Kamen Rider Justice

by RuinQueenofOblivion

Rating: teen
Tags: Sweetie Belle, Fleur de Lis, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark, Drama, Apple Bloom, Fancypants, Science Fiction, Scootaloo, Kamen Rider, Violence, Crossover, Human
Length: 186685

13 years ago Scootaloo's parents were killed by a monster invading their home. Now she's given a chance to fight back against the same monsters, but to do so, she must prove herself worthy of the title of Kamen Rider.

Scootaloo is an orphan living in Canterlot after having been adopted by Rainbow Dash and her family. She's been plagued by nightmares of the night her parents were killed and of a monster that may have been responsible for it.

When the monsters start to re-appear she gets recruited by a mysterious government organization to fight them. Now she has to work to save the city and everyone in it from the Order, and she may not have to do it alone.

Henshin!

Obviously this is a crossover with the long running franchise Kamen Rider. We'll get into what that means much later.

Image made by RamenDriver.

Published 2018-09-20 18:00:01 UTC
Last updated 2020-05-01 23:45:23 UTC

The Wand of Wonders

"Alright, this is your basic training simulation," Fancy Pants' voice said over the intercom in the training room that Scootaloo had been taken to. "Do you still have the card that was given to you?"

"Minor Swords Ace?" Scootaloo asked as she reached into a pouch on her belt and took the card out. She had been given this before they left the lab to go to this training room.

"That's your weapon card," Fancy Pants said with a nod. "You need to use it like you did your transformation card and it will manifest your weapon. Your cards are the swords, they are your lifeline and what you use to survive in battle. Try it out and use the weapon on the training dummy."

"Alright, lets try this," Scootaloo said as she slid the card through the slot in her belt. The belt said "Arcana Rapier" before a thin sword appeared in her hand with intricate designs in it. "A sword from a swords card, how original."

"We're not quite sure how the weapon cards work, but for now just use it as he said," Fleur said over the intercom. "You're going to do fine Scootaloo, its better to get a feel of it now than to do it in the middle of a battle."

Scootaloo glanced up at the observation booth where Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom were watching along with the two government agents. She nodded and held her sword upright and ran forward as she swung it around, slashing at the training dummy.

She was surprised to be knocked back as the dummy held its own sword up and intercepted the strike. "Okay, so this place isn't nearly as easy as I thought..." she muttered and backed off a little, she was still getting used to walking around in the armor but it wasn't as hard as she expected.

"This is only on its lowest level, don't worry," Fleur said over the intercom again. "You're doing fine Scootaloo, just keep on your feet and get in three strikes and we'll call it good."

Scootaloo nodded as she held the sword aloft again and gave it a light tip to the opponent as she swung at it again. The dummy tried to parry the blow for a moment but she managed to slip through and catch it in the shoulder. The dummy swung its sword back at her and she barely managed to jump out of the way.

"Okay, this is getting tricky..." she muttered to herself as she swung back and stabbed at the dummy only to have the rapier knocked away.

"Come on Scootaloo, you can do this!" Sweetie Belle called down to her. "You're better than some dumb old computer program ever can be!"

"Right," Scootaloo said and swung her sword around again and caught the dummy in the hand briefly which made it drop the sword it was holding despite being a projection. "Ha, I've got you now!"

She swung the sword again only to be caught by surprise when the dummy materialized another sword and caught her blade with it. She frowned a little behind her mask and pushed back against it, swinging her sword around and catching the target off guard as she raked it and it fell back.

"Good, good, you're doing fine," Fleur said. "There's one more thing you need to try before we're satisfied, you need to try a finishing move."

"What's that?" Scootaloo called back.

"Its unique to each Rider, but you should be able to land a hit on this thing easily," Fancy Pants replied. "Now go on, lets see what this new Rider can do."

Scootaloo nodded as she held her sword off to her side for a moment as she stared the target down. She ran forward and slashed at the hologram with her sword with one hand and swung a punch at it with her free hand.

"Justice Blade Strike!" She said, not really sure why she said that as her fist connected with the hologram at the same time her sword did. The holographic dummy fell back and then got to its feet for a moment before it bowed and vanished.

"Well done, you've taken to your new abilities quite well," Fancy Pants said with a smile as Scootaloo raised her sword in a slight salute before the armor vanished around her. "You're definitely Rider material, we just have to make sure that everything is working right."

"What do you mean?" Sweetie Belle asked as she looked at him.

"Nothing to be concerned with, we just need to go over the data from her while she was in Rider form," Fleur said with a nod as she pointed at a series of computer monitors that had data on them. "Its something that is pretty standard for this kind of thing. Don't worry, your friend is going to be just fine, the worst that could happen is she doesn't work out."

"Ah hope yer right," Apple Bloom said as she looked back down at Scootaloo who looked tired. "Ah just hope that ya'll know what yer doin'."

"Believe me, she's going to be fine," Fleur said as she shook her head a little as Scootaloo started up the stairs towards the viewing room. "Its true that things aren't going to be easy for her, but I know that she's got two good friends to help her out."

"Yeah, but that's why we don't want anything to happen to her," Sweetie Belle said and crossed her arms a little. "If anything happens to her because of what's going on here..."

"Don't worry," Fancy Pants said as he adjusted his monocle a little. "She's going to be just fine, we will do everything we can to keep her safe. She is possibly the most important person in the city right now and we're not about to let her get hurt because of what's going on."

"You better not," Sweetie Belle said as Scootaloo walked into the observation room. "Hey Scoots, you looked good out there, how'd it feel?"

"It was, interesting, like nothing I had ever felt before," Scootaloo said as she took the two cards out again and looked at them for a moment. "I'm still kind of trying to figure all of this out, was it this hard when you first became Magician?"

"Oh it was much harder, we didn't have much of a frame of reference," Fleur said with a shake of her head. "Don't worry, you're going to do just fine Scootaloo. You're already off to a good start, just get some training in with your sword every so often and you'll be able to hold your own against anything."

"And, what do we do if that monster comes back?" Sweetie Belle asked. "Its a threat to the city, and like you said she's going to have to help fight against threats like it. Are you sure that she's going to be okay?"

Scootaloo paused as she looked over at Fleur who frowned for a long moment before she sighed. "It's not an easy job or life, you will have to do everything you can to protect the city from the Order's threat. I'm not going to lie, you have your work cut out for you if you really want to help us deal with the Order."

"You can take some time to think it over, but if there are any reports of attacks then you may need to act," Fancy Pants said with a shake of his head as he took out a business card and gave it to her. "Take the Driver and cards with you, talk with your friends and adopted family if you have to. Call the number on that card when you've made your decision, we will respect whatever choice you make. But either way, we would prefer if you didn't talk about everything that's happened here outside of that."

"Okay, I'll think about it," Scootaloo said with a sigh as she took the business card and put it away along with her Driver. "Are you sure I'm the right person for this job? I'm not even sure I can fight that well."

"Don't worry, the card wouldn't have chosen you if it didn't believe you were capable of doing the job," Fleur said with a shake of her head. "Now come on, lets take you three home."

Scootaloo nodded as they headed out of the room and back up the elevator. She had a lot to think about right now, and she just had to hope that she was going to be able to make the right decision before it was too late.

00000

"You're kidding right?" Rainbow Dash asked as Scootaloo spoke to her on facetime on her phone. "They actually told you all of that?"

"Yeah, I know it sounds crazy," Scootaloo said with a shake of her head. "I'm still having a hard time figuring it all out myself and Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom are trying to help as best they can."

"I see, well I wish I could give you some advice but this is all pretty new to me too," Rainbow Dash admitted as she brushed her hair back a little. "What do you think you should do Scootaloo?"

"I don't know, I feel like everything is getting harder and harder to understand around here," Scootaloo said with a sigh. "I'm starting to feel like the world is going crazy and I'm the only one sane. Monsters attacking people, Kamen Riders, secret government agencies that are fighting the monsters, what's next? Teenagers with attitude dressed in spandex of different colors?"

"Well, you never know, it might not be spandex," Rainbow Dash said with a chuckle and a shake of her head. "Scootaloo, you're a good person. Whatever force picked you for this probably did so for a reason, what that reason is I don't think I'll ever really understand, but I do know that they couldn't have picked anyone better."

Scootaloo smiled a little as she gave her adopted sister a nod. She paused a moment and looked at the video image of Rainbow Dash playing and sighed a moment. "You knew my parents right? Your parents were my godparents, its why they took me in, did you know anything about this?"

"Well..." Rainbow said with a pause and shook her head a little. "No, I didn't know anything about it personally, but you'd have to ask mom and dad if they knew anything. Back when we adopted you, I remember them saying something about a creature or something like that. I don't know what it means and it might be nothing, maybe they were talking about a horror movie for all I know."

"Well, thanks anyway," Scootaloo said with a sigh as she played with a strand of hair. "I'm still not sure exactly what's going on or why I'm doing this. This isn't my fight, or at least it doesn't feel like it, am I really the one who's going to have to help protect an entire city?"

"What does the card mean again?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Justice, at least that's what they told me," Scootaloo said as she took out the card again and showed it to the older woman. "I think its a tarot card or something, I'm not really an expert on this kind of thing."

"Justice, fairness, passing judgment in a fair and meaningful way," Rainbow Dash said and Scootaloo blinked a little. "Uh, one of Fluttershy's friends is into Tarot, its not my thing personally but I've picked up a few things."

"Oh, okay," Scootaloo said with a shake of her head and chuckled a little. Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash's wife, tended to have a lot of weird friends that she hung out with, though Scootaloo didn't know all of them.

"So, how are things going with Sweetie Belle?" Rainbow asked with a smirk which made Scootaloo blush deeply. "You get her in bed yet?"

"That's, none of your business," Scootaloo said and shook her head as she tried not to think about that. "You're one to talk, how long did you and Fluttershy wait? I could hear you from the next room."

"Touche," Rainbow said and the two women just laughed a little. "But really Scoots, if you ever need anything don't hesitate to call me. I would do anything for you, you're my little sister."

Scootaloo smiled a little and nodded. She had found it difficult to settle into life with Rainbow Dash and her family, but once she had she and Rainbow had bonded in ways she hadn't imagined, she had never had a big sister before and she was glad that she had one in Rainbow Dash.

She just wished that she could figure out everything that was going on right now. She gave Rainbow a nod as she placed the card on the table next to her and stared at it for a long moment.

"Scootaloo, do you want to be able to help people?" Rainbow asked softly and Scootaloo paused and looked back at her.

"Yes, but I honestly didn't think it would be as a grasshopper themed superhero," she admitted with a chuckle as she brushed her hair back a little. "I'm not much of a superhero really, I'm still kind of figuring out how to even use a sword. Its, been kind of an interesting experience all things considered. I'm just worried that something might happen to my friends if people find out."

"Scootaloo, your friends are there to help you," Rainbow said. "Just like my friends are there to help me, you're going to protect them and anyone else who might be put in danger, I just know it. I think you should think long and hard about this, but I have a feeling that you're going to be just fine."

"Maybe, I hope so," Scootaloo said with a sigh and a shake of her head. "Its hard to believe, but I actually kind of want to be able to do this. I'm at least going to be able to stop those who killed my parents if it really was them, and protect anyone else from being hurt the same way."

"Yeah, I know, and that's why you're my favorite little sister," Rainbow said with a chuckle.

"I'm your only little sister," Scootaloo said with a chuckle. "Unless mom and dad aren't telling me something about my adopted family."

"No, no I'm pretty sure you're my only younger sister," Rainbow said with a chuckle. "Don't worry Scootaloo, I know that whatever you decide will be the right choice. Stay safe, okay? I know you're going to be just fine, let me know if you ever need anything."

"I will," Scootaloo said as they ended the call and she laid back on the couch as she closed her eyes. Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom were out getting dinner for them at a nearby restaurant and left her to just relax and try and process everything that was going on.

She sighed and picked up the strange device that Flim and Flam had called a Tarot Driver for a long moment. She really had no idea what to make of all of this, she wasn't really superhero material in her mind, she was just a young woman who was stuck in a weird situation.

What was she going to do? Was she even going to be able to make a decision with everything that was going on? She wondered if any of the other Kamen Riders had to go through anything like this, did she even count yet? She didn't feel like she had done anything to earn it, whatever that meant.

She sighed and set it back down just as the door unlocked and opened as Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom came in. Scootaloo smiled as she sat up and the girls set the food on the table.

"So, anything interesting happen while we were gone?" Sweetie asked as she leaned in and gave Scootaloo a soft kiss on the lips. "Any monster attacks?"

"No, I just talked to my sister and that's just about it," Scootaloo said with a shake of her head as she held Sweetie Belle close for a moment. "She's doing pretty well at least, we're just kind of figuring everything out and she at least gave me some advice on what I should do."

"So, what are yah thinkin' about doin'?" Apple Bloom asked as she set out the food and drink for them as Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle got up and headed over to the table together. "Ah mean, Ah know this is a lot ta take in, have yah made a decision about what yer gonna do?"

"I'm still kind of figuring it out honestly," Scootaloo said with a shake of her head as she looked at the Tarot Driver for a long moment. "I'm not sure I'm ready for this kind of responsibility, but at the same time I want to be able to help people."

"Yeah, well don't worry about it," Sweetie said as she put her arm around Scootaloo gently. "We're going to be there for you no matter what you decide."

"Thanks," Scootaloo said as she rested her head on Sweetie's shoulder and sighed a little. "I'm lucky to have the two of you as my friends. I don't know what I would do without you."

She smiled as she felt Sweetie squeeze her a little. She had known these two since she was 8 years old. She and Sweetie Belle had been dating since High School and she couldn't be happier than when she was with Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom, she just wished she knew what she was supposed to do about all of this.

"Come on, lets have some food," Sweetie said as they dug into their dinner.

00000

Scootaloo laid back on the bed as she stared up at the ceiling for a long moment that night. She was still having a hard time deciding exactly what she was going to do as she sighed and rolled over and looked at the sleeping Sweetie Belle. The pale skinned girl was sleeping peacefully next to her and she smiled softly as she put her arm over her.

There had always been something special about her relationship with Sweetie Belle, even before they had started dating. Maybe it was because they had always been there for each other even more than Apple Bloom. They were the best friends anyone could find, and now for a few years they had been something oh so much more.

She thought back to the attack by the creature from earlier. If they hadn't run there was no telling what it would have done to them, it could've hurt people or worse. She hated that, she hated that it was probably some person who did this for power and it put everyone she cared about in danger and more.

Maybe she really should become a Rider, she couldn't do any worse than she had today. She looked over at Sweetie Belle and smiled softly as she leaned in and gave her a soft kiss on the lips.

She knew that if she made this choice, there was no turning back from the road she was set upon. She just hoped that it really was the right call to make.

"Scootaloo, are you still up?" Sweetie asked with a yawn as she looked at Scootaloo confused for a moment. "Is everything okay?"

"I'm still just thinking about what happened today," Scootaloo said with a shake of her head. "Its crazy really, what would you do if you were in my position?"

"If I was the only thing that could possibly help protect the city from monsters? That's kind of a tough call," she said with a shake of her head. "But I know that if I didn't at least try to do it and if people got hurt or worse, then I'd have a hard time living with the fact that I refused to help."

"Yeah..." Scootaloo said with a shake of her head as she laid back on the bed and looked back up at the ceiling. "This is a tough call to make, but I think I know what I have to do."

"Have some fun with your girlfriend before she gets too tired to stay up?" Sweetie asked with a giggle as she ran a finger slowly along Scootaloo's chest and she blushed.

"Mmm, that is not what I had in mind, but I still would say yes," Scootaloo said with a giggle as she pulled Sweetie Belle on top of her and gave her a deep, passionate kiss.

For tonight they didn't want to worry about what was going on, they just wanted to spend time with one another.

00000

Scootaloo paused a moment as they stepped out of the apartment complex the next day. She was going to tell Fancy Pants and Fleur that they were at least going to try, but she still hesitated for a moment.

What if she wasn't good enough? What if she failed and more people got hurt with her trying to help than would have without her? She reached into her pocket and took out the two cards again.

"Why Justice?" She wondered out loud as her friends looked at her confused. "The cards are based on the Major Arcana right? That's 22 different cards, why did Justice appear to me of all things?"

"Because it felt like you fit it best maybe?" Sweetie asked.

"Because yah want justice for what happened ta yer parents?" Apple Bloom suggested.

"Maybe, or maybe just because it felt like I'd use it best," Scootaloo said with a sigh as she examined the card for a long moment. "I'm no superhero, but if the card thinks that I was the right choice and there are monsters threatening the city, I'm going to do this."

"That's tha spirit," Apple Bloom said with a soft smile but Sweetie wasn't nearly as confident. "Yer gonna be a fine, Kamen Rider right? Ah swear, that sounds like a cheesy action movie hero name or somethin'."

Scootaloo actually chuckled a little at her friend's comment and shook her head. She knew that she was right of course, but at the same time she knew that she had to do this, it was the only way to keep people safe from the creatures that had taken her parents away.

She just hoped that she really was ready for this.

"Come on, lets get goin' ta..." Apple Bloom said as there was suddenly a scream and a familiar looking monster came into view. "Well, that figures don't it?"

"Guess that means you're being tested sooner than we thought," Sweetie said as she looked at Scootaloo for a moment. "Are you sure you're up for this?"

"I'm as ready as I'll ever be," Scootaloo said softly as she took out the Tarot driver and placed it on her waist as it formed around it and she took out the two cards. "Henshin!"

"TIME TO TIP THE SCALES!" The voice said from her belt.

As she slid the card into the slot in the belt the same energy formed around her as the familiar black and green armor formed around her. She took a deep breath as she slid the other card into it and the Arcana Rapier appeared in her hand, she took a deep breath and looked at the monster and then back at her friends.

"Do you think I'm ready for this?" She asked, her suit's red eyes masking her concern but her voice gave it away.

"Scootaloo, if you don't do this no one else will," Sweetie said with a soft smile as she patted Scootaloo on the back. "Get out there and show the world that you can be a Rider. Just, stay safe, I don't want something happening to you."

"I will," Scootaloo said as she held the sword aloft and ran forward at the creature, which caught it off guard for a moment. "This is my city, and its time to doll out some justice!"

"What? That's impossible!" The creature said as its eyes went wide at the sight of the woman dressed in armor. "That's impossible, there are no cards out of our possession that could be used like this!"

"You've been misinformed Mr... What's your name? Do you even have a name?" Scootaloo asked as she held her sword aloft. "I can't just call you ugly monster, that would be an insult to ugly things and monsters."

"Zauzwei is my name, and I will take you down and bring your card back to my masters," Zauzwei said as as he swung his cudgel and a stream of fire shot out at Scootaloo which she just barely dodged. "You're sloppy Rider, I'll take you down easily!"

"We'll see about that," Scootaloo said as she looked back at her friends. "I'm not going to let you beat me, not when I have something to fight for!"

She swung her sword only to have it be caught by the monster's cudgel. She growled as she kicked at it hard and it was pushed back a little before managing to pull up again. "I may be new to this, but I'm not about to let you spread injustice in this world!"

Zauzwei snarled as it sent another stream of flames at Scootaloo who dodged it again. She didn't like having to be on the defensive right now, she had to destroy this monster before it could do something else.

She charged forward and swung her sword a little as she connected with the monster's chest this time and it flew back with sparks coming off its armor. "Come on, I've had tougher fights from toddlers."

"Your taunts are useless human, I will not let you get to me," Zauzwei said as it swung its cudgel again and sent Scootaloo flying into the ground. "You're going to have to face facts, this fight was lost as soon as it began. I'm not going to relent, and some insect themed superhero isn't going to stop me."

'He's right,' Scootaloo thought as she looked at the monster and held her sword aloft. 'I can get a few hits in, but I'm not going to be able to stop it unless I can figure out what its weak spot is. And that's easier said than done right now, but I'm not going to give up either.'

"Is she okay?" Sweetie asked as she and Apple Bloom looked at Scootaloo worried for a moment. "She took that last hit harder than I thought, I don't know..."

"Sweetie, calm down," Apple Bloom said as she shook her head and placed a hand on her shoulder reassuringly. "Scootaloo's gonna be okay, in tha meantime do yah have that card they gave us?"

Sweetie nodded and took the business card out of her pocket. She dialed the number and flinched a little as Scootaloo took another hit, but she managed to retaliate with a slash from her sword. "Come on, come on, pick up..."

"Sweetie Belle, is everything okay?" The familiar voice of Fancy Pants said on the other end as he picked up. "We're getting reports of a monster in your area, what happened?"

"I don't know, we were coming to tell you what decision was made and then the thing from yesterday attacked us," Sweetie said with a shake of her head. "Scootaloo's fighting it, but she's not in the best position right now."

"I see," Fancy Pants said and shook his head a little. "Alright, we're going to send some back-up, but she should be fine as long as she doesn't take too many blows. Keep an eye on her and stay on the line, I want to know what's going on."

"Right," Sweetie said as she gulped and looked back at her girlfriend who dodged another swing of the monster's cudgel before she slammed her armored fist into the monster's stomach.

"You're going to have to try harder than that Rider wannabe!" Zauzwei said with a cackle as he slammed his cudgel into the ground and a wall of flames appeared around him and threw Scootaloo back. "Come on, give me a proper fight or there's no fun to be had here."

Scootaloo struggled to get to her feet as she pointed the sword shakily at the monster. She wasn't going to stop, not now, she had to fight on and make sure that this thing was stopped once and for all. "This is my city, and I'm not going to let you hurt it..."

"A strong sentiment, but lets see if you can back it up!" Zauzwei said as he sent another stream of fire at Scootaloo and this one connected as she screamed out, the armor only providing so much protection from the heat. "Cry, cry for your city, I will make you burn until there is nothing but ashes!"

"I'm... not... done..." Scootaloo said as she struggled to get to her feet, she was tired, more tired than she had ever felt before, but she was not going to let this monster win. She couldn't take it anymore however and collapsed as the armor shattered around her, leaving the card lying on the ground.

"Pathetic," Zauzwei said and started to head forward when there was the sudden sound of an engine revving up. "What?"

A motorcycle flew forward and hit the monster square in the face with its front tire. The rider was a woman dressed in a jumpsuit and helmet and aimed a pistol at the monster.

"You're not going to do anything to hurt this young woman," she said in the familiar voice of Fleur de Lis. "This is not your city, and Scootaloo proved it. Get out of here before I make you leave."

The monster growled and backed away finally before running off. Fleur got off her bike as Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom ran over to where Scootaloo was barely conscious.

"Scootaloo, Scootaloo, talk to me," Sweetie Belle said as she held her girlfriend in her arms. The tanned skinned girl was bleeding in several places. "You're going to be fine, she's going to be fine right?"

"Don't worry, the armor took the brunt of the hit," Fleur said as she held Scootaloo's hand gently. "You're going to be just fine."

"Ugh, did you get the license plate of that truck that hit me?" Scootaloo asked with a groan.

"Yeah, she's gonna be fine if she's makin' bad jokes like that," Apple Bloom said with a chuckle. "Scoots, yah did fine, tha monster is gone."

Scootaloo smiled softly as she looked up into the face of Sweetie Belle. "That's good..." she said before she slipped off into unconsciousness.

"Come on, we need to get her to a doctor," Fleur said as she and Sweetie helped Scootaloo up. "Are you two going to be okay taking her to the base?"

"Yeah, we'll be fine," Sweetie said as they eased Scootaloo into the car and started it up and headed off towards their destination.

00000

"You said that she was going to be fine if she did this!" Sweetie said as she pointed at Fancy Pants accusingly. "Her first outing and the creature nearly beat her to death!"

"We were afraid of this possibility," Fancy Pants said and adjusted his monocle. "In truth she was probably not ready, I would have preferred she got more training before..."

"You're telling me that she was hurt because she wasn't ready?" Sweetie said as she crossed her arms. "I knew this was a bad idea, we shouldn't have let her agree to this."

"Sweetie, calm down," Apple Bloom said as she sighed and looked at her friend worriedly for a moment. "Look, Ah'm as worried about Scootaloo as yah are, but Ah'm sure they have some sort of plan ta help her out."

"These cards have powers that we are still only starting to understand," Fancy Pants said as he picked up the Justice card for a moment and looked back at the other two. "There is a power to cards like these. When one of these cards bonds with someone, it can heal them slowly, we documented it back when Fleur was bonded with the Magician card. It should do the same for Scootaloo."

He placed the card gently in Scootaloo's hand, she was still unconscious. The card started to glow as it enveloped Scootaloo and her eyes fluttered open. "Ugh, what hit me?"

"Oh thank goodness," Sweetie Belle said as she hugged Scootaloo and the other girl flinched a little before she smiled and hugged her back, still holding the card in her hand. "After that thing hurt you I was so worried about you..."

"Thanks Sweetie, but I'm fine, just a little sore," Scootaloo said with a soft smile as she hugged her girlfriend. "Did I at least beat that thing?"

"Beat? Not so much," Sweetie said with a shake of her head. "I think you were lucky to make it out of the whole thing alive honestly."

"Though, I believe you managed to damage the monster at least," Fancy Pants said. "That's the good news at least, but even if you defeat it you're going to need more training if we don't want a repeat. For now, you need to just relax and let the card do its thing."

"Which means ya'll are gonna have ta refrain from doin' certain things," Apple Bloom said with a smirk which made her two friends blush deeply. "So, Ah'm guessin' there are cards like this fer all of tha Major Arcana or whatever its called?"

"Yes, as far as we can tell, though we have yet to see most of them," Fancy Pants said with a shake of his head. "The only one that we know of for sure, outside of the ones that belong to Riders, is the Strength, but he's been gone for awhile."

"Well, that's not entirely true," Fleur said as she came in. "I crossed paths with another one a few times before she vanished altogether. One that even the other monsters were afraid of, but she vanished, a long time ago. I think she may have stopped being much of a threat."

"Of course," Fancy Pants said. "Well, we'll leave you three alone for awhile. I'm sure you have a lot to talk about right now."
He and Fleur left the room together as Scootaloo leaned back in the bed and looked down at the Justice card again for a moment.

"Scootaloo, you're not actually considering going back out there are you?" Sweetie Belle asked as Scootaloo looked up at her. "You could've been killed last time, and you are thinking about doing it again?"

"Sweetie, as long as that creature is out there it poses a threat to innocent people," Scootaloo said with a shake of her head. "I may be new to this whole thing, but I know one thing. If there's even a chance of stopping it before it hurts someone else, I need to do what I can to make sure its stopped."

She held up the card and nodded a little. Justice, a card of a fair and just individual, she was going to make sure that she lived up to that title.

"Scootaloo, just because yah lost your parents ta one of those things doesn't mean yah need ta put yer life at risk," Apple Bloom said with a shake of her head. "But if yah think that its tha right thing ta do, we're gonna be backin' yah up the whole time."

"Yeah, we will be," Sweetie said quietly as she looked down at her feet and then back at Scootaloo. "Do you really think this is the right thing to do though? What if you get hurt again."

"Then that's what happens," Scootaloo said with a sigh and a shake of her head. "But honestly, I'm starting to think I need to do this. Even if it would be good to have a bit more back-up."

She laid back and closed her eyes as she sighed a little. She hated that she was putting her friends in this position, even if she knew that it was the right thing to do. They didn't like what she was doing and she honestly didn't blame them, but she needed to at least stop Zauzwei.

At least, she hoped she could.

00000

"You haven't been doing very well Zauzwei," a towering male figure dressed in armored robes with a laurel crown on his head and a face with strange markings across it said as he turned to look at the monster. "You promised us results, but right now all I am seeing is failure."

"I wasn't expecting that armored woman to attack me like that Lord Caesar," Zauzwei said, he was looking weak. "You have to give me another chance. I can stop her, she's weak and wounded from our last fight, if I can find her then she won't stand a chance, just give me one more chance!"

"You really expect me to just give you another chance to fail?" Caesar said as he drew his sword and pressed it against the creature's neck. "You are more foolish than I thought, perhaps we gave you too much power already if you are just going to waste it."

"Now, now, lets not be so quick to judge," another male voice said and they both turned to see a male figure dressed in an elaborately designed suit leaning on a cane walking towards them. "We did only give him one of the weaker cards after all, perhaps we are lucky that we were able to draw out a new Rider like this."

"Lucky? If you call this debacle lucky then I don't know..." Caesar said and was interrupted by the man swinging his cane and pushing the sword away from Zauzwei's neck.

"Our master wants this world and will test its champions," the strange man said with a wicked smile. "Perhaps we should send you against this new Rider instead. There are plenty of ways that can go wrong, especially if they are under the protection of our old enemies."

"Then what would you suggest?" Caesar asked, though it was clear that he wasn't happy with having to listen to this man. "You know I serve the master faithfully."

"I know, and that is why you will not be thrown to the wolves, at least not yet," the strange man said with a laugh as he returned his cane to his side. "So, instead we are going to send our little friend here to draw out the enemy. If this Rider is truly drawing power from one of ours, then we will be able to gauge her skill and plan accordingly."

"Yes, that would make sense," Caesar said as he felt the man's cane wrap around him and pull him in closer. "You would waste one of our cards on such a task though?"

"The Two of Wands is a minor card all things considered, and we need information," the man said with a wicked smile. "After all, I was the one who made the deal with him, and I will make sure that all terms of that deal are kept."

"Yes, of course," Caesar said as he bowed politely and looked back at Zauzwei. "You have your orders, you are to go out and find out everything you can about this new threat. You will either return with her defeat or you will not return at all, do I make myself clear?"

"Yes Lord Caesar," Zauzwei said and bowed a little before running off.

"I swear, the criteria for cards are getting more and more lax," Caesar said with a snort. "I should have a word with..."

"You will do no such thing, the master knows what he is doing," the man said as he vanished into a puff of smoke.

"Right, I'm sure he does," Caesar said with a snort as he vanished too.

00000

"Are you sure she's okay to leave?" Sweetie Belle asked as she and Apple Bloom helped Scootaloo to her feet. "She's only been in there a couple of days."

A couple of days had passed since the last meeting. Scootaloo was doing much better and she had her arm around Sweetie Belle.

"I feel fine Sweetie," Scootaloo said with a shake of her head. "Don't worry about me, whatever that card did did the trick."

"I don't want you to get hurt again," Sweetie said with a sigh. "I still don't like this, it feels like the next time you're out there you could..."

"But I won't," Scootaloo said as she placed her hand on Sweetie Belle's shoulder. "I swear, I'll do everything I can to make sure that I don't get hurt. I don't want to worry you."

"Yah worried both of us back there," Apple Bloom said with a shake of her head. "Do yah really think yer up fer this? Ah'm sure if we just..."

"No, I want to do this," Scootaloo interrupted and sighed a little. "I know its dangerous, I know any number of things could happen to me out there but I want to keep this city safe. The Order, they're trying to hurt innocent people, they already killed my parents, and I'm going to stop them from doing that again."

"Okay," Sweetie finally said with a sigh as she hugged Scootaloo gently. "We'll be there for you every step of the way."

"So, uh where are we going?" Scootaloo asked as she looked around. She didn't recognize this part of the base and was a little confused as to what they wanted her to do.

"We're going to talk to Stone Breaker," Fleur said speaking up. "He's our other tech expert, he makes some of the equipment that Flim and Flam can't. You'll see why shortly."

"Okay," Scootaloo said as they walked on in silence.

She took out the Justice Card again and looked at it. Even though the woman's eyes were covered she felt like they were on her, judging her worth. She shook her head, it had to be her imagination.

When they opened a door she was surprised to find that they were standing on the edge of an underground track. There was the sound of a motorcycle running as it sped along the track before coming to a stop in front of them.

"Having fun Stone Breaker?" Fleur asked with a chuckle.

"Just doing the final checks," the rider said in a male voice as he climbed off the bike and removed his helmet. He had short slate grey hair that he shook loose and gave them a nod. "And you must be the new Rider, I was just putting the finishing touches on your bike."

"My, bike?" Scootaloo asked confused.

"Where do you think the Rider part comes from?" Fleur asked with a chuckle. "Have you ever ridden a motorcycle before?"

"No, not really," Scootaloo admitted. "Well, I've never driven one at least. I've been on the back of one before, but I've never actually tried to drive one."

"Well, that's understandable," Stone said as he nodded to the bike. It was sleek with a black body with the same green color in it. "This is Forseti."

"Forseti?" Apple Bloom asked. "Ah've heard that name before somewhere..."

"The Viking God of Justice if I remember correctly," Fleur said. "Stone Breaker has a tendency to name his gear after mythological figures."

"Right, mythological, because normally people wouldn't ride around in armor fighting monsters," Stone Breaker said as he gave Scootaloo a nod. "Well since you're new to it I think we'll have to start you on the simulators. You've got a lot to learn, and not a lot of time to learn it."

"Right now's not the time," Fleur said with a shake of her head. "But we'll figure it out in time. In the meantime Scootaloo, check it out, I'd like to talk with him about something."

Scootaloo nodded and went over to the bike and investigated it while Fleur took Stone to the side and whispered to him. "Did you get anything on the footage from when the other bike was stolen?"

"I'm afraid not," he whispered back. "Whoever did it was clever, they managed to sneak in and override the security systems."

"This isn't what we need right now," Fleur said with a shake of her head. "We've got a potential new Rider and we can't afford to have any security breaches."

"I know, I know," Stone said with a shake of his head. "There was something, different about this. I've had Flim and Flam running every test they can but I don't know where the thief even came from right now."

"Alright, keep looking," Fleur said with a nod before she walked back over to the three friends. "We'll get you some formal training with how to use the bike but for now you should get home. I'm sure your family is worried about you."

"Yeah, thanks for everything Fleur," Scootaloo said with a smile as she offered Fleur a hand. "And, I wanted to say thank you for saving my life 13 years ago."

"You're welcome," Fleur said with a smile that turned sad after a moment. "I just wish that I could've saved your parents too. They were good people, never forget that."

"I won't," Scootaloo said with a soft smile as Fleur lead them out.

Stone watched them go and sighed a little as he went back to working on Forseti.

00000

"Are you sure you're okay enough to walk?" Sweetie Belle asked as they headed out of the store and to their car that was out front. "You were in pretty bad shape and that thing is still out there. Odds are its going to try and grab us again."

"I know," Scootaloo said with a sigh as she thought about the Tarot Driver which was resting in her backpack. "But if they try to hurt anyone, then I want to do everything I can to try and stop them. I promise, I'll be more careful from now on though, I promise."

Sweetie let out a sigh of relief as she and Scootaloo got in the backseat of the car while Apple Bloom got behind the wheel and started it up. Scootaloo smiled softly as her girlfriend rested her head on the purple haired girl's shoulder and sighed happily.

"Don't worry Sweetie, nothing is going to happen to me," she said softly as she stroked her hair a little. "And I'm going to make sure nothing happens to you and Apple Bloom. You two are my best friends, and I wouldn't be anything without you."

Sweetie smiled as she leaned up and kissed Scootaloo gently. She was still not sure about this, but she knew that when Scootaloo said something like that she meant it.

"You're really set on this aren't you?" Sweetie asked.

"I am, its the right thing to do," Scootaloo said.

"Alright," Sweetie said with a sigh. "Just don't go running off to fight monsters all the time okay? You need to rest sometimes and I'd rather have my girlfriend than a superhero."

Scootaloo smiled softly as she held Sweetie close. "But it doesn't hurt to have both right?"

Sweetie just rolled her eyes and slugged Scootaloo lightly. "No it doesn't hurt, as long as nothing happens to you."

"Ya'll might want ta look ahead and stop snugglin' with each other," Apple Bloom said as the car came to a stop. "We've got company up ahead."

Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle looked up to see the hulking figure of Zauzwei in the road ahead attacking cars. The monster sent a fireball over the head of a convertable which made the people inside duck down.

"Bring me the Armored Woman!" Zauzwei shouted. "I will lay waste to this entire city until she is brought before me!"

"Okay, that's not good," Sweetie said as she looked at Scootaloo. "Good luck out there Scoots, stay safe."

"I will," Scootaloo said as she leaned in and gave Sweetie a kiss. "I love you Sweetie Belle, never forget that."

Sweetie smiled and nodded as she gave Scootaloo a long kiss before letting her go. "Go get 'em."

Scootaloo nodded as she got out of the car and put the Driver on her waist as the belt formed around her. "Hey ugly!"

Zauzwei snapped up from the car it was going after and looked at her. "So you finally showed yourself hero. This time you won't get away so easily. You don't have a biker chick to back you up this time."

"I won't need her this time," Scootaloo said, she hoped that she was right as she took out the Justice card. "As long as I draw breath, I'm going to keep fighting to keep the likes of you from hurting people."

"Well, then I won't let you draw breath any longer!" Zauzwei said as he charged at Scootaloo as he sent a stream of fire at her just as she prepared to slide the cards into her belt.

"Henshin!"

"TIME TO TIP THE SCALES!" The voice said once more as the black and green armor appeared over her body as her sword appeared in her hand which she swung around and caught the flame from the monster in the blade as it moved around it.

"I can see your future, and its not bright!" Scootaloo said as she redirected the flame right back into Zauzwei which knocked him back.

"That's not fair, how did you suddenly get so good?" Zauzwei said angrily. "You're cheating!"

"I'm cheating, you put this city at risk!" Scootaloo said as she rolled out of the way of another fireball from the monster. "You put my friends and everyone who lives here at risk. I'm not going to let you get away with that!"

She charged forward and swung her sword at the monster who tried to catch it with his weapon. He was caught off guard when an armored fist came swinging around and hit him hard in the stomach. He kicked at her for a moment before he realized that she had dodged the hit and the sword was coming down right on him.

"Justice Blade Strike!" Scootaloo said as her sword glowed with an energy like nothing it had ever glowed with before.

"No, I won't lose, I can't lose..." he said as the sword slashed through him and he fell where he once stood.

Energy flew off the monster as it transformed into a human with short green hair that let out a pained moan. A card flew into Scootaloo's hand and she looked at it curiously. It showed a woman holding a ball with two long sticks poking out of the ground around her.

"The Two of Wands," she said as she looked at it curiously before she slid the two cards out of her belt and powered down.

She was feeling more exhausted than ever, but she had beaten the monster. It was over, at least for now, she just hoped that she had done enough.

Up on a rooftop, Caesar and the mysterious man were watching the fight as it progressed. Caesar frowned a little as he saw Scootaloo defeat Zauzwei.

"I knew sending him was a bad idea," he said with a snort. "He was pathetic, the weakest of our servants right now. I told you this wasn't going to work."

"Yes, but we now know more about our enemy," the man said with a smirk as he tipped his hat a little. "Now we know who she is and what she protects. We can use this to our advantage."

"You had better be right," Caesar said as they both vanished into thin air.

00000

"And we've got video in of the fight between the unknown creature and an armored figure earlier today in Canterlot," the anchorwoman said as the TV switched to footage of the fight between Scootaloo and Zauzwei. "There's been a lot of activity on the internet ever since the videos started going live. Some are comparing this armored woman to stories of similar figures in Japan. It seems that Canterlot may have their very own superhero, more on this story as it continues.

Scootaloo sighed as she laid her head back on Sweetie's chest as the pink and purple haired young woman stroked her hair lightly.

"Really subtle, you're lucky they didn't have any good footage of your face," Sweetie said with a shake of her head.

"Well, it was bound to wind up on the internet eventually," Scootaloo said with a shrug as she leaned back and snuggled with Sweetie a little. "So, how does it feel to be dating Canterlot's mysterious new superhero?"

"I'm still worried about you," Sweetie said as she rolled her eyes a little. "Don't let all of this go to your head. You need to be careful, especially if this Order now knows who you are and that you're out there."

"I know," Scootaloo said as she closed her eyes. "We'll figure this out, I promise."

"Okay," Sweetie said and gave her a kiss on the forehead. "I love you Scootaloo."

"I love you too Sweetie," Scootaloo said with a yawn as they looked at the news where they were interviewing some of the witnesses from the attack.

"She was like nothing I'd ever seen before."

"How do we know she wasn't responsible for that monster that attacked?"

"If she is really a hero, then if you ask me this is only the beginning," the last interview subject said, he was a man with asian features and medium length reddish-brown hair. "Something tells me that there is a lot more to come. If she is what I think she is, I wish her the best of luck."

Scootaloo paused a moment and sighed as she shut off the TV. She smiled as she looked back at Sweetie as they drifted off to sleep together.

The Overflowing Cup

"Hmm, lets see, which card do the fates dictate this time," a female figure said. She was dressed in robes that featured the same symbol as the other members of the Arcana court with a mask that covered half of her face and blocked off one of her eyes with a golden symbol. She was shuffling through a deck of cards as she looked at a large wheel. "The wheel of fortune spins and prepares to reveal what is to come."

"This is not the time for your riddles, Priellit," Caesar said as he came in and looked at the woman with a frown. "What do the cards tell us we must do next?"

Priellit frowned and shook her head a little as she placed the deck down and drew a card before she placed it on the table before her. "The Five of Cups is upright," she finally said. "A being who has suffered loss and regret, they will give us the edge we need."

"It had better," Caesar said as he picked the card up off the table and it glowed with energy before it flew off to find its new subject. "You had better know what you're doing this time."

"The Two of Wands served its purpose," Priellit said with a dismissive wave. "It drew out the keeper of the Justice Card and gave us information we needed as I foresaw. You did learn more about her did you not?"

"Yes, but that is beside the point," Caesar said with a shake of his head. "This is our first chance to enter this world in 13 years. Last time our operations were disrupted by that blasted Kamen Rider, I will not allow this to happen again."

"Of course not," Priellit said without looking back at Caesar. "You had better be careful Caesar. You know that the master will not accept failure again."

"And I will make sure that we succeed," Caesar said as he sneered a little. "One wannabe hero does not disrupt our plans yet."

"Do not take her lightly," Priellit said with a shake of her head. "There are many things we do not yet understand. She is only the beginning."

Caesar just shook his head and walked out of the room.

00000

“Come on y'all, it’s time ta get out of bed already,” Apple Bloom said as she knocked on the door to Scootaloo and Sweetie’s bedroom. “Ah know what yer up ta in there, we need ta figure out what’s gonna happen today already.”

“Is it just me or does Apple Bloom have a really dirty mind?” Scootaloo asked with a groan as they woke up.

“Yeah, I’ve noticed,” Sweetie said with a chuckle as she gave Scootaloo a soft kiss. “I mean you remember how much she teased us before we got together right?”

“Don’t remind me,” Scootaloo said with a chuckle as she reached over and picked up the cards. “So, do you think this card is another weapon card?”

"Well, 56 cards, 56 weapons probably," Sweetie said as Scootaloo set the card back down and got up to get dressed. “How are you feeling after yesterday?”

“A little sore, but not nearly as bad as what happened last time I fought that thing,” Scootaloo said as she picked out a t-shirt and jeans before she pulled on a robe and looked back at Sweetie. “Sweetie, you know I don’t want to put you in any risk right? If you want me to stop this, I’ll do it for you.”

“Really, you’d do that for me?” Sweetie asked surprised as Scootaloo sat down on the bed.

“Sweetie, I love you so much and you’re the most important thing in the world to me,” Scootaloo said as she took Sweetie’s hands gently and smiled. “You’re my girlfriend and I don’t want to put you in danger.”

“Scootaloo…” Sweetie said softly as she looked into her girlfriend’s eyes for a long moment. “You should do this, no more ifs ands or buts about it. You’re out there and if anyone saw you, you’re already in danger. If being this, Kamen Rider helps keep people safe then that’s what we’ll have to do.”

“Okay, thank you,” Scootaloo said as she hugged Sweetie gently. “I love you Sweetie Belle, more than anything.”

“I know,” Sweetie said and smiled a little as she played with Scootaloo’s robe a little. “How about we grab a shower. I need to get ready for work anyway, and we should probably save time by, well you know…”

Scootaloo blushed a little at the suggestion as she felt Sweetie’s lips gently pressed against her’s as she started to undo her robe.

“Mmm, sounds good to me,” Scootaloo said softly as they got up and headed over to the adjoining bathroom together.

00000

Apple Bloom chuckled a little when she heard the sound of the shower starting up. Though she couldn’t help but sigh a little, she didn’t want to admit it to her friends but there were times she felt almost like a third wheel.

The three of them had been friends since they had met as kids when Scootaloo joined their Elementary School Class. They had been through everything together, and when Scootaloo and Sweetie had started dating in High School, Apple Bloom had been happy for them.

She sighed a little and took a sip of her coffee. She didn’t want to do anything to hurt them, but maybe if she could find someone for herself that would at least help.

“Well, it ain’t like someone is gonna just knock on tha door and ask me out,” she said with a shake of her head, just as there was a knock on the door and she blinked a little. “Well, it ain’t like a million dollars is gonna fall into mah lap.”

When nothing happened she just shrugged and sat her mug down and headed over to the door and checked it. Agent Sweetie Drops was standing outside and she opened the door.

“Can Ah help yah?” She asked.

“I need to talk to you and your friends,” Sweetie Drops said. “Can I come in?”

“Yeah, Ah guess,” Apple Bloom said with a shrug as she gestured for the secret agent to come inside. “Let me guess, it’s about what happened yesterday?”

“Very perceptive of you, where are they?” Sweetie Drops asked.

“Probably takin’ a shower together,” Apple Bloom said with a shrug as she took a seat and sipped her coffee again. “Yah know how it is with couples, bein’ a bit cutesy and stuff.”

“Yeah, I know,” Sweetie Drops said with a shake of her head. “What about you, are you seeing anyone?”

“No, not since High School,” Apple Bloom said with a shrug. “How about yah? Does tha mysterious Agent Sweetie Drops have someone special?”

“No, but being a SMILE agent doesn’t really give a lot of chances for that,” Sweetie Drops said as she placed her hand on her pocket. “It’s not for lack of trying, but I’d have to find someone, special.”

Before Apple Bloom could finish the sound of the shower stopped. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle came out of the bathroom a few minutes later with Scootaloo dressed in a t-shirt and jeans while Sweetie Belle was dressed in a buttoned up shirt and medium skirt with a nametag on it.

“Uh, can we help you?” Scootaloo asked as they saw Sweetie Drops standing there. “Is this about what happened yesterday or are you here on Sweetie’s traffic tickets?”

“Well, we are very much aware of what happened yesterday with Zauzwei,” Sweetie Drops said with a nod. “I’m to escort you back to Fortune Division with the Two of Wands card to be put in storage.”

“Wait, it’s a weapon card right?” Scootaloo asked. “Why do we have to put it in storage?”

“We’re only really now figuring it out, but the weapon cards are spiritually connected certain transformation cards,” Sweetie Drops said. “You can only use the Swords card and when she was Magician Fleur could only use the Wands.”

“Oh, I see,” Sweetie said. “Any idea why?”

“We don’t know,” Sweetie Drops said with a shake of her head. “But for now, the Wand cards will be put into storage along with Pentacles and Cups. They won’t be able to be used by the Order and if we can ever get more Riders they can hopefully use them.”

“Yeah,” Scootaloo said with a nod. “Do I have to come by now? I was supposed to go job hunting today.”

“And we need to get to work, so we can’t go with her,” Sweetie said and Apple Bloom nodded a little.

“I’ll be okay,” Scootaloo said as she hugged Sweetie gently and added jokingly. “I’m just going to a top secret government facility, nothing to worry about.”

“Don’t worry, she just needs a debriefing so we can try and figure out what might be going on here,” Sweetie Drops said. “And maybe some training on the bike, she’ll be home in time for dinner.”

“She better be, I’m cooking tonight,” Sweetie Belle said with a smirk.

“You know maybe I’ll be gone a bit longer…” Scootaloo said. “I could go talk with… OWW!”

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Drops just laughed as Sweetie slugged her girlfriend.

“My cooking isn’t that bad!”

“You burned orange juice once, ORANGE JUICE!”

“Do I want to know?” Sweetie Drops asked as she looked at Apple Bloom as the couple argued a bit longer.

“No, yah really don’t,” Apple Bloom said with a shake of her head. “They do this all the time, don’t worry about it.”

“Oh dang it I should go,” Sweetie Belle said as she gave Scootaloo a quick kiss on the lips. “See you tonight.”

She left and Apple Bloom left not long after. Scootaloo sighed as she went into her bedroom and picked up the Tarot Driver and the cards and put them away.

This was going to be her first time going to the Fortune Division without her friends. She just hoped that everything really was going to be okay.

Or Sweetie’s bad cooking would be the least of her worries.

00000

“Come on Silver… you can pull through,” a young woman with light violet hair with a white streak said softly as she sat next to a grey haired girls’ hospital bed. “Don’t die on me now…”

“Diamond,” a man with short dark brown hair said as he walked in. “I talked with the Doctors, they said that Silver Spoon is going to be hit and miss for awhile. You were very lucky you two didn’t get hurt worse.”

“I know,” Diamond Tiara said softly as she looked at her unconscious friend.

“They’re going to do everything they can to help her,” Filthy Rich continued. “What were you two thinking? You were acting very…”

“Dad, I already feel bad enough, I don’t need a lecture from you!” Diamond snapped at her father as she started crying.

She and Silver Spoon had recently gone out drinking to celebrate Diamond’s 21st Birthday. The two of them had had more than too much to drink but Diamond had still gotten behind the wheel. They had gotten into a single car accident which they had barely survived.

Well, Diamond had barely survived. Silver was laying in a Hospital Bed barely holding onto life because she had made a stupid mistake. She hated herself more than anything right now because it was her fault that her best friend was in this situation.

“Diamond, it’s okay,” Filthy Rich said as he placed his hand on her shoulder. “I’ve got the best Doctors money can buy working on her. If anyone can save her it’s them, just give them time okay?”

“Okay,” Diamond said as she looked at Silver with a sigh.

“Do you want to stay here?” Filthy asked. “I think it would help if she knew you were by her side.”

“Yeah, I’d like that,” Diamond said with a smile. “I’ll just stay here with her, if that’s okay of course.”

“It’s fine,” Filthy said with a reassuring smile as he gave her a hug. “It’ll be okay Diamond, I promise Silver Spoon will be okay. You made a mistake, but you can’t let that rule your life, we’ll do everything we can to make sure she’s okay.”

“Thanks Dad,” Diamond said with a sigh as her father left the hospital room while Diamond sighed a little and leaned back in her chair.

“I’m so sorry Silver…” Diamond said as she cried more. “I wish there was something I could do to make sure you’re going to be okay. I would do anything to have you back...”

“Really? Anything?” A calm voice said from around her.

“Who’s there?” She asked and looked around.

“A friend, I’m here to help you,” the voice said. “I will heal your friend, but you must do something for me first.”

“Anything, I just want her to be okay!” Diamond said as she looked around rapidly. “Where are you? Who are you?”

“Do you agree?” The voice asked.

“Yes, I agree, I’ll do anything!” Diamond said, practically shouting at the top of her lungs.

The voice didn’t speak right away, instead a card appeared on the bed in front of her. She reached forward and picked it up, the card depicted a man staring down at five tipped over cups on a riverside.

Her eyes glowed white as the same circle as the other monsters formed on her chest out of nowhere. She placed the card in her pocket and got up, and walked out.

A face appeared in her mind. It was one that the spirit that now inhabited her mind didn’t recognize but had been told to find. There was a flash of recognition in her eyes as she recognized it.

She had to find Scootaloo Dash, she knew that face, she knew where to find her.

00000

“Scootaloo, I’m glad you could come,” Fancy Pants said as Scootaloo took a seat across his desk from him. “Is everything going well? You’re not feeling any side effects from yesterday are you?”

“No, I’m fine,” Scootaloo said with a shrug and then blinked a little. “Wait, what kind of side effects are you talking about?”

“Oh, nothing to be concerned with, sometimes the process can be hard on the body,” Fancy said with a shake of his head. “You should be fine though, we’ve gotten enough readings to tell that everything should be fine. May I have the Two of Wands now?”

“Okay, good, I think,” Scootaloo said as she took the card out of her pocket and placed it on the desk before she slid it over to Fancy. “Should I be worried about what happened back there? I mean, I’m holding two of these cards, will something like that happen to me?”

“No, these cards are bound to you and won’t do anything other than create your armor and your weapons,” Fancy said. “We’ve had enough experience with these cards thanks to Fleur, just be careful and don’t try to use any cards that are not part of your suit.”

“What will happen? And how do these cards work anyway?” Scootaloo asked.

“It’s complicated, but if it happens it will likely kill you,” Fancy Pants said with a shake of his head. “These weapons are powerful objects, we cannot take them lightly. They draw on your energy, so the stronger the weapon you summon the more energy is expended. An Ace level weapon only uses a little, but when we get into the stronger ones it’ll use more energy.”

“Right,” Scootaloo said with a nod of understanding. She sighed a little, she was still a little unsure about how these things worked, but it did at least make her feel a little better. “So, what do we do with the Wand card now? Wait until we get the Magician card back?”

“That’s our only option really,” Fancy said with a nod. “Or if we can find another Rider who is connected to the Wand suit.”

“And, what’s going to happen to the man?” Scootaloo asked. “He’s no longer a monster, right?”

“Well, no he’s not,” Fancy said. “Actually he was a wanted criminal and has been taken in by the police. Normally they will be given a chance to recover from any wounds and any other effects left behind by the transformation.”

“I see,” Scootaloo said and sighed a little before she paused. “So, what now? I’m guessing there will be others.”

“Of that there is no doubt,” Fancy said. “We’ll keep an eye on the internet and inform you of any attacks or sightings. For now you need to continue your training with your Rider form and start training on your bike.”

“Fun,” Scootaloo said with a sigh as she gave him a nod. “I want to do everything I can to stop the Order and protect this city. If there’s anything I can do to help that goal, I’ll do it.”

“Alright, go talk with Stone then,” Fancy said. “Stay as long as you need, this place is as good a base of operations as any.”

Scootaloo nodded and headed out of the office and towards Stone’s area.

00000

“Alright, this shouldn’t be too hard,” Scootaloo said as she got on Forseti after transforming into her Rider form. “You can do this Scoots.”

“Alright,” Stone said as he gave Scootaloo instructions on how to start the bike and keep it steady. “It’s just like riding a bike, sort of… okay you have a motor and are moving faster than on a bike. Okay, I may have lost the metaphor, but just keep it steady and don’t lose your balance and you’ll be fine.”

“And what if I crash?” Scootaloo asked.

“Your armor will take the brunt of it, don’t worry,” Stone said and she shot him a look. “You’ll be fine, this kind of armor has been used by Riders for years.”

Scootaloo nodded a little as she revved up the engine. She looked forward for a moment and then took off along the track. She was a bit surprised at how quiet the bike was as she picked up speed down the track before taking a turn.

She took a deep breath and rounded the next corner on the track. She passed Stone as she did a full lap, it took a little getting used to but she was able to get the hang of it pretty quickly.

“Alright, you’ve got the hang of things so far,” Stone’s voice said over her helmet. “Try drawing the Arcana Rapier. Don’t try and hit anything yet, just see if you can hold the sword and wield it while on the bike.”

“Alright,” Scootaloo said as she slowed down and pulled it to a stop before she took out the Ace of Swords card. “This had better work.”

“It’ll be fine,” Stone said on the other end. “Just be careful and make sure you don’t lose your balance. You’re going to be just fine, it just may take some getting used to, start out slow so you don’t mess up too badly. Remember, both the sword and the bike is an extension of the Rider, make it part of yourself and everything will be fine.”

“Right, because that totally makes sense,” Scootaloo said with a groan as she held the card up and slid it into her belt.

“Arcana Rapier.”

The sword appeared in her hand and she swung it around to make sure that it was ready. It was just a matter of figuring out how to keep the bike steady. She started it up again and took off down the track again.

She gripped the handlebars of the bike with one hand and her sword with the other. Despite her low speed she was having a hard time steadying it. She held the sword off to the side and tried to swing it a little but only barely managed to right the bike again.

“I don’t think this is going to work,” she said into her helmet’s com system. “How am I supposed to steer this thing when I have one hand full?”

“Alright, well it’s still experimental but your best bet may be to enter battle mode,” Stone said over her com. “There are buttons on the handlebars of your bike. If you press them at the same time, it will put the craft on autopilot and will only require occasional adjustments.”

“Alright, why didn’t we do this already?” Scootaloo asked as she checked for the buttons and found them after a moment.

“As I said, it’s experimental,” Stone answered. “When I developed Thoth for Fleur a lot of this was still based on your standard motorcycles. This is derived from files we acquired that once belonged to a group called Gorgom. Its basically a limited AI that can choose targets and go after them based on perceived threat.”

“Alright, let’s try this,” Scootaloo said as she pressed the buttons on both handlebars.

“Battle mode activated,” the computerized voice said from the bike. “Standing by for commands from Rider.”

“Alright good, just tell it to follow the track for two laps at a low speed for now,” Stone said. “I don’t want to have to explain to the Director that I put our new Rider in the Hospital wing.”

“Understood,” Scootaloo said as she looked down at the bike. “Okay, follow the track for two laps, low speed.”

The bike started itself up and sped down the track. Scootaloo held the Arcana Rapier off to the side and gave it some test swings. At the very least it seemed to be going easier than it did when she was steering the thing.

She just hoped she wasn’t in over her head already.

00000

“She’s my shooting star,
Carried me so far.
Yeah, she’s the shiniest sight,
My little light in the night.”

Scootaloo smiled a little as she entered the High Note Cafe. Sweetie Belle was seated on a stool as she sung into a microphone. Scootaloo couldn’t help but smile a little as she watched her girlfriend sing on stage.

Sweetie finished her song and smiled a little when she saw Scootaloo being seated. She went to talk to her manager before she sat down at the table next to Scootaloo. “Hey Scoots, how’d it go today?”

“Well, they had me try out the bike itself,” Scootaloo said quietly, she didn’t want anyone to overhear her right now.”And shouldn’t you be working right now?”

“I explained to my manager that my girlfriend got into an accident and recently got out of the hospital,” Sweetie said as she rest her head gently on Scootaloo’s shoulder and sighed happily. “She was very understanding and let me go on break.”

Scootaloo smiled softly and wrapped her arm around Sweetie gently. “I’m not really sure what to think about all of this honestly.”

“Hey, you’re the one who liked to pretend to be the superhero growing up,” Sweetie Belle said with a chuckle.

“Yeah, with you as the beautiful damsel in distress, lets hope its not prophetic,” Scootaloo said with a chuckle as she gave Sweetie’s shoulders a light squeeze. “I’m just lucky I’ve got such good friends by my side.”

“And don’t you ever forget it,” Sweetie said with a chuckle as a waitress came to the table.

“What can I get for you two?” She asked as she took out a pad and pen and got ready to take their orders.

“Hmm, I’ll take a burger and fries with an Opal Cherry,” Scootaloo said with a smile as she looked up at the waitress. “What about you Sweetie?”

“Lets see, I’ll just have a salad and a coke,” Sweetie said with a smile as she gave the waitress a small nod.

“Alright, I’ll be right out with your drinks,” the waitress said with a nod as she walked off with her notebook.

“Do you like working here?” Scootaloo asked as she looked down at Sweetie.

“Well, it’s tiring, but it gives me a lot of singing practice,” Sweetie said with a shrug. “It’s not too bad, and it helps pay the bills so I’m fine with it. Why, are you looking into getting a job as a waitress?”

“I’m open to suggestions at least,” Scootaloo said with a shake of her head. “It just sometimes feels like I’m not really doing enough to pull my weight around here with what I make with my part-time job.”

“You do fine, don’t worry about it right now,” Sweetie said. “Besides, you’ve got something more important to worry about right now. We can manage with what you make, I don’t want you to worry about it.”

Scootaloo sighed a little and put her arm around Sweetie. They just sat in silence as the waitress came by and set their drinks down on the table. She gave them a smile but didn’t say anything so the two girls could just enjoy their closeness before she walked off.

“So, did you hear about that weird superhero?” One of the other patrons said to another that was in hearing distance.

“Kind of hard to miss it, it's all over the news,” their companion pointed out with a chuckle.

“Yeah, a friend of mine has a cousin in Zawame City or something,” the first person said. “Apparently it’s getting some attention over in Japan because there’s been similar stories over there.”

“Yeah, Masked Rider or something right?” The second one said. “Wait, no that sounds ridiculous…”

Scootaloo just chuckled as she took a drink of her soda and set it back down. She just sat there for the longest moment as she sat there with her girlfriend, she was about to say something when her phone dinged signifying there was a text message.

“What’s that?” Sweetie asked as Scootaloo took out her phone and read what it said.

“I know who you are, meet me in Whitetail Park. Come alone or there will be consequences.”

Scootaloo showed Sweetie the text message to her. “That’s, not good,” she said with a sigh. “Do you think it’s about, you know what?”

“I don’t know,” Scootaloo admitted. “There’s not much else that could mean. What should I do?”

“Go, but be careful,” Sweetie said and gave Scootaloo a kiss. “For good luck, go get ‘em. I’ll get your food put away for later.”

Scootaloo nodded and got up and headed out of the cafe. She wasn’t too far from Whitetail Park, she just hoped she wasn’t going to be too late.

00000

Scootaloo paused a moment as she placed her hand on her bag. The Driver was in her bag, she didn’t feel comfortable leaving it anywhere since there was always the risk of being attacked or running into a monster.

But the park seemed so, normal right now. There wasn’t any sign of any sort of monster or something else, maybe it was a prank call. She shook her head, she didn’t like having her time wasted when she could’ve been back at the cafe with Sweetie.

“I swear if you’re wasting my time…” Scootaloo muttered.

“Oh, now why would I do that?” A voice asked from behind her and she spun around to see a figure standing there. They were dressed in a hoodie and hat that were pulled down over their face. “I’ve been looking for you Scootaloo. They told me you are of great interest to them.”

“Who told you? Who are you?” Scootaloo demanded, the voice sounded familiar somehow but at the same time distorted.

“The Order sent me, you may call me Vikotano,” the figure said in a distorted voice as she reached up to lower her hood. “But you would be more familiar with my host I’m sure.”

Scootaloo’s eyes went wide when she saw who was under it. She recognized the familiar purple and white hair of Diamond Tiara as she removed her hood and hat. Her eyes though, they were glowing with an unnatural color.

“What did you do to her?” Scootaloo demanded as she took out the Driver and put it on her waist but didn’t use it yet. “Diamond, I know you’re in here, don’t listen to it!”

“Why? She made the contract, which means she’s all mine!” “Diamond” said with a wicked laugh as she reached into her pocket and took out a card that started to glow and dark energy surrounded it. “Unlock my true form!”

The energy changed her body, made her taller as her clothes shifted into what seemed to almost be a long dress with armor on it. Her hair turned dark purple and spiked while her face while her face became inhuman, with shapes and symbols on her face. Finally a symbol of five cups appeared in a circle on the chest of her armor. What she noticed immediately was that there was markings on her face that looked like tears.

“Ahhh, much better,” she said as she stretched out a little as a tomahawk appeared in each hand. “Now, as for you Scootaloo Dash… it’s time for you to die!”

“Well, if you want to do it that way,” Scootaloo said with a sigh as she reached into her pocket and took out her cards. “Henshin!”

“TIME TO TIP THE SCALES!”

The same energy fell over her as the black and green armor formed over her. She slid the Ace of Swords into her belt and the Arcana Rapier appeared in her hand.

“Then I’m going to force you out of her,” she continued. “Because I can see your future, and it doesn’t look bright!”

“You realize that sounds very cheesy right?” Vikotano said with a laugh. “What, are you trying to sound like a superhero or something? Don’t make me laugh.”

“You’re using my friend’s body, and I’m going to stop you Kyubey, I don’t care if I sound cheesy or not,” Scootaloo said as she pointed her sword at her. “I don’t care if she agreed to some sort of contract with you, you don’t turn her into a monster!”

“A lot of loyalty for someone who used to bully you and your friends!” Vikotano said as she held her tomahawks upright and ran forward faster than Scootaloo expected and swung at her, Scootaloo was just barely able to get out of the way. “You can’t even hope to match my speed little girl!”

Scootaloo flinched a little as she pushed forward and tried to slash at the monster but she just dodged the attack and laughed. “Darn it, I’m not going to let you get away with this…”

“You think I care what you want?” Vikotano said with a laugh as she pointed her tomahawk at Scootaloo. “You’re not much of a hero are you? You can’t even save your own friend from herself!”

“Yes, she bullied us,” Scootaloo said as she flinched at the memory. “But she and Silver Spoon came around and became our friends eventually. I don’t know what you promised her to make sure that she agreed to this, but I know she would never want this!”

“Too bad you’ll never get her back!” Vikotano said with a grin as she threw the tomahawk at Scootaloo as hard as she could. “You’ll never see your friend again, she is mine forever!”

Scootaloo flinched a little as she swung her sword around and caught the tomahawk with it and knocked it to the side. Vikotano just laughed and raised her hand and the weapon just flew into her hand.

“I won’t back down,” Scootaloo said as she held her sword at an angle. “You’re nothing more than a big bully taking advantage of someone’s weakness. You and your whole Order make me sick, and I’m going to take each and every one of you down.”

“Good luck with that, you can’t even beat me,” Vikotano said as she ran forward right at Scootaloo and backhanded her with her weapon, sending her sprawling out. “Some hero you turned out to be, you don’t stand a chance. Just go home to your friends.”

Scootaloo struggled to her feet as she picked the sword back up and flinched a little at the pain. “I’m not down yet… I’m not letting you or anyone get away with this kind of thing…”

“This will never be over if you’re going to keep fighting,” Vikotano said as the tomahawks vanished from her hands. “But you’re hardly a challenge to me. Come back when you get better!”

She laughed wickedly as she spun around and vanished into thin air. Scootaloo groaned as she tried to get to her feet again.

“Need a hand?” A voice said and she looked over to see a police officer with blue hair approaching as he offered her a hand.

“Yeah, thanks,” she said with a groan as she let the police officer pull her to her feet. “I should probably get going.”

“Look, I wanted to say thank you,” the officer said and Scootaloo blinked a little.

“Thank me?” She asked confused.

“My wife and daughter was on the freeway yesterday,” the officer said with a tip of his hat. “You saved them from whatever that thing was. And, well someone like you saved me once.”

“Yeah, but I can’t save my friend,” Scootaloo said with a sigh as she looked down at her feet.

“Look, I don’t pretend to know how this works,” the officer said. “I’m still trying to figure out exactly what happened a few years back. But if you’re trying to stop these things, well you’re alright in my book. And, well, you can’t win them all, just keep it up and eventually you’ll stop that monster and save your friend.”

“Thanks,” Scootaloo said with a nod as she removed the Ace of Swords and looked at it. “I’m going to wind up on the Internet again aren’t I?”

“What can I say, you’re trending,” the officer said and offered her a hand and a business card. “Officer Shining Armor, if you ever need any help from the police just give me a ring.”

“Thanks,” Scootaloo said and paused a moment as she tried to figure out how to introduce herself. She couldn’t use her real name, but she remembered what Fleur had been called. “Just call me Justice.”

“That’s a very on the nose name,” Shining Armor said with a chuckle.

“Says the guy named Shining Armor,” Scootaloo said with a chuckle. “I should probably get out of here before people start questioning me.”

“Alright, stay safe,” Shining Armor said with a nod as Scootaloo headed off.

Once she was sure she was in the clear, Scootaloo took the Justice card out of her Driver and powered down. She sighed a little as she looked back towards the park, her mind was running a mile a minute.

What had happened to Diamond Tiara? Why had she made some sort of contract as the monster had said? Something about all of this felt weird, she just wished that she could figure out how to save her.

She sighed and put the cards and Driver before she headed back towards the cafe.

00000

“You’re sure it was Diamond Tiara?” Sweetie Belle asked that night as Scootaloo sat on the couch with an ice pack on her head. “It couldn’t just be someone else that looked like her?”

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure it was her,” Scootaloo said with a groan as she shook her head a little and looked between her two friends. “When was the last time either of you heard from her or Silver Spoon?”

“Not since her birthday,” Sweetie said with a shake of her head. “They stopped by the cafe that day and we talked a little. They seemed fine when I saw them.”

“Yeah, Ah haven’t seen them either,” Apple Bloom said with a shake of her head. “Why would she want ta become a monster or somethin’?”

“I don’t know,” Scootaloo said with a sigh and a shake of her head. “The monster, it said something about a contract or a deal or something she made with the monster. I don’t know what she meant by that.”

“Well, they did say that these spirits possess people or something,” Sweetie said with a frown. “And we noticed that with that Zauzwei monster. So, then how did she make a contract with this spirit and why?”

There was a long pause as they tried to think it over when Scootaloo remembered something. “The Five of Cups.”

“What?” Sweetie asked.

“I think that was the card, she had five cups in a circle similar to how Zauzwei had the two wands,” Scootaloo said. “What does the Five of Cups mean?”

Apple Bloom took out her phone and looked up Tarot card meanings. “Lets see… ah here we go, found a site called Biddy Tarot,” she said as she flipped through the information. “Five of Cups, upright it means loss, regret, disappointment, despair, and bereavement. Reversed it means movin’ on, acceptance, and forgiveness.”

“Let’s assume that it’s the negative meaning,” Sweetie said with a shake of her head. “So, what do you think happened?”

They all paused for a long moment as they tried to think about what might’ve happened. It had been so long since they had really talked to either Diamond Tiara or Silver Spoon, so they had a lot to think about right now.

Scootaloo sighed a little and brushed her hair back as she removed the ice pack. “Well, whatever happened she’s not in a good state. Whatever this monster is, its got its grip on her and I don’t even know if I’m fast enough to stand a chance against her.”

“So, what are you going to do?” Sweetie asked as she looked at Scootaloo.

“I honestly don’t know,” Scootaloo said with a sigh as she shook her head a little. “If I can get faster or maybe get the proper hang of the bike in a combat situation I might have a chance. I, honestly don’t know what to do at this point.”

“Scootaloo, we’ll figure it out, I promise,” Sweetie said as she put her arm around her girlfriend gently. “We’re going to save Diamond, I don’t know how but we’ll do it.”

Scootaloo smiled softly as she rest her head on Sweetie’s shoulder as she sighed happily. She still had a lot to figure out about this, but she just wanted to spend time with her friends right now. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the moment.

“So, yah think yer gonna be on the news again after earlier?” Apple Bloom asked.

“I hope not,” Scootaloo said with a shake of her head. “I’m not a fan of all of this honestly. I screwed up back there, I couldn’t even hit her no matter how hard I tried. She was way too fast for me.”

“Did yah really introduce yerself as Justice?” Apple Bloom asked with a laugh.

“Well I couldn’t use my real name,” Scootaloo said with a roll of her eyes. “I just remembered that Fleur used the name Kamen Rider Magician when she used the Magician card. I guess since I use the Justice card I just went with it.”

Her friends just laughed a little at that and after a moment Scootaloo joined in the laughter. It felt good to laugh after everything that had happened lately. She was in a tough position because of everything that was happening.

She looked over at the Driver and the two cards as she did a little bit of math. She had Justice and the Ace of Swords. The two of Wands card was in custody and they now knew where the Five of Cups was.

This was going to be a long fight.

“75,” she said with a sigh as she shook her head a little.

“75?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“That’s how many cards are left out there,” Scootaloo said with a sigh as Sweetie held her close to her. “75 Tarot cards all of which could potentially hurt someone in Canterlot. It’s a lot of cards, and I don’t know if I can do it alone.”

“You don’t have to do it alone,” Sweetie said with a soft smile.

“Yah have us, and help from SMILE,” Apple Bloom said with a chuckle. “Yer gonna be just fine, besides there could always be others out there that can help yah.”

“Yeah, true,” Scootaloo said with a chuckle and nodded a little. “Thank you, both of you. That means a lot to me.”

“Friends forever,” Sweetie said and gave Scootaloo a soft kiss on the lips. “And girlfriends of course.”

“Get a room yah two,” Apple Bloom said with a laugh. “Some of us are still lookin’ fer love yah know.”

“We know, sorry,” Scootaloo said with a shake of her head. “I’m sure you’ll find someone someday Apple Bloom. And they’ll make you as happy as we make each other.”

“Yeah, Ah hope so,” Apple Bloom said as she got up and headed into the other room.

Sweetie sighed and gave Scootaloo another long kiss. After a few minutes they headed to their bedroom together.

00000

“You’re absolutely certain that was what they said?” Fancy asked, he and Fleur were questioning Scootaloo about what happened the next day.

“Yeah, she said that they made a contract with Diamond Tiara,” Scootaloo said with a sigh. “I saw her right before she transformed into her monster form. There’s no doubt about it, that’s exactly what happened.”

“Wait, you didn’t already know about this?” Sweetie asked as she leaned on Scootaloo. “You did fight these guys 13 years ago right?”

“Well, yes, but we never quite figured out how the card spirits created the monsters,” Fleur admitted as she shook her head a little. “I’m sorry, I didn’t consider the possibility that one of your friends might become a target for the Order like this.”

“Can she be saved?” Scootaloo asked with a sigh.

“If the monster is defeated, yes,” Fancy said with a sigh. “But she may have to face whatever caused her to become susceptible to the spirit to begin with. That may not be easy if your theory about it being about the upright meaning of the Five of Cups.”

“So, what happened to Diamond that caused that to happen?” Sweetie asked as she looked between all of them. “What would she regret or despair about?”

Fleur paused a moment and sighed. “While you were talking, I looked into recent news reports and police files. It was kept out of the news and was more or less swept under the rug, but she and Silver Spoon were in a car accident on the day of her Birthday. They both had a Blood Alcohol level over the legal limit.”

“Diamond and Silver were…” Sweetie said as she blinked in surprise, she had just seen them earlier that same day. “What happened? Are they okay?”

“Diamond is fine, as fine as she can be at least, but Silver Spoon hasn’t regained consciousness yet,” Fleur said with a sigh. “And Diamond was the one driving.”

“Oh god…” Sweetie said as she placed her hand over her mouth.

“Ah don’t blame her if she blames herself fer that,” Apple Bloom said with a shake of her head. “Ah wouldn’t wish that kind of thing on anyone.”

“So, what are we going to do then?” Scootaloo asked as she looked at Fleur and Fancy Pants as she sighed a little. “She’s too fast for me to defeat, I couldn’t even land a blow on her no matter how hard I tried.”

“Yes, well that was a concern we had,” Fleur said with a sigh. “Stone already said that you have shown promise with Forseti already. That might give you the edge, but you have to make sure that you know how to ride it in a real combat situation.”

“But no pressure right?” Scootaloo asked with a groan.

“Don’t worry, we’ll train you,” Fleur said as she gave her a nod. “You’re going to have to learn anyway. It may take a little bit of practice, but I’m sure you can figure it out.”

“Alright, I’ll try it at least,” Scootaloo said with a sigh. “I just hope that we’ll be able to save Diamond Tiara somehow.”

“Me too Scootaloo,” Fancy said as they got up and started out of the office again.

00000

“What is the word Prielit?” Caesar asked as he walked into the room where the masked woman was seated at her table again. “Our latest acquisition seems to be doing very well.”

“Yes, but I wouldn’t put it past the Rider to figure out how to overcome it,” Prielit said as she shuffled through her deck of cards. “The Five of Cups is considerably stronger than the Two of Wands, she should provide an adequate challenge for the Rider.”

“And what about our, other acquisition?” Caesar asked as he narrowed his eyes a little. “It was not easy to get my hands on an Ace. I do not like that you let it leave our possession so soon.”

“The cards work in mysterious ways, they know things that we will never truly understand,” Prielit said as she looked back at him and narrowed her eye. “You are not doubting the will of the Master are you?”

“No, of course not,” Caesar said as he flinched a little, there was something about Prielit that always made him uneasy. “What is the latest on them?”

“They’re moving into position as we speak,” Prielit said as she put the deck away and took out another one. This one was a full Tarot deck that didn’t have the cards removed from it like the summoning deck did. “I understand that our agent was able to identify the Rider.”

“Yes, apparently her name is Scootaloo Dash, what a strange human name,” Caesar said with a snort.

“But she is still dangerous, the spirit of Justice may have been lost to us but we know how much of a threat she is,” Prielit said with a shake of her head. “We may have to take extra precautions to ensure our survival at this point.”

“Granforca is not ready to be summoned again,” Caesar said. “Once enough energy is gathered we will…”

“We will do what Caesar?” A voice said from behind them and he turned to see the black suited man standing there. “You’re not going to disappoint our master again are you?”

“No, no of course not,” Caesar said. “We’ve already got two agents in the field preparing to take on this new Kamen Rider. If we can take her out before she starts to gain too much attention then we should be able to get ready for the convergence.”

“See that you do,” the man said as he approached Caesar, his eyes glowing red. “The tower is almost in position, I am putting a lot of faith in you and the others to make sure that our plans aren’t foiled again.”

“Of course not sir,” Caesar said. “We will double our efforts to make sure that the Rider is defeated. I will make sure that they are defeated and any further attempts to use the Major Arcana Spirits against us is thwarted. You have my word that I will not allow this to happen again.”

“See that you do,” the man said and walked off as he vanished in a burst of flame.

“I don’t trust him,” Prielit said as she looked back at her deck. “There is something about him that is off.”

“He is the second in command to the Master,” Caesar said as he shook his head a little. “And he is the reason we are even standing here. Show him some respect.”

Prielit just shook her head and placed the deck down as she drew the top card and set it on the table in front of her. It depicted a man holding a staff over a table with objects on it and the infinity symbol over his head, but it was facing down.

She narrowed her eyes a little at that. That was not a good sign, and it did nothing to dissuade her concerns.

00000

“No, no, this can’t be possible!” A tall monster with armor covering its body said in protest as it fell back onto the ground. It had a symbol on its front of a single pentagram that glowed with energy. “What are you?”

“I am your end, I am your death,” the shadowy figure said in a distorted voice as it walked forward, slamming its armored boot down on the monster. “Now, tell me, what was your mission, why did the Order send you?”

“There’s a new Rider, not like Magician, someone new!” the monster said in fear as it looked up at the shadowy figure, fear was prevalent on its inhuman face. “They wanted me to help defeat it, I swear that’s all they told me.”

“A new Rider huh?” the distorted voice said. “Well, that’s an interesting piece of information.”

“Enough to let me go?” The monster asked fearfully. “I just want to do my duty to the Order, you understand that right? Just let me go, I won’t tell anyone you were here.”

“Let me think about it… no,” the armored figure said and punched into the monster’s chest, it let out a scream as the figure pulled out a card and the armor around the creature shattered, leaving them barely alive.

The armored figure raised the card to her eyes and looked at it. It was of a hand holding a pentagram bordered by trees and flowers.

“The Ace of Pentacles,” the figure said as the armor vanished around it, revealing a vaguely female shape as she pocketed the card. She looked at the man lying on the ground who was slowly coming to. “Well, look who’s awake.”

“Who the hell are you?” he demanded as he looked up at the woman who just rolled her eyes and drew a pistol and pointed it at him. “What? What are you doing?”

“Don’t hide it, I can see your life story,” she said with a shake of her head. “Just another lowlife who thought he could make a deal for the power of the Order. Too bad you had to run afoul of me, you’re not worthy of the life you were given.”

“What? NO DON’T!” The man said as she aimed the pistol at his head and pulled the trigger, he screamed but it was cut off a second later by the sound of a gunshot.

The woman holstered her pistol and walked over to a nearby bike and climbed on. She put her helmet on and sped off away from the scene of the crime just as the sound of sirens were heard from nearby.

00000

“Alright Scootaloo, you know the drill,” Stone said as Scootaloo in her Rider form climbed aboard Forseti. “We’re going to turn on the combat simulation for this test, its similar to the one you used before.”

“Got it,” Scootaloo said with a nod as she drew the Arcana Rapier. “This had better help save Diamond.”

“It should,” Stone replied. “Now get out there and show us what you can do. Do the same thing as before, start at low speed and tell it to track all hostile contacts.”

Scootaloo nodded as a holographic figure appeared down the track again. She hit the two buttons on the handlebars as the now familiar computerized voice was heard again.

“Battle Mode activated. Standing by for commands from Rider.”

“Alright,” Scootaloo said. “Start out at low speed and target all hostiles.”

“Acknowledged,” the bike’s robotic voice said as it started off down the track again towards the holographic target.

Scootaloo held her sword aloft, she knew that if she was going to save Diamond Tiara she had to make sure that she could do this.

She just hoped that it was going to be enough.

The Spilled Cup

“And in recent news, known sex offender James Westchester was found by police earlier in an alleyway near Whitetail Park,” the news anchor said on the TV in the apartment. “A spokesman from the police said that there are signs of a struggle between the victim and whoever killed him. The identity of the killer is unknown, though some have theorized it may be connected to the recent fights between…”

Scootaloo groaned and lifted the remote as she turned off the TV. “I’m not saying I wouldn’t want to take that guy out, but aren’t I only supposed to fight monsters? Why would they think I’m connected to it?”

“Who knows,” Sweetie said as she rubbed Scootaloo’s shoulders. “Don’t let it get to you, you’re our local superhero so of course they’re going to speculate about your actions. Not that I’m going to lose any sleep over this guy.”

“Still, something about all of this feels weird,” Scootaloo said with a shake of her head as she looked over at Apple Bloom. “What do you think Apple Bloom?”

“Ah agree, somethin’ about this whole thing feels weird,” Apple Bloom said with a shake of her head. “Though it could easily just be a vigilante or somethin’. But, there are other Riders out there right?”

“Yeah, I’ve been doing some reading on it,” Sweetie said as she took out her phone. “There are reports of Riders going back to the 70s. I’m even seeing some reports of two being active right now called Zi-O and Geiz. And of course there was the Inves attacks a few years ago. Frankly I’m starting to see why groups like S.M.I.LE. exist, if there have been these many it was only a matter of time before they started going international.”

“So, what are we going to do?” Scootaloo asked as she looked between the two of them. “We have to consider the possibility that there is another monster out there right now. Maybe one that has a twisted version of justice or something.”

“Maybe,” Apple Bloom said. “But Ah think we need ta focus on dealin’ with tha monsters we know about instead of worryin’ about what might just be a random thing. We need ta focus on how yer gonna save Diamond.”

“I’ve got enough practice on Forseti, but its not really the same thing as actually fighting a monster on it,” Scootaloo said with a sigh as she shook her head a little. “I can’t help but feel nervous, like I’m going to mess this up somehow. What if I hurt her badly or something?”

“Scootaloo, you can’t do anything worse than what that thing did to her,” Sweetie said as she gave Scootaloo a kiss on the cheek. “You’re going to be just fine. You’ll figure out how to save her.”

“Maybe we should pay her family a visit,” Apple Bloom suggested. “They know us, and well her Dad likes her at least. If they can tell us anythin’ about what’s goin’ on, it might help us know where she went.”

“Yeah, maybe,” Scootaloo said as they checked the time. It was late and there was no sign of the monster all day, she just wanted to get into bed and get a good night’s sleep. “I’m tired from all that training today. Let’s just call it a night and hope they don’t come after us.”

“Yeah, sounds good ta me,” Apple Bloom said with a yawn and chuckled a little. “Ya’ll have fun okay? Just don’t make too much noise, Ah want ta sleep yah know.”

“Oh, I don’t know, maybe we’ll stay up all night making noise,” Sweetie said with a chuckle as she leaned in and kissed Scootaloo on the lips. “Very, very loud and sexy noises…”

“Yep, Ah’m goin’ ta bed before that image gets into mah head,” Apple Bloom said quickly as she got up and headed off to her bedroom. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle just laughed a little at that as Sweetie got up.

“I’m going to bed, can I expect you there soon?” She asked.

“In a bit, I want to talk to Rainbow Dash again,” Scootaloo said with a sigh as she leaned up and gave her a kiss. “Get nice and comfortable, I won’t be that long.”

“Okay, don’t keep me waiting,” Sweetie said with a smile as she sauntered towards their bedroom, shaking her butt a little in her girlfriend’s direction.

Scootaloo smiled a little as she took her phone out. She didn’t want to have to make Sweetie wait, but right now she felt like she needed to talk to her big sister again. She sighed a little and called her, after a moment Rainbow’s face appeared on the screen.

“Hey Scoots,” Rainbow said with a smile as she saw her little sister. “What’s up? I’ve heard some crazy reports about some armored woman fighting monsters in Canterlot, is that you?”

“It was two monsters, and I didn’t exactly have the best luck with the second one,” Scootaloo said with a chuckle. “Its been a crazy few days, you know?”

“Yeah, I’ll bet,” Rainbow said with a soft chuckle. “But I know you’re going to make it through it. If you ever need anything, just let me know. You’re my little sister, I’d be glad to do anything I can to help you out.”

“Can you get the internet to stop going crazy over me?” Scootaloo asked with a chuckle which just made Rainbow laugh.

“Hey, on the bright side, that mask keeps them from knowing who you are so they won’t hound you at least,” Rainbow said with a chuckle. “That suit looks good, though what’s with the shoulderpads?”

“I think it’s because of the Justice thing,” Scootaloo said with a shrug. “It’s supposed to represent the scales of justice or something. Yeah, it’s kind of cheesy, but I didn’t design the suit you know.”

“Yeah, I know I’m just giving you a hard time,” Rainbow said with a laugh. “You should hear what Rarity has to say about it. She doesn’t like the coordination of the colors or something and says the shoulderpads are all wrong, who knows.”

“Is she and Pinkie still “secretly” planning me and Sweetie’s wedding?” Scootaloo asked with a chuckle.

“You knew what you were getting into when you started dating Rarity’s little sister,” Rainbow Dash pointed out and Scootaloo just rolled her eyes as the Rainbow haired woman just laughed. “But really Scootaloo, is everything okay? What’s been going on?”

Scootaloo sighed and explained the situation with Diamond Tiara. Rainbow listened carefully to what had happened and let her finish before she even started to say anything. She was as worried as Scootaloo was, but she wanted to make sure she had all the details first.

When Scootaloo finished she sighed a little and shook her head. “Wow, that’s, intense,” she said with a sigh. “You’re right, this is rather messed up.”

“So, what am I supposed to do?” Scootaloo asked with a sigh. “I’m still afraid that if I actually beat the monster I might hurt Diamond. But at the same time, if I don’t stop her then she’ll do who knows how much damage to the city.”

“And she knows who you are, that’s not good,” Rainbow added and Scootaloo nodded a little at that. “And I’ll bet that means the Order knows too. Definitely your best bet right now is to talk with her parents and see if they can tell you anything. There’s not really a lot else you can do right now except hope you can beat her.”

“Which is going to be easier said than done,” Scootaloo said with a sigh. “Hopefully the bike can help me match her speed. But still, I’m scared.”

“Scootaloo,” Rainbow said with a soft smile. “Do you know what makes a superhero?”

“Cool powers or equipment that they use to help people?” Scootaloo asked.

“Well, yes but it’s more than that,” Rainbow said with a shake of her head. “Part of it is that you have to be willing to do the right thing even if you’re scared. You know what you have to do if you want to save Diamond Tiara.”

“Yeah, I do,” Scootaloo said with a sigh and shook her head a little. “But that doesn’t mean I like it. But if I’m going to save her, I need to do it.”

“I knew you’d see it that way,” Rainbow said. “Don’t worry Scootaloo, you’re going to be just fine. Just do your best and make sure that you fight for the right reasons. You’ll always be a hero to me.”

“Thanks,” Scootaloo said with a chuckle. “Well, Sweetie’s probably wondering what’s taking me so long.”

“Okay, good luck and take care of yourself Scoots,” Rainbow said as she hung up after a moment.

Scootaloo sighed as she put her phone away. She headed back into the bedroom where Sweetie was laying in the bed in her silk nightgown reading a book. She smiled when she looked up to see Scootaloo standing there as she started to pull off her t-shirt and pants.

“How’d it go with Rainbow Dash?” Sweetie asked.

“Pretty well,” Scootaloo said as she laid down in the bed next to Sweetie. “She gave me a lot to think about at least. I think I can manage to do this, I just have to make sure I have everything I need.”

“See, you’ll do fine,” Sweetie said with a smile. “Now, what do you say we do something that will take your mind off of it?”

Scootaloo smiled a little as she slid over on top of Sweetie and kissed her gently. Her hands slid down the pale girl’s body as she started to pull up her nightgown.

00000

Scootaloo sighed a little as she looked up at the mansion that Diamond Tiara and her family called home. This wasn’t going to be an easy conversation, they had to make sure that they didn’t give away too much as to not worry her parents, but they had to see what they knew.

“So, how are we going to do this?” Scootaloo asked as she looked at her friends. “This is, kind of hard to explain to them without telling them everything that happened.”

“Well, let’s just say that we saw Diamond and were worried about her or something,” Sweetie said with a frown. “Something about this still feels weird. I just hope that we’re doing the right thing by talking to them.”

“I’m sure it’ll be okay,” Scootaloo said as she leaned over and pressed the intercom button and waited for a response.

After a few moments she was about to press the button again when an old man’s voice they recognized as the butler Randolph. “Yes, can I help you?”

“We need to talk to Filthy or Spoiled Rich,” Scootaloo said.

“The masters are not seeing anyone right now,” Randolph answered. “They are currently trying to find…”

“It’s about Diamond Tiara,” Scootaloo said as she interrupted the butler. “We’re looking for any information on her and what’s going on. We saw her the other day and are hoping that they might be able to shed some light on things.”

Randolph paused for a moment as if considering what to do. He was under orders not to let anyone in right now, but they might be able to help. Finally his voice was heard again with a small sigh, “I will ask if they want to see you. I hope that you are being honest that you saw Lady Diamond.”

“I am,” Scootaloo said as the intercom turned off after a moment. She turned and looked back at her friends. “Do you think they’re going to let us in?”

“It sounds ta me like they’re already worried about Diamond,” Apple Bloom said with a sigh and a shake of her head. “She’s been gone fer a couple of days now. And if Silver Spoon is hurt, she’d normally be by her side at all times.”

“I’m sure they’re more worried than we are, and they don’t even know what’s going on,” Sweetie said with a sigh. “I just hope that we don’t wind up worrying them more than they already are.”

“Yeah,” Scootaloo said with a sigh as she looked at the mansion for a long moment. “I really hope we can get some sort of answers here.”

After a moment the gates opened and Randolph’s voice was heard once more. “You may enter,” he said. “Mistress Spoiled will meet you at the front door. I would hope that your information will help her mood.”

“We’ll do what we can,” Scootaloo said with a sigh as she started the car back up and eased it down the driveway and stopped in front of the mansion where a woman with purple hair was waiting for them with an unhappy look on her face. “Great, she doesn’t look happy to see us at all.”

“Come on, we’re just here to help her, I’m sure it’ll be okay,” Sweetie said as the three girls climbed out of the car.

“You had better not be wasting my time,” Spoiled Rich said as she shot the three of them a look. “We’ve spent the past two days looking for Diamond ever since she vanished from her friend’s hospital room.”

“I saw her, the day before yesterday,” Scootaloo said. “She was in Whitetail Park for some reason but she looked, distressed. We were hoping that you might be able to help us figure out what’s going on and where she might be.”

“If we knew where she was, don’t you think we’d look for her there?” Spoiled snapped which made the three young women flinch a little. Spoiled’s face actually turned soft for a moment and she sighed. “I’m sorry, Diamond has not been the same since she and Silver Spoon got in the accident. The Doctors are doing everything they can to help Silver, but it doesn’t help Diamond’s guilt over what happened.”

“We understand,” Scootaloo said, they didn’t want to admit that they already knew the details of what happened but it just confirmed what they had thought. “Does she have anywhere that she likes to go when she’s sad or anything?”

“Randolph would know that better than me,” Spoiled said with a shake of her head. “Look, normally I wouldn’t ask this of you, but you’re her friends. If, there is anything you can do to help her, that would mean a lot to Filthy and me.”

Scootaloo paused a little at that. Spoiled Rich hadn’t ever liked them very much, generally because she saw them as low class at best. But what was going on seemed to get to her to a degree, something she definitely understood.

She was going to do everything she could to make sure that she helped Diamond. She was her friend and part of this city, and she was going to keep her safe like anyone else.

“I promise, I’ll do everything I can to help her,” Scootaloo said with a soft smile. “Diamond will be saved, I promise you that.”

“Thank you,” Spoiled said with a sigh. “If you want to talk to Randolph or Silver’s parents they’re inside now. They may be able to give you some information, but I’m not going to promise you anything.”

“Alright, thanks,” Sweetie said as Spoiled moved out of the way as the three of them headed inside.

Scootaloo took one last look back at Spoiled who on closer inspection looked like she had been crying. That surprised her a little, but she nodded, that was all she really needed to know. She was going to make sure Diamond made it home.

Even if that meant having to fight her.

00000

“Ah, Ladies Belle, Bloom, and Dash,” Randolph, an old man in a suit said as he looked up from his work to see the three friends coming in. “The Mistress informed me that you may be coming here. How can I help you?”

“We’re looking for any information on where Diamond Tiara may have gone to,” Sweetie Belle said as Randolph stopped dusting. “We’re worried about her with everything that’s going on, Mrs. Rich said that you might know something.”

Randolph sighed a little as he put down the feather duster and looked back at the three young women. “I’m afraid that I can’t tell you much, Diamond Tiara told me things in confidence because she didn’t trust anyone else other than Silver Spoon.”

“Look, it’s hard ta explain but…” Apple Bloom said and let that trail off for a moment as she sighed a little. “Diamond is in trouble, big trouble. Someone is usin’ her grief about what happened ta Silver Spoon ta get her ta do horrible things. If yah know anythin’ that might help us, we can help her.”

Scootaloo looked over at Apple Bloom and gave her a nod. She wasn’t lying of course, she didn’t tell Randolph the entire story, but it was the truth. She just hoped that Randolph would be willing to hear them out.

“Diamond is a good woman,” Randolph said with a sigh. “She made a mistake by getting behind the wheel and it nearly cost her. I don’t know what kind of things she’s gotten herself caught up in, but I do know that she would want your help.”

“You wouldn’t be betraying her trust if you told us,” Scootaloo said. “We only want to help her right now. She’s in more danger than you can imagine.”

“There’s a club downtown that she likes to visit with Silver Spoon,” Randolph finally said. “It’s called the Neon Flare club, she and Silver Spoon would frequent it. Unfortunately I believe it’s currently closed for renovations.”

“Thank you, it’s something at least,” Scootaloo said with a sigh as she gave him a nod. “I just hope that we’ll be able to help her somehow. I can’t imagine what she’s going through right now.”

“Of course,” Randolph said. “If you ever need anything else, just let me know. I will do whatever I can to help the young mistress. Just, promise me that you’ll do whatever you can to help her.”

“We will,” Scootaloo said with a reassuring smile. “I promise, we won’t let anything happen to her.”

“Yes, of course thank you young Lady Dash,” Randolph said with a small bow. “If you find her, tell her her family wants her to come home.”

“I will,” Scootaloo said softly as they walked off back towards the front door but they nearly ran into a man and a woman coming out of a door.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Sweetie said as they looked at them. The couple looked like they had been crying and they recognized them as Soup and Dinner Spoon, Silver’s parents, they looked like they had been crying. “Oh… I’m sorry, I know you’re going through a lot right now.”

“How’s Silver Spoon doing?” Scootaloo asked worriedly.

“The Doctors say she’s getting better,” Soup Spoon said with a sigh. “But they don’t know if she’ll ever even wake up. And Diamond running off like this doesn’t help matters, she had been by her side until she… well, I’m sure you know.”

“Yeah, we saw her the other day,” Scootaloo said. “She didn’t look like she was in good shape.”

“We, just want her to be the first thing that Silver sees when she wakes up, I know it’s silly,” Dinner said with a shake of her head. “When Silver was growing up, we were always away on work. She was always distant and had a hard time making friends as a result. When she met Diamond, they had sort of an immediate connection that we couldn’t help but notice. She made her happy, and they’ve always been friends ever since.”

Scootaloo paused a moment as she looked back at Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom. The three of them had been friends since they had met in Elementary School and they had known Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon for almost as long.

She hadn’t ever thought about the friendship those two had. They reminded her almost of the friendship she had with the others. After her parents had died she had retreated into a shell until Sweetie Belle had come to her and helped her come out of that.

She smiled a little and nodded. She knew now more than ever that she had to do something to help Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon.

“I promise you both, I will do everything in my power to make sure Diamond comes back,” Scootaloo said with a smile. “I can’t say it’ll be easy, but I’ll make sure that it happens.”

“Thank you Scootaloo,” Soup said with a smile. “That means more to us than you know.”

“I don’t know, I think I have something of an idea,” Scootaloo said with a nod. “Just give me enough time to do it.”

They nodded and the three friends headed back for the front door.

00000

“Come on let’s get…” Scootaloo started to say and just barely managed to duck as a tomahawk came flying past her head and embedded itself in the front door of the mansion. “Crap, this really isn’t the time for this...”

“I don’t know, it could be another tomahawk wielding crazy person,” Sweetie said.

“SCOOTALOO!” A distorted female voice said and they flinched a little as they turned to see the transformed Diamond Tiara breaking the front gate and storming down the driveway towards them. “You may have escaped me before, but I’m not going to show you mercy this time!”

“Great,” Scootaloo said with a sigh as she reached into her pack and took out the Tarot Driver. “Diamond, I know you’re in there somewhere. I’m going to save you, even if I have to hurt the monster to do so.”

“Give it up, there’s nothing left of your friend,” Vikotano said as the Tomahawk came flying back into her hand. “You’re going to die, you and your friends!”

“We’ll see about that,” Scootaloo said as she placed the Tarot Driver on her waist as the belt formed around her and took out the Justice and Ace of Swords cards. “Henshin!”

She slid the cards into her belt and the familiar voice came from the Driver.

“TIME TO TIP THE SCALES!”

Energy surrounded her as the armor formed on her body and she held the Arcana Rapier upright and pointed it at the monster.

“I still see your future, and it’s not bright,” she said as she gripped her sword tightly. “And I’m not letting you get away with this, its time to end this.”

Vikotano just laughed as she ran forward as fast as she could at Scootaloo. But this time Scootaloo wasn’t completely unprepared, she rolled to the side and swung her sword around, it let out sparks as it actually made contact with the monster.

“What?” Vikotano said in shock as she spun back around. “How did you…”

“You’re faster, but your melee weapons aren’t helping,” Scootaloo said as she pointed her sword at the monster. “You still have to either throw them or get close and personal, and now that I’m not distracted, you’re in a bad position.”

Vikotano growled and ran at Scootaloo even faster than before, swinging a tomahawk and catching the rider across the face with it and pushing her back. “You’re still too slow to actually hurt me!”

Scootaloo flinched a little, she knew Vikotano was right. She had managed to land a hit on her, but it really wasn’t enough to get a final blow. She gripped the sword tight and got to her feet as she got ready to try and fight the monster again.

“I don’t care, I’m going to make you pay for what you did,” Scootaloo said as she readied her sword and pointed it right at the transformed Diamond Tiara. “You took away my friend, and I’m going to make sure she comes back.”

“What in god’s name is going on?” A voice said from behind them and they turned to see Spoiled Rich standing there with her eyes wide. “What is that thing?”

“Mother…” Vikotano said and screamed as she ran out through the broken gate and down the road.

“What was… no, that’s not possible,” Spoiled said and shook her head rapidly. “You three have a lot of explaining to do. If this is a joke, it’s not a very funny one.”

“Look we weren’t entirely truthful,” Apple Bloom said with a sigh as she looked at Scootaloo. “Scoots, do yah want ta explain this one?”

Scootaloo sighed and reached down and took the card off her belt. The armor vanished from around her as she placed the cards back in her bag.

“We, do know what happened to Diamond,” Scootaloo said with a shake of her head. “But you’re going to have a hard time understanding what happened. We’ll tell you everything we know.”

“You might want to have your husband here for this,” Sweetie added. “Hopefully, we’ll be able to save Diamond.”

00000

“What happened out there?” Caesar demanded as he turned around and glared at Vikotano. “You could have killed her, but you ran away! Now she’s got another chance to get ready to defeat you.”

“My host was more, difficult than anticipated,” Vikotano said as she bowed before the General. “She’s trying to break free and was able to briefly take control of her body during the recent confrontation. I’m sorry, I didn’t expect her to be so strong.”

“Well don’t let it happen again,” Caesar said as he snarled at her a little. “You’re only getting this much leeway because you were able to get the identity of the new Rider.”

“What about my back-up? You told me you were sending another agent to help me deal with her!” Vikotano said, finally getting her courage back. “You said there was one that was already chosen and would be there!”

Caesar frowned a little at that. She was right of course, the failure of the Ace of Pentacles monster had been an embarrassment to him and the others. He still didn’t know who had attacked him, they didn’t seem to act anything like the current Rider.

So, then who had attacked him?

“There was a complication related to your backup,” Caesar said as he shot her a look. “Unfortunately you don’t have much of a choice but to deal with her on your own. There is no telling when it’ll be time for more backup and you know we cannot delay our operations, you will succeed or you will not come back at all. Do I make myself clear?”

“Transparently,” Vikotano said with a snarl. “I will deal with that Rider, but that means this body is mine once she’s defeated.”

“Of course,” Caesar said with a smirk. “That is the deal of course, we shall rule this world and all of our Agents will get to keep their physical bodies. You just have to make sure that we don’t have a repeat of what happened 13 years ago.”

“Yes, of course,” Vikotano said before vanishing.

“You know, you should lighten up a bit,” a voice said as a figure materialized in front of Caesar. He was dressed like a harlequin with a red and white outfit and a mask with a painted on smile as well as a circle on his chest with just the wheel like symbol. “You are going to work yourself into an early grave if you keep being such a grumpy pants all the time Caesar.”

“Kuagua, I’m not in the mood for your antics,” Caesar said with a groan as he looked at the strange man. “The Order has a new threat to deal with, and I’m not really in the mood for putting up with you.”

“How about a joke then?” Kuagua asked as he tilted his head, the smile almost seeming to twitch a little. “Two inmates at an insane asylum manage to break out see? They’re up on the roof and to get to freedom they have to jump from one roof to the next.”

Caesar groaned a little and facepalmed at the harlequin’s antics.

“The first one, let’s call him Bill, manages to jump to the other roof with no problem. But his buddy Joe he’s afraid of heights and is terrified that he’s going to fall to his death. So he calls to Bill that he’s not going to do it.”

“Kuagua…” Caesar said, but the jester just kept talking.

“So Bill takes out a flashlight right? He tells Joe that he’ll turn it on and point it over so he can just walk across the beam to get to the other side. Joe looks at him and says, ‘What do you think I am, crazy?’”

“Some days I wonder…” Caesar said.

“‘I’ll get halfway there and you’ll turn the light off so I’ll fall!’” Kuagua said and broke down laughing at his own joke.

“SHUT UP!” Caesar said as he drew his sword and pressed it right up against the Harlequin’s neck which made him go quiet. “Not so funny now are we?”

“Oh my dear Caesar, why so serious?” Kuagua said.

“Caesar, let him go,” Prielit said as she approached the two. “You know that the Order needs him for the convergence to succeed.”

“Oh my dear Prielit, I always knew you cared,” Kuagua said with a laugh.

“Fine,” Caesar said as he sheathed his sword and then backhanded Kuagua. “But he’s still annoying.”

Prielit just rolled her eyes. “Of course he’s annoying, but I don’t think you want to be the one to explain to the Master that the plans failed because you couldn’t keep your temper in check.”

Caesar just snorted and walked off, which left the two lesser members of the Court alone. Prielit helped Kuagua back to his feet and shook her head.

“You really shouldn’t antagonize him,” she said.

“Oh, but he’s the most fun target in this tower,” Kuagua said with a laugh. “You just watch, I’ll get a laugh out of him someday.”

Prielit just rolled her eye and walked off. Kuagua tapped his chin thoughtfully for a moment as he looked around.

“This place is so dull, maybe I should go somewhere more, lively!” He said with a laugh and vanished in a flash.

00000

They had just finished explaining what was going on to the Riches. They listened carefully as they heard the crazy story that they were telling them. Scootaloo didn’t blame them if they had a hard time accepting this, this was hard for her to accept and she had lived it.

“You’re certain that the creature out there was Diamond?” Spoiled asked with a frown.

“Unfortunately yes,” Scootaloo said with a sigh. “I saw her transform into the monster myself. I know it’s difficult to accept, but we’re going to do everything we can to make sure that she is okay.”

“How could this have happened?” Filthy asked as he looked between the three friends. “Why was she targeted?”

“We’re, still figuring that out, but based on the information we think it’s because of what happened to Silver Spoon,” Sweetie said with a shake of her head. “It seems to have made her vulnerable to the influence of the card’s spirit.”

“Scootaloo defeated tha last one and freed tha host, she can do this,” Apple Bloom said. “Well, as long as she can figure out how ta match their speed.”

“We do have an idea for that, but I’d rather not have to risk her life to do it,” Scootaloo said with a sigh. “I don’t want to risk hurting her too badly.”

“Scootaloo, I understand your unease,” Filthy said. “But the way you’ve described it tells me that it’s not going to be that simple. I think you need to do what you think is right, she’s in danger and you need to do whatever you think is necessary to save her.”

Scootaloo paused a moment and then finally nodded. She hated to admit it but they were right. This was going to be a difficult choice to make, but she knew that this was the only thing she could do.

She nodded a little and placed her hand on Sweetie Belle’s and gave them a smile. “Diamond is in good hands. I promise you both that I will do everything in my power to make sure she’s saved and that no one ever suffers like this again.”

“Thank you,” Filthy said and Spoiled gave them a nod. “If there’s anything we can do, just let us know.”

“Just hope that this works,” Scootaloo said with a sigh.

They wrapped things up and headed out. Scootaloo took out her phone and looked at the number she had been given to contact the Fortune Division. She had to figure out exactly what she was going to tell them.

She sighed and looked back at her friends who gave her a smile.

“Are you okay Scootaloo?” Sweetie asked.

“Yeah, I’m just trying to figure things out,” she said with a sigh. “Alright, well, there’s no point in putting it off. Lets just hope I know what I’m doing.”

“You’ll be fine,” Sweetie said.

“Alright,” Scootaloo said and hit the dial option, the phone rang for a moment before Fleur answered on the other end. “Fleur, I think I’m ready.”

“Good, I’ll bring the bike to your place,” Fleur said on the other end. “Is everything okay? We got a report of an attack near your location.”

“Yeah, everything is fine,” Scootaloo said with a smile. “I managed to hold her off for now, but I still can’t match her speed. I’ll meet you at the apartment building.”

“Alright, see you there,” Fleur said and hung up after a moment.

Scootaloo sighed and put her phone away as the three friends climbed into the car and drove off towards their apartment.

00000

Scootaloo paused a moment as she climbed on Forseti. She hadn’t been on the road yet, but she had a basic idea of what to do. She made a note to practice better later and hoped that she wasn’t going to be pulled over.

“We’re tracking any information on where she is now,” Fleur said as Scootaloo checked the bike out. “You’re going to want to use the AI system until you’re actually licensed to ride this thing on the road.”

“Good to know,” Scootaloo said as she ran her hand along the handlebars lightly. “Any idea on where Diamond went?”

“We followed up on the location you mentioned,” Fleur said as she let out a sigh. “We talked with a bartender who works there, apparently she was a common sight there. She always paid her tab and seemed like she was a model customer.”

“Of course,” Apple Bloom said. “So, it’s possible that she’s there?”

“We’ve got a team watching it at least,” Fleur said with a nod. “And we’ve got satellites watching the city for any energy readings from a monster. They let out a specific energy signature that, unfortunately because of satellite coverage being spotty isn’t as easy to track as we’d like. Between that and watching the internet and social media for any signs.”

“So in other words, we just have to hope something comes up,” Sweetie said with a sigh.

“Yes, unfortunately that’s about all we can do,” Fleur said. “Even in this modern information age we can only react as quickly as the…”

Her phone started to go off and she looked at it with a frown.

“What is it?” Apple Bloom asked.

“Well, the wait is over apparently,” Fleur said. “That’s the good news at least.”

“What’s the bad news?” Scootaloo asked, suddenly she was very worried about what Fleur might say.

“She’s at the main hub of the Canterlot Subway system,” Fleur said with a shake of her head. “There are hundreds of people there, and while we’re doing everything we can to evacuate it…”

“You’re going to need help,” Scootaloo said with a sigh. “Alright, I’m on my way then. Text me if you get any updates on the situation.”

“Scootaloo, you’re going to have to be careful,” Sweetie said. “She’s baiting you into a trap and she’s got hostages. If you’re going to match her speed you’re going to need to get her out of there.”

“I know,” Scootaloo said as she hit the two buttons on the handlebars of Forseti.

“Awaiting commands from Rider,” the computerized voice said.

“I’ll be careful,” Scootaloo said as she took out the Driver and placed it on her waist as the belt formed around her. “Henshin!”

“TIME TO TIP THE SCALES!”

The armor formed over her body again and she gunned the engine and gave her friends a nod. “Alright Forseti, take me to 4277 Skylark Road, normal speed.”

“Affirmative,” Forseti said as Scootaloo held onto the handlebars and sped off down the road.

“Stay safe,” Sweetie said with a sigh as she and Apple Bloom headed up into the apartment complex, leaving Fleur standing there alone.

The tall woman took out her phone again and dialed a number. “She’s on her way to the Subway Hub.”

“Good,” Fancy Pants’ voice said on the other end of the phone. “I need you to look into something else for me while she’s doing that.”

“Are you sure? I can still back her up,” Fleur said.

“Yes, I’m very sure,” Fancy replied. “Last night we got another anomalous reading. It was similar to someone using a Tarot Driver, but we’re still trying to pin down exactly what happened. The victim was found near Whitetail Park so I’m worried about what’s going on there. I need you to go talk to the police and examine the victim.”

“The Victim? Do you mean that Sex Offender that was killed yesterday?” Fleur asked.

“Yes.”

“Do you think we might have another Rider in the city?” Fleur asked and Fancy paused for a moment. “Director, did anyone get a Driver that you didn’t tell me about?”

“No, whoever it is, they aren’t one of ours,” Fancy said with a sigh. “I’m afraid that we are dealing with a bigger problem than anticipated. Between this and one of our bikes being stolen, we likely have a renegade Rider somewhere in the city.”

“Yeah, well I’ll keep an eye out,” Fleur said and started walking. “I’ll catch a bus to the police station and see what I can learn.

“Thank you Fleur,” Fancy said. “And good luck, hopefully we can solve this mystery quickly.”

Fleur nodded and hung up as she headed for a nearby bus stop. She just hoped that she was going to be able to find something on whoever this mystery Rider was.

00000

Scootaloo pulled the motorcycle in front of the subway hub. She had been here more than a few times while trying to get around town and to school, so she knew this area better than anything else, she just had to hope she could lure Vikotano out so she could use the bike.

“Alright Scoots, one of your friends and the entire city is counting on you,” Scootaloo said to herself as she climbed off the bike.

“Alright, you’re there, good,” Fancy Pants’ voice said over her helmet communicator. “Do you have a plan to deal with her?”

“She’s after me on orders from whoever’s in charge of the order,” Scootaloo said as she slid the Ace of swords into her belt and the Arcana Rapier appeared in her hand. “If she wants to do that, I can lure her out.”

“Understood, be careful,” Fancy said on the other end. “We’re sending what back-up we can but you’re still our best bet to defeat Vikotano. Do you think Forseti is up for the challenge?”

“Yeah, there shouldn’t be a problem,” Scootaloo said as she walked towards the door to the hub. “Wish me luck, I get the feeling I’ll need it.”

“Good luck Scootaloo,” Fancy said on the other end. “I hope you can save your friend, now get out there and show the Order what you’re made of.”

“Got it,” Scootaloo said. “I’ll do what I can.”

She walked forward and pushed the door to the hub open with one hand. Inside she could see Vikotano standing in the center with a number of hostages. They looked up to see Scootaloo and Vikotano sneered, the tears running down her face looking even more bizarre with that.

“So, the Rider finally shows her face,” Vikotano said as she pointed her tomahawks at Scootaloo. “About time, I thought I’d have to start killing these hostages if I wanted to get your attention.”

“Let them go, they don’t have anything to do with this,” Scootaloo said as she walked forward, preparing for a fight as she did. “I’m the one you and the Order want, let them go and we can finish this right here, right now.”

“Oh, but they have everything to do with this,” Vikotano said as she walked around and looked at the hostages. “These people are part of your city. You said you would protect this city from me, so they’re here to see YOU FALL!”

Vikotano ran forward as fast as she could only to find Scootaloo was no longer standing there. The masked woman jumped back to avoid the attack as she moved towards the door.

“Come on, are you slowing down?” Scootaloo taunted. “I thought you were faster than me, or did you lose confidence when I hit you before?”

“Why you little…” Vikotano said as she swung her tomahawks at Scootaloo only to get a kick to the face.

“You’re getting sloppy,” Scootaloo continued. “Diamond, I know you’re in there. Listen to me…”

“Don’t bother,” Vikotano said as they were forced out of the hub as Scootaloo turned and ran to her bike and started it back up. “Now what are you doing, trying to run like the coward you are again?”

“Not quite,” Scootaloo said as she turned and looked back at Vikotano. “Diamond, listen to me, this thing is using you! I know you feel guilty because of what happened to Silver Spoon, but she wouldn’t want to see you like this! Please Diamond, you were always there for her, you didn’t mean for any of this to happen. Don’t make things worse by becoming a monster!”

Vikotano stopped in mid stride as she tried to move towards Scootaloo. “What… what are you doing?” She screamed.

“GET OUT OF MY BODY!” A second voice shouted, this one Scootaloo recognized as Diamond Tiara’s.

“This is my body now, you gave it up when you made the contract!” Vikotano said.

“Then I’ll fight you every step of the way,” Diamond retorted. “Scootaloo, I know that’s you in there. I need your help, fight this thing and free me!”

With that Vikotano screamed again and ran off down the street at her top speed. She was only a blur, but Scootaloo knew what she had to do.

“I will,” Scootaloo said as she revved the engines on her bike and pressed the buttons on the side.

“Awaiting Rider’ commands,” the computerized voice said.

“Follow the hostile, top speed,” Scootaloo said as the bike flew down the road in pursuit of the monster.

Scootaloo was surprised to see that she was able to catch up to Vikotano pretty quickly. The monster was starting to slow down and weaken, but still not to the point where she could defeat her on foot.

“I’m not going to give up this body, it’s mine, MINE!” Vikotano screamed as the bike neared her, Scootaloo slashed at her with her sword as she went past and the monster let out a loud scream as she fell down. “No, you can’t take this away from me!”

“Scootaloo, put the Justice card in the slot in front of you,” Fancy said over the communicator. “It will trigger your bike’s finisher.”

“On it,” Scootaloo said as she slid the card into a slot in front of her and gunned the engine as she aimed right for Vikotano who was starting to get up.

“JUSTICE BREAK!” The computerized voice said as the bike started to glow with green energy as it sped forward right at the monster.

“NO!” Vikotano shouted as the energy connected with her and threw her sprawling back. The card flew out and fell to the ground as the monstrous form vanished from around her, leaving Diamond Tiara lying there on the ground.

“Diamond!” Scootaloo said as she ran over to the barely conscious young woman.

“Ugh, is it over?” Diamond asked as she rubbed her head.

“Yeah, its over, you’re fine,” Scootaloo said as she reached down and picked up the card and looked at it. “This card will never bother you or anyone else again.”

“Thank you… Scootaloo…” Diamond said as she closed her eyes and fell unconscious just as the sound of sirens were heard approaching.

It was finally over.

00000

Silver Spoon stirred in her hospital bed and her eyes opened slowly to see Diamond Tiara sitting in a wheelchair next to her. The purple haired young woman was looking tired and beaten up, but she was smiling at the sight of her friend’s eyes finally opening.

“Hey Silver,” Diamond said as she gently held Silver’s hand.

“Diamond, what happened?” Silver asked as she looked around confused for a moment. “The last thing I remember we were driving down the road and you…”

“Silver, I’m so sorry,” Diamond said, tears starting to stream down her face. “I did something incredibly stupid and irresponsible and nearly got us both killed. I hated myself for what I did and I’m so sorry…”

“Diamond, you’re my best friend,” Silver said as she smiled weakly. “I forgive you for whatever you did. What happened while I was out? You look like you were hit by a truck.”

“It’s, a long story, but I was saved by someone who pulled me out of some really tough times by reminding me that I needed to be here for you,” Diamond said as she squeezed Silver’s hand lightly. “I’ll never leave your side again, I promise.”

Silver smiled a little and laid back in her bed. “Thank you Diamond, for everything.”

She closed her eyes and fell back asleep as Doctors came in to check on her. Diamond smiled softly as she wheeled herself out of their way as she took out a tablet and looked at what she had written.

She knew Silver was going to be okay, and that Scootaloo had saved her. She wanted to repay her somehow so she started typing on the tablet again.

00000

“I know that a lot of you still have a lot of questions about this strange new hero that’s made Canterlot her home,” Sweetie read from her tablet as Scootaloo shifted in the bed next to her. “I don’t promise to have all the answers but I can tell you this. This strange masked rider is, and always will be, here to protect this city from the monsters that plague it. Kamen Rider Justice saved me and who knows how many others so far, and will continue to do so.”

Scootaloo groaned a little as she rubbed her temples. “Why did we have to go with Justice? It kind of seems cheesy and on the nose.”

“Well, whoever started this Rider Watch Blog seems to think it fits,” Sweetie said with a chuckle. “Besides, I kind of like it, and you’ve gotten your name.”

“Yeah, given to me by the city, I guess it works,” Scootaloo said. “Is it too late to change it?”

“Nope, you’re trending,” Sweetie said with a laugh as she set it down on the nightstand next to her and slid over so she was on top of Scootaloo and gave her a soft kiss on the lips. “You’re always going to be my hero Scootaloo. Now come on, let’s see if I can take your mind off of that.”

Scootaloo smiled a little and kissed her back as she ran her hands slowly along her girlfriend’s pale back.

The Blunt Sword

Author's Note

An apology for this chapter and the next one. I was under the influence of internet horror stories while writing them. I did not mean any offense to the Navajo people or to steal their legends. While I cannot go back and edit this easily, I am sorry for my past mistakes. Read it if you wish, I won't blame you if you don't.

The Blunt Sword

“We only have a few months before the convergence,” Caesar said as he stormed into the throne room where Priellit was seated as usual. “And we’ve done nothing but further this Rider’s skills so far. You’ve got a lot to answer for.”

“I am simply the vessel which the Wheel of Fortune works through,” Priellit said without looking at him as she shuffled through the summoning deck. “You’re blaming the wrong person Caesar. Or perhaps you would rather try and explain things yourself.”

Caesar just grumbled a little as he looked at her. “You’re lucky that we only have you as a vessel, what do the cards tell you?”

Priellit placed the deck down in front of her and placed her hand on it. “The Wheel is in Motion, the time has come,” she said as she drew the top card off the deck and eyed it with her uncovered eye. “The Eight of Swords is in play. We need someone who is trapped, who’s beliefs limit themselves and hold them back.”

She spoke some words and the card vanished from her hand as Caesar frowned a little.

“An Eight card is stronger than anything we’ve sent at her so far,” he said. “But every time we send a new card we risk losing it. What stops her from just defeating it?”

“Well, you could send a member of the court,” Priellit said with a shrug. “Though I believe Kuagua ran off on his own. Perhaps he can be, persuaded to lend a hand to our new operative.”

Caesar frowned a little and shook his head. “It may be our only option, we cannot spare anyone else right now. Very well, I will, direct him in the right direction.”

“Good,” Priellit said as Caesar walked off. She glanced back at him for a moment and shook her head.

Caesar was very much still set in his ways. There wasn’t much that could be done to convince him, and he didn’t particularly like Kuagua. She just hoped that she was doing the right thing by directing them in this way.

00000

“Scootaloo, do you ever wonder where you come from?” Sweetie asked as Scootaloo looked up from her dinner. It had been a week since Scootaloo had beaten Vikotano and the two of them were enjoying a dinner together alone.

“Hmm, what do you mean?” Scootaloo asked as she took a bite.

“Well, I mean you never really talk about your birth family beyond your parents,” Sweetie said as she played with her pasta. “I’ve been kind of thinking about it lately is all. If you don’t want to talk about it it’s fine.”

“Yeah, I honestly don’t know much about my family,” Scootaloo admitted. “I’ve got a mixed heritage, that much I know. My mom was from Costa Rica and my Dad, well, he never really liked talking about where he came from, he said he’d tell me more when I was older but…”

“Yeah,” Sweetie said with a sigh. “I’m sorry for bringing it up. I’m sure you don’t really want to talk or think about it.”

“No, it’s not that, there’s just, not really anything to talk about,” Scootaloo said as she took another bite of her food. “Sometimes though, I would like to know if I have any more family out there. Maybe I should look into it sometime, what do you think?”

“I’d be glad to help you out as best I can,” Sweetie said with a soft smile and then paused for a moment. “Scootaloo, maybe me and Apple Bloom should try to help you out with the monsters. I mean, we’ve been kind of sitting on the sidelines while you do it, I want to be able to help you, you know?”

Scootaloo paused a moment, Fancy and Fleur said that you needed to be a Rider to actually damage one of the monsters. But, was it possible to be able to at least help hold them off? She looked at Sweetie and finally nodded a little.

“I’ll talk to Fancy and see if they have any gear or something you can use,” Scootaloo finally said with a soft smile as she took her girlfriend’s hands in her’s. “I would like to have you fighting by my side Sweetie. But at the same time I don’t want you to be in a position where you could get hurt.”

“Then I’ll just have to rely on my Kamen Rider girlfriend to protect me,” Sweetie said with a chuckle as she leaned over the table carefully and kissed Scootaloo. “I love you so much Scoots. Every day I’m with you is the happiest day of my life, and I want to help keep you safe.”

“Okay, we’ll at least try,” Scootaloo said with a soft smile. “I love you too Sweetie, I love you more than anything.”

“So, lets finish…” Sweetie started to say when Scootaloo’s cell phone rang and she sighed a little. “Now what is going on?”

“Its Fancy,” Scootaloo said as she read the caller ID. “Sorry Sweetie, I should probably answer this.”

She hit the accept call button and Sweetie sighed a little as Scootaloo raised it to her ear. “Hello?”

“I’m sorry for interrupting your evening, but we need you to investigate monster sightings tomorrow,” Fancy’s voice said on the other end. “We’ve already got a team moving that way but if there is something going on with the Order we’re going to need your help.”

Scootaloo sighed a little and looked at Sweetie with a shake of her head. “Where is it?”

“There’s a reservation about an hour’s drive away from Canterlot,” Fancy replied. “I honestly don’t have a lot of information on what’s going on there. There have just been some, disturbing accounts from the reservation that seem to coincide with the readings we’re picking up. The thing is that the locals are, less than forthcoming about what’s been happening.”

“So, you’re hoping that they might be more open if we go?” Scootaloo asked and Fancy paused for a moment. “What? Fancy, talk to me.”

“There is, a possibility yes,” Fancy finally replied. “If you and your friends can check it out, we can back you up as best we can.”

“I’ll talk to them,” Scootaloo said with a sigh. “If they agree, we’ll all leave tomorrow. But they do also have to go to work.”

“Don’t worry about that, we have a cover story for this kind of thing,” Fancy said. “We’ll get in contact with their employers and tell them that they will be out of town. You don’t have to worry about them, just let us know what you decide.”

“Alright, I will,” Scootaloo said as she hung up the phone and put it away.

“Another monster attack?” Sweetie asked as Scootaloo started to eat again.

“Maybe, it sounds like there are some reports and readings coming from a Native American Reservation about an hour away,” Scootaloo said with a sigh. “He wants us to go there and help the team, maybe try to get the locals to open up.”

“Alright, when do we leave?” Sweetie asked.

“What, just like that?” Scootaloo asked and blinked in surprise. “I thought you’d at least try to argue with me a bit first.”

“Scootaloo, I told you that we’d back you up whenever you need us,” Sweetie said with a soft smile. “I love you Scootaloo, and I want to help you as best I can. If you want to go on this mission I’ll go with you.”

“Thanks,” Scootaloo said with a smile as she gave her a nod. “Don’t worry about work, Fancy said he has some sort of cover story planned for that so you and Apple Bloom will be fine if she comes too.”

“Well that’s good,” Sweetie said as they started eating again. “Are you going to be okay? I mean, you’ve been through a lot lately.”

“Yeah, I’ll be fine,” Scootaloo said with a soft smile. “We’ll talk to Apple Bloom when she gets home later. If she wants to come we’ll all go, if not, well, she can probably survive for a few days without us. I’m sure she won’t throw any crazy parties or something.”

Sweetie just chuckled as the young women went back to eating together.

00000

“Are yah sure this is tha right way?” Apple Bloom asked as they turned down a road that ran through a desert..

“Yeah, my phone says this is the way to go,” Sweetie Belle answered as she looked at the map option on her phone. “There will be a turn somewhere up ahead that we’ll need to take, but that’s not going to be for a few miles.”

Scootaloo stayed silent as she looked out the window at the desert as it went past them. There was nothing for miles but the occasional brush. She wasn’t really sure what to think about going on this mission, but she knew she had to.

She kept thinking about what Sweetie Belle had talked to her about last night. Should she really put them in danger? Even if they were able to help, that was something that she didn’t want to risk. But, if there was a way to help fight the monsters without being a Rider, it might be a good thing to have some back-up.

She just hoped that they could figure out how to do it without putting her friends at too much risk.

“What tha heck…” Apple Bloom said as she looked at something up ahead and started to slow the car down. “Scootaloo, Sweetie, do yah see what Ah’m seein’ up there?”

Scootaloo turned around as she and Sweetie leaned forward to see what was up ahead of them. Lying in the road was a body, but it wasn’t like anything they had ever seen before. It looked, wrong somehow, it looked like a deer but it was too, unnatural looking. Like it was put together from different animal parts and didn’t even have a tail.

“What is that thing…” Sweetie asked as the car pulled to a stop. “Do you think it was hit by a car?”

“That wouldn’t explain why it looks like that,” Apple Bloom said as she started to reach for the handle on her door. “Let’s check it out.”

Scootaloo had a sudden feeling in her gut that something was wrong. There was something about the animal that felt, wrong to her even more than it appearance. It felt like if they got out of the car then something horrible was going to happen to them.

She grabbed Apple Bloom’s arm and shouted. “Don’t get out!”

“What?” Apple Bloom asked as she and Sweetie looked at her confused. “Ah don’t get it, its just a dead animal in tha road.”

“I don’t know, there’s just something that feels wrong about this,” Scootaloo said as she leaned up and looked up at the sky. “If it’s dead then shouldn’t there be scavengers around here like vultures or something?”

“Yeah, maybe,” Sweetie said. “Are you okay Scootaloo?”

“I don’t know, but I think we need to get moving,” she said as she looked back at her girlfriend. “That thing doesn’t feel right to me.”

“Alright alright,” Apple Bloom said as she started the car up again and started down the road, swerving around the strange corpse and started down the road again towards the reservation, Apple Bloom looked up at the rearview mirror and her eyes went wide. “What tha…”

Scootaloo and Sweetie looked behind them and their eyes went wide when they realized that the body had stood up and was starting to move as it lumbered after the car and picked up speed.

“Go, go, go!” Scootaloo shouted as the car picked up speed down the road, thankfully it was empty as they flew down the road, trying to outrun the monstrosity that was now chasing them.

“What is that thing?” Sweetie asked as she looked at Scootaloo.

“I have no idea!” Scootaloo said as they held onto each other. Apple Bloom looked back at them for a moment as the car sped up, Sweetie kept an eye on the map as they were getting close to the turn.

“Apple Bloom, we need to turn soon,” she said. “Is that thing still chasing us?”

Apple Bloom glanced in the rearview mirror again as the monster seemed to be chasing them. She let up on the gas a little as she pulled on the turn down the road ahead before picking up speed again as they could see the reservation in the distance.

As they finally reached the town they slowed down a little. In the mirror she could see that there was nothing chasing them anymore. She pulled over onto the side of the road and the three of them were breathing heavily, their hearts beating a mile a minute.

“What tha hell was that thing?” Apple Bloom asked as she looked back at her friends.

“Whatever it was, it wasn’t human,” Sweetie Belle said as they heard the sound of sirens as a police car pulled up behind them. “And now we’ve got the cops coming, great.”

A man with dark hair stepped up to the window and tapped on it as Apple Bloom rolled her window down.”License and registration please,” he said as Apple Bloom took out the information. “You ladies were coming in pretty fast, mind explaining what’s going on here?”

“Yah wouldn’t believe us if we tried ta tell yah,” Apple Bloom said as she looked back at her friends.

“Try me,” he said. “Or I’ll have to write you a ticket, you wouldn’t want that would you?”

“No,” Apple Bloom said with a flinch. “We, saw somethin’ down tha road that was chasin’ us fer a bit.”

“You saw something?” The officer asked with a raised eyebrow. “What kind of something?”

Scootaloo paused a moment before she described what they had seen. The officer surprisingly didn’t laugh them off and instead listened carefully, he frowned a little when she finished describing the creature and what had happened.

“You ladies are very lucky,” he finally said. “You’re on Navajo land, you likely crossed paths with a Skinwalker. If you want my advice, you need to go speak to Spirit Talker. She’s our local medicine woman and she can ward off the evil spirit so it doesn’t pursue you.”

“Uh, okay,” Apple Bloom said. “Where can we find her?”

“Take the road and head for the center of town, she’s the third house on the left,” the officer said as he walked back to his car.

“Well, that didn’t go too badly,” Sweetie said as Apple Bloom started the car up again. “Do you believe what he said about the Skinwalker thing?”

“Ah don’t know,” Apple Bloom admitted. “Ah think Ah remember seein’ somethin’ about them on YouTube or somethin’. Ah think we should talk ta Spirit Talker just in case, we did see somethin’ out there.”

“Yeah, agreed,” Scootaloo said as they started down the road again towards the town. She sighed a little and wrapped her arm gently around Sweetie Belle who looked up at her worriedly. “It’s going to be okay Sweetie, I don’t know what we saw there but we’ll be fine.”

“Do you think it’s why we’re here?” Sweetie asked.

“Maybe,” Scootaloo said.

“Ah’ll bet it is, we got called here lookin’ fer a monster and we just saw one,” Apple Bloom pointed out. “Well, lets see if we can find anythin’ out at least.”

They pulled into town and headed for the house that they had been directed to.

00000

Scootaloo knocked on the door but there was the sound of arguing coming from inside. The three friends only caught some of the conversation through the door, mostly it seemed like they were arguing about something being built.

“Should we come back later?” Sweetie asked as she looked at her friends.

“Ah don’t know, maybe…” Apple Bloom started to say when the door swung open and a casually dressed man stormed out and past the three friends. “What was that about?”

“My sincerest apologies,” an old woman’s voice said as she walked up to the door. She had greying hair that went down to her shoulders and gave the three young women a smile. “Can I help you three? We don’t get outsiders here very often.”

“Yes, uh, we were told to come here by an officer after, well you’ll probably have a hard time believing us…” Scootaloo said as she described what happened on the road. “I know it sounds crazy…”

“Unfortunately, this is far from the only sighting of such a creature in recent days,” Spirit Talker said with a sigh. “You’re all fortunate though, there are those who were not so lucky. The Skinwalker doesn’t always live its victims alive.”

“You mean there have been other attacks?” Sweetie asked.

“I’m sorry, it is taboo to speak of such things,” Spirit Talker said. “But I can at least bless you so that you are not pursued by…”

She paused when she looked at Scootaloo again. There seemed to be a flash of recognition in her eyes which just left Scootaloo confused for a moment.

“Uh, is everything okay?” Scootaloo asked.

“What’s your name?” Spirit Talker asked.

“Scootaloo Dash,” Scootaloo asked as she looked at the old medicine woman confused for a long moment. “Why do you want to know?”

“Come inside, I’ll bless you and tell you more,” Spirit Talker said as she gestured for the young women to enter.

Scootaloo blinked a little as she looked around the house. It was a pretty ordinary house, though it also had several artifacts that looked like they came from Native American cultures around it. Spirit Talker gestured for them to take a seat as she took out items and started to work on them.

Once she finished she sat down and sighed a little. “Normally we do not speak of these things to outsiders, but the fact of the matter is that we need help,” Spirit Talker said. “Yours is not the first encounter with a Skinwalker, I’m afraid that it won’t be the last.”

“What are they?” Sweetie asked.

“A shaman who has the ability to turn into an animal,” Spirit Talker said with a shake of her head. “They’re dangerous, using their power to lure victims out. They can sound like a friend, or even a family member.”

“Ah see,” Apple Bloom said with a frown.

“Well, we’re here following reports of a monster,” Scootaloo said. “Is it possible there’s a connection between the Skinwalker attacks and the readings that we were sent here to investigate?”

The old woman paused for a moment and sighed. “If it was anyone else then I wouldn’t tell you. Director Fancy Pants is a shrewd one I’ll give him that, I didn’t think he’d find you.”

“I’m confused, you know the Director?” Sweetie asked. “And what’s so special about Scootaloo?”

“Scootaloo, were you ever told anything about your family?” Spirit Talker asked the dark skinned girl. “Specifically about your father?”

“No, at least not about my father,” Scootaloo said as she looked at her confused. “Why do you ask?”

“Scootaloo, your father was Navajo,” Spirit Talker said. “He was my son and had a lot of potential to be a shaman. I’m your grandmother Scootaloo, I can speak to you of these things because you are my flesh and blood.”

Scootaloo sat there in stunned silence for a long moment. She hadn’t expected that at all, this was really her grandmother?

“Then, what happened?” She finally asked. “Why did he leave?”

“Back when SMILE started out, Fancy Pants approached me me looking for help,” Spirit Talker said with a sigh. “This was, 23 years ago now I believe it was. There’s not a lot of love for government agents around here you understand, but your father he believed that he could do some good, so he agreed to leave with him.”

She sighed as a tear ran down her face. “Are yah okay?” Apple Bloom asked.

“We kept in contact from time to time, I found out he was married and that he had a daughter on the way,” Spirit Talker said. “Then when the Order attacks began contact dropped off more and more until he went quiet. When Fancy Pants showed up at my door I knew he was gone, he even offered to have you move here but…”

“But you didn’t want a reminder of your son?” Scootaloo asked and she nodded sadly. “I’m sorry, I had no idea. My adopted family never told me anything about you or where my Dad’s family came from.”

“A shame, but unavoidable,” Spirit Talker said. “You’re here to help the SMILE team they already sent right?”

“Yeah,” Scootaloo said with a nod.

“If this thing is a servant of the Order, then I hope you know what you’re doing,” Spirit Talker said. “And if it is a Skinwalker, then that is our business. Do we have an understanding?”

“Yeah, of course,” Scootaloo said. “We’re just here to help.”

“Thank you, I admit I didn’t expect such a thing to happen in these lands,” Spirit Talker said. “I hope that you can help before it is too late.”

Scootaloo nodded. “Where can we find the SMILE agents?”

“They’re in an area outside of town,” Spirit Talker said. “Take the road until you find it, it’s impossible to miss.”

“Thank you,” Scootaloo said and they headed out again together.

00000

Finding it was easy enough. Outside the town there was a large vehicle that served as the mobile command center for the SMILE team which was surrounded by tents and other gear. Apple Bloom pulled the car to a stop as the three friends climbed out.

“Well, look who showed up,” Agent Sweetie Drops said as she waved them over. “You’re a long way from Canterlot.”

“The Director said you needed help, so we’re here,” Scootaloo said with a shrug. “I was a bit surprised to get the call to come here. What do you know about what’s been going on?”

“Not a lot,” Sweetie Drops admitted. “We’ve been using handheld scanners and we’re pretty sure there’s an Order Agent here. The problem is that we don’t know anything more about that except a few slash marks that could’ve come from a sword.”

“Which means we’re dealing with a monster of the Swords suit,” another agent, this one had darker skin and reddish hair. “Along with wands they’re the ones that typically use melee weapons and hand to hand combat.”

“Wait, but didn’t the Five of Cups use Tomahawks?” Sweetie asked.

“Well, yes, that was an exception not the rule,” the newcomer said before looking at Scootaloo. “You’re the new Rider then? I’m Agent Pharynx, second in command of this operation behind Agent Drops.”

“Nice to meet you,” Scootaloo said and offered a hand that the man didn’t shake. “We managed to get some information from the local Medicine Woman, as well as an encounter on the road. We encountered something they call a Skinwalker, do you think it might be connected?”

“What do we have on Skinwalkers?” Sweetie Drops asked as she looked at a man in glasses who was working on a computer.

“Let’s see, Skinwalkers, Skinwalkers…” The tech said as he adjusted his glasses a little and looked it over. “Here we are, Skinwalkers are a creature from Native American mythology, however there are also numerous modern day sightings. All of them have similar stories, all unnatural animals that will even walk on two legs. They can mimic the voices of relatives of their intended victims, some even say they take on the voices of their victims after they kill them. SMILE has amassed a large amount of records of these things along with other similar creatures throughout the world.”

“Is it possible they’re real?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“We live in a world that’s been plagued by demons, interdimensional empires, vampire like creatures, beings created by eating fruit, and Undead representations of animals that fight to see what species rules the world,” Pharynx pointed out. “Honestly I have little doubt that such creatures could exist in some capacity.”

“Yeah, that doesn’t exactly make me feel better,” Apple Bloom said with a flinch.

“Don’t worry, we have guards around the clock guards around here,” Sweetie Drops said. “Nothing hostile will be allowed to approach. You can all sleep peacefully tonight, I promise.”

“Okay, thank you,” Scootaloo said with a sigh of relief. “I just hope you’re right.”

“Well, we’ve been here for a few days now and we haven’t run into any problems,” Pharynx said. “Honestly if it wasn’t for the readings and attacks we’ve investigated I’d say we were on a wild goose chase.”

“Hopefully it won’t turn out to be anything too dangerous, but that’s why I’m here,” Scootaloo said with a sigh. “So, where do we stay?”

“We’ve got an extra tent and bedrolls, that’s about all we can offer you,” Sweetie Drops said. “I know it’s not much, but it’s the best we can offer right now. I would prefer to keep you close in case we need your help.”

“Alright,” Scootaloo said with a nod.

“You have your Driver right?” Pharynx asked.

“Right here,” Scootaloo said as she patted her bag where the Tarot Driver was. “I wouldn’t leave home without it if there’s a chance of a monster attack.”

“Good,” Pharynx said with a snort. “The last thing we need is a Rider without their Driver, especially with that thing out there.”

“Don’t worry about Pharynx, you’ll be fine,” Sweetie Drops said as she shot Pharynx a look. “Once we know exactly what we’re dealing with here then we should be fine, I hope.”

“Yah hope?” Apple Bloom asked. “That doesn’t exactly fill us with confidence.”

“No, no, we’ll be fine,” Sweetie Drops said quickly. “Don’t worry about it. Just get settled in and ready for tomorrow, okay? We need to know what we’re dealing with out there, so we’ll be doing patrols around the area.”

“Understood,” Scootaloo said with a sigh.

She just hoped that this was going to be okay.

00000

“So, what do yah think has SMILE all worked up?” Apple Bloom asked that night as they got their bedrolls situated in the tent. “They’ve been on edge all day.”

“They’re in the middle of territory that belongs to people that aren’t exactly about to trust them and there’s some sort of creature out there,” Sweetie pointed out with a sigh. “I don’t blame them for being on edge right now.”

“Do ya’ll believe what Spirit Talker told us before?” Apple Bloom asked. “About tha Skinwalker Ah mean. It sounded kinda, weird ta me.”

“Yeah, I know what you mean,” Scootaloo said as she brushed her hair back. “I’m not even sure if I believe she’s actually my grandmother, but she makes a convincing case for it. I’m just, worried you know? What if I’d be setting myself up for disappointment if it turned out that she wasn’t really my grandmother?”

“Maybe you should go talk to her tomorrow,” Sweetie suggested as she laid on the bedroll next to Scootaloo and leaned over and gave her a kiss on the lips. “This is your chance to learn more about your father’s side of the family if it’s true. I’d take it.”

“Yeah, okay,” Scootaloo said and snuggled up to Sweetie.

“Don’t forget Ah’m in here ya’ll,” Apple Bloom said with a roll of her eyes as she rolled over on her side. “Try ta keep it down will yah?”

“Oh, I don’t know,” Sweetie said as she ran her hand slowly along Scootaloo’s side. “Scootaloo here is just too tempting not to…”

Scootaloo just laughed a little and kissed Sweetie again. She was about to say good night to Apple Bloom when they all heard the sound of gunfire coming from outside.

“Stay here,” Scootaloo said as she grabbed the Tarot Driver and cards out of her bag as she gave Sweetie one more kiss. “I’ll be right back.”

She opened the tent and stepped out just as the guards were lowering their rifles. Sweetie Drops and Pharynx came into view just as they looked out at the desert. “What’s going on?”

“I saw something out there…” one of the guards said as he gripped his rifle tightly. “It looked like something walking towards us…”

“Let me see those binoculars,” Sweetie Drops said as she took out a pair of binoculars and focused them as she searched the area. “All I see is a coyote, I think you just panicked.”

“I swear, it wasn’t there before… there was, something walking on two legs out there,” the guard said.

Sweetie Drops sighed a little and looked at Scootaloo and Pharynx. “It’s probably nothing, but what are we getting on the scanners?”

Scootaloo for a moment thought that the guard had overreacted as she looked at Pharynx who frowned a little. “What is it?”

“I’ve got a strong reading coming from that way,” he said as he held up his handheld scanner and looked at them. “There’s something out there that’s emitting the same energy signature as the other Order Agents.”

“Alright, Pharynx you stay behind, Johnson, Nichols, you’re with me,” Sweetie said and then pointed at Scootaloo. “Dash, suit up, I need you on this.”

Scootaloo nodded as she placed the driver on her waist as the belt formed around it.

“Henshin!” She said as she slid the cards into the slot on the Driver.

“TIME TO TIP THE SCALES!” The voice said as the black and green armor formed around her and the Arcana Rapier appeared in her hand.

“Let’s go,” she said as they walked forward into the desert.

00000

Scootaloo had to admit she was nervous despite walking in the armor while flanked by three armed government agents. Sweetie Drops was holding a handheld scanner in front of her as she tried to pinpoint the location of the readings.

“I’ve got something in this direction,” she said as she raised the binoculars to her eyes again and scanned the area. “There’s something out there.”

“Do you know what it is?” Scootaloo asked as she gripped her sword’s hilt.

“It looks like that Coyote a… wait, no,” Sweetie Drops said as she focused in. “What the Hell is that thing…”

The other agents held their guns out at the advancing creature. Scootaloo raised her sword out as she waited for the creature to approach.

“Scootaloo…” A voice said from that direction, Scootaloo nearly lost her grip on her sword as it sounded like Sweetie Belle, but it was more distorted, almost unnatural sounding. “Come on Scoots, you want to see me don’t you?”

“That’s, not good,” Sweetie Drops said as she glanced at Scootaloo. “That’s not your girlfriend, whatever it is out there is trying to trick you into following it. We need to lure it here.”

“Right,” Scootaloo said as she held the sword upright again. “Come and get us whatever you are, I’m not afraid of you!”

“You should be,” the distorted voice said from around them as a figure started to approach, Scootaloo gripped the sword tighter. Its outline looked like the same creature they had seen on the road earlier, but this one was carrying a long sword that dragged along the desert floor.

“Open fire!” Sweetie Drops said as she and the other agents fired at the advancing creature but it didn’t phase it.

As it got closer Scootaloo could start to make out its features in the moonlight and she gulped a little. The creature was vaguely humanoid with an inhuman face and a body that looked like it had been patched together from several skins. It also had antlers pointing out of its head, but even they felt, off somehow. It was carrying a long sword with a basket shaped hilt cover. She couldn’t make out his chest, but she saw a circular mark on it.

“Outsiders…” he said in the same twisted voice as he walked forward, the blade of his sword scraping against the desert again. “You are not welcome here, these are our lands. You must leave, now!”

“You’ve been attacking people in this town, you terrorized me and my friends earlier on the road,” Scootaloo said as she pointed her sword at the monster. “I’m not going to stand back and let you hurt innocent people!”

“Kamen Rider Justice, I should have known you would be here,” the monster said with a sneer in his voice. “I am Alupah, the cleanser who will drive your kind out of our lands. You will not be allowed to remain.”

“I don’t care what your reasons are, you’re putting innocent people at risk,” Scootaloo said. “And I can see your future and it’s not bright.”

Alupah snarled and held his sword upright at Scootaloo as the Rider narrowed her eyes from behind her mask. “Then have at me Rider, unless you’re afraid.”

Scootaloo scowled as she lunged forward, thrusting towards the monster as he swung his sword around and caught her blade with his own. The twisted mouth of the creature smirked as he pushed Scootaloo back.

Scootaloo flinched a little at that, she had to admit she was still getting used to using the Arcana Rapier while it felt like Alupah had a much better idea of what he was doing. She had to keep him at arm’s length if she even wanted a chance.

“You’re sloppy,” Alupah said with a laugh as she tried to hit him again with her sword only to have it be blocked once more. “I’ll bet you hardly even know how to use that sword you’re holding in your hand.”

“I know enough, and I fought two of your compatriots with it!” Scootaloo said as she slashed at him again, this time managing to get her blade in and sending sparks fly as he took a step back. “Not so high and mighty are you now?”

Alupah just snorted as he took another swing at Scootaloo but just barely missed her as she took a step to the side and thrust her sword at him again. The monster let out an animalistic growl as he pulled his sword around and swung at her only to have their blades meet.

“She’s not doing bad,” Sweetie Drops commented.

“Agreed, but her form is all off,” one of the other agents said as she loaded another magazine into her gun.

Scootaloo and Alupah’s blades met again as the Rider tried to get in another thrust only to have it parried by the monster. Scootaloo was getting more frustrated at this point while the monster swordsman was keeping on the defensive for the most part.

“You’re hardly what I’d call a threat,” he said as he parried another blow. “I don’t see what Caesar and the others are so worried about. I’ve seen children that fight better than you!”

“Don’t listen to him Scootaloo, he’s just trying to psych you out!” Sweetie Drops shouted at her.

“It’s working…” Scootaloo muttered to herself as she thrusted at the monster one more time only to have her sword caught and knocked out of her hand.

Alupah laughed as he swung his blade down and caught Scootaloo across the chest which threw her back against the desert floor as her armor vanished from around her. She struggled to get up to her feet only to have the blade of the monster’s sword pressed against her.

“You’re nothing more than a novice, Kamen Rider,” he said with a smirk as he raised his sword. “If I bring back your head, I will be rewarded greatly. This is your end…”

He let out a scream as something hit him from behind. He reached behind him to extract a dagger made of some metal that glinted in the moonlight. “What the…”

“Soul Metal, its toxic to your kind,” a voice said as they turned to see Spirit Talker standing there, Scootaloo could see a glint from several more daggers. “We learned a long time ago how to fight your type monster, now run back to your masters!”

Alupah looked down at Scootaloo and then at the old woman before he removed his sword from Scootaloo’s neck and turned into a bird that flew off.

“Thank you,” Scootaloo said as Spirit Talker offered her a hand and pulled her up. “How did you know we were out here?”

“A young man saw the monster heading into the desert towards your camp,” Spirit Talker said as she gave Sweetie Drops and the other agents a small nod. “I suppose that was what you came here to find.”

“Yeah, someone in your town has been overtaken by a card spirit from the Order of the High Arcana,” Scootaloo said with a sigh as she put her Driver and cards away. “They must be what’s been attacking everyone.”

“Yes, I was afraid of that,” Spirit Talker said. “Come, you need to get back to your camp.”

“Right,” Scootaloo said as they headed towards the camp, something was still bugging her though. “How exactly do these things work? Alupah seemed to take on the traits of a, you know, one of those things.”

“That’s one mystery we never solved,” Sweetie Drops said. “They sometimes seem to take on different forms and powers. This one appears to be a shapeshifter, I’m afraid that this won’t be the last we see of him either.”

“Right…” Sweetie Drops said as we walked back towards camp.

00000

“Scootaloo!” Sweetie Belle said as she ran up to her and hugged Scootaloo tightly. “Are you okay? What happened out there?”

“I’m fine, just a little sore,” Scootaloo said as she flinched a little at the pain caused by her girlfriend’s touch. “Did anything happen here?”

“No, but we were worried about yah,” Apple Bloom said as she walked over to her friends. “What happened?”

“It was a monster from the Order, some sort of shapeshifter,” Scootaloo said as she looked at her friends worriedly for a moment. “What if it comes back?”

“Then we’ll stop it,” Sweetie Belle said with a soft smile as she kissed Scootaloo gently on the lips. “We were scared something would happen to you Scootaloo, are you sure you’re okay?”

“Yeah, that, thing managed to force me back but Spirit Talker helped us,” Scootaloo said as she looked back at her grandmother. “Thank you again.”

“You are welcome Scootaloo,” Spirit Talker said with a nod.

“I’ll escort you back to town,” Pharynx said as he walked off with Spirit Talker towards one of the vehicles.

“Alright, everyone stay on guard, we don’t know who that thing was or if it’ll be back,” Sweetie Drops said. “Scootaloo, try to get some sleep if you can. We’re going to need you well rested for tomorrow.”

“What’s tomorrow?” Apple Bloom asked.

“Tomorrow you’re going to need some proper sword fighting training,” Sweetie Drops said. “And if that thing comes back, we’re all going to have to work together to deal with it.”

“Right,” Scootaloo said, though she felt like sleep wasn’t going to come easily. “Good night.”

She and her friends headed back into their tent as Scootaloo put the Driver and cards away again. She laid back down on the bedding as Sweetie laid down next to her and snuggled with her, gently wrapping her arms around her.

“I love you Scootaloo,” Sweetie said softly as she kissed the darker skinned girl gently on the forehead.

“I love you too,” Scootaloo said as she held Sweetie close to her. “I don’t want anything to happen to you, I’ll keep you safe I promise.”

Sweetie kissed her deeply, Scootaloo closed her eyes as she returned the kiss. Her hands moved slowly along Sweetie’s back, the two young women losing themselves in the kiss as they let their worries melt away.

“Get a room yah two,” Apple Bloom said with a chuckle. “This ain’t a private tent yah know.”

“We know,” Scootaloo said with a grin as she looked over at Apple Bloom before she added jokingly. “You know you could go sleep outside.”

“Heck no, Ah ain’t goin’ out there with whatever that thing is,” Apple Bloom said.

“Then you’re going to have to live with it,” Scootaloo said as she kissed Sweetie Belle again which just made Apple Bloom roll her eyes and shut off the lantern.

“Fine, just keep it down, Ah want ta sleep,” she said with a laugh as she turned over on her side and closed her eyes.

Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle smiled a little as Scootaloo wrapped her arms around Sweetie. They drifted off to sleep in each other’s embrace.

00000

Miles away in Canterlot, Fancy Pants was sitting on a bench in the park reading a newspaper. He noticed a few stories about Kamen Rider Justice as well as a few strange reports of something in the city.

“Don’t look up,” a woman’s voice said as a woman with a hat pulled down over her features took a seat on the bench next to him.

“I saw what happened to the sex offender, your handiwork I’m guessing,” Fancy Pants said without looking up at the woman.

“He was scum,” the woman said. “But he mentioned that SMILE has a new Kamen Rider, I have to admit I was surprised to hear that.”

“Kamen Rider Justice,” Fancy Pants said as he turned the page. “She’s still refining her abilities as a Rider but she’s getting the hang of it.”

“Good,” the woman said. “She’s going to need it with the Order coming back all of a sudden.”

“I was hoping you’d have some information on that,” Fancy Pants said. “You always knew more about the Order than any of us. A shame you didn’t come before they vanished last time.”

“They’re waiting for something, something that only comes around every 13 years,” the woman said. “It’s what gives them the power to do this, I was never privy to the details but they called it the Convergence.”

“Interesting,” Fancy Pants said. “And what about you? You don’t have to stay gone you know, there’s a lot of good you can do for the organization.”

“I’m not ready to come back yet,” the woman said. “There are still things that I must do, people I have to protect. Besides, you never agreed with my methods before.”

“Times change, and so do people,” Fancy Pants said. “The fact of the matter is that we need all the help we can get. You and the others are the best chance we have at defeating the Order and you know that.”

“Perhaps,” the woman said. “But you don’t need me right now, right now I have things that must be done as I said. Perhaps in time I’ll come back.”

“Very well,” Fancy Pants said with a sigh. “But if you have any more information I would appreciate it if you…”

As he said that he realized he was alone. He lowered the newspaper and looked around to find that there was no one else there. He sighed and got up, he’d need to head back to headquarters now and hope that everything was going okay.

From a distance, a woman watched him from the back of a motorcycle. She turned it on and sped away down the road.

00000

“I’m Agent Johnson,” one of the agents from the night before said as she went through some equipment while Scootaloo waited. “Your fighting style last night was sloppy, the monster was right about that. You’re going to need to learn how to use a rapier properly if you want to fight Swords Suit monsters.”

“So, what are we going to do about that?” Scootaloo asked as Johnson took out two sticks that looked like they were made of plastic or something similar and tossed one to Scootaloo.

“These have about the same weight and shape as the Arcana Rapier,” Johnson said as she held her own stick out at Scootaloo. “Come at me, I want to see your technique for myself so I can see what I’m working with here.”

“Alright,” Scootaloo said as she moved forward and swung the stick around only to have it be caught and knocked to the side by the agent.

“Again,” Johnson said and Scootaloo tried the same a second time only to have the stick be pushed down to the ground by the Agent’s. “Your form is all wrong, the rapier isn’t a weapon you flail around with. It’s a sword built for fast stabs and thrusts, like so.”

Johnson took a pose that put one foot behind her and struck fast, pushing the stick past Scootaloo’s defenses before she could even bring it up and stopped just short of actually hitting her.

“Your opponent uses a Broadsword, it’s heavier and not as fast,” Johnson said as she went in for another strike against Scootaloo which she tried to block but she just missed and was nearly hit again. “You have the speed advantage over him, but he will try and use your attacks against you. You need to use the weight of his sword against him, fight him, strike fast and avoid his attacks. Now, copy my stance, your stance is important, the smaller your profile the harder it’ll be for your opponent to hit you.”

“Okay,” Scootaloo said as she stood in the same stance as Johnson and held the stick in the same way.

“Now, come at me again,” Johnson said as she gave Scootaloo a nod. “Fight like I showed you, move quickly and make sure that your strikes are fast and precise.”

Scootaloo nodded as she moved forward quickly, striking out with the stick as she tried to hit Johnson who barely caught it with her own.

“Better, but you need to go faster,” Johnson said as she pushed the sword back after a moment. “The Rapier can be used to slash and cut but you have to make sure you’re careful. You have a stabbing weapon here, this is not a weapon to be used lightly.”

“Right,” Scootaloo said as she took a step back as the two fighters circled around a little, Scootaloo finally thrust forward again and the sparring match continued.

“Well, Scootaloo’s startin’ ta get tha hang of this,” Apple Bloom said after a while as she and Sweetie Belle watched the two fight. “Do yah think she’s goin’ ta be okay?”

“I’m sure she’ll be fine,” Sweetie Belle said with a sigh as she watched the two of them fighting one another. Scootaloo was getting better with each try, but Johnson had more experience with the style. “What do you think?”

“Probably,” Apple Bloom said with a sigh. “How do we even know how these monsters work? She’s goin’ up against somethin’ that probably knows how ta use a sword better than any livin’ swordsman.”

“Yeah, I know what you mean,” Sweetie said with a shake of her head. “Lets just hope that she gets the hang of this before she has to fight against that thing again.”

Scootaloo and Johnson kept fighting for a little while before Scootaloo finally took a step to the side and dodged another stab from Johnson and caught it with her stick. She pushed it to the side and swung right at Johnson’s chest, pressing right against it.

“Well done,” Johnson said as she finally lowered her stick as Scootaloo did the same. “As long as you remember everything I’ve taught you, you’ll do fine against that thing.”

“Thanks,” Scootaloo said as she handed the stick back to Agent Johnson. “You gave me a lot of good tips on what to do. I just hope that it’s going to be enough to take on that monster.”

“You’ll be fine, just be careful,” Johnson said as Scootaloo went back to her friends. “We’re keeping an eye out for that thing anywhere in town. Wherever it shows up, we can take it out, I promise. In the meantime, Agent Sweetie Drops suggested that you get familiar with the town.”

Scootaloo nodded as they headed back to their car and started it up. It was time to learn more about where Scootaloo’s family came from hopefully.

The Honed Sword

Author's Note

An apology for this chapter and the last one. I was under the influence of internet horror stories while writing them. I did not mean any offense to the Navajo people or to steal their legends. While I cannot go back and edit this easily, I am sorry for my past mistakes. Read it if you wish, I won't blame you if you don't.

The Honed Sword

Scootaloo looked out at the town in the Reservation for a long moment as the car pulled to a stop near Spirit Talker’s house. She had always wondered where she came from and here she was sitting in the middle of her father’s hometown.

She was nervous, she had never even considered what her family might be like. She was now going to have to do what she could to make sure that this town was safe, just like Canterlot. She had to do everything she could to make sure that the Order was stopped no matter where she was.

“Are you okay Scootaloo?” Sweetie asked as she looked at Scootaloo worriedly for a moment.

“About as well as I can be under the circumstances,” Scootaloo said with a sigh as she gave Sweetie a smile as she looked back at the house. “I don’t even know what to expect from this, do I have any other family members out there that I should expect?”

“Probably,” Apple Bloom said. “Really, Ah would love ta know yer family better. Right Sweetie?”

“Yeah, especially if I’m going to have any in-laws,” Sweetie said with a chuckle as she smiled up at Scootaloo. “So, how about we go get to know them a little bit better?”

“Yeah, that sounds good,” Scootaloo said as they opened up the car doors and headed up to the front door. Scootaloo paused a moment before she knocked on the door and took a deep breath, hoping that she was going to be able to figure this out before she finally knocked.

For a moment nothing happened before the door finally opened and a woman with green-ish yellow hair opened the door. She looked at Scootaloo surprised for a moment and then smiled a little. “You must be Scootaloo, mom said you should be coming by.”

“Mom?” Scootaloo asked.

“Spirit Talker, I’m your father’s older sister Holiday,” the woman said and offered Scootaloo a hand to shake which Scootaloo took and gave her a smile. “When mom said you had shown up in town I was surprised.”

“Yeah, well I was pretty surprised too,” Scootaloo said as she rubbed the back of her head sheepishly and then smiled. “This is my friend Apple Bloom and my girlfriend Sweetie Belle.”

“It’s nice ta meet yah,” Apple Bloom said with a smile as Holiday shook her and Sweetie Belle’s hands.

“Come in, come in,” Holiday said as she gestured for the three young women to follow her inside. “I’m so glad to finally meet you Scootaloo. After what happened to your father, well we didn’t really know what became of you.”

“A friend of my parents’ took me in,” Scootaloo said as she looked around. “They raised me like their own daughter and their daughter Rainbow Dash helped me out a lot. Between them and my friends here, well I’m lucky to have all of them.”

“Well, thank you both for being there for my niece when she needed her,” Holiday said with a smile as she hugged a surprised Scootaloo. “You’ll have to tell me everything, what’s your life like? What’s been going on lately?”

“Holiday dear, you don’t want to overwhelm the girl,” a woman’s voice said as a taller woman with dark purple and pink hair entered with a chuckle. “Sorry for Holiday, she’s just very excited to finally meet you.”

“No, no I totally understand,” Scootaloo said as Holiday released her from the hug. “I’m still kind of getting used to this honestly. I’ve only ever really had my adopted family and my friends, I didn’t even know anything about all of this.”

“It’s alright, we understand,” the second woman said with a soft smile. “Your father was a good man, sometimes it feels like the world is a little less bright without him and your mother around. How have you been? Are you okay with, well, everything?”

“It’s, complicated,” Scootaloo said as she played with her hair a little. “I thought I had come to terms with it a long time ago, but some things lately have brought up the memories of what happened and it hasn’t been easy to be honest.”

“You mean like the encounter with that thing in the desert?” Holiday asked and Scootaloo was about to say something when she answered. “Mom told us, we’ve been looking into the encounters lately and we’re just glad that you came out of it alive.”

“Where are my manners, I’m Lofty, Holiday’s wife,” Lofty said with a smile as she shook hands with Scootaloo. “It’s so good to finally meet you.”

Scootaloo blinked in surprise but smiled as she shook hands with the woman. She was starting to realize that she had a lot to learn about her family. She quickly introduced her friends and they all sat down.

“Where’s Spirit Talker?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“She’s meeting with some of the other leaders right now,” Holiday said with a soft sigh. “The fact of the matter is that this situation is just getting worse. We may honestly have to consider taking help from the agency.”

“They’re not that bad,” Apple Bloom said. “Ah mean, fer a super secret government organization dedicated ta fightin’ monsters at least. Ah’m not really sure what tha criteria is for that, but they seem alright ta me.”

“Perhaps, but a lot of folks around here don’t entirely trust the government,” Lofty said. “Or outsiders for that matter. Especially given that we need to start taking in extra revenue to help the Tribe.”

“Extra revenue?” Scootaloo asked as she raised an eyebrow. “What, are you going to start up a casino or something?”

“We’re not proud of the choice, but the decision has been made already,” Holiday said. “Though there has been opposition to the decision among the tribe. Perhaps that is what attracted this, thing to our lands.”

Scootaloo paused a moment, last night the monster had called them out for being outsiders. Was it possible that he was trying to drive them off the land and convince them not to build the casino? She didn’t like this, something about all of this made her even more uneasy when it came to that creature.

Then there was the encounter on the road the day before. She couldn’t help but feel that something about it was off, it didn’t have the same feel to it as an attack by the Order. Had that really been the monster or had they seen something else entirely?

Either way, she didn’t want to know, she just had to get her friends through this and defeat Alupah and hope that would stop whatever was going on.

“Well, that’s enough about tribal troubles,” Lofty said with a smile. “Tell me about yourselves, you came from Canterlot right? I’ve been there a few times, lovely city. How long have you three known each other?”

“Yeah, born and raised there,” Sweetie Belle said with a soft smile as she reached over and squeezed Scootaloo’s hand. “We’ve been friends ever since elementary school. Scootaloo here helped me deal with a bully that was causing problems for me, and later on we met Apple Bloom.”

“And we haven’t ever looked back,” Apple Bloom said with a chuckle.

“Well that’s wonderful,” Holiday said as they peppered the friends with more questions. They asked them about their families, their hobbies, other friends, various things that the girls answered the best they could.

Scootaloo smiled a little at that. She was happy to have a family, even if Rainbow Dash and her family had raised her it was good to know more about where she came form. She chuckled a little at her aunts who seemed to get excited over the smallest details.

“So, yah know everythin’ about us short of our shoe sizes,” Apple Bloom said with a chuckle. “Ah think Scootaloo would probably like ta know more about her aunts though.”

“Oh of course!” Holiday said with a smile. “Scootaloo I’m sure you have a lot of questions, what would you like to know?”

“Just anything really,” Scootaloo said with a shrug. “I never really thought about what might happen if I found out I had grandparents or aunts or uncles out there somewhere. Now that I’ve actually found you, well, I don’t even know where to begin.”

“Scootaloo, your father was a brave man, and my mother can be a little, stubborn at times,” Holiday said with a laugh and a roll of her eyes. “Unfortunately as a result they never got the chance to reconcile before what happened.”

“Heh, remember how long did it take her to actually accept our relationship?” Lofty asked with a chuckle.

“Oh yes!” Holiday said with a groan. “Though I suppose it could’ve been worse. She spent the first few months after I came out of the closet just calling you that woman despite the fact that she had known you for years.”
“Yes, but she did eventually come around,” Lofty said with a chuckle. “And now I’ve got the most wonderful wife I could ask for.”

“Uh, do we need ta leave ya’ll alone?” Apple Bloom asked and looked at Scootaloo. “Now Ah see where yah get it from.”

Scootaloo blushed a little as her aunts just laughed a little. “So, how did the two of you get together anyway?” Scootaloo asked.

“Well like Holiday said we had known each other for years,” Lofty said. “We were best friends growing up and, well our feelings just went from there. I’m sure you two know how that feels.”

“Yeah, I do,” Scootaloo said as she placed her hand gently on Sweetie’s. “All too well.”

Apple Bloom frowned a little and Holiday gave her a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry Apple Bloom, I’m sure there’s someone out there for you.”

“Yeah, thanks,” Apple Bloom said with a sigh, she wasn’t sure if she actually believed that but she hoped it was true. “Ah’ll be lucky if Ah find someone half as good as either of them really.”

“Apple Bloom, you’re our friend,” Scootaloo said. “We haven’t made you felt like a third wheel have you?”

“A little,” Apple Bloom admitted as she rubbed the back of her head a little. “Ah know its silly, Ah shouldn’t be worried about that kinda thing. Ah know yah don’t really mean ta.”

“Let us know if you ever need anything,” Scootaloo said with a sigh. “We’re your friends and we don’t want to do anything that would hurt you or make you uncomfortable.”

Apple Bloom nodded as the door opened and Spirit Talker came in. She gave the young women a smile and a nod. “It’s good to see you three again, I hope there wasn’t any further trouble last night.”

“No, it pretty much stayed away,” Scootaloo said with a shrug. “So, what did you and the others decide?”

“There’s still a lot of animosity towards the feds, but we’ve reached a choice,” Spirit Talker said as she sat down. “We will accept SMILE’s help on this matter, but only under the condition that we work with you and your friends Scootaloo.”

“Because I’m your granddaughter or because I can fight them?” Scootaloo asked.

“A little bit of both,” Spirit Talker said. “This thing is plaguing our town and Soul Metal isn’t enough to actually defeat them. Are you going to be okay fighting it now?”

“Yeah, I should be fine, I hope,” Scootaloo said with a sigh. “So, the question is who is the creature’s host?”

“Host?” Lofty asked.

“Yeah, tha way we figure it these things are created by tha card spirits makin’ deals with people or somethin’,” Apple Bloom said. “One of them, tha Five of Cups, took over our friend Diamond Tiara. Scootaloo saved her, is there anyone who might want ta do that?”

There was a pause as they seemed to be thinking that over before Holiday spoke up. “What about John Moonstorm? He spoke out the most against the project and has never really gotten along with any outsiders.”

“It’s, certainly possible,” Spirit Talker said. “I had hoped that he would be willing to listen to reason, but if he’s gone this far…”

“We’ll stop him,” Scootaloo said finally. “I promise you that, we’re not going to let anything happen to this town.”

“Maybe we can talk to him,” Sweetie suggested. “There’s got to be a way to make him listen to reason right?”

“Maybe, but it won’t be easy to do,” Spirit Talker said. “Don’t do anything too rash. He is still part of the tribe and we will deal with him on our own once the evil spirit’s control is dealt with.”

“Agreed,” Scootaloo said. “Is there anything else you can do to help us?”

Spirit Talker got up and took a box down off a shelf. She walked back to the three friends and opened it, revealing several knives that were made of the same metal Scootaloo had seen shine the night before.

“What are these?” Apple Bloom asked as she carefully picked one of them up and looked at it confused for a moment. “Some kind of knives?”

“Soul Metal forged knives, you can use these to fight against these monsters,” Spirit Talker said as she gave them a nod. “These are the weapons my ancestors used to fight against evil spirits and other monsters. In fact Scootaloo, my grandmother used these to fight alongside someone with abilities similar to yours over a century ago.”

Scootaloo blinked a little as Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom picked up the knives and held them carefully before putting them away. “I really have a lot to learn about my family don’t I?” Scootaloo asked.

“Yes, but that can come in time,” Spirit Talker said with a soft smile. “When you are ready, I will tell you everything you want to know about your family history.”

“Now, go save our town,” Lofty said as they gave Scootaloo one more hug. “I’m glad to finally meet you Scootaloo.”

“I’m glad to meet you too,” Scootaloo said as she hugged her aunts back. “And I look forward to learning more about where I came from.”

They nodded and Scootaloo headed out of the house with her friends.

00000

Sweetie leaned back against the car seat as Scootaloo and Apple Bloom talked with each other about what to do next. She was about to offer her opinion when her cell phone rang and she answered it. “Hello?”

“Hey Auntie Sweetie!” A girl’s voice said and Sweetie smiled a little at that.

“Hey Honey,” Sweetie said with a smile as she adjusted herself, she hadn’t expected to hear from her niece today. “What’s up?”

“Mama Rarity said Ah should call yah,” Honey Apple, the step-daughter of Sweetie’s older sister Rarity said. “Did yah forget what today was?”

“Oh, I’m sorry Honey I’ve been busy lately, I can’t believe I forgot,” Sweetie said as she facepalmed a little at her own forgetfulness. “Happy, uh… birthday? No, your birthday is in may isn’t it…”

“My recital was last night, did yah really forget?” Honey asked.

“No, no of course not!” Sweetie said as she rubbed her forehead a little, actually she had been so busy that she hadn’t remembered that she had that. “How’d it go?”

“Great,” Honey said. “Both mah moms and their friends were there, Ah wish yah and Auntie Scootaloo could’ve been there too.”

Sweetie smiled a little. Honey was Applejack’s daughter, having been born 9 years before while she was in high school. Rarity had helped Applejack through the ordeal and they had gotten married a few years ago before moving to New York.

Sometimes Sweetie missed her family and wished that she had come with them, but she was just glad that she was able to be with her friends.

She had been studying the violin and had her first recital the night before. Sweetie couldn’t believe that she had forgotten.

“I wish we could’ve been there too,” Sweetie said. “I’ll have to see the video if your moms took one.”

“Yeah, of course,” Honey said. “They seem worried about something though. Have yah heard about this Kamen Rider Justice thing that’s goin’ on in Canterlot?”

“I may have heard a few things,” Sweetie said with a chuckle as Scootaloo looked back at her and she gave her a wink. “I mean it is all over the internet and with that blog thing that showed up.”

“Yeah, Ah think its cool, Ah just wish Ah knew who she was,” Honey said. “Ah mean, Ah’ve got a friend from Japan who told me about Kamen Riders. Ah thought they were some sort of urban legend yah know? Stuff that fights monsters, it sounds more like a comic book ta me.”

“Yeah, well you never know,” Sweetie said as her friends started to walk back to the car. “I should get going Honey, say hi to your moms for you. I love you Honey.”

“Ah love yah too auntie Sweetie,” Honey said happily. “Ah just want ta ask yah one more question.”

“Anything,” Sweetie said.

“When are yah gonna marry Auntie Scootaloo?” Honey asked which made Sweetie’s eyes go wide as she did a double take. “What did Ah say?”

“Did your moms put you up to this?” Sweetie asked with a chuckle.

“Maaaaybe,” Honey answered.

“Well tell them that we’ll get married when we’re ready,” Sweetie said with a roll of her eyes before she talked loudly as Scootaloo opened the door. “Oh you know how it is, she’s still making me wait, I’m sure she’ll put a ring on this finger someday.”

Scootaloo just blinked in confusion as Honey giggled and Sweetie hung up the phone. “What was that about?”

“Just talking to Honey,” Sweetie said with a shake of her head. “Her violin recital was last night and we forgot to call her. So what’s the plan?”

“We’re going to wait for backup,” Scootaloo said as Apple Bloom got into the driver’s seat and started the car up again. “SMILE is already on the way to the house and we’re going to do what we can to stop this guy.”

“Do you think we can?” Sweetie asked. “I mean, you lost to him last time right?”

“Yeah, but I’ve got it this time,” Scootaloo said as she wrapped her arm around Sweetie gently and gave her a smile. “Agent Johnson helped me figure out how to fight and I think I’ve got the hang of it.”

“Yeah,” Apple Bloom said. “Though, if yah can summon new swords with every card in tha swords suit won’t yah need ta learn how ta use them?”

Scootaloo paused a moment and shrugged. “Yeah, probably, but lets just get going,” she said and Apple Bloom nodded as she headed down the road towards their destination.

00000

The car pulled to a stop a little ways down from the house that they had been pointed towards. Sweetie Drops and Pharynx were already there with their team preparing to enter the house as the girls got out of the car.

“Look who showed up,” Pharynx said as he looked up at the three of them.

“Hey, we got you this information, show some gratitude,” Sweetie Belle said.

“Pharynx, be nice, Scootaloo get ready if this really is the monster,” Sweetie Drops said as Scootaloo nodded and took out the Driver.

“And what are we supposed ta do?” Apple Bloom asked.

“Hang back, you have those knives right?” Sweetie Drops asked and they nodded. “Be careful, but if you get an opening I want you to use those knives. They will at the very least help weaken the creature.”

“Got it,” Sweetie said as Scootaloo put the Driver on and the belt formed around her.

“Henshin,” she said as she slid the card into her Driver.

“TIME TO TIP THE SCALES!” The Driver said as the energy flowed over her and formed the familiar black and green armor as the Arcana Rapier appeared in her hand.

“Alright, so what’s the plan?” Scootaloo asked as she looked back at Sweetie Drops who was holding a scanner pointed at the house.

“We’ve got readings coming from inside, they’re faint but it looks like Alupah was definitely here,” she said as she put the scanner away again. “That gives us enough reason to at least search the house.”

She nodded to the other agents who moved close to the door and knocked on the door. Scootaloo walked forward and checked through one of the windows, the house looked empty other than furniture. The lights were all turned off and there wasn’t any sign of movement.

So, if he was Alupah then he wasn’t home. She wasn’t really sure what to expect, but something about this made her a little uneasy as she gripped the hilt of her sword a little.

“Do you see something?” Pharynx whispered to her.

“No, it looks like it’s empty,” Scootaloo said as she looked back at the others as the agents at the door forced their way in. “Something about this whole thing feels wrong to me, you know what I mean?”

“Yeah,” Pharynx said with a shake of his head as they headed for the front door. “Stay back, we don’t know if this is actually that thing or if we’re dealing with something else entirely. If it turns out to be… what did he call himself?”

“Alupah,” Scootaloo said.

“Okay, these names are getting odd,” Pharynx said and Scootaloo just shrugged a little. “Come on, let’s go.”

As they searched the house it was just like Scootaloo had suspected, completely empty. There were a few signs of habitation but it didn’t look like they had been there in a few days. As she looked around, Scootaloo couldn’t help but feel like something was wrong about this place, she wanted to get out of there fast.

As she walked around she noticed that one of the agents seemed to be more distant and moved slowly away from the rest of the group. She narrowed her eyes from behind her visor and moved silently as she watched the agent go upstairs.

She started up the stairs once she was sure that the agent wasn’t going to see her. She cringed when she stepped on a creaking floorboard and the agent moved into view with his eyes wide.

“What the hell are you doing?” He demanded of her as he put his hand on his pistol. “Shouldn’t you be helping the others?”

“I could ask you the same thing,” Scootaloo said as she gripped the hilt of her rapier and stared him down. “What are you doing up here?”

The agent suddenly became more defensive. “Why should I tell you, this is SMILE business. You’re just a civilian that got lucky, how do I know you’re not really the monster? It is a shapeshifter after all.”

“What? How can you even think that,” Scootaloo said. “I know I’m me, you’re the one who’s acting weird!”

“What’s going on in here?” Sweetie Drops asked as she headed into the room and looked up at the Agent. “What are you doing Agent?”

“What does it look like I’m doing? I’m trying to find the monster,” the agent said indignantly.

“What’s your name?”

“Uh…” The agent said and finally scowled, raising his goggles to show that his eyes were, unnatural looking before his body shifted into that of Alupah and he drew his sword. “This isn’t over yet! I will save my people from this menace if its the last thing I do!”

Scootaloo ran up the stairs after the monster and thrust the Rapier forward only to have it be caught by his sword as he ran back into the top floor with the Rider close behind. He finally stopped at a broken window and turned into a bird again before flying through it.

“He was already in here…” Scootaloo said with a stomp of her foot as Sweetie Drops came into the room as they looked around, the room was trashed as if someone had been looking for something. “He must’ve been trying to get information on us and figured we wouldn’t pay any attention to another agent hanging around.”

“That must’ve been the readings I picked up,” Sweetie Drops said. “So, what was he doing up here?”

“I don’t know,” Scootaloo said as they started to look around the room for any sign of what Alupah had wanted. “There has to be something in here that he didn’t want us to…”

She stopped in mid-sentence as she pushed some items out of the way and found a piece of paper lying on the ground. She picked it up and read it, there were just some numbers and letters on it with the words “Meeting place” under it with the time 8 PM and today’s date.

“Hmm, these look like coordinates,” Sweetie Drops said as she took out her phone and typed it in. “It’s a few miles outside of town still on reservation land, do you think that’s what he was trying to get rid of?”

“Maybe,” Scootaloo said. “We should check it out at least. Let’s just hope that we’re not too late to stop him.”

“Yeah,” Sweetie Drops said as they continued to search the house. There wasn’t anything else to find that was suspicious at least, they just had to hope that everything really was going to be okay.

“Alright, clear out everyone,” Sweetie Drops said as they finally finished the search. “We need to re-group back at the camp and make sure that we’re all ready to go.”

Scootaloo sighed as she de-powered and headed back to the car. Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom were standing at the car and looked at her worriedly.

“Is everything okay?” Scootaloo asked.

“We thought we heard you calling for us,” Sweetie said as she hugged Scootaloo tightly. “When we looked up we saw that same thing from the road before it vanished.”

“Ah don’t like this,” Apple Bloom said with a shake of her head. “This whole thing feels wrong ta me, like we’re bein’ watched at all times. What happened in there?”

“He made himself look like an agent, but we think we have enough information,” Scootaloo said with a sigh as she hugged Sweetie Belle tightly. “We’re going to be okay, I promise. We’ll stop him before he hurts anyone else.”

“Okay, good,” Sweetie said as she sighed a little.

“So, what do we do now?” Apple Bloom asked.

“We need to get back to the camp and figure out where to go from here,” Scootaloo said with a sigh as they got back into the car. “I just hope that we’re going to be okay.”

“Me too,” Sweetie said as Apple Bloom started the car back up and Scootaloo pulled her in close.

00000

“Do you know anything about this location?” Sweetie Drops asked Spirit Talker who had come to the camp with Holiday and Lofty. She showed them an image taken from a satellite of the building that had been found at the coordinates.

“Yes, it’s an old hotel I believe,” Spirit Talker said as she gave her a nod. “It shut down years ago, it belonged to John Moonstorm’s grandfather. I believe the property is still in the family though they haven’t been doing much with it.”

“Well, it’s worth checking out then,” Scootaloo said as she looked at the picture. “How many people think that outsiders should be kept out?”

“Quite a few I’m afraid,” Holiday said. “I get where they’re coming from, but this isn’t the way to go about doing it. Are you sure that it’s really Moonstorm that’s causing this?”

“It was his house, but you’re right we have to consider everything,” Scootaloo said with a sigh as she looked back at her friends. “Let’s just hope that whoever we really have to deal with out there won’t cause too much of a problem.”

“You’re ready for this Scootaloo,” Agent Johnson said. “I’m not going to say it’ll be easy, but you can hold your own well enough against this thing. Just remember what I taught you.”

“Right,” Scootaloo said as she gulped a little. She really wasn’t sure if she was going to be able to take this monster down with a sword but she didn’t have much of a choice at this point. “I just hope you’re right.”

“Don’t worry Scoots, we’ve got your back,” Sweetie said as she placed a hand on Scootaloo’s shoulder. “You’re going to be just fine.”

“Thanks Sweetie,” Scootaloo said with a soft smile as she leaned in and gave her a soft kiss on the lips. “Come on, let’s get you ready to fight this thing.”

Sweetie nodded as they moved over towards where there were some targets set up. Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom started practicing on the targets with the knives that Spirit Talker had given them.

It took them some practice but they quickly got the hang of throwing the knives. The hard part was hitting it in a vital area. Sweetie finally tossed a knife that hit it in the center of mass and smiled a little as Scootaloo gave her a nod.

It wasn’t too much longer before Apple Bloom had done the same and the two had managed to work pretty effectively. Scoootaloo looked at Spirit Talker who gave her a smile and a nod.

“You’re both doing fine,” she said. “Keep this up and you should be able to help Scootaloo without any problem.”

“I hope so,” Sweetie said as she picked the knife she had thrown. “Thank you again for your help. I’m just glad that I have a chance to help Scootaloo, right Apple Bloom?”

“Right,” Apple Bloom said with a nod as she put away her own knife. “Still Ah kinda wish that we didn’t have ta do this right before a fight with a monster. Ah just hope that we’re gonna be okay doin’ this.”

“You’ll do fine,” Scootaloo said with a nod as she checked the time, they still had time before they had to go to the old hotel. “So, what do we do now?”

“Now, we eat and figure out what our plan is,” Sweetie Drops said and the friends nodded a little, they just hoped that this was the right way to do this.

00000

Scootaloo adjusted herself a little as she walked into the motel. With her hair now dyed to hide its natural purple and her darker skin she was able to blend in with the rest of the crowd, she pressed her hand to her ear.

“I’m in,” she said quietly into the earpiece they had fit her with.

“Be careful,” Sweetie Drops’ voice said on the other end. “You’ve got a lot of people around you and if one of them realizes you’re not from the town you’ll be made. Be careful Scootaloo, we don’t want you to put yourself at risk.”

“Got it,” Scootaloo said quietly as she was directed into the meeting area by someone. There was a large crowd already gathered and she moved into the crowd. She looked up at the front of the room where a man dressed in simple clothing was standing.

She looked around a little nervous for a moment. Thankfully they didn’t seem to notice that she didn’t belong there as they gathered around and waited for the man to start speaking. Scootaloo just hoped that this was the right thing to do.

“Everyone, I’m glad to see you here,” the man at the front of the room said. “The fact of the matter is that the outsiders and their federal government have infiltrated and corrupted our home. It was outside influences that lead to them making the decision that brings us all here. Now the outsiders have sent government agents because they believe that they can get us to tow the line. But we won’t let that happen! This is our land, and we’re not going to let them take it over! We now have the power to fight back, they cannot stand against my power!”

He stepped back and reached into his pocket as he took something out of his pocket. Scootaloo could barely recognize it as a card with the familiar back of one of the Tarot cards. He smirked as he held it up and the energy flew into his body as he transformed into Alupah.

“My power is greater than anything they can bring to bear against us,” Alupah said as he held his sword up. “Not even their so-called Kamen Rider Justice can’t stop me! She has tried, but I bested her and nothing she can do will stop me or the Order!”

Scootaloo frowned a little but everyone around her cheered. Alupah smiled as he looked out at them just as one of the guards at the door approached him. Scootaloo flinched a little, that had been the same one that let her in.

“I think my cover is blown,” she said quietly as she pressed the earpiece again. “What do you suggest?”

“Get out of there,” Sweetie Drops answered. “We don’t need to confirm their fears by putting them at risk. If you can get Alupah out of reach of his followers you’ll have the edge here. Do not endanger civilian lives unless absolutely necessary.”

“Understood,” Scootaloo said as she turned around and started back to the door only to be stopped by the sound of a voice calling out to her.

“Well, it seems the government’s stooge is right here in our midst, isn’t that right Scootaloo Dash?” Alupah said and she cringed a little. “You thought you could hide, but we know your face. And you may be half our blood, but you are nothing but a pawn for whatever government agency sent you!”

“You don’t have to do this here,” Scootaloo said as she placed her hand on her pocket where the Driver and cards were waiting. “You’re being used by the Order and that card spirit, they don’t care about you or your cause!”

“This power is all I need!” Alupah said. “The Order gave it to me and I will use it to drive out all the outsiders! For too long we’ve let them push us around, this is our land, and we’re no longer going to stand for them corrupting it! And I’m going to show you that power by taking down their Rider right here, right now!”

“Get out of here, all of you!” Scootaloo said, which surprised the gathered crowd as she took out her Driver. They just looked confused as they looked between her and Alupah. “If we fight you’ll likely get hurt, don’t you see he doesn’t care about what happens to you?”

A mutter went up from the crowd as they looked at her and then at Alupah. “Is that true?” One of them asked. “John, you said you wanted to help us, why are you making deals with that, thing anyway?”

“If you’re going to ignore what we have to do then go, I don’t need you! All I need is power, and I will use that power to drive them out of our lands!” Alupah shouted as he held his sword upright. “Run, run if you dare, but I will find you, I will find all of you!”

The crowd finally dispersed as Scootaloo smirked a little. “It looks like your followers are abandoning you,” she said as she put her Driver on and slid the cards into the slot on it. “Henshin!”

“TIME TO TIP THE SCALES!” The Driver said as energy flowed into Scootaloo and the armor formed around her.

“You’re still nothing more than a novice, I’ve got more power and skill with a sword than you ever will!” Alupah said as he walked forward, moving towards her as he held his sword out and gave her a wicked smirk. “It’s time to meet your maker, Kamen Rider.”

“It’s not over yet, I see your future and it’s not bright!” Scootaloo said with a smirk as she held the Rapier out. “I’m not so much of a novice anymore, and I’m about to take you down!”

“Just try me!” Alupah said as he swung his sword at her but she dodged the blow and thrust the sword forward, catching the monster off guard as it impacted his armor. He took a step back as Scootaloo took another step forward and thrust her Rapier at him only to have it be caught again with his sword.

“So you’ve gotten a little better, but you still don’t stand a chance against me!” Alupah said as he tried to attack her again but she avoided it again. “Stop moving and just stand still so I can hit you!”

“You really want to try and protect your home?” Scootaloo said as she thrust her sword forward again and cut him across the arm. “You can’t even defend yourself. You’re relying on power that isn’t even yours and will always come with a cost.”

“What do you know?” Alupah said as he swung his sword around again and was surprised as Scootaloo caught it with her own. “You don’t know the first thing about power, you’re nothing more than a pawn!”

“Said the pot to the kettle,” Scootaloo said as she kicked hard at him which sent him back. “The difference between you and me is that I’m doing this because I chose to!”

She ran forward and cut at Alupah with her sword and swung her fist and caught him off guard with it which sent him sprawling. He growled as he jumped to his feet and ran forward and kicked at her but Scootaloo managed to jump out of the way of the attack as he swung the sword at her again.

Scootaloo flinched a little as she felt the blade brush against her armor. She thrust it forward again and felt the feeling of it hit the monster’s body. She pulled it up and slashed across the creature’s face before she kicked at him again.

“You’ve been terrorizing the good people of this town for your own selfish reasons,” Scootaloo continued as she pushed him back. “And for that, I’m going to do everything I can to stop you! You are not going to keep terrorizing this town, and especially not my friends!”

She raised her sword and swung it at him which he barely was able to block only to be caught off guard by her fist that impacted his face.

“What in the name of the wheel… how did you become so strong?” Alupah said as he pulled himself up and swung his sword at her again which caught her across the arm.

“I’ve got something to fight for, that’s how, and it’s something stronger than you ever will!” Scootaloo said as she stabbed him and he let out a cry. “I’m fighting to save my friends, to save my family, you’re fighting for your own selfish reasons. You don’t know what’s best for your town, you only think you do! You’re nothing more than a monster to the core.”

“Why you little…” Alupah said as he swung the sword at her again only to have it be caught and then thrown aside as Scootaloo held the tip of the blade against his throat. She removed it and jumped up, her foot glowing with energy as she kicked down hard on the monster.

“JUSTICE KICK!” Scootaloo called out as she impacted the monster and sent it flying back as the energy dissipated from around it, leaving the man from before lying prone on the ground.

Scootaloo reached down and picked up the card that had fallen at his side and looked at it. It depicted a woman bound and blindfolded with eight swords around her.

“The Eight of Swords,” she said as the front door to the hotel flew open and Sweetie Drops and Pharynx came in flanked by more agents.

“Is that him?” Pharynx asked as he gestured towards the unconscious form near her.

“Yeah, that’s him,” Scootaloo said with a nod as she removed the cards from her Driver and the armor vanished from around her. She flinched a little when she saw her arm was bleeding from the cut he had made “He put up quite a fight.”

“What card is that?” Sweetie Drops asked as Pharynx and the other agents picked up the unconscious form of the former monster.

“The Eight of Swords,” Scootaloo said as she showed it to her. “You guys were right, Swords Suit. What do I do with it?”

“Hold onto it for now,” Sweetie Drops said with a sigh. “But don’t use it until you’re ready. That’s an eight card and it’ll use more energy than the ace you’ve been using. If you use it now it might drain you too much.”

Scootaloo paused a moment as she looked down at the card for a moment and nodded. She had just gotten the hang of the Arcana Rapier anyway, she didn’t want to have to get used to a whole new weapon at the same time.

“I think you should go see your girlfriend,” Pharynx said as they started out. “She’s been radioing us every few minutes since you left from back at the car we left them in. I think she’s worried about you.”

“Yeah, I can imagine,” Scootaloo said with a chuckle as she placed the Eight of Swords in her pocket with the other cards.

Now she had 3 of the Tarot cards, that just left the rest of the Swords Suit. She just hoped that she was going to be able to do this.

And she hoped that she wasn’t always going to have to do it alone.

00000

Caesar slammed his fist down on the arm of his seat in the throne room of the Court of the High Arcana. He had been watching the fight as it unfolded and he was furious, yet another failure on the part of his subjects.

“What in the name of the Wheel happened?” He demanded as he looked at Priellit. “And where was Kuagua? I though he was supposed to be there to help!”

“Yes, well apparently he got sidetracked on the way there,” Priellit said as she shuffled the deck of cards again. “No matter, we got what we needed from Alupah. The Wheel is spinning again, and we are getting closer to reaching our goal.”

“You had better be right,” Caesar said as he got up and slammed his hands down on the table across from her. “This makes four failures counting the Ace being taken by that new threat. SMILE has only ever brought one Rider to bear on us in the past, the last thing we need is to have to worry about two.”

“You have little to worry about Caesar,” the voice of the man in black said as he walked into the room. “I have managed to procure something that will be of great benefit to us.”

“And what is that?” Caesar asked as he narrowed his eyes at the man. “I do not like being kept in the dark and you know that.”

“Tsk tsk, patience my dear Caesar,” the man in black said as he leaned on his cane a little and reached into his pocket. “One of our wayward souls have come back to us. It is simply a matter of figuring out who would be best suited to wield her power.”

“What do you mean?” Caesar demanded. “What kind of game are you playing now? Which one of the lost cards did you reclaim?”

“All will become clear in time,” the man in black said as he held up the card. He waved his hand and images of people around Canterlot appeared on the screen. “Somewhere in this city there is someone who can wield the power of this card. It is simply a matter of finding her and making sure that she joins our side.”

Priellit frowned a little as she glanced at the man in black from her visible eye. She didn’t like what he was saying, it felt like something bigger was going on here.

“Of course my lord,” she said. “We will do everything in our power to make sure that she is found.”
“Be sure that you do,” the man in black said. “Our master doesn’t suffer those who make mistakes. You are both already on thin ice, but if you can find the one that is worthy then you will give us an advantage. Draw it when she is truly ready, and we will make our move.”

He held the card out to Priellit who took it and looked at it. It depicted a woman with long hair and dressed in a regal outfit. She placed it on the top of the summoning deck and shuffled through it for a moment before setting it back down.

“When the time comes,” she said with a nod. “But are you sure that you can make her turn? And what makes you so sure she will be able to wield it?”

“She will be ready,” the man in black said and reached into his coat and took out a device. “We will use SMILE’s own technology against them.”

He smiled a little as he looked at the device, it was a Tarot driver.

00000

“Scootaloo!” Sweetie said as she hugged Scootaloo tightly. “Oh thank goodness I was so worried about you…”

“I was fine, just a little bruised and cut,” Scootaloo said as she hugged Sweetie back, her arm had been bandaged on her way back. “Agent Johnson’s teaching helped me a lot. There wasn’t really anything to worry about.”

“Still, Ah’m glad yah made it back,” Apple Bloom said as she placed her hand gently on Scootaloo’s shoulder. “Are yah sure yer okay?”

“Yeah, it’ll take more than a sword wielding monster to take me out,” Scootaloo said with a chuckle as she pulled Apple Bloom into the hug. “I just wish you could’ve been there with me.”

“Well, the plan was to get him angry,” Sweetie said with a chuckle. “I guess that worked, but promise me next time we get to help.”

“I promise,” Scootaloo said as she kissed Sweetie Belle lightly. “So, what are we supposed to do now?”

“For now, Ah think we should stay here in town, at least fer a few more days,” Apple Bloom suggested. “Ah’d think yah want ta get ta know yer family a bit better. Sweetie Drops and Pharynx said they’d get everythin’ wrapped up here before they head back ta Canterlot.”

“Yeah, that sounds good,” Scootaloo said as they got into the car and Apple Bloom started the car back up again. “Is everything going to be okay? We’ve still got a lot going on right now, I just hope that everything is going to be okay.”

“Yeah,” Sweetie Belle said with a sigh as she shook her head a little. “You managed to defeat another monster, how do you feel?”

“Well, I managed to get another swords suit card,” Scootaloo said and then chuckled a little. “I feel like I should be holding a deck box or something. I mean, there’s a lot of cards out there still and I’ve still got what, 12 more cards?”

“Yeah, unless there’s something else we don’t know about,” Sweetie pointed out.

“Like what?” Apple Bloom asked.

“I don’t know, we don’t know about it,” Sweetie said with a chuckle. “But seriously, I think we need to be careful. Something about all of this makes me uneasy like the other shoe is waiting to drop.”

“Yeah, I know what you mean,” Scootaloo said as Apple Bloom started up the car and headed back towards the town.

One of the people from the crowd watched them go before he snapped his fingers and was replaced with the smiling face of Kuagua. The Harlequin watched them go as he drew in the sand with a stick.

“Such a shame you had to fail again Caesar,” he said as tilted his head a little. “But the war with SMILE is just beginning. I may be crazy but I’m smart enough to know we need to know everything that our little Rider is capable of.”

He laughed a little as he took a bow and vanished again. He would have to explain himself, but he knew that his information would be valuable. He just hoped that it was going to work out.

00000

“I’m glad you could stay a few more days,” Holiday said as she and Scootaloo walked into the living room of Spirit Talker’s home the next day. Sweetie and Apple Bloom were talking with Spirit Talker and Lofty and were laughing a little. “It’s good to be able to get to know my niece a bit better.”

“Yeah, now that thing is out of the way it’s good to finally be able to relax and get to know where I came from better,” Scootaloo said as she stretched out a little. “Still, it kind of feels like we missed something.”

“Yeah, Ah know what yah mean,” Apple Bloom said as they looked up at her. “That first encounter on tha road, do yah think that was Alupah or what? Somethin’ about that bugs me since he didn’t even know we were on our way at that point, so either he was waitin’ ta attack random drivers or...”

They all paused a moment as they let that sink in. If it wasn’t Alupah, then what had they seen on the road? Had it been Alupah, or had it been an actual Skinwalker?

Scootaloo shivered a little, she didn’t want to think about it. “Pharynx was right,” she finally said with a sigh. “In a world like this one, it’s hard to tell what might be out there.”

“Come, come, now’s not the time to dwell on such things,” Spirit Talker said. “Whether or not such things exist is not for us to consider. There are many mysteries in this world that humans are not meant to truly understand.”

“Yeah, you’re right,” Scootaloo said with a smile.

“Now, let’s celebrate, you’ve saved the town from a very real monster and I have my Granddaughter back,” Spirit Talker said with a soft smile. “If that’s not a reason to celebrate, I don’t know what is.”

Scootaloo smiled and took a seat as they continued to talk for awhile. She asked them a few questions about her family and they learned more about her life, she was happy to tell them everything they wanted to know.

She was just glad to have the chance to know where she came from. But soon she knew she’d have to go back and continue the fight.

But now, she would savor this time she had.

The Silver Coin

A few days after the return from the Navajo Reservation Sweetie Drops opened the door to her small apartment in Canterlot. She sighed a little as she took a seat at a desk and brushed her hair back as she picked up a picture that was sitting on it. It was of her when she was younger with some of her friends.

She hadn’t really heard from them since she joined SMILE, it wasn’t that she couldn’t make friends outside the agency but she wasn’t sure if she could handle lying to them. Maybe that was why she lived alone, she was afraid to get close to anyone.

“What am I doing with my life,” she said with a sigh as she looked at the picture and then took out a card from her pocket. It was half a card that depicted a man reaching out with some sort of divine figure behind him.

Ironic really, the Lovers, a card that represented love and companionship. Half of it had come to her some time ago, and the other half… well no one really knew where that was. The best guess was that it belonged to someone else and that until she found that person she couldn’t use the card.

She just wished that she knew who that person was and how she could find them.

“Wherever you are out there, I’m sure you’re just as confused as I am about this thing,” she said with a chuckle as she put the card back away. “I just hope that you’re closer to figuring it out than I am.”

She had to admit she was a little jealous of Scootaloo. She still had her friends and even her lover, they had been written in because they could be trusted. Could the same have been said about her own friends?

She’d never find out now. She put it down and went over to the kitchen and set out to make dinner. For now, she was on her own and until SMILE picked up another reading of Order activity she didn’t have anything to do.

She just hoped that it wouldn’t be too long.

00000

“What do the cards tell you today, Priellit?” The man in black asked as he approached the masked woman as she shuffled the cards. “What is the will of the Wheel of Fortune?”

“You know as well as I do that it is not as simple as just asking,” Priellit said as she set the deck down in front of her. “I was not expecting you, it is usually Caesar that calls upon my services. What brings the second in command to our Master here?”

“Caesar’s lost his touch, the wheel is beginning to spin negative for him,” the man in black said with a smirk. “I on the other hand can give our new agent a better chance. What does the wheel say now Priestess?”

“The wheel spins, and the time is near,” Priellit said as she set the non-summoning deck down and drew the top card. It depicted a man and a woman with their hands intertwined and each holding a cup with winged snakes. “The Two of Cups, a card of unified love and partnership, curious.”

“Curious?” The man in black asked.

“The Two of Cups is a card that represents love or closeness between two individuals with similar ideals,” Priellit said. “Specifically, these are only in their early stages. Perhaps the Wheel is telling us that a new player is about to enter the scene, or something else.”

“Then we will be ready for them, draw our next card,” the man in black said as he looked at her. “I will perform the summoning myself this time.”

“As you say my lord,” Priellit said as she shuffled the summoning deck and placed it down on the table. “The Wheel of Fortune still spins, let us see what it gives us to bring us closer to the Convergence.”

She picked the top card off the deck and set it down on the table. It depicted a man that was chiseling at an archway surrounded by two other men and with three pentagrams hovering above his head.

“The Three of Pentacles,” she said. “A card that represents a lack of teamwork and a disregard for skills. An interesting choice on the part of the Wheel. Can you work with this?”

“Of course,” the man in black said as he picked up the card and began to chant in an unintelligible language. A fiery aura flared up around the card and Priellit stepped back, her visible eye going wide in surprise.

She had never seen him summon a card before, that was usually her job. She knew that he was a summoner but he had always left that role to her. As the chanting finished the card vanished from his hand and energy flew off out of the room.

“You had better know what you’re doing,” Priellit said as she picked up the deck and placed it back in her robes. “You know just as well as I do that she is out there somewhere and she’ll be looking for those cards.”

“Yes, I know, but I’ve taken extra precautions this time,” the man in black said. “We will not have a repeat of what happened with the Ace of Pentacles. The power I have given the spirit will require more than some mere Rider. This will not fail, I assure you.”

Priellit just glanced at him and went back to her table as she looked up at the screen. It was time to see if he was as good as his word.

00000

Elsewhere in Canterlot a man was writing on a piece of paper while some others were practicing on a bass and drums. The man writing frowned a little as he glanced up at the others with a shake of his head.

“I’m trying to write here… do you have to practice here?” He said.

“Hey, we picked this room because it has the best acoustics you know,” the bass player said as he shot him a look. “We have to practice for the upcoming battle of the bands if we want to do good. If you don’t like it Vic, you can always go write somewhere else.”

“I told you, this is where I think best!” Vic snapped back at him. “I need to get this song done for the battle of the bands.”

“We got into this band to make music, why don’t you let us help you write the song this time?” The drummer asked. “It would probably go by a lot faster if you did.”

“Why? Last time I let you do that your ideas were all terrible!” Vic said with a laugh. “We’d lose for sure if I let you two try and write again!”

“Yeah, well maybe we don’t want to be in a band with you anymore then,” the bass player said as he packed up his bass. “Come on Steve, let’s get out of here. If he wants to write music by himself he can.”

“Bah, fine, I don’t need either of you!” Vic said as he waved his hand dismissively. “I can write this myself! I can do this without either of you!”

The other band members just waved him off dismissively as they headed out. The drummer Steve muttered something about being by to get his drums later which just left Vic sitting there alone.

“I don’t need them… all I need is me, they’d just hold me back anyway,” Vic said as he crumpled up the paper he had been working on and threw it to the side. He started writing again on the paper. “Yeah… I can do this all by myself.”

He kept writing as he played on his guitar to try and get an idea of what he was writing. He scowled a little as he looked at the paper and kept playing with the guitar as he sighed a little. If he was going to do this on his own he had to make sure that he knew what he was doing.

“Alright Vic, you can do this, you’ve written music for yourself before,” he said as he frowned a little and tried to write more. “Come on, think… you can do this…”

“Do you need help?” A disembodied voice said from around him.

“Who the hell said that?” He said as he snapped up and looked around for the source of the voice. “Who’s there?”

“Someone who wants to help you,” the voice said as he felt a hand on his shoulder. “You have a lot of potential as a songwriter. If you agree to my deal, then I will give you the power to become the greatest singer and songwriter the world has ever known.”

“What do I have to do in return?” Vic asked.

“Serve the Order, help me take down our enemies and you will get everything you ever desired,” the voice said. “What do you say Victor, it seems like a small price to pay for your heart’s greatest desire. This is your chance to have everything you ever wanted, you only have to give me what I want.”

“Fine, you have a deal,” Vic said with no further hesitation.

The voice said nothing more as a card appeared on the ground in front of him. He reached forward and picked it up. His eyes glowed as the same symbol appeared on his chest. He knew what he must do to serve the Order.

As the power flowed through him he placed his guitar in the case and picked it up as he walked out of the basement and upstairs.

He had to get the best band together he could, one that wouldn’t argue with him. And now he had the power to do so.

00000

Scootaloo smiled a little as she watched Sweetie singing. She had come to the High Note Cafe for lunch and was mostly happy she was getting a chance to relax. There hadn’t been any sign of the Order since the incident on the Reservation so everything seemed to be calming down, for now at least.

“She’s got a beautiful voice,” a waitress with green hair and darker skin said with a small chuckle as she walked up to take Scootaloo’s order. “Let me guess, you’re that girlfriend she always talks about?”

“Heh, yeah, how’d you know?” Scootaloo asked.

“Let’s just say that usually when someone is that focused on Sweetie Belle they’re not interested in her voice,” the waitress said with a roll of her eyes. “Sometimes I think we get customers here who are just interested in us as eye candy.”

“It’s a shame, Sweetie’s been singing ever since we were kids and she’s still got a beautiful voice,” Scootaloo said with a shake of her head. “But, yeah I’m the girlfriend. I don’t have to knock any heads around here do I?”

“No, right now they’re mostly being quiet,” the waitress said with a chuckle. She couldn’t help but chuckle at the idea of the rather petite young woman trying to take on any of the people that would give Sweetie trouble. “Anyway, what would you like to eat?”

“Huh, oh yeah,” Scootaloo said as she ordered her usual. The waitress finished writing it down and walked off to the kitchen to turn it in.

She smiled a little as she looked back at Sweetie who was just finishing her song and spotted her watching. Sweetie gave her a slight wink as she finished singing and walked over to where her manager was before heading over to the table.

“On another break I see?” Scootaloo said with a chuckle as she raised an eyebrow at the young woman. “I heard from one of your co-workers that you’ve been having problems with boys staring at you.”

“Oh, nothing I can’t handle,” Sweetie said as she leaned in and gave Scootaloo a light kiss on the lips. “Besides, that’s just Lyra, she’s pretty new here.”

“Lyra?” Scootaloo asked as she raised an eyebrow curiously.

“Yeah, Lyra Heartstrings I think her name is,” Sweetie said. “She likes to talk about herself a lot, but she seems nice enough. She’s not much of a singer, but they hired her to do backup music from time to time.”

“Well, she seems nice enough, I don’t have to be jealous do I?” Scootaloo asked.

“Nope, you’re the only woman for me and you know that,” Sweetie said with a laugh as she gave Scootaloo a smile before she leaned in and whispered. “Besides, if they ever give me any trouble I’m sure Kamen Rider Justice wouldn’t mind making a, personal appearance to kick their butts.”

Scootaloo chuckled a little. While she didn’t find the idea of hurting humans appealing, she did want to do everything she could to keep Sweetie safe. She sighed a little and rest her head on Sweetie’s shoulder and closed her eyes.

That’s when her phone decided to go off. She groaned a little as she held it up, she was going to ignore it until she saw that it was from Fancy Pants. “Hello?” She asked as she answered the phone.

“Scootaloo, we’ve got an energy signature that’s heading right for the High Note Cafe,” Fancy Pants said on the other end. “I assume that you’re in the area to swee Miss. Belle. You need to get somewhere private and transform, something is coming and it’s letting off energy like nothing we’ve ever seen before.”

“That’s bad,” Scootaloo said as she looked at Sweetie who nodded towards the ladies room on the far end of the restaurant. “I’m on it.”
She got up and ran for the bathroom, throwing the door open just as there was the sound of glass breaking as something went through it from the front of the cafe.

A monster that looked like some sort of demonic rock star with a tall mohawk and dressed like a leather clad biker appeared. His face was covered with bizarre face markings and he had the symbol of the wheel on his chest with three pentagrams in the shape of a triangle and had a guitar strapped to his back.

“Well, it seems I’m just in time,” he said as he raised an ornately colored shotgun into the air and fired. “All of you, on the floor now!”

Sweetie checked her pocket and flinched a little when she realized that she didn't have her weapons with her. The waitress outfit wasn’t very good for that kind of thing anyway. She looked at the bathroom door and sighed a little as she laid down on the floor with the others.

The monster went through the group of terrified people one by one. He looked at Sweetie for a moment before moving on to another.

“Ah… there you are,” he said as he reached down and grabbed the prone form of Lyra Heartstrings by the neck as he pulled her up. “You are exactly who I’m looking for in a guitarist.”

“Leave me alone you freak!” Lyra said as she kicked at his chest, only to have it bounce off harmlessly.

“Now, now, that isn’t how you speak to me!” He said as he smirked. He whispered something in her ear and she went limp before he turned back to the others. “I thank you for finding this woman for me. I’ll be…”

“Letting her go!” Scootaloo said as she ran into the restaurant from the bathroom in her Kamen Rider armor as she swung her fist around and punched the monster in the jaw as hard as he could.

“What? Kamen Rider Justice, but how are you…” the monster said as he released Lyra from his grip. “No matter, this is far from over.”

He was about to reach for Lyra again before he felt a sword cut at his arm. Scootaloo held the Arcana Rapier out and pointed it at him.
“I wouldn’t do that, and don’t bother with the shotgun either,” she said as she glared at him from behind her helmet. “This is your only warning, leave her alone or face the consequences.”

“I will be back!” The monster said. “You cannot stop me forever!”

He glowered at Scootaloo before he turned around and ran off. Scootaloo offered a hand to Lyra who was snapping out of the trance he had briefly put her in as she took it and was pulled to her feet.

“Are you okay?” She asked as she looked at the older woman worriedly.

“Yeah, I’m fine, thanks,” Lyra said with a smile. “You’re Kamen Rider Justice right? I can’t believe you actually saved me.”

“I was in the area,” Scootaloo said with a chuckle as she rubbed the back of her head a little.

“We’ve got a team on the way, if you want to avoid suspicion you should transform back in the bathroom,” Fancy Pants said over her communicator. “Be careful, we don’t want to reveal your identity just yet.”

“Got it,” Scootaloo said as she looked back at Lyra and leaned in and whispered. “Can you do me a favor?”

“What’s that?” Lyra asked.

“Distract everyone, I need to get out of this armor,” Scootaloo answered and Lyra nodded as the armored young woman headed to the bathroom.

00000

Agent Sweetie Drops finished taking notes from the last witness. She put her pad away as she saw that the medics were done working on the woman who the monster had attacked. She sighed a little as she waited for the medics to finish before she talked to her.

She sighed a little, this was starting to get out of hand. This one had attacked a crowded restaurant in broad daylight, they had been lucky that Scootaloo was there for lunch, but what if she hadn’t been?

She was starting to think that maybe they were going to need another Rider. The only problem was going to be finding someone who could be one. Scootaloo had been a lucky find, it wasn’t going to be easy to find someone else like that.

She sighed a little as she headed over to where the waitress that had been attacked was as the medics finished. She took out her notepad and pen as the waitress looked up at her surprised.

“Bon Bon? Is that you?” The waitress asked as she looked up at Sweetie Drops surprised.

“Huh?” Sweetie Drops asked, and then she remembered that was the nickname that had been given to her by… “Lyra? When did you get back into town?”

“A few weeks ago, I got a job here playing music and waiting tables,” Lyra said with a chuckle as she shook her head a little. “Not exactly the glamorous life I dreamed of, but it’s not too bad here.”

“Well, it’s good to see you again,” Sweetie Drops said with a soft smile. Lyra had been one of her best friends in school, but they had dropped out of contact. She figured she had headed to Hollywood or somewhere else and didn’t know she was back in town. “You look great, I didn’t expect you to be here.”

“Yeah, well I didn’t expect to be attacked by a demonic punk rocker,” Lyra said with a chuckle. “So, what are you doing here, are you working for the CPD now?”

“Something like that,” Sweetie Drops said. “I just want to know what happened in there. I got statements from everyone else, but I want to know if you can explain a few things to me.”

“Okay,” Lyra said. “Ask away, anything for a friend.”

“Okay, first of all why do you think that guy was attacking you?” Sweetie Drops asked as she got ready to take notes.

“Honestly? I don’t know,” Lyra admitted with a shake of her head. “I’ve played the guitar here since I got the job and he seemed interested in that. I’ve never seen anything like that before, at least outside of the news reports.”

“Yeah, same here,” Sweetie Drops lied. “It’s been crazy ever since those started up. So, what happened next? The others said you kind of zoned out after the monster said something in your ear.”

“Yeah, I don’t know what that was about either,” Lyra admitted. “He whispered something to me and I just, went blank. I didn’t snap out of it until Justice intervened and drove him off.”

Sweetie Drops paused a moment as she looked back at where Scootaloo was seated with Sweetie Belle. She had interviewed them both already to keep up appearances, that definitely lined up with what they said. She sighed a little as she wrote on the paper, trying to get an idea of exactly what had happened.

It sounded like the monster had some abilities related to suggestion or sound and that worried her a little. There was something unsettling about the idea of a monster that could get into your head and make you do whatever he wanted.

“Do you remember what he said?” Sweetie Drops asked as she looked back at Lyra.

“Yeah, he said something like “sleep” before I zonked out,” Lyra said with a shrug. “I know that’s not very helpful.”

“No, that gives us something to work off of,” Sweetie Drops said with a sigh as she gave Lyra a nod. “The only thing is that there is always a chance that he will come after you again.”

“Well, what am I supposed to do about that?” Lyra asked. “I can’t live the rest of my life in fear of that thing. Can you or the police help me?”

Sweetie Drops sighed a little as she looked at her old friend. This was not an easy choice to make, she had always been afraid of letting anyone get too close to her for just this reason. If she did, Lyra would have a big target on her chest and she wasn’t sure what she could do about that.

But then again, Lyra already had a big target on her chest and they had no idea if the monster would be able to track her down or not. Heartstrings was not a very common name even in Canterlot, so there was always that risk.

“Don’t worry Lyra, we’ll take care of you,” Sweetie Drops said as she placed her hand on Lyra’s shoulder. “That’s what friends are for after all. How about you stay with me at my place, at least until this thing blows over.”

“You’d do that for me?” Lyra asked.

“Yeah, anything for my best friend,” Sweetie Drops said with a soft smile as she pulled Lyra in for a hug. “I promise you’re going to be okay.”

“Thanks, I’ll just go get some things from my apartment…” Lyra said.

“No, no we’ll take care of that,” Sweetie Drops said as she waved her hand. “You’re the one whose life is on the line here, we can’t put you at any further risk. I’ll get something arranged, just let me know what you need picked up from your house.”

“Okay,” Lyra said as she listed some things off which Sweetie Drops wrote down on the notepad and stuck it in her pocket.

“I need to make a call to my chief, hang tight and we’ll get everything worked out,” Sweetie Drops said as she got up and headed into the kitchen which had been cordoned off as their area for this kind of thing. She took out her phone and called Fancy Pants. “Sir, I’ve got the information you requested.”

“Good,” Fancy pants said on the other end. “Do we know exactly what we’re up against right now?”

“Well the eyewitnesses said that he wielded a shotgun,” Sweetie Drops answered. “That sounds like a Pentacles monster to me, supported by the description as well.”

“Right, well it was only a matter of time before they showed up again,” Fancy Pants replied with a soft sigh. Pentacles monsters were one of the more dangerous ones because of their preferred weapons. “Do you have any idea why we were getting such powerful readings?”

“No honestly, everything they said suggests it was only a level three monster,” Sweetie Drops said with a sigh. “That shouldn’t let off that much energy, should it?”

“No, not the amount we were detecting at least,” Fancy Pants replied and paused a moment. “I don’t like this, it feels like we’re missing something. Is it possible that they were hiding their number?”

“Possible, but I doubt it this thing sounds like a sound manipulator with limited suggestive abilities,” Sweetie Drops answered with a shake of her head. “Whatever this thing is, it’s either letting off a false signal or…”

“Or we’re dealing with a different summoner,” Fancy pants finished. “The summoner during the last incident was defeated and the card lost, I didn’t think they had gathered enough energy for a more powerful one yet. This is, certainly concerning, is there anything else?”

“They were after a waitress here, a guitar player named Lyra Heartstrings,” Sweetie Drops said with a sigh. “She’s an old friend of mine and I’m afraid that she’s going to be put in further danger because of that thing.”

“What would you suggest?” Fancy Pants asked.

“I’m going to have her stay in my apartment,” Sweetie drops answered. “Put a surveillance team outside and make sure that no one suspicious goes in. I can at least hold them off until Justice arrives if all else fails.”

“Agreed, we’ll make the necessary preparations,” Fancy Pants said on the other end. “This is not something we’d normally ask you to do. Are you okay with this?”

Sweetie Drops paused a moment as she looked out towards where Lyra was sitting. She looked more worried than anything else, but she was trying to put on a brave face.

“We can’t risk exposing our involvement yet,” Sweetie Drops said with a sigh. “Right now this is our best chance to keep her safe. I’d also keep an eye out for any reports of unusual activity involving musicians in the city. I think this guy is targeting musicians for some reason.”

“Understood, but that’s not going to be easy,” Fancy pants said. “We’ll get everything worked out. I’ll have Fleur check up on you from time to time, let me know if anything else happens.”

“Yes sir,” Sweetie Drops said.

“And Agent Sweetie Drops, be careful,” Fancy Pants finished before hanging up.

Sweetie drops sighed a little as she put her phone away. She just hoped that she was making the right decision and that this wasn’t going to make things worse.

“Everything okay?” Lyra asked as she came out of the kitchen.

“Yeah, I guess,” Sweetie Drops said. “Just cleared everything with the Chief. We’re going to have a protection detail in case that thing ever comes back.”

“Uh, exactly what are cops going to do against something like that?” Lyra asked as she raised an eyebrow at Sweetie Drops. “Is there something you’re not telling me Bon Bon?”

“It’s, nothing,” Sweetie Drops said with a shake of her head. “Don’t worry about it, you’re in good hands.”

“What, do you have Justice on speed dial or something?” Lyra asked which just made Sweetie Drops chuckle at how right she was.

“Come on, let’s wrap things up here,” Sweetie Drops said as she got up. “I’ll show you to my place and then we’ll get your stuff picked up.”

“Okay, thanks Bon Bon,” Lyra said with a smile as she hugged Sweetie Drops tight. The government agent paused a moment and smiled as she hugged her old friend back.

She just hoped that she really could protect her.

00000

“And here we are, it’s not much but it’s home,” Sweetie Drops said as she opened the door to her apartment. “It’s only a one bedroom so one of us is going to have to sleep on the pull-out couch bed.”

“That’s fine,” Lyra said as she sat down on the couch and looked back at Sweetie Drops. “I think it’s nice here. Is everything okay? You’ve seemed a little distracted ever since we left.”

“Yeah, I’m just thinking about what happened is all,” Sweetie Drops said as she took a seat across from her. “I mean, this isn’t exactly the first monster attack in the city, but…”

“It’s never been on a friend before?” Lyra asked as she raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah, pretty much,” Sweetie Drops said with a shrug. “Sometimes it just feels like there’s something more I could do to help with the whole thing but I’m being held back by fate.”

“You’re jealous of Kamen Rider Justice aren’t you?” Lyra asked with a chuckle.
“Maybe a little,” Sweetie Drops admitted as she brushed her curled hair back. “I know I shouldn’t be begging to get into a fight with these monsters. But at the same time, I know there is something I could do if I was in the right position.”

“Well, you never know, maybe she’ll need a sidekick or something,” Lyra said with a chuckle and Sweetie Drops shot her a look. “I’m kidding, geez. But what have you been up to? We haven’t talked in what, 8 years?”

“Almost nine,” Sweetie Drops said with a sigh. “It’s hard to believe that it’s really been that long to be honest.”

“The others said you haven’t been staying in contact with them either,” Lyra said. “It’s like you dropped off the map until you showed up at the High Note. What, did you get into organized crime or a cult or something?”

Sweetie Drops actually laughed a little at that. This wasn’t something she was ready to try and explain to Lyra, but she was just glad her old friend hadn’t changed that much.

Old friend, it had been so long since she had even thought of anyone as a friend. She had co-workers at SMILE that she was friendly with, but not really any friends. Sometimes she missed the old days with Lyra and the others.

Maybe she really should try and get back to having a life. There wasn’t much point in living her life alone, but she couldn’t tell Lyra the whole truth yet.
She hoped that she never would have to.

“So what’s for dinner?” Lyra asked and gave a small chuckle as she looked back at Sweetie Drops. “Did you ever actually learn how to cook? I seem to remember you being a nightmare in the kitchen.”

“No, nothing too special, I usually get take-out honestly it’s all my job affords me,” Sweetie Drops said as she placed her hand on the pocket where the card rested. “Listen Lyra, I… I’m sorry I haven’t been in much contact with you or the others lately. Everything’s just been so crazy busy and I haven’t really had time to think about it.”

“Don’t worry about it, I understand,” Lyra said with a soft smile. “You’re doing important work, I’m just a failed actress who came back home. I’m just glad that I found you again, even if I wasn’t expecting it.”

“Yeah,” Sweetie Drops said and smiled a little as she got up and took a seat next to her friend. “How are the others doing?”

“They’re all doing well last time I talked to them,” Lyra said. “Colgate started up a practice in some small town somewhere. Moondancer is now working on her doctorate I think. And well, everyone’s just kinda spread out.”

She sighed a little as she leaned back and looked back at Sweetie Drops. “We all miss you still, even with how spread out we’ve become we can always stay in touch. I think they’d be happy to hear from you again.”

“Yeah, maybe,” Sweetie Drops said and gave her a slight nod. “It’s just, I’m worried about what they might think about everything I’ve been doing. And that I might put them in danger because of it.”

“Bon Bon... Sweetie,” Lyra said, using her friend’s real name for a moment. “You’re out there fighting and putting your life on the line every day. I don’t think they’d think ill of you, and if you put them in danger then we’ll figure something out.”

“But you’re already in danger and there’s not much I can do about it,” Sweetie Drops said.

“Yeah, but you’re doing your best,” Lyra said with a soft smile. “You opened your home up to me when you didn’t have to. You’re doing everything you can to make sure that thing doesn’t hurt me, it means a lot, I’m just glad I won’t be stuck on my own.”

“Me too,” Sweetie Drops said as she laid her head gently on Lyra’s shoulder.

There was a knock on the door and Sweetie Drops got up and checked the door. She let out a sigh of relief when she saw that it was just one of the other agents who had been sent to get Lyra’s things and she opened the door.

“Here, this should be everything she asked for,” the agent said.

“Thank you,” Sweetie Drops said and added quietly. “Did you check it all over? There wasn’t any sign of their energy was there?”

“No, it was clear,” he whispered back. “There was some strange energy readings but we couldn’t find the source of it. Nothing to be worried about though, I think you’ll be fine.”
“Okay thanks,” Sweetie Drops said as she took the bag and gave the agent a nod. “I’ll talk to you later, I’ll call the office if we need anything else.”

“Thank you,” the agent said as he headed off and Sweetie Drops returned to the couch.

“Here, this should be everything you asked for,” she said as she gave the bag to Lyra. “Hopefully we won’t need to stay here for more than a few days but if you need anything else…”

“No, this should be fine,” Lyra said with a smile as she pulled Sweetie Drops into a tight hug. “Thank you so much Sweetie.”

“Heh, you know, that old nickname was kinda growing up me,” Sweetie Drops said with a chuckle. “Lyra, I really missed you. I wish I had tried to stay in better contact, I guess I didn’t really realize that until I found you again.”

“Yeah, same here,” Lyra said with a soft smile as she leaned in and gave Sweetie Drops a kiss on the cheek which made the dual color haired girl blush a little. “What?”

“I, just didn’t expect you to do that,” she admitted as she twirled her hair with her finger a little. “Why did you kiss my cheek?”

“To thank you silly,” Lyra said with a giggle as she hugged Sweetie Drops. “You were my best friend for years. I thought you liked it when I did things like that.”

Sweetie Drops blushed deeper, actually she did but she had completely forgotten that Lyra had used to do that. She shook her head, how long had she been away from her friends that she had forgotten something like that.

She was about to say something when she felt something warm against her chest. She blinked a little and reached into her pocket and took out the half of the card. She blinked a little as she looked down at it and realized that it was glowing.

“What the…” Lyra said as she reached into her purse and took out half of a card which was also glowing. “Bon Bon, do you know anything about this?”

“Where’d you get that?” Sweetie Drops asked.

“I don’t know, I found it awhile back when I first came back to town,” Lyra said as she held the card up. It depicted a woman with an outstretched hand and half of a divine form behind her. “This is weird, it’s never reacted like that before.”

Sweetie Drops paused a moment and turned her card around as she held it up next to the one Lyra was holding. They matched up perfectly, they were two halves of the same card as they glowed brighter and a musical tone came from them.

“Sweetie, what is going on?” Lyra asked as she looked at Sweetie Drops confused. “Why is this happening?”

“I, have to make a phone call,” Sweetie Drops said as she got up and picked up her cell phone. She went to the bedroom and closed the door as she hit the number for Fancy Pants’ office.

“Yes?” He asked as he picked up after a few rings.

“We’ve got a situation,” Sweetie Drops said. “Lyra has the other half of the Lovers card. It reacted to the two of us a few minutes ago, what should I do?”

“How much does she know?” Fancy Pants asked.

“Nothing more than what that public knows about the monsters and Kamen Rider Justice,” Sweetie Drops said. “I can write her in if we have to. Do you have any suggestions on exactly what I should do?”

“Tell her what you think would be best,” Fancy Pants said. “If there’s a chance that we can make this work with a Driver then it would certainly help with the situation. Talk to her and if she’ll agree, come to HQ.”

“Understood,” Sweetie Drops said. “Has there been any new reports on the current whereabouts of the monster?”

“Yeah, we’re getting readings on the north part of town,” Fancy Pants replied. “I’m sending Scootaloo to investigate. Hopefully this’ll be enough to stop the monster, but it would be good to have some backup.”

“Alright, I’ll try, I’ll let you know what happens” Sweetie Drops said as she hung up and headed back into the living room.

“Is everything okay?” Lyra asked.

“I need to tell you something, I don’t work for the CPD,” Sweetie Drops said as she reached into her pocket and took out her credentials which she showed to Lyra. “I’m with the Secret Monster Intelligence League of Earth or S.M.I.L.E.”

“Wait, you mean that rumored government agency that was supposedly formed to fight monsters?” Lyra asked. “I thought that was an urban legend or something.”

“Yeah, well we keep a low profile,” Sweetie Drops said with a sigh. “The only reason I’m even allowed to tell you this is because of the card.”

“So, what does that mean?” Lyra asked.

“It’s a long story,” Sweetie Drops said as she took a seat and took out the card half again. “These two halves contain spirits or something. I’ll tell you everything I know, and then you’ll have to decide whether or not to help.”

Sweetie Drops looked at Lyra and started telling her old friend everything.

00000

“Yesss… you’re all mine,” the punk rock monster said as a dazed looking young man walked forward. “You will serve me now and forever.”

“What is your bidding?” The hypnotized musician asked.

“Go to this address and wait for me there,” the monster said as he placed a piece of paper in hypnotized person’s hand. “You will go there and get ready for the Battle of the Bands.”

“Yes master,” the musician said as he got into his car and drove off.

“Yes, perfect, that meddling Kamen Rider may have stopped me last time, but now there’s nothing to hold me back!” He said with a cackle as he started to walk back towards his van when the sound of a motorcycle was heard.

He turned just in time to see Scootaloo come in for a stop on Forseti. She glared at him as she removed her helmet and took out her Driver.

“I’m not going to let you get away with this,” she said which just made the demonic rocker laugh loudly.

“Try me Rider, you’re nowhere near powerful enough to defeat my power!” He said. “I am Tripen, the new king of rock and roll and I’m not about to let you beat me!”

“We’ll see about that,” Scootaloo said as she placed the Driver on her waist as the belt formed around her and she slid the cards into the slot. “Henshin!”

“TIME TO TIP THE SCALES!”

The energy flew into her as the armor formed around her and she drew her Rapier. She pointed it at Tripen and gave him a nod. “Have at thee!”

“Time to rock!” Tripen said as he swung his guitar around so it was in his hands as Scootaloo ran forward at him. He strummed hard on the guitar and sent soundwaves at Scootaloo that sent her flying back.

Scootaloo groaned a little as she struggled to get to her feet. That hadn’t been what she expected, how was this guy suddenly so strong? She ran at him again, only to have him strum the guitar again and she was only barely able to dodge the sound attack again.

“What the heck… how did you get so strong?” She demanded as she avoided another attack just barely.

“I’m not your average rank three monster!” Tripen said with a laugh as he started playing faster on his guitar. “You’re going to have to try even harder to beat me, but you can’t because you have no range!”

Scootaloo growled as she ran at him again and dove down as she avoided the sound attack only to find herself face to face with his shotgun. She screamed a little as she got caught in the chest with the energy shot and fell back just as Tripen jumped up laughing.

“You have the disadvantage little girl!” He said as he spun around, playing music as he did which just sent more waves around him.

“This isn’t over…” Scootaloo said as she tried to dodge each of the sound attacks only to have one of them hit her and send her sprawling out on the ground. “This isn’t good…”
“For you maybe, but I think it’s perfect for me,” Tripen said as he stopped and looked back at Scootaloo. “You’re nothing more than a rookie. You can’t hope to stop the guitarist who plays with the power of hell itself!”

He laughed as flames started to surround him as he played harder. Each note he played manipulated the flames as soundwaves flew at Scootaloo, each one hitting her one after another. She finally fell forward onto her face and the armor shattered around her.

“That’s… not fair…” she said as she looked up to see the barrel of the shotgun pointed at her. “What are you going to do with me?”

“The Order wants you dead, and I’m obliged to fulfill their wish,” Tripen said as raised the shotgun only to scream as something impacted him from behind. “What the…”

He spun around only to see someone lining up another shot. This one caught him in the chest and he placed his hand over the wound before realizing that it was starting to bleed. The shadowy figure turned and ran off, a moment later the sound of a motorcycle was heard.

“Son of a… this isn’t over, I’ll get you later!” He shouted as he ran off to his van which just left a bewildered Scootaloo lying there.

“What the heck just happened…” She muttered as she got to her feet shakily. The sound attacks had hit her hard but she was able to remove the Driver and the cards. She dialed a number and after a moment Fleur answered. “We’ve got a problem.”

“We know, we were monitoring you the whole time,” Fleur said. “Are you okay? You took some hard hits back there.”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Scootaloo said. “I’m just a little shaken up, I haven’t felt any power like that even with Alupah and he was an Eight.”

“Yes, that’s very worrying,” Fleur said with a sigh. “I’ve already contacted your friends. Report back to headquarters, we might have something that can help with your next encounter.”

“Another upgrade?” Scootaloo asked as she headed back to where her bike was resting.

“Something like that,” Fleur answered. “I don’t want to get your hopes up. But did you get a look at whoever shot at the monster?”
“No, I didn’t they were in the shadows,” Scootaloo said as she picked up her helmet. “Do you have any idea what that might’ve been?”

“We picked up another energy reading in the area, but that’s about it,” Fleur said. “It could have been anything. I would approach with caution for now.”

“Understood,” Scootaloo said as she hung up and put her helmet on before she started back down the road towards the SMILE HQ.

00000

“That monster was letting off more energy than a Rank Three monster should,” Fleur said as Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, and Apple Bloom walked into the room. She was talking with Fancy Pants, Sweetie Drops and to their surprise Lyra from the restaurant. “If I didn’t know better I’d say the energy signature is closer to that of one of the Court monsters.”

“Tha Court monsters?” Apple Bloom asked.

“The face cards basically, page, knight, king and queen,” Fancy Pants answered as he adjusted his monocle a little. “They’re the most powerful of the Minor Arcana monsters. We were only able to defeat one of them 13 years ago and the card is under lock and key.”

“So, exactly what was that thing then?” Scootaloo asked. “If it wasn’t supposed to be that powerful, why was it?”

“The power of a monster in the Order is proportionate to the power of the Summoner,” Fleur answered with a shake of her head. “That much energy and that much power means that we’re dealing with an exceptional Summoner.”

“Summoner?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“It’s how they summon the monsters as far as we can tell, we fought against one 13 years ago,” Fancy Pants said. “They use their energy to awaken the card spirits and send them out to find a host is our guess. Unfortunately, we don’t know anything about this new summoner or how he or she works.”

“Because of course it wouldn’t be that easy,” Scootaloo said with a groan. “So, Tripen is that powerful because he was summoned by a very powerful Summoner?”

“Honestly, that’s probably what’s going on yes,” Fleur said. “Unfortunately unless we know who this summoner is there isn’t much we can do about him or her. We’re going to have to come up with a plan to dealing with the monster.”

“Well, whoever took a shot at him was able to catch him off guard,” Scootaloo pointed out. “If we could get ranged weapons that could weaken him that might be able to help.”

There was a pause for a moment before Fancy Pants looked up at Sweetie Drops and Lyra. “Perhaps that can be arranged. Flim and Flam are currently finishing scans on the card fragments you two brought us.”

“Wait, card fragments?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“It seems that the Lovers card actually has two spirits in it,” Fleur said as she glanced at the two. “We’re still figuring all the details out, but it seems that it requires two individuals who are incredibly close to one another to hold both pieces to work.”

“That’s, oddly specific,” Apple Bloom said as she blinked in confusion. “So, what are ya’ll gonna be Kamen Rider Lovers now?”

“That name is a little weird,” Lyra said.

“Kamen Rider Amores then,” Scootaloo suggested.

“We’ll discuss it,” Sweetie Drops said with a roll of her eyes.

The others just chuckled a little as they waited to hear word from Flim and Flam. Scootaloo paused a moment, she hadn’t been expecting this to happen, but if it gave them a new ally in fighting the Order, well that was a good thing right?

She hoped so at least.

00000

The group headed down to the labs where Flim and Flam were working. They looked up when the group entered and gave them a nod.

“Well, we have some good news,” Flim said as he looked back at them. “It seems that you have awoken the power of the spirits in the cards.”

“And it seems to be in tune with the Cups suit as well, interesting,” Flam added. “I think whatever force decides this kind of thing has an incredibly strange sense of humor.”

“Right, because the Cups are bows, the whole cupid thing,” Scootaloo said with a light chuckle. “Well, on the bright side that’ll help us against the monster.”

“Indeed,” Flim said as he took out a Tarot Driver and gave it to Sweetie Drops and gave the card pieces to the two women. “And I believe Stone is already finalizing the customization on a bike.”

“Of course he is,” Sweetie Drops said as she looked at Lyra. “I guess I’ll use the Driver, unless you want to.”

“No, you’re the one with the training, you should do it,” Lyra said. “Come on, this is cool, I want to see this.”

“Okay, okay,” Sweetie Drops said as she placed the Driver on her waist as the belt formed around her. “Henshin!”

She slid her piece of the card into the card slot on her Driver. At the same time the half in Lyra’s hand glowed with bright energy as it reformed in the card slot and energy started coming out of the Driver.

“LOVE CONQUERS ALL THINGS!"

Pink and red energy flowed over Sweetie Drops’ body. Brilliant red armor with pink markings crossing it formed over her body with a circle with a heart in it. A helmet formed over her head with hot pink eyes and appendages that formed her mouthpiece.

“Wow, I look, very red and pink…” Sweetie Drops said as she looked at her reflection in surprise before she looked back at the others. “How do I look?”

“Great,” Lyra said with a smile as she chuckled a little. “Who knew my friend would be a Kamen Rider?”

“Join the club,” Sweetie and Apple Bloom said with a roll of her eyes.

“Come on, let’s get the Ace of Cups out of storage,” Fleur said and Sweetie Drops gave her a nod. “Are you ready for this Agent Drops?”

“Yeah, I’m as ready as I’ll ever be,” Sweetie Drops said with a nod as she looked back at her reflection.

She had known this day might come for awhile, but still there was something odd about it. She couldn’t place her finger on it, but something about this made her feel weird.

She just hoped that she really was going to be able to help.

The Kind Lover

Sweetie Drops was handed a card as she took her spot at the training center. Several targets appeared at the far end and she took a deep breath as she looked at the card. It depicted a single cup, the Ace of Cups, her weapon card.

“Alright Sweetie, you can do this,” she said as she slid the card into the slot on her Driver.

“Arcana Bow!” The Driver said as an ornately designed bow appeared in her hand.

“Alright, this should be simple,” Stone said over the intercom. “If you pull back on the bow an arrow should appear that you can use. We’ve never experimented with a Cups card before, but that should do the trick.”

“Nice to know I’m the first,” Sweetie Drops said as she raised the bow and aimed for the target. She drew back on the bow and was surprised to feel resistance as an arrow made out of pink energy formed. She stumbled a bit with it and sent it flying into the wall behind the target she was aiming for. “Crap…”

“It’s okay, you’re not used to using this kind of weapon yet,” Fancy Pants said over the intercom. “You just need a little practice and you’ll get the hang of it. I suggest trying again but wait a moment for the feeling of the bow to stabilize. You can get used to it easily enough.”

“Right,” Sweetie Drops said as she aimed the bow at the target again. She concentrated as she pulled the string back and the same energy arrow appeared in it. “Just keep it steady… figures that I get the archery card…”

“Is she nervous? I feel like she’s nervous,” Lyra’s voice said in her head which startled her so much she sent the arrow flying into the window separating her from the others and cracking it.

“What the hell?” Sweetie Drops asked as she looked around confused. “Why did I just hear Lyra’s voice?”

“What are you talking about?” Lyra said as she moved up to the intercom. “I didn’t say anything.”

“No, you didn’t say anything, it was more like it was in my head,” Sweetie Drops said as she placed her hand on her head. Something about this was weird, why could she suddenly hear Lyra’s thoughts like that?

“Okay, I heard that,” Lyra said suddenly as Sweetie Drops snapped up and looked at her. “You’re confused right?”

“Yeah…” Sweetie Drops said as she blinked from behind the visor. “Director, do you have any idea what’s going on?”

“Possibly,” Fancy Pants said. “Given that we’ve never used a card like this anything at this point is merely speculation. The closest thing I can think of is Kamen Rider W in Japan, some reports suggest that they had some sort of, psychic link to one another while wearing the Driver.”

“Right, that makes me feel so much better,” Sweetie Drops said. “That’s not going to help me shoot straight. I’m not an archer you know.”

“I know,” Fancy Pants said as he looked at Lyra. “But you’re going to have to learn. Right now we need all the help we can get if we want to take down Tripen and you’re the best chance we have at actually wounding him.”

“Don’t worry, you’re going to be fine,” Lyra said. “Remember everything you learned back at camp? You weren’t that bad with the bow and arrow back then.”

“Yeah, but that was years ago,” Sweetie Drops said as she raised the bow again and pulled back as she aimed the arrow at the target once more. “I don’t know if I can do this…”

She felt a strange sensation at that as if someone was placing their hands on her’s. She paused a moment as she held the bow steady, the sensation was not unpleasant, it felt, warm and kind. She steadied the bow and fired at the target, hitting it in the crotch.

“Were you aiming for that?” Lyra asked with a chuckle through their strange connection and Sweetie Drops just chuckled a little.

“This is going to take a lot of getting used to you know,” she said as she raised her bow again and pulled back on the string. “Just don’t go poking around in my head, I’ve got secrets in there you shouldn’t know about.”

“Oh, what’s this? The Colonel’s Secret Recipe?” Lyra asked with a laugh as Sweetie Drops let loose another arrow, this time impacting a target in the shoulder.

“Much better,” Fancy Pants said over the intercom. “Keep it up and you’ll be a real archer in no time. Just make sure that you don’t mess up too badly.”

“Like what, accidentally shoot my teammate?” Sweetie Drops asked as she raised her bow again and pointed it at a target that suddenly started moving. “What is this, Dungeons and Dragons?”

“The risk is always there, and you can’t always be shooting at stationary targets,” Fancy Pants said. “You have to be able to hit any target with the same amount of speed and accuracy. This is how the archer works and you are going to have to learn.”

“Right,” Sweetie Drops said as she readied her bow and aimed for where the target was but missed. “Son of a…”

“You don’t aim for where he is, you aim for where he’s going to be,” Lyra’s voice said. “Come on Bon Bon, I know you can do this. Just line up your shot, try to anticipate your target’s next move, and you’ll be fine.”

“When did you become an archery expert?” Sweetie Drops asked as she aimed the next arrow at the target. After a moment she let loose and hit the target square in the chest.

“Oh, you know, I spent a few summers as a camp counselor, I needed to find work somewhere,” Lyra said with a laugh. “I picked up a few tips on archery, so don’t worry. Just think of me as your personal archery teacher. Relax your grip, don’t be too tense or it’ll throw off your shot.”

“Right,” Sweetie Drops said as she looked at the target and aimed the nearest target that started to move again. “I’ve got this… I hope.”

She pulled the bow back as the lined her shot up with the target and let loose another arrow that caught it in the arm. She quickly drew it back again and shot it in the leg, then the stomach.

“Okay, so I never had someone who could conjure up arrows like that, nice work,” Lyra said with a chuckle. “I think you’ve gotten the hang of this, just keep practicing as best you can and we’ll be fine.”

“Right,” Sweetie Drops said as she continued to practice on the targets as best she could.

00000

Sweetie Drops sighed as she laid on the couch in her apartment. She was feeling sorer than anything else after having trained with the bow. She sighed a little as she placed an ice pack on her arm and closed her eyes as she laid back.

“You didn’t do too badly out there,” Lyra said as she took a seat on the chair near her. “It’s not exactly the same as going after a real thing though. Are you sure you’re going to be okay?”

“Yeah, I guess,” Sweetie Drops said with a shrug as she looked at the Tarot Driver for a long moment. “It’s weird, ever since I started working for SMILE and found half the card I knew I was supposed to use it. But, I don’t know now that I’m actually here…”

“It feels like the weight of the world is suddenly on your shoulders?” Lyra asked and Sweetie Drops nodded a little. “Yeah, I get what you mean and I’m not even the one using the Driver. What if something happens while I don’t even have the card with me? Doesn’t it only work if we’re both holding them?”

Sweetie Drops paused a moment, she hadn’t even thought of that. Even if she was the one holding the Driver it wouldn’t do them much good if they weren’t both holding their halves of the card.

“Okay, you have a point there,” she said with a sigh. “We’re going to have to figure that out. Maybe there’s something we can do about it to make sure that we don’t get into that situation. For now, I’ll give you my phone number and we’ll try to keep track of the halves, maybe we can put them in a necklace or something.”

“Who knew being a superhero would be so complicated?” Lyra said with a sigh as she took out her half of the Lovers card and looked at it for a long moment. “It’s weird huh? We haven’t seen each other in years but we both found part of this card.”

“Yeah, funny how that works out,” Sweetie Drops said with a sigh as she shifted over and looked at Lyra for a long moment. “I just wish that we wouldn’t have been drawn together by this kind of thing.”

“Do you know what the thing was after when, Justice… I mean Scootaloo confronted him?” Lyra asked.

“Sounds to me like an amateur drummer who was living nearby,” Sweetie Drops said with a shake of her head. “We’ve been trying to track him down ever since with no luck. I’m afraid that Tripen or whatever his name is may have gotten his claws on the guy.”

“That’s not good,” Lyra said with a shake of her head. “Do you still think he’s going to come after me?”
“I wouldn’t rule it out,” Sweetie Drops said with a shake of her head. “If he’s trying to collect musicians then he’s either going to stick to certain targets or find new ones. Given that it’s not easy to just find a new target without studying them it might depend on his timetable.”

“So, basically we have to hope that he doesn’t get pressed for time and will go after someone else?” Lyra asked.

“Yeah, probably,” Sweetie Drops said, really the truth was that it would be easier if he went after Lyra because they could find him that way. “But something about all of this still bugs me. It feels almost like we’re missing something.”

“Who knows, maybe he’s trying to enter the Battle of the Bands or something,” Lyra said with a shrug and Sweetie Drops looked at her surprised. “What? It’s in a few days, it would make sense if he’s trying to put together a band right?”

“I didn’t even think of that,” Sweetie Drops admitted as she brushed her hair back a little. “That makes a lot of sense, to be honest. So, if he’s trying to form a band, why doesn’t he just get musicians? Why go through all this trouble?”

The two women thought about that for a long moment. Lyra took out her phone on a hunch and went through some things on it without looking up at Sweetie Drops.

“How exactly do these card spirits pick their hosts?”

“Well, we’re still figuring that out, but we think that it’s connected to the meaning of their cards,” Sweetie Drops said. “They seek out the most compatible individuals and make deals with them. Both the Five of Cups and the Eight of Swords seemed to work on this logic when Justice fought them, both exhibited their negative traits.”

“Three of Pentacles,” Lyra said as she read off the screen. “It sounds to me like the Three of Pentacles reversed is someone who doesn’t have a high opinion of those he works with. He ignores their input and only cares about what he can do.”

“I see,” Sweetie Drops said as Lyra handed her the phone and she read over the page from the site on the Three of Pentacles. “It looks like a pattern is definitely starting to emerge. So, what do you think, the leader of a band who had, creative issues with the others?”

“Maybe, it’s not that uncommon in the music industry, especially among amateurs,” Lyra said with a shrug. “It’s what makes the most sense to me right now. Unfortunately, it doesn’t exactly narrow down a potential identity.”

“No, but it’s a start,” Sweetie Drops said and gave Lyra a soft smile. “This is definitely a good start. We at least have an idea of exactly what kind of person we’re dealing with.”

“And it explains the mid control element,” Lyra added. “They don’t want anyone to argue, they just want them to follow their vision blindly. Basically, they’re trying to create yes-men, and I don’t like it.”

Sweetie Drops paused a moment, Lyra was right of course. Something about that still bugged her, and she had a feeling that it had to be more than just that.

“You mentioned the Battle of the Bands,” she said as she looked over at Lyra. “How big is that usually?”

“Well I’ve never been to one personally, but I’ve heard that they tend to draw big crowds,” Lyra said. “They’re a pretty popular thing on the local music scene. I was thinking about going myself if I had time.”

“I’m starting to think that we’ve got bigger problems than just vanishing musicians,” Sweetie Drops said. “If this monster does have the ability to control people…”

“Then if they play at the Battle of the Bands, it could brainwash the entire crowd,” Lyra finished as her eyes went wide. “They’d have an army of mind-controlled servants.”

“The Order would just become more powerful, especially if they started spreading the music,” Sweetie Drops added as a chill ran up and down her spine. “This is bad, this is very bad.”

“Agreed,” Lyra said with a sigh. “So what do you suggest we do?”

“Me?” Sweetie Drops asked.

“Yeah, you’re the monster hunter here, don’t you have any ideas?” Lyra asked.

“First, we need to tell the Director our suspicions,” Sweetie Drops said with a sigh as she looked at Lyra. “If we’re right and that’s what Tripen is planning, then we’ve got a big problem on our hands. We’re going to have to approach this carefully, especially if they are able to pull this off. Right now, we have to beat that demonic rocker and stop him from doing whatever it is he is planning to do.”

“Geez, never thought I’d turn into Batman,” Lyra said with a groan.

“Batman?” Sweetie Drops asked as she looked at her confused.

“You know, Fortunate Son, he fought against the “evils” of Rock and Roll,” Lyra said which just left Sweetie Drops more confused. “Okay, first chance we get, you are binge watching Atop the Fourth Wall Bon Bon.”

“I’ll, take your word for it,” Sweetie Drops said as she just looked at her confused for a moment. “Let’s just worry about dealing with this monster first, I’ll call Scootaloo and we’ll work on coordinating our attacks a bit if we have to.”

“Heh, Kamen Riders Justice and Amores working together,” Lyra said with a chuckle. “That sounds like a weird buddy cop movie to me.”

“Hey, I never agreed to that name,” Sweetie Drops said. “I think we’re still in the discussion phase of my name.”

“Oh I don’t know, something tells me it’s going to stick,” Lyra said with a laugh. “Besides, I’m sure Scootaloo is just as nervous about this whole thing as you are. And if you ever need anything, you know I’m right here by your side right?”

“Yeah, I know,” Sweetie Drops said and smiled softly. “Thank you for coming back Lyra, I don’t know where I’d be right now if you didn’t.”

“Well, it was that or keep trying at a floundering career, I think I made the right choice,” Lyra said with a chuckle. “But you’re very welcome Bon Bon. I’m just glad that I found you, even if it’s under such weird circumstances.”

Sweetie Drops nodded as her mind drifted off towards the card. The Lovers, was that supposed to have a deeper meaning than just the close friendship that she and Lyra had? It felt weird to have the card be that specific right now.

She just shook her head and sighed. This wasn’t the time to be thinking about this, she just wanted to deal with Tripen so that Lyra could get back to her normal life. So that he couldn’t threaten the city again.

After all, that was her duty, to protect Canterlot and its people. She just hoped that she was going to be up to the task.

00000

“So, another Kamen Rider huh?” Apple Bloom asked as the three friends were seated at their kitchen table that night eating pizza. “Ah gotta admit, Ah wasn’t expectin’ that, or at least not this soon.”

“The timing is good at least,” Scootaloo said with a shrug as she took a bite. “We needed a Rider with ranged attacks and it sounds like Agent Sweetie Drops can provide that. Still, something kind of bugs me.”

“What’s that?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“Someone was shooting at Tripen when he had me on the ropes,” Scootaloo said. “They weren’t aiming for me, they hit Tripen clean in the back and chest. I’m starting to get the feeling that someone else out there doesn’t exactly like the Order.”

“Can yah blame them?” Apple Bloom pointed out. “They are causin’ nothin’ but trouble fer this city. Ah wouldn’t mind gettin’ a few shots at them mahself. When do we get a shot anyway?”

Scootaloo sighed a little, that was not an easy question to answer. Though, the throwing knives might be more useful than anything else in this situation. They just had to make sure that they caught Tripen by surprise.

“You’re right of course,” she finally said with a nod. “And given how powerful this monster is, we’re going to need all the help we can get to take him down. This could be a good opportunity to use those knives.”

“We’ve always got your back Scoots,” Sweetie Belle said as she placed her hand on her girlfriend’s and squeezed it gently. “If you think that we can help with this, then we’ll help as best we can.”

“Yeah, that monster won’t know what hit him,” Apple Bloom said with a grin as she took another bite of her food. “Yah saw how good we became with those knives. And not ta mention now that SMILE has access ta some Soul Metal they’re gonna be makin’ new weapons with it ta help out.”

“The Order is going to have a lot more than just Riders to worry about,” Sweetie Belle said with a nod. “This is our fight too you know. If they’re threatening the city then we want to help too. Just make sure we get a chance to okay?”

“Got it,” Scootaloo said and gave Sweetie a soft smile. “I did promise that you’d be able to help didn’t I? Again, sorry about how things went with Alupah.”

“Not yer fault,” Apple Bloom said with a shrug. “There ain’t no point in dwellin’ on it.”

“So, did you get any impressions about this, Tripen while you were fighting him?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“He was a bit full of himself,” Scootaloo said with a shrug. “He liked to mock me, like, more than usual to be honest. I couldn’t even get in close because of his sound attacks, it was weird like he didn’t want to risk me getting too close.”

“Yeah, that ain’t good,” Apple Bloom said with a shrug. “Sounds ta me like he’s playin’ it smart, but he needs ta be knocked off his high horse. Ah don’t suppose we’ll have back-up from whoever was takin’ shots at him.”

“Probably not, I still don’t even know who that was,” Scootaloo said with a shake of her head. “And Fancy Pants is being cryptic about it, I think he knows something that he isn’t letting on yet. I don’t like it when people hide things from me.”

“Well Scootaloo he is a secret agent, I’m sure it’s just a habit for him,” Sweetie said with a shrug.
“If it was important, I’m sure he’d have told you what was going on.”

“Yeah, you’re right,” Scootaloo said with a sigh. “I just wish I knew what was going on with that strange figure. Something tells me that they’re going to be more important than we know.”

“Well, there’s no point in dwelling on mysterious figures right now,” Sweetie Belle said as she finished her slices of pizza. “Right now, we need to relax and hope that we can come up with a plan to take down Tripen. The longer he’s out there, the more of a threat he’s going to be, right?”

“Right,” Scootaloo said with a soft sigh. “And if he’s going after musicians, I’m worried he might go after…”

She let that thought trail off and Sweetie sighed a little and leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. “Don’t worry Scootaloo, if he tries anything I’ll be just fine. I’ve still got at least one knife with me at all times and I know that he’ll have to deal with you. I trust you to help me if I really need it, and I can fight back as well.”

“Really?” Scootaloo asked and Sweetie nodded a little. “Thanks, that, really helps me a lot. Just promise me you’ll be careful okay? I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

“We’ll both be careful,” Apple Bloom said. “Ah promise, we can take whatever tha Order can throw at us. Ah’m not gonna let some monster beat me.”

“Yeah, same here,” Sweetie Belle said. “Your grandmother said those knives are very effective when it comes to slowing them down at least. We can help, and we want to, we just need the chance to.”

“Alright alright, I get it,” Scootaloo said with a chuckle. “I’m going for a walk to clear my head, okay? I’ve got a lot to think about.”

“Don’t be too long,” Sweetie said and gave Scootaloo a kiss on the cheek. “I love you Scoots.”

“I love you too Sweetie,” Scootaloo said as she pulled her coat on and headed out of the apartment.

00000

Scootaloo sighed a little as she reached a nearby park. She took a seat on the bench, even as it was getting dark she just wanted to get a chance to sit down and relax and try and figure out everything that had happened.

She brushed her purple hair back as she leaned back on the bench and stared up at the darkening sky above her. There was a lot to take in right now, she had made it a point to do everything she could to help the city but Tripen had trounced her.

Heck, if it wasn’t for that strange woman, she probably wouldn’t have survived the encounter. They were right, she needed help, there was no way she could take these monsters on her own if they were all going to be that strong from here on out.

She just hoped that Sweetie Drops was up for the task. And that she was up for the task, she wasn’t really sure about either one of them.

“Something on your mind kid?” A voice said from next to her and she snapped up to see an old man with short grey hair, aviators sunglasses and a mustache standing there dressed in a green sweater.

“Nothing anyone would really understand,” Scootaloo said with a sigh as she looked over at him.

“Try me, I’ve seen a few things in my day,” the old man said and gestured to the bench next to her. “Do you mind if I take a seat?”

“Yeah, go ahead,” Scootaloo said, this was a strange thing to happen but she figured that if he was going to try anything she’d be fine. “I’ve just got a lot on my shoulders right now, it feels like everything’s coming down around me.”

“I think I’ve got an idea of what you’re feeling,” the old man said. “I’m still trying to figure out what’s going on in this crazy town myself. I heard about what was going on with Kamen Rider Justice, does this have anything to do with that?”

“How’d you guess?” Scootaloo asked.

“I’ve got an eye for this kind of thing,” the old man said with a chuckle. “Go ahead, you can tell me, I’m not going to tell anyone.”

“I’m Justice,” Scootaloo said with a sigh. “I got into a fight with a monster earlier and, well it didn’t go well for me. I don’t really know what happened, but I’m, almost afraid that if I go out there again, it might kill me.”

“Is going out there and stopping that thing the right thing to do?” The old man asked.

“Yeah, even with the new help I got, we’re going to need to work together if we want to defeat him,” Scootaloo said. “I’m not much of a superhero, am I? I’m supposed to keep this city safe, but I keep being afraid that something horrible is going to happen.”

“Tell me, do you know what makes a superhero?” The old man asked. “In my experience, a superhero is someone who stands for what is right. It’s someone who knows that the odds are against them but they stand up to evil. You don’t need powers to be a superhero kid, all you have to do is be able to stand for what is right.”
“I don’t even know if I can do that,” Scootaloo admitted with a soft sigh. “I’m too nervous to even try right now. My friends want to help, I’ve got someone else who’s able to transform, but I don’t know how to tell any of them how I feel right now.”

“Yeah, I see that,” the old man said and gave her a sad smile. “You’re going to have to make a choice. Do you live in fear, or do you overcome that fear and keep fighting the fight that you know deep down you need to? The way I’ve heard it, this city believes in you, they know you’re here to help and that you can do it. Being a hero is not about being without fear, it’s about being afraid and acting anyway.”

Scootaloo paused a moment and then smiled softly. “You’re right,” she said with a nod. “Do you think I can beat that thing?”

“I think, if you work together with your friends, then you can do it,” the old man said. “You’re going to have a long trial ahead of you. There will always be those who believe you should stop or give up, but don’t listen to them. Even if you’re the one thinking it. I know a thing or two about superheroes, and I know that you’ve got it in you to be a great one.”

“Thanks, Mr…” Scootaloo said as she trailed off for a moment as she realized she never caught the old man’s name.

“Call me Stan,” he said as he got up and offered her a hand.

“Scootaloo,” Scootaloo said as she shook his hand gently. “Do you come around here often?”

“You might say I’m just passing through on my way somewhere else,” Stan said as he gave her a soft smile. “Take care of yourself Scootaloo. Be the hero that I know you can be and nothing will stand in your way.”

Scootaloo nodded as the old man walked off, she turned her head for a moment and when she looked back she realized he had vanished.

“I’m seeing things…” she muttered as she shook her head, but he had given her a lot to think about.

She just hoped that he was right.

00000

The next day passed without much incident, despite having all the satellites at their disposal pointed at Canterlot SMILE couldn’t get so much as a blip of activity. Sweetie Drops stayed with Lyra at the apartment.

It wasn’t until the morning of the next day, with only one day left until the Battle of the Bands that something came up.

“Are you sure you got a reading from here?” Scootaloo asked as she and Sweetie Drops pulled up in front of an old abandoned warehouse. “Because we’re not seeing anything.”

“Confirmed, everything is pointing to a large energy signature in that area,” Fleur’s voice said on the other end. “What do you see there?”

“Nothing honestly,” Scootaloo said as she looked around confused. “Do you see anything Agent Drops?”

“No, I can’t say that I do,” Sweetie Drops said as she looked around. They headed into the warehouse which just left them more confused since it was just as empty inside. “I don’t like this, it feels like we’re walking into…”

“A trap?” A woman’s voice said from above them and they snapped up to see a black-clad woman with a hat pulled down over her face. “Please, I wouldn’t be so petty. I simply wanted to had a chat with you.”

“Who are you?” Scootaloo asked as she placed her hand on her Driver nervously. “Do you work for the Order?”

“No, but I had a feeling that energy would draw your attention,” the woman said. “I heard that there was a new Rider in town, I wanted to see for myself. You’re not exactly what I expected, a bit short really.”

“Hey, why don’t you come down here and say that to my face!” Scootaloo said as she started to take out her Driver but Sweetie Drops placed her hand on Scootaloo’s shoulder.

“Calm down, she’s trying to test you,” the older woman said as she turned her attention back to the strange woman. “It seems like you went through a lot of trouble to get our attention. What do you want?”

“You’re aware of the summoner I assume,” the woman said. “You’re in a lot of trouble if it’s who I believe it is. There is only one summoner in the Order that is powerful enough to do that, and he is second only to their Master.”

“How do you know so much?” Sweetie Drops asked. “I doubt you just happened upon this kind of information.”

“I am privy to the inner workings of the Order, that is all you need to know right now,” the mysterious woman said. “I’m here because you need my help.”

She reached into her pocket and took out a box of bullets. She tossed them down with surprising precision as Scootaloo caught them.

“What are these?” She asked.

“They’re similar to Soul Metal, they can wound Agents of the Order, SMILE may be able to use them,” the woman said. “They’re what was used against Tripen earlier.”

“Wait, you were the one who shot him?” Scootaloo asked as she blinked in confusion. “Why did you save me from him?”

“Because I hate the Order with every fiber of my being,” the woman said. “They did a lot of things to me and my family, things that you wouldn’t completely understand. I want to see them all pay for that, and I will do whatever I can to make sure that happens.”

“Understood,” Scootaloo said with a nod as she gave the box to Sweetie Drops. “I still don’t understand why you’re so interested in me now.”

“Riders are the only thing that can stop the Order, you draw on their power and use it against them,” the woman said. “This is your best chance to stop them once and for all before it’s too late.”

Scootaloo paused a moment, what did she mean by too late? Did this strange woman know something that they didn’t about what was going on? She didn’t like being kept in the dark about what was happening, but at least she seemed to be on their side.

“Thank you,” she said softly.

“Don’t thank me, not yet,” the mysterious woman said as she adjusted her hat a little. “Once the Order is defeated then you can thank me. The world would be a better place if we didn’t need to resort to such things.”

“Yeah, like there won’t ever be a threat again,” Sweetie Drops said with a roll of her eyes. “We know the Order isn’t the only threat out there.”

“Yes, but they are the most immediate threat, and the one that we need to deal with,” the mysterious woman said. “The fact of the matter is that we are at war. You can’t always play nice with your enemy, even if they are being used. Sometimes the world is better off without that kind of scum.”

“I don’t agree,” Scootaloo said. “We have to avoid killing them unless necessary or we’ll be no better than they are. We can’t lose our humanity just because we’re fighting against monsters.”

“An idealistic view, but not unexpected,” the mysterious woman said. “You need to be careful young Scootaloo Dash. This world is a treacherous one, and we cannot always afford to be merciful.”

“What do you…” Scootaloo started to say but the mysterious woman just turned and walked off into the upper floor of the warehouse. “What was that about?”

“Honestly? I have no idea,” Sweetie Drops said as she blinked in confusion and tapped her communicator. “Director, Fleur, did you get all of that?”

“Yes, and it concerns us,” Fancy Pants said on the other end. “Also it seems that Tripen struck again while we were directing our attention here.”

“What? How?” Scootaloo asked. “We had every satellite we could aim here, how did we miss them?”

“He grabbed a bass player from Phoenix,” Fleur answered. “He knew we were going to be watching for him in Canterlot so he left town to do it. And we’re no closer to figuring out his identity.”

“So, what are we going to do?” Sweetie Drops asked.

“If you’re right and this is about the Battle of the Bands, then we’ll have to stake that out,” Fancy Pants said. “We don’t have a lot of choice at this point unless his signature comes up again this is going to be our best chance to stop him.”

“Agreed,” Scootaloo said with a sigh as she looked back at Sweetie Drops. “This isn’t good, they’re going to have a chance to take as many as they can. Do we have any plans on how to filter out the suggestion?”

“Flim and Flam are working on that now,” Fleur answered. “Hopefully that’ll be done in time for the Battle of the Bands tomorrow. We don’t know a lot about what’s going on, but this is our only chance to do it. The fate of the city if not the whole world is on your shoulders.”

“Yeah, thanks for not putting the pressure on us at all,” Sweetie Drops said with a groan as she looked back at Scootaloo. “Do you really think we’ll be able to do this?”

“Yeah, we can,” Scootaloo said with a smile. “We have to, this is our best chance to save the city. That’s our job isn’t it?”

“Yeah, I know,” Sweetie Drops said with a nod. “I’m ready if you are.”

Scootaloo nodded as they headed back out and climbed aboard their bikes. She looked back at the warehouse and sighed a little.

She just hoped that everything was going to be okay.

00000

“WHERE IS HE?” Caesar demanded as he stormed into the throne room.

“Who are you looking for? Priellit said without looking up from her table.

“That insufferable second in command, the master placed me in charge of this invasion force, but he circumvented my authority by sending a monster!” Caesar said as he sneered. “I will not stand for this, the Master…”

“The Master doesn’t care about your petty squabbles Caesar,” the cold voice of the man in black said as he walked into the room. “And with all your failures you have been on thin ice. It was bad enough that we failed 13 years ago, now you honestly expect me to believe that you believe the same old tactics are going to work again?”

“You still went against protocol,” Caesar said as he placed his hand on his sword’s hilt. “I demand compensation! You should not have taken this…”

The man in black said nothing instead he simply pushed his coat to the side and drew a sword and slashed it through the air. Energy waves went from the blade and impacted Caesar which sent him flying against the wall.

“Why you…” Caesar started to say before he felt the tip of the blade pressed against his throat.

“Do you know what they call this blade?” The man in black said cooly. “This is a blade infused with the souls of those who have suffered and died at my hands. You would not want to meet with the same fate would you?”

“No…” Caesar said, now terrified of the man standing before him as the figure in black held the sword closer.

“General Caesar, such an illustrious name for a dismal failure,” the man in black said. “I have studied many things about Earth history, and I find it interesting that you share a name with a figure from their own history. Julius Caesar, do you know what happened to him?”

“You know I have little need for…” Caesar said only to have it be cut off when the man in black lowered his sword and grabbed him by his neck.

“Caesar was a great general, but he got too full of himself,” the man in black said as he pulled Caesar in close as his eyes glowed red. “He was killed because he fancied himself a king and ruler by those who wanted to see him stopped. You are nothing more than a fool who fancies himself a master, and I will not suffer fools lightly. Do I make myself clear?”

“Yes sir,” Caesar said. “But, I was given this position…”

“Yes, you were, but I still outrank you,” the man in black said as flames started to form around him. “I am the Master’s right hand, and while he is gone you serve me as you would him. If I desire to send an agent of my own, then it is my prerogative, do I make myself clear?”

“Yes sir,” Caesar said.

“Then do not question me again,” the man in black said. “And watch your tongue, or my blade will cut it free. This is not some mere invasion, we will bring this world to its knees and we will start by destroying its protectors. Your monsters were not cutting it, so I had to intervene. That is all you need to know.”

He tossed Caesar to the side and picked up his cane as he walked off. Caesar struggled to get to his feet as he scowled at the retreating man in black.

“You brought that on yourself you know,” Priellit said as she shuffled her deck of cards and placed it on the table in front of her. “He knows you fear him, you dare not even speak his name lest it brings him down on you.”

“Indeed,” Caesar said as he straightened himself out a little and brushed off his cape. “I do not enjoy being thrown aside like that. He will make a mistake, and I will be there to make sure that he pays for it.”

“I’m sure you will be,” Priellit said as she rolled her eye. “For now Caesar, I would watch and see what he has planned. Perhaps we’ll finally have some success.”

“Perhaps,” Caesar said, though deep down he hoped that this failed too just so he could humiliate the man in black. “But I’m not about to let him get away with this. If Tripen is defeated, I want to summon a monster as soon as possible.”

“The wheel works in mysterious ways,” Priellit said. “I cannot predict when it will work through me and you know that Caesar. Do not presume to know the will of Fortune, only its Avatar and the Master know such things.”

Caesar snorted a little as he shook his head. He had put little stock in the idea of the Wheel, but there was hardly any point in arguing with Priellit. She was the only summoner they currently had, or at least the only one that would listen to him.

Now it was just a matter of waiting to see what happened next. He hoped that everything would work in his favor.

00000

When the time had finally come for the Battle of the Bands Scootaloo had to admit she was a little nervous still. Flim and Flam had put together some special equipment that would block out the suggestive messages in our earpieces.

She pressed her hand against her’s as she entered the crowd, speaking quietly. “I don’t have any visual on the target, any luck up there?”

“Negative,” Sweetie Drops replied, she was watching from the catwalk above the stage. “I checked everyone backstage. No demonic looking punk rockers to be found.”

“Great, keep a close eye out,” Scootaloo said as she glanced up at the stage where a woman with spiked blue hair was busy playing on a turntable. “Anyone else see anything out there?”

“No, just a lot of music fans, we don’t even know what we’re looking for,” Sweetie said over the communicator. “For all we know he could be using his human guise and we don’t actually know who he is.”

“Stay focused,” Fleur said over the communicator next. “This is our best chance, and possibly our only chance, to stop him. The minute he appears I want you both transformed and ready. Sweetie Drops, wait until Scootaloo engages him before you use your bow, understood?”

“Understood,” Sweetie Drops said.

Scootaloo moved through the crowd as she looked around for any sign of the monster. Sweetie Belle was right though, they didn’t know what this guy looked like, he could easily be hiding in his human form somewhere in the crowd or backstage.

She placed her hand on her pocket where the Driver was waiting. Somehow that made her feel a little better like she was going to be able to take this guy down. She glanced up to see Sweetie Drops just barely visible and she gave her a nod.

“Alright Scoots, no pressure, just the fate of the entire city on your shoulders,” Scootaloo said nervously as she looked back out at the crowd. “How do you find a specific weirdo in a group of music fans…”

She was about to report in that she hadn’t found anything. The night was running long and there was only one more band that was supposed to play tonight anyway. She was about to raise her hand to her ear as the DJ left the stage when smoke began to pour out of the stage followed by bursts of fire.

“Is that supposed to happen?” She asked as she pressed her hand to her ear again.
“No, we got information from the person in charge of the show, he said that no one was using pyrotechnics,” Fleur said. “This is bad, get into position…”

Whatever she said next was drowned out by the sound of a guitar rift being blasted from the speakers. As the smoke cleared a band was on the stage with Tripen in front of the microphone holding a guitar as he shot energy into the sky.

“Hello Canterlot, ARE YOU READY TO ROCK?” He shouted into the microphone as the rest of the band began to play their song. “Sorry our last entry couldn’t make the show, but we’re here to show you the real power of music! You will all serve ME!”

Scootaloo flinched a little when she felt waves of energy falling over the crowd as the once cheering group suddenly went silent. They stood there in stone cold silence as they stared forward.

“Report, is everyone okay?” Fleur’s voice said over the communicator as the song began to play.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Scootaloo said as she reached for her Driver and the others checked in. “Are you ready for this Agent Drops?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be,” Sweetie Drops said as she looked down on the crowd from the catwalk. She took out her Driver and set it on her waist as the belt formed around her. “I just hope I know what I’m doing.”

“You’ll be fine, I know it,” Lyra said over the communicator. “Just remember everything I taught you and you’ll have no problem.”

“Right,” Sweetie drops said as she held her half of the card up. “Henshin.”

She slid the card into her Driver’s card slot and it glowed as the second half formed as well.

“LOVE CONQUERS ALL THINGS!”

The energy flew around her as her body was covered by the same red and pink armor and the Arcana Bow appeared in her hands. She started down the catwalk towards where she could get down, it was time to take the fight to the monster.

“Scootaloo, Ah’m on mah way with Sweetie Belle,” Apple Bloom said over Scootaloo’s communicator. “But we need yah ta engage them first, are yah up fer this?”

“I’m as ready as I’ll ever be,” Scootaloo said as she took out her own Driver and placed it on her waist and held up the card. “Henshin!”

“TIME TO TIP THE SCALES!” The Driver said as she slid the card into the slot and the armor and sword appeared around her.

“Let’s do this,” she said as she pushed forward through the crowd once more. She made sure to not hurt anyone as she did, even if they were under his control she wasn’t going to put anyone in this city at risk. She reached the edge of the crowd and found herself in front of the stage, she shouted up at the monster guitarist. “Tripen!”

“Well, well, you’re here for more punishment!” Tripen said as he grinned a little and ran his fingers along the strings of his guitar. “What do you say, boys? Let's show this so-called hero what it means to truly rock? Just like I told you, let’s do this!”

The band began to play a new song as the hypnotized crowd suddenly snapped to attention and looked right at Scootaloo.

“Okay, that’s not good,” Scootaloo said.

“Don’t worry, we’ve got this,” Sweetie’s voice said and Scootaloo looked up just as Tripen let out a scream of pain as something hit him in the hand. She grinned a little when she saw that it was a familiar knife that had hit his guitar playing hand and impaled through to the strings beneath.

“Nice throw,” she said as she glanced back to see Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom standing there holding soul metal knives.

“Thanks,” Apple Bloom said with a nod as they turned back to look at Tripen who let out a scream that sounded equal parts pain and frustration. “Ah don’t think he’s happy about that.”

“YOU LITTLE WORMS, YOU DARE ATTACK ME?” He screamed out as he threw his guitar off to the side. “YOU WILL PAY FOR THAT, YOU WILL ALL PAY!”

He pulled the knife out of his hand and blood started to gush out before it closed up. He tossed it at the ground where it landed in front of Sweetie Belle who took a step back.

“Okay, that does not bode well,” Sweetie Belle said as Scootaloo jumped up on the stage. “Come on Scoots, we’ve got this!”

“I’m not going to let you get away with this,” Scootaloo said as she pointed the Rapier at the monster but he just laughed and fired a shot at her, but her armor absorbed it. “Not so big now without your guitar hand are you?”

Tripen let out a roar as sound waves went out and hit Scootaloo, pushing her back a little. She grunted and ran forward, thrusting the Rapier at the monster only to have it be caught by his arm. “Okay, note to self… don’t taunt the monster…”

“Agent Drops, if yah want ta make a move now would be tha time,” Apple Bloom said as she threw another knife at Tripen but he just dodged it. “Ah think he’s onto us.”

Sweetie Drops took a position backstage and raised her bow. She needed to make sure she got a good clean shot as she pulled the bow back and aimed at the monster. She took a deep breath as she steadied herself.

“You’ve got this,” Lyra’s voice said in her mind. “Just aim the bow, relax your grip, and make sure you aim straight and true. Don’t worry, you’ve got this if anyone can make this shot it’s you.”

“Thanks,” Sweetie Drops said softly as she let loose the energy arrow and hit Tripen in the back and the demonic rocker let out a scream.

“What the…” he said as he turned around and saw Sweetie Drops standing there as she drew her bow back and fired another arrow at him before he could react. “No one told me there was going to be two of you!”

“Yeah, well get used to it,” Sweetie Drops said as she fired another arrow at him which he dispelled with a sound wave only to be cut across the back with the Arcana Rapier. “We’re in this together, and we’re not going to let you get away with this!”

Tripen screamed as he tried to turn his attention back to Scootaloo only to get a knife in his chest as he fell back, struggling to get up. Scootaloo looked at Sweetie Drops and gave her a nod, “Do you want to do the honors?”

“Sure,” Sweetie Drops said as she raised the bow and gripped it tight as she slowly pulled it back, energy gathered in it as she aimed it at the struggling to get up monster. “SONIC ARROW!”

The arrow flew through the air and struck the monster hard sending him sprawling. He was surrounded by energy as the monstrous form vanished around him, leaving a card lying on the ground next to him.

“Not bad for a first outing,” Lyra said as Sweetie Drops lowered her bow and let out a sigh of relief. “Though I wouldn’t mind a chance in the driver’s seat sometime.”

“We’ll see,” Sweetie Drops said with a chuckle as she bent down and picked up the card. Three of Pentacles, another card had been recovered by them, it was a step in the right direction.

“Keep it up and we’ll have a full deck in no time,” Lyra said with a chuckle. “Though I guess for now that means you’re not playing with a full deck.”

“How long have you been waiting to make that joke?” Sweetie Drops asked with a groan as she watched Scootaloo power down and hug her friends as the crowd was starting to come back around.

“Since I found that out, I’m still waiting to make some others,” Lyra said with a chuckle. “You’re jealous of her aren’t you?”

“I don’t know what you mean,” Sweetie Drops said.

“I sense your feelings, you wish you still had friends like she does,” Lyra said. “You missed us didn’t you?”

“Maybe a little,” Sweetie Drops said and sighed a little as she went backstage. She didn’t want to worry about this right now as she powered down and put the Driver away again.

But deep down, she knew that Lyra was right.

00000

“This is my place,” Lyra said as they pulled in front of an apartment complex.

“Are you sure you don’t need any help?” Sweetie Drops asked as Lyra got her stuff together. “I can walk you up to the front.”

“Nah, I’ll be fine,” Lyra said with a smile. “Thank you for everything Bon Bon, it means a lot that you were there to help me.”

“Anything for a friend,” Sweetie Drops said with a smile. “Hey, do you want to get lunch together or something? You know, stay connected outside of fighting monsters…”

“Sure,” Lyra said as she leaned in and gave Sweetie Drops a kiss on the cheek. “I’d be glad to do that with you. I’ll talk to you later, okay?”

Sweetie Drops blushed a little as Lyra grabbed her bags and headed up to the apartment complex. The agent smiled softly as she watched her go, Lyra turned and waved to her before she vanished inside.

“What am I going to do now…” Sweetie Drops said with a shake of her head as she started the car back up and headed back home.

The Gilded Sword

“Are you feeling okay Scootaloo?” Sweetie Belle asked as she looked at Scootaloo who was staring up at the ceiling of their room. A few days had passed since the fight at the Battle of the Bands and things had been quiet. “You’ve been kind of distracted all day.”

“Sorry, I’m just thinking about everything you know?” Scootaloo asked as she turned over on her side and looked at Sweetie with a soft smile. “It’s still a little hard to process everything, to be honest. I never really thought about myself as much of a superhero.”

“Really, what about the time you ran around pretending to be Supergirl?” Sweetie asked with a knowing smirk.

“I was 8 years old and it was my Halloween costume that year!” Scootaloo said which just made Sweetie laugh. “Besides, you’re one to talk Batgirl.”

“You enjoy reminding me of the silly things I did when I was young don’t you?” Sweetie asked as she leaned in and gave Scootaloo a soft kiss on the lips. “You’re lucky I love you, you know that right?”

“I’m reminded of it every day of my life,” Scootaloo said as she wrapped her arms gently around Sweetie Belle. “And I wouldn’t trade you in for anything.”

“Me neither,” Sweetie said softly as she snuggled up against her girlfriend and sighed happily. But she still felt a little worried about Scootaloo, Tripen had been the toughest fight she had to date and she had only won it because she had Sweetie Drops’ help.

What if next time that help wasn’t going to be enough? Were the two of them going to be able to handle whatever the Order threw at them every time? That was why she and Apple Bloom had wanted to help, but she couldn’t help but feel like there was so much more she could do.

“Sweetie, what’s wrong?” Scootaloo asked as she gently stroked Sweetie’s hair. “You seem even more distracted than I am.”

“I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing,” Sweetie said and smiled a little as she gave Scootaloo a weak smile. “I really am lucky to have you…”

“Is everything okay? They’re not giving you any more trouble at the restaurant are they?” Scootaloo asked.

“No, I guess, it’s just about everything that’s happened lately,” Sweetie said with a shrug. “Even after what your grandmother gave us I still feel like I could do a lot more to help you out. I just, don’t really know how I could do that.”

“I, honestly don’t know,” Scootaloo admitted. “I mean if you could find another one of the cards they could probably give you a Driver. Other than that, I really don’t know, I’m not even sure how these cards work.”

“Don’t worry about it Scootaloo,” Sweetie said. “I’m just worried about you. That last one could’ve killed you if…”

Scootaloo placed her finger on Sweetie’s lips and shook her head. “I’m fine, we don’t need to dwell on what ifs. Right now we need to worry about what might happen next and learn from what mistakes were made in the past.”

“Right, sorry,” Sweetie said, her voice a little muffled as Scootaloo lowered her finger and gave her a soft kiss on the lips. “I love you Scootaloo, I’ve never been luckier in my life to have you.”

“It’s the same for me,” Scootaloo said softly as she held Sweetie close to her chest. “You’re the love of my life. I feel like I could spend the rest of my life with you.”

“Don’t tell Honey that, she’s been wondering when we’re going to get married,” Sweetie Belle said with a laugh. “Little kids huh?”

“Yeah, little kids,” Scootaloo said with a chuckle as she kissed Sweetie’s forehead. It wasn’t that she hadn’t thought about it, she didn’t have the money to afford a ring right now and was saving up for from her part-time job, but it was going to take awhile.

She really wanted to spend the rest of her life with Sweetie Belle. Just the thought of actually trying to propose made her a little nervous. Still, she knew that it was what she should do, and if she had fought monsters then she could do this.

She just had to get the money.

“What do you tell her when she says that?”

“Oh, that she should talk to you so you get the idea,” Sweetie said with a laugh which made Scootaloo roll her eyes a little. “She’s a good kid though, sometimes I wish they still lived here so I could do more aunt things.”

“Is she still calling me Auntie Scootaloo?” Scootaloo asked with a chuckle.

“Yep, I don’t think she’s giving up on it,” Sweetie said with a laugh. “You might as well just get down on one knee and propose, get it over with.”

“Someday…” Scootaloo said softly as she rolled over with Sweetie still in her arms. “I will someday, I promise.”

“I’ll hold you to that,” Sweetie said as she leaned in and gave Scootaloo a soft kiss on the lips. “You know that right?”

“I know,” Scootaloo said and smiled a little. “I’m a woman of my word you know. I love you Sweetie Belle, and I want to make you happy. Right now, that’s all that matters to me.”
Sweetie smiled softly as she ran her hand slowly down Scootaloo’s front, pulling up her t-shirt a little.

“Mmm, yes I know,” she said as she softly kissed the other girl’s neck. “Perhaps I’ll have to give you some extra incentive though.”

Scootaloo smiled a little as she stroked Sweetie’s hair gently. She leaned back and enjoyed the feeling of her girlfriend’s lips pressing against her skin.

00000

“Where is our “friend”?” Caesar asked as he walked into the main room of the Order base where Priellit was sitting. “He told me he would be here waiting for me.”

“Yes, well he was drawn away for a special mission,” Priellit said as she glanced back at Caesar. “You said you wanted a chance to prove yourself did you not?”

“He’s been looking down on me this whole time, I am not going to stand for that,” Caesar said as he narrowed his eyes a little. “You were to inform me next time the Wheel said it was time for a summon. I assume that you’re here to give me the news.”

“Indeed,” Priellit said as she finished shuffling the summoning deck and placed it on the table in front of her. “There is enough energy being called forth to summon either a high ranked agent or…”

“Or what?” Caesar asked.
“Or more than one low ranked agent,” Priellit said. “We now have a disadvantage when it comes to numbers because of that new Rider. I think it’s time we start to level the playing field a little, the choice is simple and the Wheel will provide.”

“Very well,” Caesar said as he looked down at her. She was right, they needed to be more careful now that there were two Riders, that hadn’t been something they had expected to deal with. “We will summon two Agents for now then, make it so.”

Priellit closed her eyes as she placed her hand on top of the deck and chanted softly to herself. She picked two cards up off the top of the deck and looked down at them curiously.

“Interesting, a sword and a shield are now in play,” she said as she spread the two cards out. One had a blindfolded figure holding two swords in their hands while the other depicted a heart with three swords stabbed through it. “The Two of Swords and the Three of Swords. Cards of Indecision, confusion, information overload, and painful separation. These are cards I wasn’t expecting to come into play.”

“A shield card,” Caesar said as he looked at the Three of Swords. “Are you sure it is wise to give our enemy more weapons to use against us if they fail?”

“That is always a risk, especially now that more Riders are in play,” Priellit said with a shake of her head. “The risk will always be great, but if we can succeed at this then imagine the rewards. The Master will reward us greatly, especially if he was unable to succeed.”

“Very well,” Caesar said with a nod. “Summon them, they will become our new agents. The time has come to bring these Riders and their SMILE leaders to their knees.”

“Indeed,” Priellit said as she raised the cards up and chanted. After a moment they glowed and vanished. “It is done, they will find their hosts and then track down Scootaloo Dash and this new Rider.”

“Good,” Caesar said and then paused a moment. “What do you make of him and this Tarot Driver business? It feels like he’s just asking for trouble by even holding one of those.”

“You know how he is, he’s always thinking ahead,” Priellit said. “In time he will either succeed or he will fail based on how things go. He is as beholden to the Master as the rest of us are, if not more so.”

“Because he’s the second in command?” Caesar asked and she nodded. “But perhaps, if something happens that exposes his foolishness the Master will need a new one.”

“You have a devious mind Caesar, make sure that it doesn’t get you into trouble,” Priellit said with a shake of her head. “The Master is more than likely willing to blame you for your own mistakes than overlook them. You are going to have to do more than just defeat the Riders.”

“I suppose you’re right,” Caesar said as he rubbed his chin thoughtfully for a moment. “I need to set myself apart from the other candidates in the Order. I must make sure that I am the best candidate above anyone else, but how…”

“I’m sure you’ll think of something,” Priellit said with a roll of her eye. “You always manage to somehow. I can’t imagine why Emperaneu ever ran off.”

Caesar snorted and walked off, ignoring the woman’s comment. Priellit smirked a little as she watched him go and shook her head.

“Keep trying to play your little game Caesar, the trap is already being set for you and you’re about to walk right into it,” she said.

00000

“I’m never going to get away from that silly name am I?” Sweetie Drops asked as she looked at her phone. She and Lyra were grabbing lunch at a restaurant in downtown Canterlot and were waiting for their food to arrive.

“What now?” Lyra asked as she looked at her. “Is everything okay?”

“This Riderwatch blog,” Sweetie Drops said with a shake of her head. “They apparently got some footage of me transformed. They’re talking about me as the city’s new Kamen Rider already, I thought it would take longer.”

“Let me see that,” Lyra said as she grabbed her friend’s phone and read it. “The newest Kamen Rider in this City is Kamen Rider Amores. She was instrumental in saving the guests of the Battle of the Bands last night from a demonic punk rocker. As you can tell from these photos, she seems to be able to strike with…”

“Give me that back,” Sweetie Drops said as she snatched her hand back. “You get my point, this is all kind of silly. I didn’t even like that name and she’s basically made it official.”

“Hey, it beats Kamen Rider Lovers, that sounds like a weird fan club or something,” Lyra said with a chuckle. “Come on Bon Bon, it doesn’t hurt to have some fans and you were bound to get a name that was weird anyway. Kind of the downside to drawing power from tarot cards, they don’t have a lot of good names.”

“Yeah, I noticed,” Sweetie Drops said with a chuckle. “22 cards in the Major Arcana and I get the one that has a weird name. Though I suppose it could be worse, I could be Kamen Rider Fool, that would just sound weird.”

“Heh yeah, but it’s not all bad,” Lyra said with a smile. “It brought the two of us back together, didn’t it?”

“Yeah, that it did,” Sweetie Drops said with a smile as she looked across the Table at Lyra. The darker skinned girl brushed her green hair back a little and gave her a smile. “I really should’ve stayed in touch.”

“You really are jealous of Scootaloo huh?” Lyra asked with a chuckle.

“There’s not much point in denying it is there?” Sweetie Drops asked with a sigh. “She’s got two great friends and a girlfriend who will do anything to help her. She gets into a fight with a shapeshifting monster and they learn how to use throwing knives to fight monsters. They’re friends like I feel like I’ve never really had before.”

“That’s not true, you had great friends,” Lyra said. “The problem was that you cut yourself away from the rest of the world. You need to remember that your friends will always be there for you when you need them, just like I am now.”

“Yeah, thanks,” Sweetie Drops said with a soft smile as the waiter set their food down and gave them a small nod. She waited until he was out of earshot so they could talk again. “What should I do next? Should I try to get back in contact with everyone else? What would I even tell them?”

“Just be yourself, you can’t tell them yet of course but there’s no harm in getting in touch with them right?” Lyra asked as she picked her fork up. “Sweetie Drops, you have nothing to worry about. They miss you as much as you miss them, you just need to take the time to open back up to them.”

“Alright, thanks,” Sweetie Drops said with a smile. She was about to say something else when there was the sound of screaming coming from outside. “Oh great, what now…”

She looked out the window and down the street where two figures were approaching. One of them was dressed like some sort of warrior with inhuman features and muscles with a helmet covering his face. He was holding a sword in his hand and he scowled a little as he looked around and had a circle with two crossed swords on his chest.

The other figure was a massive muscular warrior covered head to toe in black armor with spikes covering it. He was holding a shield in front of him that looked like it was made of the same metal as the armor and had a circle with three crossed swords on his chest.

“That’s, not good,” Sweetie Drops said.

“Any chance the renaissance fair is in town early this year?” Lyra asked and Sweetie Drops shook her head. “Alright, what’s the plan?”

“I gotta fight them,” Sweetie Drops said as she got up and placed her hand on her Driver in her pocket. “Where’s a good place to transform though?”

“Try the back alley, you just have to…” Lyra said and Sweetie Drops said nothing, and instead ran over to the kitchen door and went through it. She held up a badge that showed she worked for the government and she was let through without a problem.

She pushed the door open to the back alley and her nose wrinkled a little at the smell but she needed to make sure she did this right. She took out the Tarot Driver and set it on her waist as the belt formed around her.

“Henshin!” She said as she slid the cards into her Driver.

“LOVE CONQUERS ALL THINGS!” The Driver said as the energy flowed around her and formed the armor and the bow.

She ran outside just as the monsters reached the restaurant and drew her bow back and aimed it at the one that was holding the sword. She fired the energy arrow at the sword wielder and it flew through the air…

...only to be intercepted by the shield holder who jumped in front of it and blocked it with his shield.

“Crap…” Sweetie Drops said as she quickly drew the bow back again and fired another shot only to have it intercepted too.

“Okay, that’s not good,” Lyra’s voice said in her head. “I’m watching you from the restaurant, you’re not looking good. These guys may present a problem…”

“Yah think?” Sweetie Drops asked with a roll of her eyes as she fired another arrow only to have it miss as the Swordwielder smirked at her.

“Rider… well, at least you were easy to find,” the sword wielder said as he pointed his sword right at Sweetie Drops. “You’re going down, I won’t let you stand in the way of the Order again!”

“In your dreams,” Sweetie Drops said as she took a step back and fired another arrow at the advancing monsters only to have the shield wielder catch it again. “Okay, I admit, you’re clever teaming up but this isn’t over yet.”

“Agent Drops, is everything okay? We’re getting two signatures in your area,” Fleur’s voice said over her communicator. “What’s going on?”

“I found two Swords Suit monsters,” Sweetie Drops answered. “They don’t look particularly happy to see me and one of them is using a shield instead of a sword.”

“Two? That’s never happened before,” Fleur said on the other end. “But a shield monster, that’s not a good sign. I’ll get Scootaloo there as soon as she can, but I think she’s working today.”

“Well right now would be a good time to figure out how to get her some time off,” Sweetie Drops said as she ducked out of the way of a sword slash and raised her bow and fired an arrow point blank into the sword-wielding monster’s chest.

“GAH!” He shouted as he fell back but pulled himself up quickly enough. “Impudent little…”

“Let’s go, she’s not our target anyway,” the shield carrier said as he gave his partner a nod. “This isn’t worth our time right now.”

“But she’s right here, we can take her and be rewarded by Caesar!” The Sword wielder said. “This isn’t the time to run, not when we have the advantage!”

The shield wielder pointed up at a rooftop and the sword wielder paused a moment as he glanced up towards it. Sweetie Drops did the same and frowned when she saw a man dressed in a black suit with a hat standing there.

“Right, of course…” the monster with the sword said. “But you haven’t seen the last of us yet! We will be back, and you will pay for your crimes against the Order!”

A shadow enveloped them and they vanished. Sweetie Drops just looked confused for a moment as she looked back up. The man in black was gone.

“Okay, that’s weird, we got a big spike in energy and now it’s gone,” Fleur said on the other end. “What happened over there?”

“I honestly don’t know,” Sweetie Drops said. “But I don’t like this, how big a spike in energy are we talking?”

“It’s bigger than the one we got the night Scootaloo’s parents were killed,” Fleur answered. “We may have just had a close encounter with one of the Commanders.”

“Well that’s not good,” Lyra’s voice said in Sweetie Drops’ head. “How powerful are we talking about here?”

“Very powerful,” Sweetie Drops said as she lowered her bow and frowned a little. “We all need to be on guard right now. Whatever it was that was here scared off those two goons, and I don’t want to know what it was.”

“Right,” Fleur said. “We’ll look into all the data we have and see if we can at least get an idea of what we’re dealing with here. I want you both at HQ, we can figure out what’s going on from there hopefully.”

“On it,” Sweetie Drops said as she headed back into the alleyway and powered down as she put the Driver and cards away.

She just hoped that they were going to be able to handle exactly what was going on.

00000

“Yer kiddin’, there was two of ‘em this time?” Apple Bloom asked. It was later that afternoon and Sweetie Drops and Lyra were in the HQ giving a debriefing on everything that had happened.

“And what’s this about a shield?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“They’re called Shield Cards, each suit has one,” Fleur said as she walked in with Fancy Pants close behind. “Like the other cards, they summon weapons but instead of being for offensive purposes they’re to protect the wielder. I had one back in the day when I was Magician.”

“So, we’re dealing with what, the Two of Swords and the Three of Swords?” Scootaloo asked.

“That’s what their symbol looked like yes,” Sweetie drops said as she looked over at Lyra. “Did
you get a good read on those guys?”

“No, but they were working together, that’s not a good sign right?” Lyra asked and they all shook their heads. “This hasn’t ever happened before?”

“No, they’ve always sent one at a time,” Fancy Pants said as he polished his monocle. “But then again last time we only had one Rider. It’s more than likely that this is a response to the escalating situation with Kamen Rider Amores.”

“I still don’t like that name,” Sweetie Drops muttered.

“I like it, besides its what the city gave you,” Sweetie Belle said with a chuckle. “Don’t worry about it Agent Drops, you’re going to be just fine even with a kind of silly Rider name.”

Sweetie Drops shook her head a little. At least she was getting a better hang of her new Rider powers, even if this whole thing was kind of weird. This was still what she had been training for, now it was just a matter of making sure that training was worth it.

“What about that strange woman that they encountered before?” Apple Bloom asked. “Do we know anythin’ about her?”

“No, she’s something of a mystery,” Fancy Pants said. “Still, what she gave us was useful. We’re already having our techs pick apart the bullets to figure out how to replicate them.”

“Ah find it weird that she’s bein’ so helpful,” Apple Bloom commented.

“We need all the help we can get,” Scootaloo said with a shake of her head. “But still, she’s kind of odd. I wish I could figure out more about her.”

“I’m sure answers will come in time,” Fancy Pants said. “Just because we don’t know a lot about her now doesn’t mean she won’t be more forthcoming down the line. I wouldn’t worry about it, just focus on dealing with this new threat.”

“So, how do we defeat two monsters at the same time?” Scootaloo asked. “That doesn’t seem like something that would be very easy to do even with two of us given that one of them can protect the other and himself.”

“A fair question,” Fleur said. “Which means that you two will either have to work even closer together, or we’ll have to draw the two of them apart. Neither of them are great options so we’re going to have to approach this carefully.”

“Right, of course,” Sweetie Drops said. “It still feels like we’re not getting the whole picture here. And what about that reading you picked up right before they vanished?”

“We’re still getting nowhere on that,” Fancy Pants said. “The fact of the matter is that we aren’t entirely sure how powerful it was. Just trying to scan it nearly shorted out our systems.”

Scootoloo paused a moment at that, that didn’t sound good. If there really was a commander or something out there and they were connected to these attacks somehow that would be bad.

“So, what are we supposed to do now?” Sweetie Belle asked. “We’ve got two Riders and two monsters, how are we going to separate them?”

“That’s not something that will be easy if they’re working together,” Fancy Pants said with a shake of his head. “We’re going to have to do something to drive them apart better more than likely, but how…”

“It would probably help if we knew who we were dealing with,” Fleur said with a shake of her head. “We’ve been dealing with kind of a mixed bag of hosts this time around. I think we need to make sure that we know who we’re dealing with for sure this time.”

“So, how do we do that?” Lyra asked. “I doubt they just leave pieces of paper around with their pictures on them that say “I’m now a monster” that we can find.”

“No, but they might have families or friends that notice they’re gone,” Sweetie Belle suggested.
“That’s what happened with Diamond, her family was worried about her when she was possessed by the card.”

“Right, we’ll look into any missing person reports or anything we can find on social media,” Fancy Pants said. “If we can assume that we’re looking for someone who fits what the card represents that will help as well.”

“Unfortunately I doubt it would be that simple,” Sweetie Drops said. “I’ve read up on Tarot cards, they’re vague enough that they could fit just about anyone to a degree depending on what’s going on in their life. I think we need to pursue the missing person angle, or at least come up with some sort of profile as to what we should look for.”

“Alright good,” Fancy Pants said. “We have a lot of options right now and we can pursue any one of them. Honestly, we have got to figure out exactly what we are looking for and what we are up against here. We don’t know a lot about our enemy right now, and they have the advantage of teamwork.”

“So, then we need to beat them with our own teamwork,” Scootaloo said as she looked at Sweetie Drops and her friends. “None of us have to stand alone in this situation. We’re all in this together right now, and we can beat this if we work together.”

“Right,” Sweetie Belle said, though she was still a little nervous about this whole thing. She didn’t want to tell that to her friends though, so, for now, she just had to focus on helping them.

“Alright, Sweetie Drops, Lyra, we’ve got your bike ready if you want to see it,” Fancy Pants said with a nod. “Scootaloo, you and your friends are free to go, right now we need you well rested and alert. If the monsters attack again, we’re going to need you ready to go.”

“Right,” Scootaloo said as she and her friends got up together. “I just have to ask one thing, why do you think they haven’t tried this before? I mean, they have summoners right, why haven’t they just sent a whole bunch of monsters after us at once?”

“That is an excellent question Scootaloo,” Fancy Pants said. “Honestly I don’t know the answer, I think it’s tied into however they summon these monsters but I don’t have a lot of evidence to support that. I wish I knew why, but as long as they are playing by these rules we have some advantage at least.”

“Right,” Scootaloo said as they headed out of the office and back out of the HQ.

00000

The next day Sweetie Belle sighed a little as she picked up the bill from another customer. She didn’t like that nothing had happened, it felt like the other shoe was waiting to drop right now and whatever was going on was just waiting for them to mess up.

She walked over to process the purchase, which had been by a man who had been strangely quiet other than to order. She took out the money (he paid in cash, exact change too plus a tip, how odd), and started putting it away when she felt something that was definitely not a dollar bill.

“What the…” She said as she held up a card, it depicted a woman dressed in royal finery and seated on a throne and holding a flower in her hand. “Wait, is this…”

She turned and saw the man leaving the restaurant and she ran after him. Once outside he stopped as he was leaning on a cane and glanced back at her.

“Can I help you?” He asked in a cold voice.

“Why did you leave this for me?” Sweetie Belle asked as she held the card up. “You know what this thing is right?”

“I know,” the man said before he turned back to face away from her. “You have the potential to do so much. You want to help your girlfriend don’t you?”

“How did you…” Sweetie Belle asked.

“I know a lot of things, I know that your girlfriend is putting herself at risk,” the mysterious man said. “And I know that you would do anything to help and protect her. Call that a down payment, when you are ready I will come again and give you the power to help her.”

“What do you mean? What do you even want in return?” Sweetie Belle demanded. “You’re not just giving me one of these cards for no reason are you?”

“No, but I do request that you keep it between us,” the man said. “If you don’t, then well, Scootaloo may not survive.”

“You wouldn’t dare…” Sweetie Belle said.

“Oh, I wouldn’t, would I?” He asked as he turned his head, his eyes were glowing red. “You don’t know what forces you and your girlfriend are messing with. This is your best chance to protect her and you know it.”

“But…” Sweetie Belle said as she looked down at the card and then back at the man. “Why would you give this to me?”

“Because you are who I need,” he said with a sneer. “I need your strength to reach my goals. I’m helping you, so you will help me or face the consequences, understood?”

He walked off still leaning on his cane as he did. Sweetie Belle looked down at the card for a long moment. She tucked it away in her pocket, for now she wouldn’t tell her friends about what had happened and as long as it wasn’t active it shouldn’t give off a signature anyway.

She hated having to hide this from Scootaloo, but she was going to try and get rid of it as soon as she could. She was not going to let that man use her like this, she didn’t trust him one bit. She just had to figure out how she was going to get rid of it.

“Hey Sweetie, is everything okay out here?” Lyra asked as she poked her head out of the cafe. “The manager is worried about you, you’ve been running out a lot lately.”

“Yeah, its just about, the, you know, extra-curricular activities,” Sweetie said as she pocketed the card and hoped that Lyra didn’t notice it. “Come on, let’s go back inside.”

“Sweetie, you know you can talk to me about anything right?” Lyra asked as Sweetie walked back up to the door. “I’m the only one here who knows about those things other than you, we gotta stick together if we’re working together.”

“It’s nothing, I’ll figure it out myself,” Sweetie said as she gave her a soft smile. “Thanks though Lyra. I’m glad I’ve got someone else helping me out here other than when Scootaloo stops by for lunch.”

“Yeah, well we gotta stick together,” Lyra said with a nod as she headed back to the kitchen.

“Yeah, we do…” Sweetie said as she placed her hand on the pocket that held the weird Tarot card. She had no idea what was up with that man and honestly, she was getting more and more uneasy about the whole thing.

She just hoped that she could get rid of that thing in a way that wouldn’t put anyone else at risk. She shook her head and went to talk to the manager before getting back to work.

00000

“You two are incompetent!” Caesar said as he stormed into the throne room with the two monsters from before behind him. “You had that Rider in your grasp, all you had to do was finish the job! What in the name of the Wheel were you thinking?”

“Lord Caesar, we were going to, but we had orders from higher up, right Harrsone?” The sword carried said with a gulp. “We couldn’t ignore what he said my lord, we’re mere servants of the court.”

“You’re spineless, that’s what you are Unkyor!” Caesar said as he backhanded the monster that had spoken. “I sent you out there to do a job! You failed to do it, and…”

“Now, now Caesar, that seems a bit harsh,” Kuagua said as he appeared with a chuckle. “I’m sure that they have a very good reason for ignoring the mission, don’t you boys?”

“Y-yes, as Unkyor said we were told to carry out an operation for a higher up, we couldn’t ignore a direct order,” Harrsone said with a gulp. “You cannot honestly expect us to ignore the orders of a superior.”

“I can when…” Caesar started to say when he felt a cold hand on his shoulder. “I’m not in the mood for…” He started to say before he turned around to see the man in black standing there leaning on his cane. “Oh, I didn’t know it was you…”

“Your agents were of great use to me,” the man in black said as he leaned on his cane for a moment before he gave Caesar a smirk. “And I saw what they did against Kamen Rider Amores, I have to admit that I am impressed. You may have actually gotten some decent agents this time.”

“Yes, thank you,” Harrsone said. “We are doing our best to serve the Order and defeat its enemies.

“You still shouldn’t have had them pass up an opportunity to defeat the Rider,” Caesar said which actually made the man in black laugh. It was a cold, chilling laugh that sent a shiver up and down the spine of all those in the room.

“Your strategy of sending two at a time has a lot of promise,” the man in black said with a slight smirk. “They were able to hold their own against one Rider, but she’s much smarter than you give her credit for. She was already able to damage Unkyor with an extremely close range attack which negated the advantage Harrsone gave him. If she had managed to attack again, she likely would’ve taken him out.”

“So, then what’s the point?” Caesar asked. “You and I both know that we need every advantage we can get if we want to take out the Riders. They are the only thing standing in our way right now.”

“Yes, they are,” the man in black said. “But we have to consider all the possibilities. This world has more than just two heroes after all, and if we allow them to get an edge over us then we will be at the disadvantage.”

“So, what do you propose we do?” Caesar asked with a snort. “We have to beat them, but if we keep letting them get away…”

“We learn everything we can about them, and exploit their weaknesses,” the man in black said. “That is how we will come out ahead in this war. The Riders are after all, only human, and I know how we can use that to our advantage.”

“And let me guess, you’re not going to make us privy to that information,” Caesar said as he narrowed his eyes a little. “We’re on the same side here, you need to be more forthcoming than you have been in the past.”

“Ah, but where’s the fun in that?” Kuagua asked with a laugh. “There are always secrets to be had, even among allies. What things lie in the mind of men and monsters eh?”

“Believe me, my operation will become clear in due time,” the man in black said as he pulled his hat down a little. “For now I will continue as planned. As for you two…”

“Yes sir?” The two monsters asked in unison.

“You’ve done what I asked of you already, continue your operations for Lord Caesar as planned,” the man in black said with a tip of his hat. “You two are our best bet at victory right now, and I’m not going to lose that.”

“Yes sir,” theye said in unison before they vanished into thin air.
“You had better be right about this,” the man in black said as he walked closer to Caesar. “The Master is not happy about your performance so far. If this doesn’t have more success than your last few attempts to defeat the Riders then there will be consequences, understood?”

“Understood,” Caesar said as the man in black turned and walked away. “I swear he still gives me the creeps…”

“I don’t know, I almost feel sympathy for him,” Kuagua said with a laugh. “You’re going to have to learn eventually you know. Even if you’re in charge, there will always be someone above you.”

“Well, unless you’re the Master,” Caesar said before a red light went off on a screen in front of him signifying an intruder alert. “That’s odd, no one should be able to get in here…”

“Should I get the guards?” Kuagua asked.

“No, I can handle this,” Caesar said as he walked out of the room and followed a line of lights towards where the intruder was.

He was surprised to push the door open and find a human man dressed in white standing there. He had short grey hair and was carrying a briefcase. He looked up at Caesar and smirked a little at his arrival.

“And you must be one of the Commanders,” he said in a slight accent that was hard to place. “I must say I was expecting more.”

“Who are you and what are you doing here?” Caesar demanded.

“Who I am is not important, but if you must call me anything call me Nemo,” the man in white said as he looked at Caesar. “I am here to make a deal with you and your Order. Perhaps there is something we can do to benefit each other.”

“I’m listening,” Caesar said as the man gestured for him to take a seat across from him. “How did you get in here Nemo?”

“The people I work for know many things that normal humans are not always privy to,” Nemo said as he folded his hands. “You and your Order have attracted our attention. I’m sure that you wouldn’t dare risk losing a potential ally by drawing that sword you have your hand on.”

Caesar paused a moment and released his grip on his sword’s hilt. He sat down and eyed Nemo suspiciously for a moment as he waited for the man to start talking again.

“The organization that I represent is very interested in you and your Order as I said,” Nemo said with a smirk. “There is so much that can be done if we work together after all. I simply need some of your time so that I can better understand what we’re dealing with here.”

“Alright, but only if you answer some questions first,” Caesar said.

Nemo smirked a little as Caesar eyed him nervously. The man in white seemed no less nervous than when he walked in, as if he knew that he held all the cards in this exchange.

“Well, of course, we wouldn’t want to discourage our new partners,” Nemo said simply as he gave Caesar a nod. “Ask away.”

00000

“Sweetie, what’s wrong?” Scootaloo asked as she laid down next to Sweetie that night. “You’ve been kind of distracted ever since you got home, is there something on your mind?”

“No, nothing, nothing more than usual at least,” Sweetie Belle said with a shake of her head as she pulled Scootaloo in close. “Why do you ask?”

“Because I’m worried about you Sweetie,” Scootaloo said as she brushed one of Sweetie’s curls out of her face. “You’re the most important person in the world to me and if you’re worried or scared about something then I want to be able to help. You know you can tell me anything right?”

“Yeah, I know,” Sweetie said with a sigh as she kissed Scootaloo gently on the lips. “And you know that I would do anything for you, anything to make sure that you’re not hurt. I, just don’t want anything to happen to you…”

“Unfortunately I don’t know if I can promise that nothing will happen to me,” Scootaloo said with a sigh. “Especially after everything that Agent Drops told us about when it came to those creatures today. We have a hard enough time fighting off one at a time, now they’re coming in pairs? What happens next?”

“Well, as far as we can tell they can’t attack in large groups, that’s an advantage at least,” Sweetie said with a shrug. “You’re going to be okay, and I know Agent Drops wants to do everything she can to help you.”

“Yeah, you’re right,” Scootaloo said. “Still, sometimes it feels like we’re fighting this war alone. Even with your help and those bullets that woman gave us, there’s something that feels wrong to me. Like we’re just waiting for the other shoe to fall and they’re going to pull something very bad for us.”

“Yeah, I know what you mean,” Sweetie said as she held Scootaloo close. “There’s not much we can do but wait until we know more about the Order though. We don’t even know where their base of operations is.”

“I think that much energy would be pretty obvious,” Scootaloo pointed out and then paused a moment. “Unless it’s not on Earth at all.”

“Yeah, maybe, that makes sense to me,” Sweetie said with a shrug. “They did say they were extradimensional beings or something right? That would explain a lot if they’re not even based in this dimension.”

“Yeah, it…” Scootaloo started to say when her phone suddenly began to ring. She picked it up and noticed that it was Fancy Pants’ number as she answered it. “Hello?”

“Scootaloo, I’m sorry for calling you so late but we’ve got a reading on those two monsters,” Fancy Pants said on the other end. “They’re heading right for your apartment complex, I’ve got Agent Drops already on the way, but we need you and your friends out there.”

“Got it,” Scootaloo said with a sigh as she hung up and put the phone down.

“What was that about?” Sweetie asked.

“It sounds like we’ve got company,” Scootaloo said with a sigh as she picked up the Tarot Driver and the two cards. “Go wake up Apple Bloom, we need to get out there.”

“On it,” Sweetie Belle said as she headed out of the bedroom and Scootaloo got up and set the Driver on her waist.

“Henshin!” She said as she held the cards up and moved it down, turning it around a little as she moved it in a circular motion and slid it into the Driver, her hand moving around outstretched.

“TIME TO TIP THE SCALES!” The Driver said as the armor formed around her and she headed out of the bedroom and out the front door with Sweetie and Apple Bloom following not long after.

00000

Scootaloo stepped out onto the street in front of the apartment complex and looked around as she gripped the sword tightly in her hand. For a moment she thought that there was nothing and it had been a false reading when she heard the sound of metal on pavement.

“Well, well, looks like our target decided to come out and say hello,” a male voice said and she turned to see Unkyor and Harrsone walking up with their weapons in their hands. “Nothing we can’t handle though.”

“We’ll see about that,” Scootaloo said as she gripped her sword tightly in her hand. “I can see both of your futures and it's not bright!”

Harrsone just laughed at that as he ran forward with his shield held up. Scootaloo was barely able to brace herself as she felt him ramming into her. It felt like a linebacker had hit her and it sent her sprawling on the ground.

“That’s, not a good sign…” she muttered as she struggled to pull herself back to her feet, only barely catching Unkyor’s sword with her own. “Hey, no fair double teaming me!”

“Life’s not fair girly,” Harrsone said as he pushed her back against a car door. “You’re going to learn that eventually.”

“Or, well you would have if you had survived,” Unkyor said and then let out a scream of pain as he felt something hit him from behind. “What the…”

“You don’t mess with my girlfriend!” Sweetie Belle shouted as she and Apple Bloom stormed up, holding the Soul Metal knives. “I’m not going to let you hurt her!”

Scootaloo struggled up to her feet as she held her sword out. “You’re not exactly in the best situation now, are you? You’ve got three of us and you know that Kamen Rider Amores is on her way, you’re outmatched.”

“Only one of you can beat us,” Unkyor said with a laugh. “No matter how good the three of you are, you can’t possibly defeat us together!”

Before they could reply though an arrow flew through the air and hit Harrsone. Sweetie Drops in her armor climbed off a new bike which was red with pink strikes as she pulled her bow back and fired at the shield-wielding monster again and caught him in the shoulder before he could raise his shield.

“We’re not about to let you get away with this,” Sweetie Drops said as she pulled the bow back to form a new arrow. “Your reign of terror ends here!”

She fired an arrow at Unkyor just as Scootaloo stepped in front of Harrsone and swung her armored fist around catching him in the jaw. There was a ringing sound as he fell back and held his shield up to protect his face only to get a jab in the stomach with the blade.

“This isn’t good,” Harrsone said as he blocked another hit. “What should we do?”

“I don’t know!” Unkyor said as he took a step back and held his sword out pointed at Sweetie Drops and the others as they advanced on them.

“Oh my, my, my, it seems that I have to intervene!” A jovial voice said. “A shame, this was such an entertaining show.”

There was a flash of light as Kuagua appeared in front of them with a laugh. The monstrous harlequin’s smiling mask never faltered as he looked between the two Riders and their friends.

“Okay, who’s the Harley Quin cosplayer?” Lyra’s voice said in Sweetie Drops’ head as she raised her bow to aim for the new arrival.

“Who are yah?” Apple Bloom demanded as she held her knife ready to throw it at the harlequin who just waggled his finger at her.

“Where’s the fun in telling you that?” He asked with a laugh as he threw his head back. “Perhaps if you can tell me a simple thing I’ll tell you what you want to know.”

“What do you want to know?” Scootaloo asked as she held her sword out at the Harlequin. “This is your one and only chance to come clean. The alternative is that we take you out here and out.”

“Tell me, why do Riders exist?” Kuagua said with a thoughtful tap of his chin. “You are far from the first ones as you know already, but why is it that so many Riders rise up to fight an enemy using that foe’s own power?”

“Because…” Scootaloo said as she paused a moment, actually, that was a good question. “Because we have to fight with every resource we have at our disposal. Even if that means using the enemy’s power against them. You use it to conquer and destroy, we use it to help and protect.”

“Ah, very well,” Kuagua said with a chuckle. “Yes, your so-called cross. That’s the answer I expected. As to who I am, I am, of course, Kuagua of the Court of the High Arcana!”

“Really, this joker is one of the bosses?” Sweetie Belle said as she raised an eyebrow. “I expected a bit more.”

“Ah, perhaps I’m not what you expected, but I know better than anyone the value of information, and power told is power lost, and well the General hasn’t been happy with me since that cactus incident,” Kuagua said as he waggled his finger. “You may say I’m a little crazy, that I’m a little batty, but it’s not my fault. You might say…”

He took out a small box and opened it up and a swarm of bats flew out and flew right at Scootaloo. “That it’s the bats in my belfry!”

Scootaloo swung her sword around at the bats only to hit nothing as they vanished from around her. When they looked again Kuagua and the two monsters had vanished into thin air. “Okay, that wasn’t funny…”

“Just what we needed, a bad comedian for a Commander,” Lyra said over the mental connection to Sweetie Drops. “So what do we do now?”

“If that was one of the Commanders, we have to approach with caution,” Sweetie Drops said as she powered down and Scootaloo did the same. “I’m going to report to the Director, this just got a lot more complicated.”

“What about tha rest of us?” Apple Bloom asked.

“You three get back upstairs and wait for a call,” Sweetie Drops said. “We need to know what we’re up against and now.”

“Right,” Scootaloo said as they headed back into the apartment complex.

00000

Fancy Pants called not long after to try and get an idea of exactly what had happened. Scootaloo and her friends answered his questions as best they could but there wasn’t a lot to go on.

After they were done, Sweetie Belle went out onto the balcony. Scootaloo had gone to get a shower and despite her tempting offer to join her, Sweetie Belle wanted to think about everything that had just happened.

She took out the card and stared at it for a moment, it was still as enigmatic as it had been before and still didn’t seem to be reacting to her. She shook her head and sighed a little, maybe she really should just get rid of it. If the man in black actually tried anything, she was sure that they could stop him.

She sighed a little and tore the card in half, she wasn’t about to let herself get used by that strange man in black. She held the halves over the side of the balcony and dropped them as she watched them drift off on the wind, a feeling of relief washed over her. She didn’t have to worry about them again.

She opened the balcony door and walked back inside. She slipped into the bathroom where she could make out the outline of Scootaloo in the fogged up shower. She slipped off her clothes and slid into the shower where she wrapped her arms gently around Scootaloo’s bare waist.

The darker skinned girl let out a surprised sound before she realized that it was Sweetie Belle pressing up against her. “Mmm, I thought you had some things to think about and couldn’t join me.”

“Mmm, I changed my mind,” Sweetie Belle said as she gently kissed the back of Scootaloo’s bare neck. “You know that I don’t want to leave you hanging right.”

She turned Scootaloo around and kissed her passionately on the lips. The two girls pressed up against each other as the water ran down their bodies. And with that, it felt like Sweetie’s troubles were being washed away.

A Fated Concerto

Author's Note

Just want to thank The Bricklayer for writing this with me, this chapter is a crossover with his story Destiny's Play.

A Fated Concerto

Castle Doran: Kiva’s World

“Man, this blows. I mean, seriously blows,” one Tatsulot of Castle Doran complained. “Seriously, ever since Rook went down, seems like Fangire attacks have been on the down-low. You know what I mean?”

“And you’re complaining about this why I have to ask?” Vinyl commented, leaning back in a chair, with Kiva-La resting on her shoulder. “I mean, less Fangires mean less work for us, and more time for me to spend with my girlfriend.”

“And more time for you two to play kissu-kissu,” Riki remarked, not even looking up from his and Jiro’s poker game. “Fold.” the Frankenstein’s monster remarked.

“Well… I… Uh…” Vinyl stuttered out, Tatsulot sniggering in the background. “W-Well, I can’t really deny that’s one benefit from all of this really…”

“Kissing Fortissimo!” the little gold dragon shouted in proclamation and excitement, doing a loop de loop in mid-air before he was smacked away by Vinyl. A small yelp of pain and a clattering of metal was soon heard afterwards

“Baka,” she muttered. “...I swear he doesn’t even know what Fortissimo means.”

Ramon just stayed silent, having long ago learned that it was often best for the siren to stay silent during these little exchanges. He had to admit, Vinyl brought some livelihood to the castle, and Fluttershy definitely seemed to be a lot happier and more self-confident with a mistress. Didn’t mean some things never changed though.

“Ooh, ooh, now this is interesting!” Kivat shouted as he flew in with a bunch of tarot cards in hand.

“...Please don’t tell me those are what I think they are,” Vinyl remarked, her eyes half-lidded as she eyed the crimson bat.

“They are,” Kiva-La sighed. “Brother of mine, please don’t tell me you put much stock into those worthless so-called fortune tellers?”

“Hey, they said they can read my future! Who knows, with everybody hooking up right and left nowadays, maybe that mare can tell me who I’ll get lucky enough to have as a mate!” He stated excitedly. “Oh, by the Lady Luna, I can see it now! Someone with a long, luxurious neck!” he sighed wistfully.

Kiva-La facewinged at her brother’s stupidity. “...Seriously, that’s what this is about? You wanting a mate? Really?”

“...Well, with Twilight and Tempest finally pulling their heads out of their arses, and then you and Tatsulot laying an egg, and Hell, even Milady and Vinyl dating, a guy starts to get lonely. He starts to think about his future in life y’know?” Kivat stammered out.

“...You are an idiot.” Kiva-La decided, not for the first time in her life. Her big brother was competent enough in some areas, and he meant well but he could be quite gullible in other respects. Actually, she wouldn’t put it past him to be told there was a yeti behind him, and for him to actually fall for the trick and look. He was just that stupid at times.

Kivat held out the Empress Tarot. “See, there’s even one for Fluttershy in here!”

“Pretty sure she’s already met her fated match,” Kiva-La deadpanned. “Which idiot two-bit hack did you buy these from anyways?”

“...I dunno, some old guy. Called himself Naru something or other, I didn’t catch his full name. Threw in a box of the Major Arcana for free, just because I decided to buy a box of the Minor Arcana!” Kivat exclaimed, holding up a card that read: ‘Justice’

“And about how much did you pay for these boxes?” Kiva-La asked.

“...Uh, let’s see…” Kivat muttered to himself, looking rather nervous. “...500 Bits?”

“YOU IDIOT!” Kiva-La shouted, pouncing on her brother even as a card representing the King of Swords fell to the ground. As Kiva-La chased her brother around the dining room, Vinyl picked up the card.

“...Hmm, I wonder…? Is this Kivat’s fated partner?” she asked, looking at a crowned wolf holding up a sword, and smirked as she looked towards Jiro.

“NO! NO! NO WAY IN THE NINE CIRCLES OF TARTARUS AM I MARRYING THAT WOLF!” Kivat shouted, even as Kiva-La grabbed a candle in her mouth and began beating her older brother over the head with it. “MILADY, SAVE ME!” he shouted in dismay, said shouts going unheard.

“Should we tell the Queen?” Vinyl asked, looking towards Ramon for answers. “I mean, it is her money from her coffers Kivat used for his particular brand of stupidity…”

“...Eh, let him get beat up a little,” the bright-green siren replied. “I mean, he did sorta earn it. I may like him, but I’m not pulling him out of every mess he drags himself into really. Not my job. I’m just a family retainer, not Kivat’s personal bodyguard from his sister.”

“...Point taken,” Vinyl commented as she conjured up a bucket of popcorn with a flash of magenta-toned magic. “How’s your sister doing by the way?”

She was referring to, of course, this salmon-toned siren that had been found under the care of this red unicorn over in Prance. Crescendo, they called her. Local hero, after she’d managed to fend off a kelpie with the help of her pod. Ramon had been over the moon when he’d heard of this development, realizing he wasn’t alone in this world after all and had been made a journey over to Prance to introduce himself. As it happened, Crescendo had remembered him from her pup-hood days and had given him a great big hug upon their reunion.

Mind you, it wasn’t without incident, given that a Fangire based after a Grizzly Bear of all things had shown up to spoil the touching reunion. Thankfully, Tempest and Twilight had been in the country at the time on their honeymoon, and IXA had lent herself to the foray using the Basshaa Magnum Fuestle to help defeat the hapless monster with the Aqua Tornado Finisher.

A few weeks before, Twilight had managed to duplicate Kiva’s actual fuestles with a spell given to her by Luna so IXA wouldn’t have to use cheap knock-off variants. Needless to say, all parties involved were quite pleased by this development. Jiro still hadn’t quite gotten over been hijacked by IXA during her and Kiva’s first showdown.

“Fairly well, think she and her pod are about ready to stage their first public concert, actually…” Ramon mused to himself.

“Call me when that happens, DJ-Pon3 is always ready to lend a helping hand and lay down some sick beats!” Vinyl remarked with a wink.

“...Yeah, I don’t think their type of music really works with yours,” Ramon remarked. “Sorta a musical style conflict really.”

“Mou…” Vinyl huffed, crossing her arms but before she could say anything more on the matter, the bells of Castle Doran began to toll, and both she and Kiva-La shared a look.

“Fangire.” they stated in unison.

00000

Canterlot: Justice’s World

Scootaloo stabbed at the flail wielding monster with her Arcana Rapier as it tried to swing the weapon around and catch her by surprise only to have it be caught with a circle shield on her other hand.

“No fair!” The monster, a strange mix of humanoid and bird with armor with a circle on his chest with three crossed wands on it.

“Really, you’re the one who’s calling no fair?” Scootaloo asked as she pushed him back with the shield. She couldn’t use it much longer so she had to take advantage of it while she could. “Just one meal with my girlfriend is all I ask for.”

She slammed the shield into the monster which knocked it back as she swiped her Rapier at the monster. The transformed human swung the flail around and it just bounced off of Scootaloo’s shield but shattered it at the same time.

“Ha, you’ve lost your advantage! This fight is as good as mine!” The monster said as he swung the flail around again aiming it right for Scootaloo’s head.

That’s when an arrow went flying from behind him and hit him in the back sending the flail wild and catching Scootaloo on the shoulder. She flinched a little but raised her sword and swung her fist as the two glowed with energy and impacted the monster.

“JUSTICE BLADE STRIKE!” She said as the monster fell back and the monstrous form shattered leaving an unconscious man on the ground with a card by his side.

“Are you okay?” Sweetie Drops asked as she walked up to Scootaloo as she powered down, her shoulder where the flail had hit was bleeding a little as she bent down to pick up the card.

“Yeah, I’m fine, just a little flesh wound,” Scootaloo said as she held the card up to the government agent. “Another card from the Wands suit, that makes what, two?”

“Three with the Ace of Wands actually,” Sweetie Drops said as she powered down and put the card away. “Are you sure you’re okay? That doesn’t look too good, I’ll get a medic to take a look at it.”

Scootaloo sighed a little as Sweetie Drops gestured for a medic to come over. They bandaged up Scootaloo’s shoulder while she put the cards and Driver away as Sweetie Belle came up to her.

“So much for date night huh?” Scootaloo asked with a chuckle as she leaned in and kissed the pink and purple haired girl on the lips. “I’m sorry that happened.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Sweetie Belle said, though she still felt a little nervous. “Agent Drops, are there any more readings in the area?”

“No, not yet,” Sweetie Drops said.

“Come on Scoots, I got what I could, let’s just get back home and enjoy a nice candlelit dinner together,” Sweetie said as she squeezed Scootaloo’s hand gently before she looked back at the medic. “Is she going to be okay?”

“Yeah, she’s fine, just be careful with that shoulder,” the medic said as he finished patching her up.

“Alright good,” Sweetie said as she and Scootaloo headed back home together.

00000

Kiva’s World:

Did Vinyl Scratch ever mention how much she really hated rats? Always got into everything, and almost impossible to get rid of. It only made matters worse when said rats were of the Fangire variety, and said rats Vinyl could have sworn she helped to defeat ages ago.

But apparently, the Rat Fangire was living up to its reputation, and more and more of its clones were popping out from the woodworks. Firing a few shots from her pistol, downing a few of the critters, before changing said weapon into a whip she lashed out and ripped through two more of the Fangires.

Gunshots rang out as Tempest ran up holding the IXA Calibur in gun form, and using a flying side-kick hit one of the Rat Fangires in the stomach before flinging a familiar belt around her waist. She pulled out a fist-like object colored silver and gold, and slammed it up against her palm making it declare: “Ready.”

An alarm began to blare as she clicked the IXA Knuckle into its spot on the belt, before with a simple declaration of: "Henshin." she transformed into the Knight Templar-like figure of Kamen Rider IXA, a blast of sheer heat coming from her.

“Fangires, return those lives to Faust.” Tempest stated as she draw her blade and pointed it at the group.

“Guess we better take this one up a notch as well,” Vinyl muttered to herself as she lashed out with her whip-sword some more times driving the litter of Rat Fangires back. “Kiva-La!”

“Always ready to serve!” Kiva-La said, and planted a kiss on her partner’s forehead before with a flash of rainbow-colored light Vinyl was turned into Kamen Rider Kiva-La, who resembled Kiva in many aspects, except much slimmer, and given much lighter and less threatening hues in her armor colors. White and silver were the predominant colors of choice. Light red eyes were built into Kiva-La’s helmet, with a rapier as her weapon of choice. Like the other Kivat using rider, Kiva-La roosted herself on her belt.

With shouts of “Ha!” Kamen Rider Kiva-La began slicing her way through the crowd as Tempest summoned the Garulu Saber and joined her blades ringing out as they sliced through Fangire skin.

“WAKE UP!” Both Kiva-La and IXA’s belts shouted as their blades glowed, and they sent arcs of energy through the Rat Fangire litter destroying them in powerful explosions.

“...Seriously, wasted a perfectly good day for all of this?” Vinyl complained, and just as she was about to cancel her transformation, she heard a roar of rage from behind her, and just in the nick of time whirled around to meet the Polar Bear Fangire’s claws with her blade. “Okay, now I know you’re dead! I saw Fluttershy kill you with my own two eyes!”

Fluttershy dodged a swing from Neon’s claws, before dodging another swing and catching it in-between her elbow and her knee. She then kicked the Polar Bear Fangire backward, before Kivat spoke.

“Power against power, the only way to beat this guy Milady!” Kivat advised.

“Right!” Fluttershy nodded, holding up a purple-whistle like device and placing it in Kivat’s jaws.

“Dogga Hammer!”Kivat boomed out, as a foghorn-like sound cut through the air, and storm clouds boiled over before chains wrapped themselves around Fluttershy’s arms and chest before purple armor replaced it and a massive hammer appeared in her hands.

“WAKE UP!” Kivat shouted, as Fluttershy swung the hammer over her head gathering electricity before she brought it down. Vinyl only now just noticed this hammer was themed after a giant fist, with an eye-opening up on said fist as the Polar Bear Fangire shattered into a million pieces. Panting and sweating, Fluttershy canceled her transformation.

Vinyl let out a growl. “Guess that means you’ll have to be double-dead then!” she shouted, dodging the Fangire’s claw swipes and getting in small slashes with her rapier. A blast from the Basshaa Magnum hit the Polar Bear Fangire as well, Tempest having summoned the weapon with a certain fuestle.

“Okay, what the HELL is going on around here, as I know both this Fangire, along with the Rat one were killed. What, are Fangire ghosts a thing now?” Tempest exclaimed, continuously firing the Basshaa Magnum at the Polar Bear Fangire if that’s what it even was.

“Good question, not sure I want to find out,” Vinyl remarked, before stating: “Pony Rider Punch.” and drawing her fist back, making it crackle with magenta flame before smashing it directly into the Polar Bear Fangire’s chest making it crack, before the creature shattered like glass.

“Now where’s…?” Vinyl muttered to herself before her eyes trailed upwards with Tempest’s soon to follow watching Fluttershy fighting off this giant mantis-like creature wielding a scythe atop some scaffolding.

Fluttershy, using another fuestle summoned the Zanbat Sword and used it to block the swing before slicing the Mantis-Fangire across the chest. The sword itself, it seemed to growl with every hit scored.

“Tatsulot!” Fluttershy shouted and the little gold dragon flew towards Fluttershy as she kicked a metal barrel towards the Fangire. As Tatsulot flew towards her, chains on her shoulder pads and leg armor were shattered, and bats seemingly made of sunlight flocked around the new Fangire preventing him from seeing what happened next as two gold bat wings rose from Fluttershy’s shoulders. “Henshin!”Fluttershy called out, and with a flash of red fire transformed into this dark red and black warrior with a long flowing cape and dark green eyes.

Slicing the stunned Mantis Fangire across the chest several more times -the Zanbat Sword still growling with every hit- Fluttershy then summoned a massive sized smokey version of the Kiva emblem and slammed it into the Fangire. He was pinned up against the wall, before Fluttershy took to the skies, with Tempest taking a flying leap off a piece of plywood knowing exactly what her friend had in mind.

“WAKE UP!” both belts shouted as the users lined up powerful kicks, but before the blows could land, mysteriously the Fangire faded away in a cloud of black smoke and all that was shattered was a newly constructed wall.

“What… what the Hell?” Fluttershy panted out, as she canceled her transformation. Tempest was soon to follow.

“Know what you mean,” the former Storm Guard commander remarked. “That’s never happened before. And I don’t think that one got so scared of us it just up and ran.”

“Agreed, and what about the return of the Polar Bear and Rat Fangires?” Kivat questioned. “Something’s odd here, and I don’t like it one bit…”

“Come on, I think a trip to Canterlot Castle is in order. Princess Luna might know a thing or two…” Fluttershy remarked, and both Tempest and Vinyl nodded in agreement.

00000

Justice’s World:

“You know, I’m looking forward to when these things are dealt with so we can actually have a meal in peace,” Scootaloo said with a chuckle as she took a bite of her food.

“Yeah,” Sweetie said as she paused a moment and looked up at Scootaloo. “How’s your shoulder?”

“Sore still,” Scootaloo said as she rubbed the shoulder where the flail had hit her. “But I’ve taken worse from those things. At least the shield helped, and these are just the low ranked monsters, I shudder to think what will happen when we get to the face cards.”

“Yeah…” Sweetie Belle said with a shake of her head. She thought back to the card that the strange man had tried to give her. Maybe she should’ve used it to help Scootaloo instead of whatever he had in mind.

But at the same time, something about that man had made her feel weird. It was like he had let off some sort of weird aura that made her uneasy just being close to him. She shook her head and went back to eating.

“Let’s try not to think about that anymore tonight,” Scootaloo said as she reached across the table and put her hand on Sweetie’s. “We’re going to be just fine, I know it.”

“I just hope you’re right,” Sweetie said and sighed a little as she went back to eating.

“So how are things going at work?” Scootaloo asked. “The men aren’t still giving you trouble are they?”

“No more than usual,” Sweetie Belle said with a shrug. “It’s going pretty well actually, I’ve been thinking about introducing some new songs. Lyra and I are starting to work together more actually, she’s pretty good.”

“That’s good,” Scootaloo said as she took another bite. She was about to say something else when her phone went off, she sighed a little when she took it out and saw that it was from Fancy Pants. “Well, there goes date night again…”

Sweetie sighed as Scootaloo answered the phone.

“Yes?” Scootaloo asked.

“The Satellite is picking up some strange activity outside of town,” Fancy Pants said on the other end with a sigh. “It looks like some strong dimensional activity that is similar to what the Order uses only stronger.”

“Dimensional activity?” Scootaloo asked. “Do you mean like moving between universes or something?”

“Most likely, yes,” Fancy Pants answered. “We’re looking into it now, I felt you would want to keep informed. There is a chance that this might be related to the Order.”

“Because of course, it is,” Scootaloo said with a sigh as she looked back at Sweetie Belle. “But I already had to put this off because of Trejet’s attack. Are there any monster readings coming from the area?”

“Negative,” Fancy Pants replied. “I think we can handle this one on our own, you two enjoy your date night.”

“Okay, thank you,” Scootaloo said as she hung up and leaned in and gave Sweetie a soft kiss on the lips. “It sounds like I’m not needed tonight. How about we just enjoy our dinner together for now? Then maybe we can find a few other things to do...”

“Sounds perfect,” Sweetie Belle said as they kissed again and went back to eating. A knock at the door caught their attention. “Oh come on!”

Scootaloo sighed as she got up and headed to the door. She looked through the peephole and saw nothing. Cautiously she opened the door and looked around before she looked down and found a wooden box on the ground.

Confused she picked it up and opened it. Inside was a stack of cards. On top was one that had a blue head with a pointed silver pointed metal faceplate and two glowing red eyes. It read Kamen Rider BLADE on it and Scootaloo blinked a little at that. A note was near the box. It read: “Just a gift, from a passing through Kamen Rider. Use them well.”

“Okay, that’s weird…” she said as she closed the door and headed back inside. “That was weird.”

“What is it?” Sweetie asked as Scootaloo set the box down.

“I don’t know, looks like some sort of Rider cards or something,” Scootaloo said with a shake of her head as she sat down. “Come on, let’s worry about this later.”

Sweetie nodded as they started eating together again.

00000

“Ugh…” the summoned Fangire grumbled to himself as he picked himself off the blood-red carpeted floors, candle lights illuminating the black obsidian walls all around him. As he placed his scythe, nicknamed Kafziel on his back he heard voices coming from up ahead, and slowly trudged forwards with chains clanking as he dragged his coffin behind him. Despite his praying mantis-like appearance, he was more in line with the classic Japanese death god called a Shinigami and he had all the powers that implied came with it.

“Well, look who’s awake,” a feminine voice said and the Fangire looked up to see three figures standing before him. The one who had spoken was dressed in robes and had half of her face covered with a mask. “Not exactly a subtle one is he?”

“Priellit, this is hardly the time,” a tall man dressed head to toe in black with a hat pulled down a little and a cloth covering his face as he leaned on a cane. “I’m sure you are wondering what you’re doing here.”

“A little yes, though I do have to thank you. I was right in the middle of a losing battle, possibly about to fall like so many of my fellow Fangire have before me.” the Shinigami Fangire replied. “Damn her, damn that ‘Queen’. I was going to become the next Rook, ‘till she and her little harem showed up.”

“Indeed, the Fangires of our world suffered a similar fate and are still recovering,” the man in black said as he adjusted his hat a little. “We are known as the Order of the High Arcana, perhaps we can help each other out.”

“Little bit of a poncey name,” the Fangire replied with a Trottingham accent. “But as I’m in your debt for the time being… Well, who am I to decline?”

“Priellit, the deck if you will,” the man in black said as he held his hand out and Priellit placed the deck of Tarot cards in his hand. He started shuffling through the deck and looked up at the Mantis Fangire. “Each card in this deck contains a spirit that will make you stronger. The Wheel of Fate will choose which card is right for this situation, and it will be bonded to you and make you more powerful. If you deal with our enemies, then you will be allowed to bring this power with you back to your world and not only defeat your own enemies, but gain more power in the Fangire court. Forget a simple Rook, imagine with this power you could be a King.”

“There’s a catch to all of this, isn’t there?” the Shinigami Fangire replied. “There’s always a catch, power-ups from organizations like you never come for free. There’s always a price tag.”

“Of course there’s a catch,” the last figure, an armored man with an inhuman looking face and a crown of golden laurels. “We need life force just like you do in order to fulfill our goals. You will no doubt feed on the locals, a portion of that life force will go to our ends instead of feeding you, simple as that.”

“Sounds more like a deal with Tirek, than a deal with Celestia.” the Shinigami Fangire returned in kind. “How do I know this won’t consume all of my life force? Seems to me this only benefits yourself and your ‘order’ and I get very little out of the deal as if I go back to my world chances are whatever I can summon does not exist there and therefore I cannot summon it.”

“You’ll still have considerable power,” the man in black said. “You will get part of the energy and I’m sure you can figure something out. However, if you decline I can always send you back to your world and let you get killed. Your choice is simple, either take this deal or die.”

“When you put it that way…” the Fangire murmured before he smirked. “Let’s let the wheels of fate decide my place on the stage of history.”

The man in black placed his hand on the deck as his eyes glowed red and he began to chant. He drew the top card as it began to glow brightly as he looked at it, it depicted a woman with a crown that was holding scales in one hand and held a pentacle in the other while she was surrounded by five others.

“The Six of Pentacles, interesting,” he said as it glowed and energy flew out of it into the Fangire.

“Oh, now this should be… fun.” the monster groaned out, almost sounding like he was in the midst of something pleasurable as parts of his body began to glow gold and a fanciful scoped assault rifle was placed on his back alongside Kafziel. “Yes, I can certainly feel the power now…” On his chest, a pentagram with the number six emblazoned in gold-tinted glass. His coffin had the same symbol as well.

“Perfect,” the man in black said as he turned and waved his hand as four images appeared on the screen they used to view the battles. They were of Scootaloo, Sweetie Drops, and their respective Rider Forms. “Scootaloo Dash, AKA Kamen Rider Justice and her partner Kamen Rider Amores who we’re still trying to identify beyond a face. These are your main targets, you are to get them by any means necessary, understood?”

“Quite,” the Shinigami Fangire replied. “Any known associates? I like to hit them where it… hurts,” he stated as he pulled out Kafziel. “Death is all the more welcoming when you have nothing left to live for after all…”

The man in black waved his hand and images of Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle appeared to replace the first four. “These two are those who are closest to Miss. Dash. However this one…” he said as he pointed at Sweetie Belle. “Is important to another operation of ours, you can harm her but do not kill her, do you understand?”

“Understood,” the Shinigami Fangire replied before opening up his coffin which was full of shattered remains of Fangires past. Some of the little shards flew up out of the coffin and combined into the Rhino and Rat Fangires. The two stood at attention, not moving. “They’re just like puppets, you see. Anything I ask, they do. A demonstration.”

He snapped his fingers, and the Rhino Fangire punched his fellow making him shatter apart, with the remains flowing back into the coffin.

“Interesting,” the man in black said as he looked thoughtful. “Perhaps thanks to this arrangement we can work something out.”

He raised his hand and energy gathered in his hand and he began to chant again. Finally, several cards appeared in his hand and he shuffled them for a moment before giving them to the Fangire. They looked like tarot cards only distorted and slightly damaged.

“These are fragments of the power of previous Order Agents, the cards themselves are in the possession of our enemies, unfortunately, but this should be enough to summon fragments of them when combined with your power.”

“Fragments, not as powerful as I’d like but I’ll take what I can get,” the Shinigami Fangire sighed. “I think I can do you well, Master…?”

“Few are allowed to call me by my true name, but if you must call me anything call me Nodia,” the man in black said with a slight nod of his head. “Is there anything else?”

“Nothing at all.” the Shinigami Fangire said, before he raised his staff skywards, sending bolts of lightning up into the night sky.

00000

Kiva’s World:

“So I see, this is the trouble spot hmm?” Luna remarked, as she stepped out of her chariot with her personal guard standing at attention. The moon -A hunter’s moon- shined high in the night sky.

“Yes,” Vinyl replied. “Seriously, the Fangire… POOF! Up and he went, right before Tempest and Flutters could Rider Kick him into the next world! Man, that yatsume… Wasn’t expecting that one. Do Fangires even know how to teleport?”

“Not to my knowledge, no,” Luna replied, as she lit up her horn and whispered a soft incantation. “Revelare.”

A faint wisp of pure black smoke trailed up from where the Fangire had vanished and into the sky before seemingly vanishing out of sight.

“Uh, Luna, not to be complaining or anything but are you sure your magic hasn’t gone faulty in your old age?” Vinyl asked.

“I’m quite sure my magic is working perfectly, Vinyl Scratch and I’d rather you not imply otherwise,” Luna stated, looking back at the white mare sounding rather annoyed. “No, what’s happened here… Well, we have a case of dimensional traversing magic at work. Someone else’s hands are in play here, someone other than the Fangire. Seems whoever that someone is, he’s taken a little interest in the goings-on of this world.”

“...Great, dimensional magic,” Tempest muttered, rubbing her temples already feeling a headache coming on. She’d already been made well aware of the mirror portal by Twilight some time ago. No secrets between lovers, in Twilight’s world and besides as Captain of Twilight’s guard, she felt Tempest had a right to know anyhow. “Last thing we needed, just when our lives weren’t complex enough!” she shouted, throwing her hands up in the air in frustration.

“So, guess that means a trip through the mirror portal is in order correct?” Fluttershy asked, and Luna nodded.

“Quite, some adjustments will have to be made to tune it to the frequency of the correct world but I believe with a little help from Canterlot’s finest mages in the Blue Sky Organization it can be done.”

“So, guess that means I’ll be packing my bags then…” Fluttershy sighed. “It’s time for a hunt once more.”

“No way I’m letting you go alone, Fluttershy,” Tempest stated. “We’re Riders, and we have to look out for each other. Vinyl, you stay here and hold down the fort, the other rogue Fangires might see this as an opportunity. Best not to let them take it.”

“Agreed,” Vinyl nodded. “It might get lonely at night in bed, but I’m sure I can find ways to deal with-”

“Please don’t finish that thought,” Tempest groaned, as Fluttershy flushed a bright red. “I’d rather not hear what you or Fluttershy get up to at night. Goddess knows I hear enough of it from Ramon complaining about silencing spells. Anyways, Princess?” she continued. “We’ll be awaiting your go-ahead.”

Luna nodded, before walking back to her chariot. Before she stepped in, she gave them one last look. “Be careful, the both of you.”

00000

Justice’s World:

“What tha heck is up with these things?” Apple Bloom asked as she and Sweetie Belle looked through the cards that Scootaloo had found in the box. “What do yah think about this Sweetie?”

“Well, looking at the information on the internet about Kamen Riders…” Sweetie said as she typed into her phone and frowned a little as she looked at one of the cards. “These do seem to fit with the history of the Riders. This is weird, why would someone give these to her?”

“Well, she does use cards ta transform and use weapons,” Apple Bloom pointed out and Sweetie sighed a little. Scootaloo had gone out to go grocery shopping, which just left the two of them to try and figure these things out. “Is it possible that these are ta help her out?”

“Maybe,” Sweetie said as she picked one up and shook her head a little. “We should probably get these to SMILE, they might know what to do with them.””

“Yeah, they might,” Apple Bloom said with a frown as she picked up a card that had a head with a black helmet with a red and white stripe with red eyes and a silver metal mouth plate. “Hey, is it just me or does this look a little like Justice?”

“Now that you mention it…” Sweetie trailed off, reading the name off. “Kamen Rider Black. Huh, might be just a coincidence. There’s a Black RX here as well, now that you mention it. Odd. Makes one wonder if the two are con-”

Before Sweetie got a chance to finish that thought, Apple Bloom’s eyes briefly trailed over to the window where she could see this old man dressed like a 18th century coroner walking up the street.”

“...Ah don’t think Halloween’s fer another few weeks,” Apple Bloom remarked, something about this guy setting her on edge. “Think we should call the cops?” she asked, remembering something in the news about this creeper stalking the streets.

“Might be a good idea, you call them I’m calling Scootaloo to make sure she’s okay,” Sweetie said as she reached for her phone to call Scootaloo. When she tried to call her however she paused a little. “I’m not getting a signal, are you?”

“Nadda.” Apple Bloom, feeling this odd chill go up her spine. Something was definitely wrong.

“Try the landline,” Sweetie said as she nodded to the phone against the wall and looked back out the window at the strange man. Well, he was a man, for the briefest of moments until his veins seemed to resemble stained glass and he shifted forms into this mantis-like creature with a golden six on his chest.

“Apple Bloom…” Sweetie said as she looked back at her friend. “Call Scootaloo, I don’t think that’s human.”

“Yeah, thanks for stating the obvious!” Sweetie thought to herself in fear. “Course it isn’t human!”

Apple Bloom tried again, but for whatever reason, her phone couldn’t find a signal. “Yeah… Uh, that might be a problem.

“Crap…” Sweetie Belle said as she got up. “Think we could make it to the car?”

That question was soundly answered when the monster pulled out an assault rifle and fired at the car, and made it explode in a towering fireball.

“Darn it, Ah still had payments left on that thing!” Apple Bloom said as the two young women backed away from the window.

“You have the weapons Spirit Talker gave us stashed away somewhere?” Sweetie asked as the monster turned his gaze to them, his yellow eyes seemingly boring into their souls. Sweetie felt a shudder pass through her, something about this Order Member -if that’s even what it was- felt… different then the others.

“Yeah, they’re in mah room,” Apple Bloom said with a gulp. “Let’s go.”

After grabbing the weapons, they stared down the new monster, who smirked. “Ah, there you are…” it remarked. “Been wondering when you two would stop quivering in the dirt and actually face me. If you’re going to die and make no mistake you are, at least do it with some slice of dignity.”

“We ain’t gonna die,” Apple Bloom said as she tried not to sound nervous as she held one of the knives in her hand. “Yer goin’ down freak!”

She threw one of the knives at the monster as hard as she could, only for the creature to catch it. “Pathetic. At least show some skill,” he remarked in a tone of what could only be described as disgust. “I mean, I want some entertainment here! Plus, for Justice’s concubines, I expected better.”

“Concubines? Ah ain’t even into girls!” Apple Bloom said as Sweetie Belle blushed deeply.

“Apple Bloom, don’t let him get to you,” Sweetie said through the blush. “Come on, we need some sort of plan.”

Of course, that required the monster allowing them time to think up such a thing, as with a snap of his fingers the coffin behind him opened and glass reformed into the Rat Fangire, who split into two.

“What in tarnation?” Apple Bloom asked before shaking her head. Monsters, never failed to be strange. “Never mind. Sweetie, you take the left one, Ah’ll take the right.”

Swiftly pulling out two little pistols the rat creatures were dispatched even as a polar bear monster formed, and was shot by Apple Bloom doing a little damage and stunning it before she and Sweetie trained their weapons on the main monster. Firing off a few shots, the monster yawning and spun his scythe deflecting the shots. One shot nicked Apple Bloom in the leg, and she let out a scream of pain as Sweetie rushed to her side.

“...Show some effort why don’t you?” the monster asked, as Sweetie trained her pistol at him and glared at him harshly. The monster only laughed. “Ooh, I like that. Shame I’m going to have to disobey the Order, but you’re far too much trouble for me to want to put up with…”

Suddenly, before the monster could do anything else, a series of machine gun shots hit it, and both Apple Bloom and Sweetie turned to see a dark-skinned woman clad in a leather jacket holding a strange pistol. The Polar Bear monster pounced, before a blast of hot wind hit it and it shattered, with the blast having come from some sort of knuckle the woman held in her gloved hand.

“...How many times must I kill you today?” the woman asked in exasperation, shaking her head.

In two quick motion, the mohawked woman threw off her jacket revealing one of her arms was a prosthetic before flinging a belt around her waist. She slotted the knuckle into it, before stating a word both young women knew all too well.

“Henshin.”

The Empress's Hand

Canterlot Suburbs:

Tempest Shadow -Or Fizzlepop Berrytwist if you were a very close friend- was not having a very good night, to say the least. First off, one damned Fangire after another, all of which seemed to be ones she or Kiva had killed before. And now she’d had to follow another Fangire who’d escaped their clutches to another world. To make matters worse, it seems he was the source of their troubles, having the ability to bring back past Fangires from the dead. So, suffice to say Tempest Shadow was not in a particularly good mood.

“Fangire, return that life to Faust,” Tempest growled out, gripping IXA Calibur and changing it to its blade form. As ever, an intense blast of pure heat shot out of her once her transformation had completed itself. Thunder rumbled in the sky as a storm threatened to break, almost as if highlighting Kamen Rider IXA’s anger. “Let me highlight the mistakes you’ve made tonight. One, you’ve ticked me off. Two, you’re defiling the dead. Three, you’re picking on children. So yeah, I’m going to make this nice and painful for you.”

Slowly, she marched forwards with both Sweetie and Apple Bloom watching the Knight Templar-themed Rider. She turned to look back at them briefly.

“Go, now,” she ordered before engaging the Shinigami Fangire in battle, sparks flying in the night.

“Hey, we can…” Apple Bloom started to say when Sweetie put her hand gently on her shoulder.

“We need to get out of the jamming area,” Sweetie said. “Plus SMILE’s probably picked this up already. We already tried fighting it, whatever this thing is our weapons, let’s go see if we can get in contact with Scoots.”

“Okay, but Ah don’t like it,” Apple Bloom said with a sigh as the two of them turned and ran away. Mind you, a certain monster wasn’t having any of that, and he snapped his fingers before two cards appeared in front of the twosome, two older Order Members, low on the ranking system but still enough to be an issue. Namely, the Ace of Pentacles and the Two of Wands Arcana.

“Surprise!” the Shinigami Fangire laughed, as both he and Tempest clashed weapons once more. He swung low but Tempest leaped over the strike and kicked him in the chest before their weapons met once more.

“Aw, ya gotta be kidding me! He can bring those things back as well?” Apple Bloom shouted in shock as the being formerly known as Zauzwei approached with weapon drawn.

“...Okay, that’s… New. I thought his ability was only limited to Fangires, not whatever those things are!” Tempest thought to herself, her eyes widening briefly in panic before she regained her composure. However, this was just long enough for the Fangire to score a slash across the chest making her stagger back.

“IXA…” the Shinigami Fangire growled out. “You and Kiva, you’ve put so many of my brethren in the ground. Consider this fate catching up to you.”

“Yeah, never put much stock into that kinda thing, really,” Tempest replied as she met blades with the monster once more. “Always thought it a lot of crap. But I can read your fate, and that’s death.”

With that, she switched IXA Calibur back into gun mode and seized her opening, shooting the Fangire in the chest several times with burst shots. The Fangire staggered back and pulled out his own rifle, Tempest rolling to the left to avoid the shots, and then switching IXA Calibur back to blade form to block some more rounds. With that, letting out a battle cry she charged it once more.

“Didn’t Scootaloo defeat that one?” Sweetie said as she fired at one of the monsters with her gun. She recognized it as Zauzwei, the same monster that Scootaloo had defeated before.

“Ah think so,” Apple Bloom said as the other monster raised a revolver and fired several energy shots at them which they barely rolled out of the way of. “But that one’s new.”

“Any ideas?” Sweetie asked as they steadied themselves.

“Ah don’t know… somethin’ about this is weird,” Apple Bloom said as she fired at the other monster again. “Let’s split up, we can’t take them both on at once.”

“Agreed, on three?” Sweetie asked and Apple Bloom nodded. “Come on Scootaloo, where are you?”

“Three…” Apple Bloom said.

“Two…” Sweetie added.

“ONE!” They said in unison as they broke away from one another and ran down separate alleyways with the monsters close behind them. Joining them in a flurry of glass shards was a reanimated Fangire, this time based on an Earwig of all things.

Sweetie kept running as she dodged another shot from the revolver holding monster that hit the wall behind her. She kept running before she felt her foot hitting against something that caused her to trip.

Meanwhile quite unaware of what was about to transpire, Tempest had chased the Shinigami Fangire to a nearby playground, leaping over a swingset to avoid a shotgun blast from a newly regenerated Rat Fangire.

Or maybe not, it could have been just doppelgangers Sweetie and Apple Bloom defeated before. It was impossible to tell with this one. She kicked the shotgun out of the Fangire’s hands, before filling its chest full of bullets. The rain poured down as the storm finally broke, and Tempest dodged a bolt of lightning the Shinigami Fangire had caught with his scythe before spinning in midair and firing another round of bullets at the monster.

As she landed, Tempest stared it down. “Really, is that your only ability? Are you that cowardly, using shields instead of fighting me yourself?” she asked tauntingly before with a roar of rage the Fangire charged and once more blades met. They rang out in the night as the scythe and sword met, again and again, neither fighter getting a chance for an opening. All the while, Tempest knew the Fangire could recreate another fallen warrior to oppose them.

“I just hope those two civilians are alright…” she thought to herself.

Meanwhile, a few streets over Apple Bloom was cornered at a dead end. The reanimated Zauzwei along with the Earwig Fangire was lurching forward, Zauzwei’s weapon was being held up as if it was about to strike her and she closed her eyes as if waiting for the hit.

“Sorry Ma, Pa, guess Ah’ll be seein’ yah a little sooner than Ah thought…” Apple Bloom thought.

The hit never came as the sound of armored feet against the concrete was heard followed by a screech. When she opened her eyes again she was surprised to see another Rider standing there as slammed her fist into Zauzwei shattering it.

The Rider was dressed in golden armor with silver markings crossing it. Her helmet was golden and her red eyes and faceplate were surrounded by two claw-like appendages. A pure white cape flowed outwards from the Rider’s back. She wasn’t armed but that didn’t seem to make much difference as she punched and kicked at the Earwig Fangire next.

“W-Who are you?” the Fangire whispered in fear, clutching his partially cracked sides.

“I’m your death,” she said in a distorted voice that Apple Bloom couldn’t recognize as energy started to gather in her fist. “RIDER PUNCH!”

She slammed her fist into the Fangire and it shattered into tiny shards. She stood back upright and looked back at Apple Bloom for a moment. She turned away and walked away in silence without saying a word.

“Wait, who are yah?” Apple Bloom asked, but the strange Rider didn’t say anything and just walked away as she seemed to vanish. “Okay, now that was… weird. Even by mah standards.”

Meanwhile, Tempest was going gun to gun like something out of an old Western with the Ace of Pentacles who definitely seemed to be no real slouch in the art of gunplay. Combine that with the Shinigami Fangire’s assault rifle shots and she had a real problem on her hands.

“Two against one…” Tempest muttered, actually rather afraid though she wasn’t going to let the Fangire have the satisfaction of knowing it. “Never good odds.” she continued, dodging and weaving between trees even as she fired off shots of her own.

“How ‘bout I help even them then?” a female voice asked. “Henshin!”

“Time to Tip the Scales!”

A black and green Rider stepped forward. She had a pair of antennae sticking out of her head as she looked at Tempest with red eyes. She held a sword with a golden hilt in her hand and gave the other Rider a nod. Tempest returned it, she’d never seen this one before but she wasn’t about to turn down help.

“I’ve seen your future, and it’s not bright,” the new Rider said as she pointed her sword at the two monsters. “It’s time to meet your makers.”

Tempest charged, before leaping over the Ace of Pentacles and then rebounding off a nearby tree and slicing through the monster with IXA Calibur. Landing, she kicked up a bit of mud and kicked it in the Shinigami Fangire’s face momentarily blinding him.

“Hey, that’s not fair!” he shouted even as Tempest landed a powerful right cross across his face cracking it slightly before she kicked him in the stomach.

“...And summoning monsters from the grave is?” the new Rider deadpanned before sharing a nod once more with Tempest. “You Order Agents have a funny way of thinking about what is and isn’t fair.”

She ran forward and slashed at the Ace of Pentacles monster with her sword. The monster tried to fire at her with his revolver only to have it be pushed out of the way. The new Rider kicked hard at the monster and swung her sword up which left a slash across his chest. Tempest finished the job with a few shots from IXA Calibur.

“Now, there’s only you…” Tempest smirked under her helmet as she looked at the Shinigami Fangire.

She slotted a Feustle into her belt, making it proclaim: “IXA, Rise Up.”

Taking a leap into the air alongside her newfound partner, IXA aimed her feet right at the Fangire’s chest. At the last second, before they could impact, the Shinigami Fangire recreated the Grizzly Fangire and let it take the blow.

Swearing loudly and profusely enough to make any sailor proud as the Shinigami Fangire vanished in a swirl of black energy, Tempest canceled her transformation.

The other Rider took two cards out of her Driver and powered down as she put them away which revealed a young woman with darker skin and short purple hair. She took a deep breath and let out a sigh as she looked around.

“Sweetie? Apple Bloom? Where are you?” She asked, suddenly looking concerned. Tempest’s eyes widened. So that’s why those girls looked so familiar to her, and that must have meant this was…

“Scootaloo, a Kamen Rider. Who’d have thought?” Tempest asked with a small smile of pride before it faded, the woman not wanting to let her emotions show. “Saw them run down a nearby alleyway, with those Order Agents as you called them in pursuit along with the Earwig Fangire.” she informed.

“Fangires?” Scootaloo asked and blinked a little as she shook her head. “I should go find them, they’re probably worried.”

She took off down the alleyway Tempest had pointed her to find her friends. She wasn’t sure what she meant by Fangires off the top of her head, but she filed that away for later. Maybe SMILE would know something about that, but for now, she had to find her friends.

She would find them, with Apple Bloom getting bandaged up by Sweetie.

“Scootaloo… Oh thank Gawd, we couldn’t get in touch with ya at all. That durn monster, it did somethin’ to the cell towers!” Apple Bloom said, wincing out in pain slightly as she picked herself up off the ground.

“Yeah, Fancy Pants told me, he had to send Agent Drops to find me,” Scootaloo said as she looked between her friends. “What happened? Are you two okay?”

“Yeah, we’re fine other than a few scrapes,” Sweetie said as she rubbed her head a little. “Though it’s weird, I don’t actually remember getting into a fight with anything. The last thing I remember is running away from that one with the revolver…”

Scootaloo blinked a little in confusion at that but she just smiled and pulled her friends into a hug. “I’m just glad you’re both okay…”

“Miss Scootaloo?” Tempest asked, clearing her throat so all three could look at her. “Name’s Tempest Shadow, although you can call me IXA for the time being. Least till the threat has passed. I think we need to talk.”

“Right…” Scootaloo said with a sigh. “I think SMILE is going to want to know about this if the towers are back up. I’ll call them and tell them what’s going on.”

00000

SMILE Headquarters:

“You’re telling me that you were fighting Fangires?” Fancy Pants asked as he looked at Scootaloo and then Tempest confused for a moment. “I admit, I wasn’t expecting that, we’ve still been having problems with the satellite system after we were hacked before.”

“Well, congrats. You’re dealing with ‘em now. Bust out the party cannons and the confetti.” Tempest drawled sarcastically, crossing her arms. She briefly tossed a glance to her prosthetic arm and sighed. So, from a chipped horn to a fake arm. Lovely change, she thought sarcastically.

“Okay, Ah’m lost, what in tha Sam Hill is a Fangire?” Apple Bloom asked as she looked around confused for a moment. “Do yah know what they are?”

“Fangires were a monster faction that was active in Japan around 10 years ago,” Fleur said with a shake of her head. “They’re similar to Vampires though without many of the weaknesses that traditional vampires have. Typically they drain the life force from individuals, and likely would have continued to do so if they weren’t stopped by Kamen Rider Kiva and the Aozora Organization.”

“So there’s a Kiva in this world as well?” Tempest thought, her eyes widening briefly in surprise. “Constants and variables.”

“Blue Sky Organization huh?” Sweetie asked, remembering some vague Japanese classes she took back in high school. “Fitting.”

“There was a report of something called Neo-Fangires, but all evidence points to them not being active for another 12 years at least,” Fleur added.

“Real reassuring,” Scootaloo replied dryly. “So, that means they’ll be back in the future. Any other pieces of ‘good news’?”

“Well, actually yes,” Fleur replied. “There’s this Rider called Aqua active in the future if that’s any consolation, not sure how far in the future but I think he and the next Kiva whoever he or she may very well be should be able to handle things. Plus, something tells me we’re not dealing with the Neo-Fangire.”

“No, especially not with you here,” Fancy Pants said as he adjusted his monocle and looked at Tempest for a moment. “I’m guessing you’re the Tempest Shadow from an alternate universe.”

“No duh, give the man a prize!” Tempest drawled, idly wondering where Fluttershy was and if something had gone wrong in the universal transit. “...That Fangire though, he seemed a bit off. Last I checked, Fangires don’t have numbers on their chest like they’re part of some Sentai.”

“No, but Order Agents typically have that or something similar,” Scootaloo said. “The Order of the High Arcana is the current threat we’re dealing with here. Is it possible that they could’ve used one of the Minor Arcana card spirits on a Fangire?”

“It’s possible,” Fancy Pants replied. “It’s not something that we’ve encountered before, but then again last time the Order was mostly overlapped with the Undead and they were in Japan. They’re still very much a mystery to us in some ways.”

“Any possible suspects, Arcana-wise?” Tempest asked.

“What number did they have and weapon did they use?” Fleur asked.

“Six, and used some sort of assault rifle,” Tempest replied. “Real good gunslinger, I’ll give him that much. And I thought the ability to bring back the dead was trouble enough.”

“In that case, that would be the Six of Pentacles card,” Sweetie said thoughtfully for a moment as she took out her phone and looked up a website. “Let’s see, according to Biddytarot when reversed it means not being able to move on and carrying baggage.”

“Fitting, for a Shinigami,” Tempest commented. Just then, the lights went out, and computers powered down all across the room. “...Please tell me you forgot to pay the electric bill.” she asked, her hair standing on end.

“We have internal power sources, this can’t be right,” Fancy Pants said as he got up and opened a wall panel. He took out several radios and spare flashlights and tossed them to everyone. “These should be unaffected, let’s see if we can figure out what’s going on.”

Tempest, as she turned on her flashlight looked at everyone. “Be on your guard, if you hear or see anything… Call it in. Nobody do anything foolish. No playing hero, understand? Nobody’s dying tonight, not on my watch.” she said, taking command of the situation, her old training coming to the forefront.

Fancy Pants turned on his radio and spoke into it. “All non-essential personnel move into designated safe areas. We’re going under Protocol Stoker in addition to Protocol Fortuna, everyone be careful, we don’t know what’s going on here. I want to know the minute anything strange happens.”

“Where’s your power source?” Tempest asked, grabbing a very large and very dangerous looking orange and white rifle off a nearby rack and placing an energy cell in it. The weapon hummed as it came to life. “Likely to be where our little saboteur is.”

“Bottom floor,” Fancy Pants said as he and Fleur grabbed their own weapons. “Scootaloo, get your friends to the safe room down the hall. They should be fine there, then join Tempest in the reactor room. I’ll have Agent Drops meet you down there.”

Before Sweetie and Apple Bloom could protest Fancy Pants held his hand up. “Don’t argue, this is a potential foothold situation here. If this structure is compromised we’ll have a lot more to worry about. Follow my orders, and if the alarm goes off you have to run for the surface. Do I make myself clear?”

“Yes sir,” Apple Bloom said and Sweetie Belle nodded quickly.

“Good, you all have your orders,” Fancy Pants said. “Fleur and I are going to direct things from the control center and try and get this place back up and running. Go, now, all of you.”

Tempest nodded, and ran off down a corridor that had an arrow pointing in the direction of the reactor room. Her flashlight had been attached to the top of her rifle.

“Come on Fluttershy, where are you?” she thought as she ran. As she did so, eventually she reached the reactor room and found who she presumed was Agent Drops using what looked to be a bo staff to fight off a blue Fangire she remembered being based off the Sungazer Lizard of all things. The trouble with this one was, the Sungazer Fangire had two shields, on either arm with both being almost unbreakable. “Duck!” Tempest shouted, and Sweetie Drop’s eyes widened before she acknowledged and Tempest fired off a blast of electricity from her rifle. The Sungazer Fangire raised his arms to block the blow before Sweetie Drops whirled around and got in a powerful strike with her bo staff.

“Tempest Shadow, Kamen Rider IXA. You?” Tempest introduced herself as she whirled to the left to dodge a strike from the Sungazer’s claws before firing off another shot which like the first one was blocked.

“Agent Sweetie Drops. Kamen Rider Amores. Pleasure.” Sweetie replied, Tempest, quirking an eyebrow at the woman even as Sweetie Drops kicked the Sungazer in its arm shields cracking them slightly. There was something familiar about this woman, Tempest just couldn’t narrow down where she’d seen her before.

Tempest tossed her rifle in the air landing a solid punch with the IXA Knuckle to the Sungazer’s shields before she caught the rifle and fired off several blasts making the monster stagger back. “Just keep doing damage to those shields of his, they’re tough but they’ll crack eventually,” Tempest informed, and ducked down to dodge a swing from the Fangire’s claws.

“Thanks,” Sweetie said, spinning the bo staff and catching the Fangire in the leg sending it skywards before Tempest fired off another blast from her rifle. Sadly, this was to be the last as it appeared the power cell was all out of juice. Tossing it aside and letting it hit the floor with a clatter, Tempest changed into IXA with Sweetie Drops following suit into Amore.

“Henshin!”they both shouted as the Sungazer Fangire managed to grab onto a catwalk, and pull himself up.

“LoveConquersAllThings!”Sweetie Drop’s belt proclaimed, before its user fired off a volley of pink energy arrows.

“Regular everyday Robin Hoof…” Tempest muttered as she fired off a blast of hot wind at the Fangire from her Knuckle, the combined attacks shattering one of his arm shields. Tempest and Sweetie shared a nod, before leaping up to join the Fangire. “Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide…” Tempest smirked.

The Fangire let out a roar of rage and swung at IXA, slicing through her armor with his sharp claws, before spitting out several darts like needles at Amores.

“....Right, based on a lizard, some of which are venomous.” Amores reminded herself, before she drew back her bow, and fired only for the the Sungazer to catch the arrow in mid-air and snap it in half.

“...That the best you got?” he laughed, before leaping over the reactor to another catwalk with Tempest clutching at her side, too injured for the moment to follow.

“You gonna be alright?” Amores asked, and Tempest nodded gruffly.

“Just… Just get after him,” she answered, clutching her bleeding side.

Amores nodded as she jumped after the escaping monster. She held her bow steady as she looked for a clear shot at the monster as she drew her bow back a little, preparing to fire at the moment she got a shot at them.

“Never a dull day when you’re a Kamen Rider huh?” Lyra’s voice said in her mind as Amores turned her head when she thought she heard something.

“No, most definitely not,” she replied as she looked around carefully. “Any chance you can see where this thing is?”

“No, I can only see what you see,” Lyra answered.

There was the sudden sound of something from behind her and she rolled forward just in time to avoid the Fangire. She snapped back as she raised her bow and fired a shot right at the monster only to have it be blocked by the monster’s remaining shield.

“Son of a…” she muttered as she pulled the bow back and fired three shots in a row, the first two energy arrows hit the monster’s remaining shield but the third hit it in the chest, but that didn’t do much to slow it down as it stormed forward at her and swung its shield at her and knocked the bow out of her hand.

Before Amores could react she was pushed hard against the wall of the reactor area. She tried to struggle out of its grip, but that was futile. The Fangire raised its claw to strike, but before that could happen a eerie sound, almost like a distorted violin echoed throughout the room. The Fangire let go of Amores, actually looking quite terrified.

“No… No… Anyone but her.” it whispered, as Tempest smirked. Stepping out of the shadows was Kiva, her Kiva in Empress form with the Zanbat Sword in hand. Behind her, a silver and blue Rider themed after the Ace of Spades.

“So sorry I’m late, ran into a few old friends, and one new one,” Fluttershy remarked as she gestured to the Kamen Rider behind her. She then pointed to the Sungazer. “Now, bow to your Queen.”

She raised the hilt of the Zanbat Sword up, lighting the blade up crimson red before sliding it back down as Kivat shouted: “Wake up!”

With a battle cry, Fluttershy charged into battle with Blade pulling out his personal sword, the Blade Rouzer to assist.

Fluttershy kicked the bow back towards Amores before she and Blade began cutting into the Sungazer’s armor. Kivat all the while observed Amore’s motif.

“Wait, you have a Tarot thing going on? Can you see my future?” he asked eagerly.

“Uh, no, not really,” Amores replied, as she fired her bow at the Sungazer.

“Oh come on, why not?” Kivat asked, almost in a whining tone.

“It doesn't give me the ability to see the future, it's just how I transform,” Amores answered.

“Lame,” Kivat huffed.

“What’s with the talking bat thing?” Amores asked as she looked at the other Riders. “Is he always this weird?”

“I am not a THING!” Kivat snapped in offense. “I’m Kivat the Third, thank you very much. Show a little respect! ...Oughta slipper slap you for that.” he grumbled.

Fluttershy sighed to herself, even as she scored a horizontal slash across the Fangire’s chest.

“He’s my partner, and yes… He’s always like this.”

“...No respect, Milady. You know that right?” Kivat grumbled. Eventually, with the combined efforts of the three Riders, the Sungazer cracked, before shattering after Fluttershy had pinned him to a wall with the Kiva insignia. Pulling a lever, Tempest managed to restore power to the SMILE facility as Scootaloo ran up.

“You’re late,” Tempest remarked. “Scootaloo Dash, meet Fluttershy Breeze, AKA my world’s Kiva.”

“I got lost okay?” Scootaloo said with a shake of her head as she looked at Fluttershy surprised for a moment. “Huh, you’re a Kamen Rider in your world? I… I have to admit I wasn’t expecting that.”

“...There have been weirder choices,” Kenzaki remarked as he canceled his transformation.

“I could say the same thing about you,” Fluttershy told Scootaloo ignoring Kenzaki. She pulled Scootaloo into a hug. “Can I just say how proud I am to see you all grown up?”

“Uh… thanks?” Scootaloo asked. “Can’t breathe though.”

Blushing red, Fluttershy released her from the hug. “So, how’s Sweetie and Apple Bloom? I presume you three are still friends here?”

“They’re fine, yeah, we’re still friends,” Scootaloo said as she rubbed the back of her head a little. “Actually me and Sweetie are, a bit more than just friends.”

Fluttershy let out a little squee sound even as Scootaloo slapped her hand to her face in remembrance.

“Oh dang it, they’re still up in the safe room probably!” Scootaloo exclaimed, before muttering: “Note to self, when coming into this room for whatever reason never go widdershins around certain corners.”

Kenzaki meanwhile, was tending to Tempest’s wounds commenting on how reckless the woman was.

“I think,” Sweetie Drops said as she powered down and looked at the other Riders. “We have a lot to talk about in this debriefing. Let’s get back upstairs.”

“Agreed,” Kenzaki said. “You can explain to me why there’s a female IXA and Dark Kiva along the way.”

00000

“So, how do we deal with a monster that can bring back defeated monsters?” Sweetie Belle asked as they sat back down around the table.

“Well, anything unusual about this particular form of Fangire?” Kenzaki asked. “Anything that would indicate something to strike at?”

“Not that we could see,” Scootaloo said as she sighed a little. “Do we know anything about this thing? You said before that there was information from the fight with the Fangires in Japan.”

“Yes, well…” Fancy Pants said as he turned on the screen behind them and an image of the Shinigami Fangire appeared on it. “The Mantis, or Shinigami Fangire of this world pretty much had a similar M.O. to the one we’ve been dealing with. It could use the fragments of Fangires to revive them as it’s mindless slaves with the intention of killing the old Queen.”

“Does it say how to kill it?” Tempest asked, and Kenzaki took over from here.

“Actually, it shouldn’t be that hard. That coffin, it seems to be connected to the Fangire itself. I recommend destroying both at once, that should stop it dead if you forgive the pun,” he theorized. “But there’s another problem. I presume Castle Doran didn’t follow you into this dimension?” he asked, and Fluttershy shook her head no. A collection of groans echoed around the table, with Sweetie and Scootaloo sharing a confused look.

“...There goes the Arms Monsters.” Kenzaki muttered.

“...Uh, back up here. Can someone explain to me what exactly Castle Doran is?” Scootaloo asked, looking at Fancy.

“Well, to make a long story short, in this world and I presume it’s the same story in your world Madam Fluttershy,” Fancy explained. “Castle Doran was once a member of the great Wyvern race until the King of the Fangires captured it and built his keep around it.”

“...That’s disgusting.” Apple Bloom muttered. “Treatin’ an animal like that!”

“Yes, it is, but Castle Doran no matter what you think of it can seal away the souls of defeated Fangires. It’s one of the only ways to stop one permanently. And as Castle Doran, this world’s one anyway is currently located somewhere in Japan I highly doubt it would be able to get here at the drop of a hat.” Fancy muttered.

“Which leads us into our next problem. That Fangire, he’s probably collected enough souls including his own to form into a Sabbat -Think a massive chandelier, with clawed arms and a group of skull heads on long necks that throw fireballs- upon his destruction,” Kenzaki explained. “They’re never easy to take down, as you’d imagine.”

“That’s not good,” Scootaloo said. “We don’t exactly have any giant robots or something kicking around unless there’s something you haven’t told us.”

“No, definitely not,” Fancy Pants said. “We weren’t exactly expecting to fight giant monsters you know, that’s not our department.”

“Well, what about those Rider Cards?” Sweetie Belle suggested, and everyone looked at her. Kenzaki walked up to her.

“Rider Cards?” he inquired, raising an eyebrow. A theory was beginning to form in his mind, there was only one type of card with that name and only one use for it. “Explain.”

“Yeah, last night someone dropped a box of cards with…” Apple Bloom started to say and facepalmed. “Crap, we left them at tha apartment when that thing attacked.”

“I presume you mean these?” Tempest asked, holding up the box. “Had a visitor in the infirmary, older guy in this long coat, wore glasses and a hat. Handed these off to me, said for me to give them to you.”

“May I see them?” Fancy Pants asked as the box was handed to him. He took out the deck of cards and went through them with a slight frown on his face. “Interesting… very interesting, I’ve only heard scattered details of these cards. I don’t even recognize some of these Riders.”

“Yeah, last I saw these cards they were in the possession of Tsukasa Kadoya, otherwise known as Kamen Rider Decade. Allowed him to transform his predecessors into weapons for him to use. ...I still have the memories of being turned into a giant sword. Not fun, let me tell you,” Kenzaki grumbled. “Justice, you use Cards as your transformation trinkets right?” he asked.

“Tarot cards yes,” Scootaloo replied as she reached into her pocket and took out her Justice card.

“It’s a long shot, but I think you might be able to use them as well, like say change Kiva into her Arrow form,” Kenzaki theorized. “Apologies in advance, Madam Fluttershy.”

“...Why do I have the feeling I don’t want to know why you’re apologizing?” Fluttershy mumbled to herself.

“This might work if it comes to that,” Fancy Pants said as he placed the cards back in the box and slid them over to Scootaloo. “For now, we need to keep an eye out for the Shinigami Fangire.”

“Shouldn’t be hard,” Tempest remarked. “Fangires are greedy things, they’re never exactly ‘patient’ when it comes to dealing with their hunger pangs.”

“Uh… Fancy?” Apple Bloom asked. “Somethin’ Ah think you should know. Back when we were first attacked, Ah was saved by this new Rider, themed after a scorpion.”

“A scorpion…” Fancy Pants mumbled as he rubbed his chin thoughtfully and looked at the others before he shook his head. “That’s not something we’ve ever encountered in this city at least. Unfortunately, we haven’t had much luck with getting the Satellite working again so they could be anywhere in the city.”

Scootaloo placed her hand on Sweetie’s and gave it a light squeeze as she gave her a smile.

“There’s one problem we need to consider,” Fleur said finally. “All the evidence that we’ve found on the Minor Arcana monsters suggests that they’re draining the life force from their hosts to power themselves.”

“And in this case, they don’t have a host…” Fluttershy mused to herself. “Aside from possibly our Fangire.”

“Fangires feed on life force too, which is just going to give the parasitic spirit more to feed on as the Fangire feeds,” Fleur said. “And the more that happens, the hungrier the Fangire is going to get.”

“Which means we’ve got a potential massacre on our hands,” Tempest growled as she clenched her fist tightly enough to draw blood. Just then, as if to prove her words prophetic, an agent of SMILE came running up, panting and sweating with his face stricken with fear.

“The TV… Turn on the TV!” he shouted.

They didn’t need any further prompting as Fancy Pants changed it to the local news feed.

The report, as followed showed images of bodies being zipped up in distinctive black bags all over town. At least one hundred members of the good people of Canterlot had been massacred by the Shinigami Fangire, all in his quest to quench his thirst no doubt spurred on by the Arcana parasite in his veins.

“Good God…” Fancy muttered, crossing himself. The news feed then changed to a live one from a helicopter showing the Shinigami Fangire fighting off local police officers atop a rooftop and then sucking them dry. Sweetie, in the background stifled a sob as Apple Bloom brought her friend into a hug.

Tatsulot whispered: “Per Faust, è un mostro…” and his head dropped in mourning.

“Not even the Gurongi were this bad…” someone muttered in the background. “He’s not just killing for food anymore, he’s doing it for sport!”

Tempest slammed her fist down on the table, with a look of what could only be described as utter rage on her face.

“That does it,” she snarled. “No more. No more! This ends tonight. Anyone here recognize that building? ANYONE?” she barked.

“Y-Yeah,” Fleur replied, considerably shaken. “That’s the local ZNN Broadcasting station. I’ll arrange a helicopter. You’re right, this has to end.”

“B-But…” Scootaloo whispered as she sank to the floor as she was resigned to what was going on. “It’s too powerful, we’ve barely been able to stop the revived monsters, how are we going to stand a chance against him? And he can just summon more… there’s no way we can beat this thing…”

Fluttershy reached out a hand. “Years ago, my father said this to me: “If there is a hand reaching for help, and I don't reach out my hand when I can, the regret would make me wish I were dead... I reach out my hand because I don't want that.”

“W-Who was your father?” Scootaloo asked, having sworn she’d heard that saying somewhere before.”

“Eiji ‘Sky’ Shy,” Fluttershy replied. “Kamen Rider OOO and Kiva 1. I took those words to heart, and right now you need my help. Riders watch after other Riders, don’t they?”

Scootaloo saw Kenzaki, Tempest, Fleur, and Sweetie Drops looking at her, and she grabbed Fluttershy’s hand.

“Yeah, that they do. Let’s end this once and for all,” she stated.

00000

Canterlot: ZNN Broadcasting

“Ah, nothing like a good hunt really…” the Shinigami Fangire muttered, as the last of the police officers sent to stop him dropped to the ground and shattered like glass.

“Shame we’re going to have to cut it short!” a voice called out, and the Fangire whirled around to see all five Riders standing nearby.

“Well, little impudent souls,” the Fangire laughed. “I administer your fates from now on...and will be the judge of your fates. I set the rules of this world.”

“We’ll just have to see about that. You ready?” Fluttershy asked Scootaloo.

“Yeah, I’m as ready as I’ll ever be,” Scootaloo said as she placed her hand on the Driver in her pocket as she took a deep breath. “Any last minute advice on how to deal with this thing?”

“Yeah, just one. HENSHIN!” Fluttershy called as all of the other Riders activated their belts.

“Fist on.”
“Turn up!”
“Love Conquers All Things!”

“Go on,” Sweetie Drops urged in a gentle tone. “You know what to do, it’s just like any other fight.”

“Henshin!” Scootaloo said as she placed her Driver on her belt and slid the cards into it.

“Time to Tip the Scales!” Her Driver said as the energy flowed over her and formed the armor around her as the Arcana Rapier appeared in her hand.

“Let’s do this,” she said with a nod as she placed her hand on the card box where the Rider cards were.

The Shinigami Fangire conjured up a bunch of Rat Fangires to slow their attack, but Fluttershy and Scootaloo brought out their respective blades and began slicing and cutting through the army.

“Oh, Tension Fortissimo, this is just like a Rider Sentai! Molto Bene! Talk about a dream come true!” Tatsulot exclaimed, as he began cutting through some of the army with his wings, a little gold blur of light.

Sweetie Drops raised her bow and nodded at the others as she pulled the bow back and fired an energy arrow into one of the Rat Fangires that was getting close to Scootaloo. She turned her attention back towards the Shinigami Fangire and fired several more arrows at the hybrid monster.

“Absorb Queen: Fusion Jack!” Blade’s driver called out as he went into a more gold adorned form and began slicing through the hoard with lightning infused slashes.

“I ever forget to mention how much I really hate rats?” Kenzaki asked, as he fought back to back with Tempest, their blades cutting down the forces.

“Agreed. Justice, time to try out some of those new cards!” Tempest barked. “You know the ones!”

Scootaloo nodded as she reached into her card carrying case and took out one of the cards. She slid it into her Driver’s card slot and was surprised to hear it say “FINAL FORM RIDE, BLADE!”

Poking Blade on the backside, she sighed. “I apologize, this may tingle a little.” and watched as he transformed into a massive… well, blade with cards sticking out from the hilt. “Okay, that’s not what I expected…”

“Damnit Justice, why have you betrayed me!” Kenzaki whined as he felt his body contort and shift.

“Sorry, sorry!” Scootaloo said as her Driver started to glow and she swung the blade around and slammed it on the ground. A wave of energy flew out of it and through the rat Fangires causing them to shatter. Next, as a group of recreated Order Agents ran up to her, she swung the blade around causing them to go up in massive fireballs.

“...There, that should clear us some breathing room.” Scootaloo remarked, as Blade changed back to normal.

“...Oh, such a crick in the neck!” Kenzaki muttered. “Onori Dikeido!” he roared, shaking his fist at nobody in particular before going into back into Jack Form and taking to the skies grabbing an Order Agent and a Fangire in his grip.

A shot rang out from somewhere above them. Scootaloo looked behind her in time to see a rat Fangire they had missed somehow shattering. She glanced up at where the shot came from only to get a brief glimpse of black and silver.

“Weird,” she said as she grabbed another card and slid it into her Driver.

“ACANA CIRCLE SHIELD!” The Driver said as an ornate shield appeared on her other hand and she went back to fighting the remaining monsters as she pushed towards the Shinigami Fangire.

“Whoever that was, can’t say I’m not grateful for the help…” Tempest remarked, shooting down Fangires with IXA Calibur as she went. Nearby, Fluttershy had gone into Empress Form and was striking down the remaining enemies with the Zanbat Sword.

“Why does everyone have form upgrades but us?” Sweetie Drops wondered aloud.

“Don’t ask me,” Lyra commented. “Though IXA doesn’t seem to have her Rising Form...”

“That we know of…” Sweetie muttered.

“Now, it’s just you.” Fluttershy remarked, as both she and Scootaloo stared the Fangire down.

“And your future doesn’t look bright,” Scootaloo said with a smirk as she pointed her rapier at the monster.

“We’ll see.” the Shinigami Fangire remarked, before raising Kafziel and charging towards the two. Fluttershy eyed the nearby coffin, and looked at Justice.

“Drive him back towards his coffin! I’ve got a plan!” Fluttershy told her.

“Got it,” Scootaloo said as she raised her shield up, she just hoped that it was going to last long enough as she pushed forward and stabbed at the Shinigami Fangire with her Rapier.

The Fangire continued to block the blows, and swing Kafziel at her and Fluttershy. Whenever they dodged or blocked the blows, he pulled out his assault rifle and fired.

Scootaloo raised her shield to block the shots, but bit by bit they made her stagger back.

“WAKE UP FEVER!” Tatsulot called, as Fluttershy leaped forwards, red energy blades on her foot hacking into the Fangire’s body before to her surprise the Shinigami Fangire staggered back, only winded.

“Impossible, no Fangire’s managed to survive that! Must be that extra power the Order gave him…” She thought.

The Shinigami Fangire raised his blade and called out: “Darkness Reaper’s Hell!” and swung sending a powerful energy arc towards the two Riders. Both were sent flying back, and rolled along the ground, their armor smoking from the powerful blow.

Tempest and Sweetie rushed forwards, firing their own weapons making the Shinigami Fangire stagger backwards as Scootaloo and Fluttershy picked themselves up off the ground.

“Hit him now, can’t keep him pinned for long!” Tempest shouted, as both she and Sweetie continued firing. Fluttershy nodded, before creating the Kiva insignia in her palm and using it to pin the Shinigami Fangire against a metal tower.

“Now Scootaloo!” Fluttershy ordered.

Scootaloo nodded as she jumped up, energy starting to gather in her foot as she leapt towards the Shinigami Fangire. “JUSTICE KICK!” She shouted as her foot impacted the Fangire’s chest.

The extra armor covering the Fangire shattered, along with the tower with the Fangire’s eyes wide in shock as he fell off the rooftop.

“Oh no you don’t, not finished with you yet!” Kenzaki shouted before he grabbed the Shinigami Fangire and tossed him to Tempest who kicked the monster towards his coffin.

“Don’t even have to place an order… How convenient.” Tempest chuckled darkly, as Fluttershy threw the Zanbat Sword impaling the Fangire, who cracked and then shattered to pieces.

“We did it…” Scootaloo whispered as she breathed heavily. Might have been speaking a bit too soon however, as the gathered souls in the coffin along with the Fangire’s own rose up into the sky and created a massive gold colored Sabbat true to Kenzaki’s descriptions.

“Oh, you gotta be kidding me!” Sweetie Drops shouted as fire rained down all around them.

“There’s only one way to finish this guy, and you know what it is,” Fluttershy nodded, holding up her Final Form Ride card. “Only going to hurt for just a second, remember?” she added, at Scootaloo’s noticeable hesitance.

“Alright…” Scootaloo said with a nod as she took it and slid it into her Driver.

“FINAL FORM RIDE, KIVA!” her Driver proclaimed as she pressed a finger into Fluttershy’s back, who folded up into a massive bow and arrow resembling Kivat of all things.

“You sure you’re up for this?” Sweetie Drops asked.

“Hey, it’s a big target, I don’t think I can miss,” Scootaloo said with a nervous chuckle as she raised the bow up towards the massive target and pulled back on it and fired.

The arrow sailed through the air before it hit the Sabbat. For a moment nothing seemed to happen before cracks started to form in the massive construct and it finally shattered before exploding.

“Justice… is served.” Scootaloo commented as Fluttershy back in her normal state stood beside her. “Are you okay? There aren’t any side effects or something are there?”

“Eh, none that I can feel,” Fluttershy commented as she canceled her transformation. “Least nothing a hot bath won’t cure.”

“...Hey, maybe you can get Vinyl to join you!” Kivat suggested gleefully.

“S-Shut it, you!” Fluttershy stammered out, blushing a deep red as Tatsulot cackled in the background.

“Wait… Vinyl?” Scootaloo asked as she blinked a little in surprise as she powered down. “Who’s Vinyl?”

“...Wait, you haven’t met?” Tasutlot asked. “Wears shades? Neighponiese and goes by DJ-Pon3? Seriously? So uncultured.” he muttered, and crossed his arms with a small huff.

“Hey, Canterlot’s a big city but yeah I’ve heard of her,” Scootaloo said and thought back. “Actually come to think of it I think she was performing in the Battle of the Bands we went to right before Tripen attacked.”

“...Think she’s thinking of transferring to Zawame and joining Team Pop Up…” Sweetie Drops muttered. “Should be safe enough… I think.”

“Anyway you’re with her?” Scootaloo asked as she looked confused.

“Long story.” Fluttershy said, with a dismissive wave of her hand.“But yeah.”

“Wow, that’s quite different from this world,” Scootaloo said with a chuckle. “You’re with Rainbow Dash here.”

“...Could have seen that possibility,” Tempest remarked. “I was actually betting on it.” she remarked, before Fluttershy shot her a stunned look.

“Constants and variables!” Tatsulot shouted as he buzzed around overhead.

“Anyway,” Sweetie Drops said as she picked up the Six of Pentacles card. “We should probably get back to HQ for the full debriefing. Something tells me this is going to be an interesting one.”

“...I can see the paperwork now.” Scootaloo groaned out hanging her head in dismay.

Once they had left a dark figure moved out of the shadows and bent down to gather some of the surviving Fangire shards. Looking around for a moment it found some green blood that had been shed in the fight and gathered some samples of it before putting them away and walking off.

00000

Later that day, Fluttershy and Tempest were returning home as Scootaloo and her friends looked on.

“Brings back memories, doesn’t it?” Sweetie asked, as she looked up at the giant horse statue in front of their old high school, tracing a finger along the stonework.

“Yeah,” Scootaloo said in a wistful tone as she looked up at the school for a moment. “Some good and some bad. But still, I wouldn’t change a thing.”

She smiled as she gripped Sweetie’s hand gently. “So, guess this is goodbye huh?” she asked, as she watched Fluttershy step into the portal. Tempest had already gone through moments before.

“Yeah, but if you ever need us… Just call. Kamen Riders have to keep an eye on each other after all, look after one another.”

“Yeah…” Scootaloo smiled. Fluttershy returned it, before her face turned serious.

“Just be careful okay, I have a feeling that things have only just begun for you.” she stated, before stepping through.

“Yeah, I’m starting to get that feeling too,” Scootaloo said as she looked back at her friends. “But I also know that I’m not going to do it alone.”

“Looking back on it, that was when we should have realized the gears were just starting to turn. We thought we knew everything. We didn't know that our fates were already written in stone. We just wanted to fight to save our city, that it was all so simple. That's what we all believed, at least. But, you can't wish yourself into growing up. You grow up when you can't be a child anymore. In due time, we would discover that for ourselves.”

00000

SMILE Headquarters:

“I wanted to thank you for your help back there Kenzaki,” Scootaloo said as she offered the senior Rider a hand. “You really helped us out.”

“Just doing my job,” Kenzaki replied with a touch of sadness. “...To be honest, that’s all I can do nowadays given my… condition.”

“It can’t be easy having to be separated from everyone you ever cared about,” Scootaloo sighed as she looked over towards her friends. “I can’t imagine what that must be like. I read the file on the Battle Fight and the Undead…”

“Just treasure the life you have kid,” Kenzaki replied. “Treasure its moments, they may be here one day, and gone the next.” he said, with a little snap of his fingers for emphasis.

“I’ll remember that,” Scootaloo said with a nod. “What’s next for you?”

“Wandering as ever, I suppose. Heard there’s this new Rider, ZI-O. Might run into him, might not,” Kenzaki replied with a shrug before walking off. “See you around kid.”

“See you around,” Scootaloo said softly before she went back to her friends.

As Kenzaki left the building and climbed back on his motorcycle he looked up towards the roof where he saw a dark figure standing there. He gave them a nod and started up his bike before he drove off and out of the city as the sun began to set.

The figure watched him go before reaching into her pocket and taking out a card and Driver. She pulled her hat down a little as she turned and walked away.

Her time would soon come. Death, after all, came for everyone.

The Held Cup

The man in black stood in front of the massive throne that sat at the center of the Order’s main base of operations. The throne was ornately designed, having been carved out of obsidian with jewels of different colors being formed into it.

The black throne was currently empty, and the man in black, despite the confidence he had in himself he had to admit he was a little terrified. This throne belonged to the one being in the Order that had power over even him, and he had been summoned here.

By the wheel, he hated this part of the job.

“Master, you summoned me?” The man in black said as he adjusted his hat a little and leaned on his cane. “What is your bidding?”

“You’ve disappointed me,” a cold, raspy voice said from around the man as a shape began to form on the throne. “You’ve done nothing but fail over and over again to these, Riders.”

“We’ve done everything we can master, the Riders and their allies have proven difficult to overcome,” the man in black said as she bowed slightly. “But we’ve also gained more energy for the Convergence than anticipated. Our brief deal with the Shinigami Fangire has gotten us closer to our goal than anything else.”

“That is the only reason why you are not being punished already,” the voice said as its form appeared on the throne finally. It looked vaguely like a large humanoid form dressed in royal finery, but he had a terrifying aura around him. “This is our last chance to conquer this world, we have to make the Convergence work this time.”

“Yes master, I understand,” the man in black said as he pulled his hat down a little. “I also have good news, our web has captured its fly. Soon enough they’ll have something else to worry about that I doubt they expected.”

“Excellent,” the master said as he folded his arms. “The fact of the matter is that we have to do everything we can to make sure that we succeed here. It was bad enough when that first Rider fought us, but now the government of this nation is aware of us.

“I am aware, but last time we didn’t have our own weapons to use against them,” the man in black said. “And we’ve reclaimed all but three of our missing commanders. Though I am still concerned about the other missing cards.”

“Hardly a concern,” the Master said. “They are hardly more than an inconvenience and are not needed for our plans. Once the Convergence is done we will remove them and replace them with new spirits.”

“Of course master, you are wise in all things,” the man in black said. “And what shall I do if our Rider fails?”

“Then that is on you,” the master said, his voice becoming more and more terrifying. “You will make sure this plan succeeds or defeating them will fall on your shoulders.”

“I… understand my master,” the man in black said as he pulled his hat down for a moment. “I will send out another Agent, perhaps there is something that we can use to our advantage. I may have an idea, but it could depend on what is summoned.”

“Very well, I am sure the Wheel of Fortune will spin in our favor,” the Master said as he tapped on the arm of his throne. “Have Priellit summon it this time, we cannot afford the energy you would spend.”

“Of course,” the man in black said with a bow. “I will make sure that we carry out our mission. These Kamen Riders will not stand a chance against us this time.”

“Be sure that they don’t,” the master said as he started to vanish once more. “My time in this world is short. We have to succeed here or there will be no turning back. Do not fail, Kamen Riders or no.”

“I will,” the man in black said as the image of the Master vanished from the throne.

He adjusted his hat for a moment and turned to walk out of the throne room. The Order was on a deadline if they could not succeed there was no chance at them having a future. Even if it meant taking over this world, they would succeed.

Succeed, or die.

00000

“Alright, we’ll keep an eye on things here as well,” Fancy Pants said with a sigh as he hung up the phone. “It seems like every year some new threat or two pops up in Japan, must be a magnet for monsters or something.”

“I wouldn’t press our luck, America hasn’t exactly been immune either,” Fleur said as she set down some reports. “The Order, Inves, and whatever we’re calling those things from 4 years ago.”

“Fair enough,” Fancy Pants said with a sigh as he took the reports and gave her a nod. “I’ll finish these up and meet you for dinner, sound good?”

“Alright, just don’t take too long,” Fleur said with a soft smile as she walked out of the office.

Fancy Pants sighed a little as he looked over the reports. He was going to have to compile the recent events and send them to SMILE HQ back in Washington. This was not going to be fun, but it was part of the job.

He looked up when there was a sudden knock on the door. After a moment a woman with dark skin and dressed in a coat with a hat pulled over her hair. She gave Fancy Pants a small smirk as she headed over to the desk.

“Still working hard I see Director,” she said as she took a seat.

“Agent Shadow,” Fancy said as he adjusted his monocle. “I admit that I’m surprised to see you here. You’ve not exactly kept your presence hidden, but actually coming here? What’s going on here?”

“I’ve been gone a long time I admit,” Agent Shadow said as she adjusted her hat a little. “I’ve had a lot I needed to think about and a lot that I needed to do. I didn’t actually think I’d ever come back here, but times change.”

“I understand,” Fancy said as he sighed a little. “I just have to ask though, why are you coming back all of a sudden? Last time we talked you seemed pretty set on doing your lone wolf thing out in Canterlot.”

“I was, but the Order situation is getting worse,” Shadow said as she adjusted her hat again for a moment. “A parasite like one of the Minor Arcana draining from a life force feeder like the Fangire is the worst case scenario for us. There’s no telling how much this boosted the Order’s energy stores, and they’re going to be even closer to the Convergence now.”

“That is certainly troubling,” Fancy said with a frown as he folded his arms. “So, are you going to be doing more than just providing assistance this time? Or are you going to keep acting in the shadows?”

“For now the truth behind me is going to remain secret until I’m needed,” Agent Shadow said as she shook her head a little. “I’m simply here to help as best I can, but I have other obligations that I need to fulfill at the same time. I am however interested in helping train these new Riders of yours.”

“Yes, that much we can tell,” Fancy Pants said with a frown. “Our biggest concern, to be honest, is that we might run into an Agent that they can’t handle. Which is why we’re going to need your help as a back-up. The bullets you provided will at least help in that regard, but I don’t like the idea of risking running out.”

“Yes, well that I can help with,” Agent Shadow said with a nod. “But I would be careful if I were you. There is still something about this that doesn’t feel right. I believe that the Order is playing a much longer game than just these monsters. I think we need to be careful.”

Fancy Pants paused a moment as he thought back to the mention of the strange Scorpion themed Rider. What bugged him about it was that only Apple Bloom actually reported an encounter with the Rider and none of the camera footage around the area showed her.

So where did this strange new Rider even come from? Given that she seemed to have a Tarot Driver, that would imply that there was some connection to Fortune Division. However, at the same time, there was no record of such a Rider coming from SMILE.

Maybe Agent Shadow was right, and the Order really was up to something that would be a problem.

“Understood,” he finally said with a sigh. “We’re going to have to keep an eye on things. Your first job is going to be keeping an eye out for a Scorpion themed Kamen Rider.”

“I see… interesting,” Agent Shadow said as she got up. “Very well, I will keep an eye out for them. Is there anything else?”

Fancy Pants shook his head and Agent Shadow got up and headed out. He sighed a little and leaned back in his chair. This was going to be hard to explain to the others, especially after what had recently happened.

He just had to hope that he’d be able to explain it.

00000

“Scootaloo, Apple Bloom, are either of you home?” Sweetie asked as she opened the door to their apartment and looked around at the dark apartment. “Come on, this isn’t funny.”

A scratch was heard before small light was seen as a match was lit and two candles were lit up. Sweetie turned to see Scootaloo standing there and putting out the match. She smiled a little as she saw that a nice spread had been set out and to Sweetie’s surprise her girlfriend was dressed in a long violet dress.

“Well, well, well, I didn’t think I’d see you dressed up like that,” Sweetie said with a chuckle as she walked over and gave Scootaloo a soft kiss on the lips. “What’s the occasion?”

“Did you forget?” Scootaloo asked with a small smile as she brushed some of Sweetie’s hair out of her eyes. “About 21 years ago, a very special girl came into this world and we’re here to celebrate that together.”

“Really? Because I thought your birthday was in October,” Sweetie said with a chuckle as she wrapped her arms gently around Scootaloo’s neck. “Though that doesn’t explain this dress of yours, I haven’t seen you in one of these since Prom.”

“Well, I wanted to make tonight special,” Scootaloo said softly as she smiled a little. “Dinner is ready and Apple Bloom decided to spend the night at her cousin Babs’ house so its just you and me tonight. Assuming we don’t get another call about a monster at least, knock on wood.”

Sweetie chuckled a little as Scootaloo reached over and rapped on the wooden table. “Well then, how about I go get out of these work clothes and into something nice so we can enjoy dinner together?”

Sweetie smiled a little as she walked towards the room they shared together. Scootaloo smiled a little as she watched her girlfriend’s butt sway as she walked and turned away after a moment to look back at the spread.

Scootaloo had never been much of a cook, but she had spent most of the day figuring out how to get this just perfect. Right now she just hoped that it was edible so she didn’t ruin the night as she looked down at the small present she had. This hadn’t been easy to get, she had saved up part of her money from her part-time job and the rest had been venmoed to her by her family with the assurance that she’d pay them back.

Now it was just a matter of actually giving it to Sweetie. She knew that this was the best time to do it, it just made her nervous.

“So, what do you think Scoots?” Sweetie said and Scootaloo looked up and smiled a little. Sweetie was dressed in a low cut white dress with gold sequins that showed off her curves nicely and could be shown in the dim candlelight.

“You look… wow…” Scootaloo said with a blush as Sweetie took a seat across from her and gave her a smile. “You look beautiful…”

“So do you,” Sweetie said. “I have to say, I really wasn’t expecting to see a tomboy dressed like that. Did you actually cook all of this?”

“Yeah, I had some help from YouTube,” Scootaloo said as she rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. “Anything for my girlfriend’s birthday.”

“You’re quite the charming romantic, are you sure you’re not really a romanticist at heart?” Sweetie asked with a chuckle as she started eating and Scootaloo did the same.

The two of them kept talking and eating. They spent as much time not focused on the fight with the Order as they could. Right now, they just wanted to at least pretend to be a normal couple instead of a superhero and her girlfriend.

Scootaloo smiled a little at that, it actually felt nice to be able to pretend to be normal. She placed her hand on Sweetie’s and closed her eyes a little as she enjoyed the pale skinned girl’s soft touch. This felt right somehow like nothing could possibly happen to ruin it.

They finally finished eating and Sweetie smiled a little as she set her silverware down and gave her a nod. “So, what should we do now? Retire to the bedroom?”

“Well, no, there’s one more thing I want to give you first,” Scootaloo said with a slightly nervous smile as she picked up the present and gave it to Sweetie. “I’ve been wanting to get this for a while, I hope its perfect…”

“I’m sure it will be fine whatever it is,” Sweetie said as she tore off the package and raised an eyebrow at the small velvet box. “Well, I see you spent a lot, I don’t know if I should be flattered or worried about your part of the rent for next month.”

“Don’t worry, I’ve already taken care of that,” Scootaloo replied. “Just open it.”

Sweetie opened the box and let out a gasp of surprise when she saw what was resting inside. It was a golden ring with an Amethyst and a Diamond encrusted into it in the shape of a heart. Sweetie looked up to see Scootaloo on one knee as she smiled at Sweetie.

“Sweetie Belle, with everything that is going on we really don’t know what tomorrow might bring,” Scootaloo said as she placed her hands around Sweetie’s. “But I’m sure of one thing, and that’s that I love you more than words can truly describe. Will you do me the honor of being my wife?”

“I…” Sweetie said as she looked at the gem and then at her girlfriend. “Do you really mean it? You must’ve saved up for this for months…”

“Yeah, I was going to wait a while longer but with everything that’s been happening, I asked Rainbow Dash for her help,” Scootaloo answered. “I’m going to have to pay her back and I don’t know how long that’s going to take on my salary…”

“But you wanted to do it because you love me that much?” Sweetie asked and Scootaloo nodded.

“As I said, I didn’t want to risk losing this opportunity when we don’t know what tomorrow will bring,” Scootaloo said as she closed her eyes a moment. “I want to spend the rest of my life with you, Sweetie… please, will you have me?”

“Scootaloo, of course, I will,” Sweetie answered as she lifted Scootaloo’s chin and leaned in and gave her a long kiss on the lips before she backed off after a moment. “I love you Scootaloo, and I can’t think of anyone I’d rather spend the rest of my life with.”

The couple just sat there for a long moment before Sweetie got up and smiled at Scootaloo as they walked towards the bedroom together.

00000

“So, why exactly did Scootaloo want you to come to visit at the last minute?” A woman a little older than the three friends with tanned skin and short pink hair asked. She and Apple Bloom were seated at an ice cream place eating their ice cream at around the same time.

“Well today is Sweetie’s birthday and she’s been workin’ hard ta get that right all day,” Apple Bloom said with a shrug as she took a bite of ice cream. “Ah think she’s got somethin’ special cooked up fer that too, but yah didn’t hear that from me, Babs.”

“My lips are sealed,” Babs Seed said with a chuckle. “Though with everything that’s going on my parents are getting worried and want me to come back home. I mean, you’ve seen all the stuff about these monsters on the news, right?”

“On tha news, yeah,” Apple Bloom replied shiftily for a moment. “It’s kinda hard ta miss, especially with that Riderwatch Blog keepin’ everyone appraised of what’s goin’ on.”

“Yeah, it’s weird really, I wonder why they’re showing up all of a sudden,” Babs Seed said with a shake of her head. “Well, I’m going to try and stay here as long as I can keep mom and dad from thinking I should move back to New York.”

“Yeah…” Apple Bloom said as she glanced back around the ice cream shop for a moment. “Honestly, Ah don’t plan ta run away from this either. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle have their own reasons, but Ah want ta make sure that everythin’ will be okay here before Ah go runnin’ home.”

“Yeah… oh well,” Babs said with a shrug.

Apple Bloom looked like she was about to say something when she glanced at another table where there seemed to be some sort of commotion. A young man was struggling to get to his feet as energy seemed to swirl around him as he gripped the table.

“Okay, that’s not good,” Apple Bloom said as she groped at her pocket to get out her phone. She had a pretty good idea of what was going on and she wasn’t about to let this go unreported. She quickly snapped a photo of the young man just as he let out a cry and the transformation began.

The familiar armor of an Order Agent formed over him but with a new twist this time. His arms stretched out as fleshy wings formed out of them. His head became a helmet with a pair of large ears and his face became almost, bat-like as he let out a screech. On his chest was a symbol of four cups against the familiar wheel-like structure and a bow appeared on his back.

“Crap… Ah swear we’re cursed or somethin’...” Apple Bloom muttered.

“What was that?” Babs asked.

“Nothin’, nothin,” Apple Bloom said quickly as she grabbed Babs’ hand and pulled her away. “Come on, we gotta get goin’!”

The two women jumped out of their chairs with Apple Bloom in the front as she quickly typed a text message to Scootaloo. This figured really, she hated to have to interrupt their evening but it was the only option they had right now.

She just hoped that they were going to be able to answer quickly. This would be a bad time for them to be busy.

“I think that thing is following us…” Babs said as she glanced behind them. “Why is it following us all of a sudden?”

“Ah have no idea…” Apple Bloom lied. She knew exactly why the Order monster was after them, or specifically her. She cursed herself for not grabbing a weapon before she left the apartment.

Not that she actually thought she was going to need it at the time, but right now she just had to worry about getting out of here.

“Come on, let’s get to the car,” Babs said as they ran towards the car. Apple Bloom was still figuring out what to do about her lack of a car after the fight with the Mantis Fangire. “We just need to…”

An energy arrow flew past them and they gulped a little when they turned back to see that the monster was holding a bow in his hands and was starting to pull back again.

“Run!” Apple Bloom said as they picked up the pace and ran towards the car together. They threw their doors open and took off down the road.

00000

“Mmm… right there… that feels so good…” Scootaloo said as she closed her eyes as shivers ran up and down her spine from Sweetie’s touch as her fingers ran up and down her nerves. “Your fingers feel so good…”

“Well, your muscles are all in knots right now, I think the fight with the Order has been stressing you out,” Sweetie said as she rubbed Scootaloo’s bare back. “Are you feeling okay?”

“About as okay as you can be when you’re fighting monsters,” Scootaloo said with a sigh as she laid her head back down on the bed. “I feel like I’m slowly going insane, to be honest, I needed a night like this.”

“You know you’re pushing your luck, right?” Sweetie asked as she leaned in and kneaded Scootaloo’s shoulders a little as she pressed up against her. “You might want to knock on wood or something.”

“Mmm, maybe,” Scootaloo said as she turned her head and smiled at Sweetie. “Well, Apple Bloom isn’t going to be home for a bit. How about we use those wonderful hands of yours to rub some other things.”

“That sounds nice,” Sweetie said as she rolled Scootaloo over and leaned in and kissed her passionately on the lips as she played with the sheets covering Scootaloo a little and started to pull it down when all of a sudden her phone went off, and it was the ringtone she had given Apple Bloom. “Oh, you have got to be kidding me…”

“We don’t know it’s something bad, it could just be checking in on us,” Scootaloo said with a sigh, but she had to admit she had a bad feeling about it as she picked up the phone and started to open the text messages. “Let’s just see what’s going on and then we can get back on…”

She trailed off when she realized that there was a picture of someone that looked like they were on the verge of a transformation. She didn’t recognize them, but she knew all too well what was going on.

“We’re on our way home and we’re being followed, be ready.”

“And there goes our nice peaceful evening,” Sweetie said with a sigh as she read over Scootaloo’s shoulder. “I guess that means we have to get dressed again.”

“Hey, I’ve pretty much figured this out by now, I think we can make this a quick one,” Scootaloo said as she leaned over and kissed Sweetie on the lips. “Come on, I’ll just toss something on and we should be fine.”

“If you say so,” Sweetie said as they quickly grabbed some clothes and slid them on as Scootaloo grabbed the Driver and cards out of a drawer.

“I’m so sorry Sweetie, I wanted tonight to be perfect, but this got in the way, again,” Scootaloo said with a sigh as she looked at the Driver in her hand. “It feels like this whole thing has taken over my life.”

“Scootaloo, it’s okay,” Sweetie said as she planted a kiss on Scootaloo’s cheek. “I know you, I know that if you don’t do what you can to save people when you have the power to do so, you will regret it for the rest of your life. You’re a good person Scootaloo, and I know you need to do this, even if I don’t like it.”

“Yeah…” Scootaloo said with a sigh as she raised her Driver and placed it on her waist to form the belt as she took out the cards and slid them into her Driver. “Henshin!”

“TIME TO TIP THE SCALES!”

The energy flowed around her as the black and green armor formed over her body. The Arcana Rapier appeared in her hand and she took a deep breath as she looked back at Sweetie and gave her a nod.

“Stay here and wait for Bloom and Babs and call SMILE,” she said as she headed for the front door. “I’ll handle the monster.”

“Got it,” Sweetie said as Scootaloo headed out of the apartment.

For a moment Sweetie looked back at the dresser drawer on the opposite side of the room as something called to her. She shook her head, no, this wasn’t the time for that, she needed to get in contact with the agents and quickly.

Scootaloo walked out of the building just as the car with Babs and Apple Bloom came around the corner and came to a stop in front of the apartment building.

“Do you think we lost it?” Babs asked as she looked over at Apple Bloom as they climbed out of the car together.

“Ah don’t think so, he looked like he was right behind us,” Apple Bloom said, her heart was beating a mile a minute as she gave Scootaloo a nod.

“Hey, you’re Kamen Rider Justice right?” Babs asked. “What are you doing here?”

“It’s, a long story, just get inside,” Scootaloo said as she gripped the hilt of her rapier and walked forward with it. “I’ll handle this.”

“Be careful,” Apple Bloom said as she gave her friend a nod before the two of them headed into the building together.

The strange bat-like monster flew into view and came in for a landing as he let out a screech. Scootaloo narrowed her eyes a little and drew her sword and pointed it at him. “Who are you and why are you chasing after my friends?”

“Kamen Rider…” the bat creature said as he bore his fangs and ran his tongue along them slowly. “I am Ceipai, and I’m looking for you, you and your friends have crossed my master!”

“I’m going to defeat you just like the ones that came before you,” Scootaloo said as she pointed her sword at him. “You’re not going to hurt my friends or anyone else. Not after what you and the rest of the Order have pulled, I’m never going to forgive you for this!”

“Then I’ll make sure you’re defeated!” Ceipai said with a snarl as he drew his bow again and drew the string back. “You may be powerful now, but let’s see how you can handle losing that power!”

He didn’t aim the bow at Scootaloo, instead, he aimed it upwards. Scootaloo realized that he was up to something and tried to ran forward just as he let loose the arrow and it flew into the sky and suddenly exploded as waves of energy flew out across the city.

Just as Scootaloo was thrusting her sword at Ceipai her armor and sword shattered. He swung a winged fist around and punched Scootaloo hard as she went sprawling back.

“What the… how’d you do that?” Scootaloo demanded as she groaned and tried to get to her feet as she rubbed where the monster had hit her. “What did you do?”

The monster laughed loudly and raised his bow and started to pull back on it when gunshots rang out and hit him in the back. He snapped and turned around to see Sweetie Drops and Fleur standing there with guns pointed at the bat monster.

“You’re not going anywhere,” Sweetie Drops said. “I don’t know what you pulled, but we’re not letting you…”

The bat monster let out a screech and took off and flew right at them. The women tried to fire at it but it kept flying before taking off to the skies and vanishing from sight.

“Are you okay?” Fleur asked as she offered Scootaloo a hand. “You look shaken.”

“Yeah… I think I’m fine,” Scootaloo said as she shook her head a little. “I powered down in the middle of the fight, is that supposed to happen?”

Fleur and Sweetie Drops exchanged a look before they shook their heads. “We need to get inside, I’ll call the Director and we’ll figure out where to go from here,” Fleur said.

Scootaloo sighed a little as they walked back towards the apartment building. Something about all of this was weird, she had suddenly had her ability to transform taken away and that felt, weird somehow.

What was going on? And was it going to get worse from here?

00000

Babs Seed had gone home after being given a quick cover story to avoid suspicion. They weren’t sure she bought it, but it was better than nothing. So now they were in the apartment trying to figure out what to do next.

“Henshin!” Sweetie Drops said as she slid the card into here Driver’s card slot and waited for the familiar energy surge. It didn’t come as the Driver just sat there unmovingly as they looked at it confused. “Okay… that’s weird.”

“Did this ever happen before?” Sweetie Belle asked as she looked over at Fleur who looked just as concerned as the others. “You’re the only expert we have on this kind of thing right now, has this ever happened before?”

“No, at least not to me or like this,” Fleur said with a shake of her head. “There was an incident back in the late 80s where Kamen Rider Black encountered a creature called the Slug Moth Mutant. It was able to dampen energy including Rider transformation energy using Cocoons. However, that was likely in response to the heat put out by Black’s transformation process.”

“So, what are we dealing with here?” Sweetie Drops asked.

“When reversed, tha four of cups means retreat, withdrawal, and checkin’ in fer alignment,” Apple Bloom said as she read from her phone. “At least that’s what Biddytarot says. Ah’ve also got a picture of tha fella that transformed into that Kirk Langstrom wannabe.”

“Why bats anyway?” Sweetie Belle asked. “We’ve mostly seen humanoid monsters, other than that bird creature that attacked right before the Mantis Fangire attacked.”

“Well, and the Skinwalker one, but I don’t even know what to classify that as,” Scootaloo said with a shake of her head.

“Wouldn’t be the first one,” Sweetie Drops said with a shrug. “I’ve looked over the records of past monster factions, you’d be amazed at how often bat monsters show up. I guess it was only a matter of time.”

“So, then how are we going to fight it without being able to transform?” Scootaloo asked. “That thing is running loose in the city and we don’t know exactly what it’s going to do if we let it run loose.”

“That is a good question,” Fleur said with a sigh. “I guess we don’t have much of a choice. All of you get together some clothes for a few days at least, you’re staying at headquarters until we can figure out what’s going on.”

“Uh, okay,” Scootaloo said as she blinked a little in surprise. “Any particular reason why?”

“Because it’s clear at this point that the Order knows who you are and where you live,” Fleur said with a sigh. “If you can’t protect yourselves from the attack since the weapons can’t seem to finish the job you’re going to have to stay somewhere safe until we know how to deal with this.”

“And what about…” Sweetie Belle started to say.

“Yes, your jobs will be given the normal cover story, don’t worry about that,” Fleur said with a sigh as she shook her head a little. “I know this isn’t going to be easy, but the fact of the matter is that we need to do this if we want to keep you safe. I’ll inform the Director while you get ready, understood?”

“Understood,” Scootaloo said with a sigh as she and Sweetie Belle headed into their room together and Apple Bloom went to her own room.

Sweetie sighed a little as Scootaloo opened the closet and pulled out their suitcases as she set them out on the bed and shook her head a little. “I, honestly don’t know what to think right now,” she said as she opened the drawers and started taking out clothes.

“You weren’t sure about doing this in the first place weren’t you?” Sweetie asked as she set her clothes in her suitcase. “I mean, isn’t this kind of what you wanted?”

“Kind of,” Scootaloo said with a sigh. “But at the same time, you were right earlier and helping people of this city is important. The Order killed my family, and I’m not about to let them get away with putting anyone else in danger. Especially after what they pulled before with the Fangire… I just feel so, useless right now.”

“Scootaloo, you are not useless,” Sweetie said as she placed her hand on her fiance’s shoulder gently. “You’ve been doing everything you can to stop the Order and keep people safe ever since. You’re doing fine, you’re probably doing better than I would have. Just do what you can and we’ll figure out exactly what’s going on.”

“I love you, Sweetie,” Scootaloo said with a gentle smile as she placed her hands on Sweetie’s shoulders and leaned in and gave her a kiss. “I knew there was a reason why I wanted to marry you.”

“Oh, it's not because you love me?” Sweetie asked with a slight smirk.

“Oh no, I do love you, but you’re also smart, talented, and you know how to get me out of a bad mood,” Scootaloo said as she smiled softly and held Sweetie close to her. “I want to spend the rest of my life with you, and I promise you I’m going to make sure that this isn’t the end of it. So, what do you say we go see what SMILE has cooked up?”

“Yeah, okay,” Sweetie said as they grabbed their bags and walked out hand in hand.

“Well, glad ta see ya’ll are finally done makin’ out,” Apple Bloom said with a chuckle as the couple walked in. “Are ya’ll ready ta go?”

“As ready as we’ll ever be,” Scootaloo said as she squeezed Sweetie’s hand gently. “Let’s do this.”

Sweetie Drops nodded a little before she noticed the ring on Sweetie’s hand and smiled a little before they headed out. They climbed into a car with Fleur driving and Scootaloo rests her head gently on Sweetie’s shoulder as she smiled a little and closed her eyes.

“Are you going to be okay back there?” Fleur asked as she started up the car and looked in the rearview mirror. “This can’t be easy on either of you.”

“Yeah, I think we’re going to be just fine,” Scootaloo said softly as she squeezed Sweetie’s hand gently. “As long as I’ve got my friends by my side, there’s nothing we can’t do together.”

“And this monster’s going to learn that the hard way,” Sweetie said. “You don’t mess with Scootaloo Dash.”

Fleur nodded a little and started the car up as they started down the road towards the SMILE HQ. Sweetie was about to close her eyes and enjoy the moment when her phone went off. She looked at it and noticed that it was Babs Seed calling as she answered it.

“Hey Babs, this isn’t really a good time,” Sweetie said into the phone.

“Sweetie, we gotta talk,” Babs said on the other end. “I saw what happened back at the apartment. Why didn’t you tell me that Scootaloo was Kamen Rider Justice?”

Sweetie’s eyes went wide at that as Scootaloo looked up at her confused. Sweetie paused a moment and shook her head. “I need to put you on hold, Babs, give me a minute,” she said and pressed a button on her phone. “We have a problem, Babs knows about Scootaloo.”

“What?” Fleur asked.

“She must’ve hung back and saw her being powered down,” Sweetie said with a sigh. “What do you want me to do?”

“Tell her to meet us where the base is, I’ll talk to the Director,” Fleur said and Sweetie nodded as she picked the phone back up and told Babs where to go.

Scootaloo sighed a little and closed her eyes again. This was going to be a very long night.

00000

“You know, when someone tells you to run its usually for a good reason,” Scootaloo said with a sigh as she looked at Babs. “What were you thinking staying behind?”

“I’m sorry, I just really wanted to see what was going down,” Babs Seed said. “I thought I was far enough away to be safe so I set up my phone’s camera to record. I’m sorry, you’re right I should have left.”

“Well, there’s nothing we can do about it now,” Sweetie Drops said as she held her hand out and frowned a little. “I want your phone, you didn’t post the video did you?”

“No, I wanted to hear the story first,” Babs said with a shake of her head and gave Sweetie Drops the phone. “I’m not about to expose the truth without a good reason. I just want to know what’s going on, I promise I won’t send it to anyone.”

“We’re still going to have to delete this,” Sweetie Drops said as she got into the phone and deleted the video. “I’m sorry Babs, but we need to make sure that this doesn’t get out, at least not yet. This isn’t the first American Kamen Rider, but this is the first one that has been this much in the public eye.”

“Wait, there have been others?” Scootaloo asked. “I thought Fleur was the only other one?”

“There was one other, but that was a few years ago,” Fleur said with a shake of her head. “She doesn’t want to have her identity become public. But needless to say, there has been at least one other one, we were lucky to keep it quiet, to be honest.”

“Probably helped that everyone was more focused on the Inves threat,” Fleur said with a shake of her head. “But yeah, she’s going to be fine, I would recommend not bothering her unless needed.”

“So, what am I supposed to do now?” Babs asked. “That thing isn’t going to come after me too is it?”

“Honestly, it’s kind of hard to tell,” Fleur said. “You were with Apple Bloom when she saw the monster. Honestly, I don’t think you should risk it right now. Especially given that there is now an obvious connection between the four of you, I’m afraid that you might be in danger.”

“Great,” Babs said with a sigh. “So what do I do now?”

“You’ll stay with us, at least until the current situation is dealt with,” Fleur said with a slight nod. “We’re concerned about the fact that both of our Riders can’t seem to transform and are attempting to make sure that everything is worked out.”

“Don’t worry, we’ll make sure you’re safe,” Sweetie Belle said. “This place is usually safe, it’s nothing to be worried about. I think we should just get downstairs and see if we can figure out what to do next… some birthday this turned out to be huh?”

“Alright, let’s go downstairs then,” Fleur said as she leads them to the disguised elevator and looked back at Babs. “You understand that you cannot speak a word of this to anyone, right? This is top secret.”

“Understood,” Babs said with a nod as they opened the elevator and headed inside. “So, we’re not going to a secret base with aliens that drink coffee, are we?”

Scootaloo laughed a little at that as the elevator doors closed. Then again, they were fighting against extradimensional monsters. Maybe it wasn’t that much of a stretch, after all, it would certainly not be the weirdest thing ever.

“Don’t worry, no aliens, in this division at least,” Fleur said as she hit a button and the elevator started down towards the SMILE base of operations.

“Well okay, wait, this division?” Babs asked.

“Trust me, there are a lot of strange things in this world,” Fleur said as they went on in silence down towards the base again.

00000

“Curiouser and curiouser,” Priellit said as she shuffled through the deck while Caesar watched the screen which showed Ceipai. “This is not an ability we have ever manifested before.”

“But not unwelcome,” Caesar said as he crossed his arms. “However this does complicate matters. Given the suppression powers of Ceipai, we cannot even set foot in that city until he defeats the Riders.”

“Or vice-versa,” Priellit said as she set her prediction deck down on the table in front of her as she drew the top card. “The Five of Swords is upright, that is unsettling. A card of conflict and disagreement. We may have bigger problems than we are aware of with this one.”

“You’re saying that we may not be able to control it?” Caesar asked as he looked at her concerned for a moment.

“That is a good possibility,” Priellit said as she placed the card into her deck and shuffled it before placing it back in her robes. “The fact of the matter is that we can’t completely predict what the monsters will do. We’ve mostly been lucky that they’ve followed our plans to the letter.”

“Who ordered this one to be summoned for that matter?” Caesar said as he stroked his chin thoughtfully. “I didn’t approve of this, who called for this summoning?”

“The Master did,” the man in black said as he walked in, leaning on his cane a little as he did. He looked more frazzled than usual with his hat slightly askew. “He ordered me to pass it on to Priellit. Or are you questioning the will of our Master?”

“No, of course not,” Caesar said. “I was simply not aware that he was the one who gave the order. I would never question the will of the Master of the Order.”

“As you should,” the man in black said with a nod as he adjusted his hat again and looked at Priellit. “The fact of the matter is that there are things at play here that are beyond our control. The will of the Wheel and the Master are absolute, we may not be able to enter the city yet, but we will make do. We must re-commit ourselves to our cause and continue our mission here on Earth, as this is our last chance.”

“By your command,” Caesar said and frowned a little as he crossed his arms. “And what about those who have been lost? We have made no progress towards reclaiming them through the usual methods.”

“Then we are going to up our game,” the man in black said with a nod. “Hopefully this will buy enough time. Keep an eye on things and let me know if there are any updates.”

The two commanders nodded as the man in black walked back out of the room. Caesar shook his head and sighed a little. “I need to go and meet with someone right now. Let me know if there is anything else.”

He headed towards a panel on the wall and placed his hand on it. It glowed briefly and then he vanished into thin air.

00000

“We’re still trying to figure out exactly what’s going on here,” Fancy Pants said as they settled into the conference room. The screen showed an overhead view of Canterlot city proper with a circle that encompassed most of it. “Based on our scans of the area this is the is affected by the monster’s attack.”

“That’s, most of Canterlot,” Sweetie Belle said with a frown.

“Except for our base here interestingly enough, but that’s not going to help us much,” Fancy Pants said as he pointed at a spot outside of the city. “This monster is using their powers to make sure that we can’t fight with our Riders.”

“I’m guessing we can’t call Kenzaki back or for any help,” Scootaloo said with a shake of her head.

“Unfortunately because of how the Order Agents and Riders work, it’s not that simple,” Fleur said with a shake of her head. “It’s why Fluttershy wasn’t able to break the spirit that was possessing the Shinigami Fangire wasn’t able to break through it. They’re getting smarter, and more dangerous.”

“Which means, we have to either lure them out of the city or figure out how to negate the field,” Scootaloo said. “So, what are we going to do now? How long are we going to have to stay here?”

“Basically until we have a plan,” Fancy Pants said. “We have Flim and Flam working on it with one of our specialists when it comes to the Order. She will be joining us shortly, I should just warn you that there is something you should know about her before she arrives.”

“Do Ah want ta know what that is?” Apple Bloom asked as she looked at Fancy Pants confused for a moment.

“That it’s me,” a voice said as a dark-skinned woman with dark pink hair said. Scootaloo and her friends blinked a little as they saw her, though Babs Seed just looked confused. “You must be Scootaloo Dash and her friends, I’ve read your files. Well, most of your files.”

“Tempest, what are you doing back?” Scootaloo asked as she tilted her head a little.

“This isn’t the same Tempest Shadow you met before, this is the one from our world,” Fancy Pants explained quickly. “She’s been with SMILE on and off for awhile providing any advice on the Order. She’s basically our top expert on them.”

“Yes, and I’m already aware of the situation,” Tempest said with a concerned frown. “The fact is that there’s not any precedent for this, at least not among the Order Agents. Likely we’re looking at some form of energy dispersal which is keeping it negated.”

“Great,” Sweetie said with a sigh as she closed her eyes. “So, in other words, we might be here for a while.”

“Unfortunately, yes, but it’s better than the alternative,” Fancy Pants said with a sigh. “For now, I want you all to get comfortable. We’ll let you know when we have something, understood?”

“Understood,” Scootaloo sighed as they got up and headed out of the room.

Tempest held up a tablet and went through some of the footage for a moment and narrowed her eyes at some of the footage of something from outside. “It looks like we have company outside.”

“Do you think it’s the order?” Fleur asked as they looked at Tempest.

“No, more like a mysterious prophet,” Tempest said as she placed her hand on her sidearm. “I’m going to investigate, don’t tell the others, it’ll only worry them.”

“Understood, we’ll have back-up ready if you need it,” Fancy Pants said but Tempest just grunted a little as she headed out and towards the elevator again.

00000

Outside the base, a young man was standing there as he held open a book with a slight frown on his face. He spoke quietly to himself in Japanese as he turned the page. “”

“” a cold voice said as he snapped up to see Tempest Shadow walking out of the building. “”

“,” Woz said as he rolled his eyes a little. “”

“” Tempest said as she narrowed her eyes a little. “”

“” Woz said with a slight smirk. “”

“?” Tempest asked as she narrowed her eyes a little. “”

“” Woz said with a shake of his head. “”

“” Tempest said as she narrowed her eyes a little at that. “”

“” Woz said as he shut his book. “”

“” Tempest said as she narrowed her eyes at him a little. “”

Woz just laughed a little as he walked off, leaving Tempest standing there in silence. She shook her head, it had been a long time since she had last met Woz, and she didn’t like him any more back then than she did now.

But that was hardly the biggest concern on her mind right now. She just had to hope that he and his master would be stopped in time as she headed back into the building.

The Wooden Cup

“Not exactly how I pictured we’d spend our first night engaged,” Scootaloo said with a sigh as she shuffled through the deck of Rider Cards she had brought with her. The room was comfortable at least, but it was so barren, still, it was big enough for the two of them. “So, what are we going to do now?”

“I don’t know, there’s not much we can do except hope that everything works out,” Sweetie said as she kissed Scootaloo on the cheek a little. “What’s on your mind about these cards anyway?”

“Well, we looked into past Riders right?” Scootaloo asked and Sweetie nodded a little as Scootaloo picked out several cards and laid them out. “These cards here don’t seem to fit any of the ones that we’ve actually found any records of.”

“Hmm, interesting,” Sweetie said as she picked up one of the cards and looked at it curiously. It had a face that was red with green eyes and two curved golden horns and a silver mouthpiece. “Hmm, Kamen Rider Alchemy.”

“Yeah… heck, this one looks more like the one of Kamen Rider W only with a different color scheme,” Scootaloo said as she tapped one that was split in half with one half being red and the other being dark grey. “Why do you think anyone would give these to us?”

“I don’t know, it’s not like you can use them whenever you want,” Sweetie said with a sigh as she shook her head a little. I still don’t know about all of this honestly. It feels like we’re just waiting for something to go wrong, again.”

“Sweetie, we have nothing to worry about,” Scootaloo said as she placed her hand gently on her fiance’s cheek. “They said it themselves, the effect of the field isn’t here, so if they go after us here we can at least fight them off.”

“Yeah, that’s something,” Sweetie Belle said as she leaned in and kissed Scootaloo gently on the lips. “Though we still have to figure out exactly how we’re going to stop this. That thing has to be the crux of what is causing the field. We need to either negate it or stop him from presenting more of a threat.”

“Yeah…” Scootaloo said with a sigh as she closed her eyes. “Maybe if we can track down any information on who he is we can try and figure out where he might go, or target. We’re in a bad position right now, but we can do this if we work together.”

“I’m sure you’re right,” Sweetie said with a soft smile as she rests her forehead against Scootaloo’s and closed her eyes gently. “I love you Scootaloo, more than I can put into words, and I would do anything for you.”

“I love you too,” Scootaloo said softly as she smiled a little and looked around. “Do you think they’re spying on us right now?”

“Probably,” Sweetie said with a smirk as she leaned in and kissed Scootaloo gently on the lips. “Though, would you mind risking it?”

Scootaloo chuckled a little at that. She hadn’t ever thought about that kind of thing, actually, it made her a little uncomfortable. But she just kissed her fiance for a long moment as she rests her hands on Sweetie’s butt and gave it a light squeeze.

“Really, as long as I have you by my side then I’m happy,” Scootaloo said and glanced up towards a corner and sighed a little when she spotted the camera. “I think shutting that off would just cause them to come and interrupt us.”

“Oh well,” Sweetie said as she kissed Scootaloo again. “But that means you owe me when we get out of this mess you know.”

“Oh, I know,” Scootaloo said with a grin. “I think that’s one debt I look forward to paying in full.”

The two shared a long kiss as they fell back onto the bed together. They shared a long loving embrace as they kissed for a few moments. Scootaloo smiled softly as she broke the kiss and stroked Sweetie’s pink and purple hair gently.

“I’m so lucky to have you as my fiance,” Scootaloo said softly as she laid there and enjoyed the moment together. “I don’t care if we’re back home or laying here, all that matters to me is that we are together.”

Sweetie smiled as she reached down and pulled the blanket over them and smiled a little. “Well, maybe we can still have a little fun if we’re careful…” she said with a grin as she started to unbutton Scootaloo’s shirt. “I’m not going to not enjoy my first night engaged to you.”

Scootaloo smiled a little as she pulled the blankets over their head. Maybe this wasn’t going to be so bad after all.

00000

“What happened out there?” Fancy Pants asked as Tempest walked back into his office. “You left kind of suddenly and then our cameras went offline.”

“I had a run-in with an old friend,” Tempest said with a sigh as she shook her head a little bit as she reached into her bag and took out a tablet. She pulled up some news reports from out of Japan and frowned a little as she scrolled through it. “Weird, there’s nothing more than a few rumors… whatever was done to avert that threat seems to have worked…”

“You mean Woz then?” Fancy Pants asked with a sigh. “Yes, we’ve kept a close eye on the situation to avoid Oma Zi-O, not that it has been easy. Our counterparts in Japan have kept the situation under control, though they’ve been partially overwhelmed by everything that’s been going on over the past few years.”

“Understandable,” Tempest said as she put the tablet away again. “Though I’m still concerned, even if he arrived here from some sort of alternate timeline from our own, he would have some sort of reason. I don’t like this.”

“Agreed,” Fancy Pants said with a sigh. “I’ll have facial recognition search for him, right now we need to figure out why he’s here and what’s going on. But given the current situation, that may be more of a secondary priority.”

“Right,” Tempest said as she nodded softly. “I’m here until this is worked out, is there any word from the techies?”

“They think this is something related to the energy output of the monster,” Fancy Pants said. “So they’re working on some way to counteract it, but it might take awhile. The problem is that we don’t know if we have the time we’d need for this. But what about Lilac, is she going to be okay?”

“Yes, she’s staying with a friend while this is worked out,” Tempest said with a sigh as she brushed her hair back a little. “I’m worried though if we don’t make this work we may have a new problem on our hands.”

“Indeed,” Fancy Pants said as he frowned a little. “What will happen if it succeeds? Most of the Commanders are still active and the remaining cards aren’t exactly fit for them.”

“That is unknown at this time,” Tempest said with a sigh. “Several of the spirits are unaccounted for including the Empress. It is possible that new ones could be created, but only if they gain enough power, which is why we have to stop this one before it’s too late.”

“Right, unfortunately, that is easier said than done,” Fancy Pants said with a shake of his head. “Flim and Flam are going over everything and Stone is helping out as best he can. Unfortunately, things are going slowly and we don’t know how long we have.”

“I’ll see what I can do to help,” Tempest said with a sigh. “So, what are we supposed to do until then? Keep Justice and her friends cooped up in here? They’re civilians, they won’t be able to stay here forever without attracting attention.”

“I know,” Fancy Pants said with a sigh. “We’re going to have to wound the monster and keep it from ascending. Do we have the weapons for that? And what about your condition, can you…”

“No, I’m just as powerless in the city as they are,” Tempest said with a shake of her head. “We’ll have to use the anti-Order Weapons. But that’s not going to be enough to actually stop him.”

“But it should be able to slow him down at least,” Fancy Pants said with a sigh. “We have enough Soul Metal to forge more weapons and the bullets should help. But we’re going to need some sort of plan.”

“Do we know who the host is?” Tempest asked as she stroked her chin.

“Apple Bloom managed to snap a photo of him before he transformed,” Fancy Pants said with a sigh as he pulled up the photo on a screen. “He seems to be a computer programmer that keeps to himself, mostly freelance work from home. There’s, not really a lot to tell about him other than that he was recently fired from one of his biggest customers.”

“I see,” Tempest said as she frowned a little bit at that. “The Four of Cups, he’s withdrawn from the rest of the world, probably why he works from home. That would certainly make him a target for the Order.”

“And he’s not showing up on facial recognition either,” Fancy Pants said with a shake of his head. “Given the lack of energy surges either he’s in human form or our satellite is on the fritz again. I honestly have no idea which one is worse.”

“Hmmm…” Tempest said as she swiped through the internet for a moment as she rubbed her chin. “There might be a way, after all, we just need to make sure that we get it to the right people.”

“What are you suggesting?” Fancy Pants asked curiously.

“We use the internet to our advantage,” Tempest said as she reached over and gave the tablet to Fancy Pants. “I’ve been keeping an eye on this blog in particular, we just need to get in touch with the writer.”

“That could work,” Fancy Pants said with a nod. “Alright, get in contact with whoever runs this blog and we’ll see if we can get any information through that. Just make sure they know not to do anything that would put them in danger.”

Tempest nodded as she took back the tablet and started typing on it.

00000

“Come on, let’s get you to bed,” Diamond Tiara said as she helped ease Silver Spoon out of her wheelchair and into her bed. The silver-haired young woman had been out of the hospital for a couple of weeks now but she still had to go to physical therapy and had been doing better since then. “How are you feeling?”

“You really don’t have anything to worry about Diamond, I’m fine,” Silver said as she pulled herself up onto the bed. “The Doctors say I should be able to get out of the wheelchair in no time. You’ve got nothing to feel guilty about you know?”

“I know,” Diamond said with a soft smile. “But still, you’re my friend and I want to be there to help you. I still kind of feel responsible for what happened to you.”

“Diamond, I forgave you a long time ago, but I appreciate you being here for me,” Silver said with a soft smile as she leaned over and gave her friend a light kiss on the cheek which caused her to blush a little. “Diamond, everything is going to be okay.”

“I hope so,” Diamond said with a soft smile. “You’re the best friend I’ve ever had Silver, I don’t know what I’d do if I lost you.”

Silver smiled a little and laid back as she closed her eyes. “Good night Diamond, I’ll be here when you get up, don’t worry.”

Diamond squeezed her friend’s hand gently before she headed out of the room and back out into the living room. She didn’t feel particularly tired right now so she sat down and opened her laptop and pulled up the account for her blog.

“Let’s see, its been kind of quiet since that Fangire thing came to town… still not sure where that even came from,” she said as she flipped through some of the news reports in another tab. “Well, guess its a slow week. Even superheroes can have those, right?”

She saw some weird reports of some sort of bat creature but that was about it. She was about to shut it down and head for bed when there was an e-mail notification. She blinked a little in surprise when she opened it up and found that it was from someone called FBerrytwist@FBI.gov with the title “Urgent, we need your help.”

“Okay, that’s weird, why is the FBI emailing me?” Diamond asked as she looked at it confused for a moment. She considered the possibility that it was a scam and did some checks to make sure that it didn’t have a virus or anything but it came up clean.

“Well, I better see what the government wants with me all of a sudden,” Diamond said as she clicked on the e-mail and opened it up.

Diamond Tiara,

We are aware of your recent involvement with the being referred to as Kamen Rider Justice by the media as well as your Riderwatch blog. This message is because we need your help tracking down a suspected agent of the same organization that Justice has been fighting and you were victim to.

I’m sure you have a lot of questions, not the least of which is why Justice and Amores can’t handle this themselves. This would take too long to explain, but needless to say, they are not currently in a position to track down and this creature. If you and your blog readers can watch the skies for any signs of this creature it would be appreciated.

I want to reiterate that you or your followers are not to attempt to engage this creature. Given the threat already posed by the Order, we cannot put you at further risk. For now, if you will post these images and an explanation as to what’s going on on your blog then you will be helping not only us but also Justice.

The photos we have of both the monster and the suspect are attached. I hope that given the situation you will understand why we had to do this.

Agent Fizzlepop Berrytwist.
Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Diamond blinked a little in surprise as she read that. What did this even mean? Was Scootaloo working with the government on fighting these monsters? That made a strange amount of sense actually given how common monster attacks had become.

So, how was she going to reply to this? She quickly pulled up the pictures and examined them for a moment. The first one was of an unassuming looking human, but she then realized that the second one was of the same bat creature she had seen pictures and video of.

Okay, that changed a few things.

“Alright Diamond, Scootaloo needs your help, time to step up to the plate and do the right thing,” she said to herself as she quickly downloaded the photos and pulled up her Riderwatch blog for a moment as she stared at it.

She had made this thing to keep track of Kamen Rider activity in the city. She had tried to be anonymous for this long, not even telling Scootaloo and her friends what she was doing. This had been her way of making up for what had happened when she was possessed by one of the monsters. Keeping a record of what had happened was the best way she could think to do it and keep the public informed.

And now here she was about to use this to help them. She took a deep breath as she put the images at the top of the blog post and started to type.

”Dear Readers, while I’m not able to give you the full details of what’s going on, I’ve heard from a source close to Kamen Rider Justice herself about a situation that is currently unfolding. It seems that for some reason our local Riders have been unable to combat the latest monster that has come to plague our city, and they need our help.

What is shown above is images of the suspected human form of the monster as well as the monster itself. If anyone knows where either of them is or see them in the city itself, it would be very helpful to Justice and her allies to know where they are. I will be forwarding any information received to my contact.

I know this is a lot to take in, and we don’t know everything that’s happening in this situation. However what we do know is that this monster is likely doing something to keep Justice and Amores from fighting it. This is our best chance to help them and save them like they’ve been doing for us for this long.

Please, if anyone knows anything about this monster then it would help, even if it's something small. Kamen Rider Justice is counting on us, we’re her city, this is the city she has risen up to protect and we’re going to repay her for that.

I hope to hear from you soon, the future of the city may be in your hands.

Diamond took a deep breath as she finished the post and hit the submit button. This wasn’t going to be easy, it felt good to at least be able to help Scootaloo after everything that had happened, now she just had to hope that it was going to work.

She gave it a few minutes, but it was late after all, there was no guarantee that there would be any replies tonight. She sighed and closed her laptop up after about 10 minutes before heading to bed.

Hopefully, tomorrow would bring better news.

00000

“Well, look who’s up,” Flim said as Scootaloo and her friends filed into the commissary for breakfast the next morning. “You four look like you haven’t slept that well.”

“Because we haven’t,” Scootaloo said with a yawn as she picked up a cup of coffee and took a drink. “Have you two had any luck figuring out how to counteract that, thing?”

“Unfortunately we’re still working on that,” Flam said with a shake of his head. “We do at least have some more weapons that we can use to fight against him without the need of Riders, however…”

“However it’s not nearly enough to actually beat him,” Tempest said as she sat down at the table and shook her head. “The Order is dangerous, they know that the Riders are our first line of defense against them.”

“I’m still kind of getting used to this whole thing, but exactly how does this work?” Babs asked. “I mean, what do they do, take over human bodies like some sort of parasite and turn them into monsters?”

“In a nutshell, yes,” Sweetie Belle said with a sigh.

“Okay, so what’s stopping the Justice card from doing the same to Scootaloo?” Babs asked and Scootaloo and her friends paused a little at that. They hadn’t thought of that, why didn’t it act like the others?

“Because it’s bonded to her,” Tempest said with a shake of her head. “The card spirits for the Major Arcana don’t take over bodies. And when they’re bonded with a human they can be used in combination with the Tarot Driver that the brothers here developed.”

“Some of our best work if I do say so myself, don’t you agree, brother?” Flim asked with a smarmy grin.

“Agreed brother,” Flam added with a slight nod. “It was fortunate enough that BOARD left their files lying around.”

“BOARD?” Sweetie Belle asked as she raised an eyebrow curiously.

“That’s a long story, but the initial Drivers were reverse engineered from them,” Flam said. “We’ve made some upgrades over the years of course, but their tech was at least useful for that regard. That Kenzaki fellow you met, he uses BOARD technology.”

“Not a very original name is it, BOARD?” Scootaloo asked with a chuckle as she looked through some things on her phone. “But still, if it works it works.”

“Yeah, I…” Sweetie Belle started to say before she opened up the Riderwatch blog and her eyes went wide. “Holy crap.”

“What?” Scootaloo asked as she looked up.

“Whoever’s running Riderwatch posted a blog post last night about the monster, and it’s getting a lot of comments,” Sweetie said as she handed it over to Scootaloo. “It’s crazy, but it looks like a lot of people have been seeing this thing around town.”

Scootaloo blinked a little in surprise at that as she read the comments. Some of them were obvious trolls, but a good number of them seemed concerned about what was going on. That at least gave her some hope that they could get some good information out of this.

“Ah wonder who runs Riderwatch,” Apple Bloom said thoughtfully. “Sometimes it seems like tha posts are more, personal. Like she’s got some specific reason ta want ta talk about it, is it someone yah rescued maybe?”

“Maybe,” Scootaloo shrugged as she started to eat. “So, what do you suggest we do now?”

“For now, we just have to wait and see what happens next,” Tempest said with a shake of her head. “There isn’t a lot we can do right now, to be honest. The fact of the matter is that we don’t know where the monster is this time. I guess we just have to hope that Riderwatch comes through for us.”

"Great, we have ta rely on tha internet ta get tha information that we need," Apple Bloom said with a roll of her eyes. "Ah'm just sayin' that it seems like we'd have better luck askin' random people on tha streets."

"Maybe, but we need to use all the things we have to our advantage," Scootaloo said with a soft sigh. She knew that Apple Bloom had a point, but at the same time they really didn't have a lot of options. She looked back at Sweetie and squeezed her hand lightly as she gave her a smile. "We're going to all do this together, that's how it should be done."

"Right," Sweetie said as she gave Scootaloo a gentle smile and leaned in and kissed her on the cheek. "So, what are we supposed to actually do when we find the monster?"

"That we're working on, but ideally we want to force it out of the city," Tempest said with a shake of her head. "If we can get it out of the area of the effect its created then we can hopefully take it out before it causes any more problems than it already has."

"So, what do you think he's doing in the city?" Scootaloo asked. "Has he tried to go after us in our apartment?"

"No, that's the weird thing, we have agents watching everywhere you frequent but he's not even shown up there," Tempest said with a shake of her head. "Whatever he has planned, it's got to be something big, and dangerous."

They all let that sink in as they went back to eating. Scootaloo took a deep breath and looked at Sweetie and her friends, this wasn't going to be easy but they were going to figure it out.

Somehow.

00000

Meanwhile, at the same time back in Canterlot things were going as normal as it did on any day that they didn't have a monster attack underway. Right now at Microtech Industries' main building, a security guard was sitting behind a desk counting down the hours before he could go home.

He sighed a little as he leaned back in his chair a little and pulled up the Riderwatch Blog. Today was a pretty slow day, there weren't any visitors scheduled and everyone who was supposed to be here was already there. He was about to open up a game on his phone when the front door opened.

"Hello, let me see your identification..." he started to say and then stopped in mid-sentence when he saw a familiar face. He had seen this person come in and out every day for a while, but more importantly, he had just seen a picture of him on the Riderwatch blog. "What are you doing here Harry, you know you were laid off the other day."

"I... need a few things that I left behind..." Harry said weakly as he didn't make eye contact with the security guard. "I just need to be let through."

"I'll need to make a phone call first," the security guard said as he picked up the phone to call his boss as he hit the autodial number. At the same time, he quickly typed a message into the comments section on the blog as he waited for his boss to answer. "Shouldn't take but a moment and I'm sure that we can get someone to take whatever you need..."

"No, I want to go up there myself," Harry said. "I have to go..."

That sent up more red flags for the security guard as he finished typing in the message and sent it just as his boss answered the phone. "Hey boss, I've got a former employee here who wants..."

He barely was able to drop the phone and duck out of the way when Harry turned into the bat monster and swung his bow around and fired an arrow above the guard's head. He quickly took off for the stairs as the guard struggled to pull out his weapon.

"What's going on?" The head of security demanded. "What's happening?"

"We've got a monster attack sir, and he's heading upstairs," the guard said as he held the phone up to his ear. "I think we need to alert everyone in Harrison Dawes' old group that he might be heading that way."

“Understood, but I don’t know what good that might do against something like that,” the head of security said. “Is there anything else we can do?”

The guard just shook his head a little and sighed. “I’ll pursue it as best I can at least, get everyone on alert,” he said as he ran for the stairs and looked up, but the bat creature was already gone.

00000

“This is crazy,” Sweetie Belle said as she checked the gun that had been given to her. It along with the knife in their belts were made to fight, or at least weaken the monster. “Why are they sending us?”

“Because unfortunately the Order already knows about you two, it might be enough to draw the attention of the monster,” Pharynx said with a shake of his head as he checked his own weapon. “Do you two know the plan?”

“Get in there, get Batman’s attention, and get back ta tha vehicle and hope he follows us out of town,” Apple Bloom said with a nod. “Ah don’t like this though, are yah sure we’re goin’ ta be safe?”

“We’re going to be with you the whole time,” Pharynx said. “These weapons are the best defense we have against these things without the Riders, so hopefully they’ll be enough. Scootaloo and Sweetie Drops will be waiting at the meet-up point to deal with this. I know this isn’t going to be easy, but we need to do this if we’re going to stop this monster from doing whatever it’s trying to do.”

“Right,” Apple Bloom said with a sigh as she secured her body armor. This wasn’t going to be easy, but they had to do this if they were going to help. “Alright, Ah guess Ah’m ready.”

“Good, because we’re almost there,” Pharynx said with a nod. “This place apparently used to be where the host worked. Something tells me that’s not a coincidence, maybe he’s resentful about having been fired?”

“Yeah, probably,” Sweetie said with a sigh as she made sure that everything was secure. “I don’t think I’m ever going to be used to this though. Or, knowing how it goes I’ll probably get used to it just as we beat the commanders.”

Apple Bloom chuckled a little at that and put her hand on Sweetie’s. “We’re gonna be just fine, and ya’ll are gonna be back together so yah can enjoy a proper night together.

“Thanks, Apple Bloom,” Sweetie said as she looked down at the ring on her finger and smiled a little. “I hope you’re right.”

“Just don’t say you’re two days away from retirement or something, that’s just asking for trouble,” one of the other agents chuckled. “Basically, ignore all conventional wisdom and you’ll be bulletproof.

“Yah scare me yah know that right?” Apple Bloom asked with a gulp and the other agents just laughed a little. After a moment the two younger women joined in, it was just a way to relieve the tension of the situation and that helped them feel a little better.

“Alright, we’re here,” Pharynx said as the vehicle pulled to a stop. “Remember we’re going in plainclothes over our armor to avoid attracting attention. This is not an ideal situation since we don’t know what’s going on in there, there could be hostages. Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, stay behind the rest of us at all times, we don’t want you to be put in more danger than you have to be, understood?”

“Understood,” Sweetie Belle said and Apple Bloom nodded. “I’m guessing there’s no way we can just wait in the car.”

“Not if we want this to work,” Pharynx said with a shake of his head. “I know this isn’t going to be easy, but given the alternative, we need to make sure that this has the best chance of working. Right now the human side of things seems to be overriding the spirit, we need to get its attention and draw it out of the city if we want to make this work.”

“Right, no pressure,” Apple Bloom said with a gulp as they opened the doors to the back of the van. “Ah guess we’re as ready as we can be.”

They filed out of the van together as they made their way into the building. The security guard from before was standing there looking confused as he looked back to see the SMILE team coming in.

"Can I help you?" He asked.

"FBI, we're here about the message you posted on the Riderwatch Blog," Pharynx said as he held up his badge. "Are you sure that it's still up there?"

"Unless it broke through a window it should still be up there," the security guard said with a nod. "I didn't think the FBI was involved in this case."

"We take this kind of thing very seriously sir," Pharynx said as he nodded to the other agents as he gestured towards the stairs. "What floor are we heading for?"

"4 most likely," the guard said with a nod. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

"No, just stay back and be ready to get the building evacuated if this gets out of hand," Pharynx said and they headed up the stairs towards where the guard had pointed. "Alright, I want you to..."

There was the sound of something flying through the air and they just barely managed to duck out of the way of an arrow that hit the all behind Sweetie Belle. They looked up to see the bat monster standing in the doorway with its arm gripped tightly around someone dressed in business casual garb.

"You have a lot of guts to come here!" Ceipai said with a sneer. "You don't have your precious Riders to protect you anymore!"

"You're part of the Order right? Well, we're close to Kamen Rider Justice, don't you want to come to get us?" Sweetie Belle said as she tried to put on a brave face. "Well, come get us! Leave that poor man alone, we're your real target!"

"Yeah!" Apple Bloom said with an attempt at sounding brave that she didn't really feel. "Come on, we're much bigger targets for the Order than he is!"

"This scumbag stole everything from me!" Ceipai shouted. "He doesn't deserve to... no, I have to... yes, I have to take you both down!"

"Yes, that's it, get mad," Pharynx said as they trained their weapons on the bat monster. He raised his hand as if getting ready to give the order to fire. "Let him go and we'll talk. This isn't the time to make rash decisions like this."

Ceipai paused a moment as he looked between the human who was looking terrified in his grip and Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom. The monster looked like he was trying to decide what to do as he struggled between the host’s wants and what his orders were.

Finally, he let out an ear piercing shriek and threw the human to the side as he dove at them. The SMILE agents quickly trained their weapons on him and opened fire, causing him to pause as they did.

“Go, go, go!” Pharynx said as they turned and ran down the stairs towards the entrance again.

"YOU WON'T GET AWAY HUMANS!" Ceipai shouted as he flew off after them, only occasionally being pushed back by the gunfire from the humans he was pursuing. "I'll never stop tracking you even if it takes me to the ends of the earth! The Order will punish Justice for her insolence!"

"That's what we're countin' on," Apple Bloom muttered to herself as she gave Sweetie Belle a nod and smiled a little. "What do yah think, excitin' enough fer yah?"

"Very funny," Sweetie said as they ran out of the building with the agents hot on their heels and got into the van as it started up and took off down the road with sirens blaring. "Are you sure this is the best idea? I mean, we're just going to attract more attention this way."

"All part of the plan," Pharynx said as he ejected an empty magazine and put in another one. "You two did great back there, are you going to be okay?"

"Other than mah heart feelin' like it's about ta jump out of mah chest Ah'll be fine," Apple Bloom said as she breathed heavily. "Come on, we need ta hurry this up or he'll catch us. Are Scootaloo and Agent Drops in position?"

"Don't worry about them, they're set," Pharynx said with a nod as the van tore down the road towards the desert outside of town.

00000

"I don't like waiting like this," Scootaloo said as she shifted uncomfortably. "It feels like we're waiting for the other shoe to drop while everyone else is in danger."

"I know what you mean," Sweetie Drops said with a sigh as she played with her half of the Lovers card. "So, when did you and Sweetie Belle get engaged?"

"Last night, how'd you know?" Scootaloo asked as she looked at her fellow Rider.

"The ring on Sweetie's finger, of course, its kind of hard to miss," Sweetie Drops said with a chuckle. "You're about to take the next big step in your lives together. Are you sure you're ready for this kind of thing?"

"Honestly, I don't know," Scootaloo said as she closed her eyes. "But I do know that I love Sweetie more than anything and that this is something I want. Especially with everything that's going on, I just couldn't put it off anymore, you know?"

"Yeah, I understand," Sweetie Drops said with a sigh. "I probably would've done the same thing in your shoes."

"Such a curious pair of riders," a voice with a Japanese accent said from behind them and they turned in surprise to see the same man that had met with Tempest the night before standing there holding his book out. "Such a shame that my master could not make your acquaintance properly."

"Who the heck are you?" Scootaloo demanded as she placed her hand on her Driver in her pocket as she stared the strange young man down. "Do you work for the Order?"

"The Order? Don't be silly," the man said with a laugh. "I work for he who is the heir to all Kamen Riders, the overlord of time itself. Why would I work for such a second rate group like the Order of the High Arcana?"

Scootaloo narrowed her eyes a little bit at that. She could recognize a slight tremor in his voice when he mentioned that, what was going on? Who was this guy?

"Scootaloo, I think we should leave him alone, I've seen a report about someone like this," Sweetie Drops said as she placed a hand on Scootaloo's shoulder. "Your name is Woz, isn't it? The so-called Mysterious Prophet who appeared 26 years ago."

"Ah, how perceptive of you, I see my reputation proceeds me," Woz said as he bowed slightly. "I'm simply here in the service of my Overlord. I have no desire to interfere with your little skirmishes."

"You're lying," Scootaloo said as she narrowed her eyes a little. "Why are you here at all? If you were really here in the service of your, Overlord as you put it, you'd have to have a very specific reason to be here. So why don't you spill it, why would a servant of the Overlord of time come here?"

"I am here to ensure the ascendancy of my Overlord, and to make sure that nothing stands in his way," Woz said with a wag of his finger. "Your little fight with the Order will give him the information he needs and nothing more. I'd hurry up if I were you, there's a bat coming your way and I don't think he's friendly."

"Do you believe that he's really not here to interfere?" Scootaloo whispered to Sweetie Drops.

"All reports I have read about the incident 26 years ago suggest that Woz is only interested in furthering his own agenda," Sweetie Drops said with a shake of her head. "But I also think that we don't have time to worry about this kind of thing, we need to be ready."

"Right, let's hope this really is out of the negation area," Scootaloo said as she shot Woz a look. "You had better be honest about not interfering with what's going on here."

"As I said, I am merely here in the service of my Overlord," Woz said as he took a step back and gave them a nod. "You hardly have anything to be worried about from me. Your timeline is hardly in danger after all."

"That seems ominous..." Scootaloo said and was about to say something else when all of a sudden there was the sound of a vehicle in the distance. They could see the van making it's way across the desert sands as it came to a stop in front of them and the SMILE agents filed out with Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle.

"So, I'm guessing it worked then," Sweetie Drops said.

"He's right behind us," Sweetie Belle said with a nod as she gave Scootaloo a worried smile. "Are you sure this is going to work?"

"If it doesn't, we're in trouble," Scootaloo said as she raised her Driver and Sweetie Drops did the same as they set it around their waist. "Are you ready for this?"

"Ready," Sweetie Drops said with a nod as they both held their cards up.

"Henshin!" They said in unison as they slid their cards into their drivers and the energy flew out and encompassed them.

"TIME TO TIP THE SCALES!"

"LOVE CONQUERS ALL THINGS!"

The energy formed around them as their armor covered their bodies. The Arcana Rapier appeared in Scootaloo's hand while the Arcana bow appeared in Sweetie Drops'.

"Rejoice, for the warriors of this timeline have come to fight back the darkness!" Woz said with a chuckle as he took a step back and out of the way as he shut the book. "Good luck to the both of you, and don't die too quickly."

“Why does that sound ominous to me,” Scootaloo said with a shake of her head as she gripped her sword.

“Probably because it is,” Sweetie Drops said as she raised her bow into the air and aimed it towards where the monster would be coming from. “Are you ready for this?”

“I think so,” Scootaloo said with a slight nod.

After a moment there was the sound of a loud screech that rang out over the desert sands. The large shape of the bat monster came into view as he stopped and drew back his bow and fired several arrows at Scootaloo and Sweetie Drops which they just barely managed to avoid.

“You two!” He shouted as he pulled his bowstring back again. “I will not let you interfere with what I have planned! You will suffer for your insolence!”

“Yap, yap, just keep telling yourself that,” Sweetie Drops said as she raised her own bow and fired an energy arrow at him which he barely was able to dodge. “Come on, we need to get him grounded! Aim for the wings!”

“Right,” Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom said as they drew their own weapons and fired at the bat monster as it dodged them again.

“Such simple weapons, did you really think they would be able to stop me?” Ceipai said with a grin that showed his fangs. “You’re more foolish than I thought humans. I’m going to enjoy this way more than I should.”
“We’ll see about that,” Sweetie Drops said as she glanced over at Pharynx and the two exchanged a nod as she raised her bow into the air and he did the same with his rifle. “It’ll be a cold day in hell before we let you win this!”

The two agents fired at the same moment as an energy arrow flew through the air right at Ceipai while the bullet did the same. It took the bat monster a moment to realize that they were both aimed for his wings, and he made a dash to avoid the attacks, which barely managed to hit him and send him spiraling out of control and crashed into the desert sand below.

Scootaloo held her sword upright and ran for the bat monster as it managed to get to its clawed feet. It snarled at Scootaloo and drew its bow back and fired several arrows at her to try and catch her off guard.

“I don’t know how you managed to do this, but I’m not about to let you get away with ruining my plan!” Ceipai said with a snarl. “Those people stole years of my life and everything that ever mattered to me! I’m not about to let them get away with it, not after what they did to me!”

“This isn’t the way to go about it!” Scootaloo said as she thrust her sword at him only to have it be blocked with the monster’s bow. “You’re letting yourself get consumed by a desire for revenge and you’re putting innocent people at risk!”

“No one’s innocent!” Ceipai snarled. “No one in that building is innocent, they don’t care about their workers! All they care about is making money and they’ll cast aside anyone who isn’t worth anything to them anymore! They lie, cheat, and steal so they can further their own agendas and fill their pockets!”

Scootaloo flinched a little at that before she kicked at him as hard as she could. She didn’t like this either, but that didn’t excuse what he was doing. She was going to stop him one way or another.

“You’re not helping yourself…” she said with a sigh, there was no way to save him was there? The spirit had become too powerful, she could only save him by defeating it. “Then I’m going to have to stop you!”

“Just try it,” Ceipai said with a snarl as he kicked her away and drew his bow back again and pointed it at the sky. “All I have to do is fire another negation arrow into the air and you’ll go down like a sack of…”
He was cut off when there was the sudden sound of a gunshot and he crumpled to the ground. Scootaloo looked up to see Sweetie Belle standing there holding the pistol in her hand as a wound bled from his leg.

“Sweetie, I…” Scootaloo said as she blinked a little bit.

“You can thank me later, just finish this!” Sweetie said and Scootaloo nodded a little as she turned back to the monster who was struggling to get to his feet.

“I can see your future, and it’s not bright!” Scootaloo said as she jumped up and kicked hard at the monster as energy gathered in her foot. “JUSTICE KICK!”

The energy flowed through the monster for a moment before the bat form around him shattered and left an exhausted-looking human man in its place. He breathed heavily for a moment before collapsing, just barely alive.

“Is he okay?” Scootaloo asked as Pharynx ran over to him and checked his pulse.

“He’s alive, but barely, we need to get him to the hospital,” Pharynx said as they started to gather up the weakened man and pull him towards the van.

“So, did you find out what you wanted to, Woz?” Sweetie Drops asked as she turned to the grey clothed man who shut his book once more.

“I believe so, Oma Zi-O will be ready if the day comes,” Woz said with a knowing smirk as he looked back at Amores. “But our story together is not quite over yet, I’d say there is still one more chapter waiting to be written.”

“What do you mean by that?” Sweetie Drops said as Woz turned and walked off. “Answer me, what did you mean by that?”

“That is for me to know, and for you to find out, Kamen Rider Amores,” Woz said as he waved his hand dismissively before vanishing into the desert.

“Weird guy,” Pharynx said as he approached Sweetie Drops. “I think we’re about wrapped up here, any idea what we should do with the prisoner?”

“Get him to the hospital, we’ll figure out what to do from there,” Sweetie Drops said with a sigh as Pharynx handed her a card. It depicted a man sitting under a tree with three cups around him and a hand holding a fourth. “Another card in the Cups suit, I guess that was inevitable.”

She looked over at Scootaloo who was talking with Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom and smiled a little. Given the situation, the two of them had really risen to the occasion to help SMILE deal with the monster.

She just hoped that they wouldn’t be put in further danger because of this.

00000

Back at Silver Spoon’s apartment, Diamond Tiara was watching her computer with nervous anticipation. She knew that if that tip was good then they had hatched some sort of plan to deal with the monster. So, what had happened and what was going to happen next?

She nearly jumped when there was finally an e-mail notification and quickly opened it up. It was from the same address as before that had sent the information and pictures to her.

Diamond Tiara,

I know that you are probably eager to learn about what happened and I do have some good news for you. The operation was a success and the information given to us by your reader lead to the defeat of the monster. Your blog’s contribution to the efforts of our organization was invaluable, and I have received authorization to share the following images with you.

These images were taken from the battle with the monster designated Ceipai or the Four of Cups. I believe that your readers will find them very interesting, and perhaps we will be able to share more of them in the future. After all, you are our voice on the web to make sure that people know what is going on.

I ask that you continue to keep Justice’s identity to yourself until we are ready. But I can see this being the beginning of something great. Keep up the good work Ms. Tiara.

Fizzlepop Berrytwist,
Federal Bureau of Investigation

Diamond let out a sigh of relief as she finished reading it and pulled up the images. Indeed they showed Justice and Amores fighting against the bat monster together as well as a figure with a face that was hidden firing at it.

She smiled a little, but she’d wait until tomorrow to post this. Right now she had something more important to take care of as she closed up her computer and headed into the kitchen.

A little while later she came out of the kitchen carrying a tray with two plates and drinks as she carried it into Silver Spoon’s bedroom. The silver-haired young woman smiled a little as she looked up at her.

“Hey Diamond,” she said with a weak smile as Diamond placed the tray on the bed. “Dinner in bed?”

“I can’t think of a better way to celebrate,” Diamond said as she leaned in and gave Silver Spoon a gentle kiss on the lips. “The beginning of something great.”

Silver Spoon smiled a little as she returned the kiss and the two closed their eyes and just enjoyed the moment.

00000

“Alright, so Babs and Apple Bloom are back at her apartment and now it’s just the two of us again,” Scootaloo said with a soft smile as the two of them walked into their bedroom together. “So, where were we when we left off last time?”

“Mmm, I believe I had just finished giving you a back rub,” Sweetie Belle said with a smile as she started to pull off Scootaloo’s shirt. “Do you want to repeat that or do you think we should skip ahead to the fun part?”

“Very tempting,” Scootaloo said as she leaned in and gave Sweetie a gentle kiss on the lips, breaking it to let Sweetie pull her shirt off. “Now how about we get…”

They were cut off by the sudden flash of bright light coming from somewhere in the city. Scootaloo was about to say something when her phone went off, she picked it up and read the text message, it was from Fancy Pants.

Don’t worry, we’ve got the situation under control, just enjoy your evening together.

“Well, you heard the man,” Scootaloo said with a grin as she kissed Sweetie again. “How about we finally enjoy our second night together engaged?”

“Sounds perfect,” Sweetie said as they shared a long passionate kiss together and fell back onto the bed as Sweetie reached around to unhook Scootaloo’s bra.

They were going to enjoy this evening as much as possible, especially after the day they had.

00000

“Carnico,” Fleur said as she sat in the briefing room with Tempest and Fancy Pants.

“Excuse me?” Tempest asked as she looked up confused.

“Carnico, it’s the company that owns the company that Harrison Dawes worked for,” Fleur said with a shake of her head. “They have something of a bad reputation but no one’s ever been able to pin any actual crimes on them. I’d say that would give him a reason to hate his bosses.”

“Yeah, probably, but it doesn’t excuse what he tried to do,” Fancy Pants said as he adjusted his monocle a little. “Unfortunately there’s not a lot we can do about white-collar crime. We’ll just do what we can.”

“Right,” Tempest said and was about to say something else when an alarm suddenly went off causing them all to jump. “What was that?”

“I don’t know,” Fancy Pants said as he went to check the screens. He narrowed his eyes at what he saw and looked back at them. “We just got a major surge in inter-dimensional activity outside of Canterlot High School.”

“Is it possible that our friends from that Kiva universe are coming back?” Fleur asked with a concerned look on her face.

“No, we got a completely different signature from this one,” Fancy said as he stroked his chin for a moment. “It doesn’t match anything in our records, the only thing remotely close to it is Kamen Rider Wizard.”

“Kamen Rider Wizard?” Tempest asked and looked thoughtful for a moment before she realized what he meant. “You’re saying that you got a surge of magical power?”

“Indeed,” Fancy said as he frowned a little. “We need to get on this as fast as possible. I just hope we’re not too late.”

Author's Note

To be continued in separate fanfic that crosses over with Layton13's Kamen Rider Alchemy.

The Raised Wand

“Alright, you’re looking good,” Stone Breaker said as he timed Scootaloo’s lap on her bike in the underground bike track that was part of the SMILE HQ. Scootaloo took a deep breath as she went around another turn. “You’re doing fine out there, just keep going and speed up a little bit.”

Scootaloo took a deep breath as she increased the speed on Forseti as she headed for the next turn. She hated to admit it to anyone but she was more scared than anything, she had become a little too reliant on the bike’s AI system, something she had realized during the recent encounter with Kamen Rider Alchemy and the others.

She went past her friends and Stone who were watching her on the bike together. She gave them a slight nod before she picked up speed again. It had taken a little getting used to but she was starting to feel like she had the hang of it at least.

“Alright, we’re going to activate the battle simulation, I don’t want you to trigger your AI’s Battle Mode,” Stone’s voice said over her helmet. “You only want to use that when you’re using your sword right now. I want you to try and fight it using the bike on your own, okay? Come to a stop and turn the bike around.”

“Got it,” Scootaloo said as she pulled to a stop and turned the bike around as she looked back at the spot she had been in before as the image of a target appeared down the track. “Alright, let’s do this… you can do this Scootaloo…”

“Hang in there Scoots, you’ll do fine,” Sweetie’s voice said over her helmet radio. “You’ve used this thing enough to get an idea of what to do, right? Just hang in there.”

“Okay,” Scootaloo said as she adjusted herself and pointed it at the dummy as she gunned the engine and headed right for the target. For a moment she was afraid that it wasn’t going to do anything and was about to turn her bike when she realized she was drifting a little to the right.

She quickly turned to the left and pulled it up as she hit the target head-on with the front wheel of her bike. She managed to knock it back as she sped past it, turning it back around she pushed forward and hit it again as it fell to the ground.

“Good, alright I think you’re set to go,” Stone said. “Remember, the AI system isn’t supposed to be a crutch. Just be careful, as long as everything works correctly you should be fine. Just be careful if you have to do this against an actual monster, you will have to adjust manually. You should be fine though, just do your best.”

“Yeah, no pressure at all,” Scootaloo said as she came to a stop near her friends and climbed off the bike powering down. “So, how’d I look out there?”

“You did fine,” Sweetie said with a soft smile. “Really I don’t know what you were worried about out there.”

“You wobbled a little bit, but other than that you’re fine,” Stone said, barely looking up from the information on the screen. “I’d keep practicing in the future and only use the bike in Rider form, given this kind of bike can attract attention.”

“Good idea,” Scootaloo said with a sigh as she looked back at her friends and smiled a little. “Thank you for your help Stone.”

“You’re welcome,” Stone said as he shook hands with her and gave her a slight smile. “Keep this up and you’ll do just fine.”

“I feel kind of dumb for not trying this earlier…” Scootaloo admitted as she rubbed the back of her head a little. “Thanks for being willing to give me some pointers.”

“Of course, no problem,” Stone said with a smile. “You’re good on the bike, you just needed the practice is all. Let me know if you want to use the course again.”

“I will,” Scootaloo said as she and her friends headed back to the elevator.

Stone sighed a little as he went back to his laboratory off the track wheeling Forsetti with him. There were several more bikes nearby as he put it back in its place. He sighed a little as he sat back down at his computer and started pulling up the schematics for the bikes.

The Director wanted him to look into some way to upgrade the bikes themselves for combat, but he hadn’t had much luck. He tapped his fingers on the desk as he looked at the schematics for a moment. The bikes were designed to work with the card spirits themselves, maybe there was a way to use that to their advantage.

But how would he do that? That was the question that he had to figure out. He looked thoughtful for a moment as he took out a list of what cards they had already claimed from the Order, most of them were weapon cards, so he had to think of something.

Then he came across one name and stroked his chin thoughtfully for a moment. That could work, he’d just have to convince Fancy Pants to let him experiment with it. He got up and headed for the elevator to go talk to him.

00000

Caesar was furious, despite their best plans everything the Order had tried so far had fallen apart and he knew that he was going to be blamed whether or not he was truly guilty. He sighed a little as he made his way through the corridors of the Order’s base.

“Incompetent spirits… we’d have conquered this world already if it wasn’t for them…” Caesar said with a snarl.

“You really think so don’t you?” A familiar voice said from the room he happened to be standing by and he narrowed his eyes as he walked inside. Nemo was sitting in a chair sipping tea as he looked up at Caesar with a slight smirk. “I thought it was time for another little chat.”

“You had better be careful if the others knew a human was in here you would be either killed or thrown in prison,” Caesar said as he walked forward and took a seat across from Nemo. “How have you not been detected this time?”

“I have my ways to fool your sensors,” Nemo said as he took a sip of his tea. “After all you can’t find a man who doesn’t exist for all intents and purposes. I know how to hide from any sensors, the only reason I was detected before was that I wanted your attention.”

“Then why are you here now?” Caesar asked as he narrowed his eyes slightly at the strange man. “You have not exactly been making good on your deal.”

“Patience my friend,” Nemo said as he sipped his tea a little. “The fact of the matter is that I cannot just magic things up out of thin air. Give me time and everything will be in place and your superiors will never doubt your ability again.”

“They had better not,” Caesar said. “If you don’t deliver, you and I are going to have a big problem, do you understand?”

“Of course I do,” Nemo said as he drank his tea. “And as long as you keep up your end of the bargain things will work out perfectly for both of us.”

“Good,” Caesar said as he narrowed his eyes. “If you’ll excuse me, I have things that I must do, the rest of the Court will be suspicious if I’m late.”

“Then you had better hurry,” Nemo said as he leaned back in his chair as Caesar walked out. He pressed a device on his arm and a holographic projection of a woman dressed in the same white outfit appeared. “Did we get all the readings that we needed?”

“Yes, sir,” the woman said on the other end. “We’ve managed to pinpoint the points of connection between this pocket dimension and our universe. I suspect that its a conduit to another universe entirely.”

“Very good,” Nemo said as he gave her a nod. “Do you have everything ready for the operation?”

“We’re going to need Caesar to come through on his side of the deal if we’re going to properly study these creatures. In the meantime, we picked up some very unusual readings from the city recently, perhaps we should look into this as well. It could suggest another faction being active in America as well.”

“Curious,” Nemo said as he stroked his chin thoughtfully. “And they told me the American branch would be boring. Very well, see where they came from and then we can investigate it as well.”

“Yes sir, should I send what we have to our labs in Site Alpha?” The woman asked.

“Send them what we have, I know it’s not much but we have to make sure we’re on top of things here,” Nemo said as he inputs more commands into his arm device. “I’ll have the Houdini Drones keep an eye on things here. In the meantime, prepare Caesar’s payment.”

“We’re going to keep our end of the bargain as well then?” The woman asked.

“Indeed, I will meet you at Site Alpha,” Nemo said as he turned off the device and several drones left it before turning invisible. He hit one more command on it and vanished into thin air.

00000

“Ah wish yah didn’t have ta leave already,” Apple Bloom said as they hugged Applejack and Rarity at Canterlot International Airport. “Are yah sure ya’ll can’t stay a bit longer?”

“Sorry darling, I know we didn’t get to spend as much time together as we would have liked, but we have to go back home,” Rarity said as she hugged Apple Bloom. “We’ll be back as soon as we can though.”

“Especially since Rares is gonna want ta make Sweetie’s weddin’ dress,” Applejack said with a chuckle as Honey giggled a little. “Unless ya’ll are plannin’ ta run off ta Vegas and elope or somethin’.”

“Darn it, they’re onto us Sweetie,” Scootaloo said with a laugh as she leaned over and gave Sweetie a kiss on the cheek.

“You’re right, we better run now if we want to get away with it, where’s the nearest ticket counter…” Sweetie said, which just made the older women roll their eyes.

“Aww, you would have a wedding without me?” Honey asked with a cute pout. “I thought I was your favorite niece, Aunty Sweetie.”

“Well darn it, we have to do it for our cute little niece then don’t we,” Sweetie said with a giggle as she tickled Honey. “Darn, I was looking forward to Vegas too.”

“Don’t worry, Ah’ll make sure they don’t run off,” Apple Bloom said as they all shared a laugh together.

“We’ll let you know when everything is planned,” Sweetie said as she hugged her sister and sister-in-law. “It was so good to see you three again even if it was kind of marred by everything that happened.”

“Don’t worry about it, we weren’t expectin’ somethin’ normal anyway,” Applejack said with a soft smile. “Are yah gonna be okay, Scootaloo? Ah know this can’t be easy fer yah.”

“Yeah, but I’m going to be fine,” Scootaloo said softly as she looked at her friends and smiled a little. “The important thing is that I have my friends here with me. We’ll be fine, I’ll make sure of it, okay?”

“Okay,” Rarity said as she hugged Scootaloo. “You’re already part of the family Scootaloo, I can’t wait for it to be official. Are you sure I can’t convince you to wear a dress too?”

“No, definitely not,” Scootaloo said with a chuckle. “But I’m glad to be part of the family, you’ve all done so much for me.”

"No problem, just stay out of trouble, okay?" Rarity said with a chuckle and sighed as she checked the time. "We should get going. We'll come to visit again as soon as possible, okay?"

"Bye!" Honey said as she gave the three of them hugs again.

"Okay, see you later," Sweetie said as they waved to the three of them as they walked off towards security to go through the gate. She chuckled a little as she looked back at Scootaloo as they started to walk back out together. "Do you really not want to wear a dress at our wedding?"

"No, but I will if you want me to," Scootaloo said with a chuckle as she gave Sweetie a soft smile.

"Nope, I want you to wear whatever you're comfortable with," Sweetie said with a soft chuckle as she kissed Scootaloo gently on the lips.

"Okay then I'll be at the altar in a t-shirt and jeans," Scootaloo said with a grin.

"Anything but that," Sweetie said with a laugh.

"You're no fun," Scootaloo said with a fake pout.

"Come on yah two lovebirds, we need ta get back home," Apple Bloom said with a roll of her eyes. "Fancy Pants said that there's gonna be some big announcement and that we need ta watch tha local news, remember?"

"Oh yeah," Scootaloo said as they headed to the car and climbed in as they drove off towards their apartment complex.

00000

"I don't like this," Fleur whispered to Fancy Pants as they waited for the press to gather for the press conference at Canterlot City Hall. "Are you sure this is the right decision to make?"

"The citizens of this city are in danger because of the Order," Fancy whispered back. "And I already discussed it with the higher-ups, they agreed that this is the right decision. It will make it a lot harder for the Order to find hosts if we increase public awareness."

"I hope you're right," Fleur said with a frown as she eyed Fancy Pants for a moment. "This is not something that I agree with you know, we've never done anything like this before."

"We never had a reason to do this before, we were able to keep things under wraps before," Fancy Pants said with a shake of his head. "But you know how things are in this day and age with the internet. It's only a matter of time before things start to leak out, and we need to do this to avoid a panic."

"Alright, I hope you're right," Fleur said as a woman with light skin and with short grey hair wearing a suit and glasses approached them. "Mayor Script, are you ready for this?"

"I hope so," Written Script, the mayor of Canterlot said as she looked back at Fancy Pants. "You are absolutely certain that this is the right thing to do right now?"

"Yes, I'm certain," Fancy Pants said with a nod.

"Alright, I'll speak first," the Mayor said as the last of the reporters took a seat and she headed over to the podium. She took a deep breath as she spoke into the microphone and adjusted her glasses a little. "Citizens of Canterlot, I know with all of the reports of monster attacks in the city you have a lot of questions. I certainly did, but Agent Fancy Pants with the FBI here believes that he has information on these creatures that will be able to help protect us from them more. I ask that you hold all your questions until the end so that we can get all the information out quickly."

She nodded to Fancy Pants and nodded as he headed to the podium and took a deep breath. This was not something that was going to be easy, but he had made the decision already to do this. So now it was just a matter of making the announcement.

“I know you’ve all been concerned about what’s been going on with the monsters that have been plaguing this city,” Fancy Pants said as he adjusted his notes for a moment and then continued to speak. “I would like to say that this was nothing more than a big hoax like some have claimed, however, the truth of the matter is that these creatures are very real.”

He turned to a TV screen and turned it on as a video of Justice and Amores fighting against the various monsters. One finally stopped as it showed an image of a person with their face was hidden being consumed by energy as they transformed into a monster.

A lot of people gasped as they saw it happen. Fancy Pants adjusted his monocle a little for a moment before turning back to speak to the audience.

“This is footage never before aired or put on the internet,” Fancy Pants continued. “As we’ve learned, these creatures are known as Agents of the Order of the High Arcana. They are parasitic spirits that are contained within special Tarot cards. Before you go and say anything, these cards are not the sort found in a store or used by fortune tellers. These cards seemingly appear to anyone who fits the description of the negative aspect of the Minor Arcana cards. Those who are possessed by one of these spirits slowly have their life force drained, though we have no idea exactly what their endgame is here. Citizens need to be aware of the risk presented by these card spirits, do not allow them to make deals with you. Do not go after the possessed yourself if someone shows signs of possession please call our hotline. Together we have to work to stop the Order before they finish whatever their plan is. I will now take a few questions.”

A bunch of questions came up from the gathered reporters and Fancy Pants finally pointed at one of them.

“Director, what about the creature that was at the center of the Massacre awhile back?” The reporter asked. “It seemed to resemble descriptions of creatures that were reported in Japan ten years ago. Are there more of these out there?”

“Yes, that is what we call a Hybrid creature,” Fancy Pants said. “They are very rarely seen as we’ve only encountered two so far. The one in question was a hybrid with a creature called a Fangire, which yes also appeared 10 years ago. However, we believe that this was an isolated incident and there will not be another Fangire Hybrid.”

“But you’re not sure?”

“We can’t discount any possibility, but we will keep a close eye out for any such events,” Fancy Pants said. “The only other documented Hybrid was dealt with before it could present a serious threat to the city. More than likely we will not have any further Hybrids, but we will keep an eye out anyway.”

The reporters took notes before more of them tried to get Fancy Pants’ attention. He finally pointed at another one who spoke up. “Agent Fancy Pants, what do you say to the accusations that this is is a government operation?”

“The government has been aware of the existence of monsters for a long time now, we are simply putting into action a plan already in place,” Fancy Pants said. “After the incident with the Inves and the Global Freeze, we have to consider all possibilities. We are here to stop the Order, nothing more. I’ll take two more questions.”

More reporters tried to get his attention and he finally pointed at one in the back, she spoke up. “Who are the Kamen Riders labeled by the Internet as Justice and Amores? I notice you haven’t been talking about them much.”

“Amores and Justice’s identities are not mine to reveal,” Fancy Pants said. “All you need to know is that they are what they seem. They are citizens interested in stopping the Order and protecting the city from these creatures. Alright, one last question.”

Everyone was quiet for a long moment before one reporter raised their hand. Fancy Pants sighed and pointed at him. “What do you say to the rumors of a third Kamen Rider being seen in the city with a black and silver suit of armor?”

“That Rider is a known quantity already,” Fancy Pants said simply. “They have their own reasons for remaining more anonymous than Justice and Amores. For the moment, that is all I have to say about them. That is all for today, thank you.”

He stepped down from the Podium as the reporters started to file out to get everything written up and filed. He glanced at Fleur who gave him a nod.

“I hope you’re doing the right thing,” Fleur said.

“Me too, but this is what we needed to do,” Fancy said with a sigh. “We’ve been working in the shadows for so long that this is something new. Hopefully, this will give us everything we need.”

“Yeah, for now, let’s get back to headquarters,” Fleur said as the two walked off together.

00000

“That was an unexpected move on the human’s part,” the man in black said as the leaders of the Order watched the Press Conference on their viewing screen. “They’re gambling on the hope that it’ll keep us from finding hosts.”

“Will it?” Caesar asked as the man in black leaned on his cane.

“I highly doubt it, but it will risk slowing us down at least,” the man in black said as he stroked his chin thoughtfully for a moment. “Priellit, are we ready for the next move?”

“Yes sir,” Priellit said as she shuffled the summoning deck and placed it on the table in front of her. “It will be a simple matter to summon a spirit. I believe that finding a host will be easy.”

“Then let us see which one will be next,” the Man in Black said with a nod. “Priellit, let us see what the Wheel of Fortune brings us next, shall we? It’s all yours.”

Priellit nodded as she began to chant and placed her hand on the deck. The card glowed a little bit as she drew it and raised an eyebrow curiously. “Interesting, the Nine of Wands is now in play, an individual who is paranoid and has a lot of inner struggle,” she said as the card vanished from her hand and the spirit flew off.

“Interesting, that is the strongest spirit we’ve seen so far,” Caesar said.

“It seems the Wheel is showing more favor with us finally,” Grangorca said as he walked into the throne room. “I see that I was not invited to the meeting. Is there any particular reason why?”

“Your job is to try and defeat our enemies like the Kamen Riders,” Caesar said as he eyed Granforca. “With everything that’s going on, we hardly felt a need to get you involved when we’re just preparing the next step of the operation.”

“Now, now let’s not be too hasty Caesar,” the Man in Black said as he eyed Granforca. “After all we did release him from his imprisonment for a reason. Maybe we can find a place for him at the moment.”

“Well, we could send him to help Kuagua,” Priellit suggested. “He’s still keeping an eye out for any of the remaining lost ones.”

“Why are we even bothering to look?” Granforca asked. “They were lost for a reason more often than not. Why would we even need…”

“Because we do not have the power to summon our strongest servants yet,” the Man in Black snapped as he reached into his pocket and took out some extra cards. “Four of them were stolen by a traitor and one was taken by our enemies, mostly because of your incompetence Granforca. We are giving you a second chance, and you will take this assignment if you want to have that chance. Get out there, and if you happen to find Justice then deal with her, understood?”

“Yes sir,” Granforca said with a gulp.

“Good, now go,” the Man in Black said and Granforca vanished into thin air.

00000

Sweetie Drops sighed a little as she fell back onto the couch in her apartment as she looked up at the ceiling. Ever since they had gotten back from the other universe she had a hard time relaxing, everything that was going on just felt like it was getting weirder and worse.

She sighed a little as she reached into her pocket and took out her half of the Lovers card as she looked at the figure staring back at her. She sighed a little as she put it back in her pocket and rolled over onto her side as she closed her eyes and got ready to take a short nap

At least she tried to, but she found herself getting more and more restless. She finally sighed and looked at her phone and was a bit surprised as it went off and she got an incoming call from Lyra. She answered it and raised it to her ear. “Hey, Lyra, what’s up?”

“Hey, I just wanted to check on you after what happened the other day,” Lyra said on the other end. “I mean that was pretty crazy huh?”

“Yeah,” Sweetie Drops said as she played with her hair a little bit. “It’s been a crazy few weeks in general really. Still, we managed to stop it at least, there is that.”

“Yeah, there is that at least,” Lyra said. “So, is there anything I can do to help maybe? Do you want to talk or to meet up somewhere? I mean, it feels like most of the time we’ve only been meeting up when there’s some sort of crisis.”

Sweetie Drops checked the time, it was only the early evening so there was still time to go out for dinner or order something in. She shrugged a little as she placed her hand on the Driver on the table next to her.

“Alright, sure,” Sweetie Drops said with a soft smile as she sat up. “How about you come on over and we can either order out or maybe go somewhere? I know a pretty good place down the street.”

“Sounds great, I’ll be by in about, 20 minutes, sound good?” Lyra asked.

“Sounds perfect,” Sweetie Drops said as she hung up her phone and got up to get the apartment straightened out a bit before Lyra arrived.

Maybe this would be good for her, she had felt so alone when she wasn’t at work lately. The only time that had changed was when Lyra had been here while they were dealing with Tripen. She sighed a little and started cleaning up the apartment as best she could.

After 20 minutes there was a knock on the door and Sweetie Drops went to answer it. She smiled a little when she saw Lyra standing outside. She smiled back as Sweetie Drops gestured for her to come inside.

“Well, it looks like you’ve cleaned this place up a bit since I last visited,” Lyra said with a chuckle as Sweetie Drops closed the door behind her. “Or am I remembering wrong?”

“I thought I’d clean up since I was having company,” Sweetie Drops said sheepishly as she rubbed the back of her head. “Sorry, it’s not the best job I could do.”

“Well, it’s not like you expected me to visit today,” Lyra said with a chuckle as they walked back over to the couch. “Do you ever wonder what your life would’ve been like if you hadn’t, well, gotten into all of this?”

“Honestly? Probably more than I should,” Sweetie Drops said with a sigh. “Everything that’s been going on lately is crazy. I miss my old friends and everything, and I guess I miss having a normal life. But hey, at least I can’t say my life is boring.”

“Heh, yeah,” Lyra said with a chuckle. “Who knows, maybe once everything is over we’ll have something resembling a normal life.”

“Yeah right, not at this rate,” Sweetie Drops said with a slight chuckle. “I think you’d have a better chance getting Dan Kuroto to just be a normal video game developer.”

“What are you…” Lyra started to say.

“Don’t ask, trust me, you don’t want to know everything I’ve learned since I started working for SMILE,” Sweetie Drops said with a shake of her head. “Let me put it this way if you think EA is evil, then you don’t want to hear about him, or his Dad.”

“Yeah… I think I’ll be much happier not knowing,” Lyra said with a shake of her head. “So, what do you want to do? You said you knew someplace down the road, we could go there.”

“Yeah, that sounds good,” Sweetie Drops said with a soft smile as she offered Lyra a hand. “Look, Lyra, I…”

“Yes?” Lyra asked expectantly.

“I’m glad I found you again,” Sweetie Drops said after a short pause and smiled a little. “I’m sorry that I dropped out of contact. I guess I haven’t really lost my chance to have friends again…”

“It’s going to be okay, Sweetie,” Lyra said as she hugged Sweetie Drops tightly. “I’ll be here for you whenever you need me, okay?”

“Okay,” Sweetie Drops said with a soft smile. “So, are you ready to go?”

“Yeah, let’s go,” Lyra said with a soft smile as Sweetie Drops picked up her Driver and cards as she put them away. The two of them walked out of the apartment together and down the stairs to the street.

00000

Stone sighed as he climbed out of his car and headed for his apartment complex. He had been working hard most of the day but he felt like he had hit a wall. The upgrade to the bikes wasn’t working very well, it was just a matter of making sure that the card could actually work with the bike’s system, that wasn’t easy.

Finally Fancy Pants had told him to take a break and go home so he could approach it with fresh eyes the next day. He glanced over to the other side of the road and smiled a little when he saw Sweetie Drops and Lyra walking past and talking.

Sometimes he wished that there was someone he could be close to, but he had his reasons why he couldn’t. No matter how much it pained him, he had to make sure that he wasn’t close to anyone.

He sighed a little as he started back towards the apartment building and was about to open the door when there was a sudden sound behind him lick a whip cracking and he felt a sharp pain across his back as he stumbled forward.

“What the…” he said as he turned around fast and narrowed his eyes at the figure standing before him. It was a tall monster dressed in light armor that was holding a whip in his hands as he glared at Stone. He had a symbol on his chest of nine wands connected together over a circular symbol.

“You… I’ve been looking for you!” He said as he prepared to snap the whip again. “You thought you could get away from us, didn’t you?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Stone said as he pressed up against the door. He reached into his pocket and gripped a small device and pressed the button on it. “You have the wrong guy!”

“You’re a poor liar,” the monster said with a wicked grin as he walked closer. “You’re exactly who I’m looking for. Now come back like a good…”

He cried out when he was shot in the back and turned around quickly to see Sweetie Drops and Lyra standing there. Sweetie Drops had taken out her Driver while Lyra was pointing a pistol at the monster.

“You’re just asking for trouble aren’t you, Indiana Jones?” Lyra asked with a chuckle as she raised her pistol.

“You couldn’t resist could you?” Sweetie Drops said with a groan as she placed her Driver on her waist as the belt formed around her.

“Hey, this is my first time in awhile being face to face with a monster, I’m not going to pass up the chance to do a snappy one-liner,” Lyra said.

Sweetie Drops just rolled her eyes as she drew her half of the Lovers card and held it up as she nodded to Lyra. “I’ll distract him, you get Stone out of here, okay?”

“Got it,” Lyra nodded.

“Henshin!” Sweetie Drops said as she slid the card half into her Driver and Lyra held up her own half as it glowed brightly and flew into Sweetie’s Driver.

“LOVE CONQUERS ALL THINGS!” The Driver said as energy flowed out of the circle at the center of the Driver around Sweetie Drops and formed the pink and red armor over her.

“I’m taking you down,” Sweetie Drops said as she raised her bow and pulled the string back as she fired several energy arrows at the monster. “You’re not going to get away with attacking Stone!”

“Stone? Well, I guess that’s what he’s calling himself now,” the monster said with a laugh as he dodged the arrow and cracked the whip at Sweetie Drops as she avoided the attack just as Lyra made it around her and grabbed Stone.

“Come on,” she said and Stone nodded as they pushed the door open and headed inside.

“You let my prey get away…” The whip-wielding monster said with a snarl. “I am Gentov! A hunter and seeker of those who the Order seeks, and they want your friend back there.”

“I’m not going to let you hurt him,” Sweetie Drops said as she fired another arrow at Gentov as he tried to snap the whip again. “You’re going down!”

“Good luck with that,” Gentov laughed as he cracked the whip again, hitting Sweetie Drops and wrapping it around her leg as he pulled on it and caused Sweetie Drops to fall down.

“Son of a... “ Sweetie Drops groaned as she pulled herself back up to her feet. She fired off several more arrows at Gentov who stumbled back as they hit him. “You’re going down!”

She dodged another attack from Gentov as he cracked his whip at her before she fired another arrow at him. This was going to be a bit annoying as the monster cracked his whip to hit the arrow and sent it flying out of the way before it shattered.

“That thing is a 9 card right?” Lyra asked in Sweetie Drops’ mind.

“Yeah, that’s not going to make this any easier,” Sweetie Drops replied as she jumped out of the way of another whip crack as she fired more arrows at him. “Is Stone safely out of the way?”

“Don’t worry about him, I got him back to his apartment,” Lyra replied. “Still not going well out there, huh?”

“Yeah…” Sweetie Drops said as she hung back and fired several more shots at the monster. She was just barely out of the whip’s reach. “You’re going to have to try harder than that you know. I’ve got way more range than you do!”

“We’ll see about that,” Gentov said as he gripped the whip tightly and stomped the ground as it cracked a little and he forced up a piece of stone that he kicked right at Sweetie Drops who just barely got out of the way.

“Okay… that’s definitely not good,” Sweetie Drops said as she realized what she was up against. “Lyra, did you see that? We’ve got a problem.”

“Yeah, I saw, figures, that’s not about to make things easy,” Lyra said with a groan.

Sweetie Drops didn't say anything, she just ran forward at the monster and dodged another whip crack as she slammed her fist into the armored monster's face before swinging the bow around and firing an arrow at it point blank. Gentov stumbled back as she hit him as hard as she could.

"You're really getting on my nerves..." Gentov said as he wiped the blood from his face and glared at her. "I'm not about to let you get away with this. You're going down!"

"Try me," Sweetie Drops said with a growl as she fired several more arrows at the monster. "You're going after one of my compatriots and you say I'm getting on your nerves? I've been putting up with you and your ilk for weeks and I've had more than enough of it!"

She kicked at Gentov hard which sent him stumbling back as he tried to ready his whip. The monster struggled to get up before he glared at her.

"I'll get you for this..." he said with a growl. "But mark my words, this is far from over. I'll be back!"

He vanished into thin air just as Sweetie Drops prepared for another energy arrow. Sweetie Drops groaned as she lowered her bow.

"Are you two okay in there?"

"Yeah, we're fine," Lyra said in her head. "Figures really, these monsters seem to be cowards more than anything else. Why do you think he's after Stone?"

"I honestly have no idea," Sweetie Drops said as she shook her head. "I should call headquarters and see if they have any ideas. For now, stay with him up there and we'll get some back-up sent over here."

"Looks like it's another fun date, huh Bon Bon?" Lyra asked sarcastically as Sweetie Drops rolled her eyes a little and powered down.

"She's enjoying this way too much," she muttered to herself as she reached into her pocket and took out her phone and dialed Fancy Pants' number. This was going to be a hard one to explain.

00000

"You're kidding, why was Stone targetted?" Scootaloo asked as she spoke into the phone. Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom looked up confused and then concerned when they realized what she was talking about.

"We don't know yet," Fleur said on the other end. "Stone Breaker has been working for us for years, but it's all hush hush. There should be no way that anyone knows about him."

"Yeah... this is weird..." Scootaloo said. "I'm putting you on speakerphone, maybe we can figure something out if we put our heads together."

She set the phone down and hit the speakerphone option as Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom headed over to them.

"So, what happened when he was attacked?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"Luckily, Sweetie Drops was in the area with Lyra and they were able to intercept the monster before it could do anything," Fleur replied. "It's hard to determine exactly what got the monster's attention. I'm afraid that we're completely in the dark here."

"Is it possible that there's a spy at SMILE or somethin'?" Apple Bloom suggested. "Ah mean, if only folks inside tha agency or their allies know what Stone does, then maybe tha Order found out somehow."

"We've considered the possibility before, but we've never found concrete evidence," Fleur said with a sigh. "They're certainly up to something. The fact of the matter is that the Order has been able to infiltrate us in the past."

"Right..." Sweetie Belle said as she remembered back to the encounter with the Mantis Fangire/Order Agent Hybrid monster for a moment. "So it's possible that we do have a spy within our ranks?"

"Maybe, but we have to make sure that we're careful either way," Fleur answered. "We'll keep an eye out for things on our end. Right now I need you all to stay on guard, we don't know what might happen next. We're going to move Stone into the headquarters safe rooms to make sure that everything is okay. Are you going to be okay out there?"

"Yeah, we should be fine, I'll keep us safe," Scootaloo said with a nod as she looked at her friends and gave them each a smile.

"What monster was it?" Apple Bloom asked.

"That would be the Nine of Wands," Fleur answered. "That's the highest one that's appeared in the current fight with the Order. We've encountered higher before, but..."

"But that was last time, right," Scootaloo finished with a sigh. "This isn't going to be easy, is it? I mean, that Skinwalker freak kind of gave me a hard time."

"Yes, well this time you're not going to be facing it alone, let's just hope we're going to be enough," Fleur said.

"What about Death?" Sweetie Belle asked. "Is it possible that she could show up to help us out if we need it?"

"Possible, but unknown at this point," Fleur replied. "Death is something of an enigma, there's not a lot we really know about her. She may appear and help out or she may not."

"Not to mention there's still that odd Scorpion Rider out there, and... him," Scootaloo said with a sigh as she remembered what happened recently with Granforca. "We've got a lot of enemies out there."

"Yeah, but we're gonna be fine," Apple Bloom said. "All we need ta do is figure out how ta stop them once and fer all, right? Ah just don't know how ta do that..."

"Yes, in theory, they should be stopped like anything else," Fleur said. "We also have to figure out why the Scorpion Rider followed you to Alchemy's world and how she even knew you were there."

“Yeah, that was weird,” Scootaloo said with a shake of her head. “Who even is that Rider? Something about all of this feels, weird. Like we’re only getting half the story here.”

“We’re still working on that, but it seems like whoever it is is hidden from our scanners,” Fleur answered. “I’m starting to think that we’re being played here. Be careful, I don’t like this and I don’t want anything to happen to you Scootaloo. Let me know if anything comes, up okay?”

“Okay,” Scootaloo said with a sigh as Fleur hung up. “Here we go again, seems like we can’t ever just have a normal day.”

“Yeah, definitely,” Apple Bloom said with a sigh. “So, what do ya’ll think we should do now? Ah mean, there’s not a lot of options left right now.”

“Honestly? I have no idea,” Scootaloo admitted with a sigh as she looked between the two of them for a moment. “I’m scared honestly. There’s not a lot of things that we completely understand about what’s going on and if this is a Nine of Wands monster then we’re going to have problems.”

“The Order is definitely gettin’ bolder if they’re sendin’ monsters after someone workin’ fer SMILE,” Apple Bloom said with a shake of her head. “Ah don’t like it, it’s bad enough that they go after us but at least we have yah ta help us out. Ah don’t even know what ta think about all of this.”

“Yeah, me neither,” Scootoaloo said with a sigh as she reached over and picked up the Justice card. The image of the woman holding the sword and scales. “Why did you pick me…”

“Hmm?” Sweetie Belle asked as she looked up at her fiance.

“Something I’ve been wondering about for a while is all,” Scootaloo said as she stared at the card for a long moment. “I’m not some fighter or warrior or anything. While I’m starting to realize that I can and need to do this, I just have to wonder why me of all people.”

“Yeah, it’s weird,” Apple Bloom said. “Ah’m guessin’ it latched onto yah because of everythin’ that happened before. Though that doesn’t answer one question.”

“Exactly why was the Justice card not in the possession of the Order, right?” Sweetie Belle asked and Apple Bloom nodded. “Yeah, that is weird. Is it possible that it defected from them or something?”

“Maybe,” Scootaloo said as she stared at the card for a long moment. It hadn’t occurred to her until now how little they actually knew about the Order and their motivations. They had been plaguing them for weeks at this point and there wasn’t a lot any of them actually knew about the Order. “Maybe if we can find that Kamen Rider Death lady she can help us out.”

“Right, because talkin’ ta tha lady literally named Death is such a good idea,” Apple Bloom said with a shake of her head.

“I’m pretty sure it’s Death in the Tarot sense,” Sweetie Belle said. “I think I remember reading somewhere that the Death card symbolizes change and transition so it’s usually a positive card.”

“She dresses in black and her helmet looks like a human skull,” Apple Bloom pointed out. “Ah’m just sayin’, there’s somethin’ kinda unsettlin’ about that.”

“Yeah, that is kind of weird,” Scootaloo agreed with a sigh. “Well right now it’s kind of pointless since we don’t even know where she is. For now, we just need to figure out what our next step is going to be if we’re going to stop this latest monster.”

“What does the Nine of Wands mean anyway?” Sweetie asked as Apple Bloom took out her phone and looked it up.

“Paranoia and inner resources and struggle,” Apple Bloom read off the website. “That doesn’t exactly narrow it down, does it?”

“No, not really,” Sweetie Belle said with a sigh. “Let’s just hope that whoever it is we’ll be able to figure it out before they hurt Stone or anyone else.”

00000

“Agent Breaker, do you have any idea why the Order was going after you?” Fancy Pants asked as he leaned on his desk and eyed Stone for a moment.

“No sir, I don’t,” Stone said with a shake of his head. “I’m honestly just as confused as you are. I think they assumed that I was someone else. Or perhaps they somehow know about my projects with the Rider bikes.”

“At this point, we have to consider all the possibilities,” Fancy Pants said. “The fact of the matter is that we don’t know exactly what’s going on with the Order. Fleur has already considered the possibility that we might have a spy in our midst, however, I’m not quite so sure. Has there been anyone who is a little too interested in your work maybe?”

“Possibly,” Stone said with a sigh. “I’ve been doing what I can to make sure that the bikes are ready in the event that they’re needed. Sometimes I’ve needed people to go get equipment from local shops while I work. There are a lot of options for what could’ve happened. Not to mention the pieces of missing equipment.”

“Yes, we’re already very much aware of that,” Fancy Pants said with a sigh. “Some of it can be explained, but others not so much. If there is a spy in our midst, we’re going to have to do what we can to make sure that they don’t get any further information out to the Order.”

“So what are you going to do?” Stone asked.

“The only thing we can do at the moment,” Fancy Pants said with a sigh. “I’m going to call back all Agents and do a full lockdown of the base while we do searches and interrogations. We need to make sure that we rule out all the possibilities.”

“And what about Scootaloo and her friends?” Stone asked.

“That’s going to be tricky, they’re technically civilians so they’re not required to be part of the lockdown,” Fancy Pants said. “But if they might know anything they really should be involved. On the other hand though, if the monster is still out there then we’re going to need her out there too.”

“If they’re going after me, then I’ll just be putting everyone here in danger,” Stone pointed out. “I don’t like this honestly, it feels like we’re just trapping ourselves here for the monsters.”

“Agent Drops will be here,” Fancy Pants said with a sigh. “We’ll manage somehow, right now there isn’t a lot of options we have.”

“I just hope you’re right,” Stone said with a sigh. “I guess I should get back to work on the bike upgrades. I need to get these done for the Riders, it may be able to help deal with Gentov.”

“Are you sure you’re feeling up for this?” Fancy Pants asked with a concerned look on his face. “You’re being threatened by a monster and you want to get back to work on finishing this project?”

“Yes, well I need something to focus my mind on,” Stone said with a shake of his head. “I just need to get this done.”

“Alright, I’ll have Agent Drops stay with you,” Fancy Pants said with a nod. “You’re dismissed, let me know if you manage to get any progress done on the upgrade.”

Stone nodded and headed back out of the office and towards the elevator. He hit the down button and it opened a few seconds later before he hit the button for his floor. It stopped on the next floor and an agent dressed in body armor walked in and glanced at him for a moment.

Stone shuddered a little as if he got a strange feeling from him. He couldn’t put his finger on it, but there was something about this Agent that creeped him out. They stood there awkwardly for a moment as Stone glanced at the man for a moment.

The elevator stopped just short of his floor as the man walked off. He stopped for a moment and glanced back at Stone who quickly hit the door close button.

That unsettled him more than anything, he made a note of it for later.

00000

“I don’t like this,” Granforca grumbled as he sat next to Kuagua. “It feels like we’re on a wild goose chase right now.”

“How about a joke then?” Kuagua said with a groan. “See, there’s these two mental…”

“You’re still telling that old joke? Get some new material already,” Granforca said with a groan. He felt like he wanted to punch the annoying harlequin sitting next to him, but he knew that would only get him into trouble and likely thrown back into prison.

“Alright fine,” Kuagua said as he looked thoughtful for a moment. “Okay, there are these two old guys in a nursing home, both have been lifelong friends and fans of baseball. So they make a pact with one another that whoever dies first will somehow get word back to the other as to whether or not there is Baseball in Heaven. So after one of them, let’s call him Frank, dies his buddy, let’s call him Bob, is asleep one night when he hears the ghostly voice of Frank. Frank says, ‘I’ve got good news and I’ve got bad news. The good news is that there is baseball in Heaven. The bad news is that you’re starting pitcher for next week’s game.’”

Granforca just stared at him for a moment before breaking out into deep laughter. Kuagua just chuckled a little at that before finally, their communication device went off.

“Report,” Granforca said as he activated it.

“I found the primary target, however, one of the Riders took them back to their headquarters,” Gentov’s voice said on the other end. “I doubt they’re going to let me just walk in, what are your orders?”

“Go and deal with the Riders,” Granforca said. “We’ll worry about the target.”

“Understood,” Gentov said. “I will make sure that the Riders are dealt with once and for all.”

“Make sure that you do,” Granforca said as he turned off the communicator. “Thirteen years since the last attempt and the agents are still rather…”

“Lackluster?” Kuagua asked and Granforca shrugged. “Well, it still furthers our plans towards the Convergence. I’m sure that everything will work out once that begins.”

“You’d better be right,” Granforca said as he reached down and took out a bottle and two glasses as he poured the drinks. “We’re on the verge of our operation being carried out at least. He won’t be able to hide forever.”

“Indeed,” Kuagua said as he picked his glass and held it up as they tapped them together. “To the Convergence.”

“To the Convergence,” Granforca said as the two of them took a drink.

The Gnarled Wand

“Do you ever stop to think about how weird this world is?” Sweetie Belle asked as she and Scootaloo laid in bed together that night, their covers pulled up over them as Scootaloo rest her head on Sweetie’s shoulder.

“What do you mean?” Scootaloo asked.

“Thinking about something that Pharynx said back when we were dealing with that Skinwalker monster,” Sweetie said with a sigh. “We live in a world with such terrifying creatures that we don’t even think about all of it. Most of the time unless it directly affects us, we just move on with our lives and pretend like it didn’t even happen.”

“I don’t know really, maybe it’s some sort of coping mechanism,” Scootaloo said with a shrug. “I mean if we dwelled on everything that’s been going on in this world we’d probably all go insane.”

“Yeah, probably,” Sweetie said with a chuckle as she rested her head on Scootaloo’s. “Or maybe it’s because at the end of the day we all have people like you keeping us safe.”

“Yeah, it’s not an easy job but someone has to do it,” Scootaloo said as she snuggled against her fiance for a moment. “I wouldn’t be able to face this without you though, Sweetie Belle. You’re the light of my life and what keeps me sane.”

“Of course,” Sweetie Belle said with a soft smile before she looked back at the engagement ring that had been set on the bedside table. “I love you so much Scootaloo. I’m so happy to have you.”

The two young women stayed like that for a long moment as Scootaloo gently closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She felt the warmth of the pale skinned girl next to her and smiled a little as she thought about everything that had happened, and what might happen.

“Do you think we should ever have kids, or, well, adopt kids?” Scootaloo asked softly and Sweetie blinked a little in surprise at that question.

“Why do you ask?” Sweetie asked.

“I don’t know, it was just something I thought about,” Scootaloo said as she shrugged a little bit. “I know it’s too early to really think about this. But, I’ve thought about it on and off, I don’t even know what kind of a mom I’d be.”

“Do you want to be a mom?”

“Sometimes,” Scootaloo admitted. This was a rare moment of vulnerability, she had never told anyone something like this, not even Sweetie Belle. “I lost my parents when I was young, sometimes I’d think about maybe being a mom myself someday. Having a son or a daughter, maybe adopting one to sort of, pay it forward. I know it’s silly.”

“I think you’d make a good mom Scootaloo,” Sweetie said with a soft smile. “There’s nothing silly about it. Though I have to admit I wasn’t expecting you to be the one to bring it up, you are a bit, uh…”

“Of a tomboy?” Scootaloo laughed. “Yeah, I am, but I love you Sweetie Belle. You’re everything I could’ve ever wanted in a woman. I feel comfortable letting my guard down around you and telling you things like that.”

“Scootaloo, I love you so much,” Sweetie said with a soft smile. “And someday, I would definitely like that. But right now is not really the time to get involved with that kind of thing, we still have the Order to deal with you know?

“Yeah, I know I just wanted to think about it for our future,” Scootaloo said. “You and me, we’re going to face all the challenges life throw at us head-on.”

“Yeah, but let’s not think about that right now,” Sweetie said as she leaned over and gave Scootaloo a soft kiss on the lips. Her hand slowly moved to the darker skinned girl’s front and slowly began to pull the covers down over her bare skin. “I think we could both use a way to get our minds off of this.”

Scootaloo smiled a little as she laid back on the bed and felt Sweetie’s soft lips press against her skin. This was exactly what she needed to get her mind off of this.

00000

“Are you aware of why we’ve called you here,” Fancy Pants said as he sat down to speak with the Agent that was seated across the table from him in the third agent they were interrogating.

“I’ve heard the rumors, you’re looking for a spy or something,” the female agent said as she eyed Fancy Pants for a moment. “I’ve heard all the rumors given the sudden lockdown.”

“Clearly we need to keep a better lid on things,” Fancy Pants said as he adjusted his monocle for a moment. “Given the recent events, we need to make sure that we don’t have any leaks. Can you account for your whereabouts earlier today around 1700 hours?”

“Yes, I was working with Agent Harris,” the woman said. “You can confirm with him that I was there. Do you really think I’m the leak?”

“We have to rule out all the possibilities,” Fancy Pants said as he crossed his arms. He made a mental note to question Agent Harris next once he was done talking to her. “Agent Harris will be questioned of course in order to confirm your alibi, Agent Rollings.”

“Director, I understand your concerns but I have no reason to betray SMILE,” Agent Rollings said with a shake of her head. “Why are you questioning me at all?”

“I’ll be asking the questions here,” Fancy Pants said as he looked over the files he had gathered on Agent Monica Rollings. In truth, he had found some of her recent purchases rather suspicious, though not as much as some others. “Did you recently came into some money?”

“Yes, my aunt died last month and left me some money,” the agent said. “Why do you want to know?”

“You made several purchases recently that are suspicious is all,” Fancy Pants said as he pushed the papers across the table that showed what he was talking about. There was a deposit that would go with that of course, but he wasn’t entirely sure what to make of this. “Have you seen anyone acting weird lately? What about Agent Stone Breaker? Have you interacted with him at all?”

“No, I haven’t even had a need to go down there,” Agent Rollings said. “And these purchases are either from my inheritance or were shared among my family who paid me back for their parts of it.”

“Alright, you’re dismissed,” Fancy Pants said as he rubbed his temples for a moment as Fleur came in again. “Any luck on your end?”

“So far nothing that would be a smoking gun,” Fleur said as she took a seat. “I’ve found two office relationships and one guy who’s stealing office supplies though. None of which are particularly useful.”

“Is it possible that we’re wrong?” Fancy asked as he looked at Fleur for a long moment. “Or maybe we’re looking in the wrong direction. The Order wouldn’t pay a spy they’d be more likely to send one of their Agents.”

“Yes, and as long as they don’t transform they won’t let off any of the energy that would normally give them away,” Fleur said with a sigh. “We’re still under lockdown, maybe we should do searches instead.”

“Agreed,” Fancy Pants said with a sigh. “Continue the interrogations for a moment, I’ll get Agent Drops to help with the searches. Right now she’s the only one we can actually trust with this until we eliminate more potential suspects.”

“What about the monster still on the outside?” Fleur asked.

“Unfortunately we’re not going to be able to help with that,” Fancy Pants said with a shake of his head. “But there are always ways around that. Is, she in the base?”

“No, she’s out in the city, you know how she is,” Fleur said after looking over her tablet for a moment and looking back at Fancy Pants. “Do you want her recalled?”

“No, have her keep an eye on Scootaloo and her friends,” Fancy Pants said. “If Gentov is out there, she’s the only target available to him right now. I want her to have the best help she can get right now.”

“Understood, I’ll make sure she knows,” Fleur said.

Fancy Pants sighed a little as he got up. It was now just a matter of seeing how things went from here. He walked out of the interrogation room to go talk with Sweetie Drops, right now their best bet was to get as much information as they could.

He just hoped that everything was going to work.

00000

“Alright, we’ll keep an eye out,” Apple Bloom said as she spoke into her cell phone the next morning. “Is everything okay over there?”

“We’re still working on figuring that out,” Fancy Pants said on the speakerphone. “Everyone is under lockdown right now. We’re going to get to the bottom of things out here, so Gentov is, unfortunately, your problem.”

“Figures,” Scootaloo said as she took a bite of her waffle. “We’ll figure something out hopefully. This is all very, unnerving to be honest. Are you sure that the lockdown is necessary?”

“For the moment, yes, don’t worry about us,” Fancy Pants replied. “Agent Drops is here with us right now and if there are any problems here we have it handled. We’ll send what help we can get on the outside, but there are only so many options we have right now.”

“Well, that’s better than nothing,” Sweetie Belle said with a sigh. “Any suggestions on what we should do now?”

“Stay close, given that Stone is in here and they can’t get to him with Gentov, you’re their primary target now,” Fancy Pants said. “Don’t leave each other’s sights, the Order already knows your identities. Right now the three of you are in the most danger, be careful out there and let us know if anything happens.”

“We will, thank you,” Scootaloo said as she glanced at her friends for a moment. “Is there anything else we can do while we’re out here?”

“Just be careful,” Fancy Pants said. “We’re hopefully going to be able to get you some help, but it won’t be a whole lot. Don’t do anything unnecessarily risky, if you can take Gentov out then that would help at least. See if you can figure out why they went after Agent Breaker, but I doubt they’ll be forthcoming with that information.”

“Because of course, no way we can’t just get them to come out and say these things,” Scootaloo said with a sigh. “Alright, we’ll do everything we can to make sure that this thing is stopped before he can hurt anyone else.”

“Do you know if there are any Agents in there with ya’ll?” Apple Bloom asked.

“We don’t know at this point, but we’re not ruling it out yet,” Fancy Pants replied with a sigh. “Well, we need to get back on the searches, you know how to reach us if anything happens. We can’t trust anyone right now, so we don’t exactly have access to the Satellite.”

Apple Bloom sighed a little as she hung up her phone and put it away. “Well, we’re on our own then. Ah really have no idea how ta feel about this.”

“Yeah, me neither,” Scootaloo said with a slight shiver. “But we don’t have much of a choice right now. For now, let’s just figure out exactly what we should do next.”

“Yeah, I don’t know either,” Sweetie Belle said with a shake of her head. “This is a bad situation, so now it’s just a matter of figuring out where Gentov is, without a satellite. Why do I feel like we’re in an episode of the Flash?”

“Or maybe Supergirl,” Scootaloo said with a light chuckle as she leaned over and kissed Sweetie gently on the lips. “So, what are we going to do now? I mean, we can’t just stay cooped up in here, especially since the Order knows where we live.”

“Right, Ah honestly have no idea,” Apple Bloom said as she frowned a little bit. “Maybe we should get out of town fer a bit. We could head out ta tha farm maybe, that might give us tha home field advantage.”

“That’s not a bad idea,” Sweetie said as she looked thoughtful for a moment. “Do you think they might be able to help? I mean, we’re going to need help with this. Let’s just hope that this is going to be enough.”

“Yeah, hopefully,” Sweetie said with a sigh. “I’ll check and see how much ammunition we have on hand. I just hope that it’s going to be enough.”

Scootaloo nodded as Sweetie got up and headed into the other room and opened a case. It held the guns and the ammunition that they had been given to help fight the Order. She glanced back at the drawers behind her and shuddered a little.

No, she wasn’t going to do that, right now she had to focus on getting to Sweet Apple Acres and figure out how to deal with Gentov.

00000

Priellit walked through the halls of the Order’s base as she headed for her destination. She finally stopped in front of an ornate looking door. She opened it up after a moment as she entered the room, it was ornately furnished with paintings and other elaborate pieces of art covering the walls.

Standing at the center with a violin in his hands was the man in black as he played, his barely visible eyes closed as he played a soft but complex series of notes that grew in intensity slowly, not noticing Priellit.

He finally lowered the violin and snapped his fingers as it vanished as he looked back at Priellit who had been listening.

“You realize that it’s rude to come in without knocking right?” He asked as he adjusted his hat a little bit. “What do you need?”

“We got a report that Kamen Rider Justice and her friends left the city,” Priellit said as she crossed her arms a little. “Gentov is asking for orders given that he’s unable to go after his primary target.”

“What is the word on that?” The Man in Black asked.

“Dutek is still in place and is just waiting for an opportunity to deal with him,” Priellit said with a nod. “Unfortunately there are a lot of hostiles in the area around him. They know we’re after him, and there’s also the matter of the enemy searching for our Agents.”

“Yes, that is a problem,” the man in black said as he stroked his chin thoughtfully for a moment. “Can we get them out?”

“Not without exposing their identity,” Priellit said with a shake of her head. “We’re going to have to have them be careful. Given how thorough these searches are though, it’s likely that they’ll be exposed.”

“Then tell them to focus on dealing with the target as soon as possible,” the man in black said as he leaned on his cane for a moment. “We’ve let this breach go on for long enough, we need to deal with him now.”

“Understood,” Priellit said with a nod. “I will send Dutek the message now, there shouldn’t be a chance of the target getting away. “Is there anything else?”

“No, not for now,” the Man in Black said. “Tell Granforca and Kuagua to continue their operations in the city itself. We have to make sure that we don’t have any other ones out there that could be a target.”

“Understood, I will,” Priellit said as she bowed slightly.

She walked back out as the man in black snapped his fingers and the violin re-appeared in his hands and he set it beneath his chin once more. He started to play the same song he had been playing before as energy began to crackle over the strings of the violin.

The music continued as more of the energy surrounded the violin.

00000

“Yah know this sounds crazy right?” An old woman with white hair said to Apple Bloom as Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo were getting things out of the car. “Ah mean we’ve heard about what’s been goin’ on, but they ain’t been this far out.”

“Yeah… about that…” Apple Bloom said with a sigh. “Look, Ah know it’s askin’ a lot of ya’ll but we need someplace ta lay low fer a little bit. Are yah sure that this is gonna be okay? We can figure somethin’ else out if we have ta Granny.”

“No, it’s good ta have yah back actually,” Sandra Apple, who most called Granny Smith, they had an odd family really, said. “Ah’m glad ta have ya’ll here really.”

“It’s been that quiet since Applejack and Rarity moved ta New York?” Apple Bloom asked.

“Well, I wouldn’t say it’s been quiet given everythin’ that’s goin’ on,” Granny Smith said with a light chuckle. “But Ah admit it feels a bit empty sometimes. And sometimes it feels like its a bit too full.”

“Well, we’re glad ta be here,” Apple Bloom said with a soft smile as she hugged her grandmother. “So, Ah guess we’re gonna need some help in dealin’ with this guy if he shows up.”

“Don’t worry, tha Order is gonna regret ever messin’ with tha Apple Family,” Granny Smith said as she nodded back to the house where Big Mac was coming out of the house with a shotgun. “We ain’t gonna let a monster get their hands on ya’ll.”

“Thanks,” Scootaloo said as she and Sweetie Belle walked over to them with their stuff. “So, what are we going to do?”

"We're gonna set up whatever defenses we can," Big Mac said as he walked over to the group. "Sugar Belle and tha kids are gettin' everythin' set up so we'll know if they come our way."

"Hopefully it'll be enough," Scootaloo said with a sigh. "I'm sorry we brought all of this on you. This isn't going to be easy, and if you want to leave then I won't blame you."

"Scootaloo, yer part of tha family because of Sweetie, and we take care of family," Apple Bloom said as she looked over at Granny Smith who nodded. "We'll be fine, we've dealt with a lot of things in tha past. Tha Order ain't gonna make tha same mistake twice."

"So, what are we going to do now?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"We should be able ta get everythin' together, fer now go get settled in," Big Mac said with a nod. "We'll let yah know if anythin' comes up, okay?"

"Okay," Scootaloo said as they headed towards the farmhouse. She took one last look down the road, there was always a risk of something happening, but that was their life now.

It meant a lot that they had people like the Apples backing them up even without SMILE's help. She smiled a little as they headed into the house to get settled in. The Apples were her family just as much as Rainbow Dash and her adopted parents, now she just had to figure out how to keep them from being hurt.

00000

"Agent McKarren," Fancy Pants said as the agent jumped up as he came into the Agent's room accompanied by two guards.

"Yes, Director?" Agent McKarren asked without even breaking a sweat.

"We're here to search you and your quarters for any suspected contraband," Fancy Pants said as he adjusted his monocle for a moment and eyed McKarren. "This is an order, and it would help if you did this willingly."

"Yes sir," the Agent said quickly as he eyed Fancy Pants for a moment. "I'm of course willing to fully cooperate with your search Director."

Fancy Pants nodded as the two Agents that accompanied him started to search the room. Fancy Pants stayed closed to Agent McKarren and looked over the suspected agent. Agent McKarren tried not to look nervous as they searched the room for a moment.

"You share a room with Agent Theodore Sykes, correct?" Fancy Pants asked as he looked over the information on the agents. They were two of many agents that actually lived on the base for an extended period, so they shared the room together.

"Correct," McKarren said calmly. "Why are you asking?"

"We're looking for a possible Agent of the Order," Fancy Pants said as he eyed McKarren for a moment. "Do you happen to have any information on that?"

"No, sir."

"Any suspicions about other agents?"

"No, sir."

"I found something!" One of the searching Agents said as he raised up and held a card in his hand. "It looks like the Two of Pentacles, Director."

"That's interesting," Fancy Pants said as he eyed McKarren for a moment. "Do you mind explaining yourself, Agent McKarren?"

"Director sir, I honestly did not know anything about that," McKarren said. "If one of my fellow agents was an Agent of the Order then I would have informed you immediately."

"I just have one more question for you," Fancy Pants said. "Do you know the current whereabouts of Agent Theodore Sykes?"

McKarren flinched for a moment before he sighed. "I don't know sir, he asked me to try and cover for him while he went to do something," he said with a shake of his head.

"Thank you Agent McKarren, that will be all," Fancy Pants said before he turned to look at the other two agents. "Come on, we need to find Agent Sykes now. He's still somewhere in the base and we know he's after Stone."

"What about the card, sir?" One of the Agents asked as they walked out of the room together.

Fancy Pants paused for a moment, this was the first time they had actually taken one of these cards without defeating the monster spirit. He nodded to the two agents as they kept walking down the hall, something about all of this was bad, there just weren't a lot of options right now.

"Sir!" The agent who had found the card said and they looked back to see that the card was glowing brightly. It suddenly vanished from his hand and the three of them exchanged a look.

"That's bad, right?" The other agent asked.

Fancy Pants raised his radio and spoke into it. "Agent Drops, stay on your guard. We've got a bogey in the base, repeat we've got an enemy in the base."

"Understood, I'll keep an eye out for anything down here," Sweetie Drops' voice said on the other end. "What are we dealing with here?"

"Two of Pentacles, so whoever it is they've got a weak gun," Fancy Pants said quickly into the radio. "Keep an eye out for Agent Theodore Sykes as well. He appears to be the enemy Agent."

"Understood," Sweetie Drops said. "What do you want us to do?"

"Take him down," Fancy Pants said simply.

00000

"What's going on?" Stone asked as Sweetie Drops turned off the radio and set it back down. He had been working on getting the upgrade done all night and was almost done at this point.

"We think we know who's coming after you," Sweetie Drops said as she placed her hand on her Driver. "Is the elevator secured right now?"

"Yeah, but I honestly don't know if they'll be able to come in through other means," Stone said as he went back to testing things out. "There are ventilation shafts and other things around here to make sure that things don't accumulate in the area down here. I know it's not the best option, but it's what we've got."

"Right, and knowing our luck they'll be able to get in really easily," Sweetie Drops said with a sigh as she looked out at the underground track. "Maybe we should go back upstairs, what do you think?"

"Maybe, but honestly this place is pretty deep," Stone said with a shake of her head. "They can't just walk in here you know. For now, we just need to focus on getting everything together."

"Yeah," Sweetie Drops said with a sigh as she brushed her hair back a little bit. "So, exactly how is this going to work when it's finally done?"

"Basically it's going to improve your vehicles in order to make sure that everything is together," Stone said with a shake of his head. "The programming and the coordination with the spirit in the card is the trickiest part right now. We should be able to make sure that this works though."

"Yeah..." Sweetie Drops said as she looked over at Stone and then back towards the tracks. She narrowed her eyes when she saw that there were some signs of something being cut through in the ceiling "You might want to hurry up. I've got a bad feeling about this."

"Almost there..." Stone said as he glanced back at Sweetie Drops. "How long do you think we have?"

"I'll buy you time," Sweetie Drops said as she took out her Driver and placed it on her waist as the belt formed around her as she raised her half of the Lovers card. "Henshin!"

She slid the card into the card slot as the Driver let out the familiar phrase, "LOVE CONQUERS ALL THINGS!"

The red and pink energy flowed out of the circle at the center of the belt and encompassed her body. The pink and red armor covered her as the black and gold bow appeared in her hand. She glanced back towards Stone and gave him a nod.

"Don't worry about this, I'll stop him," Sweetie Drops said as she stepped out of the lab just as the piece of the ceiling fell down and a new monster appeared.

He was dressed in bizarre armor that looked like it was maybe modeled on something from ancient Greece. He looked around for a moment as he was confused a bit at the moment.

"WHERE ARE YOU?" HE demanded as he tried to find Stone.

"You must be the Agent," Sweetie Drops said as she stepped forward, firing an energy arrow at the monster who just barely managed to dodge it. "I'm not about to let you hurt Stone Breaker!"

"And how are you going to stop me?" The monster said with a sneer as he looked at her for a long moment. "You're standing alone, you don't have your friends here to help you fight!"

"I don't need them to fight, and I'm not alone," Sweetie Drops said as she fired another arrow at him which the monster dodged and drew an old fashioned looking pistol and fired several energy bullets at her.

“Figures we’d run into a Pentacles Monster,” Lyra’s voice said in her mind as Sweetie Drops rolled out of the way and fired another arrow towards the monster. “How long do you think it’s been here?”

“Who knows,” Sweetie Drops said with a shake of her head as she fired an arrow but the monster just dodged it.

The monster raised its hand and water came out of a jug on its waist and it sent it flying towards Sweetie Drops and hit her straight in the chest before pulling it back and forming a ball of water as he laughed.

“Did you really think it was going to be so easy to take me down?” He laughed. “You’re pathetic, I’m going to kill you and then I’m going to take Stone Breaker away!”

“Any ideas on what to do?” Sweetie Drops asked as she fired another arrow at the monster who just broke it with a burst of water. “Because I’ve got nothing.”

“You could stall them until whatever Stone is working on is done,” Lyra suggested. “Any ideas on how to do that?”

“Maybe,” Sweetie Drops said as she formed three arrows in her bow and pulled back on it and fired them right at the monster who managed to stop two of them but grimaced when he was hit by the third in the chest. “Hey Spartacus, why are you after Stone anyway?”

“I’m not going to let you distract me with pointless questions!” The monster sneered as he spun the water orb around and hit Sweetie Drops hard with it as she stumbled a little. “We have our reasons and we’re not about to tell them to you!”

“Great, we have one that’s actually smart this time,” Lyra remarked as Sweetie Drops struggled to right herself and fired another three arrows at the monster but this time he put up a shield of water that blocked it before firing several energy bullets at her which caught her in the shoulder.

“Son of a…” Sweetie Drops said with a groan as she held her shoulder, that was going to throw her aim off a bit. She was about to raise her bow again when her bike Anteros moved next to her and she called back to Stone. “Does this mean it works?”

“I’ve run every simulation I can, it should work,” Stone’s voice said over her communicator as he shut and locked the door as Sweetie Drops swung her leg over the bike and sat down on it. “The card is in the bags on the side.”

“Got it,” Sweetie Drops said as she reached into the bag attached to the side of the bike and took out a card. It depicted a man standing in a chariot pulled by two sphinxes. “The Chariot… figures really.”

“Yeah, well don’t knock it,” Lyra said as Sweetie Drops held the card up and slid it into the bike’s card slot as she turned it around to face the monster. “Let’s see how this works.”

“ACTIVATING CHARIOT MODE!” The bike’s mechanized voice said.

Energy flowed out of the front of the bike and surrounded it and Sweetie Drops. Armor formed over the bike that had elaborate designs on it. The energy glowed around it to form sphynx designs on the side of the armor, one black and one white. Then gold plated armor formed over Sweetie Drops’ shoulder pads and helmet. Finally, two long pincers appeared on the front of the machine and Sweetie Drops revved the engine.

“So you’ve got some fancy upgrade, it’s not going to be enough,” the monster laughed as he fired several more energy bullets at Sweetie Drops which just bounced off the armor that covered her.

“Wow, this is pretty handy,” Lyra commented. “Pass my compliments onto Stone will you?”

Sweetie Drops chuckled a little as she gunned the engine and sped right at the monster. The gun-wielding monster’s glowing eyes went wide under the helmet as he drew out all the water he could around it, hitting Sweetie Drops hard with it as he did.

“You’re… not… going… to… win…” The monster said through the strain as if she was pushing back against him. “Don’t even think about it! I’m going to beat you, I’m going to beat all of you! I know who you are and now so does my Masters!”

“Then bring them ON!” Sweetie Drops said as she hit a button on the side of the handlebars and the front of the bike started to glow brightly.

“CHARIOT BREAK!” The computerized voice said from the bike as it pushed through the burst of water, dispelling it as it pushed forward. The energy gathered in the pincers finally released as it made contact with the monster who cried out as it went flying back and hit the wall behind him.

“You… won’t… win…” he said through the pain. “We will come back, we will always come back, and you can’t succeed…”

“We’ll see about that,” Sweetie Drops said as she looked at him. For a moment the monster’s armor remained before the monster form shattered and the card fluttered down, leaving a man dressed in agent armor lying there barely conscious.

Sweetie Drops reached down and picked up the card as she activated her suit’s communication system. “Director, the hostile is defeated. It was just like you said, the Two of Pentacles.”

“Alright, we’ll send a medical team down to take Agent Sykes up to the medical wing,” Fancy Pants said. “We’ll do one more check over just to be safe though. There’s not much we can do without putting us at risk in case they have more than one agent.”

“Understood,” Sweetie Drops said as she removed the Chariot card from the slot and looked at the card for a moment.

“So, how did the test run of the new system go?” Fancy Pants asked.

“Well it worked as advertised at least,” Sweetie Drops said as she put it back in the bike’s bag. “And we’ve got a new card for Death if we can ever find her at least.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll take care of that,” Fancy Pants replied. “Good work out there Agent Drops. Make sure that everything is secured and take a couple of days off once we’re sure that Scootaloo and her friends are okay.”

“Okay,” Sweetie Drops said as she removed her cards from her Driver and slid them into her deck box as she wheeled the bike back to the lab. “It looks like your project was a success at least.”

“Yes, though it may be harder to use against a stronger monster,” Stone said as he looked up from his computer where he had been going over the data from the battle. “Sorry for using you as a guinea pig.”

“We needed to do it,” Sweetie Drops said as she looked at Anteros for a long moment. The bike had served its purpose well, though she had to admit it was still weird.

How had the Order managed to get to someone in SMILE itself without being noticed? And why were they after Stone at all? Something about all of this was weird, and it just left them with more questions than answers.

And that worried her more than anything else right now.

00000

At the same time that Sweetie Drops was guarding Stone, Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, and Apple Bloom were making their way through one of the fields. They smiled a little when they reached their destination, an old treehouse that was built into one of the trees in the farm.

“Wow, it looks pretty good,” Scootaloo said with a chuckle as she looked up at the clubhouse and smiled a little as she looked back at her friends. “It’s hard to believe how long it’s been since we were last here.”

“Yeah,” Apple Bloom said with a soft smile as she looked at Sweetie Belle who gave a slight nod.

This had been their old clubhouse when they were growing up. The three of them had so many fond memories of this place. They had played out adventures, dreams, had sleepovers, and this place had been the center of all of them.

Sweetie took Scootaloo’s hand in her’s and gave it a light squeeze as she smiled at her. This had been where they had spent their first night as a couple. Where they had laughed during the happy times and cried during the tough times.

This was their home, the thing that brought them all together.

“Hey Auntie Apple Bloom, Auntie Sweetie!” Two voices called out as they turned to see two kids running up to them. They were a boy and a girl that looked like they were around 7 years old, the girl had short purple hair while the boy had orange hair.

“Hey you two,” Sweetie Belle said with a smile as the kids hugged her and Apple Bloom. Gala and Arkansas Apple were the twin children of Big Mac and his wife Sugar Belle and had lived on the farm with their parents. “How’s it going?”

“Good, is it true?” Gala asked with a cute tilt of her head. “Is Scootaloo really Kamen Rider Justice?”

“Because that would be so cool!” Arkansas said, trying not to jump with excitement which just made Scootaloo chuckle a little. “Please, tell us, tell us!”

“Well, let’s see,” Scootaloo said thoughtfully for a moment as if she was trying to decide what to say. “Maybe I am, maybe I’m not, maybe this will answer…”

She reached into her jacket pocket and took out the Tarot Driver which made the kids’ eyes go wide for a moment as she smiled a little.

“Wow, that’s so cool!” The twins said in unison as Scootaloo laughed a little and put it back.

“Wait, does that mean that what mommy said is true?” Gala asked, the girl suddenly looked very worried. “Is there really gonna be one of those Monsters coming here?”

“Probably, yes,” Scootaloo said with a sigh as she sat down on the impromptu steps that lead up to the treehouse. “I wish I could give you better news, but I promise we’re going to do everything we can to stop them from hurting you or anything else.”

“Definitely not gonna happen with Kamen Rider Justice here,” Apple Bloom said with a chuckle as she gave Scootaloo a nod. “This ain’t gonna be easy, but we’re gonna do everythin’ we can ta make sure that tha monster doesn’t do anythin’.”

“Well, we have been following everything we can on the events that have been going on in the city,” Sugar Belle said as she walked closer. “And it’s quite the talk of the twins’ school. You’d be amazed at how many kids play Kamen Rider Justice. We’ve got our own Superhero.”

“Yeah, and it’s our antie Sweetie’s fiance too!” Gala said excitedly.

“Everyone’s gonna be so jealous,” Arkansas said with a big grin.

“No!” Scootaloo said which made them stop. “Uh, you see Superheroes really shouldn’t let their secret identities get out. You know, like how Spider-Man or Superman doesn’t? Justice is my secret identity, I can’t let it get out so the two of you have to promise not to tell anyone, okay?”

“Oh fine,” Arkansas said. “Can I at least say I got to meet you? I’d get so much cred for that alone. Maybe a picture or…”

“We’ll see, but don’t push your luck,” Scootaloo said with a chuckle as she looked back at Sweetie Belle who gave her a slight smile. “It’s nice to be back here though, feels like forever since we were last able to visit.”

“Well, we’re always glad to have you here, even under these circumstances,” Sugar Belle said with a sigh. “So, what are we going to do now? I mean, we can’t just keep the twins in the line of fire.”

“We could put them in tha tornado shelter,” Apple Bloom suggested. “Ah mean, we had that thing built ta be hard ta get into, right? It might do tha trick.”

“Aww, but we want ta help too!” The twins said together. “Please don’t make us go away? Pretty please?”

“Gala, Arkansas, yer too young ta be put in danger like this,” Apple Bloom said as she knelt down next to her niece and nephew. “We can take care of this and yer Pa is gonna be helpin’ us out, okay?”

“Okay,” Gala said with a pout and Arkansas looked disappointed but nodded in agreement.

“Well, it sounds like everythin’ is gonna be okay,” Apple Bloom said as she took a deep breateh before her phone went off. She held it up and noticed that it was Big Mac calling as she answered it. “What’s up, Bro?”

“Ah’ve got somethin’ weird goin’ on here,” Big Mac said on the other end. “Some lady on a black and silver motorcycle showed up. Looks like somethin’ out of a detective story or somethin’. Yah know anythin’ about her?”

“Ah think so,” Apple Bloom said as she looked back at her friends for a moment. “Ah doubt she’s gonna cause any problems. We’ll be there in a few minutes, okay?”

“Alright, just hurry up, she gives me the creeps,” was the response. “There’s somethin’ about her that just ain’t natural.”

Apple Bloom hung up the phone and sighed a little as she looked back at her friends. “Looks like Kamen Rider Death showed up.”

“Kamen Rider Death?” Sugar Belle asked. “That’s not a very subtle name you know.”

“Yeah, we’ve realized that,” Scootaloo said with a chuckle as they started to head back towards the farmhouse with a sigh. “We’re really going to have to come visit here when we’re not in the middle of fighting a monster aren’t we?”

“Definitely,” Sweetie Belle said with a soft smile as she took Scootaloo’s hand in her’s and gave her a kiss on the cheek. “Come on, we don’t want to leave her waiting.”

Scootaloo nodded as the group headed for the farmhouse. Scootaloo was at least happy that they were getting some help here. A lot of weird things were going on, it was just a matter of stopping the monster if he headed this way.

00000

“You have an interesting choice in hiding places the strange woman dressed in black said as she eyed Scootaloo and the others as they arrived. “It wasn’t easy to track you down.”

“That was kind of the idea, we wanted to get somewhere away from the city,” Sweetie Belle said with a shrug. “We know this territory so we have an advantage over the monster at least. And, well we didn’t actually think we were getting any back-up.”

“Understandable,” the woman in black said as she adjusted her mask a moment to take a drink from a bottle of water. “Unfortunately this thing wasn’t too far behind me. I hope you’re all ready for this.”

“Sugar, get tha twins into tha shelter,” Big Mac said as he cocked his shotgun. “We ain’t gonna let some monster hurt our family.”

Scootaloo smiled a little as she gave him a nod and placed her hand on her Driver as Sugar Belle lead the twins away.

“How long do you think it’ll be?” Scootaloo asked as the woman raised a handheld device just as a bell started ringing.

“I’d say any moment now,” she said as she took out her Driver and placed it on her waist as the belt formed around it. “You might want to get ready.”

Scootaloo nodded and did the same with her own Driver as Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom took out their guns. There was a long moment of silence as they waited for something to happen.

For a moment it seemed like nothing was going to happen as they stood there. The woman frowned a little as she looked at the handheld device and hit it a little bit."

"What's wrong?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"I don't know, it says it should be right on top of us," the woman said as she looked around confused for a moment and then back at Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom. "What's going on?"

"Wait... didn't the Director say that Gentov's powers were..." Scootaloo started to say before they all felt it, the rumbling beneath their feet. Their eyes went wide as they jumped out of the way just before the ground cracked open and Gentov jumped out swinging his whip around and just barely missing Scootaloo as she jumped back. "Earth manipulation!"

"Well, well, how convenient that you all decided to gather in one place," Gentov said with a laugh as he eyed the gathered group. "Are you going to come quietly or do I have to do this the hard way? Please do it the hard way, I find it's way more fun."

"Scootaloo, are you up for this?" The woman asked as she glanced at Scootaloo from behind her black mask. "I remember what happened with Granforca before."

"I'm fine," Scootaloo said as she raised her cards up and nodded to the woman. "Let's do this then."

"Right," the woman in black said as she took out her own two cards and slid them into her Driver. "Hen… shin!"

"Henshin!" Scootaloo added as she slid the cards into her own Driver.

"THE PALE HORSE RIDES AGAIN!"

"TIME TO TIP THE SCALES!"

The energy flowed around the two women as their armor formed over them. The woman's armor was black with a silver breastplate and arm and leg armor. A silver helmet shaped like a human skull formed over her with more armoring that ran down her back with holes in it and two small antennae along with glowing red eyes. A black and gold revolver appeared in her hand.

Kamen Rider Death had returned once more.

"I can see your future, and it's not bright," Scootaloo said as she held her Rapier out and pointed at the monster as she narrowed her eyes from behind the visor. "Are you ready for this, Death?"

"Of course," she said as she spun the barrel of the revolver and pointed it at Gentov as she smirked a little bit. "You're not going to be able to stop us. Death, after all, comes for everyone."

"She's a bit overdramatic isn't she?" Sweetie Belle asked as they managed to steady themselves again.

Scootaloo nodded as she ran forward at the monster as she just managed to avoid a rock being thrown at her by Gentov. She stabbed her sword at the monster who just laughed as he snapped his whip at her, catching her across the chest as he laughed at her.

"You're just going to keep trying aren't you? Too bad I can hit you when you're close by or far away," Gentov said with a laugh as he dodged another stab from Scootaloo's rapier as the woman fired several energy bullets at him. "I'm not about to let this be where it ends."

"Good luck with that," Scootaloo said as she rubbed where the whip had hit her for a moment as she stabbed at the monster as Gentov snapped the whip and wrapped it around the sword's blade.

"Ha, you thought I'd actually let you get a hit in that easily, did you?" Gentov asked with a laugh as he avoided a bullet shot by Sweetie Belle who stomped her foot.

"Yeah, but I can still do this," Scootaloo said as she quickly switched her cards out and the Rapier vanished from her hand as she did.

"ARCANA KATANA!" The Driver said as a new sword appeared in her free hand, this one was a katana that had the same ornate black and gold designs as the other Arcana weapons. She swung the sword around as she slashed the monster across the chest as he stumbled back.

"I'm not about to let you hurt these good people," Scootaloo said as she held the sword out and kicked at Gentov who stumbled back a moment.

The monster cried out as his back was filled with buckshot from Big Mac's shotgun. While it hadn't done nearly as much damage as the guns actually made to fight against Order agents would, it still stung Gentov as he turned around to see the large man standing there.

"Why you little... I'll make you pay for that, I'll..." he started to say only to get another shotgun blast for his trouble. "Foolish human! You have no idea what you're messing with."

"Ah know what Ah'm messin' with, Ah'm messin' with tha freak that's tryin' ta hurt mah family," Big Mac said as he reloaded his shotgun. "Scootaloo, hit him good fer me!"

Scootaloo nodded as she slashed the katana hard across his back. Gentov finally let out a roar as he rose up with rock and dirt flying up around him as he used it to push her back.

"NO! I'M NOT GOING TO LOSE HERE!" He shouted as he slammed his foot down onto the ground as more dirt and rock started to rise up around him and formed over his body.

"What the hell is he doin'?" Big Mac asked as he took a step back.

"Ah have no idea, this is new fer us too!" Apple Bloom said as she fired several shots at the monster only to have them barely penetrate the forming armor. "Hey, skull lady, any idea what this is about?"

"It's not seen very often, but the fact of the matter is that sometimes the powersets can have some unusual effects," the woman said as she fired several more shots at Gentov that chipped off some of the armor as Scootaloo tried to do the same with her sword. "The best we can do is try and deal with the armor before it gets any bigger."

Scootaloo nodded a little as she raised her fist and slammed it hard into the monster's side but it didn't do much good as he swung his own fist around and connected with her stomach, knocking the wind out of her as she went flying back onto the ground from the force.

"Scootaloo!" Sweetie Belle said as she quickly fired off several more bullets before running over to Scootaloo and helping her up to her feet. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Scootaloo said as she tried to get her breath back, it felt a little better at least as she held the katana tight in her hand. "This is hard, but nothing we can't handle... right?"

"Right," the woman said as she quickly switched her cards out too and slid one into her Driver again.

"ARCANA SHOTGUN!" Her Driver said as the ornate black and gold double-barreled shotgun appeared in her hands as she fired several more shots at the monster, knocking off more of its armor as cracked its whip, striking the woman across the chest.

"Ah, yes, Kamen Rider Death, you were bound to return weren't you?" He laughed as he cracked his whip once more. "You're so predictable, we knew we could draw you out eventually and we'll make sure you pay for everything you did to the Order!"

"Good luck with that," the woman said as she fired several more shots that hit him in the chest again as she moved in closer and quickly switched the shotgun around and swung the butt of it at his head, catching him off guard as it hit and cracked the armor hard. "I'm not letting anyone get hurt again as you've done in the past!"

She finally aimed the shotgun right at his head and pulled the trigger again, breaking off the helmet armor once and for all as she jumped back to avoid another hit. She nodded to Scootaloo who ran forward and kicked and punched at the monster, breaking off more of the armor as she slashed hard at it with her katana, before preparing to stab it.

Gentov swerved around and caught Scootaloo in the chest again, but not before he sunk the sword into his shoulder. She stumbled back a little before she gripped the sword and pushed it in deeper.

“I’m… taking… you… down…” Scootaloo said through the exertion of pushing the sword farther in before punching Gentov and pushing it back as she pulled the sword out with energy crackling out of it.

She jumped up and energy gathered in her foot as she came crashing down on the monster. “JUSTICE KICK!” She shouted as it hit the monster hard.

For a moment it was quiet before finally the monster’s form shattered leaving a form of a man with a shaved head with several tattoos on his body collapsed on the ground.

“It’s finally over…” Scootaloo said breathing heavily as she turned around and deactivated her Driver as she powered down and picked up the card from the ground. It depicted a man with an arm in a sling with nine sticks behind him. “The Nine of Wands, that’s another one down.”

“What the hell are you doing?” Sweetie Belle said and Scootaloo spun around to see the woman in black, now powered down, pointing a pistol at the head of the unconscious man.

“He’s a known member of a gang, this man is scum and doesn’t deserve to plague this city,” she said as she prepared to pull the trigger. “Why do you think the Nine of Wands was attracted to him?”

“Not everyone who gets possessed by a card is scum,” Scootaloo said as she narrowed her eyes at the strange woman. “We are not judges and juries, we’ll turn him over to the proper authorities!”

“I am Death, I come for everyone,” the woman in black said coldly as she shot a look at Scootaloo, her barely visible eyes flashed with anger. “This man does not deserve life and I will send it back to God.”

“Scootaloo, I don’t think you can reason with her,” Sweetie said as she placed her hand gently on Scootaloo’s shoulder.

“I’ll stop you,” Scootaloo said as she raised her Driver and placed it on her waist as the belt formed around her.

“Are you going to fight a fellow Kamen Rider over this piece of human trash?” The woman asked. “You’re not the type, Scootaloo. You only fight the Monsters, me, well, I’ve battled monsters far too long.”

“Scootaloo…” Sweetie Belle started to say.

Scootaloo paused a moment, she knew deep down that the mysterious woman was right. She would never be able to fight someone like her. No matter how she acted, she was still a fellow Kamen Rider.

So, what was she supposed to do? She couldn’t let her kill this man even if he was a career criminal. She was about to take out the cards again when the door to the house opened up.

“Is it safe?” Sugar Belle asked as she poked her head out, the twins looking out nervously for a moment.

“Take them back…” Apple Bloom started to say when suddenly the woman looked right at them and lowered her pistol.

“Fine, you want to let the police deal with him, be my guest,” the woman said as she walked back to her bike and climbed onto it. “But the day will come when you realize just like I have, they don’t deserve your mercy.”

She revved up the engine and sped off down the road towards the highway, leaving them all confused.

“What just happened?” Sugar Belle asked as Scootaloo took out her phone to call Fancy Pants.

“It’s a long story,” Apple Bloom said with a sigh as they looked off towards where the strange woman had left. “And Ah honestly don’t know what ta tell yah.”

They all stood in silence for a few moments as Scootaloo talked to Fancy Pants to get the man taken away. There were a lot of unanswered questions, something about all of this still felt off, they just had to hope that they’d be able to figure this out.

The mystery of Kamen Rider Death had just deepened.

00000

Lyra yawned a little as she looked at the clock, it was getting late and she was a bit hungry. She figured that she might as well order something as she didn’t really feel like cooking dinner after the day she had.

She was about to order something when her doorbell rang. She blinked a little in confusion as she hadn’t been expecting anyone. She walked over to the door and looked outside before smiling as she opened it up to find Sweetie Drops standing here with a pizza box from Magnum Opus Pizza.

“Hey, Sweetie Drops, what brings you here?” Lyra asked.

“Well, I happened to be in the area and was holding a pizza so...” Sweetie Drops chuckled a little as she held the pizza up. “I thought we could have a take two on our dinner the other night, what do you say?”

Lyra smiled a little and moved out of the way so Sweetie Drops could come inside. Sweetie Drops set the pizza down on the table as Lyra went and got the plates and something to drink as she sat them down.

“You didn’t have to do this you know,” Lyra said as she picked up a slice of pizza and put it on her plate. “I mean, it was just a dinner between old friends.”

“Maybe, but I wanted to,” Sweetie Drops said with a soft smile as she took a bite of pizza. “Besides, I can’t eat this whole pizza by myself.”

Lyra just laughed at that as she took a bite of pizza as well as she smiled over at Sweetie Drops. The two of them had been through a lot together since becoming Kamen Rider Amores, and it really was nice to be able to spend time together.

“Well, the Director gave me a few days off,” Sweetie Drops said with a slight smile. “Maybe we should use that time to get caught up on things. I mean, it feels more like we’ve mostly spent our time together fighting monsters.”

“I’d like that,” Lyra said with a soft smile as they started to talk.

It was nice to finally be able to spend time together as friends.

00000

“Sweetie, do you ever wonder why we’re here?” Scootaloo asked as she and Sweetie Belle stared up at the stars together.

“Wasn’t that from Red vs. Blue?” Sweetie Belle asked with a chuckle as she looked over at her fiance.

“Yes, but my question still stands,” Scootaloo said with a chuckle. “I mean, with everything that’s been happening do you ever wonder why we’re here? I mean what might have happened if my family hadn’t been killed?”

“Honestly, I’d like to think we’d have still found one another,” Sweetie Belle said with a soft smile as she laid her head on Scootaloo’s shoulder for a moment. “I don’t believe in fate or destiny or anything of course. There are a lot of things that we have to wonder about though.”

“Yeah, I still have to wonder why Justice picked me,” Scootaloo said with a sigh. “But I do know one thing.”

“What’s that?”

“That I’m not going to let the Order hurt you or anyone else,” Scootaloo said with a soft smile. “No matter why we’re here, I’m going to make sure that the Order is stopped.”

“Good,” Sweetie Belle said with a soft smile as she wrapped her arms around Scootaloo. “I love you so much Scootaloo.”

Scootaloo smiled a little as she kissed Sweetie Belle gently on the forehead and placed her hand on her fiance’s hand where the ring was. Sometimes she felt like she had rushed into this a little bit, but she knew that it was the right decision.

“We’re going to have to start working on wedding plans you know,” Scootaloo said with a chuckle.

“Yeah, I know,” Sweetie said. “I mean, we don’t exactly have an easy job. How are we even going to pick a date for the wedding? Knowing our luck we’ll get attacked on our wedding day, that is usually how these things work.”

“Heh, yeah, maybe we should see if we can find all the past Kamen Riders we can and invite them or something,” Scootaloo said with a chuckle. “That way the Order will have to fight through a bunch of the guests first.”

“Don’t even joke like that, I doubt they’d come,” Sweetie Belle said with a roll of her eyes. “I love you Scootaloo.”

“I love you too Sweetie,” Scootaloo said as she and Sweetie Belle shared a long kiss.

Even if there was going to be a lot of challenges for them moving forward, they both knew that they were going to be just fine as long as they had each other. Scootaloo pulled Sweetie onto her and they deepened the kiss, enjoying the moment together in the cool grass of the field near their old clubhouse.

It was the perfect moment, nothing else mattered to them right now. They just enjoyed the moment as they shared a loving embrace.

The Glass Cup

A few weeks had passed since the fight with Gentov in Sweet Apple Acres and the Order had gone strangely quiet. There hadn’t been any weird readings from the satellites that watched the city, and everything had remained quiet in the city, relatively speaking. It was late Fall now and getting closer to Winter

Scootaloo was sitting at the table in her apartment as she looked over the cards that she had gathered so far. She brushed her short purple hair back a little as she looked the cards over for a moment before picking up the Eight of Swords.

That was the strongest card at her disposal, but she was scared to use it. Last time she had used it during their trip to the other universe that Kamen Rider Alchemy had called home. It had nearly killed her, and while she knew that she needed to use it more to get used to it, she wasn’t really looking forward to that.

She felt hands wrap around her neck and smiled up at Sweetie Belle. “Hey, Sweetie.”

“Thinking about everything that’s happened?” Sweetie asked as she rubbed her fiance’s shoulders lightly.

“Yeah, pretty much,” Scootaloo said with a soft smile as she leaned her head back and looked up at the pale-skinned young woman. “Mmm, your hands are amazing, you know that right?”

“Yes I do,” Sweetie Belle said with a giggle as she kissed Scootaloo gently on the cheek. “So, are you going to help me plan the wedding or stare at your spoils of war?”

Scootaloo smiled a little as she closed her eyes and just felt the wonderful feeling of Sweetie Belle’s hands kneading her shoulders. “Yeah, sorry I guess I’m just thinking about this way too much,” she said as she gathered up her cards.

“Don’t worry,” Sweetie Belle said as Scootaloo pushed the chair back and Sweetie sat in her lap as Scootaloo gave her a gentle kiss on the lips. “We’ll be fine as long as we stick together.”

“Yeah, I guess I’m just restless,” Scootaloo said as she ran her hands gently along Sweetie’s back before resting them on her butt and giving it a light squeeze.

“Hey!” Sweetie said with a giggle as she kissed Scootaloo again. “Naughty girl, you’re trying to distract me from working on our wedding aren’t you?”

“Maybe,” Scootaloo said with a slight grin as she kissed Sweetie. “Is it working?”

“Almost, but we really do need to work on this,” Sweetie said with a chuckle as she gave Scootaloo a soft smile. “Come on, you need to focus on something other than being Justice for a little bit anyway.”

Scootaloo nodded a little as she picked Sweetie up, surprising the pale-skinned woman as she was carried over to their bedroom and Scootaloo set her down on the bed.

“Mmm, someone’s been working out,” Sweetie said with a chuckle as Scootaloo sat down on the bed. “Making sure you’re fit in case the Order comes back, huh?”

“Yeah, better safe than sorry,” Scootaloo said as they took out the invitations list. “Let’s see here, we’ve got your family, my adopted family, my grandmother, my aunts, friends from school, and anyone at SMILE who will come… anyone else you think we should invite?”

“Hmm, good question,” Sweetie Belle said as she gave Scootaloo a soft smile and looked over the list before adding jokingly. “Maybe we should invite the Order, they’re probably going to crash the wedding anyway, might as well invite them.”

Scootaloo laughed a little at the suggestion. Wow, their life had become like such a comic book plot when their concern was villains attacking their wedding. She chuckled a little and kissed Sweetie on the cheek as she placed her hand on her fiance’s.

“I’d rather they not crash the wedding at all,” Scootaloo said with a gentle smile as she looked at the list and the invitation designs they were working on.

It all felt so normal, they were a couple planning their wedding like any other. If anyone looked in right now, as long as they didn’t know any better, they’d think they were just normal. Scootaloo smiled a little as she placed her hand on Sweetie’s and gave it a light squeeze before she kissed the pale-skinned young woman passionately on the lips.

“What was that about?” Sweetie asked with a smile on her lips.

“I don’t know, just after everything that happened it was good to have something that actually feels normal,” Scootaloo said as she pushed a strand of pink hair out of Sweetie’s eyes. “I wish that it could last forever.”

“Me too,” Sweetie said with a sigh as she held Scootaloo close to her for a moment. “Maybe we should go out on a date, you know, do something like a normal couple.”

“Do we even know what a normal couple does anymore?” Scootaloo asked with a chuckle. “Were we ever a normal couple? What even is normal?

“Very funny, besides we can always watch movies about them or something,” Sweetie giggled as she kissed Scootaloo again. “So, what do you say?”

“I think that sounds perfect,” Scootaloo said as they put the stuff away. She checked the time on her phone, it was almost 7:30. “Apple Bloom shouldn’t be home for a while, what do you say we go enjoy a night out together?”

“Sounds perfect,” Sweetie Belle said as the two young women got up to get dressed in something nicer.

Scootaloo smiled a little as she pulled her shirt down over her head and glanced back towards Sweetie Belle who was slowly pulling on her skirt over her underwear. She smiled a little when Sweetie turned to look at her and gave her a wink.

Scootaloo smiled a little as she buttoned up her pants and walked back over to Sweetie as she wrapped her arms around her fiance gently and kissed her on the lips. She stroked Sweetie’s hair gently as they held the kiss together for a long moment.

“Come on,” Sweetie finally said as they released the kiss. “If we keep going like this then we’ll never get out of the apartment.”

“You say that like it’s a bad thing,” Scootaloo said with a chuckle as they walked out arm in arm.

00000

“Why in the name of the Wheel have we been waiting this long?” Granforca demanded as the Court of the Order were all in the main room of the base once more. “We could have defeated the Riders by now if we…”

“As the Convergence nears, we need to make sure that everything is ready,” Caesar said as he crossed his arms. “And the Wheel has made it clear that we are not ready to make our next move yet.”

“The time will come soon,” the man in black said as he leaned on his cane for a moment and eyed Granforca for a moment. “You’re getting restless, Granforca, don’t let that get in the way of your duty to the Master.”

“The Wheel must be preparing for something big,” Priellit said as she took out the summoning deck for a moment. “There are still things that we don’t quite understand about its will. There are many things left to finish the Convergence.”

“And then why are we having to wait?” Granforca snapped. “If we’re this close to finishing the preparations, why shouldn’t we…”

“Because we’re on its timescale, not ours,” the Man in Black said before his cane began to glow. “Ah, excellent, it seems the time has finally come. Priellit, if you will.”

Priellit nodded as she shuffled and placed the summoning deck on the table in front of her. She looked at it for a moment before she drew the top card off the deck as she eyed it for a moment and set it on the table.

“The Seven of Cups,” she said as she looked at the card for a long moment. “An individual who is overwhelmed by choices and illusions. Curious, the Cups are always odd ones out among our Agents.”

“Indeed, but this is the time,” the Man in Black said as he leaned on his cane a little. Priellit chanted and the card glowed before “Granforca, is there any word on more of the lost ones?”

“Kuagua and I have been keeping an eye out,” Granforca said as he nodded a little. “Other than the ones who we already know have sided with the enemy we haven’t had much luck. We’re looking into some clues towards the location of one of them from 13 years ago.”

“Excellent,” the Man in Black said. “And with one of them already back in our control, it is only a matter of time.”

“Then I will make sure that we double our efforts,” Granforca said with a nod as he cracked his knuckles. “So long as I get another crack at those Riders. That little brat escaped me last time, but I’m not about to let her do it again.”

“You will get your chance, Granforca,” the Man in Black said. “But for now continue with your duties. If the two of you are able to find the remaining members of the Court, it will give us an edge over the Riders. Only engage if they’re on the verge of discovering what you’re doing.”

“Understood,” Granforca said as he vanished into thin air.

“I don’t like trusting him with this,” Caesar said with a frown. “Granforca is a blunt instrument and not much else. Do you honestly expect him to listen?”

“He knows the consequences of disobedience,” the man in black said. “The master will not tolerate it if he wants to disobey. Once everything is in place, we will use him as the blunt instrument he is as you so eloquently put it.”

00000

Apple Bloom looked around nervously for a moment as she sat at a table in a restaurant in downtown Canterlot. She had to admit she was more nervous about this than anything else, well other than fighting monsters.

She had gotten here early to give Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle some time alone, but she was more scared than anything else. Maybe the person she was waiting for wouldn’t show up, maybe she’d say something to mess everything up.

She shook her head, this wasn’t the time to think about that kind of thing. She took a deep breath and straightened herself out a little. She had faced worse than this, right? So why was she suddenly so worried about something so ordinary?

"Hey Apple Bloom," A male voice said and she looked up to see a young man with slightly tanned skin and short purple hair standing there with a soft smile. "This is a pretty nice place, I didn't think you'd want to meet somewhere like here."

"Well, uh, mah friends have been here a few times so they suggested it," Apple Bloom said with a smile as she nodded to the chair across from her. "I'm glad yah could come, Tender Taps."

"I was surprised that you asked me," Tender Taps said as he took a seat across from her. The two had been working together for a while, and she had asked him if he wanted to go out with her the other day. "I mean, you're... uh..."

"Yah think Ah'm out of your league or somethin'?" Apple Bloom asked with a slight blush. "Ah admit Ah've been a bit, nervous about askin' yah out fer tha same kind of reason. Still, Ah guess given some recent events Ah decided that yah only live once, yah know?"

"Heh, yeah," Tender Taps said as he played with his hair for a moment. "Your friends have gone on dates here before or something?"

"Yeah," Apple Bloom said as she took a deep breath. She had to admit that she was a bit nervous about this still, even having him here didn't really do much to help alleviate that nervousness. "Ah'm sorry, this is silly, Ah feel like Ah'm back in high school on mah first date."

"Yeah, I know how you feel," Tender Taps said with a shake of his head. "What do you have to be nervous about?"

Apple Bloom paused a little at that, she had a lot of things to be worried about but it wasn't like she could just tell him what those were. Even with everything that was going on in the city and the fact that knowledge of the Order had become public, it wasn't like she could tell him without exposing Scootaloo's identity.

Still, the fact that she hadn't really ever been on many dates didn't help either.

"Eh, Ah've just never been much for datin'," Apple Bloom said with a shrug. "Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle on tha other hand... well, sometimes Ah wind up feelin' more like a third wheel."

"Yeah, I know what you mean," Tender Taps said with a sigh.

"Yah do?"

"Heh, yeah I have a couple of friends who are dating, don't worry about it," Tender Taps said with a nod. "Really, I'm not going to do anything that might make you uncomfortable."

"Thank goodness," Apple Bloom said with a chuckle as she smiled a little as the waitress came to the table in order to take their orders. They placed the orders and the waitress walked off as they turned back to their conversation. "Kinda nice ta know Ah'm not alone out there, yah know?"

"So, why don't you tell me about yourself?" Tender Taps asked. "I mean, we've only talked a few times and you've never really said much about yourself."

"Well, Ah'm tha youngest of three siblings, mah family runs a farm outside of tha city, and Ah live with mah best friends from childhood," Apple Bloom said with a shrug. "Honestly, there ain't much ta tell about me. Ah'm just me, always have been. Ah've got a few hobbies and interests sure, music mostly, but other than that, mah life isn't that interestin'."

That was a lie of course, but the truth would be so much harder to explain. She shook her head a little and gave him a slight smile.

"Ah, I see," Tender Taps said thoughtfully.

"What about yah?" Apple Bloom asked curiously. "Ah mean, yah have gotta be way more interestin' than me."

"Not really, I moved here after High School to try and get into Dance, and since then I've basically been moving from job to job just to pay rent," Tender Taps said with a shrug. "You know how it is, only so many jobs come up in this day and age. Though I've heard that some people are starting to move out of Canterlot because of the Monster attacks."

Apple Bloom flinched a little at that. He just had to bring up the M word. She wasn't surprised, of course, there wasn't much else to talk about in this city other than the Order attacks. She sighed a little and brushed her red hair back a little as she gave him a slight smile.

"Yah ain't thinkin' about leavin' too, are yah?" She asked with a chuckle.

"Not really, I mean it's weird sure but I think it's interesting," Tender Taps said with a shrug. "I've been following everything I can on the subject. But I'm sure you don't want to talk about that."
He had no idea how right he was at this point.

"Yeah, definitely not," Apple Bloom said with a shake of her head. "Ah'm sorry, Ah'm not very good at this kind of thing. Ah thought maybe we could just have a nice dinner together and get ta know each other better. Seems like all we can talk about is our friends and tha monsters."

"Well, what kind of music do you like to play?"

"Guitar mostly, Ah'm tryin' ta learn how ta play like mah ma and sister," Apple Bloom said with a soft smile as she thought back to all the times her sister had played for them. "Ah'm not tha greatest at it though, not fer lack of tryin'."

"Well, I'm sure you'll figure something out eventually," Tender Taps said with a nod.

"So what about yah, yah said yer interested in dance?" Apple Bloom asked curiously.

"Yeah, I came here to try out for a local dance group but it kind of fell through," Tender Taps said with a shake of his head. "I guess it's kind of silly really. I've been interested in it ever since I saw videos of these dance groups in Japan from a few years back and, well..."

"Yah wanted ta try and do tha same thing?" Apple Bloom said with a chuckle. She remembered back to the reports of what had happened and that just made things a little awkward, but she wasn't about to bring that up.

"Yeah, I know it's silly right?" Tender Taps asked with a shake of his head. "I'm nowhere near as good as them honestly. I'm just trying to learn as best I can and make it by."

"Yeah, Ah understand," Apple Bloom said as she glanced up for a moment. She had a sudden strange feeling like something very bad was about to happen.

"Are you okay?" Tender Taps asked worriedly.

"Yeah, Ah'm fine," Apple Bloom started to say as she looked back at him just as there was the sound of something crashing against the floor and glass breaking. She shot up to see the waitress from before standing there clutching her chest for a moment as energy began to flow around her. Apple Bloom's eyes went wide as she started to get up "Tender... we need ta get out of here."

"What do you mean, we haven't even had our drinks yet," Tender Taps asked confused as he wasn't facing the emerging monster. "Is everything okay? Was it something I said?"

"No, no, it was nothing you said, we're just about to have some company," Apple Bloom said as she got up and grabbed his arm. "Come on, we need to..."

"YOU!" A shrill voice said and they quickly turned to see a figure standing there and pointing at Apple Bloom. She was feminine with armor and a head with a large hood and serpentine features resembling that of a King Cobra holding a bow in her hands and having the symbol of seven cups in a circle "If I had known it would be so easy to find you then I wouldn't have bothered looking for you first!"

"That's one of those monsters!" Tender Taps said, suddenly terrified. "Why is she after you?"

"Long story, not tha time ta talk about it!" Apple Bloom said as she pulled on his arm and headed for the door as she hit a call option on her phone.

"Who are you calling, the Police?" Tender Taps asked.

"Not exactly, Ah'll tell yah later if we make it out of this," Apple Bloom said. She hated having to do this, it seemed like the Order was finally back to cause trouble and it had happened on the worst possible night as there was an answer on the other end.

"Apple Bloom, you do realize that you don't normally call your friends in the middle of a date, right?" Scootaloo's voice said on the other end with a slight chuckle.

"We've got a situation here," Apple Bloom said quickly as she looked back towards where the cobra woman was and managed to push herself and Tender Taps out of the way when she tried to fire an energy arrow at them. "We need help, now!"

Scootaloo sighed a little before she realized exactly what was going on. "I'll be there as fast as I can. I'm sure SMILE has picked up on this too so we'll have some back-up, hopefully."

"Ah'm not sure how Ah'm gonna explain this ta mah date," Apple Bloom said as she glanced at Tender Taps.

"I'll be careful, use a cover story or something," Scootaloo said as she hung up.

"Who was that?" Tender Taps asked as they dodged another arrow as they ran for Apple Bloom's new car. "What's going on Apple Bloom?"

"It's a long story," Apple Bloom said with a sigh as she jumped into the car and Tender Taps did the same. "But we're gonna have some help at least."

"What, do you have Kamen Rider Justice on speed dial or something?" Tender Taps asked.

"No, but Ah know someone who knows her," Apple Bloom said as she started the car up. "Come on, we need ta get far away from cobra lady back there."

She floored it and the car flew forward. The female cobra monster just barely managed to dodge the car as it sped past her and let out an indignant hiss as the car fled the scene.

"Well, it seems the hunt is on," she said with a fanged grin as she started down the road after the car, picking up speed as she did. She knew where she was going, and part of the thrill was the chase more than anything else.

“Why are they even going after us?” Tender Taps asked as he looked at Apple Bloom with fear in his eyes. “What aren’t you telling me?”

“Look, it’s a long story,” Apple Bloom said as she turned down another street. “Ah know this is gonna sound crazy, but they’ve got a reason ta go after me. Ah’m sorry fer gettin’ yah dragged into this.”

“What happened?”

“It’s a long story, and it ain’t mah place ta tell yah,” Apple Bloom said as she glanced in the rearview mirror. “We need ta be careful though. She’s comin’ after us.”

They drove on in silence.

Meanwhile back in the road, the Cobra monster was heading towards the apartment when a gunshot rang out and she spun around to see the woman dressed in black standing there with her pistol aimed at her.

“A Cobra monster, I was wondering when one would show up,” she said with a chuckle as she aimed at the monster with her pistol. “I’m not about to let you hurt those people.”

“And what are you going to do with that pistol?” The monster said with a laugh. “You’re nothing more than a human with a few fancy gadgets. You can’t stop me!”

The woman said nothing for a moment before she reached into her coat’s pocket and took out her Tarot Driver and placed it on her waist as the belt formed around her.

“Oh, then it must be you…” the Cobra woman said as she narrowed her reptilian eyes at the woman and flicked her tongue a little. “My Masters will be thrilled to know that I was able to bring you back!”

“We’ll see about that,” the woman said as she took two cards out and slid them into her Driver. “Hen… shin!”

“THE PALE HORSE RIDES AGAIN!”

The black and silver energy flowed out of the circle at the center of the Driver as armor formed over her. The black and gold revolver appeared in her hand as she spun the barrel and fired several energy bullets at the monster, knocking her back.

"Why you little... that hurt!" The Cobra monster said as she drew her bowstring back and fired an energy arrow at Kamen Rider Death who rolled out of the way only to fire several more shots at her. "You're a really pesky Rider, you know that right?"

"I do my best to be one," Death said with a smirk from behind her armored mask before she fired several shots as she ran forward at the monster. She swung her fist around and caught the cobra monster across the face as she fell back a little, Death firing several more shots into her chest.

"You think you're so clever..." The Cobra monster said as she bore her fangs at Death before spitting at her, catching the Rider in the shoulder as she tried to avoid the attack again.

"Not exactly the most..." Death said as she reached to brush it off before realizing that it was sizzling against her armor. She brushed it off as best she could and raised her revolver again. "Acid spit... go figure."

"I'm not about to let you stop us this time Death," the snake woman said with a hiss as she rushed at Death with her fangs bore as she prepared to sink her teeth into the woman, only to have her dodge and fire several more energy bullets into her. "The Convergence will succeed, you'd be better off joining us!"

"Let me think about it... no," Death said as she sent a punch into the snake woman's stomach. "You have me confused with someone who actually gives a damn about your Convergence. I'm here to make sure that it never gets even close to succeeding!"

The snake woman hissed angrily as she swung her tail around and caught Death from behind knocking her off her feet as the monster raised her bow again and pointed it at Death's head. She grinned which showed her teeth as Death struggled to get up.

"I guess you're not nearly as good as you think you are," she said with a laugh as she spat acid at her again, catching her in the chest this time as it started to burn through the armor. "You're just a sad little girl in a woman's body. I'm going to put you out of your misery."

She was about to fire another arrow at Death before crying out as something hit her in the back. She turned around quickly to see Kamen Rider Amores standing there holding her bow in her hands as she prepared another arrow.

"You Kamen Riders are really starting to get on my nerves, you know that right," The Cobra monster said as Death scrambled to get to her feet.

"That's pretty much our job description," Sweetie Drops said with a smirk as she fired another arrow at the Cobra lady and caught her right in the chest this time which made her cry out again. "You're not going to get away with this. Sorry, but you're going to have to find something else to hunt tonight."

The snake woman hissed at that as she was about to attack again before the sound of metal feet on the pavement was heard. They all looked up to see Caesar walking towards them, preparing to draw his sword as he stared the two Riders down.

"Who are you?" Sweetie Drops demanded of the armored man.

"I am Caesar, High General of the Arcana Court, and I am not about to let you two interlopers get in the way of our mission here," Caesar said as he drew his sword and with that, a wave of energy flew at the two Riders, knocking them both to the ground as he pointed his sword at the two Riders as it crackled with energy as he approached the snake woman. "Kapasa, you've let the target get away I see. This will not look good for you."

"I know Master Caesar, but I..." The snake woman, now named Kapasa said as she tried to defend herself only to be stopped as Caesar backhanded her.

"You will carry out your mission as instructed, do I make myself clear?" Caesar demanded as he glared at the two Riders for a moment. "And you will not let these Riders get in your way again."

"Sir, but..." Kapasa said, the once-terrifying monster now was more scared than anything else.

"Carry out your mission Kapasa, or suffer the consequences," Caesar said and with a spin of his cape, he and the snake monster vanished into thin air.

"What was he talking about?" Sweetie Drops said as she powered down and Death did the same. "What was she after in that restaurant? Apple Bloom?"

"Maybe," the mysterious woman said as she put away her Driver and removed her coat which was starting to sizzle to reveal a black riding suit underneath. "I'm not entirely convinced that it's that easy, however. I will keep an eye out for anything else that may cause trouble in this city."

"I don't like this," Sweetie Drops said with a sigh as the woman climbed on her bike and started it up again. "What am I supposed to tell the Director?"

"Tell him exactly what happened," the woman said as she revved up her bike's engine and looked back at Sweetie Drops. "We have a monster that seems to have acid-based powers and is potentially after one of Scootaloo's friends or another civilian. That is all we know at the moment."

"Right," Sweetie Drops said as she headed back to her own bike and the two Riders took off.

00000

"What happened out there?" Sweetie Belle asked as she and Scootaloo arrived back at the apartment where Apple Bloom was talking to Tender Taps. "We got word that whatever was going on was being taken care of."

"We were attacked by tha Order," Apple Bloom said as she looked back at Tender Taps. "One of their monsters showed up right in tha middle of tha restaurant we were at. It looked like it was one of tha waitresses."

"Great, I guess going public with this information didn't help any," Scootaloo said with a sigh as they took a seat on the chairs for a moment. "This is insane..."

"Okay, I'm confused, exactly why did they come after Apple Bloom and me?" Tender Taps asked in confusion as he looked between the three women. "What's going on here?"

Scootaloo paused a moment at that. The only ones who knew that she was Kamen Rider Justice were either her friends, family, other Kamen Riders, or the monsters. She wasn't sure if any former monsters that were out there knew the truth, they didn't so far, other than Diamond Tiara but she had been the one who told the Order to begin with so that didn't make much of a difference really.

She sighed a little as she brushed her purple hair back for a moment. She couldn't tell him until they knew they could trust him. Besides, even with Apple Bloom, there was always alternate explanations for what had happened. She sighed a little as she looked at Tender Taps for a moment.

"We don't know really," Scootaloo said with a shake of her head which got a strange look from Apple Bloom. "Sometimes they have gone after us for reasons that we're not entirely sure of. The Order's actions don't always make sense, you know?"

"Yeah, I guess," Tender Taps said with a shrug. "What do you think we should do now?"

"I called the hotline about what's going on, they should be sending some help soon," Sweetie Belle said, catching onto the lie. For the moment, it was all they could do to avoid risking the secret about Scootaloo getting out. "It's not much, but they should be able to help deal with this thing if she comes back."

“Look, this is all a bit much,” Tender Taps said as he got up. “I don’t even know what’s going on here. If it’s all the same to you girls, I’m going back home.”

“Okay, just be careful,” Apple Bloom said with a worried look on her face. “We don’t know what that monster was after.”

“Yeah, I’ll keep that in mind,” Tender Taps said as he quickly left.

“Some first date that turned out ta be,” Apple Bloom said with a sigh. “He’ll probably never want ta date me again after all of this.”

“I’m sorry,” Scootaloo said as she looked down at her feet for a moment. “This is all my fault if I didn’t get us caught up in this that wouldn’t have happened. I feel terrible about all of this.”

“Yah had no idea this was gonna happen,” Apple Bloom said with a sigh. “Ah don’t blame yah, Ah blame tha Order fer draggin’ us all into this. Ah guess we just need ta figure out how ta stop them if we want anythin’ resemblin’ a normal life.”

“Normal? What’s that?” Scootaloo asked with a chuckle which her friends shared in for a long moment. “But yeah, I’d like that. Hopefully, after everything that’s happened, we’ll be able to regain some sense of normalcy.”

“Knowing our luck we’ll probably get drawn into crossover episodes or something,” Sweetie said with a chuckle. “I mean that’s typically how it works for superheroes, right?”

“Just as long as it’s not some massive event or something,” Scootaloo said with a groan. “Remind me to “thank” Lyra for getting us into watching Atop the Fourth Wall.”

“So, what are we going to do now?” Scootaloo asked after a brief pause. “I mean, we don’t know if or when we’re going to be targeted again. Apple Bloom, are you going to be okay sticking with us just in case?”

“Yeah, mah datin’ life is pretty much shot at this point anyway,” Apple Bloom said with a sigh.

“Don’t worry, we’ll figure something out,” Scootaloo said reassuringly as she gently placed her hand on Apple Bloom’s. “We’re going to figure this out together, okay?”

“Okay,” Apple Bloom said with a soft smile. “Ah’m glad Ah have ya’ll here ta help me out. Even if yah get us into trouble… and keep me up some nights.”

“Yeah, sorry about that…” Sweetie Belle said with a blush. “We need to blow off the steam, you know? It’s been kind of stressful lately.”

“Yeah, Ah know,” Apple Bloom said with a sigh. “Don’t worry about it, Ah understand, Ah really do. Ah guess Ah just hoped that Ah would get a chance ta have somethin’ like ya’ll do, yah know?”

“Don’t worry, you’ll find someone,” Scootaloo said with a sigh. “In the meantime, let’s figure out what we need to do next. There’s something about this that feels weird to me, you know?”

“Ah know, it’s oddly convenient that it happened ta appear that close ta me,” Apple Bloom said thoughtfully for a moment. “That tells me that there’s somethin’ we’re missin’. Ah think we need ta be very careful from here on out.”

“Me too,” Scootaloo said with a sigh. “Snake monsters now, dare I ask what’s next?”

“Who knows,” Sweetie said with a sigh. “But we’re bound to find out at some point.

00000

“So what’s with that Kamen Rider Death lady?” Lyra asked as she and Sweetie Drops took the elevator down to the SMILE HQ. “I mean, she kind of came out of nowhere before, you know?”

“I wish I knew,” Sweetie Drops said with a shrug. “She is kind of an unknown quantity, isn’t she? I mean, she kind of showed up out of nowhere as you said and there are no official records of her existing before.”

“Weird, didn’t the Director say she worked with SMILE before?” Lyra asked.

“Yeah, he did,” Sweetie Drops said as she stroked her chin thoughtfully for a moment. “Which means it doesn’t make sense that according to all our records she didn’t exist 13 years ago. It’s like they’re trying to hide something from us.”

“Gee, a top-secret government agency keeping secrets, who would’ve guessed?” Lyra said sarcastically.

“Sarcasm isn’t necessary, but I see your point,” Sweetie Drops said with a sigh. “There is a lot that it feels like the Director is keeping from us. Heck, I’ve found reports of Order activity that…”

She stopped in mid-sentence as the door opened and Tempest Shadow walked into the Elevator. She eyed the two of them for a moment. “Agent Drops, Ms. Heartstrings. I see you were both called as well.”

“Agent Shadow,” Sweetie Drops said with a nod as she gave Lyra a look. “Do you know what any of this is about?”

“I know as much as you do, Agent,” Tempest said with a shake of her head. “I’m sorry I can’t give you more information. I know that everything that’s been going on recently has him more on edge than ever before.”

“Not that you can blame him,” Lyra muttered.

“Especially given the fact that we still have no leads on the identity of the Scorpion Rider,” Tempest continued. “If the Order does have a Rider, it represents a significant breach in security.”

“Do you think it was the same spy that we had before?” Sweetie Drops asked.

“Maybe, but we can’t rule anything out right now,” Tempest said without looking at the two of them. “And he didn’t exactly have easy access to the Tarot Drivers. No, I think there’s something else going on that we’ve missed.”

“Yeah…” Sweetie Drops said with a sigh as the elevator came to a stop and opened up. They headed out of the elevator and off towards the briefing room.

As they entered, Fancy Pants was already there talking with Fleur. The three of them took their seats and a few minutes later they were joined by Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, and Apple Bloom who took the seats across from them.

There was a long moment of silence as they waited for the briefing to begin.

“Alright, thank you all for coming,” Fancy Pants said as he took a seat. “You’re all here because we’ve had some concerns about the Order’s recent actions.”

“We’ve managed to narrow down the identity of the woman that was possessed by the card this time,” Fleur said and hit a button on the remote. An image of a young woman with short blonde hair and dressed in a waitress outfit appeared. “Her name is Victoria Kane, she’s a recent arrival in Canterlot after moving here from Louisianna.”

“What do we know about her?” Tempest asked.

“Not a whole lot to be honest,” Fancy Pants said. “She doesn’t have much of a social media presence, to be honest. As far as I can tell she opened her account on Facebook shortly after arriving in the city.”

“A runaway maybe?” Sweetie Belle suggested.

“Maybe,” Sweetie Drops said as she looked at the image of the woman for a long moment. “She’s the Seven of Cups, right?”

“Right,” Apple Bloom said with a slight nod as she took her phone out. “Reversed it means alignment, personal values, and bein’ overwhelmed by choices. It’s not a lot ta go on, ta be honest.”

“No, but it’s certainly a start,” Fancy Pants said with a nod. “We’re running a background check on her, but it’s going to take a while. Was there anything weird about her at the restaurant?”

“No, not really,” Apple Bloom said with a shake of her head. “At least not that Ah could see. She felt yah know, normal.”

“Alright, well then we don’t have a lot to go on right now,” Fancy Pants said with a sigh. “This isn’t going to be easy. There is also the always present question of what exactly this Convergence is.”

“Well, they’re extra-dimensional beings, right? Maybe it has something to do with that,” Scootaloo suggested with a shrug.

“Maybe,” Fancy Pants said as he stroked his chin thoughtfully for a moment. “With everything that’s been going on lately that may be the case. We’ve had two crossover events recently, that may suggest that something is weakening the barriers between realities.”

“What does that mean in English?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“Think of a universe as a room,” Fancy Pants said. “Between each room is walls, these are like the barriers between universes. Normally you can’t just walk through these walls unless you have special equipment. We’ve heard of at least one such individual in the past, but that’s not the point.”

“Right, but we’ve encountered individuals from other universes before,” Scootaloo pointed out.

“Yes, and both involved magic, that’s a whole different can of worms really,” Fleur said with a slight nod. “But normally that wouldn’t work. This implies that the walls of reality are coming apart, perhaps this may even explain the Convergence.”

“Two realities coming close enough to overlap,” Tempest said with a nod. “The question becomes what kind of effects that will have on our reality.”

“I don’t want to think about that,” Scootaloo said with a sigh. “We’ve got enough problems already to not have to worry about that kind of thing. Do you think that’s what they’re trying to do?”

“Unfortunately it’s what makes the most sense right now,” Fancy Pants replied and Fleur nodded in agreement. “Hopefully it’ll be enough for now.”

“Yeah, hopefully,” Scootaloo said as she brushed her hair back a little. “I don’t like it honestly. It feels like we only have bits and pieces of the actual puzzle here.”

“Yes, well we’re going to have to figure it out,” Fancy Pants said with a sigh. “I agree with you Scootaloo. There are many things we don’t yet understand even after so many years of fighting the Order. The Convergence is their endgame, but we don’t know exactly what it is other than that.”

“Figures,” Scootaloo said with a sigh as she looked around. “So, what are we going to do? Wait until that Cobra monster shows up again?”

“We may not have a choice,” Fleur said. “The Order has already shown themselves capable of avoiding our scans. Though as long as they don’t have any more spies in our midst we should be fine.”

“So, what do we do in the meantime?” Scootaloo asked.

“In the meantime, we need to figure out where the Cobra monster went,” Fancy Pants said. “Not to mention we know that Granforca is loose again. We cannot ignore his threat either, especially if he picks up where he left off. We need to be ready for every eventuality.”

“I just hope we’ll be able to figure out what to do here,” Scootaloo said as she looked back at the image of the waitress for a long moment. There were so many lingering questions about that right now, she just had to hope that they’d be able to figure it out.

“What about Tender Taps?” Apple Bloom asked. “Ah mean, we can’t be certain that they weren’t after him or won’t go after him.”

“We already have Agents keeping an eye on him,” Tempest said with a shrug. “You’re right though. Anyone who is close to the three of you could be a potential target.”

“Right, which is why we’re keeping an eye on him as well as Apple Bloom’s family,” Fancy Pants said with a nod. “I want everyone keeping an eye out. We have our eye in the sky keeping a lookout, hopefully, it’ll be enough for now.”

“Right,” Scootaloo said with a nod. “And we can always keep an eye on Ridewatch. They helped before, they can probably help us again. At least, I hope so.”

“Yes, well we’ll keep you updated if anything happens,” Fancy Pants said as he stood up. “Scootaloo, can you hang back for a moment? The rest of you are dismissed.”

“Yeah, sure,” Scootaloo said as she blinked a little before looking at her friends who nodded as they headed out of the briefing room leaving just her, Fancy Pants, and Fleur. “Is everything okay?”

“We’ve been investigating the situation with the Scorpion Rider,” Fancy Pants said with a soft sigh. “The truth of the matter is that we don’t know where she came from. You said that you encountered her in the other universe, right?”

“Yeah, and Apple Bloom said she saved her before,” Scootaloo said with a nod. “And we don’t really know how she got there either.”

“Likely she was one of the people that went with you to the other universe as we had eyes on the statue the whole time,” Fancy Pants said. “Did anyone who went with you act strangely?”

“No stranger than usual,” Scootaloo said with a shrug. “I’m sorry, I wish I had an explanation for what happened there. She could be any of them, and that’s assuming that they didn’t go through the portal earlier.”

“Yes, well we have to consider all possibilities right now,” Fleur said. “Just in case, can you keep an eye on things? We don’t think it’s one of your friends but…”

“I understand,” Scootaloo said with a sigh. “But I know neither of them would do something like that. I’ll let you know if anything weird happens.”

The two senior agents nodded and Scootaloo got up and went to join her friends. She was a bit nervous now, but she knew that her friends were going to be okay.

00000

“This is getting boring,” Granforca said as he sat back in his seat with Kuagua. “How do we even know that any of them will even show up in the city?”

“Canterlot is the focal point for our power,” Kuagua said as he shuffled through a deck of playing cards. “It’s where the Tower is closest between our universes. They will be drawn to this city for one reason or another. That is how things work. We just have to wait and see if…”

Before he could finish the sentence a flashing light went off on a device attached to his belt. He paused a moment as he removed it and raised it up and a projection of the city appeared. He smiled a little as he saw a light flashing on it.

“Finally, something interesting happened,” Granforca said as he leaned in and looked at the projection. “Who is that? Someone that we already know about?”

“No, this one is new,” Kuagua said as he put the device back at his belt. “If I’m right, it should be exactly what we need too in order to strike a blow against the Riders. Imagine, if this is who we need… we could bring our strongest allies to this world.”

“Indeed,” Granforca said as he got up. “Come on, let’s go see if we can find them.”

“Wait, what?” Kuagua said. “Shouldn’t we pass this on to the bosses?”

“Why, so one of them can get all the glory?” Granforca asked as he cracked his knuckles. “Nah, let’s prove to them that we’re better than babysitting duty.”

He got up and stormed out through a portal that he had opened up. Kuagua rolled his eyes a little as he shook his head. He never liked Granforca and had actually been surprised that they had let him out.

“Well, this isn’t very funny at all,” he said as he stomped his foot a little. “Well, there’s hardly any point in letting him do this alone. No fun in sitting around here anyway.”

He picked up a playing card and smiled at the sign of the joker card. He threw it against the wall and a portal appeared in front of him and he walked through it with a laugh.

00000

“I’ll be right back, I need to take the trash out,” Scootaloo said back into the apartment as she carried the trash bag out the door and towards the trash can. She was about to lift the lid and drop it in when she heard something behind her.

She spun around with her hand on her Driver in her pocket and let out a sigh of relief when she saw it was just a cat.

“You’re getting jumpy, Scoots…” Scootaloo said with a shake of her head as she started to walk back towards the door. She paused a moment when she realized there was a song played on a violin starting to rise up around her.

“Out for a stroll I see,” a voice said from behind her and she spun around again to see the man in black standing there leaning on his cane.

“What are you doing here?” Scootaloo demanded as she took out the Driver, preparing to place it on her waist. “You work for the Order, don’t you?”

“Work for is hardly the word,” the man in black said with a laugh as he walked forward again. “I am no mere footsoldier, you should know that. I am here because I wanted to see you for myself, the woman who’s caused my men so much trouble.”

“Well, I’m not going to let you get away with what you’ve done!” Scootaloo said as she set the Driver on her waist and slid her cards into it. “Henshin!”

“TIME TO TIP THE SCALES!”

She ran forward at the monster as the armor formed around her and she stabbed at the man in black with her rapier. However, there was the sound of metal against metal as the man in black’s sword was drawn and caught her blade with his.

“Such a reckless child,” he taunted as he laughed a little and kicked at her. He held his other hand out as a chain appeared in it and he swung it around and wrapped it around her leg, pulling her down to the ground. “You are not facing a mere Agent or even Commander.”

“Who… who are you?” Scootaloo said as the man in black pulled her forward and up as his blade pressed against her throat.

“I am your worst nightmare,” the man in black said with a wicked grin that was barely visible from beneath his mask. “Did you really think that it was going to be as simple as just fighting me?”

He laughed as he threw her to the ground and sheathed his sword again. “I am here to give you a message. Be careful where you tread child, you are in a war that you don’t understand. You and your friends will not survive if you keep on your current path.”

He walked off as Scootaloo struggled to get to her feet as the chain vanished from her leg. She pointed her sword at the man again and said as loudly as she could. “I’m not going to let you win!”

The man in black stopped in mid-stride as he looked back at her. He lowered his mask and pulled off his hat for a moment. Beneath them was a red face with horns sticking out of his head. He had a fanged mouth as he looked back at her.

“My dear Scootaloo,” he said, his voice not losing the creepy but soft tone. “You have no choice in the matter. And everything is already in place for me and my master’s victory. The Convergence is coming, be ready for it.”

He replaced his hat over his horns and vanished through a portal, leaving flames in his place that died down after a moment. This left a very shaken Scootaloo as she powered down and stared at the spot where the man was.

This was going to be hard to explain to everyone.

The Cup of Deceit

“Scootaloo, are you okay?” Sweetie said as the beaten Scootaloo pulled herself into the apartment and fell down onto the couch. “What happened?”

“One of the commanders attacked me, he was more powerful than I expected,” Scootaloo said as Apple Bloom ran to get the bandages. “I think he was the Devil card…”

“The Devil, of course,” Sweetie said as she sat down next to Scootaloo. She thought about it for a moment before asking. “Was he dressed in black? Like, a black coat and hat with a mask pulled over his face?”

“Yeah, at least at first,” Scootaloo said. “Why, have you seen him?”

“Yeah, I think he showed up at the restaurant a while back,” Sweetie said as Apple Bloom gave her some bandages. “But he didn’t exactly scream Devil back then.”

“Yeah, well the red skin and horns was kind of a giveaway,” Scootaloo said as her friends bandaged her up. “He had a chain that he used to grab me too. Is it just me or are they getting less and less subtle?”

“I think subtlety went out the window when we fought that Skinwalker monster,” Sweetie Belle said with a laugh as Scootaloo rest her head on her fiance’s shoulder. “The Order doesn’t really care about that kind of thing if you ask me.”

“Well, Ah’m just wonderin’ why he decided ta go after yah now of all times,” Apple Bloom said. “We should probably call Fancy Pants about this too. If they’re doin’ stuff like this, it ain’t gonna be good fer us.”

“Yeah, I agree,” Scootaloo said as she removed the Driver from her waist and looked at it for a moment. “They’ve got something big planned, and it seems to me more like he was sending us a message. Keep messing with them and they’ll hurt us or worse.”

“Good thing we’re not good at listening,” Sweetie said with a chuckle as they finished bandaging her up. “Are you going to be okay, Scootaloo? That thing didn’t exactly leave you unscathed.”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Scootaloo said as she closed her eyes. “Whatever he thought his point was, we can’t let them win. It just shows how desperate they are to keep us from fighting them. We’re going to win this together.”

“Yeah,” Sweetie said as she squeezed Scootaloo’s hand gently causing her to flinch. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Scootaloo said as she smiled slightly. “All that matters to me right now is that you two are okay.”

Apple Bloom nodded a little as she dialed the number for Fancy Pants’ office and put it on speakerphone. There was a long moment of silence only broken up by the sound of the phone’s ringing.

“Is everything okay?” Fancy Pants’ voice finally said after a moment. “Did something happen?”

“You might say that. I think I encountered the Order’s Devil,” Scootaloo said. “He attacked me when I went to take the trash out. Beat me up pretty bad, but I should be okay.”

“The Devil? That’s concerning,” Fancy Pants said with a sigh. “Alright, let’s figure out what to do from here. I’ll have Tempest and Agent Drops head for your apartment. Right now that’s the best clue we have to their activities at the moment.”

“Right,” Scootaloo said with a sigh as she looked at the Driver and cards for a long moment. “Thank you for your help though. We’ll let you know if anything else happens.”

“Alright, thank you, the others will be there shortly,” Fancy Pants said. “While you’ve always been a target, we have to consider the possibility that this is a plan for something bigger. Don’t take any unnecessary risks. Be careful, okay?”

“We will,” Apple Bloom said as they hung up the phone. “Well, it seems like we’ve got more questions ta answer. So, what are we gonna do now?”

“Right now, let’s sit tight,” Scootaloo replied. “There’s really not much else we can do right now. So, let’s just wait for Agent Drops and Tempest, there’s not really much else we can do right now I guess.”

“Yeah,” Sweetie said as she leaned in and gave Scootaloo a light kiss on the lips. “Let’s just hope that everything will work out for now. There’s really not that much else we can do, unfortunately.”

Scootaloo nodded as she looked back out the window. It was dark out, but she knew that strange man was still out there somewhere. There was a lot they were going to have to figure out from here on, but for now, they would just have to wait.

"I'm scared," Scootaloo finally said with a sigh. "Dealing with monsters is bad enough, but that guy. He wiped the floor with me before I could even do anything to try and hurt him. I don't know if I can stand up to that kind of power."

"Maybe, but you don't have to do it alone you know," Sweetie Belle said with a soft smile as she rested her head on Scootaloo's shoulder. "We'll figure this out, I promise. Don't worry, we'll take him down eventually, together."

"Yeah," Scootaloo said as she leaned back and closed her eyes, gently wrapping her arm around Sweetie Belle.as she did.

"We ain't gonna let him get away with messin' with yah, Scoots," Apple Bloom said as she gave her a nod. "But we're gonna have ta worry about that later yah know. If that Cobra lady shows up again, we're gonna need ta worry about her first."

"Right," Scootaloo said. "Let's just hope that we won't encounter him again for now."

00000

"Did you have fun?" Priellit asked as the man in black walked back into the throne room. "I didn't think you'd do something that insane."

"I learned what I needed to," the man in black said as he leaned on his cane a little bit. "What is the latest from our Agent in the field?"

"She will be making her move against the Riders as soon as possible," Caesar said as he crossed his arms looking at the screen. "Her host is being strangely compliant with everything that's going on. You normally don't see that in these humans."

"Well, perhaps its nothing," Priellit said with a shrug. "Also we got word from Kuagua, it seems like they may have found someone. They're in pursuit of the target now."

"Really?" The Man in Black asked curiously as he looked over her shoulder. "That is surprising news. Do they know who they've found?"

“They said they believe it is the Magician, but they’re still tracking it down,” Caesar answered. “We’re expecting an update at any time.”

“Excellent, if they’re right then it will certainly help with our goals,” the man in black said as he leaned on his cane for a moment. “What is the latest on Kapasa?”

“She’ll make her next move soon enough,” Priellit said. “It’s only a matter of time before she deals with the Riders. That being said, you did put them on edge.”

“Yes, but we also know that they’re all going to be in place,” Caesar pointed out. “And Kapasa should be fine against all of them. She’s going to be just fine. Right now, we should just see what happens next.”

"Of course," the man in black said as he adjusted his hat for a moment and turned to look at the screen showing the current location of Kapasa. "Hopefully this will finally do the trick. We've had enough setbacks in dealing with the Kamen Riders right now. However, we're not about to let them get away with this."

"Indeed, so let's show them what it means to threaten the Order," Caesar said as he crossed his arms. "I'm starting to get tired of this. Why don't we just take them out ourselves?"

"Because we need more energy for the Convergence," Priellit pointed out. "If we're going to be able to succeed at this then we have to make sure that everything is in place. You know the Master wants to make sure that everything is ready for his arrival."

"Yes, yes, I know," Caesar said with a sigh. "But it feels like it could be much easier if we just took them out ourselves."

"Perhaps, but at the same time, we cannot put ourselves at risk either," the man in black said with a slight nod. "So, for the time being, we need to hold back and figure out what to do next. The Agents still have a chance of succeeding at least, and if we lose either of us we won't be able to summon any further Agents."

"Yeah, yeah," Caesar said as he waved his hand for a moment. "I'll get back to you on that. Once we're done getting everything taken care of, then this world will be ours."

"Indeed, but we're going to have to be careful," the Man in Black said as he leaned on his cane again for a long moment. "The fact of the matter is that the mistake that everyone else has made is that they underestimated their enemies. We'll watch them for now, as long as everything is in place we'll be fine."

"You had better be right," Caesar said as he eyed the man in black for a moment.

"The Master isn't happy with our last two attempts to take this world," the man in black said with a shake of his head. "So, if we don't succeed this time we will all be in trouble. For now, get everything ready for the next stage of the operation."

"Yes sir," Priellit said as she stood up. "We will await word from the others. Hopefully, there will be good news. Another summoner will help us manage to summon stronger Agents. Hopefully, Granforca and Kuagua are right about that."

"Yes, well if they are smart they will succeed, or if not I'm sure we can work out some new living accommodations for them," the man in black said as he walked off. "If you need me, I will be in my chambers."

"I don't like dealing with him," Caesar said as he straightened his metal collar out a little bit. "He gives me the creeps. Why'd he even go after Justice anyway?"

"Oh, you know how he is," Priellit said as she shuffled her deck and placed it back on the table in front of her. "He is always scheming something after all. I doubt whatever message he sent to the Riders will be heeded though. We're not dealing with humans that can be easily tricked after all."

"I know, but he's not about to succeed by risking showing his hand," Caesar said with a shake of his head. "I have things to attend to as well. Let me know when we hear anything from the others."

Priellit nodded as Caesar walked out of the central chamber. She turned to look at the screen once more for a moment as she eyed the location where their agent was.

She hoped that they were really doing the right thing here. Otherwise, everything had the chance of falling apart at the seams.

00000

"So, is there anything new on who the Agent is possessing?" Scootaloo asked as Sweetie Drops and Tempest Shadow set up in the apartment's living room.

"Not a whole lot, we're still tracking her last known address in Louisiana," Sweetie Drops said with a shake of her head as she looked at the three of them. "Unfortunately, it may not be nearly as simple as figuring out who they are. The weird thing is that, well, she seems to have just appeared out of nowhere in Canterlot."

"That's odd," Apple Bloom said as she stroked her chin thoughtfully. "How's that possible? Shouldn't she leave some sort of paper trail behind her?"

"Yeah, maybe..." Sweetie Drops said thoughtfully for a moment as she looked back at Tempest. "What do you think, Tempest? What could explain this?"

"A number of things, she could be in witness protection or is just trying to start a new life," Tempest commented as she stroked her chin thoughtfully for a moment. "I don't know, it feels like we're missing something very obvious right now."

"Yeah," Scootaloo said with a sigh as she plopped back down on the couch next to Sweetie Belle. "I hate it when they're tricky to figure out."

"Do you really think that figuring out who she is under that will help?" Sweetie Drops asked. "I mean, it might but there's no guarantee that it will you know."

"I know," Scootaloo said. "But in the past, we've managed to weaken the Agent by getting through to the host. Talking to them seems to work sometimes, we have to consider the possibility that it will work this time. I don't know, I just feel like its worth a shot."

"Yeah, maybe," Scootaloo said as she pulled up a picture of Victoria Kane on her phone for a moment. The woman's smiling face looked back at her and she frowned a little bit. What secrets was she hiding? And was she going to regret dredging them up in this case? "I don't know, it just feels like we're missing something somewhere. Why would someone have such a little social media presence in this day and age?"

"I dunno, maybe they used to be someone else," Sweetie Belle said with a shrug as Scootaloo blinked a little and turned to look at her fiance. "What?"

"You might be onto something," Scootaloo said thoughtfully as she looked back at the picture. "I mean, she left Louisianna for some kind of reason, right? Maybe she felt she had no other choice."

"I'll have them run it through facial recognition again," Tempest said as she took out her phone and called Fancy Pants again. "What kind of parameters do you think we should try?"

"I don't know, anything at this point might be true," Scootaloo said thoughtfully. "Try anyone who's had extensive plastic surgery for example or..."

Something clicked in her brain after a moment. She wasn't sure if there was a chance of it being the truth or if it was just her imagination. There was something about the facial features that felt, off to her as she glanced at it for a long moment before finally making a decision.

"Male."

"Male?" Sweetie Drops asked confused.

"We've been working under the assumption that she's a she, right?" Scootaloo asked. "Well, what if she's transgender? That might explain why she's not coming up in any of the records."

Tempest paused a moment before relaying the suggestion to Fancy Pants. "Alright, thank you, hopefully, we'll hear from you soon," she said as she hung up the phone. "Okay, I have to ask, what made you think of that?"

"I don't know, just a theory I had," Scootaloo said as she put her arm around Sweetie Belle for a moment. "Sometimes coming out to your family and friends can be hard. And if she lives in Louisianna and came here so suddenly, I dunno, I thought maybe it was possible at least."

"Yeah," Sweetie Belle said as she looked down at her feet for a moment. "I knew I was interested in girls ever since I was about 10 or 11. I guess it took me a while to come to terms with it too. Though at least my family didn't have much of a problem with it."

"And you had two great friends there ta help yah out too," Apple Bloom said as she hugged Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle. "Ah told yah before, yah got nothin' ta worry about from me."

"But I guess not everyone is so lucky," Scootaloo said with a sigh as she looked up at Tempest and Sweetie Drops. "If I'm right, what do you think this means?"

"Getting to her won't be easy," Tempest commented. "She's used to burying herself at this point probably. She came here to escape that kind of thing and be herself... maybe if you can appeal to that you can..."
Her phone suddenly started going off again and she raised it to her ear. "Agent Shadow here, is there something new?"

"Agent Shadow, we just picked up readings down the street from you," Fancy Pants said on the other end.

"Is it the Agent?" Tempest asked with a determined look on her face.

"No, the signature is much too powerful," Fancy Pants replied. "It's possible that the Devil has come back. I want you and your agents on guard, we need to know exactly what we're dealing with here."

"What is it?" Sweetie Belle asked with a worried look on her face.

"We might've picked something up down the street," Tempest answered as she hung up her phone again. "Come on, we need to get going and fast."

The three younger women nodded as they got up and went to get their gear. Quickly they made their way to the door, whatever was waiting for them out there wasn't going to get a chance to cause problems without them being ready.

00000

"Do you see anything?" Tempest asked as she looked over at Pharynx who was scanning the street ahead of them.

"No, not yet," Pharynx said with a shake of his head. "Maybe it was a false reading?"

"No, not something that powerful, we have to be missing something," Tempest said as she narrowed her eyes at the street behind them for a moment. "Scootaloo, Agent Drops, I want you both geared up just in case. I don't know what we're dealing with here and I'd rather not have to wait."

"Right," Scootaloo said as she and Sweetie Drops took out their Drivers and placed them on their waist. The belts formed around them as they raised the cards and prepared to slide them into their Drivers.

"Henshin!" They said in unison as they slid the cards into the Drivers.

"TIME TO TIP THE SCALES!"

"LOVE CONQUERS ALL THINGS!"

As the armor formed around them and their respective weapons appeared in their hands they heard a light tune being played on a harmonica. They tensed up a little as a humanoid figure started walking towards them. They were dressed in a brown coat and hat over a tie and undershirt as they played the harmonica for a long moment.

"Who are you?" Scootaloo demanded as she pointed her Rapier at the approaching figure.

"Yeah, that's definitely them, I'm picking up a powerful reading on this thing," Pharynx said as he lowered the portable reader and they drew their weapons.

"So uncivilized," the man said as he lowered his harmonica and slid it back into his coat pocket. "I expected much better from the lot of you."

Before they could say anything his form changed. Now he resembled a vaguely humanoid shape with robes and a domino mask with designs on it. He held a staff in his right hand and when he brushed his robes back they saw he had several symbols on his belt resembling the suits of the Minor Arcana.

"Who are you?" Sweetie Drops demanded.

"You may call me Alrasahir," he said with a slight bow. "Once the personal magician of the Master of the Court. Now just a mere wanderer. It's been a while since I saw Kamen Riders though, that brings me back."

"He's the Magician," Sweetie Drops whispered to Scootaloo. "But he was on our side before. What's going on here?

"I can hear you, you know," Alrasahir said as he raised his staff and pointed it at them. "And yes I once worked with one of your kind. But that was a long time ago, I'm simply here on a walk, especially with the Convergence so close again. You really should get out of my way."

"You're still a Commander of the Order," Sweetie Drops said as she raised her bow. "Even if you used to be our ally, you went missing 13 years ago."

"Ah yes that little scuffle with Granforca," Alrasahir said thoughtfully for a moment. "Hardly what I'd call a fair fight really. One Kamen Rider against a Commander? Not exactly an easy task. But still, it provided some entertainment for me. A shame that I had to leave so suddenly really."

"Yeah, a real shame," Scootaloo said as she pointer her rapier at Alrasahir. "So, how about you tell us what you're doing back. Something about this whole thing feels fishy to me."

"Well, of course, I'm hardly going to not fill you in after all," Alrasahir said with a smile as he leaned on his staff for a moment. "The truth of the matter is that I have little interest in continuing this little game you Riders and the Order are playing. That being said, I am not about to let you get in our way again. I've come to realize that perhaps the Master was right about the Convergence being necessary."

He struck the ground with his staff and waves of energy radiated out and knocked Scootaloo and Sweetie Drops back for a moment.

"Yeah, I don't think he's on our side anymore," Lyra said in Sweetie Drops' mind. "This isn't going to be easy, is it?"

"No, its most certainly not," Sweetie Drops said as she narrowed her eyes at the Magician and drew her bow back and fired several arrows at him. Two of them caught him in the chest but he dissipated the others with a wave of his staff.

"Ah, I see that SMILE has learned a few new tricks since I left," Alrasahir said as he held the staff up and pointed it at them. "But then again, so have I. Lightning!"

Lightning crackled from the tip of his staff and shot out at the two of them, catching them in the chest. He chuckled a little bit as he lowered his staff for a moment and gave them a nod.

"Such a shame really, but that's beyond my control," he said as he walked forward and swung his staff around at Scootaloo's head only to have it be caught by her sword. "What the..."

"You may have caught us by surprise, but we've learned a lot over the past few months," Scootaloo said as she kicked him in the chest and sent him flying back. "I just got attacked by your boss, and I've dealt with some rather nasty customers ever since this whole ordeal began. I'm not about to let some Harry Houdini wannabe get the better of me."

"Heh, you've got spunk," Alrasahir said as he raised his staff again and sent a fireball flying at her.

"ARCANA CIRCLE SHIELD!" Scootaloo's Driver said as she slid the card into her disk and the circular shield appeared on her wrist and she used it to block the attack.

"I'm not going to let it be that easy for you," the young woman said as she ran forward and thrust her sword at the magician who tried to block it but he was caught across the chest. "You're a joke, I've dealt with worse from the Agents."

"I see that Justice hasn't lost her touch," Alrasahir said with a wicked grin as he dodged another thrust from Scootaloo's sword. "But she has poor taste in champions. You're just a broken little girl who lost her parents on the worst night of her life and you're trying to fill that space with friends and loved ones."

"Shut up, you don't know me!" Scootaloo said as she spun around and blocked another fireball from Alrasahir as he vanished to avoid another arrow barrage from Sweetie Drops. "I'm not some little girl, I'm going to take you and your whole Order down!"

"Then why's your hand trembling?" Alrasahir said with a laugh. "You know I'm right deep down, you have just as much doubt as anyone else. You know that I'm right and that you're not nearly strong enough to take us down. At least not on your own."

He was about to raise his staff to cast another spell when he suddenly saw a black and green fist flying towards his face as she punched him as hard as she could. He fell back onto his butt, wiping fluid from his mouth as he stared up at Scootaloo who was breathing heavily as she held her sword pointed at his throat.

"You may have been our ally once, but clearly you aren't anymore," she said as she narrowed her eyes from behind the red visor. "You're not going to get away with this you know. I'm going to do everything I can to stop you and the rest of the Order."

"I'd like to see you try," Alrasahir said with a laugh as he grabbed the blade of her sword. "Go ahead and try it, but I don't think you have the guts to actually strike down an unarmed man, even a monster. You don't have that look in your eyes yet, the fighting hasn't worn you down enough."

"Maybe..." Scootaloo said as she hesitated a little. What would happen if she actually finished this guy off? She was about to swing her sword again when suddenly there was the sound of laughter. "What the..."

"Oh please tell me I'm not being rescued by who I think I am," Alrasahir said with a groan.

Well, that's hardly any way to talk about your rescuers," a familiar voice said with a laugh as Kuagua and Granforca came in for a landing on the street near them. "Come now Riders, you didn't think it was going to be that simple did you?"

"You..." Scootaloo said as she looked at Granforca and gripped her sword's hilt harder. "I'm not going to let you get away!"

"You say that like you have a choice in the matter," Granforca said as he cricked his neck a bit. "I'm just here for Alrashir this time so I don't have time to deal with you."

He grabbed Alrashir and pulled him away as he looked at Scootaloo for a moment. "You're going to have to try harder than that anyway."

"Now, I believe our friend here is late for a very important date, so ta-ta!" Kuagua said with a laugh as the three of them vanished.

Scootaloo groaned as she stomped her foot hard, nearly cracking the pavement from the force of her armored foot hitting it. She sighed as she powered down and placed the cards back into her deck box while Sweetie Drops did the same.

"I swear, it's like the Order is having a convention for their Commanders here," Sweetie Belle said as she walked forward and placed her hand gently on Scootaloo's shoulder. "Are you okay, Scoots?"

"Yeah... I'm fine, I think," Scootaloo said as she closed her eyes for a moment. "Just feels like we're running around in circles more than anything. Every time one of those things show up we get a few good hits in at best. How are we actually supposed to stop them?"

"I don't know," Tempest admitted as she crossed her arms. "But we're going to need a plan in case they come back. And we still have to deal with the other monster."

"Right," Scootaloo said as she placed her hand gently on Sweetie's shoulder and gave her a light kiss. "So, what should we do now?"

"For now, let's go back inside and see if the Director has found anything out," Sweetie Drops said as they headed back upstairs together.

00000

"Well, I see you haven't redecorated this place in 13 years," Alrasahir commented as he was lead into the main chamber by Granforca and Kuagua. "Maybe you should try converting an interior design expert, might help brighten this place up a little."

"Very funny," Caesar said with a roll of his eyes as he and Priellit walked over to Alrasahir. "You're already skating on thin ice with us Alrasahir after that stunt you pulled last time. You're lucky you get this second chance."

"Well, with Wanler gone and what's his name flown the coop I don't entirely blame you," Alrasahir said as he leaned on his staff a little. "So, what did you call me here for anyway? Let me guess, you want me to help with the summonings of more powerful Agents or something."

"Right in one," the man in black said as he walked down the steps. "Your power as a summoner has been missed, Alrasahir. I admit I wasn't expecting you to come back willingly, however."

"Yeah, well I've got my reasons, Morningstar," Alrasahir said as the man in black stared at him curiously. "What? I never bought into that old superstition surrounding you that much. Personally, I think you just wanted to create an air of mystery or something. A whole bunch of nonsense if you ask me.”

"What is he doing talking to him like that?" Caesar whispered to Priellit. "He's got some balls on him if he thinks he won't just kill him where he stands."

"Unfortunately with how things are going, he knows that he's the only chance we have at succeeding at this," Priellit pointed out. "He's the only other summoner we have right now after all. If anything happens to him, it'll set back the plan."

"Great, so of course he's able to get away with it," Caesar said with a shake of his head. "Well, since he's here now what is our next move?"

"For now, we need to continue with our current plan," Morningstar said as he walked forward. "Have our Agent hold back. After two attacks they're going to be on edge, we're going to need a new plan."

"Agreed, but I'm not sure what we could do to draw their attention away without summoning another Agent, and the time isn't ready for that," Priellit said as she stroked her chin thoughtfully for a moment. "That's not going to be an easy task. We're going to need to do something to draw the attention away from them at the very least."

"For now, let them sleep," Morningstar said as he adjusted his hat for a moment and leaned on his cane. "The time will soon come that we will emerge victorious. I will make sure that everything is in place."

"Yes, sir," Caesar said with a nod as Morningstar walked off, the sound of his cane hitting the floor as he walked faded into the distance. "Let's hope that he's right."

"If there's one thing I know, it's that Morningstar is not a man to be underestimated," Alrasahir said as he leaned on his staff for a moment. "He is after all second only to the Master. The question is how is he going to deal with this. Right now we don't have a lot of options now do we?"

"No, no we don't," Priellit said as she shook her head. "Well, if there is nothing else then we should return to our duties in the Master's Service."

Alrasahir nodded as he walked up the stairs and into the rest of the building that the Order called home.

00000

The rest of the night went by normally. Though Scootaloo could barely sleep as she looked back at Sweetie who was curled up next to her. There was so much that had happened lately, and she was impressed that her fiance was able to sleep. She smiled softly as she stroked Sweetie's pink and purple hair gently and leaned over and gave her a soft kiss on the forehead.

Finally, after what felt like hours she drifted off to sleep with Sweetie snuggled up against her. She smiled a little as she fell into slumberland. Her dreams were pleasant, filled with her hopes and dreams for her future together with Sweetie Belle.

She just hoped that she'd be able to have that happy life with her.

The next morning they yawned a little as they headed back out into the living room and kitchen area. Tempest and Sweetie Drops looked exhausted as if they had barely slept the night before.

"Are you two okay?" Scootaloo asked as she and Sweetie Belle took a seat at the table in the dining area. "Did we have any luck finding any information?"

"Well, we've been up all night waiting for some sort of result, or me being woken up by Tempest's snoring," Sweetie Drops said with a roll of her eyes as Tempest chuckled lightly. "But yeah, they found something."

"It seems that Victoria Kane used to go by the name Henry Scotts," Tempest said as she read off a tablet. "Born into an old money family in Louisianna. Apparently, when they found out about their daughter they didn't take it well. They've legally disowned her since then. My guess is she left town and headed west to Canterlot to start a new life as herself as you said."

Scootaloo frowned a little bit at that as she thought back. Sweetie Belle had felt very much the same when she was coming to terms with being a lesbian, so she didn't blame Victoria for being afraid. So, why did this make her a target of the Order? What was going on here...

"So, tha question is why tha heck is tha Order usin' her like this," Apple Bloom commented. "Ah mean, based on what we heard from Diamond, they're deal makers, right? What could they offer her?"

"Other than the obvious?" Sweetie Drops pointed out. "There's a lot a group like the Order can offer a person like that. If she's ashamed because of her family they could offer a chance to fix it so to speak. But the Order doesn't do things like that, not really."

"So she's just being used as a pawn," Scootaloo said with a sigh. "Alright, so what can we do?"

"Right now? Nothing, we don't even know where she is," Tempest answered. "Unless she shows up on either satellite readings or CCTV we can't track her."

"And we can't rely on Riderwatch this time," Sweetie Belle added. "If word got out about her, who knows what might happen. Her family might track her down or something."

"Yeah," Scootaloo said as she looked thoughtful for a moment. In truth, she was drawing a blank on exactly what they could do to track her down. "I guess all we can do right now is wait. She's after us, so she's going to have to make a move eventually, right?"

"Right," Sweetie Drops said.

"But they can't just attack us all here," Scootaloo said with a nod as she looked around the apartment for a moment. "We've got strength in numbers here. They'll have to either draw us out or tip their hand by sending more monsters or even Commanders. Something tells me that's not what they're going to do though."

"Why not?" Apple Bloom asked. "It makes sense ta me."

"We're stronger as a group, it's simple divide and conquer," Scootaloo said as she closed her eyes for a moment. "But we can't just leave either. I guess for now we just have to..."

She was cut off when Apple Bloom's phone started ringing. She blinked a little bit when she looked at it and realized that it was Tender taps calling as she answered it.

"Hello? Ah'm sorry this ain't tha best..." she started to say.

"Hey, Apple Bloom? Look I don't exactly know what happened the other day but I've got a bit of a problem," Tender taps said on the other end. "That thing from the other night, she's here."

"What?" Apple Bloom said as the agents' phones started going off.

"Confirmed, we've got three signatures," Sweetie Drops said as she looked at her phone. "And the team we sent to keep an eye on Mr. Taps is reporting the cobra woman has arrived there as well."

"Figures, wait, what are the other two?" Scootaloo asked.

"One is in Whitetail Park and the other is in Canterlot University," Tempest said. "We're the closest teams right now, the Director is telling us to get out there."

"This feels like a trap..." Scootaloo said with a groan as she got up. "Alright, Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, we'll check on Tender Taps' house."

"Right," Apple Bloom said as she went to get their weapons.

"I'll deal with the one at the University," Sweetie Drops said as she headed out of the apartment.

Tempest nodded as she headed out to meet with her team in order to get going to the last location in the Park. She just hoped that they weren't going to be too late.

00000

"Well, I didn't think they'd send you," the Cobra woman said with a fanged grin as Scootaloo and her friends pulled up to the road outside of where Tender Taps lived. "You saved me the trouble of tracking you down I suppose."

"Yeah, well you're going to wish I hadn't," Scootaloo said as she raised her Driver and glared at the Cobra Woman. "I'm going to take you down right here and free Victoria from your clutches."

"I'd like to see you try," Kapasa said as she drew her bow and pulled her bow and fired an arrow at Scootaloo as she rolled out of the way. "I'm never going to give up this body. She agreed to the deal and I'm going to make sure that she keeps up her end of the bargain."

"You have no right to that body," Scootaloo said as she took the Driver out of her jacket pocket and placed it on her waist as it formed around her. Kapasa was about to fire another arrow at her before several shots rang out and hit her in the chest from Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom's guns. "And we're going to take you out together."

"I'd like to see you try," the snake woman said as she bore her fangs at Scootaloo, her forked tongue sticking out as if tasting the air. "You and your little friends can't hold me off forever. And soon this body will be mine forever."

"We'll see about that," Scootaloo said as she grabbed her cards out of her deck box and slid them into her Driver. "Henshin!"

"TIME TO TIP THE SCALES!" The Driver said as the energy once more flowed out of the circle at the center of her Driver.

"I'm not going to let you do it!" Kapasa said as she spat poison at Scootaloo only to have it be caught by the energy and slide off it onto the ground as the armor formed over her and the rapier appeared in her hand.

"Well, I guess that didn't work," Scootaloo said with a chuckle as she pointed her sword at the cobra woman. "I can see your future, and it's not bright."

"That still sounds corny whenever she says that yah know," Apple bloom commented as she lined up another shot on the monster and fired, catching her in the shoulder.

"Yeah, well I figure its just a superhero thing, let's just go with it," Sweetie Belle said as she fired another shot. "I can certainly think of weirder things to be saying."

As the two were talking, Kapasa had looked down at her shoulder and looked up in time to see Scootaloo's fist flying towards her face and connected with it. The snake woman hissed as she took a step back for a moment. "A cheap shot."

"Yeah, well I'm not about to give you another chance to hurt someone," Scootaloo said as she thrust her sword forward only to have it be caught by Kapasa's wrist gauntlets. The snake woman hissed as she struck fast and caught Scootaloo in her shoulder, the armor taking most of the blow but she screamed as she felt the fangs hitting her skin.

Scootaloo pushed her knee up into the snake monster's stomach and kicked her back as she did. She cringed a little when she brushed against her shoulder, that wasn't good. She didn't know if it had been enough to poison her but she wasn't about to let that stop her from fighting this monster.

"Victoria, I know you're in there!" She shouted as she threw another punch into the Cobra woman's face and she cried out as she was struck again. "You know this isn't you!"

"Victoria's not here, she wants this!" Kapasa hissed as she avoided another thrust only to have another bullet hit her in the arm. "I can free her from her pitiful old life! I can give her a chance to be what she was always meant to be!"

"Victoria, you don't have to listen to her," Scootaloo said as she thrust her sword forward, this time catching the cobra in the chest and making her cry out. "You're not a monster or whatever else you've been told. This thing is lying to you!"

"But... she promised... she could make me... who I was meant to be..." the strained voice of Victoria managed to come out of the snake's mouth. "This is my only chance."

"No, this isn't your only chance," Scootaloo said as she gripped the hilt of her rapier and slashed through an incoming spit attack as she reached into her deck box once more. "This is how the Order works. They pray on people at the lowest points of their lives and makes them into monsters. You're being used!"

"You're not going to get through to her," Kapasa hissed as she fired another arrow at Scootaloo, this time catching the Rider in the chest as she fell back a little. "Victoria, you and I both know that this girl can't give you what you truly want. The Order is more powerful than any mere mortal medicine, we can give you exactly what you want."

"Yeah, and at what cost?" Scootaloo said as she slowly got up and drew a card out of her deck box. "You'll lose yourself to the monster. Your family rejected you, right? Well, that doesn't mean you have to spend the rest of your life in fear!"

She quickly slid the card into her Driver as the ornately designed katana appeared in her hands as she held it outright and stared Kapasa down.

"I know what you're going through," Sweetie Belle called over to her. "You're not alone in this world, Victoria. All you have to do is give us a chance to show it to you. Fight back!"

"I..." Victoria's voice started to say.

"DON'T!" Kapasa snarled. "YOU ARE MINE!"

"Listen to that, she wants your body and doesn't care about who you used to be," Scootaloo said as she ran forward and kicked hard at the cobra woman. "And even if she really could give you want you want, do you really want it to be at this high a cost?"

Kapasa started to raise her hand to her bow and pull it back a little bit as she aimed for Scootaloo only to stop.

"What the..." Kapasa said in shock. "No... you're not allowed to resist!"

"Justice, finish this, please!" Victoria said in pain. "I don't know how much longer I can hold her back!"

"You're not going to get away with this, this is my body!" The Cobra Agent protested as Scootaloo leaped up and energy started to gather in her foot as she flew towards the monster.

"JUSTICE KICK!" Scootaloo cried out as she hit the cobra woman square in the chest, shattering her as the card fluttered to the ground. Scootaloo just barely managed to catch Victoria before she fell to the road beneath. "It'll be okay, we're here for you."

"One of yah, call an ambulance," Apple Bloom called to the SMILE agents who were gathering everything together. They nodded as one of them picked up a radio and called it in.

"Is it gone?" Victora asked in a hoarse voice.

"Yeah, it's gone, and it won't hurt you ever again," Scootaloo said with a smile from behind her visor as she picked up the card and put it in her deck to give to Sweetie Drops later. "You're going to be just fine, I promise."

"Thank you," Victoria said weakly as she leaned back and closed her eyes. Scootaloo checked her pulse, it was weak but it was still there. She smiled a little as she gently picked the woman up as the ambulance started to arrive.

"Another one?" The EMT asked as they wheeled out a gurney and Scootaloo placed her gently on it. "It's been a few months since we last had one of these."

"Take good care of her," Scootaloo said with a slight salute as they wheeled her off to the ambulance. She reached into her Driver and took out the cards as she powered down and slid them back into her deck box.

She wondered if maybe she didn't have such supportive family and friends, would she have been just as susceptible to the Order? Would Sweetie Belle have been? She shook her head a little as she walked back to her friends and flinched a little when she realized her shoulder was sore from where the Cobra woman had bitten it.

"Hey Scootaloo, you did good out there," Sweetie Belle said as she kissed Scootaloo gently on the lips. "How are you feeling?"

"Pretty well," Scootaloo said with a sigh as a medic from the SMILE team headed over and started dressing her shoulder wound. "Snake women hit hard, who knew."

Sweetie Belle chuckled a little as she brushed a strand of purple hair out of her fiance's eyes. "But not as hard as Kamen Riders apparently."

Scootaloo smiled a little as she shared a kiss with Sweetie Belle. The two women closed their eyes and enjoyed the moment for the longest time.

"Hey Apple Bloom," Tender Taps said as he walked up to the other young woman. "I'm sorry for calling you all of a sudden but I didn't know who else to call when she showed up."

"It's okay, Ah'd have done tha same in yer shoes," Apple Bloom said as she watched Victoria being loaded up. "This kinda thing ain't easy ta stomach some days."

"Look, I don't even pretend to understand what you and your friends are doing," Tender Taps said. "And I'll admit, being attacked by one of those things did freak me out a little bit. If you want though, I wouldn't mind giving it another try."

"Really? After everythin' that just happened?" Apple Bloom asked as she blinked in confusion.

"Hey, I was inspired by dancers from a town that had its own Riders and everything," Tender Taps pointed out with a chuckle. "I was a bit freaked out is all, you can't really blame me for that. What do you say, want to give this a second try Miss. Bloom?"

"Ah'd be happy ta," Apple Bloom said with a soft smile. "What do yah say we go get a cup of coffee or somethin'?"

"Sounds good to me," Tender said with a smile as he put his arm through her's. "I know a place just around the corner that's perfect."

"Hey Ah'll catch up with ya'll later," Apple Bloom said as she waved to her friends. "Sounds like we're givin' this a second chance."

"Have fun you two," Scootaloo said before adding jokingly. "She better be home by Midnight young man."

They all shared a laugh as Tender Taps and Apple Bloom walked down the street together. Scootaloo smiled a little as she looked at Sweetie Belle for a moment.

"I think those two are going to make it work," she said.

"Yeah, at least I hope so," Sweetie Belle replied with a chuckle. "I think if she had to put up with it much longer she might've asked to join us one night."

"Darn, oh well," Scootaloo said with a smile as she kissed her fiance for a long moment. "I love you Sweetie Belle."

"I love you too," Sweetie answered as they shared a long kiss together.

00000

On the other side of the city in Canterlot University's Quad, Sweetie Drops had already transformed and was looking around for the source of the signal they had picked up from the area. She was about to write it off as a false reading when she heard chucking behind her and she drew her bow and spun around quickly to find Alrasahir standing there in his human guise.

"What are you doing here?" Sweetie Drops demanded of him.

"I believe I don't have to answer to you," Alrasahir said as he pushed the bow down a little. "Put that thing away before you shoot someone's eye out. I just want to talk right now."

"Talk about what?" Sweetie Drops asked as she eyed the man suspiciously. "What would a member of the Court want to talk with a Kamen Rider about."

"You'd be surprised," Alrasahir said with a smile as he adjusted his hat a little and stepped back. "But more importantly, I wanted to tell you something important. The Convergence is coming, possibly sooner than you could ever anticipate."

"And why are you telling me this?" Sweetie Drops asked as she narrowed her eyes from behind her visor. "How do I know you don't have some sort of ulterior motive?"

“You don’t,” Alrasahir said as he leaned on his staff. “But I’m here to tell you something. In order to complete the Convergence, they’re going to need more than just what they have right now.”

“And what do you mean by that?” Sweetie Drops asked.

"The Order is looking for the lost ones, the members of the Court who left during the last two attempted invasions," Alrasahir said as he leaned on his staff a little. "Myself, the Empress, the Hermit, the Hierophant and the Hanged Man. I have reason to believe that another one of the lost ones returned to their grasp recently as well but I have not seen them."

"I see," Sweetie Drops said as she eyed him. "And how are they going to pull off this, Convergence?"

"They need energy, that is what the Agents are for," Aslrasahir said as he shook his head a little. "They need human life force for the Convergence. Even if you defeat them, they're still powering it. That little stunt with the Fangire gave them a boost that I hadn't expected."

"Exactly why are you telling me this? Who's side are you even on?" Sweetie Drops demanded of the man. "Tell me, what's going on?"

"No, not yet," Alrasahir answered with a shake of his head. He reached into his pocket and took out an old fashioned pocket watch. "There isn't much time left, they'll realize I'm talking to you, my spell won't work forever."

He tossed the watch to Sweetie Drops and she caught it. "What's this for?"

"Give that to Director Fancy Pants, he'll understand," Alrasahir answered as he walked off. "In time, everything will make sense, I promise."

And with that, he tapped his staff's bottom against the ground and vanished into thin air. Sweetie Drops frowned a little bit as she pressed her hand against the side of her helmet.

"Director, I just saw Alrasahir again," she said.

"What? What happened? Did he say anything?" Fancy Pants' voice answered.

"Yeah, not a lot that made sense, but it seems like we've got bigger problems than originally anticipated," Sweetie Drops replied. "I'm heading back to HQ."

"Alright, let me know when you're here, we'll give you the full debriefing," Fancy Pants said.

Sweetie Drops climbed back aboard her bike and looked back out onto the quad. Something about all of this was weird to her, why had he approached her like that? What was his game and what else was going on?
She sighed a little as she took off down the road on her bike, she'd have to figure these things out later.

00000

"I have to say, I wasn't expecting to see you again, Miss. Dash," Doctor Heartshine commented as Scootaloo took a seat across from her. "I haven't seen you in a few months, how's everything going?"

"It's been, complicated," Scootaloo said as she looked at the therapist for a moment. "And yeah, I know I've been bad about keeping up the appointments. But the truth is, I've got a lot on my mind lately."

"This is about the dreams you had before?" Heartshine questioned.

"That's one way to put it," Scootaloo said as she looked down at her feet for a long moment. "I guess, what I've been doing now I had hoped that it would help put my mind at ease. It would, you know, help me overcome my past and what happened to my parents."

"And has it?"

"Sometimes, a little," Scootaloo answered as she tried to avoid making eye contact with the therapist. "Then a few months ago I came face to face with the thing that killed my parents. With everything that's going on, I've gotten closer to my friends. Heck, I asked my girlfriend to marry me, but somehow..."

"You don't feel like its enough to make up for what happened to your parents?" Heartshine finished as she raised an eyebrow. "Scootaloo, I don't know everything you're going through right now. And with everything that's going on, things are getting crazy in this city."

"Yeah, tell me about it," Scootaloo sighed.

"But if you want to talk to me about it in more detail, everything that you say here stays between the two of us," Heartshine offered. "You've got nothing to be worried about."

"I..." Scootaloo started to say before she closed her eyes and then opened them again. "I'm Kamen Rider Justice, I've been that ever since this whole thing began a few months ago. I've been fighting the monsters that are plaguing this city for months, and I've seen some screwed up things. I've seen monsters willing to massacre hundreds if not thousands of people. I've seen creatures out of a horror writer's worst nightmares. But today, the reason I actually came here, is because the Order went after someone that I admit it kind of close to home."

"Right, the snake woman, I've seen the Rider Watch Blog," Heartshine said and Scootaloo nodded a little. "What about her hit you so hard?"

"Somehow, it made me think, that if my life had gone differently I could've wound up the same," Scootaloo said as she clasped her hands together a little. "She was transgendered, I'm a lesbian. It's not an easy world for people like us, it never has been. I guess I'm not sure what to think about all of this."

"I see," Heartshine said as she looked at Scootaloo thoughtfully for a moment. "Well, in my experience, there's a lot of what if's and what could have been. But there is only one present. You did what you could to help her, right?"

“Yeah, I did everything I could, and I saved her,” Scootaloo answered with a nod. “I saved her from the monster, but I don’t know. Just feels like I could do more sometimes.”

“Scootaloo, you’re only able to do what little you can do to help people,” Heartshine answered. “I’ve dealt with a few people like police officers and firemen before, and while you may be my first superhero, I do know one thing. Sometimes all you can do is hope that you’ve done enough. You can’t tell them how to live your life Scootaloo, all you can do is give them the chance to.”

“Yeah,” Scootaloo said as she closed her eyes for a moment. “I’m sorry for lumping this all on you. I’m not exactly used to talking to people outside of my friends and everyone else who knows about this.”

“Its okay Scootaloo,” Heartshine reassured her. “You’ll be just fine, and I think so will she. Just do what you can, that’s about all you can do, unfortunately. Are you going to be okay?”

“Yeah, I think so,” Scootaloo said. “Thanks, Doc.”

“Any time,” Heartshine said with a nod. “Now, do you want to talk some more? I’m sure you could use it.”

“Yeah, that sounds good to me,” Scootaloo said as she started to talk about what had been happening since she became Kamen Rider Justice.

The Wiseman's Wand

A woman was seated at the mirror in her apartment as she stared at her reflection for a moment. A tired face stared back at her as she tried to figure out what she was going to do next. With everything that was going on, she still had a lot to think about, and her life just felt like it was getting more and more complicated.

She cringed a little as a sharp pain went up through her arm and grabbed it. She quickly unscrews the lid off a bottle of pills and popped a couple in her mouth as her arm began to glow a little. The arm started to look more bony, almost skeletal as she did. She let out a sigh of relief as it returned to normal.

"These things aren't lasting as long as they used to," she commented to herself weakly as she got up and picked up a black coat and hat off her bed. "But if it’s what it takes..."

She slung them over her shoulder as she headed out the door and down the hall. She smiled softly when she saw a young girl who was about 8 or 9 seated at the table eating cereal.

"Mommy!" She said as she got up and hugged the woman tightly. "I was scared when you didn't get in last night before bed. What happened?"

"Nothing, mommy just had to deal with a few things at work and got held up late," the woman said as she placed a gloved hand gently on her daughter's shoulder. "I'm okay though. Were you good for Auntie Magnolia?"

"Yep!" The little girl answered with a smile that suggested that she wasn't exactly being honest. The smile faded after a moment as she looked up at her mother "Are you going to be out late again tonight? You still have your work clothes with you."

"Probably," the woman replied with a sigh. She hugged her daughter tightly for a moment as she tried not to cry "But I promise, this won't happen forever. Soon, mommy will be here all the time, you have my word."

"You said that already," the little girl said sadly as she went back to the table. "I don't know if I believe you anymore."

The woman's heart fell a little at that as she knelt down next to her daughter. "I promise, I'll be here in time for dinner tonight. How about I go and pick something up on my way home? Does that sound good?"

"Yeah!" The girl said with a smile. "You're really going to do that?"

"Yeah, I promise," the woman said with a smile as she gave her daughter one more hug. "I'll see you tonight, kiddo. Stay safe, okay?"

"Okay," she answered as the woman started towards the door.

"You really shouldn't make promises like that Fizz, you know you might not be able to keep them," a woman with short white hair said as the woman went to open the door. "You know she misses you, she stays up when you're gone hoping that you'll make it home."

"I know Magnolia," the woman said with a sigh as she brushed her hair back a moment and slid her hat on over her hair.

"But sometimes I don't have a choice. As much as I hate it, I've got a duty out there."

"Don't tell me that, tell your daughter that," Magnolia said as she jerked her head back towards the little girl.

"She'll learn when she's old enough to understand," the woman said with a sigh as she swung her black coat on and pulled a cloth up over her mouth.

She placed her hand gently on her Driver in her pocket and sighed a little. She hated having to do this so often, but she knew that the Order had to be stopped one way or another. Even if it meant her daughter hated her, she was going to make sure that she had a future.

"I'll be back tonight, I promise," the woman in black said as she walked out the door and down towards her bike. She swung her leg over it and sped off down the road.

She was going to make sure she kept that promise this time.

00000

"Happy birthday, Scootaloo," Sweetie Belle said as she woke her fiance up the same morning. She was carrying a tray with pancakes and an orange juice as Scootaloo rubbed the sleep out of her eyes.

"You didn't cook those, did you?" Scootaloo asked with a smirk as Sweetie placed the tray on her lap and slugged her a little.

"Very funny, Scoots," Sweetie retorted with a roll of her eyes. "But for your information no I did not. Apple Bloom did and I helped out."

"Thank you," Scootaloo said as she leaned up and gave Sweetie a kiss before she started to eat. It was a few days after they had stopped Kapasa and things had gone pretty much as normal for them. She smiled a little as she took a bite, it actually wasn't that bad. "Anything new today?"

"Well, let's see, there's another report of Kamen Rider Death from Rider Watch," Sweetie Belle said as she looked over the information on her phone. "Apparently she fought against a monster last night outside of town. Doesn't say if she succeeded or not, but apparently, it was the Five of Pentacles."

"Figures, well at least that's one less we have to worry about," Scootaloo said with a shrug. "Though I still wish we knew more about her. That woman is, weird to say the least."

"Yeah, I don't like it either, but at least she seems to be on our side," Sweetie replied. "Still, it feels like she's hiding something big from us."

"I know, but until she actually wants to talk about it we can't really do much about it," Sweetie Belle sighed. "Now come on, we worked hard to get your breakfast just right. You might as well eat it."

"Yes dear," Scootaloo giggled as she leaned over and kissed Sweetie Belle gently on the lips before going back to eating. "And maybe after that, we can have a little dessert."

"Who has dessert with breakfast?" Sweetie giggled.

"Oh, we will," Scootaloo said with a grin as she took a bite of pancakes. "Thank you for breakfast, Sweetie. This really means a lot to me."

"Anything for you," Sweetie Belle said as she placed her hand on Scootaloo's cheek. "You know that, right?"

"Yeah," Scootaloo replied as she went back to eating.

00000

Priellit paused a moment as she took a seat at the table in the main chamber. She reached into her robes and extracted the summoning deck as she looked at it for a long moment. There was something new about it, new energy radiated off of it that she hadn't seen before.

"It seems that the Wheel has decided that the time has finally come," she said as she placed the deck on the table in front of her. "The players are all ready, and the Riders won't stand a chance this time."

"Oh?" Alrasahir asked as he walked in with Caesar and Morningstar close behind. "And why's that?"

"Now that three of us are here, we can do more than just summon weak Agents," Morningstar replied as they approached the table and he placed his hand on the deck. "Indeed, I have not felt this power in a long time. Shall we see what the Wheel of Fortune has in store for us this time?"

They nodded as he drew the top card and smiled a little when he saw what it was. It depicted a man dressed in robes and a hat with a long staff in his hand. "The Page of Wands, curious indeed. A card of ideas but also of self-limit. We are looking for someone who limits themselves, curious, but it shouldn't be a problem to find in the city."

"You'd better be right," Alrasahir said as they placed their hands on the card. After a moment of chanting, the card flew off and vanished into thin air. "The first Face Card, curious."

"Our more powerful servants require a lot more energy," Morningstar pointed out. "And I'm sure that it won't be easy for the Riders to overcome this one. After all, even if a Page is the weakest of the Face cards then they are still leagues above the others."

"Yes, well I believe we have a more immediate concern than Justice and her friends," Caesar said as he waved his hand and the screen turned on to show an image of the woman in black. "We lost another Agent last night because of this woman. She seems to have made it her life's mission to interfere with our operations."

"Kamen Rider Death, indeed she is a problem," Morningstar commented as he stroked his chin thoughtfully for a moment. "What are your suggestions, General?"

"Perhaps we should send our new Agent after her," Caesar suggested. "If we probe her defenses enough we should be able to uncover a weakness. Justice and Amores are one thing, but Death has already proven herself a threat to our plans from 13 years ago. I believe that if she continues to..."

"You've made your case, Caesar," Morningstar answered dismissively. "And I have to agree with you."

"Yes but I believe that if we were able to..." Caesar started to say before what Morningstar had said sunk in. "Wait, you agree with me?"

"Kamen Rider Death is a lone wolf, even with the other Riders she won't get them involved," Morningstar said as he leaned on his cane for a moment. "We can take advantage of that and send an Agent after her. As long as we're careful, we should be able to deal with her before the other Riders get wind of it."

"Right, of course," Caesar said, he hadn't actually expected him to agree with him. "I'm glad you see things my way."

"Of course," Morningstar said as he watched the screen for a long moment. "Once the Agent is formed, I want us tracking him and keep an eye on Death. We are not going to let her get in the way of our plans again."

"I will make sure it's done," Caesar said as he walked off.

"Death... we will see just how good you really are this time," Morningstar mused as he stared at the screen. “Let’s see what your game is this time.”

00000

Fancy Pants stood in his office as he stared at the odd watch that had been given to him by Sweetie Drops for a long moment. This was going to take a lot of explaining, especially if it meant what he thought it meant.

"Director, are you okay?" Fleur asked as she stood in the doorway. "You've been staring at that thing all morning, what is it?"

"Something I gave someone a few years back," Fancy Pants replied as he pocketed the watch and returned to his desk.

"There is a lot going on that you have to understand is necessary to keep hidden from the others. This might mean we have an unexpected ally in high places."

"I see," Fleur said as she walked in and sighed a little. "I didn't think the Magician would turn up again, especially not like this. What do you think is going on?"

"That I couldn't tell you," Fancy Pants said truthfully. "Something about this whole thing is weird."

"Yeah..." Fleur said as there was a knock on the door. "Come in."

"You called?" Tempest asked as she walked into the office and eyed the two of them for a moment. "Can I help you with something?"

"Yes, given recent events we were hoping you could give us some insight into something," Fancy Pants said as he nodded to the chairs across from him as the two women took a seat. "We know from Agent Drops' encounter with Alrasahir that the Order is getting closer to finishing their plans. I'm afraid that the time may soon come that we have to be more forthcoming with some of the information."

"We can't do that," Tempest said with a frown. "They hardly trust her enough as is. And we're still the mysterious government organization to most of them. And after what nearly happened at the Apple Family Farm..."

"What happened there was a snap judgment," Fancy Pants interjected. "Given what kind of people usually attracts the Order's Agents it shouldn't be that much of a surprise."

"Yeah, well I don't like it," Fleur added. "We've been withholding information about the war with the Order from them ever since they first joined. They don't even know about the Order's first attempted invasion yet."

"What happened in '93 was hardly what I'd call an invasion attempt," Tempest said as she leaned on the back of her chair a little. "A few Agents showed up along with the early Commanders."

"Yeah, and he stopped them," Fleur reminded them both. "But that was 26 years ago, they've gotten stronger, and smarter since then. Maybe we should tell them more about what happened before, at least for their own good."

"No!" Tempest exclaimed as she slammed her fist down on the arms of the chair, startling them both. "They know as much as they need to know about the past invasions. I'm not going to burden them with that truth."

"Uh, alright," Fancy Pants said, he was a little confused by her response but gave her a slight nod. "In the meantime, we have a few things to deal with still. How are things going with the Rider Watch side of things?"

"Well, Miss. Tiara is grateful for our contributions to her blog," Tempest said. "Though she's asked a few times if we can meet in person to discuss things."

"Which is at the moment out of the question," Fleur added.

"Right," Tempest said before continuing. "There is however an additional wrinkle. While Rider Watch isn't the only blog out there about the Riders, it is the most reliable and has gained enough of a following. That being said, I have some concerns about other people taking advantage of the situation and using it for more, unscrupulous reasons."

"We knew what we were getting into when we started working with the internet," Fancy Pants sighed as he adjusted his monocle. "Continue talking with Miss. Tiara. Right now she is the best medium we have to not only gain information but to spread it. If there are others out there, then they are not our immediate concern."

"Okay," Tempest said as she got up and gathered together her things. "In the meantime, I should go deal with a few things in the field. I'll be back in a few hours, let me know if there are any reports from around the city."

"Of course," Fancy Pants said as Tempest walked off. He stroked his chin thoughtfully for a moment. Tempest Shadow was an odd woman, and even though he knew more than others, he still felt like he didn't know everything.

"What are we going to do now?" Fleur asked as she looked back at Fancy Pants.

"I don't know, I'm still figuring it out," he answered as he rubbed his temples. "She got another monster last night, didn't kill the host this time so at least she showed some restraint. Here's hoping that it continues."

"Yeah," Fleur said as she brushed her hair back a moment. "I should get back to work."

"I'll talk to you later, Fleur," Fancy Pants replied as she headed out. He went back to work and shuffled the papers a little for a moment.

This wasn't going to be easy, but they would figure it out. This was going to be hard to explain to Scootaloo and the others though when it came to that.

00000

"Hey, how's the birthday girl?" Rainbow Dash asked from Scootaloo's computer as she sat at the table. "You haven't gone crazy from everything that's been going on there have you?"

"No more than usual," Scootaloo said with a laugh as Rainbow Dash smiled a little. "And you better be careful how you talk, you might get dragged into your own crazy adventures one of these days. It's a weird world after all."

"Yeah, don't remind me," Rainbow said as she leaned back a little. "Though at least in New York I only have to deal with the normal crazies. Well, you know normal for New York."

"So, not really normal at all," Scootaloo giggled. "But I'm glad to hear from you. How are mom and dad doing?"

"Good, good, they're looking forward to me and Fluttershy coming down for your wedding, they just want to know when it's going to be," Rainbow answered.

"Oh, didn't we tell you? We eloped last week and ran off to Vegas," Sweetie Belle said jokingly as she moved behind Scootaloo and waved at Rainbow.

"Very funny Sweetie," Scootaloo said with a roll of her eyes. "But seriously we're still kind of figuring that out. We're thinking in a couple of months, give everyone enough time to get down here."

"Have you talked to Pinkie about catering yet?" Rainbow asked. "I think she's been planning the cake ever since you two started dating."

"Oh boy, you just knew that was going to come up," Sweetie groaned.

"Yeah, see, we wanted Pinkie, but..." Scootaloo answered as she tried to figure out how to say this without giving too much information out. "Someone who knows about, you know, the Justice thing said that it might be better to get some special help for the wedding from Japan. Besides, she'd be coming all the way here from New York and I don't want to impose or anything..."

"Is there something you're not telling me?" Rainbow asked incredulously. "Seems kind of odd to call special caterers in from Japan."

"There's a concern over the Wedding's Security," Scootaloo said with a sigh. "They wanted to bring in a little extra help just in case something happened. Look, I can talk to him and maybe we can work something out."

"Yeah, well she might not be happy about that," Rainbow said with a sigh before changing the subject. "So, other than that, how are you doing?"

"Pretty good, I won't lie and say it's been easy, but I'm doing okay," Scootaloo replied as she placed her hand on Sweetie Belle's. "With everything that's been going on though, its been a bit weird lately."

"Well, I think Rarity's got her own concerns about everything that's going on over there, especially after what happened when they visited," Rainbow Dash sighed. "Not to mention there's this weird blog going around..."

"What? Rider Watch? They've been nothing but helpful so far," Scootaloo said as she blinked in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

"No, no, something started by one of those weird internet celebrities," Rainbow answered with a shake of her head. "What was her name... Valencia something I think. I don't know, I never followed it personally, but I think some of Fluttershy's students follow her or something. Apparently, she's been posting some Rider related material lately, I don't know all the details."

"Weird," Sweetie Belle said as she flipped through some things on her phone.

"Sorry, we're getting off subject, I didn't call you to talk shop after all," Rainbow added with a shake of her head. "So, what are you going to do to celebrate your birthday? Any plans?"

"The usual really, just going out for dinner with Sweetie Belle," Scootaloo answered. "There's really not much else to do around here as long as something doesn't interrupt us."

"Again," Sweetie added with a roll of her eyes.

"Well, who knows they may give you the day off," Rainbow said. "Just be careful, okay? I don't want something to happen to you."

"Don't worry, we'll be fine," Scootaloo said with a soft smile. "There's still a lot we have to do around here sure, but we don't have to do this alone so there is that. I think we're going to be okay."

"Okay, good," Rainbow said with a smile. "But if you ever need anything, Twilight's brother works in the Canterlot Police Department. I'm sure if anything ever comes up you can give him a call."

"Yeah, I'll keep that in mind," Scootaloo said as she checked the time. "I'll talk to you later, okay Rainbow? I should probably get to work."

"Okay, take care, both of you," Rainbow said as she ended the call.

"So, what now?" Sweetie asked as she rubbed Scootaloo's shoulders a little. "It seems that Rainbow's worried about you to me."

"Yeah, I don't blame her for that," Scootaloo said as she leaned on her hand a little. "I just hope she's right. With everything that's going on, a day off would be nice."

“Yeah, but we both know it’s not likely to happen,” Sweetie sighed. “We got lucky with the past few months. I don’t think it’s going to happen again anytime soon.”

Scootaloo sighed and nodded a little as she placed her hand on Sweetie’s. She smiled a little as she closed her eyes and leaned on her fiance’s arm. She knew that there wasn’t going to be much of a chance of them having a quiet day. So for now, she just wanted to enjoy a moment with the woman she loved.

“Happy birthday to me…” She said with a soft smile.

“Happy Birthday, Scootaloo,” Sweetie said as she leaned down and gave her a kiss on the lips.

00000

The woman dressed in black pulled her bike into an alleyway in downtown Canterlot. She reached into her coat and took out her revolver and loaded bullets into it just in case. She didn’t like having to deal with this kind of thing, but sometimes it was the best option for getting information on the Order’s Agents.

“So, the Shadow decided to show up today after all,” a voice said from the alley ahead of her.

“You know why I’m here, Grimes” she said as she lowered the revolver. She wasn’t about to put it away when she was in this kind of situation. “I’m looking for information. Do you know anything about any of the other monsters appearing in the city?”

“Not since you dealt with the one with the Carbine last night,” Grimes replied as he flicked on a lighter and lit a cigarette. “With the mayor’s press conference a while back, even the criminals are starting to wise up. Having the Grim Reaper hunting them doesn’t exactly help matters.”

“I’ll manage somehow,” the woman in black retorted as she shook her head. She reached into her pocket and took out a wad of bills and placed it in his hand. “Let me know if you find anything else, okay?”

“You’ll be the first call I make,” Grimes said with a snort as he pocketed the cash. “Pleasure doing business with you.”

The woman just snorted as she started back towards her motorcycle, still shooting the man looks as he smoked his cigarette. She was about to pull herself over her motorcycle when out of the corner of her eye she saw something flying right at her.

She quickly dodged it as she raised her pistol as it flew back towards whoever had thrown it.

“I didn’t think the Avengers were in town…” The woman snorted a little as she aimed towards the approaching figure. “Or are you going to get a lawsuit from the God of Thunder?”

“Heh, I didn’t think Kamen Rider Death would be such a comedian,” the figure said in a male voice. A robbed figure with armoring stepped forward. He had a vaguely humanoid face with a beaked nose that resembled that of a bird. He was mostly black and grey with a golden circle on his chest with an image of a crossed wands with a strange symbol over them. He was holding an elaborately designed hammer in his hand and grinned as he pointed it at the woman. “The Order’s been after you for a while, Deathy. You just made the mistake of revealing yourself too early.”

“Or maybe I wanted to draw you out,” the woman said as she fired several shots at the encroaching monster. With her free hand she grabbed the Driver out of her coat and placed it on her waist as it formed around her. “Hen… shin!”

“THE PALE HORSE RIDES AGAIN!”

The energy flowed over her as her black and silver armor appeared over her as the revolver appeared in her hand. She ran forward, firing shots at the monster who blocked it with his hammer as he pointed it at her.

“You’re not going to win this, Death,” he said as he pointed his hammer at her and energy swirled around it. “You may be strong, but I’m even stronger than you will ever be!”

“We’ll see about that,” Death said as she fired more shots at him as he danced around them as he laughed loudly. “You’re really getting on my nerves.”

"Well, you're no fun then," the monster laughed as he pointed his hammer at her and smiled with a fanged grin. "You're going to regret you ever came back. I'm going to make sure of it!"

He cackled like a madman as he ran forward and swung his hammer around and caught Death across the face. She stumbled back a little as she steadied herself. The armor had absorbed most of the blow, but it had hurt, badly. She steadied herself as she reached into her deck box and took out another card.

"I'm not about to let you get away with this," she said as she raised the card and slid it into her Driver.

"ARCANA SHOTGUN!" The Driver exclaimed as the ornate shotgun appeared in her hands and she aimed at the monster and pulled the trigger sending a small burst of energy into him as he fell back.

"Still favoring guns I see? What's the old saying about Samuel Colt?" The man laughed as he swung his hammer around and hit Death square in the chest, sending her flying into the wall behind her. "Guess he didn't make us all equal after all."

"Laugh it up, at least I don't look like a birdbrain," Death scowled as she got to her feet again. She could feel the pain from the impact of the hammer's strike. This wasn't some normal Agent, there was only one thing that could possibly be that powerful. "Though I have to say, I wasn't expecting them to be able to send a Face Card."

"Well, let's just say we're full of surprises," the monster laughed. "Lauoga at your service. I must say it's an honor to be able to fight you, too bad that honor won't last long."

He cackled as energy gathered in his hammer again as he threw it once more. It flew out and hit Death square in the chest as she found herself trapped against the wall as he walked forward.

"I know who you really are," he revealed as he moved in close to her ear. "I know what you hold dear, and I'm going to take it from you. When I'm done, you will suffer for all you've done against the Order. Every Agent killed, every life you stole, I am karma and justice come back to haunt you."

He laughed wickedly as he grabbed the handle of the hammer and started to swing it again when an energy arrow hit him from behind. He spun around as he saw Sweetie Drops already transformed standing there. She was pulling back on her bow again as she prepared to fire again.

"Let her go," she ordered as she fired another arrow at him and caught him in the chest this time. "I'm not going to let you hurt her or anyone else."

“Ah, Kamen Rider Amores,” Lauoga said as he brushed himself off and looked at her. “I should have known you’d show up.”

“I had this under control,” Death said as she brushed herself off and pointed her shotgun at the monster. “Your help wasn’t needed.”

“Yeah, just keep telling yourself that,” Sweetie Drops said as she fired another arrow at the monster who stumbled back. “Just because you’re stronger than what we’ve fought before doesn’t mean we can’t stop you.”

Lauoga laughed a little at that as he ran right at Sweetie Drops with his hammer held up high. She rolled out of the way and prepared to fire another arrow at the monster when he ran past without even swinging the hammer and stopped and looked back at them.

“As long as I’m out here, no one is going to be safe,” he said with a fanged grin. “Maybe I’ll start with your family, Deathy. You’re not going to be able to protect them forever!”

He laughed before vanishing into thin air. Death growled as she reached for her Driver and removed the cards as she powered down. She adjusted her hat a little and headed back towards her bike.

“Wait, what was he talking about?” Sweetie Drops asked as she powered down. “Who is he going after?”

“None of your business,” the woman said as she swung her leg over her bike and secured her helmet over her masked face. “If he’s going to threaten my family, I’m going to protect them.”

“We can help you, that guy was really beating the crap out of you back there,” Sweetie Drops pointed out as she walked towards the strange woman. “Your family is in danger. SMILE can help you keep them safe.”

“I don’t need your help,” the woman snapped. “They have nothing to do with this. I will keep them safe.”

She started her bike up and drove off before Sweetie Drops could say anything else. She sighed a little and took out her phone and called Fancy Pants. “Director, we’ve got a problem.”

“What is it?” Fancy Pants asked over the phone.

“I ran into Kamen Rider Death, she was fighting that monster we detected,” Sweetie Drops answered as she rubbed her temples a little. “I found out why the reading was so powerful too, we’re dealing with a Page, probably the Page of Wands.”

“Great,” Fancy said. “Did you learn anything?”

“Not about who they are, but he seemed to know something about Death,” Sweetie Drops frowned. “He said he’s going after her family. Do you know anything about that?”

There was a long pause on the other end as if Fancy Pants was trying to figure out what to say. Sweetie Drops frowned a little as she waited for an answer. Did he know something that she didn’t? Who even was Kamen Rider Death?

“Agent Drops, for the moment you should leave her alone,” Fancy Pants finally replied. “If we get a reading again we can send you to help. Unfortunately, this is how we’re supposed to work with her.”

“I don’t understand,” Sweetie Drops commented. “Exactly what is going on with her?”

“It’s not my place to talk about it,” Fancy Pants replied. “Give her time and she’ll be fine at least. She is capable of defending herself.”

“Yeah, I know, but she wasn’t doing well last time,” Sweetie Drops said with a sigh. “Alright, I’ll take your word for it. Let me know if anything else happens.”

“Understood, take care Agent Drops,” Fancy Pants replied and hung up the phone.

Sweetie Drops sighed as she went back to her bike and put her helmet on. She climbed on it and took off back towards her home.

00000

“Yes, thank you Director, we’ll keep an ear out in case we’re needed,” Sweetie Belle said as she spoke to Fancy Pants over the phone. It was after work that day as she headed back into the apartment. “Thanks for letting us know.”

“Let me guess, our day off just got cancelled,” Scootaloo said as Sweetie Belle hung up. “What is it now?”

“Apparently there’s been another monster attack,” Sweetie sighed as she laid down on the couch. “Apparently Kamen Rider Death and Agent Drops fought it. Though, they’re not really sure what they’re going to do if they come back.”

“Figures,” Scootaloo said as she let Sweetie Belle rest her head on her lap. “Did they know what the monster was?”

“Sounds like the Page of Wands, figures that we’d finally run into a Face Card,” Sweetie commented as she closed her eyes. “But he said that we’re not needed, at least not right now. Apparently the monster said he knows something about Death’s family. He said he’d call us again if they need our help.”

“Okay,” Scootaloo commented as she stroked Sweetie’s hair lightly. “I guess I can’t even have my Birthday off. I’m not even sure what to do right now. What do you think I should do now?”

“I think you should relax,” Sweetie replied. “You don’t have to do anything just yet, he said that Death and Agent Drops are going to be taking care of this. He’ll only call if you’re actually needed, so just relax, okay?”

“Okay,” Scootaloo said as she leaned back a little. “I swear, ever since this started I’ve been more paranoid than ever that something is going to happen. I wonder if this is how Rainbow felt when she started with the police.”

“Probably,” Sweetie Belle replied as she closed her eyes. “Maybe you should talk to her about it, if anyone can understand who is a Rider, it might be her. So, what are you going to do now? I’m not even sure if they’re going to call us.”

“Yeah,” Scootaloo said as she closed her eyes. “One heck of a birthday, isn’t it?”

“Well, it’s going to be hard to top my last birthday,” Sweetie said with a soft smile. “That was the most romantic birthday I’ve ever had. I love you more than anything.”

“I love you too,” Scootaloo smiled. “So, why do you think the monster went after Kamen Rider Death?”

"Who knows, it feels like we don't know anything about her," Sweetie Belle answered and sighed a little. "I guess if he somehow knew who she was then that might give him a reason to go after her. Especially since apparently she's been causing them trouble since before you even started."

"Yeah," Scootaloo said with a sigh. "I just wish that we knew more about her. There's just something incredibly odd about her, I can't place my finger on it but she seems almost familiar."

"Yeah, I know what you mean," Sweetie Belle said. "So, Apple Bloom is going to try a second first date with Tender Taps. What would you like to do together for your birthday?"

"Mmm, maybe I want to unwrap my present first," Scootaloo replied with a grin as she leaned down and kissed her fiance gently on the lips. She played with the pale woman's shirt a little, causing Sweetie Belle to giggle.

"Mmm, such a naughty girl trying to get a peek," Sweetie Belle laughed as she kissed back. "Come on, let's just enjoy our evening together. We can order dinner in a bit or something, sound good?"

"Sounds perfect," Scootaloo answered as she kissed Sweetie again and started pulling up her shirt.

00000

"Mommy, you're home!" The little girl cried out as she ran in as the woman dressed in black stumbled her way into the apartment. She was holding something to her head as she flinched a little when the girl hugged her. "Are you okay? What happened?"

"Mommy's fine," the woman replied as she placed her hand gently on her daughter's head. The pain was already fading, but she was still bleeding from the wounds left by Lauoga. It hurt a lot, but she was going to be just fine.

"Come on Dawn, how about you go set the table, I need to have a word with your mother," Magnolia said as she walked up to the pair. "We'll join you in a moment."

"Okay," Dawn said as she headed towards the kitchen and dining room to start getting everything together.

"Well, it looks like someone's been getting into trouble," Magnolia said with a sigh as she nodded towards the bedroom. "Come on, I'll get you patched up."

"I'll be fine, my wounds will heal," the woman said with a shake of her head.

"Yes, but until then you'll be bleeding all over the place, and I don't want to worry Dawn," Magnolia said as she narrowed her eyes a little at her. "So I'm going to get you patched up. Besides, your healing ability isn't going to be able to heal you all the time."

"Yeah, yeah, I know," the woman said with a sigh as she was lead into the bedroom. Magnolia reached under the bed as the woman removed her coat and shirt, leaving her in a bra and pants as Magnolia finished and looked back at her and cringed a little.

"What did you get into a fight with anyway?" She asked with a frown. "You look like you got hit by a truck."

"Was a hammer actually," the woman answered as she tossed her hat to the side.

"A hammer? What did you do, get into a fight with Thor?"

"Very funny, but that's not too far off with how that hammer worked," the woman groaned. Magnolia sighed and started to work on bandaging her up. "It was a Page monster this time. The Order hasn't sent out a face card yet, I wasn't expecting to send one now."

"Doesn't that require three summoners or something?" Magnolia asked. "That's what you told me at least."

"Yeah, but then again the Magician showed up recently," the woman pointed out. "That would give them the ability to summon more powerful Agents. If I had to guess, that would be the answer. But I'm still confused as to why he joined up with them."

"I'm sure he has some sort of reason, they don't share everything you know," Magnolia said as she finished bandaging the woman up. "Okay, there's not much point in putting this off anymore. You're in bad shape and your healing isn't working as fast as it's supposed to anymore. You're in bad shape and you're going to reach your limit sooner or later."

"I'll be fine," the woman groaned as she shrugged it off. "Just as long as I have you here to patch me up."

"Me being able to patch you up isn't going to do you any good if you wind up dead," Magnolia sighed as she finished with the woman. "And Dawn is starting to catch on that something is up with you. You can't keep lying to her forever you know."

"I know," the woman said with a sigh as she brushed her hair back for a moment as she closed her eyes. "I'm not even sure how I'd tell her. Hey Dawn, your mother is actually a Kamen Rider who hunts and fights monsters every day."

"Given how popular Kamen Riders have become, she might like that," Magnolia laughed. "But, yeah that might not be a good idea given everything that you do. So, what are you going to do?"

"I'm not sure yet, but I'll figure it out somehow," the woman said as she pulled her t-shirt on over her bandages. "It's not something that would be easy to tell her. She's a good kid, but I'm afraid that telling her might make things worse."

"You're going to be okay," Magnolia said as she placed her hand gently on the woman's shoulder. "Come on, let's go have dinner together."

"Yeah, sounds good to me," the woman sighed as she got up. The pain shot through her chest again as her wounds pressed against the shirt and bandages. "Right now, the last thing I want to think about is monsters or Kamen Riders."

"Of course," Magnolia agreed as they got up together. The older woman smiled a little at her friend as they headed back towards the bedroom door. "For now, let's just enjoy the evening together, okay?"

The woman nodded as they headed out into the dining area together. The woman paused a moment when she realized she was hearing Dawn talking as if she was talking to someone. She glanced back at Magnolia and mouthed at her to get her Driver. Magnolia nodded as she headed back into the bedroom as the woman came out of the hallway and turned around to see who her daughter was talking to.

"Oh hey mommy," Dawn said as she turned to see her there. Seated across the table was a man with a white shirt and vest with a black hat pulled over his head. "He said he knew you from work."

"You!" The woman said as she recognized the odd aura around the man. "What are you doing here?"

"I told you that I knew things about you," the man answered with a wicked smile as he got up. "Your daughter is so charming though, I couldn't resist waiting for you a little longer."

The woman scowled as she ran forward and threw her fist right at the man as he changed to his monster form and caught her hand with a clawed hand. He laughed loudly at that as Dawn screamed and ran into the kitchen. Her mother glared at the monster and kicked hard at Lauoga. The hammer-wielding monster stumbled back for a moment as he raised his weapon at her.

"You're good, I wasn't expecting you to be that strong..." Lauoga said as he got up again and swung his hammer around and caught her in the chest. She cried out as she slammed into the table, breaking it as she fell to the floor with a groan. The monster reached down and grabbed her by the shirt as he pulled her up. "I'm not going to kill you, not yet Deathy. I'm going to draw it out as long as..."

He was cut off when there was the crack of something hitting him on the head and he let her go. He quickly spun around to see Magnolia standing there holding a metal bat in her hands as she tossed the Driver and cards to the woman.

"Catch!" She shouted as the woman caught them and pulled herself to her feet. She held herself upright as she held her Driver and placed it on her waist.

"Hen... shin!" She said as she slid the two cards into her belt.

"THE PALE HORSE RIDES AGAIN!" The Driver said as the black and silver armor formed over her and the black and gold revolver appeared in her hand.

"Leave my family alone!" Kamen Rider Death said as she fired several shots into the monster's chest. He stumbled back in shock as Magnolia ducked under his arm and ran into the kitchen to get to Dawn. "Magnolia, get Dawn out of here. There's a white van across the street, get to it and tell them what's going on."

Magnolia didn't have to say anything as she grabbed Dawn who was watching in terrified awe as her mother ran forward at the man and slammed her fist hard into his jaw. Lauoga tried to swing his hammer around and hit her, only to have her catch his hand.

"You're fighting harder than before, must be because you're fighting for something more this time," he said with a cackle. "I'm going to make sure that your daughter's death is slow and painful."

"I won't let you," the woman said as she wrenched the hammer from his hands and swung it around, hitting him square in the face. "I have no tolerance for monsters like you. You're not going to hurt my family!"

She pressed the barrel of her pistol against his chin and fired several energy bullets up into his head. He cried out as he fell back onto the floor, his hammer flying back into his hand as she moved in closer, slamming her foot down on his arm and holding it in place as she pointed her pistol right at his head.

Even from behind the woman's mask, Lauoga could recognize the fury in her. She wasn't just about to take his power, she was going to kill him. She raised her armored fist up high and was about to slam it down into his chest when he raised his hammer as best he could and slammed it down, breaking the floor open and dropping them down to the floor below, which was luckily an empty apartment.

Kamen Rider Death managed to get to her feet as Lauoga stood up, in pain and breathing heavily as he pointed his hammer at her. "You... this isn't over... I'm going to get you... eventually..."

"I'm not going to let you!" Death shouted as she ran at him, energy gathering in her fist as she prepared to strike him down when he vanished into thin air. "SON OF A BITCH!"

She fell onto the ground as the adrenaline slowly left her system and she powered down. She sat there for the longest moment, breathing heavily as she did. That thing, she didn't want to call it a man, not anymore, he was after her daughter and she was not about to let him get away with that.

She looked up towards the hole in the ceiling for a long moment. She had done everything she could to keep her two lives separate ever since she fought the Order 13 years before, and now that was all falling apart. She closed her eyes as she fell back on the floor, tears starting to fall from her eyes as she did.

She barely noticed as the door to the apartment was broken open as SMILE Agents came in guns drawn as if expecting the monster to still be there. All they found was the woman lying exhausted on the floor from the battle.

"I didn't expect to see you here," a familiar voice said as she opened her eyes to see Sweetie Drops standing over her. She reached down and offered the woman a hand. "You've got a lot to explain, Agent Shadow."

Tempest Shadow groaned a little at that. She knew she was right though, this was going to be hard to explain.

00000

"Well, that didn't go according to plan..." Lauoga groaned as he held his chest for a moment. After the earlier fight with Tempest Shadow, he hadn't expected her to put up that much of a fight, even while protecting her family. "This is far from over though, I'll get you eventually."

"Holy crap, you're one of those Order Agent things aren't you?" A voice asked and he looked over to see a woman standing there holding a phone as she eyed him curiously. She had pink hair and was dressed in a pink and white blouse with a brown vest over it. "Oh, this is going to be so good for my viewers, an actual encounter with a monster!"

"What the hell is wrong with you lady?" Lauoga asked as he pulled himself up. "Who are you and what do you want?"

"Oh yes, yes, I'm Vignette Valencia," she said with a smile. "I'm in Canterlot looking into the Kamen Riders, totes exciting you know. And, well, you're the first thing I've ever run into. Can I ask you some questions? Where are you from? How long have you been a big bird faced thing? Do you have anything you want to say to the internet?"

Lauoga looked at her like she was crazy for a moment. Anyone in their right mind would be more scared of him than anything else, then again this may actually give them an edge.

"You want to know about Kamen Riders, huh?" He asked with a grin. "I can tell you all about Kamen Riders."

"Oh?" Valencia said, even more interested now as she started filming on her phone. "How about we start with Justice, I mean she's the one that started this whole fad in the City, right? What do you know about her?"

"Oh, I can do so much better than that," Lauoga laughed. "How would you like an exclusive? I can tell you all about Kamen Rider Death."

Valencia raised an eyebrow at that. There were only rumors about a skull themed Kamen Rider in the city so far, was this actually a chance to get information that not even Rider Watch knew about yet? She grinned broadly and moved in closer.

"Tell me more."

00000

"Mommy, are you okay?" Dawn asked as she ran up to Tempest who was being helped out of their apartment complex by two agents. "What happened?"

"I'm okay sweetie," Tempest replied weakly as she tried to put on a brave face for her daughter. "Are you and Auntie Magnolia okay? Did you make it out of the apartment without any problems?"

"Yeah, we're fine," Dawn said as she hugged her mother tightly. Tempest looked down at her with a soft smile as she placed her hand on her shoulder as best as she could. "Are you going to be okay, mommy?"

"I don't know," Tempest admitted as they were helped to the van where Magnolia was standing. "We're going with these people to where Mommy works, okay? We'll be just fine, Mommy just needs some... help..."

And with that, she slumped over into unconsciousness. The last thing she saw before her eyes closed was her daughter's face in a silent cry.

The Death Mask

The Death Mask

"What happened?" Scootaloo asked as she and her friends made their way into the infirmary of the SMILE base. "Was she attacked by one of the Order's monsters?"

"Yes, unfortunately, it went after her in her home," Fancy Pants replied as they stopped them from going too far in. "She's in bad shape right now, the monster really hurt her hard."

"Look, Ah'm glad she's okay and all, but why didn't yah tell us she was Kamen Rider Death?" Apple Bloom asked as she crossed her arms a little. They had been briefed on their way over after getting the call about the attack on Tempest and her family. "That would've been really useful information ta know."

"That was by her request," Fleur answered. She looked over at Magnolia who was holding Dawn close, the girl was asleep but they could tell she had been crying. "Tempest didn't want anyone to know she was Death so she could keep her two lives separate and her family safe. Until now it's worked for her as we've kept the Order from going after them."

"So, what changed?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"Honestly, we don't know," Fancy Pants replied. "It's possible that they recently found out from their agent in the Agency. It's also possible that they've always known and have just been biding their time. Regardless, the Order knows something that we would have rather kept secret. Agent Shadow nearly got killed by the Order years ago, and as such wanted to avoid getting involved unless absolutely necessary."

"Yeah, that really worked," Sweetie Belle sighed. "Is she going to be okay? I mean, if she's a Rider shouldn't the card spirit be healing her like Scootaloo?"

"Well, yes, but something seems to be wrong with that," Fancy Pants replied as he adjusted his monocle. "We're having Flim and Flam look into it now. But the fact of the matter is that for some reason, the healing effect of the card spirit isn't working and we don't know why."

"It hasn't been working for a while," Magnolia said from her seat. "I've been patching her up as best I can, but the fact of the matter is that her healing isn't working like it should be. I can't explain it though, and she doesn't want to talk about it either."

"That might mean that she's not in full sync with the Death card," Fleur said thoughtfully. "But that doesn't make sense either. If she wasn't in full sync then she wouldn't be able to transform."

"So, what really is going on with her?" Scootaloo wondered as she looked into the other room where the Agency's medical team was working on Tempest. "It feels like just as we're getting some answers about her, she's just raising more questions."

"Agent Shadow has always kept to herself," Fancy Pants pointed out. "She gets the job done, but that's about it really. It is her choice to open up or not. Magnolia, has she been acting weird lately?"

"No weirder than usual," Magnolia answered. "She's been a bit more irritable sure, and she's still hunting down the monsters practically every day now. I think she's still mad about... you know, what happened before."

"What happened before?" Scootaloo asked.

"Nothing that concerns you, but needless to say Agent Shadow has a good reason for doing what she does," Fancy Pants replied. "Give her time, she may come around. But for now, I believe you should give her space."

"Okay," Sweetie Belle said. "So why did you call us here?"

"With Agent Shadow down, we need all the help we can get in dealing with the Page of Wands monster," Fleur answered. "And we have to tread with caution. When he fought against Agent Shadow, he nearly killed her."

"Great, just what we need," Sweetie Belle sighed. "He was able to fight off two Riders, are we really going to be able to do this with only Scootaloo and Agent Drops?"

"That we don't know yet," Fancy Pants replied. "The fact of the matter is that our hands are tied right now. But now we know what we're up against and we have time to prepare. For now, I want you all to stay here in the HQ, the last thing we need is to put you at risk."

"We might as well just move in here at the rate things are going," Sweetie Belle sighed as Scootaloo put her arm around her gently.

"It'll be okay, we'll get through this... again," Scootaloo reassured her and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "I won't let anything happen to you."

"Thanks, Scoots," Sweetie said as the two of them took a seat. "So, what are we going to do now? The thing that attacked her is still out there in the city somewhere."

"We have all our eyes looking for him," Fancy Pants said. "I don't like this any more than you do, to be honest. I only agreed to keep Agent Shadow's identity secret because she was able to protect herself before. I didn't think something like this would happen."

"Yeah, we'll figure this out and take him down together," Scootaloo said with a nod. "We're going to have to take him down before he gets any worse."

"The question now is how," Sweetie Belle agreed.

Across the Room, Apple Bloom had taken a seat next to Magnolia and Dawn. Magnolia looked at her for a moment, nodding down to the little girl who was still asleep.

"Hey, Ah just wanted ta see if everythin' is okay," Apple Bloom said quietly. "How's she holdin' up?"

"Pretty well, all things considered, I think she's still in shock though," Magnolia answered as she stroked the girl's hair lightly. "She didn't know about Tempest being Kamen Rider Death. She wanted to keep it from her for as long as possible to keep her safe. It didn't do her much good."

"Ah'm sorry," Apple Bloom said softly as she looked down at Dawn. "So, you're Tempest's..."

"I'm the live-in Nanny and her impromptu nurse," Magnolia said as she shot Apple Bloom a look. "What did you think I was?"

"Oh trust me, with tha company Ah keep not much would've surprised me at this point," Apple Bloom replied. "Sorry, Ah shouldn't have assumed."

"It's okay," Magnolia said. "Really, when you get past that hard exterior, she really is a good woman. But the truth is that Tempest isn't looking for relationships, let alone one with me. Dawn is the only family she has or needs in her mind. I don't take it personally, she's not really my type anyway."

"Yeah," Apple Bloom said. "How'd yah two meet? If Ah may ask."

"During the last invasion, my ex-boyfriend got turned into an Agent," Magnolia answered. "He nearly killed me but Tempest saved me. We became friends after that and like I said, I've become kind of her impromptu nurse. I honestly didn't like her getting involved in this whole thing again, especially not with Dawn around this time."

"I think that's something yah and Sweetie Belle would agree on," Apple Bloom commented as she looked at her two friends. "Those two have gotten closer since everythin' started. But it ain't exactly helpin' with their relationship."

"Yeah, I'm sure it hasn't," Magnolia replied as she looked down at the little girl for a moment. "Tempest thinks very highly of all of you."

"She does? She doesn't show it," Apple Bloom pointed out as she looked back towards the room where Tempest was lying. "She's cold and distant at best.

"She has her reasons, just give her a chance to warm up to you, there's not really much else you can do honestly," Magnolia replied. "But the way she talks about you, I can tell that she respects you a lot. I'd give her a chance is all."

Apple Bloom thought about that for a moment before smiling and nodding. "Yah really care about her don't you?"

"She's the best friend I've ever had," Magnolia smiled as she placed her hand gently on Dawn's shoulder. "I've been doing what I can to help her and Dawn. You and Sweetie Belle are the same for Scootaloo. Just be careful out there, okay? The last thing we need is for something to happen to you two."

"We will," Apple Bloom said as she looked back at Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle and smiled softly. "Ah do sometimes wish that Ah had what they do though. They're lucky ta have one another, while me Ah'm just startin' ta get mah relationship off its feet."

"Just give it time, I think you'll get the chance," Magnolia said as Dawn yawned a little and started to wake up. "Come on, how about we go get something to eat?"

"Yeah, that sounds good," Apple Bloom replied as they headed towards the commissary together.

00000

"Hey everyone, this is Vignette Valencia coming at you with an exclusive!" Valencia said as she spoke into the camera. "I know you're all excited about what's going on with the Kamen Riders and the Order around the City. Well, today I'm going to give you a special exclusive interview with someone who knows way more about one of the Riders than anyone else. I'd like to welcome Mr... what's your name again? Laughter?"

"Lauoga," Lauoga scowled at the woman. "I'm here to tell you more about Kamen Rider Death."

"Yes, Death, that's the strange new one that we've gotten a few news reports about, right?" Valencia asked. "The one with the Skull design? Dreadful design if you ask me."

"Your opinion is hardly relevant to this," Lauoga snapped, he was clearly not happy about having to have this interview with her. "Kamen Rider Death has been around for a lot longer than any of you know. She's been a thorn in our side for years."

"Years?" Valencia asked. "I thought the Order only started attacking a few months ago."

"We did, this time around," Lauoga said with a snort. "Your government is hiding the truth from you. We first came to this world 26 years ago. Death first appeared some 13 years ago. The Order has been stopped both times we appeared before, we won't let this happen again."

"Fascinating, fascinating," Valencia said as she smiled at the camera. "You hear that, viewers? We've got information even those losers at Riderwatch doesn't even know yet. So, can you tell me more about this Kamen Rider Death?"

"There are a few things, yes," Lauoga said. "She is a government agent who has worked for a covert government agency that has been fighting us for a long time. Her name is Tempest Shadow, she lives here in Canterlot in the downtown area on 12th Street in Gatewater Apartments. She's been right under your noses this whole time."

"And why are you telling us this now?"

"Because she's not going to be allowed to hide anymore," Lauoga replied with a laugh. "She's been a thorn in our side for a long time. Justice and Amores are hardly more than nuisances, but Death, she is the real problem for us."

"Well, this is exciting, thank you," Valencia said as she picked up the phone and held it up with a grin. "You hear that viewers? We have confirmation of the identity of an actual Kamen Rider. Isn't this exciting?"

"Yes, very," Lauoga said with a groan as Valencia started the uploading process. Lauoga reached down and picked up his hammer before starting to raise it. "Are you about done?"

"Should only take a moment," Valencia answered. "Just give me a moment, I'll get it sent. Aaaaand, done!"

Lauoga was about to bring the hammer down on her when an armored hand grabbed the hammer and glared at him. He looked at the owner of the hand and realized that Caesar had stopped him.

"Not yet," the commander hissed. "She may still be of use to us."

"What? Who the..." Valencia started to demand before she got hit by the hilt of Caesar's sword and crumpled to the ground.

"Thank you, she was really starting to get on my nerves," Lauoga said with a groan. "But I don't understand why you decided to spare her."

"We just broadcast a Rider's identity," Caesar said. "Our enemies are going to be very interested in figuring out what she learned about us. I think this may give us an advantage of sorts."

"Oh, that's no fun," Lauoga said with a sigh. "My host wanted her dead. Such a curious human he is."

"You can find something else to play with," Caesar said with a roll of his eyes. "There are still plenty of humans out there for you to play with."

“So, what do you want me to do with her?” Lauoga asked

Caesar looked at her for a moment and shrugged. "Hold her hostage for now. She may still be of use to us, perhaps use her as bait to get the Riders out."

"I wouldn't exactly call her appealing bait," Lauoga snorted as he looked at her for a moment. "She's the most annoying human I've ever had the pleasure of meeting. Isn't there anything else I can..."

"You have your orders, I would recommend not disobeying them," Caesar said with a sneer. "Finish off Kamen Rider Death once and for all and then we'll talk. Right now that is your mission."

"Any particular requirements on how I'm to draw her out?" Lauoga asked.

"Just draw her out somehow, I don't care," Caesar said before he vanished.
Lauoga smiled wickedly as he stroked his chin for a moment. Yes, there would certainly be ways to draw Tempest Shadow out. She was already weakened by the last fight and she had too much pride to ask for help from the other Riders, so she had no doubt that he would be able to catch her at a vulnerable position.

Now it was just a matter of figuring out how to do it.

00000

"Agent Shadow, you shouldn't be getting up," the Doctor sighed as Tempest struggled to get out of bed. She had finally woken up an hour ago. "You're still healing from your last battle."

"I don't care, that monster thinks he can get away with going after my family..." she grumbled as she tried to get up only to double over in pain and fall back onto the bed. "Damn it, it's still not working..."

"Your body is in bad shape and is going to have to heal naturally," The doctor told her. "You aren't going to do your daughter any good by pushing yourself to your limits like this."

"You know she's right," Magnolia said as she stood in the doorway.

"I'm sorry, but only family and medical personnel are allowed in right now," the Doctor said.

"Well, it's a good thing I'm a trained nurse then," Magnolia said with a roll of her eyes. "Magnolia Tree, I'm Tempest's Nurse, I've been patching her up ever since she started fighting the Order again."

"Well, you're lucky because right now she's probably the only reason you're in one piece," the Doctor said with a sigh as she looked back at Tempest. "Alright, if you've been taking care of her for this long, you can come in. But I need to have a word with you first."

"Alright," Magnolia said as she and the Doctor went off to the side. "What is it?"

"Look, I don't pretend to know everything about Agent Shadow or her condition, but she's showing a lot of damage from fights with the Order's Agents," the Doctor whispered. "Usually the healing ability of the cards compensate for that. I don't exactly know how this is supposed to work, but do you know what's going on?"

Magnolia paused a little as she looked back at Tempest and thought for a moment. She did know what was going on, she was probably the only one who actually knew for that matter. However, she couldn't tell anyone that without betraying Tempest's confidence.

"I'm sorry, I can't tell you that," she said with a shake of her head. "It's Tempest's place to tell anyone that, not mine. You understand I'm sure."

"Confidentiality doesn't extend to this kind of thing," the Doctor pointed out. "But Agent Shadow is one of our finest agents. If you say you can't tell me, I'll trust you. I can't promise that everyone else will think the same though."

"I know," Magnolia agreed. "She's a stubborn one really. I probably couldn't have gotten her here for medical treatment if we hadn't been attacked. But she's going to want to go after that monster, do you think she'll be up for it?"

"Possibly, it won't be easy," the Doctor said with a sigh. "But she can't go it alone, not in the shape she's in. The Rider suit will augment her, but she won't be at 100%. For now, I want her to stay here and rest."

"I'll make sure she does that," Magnolia said with a nod.

"She's a real mama bear, huh?" The Doctor asked. "I heard she nearly killed the monster on her own defending you and her daughter."

"Yeah, the Order made a mistake by going after her like this," Magnolia agreed. "She cares about Dawn a lot. At this point, I would not want to be in that monster's shoes."

"Agreed," the Doctor said. "So, where is her daughter now? I think she'd like to know that her mother is awake."

"She's in one of the other rooms in the infirmary resting," Magnolia answered. "I'll go get her in a minute, but I want to talk to Tempest first."

The Doctor nodded and lead Magnolia over to the bed where Tempest was laying down again, breathing slowly as she looked up at the ceiling. "Hey there Tempest."

"Magnolia," Tempest said with a slight smile as she looked at her friend. "How's Dawn doing? Is she okay?"

"Yeah, she's fine, she's asleep right now," Magnolia reassured her. "Scootaloo and her friends are looking after her right now."

"Scootaloo and her friends are looking after her right now."

"She's probably freaking out over all of this," Tempest groaned. "I mean we got attacked in our home and she found out that her mother is a Kamen Rider. I can't imagine what's going through her mind right now."

"Yeah, she is in shock over that, but she also wants you to be okay," Magnolia answered. "It would help her to know that you're awake."

"Soon, but we still have to deal with that monster," Tempest said with a groan. "She's in danger as long as that Page monster is out there. I thought I could take him on by myself. I'm not so sure anymore."

"Luckily for you, you don't have to do it alone," Magnolia reminded her. "Scootaloo and Sweetie Drops are both there to help you out. You can't just keep shutting yourself off from them. I may not know a lot about Kamen Riders, but one thing I've realized is that they work together. You've been helping them as best you can this whole time, so why don't you let them help you for once?"

"Yeah, I guess I could," Tempest said as she closed her eyes a little. "Thank you Magnolia. You were right this whole time really, I guess it took me getting the crap beaten out of me to realize it. But I'm still going to take him down for what he did, I just need to get out of this bed."

"You need to tell them the truth about the Death card and why it's not working right for you," Magnolia told her with a frown. "The Doctor is getting suspicious and I'm sure that Director Fancy Pants is concerned as well. You can't hide the truth from them forever."

"I know, but I'm not ready yet," Tempest sighed as she squeezed her hand a little. "And I doubt they would understand either. I just need a little more time, you know?"

"Okay," Magnolia agreed. "I won't tell them either. But you really should consider it at least."

"They'll find out eventually," Tempest sighed as she placed her hand on a necklace she was wearing. "That is inevitable. With everything that's going on, we have to be getting close to that point. I just have to hope that they understand why I didn't tell them."

"I'm sure they will," Magnolia said. "Now get some rest, we'll do what we can to get you ready for the fight with Lauoga. Promise me that you won't do anything stupid."

"I promise," Tempest groaned. "Not much I can do right now that would be stupid since it hurts to get out of bed."

"Yeah, well I better get back to convincing the others that we're not in a relationship," Magnolia said as she headed back to the door. "Gee, it's like two women can't just live together."

"Yeah, I..." Tempest started to say. "Wait, what? Do they really think we're a couple? No offense, but you're not exactly someone I'd be interested in."

"None taken, same here," Magnolia said as she headed back out of the hospital room.

00000

"Agent Shadow is recovering, it sounds like she's awake again," Fleur said as she entered Fancy Pants' office. "So, that's some good news at least."

"Unfortunately it's the only good news we've gotten," Fancy said as he adjusted his monocle. He was studying his computer screen and glanced up at Fleur. "It seems that Lauoga was interviewed by a local blogger."

"Diamond Tiara?"

"No, someone else who wanted to get a leg up on the competition I'm guessing," Fancy replied. "And he told her everything about Tempest Shadow too. It's already all over the web and the news stations are picking up on the story."

"Did he mention anything about the other Riders?" Fleur asked, suddenly concerned.

"No, there doesn't seem to be any further information released," Fancy replied. "But still this is a breach of our security. Not to mention the blogger seems to have vanished off the face of the earth after that interview."

"Things were so much easier when I was a Rider," Fleur sighed. "Now everyone's got a camera in their pocket and can send it across the world in seconds. It makes keeping things hidden hard, frankly, I'm amazed that most Riders are still considered Urban Legends at this point."

"Emu and Shinnosuke were more public knowledge, or at least as much as they could be," Fancy reminded her. "But yes, with everything that's going on we're lucky that we haven't been completely exposed at this point. I don't like this, but we're going to have to think of some way to cover this."

"Perhaps, but right now it would just draw more attention," Fleur reminded him. "For now I believe we should consider all our options. Agent Shadow is still one of our finest Agents and we have to..."

She was stopped when there was a sudden alarm and the flashing of lights as something came up on Fancy Pants' screen. He frowned a little as he pulled up the information and examined it carefully.

"Looks like we're not going to get a break, that's definitely Lauoga based on these readings," he said as he tapped the keyboard. "Get Agent Drops and Ms. Dash on this right now."

"What about Agent Shadow?" Fleur asked.

"Don't tell her, at least not yet," Fancy Pants replied. "Right now the last thing we need is for her to put herself in more danger than she's already in. Right now she needs to focus on getting healed up."

"Agreed," Fleur said as she headed out of the office towards the medical wing.

Fancy Pants leaned back in his chair and sighed a little. He was about to reach for his phone when it rang. He blinked a little as he picked it up. "This is Director Fancy Pants."

"Director, we need to talk about the recent developments in Canterlot," a gruff male voice said on the other end. "There are concerns about what is currently happening in the city."

"Everything is completely under control," Fancy replied. "You have nothing to be concerned about, sir."

"So you say, but I've been looking at the news reports coming out of Canterlot," the voice replied. "You've got your hands full right now. And not to mention the report about what happened to one of your Agents. We are concerned that you are not capable of handling this on your own anymore."

"I've been handling this since before the invasion 13 years ago," Fancy reminded him. "We have everything under control here."

"We'll see about that, I will be paying a visit in a few days," the gruff voice said. "I would get your agents and these Riders ready for that, Director."

"Yes, I understand," Fancy said as he hung up.

Things just went from bad to worse.

00000

“I don’t like dealing with this guy,” Priellit said as they watched Lauoga on the view screen for a long moment. The monster was dragging a body away. “Sespenta was one thing as the drained energy went towards our plans. This is just gratuitous death and violence.”

“It gets the job done,” Caesar reminded her as he crossed his arms. “And he’s strong enough to take out Kamen Rider Death. We’ve got a very powerful asset here, would you rather not use it?”

“I didn’t say that, but perhaps a leash on him would be best,” Priellit said as Alrasahir came into the room. “These humans may still be of some use to us after all.”

“Perhaps,” Caesar said as he stroked his chin thoughtfully for a moment. “We’ll see how things go then. Right now, we’ll see how he handles the other Kamen Riders.”

“I wouldn’t count Death out just yet,” Alrasahir said as he leaned on his staff a little. “If there’s anything I’ve learned about Kamen Riders it’s that they are very versatile. She’ll be back one way or another.”

“Perhaps,” Priellit said as she watched the screen. “We’ll see what she does next. These humans are not going to just let her go after that kind of beating.”

“Indeed, but perhaps we need to make sure that we have a back-up plan,” Morningstar commented as he walked into the room. “With two of the other Riders on their way to fight Lauoga before we’re ready, we need to have something else in play.”

“And what do you have in mind?” Caesar asked. “We can’t spare the energy for any other Agents. Granforca and Kuagua are both otherwise occupied with their own operations, so who do you propose we send?”

“I will take care of that,” Morningstar said as he walked forward, leaning on his cane a moment as he waved his hand. He removed the top off his cane as the red stone glowed with energy as it swirled around it. An image appeared on the screen of a young woman who looked scared and the energy flowed into her as her head snapped up and walked as if in a trance over to a bag and took out a Tarot Driver.

“Ah, yes your little puppet,” Alrasahir commented as he watched the young woman vanish into thin air. “You’re certain that she won’t draw attention by doing this, right?”

“I have taken the necessary precautions,” Morningstar answered as he leaned on his cane for a moment. “They will not know she is gone.”

“You’d better be sure, the last thing we need is to lose her as an asset,” Priellit agreed. “So, we’ll use her to divert the Riders for now I suppose. At the moment we don’t have much else we can do.”

“Indeed,” Morningstar said as he leaned on his cane a little and placed the top back on it. “She shall pose a threat to the Riders. Though I’m sure it will merely slow them down, at least for now.”

“Good,” Caesar said as he leaned back. “This had better work. I still have reservations about this plan.”

“I know, but it will work,” Morningstar retorted as they watched it all play out.

00000

Scootaloo and Sweetie Drops made their way down one of the city streets of Canterlot as they headed towards the location of where Lauoga was supposed to be. Scootaloo had finally gotten more used to using the motorcycle and could use it safely. She took a deep breath as she turned a corner.

“How are you doing over there?” Sweetie Drops asked over her helmet’s radio.

“I’m fine, just a little nervous is all,” Scootaloo replied. “I mean, this guy was able to take down Kamen Rider Death, or, well, Tempest. She’s no slouch and I’m honestly scared that we won’t be able to take him down together.”

“Don’t worry, we’ve got this,” Sweetie Drops replied, though she wasn’t sure either. Scootaloo was right, and Tempest had been the most experienced of the three of them at that. “We’ll get through this some… LOOK OUT!”

Scootaloo looked forward and quickly swerved out of the way as the saw a familiar silver and gold armored woman standing in the middle of the road. Scootaloo pulled her bike to a stop as she turned around quickly to see the strange Rider.

“What are you thinking?” She demanded. “You could’ve gotten someone killed!”

The strange Rider stood there in silence for a moment as Sweetie Drops came to a stop behind her. She glanced up for a moment, barely acknowledging that Scootaloo was there.

“Well, are you going to actually say something?” Scootaloo demanded as she gripped the handlebars of the bike. “Who are you?”

“Empress…” The strange Rider said coldly.

“Empress?” Scootaloo asked. “That’s not an answer to my question!”

“I think she’s giving a name,” Sweetie Drops commented.

“Alright, Kamen Rider Empress is it?” Scootaloo asked as Empress nodded a little. “So, how about you tell us what you’re doing here.”

“I’m here… to… deal with you,” Empress replied. “The Order… wants you out of the… way…”

Empress ran forward and swung her fist at Scootaloo on her bike. She quickly pushed herself forward to avoid the Rider’s fist as she did.

“You’re going to have to try harder than that if you want to beat me!” Scootaloo said as she placed her hand on her Driver.

“Scootaloo, catch!” Sweetie Drops called out as she tossed a card to her. Scootaloo caught it and smiled a little as she saw the Chariot card. “You might need it, I’m going ahead!”

“Alright, I’ve got this,” Scootaloo agreed as she placed her Driver on her belt. “I don’t know where you came from, but I’m not going to let you stop us.”

“We’ll… see…” Empress said as she raised her fist again. “You… won’t… stand... A chance…”

“We’ll see about that,” Scootaloo said as she placed her Driver on her waist and it formed around her. She quickly drew the two cards out of her deck box and slid them into the slot. “Henshin!”

“TIME TO TIP THE SCALES!” The Driver said as the black and green energy flowed over her to form the armor as the Arcana Rapier appeared in her hand.

“Alright Empress, I may not know who you really are, but I’m not going to hold back,” Scootaloo said as she took a fighting pose. “Let’s do this!”

“Don’t… expect… to… survive…” Empress said as she ran forward and swung her fist at Scootaloo who just barely managed to avoid it. “You… will… pay…”

Scootaloo held her rapier out as Empress turned around quickly. Why did this weird Rider even want to stop her so badly? She was going to have to figure this out later as she took a stance, she would need to focus on dealing with her now.

“We’ll see about that,” Scootaloo said as she grabbed a card and slid it into her Driver again.

“ARCANA CIRCLE SHIELD!” The Driver said as the circular shield appeared in her free hand. She swung it around to catch another punch and kicked hard at Empress who fell back with a groan.

“You’re going to tell me who you are and what is going on!” Scootaloo exclaimed as she pointed her rapier at the strange Rider.

Empress didn’t reply. Instead she just let out an animalistic growl and threw another punch at Scootaloo. The silver and gold Rider fought with a fury like Scootaloo hadn’t seen before. She barely was able to block some of the blows with her shield.

Scootaloo let out a cry as the Rider pushed through her shield and caught her across the chin. She rubbed the metal armor covering her face before holding her rapier. She thrust forward, catching the Rider in the chest and slammed her fist into Empress’s stomach.

“You… won’t… AHHHHHHH!” Empress screamed as she held her head in pain. Finally to Scootaloo’s surprise, she spoke a complete sentence for the first time. “NO! I WON’T DO IT! LET ME GO!”

Empress’s voice was not one she recognized. There was still a distortion to it as she held her head tightly. Empress was in pain, that much was clear. The scorpion Rider was no longer paying attention to Scootaloo, but the young woman was just watching in stunned silence.

“You… won’t… win…” Empress repeated again in the strange broken speech. “I… will… beat… you…”

Finally Empress let out one last scream and collapsed. Scootaloo started to reach to her, but the Rider’s head snapped up and screeched at her. Finally, Empress shimmered and vanished into thin air.

“Scootaloo, are you okay?” Fancy Pants asked over her communicator. “What happened? We picked up some weird readings.”

“I’m okay,” Scootaloo said as she headed back to her bike. “I ran into the Scorpion Rider again. She called herself Empress, but she was acting weird.”

“Tell me on the way,” Fancy told her as Scootaloo started the bike up. “Agent Drops is going to need your help.”

“I’m on my way,” Scootaloo said as she headed down the street again.

00000

“I’m going and that is final,” Tempest insisted as she got out of bed with a flinch of pain. “That monster threatened my family. I’m not going to let him get away with it.”

“You’re in no shape to go right now,” Magnolia insisted. “The others can handle it. You don’t need to put your life at risk right now!”

“They can’t take him without my help,” Tempest groaned. “The Rider suit will compensate for my injuries. I just need to get there on Shinigami is all. It’ll be fine.”

“You won’t make it if you go on your own,” Magnolia sighed. “Are you sure I can’t talk you out of this?”

“I’m positive,” Tempest replied as she cringed again and stumbled only to have Magnolia catch her. “Thanks…”

"You're welcome," Magnolia replied with a soft smile. "Are you really sure this is the right thing to do though? I mean, you shouldn't put yourself at risk like this. You're just going to get yourself killed if you keep putting yourself at risk like this."

"Yeah, I know," Tempest groaned as she held her side for a moment and took a deep breath. "But I need to do this. He threatened you and Dawn. What kind of friend would I be if I didn't stop him from trying again? What kind of mother would I be..."

“Don’t talk like that, you’re a fine friend and mother,” Magnolia told her as she placed her hand gently on Tempest’s. “But if you’re going to insist on this, you’re not going it alone. We’ll get to my car and I’ll drive you there. Right now, the last thing you need is to be behind the wheel, or handlebars, of a vehicle. I promised you that I would stay by your side through this. Are you going to be okay with that?”

“Yeah… if it means I can get there I can live with that,” Tempest groaned as the two of them started out of the room together. “We’re going to have to explain this to the Doctor though.”

“I’m more worried about explaining this to Dawn,” Magnolia pointed out. “You still need to really talk to her you know. She really deserves to know more about why you’re doing this, she deserves to know the truth.”

“I don’t know if she’s ready to hear the truth yet,” Tempest groaned as she looked down at her hand for a moment. “No one is. We both know what they would think of me if they found out the truth. For now, we’ll keep that between us, okay?”

“Okay,” Magnolia said. “But you should still talk to Dawn. I’m sure she has a lot of questions that only you can answer.”

“I’ll talk to her, preferably when this is all over,” Tempest said. She pulled her clothes on and picked up her revolver that she checked the ammo in and slid into her holster. “I know I have a lot to try and explain to her. I’ve kept this from her since I adopted her, I’m not sure how I’m going to explain this to her.”

“Try telling the truth,” Magnolia snickered. “Or at the very least tell her part of the truth. Please, for me?”

“Fine,” Tempest replied as they started to walk out together. “But for now we should just get out of here. If we find her on our way out I’ll talk to…”

“Mommy, why are you out of bed?” A familiar voice said as she looked up and flinched to see that Dawn was sitting off to the side. “Are you okay?”

“Mommy’s fine, Aunt Magnolia is just going to take me out of the base for a little bit,” Tempest replied with a pained smile. “Stay here with mommy’s friends and you’ll be okay.”

“You’re going after the monster that attacked us, aren’t you?” Dawn asked as she crossed her arms a little. “I’m not going to believe you if you say something else you know. I saw it on the news you know, everyone’s freaking out about it.”

“Yeah… I can imagine…” Tempest flinched as she eased herself into the chair next to her daughter. “Dawn, I’m sure you have a lot of questions for me.”

“Yeah… I mean, why are you a Kamen Rider? How did you even become one?” Dawn asked quickly. “I mean, I thought they only showed up in the city recently. That, thing seemed to know you.”

“It’s a really long story sweetie,” Tempest replied as she put her arm gently around her daughter. With her other hand she took out a small pile of cards and showed one of a skeletal knight on a horse. “A long time ago, before you were born, these monsters that we’re fighting now tried to invade. I found this card, much like Scootaloo did with her card, and was given a Driver. I tried not to get involved, but after the other Rider back then lost her equipment I had to step up. I was able to stop them, but they came back now. Justice and Amores have been doing what they can, and I’m helping them out as best I can. That monster attacked us, and I’m going to stop him before he hurts anyone else.”

“Do you have to go though?” Dawn asked as she started to cry a little. “I don’t want you to… to…”

Tempest flinched a little at that. She wrapped her arms gently around her daughter and held her close. She didn’t want to let her go, even if she knew that she had to do this. She had taken care of Dawn ever since her parents had died when the girl was a baby.

“I promise, I’ll be fine,” she said reassuringly. “I’ve been doing this for a long time, remember? I’ll take him out with the other two and I’ll be right back here, I promise.”

“Okay…” Dawn said softly. “Can Auntie Magnolia stay with me?”

“No, she’s going to come with me, but I promise you’ll have someone here with you,” Tempest said as she looked up to see Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle coming in. “Everything is going to be just fine.”

“I still wish you didn’t have to go…” Dawn said softly. “After what happened before I’m scared…”

“I completely understand, I’m scared too,” Tempest admitted as she held Dawn close for a moment. “I’m going to be fine though. I’ll be back and when I get back, we’ll get to go back home once everything is fixed, okay?”

“Okay,” Dawn said with a nod.

“Will you two do us a favor and watch Dawn while we’re gone?” Magnolia asked as she looked up at Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle. “We’ll be back as soon as possible.”

“Yeah, sure, we’d be glad ta,” Apple Bloom replied with a nod. “We’ll take good care of her, right Sweetie Belle.”

“Right,” Sweetie said, though she looked a bit dazed. “Hey Dawn.”

“Hi…” Dawn said as she looked between the two of them nervously for a moment. She looked up at Tempest for a moment and smiled a little as she gave her a nod. “Stay safe…”

“We will,” Tempest replied as Magnolia helped her out of the clinic slowly. She glanced back towards the others and paused a moment. Something was bothering her, but she couldn’t put her finger on it.

“Is everything okay?” Magnolia asked as she looked at Tempest.

“I don’t know,” Tempest admitted. “Just, I got a weird feeling right now. Something tells me that not everything is right here.”

“And, what are you going to do about the fact that your identity has been outed to the whole world?” Magnolia asked. “I mean, that’s not exactly going to be easy.”

“I’ll be fine, I’ve always been low profile anyway,” Tempest reminded her. “I’m more worried about the impact it’ll have on Dawn. If they actually manage to put two and two together on who her mother is, she’ll get a lot of trouble about it from students.”

“Yeah… but we’ll figure it out, and she’ll be fine, she’s a tough kid,” Magnolia reminded her. “You’ve raised her well.”

“We both have,” Tempest reminded her. “Magnolia, just, thank you for everything you’ve ever done for both of us. I don’t think I’ve ever said that enough.”

“You’re welcome, anything for a friend,” Magnolia said with a nod as she helped Tempest to the elevator.

As the two women rode the elevator up to the top floor, Tempest couldn’t help but think about what was going to happen next. The monster was still out there and he was threatening more than just her family.

She just had to hope that she really was going to be able to stop him.

00000

“So, what are we looking at here?” Scootaloo asked as she stepped off her bike. They were in a suburb of Canterlot outside of a house where the SMILE team was checking things over.

“Well, the target is in the house,” Sweetie Drops replied as she checked the infrared scanner. “We’ve got a visual on Lauoga and Vignette. There are also some weaker signals in the house itself.”

“More people he kidnapped maybe?” Scootaloo suggested.

“Maybe, I don’t like it though,” Sweetie Drops replied. “We’ll have to be careful though. I don’t like going in with only so much intel. And he was able to hold his own against Tempest, remember?”

“Yeah, but we’re not going in alone,” Scootaloo reminded her as she glanced at Pharynx and his team. “And we’re not going to let him get away with this.”

“Are you sure we can’t just let him have Valencia? It seems like it would save us a lot of trouble,” Pharynx grumbled as he slammed a clip into his gun. “We all know that she’s just doing this kind of thing for attention.”

“Yeah, she is, but she’s still human,” Sweetie Drops sighed. “We’ll save her and deal with the fallout later.”

“Right,” Pharynx said as the rest of the team got ready. “Let’s…”

They were about to make their next move when there was the sound of a car approaching. They turned to see the car with Magnolia driving arrive. She helped Tempest out of the car and gave them a nod.

“Looks like you’re about ready to go,” Tempest said as she gave them a nod. “I’m here to help. That thing isn’t about to get away with hurting my family.”

“Are you sure you’re up for this?” Scootaloo asked worriedly.

“Yeah, I’ve never been more sure about anything in my life,” Tempest answered. “We’re going to need to use the strongest weapons we have for this. Given you two aren’t prepared for that just yet, it’s not exactly going to be easy on you.”

Scootaloo remembered when she had fought against a monster in Alchemy’s world using the Eight of Swords. It had left her unconscious for a short time, though she knew that it was the best option they had right now. She nodded a little as she reached into her pocket and took out the two cards.

“Well, we’re going to need to get used to them anyway,” Scootaloo agreed as she took out the Tarot Driver and nodded to Sweetie Drops. “Are you two ready for this?”

“Yeah, let’s do this,” Sweetie Drops said as Tempest adjusted herself a little as Magnolia let go of her. They each placed their Drivers on their waists as the belts formed around them.

“Henshin!” The three of them said in unison as they slid the cards into their Drivers.

“TIME TO TIP THE SCALES!”

“LOVE CONQUERS ALL THINGS!”

“THE PALE HORSE RIDES AGAIN!”

The familiar energy glowed out of the circles at the center of the Drivers as it flowed over them to form their armor. Scootaloo held the broadsword in her hands as she glanced over at Sweetie Drops who had the Flatbow while Tempest had her assault rifle. She took a deep breath as she held the sword tightly and turned back to the house.

“Alright, Agent Pharynx, you and your team take point,” Tempest said as she straightened out her rifle. “We’ll be right behind you, the idea is to get Lauoga out of the house. We don’t know who might be in there and we don’t want to risk any of the hostages.”

“Yes ma’am,” Pharynx said as he put on his helmet. “Alright team, let’s move in. You all know your orders, are you ready?”

“Yes sir!” The remaining agents said in unison as they quietly headed towards the house with their guns raised.

Pharynx gave the others a nod as he slowly opened the door with his rifle raised. They moved quietly into the house as they looked around carefully. Nothing seemed to be visible as they looked for any sign of Lauoga or Valencia. They moved quietly as they followed the information on their screens to look for either one of them.

Pharynx pointed at two of the teammates and then through a door. They nodded and parted from them as he gestured for two of the other team members to go another direction before they started down the hallway again with their rifles raised.

Finally Pharynx and his partner reached the living room. Expecting some sort of resistance, they prepared for a fight only to find Valencia sitting in the center tied to a chair with duct tape over her mouth. He groaned a little as he walked over quietly and pulled off the duct tape as quickly as possible.

“Owww!” Valencia cried out as she rubbed her face a little. “That hurt!”

“Yeah, well we need to get you out of here fast,” Pharynx said as he nodded to his partner who drew out a knife and cut through the ropes. “Are there any other hostages being held here?”

“Oh sure, I’m not as important as they are,” Valencia said as she got up and got a look from Pharynx. “I couldn’t tell you really. I’ve heard some voices sure, but I’ve been locked away when he was doing anything.”

“Wait, you’ve been locked away this whole time?” Pharynx asked.

“Yeah, why?” Valencia asked. “He threw me out here for some reason, I don’t know why.”

“That doesn’t make sense…” Pharynx said as he raised his hand to his ear to activate his radio. “Agent Drops, do we have a visual on Lauoga now?”

“No, we don’t, he doesn’t seem to be in the house anymore,” Sweetie replied. Though she sounded a bit confused. “That doesn’t make sense, we just had a visual on him.”

“Where did he go then?” Scootaloo asked over the radio. “He couldn’t have just vanished like that, right?”

“No, something about this is very wrong, be careful out there,” Pharynx said. “We’re going to search the rest of the house.”

“Understood,” Sweetie Drops said as she turned off her communicator back outside. “Agent Shadow, any ideas on what happened here?”

“More than likely Lauoga was never in the house when we arrived, there’s something else going on,” Tempest replied as she adjusted her rifle. “Stay on your guard, he could be any…”

She turned her head and barely got out of the way of a flying hammer that was about to catch her in the head. It impacted the wall behind them before flying back into Lauoga’s hand as he grinned at the three Riders.

“Well, I didn’t actually think I’d get all three of you here, it really makes things so much easier for me,” he laughed as he pointed his hammer at them. “I’m not going to let you beat me. Nice to see you’re here, Tempest. You made this so much easier, so I’ll make this quick before I go after your daughter.”

“I’m not letting you hurt my daughter!” Tempest said as she raised the rifle to her shoulder and fired several shots at Lauoga as he laughed and rolled out of the way. “Stay still so we can kill you already!”

“Come on, you really think I’m just going to do that?” Lauoga countered as he ran forward at Scootaloo, swinging his hammer at the smaller girl as she tried to duck out of the way and swung the broadsword up. There was the sound of metal against metal as the two weapons collided. “Well, Kamen Rider Justice, we haven’t crossed weapons yet, have we?”

“Yeah, well, I’m not going to let you hurt Tempest or her daughter,” Scootaloo said as she kicked hard at Lauoga and sent him back a few feet as she held the sword up. “Or anyone else in this city!”

Lauoga grunted as he swung the hammer back and threw it at Scootaloo, catching her in the chest as she hit the wall behind her hard. Sweetie pulled back on her bow and fired several shots at him, only to have him send energy blasts that broke them in mid-air.

Tempest growled as she raised her rifle to her shoulder again as she fired several more shots into the monster. Scootaloo groaned a little as she got to her feet as she stumbled a little, the armor had taken most of the hit, but she still felt a sharp pain as she held her sword up again. She took a deep breath as she dug her heels in, preparing to face off against Lauoga again.

Lauoga grinned as he pulled the hammer back into his hand as Tempest and Sweetie raised their weapons and fired again. While he dodged Sweetie’s, a barrage of bullets caught him in the chest as he stumbled back again. He groaned a little as he turned to look at the skull themed Rider, and even from behind her helmet he could feel the hatred radiating off the Rider.

He was about to run again when he felt a pain in his leg as another stream of bullets impacted him in the leg. He gulped a little as he turned to see Tempest standing there with the rifle pointed at his head.

“No, I’m not going to let you get away again,” She said as she fired several more shots at him, him throwing up an arm to block them, but it only wound up leaving his armored robes in a tattered mess.

“Then have at me,” Lauoga said with a snarl as he threw his hammer at her again only to have her raise a skeletal hand and catch it, only being pushed back for a moment. “So, you’re stronger than I expected.

“Your bosses clearly need a reminder,” Tempest growled as she threw the hammer back at him, catching him in the chest. “As to exactly why they call me Death.”

Lauoga struggled to get to his feet again as Scootaloo swung her sword around, catching him across the chest as he staggered back from the pain, he was exhausted as his armor was now in tatters from the combined attacks from the riders.

“ENOUGH!” He shouted as he sent out waves of energy that knocked back all three Riders. “YOU WILL NOT…”

He was suddenly cut off by a right hook to the face from Tempest. He looked up to find the butt of her rifle slamming down on his face as he crumpled to the ground. She finally raised her hand one last time and slammed it hard into his chest, the armor shattering around him as a scrawny man laid on the ground.

“Tempest…” Scootaloo said as the skull themed Rider reached down to her belt and deactivated it. “What are you doing?”

“I’m not letting this one get away with what he’s done,” she said as she reached into her coat and extracted her revolver as she aimed it at his head. “He’s nothing more than human filth, we’d be better off without him.”

“No, wait, he’s…” Scootaloo started to say when she felt Sweetie Drops’ hand on her shoulder.

“Scootaloo, we can’t save them all,” she said softly and glanced back at the house for a moment. She pressed her hand against her helmet to activate her communicator. “Agent Pharynx, are the hostages secure?”

“They are…” Pharynx replied with a pained tone of voice. “We, uh… we found what he’s been doing in here. You don’t want to come in here, it seems that we’ve found the cause of some recent missing persons cases… This guy was a real psycho...”

Scootaloo paused a moment as she heard that. She had nothing she could say about it, and she knew that there was no talking Tempest out of what she clearly wanted to do. She turned away as she heard the gunshot from Tempest’s revolver.

“Well, at least you Riders are good for something,” Vignette commented as she was lead out of the house. “Too bad you didn’t get here sooner, could have…”

“I’d advise shutting up, you’re already in a lot of trouble for exposing state secrets,” Pharynx said as he handcuffed Vignette.

“What are you talking about? I was being held hostage!” Vignette protested. “I was being used as…”

“Yeah, we’re not buying it, you were clearly not under duress when you released the name of a government agent on the internet,” Pharynx replied. “That’s punishable under espionage regardless of the circumstances. So, I would keep your mouth shut from here on out.”

“But…” Vignette started to say.

“Is that her?” Tempest asked as she walked up to them and Pharynx nodded. “You exposed my identity to the world and you’re putting my daughter at risk because of that.”

“Yeah, who cares, it’s all about the story,” Vignette snorted. “You Kamen Riders are the story of the century. I don’t care who I have to…”

She was cut off by a sharp punch to the face by Tempest. That finally shut Vignette up as she realized the gravity of the mistakes she had made.

00000

“Well, Dawn, this is where we’ll be staying for now,” Tempest said as they headed into the hotel suite together. Magnolia was pushing a cart with their luggage behind them. “Sorry we can’t go home yet.”

“It’s okay, I’m just glad you’re here,” Dawn said as she hugged Tempest. “Thank you mommy…”

“You’re welcome,” Tempest said as she gently placed her hand on her daughter’s head. She sighed happily as she looked around. They’d have to call it home for a while until they found a new place to live. “How about you go see what’s on TV with Auntie Magnolia?”

“Okay!” Dawn said as she ran over to the couch with Magnolia.

Tempest headed over towards the bathroom and shut the door behind her. She removed her coat and looked at her heavily scarred body underneath. With everything that was going on, she couldn’t believe that she had finally been forced to come clean. Maybe that would help with the other problems a little more.

She flipped through the news on her phone. The local news talked about the discovery of a serial killer that had been killed by one of the local heroes, though they hadn’t named her specifically. Still, she had no doubt that the news had already spread like wildfire about her identity.

She sighed a little as she reached to remove her revolver when she felt a sharp pain in her arm. She gripped it tightly as it started to distort again, taking on a more skeletal look once more as she held it tightly.

“No… not now… I have to hold on…” she said as she gripped it tightly, struggling against the pain in her arm.

She let out a sigh of relief as the pain faded and her arm returned to normal. She slid on a shirt and headed back out of the bathroom to join the two on the couch.

The Faded Sword

Author's Note

This chapter was written with the help of The Bricklayer.

The Faded Sword

Fancy Pants was seated behind his desk in the SMILE headquarters. He took a deep breath as he looked over the reports from what had happened over the past few days. He rubbed his temples a little, this was going to be hard to explain to them, he had known there was going to be consequences for everything going on, he had just hoped that it wouldn’t happen here.

First there was the matter of the death of the most recent monster’s host. Agent Tempest Shadow had acted on emotion, even with the evidence against the man, she had killed an unarmed man in a fit of rage. That had been covered up, but it was still going to have consequences. Tempest was currently on required leave with the Driver handed over, and he was going to have to make a choice about her going forward.

Then there was the matter of Scootaloo and her friends. They were civilians who were involved with the war with the Order, but they were still just civilians. How much longer could they survive fighting these monsters before it got to them too? How much longer until they had gazed into that abyss for too long?

But at this point, he was starting to think that it wasn’t going to be his choice anymore. This was going to be a hard thing to talk to them about. He finally sighed and pressed the intercom button on his desk. “Send them in.”

“Right away,” his secretary said as the doors opened and Scootaloo, her friends, Sweetie Drops, and Tempest Shadow came into the office.

“Is everything okay? Why were we called here?” Scootaloo asked as she looked at the others and at Fancy Pants.

“There’s someone who needs to talk to you all about how we’re going forward in the fight with the Order,” Fancy Pants told them as he took off his monocle and wiped it off. “Scootaloo, I’m going to have to ask you to hand over your Driver.”

“Wait, what?” Scootaloo asked as she placed her hand on her jacket pocket where the Driver was. “Why?”

“Because we can’t keep putting civilians in danger right now,” an unknown male voice said as a side door opened and a man stepped out. He was dressed in an American military uniform with General’s stars and was holding a hat under his arm. “You’ve been doing well enough, Miss. Dash, but I don’t think you should be putting yourself at risk as long as we have alternatives to putting civilian lives at risk.”

“What about the Order?” Scootaloo asked. “They’re out there, and we’re basically going on holiday. They’ll take this as a chance to attack, you know it and I know it!”

“Which is why Agent Sweetie Drops will remain active, and we will be backing her up with a project sent to us from Japan,” the General said as he looked at each of them in turn. “I understand your concerns, but we have measures in place to counter the Order.”

“Hey, I didn’t go off the script, so why am I being punished here?” Scootaloo asked, slamming a hand on the table. She looked towards Tempest. “Apologies.”

“Geez, thanks for throwing me under the bus kid…” Tempest deadpanned. “But the kid’s got a point. She didn’t exactly do anything wrong. I was the one who acted rashly here.”

“General McAllister along with other higher ups at SMILE are concerned about the use of civilians in fighting the Order,” Fancy Pants explained. “They believe that Agent Drops along with this project of theirs and SMILE agents will be enough to do this without putting yourself or your friends in further risk. I don’t agree with it personally, but my hands are tied here.”

“Bullshit, this is complete and utter bullshit. I’m sorry, but…” Scootaloo said. “Nobody in Japan ever seems to have a problem with civilians putting on Rider suits right and left every year and handling their monster problems do they?”

“She’s got a point,” Tempest said and everyone looked at her again. “Just sayin’. I mean, I’ll bet you money if someone just drops all pretense of the secret identity thing, nobody in Japan would give a flying f-”

“Language!” Fancy warned.

“My point stands,” Tempest went on. “You don’t exactly see the Japanese government stepping in to give someone like… oh, I dunno, someone like OOOs trouble do you? Nobody gave a crap about a guy running around dressed like a traffic light back then did they?”

“I’m not entirely disagreeing with you, but what about the Riders who died in combat? Or how about the lives lost because of inexperienced fighters?” McAllister countered. “I am not discounting what Miss. Dash and her friends have done, but the decision has already been made by myself and the others in charge of SMILE.”

“So this meeting’s just a formality, then,” Scootaloo said. “Okay, yeah, I admit we’re not the best we could be at our jobs, but right now… I don’t see one Rider being able to stand against the Order. No offense to Sweetie, but she’s just one… well, two people in one suit. A privatized version of Double. I’m just being realistic here.”

“You yourself stood alone against the Order for a while, Miss Dash,” Fancy said.

“Yeah, and I got my ass kicked half the time. It was only when Sweetie transformed for the first time did things really start to turn around,” Scootaloo countered.

“Yes, which is where our friends in Japan come in,” McAllister said as he glanced at Fancy Pants. “Years ago they developed a series of Rider systems, the latest upgrade of which they shipped to us and we’ve made a few improvements of our own. We will be deploying one of these Riders to assist in dealing with the Order.”

Tempest frowned, there were only two systems that really came to mind. The Birth System, -and frankly she doubted Kogami would let the military have that- and… Oh, the G3 system. Huh. Yeah, that fit. “Forgive me if I speak out of turn, but-”

“You both already have,” Fancy put in. Both Scootaloo and Tempest shared an awkward look. He waved a hand. “But go ahead.”

“The G3 system, right? Unless someone loaned you the G3-X variant with its Cerberus, I don’t see you making much of a dent in the Order’s agents. The G3 system was just barely effective against the Lords, and that was almost two decades ago. What good would it do you now? It’s old hardware,” Tempest said. “The only reason the G3 unit still use it nowadays is for first response.”

“We’ve made some special upgrades to the system using the notes from previous fights against the Order,” McAllister replied. “I understand your concerns, but we have everything under control.”

“You say you understand my concerns,” Tempest spoke. “But I don’t think you do. See, what I remember from looking over Sumiko Ozawa’s notes is that the only real way to breach a kaijin’s skin is with lots of bullets fired in rapid succession. That wimpy Scorpion pistol isn’t going to cut it. You need the GX-05 Cerberus.”

“Agent Shadow, you are emotionally compromised, you are in no place to say anything,” General McAllister said as he narrowed his eyes. “We are confident that the G3 system will be sufficient to fight the Order. Your concerns have already been considered and addressed, and I would recommend you do not speak further if you don’t want to have more charges filed against you.”

Tempest frowned. “Whoever’s going to be put in that suit is going to get themselves killed.”

One look at Scootaloo’s expression confirmed she was thinking the same.

00000

Later that night, Scootaloo returned home in a fairly foul mood.

“A-And they just dismissed her concerns right out of hand! Like, it’s like her worries didn’t even matter!” Scootaloo ranted over dinner that night, complete with hand gestures at the appropriate moments. “Are they trying to get that soldier killed?”

“Scootaloo, calm down,” Sweetie sighed. “Take a deep breath, you’re not doing anyone any good by acting like this.”

“I know, but… just… gaaaaagggh…” Scootaloo grumbled.

“I agree with you,” Sweetie told her. “I don’t think this General is thinking this through very well, but there’s nothing we can do about it. We still have the Soul Metal weapons and bullets though. If it comes to that we can use those to help, hopefully.”

“Yeah… I suppose…” Scootaloo mumbled as she crossed her arms, looking rather childish actually.

Sweetie leaned in and kissed the darker skinned girl lightly on the lips. “Scoots, we both know they’re going to realize their mistake sooner or later. All we can do is hope that it’s before it’s too late.”

“I wonder who they’re going to put in the suit,” Scootaloo wondered. “Anyone we know, you wonder?”

“I don’t know,” Sweetie admitted. “I’ve never heard of G3 before, but if it’s the military or SMILE or whoever then it could be anyone probably.”

“I hope whoever they are, they’ve got a last will and testament written out,” Scootaloo muttered. “Whoever thought it was a good idea to drag the G3 armor out of retirement for this? They need a good smack to the head. If you ask me, that rumored ShotRiser being constructed by ZAIA would be a better option.”

“I don’t know, I’ve seen pictures of its CEO, he looks like a puppy kicker to me,” Sweetie commented.

“You’re so judgemental,” Scootaloo returned, poking her wife in the chest in playful fashion. “He looks like a really nice, uh, guy. No pun intended. Seriously, who names their child Gai? Like, I can see the issues can’t you? Where’s that Gai? Which guy? That one, that Gai in this photo. Which guy?”

Sweetie was giggling. “You’re terrible.”

“It’s a viable concern!” Scootaloo said. “Like, does he have a sister named Gurl?”

“I met a Gai once, really… enthusiastic,” Sweetie said. “He was… odd, a good kind of odd but still odd. Really loved the color silver for some reason. Oh god, all this talk about these Gais -great, see you got me doing it!- is giving me a headache.”

“Okay, so what should we talk about instead?” Scootaloo asked.

“Wedding plans?” Sweetie offered. “That’s coming up fast, and oh dear god we’ve still got to find the right flowers and the venue and oh dear god maybe we should just elope and save ourselves the headache?”

She took a few short sharp breaths to calm herself, and stop from hyperventilating. Sweetie mumbled: “...you think my older sis can loan me her fainting couch? Think I’m going to need it…”

“Sure, I’ll bet she’d be willing to ship it here from New York,” Scootaloo chuckled. Then she smiled a little and placed her arms around her fiance’s waist. “Or I could just catch you.”

“Mhmm…” Sweetie mumbled as she rested her head in Scootaloo’s neck. “That’d be nice. Please tell me we at least found the caterers? I forgot if we did or not…”

“Oh, yeah… oh boy,” Scootaloo said as she thought back to that. “Fancy Pants said he was going to bring in some people he knows, but I don’t know if that’s going through after, you know, all that happened.”

“Surely a wedding doesn’t exactly fall under SMILE authority,” Sweetie muttered in distaste. “Great, so now just because Tempest had one slip-up every part of our lives is dictated? Again, can we just elope and save ourselves the trouble?”

“At this point, I’m tempted to say yes,” Scootaloo groaned. “I’m sorry we got dragged into all of this, Sweetie. I just want you to be happy.”

“Tell that to this general guy…” Sweetie muttered. “I’m starting to agree with you. I really don’t like him.”

“Yeah… how about we just spend a little time pretending we’re a normal couple?” Scootaloo said with a slight smile before adding jokingly. “If we even remember what that’s like at this point.”

Sweetie gave her a long deep kiss. “I’ll see what I can do…”

00000

“Check systems,” Fleur said over the G3’s radio, safe and secure in a small room off to the left. “Check right leg. Confirm operational status. Can you confirm? Corporal Gallus, can you confirm?”

“Confirmed,” Gallus said from inside the G3 suit. “All systems seem to be reading green so far.”

His statement was short and direct. Right to the point. Years of military training were at play.

“Check left leg. Confirm the operational status of that for me, will you?” Fleur said, flipping through the pages of the G3’s manual, roughly translated into English. “Slow and steady steps, yes that’s it.”

Gallus moved his left leg slow and steady as she told him. “It’s a little sluggish, it doesn’t feel like the simulations.”

“It’s old, nearly an antique by powered armor standards. For it’s time, yeah it was something. Sumiko Ozawa was and still is a genius, no question about that. But that said,” Fleur said over the radio. “This suit is no longer the new kid on the block. If there wasn’t still a use for mass produced suits like this, it’d be in the scrap pile. Improvements can only go so far. It’s still an old system, and with it come some compromises.”

“Yes, well, Kogami was keen not to see his Birth system in military hands,” Gallus answered in slight annoyance, as several targets popped up from the floor. He pulled out the scorpion pistol, and with the precision of a trained soldier took aim.

One target fell, and then another, Gallus turning to face them as necessary. Bang, bang, bang. Three shots fired, and three targets down. All headshots. Fleur’s eyes widened. Consider her impressed. Wow, they hadn’t been lying about how good Gallus actually was. No wonder he’d been chosen.

“Can you blame him?” Fleur asked, her voice a crackle. “Besides, the way the Birth system works… mass producing it wouldn’t be the smartest idea. There are only so many Cell Medals left. Imagine running out in the midst of battle. Just imagine.”

“I am imagining, thank you for that mental image by the way,” Gallus deadpanned holstering the scorpion. “So tell me, there’s four Riders that we know about, right? Sweetie, Tempest -though for how long is another question- and Scootaloo. Who’s the fourth, do you know?”

“No, Kamen Rider Empress has not been identified beyond that name,” Fleur replied with a sigh. “And she’s something of a mystery at that. I know it’s not a lot of information to go on, but all the information we have on her is on the tablet.”

“So she’s a wild card then,” Gallus replied. “Is she a friendly, or someone to be taken down? Do we know? I’d rather not make any more enemies than necessary.”

“Well, at least we know you won’t fly off the handle and do something stupid. Good to know. Several of the G3’s past users have been… less than ideal, apparently.”

“I’m well aware of Toru Hojo and his… personality. I can assure you that I will be different. I’m not so weak as to ditch my suit mid-battle,” Gallus said, his tone nearly emotionless. Fleur could guess why. That whole leave no man behind thing that came with being a Marine. Hojo, to him, was absolutely against everything he stood for. Abandoning civilians in mid-battle due to his own cowardice was beyond horrendous. “Now, can we move on?”

“Very well then,” Fleur decided with a sigh. “Now, I think we should really put this suit through its paces. Shooting at stationary targets can only get you so far. Sweetie Drops, can you get in here please?”

“Wait wait wait, wha….” Gallus trailed off before he heard the Driver’s very distinctive proclamation. “Oh, for fuck’s sake… Oh yeah, real nice Fleur! I hate you right now, you do know that right?”

“Oh, I know you mean love,” Fleur said leaning back in her chair. “You’ll come around. Ulp, speaking of love, you’ll really love this one.”

“LOVE CONQUERS ALL THINGS!”

“I have a vision of the near future of me looking back and regretting my life choices,” Gallus said, going for the scorpion again. Shots rang out even as Amores leaped from crate to crate, at one point drawing back her bow.

An arrow came screaming towards Gallus, and he just narrowly rolled out of the way in time. He attached the GG-02 Salamander, and pressed the trigger. A grenade boomed out of the barrel, and Amores fired off another arrow. An explosion, and a cloud of smoke filled the room. Gallus was blinded for a few moments, and before he could get the G3’s infrared vision online…

He was struck from the side, Amores doing a spin, her bow transforming to a combat staff mode. Amores struck him in the side, before dealing a swift upper-cut. Her staff spun in her hands like a whirlwind, striking Gallus in the knees and bringing him to the floor.

“You need room to improve,” Amores said. Gallus’ faceplate retracted long enough for him to grin at her in wiley fashion.

“Do I?” he asked, and the faceplate snapped back into place, before Amores found herself on the ground. Gallus had struck faster than she could react and had righted himself, Amores readying herself for round two.

She struck, and Gallus raised his arms to block her blow. He kicked her in the chest, and Sweetie stumbled backwards. Gallus lunged forwards, a fist aimed squarely at her face, before Sweetie flipped sideways in mid-air and was soon atop of Gallus. With a wrestling maneuver, she threw him to the ground in a hold. Her legs were locked around him, but Gallus was calm. Sweetie couldn’t figure out why.

Then he pressed a button on one of the suit’s legs, and a gas was sprayed into her face. Coughing and wheezing, Sweetie let the suit’s filters get to work. But they weren’t fast enough, and Gallus grabbed her by the shoulder. Before he could do anything however, Sweetie kicked him in the shin.

Gallus stumbled back, but quickly regained his footing. Sweetie spun her staff and aimed to strike him in the chest. Gallus reacted, forcing his knee upwards and Sweetie found herself watching her staff fly up into the air and out of her hands.

Gallus flicked his wrist, and a modified version of the old GA-04 Anthares popped out. He fired, and the hook attached itself to Sweetie. Gallus wrenched her forwards, but a karate chop cut the wire. Sweetie threw her hand upwards, and her staff landed back in her hands, changing to bow mode.

Gallus went for his scorpion as Sweetie fired, both weapons having their shots meet head on several times. Sweetie ran forwards, before going into a slide, with the bow string drawn back. Gallus leaped upwards and grabbed the light above him, just as a bolo attempted to ensnare him.

He jumped to another crate, and leaped off with the unicorn combat knife in hand. Sweetie blocked every swing with her staff, before knocking him away with a kick to the chest. She swung her staff wide, and Gallus ducked to avoid the strike. Forcing himself into a roll, Sweetie would have been knocked off her feet had she not reacted. And react she did, leaping to the left.

They drew their weapons, and aimed. Once more, shots were knocked out of the air, and both progressed back to melee combat. Sweetie, with her staff and Gallus with the unicorn knife.

Every time one was poised to strike, the blow was blocked. Every single time. Sweetie, at one point, wrenched Gallus’ arm behind his back and shoved him forwards. Gallus caught Sweetie’s punch, before drawing back a fist of his own. Sweetie twisted Gallus’ wrist, and punched hard.

The twin cracks echoed throughout the room, both combatant’s faceplates shattering.

“And… and to think this is just a simple sparring match!” Sweetie panted out before canceling out her transformation. Gallus removed his helmet, tossing it aside. The helmet clattered to the floor.

“Okay, I think it’s safe to say Gallus can handle himself,” Fleur said her face considerably pale. “Point… uh, proven I suppose?”

Gallus could only smile awkwardly and wave nervously, before sliding up against a crate in exhaustion. Sweetie was soon to follow.

“Yeah, I think you’ll do just fine,” she decided. “Yeah, just fine.”

00000

“Okay, so the man’s up to the task,” Fleur said. “But I’m still not sure about the suit.”

She was in an office with the General. Truth be told, Agent Shadow’s words had still stuck with her. The truth was, the suit was out of date, and had barely managed against the Lords. Sure, there had been a few improvements here and there, but not enough to make Fleur comfortable with sending Gallus out in the field.

“I dunno, the suit seemed to do fairly well against your best agent,” McAllister said. “Your best Rider.”

The slight against Agent Shadow hadn’t gone unnoticed. Fleur wasn’t happy. Tempest’s mistake was all too human, she was just trying to protect her family. Nobody could fault her for that one.

“If I may, sir,” Fleur said cautiously. “You’re being a bit harsh. Agent Shadow…”

“Is a liability who you should cut loose,” McAllister snapped. “Her temper makes her a dangerous wild card. She shot someone in cold blood. Now, I don’t know about you but that worries me.”

“The host was a psychopath!” Fleur shouted. “He threatened her family! Ask yourself, would you do no different? Hell, out there in Iraq and Pakistan and all those countries? You’re no better. Your hands are hardly clean yourself. You’re just as dirty as she is.”

“Maybe, but I only do what I have to,” McAllister replied simply. “I’m a soldier, I just do my job and nothing more. What your Agent Shadow did was murder, plain and simple. Yes, maybe she thought she was cleaning up the world, but was it necessary? Her job was done, the monster had been defeated. We don’t need a real life Punisher going out and dispensing justice. Playing judge, jury, and executioner. That is for the courts to decide, not one woman with power and a chip on her shoulder! Will that be all Agent De Lis?”

“No, that will not be all,” Fleur said, having worked herself up into a fury, her French blood ablaze with a passion. “Right now, if you send Gallus out there with only Sweetie for backup he’s going to get himself killed. Do you or do you not understand? The Lords nearly destroyed G3 several times had Agito not arrived. The man inside it may be up to the task… but the suit? But the suit, it’s going to get him killed the moment he attempts fighting an agent of the Order!”

Honestly, she didn’t like McAllister barging his way into base as he did. Secretly, she suspected Fancy thought the same. They could handle the Order without military interference. McAllister was just someone thinking he knew everything there was to fighting monsters he actually knew nothing about. She wanted to toss him off base, actually. The Order was their speciality, not the US Government’s. SMILE knew how to fight the Order, not them.

“So what would you have me do huh?” McAllister asked. “Stand by and let you make a bigger mess than you have already? You’ve been acting without restraint for far too long. I don’t want to be your enemy, I want to be your friend. Don’t make me into your enemy, I’d really rather we work together on this. We both want the same thing Agent De Lis, the Order in the ground. Please keep that in mind.”

“The nine most terrifying words in the English language are: I'm from the Government, and I'm here to help.” -Ronald Reagan.” Fleur De Lis said. “Please keep that in mind.”

00000

Vignette Valencia, former reporter and now disgrace. Nobody would ever take her seriously as a reporter now, -assuming they ever did- and she knew it. Arrested! Arrested! What did she do wrong? The public had a right to the truth!

They had a right to know who their Riders, their heroes really were! She just did the proper thing and gave them what they wanted. So why did they hate her so? Why did she have to rot in a cell?

She was Canterlot’s darling! She’d given them the biggest story of the year, but no, it seems they didn’t want it! Ungrateful, that’s what they were! Truly, they were! They should have been grateful for her little expose!

“Lunchtime,” one of the guards said as he placed the tray of plain looking food and water on the slot in her cell for sliding things over to her.

Vignette nearly retched. That wasn’t food, that looked like something pulled out of a toxic waste disposal unit. It barely even qualified as edible! “Um… mister guard sir… I-I think there’s been a mistake here… That’s not food.”

“It's food, I don’t know what you were expecting, a five star meal?” The guard said. “You’re going to have to live with it.”

“Live with… live with it?” Vignette shrieked gesturing to the food. “This stuff looks like it could kill me!”

The guard just waved her off and walked off, grumbling something about maybe then he wouldn’t have to put up with her whining anymore. She heard the door opening and shutting with a loud slam as the guard left.

“Bastard…” Vignette muttered, taking a deep breath as she looked at the food. “One for the money, two for the show and three for hoping this stuff doesn’t give me a heart attack.”

She took a small bite out of the food, holding back the bile in her throat threatening to rise. Good god, was this what she’d been allocated to? Forced to eat crap like this?

Footsteps again, Vignette looked up. “Oh, back to humiliate me some mo…”

Her breath caught in her throat. Standing there was a man dressed in a black coat with a hat pulled down over his face and leaning on a cane. “How the mighty have fallen,” he said in a calm voice with a smile barely visible.

“You’re… you’re one of them aren’t you?” Vignette whispered. “Like, you’re one of the Order!”

“I am, and I am here to offer you a deal. You want revenge on the people who locked you away here, I can give that to you,” he said as he placed his hand in his pocket and took out a card. “All you have to do is work for us.”

“One question, just one question,” Vignette said, eyeing the card. “One question before I get my new powers.”

“Go ahead…” the agent said with a tired air.

“Do I get to write my expose?” Vignette asked. “I think the public deserves to know who all of their heroes are…”

“Oh, why of course,” the man said as he leaned on his cane a moment. “You are free to do whatever expose you want.”

“There’s a but coming, isn't there?” Vignette said. “There’s always a catch. I didn’t get to be where I am now by being stupid.”

Oh, the irony. The agent had to just resist commenting on that.

“No tricks, take this deal and you will learn everything you need to know,” the man said as he held the card out to her. “You will know all you need to know in order to expose the Riders for who they are.”

Vignette smiled in glee, a mad sort of smile that gave even the agent pause. She took the card from his hands, and said: “Gladly!”

Vignette felt the power envelop her, and she closed her eyes, before clenching her fist. Her eyes shot open before she punched right through the wall in an explosion of blue light. “Newsflash, tonight there’s going to be a jailbreak! Reporter Vignette Valencia on the scene and covering it as it happens!”

Guards ran up even as the now transformed Vignette stepped out of the ruined wall, the agent taking this as his cue to leave and fading into the shadows.

Vignette was now a solid gold, her face frozen in a permanent expression of serenity. Three swords were strapped to her hip. Bullets bounced off of her, and Vignette raised her hand, a cutlass forming in it. “Oh, now well that won’t do at all! You really need to learn how to treat a lady! You’re getting punished for that.”

The three swords flew out and impaled the officers, then they shot back into their scabbards.

“Much better,” Vignette said serenely before patting her blades. “Oh, mommy does love her new toys.”

She continued her way through the jail, cutting down anyone who stood in her way. She looked at a security camera, and then at a guard. Holding up the body, she said: “See this one here Justice? This is the last survivor. He’ll live… but only if you come to me, sit down like a nice girl and have an interview with me. Full transparency and all. No more secrets. The people deserve to know really.”

With that she punched the camera’s lights out.

00000

“That was taken just a few short hours ago,” Fancy said as he paused the video. Massaging his temples, he muttered: “...just when I thought we were through with her…”

McAllister was in the room with him, along with Fleur and Sweetie.

“And now she knows who Kamen Rider Justice really is based on your reports,” McAllister commented as he looked at the video for a moment. “I thought every precaution was taken in the holding cells. How did he waltz in there?”

“He’s the Devil,” Sweetie commented, getting a look from the General. “We’re still compiling information on him honestly, but everything points to him being the Devil. Likely he’s the most powerful member of the Order on Earth, we didn’t account for that possibility.”

“I see, well this is a breach of security, I want this Valencia tracked down before she can further compromise our operations,” McAllister said. “Agent Drops, you and Corporal Gallus will take point on this. I want all our satellites scanning for the Order’s activity.”

“Sir, Corporal Gallus is a capable fighter, but he’s never fought an Agent before,” Sweetie Drops pointed out. “We’re going to need more…”

“That was an order, Agent Drops,” McAllister interrupted. “Once we know where she went, then we’ll intercept her. The Corporal is going to have to get field experience with the G3 suit, this is the perfect opportunity to do so.”

Fancy sighed and Fleur was soon to follow. “You mean to tell me he’s never been out in the field with the G3?” Fancy asked his tone one of anger. “I thought Gallus was already experienced in using the suit!”

“He coulda fooled me honestly,” Sweetie said. “He seemed to know what he was doing, considering he was kicking my ass.”

“Yes, well, simulations…” McAllister started.

“Simulations are nothing compared to actual field experience,” Fancy frowned. “There are so many variables that a simulation just can’t account for. Plus, Fleur mentioned to me that Gallus said the suit was a bit sluggish compared to your simulations. That says to me your simulations aren’t perfect.”

“Exactly when would he get field experience? The only monsters on American soil are the Order,” McAlister pointed out. “But we are confident in the Corporal’s abilities and your techs will take a look at the suit before he goes into the field.”

Fancy conceded his point. All the same though, he wondered if the General really knew what he was doing. He knew McAlister, he was a good man yes, but blind to certain things. Arrogant even, one might say. His heart was in the right place, but Fancy did have to wonder…

“I agree that simulations are no replacement for actual combat experience, but Corporal Gallus has served his country in the past, it’s why he was selected for the program,” McAllister continued. “I have the utmost faith in his ability as a soldier.”

“They wouldn’t put someone who’s green in the suit sir,” Sweetie agreed. “McAllister’s got a point, where would you even simulate a fight against an actual agent of the Order?”

Another member of SMILE ran into the room. “Sir, we’ve found her.”

McAllister smiled. “Grab Gallus, tell him to grab the suit.”

00000

“Oh Justice…” Vignette said. “Where are you? Come on, you wouldn’t keep a girl waiting would you?”

A light shone through the window, with the sound of a helicopter outside. The guard, tied up in his chair shielded his eyes.

“Huh, and hear I thought she was going to just burst in on her bike…” Vignette muttered. “I was hoping she’d make an interesting entrance at least. Oh well, time to greet tomorrow’s front page news.”

She walked out and her eyes widened slightly. Above the warehouse parking lot hovered this massive VTOL craft, the side door opening with a hiss. Gallus stood holding a briefcase, as the craft turned so that it’s front lights shone directly down on Vignette.

“Vignette Valencia,” Gallus stated through a loudspeaker. “You’ve conspired against the United States government with the Order of the High Arcana. You’re to be placed back in custody and returned to your cell. Surrender or we will be forced to take more extreme measures.”

“I’m offended, really,” Vignette said. “You couldn’t be bothered to grant my one request? MY ONE REQUEST? It was a simple enough matter really, AND YOU COULDN’T EVEN BOTHER TO GET THAT RIGHT?”

“We don’t negotiate with terrorists, because make no mistake that’s what you are now,” Gallus said. “We just bring them down.”

“And how do you plan to do that?” Vignette said as Gallus leaped down from the craft, still with briefcase in hand. “Oh, oh. Don’t tell me, you’ve got a suit of your own stashed away in there!”

“Actually…” Gallus said as he placed the briefcase down, kicking it open before he stuck his hands inside. With a mechanical whirring sound, he pulled out what looked to be a chest plate, and shoved it onto himself. More armor plates expanded outwards, and rapidly began to cover his whole body. “Well, now that you mention it…”

He raised his scorpion pistol and reloaded it’s magazine. His faceplate clicked into place as the final piece. The suit’s optics pulsed a bright red. “Kamen Rider Generation 3, heading out.”

“Alright then, Iron Man,” Vignette said, drawing her cutlass. “Thrill me.”

“Keep those weapons trained,” Gallus said to the pilot, “Keep them on standby, when I give the word… pump her full of lead.”

“Yes sir,” the pilot said with a nod. “Good luck.”

Vignette grinned as she pointed her cutlass at Gallus. “Well, if you’re such a hotshot, I suppose I could use a little bit of a warm-up. Come on, show me what you’ve got!”

“Gladly,” Gallus said, firing off several rounds from the scorpion, and Vignette stumbled. Gallus kept up the fire, reloading as necessary.

He did a spin kick, kicking some dirt into Vignette’s face before slamming his elbow into her face, before slamming a boot onto her foot. Tossing her behind him with one swift motion, he was surprised to see Vignette recover so quickly.

“My turn,” she said with a grin as she pointed her cutlass at him again. The three swords flew out of their scabbards and slashed at Gallus quickly. “Do you really think that some guns are going to be enough to stop me?”

“Well, there’s that old saying of never bringing a sword to a gunfight…” Gallus muttered, shooting the swords out of the air. “Point proven, I think.”

Vignette just punched him in the face, before flipping and managing to hit him in the chin with her foot. She flicked her wrist, and the swords came rocketing back at Gallus. The Rider’s eyes widened under his helmet. He rolled to the left, and equipped the salamander. He pressed the trigger, and Vignette was sent flying back by the explosion of a grenade.

“Okay… maybe you’re better than I expected,” she said as she stood back up. Despite being hit with the explosion she looks mostly unharmed. She pulled her hand back and the three swords pulled back to her, hovering in mid-air around her. “But I’m not going to let you beat me! Not until I have my story!”

She pointed forward and the three swords came together and glowed with energy before rushing forward at Gallus.

Gallus fired the salamander again, shattering the swords. He pressed the trigger again, and Vignette slid backwards using her cutless to stop herself. She growled as she gripped her cutlass and stared Gallus down.

“You want to play it like that? Fine, then I’m going to stop holding back,” she said as she lifted her cutlass again and the swords reformed in their scabbards. “You’re going to regret this, Rider.”

“Oh please, don’t make me laugh,” Gallus said, spraying some gas from his suit. Vignette coughed and gasped for air, only for Gallus to lunge out of the smoke with the destroyer blade at the ready.

He slashed at her several times, the blade vibrating at such a high frequency that it would rip open armor and slash through skin. At least… that was the theory. In practice, not so much as after several slashes, the vibrating blade actually broke clean in half.

“Did you really think it was going to be so simple?” Valencia said with a laugh as she kicked hard at Gallus in the chest. “Your suit is nowhere near as strong as the other Riders the Order has fought and it isn’t geared towards fighting us. You don’t stand a chance at all.”

“Us?” Gallus asked, rolling to the left, and firing the anthares. Pulling Vignette forward with the cable, he elbowed her in the face several times making her stagger. Disconnecting the grappling cable, he knocked her to the ground with a leg sweep. “Listen to yourself, you’re giving yourself over more and more to the Order!”

“I don’t care, not as long as it gets everything done,” Vignette stated, righting herself and slashing Gallus across the chest. He cried out in pain and Vignette closed her advantage, scoring several more slashes.

“You’re a traitor to your own kind!” Gallus said. “Surely no story is worth this!”

“Justice’s is!” Vignette screamed, before she was blown backwards by an explosion. Atop a rooftop sat Amores, bow drawn back. Gallus waved his hand, and Vignette was forced onto the run by the VTOL’s cannons.

One SMILE agent rushed into the warehouse to rescue Vignette’s captive, while Amores and G3 gave chase. Into the nearby woods they ran, under cover of night.

“I told you you should’ve taken point,” Lyra’s voice echoed in Sweetie Drops’ mind. “You saw how much damage she took.”

“I know… I know…” Sweetie Drops said as she looked around for any sign of Valencia before tapping her helmet’s communications system. “Do you see anything, Corporal?”

“Zilch, geez for a woman covered in gold you’d think that… LOOK OUT!” Gallus shouted as three swords sliced through the air. He pulled Sweetie out of the way even as the blades circled back around to their owner, Vignette directing them like a conductor would her orchestria.

“Well, well, you’d think a couple of Riders would be better prepared than this,” Valencia laughed as she directed her swords once more towards them, the two just barely managing to get out of the way. “So, are you going to actually get Justice here, or do I have to knock you around a few more times?”

“She’s not needed to beat your sorry ass,” Sweetie said. “Besides, she has more important things to worry about.”

“What could possibly be more important than me?” Valencia said as she stomped her feet and finally pressed the sword blades against their necks. “Now, it seems I have your attention.”

“Yeah, sure,” Gallus said, whipping out the scorpion and shooting Vignette in the leg. She lost her focus, and the blades dropped as Vignette cried out in pain.

“You’ll pay for that…” she hissed as she knelt down, grabbing her leg. “I will kill you both!”

“Tell it to the judge,” Sweetie said as she and Gallus rebounded off trees, Vignette recovering and slicing at the air, before they kicked her into the dirt, boots meeting face. Vignette rolled, and slammed her feet into both of their faceplates before flipping back onto her feet. She flicked her wrist, and her blades rocketed towards the two Riders.

Both rolled to the left, and fired their weapons at Vignette keeping her off balance. Sweetie rushed forwards, spinning her bow and slicing into Vignette’s skin. She changed it to combat staff form and delivered a few good solid blows. Changing it back to bow form, she sent Vignette flying through a tree with an explosive arrow.

“Well, you’re in trouble I see,” a voice said from the forest as Granforca came out of the forest, cracking his knuckles as he’s joined by Caesar. “Lucky for you we’re here to help you out.”

Caesar grabbed Valencia as he eyed the two Riders and drew his sword. “Get out of here, we’ll handle these Riders,” he said as he pointed his sword at Gallus. “That equipment might look impressive, but you’re fighting our Agent who is still getting used to their new form. You won’t stand a chance against us.”

“Perhaps,” Gallus admitted as the trees began to blow like they were under the force of a hurricane. “But I have something you don’t.”

“Oh, and what’s that?” Caesar asked.

“A lot more guns than you.”

Heavy gunfire riddled the two agents, as Gallus shared a nod with Sweetie and they leaped up into the VTOL.

“Another time then…” Granforca growled. “Another time.”

00000

“General, it was a good test but the G3 suit isn’t equipped to actually defeat an Order Agent,” Fancy Pants commented as he watched the footage from the battle. “While Gallus was capable of damaging her, that’s about it really. And this is when she’s not nearly as strong as she could be, the Agent is just going to get stronger.”

“Agreed, although it looks like Gallus is well up to the task of defeating Vignette given if not for the damage output he might have taken her down,” McAllister said. “His coordination with Agent Drops was impressive.”

“I don’t think it’ll be that simple, but yes their coordination was impressive,” Fleur sighed. “This isn’t a problem that can be solved by just throwing more bullets at it. We have to be careful and our Riders are better equipped for the job as well.”

“Better equipped you say?” McAllister asked. “So all you’re saying is Gallus is just lagging behind?”

“I’m saying that the reason that the Tarot Riders are successful is because they draw on the energy from the same source as the Order,” Fleur sighed. “It’s why they are so effective in fighting them. The G3 suit doesn’t have that same edge.”

“Rest assured, I can fix that…” McAllister said before reaching for his phone and dialing a number. “...Yes, can you put Takahiro Omuro on the line? I’d like to request a favor, we need a bit of an equipment upgrade…”

The Mask of Justice

"Scootaloo, wake up!" A voice shouted as the young girl's eyes snapped open as she looked up at a woman with light tan skin and pale purple hair.

Scootaloo tried to rub the sleep out of her eyes, she could tell that her mother was scared but she didn't understand why or what was going on. "What's going on?" She asked sleepily.

"Remember how I told you that if I ever told you something was wrong you needed to get to your safe area?" Her mom asked.

Scootaloo nodded and looked down at the floor. "What's going on?"

"Don't worry about that, just get under your bed, and fast," her mom said and Scootaloo nodded as she laid down and slid under the bed. "I love you Scootaloo, I promise, you're going to be just fine."

"Okay mommy," Scootaloo said, and that was the last she saw before the wood siding was closed.

She had never understood why this had been set up. Her parents had told her that if anything ever happened, she needed to hide under here until they came to tell her that everything was okay. She was just confused, but she knew that she would be safe here.

That's when she heard it, the screaming coming from somewhere outside her room. Then followed by heavy footfalls as something that she didn't recognize made its way through the hall, and opened her bedroom door.

"Come out little hunter, I can smell you!" A deep voice said from the room, she could hear his voice clearly, and she tried not to scream. "You will not get away from me. Your parents presented little challenge, perhaps you'll give me a better challenge little one."

Scootaloo let out an eep and slapped her hand over her mouth as she prayed that whoever it was hadn't heard that. For a moment nothing happened and then the bed above her was physically torn and thrown off to the side and Scootaloo screamed when she looked up.

Whatever it was above her didn't look human. It was massive and muscular, that was dressed in armor with a helmet pulled over its face with the letters V I I I on its chest in a strange symbol that looked like a circle with strange markings crossing it. Its visible mouth smiled as it showed pointed teeth and she just kept screaming.

"Not much of a challenge at all little one, oh well," the monster said as it lifted Scootaloo up, holding her by her shirt. "You will not be a problem for us I'm afraid."

Scootaloo closed her eyes, suddenly afraid of what was about to happen. She knew here parents were likely dead, she tried kicking at the monster's armored chest but it did nothing.

"HENSHIN!" A new voice shouted out that Scootaloo didn't recognize and the two stopped.

Standing in the doorway was a woman in white and gold armor with a strange beetle like-appearance. She was holding a staff in one hand and spun it around, hitting the strange monster which made him drop Scootaloo who scrambled out of the way.

"I should have known you'd be here... Kamen Rider," The monster said with a sneer as he said that last part and drew a sword out.

And with that the world around her turned black.

00000

Scootaloo woke up in her bed breathing heavily. It took her a moment to realize that she wasn't back in her old home but in the bedroom of her apartment. She fell back onto her bed and looked up at the ceiling for a long moment as she sighed a little, that dream had been more and more common lately and she had a hard time understanding why.

She sighed and looked at a picture of her with an older woman with tanned skin and long rainbow hair. She smiled a little as she brushed off the picture a little, she had been away from home for awhile, Rainbow Dash was probably back home about now, she wondered how she was doing.

"Mmm, is everything okay Scoots?" A familiar voice said from next to her and she smiled a little as she looked over to see a pale skinned girl with pink and purple hair yawning as she looked over at Scootaloo. "Did you have another nightmare?"

"Yeah, they're getting more frequent lately..." Scootaloo said with a sigh as she wrapped her arm around Sweetie Belle gently and gave her girlfriend a soft smile. "They're always coming back to that night..."

"I'm sorry, I wish I could help you," Sweetie said softly as she gently wrapped her arms around the other girl. "Maybe its because we're coming up on the anniversary of what happened?"

Scootaloo paused a moment, that was certainly possible. It had been 13 years since her parents had been killed that horrible night by some creature. No one had really believed her when she told them that a monster had attacked her home, and she was having a hard time believing it herself.

For that matter, who was that strange woman that had come to her rescue? She had come in and basically kicked the butt of the creature before carrying Scootaloo off to safety. Things weren't getting much clearer, but this time she felt she remembered a name.

"Kamen Rider," she said softly with a sigh as she leaned back again.

"Kamen Rider? I thought they were all in Japan," Sweetie said as she looked at Scootaloo confused for a moment. "I mean, I'm not really an expert on that kind of thing..."

"Neither am I," Scootaloo admitted with a shake of her head. "I've heard the name before sure, mostly in relation to events in Japan and Asia like you said. At the same time though, I think whatever attacked my family knew about them, and that the one who saved me could've been one. Do, you think it might mean something? I don't even know why I remember it now..."

"Maybe," Sweetie said with a shake of her head as she looked back at Scootaloo. "Maybe you should go see a therapist or something again."

"I don't know, it never seems to do much good," Scootaloo said with a sigh as she fell back on the bed and looked back at Sweetie. "I've been to I don't know how many therapists since Bow Hot Hoof and Windy Whistles took me in. They all seem to be unable to actually help other than your basic information. Survivor's Guilt they call it."

"Scootaloo, you can't just keep letting this get to you," Sweetie said with a shake of her head. "I think you should talk to one, my sister sent me a business card belonging to one here in Canterlot, maybe she can help you out."

"Maybe," Scootaloo said with a shake of her head as she picked up her phone and sighed. "I wish I knew more about what was going on here. It feels like something bigger is at play, but I don't know what it is..."

"Come on, lets just get some sleep," Sweetie said as she leaned in and kissed Scootaloo gently on the lips. "We'll see if we can get you an appointment with the Doctor tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay, if it'll make you feel better," Scootaloo said as she looked back at Sweetie with a soft smile. "I don't know what I'd do without you Sweetie."

"Probably go crazy," Sweetie said with a giggle as she kissed Scootaloo on the nose. "Come on, lets just get some sleep."
Scootaloo nodded and after a few minutes Sweetie Belle was fast asleep. Scootaloo sighed and looked at her phone for a moment as she started typing into the search engine "KAMEN RIDER."

If she was going to figure anything out, maybe that was the best place to start. After all, this was the first real clue she had gotten to what might've happened in a long time.

00000

"So, you say you've been having these dreams on and off for awhile?" Dr. Heartshine, a woman in her 20s with short blue hair tied into a ponytail asked as she looked at Scootaloo.

"Yeah," Scootaloo said with a shake of her head. "They're always of that night when my parents were killed, they keep getting more and more vivid as time goes on though, I don't know what it might mean."

Heartshine looked at her for a long moment as she took notes and sighed a little. "This is pretty classic Survivor's Guilt honestly, how old were you when your parents were killed?"

"Seven," Scootaloo said with a shake of her head as she worked on drawing the figures as Heartshine had requested. "I know it probably sounds like a child's imagination re-writing what she saw to see them as a hero and a monster..."

"Perhaps, or perhaps not," Heartshine said as she listened carefully. "Scootaloo, you say you saw something that night, but you didn't see what happened to your parents?"

"No, uh, I didn't know what happened until after the fact," Scootaloo said with a shake of her head. "The cops told me what happened, all I remember is the armored woman... or, whatever she was carrying me out of the house."

"I see," Heartshine said as she shook her head a little. "Do you remember anything else?"

"Its been coming back, most of it feels blocked out," Scootaloo admitted with a shake of her head. "The creature though, it called the woman a Kamen Rider and I think she said Henshin or something like that."

"Henshin, meaning transform," Heartshine said and narrowed her eyes a little. "Curious, I wish I could tell you more but this isn't like anything I've ever heard before. Are you absolutely certain they said Kamen Rider? Is it possible that it was just something you heard and picked it out of thin air?"

"I honestly don't know," Scootaloo admitted with a shake of her head. "I read up on the term and apparently there have been other cases of Riders or whatever, but there wasn't anything from 13 years ago."

"Scootaloo, you're suffering from a bad case of Survivor's Guilt from the death of your parents," Heartshine said with a shake of her head. "You've repressed your memories of that night but they're slowly coming back to you. That's both good and bad, but you need to know that you might not like what you learn."

"Yeah, I'm starting to figure that out," Scootaloo said with a shake of her head. "What should I do? Is there anything you can do to help me right now Doc?"

Heartshine leaned back in her chair and thought about that question for a long moment. She honestly wasn't sure what to make of what Scootaloo was telling her, she could tell that the young woman had been through this kind of conversation before and was just kind of going through the motions.

She sighed and shook her head a little. She really had no idea what to make of any of this, she was either replacing the attacker and her rescuer with a monster and a superhero, or she really did see something back then. It wouldn't be the first time this kind of thing happened either, but she still wished that she could make some sort of sense of things.

"Scootaloo, I don't pretend to understand what you went through when your parents died," she finally said as she set her pad and paper down. "You lost your family, and that's always going to stick with you. If you want my advice, you need to hold on to the good memories you have of them. It might not be enough to get rid of these nightmares, but you're going to need to try and do your best to make sure that it doesn't consume you. What happened to your parents wasn't your fault Scootaloo, and they would want you to move on with your life and keep living."

"Maybe you're right," Scootaloo said with a sigh and shook her head.

"As long as you're there to remember them, their spirits will always be with you, and forgetting them is a fate worse than death," Heartshine said with a soft smile. "Do you have a good family now?"

"Yeah, Rainbow Dash and her parents they took me in," Scootaloo said with a soft smile. "And my friends they became like my family too. Especially Sweetie Belle, I'd do anything for any of them. I don't want anyone to ever lose someone like I did again either."

"That's good," Heartshine said as she gave Scootaloo a nod. "I'm not going to lie and say this is going to be easy for you to get over. You're going to need help, and I'm willing to give it to you as long as you're willing to accept it. For now, just go see your friends, enjoy yourself, live your life like your parents would've wanted you to do. That's the best I can suggest right now."

"Okay," Scootaloo said with a nod before she looked back at Heartshine. "Doc, do you believe that I really saw and heard something back then?"

Heartshine paused a moment as she sighed and brushed her hair back a little. "I honestly don't know what to believe. I've seen and heard a lot of strange things in this world, and there are certainly monsters out there. Whether or not you saw one I don't know, I don't know why they went after you and your family if they are, but I do know something."

"What's that?"

"That you're a stronger young woman than a lot of people in your position would be," Heartshine said with a soft smile. "I heard about a police officer in Japan that lost his family to a criminal and, well it didn't go well for him at first. If you ever need to talk to me again, I'll be here for you."

"Thanks," Scootaloo said with a sigh as she shook her head a little. "That means a lot to me, thanks Doc."

"Of course Scootaloo," Heartshine said with a nod. "You've got some good friends out there who are worried about you, take care of yourself and of them and I'm sure everything will be okay."

Scootaloo nodded as she got up and shook hands with Heartshine for a moment. She smiled as she looked the woman over, somehow that made her feel better than she ever had before even if she still wasn't really sure what to do.

She just hoped that everything really was going to be okay.

00000

"So, are yah okay?" Apple Bloom asked as the three friends headed out of the office together.

"Yeah, I think so," Scootaloo said with a shake of her head. "She mostly told me what I'd been told before, but she gave me some stuff to think on. I, don't really know what to do now to be honest."

"Well, we're always going to be here for you," Sweetie said with a smile as she gave her girlfriend a kiss on the cheek. "Come on, lets grab lunch while we're out. I heard there's this great new place over there that..."

Scootaloo barely paid attention to what they were talking about as she looked around. It was weird, but it felt like something was watching them, it was probably just her imagination though. Things were just getting weirder ever since she had been having those dreams, but with luck she was going to be fine.

She sighed as she looked back at Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom. They were the best friends she had ever had, and she knew that they were going to be there for her no matter what happened. She smiled a little when she felt Sweetie Belle wrap her arms around her gently.

"Hey Sweetie," Scootaloo said softly as she looked back at her girlfriend.

"Is everything okay Scoots? You're not usually this distracted," Sweetie said as she held the shorter girl closer to her. "You're usually more enthusiastic than this."

"Yeah, I'm just thinking about everything is all," Scootaloo said with a shake of her head as she closed her eyes and placed her hands on Sweetie's hands. "I love you so much Sweetie Belle, I'm glad I have you as my girlfriend."

"Me too," Sweetie said as she closed her eyes and swayed a little with Scootaloo in her arms.

"Get a room ya'll, we need ta get lunch already," Apple Bloom said with a giggle as Scootaloo and Sweetie rolled their eyes. "Ah'm glad yer okay Scoots."

"Yeah, for now at least," Scootaloo said with a shake of her head. "Come on, what's this place you were talking about Sweetie?"

"Oh its this way, Rarity said she and Applejack went there the other day," Sweetie said as they started down the street towards a series of buildings. "She said it was really good, so lets go check it out."

"Yeah, sounds..." Scootaloo started to say when there was a sudden loud scream from somewhere up ahead. "What the..."

Before she could finish that thought a creature came lumbering into view. It looked vaguely humanoid only taller and with ragged looking robes, its face was blank and inhuman looking and it had a strange symbol of two crossed staves on its chest.

Scootaloo froze as she saw the strange creature. It wasn't the same thing that was in her memories, but there was something about it that reminded her so much of it. She couldn't hear as Sweetie and Apple Bloom tried to call out to her, she just stood there frozen as the monster started making its way towards the three young women.

She was back at home, terrified as a monster was breaking into her room and grabbing her. This wasn't a dream, this was real, this was really happening and it wasn't about to end because someone in armor came and saved her.

"SCOOTALOO!" Sweetie said as she grabbed her girlfriend's hand and pulled her away just as a fireball hit the ground where Scootaloo had once been standing. "Come on, we need to get going!"

Scootaloo blinked as she snapped out of the trance. She looked back at her friends as they started to run together down the road from the creature. She looked back at the creature, not noticing as she tripped and managed to catch herself on the ground, her hand brushing against a strange card.

"What the..." She said as she picked it up and looked at it, it showed a woman dressed in robes with a scale in one hand and a sword in the other. The card glowed briefly in her hand and she looked at it confused for a long moment.

"Come on, we have ta go!" Apple Bloom said as she helped Scootaloo up.

"Right," Scootaloo said as she unconsciously pocketed the card and they ran off together again.

From a nearby doorway a woman with pink and blue hair pressed against a communicator on her ear. "This is Agent Drops, we've got a Situation Beta. What's my orders?"

"Follow the subject," the voice on the other end said into her ear. "If she's a possible user we have to make sure that she makes it home okay."

"What about the creature?" The woman asked as she looked back at the strange creature.

"What is it?" The voice asked.

"It looks like the Two of Wands," she replied as she narrowed her eyes a little at the symbol on the creature's chest. "We can't just leave it alone out here."

"Don't worry, we'll deal with them, just make sure that you finish your part of the job," the male voice said on the other end. "We're going to need more help than this if we're going to stop the rest of them."

"Sir, I can start to try and search harder for..." The Woman said with a shake of her head. "We need to fight like you said, and if I can get the other half I can do better, we don't need their help."

"You're going to have to be careful," the man said. "You're not ready for that yet, and you don't have the right partner. Just give it time. Go try and talk to the subject, but be careful, you don't want to worry them."

"How much do you want me to tell her?"

"Tell her everything that you need to," the male voice said on the other end. "We're going to need her help, make sure she's on board."

"Understood," the woman said as she started down the road, looking back at where the creature was after it had already ran off.

She hoped she wasn't about to put those three young women in danger, this was not a good situation on its own without putting more people at risk.

She just hoped that her boss was doing the right thing.

00000

"Scootaloo, what happened back there?" Sweetie asked as Scootaloo sat down on the couch and took a drink of water. "You froze up back there, why?"

"It, was the creature back there, it reminded me of the one that was in my nightmares..." Scootaloo said shakily. "It wasn't the same creature, but it... had the same feeling to it. The same kind of feeling of helplessness I felt back then..."

"Scootaloo, its okay," Sweetie said as she put her arm around the other girl a little. "Do you think it might be connected to what happened to your parents?"

"Maybe, though I don't really know for sure," Scootaloo admitted as she brushed her hair back a little. "Like I said it looked differently than what I saw, but at least now I know for sure that I didn't just dream this kind of thing up. Still, I kind of wish I knew what was going on."

"Don't worry Scootaloo, we'll figure it out," Sweetie said as she looked at Apple Bloom for a moment. "You said you found some information right?"

"Just on what the monster said in my dream, and a strange amount of references to something called Shocker," Scootaloo said with a shake of her head as she laid back against Sweetie Belle. "I wish this all made sense, there aren't any reports going back to what happened before."

"Don't worry about it, I'm sure everything will make sense in time," Sweetie said.

"Maybe, but I don't think answers are going to just fall into our lap," Scootaloo said as there was a knock on the door to their apartment.

"Ah'll get it," Apple Bloom said as she got up and headed over to the door and opened it to reveal the woman from the street at the door and looking down at her. "Can Ah help yah? We're kind of in tha middle of a thing."

"I won't take up too much of your time, I would like to speak to you and your friends about what you saw earlier," the woman said as Apple Bloom's eyes went wide.

"Look, we didn't see anythin' anyone else didn't and we'll keep it ta ourselves if..." Apple Bloom started to say, she was suddenly very worried about what this strange woman might want.

"Its already all over the internet, its not like we can keep it hidden, that's not why I'm here," the woman said and looked past Apple Bloom at Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle who were looking at the woman curiously for a moment. "Its, complicated, may I come inside? Its important that I talk to your friend."

"How can we trust..." Apple Bloom started to say when the woman reached into her pocket and took out an ID badge.

"Agent Sweetie Drops with S.M.I.L.E's Fortune Division," she said and Apple Bloom's eyes went wide when she saw the information on it. "Look, I know this isn't an easy time for you and your friends, but I think I can help shed some light on what's going on if you are willing."

"You, really can help?" Scootaloo asked as she finally spoke up and Sweetie Drops nodded. "Alright, you can come in I guess."

"Thank you," Sweetie Drops said with a smile as she walked into the apartment after Apple Bloom let her in. She pulled up one of the kitchen chairs and took a seat as she gave them a reassuring smile. "What I am about to tell you is not to leave these walls unless I say otherwise, do you understand?"

The three friends exchanged a look and then nodded a little.

"Okay, I know this is going to sound crazy, you remember that creature from before right?"

"Right, its kind of hard to forget," Scootaloo said with a groan.

"That was part of what's called the Order of the High Arcana," Sweetie Drops said with a sigh as she brushed her hair back a little. "They're creatures that have taken on the form of the Major and Minor Arcana cards from Tarot. The cards are enchanted, they'll possess people and turn them into, well, what you saw tonight."

"What? That's horrible!" Sweetie Belle said and blinked in shock. "Why would anyone want to do something like that?"

"Sometimes it was involuntary, other times they do it for power," Sweetie Drops said and shook her head a little. "The sad fact is that a lot of people want power and they'll do anything to get it. The Order is, well they're complicated, but we believe they're extra-dimensional beings or even demons that need to use the cards as a medium to enter this world."

Scootaloo blinked a little and reached into her pocket as she took out the card that she had found earlier and held it up. "You mean, like this card?"

"The Justice Card, yes that is one of the cards, but the Major Arcana are different," Sweetie Drops said with a shake of her head. "They have physical bodies that come into this world as far as we can tell. Sometimes they are willing to change their ways, to be better, Justice is one of them. The thing though is that they need someone who is capable of using them to be able to actually work right. Did that card react to you in any way?"

"Yeah, it glowed when I picked it up," Scootaloo replied as she looked at her confused. "What does that even mean? What is this going to mean for me?"

"You've awakened Justice's power," Sweetie Drops said as she pressed her ear communicator to make sure that the conversation was being transmitted. "Sir, I'm here talking to the subject now."

"Understood," the male voice from before said and then paused a moment as he seemed to be looking over some information. "You're sure this is the one that found it?"

"Yes, I'm positive," Sweetie Drops said and looked confused. "What do you mean? What's going on?"

"Take them back to headquarters if you can, we need to talk to them soon," the male voice said with a strange tone in his voice. "She's their daughter."

Sweetie Drops paused a moment and then her eyes went wide when she realized just what that meant. She nodded a little and looked back at Scootaloo and her friends.

"Your name is Scootaloo right?" She asked and Scootaloo nodded. "Your birth name was Scootaloo Twister?"

"Yeah, how'd you know?" Scootaloo asked.

"I need to get the three of you to headquarters, you need to be completely briefed on the situation," Sweetie Drops said and shook her head a little.

"Wait, why do we have to go?" Sweetie Belle asked as they all looked at her confused. "We're not going anywhere until we know what's going on."

"Scootaloo, your parents were killed 13 years ago right?" Sweetie Drops asked as she looked at Scootaloo more worried than ever.

"Yeah, why?" Scootaloo asked as she looked at the older woman confused for a moment. "I've been having nightmares about the night it happened more and more lately, but you're not really a therapist."

"Right, of course... if they're back you'd be more susceptible to their magic," Sweetie Drops said with a shake of her head. "Look, I don't know what you remember, but I promise you this. If the three of you come with me, we can give you answers about what happened to your parents, and a way to stop it from ever happening again."

Scootaloo blinked in surprise and looked at her friends who gave her a nod and she looked back at Sweetie Drops for a moment and sighed a little. "Alright, if they agree to it, I'll come with you."

"Same with me," Sweetie Belle said without a moment of hesitation.

"Yeah, wherever Scoots goes, we go!" Apple Bloom said and Scootaloo nodded. "We're ready ta go wherever yah want ta take us."

"Alright, good, but remember, this is all top secret, I shouldn't even be talking to you about this, but there are, extenuating circumstances, come with me," Sweetie Drops said and they headed out of the apartment together.

00000

The three friends weren't sure exactly what to expect when the woman took them on a car ride through Canterlot. They were half afraid that this was some sort of trick and they were about to be taken away to have horrible things done to them, but eventually they came to a stop.

In front of a nondescript building that looked like it was an old storefront. Sweetie Drops got out of the car and opened the doors as she lead them inside.

"This, isn't really what I was expecting," Scootaloo said as she looked at the old dusty building around them. "What exactly are we doing here?"

"You'll see," Sweetie Drops said before speaking out loud as if into thin air. "Agent Sweetie Drops and guests reporting in. Password, stacking the deck in our favor."

The wall opened up to reveal an elevator that was hidden away. Sweetie Drops gestured towards the three friends and gave them a nod. "All the answers to what's going on are down there, this is your last chance to back out. Once you go down there, your whole life is going to change."

"What do ya'll think we should do?" Apple Bloom asked as she looked over at her friends. "Ah ain't sure what ta think of this ta be honest."

"Scootaloo, you're the one who found the card and its about your family," Sweetie Belle said as she looked at the purple haired young woman. "If you want to go down there, we'll be behind you all the way."

"I can't promise you'll like everything you'll learn down there Scootaloo," Sweetie Drops said as she shook her head a little. "There are a lot of things you have to understand, and your parents tie into a lot of it. Are you willing to come?"

She held her hand out to Scootaloo and she thought for a moment before she took it. "If you really think I should do this, then I'll go, I just want answers at this point."

"Of course, then come with me," Sweetie Drops said and lead the three into the elevator which started up. "We're going to Fortune Division HQ."

"What's Fortune Division?" Apple Bloom asked.

"Our special division built for fighting against the Order," Sweetie Drops answered as the elevator started to descend. "We've been doing this for almost 15 years now. And Scootaloo, your parents were part of it."

Scootaloo blinked a little, she was starting to feel like she was getting in over her head. Sweetie Belle gave her a reassuring smile and took her hand and gave it a light squeeze.

"Everything's going to be okay Scootaloo," Sweetie Belle said reassuringly as she shot the agent a look that said she better not make her a liar.

"Of course," Sweetie Drops said as she looked back at the elevator door. "Everything will be just fine, you can trust me."
The three friends just hoped that she really could be trusted. Right now, there was a lot of unanswered questions and they were afraid that the answers may not be good ones.

00000

"Welcome to Fortune Division," Sweetie Drops said as the doors to the elevator finally opened and they found themselves in a large room.

The entry area looked pretty much unremarkable, it had a desk with a receptionist on it and several doors and corridors leading off from it. On the far wall there was a series of pictures with the words "Remembering Those Who Gave their Lives" above them.

Scootaloo paused when she saw two pictures that were familiar to her, a woman with lighter purple hair and a man with red hair. She looked back at Sweetie Drops who gave her a nod, they were her parents, there was no doubt about it, they really had worked with Fortune Division.

"The boss is waiting for you in his office," the receptionist said barely looking up at the four of them and briefly glanced at Scootaloo. "This is the new Rider huh?"

"That's the hope, yes," Sweetie Drops said with a shake of her head as she looked back at Scootaloo. "Come, all of you, we don't want to keep the boss waiting."

They headed down one of the corridors towards their destination. On the far end was a door that read "Fancy Pants, Division Chief." And after a brief knock on the door a male voice told them to come in.

"Ah, welcome, welcome," a tall man with tanned skin and blue hair said as he got up, a monocle was in one eye and he was dressed impeccably in a suit. He looked at Scootaloo and his face turned solemn. "I must say, I wasn't expecting you to be the one we found. I'm sorry about what happened to your parents, it happened on my watch and I should have been more careful."

"What, exactly did my parents do for this place?" Scootaloo asked as she looked at Fancy Pants confused for a moment. "They never told me anything about this."

"In short, your parents were what we in the business call Monster Hunters," Fancy Pants said with a sigh as he shook his head a little. "S.M.I.L.E. started up after the invasions in Japan from various monster factions. For the most part however, this part of the world has been quiet save for the Order."

"I'm still confused as to exactly what the order is," Sweetie Belle said with a shake of her head. "Where did they come from? Why are they attacking now?"

"There's not a lot known about them to be honest," Fancy Pants said with a sigh as he looked back at Sweetie Drops. "They're inter-dimensional beings that much we know for sure, and as I'm sure my agent told you they've been a threat because of those who would use them to gain power."

"But, this card I found, its connected to them too isn't it?" Scootaloo asked as she held up the card. "Why isn't it affecting me the same way it is other people?"

"Because you awakened it," another woman's voice said and a tall pale woman with long pink hair entered the office with a soft smile. "The Major Arcana cards can be used safely by those that they deem worthy of their power and without any major consequences usually. The problem is that most of their spirits are, well, corrupted in one way or another. And that's where you get the real threat to the city."

"One of them killed my parents didn't they?" Scootaloo asked as she looked down at her feet. "I remember them, in a dream at least, it tried to kill me too."

"Scootaloo, your parents were targeted by one of the Order's top enforcers, I'm not going to lie," the woman said with a sigh. "They wanted to stop them from defeating any more of their agents. I'm, sorry that I couldn't have been there faster to save them."

"You..." Scootaloo said and then blinked a little as she looked at the woman shocked. "You were the one that stopped the monster from hurting me?"

"Fleur de Lis at your service, former Kamen Rider Magician," the woman said with a smile and a polite bow.

"Wait, former Kamen Rider Magician?" Scootaloo asked as she looked at the woman confused for a moment. "Why only former?"

"After I saved you, I pursued the creature in hopes of stopping them," Fleur said and sighed a little. "We got into a fight, but he was able to overpower me and took my card. The cards are the means by which we transform, so if it is taken from us, then we can't do anything more than fight on our own. And, well, some enemies are too strong for that option, which is why we've been trying to find other people capable of being Riders."

"And, yah think Scootaloo is one of them just because she picked up a card?" Apple Bloom asked as she looked at them confused for a moment. "Ah gotta say, that sounds pretty crazy ta me."

"Its not that she picked it up, its that it appeared to her and responded to her picking it up. I know it sounds unlikely, but if you can truly tap into the power of the Justice card, then it will be enough."

"I see," Scootaloo said as she looked at the card strangely for a moment. "I don't really know what to make of any of this to be honest. I'm not much of a superhero or whatever you want to call it. I lost my parents to one of these creatures though, and I want to be able to stop them before anyone else suffers the same fate."

"So, are you going to at least try?" Fancy Pants asked. "We aren't going to force you into anything."

"I will try," Scootaloo finally said. "If this Order really is a threat, then I will do everything in my power to make sure that they're stopped once and for all."

"Excellent, I'm glad we could reach an agreement," Fleur said with a smile. "We wouldn't want to have to kill you now would we?"

"What?" Scootaloo asked as her friends' eyes went wide.

"Just a bit of spy humor," Fleur said with a chuckle as she shook her head before she leaned over and kissed Fancy Pants on the cheek. "Come on girls, I'll show you to the lab."

She came around the desk and gave the girls a nod. Scootaloo just looked confused for a long moment as she tried to figure out what was going on here, there was still a lot she didn't understand but she was starting to piece things together.

She knew what she had to do, she had to make sure that no one else lost a family again because of these monsters. If she was going to stop them, she was going to protect this city no matter what.

She just hoped that she was doing the right thing.

00000

"Flim? Flam? We've got a new subject for you to test your equipment out on," Fleur said as they opened the door to the lab.

"Flim and Flam?" Apple Bloom asked confused. "Ah know those names from somewhere, didn't they used ta be con artists or somethin' that vanished off tha radar?"

"Yes my dear, but that was a long time ago!" A male voice said as two men entered. They looked almost identical with red and white hair and dressed in lab coats and suits under them, though one of them had a mustache and the other one didn't.

"These days, we're doing work for the government," the other said with a tip of his hat before he looked at the others. "I'm Flam, and this is my brother Flim. So, which one of you is getting the Driver?"

"The what?" Sweetie Belle asked as she looked confused for a moment.

"Oh, of course, you're not completely in the know are you?" Flim said with a chuckle as he looked at his brother. "So, shall we tell them everything needed then brother?"

"I'd say so brother," Flam said as he took out a strange looking device that was in a nearby drawer. "Its a shame that we haven't gotten to use these things in so long. Perhaps this will be a chance to change that."

Scootaloo blinked as she looked at the device confused. It was square shaped and elongated, it slightly resembled a belt buckle or something only larger and with elaborate designs across it. She noticed that there was a slot and two parts of it that looked like it was supposed to be part of a larger piece but it wasn't for some reason.

"What is this thing?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"Its called the Tarot Driver, our own design of course," Flim said with a chuckle as Flam held it out to Scootaloo. "Its based on some technology scans that we've seen before, very fascinating devices."

"Should I try it out?" Scootaloo asked as she took the Driver and examined it carefully. It was surprisingly light in her hand as she held it. "How does this thing work anyway?"

"Its simple, just put it on and say "Henshin" as you slide your transformation card into the slot," Fleur said and Scootaloo looked at her confused.

"Henshin?" She asked. "Why that of all things?"

"Eh, its pretty standard honestly, I thought maybe we should change it to Transform but these two thought it should stay that," Fleur said as she looked at the brothers with a roll of her eyes. "Just try it out for now, lets make sure that this works."

"You might want to back up," Flam said to the other two young women. "This can be a bit of a doozy, we don't want anything happening."

Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom nodded as they backed up and Scootaloo fit the device onto her stomach. She was a bit surprised when she felt a belt wrapping around her waist and she looked down at it confused for a moment and then took out the Justice card.

"Are you sure about this? This isn't going to hurt me is it?" She asked as she looked at Fleur.

"Trust me, it won't hurt you," Fleur said with a shake of her head. "This is just a trial run anyway, you need to make sure that everything works before you can do anything with it."

Scootaloo nodded a little and she slid the card into the slot before calling out, "Henshin!"

"TIME TO TIP THE SCALES!" A voice said from her Driver and she blinked as a form of energy appeared in front of her and flew into her.

She felt armor forming over her body as she looked at a mirrored surface confused for a long moment. Black and green armor appeared over her body and a helmet formed that was mostly black with green highlights and two large red eyes along with antennae sticking out of it. Her shoulder pads were strangely flat and circular, as if holding something Finally a symbol appeared on her chest of a scale with the number XI on them.

"What the..." she said as she looked at herself in the mirror.

"You're looking good, almost as good as I did," Fleur said but her tone suggested that she was kidding about that part. "You're not quite ready to bear the title of Kamen Rider yet though."

"Why's that?" Apple Bloom asked as she look at Fleur curiously. "Ah mean, she's got tha suit and tha ability ta transform right? How is she not ready yet?"

"You don't get given the title of Kamen Rider, you earn it, I know it sounds weird but its how it's always worked," Fleur said with a shake of her head. "Its weird I know, heck we didn't even know most of this stuff right away. But, that's not important, for now you just have to know that we have faith in you and your ability to do what you can to protect this city."

"But no pressure right?" Scootaloo asked as she looked at herself in the mirror. She really had no idea what she was doing here and there was a lot she felt like she needed to learn before she was really ready to do this, she barely recognized herself in this armor.

She sighed, what was she getting herself into?

The Sword of Fate

Scootaloo fell back onto the bed as she smiled over at Sweetie Belle. “Wow, you were more eager than usual tonight.”

“Is that a bad thing?” Sweetie asked as she leaned over and gave Scootaloo a soft kiss on the cheek. “We’ve both been under a lot of stress lately, I thought it would be good to try and relieve some of that.”

“Mmm, yeah,” Scootaloo said with a soft smile as she ran her hand slowly along Sweetie’s back. “I’m certainly not complaining, I always enjoy the time we spend together.”

“Yeah…” Sweetie said softly as she looked up at Scootaloo and chuckled a little. “I still remember when you tried to ask me out you know. You were so nervous and you wanted to talk to my family first.”

“Yeah,” Scootaloo said sheepishly. “I don’t really know why I was so nervous I mean your sister is married to Applejack so I doubt they’d care about you being into girls.”

“Of course not,” Sweetie said with a chuckle then paused a moment. “Do you ever think about whether or not we should have kids someday? I mean, like adopt or do invitro fertilization… I’ve thought about it sometimes.”

“I’m, honestly not sure,” Scootaloo admitted as she brushed her hair back a little. “I’ve considered it before, and I wouldn’t mind trying to be a mother, but I honestly don’t know if I could do a good job.”

“Scootaloo, you’d make a great mom,” Sweetie said as she kissed Scootaloo gently on the lips. “I know it because you’re great at everything else. You just need the confidence to do it, and well we need to figure everything out first.”

“Yeah,” Scootaloo said as she snuggled up to Sweetie. “I love you so much Sweetie Belle, I don’t know what I’d ever do without you.”

“I love you too Scootaloo,” Sweetie said softly as the two young women closed their eyes and drifted off to sleep.

00000

4 years ago.

Scootaloo paused a moment as she stood in front of a house in Canterlot. She had never felt more nervous than she did right now (up until then at least), she took a deep breath as she looked up at the door.

How was she going to do this? She shivered a little as for a moment she started to reach for the doorbell before she paused a moment. This was something she had been thinking about for a while, but how was she supposed to do this? She took a deep breath and rang the doorbell as she looked around and waited.

“Maybe I should skip town…” She said quietly to herself as she looked back at her car. “No… you can do this Scootaloo, the worst that can happen is they say no… and Sweetie never talks to you again…”

She slapped herself and shook her head.

“Darn it Scoots, don’t think like that, she’s your best friend, she’d never do that,” Scootaloo said to reassure herself. “You can do this, just go in there and tell them how you feel about her…”

Before she could do anything else though, the door opened and a tall woman with tan skin and long blonde hair answered it. She was holding a five-year-old girl with long red hair with blonde highlights in it.

“Oh hey Scoots, Ah wasn’t expectin’ ta see yah here,” the blond woman said with a smile. “What brings yah here?”

“I wanted to talk with you and Rarity about something Applejack,” Scootaloo said as she rubbed the back of her head a little. “I can come back later if it’s not a good time.”

“Nah, it's fine, right Honey?” Applejack said as she looked at the little girl in her arms and smiled a little.

“Yeah, we love havin’ yah over,” Honey said with a smile. “Auntie Sweetie Belle and Auntie Apple Bloom are out right now though, is everythin’ okay?”

“Yeah, everything is fine,” Scootaloo said with a soft smile. “Like I said I just want to talk to your mamas about something.”

“Alright, come on in,” Applejack said as they headed into the house together and Scootaloo was lead to the living room where a woman with pale skin and long curled purple hair was seated on the couch working on something. “Hey, Rarity darlin’ Scootaloo decided ta stop by.”

“Oh Scootaloo, it's wonderful to see you again,” Rarity said as she looked up at Scootaloo with a smile. “What can we do for you?”

“I wanted to talk to you, about Sweetie,” Scootaloo said as Rarity raised an eyebrow and gestured for her to take a seat. “I normally would talk to her parents about this kind of thing, but…”

Rarity sighed and shook her head a little. Her and Sweetie’s parents were usually busy and had very little to do with either of their daughters’ lives. Sometimes she wished that they would be there more often, but there wasn’t much she could do about it.

As a result, Rarity had basically raised Sweetie after she graduated from High School. And between that and helping Applejack with her own daughter, she had her hands full. She was just glad that Sweetie had such good friends like Scootaloo.

“Of course Scootaloo, anything you want to say about Sweetie you can say to the two of us,” Rarity said as she smiled a little and placed her hand gently on Applejack’s. “Did something happen to her?”

“No, it’s just,” Scootaloo said as she paused a moment as if trying to figure out exactly how to put this. “Sweetie and I have been friends for a long time you know, ever since my parents died.”

“Yes, we’re aware,” Applejack said. “Ah lost mah parents when Ah was around tha same age so Ah’m just glad that yah found friends ta help yah like Ah did.”

“Yeah,” Scootaloo said with a sigh. “Recently though, I’ve been feeling more for Sweetie than just friendship. I normally would just ask her but I wanted to talk to the two of you first, to get your permission.”

Rarity raised an eyebrow for a moment and a smile came over her face as Scootaloo blushed a little. She should’ve known that was what she wanted to talk about, and she chuckled a little at the younger girl’s embarrassment.

“You want to ask her out don’t you?” Rarity asked as she gave Scootaloo a nod.
“Yeah, I know it’s silly to ask permission for that…” Scootaloo said with a shake of her head. “But, Sweetie’s my best friend, same with Apple Bloom. I wanted to make sure that I did this right so that I didn’t risk hurting her.”

“Hmm, what do yah think Honey? Should we let her date Auntie Sweetie?” Applejack said as she looked at her daughter. “Ah mean, Sweetie’s a special gal, so she needs someone special too.”

“Yep,” Honey said with a giggle as she looked at Scootaloo. “Are yah gonna be good ta mah auntie?”

“Yeah, I promise I will,” Scootaloo said. “I love her more than anything in my life right now. I want to make her happy, to be the best girlfriend for her I can be, I just want a chance to try.”

“And if you break her heart, I will let Applejack hunt you down with her shotgun,” Rarity said with a chuckle. “She needs the practice for when Honey is old enough for boys to go after her.”

“Uh…” Scootaloo said as her eyes went wide at that. “I promise I’ll try my hardest not to break her heart. I love her a lot, and she’s my best friend, I don’t think I could forgive myself if I did hurt her.”

“Okay, that’s good enough for me,” Rarity said with a smile as she hugged Scootaloo tightly. “I’m sure you’ll treat Sweetie right, I believe in you.”

“Thanks,” Scootaloo said as she hugged back and they released the hug after a moment as the door unlocked. “Sounds like she’s here.”

“Yeah,” Rarity said and looked at Honey and Applejack. “How about we go upstairs and let Scootaloo have some time alone?”

“Aww, but Ah want ta watch!” Honey protested with a cute pout on her face. “Ah want ta see what happens!”

“Honey, Ah’m sure that they’ll tell yah what happened later,” Applejack said as she ruffled her daughter’s hair. “This is Scootaloo and Sweetie’s special moment.”

“Aww, okay,” Honey said with a pout as she shook her head a little. “Talk ta yah later auntie Scootaloo!”

“Come on darlings, let's go upstairs,” Rarity said as she took her wife and step-daughter upstairs just as Sweetie came in and saw Scootaloo seated in the living room.

“Hey, I thought I heard my sister and Applejack,” Sweetie said as she looked around for a moment.

“Yeah, they, had to go do something with Honey,” Scootaloo said with a shrug as she sat up and gave Sweetie a soft smile. “Sweetie, I know this is going to sound kind of silly, but there’s something I want to talk to you about.”

“Oh, what’s that?” Sweetie asked as she took a seat on the couch.

“Well, we’ve been friends for a long time now,” Scootaloo said as she brushed her hair back a little. “Lately, I’ve been feeling something for you though, something more than just friendship. I wanted to know if…”

She let that thought trail off for a moment as if she was trying to put it into words still.

“Yes?” Sweetie asked as she looked at Scootaloo curiously. “We’re friends, you know you can tell or ask me anything.”

“Well Sweetie, for the longest time I’ve, had feelings for you,” Scootaloo said as she blushed a little. “I... wanted to know if you maybe wanted to be, more than just friends? I love you Sweetie, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you if you’ll have me.”

Sweetie just sat there in stunned silence for a long moment as she looked at Scootaloo. Scootaloo shifted uncomfortably for a moment as if she wasn’t sure what Sweetie might say, the pale skinned girl was just sitting there for the moment.

“This was a bad idea…” Scootaloo said as she started to get up. “I’m sorry Sweetie, I shouldn’t have said anything and put our friendship in jeopardy. I hope…”

She was surprised to feel a soft hand wrapping around her’s as Sweetie finally got up and took Scootaloo’s hands. She smiled at the darker skinned girl and pulled her in close as she kissed her gently on the lips.

“Scootaloo, you’ve got nothing to worry about,” Sweetie said with a soft smile. “I’ve had a hard time figuring out how to say it, but I feel the same about you. I’ve felt the same way for a while now actually. I love you Scootaloo Dash.”
“So, that’s a yes?” Scootaloo said with a smirk as she wrapped her arms around Sweetie’s waist gently and pulled her in close.

“Of course it is silly,” Sweetie said with a chuckle as she leaned in and gave Scootaloo a gentle kiss on the lips. “I would love nothing more than to be your girlfriend. I’m glad you asked me though, I don’t know what I’d have done if I had to ask.”

Scootaloo chuckled a little as she kissed her new girlfriend again and held her close to her body. The two young women shared the embrace for the longest moment as they closed their eyes, just enjoying the feeling of each other’s body pressed up against them.

“Told yah,” Applejack whispered to Rarity as they watched from the stairs. “Ah knew Sweetie had feelings fer her too.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Rarity said with a shake of her head. She had little doubt in her younger sister’s feelings, she just wasn’t sure if she would have come out and said it. “I never doubter that darling, I just wasn’t sure if she was ready to take the next step.”

“Ah don’t know, she had tha same look on her face yah had when yah wanted ta ask me out,” Applejack said with a chuckle. “Ah’m bettin’ it runs in tha family, yer mom probably had it too when yer pa asked her out.”

“Haha,” Rarity said with a roll of her eyes. “I’m happy for them though. Sweetie deserves to be happy, though I didn’t think it would be with Scootaloo.”

“Did yah think yah would find love in a farm girl?” Applejack pointed out with a chuckle.

“Touche,” Rarity said with a laugh as she kissed her wife gently on the lips. “Come on, Honey’s probably wondering what’s taking us so long.”

“Right,” Applejack said as they took one last look back at the new couple before they headed up to their daughter’s room.

00000

Today.

Scootaloo stretched out a little as she headed out into the kitchen area for breakfast the next morning. Apple Bloom was already there working on getting it ready, Sweetie Belle was still in bed fast asleep.

“Where’s sleepin’ beauty?” Apple Bloom asked.

“She’s asleep, I thought I’d let her sleep a bit longer with everything that’s going on,” Scootaloo said with a shrug as she took a seat at the table. “What’s for breakfast?”

“Bacon, eggs, and whatever else yah want,” Apple Bloom said as she kept working on breakfast and smiled at Scootaloo. “How are yah doin’?”

“I’m fine, I’m more worried about Sweetie,” Scootaloo said with a shake of her head. “She was so distracted last night and then she… uh…”

“Surprised yah in tha shower?” Apple Bloom asked as she raised an eyebrow and gave Scootaloo a smile. “Don’t ask how Ah know, but we really need a place with thicker walls.”

“Yeah, sorry about that,” Scootaloo said as she rubbed the back of her head a little. “We’re trying to keep it down.”

“Don’t worry about it, Ah understand why ya’ll need it,” Apple Bloom said with a shrug. “Still, Ah wish Ah had someone who loves me that much. Ah’ve got this one guy at work who seems interested in me, but he’s kinda shy.”

“Well, maybe you should talk to him first,” Scootaloo suggested. “There’s nothing wrong with taking a little initiative. Are you interested in him?”

“Kinda, yeah,” Apple Bloom admitted as her face turned as red as her hair. “He’s pretty cute Ah’ll admit. Still, Ah feel nervous with tha whole thing, what if Ah mess it up somehow?”

“Just be yourself and you have nothing to worry about,” Scootaloo said with a slight smile. “Apple Bloom, anyone would be lucky to have you, don’t let anyone tell you otherwise, even yourself. If you want to try and find someone you need to take chances.”

“Yeah, that’s easy fer yah ta say,” Apple Bloom said with a shake of her head. “Ya’ll have been friends fer as long as Ah remember. Yah were friends before Ah even knew ya’ll, that had ta make it a little easier right?”
“Heck no, I was terrified,” Scootaloo said with a shake of her head. “But I knew that if I didn’t take a chance and talk to her and Rarity and Applejack then I’d regret it for the rest of my life. You need to be willing to take a chance on love and all you can do is hope that you’re right about him, or her being the right one.”

“Alright, Ah’ll give it a shot,” Apple Bloom said with a shake of her head. “Yer pretty good at givin’ pep talks yah know that?”

“Well, I’m a superhero now, that’s kind of what I do,” Scootaloo said with a chuckle as Sweetie came out and gave Scootaloo a kiss on the cheek.

“Hey, what’s going on out here?” Sweetie asked with a soft smile.

“Apple Bloom might have a boyfriend soon,” Scootaloo said with a chuckle as Apple Bloom’s face turned red again.

“Oh really? Should we check him out to make sure that he’s right for our friend?” Sweetie asked with a chuckle. “Or better yet we should have SMILE check him out.”

“That, ain’t gonna be necessary,” Apple Bloom said with a shake of her head. “Ah’ll figure this out on mah own. Besides, Scoots gave me some good advice.”

“Well, I tried to at least,” Scootaloo said with a chuckle as she rubbed the back of her head a little bit. “Anything for a friend you know?”

“Yeah, if you need anything, just let us know,” Sweetie Belle said. “Advice, a shoulder to cry on, a friend to help you get revenge…”

The three friends just laughed a little at that before Scootaloo’s cell phone rang and she answered it. “Hello?”

“Scootaloo, I think we’ve got a lead on the shield card user,” Fleur’s voice said on the other end. “We got a missing person report in yesterday about a young woman who’s been missing since before the monster attacks started.

“A young woman?” Scootaloo asked surprised. “I thought the monster sounded more masculine.”
“Yeah, I don’t know how that works either, I think its the armor or the spirit,” Fleur answered. “I’m going to send you the address, you and Sweetie Drops need to talk to her little sister. If we can get some information on what’s going on that might be what we need to get through to her.”

“Alright,” Scootaloo said as she gave her friends a small nod. “Send it to me, I’ll take my bike out there.”

“Alright, I’ll send it in a second,” Fleur answered. “Good luck out there, this isn’t exactly in the nice part of town.”

“Understood,” Scootaloo said with a nod as Fleur hung up. A few moments later the address was texted to her and she gave her friends a nod. “Are you two going to be okay? It seems we’ve got a lead.”

“Yeah, we’ll be fine,” Apple Bloom said with a nod. “Be careful out there okay?”

“Okay,” Scootaloo said as she grabbed her helmet, gave Sweetie a kiss, and headed downstairs and out of the apartment complex.

00000

“Are you okay?” Sweetie Drops asked as they walked up to an old building on the west side of Canterlot. This was not exactly the nicest part of town like Fleur had said, it was usually crime ridden and attracted a lot of the wrong people.

“Yeah, I’m sure,” Scootaloo said with a nod as Sweetie Drops reached up to knock on the door. “What should we tell her?”

“Just ask her if she knows anything about what happened to her sister,” Sweetie Drops said. “This might be a wild goose chase honestly, but it’s the only disappearance that matches the profile of the Three of Swords.”

“What happened?” Scootaloo asked.

“Their older sister is in jail, she’s got a rap sheet as long as my arm,” Sweetie Drops said as she knocked on the door.

A minute later there was the sound of someone on the other side of the door and a young feminine voice was heard. “Can I help you?”

“FBI, we want to talk to you about your sister, Aria Dazzle?” Sweetie Drops said as she held up her badge.

“She’s, not here right now,” the female voice said on the other side. “You’ll have to come back later.”

“We know she’s not there,” Sweetie Drops said. “We’re here investigating her disappearance. If there’s anything you can tell us it would help.”

“I… don’t know, my sisters always told me not to open the door for strangers,” the voice from the other side of the door said. “How do I know you really work for the FBI?”

“That’s a valid question…” Scootaloo said quietly.

“Yeah, but what do you want me to say? We’re not exactly open with our existence,” Sweetie Drops whispered back.

“Good point,” Scootaloo said with a sigh as she looked back at the door. “What’s her name?”
“Sonata Dazzle,” Sweetie Drops answered.

“Hey Sonata right?” Scootaloo asked. “I’m just here because I want to help your sister. I know she’s going through a tough time, you all are right?”

“Well, yeah…” Sonata’s voice said from the other side.

“I get it, I lost my parents when I was young and I’ve got a big sister too that’s always been there for me,” Scootaloo said with a smile. “Your sisters have always been there for you haven’t they?”

“Yeah, we’re all we’ve got,” Sonata said sadly. “Now with Adagio in jail and Aria’s off doing who knows what…”

“Look, we want to help Aria,” Scootaloo said. “My name is Scootaloo Dash, I promise that if you help us out we’ll save your sister if she really is the one we’re looking for. Can you help us out?”

“You’d think I was crazy…” Sonata said softly.

“Trust me, we’ve seen a lot of crazy things,” Scootaloo said. “Just let us in and I promise you everything will be okay.”

Finally, there was the sound of the door unlocking as it opened to reveal a teenage girl with blue hair tied into a ponytail. Scootaloo’s heart fell, she couldn’t be older than 13 and she was on her own because of what happened.

“Do you really mean that?” Sonata asked softly as she looked at Scootaloo.

“I promise you, I will do everything I can to make sure that your sister is safe,” Scootaloo said with a smile as she tried to reassure the younger girl. “It’s kinda what I do.”

“Alright, that’s good enough for me,” Sonata said and gestured for the two Riders to come inside. Scootaloo gave Sweetie Drops a nod as they went in together, the house wasn’t in the best shape and it looked like it had barely been cleaned. “So, what do you want to know?”

“Has your sister been acting weird lately?” Sweetie Drops asked. “Any, unusual behavior that she doesn’t normally do?”

“Well, ever since Adagio was arrested sure she’s been acting weird,” Sonata said. “Aria kinda had to take over her duties and take care of me. But ever since the trial it’s just gotten worse, she’s been distant and had a hard time actually working.”

“It’s been that bad huh?” Sweetie Drops asked and Sonata nodded a little.

“Yeah, Aria wasn’t sure but she felt like something went wrong with the trial,” Sonata said with a shake of her head. “Like she thinks Adagio was set up, they had too much evidence or something that they shouldn’t have had. I’m, not really sure myself but I do know that she was getting more paranoid over it.”

“You said something happened that would make us think you were crazy,” Scootaloo said as she looked at the younger girl. “What happened?”

“She, uh, found a card on the side of the road,” Sonata said. “That’s when she started acting even weirder. Then I saw her, well… you’ve seen the news reports right? About the Riders fighting against monsters?”

“Yeah, we’ve heard of them,” Sweetie Drops said as she glanced over at Scootaloo who gave her a nod.

“She turned into one of those things, like some sort of armored figure with a shield…” Sonata said. “That sounds crazy doesn’t it?”

“No, a friend of mine had the same thing happen to her,” Scootaloo said with a sigh. “Don’t worry, we’re going to do everything we can to make sure your sister is safe.”

“You really mean that?” Sonata asked.

“I do,” Scootaloo said. “Your sister is in good hands, we just need to figure out how to find her. Do you have any suggestions on where she might be?”

“Honestly, I don’t know,” Sonata admitted with a shake of her head.

“Alright, we’ll manage without it then,” Sweetie Drops said. “Thank you so much, this gives us something to go on at least.”

The two headed back out and Scootaloo sighed a little as she looked back at the door as Sonata closed it. “Do you think she’s going to be okay?”

“I’m not sure, to be honest,” Sweetie Drops answered. “There’s a lot going on here and even if we do save her sister from the Order she’s going to have a long road ahead of her. She’s going to need help, I just hope that she and her sisters are going to be able to get it.”

“Yeah, me too,” Scootaloo said as they climbed back on their bikes. She looked back at the house and spotted Sonata looking out at them through the window and sighed as she put her helmet on and started Forsetti up again.

She was going to make sure that Aria Dazzle was saved.

00000

“So we’re using the satellites to try and track all activity that could be linked to the…” Fancy Pants said in the briefing room at the SMILE HQ while Scootaloo stared off into space. “Scootaloo, are you paying attention?”

“What?” Scootaloo asked as she looked up at Fancy Pants. “Sorry, I’ve been a little distracted since talking to Sonata is all. What’s going on?”

Fleur sighed a little before reiterating what they were talking about. “We’ve been trying to follow the whereabouts of the two monsters. We’ve also been running facial recognition software to try and find Aria Dazzle anywhere in the city with not much luck.”

“What about her older sister?” Scootaloo asked. “The one in jail has she tried to reach out to her at all?”

“We considered that already and got in contact with Warden Irons at Van Graff State Prison,” Fancy Pants said. “Unfortunately that’s a dead end as well. Adagio Dazzle is currently in solitary confinement after an incident with another inmate, she’s had no contact with anyone on the outside since before the attacks started.”

“Which means, we can’t even use that angle to find her,” Sweetie Belle said with a sigh.

“Is it possible that there is someone on tha outside helpin’ Aria?” Apple Bloom asked. “Ah mean, it sounded like paranoid ramblin’ ta me, but is it possible that someone was behind what happened ta her sister?”

“It’s, possible,” Fancy Pants admitted. “We’d still have to look over the case, but something about it does feel off. However, it’s not a priority for us right now and doesn’t fall under our jurisdiction. I’m sorry, I honestly don’t know what to say to this, but unless it’s connected to a monster faction SMILE can’t do much.”

“That’s kinda dumb,” Apple Bloom said.

“It’s part of how we were set up, we don’t have much of a choice,” Fleur said. “We’re supposed to fight against monsters. I know it doesn’t make much sense, but we can at least pass it on to the proper authorities.”

“Alright,” Scootaloo said with a sigh. “So, what do we do now?”

“The only thing we can do is wait,” Sweetie Drops said. “There’s a chance that we could get lucky and catch them on their own. That’s our best chance at dealing with them, though if we could get through to Aria…”

“That might be enough to weaken the shield wielder,” Scootaloo said with a nod. “Or at least distract her so that we can get a good hit in. That still leaves the sword wielder though, do we have anything on them?”

“Honestly? No,” Fancy Pants said as he adjusted his monocle. “Either he’s under the radar, no one noticed he’s missing, or the definition is just too vague to find someone. For now, I think we need to focus on Aria Dazzle, for now, we don’t have much of a choice.”

“Right,” Scootaloo said with a sigh as she gave them a nod. “Let’s just hope that it really isn’t too late for her.”

00000

“So, what do you think of Scootaloo?” Lyra asked as she and Sweetie Drops met up for lunch at the same restaurant as before.

“She means well, but sometimes I’m worried that she’s a little too naive,” Sweetie Drops said with a sigh. “We still don’t know exactly how the Order works and even if it would be possible to save everyone. I don’t want her giving Sonata false hope, you know what I mean?”

“False hope is better than no hope sometimes,” Lyra pointed out. “Besides, you’ve got a good track record so far of dealing with the monsters. I looked over some of the files, I’m sure if we keep doing what we’re doing we’ll be fine.”

“I’m sure you’re right,” Sweetie Drops said with a shake of her head. “And then there’s…”

Her phone went off signifying that she had a text message. She blinked in surprise when she picked it up and realized that the number read 20 09 20 01 14. It read “SWORD BEARER IS AT THE FOLLOWING COORDINATES.”

“That’s weird,” Sweetie Drops said as she looked at the coordinates. When she looked them up they were to a building in downtown Canterlot, but who had sent it to her? And why hadn’t the satellite picked it up? “I think I know where to find one of the monsters.”

“How?” Lyra asked as Sweetie Drops showed her the text message. “Okay, that’s very weird, what are you going to do?”

“I need to make a call,” Sweetie Drops said with a sigh as she dialed Fancy Pants’ number, he answered after a moment. “Director, we’ve got a bit of a situation.”

“What’s going on?” Fancy Pants asked.

“I’m going to need back-up sent to the old Potato Chips factory downtown,” Sweetie Drops said into the phone. “I think one of our targets is there.”

“Where did you get this information?” Fancy Pants asked.

“It’s a long story, but right now it’s the only clue we have, what do you suggest?” Sweetie Drops asked.

“It sounds like it’s the only lead we have, check it out,” Fancy Pants said. “We’re looking for Aria Dazzle already but we’re having very little luck. I’ll have Scootaloo on standby in case you need her help.”

“Good, alright then,” Sweetie Drops said. “I’ll take Anteros out to the factory.”

“Understood, we’ll send backup as well,” Fancy Pants said. “Good luck out there Agent Drops, I hope you’re able to deal with this monster.”

“Me too,” Sweetie Drops said before hanging up and sighing a little. “You know, one of these days we’re going to actually come here and finish a meal together.”

“Don’t worry, I understand,” Lyra said with a chuckle before she added jokingly. “Just as long as you’re not running off to see another girl.”

“We’re not… never mind,” Sweetie Drops said with a groan as she headed out to her red and pink motorcycle and took off down the street.

00000

Sweetie Drops pulled in front of the old factory and took out her small energy reader. She blinked a little in confusion when it started showing readings coming from inside the factory. She pressed her hand against her communicator.

“This is Agent Drops, are you reading anything from inside the building?” She asked.

“Negative, we’re running every scan we have on your location and nothing,” Fleur’s voice said from the other end.

“That’s not possible, I’ve got readings on my handheld here,” Sweetie Drops said as she got off the bike and reached for her Driver. “Is it possible that something is messing with the satellite system?”

“It’s possible, I’ve got tech on it now,” Fleur said. “In the meantime, I’d approach with caution. We don’t know what’s waiting for you in there, it could be both of them. Your back-up is still 10 minutes away.”

“Alright, I’m going in,” Sweetie Drops said as she walked into the old factory. She pushed the broken doors open and entered the factory floor. “Alright, give it up, I know you’re in here!”

“You’re clever aren’t you Rider?” Unkyor asked from a higher position as he held his sword upright. “But I’m not about to let you beat me that easily!”

“I’m not the one who thinks its a good idea to side with monsters,” Sweetie Drops said as she placed the Driver on her waist and the belt formed around her. “Why are you even here? This place is old, I don’t think you have much of a connection here.”

“This place used to belong to my family Unkyor said with a snort. “They worked hard every day of their life to get where they were. Then new companies moved into town, they offered better wages for the workers and better conditions and put this place out of business. They ruined my family name. And I’m going to use this power to take them down!”

“Yeah, yeah, we’ve all got a sad story,” Sweetie Drops said. “But that doesn’t give you the right to…”

She barely jumped out of the way as a lightning bolt was thrown down at her. She cringed a little as she looked back at him.

“Okay, so you’ve got a few tricks up your sleeve, but that doesn’t make what you’re doing right!” She said as she pointed up at him. “You’re doing nothing but hurting innocent people because of something that they had no control over!”

“They aren’t innocent, there’s always something that they did wrong,” Unkyor said. “Now, it’s time to face your fate. I’m not going to let you stop me!”

“Then I’ll have to fight harder,” Sweetie Drops said as she held out her card and slid it into the card slot on the Tarot Driver. “Henshin!”

“LOVE CONQUERS ALL THINGS!” The Driver said as energy flowed out of it and formed around Sweetie Drops as the armor and bow appeared.

“What’s going on now?” Lyra’s voice said over the mental link between the two.

“Crazy monster is going to attack innocent people because of something that happened to his family,” Sweetie Drops said as she raised her bow and aimed it right at Unkyor. “Too bad you don’t have your support!”

She let loose the arrow and it flew at Unkyor only to have him cut it with his sword as he jumped up and landed on the factory floor. His hand was crackling with electricity as he smirked at Sweetie Drops.

“You’re a lot of talk Kamen Rider, but you can’t back it up can you?” He said as he shot the lightning at her again and she dodged it again. “You’re still new at this I’ll bet, and I’m not about to let you take away my power! You will not succeed, and the Order will prevail!”

Sweetie Drops groaned as she pulled her bow back and fired another arrow at him, this one barely missed him as it went flying into the wall behind him sending sparks. “Okay, that’s not good…”

“Bon Bon, calm down, you’re letting him get to you,” Lyra’s voice said in her head. “He’s trying to get into your head, don’t let him.”

“Easy for you to say,” Sweetie Drops said with a sigh as she pointed the bow at him again and fired several arrows in quick succession, the last of which caught him in the shoulder. “Come on, where’s that back-up…”

There was a sound of an impact as something hit the floor and she looked up to see Harrsone standing there with her shield held out. She held the shield in front of her and gave Unkyor a nod.

“Great… just what I needed, two of them,” Sweetie Drops said as she jumped out of the way of a charge attack from Harrsone and landed on a higher position only to have to dodge a lightning strike. “Come on, that’s not fair!”

“Who says we’re playing fair? This isn’t a game!” Harrsone said in her distorted voice. “Was it fair what happened to my sister? Was it fair what happened to any of us?”
“No, it wasn’t fair!” Sweetie Drops said as she pulled back on her bow again and fired an arrow at Harrsone which she caught with her shield. “I don’t know if your sister was put away on trumped-up charges or if anything they said was true. But this isn’t the way to go about doing it!”

“I don’t care!” Harrsone said. “This is how I’m going to do this, and I’ll save my sister from prison, I swear it!”

Sweetie Drops frowned a little as she rolled to dodge another lightning attack. She fired two more arrows at each of the monsters, but it didn’t have much effect other than slowing them down a moment.

“Come on Scootaloo, where are you…” She muttered as she avoided another hit.

Suddenly there was the crashing sound of something large breaking through a window. They all looked up to see Scootaloo in Rider form riding on her bike crashing through a window on the same floor as the monsters as she hit Unkyor hard in the chest.

“Son of a… what was that?” Unkyor said as Scootaloo jumped off Forseti and drew her sword as she gave Sweetie Drops a nod.

“Sorry I’m late, traffic was killer,” she said with a chuckle as Sweetie Drops nodded and pulled her bow back and fired another shot into Unkyor’s chest. “Do you think you’ve got this guy?”

“No problem,” Sweetie Drops said as the sword-wielding monster struggled to his feet and glared at her as he fired another shot of lightning which Sweetie Drops avoided and fired another arrow at him.

“YOU’ll PAY, YOU WILL ALL PAY!” Unkyor said as he kept firing lightning at Sweetie Drops.
“Guess that means it’s you and me,” Scootaloo said as she pointed her sword at Harrsone. “Aria Dazzle.”

“That’s not my name anymore!” Harrsone said. “I’m Harrsone, the shield of the Order, and I will make sure that everyone who did that to my sister pays!”

“Your sister wouldn’t want you to do this!” Scootaloo said as she ran forward and stabbed her Rapier at the monster only to have it caught with her shield. “She doesn’t want you to do this, she wants to see you again!”

“Yes, and she will when I free her!” The transformed Aria Dazzle said with a snap. “I know someone’s behind this, how do I know you’re not behind it? You seem to know quite a lot!”

“Because we met your little sister,” Scootaloo said as she avoided a thrust from the monster’s shield. “She’s worried about you! Do you want to hurt her too?”

“No, but…” Harrsone said. “I have to do this, I have to save Adagio! She’s the only one who can help us through this…”

“No, you and Sonata can do this together,” Scootaloo said as she kicked at Harrsone which knocked her back. “You’re trying to save your big sister when you need to be focused on Sonata right now! She’s terrified, and she knows what you’ve become!”

“I…” Harrsone said as she got to her feet again, holding the shield in front of her. “You’re trying to trick me! What do you know about that kind of thing?”

“I’ve got a big sister too, and I know she’d do anything to help me,” Scootaloo said as she leaped over Harrsone and thrust her rapier into her ribs and the monster let out a scream. “I don’t work for any sort of conspiracy against you or your sister. I’m just here to help you get back to your sister.”

“I…” Harrsone said as she tried to pull herself up again. “I don’t know what to do anymore…”

While Scootaloo tried to fight Harrsone Sweetie Drops was still fighting against the other monster. She narrowed her eyes as she fired another arrow at Unkyor and this one caught him in the chest.

When he tried to fire another burst of lightning he screamed as it crackled from the wound and ran through his body.

“No… I’m not going to let you beat me…” he said as he pulled himself to his feet, his body was badly damaged and energy could be seen running through the wounds. “This… isn’t… over…”

“What is that?” Lyra asked in Sweetie Drops’ mind. “Shouldn’t he have blood or something? What’s going on?”

“I, honestly don’t know,” Sweetie Drops admitted as she raised her bow and pointed it at Unkyor. “But I’m not about to let him do what he’s trying to do. This fight is over.”

She drew her bow back and held it as she pointed it down at the monster as energy was drawn into the tip of the arrow. She narrowed her eyes from behind her visor as the energy began to radiate from the arrow tip.

“SONIC ARROW!” She shouted as she fired the powerful arrow and it hit the monster in the chest.

Unkyor screamed as the monster form shattered around it revealing a man dressed in torn clothes as he fell back. A card fell out and laid on the ground as Sweetie Drops turned her attention back to where Scootaloo and Harrsone were fighting.

“Come on Aria, break free of its control!” Scootaloo said as she swiped her sword at the armored monster as the shield was caught again. “You know you can do this!”

“No, it’s too strong…” a woman’s voice said. “I’m so weak…”

“This is my body!” The monster screamed. “I won’t let you take it away from me!”

“Scootaloo catch!” Sweetie Drops shouted as she grabbed the card off the ground and tossed it at Scootaloo who caught it in mid-air with her free hand.

She swung the Rapier around again and Harrsone caught it with her shield. She quickly drew out the Ace of Swords and slid the new card into her Driver’s card slot.

“ARCANA SHORTSWORD!” Her Driver said as the Rapier vanished from her hand and a new ornate sword appeared in her other hand. It had a golden hilt with a crossguard with an ornate design.

Before Harrsone could react Scootaloo swung the new sword up and slashed at the monster as the shield was knocked from her hand and she leaped into the air and energy gathered in her foot.

“JUSTICE KICK!” She said as she kicked hard at Harrsone who fell back and the monster form shattered from around her.

Lying on the ground was an olive-skinned young woman with long purple hair with green streaks tied into pigtails. She was barely conscious as Scootaloo reached down to pick the card up off the ground.

“Thank… you…” Aria said as she fell unconscious.

Scootaloo powered down and looked at the two new sword suit cards. The Two of Swords and the Three of Swords were now her’s. She placed the cards and the Driver back into her pocket and sighed a little.

“Are you okay Scootaloo?” Sweetie Drops asked as she powered down too.

“Yeah,” she said as the SMILE agents came in. “Let’s get these two to safety. I just hope that Aria is going to be okay.”

“Same,” Sweetie Drops said as they headed off together.

00000

“Aria, are you okay?” Sonata asked as she sat at her sister’s bedside. The girl’s eyes opened slowly as she looked up at her sister.

“Yeah… I’m fine, I just feel very weak,” Aria said softly as she tried to move. “What happened to me?”

“You lost a lot of energy,” Fleur said as she looked back at Scootaloo and Sweetie Drops who were watching from the doorway before turning to a Doctor with short red hair. “Doctor Storm Breaker here has been taking care of you.”

“Yes, you seem to be recovering nicely,” Storm Breaker said as he adjusted his glasses a little. “I’ve had some experience with such creatures before. You’re lucky to be alive if you had been controlled by that creature any longer… well, you wouldn’t be here anymore.”

“I had no idea,” Aria said. “It, just said that it could help me help Adagio.”

“You’re going to be just fine, we’ll get through this together,” Sonata said as she squeezed her sister’s hand gently. “Adagio is going to be just fine.”

“Okay, thank you,” Aria said.

“Come on, let’s talk in private,” Fleur said as they headed out and into a nearby empty room. “We have a problem.”

“What kind of problem?” Scootaloo asked.

“We looked into Adagio’s case like you suggested,” Fleur said with a sigh. “The fact of the matter is that a lot of the evidence that got her arrested and convicted seems to have, appeared out of thin air.”

“Are you suggesting that the evidence was fabricated?” Scootaloo asked.

“Maybe, or it was the kind of evidence that no one should just get,” Fleur said with a shake of her head. “Photos of her from cameras dealing drugs or other things. Adagio Dazzle is a criminal, there’s no doubt about that, but....”

“But what?” Sweetie Drops asked.

“But she’s not an idiot,” Fleur said. “There’s evidence of her crimes going back years and she’s avoided being caught for this long. As hard to believe as it might be, the fact of the matter is that there may actually be something to Aria’s claims.”

“You mean, someone actually set her up?” Scootaloo asked.

“It’s possible, yes,” Fleur said with a shake of her head. “And we’ve run every diagnosis in the book on the computer systems in the satellite. Nothing is wrong with it and it doesn’t seem to be causing any problems anymore.”

“So, what do we do?” Scootaloo asked.

“The only thing we can do, we keep dealing with the Order,” Sweetie Drops said with a sigh as she looked back at Fleur. “Am I right?”

“Pretty much,” Fleur said with a sigh. “Hopefully its nothing more than a glitch and a coincidence, but we’re going to look into everything we can.”

“Okay,” Scootaloo said with a sigh.

The three women didn’t know it but Dr. Storm Breaker was listening from the door. He walked away from the door and entered his office before locking the door. He powered on the computer and input several commands.

“Voice print identification required for access to T.I.T.A.N.,” a female computerized voice said from the speakers. “State your name and rank for access.”

“Doctor Storm Breaker, head scientist of Project Prometheus,” Storm Breaker said into the computer.

“Confirmed, access to the Technomagical Interface Terminal Access Network granted,” the computerized voice said.

The computer screen changed to show the face of a stern-looking pale hairless human head that stared back at him.

“What is the current status of the Project, Doctor?” The voice said in a calm and cold voice as he looked at the Doctor.

“Our research into the Order of the High Arcana has yielded results,” Storm Breaker said as he took off his glasses and put them in his pocket. “One of their parasitic spirits targetted the younger sister of Subject Alpha. This is the closest we’ve gotten to a full conversion, and the results are, fascinating.”

“Excellent,” the head said. “Allow me to access your records and we will be one step closer to our goals.”

“Yes sir,” Storm Breaker said as he started to input the data.

00000

“Well, that plan was a bust,” Caesar said. “All we did was make Kamen Rider Justice even stronger, again.”

“Well, I’m not surprised,” Priellit said as the man in black approached. “We need something new, something that they will not expect. But what…”

“Perhaps, I have something that will do the job,” the man in black said as he reached into his coat and removed a bag. He poured the contents out onto the table which is revealed to be strange multi-colored fragments. “I will need your assistance with this Priellit.”

“What are these things?” Priellit asked as she reached down to pick one up.

“The remains of some of our, competition from a decade ago you might say,” the man in black said as he leaned on his cane. “They aren’t ready for their full return yet, but I believe that we can use these and the power of the Tower to draw on a subject from elsewhere.”

“Interesting,” Caesar said as he stroked his chin. “I’ve heard of these creatures, predators that feed on the life force of humans. Fangires right?”

“Indeed,” the man in black said as he nodded to Priellit. “We will have to reach through the dimensional barriers again in order to do this. However, by using this as a focus we should be able to draw it here.”

“Alright,” Priellit said as the man in black raised his cane and removed the top to reveal a glowing red crystal. “What must I do?”

“We will need to chant the summoning spell while concentrating on the shards,” the man in black said with a nod. “That will allow us to draw out our target. If we combine it with an Agent, we will be able to use that energy draining power mixed with the abilities of the Agent to gain more power.”

“Agreed,” Caesar said. “That could be of use to us.”

The man in black and Priellit began to chant together. The red crystal glowed brightly as energy flew around them and into the Fangire remnants as they glowed and flew up and around them. A vortex appeared in front of them as energy crackled from it.

The man in black waved his hand as he spoke in an unintelligible language. The words carried weight in them even if you couldn’t understand what he was saying.

“There,” he said. “Our message has been sent to those on the other side. A Fangire from this foreign reality will be attracted to it.”

Now, they just had to wait and see what took the bait.

The Dented Shield

Fleur had to give credit to the general, when he said he’d deliver he actually did manage to deliver. As of now, there was a massive crate being unloaded from a truck, two members of the G3 team hauling it inside the base.

“Well, everything should be in order now,” McAllister said as he checked over the tablet and looked up at the crate. “The Order won’t know what hit them once we deploy this system.”

“You’re confident aren’t you?” Fleur observed, having a vague idea of what exactly was in that crate. Skeptically, she then asked: “Sure it’s not overconfidence?”

“I have every confidence in the system’s capabilities as well as the Corporal’s,” McAllister replied. “Have a little faith, Agent De Lis.”

“The G3-X system only offers a few mild improvements,” Fleur pointed out. “I’m confident in the Corporal’s capabilities, but less so in the suit’s. It, after all, is nearly two decades old by this point. And Gallus barely survived the attack by the Order’s generals, even with Sweetie’s help.”

“And what would you suggest?”

“You know exactly what I’d suggest,” Fleur said, her eyes slightly narrowed.

“Agent Shadow is not exactly in a position to help and the decision on Miss. Dash stands,” McAllister said. “We have an immediate threat and none of our contacts in Japan can get here quickly enough to assist.”

Fleur, with an unreadable expression, was forced to concede his point. “Very well then…”

“Agent, it is our mission to protect the citizens of this city, no this world from threats like the Order,” McAllister said. “We cannot keep placing civilians in danger. Miss. Dash has served her country, and we have other options now.”

Fleur bit her tongue and refrained from commenting on how Miss Dash had been doing a fine job, actually a better job than McAllister seemed to be giving her credit for. Yeah, sure she and Agent Shadow had made a mistake, a rather large one but all the same… The way things were going so far Gallus was going to get himself killed. Sweetie couldn’t always make it to the battlefield every time. One day soon, she may arrive too late to help her fellow Rider.

Fleur honestly dreaded that day when it came. She sighed. McAllister’s heart was in the right place, but she couldn’t honestly say he understood the threat he faced. “Let’s hope he does come to realize it before he loses, what is apparently, his best man. Merci beaucoup Lord, for giving us such a mess.”

Fleur idly wondered if SAUL, the Blue Sky Organization and BOARD had to deal with nonsense like this. If so, she could understand why Megumi Aso had retired a few years ago. Fleur idly wondered if there were good retirement benefits in all of this. After all, putting life and limb in danger day in and day out just had to pay well right? ...then again, with the way the government worked as of late, she’d be lucky to see half of her retirement pension. God bless the US of A.

“My biggest concern is what she’s going to do if she doesn’t get to interview Miss. Dash,” McAllister commented. “Do we have agents watching her apartment complex?”

“Yes, of course we do,” Fleur answered as the two walked. “Not sure what good they’d do, considering that’ll be the first place Vignette’s likely to look. I’ve already got an evacuation order on standby. The less bodies we have to bury by the end of this the better.”

“Good, let’s hope it’ll work out…” McAllister said and paused a moment. “What do you think of Miss. Dash, Agent De Lis?”

“Off the record, or professionally?” Fleur asked for clarification.

“Both,” the General replied. “I am curious to be honest. I’ve read the reports on Justice, you understand that I wouldn’t be doing this if I didn’t believe it was the right decision. But I am curious about the woman herself.”

“Professionally? I think she’s headstrong, a little bit reckless and not at all suited for the job,” Fleur said. “Off the record, that same stubbornness keeps on driving her forwards. She’s brave, and so very kind. She wants, if you excuse the pun, justice for her family and that’s what keeps her going. She never lets it overwhelm her, and that I believe is why she’s best suited for the Tarot Driver.”

“I see,” McAllister said thoughtfully as he looked at the crate. “I will take that under consideration. She must be something else to earn the respect of everyone here.”

“Yeah, that she is…” Fleur said to herself. Honestly, Fleur wanted to take up the big sister role for Scootaloo, but her professionalism prevented it. She’d been keeping an eye on Scootaloo since that day, and yeah maybe it clouded her judgement a bit but she was so proud of the fine young woman she’d become.

Fleur frowned to herself slightly, just when had she become so sentimental? It wasn’t like her. She wasn’t a woman of sentiment, she was one of professionalism. What was happening to her?

No, best not to think about this. She had a job to do, she wasn’t supposed to be anyone’s friend around here. She was supposed to be their boss, their supervisor. Not their sister, not their friend, just their fellow agent. Sentiment got nobody anywhere, it clouded their judgement and never kept them from thinking straight.

Hell, she was hardly thinking straight right now. Fact is, this whole sentiment for Scootaloo was probably clouding her judgement as is. She was biased, and Fleur didn’t like that at all. If you were to ask anyone else around the base, they probably wouldn’t have been so complimentary of Sc… Miss Dash’s actions. Damn her, she was getting to her. It was Miss Dash, not Scootaloo. Miss Dash. Miss Dash. She needed to keep reminding herself of that.

Fleur shook her thoughts clear, she had a job to do, and right now? That was keeping Mister Gruff from getting himself killed.

00000

The Dash/Belle/Bloom household, again. Scootaloo peered out the window, in spite of herself. She didn’t like being cooped up in here, she had to be out there. She had to be out there protecting her city. Some might have called it dangerous, an addiction, but Scootaloo needed it for her own peace of mind.

She felt a pair of arms gently wrap around her and nearly jumped before she realized it was Sweetie Belle. “Hey Scoots, are you okay?”

“I’m not, I’m nervous. I’m antsy,” Scootaloo answered. “I… I need to be out there. Don’t you get it Sweets, I need to be out there. That’s my city. My city, and I can’t even do anything to protect it right now because of that damned order!”

“I know,” Sweetie Belle said softly as she pulled her fiance in close. “I swear, I keep thinking about that one clip from Mystery Science Theater 3000 we saw on YouTube that one time. You know the Uncle Sam one where he was going, ‘I’m the government, I’m the government, I’m the reason nothing works!”

Scootaloo snorted. “You’re terrible.”

“I heard the snort, though,” Sweetie said. “SMILE’s not the villain here, at least they’re not trying to be.”

“I know, and I messed up. I guess I do sorta deserve this,” Scootaloo agreed. “I should have stepped in and stopped Tempest. Wasn’t my place to be part and party to someone playing the Punisher, understandable reasons or not. Justice, in that case, was for the courts to decide.”

“You were tired from the fight, you couldn’t have stopped her,” Sweetie said reassuringly. “You didn’t force her to make a choice, she made that choice. Nothing that happened is your fault.”

“I… I know, but I could have at least tried…” Scootaloo mumbled.

“Scootaloo, you did what you could, and Tempest’s family is safe,” Sweetie pointed out as she sighed a little. “I agree that you should’ve stopped her from doing that. You’re a good person Scootaloo, it’s why you should be out there fighting. And it’s one of the many reasons I fell in love with you.”

“You know I hate sap, right?” Scootaloo said. “So uncool.”

“You love it when it comes from me though, you just don’t want to admit it,” Sweetie giggled.

“Mhmm, maybe…” Scootaloo said.

“I’m your fiance, I know these things,” Sweetie said as she smiled. “You’d miss my sap if I stopped doing it.”

“I dunno, maybe if you stopped for a week, we’d put that theory to the test. Who knows, mix it up a little, eh?” Scootaloo asked.

“We’ll see,” Sweetie chuckled. “Look, I know this time is hard on you, but I’m going to be by your side the whole way. And who knows, maybe the General will come to his senses, let’s just hope it’s soon.”

“I know, and… well, do you think there’s something that SMILE’s keeping from us? It’s… I just have this feeling,” Scootaloo said. “I can’t quite put my finger on it, but I know something’s up. Like, I just do. It’s… well, you know when you have that chill up the back of your spine, like when you know something’s wrong. It’s… gah, maybe I’m growing paranoid. Maybe it’s this job, it’s starting to get to me.”

“No, you’re not growing paranoid…” Sweetie soothed. “You’re absolutely right, something is up. I’ve been watching the streets outside. Follow me.”

Sweetie gestured outside the window, and pointed to a nearby alleyway. There was a van resting there, seemingly abandoned.

“Look there, just look,” Sweetie pointed.

“So, it’s just a van,” Scootaloo shrugged.

“It wasn’t there yesterday.” Sweetie replied. “I swear it wasn’t!”

“And I thought I was the paranoid one, Sweets…” Scootaloo said looking at her fiancee. “It’s just a van!”

“Then why do I feel like I’m being watched…?” Sweetie shivered.

“Fine fine, I’ll go out to the van, and knock on the door. When nobody answers, will you please relax?” Scootaloo asked and Sweetie nodded nervously. Scootaloo grabbed her pants and her coats, and walked across the street and into the alleyway. With a raised fist, she banged on the side of the van.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

“See, nobody ho…” Scootaloo started before the back of the van opened. Two men in black suits were in the back, sitting at computers. “Oh come on! So what, are you guys spying on me now?”

She looked at the screens and groaned, yeah they were. Shown on the screens were obviously the views from security cameras and guess where they were all pointed? No, really.

“Look, guys, I appreciate the concern, but this really isn’t necessary,” Scootaloo replied. “I can handle myself. And frankly, you’re scaring the fiancee.” she said, pointing behind her to the house where Sweetie was watching nervously.

Frankly, Sweetie was still scared over being attacked in her own home thanks to the Six of Pentacles incident. This wasn’t going to help her paranoia, really.

“Actually, you should be worried, both of you. Namely because…” the first agent said before being shushed.

“Hush, don’t tell her!” the second said.

“I’m a big girl, I think I can handle it.” Scootaloo drawled.

The second agent sighed. “Alright, so Vignette’s out of jail, and well…”

Scootaloo had that sinking feeling again.

“...and she’s going after me, I’m guessing. Great, just great. At this point, I should really consider a new address for me and Sweets,’ Scootaloo muttered to herself. “Well, with my luck Vignette’s an Order agent right now isn’t she?”

“Four of Swords, actually,” the first SMILE agent said.

“OH COME ON!” Scootaloo yelled, stamping her foot. “I WASN’T BEING SERIOUS!”

“You really shouldn’t say stuff like that, it’s just begging for trouble,” Sweetie called with a light chuckle. “Are you trying to jinx us or something, Scoots?”

“...with my luck?” Scootaloo said with a small shake of the head. “We’re already jinxed, really. Good god, our wedding’s probably going to be insane.”

“Oh, a wedding?” came a familiar sickeningly sweet voice, and Scootaloo’s eyes widened as she saw Vignette descending like an angel of mercy, the moon at her back. “Oh, you really should have told me!”

Guns fired as agents poured out of the woodwork, one speaking into his walkie-talkie to warn SMILE of what was going on. Bullets bounced off Vignette’s golden skin as she descended from the heavens, her wings looking sickeningly like miniature blades.

“Um… hey Vignette,” Scootaloo said, taking a few nervous steps back. “So, how’s life?”

“Oh, it's very much looking up,” Vignette said with a wicked grin as her swords levitated up out of her scabbards. “I’ve gone through a lot of trouble to find you, Kamen Rider Justice.”

Scootaloo’s eyes widened in horror, before they narrowed. “So these are the lengths you’ll go to for your exclusive stories?” she asked knowing she had to buy time. “Joining the Order? Just when I thought you couldn’t get anymore disgusting. Well, I gotta say, you’ve really outdone yourself this time in terms of sheer fucked upness.”

“I don’t care, all that matters now is the story,” Vignette said as she advanced. “So go on, tell me and the world who you really are, and maybe I’ll let you go. I’d suggest you comply, be a real shame if this Sweets of yours has to become a widow.”

Scootaloo’s eyes narrowed, before she ran up a wall, backflipped off it and drop-kicked the woman. Vignette staggered, as Scootaloo reached for her driver, before remembering. “Oh.”

Swords slammed into the wall above her head.

“So what will you do without your driver, then?” Vignette asked. “Fight me? Is this what the mighty Justice has descended to? Running like a coward?”

“Not fighting, no. Nor am I running,” Scootaloo said as she heard the roar of a motorcycle engine. “Just… buying time!”

She dived out of the way before Vignette was rammed in the chest by an old Honda X4, police lights flashing, Vignette being sent flying to the other end of the street. The user, covered in blue and silver armor stepped off, and leveled his gun at Vignette. Gallus dryly stated: “Doubt anyone will give you any awards for this report really, even if it's exclusive. Scootaloo’s right, you really are plumbing new depths of low.”

“You think I care? My life’s a mess now because of you lot, I’m going to get it back!” She hissed. Scootaloo had run for cover.

“You have no one to blame but yourself,” Gallus replied side-stepping a sword slash. “You chased after story after story, not caring about the little things like ethics or privacy. What happened is really all on you, woman. So don’t come crying to us about how your life is over. YOU destroyed it yourself.”

Vignette, he knew, was now at her most dangerous. She had nothing left to lose, and she was now at her most dangerous. She had to be stopped now.

“You think I care at this point?” Vignette snorted as she pointed her cutlass at him, the swords turning back around and slashing at him again. “I’m stronger than any of you. And your little toys aren’t going to be enough to take me down!”

Several powerful punches seemed to prove her wrong, before Gallus went for the unicorn knife and delivered one single slash. Vignette actually let out a scream of pain, clutching her side.

“Want to test that theory, Mercy?” Gallus drawled. “This suit was made to kill angels. Let’s see what it does against you.”

“Then I’m going to use a new trick of my own…” Vignette growled as she called her swords back and held her cutlass up. The swords started glowing brightly as they came together with the cutlass and formed into a much larger sword that flew out right at Gallus. “Now, give me what I want!”

“A good solid lay?” Gallus drawled leaping over the sword and watching it boomerang right back to Vignette’s hands. He slammed a fist hard in her face. “Sorry, pretty sure nobody’s that desperate.”

He dodged the sword swing as it came, and Vignette swung again. Gallus held back the blade with his hands, though visibly strained. He pushed upwards, and socked Vignette in the jaw and as she staggered scored a punch to the gut, before whirling around and scoring a slash with the unicorn knife. “Newsflash, bigger isn’t always better. Your reaction time is slower, meaning I can hit you again, and again, and again.”

Vignette slashed again, and Gallus flipped sideways over her shoulder. The sword came around to cut him in half, but Gallus leaped over the blade and kicked Vignette in the face. He flipped backwards and landed, using the unicorn knife to slow himself. Spinning it in his hands, he said: “You’re not the only one with a few new tricks.”

Vignette shrieked and lunged forwards fist drawn back. Gallus grabbed her by the wrist and shoved her into a building. “Anger dampens you. Makes your blows easier to catch.”

“CATCH THIS!” Vignette said swinging her cutlass and three swords rocketed towards Gallus. He side-stepped one, and then another, only for the third to slash through his armor. Gallus stumbled forwards, falling to the ground only catching himself at the last moment. Vignette kicked him in the head. “I’ve had enough of dealing with you Riders!”

She punched him, again and again and again Gallus collapsing to the ground. Then, she lurched as Scootaloo held up the scorpion, shooting her several times in the chest. Scootaloo grabbed the briefcase resting on the Guard Chaser’s back, before shoving it towards Gallus. “Catch!”

Gallus nodded, with a shout of: “Thanks, Tracer!” before pressing a series of buttons on it.

The attache case stated in a monotone: “1, 2, 3. Releasing safety.”

The attache briefcase unfolded and was now a multi-barreled gatling gun. It thundered as Vignette’s monstrous form was riddled with bullets, her wings ripped to shreds. Vignette staggered, falling to the ground using a hand to catch herself.

“See, a lot more guns.” Gallus drawled, numerous gold shell casings at his feet.

He was then caught off guard by a sharp pain as a fist impacted his back, sending him falling forward as Granforca stood over him, rubbing his fist. “We really need to stop meeting like this…” he grumbled as Caesar appeared behind Vignette. “And you need to learn how to fight better.”

Vignette grumbled as Caesar drew his sword and pointed it at Gallus. “So, let me guess, this is my only warning to stay away from your girlfriend?” Gallus spat. “I’ll be taking her in, going to let you know that right now. Put your chips on some other poor bastard. I’ll take them down as well. Seems the G3-X armor is more than a match for your minions.”

Caesar drew back his fist and all went black.

00000

“This shouldn’t be possible, the only reason the other Riders were able to hurt our Agents was because they took our card spirits!” Caesar said as he stormed into the main room of the Order base, dragging Vignette behind him. “And that new weapon has managed to hurt her more than anything the others threw at us! This is impossible!”

“Ah… if I may speak?” Vignette asked nervously.

“You’re on thin ice here,” Caesar snapped as he turned and stared down Vignette. “You were supposed to be dealing with the Riders, not trying to score interviews with them!”

“It’s just… well, I’m a reporter and this G3 has always been nagging at me. Like I swear I’ve heard that name somewhere before…” Vignette replied. “I just now remembered where I’ve heard the name before. Back in the early 2000s, there were these incidents with creatures called the Unknown. G3 was deployed to stop them. Didn’t do much at first, until he got an upgrade into G3-X, which I just faced. Not sure if it’s the same one, probably not, but point being? That gun of his? It may be nearly two decades old but it’s meant for, apparently, dealing with angels. Depends on what you believe I guess. Anyways, seems it works just as well on you guys.”

“That or you’re just weak,” Caesar growled.

“Now now, Caesar, we shouldn’t jump to conclusions,” a voice said as the same man in black walked forward with his cane. “We assumed that their weapons would only hurt us if they were connected to us. This is a learning opportunity, we will adapt to make their... G3 system you called it? Useless against us.”

“You mean this is the first you’ve heard of G3, or… any other riders?” Vignette asked. “Forgive me if I speak out of turn here, but seriously, you didn’t research the world around you? The Tarot Riders aren’t the only Riders out there. They’ve had one since at least… oh, the 80s with that Black guy?”

“We are only here every 13 years, which you would know if you were properly synced with the Agent,” Caesar pointed out. “Last time we encountered Kamen Rider Magician, before that… well that’s another story. But the point is that we have almost never encountered other Riders. And once we succeed in our plans it won’t matter anyway.”

“If you say so…” Vignette trailed off wondering if these Order guys really knew what they were doing, or if they were about to get a very rude wake-up call…

00000

“You’re several kinds of crazy and then some, you know that right?” Fleur said as she helped patch Gallus up, the man finally awakening that next morning. “Like, merde… Taking on Vignette without backup and then flipping off a General.”

“Eh, I had the situation under control until that Roman weirdo and his muscle showed up,” Gallus said, flinching a little at the pain. “Could you be a little gentler? I’m still tender.”

“Consider it punishment for acting like such an imbecile,” Fleur stated. “You’re a big boy right? I think you can handle a trip to the doctor’s office. Who knows, might end up with a lollipop.”

Gallus just rolled his eyes a little. “I’m not a kid. How do the Tarot Riders handle these things?”

“By not charging in without a plan, for one,” Fleur said. “...though admittedly, that never seems to stop Justice. You do know why you’re here, right?”

“To help stop the Order.”

“Exactly, though that implies not getting yourself killed in the process,” Fleur said, poking him in the chest. “Understand?”

“U-Understood.” Gallus nodded weakly.

“What’s that?” Fleur asked.

“Understood Ma’am!” Gallus saluted.

“That’s better,” Fleur said. “Now, next time try not to get the G3-X suit so damaged okay? It’ll take a bit before you can safely use it out in the field again. Several of the internal systems are pretty badly damaged. That armor of yours has its limits, it won’t protect you for long against a General. It’ll do some damage to one, but really in practice you won’t last long. We’re developing a new attachment for your armor, though not sure how much good it’ll do you if you charge in again like some wild dog.”

“I… I see,” Gallus murmured, hanging his head in shame.

“What’s with you anyways?” Fleur asked. “You’re almost as driven as Justice to stop these guys, and that’s saying something. What’s your story?”

“Do you have a minute, because it’s a bit of a tale,” Gallus confessed. Fleur waved her hand for him to continue. “I was five, okay? I… I didn’t exactly have the best life growing up, really. Oakland was… well, you know what Oakland’s like I assume. It’s shit. But it was home for me. Just stay out of certain alleyways, and life was good. Maybe shoot some hoops. Went on a bit of an explore once, okay yeah not my brightest choice but I was a kid so sue me. Dragged my sister along with me, stupid ass choice really. Wandered into some warehouse, and that’s when I saw… it.”

“It?” Fleur pressed.

“It. I don’t want what to call it. It was… just an it. Looked like something out of Terminator really. Me and my sister barely got out of there alive. I wanted to talk to my parents about this, but what could I say? I went into some warehouse I wasn’t supposed to be in the first place, and saw someone’s robot thing? Like… shit, I wouldn’t even believe myself!”

“I… see,” Fleur said, the descriptions vaguely ringing a bell. “So that’s why…”

“Yeah, when I joined the military I had a purpose. To protect those closest to me, and to find out what that thing was and hopefully stop it before it hurts anyone else. I haven’t found it yet, but I’ll keep searching. And for the time being, help you with your Order. It’s the least I can do really.” Gallus said.

Fleur looked concerned for a moment as she stroked her chin. “A machine you say? That would be, 2000, 2001?”

“Thereabouts, yeah,” Gallus answered. “Why, what of it?”

“That’s around when SMILE was first starting up and was experimenting with advanced AI called T.I.T.A.N., the files are confidential so I shouldn’t say much more than that,” she sighed. “But the Terminator comparison isn’t completely inappropriate. It’s been missing since around that time.”

“...so I stumbled upon one of your messes then?” Gallus asked. “...wow, funny how this ends up working out then. Oh, the irony. So someone was fooling around with AI before Korenosuke Hiden got started? ...I hope they know what they’re doing, because, like I’ve seen every Terminator movie. Yes, even Salvation. Really, they have no-one but themselves to blame if this goes bad.”

“It was early in SMILE’s life, we were looking for ways to keep track of Kaijin, mistakes were made,” Fleur sighed. “Like I said, it’s classified.”

“Because of course it is,” Gallus drawled. “That one won’t come back to bite you in the future, I’m sure.”

“Just rest, okay?” Fleur sighed. “I’m sure you’re going to need it…”

00000

“Well, seems your paranoia isn’t exactly unfounded is it?” Scootaloo said with a grimace, leaning back on the couch. “So, this is… what, the second time our place got attacked?”

“I’ve lost count actually,” Sweetie answered. She chuckled bitterly. “...so much for being a normal couple really.”

“...I don’t think we were ever a normal couple really…” Scootaloo said. They’d decided to crash at Silver’s place, given SMILE had cordoned off their regular home. Well, that and Sweetie didn’t exactly feel safe sleeping in her own bed right now. God only knew if Vignette would try again, and this time she knew she could probably handle Gallus thanks to the Generals having her back.

“Blue and silver government issued Rider,” Sweetie muttered. “...anyone else getting that strict sense of Deja Vu? Or is it just me?”

“No, I think I’m getting flashbacks as well. And maybe a little headache,” Scootaloo admitted. “It’s… yeah. Ooof, yeah, there’s the headache. What is it with our luck? Like, who’d we piss off in a previous life?”

“Don’t ask me,” Sweetie said. “Oh well, at least we’ve got each other. ...honestly, between you and me?”

“Yeah?” Scootaloo asked.

“I… like you not being a Rider right now. I worry and I fret every time you go out into the battlefield, that you’re never going to come back and… God!”

“I know, I know, Sweets,” Scootaloo soothed running a hand through her hair. “But I can’t not just ignore the city when it cries out can I? It’s my…”

“Duty?” Sweetie Belle answered. “...real crappy duty if you ask me. But then again, what do I know? I’m not a Rider, so I suppose it’s something I just don’t… get, really.”

“Trust me on this, it… sucks. Like, it really does,” Scootaloo said. “Like, the suckage is major.”

“I’ve begun to figure that out, yeah,” Sweetie said. “You say you’re doing a duty to your city, but you never look… happy during it.”

“It’s just a job, not necessarily one I like but it is my job. Not one I can just quit either, given I’m the only one who can use the Tarot Driver. Well, one of the only ones really,” Scootaloo said. “But I promise you Sweets, as soon as the Order is defeated, I’ll hang up my belt. We’ll live our lives together and hell, maybe I’ll be a mother. I sorta like the idea of kids, the little rugrats running about and causing a bit of chaos from time to time.”

Sweetie kissed her softly. “I’ll hold you to that promise, okay?”

“Noted. Sticking a pin in it,” Scootaloo said.

From the doorway, Apple Bloom and Silver watched.

“They’re cute, aren’t they?” Apple Bloom asked. “Like, they really are.”

“Sickeningly,” Silver said. “Shame about their wedding though, I wonder if… Nah, probably not.”

“When did you figure it out?” Apple Bloom said. “Like, did Diamond…”

“No, she didn’t need to,” Silver replied. “I sorta figured it out all by myself. I’m not stupid you know. Diamond passed off about all of her schoolwork to me for a reason. I think I can figure out that Scootaloo’s actually Kamen Rider Justice. Explains a fair bit, really!”

“Right…” Apple Bloom said. “Now what’s this about the wedding?”

“Right, well, if this SMILE group of theirs won’t give them a proper wedding, well then! I say we do it ourselves. Want something done right, you gotta do it yourself eh?” Silver said. “I know a few people, here and there. I know someone who just might do as a caterer. My cousin works for him. Lives in Zawame actually. Took lessons from him as a patissier. Cuz speaks of him often. He’s tough as nails, but he’s a good guy. Mostly. If not a bit… odd.”

“Well, I think we can handle ‘odd’ given who we’re friends with.”

“Too true!” Silver agreed with a laugh. “Now, where did I put my phone…?”

00000

“Well, I think it’s safe to say the G3-X armor add-on is a rousing success!” McAllister said. “Wouldn’t you agree, Agents De Lis and Drops?”

“Well, I wouldn’t go with rousing. A success certainly, but maybe not rousing,” Fleur said. “General Caesar, soon as he arrived, handed Gallus his derrière on a platter really. The suit’s in pretty poor condition as is, it’ll take several days before it’s back up to full strength.”

“So, we adapt it even further,” McAllister said. “Easy as pie, right? And we now know that the GX-05 Cerberus works like a charm. We can just reverse engineer it and job done. Mission accomplished.”

“Funny, I know another famous American who once said that, and yet the war proved to be far from over…” Fleur grumbled and McAllister looked at her.

“Something to say, Agent De Lis?” he asked critically.

“Oh yes, I’ve got something to say actually,” Fleur spoke. “So that’s all Gallus was to you? A ‘proof of concept’? A test dummy for weapons that worked against the Order?”

“Well, no…” McAllister said.

“Funny, looks that way to me!” Fleur said, crossing her arms.

“Mind your tongue, Agent De Lis,” McAllister warned with a sharp glare. Fleur wasn’t even fazed, much to his surprise. “You’re bordering on insubordination.”

He had finally gone too far, and Fleur had, quite frankly, had enough of him. Right now, she was mad enough to not care about the consequences.

“Actually, no I won’t hold my tongue. This is SMILE, not one of your bases where you can just throw your weight around. Fact is, you don’t have much authority here really. I’d kindly like you to get out of my office, actually,” Fleur said pointing to the door. “The door’s that way.”

“Fleur…” Sweetie said disapprovingly.

“Oh, hush!” Fleur snapped. “I don’t know when you suddenly became a fan of this guy, but your loyalty is to SMILE first and foremost. It’s not pandering to the US Government’s whims. Or at least not the military’s whims. When you forgot about it, I’m not sure, but right now frankly I don't want to even talk to you. Now get out of my office. And don’t let the door hit you on the way out.”

Sweetie, however reluctantly, obeyed. For whatever reason she found herself in the gym, destroying punching bag after punching bag as Amores. Lyra listened as Sweetie vented, ever the caring lover. Secretly, Lyra had suspected what had just happened had been a long time coming. She’d heard quite a few things about McAllister, not all of them necessarily good.

“Wow, you’re in a mood,” Lyra remarked. “Who’s got you all hot and bothered, because it’s certainly not those bags. They didn’t do anything to you, I’d think!”

“It’s… Fleur, and well, I’m worried. She’s right, isn’t she? I’m starting to bend too much to General McAllister’s will. Look, I’m sure he’s a nice enough man, but… God! Fleur’s right. For the most part, Gallus was just a ‘test dummy’ for anything that could work against the Order. And I just followed along like a loyal dog, never questioning.”

“He’s your superior officer isn’t he? It’s only natural you’d want to please him at every turn. Even if common sense would say otherwise,” Lyra said. “He’s not a bad man, no, but you need to find a balance. You’ve got two things to be loyal to. SMILE, and the US Government. You can’t just suddenly choose one or the other. That’s what Fleur’s mad about, I’d imagine.”

“I suppose, maybe you’re right…” Sweetie answered.

“Oh, you know I’m right. I usually am, aren’t I?” Lyra asked.

“And here I thought I was the one wearing the pants in this relationship…” Sweetie mumbled.

“Nope, you’re just the one wearing the mask!” Lyra jingled.

Meanwhile…

“So, I heard you had a bit of a blow-up at General McAllister,” Fancy Pants said, having called Fleur to his office. Really, it wasn’t hard to have heard about it. The whole base’s gossip chain ran rather quickly. Fancy was amazed secrets were kept as well as they were these days.

“One long coming, really,” Fleur said fairly unapologetic about her actions. “He’s been a real thorn in my side, and probably yours as well actually. I understand there needs to be consequences for all of our actions, but this is getting stupid. Taking Scootaloo’s driver away? Oh yeah, weaken our team even further. Tempest’s punishment I get, but this is going too far. We only have one really effective Rider now. Yeah, Gallus can do some damage, but he can’t last long in a fight. And the Order knows it. They’ll be sending their Generals out to protect Vignette now, you know.”

“I… do know that actually,” Fancy said, sounding rather ashamed. “I have… made mistakes. I think we all like to think that with age comes wisdom, but the truth is, it doesn’t. In reality, our mistakes just end up being far larger. Thank you Fleur, for catching mine in time before any real damage was done.”

“You’re… welcome, sir?” Fleur asked, rather surprised. “I was expecting to be punished.”

“Consider yourself on leave for a day,” Fancy smiled warmly. “Go on, treat yourself to something nice. Go to that day spa I know you like.”

“T-Thank you sir!” Fleur stammered out, truly stunned she was being let off this lightly. “But aren’t you worried about any blowback from this?”

“I’ll handle McAllister, you just go and enjoy yourself eh?” Fancy smiled before he frowned as Fleur left. He reached under his desk, and pressed a button. A painting moved aside, and he pulled a briefcase from out behind it. Opening it, he sighed as he pulled out a fourth driver. On it was the infinity symbol. “...I think I know exactly what to do with this one in the coming days…”

00000

“So, superheroes right? Isn’t that what you call yourselves?” Vignette asked, having somehow hijacked the tv stations. “Well, here’s a little exclusive extra for you. If you don’t get here on the double, this guy’s taking a tumble!”

She’d shown a man dangling off a bridge, held up by the leg via a shadowy cloaked figure. Needless to say, G3-X and Amores had quickly been mobilized.

So, that was the current situation, with Gallus approaching Vignette cautiously. From a building a few blocks away, Amores stood ready, her bow aimed directly at Vignette’s heart.

“So this is what you’ve resorted to, Vignette?” Gallus asked disgustedly, ready to go for his gun at the drop of a hat. “Petty threats? Gee, you’re a few steps out of a comic book by now. What, do we have to throw a symbiote on you or something?”

“No, if I was out of a comic book I would start monologuing,” Vignette said, then shimmered and vanished. Then from behind Gallus there was a whistling sound and a sharp pain as one of her swords slashed at him.

“Cute…” Gallus said as he went for the Cerberus. “Real cute.”

The air thundered with the sound of the gatling gun’s weapons fire, bullet casings falling to the ground by the second. Gallus did a 180 degree sweep, leaving no area covered in bullet holes. He knew she was here somewhere. Oh well, he’d hit her eventually. See, Gallus had an easy enough solution to problems he couldn’t solve. If one type of gun didn’t cut it, grab a bigger one. It generally worked pretty well.

“Shame she doesn’t have huge guts, eh?” Amore’s voice crackled over the coms with a laugh. “Sadly, I’d rate hers as very small. Coward can’t even be bothered to fight you face to face!”

How was she doing this? Was teleportation one of her powers? Gallus had to wonder. Okay, for the time being he’d assume on top of flight and her sword abilities she had access to teleportation. He whirled around at the sound of footsteps to strike Vignette with the unicorn knife, -having tossed his gun aside- only for a blade to slash through his armor.

Clutching his side in pain, Gallus shouted: “You know, for a woman who used to be in a career that thrived on honor and integrity, you seem to have very little of either! Journalism used to have a romance to it, guess with people like you that’s why it’s gone down the drain!” he barked. That was it, get her angry enough to show herself. “Nowadays it’s all about hits, clicks, and hatchet jobs!”

“Hey, a girl’s gotta make a living,” a voice said from behind him, he snapped in that direction only to get slashed by another sword and no sign of her still. “And why shouldn’t I go after this story? People deserve to know who their heroes are, I get that unlike that hack blog Rider Watch.”

“So you’re J. Jonah Jameson, not She-Venom then,” Gallus said, listening out for her footsteps. “Nice to know. You’re still crap, just a different kind of crap.”

There was the twang of a bow string, and a sharp ear-piercing sound rang out through the air. Gallus’ suit quickly silenced the sound, but as for Vignette…? She stumbled into view only to get punched in the face. Gallus flashed a thumbs up to his partner before drawing his knife again.

“Nope, definitely She-Venom!” Sweetie drawled.

“Well, well, still having problems I see,” a voice said as a man appeared out of thin air. He appeared similar to the other Order Commanders, only he had robes with the symbols of the four Tarot suits attached to his waist as he leaned on a staff. “Good thing they sent me to lend you a hand.”

Around this time, the figure holding the man had vanished and… oh, of course. He should have known, he was so stupid! “Gallus, get out of there!” Sweetie warned. “That’s one of the Generals!”

“I’ll… I’ll take him down too! I am a Kamen Rider, and this is my duty!” Gallus growled, planting his feet and grabbing the Cerberus, going for it’s rocket launcher mode. He fired.

The robed monster just raised his staff and caught the missile in mid-air. He pulled it back and sent it flying back into Gallus’ chest. “Really, did you think it would be that easy?”

Gallus had been sent flying back, armor plating being ripped away. But still he stood. “As long as one man stands against you, that’s all there needs to be,” Gallus said clutching the Cerberus, his finger on the trigger. “That’s all there needs to be. If you tell me to move, I’ll tell you otherwise. I’ll plant my feet and tell you: “No, you move.”

Bullets flew and shell casings clattered as the air racketed with the sound of gunfire.

The bullets hit the robed man as he lowered his head, each one hitting him without him pausing. When the firing finally stopped he just raised his head and the bullets fell to the ground one by one. “Did you really think that would work?”

“Well, I’d thought I’d give it my best shot…” Gallus said weakly, his armor already half ripped away.

Gallus felt another pain as a sword slashed across him, this time from Vignette’s cutlass. A golden fist then struck him across the face, knocking him back as she grinned, pointing her sword at him as she kicked away the gun. “Not so high and mighty now are you?”

Gallus slid back up against a pillar, bleeding and bruised. His vision was blurred, one eye half knocked shut. He went for his pistol. Then, there was possibly the most wonderful sound in the world as came the roar of a motorcycle engine. Vignette found herself knocked away, and the Magician staggered as the rear tire of a motorcycle ground itself up against his face. The bike touched ground again, and spun to face the two monsters. The rider threw off her helmet.

“Sorry I’m late,” Scootaloo said as she climbed off her bike. “Traffic was killer. Are you okay?”

Gallus nodded weakly, managing to cough out: “Kick their asses for me will you?”

“With pleasure, I’m actually going to enjoy this one,” Scootaloo said as she raised her Driver and placed it on her waist as the familiar belt formed around her as she slid the cards into her Driver’s slot. “Henshin!”

“TIME TO TIP THE SCALES!”

As the green and black energy flowed over her, the armor wrapping itself around her as the Arcana Rapier appeared in her hand and she pointed it at the two of them. “I can see your future, and it’s not bright!”

“RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRAAAGGGHHHHHH!!!!” Vignette screamed as she surged forwards.

Scootaloo caught the cutlass with her own rapier, grabbing another card from her deck box and sliding it into her Driver.

“ARCANA CIRCLE SHIELD!” The Driver said as a shield appeared on her other arm just in time to catch one of the flying swords.

“I’ve been looking forward to this ever since you did that stupid video on Kamen Rider Kiva being just as bad as the monsters they fight,” Justice said side-stepping another sword. “Kinda personal, you know?”

The Magician tried to strike Justice but was blown backwards by a series of arrows from Amore. “And stay down…” she muttered.

“I’ll deal with the archer, you take out Justice,” the Magician monster said as he tapped his staff on the ground and vanished.

“Looks like you’re on your own,” Scootaloo said as she held her sword and shield out. “I’m taking you down, now!”

Amores took a running jump off a rooftop, and slid down another before leaping off that one as well. She was soon on the battlefield, spotting the Magician fleeing. “Oh, no you don’t!”

Amores’ eyes had narrowed as she changed her bow into combat staff mode. Swinging it, she went for the Magician's knees before roundhouse kicking him in the stomach. Rapidly switching her weapon back to bow mode, she drew back the string and fired.

“Good to have you back,” Amores said to Justice, side-stepping a slash from the Magician and karate-chopping him across the neck. “Been getting a bit boring, actually.”

The Magician teleported behind her, but Amores was ready, swinging her bow and rapid-changing it to combat staff mode slamming it into the side of his head. She slammed the tip into his stomach, and thrusted upwards lifting him before tossing the General behind her. The Magician picked himself up, thrusting forwards with his weapon only for Amores to side step. She grabbed him in a hurricane maneuver, slamming him bodily back into the ground. “Did you not hear me asking you to stay down?”

The Magician knocked her off her feet with a leg sweep, before grabbing her in a chokehold. He shoved her against the wall, but Amores stamped hard on his foot before leaping forwards and going into a diving kick. “RIDER KICK!”

She bulldozed him through several walls, the Magician rolling along the ground, his cloak covered in dirt and dust. Slashing a card across her bow, she fired off another finisher.

The Magician staggered from the force of the second finisher, even as Justice threw Vignette through the wall. Dusting off her hands, Amores grinned under her helmet before speaking: “Yeah, see, this is the part where you lose. There’s no version of this where you come out on top. Got a Driver with your name on it.”

“You really think it’s going to be that simple? I’ll see you again, very soon,” the Magician said weakly as he slammed his staff down on the ground and vanished into thin air

“Okay, correction,” Sweetie said as she turned her gaze to the now very afraid Vignette. “There’s no version of this where you come out on top. No Generals to hide behind this time, I’m afraid. Justice, I’ll hit her high, you hit her low.”

“Got it,” Scootaloo said as she took a fighting stance. “Ready whenever you are.”

The fight, if you could even call it that, was frankly rather embarrassing for the most part. Vignette was so fueled by anger and indignity, her blows were easily dodged or caught. Sweetie smacked her around several times with her combat staff, before Justice wrapped her legs around Vignette’s upper body and threw her to the ground. Grabbing Vignette, she slammed her up against a wall and tossed her towards Sweetie who punched her in the face. Justice and Amores shared a nod before both Rider Kicked her roundhouse kick style.

“You enjoyed that a little too much, didn’t you?” Amores asked.

“A bit maybe,” Scootaloo chuckled as she looked at the unconscious Vignette. “So, back to jail with her then?”

“Yep,” Sweetie replied as the Four of Swords card appeared in her hand. She was half tempted to destroy it for how much trouble it’s user had caused. “Let’s see here. Espionage, consorting with the enemy, domestic terrorism. How screwed is she again?”

“Very.” Sweetie said canceling out her transformation, Scootaloo to follow. “Like I said, it’s good to have you… Gallus!”

She broke into a sprint, having suddenly remembered her teammate. Kneeling down next to the man, she breathed out: “God, please tell me you’re alright…”

“I’ve… I’ve been better,” Gallus said weakly, giving a small thumbs up. “But I’ll live. Tell me, Vignette?”

“Ass kicked,” Scootaloo said as she went for her phone, dialing 911. “You can rest now.”

“I’m… I’m going to be in for it, aren’t I? Trashing the G3-X armor as I did.”

“Fleur’s a forgiving sort, I’m sure you’ll be fine,” Scootaloo said, kindly stroking his hair. “Thank you, for filling in for me.”

“It was my pleasure.” Gallus breathed as the sounds of sirens were heard. “Now… now? I think I’m going to take a very long rest…”

00000

“I’ll be taking my leave now, Director,” McAllister said as he was gathering up his things. “I know we didn’t exactly get along…”

“That’s putting it mildly,” Fleur muttered.

“But after everything that has happened I believe that my initial decision was incorrect,” McAllister said, taking a deep breath. “The techs back at headquarters are going to have to go over the G3-X suit mind you, but it’s not properly equipped to fight against the Order. Still, we may salvage something from this.”

“Of course, thank you for understanding,” Fancy Pants said. “We will keep you apprised of further details.”

“Of course, I look forward to your reports,” McAlister said as he picked up the final file folder and looked at Fleur for a moment. “Tell Miss. Dash I am sorry for my rash decision. And once the Corporal is out of the medical wing, he’ll be given leave for as long as he needs it.”

The General walked out of the office with the files under his arm and Fancy Pants and Fleur let out a sigh of relief.

“I swear, if he stayed any longer I’d have punched him in the face,” Fancy Pants groaned.

“I’m glad I wasn’t the only one,” Fleur said with a laugh. “I think he meant well, in his own way. At least he came around before it was too late.”

“Yes, quite,” Fancy Pants said as he turned back to his computer.

“I’m going to the Medical Wing,” Fleur said as she walked out of the office and turned down a hallway.

Meanwhile in the elevator going up, McAllister was looking through the G3 file for a moment and shook his head. The G3 suit was outdated, this test run had shown that much. The Tarot Riders were more than enough to fight the Order, but there was always the risk of more threats.

As he stepped out of the elevator he opened another folder and dialed a number on his phone. “Yes, this is General Roland McAllister, tell the Doctor that Project Assault is a go.”