2 DAYS PRIOR TO THE FANG DOPANT INCIDENT…
At a little café, some ways away from Crystal Prep Academy, Rarity was meeting an acquaintance from the Friendship Games. Sitting across from her was the stylish and refined Sunny Flare. Both girls were sipping some tea, reminiscing and telling each other of their days. Ever since the Friendship Games, Sunny had been corresponding with Twilight Sparkle, and by association, she had had frequent contact with Rarity. The two of them forming a formal friendship with each other.
“Sounds like you all got lucky, getting off of school for this long,” said Sunny.
“I won’t lie, I am a little sad about our school ending up in the shape it’s in now, but the extra time off has given me ample time to work on my creations, at least the ones I wasn’t able to finish due to homework and other things,” said Rarity.
Sunny Flare sipped her tea, swishing the liquid around as she thought. “So, how’s Twilight Sparkle adapting to CHS? Is she doing alright?”
Rarity gave a ladylike wave to Sunny’s question. “Oh, Darling, she’s doing wonderfully. She’s quite happy from what I’ve seen, and what she’s told me, but she has suffered a strange illness that had her in the hospital.” Sunny’s eyes widened with concern, Rarity caught the reaction and immediately added, “But-But she’s doing fine now! I assure you, in fact, she’s been at home with her family, and Sunset has kept me up to date on the matter!”
The Crystal Prepper sighed in relief but raised a curious eyebrow at the mention of Sunset Shimmer. “Sunset Shimmer, it sounds like those two have grown rather close, wouldn’t you say?”
Rarity raised an eyebrow as well, catching where Sunny Flare was going with that line of questioning. “Hmm, are we insinuating that Twilight and Sunset might have a relationship?”
Sunny Flare dropped a sugar cube into her tea and began to stir it as she contemplated her response. “I’m not saying it’s a bad thing, goodness knows that girl needs something or someone good in her life……god knows we never showed her anything south of cordial.”
“Oh, Sunny, you girls shouldn’t keep blaming yourselves. Twilight has forgiven you, otherwise I would doubt she’d have gone through the trouble of keeping in contact with you. Deep down I don’t think she blames you all, whatever harbored ill feelings Twilight may have are most likely in the past. On that note, how are things at Crystal Prep? I know your school didn’t get hit as bad.”
Sunny Flare sighed heavily. “Well, Indigo Zap, Lemon Zest, Sour Sweet, and Sugarcoat, and I have done our collective best to sway our fellow classmates towards a more…how shall I put it? Friendlier atmosphere. But…it has been a little hard, some progress made, a lot lost in some cases.”
Rarity reached over and placed her hand on Sunny Flare’s. “The good thing is you’re all trying to make your school a better place, perhaps you can stage a protest for a change of Principals? Heaven knows that awful Principal Cinch needs to be ousted.”
Sunny Flare retracted her hand and looked away from Rarity. “Not an easy thing when……Never mind. I’ll make sure the school gets on the right track; I have to…”
“Darling, you know you don’t have to carry such a burden by yourself, if you–”
Rarity was interrupted when Sunny’s cellphone went off, the Crystal Prep student dug into her jacket pocket and pulled out the device, grimacing when she saw the touch screen flashing the word “Mom”.
“Excuse me Rarity,” said Sunny Flare as she got up and walked off a little out of earshot. “Yes?”
[And just where are you young lady? You should be home right now, doing your schoolwork!]
“I’m…out, Mother, having tea with a…acquaintance of mine.”
[Well I need you back home, I’ve noticed your grades slipping a bit and I need you to get back on your game!]
“Is this about that ‘A’ I got on that science test? What’s wrong with that?” Sunny asked.
[The problem is that it can be better! You used to have A+ grades, of course compared to……that girl…it’s subpar! Without her here, Crystal Prep Academy needs a new shining example of brains, but also one that possesses beauty as well!]
“That ‘girl’ has a name, Mother! It’s Twilight Sparkle, you know, the one you blackmailed onto the team, and forced her into unleashing magical energies that turned her into a Dark Angel of Destruction!”
There was silence on the phone for a few moments before Sunny’s mother spoke again.
[Young lady, you are not to speak to me like that again! I tolerated your insubordination at the Friendship Games, but I will NOT do so again! I am your mother, and your teacher! It’s bad enough I have to put up with your, ugh, orientation, but I will not let my reputation and the schools suffer for it! Clean up your act now, Sunny, else I will have to take more draconian measures!]
Sunny Flare flinched at the anger in her mother’s voice, she knew the lengths that her mother would go to ensure that what she wants, she gets. In the end Sunny Flare relented.
“Okay, Mother, I-I’ll come home in few minutes.”
[You have thirty minutes, starting now!]
*click*
Sunny Flare put her phone away and turned around to where Rarity was and picked up her bags. “I apologize, Rarity, we’ll have to pick this up some other time. I have some business to attend to back home. Rain check?”
Rarity nodded. “Of course, Darling, just give me a call, anytime.”
The schoolgirl smiled and placed some money on the table for her drink, she then walked away, glancing over her shoulder at Rarity and sighed.
She hated this, being under the control of her mother, and being able to do nothing about the state of things in her school. Sunny needed something, she needed power, the same kind of power or at least something like what Twilight had, but how…
***__________<U>_________***
PRESENT DAY…
Half a month had passed since the attack by the Fang Dopant and then the Beast Dopant, aka Garble the Red Dragon, appeared. It had taken some time, but the students and staff were finally able to return to Canterlot High. On the first day of their return the students and staff had seen some changes to school. Thanks to the generous donation from a wealthy company by the name of PhoenEXE Corp., the repairs went much more swiftly, and the school was even able to upgrade some of its computers, utilities, equipment, and many other essentials.
When commotion of the attacks had died down, Twilight had tried to get some information out of her big brother about how Garble obtained the Gaia Memory, without revealing that she knew what it was. Thankfully, he gave her a tiny bit of information, seeing as she had involuntarily gotten involved in the incident.
According to Garble’s account, someone gave him the Gaia Memory, after reportedly transforming into a monster as well. Twilight had done some analysis on the Gaia Memory fragments Sunset had recovered and discovered that they were completely different from the T2 Gaia Memories that Sunset was in possession of. Twilight and Sunset stood against the rebuilt Wonder Colt statue as they went over the information.
“How do you figure they’re different?” Sunset asked.
“For one thing, the casing isn’t as strong as the T2s. The connectors at the ends are silver, instead of the blue color yours are. Lastly, the residual energy in the fragments shows that it’s more unstable than the T2s,” said Twilight.
Sunset raised a curious eyebrow as she asked, “Unstable? Like how I was when I used the Unicorn Memory without the Driver?”
“Yes, but it’s a little different. If I had to compare it to something, it’s almost like a drug. Just as some have a natural resistance and high tolerance, there are those who have an addictive personality. You were able to resist the Memories influence, but the person who obtained the Fang Memory wasn’t.”
Sunset hugged herself, looking down at the ground. “I barely resisted. I almost gave into my raw instincts in that form…I could’ve hurt you!”
Twilight placed a hand on Sunset’s shoulder and gave her a kind smile. “But you didn’t, you resisted, and you’re strong willed. Which leads me to think that there are those who can control their Dopant forms, while others will either become corrupted from repeated use or just give into its influence.”
“These things are dangerous…and yet the only way to beat them is to fight fire with fire,” said Sunset as she recalled her bouts as Kamen Rider Unicorn.
“For now, it’s imperative that we find the other Gaia Memories before someone less…stable, finds them and uses them.”
Sunset put up her index finger, as if to add something to that statement. “Don’t forget, we also need to find out how that Memory that punk got was made, and where it was made.”
Despite the seriousness of the situation, Twilight couldn’t help but be a little giddy. Fighting to protect the city and its inhabitants, solving the mystery of an unknown creator of Gaia Memories, and then there was the added bonus of hanging around Sunset. Although Twilight would have to rank the latter of those three at the top. Which reminded her.
“Um, Sunset, do you still think it’s not a good idea to tell the girls?” Twilight asked.
Sunset frowned as she thought about it. “For now, I think that’s what’s best. We still don’t know enough to properly explain the situation. This isn’t like when I brought the Element of Magic to this world, nor is it like when the Sirens attempted to take over the school and the city with their dark magic. This is something else, some kind of magic or power that’s just as potent and just as old. At least from what I can feel from my time using the Unicorn Memory.”
Sunset sighed heavily. “For now, let’s gather as much info as we can, and do what we can to stop this before it gets anymore out of hand. The last thing I want is to put them in danger…same goes for you, Twi.”
Twilight felt her face heat up in embarrassment. “T-That’s sweet of you to say, Sunset! B-But I chose to be part of this. In fact, I know I’m supposed to be. I had the knowledge to make the Driver, and…well…something else.”
“‘Something else’?”
“I….”
“Hey guys!”
Sunset and Twilight turned towards the familiar voice, noticing Rainbow Dash and Applejack approaching them, with Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy coming up behind them. Except, Rarity seemed a little distracted.
“Howdy Twi, Sunset, y’all are here earlier than normal,” Applejack remarked.
“Y-Yeah, we just wanted to make sure there was nothing wrong with the portal, or if there were any other magical surprises before we all got here,” said Sunset.
“Oh, oh, magical mystery hunt! Why wasn’t I invited!?” Pinkie asked. “I just got this neat little gadget that detects magic happenings!”
Twilight’s right eye twitched behind her glasses. “You have a device that can detect magic!?”
“Sure do!” Pinkie reached into her backpack and pulled out a gadget with a long handle, a square module connected at the end, with two long, wing-like prongs that had running LED lights on the edges. There was a screen on the module which rose and fell depending on where she pointed it. “It’s guaranteed to find weird supernatural stuff! Or ghosts, I never really read the instructions.”
Fluttershy began to shudder at the mention of ghosts. “It-it doesn’t really find ghosts…does it?”
“Of course, it doesn’t. Pinkie’s just yanking our chain,” said Rainbow Dash.
Pinkie Pie spotted Trixie walking by and pointed the device at her, the wing prongs rose, the LEDs flashing rapidly until the screen blew out, making Pinkie Pie drop the gadget as it fizzled out and died.
“Wow, I do not want to go to a Halloween party with her,” said Pinkie Pie in a slightly scared tone.
The others couldn’t help but chuckle at Pinkie’s antics, noting that it was business as usual from their oddball group. However, Fluttershy noticed that Rarity wasn’t very talkative, which was strange since the fashionista almost always had something interesting to say. From what she could tell, Rarity was scrolling through something in her phone, an act that did not go unnoticed by the others.
“You okay Rares?” Applejack asked.
“Huh – what – pardon?”
“Ah was askin’ if ya were alright? Ya looked a little distracted, Sug.”
Rarity played with the curl in her violet locks, nervously. Deciding whether to speak on her worry to her friends, for fear of how they would react. “Well…it’s just…”
[Twilight Sparkle, Sunset Shimmer, please report to the Vice Principal’s office. Repeat: Twilight Sparkle and Sunset Shimmer, report to the Vice Principal’s office.]
Rainbow Dash snickered at the announcement. “Looks like the school wants their money back for the damages.”
“T-They want us to pay for the damages!? B-But I don’t have that much money! I don’t’ even think my family has that much saved!” Twilight panicked.
Sunset elbowed the snickering Rainbow Dash. “She’s kidding, Twilight, they never made me pay. I’m sure it has nothing to do with that. C’mon.”
The five girls watched as Sunset and Twilight walked off into the school, heading to Vice Principal Luna for some unknown reason.
“So, Rarity, um, were you going to say something?” Fluttershy asked.
“Oh…well…it’s nothing, Darlings, I’m just a little distracted thinking of my latest creation, honestly,” Rarity assured.
The others didn’t think much of it, Applejack did however give Rarity a skeptical glance, but said nothing else. The others proceeded inside before the bell rang, with Rarity slipping her phone into her skirt pocket, the last image on the screen before it went blank was that of Rarity and Sunny Flare at a shop.
***__________<U>_________***
Both girls arrived at Vice Principal Luna’s office, even though they knew they had done nothing wrong to warrant a summons to her office, the fact that they were there was making them nervous. After taking a calming breath, Sunset knocked on the office door.
“Come in.”
She then turned the doorknob and saw Vice Principal Luna standing in front of her window. She never failed to give off that shadowy, mysterious vibe, like you had just walked into the Inquisitor’s office. Luna turned around, regarding both girls as they entered and shut the door.
“Thank you both for coming, please have a seat,” said Luna.
Twilight and Sunset sat in the chairs in front of Luna’s desk, Sunset noticed Twilight’s shaking hands. No doubt Twilight was having flashbacks to the time she was called into Principal Cinch’s office, where she was blackmailed into joining the Games against her will. Possibly, Twilight sensed a scenario like that playing out here in a new school.
Sunset reached over and placed her hand on Twilight’s shoulder, shooting her a reassuring smile that everything was alright. Twilight took a deep breath and calmed herself, and now both awaited to hear the reason why they were called in.
Luna turned around a walked to her chair behind her desk, keeping eye contact with both girls. “Thank you both for coming. First off: let me assure you that neither of you are here for disciplinary reasons. This is…well…more of a personal reason. And I believe that, due to the potential nature of the problem, you two are most qualified to handle it.”
Sunset and Twilight glanced to each other in confusion.
“Vice Principal Luna, what kind of problem is it that requires Sunset and I?” Twilight asked.
Luna laced her fingers together as she rested her elbows on her desk. “It concerns Crystal Prep Academy…more specifically, it concerns a troubling message I received from Dean Mi Amore Cadenza.”
Twilight shot up out of her chair with a worried look on her face. “Dean Cadance!? Why, what’s wrong!? Is she alright!?”
“That’s just it, I am truly unsure. The last I spoke to Cadance – Dean Cadance – there was some trouble over at that school regarding Principal Cinch and another student. Of course, she did not speak as to the student, but since then I have received no further communications, professional or otherwise.”
Twilight glanced worriedly to Sunset, and already she could see the fiery haired girl’s mind at work. “So, you believe it may be magic related?”
“I hope it is not, but…and mind you this is completely unprofessional, highly unorthodox, and in violation of several rules…” Luna rubbed her head and sighed heavily. “Twilight, Sunset, I would like for you to head to Crystal Prep to investigate.”
“I–”
“Of course, we will!” Twilight exclaimed, cutting off Sunset.
Luna nodded her head and smiled a little. “Very well, I hope I am just overreacting, in which case I will bear full responsibility. But if I am right, I hope you may be able to help.”
“When do we leave?” Twilight asked.
“For now, attend your classes, I have a plan to get you off campus and it should work for however long is necessary. I will contact you both after school with further details.”
Twilight gave a firm nod, and Sunset quickly mimicked the action. Luna stood up from her desk and walked to the door, opening it to usher them out. When they were past the doorframe, Luna spoke to them in a whisper “Thank you” before closing the door.
The two of them headed down the reconstructed halls of the school, with Sunset giving Twilight a look that made the genius girl cringe.
“I know, I know, I should’ve asked if you were okay with doing this before blurting out that we’d help! But, Sunset, this is Cadance! Possibly the one good person at Crystal Prep who actually cared about me! If something happened to her because of Principal Cinch, or if the magic I unleashed had some delayed side effects to the students, I have to help! I have–!”
Sunset quickly placed a finger on Twilight’s lips, silencing her. “Twi don’t sweat it; I know you want to help her. I’m not angry you said yes, but I was going to suggest that I recon the school, just to see if it’s a magic problem…or…”
Twilight knew what Sunset was speaking of, and now that she was thinking about it, she was starting to get more worried. Biting at her bottom lip, Twilight came to a decision.
“Go.”
“Seriously?”
“Seriously. Any mission starts with good intel and strategy, recognizance is needed to verify the type of threat we might face. It’ll also help us determine the best course of action.” Twilight deduced.
“Not that I mind playing hooky, but I’m sure that the teachers will notice.”
Twilight waved off the concern. “I’ll think of an excuse, and if needed I’ll have Vice Principal Luna corroborate my story.”
Sunset smirked at Twilight approvingly. “So, you do have a little devious and conniving side, don’t you?”
Twilight blushed. “J-Just go and be careful! Try to stay hidden, a few of the students might remember you from the Friendship Games, but the majority won’t notice you!”
Sunset saluted Twilight and took off down the opposite end of the hallway, headed straight for the parking lot.
***__________<U>_________***
Sunset made it to Crystal Prep Academy, having gotten directions from her GPS. The fiery haired girl whistled, impressed at the architecture of the fancy private school. Guess your rep must be good if you can afford to make most of your building out of crystal.
She had hidden her bike as best she could, deciding to head the rest of the way on foot. Once there, Sunset skulked through the shrubbery of the school grounds, trying to remain hidden as she surveyed the school. Sunset used the directions that Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie provided when they spoke about their spy mission before the Games started. She made it to the track field, spotting several students already having gym class and working hard at it too, especially the archery area.
Damn, guess Twilight wasn’t kidding when she said that archery was a required course. What was Cinch planning on doing, training them to be soldiers?
With that lovely thought in mind, Sunset maneuvered around the field and headed towards the school proper. Sunset managed to get close enough to the building that she could peer through a window and see what was going on. All she saw was a teacher, and the students listening to a lecture, although many of them seemed laid back, so did the teacher, and they were…smiling. Not like the usual creepy smile that you’d normally see in a teen horror movie, but something akin to a genuine smile, like they were happy to be there.
Okay, that doesn’t exactly match up to what Twilight told me about this place, Sunset thought.
Proceeding to the next window, Sunset found a similar situation in the next class, and the next, and the next, and the next. Given who it was who ran this school, Sunset found it highly unlikely that these teachers and students could look this happy while here. Heck, many of the ones who visited CHS during the Friendship Games could give a crap if their teammates won a match. It was, as Principal Cinch once said: “Expected of them”.
“So why the smiles and upbeat looking attitude?”
“You’re not supposed to be here, intruder!”
Sunset heard a distorted voice and immediately tensed up, quickly glancing over her right shoulder, and spotting a creature nearly towering over her. Its body was colored a hot pink, with a long flowing skirt that practically covered the legs, if there were any. Upon its head was a golden crown, interlaced with glittering jewelry, its shoulders had broad pauldrons, with golden lines that formed intricate and elegant wisps. Her chest had a V cut collar that had white frills rising from it, all the way until it fanned out behind her head. On its face was a heart, colored white, and eyes of purple that stared back at Sunset.
“O-Okay…Well…um…this is awkward…is there any chance you can forget that you saw me?”
The pink Dopant raised its right hand and gathered energy to it, within seconds a sphere of pink light was formed and fired at Sunset. The fiery haired girl sprang into action, dodge rolling away from the blast that struck the wall behind her. Sunset kept rolling and shot to her feet as soon as she could and ran towards the bushes.
“COME BACK HERE!”
Sunset could hear the Dopant on her tail, along with the sounds of crackling energy orbs being flung. One of those orbs came dangerously close to her head, but only managed to singe her helmet a little before passing by and exploding against a tree. Unfortunately, said exploding made the tree snap from the trunk and caused it to fall in Sunset’s path. Without a second thought, Sunset sprinted and dove forward. The large tree groaned as it made its descent, crashing against the earth with a loud thud.
Thankfully, Sunset managed to be on the opposite end of the tree before it crashed, but the Dopant was still coming, if the sounds of something bulldozing through the trees and sounding angry were any indication. Sunset hid behind a tree, inspecting her helmet and seeing that it was still burning with some strange pink fissures spreading from the point of contact. Tossing the helmet away, Sunset reached behind her and pulled out the Driver.
“Okay, time to deal with this, now!”
Sunset placed the Driver at her waist, the belt automatically shooting out and wrapping itself securely to its wearer. Reaching into her jacket, Sunset pulled out the Unicorn Memory and pressed the button.
< UNICORN! >
“Henshin!”
The Gaia Memory was swiftly inserted into the main slot and pushed down by Sunset’s left hand.
> UNICORN! <
At that moment, the pink Dopant crashed through some trees and released an orb of pink light at Sunset. But it was too late, a field of turquoise light emerged around Sunset Shimmer, deflecting the blasts back at the pink Dopant, causing her to fall onto her back. The Dopant rose back up as quick as it could and tried to see the identity of the one who dared to enter her domain.
Thankfully, the energy field obscured Sunset’s more defining features, wrapping her in the special armored suit before the field dispersed into particles of shimmering light that wisped and flowed like the wind. The oval eyes of Sunset’s helmet shined for a moment and then her horn, cancelling the particles.
“Alright, no more running!” Unicorn declared.
“Y-You’re that girl from the news, Kamen Rider Unicorn!”
Unicorn crossed her arms and nodded. “The one and only, I guess you’ve seen my handiwork on the news, huh? So, you know that fighting me is a big no-no.”
The Dopant’s hands balled themselves into fists as her eyes glowed. “Why are you even here!? I’m not hurting anyone, mind your own business!”
Unicorn uncrossed her arms and looked to the Dopant with concern. “Look, I’m sure you’re confused about what you are right now, and that the power you have is addicting and comforting, but it’s dangerous! Using it like that will mess with your head if you continue to do so and distort the person you really are!”
The pink Dopant scoffed at that. “‘Distort’!? If anything, this power has helped to reveal the true me! As the Queen I am meant to be! Why would I give it up to someone who’s using the same kind of power!? Oh, I get it, you just want my power to add to yours, don’t you! WELL, THAT WON’T HAPPEN!”
Crap, she’s off on the deep end, guess we’ll do this hard way!
Unicorn dashed straight for the pink Dopant, dodging orbs of pink energy as she closed the distance. Her fist was cocked back as ethereal turquoise light wrapped around it; once Unicorn was within striking distance, she thrusted her fist forward, hitting the Dopant square in the chest. Sparks flew everywhere as the Dopant was sent flying out, eventually crashing into three trees before stopping against a fourth.
The horn on Unicorn’s helmet glowed, releasing a telekinetic wave that caught the trees before they hit the ground. With a wave of her hand, she made the trees rise, and with a second wave, threw them in the Dopant’s direction.
The pink Dopant recovered enough to watch as three large trees came hurdling towards her, with a fierce battle cry, she created a field of pink light that turned the three trees into wood chips, scattering them across the ground. Angrily the Dopant glared at Unicorn, rising to her full height. After a few seconds, the Dopant released a burst of energy, allowing her to float three feet off the ground.
Sunset’s eyes widened under her helmet. “Oh…so you can levitate, too?”
Without warning, the Dopant shot towards Sunset, sailing over the ground, and reaching out with her right hand. Before Unicorn could react, the Dopant had caught her by the throat, dragging her through the trees before throwing her the rest of the way forward.
With the added speed and inertia, Unicorn bounced on the ground five times before coming to a rolling stop on the school’s track field. Sunset groaned as she rose, but it seemed the pink Dopant was not about to let her off easy.
The pink Dopant waved its hand in a wide arch in front of it, creating small orbs of pink light. The orbs jettisoned themselves like glowing bullets and rained down on Unicorn’s position, setting off one explosion after another in rapid succession.
Unicorn was thrown into the air, sparks coming off her form until she landed back on terra firma. The pink Dopant landed on the ground, looking down upon her enemy with distaste. “Now, are you prepared to stand before me and accept your punishment with honor, or will you be put down like a dog?”
Unicorn chuckled at that as she rose to her feet, her body feeling very sore from the attacks. “I chose neither, ‘cause I’m not down and out just yet!”
Suddenly, Unicorn raised her left hand, holding within it the Fang Memory as she pressed the button.
< FANG! >
“Hope you’re ready for round two!” Unicorn belted as she inserted the Memory into her left hip slot.
{< FANG! MIMETIC DRIVE! >}
A bright blue flash of light engulfed Unicorn, making the pink Dopant back up. When the light faded, Unicorn’s suit had changed modes, becoming Unicorn Fang Edge. Unicorn widened her stance and crouched low, flexing her clawed tipped fingers as she prepared to strike. With her left hand, Sunset pushed down on the altered holster once.
\ ARM FANG! /
Both of Sunset’s arms grew long white, curved fang spikes that gleamed in the midmorning sun. Now with her new arms, Unicorn sprinted towards the Dopant.
The pink Dopant once again lobbed orbs of light at the Kamen Rider, but the result was different this time. With her extended blades, Unicorn slashed through one orb after the other, causing it to burst in midair and turn into sparkling pink dust. The Dopant waved its hand it in an arch, releasing the bullet sized energy orbs once again.
Unicorn hurriedly jumped into the air, flipped once, and came down with her clawed fingers. Slashing at the Dopant’s chest and sending sparks flying off every which way. Unicorn followed up with the Arm Fangs, slashing once diagonally, and spinning around with the same momentum to slash with the right Arm Fang. Both hits caused the Dopant to backpedal away, she tried to form more energy orbs, but the damage she suffered had forced her body into focusing it on recovery.
“I’ll end this quickly and free you and the school from that Gaia Memory,” declared Unicorn.
The Kamen Rider removed the Fang Memory from the left hip holster and inserted it into the right and pressed the button after.
>} FANG! MAXIMUM DRIVE! {<
The Arm Fangs glowed bright blue, growing to a length of seven feet as Unicorn cocked back both arms.
“FANG CROSS SLASH!!!”
As Sunset swung forward with her right blade, she watched as someone came bursting out of the tree line behind the Dopant and stood in front of it. Sunset quickly halted her glowing fang blade, having it stop just mere inches from the interloper’s face, but was shocked at who it was.
With spikey navy-blue hair, and amber-gold eyes, wearing a pair of goggles on her forehead, was Crystal Prep Academy’s athletic star, Indigo Zap. She stood there, arms out, acting as a shield for the Dopant. Unicorn looked closer and noticed that there was a strangely shaped Q mark on Indigo’s right cheek that was glowing.
“What the hell is this!?” Unicorn asked.
“My Queen, are you alright?” Indigo asked, completely ignoring Unicorn.
The Dopant slowly stood tall, but still looked weak. “I am now, if you did not come as quick as you did.”
“We are here for you my Queen; we won’t let anyone harm you! Right girls!”
“RIGHT!”
“Wait what…?”
Unicorn turned around and watched as seven Crystal Prep girls stood in a row, each one armed with a bow and an arrow notched into the draw strings. Sunset shook her head and gave the Dopant a disapproving look.
“I can’t believe it; you actually brainwashed the student body into acting as your own personal soldiers!? Are you so low that’d you use innocent people!?”
“Humph, shows what you know. I am a Queen, and a Queen is nothing without her subjects, not only is a Queen willing to protect and die for those subjects, but the very act of doing so inspires others to do the same for the Queen.”
“READY!?”
Sunset looked back at the archers and shook her head at the display. “Look, you’re all wasting your time with those arrows, they’re not going to–”
“FIRE!”
The first round of arrows was released into the air, but as they flew, the arrowheads began to glow with the same pink energy as the Dopant. When they angled down, they rained on Unicorn, all seven arrows either hit the ground around Unicorn or hit her directly and detonated. Sunset was caught in seven explosions that had sparks flying off her armor and cancelled out her Maximum Drive. Her armor sizzled as Unicorn tried to remain standing, looking back at the seven girls in confusion.
“W-What the hell!? H-How did they do that!?”
“That is the power of my EnThrall ability.” The Dopant floated over to Indigo Zap, leaning down and gently placing her finger against the glowing Q. “This mark makes them loyal to me, a mental on-off switch that I can use to control them, however, I am not a monster that would just send them into battle with nothing. The marks also imbue my Thralls with some of my power, so they’re hardly anything but defenseless, right Indigo?”
“Yes, my Queen,” responded Indigo.
Unicorn growled at the Dopant, using such a tactic was cowardly, conniving and…and…
Exactly what I wanted to do when I brought the Element of Magic to Earth…!
“Indigo!” The Dopant ordered.
Indigo Zap sprinted towards Unicorn, her feet glowing with the same pink light as the all-girl archers. The athlete cocked back her left fist, now glowing with the same light as her feet, and punched Unicorn across the face of her helmet. Sunset dug her feet into the earth as she skidded to a stop, but Indigo was unrelenting. She chased after Unicorn, throwing punches and kicks at the masked hero.
Unicorn put her martial training to use here, being mindful she was still in Fang Edge form, and that if not careful she could accidentally impale Indigo and seriously hurt her. The thought of cancelling the Mimetic Drive did cross her mind, but right now, without it, she would be a sitting duck against the powered-up archers and a powered up Indigo Zap, plus there was the matter of the Dopant who was recovering from all damage prior and was no doubt getting back to full strength.
Dammit, guess it’s time for a strategic retreat!
Unicorn managed to block one of Indigo’s punches, using a counter move that allowed her to throw the brainwashed girl off and away from danger. With this spare moment, Sunset removed the Fang Memory, and replaced it with the Unicorn Memory.
>} UNICORN! MAXIMUM DRIVE! {<
Indigo Zap used her super speed to get in front of the Dopant, just as Sunset planned. Unicorn balled her right fist as energy gathered to it. A crescent formed first, and then the spiral of energy as Unicorn raised her fist into the air.
“SPIRAL SCHNEIDER BREAK!!”
The Kamen Rider brought down her fist right on the ground beneath her feet. A powerful explosion went off, sending chunks of dirt and a large dust cloud into the air. The dust covered everything in a thick wall, making it impossible for many to see. The only thing that the Dopant and her Thralls were able to do was flounder about in the dust until it cleared, coughing and spluttering as they heard the sound of a distancing motorcycle.
***__________<U>_________***
Twilight glared down at Sunset with a disapproving look, making the former bad girl cringe a little from her gaze. Sunset had just gotten through telling Twilight about what she had encountered back at Crystal Prep Academy, along with the Dopant, the students brainwashed into becoming her Thralls, and their shared power with the Dopant. While Twilight found this all to be valuable information, she couldn’t get over one simple fact.
“That was reckless of you, Sunset! You could’ve gotten hurt, or worse, ended up a brainwashed minion!” Twilight scolded.
“Well, I didn’t…and, besides, it wasn’t like that Dopant left me much choice! I was cornered! But luckily, I had my helmet on the whole time so there’s no way of them knowing it was me,” said Sunset.
Twilight sat in her chair and removed her glasses to rub the bridge of her nose. “That’s not the point. Now the school, or however much of the school, will be on alert! Look at this.”
The genius girl pulled out a laptop from her backpack and began typing away. She brought up news sites and live webcasts of current streaming news, Sunset looked curiously at Twilight and then at the screen, trying to figure out where she was going with this.
“Okay, I don’t get it.”
“There’s nothing on the news, at all. Despite, from what you’ve described, numerous explosions and sounds of battle that went on at the school. I’ve no doubt that the Dopant is somehow keeping a lid on everything that’s happening there. It might even have control of some the parents connected with the news media,” said Twilight as her mind worked out the details.
Sunset blinked. “Wait, just what kind of kids does this school cater to?”
“Most of what you would expect from a private school with a high reputation. The children of local politicians, news, judges, pretty much almost all movers and shakers. Thankfully many of them are seeking to have their children excel and become the best, whether in the athletic or scholastic field is up to them, but they do ‘breed excellence’.”
“In other words, with this Dopant in control, it can make it so that no one says anything about what happened,” said Sunset as she bit on her thumbnail.
Twilight tapped a few keys and closed the laptop. She then turned to Sunset with a pensive expression. “I think we should to a little more research on the Gaia Memory that this Dopant uses, at least maybe we’ll get an idea on how to best counteract it.”
“Sounds good, but how the heck are we going to do that? Not like a user manual fell out of the pillar too…” Sunset took notice of Twilight’s expression. She hesitated for a moment, but then her face morphed into one of disbelief. “No, you’re not really about to tell me you found an actual user’s manual for these things!?”
Twilight grabbed a lock of her hair and fiddled with it, nervously. “Not exactly…this past month I’ve learned something, about myself, and how I was able to create the Driver and the device that was able to detect and contain magic. Do you remember that dream I told you I had? The one about the infinite space of books?”
Sunset nodded her head slowly.
“I found out that that wasn’t just a dream. If I concentrate, I can return to that space, and well…it’s easier to show than tell.”
Twilight stood up out her chair and took a deep breath. Sunset faintly sensed something happening, she was still in tune with the magicks of Equestria, and thanks to the Unicorn Memory, she could sense the pseudo-mystic energies that was this new form of magic that the Gaia Memories possessed. So, when Twilight’s normal aura altered slightly, Sunset noticed.
“Twilight…?”
~~I’m alright, ~~ said Twilight, her voice sounding distant yet strong.
~*~*~*~
Twilight stood amongst an untold number of bookshelves, each one holding hundreds of thousands of books per shelf. She stood at the center of the storm, all the bookshelves rearranging themselves one after the other, some flying to one shelf, and some flying to another. As chaotic as it looked, Twilight could sense an order to it all, one beyond her comprehension, but that was for another time.
“I’m in the Infinite Library.”
--- ‘Infinite Library’? ---
“I don’t know what else to call it! But basically, it’s like a gigantic search engine in my mind. Before I was tapping into it subconsciously, but recently I’ve been able to access it with a little concentration.”
--- Okay, so what’s the plan? ---
“Since you were there, I’m going to ask you for some information on the Dopant itself, and maybe we can narrow down what the Gaia Memory is,” said Twilight as she began to slowly walk forward. “All I need is some key things you noticed about the Dopant. Are you ready?”
--- Yes. Well for one thing, it was pink. ---
“Look up: Pink Dopant.”
The bookshelves froze in place. Some of the shelves began to zoom away into the distance, leaving others behind. When the shuffling was over, at least ten bookshelves remained.
“Still not enough, what else?”
--- Let’s see, it could turn people into Thralls with a Q mark on them! ---
“Good. Look up: Q mark.”
The ten shelves disappeared after dislodging ten books.
“Almost there, just need one more thing to get it right, think hard Sunset, was there anything else?”
There was silence for a moment, but after a few seconds, Sunset answered.
--- Search for the word ‘Queen’. ---
“Look up: Queen.”
The last books floated away, leaving behind one. It changed color, transforming into a pink color, with gold letters and the Q letter emblazoned on it.
“Here it is!” Twilight exclaimed as she opened the book. “Okay, it’s the Queen Memory. It has the power to create Thralls, which are marked by the letter Q. Those who are marked by the EnThrall Q are empowered by the Queen Memory. Granting them enhanced strength, agility, and in some cases, energy-based abilities.”
--- Sounds a lot like what Indigo Zap was using, as well as some other Preppers who were shooting at me with energy arrows, --- said Sunset.
Twilight turned the page and read on. “It also says the longer the Thralls are under the Queen Memory’s control, the stronger the Dopant will be. It’s like a recycling system, she gives them energy, and they give it back to her. Overtime it only grows stronger, and then she’ll be able to EnThrall everyone.”
~*~*~*~
Twilight exited the Infinite Library, feeling a little tired from diving so long into its knowledge. Sunset quickly went to her side and eased her friend to the bed to sit. “I’m fine, don’t worry.”
“Hard not to with all this stuff. So, do you think it’s Principal Cinch who’s controlling them?” Sunset asked.
“I hope by all things sacred and holy it isn’t, otherwise, we’re in more trouble than we realize. One thing’s for sure, we need to find out who it is for sure, and why they’re doing this.”
Sunset thought hard about who it could be. Somehow, she got the idea that Cinch would be a lot more calculating in her moves when she attacked or would’ve had one of the Thralls attack her first before revealing her Dopant form. Considering she had the smarts to think of blackmailing Twilight and do so under the radar of the faculty, primarily Dean Cadance, must’ve taken some careful planning.
“We may have to consider that this is a student at Crystal Prep, and not Cinch,” said Sunset.
“True, but who?”