Kamen Rider x Kamen Rider Unicorn & Ex-Aid: Tirek's Revenge

by Michael_Ravencroft


Level 8: Sweet Illusions

Starlight stared at the screen before her, eyes squinting as dryness had set in. She blinked a few times and shook her head to refocus, and even rubbed them. Starlight couldn’t afford to fall behind with the cure, any little bit she could dig up from this computer bio code could prove useful in ending this Bugster Virus. Starlight had a stake in this, and not just because Tirek’s arrival would spell the end of the world and her plans, but it would also mean the end of those whom she had taken under her wing.

Starlight remembered that night when Night Glider brought that game to their home, inviting everyone to play. In hindsight it was a good idea that she and Double Diamond did not play, the same could not be said for Party Favor, Sugar Belle, and Night Glider, having found them the next morning in pain and unconscious. If it wasn’t for the commotion over at Canterlot General, Starlight would have never known to have started looking for a solution here.

Glimmer walked into the room, finding her human counterpart sitting in front of the computer in the dark, all the other geniuses had gone to sleep save for Dan Kuroto. Being a Bugster granted him near unlimited stamina, so sleeping was optional for him, Kujo Kiriya was also the same way, but he decided to sleep as well, a way of maintaining his ties to his humanity, so to speak, and the same could be said for Poppy, in a way. Glimmer approached Starlight, but before she could say anything, Starlight said, “I know you’re there.”

“Sorry,” said Glimmer.

“Don’t be, I appreciate that you’re worried about me, but I need to do as much as I can before I even think about sleeping,” said Starlight.

Glimmer sat in an empty swivel chair and sighed. “You’re definitely me, I get the same way when I’m researching and testing new spells. While that kind of drive is helpful, it’s not always practical, especially in situations like this. Even geniuses like us need our sleep to function.”

Starlight stopped her typing, despite her drive to continue working, her pony counterpart made a good point. Besides, if another attack happened, it would be her own fault if she was too tired to transform. “Heh, very well, I submit to the older me’s knowledge.”

Glimmer puffed her cheeks. “I’m not that much older than you, I’m twenty-five.”

“Says the girl in the body of a teenager,” said Starlight.

“I-I already told you the portal I cross through messes with my body’s age as well as appearance! My mentor has still yet to figure out why it does that, but otherwise yes, it does that,” said Glimmer in a huff.

Starlight began to chuckle, and soon too did Glimmer. The two twins ended their laughter as Starlight turned off her computer and was escorted by Glimmer out of the workroom. Starlight walked alongside her counterpart, despite everything that she’d seen today, this was still the weirdest thing. Part of Starlight felt shame whenever she looked at her pony self, hearing her story of how she fell low and came back up with people around her whom she could call friends, and even becoming the pupil of a veritable magic goddess.

“Glimmer.”

“Yes?”

“You said you were…pretty bad a while back. How bad did you get?” Starlight asked.

Glimmer’s face became downcast, but with a sigh, Glimmer spoke, “I hated my mentor for what she did, her and her friends disrupted my ‘oasis of equality’. I was so set in my belief that cutie marks were evil and that they only tore friendships apart. But that was just my warped rationale to justify the stripping of what made others who they are, all to sooth the wounds in my heart. It got so bad that – in an effort to get back at those who ruined my plans – I sought to end their friendship by going back in time and stopping the event that made them friends in the first place.”

Starlight halted in her tracks. “Wait, you went back in time?!”

“Oh, did I not mention that before?” Starlight asked.

“Uh, no, no you did not!”

“Oh, well, yeah I did. But if you’re going to ask me to go back in time and stop this from happening, trust me, I’m not. I played around with time and nearly destroyed my home in the pursuit of revenge. Even for good intentions, it could lead to disaster later on,” said Glimmer.

Starlight raised an eyebrow. “Worse than where we are currently?”

“It’s too high risk, in any case, we have to trust in Dr. Houjo, Sunset Shimmer, and Unicorn to win the game and stop Tirek’s rise,” said Glimmer with confidence.

Starlight sighed heavily. “I don’t understand, you don’t know these Kamen Rider Doctors, I can understand trusting your friend, but to trust them with something as big as saving hundreds of thousands of lives, can you really trust it to three individuals?”

Glimmer smiled, knowing the truth. “I can trust Sunset Shimmer, she’s incredibly smart and strong, both physically and in willpower, she won’t let anyone get hurt, not when she knows her friends’ lives are on the line.”

Starlight felt a heaviness in her heart. I wish I could place as much trust in someone as she can. Maybe…Maybe I can…

“Glimmer, when this is over, maybe a little bit after things have settled down, can we sit down and just talk? I…I want to start trusting people the way you do, and I’d like to start with, well, trusting myself.”

Glimmer smiled. “I’d be happy to.”

***___________<U> x [+]E[+]___________***

“I gotta tell them,” said Sunset as she paced the floor of their current lodgings.

The group of adventurers had arrived at a large town, now having crossed the border into the adjacent kingdom of Bellock. Sunset had been keeping an eye on her relationship meter for the past couple of weeks and it had steadily been filling, even for Lightheart it was filling fast. Sunset didn’t think she was doing anything different other than how she would react when with her friends. Well, that wasn’t entirely true, she didn’t treat Midnight like her girlfriend, Twilight. Despite their similarities in mannerisms and personality, Sunset had to push the idea of wanting to act handsy or any other way she would around Twilight.

“You just gotta mare up, Sunset Shimmer! Yeah, that’s it! Sit them down, and tell them that you appreciate that they all care deeply for you, but that you have a girlfriend back home and want to honor that relationship!” Sunset stated as she crossed her arms and stood proudly.

Her proud stance then instantly deflated. “So why does it feel like I’m letting them down somehow?”

Sunset plopped onto her bed, she tried to rationalize this in her head. This was just a game world, these parodies of her friends were just data, programmed to feel a certain way for the Main Character, which it so happens to be her role. For a while now she wished that the game had chosen Emu to be the MC, since he was the proclaimed “Genius Gamer M”, although Sunset wasn’t a hundred percent sure she wanted to see these versions of her friends suddenly fall for him like that.

The mage knight opened her menu and scrolled to the party status window. She brought up all four of the girls, and each one with a bar that was nearly full. Her mind couldn’t help but see them as her real friends, and deep-down, thinking of them as only game characters didn’t feel right. Sunset scrolled through her menu to see the current time in the real world, apparently it was two o’ clock in the morning, and yet weeks had passed in this world. Sunset thought about calling to see if Twilight would pick up, but she knew their friends needed time to rest considering what they were doing.

“No tiptoeing around the matter, I just need to do it!”

Quite the conundrum you find yourself in little girl, a gaggle of girls who want you, yet tied down to one. Perhaps you wouldn’t mind me taking care of that burden for you…?

“Wait, what – MMMPH!”

***___________<U> x [+]E[+]___________***

It was dawn, and Spectra was on the prowl. She had been quiet as she hid around the different corners of the hallway, trying not to make a sound or get spotted. Her plan was foolproof, the harpy girl was going to sneak into Sunset’s room and wake up the sleeping girl with a nuzzle, and possibly, other things could happen, but she would cross that bridge when they got there. Spectra was just one hall away from getting close to Sunset’s door, her anticipation was high, and her feathers were ruffled in excitement.

“Aren’t you the early bird?”

“GAH!” Spectra jumped straight up and smacked her head against the ceiling, and fell back down to the floor on her rear. “Ow! Who’s the wise gu – Hi Ambrosia!”

The tall Amazon stood there with her arms crossed and a raised eyebrow as she looked upon the Harpy with suspicion. “So, what are you doing skulking around the halls this early in the morning, hmm?”

Spectra stood up and dusted herself off. “I wasn’t ‘skulking’, I was being considerate of others who were still asleep by quietly moving about the halls.”

“Oh, so sneaking then?”

“Yeah…I mean no!”

Ambrosia leaned down until she nearly eye level with Spectra. “You wouldn’t happen to be headin’ for Sunset’s room now, would you? I hope you weren’t plannin’ on doing anything…inappropriate with her this early in the morning.”

Spectra’s face went red as she crossed her arms and stood as defiantly as she could, given Ambrosia was an Amazon made it hard to be intimidating. “I wasn’t thinking of anything like that! I was just planning on waking up Sunset, you know, a wakeup call.”

“Uh-huh,” said Ambrosia, still suspicious.

“Well, what are you doing here this early in the morning, huh? You just so happened to be coming down the same hallway that leads to Sunset’s room?”

Now Ambrosia was the one blushing. “I…I…”

Spectra knew she had cornered the Amazon, if there was one thing she learned about her, it was that she was honest, and not in any way deceitful. Which was good, it made her a very trustworthy person to rely on, but in these instances, it was the Amazon’s downfall. As if by some cosmic intervention, Ambrosia spotted Midnight approaching the door as to Sunset’s room, still dressed in her nightgown. Ambrosia pointed this out to Spectra and both watched as she approach Sunset’s door. The Harpy and Amazon quickly moved to intercept, but then…

“Oh, hi girls.”

Midnight, Ambrosia, and Spectra turned to the opposite hall and saw Lightheart walking towards them. Her innocent eyes looked upon them, it was not hard to see why everybody was here, but neither was there any way for the others to deny why they were all there.

“Well,” Midnight began, “it would seem that we’re all here for the same reason then.”

“Um, for what reason would that be?” Lightheart asked with a knowing blush.

“I think we need to acknowledge the Oliphaunt in the room. We all seem to be smitten with Sunset Shimmer,” said Ambrosia.

Lightheart made an “Eep!” sound, Midnight blushed and tried to cover her face, and Spectra shifted about.

“So, in that regards, I think one of us, who doesn’t have any ulterior motives,” upon the emphasis Ambrosia shifted her gaze to Spectra, “should be the one to wake her……Lightheart, go on in.”

“What?! Why her?!” Spectra asked.

“‘Cause I trust Lightheart not to do anything to her, and while I know you intend to wake her, up, I get the distinct aura about you that you’ll pounce on her like a Cait Sith in heat,” said Ambrosia.

Spectra’s feathers ruffled at the accusation.

“Um…Ambrosia, why am I discounted from the decision?” Midnight asked.

“You said you two were roommates for a bit, so you’ve had a few times already to wake Sunset, ‘sides, it wouldn’t be fair to the new girl.”

Lightheart tried to hide her face behind her long bangs, having her romantic feelings for the girl who saved her was a bit embarrassing to have aired out in the open.

“Okay, it’s settled then. Lightheart go ahead and–”

*Knock.*

*Knock.*

“Hey, Sun-chan, are you up?”

All four girls looked back and saw Emu knocking at Sunset’s door.

LEARN TO READ THE ATMOSPHERE!!!! All four girls thought at once.

Emu went to knock again, but the when he knocked harder, the door opened slightly. The other girls paused, holding their breath as the tension rose. Emu carefully put his hand on the doorknob and slowly opened the door. Emu looked inside and spotted someone else inside Sunset’s room. The Berserk Healer flung the door wide open and brought forth his hammer.

“What are you doing in this room?!” Emu demanded.

The figure, covered in a silken black cloak stood up slowly. “I understand how this looks, but believe me, I’m not the one whom you should be concerning yourself about.”

The rest of the girls entered the room and saw signs of struggle. A disheveled bed spread, items strewn about the floor, and an open window. Spectra growled and Ambrosia tightened her fists as both prepared to attack this intruder.

“What have you done with Sunset?!” Midnight demanded.

“The girl who was staying here, yes? She was taken in the night, I may know where, but we must go after her now before it is too late,” said the stranger.

Ambrosia approached the stranger slowly. “Turn around and take off that hood, let’s see your face.”

The stranger slowly turned around and removed her hood, revealing long, curly, violet locks of hair, piercing sapphire eyes, and skin a flawless, porcelain white. The elegant woman gave a smile, and it was a fanged grin.

“AAAH! Enchantress!” Midnight exclaimed as she summoned her magic. “Seal!”

Rings of light appeared around the Enchantress, three in total. All three fitted over her and then constricted, locking onto her and then disappearing. The Enchantress looked at herself and gave the Elf girl a deadpan expression. “Really, Darling, was that necessary?”

“It is when we’re dealing with you!” Midnight stated.

Emu looked to Midnight, he looked to all the girls. They were in various states of edginess, even Lightheart. “Um, ladies, is she that dangerous?”

“She’s a damn Enchantress, they use illusion magic, powerful stuff too. Some can make illusions feel so real that they can kill,” said Ambrosia.

“Not only that, but they have the power to enchant items with magic power, to almost any specification their patron requests, but for a price,” said Midnight.

The Enchantress put her hands against her hips and gave an indignant huff. “Now see here, it is perfectly reasonable to be fairly compensated for one’s hard work.”

“Yeah, giving up your first born, or half your life force, yeah, that sounds fair,” said Spectra in a deadpan tone.

The Enchantress blushed and then coughed. “Well, I do admit some of my fellow Enchantress sisters can be a bit…eccentric when it comes to fair payment. But I assure you, I am not the culprit you’re seeking, in fact, I have been on the true culprit’s tail for some time now.”

The Enchantress explained to the group that another of her kind had gone rogue. She sought the life energy of strong and beautiful girls, taking their life force and making herself stronger and keeping her beauty intact.

“An Enchantress’ role is to provide quality items for fair compensation, I abide by that rule even if some of my fellow sisters disagree with my prices. Nonetheless, I can’t abide by one of my own doing such heinous acts, especially one who was once my friend…” At this the Enchantress’ expression became sullen. “But we are wasting time! The trail is still fresh, and we can save your friend if we hurry!”

The girls seemed apprehensive in trusting this Enchantress, but Emu put his hammer away and said, “Alright, take us to her.”

“Y-You can’t be serious?” Spectra asked.

“Sun-chan is in trouble, and she might be the only one who knows where she might have been taken, plus, I feel that we can trust her,” said Emu.

“I…I agree with Mr. Emu,” said Lightheart. “We have to save Sunset, and I’m willing to trust her, too!”

Ambrosia, Spectra, and Midnight still seemed a bit apprehensive at trusting this girl, but with their options limited, and the trail growing colder by the second, they really had no choice. Midnight released her spell upon the Enchantress, but not before setting another spell upon her.

“If you try and betray us, that spell will allow me to send you to anyplace I desire. The depths of the earth, the bottom of the sea, or even a void of utter nothingness. Do you understand?” Midnight asked in a warning tone.

The Enchantress nodded. “Believe me, Darling, that won’t be necessary, but if it makes you feel more at ease around me, I won’t argue.”

“Before that, what is your name?” Emu asked.

“Oh, how rude of me, I am Countess Rori Adamanta,” said Rori as she bowed. “At your service my dears.”

***___________<U> x [+]E[+]___________***

The group made their way out of town, heading towards a seemingly abandoned road. Rori knelt before the road and pressed her hand against the dirt, just then, the road cleared up, showing a well-traveled path that stretched onward. The Enchantress took out a handkerchief from her cloak and quickly wiped her hand clean, making the others raise an eyebrow at the speed she did that.

“Sorry, I’m not very good when it comes to…ugh…dirt,” said Rori.

Spectra hovered over Ambrosia’s shoulder and whispered, “Don’t Enchantresses mostly use dirt and stuff when making items?”

“Not always, mostly they use their magic to manipulate metals, fabric, plants, and other things to infuse them with different types of magic,” said Ambrosia.

“Sharii used an elaborate illusion spell, she made it seem as if the road was abandoned rather than completely erasing it. It would’ve taken more magic to maintain, but this way it took far less,” said Rori.

“And why would she do that?” Emu asked.

“If I had to venture a guess, she’s using the rest of her magic for whatever she’s really hiding down this road,” said Midnight.

“Quite right.” Rori mounted her horse and motioned for the others to follow. “I’ve spoken to the local towns people, and found that many young girls, both travelers and locals alike, have been spirited away. Many Guardians have tried to come through and investigate, but to no such luck. I don’t blame them, Enchantresses don’t abduct, so they had reason to think that one would be doing something like this.”

The adventurers traveled along the road for a good hour and a half before stopping in front of an open field. Spectra flew around the area several times, but could see nothing out of the ordinary. Midnight, however, could sense something amiss, like the air was distorted and heavy. Not only Midnight, but Parado could sense it as well, being a specter familiar, he was attuned to certain disturbances in magic around them.

“We’re definitely here,” Rori looked to the others. “Prepare yourselves, I know not what Sharii has waiting for us inside, and it may very well be she knows we’re here after I disabled that last illusion.”

The others dismounted their horses, Lightheart resumed her fairy form and spoke to the horses to wait in the distance and to be ready in case they needed to make a hasty retreat. Ambrosia readied her spear and shield, Spectra sharpened her talons, Midnight prepared a few delayed spells to activate at a moment’s notice, and Emu brandished his hammer. Rori grabbed her cloak and threw it off, the black cloak faded into particles of light and revealed the true form of the Enchantress beneath.

She had an elegant violet dress, hugging her body and accentuating her curves, there was a modest slit on the long skirt, allowing for freedom of movement in case the need to run or throw a kick arose. Her long curly, flowing locks acted like her personal cape, flowing down her back. The center of the dress had a slit that allowed her cleavage to be seen, along with some of her stomach. This was held together by a gold colored choker around Rori’s neck, which also led them to believe that the dress was backless.

The girls blinked at seeing Rori’s attire, and Emu blushed and kept his gaze focused elsewhere. Rori smirked, gave a twirl, and said, “Am I that stunning, Darlings?”

Ambrosia and Spectra shook their heads as of snapping out of a stupor, and Midnight did her best to look…anywhere else. Lightheart flew over to Rori and did a circle around her to view her dress from all angles. “Oh my, Ms. Adamanta, it’s a very beautiful dress.”

“Thank you, while I can enchant weapons and other accessories, my strong suit is in weaving. I can sew together the most stylish of outfits that would make any man or woman the envy of all, and enchant them so that they’re stronger and better than some pieces of heavy armor. Fashionable and functional should always go hand-in-hand,” said Rori. “Now then, to business.”

Rori raised her right hand and pointed at the open field. Her hand glowed with a cerulean light along with her eyes, and in a few seconds the air began to ripple, as if someone threw a rock into a pond. The ripples magnified until something came into view. Within a few seconds the illusion was erased, and what stood before them was a large mansion. To Emu, it reminded him of an old, if not cliché, Transylvanian mansion. The outside had an ominous aura about it, colored white and dark red, almost the color of blood. There were gargoyle statues perched at different points along the rooftop, along with spiraling turrets that gave it a foreboding feeling.

“Well, except for the dark clouds and thunder and lightning, this would almost be a perfect haunted mansion,” said Parado.

“Don’t give her any ideas.” Rori strode over to each of the party members, patting down their clothes and smoothing any wrinkles, and generally making sure that nothing was out of place. “Be on guard in there, when an Enchantress has domain, they can manipulate that domain however they choose with illusions and traps. Don’t trust your eyes, and beware your feelings, she will use these to hurt and trick you. Trust in your bonds, and remember why you are here.”

The others nodded and had Rori lead the way. The double doors of the mansion opened into a large entryway, with a crystal chandelier hanging above the room. At the center was a table with neatly arranged flowers, being tended to by a girl in a maid outfit. Her dress was a navy blue, with white frills and an apron to match. Her hands had white gloves on them, and her face was veiled in a white sheet.

Behind her was a dual staircase, one winding left and the other right, both meeting at the center before a large portrait of the owner of this mansion. The Enchantress had purple hair, at least a shade or two lighter than Rori’s, and was tied into a bun by a hairband. Her eyes were a brown color, and she had a light pink skin tone. She had a sky-blue scarf around her neck, and a blood red, velvety dress with some tactfully positioned pearls on it.

Rori’s eyes narrowed at the sight of this house. The floors were decorated in intricate patterns, of red and gold, there were white marble columns that held up the ceiling, which a mural to Sharii’s perceived beauty and greatness. The group slowly approached the maid, and Lightheart asked, “Um, e-excuse me, Miss, um, is the lady of the mansion home?”

“Lady Sharii is home, but she isn’t taking visitors today. If you wish to employ Lady Sharii, you may leave some info with me and I will be sure to pass it along to my Mistress,” said the maid.

“Ma’am, I’m sorry, but we have reason to believe that our friend was abducted by your Mistress, and we’d like to ask her some questions to be sure. Myself and Midnight Moonshadow are Guardians, and as such we have the right to question Lady Sharii regarding the disappearances in the nearby town,” said Emu.

“Lady Sharii is home, but she isn’t taking visitors today. If you wish to employ Lady Sharii, you may leave some info with me and I will be sure to pass it along to my Mistress,” the maid repeated.

The others looked to each other in confusion.

“Little lady, did you not hear my friend?” Ambrosia asked.

“Lady Sharii is home, but she isn’t taking visitors today. If you wish to employ Lady Sharii, you may leave some info with me and I will be sure to pass it along to my Mistress,” the maid repeated, again.

“Okay, this is both creepy and getting annoying,” Spectra deadpanned.

Rori moved closer to the maid, and with a flick of her wrist, flipped the veil over. The group gasped at the sight, the girl underneath looked decrepit, her skin was wrinkled, eyes sunken in, and eyes that had their color dulled.

“What…What’s going on?” Spectra asked.

Rori placed a hand on the maid and grimaced. “It’s as I said, she’s stealing the youth and beauty of young maidens, and this girl is no exception. She may look elderly, but I venture to guess she’s no older than Miss Ambrosia or Spectra. It would seem that Sharii has spelled the girls she’s abducted, and forced them to become her servants. Come, we must venture deeper into this place if we are to locate your friend and Sharii.”

Emu and the girls followed Rori, passing by the maid with dread and sympathy for her condition. Emu stopped and placed a hand on the girl’s shoulder and said, “Don’t worry, we’ll change your fate.”

As Emu walked away, he noticed a small tear fall from her eyes in spite of her oblivious expression.

***___________<U> x [+]E[+]___________***

The rest of the inside was just as gaudy, and had more self-portraits of Sharii as they continued. The group couldn’t help but feel that the portraits were watching them, eyes following their movements as they walked down the hallway. Spectra hated their current situation, her flying would be useless in a cramped space, not to say that she still couldn’t manipulate wind or use her talons, but she preferred a wider arena. Ambrosia was a trained warrior, and was fine with fighting in closed quarters like they were in. Midnight was constantly trying to detect even the faintest of hints of Sunset’s magical energy, while Lightheart perched herself on Midnight’s shoulder, trying to hide. Emu kept his hammer at the ready, and Parado was on lookout, but no less prepared to fight if they needed to transform.

Just then, the group heard a click sound that made them all freeze. The group turned around and saw that Ambrosia was staring down at her left boot.

“Okay, let’s not panic,” said Emu.

“I can’t believe I did that!” Ambrosia scolded herself.

“It’s alright, if it’s pressure sensitive we can just find something as heavy as Ambrosia to put on it, right?!” Spectra suggested.

“That’s assuming that the trap isn’t already activated, and that’s also assuming that nothing else in this hall isn’t boobytrapped!” Midnight pointed out.

“Oh dear, oh dear,” Lightheart tittered.

Ambrosia sighed heavily and gave the others a serious look. “Move as far away as you can.”

“Oh, hell no! You’re not going to pull some sacrifice BS like that!” Spectra stated.

“This isn’t up for debate, we got an evil Enchantress to beat, and a friend to save. You can’t waste time trying to think of a way to save my dumb hide! Now go!” Ambrosia ordered.

The others tried to think of a way to save Ambrosia, but they knew she was right. Reluctantly, they walked away putting at least two meters of distance between them. Once Ambrosia was sure they were far enough away, she took her foot off and braced for whatever was about to happen. But, after several seconds, there was nothing. Ambrosia glanced about, but could see nothing out of the ordinary. The others waited as well, but nothing happened. With a shrug, Ambrosia, carefully, walked back to her comrades.

“Guess I just stepped on something loose or–?”

Suddenly, a glowing circle appeared under Ambrosia, Spectra, Midnight, Lightheart, Emu, and Rori. The glowing circles shout up beams of light that quickly engulfed the team and in an instant, they vanished from sight.

***___________<U> x [+]E[+]___________***

Ambrosia was the first to wake up, her head felt funny, but otherwise the rest of her felt the same. The Amazon was faintly aware of the sensation of being covered in a blanket, and the softness of a mattress, and a pillow. Ambrosia opened her eyes and sat upright in a bed, only realizing that there was something missing underneath that made her quickly clutch the blankets around her body. The Amazon looked to and fro, spotting the very familiar Romanesque homestead designs, the same as her home back in the Queendom.

“Finally awake, did I really wear you out that much?”

Ambrosia blinked as she spotted Sunset emerge from another room. She wore Amazonian armor, fitted just for her, since she was smaller. Around her right arm was a tattooed ring with ornate glyphs.

“What’s wrong, Ambrosia?” Sunset asked.

“You’re…You’re alright!” Ambrosia exclaimed.

Sunset blinked. “Um, how rough did you think you were?”

Ambrosia blushed furiously and shook her head. “NO! I mean – not that! You were captured by an Enchantress and we came to rescue you!”

Sunset chuckled. “Enchantress? Oh, yeah, that happened a couple of years back didn’t it?”

“Wait…a…a couple of years?” Ambrosia asked in confusion as she used her free hand to hold her head.

“Hey, babe, you alright?” Sunset walked over to the bed and sat next to Ambrosia. “Did you have a bad dream or something?”

Ambrosia took a closer look at the ring tattoo around Sunset’s arm, and then looked to her left arm and saw the exact same markings. “Sunset…are we…are you my…?”

Sunset reached out with her left hand and carefully stroked Ambrosia’s golden mane. “Still can’t believe we’ve been married two years huh? I still remember how embarrassing it was to have you literally carry me across the threshold and into the Queendom.”

“We’re married…?” Ambrosia’s eyes began to have a thin line of purple light on them.

“Yes, I’m yours.”

***___________<U> x [+]E[+]___________***

Spectra flew through the skies of the world and landed near a tree, across from her vision she saw a sprawling town, filled with humans and demi-humans alike. Cat girls, Centaurs, Satyrs, Fawns, Nagas, and all manner of other Demis. Spectra flew through the town, human and demi-human children alike were waving at her and trying to catch up to her, there were some other harpies in the sky, and Spectra flew with them and did some tricks for them, but eventually broke off and headed towards the center of town.

There, in an ornate building, stood the magistrate’s office, the one in charge of this town and maintaining the peace and prosperity of the people in it. A special entrance was made at the roof, a landing platform with a tower connected to it. Spectra landed on the platform and went into the tower, she descended the winding steps until she appeared in the office of the magistrate herself.

Sitting behind a mahogany wooden desk, with hair like shimmering flames, and intense turquoise eyes, was Sunset Shimmer. She was going over some documents, most likely concerns of the people along with some other political mumbo-jumbo that Spectra had no clue about.

“Hey, Sunny!” Spectra greeted.

“Hey,” Sunset greeted.

Spectra smirked and put left hand on her hip. “Well that was lackluster, I just got back and you’re not going to throw yourself at me?”

“Spectra, I’ve been working on this latest request to expand the city, if this works, we won’t be just a town. We’ll become a City State!”

The harpy girl smiled at hearing her mate’s enthusiasm. It had been three years since they defeated Tirek, and Sunset decided to stay in their world to protect them should the evil rise again. It didn’t take long after that battle for Sunset to grab Spectra by the waist and kiss her passionately before their team. There were some jealous looks amongst them, but in the end, they were happy for the two, and so was Spectra.

After that, the two used their combined fame and wealth from the adventure to build a city. Spectra had always hated how demi-humans weren’t treated as equals, and there were other humans who believed as Sunset did about their unjust treatment. So together they founded a town, built from the ground up, where both races could live in harmony. I mean, you weren’t going to cause trouble in the town run by the person who defeated the biggest, baddest, evil overlord in the world.

“I figured that’s what you were doing, but you know what I always say, right?”

Sunset stopped her writing and smiled as she put down her quill pen. “Work hard, but play even harder, right?”

“Damn right.” Spectra unfurled her wings and gave a flap, gaining some height. The result made all the papers fly off Sunset’s desk and earned her a glare from her mate. “Oops.”

“Spectra, get down here!” Sunset ordered.

“Make me!”

“Oh, you asked for it!”

Sunset vanished in a flash of turquoise light. Oh crap, why do I keep forgetting that she can do that?!

Before Spectra knew what happened, Sunset had reappeared in front of her, barreling into her midsection and teleporting them once again. Another flash went off and the two landed on the floor, with Spectra effectively pinned beneath her lover.

“Every freakin’ time, that’s completely unfair!” Spectra stated in annoyance.

“Oh, sorry, I mean you’re totally right. The fact that you can fly and can move incredibly fast, and that I have to use magic to catch you or even come close to keeping up with you, is completely unfair. I’ll be sure to issue a new law about it tomorrow,” Sunset teased.

Spectra rolled her eyes. “Okay, okay, I get it. Jeez.”

Sunset brought her left hand against Spectra’s cheek and cupped it. She then stared into the harpy’s eyes, were a ring of thin purple light showed around her eyes.

“I still can’t believe we’re here, together.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll always be here.”

***___________<U> x [+]E[+]___________***

Midnight found herself back in the homeland of her people, heralded as a hero, after her part in defeating Tirek, but the real hero was the one who struck the evil monster down. Sunset Shimmer, even now, the girl she loved was attending to the others of their group in their spacious mansion.

The elves had always had a different view on love, they felt that if the feelings were genuine for the same person, then there was no need to dismiss the other’s feelings. Midnight took this to heart. After marrying Sunset, she asked if she was open to the idea of bringing in the others, Midnight was not oblivious to Spectra, Ambrosia, and Lightheart’s feelings for Sunset, and didn’t want to deny them sharing their love. So, upon the lands of the elves, they were all wed.

Of course, the girls knew who the head wife was, and they respected that. But mainly, Sunset was the one who wore the britches in this family. Sunset’s prowess in combat was only matched by her intellect and talent in magic, she was everything that Midnight wanted to be, and more, and she loved how Sunset and their wives/friends made it a goal to make Midnight more outgoing and it worked from time to time.

“Mother?”

Midnight looked down from the second floor of their personal library, and spotted a young child. His hair was yellow and dark red, with teal colored eyes, and ears that were a little pointy, a call to his lineage.

“Yes Sunshine?” Midnight called out.

“Matem wants you join us in the dining hall before you pass out from not eating!” Sunshine stated.

Midnight raised an eyebrow at her son. “My little star, surely it can’t be that la–” she then looked at the clocked and her eyes went wide, “Oh my it is that late! I am so sorry!”

Sunshine chuckled. “Matem knew, that’s why she wanted me to come get you.”

Midnight jumped off the railing and created hard light blocks in the form of stairs to race down to the ground floor. The elven woman held out her arms and Sunshine hurriedly jumped into them as she held her little one close and carried him as she walked. Midnight was the first of them to bear Sunset a child, the elves had long ago figured out a magic spell that would transfer the essence of one who wished to be the “father” into the mother’s womb, and from there, life would grow.

Of course, such practice was not looked well upon in other parts of the land, but in the eleven territory, such social stigma was nonexistent. Sunshine was the first, a half-human, half-elf child. There had been other tales of such half-bloods existing, some had the longevity of their elven heritage, and others had a normal human lifespan. But there were signs that young Sunshine, while growing at a normal human rate, might have his elven heritage kick in once he reached adolescents, and then his long lifespan would keep him from dying of old age.

It saddened Midnight, although the magic of the land would keep Sunset alive for probably far longer than most humans, the eventuality that old age would catch up to her would never leave Midnight’s mind. Midnight would still keep the family together, their friends who were now their wedded wives, because that’s what Sunset would want when she was gone. And really, so long as Sunshine was there, a part of her beloved would always stay with them, and if the result of Sunshine was any indication, it wouldn’t be long before the rest of the girls underwent the same procedure.

But that was far down the road, right now, Sunset was here. More specifically, about three feet away. The fiery redhead had grown into a beautiful woman, sitting at the head of the table while Spectra, Ambrosia, and Lightheart took their seats at either side of the table, with the seat closest to Sunset’s right reserved for Midnight and their child. Midnight let Sunshine go as he ran up to Sunset.

“Matem, Matem, I brought Mother here!” Sunshine announced.

Sunset ruffled her son’s hair as she smiled. “Good job. Let me guess, was Mommy’s nose deep in a book?”

“Yes,” said Sunshine.

Midnight blushed. “It was an enthralling read.”

Sunset shook her head as she walked over to her wife. “Honestly, if elves weren’t so naturally thin, I’d say you were going to waste away just reading.”

The elf girl huffed. “I would never get so engrossed in book that I would allow my physical state to decline like that.”

“Says the girl who read every scroll in the Guardian archive for two days straight and walked out of there as if she was drunk,” said Spectra teasingly.

“Mother really did that?” Sunshine asked.

“Spectra!” Midnight exclaimed.

“Yes, she did, and your Matem here had to nurse her back to health after that,” said Sunset.

Midnight blushed in embarrassment, but then Sunset came up and kissed her gently on the lips. Sunset looked into her eyes as a thin line of purple light encircled both their irises.

“I’ll always be there to take care of you.”

***___________<U> x [+]E[+]___________***

Lightheart flew through the forest, greeting all the woodland animals who she passed by. Each one greeted her in their own way, from waving a paw, to giving a happy chirp, or in the case of a bear, a happy roar. It had been a couple of years since the defeat of Tirek, and with his defeat, Sunset fulfilled the promise of the tree, and replanted its seed. That seed grew into a new tree, healthier and stronger than the last. And from it grew a new forest, a new haven. Sunset had grown weary from the battles, and decided that it was time for her to settle down, and what better place than the new forest home.

The pink haired fairy flew until she was back at the tree, a house was formed by the tree from its roots to provide its savior shelter and a home. Lightheart flew up to the door and used her magic to transform into full height to match her lover. Lightheart opened the door and found Sunset still fast asleep in the bed of giant petals. The tall fairy sat at the edge of the bed and gently rubbed her love’s cheek, smiling down at her as she roused from slumber.

“Guess I’m late waking up,” said Sunset.

“It’s alright, besides, I like seeing your sleeping face. It’s, um, rather cute,” said Lightheart.

“Same as you.”

Lightheart got into the bed and Sunset spooned her fairy lover, bringing them close as inhaled Lightheart’s sweet natural scent.

“Do you…Do you ever regret it?” Lightheart asked.

“Regret what?”

“Choosing me instead of one of the others as your lover? I can see you being with any of them, you know. You match them, and they match you. Your intellect and magic skills would meld greatly with Midnight, not to mention your daringness would fit will with Spectra. And let’s not forget you and Ambrosia, she made her feelings quite plain to you,” said Lightheart.

“Yes, she did, but I chose you. I have enough of all three, and love them, but I want to be with you. I don’t look forward to another harrowing adventure, or danger filled mission, but it makes it more bearable when I know I have someone as kind and loving as you to come back to.”

Lightheart placed her hands against her own stomach and sighed in remorse. “I wish I could give you a child, you know it’s not impossible for fairies to do such things. If you want, I’m sure that Midnight knows of some magic that can do that for us.”

Sunset shook her head. “Only if that’s what you want, I wouldn’t mind raising a child in this paradise, but I don’t want to make you go through that if it’s not your choice.”

Lightheart smiled as she turned around and looked into her lover’s eyes, eyes that had a thin line of purple light around her irises. “You’re too good to me, Sunset.”

“Only you, my love.”

***___________<U> x [+]E[+]___________***

“Wow, what did you do to have these four think about you like this?”

Sharii stood in the main theater room, or as she called it, her “Work Room”. In a chair sat Sunset Shimmer, still in her pajamas, with glazed eyes as her magic was slowly siphoned by the evil Enchantress. The room was like a theater, a stage at the center, with a large open area for seats. On either side were lights fueled by magic to provide the optimal light for all her workings. It was here she siphoned many of the towns’ girls, their youth fueling her magic and making her even more beautiful than ever. It also did wonders for her powers, making her illusions stronger and her crafted items even more powerful.

The evil Enchantress still took on jobs for paying customers, some less reputable than others, but she made sure to make two of each of her more interesting requests. A sword that could lop off three hilltops in a single swing? She made it, of course the perfect version was with her, while the customer got an inferior version. That person eventually died because the blade shattered, but it was during an epic duel so one could attribute it to the craft of another weapon or what you paid for is what you got.

Sharii learned that Enchantresses of old used to increase their power via this method, prying on the greed of men and women alike. Until the old ways were burned in the light of a regime change, but Sharii discovered the old methods, and because of it she became stronger. However, her power was not infinite, but finite. The girls she abducted and drained would eventually get their vitality back as Sharii’s lessened, which made her have to keep them around as a fuel source. But that was fine, she needed servants to maintain her place of business.

Now though, all that was going to change. With this recent acquisition, and a newly discovered portion of the ancient ways, Sharii would be able to not only absorb all the abundant magical power of this girl, but also keep forever. However, it would require a bit of blood, and the draining this girl’s entire lifeforce.

“Well, you can’t stand in the way of perfection,” said Sharii as she walked up to Sunset and tipped her chin up. “Quite a shame, you are quite beautiful, perhaps I should partake of you before I undergo the ritual.”

“I would thank you to keep such vulgar thoughts to yourself!”

Sharii turned around and watched as Countess Rori Adamanta walked towards the stage. The evil Enchantress growled in anger at seeing her pursuer. “I can say whatever I damn well please, this is my mansion, ‘kay?!”

“You’ve gone against the code of the Enchantresses, and as a Countess, it is my duty to put an end to your evil before you drag the names of all good Enchantresses down with you!” Rori exclaimed as she pointed at Sharii.

Sharii cackled evilly as she walked behind Sunset and draped her arms around her neck. “Oh, and you think you’re strong enough on your own? Look.” Sharii waved her arms and orbs of light formed, each one displaying the illusions that each of the girls were trapped in. “These girls pine for this one and care for her so, that all I had to do was create an illusion field that was their best fantasy come true. And with this one, is was easy to use her likeness to recreate a perfect copy of what each girl desired.”

Rori conjured four gemstones and fired them like missiles straight for Sharii. The evil Enchantress didn’t bother to move as she waved her hand and generated an energy field that took the brunt of the attack, having each gemstone explode upon impact. Rori summoned more gemstones and began a rapid-fire barrage attack against the barrier, each thunderous explosion rocked the mansion, but Sharii looked less than impressed.

Sharii moved closer to Sunset, moving the collar of her pajama shirt out of the way as she rubbed her hand against Sunset’s neck. “Try all you like, you’ll never get past the barrier, I’m far stronger than you, Rori!”

“Perhaps I would agree, if I were alone!” Rori stated.

“What?” Sharii asked.

“Haven’t you noticed?! There’s only four orbs up there, and there were six of us when we entered,” said Rori.

Sharii began to snap her fingers, trying to make the fifth orb appear, but something was wrong. Her trap should have ensnared all of them, Rori was likely to escape, but surely the other five should have been trapped. Just then, the sound of thunder roared behind Sharii, and soon she found herself getting struck in the back by an electrified hammer that sent her sailing into the distance, and through one of the walls of her workroom.

Emu stood upon the stage, his hammer still crackling with electricity as he stood beside Sunset. “Looks like a homerun.”

“Good show, Emu dear!” Rori complemented.

However, their victory was short lived as Sharii burst from the wall, her eyes now red with fury as she floated overhead. “Oh, that was a mistake!”

Sharii conjured blood red needles that formed in a death blossom pattern. Rori quickly summoned a diamond barrier around herself and around the stage as Sharii unleashed her piercing magic needles in every direction. They shot through stone, marble, and metal, piercing rather than exploding when they hit an object. The diamond shields of Rori made a shrill clanking sound whenever the needles struck, but even this shield was beginning to buckle under her assault. Sharii fired five needles from her fingers, each one dragging with it a blood red energy thread.

The evil Enchantress wrapped the threads around the block of diamond and pulled tight. The wires made cracks in the diamond and in an instant, shattered it. The wires wrapped around Rori, hoisting her up and then throwing her towards the stage. Rori had no choice but to release the barrier, but in so doing allowed herself to be thrown into Emu, sending both of them flying backstage.

Sharii landed back on the stage and pulled Sunset close to her. “No more games, time to get the power I’ve craved!” Sharii ripped part of Sunset’s shirt to expose her collar and neck more.

She opened her mouth and two of her teeth began to morph into fangs. Sharii sunk her fangs into Sunset’s neck, briefly snapping her out of the trance due to the pain, and made the heroine struggle against her captor. But it was no use, Sunset could feel her energy draining fast, her arms and legs went numb, and her vision began to fade.

Rori and Emu managed to get back up, but Emu’s expression became grim when he watched Sunset’s HP bar dip into the red zone, and began to blink. “SUNSET!”

Suddenly, the sound of shattering glass echoed in the room. A small pink light appeared before Sharii’s face and blasted her with a flurry of energy petals that forced the Enchantress to release Sunset. Before she could counterattack, Sharii found herself impaled by a glowing spear, held by Ambrosia. The spear ignited and then fired a powerful beam that sent Sharii straight into the floor. Midnight gathered her magical energy into a sphere, and Spectra summoned a whirlwind laced with magical energy. The harpy and elf unleashed a battle cry as they fired their respective attacks at the hole in the floor, creating a massive explosion that blew a hole all the way through the roof.

Lightheart had taken Sunset into her grasp, having shifted to human height as she floated the two of them down to the floor. The pink haired fairy quickly began administering her healing spells in an effort to save the mage knight’s life. “Sunset, please, open your eyes!”

Spectra, Midnight, and Ambrosia formed a protective circle around Sunset as Emu and Rori ran down to meet them. Emu could see Sunset’s HP Bar, it was steadily going into the yellow, but it was if it was struggling to dip back into the red.

“I don’t understand, my healing spell should be working!” Lightheart stated.

“Sharii’s not defeated, so long as she lives, Sunset will continue to lose energy. But at the same time, Sharii hasn’t reached full power yet, only until Sunset’s life has drained will she become truly invincible,” said Rori.

“What can we do!?” Midnight asked.

Rori looked to the others, and then back to this girl. She could feel the love they had for this girl, Emu’s concern, she could tell, was out of comradery and true friendship, but girls were different. They not only saw her as a friend but as someone who has their hearts, Rori had to admit, this girl before her was beautiful, but the reflections of her through these friends made her even more beautiful.

“Such a light is not meant to fade from this world, indeed it would be a crime against all the good in the world. Lightheart, place her on the floor, keep her hand in yours to administer the spell.”

Lightheart did as Rori instructed, gently laying Sunset on the floor while she kept a firm grip on her hand. Rori, leaned down, her face hovering over Sunset’s until she brought her lips against hers.

“ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!” Spectra exclaimed.

“What in the name of the goddess do you think you’re doing to her?!” Ambrosia inquired.

“How dare you take advantage of her while she’s like this,” said Midnight.

“Wait!” Lightheart urged.

Suddenly, Rori’s body began to glow with cerulean light. Her magical energy began to flow from her and into Sunset, however, the result was her body withering and aging. Sharii burst forth from the crater, her eyes glowing blood red as her tattered dress flowed in the crosswinds generated by her power.

“What are you doing?! That won’t stop my spell! Her life will be mine!” Sharii declared.

Rori parted her lips from Sunset’s, now she appeared more like a gracefully aged elderly woman than the stunning young woman she was earlier. “Perhaps…” her voice was shaky, and weak, “But at least I have bought some time…now…fight and defeat her, while you have some time.”

The good Enchantress fell to the floor beside Sunset her breathing shallow, but steady. Emu watched as Sunset’s HP bar went back into the green, but was still struggling to stay there, if not for the assistance of Lightheart’s magic to keep it from dropping faster. However, Rori’s bar was now in the red zone. The good doctor could not stand to see this, his friends tricked, and others having their lives having been stolen from them. Emu struck the floor with his fist and stood up, taking point with the girls beside him.

“We’re going to take you down!” Emu declared.

“Oh spare me the drama, m’kay. JUST DIE ALREADY!”

Sharii brought up both hands summoned twin dragons made of red light. The dragons charged forth for the team, but then…

*ROOOOOOOAAARR!!!*

Something burst through the wall, attacking the two dragons and destroying them upon contact. Sharii backed away and entered a defensive stance. When the smoke cleared, it revealed a dragon, a rather strange dragon. It was black, with strange stripes of neon yellow, blue, and magenta. On its right arm it had a long sword like protrusion and on its left it had twin cannon-like objects.

“Emu, it’s Drago Knight Hunter Z!” Parado declared.

Emu looked upon the dragon and it back at him. “Drago Knight, please, lend me your power!” The dragon roared and then transformed into a gold colored Gashat with the picture of a dragon on it. “LIMIT BREAK!”

The Gamer Driver appeared around Emu’s waist, along with the Mighty Action X Gashat in his other hand and then buttons on the sides.

[+] MIGHTY ACTION X! [+]

[+] DRAGO KNIGHT HUNTER Z! [+]

“HENSHIN! TRANSFORMATION PLUS, PLUS, PLUS, PLUS, PLUS!”

| CLICK AND LOAD! LET’S GAME! SUPER GAME! ULTRA GAME! WHATCHA NAME?! I’M A KAMEN RIDER! GACHAN! LEVEL UP! MIGHTY JUMP! MIGHTY KICK! MIGHTY MIGHTY ACTION X! A GACHA! DO-DO-DRAGO! NA-NA-NA-KNI~GHT! DRA-! DRA-! DRAGO KNIGHT HUNTER! Z! |

Emu transformed into Kamen Rider Ex-Aid Fantasy Knight. The dragon from earlier reappeared, but then glowed as it merged with his armor, granting him new power and weapons. Ex-Aid’s back, chest, and head were covered in a black armor with neon magenta stripes. This was the Dragon Fang, a dragon’s head was part of the chest armor, with an open mouth that had rows of sharp teeth, and in the inside of the mouth, Ex-Aid’s face plate and orange eyes peered through. On his right arm was the Dragon Blade, his left pauldron was now black armor with neon blue stripes, a gauntlet attached to the right forearm had the blade mounted on it, which also had the same neon blue stripes. The left arm also had a black armor pauldron, but with neon yellow stripes, this was the Dragon Gun, and sported two long barrels with neon stripes on it.

“RRAAAAAAAAGH!” Emu roared as he charged for Sharii.

A title appeared above Emu’s opponent that read “Eternal Beauty Sharii” and displayed two HP bars. Emu slashed at Sharii with the Dragon Blade, who took the full blow, still stunned by the transformation and surprised by the speed at which Ex-Aid reached her. The blade cut a long red gash across her chest, revealing red digital code, but to the others, it must’ve looked like blood. Emu followed with bringing the Dragon Gun up to Sharii and firing at point blank range.

The evil Enchantress was blasted with two barrels of power, sending her back into the ground. Sharii growled in anger as she rose back up, and fired off several more of her deadly needles at Ex-Aid, but the enhanced armor provided more than enough protection against the barrage, making Sharii’s eyes widen in utter shock. Sharii called upon her magical powers, and summoned an illusion field around Emu.

Ex-Aid stopped, watching as several of his past Bugster enemies appeared before him. Sharii didn’t know what he was seeing, and didn’t care, as she was about to attack him from behind. However, the chest armor had another ability, the Search Drago Eye. The eyes on the armor glowed as the Whip Drago Tail extended from the back of the armor, and lashed out as soon as the evil Enchantress got close. The tail snapped back and forth, striking at every which way she dodged.

When the illusion ended, Ex-Aid spun in place and tail whipped Sharii multiple times until she retreated, her health bar getting lower. Suddenly, Ex-Aid felt the strain of the Gashat, making him go down on one knee.

“Damn, thought I’d have more time,” said Ex-Aid. “Midnight, Ambrosia, Spectra, come over here, quick!”

The girls quickly moved to Emu.

“Ambrosia, place your hand on my blade. Midnight, on the twin barrels. Spectra, the head of the armor!”

Each girl did as Emu instructed, he then focused his energy. Each armor piece glowed a different neon color, rising up and then zooming towards the girl who was touching that armor piece. Ambrosia’s right forearm now sported the Dragon Blade, Midnight had the Dragon Gun on her left forearm, and Spectra’s head and chest were covered by the Dragon Fang. Each of them felt a massive boost to their own power, glowing with the aura of that individual piece.

Ambrosia was the first to attack, dashing across the floor as she focused her new power into the blade. The black metal blade shimmered and transformed into a long, neon blue energy blade. The Amazon struck Sharii, once, twice, three times, each blow cleaving a chunk of her HP bar. Midnight channeled her magical power into the Dragon Gun, the twin barrels converted her rosy-violet light into neon yellow as she fired a barrage of energy bolts at Sharii, each one exploding on impact and draining her health bar into the red.

Finally, Spectra flew overhead, channeling her own unique magic into the armor. Before her a fireball burned; the harpy gave a loud battle cry as the fireball broke out and unleashed a torrent of neon magenta flames upon her target. The triple attack shattered Sharii’s first bar of health and caused her to stagger.

“Don’t give her time to counter attack!” Parado warned.

“Thank you, girls, I’ll finish it from here!” Ex-Aid stated.

Midnight, Spectra, and Ambrosia jumped back until they were behind Ex-Aid. Each armor piece glowed and then flew back onto Ex-Aid, who then pulled on the lever of his Gamer Driver.

| CLICK TO CLOSE! FINISHING MOVE! |

| CLICK TO OPEN! |

}!!!{ DRAGO KNIGHT CRITICAL STRIKE! }!!!{

Ex-Aid got into position, standing up, he pointed the Dragon Blade and Dragon Gun at Sharii. Both weapons were set ablaze with neon energy, along with the Dragon Fang. In the next moment, all three armor pieces fired beams of light that combined into one singular, massive beam of pure power that roared towards Sharii. By the time the evil Enchantress had recovered to fight, it was too late, the beam was upon her and washed over her like a tsunami. The evil Enchantress cried out as the beam vaporized her, draining her HP bar all the way to nothing, and Sharii along with it.

Upon her defeat, a ball of light was left behind. That ball shot out, releasing dozens of shooting star-like streaks that went every which way, one of those headed for Sunset, hitting her and making her body glow for a few seconds. After the glow faded, Sunset’s HP bar returned to normal, holding steady at green.

Ex-Aid sighed in relief.

| CLICK TO SAVE! |

Emu returned to his normal state and quickly rushed over to Sunset’s side, checking her vitals to make sure there wasn’t anything else wrong. Emu gave a small smile, and nodded to the girls saying, “She’s alright now, that spell was broken.”

Midnight and Lightheart cried tears of joy, while Spectra did some exited flying around the room, and Ambrosia just smiled happily. But it wasn’t all a celebration, Rori hadn’t recovered. Sunset began to stir, eyes fluttering as she took in the sight around her.

“Girls…Emu…? Wha-What the hell happened?” Sunset asked as she sat up.

“You were kidnapped by an evil Enchantress! We came to save you, led by another Enchantress, she…she gave you some of her lifeforce to stop the other one from stealing yours completely,” said Lightheart.

Sunset looked to her left, seeing the elderly looking Enchantress and briefly remembering the feel of someone’s lips against her own. “No…We have to help her!”

“Sunset, I don’t know what we can do, restoring lifeforce isn’t something that’s easily done,” said Midnight.

Sunset moved a bit until she was next to Rori, she carefully moved the Enchantress so she was lying on her back. “I will not let her die, she saved my life by generously giving me part of hers, I won’t let that go unrewarded! LIMIT BREAK!” The Uni-Driver and Unicorn Memory appeared to Sunset. “Please, give me the power to save her life.”

< UNICORN! >

The former pony leaned down and pressed her lips against Rori’s. The Unicorn Memory shined blindingly, and from it appeared the ethereal Unicorn. The beast neighed loudly as it leaned down and touched the tip of its horn against Rori’s forehead. The energies of Sunset and the Unicorn Memory flowed into Rori, reversing the aging that had occurred from when Rori gave her lifeforce to Sunset.

“Sunset!” Midnight cried.

“We just got you back, don’t go sacrificing your life like that!” Spectra argued.

“Wait!” Emu urged. Although they couldn’t see it, Emu could see that Sunset’s HP bar was not depleting at all, however her LB gauge was. She was sacrificing the energy needed to transform in order to save Rori. “She’ll be alright, Sunset’s not using her lifeforce, rather, she’s using her other powers as a substitute.”

In a matter of seconds Rori was back to looking like the beauty she was earlier. Sunset parted her lips from Rori’s and the Unicorn faded away, along with the Gaia Memory and Uni-Driver. The LB gauge was low, but it was small sacrifice, it could always be replenished later.

Rori’s eyes fluttered open, and she was greeted with the sight of the very girl she had tried to save earlier. “Oh my, Darling, you are quite a beauty aren’t you.”

Sunset’s face tinted red for a moment before smiling down at Rori. “Flattery will only get you so far. Thank you, for saving my life.” Sunset then turned to her friends. “All of you, thank you.”

Rori placed her hand on Sunset’s shoulder and said, “If anything, it is I who should be thanking you.”

***___________<U> x [+]E[+]___________***

It took a few hours, but the group managed to round up all the girls who had been taken against their will by Sharii and returned to the town. The group was heralded as heroes, tears of joy were shed for the return of the girls who had been spirited away in the night, and never heard from again. Now they were back, and they had the seven to thank for it.

Rori had already contacted her fellow Enchantresses about Sharii’s defeat. While she was saddened by the loss of one of her own, Rori knew that Sharii was too far gone to save, her actions brought about her fate. Currently it was night, and the center of town was bustling with the big, congratulatory celebration to the heroes who stopped the evil Enchantress and returned the missing girls back to their families. Currently, the heroes were seated at a large banquet table, each enjoying a meal tailored to them.

“What I don’t get is, why weren’t you trapped in an illusion, Emu?” Spectra asked as she feasted on some fish.

Emu glanced to Rori and smiled. “You didn’t notice, but Adamanta-san was the reason we were able to break through that illusion. When she was fussing over our clothes before we went into the mansion, she used her magic to stealthily lace some anti-illusion charm into our clothing to help us break free. Parado helped me keep my head straight, so with Adamanta-san’s magic I was able to break free quickly. It wasn’t until you girls felt Sunset’s life was in mortal danger did the charm allow you break free.”

The others looked to Rori, who only smiled and sipped from her wine glass. “I only provided the means, it was your willpower and conviction that allowed you all to break through Sharii’s illusions.”

Midnight stood up from her chair and then bowed to Rori. “I’m sorry for being so suspicious towards you, and even after. I should’ve placed more trust in your intentions.”

Rori waved off the apology. “Darling, you had every right to be suspicious of me. The fact is you trusted me when it mattered the most, and now we’re all here, happy and healthy.” The Enchantress then looked to Sunset. “I must say though, to give me your power like that to save my life, when we hardly know each other, that was very courageous.”

Sunset smiled at Rori. “After that act of generosity, I had to return the favor.”

“And modest too, quite the combination. You say you’re all heading to Heaven’s Fall, correct? To battle Tirek?” Rori asked.

“That’s right,” said Sunset as she ate some of the salad before her.

“Then how about letting me assist with your mission?” The others looked to Rori with surprise. “After this incident, the image of the Enchantresses is going to be smudged a bit, but if I were to help you in your endeavor, it could boost the public image of the Enchantresses and the work we do.”

Spectra raised an eyebrow at that. “So, I mean, I know you have illusion magic and stuff, but what else can you do?”

Rori smirked. “I can fashion clothing and infuse them with magic to make them harder than steel, resistant to certain magic spells, or enchant items to make them more powerful, such as jewelry accessories, or even swords, shields, spears, and knives. Of course, since we are fighting together, it will all be free of charge. I can also use gemstones to perform various attack and defensive spells.”

Ambrosia spat out her drink upon hearing that. “Are you serious?! That kind work for six people would make any other Enchantress rich!”

Rori waved off the concern. “Darling, as of today, I consider you all my companions, my friends, and I have a strict policy about not charging my friends for gifts. Besides…” the Enchantress sat up from her chair and walked to where Sunset sat, draping her arms behind the fiery redhead. “…I’d like to get to know Sunset Shimmer here a lot better.”

Sunset heard the ping sound again. That’s it!

“Ahem, since we’re all here, there is something important that I needed to tell you girls,” said Sunset.

Emu and Parado didn’t need to be mind readers to know what was about to happen, they only hoped it would just cause a Friendship Route and not cause a disband of the group.

Sunset took a deep breath, it was now or never, she couldn’t just string these girls along, it wasn’t fair to them or to Twilight. “The truth is, I have–!”

[ACTION NOT VALID]

“Have…what?” Spectra asked.

Sunset raised an eyebrow, she was sure she had said it. Her lips made the motions to the words, but she didn’t hear the word come out. “Sorry, I said I–”

[ACTION NOT VALID]

“I–!”

[ACTION NOT VALID]

[ACTION NOT VALID]

[ACTION NOT VALID]

Emu and Parado were starting to get concerned, especially when they saw a red bar appear above her every time she tried to say, well, whatever it was she was trying to say that read [ACTION NOT VALID]. The girls were starting to get confused, and Sunset was becoming irritated.

“Emu, can I see you and Parado in private for a second!” Sunset demanded rather than asked.

The Legend Rider and Sunset walked until they were a safe distance from the girls, once alone, Sunset began to growl with frustration. “WHY CAN’T I SAY IT?!”

“What are you trying to say?” Parado asked.

“I’m trying to say, ‘I have a girlfriend and her name is Twilight’, that’s what – wait I just heard myself say it!” Sunset exclaimed.

Emu cupped his chin as he thought. “You can say it when I’m around, but not when they are around…It could be a kind of Admin Block.”

“A what?”

“The game might only allow certain party members to talk about IRL, private things like other people’s names. We can freely talk about them since we’re technically in a party, and talking like this would be considered PM interaction, but when the others are around, it’s keeping private info safe by blocking you from saying someone’s name.”

Sunset’s left eye twitched. “So…basically, what you’re saying is…this game is making it so that I can’t say the one thing that would keep me from ending up with one or maybe all of those fantasy versions of my friends?! Because that Rori looks a lot like my friend Rarity, and even acts like her! So please tell me you’re just guessing!”

“Well, you could always go to each one privately like you’re doing with me and see what happens.” Emu suggested.

Sunset did just that, after returning to the table, she had each girl, one at a time, go to that same private spot that she and Emu were at, and tried to drop the info on them. However, it was no use. She could not speak the sanity saving words, and after five failed attempts, Sunset returned to the table and let her head hit the table as she released a long groan of annoyance.

This game sucks…