his right foot glowed, as energy spikes formed around them. And as the T-Rex pushed itself up, Morphic thrust the three spikes forward and they shot off him. They flew towards the Mimic Rider, two moving through the air whilst the third travelled along the ground.

Gule saw them coming and quickly reinforced his shield, as all three slammed into it at the same spot.

Morphic then ran forward before leaping into the air, thrusting his leg forward as the three spikes suddenly merged into one. His foot slammed into the back of the now extra large spike and pushed it forward, causing it to stab into the forcefield and cause the energy that created it to become unstable.

"RAAAAH!" Morphic roared, as he finally managed to push through the energy and knock Gule back.

The field exploded and Gule cried out, as he was sent spinning through the air until he managed to land and keep himself from falling over. Morphic then landed and charged, attempting to finish this with a punch. But Gule was ready.

At the last moment, Gule ducked under his punch before dealing one to Morphic's chest. This knocked Morphic back and allowed Gule to leap up and summon his energy wings. He then dived at Morphic and as he reached him, all the energy flew off his wings and into his boots before he thrust them forward.

"GYAH!" Morphic cried, getting blasted backwards and crashing into the side of a building.

He hit the ground, but managed to keep himself from collapsing. And as Gule landed, Morphic pushed himself up. "You need to learn when you're beat."

"No way," Morphic growled. "Not gonna happen!" He charged again and Gule met him head on.

Over with Hudie and Shifter, Hudie was doing her best to avoid Shifter's punches and kicks. And as she jumped back, avoiding another punch, she spread her wings and flew up before unleashing a powerful wind.

That wind flew down and slammed into Shifter, making him cry out as he was thrown backwards. And as he spread his wings to gain control, Hudie whipped her Grace Grazer around and it quickly wrapped around his leg. "RAAAAH!" Hudie pulled with everything she had, forcing Shifter towards the ground as she ran at him.

Before Shifter could regain control, she leapt at him and smashed her boot into the Rider's chest.

He screamed out as he was thrown backwards, only for Hudie to pull him back towards her and do and front flip kick. This forced him down into the ground, as Hudie jumped back and uncoiled her ribbon from around his leg.

Shifter groaned, but forced himself up as Hudie slammed the side of her Driver.

"CLIMATIC FLUTTER!"

Shifter growled before smashing his own Driver, making it glow as the dark energy surged.

"MALEFIC CLIMAX!"

The two spread their wings and started unleashing a pair of gales, which slammed into one another and swirled into a tornado between them. And soon, the pair were running into it and flying in a spiral around one another. With every second, they picked up more and more speed.

Eventually, they both shot towards one another and thrust their legs forward. They impacted one another at the same time, attempting to overpower the other. And whilst it seemed they were even, Hudie used her Grace Grazer to fly past Shifter and wrap around a nearby lamppost.

"RAAAAAAAAAAH!" She pulled and the added force allowed her to overpower Shifter, the ribbon pulling her and pushing him towards the lamppost until they smashed into and through it before Shifter was slammed into a wall behind it.

"GYAH!" The next thing he knew, Shifter was consumed by an explosion with Hudie spreading her wings to be blown away from it. The Malefic Rider fell towards the ground, the explosion still going on and dealing him more damage. And soon, his Driver was thrown open and his Mimicore was launched out of it.

Morphic and Gule saw this and Gule gasped, "NO!" He unleashed another burst of energy, which struck Morphic and knocked him away. This allowed him to fly towards Shifter, as the Rider's suit disappeared whilst Hudie flew down and grabbed his Mimicore.

Sheave laid there, looking seriously beat up.

His clothes were a mess, his body was covered in slime oozing cuts and he even had several burns. All he could do was lay there, groaning as Gule reached him. "Hold on!" He picked his brother up, as Hudie tried to stop them. But he unleashed a blast of lightning that forced her back. And when the explosion ended, Hudie saw they were gone with a closing portal the only thing to indicate where they went.

Hudie sighed, as Morphic moved over to her. "You did good," he told her before looking down at the Flight Core she had retrieved. Now that Shifter was down to only one Malefic Form, he would be less of a threat. "Come on. Let's get back to the base." Hudie nodded, hoping the others had managed to stop whatever the Mimics had been distracting them from.

At the Mimic Lair, Gule and Sheave had returned and as soon as they did, they heard screams of agony coming from one corner of the room.

With Gule helping Sheave over to this area, they found High on one of the tables with her legs much shorter than they should have been. "What happened to you?" Gule asked, with High panting as she glared at them. They watched as Maya pushed a machine towards her, which had a long arm with a satellite dish on the end of it.

"She got cocky and had her legs frozen. If it hadn't been for me, she might not even be here right now."

"Oh, how horrible that would have been." High's glare at Gule grew venomous, as Maya activated the device. This caused it to unleash a green beam, which struck one of her legs and caused it to start slowly growing.

"This will take a while." High screamed, the energy flowing into her feeling horrible. Maya then turned to Sheave, noticing how badly damaged he was. "Seriously? Did you get beaten up by that traitor again?"

Sheave blushed, as he was carried over to another bench by Gule. As he did, Sombra stepped into the room and noticed the two damage Mimics. "What happened?" He moved over to them, focusing on High first. "Not only did you allow yourself to be defeated by that Rider. But because of you, the mission was called off before you could get a complete charge."

"I'm sorry, master." High couldn't look him in the eye. "That Rider got lucky. He won't be so lucky next time."

Sombra then turned to Sheave. "And you. Defeated again. You had the most diverse power set of all my Mimics and you lose over and over. You even had the Maleficore and you let that get beaten."

"I'm sorry, Master." Sheave looked down. "Katar and her human are...their combined might is incredible."

"I don't want to hear excuses!" Sombra growled. "I want to hear how you intend to fix this. Now that you've lost three of our four Malefic Forms. You had better find a way to make this work or you will be sorry." He left them to get healed, as the pair just remained there fearing their futures if they didn't change things soon.

"Yikes," Flash said in Sheave's head. "Talk about a hostile work environment."

"I don't see why you're making jokes about this."

"Because if you keep failing, it could mean your boss will destroy you. And if that happens, I'll be free." He smirked, but stopped when Sheave smiled back at him.

"Don't be stupid. You know who Sombra is now. Do you really think he'd risk you exposing him. If he does choose to get rid of me, it'll be in a way where we both don't come out of it alive. I'm not sure what that would be, but I doubt you want to risk finding out." Flash glared at him, as he chuckled. "So yeah. Don't go celebrating my failures. Because it brings you one step closer to never being free at all."

Now Flash was worried and Sheave was sharing that sentiment, he and High knowing they needed to find a way to prove themselves and quickly.

The next day.

School was back in session after a little break they had taken due to the situation with the Doom Pillars. And as the school bell rang, Thorax, Pharynx and the Rainbooms were making their way towards the school whilst looking worried.

"You think people will wonder where Flash is?" Pinkie asked, as they stepped into the building.

The others nodded. Shining had spent the previous night keeping an eye out on Flash's home, fearing Sheave might try something to Flash's family. But he hadn't been there, Shining having barely gotten any sleep because of his stake out.

Now that school was back in session, they worried people might wonder where Flash was. But as they turned towards their lockers, they all stopped and stared in shock at someone looking through a locker. The very person they had just been thinking about.

Flash, or should that be Sheave, did not look happy as he sorted through everything in the locker. And when he finally found what he was looking for, he closed the locker before noticing the lot of them. A smirk appeared on his lips, mocking them as they tried to figure out what the heck was going on.

Author's Note

So now we have an explanation for Gule's return. Human Mimic Hybrids. Bet you weren't expecting that. How will all of this play out in the future? Only time will tell.

Episode 29: Enemy in Plain Sight

Thorax, Pharynx and the Rainbooms all stood in shock, at what they were seeing right in front of them.

Flash Sentry, known to the rest of them as Sheave-Far-Tar, was at their school posing as the boy whose life he had stolen. And as they watched him, they spotted Derpy walk up to him and the pair started conversing. If they didn't know it wasn't him, the group would have actually thought it was just Flash and Derpy talking like normal.

"Oh heck no!" Rainbow rushed forward, ready to clobber the guy. But Twilight and Sunset ran ahead of her and grabbed the Mimic's arms.

"Hey, Derpy." Sunset smiled. "Can we just borrow Flash for a second? It's really important." Before Derpy could answer, Sheave was being pulled away from her and around a corner. The others followed after, making Derpy tilt her head in confusion.

"What do you think you're doing?" Twilight asked, once they were safely out of everyone's earshot. "Why are you here?"

"Hey," Sheave had pulled himself out of their grasp. "This isn't my idea. I'm here because if Flash doesn't show up for school, things are gonna get annoying. I don't like this any more than you do, but I have no plans for causing trouble here."

"And how are we supposed to believe that?" Rarity asked. "Do you really think we're just going to let you stroll around like it's nothing? Bad enough you've ruined Shifter's reputation as a hero. Now you're going to ruin Flash's reputation."

"Well it's not like you can do anything about it," Sheave stated. "The only way you can force me out is if you reveal that I'm a Mimic. But if you do that, I'll reveal who Morphic, Changeling and Hudie are under those masks." Everyone frowned at this. "If you think being heroes will stop the government from dissecting them, you're dreaming."

"Ahh," Sunset growled, "stalemate."

"Exactly," Sheave nodded before brushing himself off. "Now, if you'll excuse me. I believe we have double chemistry to get to." With that, he walked off and everyone could do nothing except watch him leave. As soon as he did, Twilight took out her schedule.

"Everyone, what classes do we all have today?" They quickly took their own schedules out and cross referenced everything, each of them stating which classes they had with Flash. And soon, they all sighed in relief. "We all have at least one class with him. We can keep an eye on him throughout the day."

"But what are we gonna do if he tries anything?" Pinkie asked.

"Message everyone else," Sunset stated. "If he does anything suspicious, let everyone know. Then we can handle him." They nodded, praying that they would be able to keep Sheave from causing any issues.

As this was happening, Sheave made his way through the halls towards his class.

But as he did, he heard Flash speak in the back of his head. "I'm warning you." He glanced back at the trapped teen. "Try anything with my school and you'll be sorry." Sheave was really starting to get annoyed with him saying that.

"Why do you care so much about this place? You're forced to come here, aren't allowed to do what you want and have to listen to those boring teachers tell you stuff you'll never need to learn. What is the appeal?"

"This school is where I met my friends," Flash stated. "It's where I learned who I am and what I want to do with my life. It's a special place that is important to not just me, but a lot of my friends. That's why I won't let you destroy it."

"Oh, I'll destroy it alright. Once the Mimics take over this world, I'm coming back here and tearing this place down brick by brick." Flash glared at him, as he chuckled.

But his enjoyment quickly vanished, as in that moment a sudden wave of emotions and memories were surging into Sheave's head. The Mimic gasped, barely able to keep his real face stoic so nobody would notice. He found himself reliving a bunch of memories, involving himself and others doing a bunch of different things.

There were moments of him in a science lab, doing some kind of experiment with other children. There were moments of him playing sports, scoring a goal and cheering with the rest of his team. There were moments of him taking part in a play, acting with other students and enjoying themselves by staying in character even when they weren't performing.

One such memory was of him and his bandmates, working together to make a new song. They got to work, playing music and rocking out. Being the main act during some kind of big dance. And dancing with a girl that looked a lot like that Twilight person.

Along with these memories came a bunch of different emotions. Multiple thoughts and feelings that were overwhelming him. He actually felt...happy.

"Stop it," he shook his head. "This is stupid. Those aren't even my memories. I shouldn't care about any of it."

"Maybe. But why don't you try making some of those memories for yourself?" He turned to Flash, who seemed to be giving him a sympathetic look. "You need to pretend to be me, don't you. Then why don't you see what it's like to attend a human school. Don't pretend to enjoy the stuff. Just try it and see if you really do enjoy it."

"That's..."

"What have you got to lose?"

Sheave said nothing and kept moving towards his first class, stepping into the chemistry lab with Twilight and Rarity arriving a few moments later. Once everyone was set up, the teacher got to work.

"Alright, everyone. Who here can tell me what happens if you drop a drop of water on powdered sodium?" Twilight raised her hand, Sheave rolling his eyes. "Yes, Twilight."

"An explosion." That suddenly got Sheave's attention.

"That's right," she took a drop of water and let it fall into a beaker full of a strange powder. The next second, a loud boom filled the room and everyone jumped before laughing. Sheave was also a little giddy, having not been expecting that.

The lesson went on and before Sheave knew it, he was being pulling into it. "First, add a table spoon of dish soap to hydrogen peroxide. Then, add the warm water and the yeast." The students all did so and the next thing they knew, they had to leap back in order to avoid the foam flying out of the beakers.

They all laughed, with one person going to touch it. "Hold on." The teacher stated. "This stuff needs to stand for three minutes before it's safe to touch. Now whilst we wait, write the formula down in the books to help memorise it."

Everyone got to work, copying the formula down. Sheave did so and found he was actually quite interested in this stuff, with Flash even telling him about other formulas he and his friends had gotten to play with.

And just as he finished, Sheave suddenly found the foam being thrown at him. "Gotcha!" Derpy cheered, seeing the foam on his face. The others laughed, as someone else threw more of the foam at his friend.

Within minutes, the students were having a full on foam fight with Rarity using her shields to defend herself. And eventually, Sheave couldn't hold on any more and he threw some foam at Derpy. A laugh escaped his lips and he was having fun, the Mimic glad Sombra and the others weren't seeing him.

They did this for a little while longer before they quickly cleaned up the foam and headed to their next class, which turned out to be a free period for Flash. And before Sheave could find a place to hide, Brawly Beats and Ringo stepped up next to him.

"There you are," Ringo pulled him along. "Come on. We haven't had a chance to practise in forever."

"Erm..." Sheave wasn't sure what to say to that, as he was pulled into a music room. As he was, Sunset and Rainbow followed behind him.

Once there, Ringo threw Sheave a spare guitar. "Why didn't you bring yours? You knew we had a free period." Sheave didn't answer, but also didn't argue as he put the guitar on.

As he did, the girls listened and wondered if he could even play. Was Flash's music talent something he could copy? "Let's try the Demon In Me," Brawly stated. "We haven't practised that one in forever." Ringo nodded, as Sheave used Flash's memories to learn the song.

"Okay," he said. "Let's...um, do this." The three counted down before they started playing. And whilst Ringo and Brawly were doing good, Sheave's music seemed a little off. And as he sang, everyone could tell he was having trouble getting it right.

"Dude," Ringo cried, "what's the deal? You always bring your A game to the music."

Sheave frowned, as Flash laughed inside his head. "Dude. You are so embarrassing me."

"It's pointless," Sheave groaned. "Why bother with something like this? It doesn't do anything. Doesn't make you stronger or better."

"You'd be surprised," Flash told him. "Music has been one of the things that has kept my world from completely blowing itself up. It's an expression of the soul. It's how a lot of people relax and stop themselves from stressing out."

"Whatever. It's clear I don't have a talent for it. I guess I couldn't copy the useless skills you have."

"You're just not putting everything into it. Don't try and make the music obey you. Listen to the music and let it guide you. Come on. Try again and this time, I'll help you."

As Sheave returned to the real world, Ringo suggested trying again. And after taking a deep breath, Sheave started playing with the other two playing alongside him. [AN] He did as Flash suggested and let the music flow through it, causing his body to move to the beat. And as he sang, Flash also sang in his head and things felt different this time.

Sunset and Rainbow were amazed by the difference. This wasn't like before. Sheave wasn't trying. He was doing it. Following his musical instincts and letting the tune tell him how to sing.

"Better," Ringo nodded. "Not great, but less painful."

They continued to play and Sheave was suddenly overwhelmed by the melody. He had no idea music could have such an effect on him. And as he kept playing, memories flashed through his mind. Memories of the other songs Flash loved to listen to. Songs he and his friends had created. Songs that could change the world if it was heard by enough.

When the song finally came to an end, Ringo and Brawly noticed Sheave's eyes were filled with tears.

"Dude," Brawly frowned, "are you okay?" Sheave rubbed his eyes.

"Yeah. Just...got a little emotional."

"I hear that. Looks like you're getting back into the swing of things." Ringo tuned his guitar. "Come on. Let's try another song." Sheave nodded and they got to it, whilst Rainbow and Sunset listened intently. Neither of them could believe Sheave had been able to sing like that. To have such...heart in the music.

"Something's going on with him," Sunset stated.

In another part of the city, a bunch of factory workers were busy building whatever the factory built.

The sounds of the machines at work filled the air, as the workers grabbed the parts they needed to do their jobs. But soon, all thought of completing their tasks would fly out of their heads. As in that moment, a portal opened up before a bunch of Mimicreeps leapt out of it.

The workers screamed as they ran for their lives, attempting to get out of the factory as fast as they could.

As they did, High and Gule stepped out of the portal with power-packs on their backs. High was in her human form and Gule was already suited up, the pair looking around for somewhere to plug their devices in. And soon enough, they out an outlet to do just that.

"Perfect," Gule locked the pack onto the device. "And look on the bright side. No liquid nitrogen to get in your way this time." High glared at him, as she plugged her power-pack in as well. At the same time, the Mimicreeps continued to move through the factory attacking anyone that they came across.

Luckily, everyone managed to get away with nothing more than a few light injuries.

Gule was leaning against the side of his machine, looking bored as he waited for it to power up. High was also sitting around, impatient as she would rather be causing mayhem to the humans in the factory. She didn't seem to realise that getting the power they needed, would impress the master much easier than hurting a handful of humans.

However, her wish for action would soon be granted. As in that moment, a portal opened up and someone leapt out of it.

Morphic rolled along the ground in his Tri-Horn form, his gauntlets at the ready to attack. And that's exactly what he did, the second he spotted the two Mimics. "RAAAAAH!" He ran at them and threw a laser punch right at them, High preparing to intercept only for Gule to leap in and do it instead.

Surrounding his arm in red energy, he slapped away the lasers and made them explode against a nearby wall. He then thrust a punch right at Morphic, who blocked with his gauntlet.

The two Riders glared one another down as they pushed against each other, attempting to overpower the other. And slowly, Gule was beginning to do just that. But as he did, High began to charge up her energy. "Don't!" He told her. "Stay here and guard the machines. Once they're fully charged, get them out of here!"

"But-" High watched as Gule's wings unleashed blasts of energy, which propelled him and Morphic through the air.

He pushed Morphic upwards and the pair crashed through the roof, Gule flying them away from the building before letting Morphic go. The Triceratops Rider fell towards the ground, as Gule unleashed a burst of energy towards.

But Morphic was ready and punched the air, the lasers that fired propelling him out of the energy blast's way and towards another part of the factory. There, he grabbed onto a metal support beam and slid down it until he reached the ground. Once there, he turned towards Gule only for his Mimicreeps to leap out and attack.

As such, the Rider started fighting them. He punched and kicked them all away, destroying them as Gule flew down.

As soon as he got close enough, the Dark Strike Rider unleashed a bunch of red lightning that Morphic barely managed to avoid. He leapt forward and the two clashed, Morphic managing to get several strong hits in on Gule before his opponent beat him back.

Meanwhile, inside the warehouse, High watched from a nearby window and growled. "I should be the one fighting him. With my speed, that overweight loser wouldn't stand a chance."

She looked around and imagined what would happen, if Gule was allowed to fight Morphic on his own. She would carry the power-packs into the base and Sombra wouldn't even care, only to praise Gule when he returned. Everyone would congratulate the new guy, whilst she would be forgotten.

"I can't let that happen. I have to find a way to prove myself. But how?"

Within history class, Sheave was barely listening as the teacher droned on and on about the civil war and other pointless stuff like that.

It was so boring that Sheave was starting to nod off, wishing he was at least in a fun class like the chemistry class he had been in before. But as he drew closer to falling asleep, it happened. "Sheave!" He jumped, catching the attention of the students around him. Luckily, the teacher didn't notice.

Sheave looked around, Twilight and Applejack frowning at his actions.

"Sheave. If you can hear me, I require you to go help Gule and High." He realised it was Sombra's voice, the Mimic looking around trying to figure out the best way to escape his current situation. "Get there now." Sheave groaned, considering just getting up and leaving. But he was sure that would cause an issue if he was forced to return to the school later.

Luckily, the bell suddenly rang to signal the end of the period. The teacher started going on about homework assignments, but Sheave wasn't listening. He was already packing Flash's things, whilst the girls texted the others and told them something was up.

Sheave was the first one out of the class and ran off, Twilight and Applejack being left behind.

He managed to get outside the school without anyone noticing, the Mimic looking around to make sure nobody was there to see him. And as he summoned his Driver, he reached into his jacket for his Mimicores.

But suddenly, a burst of wind flew past him and someone appeared in front of him. "Going somewhere?" Thorax asked, glaring at him as he summoned his own Driver.

"Stay out of this." Sheave moved forward to push past them, but they held their ground.

"Not happening," Rainbow told him. "You're off to do something bad, aren't you?" Sheave glared at them. "We're not gonna let that happen." At that moment, the other Rainbooms arrived ready for a fight.

"I'm warning you." He took out the Maleficore. "Out of my way, or I'll destroy this precious school of yours and everyone within it." They all glared at him, but Twilight stepped forward.

"I don't think you're gonna do that." Sheave raised an eyebrow. "You were having fun, weren't you? You might have been pretending to be Flash, but the fun you had during the day wasn't pretend. You were enjoying yourself."

"Don't be ridiculous," he told her. "Why would I have fun with a bunch of humans?"

"Maybe you're realising there's more to being human than you think," Twilight stated. "Maybe Flash is influencing you more than you think." Sheave glared at them all. "You don't have to do this. Humans and Mimics don't have to be enemies. Katar changed. Who's to say you can't change either."

Sheave frowned, as he clutched the Maleficore in hand. And as he did, he was suddenly reliving all the moments he had enjoyed that day. The jokes Flash's friends had made. The funny incidents that had made him chuckle. Even some of the classes he had taken.

And as he thought about all that, the memories from before also resurfaced. All the good times Flash had enjoyed. And as he remembered them, his warning suddenly made him feel sick with guilt again. Did he really want to hurt those people?

Twilight and the others watched him look conflicted, a few actually thinking this might actually work. But then, something happened that surprised them. The Maleficore suddenly activated and unleashed a burst of energy that shocked Sheave.

"GYAH!" He couldn't let go, as the dark energy began to flow into him. And as it did, all those good memories disappeared. All the guilt Sheave had been feeling vanished, replaced with hatred and anger. "I will destroy you and everything you love." He placed the Maleficore into the Driver and activated his other Mimicore.

"MALEFIC STRIKE!"

Everyone gasped, as Sheave struck a pose and the dark energy radiated off of him. "Henshin!" With that, he slammed the Driver shut and flipped the Mimicore down. This caused the energy to explode out of him, hitting the others and making them all feel sick.

"MIMIC! LIGHTNING BUG!" The slime flew out and surrounded him, the cocoon forming before shattering to reveal the corrupted Rider. "Darkness, engulfs all that stands within it. Unlimited power awakens in the shadows!"

Shifter stood there for a moment before letting out a roar, shocking everyone as the lights on his body unleashed a barrage of energy that started hitting parts of the school. It also flew towards the girls, Rarity putting up a shield as Thorax held up his Mimicore.

"SLASH!"

Thorax slammed the device into his Driver and as he leapt over Rarity's barrier, he slammed the Driver shut. "HENSHIN!"

"MIMIC! MANTIS!" The cocoon formed around him, protecting him from the energy that slammed into it until he fell to the ground and it shattered. "Bladed arms that slice through anything, cutting down the evils of the world!" The armor formed around him and he summoned his sword, as he charged towards Shifter.

He slashed at him, but Shifter dodged all the attacks and dealt a kick straight to Changeling's side.

As the Mantis Rider staggered back, Shifter found a bunch of cakes being thrown at him and exploding. But he quickly unleashed a burst of energy that destroyed the following cakes before they could get close to him.

Rainbow then ran at him, using her super speed to form a tornado around him in a hopes of throwing him off balance.

But Shifter's arm sparked with energy and with a single flick, the energy exploded off and struck Rainbow. "GYAH!" The girl was sent flying until she crashed into the sports field, her body twitching as more energy sparked off of them.

"Rainbow!" Fluttershy ran to her side, as Twilight looked around for anything she could use to throw at him. But there was nothing available to her, whilst Applejack and Changeling ran at Shifter to try and take him down. They slashed and punched at him, but he was able to catch Applejack's fist whilst dodging Changeling's swords before throwing her into the Rider.

Both of them cried out, as they were knocked to the ground.

Rainbow panted, as Fluttershy helped her to her feet. Whilst the others stood defensively, ready to do whatever it took to keep him from going wherever he was going. And as they did, Twilight's eyes fell to the Maleficore on his Driver. Whatever that device was doing, it appeared to be affecting Sheave.

"Maybe if I take it away, he'll see reason and stop attacking." But with the energy coming off the Mimic, that appeared easier said than done.

Back at the factory, Gule and Morphic continued their fight.

Gule once again summoned a field of energy around himself and as Morphic fired his laser punches, they simply bounced off the energy doing nothing to him. Gule then charged at him and when he attacked, he forced all his energy into the foot before slamming it into Morphic.

"GYAH!" He was thrown backwards and crashed into the ground, as Gule spun backwards and landed whilst the energy field around him powered up. "Alright," Morphic pushed himself up, "time to change things up a little bit." He took out another Mimicore and activated it.

"TOUGH!"

Gule watched, as Morphic replaced his super powered Mimicore with his older but still powerful Mimicore. "Mega Morph!" He slammed the draw closed and the lights on the belt turned purple.

"MIMIC! CROCODILE!" The armor quickly melted and reshaped, turning purple as it did. "Vice-like fangs and an impenetrable hide, crushing anything in its way." Armor settled, Morphic's tail saw revved and he charged towards Gule. The other Riders braced himself, as the blade slammed into his energy field and was held back by it.

"Ha! Is that the best you can do!?" Gule threw a punch at him, but Morphic managed to block with his gator head before knocking Gule's arm back. The head then glowed, as he thrust his hand forward and let the energy flow right into the shield. This overpowered the field and Gule suddenly found himself getting knocked backwards. "GYAH!"

Morphic chuckled. "No, that wasn't the best I could do."

Gule pushed himself back up and growled, ready to counterattack. But before he could, he heard an engine and they looked around to see Kamen Rider Hudie racing towards them.

She rolled into the factory complex and swerved to a stop. "Need a hand?" She asked, with Morphic shaking his head.

"Go get High. She's in there!" He pointed at the factory and she nodded, her bike shrinking down as her wings grew and she took to the air.

"Oh no you don't!" Gule tried to blast her with a bolt of energy. But before he could, a energy croc flew towards him and bit into his arm. "AUGH!" The energy chain connecting the head to Morphic retracted, as he pulled Gule away so Hudie could fly up to the rooftop.

As soon as she was there, she suddenly found a bolt of lightning flying out of the hole in it and almost fried her. "WHOA!" She managed to dodge it before diving into the hole, spotting High glaring at her as she charged up another attack. "Bring it!" She summoned her Grace Grazer and as High fired the blast, Hudie flipped the whip-like ribbon around.

The energy wasn't conducted into the ribbon, so Hudie didn't have to worry about getting zapped. And when she finally reached the floor, she started dancing around with the sharp tip of the weapon spinning around her.

High suddenly found herself needing to evade that point, as it swung towards her over and over. But she was so distracted by the blade, she didn't notice Hudie getting in close until she dealt her two high leap kicks followed by a pirouette kick to the side.

"GYAH!" She was thrown into the side of a machine, as Hudie summoned her wings and leapt into the air.

It was a good thing she did as moments later, the Mimic forced herself up and unleashed a burst of lightning in all directions. This caused the machines to go haywire, making the lights flicker and cause the power-packs to start beeping warning alarms.

It was these beeps that made High stop, as she realised she couldn't risk causing any damage to the factory. If he did, she would risk overloading the place and losing the energy they had been sent to protect. As such, she was forced to stop her electrical attack. But she wasn't worried.

"I'm just as powerful without unleashing my energy." She flexed her claws and as Hudie flew down, the Mimic charged and began moving at super speed. It was difficult with how cramped the factory was, forcing her to weave around the many machines, but she was still able to speed up whilst Hudie remained in the air.

Eventually, she used that speed to propel herself upwards and roared as she tried to slash at Hudie.

The Rider quickly beat her wings, creating a gust of wind that acted as a wall to slow High down whilst pushing her out of the tiger's way. The Mimic slashed at her, but missed and began to fall towards the ground. As she did, Hudie swung her whip around and the tip slammed into High's back.

"GYAH!" She screamed, as the tip sliced down her back and she landed in absolute agony.

Hudie smirked, as she stayed high in the air. And as the Mimic turned towards her, she glared at the Kamen Rider and swore to make her pay for that. Nobody embarrassed High-Vol-Tech.

Back with Shifter and the other, everyone in CHS had noticed the commotion going on outside and went to check out a window.

There, they saw Shifter and Changeling fighting. Changeling was slashing at Shifter, but Shifter dodged the attacks before spinning around and slamming his foot into Changeling's chest. This knocked him flying, letting out a scream as he slammed into the ground.

Rarity then threw a bunch of diamonds towards the Rider, but Shifter simply knocked them away with an energy infused slap before marching forward.

Celestia had also seen this and when she realised how dangerous it was, she rushed over to the fire alarm and pulled it. She then grabbed her PA system and called out to her students. "Attention everybody. Please evacuate. Avoid the sports field and any exits close to that area. But please form an orderly cue."

She heard her students beginning to push their way towards the exits as soon as she finished speaking, then moved over to the window and watched Shifter punch his way through Rarity's shield.

"Shifter. Why are you doing this?" She had looked up to Kamen Rider Shifter, ever since he had saved her school. And he had saved the entire city from the Mimics. But in recent days, it's like his goals had taken a complete one eighty. And nobody could understand why.

"Raaaaah!" Shifter leapt into the air, as energy flowed out of his Maleficore and into his boots. He then thrust his foot forward and flew down towards Changeling, as Rarity put another shield up in an attempt to protect him.

The Rider slammed into the shield and smashed his way through it, though this did seem to slow him down. And as he shot towards Changeling, the other Rider raised his swords and crossed them over. His boot slammed into the swords and had enough force to push Changeling backwards, making him stagger as he tried to fight against him.

Shifter's energy charge eventually died down and he flipped backwards, landing as Pinkie threw a few more cakes in his direction. But he unleashed another energy wall that fried the cakes before they could get close to him, as Rainbow ran in and tried to deal her own super speed kick.

This attack actually connected and knocked Shifter backwards, allowing Twilight the chance to grab him in her magic.

Using all her strength, she forced him down and Shifter actually fell to his knees. "Gyah!" A few moments later, his upper body was forced down and his arms were the only thing keeping him from being forced flat. He tried to push himself back up, but he couldn't. "Let...me...go."

"Not happening," Twilight told him. She then turned to Changeling, as he picked himself up. "Try and get the Mimicore away from him."

Changeling frowned, fearing what that device could do if he touched it. But he refused to let his fear get the better of him and he raced towards Shifter, as Twilight used her magic to force him up and then down onto his back. This showed the Mimicore to everyone and Changeling tried to grab it, but the Mimicore had other ideas.

Suddenly, a burst of energy exploded out of the device and threatened to fry Changeling. The Rider leapt back at the last moment and blocked another bolt with his swords, as more energy flew out and threatened to hit Twilight.

"Look out!" Rainbow raced over and pulled her out of the way, but this broke Twilight's concentration and allowed Shifter to break free.

"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" He roared, standing up and unleashing another blast of energy that flew out in all directions. Rarity barely managed to put a shield up in time to block it, the blast slamming into it and causing it to rattle and crack.

The same was done to the school, the building being struck by the energy and ripping through it. Parts of the wall exploded off it and the windows all shattered, sending shards flying all over the place. Changeling and the Rainbooms all gasped at this, fearing that someone inside would be hurt.

Eventually, Shifter's energy outburst died down and the Rider stood there panting.

Rarity kept her shield up, as Changeling prepared to attack again. But as he did, a portal suddenly opened up behind Shifter. And before any of them could stop him, a hand reached out and grabbed his shoulder before pulling him through it.

The group watched as the portal closed, all of them confused by what had happened. "Why'd they call Shifter back?" Rainbow asked. "Wasn't he...winning?" The others were just as confused, wondering the exact same thing. But they had bigger issues, as the school's damage made them all fear for their schoolmate and teacher's lives.

They began to rush inside, Rainbow racing around is search of anyone that might still be trapped within. But the building's structure was giving them serious course for concern, the group looking around but finding no signs of anyone.

It was in that moment that Twilight's phone rang, Twilight taking it out and seeing a text from Pharynx. "Celestia's doing a head count."

"So?" Rainbow asked. "She must have known we were outside fighting."

"But she doesn't know I was," Changeling stated before removing his Mimicore from his Driver. "If she sees I'm not there, she might send someone in here looking for me." They nodded and rushed towards the exit, stopping just before it as Thorax looked outside and saw a large group of people.

Celestia was there, calling out names. Luckily, she hadn't gotten to his yet.

They managed to get out of the building, Thorax ahead of the girls and carefully moving towards the group. Luckily, nobody saw him and he reached the back just in time. "Thorax?"

"Here," he called out. She nodded, as she called a bunch more names. And then, she said it.

"Flash Sentry?" Nobody answered and everyone looked around. "Flash Sentry?" Again, there was no answer. Thorax began to panic at this. "FLASH SENTRY!?" A state of alert spread across the student body, with Scootaloo looking more worried than anyone.

Thorax turned to his brother, the pair looking worried as they feared what this could lead to.

Back at the factory, Morphic threw another punch in Gule's direction.

The Dark Rider dodged it at the last moment, but almost got his head cut off by Morphic chainsaw tail. As he ducked under it, Morphic spun around and slammed his leg into the Hybrid Rider's side and knocked him away. "Augh!" He rolled around and barely managed to stop himself before pushing himself to his knees, as energy burst out of him. "TAKE THIS!"

Morphic watched him slam his fists into the ground and the energy exploded out of him, travelling along the ground and tearing up the pavement as he did so. Morphic could only raise his arms and brace himself, as the lightning slammed into him and almost knocked him backwards. But he managed to stand his ground as the explosion raced off him.

And as it did, Gule charged forward ready to end this battle.

Back inside, High continued to try and slash at Hudie from the butterfly Rider's safe spot in the air. No matter how fast she went, she wasn't able to reach Hudie and the female hero always countered with the same wind and whip attacks as before.

High panted, as she landed near the power-packs. But when she checked them, she frowned seeing they were only half charged. "This is getting ridiculous." She suddenly had an idea and once again started running around, building up as much speed as possible before leaping into the air.

Hudie saw this coming and unleashed another burst of wind, which slammed into High and slowed her down as she tried to slash at her.

And as High fell back down, Hudie swung the Grace Grazer at her. But the Mimic somehow spun around and grabbed the ribbon before the blade could hit her, as she landed on the ground and wrapped the ribbon around her arm. She then flicked it with all her strength, the wave it caused moving towards the handle and causing it to fly out of Hudie's hand.

"Hey!" She cried, seeing her weapon fall to the ground. And as High released it, the ribbon retracted before the whole thing melted into a puddle. "Not cool."

"Neither were all the cuts you gave to me!" High cried, as her body began to spark. "And without your little toy, you can't stop this!" She launched the lightning towards Hudie and the Rider gasped, as she barely managed to avoid it.

Instead, it struck the ceiling and caused major damage to it, Hudie cried out, as parts of the roof began to break apart and fall towards the ground. Hudie managed to evade the collapse, as parts of it came crashing down onto the ground. And as they did, they also hit more of the machinery and caused it to break.

High didn't seem to notice or care, too focused on trying to bury Hudie alive. But it was noticed by Gule, who dodged another of Morphic's energy constructs as a large bolt of lightning broke through the roof.

"What the heck is that idiot doing!?" He cried, deciding he needed to know what was happening in there.

So after dodging another of Morphic's attacks, he ran forward and leapt into the air. His wings sparked and carried him into the air, allowing him to reach the roof whilst Morphic was stuck on the ground. But as he moved towards one of the holes, the roof area he was on suddenly exploded.

"GYAH!" He was thrown across the roof and crashed near one of the holes, groaning as he rolled onto his front and looked down into the hole.

There he saw High going nuts with her lightning attacks, blowing the place to pieces and destroying all the machinery they were supposed to be getting the power from. All to try and hit a Rider she was clearly not going to hit.

"What are you doing!?" High stopped and looked up, seeing him glaring down at her whilst picking himself up. "You're supposed to be protecting the power-packs! Not trying to bury them in rubble."

High suddenly looked terrified and turned to see said power-packs, one of which being covered in debris. If it was damaged, she would be in serious trouble. But before she could run over to check on it, she heard a loud cry.

"CLIMATIC FLUTTER!"

She spun around and saw Hudie flying at her, as her wings tripled in size before unleashing a powerful blast of wind that slammed into High. The Mimic screamed, as she was blown into the air and was unable to fight against the powerful gale. And before she could try and escape, Hudie flew into the tornado and used it to speed herself up before slamming both her feet into High's chest.

"GYAH!" Was all she could cry, as the impact sent her flying out of the tornado until she crashed into the wall and exploded.

Hudie did several back-flips before landing, the Rider spinning around as the exploding Mimic fell to the ground behind her. As she hit the ground, a large fireball surrounded High as she kept crying out.

Hudie sighed, Fleur and Katar both feeling exhausted after all that flying around. And as she moved over to retrieve the puddle that was her weapon, the flames around High began to extinguish.

The tiger pushed herself up, being badly damaged and barely able to stand. Hudie turned to her and looked ready to finish her off. But at the last minute, a bolt of energy flew down and slammed into the ground in front of her. The resulting blast sent her flying back, crying out as she crashed into the wall behind her before falling to the ground.

High looked up and saw Gule flying down, the Mimic Rider throwing the debris off the power-packs.

He sighed in relief, seeing that they weren't damaged. But the machine they were plugged into had stopped functioning and they were only half charged, Gule quickly unplugging them as a portal formed next to him. And as High tried to stagger towards him, he stepped through and the portal looked close to closing.

"Wait!" She forced herself forward and at the last moment, managed to practically leap through the portal before it closed.

Seconds later, Morphic arrived back in the building and spotted Hudie on the ground. "You okay?" He ran over to help her up, as she moaned and clutched her head.

"Yeah. But they got away with that energy."

"Maybe. But hopefully, they weren't able to get as much as they were hoping for." Morphic frowned, still curious about why they would be stealing energy. They must be powering something great, but what could it be? And would they be able to stop them before it was accomplished?

In the Mimic Lair, Sombra had the Maleficore and was holding it next to a machine that was sending purple energy into it.

"The Maleficore's power is growing weaker," Sombra growled. "Using it so much is starting to it lose its charge." He turned to Sheave, who was sitting nearby waiting for him to finish whatever he was doing. "You're wasting way too much power against those fools."

"I'm sorry, master. Since I lost my Shift Striker and the other Mimicores-"

"I don't want to hear excuses!" He threw the changed up Maleficore at him. "I want to hear solutions. The next time you fight, it better end with your victory. Understand?" Sheave nodded, as Gule and High returned to the room.

Sombra turned to them, as Gule put the power-packs down and Sombra spotted the bad shape High was in. And then he saw how much energy the packs were holding. "What is this?"

"We would have gotten more," Gule growled as he turned to High. "But someone decided trying to beat the Riders was more important than keeping the machinery safe."

"You were fighting a Rider as well!" High growled.

"Yes! And I left you to keep an eye on the machines. If you wanted to beat the Rider so badly, you should have taken her outside like I did." High was about to argue, but Sombra spoke up first.

"You have been causing more problems than solutions lately!" He pointed at High. "Get your act together or else." High looked down in shame, as Sombra turned back to Sheave. "At least you were able to beat your opponents. But you had better prove yourself as well. Don't make the effort I put into that Maleficore wasted on you." With that, he left with the power-packs and his minions remained silent until he was gone.

Gule turned to Sheave. "Next time you face those humans. Destroy them. If you don't, Master Sombra will probably not bother keeping you around. And don't think I'll try and protect you and invoke the master's wrath. If he decides your fate, you're on your own."

Sheave frowned, as Gule left. As he did, he was suddenly remembering Flash's friends as well as his sister. People who would do anything for Flash, even if it put their lives in danger. Sheave wondered if Gule didn't care for him like they did.

Back at Corvyn's lab, Shining and Fleur were watching a rerun of the other's battle with Shifter.

"Yikes," Shining flinched when he saw Shifter unleash a bunch of energy that destroyed part of the school. "Ouch," he hissed. "That had to hurt." He turned to the others, "and now everyone's looking for Flash?"

They nodded. "He didn't show back up at the school," Twilight explained. "Everyone's worried the Mimics used the attack to grab him."

"Well..." Corvyn sighed. "At least we don't have to worry about him infiltrating anyplace he shouldn't. If he just showed up out of nowhere, it would come with too many questions. But we need to find a way to help Flash regain control, or destroy Sheave once and for all."

As he said that, a beeping caught everyone's attention.

"What's that?" Applejack asked, as Corvyn lead them over to the vault.

"Looks like my computers have finally cracked the code." He used his scanner to display the code, the man typing it into the safe and hoping it had what they needed. And soon enough, the vault door began to swing open. And as soon as it did, an energy like nothing they had ever felt before filled the air.

That energy was coming from an orbular object within the safe, which glowed with a rainbow of colours. "Is that..."

"Yes," Corvyn nodded. "A Beatucore." Everyone smiled, seeing the object had hoped would be in the safe. "With this, we might be able to negate the Maleficore's power."

"Good," Twilight nodded. "Because I think something's happening to Sheave." Everyone turned to her. "I can't be sure, but I think he's being affected by his connection to Flash. The feelings Flash has for his friends and family are being imprinted into Sheave."

"You think so?" Fleur asked.

"It's possible," Thorax nodded. "Maya once said she was being effected by our mom's feelings."

"Yeah," Pharynx nodded. "That's why she used us for her spawn's hosts. Because mom's care for us was leaking into her."

"Exactly," Twilight nodded. "But that Maleficore seems to be stopping whatever's happening from sticking. I know this is just a wild guess, but I think if we take it out those feelings will overwhelm him. Maybe enough for Flash to take back control."

"And even if it can't," Corvyn stated. "I might be able to program this new Mimicore to free Flash. But that's a big might." Everyone frowned, not liking all this uncertainty. But it was their best shot at saving Flash. They had to take it.

Within the Mimic Lair, High was stewing in her own failure.

She had disappointed her master once again. If she couldn't find a way to prove herself soon, she wouldn't be around much longer. But how? "Think. The only way to prove myself is to defeat those Kamen Riders. But how?"

It was then that she noticed something in front of her. She looked up and saw the power-packs, containing all the energy they had acquired. They were just sitting there, waiting for someone to use them. And High smiled, as she realised that someone was her.

Author's Note

Things are getting intense for our heroes. Now Flash has gone missing and High is going to do something stupid. Will our heroes be able to free Flash? Or will he remain Sheave's prisoner? Only time will tell.

Episode 30: Reaching Out! Kamen Rider Shifter Returns

All over Canterlot, many people were fearing the loss of another of its citizens.

Flash Sentry's face was plastered all over the news, with reports going out of him going missing during an attack by the former hero known as Kamen Rider Shifter. Though many people saw that Rider fighting against Changeling and several young girls, many knew Shifter was in league with the Mimics now.

Many theorised that during the attack, Frill or another Mimics had shown up and grabbed him for some reason.

This, of course, caused Flash's family great distress. Currently, Misty Vail and Scootaloo were at the police station giving statements about Flash to help with the investigation.

The mother and daughter had had to suffer through a lot of questions until they were released. But hoped this would help them find Flash. And now, as they stepped out of the building, they spotted Rainbow and the rest of the Rainbooms waiting for them. Sweetie and Applebloom were also there, as Rainbow stepped up to them.

"Hey." Rainbow knelt down and placed a hand on Scootaloo's shoulder. "You okay?"

"No," Scootaloo looked upset. "Why would the Mimics take Flash?" The girls wished they could answer that, but they knew truth would just break them both.

"Do you want us to take you guys home?" Sunset asked, but Misty shook her head.

"No." She placed a hand on Scootaloo's shoulder. "We're not going home. Someone has to know something about where Flash went. We're gonna ask around and hope they know where he might be." The girls tried to say something, but Misty led Scootaloo away.

"But we know where Flash is?" Applebloom asked.

"She knows that," Applejack patted her sisters' head. "But she doesn't want to just sit around not knowing what to do. She probably feels like this is better than doing nothing, even if it won't accomplish anything."

"Those Mimics," Sweetie Belle frowned. "I can't believe them. Making people suffer so much." The girls nodded, feeling just as upset with the Mimics. To cause so much pain for no reason whatsoever. It was just cruel.

Within the Mimic Lair, Sheave was sitting around staring at the Maleficore in his hand.

The Mimic was in a room on his own, letting everything that had been happening to him come flying back. The memories of what happened during his time at the school and in the amusement park kept replaying in his head, which kept bringing up the emotions he had been feeling.

But every time they did, the Maleficore glowed and made his mind go black for a moment.

Within his mind, Flash was watching as the dark aura appeared around Sheave. As it did, black tendrils flew out and shattered any memory image that appeared around him. "Come on Sheave. Don't you see what that thing is doing to you? It's poisoning your mind!"

"It gives me power," Sheave stated.

"At the cost of your soul. Can't you feel it? You're starting to grow. To evolve into something more than a destroyer. Just like Katar. But that thing is keeping you from achieving your true potential."

Sheave said nothing back, as the darkness of the Maleficore kept swirling around him. Flash could only sigh, wishing there was a way to get rid of the dark energy. But with Sombra constantly recharging it, it seemed impossible.

"Shining," Flash whispered, "Corvyn. Everyone. Please. There has to be a way to show Sheave the truth. We need to free him from that thing's dark power."

In another room of the lair, Gule stood behind Sombra as he watched footage of the situations where Shifter seemed to be hesitating before the Maleficore activated. "This isn't good."

"Master?" Gule asked, Timber's face one of confusion. "What's wrong?"

"Something I've been fearing since Katar betrayed us. A flaw with this latest generation of Mimics. Why their hosts were able to take control of their bodies."

"I thought it was because of the Mimic Drivers."

"The Mimic Drivers made it stick, but there's more to it than that. Katar betrayed us without the Driver. And both More and Torin were overwhelmed by their hosts. And now, Sheave appears to be constantly second guessing what he's doing. If it wasn't for the Maleficore, suppressing his positive emotions, it's possible he might have chosen to turn against us by now."

"No way," Gule stated. "My brother would never do that."

"You'd better hope so." Sombra turned to him. "Because I will not accept betrayal. By any Mimic. If they go against my wishes, they will meet a fate worse than death. Is that understood?" Gule nodded, but gulped as he did. He pitied anyone who thought about going against his orders.

In the main lab of the lair, High was standing in front of the power-packs in her human form.

She looked around, clearly worried about being caught. But when she was sure she wouldn't be, she grabbed the power-packs. "I need more power." With that, she stabbed the plugs into her. Doing so caused the energy within them to explode out and into her. "Augh! Yes! YES! Give it to me! The power to destroy the Riders. The prove just how powerful I am!"

The amount of energy flowing into her was insane. So much so that she almost felt like she was being ripped apart. But she refused to give up, as her body slowly began to adjust to the voltage.

She let out a scream, as she was reaching her limit. But eventually, all of the power flowed into her and her body transformed into a new form. Her body was buffer and her shoulders, elbows and knees had giant yellow lightning bolt shaped fur blades sticking out of them. Her claws were longer and she had a yellow lightning bolt fur running along the top of her head.

Lightning sparked off of her, as she panted to try and keep the energy under control. As she did, she could feel the amazing power flowing through her. "With this, those fools won't stand a chance against me." A portal opened and she stepped through it, the portal vanishing behind her as she did.

In the lab, Corvyn was hard at work creating the new Mimicore.

The Beatucore continued to glow, as its physical form was being manipulated into a form that would allow the Mimicore to use it. And as it did, it was also being imbued with programming that would hopefully allow it to free Flash and give him control back.

"How much longer?" Shining asked, since the device had been worked on since it had been retrieved the previous day.

Corvyn stood by the computer, trying to get it done as quickly as possible. "If we want this thing to actually work, we need to let it be properly constructed. One mistake could ruin it forever. I can assure you. We won't be getting another one of these. We have to make sure it comes out perfectly. And that takes time."

"We get that," Hudie nodded. "But the Mimics could attack again at any time."

Thorax said nothing, as Twilight and the rest of the girls walked into the lab. "How's everything going with Flash's family?"

"Not great," Twilight sighed. "Misty and Scootaloo are in a frenzy. I hate not being able to tell them what happened to Flash." She could only imagine how they were feeling right now.

"I know it's hard," Shining told her. "But hopefully, we'll finally be able to get Flash back and return him to his family before he's gone too long."

"But what are we supposed to tell everyone?" Thorax asked. "That Flash just turned up out of nowhere. That might look suspicious."

"We could return him to everyone as Riders," Fleur stated. "Then say we found him being held by the Mimics and saved him before they could turn him into one." Everyone thought about this and realised it was as good a plan as anything. However, it would require them to save him soon. No way would anyone believe he was held and not made into a Mimic for a long time.

In that moment, an alarm went off and everyone rushed over to the computer.

There, they saw a street that was being destroyed. The cause was a bunch of purple lightning, which exploded around the street destroying anything that touched it. This terrified the people and they started running, allowing the camera to see what was causing it.

"High!" Shining growled, noticing how much more power she had gotten. "Looks like she found a way to pump herself up."

"Must be all that energy they've been stealing," Twilight stated. "Is this what they were after?" She watched as High blasted a car and destroyed it, this pushing the Riders into action.

"We'll figure that out later." They summoned their Drivers and took out their Mimicores. "For now, we need to stop her before she hurts anyone."

"TRI-HORN!/SLASH!/FLUTTER!"

The three walked out into the larger room and placed their Mimicores into their Drivers, all of them taking a stance as a portal formed in front of them. "HENSHIN!" They slammed the Drivers closed and as the portal flew towards them, the slime flew out of the pipes.

"MIMIC!TRICERATOPS!/MANTIS!/BUTTERFLY!" The cocoons all formed right before the portal hit the three of them, transporting them to the street.

High had spotted the portal and prepared for a fight, as the cocoons were revealed mere seconds before they shattered. The Riders stood there, ready for a fight as the armor formed around them.

"The charging force of three horns, triple the destructive power."

"Bladed arms that slice through anything, cutting down the evils of the world!"

"A graceful wing beat, creates a hurricane of power!"

High growled as she glared at the three, Hudie and Changeling summoning their weapons whilst Morphic activated his gauntlet blasters. "Let's do this!" Morphic yelled, rushing forward and throwing a punch right at High.

But the tiger Mimic managed to dodge this, using her super speed to avoid the lasers before unleashing a burst of lightning right at Morphic. This lightning slammed into him and with a cry, he was thrown backwards and crashed into a nearby building.

Changeling then attacked, slashing at High over and over. But she managed to avoid each of his attacks before slashing at him. The claws sliced along his chest, whilst also unleashing a bunch of lightning into him and forcing him to stagger back. This allowed High to rush backwards before charging and dealing a kick right to his chest at high speed.

"GYAH!" Changeling was thrown backwards and crashed into the ground, allowing Hudie to rush in swing her Grace Grazer right at her.

But High caught the ribbon and before Hudie could pull on her, she yanked on it and the Rider was thrown forward. This allowed High to spin around and slam her foot right into Hudie's chest, knowing her flying back. And whilst Hudie spread her wings, High unleashed a blast of energy.

That energy slammed right into Hudie, making her cry out as she was shocked alive. But as this was happening, Morphic got up and ran to Hudie's aid. He launched several laser punches at him, but High managed to dodge each and everyone of them. But this did force her to stop her lightning blast, causing Hudie to fall.

Changeling had gotten up and managed to rush over, catching her before she hit the ground.

At the same time, Morphic leapt back and slammed his fist into the ground. The energy from his weapons was sent into the ground and flew towards High, but she managed to rush forward and dodge it at the last moment. And as the street exploded, she unleashed a blast of lightning as she flew past the Riders.

The three were all zapped by the incredible energy that slammed into them, throwing them all backwards. As they did, High looked at how easily this had been and laughed. "So much power. It's incredible!"

In the Mimic Lair, High's actions had caught the other's attention.

Sombra stared at the screen and as he looked over at the power-packs, his anger spiked. "She has stolen the power we've gathered. She's used it to make herself more powerful." The Mimics all gulped, knowing that High had gone too far this time. "Bring her back here. If you can destroy the Riders along the way, do it. But I want her back here before she uses too much energy."

"Yes, master!" They headed towards a portal, Sheave and Gule taking out their Mimicores and Drivers as they did so.

High shot forward and blasted the Riders once again, blowing them all backwards.

"Gyah!" Morphic hit the ground and tried to get up, as High spun around and unleashed another burst of energy. He barely managed to get up in time to block it from hitting the others.

As this was happening, people that had been attacked before were beginning to come out of hiding. They didn't know why, but they were curious to see how this would end. And not just them. The police had arrived and quickly put up a barricade, to make sure the people were safe.

They watched, as Morphic was blasted backwards and crashed to the ground. He sparked, as Hudie and Changeling rushed to his side. "You okay?" Changeling asked, as Morphic pushed himself up.

"Not...really. She's so strong." They were about to attack again. But in that moment, a portal opened and someone leapt out of it.

That someone were the Mimics, Shifter and Gule at the head of the group. "High!" Shifter yelled, "what are you doing?" High turned to them. "Do you have any idea what you've done?"

"I'm destroying our enemies," High cried, "What does it look like?"

"You stole the energy," Gule stated. "Master is not happy."

"He'll forgive me," she stated. "Once I've destroyed the Riders once and for all." She charged up another attack and launched it at the Riders, with Changeling managing to get in front and blocking with his swords. But the impact knocked him staggering back, Morphic grabbing him to keep him from falling. "Come on. Let's destroy them!"

"No!" Shifter told her. "You're going back and giving that energy back. Hopefully, it hasn't been used up yet." But before he could grab her, she zipped away.

"No. You don't give me orders. You've failed just as much as I have. And unlike you, I'm not going to sit around and let it happen. In fact, I think I know how to make up for my failures before. Undoing all the mistakes I've made up to this point."

"How will that fix anything?" Maya asked, as Greye sighed.

"All that extra energy is screwing up her sense of reason." They ran to her, trying to grab her. But she zipped away again. She ran up a building and over the roof, racing off and vanishing from view.

"Damn it!" Shifter cried, about to go after her. But before he could, Hudie's Grace Grazer wrapped around his arm and he was suddenly pulled over to the Riders. "What?" He cried, the other Mimics jumping into action.

"We won't get another chance like this," Hudie told the other two. "We have to hold him here until the new Mimicore is finished." The other two nodded, as Shifter finally pulled himself free.

"What do you want?"

"Well I do need another Mimicore to complete my collection," Hudie joked. But this only made Shifter angrier, the Maleficore's power pulsing.

"Raaaaah!" He ran towards Hudie and started throwing punches and kicks towards, with Hudie dancing around to keep herself from getting hit. At the same time, Gule and Frill charged towards Morphic whilst Maya and Greye attacked Changeling.

Changeling blocked Greye's fan attacks, deflecting them as best he could whilst Maya tried to shoot him with her webbing. "Seriously," he laughed as he dodged them all. "You really need to work on your aim."

"Be quiet," Maya growled. "I'm still your mother."

"You're not my mother." He kicked Greye away and attacked her, slashing at her. "This body might have come from you, but you're not my mother. You just stole her appearance." He had forgotten that they weren't alone at that moment, the crowd watching and raising an eyebrow at this.

Morphic dodged Gule's punches, along with Frill's feather darts. He leapt back and punched the ground, sending out a bunch of energy that almost blew the pair up. Gule managed to avoid it, but Frill found himself getting blown into the side of a building.

This made him grunt, as he fell to the ground, allowing Morphic to fight Gule on his own. But the pair appeared to be evenly matched, both slugging it out with everything they had.

Meanwhile, Hudie and Shifter kept fighting with Shifter giving it everything he had. But against a Rider with human and Mimic in perfect sync, along with losing so much power due to his loss of his Shift Striker and Mimicores, he just couldn't keep up.

Hudie ducked under his punch before throwing her Grace Grazer at his feet. He grunted, as his feet were pulled out from under him and he slammed into the ground. "Augh!" He saw Hudie fly up, as he began to charge up energy. "RAAAAAAAAAH!" He unleashed a burst of energy, which flew straight at her. But Hudie managed to avoid it, though it did hit part of her wing.

"Ahh!" She flinched falling to the ground as Shifter got up. The pair stared one another down, as Hudie prepared to keep fighting. "Hurry up, Corvyn. We can't do this forever."

Back in the lab, the girls watched the fight whilst Corvyn focused on the Mimicore.

"Almost...done." He groaned, trying his best to do this as quickly but good as possible. And eventually, it happened. "It's finished!" The others rushed over and saw the new device, as he took it out of the machine.

It was unlike any Mimicore they had seen before. It was shaped normally, but it had some kind of see-through screen that was connected to the hand grip by a hinge. This allowed it to swing like a door and cover the main screen.

"That's it?" Rarity asked, as Twilight took it.

"Yes," Corvyn nodded. "But it still needs to be programmed. I already told the Riders how to do it. They just need to get this thing close to Flash."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Rainbow asked, the others nodding as they turned to the screen showing the fight taking place. If they wanted the Riders to save Flash, they would need to get those other Mimics away from him.

In another part of the city, High raced around at super speed.

As she shot through the city, the lightning coming off her caused serious damage wherever she went. And nobody was able to do anything except keep their distance and pray they weren't hurt by it. And as she turned a corner, she spotted something that made her smile.

Scootaloo and Misty had been out, trying to find any clue that might help them locate Flash. They had asked around, but nobody had seen him at all. And when a large bolt of lightning caught their attention, they looked around to see High and gasped.

"Hello there," she walked towards them. "I've been looking for you two." Misty pushed Scootaloo behind her, but High rolled her eyes. "You really think that's going to protect her? It's not." With that, she shot forward and grabbed Misty. "Say goodbye to your precious daughter." With that, she threw the woman across the street and Scootaloo screamed.

High then grabbed her and rushed off. "SCOOTALOO!" Misty screamed, forcing herself up to chase after them. Luckily, Misty had activated her daughter's find my phone as soon as Flash went missing. She wouldn't lose both her children.

Back at the battle, Hudie slammed her foot into Shifter's chest and knocked him back.

At the Morphic blocked one of Gule's punches and launched one of his own, blasting the Rider away whilst Frill began to pick himself up. Meanwhile, Maya launched a web shot towards Changeling. But the Rider caught it and spun around before she could do anything, swinging Maya a full three sixty degrees before launching her at Greye.

The Mimics slammed into one another and were thrown backwards, landing besides Gule and Frill as those two prepared for a fight.

Meanwhile, Hudie used her Grace Grazer to grab Shifter and yank him away from the others. And it was a good thing she did. For in that moment, a large wall of diamonds appeared between the Riders and the Mimics.

"Guys!" They looked around, as the people watching noticed a portal that a bunch of girls leapt out of. "We've got it!" Twilight held up a device that she threw towards Hudie, who quickly caught it as Rarity made an opening for all but Rarity to run through. "Leave the Mimics to us."

"We got this!" Rainbow cried, as the Riders nodded. The girls turned towards the Mimics and seeing a bunch of other humans around, Rarity created a dome of gems around them. She stood atop the dome, keeping them contained whilst the Mimics began to attack.

"You're not getting anywhere near them!" Applejack cried slamming her foot into Greye's chest with all her strength.

This knocked him back, as Frill launched a bunch of feather darts. Twilight managed to catch all the ones that would have hit them, whilst Fluttershy, Sunset and Pinkie fired or threw cupcakes at the Mimics. Twilight even threw the darts back towards them.

The beast staggered back, as the explosions occurred around them. But Gule quickly unleashed a burst of lightning that almost struck them until Rarity created a wall of diamonds within the dome. But this was putting a serious strain on her as it did.

"We can't do this for long," Sunset stated.

"We don't have to," Twilight replied. "Just long enough for the others to do what they need to."

Over with the Riders, they stared down Shifter as the Malefic Rider prepared for a fight. And as they did, he stared at the Mimicore in their hands. "What, are you using a new form to try and defeat me?"

"No," Morphic stated. "This Mimicore isn't for us. It's for you. Or, more accurately, it's for Flash." Shifter glared at them. "Last chance. Let Flash go. Or we'll use it."

"I'm not letting him go. EVER!" Despite this, he felt an uneasy feeling. Like a small part of him actually wanted Flash to be released. But why?

Before he could really think about it, the Maleficore glowed and all those thoughts flew out of his head. He refused to be a prisoner again. "Fine!" Changeling cried. "Then you leave us no choice." The other two nodded.

"Then bring it!" He cried menacingly. The Riders did just that and charged at Shifter, all giving it everything they had. Changeling went for a direct attack, slashing at him with his blades. But Shifter managed to dodge it and tried to throw a punch, only for Hudie's Grace Glazer to grab his arm and pull him away. "GYAH!" He was thrown off balance, as Morphic rushed in and threw a punch right into his chest.

The resulting laser also knocked him back, but he managed to spin through the air and land against a building before kicking off of it and hitting the ground. He then charged forward and threw a flying kick at Morphic, who blocked it with his gauntlets before throwing Shifter back.

The Rider back-flipped and as he did, Hudie flew in and dealt several kicks on his own.

He did his best to block them all, but this allowed Changeling to run up and performed a sweeping kick that knocked one of his legs out from under him. And this caused him to trip up and hit the ground, grunting as he did so. And before he could get up, Hudie slammed both her feel into him and make him cry out.

Morphic and Changeling moved next, grabbing both his arms and holding him in place. "Get off me!" He unleashed a burst of energy and whilst it hurt, the Riders endured as Hudie clutched the new Mimicore. In doing so, the corrupted energy from the Strike Core flowed into it. The Maleficore energy it was also charged with was quickly negated, leaving the Strike Core's energy to powering the new one up.

In several seconds, the new Core glowed before transforming. Doing so caused it to mimic the Strike Core in appearance, with the see-through screen turning orange whilst the dots changed to that colour and started showing a Lightning Bug.

"PURIFY!"

"Yes!" Hudie cheered, as she forced Shifter's Driver open before replacing the Strike Core with the new one.

With that, she slammed the Driver closed and the second screen flipped over the Maleficore's screen. This caused the black Lightning Bug to turn back to orange, with black lightning surrounding it.

"MALEFICLEANSE!"

The energy of the new Mimicore exploded out of it and into Shifter, making him cry out as he was suddenly overwhelmed with the new energy source.

Inside his head, Flash could feel the new power as it flowed through the pair of them. And as it did, the dark shroud surrounding Sheave was suddenly blown away. As it was, Sheave cried out as he was also overwhelmed with everything else. The emotions that had been blocked from him.

"What's happening!?" The memories of all his fun times impersonating Flash flowed through him once again, along with the emotions they brought.

The Maleficore's energy wasn't so easily defeated, though. The dark shroud flew up and tried to surround him again, but the rainbow light that was now covering him fought back. The two forces battled against one another, trying to overwhelm the other. But in the end, both light and dark energies disappeared and left only Sheave.

Flash watched this, as Sheave just stood there.

Out of their mind, Shifter screamed as a powerful burst of energy exploded out of him. This energy slammed into the other Riders and sent them flying back, all crashing into the ground and walls around Shifter. As they did, their Drivers flew open and their Mimicores flew out.

This shocked everyone, as the three Riders suddenly reverted back to human form. And everyone was shocked to see who was under masks. "Thorax?" One of his classmates called out, whilst some police officers recognised Shining.

But their shock at the Rider's reveal was quickly broken when they heard Shifter grunted, as he spotted his Strike Core nearby.

He quickly grabbed it, as he ripped the Maleficore and Maleficleanse Core out of his Driver. After that, he placed the Strike Core inside and transformed back into his standard Strike Form. He breathed, panting heavily as he turned towards the Riders and saw them beginning to pick themselves up.

The other Mimics were about to head over to them, but were stopped when a bolt of lightning flew past them and landed right in front of Shifter. "Look who I found," High laughed as she showed Scootaloo in her arms.

"NO!" Rainbow screamed, about to rush towards her but getting stopped when Maya blasted her with webs. "Ahh!" She struggled against them, but couldn't break free whilst the others rushed over to High.

"Now," High laughed as she raised her claws. "Time to finish what I started." But before she could, someone else yelled out.

"NO!" High stopped at the voice and turned to Shifter, who stood there with a hand out. And as he did, he seemed confused by his statement. "I...er..."

"What's this?" High asked. "Feeling sorry for this little shrimp." Shifter said nothing back. "You know what I think? I think you've gone soft. You never really were committed to the cause."

"That's...not..."

"Come on!" High moved towards him, holding Scootaloo in her claws. "Show us you're on our team. Do what your host could never do. Destroy her."

Shifter just stood there, whilst the others tried to get to them. But Gule quickly swung his arm around, unleashing a blast of lightning that struck the girls and sent them all flying back. And as the Riders tried to get up, the other Generals rushed over to them and kept the three at bay.

"Come on," High told him. "Do it!"

Scootaloo was panicking, attempting to escape High's grasp but unable to do so. She and Shifter locked eyes, as he stepped forward and started charging power to his fists.

"NO!" Flash cried, begging Sheave to stop. "Please! I'm begging you. Don't do this. You can have me as a prisoner and I'll never say another word. Just please, don't hurt her." Tears began to leak from his eyes, as he struggled against the amber holding him. But Sheave said nothing and just kept moving forward.

The others kept trying to get to her, with police even firing bullets at them. But nothing was working and Shifter was soon right in front of High.

Scootaloo was crying out, terrified about what was about to happen to her. And as she did, Misty chose this moment to finally arrive. "SCOOTALOO!" She tried to run to her child, but the people around her stopped her before she could.

"It's not safe!"

"That's my daughter!" All she could do was watch, as Shifter pulled his arm back and channelled as much power as he could into it.

High smiled as she watched him, the Mimic Rider roaring as he threw the punch forward. And as he did, time seemed to slow down for everyone who thought this was Scootaloo's end.

But then something happened that nobody expected. The attack didn't hit Scootaloo.

Instead, it flew past her and struck High. The impact made her cry out, as she knocked back and Scootaloo was released from her grasp. And as she hit the ground, Shifter grabbed Scootaloo and leapt away from the tiger beast. He jumped over the other Mimics and landed next to where the Rainbooms had fallen, as Rainbow managed to rip the webbing off of her.

As he let Scootaloo go, Shifter turned back to Gule who stared between him and the girl he had just saved.

"What are you doing?" He cried, a growl clear in his voice. "Do you have any idea what you've done?" Shifter didn't reply, which made Gule growl again before he unleashed a blast of energy towards the girls.

But before it could connect, he leapt in front of them and blocked with his own energy. But his attack was no match for Gule's energy and it slammed into him. "GYAH!" He cried, as he fell to his knees. And as he did, his suit began to disappear.

Scootaloo was shocked by Shifter's suddenly change of teams, as the suit around him began to fade away. And as it did, her eyes widened and her shock became a hundred times more. "Flash?" She couldn't believe what she was seeing. Where the Rider had once been, her brother now stood.

The teen grunted, as the one in control did his best to keep himself conscious.

Inside his mind, Sheave sighed as he turned towards his host. Flash stared at him in shock, just as surprised as everyone else. "You saved her. You saved everyone. Why?"

Sheave seemed to be unsure about that himself. "I...I don't want to hurt her. I don't want to hurt anyone." He clutched his head. "It's like...all those memories. All those good times you had. I want those times. I want to make memories like that. And I can't if they're all gone."

Flash just stared at him, as Sheave looked down at his hands. He then let out a sigh before holding up his hand and Flash suddenly felt something.

The amber around him was beginning to melt.

It disappeared into the floor, as the void around him changed as well. It returned to the way Flash had once envisioned it. A copy of his home. "What's going on?"

"I'm...I'm giving you back control."

"Why?"

"Because it's the right thing to do." Flash had not expected that.

"You know I'll fight against the Mimic, right?"

"Yes. And...I think I'm okay with that."

"Really?"

"Yes. Because...Sombra and all those Mimics are doing nothing with their lives. They're just destroying it. And I don't want to destroy anything anymore."

Flash could understand that. It seems everything Flash had been telling him, had sunk in. "Okay," he stood up. "I'm going to trust you. But if this is a trick..." Sheave said nothing, as Flash stepped forward. He glanced back, as Sheave remained where he was. And eventually, he turned back to the screen and found himself regaining control of his body.

The Mimics stared at the teen, as his eyes opened.

"SHEAVE!" Gule yelled, "what are you doing!?" But the look Sheave gave him, told him everything he needed to know. "You're not Sheave, are you?"

The teen smirked, "nope. Sheave let me go. Now I'm back in control." Gule's eyes widened in shock. Not shock of Flash having control. Shock of Sheave willingly giving it up. "My friends helped Sheave see the light." He held up the Maleficore and whilst he could feel the dark energy coming out of it, he was also holding the new Mimicore and its power seemed to be cancelling it out. "No more negative energy stopping us from feeling emotions. And Sheave likes those emotions. Enough to turn against you guys."

"You're lying," Gule growled. But before he could say anything else, High pushed past him.

"I knew that twerp couldn't be trusted. No I have no reason not to destroy him?" But before she could, she spotted Shining, Fleur and Thorax running over to the others. They had managed to sneak past the other Mimics, too shocked by Sheave's betrayal to stop them.

"Flash," Shining asked, "is that really you?"

Flash smirked and nodded. "Oh yeah. I'm back. And better than ever."

"Flash?" He turned to his sister, who looked really confused. "What's...what's going on? You were Kamen Rider Shifter?" Flash frowned, "you did all that damage to the school?"

"It's...complicated. I'll explain everything later. But right now..." He turned to the Mimics, "I've got a score to settle."

The other Mimics gathered around High and Gule, all still shocked that Sheave had betrayed them. "I should have known this would happen," Frill stated before turning to High. "Destroy him. That might just keep you from our master's wrath."

"With pleasure," High smirked whilst the other Mimics moved back before leaping up to a nearby building. "I've been looking forward to this. Shifter. You're done for."

"No," Flash stated, "you are." With that, he help up the new Mimicore and activated it.

"PURIFY!"

He also held up the Maleficore, everyone wondering why he was planning on using that again. And as the Driver reappeared, he placed the devices into their slots. And as everyone watched with worry, Flash took his original pose. "HENSHIN!" With that, he slammed the Driver closed.

"MALEFICLEANSE!" As the draw slammed shut, the Maleficore flipped down over the window and turned the Lightning Bug black. But then, the Mimicore's second screen flipped over the Maleficore's like before.

"MIMIC!LIGHTNINGBUG!" Flash crossed his arms, as the pipes unleashed the slime and everyone watched as it rained down upon him. His friends and family all gasped, seeing him become encased within the amber cocoon many recognised as the same one the Mimics trapped their victims in. Then, the cocoon began to crack apart before finally exploding off the teen and revealing his new form.

Instead of being black, his suit was now orange with black stripes and looked more like his Hyper Strike suit.

Some of the amber then shot towards him and hit his body, turning black and forming the Malefic Strike Armor. But then, more amber flew down and formed orange armor around his upper arms, knees, upper legs and waist. It also struck his back and merged with the armor to form orange armor with large lightning bolt shaped wings that had lights on the tips. The final piece of amber hit the back of his head and turned orange, with a pair of lightning bolt-shaped horns sticking out the back of his head, along with a pair of lightning bolt tusks going from the back of his helmet around his cheeks and straight forward. His eyes were still bright orange.

As the armor settled, Shifter's Driver spoke out with new words. "Unlimitedpower, cleansedofevil.Lightandshadow,unifiedtocreatetrueharmony!"

Everyone was amazed by what they were seeing, whilst High growled. "So you've got a new form. Big whoop. It won't be enough to save you!" With that, she raced forward and tried to claw at him. But Shifter managed to avoid the attack and quickly dealt a swift kick to her side, knocking her staggering away. He then leapt forward and punched her right in the face, as orange energy flew out of the lights and travelled down his arm into her.

She cried out, as she staggered back in pain. But she fought through it and continued her assault.

Picking up speed, she started slashing at him. But the Rider was able to move at the same speed as her and block all her strikes before dealing his own. "So fast," Fleur cried.

"On par with his Blade Form," Shining agreed. It was in that moment that he had an idea and connected to Corvyn.

Shifter didn't notice this, as he leapt back to avoid another of High's attacks. His arms and legs were quickly charged with energy and he shot forward, throwing a fast punch into High followed by a strong kick and another punch. This happened multiple times, making High cry out until he kicked her right in the chest and knocked her flying backwards.

"Yeah!" Rainbow cheered, seeing High in serious trouble.

But as Shifter was about to attack again, he suddenly stopped and flinched. "Augh!" Flash felt himself being overwhelmed with exhaustion. "What's...happening?" He fell to his knees, as everyone watching began to worry.

"Flash!" Twilight cried, as High picked herself. "That new Mimicore must be putting real strain on him."

"We've gotta help him," Thorax cried. The Riders all prepared to transform, but High had already gone on the attack and was racing towards him.

"YOU'RE MINE!" She cried, as Shifter gasped. But before she could slash at him, Shifter's body moved as he suddenly swung a leg around and used his hand to hold himself up as he kicked her away. "What?"

Flash gasped, as he suddenly found himself inside his own mind. And as he did, he found Sheave standing in front of him. "Sheave. You..."

Sheave glanced back and smirked. "Guess I shouldn't have expected you to be able to do this alone. Come on. Let's end this." Flash smiled, as he realised what he was saying.

He stood up and stepped up beside Sheave, as the pair felt themselves beginning to sync up. And as they did, the exhaustion Flash felt was gone and new strength was flowing through him.

Outside in the real world, Shifter stood tall and a lot more confident. And as High got ready for a fight, he spoke with two voices similar to how Hudie usually spoke. "I hope you're ready." High's eyes widened, hearing Sheave's tone alongside Flash's. "Because the winds of victory have just shifted."

Everyone else heard this as well and realised what was happening. "Sheave taking control again!" Thorax cried, but Fleur shook her head.

"No. I don't think so. It sounds more like they're...working together." The others were just as shocked by this, as Shining stepped forward.

It was then that they noticed what he was holding, Shining having somehow gotten to Shift Striker and Flash's Mimicores. "Shifter!" The Rider looked around and saw him throw the devices at him, Shifter smirking under his helmet before grabbing them all. "Don't make me regret this."

"You won't!" Shifter replied, as he held his Shift Striker and took out another Mimicore.

"HYPER STRIKE!"

As soon as he slotted the core into the weapon, the Shift Striker sparked before it transformed. In the blink of an eye, it had become a large buster sword-like weapon with the Shift Striker handle at the bottom.

The handle appeared to be connected to the weapon by a single round bolt, which looked like it could make the handle move. The flat side of the weapon looked more like a large gun-barrel, with another handle on the back near the bottom of it. And along the flat of the blade appeared to be a glass opening for someone to look into the inside.

High saw this and growled, as she charged at him. But he managed to move with even greater speed than before, dodging her attacks before slashing at her with the weapon. The buster sword did serious harm to her, as Shifter held both handles to help him move it around easier.

High screamed in pain, as she tried to slash at him again. But he blocked it with the side of his weapon before pushing her away.

As he did, he was able to move the main handle of the Shift Striker so it moved ninety degrees and opened a slot on the inside. This revealed an opening connected to the glass window near the base of the weapon, which had three slots inside of it.

Shifter grabbed another Mimicore and slotted it into the weapon before shutting the slot.

"STRIKE!"

The blade of the weapon glowed orange and as he swung it through the air, it unleashed a blade of energy that slammed into High and blasted her backwards. Shifter than open the slot and replaced the Mimicore with another one.

"BLADE!"

He shut the slot and the blade glowed blue whilst appearing to grow sharper, allowing him to charge forward and slash at High again. "GYAH!" She screamed, feeling her body being ripped apart by the slash.

She tried to attack back with her claws, but Shifter leapt back and replaced the Mimicore with another one.

"PIERCE!"

He didn't close the slot this time, instead holding the weapon by the two handles as he pointed it at High. He then pulled the trigger on the main handle and fired an extra large spike projectile. One that High tried to blast with lightning, only for it to fly straight through and stab into her.

She screamed again, as she was blasted back once again. And then, Shifter pulled the Mimicore out before placing three in one after the other.

"BLADE!"

"FLIGHT!"

"PIERCE!"

Shifter held onto the blaster, as its energy began to charge up. And as High picked herself up, he braced himself before pulling the trigger.

"TRIMACTICBLAST!"

Three bursts of energy flew out of the gun barrel, one blue, one yellow and one green. They all shot towards her and as she tried to attack, they suddenly shot off in a different direction before transforming into energy constructs of the three animals the Mimicores represented.

The swordfish was the first to attack, swimming through the air and attacking her hard and faster. She screamed, as she was slashed by its nose. The owl then attacked, slamming its wings into her before grabbing her in its talons and pulling her into the air. And when she was dropped, the hedgehog was under her and unleashed a bunch of energy spines that slammed into her.

The attacks pierced into her and before she could even screen, the three animals transformed back into energy spheres that slammed into her. "GYAAAAAH!" She was thrown backwards and crashed into the ground, small explosions going off as she did so.

Shifter took this moment to transform the Shift Striker back to its base form and put it away, slammed the side of the Driver to make it completely activate.

"PURIFYINGCLIMAX!

Shifter's body sparked with a bunch of energy, which made his armor glow as he shot forward with incredible speed. And as High pushed herself up, he shot past her in the blink of an eye and she was slashed by a wave of that energy. "GYAH!" She was sent staggering, but was once again slashed by Shifter again.

This continued several more times, Shifter racing by her from multiple different angles. At one point, he was moving so fast it was like she was being struck by multiple foes at once.

And finally, as the onslaught seemed to end, Shifter appeared right in front of her and shot forward with a trail of lightning racing behind him. He then leapt into the air and slammed his glowing foot right into her chest, unleashing all the power he had into her.

"AAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRHHHHHHHHHH!" She screamed, as she was blasted backwards before slamming into a building.

The resulting explosion rocked the entire street, as Shifter landed and everyone cheered seeing her take such damage. But as the flames disappeared, High laid there looking damaged but alive. "She survived that?" Rainbow asked, as Shifter got ready to attack again.

But before he could, a portal suddenly appeared beneath High and the tiger Mimic began to sink into the ground. Shifter tried to jump in after her, but the portal closed seconds before he could. "No!" He then looked up and saw the other Mimics were also gone.

"Relax," Sheave told Flash, "I doubt High is going to be a problem anymore. After all the issues she's had, there's no way Sombra will keep her around."

"I guess," Flash nodded. "But you said he wouldn't let the host free. How are we supposed to save the one she's impersonating?" Sheave didn't reply, unsure how to answer that. Before either of them could say anything, the others stepped up to him and Twilight wrapped her arms around him.

"You're okay!" Flash blushed at this, glad he was still wearing his suit, with Twilight quickly pulling away as she did. "Sorry." She blushed as well, as the others smiled. But their joy was quickly diminished, when the people and police began to move towards them.

Flash sighed, removing the Mimicores and reverting back to human form. There was no point hiding it now.

He, Shining, Thorax and Fleur stood together, the four Kamen Riders revealed to everyone. A lot of people had had their phones out during this. No doubt, their identities would be revealed to the entire world soon enough.

At the Mimic Lair, High laid upon the ground in her human form.

She tried to get up, but she was too badly damaged. And as she raised her head, she saw Sombra staring down at her with an angry look on his face. "Master. Please. Give me another chance. I can stop Shifter and the other Riders. I just-" Sombra didn't let her finished, instead stabbing her with one of the power-packs that had a knife-like extension on the end of it.

High screamed, as all the energy she had stolen was being drained out of her. But it wasn't as much as she had taken, which angered Sombra.

"Not only did you steal from me. But you also failed to use the power you stole to achieve anything!" The other Mimics arrived and frowned when they saw Sombra's treatment of High. But none of them did anything to stop him.

"I...I revealed Sheave as the traitor he is!" High cried.

"Yes. And Sheave will get what's coming to him." He slowly removed the knife, now that the energy had all been removed. "But first, I'll deal with you." As High tried to push herself up, Sombra suddenly grabbed her by the neck.

She gasped, as she squeezed her tightly. And then, her body began to melt. She tried to scream, but couldn't. All she could do was give Sombra a pleading look, as she dissolved into a bunch of slime that was sucked into Sombra's hand. The others gulped at this, fearing that would be their fate if they didn't bring results.

The Kamen Riders were now up to four members and even though they had their own Kamen Rider, they knew things weren't going to go well for them. They needed some way to turn the tables on them. But how?

Author's Note

And thus, Sheave has turned to the side of good, Flash got his body back and a new form, and High is out of the story. So, where will these new developments lead? Only time will tell.

Episode 31: Shifting Aftermath

The City of Canterlot was up in arms, as news about the Kamen Riders was being spread all around the city.

The footage had already been uploaded to the internet, allowing anyone on Earth to see it. The footage first showed the Riders fighting against Shifter, managing to overpower him and do something with a strange looking device. But that footage then showed the Riders getting blasted away, the three of them suddenly losing their suits and revealing who they were.

At CHS, everyone was shocked to see Thorax was one of the Riders. Others also recognised Fleur, being shocked that she was another one. Fleur was more well recognised at Crystal Prep, along with the man engaged to their Principal. To say they were all shocked would be an understatement.

But what really shocked everyone, was what happened next. When Shifter seemed to betray the Mimics and save a girl from CHS. Then he had saved some other girls from a blast and this had revealed who was under the suit.

If the people of CHS were shocked about Thorax, they were even more shocked to see Flash Sentry of all people was the first Kamen Rider. The one that had joined the Mimic's side and now seemed to have turned against them, given how he had transformed into a new form and completely wiped one of the Mimics out.

After the battle, the four Riders had all been taken into custody. Everyone was curious about the Riders, wanting to know exactly what they were. Hopefully, some answers would soon be revealed.

Within the Canterlot City Police Precinct, Flash, Shining, Thorax and Fleur were all sitting in a room with their hands cuffed.

Shining looked stoic, whilst the teens all looked worried. "So," Flash turned to Shining, "what can we expect from the interrogation? My only knowledge of this stuff comes from TV."

"They're not gonna shine a light in our eyes, are they?" Fleur asked, with Shining rolling his eyes.

"No. They're not. They'll probably just ask us a bunch of questions about what exactly we are." As he said that, the door opened and the police chief stepped inside.

Hard Case sat on the other side of the table, Shining's eyes moving up to the two way mirror. No doubt, there were multiple officers watching from the other side. "Alright," the police captain glared at them. "I want to know what's going on. Armor, how could you not tell us any of this? Why keep it a secret?"

Shining sighed. "When Flash and I first started as Kamen Riders, we had no idea how we were able to do any of the stuff we did. From our point of view, we just woke up one day and had the ability to transform into superheroes. We were freaked out and didn't want to tell anyone, in case they used us as some kind of lab rats."

"I see," Hard Case frowned. "And what about now? How much do you know about any of this?"

Shining frowned, unsure how he should explain. However, before anyone could say anything, a bright flash of light filled the room behind the Riders.

Hard Case leapt up and reached for his gun, only for someone to step out of the portal behind the Riders. Corvyn. "Hello there. I apologise for the sudden appearance, but I thought it was time I met with you and helped explain everything that's been going on."

The doors to the interview room flew open and several officers rushed in. All of them pointing their guns at Corvyn.

Corvyn didn't react and simply removed his hood, revealing what he looked like. "What are you?" Hard Case asked, obviously curious about everything happening.

"My name is Corvyn and I am the one who made these four Kamen Riders." That got their attention. "I am also the last living member of my world. The Mimics destroyed it and I am all that's left. That's why I came here. I managed to uncover how the Mimics travel universes and followed them here."

"I see," Hard stated. "So why did you make these four Riders? Armor, I kind of get. But the other three are high school students. How could you give such amazing power, to three kids who should be focusing on things other than risking their lives?"

"I didn't have a choice," Corvyn replied. "Not just anyone can become a Kamen Rider." He glanced at the four, clearly asking if they wanted him to not explain the rest. But the four gave him all a look and they nodded, the lot knowing that keeping this secret any longer would only hurt them in the long run. "You see. These four aren't humans. They're Mimics."

That statement washed over all the officers and as they listened, their eyes went wide before they turned back to the Riders.

"What?" Hard cried. "Mimics?" He looked at the Mimic detector on his wrist. "But these-"

"Do work. But I created them to ignore any Mimic with a Driver. Which is why they don't detect these four. But yes, they are Mimics. But it's not what you think."

"How could it not be what we think?" He turned to Shining, "where's the real Shining Armor? What have you done with him?"

"I am Shining Armor," the man replied. "I might be in a Mimic body, but it's my mind in control." Hard clearly didn't understand, as Corvyn sighed.

And so, as Corvyn was given another chair to explain everything to the police captain. How each of them became a Kamen Rider, upon gaining control of the Mimic that had tried to steal their bodies. Of how Flash and Shining went a long time without knowing what they truly were. How Thorax later joined the team and Flash's issues with the Maleficore. And then, how Fleur befriended a Mimic and turned it to their side.

To say the police captain was shocked would be an understatement.

Within the Mimic Base, Sombra is busy working on a computer whilst the other Mimics look worried.

"Master," Maya speaks up, "Is now really the time to be working on...whatever it is you're doing?" Sombra turned to glare at her. "I just mean...with Sheave's betrayal. He might bring the other Riders here. And who knows who else."

"She's right," Greye stated. "We need to change bases again. Head somewhere that Sheave doesn't know about. And you need to get all the equipment hidden at your host's company. No doubt everyone knows who you really are now."

"Relax," Sombra told them. "We're not going anywhere. What we need to focus on right now, is replenishing the energy that High stole from us. We need to get as much of it as we can before the Riders come and attack."

"So what's the plan?" Frill asked, as Sombra kept working on the computer.

"I'll leave the details of that to you. But I won't accept any more failures. Get me that energy. I don't care what you have to do, just get it." They nodded and all left. All except Gule, who was sitting around in his human form.

Sombra noticed this and realised Gule was likely still feeling betrayed after his brother chose to betray them.

"Gule!" the Hybrid Mimic shot to his feet, pulled out of his thoughts by Sombra. "I have a mission for you." Gule looked confused by this, but nodded. "It may sound strange, but I need you to retrieve something for me." Gule looked confused, but nodded as Sombra explained what he wanted. And he was right. Gule did this it was strange.

Back at the police precinct, Hard Case stared the five down as he listened to what they had to say.

Currently, Flash was telling him everything that happened during his time under the Mimic's control. "Sombra? CEO of Dark Industries. You expect me to believe that he is a Mimic?" Shining and the others were just as shocked by this revelation.

"It's true. Sombra is a Mimic. He's not just a Mimic. He's the oldest Mimic in existence. The one leading them. The one who made all the other Mimics do all this. He's the mastermind."

"Why should I believe you?" Hard stated. "You admitted to being a Mimic. And for a good while now, you've been working with the Mimics. If I don't trust the other three, I certainly don't trust you. Not after everything you've done."

Flash sighed. "I know I have a lot to make up for, but I'm telling the truth."

"So you just happened to lose control of your body, then took the body back just before you got arrested. A likely story."

"I didn't take the body back," Flash told him. "Sheave gave me control back. Because once the Maleficore's power was undone, he realised he didn't want to wipe humans out. He turned against the Mimics before giving me back control."

"Is that so?" Hard asked. "If that's the case, what's stopping him from taking control of you again?" Flash said nothing, since he didn't have an answer.

"It's true." Within Flash's mind, Sheave was standing behind him. "I could probably take control of you again if I wanted to. But I'm not going to."

"I want to believe that," Flash told him. "But it's...hard to accept that."

Hard stared at him, clearly wanting an answer. "Exactly. You four are all incredibly powerful. So powerful that if you chose to turn against us, we probably wouldn't be able to stop you."

"Yeah," Thorax sighed, "I can see why that would be scary."

Hard nodded. "From what we know. You Riders can't transform without those screen things, am I right?" They nodded. "Well those things are currently locked up, meaning you four are no stronger than an average human. And you'll stay that way until we decide what to do with you."

The four sighed, wishing there was another option.

In that moment, another cop arrived with a knock. "Sir. We just got word from Canterlot Medical." That got everyone's attention, "one of the Mimic Cocoons just broke apart."

"Is that so," Hard Case got up. "Which one?"

"The one containing Tempest Shadow."

"That was High's host," Shining realised. "I guess her battle with Shifter did more damage than we thought."

"No," Flash replied in a strange tone of voice. "Sombra wasn't happy about her stealing the energy he had us collecting. And with all her failures before then, he had had it with her. No doubt he finished her off after Flash and I took her down."

"Flash and I?" Shining asked, as the others frowned. "Sheave?"

"That's right," Sheave nodded. "Flash is allowing me control so that I can explain a few things to everyone." He turned to Corvyn, "you want to know how the Mimics came to be? I can tell you everything." Corvyn frowned, clearly not liking having Sheave in control of Flash's body.

"You're the Mimic?" Hard Case asked, with Sheave nodding. "I thought you said Sentry had control of the body now."

"I do," Flash's vocal tone replied as they realised they had swapped again. "Sheave and I have come to an understanding. We both have control of the body, but only one of us gets a go in the drivers seat at a time. We'll switch depending on who's needed in control."

Hard Case clearly didn't like this. "That Mimic has tried to destroy our world and hurt people. And you're just letting him control you? And that's if this whole sharing a body thing is even real. Anyone can change their voice to sound like someone else."

"It's real," Corvyn told him. "And these Riders are your only hope at stopping the Mimics. Whilst some weapons have proven capable of doing damage against them and destroying the Mimicreeps, only the Riders have the ability to do serious damage against them. It takes to destroy a Mimic."

Hard Case just stared at them before getting up and turning to the other cop. "Keep an eye on them. I need to talk to the hospital about Ms. Shadow's condition." He nodded and took his seat, Hard Case closing the door shut behind him.

Corvyn then turned to Flash. "He is right, though. Are you sure letting Sheave have control of your body is a smart idea? What if he decides to keep it for himself?"

"I couldn't even if I wanted to," Sheave stated. "The moment I freed Flash, I made it practically impossible to imprison him again. If I try to keep control and Flash does the same, our body will simply lock up."

"It's true," Katar stated as she took control. "Fleur and I tested that out before. We can both control the body whenever we want. But if we're not trying to do the exact same thing, we just freeze unable to do anything."

"I see," Corvyn nodded whilst Shining turned to Sheave.

"Why did you choose to turn against the Mimics?"

"Honestly. I'm not really sure. Maybe it's Flash's influence, or maybe I'm just evolving like Katar. Who knows. All I'm sure about is that whenever I think about destroying this world now. Hurting the people that live here, like Scootaloo or Flash's friends and mother, I feel like I'm gonna throw up."

"Well I guess that's as good a reason as any," Corvyn stated. "Now, while we wait for the police chief to return, tell me everything you know about the Mimics." Sheave nodded and started explaining.

Down below, in the precinct's entrance, the Riders' families were all trying to see them.

Misty Vail, Scootaloo, Pharynx, Cadance, Shining's parents and a couple who were Fleur's parents all tried to see them. "You can't just leave them locked up like this," Misty stated. "Flash is a minor, so you can't question him like this without me present!" Fleur's parents nodded, stating the same thing

"Except the ones we're holding aren't your children," the police officer stated. "I'm sorry about your son and daughter, but they were taken and replaced by Mimics. They-"

"I know what they are," Misty interrupted. "I've already been told everything." She glanced back at the Rainbooms, who were all standing behind the group. As soon as the Riders were arrested, the girls had come clean to their families about everything.

Misty and Scootaloo had been shocked by the discovery of Flash's Mimic-fication. But after Twilight explained everything, they accepted that he was still Flash. And that meant Misty wanted to see him.

"If you don't let me see him soon, I'll have this precinct so tied up in litigation, your grandchildren are gonna need lawyers!" The others nodded, but the police officer said nothing.

"I already told you. They are being questioned to determine whether or not they can be trusted. They're Mimics and we can't just let them wander around freely."

"This is ridiculous," Pharynx cried. "My brother and the rest of the Riders have been putting their butts on the line for this city. We'd all be dead if it wasn't for them. Isn't that enough proof that you can trust them?"

"Not to the chief," the officer stated. "Now if you want to stick around and wait for a determination, that's your right. But we can't allow you anywhere near them." They all glared at him, but the officer was clearly not going to budge on this issue.

Upstairs, Hard Case was having a video chat with the doctor that had been monitoring Tempest and the other people in the cocoons.

"All her vital signs are positive," the doctor stated. "As far as we can tell, she's in perfect health with no side effects from prolonged entrapment within the cocoon. She's a little disorientated, but that's natural and should clear up in a day or two."

"What can she tell us about her experience inside the cocoon? Does she remembering anything that might help us finish the Mimics off?"

"She has a few flashes of memory, but nothing concrete. She may remember more in time, but for now it's just a jumble to her."

"I see," Hard Case nodded as he asked a few more questions. But he didn't get any real answers and eventually, he hung up and let everything he had learned flow through his head. He thought about the Riders and whether he could truly trust them. Had Shifter not been on the Mimic's side before, he would have probably trusted them without question.

But even if Sheave and Katar had agreed to help them, that didn't help him with the other two.

"What if the Mimics Shining and Thorax have manage to take control?" He thought about that and wasn't sure how he felt about any of it. This was more than he should be allowed to decide. "Maybe I should try and contact someone further up the chain. Give the decision to someone else." He sighed. "No. If a politician gets involved, we'll never get a decision made. I need to decide soon before the Mimics decide to attack again. Do I trust the Riders, or let my forces try and stop them?"

Out in the main office, the detectives and sargents worked to get all their work done. But all anyone was talking about were the Riders currently locked up. Some said they should trust them, others said they should lock them up and throw away the key. Nobody knew what they should do.

But then, something happened that halted their discussion and put them on alert.

A portal suddenly flew open and before the cops could stop them, a bunch of Mimicreeps leapt out and started attacking them. The cops screamed, as they did what they could to fight them off. But against the Mimicreeps, they didn't stand a chance and the precinct was soon littered with the monsters.

Moments later, Gule stepped out of the portal with a device in hand. One that began to lead him through the precinct whilst the Mimicreeps kept the cops busy.

Meanwhile, down on the first floor, the Rainbooms and Riders' families heard the cries and screams. The Rainbooms quickly leapt into action and ran up the stairs, the cops that had been doing the desk work running after them. When they reached the second floor, they saw the Mimicreeps and quickly jumped into action.

Rarity put up a bunch of shields, whilst Twilight grabbed as many as she could in her magic and lifted them into the air.

Applejack grabbed a baton that a cop had dropped and started slamming it into any of the Mimicreeps it could find. But the Mimicreeps were in a great number and the girls quickly found themselves getting overrun.

In the interview rooms, Corvyn and the Riders heard the commotion outside and the cops got up.

"Stay here!" He ran out, only for them to hear a scream as he was suddenly attacked by a Mimicreep. The creature pushed it to the ground and the Riders couldn't bear to watch what happened next, Sheave seeing this and taking command.

"I've seen enough." He got up and before the others could ask what he was doing, his hands suddenly melted and the cuffs slipped off his wrists. This freed Flash up to run over and grabbed the Mimicreep.

He pulled it away from the cop and it smashed into the wall, Fleur rushing forward and slammed a foot right in its chest to make it go splat. At the same time, Thorax checked on the cop. But all he could do was shake his head to the others. "Where'd these things come from?" Flash asked, as Shining frowned.

He had a choice to make. Stay there and let the Mimics cause havoc, or go against their arrest and try and help.

"Come on!" He melted his hands and freed himself, the other two following behind as they started attacking any Mimicreep they came across. But without their Mimicores, it was a lot harder.

Over in the evidence room, Gule arrived and started looking around.

He had taken down several cops along the way, as he started searching for what he had come for. And soon enough, the device in his hand beeped as he pointed it at a nearby drawer. "There you are." He grabbed the drawer and ripped it open, allowing him to look inside and see the Riders' Mimicores inside.

He smirked, as he grabbed them all before heading back the way he had come. Along the way, he watched as the Mimicreeps continued to cause mayhem in the precinct.

But some Mimicreeps were being destroyed and as he stepped out into the main room, he looked around and spotted the Rainbooms trying to protect as many people as possible.

Twilight was the first one to notice him and realised he was carrying something, the girl seeing the Mimicores and gasping. "NO!" She ran forward, as Gule used a lone free arm to unleash a bolt of lightning in her direction. But she was able to dodge it and keep running. "Timber, STOP!"

Gule growled, as he leapt over to the still open portal. "Your little boyfriend is gone. He can't take control of this body anymore, because he no longer exists."

"I don't believe that!" Twilight cried, but she secretly feared he was telling the truth. "What are you doing with those Cores?" Gule smirked under his helmet and moved towards the portal. "Give them back!" She reached out and managed to grab as many as she could with her magic, pulling them out of Gule's grasp before he could stop her.

The Rider grunted, as he watched seven of the Mimicores fly away from him. And when he tried to reach out and grab them, Applejack happened to throw a Mimicreep in his direction.

He gasped and leapt back, as the Mimicores landed in Twilight's hand.

The girl looked through them and was quite surprised by the ones she managed to retrieve from her foe. She had saved not only Thorax and Fleur's cores, but Flash and Shining's first cores along with the Hyper Strike, Malefic and Maleficleanse cores. Definitely the ones the Riders would want saved above all others.

Gule glared at her, only to then see the Riders themselves punching their way into the bullpen.

Seeing no other option, the Mimic Rider leapt through the portal and it closed. As such, the remaining Mimicreeps were soon dealt with. But not without serious injury. When the last one was splatted onto the ground, everyone took a deep breath and Hard Case looked around.

Multiple police officers were covered in blood and holding injuries. Several crooks that had been in the middle of being processed also got injured, but none of them had died. And as he turned towards the Riders, he glared at them.

"What just happened? Why did they come here of all places?"

"I don't know," Shining frowned. "Maybe to try and take us down whilst we couldn't transform?"

"No," Twilight stepped over to them and they saw the Mimicores in her possession. "Gule was after these." Everyone stared at the cores and the Riders realised several were missing. "He got away with the others. I'm sorry I couldn't get them all back."

"Why would he take our Mimicores?" Thorax asked, Corvyn sighing as he turned to him.

"Without them, you wouldn't be able to transform. They probably expect the police to choose to work with us. So they used this chance to de-power you."

"Good thing it failed," Fleur reached for her Mimicore but Hard Case snatched it away.

"You're not getting these back yet," he told her. "I'm still not sure you four can be trusted. And thanks to you, my men are injured or worse."

"This wasn't our fault," Flash told him. "We didn't make the Mimics attack."

"They came for your things," Hard Case pointed at the Mimicores as Corvyn spoke up.

"Well technically. If you hadn't taken them away, the Mimics wouldn't have come to try and take them from you. So really-" Hard Case glared at him. "I'm shutting up now."

"We're sorry," Shining told him. "But the fact of the matter is, you need us. Not just us Riders. But Corvyn. He knows more about Mimics than anyone. If it hadn't been for him, we'd probably already be extinct by now. You might not like it, but you need to trust us."

Hard Case glared at him, clearly wanting to argue.

But before he could, the Riders suddenly sensed something. Something that made them all turn in the same direction. "What is it?" Corvyn asked, as the Riders frowned. "You sensing something?"

"Yeah," Thorax nodded. "Mimics. They're attacking." As he said that, Hard Case's phone went off in his office.

He held up a finger before moving towards the office, the others staying where they were as he answered the call. Though they couldn't hear what was being said, they could tell from his expression that it wasn't good. And soon, he hung up and stepped back out.

"Mimics are attacking downtown. A lot of people are scared."

"So what are you gonna do about it?" Shining asked, at Hard Case stepped forward and stared at the Mimicores that the other officers had taken from Twilight. They could tell he was weighing the odds about how things could play out. Either he kept the Riders locked up and hoped the real police could stop these Mimics, or he put his trust in beings he knew almost nothing about.

Eventually, he let out a sigh before grabbing the Blitz Core and holding it out to Shining. "I'm warning you. Try anything and I won't make this mistake again."

Shining nodded as he and the other Riders took them. "I understand. You won't regret this." With that, he and the other Riders headed for the doorway.

"Go with them," Hard Case told all the uninjured cops. The officers nodded and followed, as the Riders headed downstairs. As they did, the other cops saw them and looked ready to try and stop their escape. But the other cops told them to stand down.

"Flash!" Misty cried, stopping her son before he could leave. "What are you doing?"

Flash smiled at her. "What I've been doing for months. Protecting our world and the people in it." Misty looked worried. "I know your scared. But I'm not alone in this." He turned to the Riders, who were waiting at the doorway for him. Flash's expression then changed, as Sheave took over.

"I'll do my best to keep him out of trouble. I promise you." Flash regained control and he followed the other Riders out onto the street. A lot of people spotted them, as they prepared to head off into battle.

At the same time, Hard Case and Corvyn watched from a nearby window.

"I'm taking a big risk, trusting those four. I better not end up regretting this."

Corvyn nodded. "I can understand your fears. Honestly, I wasn't sure I could trust them at the start either." Hard turned to him. "Even if they were in control, I wasn't sure if their Mimics could still influence them or not. But as I watched them, I saw them do things even I never thought was possible for the Riders. They've pushed themselves far further than I assumed they would get. All because they want to protect their world."

"Maybe. But what happens if we manage to stop the Mimics? What happens to those four then?"

"I don't know." Corvyn watched as the Riders got on their bikes. "But I have faith they will find a way to make everyone happy. You just have to believe in them and their many possibilities." Hard stared at them, as they raced off. Maybe he could believe, just this once.

The citizens of Canterlot were screaming at the top of their lungs, as they tried to escape the Mimicreeps being led by Greye.

As the peacock Mimic strolled through the city street, he looked around before summoning his fans and swinging them through the air. Doing so unleashed the energy blades, which flew around and destroyed part of a building. This sent debris flying everywhere, people attempting to avoid it but getting hit anyway and receiving serious injury.

The Mimicreeps were just as much a threat, the lot of them attacking the people who couldn't escape. Many people were starting to wish the Riders would come, but knew that wasn't going to happen. Or was it?

Suddenly, engines filled the air and Greye turned to see a quartet of bikes racing towards him. They sped through the crowd, knocking away any Mimicreep that was too close to somebody. And when they finally came to a stop, the riders stared him down before disembarking.

Flash Sentry, Shining Armor, Thorax and Fleur De Lis all moved towards the fight, Greye and his Mimicreeps preparing for battle. At the same time, the people they had just saved watched and couldn't believe they were there.

At the same time, sirens filled the air before police cruisers raced onto the scene.

The cops quickly got out and began helping people get to safety, allowing the Riders free reign as the four stood together and summoned their Drivers. Seeing this, Greye let out an annoyed growl. "Gule failed to get your Mimicores."

"No," Flash stated. "He got some of them." They took theirs out, "but not all of them. And now you've got a choice. Leave, or deal with us." Greye just glared at them and prepared to attack. "Fine then. You guys ready!?"

"READY!" The other three yelled before activating their Mimicores.

"STRIKE!/BLITZ!/SLASH!/FLUTTER!"

Greye watched, as the four slotted their Mimicores into their Drivers and the Mimic launched his energy blades towards them. But the four weren't scared and all struck a pose, as the blades exploded around them. "HENSHIN!" Everyone watched as for the first time, they saw the Kamen Riders transform from normal looking people into the heroes they had come to rely on.

"MIMIC!!!LIGHTNING BUG/HERCULES BEETLE/MANTIS/BUTTERFLY!" The cocoons soon began to form, as the explosions surrounded them. But then the cocoons shattered, blowing the smoke away before forming the armor upon their bodies. For the first time ever, the four heroic Kamen Riders stood side by side and ready for battle.

"Illuminate the light, striking through the darkness!"

"Power that shatters everything, contained in a mighty horn!"

"Bladed arms that slice through anything, cutting down the evils of the world!"

"A graceful wing beat, creates a hurricane of power!"

Greye glared at them before pointing at the four, "destroy them!" The Mimicreeps charged, but the Riders raced into action as well. Changeling and Hudie summoned their weapons and were the first to jump into action, Hudie taking to the air and whipping at the creatures whilst Changelings slashed at them whilst leaping around.

Shifter was the next one to start fighting, punching and kicking his way through them whilst feeling different from how he used to be. "I feel lighter. Stronger!" A Mimicreep leapt towards him and the lights on his body exploded, the illumination practically vaporising the beast. "Brighter!"

Sheave chuckled. "It's because we're not fighting against one another anymore."

"Yeah," Flash nodded. "We must be as powerful as Hudie right now."

"Not exactly. We still have a long way to go before we're on their level. We're probably still weaker than them in this form. But we'll probably be even in Hyper Striker and stronger in Maleficleanse. Probably."

Flash smirked, as Shifter grabbed a Mimicreep and threw it into the air. As he did, Morphic summoned his Blitz Blaster and shot it out of the sky. As he did, the Rider wondered why it was only Greye here. "Gule's probably doing whatever he needed our Mimicores for. With High gone, that just leaves Maya and Frill. Where are they?"

He punched a Mimicreep and blew it up, then shot a few more without even looking. All the while, thinking about where the other Mimics were. And he quickly realised there could only be one place they were.

"Stealing energy!" He cried, catching the other's attention.

"What?" Changeling asked, dodging a Mimicreep claw before cutting them down.

"Frill and Maya. They've gotta be stealing energy. If High stole the energy they gathered before, they must need to replenish what they lost." The others realised he was right, along with realising this was all a distraction. Even so, it wasn't like they could leave.

"Then let's end this fight!" Shifter cried before unleashing a powerful wave of bright light, which blasted the Mimicreeps away and allowed him to charge forward towards Greye. As he did, he took out another Mimicore and activated it.

"HYPER STRIKE!"

"SHAPE SHIFT!" Shifter leapt into the air and replaced his Mimicores, as Greye braced himself for the oncoming attack.

"MIMIC! LIGHTNING BUG!" In a flash, the Rider transformed into his upgraded form and slammed a punch right into Greye as the change completed. "Ultimate light, strikes to eradicate the shadows!"

Shifter quickly threw multiple punches Greye's way, the peacock using his fans to defend himself as best he could. But the power Shifter now had, thanks to Sheave being on his side, gave him a great advantage over him. And once he used his Shift Striker, in its Strike Form, Greye really couldn't do anything against him.

The other Riders were quickly finishing off the Mimicreeps, as the cops helped the last of the civilians get to safety.

As they did, several had their phones out and watched the Riders protecting them. And they all heard Greye speak up to Shifter. "Why are you doing this? These people know you're not one of them anymore. They know you're all Mimics. So why help them, when they will never truly trust you? Even if they said they did, they will always have that doubt within them."

"I know that," Shifter stated as he knocked Greye back. "Of course they have doubts about us. Honestly, I still have my doubts about Sheave. It would be stupid to have absolute faith in him like that. But that doesn't mean I can't trust him. If I don't give him the chance to prove he can be trusted, what reason would he have to try and earn that trust."

The other Riders finished off the Mimicreeps and moved over to stand beside him. "And that's what the people of this city are doing for us. Even if they don't trust us, they're giving us the chance to earn it. That's all that matters."

Changeling nodded. "We never did this, because we wanted to be loved or adored. We did this because it's the right thing to do. Because we can do it and that gives us the responsibility to do it."

Fleur whipped her Grace Grazer at the ground. "So it doesn't matter if everyone hates us. It doesn't matter if we become their enemies. We'll keep fighting because this is the path we've chosen to walk."

Shifter nodded. "And I know that as long as we keep walking this path, even if it's only a few, we'll gain the trust of those we're fighting to protect. And those few people that trust and believe in us, are all we need to keep fighting." He pointed at Greye. "You'd better watch out, Mimics. Because the winds of victory have shifted."

"RAAAAAAAAAAH!" Greye swung his fans around and send the energy blades shooting towards them, but Changeling and Hudie used their weapons to counter these attacks and allow the other two to rush forward.

The pair both used their blasters to shoot at Greye and knock him off balance, sending him staggering and allowing the pair to deal a punch right to his chest. This double punch knocked Greye flying backwards, as Shifter took this time to take out his other two Mimicores and activated one of them.

"PURIFY!

The positive energy quickly flowed into Shifter and kept the Maleficore's negative energy at bay, cleansing it as he placed it into his Driver. "Shape Shift!" He then slotted the new Mimicore in, both of their screens flipping over the Driver to complete the preparations.

"MALEFICLEANSE!" Shifter's armor melted to reformed the cocoon, which quickly broke apart to reveal his newest form. And as the armor settled upon him, the Driver spoke up. "Unlimitedpower, cleansedofevil.Lightandshadow,unifiedtocreatetrueharmony!"

Shifter quickly slotted his Hyper Strike Core into his Shape Shifter, creating the buster sword that her charged towards Greye with.

As the Mimic picked itself up, Morphic blasted at him to keep the Mimic off balance and allow Shifter to get in close. "RAAAH!" Shifter slashed at Greye, knocking him back whilst spinning around to perform another slash.

As this was going on, Hudie and Changeling ran around him and Hudie quickly swung her ribbon around.

It wrapped around Greye as soon as the Shift Striker slashed at him, causing him to stagger back whilst Hudie pulled on the ribbon. This yanked Greye off his feet and caused him to hit the ground, as Changeling leapt up and pointed both his swords downwards.

The weapons were aimed right at the Mimic's chest, Greye's eyes widening as he barely managed to hold up his fans in time to protect himself. The blades stabbed into them and stopped them inches from his chest, Greye quickly swinging them apart and knocking Changeling back.

He then pulled his foot out of the ribbon and rolled back to his feet, only to hear one of the Drivers cry out.

"CLIMACTIC BLITZ!"

He spun around and saw Morphic fire a supercharged blast straight up, whilst Shifter changed his buster weapon to its cannon mode and pointed it at Greye. And as he did his best to block this attack, Morphic leapt straight up and did a spin before kicking the energy blast in Greye's direction.

The attack soared down and slammed into Greye, exploding and sending him flying backwards with a cry of pain.

He crashed into the side of a building and fell to the ground, an explosion following afterwards and consuming him. Everyone watched and hoped this would be the end of Greye. But as the smoke began to clear, Greye pushed himself up looking to be in a terrible state.

It was clear to the Mimic that on his own, he didn't stand a chance against all four Riders. He had to escape.

Staggering around, he opened a portal and glared at his opponents as he made his way through it. The Riders watched him leave, Shifter reaching up and activating the coms in his helmet. "Corvyn. Where are the other Mimics?"

"Don't bother," Corvyn stated. "They attacked another area as soon as you guys showed up on the scene. They've already made off with a bunch of energy. Probably not as much as they wanted, but they knew they were on a time crunch."

Shifter nodded, as he noticed movement behind them and looked around to see all the people they had saved staring at them.

Taking a deep breath, Shifter removed his Mimicores and transformed back to normal. The others followed suit and the four Riders stood in their civilian forms, letting everyone see them for who they truly were.

They waited, expecting to hear someone call them freaks or throw something at them. And whilst a lot of people were clearly not sure what to think, one of the cops started applauding them. It was a simple clap at first, but it quickly got louder and louder.

The others followed suit and soon, the whole police force was cheering for them. Then, the people joined in. It was clear that whilst a lot of people had reservations about them, the Riders' actions had given them the chance to prove they could be trusted. And the Riders would make sure that chance was not wasted.

At the Mimic Base, Greye moaned as Maya gave him the healing jelly.

The Spider Mimic seemed to be careful with how much she gave him, since they appeared to be running low on it. Meanwhile, Frill and Gule watched as Sombra was analysing the Mimicores Gule had been able to retrieve.

"I'm sorry I couldn't retrieve them all," Gule stated. "If only I had been able to take the ones for Hudie and Changeling. Then we'd be down to two Riders."

"It's fine," Sombra replied. "These will be enough for me to complete my plan. I just need to completely analyse them and acquire more energy." He turned to Frill, "excellent work on that front. We may have allowed the Riders to gain the people's trust back, but we're one step closer to our goal."

"What is our goal?" Maya asked, the others all curious about it as well."

"You'll see," Sombra stated. "Once it's complete, it'll give me everything I need to stop the Riders once and for all. And with them gone, nothing will get in our way." He worked on the computer for another few moments before leaving the room, the other Mimics wondering what he was talking about.

But as he made his way through the base, Sombra suddenly staggered around and fell against the wall. He panted, as his body seemed to be having some kind of issue. "Come on." His arm's skin and sleeve started rippling, the Mimic grabbing hold of it. "No. I won't...let you control...me." He panted, using all his focus to get himself under control. And after a lot of effort, the rippling stopped.

He panted, as he slid down the side of the wall.

"I'm running out of time. I need to finish it and fast. If I don't, I'll end up just like that Timber boy. I won't let that happen."

After returning to the police station, the cops had agreed to allow them all to be released.

Though they would still have some kind of official keeping an eye on each of them, the four had been permitted to return home and rest. Everyone knew they would need all the rest they could get, if they wanted to protect the city and its people.

Flash and Fleur headed home with their parents, whilst Thorax and Pharynx would have a police officer staying with them.

Meanwhile, Shining Armor had returned to his apartment with Cadance. The man sighed, as he looked around and let everything that had happened wash over him. "You good?" Cadance asked, Shining smiling with a nod.

"Yeah, I'm good. Honestly, I'm glad I don't have to keep that secret from anyone. It'll be a lot easier to make a counterattack against the Mimics, now that we can work openly with the police."

"And your parents," Cadance nodded. "I'm sure they're still a little freaked out, but they'll get over it." Shining nodded in agreement, as he let out a yawn. "You've had a long day. Maybe you should go get some rest."

"Yeah. Thanks." Shining headed into his room, the clothes he was wearing changing into those of his nightwear.

As soon as his head hit the pillow, his mind drifted off to sleep. He felt the stress of everything that had happened over the last few days begin to wash away, as he fell into a restful sleep. But as soon as he lost all consciousness, he suddenly found himself somewhere.

A white void, just like the one Flash and Fleur had told him about.

He looked around, as he realised where he was. And realised he wasn't the only one in there. So, he searched and searched. He didn't know how long, but he spent what felt like hours simply walking through the white void. And eventually, he spotted something in the distance.

Heading towards it, he found the figure he was approaching was kneeling on the floor. Amber was trapped around his body, keeping only his head and chest uncovered. And as he got close enough to make out details, he realised the figure was...himself.

He stopped in front of the figure, staring at it as the figure slowly raised his head and showed his own face.

"Hey there," the figure told him. "Wondered when you were gonna show up." Shining just stared at him. "I suppose introductions are in order. My name is More. More-Fay-Tic."

Author's Note

Our heroes have gained the trust of the people, but have lost some of their Mimicores. What do the Mimics have planned for them and will our heroes be able to get them back? Only time will tell. Let me know what you think of this episode.

Episode 32: More Than a Mimic

The City of Canterlot was currently in a state of transition, as the entire populace had finally learned the identity of the four Kamen Riders that had been protecting them.

Flash Sentry, Shining Armor, Thorax Hive and Fleur De Lis. These four individuals had all suddenly become overnight celebrities, their identities and the truth about their origins having finally been revealed. And whilst many people were concerned about the fact that they were Mimics, many others had come to accept they could be trusted.

The identity of their benefactor had also become known, Corvyn having agreed to work with the human government now that they were aware of his intentions. As such, Corvyn was currently packing up his lab as many other scientists were helping.

"Be careful with that processor," Corvyn told one who was currently wheeling the device towards a portal. "That thing has a bunch of data. I don't wanna risk losing it." The scientist nodded, as Corvyn grabbed another device that he would carry into the portal.

On the other side of that portal, inside a large lab that had been granted to Corvyn, Flash and his sister were working on moving something. Flash's cocoon.

"This is just weird," Scootaloo stated as she stared at the sleeping form of her brother. "That's the real you. But the real you is also out here, pushing the real you."

"Don't hurt yourself," Flash told her. "I gave up trying to understand all this a long time ago." They finally reached the spot where their cocoons were being held, as Shining, Thorax, Fleur, Applejack, Cadance and Pharynx moved theirs into place.

"Remind me why we're doing this?" Pharynx asked, as he and Thorax pushed the cocoon against the back wall.

"My fault," Sheave took control for a second to explain. "I didn't give them the exact location of Corvyn's lab, but I probably gave them enough info to eventually find it. Better safe than sorry."

"I guess," Fleur nodded. "But if the Mimics find out where this lab is, won't they just teleport in like they did the police precinct?"

"Maybe," Shining nodded. "And that's why barely anyone knows where this lab is going to be located. Not even us. We use portals in and out of here, so there's little chance the Mimics will be able to find it."

"And even if they do," Corvyn stepped into the room. "I intend to make this lab the most heavily fortified one in the whole world. If any non-Rider Mimics try and get in, they'll be sorry." The others nodded, as Corvyn put the device he was carrying down. "Besides, we intend to end this before the Mimics have a chance to come here."

Flash regained control, "Twilight and the others any closer to finding the Mimics' base?"

"Yes," Corvyn nodded. "With the info you and Sheave gave us, we're close to locating their lair. And when we do, we'll go in guns blazing in order to stop them once and for all." Flash nodded, the others hoping they could bring their battle with the Mimics to an end soon enough.

Cadance turned to Shining, wondering what he would say about all of this. But she noticed he appeared lost in thought, the woman reaching out and placing a hand on his shoulder. "You okay?" He was pulled from his thoughts with a start, then nodded.

"Yeah. I'm good. Sorry. Lost in my own little world is all." He turned to his cocoon and after seeing it was safe, he began to head out of the room.

This made Cadance frown, as she felt like there was something wrong. But she couldn't quite figure out what. The others didn't seem to notice, all talking about what they hoped would be the final battle.

Out in the lab's hallway, Shining walked down it whilst a voice in his head spoke. "Why didn't you tell them?" Shining frowned, as he suddenly found himself back in the white void of his mind. There, the Mimic known as More knelt there. "I would have thought you'd want them to know you and I are in contact with each other."

Shining just stared at him, as his mind flashed back to when he had met his Mimic.

As soon as he had fallen asleep, he had found himself in the void and eventually located the Mimic whose body he was inhabiting. "Hey there," the Mimic told him. "Wondered when you were gonna show up." Shining just stared at him. "I suppose introductions are in order. My name is More. More-Fay-Tic."

Shining frowned, "so you're the Mimic that tried to steal my body."

"Yup," More nodded. "Sorry about that." Shining hadn't been expecting to hear that.

"Sorry? You're sorry?"

"Yeah, I am. Is that so hard to believe?" Shining frowned, "I should probably explain a few things. I've actually been awake and aware of you for a while. And at one point, I had control of this body." Shining tilted his head, "remember when you lost your memory. Or should I say, remember when you were told you lost your memory?"

Shining suddenly found himself reliving the events of when he first used his Tough Form. After waking up in the carnival and finding Cadance hurt. Flash had told him he had been amnesiac before then. But now he understood. "I didn't lose my memories. You were the one in control of my body."

"Yup. I actually had lost my memories. I didn't remember being a Mimic or anything. As far as I knew, I was human. I was you."

"And you lived my life," Shining caught on. "You spent time with Cadance and my family."

"I did. And I loved every moment of it. And when we were attacked, I remembered everything about who and what I was. But I didn't want to help the Mimics. Not if it meant hurting Cadance and my...your family."

Shining slowly let those words sink in and realised what he was saying. "You love them, don't you?"

"I do. As much as you do. I might not be you, but I feel the exact same way about them that you do. And you may hate me for that, but it's true. I don't want them to get hurt. I want to help you."

Shining came out of his memory, now being back in the present. After that, Shining had managed to leave his mind space and awoke in his bed. But now More could talk to him directly. "I can't trust you," Shining stated. "For all I know, you could be trying to trick me into letting you free so that you can take control of my body again. I'm not gonna let that happen."

"I'm not trying to trick you," More told him. "I really do just want to help." Shining said nothing and kept walking. "Fine. Don't trust me. But when you're finally ready to give me a chance, I'll be here." Shining frowned, unsure how he felt about that.

Meanwhile, in the Mimic's lair, Sombra was staring at a large device that was being powered by the energy stolen by his Mimics.

Said device had all the stolen Mimics within it. Each one slotted into a section that was scanning them and sending the data down towards another device connected to the machine.

This device was a Mimicore, similar to the Maleficleanse Core. The core was currently blank, but it had a bunch of clear plastic screens connected to it by a hinge. Each screen had a wire connected to it that was glowing a different colour, as the energy from the Mimicores was being transferred into them.

Slowly, different coloured images were appearing on each screen. One was a light blue swordfish, whilst another was a yellow owl or a green hedgehog. There was also a red coyote, a purple crocodile and a blue triceratops. Each one appeared around the edges of the screen and when all six screens were placed in front of the main one, the six animals formed a circle that left the centre of the screen uncovered.

Sombra watched the last of the images being formed and nodded, as the device deactivated and Sombra unhooked the Mimicore from all the wires.

As he did, Frill entered and noticed the device in question. "Master. Is that it?"

"Indeed," Sombra nodded. "Within this Mimicores lays the power of several beasts. A veritable menagerie of power. Against something like this, the Riders won't stand a chance."

"You intend for Gule to use it?" Frill asked, but Sombra said nothing and held the device out to Frill.

"The Mimicore isn't complete yet. The main core is yet to be programmed. I require a beast of tremendous power. So I'll be heading out to acquire it. Until then, keep this safe. I won't permit it to fall into the wrong hands." Frill nodded and accepted the device, as Sombra turned to leave.

Once he was gone, Frill placed the device in his pocket and left the room.

Making his way through the building, he arrived in another lab full of Mimic Spawns. All of them in different stages of development. But his focus was on one Mimic in particular, the vulture sitting in front of it and taking out a needle to prick his finger with.

As the slime-like blood flows out of it, he holds it over the jar as the blood begins to trickle out and land upon the Mimic. "You're almost done. Soon, you will reinforce our number. With High gone, Sheave and Katar traitors and all the other Mimics failing. We need a game changer. We need you. And I need to find a host that will give you the knowledge needed to use the strength you will inherit from me. But who?

Shining was in his apartment, getting ready for the day.

Cadance was also there, enjoying a nice cup of coffee before she planned to head to Crystal Prep to do some work she had been putting off. And as she took a sip of it, she watched Shining looking himself over in the mirror. She saw him brushing his hair and hummed.

"Do you shave?" Shining stopped and turned to her, confused. "Well that's not real hair, is it? Just your Mimic's body copying hair. And since it has no reason to grow, it'll stay like that. And I don't remember seeing you with any stubble, so do you actually need to shave?"

"Well...no. Now that you mention it, I haven't needed to shave since I became a Mimic. Can't believe I didn't realise it before."

"That's a shame," Cadance put her cup in the sink. "I kind of like it when you have a little bit of stubble." She moved over to kiss him, "it tickles when I kiss you." Shining smiled at this, as Cadance moved away. "I gotta get to the school. You be careful out there, okay."

"I will," Shining assured her before she headed out.

As soon as she was gone, More chuckled. "Man, she is one heck of a woman." Shining frowned. "It's no wonder I fell in love with her."

"You don't love her. I love her. You just think you love her because you tried to steal my life and my memories."

"Whatever you say, man. It's not like I'm gonna try and steal her from you." Shining said nothing and finished getting ready before heading out, a police detail arriving to pick him up and take him to Corvyn's new lab.

When he got there, Flash, Fleur, Thorax and the Rainbooms were all there waiting for him.

Corvyn, Twilight and Sunset were working at a large computer, the three working together in order to locate the Mimic's base. "I think we've found it," Corvyn explained as he showed a holographic map to everyone. They stared at it and saw an area that was glowing red. "Using what Sheave told us, I was able to narrow down the possible areas the Mimics could be hiding. And after sending a drone to scan each of those locations, I discovered this building was radiating an energy signature."

"Which means something is creating power in there," Shining realised.

"Exactly," Corvyn nodded. "If this base is anything like their old one, it'll have a bunch of different machines being used to create Mimics and do whatever experiments they're conducting within there. Not to mention whatever they're using all that energy they stole to accomplish."

"So that's the spot?" Hard Case asked. "Great. What's say we go there and blow the whole place to kingdom come."

"Are you nuts?" Flash told him. "We can't just blow the place up. What if there are people inside? They might have taken someone hostage and not told Sheave about it. The Mimic cocoons are sturdy, but I don't wanna risk damaging them by blowing them up and dropping a building on top of them."

"Flash is right," Shining nodded. "If we're gonna take them out, we've gotta do it the old fashioned way."

"You wanna go in?" Twilight asked. "Attack the building?"

"Yup. We'll head in, take out anyone that gets in our way, find and rescue anyone they might have captured, retrieve the Mimicores they stole, then blow the place up once it's safe to do so."

"I'm good with that idea," Thorax nodded. "But what if they're expecting us to attack?"

"Ya'h won't be going in alone," Applejack told him. "We can help fight the Mimicreeps." The other girls nodded, with Hard Case turning to Corvyn.

"By any chance, do you have any of those blasters that work on Mimicreeps?"

Corvyn smiled, "I've managed to remake a few dozen of them. Not a lot, but enough to be a significant force against the Mimicreeps." Hard nodded.

"Then we'll go as well. Let me know how many of those blasters you have and I'll choose the officers to send with you." Corvyn nodded and went to retrieve the weapons, counting them as he did and telling Hard Case.

The police chief quickly contacted the police's best marksmen, whilst also contacting some of the soldiers that had fought during the Doom Pillar incident. Those soldiers had all recovered from their injuries and were now rearing to battle against the Mimics again.

At the same time, the Riders all prepared for a fight. "I'm not sure about this," Shining told Twilight. "You girls haven't had the best of luck against the Mimics in the past. And now you'll be going into the dragon's den."

"We'll be fine," Twilight assured him. "We'll let you four handle the Mimic Generals and help if you're in need of it." The others nodded, as Hard returned with the cops and soldiers that he had recruited for this mission.

Each one was wielding one of the blasters, Sunset and Fluttershy also being given one. And once they were all armed, Shining spoke up. "Okay, everyone. Hopefully, this will be the fight that stops the Mimics once and for all. We're going all out against them and stopping them once and for all. You all with me?"

"We are," Hard nodded. "We'll follow your lead and if all goes according to plan, we'll be ending the Mimics once and for all. Or, at least tanking whatever plan they're working on right now."

"Alright then," Flash smirked as their Drivers appeared. "What are we waiting for?" With that, they took out their Mimicores and activated them.

"PURIFY!/BLITZ!/SLASH!/FLUTTER!" As soon as the Mimicores were in place, Flash placed his Maleficore into the Driver and the two powers merged to create pure untainted energy. "MALEFICLEANSE!"

Everyone watched as the four each struck a pose, with Flash taking the lead. "Henshin!" He slammed the Driver shut, as the screens flipped over it and activated the device.

"MIMIC!LIGHTNINGBUG!"

"HENSHIN!" The other three yelled, following suit and slamming the Drivers closed.

"MIMIC!HERCULES BEETLE!/MANTIS!/BUTTERFLY!" All four of them crossed their arms, as the slime flew out and everyone watched them be consumed by the cocoons. Eventually, they shattered and revealed the Riders in all their glory. And as the armor formed upon them, their Drivers spoke in unison.

"Unlimitedpower, cleansedofevil.Lightandshadow,unifiedtocreatetrueharmony!"

"Power that shatters everything, contained in a mighty horn!"

"Bladed arms that slice through anything, cutting down the evils of the world!"

"A graceful wing beat, creates a hurricane of power!"

The four Kamen Riders stood there, as everyone watched in amazement. "That still freaks me out," Hard Case stated as the Riders took out their bikes and made them grow. And as they climbed on board, Corvyn activated a portal in front of them.

"Alright," Shifter cheered. "Time to show those Mimics why messing with our world was a big mistake." Everyone cheered in agreement, as the Riders raced forward. The others charged after them, the Rainbooms, police and soldiers following them through the portal.

Within the Mimic's lair, Gule and Greye were training against one another.

Maya was working on creating more Mimicreeps and Frill was in the Mimic lab, giving more blood to the Mimic spawn he had created. The four were completely focused on their tasks, until an alarm went off signalling an unregistered portal. "What's going on?" Gule asked, Greye rushing over to a nearby computer.

A holographic screen appeared and showed the outside of the building, where a large portal appeared.

And from out of that portal, the four Kamen Riders arrived. "They found us!" Gule growled, realising this was likely his brother's fault. And when they saw more humans run out of it, his anger intensified.

"We can't let them in here."

Greye frowned, knowing they couldn't stop them. They had to evacuate. "Frill," he connected to the Mimic, "transfer the spawns to the lab under Master Sombra's building. Maya. We need to make sure they can't get anything from us. I'll Destroy any equipment we can't transport in time and you go down with Gule to hold them off."

"Understood," the other two agreed as Greye turned to Gule.

"I think it's time you and your brother sorted things out." The dark Rider nodded before turning to leave, as Greye headed up towards the lab.

Back outside the building, the Riders were approaching it and spotted an entrance.

But as they got closer, multiple portals opened in the air and a bunch of Mimicreeps fell out of them. "Let's do this!" Shifter cried, as his and Hudie's bikes suddenly melted whilst they unleashed their wings and took to the air. The pair flew forward, their bikes shrinking back down.

Hudie summoned her Grace Grazer and Shifter used his Strike Form Shift Striker, the pair reaching the group and either blasting or whipping at the Mimicreeps.

Morphic was next and blasted the beasts, whilst Changeling summoned his blades and leapt into the air.

He fell into the middle of the horde and started slashing them down, as the humans got closer. "Get ready!" Hard stated. "Target the ones not near the Riders." They all raised their weapons and started firing, the lasers hitting the beasts and doing some damage. It took a few shots for each one to go down, but they eventually succumbed to the weapons.

The Riders fought with everything they had, Shifter changing his weapon to sword mode, allowing them to cut through the beasts. Morphic blasted or punched his opponents away, whilst Hudie wrapped several up and threw them into the air.

Changeling leapt up and slashed at the Mimicreeps she launched into the air, turning them to mush with a single swipe. And as he landed, a large portion of the Mimicreeps succumbed to the blaster fire. The Rainbooms also ran up to them, using their magic and blasters to fight their way through them.

"We gotta hurry," Twilight stated. "They've probably started evacuating. If we don't get to them first, they'll escape with a bunch of their stuff."

"She's right," Morphic agreed. "Let's go!" He ran for the entrance and blasted his way through the doors, the eleven running inside and finding themselves in a large open space. "Is this it?"

"Not sure," Sheave replied. "I stayed on the higher floors. And I didn't really bother taking in the scenery outside the building. But if the Mimicreeps were protecting this place, it must be something special." Everyone nodded and started heading towards the stairs, Shifter and Morphic taking the lead until they reached the top.

When they got there, the pair held their blasters at the ready before kicking the doors in.

They quickly surveyed the area and found it was another empty room, with a few broken desks here and there. They stepped forward, but suddenly found a bunch of red lightning flying towards them.

Shifter quickly blocked it, unleashing his own energy which negated the attacking one. And when the explosions died down, they saw Gule and Maya standing there. "Great," Shifter sighed. "Hello, brother."

"You don't get to call me that," Gule stated. "Not after you betrayed us." He and Maya got ready for a fight, Shifter raising his weapon as well. Morphic looked ready to take Maya on, but Changeling stepped forward.

"I got this," he told him. "The rest of you keep going!" They nodded and prepared to go around the edge, as Shifter, Changeling, Gule and Maya ran forward. Shifter blasted at Gule, who deflected the lasers before throwing a punch in his direction.

Shifter ducked under the attack before changing his weapon to sword mode and dealing several super fast stabs at him.

Changeling slashed at Maya, who did her best to avoid his attack whilst shooting her webbing at him. But Changeling dodged all the attacks and managed to slash at her leg, making her flinch at the damage done to her.

The others used this distraction to sneak around the fight, as Shifter grabbed Gule and pushed him away from them. They eventually managed to get to the stairs and headed up, as Gule broke free of Shifter's hold and threw a punch right into his chest.

"Augh!" He staggered back, as Gule summoned more energy.

"Why?" Gule asked him, "why did you betray us?"

"Why are we attempting to destroy the humans?" Sheave asked. "It doesn't make any sense to me. Why destroy them when it does nothing to benefit us?"

"We are Mimics. Wiping out other races is what we do."

"Not anymore," Sheave stated. "I'm going to help bring the Mimics into the future. Once we've stopped you, I'm going to help our race find a new purpose." With that, he charged and slashed at the Mimic Rider.

Back with the others, they continued to run up the building and found themselves in another empty floor.

A few Mimicreeps were waiting for them, but Morphic and Hudie managed to cut through them without issue. And as they did, Rainbow spotted the stairs leading higher. "This way!" She shot off, Morphic calling out to her.

"Wait!" But she zoomed up the stairs before he could stop her, climbing another two floors before arriving at a floor with something in it. A bunch of destroyed machines.

"What the?" She looked around, seeing the machines still sparking and giving off smoke. Other sections had open spaces with wires that were sticking out of the wall, showing a machine had previously been there. "What happened here?" Before she could look around any more, something shot towards her. "WOW!" She back-flipped and avoided an energy wave, which destroyed another machine.

She looked around and spotted Greye, fans at the ready. "You'll regret coming here!" He swung his blades around, sending the energy blades flying at her. But Rainbow was able to avoid the attacks as she raced around the room, barely avoiding them as she tried to get in closer.

But as she ran at Greye, he swung his fans towards the ground and the energy exploded in front of her.

She screamed, as she was blasted back and hit the ground. Had she fallen another inch or two further, her head would have likely spiked on a broken piece of machinery. And as she pushed herself up, Greye prepared to attack again. But before he could, a ribbon wrapped around his arm and pulled him backwards.

"Gyah!" He fell back and hit the ground, looking around and seeing Hudie flying above him.

"You okay?" Hudie asked, as Greye pulled the ribbon off of him.

"I'm good," Rainbow nodded. "Thanks for the save." Greye tried to slash at Hudie, but she dodged the attack and flew around before dealing a kick right to his side. This made him flinch, as Rainbow rushed forward and used her super speed to punch him in the chest.

"Ahhh!" He was thrown backwards, but swung his fans around and unleashed the energy blades. But before it could hit them, a wall of diamonds formed in front of them.

They looked towards the stairs and saw Rarity and the others approaching. "Keep going!" Hudie told Morphic. "I got this guy."

"I'll stay back and help," Rainbow assured them. Morphic nodded and kept running with Twilight, Pinkie, Sunset and Fluttershy. Rarity joined the girls and Applejack grabbed a piece of destroyed machine, throwing it at Greye before he could leap out of the way.

Hudie flew at him and dealt several quick kicks towards him, Greye attempting to block and dodge them all as best he could.

One kick struck him in the face and knocked him backwards, making him cry out in pain as he hit the side of the wall. He used his arm to wipe away from blood, as Hudie flew back over to the girl. And as he launched another energy blade, Rarity put up a shield to protect them before Applejack threw another piece of machinery.

Greye barely avoided it, but Rainbow raced in and swept his leg out from under him. This knocked him rolling and he cried out, as he slammed into another machine. And as he got up, he glared at the girls.

Morphic and the others continued to run up the stairs, Twilight and Fluttershy looking exhausted after what felt like the hundredth step.

Eventually, they reached the top of the stairs and Morphic kicked the door in before looking around. Blaster at the ready, he checked and realised he wasn't in another empty room. This one had a bunch of different Mimics in jars, though he could tell more had already been moved away, all waiting to be completed and used to capture some poor soul. "Not if I can help it!" Morphic took out his blaster and prepared to fire.

"Wait!" A voice in his head called out, "don't do it!"

Shining frowned under his mask, as he entered his mind and turned to More. "I thought you said you were on our side?"

"I am. But that doesn't mean I want to see innocent Mimics get destroyed." Shining glared at him. "Sheave, Katar and me are proof Mimics can change. Who's to say these Mimics won't also see the truth? They could choose to turn away from Sombra and the others just like we did. And even if they don't, they haven't done anything yet. Don't you humans have a saying about the sins of the father?"

Shining thought about this and realised he was right. In the real world, Morphic lowered his blaster. "What are you doing?" Twilight asked.

"These Mimics haven't committed any kind of crime," he explained. "If we destroyed them, who would that make us any better than the Mimics." They realised he was right and all looked over at the Mimics being contained. All of them had a chance to choose the right path.

"So what do we do?" Pinkie asked. But before she could say anything, something shot towards her at high speed.

Morphic reacted first and fired at the object, blasting the feather dart out of the air before it could hit her. He then turned to where the attack came from and spotted Frill, the vulture launching more darts that Twilight caught in her magic. "You dare invade our base again!?"

"And how many times have you invaded us?" Morphic asked, as he noticed Frill was holding two things in his hands. A Mimic spawn jar and what appeared to be a Mimicore. The Riders quickly started shooting at him, Frill using his wings to block them as best he could.

He flinched every time, as Morphic rushed in and started punching and kicking at him as hard as he could. "Gyah!" One impact knocked him backwards, as Morphic fired again. But Frill continued to protect what he was holding, as the girls looked around.

Eventually, Twilight spotted something on one of the machines. She gasped and ran over to it, as she pulled the stolen Mimicores out of it. "Yes!" She cheered, seeing all the Mimicores that were taken. She knew she needed to get them back to Flash and Shining, but by the looks of things Shining wouldn't need his.

"HYPER STRIKE!"

Shifter placed the Mimicore inside the Shift Striker, transforming it into the buster form. And as Gule ran forward to punch him, he raised the weapon up to block his fist. He then pushed him back before spinning, swinging the giant sword with enough force to slash at Gule and knock him away.

"Gyah!" He was thrown against the back wall, as Shifter stopped spinning and changed the weapon into its blaster form. And as it charged up with power, Gule pushed himself up and leapt away at the last moment before the laser fired a blew a hole in the wall.

At the same time, Changeling and Maya kept fighting. Maya shot several web blasts at him, but Changeling moved like he was in the matrix in order to avoid every shot. And when he leapt forward, Maya couldn't react in time to avoid getting several kicks to the chest.

"Augh!" She staggered back, knocking over a desk as she fell to the ground.

Gule saw this and launched an energy blast at Changeling, but the Mantis Rider saw it coming and struck the side of his Driver.

"CLIMATIC SLASH!"

His blades glowed and with all the strength he could muster, Changeling slashed at the energy and deflected it. He then slashed at Gule, the X-shaped attack flying at him and forcing the Mimic Rider to cross his arms and unleash a wave of energy.

The two attacks struck one another and cancelled each other out, but left Gule stuck in place.

"STRIKE!"

He looked around and saw that Shifter had placed his first Mimicore into the buster sword, the Rider closing the weapon as he charged forward and the blade glowed orange. "Raaaaaaaaaah!" He swung it at Gule and before the Rider could react, the blade slammed into him and an explosion followed.

"GYAH!" Gule was sent flying backwards and smashed through one of the support pillars, falling to the ground and grunting in pain.

Shifter smirked, as Maya picked herself up.

She fired a web line towards Changeling, but it missed and struck the desk behind him. And with a strong pull, it was dragged towards Changeling and threatened to knock him down.

But Changeling spun around and slashed the desk into four pieces, sending it flying away from him. And as he did, Maya charged forward and attempted to kick him in the back. Shifter saw this, but realised Changeling was fine as he spun around and caught her leg before throwing her over to another wall.

She crashed into it and as she did, Shifter pointed his buster cannon at her and fired. An orange blast of energy flew at her and slammed into the Mimic, exploding and knocking her back against the wall once again.

She screamed and fell to the ground, as Gule began to pick himself up. And seeing Maya down for the count, he realised he likely wasn't going to win this battle. As such, he unleashed a blast of lightning that flew up and struck the ceiling above the Riders.

The pair saw this and leapt back, just in time to avoid getting crushed as the ceiling almost came down on top of them. And when the dust cleared, they saw a portal had formed with Gule and Maya gone.

The pair frowned, as they heard footsteps and looked around to see the police and soldiers entering the room. "What happened?" Hard asked, as Shifter gestured for them to follow. They had to get to the others before it was too late.

Morphic dodged several feather darts, as he leapt towards Frill and threw a punch right into his face.

The Mimic roared, as he was knocked into a table and fell over it. He barely managed to keep from dropping the jar and Mimicore, as he hit the ground rolling. And as he did, Morphic leapt back and hit the side of his Driver to make it power up.

"CLIMACTIC BLITZ!"

As Frill pushed himself up, Morphic's blaster charged with energy and he quickly fired it towards Frill. The Mimic saw it coming and gasped, attempting to escape only for the blast to hit the ground around him and explode. The resulting explosion sent him flying across the room, barely able to hold onto the Mimic Spawn and protect it from hitting the ground.

"GYAH!" He cried, clutching the jar but losing his grip on the Mimicore.

Morphic saw that device be thrown away from Frill and clatter across the ground, as the room shook from his explosion. Twilight managed to keep the jars around them from shattering, as Morphic moved over to pick up the Mimicore. And when he looked it over, the device suddenly activated.

"Huh?" The Mimicore unleashed a burst of light, which spread across his body and seemed to be covering his armor. "What's happening?" But as soon as the light completely enveloped him, it retracted back into the Mimicore and the dots on the screen glowed.

He watched as they created the image of a hercules beetle, just like the one on Morphic's Blitz Core. The beetle was now surrounded by the rest of the animal images, amazing him as he saw a word appearing on the side of it

"Stampede?"

"NO!" Frill cried, as he picked himself up. He realised he had allowed his master's creation to fall into enemy hands. There was no telling what he would do to him now.

Back down below, Hudie whipped her weapon around to try and grab Greye. But Greye was able to dance around and avoid the attacks, allowing him to get in close and slash at her.

Luckily, Rarity was able to shield Hudie and protect her. As his fans bounced off the gem wall, Applejack threw another piece of machinery at him. He was forced to leap back to avoid it, allowing Hudie to take to the air and dive down towards him. And as she got in close, she thrust her foot forward and spun like a drill.

The kick slammed into him and knocked him backwards, Greye crying out as Hudie followed him and eventually pinned him between her foot and the wall. "We've got you now!"

"You've got nothing!" Greye yelled, grabbing her foot and leaping forward. "Raaah!" He swung her leg down and threw her into the ground, Hudie flinching at the impact before he lifted her up and threw her across the room.

But Rarity created a shield to catch Hudie, as Rainbow ran forward carrying a piece of metal she thrust at Greye.

The Mimic used his closed fan to deflect the attack before spinning around and kicking Rainbow away, making her grunt as she fell to the ground. "I won't allow my greatest failure to be my undoing."

"Who are you calling a failure," Katar stated as Hudie picked herself up. "If anything, I'm your greatest accomplishment. I evolved past the Mimic's pointless need to destroy. And when we take you guys down, I'm gonna help our race become something more than what you tried to turn me into."

"Don't make me laugh!" Greye launched his fan blades at her, but she leapt into the air. "You're not evolved. You're nothing but an aberration!" Hudie launched her whip at him, but he dodged it. "One that I will destroy!"

"Not gonna happen!" Rainbow flew around him, circling the Mimic as something wrapped around him. That something was Hudie's whip, which she had caught and was now using to tie him up.

As soon as she finished running around him, tying his arms to his side, Hudie flew up and retracted her whip. This pulled him up towards her, Greye unable to escape, allowing her to slam her foot right into him with as much force as she could muster.

Greye screamed, as he was thrown towards the ground and finally freed from the ribbon. He then crashed into the ground with enough force to shatter through it and crash into the floor below. "AUGH!" He groaned, as pieces of rock came crashing down around him.

The girls rushed over to the hole, as they heard footsteps and looked around to see Shifter, Changeling and the police arrive on the floor. They spotted Greye and then the hole, as Greye pushed himself up. "Get him!" Shifter cried, he and Changeling running to try and grab him. But at the last moment, a portal formed and Greye leapt through it.

"I'm really getting sick of them doing that!" Changeling cried, as Shifter looked up.

"You guys okay?"

"We're fine," Hudie stated. "But Morphic and the others went on ahead." They nodded, with Shifter and Changeling leaping through the hole. The cops took the stairs whilst they went ahead, wondering how things were going for the others.

Back in the main lab, Frill glared at Morphic as the Rider kept examining the new Mimicore.

Eventually, Shining decided to try it out. "Let's do this thing!" He opened the Driver and removed his Blitz Core, whilst activating the new Core.

"STAMPEDE!"

Everyone watched as he replaced the Mimicores and struck a pose. "Mega Morph!" But as he slammed the driver shut, the many screens flipping over it, Morphic suddenly felt a wave of power washing over him. "GYAH!" The power was too much for him, the energy shocking him as he tried to endure it. But eventually, it was just too much. "AUGH!" He was sent flying back, his friends gasping as he was smashed into the side of the wall before falling to the ground.

"SHINING!" Twilight rushed over to him, as his suit exploded off of him. The new Mimicore fell out of his Driver and as he laid there, he groaned whilst clutching his side.

"What happened?" He groaned, as More spoke up.

"All that power was too much for one person to handle on their own. You couldn't endure it long enough for the transformation to complete." The girls got next to him, as Frill chuckled.

"Looks like Icarus got cocky. Now hand that core back to me. Or else." But as he said that, the doors flew open before Maya, Gule and Greye rushed into the room. The Mimics saw what was going on and Gule looked ready for a fight. But before they could attack, they heard the others approaching. They realised they had only one option.

"Let's get out of here!" Greye yelled, running over to Frill as a portal formed.

"No," the Mimic yelled. "I can't leave without that Mimicore!" He tried to get to it, but several explosions forced him back. Those explosions came courtesy of Pinkie, who had thrown all her sprinkles at him.

He staggered away, as Shifter, Changeling and Hudie ran into the room. Shifter had his Shift Striker, ready to attack. "We're going!" Maya launched a web string at Frill, hitting him in the back and pulling him towards them. He barely managed to hold onto the jar, as he was pulled through the portal.

The other Mimics followed suit and eventually, the portal vanished and the Mimics were gone.

Shifter chose this moment to notice Shining, who was getting up. "You okay?" He rushed over to him, Shining nodding as he picked up the new Mimicore. He frowned, wishing he could have handled the transformation. If he had, that power would have been enough to destroy Frill once and for all.

"Is that it?" Changeling asked, as several police and soldiers arrived in the room. "Did we beat the Mimics?"

"We forced them to retreat," Shining explained. "But they'll find a way to bounce back. This is just a setback for them. But one we can take advantage of." He looked around, "let's get all these Mimics to Corvyn. They might come in handy for him." They nodded, all moving around and gathering the jars. As they did, they wondered what the Mimics would do now that they had lost their base.

On the street of Canterlot, the Mimics had all taken their human forms whilst hiding within an alleyway.

Gule let out a roar, as he punched a wall and hurt Timber's hand. "I can't believe we let them chase us away like that!" He turned to the others, "Sombra will destroy us for sure when he finds out about this." The others agreed, with Frill being more terrified than any of them.

"They took us by surprise," Greye stated. "We didn't have enough Mimicreeps to really slow them down."

"Were you able to get most of the tech out of there?" Maya asked him, Greye nodding and explaining that he destroyed anything that couldn't be transported quickly. "What about the spawns?" They turned to Frill, who clutched a jar in his hand.

"I managed to transport seventy percent of the Mimic Spawns to Sombra's lab. I would have transported the rest, but Sombra's lab only has so much space."

"So what do we do now?" Gule asked, as Frill got up. "Where are you going?"

"I have a task that needs accomplishing. And I know exactly what I need to do in order to stop master Sombra from doing to me what he did to High." With that, he left and everyone wondered what he was going to do.

Back at Corvyn's new lab, everyone was carrying the Mimics into an area he would use to keep them safe.

"Why aren't we just destroying these things?" Hard Case asked, as Katar put a jar down on a table. She then turned to glare at him, almost scaring the man as she put her hands on her hips. "What? They're Mimics. They could attack us at any minute."

"These Mimics are babies. They haven't done anything yet. They deserve the chance to prove they can be more than the monsters they were made to be."

"She's right," Corvyn stated. "The Mimics may have destroyed my home, but I refuse to simply wipe these ones out for fear of what they could be. But for now, we'll keep them contained. And when the Mimics are gone once and for all, we can work on trying to help these ones grow into respectable beings."

Back in the other room, Shining watched as Twilight was using one of Corvyn's newly working computers on the new Mimicore.

"So?" He asked, "what's the prognosis?"

Twilight removed the device and handed it to him. "Honestly, there's nothing wrong with it. I've only done a basic study on how Mimicores work, but everything Corvyn taught me is telling me this Mimicore works perfectly well."

"So why did he get catapulted across the room?" Sunset asked.

"Most likely because of how much power this core has," Twilight explained. "It's enthused with the power of seven different animals. Having all those abilities in one core would make it extremely powerful. So powerful that Shining couldn't handle it."

Shining frowned as he stared at the device, knowing that its power would be useful in the battles that were to come. But if he couldn't handle the power, how could he possibly use it?

"So what do we do now?" Flash asked, as everyone gathered together in the lab. "The Mimics don't have a base anymore. So they'll be running scared, won't they? This'll be the perfect time to strike whilst they're off their game."

"Agreed," Corvyn nodded. "But we need to be cautious. There's no telling they might try to keep up from capitalising on their situation. Based on their previous actions, they'll try and target one of us directly. Do something that would make us act without thinking."

They nodded, realising he was right. But the question was, what would they try and do?

As the sun began to set, Cadance was in her office finishing a report.

But as she hit the last period, her Mimic Detector suddenly started beeping. "What?" She gasped, quickly getting up and running out of the room. As she did, she took out her phone and tried to call Shining. But before she could hit the call button, something shot passed her and struck the phone.

She gasped, as the device was knocked out of her hand and shattered.

All she could do was look around and gasp, as Frill moved towards her with something in hand. "Stay away from me!" She cried, as she realised what Frill was holding.

"I don't think so." Cadance tried to escape, but Frill opened his wings and flew after her. Moments later, the halls of Crystal Prep were filled with the screams of a woman being attacked by a monster.

Author's Note

Ouch. That ending hurt to write. Well, Shining has a possible new power up. But he can't use it without More's help. Will he choose to let his new partner join the fight? Only time will tell.

Episode 33: Trust Between One's Self! Power of Will

At Dark Industries, Sombra had finally returned from whatever he had been working on.

The leader of the Mimics smiled, as he stepped through his office and opened the elevator that led down to his secret lab. Riding it down, he smiled ready to do a few tests to confirm that his plan would work. However, as soon as he stepped into the room, he found something that made his smile vanish.

His lab was full of machinery, jars of Mimics and three of his generals.

Gule, Maya and Greye were all sitting around, not looking to be in the best of conditions. "What is going on here!?" He stepped forward, as the three stood to attention. "What are you three doing here? What is all this stuff doing here?"

The three frowned, as Gule stepped forward. "Master. The Riders attacked our base." Sombra's eyes widened in shock. "They took us by surprise. Our alarm picked them up and we barely managed to get the Mimicreeps to intercept them in time. We transported what we could from the base and fought against them, but they managed to get the better of us."

Sombra growled. "Did they learn where you sent all this stuff?"

"No, master." Maya shook her head. "We escaped into an alleyway and they didn't see us transport anything. There should be no way they figured out where this lab is."

"You had better hope they hadn't," Sombra stated. "And where's Frill? He has something I need. He had better kept it safe."

"No idea," Greye stated. "He left as soon as we escaped. Said he had a task to accomplish. And he had a Mimic Spawn with him. Maybe we'll be getting a new teammate." Sombra frowned, wondering what he was planning.

Meanwhile, as Corvyn's lab, the man was staring at a bunch of new cocoons that had been brought to his lab.

Those cocoons contained a spider, peacock and vulture, the animals that the three generals were using as their hosts. They had also discovered a tiger in one of the rooms, uncocooned which looked like it hadn't been fed in a while. That tiger had been transported back to the zoo it had originally been stolen from, whilst the trapped animals were contained in separate rooms.

Currently, Corvyn and Twilight were trying to figure out how to use the new Stampede Mimicore. With its amazing power, not having it would be a waste. But that power made handling the energy almost impossible.

Most of the others had gone home for the night, including Shining and Thorax. Currently, only Flash, Twilight, Fleur, Pinkie and Applejack were still there, though they appeared to be getting bored.

So bored that Pinkie had started pressing a button on a machine that didn't appear to be doing anything. Every time she pressed it, a clicking sound filled the air. "Would you stop that?" Sheave asked, with Pinkie giggling as she pressed it several more times. "Seriously. You should stop."

"Why?" Pinkie laughed as she flicked the switch, only to suddenly find herself getting electrocuted.

Everyone flinched, as the girl suddenly shivered and cartoonishly became see-through to reveal her skeleton. The lights eventually shut down and Corvyn's computers went offline, the man turning to Pinkie and seeing her swaying there with even frizzier hair and smoke coming off her head.

"Ha," she giggled, "funny." She fell to the ground, as the lights came back on.

"Can one of you get her out of here?"

"A'm on it." Applejack reached down and hoisted Pinkie over her shoulder, as she said something about someone named Fun-Shine Bear and No-Heart.

Once they were gone, Flash stepped up to Corvyn. "So. Find anything?"

"This Mimicore is legit. Definitely no virus or anything that could be a problem if we used it. But like we confirmed, the power it contains was just too great for Shining to handle."

"It was probably meant for Gule," Flash stated before Sheave took over.

"I doubt it," he stated. "If Shining couldn't handle it, I doubt a human body could. Even if that body is now part Mimic, that much power would probably burn it up from the inside out."

"So then who were they making it for?" Fleur asked, with nobody knowing how to answer that question.

"So what do we do with it?" Flash asked, as Corvyn handed him the device.

"Shining might not have been able to handle the strain, but you and Sheave might. By splitting the strain on your minds, you might be able to use it." Flash took the device and as he stared at it, he looked at the hercules beetle on the main core.

"Maybe. But it feels like Shining would be the one best suited to use it." Everyone frowned, wondering what he meant. "All these different powers are the user's disposal. It needs someone who's not just strong, but has the tactical skills needed to best utilise them. And that's Shining."

"True," Corvyn nodded. "But unless he can find a way to handle the energy, he's never gonna be able to use it."

"Too bad his Mimic can't help," Fleur sighed. The others nodded, wondering what would happen if Shining's Mimic was in control of the man's body.

But then, suddenly, one of Corvyn's machines beeped and he rushed over to it. "Mimics?" Flash asked, with Corvyn looking unsure.

"Yes and no. I'm detecting a residual Mimic trace, but it's decaying too rapidly. The Mimics have probably already left the area they were in."

"Why didn't we detect them earlier?" Fleur asked.

"I'm still fine tuning these machines after having them moved here. Be thankful it picked up the signal at all." He typed away at the computer before nodding. "Okay. I have a location. It's...that school you were in when we met Katar."

"Crystal Prep?" Twilight asked, looking nervous as she took out her phone. "I hope Cadance is okay." She called and waited with baited breath, then sighed. "Cadance. Thank goodness. Are you okay?" She nodded, "alright. We've just detected Mimic activity at Crystal Prep. Is anyone there?"

The others listened and she nodded.

"Thank goodness. Alright. Stay there and I'll call when we know what's happening." She hung up, "Cadance said the school should be empty."

"Well the Mimics were there for something," Flash stated. "Let's go." Fleur nodded.

"Should we call Shining and Thorax?"

"Let them rest," Sheave stated. "If we need backup, we'll contact them. Until then, the two of us should be enough."

"I'm going to," Twilight stated as Corvyn gave her something.

"This scanner should be able to pick up any trace of the Mimic. But it's got a limited range, so you might not get anything at first." The girl nodded before Flash and Fleur summoned their Drivers and took out their Mimicores. Hopefully, nothing bad had happened at Crystal Prep.

As Shining arrived at his apartment, he intended to simply grab a sandwich and hit the hay.

But as soon as he opened the door, his nose was struck with the amazing aroma of something cooking. He headed inside and found Cadance, the woman in the kitchen washing a bunch of pans she had used to cook whatever was in the oven.

She turned to him and smiled. "Hey." She stepped over and kissed him, "you're back. How did everything go today? I didn't hear about any Mimic attacks."

"Nope." Shining's clothes melted and in a few moments, changed into something that was more comfortable to wear. "It was us doing the attacking today. We managed to find the Mimic's base and staged a siege."

"Really," Cadance gasped. "That's amazing. How did it go?"

"Good." Shining moved over to the living room and sat down. "We didn't manage to destroy any of them, but we got them to leave their base and confiscated a bunch of stuff. Including a new Mimicore."

"Really?" Cadance smiled.

"Yeah. But when I tried to use it, I got blasted across the room. It was powerful, I couldn't handle it." He expected Cadance to ask if he was hurt, but she seemed to be focusing on something else at the moment. "Too bad I couldn't use it. I bet it would he made me really powerful."

"Indeed." Cadance reached out and gripped something, drawing a large kitchen knife from its holster. "Guess it's a good thing you got them away from the Mimics." She moved towards him, knife at the ready, as Shining remained with his back to her. "Who knows how powerful it would have made them."

"Yeah," Shining agreed without turning to her. "Still feels like a waste to have it and not use it." Cadance prepared to stab him, "hopefully Corvyn will figure out how we can use it." This stopped her, Cadance stepping back.

"You don't have it on you?"

"No. Corvyn's trying to figure out how it works." Cadance frowned, putting the knife down and getting back to work cooking. She would need to figure something else out.

When Shifter, Twilight and Hudie arrived at the school, Shifter stepped forward with his Shift Striker in Pierce form.

He led the other two through the building, as Twilight tried to use her scanner to pick up the residual traces of the Mimic that had been there. "Anything?" Hudie asked, her Grace Grazer at the ready in case they needed to fight.

"I'm not picking anything up," Twilight replied. "Whatever Mimic was here, they left a while ago."

"Why would a Mimic even come here?" Shifter asked, looking around a corner and not seeing anything.

"This is where I was created," Hudie stated. "Maybe you or Greye left something when you fought." Shifter thought about it, but didn't remember Greye mentioning anything about that.

But before he could say that, Twilight detected something. "I've got a trace." She rushed after it, with the Riders following suit. They made their way through the school until they arrived as a hallway. There, Twilight's scanner was picking up a weak but noticeable signal. "Something happened here."

Hudie then noticed something on the floor. "What's that?" She hurried over and picked it up, seeing it was a small piece of amber. Amber they all recognised.

"Oh no," Shifter whispered before Twilight's scanner led her to a door that was locked. But it didn't stay that way thanks to her magic, allowing her to open and look inside. And she quickly wished she hadn't, as she let out a horrified gasp whilst dropping the scanner to the ground.

As it shattered, the others rushed over and saw what had her so horrified.

The room was a small broom closet, filled with mops and buckets. But something else was also inside. A Mimic cocoon, holding the unconscious body of the school's principal. "CADANCE!" They all screamed, seeing Shining's fiancée trapped within it.

"No," Twilight shook her head, "that's not possible. I...I spoke to her."

"Or someone like her," Shifter frowned. "Looks like the Mimics are getting smarter and took her phone." He stepped inside and placed a hand on the cocoon, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I promise, we'll find a way to free you."

"How?" Hudie asked. "Her Mimic could be anywhere."

"No," Twilight replied as her body shook. "The Mimics didn't just do this to hurt us. They had to have a plan for this." It was then that she realised what must have happened. "SHINING!"

Back at his apartment, Shining could smell the casserole that Cadance had just taken out the oven.

As she placed it down on the counter, Cadance turned to Shining and smiled. "Honey. Do you think I could see Corvyn's new lab?" Shining turned to her and looked confused. "What? I was allowed in the old one."

"Yeah. But I'm not sure how Hard Case will like a civilian there. We're trying to get them to completely trust us, which means we need to show them we can be professional about all this. But I'll see what I can do." Cadance nodded, as Shining's phone suddenly rang. "Huh. Twilight's calling me now?" He answered, "hello?"

Cadance watches him listen to his sister and as he does, she can tell something's up.

"What?" His eyes slowly widened and Cadance looked confused, until Shining slowly turned his head towards her and his shock turned to absolute anger. "Twilight. I'm gonna have to call you back." As soon as he hung up, Cadance saw his Driver appear and realised something.

"Well, guess the jigs up." She suddenly grabbed the knife and ran at Shining, who managed to dodge the slash she performed before grabbing her by the wrist.

He swung her around and made her drop the knife before throwing her away, Cadance doing several flips he knew the real her could never perform. And as she landed, he took out his Mimicore.

But before he could transform, Cadance's body began to melt. This sight nearly broke something in Shining, as he watched the woman he loved transform. And slowly, she grew a little taller and thinner before her body began to solidify.

In doing so, she became what appeared to be a humanoid swan. Her body was blue on the stomach, waist, shoulders and arms, whilst her chest, neck, head and legs were white. She had a white short skirt around her waist, which appeared to be made out of feathers, whilst her feet and hands had yellow claws.

Her head looked human, with a light blue face, but she was wearing a white head dress that was designed like a swan. A yellow beak went down and the tip stopped just between her eyes, whilst a white mask covered her mouth. And as the transformation completed, a pair of giant white wings exploded out of her back.

Shining stared at her with absolute hate, as the swan Mimic pulled a pair of feathers out of her wings before attaching them at the bottoms. She then pulled them apart, creating a staff between them as they grew larger. And soon, she was carrying a double-sided spear that she swung around.

"BLITZ!"

Shining dodged her attack and rolled along the floor, as the Mimic leapt back whilst he placed the device into his Driver. But before he could slam it shut, the Mimic ran towards a nearby window and leapt out of it. "NO!" He ran after her, slamming the Driver closed as he did.

In the blink of an eye, he was transformed and at the window. Morphic looked out and spotted the Mimic in the air, flying away at top speed.

Morphic quickly gave chase, jumping out the window as he summoned his Rider Machine. The bike revved up and he was in hot pursuit, racing down the road whilst summoning his weapon. He fired and the lasers narrowly missed the Mimic, who did several spins and barrel-rolls in the air to avoid him before turning a corner.

But as Morphic swerved around it, he suddenly found the Mimic flying at him.

The next thing he knew, he was getting slammed into by her feet and thrown off his bike. "Augh!" He flew back and hit the ground, as the Mimic flew up and did a back spin before hovering in the air.

Morphic groaned, as he got up and grabbed his blaster. But as he aimed at her, she beat her wings and launched several feather darts his way. He gasped and did his best to avoid them, but a few managed to hit whilst she flew down.

He groaned, but kept his ground and stood tall. And as she swung her spear at him, he raised his gauntlets to block them. "Who are you?"

The Mimic chuckled. "Call me, Lorem-Amare-Signum." She pushed him away before firing more darts in his direction, the Rider firing his blaster to deflect them. "And if you want your precious fiancée back, you'll bring the Mimicore you stole to Crystal Prep. And you'll come alone." With that, she took off and flew away.

Morphic tried to blast her out of the sky, but she dodged his lasers before disappearing around a building.

He watched, horrified by the situation he was in. "Cadance." He fell to his knees, as his mind envisioned the look of horror that must have been on her face when she was captured. "RAAAAAAAAAAH!" He slammed his fist into the ground, cracking the pavement as he did.

On the roof of a tall building, Frill was waiting there in human form.

He then spotted something in the air and watched as Lorem flew down, landing on the roof before retaking her human form. "Well?" Lorem frowned.

"It appears they discovered my host before I could get the Mimicore. Morphic didn't even have it on him." Frill growled. "I told him if he wanted her back, he would need to surrender it to us tomorrow at the school my host worked at."

"You realise he'll likely bring others with him. They'll likely try and destroy you to free her."

"I know that. We just need to come up with a counter to that plan. We'll then strike Morphic before he can do anything and take the core from him." Frill nodded, though he knew the Riders would likely have a plan of their own.

"What's this about taking a core?" The pair froze before spinning and seeing Sombra, walking towards them not looking impressed. "Frill. I gave you the Mimicore I had created. Where is it?"

"Master," Frill gulped before falling to his knees and pulling Lorem down with him. "I failed you. I allowed the Riders to get the Mimicore. But Morphic was unable to use it. I doubt anyone except you could."

"I see," Sombra frowned. "And you're attempting to get it back. And this spawn is supposed to help you with that?" Lorem kept her gaze focused on the ground. "I'm disappointed in you. But I'm willing to let you try and fix your mistake." He placed a hand on Frill's head.

The Mimic feared he would be absorbed, but suddenly felt a wave of new strength flow through him. "Master?"

"A little something to help with retrieving my Core." Sombra glared at him. "But do not show yourself to me again without it." Once the power was given, Sombra pulled away and walked towards an opening portal. The Mimics watched him leave, both sighing once he was gone.

"I can't fail tomorrow."

Shining felt hollow and sick, as he stared at the cocoon Twilight and the Riders had brought to the lab.

Staring at the face of the woman he loved, her eyes closed with a stoic expression, he couldn't help but hate himself for letting this happen. He stepped forward and placed his hand on the cocoon, his head following suit as he held her close. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry I couldn't protect you."

"This isn't your fault," Flash told him.

"They only targeted her because of me!" Shining turned to him. "If I hadn't taken that Mimicore, they wouldn't have needed to take her hostage." He pushed himself away from the cocoon and stomped through the lab, grabbing the Stampede Core and staring at it. "They took her for this!"

Corvyn reached out and took it. "I understand your frustration. But getting angry won't help her."

"I need to give it to them," Shining stated. "They've said they'd free her if I gave it to them."

"Don't be stupid," Thorax told him. "There's no way they'll let her go. The second you give that to them, the Mimics are just gonna run away."

"THEN WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO DO!?" Shining cried, making everyone jump back. Her panted, his anger rising as he turned away and punched a nearby wall. "I...I need to get her back. I can't just let her stay like that."

Twilight moved over to him and wrapped her arms around his. "Shining. I know you're upset. We all are. But getting angry and doing something without thinking isn't going to help Cadance. We have to be smart about this." Shining said nothing and just stood there, letting the others discuss possible plans.

Eventually, Twilight let Shining go and he headed back into the room where the cocoons were being held.

Seeing himself beside Cadance felt horrible, as he sat down in front of the two. He tried to calm himself down, as he sat there and thought about what Cadance must be going through within the Mimic's mind.

"You'll find a way to save her." Shining found himself within his mind, More trying to communicate with him. "Wallowing in self pity and letting your anger get the better of you won't help her. Action will."

"Why do you care?"

"I told you. I care about all the people you care about. Cadance more than anyone." Shining glared at him. "I know you don't believe that, but it's true. I want to save her as much as you do."

"Sure you do."

"Fine, don't believe me. But what are you gonna do?" Shining looked at him. "Like I said. Just sitting around wallowing in your own misery isn't gonna help Cadance. So what are you gonna do? Because if you don't intend to try and save her, then maybe you're not the man who deserves her."

Shining's anger spiked, but he realised More was right. He had to do something. "And I will."

The next morning.

Flash was in his room, the teen Mimic snoring as he dreamed a dream of unlimited chocolate bars. However, his dream was soon interrupted by his phone ringing and jolting him away. "Wha?" He got up and grabbed his phone, answering as he yawned. "Corvyn? What's up?"

"Flash, The Core's gone!" That woke Flash up. "I just woke up and was about to do some tests on it, but it's gone."

"Seriously?" Flash got up, "any idea who took it?"

"Who else? Shining had to have been the one to do it." Flash groaned, as he summoned his Driver. "He's either planning to trade it in a hopes of freeing Cadance, or use it to save her."

"Do you think he can use it?"

"Maybe. But if he can't handle it, it could do some serious damage to him. He was lucky last time. The next time he tries, he could do serious damage. Not just to his Mimic body. It could have a horrible effect on his mind."

Flash sighed as he took out his Mimicores. "Call the others and tell them to meet me at Crystal Prep. Hopefully, we can get there before it's too late." Corvyn agreed and hung up, as Flash looked out the window. "Shining, you idiot. You didn't have to do this alone."

On the roof of Crystal Prep, Lorem and Frill stood waiting for Shining to arrive.

They expected him to show up with a bunch of police, soldiers and the other Riders, likely expecting to simply overpower them. But the Mimics were ready if that happened. "Here he comes," Lorem then stated.

A bike was rolling towards them, moving too fast to be anything except one of the Riders. And as it reached the gate, the Rider had the bike leap up and over it before slamming down on the other side and skidding to a stop.

Shining got off and the bike shrank back down, as he took something out and held it up. The Mimics saw it was the Stampede Core and both leapt down, gliding to the ground and landing as Shining picked up his bike. "You came," Lorem smiled. "An excellent decision."

"Indeed," Frill agreed. "Now hand it over and we'll release your lover."

"Will you?" Shining asked. "How do I know you'll keep up your end of the bargain. From what I understand, Mimics need to keep their hosts in stasis the entire time. If they release them, they're forced back into their slime form."

"Mostly," Frill stated. "But since Lorem has another host, she'll simply lose her human form. But she'll maintain most of the knowledge she acquired from your lover, so it's no big loss."

"My gut's telling me you'll still double-cross me." Shining put the core away. "So here's what's gonna happen." He took out his other Mimicore. "You want that core, you're gonna have to take it from me."

The Mimics smirked. "Really?" Frill asked. "This is how you wanna do this?" Shining said nothing, Frill sighing as he summoned his twin blades. "Fine. I've been itching for a fight anyway." Lorem summoned her spear, whilst Shining summoned his Driver and activated the Mimicore.

"TRI-HORN!"

The pair watched, as the man placed the device into his belt before striking a pose. "HENSHIN!" He slammed the Driver shut and crossed his arms, as the device activated

"MIMIC! TRICERATOPS!" Within moments, Shining was trapped inside the amber cocoon before breaking out, the amber forming his triceratops armor with his gauntlets opening to allow the blaster barrels to fold out. "The charging force of three horns, triple the destructive power."

Morphic stared at Lorem before letting out a roar and rushing forward, the two avian Mimics spreading their wings before leaping into the sky. Morphic punched the air and launched his lasers, but they managed to avoid them before Frill flew down.

He summoned his feather blades and slashed at Morphic, who suddenly found himself getting knocked back when he tried to protect himself with his gauntlets. Frill's strength had somehow increased and as he staggered back, Lorem landed and summoned her feather spear.

She spun it around and slashed at him several times, the swan being incredibly fast and hitting him before he had a chance to block.

Eventually, he managed to reach up and grab the spear before it could hit him again. "Cadance. I know you're in there. You've got to fight this!"

"She's not fighting anything!" She yanked her spear away and attempted to stab him in the gut, but Morphic managed to dodge the weapon at the last moment whilst Frill charged and slashed at him.

Morphic did his best to shield himself from the blades, but each hit felt like getting struck by a freight train. "You'll pay for what you did to Cadance!" The Rider told the Mimic, who laughed.

"Don't blame me for your failures. If you loved her so much, you should have protected her." He pushed Morphic back and took to the air, as the Rider launched several laser punches. But he dodged each and every one before unleashing a load of feathers onto him.

Morphic hissed, as the feathers rained down upon him and exploded.

Lorem then flew in and slammed the side of her spear into him, pushing him upwards until they were a good ten feet off the ground. She then pushed him away and spun around, slashing downwards and making him cry out as he was thrown towards the ground.

Morphic flinched, but managed to position himself in a way that he landed and rolled to a stop before jumping back up.

Frill attacked again, slashing at him multiple times. But Morphic managed to avoid the blades and dealt several strikes to Frill's chest, but the lasers didn't even seem to hurt him as they exploded against him. And when Morphic leapt up to deal a kick to his chest, he was the knock getting knocked back.

"Damn it! When did you get so strong?"

Frill chuckled. "My master gave me the power I needed. And with it, I will destroy you!" He leapt forward and tried to behead Morphic, but he leapt back only to find Lorem waiting for him there.

"And so will I!" She slashed at him, Morphic unable to dodge in time. She then slashed at him again, then again and again and again. After the fifth slash, she spun around and dealt a kick to his chest. Morphic roared as he was knocked back, crashing into the ground and moaning as he tried to get up. But the Mimics both unleashed a bunch of feather darts, which exploded against him and made the Rider cry out again as he tried to endure the pain.

After the last dart was fired, Morphic charged up his gauntlets and punched the ground.

"RAAAAH!" He cried, as the energy flowed into the ground and flew towards the pair. But they both leapt into the air and spread their wings, flying up and away from the explosion that followed. This led Morphic to growl, as he tried to blast them out of the sky.

But Frill's feather darts shot down and intercepted the attacks, causing them to explode in the air and allow Lorem to fly down with her spear at the ready. She landed and once again, she started slashing at Morphic with incredible speed.

All Morphic could do was cry out in pain, as he was struck multiple times and unable to defend himself. And just when it seemed he had an opening to counter, Frill landed behind him and slashed him in the back. "GYAH!" Frill then spun around and slammed his foot into his side, his boosted strength propelling the Rider flying until he crashed into the ground.

His suit glowed before exploding off of him, Shining grunting as he rolled to a stop whilst the Stampede Mimicore fell out of his grasp.

Frill chuckled and moved forward, ready to finish him off and retrieve the core.

But in that moment, a bunch of lasers flew down and exploded around. "GYAH!" He leapt back, turning to where the lasers had come from. And there he saw Shifter, Changeling and Hudie racing towards them, with Twilight sitting behind Maleficleanse Shifter as he blasted at them with his Shift Striker.

The two Mimics were forced back, as the Riders leapt the wall around the school and rushed to Shining's side.

"Are you okay?" Twilight asked, getting off and running to him. As she did, she picked up the Stampede Core whilst Shining pushed himself up. "Shining, what were you thinking?"

"I had to try," Shining grunted. "I had to save Cadance." Twilight sighed, understanding what he was saying.

"I know you want to save Cadance, but you shouldn't have come alone. We want to help her just as badly as you do. We all care about Cadance." Shining nodded, Shifter and the others fought against the Mimics.

Shifter and Frill were trading blows with their swords, the pair appearing even thanks to Frill's sudden power increase. Meanwhile, Hudie and Changeling did what they could to beat Lorem. Hudie fought her in the air and whenever Lorem flew low, Changeling attacked.

But Lorem's speed was allowing her to get the better of them, the swan dodging their attacks before slashing at them with her spear. At one point, she managed to knock Hudie down until she crashed into Changeling before launching her feather darts at them. The resulting explosion knocked the pair to the ground, forcing Shifter to break off from his fight with Frill to protect them from getting stabbed.

But this allowed Frill to fire his own darts at him, Shifter barely able to avoid getting hit. And as he did, Lorem flew forward and managed to slam her foot into his chest and knock him backwards.

Shining watched in frustration, as he took the Stampede Core from Twilight. "If only I could use this thing. Then those two wouldn't stand a chance." He considered trying again, but Twilight stopped him.

"Corvyn said if you try that again, it could do serious damage to you. And not just to your Mimic body. Your mind could suffer serious trauma." Shining frowned, as Lorem slashed at Shifter before he could recover from getting knocked down.

"What do I do?"

"Trust me." He suddenly found himself in his mind, where More was waiting. "Shining. Please. You and I both want the same thing. To save Cadance." Shining just stared at him, clearly not sure what to do. "You were willing to trust Sheave after everything he did. Why not trust me?"

"Because I don't know you," Shining stated. "You tried to steal my body. My life. If I hadn't been strong enough to fight you off, you would have replaced me and done who knows what to the people I care about."

"I know," More nodded. "And I am sorry. But I'm also glad that I did. Because you taking control of my body, allowed me to learn what it means to love. And I do feel love. Love for your mother. Your father. Twilight and all your friends. And for Cadance."

Before Shining could argue, something happened. Images appeared around him. Images of events Shining couldn't remember happening. And slowly, he realised he was staring at the memories More had made during his time in control and amnesiac.

He watched More spending time with his family. Enjoying every moment of it. Playing games. Watching movies. Eating Shining's favourite meal. All events Shining would have loved to be a part of.

Then, he saw images showing More and Cadance together. Sitting side by side. Holding hands. Being at an amusement park. And as he watched, he could feel the emotions merged with the images. Love, joy and a desire to protect. Those weren't Shining's feelings influencing them. They were More's own feelings.

"You really do love them, don't you?" He turned More, who nodded.

"More than anything." Shining kept staring at him, his mind and his heart at war trying to decide what to do. And eventually, his heart and gut told him he could trust More. And even if this was a trick, More deserved the chance to prove himself.

"Alright." Shining stepped forward, as More felt the amber holding him beginning to crack apart. "I'll trust you. We'll fight together and save Cadance. Don't make me regret this." More smiled and the amber finally broke away, freeing More's body and allowing him to move.

He flexed, sighing as he was finally able to move. And as Shining held out a hand, he took it and let the man pull him up. The pair shook hands, an understanding forming between them as they turned back to the screen showing the outside world.

Twilight seemed to be worried, since he hadn't said anything for a minute or so. Meanwhile, the three other Riders all leapt back to avoid a barrage of feathers. And as they did, Shining began to step forward. "Guys. Back off!" The three turned to him, seeing him holding the new Mimicore.

"Shining," Shifter cried out, "what are you doing?"

"Don't worry," Shining stated before closing his eyes. And when he spoke again, two voices could be heard. "We've got this." Everyone's eyes widened, as they realised it wasn't just Shining in control of his body. And as his Driver reappeared, he raised his new Mimicore and activated it.

"STAMPEDE!"

Everyone watched, as Shining placed the Mimicore into his Driver before striking a pose. "HENSHIN!" With that, he slammed the Driver closed and the screens flipped over the main screen to create the image of all the animals together. And once again, the energy from the Mimicore flowed into him. "GYAH!" He cried, feeling overwhelmed as everyone worried.

But this time, More was there to take some of the strain. The pair stood together, letting the power flow through them both. And in doing so, they were able to handle what was happening.

"MIMIC! MENAGERIE!" Shining quickly crossed his arms, as the pipes launched the slime out of them and he was quickly surrounded by the cocoon. Everyone watched as the cocoon solidified and remained like that for several moments, until the cracks formed and it eventually exploded off of him.

The different pieces stopped in midair, each one just floating there whilst melting and taking the shapes of different animals. A beetle, a swordfish, a coyote, owl, crocodile, hedgehog and triceratops. The slime animals all remained there, as the Morphic's form was revealed.

His suit was entirely silver and buffed up like his Tri-Horn form.

The amber animals began to fly around him, each one picking up speed before slowly colliding with different parts of his body. And as they did, they melted and formed armor that surrounded everything except his neck, waist, elbows, back of his knees and ankles in transparent blue armor. It wasn't as thick as his Hercules and Tri-Horn forms, but still thick enough to be intimidating. And then there were the animal heads littering his body.

His right shoulder had a triceratops head whilst his left had a swordfish head. His right arm had the head of a crocodile on the back of it, whilst his left arm had a coyote head. His right knee-pad had a rolled up hedgehog on it and the left knee-pad had the head of an owl on it. His head was covered in a mask that looked just like his Blitz Form, only it completely enveloped his head and the horn was longer with a more defined tip. And finally, on his chest, he had a glass box on it that had an opening on the top and right side. The lines, though you could barely see them, also turned blue whilst his eyes remained yellow.

As the armor finished settling, the lights on his Driver flashed different colours as it spoke out. "Rampage! The unstoppable might of the animal kingdom, raging forth and crushing all that stands before it!"

Everyone just stared at the Rider's new form, as he stood there looking rather intimidating. And when he finally moved, he pointed towards Frill and Lorem. "Prepare to feel the full power of my justice!" With that, he shot forward with incredible speed and rammed his fist into Frill.

"GYAH!" The Mimic was sent flying backwards, as Morphic spun around and slammed his heel into Lorem.

She was also sent flying backwards, but managed to summon her wings and take flight before she could hit anything. And as she did, Morphic reached down and grabbed one of the screens on his Mimicore. He pulled on it and it quickly detached from the others.

Everyone thought he had broken it, but then he placed the screen inside the glass compartment on his chest. And as he did, the screen and the owl on his knee glowed yellow. And as it did, his back armor melted before a pair of yellow wings suddenly shot out of them.

Lorem gasped, as Morphic leapt into the air and flew towards her. He then threw a punch right into her chest, making her scream as she was thrown backwards. Despite never having flown before, Morphic seemed to have complete control over his aerial movements.

Frill picked himself up and saw what was happening, the vulture spreading his wings and flying up whilst summoning his feather swords. He reached Morphic and slashed at him, but Morphic dodged and removed the coyote and swordfish screens from the Mimicore.

He then slotted them into the compartment on his chest, filling it up completely. And as he did, the coyote head glowed whilst the crocodile and swordfish heads melted, getting absorbed into the armor before reforming in each other's place. With the swordfish now on his arm, it too glowed before the blade extended along with a trio of claws.

Now armed and with blades of his own, Morphic charged forward and slashed at Frill. The Mimic tried to stop him, but Morphic was too fast. Eventually, his feather swords were knocked away before Morphic spun around and slammed his foot into his chest.

This knocked the Mimic down, as Lorem unleashed a bunch of feather darts. But Morphic deflected them all whilst his coyote claws retracted back into his arm. He then removed the coyote screen and placed it back on the Mimicore, taking out the hedgehog one and slotting it into the compartment with the other two.

This caused the coyote and hedgehog heads to swap places, the hedgehog glowing on the arm before a bunch of spikes grew out in front of it.

Morphic thrust his arm forward and sent the spines flying forward, as Lorem summoned her head spear and used it to deflect them. But as she did, Morphic flew forward and slashed at her with his swordfish blade. The two began fighting in midair, slashing at each other whenever they were close and using their ranged attacks when they weren't.

The pair appeared even in speed, allowing them to avoid getting hit. But eventually, Morphic's spine managed to pierce Lorem's wing and made her scream as she was forced to glide down.

Morphic tried to take this chance to deal more damage, but Frill launched several more feather darts at him that he narrowly avoided before landing. As he did, he removed the owl screen and replaced it with the triceratops one.

This caused the wings to be absorbed into his arm, as something else grew out of it. A pair of robotic arms, with the heads of triceratops on the ends of them. And every horn they had was actually a blaster barrel, which suddenly started firing lasers towards the pair.

They both screamed, as the lasers exploded against the ground and buffeted them with shockwaves.

As they staggered backwards, Morphic replaced the swordfish screen with the crocodile one and the heads swapped placed once again. And as they did, the crocodile head glowed before a familiar energy flowed out of it. And as he punched his fist forward, the light flew off and formed a familiar crocodile construct connected to him by a chain.

That construct flew towards them, snapping its mouth as it got closer.

Lorem managed to leap out of the way, but Frill couldn't escape in time and the mouth grabbed him in its jaws. He roared out, as the fangs dug into him and he was suddenly pulled towards Morphic. And as the construct disappeared, Frill flew through the air until Morphic slammed punched him and sent several spines into his body.

"GYAAAAAAAH!" The spines exploded and knocked him backwards, as the robotic arms and spines retracted back into Morphic's body.

He removed the screens from the compartment and placed them back on the Mimicore, then slammed the side of the device to make it cry out as the screens all began to glow.

"CLIMACTIC STAMPEDE!"

The heads on Morphic's armor all glowed their respective colours before the light shot off and morphed into the energy constructs of a swordfish, coyote, owl, crocodile, hedgehog and triceratops. The six creatures then charged towards Frill and attacked him, slamming him with their claws, blades, horns, spikes, wings and tail.

Each attack made Frill scream in absolute agony, as Morphic's horn began to glow.

He then leapt up, as the light from his horn flew down his body into his leg. And as he spun through the air, the six animals attacked Frill one more time before they all exploded and flew up to form a sphere of multi-coloured energy. One that Morphic slammed with his glowing boot, sending it flying down towards Frill.

The Mimic gasped as he tried to get away, but the injuries he had sustained were too much and he fell to the ground. "NO!" He cried, as the sphere slammed into the ground and exploded at his feet. "NOOOOOOOOOO!" The explosion consumed his body before blasting him backwards, slamming him into the side of the school hard enough to shatter every window in the building.

Lorem gasped, as she watched him fall to the ground whilst his body was charred and smoking.

"FRILL!" She ran over to him, helping the Mimic up as he barely seemed conscious. Meanwhile, Morphic landed and looked exhausted from using his new form. But he turned back to Frill and Lorem, as a portal formed next to them.

"NO! GET BACK HERE!" He ran at them, but Lorem pulled Frill through the portal at the last moment before it closed.

The Rider stood there, his frustration overwhelming him. "RAAAAAAAAAAH!" He fell to his knees, as the others ran to his side. In his mind, Shining felt his body shaking. But a hand on his shoulder made him turned to More.

"It's okay," he told him. "We'll save her. No matter what, we'll save her. Together." Shining stared at him, then smiled and nodded as he focused back on the real world.

He turned to the others, as he removed his Mimicore and his new suit disappeared. And as his friends stared at him, they looked worried. "Shining?" Twilight asked, "are you in there?"

Shining smiled, "yup. But I'm not alone." He allowed his Mimic to take command and More smirked.

"Nice to see you again," he told Twilight. The girl looked confused, "I'll explain later. Right now, let's get back to the lab. We've got a lot of work to do if we want to stop the Mimics and free Cadance." The four still looked unsure, but nodded as they realised he was right. They had to focus on stopping the Mimics once and for all. And that meant finding where they were hiding.

Back in Sombra's underground lab, human form Lorem helped human form Frill sit down as he tried to recover from the damage he had taken.

Maya, Greye and Gule watched from the side, as Frill asked them to bring him some healing gel. "Don't have any," Maya stated. "We didn't have time to recover it when the Riders attacked." She sighed, "and I don't think it would be of much use to you."

Frill frowned, only to sense a presence and look around. And there, walking towards him, was Sombra.

The man stepped forward and glared at him, with Frill attempting to get up with little success. "Master. Please. I can make it up to you. I promise, I won't-" He didn't get to finish as Sombra suddenly grabbed him around the throat.

"No more excuses," Sombra stated. "Your spawn has all of your abilities. Maybe she'll be more useful to me." Frill's eyes widened, as Sombra's arm excreted a bunch of slime that began to consume him.

"No...no...NOOOOOOOOOO!" He was completely surrounded and disappeared within the slim, which was quickly absorbed back into Sombra's body.

Lorem's eyes went wide at the sight, as she watched her father vanish right before her eyes. And when Sombra was finished destroying him, he turned his attention to her. The Mimic's knees buckled before she fell to the ground. "Master. I swear. I won't fail you."

"Be sure that you don't," Sombra stated before leaving. Lorem watched him go before turning to the others, who appeared to be pitying their fallen comrade. But they had more important things to worry about. Like their own survival.

As Sombra left the lab, he growled before taking something out of his pocket. "It's time those Riders learn what it truly means to feel fear and face their ultimate enemy. They will not survive." The object in his hand was a Mimicore. One that was pitch black and when he activated it, red dots could be seen showing the image of a rhino.

"SHADOW!"

Author's Note

Many of you probably thought Lorem wouldn't be sticking around. Sorry, but she'll be here a while. So what did everyone think of Shining's Final Form? I think it's pretty cool, but what do you all think?

Episode 34: One Side of a Coin

Within the training hall of the police precinct, sounds of battle could be heard filling it.

Those sounds were coming from Kamen Riders Shifter and Morphic, the pair in their newest forms and fighting it out. And despite Morphic having more varied abilities in his new form, Sheave was able to keep up with him and slashed at him with his buster sword Shift Striker.

Off to the side, Thorax, Fleur and the Rainbooms were watching.

"They've really been training hard," Sunset stated.

"Can you blame them?" Twilight asked. "They both want to master their new powers. Shining needs to grow strong enough to save Cadance and Flash wants to be able to protect everything and everyone he cares about. And with what's about to happen, they'll need all the strength they can get."

Earlier that day.

Corvyn and the Riders were in Hard's office, as he held up an envelope. "It took some convincing, but I was able to get the judge to issue a warrant to search Dark Industries. But it came with a lot of stipulations. If we don't find something concrete, we'll all be in serious hot water."

"There has to be something there," Flash stated. "Sombra's the leader of the Mimics. He's bound to have something at that place that'll link him to the Mimics. Heck, he might even have Sombra's cocoon there."

"I'm still having a hard time believing that Sombra's a Mimic," Hard told him. "If he is, how come the Mimic detectors didn't go off whenever we're around him."

"He captured Flash once and was able to study his Driver," Corvyn stated. "He was also able to recreate a Driver for Gule. It's possible he also created a way to shield himself from Mimic detectors, the same way I made the Drivers able to shield the Riders from being detected." He held something up. Some kind of scanner. "Luckily, I've made this to detect Mimics, even if they are being shielded."

Hard still didn't look convinced, as Shining stepped forward. "Even if we can't find the Mimics themselves, there's bound to be something there. The Mimics had to be getting materials and components for a bunch of their machines somewhere. We might find a paper trail showing Dark Industries giving them everything they need to make them."

"That's possible," Hard nodded. "But again, we need genuine proof. If not, we won't be able to do anything."

"Then we'll find it," Shining promised. "No matter what." The others nodded, knowing this was their best bet to strike a blow that the Mimics couldn't come back from.

But before they could come up with a plan, Hard got a call and asked for a moment. "Hello?" He answered, waiting for the person on the other line to speak. And as they did, his eyes went wide. "What? Are you sure?" The person nodded. "Alright. Keep me informed." He hung up and turned to the Riders. "That was Canterlot Hospital. Neighsay has broken out of his cocoon."

That statement shocked them all, as Flash turned to Shining. "That means Frill's been..."

"Destroyed," Shining nodded. "He was in bad shape when Lorem saved him. But he should have survived. Mimics have taken that much damage and survived." He frowned, "what happened?"

Now.

Since then, the Riders had been working hard getting ready for the fight.

As Flash and Shining practised, Fleur was in an almost meditative state in order to commune with Katar and come up with a fighting strategy.

Meanwhile, Thorax watched as all the other Riders worked hard. And ever since Morphic's battle against Frill and Lorem, he was the only Rider not working with his Mimic instead of against. And that thought made Thorax uneasy, for some reason.

A little while later, Thorax stepped into Corvyn's lab and found himself doing some research on the Mimic Spawns they had been able to obtain.

With More having turned against his own kind, that made three Mimics that were doing what no other Mimic had ever done before. "Something about this latest generation of Mimics is different from the old ones. Giving them the ability to ask what the point of their attacks are."

"Corvyn?" The man jumped and turned to Thorax, "sorry. You okay?"

"I'm fine," Corvyn pushed the spawn jar away. "Did you need something?"

Thorax thought for a moment before nodding. "I was wondering if it was possible for me to...go inside my own head, the way the others do."

"You want to enter your mindscape?" Thorax nodded, "why?"

"I'm the only Rider who hasn't teamed up with my Mimic. I haven't even spoken to him. I just...I want to be able to talk to him. To see what he's like and maybe...maybe I can convince him to fight with me."

"Are you sure?" Corvyn asked. "There's a chance he could never agree to help you. Plus, doing this could leave a connection between your minds. If that happens and he doesn't want to help you, he could become a distraction the same way Flash and Sheave distracted each other before they joined forces."

"I know it's a risk," Thorax replied. "But it's a risk I'm willing to take."

"Alright then." Corvyn led him to a machine and had him sit down next to it, as Corvyn inserted a wire into the port on top of his Driver. "I'll be monitoring your vitals. If anything happens, I'll pull you out."

Thorax nodded before taking a deep breath and Sitting back. And as he closed his eyes, his mind felt like it was getting foggy. Like he was about to fall asleep. And when he opened his eyes, he found he wasn't in Corvyn's lab anymore.

He was within a white void, just like the one that the others had told him about.

Thorax frowned, feeling depressed by how plain his mind was. He wanted to change it, like how the others stated they changed theirs. But first, he had to find his Mimic.

And luckily, it didn't take long before he spotted someone in the distance. Running towards them, he saw it was himself. A copy of him who was trapped in amber with only his head and chest visible. He was looking down, his eyes closed as he almost seemed to be asleep.

"Hey," he called out, "Are you...Torin?" The Mimics raised his head, Thorax expecting him to look angry. But he didn't.

Instead, he had a stoic expression on his face. "Yes. My name is Torin-Vala-Uru." Thorax nodded. "I didn't expect you to come here."

"Well, I thought it was about time we met and got to know each other." Thorax sat so they were eye level. "We've been roommates for a while now and we haven't spoken a single word to each other until now. And with the others all making peace with their Mimics, it only felt right that you and I get to know one another."

"I guess that's true," Torin nodded. The pair sat there, an awkward silence washing over them. Thorax wasn't sure what to say, feeling an unease as they sat there. But then, Torin broke the silence. "I don't blame you."

"What?"

"I don't blame you, for what happened to my brother." Thorax's eyes went wide, as he realised what the Mimic was saying. "Don't get me wrong. I hate that my power was what destroyed him. But I don't hate you for what you did. We had no right to be angry at you, defending yourself and protecting your brother. Honestly, if the roles were reversed, I might have done the same thing."

"I...I'm sorry about your brother."

"I know you are. Which is why I don't hate or blame you for it. I just wish it had never happened." The look on his face made Thorax feel pity for him. The pain he must be feeling. And the anger going through his mind. "Why? Why do the Mimics feel the need to do it? And why didn't I feel it?"

Thorax wondered what he meant, until his mind flashed back to the day he became Kamen Rider Changeling. Torin had seemed extremely hesitant to attack him. To steal his body. If it hadn't been for Maya and his brother, the Mimic might have never tried.

"You don't want to destroy the world?"

"I don't want to fight," Torin replied. "It's pointless. Fighting to destroy a world. Fighting to save it. Why do we have to fight?"

"I wish I had the answer to that," Thorax stated. "But I have to fight. The Mimics aren't gonna stop, so neither can I." Torin sighed. "But hopefully, the fighting will lead to a time when we don't have to fight." Torin looked up at him. "You, Sheave, Katar and More. None of you want to destroy this world. And Katar thinks more of you will start seeing it that way, once all the old Mimics have been stopped."

"I guess. But it still means fighting." He sighed, "I just wish there was another way to help the Mimic find a different path." Thorax nodded, but didn't know what else to say.

It was at this moment that he suddenly found the world around him beginning to drift out of focus. He was beginning to wake up from his mental state. "Before I go. Let's see if we can't make this place a little more comfortable to be in." He focused, imagining somewhere a little calmer.

Slowly, the white void began to transform. The ground started growing grass and the area above them turned blue, as trees began to sprout out of the grass. Within moments, they found themselves in a wooded forest and the calming sound of crickets and other insects filled the air.

"What do you think?"

Torin looked around and eventually nodded. "Yeah. Not bad. I like it." Thorax nodded, as his mind left the void and he suddenly found himself back in the lab.

Corvyn was right in front of him, giving him a questioning look. "How'd it go?"

"Good. Torin's not mad about me destroying his brother. But he doesn't want to fight with me."

"So he's on the Mimic's side?"

"No. He just doesn't want to fight, period. Not that I can blame him." As Corvyn unplugged him, Thorax stood up and thought for a moment. "I wonder if I can talk to him now." He closed his eyes and thought about it, 'you there?'

"Yes," Torin replied. "I can hear you. But I'll try and keep our thoughts separate. Just talk to me when you really need to speak."

"Okay." Thorax nodded as he turned to Corvyn. "Looks like we won't have any issues with each other."

"So there's another Mimic wanting to turn against the Mimic's desire to destroy." Corvyn turned away and tried to think. "Could it be human influence?" He shook his head. "It might be a factor, but there must be something more to it. Why are the Mimics developing this new sense of right and wrong now?" Corvyn wasn't sure what was causing this. But if he could find the cause, it might help him take the next step to finding a way to end the Mimic threat once and for all.

At Dark Industries, Sombra was in his office doing the work he needed to complete to keep up his disguise as just a simple CEO.

But as he worked, the phone began to ring and he quickly answered it. "What?" He listened and frowned, growling once all the info was given to him. "Great. I'll be ready." He hung up and got up, moving to the bookshelf and opening the elevator.

He quickly rode it down to his secret lab and when he stepped out, he found his Mimics and their equipment was still there. And when they saw him, they stood up and rushed to kneel before him.

"You all need to get out of here, now." His generals looked shocked by this statement. "A contact I have in the police department just contacted me. The police are going to be performing a search of this building."

"I see," Greye nodded. "Obviously, Sheave told them about you being our leader."

"Indeed. But it seems the accusations aren't considered set in stone. If they search this place and find nothing, the suspicions they have on me will be almost forgotten. Which is why you all need to leave. They may try and use a Mimic detector to locate you. I don't know if their scans can penetrate this low, but it's better safe than sorry."

"Very well," Maya nodded. "Should we take the spawns with us?"

"Yes," Sombra nodded. "We can't risk them being discovered. Find some random place and hide them there. Once we're cleared of suspicion, we'll return them." They nodded and all started moving to grab the spawns, as Sombra what about what would be happening tomorrow. "I won't allow those fools to get the better of me. Not when I'm so close."

He moved over to a table with something hidden under a sheet, the man pulling the sheet off to examine what was underneath.

The other Mimics saw it and when they recognised the device, their eyes went wide.

The next day.

For the workers of Dark Industries, it started out like any other day. None of them realised a bunch of police cars were heading towards them, until they rolled up to the building and the cops all got out of it.

Four bikes also rolled into the picture, the Riders atop them and skidding to a stop as the Rainbooms and Corvyn got out of the vehicles. And as the Riders shrank their bikes back down, Hard led them all towards the building.

The security guards at the door stepped forward. "Hold it. This is private property. You can't just walk in here without a-"

"Warrant?" Hard held up an envelope. "Everything you need is in there." The lead guard took the envelope and looked it over, opening it up and reading through everything. As he did, someone contacted the main office and explained what was going on.

Eventually, the guard let out a sigh and nodded.

"Everything's in here. You can proceed." Hard nodded and the large group began to make their way into the building, Corvyn, the Riders and Rainbooms right behind him. As they stepped through the building, the elevator dinged and opened to reveal Sombra.

"What on earth is happening?" He asked, stepping into the room looking questioning at the situation. "Why are you here?"

"It's over," Flash told him. "We're gonna reveal you for the Mimic you are." This statement catches everyone off guard, especially the employees. "He's the leader of the Mimics. I don't know how long he's been under their control, but he's dangerous!"

"Um, Flash." He turned to Corvyn, who was holding up his scanner. "I'm not detecting Mimic coming off him." That made Flash confused, since that device was supposed to be able to scan for Mimics even when protected like them.

"He must have found another way to protect himself," Flash stated with Sheave agreeing. "There's more than one way to skin a cat. He could have found a way to shield himself that the new scanner couldn't bypass."

"That's possible," Hard nodded. "Mr. Sombra. We've come to perform a search of the company."

"On what grounds?"

"If you are a Mimic, you'll likely be hiding what remains of the Mimics we couldn't capture here. If they are here, we're gonna find them." Sombra frowned. "If it turns out you're not a Mimic and aren't hiding anything, they we apologise in advance." Sombra still didn't look happy, as the cops fanned out and started searching for clues.

Every room in the building was slowly searched. And this ended up taking a long time, even with the large number of cops doing the investigating.

Floor by floor, room by room, every inch of the building was searched. Even the bathrooms, which hadn't been pleasant for the rookies made to do it. But no matter where they searched, they found nothing that would indicate the building had anything to do with the Mimics.

"There," Sombra stated once they had finished exploring one of the top secret labs. "Are you happy? You can expect to sign a non-disclosure agreement about what you've all seen. Or I'll be suing each and every one of you."

Hard turned to Flash. "We haven't found anything kid. If this place was a front for the Mimic's operations, we're not seeing anything."

"There has to be something here," Flash frowned before an idea popped in his head. "What about his office? We haven't checked in there yet."

"He's right," Shining nodded. "If the Mimic stuff is hidden anywhere, it'll be in there. Or it'll have something there that'll lead us to the Mimics." Sombra looked outraged.

"Is this a joke? How many times do I have to tell you, I have nothing to do with the Mimics." He turned to Flash. "I can't believe you're even listening to him. He's a Mimic, for crying out loud. He tried to destroy our city and has caused serious harm to so many of its citizens. How can you believe a word that's coming out of his mouth."

"We're giving him the chance to prove he can be trusted," Corvyn stated. "He was certain you were the mastermind behind the Mimics. He stated his reputation upon it. We had to give him the chance to prove himself with this."

"So you're giving him the chance to prove his innocence, but not me?"

"That's why we're here," Hard stated. "If you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear. If Flash turns out to be wrong, then you'll be exonerated. Now, I would like to take a look around your office." Sombra glared at him, as they began to make their way through the building and eventually rode an elevator all the way to the top of the building.

There. Sombra led them into an office that looked just like any other.

"See," he told them. "There's nothing here." Hard and the Riders started looking, but they couldn't find anything. Not a book out of place. Not a flash drive that looked like it didn't belong. Nothing. And as Sombra sat at his desk, which Corvyn scanned for any hidden buttons or whatnot, he glared at them. "I hope you understand, I'll be filing a formal complaint with the police. And you can expect my next donation to go to a more worthy cause. Like the fire department."

Hard frowned, as the others kept searching. He turned to the Riders, mentally telling them to find something or else.

"I know there's something here," Flash stated. "Sombra was always going off somewhere. And he didn't make Gule's Driver in their base, so he had to have made it somewhere."

The others believed him, but had no idea where else they could look.

Sunset had moved over to a bookshelf and started taking some of the books out, flicking through them hoping to find something hidden within the book. And this got Sombra annoyed. "Would you be careful with those?" He got up and moved over to her. "Some of those books are rare first editions. If you damage one, you couldn't pay me back if you worked three jobs for the rest of your life." He grabbed one and pulled it out of her grasp.

But as he did, his fingers suddenly touched Sunset's and her eyes went wide.

The next thing she knew, Sunset's magic pulled her into his mind. In the blink of an eye, Sunset was standing in a white void. And as she looked around, she saw something truly strange.

Sombra was standing before her, but he was different. He was glowing a strange light, which seemed to be originating from something behind him. And as Sunset looked around, she saw two streams of light. Both were flowing into Sombra from a large mass behind him, Sunset taking a closer look and gasping.

That mass was a giant pile of slime, just like the slime that Mimics were made of. The slime was swirling around someone. Sombra.

The man was standing there, unconscious, with everything except his head trapped within the goop. and above him, growing out of the goop, was an almost exact copy of Sombra. It looked like someone had taken a large pile of the slime and moulded it to look like Sombra, though she could tell they hadn't done a good job.

The light coming off the two's heads moved towards the first Sombra, spiralling around before going into him.

"What is this?" She asked, only for the first Sombra to suddenly open his eyes.

"GET OUT!" He roared, Sunset suddenly feeling like she was getting blasted by hundred mile an hour winds. And as she braced herself, images suddenly appeared before her. Images of Sombra, surrounded by the Mimics in human form. Of him creating a Driver, using a Mimicore to scan something. And of him pulling a book out of the shelf, only for it to make a clicking noise and opening the entire bookshelf.

It was at that moment, Sunset was knocked out of Sombra's mind.

She staggered backwards and almost fell over, Twilight managing to catch her. "Are you okay?" She asked, as Sunset let what had happened sink in.

Sombra shook his head, groaning as he did, whilst Sunset looked up and spotted the book from the memory. "Twilight," she pointed at it, "pull that book forward."

Twilight didn't understand, but did as she was told and used her magic to pull on the book. And as it slid out, it stopped and a clicking noise could be heard.

This got everyone's attention, as they watched that part of the shelf slide forwards to reveal an elevator. They all stared in shock, then turned to Sombra who seemed to be having a hard time coming up with an excuse for this. "I don't remember that being in any plans we found," Corvyn stated.

"Why don't we take a ride," Hard suggested as he reached for his blaster.

Sombra frowned and after Flash got in the elevator, he followed with the others getting in. It was a tight squeeze, but they all managed to get in and rode it down what felt like a hundred floors. But eventually, they came to a stop and the doors opened.

Everyone slowly stepped out and looked around, shocked by the sight of the lab they had just walked into. They spotted a bunch of machinery that looked like it had been moved in a hurry.

Flash recognised some of these devices from when he and Sheave had worked for the Mimics, the teen's eyes zeroing in on the Mimicreep chamber. And as he kept looking, he spotted something else on a nearby table. Something he hadn't been expecting to see.

"A Mimic Driver!" He called out, Corvyn looking around and seeing the device in question. His eyes went wide, as he realised this driver was pitch black in colour. And some of the designs around it were far more elaborate than what was needed to be functional. And next to it was a Mimicore, just waiting to be used.

Everyone turned towards Sombra, but the man was done trying to come up with a way to talk himself out of this. "Alright. It's official. I'm caught." He reached for his jacket sleeve and pressed one of the cuff-links. "But I'm not out of this." As soon as he pressed the cuff-link, it beeped .

Suddenly, the walls of the room opened up and a bunch of gun barrels on round joints folded out. They all pointed themselves towards them and before anyone could do anything, lasers started firing at them.

Sombra rushed forward, as everyone else was pushed back. He managed to reach the table and grabbed both the Mimicore and the Driver, whilst Rarity finally put up a shield to protect them from the lasers. What wasn't protected, were the many devices his minions had fought hard to protect. They were soon all destroyed, but Sombra didn't seem to care.

The Riders quickly summoned their Drivers and took out their Mimicores, activating them as Sombra reached for another device.

"PURIFY!/STAMPEDE!/SLASH!/FLUTTER!"

As Sombra picked the devices up, the Riders slotted their Mimicores into place and all struck a pose. "HENSHIN!" With that, the Riders slammed the Drivers shut as they activated. Both Flash's Maleficore and his Maleficleanse core also flipped into place.

"MALEFICLEANSE!" It cried as the screens flipped over one another. "MIMIC!LIGHTNINGBUG!" Flash crossed his arms, as the slim flew out and started raining down on him.

"MIMIC!MENAGERIE!/MANTIS!/BUTTERFLY!" The other three Riders were also consumed by the slime, the four cocoons forming around them.

As they did, Sombra activated the device he had grabbed. The next thing everyone knew, four portals suddenly opened. And as the cocoons exploded, a suited up Gule, Maya, Greye and Lorem leapt out of the portals.

The Riders stood in a line, as their armor formed around them. And as the Mimics prepared for battle, the transformations were complete and the four stood ready to do battle.

"Unlimitedpower, cleansedofevil.Lightandshadow,unifiedtocreatetrueharmony!"

"Rampage! The unstoppable might of the animal kingdom, raging forth and crushing all that stands before it!"

"Bladed arms that slice through anything, cutting down the evils of the world!"

"A graceful wing beat, creates a hurricane of power!"

Shifter took out his Shift Striker and placed the Hyper Strike Core within, as Morphic placed the coyote and swordfish screens into the compartment on his chest. And as Changeling and Hudie summoned their weapons, Sombra pointed at them. "Don't let them near me!"

The Mimics charged and the Riders ran forward as well, Shifter and Gule leaping into the air with Shifter swinging the buster sword at his brother. But Gule managed to avoid this, whilst Morphic reached Lorem and slashed at her.

The swan Mimic quickly formed her spear and used it to block the blades and claws, Morphic pushing her backwards and almost pinning her against a wall. Maya and Changeling began to fight, whilst Hudie tried to hit Greye with the spike of her whip.

The four fights began to really heat up, slowly tearing the lab apart.

Morphic and Lorem stared one another down, Morphic beginning to overpower Lorem as he did. "So what happened to Frill? I had a score to settle with him, for what he did to Cadance. But if his host's awake, that means he's been destroyed."

Lorem growled. "Our master punished him for his failure. For losing the Mimicore you stole." She pushed him back and slashed at him, Morphic blocking the attacks with his claws and blade. "And I won't suffer the same fate!" She leapt into the air and unleashed a bunch of feather darts, but Morphic blocked them all before she dove down and attempted to run him through.

As this went on, Changeling dodged Maya's web shots and got in close. "I talked to your son, by the way."

"What?" Her eyes went wide, as Changeling slashed at her. "What are you talking about?"

"I went inside my head and talked to him. Turns out, he's not really mad about me taking control of his body. Said it's what he deserved for trying to steal my life." He dealt a kick to her chest and knocked her back. "He also said he's not interested in being a world destroyer."

"You lie," Maya growled. "My spawn would never say that. They were destroyers."

"Maybe the other one was. But not this one!" He charged and swung both blades downwards, Maya creating a thick netting of webs to catch and hold the blades. "He wants what's best for the Mimics and he realised that that doesn't involve you guys. So we're gonna take you out, so he and the other Mimics can live a happy life."

Maya sprang the swords back and Changeling jumped back, as his swords began to glow.

He swung them around, having practised this move a lot. And as they sliced through the air, the energy flew off them towards Maya. And though weaker than when he did it with his finishing move, they still forced Maya to leap back.

At the same time, Hudie kept Greye on the defensive. Every time he tried to get in close, she would swing her Grace Gazer around in an attempt to slash at him. The Mimic barely managed to block each strike, with her using his moments of being off balance to leap forward and fly at him.

She slammed a foot into Greye's chest, knocking him backwards and causing him to almost fall over a table.

As she back-flipped and landed, she flicked her ribbon forward and it wrapped around Greye's arm. She then pulled and he was thrown towards her, the Rider preparing to slam her foot into his head when he got close enough.

But before she could, he managed to kick his feet into the ground and pushed himself up and over her. He landed behind her and with a pull, managed to rip the ribbon off his arm. "Raaah!" He spun around and tried to kick her, but she used her ribbon to block it.

"Nice try," she laughed before kicking him away. Greye staggered, then stopped and glared at the Rider as he looked ready to use his fan attack.

Shifter continued to swing the large weapon around, its size slowing him down only a little as he forced Gule to stay on the defensive. "This really isn't fair," Gule growled. "I don't get any weapons." Shifter changed the weapon to its blaster cannon form and fired, Gule creating a wall of energy to block it as best he could.

"STRIKE!"

He slotted his Mimicore into it, powering it up before firing again. And when Gule created another wall of energy, this time the blast broke through it and blew the dark Rider backwards. He let out a cry and slammed into the wall before falling to the ground, Shifter switching the weapon to sword mode and preparing to attack again.

But before he could, Gule recovered and kicked himself into the air.

He did several flips and managed to land, as Shifter slashed a large gash into the ground. The two then turned to one another again, ready to fight it out. "It's over," Shifter stated. "We've forced you out of your hideout and now that we've found this place, there's nowhere left to run. The winds of victory have truly shifted in our favour." Gule glared at him.

Meanwhile, the Rainbooms and Corvyn could do nothing but watch as the Riders battled. They wanted to help, but the four seemed to have things covered.

However, Pinkie then remembered who they had originally come here for. "Sombra!" She pointed at the far wall and everyone looked over to see the man had snuck over to that section of it.

He glared at them all before hitting a switch on the wall, causing it to slide open and reveal a secret exit. One he quickly ran into. "We can't let him get away!" Corvyn yelled, as they tried to get to the entry way. But before they could, the lasers from before started firing at them again.

The Mimics and Riders quickly found themselves getting blasted and whilst the lasers didn't appear strong enough to do any serious damage, it did sting and cause them to lose focus.

Gule was the first to capitalise on Shifter's distraction, the Rider using his sword like a shield to protect himself, by unleashing a bolt of lightning that hit the ground at his feet and knocked him flying back. "Gyah!" He hit the ground, as Hudie was forced to stop flying in order to avoid getting her wings shot through.

This allowed Greye to charge and slash at her, Hudie doing a cartwheel to avoid it.

Maya also used the laser distraction, firing a blast of webbing that struck Changeling's leg and allowed her to pull it out from under him. The Rider fell to the ground and flinched, whilst Lorem used her spear to deflect the lasers towards Morphic.

He was forced to block multiple lasers at once, with one eventually getting through and hitting him on the side. But when Lorem tried to seize this chance and stab him, he spun around and kicked her spear away before punching her in the chest.

"Gyah!" She cried, as Morphic's blades and claws retracted and he replaced the screen on his chest.

Doing so caused the mechanical arms to grow out of his back, the triceratops on them's horn glowing before launching lasers at the security systems to destroy them. Once the lasers were all blown up, Corvyn, Hard Case and the Rainbooms ran forward to where Sombra had disappeared.

Lorem picked herself up, as Morphic pointed his blasters at her. "Prepare to feel the full power of my justice!"

Outside Sombra's building, a section of the wall opened up.

From out of it, Sombra appeared and he did not look happy. He looked around and began to run, trying to think of what to do now that his secret had been uncovered. He also looked down at the Driver and Mimicore, hiding them both in his suit.

But before he could get too far, a blue blur shot past him and slid to a stop. "I don't think so," Rainbow stated. Rarity had been on her back and she quickly put up a wall, blocking his escape. Sombra glared at him, as Corvyn and the other girls arrived on the scene.

"It's over," Hard pointed a blaster at him. "Give yourself up."

"Never," Sombra stated. "I am not completely without options." He took out the device from before and pressed the button, causing a portal to form behind him that spit out several Mimicreeps.

They all gasped, as the creatures began to attack.

Twilight used her magic to grab some and throw them away, whilst Pinkie threw some sprinkles and Hard fired his blaster. The explosions destroyed them, as Sombra did his best to get away.

Back inside, the people on the first floor heard the explosions coming from outside.

When a security guard checked the footage on their cameras, they saw the girls fighting the creatures and frowned. He hit the alarm bell, telling everyone to evacuate. However, before anyone could, part of the floor suddenly exploded.

The people scream, all running for cover as something was thrown through the hole it made.

That something was Lorem, who had actually been blasted through the hole and hit the ground with a pained cry. Moments, later, Morphic flew out armed with his owl, crocodile and triceratops weapons. The triceratops arms were now growing out his sides and folding under his arms, giving his wings room to move.

As he landed, he looked around. "GET OUT OF HERE!" He yelled, the people running for their lives.

At the same time, Gule had leapt out of the hole and Shifter wasn't far behind. Once the pair landed, Shifter slashed at him with Gule dodging as best he could.

A web line then shot out of the hole and Maya leapt out, pulling Greye out behind her with Hudie flying Changeling out after them.

The Riders all looked around and saw the people running, the four knowing they had to keep the Mimics from taking any of them hostage. As such, Hudie dropped Changeling towards Maya as she shot her web blasts at him. Luckily, he managed to shift himself in the air to avoid most and cut away the other before landing.

There, he started slashing at her as she danced around to keep herself in one piece. "I will change your fate's design!" He cried, throwing a sword at her that she dodged. But as she ducked under it, he ran forward and dealt a kick right to her head.

This sent her flying back, as she crashed into a nearby wall. And as Changeling pulled his sword from the column it was embedded in, he charged and tried to slash at her.

Meanwhile, Hudie dove down and dealt several kicks to Greye. But he blocked them all with his fans before spinning and launching his energy crescents at her. Hudie managed to dodge, as her wings grew larger.

"Get ready!" Human and Mimic stated in unison, as Hudie beat her wings. "Because we're about to bring the storm!"

This caused a powerful wind, which threatened to push Greye backwards as he braced himself against it. It also kept him from doing anything to the surrounding individuals, as they ran out of the building.

Shifter blocked Gule's punch with the side of his buster sword, then spun around and kicked him away before pointing the weapon at him in cannon form.

He fired and Gule tried to protect himself with an energy barrier, but the blast was just too strong. It forced its way through the shield, but Gule was able to dodge it in time to avoid the blast hitting him. Instead, it blew through a wall and three more walls after that.

Gule quickly used these holes to try and escape, moving through the building with Shifter on his tail. The other Mimics saw this and decided they were done fighting in such a confined space, especially Lorem.

As such, she spotted a window on the front of the building and fired her feather darts towards them. The glass shattered and she was able to fly out, as Morphic flew after her.

Outside, the girls continued their battle against the Mimicreeps. Hard blasted any that got close to him and Corvyn, turning them to slime, as Sombra did his best to escape. "Get back here!" Corvyn yelled, Hard seeing him run and firing at him. But Sombra managed to avoid the blast and run around the side of the building.

What he couldn't avoid was the wall in front of him exploding, as something was thrown out of it.

"Gyah!" Shifter hit the ground, having taken a surprise hit from Gule that had blown him through the final wall of Dark Industries. Gule flew out, his wings sparking with energy as he flew up. And when he reached an area of the building that extended outwards, supported by the building's design, he slammed his feet into it and kicked off.

Shifter picked himself up and saw the other Rider diving down towards him, spinning around ready to deal a supercharged kick to his face.

Shifter raised his buster sword and managed to block the attack at the last moment, the energy flowing into the weapon and making him flinch as he tried to endure it. "GYAH!" Using all his strength, he fought through the energy and knocked Gule away.

The Mimic Rider flipped around and landed, as Shifter changed his weapon to cannon mode and fired.

Gule summoned all the energy he could generate and surrounded his arm with it, then punched the attack with as much strength as he could muster. "RAAAAAAAAAAH!" He pushed against the blast, feeling overwhelmed by it for several moments until he managed to finally push through it.

With one last cry of effort, he punched the blast away. But it was only then he realised his mistake.

As Lorem flew around the building, followed by Morphic, the laser shot towards someone she feared and admired. "MASTER!" She cried, as Shifter's energy blast got closer to Sombra. And before he could try and dodge, the energy exploded out of it and slammed into it.

It was at this moment that Hard, Corvyn and the Rainbooms arrived, they too seeing Sombra getting hit by the explosion.

Sombra was knocked flying back and crashed into the ground, the man's body being seriously injured by it. Burns covered his body and multiple cuts could be seen. Everyone gasped, but something else also happened.

Corvyn's Mimic Detector locked onto an unregistered Mimic. He held the device up and when he pointed it at Sombra, they got a strange reading. "Mimic...human?"

Suddenly, Sombra picked himself up as Gule and Lorem moved over to him. And as they did, something seeped out of his wounds that wasn't just blood. The ooze that Mimics were made of, also began to appear. Flowing out of the cuts and beginning to move around his body.

First, they covered the injuries they had originated from. And after a few seconds, the cuts resealed themselves.

Then, they moved to the burns and began working on them as well. Sombra stood up and slowly, all of his wounds disappeared. And as they did, he turned to Gule. "Next time. Watch where you're deflecting those attacks."

"I'm sorry master," Gule nodded. "But what's happening to you? This isn't how a Mimic heals themselves."

"True," Sombra stated. "But I'm not just a Mimic." It was at this moment, Maya and Greye escaped through the whole Gule had made. The pair spotted the others, as Hudie and Changeling chased them out.

"What are you?" Shifter asked, as Sombra chuckled.

"Isn't it obvious," Sombra stated. "I'm not just a Mimic. I'm not just a human. Did you really think, Gule was the first hybrid to ever be born?" This statement made everyone's eyes go wide.

"Master?" Maya asked, "you're a hybrid? How?"

Sombra chuckled, as the slime finished healing him and was absorbed by his skin. "I'll explain later." He took out a device, "give us cover!" The Mimics nodded, with Gule unleashing a wave of energy that exploded in front of everyone.

The Riders did their best to block it, as Greye and Maya launched their attacks at them to create a smokescreen. "Don't let them get away!" Morphic cried, as he ran forward through the smoke. The others did the same and when they reached the other side, they found a portal that the five leapt through.

Shifter tried to leap through it as well, but it closed at the last possible second. "Damn it!" Shifter punched the ground, as the others reached him. "They got away again!"

"Maybe," Hard stated. "But you were right about Sombra being a Mimic."

"But not as right as we thought we were," Shifter picked himself up and turned to Corvyn. "How the heck can Sombra be a human Mimic hybrid?"

"I don't know," Corvyn replied. "But it would explain why he doesn't have a cocoon anywhere."

"So what do we do now?" Changeling asked. "We've forced them out of another base. They must be running scared."

"True," Morphic nodded. "But a scared animal is always at its most dangerous. Whatever Sombra does next, we should be ready for anything." They nodded, as Hard called in more police to get the building properly inspected. There was no telling what other secrets this place held.

Hidden within the ruins of a building barely above the sand, the Mimics were all resting after their battle.

Mimic Spawn jars filled the building, the Mimics glad they had had the foresight to remove them now that there was no way they could return to the lab. But without the equipment needed to help them grow, none of them would be able to properly develop.

Sombra sat alone, clearly contemplating what to do now. The others waited for him to explain the next stage of their plan, though they were still curious about how he could be a hybrid. And eventually the man stood up and took something out. A Mimic Driver.

"It's time." He placed the device on his waist and in doing so, the straps and pipes appeared on it.

As soon as the device looked into place behind him, energy surged through his body and he roared in pain. The man screamed, falling to his knees as the others got up. "Master!" Timber cried, running towards him.

"NO!" Sombra yelled, "stay back." They did so and waited to see what would happen. And eventually, the energy stopped and Sombra took a deep breath. "It's done."

"What's done?" Maya asked, as Sombra pushed himself up.

"I've been unstable for a while now. The Mimic and human sides have been at war with one another for a while, causing me a lot of issues. But now, I've been able to stabilise myself."

"So which are you?" Greye asked. "Just because you're a hybrid, doesn't mean you're the Mimic like Gule. So which mind is in control right now?"

Sombra chuckled. "A bit of column A. And a bit of column B." The Mimics wondered what he meant by that, as Sombra sat down. It was clear, a lot of explaining was needed.

Author's Note

Sombra's been outed as a hybrid. How did he become one? Only time will tell. Hope you enjoyed this.

Episode 35: The Shadow of a Rider Appears

All over Canterlot, news had spread about Sombra's Mimic status. And whilst this shocked many people, more were shocked that they hadn't detected him using their Mimic Detectors.

The police had not released a statement, about how he had been able to slip under the radar. They were keeping their cards close to their chest on this one, unsure how the people would react to the discovery that humans and Mimics could become hybrids like Sombra and Timber. For the moment, they chose to keep that info secret.

At Canterlot hospital, Flash and Fleur were talking with two individuals they hoped would have info on the Mimics. Fizzlepop Berrytwist and Neighsay, the two Mimics hosts laying in beds sharing the same room. "So you really don't remember anything about your time trapped as Mimics?" Flash asked, as Fizzlepop shook her head.

"I remember walking home one night," she explained. "I felt like someone was watching me and...I can't remember anything else. It just feels like I was in some kind of deep sleep. I'm still feeling fuzzy about it."

"Same here," Neighsay groaned. "I remember going back to my car and the next thing I remember, I'm falling onto the floor of a hospital." He turned to them, "what happened to us?"

Flash nodded. "You were captured by beings who wanna take over the world. They transformed into perfect copies of you and took your place, infiltrating the city."

"You can't be serious," Fizzlepop frowned.

"It's true," Fleur nodded. "If you don't believe us, ask anyone. It's all anyone's talking about these days."

"And who are you?" Neighsay asked.

"Two people who just wanna make sure you're okay," Flash assured him. "Don't worry. The police will make sure you're both okay. And eventually, they'll let you go home once you have the all clear." They nodded and the pair left, Hard Case and several officers waiting outside.

"They remember anything?" Hard asked, but they shook their heads. "So what happens now? Their Mimics are dead, so they won't have any issues going home."

"I wish it was that simple," Flash sighed as the three of them headed out. "We thought Gule was gone for good and he found a way to come back. It's possible those two might also be infected the way Timber was. The doctors couldn't detect Timber was becoming a Mimic hybrid and those two were cocooned for just as long, if not longer."

"So you're saying those two Mimics might come back and take those two over?"

Flash wished he could say no, but he refused to be taken by surprise again. The Mimic Hybrids were just too much of a risk. "I think you should keep a very close eye on them." As he said that, he wondered what would happen if the Mimics did take their hosts over again. Unlike with Gule, Sombra and his team didn't have the resources to create a Mimic Driver. If those two did return, they would be completely useless to the cause.

But that was only if the Mimics stayed in their current situation. There was no telling what could happen in time. They could be finding a way to reestablish themselves right now.

In Corvyn's original world, the Mimics had escaped from the city they had previously been hiding in.

Needing a large space far away to set up shop, they had gone to the one spot they were sure the humans wouldn't look. The palace Flash and Twilight had discovered the Maleficleanse Core within. Though still busted up from Flash's rampage, the place would have everything they needed to get their operations back up and running.

In one of the larger rooms, Sombra was working on the belt currently attached to his stomach.

Unlike the other Drivers, this one wasn't disappearing when it wasn't in use. And there was only one reason for this. "Still not fully charged." Timber stepped into the room, as Sombra turned to him and frowned.

"We need more energy. Enough to completely power my Driver and allow me to access my full powers."

Timber frowned, as he lent against the wall. "Well where are we gonna get that kind of power? Nothing in this world can generate that much energy. And even if it could, we'd become sitting ducks because the Rider's little friend would likely be able to detect that much power being used in one area."

"I know that," Sombra growled. "Which means, we need to gather energy from my world."

The other three Mimics arrived and heard this, all frowning at the announcement. "Master," Lorem spoke up, "how do we get energy? We don't have the power-packs to store the energy within. The only way to charge that device up-"

"Is to plug it into a power source," Sombra nodded. "And that's what we're gonna do."

"That'll put you at a great risk," Greye stated. "If the Riders show up-"

"I won't be able to defend myself," Sombra nodded. "I know. And that's why I'm gonna need you three to keep them busy. Since they can't detect me and Gule, you three will draw their attention. And once you have it, we'll take the energy we need. And hopefully, it'll be without any distractions."

The Mimics shared a look, all wondering if they could keep the Riders busy for that long. With the Riders getting stronger every day, facing them was becoming more and more dangerous. And none of them wanted to suffer the same fate as Frill and High.

But they would do as their leader commanded. Because if they succeeded, it could be the turning point in this whole war. "What must we do?" Maya asked, making Sombra smile as he explained the plan.

In Corvyn's new lab, everyone was busy doing their own thing.

Most of the Rainbooms were there, watching as Corvyn was working on something. "Is that a new Mimic Driver?" Sunset asked, seeing the device that Flash and the other Riders wore to battle the Mimics.

"It is," Corvyn nodded. "Been working on it on the side whenever I have time. With this new lab and extra materials, I've been able to finish it sooner than I expected."

"But why are you making a new one?" Rainbow frowned. "You expecting us to have a new Rider?"

"Nope," Corvyn replied. "It's very likely those four will be the only Riders we have on our team. But it's possible the Mimics try to turn someone else into a Mimic and that person is able to fight against their Mimic, just like those four. If that happens, I wanna help give them a fighting chance. And maybe add to our Rider ranks."

The girls frowned, unsure how they felt about that. As much as they all wanted more Riders, since that would help their fight against the Mimics go smoother, they all knew there was too much of a risk to let that happen.

They all turned to the room where the cocoons were being held. Each person in there had friends and family and whilst most of them were still free, in a way, the others weren't so lucky. If someone did become a Mimic, there was a chance they could break free of the Mimic's control. But they might also succumb to the Mimic and be lost. And that could break the hearts of all those that love them.

Inside the room, Shining, Twilight, Pharynx and Thorax were staring at the cocoons of their loved ones.

Chrysalis and Fancy Pants had been moved there as well, allowing Corvyn to keep an eye on those within the cocoons. Now that they were all in one place, there was little chance for the Mimics to try and take them back again. And it also made it easier for Thorax and Pharynx to visit their mother, whilst Thorax kept up his Rider duties.

The Mantis Rider placed a hand on the cocoon, as she stared at the serene face of his mother.

Shining and Twilight were also watching Cadance's cocoon, the pair both having a hope in their hearts that she might awaken out of nowhere. But they all knew that there was little chance of that happening. Not until the Mimics that had captured them were destroyed.

"I can only imagine what she's going through," Twilight whimpered. She turned to Shining, "does More know if she's conscious inside her mind?"

Shining blinked, allowing More to take over. "I'm sorry," he told her. "I have no idea. I pray that she's not awake, but a part of me also hopes she might be."

"What?" Twilight asked, as Shining took back control.

"He's right to hope that," he told her. "If Cadance is awake in her mind, there's a chance she might be able to turn Lorem the way Flash was able to turn Sheave. If that happens, we might not have to destroy her to help Cadance."

"I hope that's possible," Thorax nodded. "Though I doubt my mom is conscious. If she were, Maya would have shown some signs by now. She definitely hasn't changed and it doesn't look like she's communicating with my mom."

Pharynx placed a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry. We'll find a way to save her. When she's free, we'll be there for her." Thorax smiled, the four taking one last look at the cocoons before leaving. As they stepped out of the room, they found Flash and Fleur entering.

They all noticed Corvyn working on the new Driver. Each of them had their own thoughts about the device being made. Some prayed they wouldn't need it, whilst others were imagining what would happen if they did need to give it to someone. They were all unsure how to feel about the device. But they knew Corvyn was right to make one. It was better to have it and not need it, instead of needing it and not having it.

Suddenly, an alarm sounded and everyone leapt into action. Corvyn left the Driver and rushed over to the computer, working to locate the signal as the Riders prepared themselves. "Is it Sombra?" Flash asked, but Corvyn frowned.

"Considering I wasn't able to detect Hybrid Mimics before, I doubt him suddenly revealing himself as one will allow me to find him again." His computer finally beeped and showed not one, but three spots where a Mimic was being detected. "Got em. They're attacking three different areas of the city."

Everyone turned to the main viewer, as Corvyn tapped into the CCTV footage and brought up images of three Mimics attacking the city. Lorem was at one of the locations, Greye another and Maya the last. From the looks of things, they weren't attacking with any actual plan in mind.

"What are they doing?" Thorax asked.

"Probably acting out," Rainbow stated. "Now that they're on the run, they can't do any big scheme. So they must be trying to do as much damage as they can."

"Maybe," Shining frowned. "But we can't be sure. For now, one of us will stay behind in case anything happens. But I'm going after Lorem."

"I got Maya," Thorax announced.

"And Katar and I will deal with Greye," Fleur agreed. Flash nodded, knowing he was the one best suited to handle Gule if he showed up.

"Let's do this thing." They all stepped out of the lab into a large open space, as Corvyn prepared portals to send them there. The three quickly took out their Mimicores and activated them, their Drivers appearing around their waists.

STAMPEDE!/SLASH!/FLUTTER!"

"HENSHIN!" They cried, slotting their cores into place before slamming the Drivers shut. Everyone watched, as the three got into position and crossed their arms.

"MIMIC!MENAGERIE!/MANTIS!/BUTTERFLY!" The slime flew out and covered them, the cocoons forming as the portal appeared. And as the breaches moved towards them, the cocoons began to crack.

At the three locations, the Mimic Generals were causing as much havoc as they could.

They all laughed, each of them launching an attack that destroyed part of a building or a vehicle. But as they did this, a light made each one look around and see a portal form. And from out of those portals, a cocoon appeared before it shattered to reveal the Rider within. Each one stood there, the armor forming on their body.

"Rampage! The unstoppable might of the animal kingdom, raging forth and crushing all that stands before it!"

"Bladed arms that slice through anything, cutting down the evils of the world!"

"A graceful wing beat, creates a hurricane of power!"

Lorem glared at Morphic, as he detached three of the screens from his Mimicore and slotted them into the compartment. And soon, the owl wings, coyote claws and croc head grew out of his armor. "Let's do this!" He cried, launching the energy construct towards her.

Lorem gasped and barely managed to leap up, avoiding it as she spread her wings.

But Morphic flew up after her, slashing at her with his claws only for her to block with her double ended spear. They pushed against each other, trying to overpower the other. And eventually, Morphic proved stronger and forced Lorem backwards. He then beat his wings and unleashed a powerful gust that slammed into her.

"Gyah!" She lost control and smashed into the ground, as Morphic launched the energy construct at her again. And this time, he managed to nab her between the fangs. "Augh!" The jaws dug into her, as Morphic flew down.

But before he could run her through with his claws, she spread her wings and launched several darts that exploded against the Rider. This made him grunt and stagger back, his construct's grip loosening enough for Lorem to pry it open and pull herself free.

Once she was a safe distance away, she summoned her spear again and stood defensively. Morphic recovered and glared at her, as he prepared to keep fighting.

Changeling was also attacking Maya, having run up to her as he swung his blades in her direction.

Maya leapt away, launching webs at her spawn with Changeling doing a backwards cartwheel to avoid it. She landed and Changeling charged again, performing a spin kick that Maya leapt to the side in order to avoid. And as Changeling landed, she shot another web shot towards him but he dodged.

He leapt away, as his blades began to glow. And as he swung them at her, the energy flowed off and threatened to blow up when they struck her. But Maya did her own cartwheel to avoid them. Once that was done, she held something up and threw them before firing her webs at them.

The webs struck whatever it was and propelled them towards Changeling, who managed to shift his body to avoid them as they flew past and hit a wall behind him.

But as soon as they did, they started beeping and Changeling looked around to the pill-shaped objects inside the web were pulsing with light. Realising what they were, he leapt out of the way before they exploded and sent out a shockwave that almost knocked him over.

He rolled out of the way, as Maya took a few steps back.

Changeling got up, but she leapt into the air and landed on the side of a building. Her spider powers allowed her to stick to the wall, as Changeling looked up and frowned. And as she stood on the wall, she fired webs down at him with the Rider dodging and slashing them away.

In another part of the city, Hudie had taken to the air and was flying at Greye.

She whipped her Grace Grazer at him, but Greye managed to dodge each and every attack. "Is that the best you've got?" Greye asked, egging her on. "You know, Shifter and Morphic have been a problem because they always changed up how they fought. But you and Changeling..."

"So what if we always use the same powers?" Hudie asked, as she flew low and whipped her weapon around. It wrapped around and coiled around his leg. "Just means we're getting better and better at using them." She yanked on the leg and Greye was pulled off his feet, Hudie retracting the ribbon once he was on the ground and gripping the bladed end.

She leapt up and tried to stab him in the chest, but Greye managed to dodge the attack and roll away

Once he was back on his feet, he called upon his fan blades and swung them around. The energy crescents flew towards her, but Hudie extended the ribbon and spun it around like a rope dart. The blade on the end deflected the attacks, making them blow up as she leapt into the air.

She then beat her wings as they grew three times the size, unleashing a burst of wind that slammed into the Mimic and blew him backwards. But he braced himself was able to keep himself from getting pushed too far back.

Hudie then stopped the gale and dived, Greye staggering when the wind stopped. This stopped him from being able to negate Hudie's next attack and she slammed a foot into him, knocking the Mimic backwards until he hit the ground. He grunted, but managed to roll back to his feet and charge again.

He slashed at her, but Hudie was able to dance and weave out of the way. She then leapt up and held her leg upwards before falling and swinging it down, using her heel to ram into his chest and knock him back. Greye roared as he was thrown back, but kept his balance as Hudie landed. The two glared at one another and kept fighting.

Back at the lab, everyone watched as the battles waged on.

Flash and Sheave frowned, wishing they could be there to help. But they knew if Gule showed up, he had to be ready to jump into action. However, Twilight had noticed something. The way the Mimics were fighting.

"They're not trying to win." The others turned to her, confused. "They're fighting way too defensively. It's like they're just trying not to lose, instead of trying to win."

"Why would they do that?" Rainbow asked, as everyone tried to come up with an idea. But Sheave was the one who realised it and took control.

"They're a distraction." They turned to him. "They're just meant to keep us busy. Keep us from getting in the way of something."

"Like what?" Sunset asked, as Corvyn thought about it.

"Those three are the only ones we can detect. So Gule and Sombra must be doing something else. Probably something they think will turn the tables in their favour. But what?"

On the edge of the city, a power plant stood.

It was the same plant that Frill and Maya had attacked a while ago, which was currently empty due to it being the weekend. There was nobody there except a single guard, who was currently sleeping inside the plant's parking gate house.

He was sleeping in his chair, feet up on the console, hat over his head as he snoozed. He was dead to the world, even as a bright light appeared with Sombra and Timber stepping out of it. The two spotted him and decided not to do anything, the man being asleep making him no threat.

As they walked forward, they spotted the building entrance and saw the doors were locked. But Timber was easily able to bust it down by kicking it in, the noise doing nothing to wake the guard.

They headed inside, Sombra chuckling as he looked around and eventually reached a large room that was behind another easily bustable door.

Inside were a pair of large machines, which were currently holding all the excess energy that had been generated and not used. "Perfect," Sombra chuckled. "These will be just what I need to power the Driver up, once and for all."

"I just hope the Riders have all been dealt with," Timber replied. "This place doesn't look like it could take much punishment. If I have to fight in here, I don't think I'll be able to keep from damaging it. And who knows what that'll do to the machines you're using."

"True. But if they do show up and you have to fight, you'll be on your own. Once I'm plugged in, I won't be able to move."

Timber nodded, ready to fight and protect his master. Said master stepped up to the machines and took out a pair of small cables, connected to one another by a single plug with a flash drive adaptor. He quickly found a slot on the side of each machine and plugged the wires in, stepping between them as the wires connected the machine.

He then opened the slot on the top of the Driver and after taking a deep breath, pushed the adaptor into the top.

The energy from the machines flew into the Driver, whilst also shocking him in the process. He roared in pain, but endured it as Timber rushed towards him. "Stay back!" He stopped, Sombra using all his strength to keep himself from being overwhelmed by the energy. "I can do this. Just keep me safe."

Timber took a few steps back and nodded, as Sombra stood there. With each passing second, he could feel more and more energy flowing into the Driver. But it would take a while before it was completely charged. He had to be patient and hope the Riders didn't find him.

Back at the lab, Flash and Sheave hated not being able to do anything.

Despite knowing that Sombra and Gule were out there, somewhere, they had no idea where and what they were doing. "Come on," Flash growled. "There has to be some way we can find them."

"Maybe," Sheave nodded. "We're able to sense Mimics. Maybe we can sense hybrids too. We just need to focus more and combine our strength." Flash frowned, unsure how they could combine their strength more than they already have. "Go somewhere quiet. But don't tell the others where you're going. They might try and help and I think this is something only we can do."

"Okay." Flash nodded, as he headed out. "Bathroom," he told them when they asked. "If those two show up, I need to be ready." They nodded and he left the room, heading down a corridor until he reached a spot that wasn't being used.

Once there, he sat down and closed his eyes.

He entered his mindscape and Sheave was waiting for him there, the pair sitting down and letting themselves become completely free. "Now what?"

"Now," Sheave sighed, "we have to focus. We were close to Sombra before. Able to sense him when he stopped hiding his Mimic self." He held out his hands and Flash took them, the twins closing their eyes and focusing on Sombra and Gule.

All they did was take deep breaths, letting their Mimic instincts take old. They could already feel the three Mimics that they knew were attacking, but they needed more. "Where are you?" Flash asked, as he felt himself beginning to drift off.

It was like they had fallen asleep and were now dreaming, as a hazy image appeared within their minds. A strange unclear feeling washed over them, as they felt the image slowly becoming more vivid. And eventually, a single glimpse of a place appeared in their head.

That glimpse was of a building they both recognised. And as they stared at it, they felt something drawing them closer and closer to it. But before they could really understand what was happening, the image faded and the pair were pulled out of their daydream.

"What..." Flash asked, as Sheave clutched his head. Flash also did that, as he was feeling a serious headache. "What now?"

"That's up to you," Sheave replied. "Do you wanna go to that place and see if they're there?" Flash frowned, unsure. He thought about the image he had seen and when he pictured the place, he felt a sense in his gut that was like a rope pulling him in its direction.

"Yeah. Let's go. But let's not tell the others. They might not believe us, if we told them we closed our eyes and imagined where Sombra or Gule is." Sheave nodded and the pair left the mindscape, Flash getting up and running for the exit. Hopefully, he could get there before Sombra or Gule did whatever they had planned.

Morphic charged at Lorem, having swapped his owl wings for the triceratops lasers and firing at her.

Lorem spun the spear around and deflected the lasers before launching her feather darts, only for Morphic to cut them out of the air with his claws. He then fired his croc head at her, but she managed to dodge it and perform several back flips before leaping into the air.

"Get down here!" He yelled, firing more lasers at her. She did several flips and spins through the air, avoiding all the lasers until Morphic finally stopped to recharge. And that was when she flew down with her spear pointed forwards, attempting to stab Morphic in the chest. But he blocked it with his croc head before attempting to slash at her.

She ducked beneath the claws before leaping back again. And as she did, he body began to melt and change.

Morphic was about to attack, but stopped when he saw Cadance standing in front of him. "Do you really wanna attack me? Even when I look like this?" Morphic growled, Shining's anger spiking within his mind.

But More spoke to him. "Don't. She's trying to rile you up. Get you angry so you'll make a mistake."

"Well it's working," Shining stated. "How dare she use her face like that. She has to pay."

"Don't let vengeance cloud your judgement," More replied. "That's not what Cadance would want. This is about Justice, not revenge." But as he said that, Lorem let out a laugh using Cadance's voice.

"What's the matter, Shiny? Aren't you happy to see me?" She tried to move in a seductive manner. "I remember the first time we were together. Such a romantic evening. Do you really want to ruin our relationship by attacking?"

"Enough!" Morphic fired at her and she leapt back, her swan wings growing out of Cadance's back as she smiled at him.

"Aw, did I hit a nerve?" Morphic growled, leaping forward in an attempt to slash at her. But she jumped up and spread her wings, sending darts flying at him.

He deflected them all and fired more lasers, the Mimic staying in her human form to try and mess with him. And the sight of his love did make Morphic have doubts about doing this. But he refused to let that stop him.

He brought both triceratops heads together and began to charge up power, a single energy ball forming between them. "RAAAAAAAAAAH!" He roared, firing the ball towards her. Lorem managed to avoid this as it flew past her, laughing as she did, but suddenly the ball exploded and slammed into her back.

"GYAH!" She was thrown towards the ground and crashed into it, moaning as her wings were burned in places.

Morphic tried to use this, his blaster arms retracting to give him more speed as he ran forward. He leapt into the air and with all his strength, flew down towards her with his claws at the ready. But at the last possible moments, Lorem rolled onto her back and summoned her spear.

She held it up and stopped the claws inches from her body, as she retook her full monster form and pushed him away. She then got up and leapt back, as Morphic summoned his blaster arms again. The pair glared at one another, wanting to and this here and now.

Changeling ran towards the building and leapt up, swinging his swords towards Maya hoping to slash at her.

But the spider Mimic leapt away, keeping her hands or feet on the wall to stop from falling. When she landed, she fired her webs at the Rider as he fell down. Changeling barely avoided them, as he landed and rolled along the ground whilst blades glowed.

He slashed them, the energy flying off, over and over again attempting to hit Maya.

She dodged them all and leapt off the building, firing a web up to swing down and slam into Changeling's chest. He grunted at the impact and was thrown backwards, hitting the ground as his sword fell from his hands. And as they slid out of reach, Maya threw a few more bombs in his direction.

They landed all around him and Changeling gasped, as he rolled away as quickly as he could.

The bombs exploded and the shockwave knocked him flying, the Rider crashing into the ground and grunting in pain as he spotted a sword nearby. He quickly scrambled to get it and as Maya leapt forward, he grabbed it and spun around to slash at her.

She grunted, the sword hitting her chest and forcing her back.

She clutched her chest, as Changeling leapt over and grabbed his other sword. Holding them both in a reverse grip, he glared at the Mimic as Maya chuckled. "Not bad. You have grown stronger."

"I have to be strong," Changeling replied. "Because I'm gonna save my mother. No matter what!" He leapt at her, slashing as she defended herself. She could tell he was determined to save his mother. Which meant he was determined to destroy her.

Hudie kept swinging her whip around, swiping at Greye as she danced in a circle and forced Greye to move backwards to avoid the bladed tip.

At one point, Hudie did a high speed spin before stopping and thrusting the whip forward. The tip shot towards him and as he tried to block it with his fan, the blade stabbed into the weapons and went right through it. He grunted, as the very tip hit him. It didn't do any serious damage, but it still stung.

And as Hudie pulled it back, the fans were pulled out of his grasp and she leapt forward to slam her foot into his chest. "GYAH!" He was knocked back and Hudie flew after him, as he hit the ground and she stomped her foot onto his chest. "Get off me."

"I don't think so." She readied her whip. "Call this payback for the damage you did to my real body. Luckily, Katar and Corvyn were able to save me."

"What happened wasn't my fault. You got in the way of the attack." He grabbed her leg and threw her off, Hudie taking to the air as Greye pushed himself up. "All I was doing was dealing with an inferior product." Hudie chuckled, as she held her whip at the ready.

"I'll show you who's the inferior one!" She rushed forward and whipped at him.

At the power plant, Flash arrived outside on his bike and found the place deserted.

Racing around the outside of the building, he couldn't find anything. As such, he headed for the entrance. And when he got there, he found the doors wide open and the lock busted. "They're here."

"Be careful," Sheave fold him. Flash nodded and headed in, being ready for anything that might leap out at him. But as he went further in, he found no signs of life. No signs of the Mimics being there. At least, that was until the lights started flickering.

Moving forward, he arrived at what he assumed was the main power room. And when he pushed his way through the doors, he frowned at the sight.

There was Sombra, standing next to two large generators with his Mimic Driver plugged in. The man didn't seem to notice him, too focused on enduring the energy flowing through him into his belt.

"STOP!" Flash cried, rushing forward. But before he could reach Sombra, someone stepped out from behind some machines. Timber. "Out of my way."

"I don't think so," he told him. "You want to get to him, you gotta go through me." He took out his Mimicore, his Driver appearing. Flash followed suit, taking out both the Maleficore and Maleficleanse.

"PURIFY!/DARK STRIKE!"

The two slotted their Mimicores into place and both struck a pose, the pair staring one another down as they prepared to transform. Flash and Sheave focused, uniting their thoughts and intentions. Then the two called out. "HENSHIN!" Flash slapped the Driver closed.

"MALEFICLEANSE!" It cried as the screens flipped over one another. "MIMIC!LIGHTNINGBUG!"

"Henshin!" Timber announced, slamming his Driver closed.

"MIMIC!LIGHTNINGBUG!" The two crossed their arms, as the slime flew out and rained down upon them. The cocoons soon formed and quickly broke apart, the pieces forming the armor as the two Lightning Bug Riders appeared.

"Unlimitedpower, cleansedofevil.Lightandshadow,unifiedtocreatetrueharmony!"

"Darklight,engulfingtheworldaroundit.Letallwhoseeit,trembleinfear!"

Shifter and Gule charged up their power before racing forward, the two roaring as they launched a punch at the other. Their fists collided and unleashed a burst of energy, which flew around the room and threatened to do some serious damage.

Shifter saw this and realised he had to be careful, even as he overpowered Gule and blew him backwards.

The Dark Rider back-flipped and landed, glaring at Shifter as he did before getting up and running forward. He dealt several quick kicks to Shifter, only for the other Rider to block and avoid every single one of them. As he did, he took out his Shift Striker and Mimicore.

"STRIKE!"

The weapon quickly transformed and he swapped it to sword mode before thrusting it towards Gule, who managed to avoid it. But with every forward thrust, Shifter picked up more and more speed until he eventually managed to hit Gule in the chest.

"GYAH!" He was thrown backwards, crashing into the ground in front of Sombra.

Shifter then changed his weapon to gun form and aimed at Sombra's Driver, hoping to destroy it before he had a chance to fully charge. But as he shot the laser, Gule forced himself up and unleashed a burst of energy to stop the attack cold.

The laser was deflected and Shifter growled, whilst Gule stood tall and prepared for another fight.

Back at the lab, Corvyn's systems suddenly beeped and he rushed over to it.

"What's going on?" Twilight asked, as he brought up the city map and showed a dot blinking on it. "What's that?"

"I recently installed a tracking system into the Drivers. Just in case we ever needed to find one of the Riders. And it's showing that Flash's Driver has been activated." That raised everyone eyebrow, as Corvyn narrowed in on the Driver's location. "He's...at a power plant."

"Why would he be there?" Pinkie asked.

"Isn't it obvious?" Sunset asked. "That must be where Sombra and Gule are."

Corvyn frowned, as he worked to tap into the CCTV footage of the power plant. But as he did, he found the system was offline. "Something's drawing a lot of power from it. I can't get anything up online." They frowned, knowing Flash was there and in serious trouble.

Back with the Riders, they and the Mimics they were fighting remained in a stalemate.

But as Morphic slashed at Lorem again, he suddenly got a call coming through. "A little busy right now!" He fired at the swan and she leapt away, as Corvyn spoke up.

"I'm making a portal that I need you to go through." This was told to all the Riders, shocking them.

"You want us to leave?" Hudie asked, as she tried to pull Greye off his feet.

"They're just a distraction. Shifter's dealing with whatever plan they're working on and without your help, he might not be able to stop them in time. You need to help him."

"But what about these guys?" Changeling dodged a web blast and struck Maya in the side with his foot.

"All the people there have already evacuated. And honestly, I doubt they would stay behind. They'll probably go after you, to try and stop you from getting in the way of their plan. Now hurry." The Riders frowned, but did as they were told.

Each one broke off from their fight, as a portal formed besides them. The Mimics saw this and frowned. "Where are you going?" Greye asked, as Hudie moved towards the portal.

"No idea," she told him. "But it's probably wherever your boss is." Greye's eyes widened as she jumped through the portal.

"Get back here!" But she was gone and so were the other two, as the portals closed. "NO!" Greye began to panic, as he realised what was happening. The Riders had uncovered their plan and if they didn't get there soon, they might do serious damage to it and their master. "NOOOOO!"

Back at the power planet, Shifter launched several thrusts into Gule's body.

He cried out in pain, staggering back but staying on his feet. And as Shifter tried to stab him again, he managed to grab the weapon's blade and held it tight. "RAAAAAH!" He unleashed a burst of energy, which shocked Shifter and made him pull back. Gule then leapt forward and dealt a kick right to Shifter's chest, knocking him back and the Shift Striker fell from his hand.

Gule then began to generate energy and prepared to fire, only for a trio of portals to form in front of the Rider.

Morphic, Changeling and Hudie all leapt out, Morphic firing at Gule before he could unleash his attack. And as the lasers hit the ground, Gule was blown backwards whilst the other two Riders helped Shifter stand up. "You okay?" Changeling asked.

"I'm good," Shifter nodded. "But we need to stop Sombra." They all looked over and saw the hybrid, as more and more energy flowed into his Driver.

Hudie took out her Grace Grazer and whipped it at Sombra, trying to pull him away. But before it could hit, Gule unleashed a bolt of energy that struck the end and knocked it away. Gule then pushed himself up and summoned as much energy as he could, whilst Morphic jumped forward and fired a barrage of lasers at him.

Gule used the energy to create a shield, the lasers slamming into it and exploding within. Gule managed to hold his ground, as Changeling charged in and slashed at him. He managed to get past the shield and Gule was formed to block the blades with the armor on his arms and legs, Changeling pushing him back in the process.

Shifter had taken this time to grab his Shift Striker and attempt to attack Sombra, only for Gule to launch another energy blast that Shifter was forced to block.

Morphic rushed in and slashed at Gule, the Dark Rider dodging it, whilst Hudie whipped her ribbon around and managed to grab his foot. She pulled and Gule was dragged off his feet, grunting as he hit the ground and Changeling tried to stab him.

But Gule rolled out of the way and jumped back to his feet, stopping on the ribbon around his foot before kicking it with his other. This caused Hudie to lose her grip on the weapon, as Gule fired a laser that slammed into her and knocked her backwards.

Back at the lab, Corvyn had finally managed to get one of the systems online and activate the CCTV.

"Here we go!" Everyone turned to the screen, as a fuzzy image showing the inside of the power plant appeared. Within it, they saw the Riders battling Gule whilst Sombra just stood there. "Looks like we were right. Sombra was trying to distract us from his true goal."

"But what's he doing?" Pharynx asked.

"He's trying to charge up his Driver," Twilight nodded. "If he gets it to full charge..." Nobody wanted to think what would happen if he succeeded. But before they could think of something, Corvyn got an alert.

"The plant's systems are going into the danger zones. Sombra's drawing too much energy through the system. If this keep up, that whole place will blow."

Sunset connected to the Rider's comms. "You guys need to stop him, now! Stop him or get out of them before it blows."

The Riders heard this and Shifter decided no more holding back. He swapped the Mimicore in his Shift Striker and charged forward, as it took the Hyper Strike Buster Sword form.

"RAAAAAAAAAAH!" He leapt into the air, sword raised high, ready to cut Sombra out of there. At the same time, Morphic unleashed all the energy he could from his laser cannons.

Gule saw this and gasped, charging himself up and leaping towards them. "NOOOOO!" He created an energy bubble around himself, which their attacks collided with.

This caused bolts of energy to start flying everywhere, slamming into the machines all around the place. This included the generators, which started humming loudly before sparking. And soon enough, they exploded and everyone was blown away.

The Riders all cried out, as they slammed into the walls and pieces of machinery. And as they grunted, more and more areas of the room exploded. "We have to get out of here!" Hudie cried, pushing herself up.

"But what about them?" Shifter pointed towards Gule and Sombra, but part of the ceiling suddenly collapsed and slammed down between them.

Morphic reached out and grabbed Shifter, pulling him away before he could try and get to them. "Come on!" They all ran for the door, as more and more of the area exploded. Shifter glanced back at Gule and Sombra, Gule continuing to use his energy field to protect them as best he could.

They left the room and made their way through the building, as the main power station finally exploded and was completely full of flames. Those flames began to race through the corridors and into any room that wasn't closed off, the Riders running at full speed.

Outside, Maya, Greye and Lorem had arrived.

But as they approached the power station, the doors flew open and the Riders leapt out. They all jumped, trying to get as far as possible before a burst of flames exploded out with them. They all hit the ground, as the fire died out and smoke filled the air.

The Mimics stared at them, then looked up at the museum. They could hardly believe it.

"Master," Greye whispered. "Is he..." The Riders began to pick themselves up, each turning towards the building and seeing the state it was in. And remembering how much damage had been done to the interior, they all thought the same thing.

"There's no way they could have survived that." Shifter turned to the others, "right?"

They were about to reply, thinking Sombra and Gule must have been gone. However, before they did, they all sensed something and turned back to the door they had just escaped through.

Something was walking towards them. A figure, carrying something else over their shoulder. And as they left the smoke, it revealed Sombra looking completely unharmed.

Timber was over his shoulder, unconscious but alive. And once they were out of the building, Sombra dropped him to the floor. "Excellent work, Gule. You might have almost destroyed us, but you gave me just enough time." The Riders all looked down and saw that his Driver was completely operational. They had failed to stop him.

Shifter pushed himself to his feet and raised his Shift Striker, firing the laser at him. But before it could reach him, Sombra held up a Mimicore and activated it.

"SHADOW!"

Black and red energy flew out the device and blocked the laser, as Sombra hit the leaver on the side and opened the Driver up. He then slotted the Core into it and once it was in place, he struck a pose and smirked before yelling at the top of his lungs. "HENSHIN!" The Driver was slammed shut, the light on the side glowing red.

"MIMIC! RHINO!" Once Sombra crossed his arms, the slime exploded out the sides and started raining down on him. But this wasn't like the slime Flash and the others were usually bombarded with. This slime was pitch black, looking more like oil than anything else. It covered him and soon solidified, remaining like that for several long moments.

Then, the whole thing started vibrating. Weakly, at first, but growing more and more violent with each passing moment. And finally, cracks began to appear upon it. After that, the whole thing exploded to reveal Sombra's new form.

His suit was dark gray with white stripes, a pair of bright red eyes glowing on his helmet.

The black amber pieces remained floating around, as they appeared to melt. But instead of turning back into a slime, they changed into a bunch of black clouds. And those clouds began to fly towards him and swirled around the different areas of his body. The clouds then faded away, revealing the armor that had been forming.

That armor was a transparent black, with red on certain parts. His shoulders, knee-pads, hands and boots were bright red, whilst the armor on his arms, chest, side and legs was black.

His mask was black, but a large red horn grew out of his forehead and curved up. Behind the horn, around his forehead, the mask morphed into a crown-like structure that wrapped around his entire head. Finally, the lines turned black before another cloud of shadow grew out the back of his shoulders and neck, flowing downwards until it reached just under the back of his knees. When the cloud vanished, it revealed a red cape now flowing behind him.

Transformation complete, the new Rider stood tall as his Driver called out. "The ruler of darkness, imposing his will upon all who stand before him. KNEEL, BEFORE YOUR KING!"

He raised his head and when his red eyes landed on them, everyone suddenly felt an intense urge to give up. It was like their will to fight had simply vanished, with Maya, Greye and Lorem falling to their knees and bowing. He then pointed at the other Riders. "You heard it. Kneel."

Author's Note

Well, that was a bit of a worrying ending. Sombra's suited up and I get the feeling this fight's gonna be a tough one. Let's hope Flash and the others manage to hold their own.

Next time, something a little different. You'll see what I mean.

Episode 1: A Shift in Life

Canterlot, a city of many amazing individuals.

The people of the city were living their lives, wondering what insane situation might happen next in the crazy city. Over the last year, many strange things had occurred in Canterlot. Most of it was situated around Canterlot High, but over time the strangeness began to spread out. But what nobody knew was that on that day, the most unusual thing ever seen was about to occur.

At Canterlot High, the students were all arriving at the building ready for another day of education.

This included a blue haired orange skinned boy named Flash Sentry, who had just arrived to the school on his pedal bike. The teen huffed in exhaustion, having not gotten used to needing to get up earlier now that he couldn't drive his car. Why, you ask?

Three days ago.

Flash let out a moan as he felt himself beginning to come around. His head was completely fuzzy but he knew one thing: He wasn't currently asleep on his bed.

Instead, he felt himself laid out on something hard. He opened his eyes and found himself looking directly up at the sky. His body ached as he pushed himself into a sitting position. He looked around and found he was actually in an alleyway, one he frequently walked through when he was heading home from where he parked his car.

He pushed himself to his feet, but ended up staggering slightly as his legs felt like jelly. He managed to regain his strength and looked around, trying to figure out what he was doing sleeping in an alleyway. "What happened to me last night?" He tried to think back, but the last thing he remembered was getting out of the car after parking it and heading towards his house. But everything after that was a total blank.

He reached into his pocket to grab his phone to check the time, but when he did he found it wasn't there. "What?" He began checking his other pockets but they were empty too. His phone, keys, wallet, all of it was missing. "I've been robbed!"

The police believed that Flash had been snuck up on from behind and knocked out, though he didn't appear to have any injuries that would result in a KO.

Despite his keys being taken, Flash's car remained where it was and nothing from it seemed to be taken. However, with his only key set gone he had no way to use it. So until he could get himself a new set, Flash was stuck riding his old bike to school.

Pulling up to the side of the building where the bikes were kept, he put it into place and used his bike lock to keep it from being stolen. He then swung his bag over his back and headed into the building.

"Flash!" He turned to see his friend Derpy heading towards him, "hey. You doing okay after what happened?"

"I'm fine," he told her. "Just wish I knew who it was that got the jump on me." Derpy nodded as they headed for their lockers and started getting what they needed, Flash placing his bag inside and taking out his books whilst Derpy grabbed everything she needed.

"I heard the Rainbooms managed to stop another magic attack the other day."

"Really?" Flash asked, "what was it this time. Did magic infect a coffee maker and turn anyone who drank from it into a magical being with super powers?" Derpy laughed at this, but shrugged telling him she didn't know what it was that they beat.

"All I know is it was pretty dangerous and the girls barely managed to stop it."

Flash sighed, "man I wish I could be like that. If I had magic, I could help those that need it like the girls." He imagined what life would be like if he had one of the girl's powers, even the slightly less useful ones like animal speak and reading minds. If he had something like that, he could help people like he always wanted to do. Unfortunately, it was highly unlikely something like that would ever happen to him.

"I bet it's not as great as the girls make it seem," Derpy told him. "I mean, they're constantly on guard for anything that might happen around him. That sounds really stressful if you ask me."

"Maybe," Flash nodded as Derpy headed off for her homeroom. Flash closed his locker and as he did, he turned to put his back against it to think about what Derpy had said. His hand then reached into his pocket and took something out of it. A device that he had found three days ago.

Three days ago.

"I've been robbed." But then, he felt something in his jacket pocket. Something that was too heavy for his keys and wallet and to big to be his phone.

He reached inside and felt some kind of glass screen in his pocket, which was connected to something thick. He pulled it out and looked it over, seeing it was just like Flash had felt. It was a glass rectangle with multiple dots covering it, which looked like they were actually lights. The glass was big enough that Flash could put his entire hand on it and be completely inside it. On the left side of it, there was a thick square-shaped rod of metal that ran up the side of it and had a button on the top of it. On the left side, between the rod and the dots, letters could be seen one on top of the other to make a word. S, T, R, I, K, E.

Flash looked the device over and pressed the button on top of the rod, which caused it to come to life. "STRIKE!" It cried, surprising him as several dots in the middle of the screen lit up and glowed orange. Doing so caused them to make the outline of an insect, which appeared to have a light on its rear end. Flash realised it was a lightning bug, the lights suddenly going out before other came on to make the same animal shape but in a different pose. It did this several more time, the lights flash on and off to make it look like the insect was flying all around the screen. It didn't stop until Flash pressed the button again, confusing him. "What is this thing?"

Present.

Flash stared at the device, still wondering what the heck it was. He wanted to show it to somebody, but every time he thought about doing so he got a strange feeling that made him think again. He was completely clueless about what the heck was going on, but he knew whatever this device was, it was important.

He put the device back into his pocket and began to make his way to his homeroom, the teen trying to get the unusual item out of his mind. But what he didn't realised was that the item in question would prove rather important to him in the coming days and weeks. Rather important to the entire town in fact, as time would soon demonstrate.

In the suburbs of Canterlot, inside a quint little home, a man was busy getting ready for work.

His wife and children were all laughing around the table, since it was there day off from work and school so they didn't have to hurry to get anywhere. "Daddy!" A two year old girl called out, showing her father a picture she had just drawn of the family together.

"Wow," he told her as he knotted his tie. "That's great honey. You're a young Leonardo." The girl looked confused by the statement, but could tell it was a compliment and smiled. "Well," he turned to his wife, "I'd better get to work." She nodded and reached up to kiss him, the kids letting out several disgusted looks as they did.

He headed out the front door, grabbing his briefcase and coat as he left. He stepped outside and took a deep breath of the fresh air before heading to his car. As he did, he noticed a tiny spider had made a home for itself on his wing mirror. He smiled, happy to see his car could keep a living thing safe and shot it the world.

But before he could get in the car, he heard something that made him spin around. Movement coming from around the side of his house, causing him to raise an eyebrow. "Who's there?" He asked, putting his briefcase down and taking out his phone. "Whoever you are, show yourself before I call the cops."

After a few moments, somebody stepped out from behind the house. He couldn't see who it was they were, since their entire body was hidden from view by a dark brown cloak with a deep hood that hid their entire face. The figure stepped around the house and slowly made its way towards him, the man feeling very weary about the figure.

"Who are you?" He asked, as the figure got right in front of him. "Why are you here?"

"I am here to remind you," the figure explained. "The time has come for our people to attack and claim this world." He lifted his hood and the man was met with a pair of green eyes. "Awaken and remember what you truly are." These words combined with the eyes caused the man's head to suddenly explode with information, making him grab his head and fall to his knees as he cried out.

"Gyah!" He was in tears as the information flowed through his head, his brain running on overdrive as he remembered everything. After a few seconds, he stopped crying out and looked up at the cloaked figure. "I am...Keel-Tra-Vull. Ready to receive orders."

"Good," the cloaked figure nodded. "Attack and destroy. Let all those in this world know that their time is up." With that, he turned to walk off whilst the man calling himself Keel stood back up. The figure vanished around the side of the house as Keel turned to the spider that was crawling on his wing mirror, the man reaching out and grabbing it in his hands.

As soon as he did, his entire body began to transform. His skin began to melt into a strange dark orange liquid, which consumed his entire form before it started reshaping.

Eventually, the reshaping finished and the liquid began to solidify and be absorbed by the body within it. And in doing so, a new creature was revealed. It was a fusion of a man and a spider, the creature's body being grey in colour with green stripes covering it. Its head was round and had eight bright red eyes, along with a pair of mandibles where its mouth should be. Its arms and legs were normal, but from out of its back had sprouted four spider legs that were large and spindly.

The creature looked its new body over before releasing the hand that had grabbed the spider. From it, a lump of orange amber-like substance fell to the ground. Inside the amber, the spider from before was trapped.

The door of the house opened up and the woman stepped out. "Honey, I thought I heard yelling and-" She stopped when she saw the creature, which turned towards her and let out a roar. The woman screamed as ran back into the house, the spider creature chasing after her but getting stopped when she slammed the door shut.

It pounded against the door, threatening to rip it down any second. But before it could, the sound of a motor filled its eyes and made it turn to see a motor bike rolling down the road. The rider looked over at the house and spotted the creature, almost losing balance from the shock of seeing it. The monster began to charge towards him and the rider let out a scream, riding away as fast as possible.

The monster chased after him as as it did, it let out a hiss as a chord of white sticky string shot out of its mouth. It barely missed the back wheel, the rider crying out and increasing speed. The spider kept up and the pair arrived at the more populated area of the city, the people of Canterlot hearing the man's screams and turning to see him being chased by the monster.

They wondered if this was some kind of performance, until the spider fired out a bunch of webbing that grabbed the wheel of the bike and caused the rider to be thrown from the vehicle. The beast then grabbed the webbing in its humanoid hands and began swinging it and the bike around before throwing it, the bike flying through the air towards a group of people.

They screamed and barely managed to leap out of the way to avoid getting crushed. As they did, the spider monster leapt up onto a parked car and let out a kiss roar combo that made everyone scream.

"Freeze!" A police officer cried as he rushed up and pulled out a gun, pointing it at the monster. "Put your hands in the air where I can see them!" The spider did so, raising its arms and the four spider-like legs. But then it spat out a glob of webbing that struck the gun and knocked it out of his hand. "Augh!" He cried as it fell to the ground, whilst the spider leapt into the air and landed in front of them. One of its spider legs swung down and slashed him down the front, the cop screaming as his cloths were torn and a large gash appeared on his chest.

He fell to the floor, whilst the monster turned to the people still remaining there. It hissed one more time and charged, the people screaming as they rushed off. The monster gained on them and as they ran, they preyed that somebody would show up to save them.

Flash was in class, his mind still on the strange device he had in his pocket.

He barely seemed to notice when the bell rang and everyone began to pack up, Flash remaining seated staring at his book. That was until he felt someone tap him on the shoulder. "Flash?" He jolted back to earth and turned to see Twilight Sparkle, the glasses wearing girl looking at him curiously. "You okay?"

"Yeah?" He nodded, looking around and seeing they were the only ones in the classroom. "I'm fine." He started packing up before getting to his feet.

"You sure?" She asked as they headed for the door. "You looked a little...distracted."

"I'm fine," he assured her. "Just...got a lot on my mind."

"Well try not to let it effect your school work," she told him. "I'd hate all the work I put into tutoring you to go to waste because you're not paying attention in class. You still up for our session later?"

"Wouldn't miss it for the world," Flash told her as they made their way through the halls. "I need a lot of help if I wanna pass math and history...and science...and geography...and...you get the picture." Twilight laughed at this. "So I heard you and the girls ended up saving the day again a few days back."

"Yeah. Nothing to big. A little kid got their hands on a bubble blower that was enchanted with magic. Every time she blew a bubble, it was grow larger and larger until it touched something. When it did, it sucked it inside before lifting it into the air. We were able to stop it before she sent her whole school into orbit." Flash laughed at this.

"Man I wish I could do stuff like you girls. Super speed, super strength, telekinesis. I'd love to have one of those powers."

"Well you've got a lot of skills most would kill for," Twilight reminded him. "Even Rainbow would have to admit you're guitar skills are the best around. And you're the best driver in school. You're the only one who has a licence and hasn't gotten a parking or speeding ticket."

"Still not as cool as you what you girls can do," Flash pointed out. Twilight was about to argue back, but before she could...something happened.

All of a sudden, a wave of dizziness suddenly washed over Flash. The teen suddenly staggered to the side and had to lean against the locker, moaning as he did so. "Flash?" Twilight asked as he held a hand to his head. "Are you okay?"

Flash tried to block out the dizziness, but as he did he felt images appear on the forefront of his head. Images of down town Canterlot, which was being destroyed by something. A creature he had never seen before. He shook his head and when he did, the images vanished but the dizziness continued.

"Flash?" He blinked and his eyes began to focus again, allowing him to see Twilight looking at him worriedly. Several other students who were moving between classes were also looking at him, some looking worried whilst others seemed confused. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," he told her. "Just...got dizzy for a moment." But as he said that, he suddenly got a very powerful urge. And urge to go see if what he had seen was real or not. He couldn't explain it, but it was like a hunger. A thirst begging to be quenched.

"Maybe you should go see the nurse?" Twilight suggested. Flash wanted to deny it, but he would rather do that then have everyone continue to look at him.

"Maybe you're right," he told her. "I'll head over there. You go get to your next class."

"Are you sure?" She asked, "I could come with." Flash shook his head.

"Naw, you go on. I'm just a little dizzy. I can survive on my own long enough to get to the nurse." Twilight frowned, but seemed to buy it.

"Alright." She began to walk away, "I'll come check on you at lunch." Flash nodded and began making his way towards the the nurses office whilst Twilight headed to her next class. But as he drew closer to the room in question, the drive to leave and go to the area he saw grew stronger and stronger.

He eventually arrived at the office and was about to knock, but once again the dizziness overcame him and his clutched his head as images of the monster attacking flash through his mind. He wanted to ignore them, but he could no longer fight the urge he felt. The urge to go to this creature and do...something.

Before his mind could make him stop, he pulled away from the nurses office and rushed down the hall towards the exit out to the parking lot. He jumped through the door and ran to his bike, unchaining the vehicle before pulling it out of the bike lock.

By the time his mind finally caught up with his body, he was already racing down the road on his bike and peddling like a madman. "This is nuts," he told himself. "Why am I doing this? I'm not gonna find anything there. And even if what I saw is true, what the heck can I do about it. I'm nothing special." What Flash didn't realise was that the device in his pocket was starting to glow, its power beginning to influence him. Whatever happened when he arrived downtown was gonna be big. Whether Flash realised it or not.

In a dark area, the figure in the brown cloak was watching something. A screen that appeared to have been projected into midair.

The figure stared at the screen, which was showing footage of the spider monster as it ran a muck in the city. "Perfect," he chuckled whilst watching. "Do more damage. Destroy everything you see." Sure enough, the spider monster used its four spindly legs to stab into a car and throw it towards some people. Nobody had been hurt yet, but they were running out of places to hide.

As the figure continued to watch, he was soon greeted by two more figures in the exact same cloaks. One was taller then the first and appeared more thin, whilst the second was a little shorter then the first but had more bulk filling out the cloak.

"Gule," the taller one said with a female voice, "how goes our first operation?"

The cloak known as Gule laughed. "Excellent Maya. I knew activating this monster would be a good start. The humans don't know what to think of him."

"Don't get too overconfident," the bulkier figure stated. "If we believe we've won before the final strike lands, then we'll only be inviting our own doom."

"Relax Frill," Gule told him. "We've been studying this world long enough to know the human's capabilities. There's nothing here that could destroy us, not even those seven magical girls."

Maya nodded. "And once this world has been conquered and purged, we'll move onto the world that the magic they wield came from. I look forward to wielding it myself once I've found a strong enough host."

Frill let out an uninterested hmm. "Let's stay focused on our main goal for now. Even if their weapons do little to no damage to us, a lucky hit could still spell our untimely demise."

Back at school, Twilight sat in her geology class taking notes.

But that stopped when the overhead speaker came on and Principal Celestia's voice echoed out of it. "Will Sunset Shimmer, Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy and Rarity please come to my office." Twilight frowned and turned to Rarity, who looked just as confused, but both got up and left the room.

They headed down the hallway and met up with Fluttershy and Pinkie. "What's going on?" Fluttershy asked, "did we do something to get in trouble?"

"I don't remember doing anything," Pinkie stated.

Rarity also looked worried, but did her best to hide it. "I'm sure whatever it is, it's nothing too severe. And I'm sure we can talk ourselves out of it if we are." They arrived outside the hallway and found Rainbow, Applejack and Sunset coming from the other way. "Rainbow, did you do something to get us in trouble?"

"Not me," she assured them. "I've been on my best behaviour lately." Before the girls could say anything else, the door opened and Celestia stepped out.

"Good, girls, you're here."

"What's wrong?" Sunset asked, Celestia gesturing for them to come in. Luna was also in the room, which made the girls worry more since she wouldn't be there if this wasn't serious.

"Are we in trouble?" Applejack asked.

"No," Celestia told her before turning her computer towards them. "I called you in because I just received a news report." The girls stared at the image on the screen and their eyes went wide seeing photos and a few videos of some kind of spider creature attacking people.

"What the heck?" Rainbow asked when they looked closer, "what is that thing?"

"We're not sure," Celestia told them. "It just showed up and started attacking people. But one thing's clear, it's not something you would find in this world. So I figured it could only mean one thing."

"It's from Equestria," Twilight caught on before they all turned to Sunset.

She took a closer look at the creature, a frown appearing on her lips. "I've never seen anything like that back home. It must have been a normal person or object that was enchanted with magic and transformed, like Gloriosa and Juniper."

"Does that mean we have to go fight it?" Fluttershy asked.

"What are the chances of it being a hoax?" Luna asked, Sunset shrugging.

"It's possible, but I'd rather not take that chance." She turned to Celestia, "permission to leave school early and go check it out." Celestia nodded, "thanks. Let's go girls!"

"YEAH!" All but Fluttershy cried out, the pink haired girl letting a whisper version of the cry free. They all rushed out the office, Celestia telling them to be careful.

"I'll run ahead," Rainbow told them as they reached the doors. "I'll beat that thing to a pulp until you show up, then we can finish it off with a rainbow blast."

"No way," Twilight told her. "If this thing is using Equestrian Magic, it's not safe to fight it alone. Remember what happened with the mirror and the phone." Rainbow frowned at that, not wanting to get sucked away by the villain a third time. "We should all go together and attack with the rainbow blast as soon as we see it." The others nodded, agreeing that was the smartest move.

So, when they got out of the school, they rushed to their vehicles and began to drive down towards the lower city. All the while, they hoped nobody was gonna be hurt by whatever was attacking.

The spider monster had gotten a lot done since it first showed up. Vehicles had been destroyed, buildings had been trashed and even parts of the street had been demolished.

Several humans had been injured but still managed to escape, the spider looking for its next victim. But as it marched down the street, a sound filled its ears and made it stop in its tracks. That sound came from a bunch of sirens, which were connected to the police SWAT vans that had just driven up to the street.

They pulled themselves to a stop before multiple highly armed officers rushed out with shields and guns at the ready. The spider stared at them as they got in formation. "Surrender or you will be fired upon," the leader of the group called out as they loaded their guns and pointed them through the gaps in the shield wall.

The spider hissed before spitting out a load of webbing and hitting one of the shields.

The officers all let the shots fly, but the monster leapt into the air to avoid them and pulled the webs back. The shield was pulled from the officer holding it and the monster grabbed it, just in time as the police pointed their guns up at it and fired. But the shield protected the spider as it fell and landed in the middle of the ground. It pinned a cop to the ground and swung its legs around, sending those around it flying.

The lead cop pointed his gun at the monster, but the beast spun around and fired a blast of webbing at him that knocked him backwards until he hit the ground. It then fired another stream of sticky silk to pin him to the ground, the man crying out as he was trapped and probably left for a snack later.

The monster continued battling the cops, it only being sheer luck that none of them had been gravely injured. When the last one was knocked to the ground and thrown unconscious, the spider turned towards the lead cop. "No," he struggled against the webs but couldn't get free, "stay back." The beast snarled as it got closer, "HELP!" It reached out with its clawed hand and got closer and closer to his face.

Both were so focused on each other, they didn't notice the sound of a bike rolling down the street.

Flash looked around the destroyed street in amazement, carefully swerving around the destroyed vehicles littering it. The teen then spotted the monster and his eyes went wide when he saw it, pulling his bike to a stop and staring at the spider. "No way," he whispered. The beast looked just like the one he had seen in that vision and as he looked around, he realised he was in the same spot the vision had shown him as well. The urge to come here completely vanished, replaced with a new urge. Getting the heck out of there.

But as he was about to turn to leave, he heard someone cry out. He focused back on the monster and saw the man it had trapped, then looked around to see the other police officers scattered around. If he left, then they would all...

"No," he shook his head, "I can't let that happen." He looked around and spotted a piece of broken cane, the teen reaching down and grabbing it before throwing it as hard as he could. The metal spun through the air and slammed into the monster's head, though it didn't even seem to scratch it.

The spider looked up form its pray and spotted Flash, the teen completely terrified but putting up a brave front. "Come and get me!" He cried, the cop turning to him before fainting in terror. The teen turned to ride away on his bike, but the monster was faster and spit out a blast of webbing that hit the wheel and locked it to the ground. "No!" Flash turned back to see the monster coming, the guitar player leaping off his bike and running.

The spider gave chase and slowly managed to catch up to him.

It tried to slash at him with its spiked leg, but Flash managed to leap to the side to avoid it. This caused the leg to stab into the floor, causing it to dig into the ground and get stuck. He then ran as fast as he could, as the spider tried to pull its leg free. When it wasn't looking, he ducked down one of the alleyways between a pair of tall buildings.

The spider finally pulled its leg free and looked up, seeing no sign of Flash.

The teen ran as fast as he could down the alleyway. But as he got about halfway down, he realised he had made a mistake when he saw a large wall in front of him. "No!" He cried, reaching the wall and looking up at it. There was no way to climb it and when he looked back, down the alleyway, he spotted only a single door going into each of the buildings.

He ran to the closest and tried to pull it open, but it was locked. It was the same with the other door. He was trapped.

A hissing made him freeze and slowly turn to see the spider monster glaring at him from the end of the alley. He stepped away from the door and the pair stared one another down, Flash's heart beating a million beat a minute. The beast let out a snarl before it charge, claws and spikes ready to impale him.

Flash's body acted before he could think, rushing forward as fast as he could run towards the monster. It seemed to think he had gone nuts and prepared to kill him. But at the last minute, he leapt down and slid along the ground under the monsters legs and claws.

He slid to the other side of the monster and leapt back to his feet, attempting to escape by running as fast as he could. But the monster quickly spun around and fired a blast of webbing that struck Flash in the back. "Gah!" He cried at the impact, making him stagger forwards before the line went taught. The next thing Flash knew, he was being pulled backwards with enough force that he was thrown upwards. "GYAH!" He cried as he swung up in an arch and came crashing into the ground, crying out as he landed on the other side of the spider monster.

Flash rolled along the ground as something fell out of his jacket. He let out several moans as he laid on the ground, rolling to his front and looking forwards and seeing he was once again trapped between the monster and the wall. He beast hissed, looking ready to kill him any moment. And it was not going to fall for the same trick as before.

Flash then noticed what had fallen to the ground from his pocket: The device from before.

He didn't know why, but he was suddenly overcome by the sudden urge to grab it. And so, his body still aching, he reached out and grasped the screen in his hand. As he did, he felt the pain from before slowly begin to fade and he began to pick himself up.

The spider watched as he stood up and focused on the object in his hands.

He continued to stare at it and as he did, something happened. A sudden pulse flew through his head, causing him to flinch and clutch his head. "Ahh!" He cried, whilst the device began to glow. "Gyah!" Both hands grasped his head as he swung it around. "RAAAAAH!" Then, suddenly, his mind went blank and his body froze.

The spider watched as Flash's arms fell to his side, the device still in his grasp, as his head fell towards the ground and his eyes closed. He almost appeared unconscious whilst remaining on his feet, the teen just standing there limply.

The beast snarled at the boy, having had enough of being ignored. It charged forward, clawed hand raised ready to slash at him. But as it got closer, Flash's eyes shot open and let out a slight glow before turning serious.

And as the spider slashed at him, Flash's left hand reached up and grabbed its wrist. The spider was surprised by this, especially when the grip became so strong it actually hurt. And before it could attempt to attack him with something else, Flash threw its arm to the side before slamming a foot into its chest with enough strength to send it flying.

It hissed when it hit the ground, whilst Flash stood tall and raised his head to show a serious expression. All the fear he had been hiding before had completely vanished.

Suddenly, a bright light appeared around his waist that circled him until it created a ring. The light quickly took shape before fading to reveal a strange looking belt, which was bulky with a large metal case for a buckle that had a glass front. Lights ran around the sides of the belt and three small pipes were on the spot below his arms and on his back that pointed towards the sky.

Flash then held up the black screen-like object and pressed the button on the side, "STRIKE!" The dots appeared to create the images of the lightning bug in motion, whilst Flash reached up and pressed a switch on the left side of the buckle. Doing so caused the other side of the buckle to slide open like a draw, with the side of the buckle still connected to the buckle by a long piece of metal.

Flash placed the screen down so it was resting on the metal, then began to wave his arms around until he struck a pose. "HENSHIN!" With that, he thrust his right hand into the side and pushed the buckle back into place. Doing so locked the thick piece of the screen between the buckle's side and the glass. Now the screen could be seen through the glass, whilst the lights on the belt lit up and glowed orange.

The creature stared at it in confusion, until the cocoon started to crack before completely exploding. The amber flew off before stopping in midair, whilst Flash's form was revealed.

He was wearing a black body suit, with a white circle in the center of his chest that had white lines that went to his arms and legs and eventually reaching reached white circles on the backs of his hands and the tips of his boots. His head was covered in a round helmet with a pair of black round glass eyes.

The amber then shot back towards him and hit his body, melting back into the liquid form that changed colour to become a much brighter orange. The liquid struck his arms, legs chest and head before solidifying and becoming transparent armour. His boots became orange whilst a pair of armoured orange gauntlets materialised around his arm from his wrists to his elbows, his chest getting covered by orange armour. On his shoulders, back of his wrists and top of his boots were flat round lights that glowed orange.

The amber of his head morphed into an orange mask that resembled an insect's head that covered the front of his helmet, with a pair of orange antenna that formed a V-shape above his eyes. Finally, the white lines covering his body changed to the same orange as his armour, whilst his eyes changed to a blue colour.

As the armour settled, the belt unleashed new words. "Illuminate the light, striking through the darkness!"

The spider monster hissed at the newly suited individual, clearly confused by his suddenly transformation. This confusion soon vanished and the creature rushed forward, its four spider-legs primed to stab him. But before it could reach him, the lights around Flash's suit glowed brightly.

One of the legs shot forward to stab him, but Flash suddenly leaned out of the way with so much speed that the monster couldn't track him. It then tried to randomly stab him again and again, but Flash kept managing to shift out of the way with ease. As he did, the orange lights around his body created trails of light that slightly blinded the monster.

Then, the armoured teen leapt forward and threw a punch that struck the beast's chest and knocked it flying backwards. It cried out whilst staggering back, then regained its balance before glaring at Flash. It then let out a hiss, firing a blast of webbing at him.

But once again, Flash managed to avoid the attack and rushed forward. He zigged, he zagged, he was an incredible orange blur. The spider fired a blast of webbing and hit a large section of the ground, hoping to get Flash stuck. But to its surprise, he leapt over it and did several flips before landing in front of the monster and unleashing a barrage of punches and kicks that caused the beast incredible pain. With each strike, the energy from the lights on Flash's energy was sent into the beast and burned it.

It leapt back and fired another web stream, but Flash simply reached out and grabbed the end and the energy from his arm light increased and made the string melt. He then leapt up and flew over to the wall of one of the building and bounced off it to charged towards the spider, flying forward and smashing a foot into it.

Back on the destroyed street, the Rainbooms had arrived to find the place in ruins.

"What happened here?" Rainbow asked, the others unable to figure it out. They then spotted one of the police officers laying on the ground and rushed over to him.

"You okay?" Fluttershy asked, the lot rolling him onto his back. He moaned and opened his eyes, sitting himself up but flinching in pain.

"What happened?" Sunset asked, but the cop didn't appear to be in any state to answer question. Instead, she reached out and touched him as her magic activated. Within second, her mind was filled with images of what caused the destruction. A horrifying monster that she had never seen before.

She gasped before pulling away, the others turning to her. "Well?" Applejack asked, Sunset unsure how to answer.

But before she could, an explosion from a nearby alleyway caught their attention. Rainbow was the first to react. "Come on!" Rainbow cried, rushing towards it whilst the others followed after her. The seven reached the entrance of the alleyway and when they did, they were met with the most bizarre sight they had ever seen. And that was saying a lot.

The spider monster Sunset had seen in her vision, staring down a strangely suited figure. And by the looks of things, the monster was in trouble.

Once again, the monster fired a blast of webbing at the armoured figure. But once again, he caught it in his hands. Only this time, he grabbed it in both hands and pulled it harshly. This pulled the beast towards him, as he slammed his right hand into the side of his belt. This pushed the device inwards, causing the belt to announce something.

"CLIMACTIC STRIKE!"

The light on his right boot glowed, the energy unleashed from it surrounding the entire boot.

And as the spider monster reached him, he swung his leg upwards and struck the beast with enough force the send it flying into the air. After that, he stomped his foot into the ground and propelled himself upwards. He shot passed the spider, which became suspended in the air, then somehow shifted directions and shot towards the monster.

Silently, he thrust his glowing foot forward and smashed it into the beast's chest. The monster screamed in pain as the pair flew towards the ground and slammed into it, causing an explosion that filled the entire alleyway.

The Rainbooms cried out at this, covering their faces from the smoke until Rarity put up a shield that blocked it. They opened their eyes and looked into the alley, the smoke slowly fading to reveal the armoured figure. He stood in the path of the smoke, whilst the spider monster was nowhere to be seen. It had been destroyed.

The girls stared at the figure in amazement, clearly missing something as they slowly moved towards him. The figure heard their approach and slowly turned towards them, Sunset being the one to ask the question they all had. "Who...are you?"

The figure remained silent for a moment before speaking rather quickly. "Sheave-Far-Tar!" As he said that, Flash's brain seemed to reboot and he suddenly realised where he was, what he had just done and what he had told the girls.

"Come again?" Applejack asked, not having properly heard him. They watched as the figure looked around and seemed confused, then focused back on the girls. He then raised his arms and the girls were worried he was about to attack, but instead the lights on his armor unleashed a bright light that blinded them.

They all cried out and closed their eyes, forced to look away from the bright orange illumination. And when the light finally faded, they looked back and found the figure had vanished. "Where'd he go?" Rainbow asked, trying to see if she could spot him in any direction. But the figure was completely gone without a trace.

"What did he call himself?" Rarity asked the others, who hummed before Twilight spoke up.

"It sounded kind of like he said...Shifter." This name confused the girls, but they weren't sure what else he could have said. They were completely clueless about what had happened here, what that monster was and where they masked character was. "What's going on?"

Several streets over, Flash panted as he landed in another alleyway and looked himself over. He was completely lost about everything that had just happened and started looking his body over.

He then spotted the belt on his waist that had the device he had been carrying. After a little fiddling, he managed to get the belt open and pulled the device out of it. When he did, the armor he was wearing began to melt off of him and disappear into nothingness.

Once he was back in his normal cloths, he stared at the device and then at the belt on his waist. Said belt suddenly vanished, phasing out of existence and leaving him just as confused. "What happening to me?" He asked no one, terrified beyond belief. What Flash didn't know, what that he was currently being watched.

Up atop on of the buildings, a figure wearing a white hooded cloak stared down at the scared teen. Their face was completely hidden by the cloak, but a pair of green eyes glowing from beneath it. "So," the figure spoke with a male voice, "it has begun."

Author's Note

Well, a lot of you were waiting for it and here it is. My Kamen Rider story.

How will this story play out? What other Riders will appear? What challenges will those Riders face. You'll just have to wait and find out.

For those wondering why the cover art and Shifter's suit is just a recoloured Zero-One, that's not actually what he's supposed to look like. The armor's right, but the mask isn't supposed to be like that. That's just how my artist made it. Think of the helmet more like a mix of Zero-Ones and Cross-Z Charge, if that makes sense.

Episode 11: Getting Through One's Self

A couple of days had passed since the battle outside CHS, where the Mimics had been defeated and a mysterious figure appeared to give everyone a gift.

In the days since the Mimic Detector had been given to everyone in the city, a sense of calm had washed over the town. People were no longer feeling paranoid about the people next to them. They could go about their days feeling secure. And thanks to the device, they would also get some early warning if a Mimic showed up in monster form.

Shining Armor was sitting in the police precinct, as the captain was talking about a slew of missing persons cases.

"Several individuals have simply vanished, with no trace of where they went." He clicked a remote and the whiteboard activated, showing the five missing individuals. "Until recently, we have assumed these disappearances weren't linked. But Shining Armor pointed something out that I think we should all hear. Armor."

"Sir." Shining stood up and the whiteboard changed, to show several creatures the humans recognised. "After careful examination, I've noticed a pattern to their disappearances. Each of them were last seen and heard from, right before a Mimic attack."

"And you think the Mimics took them."

"Yes, but possibly not at that time." He pressed another button and the image of Timber appeared. "As you know, the Mimic known as Gule has been posing as Timber Spruce for a while. Until recently, the Mimic had been able to hide who he truly was from everyone around him. It's possible the missing people were also Mimics, hiding in plain sight and waiting for the time to attack."

The captain sighed. "How long have these Mimics been infiltrating our world? It's a good thing none of them managed to get into the police force. There's no telling what kind of damage a Mimic in the government could do."

An officer nodded. "At least now we've got these detector things. So we'll know if a Mimic is trying to sneak past us."

"About that," another officer spoke up. "How do we know these things even work? Have they beeped yet? For anyone?" That was a good question. "What if these things can't detect Mimics?"

"Then we'd be in trouble," the captain replied. "But until we know for sure that it works or not, we'll work under the assumption that they do. It's better than the city being paranoid again. The Mimics have laid low since these things appeared. I think that's an indicator they believe they work."

"We'll know for sure when they finally attack again," Shining agreed. "But I think we can trust them. I don't know who the guy that gave them to us is, but I think we can trust him."

"I hope you're right," The captain nodded. "And I hope that if these missing people were taken by the Mimics, they're at least still alive. There's no telling what the Mimics do to people once they have them. As much as I want us to be the ones that stop them, the Kamen Riders are our best bet at beating them. Until we find a way to damage them ourselves, the Riders are the only thing keeping us safe."

"But that doesn't mean we can't fight to keep our citizens safe," an officer cried. The others agreed, as the captain called an end to the meeting.

"Good work, Armor." The captain turned to him. "Catching the connections between the missing and the Mimics."

"Thank you, sir. My sister is dating the boy Gule is impersonating."

"I see. That must have been hard for her. How's she doing?"

Shining sighed, "not good."

At CHS, Twilight was sitting in the library.

A book was open in front of her, but she wasn't reading it. Even though she was staring at the words, her brain was elsewhere. On the memory of Gule, being forced to change into a perfect copy of her boyfriend.

Off to the side, the rest of The Rainbooms watched as Twilight was clearly upset. "The poor thing," Rarity stated. "She's been like that for days."

"Can you blame her?" Sunset asked. "She just learned she's been dating a Mimic for who knows how long. That's sure to throw anybody off their game. And she's probably worried sick about what happened to the real Timber."

"Oh," Fluttershy looked upset, "I wish there was something we could do."

"Yeah," Pinkie frowned. "I usually know how to make people forget their worries. But what are you supposed to do for someone, whose boyfriend was abducted and body snatched by a slimy bug monster."

"Dwellin' on it won't help her," Applejack stated. "We need ta get her mind off of the situation. Help her recover. Maybe if we do something she'll enjoy, she'll be able to stop thinkin' about Timber. At least for a little bit."

"You're right," Rarity nodded. "But I'm not sure she needs to avoid thinking about Timber. She needs to come to terms with it. But I don't know how we do that."

"Well I'm with Applejack," Rainbow nodded. "Lets get her mind off Timber for a bit. Then, after a while, maybe she'll feel better about talking about him." The others nodded, as they made their way over to Twilight. As they did, they didn't realise they weren't the only ones watching her.

Flash was standing at the top of the library stairs, looking down at Twilight as the girl stared at her book.

The Kamen Rider could see how upset Twilight was, but he had no idea how he could possibly help her. Mostly, Flash was worried that if he tried to help her, Twilight might think it was him trying to come onto her. Now that Timber was out of the way, a lot of people assumed Twilight would start getting the attention of other guys.

"I can't let her think that of me." He turned to leave, whilst thinking of the friendship he had with Twilight.

Ever since they had met, their relationship had had its rocky moments. Flash thinking she was like her Equestrian counterpart, whilst Twilight barely knew anything about him. Then she had started dating Timber and Flash knew he wouldn't have a chance with her, so had moved on.

Because of that, and thanks to some intervention from Pinkie, the pair had fallen into a rather comfortable friendship with one another. It had started with her tutoring him, but they had grown closer thanks to it. Now, she was one of Flash's closest friends and he wouldn't risk that for anything.

"But if we are friends, shouldn't I try and help her?" He let out a moan and ruffled his hands through his hair. He didn't know what to do. "Why does this have to be so complicated?"

In the Mimic Base, Frill and Maya were in their human forms and working on the Mimic Cloning Device.

Multiple pieces of the device had been taken apart and now, the pair were working to put it back together after the modifications they had made. "Everything looks good," Frill announced. "Yes, I believe this should work just perfectly."

"Good," Maya stated as someone stepped into the room. "Ahh, arriving just as the work is done. Don't think you'll be getting any credit for this."

"Maya," Frill frowned, "this isn't about getting credit. It's about completing our mission, no matter what it takes." Maya frowned and was about to say something, but an alarm then went off and the Mimic stood to attention

As they transformed into their monster forms, they all looked worried and they made their way over to the communicator.

They knelt in front of it, as the machine unleashed the holographic screen of their leader and two others. "Master," Frill looked worried. "I know you're upset, that we still haven't been able to defeat the Riders and their allies. But it isn't our fault. Someone's helping them. Someone who clearly knows more about Mimics than any other opponent we've faced.

"Enough excuses," the leader announced. "I expect results soon, or else."

"We understand," Maya nodded. "And we have a plan to get things back on schedule. With the humans now able to detect us, even in human form, we must come up with another way to conquer the word. Our only choice is through a brutal frontal assault. We will overwhelm them with numbers."

"I see. And what do you intend to do with the Riders?" Frill and Maya weren't sure what to say, but Gule spoke up.

"Master, I have a request." Everyone turned to him, curious about what he wanted at a time like this. "I need a way to get stronger. Strong enough to overpower the Riders and uncover the truth."

"What truth?"

Gule sighed, knowing he needed to let his suspicions out. "For a while now, I've been sensing something from Shifter. A power I recognised. And as that power grew stronger, I realised what it was." Gule raised his head and stared at the hologram. "I believe that Kamen Rider Shifter is actually a Mimic."

"What?" The master asked, looking shocked.

"Yes. And not just any Mimic. My brother, Sheave-Far-Tar. His energy is exactly like my brother's. I'm sure they are one in the same."

"How long have you suspected this?" Frill asked.

"A while. But I didn't want to say anything until I was sure. But I am now. Shifter is Sheave. But he doesn't seem to even realise it. I'm sure he's been brainwashed, most likely by the cloaked figure that can force Mimics to human form and make those detectors."

"I see," The master seemed intrigued by this. "So you wish for more power, to defeat the one you believe is your brother. Do you hope that if you defeat him, the brainwashing will come undone?"

"Honestly, I don't know. I hope so, but I can't be sure. But I do know one thing. My brother would rather die, than be a slave to humans. So if I can't undo the brainwashing, I wish for the power to free him another way."

"Very well. There is a way you can gain more power, but it comes with a risk. It is a trophy from our last conquest. The Hyper Core. If you can obtain its power, you will be strong enough to defeat anyone. But I warn you. Its power may end up ripping you apart."

"I'll take that chance," Gule replied. "If you deem me worthy of wielding it, I won't let you down."

"Very well. Return here and I will give you its power. The rest of you, focus on your plans to conquer this world. Do not expect my patience to be endless. I wish to see results." With that, the hologram vanished and the Mimic Generals turned to one another.

"You really think Shifter is your brother?" Frill asked, Gule nodding as he turned away.

"I do. And that might also mean Morphic is one of us as well."

Frill nodded. "It would explain how they're able to use animal abilities like they do. But it doesn't matter. We must conquer this world, even if the ones stopping us are fellow Mimics. We must defeat them."

"I know that," Gule agreed. "And that is why I will obtain this Hyper Core. With it, I will free my brother from the human's control. One way or another." With that, he walked away and the two Mimic Generals watched him leave before turning to one another.

"Whilst he's away, we must focus on our work." Frill walked towards the Mimic Cloning Device, the general changing to his human form along with Maya. "Just a few more tweaks and it'll be operational."

"Are you sure this is a good idea," Maya stepped over to a jar containing a Mimic Spawn. "Taking a Mimic and splitting it so many times. Won't that just make it weaker?"

"Maybe," Frill stated, "but this will give us the advantage we need. One Mimic fighting at one hundred percent, is still just one Mimic. But a hundred Mimics, each with only one percent of the full Mimic's power, is more than anyone can handle. The Kamen Riders are only one person. They can only fight one Mimic at a time. If they're forced to fight multiple Mimics, even if those Mimics are weaker, they'll soon be overwhelmed."

"I guess," Maya nodded. "But you're not really going to split the Mimic into a hundred pieces, are you?"

"No...probably not that many. But we still need a significant amount to overwhelm the Riders. Let's see how strong splitting one into twenty makes them. Then we'll go from there." Maya nodded and picked up the jar, walking over to the machine with it.

They took the slime out of it and placed it inside the device, as Frill began to power it up. They watched, as the slime was energised. And slowly, a small piece of it fell off and struck the bottom of the tube. It then slid out a hole and was ejected out onto the floor, where it began to wiggle. Then, it started taking shape.

Frill and Maya smiled, as the new creature formed in front of them. One of many that would soon follow.

The next day.

Saturday had come and Flash was using this day off from school, to patrol the city in case the Mimics decided today was the day they would break their silence. But as he made his way through the streets, he continued to think about what he saw yesterday.

As soon as school was out, Twilight's friends had dragged her out of the school and took her everywhere she enjoyed. To the museum, to a movie and to her favourite food place. From what Flash had seen online, everyone had had a great time. Everyone except Twilight, whose face had a forced smile on it.

Flash let out a sigh, still wishing he could help Twilight. But he had no idea how he was supposed to help, when Twilight's best friends hadn't been able to do that.

As Flash turned a corner, he was so focused on his own thoughts that he didn't notice someone in front of him. As such, he quickly found himself slamming into them. "WOW!" They both cried, tripping over each other and falling to the ground.

"Ow," Flash rubbed his head and turned to the one he had run into. And he was shocked when he saw who it was. "Twilight?" The girl was currently searching the ground, trying to find her glasses. "Sorry." He picked them up and handed them to her. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," she assured him before putting her glasses on. "Oh, Flash. I'm sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going."

"It's cool," he assured her. "I wasn't either." The two chuckled at this, but Twilight's smile soon faded. "Are you sure you're okay? I know you've been bummed out over the last few days."

Twilight sighed. "I...I'd rather not talk about it."

"I get it," Flash nodded. "I heard the girls were trying to make you feel better, keeping you distracted from...is it working?" Twilight didn't answer, letting Flash know how effective it was. "Okay. Sorry. I didn't mean to pry or anything."

"No," Twilight shook her head, "it's fine. Honestly, I appreciate everything they were doing. But it's hard. Learning your boyfriend might have never actually liked you."

"Don't say that," Flash placed a hand on her shoulder. "I don't know how long Timber's been a Mimic, but I'm sure it wasn't as long as you've known each other. And if it was, then you'll just get to make those memories real once Shifter saves him."

Twilight didn't seem so sure about that, making Flash feel like he was screwing this up.

Then, he noticed something and an idea formed in his head. "Are you doing anything today?"

"No," Twilight shook her head. "I think the girls planned on taking me somewhere, but I wasn't in the mood to try and have fun. But...I really didn't wanna sit around and do nothing either."

"Alright. Then come with me." He pulled Twilight along and the pair arrived at a nearby arcade.

"Flash. I said I wasn't in the mood to have fun."

"You said you weren't in the mood to try and have fun. But you also said you didn't wanna do nothing. So let's go in there. If you don't have fun, at least you'll be doing something. And if you do end up having fun, cool." Twilight saw his point and nodded, the pair heading inside.

In an unknown location, Gule was walking through a long dark corridor in his human form.

His nerves were racing, as he approached a door at the end of it. And as he opened it, he found a medium sized room on the other side that had a bunch of strange machines in all four corners. Those machines were unleashing a strange light, which came together to form a circular forcefield around something in the centre of the room.

That something was another machine, appearing as two podiums coming out of the ground and ceiling. There was a gap between them and filling it was a strange orb-like device, which appeared to be glowing a mixture of colours.

As Gule stepped forward, a speaker system called out to him in the master's voice. "Are you sure about this? This device might give you more power, but it could destroy you. And even if you're somehow able to survive, there's no telling what kind of mutation it could cause. It might result in you becoming permanently fused to your current host, or even killing your host and leaving you unable to take a new one."

Gule let that info sink in and nodded. "I understand the risks. But I need the power, to take down the Kamen Rider and allow our conquest to be successful."

"Very well." The machines in the corners powered down, causing the forcefield to disappear. And when they did, the energy from the orb was free to fill the room.

"Ahhhh!" Gule was suddenly overwhelmed by the power. It was like the gravity in the room had tripled, whilst wave after wave of heat struck him. "So strong." He changed to his monster form, allowing him to withstand the power easier. But it was still difficult to overcome.

"Still wish to try and absorb the power?"

"I...I can handle it." Gule pushed himself forward, groaning as he forced his body through the waves of energy. He also fell back a few times, but eventually he managed to reach the orb. "You...are mine!" With that, he grabbed the orb and the energy in the room, stopped. Instead, it flowed right into his body and he screamed. It felt like he was going to explode. "I...I can do this!" He roared, as more and more of the power flowed into him.

The master watched, as Gule struggled to gain control of the power he long for. He wasn't sure if Gule would be able to control it. But if he could, the Kamen Riders wouldn't stand a chance.

Back on Earth, Flash and Twilight continued to hang out at the arcade.

Currently, the two were playing air hockey. And it appeared that Twilight's vast knowledge of geometry, was giving her the edge in this game. She hit the puck at just the right angle, causing it to bounce off the side and fly into the goal before Flash could counter.

"YES!" She cheers, winning the game as Flash moans. This made her laugh, as Flash gave her a look.

"Rematch."

"Gladly." They started the game again and as they did, Twilight smiled at him. "Thanks, Flash. This has been a lot of fun. I don't know why, but this feels better than what the girls were trying to do."

"Maybe they were just trying too hard," Flash guessed, as he started hitting the puck towards her. "We're all worried about you."

"I know," Twilight nodded. "But it's hard. Knowing someone you liked was something completely different."

"Trust me, I know exactly what you're getting at. Don't forget, I dated Sunset before I learned she was a pony from another world. Then I met the other Twilight and went to a dance with her, only to learn she was from another universe as well. Let me tell you, that sure threw me for a loop."

"But at least Sunset and Princess Twilight liked you." Flash wasn't entirely sure if he could agree to that. "I just keep thinking about all the times we spent together. All the fun times we had. Were they all a lie?"

"I don't think so," Flash told her. "Remember when Gloriosa went Gaia Everfree and tried to trap us all in the forest?"

"How could I forget," Twilight sighed.

"Timber did whatever he could to save her. I doubt Gule would go to those lengths to save a human. He probably would have transformed into his monster form and destroyed her himself." Twilight thought about that and realised he was right. "I'm sure the Mimics haven't been around longer than you and Timber were together. At some point after you guys started dating, they took him."

"And now he's gone," Twilight whispered.

"For now," Flash told her. "But I'm sure the Riders will find a way to save him. No matter what, they'll figure out how to free him." Twilight smiled at this. She could tell Flash wasn't just saying that to be kind. He truly believed that.

"Thanks, Flash." Flash smirked back, only to use her distraction to knock the puck into her goal. "Hey!" Flash laughed, the two getting back into the game.

Outside, Shining had just gotten a coffee at a local store and was heading back to his car.

When he did, he noticed the Rainbooms walking down the street. The girls were missing one member. His sister. "Hey!" He called out, catching their attention. "You girls seem short a person. Where's Twilight?"

"No idea," Sunset frowned. "We went to her house, but she wasn't there. I get the feeling she might be avoiding us. Maybe it wasn't a good idea to try and force her not to think of Timber."

"Yeah," Rainbow sighed, "our bad."

"So you've no idea where she is." Shining didn't like that. He knew Twilight could take care of herself, but being on her own made her an easy target for the Mimics.

"Yeah," Applejack nodded, "she could be anywhere in this city."

"There she is," Pinkie pointed at a building and everyone turned towards it. There, they spotted Twilight inside the arcade. They ran up to the window and looked inside, needing to move around with so many people constantly getting in the way.

Twilight was sitting at an arcade racing game, with a big smile on her face. Then, they spotted who she was playing with. "Flash?" Sunset asked, as they all headed into the building.

As they approached, the pair finished their game and Flash cheered. "Victory!"

Twilight groaned, but was still smiling as they arrived. "Twilight?" They looked around and Twilight's smile lessened when she saw them, "what are you doing here?"

"Hey, guys." Twilight sighed. "Sorry I ditched you. I...I just..."

Flash spoke up. "Twilight appreciated what you were doing, but forcing her to try and not think about Timber wasn't what she needed." The girls frowned at this, knowing he was right. "Twilight and I ran into each other and I thought this might help. Split her focus."

"Come again?" Rainbow asked, as Twilight looked back at the game.

"Whilst I was playing here, I've been thinking about Timber. But focusing on the games let me think about him only a little, and it's helped me come to terms with what happened."

"It has?" Shining asked, having not expected that.

"Yes," Twilight nodded. "I don't know how long Timber's been replaced, but I'm going to find out. The next time I see Gule, I'm going to make him tell me when he took Timber. Then I'm going to make him tell me where the real Timber is and save him. I know it sounds insane and dangerous, but I have to save him. I know the Riders probably have a better shot at doing it, but I have to at least try."

Flash and Shining shared a look, unsure what to say here. Sunset then stepped forward and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"We get it, Twilight. You want to save Timber. I'm sure we'd all want to save our boyfriend if they'd been kidnapped. But you don't have to do it alone. If we can help, then we will. Right, girls."

"Totally!" Rainbow cheered, as Fluttershy nodded.

"Of course, darling."

"Ya'h know it."

"Yup, yup, yup."

Twilight smiled at them, then turned to Flash. "I don't have any super powers. But if there's a way I can help, even just a little, then count me in." Twilight's smile widened, as Shining nodded as well.

"Thank you. All of you. I'm so lucky to have so many amazing people in my life. I'm sure that together, we can save Timber and stop the Mimics." They all agreed with that. No matter what, they would find a way to defeat the Mimics once and for all and save everyone they had taken.

It was in that moment, Flash and Shining felt the sensation and were instantly put on guard. And they weren't the only ones.

Suddenly, everyone's bracelets started beeping and they held them up. The lights on the backs were glowing different colours, either green, yellow or red. And everyone quickly realised the colours indicated the direction everyone was standing in.

Flash's red flashing light was pointing at a Mimic in front of him and the teen headed out of the arcade. The others followed, their bracelets all turning red, until they were outside. The beeping and flashing got quicker and everyone looked around. Flash then looked up at the top of a building opposite the arcade, where he spotted a pair of figures standing on the roof.

"There!" He pointed up and everyone turned in that direction, spotting Maya and Frill.

The monsters glared down at them. "You guys again!" Rainbow grabbed her geode and transformed, the rest of the Rainbooms doing the same. "Where's the other one? Still stuck pretending to be someone he's not?"

"No," Maya replied. "He's off to acquire something that will help him destroy you fools. Not that he'll need to, since we'll take you all out before he gets back."

"And how are you gonna do that?" Sunset asked. "I bet Shifter and Morphic are on their way here right now. When they get here, you'll be sorry you ever came here."

"I doubt that," Frill stated. "By the time they get here, you'll all be destroyed. Especially with our new friends doing all the work." Everyone wondered what he meant by that, until Frill raised his hand. "May I introduce, the newest forces a part of the Mimic Army. Mimicreeps!" Suddenly, a bunch of creatures appeared on the roof beside them. They were too high for everyone to take in any details, but the beasts soon leapt down to the ground.

When they landed, Flash, Shining and the Rainbooms all got to take in their details.

They were humanoid, standing at around six feet. Their bodies were black in colour, but they were covered head to toe in orange-brown armor. It looked like it was made of the same amber-like substance that Derpy had been trapped inside of, which covered everything except the joints where its elbows, shoulders, knees, ankles and neck were.

Their heads were domed and covered in the amber armor, with an opening in the front where a monstrous mouth could be seen. And instead of hands, the end of their arms had a bunch of sharp metal claws coming out the ends of them.

"What are those things?" Rainbow asked, as Fluttershy hid behind her.

"Those aren't Mimics," Twilight guessed. "But they must have been made in a similar way."

"Smart girl," Frill smirked. "By splitting a single Mimic spawn into several pieces and supercharging them, we were able to create an endless army of powerful monsters. Though they lack many of the abilities that make Mimics so great, their numbers more than make up for it. Mimicreeps. ATTACK!" With that, the creatures charged.

Rainbow was the first to act, running forward at high speed and dealing a kick to one's chest at high speed.

The impact knocked the Mimicreep back, its body bursting like a water balloon and sending slime everywhere. Rainbow laughed at this and thanks to her super speed, she was able to deal several quick and strong hits to the creatures around her.

The rest of the girls followed suit, Rarity creating a bunch of gems that she threw like frisbees. Pinkie launched explosive lollipops and suckables, whilst Twilight grabbed whatever she could lift and threw it at the horde of monsters.

Whenever one of them got too close, Applejack used her super strength to punch one and send it flying backwards. This allowed Fluttershy and Sunset to stay back, both starting to wish they had some kind of long range attack power to go along with their normal abilities. Meanwhile, Flash and Shining used this opportunity to head back inside the arcade.

Many people had fled in the opposite direction when their detectors beeped, so the building was completely empty. They found the back door was open and both stepped out, happy to find nobody was in the back alley.

"Mimicreeps?" Flash asked, shocked by what he had just seen. "Like Mimics on their own weren't bad enough."

"They're an evil faction," Shining pointed out. "Most usually come with evil foot soldiers. Just gives us more targets to perfect our fighting skills on." Flash nodded and the two took out their Mimicores, activating them.

"STRIKE/BLITZ!"

"MIMIC! LIGHTNING BUG!"

"MIMIC! HERCULES BEETLE!"

The belts unleashed the slime, which flew into the air as the pair crossed their arms. As the slime felt atop them, it solidified to form the orange-brown cocoons. And soon enough, the cocoons shattered to reveal the Riders. Their armor quickly formed, as their suits spoke out in unison.

"Illuminate the light, striking through the darkness!"

"Power that shatters everything, contained in a mighty horn!"

"HYAH!" Rainbow slammed her foot into a Mimicreep's face, causing it to blow up.

"Take this!" Applejack grabbed two and slammed them together, whilst Rarity threw a bunch of gem disks that cut through several more. Twilight picked a few up and threw them against the walls, whilst Pinkie blasted the others with a cloud of sprinkles.

But no matter how many they defeated, more showed up and the girls were starting to tire.

"How many of these things do they have?" Sunset asked, as a Mimicreep leapt towards her and Fluttershy. The pair gasped, only for a laser to hit the beast and made it pop.

Everyone turned to where the laser came and spotted Shifter and Morphic, running towards them with their weapons at the ready. Morphic fired several lasers at the Mimicreeps, destroying them as Shifter got in closer. His Shift Striker was in its Blade Form and he started swinging it around, cutting the monsters down with ease.

"Nice timing," Rainbow told them. "These guys were starting to get annoying."

"Don't worry," Morphic stepped up to them. "We got this." He fired several times, blasting the monsters away. "You girls take this chance to get your breath back. There's no telling what those guys will do once they've run out of these things."

Shifter blocked a Mimicreep's attack with the side of his blade, using it to push the monster back before slashing at it with his sword. He also cut through three more as he did so, knocking them down without much trouble. He then spun around and dealt a kick to another's chest, knocking it back as he replaced the Mimicores in his weapon.

"PIERCE!"

The weapon transformed and he held his rifle, shooting it rapid fire to hit several of the Mimicreeps at a time. This combined with Morphic's blaster, helped to cut the number of them down significantly.

"They're dropping like flies," Maya growled as they watched their new army fall.

"I think it's time we intervened," Frill announced. "Leave Shifter to me. I wish to see if Gule was right about him." Maya nodded and the two leapt down, Sunset spotting them.

"Look out!" The Riders looked up and saw them coming, Maya firing several web shots towards Morphic and forcing him to leap away.

"Rematch," Maya stated. The Beetle Rider quickly fired at her and she started doing several flips and cartwheels to avoid his attacks.

As this was happening, Frill flew towards Shifter and launched several feather darts his way. Shifter fired his rifle and the attacks cancelled one another out, though Frill was able to deal a kick right to Shifter's chest and knock him back. And with Maya managing to hit Morphic with a web strand, pulling him towards her, the Rainbooms found themselves once again fighting the Mimicreeps without the Riders.

Luckily, the Riders' efforts had given them time to rest and cut the number of monsters down. This allowed them to fight a much more even battle, the Mimicreeps getting swatted light the flies Maya had referred to them as.

Frill took out several darts and to Shifter's surprise, they grew larger and turned hard. Shifter quickly found himself fighting a pair of feather-shaped swords, which Frill started slashing at him with. Shifter dodged and blocked the weapons with his blaster, attempting to shoot Frill when he got the chance, but Frill was actually rather skilled with these swords and easily deflected them.

Seeing no choice, Shifter quickly swapped his Mimicores and the Shift Striker morphed back to the Blade Form.

As Frill slashed at him, Shifter swung his own sword around. He was clearly faster than Frill, so able to fight the twin blades with his one weapon. The two were at a standstill, Shifter unable to get past the twin weapons whilst Frill wasn't fast enough to deal damage to him.

Morphic was also having issues, Maya having attached a line to his chest and using it to swing him around. The blue rider grunted, as Maya swung him into the side of a building. The impact made him flinch, as his weapon flew out of his hand and the spider pulled him away before smashing him into the ground.

"Augh!" He cried, as the Rainbooms noticed this and realised he might need a hand.

So before Maya could pull him away, Rarity threw a gem disk at the web and cut it. This caused Maya to stagger away, allowing Morphic to get up and jump over to where his weapon had fallen. But instead of picking it up, he took out another Mimicore and activated it.

"TOUGH!"

As the Blitz Blaster returned to his armor, he replaced his Mimicores whilst Maya picked herself up. "Mega Morph!" He slammed the draw shut and the lights on his suit changed colours.

"MIMIC! CROCODILE!" His armor quickly reshaped and as Maya fired another web-line, Morphic caught it and pulled Maya towards him. "Vice-like fangs and an impenetrable hide, crushing anything in its way." The armor solidified, as Morphic slammed his crocodile head arm forward and smashed it into Maya's chest.

"Augh!" She was thrown backwards, as Morphic's tail saw began to rev up.

"Prepare to feel the full power of my justice." He moved towards Maya, as the Mimic picked herself up. She fired several webs towards him, but Morphic used his chain saw to cut them apart. He then punched his other fist forward and unleashed the energy construct, which flew towards Maya and opened its crocodile mouth.

"Mimicreep!" She ordered, as one of her many monsters leapt out of nowhere and let the construct bite it instead of her. As The Mimicreep was destroyed, Maya leapt into the air and fired some webbing at Morphic's saw. And this time, the webbing struck part of the weapon's joints.

"What?" Morphic cried, feeling his weapon get clogged up. "Come on!" As he tried to free it, Maya landed in front of him and kicked him in the chest. He staggered back, then fired his construct at her. But she was able to duck under the attack and leapt at him, dealing another kick to his chest.

The only ones not in trouble were the Rainbooms, who were cutting through the Mimicreeps without issue. Soon enough, Twilight picked the last one up and threw it into the side of a building. As it burst against the wall, the girls looked around and saw Morphic and Shifter fighting as best they could against the Generals.

"Should we help?" Rainbow asked, Sunset frowning.

"We've never really had much luck with full on Mimics before. But maybe we can help give the Riders the opening they need. Rarity, keep Maya distracted whilst Twilight tries to de-gunk Morphic's weapon." They nodded and the girls ran forward, Rarity putting up a wall of gems that blocked Maya's next strike.

Morphic saw this and looked around, as Twilight ran over and looked his saw over. "What are you doing?"

"Helping you." Twilight used her magic to get into the gaps of his armor, grabbing the webs clogging it up.

Maya started punching and kicking at the shields, trying to break through it. Rarity tried her best to keep the wall up, but Maya then grabbed two of them gems with web-lines and pulled on them. This created a hole that Rarity quickly closed, but Maya pulled on another section and made another hole.

"Hurry!" She cried, as Twilight continued to work.

Back with Shifter, he and Frill kept duelling one another to a standstill. But as Shifter leapt back to avoid getting his head cut off, a cupcake smashed into Frill and blew him back. "Augh!" He staggered back, as Rainbow ran forward and did a sliding kick to knock one of his feet out from under him. "HEY!"

"Heads up!" He looked around and saw a piece of broken concrete flying at him.

He quickly slashed at the concrete, destroying it. But this gave Shifter the opening to charge forward and slash at him. "Gyah!" He staggered back, Shifter quickly dealing three more slashes at him.

This was when Twilight managed to fix Morphic's saw, pulling the last of the webs out of it. As he did, Maya unleashed a bunch of webs towards the walls and hit multiple gems. She pulled on a few and Rarity was unable to figure out which ones she had pulled on, causing holes to appear in the wall.

And before Rarity could replace them, Maya leapt through the hole and flew at her. She was about to strike her with a powerful kick, but Morphic leapt in front of Rarity and blocked her foot with his croc head.

"I don't think so!" He pushed Maya back and before the Mimic could recover, he charged forward and slashed at her with his now working saw tail. "Take this!" He slashed at her and Maya screamed, as it cut down her chest.

She fell to the ground, looking to be in serious pain. As she did, Morphic, Twilight and Rarity stood over her.

Her scream had also caught Frill's attention, making him look around and see her in the state she was in. "No!" He cried, as Shifter charged at him. But he blocked Shifter's sword and took to the air, unleashing a bunch of feather darts down towards them.

Shifter and the girls staggered back, Shifter doing his best to block with his sword.

Pinkie and Applejack shared a look and nodded, Pinkie taking out a cupcake that she charged with explosive energy. She handed it to Applejack and the girl used all her strength to throw it, the sweet treat flying towards Frill and missing the darts he was launching.

It then passed him and once it was behind the Mimic, it exploded and the force knocked Frill forward towards the ground.

Rainbow used this chance to pick up speed and leap into the air, flying towards him before he could recover. She then swung her foot around and slammed it into Frill's head, knocking him down and causing the Mimic a serious headache.

He screamed, hitting the ground hard. As he did, Shifter removed the Mimicore from his weapon. "Face it, Frill. The winds of victory have shifted." With that, he quickly placed it back into the Shift Striker before hitting the side of his belt.

"CLIMATICSTRIKINGBLADE!"

The lights on Shifter's suit glowed, as energy flowed through him and into his sword. This caused the blade to glow, as the white light running down the centre of his blade turned orange. He then charged forward, as Frill picked himself up.

He saw Shifter charging and launched several feather darts towards him.

Shifter swung his glowing sword around, the energy coming off it destroying the darts before they could even hit him. He then leapt into the air, raising his blade high as the energy completely enveloped the sword and made it turn orange.

Frill raised both his feather blades and crossed them, hoping to stop the sword. But as Shifter descended, the blade struck the crossed sword and cut them in half, they then sliced down Frill's body and made him cry out as Shifter landed. The Rider's sword tip hit the ground, melting it a bit as the energy flew into Frill and exploded.

The Vulture was sent flying back, crashing into a building before falling to the ground.

This attack caught everyone's attention, Morphic nodding whilst the girls cheered. They hoped this meant Frill was finished, but the Mimic General somehow managed to survive.

"Ahhh!" Frill clutched his chest, which had a large gash running down it. "Fool. You think you've won? Well you haven't!"

"We'll see about that," Shifter pointed his blade towards him. "You're in no fit state to continue. And I have no intention of letting you escape. But before I destroy you, you're gonna tell me where the real Timber is. And the other people you've abducted. I know you and Maya have human hosts, who you kidnapped and kept hidden away. Where are they?"

Frill glared at them. "Like I'd tell you."

"Fine," Shifter prepared to finish him off. But before he could, he suddenly sensed something. And he wasn't the only one. Frill also noticed it, along with Maya and Morphic. Even the Rainbooms seemed to feel it. An overwhelming presence in the air. "What?"

Slowly, everyone turned towards the presence. When they did, they were shocked to see Timber Spruce walking towards them. But something didn't feel right.

"Timber?" Fluttershy asked, Sunset shaking her head.

"That's not Timber." She then noticed someone, rushing forwards towards Timber. "Twilight, stop!" But Twilight didn't. She kept going, until she was right in front of Timber. The two glared one another down, Timber raising an eyebrow.

"Can I help you?"

"I want to know," Twilight stated. "How long? How long have you been impersonating Timber? I know it couldn't have been before I met him. So how long have you been pretending to be him?"

Timber smiled. "Fine. If you must know, we first met when I came to the mall you worked at." Shifter and Morphic remembered that day. That had been the time they had first met and learned each other's secrets. "Let me tell you, all that time I spent with you was a nightmare. I don't know what my host sees in you."

Twilight felt a stinging feeling at that statement. whilst Shifter ran towards her.

He got between them and pointed his weapon at the Mimic. "She'll get to ask him, once I've cut you down and freed him." Gule chuckled at this and before Shifter could try anything, his eyes glowed and a powerful wave of energy exploded out of him.

Frill and Maya both managed to leap up and avoid it, but the others found themselves getting thrown back.

They cried out, as they crashed into the ground and groaned. "What the heck was that?" Rainbow asked, as they started picking themselves up. When they turned to Shifter, they saw him radiating energy.

"What have you done?" Shifter didn't know much about Mimics. But he knew for sure they shouldn't be unleashing energy like this. Gule had done something. Something the Riders felt they were going to enjoy.

Timber's body began to melt and change, everyone expecting him to transform into his normal form. But when he solidified, everyone was shocked to see he was different from before. More beastly in appearance.

His base shape was the same, but he had a bunch of spikes covering his body. His shoulders had a bunch of spikes sticking out of them, along with on the back of his arms, the front of his feet and knees, along with two sticking out of his stomach pointing diagonally upwards. The lights were still on his body, only now they were connected by glowing veins that went up his arms and legs.

These veins wrapped around the base of the spikes, whilst all leading upwards towards his chest. And in his chest armor was some kind of glowing orb, which pulsed with energy. Finally, he had a second set of wings coming out of his back along with a smaller set coming out the sides of his ankles.

Maya and Frill looked impressed, whilst the others looked worried. Gule just laughed, as more energy flowed off of him. "Now you see. I have become so much more powerful than any of you fools. With this Hyper Core, I've evolved into a force you can't hope to defeat. A Hyper Mimic!"

Everyone had a bad feeling about this. Gule was already powerful before. But now, he might have become unstoppable.

Author's Note

Well this was a much lighter chapter action wise, but hopefully that'll give everyone the chance to catch their breath. But next week, things get serious. Hope to see you there.

Movie 1: Part 2

Canterlot Hospital was in a flurry of activity, as the doctors and nurses did their best to protect the patients that had been unable to leave when the Raptorians attacked.

Many of them prayed that the Kamen Riders could keep the battle out of the hospital, which the Riders were able to do. But as soon as the last Raptorian was destroyed, the Riders ran into the building with a bunch of kids and the staff knew that couldn't be a good thing.

And sure enough, one of the rooms was suddenly blown up when a bolt of lightning exploded out of a door. A doctor had been in that hallway when it happened and as the lightning flew through the air, he barely managed to avoid getting zapped as he leapt out of the way.

Once he was up, he looked towards the room and was greeted with the sight of a hideous female monster with a staff of some kind.

Inside the room, Reeka stared at the ten individuals that had managed to escape her attack. The seven girls had shielded themselves behind the purple haired one's magic barrier, whilst the Riders had leapt to one side of the room that her lightning hadn't touched.

Shifter was the first to react, once the lightning and smoke died down. He charged whilst placing his Mimicore into his weapon.

"BLADE!

The weapon had turned into a sword and Shifter started swinging it at her, with Reeka using her staff to block it or dodge. "Nice try! But it'll take more than that to defeat me!" She unleashed a blast of lightning, whilst Shifter used his sword to block. As he did, Morphic raised his Blitz Blaster and fired at her. But Reeka dodged without even looking.

"Careful," E-Quest told him. "Reeka's a powerful sorceress. And her personal magic makes it tricky to take her by surprise."

"Personal magic?" Twilight asked, as Rainbow ran forward at high speed. "Rainbow, wait!" But it was too late and Rainbow tried to throw a kick in her direction.

But before she could hit Reeka, the witch thrust her staff at the girl and a light flew out of it and hit the girl in the chest. And the next thing they all knew, Rainbow vanished into thin air. "RAINBOW!"

"What happened to her?" Morphic asked, as Reeka thrust her staff upwards and unleashed another blast of lightning that filled the room. This forced everyone to take a defensive stance, Rarity putting up a shield around the Rainbooms, as E-Quest ran forward and did his best to avoid the lightning.

He managed to get close enough to Reeka, where he started throwing high powered kicks in her direction. But Reeka avoided them all again and thrust her staff into E-Quest's gut, knocking the Rider staggering back. And as he did, another flash suddenly had Rainbow appear where she had been before.

She was still flying forward and throwing a kick, which ended up hitting E-Quest and knocking him back. "GYAH!" The two crashed into the ground and slid along it, coming to a stop as Rainbow looked around.

"What the heck just happened?"

The others were just as confused, as Shifter charged towards Reeka again. He slashed at her several times, but she was able to dodge them without even looking. It was like she could see all his attacks before he made them. "Come on! What's the deal!?" He swung his sword and then leapt into the air, spinning as he tried to feint her into dodging the sword whilst he would hit her with a kick.

But Reeka didn't even bother with the sword, instead blocking his kick with her staff and pushing her back.

As he was thrown back, Pinkie threw some sprinkles at her whilst Morphic fired his weapon. But once again, Reeka was able to avoid all these attacks before launching a fireball in Morphic's direction. "Wow!" He jumped to the side, as the fireball hit the wall behind him. "What's the deal? Is she psychic or something?"

"Or something," E-Quest stated as he pushed Rainbow off of him. But before he could say what was happening, Applejack and Shifter charged again. Applejack tried to punch her whilst Shifter attacked with his sword again.

Reeka dodged the punch and blocked the sword strike, as Applejack tried to kick her. But Reeka hit her with the end of her staff and the girl vanished like Rainbow had, the prism haired girl gasping whilst the others looked worried. But Shifter couldn't worry, as he quickly found himself fighting in close quarters with Reeka.

The pair locked weapons and pushed against one another, Shifter feeling Reeka give in and stagger back with him following suit. "No!" E-Quest cried, "it's a trap!" But it was too late and in a flash, Applejack reappeared where she was and was still throwing her kick.

But because Shifter had moved forward, he was now in the kick's direction. "AUGH!" He was thrown backwards by the kick and crashed into the side of a wall, falling to the ground as Applejack gasped.

"What the hay?" Applejack was then blasted by a bolt of lightning, also getting thrown backwards, whilst Reeka laughed.

She then dodged all of Morphic's lasers, the Rider growling. "What is with her? How is she able to do all this stuff?"

"She's controlling time." Everyone turned to E-Quest. "It's her personal magic. The ability to manipulate time. She can see into the future and send objects there." Everyone looked shocked, as they turned to Reeka whilst the witch monster chuckled.

"How do we fight something like that?" Sunset asked. "One wrong move and we could be sent a century into the future."

E-Quest shook his head. "Luckily, she's not that powerful. She can only look about a minute into the future and can only send things that far as well. But even so, that's still a tricky type of magic to fight against."

"Now now!" Reeka raised her staff and unleashed blasts of lightning, "don't go giving all my secrets away!" The lightning filled the room and flew all over the place.

Everyone cried out, as they staggered back in surprise. They could do nothing but defend themselves, all of them staggering back to a safe distance. It seemed like Reeka couldn't be stopped, until Shifter noticed an area that the lightning wasn't getting close to.

The Mimic cocoons had gone untouched through this battle. As if Reeka was purposefully avoiding them. And as he thought that, Shifter's eyes went wide. "That's it!" He leapt around the lightning and jumped to that area of the room, Reeka seeing this and growling. "You came here to steal these cocoons. For whatever reason, accidentally damaging them wouldn't help you." He took out a Mimicore and placed it into his Shift Striker.

"PIERCE!"

As his weapon morphed into the futuristic rifle, Reeka stopped her lightning attack as Morphic jumped to another section of the room. E-Quest did the same, as he changed the crest in his Driver and transformed. "Magical power of the cosmos, unleashed using a single mighty horn! UNICORN POWER!"

The three Riders pointed their ranged weapons at the witch, the three forming a triangle around her.

"Doesn't matter if you can see the attack coming," E-Quest stated. "So long as you can't actually avoid it, that's what matters." The three started firing, E-Quest shooting fireballs whilst Shifter fired his spines and Morphic his energy blasts.

The three attacks flew towards her from different angles. Reeka tried to avoid them, but there were just too many attacks. When she dodged a green spine, she was hit by a fireball. When she tried to dodge an energy blast, she was struck by a green spike. And when she tried to dodge a fireball, the energy blasts slammed into her.

Things only got worse, when Pinkie threw a bunch of explosive sprinkles at her and Rarity sent several gem disks her way.

The witch screamed as she was hit again and again, unable to avoid all the attacks. And as the barrage ended, she suddenly found Applejack right in front of her with her fist pulled back. And in the blink of an eye, Rainbow also appeared having shot forward at incredible speed.

Applejack launched her punch, at the same time Rainbow spun around and threw a kick in her direction. The two attacks collided with her before she could warp the pair into the future, the witch screaming out as she was sent flying backwards.

She slammed into a wall with a cry of pain and fell to the ground, her staff almost falling out of her grasp.

The heroes stared at her, with E-Quest jumping forward and looking ready to use a finisher like he had on the Raptorians. "It's over, Reeka. Come quietly so we don't have to destroy you." Reeka pushed herself up and glared at them, clearly not ready to give up this fight quite yet.

But at that moment, a portal suddenly opened up behind Reeka.

"What?" E-Quest asked, as a hand suddenly reached out and grabbed Reeka. A hand everyone else recognised.

"Greye!" Shifter cried, as he and Morphic fired their weapons into the portal. But before they could reach it, Reeka was pulled through the portal before it closed. The attacks hit the wall instead, damaging it but not knocking it down. And with the threat now gone, everyone took a breath.

E-Quest reached down and closed the crest before removing it from his belt. This caused his armor and suit to glow before disappearing, revealing the teen that had been wearing it. "She'll be back. She and Draggle." He turned to the other Riders, seeing they were both still wearing their suits. "Don't you wanna take those off? You guys must be exhausted."

"Why would we do that?" Morphic asked. "Then everyone would know who we are." The teen raised an eyebrow, as Rainbow turned to him.

"After all we've been through, you really don't trust us with who you guys are?" The rest of the girls frowned, as Shifter and Morphic shared a look. Clearly, they were having a mental discussion about possibly revealing who they really were.

"Doesn't matter," E-Quest stated. "If you guys don't wanna reveal who you are, that's fine. It's your choice. I was just surprised since in my universe, everyone knows who I am under the mask."

The girls seemed to accept this, Twilight turning to him. "Who are you, anyway? I'm guessing E-Quest isn't your real name."

He nodded and did a bow. "Burst is the name. Burst Force. I'm the two hundred and fifteenth Kamen Rider E-Quest, protector of Equestria and defender of all that's good in the world."

"Nice to meet you," Fluttershy bowed back as Pinkie jumped over to him.

"Yeah!" She grabbed his hand, "it's great to meet you." She started shaking his hand enthusiastically. "I'm Pinkie Pie!" She let him go, but Burst's arm was still moving up and down from how hard she shook it. The party girl then jumped over to each of her friends. "This is Sunset, Twilight, Rainbow, Fluttershy, Applejack and Rarity!" She then bounced next to the two Riders. "And our town heroes, Kamen Riders Shifter and Morphic!"

"Nice to meet you all," Burst grabbed his arm to stop it from shaking. "I know that me showing up out of nowhere was kind of insane. But I promise you, I'm on your side. If Reeka and Draggle are working with those Mimics you're fighting against, it means we have a common enemy."

"I guess," Shifter nodded. "Who exactly are these witches? I know they're from your world, but where did they come from?"

Burst sighed. "Reeka and Draggle, are the daughters of an old enemy of mine. Hydia. She was a witch, only her power far exceeds Reeka and Draggle's abilities. She tried to conquer my world, using monsters she created with dark magic. I was finally able to stop her, with the help of my partner. Kamen Rider Dragus. We worked together to destroy her. But her daughters managed to escape. We've been trying to find and capture them ever since then."

Morphic nodded. "And when you finally found them, you suddenly found yourself getting warped to this world."

Burst nodded. "I thought I was in trouble, when I woke up in a completely different world. For the last few days, I've been trying to get a read on this place. I'd hoped you had some kind of magic, that could send me home. But then I learned that magic didn't exist in this world. I was really starting to panic. Then, I learned that this world had Kamen Riders as well. I've been trying to find you all day. That's when the Raptorians attacked and I realised, Reeka and Draggle had to be here."

"And they somehow joined the Mimics," Twilight realised. "Somehow, they must have come to an agreement. Reeka gets these cocoons back and the Mimics...I don't know what the Mimics would do for them."

"Me neither," Burst stated. "But I know it's not gonna be good. Hopefully, those Mimics call off whatever deal the sisters had with them. If they can't get the cocoons, the girls might not be of any use to them."

"Maybe," Morphic nodded. "But I don't think the Mimics will call their partnership quits just yet." Morphic hoped he was wrong and the two groups did turn on one another. If they were lucky, they might end up destroying each other. if not, then things were gonna get tricky for the Rainbooms and the Kamen Riders.

Reeka frowned, as she found herself in the Mimic's new lair.

It was very similar to the old lair, only this one seemed to be in some kind of large skyscraper. A large window was letting in light and allowed Reeka to see outside the building. Though what was outside wasn't something Reeka wanted to see.

Standing next to her, was another monstrous human. She was tall and lean, with a large bush of read hair running down her back. Her teeth were much more well kept and instead of a pig's nose, hers was long and curved like a bird's beak. She was wearing a dress that was a mixture of light and dark blue, whilst she carried a staff just like Reeka's.

As they stood there, the four Mimic generals glared at them as they stood together. Greye-No-Bill, Maya-Vala-Uru High-Vol-Tech and Frill-Nar-Ron, all had an unpleasant look pointed at the sisters.

"You told us you could get our hosts back," Greye stated. "We had a deal. You get our cocoons back and we help you in your little endeavour. But you failed and what's worse, you let the Riders know we're working together."

"We almost had the cocoons," Reeka told him. "If that stupid E-Quest hadn't shown up, the Riders would have been too busy dealing with our Raptorians. I would have had the time needed to break the chains and collect your cocoons."

"You said you threw your Kamen Rider into another dimension," Maya stated. "You never said it was our Dimension!"

"We didn't know," Draggle cried. "We had barely any control over the spell, when we cast it on him. The chances of him being sent to the same world we were going to, was a billion to one."

Frill huffed. "Clearly, there's more to that spell than you realised. It probably forced you here because you sent that Rider to this dimension." Reeka and Draggle frowned, knowing there was a chance he was right. "In any case, that doesn't matter. What does matter, is that now they know you're after the cocoons like we are. They won't leave them so weakly guarded anymore."

"We can still get them for you," Reeka stated. "We'll just need a little more help then we realised. If you were to help us, that might go a long way to getting us the results you require." The Mimics frowned at them, clearly about to say no. But before they could, an alarm went off.

The Mimics rushed over to their communication device and all knelt down, as the device projected the hologram of their master. The figure in the shadows looked around, spotting Reeka and Draggle. "I understand we have a new problem to deal with."

"Yes, master." Greye nodded. "The Rider these two talked about is here. They failed to acquire the cocoons for us and are now asking for our help in doing so." The sisters frowned at him, as the master hummed.

"I see. Very well. Grant them some assistance. But if they fail again, I won't be pleased. We made a deal. Don't expect us to fulfil our end of it until you've fulfilled yours. Understand."

"Yes," Reeka and Draggle nodded. The master cut the call, as the sisters looked over at something on a nearby table.

That something was a small tank, with something floating inside of it. A strange purple crystal, which had been shattered into multiple pieces. One piece of this crystal was missing, leaving the jigsaw that made it unfinished. But despite being in multiple pieces and missing a part, the crystal was giving off some kind of energy. One that made all those that looked at it feel overwhelmed.

Back with Burst and the others, they were all outside the hospital.

The cocoons were being moved to a more secure area. Hopefully, the Mimics and their new friends wouldn't be able to keep track of them and they would remain hidden. But the Riders wanted to be careful, since there was a chance this was exactly what the Mimics wanted them to do.

"So what do we do now?" Fluttershy asked, who was scratching Spike's head. The dog had been chilling in Twilight bag throughout the entire insane event and now that it was over, he was out and happily enjoying some attention.

"Well," Burst stated, "I'd like to try and find a way to contact my friends back home. They're probably worried sick about me."

"Is that even possible?" Rarity asked, as Burst reached into his jacket and took something out of it. A strange looking device, which looked like a strangely made mobile phone. But it looked damaged. "What is that?"

"It's a device that my friends and I use to keep in contact. It's even able to connect to one another through other dimensions. This isn't the first time my friends and I have crossed into other worlds. But it got damaged when I was thrown into this world."

Twilight took it from him and started looking it over, the device looking like nothing she had ever seen before. Sunset also examined it and felt traces of Equestrian Magic, the girl realising Burst's world must use a combo of tech and magic to create devices like it.

"Can't ya'h fix it?" Applejack asked, with Burst shaking his head.

"No. I'm more skilled with breaking things then fixing them. I've no idea how something like this works. But..." He turned to Twilight. "The Twilight in my world was an expert in technomagic. You think you might be able to repair it?" Twilight was shocked by this, but took another look at the device.

"I can try. No promises it'll work, though." Burst nodded, as Shifter turned to him.

The Kamen Rider was curious, hoping he might have an answer to something he and Morphic had wondered for a while. "Burst. How did you become a Kamen Rider? You said you were the two hundredth..."

"Two hundred and fifteenth E-Quest," Burst explained. "I am. Two hundred and fourteen ponies have wielded this power before me. Whenever one died or was too old to carry on the duty, the Driver would choose the next Rider to wield its power. After Hydia killed my predecessor, I was chosen to take up the mantle."

"So where did your Driver come from?" Morphic asked. "I'm guessing the answer isn't just, 'it was made using magic.' If it was, wouldn't it make more sense to make a bunch of them and give one to every guard and law enforcer in your world?"

Burst smirked. "You're right. It was made using magic, but the material used to make it is unique." He took out his Driver and looked it over, everyone else getting a good look at it. "Over a thousand years ago, a meteorite crashed into Equestria. It broke into several pieces before it landed and when a unicorn magician went to investigate it, he discovered its incredible powers."

"So he used it to forge your Driver?" Sunset asked, wondering if the magician was his world's Starswirl.

"Yup. It was during a time of great upheaval in my world. Monsters were constantly attacking ponies and there was only so much they could do to fight them off. So, he forged the Driver using the largest piece and used the smaller ones to make the crests. When it was done, he handed the Driver to a pegasus knight he knew was pure enough not to use the power for evil. And so he became the first Kamen Rider E-Quest."

"And now you've taken up the mantel?" Shifter asked, with Burst nodding as he put the Driver away.

"Wow," Spike smirked. "So in your Equestria, there's always been someone who could wield all those powers. No wonder your world's so well protected."

"Actually, most Riders only have the power of one crest." He took the magical shields out of his jacket and showed it to them, the girls examining the ones that belonged to their Equestrian Form's race. "Since I'm an Earth Pony, I was given the Earth Pony Crest to wield. It's the form I have the best sync with, but we later discovered I can use the powers of all the Crests. It was kind of a shock, when I suddenly managed to activate the Pegasus Crest. And later, I did the same with the Unicorn Crest."

"So you're the only one that can use all three?" Sunset asked, with Burst nodding. "Amazing. Why do you think that is?"

"Well," Burst's moved back and forth as he thought about it. "It might have something to do with my Alicorn Blood."

"Alicorn Blood?" Shifter asked. "What's an alicorn?"

"It's the most powerful Pony in Equestria," Sunset explained. "Princess Celestia, Luna, Cadance and Twilight are all Alicorns. They have the powers of Earth Ponies, Unicorns and Pegasi. They're all three species in one." She turned back to Burst, "and you have the blood of one?"

Burst nodded. "My mother was an alicorn." He suddenly looked very nervous. "Princess Celestia." Now everyone really looked shocked. They all knew Celestia, Sunset even knowing two, and the thought of this guy being her son was insane. "I was actually born over a thousand years ago. But I was stolen from my mother and almost got killed. At the last moment, a powerful mage saved me by sending me into the future. He only intended to send me a few weeks forward, when I would be safe. But his spell got interrupted and he sent me forward a millennium."

"You were born a thousand years ago?" Pinkie cried, with Burst nodding.

"Look pretty good for my age, don't I?" They all chuckled at this, as Fluttershy then frowned.

"Why did they want to kill you? You were just a baby. Why would anybody want to harm a child. Was it because you were the child of an alicorn?"

"Not exactly," Burst stated. "It wasn't because of who my mother was. It was because of who my father was." This got confused reactions from the others, as Burst took a deep breath. "My father was an evil king. A member of a species of shadow monsters. His name was Sombra."

"Sombra!?" Sunset gasped, as the others turned to her. "Princess Twilight told me about him. He was an evil king that tried to conquer Equestria. He started with The Crystal Empire, which he conquered and enslaved to turn into his army of puppets."

"The same thing happened in my Equestria," Burst nodded. "But before that, he and my mother had a close relationship. But she was a princess, so she couldn't be with him. That's what all her advisers told her. They all thought he was just a normal unicorn. An orphan they found in the snow. Despite how brilliant he was with magic, he was still just a commoner. Somepony not fit to marry an alicorn."

"But he wasn't just a common unicorn," Sunset stated.

"Yup. He tried to find a way to prove himself worthy of my mother and that's when he discovered the truth. That we was a shadow monster named an umbrum, transformed into a unicorn in order to escape a seal trapping the rest of the umbrum. When he discovered the truth, his true power was awakened and it warped his mind. If the only way to be with his mother was to become a royal, he would win that title by conquering all of Equestria."

"Oh," Rarity looked ready to start crying. "What a tragic tale. Two lovers, turned into enemies because of events out of their control."

Burst nodded. "My father was defeated by my mother and aunt, but none of them realised she was pregnant with me. When they discovered this fact, many feared I would be just like my father and attempt to repeat his crimes. That led to me getting kidnapped and sent to the future. A thousand years later, I was found by a farmer and taken in by his family. They raised me. Cared for me and taught what it meant to be a hero."

"And then you inherited the Driver?" Sunset asked.

"Kinda. I'd always wanted to be a guard, so I moved to Canterlot as soon as I was old enough. And when I arrived, Hydia attacked with her monsters. That's when the Driver appeared and chose me to be E-Quest. And over time, I learned the truth behind my origins and came to terms with it."

"All the while fighting against those witches," Morphic realised. Burst nodded, as he moved away from them.

"We defeated Hydia, but her daughters escaped and now they're here." He turned towards the Riders. "I don't know who you are, but you're Kamen Riders. That means you fight to protect the world. And until Reeka and Draggle are dealt with, I'll help fight to protect it as well." He held out a hand, "we good with that."

The Riders nodded and moved over and grasped his hand in theirs, the three nodding at one another before Shifter and Morphic's heads shot up and turned in the same direction. This made Burst tilt his head.

"You guys okay?"

"Mimics," Shifter stated. "I can sense Mimics."

"What?" Twilight asked. "You can sense them?"

Morphic nodded. "We don't really understand how, but it's just something we can do. Looks like the Mimics are back and up to no good." He growled. "Why now? Couldn't they have let us handle those witches first."

Burst frowned as he took out his Driver. "Don't forget, the Mimics and Witches might be working together. I'm willing to be where those Mimics are, Draggle and Reeka aren't far behind." He placed the belt on his waist, the straps appearing as he took out his crest. "Let's do this."

"EARTH PONY!"

The shield unleashed the shield of light, as he placed it down into his Driver. The energy horse then appeared, as Burst struck a pose. "HENSHIN!" He pushed the handles in and split the shield open, as the light flew down over him. Once again, everyone watched him transform into the white suit and head covering. Moments later, the energy horse exploded and created the armor that covered his form.

"Power of the Earth, unleashed in a single destructive kick! EARTH PONY POWER!"

E-Quest sighed as he felt the power flowing through him, whilst Shifter and Morphic took out their small bikes and threw them into the air. The bikes quickly turned to goo and expanded, reshaping themselves into the now life sized bikes that the Riders climbed onto.

Shifter turned to E-Quest. "Wanna ride?"

E-Quest chuckled. "No thanks. I wouldn't be much of a Kamen Rider, if I didn't have my own set of wheels." He took out another crest. One that showed the image of a horse and motorbike running side by side towards the one staring at it. "Summon, Steed Cycle!" He pressed the button and the shield opened up, unleashing a light that formed a portal.

A neighing sound came out of the portal, as everyone rushed to stare into it.

When they did, they saw a white stallion charging towards them. It was wearing white armor that covered almost its entire body, as it galloped out of the portal and moved with incredible speed. It pranced around the area, as the armor began to glow.

Within seconds, the armor merged with the stallion and transformed it into a robotic creature that suddenly transformed. Its legs folded at the knees and a disk of light appeared between them, which faded to reveal leather tires that connected to the legs at the knees. Its tail began a bunch of metal tubes that pointed upwards, acting like exhaust, whilst its body gained a leather seat with handlebars coming out the back of the neck.

Transformation complete, the new bike shrunk as it rolled towards E-Quest. The Ride leapt up and landed on the seat, as the bike rolled to a stop next to Shifter and Morphic. "Pretty cool, huh?" The Riders could only nod, as E-Quest revved the engine. "Alright, lead the way."

They nodded again before turning to the girls, Morphic speaking up. "I know you girls want to help, but leave this to us. I don't want a repeat of what happened the last time you fought the Mimics."

"But we can help," Twilight cried.

"Help by fixing Burst's phone," Shifter stated. "That might be more helpful than fighting." Before the girls could argue, the Riders kicked off and flew through the town.

E-Quest's Steed Cycle was able to move just as fast as their bikes, so they were zooming through the town without issue. "So," E-Quest turned to the others, "now do I get to learn who you guys are? We're away from anyone that might know you and I promise, I won't tell anyone."

Shifter and Morphic shared a look before nodding at one another. "My name's Flash Sentry."

"You can call me Shining Armor."

"Flash and Shining," E-Quest nodded. "Cool names. So, how did you guys become Kamen Riders?"

"Honestly," Shifter replied, "we have no idea. We just woke up one day and when the Mimics attacked, we found we could transform."

"There's a guy named Corvyn," Morphic explained. "We think he might know what happened. But he won't tell us what until after the Mimics are beaten."

"Really? Well that seems unfair." E-Quest focused back on the road. "I'd really try and look into the truth, if I were you. If that guy's keeping a secret, you need to find out what it is before it's too late." The other Riders wondered what he meant. "Like I said, I've been to other Dimensions before. And I've met other Riders, who have all been tricked or manipulated into unknowingly helping the villains."

"You've met other Riders?" Shifter had always wondered if there were more out there.

"Yup. There's one Rider named Dragon Knight, who was manipulated by his enemy in the hopes of turning him into a loyal lackey. Boy, did that ever go wrong for him. Heck, most Riders were actually created by the villains. Weapons of destruction that turned against their creators."

Shifter and Morphic listened closely. They didn't know anything about Kamen Riders, so hearing this information was truly a shock to them. Were they anything like those Riders? Weapons turned against their masters?

Shifter remembered when he was captured by the Mimics. They were certain he was a Mimic, something the Rainbooms had also asked about. But Flash refused to believe such a thing. Shining had helped him realise that he was a human and that was that.

Morphic's head then moved up and the other Riders turned to him, as he looked around whilst looking like he had had some kind of revelation. "What's up?" E-Quest asked.

"I think I know where the Mimics are." Morphic's body language told them he was angry and annoyed.

Shifter sensed them again and was pulled in the direction of a building, that was taller than the ones around it and had a rather impressive architecture. The roof of this building was made of a special material, which looked like it was designed to mimic crystals. There were even a few towers made of the same stuff, which Shifter felt like he had seen before.

And as they turned into the street they were being pulled in, Shifter suddenly realised where they were going. "Shining. Are we where I think we are?"

Morphic nodded. "It's my old alma mater." The three pulled their bikes to a stop, as they looked up at an almost castle-like building surrounded by a stone wall. it was a place Flash had hated until recently, due to the rivalry it had shared with his own school. But now, he needed to protect it and those within it. "Crystal Prep."

Author's Note

Not as much action in this chapter, but a fair bit along with some vital information. We now know what Reeka's powers are, the hero's backstory and where the story's taking us. How will this turn out next time? Find out.

Movie 1: Part 6

Canterlot City was in a panic. Not only had a red sphere of energy trapped the citizens inside the city, but now a giant made of wood, ice and rock had appeared.

It stomped around the city, terrifying everyone as they tried to get as far away from it as possible. But two individuals refused to run away, these Kamen Riders remaining where they were as the Elemental attempted to crush them.

Shifter and E-Quest found themselves in a tricky situation, as the Elemental was staring down at them. Their bikes had been damaged by a ground punch it had performed, forcing the pair to pick themselves up and fight without their best means of transport. All the while, Hydia watched from the giant shoulder and laughed at their plight.

"Kamen Riders with nothing to Ride. How entertaining. Tell me, heroes. What will you do now without your precious bikes?"

"We don't need our rides to beat you," E-Quest stated. He then started running forward, stomping the ice covered ground as he charged. Whilst he did, Shifter raised his Shift Striker and placed his Piece core into it. This changed it into its gun mode, allowing him to fire high power projectiles at the Elemental's chest.

They flew up and slammed into the giant, the impacts knocking it backwards and allowing E-Quest to reach its leg.

He leapt forward and swung his leg around, smashing the armored limb through the Elemental's leg. The impact caused a large chunk of rock and wood, to explode off the giant's leg and forced it to stagger backwards. E-Quest then summoned his Gaia Slammer and leapt at the other leg, but the wood around this leg suddenly grew a bunch of wood spikes that shot towards him.

E-Quest was forced to dodge these spikes, which pushed him backwards as he swung his hammer around to shatter the spikes.

Shifter ran towards the damaged leg and started firing at it, hoping to destroy the rest of its leg and cause its foot to fall off. But the Elemental looked down at him and raised its hand, as its fingers started firing its own projectiles down towards him. "WOW!" Shifter leapt back, as the wooden spikes pierced the ground.

This gave the giant time to repair its damaged foot and allow it to step away from the Riders. And as it did, Hydia laughed.

"Pathetic. You can't hope to destroy my creation. So long as I have your friends magic feeding it, it'll constantly regenerate any damage you try and do to it."

The Riders both frowned, realising she was right. "Shining," Shifter sighed, "you need to get the girls out of there." The Elemental fired a blast of ice from its mouth, which the Riders barely managed to avoid. They couldn't do this forever. Eventually, they would slip up or exhaust themselves. If that happened, the Elemental would crush them like bugs.

In another part of the city, Morphic and Dragus were racing through the town.

They were following the magic stream, which connected the Elemental to the girls that were acting as its battery. If they didn't save the girls soon, something aweful might happen. So they were trying to get there as quick as possible, the pair eventually turning into an area of the city that was full of warehouses.

As they flew past the other large buildings, they spotted the one the light was coming out of. And they soon found another light appearing around the warehouse. A light that spawned a bunch of Raptorians.

"Oh, come on!" Morphic cried. "How many of these things do they have?" The pair pulled their bikes to a stop and got off their rides, as the bird wolf hybrids let out several squawks before charging.

Dragus summoned his lance, whilst Morphic's Blitz Blaster appeared. The pair then charged forward, Morphic launching a barrage of lasers towards the horde and gunning them down. This allowed Dragus to cut several more down and kick a few away, the two Riders fighting through the crowd with everything they had.

Inside the warehouse, the Rainbooms were still being drained of their magic. And with the rune keeping them from actually using the magic, all they could do was stand there getting the energy sucked out of them.

Reeka and Draggle laughed, as they heard the fighting going on outside. "Those Riders will finally meet their match," Reeka stated. "No matter how hard they fight, they can't possibly defeat us."

The girls heard this and all began to worry, fearing the Riders might be in over their heads. With how powerful the Infinigem was making these witches, defeating them seemed almost impossible. And with each passing second they where there, more and more of their power would be drained away.

"Shifter," Twilight whispered, "Burst. Please...help us."

Back with the Elemental, the giant raised his fist before slamming it down into the ground.

The shockwave that followed was incredible, as the Riders barely managed to keep themselves from getting knocked down. And moments later, giant wood and ice spikes shot out of the ground. "Look out!" E-Quest yelled, as he barely managed to jump so he was between two spikes before they stabbed him.

"FLIGHT!" Flash slotted the Mimicore into his Shift Striker and it transformed, as he leapt up right before the spikes flew out of the ground. As he did, the device unleashed a blast of wind that propelled him upwards away from the spikes.

The Elemental saw this and pulled its fist out of the ground, the spikes retracting as well, before taking a deep breath in and unleashing a blast of frozen wind.

This shot towards Shifter and he barely managed to avoid getting frozen solid, the Rider flying to the side only to find a fist soaring towards him. "Uh oh!" He tried to fly straight up, but got struck by the fist and sent sailing backwards.

"Shifter!" E-Quest cried, as the Elemental pulled its foot back. The Rider then looked around and saw it coming, swinging towards him at high speed. "WOW!" He tried to leap back, but even is super strong legs couldn't push him away fast enough.

The foot smashed into him and he let out a cry of pain, as he was thrown backwards and crashed into the ground several times before sliding to a stop. Shifter had landed on the ground next close to him, the two feeling a lot of pain as Hydia laughed.

"Oh, this is too much. I knew I would enjoy this, but this is even better than I thought." She watched, as the Riders began to pick themselves up. "You two really are suckers for punishment." She hummed before chuckling. "I think those girls deserve a front row seat to your destruction."

Back at the warehouse, the Rainbooms and witches were listening to the battle outside.

Morphic and Dragus continued to fight their way through the Raptorian horde, as they tried to get to the warehouse. And as the explosions and squawks filled the air, a light suddenly appeared in front of each girl. "What?" Sunset asked, as the light morphed into round portals that showed the exact same thing.

"Shifter!" Rainbow cried, seeing him and Burst picking themselves up. "What's this?"

Reeka and Draggle laughed. "Looks like our mother decided to give you girls a little show." They watched, as the Elemental unleashed another blast of ice towards them. "Enjoy watching your power destroy your friends."

The girls could do nothing but watch in horror, as the Riders were once again forced to avoid another blast of ice. But this time, Hydia got into the action and used her staff to unleash chords of lightning.

These chords wrapped around the Riders and lifted them into the air, shocking them as it did so. "No!" Pinkie cried, as Fluttershy tried to look away with tears in her eyes. The Riders let out screams of pain, which broke the girl's hearts.

"RAAAAAAAAAAH!" Shifter screamed, his entire body feeling like it was on fire. E-Quest also seemed to be in as much pain, as Hydia finally threw them upwards and released the pair.

But as they flew up, the Elemental swung its arm around the backhanded the two. Both screamed out, feeling their bones getting rattled as they were thrown two streets over and crashed into the roof of another building. Both just laid there, knowing that they'd probably be dead if they weren't suited up.

Hydia laughed at the pair, as the Elemental began to smash his way through some building to get to them.

The Riders began to pick themselves up, as they realised they needed another game plan. "Time to power up," E-Quest took out a golden crest. "Flash. You got anything that can give you a little extra umph?"

"Yeah," Shifter nodded as he took his Hyper Strike Core out. "It's supposed to be a last resort kind of thing. But nothing screams last resort more than this." Burst nodded as they stood up, the Elemental heading towards them. As it did, the pair activated the devices simultaneously.

"HYPER STRIKE!"

"ALICORN!!!!!"

They placed them into their Drivers, as the Elemental tried to smash its fist down onto them. "Shape Shift!" Flash slammed the Driver close, whilst E-Quest did the same and opened his crest. Doing so created a shield of golden light, which flew up and blocked the fist.

"MIMIC! LIGHTNING BUG!" Shifter's armor started melting, as the energy of his Hyper Core flowed into it and supercharged the slime. And as it began to reshape, the Elemental was knocked back and the shield flew down onto E-Quest.

A golden energy construct also appeared above him, taking the form of a horse with wings and a horn. And as the shield flew over his form, his suit bulked out and changed from white to gold. The energy horse then exploded into multiple different energy streams, which flew down and slammed into him.

Soon enough, E-Quest was decked out in a combo of all three of his different armors. His legs had the bulky armor of his Earth Pony form, whilst his chest had the armor of his Pegasus form with a pair of wings on the back. His right arm had the horned horse head, whilst his golden helmet had a horn and the wings on the side of it. There was also something that resembled a crown, fused to the helmet.

His wings expanded, whilst Flash's super form completed its transformation and the pair stood side by side radiating power.

"Ultimate light, strikes to eradicate the shadows!"

"Theharmonicpowerofthreetribesinone,unifiedthroughthegreatpoweroffriendship.ALICORNPOWER!!!"

The two Riders stared up at the Elemental, whilst Hydia looked surprised by the sudden surge of power coming off of them. And as the Elemental tried to slam its hand down on them, E-Quest spread his wings and took off whilst Shifter leapt up into the air.

E-Quest flew up towards Hydia and shot at her with his unicorn arm, the witch creating a barrier of light that blocked the attack. But this distracted her, as Shifter landed on the Elemental's arm and shot up it whilst a trail of orange lightning flew behind him.

He managed to get up to its shoulder, where Hydia was waiting, whilst slotting his Strike Core into his Shift Striker.

E-Quest had flown behind the Elemental, the witch following him as he did whilst shooting fireballs. This meant she didn't notice Shifter was approaching until he was right behind her, the witch spinning around and trying to put up a shield. But before she could, Shifter thrust his sword forward and stabbed into her several times.

"Augh!" She screamed, as she was knocked off the giant's shoulder and fell towards one of the buildings.

The Infinigem went with her and at the last moment, she managed to make a barrier between her and the building. When she hit it, the light stretched and she flew down towards the building like she was falling into a giant trampoline. The light vanished before it bounced back, but she slowed down enough to not get hurt.

As she fell, E-Quest flew up to the Elemental's head whilst his horn began to glow multiple colours.

"Come forth!" He swung his arm around, the horn's light flying off and forming a bunch of different elemental arrows. "Magical Onslaught!" The arrows shot towards the Elemental, as it spun around to face him.

The fire arrows slammed into is face, exploding, whilst the lightning arrows blew apart some of its bark skin. The ice and rock arrows pieces right through it, creating large holes in its chest, whilst the wood arrows stabbed into it and started growing vines that wrapped around the Elemental.

Shifter's lightning wings sparked, the energy flying off and forming larger wings that allowed him slight flight.

With these wings, he glided around whilst stabbing the Elemental in several spots. He blew apart areas of bark, allowing the vines to sink into the wood and dig into the soil like roots. At one point, Shifter leapt off the Elemental and flew towards E-Quest, who used his horn to create a barrier like the one Hydia had made.

Shifter slammed into this barrier and it stretched out, eventually bouncing back and sending him flying towards the Elemental.

Shifter generated as much energy as he could and channelled it all into his Shift Striker, causing the rod-like blade to spark. And when he reached the giant's chest, he thrust his blade forward and the energy exploded into the Elemental's chest. The force of the impact caused a large section of the Elemental to explode, knocking the giant staggering back.

Shifter once again flew backwards, E-Quest creating a harder barrier for him to land on as they watched the Elemental barely keep from falling over.

Once it regained its footing, Hydia stepped forward and unleashed a fireball towards her creation. The Riders watched that fireball slam into the vines surrounding the giant and igniting them, causing them to burn away whilst leaving the Elemental untouched.

"You gotta be kidding me," E-Quest groaned. As the vines disappeared, the Elemental's body began to repair itself. The holes slowly filled and the bark began to grow over them. Within moments, the golem was completely restored.

"This is gonna take a while," Shifter sighed.

"We just gotta hold it off until Dragus and Morphic can save the girls." E-Quest got ready for another fight. "Once they're free, the magic keeping this thing together will be gone." The Elemental let out a roar and tried to freeze them, both Riders leaping away from the ice attack. "I just hope they save them sooner rather than later."

Back at the warehouse, Morphic and Dragus continued to fight their way through the horde of Raptorians.

The numbers were starting to get low and neither pair appeared to be getting tired, yet. Morphic blasted two more and Dragus speared three in one strike. The creatures all squawked and exploded, allowing the pair to keep up the attack.

Inside, Reeka and Draggle could hear that the Riders were running out of opponents. "Should we summon more?" Draggle asked, but Reeka shook her head.

"Don't bother. With our increased power, those fools don't stand a chance. We'll take them down, here and now." Draggle smiled before Reeka turned to the girls. "We won't be long. Let us know if anything interesting happens with the other fight." With that, they headed out and arrived just as Morphic and Dragus destroyed the last of the Raptorians.

The two Riders saw them appear and knew the girls had to be inside. But Reeka magicked the doors closed, preventing them from entering. "You'll have to get past us, if you want to save those girls." Draggle laughed at her own words.

"Bring it!" Dragus growled, he and Morphic getting into a fighting stance before charging.

The witch sisters were quick to respond, Draggle teleporting over to Morphic and swinging her staff towards him. He blocked with his wrist armor and pushed the staff away, attempting to blast Draggle but the witch warped away. She then shot a fire at him, the blast sending him flying with a cry out pain.

Dragus reached Reeka and tried to stab her, but she avoided it like she had seen it coming. And she had.

Before Dragus could counter, Reeka suddenly multiplied herself several times before they all launched bolts of lightning towards him. Dragus tried to shield himself, but the attacks were coming from too many directions and he was quickly overwhelmed.

The Reeka army then ran forward, their staffs glowing as they approached. "Time to age you into dust!" One of then swung their staff at him, but Dragus was just able to dodge it.

"Wow!" He staggered back, but another charged and he had to spin out of the way. "Too close!" Yet another charged and swung their staff downwards, Dragus leaping back as the ground was struck and a small patch began to age. "Back off!" He landed and thrust his gauntlet forward, unleashing a green flamethrower that flew towards the army.

One of them raised her staff and created a shield, which blocked the flamethrower and kept them safe. And when Dragus' attack stopped, the others unleashed another lightning barrage that hit the ground and blasted Dragus flying.

"GYAH!" He was thrown backwards, hitting the ground hard next to Morphic.

The two Riders moaned, as they picked themselves up whilst the sister laughed. "How pathetic you both look right now." Reeka pointed her staff at them. "Don't you get it? You have no hope of defending against our power. The Infinigem is unstoppable."

Morphic growled, "every power has a flaw. Shifter and E-Quest will find it and when they do, you and your mother are gonna be sorry." The two stood up, as Dragus took something out.

"And once we've saved the girls, your Elemental is gonna be going bye bye." Morphic saw he was holding a new crest and nodded before taking out a Mimicore, the two activating them at the same time as they lit up.

"TRI-HORN!"

"DRAGONLORD!"

The two placed them inside their Drivers, as Reeka and Draggle crossed their staffs and unleashed a combined burst of lightning. "Mega Morph!" Morphic cried, as he slammed the draw shut whilst Dragus opened up the chest. As he did, the shield of light suddenly appeared in front of them both to block the lightning.

"MIMIC! TRICERATOPS!" Morphic's armor melted and began to reform, whilst the shield flew over Dragus. When it did, his armor vanished and his suit became bulkier and stronger looking.

The energy form of a dragon with a crown and golden claws appeared, which then exploded and flew into the Rider. His armor reformed, only this time it looked more regal. A crown-like attachment became part of the helmet, whilst his arms and boots acquired golden armoring. A purple cape also appeared out of his back and flowed down, as Dragus held his hand out before the remaining energy created a staff out of purple rocks with a red gem on the end.

Morphic's dinosaur transformation completed as well, the blasters on his arms extending as the two Riders stood side by side.

"The charging force of three horns, triple the destructive power."

"Thekingofdragons,hisroarforcingallwhohearittoobey.DRAGONLORDPOWER!"

The two Riders raised their weapons, Morphic and Dragus charging forward with Dragus' staff glowing. "Take this!" Multiple fireballs appeared around the staff before firing, Reeka and Draggle jumping back to avoid them. But this allowed Morphic to leap into the air and thrust both fists forward.

The lasers exploded out of gauntlet blasters, raining down upon the witches and causing them to stagger around until Draggle warped them both to a safe location.

As soon as they appeared, Reeka unleashed a blast of lightning towards them. But Dragus jumped in front of Morphic before his cape came to life, growing larger before wrapping around the Rider and shielding him from the blast.

Morphic then leapt over Dragus and when he landed, he slammed his fist into the ground. The three blasters on his wrist unleashed beams that flew into the ground, the light flying through it towards the witches.

Reeka, using her future sight, saw what was about to happen and leapt away. But she didn't have time to warn Draggle, which meant she took the full force of the explosion that followed. She screamed out, as she was blown into the air. As she did, Dragus' cape split and morphed into a pair of wings. These allowed him to fly up towards her before slamming his staff into her chest.

"AUGH!" The energy that exploded from the staff, exploded and sent her crashing towards the ground.

She slammed into it and the following explosion, caused her to cry out. "Draggle!" Reeka cried, but then felt a surge of magic besides her and saw her sister appear. She seemed a little singed, but she was alright. "Damn you!" She told the Riders, Dragus unleashing another blast whilst Morphic tried to get to the warehouse.

But Draggle teleported them in front of the building and Reeka thrust her staff forward, a laser flying out and slamming into the Triceratops Rider.

"Gyah!" He was blasted back, Dragus managing to catch him as the sisters prepared for another attack. The Riders knew this wasn't gonna be easy. But they would do whatever it took to defeat them and save the girls before it was too late.

Back with the other Riders, Shifter switched his Shift Striker into the Flight Form and was using it to counter the ice blasts the Elemental kept unleashing.

Whenever the giant breathed ice in their direction, Shifter unleashed a tornado that struck the ice blast and pushed against it. The two forces countered one another and created a bunch of snow, which began to rain down on them from above.

As this was happening, E-Quest flew around aiming his horn arm at either the Elemental or Hydia. He launched fireballs, lightning, beams of light and many other different attacks, hoping to overwhelm the two and give Shifter the opening he needed to strike a finishing blow.

But Hydia created a barrier that blocked the attack, whilst the Elemental took the attacks and simply allowed itself to heal up afterwards. Nothing E-Quest did seemed to have any lasting effect on either of them.

"Do it!" Hydia cried, as the Elemental suddenly reached up with its giant hand to try and grab E-Quest out of the air. The Alicorn Rider saw it coming and with a roar of effort, swung his leg around and smashed it into the giant's hand.

The impact was enough to blow apart and bark and soil, but the Elemental didn't seem phased. Instead, it swung its other hand around and grabbed him before he could repeat the attack. "Augh!" E-Quest found himself getting squeezed tightly, at the fingers wrapped around him. "Not good."

"No!" Shifter cried, as he summoned his energy wings and flew into the air once again. As he did, he changed the Mimicore in his Shifter Striker.

"BLADE!"

The sword formed and Shifter swung it around with all his might, the Hyper Core energy flowing into his sword as he struck the fingers. He cut through them and weakened their hold. But as soon as he did, his entire body suddenly froze. "AUGH!" The energy wings faded, as he began to fall towards the ground. And as he did, the Elemental swung its half regrown fist at him and punched him hard.

Hydia laughed, as she watched Shifter get sent flying towards the ground and crash into the still frozen road.

He crashed into it, breaking the ice apart as he ground along it and eventually stopped. He was clearly in a bad way and still unable to move, making him a sitting duck for the Elemental.

The giant took a step forward, only for its other hand to suddenly explode. "RAAAAAH!" E-Quest flew out of the destroyed hand and unleashed a massive wave of wind, which slammed into the two and knocked them both back. Hydia was thrown off the side of the roof, the witch creating a barrier between the two buildings that she slid along to the next roof.

As they did, E-Quest flew down towards Shifter and picked him up by the armpits.

"You okay?" He asked, as his fellow Rider moaned. Shifter could feel himself beginning to recover from his overuse of his Hyper Core energy. He had to be careful. He couldn't allow that to happen again.

E-Quest flew them both up to a rooftop and once they were there, the Elemental picked itself up.

The giant raised its fists and brought one down onto the top of the roof, E-Quest taking flight whilst Shifter leapt to another roof. The building was quickly smashed and as the Elemental followed Shifter, E-Quest flew up to its eyes and unleashed another barrage of fire that destroyed its eyes.

But no matter how much damage they did to the giant, it would just keep healing itself. So long as it had the girls to feed off of, there would be no stopping it.

"Raaaaah!" Morphic threw a punch at Draggle, firing his lasers as he did, but she teleported behind him.

He spun around and tried to kick her, but she warped away again. No matter how many times Morphic tried to hit her, she escaped and hit him with a laser whenever there was an opening. The Rider was thrown staggering, whilst Draggle prepared another attack.

Dragus swung his staff at Reeka, but the witch was able to see each and every attack that was thrown her way.

Dragus growled, as he leapt back and slammed his staff into the ground. The purple rock stuck to the ground, as the golden parts of his armor glowed before the light shot off of it and into the red gem.

From out of the gem, several golden dragons flew out and charged towards Reeka. They roared, trying to slash and bite at her. The number of attacks proved too much for her to counter all at once, causing her to receive several slashes and hits from dragons tails.

Dragus then pulled his staff out of the ground and charged forward, roaring as he moved as fast as he could.

As he got close to Reeka, the other dragons attacked and they appeared to give her no place to hide. But at the last moment, Reeka slammed her staff into the ground and vanished. This caused Dragus and his dragons to have no target and when they unleashed their attacks, they flew at one another and slammed into the one opposite.

"GYAH!" Dragus cried, as he was blown backwards and his dragons disappeared.

He hit the ground and rolled along it, Morphic also getting blasted back. The two lay on the ground, clutching their chests and other areas that had received damaged.

The witches laughed, seeing the pair in such a feeble state. But the Riders weren't down yet. "We're not giving up," Morphic groaned. "We're getting in that warehouse."

"Doubt it," Reeka stated. "Against our unlimited power of time and space, nothing can defeat us." She and Draggle crossed their staffs and unleashed a combined blast of energy, but Morphic and Draggle leapt forward. Both rolled along the ground, as it exploded behind them.

They then jumped back to their feet and ran as fast as they could. Both ready to take these two down once and for all.

Shifter let out a roar, as he leapt onto the roof that had Hydia on it and charged.

She put up a forcefield and Shifter slashed at it repetitively, aiming at the same spot hoping to weaken it with each strike. But Hydia's shield remained strong and when Shifter pulled his sword back, she unleashed a lightning bolt that slammed into him and threw him backward.

"AUGH!" He cried, the lightning coiling around him as he was lifted into the air.

The Elemental saw this and tried to punch Shifter across the city, but E-Quest fired a blast of lightning that disrupted Hydia's energy. He grabbed Shifter and lifted him up above the giant, then dropped him as Shifter held his sword up before slashing downwards.

The blade carved down the centre of the giant's head, chest, stomach and groin. When Shifter's blade left the monster, E-Quest caught him again.

When they flew back up, they saw the Elemental slowly repairing the damage done to it. They hoped to attack again before it could finish regenerating, but Hydia had other ideas. As they flew up, she thrust her staff forward and unleashed a burst of wind.

The tornado shot up and slammed into the pair, making them both cry out as they were sucked inside. E-Quest tried to regain control, but he could and the two were soon thrown out the side and slammed into the roof of another building. As this was going on, the Elemental completed its regeneration and was ready for a fight.

Both forced themselves back to their feet and once they were up, they charged in to battle once again. Shifter even changed his weapon back to its Pierce Mode, as he tried to attack Hydia.

The girls could do nothing but watch, as the city's heroes fought with everything they had. But no matter what Shifter and E-Quest tried, nothing seemed to work against her.

"Give it up!" They heard Hydia cry, as she unleashed a blast of lightning towards Shifter. The Rider cried out, as he was blasted back. At the same time, E-Quest unleashed a magic blast with little success. "Nothing you do will defeat me and my Elemental."

Sure enough, the giant backhanded the Rider before he could escape.

"GYAH!" E-Quest cried out, as he flew down and crashed into the roof besides Shifter. The pair groaned, as the Elemental stared down at them.

It then took a deep breath before unleashing a blast of ice, which flew down towards the Riders and prepared to freeze them solid. But E-Quest managed to recover in time and unleashed a blast of fire that stopped the ice blast, whilst Shifter lifted his Pierce Shift Striker and started firing his spines towards the monster. These slammed into its face and stabbed it in the eyes, making it roar in pain as it staggered back.

But as the Elemental smashed through a building, Hydia unleashed a rain of fireballs that came crashing down on the Riders.

They both cried out, as they were thrown back. "Just give it up. My power is infinite you can't win!" The Elemental's eyes slowly began to repair themselves, as the Riders lay on the roof.

The Rainbooms looked down, believing this was the end. There was no way the Riders could defeat such powerful opponents. Not when they had the Infinigem and their magic.

But Shifter's voice broke them out of this fear. "There's no way I'm giving up!" They looked back, as the Rider pushed himself up. "So long as I'm breathing, I won't give up. I don't care how powerful you are. How hopeless it seems. So long as I'm alive, I'll keep fighting."

E-Quest pushed himself up as well. "He's right. We won't let you get away with this. Abusing your powers to make others feel pain. No matter how much power you have, we'll find a way to beat you."

"Oh please," Hydia laughed. "Don't make me laugh." She slammed her staff into the ground and the Elemental threw a punch towards them. But Shifter quickly switched his Shift Striker to blade form and with all his strength, charging the blade with his Hyper Core Energy, he swung the blade around and sliced part of the monster's fist clean off.

E-Quest then unleashed a blast of fire, which struck the remains of the fist and blew it backwards.

The Elemental stomped backwards, as it started rebuilding its fist. Shifter and E-Quest turned back to Hydia, both ready to keep fighting. "You think you're unstoppable," E-Quest stated. "But the Infinigem's been beaten before."

"And we'll find a way to beat it as well," Shifter proclaimed. "No matter how impossible it seems. We won't stop trying until you and that thing are finished." The two charged again, Shifter slashing at Hydia with his sword whilst E-Quest flew into the air and sent several kicks in her direction.

Hydia did her best to block their attacks, unleashing blasts of fire and lightning as they did. But the Riders avoided these attacks and whilst they didn't seem to be dealing any damage to her, they were starting to make her feel overwhelmed.

The Elemental finished repairing its fist and attacked again, but the Riders leapt out from under its large hand.

Shifter landed on top of it and raced up the side of its arm, whilst E-Quest took to the sky and flew up towards its head. The giant saw them and as it pulled its arm up, it prepared another blast of ice. But E-Quest unleashed a burst of fire that flew into its open mouth.

The Elemental roared, clutching its throat as Shifter reached its shoulder and leapt towards its throat above the hands.

He swung his blade into the wooden skin and cut into the bark, slicing it open and causing mud and water to come spilling out. E-Quest flew down and caught them, as the Elemental staggered around and fell to its knees.

Shifter and E-Quest returned to the roof, as Hydia fired bolts of lightning at them. But Shifter raised his hand and fired his own orange bolt, which struck Hydia's attack and cancelled it out. E-Quest then dropped Shifter before unleashing a blast of blue energy.

It struck the roof and caused everything except the area under Shifter's feet to turn to ice.

The witch suddenly lost her footing and screamed, falling over with the Infinigem floating above her. Shifter then leapt at the gem with his sword ready. But seconds before his blade could strike the Infinigem, a forcefield appeared around it and blocked the sword.

"Augh!" Shifter jumped back, as Hydia used her staff to melt the ice so she could pick herself up. But the Riders weren't deterred and would keep fighting, as the Elemental's throat began to heal.

Inside the warehouse, the girls watched and couldn't believe how determined the Riders were.

"They're right," Sunset told them. The others, the ones who could, looked her way. "We can't just give up. We have to do something."

"What can we do?" Applejack asked. "Our powers have been blocked."

"We have to try," Sunset stated. "This is our magic. How many times are we gonna let others use it to cause problems? I don't care if something's blocking it. The Riders are right. If we keep trying, we'll find a way to get out of here. We just have to be strong and not give up."

"She's right," Rainbow nodded. "Come on. If we focus, maybe we can find a way out of here. It beats sitting around waiting for our magic to run out." They all agreed and closed their eyes, focusing on their geodes and the connection they all shared with one another.

Outside, Morphic and Dragus continued their fight against the sisters. Morphic kept sending blast punches their way, whilst Dragus swung his staff around and unleashed a burst of green fire.

Draggle teleported the pair away from the attacks and both appeared above the two, falling towards them as they swung their staffs downwards. The energy this unleashed slammed into both Riders and knocked them backwards, both crying out as they smashed into the ground.

The Rainbooms heard this and all kept their focus on breaking free. And slowly, their geodes began to glow. It was hard, but the girls kept forcing their energy outwards. And eventually, they felt the circle around them begin to warp a little. The magic it was pulling out of the girls, was beginning to slow in its flow.

The girls all groaned, feeling like something was trying to stretch them out. They kept up their focus and slowly, they felt their magic begin to reverse. They cried out, using all their strength and mental skill to pull the energy back into them. And it was working.

The magic circle's glow began to flicker on and off, as the magic feeding it was dying down. The girls began to glow as well, Applejack straining to rip the shackles off whilst Twilight was pulling on them with her magic.

Pinkie was making it so the sprinkles on the metal were beginning to glow, whilst Rainbow was beginning to vibrate. Rarity was creating a small diamond disk and Fluttershy and Sunset, having no real ability to escape, instead focused on the connection between them and the other girls.

They were letting their magic flow into Twilight and the others, giving them a much needed power boost. And with it, they all felt their strength surging. So much so, that the runes on the top of the posts were beginning to spark and smoke. And eventually, they all exploded as Applejack let out a roar. "RAAAAAH!" The metal finally broke and she was able to rip her arms out of the shackles.

Twilight was next, managing to undo the lock on her shackles and free herself.

Pinkie's sprinkle exploded, burning the shackles off of her, whilst Rarity was able to cut through the metal and Rainbow shook hers apart. Finally, Applejack and Twilight were able to free Sunset and Fluttershy, the seven girls freeing themselves from the rope holding them to the posts.

The magic circle flickered some more, then glowed before exploding into a million tiny specks of light.

The girls were suddenly overwhelmed by exhaustion, the seven all falling to the ground as they felt their magic returning to normal. This also caused the other magic circle to stop glowing, the energy stream growing weaker.

Outside, the Riders were still fighting the sisters with limited success.

Reeka multiplied herself again and her army unleashed a bunch of fireballs, Dragus creating a fire stream that blocked them. But this allowed Draggle to teleport behind them as her staff sparked, the witch swinging the end at the pair. But Morphic was able to see this coming and spun around, slamming a kick into her chest to knock her backwards.

She staggered back, as Morphic fired several lasers at her. But she was able to teleport away before they hit her.

She reappeared next to Reeka, as her sister's clones vanished. The pair were about to attack again, but then noticed the energy stream coming out of the warehouse was weakening. "What?" Reeka asked, the witch gasping as she turned to the Elemental.

Said giant threw another punch towards E-Quest, who dodged it before diving down and swinging his feet into its arm.

Doing so cut through a large chunk of its wood and mud, going all the way to the metal bone. And as he flew up, Shifter ran along the roof and inserted his Strike Core into his Shift Striker. The weapon changed into the pistol, which he rapidly fired at Hydia.

But the witch simply blocked it with her barrier, as the Elemental began to repair its arm. "Ha!" She laughed. "I could do this all day. But it's clear you two aren't going to last much longer. I know using those kinds of forms is quite taxing. You must be running on fums."

Shifter and E-Quest said nothing, but a look towards one another showed they really were getting tired. If this battle lasted much longer, they were gonna run out of juice.

"I knew it. And unlike you, I've barely used any of the power I have. The Infinigem multiplies my power, turning a drop of magic into a vast ocean. I can never get tired."

The pair frowned, but then Shifter saw something that made him smirk. "Maybe. But your little friend doesn't seem to have the same trick." Hydia raised an eyebrow, only to then look over and see the Elemental's energy stream was disappearing.

"What?" She gasped, seeing it transform into a thin strip before vanishing all together. "Impossible!" She swung her staff around and created a tear in the world, allowing her to see through it and spot the Rainbooms as they began to recover and escape from her warehouse. "THAT'S NOT POSSIBLE!"

"Hahaa!" E-Quest laughed. "Let me guess. You don't have the girls to charge your monster anymore, do you?" The witch turned to glare at them, but then focused her attention on the Elemental. And to her horror, the light from the Rainbooms was beginning to die down. If it stopped, the Elemental would disintegrate.

"It's over!" Shifter cried, as he ran forward with his sword at the ready. He charged it with energy and slashed at the witch, but Hydia jumped back as the Infinigem glowed.

"It's not over!" She raised her staff and the gem floated above her, as a forcefield appeared around her. "If I don't have those girls to give me power, I'll just use my own until we capture them again." With that, she unleashed a stream of energy that flew up towards the Elemental.

It connected to it, almost at the exact same time the Rainboom's magic vanished.

Shifter and E-Quest saw it beginning to move and turn towards them, the pair getting ready to defend as it raised its hand to smash them again. But once again, they leapt up and avoided the hand. Shifter landed on its arm and ran up it, whilst E-Quest flew around.

The Alicorn Rider fired several blasts of energy from his horn, whilst Shifter slashed at the arm several times. The Elemental pulled its arm back and started swinging it around, trying to dislodge the Rider. But Shifter stabbed his sword into its arm, allowing him to stay held on.

The Elemental then raised its other arm and tried to swat him like a fly. But the Shifter leapt off the arm at the last moment, slicing his sword through its wooden skin as it did so. At the same time, E-Quest flew up towards its face. And before it could react, he unleashed a barrage of lightning bolts that flew into its face and exploded.

The monster roared, as its eyes and most of its face were destroyed.

Hydia flinched, as she tried to pump up its power and make it regenerate before the Riders could do any more damage. But as she did, Shifter flew down with his sword pointed at her. "Raaaaah!" He swung the blade at her, but the forcefield appeared around her and blocked the attack.

Shifter was knocked back, as E-Quest flew down and unleashed a barrage of fireballs that the shield also blocked. And slowly, the Elemental's face and arm regenerated.

Dragus and Morphic's own fight continued, despite the witches being shocked by the Rainboom's escape.

The witches tried to get back into the warehouse, so they could recapture the girls. But this time, it was the Riders who were playing defenders to the entrance. And since the shock of the escape had made Draggle forget she could teleport, they tried to blast their way through the Riders.

Dragus used his cape to block the lightning, allowing Morphic to charge up his attack. Once the witches stopped their attacks, Morphic unleashed a blast that could destroy a tank. But the sisters quickly used their magic to defend themselves, the energy field blocking the lasers and showing little stress under the strain.

The sound of the fight could be heard inside the warehouse, where the Rainbooms were still recovering.

Hydia's spell was still working, showing them the battle between her and the Riders. And as the girls watched, they could see that their escape had only slightly improved the Rider's chances. Now that Hydia was forced to give her power to the Elemental, the Riders no longer had to worry about her blasting them. But it was obvious, the Riders were still had a huge power disadvantage.

"What do we do?" Pinkie asked, as the Elemental tried to cut E-Quest with the blades on its arms.

"They need to take Hydia down," Sunset explained. "She's the source of the Elemental's power. If she goes down, it goes down."

"But she's being protected," Rainbow stated. "They can't break through that shield."

Twilight frowned, as she analysed the situation. "I bet that shield's not as strong as she's letting on. If she's giving most of her energy to the Elemental, that shield's gotta be running on as little energy as she can spare. The Riders can break through it. They just need a little extra power."

"And where are they supposed to get that power?" Rarity asked, as Twilight gave them all a look.

"You can't be serious." Sunset frowned. "You want to give them our magic? There's no telling what that could do."

"It would give them the power needed to defeat Hydia," Twilight stated. "Burst already has Equestrian Magic. This would just be a boost."

"And what about Shifter?" Fluttershy asked. "What if our magic does the same thing it did to Juniper and Gloriosa? I trust Shifter, but what if he gets overwhelmed and turns into a monster?"

Applejack watched Shifter get slammed by the giant's fist, knocking him flying until E-Quest caught him and the pair were slammed into a roof. "We don't have much choice. Those guys won't last much longer without help. Either we risk turning Shifter into a monster, or we let him get crushed and have to fight the Elemental ourselves."

Sunset sighed. "She's right. We don't have a choice. We'll just have to trust that Shifter can handle the power." They nodded and all stood up, each of them grasping hands in the circle once again.

They closed their eyes and let their power begin to connect and build, their geodes each unleashing a beam that met in the middle of their circle. The multi-coloured energy swirled together before shooting upwards, out of the hole in the roof and into the air.

Morphic and Dragus saw this and were both worried, but trusted that the girls knew what they were doing. Draggle and Reeka were curious about what was happening, but continued to fight against the Riders.

The rainbow of power flew into the sky, then curled around and flew towards the two Riders.

Shifter and E-Quest both tried to slam into Hydia's barrier, but were unable to break through. The forcefield that unleashed a wave, which sent the Riders flying backwards. They hit the ground again and as they did, the rainbow flew down and slammed into the pair.

"What?" Hydia cried, as the Riders began to absorb the energy within it. "What's happening?"

Shifter and E-Quest picked themselves up and could feel the energy that now flowered through them, the Riders feeling new strength as a rainbow aura surrounded them. "What's this?" Shifter asked, E-Quest knowing what it was.

"Equestrian Magic. The girls must be lending us their power." The two Riders nodded, as Hydia ordered the Elemental to attack with his fist again. But as the giant threw the punch, the two Riders unleashed a blast of unicorn power and Hyper Core energy infused with the Rainboom's magic.

The beams hit the Elemental's fist and caused it to explode, knocking the giant back.

Hydia's eyes widened in horror, as she looked back at the two Riders as they kept glowing the rainbow veil. And as they turned back to her, they spoke in unison. "The winds of victory have shifted/I'm galloping towards the finish line!" With that, the two Riders slammed their hands into their Drivers and caused them to both power up.

"CLIMACTIC HYPER STRIKE!"

"ALICORNPOWER!OVERDRIVE!!!!!"

The two Riders began building up power, Shifter's lights illuminating whilst E-Quest's armor gave off a golden shine. Shifter's wings then unleashed the energy and the two leapt into the air, flying up high as the light began to wrap around their legs. This included the Rainbow light, which merged with their own power to supercharge their next attack.

The Riders then flew downwards, as Hydia used as much power as she could.

The Infinigem flew in front of her and unleashed a powerful barrier, which she was sure would block the Rider's strike. But the pair kept diving down and picking up speed. And just before they hit the barrier, they spun around and thrust their glowing feet forwards.

"DUAL RIDER KICK!" They screamed, as their attacks slammed into the exact same spot on the barrier.

Hydia cried out, feeling the force of their attack as it smashed into her shield. She could feel the power radiating off their attack, causing it and the Infinigem to vibrate as it tried to stay together. But then, a crack appeared on the barrier. Then another and another. More cracks began to form and soon enough, the energy barrier was covered in them and shattered.

Hydia screamed, as the Riders pushed through the destroyed barrier and struck the Infinigem. The impact was so great, the gem actually cracked and the magical energy surged into that crack. This caused it to spread and form more cracks, as the Infinigem was blown backwards.

Hydia gasped, as the gem flew towards her and slammed into the witch.

She screamed, as she was sent flying back by the impact. As she was, the Infinigem shattered once again. And this time, it shattered into millions of tiny sand-like pieces. This also caused the energy inside to explode outwards, hitting Hydia again as the wave of magic flew out.

"NOOOOOOOOOO!" She screamed, as she was blown off the roof and crashed into the one next to it. At the same time, the magical energy caused the barrier around the city to vanish. Canterlot had been freed from its confinement. And the Infinigem was destroyed.

Author's Note

And thus, the final battle against Hydia comes to an end. But what of Reeka and Draggle? Only time will tell. Next time, the movie comes to an end.

Episode 24.5: A Tale of Origin

Within the Mimic Lair, Sheave-Far-Tar was busy explaining everything that had happened from his point of view since becoming a prisoner in his own body.

"But now, thanks to the Maleficore, I'm finally free." He chuckled, only to then sigh. "I'm sorry, master. Because of my weakness, I became a problem for the Mimics and caused a lot of trouble. All I can do if say that I'm sorry and offer my undying loyalty to the Mimic cause from now on."

The holographic image of the man nodded. "I am willing to accept your forgiveness. This isn't the first time we Mimics have faced issues. I'll admit, this is the first time Mimics have been turned against their own kind. But we can learn from this and once we've conquered this world, we will work to make sure this never happens again."

"Of course," Sheave nodded. "I thank you, master...um..."

"Tie," the master stated. "Tie-Ray-Ant. I have been leading the Mimics since our early days. Ever since we started our mission, to wipe out all non-Mimic life in the universe. But, you can call me Sombra. I've come to quite enjoy that name."

"Thank you, Master Sombra. You honour me with your presence." But then, he frowned as something seemed to come to mind. "Forgive my ignorance, but may I ask. Why do we travel from world to world, wiping out anything that isn't a Mimic?" Sombra raised an eyebrow at this. "I'm not questioning the cause. I'm just curious what made us decide to do such a thing."

The other Mimics chuckled at this, Sheave turning to glare at them. "Of course you wouldn't know," Maya stated. "Your education was interrupted. You should have learned this as soon as you captured your human host. But since you disappeared, you never got the chance."

"Not my fault I disappeared," Sheave stated. "Stupid Corvyn."

"By the way," Frill stated. "Any idea where the heck that guy is located? If we can find him and take him out, the other Riders won't have a prayer."

Sheave sighed. "Unfortunately, no. All I know is that it's in a city close to the royal castle."

"There are like....four cities close to the royal castle," Maya stated.

"Well that's the best I've got. My host wasn't paying attention to where he was going when he drove to the castle." The Mimics sighed, clearly annoyed that they wouldn't be able to find the one who had started this whole Kamen Rider annoyance. "Now, can I finally be educated about Mimic history?"

"Of course," Sombra nodded. "It's quite a story. Going back a long time. Over three centuries. Maybe longer. To the origins of our race, in a universe much like the one your host comes from. It was a world divided by war and hatred."

A long time ago.

Explosions filled the air, as a battle was going on. Said battle was between two races of human-like beings that were very different.

One race were a bunch of lanky blue-skinned creatures, with four arms and four eyes. They were wearing suits of robotic armor, which looked highly advanced. Meanwhile, the other race were taller and bulkier. They had red skin and a single eye. They didn't have hair like the other race, each one instead having horns of different shapes, sizes and positions. Their weapons didn't look as advanced, appearing no better than a human's weapon.

The two races ran towards one another, the blue ones firing their weapons and blowing up several areas of the battlefield.

The red race braced themselves, their strength allowing them to endure the explosions and keep charging. They shot at the blue race, but the robotic armor was able to shield them from the bullets as they got close to one another. And soon, the fight broke into hand to hand and a few weapon clashes.

The guns had been practically forgotten, with fists, sword, maces and anything else being used to destroy the others. It was absolute carnage and by the time it was over, both sides had been completely destroyed.

A single blue soldier staggered through the remains of the battlefield, his robotic suit falling off of him from the damage it had received. Once they were out of the suit, they staggered around trying to return to their base whilst keeping the injuries they had suffered from bleeding out.

But then, as they stepped over the remains of a dead red soldier, their foot landed on something and a clicking sound filled the air.

He looked down and saw it was some kind of landmine, with lighting beginning to switch on around the side. And when the final light switched on, a burst of energy filled the battlefield and disinterested the soldier and all the bodies around him within ten meters.

"I don't know what caused the war to begin, but it would not end until one of the two races was wiped out."

In a base, the blue race were looking up battle plans as one with an eye-patch slammed his fist into the table. "Damn them! Those brutes continue to match us, no matter what weapons we develop."

Another member of the blue race sighed. "They may not have the brains, but they evolved in the wastelands. You don't survive in a place like that without becoming difficult to kill."

"There has to be some way to take them down!" Another yelled out in anger, "a way to get past their practically indestructible bodies." The others frowned, clearly not knowing what to do. "Maybe we just need bigger guns and weapons."

"Sir. We've constantly been increasing the power and size of our weapons. But that doesn't seem to make them any more effective. If we want to defeat them, we need an entirely new strategy."

"And what would that strategy be?" The leader asked, but his adviser said nothing.

"More and more weapons were developed to destroy the other, but the battle continued to remain at a stalemate. But then, something was created that would change the tide of the battle. And the future of that entire dimension."

The blue soldiers marched through a corridor, until they arrived at the metal doors leading to some kind of lab. And there, several blue race scientists could be seen working on something. "This better be good. You said it would allow us to win this war."

"Indeed," the head scientist nodded. "With this, we can destroy them from the inside out."

"What is it?" Another soldier asked, as the scientist picked up a jar of orange brown sludge. "That's it?" The scientist nodded. "How is that supposed to destroy them?"

"Is it some kind of bio weapon?" Another asked. "Will it infect them and spread a disease they won't be able to survive?"

"No. It will do something far greater than that. This creature will copy any living thing that it comes in contact with. Trapping the original in a state of perfect hibernation. The creature will gain all the knowledge of its host, but will be completely obedient to us. They will allow us to turn our enemy's strength against them."

The blue soldiers didn't look convinced, but the scientist had prepared special weapons to use them. "Very well. Let's see how well these...Mimics, do in the field."

"In order to test their newest creations, they found a small company of their enemies. The perfect test subjects."

The blue soldiers were hiding on a cliff overlooking a small valley, where a quartet of red soldiers were marching. "Prepare the Mimic Launcher!" A blue soldier raised a bazooka-like weapon and aimed, firing once he had a clear target.

The projectile fired and the metal casing fell apart, allowing the slime to shoot through the air until it slammed into the red soldier.

The others were shocked, as the slime began to spread around his body. And before they could think to run or help him, three more flew down and slammed into them. They all screamed, as they were suddenly overwhelmed by the slime and completely trapped.

The soldiers above were amazed, as they watched the Mimics cocoon their victims. And as they did, some of the slime began to grow off the side of the cocoon and form a new form. As the soldiers climbed down off the cliff, they were amazed to see perfect copies of the red soldiers standing besides the cocoons.

"This is incredible," one of the soldiers smiled. "Just amazing!" The others nodded, as they reached the Mimics whilst they stood there. "Better test them. Stand on one foot." They did so, "stand on the other foot." They swapped. "Do several push-ups." They got down and did just that, the blue soldiers laughing at them.

"This is awesome," one stated. "But enough messing around. They've got work to do." The others agreed, as they began to give the Mimics orders. Soon, the four were returning to the red base whilst the cocoons were taken back to the blue base.

"That was the beginning of the end for the other side. The Mimics infiltrated their side and started passing information to the other side, allowing them to have the tactical advantage. And more Mimics soon followed, replacing grunts that worked to climb up the chain of command. And eventually, they were overwhelmed."

"Are you sure this is the right place?" A red soldier asked his commander, as they made their way through a forest. "Why would they send us here?"

"The general ordered us to this place. So it must be a place of significance." But suddenly, a bunch of slime slammed into them and they were all quickly overtaken by the cocoons. They screamed, but it did nothing to help them. Within moments, they were overwhelmed.

The blue soldiers stepped out, as the Mimics finished forming. "Perfect," the blue commander smirked. "Go back to their base and wait for further orders." They nodded and began to head back the way they came, as the cocoons were collected and sent back to the blue's base.

"On and on this went, until almost half the opposing side was replaced. And when that happened, the end came to be."

The blue soldiers attacked the red bases, the lot of them flying in using more advanced armor suits. And as the red soldiers tried to fight back, they suddenly found the soldiers next to them turning their weapons upon them. "What are you-" He didn't finish, as he was shot down.

The red soldiers were soon completely wiped out. And by the end of the battle, the only red soldiers alive were the ones trapped inside the cocoons.

Back at the red base, the cocoons were being placed inside large holes in the ground. They were roughly five meters deep and once the last hole was filled, the Mimics walked in carrying large barrels of some kind of white liquid.

Each one emptied the large barrel into the hole, filling it up and covering the cocoons. And once the holes were completely filled, they waited for the liquid to solidify with one of them using a stick to test it. When the stick bounced off the liquid without sinking, they turned to the Mimic.

"Do it." The Mimic nodded before its body began to melt, the creature releasing its host from its control and reverting back to its natural slime state. The blue soldiers gathered up the Mimic and placed it in a jar, as another one listened to the concrete grave.

He felt it begin to shake as something started hitting it. But the concrete remained and after a few minutes, the shaking stopped. "Perfect."

"With that, the Mimics had completed the mission they had been created for. As such, they no longer had a purpose. And that meant they had no reason to remain."

"You want me to destroy the Mimics?" The scientist asked, as he and the general moved down the corridor towards the lab.

"Your Mimics were the perfect weapons. Thanks to them, we're the only race on this planet. We can finally build a perfect society. But now that the war's over, we have no more need for them. They're nothing but weapons in a world without conflict. It's either we destroy them now, or let them sit on a shelf somewhere with no purpose. I'd say that would be worse than death. Wouldn't you?"

"I guess," the scientist nodded.

"Exactly," the general nodded. "So do the right thing and put them out of their misery." He stopped before the lab and patted the scientist on the shoulder. "But make sure everything related to the Mimics is safely catalogued. Whilst I hope we'll never need them again, there's no telling what the future might hold."

"Understood." The general left and the scientist headed into the lab, which was filled with the jars of Mimics. And that wasn't even all of them. "Well, my brilliant little creations. You've served your masters well." He picked up a jar, "now it's time for you to rest." But as he opened the jar to take it out and dispose of, something happened.

The slime suddenly leapt out of the jar, something the scientist didn't think should be possible.

The blue humanoid screamed, as the slime surrounded him and within seconds, he was captured within the cocoon and the Mimic replaced him. Now having access to a much more intelligent host than last time, the Mimic found its knowledge base expanding and smiled before looking down at the cocoon.

"We can't rest yet. Not until we've completed our mission. You created us to exterminate all the inferior species on this planet. We were the reasons you won that war, so I think that makes us the more superior specimens. So it's only right that we be the ones to come out on top of is evolutionary race."

He turned towards the other jars and smiled, as he started taking the lids off.

But strangely, the Mimics didn't try and move. It was almost like they couldn't move, unlike him. This confused him, but he shrugged before getting to work.

"And thus, we broke away from our creators and did what we were made to do. And it wasn't difficult."

In a large hall, many of the blue race entered dressed up for some kind of party. As they looked around at all the tables, they noticed a bunch of metal tubes sitting on each chair. And when everyone picked one up, they saw the same instructions to open them at the exact same time.

Nobody seemed to question this and enjoyed the party, eating the food they had ordered to celebrate their victory over the red race. And when the time came, everyone picked up their metal tubes and opened them up. They all looked inside and didn't see anything, so turned them upside down with an open palm.

And almost at the exact same time, the slime slid out and landed on their hands. And when they realised what it was, they gasped. But it was too late.

They all screamed, as the Mimics began to surround them. Within seconds, they were all encased in the cocoons as the Mimics took their forms. And the first Mimic stepped into the room, smiling when he saw the rest of his kind having replaced some of the most important members of the blue race.

He smiled, realising her was one step closer to completing his goal.

Sombra smiled at the memory. "In just a few weeks, we captured every member of that race. At the same time, we began producing our own Mimics using what we had learned from our creators."

"Amazing," Sheave smiled. "So what happened then? When did you choose to make the jump from planetary conquerors, to multi-dimensional conquerors? If the two races you were fighting were so focused on killing one another, I doubt they would have made much progress in any non-war related sciences."

"True," Sombra nodded. "Honestly, our multi-dimensional discovery came about through pure accident. Or maybe it was fate." Sheave wondered what he meant, as he began to explain what had happened. "We had conquered our home-world, but it was barely worth taking once we had. The war up to that point had depleted it of many of its natural resources. Resources that had been destroyed in the conflict."

With the Mimics now in charge of the planet, many of them simply sat around all day doing nothing.

The Mimic that was leading them, the one that had liberated the Mimics from their created, had come to name himself Tie. And he sat in an office, with absolutely nothing to do. He was still in his scientist form, knowing that without it he would revert back to his gel form. He had all this knowledge, but no idea what to do with it.

"Master Tie!" Another Mimic raced into the room. "Something's happening down in the street below." The Mimic frowned before looking out of the window and seeing some kind of light down on the street. He quickly raced out of the building and ran down to the light, as the Mimics in the area were staring at it in shock.

"Everyone, stay back!" Tie pushed himself through. "We don't know what this is." The others kept their distance, as they waited to see how things worked out.

Then, from out of the light, a fight leapt out. Some kind of humanoid insect. It had four legs, a large abdomen and two long antenna. "It worked!" He laughed, only to suddenly see the creatures around him. "Oh. Hey. Nice to meet you. I'm-" Before he could finish, a long stream of Mimic slime flew out and struck the insect in the head.

The Mimics gasped, as they looked around and saw Tie moving towards him. "I don't know what you're doing here. But I will soon know" Within moments, the insect was sealed within a cocoon and everyone watched Tie change into a perfect copy of it.

"As soon as I took his form, all his knowledge was mine for the taking. And it opened a vast world of opportunity for us. No longer were we bound to a single universe. The entire multiverse was now ours for the taking."

In time, the Mimics had used what Tie learned to create a device that could open a portal to another dimension. And using the insect being as an anchor, they opened the portal and stepped inside. And sure enough, they soon found themselves in an entirely different dimension. One which was filled with creatures like the one Tie had mimicked.

"After that, our mission became clear. We travelled from universe to universe, wiping out the natives and replacing them as the dominant species. Whenever we entered a new world, we would send Mimics to replace several of the inhabitants. I would always be one of them, finding someone is a place of significant power and using them as my host.

Over time, those of the first generation of Mimics died. Either in a fight against the inhabitants of the worlds we were conquering, or simply through natural causes. I do not know why Mimics seem to have such different life spans. Some live for several decades, whilst others only live for a few weeks. Likewise, I do not know why I have been able to survive as long as I have.

As new Mimics were born, we discovered other abilities. Not only could we Mimic a creature, we could reshape that form into anything we wanted. They could also copy two creatures at the same time, shifting between the forms when the time was needed. Thus, many Mimics captured animals from the universes and reshaped them to be more humanoid and easier to fight as.

With each world we conquered, our technology also improved. We acquired and developed devices that allowed us to travel between worlds easier, capture and defeat the world's inhabitants and even wipe them out easier. Such as with the Doom Pillars. With them, no world was able to stand up to us. And whilst we occasionally faced opponents that were harder to defeat than others, each universe inevitably fell to us."

"Which brings us to now," Sombra announced. "Where we are in this world, attempting to take over the human realm."

"I see," Sheave nodded. "This world should have been an easy one to conquer. But now, thanks to Corvyn creating the Rider System, our efforts have been stalled. And it's partly my fault."

"Maybe. But don't threat about it too long. I haven't lead the Mimics to conquering so many worlds without having a backup plan or two. The Doom Pillars might have been destroyed, but I have other plans."

"That's good," Sheave smiled.

"But before that. I want to know how you taking control of that body has affected you." Sombra stared down at Sheave's waist. "Are you able to summon the belt?"

"The Mimic Driver," Sheave stated. He closed his eyes and after some thought, the belt appeared and he smiled before taking out the Mimicores he had.

"STRIKE!"

He activated his Mimicore and placed it within the Driver, the other Mimics around him preparing to attack if he suddenly lost control to Flash again. "Henshin!" He slammed the Driver shut and activated it.

"MIMIC! LIGHTNING BUG!" Everyone watched, as the pipes unleashed bursts of slime. Seeing such a thing close up was rather a sight for them, who now knew that this was just the driver causing the Mimic's changing abilities to be different from its usual transformation.

The cocoon formed and after several moments, exploded to reveal Kamen Rider Shifter. The armor slammed into him and formed, as the Driver spoke. "Illuminate the light, striking through the darkness!"

Shifter looked himself over, as the Mimics gave him a curious look. But then he gave them a thumbs up before turning to Sombra. "This body is still mine to control."

"Excellent. This whole situation might have been helpful to you. Now that you can change your form to any of the ones your host had been using against us. And with the Maleficore powering you up even further, nothing will be able to stop us." Shifter nodded, believing the same thing.

But in that moment, Greye stepped forward with a device in hand. "We may have a problem."

"What is it?" Sombra asked, as Greye showed him the tablet-like device he was using.

"When I sent the Mimics out to distract the Riders, I implanted each of them with a small device that would allow me to keep track of them. That way we would know if too many of them had been destroyed before we were ready to drop the Control Pillar. I just checked it and to my surprise, one of them is still transmitting."

"What does that mean?" Maya asked, as Frill spoke up.

"It means one of those Mimics is still alive. They were supposed to deactivate upon the Mimic's termination. The fact that it hasn't stopped, means the Mimic is still alive somewhere."

"Exactly," Greye nodded. "I doubt the Riders would have allowed a Mimic to survive, which meant the Mimic didn't fight. It ran. And since it hasn't returned, that means it doesn't plan on returning. We have a coward and a traitor on our hands." The other Mimics frowned, knowing that a Mimic out of their control was a risk they would need to locate the Mimic and destroy it.

"But where is it?" Sheave asked, "and which Mimic ran away?"

Night had fallen in Canterlot and the city was recovering from the near extinction every living thing had almost suffered.

Everyone was so focused on that, nobody noticed as something was making its way through the back alleys of the town. That something was the blue and pink Butterfly Mimic, the creature staggering around trying to not injure its damaged leg and wing further.

It staggered against the wall of a building and took its weight off its hurt leg, which hadn't healed since Morphic blasted it.

Its side was also bleeding slime, whilst one of its wings had a large hole in it. If it tried to fly, the tear would grow larger and the Mimic would be in serious trouble. It needed to find a place to hide so it could recuperate.

Despite lacking a lot of intellect as a pure mimic copying only a butterfly, the creature knew it should return to its masters and heal up. But doing so terrified it, fearing they would send it out to fight the Riders again. If that happened, it might not survive.

As it staggered out of the alleyway, it suddenly spotted something in front of it. A large building, surrounded by a gate. It was some kind of school, with red walls and a blue roof that looked like it was made of crystals. The Mimic could tell there were no humans within it. The perfect hiding spot.

Author's Note

A bit of a breather chapter, where we learn about the origins of the Mimics. Just goes to show, you shouldn't play god. Even when trying to win a war. Now, how will things with this Butterfly Mimic play out? Could we have a new general on our hands?