Kamen Rider Unicorn

by Michael_Ravencroft


L: Law and Order / Time for Trigger

Shining Armor was a prominent member of the Canterlot City Police Department. He was diligent, hardworking, had a good sense of justice, a nerd at heart, and an all-around good guy. He rose quickly in the ranks from a snot nosed candidate, to a full-fledged officer, and now as a field commander and investigator in the CCPD’s Special Crimes Unit. So far, he had been involved in a number of cases that had monsters in them, Shining Armor felt like his life was becoming something out of a Power Ponies comic book.

Unfortunately, real life was not like the comic books. There were consequences to actions, and people get hurt, there were no do overs like some miraculous healing light. Most recently, the fighting hit close to home. Shining Armor was currently sitting in his office, typing away at his keyboard. He paused for a moment to glance over at the picture of his little sister, Twilight Sparkle. The image of that happy, bespectacled, genius girl was replaced by a girl was in a comatose state with an oxygen mask and on the verge of death.

When he confronted the monster that did that to her, it became apparent that he wasn’t nowhere near strong enough, even with the specialized weapons from PhoenEXE Corp. In the end it was Kamen Rider Unicorn, the vigilante, who stopped the monster. Shining, while not completely ungrateful, hated that he had to entrust his sister’s life to someone who hid their identity and was up to gods know what.

“If only…”

“Armor!”

Shining Armor rose from his seat and saw his captain walk in. He was a burly man, with a tan complexion, gray hair and a short beard. His blue eyes were piercing, as if staring through your soul, and his face was grizzled, the showings of a man had seen much in his time. Shining Armor quickly saluted and said, “Captain Broadside! What can I do for you?!”

“PhoenEXE Corp. wants you at their main office downtown, they’re waiting for you as we speak. So, hop to it and head down there!” Broadside ordered.

Shining Armor raised an eyebrow at that. “Um, Sir, why are they asking for me specifically?”

Broadside shrugged. “Apparently, they have some new monster busting equipment, and they asked for you – by name no less – to come and pick it up. They wouldn’t give me any more info than that.”

Shining Armor still felt this was a bit weird. “No offense, Sir, but why would they go through all that just to have me specifically pick up equipment, instead of our normal convoy?”

“Look, Armor, I don’t know, I wish I did. But PhoenEXE Corp’s been funding us with the equipment for the SCU, so if they ask you to jump, you ask how high! Understood?” Broadside asked.

“Yes, Sir!”

With that established, Shining Armor left in his squad car for PhoenEXE Corp. It took him all of thirty minutes to reach the headquarters of their largest backer in the SCU. The giant building which almost towered over the other skyscrapers, was an elegant combination of steel and glass architecture, it almost resembled a castle. Shining Armor parked his squad car in the underground garage and proceeded inside. He walked up to the reception desk and before he could ask the receptionist anything he was intercepted by a teenage girl.

“Officer Shining Armor of the CCPD?” she asked.

Shining took a moment to look the girl up and down. She couldn’t be but maybe a year older than Twilight or at least the same age. The teenager had a pink complexion, with dark, curly, raspberry colored hair, and cerise eyes. “Um, yes, that’s me.”

“Nice to meet you, my name is Sugar Belle. Ms. Glimmer is expecting you, please follow me,” said Sugar Belle sweetly.

Shining Armor followed Sugar Belle to the executive elevator, she pressed her palm against a rectangular flat surface and immediately a light shined over it. The elevator opened and Sugar Belle motioned for him to enter. Once he did, Sugar Belle joined him and the two began their ascent.

“So, you look a little young to be working here, shouldn’t you be at school?” Shining Armor asked.

“Oh, well, Ms. Glimmer prefers to be around others that are closer to her age group, and whom she can trust. Besides, I owe a lot to Ms. Glimmer, and I’m learning more working here than in a school. So kind of like being home schooled,” said Sugar Belle.

“Uh-huh…Wait, ‘closer to her age group’? How old is she?!” Shining Armor asked.

“Oh, she’s about–”

*Ding!*

“We’re here.” The doors opened and revealed a couple of large, ornate wooden doors. On either side of the doors were reception desks, each one manned by two advanced robots that were typing away at their keyboards. Both Shining Armor and Sugar Belle disembarked the elevator and Sugar Belle said, “Shining Armor here to see Ms. Glimmer.” The robots nodded and the doors opened. “This is where I leave you, I have some other business to take care of, good luck!”

Shining Armor took a calming breath and walked on. Inside the office space were four chairs situated around a glass table, a red carpet led the way towards a wooden, mahogany desk, and behind that was a window wall that offered a perfect view of Canterlot City. From his position, Shining Armor could see a woman standing before the window, arms held behind her back as she admired the view.

“Ms. Glimmer…?” Shining Armor asked.

“Come here Officer Armor, and look outside,” said Starlight.

Shining Armor walked up to where Starlight Glimmer was standing, and peered down at the city below. From their height the cars and people looked like ants. Shining Armor glanced over to Starlight, she was wearing a violet business suit, with a matching skirt, and of course, she looked just a tad older than Sugar Belle, if had to guess, seventeen.

“It’s a great view, isn’t it?” Starlight asked.

“Um, yes, it is. I’m sorry to ask, but are you really the boss of this entire company or am I getting punked?” Shining Armor asked.

Starlight giggled at his question. “Don’t be sorry, Officer Armor. It’s a legitimate question, I’d be more worried if didn’t ask. But yes, I am president and CEO of the PhoenEXE Corporation, and my name is Starlight Glimmer.” Starlight held out her hand and Shining Armor shook it. “Now then, do you know why I asked you to look at the city from here?”

“No.”

“Because I love this city, I love the people in it, it’s my home, and the people are like my family. And I dislike it when something comes and tries to disrupt the harmony of the city I love. From up here, I witnessed many of the battles that have plagued our city since the arrival of the monsters. Which is why I made it a point to have my technicians work on anti-monster weaponry to arm the CCPD. To ensure that you and others can return home to their families. Sadly, it seems our inventions to don’t seem to be putting much of a dent on them, and for that I apologize,” said Starlight with a downcast look.

Shining Armor shook his head vigorously. “No ma’am, it’s been very helpful! I mean, it’s better than what we were using before, at least with the armor and weapons you provided, we stand a better chance of not getting killed.”

Starlight smiled at Shining. “I appreciate your kind words, but I think you and I know that the only one who’s been able to effectively defeat the monsters thus far are the Kamen Riders.” Starlight saw a scowl form on Shining Armor’s face. “You don’t seem to have a high opinion of them, do you?”

Shining Armor stood at attention. “With all due respect ma’am, no I do not. They’re vigilantes, they’re unsupervised, and do as they please. They assume no responsibility for their actions if something goes wrong, and who knows how many laws they break when they are not out fighting the monsters.”

Starlight hummed in contemplation. “You say that, but then I think back to that report where the Kamen Riders made a public announcement as to why they fight without revealing their identities, and then there was that judge who allowed Unicorn to speak at a trail.”

“Again, ma’am, I don’t believe that. Soldiers and police officers like myself constantly show our faces when we do our jobs, it’s to show the people that they can trust who’s wearing the uniform, and not have to wonder who and why. As for that judge…I can’t really comment on his actions ma’am,” said Shining Armor.

Starlight nodded and sat in her chair. “And it’s precisely for that reason why I think this city deserves a Kamen Rider who’s not afraid to show the face beneath the mask.” Starlight pressed a few buttons on her key pad. A panel opened on the top of her desk and from the inner confines of that desk arose a suitcase. It had a T symbol in the shape of a gun.

“What do you mean by that, Ms. Glimmer?” Shining Armor asked.

“My scientists, on the day the Emerald Pillar shined in the sky, found this lodged in the side of the building.” Starlight opened a drawer and took out a blue Gaia Memory with the same symbol on it. “I believe you may recognize this as a similar device as to what the Kamen Riders and monsters use to transform.”

Shining Armor’s eyes widened at the sight of the device, he never thought he’d get another chance to see one this close since Nasca shattered two of them in front him.

“It’s with this device we were able to extrapolate weapons that could effectively counter the monsters you’ve encountered. However, we’ve come to the realization, that only a Kamen Rider can beat these monsters. So, we studied Unicorn and Nasca carefully during their battles thus far, and with a little ingenuity, we made this.” Starlight unclasped the suitcase and revealed within it a belt buckle. It was in the shape of a gun, with the part of the slide missing to allow the Gaia Memory to be inserted. Next to the buckle were six other Gaia Memories, each with a smooth and sleek design.

Shining Armor looked at the contents of the suitcase and then back up to Starlight. “Are you…is this really the same kind of device as what the Kamen Riders use?”

“Maybe not an exact recreation, we had to do a lot of guess work here and there, but it will allow you to transform like they do, into a Kamen Rider, and all with this device will it work.” Starlight held the T Memory out towards Shining Armor. “Its name is Trigger.”

Shining Armor looked between the buckle and the device, after a minute of contemplation, Shining Armor gently pushed the Gaia Memory away. “I’m sorry, I don’t think I deserve to use this. There are other officers in the SCU, veterans, they’d be better suited to use this than me.”

Starlight waved her finger in the air dismissively. “No, I looked into you Officer Armor. During your cadet training you were and apparently still are, the best marksmen in the CCPD. You’re hand to hand combat prowess is excellent, and you have some high commendations from both your captain and fellow officers. But beyond that, you have a kind heart, and besides, the people deserve a Rider who doesn’t need to hide their face, you said so yourself.”

Shining Armor looked back down at the buckle, his face scrunched in contemplation. “Do you think I deserve this?”

Starlight tapped her chin with the Gaia Memory and said, “And it’s that hesitation that let’s me know you do. A person who has felt powerless, shall respect that power once obtained. You’ve fought a monster, and known what it’s like to feel helpless before their power. Plus, I know of your little sister was hospitalized during the attack, and I know you never want to see that happen to her or anyone else again. You’ll be a Kamen Rider of the people.” Starlight walked around her desk and stood before Shining Armor. “The choice is ultimately yours.”

Shining Armor looked between the Driver in the suitcase and the Gaia Memory in Starlight’s hand. His mind raced with all the incidents, all the attacks, all the crimes that were committed by the monsters and how he was helpless to fight back, at best he was a nuisance, to the monsters he might as well been a fly buzzing around them waiting to be squashed. The only thing they really feared, that could defeat the monsters, was the power of a Kamen Rider.

***________}T{________***

3 DAYS LATER

“Twilight, will you relax, it’s going to be alright,” said Sunset.

Sunset Shimmer and Twilight Sparkle were currently walking from the Tasty Treat, it was lunch time and Sunset and Twilight decided to grab something to eat. They were currently on a date, just the two of them. The discussion of that day was how Twilight was going to announce to her parents that she was in a romantic relationship with a girl. Of course, there was no end to Twilight coming up with multiple scenarios as to how badly this could go.

“What if they disown me?!” Twilight asked.

“You can shack up with me, I don’t mind sharing my bed,” said Sunset with a hint of sultry look in her eyes.

“What would I do for school if they cut me off, I won’t be able to buy components for the you-know-whats, or school supplies!”

“I’ll get a part time job, and if necessary, you can to, there is a computer store in the mall that’s looking for tech help.” She saw that Twilight was still nervous. “Or, hey, I could always work late nights at the street corner?”

Twilight stopped in her tracks and looked at Sunset with wide eyes. “What?! No, nonononono, NO! You will NOT do something like that for me!”

Sunset chuckled at the reaction. “I’m kidding Twilight, I wouldn’t do that. Although, I’m not opposed to a bit of roleplay when we reach that stage in our relationship.”

Twilight’s face went red as a tomato as some less than pure thoughts entered her head. “And you call Rainbow Dash a perv.”

“Yeah, well,” Sunset reached out and put her right arm over Twilight’s shoulders, bringing her close, “I’m your pervert.”

Twilight smiled a goofy smile. “I know, it’s just, you’re my first real romantic partner, my girlfriend, and I want my parents to like you.”

“They already do Twi, you just need to believe in them. It may be a bit awkward, but considering that it’s me, they may be more okay with it than you think,” said Sunset.

“Thanks,” said Twilight as she looked into her girlfriend’s turquoise eyes.

Suddenly, numerous explosions went off as the sound of something whistling through the air caught both girls’ attention. Way in the distance, Sunset and Twilight spotted a Dopant. Its body was a sea-green color, with a yellow pearl at its waist. Around the lower half of its legs and forearms it transitioned into a black color. Its right hand was a normal five-digit hand, but its left was two long claws. Its head was large, with big, round black eyes, a mouth full of sharp, pointed fang pincers, and coming from its head were feelers. Lastly this Dopant had a pale tan colored shell on its back.

“What in the world is that Dopant?!” Sunset asked.

“I don’t know, but I can’t do a Look Up here! Sunset you need to take care of that thing before it causes more damage!” Twilight stated.

Sunset looked about ready to bolt, but paused as the memories of the mall entered her mind, about the last time she left to fight a Dopant and Twilight ended up getting hurt. “I will, but not before you’re far away from here.”

At that moment, both girls heard the sound of a motorcycle buzzing through the streets of the city. Sunset sighed in relief, believing that it was Rainbow Dash as Nasca coming to fight the Dopant, however, that was not the case. Sunset and Twilight saw the bike that was coming as it whizzed by them and towards the Dopant. When the bike stopped, they saw that the rider was Shining Armor.

His uniform was different though, instead of the normal uniform, he wore navy blue pants and shirt, on the sides of the pants was a light-blue stripe that ran up the length of his pant leg. Upon his feet were black combat boots with a steel toed tip. He wore a jacket that had the Trigger symbol on one side of the arm and his badge shield on the other. On the back of the jacket it read “SCU” with the image of the CCPD badge behind it. His bike was colored cobalt blue and white, with flashing red and blue lights on the sides.

The Dopant tilted his head at the new arrival and asked, “Who the hell are you?”

Shining Armor stared down the Dopant and stated, “I’m Officer Shining Armor of the Canterlot City Police Department. This is your first and last warning, remove the device from your body and lay down on the ground, or I’ll be forced to make you go down!”

The Dopant hummed in contemplation. “Hmm, let me answer that in the following way.” The Dopant released several sharp fangs that flew out of its mouth like a machine gun.

Shining Armor quickly dodged them, rolling out to the side and quickly standing up. “I was hoping you’d choose the hard way.” Shining Armor reached behind his back, and to his hand he materialized the T-Driver, much to the shock of Sunset and Twilight. He placed the Driver at his waist, letting the belt loop around and connect to the buckle. In Shining’s left hand he held the blue Trigger Memory and pressed the button.

< TRIGGER! >

“Henshin!”

> TRIGGER! <

Shining Armor placed the Memory into the slot, activating the transformation. A blue electrical field appeared around Shining Armor, releasing sparks that hit his body and materialized his armor. Within a couple of seconds, the field disappeared and a new Kamen Rider was born.

The helmet had a T in the middle, with the tip of both top ends pointed out, which looked like antenna. The eyes were yellow and compound, the antenna fell on the eyes to give them a half circle slanted look. The shoulder pauldrons were large, slanting, half oval shapes, and on both was the imprinted symbol of the Trigger Memory. The chest plate had a shield on it, with a six-pointed star at the center, etched out in white, and below that a defined six-pack abs. The arms were covered in sleek blue armor, with white highlights around the wrists and joint segments.

On the left hip of the belt were six other Gaia Memories, each with the same stream line design as the T2 Trigger. On the right thigh was a holster, and in that holster, was a blaster weapon at the ready to be drawn. The leg armor had the same blue and white design, with the feet being square tipped instead of round, and at the back of the calf armor, there seemed to be a piston like device attached.

Sunset looked to Twilight, the egghead shook her head vehemently and said, “I did NOT make him a Driver! I swear on my life!”

“Then…who…how…?”

Kamen Rider Trigger took out the Chrome Magnum blaster from its holster, and stared down the Dopant with his compound eyes. “The name’s Kamen Rider Trigger. Now…” Trigger raised his left hand and pointed it like a gun at the Dopant. “…count up your crimes!”

The Dopant launched more fangs at Trigger, but Trigger was faster on the draw as he pointed the Chrome Magnum. The blaster itself was hefty, with a chrome colored slide and square drum beneath the barrel. The trigger guard was blue, and the trigger itself was black. The grip of the blaster was the same blue color, matching the guard and armor.

Trigger fired the Chrome Magnum in quick succession. The blue bolts that were released hit each fang, exploding it in midair one after the other. The Dopant stopped his attack, but Trigger didn’t as he continued to fire, hitting the Dopant again and again as sparks flew from his body. As Trigger fired, he closed the distance and came in with the left hook to the Dopant’s gut.

The Dopant reeled from the blow, but raised his left claw arm and swiped at Trigger. The Kamen Rider stepped back and allowed the swipe to miss, on the counterattack, Trigger thrust his gun forward, putting it at point blank range of the Dopant’s chest and fired one shot, sending the Dopant flying until he hit a parked car. The Dopant growled in frustration as he tore himself out of the vehicle and began to glow, transforming into a giant anomalocaris that hovered in the air.

Trigger reached for one of the Gaia Memories in his left hip holster and pushed the button.

< GATLING! >

Trigger pushed the underside of the drum and a slot dropped down with a space for at least three different Memories. He quickly placed the Gatling Memory into the slot and pushed it into the Chrome Magnum.

|^| GATLING! ARMED! |^|

The Chrome Magnum glowed bright blue as the blaster merged with Trigger’s right forearm. When the glow faded, Trigger’s right forearm had changed into a Gatling gun, with six chrome colored barrels connected to a boxy contraption where his hand and forearm was. The giant Dopant began flying around, trying to get into a good attack position, but did not take into account how much space he had and ended up flailing about.

Trigger took this moment to lift his heavy right arm and fire the Gatling Chrome Magnum, unleashing beam bullet hell on the giant Dopant. Multiple explosions ignited across the Dopant’s body as one shot landed after the other, smothering the Anomalocaris Dopant. After a minute of continuous fire, the giant Dopant exploded and fell to the ground in its default humanoid form.

Trigger ended the Gatling Arms and returned the blaster to normal. After ejecting the Gatling Memory, he took out the Trigger Memory, and said, “Time to restore Order.”

The blue Kamen Rider slid back a hatch at the bottom of the grip, and slid the Gaia Memory into it as if loading a clip.

>} TRIGGER! MAXIMUM DRIVE! {<

The Chrome Magnum’s barrel began to shine bright with stored up power as a sphere of condensed particle energy formed at the mouth of the blaster.

“Chrome Buster!”

Trigger fired, unleashing a column sized beam of blue light that roared towards the Anomalocaris Dopant. The prehistoric Dopant fired more of its fangs at the beam, but the beam was too powerful to stop as it washed over him and caused a powerful explosion the ripped through the area. From the dust, a man appeared and fell to ground in a heap, the Anomalocaris Memory rose from his body and dropped onto the street. Afterwards the device shattered into pieces.

Twilight ran towards her brother, she couldn’t believe it, she didn’t understand. There were only two Drivers, well two that Twilight created, so how could her big brother be using a Driver? When Twilight got close, she stopped when Kamen Rider Trigger holstered his blaster and looked at Twilight. The bespectacled girl took a tentative step forward, not sure what to make of this turn of events.

“Sh-Shiny?” Twilight asked cautiously.

“It’s me Twily, don’t be afraid.” Shining Armor took out the Trigger Memory from the Chrome Magnum, and immediately after the armor disappeared. “See?”

***________}T{________***

{Who is Canterlot City’s newest hero, Kamen Rider Trigger?I’m Namby Pamby, and today we’ve got an exclusive interview with the man behind the mask.}

An emergency meeting was called with the girls later that night, they had all gathered at Sunset’s loft and watched the news report after Twilight and Sunset filled them in on what had happened today. Of course, the girls asked if Twilight had made another Driver for her brother, and as before she vehemently denied making one. The screen shifted and now Namby was sitting in a plush chair, with a glass table in the middle. Across from her sat Shining Armor, garbed in his uniform that was used for ceremonies.

{So, Officer Armor, first off I’d like to thank you for this interview today. Second, and most importantly, how long have you been a Kamen Rider?}

{Honestly Ms. Pamby, at least three days now, most of that was training. The CCPD had planned an announcement at the end of the week. But when the attack happened, Captain Broadside decided that I should intercept it right away,} said Shining Armor.

{So, I see you don’t have any qualms with transforming in public, are you not afraid that criminals will start to come after you and your family? If we take into account what Unicorn and Nasca have stated that they keep their identities secret to protect their loved ones from being attacked, would that not stand to reason, Officer Armor, that your family and loved ones would be targeted to get to you?} Namby asked with a bit of scrutiny.

Shining Armor leaned forward onto his knees and said, {Ms. Pamby, police officers risk their lives every day. We don’t wear masks when we’re out in the streets helping people, I know this may be a bit of a hard thing for some people to imagine, but we go home with that fear in the back of our minds. Whatever criminal we take down, gang members, killers, terrorists, we have to go home with the fear that they’ll find some way to get out and hurt us, because they’ve seen our faces.}

Shining Armor paused. {This is not something new to me, nor is it to those I care about. We go in knowing this could happen, which is why some officers prefer to be alone or make a family. Either way, I stand by my decision. Besides, I think the people of Canterlot City need a hero they can see.}

Namby nodded her head, the girls could tell she probably agreed with part of that, but wasn’t so sure if having people know who was under the mask was the best thing. {Well, I’m sure the public would like to know something equally important. Now that you too are a Kamen Rider, will you start working with Unicorn and Nasca against the monster threat?}

It was here that the girls tensed.

Shining took a moment as he pondered that question. {All I can say at this time, is that I will continue to defend the city. If Unicorn and Nasca do in fact share that same goal, then we’ll see.}

{You heard it here folks, Canterlot City now has three Kamen Riders, Unicorn, Nasca, and Trigger, but what do you think of this development? Send us your thoughts to CCNN’s MyStable page as we continue our coverage.}

Twilight shot up from her seat on the couch and began pacing the floor. “This…This can’t be happening, this isn’t happening! My brother cannot be a Kamen Rider!”

“Unfortunately, Darling, that seems to be the case…” Rarity pointed out.

Twilight ran her hands through her hair, threatening to pull it out. “I don’t understand this! I-I’m the only one who can make the Drivers!”

“Well…Not necessarily,” said Sunset. “I fought another Kamen Rider, Equal, remember? She had a Driver, and she was strong. But I also had a bad vibe from her, she may also be working with the Dopants who have been collecting the T2 Memories.”

Rainbow Dash sighed. “So, what, Shining Armor got his Driver from the bad guys then?”

“They haven’t said where he got the Driver of Memory from, but it must be the same person who gave this Equal girl hers. Or…” Fluttershy gulped. “Or maybe Equal made hers and Shining Armor’s.”

Twilight turned to Fluttershy with a scowl. “My brother would not accept such a thing from someone like that!”

Fluttershy let out an “EEP!” and hid behind Applejack. “Simmer down, Twi, Fluttershy didn’t mean nothin’ by it. None of us think yer brother would just willingly take a Gaia Memory and a Driver from a shifty gal like that Equal. Especially since she attacked him and Sunset.”

The genius girl performed her calming exercise, placing her hand against her chest as she breathed in, and extending it forward as she breathed out. In and out, in and out. After a minute, Twilight looked to Fluttershy with remorse, “I’m sorry, Fluttershy, I didn’t mean to yell at you…”

Fluttershy moved from behind Applejack and gave a comforting smile. “I understand, if it was Zephyr I’d probably be freaking out too.”

“Same here,” said Applejack.

“Personally, and no disrespect Sunset, but maybe we shouldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth.” Rainbow Dash stood up from her seat and addressed the girls. “Now we have three Riders, and even though Shining Armor’s not crazy about Unicorn and Nasca, at least we can trust the fact that he’ll fight Dopants and keep the city safe.”

Despite the craziness of the situation, Rainbow Dash did make a point that they had to agree with. Three Riders meant that Dopant attacks would be much easier to handle, and probably less collateral damage. The former, Sunset believed, was possible, but the latter not so much considering the magnitude of their attack power. Still, this didn’t set well with Sunset, it was too convenient to have a new Rider, and on top of that, Shining Armor wasn’t entirely enthusiastic about Unicorn or Nasca to begin with.

“We’ll have to get a fresh crack at this tomorrow, this is a lot to process. I’ll drive you home Twi,” said Sunset.

“Sure you guys don’t want us to leave so you two can make out first?” Pinkie asked.

Sunset and Twilight’s faces lit up red, it was no secret now that they were a couple, and of course that left them open to the teasing jabs of her their friends. Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash being the ones who would start the jabs, Rarity would just gush from time to time. About the only ones they didn’t have to worry about was Applejack and Fluttershy.

“Pinkie Pie!” Twilight exclaimed.

***________}T{________***

Sunset pulled up to Twilight’s driveway and allowed her girlfriend to dismount. Once she had, Twilight turned to Sunset and asked, “Why don’t you come in and stay for a bit?”

“Tempting, are you asking me to sleep over? Because, I didn’t bring any pajamas, or a sleeping bag. But I guess I could always sleep in my underwear, and share your bed. That alright with you, Twi?” Sunset asked with a sultry gaze.

Twilight’s face was red enough that it was practically glowing in the dark. “S-Sunset that is not what I was suggesting, I-I-I’m not even sure I’m mentally prepared – ow!” Twilight rubbed her forehead as she looked at Sunset’s smirking face.

“Twilight, I’m joking. I meant what I said, we won’t do anything you’re not ready for,” said Sunset with a kind smile.

Twilight smiled back and felt a warmth in her heart, even now she still couldn’t believe she was going out with Sunset Shimmer, a girl who could probably have anybody in CHS, chose her and had feelings for her. Twilight felt an overwhelming urge to kiss her girlfriend and even began to silently lean forward to plant one on Sunset’s cheek. However, the moment was ruined when the sound of another motorcycle approached their house.

Both girls watched as Shining Armor came up the driveway, parking next to where Sunset was. He pulled off his helmet and shook his head to fix his helmet hair. Once he finished he dismounted and said, “Hey, Twily.” His gaze then fell on Sunset, and his elated expression became a grimace. “Sunset Shimmer.”

“Hello, Francis,” said Sunset with a bit of sass. “Nice bike.”

Twilight looked between her brother and girlfriend, she had heard about the fight between them when she was in the hospital, and apparently neither one had forgiven the other entirely. Although Twilight was back to normal and the Dopant defeated, it didn’t negate the fact that Twilight got hurt. It was a bit troubling, Twilight loved her big brother, but she also loved Sunset, and seeing the two people she loved having such animosity towards each other was saddening to her.

“Thanks, guess you guys saw the news report then,” said Shining Armor.

“We did, you looked great big brother,” said Twilight.

“Yeah, great. Of course, you painted a big red target on this place, but otherwise great,” said Sunset.

Shining Armor raised an eyebrow at that. “Excuse me?”

“Sunset,” Twilight urged.

“I mean, hey, if you don’t have a problem putting your family in danger by announcing you’re a Kamen Rider, and pretty much saying, ‘I live here, any monster is free to walk up and ring the doorbell, or blow up my house, or kidnap my sister, father, or mother’. Then I don’t have a problem with it,” said Sunset snidely.

Shining Armor’s brow furrowed. “Don’t see why that bothers you, whenever danger shows up, you’ll just save your own skin.”

Sunset gritted her teeth, she wanted to lay into Shining Armor how wrong he was about that, but how could she? How could she tell him that the only reason why she left Twilight was because Twilight herself told her to go and transform to fight the Dopant? Her inner bad girl so badly wanted to one up Shining Armor and show him that he was the idiot in this argument as he should have focused on getting Twilight out of danger first, and not engage the Dopant.

Unfortunately, all Sunset could do was release a frustrated snort, a habit she hadn’t quite stopped from back when she was a pony, but at this time, it was better than cussing out Twilight’s brother right in front of her. “I’ll see you, Twilight, be safe okay? Call me if you need me.”

“I will,” said Twilight.

Sunset started her bike up and pulled out of the driveway, she gave one last wave to Twilight and then left. Twilight looked to her brother with a bit of anger, but she let it go for now, she understood both sides, and really, she couldn’t fault her brother for doing what he did back at the mall. In retrospect, if he hadn’t attacked the Dopant, Sunset may not have been able to counter the way she did.

Both siblings entered the house, finding that their parents were working late at their respective jobs and left them alone. Twilight heard the scampering of paws and held out her arms for Spike to jump into them, the pup licked her face enthusiastically, making Twilight giggle.

“Okay, okay, I missed you too, Spike,” said Twilight.

Shining Armor headed to the kitchen and brought out some sodas, he handed one to Twilight and both siblings retired to the living room. They sat in silence for a good while as they drank from their cans, after a minute or so, Twilight sighed and asked, “So, you really are a Kamen Rider, huh? Three days of you doing a ‘Special Project’ at work, and in fact, you were training to become a Rider.”

“Yeah, sorry you had to see it like that earlier. I wanted to at least give you a hint, but the department wanted this as confidential as possible. Like I said, the reveal was going to be for this Friday, but when the monster attacked, the Captain and Commissioners said that it was best for me to make my debut now,” said Shining Armor.

“So…what does this entail for you then? Are you still an officer, or are you a detective?” Twilight asked.

Shining Armor rubbed the back of his head. “I’m kind of a weird combo of both. I can investigate any crimes that have a connection to the monsters or the other two Kamen Riders, I have full tactical authority when monsters are involved. I can still do my beat when or if I feel like it, but other times they want me on standby in case another attack happens.”

“Huh, so I guess you’ll have some more freedom than normal officers do. Shining, how did you get that device and that belt?” Twilight asked.

“Honestly, Sis, I can’t tell you. It’s top secret. I know you what to probably take it apart and see how it works and all, but this isn’t like my laptop or phone.”

Twilight rolled her eyes. “I take apart your cellphone one time to see how it all worked, and I never live it down. At least I put it back together, and allowed you get free data on it for as long as you have that phone number.”

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure that’s illegal…” Shining Armor shifted his eyes about. “But I consider it a happy accident, you know I’m not as savvy with tech as you.”

Twilight rolled her eyes again, but blushed at the compliment. “Shiny, if you encountered Unicorn and Nasca, would you fight them? Would you try and take them in because they’re vigilantes? And tell me the truth, not just ‘whatever you have to say in front of a camera’ version of the truth.”

Shining took another swig from his can and then sloshed the contents around as she thought upon his words. “Honestly, Twily, from the law’s standpoint, they have to be brought in. It’s clearly written that vigilantism is against the law. I know they glorify it in comics – hey – I’m a fan of them too. But in real life, we can’t just entrust two masked people with dangerous powers to fight against monsters and not be held accountable for their actions.”

Twilight grimaced a little at that. “But accountable for what? Unicorn and Nasca have only fought the monsters, sure, there is some minimum to moderate damage done to the area, but they’ve made sure that no one else is harmed when they fight. Not to mention, you yourself caused some amount of property damage when you fought the monster.”

Shining Armor pointed at Twilight and nodded. “True, and I’m not denying that. But what’s to stop them from, one day, thinking ‘Hey, no one knows who we are, let’s just cut loose!’ it’s that potential danger that has the police force on edge, today’s heroes can be tomorrow’s villains. Of course, now that I have Kamen Rider powers, I can serve as both a protector and a check for them. I’m sure if they came in, and gave themselves, up, the DA could probably work out a deal where they can serve community service as Kamen Riders, but supervised by the CCPD.”

Twilight didn’t like that option, especially for Sunset. The girl that she cared about had been keeping under the radar, through her intellect and wit she had managed to forge her legal paperwork, along with some help from Principal Celestia. But if Sunset was arrested, they’d dig up all her information, and find out she doesn’t exist anywhere.

“I just hope you know what you’re doing…”

***________}T{________***

Shining Armor woke up that morning, stretching out and cracking the kinks out of his neck. He glanced over to the Trigger Memory he had kept in the drawer of his nightstand, it was still a surreal thing. He was a Kamen Rider, a superhero. He now had the power to protect the people of the city against the monsters that threatened them. A sense of pride welled up inside of him, a new-found vigor that came from no longer having to work on the sidelines while Unicorn and Nasca ran rampant.

The blue haired man got out of bed, washed up, and dressed in his new uniform. At first he wasn’t sure if it was actually a good thing to be dressed like he was, but considering they needed to distinguish him with his new rank and position, it wasn’t so bad. Shining Armor was starting to like the look.

He headed downstairs to find his mother and father already at the table, a fresh batch of pancakes was on the table, he walked over to the fridge and poured himself a fresh glass of orange juice and sat at the table. Shining Armor caught a glimpse at the newspaper on his tablet, with the headline “A Police Officer and Kamen Rider”. There was a faint blush on his cheeks when he read the headline, however, his mother and father didn’t seem as enthusiastic as he was.

“Something you’d like to tell us, son?” Night Light asked.

“Yeah…sorry, I wanted to tell you guys in advance. The scheduled press release was for Friday, but the attack happened and I was ordered to mobilize. I was planning on telling you all on that Thursday night to prepare you, but like I said, all that craziness happened,” said Shining Armor.

“I still can’t believe that you’re like Unicorn and Nasca,” said Velvet.

“No, not like them,” Shining corrected. “They’re vigilantes, I’m a police officer. People don’t have to wonder who I am under that mask, I’m me.”

Velvet sighed. “Well, I always knew law enforcement was dangerous work, and I made my peace with it a long time ago, but…this. This is a different beast.”

Shining Armor stood up from his chair and went around to hug his mother. “Mom, I’ll be fine, if anything, this just ensures I’ll be even safer.”

Night Light sighed as well, but allowed himself a proud, fatherly smile. “So long as you’re careful, to the best that you can be given what you’ll be doing.”

“I will.” As Shining Armor headed back to his seat, he noticed the empty seat. “Hey, where’s Twily at? Is she sleeping in?”

“No, I believe she’s seeing her friend, Sunset Shimmer,” said Velvet.

Shining Armor frowned at the mention of that girl’s name. “I don’t think Twily should be hanging around her too much, just my opinion.”

“Duly noted, and just because you and Sunset had a spat at the hospital, don’t let this taint your view of her,” said Night Light. “That young lady has been nothing if not kind and caring to your sister, how many people would just come over at the drop of a hat to help take of a sick friend? Sorry, again, about that dear. The work was daunting that day.”

Velvet waved off the concern. “Don’t worry Night, it was actually not that bad when Sunset was here. And I do agree with your father, out of that group of wonderful friends, Sunset’s probably Twilight’s best friend.”

Shining Armor shoveled a pancake into his mouth, ate it, and took a sip of orange juice. “You don’t think that they could be…I don’t know, more than just friends?”

“What do you mean by that, Shiny?” Velvet asked.

“Well…” Suddenly, Shining Armor’s phone began to ring, giving off its new emergency call. “Oh crap, there’s a monster attack! I gotta, go love ya guys!”

Shining didn’t waste a second as she dashed out of the house, mounted his spike and tore down the street, leaving only a smoke trail in his wake.

***________}T{________***

Shining Armor connected this phone to the wireless headset in his helmet and said, “This is Officer Shining Armor, go ahead!”

{Armor, we need you downtown, quick, we got two monsters attacking right now! I suggest you change now, these guys are…just be ready to fight! We also have a VIP in the middle of a crossfire!} Captain Broadside stated.

“Who?”

{The President of PhoenEXE Corp!}

Shining Armor’s eyes widened with urgency. “Shining Armor out!” The new Rider quickly summoned his T-Driver and placed it at his waist. Reaching into his jacket pocket, he pulled out the Trigger Memory.

< TRIGGER! >

“Henshin!”

> TRIGGER! <

Once inserted, Shining Armor’s body was surrounded in the blue electrical field, transforming him into Kamen Rider Trigger. As if sensing the transformation, the bike entered a supped-up power state and rocketed forward, leaving every other vehicle in the dust. The city was fast approaching, making Shining Armor slow down. However, once he reached the target area, he stopped immediately, making his tires screech in protest. Once stopped he dismounted and beheld the scene in front of him.

Several people, civilian and police alike, were on the ground, screaming and gripping at their heads. Some were running away with the look of sheer terror on their faces. Trigger pulled out the Chrome Magnum and made his way further in, Trigger spotted the Dopants. Both were women from the looks of them. The one on the right had its whole upper body colored black, with traces of gold to define the details in the ridges, the lower half had a violet skirt that was embroidered with terrifying monsters, all done in gold.

The monster’s hands had golden, metal claws at the tip of each finger, and at the elbows was a golden blade that curved upwards. The creature’s head had a mouth plate that was gold, and a mask over its eyes that was white. Upon its head was a kind of headdress, bright blue in color, and connected to that headdress was a cape that was black and gold, and flowed all the way down to about the ankles.

The second monster was strange. The lower half was white, with short legs that were colored brown and released a steady jet stream of energy that allowed it hover over the ground. The creature’s arms were long, and hollow looking. They were white from the shoulder and then transitioned into brown towards the wrists. The head of the Dopant was oval shaped, with squinting eyes and an ornate gold crown atop its head. The Dopant’s body was littered with different swirls and designs, making it look like a doll made of clay.

Shining Armor looked around, and saw a black limacine that was pinned between two vehicles, effectively blocking any way for the doors to be opened. Trigger ran for the limo, making it in just under a few seconds. “Hello, is anybody in there?!”

“Yes, I’m here!”

“Ms. Glimmer, hang on! Move away from the window!” After waiting five seconds, Trigger smashed the window and cleared it of the glass. Inside he saw a shaking Starlight Glimmer, as if she were a cornered mouse. “Ms. Glimmer, give me your hand!”

“No…No! I can’t go out there, I-I don’t want to die! I’m going to die here!” Starlight shouted in a terror.

“Listen to me! You made this Driver, you gave me this device! You gave me the power to become a Kamen Rider to protect people, and I will protect you too! Now take my hand!” Trigger stated.

Starlight brought her breathing under control and took Trigger’s hand. Carefully, he managed to slip Starlight out of the window and into his arms. Unfortunately, the two Dopants saw this and immediately turned their gaze onto them.

“There she is!” the headdress Dopant shouted. “Don’t let her escape!”

The clay Dopant raised its right arm, and in the hollow of its arm, energy began to build up. It was then Trigger understood, its arms weren’t just arms, they were cannons. Holding onto Starlight tight, Trigger jumped high into the air just a fiery sphere was shot and struck the back half of the limo, blowing it up.

Trigger landed a few feet away, and cursed when he realized he couldn’t get to the driver. Starlight however, shook her head. “M-My driver fled the moment the car stopped, I was the only one in there.”

After breathing a sigh of relief, Trigger put her down and said, “Go find some officers and tell them to put you under their protection, per my orders. Go!”

Starlight nodded and headed away from Trigger and the Dopants. The clay Dopant rose up and began to give chase, but Trigger fired five shots, hitting the Dopant and dropping it to the ground. The Dopant quickly recovered and pointed both arms at him, firing multiple spheres at the Rider. Trigger jumped and dodge the blasts, ducking behind abandoned cars and letting the spheres explode against them. Trigger jumped into the air and fired multiple shots at the Dopant, raining down energy shot after energy shot at the floating clay cannon. The Dopant raised its arms to try and defend, but was still being pushed back by the constant barrage. Shining Armor took out the Gatling Memory and placed it into the Chrome Magnum.

|^| GATLING! ARMED! |^|

Shining Armor’s right arm morphed as the Chrome Mangum entered its Gatling gun mode.  The handle popped as Trigger unleashed a barrage of energy bullets down on the clay looking Dopant, forcing it back until it smashed against a car. Once he landed, Trigger turned his sights onto the other Dopant, who hadn’t moved since the fight began. The Dopant with the headdress raised its arms and below its feet a swirling pool of violet and black energy formed, with a wave of its hands, the pool rose up and spewed towards Trigger.

Trigger watched as the dark energy came towards him, but thinking quickly, he jumped out of the way. The stream that hit the spot he was at had burned a hole into the asphalt; Trigger made a mental note to not have that stuff touch him if he could help it. Looks like long range is going to be best, good thing that’s my specialty!

Once Trigger landed, he opened fire on the Dopant. But the headdress Dopant waved its right hand, commanding the dark energy ooze to rise up and act as a shield against the hailstorm of energy bullets. Trigger began running in a circle, continuing his fire and trying to discover a weak point in this Dopant’s defense, but so far, he was not having any luck.

“Then I guess we’ll just have to bust through it!”

Trigger disengaged his Gatling Arms and switched out the Gatling Memory for a new one, this time with a C on it in the shape of two old timey cannons, and pressed the button.

< CANNON! >

|^| CANNON! ARMED! |^|

Once inserted into the Chrome Magnum, Trigger’s right arm morphed until it was a long cannon barrel. The barrel itself had a three chrome rings painted at the tip, and at the center it read in white letters “TCA-02”. Trigger’s right arm wasn’t the only thing that morphed. The right shoulder pauldron changed as well, becoming boxy, with a view screen that popped out and displayed a targeting sight.  Numbers were being ran as an energy gauge showed the cannon powering up.

A blue glow shined from the mouth of the cannon, and in the next moment, the cannon fired off a huge ball of condensed energy the size of a wrecking ball. The headdress Dopant saw this, and quickly willed the dark energy ooze to flow around itself, creating as dense a wall as possible. When the ball hit, a powerful explosion roared through the city, shattering car windows and setting of several car alarms for miles.

The explosion managed to blow a hole in the ooze, and Trigger took this chance to fire once again. But at the last second, the clay Dopant jetted in front of the other Dopant, and took the blast head on. The resulting explosion shattered the Dopant, tossing its scattered pieces all around Trigger.

“What…What have I done?!” Trigger asked in shock.

“Looks like you blasted apart my partner, but don’t worry.” As the headdress Dopant spoke, the pieces began to float a few inches off the ground and recollect behind Trigger. “She always pulls herself back together.”

Before Trigger to react, he was blasted from behind by the clay Dopant, now reformed. The headdress Dopant released the dark energy ooze and closed in on Trigger. She delivered a hook punch to Trigger’s left side, causing sparks to fly from his armor, the Dopant drew back with her left fist and straight punched him in the chest, causing more sparks to fly off.

As Trigger stumbled back, the clay Dopant fired two more shots, hitting him the back again. Trigger was about to fall forward, but used the cannon barrel to catch himself and remain standing. He was now between a rock and a hard place, one Dopant behind him, and another in front of him.

\_/ NASCA! VERMILLION MODE! \_/

A vermillion blur sped around the two Dopants, causing sparks to fly off their bodies form the numerous strikes they were being dealt in that short period of time. Trigger didn’t understand, but in the next second, he was enveloped in a field of turquoise light, and in a flash he was transported away from the Dopants. When he reappeared, Trigger was now standing right next to Kamen Rider Unicorn.

“Unicorn?”

“You’re the new Kamen Rider cop I’ve heard about. You did pretty well back there, but two on one can be daunting. Let’s make it three on two,” said Unicorn.

Trigger stood up as his Cannon Arms returned back to normal, he looked down at the shorter heroine then looked back to see that Nasca had disengaged from the Dopants, returning to a safe distance as her Vermillion Mode wore off. “For now, we have a common enemy.”

Unicorn sighed heavily, but decided to take that as a “yes” for the time being. All three Riders stood side by side. Unicorn and Trigger unleashed a volley of energy blasts at both Dopants. The headdress Dopant created the dark energy ooze to form a barrier while the clay Dopant fired its cannon arms at the Riders.

Nasca unleashed her wings and took flight, she dive bombed towards the Dopants, but the headdress Dopant made the ooze rise up to attack her. Nasca quickly pulled back, but was about to be hit with the ooze. A barrage of blue energy bullets exploded against the ooze, causing it to break apart and allowed Nasca to fly away. However, the clay Dopant fired its cannon arms up a Nasca, the spheres of power blew up in midair as soon as they even reached Nasca.

Unicorn teleported away, and reappeared next to the clay Dopant. She spun around and struck the clay Dopant in the side with a roundhouse kick, making it fall backwards. Unicorn was about to deliver another blow, but the headdress Dopant made a stream of dark energy ooze fly towards her. Unicorn formed a barrier round herself, bracing as the stream pushed her back. She was surprised by how strong these Dopants were. They certainly weren’t T2 users, but they were almost as powerful as one.

While the headdress Dopant continued its attack on Unicorn, Nasca swooped in and struck the headdress Dopant in the back with her sword. The blow was strong enough to make the Dopant lose its concentration on its attack, and allowed Unicorn to teleport out of there.

Trigger came running up, firing multiple shots at the headdress Dopant to keep it suppressed. The Dopant growled in anger from the barrage and flung out its arms wildly, causing some of its dark energy ooze to fly off and hit Trigger on his left arm. The ooze set off a series of sparks, and made the blue Kamen Rider wince in pain from the burning sensation.

“Alright, I’ve had enough of this,” said Trigger.

“Same here,” Naca agreed.

“Ditto! Hawk archer mode!”

From above the battlefield, the mech-animal Hawk descended from the sky. Unicorn jumped up just as Hawk completed its transformation into its bow and arrow mode. All three Riders quickly put their Gaia Memories into their Max Drive ports and hit their buttons all at the same time.

>} UNICORN! MAXIMUM DRIVE! {<

>} TRIGGER! MAXIMUM DRIVE! {<

>} NASCA! MAXIMUM DRIVE! {<

Nasca’s sword blade glowed, Trigger’s Chrome Magnum shined, and Unicorn’s bow radiated, all three ready to unleash total devastation on the Dopants.

“This isn’t good!” the clay Dopant uttered.

“We’re gone, NOW!” the headdress Dopant stated as she wrapped the dark energy ooze around the both them.

“Sagitta Magica!”

“Chrome Buster!”

“Sky Fury!”

A beam of bright blue light shot off from Trigger, a cerulean crescent was sent sailing from Nasca, and Unicorn loosed an arrow of magical energy. All three attacks converged on that one spot, creating a powerful explosion that shrouded the Dopant’s in multicolored flames. All three Kamen Riders kept on guard as they waited for the flames do die down, and after a minute, the flames did die out and reveal that nothing was there.

Nasca flew down and looked over the spot where the Dopants had been. “They got away.”

“They’ll be back, they were stronger than I thought.” Unicorn glanced over to Trigger. “I don’t suggest engaging them again until we figure out what they can do.”

“That clay one can fire energy blasts like a cannon, can hover, and apparently reform itself if shattered. That other one…it has some dark ooze stuff, but other than that, I got nothing,” said Trigger.

“Don’t sweat it, by the time we fight them again, we’ll know exactly what we’re dealing with,” said Nasca.

Trigger glanced to Nasca. “Really, you care to share how you can do that?”

Unicorn stepped in and said, “Trade secret, Trigger. Gotta ride!” Unicorn grabbed ahold of Nasca and instantly teleported the both of them far away.

Trigger deactivated his transformation and sighed heavily as he awaited for the rest of the force to arrive.

***________}T{________***

The two Dopant’s reappeared some ways away from the fighting. Both released their powers, and revealed their true forms. One was a woman, with a pale-yellow complexion, and had long blue hair, and teal colored eyes. The second had a pink complexion and had short, violet hair.

“Clear Skies, that was close!” the blue haired woman stated.

“Don’t start with me Sunflower, I know! We almost had her?!” Clear Skies fumed.

Sunflower, dressed in a pair of blue jeans, and a halter top, sat down against the side of a building as she sighed. “Are we really going after PhoenEXE just to avenge Open Skies? I know it he was your cousin and all, but revenge seems like too little.”

“Revenge is only part of it. That girl had Open Skies killed! We’ll take her, and ransom her for the information on the Gaia Memories.” Clear Skies looked at the Gaia Memory in her hand, which had a T on it. “The Terror Memory will allow me to instill enough maddening fear into her that she’ll spill her guts to make me stop. And your Claydoll will ensure that our backs are covered.”

Sunflower looked up at Clear Skies. “I still say we storm the place. With your Terror Field no one would be able to come within a hundred yards of us!”

Clear Skies reached down and grabbed Sunflower by her collar and hoisted her up as she glared into her eyes. “We don’t just need the Gaia Memories, we need to find out how they’re making them, so that we can make our own after selling off what they have! We’ll not only expose PhoenEXE Corp., and eliminate our competition, but we’ll also control a new criminal organization. These Memories may be powerful, but I’m sure there are stronger ones they’re hiding.”

“L-Like that dragon-bird thing that Unicorn took out weeks ago? N-No thanks, I don’t want one like that”! Sunflower stated.

“Open Skies was smart enough to let that one be used by someone who was unstable, it made for good advertising.” Clear Skies pressed Sunflower against the wall as a predatory grin appeared on her lips. “We’ll be the wealthiest, and most powerful pair of crime bosses in this city. First Canterlot, Fillydelphia, Las Pegasus, Manehattan, and then the world!”

Sunflower’s expression morphed to one of desire and giddiness. “I like the sound of that.”

“Damn right you do. Now, let’s figure out our next move.”