//------------------------------//
// G: Girl from Griffonstone / The Threat 
// Story: Kamen Rider Unicorn 
// by Michael_Ravencroft 
//------------------------------//

At the mall the girls went into a fit of window shopping, grabbing smoothies at the Food Court, and catching a movie, Alien Alicorns vs. Space Pirates. The seven exited the theater with varying degrees of how they liked the movie.

“It was completely, and utterly, wrong!” Twilight stated.

“Oh c’mon, are you kidding?! That movie was  cool! With the Alicorns banding together to stop the Space Pirate Guilds!” Rainbow Dash shot back.

“Rainbow Dash, please. How can a race of supposedly super powerful beings be brought to their knees by a bunch of Space Pirates?!” Twilight countered.

“Ugh, they had the Crystal of Tolamar! It sapped their powers! And that Pirate King, you can’t tell me he wasn’t OP as heck.”

“Granted that he was ‘OP as heck’, but you’re telling me that the one thing that could’ve shattered the huge gemstone, was not a powerful spell, nor was it some mystical weapon wielded by the Alien Alicorns, but their little sidekick, mascot alien creature that just so happened to hit it with his horn?”

The girls gave Twilight and Rainbow Dash space as they debated the pros and cons of the movie.

“Well, the over-the-top, special effects and acting aside, I rather liked the costume designs of the characters! They were simply gorgeous, especially the ruler of the Space Alicorns, what was her name again?” Rarity asked.

“Queen Andromeda,” said Applejack.

“Thank you, Darling.”

“Um, I really liked Scruffles, Cosma’s pet, he was just so cute and tried so hard to help everyone,” said Fluttershy.

“Don’t forget about, Cosmic Knight Solara she was totally BA!” Pinkie Pie added, she then slid next to Sunset and gave a wiggle of the eyes to her. “I think she and Cosma might like each other.”

“Well Ah don’t doubt that, after all that time they spent on that jungle planet, and Cosma gettin’ hurt, why wouldn’t they be closer friends,” said Applejack.

Rainbow Dash caught that part of the conversation.  “She means that Solara and Cosma are bed buddies.”

“Beg pardon?” Rarity asked.

Sunset shook her head. “She means that Solara and Cosma had crushes on each other, they were in love.”

“WHAT?!” Applejack, Rarity, and Twilight said at once.

“B-But they were total opposites! Solara was a knight, and kind of a rebel. Sure she was smart as whip and could throw down with the best of ‘em, but Ah don’t see how she could…with Cosma,” said Applejack.

“Indeed, Solara was a bit a rough customer. Comsa on the other hand was a refined young lady, she was a Caster, if I believe my terminology is correct. Cosma was abundantly smart, and beautiful in a…reserved, and almost introverted way,” said Rarity.

“But, um, that spell that Cosma cast to empower Solara for the final battle, it’s power was directly correlated to how strongly the caster felt for the one receiving the power. And…um…We did see Cosma’s soul-self hug Solara’s soul-self from behind just before she grew her feathered wings,” said Fluttershy.

All the girls thought back to that scene for a moment, now that they thought about, Solara did look happy when she felt Cosma behind her, even placing her hand over Cosma’s while she was in the embrace.

“Are we seriously discussing the existence of a relationship between two fictional characters?” Sunset asked.

“Why not? There are tons of people doing that as we speak.” Pinkie Pie leaned in to whisper to Sunset. “I think that I get shipped the most with Dashie and Twilight, and I can totally see why! Tee-Hee!”

Sunset had learned to just accept Pinkie as, well, Pinkie. Thanking the gods that she never, ever, had to see what went on in the pink girl’s head. Just then, Rainbow Dash pulled out her cellphone, her happy mood soured as her brow furrowed at the phone.

“What the heck…?”

“What’s up?” Sunset asked.

The fiery haired girl took a peek at Rainbow’s phone and saw she had received a text message stating: [Hope you liked the movie, Dashie. ‘Cause what’s coming next is going to hurt, a lot.]

The others gathered around Rainbow and saw the message.

“Did someone just threaten you?!” Rarity asked.

“It’s probably just a prank text.”

“From a blocked number,” said Twilight as she looked at Rainbow’s phone. “I can probably backtrack the origin of the call if you give me a minute, and I’ll pass it along to my brother.”

Rainbow Dash swiftly took back her phone. “Chill you guys, who would want to hurt me?”

“Some crazy stalker type; them kinda people don’t think rationally.” Applejack stated.

The sports girl rubbed her chin. “Huh, didn’t think I’d get my first stalker until I became a super famous rock star, or athlete, or both.”

“AAAAAAAHHH.”

Screaming echoed out from the far end of the mall, along with some rumbling. At first the girls thought it was an earthquake, until they saw the people up ahead running away from something. In the distance something big and round was rolling through the mall, crushing every object in its path. It was, what appeared to be, a large ball made of metal and rock, about fifteen feet high and eight feet wide. The girls ran to the left, following the long corridor away from the giant ball of destruction, after running like mad for a few minutes, they stopped to catch their breath and braced for the moment the ball would hit the theater. However, much to their shock and horror, the ball slowed down, still spinning, and changed directions, their direction to be exact.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” said Sunset.

The girls began running again, with the giant wrecking ball following after them. Sunset Shimmer had had enough of this, and after checking the area, she dove towards a clothing shop just as the ball rolled past her. Sunset took out the belt buckle and strapped it on, and took out the Unicorn Memory.

< UNICORN! >

“HENSHIN!”

> UNICORN! <

The field of energy wrapped around Sunset and clad her in the armor of Kamen Rider Unicorn, when the transformation was complete, Sunset dashed out of the store and sprinted towards the wrecking ball. The girls were still running away from it, but realized that the corridor soon came to a dead end, where many other people were huddled together realizing that their fate was sealed.

Unicorn’s horn glowed as she reached out with her right hand, a wave of magical energy shot towards the wrecking ball, wrapping it in her aura. Sunset pulled back with her right hand, feeling the resistance of the ball as she tried to pull it back away from her friends and the people. It was uncanny, she could actually feel the wrecking ball pull against her, as if it had a will of its own. The tug of war went on for what felt like several minutes, but in reality it was only a few seconds. The wrecking ball relented and allowed itself to be pulled back, but with whatever sentience it had, the wrecking ball used that momentum to carry itself backwards and hurled itself straight for Unicorn.

“Oh crap!” Unicorn exclaimed.

The Kamen Rider’s horn glowed and in a sudden flash of turquoise light, Unicorn disappeared moments before the wrecking ball hit. She reappeared a few feet away glaring at the ball as it stopped itself in the middle of the corridor. The ball began to glow, shrinking down until it morphed into a humanoid form. It was then that Sunset understood what the ball was, a Dopant.

The creature had a body that was made of part metal and concrete. Parts of its right arm had traces of copper like metal, with concrete rock acting like exoskeletal armor, its right leg seeming to be made of a of the same metal material. The chest was chiseled into the form of pics and abs, made of a sturdy concrete that Sunset had no doubt only mimicked the look but was more than likely far denser than ordinary concrete. The left arm had a metal wrecking ball where its hand should be, and on its shoulders were dark iron looking plates. Long, railroad spikes protruded from its back, six in total, and its head was that of a metal, oblong dome that had only one eye that glowed a savage red color.

“Whoever you are, you need to stop this! That power you have is too dangerous, for you and everyone around you!” Unicorn stated.

The Dopant’s response was taking its right hand and pointing it at its chest, it was as if the Dopant was saying “Hit me with your best shot”.

“You think you’re tough, fine. I’ll call your bluff!” 

Sunset removed the Unicorn Memory from its slot, placed it in the right hip port, and quickly hit the button on the side.

>} UNICORN! MAXIMUM DRIVE! {<

Sunset cocked back her right fist, gathering all the magical energies in the air and from herself. The magical heroine dashed down the corridor, closing in on the Dopant in less than a few seconds.

“GRAND IMPACT!”

Unicorn struck the Dopant right in the center of its chest, generating a powerful explosion around them. But, much to Unicorn’s shock, the Dopant hadn’t even budged. The Dopant raised its right hand and wagged its finger in a “tsk, tsk” fashion. That same hand quickly took hold of Unicorn’s right forearm and hoisted her up, the Dopant cocked back its left hand and struck Unicorn in the chest with its wrecking ball hand. The impact sent the masked hero flying as sparks shot off her body. Unicorn rolled onto the floor, clutching at her chest in pain from the powerful blow.

“Damn…I figured its body would be tough, but not that tough,” said Unicorn. “Then let’s try this!” 

Sunset took out the Fang Memory and inserted it into the left hip port.

< FANG! >

{< FANG! MIMETIC DRIVE! >}

Unicorn’s body quickly changed, becoming sharper and spikier, changing into Unicorn Fang Edge. Sunset pressed the button on the left hip port once.

\ ARM FANG! /

Two long blades appeared on Unicorn’s right and left arms, and with a fierce growl she charged for the Dopant. The Dopant seemed to take this form a little more seriously, coming in swinging with its wrecking ball hand. Unicorn blocked the blow with the right Arm Fang blade, sending sparks flying from the sheer power of the impact. Sunset grunted from the reverberation, making her fear that the bones in her arms would break. Deciding to go straight for offense, Unicorn pushed the arm away and began slashing with the Arm Fangs at the Dopant’s chest, arms, and legs, small sparks flew off from each attack that landed, but it seemed to do little more than irritate the sturdy creature.

The Dopant had had enough, breaking away and charging back in with a shoulder tackle, hitting Unicorn hard. The Dopant took advantage of the stunned state of Unicorn, grabbing her by the left wrist and slamming her into the wall. The creature peeled Unicorn off the wall and threw her to the floor, it then jumped into the air and quickly transformed into its wrecking ball form, spinning at top speed as it descended down to Unicorn.

Sunset recovered enough sense to hurriedly take the Fang Memory and place it into the right hip port.

>} FANG! MAXIMUM DRIVE! {<

Both of Unicorn’s Arm Fangs glowed bright blue as gathered her remaining power. “ARM FANG SCHERENSCHRÄGSTRICH!” 

Sunset brought both arms across her chest, making both of her charged Arm Fangs slash at the wrecking ball like a pair of scissors. She was fully aware of the whole rock, paper, scissors, situation she was in, only difference is that her scissors were super charged energy blades.

The twin blades struck the wrecking ball, sending sparks to fly in every direction as the wrecking ball grinded against Sunset’s blades. She could feel the overwhelming force brought down on her, causing the ground beneath her to crater with each passing second. Sunset gritted her teeth as her arms began to burn and feel as if they were about to snap if they had to endure this punishment any longer, but thankfully, it seemed as if the wrecking ball Dopant couldn’t take much more either as a loud pop sounded between the blades and created a large shower of sparks that sent the wrecking ball rolling away from Unicorn. The Dopant momentarily returned to its humanoid form, despite not being able to move its face that much, Unicorn could tell it was not happy, glaring at her with malice. It briefly looked down the hall and stomped its foot against the floor before returning to ball form and rolling off.

Unicorn dropped her arms and panted, her body aching all over from the fight. However, she could not stay down long, she had to get up and leave before the regular law enforcement arrived. Unicorn peeled herself off the ground, stood up, and looked down at the approaching people who already had cellphones out, snapping pictures and taking video of the super powered vigilante. Sunset smiled from under her helmet and carefully waved to the people, all the while gritting her teeth at how much her arms hurt. The former unicorn pony could also see the faces of her friends in the crowd, all concerned after seeing her battle the Dopant. Thankfully, the heralding of the police sirens was more than what she needed to spur her to leave. The crystal horn on her helmet glowed, and in a flash of light, Unicorn had disappeared.

Thankfully, Sunset saw that one of the stores at the dead end was a clothing store. Using her teleportation spell, she reappeared in the store, more specifically in the changing rooms. Wincing, Sunset flipped up the switch on the Uni-Driver and removed the Unicorn Memory, cancelling her Rider form. Sunset leaned up against the wall of the changing room and slowly rolled up the sleeves of her leather jacket, she winced again upon seeing the bruising that she had incurred from battle with the Dopant.

Best keep my sleeves rolled down for now, if anyone asks I’ll say I got hurt when I was running away.



***_______________<U>_______________***



The latter part of the day was filled with questioning by the police, with several people, along with the CHS Seven being among those questioned about today’s events. They decided to keep the threatening text to themselves for now, if this was connected to the Dopant, then the police would be ill equipped to deal with the culprit. Then again, one would argue Kamen Rider Unicorn was as well. Sunset was not able to ride due to her injuries, the vibrations of the bike sent jolts of pain up her bruised arms that made it hard for her to stay on it, let alone ride it. Thankfully, Rarity opted to give Sunset a ride, while AJ and Rainbow Dash hefted her bike into the back of Applejack’s pickup.

At the behest of Twilight, Rarity dropped Twilight and Sunset off at the Sparkle residence, and had Rainbow Dash and Applejack unload her bike there as well. Once they bid farewell to their friends, with a promise to discuss what happened later, Twilight ushered Sunset into her home where they were quickly pounced upon by a worried Twilight Velvet and Night Light.

“Oh my gods, Twilight, we heard what happened at the mall! Are you sure you’re alright?!” Velvet asked.

“I’m fine Mom, don’t worry. Aside from some bumps and scrapes, I’m healthy enough, but Sunset…”

Night Light and Velvet looked to the fiery haired girl. Their concerned looks made her relent as she rolled up her sleeves to show the bruising. “Not very pretty, it looks worse than it feels though.” Sunset poked one of the bruised areas and bit her tongue to stop a curse from flying out as pain radiated from her arm. “Okay…maybe it does hurt just as much.”

“My dear, you shouldn’t neglect that, you should be home resting up. Do you need us to call your parents?” Night Light asked.

“I…I live alone in a loft some ways from here…so no parents to speak of right now.”

Night Light and Velvet looked a little disconcerted by that knowledge that such a young girl lived by herself.

“Mom, Dad, I was wondering if Sunset could stay here for a little bit, at least until her arms heal? She rides a motorcycle and she won’t be able to drive herself home the way she is, if that’s alright with you?” Twilight asked.

Sunset glanced to Twilight with smiled. “Twi you really don’t have to put me up, I can take a bus or –”

“Nonsense,” stated Night Light. “You’re hurt young lady, it would not be prudent of us as adults and parents to just leave you at home alone with those kind of injuries.”

“But…”

“No buts Ms. Shimmer, you can stay with us until your arms heal up. I honestly wouldn’t feel comfortable leaving you alone with that kind of injury,” said Velvet with finality.

Sunset could tell that neither of Twilight’s parents would budge on this, and given how hard it would be to do some of the things on her own back home, it was probably not that much of a good idea to be alone right now. “Guess I don’t have a choice in this matter.”

“Not really dear, no,” said Velvet with a giggle.

“I’ll get the First Aid Kit out and wrap those arms up. If they don’t look any better after a couple of days we’re taking you to the hospital.” Night Light stated.

Sunset tensed. “That’s really more than you need to do for me, and besides, I really can’t ask you to pay for something like that.”

“Young lady, did we ask you to pay us back?” Night Light asked.

“You’re better off just letting it happen, Sunset,” said Twilight.

In the end, Sunset relented to Night Light and Velvet. Night Light had bandaged up Sunset’s arms and given her some over the counter pain pills to help ease the pain a little. After a while, Sunset and Twilight convened in the latter’s room to discuss what happened.

“This Dopant’s out of its mind, if it was the one that sent Rainbow that text we need to stop them, quick,” said Sunset.

“Agreed, we should start a Look Up,” said Twilight.

Sunset nodded in agreement.

The bespectacled girl stood up and held out her hands.

~*~*~*~

In no time flat Twilight was transported to the white space, where an infinite number of bookshelves was laid out before her. “Okay, what should try first?”

---Wrecking Ball sounds like a good start.---

“Look up: Wrecking Ball.”

The bookshelves shifted about, some had left, but there were still several bookshelves left.

“Guess it’s too vague. Next word?”

---Try left hand wrecking ball?---

“Look up: Left hand wrecking ball.”

Several of the bookshelves disappeared and left behind several books, at least a hundred in total.

“Close, but not enough. Was there anything else? Any small detail might help.”

There was silence for several seconds before Sunset let out a sigh.

---Sorry, I can’t think of anything else. We could try threatening text but…---

Twilight placed her hand to her chin, humming in contemplation. It did sound vague, but at the very least it might cut down the number of books and narrow the search. “Look up: Threat?”

Several more of the books faded away into the background, leaving only three behind.

“Sunset that was good there’s only three left now, we just need maybe one more thing! But, something tells me that’s as much as we got,” said Twilight.

---Yeah, we can get a fresh start on this tomorrow. Since that text seemed to work so well, maybe we should follow up on that.---

“I was thinking the exact same thing.”

~*~*~*~

Twilight returned from the Infinite Library and sighed. “Well for now, let’s head downstairs and have some dinner.”

“I second that, I’m starving,” said Sunset.

As they were about to leave, Twilight remembered. “Oh shoot, I should’ve asked Dad if he could drive us to your loft so you can pick up some pajamas.”

Sunset shrugged. “I’m fine sleeping in my underwear, but I wouldn’t mind if could loan me a baggy t-shirt.”

Twilight’s eye twitched. “But…um…Rarity told me you wear a shirt and pajama pants at their slumber party.”

“Well, I was still new to the group, and I didn’t want to make anyone feel uncomfortable. Most of the time that’s what I wear to bed.”

Twilight suddenly felt her cheeks heat up. “Oh, well, i-i-if you-you don’t mind I could see if I could pull one of Shiny’s old shirts from his room – but I’ll make sure to wash it first!”

Sunset shook her head. “Don’t mind at all. Thanks, Twi.”

Twilight watched as Sunset exited the room, she took a moment to contemplate this. Sunset Shimmer was going to be staying in her house, a couple of doors down from her room, wearing a baggy shirt and having only her…her…

“Uh, Twilight, you alright?” Spike asked.

“I’m fine!” Twilight shouted suddenly.

“Ooookay, if you say so.” Spike gave his owner a concerned look before heading downstairs to have his dinner.

Twilight snapped herself out the stupor she found herself in. She didn’t understand why the notion of Sunset sleeping in their guest room like that made her heart rate go up, or why her face felt warmer? Twilight sighed heavily, it was nothing, it had to be nothing, and she just wasn’t used to friendship that’s all. It was natural that her body and her emotions didn’t know how to react properly to close friends, or maybe this was her natural reaction. Then again, when she thought of the other girls in a similar situation, it didn’t have quite the same reaction. Although when she thought of Indigo and Rainbow she felt a little funny.

“Snap out of it Sparkle, there’s more pressing matters at hand!”

“You comin’ Twilight?” Sunset as she peeked from behind the door.

“Yes!”



***_______________<U>_______________***



Sunset was limited in how comfortably she could sleep. Normally she’d sleep on her stomach or on her sides, but considering the condition of her arms either option would have painful consequences. Thankfully the painkillers that were given to her helped to dull the pain enough that she could at least sleep.

Despite trying to catch some shut eye, Sunset’s mind still couldn’t stop thinking about the fight. How the Dopant took not one, but two Maximum Drive attacks. The only other way I could beat it would be using a triple Maximum Drive. If I use the Unicorn for the initial, Cyclone for the follow up, then that should weaken the Dopant’s armor enough for Fang to finish it. Fang seemed to do more damage, maybe I should lead with that next time? Ugh! 

Being a superhero was more complicated than she had anticipated. More so now that this particular Dopant may be targeting Rainbow Dash, one of her friends. Sunset cursed herself, despite having this tremendous power, she was still too weak to completely stop the Dopant, and at any moment that very creature could attack her friend, or any of them while she was resting.

Sunset gritted her teeth and shot up from her bed. She couldn’t just stand by and not do something, damn the pain, and damn the time, Sunset was a woman on a mission. The fiery haired girl made her way to the door and pulled it open with all due seriousness. Only to find out that there was someone on the other side. Shining Armor, who looked like he had just come off duty, stared at Sunset with a half opened eyes. Sunset realized that she was practically wearing nothing under the shirt, having abandoned all but the lower parts of her undergarments.

She stood there, frozen in place, afraid to move. In this moment, Shining Armor was like the T-Rex, vision based on movement, Sunset believed if she remained still, in his tired state, he wouldn’t notice her. After a couple of heart pounding moments, Shining Armor yawned and dragged himself down the hall and to his room. Shining Armor shut the door, and not a word was said. Sunset slowly stepped back and closed the door.

Okay, maybe just go back to sleep. Yeah, let’s do that.




***_______________<U>_______________***




The next morning, Sunset waited for Twilight to be the one to enter her room, although the bespectacled girl seemed a bit flustered for some reason. In any case, Twilight had brought back the clothes she wore from the previous day, having been thrown in the wash to be ready the next day.

Sunset made her way downstairs where Night Light was setting the table, while Velvet finished preparing breakfast. Twilight went to help her mother and Sunset made her way to Night Light to assist.

“No, no, we need to check those arms first,” said Night Light.

Twilight heard what her father had said and excused herself to check on Sunset. Night Light had Sunset sit on the couch and slowly removed her bandages. Night Light and Twilight were both a little surprised to see that Sunset’s bruises, which were a nasty dark color, were now a lighter shade.

“Wow, they were a lot worse yesterday,” said Night Light.

“Guess they looked worse than they really were,” said Sunset with a nervous grin.

“Well then, I’d say one more night and you should be fine, but if you want we can still take you to the hospital to be sure?”

“Thank you, Mr. Night Light, but at this rate it might not be needed.”

Night Light nodded and went back to help his wife. While they were alone, Twilight sat next to Sunset, gazing at her bruised arms. Sunset could see that curious look in her eyes, her brain already at work deciphering the enigma at hand.

“You wanna know if I used the Unicorn Memory to heal myself, right?” Sunset asked.

“Well, that, or the Memory has some passive ability to heal you.”

“Sad to tell ya, it’s all me.” Sunset rolled down her sleeves and sighed. “Guess I should tell you, when I came through the portal and turned into a human, I think my magic shifted.”

“‘Shifted’?” Twilight asked.

“Since there wasn’t any magic here, all that energy had to go somewhere else. So it apparently went towards my cells, energizing them to the point that they regenerate faster.”

Twilight’s eyes widened at this revelation. “Sunset…are you saying you have rapid cell regeneration abilities?!”

“Nothing like I can regrow an arm if cut off type stuff, probably more along the lines of healing injuries, if they’re not too serious, and if I get the time to settle and rest.” Sunset brought up one of her arms. “I even have denser bones than most people, allows me to absorb more impact, I think that’s a carryover from when I was a pony. Ponies usually have thicker bones compared to humans, and of course stronger muscles. I was a unicorn so my physical strength wasn’t that great compared to an Earth pony, but I won’t say I’m on par with AJ, maybe a half as strong. Twilight…?”

Sunset didn’t know when she had did it, but somehow Twilight had pulled out a notepad and a pencil out of nowhere and had begun scribbling down everything Sunset had said. The movements of her pencil were so fast it appeared like a blur as one page after the other was filled with notes upon notes.

“That would explain how you were able to withstand the constant kinetic force applied to you when you used your Arm Fangs, most people’s bones would have cracked or broken completely. Not only that, but your muscle physiology makes more sense when you’re doing athletic activities, and I take it you haven’t been sick at all since coming here?”

Sunset shook her head.

“So it also translates into your immune system – Sunset you could be a walking cure for all diseases!” Twilight exclaimed with stars in her eyes.

The fiery haired girl was starting to get flashbacks to those alien abduction movies. “Um, mind just keeping that between us…? I really don’t feel like getting poked and prodded.”

Twilight noticed that Sunset was hugging herself, and there was a slight tremble in her voice. It was then that Twilight realized just how inconsiderate she sounded, of course Sunset would be afraid of something like that. She was essentially an alien in another world, if some government men in black came looking for her, they had all rights to treat her as an invading alien, it made total sense now why she was against going to hospitals or nervous when they were in one.

“I’m sorry, Sunset, I-I didn’t mean to sound like I was happy to experiment or…” Twilight looked as if she was on the verge of tears. How could I sound so excited about that?! Great, Sparkle, you messed up a friendship with the one person you who saved you and knew how to help you through it!

Sunset released herself and placed a comforting hand on Twilight’s shoulder. “Hey, hey, don’t get all teary eyed on me. To be honest, I’m kind of glad I told someone. You’re actually the only person I’ve said this to about myself, so at least you know something more about me…that I’m kind of a freak.”

Twilight turned to Sunset and looked her in the eye. “You are definitely not a ‘freak’! You’re kind, strong, considerate, and…and you’re you.”

Sunset blushed from hearing the sincere words that Twilight spoke.

“Can you guys not make out until after I’ve had my coffee…?”

Sunset and Twilight yelped when they heard the voice, they both turned around and saw that it was only Shining Armor. Bags were under his eyes and he looked half asleep. Both girls watched as Shining Armor dredged towards the kitchen and put on a pot.

“Oh honey, you should go back to sleep, you worked practically all night,” said Velvet with motherly concern.

“…That monster’s…on the loose…need to head back…”

Twilight walked up to her brother and looked him in the eye, she then shook her head and turned off the coffee pot. “What did your Sergeant say?”

“What…?” Shining asked.

“Did he tell you come back in the morning, or did you work yourself so much that he told you come home?” Twilight asked.

There was a long drawn out silence as Shining Armor ever so slowly looked away from his little sister’s gaze. To which she used her left hand to guide his face and eyes back to her. After a minute the young man grunted a “yes”.

Velvet and Night Light shook their heads.

“Shining Armor, go back to your and get some sleep, son. You’re no good to anyone if you collapse from exhaustion,” said Night Light.

“But…?”

“No buts!” Twilight and Velvet said in stereo.

Shining Armor eventually relented to his family and began the slow walk back up to his room. Sunset in the meantime watched all that go down with a bit of a bemused expression on her face.

Twilight walked back to Sunset and shook her head as she massaged her temples. “That guy, I swear, he’ll run himself into the ground if I don’t say something. What’s so funny?”

“You kind of acted like you were his wife.” Sunset snickered.

“Oh please don’t start that!” Twilight stated as she crossed her arms. “Okay, so maybe I developed some nonsensical crush on my brother when I was really little…BUT IT’S NOT LIKE THAT!”

Sunset’s grin widened. “Never said it was, harboring some unrequited feelings there Twi?”

Twilight spluttered. “No – I – what? – NO!” Sunset began to laugh at Twilight’s reaction, causing the studious girl to blush red as she puffed out her cheeks. “It’s not funny!”

“Oh yes it is. Ha, ha!”



***_______________<U>_______________***



After breakfast, Sunset and Twilight decided to visit Rainbow Dash. Thankfully she did not live too far from where they did, so they decided to take a bus to see their friend. During the ride over, they had texted the rainbow haired girl a few times to tell her that they were coming, but had gotten no response. After yesterday’s events they began to worry a little, not sure if their friend had forgotten to charge her cellphone, had on silent, or something worse…

A few more minutes of travel found Sunset and Twilight at the doorstep to Rainbow’s house. Sunset knocked on the door and waited. The door opened and revealed a woman with light-orange hair with lighter highlights, and freckles. She had the same colored eyes as Rainbow Dash, wearing a yellow-orange sweater, and khaki pants. Sunset knew this woman as Windy Whistles, Rainbow Dash’s mother.

“Hello Ms. Whistles,” said Sunset.

“Sunset Shimmer! Oh it’s been awhile since Dashie brought you over,” said Windy.

“Who’s at the door?”

“It’s Sunset Shimmer, and Twilight Sparkle, Dashie’s friends!” Windy answered.

A tall, buff man walked towards them, wearing a polomare shirt, with a white t-shirt underneath that let one see the tiniest glimpse of a rainbow lightning bolt. The man had a five ‘o clock shadow, with pale blue complexion, and rainbow colored hair. His brilliant amber eyes glanced between the two girls and he gave a hearty smile. This man was the father of Rainbow Dash, Bow Hothoof.

“Greetings, small people,” said Bow.

“Honey, everyone’s small compared to you, you tower over most people.”

“Point taken, so, what we can do for ya?”

“We were wondering if Rainbow was in? She hasn’t been answering any of our texts, and after what happened yesterday we’re just kind checking on her,” said Sunset.

Twilight saw what she was doing, Rainbow Dash must’ve  not informed her parents about the threatening text she received, and Sunset probably figured the same thing and chose her words carefully.

“Don’t worry, Rainbow actually left with one of her friends a few minutes ago,” said Bow.

Sunset and Twilight glanced to each other, surely one of the girls would’ve sent a text if they were meeting up, right?

“Yes, it was an old friend, I hadn’t seen her in a long time actually,” said Windy.

“Do you know where they might’ve went?” Twilight asked.

“Dashie grabbed her soccer ball and headed to the field a few blocks down the street, they’re probably still there.”

“Thank you, let’s go,” said Sunset.

Both girls waved goodbye to Windy and Bow as they jogged down the sidewalk.

“They seemed nice,” said Twilight.

“They are…a bit over-supportive, but they’re nice.”

Over-supportive, there’s such a thing?

After a light jog down the street, Twilight and Sunset found themselves at the park. They kept themselves at the edge of the park, trying to spot Rainbow Dash, which wasn’t really hard considering the girl had rainbow colored hair, an astronaut could spot her from space. Just as they reached the midway point of the sidewalk, they spotted Rainbow, and she was indeed not alone. There was a girl with her, with white feathery hair with the edges tinted in purple. She was fair skinned, with a light of amount of purple eyeshadow. She wore jean shorts and a black tank top, and had leather, fingerless gloves on her hands. As she ran alongside Rainbow Dash, both were fighting for control of the ball as the other girl smiled fiercely at their friend. Rainbow returned the smile, as she made a sharp turn and stole the ball away from the other girl.

But she wasn’t a slacker, turning nearly on a dime and catching back up to Rainbow. With a swift kick the girl managed to steal the ball back, turn, and run back towards her goal, but Rainbow was catching up. The other girl narrowed her gaze kicked the ball, it sailed for a good five seconds before hitting the net, prompting her to come to a skidding stop.

“Oh yeah, I still got it Dash,” said the girl.

“Yeah, yeah, G, that’s still one-one, how about a tie breaker?” Rainbow asked.

“Rainbow Dash!” Twilight called out.

Both Rainbow Dash, and the girl called “G”, glanced in the direction that Twilight’s voice came from as she and Sunset approached them.

“You know these two, Dash?”

“Yeah, sorry, you haven’t met them yet. Gilda, these are my friends. Twilight Sparkle and Sunset Shimmer,” said Rainbow.

Gilda looked at Sunset with intrigue. “Sunset Shimmer, oh yeah, I think I heard that name before. Weren’t you like the badass of CHS or something?”

Sunset rubbed the back of her head in an embarrassed state as she chuckled. “Yeah…‘badass’ wouldn’t be the first word that people would’ve used to describe me back then. Manipulative, cruel, bully, and some other choice words, but not that.”

“Hey, gotta get respect somehow,” said Gilda with a shrug and then turning her gaze to Twilight. “You I don’t know.”

“Well…uh…I’ve recently changed schools, I used to go to Crystal Prep Academy,” said Twilight.

Gilda scrunched her face at the mention of the CPA. “Ugh, that preppy, uptight, rich kid school?”

Twilight gulped. “Um…yes.”

“It’s okay G, trust me, Twilight’s nothing like those guys.” Rainbow walked up beside Twilight and draped an arm over her shoulders. “She may have been at CPA, but she’s a Wondercolt all the way. And most likely the smartest person you’ll ever meet, ever.”

Twilight blushed at the compliment.

Gilda smirked. “Well, if Dash vouches for ya, can’t argue with that.”

“By the way, what are you guys doing here?” Rainbow asked.

“We were just checking to see if you were alright, especially after what happened yesterday.”

Gilda raised an eyebrow. “Wait, what happened yesterday?”

Twilight and Sunset looked to Rainbow Dash, who nervously chuckled for a moment before giving the details of the attack by the Dopant the other day. After recounting the events, Gilda smacked her forehead and groaned. “Jeez, Dash, there’s being hardcore and then there’s you. Should’ve told me that happened, I wouldn’t have asked to hang out.”

Rainbow Dash shook her head. “No, no, it’s fine! I mean, I haven’t seen you in a long time…especially after last time…”

“Hey, water under the bridge, but what’s this about a text?” Gilda asked.

Rainbow Dash sighed, it was already out there, she might as well show her. Rainbow took out her phone and noticed the numerous texts that Sunset and Twilight had, she gave both girls a sheepish smile and said, “Sorry”, before continuing to her past messages. Rainbow showed the threatening text to Gilda, and watched as her brow furrowed.

“And this came right before that monster attacked?” Gilda asked.

“Yeah.”

“You think the monster did it, how?”

Twilight adjusted her glasses before answering. “I was caught in an attack similar to this a couple of weeks ago. I witnessed as Kamen Rider Unicorn attacked the monster that tried to kill my brother and me, and after she defeated the monster, it turned back into a normal person. Which means whoever sent this, is quite possibly working with the monster, or is the monster.”

Gilda’s eyes widened at this revelation. “Jeez, you weren’t kidding, she is smart. If that’s the case then maybe I can hit the streets for ya, not sure what I’d find.”

Rainbow Dash shook her head. “No way, I don’t want you messin’ around with this. Just let the cops or that Unicorn take care of it.” The sports girl ever so slightly spared Sunset a brief glance, knowing that the superhero was with her the whole time.

“Alright.” Gilda walked over to the bench and toweled off before slipping on her brown leather jacket with white cloth lining around the collar. “I’ll be around for a while, so call me if you need anything, or if just want to hang.”

Rainbow nodded.

Gilda walked to Sunset and patter her on the shoulder. “Let’s hang out sometime, too, Sunset Shimmer.”

“Um, yeah, that’d be great.”

All three watched as Gilda walked off, yet, Sunset couldn’t shake this odd sense of foreboding coming from the tough girl.



***_______________<U>_______________***



After their meeting with Gilda, Sunset and Twilight decided to split their efforts. Twilight was going to work on Rainbow Dash’s cellphone, and try to backtrack where the text came from and possibly who sent it. Meanwhile, Sunset was going to make some rounds talking to the rest of their friends about Gilda. Sunset had hoped it was nothing, but Sunset had learned to trust her instincts, she wished she had listened to them more. If she had, Sunset wouldn’t have jumped through the portal, wouldn’t have hurt so many, or put on the crown.

Fluttershy was the closest in walking distance, so she was to be the first to interview. Of course she sent a text to tell her she was coming, knowing that Fluttershy would probably appreciate a heads up. After an hour of walking, Sunset found herself before the residence of the Shy family. There was a modest garden on the front lawn, cared for by an older woman who was on her knees and tilling the soil as she tended to her flowers. She wore a round sunhat, with a white shirt, thick gloves, and jean pants. Her hair was a curly red, with turquoise colored glasses framing her face. Sunset knocked on the fence and called out to the woman, “Hello Mrs. Shy!”

Mrs. Shy poked her head up from her work and looked in Sunset’s direction, the older woman’s face contorted as she went through some different emotions. It was no secret that Sunset was more often than not the cause of their daughter’s torment back in the day, her constant bullying having brought Fluttershy to tears on some nights. So it was no surprise that Mrs. Shy looked at her with mixed emotions, considering now that she and Fluttershy were friends, but there was still that underlying need to protect their daughter.

“Oh…Miss Shimmer, how nice to see you,” said Mrs. Shy.

“The garden’s looking beautiful by the way, are those honeysuckle and daisies?” Sunset asked.

“Oh, why yes, yes they are, and some baby’s breath, and some couple of rose bushes.”

Sunset knew talking about her garden would at least help in lowering Mrs. Shy’s guard, she had been trying to show Fluttershy’s parents that she was not the same person she once was, but considering the number of times they saw her crying when Fluttershy came home after an encounter with Sunset, changing their perspective would probably take much longer than it did with the faculty and other students at CHS. Bet if I became Daydream Shimmer she’d like me more.

“Well, um, come on in Sunset,” said Mrs. Shy as she walked towards the front door.

Sunset followed the older woman inside, seeing their modest household reminded her of her previous household back in Equestria, but that was the past, this was now.

“Sunset, please wait in the living room while I go and tell Fluttershy you’re here,” said Mrs. Shy.

Sunset nodded and enter the room, sitting on a couch and waiting. While she waited, Sunset spotted someone coming out of the kitchen. A tall, lanky young man, with blonde hair, and a mint green coloring. He wore a lavender shirt and light-blue jeans as swaggered his way over to Sunset Shimmer. As remarkable as it may sound, and despite the young man’s height, this was in fact Flutterhsy’s little brother, Zephyr Breeze, whom Sunset had had the…we’ll call it ‘pleasure’…of meeting during a slumber party at Fluttershy’s house. Zephyr tried to hit on Rainbow Dash so many times during that night that she finally stuffed him in a closet for night.

“Why hellooo~ Sunset Shimmer,” said Zephyr.

“Hey Zeph,” said Sunset in a deadpan voice.

“If I knew you’d be comin’ over, I would’ve slipped into something more stylish, but then again I make anythin’ look good, heh, heh.”

Zephyr took up the empty spot next to Sunset, making her focus with all her might to restrain herself from punching him in the balls. “Yeah…I was just here to talk to Fluttershy, and only Fluttershy.”

“Tsk, tsk, tsk, Sunset Shimmer you don’t have to play like that, if ya wanted to come and hang you could have, no need to front,” said Zephyr as he slowly inched his way towards Sunset.

“Heh, heh…not for nothing Zephyr, but I thought Rainbow Dash was the object of your affections?” Sunset asked.

“Oh now, Sunny, there’s enough Zephyr Breeze to go around,” said Zephyr as he ran his hand through his hair and shot her a handsome smile. “But just because Dashie has a crush on me, don’t mean I can’t keep my options open and not appreciate a girl of such…”

“Zephyr! Breeze!”

Sunset and Zephyr quickly turned their heads and looked behind the couch. Standing there was a slightly perturbed Fluttershy, arms crossed as she looked down at her little brother. Despite Zephyr being the taller of the two siblings, it did nothing to diminish Fluttershy’s authority as the big sister. It was these rare times that Sunset got to see Fluttershy’s more assertive side, and it was quite fun to watch.

“H-Hey Sis…”

“Zephyr, I’ve told you this many times, stop hitting on my friends.  Especially after that stunt you pulled two months ago.”

Zephyr gulped.

Sunset remembered that incident, she remembered it well. Zephyr, after getting stuffed in a closet, decided to up his game and tried to peek in on the girls, who at that time were six in total. Now knowing that his sister was among the group did not seem to bother him in his teen boy pursuit of peeping on the girls and trying to catch them doing something that most boys his age believed girls did at slumber parties. He was found out, rather easily at that, and was given a severe tongue lashing by Fluttershy, her yelling could be heard from the other side of the room, followed by a swift, high pitched yelp. Apparently Fluttershy had given the family jewels a swift punt kick.

“Heh, w-w-well will you look at the-the time! I gotta be going! Bye Sunny! Love ya, Sis, bye!”

With that, Zephyr Breeze got up off the couch and rushed past the two girls and right out the door. Fluttershy sighed heavily. “I’m sorry about my brother, Sunset. He’s really a nice guy, but sometimes…most of the time…”

“He’s a player?” Sunset asked.

Fluttershy sadly nodded to that description.

“Don’t worry about it, I’ve seen and endured much worse than that.”

Fluttershy giggled and motioned for Sunset to follow her. Once the two ascended the stairs and entered the room, Fluttershy closed the door. Sunset glanced about the room, still as modest as she remembered it. The walls had a warm pink coloring to them, with a soft tan coloring, a white bedspread and awning with yellow embroidery. There were several posters that showed deer, birds, and other such creatures. A little white rabbit jumped out from out of nowhere and right into Sunset’s arms, hidden by the white bedspread.

“Good to see you too, Angel,” said Sunset as she sat down on Fluttershy’s bed. “Your mom still doesn’t like me, huh?”

Fluttershy sighed a little. “Well…I’ve tried to tell her, and Dad, that you’re not the same person that you once were. Although…”

Sunset sighed as well and waved her hand. “It’s fine, I don’t really expect your folks to just up and trust me just like that.”

“But we did,” said Fluttershy.

“Yeah, you guys did…” Sunset looked down at Angel and petted him gently. “And I’ll never thank you guys enough for that, especially you. So I can understand why they don’t want to, eventually I’ll be able to show them I’ve changed.”

Fluttershy nodded and sat beside her. “So what did want to talk about?”

“I was wondering what you know about a girl named ‘Gilda’?”

Sunset looked to Fluttershy, whose eyes were wide and hands clutching at a handful of her long pink hair. The fiery haired girl, unfortunately, recognized this reaction, it was the same reaction she saw whenever she approached Fluttershy back before Princess Twilight arrived. This was the reaction of someone who was afraid. As if sensing his owner’s distress, Angel hopped out of Sunset’s arms and to Fluttershy who then hugged him close, finding comfort in her little furry friend.

“Shy…what’s wrong?” Sunset asked.

“Um…it’s…well…Gilda wasn’t very nice and…I didn’t know she was back,” said Fluttershy.

Sunset gently grasped Fluttershy’s hand, giving it light reassuring squeeze and looked into her eyes. “Fluttershy, you don’t have to be afraid, I’m here. But I need to know what’s up with Gilda, given that this Dopant has popped up, the text Rainbow got, and now this Gilda girl showing up out nowhere, things are not adding up. If you know something about her, please tell me.”

Fluttershy let Angel settle on her lap as she rested her free hand on his back. “Gilda…Gilda and Dashie were friends a long time ago, Gilda lived in Griffonstone, you know about that place, right?”

Sunset winced, letting that settle into her mind. She remembered back when she was in Equestria that Griffonstone was a proud city, but fell from grace when they lost their idol. Due to that, most of the griffons she had met had either left Griffonstone and were nicer for it, or stayed behind not willing to leave, and because of it had become quite greedy and hostile towards others. Apparently that translated almost as well to this parallel world, Griffonstone was a town adjacent to Canterlot City and was notorious for having a bad rap. With some of the past mayors of Griffonstone being crooked, and the gang problems going on, it was a rough place to live, and the people who came from there just as rough. Which certainly explained the bad girl vibe she got from Gilda.

“Yeah, I am familiar,” said Sunset.

“Gilda never really liked any of us…Dashie and her weren’t able to keep much in touch with each other after going to the Junior Speedsters Camp, so after a while when Dashie and Gilda finally met up it was a happy reunion. For both of them. However…Dashie didn’t see how much she had changed until she introduced us to her. She kept trying to keep us away from Rainbow Dash, either occupying her to the point where she forgot about us, or outright threatening us to stop bothering them.”

“It kind of all came to a fever pitch when Pinkie Pie threw a “Get to Know Gilda party”. Unfortunately it fell on April Fools Day, and you know how Pinkie and Rainbow love pranks.”

Sunset groaned, she still to this day could not open her locker without taking a cautious step back, lest she get hit with a confetti cannon, spring loaded pie, or whatever kind of crazy trap contraption they managed to stuff into her locker. With no one noticing, mind you. “Oh yeah, I know all too well.”

“So…during the party, Rainbow Dash set up a lot of prank traps. Now, she meant them to be random, anyone could’ve walked into them, but it just so happened that Gilda triggered each one and ended up looking silly. She lost it and yelled at us, calling us ‘lame’ and ‘losers’, and she did it all with this really…really  scary look on her face. If it wasn’t for Rainbow being there, I…I don’t know what she really would’ve done. However, Rainbow told Gilda it was her who set up the pranks, of course she said how it was dumb luck she set them off, but in doing so, Dashie saw how much Gilda had changed. And that’s when Gilda left her, she stormed out and we never heard from her again…until now.”

Sunset mulled over that information. Was it really that simple, or just an amazing coincidence that Gilda shows up after they all survived a Dopant attack? Although she did seem a little off put when she saw the text Rainbow got…Ugh, I don’t want to start accusing her just because of her past…that’d really be the pot calling the kettle black! Besides, she deserves a second chance, same as I was given.

Fluttershy placed her hand on Sunset’s shoulder. “Sunset, is everything okay?”

Sunset furrowed her brow as she continued to think. “Probably something, maybe nothing. A lot of circumstantial things piling up with no real proof, yet. Thanks Fluttershy, I’ll be keeping an eye on Gilda, text the others to make sure that they know.”



***_______________<U>_______________***



“Is it done yet?” Rainbow asked.

“No.”

“How about now?”

“No.”

“You doing that right?”

“I assure you, I am.”

“Okay……Is it done, now?”

“RAINBOW DASH!” Twilight exclaimed.

The rainbow haired girl backed away from Twilight, who was currently sitting on Rainbow Dash’s bed as she worked to trace the origin of the threatening text. Unfortunately, Rainbow Dash had made it a habit of looking over Twilight’s shoulder and constantly asking her if it was finished tracing, like a child on a long car ride. Twilight took a deep breath and gave her friend a serious look.

“This is a complicated procedure, I’m practically hacking into your phone, and from there, your service provider, and back tracking from there where the message sent via triangulation from the cell towers in the area at the time the text was sent.”

Rainbow Dash tilted her head to the side with a confused look on her face.

Twilight sighed heavily. “Just play a videogame or something, I’ll tell you when it’s done.”

“Alright, alright,” said Rainbow Dash as she popped in a game and began playing. “So, what’s up, you like Sunset?”

Twilight’s eye twitched. “W-W-W-Why would you ask me something like that?!”

“Hey, no need to be all embarrassed. Just a question, not like I can judge,” said Rainbow.

Twilight crawled to the edge of the bed and looked at Rainbow. “What can’t you judge?”

“I’m bi, Twi. So I can appreciate a hot girl when I see one, and Sunset is hot.”

Twilight’s face was heating up. “I…I…How can you say something like that?! She’s your friend too!”

Rainbow Dash sighed. “Yeah, I know, but she’s not my sister or cousin or anything like that, so it’s not weird. And there’s no rule saying we can’t date each other. Heck, I’d date you.”

Twilight jumped up and quickly backed up all the way to the head of the bed. “W-W-Why would say that?!”

“Why do you keep acting like that?” Rainbow asked.

“Because you’re saying things like that! Why wouldn’t I feel flustered?!” Twilight shot back.

“I said I would, I never said I’d make you.”

“Not the point!”

*Beep-Beep*

Oh thank gods, perfect timing! Twilight thought.

Twilight went back to her computer and quickly typed at the keyboard, it seemed that the triangulation had found something. Rainbow Dash looked and saw that Twilight had gone quiet, when she got up Rainbow saw that the computer was running numbers, with a map of Canterlot City and three tower structures forming a triangle. “It’s working now right?”

“Yes, it’s zeroing in on the phone, and once I’ve found it, we can track down the Dopant!” Twilight stated.

Rainbow pumped her fist and watched as the screen zoomed in bit by bit as the location of the perpetrator was locked on. After a minute both girls’ blood began to run cold.

“Twi…that’s my house.”

“No, that’s in front of your house!”

Suddenly, the wall and window of Rainbow Dash’s room exploded out. Rainbow quickly grabbed Twilight and threw the both of them to the floor on the other side of the bed. Wood, glass, and plaster showered the area as a dust clouded the room. Both girls coughed from the thick cloud, but managed to get up to their feet. There was a stampede of footsteps heading for the room, and in the next moment Windy and Bow had thrown open the door and gasped in horror at the damage. Bow quickly rushed to his daughter’s side while Windy went to Twilight, helping the girls back their feet.

“Rainbow, are you alright?!” Bow asked.

“I’m alive,” said Rainbow.

“Twilight, are you okay?” Windy asked.

“I…I think so, but we need to get out of here now!” Twilight warned.

The adults wasted no time in getting both Twilight and Rainbow Dash out of the house, but unfortunately, something was waiting. Bow Hothoof and Windy Whistles’ eyes bulged at the sight of the Dopant, standing a couple of yards away as it slowly made its way towards them. Bow’s paternal instincts took over, putting himself in front of his family to protect them, but the Dopant did not seem impressed as it smacked its wrecking ball hand into the flat of its right hand.

Rainbow Dash growled, having had enough and ran until she was at the edge of the sidewalk and yelled at the Dopant, “What do you want from me?!”

The Dopant stopped walking, as if it became hesitant in its actions.

Fortunately, that brief moment of time was all that was needed.

< UNICORN! >

The Dopant was then assailed by several bolts of turquoise light that exploded off its body upon impact, although there was barely any damage, the attack did manage to push back the Dopant as it was caught off guard by the attack. All four looked to their lefts and watched as Kamen Rider Unicorn came charging in, right hand glowing as she loosed another bolt of light. This bolt managed to strike the Dopant in the face, further disorienting the creature.

Now or never!

Unicorn took out the main Memory and placed in the right hip port, and slamming down on the button.

>} UNICORN! MAXIMUM DRIVE! {<

The Unicorn’s right fist glowed with magical might as she charged in for her attack, however, the Dopant saw the attack coming and readied itself to strike back. But at the last second, Unicorn’s horn flashed and the Kamen Rider disappeared. Another flash went off, revealing Unicorn who had teleported behind the Dopant.

“Warp Grand Impact!” 

Unicorn slammed her fist into the middle of the Dopant’s back, sending sparks flying as it pushed back against the Dopant. The creature released an enraged growl, as it whipped around and prepared to attack. But Unicorn managed to jump back, and pulled out the Cyclone Memory.

< CYCLONE! >

{< CYCLONE! MIMETIC DRIVE! >}

A whirlwind kicked up, and transformed Unicorn into Mystic Cyclone form. Unicorn wasted little time in placing that same Memory into the opposite hip port and slamming down on the button.

>} CYCLONE! MAXIMUM DRIVE {<

A tornado of emerald wind formed around Unicorn, she floated into the air, soaring higher. She raised her left arm into the air, holding straight like a blade. The wind formed around that arm, and once wrapped around, the remaining emerald wind propelled her forward, faster than what the Dopant was able to counter as Unicorn brought down her left hand.

“Whirlwind Cutter!” 

Unicorn struck the front of the Dopant, and raked her hand down in a full on slash. The energized wind created a cutting vacuum force that continuously slashed at the Dopant and sent even more sparks flying and made the Dopant stumble backwards. Unicorn panted, the multiple Maximum Drives was putting strain on her body, but she had to endure, the Dopant looked as if it wasn’t able to take the multiple Maximum Drives. Then again, it doesn’t look like I can either…C’mon Sunset, you’ve almost won!

Unicorn took out the last of her Memories, and inserted it.

< FANG! >

{< FANG! MIMETIC DRIVE! >}

In a flash of blue and turquoise light, Unicorn transformed into Fang Edge. Unicorn growled as the wild power of the Fang Memory invigorated her, but even still, she was feeling the hurt all over her body. But this was the last resort. Unicorn pressed on the left hip port button three times.

\\\ HORN FANG! ///

Unicorn’s horn grew, becoming elongated and sharpened to a point. She then switched to the right port and slammed down on the button.

>} FANG! MAXIMUM DRIVE! {<

This has to work!

Unicorn jumped into the air as her horn gathered energy and became a long glowing blade, at the same time, the Dopant transformed into its wrecking ball form, spinning at tremendous speed as it built up momentum. The Kamen Rider spun once in the air and descended down, leading with her glowing horn blade. The Dopant countered by jettisoning itself towards Unicorn at full spin.

“FANG KLINGENSCHNEIDER!!!” 

The glowing blade and wrecking ball collided in midair, and immediately upon contact a large explosion took place, creating a blinding flash of light, followed up by flames and a large smoke cloud that obscured both Unicorn and the Dopant. After a few seconds the wrecking ball was sent flying way into the distance, changing back into its humanoid form and landing some ways away out of sight. However, Unicorn fell straight down and landed right in Rainbow Dash’s backyard. Twilight and Rainbow Dash glanced to each other, worry etched onto their faces.

“Mom, Dad, call the police!” Rainbow Dash stated before rushing towards the backyard.

Twilight didn’t waste any time with explanations as she took off after Rainbow Dash. Both girls entered the backyard through the house, and saw a small crater were Kamen Rider Unicorn landed. She was still in Fang Edge form, but the armor was beat up and had blackened areas of damage. Twilight and Rainbow slowly approached Unicorn, not sure how to help her, but just then, the armor glowed and transformed into particles of light, revealing a very beat up Sunset Shimmer underneath. She was gritting her teeth, biting back the pain of using three Maximum Drives, her head was also bleeding a little, with a trickle running down her left eye. Twilight’s eyes widened with fear, Sunset was badly hurt, panic began to overtake her, she didn’t know what to do, she didn’t have the necessary medical knowledge to help she –!

*SMACK!*

Twilight lurched backwards and winced as her left cheek erupted with a stinging pain. The bespectacled girl looked to Rainbow Dash who was glaring at her, she seemed just as panicked as Twilight, but somehow wasn’t completely freaking out.

“Sparkle, get a grip! We need to get Sunset some help!” Rainbow Dash shouted.

Twilight shook her head and was about to go to ask Rainbow’s parents for help, that is until she remembered what Sunset had revealed to her about her body. “No…w-we can’t! We have to get her out of here, we need to move her to someplace safe!”

Rainbow looked at her friend incredulously. “Are you kidding me?! She’s bleeding from her head, and she looks like she literally lost a fight with a wrecking ball, and she did! Sunset needs a hospital!”

Twilight grabbed ahold of Rainbow’s shoulders, gripping them hard as her body trembled. “Rainbow Dash, please, I know she needs a hospital, I know that! But trust me when I say that even if we did, it would only make things worse for her!” Rainbow had a confused look on her face. “I know it sounds crazy, but we just need to get Sunset someplace safe for the time being, I’ll explain later!”

Rainbow Dash looked to Sunset, and then back to Twilight. Part of her knew that Sunset needed to see a doctor, every sports injury she ever received and doctor who treated Rainbow told her that bleeding from the head like Sunset was is bad. Twilight may not be a doctor, but surely even she knew this was not good? And yet, the former Crystal Prepper was vehement that Sunset not go to a hospital. Her mind told her that Twilight was new to their group, and maybe didn’t want to get into trouble? But the look in her eyes was serious, almost knowing. In the end, Rainbow Dash relented.

“Fine, where do we even take her?!” Rainbow asked. “Cause if you haven’t noticed, my place is kind of trashed.”

*Beep-Beep!*

Twilight and Rainbow Dash looked up and saw a yellow bug car. They heard a door open and immediately saw someone jumping up and down, waving their hands frantically. Rainbow rushed to the fence door and opened it to reveal, Fluttershy.

“Fluttershy?!” Twilight and Rainbow exclaimed.

“There’s no time! Help her into my car!”

Without hesitation, Twilight and Rainbow Dash carefully helped Sunset into the back of Fluttershy’s car. Once loaded, Fluttershy peeled off down the alleyway and rounded the corner out of sight. Twilight sighed and then looked to Rainbow Dash as an uneasy expression befell her face. “I hope you know what you’re doing, Twi. If something happens to Sunset…”

“Trust me, please Rainbow, I know it’s crazy, but…” Twilight wanted to tell her that Sunset had a regenerative ability, as bad as she was Twilight was hoping that ability would be enough to get her back on her feet. Telling Rainbow would dispel her worry, but the fact that Sunset Shimmer hadn’t told her friends meant she was keeping it a secret, and Twilight was the only one who knew. “I can’t really say.”

Rainbow released a frustrated sigh. “Let’s get back to my folks, and then we’ll see about checking on Sunset.”



***_______________<U>_______________***



A smoldering object fell from the sky and landed in Canterlot Scrap Yard, plowing through several heaps of twisted metal until it came to a full stop against an old van, imbedding itself into its side. When the smoke cleared, it was revealed to be the Dopant, the creature growled as it tore itself out of the van and huffed. The Dopant’s body began to shift and distort until it became more human, female. When the energy distortion faded, it revealed a girl with a brown leather jacket, Gilda. In her left hand she held a Gaia Memory with the letter V on it. The bad girl looked a little in pain as she rubbed her left shoulder.

“Damn that superhero freak, I almost had her…!”

“Oh yes, you really did, up until she completely owned your ass.” Gilda saw the shadow of a bird fly overhead, and frantically looked about. Blue feathers began to cascade down around the area, until Gilda heard a thumping sound behind her. She turned around and saw Night Glider sitting on the van she had peeled herself off of it. “Admit it, she totally blitzed you and you couldn’t do a damn thing.”

Gilda huffed as she rubbed her shoulder. “You gave me this damn Memory thing, shouldn’t I be strong enough to beat that horned superhero wannabe?!”

“Hey, I warned you, Kamen Rider Unicorn took down the last guy we gave that to, and he made the mistake of just going full throttle out in the open, same as you,” said Night as she hopped off the van.

“They don’t know it was me! I used a burner phone!”

“Did you toss it?”

Gilda snapped her eyes to her coat pocket and cursed under her breath.

Night Glider smirked. “Thought so, and that’s why you went psycho on her house?”

Gilda stamped her foot and glared at Night Glider. “I had to do something! That damn nerd was going to do some techno crap that would trace it! I had to stop her!”

Night raised an eyebrow at that. “You really think this friend of hers is that smart?” The midnight blue girl walked up to Gilda and reached into her jacket pocket, taking out the cellphone and throwing it to the ground hard, and following up by stomping it. “There, get a new one. But next time, don’t play around with Unicorn. End her. I gave you the T2 Memory, but that doesn’t mean I’m here to bail you out if things go south for you.”

Gilda shoved past Night Glider. “I never asked you to, there’s only one person who I can rely on…and she’s surrounded by losers…I need to show her, only I can be at her side…can…” The rough girl continued walking on, ignoring Night Glider.

“Tch, you’re so lame. You’re just a scared little girl on the inside who lost her friend and doesn’t want to share. But hey, that’s fine, that Memory will benefit from this whole thing anyway.” Night Glider reached into her pocket and pulled out her Gaia Memory.

< BIRD! >