NewTech City, 2025:

Just carrying a cart full of old machine parts, cyberjunk and computer tech really. That was one of his first real jobs at SPD, a glorified janitor. Not that he minded, everybody had to start somewhere right? He’d work his way up to the ranks of being officially qualified to be a Ranger sooner or later.

Just like at the Pai Zhau, he was a Cub all over again in a sense. Maybe he felt a little insulted at going back to basics -He certainly felt insulted that guidelines and rulebooks in SPD stated that he remove any distracting features from himself, such as his blue hair streaks- but he remembered that everyone had to start somewhere in the rank and file hierarchy.

Now he sorta knew how Jarrod felt really, back when he had to start all over again. Mind you, in Robert’s case it wasn’t because he was expelled or anything from his school, but the point still stood.

At least he still was allowed his headphones really, the SPD Cadet humming an old song -Well, old to some people anyways, he was a teenager when this song came out!- under his breath as he walked.

“Makin' love at seventeen, yeah, we had the luck
But we traded 'em toys and other joys, and we didn't give a- (whoa-oh-oh)
I took a chance at the high school dance, never knowing wrong from right
And that same show, forty years ago, being televised tonight…”

He chuckled at the irony, they called blue hair disruptive and yet this wasn’t? Distracting him from his work, and making him look up from his cart of assorted junk was one Sydney Drew, model, popstar -Though that one was debatable in his mind- trust fund baby, and currently B-Squad’s SPD Pink. Like he could mistake her for anyone else really. If the face that was constantly plastered all over the front covers of magazines, and the perfectly curled blonde hair wasn’t a clue as to who she was the pink toned uniform certainly did the trick.

“Hold it Cadet!” Syd called out, making him stop in his tracks where he stood and pull the headphones out of his ears. Subconsciously, out of sheer force of habit Robert fixed his hair a little as best he could given the circumstances.

“Yes sir, or uh ma’am!” Robert stated, saluting in an instance.

“What are you doing?” Syd inquired in a rather suspicious and somewhat nervous tone of voice, eying him critically and then taking a look at the computer junk in his cart.

“Not much really,” Robert remarked. “Just talking some old cyberjunk, y’know computer parts and stuff like that to the recycling center. Nothing that important really.”

He really didn’t actually mind this load of cyberjunk, considering what was in it. He’d eyed various parts of SPD’s mascot RIC inside the cart, and had personally thought good riddance to bad rubbish when he heard that dog was finally being scrapped considering God knew how many glitches it had. He’d once found it in his personal quarters, peeing on his old Pai Zhau training sword much to his annoyance. He’d had to summon Kat just to get it out of there, and he really didn’t like upsetting SPD’s top scientist and probably Cruger’s wife or mate or whatever. One of the only women he’d ever feared, aside from his mum or Theo’s wife Lily.

“Recycling, as in crushing, melting down and making into something new?” Syd replied in a somewhat worried tone of voice. Why she’d be worried about RIC’s parts was beyond him, the damn thing was as useless as anything he’d ever met.

“Yes ma’am,” Robert answered, with Syd then deciding to pull rank on him. He’d only later learn he’d been had and what Syd alongside Bridge and Boom had planned to do with RIC’s parts and in hindsight was grateful for that considering the asset RIC would later become. But right now, he was just nervous of the young woman considering he could get in a lot of trouble if he’d somehow screwed up. And on his first week at SPD no less!

Syd let out a gasp, and looked at him somewhat dangerously. “Cadet, did you sort the Earth metals from the galactic metals? The Earth plastics from the protein-inhibited plastics? The glass from the ultra glass?” she asked, with Robert stuttering and stammering all the while.

“...I didn’t know. Honest, I just thought all of this was just to be chuckled in the nearest recycling center, with the boys over there doing the sorting.”

“I’ll take over from here Cadet, you can go back to the SPD manual's chapter on recycling.” Syd stated, and with that marched off with her newly acquired haul. “Carry on.”

“But I-” Robert started, wanting to say he’d read the SPD manual twice over and there was nothing about recycling in it but Syd was having none of it.

“What part of carrying on did you not understand?” Syd asked, and Robert sighed with Syd smirking secretly to herself all the while.

Had he really known he’d just been played like some old fiddle, Robert probably would have smirked as well. He had to respect that, Syd had the instincts of a wily fox, and the beauty of one if he had to say so himself even if she was only eighteen. When she got to be his age, which granted wasn’t that really long considering he was 20-something at the time she would definitely be a looker.

Mind you, he wasn’t exactly interested in long-term relationships at all really, he was more of a freedom kinda guy. Do what he wanted, who he wanted, when he wanted and where he wanted. If he had more of an ego, he might have taken a page out of Otoya Kurenai’s book and called himself the Messiah of Love or something equally pretentious. But even he didn’t have that much of an ego at that age. He just hated ludicrously strict rules, like some of the ones SPD laid down at times. He knew they were there for a reason, even if he didn’t have to like them. But he’d follow them. He did want to be a Power Ranger, after all, he had his old master Theo along with TJ to thank for that.

“And now here I am, really…” Robert mused to himself as he began restitching his SPD uniform back together, shaking the memories away. Those were of a time long since past, a time very long since past. SPD was gone and lived on now only in memories.

“Then why am I…?” Robert asked, as he looked up from the sewing machine and his uniform.

“Why are you what?” Luna asked from somewhere behind him, and Robert let out a yelp as he jumped in surprise. “Repairing an old uniform from an organization that no longer exists and has not for thousands of years?”

“Princess Luna?” Robert asked, after regaining his composure. “...W-what are you even doing here?”

“What, I can’t drop by for a visit for an old friend?” Luna asked serenely, with a smile on her face.

“...Yeah, an old friend isn’t what I’d consider someone I had a quick shag with really.” Robert deadpanned, with a flat look plastered across his face.

“Yes, I do apologize for running with your feelings like that. ...You must understand, I do come from an age of chivalry where brave knights were rewarded for their courage and prowess in battle and I suppose seeing you may have gotten me a little caught up in the moment. I truly apologize, I truly do,” Luna replied, looking quite ashamed of herself. “Honestly, I really have no right to be here after what I pulled with you.”

“Ah, no sense crying over spilled milk really, let’s let bygones be bygones. You’re still a good friend Luna,” Robert replied. “No denying that. If ever there was a time I’d come to doubt myself or ponykind I’d know who to come to that’s for sure.”

“You sure Sunset would be okay with that?” Luna asked, with an eyebrow raised.

“Er… On letting bygones be bygones, I’m not so sure she would be okay with me talking to you. Alone at least, as God knows I’ve caught her beating up on a punching bag -several actually- with your face glued onto them. Best you stay clear of her for the time being, she didn’t take learning we shagged all too well if I remember correctly. Called you some words that were quite unbefitting of royalty when she learned you toyed with my feelings as you so delicately put it,” Robert remarked and Luna had the decency to wince at that. “So yeah, can’t really blame her for beating up on those bags the way she is. Old me probably would have joined her, really.” Robert continued with a small shrug.

“On the old you,” Luna said, changing the subject back to the previous one. “The jacket and uniform?” she asked critically.

“A memento?” Robert asked weakly, although he wasn’t even sure if even he believed that one. “Something from my glory days?”

“How did that old Bruce Springsteen song go again?” Luna asked. “Oh yes, now I remember. Glory days, well, they'll pass you by. Glory days, in the wink of a young girl's eye. Glory days, glory days…” Luna hummed to herself.

“Didn’t know you were a fan of “The Boss”,” Robert remarked in surprise.

“You get my point,” Luna stated, and Robert sighed and shook his head.

“Yeah, I guess I do,” Robert muttered. “I suppose in a way, I want to believe SPD’s alive and well in some way with me carrying it on, but I guess that’s just stinkin’ thinking as Applejack or Vapor would probably put it.”

“No, it’s actually rather sweet of you. Did you ever find out what happened to SPD?” Luna asked, resting herself on the windowsill.

“No, now that you mention it… I never did. Never have had the chance to go back to Tokyo, what with all of the crap with Retinax and Thrax and everybody else out to render us limb from limb these days. Planned to, especially when the Solar Streak returned but just can’t really.”

“Can’t?” Luna asked raising an eyebrow. “Or you just don’t want to?” she remarked, noting how the Shadow Saber sat out of sight seemingly like Robert was ashamed of it in some way. Robert’s silence said it all on the matter really. “Yes, that’s what I figured really. There’s nothing stopping you from going on a little adventure into your past except yourself really. The Rangers, especially with Trixie amongst them and their ranks now can handle monsters for the time being. You can go to the Neighponiese lands, and find out what happened to your old place of business. Hell, I’ll even have a squad of Royal Guards accompany you if you want, just to keep you company. Nobody should ever have to travel alone.”

“Y-Yeah, I suppose that would be nice,” Robert replied. “Thank you, Luna, again. Honestly, and I know this probably doesn’t help our relationship status much but in another time and place, who knows eh? Our relationship might have just worked out for the better.”

“Think nothing of it,” Luna replied. “I’ve been inside your dreams, and you probably don’t remember them as most people don’t remember what they dream about but I have seen you dreaming about bringing SPD back in some format,” she continued, and Robert shrugged as she had a point there.”I’m just a passing through pony, remember that.” Luna smirked, and Robert chuckled.

“...Okay, I have to ask, when did you start using or at least paraphrasing Decade’s catchphrase? Was it when Wyatt came to town, or-”

“You try spending time around a nerd, and see what happens,” Luna replied. “Mystic Mother knows you’ve spouted off a few borrowed catchphrases from time to time. “Hade ni Ikuze!” and “Count up your Crimes!” eh?” Luna smirked, and Robert laughed at that.

“Touche Luna. Touche.” Robert smirked back before Luna returned it and her smile faded.

“Something wrong Princess?” Robert asked, laying a hand on her shoulder.

“You, I assume heard the national address earlier?” Luna asked, and Robert gave her a flat look. “...Right. Of course you did. Now, the fallout is what I’m concerned about.”

“Chaos, mass hoards with the torches and pitchforks seeking to dethrone you?” Robert asked. “Because trust me, I’d gladly help ward them off in a heartbeat. No matter your flaws, you are a good ruler and Celestia is as well -Never thought I’d say that- and you keep this nation at peace.”

“Yes, but back in the day, when we first contracted the illusion that we moved the heavens it was for our own ego. Celestia, back when Solar Flare had her stronghold over her had quite the ego, and I’m sad to admit I enjoyed the attention as well. Our subjects were convinced we were gods, messiahs, saviors, or whatever you want to call it simply because to them we could control the ebb and flow of the tides and give their world light, at least from their point of view,” Luna explained. “We pulled the wool over their eyes for centuries and relished in it. I became reluctant from time to time, but my sister insisted we indulge their belief to better control the population. Or Solar Flare did, maybe. I’m not sure who Celestia was at times during those early days.”

“Tell people there's an invisible man in the sky who created the universe, and the vast majority will believe you. Tell them the paint is wet, and they have to touch it to be sure,” Robert muttered. “George Carlin, great comedian but a real intelligent chap to be sure. Ponies are stupid, just like humans are. By and large, the default population will believe anything you tell them. Hell, you probably have a few flat-earth believers nowadays thanks to the millennia of damage you did to knowledge as a whole.”

Luna let out a groan at this.

“...Oh great, you do have flat-earth believers. Almost as bad as those who thought the moon landings were faked, if you ask me.”

“...Wait, you landed on the moon? My moon? The one I was banished inside?” Luna blinked out in shock.

“Yeah, a real defining moment for the human race, can’t believe I never brought it up with you. We’ll have to watch Apollo 11 sometime, should give you a picture of what happened.”

“Yes, I shall look forwards to that, along with any other human science films or collections you can dig up,” Luna smiled.

“Eh, I can probably find some of Neil DeGrasse Tyson’s ‘Cosmos” if I looked hard enough, now that Celestia’s started releasing human history from the archives little by little.” Robert shrugged.

“You might be able to, who’s to say?” Luna shrugged. “Anyways… Back on topic. My sister sadly, she is still rather afraid of change deep down, it took her days for her to work up the nerve to release that address and a little bit of help from yours truly. I’ve got a few ideas that might help disperse some of the old-fashioned thinking, and get intelligence back on it’s proper course if I gained a willing volunteer or two.”

“Like what?” Robert asked. “Depending on the situation, I can probably talk Sunburst into this, all because it’s in the name of science.”

“Yes, you just might. I’ve been thinking a helium balloon of some sort, perhaps a weather balloon. Attach a camera of some sort to it, and if it rises high enough weather permitting ponies would be able to see the curvature of the Earth.”

“I just hope you know what you’re doing Luna,” Robert muttered. “To be a bit poetic, I can see rough sailing and choppy seas ahead. It’s going to be ugly when the fallout of this hits if your theory works -And I’m not saying it won’t as I do have faith in you- as you will be breaking some long-held beliefs. It’s like Galileo all over again.”

“Who’s Galileo?” Luna asked, her head tilted quizzically.

“Trust me, you don’t want to know. Pretty ugly part of human history really, religion based stuff generally is as anyone could tell you,” Emily’s voice came from a corner of the room and Robert managed to contain the reflexes that told him on instinct to go for his weapon and shoot her.

“God above, you all trying to give me heart attacks? I’m wanting to live to a ripe old age here…” Robert muttered before Emily walked into the room, and looked at him. “...What, are women throwing themselves at me now?” he joked, with Emily crossing her arms and giving him a very unamused look which Robert ignored. Luna did look amused, for the record knowing he was only joking. “Didn’t anyone get the memo, I’m very happily in a steady relationship once again thank you very much!”

“Speaking of SPD,” Emily remarked, picking up the Shadow Saber from its little spot hidden away and dusted it off. “Didn’t you want to learn how to use this? Well, come along. About time you get some training from an actual swordswoman.”

Robert met Emily in a field outside of town, with the former Samurai Yellow leaning up against an oak tree. Behind her, a full hunter’s moon high in the sky was visible with the storm clouds having finally cleared up from earlier.

“Please tell me I’m not going up against you,” Robert asked, gripping his commander’s sword in one hand. “Because no offense, but you have over 3,000 years of experience over me. Mite unfair, don’t you think?”

“Oh, you’re not fighting me,” Emily replied. “Of course you wouldn’t be, at least not yet.”

That didn’t soothe his worries any.

“No,” Emily continued. “You’ll be fighting someone who this blade has gone up against before. Well, sorta. See this?” she asked, holding up a small disk-like device with glowing green edges. “Produces a hard-light copy of a warrior. Not the real deal, but just as dangerous really.”

With that, she threw the disk to the ground and it created a green-skinned warrior with a long dangerously looking set of claws on his right arm, a red cycloptic eye amongst other robotic implants. Robert swallowed when he saw the warrior, he knew him all too well from the SPD files. General Benaag.

“...You call this starting me off lightly?” Robert shouted. “This isn’t easing me into the shallow end, this is throwing me into the deep end of the pool!”

“Will your enemies show any mercy? I have to ready you for this, and I figure giving you an opponent that’s just as dangerous as the monsters you and I fight on a daily basis is a good place to start. If it gets too dangerous and this Benaag gets too much of an upper hand, I will disengage the hologram, but remember…”

“No mercy,” Robert muttered before swallowing nervously. “Right then… Shadow Saber!” he called hesitantly, with the blade’s once dull edge becoming sharp as steel upon the activation call. He, as he charged into battle with his blade met and caught by Benaag’s claw noted how different the sword felt weight-wise compared to something like say, his Crystal Sword.

Benaag kicked him in the chest and Robert staggered back and quickly met a swipe from Benaag’s claw arm with his blade and parried it. He was doing well, so far.

“Benaag, he’s all upgrades, and really no fighting skill to speak off. All of those electronic toys he has on him, that’s what make him so dangerous.” Robert thought, and his point was only proven when Benaag fired a burst of missiles from his backpack towards Robert, with the Ranger having nowhere to run in time just because of how close he was to the warrior. The field erupted in small explosions and was covered in craters, and Robert was left bleeding and bruised but he was not giving up. This sword, it had a legacy and he was not intent on letting it down. Remembering the motions Cruger went through on the rare occasions he caught the Syrian training, Robert began using similar maneuvers.

Robert swung downwards striking the Benaag replica in the chest but took a small misstep with his foot and was stuck across the chest with Benaag’s rapier claws once more. Robert let out a growl of rage and swung downwards once more getting in another hit.

“Your style, it’s simplistic, based on only a couple of types of swings. While this might work against the average foot soldier, against an opponent like Benaag?” Emily instructed. “It will lead to only failure.”

This was demonstrated when Benaag’s gun arm fired a barrage of machine gun blasts at Robert, and while he was able to hold his ground against them and block them with his blade Benaag took this opportunity to send waves of energy slashes from his claw arm at Robert breaking his guard. As Robert staggered, Benaag charged and swung at Robert who was only just barely able to block the blows.

Robert tried something, desperate to gain an opening and leaped over Benaag using his shoulders as a platform and spun in mid-air striking the warrior across the back disabling one of his primary weapons systems. But Benaag was quick to react, and Robert still slow with the sword. Benaag spun around and smacked Robert in the face sending him sprawling into the ground.

Robert recovered, and his hand reached for the Shadow Saber but Emily’s boot stepped on it pinning him to the ground as she disengaged the hard-light construct of Benaag.

“Credit where credit was due, I didn’t actually think you’d get that far really,” Emily commented. “Getting in behind Benaag like that, using him as a stepping stone was clever and then disabling his weapons pack? Impressive. I didn’t actually think you’d be able to do that, considering that looked to be your first real fight with the blade. But you still lost.”

“Yeah, I did sorta notice that. If that was a real battle, Benaag would have killed me easily. Even with his simplistic style, and huge reliance on technological upgrades he defeated me easily.” Robert noted.

“I wouldn’t go that far, you did put up a fight and if you were a little more skilled and had a little more practice you might have won. But like I said, your style is too simplistic and I noticed as you got frustrated you tended to lash out and left yourself open far too easily. You need to be in a calm state of mind in battle, even amongst all the chaos and then and only then your blade will serve you,” Emily stated as she helped Robert off the ground and began bandaging him. “Think of it not of a weapon, but of an extension of yourself. Forget the legacy it has, you are not Commander Cruger however much you want to be, and that brings me onto my next point. Imitating his style as I saw you do is not the path to success here, you need to find your own. Find your own flow, if you understand my meaning.”

“I… I think I do. Thanks, Emily. Namaste,” Robert said before bowing. “...Okay, yes I know that’s probably the wrong gesture but it was what the Pai Zhau taught me and I cannot pronounce the Japanese thank you for the life of me.”

“Dōitashimashite.” Emily replied, and although Robert barely understood a word he understood the sentiment.

The Animarium:

“You’re up late Sunset,” Shayla observed as she watched Sunset go over the last battle with Neighsay via the main temple’s fountain. “...He got to you, didn’t he?”

“Yeah, he did. Should have seen the bastard coming, this is exactly the sorta crap Neighsay would pull.” Sunset noted and replayed a particular part of the battle with a simple snap of her fingers and a glowing green horn.

“Henshin.”

“Pomegranate Arms! An out of season bloomed sacrifice! Blood Orange Arms! The evil path on stage!”

“Where the hell did he even get Lockseeds to begin with?” Sunset asked, as she re-watched the portal to Helheim open in the sky and cover Neighsay in his armor with a splash of red liquid. “Seriously, the only way we got ahold of the ones Twilight has was when Dai-Shocker started opening up those cracks to that world, and we managed to burn all the Helheim fruits afterward so nobody could eat one and become an Inves. The cracks... Twilight just stumbled into one by accident, from what she told me. So how…?” Sunset trailed off before she groaned, and rubbed her head. “I’m sorry, I’m just too tired to think right about now.”

“Well, Neighsay is a powerful unicorn is he not?” Shayla asked as she observed the battle unfold, and watched Neighsay fire off particularly powerful spells. The one she took the most notice of was when Neighsay opened up multiple wormholes and fire out chains of lightning. “At least, from what I can see. It’s not that improbable that he’s found a way into Helheim. If Dai-Shocker can do it, and from what Wyatt told me and from what we know the leader is a corrupted version of Shining Armor it would not be improbable for a unicorn with sufficient magical ability to actually artificially create cracks.”

“But why, what’s the point? What’s he trying to prove aside from that he’s got a huge ego? Granted that alone would account for this but I can’t just help feel that there’s something more to all of this. Remember the way he worded things? “Fighting off Orgs and other monsters day after day, but now I think it’s time for the real power to take the stage.” That’s what he said right? Just right before calling himself Kamen Rider Savior.”

“It’s possible, although I don’t know how to prove this, that someone spited him. He does have a very huge ego as you mentioned,” Shayla theorized “And calling himself Kamen Rider Savior does hint that deep down he wants to protect ponies.”

“Yeah, just ponies…” Sunset grumbled.

“If I may continue?” Shayla asked. “Think about it, his title is Chancelor so that means he must be high up in your nation’s political arena right?”

“Yeah, he is,” Sunset replied. “His family’s always been in good with the nobles and Celestia’s court.”

“And you told me a while back Celestia and Luna were preparing a national response to Thrax and his Orgs after Lord Drakkon right? Perhaps he proposed a suggestion and for whatever reason, it was shot down. That was the slight, that’s what he’s trying to prove. Not that he’s better than you, but that his ideas have merit.”

“So, this was just a show, in it’s own deluded insane way, to the Princesses? That the Rangers, or us, are not the top power in the land or at least the only power?” Sunset mused.

“Quite possibly, yes,” Shayla surmised. “He wants to be noticed, he wants his ideas to be taken seriously,”

“Fat chance of that happening, not after the stunt he just pulled. I know the nobles, and although some of them dislike us for varying reasons usually for bigoted ones or think that we don’t do enough attacking me outright and attacking Equestria’s best defenders against the Orgs AKA my team would not get Neighsay in good graces with them,” Sunset replied.

“Yes, but consider this,” Shayla argued back. “Remember the message earlier today?” she asked, before replaying Celestia’s national address.

“My Little Ponies, this is one of the hardest speeches I’ve ever had to make to you, to any of you. I’ve been wanting to put this off for days, save you from the truth figuring it best you believed in what you’ve been told for centuries by your parents, their parents but no, the curtain, the charade must drop. It is for the best, the truth would have found itself a way to out one way or the other after all. I do not raise the sun, nor does my sister raise the moon. We never have, nor have will we ever do so. It was just a lie we cooked up, to make ourselves seem more powerful than we really are in actuality, just to make us seem like Gods. It was a mutual agreement then, just as the one to finally drop the charade now is. Now, what you do with this information is entirely up to you. Either you can depose us, and instate your own government or you can let us be and have us continue ruling. It is your own decision. Either choice you make, as this is your choice not ours, would not anger us. It would, in fact, please us for you to start finally making your own decisions instead of us doing that for you.”

“Think about it,” Shayla put in. “The full scope of this bomb that Celestia just dropped has yet to be seen, but the nation will erupt into Chaos most likely. Celestia is probably right, some will decry for her being dethroned along with her sister and this will be Neighsay’s chance to get the Nobles on his side. He can possibly take control over things now, forge powerful alliances and possibly a kingdom of his own once he’s won enough loyalty. I doubt that was his end game to begin with, but ponies like Neighsay…?” she trailed off.

“They take every opportunity they can get,” Sunset growled as she clenched her fists. “And I already know Neighsay has friends, Lightning’s father Wind Rider amongst them. He’s already well on his way.”

“Sleep now Sunset Shimmer, you have a long day ahead of you tomorrow…” Shayla warned.

Author's Notes:

Okay, so a lot in this chapter, mostly setting up for future events. Now, I admit I was confused on how an actual katana would be wielded but some long discussions with Eagle-Paladin of Shadows, the Stratovarian, and Seriff Pilcrow helped set me straight and I'm sure I'll be coming to them again. And yes, Japan nerds I know the Shadow Saber isn't an actual katana simply because it isn't curved but it was wielded like one.

Anyways, a small portion of this chapter's long Robert/Luna discussion owes itself to HawkerHurricane's One Step Forwards, A Huge Shove Backwards and specifically a chain of dialogue in chapter nine between Luna and that story's hero.

Also, yes, I did sorta make Robert that young cadet Syd talked to in Dogged, the one who was taking RIC's parts out to trash. Just because I could, and set a place in time in what Robert was doing in SPD in his early years there.

As ever, comments, thoughts, and critiques are welcomed.