From her office at the top of the PhoenEXE Corp. building, Starlight Glimmer peered through the full-body window lining the wall, looking out across the city. Her city, for Canterlot was her personal kingdom to do with as she saw fit, and she would be damned if she let anyone get in the way of that.
A light knock echoed against her door. “Enter,” she replied, not bothering to even glance towards the door.
The door opened to allow Double Diamond entry, the white-haired man carrying a tablet computer under his arm. “Starlight,” he said as he walked up to Starlight’s desk, “we’ve determined the Gaia Memory used by the perpetrator of yesterday’s attack.”
“Good.” Stepping away from the window, Starlight strolled over to Double Diamond as he tapped against the screen of his tablet before handing the device over to her. Depicted on the screen was the Quetzalcoatlus Memory, a sidebar on the right of the screen quickly scrolling through a readout of the Memory’s abilities and parameters. “Have you located the buyer yet?”
“See, about that…” Double Diamond muttered, scratching the back of his neck nervously as Starlight’s eyes burned a hole through his head. “Going through our records, this particular Memory was deemed far too unstable to be of use, so it was marked as a failure and shipped off for disposal. H-however…”
“However…” Starlight repeated, the tone of her voice balancing on a knife’s edge as a sickly sweet smile tugged at the edges of her lips.
“I-it’s possible someone was able to smuggle it past security before it could be sent for disposal. As such, we’ve yet to determine the Memory’s user as of this moment.”
Starlight’s face was a neutral mask, save for a single vein bulging on her forehead. “So… let me see if I have this right. Not only was a potentially dangerous Gaia Memory removed from the building from right under our noses, but now it’s lost somewhere in the city and we have no leads on its potential user?”
Double Diamond nodded his head.
Holding up the tablet, Starlight whipped her arm back and chucked the tablet against the wall, the device smashing against it with a loud bang before dropping onto the floor with a smash. A scowl etched across Starlight’s face, pure rage burning behind her eyes that made Double Diamond recoil in fear for his life.
“First the incident with the Spider, Bat and Taboo Memories and now this?! Why am I even paying for a security detail when they constantly fall asleep at the wheel!? Someone is out there using one of my Gaia Memories to cause chaos in my city without my permission and I want them found!” Breathing deeply through her nose, Starlight growled as she whipped back around and strolled back over to the window. Taking a moment to collect herself, Starlight folded her arms behind her as she gazed out the window.
“Overhaul our security detail immediately,” Starlight commanded, her voice simmering with barely contained rage. “I don’t care what it costs, I won’t tolerate any more incidents like this in the future. In the meantime…” Glancing over her shoulder, she froze Double Diamond with her gaze as she coldly added, “... I expect you to find our little smuggler and deal with them. Permanently.”
“Y-yes, Starlight,” Double Diamond replied, bowing before turning towards the door.
“Oh, and Double Diamond?” Starlight suddenly said over her shoulder, causing the man to stop with his hand inches from the doorknob. “Don’t fail me again or else I’ll have to start looking for a new assistant. Do I make myself clear?”
“Crystal.” Double Diamond quickly replied as he left Starlight’s office, silently closing the door behind him.
***
Twilight grumbled as she rolled a pen cap back and forth in her mouth, tapping her pen against a blank page as she stared listlessly at her laptop screen. After determining the Gaia Memory the Dopant had used, Twilight had attempted to look into possible candidates, only to come up empty despite hours of searching.
The only working theory she had been able to devise was that the user was fully capable of hiding their unstable nature from prying eyes up, meaning that whoever they were were either completely aware of their nature and/or incredibly well connected to ensure any records of their condition were kept secret under the most stringent of lock and key.
Groaning as she slammed her head against her desk in frustration, Twilight spat out the pen cap and pushed her chair back. “I need some water…” she decided as she got up from her seat and set off for the kitchen.
As she entered the kitchen, she noticed Shining Armor sitting at the table, a sea of papers in front of him as he sipped from a mug of fresh coffee. His eyes drifted up as she entered, smiling at his little sister. “Hey, Twily. Finally decided to venture outside of your cave?” he said, grinning as Twilight glared at him. “I’m kidding, Twily. Working on a project for school?”
“Something like that,” Twilight replied, grabbing a glass from the cupboard and filling it to the rim from the tap. Bringing the glass to her lips, she downed a mouthful of water, sighing with relief as the cool liquid flowed down her throat. Leaning against the kitchen counter, she glanced over the piles of papers scattered haphazardly across the table. “New case?”
“Something like that,” Shining Armor replied with a chuckle, sighing as he put his hand over his eyes. “All these monsters popping up around the city are making my job harder and harder by the day. Not to mention the still outstanding warrant for these ‘Kamen Riders’.”
Twilight gulped, trying her hardest to keep her nerves in check at the mention of Kamen Riders. “Bu-but the Kamen Riders have saved people from the monsters, including you! Surely that means they’re good people, right?”
“Be that as it may, I can’t in good conscience let a pair of masked vigilantes continue to run around unchecked.” Leaning back in his seat, he met Twilight’s eye. “I know due process can be a real pain sometimes, but it’s because of laws and regulations that society has been able to progress as far as it has. If we just let anyone run around in a mask and do as they pleased wholly ignorant of the law, then we’d be little better than our uncivilized ancestors.”
Sighing, he added, “Don’t get me wrong, I am thankful for what Unicorn did in saving you and me from that Garble fellow, but I would prefer it if she and her partner worked with the police publically instead of hiding their identities behind a mask. Someone who has to go to such lengths to keep their identity a secret inevitably has something to hide.”
Like the fact that they’re both two of my closest friends and that one of them is from another world entirely? Twilight thought, keeping her mouth shut as she sipped from her glass. Pulling out a seat for herself, she sat down and looked across the deluge of papers, spotting one showing the blasted out remains of a business. Picking up the photo, she stared at the destruction as she asked, “What happened here?”
“Arson, supposedly,” Shining Armor replied, glancing aside from a document in front of him. “Originally we were looking into a possible insurance fraud scam, but that became less likely when we were called in to investigate two more businesses across town with nearly identical damage.”
“Any suspects?”
“None so far, but…” Shining Armor bit his lip as he debated whether or not to indulge any more information. I mean, it’s not like Twilight’s going to start looking for the culprit herself, right? he thought, deciding to take his chances. “Don’t tell anyone I told you this, but our investigation determined that these weren’t simply isolated incidents, possibly even carried out by the same culprit.”
“Really? What made you come to that conclusion?”
“This.” Sliding a photo across the table, Shining folded his arms against the table. “One of these was found at all three scenes, hinting at a possible ‘Calling Card’ scenario.”
Picking up the photo, Twilight’s eyes widened at the photo. Lying on the concrete was a slender golden brown feather. Just like the kind Sunset described!
Taking a long gulp of her water, Twilight slid the photo back towards Shining. “That’s… strange,” she replied, trying not to let her surprise show and make Shining worry. “I hope you catch them soon.”
“Me too, Twily,” Shining replied with a sigh. “Me too…”
“Well, I should let you get back to your work. I still have a ton of homework to finish upstairs!” Getting up, Twilight dropped her glass into the sink before bolting from the kitchen. “Nice talking to you, Shining!”
“Don’t forget to take a break every once in awhile!” Shining Armor called out as Twilight ran upstairs.
“I will!” Twilight hastily replied. Shining Armor didn’t know it, but he had just given Twilight the one piece of the puzzle she had been looking for.
***
“How you holding up, Dash?” Sunset asked into her phone. She was reclining against the couch in her loft as she checked in on Rainbow.
“I’m bored out of my mind,” Rainbow grumbled. “These doctors keep wanting to run more and more tests, and I swear my parents are encouraging them!”
Sunset chuckled. “They’re just worried about you, Dash. They are your parents after all, and, considering what happened to put you in the hospital in the first place, I don’t blame them really.”
“Yeah, yeah, you don’t need to remind me.” Sighing, Rainbow Dash dropped her voice as she asked, “So… any luck in finding our little feathered friend?”
“Not much, I’m afraid,” Sunset replied regrettably. “We were able to pinpoint the name of the thing, but no such luck in tracking down a possible owner.”
“Really? What’s she called, then?”
“Quetzalcoatlus.”
“Quetza-what-a?”
“That’s what I said!” Sunset chuckled. A steady knocking against her door made her look up. “Sorry, there’s someone at my door so I’m gonna have to let you go. Talk to you again soon!”
“Don’t take too long, I’m going stir-crazy in here!”
Sunset just chuckled again. “Bye, Rainbow.” Ending the call, Sunset got up and strolled over to the door, peering through the peephole. A smile spread across her face at the sight of Twilight standing outside her door, clutching a laptop bag against her chest. Pulling open the door, she stood in the doorway. “Hey, Twi—”
“I think I’ve found a potential lead on the owner of the Gaia Memory!” Twilight hastily replied, rushing past Sunset and into the apartment. Running over the couch, she sat herself down and removed her laptop from her bag. Setting it on the coffee table in the centre of the room, she flipped it open and hastily began typing
“... Just let yourself in, that’s fine...” Sunset muttered as she shut the door. Walking over, she leaned over the back of the couch to get a glimpse at the screen of Twilight’s laptop. “What is all this?” Sunset asked as notes and photos filled the screen.
“Police reports. I hacked into Shining’s personal files and downloaded a copy of them into my laptop.”
Sunset blinked, her jaw nearly hitting the floor. “You… you hacked into your brother’s files?!”
“And I feel like the worst ‘Little Sister Best Friend Forever’ because of it, but desperate times call for desperate measures!” Her fingers flew across the keyboard as she scanned through file after file, eventually finding what she was looking for and bringing up the photo Shining had showed her. “Look familiar?”
Sunset’s eyes widened. “That’s one of the Dopant’s feathers!”
“Precisely.” Tapping away at her keyboard for a moment, Twilight called up the three crime scene photos. “A feather was found at each of these crime scenes, suggesting that the Quetzalcoatlus Dopant was responsible for all three.”
“Any idea as to why she targeted these three place specifically?”
“I’m checking into that now…” After several moments of searching through Shining’s files, a frown began to form across Twilight’s face. “That’s strange…”
“What is?”
“I can’t seem to find anything linking these three businesses. One was a toy shop, another was a fish packing plant and the third was a bar and grill.”
“There has to be something,” Sunset said, bringing her hand up to her chin as she considered the new information Twilight had found. “I can’t imagine the Dopant going out of her way to attack three separate business for no real reason. There must be some kind of connection, we just have to find—”
“Aha!” Twilight shouted, making Sunset jump. “I found something! According to this, all three businesses were owned by ‘Rich Industries’.”
“Rich Industries?” Sunset replied, the name ringing a bell or two. “Isn’t that the conglomerate that owns like a third of the city?”
“Thirty-four point eight percent of the city to be exact,” Twilight said as she brought up information on Rich Industries. “According to this, the company has been run and operated by the Rich family as far back as the early nineteen hundreds. As of today, the company is run by the current patriarch of the Rich family, Mr. Filthy Rich, after his father, Stinkin’ Rich, retired.”
“Do terrible names run in this family or something?” Sunset remarked as Twilight brought up a photo of Filthy Rich. He looked exactly as Sunset imagined him to, looking to all the world like the quintessential businessman. “Keep digging, Twilight. Someone must have it out for Mr. Rich if they’re going to the trouble of attacking his businesses.”
“On it. It says here that Filthy Rich is currently married to his wife of fifteen years, Spoiled Rich, maiden name Spoiled Milk, and has a daughter named Diamond Tiara.”
Sunset nearly fell over from laughter. “Who names their kid Spoiled Milk!? That’s just begging for— wait… did you say Diamond Tiara?”
Twilight nodded her head, bringing up a photo of a smiling young girl with pinkish skin and violet hair streaked with white. True to her namesake, a diamond tiara styled hairpin was woven into her hair. “She looks familiar…”
“She should, she goes to our school,” Sunset said, beginning to pace the room. “But if the Rich’s are… well, rich, then why is she attending a public school like Canterlot High instead of some fancy private school?”
“Perhaps the answer to that can lead us as to why Mr. Rich is being targeted. Perhaps a former employee has a grudge against him, or maybe Mr. Rich has run into some financial trouble and—
“Hold on!” Sunset suddenly said, sitting down next to Twilight and pointing at the screen. “Go back to the photo of Diamond Tiara for a second.”
Scrolling back up, Twilight enlarged the photo to cover the screen. “See anything?”
“Her eyes…” Sunset muttered, focusing on the smiling Diamond Tiara’s face.
“What about them?” Twilight asked, unable to see anything wrong with them.
“They look so… sad.”
***
“I’m open! I’m open!” Scootaloo shouted, waving her arms wildly above her head.
“Head’s up!” Sweetie Belle called out as she kicked the soccer ball towards her teammate, sending it spinning through air. However, she ended up kicking the ball too hard and inevitably the ball came colliding with Scootaloo’s forehead, knocking her onto the grass as the ball went careening off into the bushes.
“Oh!” Sweetie Belle gasped, holding her hands over her mouth. “I’m so sorry!” Rushing over, she crouched down next to her friend. “Scootaloo, are you okay?”
“I’m… fine…” She grunted, holding her hand up against her forehead. “More importantly, where did the ball go?” she asked, glancing around.
“I’ll go get it!” Apple Bloom announced, running off into the bushes to retrieve the ball. After a moment of searching, she found it not far from the field. “There you are.” As she crouched down to retrieve the ball, she noticed something sticking out from behind a nearby bush out of the corner of her vision. “Hmm…” Curious, Apple Bloom poked her head around the foliage, gasping at what she saw. “Diamond Tiara?!”
“Eeek!” Diamond Tiara shrieked, jumping up and whirling around to face the sudden intruder. Upon seeing Apple Bloom, a scowl worked its way onto her face. “What are you doing here, loser?” she said with a sneer.
Apple Bloom blinked, not expecting to run into Diamond Tiara of all people out here. “I… I was retrievin’ our ball,” she replied, glancing down at the soccer ball in her hands. Glancing back, she raised an eyebrow and asked, “What are you doing out here?”
“None of your business!” Diamond Tiara quickly replied, turning her nose up at Apple Bloom with a, “Hmph!”
“Alright…” Apple Bloom muttered, glancing to the side. From where they were standing, Apple Bloom had the perfect vantage point to observe the field from a distance. Was she…
“Were you watchin’ us play?”
Diamond Tiara threw her head back and laughed. “Me? Watch you bunch of losers play a silly game like that? Why would I ever do something as stupid as that, hmm?”
“Maybe… because you wanted to play too?”
In a blink, the scowl disappeared from Diamond Tiara’s face, her aura of superiority vanishing with it. She didn’t respond, turning her back to Apple Bloom.
“You do, don’t you, Diamond Tiara?” Apple Bloom asked, noticing how suddenly Diamond’s attitude had shifted.
“N-no, I… I—”
“Hey, Apple Bloom!” Scootaloo’s voice echoed across the field. “What’s the holdup? You find the ball or not?”
“Comin’!” Apple Bloom called back, sparing one last glance at Diamond Tiara, who still had her back to her. “Well… see ya, Diamond Tiara.” With the soccer ball in her hands, she turned to make her way back to the field.
“W-wait…”
Apple Bloom stopped, glancing over her shoulder at Diamond Tiara.
The young girl suddenly looked frightened, wrapping her arms around herself as she nervously chewed on her nails. “I-if… if I wanted to play with you— which I don’t— do you think…” Turning slowly to look at Apple Bloom, she asked almost in a whisper, “... do you think I could?”
Apple Bloom was at a loss for words. Normally Diamond Tiara acted like she was better than everyone else, but looking at her now, Apple Bloom couldn’t find a single trace of her usual confidence. AJ always say I should try and make friends…
“I could ask if you want. We could always use another player.” Tucking the soccer ball under her arm, Apple Bloom held her hand out to Diamond Tiara.
Diamond Tiara stared at Apple Bloom’s hand, glancing back and forth between it and Apple Bloom’s smiling face. Slowly, Diamond Tiara reached out to take Apple Bloom’s hand. As her fingers brushed against Apple Bloom’s hand, she suddenly recoiled back, clutching her hand to her chest and staring at the ground.
“What’s wrong?” Apple Bloom asked.
“Oh, just… just forget it!” Whipping around, Diamond Tiara took off running.
“Wait!” Apple Bloom cried out, but Diamond Tiara was already too far away to hear her. She just stood there for several moments, glancing down at her hand. “What in the world was all that about?”
Diamond Tiara didn’t stop, even after leaving the soccer field far behind. She only finally stopped to catch her breath when she reached the road, resting her hands against her knees as she gasped for breath. Her face was flush red, but not from running for so long.
“Stupid… Apple Bloom…” Diamond Tiara muttered, clenching her teeth and balling her hands into fists. “Her and her stupid fun game... and her stupid kindness and her stupid... stupid… cute face!” Growling, she ran her hands frantically through her hair in frustration. “What is it about her that makes me freeze up every time?!”
Sitting down on the sidewalk, she brought her legs up to her chest and curled herself up into a ball. “Why do I even bother?” she muttered, sighing. “She’d never want to be friends with someone like me…
The sound of a car horn made her glance up in time to see a limousine pull up beside her. Rolling down the driver side window, an older man stuck his head out the window. “Ah, there you are, miss Tiara.”
“Randolph?” Diamond Tiara asked, not expecting to see her father’s head-butler suddenly drive up. “What are you doing here?”
“I was asked to come find you, my lady,” Randolph explained. “You mother and I have been combing the city searching for you.”
Diamond Tiara gulped, her face paling. “M-mother was looking for me?”
“Indeed. She’s been worried sick about your well-being.”
I highly doubt that… Diamond Tiara thought.
At the back of the limo, the side door opened and a voice that made Diamond Tiara’s blood run cold called out to her. “Diamond Tiara, where have you been? Get in here and explain yourself this very instance!”
Diamond Tiara felt a chill run down her spine. “Y-yes, Mother…” Dragging her feet like a death-row inmate, the pre-teen walked to the back of the limo and climbed inside, slowly closing the door behind her. She rested her head against the window frame, watching the world pass her by as Randolph drove off.
“Well? Explain yourself, young lady.”
Sighing, Diamond Tiara turned to face her mother. Spoiled Rich sat across from her, wearing a finely tailored wine red dress that Diamond Tiara had a good feeling cost more than most people earned in a year. The woman had a slightly darker pink skin color than Diamond Tiara’s, piercing green eyes and double toned dark purple hair. Fine jewelry practically hung off her body, countless golden rings, bangles and bracelets running up her arm, a pair of pearl earrings dangling from her ears and golden choker around her neck.
Spoiled Rich hadn’t even bothered to look at her daughter, instead admiring her reflection in a compact as she touched up her make-up. “I’m waiting, Diamond Tiara.”
“I was… out,” Diamond Tiara finally said. “With friends.”
“None of that riff-raff from that school of yours, I hope?”
“No, Mother,” she hissed through clenched teeth.
“Good.” Closing her compact, she glanced out the car window, again not once meeting her daughter’s eye. “Why your father chose to send you to that filthy commoner school I’ll never know,” she said with her voice dripping with utter contempt. “A girl of your stature shouldn’t be wasting her time with these peasants, but instead forging relationships that will ensure your future. Like that Silver girl, what was her name? Silver Fork?”
“Spoon,” Diamond Tiara replied, clenching her hands against her knees tightly. “Her name is Silver Spoon.”
“Ah, yes. Building good relations with her and her family at such a young age will undoubtedly blossom into profitable connections later down the line.” Finally sparing a glance towards her daughter, Spoiled Rich’s face was devoid of emotions as she said, “By the end of the week, if all goes as plan like it should, I’ll finally be able to pull you from that ridiculous school and enroll you in a proper private school where you belong. Understand?”
A million possible responses whirled through Diamond Tiara’s head, most of them consisting of yelling at her mother, refusing to be sent to some stuffy private school and possibly jumping from the car to escape the monstrous woman.
But instead, Diamond Tiara just hung her head and said, “Yes, Mother…”
***
The Rich family estate was a massive structure, a larger than life mansion rising three floors high, covering acres of land well the size of multiple football fields and with a driveway long enough to comfortably fit over a dozen luxury vehicles. Filled with countless maids, butlers, chefs, waiters and other staff needed to keep the estate running on a daily basis, the entire area could have easily been classified as its own micronation.
Despite all this, no one noticed as a figure slipped out from one of the side entrances. Using the shadows of the mansion as cover, he carefully slipped into one of the vehicles parked in the driveway and started the engine. Pulling out down the driveway, the front gate opened up automatically at his approach, allowing him to pass by and onto the connecting street.
A robotic hawk soared high overhead, tailing the vehicle as it cruised down the road.
“I’ve got movement from the Rich Estate,” Twilight’s voice said through the earpiece in Sunset’s ear. “Currently on route down Nobles Avenue.”
“Got it,” Sunset replied with a tap against her earpiece, sitting inconspicuously outside a coffee shop a few streets down from the Rich Estate. Getting up, Sunset tossed her coffee cup into the trash bin as she put on her helmet and climbed onto her bike, taking off down the road.
“Give me an update,” Sunset spoke into the mic of her earpiece.
“He just turned left onto Lunar Crescent. Make sure to keep a safe distance so as to not arouse suspicion.”
“Noted.”
Taling far behind, Sunset followed the car as it snaked through the city, seemingly picking streets at random to turn down and more than once turning back around completely and taking the same route again in the opposite direction.
Where is this guy going? Sunset pondered as she was lead on a seemingly wild goose chase across the city. After over a half an hour of driving, the car finally turned onto a dirt road as it came to a stop beneath a bridge. Quietly parking her bike behind some bushes, she tiptoed as close as she was willing to get to try and get a closer look.
“I can’t see anything from here!” Sunset whispered into her earpiece, the car blocking her line of sight. “I need visual.”
“Sending it to your phone now.”
Pulling out her phone, the screen changed to show an image from the robotic Hawk’s point of view. A man was standing underneath the bridge, nervously pacing as he glanced at his watch. Clutched in his right hand was a large briefcase.
“Zoom in.” As the image got closer, Sunset got a good look at the man’s face. “Yep, that’s Mr. Rich alright.”
“What’s he doing all the way out here? Elicit business deal?”
“I think you’re about to get your answer.” Watching the screen, Sunset saw Mr. Rich flinch slightly, turning to face a figure she couldn’t see from Hawk’s current angle. “I think he’s talking to someone.”
“Switching to audio now.”
Her phone hissed as Hawk activated its microphone. “—uo better have a good reason for calling me out here in the middle of the day,” Mr. Rich spoke, noticeable traces of anger in his voice.
“Were you followed?” A female voice asked.
“Of course not! I didn’t call the cops either, just like you said.”
“You brought what I asked, I hope?”
Lifting up the briefcase, he clicked it open and held it in front of him. “Five hundred thousand, all in untraceable bills, as promised. It was difficult getting all this together on such short notice, but I managed to call in a few last minute favors.”
“Excellent…” The sound of crunching graveled heralded the arrival of the second figure, her serpent tail swishing happily as the Quetzalcoatlus Dopant stepped into frame.
“It’s the Dopant! Now’s my chance!” Summoning her Uni-Driver, Sunset pulled out two Gaia Memories: the Unicorn Memory and a second grey Memory with an ‘M’ on the front. “Hens—”
“Wait!” Twilight suddenly shouted, halting Sunset in place. “They’re still talking. I want to listen to what they’re saying.”
“Twilight, this isn’t the time for—”
“This could be important!”
With a sigh, Sunset reluctantly held back, glancing back down at her phone screen. Currently, the Quetzalcoatlus Dopant was fanning a stack of bills with an almost sexual obsession.
“Ah, sweet money,” she purred, returning the stack to the briefcase. “You did well, my obedient servant.”
Filthy Rich ground his teeth together as he slammed the briefcase shut. “I’ve given you what you wanted. Now leave my family alone!”
“Ah, ah…” the Dopant muttered, dragging a claw carefully under Filthy Rich’s chin. “You aren’t in any position to make demands, now are you? Not if you hope to keep your family safe, that is.”
“You leave them alone!” Rich shouted, clenching his fist. “If you hurt them, then I swear I’ll—” Rich froze as the bladed end of the Dopant’s tail snapped out faster than he could blink, stopping a hair’s width from his throat.
“You will do nothing,” the Dopant taunted, slowly pulling her tail back. “You will do what I say and when I say it like a good obedient servant if you want your family to remain in one piece. Now… hand over the money.”
Filthy Rich’s face contorted into a look of barely repressed rage, his mouth moving like he would like nothing more than to tell the Dopant where to shove it, but he bit his tongue as he held the briefcase of money out to her.
Suddenly, the video shifted as Hawk swooped down smashed into the briefcase, sending it toppling to the ground and scattering stacks of bills along the ground.
“Sunset, now!”
“Finally!”
< UNICORN! >
< METAL! >
“Henshin!”
< UNICORN! >
{< METAL! MIMETIC DRIVE! >}
In a burst of turquoise and silver light, Sunset leapt out of the bushes as her armor formed around her. In addition to her Unicorn armor, silver riveted gauntlets appeared on her forearms, sleek metal boots forming on her feet as silver armor formed over her thighs and biceps. A thick slab of riveted metal formed into a chest plate and wrapped around her torso. Finally, a metallic sheath encased her horn as a blade resembling a horse’s mane ran down the back of her helmet.
“Unicorn: Iron Heart!”
Leaping onto the hood of the car, she launched herself at the Quetzalcoatlus Dopant, punching her straight in the sternum and sending the Dopant careening back into the ankle deep water beneath the bridge with a splash.
“U-Unicorn!” Filthy Rich gasped, his eyes widening at the sight of the armored hero.
“Rich!” The Dopant squawked as she stood up, her feathers soaked. “You cur! You lead Unicorn right to me, didn’t you?”
Rich’s eyes widened. “N-no! I didn’t—”
“He didn’t have to,” Unicorn interjected, putting herself between Rich and the Dopant. “I could smell your stench from halfway across the city. It wasn’t hard to sniff you out.”
“How dare you!” Hurling her head back, a bulge began to form in her throat. The moment Unicorn saw it, she hit the trigger on her left hip port twice.
\\ ARMOR UP! //
As the Quetzalcoatlus hurled a fireball from her gullet, the silver armor covering Unicorn’s body expanded, becoming several inches thick in an instant. Unicorn didn’t so much as flinch as the fireball impacted her armor, the flames dissipating without so much as a scuff mark on Unicorn’s armor.
“That almost tickled.” As her armor returned to normal, Unicorn charged into the water, ramming her shoulder into the Quetzalcoatlus Dopant with enough force to send her reeling back.
As the Dopant’s talons skidded through the water, she glowered at Unicorn. “Servants, to me!” With a snap of her claws, four balls of light materialized in front of her, quickly transforming into four butlers wielding halberds. “Attack!”
As one, the four constructs charged Unicorn, brandishing their halberds with the intent to protect their mistress. The first one swung its halberd at her in a downward arc, which Unicorn quickly sidestepped and kicked the butler in the gut, sending him flying back into the water with a splash. Ducking under the second halberd, she plunged her hands into the water and braced them against the ground as she spun her legs out, knocking the feet out from under not one but two butlers and toppling them onto their backs.
As she stood back up, the last butler raised his halberd over his head and brought it down on Unicorn’s shoulder…
… Only for a metallic clang to echo through the air as the halberd head snapped clean off, spinning in the air for a moment before falling into the water. The butler stared at his now broken stick for a moment, then down at the halberd head lying at his feet, then back up at Unicorn.
Reaching up, Unicorn nonchalantly brushed a spot of dirt from her shoulder. Eyeing the construct, she asked, “Well?”
“Meep!” Holding up his arms in surrender, the butler vanished in a flash of light, followed soon after by the other three constructs.
With the constructs taken care of, Unicorn returned her attention to the Quetzalcoatlus Dopant, who looked about ready to blow a blood vessel.
“Unicorn…!” The Dopant snarled, clenching her right claw into a fist. Suddenly, her entire demeanor changed in a blink, as her posture relaxed and she held her hand under her chin with contemplative, “Hmm…” After a moment, a wicked smile began to appear across her beak. “I do believe it is about time I dealt with you personally. Yeeesss...”
Holding out her right hand, a shaft of golden light formed in her hand, taking the shape of a golden brown club with obsidian “teeth” around the length of the weapon, sharpened to a lethal point. Gripping the hilt with both hands, she widened her stance as she brandished the weapon. “Shall we, then?”
“Let’s.” With a twist of her arm, Unicorn slapped the button on her left hip port.
\ METAL RING! /
A metal ring forged from copper, iron, and steel appeared in Unicorn’s hand. Tossing the ring into the air, she looped her left arm through it and began to spin it around her wrist. In unison, both Unicorn and the Quetzalcoatlus Dopant charged forward, their respective weapons clashing between them in a shower of sparks.
Pressing forward, Unicorn slashed her arm upward, slamming the spinning metal ring into the side of the Dopant’s weapon. Twisting her body, she flipped the still spinning ring over her head and onto her right arm, striking out again and again before the Dopant could retaliate. The way Unicorn was spinning around, it looked less like she was fighting and more like she was dancing.
The Quetzalcoatlus Dopant was forced into fighting defensively, using her club more like a shield as she intercepted Unicorn’s attacks. Even still, she was steadily being forced back, and, as she raised her weapon again to block another attack, she left her abdomen exposed, allowing Unicorn to whirl around and drive her heel straight into the Dopant’s gut, knocking the wind from her lungs and causing her to skid back as she clutched a claw to her abdomen.
With the metal ring still carrying the momentum of her previous attack, Unicorn whipped her arm and hurled the ring at the Dopant, the weapon whirling through the air like a buzzsaw.
Recovering quickly, the Dopant held her weapon horizontal in front of her, catching the metal ring between the obsidian teeth lining the weapon. Sparks cascaded off the clashing weapons as the sheer momentum behind the metal ring caused the Dopant to grunt as she physically tried to hold back the spinning blade.
With a mighty grunt, the Dopant gripped the hilt of her weapon with both hands and swung it like a baseball bat, sending the metal ring shooting away and embedding it into the side of the bridge. The metal ring spun for a moment against the bridge wall before coming to a stop, dropping into the water several feet away.
The Dopant chuckled, leveling her club at Unicorn with a smug grin across her beak. “There goes your weapon. What is a warrior without a weapon?”
“A warrior still!” Clenching her fists, Unicorn charged at the Dopant and punched her hard against the jaw.
The Dopant barely avoided losing her grip on her weapon as she glared at Unicorn, lunging forward with a shrill shriek and swinging her weapon at her enemy.
Crossing her arms in front of her, Unicorn took the blow head on, expecting her thick armor to soften the blow. A scream of pain slipped through her teeth as the blade slashed across her gauntlets, the obsidian teeth digging into the thick metal with little resistance. Reeling from the blow, she was unprepared for a diagonally slash across the chest, digging a groove into her chest plate.
“Fall!” Gripping her weapon tightly, the Quetzalcoatlus Dopant slashed Unicorn vertical down the middle, sending sparks shooting off her armor as the blow sent the Kamen Rider toppling back onto her back in a shower of water. Grinning, the Dopant snaked her tail out and wrapped it tightly around Unicorn’s neck, lifting her struggling body a foot in the air.
“Pathetic.” With a swish of her tail, she slammed Unicorn hard against the ground, the water doing little to cushion the impact. With a dismissive turn of her head, she lifted up Unicorn once more before slamming her a second, then a third time into the water, before finally whipping around and hurling Unicorn against the bridge wall and crashing onto the ground.
Unicorn groaned as she lay prone on the ground, reverting back to her base Unicorn form from the force of the assault. Lifting her head, she gasped as she found the Dopant’s weapon held an inch from her face, the Quetzalcoatlus Dopant standing over her with a gleeful look on her face.
“I win.” Grinning, the Dopant raised the club over her head, the obsidian teeth lining the edges glinting in the sunlight.
“Sunset!” Twilight yelled into her ear through the earpiece.“Incoming!”
From out of nowhere, an orange ball came shooting over Unicorn’s head, slamming into the Quetzalcoatlus Dopant with the force of a cannonball. A retching gasp escaped the Dopant’s mouth as the air was knocked clean from her lungs, the force of the speeding projectile propelling her back several feet and forcing her to her knees.
Rebounding off the Dopant, the ball spun in air as it unfurled into a mechanical armadillo, landing in front of Unicorn and glaring menacingly at the gasping Dopant, ready to defend Unicorn.
“...Stupid… pest…” The Dopant wheezed, using her club as a crutch to prop herself up. Growling, she unfurled her wings at her sides. “You will pay for this transgression, Unicorn!” With those parting words, the Dopant rocketed into the sky in a burst of golden light, quickly disappearing from view.
“Damn it…” Wincing, Unicorn clutched her right side as she climbed back to her feet. Trudging from the water back onto dry land, Unicorn limped over to Filthy Rich. “Are you alright, Mr—”
“Do you have any idea what you’ve just done?!” Filthy Rich shouted, positively livid as he stomped up to Unicorn and jabbed his finger into her chest. “I had the situation completely under control until you just had to stick your nose in and play hero!”
“Under control?” Unicorn replied, brushing Filthy Rich’s hand aside. “Is that what you call paying off a monster threatening your family instead of calling the police?”
“You heard that thing! If I had called the police, then she would have…” Growling, Filthy Rich turned his back on Unicorn and began walking back to his car.
As he did, Unicorn called out to him. “Even if you had given her the money, she obviously had no intention of leaving your family alone. Is that how you want to live your life, at the mercy of that thing?”
Filthy Rich stopped, his hand reaching for the car door. Pulling his hand back, he was silent for a moment, refusing to look Unicorn in the eyes. “Do you have someone you care about more than anything else in this world?”
The abruptness of the question startled her, taking her a minute to form an answer. An image of her friends formed in her mind, especially Twilight. “... Yes, yes I do.”
“Then tell me: are there truly any lengths you wouldn’t go to in order to keep them safe, no matter the cost?”
Unicorn was silent for several moments. Finally, she reluctantly replied, “No.”
“Then you understand why I have to do this. From now on, I request that you stay out of my business and let me handle it. Otherwise... “ Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out his phone and held it up. “All it will take is one press of a button and the cops won’t be far behind. Understand?”
Taking her silence as an answer, Filthy Rich pulled the car door open and climbed inside, slamming it shut behind him. Moments later, the car started up and he pulled out back onto the road, taking off down the road.
Now alone, Sunset ejected the Unicorn Memory, her armor vanishing in a flash of turquoise light. Her teeth ground together as she clutched the Unicorn Memory tightly in her hand.
“... Sunset?” Twilight asked. “Are you okay?”
“I…” Sighing, Sunset ran a hand through her hair as she walked over and crouched down next to the pool of water. “I can’t blame him for wanting to protect his family… If someone threatened you or the girls, I…” Staring at her reflection in the water, she reached down and slowly dragged her fingers through the water, the ripples distorting her reflection.
Several moments passed in silence before Twilight asked, “So… what do we do now?”
The mechanical armadillo toddled over to Sunset, looking up at her with almost sadness reflected in its eyes. Despite everything, Sunset felt a small smile cross her face as she reached over and scratched under the armadillo’s chin, the artificial animal wagging its tail delightedly. “Now… we find out who the user of the Memory is and confront them directly.” With renewed confidence, Sunset stood up. “For Filthy Rich’s sake… and for his family’s.”
***
“In other news, Filthy Rich, head of Rich Industries, is currently facing investigations into allegations of embezzlement after an anonymous tip was sent into the police several days prior. Rich has refused to comment on these allegations, but a lawyer representing the Rich Estate has been quoted as proclaiming these claims as ‘baseless lies in an attempt to throw mud on my client’s name.’ Rich has been fully cooperative regarding the investigation, and—”
Filthy Rich glanced away from the news report at the sound of knocking against his door. “Yes?”
“Father?” Came Diamond Tiara’s voice from outside the door. “Can I come in?”
“One moment, dear.” Turning off the tv, Filthy Rich stood up from his desk and walked over to the door. Swinging it open, he smiled at the sight of his daughter. “Hey, Diamond. Come in.” Ushering his daughter inside, he closed the door behind her and strolled back to his seat. As he sat down, he noticed his daughter standing awkwardly in the middle of the room, glancing randomly around his study. “What’s wrong?”
“Um…” Diamond Tiara bit her bottom nervously as she avoided her Father’s eye. “Do you think I could… sit in your lap? Like when I was younger?”
Filthy Rich raised an eyebrow at the odd request. “Aren’t you getting a little old for that, honey?”
“I… I know! It’s just…” Diamond Tiara hung her head, staring down at the carpeted floor. “With everything going on, I haven’t been able to see you as much, and I just thought— Eeek!” Diamond Tiara shrieked as she was picked up by the armpits, giggling as she was lifted up into the air. “Daddy!”
“And… there we go!” Filthy Rich said with a laugh, sitting back down and setting his daughter down on his lap. “Ooof, you’ve gotten heavier since last time,” he said with a smirk, ruffling his daughter's hair. “What are they serving you at Canterlot High, rock soup?”
“Dad!” Diamond Tiara grumbled indignantly, which only made Filthy Rich laugh harder.
“I’m kidding! So, how has school been going, honey?”
“Good. Though Silver Spoon heard that we might have to dissect a frog for Science class!” Diamond Tiara stuck out her tongue to emphasize her disgust.
“A frog, huh? Better make sure it’s not still kicking, or it might just jump up and lick you on the face!”
“Eeewww!” Diamond Tiara squealed, causing both of them start laughing uncontrollably.
Suddenly, the phone on Filthy Rich’s desk began to ring, causing both of them to cease laughing to glance at it. Pulling the phone off its receiver, Filthy Rich pressed it to his ear. “Hello? … Yes?... Sorry, I’m in a meeting right now, I’ll have to call you back.” Slamming the phone back onto the receiver, he reached over and hit the button on his intercom. “Juliet?”
“Yes, Mr. Rich?”
“Screen all my calls for the next hour. I’ll be preoccupied until then.”
“Right away, Mr. Rich.”
“Thank you, Juliet.” With that done, he turned to look at his daughter, who was looking up at him with a frown on her face. “What? I’m the boss, so I can do stuff like that. What are they going to do, fire me?” He laughed at his own joke, but Diamond Tiara could tell a forced laugh when she heard one.
“Dad…”
“Oh, hey, I almost forgot!” Filthy Rich said, changing the subject. “Did you make any friends today?”
“I… I tried, but...” Diamond Tiara muttered, glancing down as she twiddled her thumbs. She appeared to almost shrink slightly as she mumbled, “It… it’s hard sometimes… making friends…”
“I know, honey,” Filthy Rich said comfortingly before his smile slipped into a frown. “Look, Diamond Tiara, I… I know what’s been happening lately hasn’t been easy to deal with, for any of us, but I just want you to know that no matter what happened, I will always love you.
“I know, I just…” Sniffling, Diamond Tiara buried her face into her father’s chest to try and hide her tears. “I… I just wish we could be a family again…”
Sighing, Filthy Rich held his daughter close and rested his hand on her head. “Me too, Diamond. Me too.”
***
Twilight yawned, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. A glance at the clock on her nightstand told her it was now 2:15 at night.
“I should really turn in…” Twilight muttered, tapping away at her keyboard. She had been searching for hours trying to find a possible culprit for wanting to blackmail Mr. Rich, which had quickly turned out to be a very long list. The Rich family had made scores of enemies over the company’s lifetime, even more so than was usual for most cutthroat businesses.
Closing the lid on her laptop, she yawned as she got up from her seat and strolled over to her closet. After spending a minute switching into her PJ’s, Twilight walked over to her bed with the intent of crawling under her covers, only to pause with her hand inches from her covers.
“One last check in the Infinite Library. Then it’s right to bed.” Sitting down on her bed, Twilight folded her hands in her lap as she concentrated, entering a trance as her consciousness was once more transported to the Infinite Library.
Floating through the void of the Infinite Library, Twilight suppressed another yawn as she muttered, “Filthy Rich.”
Just like before, the number of possible bookshelves began to rapidly decrease.
“Diamond Tiara.”
Again, the bookshelves shuffled around, leaving about half a dozen remaining.
“Blackmail.”
Three more bookshelves flew off. At the sheer number of hits still remaining, Twilight loudly groaned.
“What else is there to try?!” she yelled, randomly shouting out, “Rich Industries? Bankruptcy? Spoiled Rich?”
Suddenly, the remaining bookshelves flew off into the void, leaving only a single book remaining.
“Huh?” Twilight blinked, having not expected any kind of response. Plucking the book from the air, Twilight flipped it open and began scanning through it, her eyes widening more and more the further she went through. “This… this is… But, then that would mean…” Twilight gasped, slamming the book closed and clutching it to her chest. “I’ve got to tell Sunset!”
Returning to her body, Twilight nearly toppled off her bed as she scrambled to grab her phone off her nightstand. Calling Sunset’s phone, Twilight pressed the phone to her ear, frantically pacing back and forth. “Pick up, Sunset… Come on…”
On the third ring, a groggy voice came through. “Tw-Twilight?” Sunset yawned, sounding like she’d just been stirred from a sound sleep. “It’s two in the morning, why are you—”
“Sunset! I know who the Dopant is!”
That woke Sunset up in a hurry. “W-what!? Really?”
“Yes, and what’s more… I know what their ultimate goal is.”