//------------------------------// // X: Xtreme Measures / You are a Kamen Rider // Story: Kamen Rider Unicorn // by Michael_Ravencroft //------------------------------// Starlight had dragged Twilight up to the top of PhoenEXE Corp., and there, once they made it off of the elevator, was the mechanism that would bring infinite knowledge to the world. Two towers stood the far opposite ends of the roof, both had giant satellite dishes, the towers had three oscillating rings each spinning at a slow pace as they built up power. Between the two towers was a chair and large ring. The ring had slots that were perfectly sized to house a Gaia Memory, totaling twenty-six, one for each of the T2s. The chair had a headband that was connected to the back of the chair, wires ran from the base of the chair itself and down through the roof, most likely connecting to the Emerald Mountain down below. “You want me to get into THAT?! It’s looks like some sort of sci-fi torture device!” Twilight exclaimed. “Ugh, it’s not a ‘torture device’. It’s the keyhole, and you’re the key. You won’t feel any pain, I promise,” said Starlight. “Out of context, Starlight, that sounded wrong,” said Twilight. Starlight blushed lightly and grabbed Twilight by the wrist. “Sunset’s sense of humor is starting to rub off on you.” The lilac woman stopped, and face palmed herself. “Don’t even say it…” Twilight continued to struggle against Starlight but was finding the effort more difficult than she imagined, she was strong, probably got stronger from the influence of the Xtreme Memory. She eventually got Twilight to the chair and forced her to sit down, metal clasps sprang from the armrests and anchored Twilight to the chair. “There, it’ll be over soon, and then I’ll let you out. You can slap, punch me, or whichever afterwards.” The CEO of PhoenEXE Corp. then heard the flapping of giant wings, followed up by a loud cawing sound. She turned around and watched as the Quetzalcoatius Dopant flew overhead, and from its back, Commander, Luna, and Eyes jumped off and landed before her. Party Favor approached Starlight, and opened the briefcase, showing almost all the Gaia Memories, including… “Yesterday? She had the Yesterday Memory too?” Starlight asked. “Not her, another girl, one of her friends, the one with southern accent,” Party Favor explained. “Applejack had the Yesterday Memory?!” Twilight asked in surprise. “That ain’t all, there are two more Riders now!” Clear Skies stated. “They came and almost stopped us, but we managed to get away in time,” said Sunflower. Starlight’s eyes widened at the mention of this. “Two more?! But that’s…” “I wouldn’t say impossible, Starlight. You’ve seen first hand that there are other universes with other Kamen Riders,” said Twilight in her tone of voice that was a mixture of smugness and elation. Starlight glanced to Twilight, noting that she was right, but still, she didn’t think it warranted the aid of other Riders, her plan wasn’t going to affect the multiverse…at least, not as far as she had calculated. “Put the Dopants on high alert, surround the building! I’m not taking any chances, if they’re from another universe, we don’t know what powers they possess, don’t take them lightly.” Clear Skies and Sunflower headed towards the elevator and began their descent to the bottom floor to coordinate the defenses. However, Party Favor remained behind. “Starlight, there’s something I need to tell you.” “What is it?” Starlight asked. Party Favor went into detail about what had happened during their exchange, and how Clear Skies nearly killed Sunset and the rest. Starlight’s teeth gritted as a vein bulged in her neck, even after she ordered them not to harm them, she had almost killed Sunset Shimmer and her friends. Twilight, unfortunately, overheard the whole thing and said, “Was that your plan all along?!” “NO! I told you, I don’t want you all harmed! UGH! I just need you all to sit still until this is over!” Starlight ranted. “It’s fine…Sunset’s Memories, along with Rainbows are here now, and the only thing I have to worry about now is those two new Riders, I can deal with that.” Starlight took the briefcase and said, “Thank you, Party Favor. Tell Double Diamond, Sugar Belle, and Night Glider what’s going on, and…keep an eye on those two.” Party Favor nodded and headed down. The young woman walked over to where Twilight was and began inserting the Gaia Memories in alphabetical order. “I designed this device, I took everything into account, this won’t harm you, I swear on my life, Twilight.” “And…if…you’re wrong?” Starlight stopped, her hand trembled as she reached for the next Memory. What if she was wrong? What if her plan had more dire consequences than she had anticipated? Could her plan affect more than just their world? Could this ripple across the multiverse and invite the ire of other Kamen Riders? Starlight shook her head, her brow knitted with conviction. “I’m not wrong, you’ll live, Sunset and your friends will live, and everyone will live in a new world of knowledge and understanding.” Twilight looked away from Starlight, her own hands trembling. In a way, I really hope you’re right…but…on the other…Sunset, please save me… ***________________________*** Applejack was taken to the hospital by the Shadowbolts, and thankfully, she was just knocked out, but was banged up a bit. However, the doctors assured them that she’d recover just feeling beat up. Rainbow called up Big Mac and told them that Applejack was hurt but that she’d be okay, and to get down there as soon as possible. Sugarcoat told Rainbow Dash that the five of them would stay until the rest of the Apple Clan arrived. That left Rainbow and Sunset – well, Rainbow at least – to get to know the newcomers. The first guy was familiar to her, he wore a red leather jacket and matching leather pants and possessed a flaming spade symbol on the back of his jacket. His skin was a pale red color, with sandy brown hair, and brown eyes to match, and his name was Ryu Terui, or Kamen Rider Accel. “Thanks for waiting, Mr. Terui?” “Just ‘Terui’ is fine, Dash-san,” said Ryu. “So, this is going to sound weird, but I think I saw you. Like, when I used the T2 Accel Memory, I saw someone that looked a lot like you and you even had the same voice, telling me to ‘shake off my weakness’ or something,” said Rainbow. Terui didn’t seem to bat an eye to what she had said. “It’s possible, I have a strong connection to the Accel Memory, the T2 version may be resonating with mine.” Rainbow Dash and Terui began to walk down the sidewalk from the hospital, with the erection of the dome and the Dopants running guard around PhoenEXE Corp. headquarters, the police had urged the citizens to remain indoors, so that made the streets relatively empty, with a random car passing by every now and again. While they walked, Terui couldn’t help but notice how down the teenager was. Not that he could blame her, they lost their Gaia Memories and now their enemy had everything they needed in order to enact their plan. A plan that no one had any idea what it was or when it was going to happen, but now that all twenty-six T2s were gathered, there was no doubt that Starlight Glimmer would make her move very soon, and there was only two active Riders who could stop her. “This whole day, sucks!” Rainbow declared. “I understand that you’re feeling powerless, but you mustn’t lose hope just yet,” said Terui. “I don’t want to, we’re the good guys, the superheroes, we have to keep looking on the positive or else Starlight’s really won! I can’t let…I just wish I could…” Terui hummed in contemplation and the said, “It seems your frustration stems more from your friend, rather than yourself.” “I’m Sunset’s partner, we fight together, and yet couldn’t do a thing to help her…I can’t even help her now…In less than a day, she lost her girlfriend, her powers, and now we’re looking down the barrel of whatever mad scheme Starlight’s got goin’ on at the top of that skyscraper of hers! I swear, if she’s done anything to Twilight I’ll…I’ll…!”      Terui could see it in Rainbow’s eyes, she had the will to fight, she wanted to fight, but right now, the problem lied with Sunset Shimmer. “I understand that you’re frustrated, but be patient. I was stricken with vengeance for so long I tuned out everything around me, and it took those two and my wife to finally open my eyes to see that there was more to life than just the pursuit of it. Do not fight with hate in your heart, fight the same way you have been, because the moment you stop doing that, you lose sight of who you once were, and can no longer call yourself a hero of justice,” said Terui. Rainbow Dash sighed as she put her hands in her pockets. “I understand, I’m just frustrated is all…I hate not being able to help my friends, especially Sunset! With everything that’s happened, I don’t know what to do for her?!” ***________________________*** Shotaro and Philip arrived at the Sparkle Household, they had searched for Sunset Shimmer at the loft that her companions said she lived at, but there was no one there. They were tipped off by Rainbow Dash that she may’ve headed back to Twilight’s house, besides Celestia and Luna, it would be the only other place she would go to. Shotaro had taken note at how his appearance had changed upon arriving to this world, his hair was a brown color, his skin a deep purple color. He wore a white shirt with a black vest, and a red necktie, along with black pants and shoes. Contrastly, Philip had a green complexion and black hair, he wore a striped, long sleeved shirt, and a brown, sleeveless coat, and carried a book in his left hand. The two-in-one detectives arrived at the address that Rainbow Dash had given them, they noticed that there was a bike parked at the front, and another car. Shotaro knocked on the door a couple of times and waited to see who would answer. There were footsteps coming from behind the front door until it swung open and revealed Cadence, her face stricken with worry. “Y-Yes, may I help you?” Cadence asked. Shotaro removed his hat and politely bowed to Cadence. “Hello, sorry to disturb you at this time, but we’re looking for someone, a Sunset Shimmer?” Cadence reached behind the door and produced a frying pan, holding it an threatening manner. “BACK OFF!!! I was tricked once by some guy, I won’t be tricked twice in one day!” “It would seem she’s under the impression that we mean her harm,” said Philip. “Oh really, you think?!” Shotaro scolded his partner before turning back to Cadence. “Please, Ma’am, we’re not here to hurt you or Sunset Shimmer, if she’s here, we’re detectives and we’d like to ask her some questions!” Cadence took a warning swing, making both men back up. “Look, I don’t know where my fiance is, and the girl I’ve babysat since she was little was just kidnapped by monsters, and now Sunset’s here all depressed, so right now, I’m very suspicious of anyone who’s not a friend of this family right now! So either tell me what you want with her, or I swear I’ll…I’ll…!” “It’s okay, Cadence…” The fuschia woman and the two men looked inside and saw Sunset Shimmer standing in the hallway. “You can let them in, I know these guys…” Cadence, Shotaro, and Philip watched as Sunset walked back and ascended the stairs, moving as if she was in a trance, even her voice sounded hollow and emotionless. “Um…well…I guess you can go and see her…? I’m sorry,” said Cadence. Shotaro waved off her concern as he smiled. “Not at all, given today’s events your reaction is very much appropriate. Philip?” Philip bowed his head and said, “Thank you for having us.” The two men entered the house, with Cadence locking the door behind her. Despite being given Sunset’s approval, Cadence still kept the frying pan in her hands. Both men walked up the stairs in the same direction that Sunset went, they headed down the hall until they came upon the open door, inside was Sunset Shimmer, curled up in a fetal position on the bed, with a purple dog nuzzling her. “What do you want?” Sunset asked. “We came to see what it is you want to do,” said Shotaro. “What do you mean? There’s nothing I can do now…” “And why is that?” Philip asked. Sunset growled in frustration. “Do I really needed to say it? Fine.” Spike backed away as Sunset sat up in the bed and looked the two men straight in the eye. Her eyes were red and puffy, no doubt from crying, they even had an almost blankness to them. “My girlfriend is kidnapped by a supervillain, her brother, another Kamen Rider, was taken control of, all our Gaia Memories have been taken away so I can’t even transform, and even if I could, there’s still an army of Dopants we need to fight through before we could get anywhere close to the top! I’m supposed to be the protector of this world! I’m supposed to be the one with the plans! It’s my responsibility to keep this world safe from otherworldly threats, because I’m the one who awakened magic in this world! And now, I can’t even do that anymore! SO, NO, I DON’T HAVE ANY PLANS TO SAVE ANYONE!” Fresh tears began to stream down Sunset’s cheeks as she said all this, Shotaro merely stood there with his arms crossed and a pondering look upon his face as he listened to Sunset’s little tirade. All the while, Philip was looking around Twilight’s room, he could see all the tools that Twilight had used, and after rifling through some of her things, found the blueprints to the Uni-Driver. “Did your girlfriend create your and Dash-san’s Drivers?” Philip asked. “What? Yes, she did.” Philip looked around, just from a cursory glance, he could tell that the girl who resided in this room was a genius, and the workspace she had was definitely that of scientist. There was something missing however, something that even a genius like Twilight Sparkle wouldn’t just leave lying around, especially when if it contained certain files regarding Kamen Rider. “Sparkle-san, she has a laptop, yes? Where would it be?” Philip asked. “I…don’t know, whenever I’m here she’s usually got it out, but I always just assumed she left it on her desk,” said Sunset. “Nah, she doesn’t do that. Ever since your whole Kamen Rider thing, she’s kept it in the top drawer of her dresser, just because it would be the last place Shining Armor would look if he ever got wise. Or…actually, I think her words were ‘a place that Shiny wouldn’t dare go into’.” Philip for a moment, lost interest in the computer and rushed over to Spike. “A talking dog?! Fascinating! Are you a new breed of intelligent canine? Do animals in your world typically have the ability to converse? Or do you possess psionic abilities that allow you to project your thoughts to us and make it look like your mouth is moving?!” Spike looked to Philip, and then to Sunset Shimmer, who was also a little freaked out about Philip’s over enthusiastic interest in Spike’s ability to speak. “Um…okay, I’m going to need you to step back a couple of feet before I bite you out defensive instinct,” Spike warned. Shotaro grabbed Philip by the collar of his shirt and dragged him back to where he was standing. “I’m sorry, he gets over excited when he finds something new. Philip, get back to what you were doing!” Philip sighed. “Very well, you said the top drawer, correct?” “Yeah, but there was something about that drawer that Twilight told me was private…?” “ ‘Private’ …PRIVATE! Wait, Mr. Philip don’t–!” Sunset tried to warn. But it was too late, Philip had already opened the drawer and was greeted by an assortment of panties and bras. Philip’s face went red as he quickly shut the drawer. “U-Um, Shimmer-san, w-would you mind…?” Philip asked in a flustered state. Sunset sighed as she stood up and walked to the drawer. “Both of you, turn around.” Shotaro and Philip did as they were told. Sunset opened the drawer, despite the situation, she couldn’t help but blush herself. Admittedly, dressing and undressing before and after gym class had afforded them multiple views of each other in their own undergarments, but that was before they were together, now though, this took on a whole different context. Sunset shook her head and carefully dug through them, she stopped when she felt something rectangular. She pulled up and was satisfied to see it was the laptop. Sunset closed the drawer and handed it to Philip. “Here, although, I don’t think you’ll get too far with it. She’s got that thing protected in ways I won’t even begin to imagine.” “I’ll take care of that,” said Philip. “Right then, while you work on that, I’ll work on you,” said Shotaro. “Wait, what?” Shotaro grabbed Sunset by the wrist and began leading her out of the room and down the stairs. The young detective saw that Cadence was looking at them strangely and said, “Sunset gave us some info that may help us get your fiance and her girlfriend back, my partner will still be here, he’s upstairs looking into some additional clues.” Before she could say “yes” or “no” to what was happening, Shotaro took Sunset out to the driveway, and had her get on her bike. “Where are we going?” Sunset asked. “Just follow me.” Shotaro mounted his own bike and the two of them took off down the road. Philip, meanwhile, had already cracked Twilight’s password and was already reading through the different files that she had kept regarding Sunset Shimmer’s time as a Kamen Rider, as well as the rest of Twilight’s schematics and… “Oh, now that’s interesting.” ***________________________*** Shotaro had led Sunset back to the place where they had last battled, the place where she lost everything. The two of them walked down the path until they had gotten to the same spot, the whole time was in silence. When they finally arrived, Sunset asked, “Okay, why did you bring us here?!” “Why do you fight as Kamen Rider? What is a Kamen Rider to you?” Shotaro asked. Sunset cocked an eyebrow at that question. “What do you mean by that?” “What defines a Kamen Rider? Is it their power, their skill, or their will?” Sunset scoffed at these questions. “Obviously, if you can’t transform, you can’t be a Kamen Rider! I’m just me!” Shotaro stopped walking and said, “You have one more Memory, don’t you? Tsukasa told be about your power.” Sunset reached into her pocket and pulled out the Shining Memory. “Yes, but’s no good without the Unicorn Memory, it’s a power up, it can’t work without something to power it up!” “So you’re just going to give up, that’s it?” Shotaro asked. The fiery redhead snorted in anger. “WHAT ELSE CAN I DO?! I have no powers, a bit of magic, but it can’t defeat an ARMY OF DOPANTS! Nor can it stand a chance against Starlight’s power!” Shotaro turned around and faced the young girl with a look of determination in his eyes. “Then it looks like I have to teach you what it means to be a Rider.” Shotaro reached behind his back and pulled out, not the Double Driver, but the Lost Driver. Unlike the Double Driver, this Driver was a prototype, made specifically to work with only one Gaia Memory at a time. Shotaro normally used this Driver when he didn’t feel that using his and Philip’s combined power was needed. Shotaro placed the Lost Driver at his waist, and a strap automatically released and fastened it to him. He then took out the Joker Memory and pressed the button. < JOKER! > “Henshin.” > JOKER! < Upon inserting the Memory into the Driver, a purple field of energy surrounded him, and transformed Shotaro into Kamen Rider Joker. “What…What are you doing?” Sunset asked. Joker’s red eyes flashed as he dashed towards Sunset, the redhead gasped and quickly jumped out of the way as she rolled onto the grass and away from his attack. Sunset recovered and watched as Joker once again ran straight towards her. He jumped into the air, spun, and then brought down his left heel for an ax kick. Sunset backflipped away just as his heel made contact with the dirt, making a hole upon impact. “What the hell are you doing?!” Sunset asked. “A Kamen Rider is not defined by their power alone!” Joker dashed towards his target again, Sunset hadn’t had time to completely recover so she went on the attack as well. Joker threw a straight punch, the blow grazed Sunset’s left cheek, making her hiss from the sting as his punch continued to sail past her. She knew that she couldn’t harm him with his armor on, and punching him would only hurt her knuckles. Palm Heel strikes it is! Sunset struck with the flat of her palms, right into his chest. Her enhanced strength did manage to push him back a bit, but as far as damage was concerned, that was nonexistent. More and more punches were thrown at Sunset, some she managed to dodge, others she didn’t, taking one body blow after the other. Sunset didn’t stop though, she returned few of those hits, striking Joker in the arms, and across the helmet to disorient him. “A Kamen Rider fights even though all hope may seem lost, because we are hope! Powers or no powers, there’s only one Kamen Rider Unicorn, and that’s YOU!” Sunset used both of her arms to block a chop that was aimed at her head, she widened her stance as she dug her heels into the earth to keep herself standing. “I can’t save anyone now! Don’t you get it?!” Joker broke off the attack, spun once and kicked Sunset in the gut, sending her flying across the field as she skidded to a halt on her back. The impact was so great, it knocked her cellphone out of her pocket, making it land next to her head as she held her stomach and coughed. “So, you’re just going to let the city you swore to protect shed tears? Are you going to let the woman you love shed tears waiting for the one she loves to rescue her? Show me, show you’re at least willing to stand up and fight against whatever power comes your way! If you don’t, then fine, Terui, Philip, and I will go and take down this Starlight Glimmer. But you will have no right to call yourself a Kamen Rider!” That’s…That’s not such a bad idea…I mean, c’mon, how long was I really going to keep up being a Kamen Rider for? When the last Dopant was defeated, that would be it. There would be no need for Unicor, Nasca, or Trigger…What’s so bad about just giving up and letting Shotaro do it? Sunset looked at her cellphone, noticing that the screen had lit up. She reached out and took the device in hand, and when she did, she read a message, several of them. [From Rarity: Sunset, Darling, I know you’re hurting, but you mustn’t give up, your princess is waiting for you in that dark tower!] [From Fluttershy: I know the girl who dug herself out of that crater is no quitter! You stand up and go after Twilight!] [From Pinkie Pie: I know it’s hard to smile right now, but that’s why you have to smile even more. Even when things are at their most grim, if you can smile through it all, then everyone can keep fighting!] [From Applejack: Hey, Sunset, Ah woke up. Ah know things went south, but ya can’t give up yet…if there’s anyone who can turn somethin’ like this around, it’s you. We’re all behind ya Sugarcube.] [From Rainbow Dash: I’m sorry…I’m your partner, and I couldn’t even help find a way out of that situation. And now, I can’t even comfort you right…I just want you to know, I’m not ready to give up, I know deep down you’re not ready either. I don’t know how, but I know we can stop this! FYI, if you get a bunch a messages from the girls, I told them what happened. Sorry] [From Gilda: You and Dash saved me from myself, and you helped me realize how much I care for that dork, so please don’t tell me the girl who helped save Gabby and me is going to throw in the towel now! Get off your ass and fight!] [From Juniper: Don’t quit, Sunset! I believe in you, and so do others, if seeing all these movies has taught me one thing, it’s that it’s not over until the credits roll, and I’m damn sure they haven’t rolled yet!] [From Celestia: Sunset, Rainbow Dash told us what happened. I can’t imagine what you’re feeling right now, but you are the strongest girl I have ever met in my life, not to mention the most brilliant. You are a hero, Sunset Shimmer, no one can take that away from you.] [From Luna: I will say, Sunset, I don’t often see you as just a friend, I consider you almost like a younger sister. And as any good big sister, I have to tell you to pick yourself up, and fight!] [From Namby: I figured you might be down after what Rainbow told me. All of the news stations have your back, the people, and even the police have your back. If you don’t believe me, click the LINK.] Sunset, did click the link, and when she did, it led to a forum that was started a few hours ago, filled with people sending their words of encouragement to Unicorn. [Diamonds-R-4ever: Unicorn saved me from my monster of a mother, and helped to finally be honest with myself! No matter what anyone says, Unicorn is my hero, and I know she’ll save us!] [RocketGirl: Unicorn saved my Mom from becoming a monster, and helped us become a family again! I may not be in Canterlot, but I’m rooting for her all the same!] [Moon’s Keeper: Don’t forget about Nasca, she saved me from being forced to hurt people.] [Inkblot: Same, Nasca helped us both, she gave us a second chance, we won’t abandon them!] [DazzlingHips: I hope you’re reading this. We used to harbor such hate for what you did to us in the past, for all humans. But, you purified us, and even at our worst, you still saved us. The girl I know, the girl who saved my sisters and I, is not the type to just give up. Show us another miracle, Unicorn.] Joker came up and took the cellphone away from Sunset, he read through the comments and her texts and said, “There are many people in this city, and beyond it, who are cheering you on. Tell me, what does being a Kamen Rider mean to you?!” The black armored Rider cocked his fist back and punched straight for Sunset. However, Sunset met his punch with the flat of her right palm, catching the blow before it could make contact and stopping Joker’s momentum altogether. Sunset began to rise up, her body glowing with a faint red aura. From her head, she sprouted pony ears, and her long hair formed a ponytail as her aura sparkled more brilliantly than before. “It means, fighting for those you love!” Sunset pushed Shotaro back, she jumped into the air and came at him with a flying roundhouse kick. Joker stopped the blow with his left arm, but the power it generated did make the grass lay flat as the energy was dispersed. “It means protecting the innocent against whatever darkness threatens them, with all you’ve got!” The former unicorn landed on the grass just as Joker unleashed a flurry of punches. Sunset blocked or deflected most of them, while counterattacking and hitting the armored hero with her fists. Each of her blows did manage to cause a sparse amount of sparks to fly from Jokers armor, but it wasn’t enough to completely stop him. Both fighters separated, and then dashed towards each other again. Joker threw a right punch, and so did Sunset. The two fists met in the middle, colliding against each other as purple and red light flashed. Both heroes stayed like that, frozen in place, however, Sunset couldn’t maintain her power up for much longer as her aura faded away and her ears and tail did the same. She collapsed onto the ground, staying in a kneeling position as she panted from their fight. “I get it, Kamen Rider Unicorn is more than the power, more than the mask, I am Unicorn, with or without my powers. I don’t know what I can do, but I’ll do whatever I can, so please, Mr. Shotaro, please help me save this world? Please help me save the person I love?” Shotaro disengaged the transformation and held out right hand towards Sunset. Sunset looked up and saw that Shotaro was smiling at her, she took his hand and stood back up. “That’s what I wanted to hear.” The hard-boiled detective opened Sunset’s hand and reached into his pocket. He then placed something in Sunset’s hand and made her close it around the object before releasing her hand. Sunset, confused, looked at what Shotaro had given her and gasped at what she saw. The Unicorn Memory. “But…But how?!” Shotaro crossed his arms. “Tsukasa had a feeling something may go wrong with regards to the T2s, so Philip used Museum’s old facilities to make perfected T1 versions of your Unicorn Memory, and one of Nasca. They function similar to ours, they’re not as powerful as the T2s your used to, but we figure it’s better than nothing.” Sunset held the Unicorn Memory tight in her hand as she cried tears of joy. “No, it’ll do, thank you so much, Mr. Shotaro!” Shotaro tipped his hat to her and said, “Just Shotaro is fine.”