Author's Notes:

Okay, huge thanks to Thunderclap for his help on a certain section of the chapter. He knows the one. Anyways, from here on in I'm going to try and make Celestia repent for her vast errors in judgment. Whether or not it works, that's up to you I think.

“Fly me to the moon
Let me play among the stars
Let me see what spring is like

“On a, Jupiter and Mars
In other words, hold my hand
In other words, baby, kiss me…”

This was the song that reverberated throughout Stripped Gear’s lab, the unicorn robot humming it to himself as he attempted to finish the Sun and Moon Kyutama. Flashfire had put together a team and even now was flying under cover of darkness towards the communications hub. In essence, this hub controlled all of the communications in this section of the universe and if it were to be sabotaged Eriedrone would have been dealt one major blow.

Stripped wasn’t worried. Flashfire knew what he was doing, everyone knew their assigned tasks. Stripped wanted to go with him as part of the team, but Flashfire had shut him down outright saying Stripped was needed back here, developing new Kyutamas. Privately, Stripped wondered if Flashfire was still concerned about his psyche regarding recent revelations and all.

Pah! Stripped thought to himself, he was being a worrywart as ever. Flashfire could worry about the tiniest things sometimes, no matter how minute they were in the long run. Okay, yes sure a few of Stripped’s memories were falsehoods to keep him from catching on about what he really was but he was fine, really!

“Yeah, keep telling yourself that and you may start to actually believe it…” Stripped thought to himself. To be honestly sure with himself, he wasn’t quite sure how alright he actually was. Every so often, he caught himself looking in the mirror just to make sure he was still flesh and not showing any machinery. Shame? Was that it? Could a robot even feel shame?

Even as he worked through the late night, Stripped Gear’s weariness began to take over and soon he found himself drifting off to sleep. A restful sleep though, it would not be.

Stripped found himself on a table, hospital table in a darkened room. Shadowed forms moved about beyond his field of vision. Muffled words and phrases were spoken. A slow beeping of a heart monitor was audible.

Stripped Gear tried to move, but found himself strapped to that table.

“What… What’s going on?” he whispered, frantically and without hesitation. “Let me go!”

Dark Matter, that had to be it. They must have somehow gotten aboard the Shining Armor and had captured him while his guard was down. Yeah, that had to be it.

“Warning you right now, this is a grave mistake you’re making here! Trust me, when my friends come, and they will, you lot will be in for quite the nasty surprise!” Stripped barked. “Hell,” he continued a small smirk coming to his face. “I bet you a few bits I’ll be out of here within a few seconds, just you watch! I’m a genius you know, like a bonafide, certified genius! I created more than a few Kyutamas, and give me a few seconds I can probably whip one up that’ll lockpick every one of these restraints!”

“Genius is something earned, not programmed into a machine,” one of his captors replied, hot breath felt on Stripped Gear’s face. If he had blood, it would’ve froze. He recognized that voice, and it wasn't anyone from Dark Matter.

“F-Flashfire, what are you doing here?” Stripped whispered. “Get me out of this!”

“Can't do that, cher ami,” Sarcasm dripped off that last word, the red unicorn leaning back to reveal a grin of his own. “We're here to take a quick look at what makes you tick. Won't be long.”

Stripped Gear’s optics widened, and he tried to conjure up some magical energy only to realize to his horror that his horn had been chopped up and was lying off to the side on a table.

“Y-You can’t do this,” Stripped Gear shouted, his breathing becoming faster with each passing moment, his heart beating that little bit faster. “There’s… There’s regulations about this!”

Regulations that Stripped Gear, well he was all too aware he ignored when he and Jabari took apart that Dark Matter robot. Granted, maybe there was something to be said about it being an enemy or spoils of war or it being thought to be dead, but in hindsight…

“You’ve ignored your fair share of regulations,” Flashfire countered, seeming to pick up on Stripped's own thoughts. “Besides, it's not like we're doing anything cruel. Can you even really feel pain?” he questioned. Around his neck was the Dorado Kyutama hanging by a little chain. Stripped Gear let out a little hiss at this, and his anger and fear only grew at the sight of his Kyuchanger being placed off to the side.

“We went to school together, we were best friends!” Stripped Gear shouted, even as another figure moving about in the darkened room came into view. Stripped scoffed. Of course, ‘Prince’ Stardust himself. His creator for lack of a better word. Of course, he of all ponies would be here, the arrogant little arse.

“You were merely programmed to be friendly towards him,” Stardust dismissed, showing off some bits of wire. “A being of wires and servos can only mimic the thoughts and feelings of flesh and blood and bone and soul. You have none of those things,” he stated in a cold, clinical tone.

“Well, it could be argued that…” Stripped trailed off, trying to stay even that little bit defiant. Maybe if he got them thinking, they’d release him. “Seriously, it could. Don’t all living beings have a soul of some sort? ...Well, except maybe you of course,” Stripped said looking towards Stardust.

“You're not a living thing, you're a machine,” Stardust answered. “Given memories and the facade of emotions before being set out into the galaxy.”

“Oh, I’d argue machines are still alive in a sense. They think, and if you prick me, do I not… bleed?” Stripped asked. “Oil, or whatever sure but it’s still blood in a sense.”

“You're grasping at feeble straws,” Stardust said, grabbing at tools. “You know all too well that oil serves a completely different purpose than blood. And, unlike a real living thing, if you're destroyed, everything you are can be rebuilt. Life is precious because it is finite and unique; you're neither of those things.”

“Finite and unique,” Stripped said. “I’d say that describes everything in this galaxy, no this universe. Yes, everything has it’s time, and everything and everyone is different, but is this such a bad thing? Think about it, you created me just as an experiment, -you playing God- but as I’ve proved I’ve grown beyond that. I’ve helped you both in saving the universe. Created your weapons, your suits, your gear…”

“A machine built to take in information doing just that isn't special. One doesn't stand in awe when a toaster makes toast the perfect golden brown,” Flashfire stated taking a sip of his coffee. “Believe you me when I say this mon cher ami, I take no pleasure in doing this.” he continued moving a machine with a mechanical arm tipped in a drill over to him.

“Then why…?” Stripped trailed off.

“Orders are orders, and I admit I have some curiosity that needs to be satisfied. Like, just how pony are you? Or are you more machine than stallion?” Flashfire asked taking another sip. “You have to admit, even to yourself, you have to wonder these things from time to time,” he remarked casually as if this wasn’t really all that bothersome to him. “You’d do the same to me, I’m sure…”

“No… No, I wouldn’t. I wouldn’t take and rip apart a friend just to satisfy any form of curiosity!” Stripped pleaded tears leaking down the sides of his face.

“And if I was not a friend?” Flashfire asked. “What then?” He put his cup down, positioning the drill to Stripped's forehead. Stripped had noticed the bottom half of his body was being slowly removed from the top. “Rhetorical question; you already showed what you'd do on that Dark Matter robot. If you really believed what we're about to do is wrong, you'd have never done it yourself.”

“Wait, wait… Maybe we can talk about this!” Stripped continued to plead.

“Eh, the time for talk is over, I’ve got an experiment to conduct!” Stardust stated cheerfully fully ripping away Stripped’s bottom half. “And don’t worry, I’m sure your replacement Ranger will do just fine…”

With that, he lowered the drill towards Stripped’s face as it began to spin up…

Stripped shot up with a start, panting and sweating and feeling somewhat sick to his stomach. Walking over to a nearby sink basin, he quickly began running cold water to his face before recoiling as he saw not flesh and fur but steel and wires. Letting out a scream of fear, he pulled the tap from the sink and held it in his hands for a few moments before tossing it away. With that, he sunk to the floor whispering all the while.

“I’m a pony, aren’t I…?” he whispered to himself over and over.

Meanwhile, unaware of what exactly was going on back on the Shining Armor with his friend Flashfire and his team had landed inside the hub’s hanger bay. Carved out of a massive asteroid, the entire place seemed to be virtually unguarded and almost nothing seemed to work. Even the lights were at a low hue -just barely illuminating the long empty corridors- which gave everyone involved in the whole matter an uneasy feeling.

Coldcast and Fågel trained their weapons around corners, ready to strike if needed. “I don’t know about this,” the Doctor murmured to himself scanning the area with his sonic. “I’m one for adventuring, and discovering new things but this entire place right here… I don’t like it.”

“Yeah, neither do I…” Flashfire murmured flashlight in hand before he pulled out a pistol and pointed it down a hallway as he heard the sound of retreating footsteps. Sadly, he saw nothing. Swearing softly to himself, he reholstered his weapon. “Oh, what I’d give to actually see my foe in front of me… Least I know who I’d be attacked by…”

“You know,” the Doctor began, starting to babble in his outright nervousness. “Almost every species in the universe has an irrational fear of the dark, but they're wrong because it's not irrational.”

“Yeah, it’s common sense, basic survival instincts,” Flashfire remarked. “You don’t know what’s in the dark, so you don’t know what’s coming to get you.”

“No, it’s not that. It’s what’s in the dark, it’s what’s always in the dark. It's Vashta Nerada,” the Doctor murmured. “Trust me, they’re always there. You can sometimes see them, those little dust particles in the air. That’s them.”

“B-But they don’t harm anyone…” Fågel trailed off gripping her axe ever tighter. “Do they?” she asked nervously, not sure she really wanted to know.

“Oh, they’re on every planet and every species needs to feed somehow. More often than not, you don’t notice when they feed. Sometimes a hiker goes missing here or there, or a camper but…” the Doctor commented before shrugging. “C’est la vie. For them anyways.”

“I take back what I said. I long for the days when we didn’t have you,” Flashfire stated. “My team was never freaked out quite so often. Now, if you’re not going to shut up, can you at least make yourself useful and actually tell us what to expect, aside from the boogeyman in the closet? Like who runs this place?”

“Okay, it’s generally a higher ranking magistrate, someone the Karō trusts with the utmost implicitly. Generally very competent at what they do, and generally very dangerous. Which is why I’m nervous, because normally we’d have been detected by now. But it’s all quiet as you can see… Or not see rather.” the Doctor explained.

“...So that’s why you’re placing the blame on these Vashta Nerada creatures right?” Coldcast asked, his eyes briefly looking upwards getting the feeling he was being watched. “Por el sol y la luna …” he muttered. “So let me ask you this Doctor, how do you know Dark Matter doesn’t already know we’re here?”

“...That’s the thing, I don’t.” the Doctor admitted with more than a tinge of nervousness in his tone even as unknownst to anyone a pair of sharp yellow eyes watched them from the shadows before blinking out of existence.

Meanwhile, back on the Shining Armor Pharynx and Flurry were in the middle of a spar. Flurry, sweatpants and sports bra while Pharynx just went shirtless. Kyutamas hanging around their necks as ever, the two went head to head fists and hooves meeting each other in a flurry of motion.

Wiping the sweat off his face, Pharynx finally relented. “Let’s… Let’s take five m’kay?” Pharynx requested wiping his face off with a wet towel. “Besides… Besides I’ve got more important things on my mind…”

“Explains why you couldn’t keep up, usually you do give me a run for my money,” Flurry remarked as she sat down on a nearby bench. “So, what’s on your mind? Gotta be something heavy really… Usually, you don’t give a damn about anyone’s problems. Usually.”

“Not true, I just pretend not to care, but don’t let that get out okay?” Pharynx pointed out. “I’ve got a reputation to uphold here!”

“Noted,” Flurry chuckled. “Severely noted.”

“Anyways, it’s about Stripped. Been hearing up and down the ship he hasn’t removed himself from his quarters since he discovered his true nature,” Pharynx replied. “Starting to get worried actually…”

Normally Flurry would have made a joke about not knowing how Pharynx cared, but considering the seriousness of the situation, she decided against it.

“Yeah… same here…” Flurry admitted. “Discovering you’re a robot and nobody ever bothered to tell you…?”

“Yeah, it’s gotta weigh on the psyche. Sure, he’s about as cheerful and possibly insufferable as ever at least on the surface, but I’d be willing to take a bet he’s just putting up a mask. A revelation like that, it’d rock anybody’s world and throw them for one Hivemother of a loop. Doubt he needs just a friend, -he’s got a few of those like Flashfire- he needs some reassurance really. That nothing’s changed between him and us. That we think nothing of him being a robot, that he’s still the same old Stripped Gear to us. A rock, if you will.”

“Yeah, I get what you mean…” Flurry agreed. “When my dad passed away, mom… she wasn’t exactly herself. Tried to hold herself up, and smile for her subjects but anyone could tell something was different. Same with me, tried to make it look like everything was alright but…”

“...You just couldn’t could you? One day or another, that mask broke didn’t it? For both you and your mother?” Pharynx inquired. He could only guess at what happened, given he was put in cold storage and left to be forgotten about -damn that Stardust!- long before Shining passed.

“Yeah… I just broke down crying in public one day, meeting a stallion in the Royal Guard who my dad’s organs had been donated to. He was pumping blood with the same heart my father used to have. I just broke down, right then and there…” she whispered in shame before Pharynx put a hand on her shoulder.

“To be honest, I can’t say I blame you. If it was my brother, and I’d been around long enough to see him pass and I’d stumbled upon someone using his organs I’d have probably have done the exact same thing as much as I hate to admit it,” Pharynx replied. “As much as we like to propagate it, we’re hardly emotionless rulers who just have to smile for the benefit of our subjects. We’re still thinking, living beings. Stripped, despite being mechanical in nature… he’s the same way really. He thinks like us, he bleeds like us, he shares our same fears does he not?”

“...Damn it Star,” Flurry grumbled. “Why not tell him from the start that he was a robot, why keep it bottled up all these years and just wait for Stripped to find out himself? I mean, even you with all your arrogance had to know this would end badly didn’t you…?” she asked.

“Because, he simply is that arrogant. Remember, this is the stallion who considers himself to be a national treasure. He simply doesn’t factor a lot of stuff into his plans, or treats others like they’re below him. How he could be Twilight’s child at times is beyond me honestly…” Pharynx muttered -his wings buzzing angrily- wanting to very much punch that oh so perfect Prince in his oh so perfect face.

“I suppose it’s my fault really…” the Celesti-AI admitted as she flashed into existence shame filling her words.

“No, gee… Really, you fault?” Pharynx asked sarcastically. “This is such a suuuuurrrprise…” he drawled.

“Pharynx!” Flurry hissed. “I apologize for him.”

“No, no apologies are needed,” the Celesti-AI admitted. “I admit, I do deserve every bit of scorn and punches, metaphorical or otherwise thrown my way. If I’d just kept a closer eye on my soon, instead of handing him off to tutors then maybe he may not have turned out so bad…”

“We can’t worry about what we may have done differently, we can only work to change the present,” Flurry told her aunt. “It might be a long hard road, but I think we can knock that arrogance out of your son.”

“Yeah, we think,” Pharynx huffed crossing his arms. “Emphasis on think.”

He was ignored. “Thank you, that’s all I can ask. And I will do my best to aid you in your task… As I should have been doing as a mother long before.” the Celesti-AI stated.

“There… There is something you should know if you are willing to help us,” Pharynx stated. “It was brought to my attention that at least once your son used chaos magic. This is… concerning for a multitude of reasons.

“Yes, indeed it is…”

Back aboard the communications hub, the group seemed to have reached what must have been the main room, judging from the large number of consoles in front of them along with a massive projector. What it normally projected, one could only guess.

“Okay, lot of these consoles are broken, possibly beyond repair,” Fågel analyzed before muttering to herself under her breath in her native language. “But if luck holds out, I think I can get a few of them running…”

“Yeah, if luck holds out,” Coldcast muttered. “Celestia only knows that’s something we’ve had a good amount of lately…”

“Oh, don’t be so pessimistic!” the Doctor commented helping Fågel with the repairs. “You really should be more upbeat, like me!”

Coldcast scoffed. “Right, this coming from the man who was talking about what’s always in the dark, shadow monsters out to eat you…” he muttered.

With a cry of triumph, the Doctor smiled as some of the consoles returned to life. Meanwhile, Flashfire kept watch having that same feeling that his little brother had before. That something was surely watching them.

“Coldcast?” Flashfire asked in a tone that hid a bit of nervousness. “Keep your guard up. I just got this feeling really… I don’t think we’re alone.”

“Yeah, same here. And I don’t mean dear sis and the Doctor. No, I think… There’s something else here as well. Not sure what it is,” Coldcast murmured before he let out a yelp and pulled out a pistol. “Ack! I swear, something just touched my shoulder! It was like it was there, and then it was gone.”

“Did you feel anything?” the Doctor asked whipping out his sonic and scanning the room. “Like a hot or cold spot or anything like that? Because really, most ghost stories are complete nonsense. It’s more likely a rift. A weak point in time and space. A connection between this place and another. That's the cause of ghost stories, most of the time,” he explained.

“...Who said anything about ghosts?” Coldcast asked. “And you going on about rifts in time and space… Yeah, that makes me feel so much better.” he deadpanned.

Fågel meanwhile gestured for Flashfire to come over as both Coldcast and the Doctor scanned the room but found nothing. At least for the moment. “This hub, right here… It picked up something… Not sure what, but something odd. Like… Like a signal or something. If I didn’t know better, this old communications signature… it’s Equestrian…”

“Equestrian?” Flashfire asked, raising an eyebrow. “How in the name of the Sun and the Moon could you get something Equestrian this far out? I mean, besides us? And this signal, it’s so degraded… It’s so old.”

“I know, right?” Fågel asked nodding her head. “It’s very odd. If I didn’t know better… No, it couldn’t be. I’ll ponder this another time, right now I think we better worry about dealing with this base…”

“Well, if you’re talking about sabotaging it, pretty sure the meteor storms in the area did that for us,” Flashfire murmured. “This whole place took a battering.”

“No, that’s the thing,” Fågel disagreed. “Dark Matter, they build their communications hub in the middle of an area known for meteorite storms and not expect to get battered? That’s just stupid, and they’re anything but stupid.”

“Parrot’s right,” the Doctor agreed with a little nod of his head. “If I didn’t know better… Just by observing the scorch marks on the walls not to mention the lack of any real guards -seriously, has anyone seen an Invader anywhere?- I’d almost say there was a battle here.”

“What, like everyone just turned on each other in a fit of sudden madness?” Coldcast questioned suddenly wondering if being here was a good idea.

“Possibly, yes. I can’t really say,” the Doctor admitted. “I don’t know. I don’t like not knowing things.”

“...You seem to say that a lot,” Coldcast muttered to himself. He then eyed a pair of golden eyes peeking out of the shadows and struck with his Astral Claw. “Ah, there you are!” he cried. “Knew I wasn’t being paranoid!”

A dark mass flew by him and reformed atop a computer console revealing a well-dressed man clad mostly in this midnight blue coat that hid most of his features except for a pair of glowing yellow eyes. Atop his head, he wore a top hat, and around his neck a massive tribal mask of some sort.

“Who the…?” Flashfire asked going for his sword, only to be punched backwards into a wall by a massive shadowy fist. “...Right, guessing I don’t have to go out on a limb here and guess you’re the proprietor of this place, am I right?”

“Shadios, at your service!” the magistrate said doing a little bow.

“...Bit on the nose with you, weren’t they?” the Doctor laughed before he and the others brought out their Kyutamas. “Sorry to say, but we’ll be taking this place over.”

“Go ahead and try, last idiots that did got driven off,” Shaidos remarked. “I swear, my former employers do not take me deciding to change jobs all that well. Crows!” he shouted, snapping his fingers as out of nowhere men dressed like old-time mobsters with pale white faces appeared. In their hands were either axes or tommy guns.

“Say the Change!”

Even as the Rangers morphed, they set about fighting off these new, strange footsoldiers.

“The Beast Star: Cerberus Seagreen!” Flashfire shouted as he used the Scutum and Cetus Kyutamas in combination to create a shield and then blow back some of the crows with a jet of water.

“The Howling Star: Lupus Blue!” Flashfire shouted as he went claw to claw with Shadios before kicking him backwards.

“The Armored Star: Taurus Black!” Fågel shouted as she used the Gemini Kyutama to form a clone of herself and strike down some crows. “New packaging… same old product. Losers.” she thought.

Meanwhile, the Doctor stated “The Trick-Star: Libra Gold!” kicking a crow in the face before using the Pavo Kyutama and launching peacock feathers like missiles to thin out the crowd. “Four Stars Shining in the Heavens… Space Squadron Kyurangers!”

Even as more crows and some invaders swarmed the area, Shadios turned into darkness once more and struck down the Rangers using a blinding blur of speed and chuckled. The Rangers had been soundly demorphed by this powerful attack.

“...Okay, so maybe there are in fact shadow monsters out to get you…” Coldcast muttered as he picked himself up off the floor blood dripping from his mouth.

“So, you’re the famous Kyurangers, or at least four of them,” a dark chuckle rang throughout the room as the projector came online displaying the symbol of Dark Matter before a white cloaked figure appeared. At the same time, Madako -who looked like a walking squid wearing a gas mask of all things- stepped out of the shadows with a machine gun in hand. “Have to say, I’m not impressed…”

“Don Armage…” the Doctor growled out. “So you are still alive…”

“Wait, that’s Don Armage?” Coldcast whispered. “...Lovely.”

“Yes, and you will bow in his glorious presence!” Madako laughed, a high pitched and extremely annoying laugh. “You are such jelly brains. We baited a trap, making this place look all abandoned and you fell for it hook line and sinker! You practically waltzed right in here!”

“Yes, they did didn’t they?” Don Armage asked. “I have to say, you and Shadios should be commended. You have done such fine work today, bringing me the head of the one who defeated me all those years ago…”

“It was such a pleasure, milord!” Madako laughed once more. The Doctor almost wished he were deaf, so he didn’t have to suffer from her laughter.

“Doctor, how does it feel to be in the face of utter despair once again?” Armage asked. “Surprised to see me? Credit where it’s due, you using all of your regenerations and all of the power of your previous Kyutama to defeat me almost succeeded. Almost. For that, you have my utmost respect. I’m honestly surprised you came crawling back to me with a new team, and new powers at that!”

“Yeah? Well, I’m like a bad penny in that way. I just keep on turning up!” the Doctor grunted out. “So, I see you’ve still got hangers-on like Madako here. What, too scared to do your dirty work for yourself?”

“No, it’s just I’m not really that interested in swatting what is merely a measly fly. Yes, you and your team may have freed several galaxies and planets here and there but it’s nothing in the long run. I’ve still got control over most of the universe. To put it simply, or in a term Flashfire may enjoy… You’ve been checkmated.”

With that, he vanished just as a man wearing what looked to be a plague doctor’s mask as his face and an extremely nice gold and black suit complete with top hat and cane waltzed in. And then, all Hell broke loose.

Meanwhile, back aboard the Shining Armor Stripped was still trying to balance trying to figure out what he was and finishing the Sun and Moon Kyutama.

“You know, you don’t have to go through this all alone,” the Luna-AI said as she appeared inside his quarters striding up to him and helping Stripped up off the floor. “Me and my sister, we’re here for you.” she said, and sure enough, Celestia appeared alongside her sister.

Needless to say, Stripped wasn’t pleased to see her. “Oh, look… It’s the brat’s mother.”

Celestia flinched, and Luna let out a hiss of anger briefly turning into a form that resembled Nightmare Moon but then Celestia sighed. “No, I deserved that. He’s right, I should have done more. And starting today, I will. But first, I will help you. Robot or not, you are still one of my subjects and nobody will think any less of you for not being flesh and bone. You are still Stripped Gear, remember that,” she stated firmly, pouring some of her magic into the unfinished Kyutama. How an AI was able to do exactly that, it was impossible to understand. But nevertheless, both she and Luna were doing just exactly that. Powering up this Kyutama with their own magic. “And it is my duty as your Princess to help you through your woes no matter what they may be. Whether it be helping you decide what you are or punishing my brat of a son. I am, for good or for ill Celestia Solaris.”

Luna smiled at her sister before speaking to Stripped as well.

“When you are scared, when you are brave, when you are happy, when you are sad, when you reach the darkest depths and the lowest lows, when you truly believe that every part of you is insignificant, remember that you are important, you are incredible, you are amazing. Just remember that there is still hope. There will always be light. Even in the darkest hours. Moonlight is no exception. You are illuminated no matter the circumstance. Never forget that. Now go on, the universe is waiting,” Luna stated as the finished Kyutama glowed. One side was themed after a shining red sun while the other was a golden crescent moon. “Your friends need you.”

“You’re… You’re right. I’m still not sure what I am, and it’ll be a long time before I probably do, but I do know one thing…” Stripped said slowly picking himself up off the floor and grabbing the newly created Kyutama. “My name is Stripped Gear, Dorado Yellow and the Sword Star. And I am a Paladin with a duty to the universe to free it from Dark Matter and it’s evil. I have a duty to my friends to save them from whatever darkness threatens them. And today, starting today the galaxy will burn a little brighter.” he stated, flicking his wrist and letting his Kyuchanger appear.

“Say the Change!”

“Dorado!”