Unicorn couldn’t believe the sight before her, Starlight had somehow achieved a Final Form, by use of the Xtreme Memory. The air around them became even more intense than it was when this fight began, and now, Sunset feared, round two was about to begin.
“What’s the matter, Unicorn, afraid to fight me now that I have my own supped up form?” Equal mocked.
“Starlight, it’s over, this fight is meaningless now! Everyone just saw your face! They’re probably about to raid your corporate office as we speak! For your sake, please, just surrender! You helped during the Tirek Virus Incident, and you helped back during Halloween! With all the other good you’ve done as just Starlight Glimmer, they might take it into consideration!” Unicorn pleaded.
“I like that about you, Sunset. You want to see the good in others, give them a second chance, because you were given one and rose above your past misdeeds. But in this case, the ends justify the means.” Equal reached up towards the sky, blocking out the sun with her open palm before making a fist, as if she was trying to capture the sun. “I will create true harmony, I have to…the world needs it, and I will be the one to bring it. Whatever it takes.”
Equal placed two fingers against the right side of her helmet as she said, “Activate plan: Omega.”
A deep rumble began coursing throughout the city, the vibrations extended well beyond the suburbs and to the city limits. There were towers bearing the logo of PhoenEXE Corp, which looked akin to cell towers, but that was only one function they served. The tower deconstructed at the top, revealing another mechanism underneath. It was shaped like an electrical coil, with violet colored electricity and plasma radiating off of it. The tower then shot a beam of violet light that angled itself towards the airspace above Canterlot City.
Not long after that, nine more beams of light followed suit. All ten converged right above the city proper, and upon contact, the beams began to spread out, interlacing with each other. It didn’t take long to understand what this was a giant barrier. Cars that were entering and exiting the city limits seemed to understand, to some degree, what this was, as many tried to speed their way either in or out before the barrier completely formed. Some cars made it through, albeit by either crashing through other cars or going full throttle.
When the barrier fully formed, some of the cars were cut in half, separating passengers and drivers, parents and children, husbands and wives. Unicorn took a cursory glance about the area, and narrowed her gaze from beneath her helmet, leveling it at Equal.
“What have you done?!”
“What I must.”
Unicorn’s light wings flared as she sped off towards Equal, and utilizing the Loyalty Memory, vanished from sight. Equal was not deterred, she pressed on the button on the left side of the new X device, and immediately all the crystal facets on her armor began to glow and emit a blue wave over the entire area.
[{X}] DIVIDE! [{X}]
Unicorn was suddenly hit with the wave of energy, and somehow it felt as if she was pushing herself through molasses. The Loyalty Memory shined, trying to speed her up to overcome the new power that Equal was using, but it only managed to make her less than half as fast as she was when using one of the Harmony Memories. Thanks to this slow down, Equal was able to duck out of the way of Unicorn’s blade as she passed behind her. Unicorn whirled around and slashed at her again, but Equal narrowly dodged the attack as she jumped backwards to put some distance between them.
“My Reduction Field has become an Entropy Zone, all available energy is syphoned from the area, heat, and kinetic energy, so long as the Zone is up.”
Unicorn looked around her, and indeed, the air was becoming chilled, and even frost was starting to form on the cars, glass, asphalt, and sidewalks. However, Unicorn didn’t feel the full effects of her Entropy Zone, the Harmony Memories, Unicorn, and Shining Memories were all still glowing bright, trying to resist the draining power of Equal’s new ability.
“Looks like my Gaia Memories are more stubborn than I am,” said Unicorn.
The magical warrior took hold of the Magic Memory and inserted it into the Halo Blade.
)O( MAGIC! AWAKEN! )O(
The Loyalty, Honesty, and Magic Memories created a trinity of power as blue, orange, and purple light wrapped around her, pushing away the effects of the Entropy Zone.
“Heh, actually I’d say you’re about the same!” Equal shot back as she pushed down on the button on the right side of X device.
[{X}] BOOST! [{X}]
A red aura shined from the crystals on Equal’s armor. She raised her right hand into the air, collecting crimson red energy that only grew bigger and bigger.
Both women released a battle cry as Unicorn fired a tri-colored beam from the blade of her sword, at the same time, Equal fired a beam from her crimson sphere. The two opposing powers clashed in the middle as a bright light formed from the dueling energies. Neither one was about to give up as they focused more and more power into their attacks, the point of light also grew bigger and brighter with each passing second. Eventually, it could last no longer as the bright point exploded violently.
The force of the blast threw Unicorn through the building behind her, while also doing the same for Equal. Both fighters ended up on far opposite ends of where they were battling, and as a result, their Rider forms dissipated into particles.
Starlight Glimmer was the first to rise up, groaning as she propped herself up against an undamaged pillar. “Okay…well…that was interesting.” Starlight looked at her closed fist and sighed heavily. “Guess I’m still holding back a little when it comes to her…”
[Starlight…come in…!]
The CEO of PhoenEXE Corp. placed her left index finger against the earbud in her left ear. “Double Diamond, what’s going on?”
[There’s APB out on you, and there’s also a team of SCU officers led by Shining Armor. Seems he was ready for this somehow…?]
Starlight grinned a little. “Seems that Sunny and Twily have been hiding a supposed ace up their sleeve. No matter let them arrive, I had planned on a raid happening in response to this.”
[Do you wish for me to–?]
“No, you are to bring that system online, I have other associates who will take care of the raid problem.”
***_________EXE_________***
Multiple squad cars and SWAT vans were barreling down the road, and leading the pack was Kamen Rider Trigger. Starlight had finally shown her true colors, and now Shining Armor could take out the heart of this evil while Sunset battled Starlight. Trigger’s bike came to a screeching halt in front of the PhoenEXE Corp. headquarters, with the rest of his team stopping behind him. At the front of the building stood two women, women who were supposed be hospitalized.
“Sunflower and Clear Skies?!”
Indeed, the two women who were once holders of the Terror and ClayDoll Memories were now standing before them, completely healed and dressed in business suits.
“Oh look, Officer Shining Armor, you miss us?” Clear Skies asked in a sarcastic tone.
“You two were in a coma, I saw it!”
Sunflower chuckled and said, “Yeah, we were, but not for long. That chick, Starlight, came and woke us up and made us a deal. We work for her and get something even better than just money, power.”
At that moment, both women produced T1 Gaia Memories. Clears Skies’ Memory had a picture of hand with the index finger pointed outward with the thumb, forming a crude “C”. Sunflower’s was a crude diagram of an eye that formed the letter “E”.
< COMMANDER! >
< EYES! >
Both women pulled down the collars of their shirts to reveal their Living Connecters and pressed their Gaia Memories against their necks. Clear Skies was engulfed in a dark yellow light, and after a few seconds, had transformed into her Dopant form. The body was female, made of armored plates. Her right arm had several sharp spikes coming from it, and was colored orange-red, matching her lower leg armor. A black leather kilt hung from her waist, covering the back and sides, but exposing the front. Her left arm had a wrist device, displaying different buttons and dials. Her face was covered with a black visor, the only thing visible was her yellow eyes which glowed from within it.
Sunflower’s Dopant form had an almost pharaoh-like motif. It was also feminine in appearance, with a gold chest plate that was etched with intricate designs ofc eyes and wings. Her fingers were longer than normal, and each was claw tipped. The only visible skin was around the neck, hands, and mouth, which was blue-green. The headdress covered her eyes and head, the headdress itself seemed almost melded to her head.
The SCU officers all lined up, each one donned in combat gear, ready to take on the Dopant’s blocking their way. Trigger took point, his Chrome Magnum already out of its holster and resting at this right side. “I’m not like Unicorn or Nasca, just to let you know, `cause I don’t save the best for last!”
Trigger pulled out the SWAT Gaia Memories and immediately inserted them into his weapon.
< SUPER! >
< WEAPONS! >
< ACTION! >
< TACTICS! >
|<^>| SUPER! WEAPONS! ACTION! TACTICS! S.W.A.T. ENGAGED! |<^>|
A bright flash of azure light engulfed Trigger, transforming him into his Super Form, Trigger SWAT.
“Heh, figured you do something like that. And you know, you’re not the only one who has an army.”
The Commander Dopant pressed a few buttons on her wrist band, and soon the doors to PhoenEXE Corp. flew open. Several beings dressed in black combat fatigues came marching out, each one wearing a silver mask with black visors. Each of the Masked Soldiers had a device that looked as if it had a USB jack mounted onto their left wrists, and each of them had something in their right hands.
“Present arms!”
Each of the Masked Soldiers raised their devices, and it didn’t take Trigger and the officers long to realize that they all had Gaia Memories.
< ARMS! >
< TERROR! >
< TABOO! >
< CLAYDOLL! >
< SMILODON! >
< UTOPIA! >
< ANOMALOCARIS! >
< MAGMA! >
< T-REX! >
< MONEY! >
< BAT! >
< QUETZALCOATIUS! >
< INJURY! >
< LIGHTNING! >
< DOG! >
< JEWEL! >
< SPIDER! >
The Masked Soldiers inserted their Gaia Memories into their wristbands and all sixteen of them transformed into the Dopant forms of the Gaia Memories they wielded. Each was a perfect replica of the previous holder of the Gaia Memories, even the dangerous Quetzalcoatius Dopant.
“Oh, you got to be kidding me…!” Trigger groaned.
“Soldiers!” The Dopants got into attack position upon hearing the Commander Dopant. “Please remove these pigs from the premises, they’re trespassing.”
The Lightning Dopant raised both of its hands and fired arcing bolts of electricity towards the SCU officers, multiple explosions ignited as the officers were thrown into the air and landed roughly against either the squad cars or pavement. The rest of the officers began opening fire on the battalion of Dopants. The Jewel Dopant quickly stepped forward and slammed its fist into the ground, a deep rumble occurred and in a matter of seconds a wall of diamond rose before them, blocking the barrage.
The Bat Dopant opened its mouth and released its sonic waves. The waves resonated with the vehicles in the area, causing the headlights to change to an eerie purple color. The engines revved, and tires squealed as the squad cars and vans charged forward.
Trigger turned around and saw one of the vans approaching some downed officers. He quickly trained the Chrome Ultimatum onto the van and fired multiple shots at the tires. The beam attacks struck, causing the van to veer into a few rogue squad cars that were about to attack some more officers.
“Everybody fall back!”Trigger ordered.
“What’s the matter, Armor? Can’t take the heat?!” Commander mocked.
The armored Dopant pressed a few buttons on its forearm device, and not soon after, several missiles fired outwards from its back. The missiles then angled themselves and aimed directly for the officers that were fleeing. Trigger hurriedly aimed for the missiles but was suddenly struck several times in the back by the barbs of the Anomalocaris Dopant.
The missiles closed in and were about to hit, but at the last second, a streak of blue-green light flew in from the sky, it whipped back and forth between the missiles and after it passed, each one exploded in midair before they could reach their target. The streak landed before the stunned officers, revealing itself as Kamen Rider Nasca Star Chaser.
The Claydoll, Arms, and Taboo Dopants all opened fire on the speedster Rider. Nasca nimbly dodged the energy blasts and deflected a few blast spheres that were heading towards her. She finally made it to Trigger and pulled him back away from the horde of Dopants, allowing him to get his bearings.
“Okay, what in the actual hell is going on?! Where did all these Dopants come from?!” Nasca asked.
“There were these guys in combat gear, they put the Memories into some kind of device and the next thing I know, they’re all turning into, well, THAT!” Trigger looked behind him and was relieved to see that the rest of the SCU officers had gotten away. “We need to regroup, we definitely weren’t prepared to fight a squad of Dopants!”
Nasca twirled her blade around as she stared down the creatures before her. “I took down some of these guys with Unicorn, and in this form, I have these guys on their asses in ten seconds flat!”
Trigger grabbed ahold of Nasca’s wrist and looked straight at her. “We’ve already underestimated the situation in more ways than one right now! This dome, these Dopants, and now Equal’s got some Boss Final Form on top of all that! We need to link up with Unicorn and get a plan together, copy?!”
Nasca looked back at the Dopant army, as much as she didn’t want to admit it, he was right. Past Dopants were one thing, but this dome, and now Starlight achieving a Final Form? Not to mention these two new Dopants, there was no telling what they were capable of right now. With a heavy sigh, Nasca nodded in agreement to Trigger’s decision.
Trigger quickly made it back to his bike as Nasca flared her wing thrusters, but not before proclaiming. “Don’t get too attached to those Gaia Memories, we took these clowns down once, we’ll do it again!”
After that, the two Riders sped off down the road.
***_________<U>_________***
Due to the current crisis, many of the citizens of Canterlot had either hold themselves up in their homes or gathered in a sturdy place to provide some level of protection. One such shelter ended up being CHS, Celestia and Luna, along with CCPD officers were helping in coordinating the effort to keep the whole place orderly.
Meanwhile, Sunset had decided to crash at Twilight’s place, still feeling the harsh blow that she was dealt by Starlight’s powered form. She was currently lying on Twilight’s bed, with Spike curled up next to her, Sunset would occasionally pet the young canine as it did bring her some comfort. Twilight had stepped out for a moment to grab something to eat and brought it back up to her still recovering girlfriend.
Sunset turned to Twilight and asked, “How’s Shining Armor doing?”
“He’s alright, frankly he was more worried for his friends than himself…I can’t believe she was able to do something like that?! Starlight achieved a Final Form that could match you as Day Dreamer?! And now we have a Dopant army to deal with!” Twilight stated as she sat down in her chair and rested the plate of food on the night stand.
“Yeah, how exactly did she create an army of monsters like that? Didn’t you guys mostly beat them all?” Spike asked.
Twilight growled in frustration. “We did and, luckily, the ones who were the original wielders of those Memories are not them.” Twilight adjusted her glasses as she looked away for a moment. “I may or may not have been keeping electronic surveillance of those who were once Dopants by means of the T1s. Except…”
“Except Clear Skies and Sunflower…” Sunset finished.
“I figured I didn’t need to since they were in a coma, it never occurred to me that Starlight would cure them and recruit them! Ugh! I’m so naïve!” Twilight shot up from her seat and began pacing around her room. “I thought ‘Yes, she’s evil, but maybe evil with sense of honor and good intentions.’ But oh no, she’s really evil!”
Sunset didn’t say a word, she didn’t want to completely give up on Starlight Glimmer. She could feel that there was more to this than what was being seen, Starlight may be doing bad things right now, but Sunset couldn’t help but feel that there was a bigger truth behind her actions. Plus, she owed it to the Starlight Glimmer of Equestria, she made a promise to her.
“I don’t know how bad Sunburst’s death hurt her, or what her ultimate goal is, but at the very least, try and bring her into the light…”
“We’ll just have to plan accordingly, right now she has the numbers, but if we take out the Dopant’s a little at a time, we can beat them.” Sunset suggested.
“What about that guy you told me about?” Spike asked. “The one who sent that other Rider guy to help you out?”
Twilight and Sunset looked to each other, that thought hadn’t crossed their mind. Tsukasa, Kamen Rider Decade, had sent a communication cube to them during the Halloween Incident.
“You don’t think he’d be up for sending us some backup?” Spike asked.
“It’s worth a try, right?” Twilight asked.
Sunset knew that this situation was a bit bad, but she still felt that as a Kamen Rider, she should be able to deal with her own dimension’s crisis. Threats like Tirek, Shocker, and the hybrid Kaijin, they were big and nearly multiverse ending events, in comparison to those, calling Tsukasa for help would make it look like she couldn’t handle her own business.
“……I, well, we could. But, I don’t think we’re there yet. We should try and handle the situation ourselves. Besides, whatever Starlight’s plan is, it’ll more than likely require the use of the T2 Gaia Memories, and we have a good majority of them with us. So long as we can hold onto them, she can’t complete her plan,” said Sunset.
Twilight didn’t seem to agree with her girlfriend’s assessment but yielded to her judgment for now. “Wait…what’s exactly stopping her from attacking us right now and taking the rest of the Memories?”
Sunset paused and then said, “Oh sh–!”
***_________EXE_________***
Back at PhoenEXE Corp. headquarters, Starlight’s “Elite Four” were standing in her office, while Clear Skies and Sunflower sat on the couch in the middle of the office space.
“D, did you have any idea about these two?” Night Glider asked.
Double Diamond didn’t answer right away, he took a moment to carefully word his response. “In a word…no.”
“Yeah, that’s what I thought. So why in the hell are you two here?! You were trying to kill Starlight last time I checked!”
Clear Skies was busy hugging her girlfriend close to her but managed to give a sly glance towards Night Glider. “Yes, I admit, we were originally going to kill her. But then she made us a better proposition, and got us out of that coma, so I’m not exactly complaining.”
“And that would be?” Party Favor asked.
“None of your business, kid,” said Sunflower.
Night Glider took a step forward, prepared to demand some answers.
“That’s enough.” Everyone in the room looked towards the doors and watched as Starlight entered the office. “We have too much to do and not a lot of time to do it all. The last thing I need is for you all to kill each other.”
Night Glider stepped back and grumbled under her breath.
Starlight took her seat behind her desk, prompting Clear Skies and Sunflower to join the ranks. “As of right now, we have only one T2 Gaia Memory unaccounted for, and all research indicates that it hasn’t gone beyond this city. That can be easily taken care of, however, we still require the other T2s that Unicorn and Nasca have.”
“And what about Officer Armor’s Trigger Memory?” Sugar Belle asked.
“We have that, so it’s pretty much ours,” Double Diamond answered. “The real issue is how to get the rest of the Gaia Memories away from the heroes?”
Clear Skies cleared her throat, gaining the attention of the others. “Here’s an idea, we take some people hostage.”
Starlight raised an eyebrow. “Like who?”
Sunflower answered, “We go for the one Rider we know we can get to. Unicorn appeared pretty quickly to help save Armor’s family when we attacked him, so there’s no doubt she’ll appear to save them again. More specifically, his precious little sister. We take her, and he contacts Unicorn and Nasca, and we get the Memories.”
“Only,” Clear Skies added, “it’ll be a double cross, we ambush them with our Dopant army before they have a chance.”
The four looked back at Starlight, knowing that she had recently developed a close friendship with the seven girls from Canterlot High School, among them, Sunset Shimmer and Twilight Sparkle were two she had grown closest to. All the other times when the girls were in danger due to a Dopant getting to close to them, Starlight had tried to keep them from getting caught in the crossfire. Clear Skies and Sunflower’s proposed plan was surely going to be shot down, and most likely followed up by a verbal accosting by Starlight.
“I authorize it.”
“WHAT?!!!” Diamond, Sugar, Party, and Glider exclaimed as one.
“But…” Starlight rose from her seat and looked the two women in the eyes. “It is only extraction, you are NOT to harm Twilight Sparkle, or her family. Detain, non-lethally incapacitate, but no physical harm is to befall them. If I find out that this rule has been broken, you two will only wish I put you back in a coma. Understand?”
With an audible gulp, both women nodded their heads and proceeded to exit the room to enact their plan. When they left, the four all gathered around Starlight’s desk, each of them bombarding her with questions as to why she was allowing such a plan to take place. Starlight raised her right hand and slammed her open palm onto the desk, silencing her comrades.
“I understand why you’re questioning this. But this is more essential than you realize, and they’re plan has a high chance of success. Glider, Party Favor, I want you to tail them and make sure that they don’t disobey my order. If it looks like they are about to do harm to that family, you are authorized to stop them, by lethal means if necessary. Now GO!”
Night Glider and Party Favor still weren’t sure of what was going on here, but they took some comfort in knowing that Starlight didn’t completely trust those two women. Taking her order, the two headed out the door to begin their surveillance of the Clear Skies and Sunflower.
“Sugar Belle, I want you to begin your search for the last T2 Memory, it’s here in this city, the dome will ensure if it found someone then they aren’t leaving easily.”
Sugar Belle, with a reluctant nod, left to begin her search.
“Double Diamond, prep the machine, take the Memories we have in the vault and place them.” Much to her mild surprise, Double Diamond didn’t immediately move out after receiving her orders. “Do you have a question?”
The snow-white young man took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “Yes, what has changed? You’re acquisition of the Xtreme Memory was surprising, and…I can sense a change in you. Why would allow them to enact such a plan, when all of us know how fond you are of them?”
Starlight leaned back in her chair as she stared up at the ceiling for a moment. “I understand why you would question me about this, I’m honestly glad you did. But understand, my reasons are for the advancement of the plan. The Xtreme Memory has granted me greater insight as to what needs to be done, and…”
Double Diamond raised his eyebrow. “And…?”
Starlight sighed as she looked back at Double Diamond. “It’s too late to turn back now.”
Double Diamond wasn’t completely convinced, but he was sure that Starlight wasn’t going to give him anymore than that. The pale white young man nodded to her and set off to begin the preparations. All while Starlight began to formulate the remaining pieces of the plan.