//------------------------------// // Z: Zenith / of the Final Battle // Story: Kamen Rider Unicorn // by Michael_Ravencroft //------------------------------// Sunset didn’t know who this who that other Rider is, but she was glad she was there to help. She would wish her luck, but something told her Kamen Rider Tempest was going to wipe the floor with those two, and the subsequent explosions she was hearing echoing up the stairwell was a good indicator. Sunset teleported one flight of stairs at a time, she had to get there as quick as possible, seeing as how Rainbow’s Nasca Memory shattered, there was no telling how much longer her T1 Unicorn Memory would remain intact. Finally, Sunset made it to the entrance of the roof. With a long sigh, she steeled her nerves and kicked down the door, sending it flying off its hinges as it skidded to a halt on the ground. Unicorn emerged from the doorway, already in a defensive stance. Just as she predicted, Shining Armor, Kamen Rider Trigger, was acting as a sentry, standing at the halfway point between herself, Starlight and Twilight. The mechanism that was being used to gather the Gaia Memories, the proverbial magnet that Sugar Belle and Party Favor spoke of, was floating behind Twilight. The ring was rotating slowly, and from what she could see, there were twenty-six nodes, and each node was glowing with the symbol of one of the T2 Gaia Memories, and unfortunately, she saw that out of the twenty-six, there were only three nodes left dim. Starlight still had her Equal and Xtreme Memories, a tactic to ensure that in case something went wrong, she could still transform, but with that being the case, if Sunset defeated Shining Armor, it would mean one more Gaia Memory would fly towards that magnet and complete the machine. Twilight looked her way, her eyes were full of hope and relief, and Sunset couldn’t help but feel the same way, seeing that she was alright, for the most part. “What the hell is Twilight strapped to, Starlight?!” Starlight raised her hands as she said, “Now, now, calm down, I assure you, she’s not in any pain and I haven’t hurt her. I just need Twilight’s help for the final stage.” “The stage about opening the Earth’s Memories to all people of the world?!” Starlight raised an eyebrow and then smiled. “I see, they must’ve told you. So, then you know that I’m doing is what needs to be done for the good of the world and the people in it. I can’t keep the doorway open and control the flow of energy at the same time, but with Twilight’s help, she can act as the key and I as the controller. Together, we’ll usher in a new world! Please, Sunset, you have to see the ultimate good that I’m trying to bring about!” “If I had heard about this plan sooner, I’d probably be onboard, but not after what Philip told me,” said Unicorn. “Who the hell is ‘Philip’?” Starlight asked. “One of the Riders from another world, he comes from a world where they also use Gaia Memories and he’s the Avatar of the Earth, he’s like you and Twilight! And he told me, that if you do this, you will succeed, but it will be a world where no one is themselves, a world where individuality is erased, and what makes a person human is gone forever. A hive mind without anyone in control, we’ll all just exist, with no goals, no reason to go on. Part of a collective without any direction.” Starlight looked shocked for a moment, but then her eyes narrowed into slits. “You don’t know that! HE doesn’t know that! Our worlds are completely different! Who’s to say that things won’t work differently here?!” “Is that really a risk you want to take?! Do you really think THIS is what Sunburst wants you to do in his name, in honor of his memory?! There are other ways to help the world, with all your wealth and influence, you can make a bigger difference than most people are able to do! Look how you’ve helped Sugar Belle and Party Favor!” Starlight sighed, she did remember, she remembered how she helped all four of them. “Yes, but only because they were within my reach, but there are millions upon billions of others who I can’t reach! For their sakes, I will do this, Sunset! For their sakes, I will bring true harmony!” Sunset narrowed her eyes beneath her helm, there was no way she was going to talk Starlight out of this, no, the only way to stop her, was to defeat her. “Alright, if that’s how you want to do this, Starlight, then I won’t hold back!” “I would expect nothing less from you, Sunset,” said Starlight as she took out the Equal Driver. < EQUAL! > “Henshin!” > EQUAL! < Equal didn’t move from her spot beside Twilight, she merely just stood there with her arms behind her back. Of course, why would she need to fight? She has full access to her powers and her Final Form’s powers and Sunset couldn’t use Day Dreamer form for fear that it would shatter the T1 Unicorn Memory. She was already at a disadvantage, this was just to show that even if she beat Shining Armor, she would still have to fight her, and her power. The other unfortunate thing here was that Shining Armor was still in his SWAT mode. Oh, this just keeps getting better, thought Unicorn. However, she was not completely without a plan, the only real problem was how to get close enough to Shining Armor. Deciding to test her ability, Unicorn dashed towards Trigger, the mind-controlled Rider didn’t waste any time as he aimed the Chrome Ultimatum and fired several shots in Unicorn’s direction. The super heroine ducked to the right as the laser bolts flew towards her, missing the first round, the second volley came just as fast, forcing Unicorn to jump into the air to avoid a direct hit. This had her where Trigger wanted as he fired a third volley into the air, Unicorn focused her magic and formed a barrier around herself just as the bolts impacted. Cracks formed along the barrier, spider webbing to form more, Unicorn clicked her tongue in frustration, her barrier with the T2 would’ve held up better, but such were the limitations of the T1. /#\ GATLING! /#\ A blue construct Gatling barrel appeared over the Ultimatum’s barrel, and immediately began spewing hundreds of dozens of laser bolts in Unicorn’s direction. The bolts pelted her barrier like a never-ending hailstorm, chipping away at her barrier with each passing nanosecond. Before the barrier could completely collapse, Unicorn’s horn flashed, and, in an instant, she vanished. Trigger ceased his attack and switched his Utility Memory power to another. /#\ KNIFE! /#\ Another blue construct formed, this time a forming a long blade, Trigger widened his stance and quickly spun around slashed behind him. At that moment, Unicorn reappeared just in time for Trigger’s blade to strike her across her chest, sending sparks flying from her armor upon contact. Unicorn recoiled from the blow, but steadied herself, she then teleported again. Unicorn appeared to his right, but once again Trigger was ready and slashed at her again, Unicorn barely missed the attack as she ducked under the blade and slid to a stop a few feet from his left. Twilight watched this with bewilderment, Shining Armor was effectively countering Sunset’s teleportation attacks. Equal saw Twilight’s reaction and said, “The SWAT Form has an analytical engine, it works with the Suppresser Memory to counter different situations, but it can also be used to help predict unpredictable movements. Like say, rapid teleportation. Based on past battle data, it recognizes Sunset’s most likely pattern of attack and directs Shining Armor as to where to strike. Her normal surprise attacks won’t work here.” Unicorn fired several mana spheres in Trigger’s direction, but Trigger merely sniped them out of the air, causing them to explode before they reached him. Unicorn cursed under her breath, wishing she had one of her other Memories to at least give her an edge here. There’s still the Shining Memory…no that could overload the T1. Guess I have no choice, I’ll trust Philip and Twilight on this one! Unicorn steeled herself as she began running full speed towards Trigger, the mind-controlled hero began firing at Unicorn, each bolt hit its mark as sparks flew from her armor, but despite the damage, she kept running towards him, her momentum hadn’t ceased in the slightest. Unicorn fired a mana sphere straight at the ground before her and Trigger, causing an explosion that kicked up a dust cloud of debris. A flash of turquoise and blue light went off in the dust cloud, causing both Twilight and Starlight to tense up. When the dust settled, Sunset was no longer in her armored form, she was on one knee before Trigger, with the latter having his weapon pointed at her. Trigger had his back to both Twilight and Starlight, and Sunset had her left arm extended towards Trigger, a blow that never connected. “Sorry, Sunset, you fought valiantly, but now it’s time to begin the reformation of the world.” “You sure about that?” Sunset asked. At that moment, something fell to the ground before Trigger’s feet, it was a small rounded device that had a circuit board pattern on it. “`Cause I think it just started!” Trigger quickly turned on his heel, his Chrome Ultimatum now pointed directly at Equal, and revealing that the gray eyes of his helmet were now back to their original blue coloring. Trigger fired five shots, each one hitting Equal and sending her flying backwards. < UNICORN! > “Henshin!” > UNICORN! < Sunset transformed back into Unicorn, just in time to close in on Equal and deliver a roundhouse kick to her head. Equal skidded back further but dug her heels into the ground to keep from crashing into her machine. Equal growled as she looked upon this new development and shouted, “HOW?!” “You can thank Twilight for that, she figured out that you were probably going to use the T-Driver to take control of Shining Armor, so she made a device to counter the mind-control!” Twilight looked perplexed. “But, I-I never finished it! At best it was half ready!” “Philip took care of that while I was having my pity party, he gave it to me before we came here. Now, let’s get you out of there babe,” said Unicorn. Equal went to attack, but a laser bolt was shot at her feet, stopping her in her tracks. “I wouldn’t even think about it; I still owe you for making me into your puppet!” “Sorry about that, but I can’t afford to let you take Twilight out of that chair, nor stop me when I’m this close!” Equal dodged to the left, swiftly taking out the Xtreme Devicer and combined it with her Greater and Lesser Than Signs. Once completed, Equal brandished her Xtreme Memory. < XTREME! > “NO!” Unicorn and Trigger shouted at once. {*X*} XTREEEEEEEEEEEMMMMMMMEEE! {*X*} Scarlet, navy, and black energy surrounded Equal, and within seconds she had achieved her Final Form, Balance Breaker. “Dammit, I really don’t have any choice now do I…” Unicorn took out the Shining Memory, briefly glanced at her T1 Unicorn Memory, and then inserted the former into the Mimetic Drive port. < SHINING! > {< SHINING! MIMETIC DRIVE! >} Golden light enveloped Unicorn, transforming her into her Pseudo-Final Form, Shining Day. Equal looked upon this transformation with curiosity. “That’s not your strongest form, Sunset. Is this your way of saying you can beat me without having to get serious?” “You guessed it, I don’t see the point in putting in the extra effort,” said Unicorn. “I can beat you in a couple of minutes, no problem.” “Sunset…don’t mock my intelligence.” “Worth a shot.” \\\\\ LOYAL! ///// Unicorn’s body was wrapped in a crimson aura, immediately taking flight. Trigger fired several shots at Equal, but the empowered Rider barely registered the attack. Equal pressed down on the left button of the Xtreme Devicer. [{X}] DIVIDE! [{X}] Navy blue light appeared over both Equal’s hands, she fired a beam of that same light straight at Trigger, and the effects were immediate. The ground around him began to ice over, the ice then creeped up his legs until it incased his entire lower half in ice. The bad part was that he couldn’t move from beginning to end, the Entropy Field slowed his movements to near zero, so he couldn’t even dodge it or fire back. Unicorn looked upon this was surprise, to which Equal looked up and fired the beam at her, but thankfully, Unicorn was able to dodge it. “The Entropy Field isn’t just an area of effect ability like my previous form, it can be directed as I wish. Otherwise I’d end up freezing Twilight, and I’d rather not have that happen,” said Equal. Unicorn released a battle cry and flew straight for Equal, the dark Rider aimed both of her hands at the sky and fired one Entropy Beam after the other, trying to hit Unicorn in midair, unfortunately, as fast as Unicorn was, Equal was still faster. The beams were grazing Unicorn’s armor here and there, and it was only a matter of time before she was caught. I can’t hold back, it’s all or nothing! Unicorn placed the Shining Memory into the right hip port and pressed down on the button. >} SHINING! MAXIMUM DRIVE! {< Unicorn flipped around and extended her right leg forward for a flying Rider Kick. A spiral horn formed before her, with blazing golden wings that gave one flap and propelled her forward. Equal fired her Entropy Beam right at Unicorn, the two attacks clashed in midair as they struggled for supremacy, ice was actually starting to form over the fiery construct wings, as well as over Unicorn’s body. But she wasn’t deterred, Unicorn was determined to stop this plan from coming to fruition, to save the world she had come to call her home, and to save the girl she loved so dearly. The magical warrior released a fierce battle cry as she focused all her power into her attack. The ice melted and then evaporated as her aura blazed with renewed vigor. Unicorn’s attack began steadily piercing through the beam, inching her way closer and closer to Equal. She was closer now, so close that the tip of the spiral horn was about to touch Equal’s palms– *crack* Sunset’s eyes widened upon hearing that distinct sound, it echoed unnaturally loud amongst the roar of her attack and Equal’s. Sunset stole a glance down at her belt and noticed lines of glowing turquoise light were appearing on the Unicorn Memory, more and more cracks were forming, spreading rapidly all over the Unicorn Memory. Before Sunset could udder a word, the Unicorn Memory shattered, the result created a powerful shockwave that threw Sunset backwards into the air. Unfortunately, this put her right over edge of the building. Sunset’s heart and stomach sank into a bottomless pit as she looked down and saw the long drop that awaited her, death looming just a few hundred plus feet away. However, that would not come to pass. Equal took a runner’s stance as she ran towards the edge of the roof, before she jumped, Equal pressed down the right button of her Xtreme Devicer. [{X}] BOOST! [{X}] A scarlet aura wrapped around Equal as she jumped off the edge, the aura flared and began to propel and lift Equal, granting her the power of flight. Equal reached out with her hand and immediately grabbed Sunset out of the air, Equal flew back to the roof and released Sunset back down. Sunset looked up at her with a bit of shock that she did that. “I told you once before, Sunset, no one will die.” Equal strode over to the still ice-covered Trigger, she balled up her fist and punched the ice near his waist. A hole was made from the attack, large enough that Equal was able to grab the Trigger Memory and deactivate Shining Armor’s transformation. “My apologies in advance, Officer Armor.” Equal hit Shining Armor with a palm-heel strike, shattering the ice and throwing the officer a good distance away, rolling next to where she dropped off Sunset. Equal walked over to the floating ring, she raised the Trigger Memory and the device immediately called to it, making it fly up and insert itself into its designated slot. The node for that slot shined blue and displayed the Trigger symbol. Equal deactivated her Final Form, taking out the Xtreme Memory and letting float into its slot in the ring. “And then there was one.” “Don’t do this, Starlight!” Sunset begged. Starlight ended her transformation, now standing in her civilian form she raised the last of the T2 Gaia Memories to the ring and let it fly into its slot. < ACCEL! > < BIRD! > < CYCLONE > < DUMMY! > < EQUAL > < FANG! > < GENE! > < HEAT! > < ICEAGE! > < JOKER! > < KEY! > < LUNA! > < METAL! > < NASCA! > < OCEAN! > < PUPPETEER! > < QUEEN! > < ROCKET! > < SKULL! > < TRIGGER! > < UNICORN! > < VIOLENCE! > < WEATHER! > < XTREME! > < YESTERDAY > < ZONE! > The ring began to spin at a rapid pace, blurring until it became a glowing aurora ring of light. The ring then fired that same light straight into the sky, and immediately after, the sky was torn open. Hundreds, upon thousands of lights were blinking in the white expanse on the other side of the tear, and each one was a Memory of the Earth, the infinite knowledge of everything that has ever existed or even will exist was now looking down on Canterlot City. “It’s time,” said Starlight. The chair that Twilight sat in began to engage, a head piece extended from the chair and fastened itself over Twilight’s head, as soon as this was done, Twilight screamed into the air in protest, but this process would not be stopped. All at once, her screams stopped as her eyes went wide, becoming pools of radiant white light. Starlight reached into her own pocket and pulled out a similar device, placing it on her head. “Twilight will be the key that keeps the gate open, while I act as the conductor, I will be able to control the flow of information that streams from the Earth’s Memories and let them be absorbed by the people of the Earth! And the first to be enlightened will be Canterlot City!” The lights in the sky began to rain down upon the city, everyone who was outside, or huddled in their homes for safety, could only watch as the emerald lights fell from the sky, piercing through concrete and steel as if it was air itself. But the light didn’t harm anyone, when it did hit a person, it rippled upon them like water, and with each hit, the people could slowly feel their minds opening up to the knowledge, all things were being shown to them, the beginnings of the world, the origin of the lifeforms of the planet, the ancient wisdom which had been kept locked away in an ethereal plane of existence was now with them, and being granted to them. Sunset rose up to try and get to Starlight, but the effects of the Earth’s Memories were too strong, her already brilliant mind was being flooded with near infinite knowledge, all she could do was absorb it, revel in it, and with that, she just stood there, the color of her eyes changing to that of the same emerald color as the lights themselves. Shining Armor tried to resist as well, but not long after, he too succumbed to the knowledge, his own irises changing to the same emerald color. “Soon, everyone, all over the world, will see the light of harmony and equality, goodbye wars, goodbye prejudice, ignorance, and greed!” Starlight stared up into the sky which continued to rain the emerald light like actual raindrops. “Can you see it, Sunburst? Can you see the new future I’m creating from up there?” Starlight asked as she reached up towards the sky, as if hoping to grasp her friends’ hand to receive some sort of acknowledgement of her accomplishment. The Gaia Impact has arrived. ***______________???______________*** Twilight found herself floating in an infinite white space, the young genius curled up into a fetal position as she floated there, revolving like a planetoid, a directionless existence. “Is this really all you’re going to do? Float around and be useless?” “What else can I do…? Starlight’s won…everything that makes someone human, is going to have it erased and be nothing more than a directionless drone…” “And you’re just going to float there and take it? This is the girl who beat me?” Twilight finally peaked from her fetal position to see who it was that was speaking to her. To Twilight’s surprise, the person floating in front of her had raven black wings, violet colored skin, rings of blue fire around her eyes, and a face that looked exactly like hers. Twilight back peddled away from the apparition before her as she screamed, “M-MIDNIGHT SPARKLE!” “Good, at least you haven’t forgotten my name.” “W-What in the world are you even doing here?! I-I destroyed you months ago!” Twilight exclaimed. Midnight shook her head. “True, you burned me. But I am part of you, Twilight, true your little burst of power severely weakened me to the point that I had to retreat deep inside your soul to recuperate. And recently, I’ve been okay with staying in the shadows, but now, I can’t, not after this pitiful display!” “What are you talking about?” “I’m talking about letting Starlight Glimmer win! Are you seriously just going to let her use you like this?!” Midnight asked with flared wings. Twilight hugged herself as she looked away from her dark half. “What else can I do? I’m strapped to a chair, my mind is acting like the key to keep the floodgates open, it’s too much for me to push back! I’m not strong enough!” Midnight sighed in frustration as she ran her hand down her face. “Seriously, I don’t get what Sunset sees in you? Between the two of us, I come with the whole package. Brains, edginess, and,” Midnight struck a sexy pose, using her wings to emphasize her exotic qualities, “I’m better filled out than you.” “S-S-SHUT UP! And why would you care about Sunset?!” Twilight asked with a fierce red blush upon her face. “Your feelings for her are mine as well. That being the case, neither of us want to exist in a world where Sunset’s a hollow shell, I could care less of those other girls, but I won’t have that for her,” said Midnight. Twilight was actually relieved to hear that from Midnight, despite her dark origins, she still cared enough to assist in stopping Starlight to save the person they love. “Okay, but how are we supposed to stop this?” “Not ‘us’, you.” As Midnight said this, her body began to slowly transform into particles of violet light. “What’s happening?!” Midnight looked at her hand and gave wistful sigh. “My plan…I’m going to use the last of the magic that allows me to exist within you and use it to help you reach out to those who can help you close the gateway to the Earth’s Memories. You said you can’t do it alone, fine, but isn’t relying on your friends what Sunset preaches all the time?” Twilight couldn’t believe it; her dark side was actually willing to sacrifice her very existence to allow Twilight a fighting chance at stopping this madness. Midnight waved her hand and opened a view into the real world, the light of the Earth’s Memories was seeping into the people. But something else was happening. With each emerald light that fell upon them, their bodies would release some kind of shimmering sapphire particles. “Those particles are their personalities, that which makes up who they are. Without that, they’re hollow shells. Existing, but not truly living, that’s just as bad – if not worse – than destroying reality. With one, it’s over in an instant, this would be just slow, torturous death. Do not let this come pass, Twilight!” Midnight’s body began to break down faster, everything below her knees was gone, and it was creeping upwards with more of her disappearing. Twilight felt her eyes water as she floated towards her dark counterpart, reached out, and grabbed both her hands. Midnight was a little taken aback by this action, not understanding why Twilight would cry for her, or even touch her for that matter. “You idiot…why are you crying for me? I thought I was the bane of your existence? A nightmare that you’d rather forget…” Twilight sniffled as she spoke, “Yes…I thought that of you, but I must acknowledge one indisputable fact about you coming into my life, Midnight.” Midnight gulped a little asked, “What’s that?” Twilight’s face broke into a smile as she said, “If it wasn’t for you, I would’ve never met Sunset Shimmer, I would’ve never known how much more wonderful my life is for having her in it. You’re the one who helped spark our connection, I can’t imagine my life now without Sunset in it, and that I owe to you, Midnight Sparkle.” Midnight’s eyes began to water as she held onto Twilight’s hands tight. “Please…Please don’t forget me…” Twilight released Midnight’s hands and quickly embraced the dark angel, making Midnight release a gasp of shock. “I will never forget you.” Midnight smiled as she returned the hug, the two halves of light and darkness continued to embrace each other, until the last of Midnight’s essence was gone, and Twilight was left hugging nothing but the empty air before her. Twilight cried for a minute, saying her goodbyes to her other half. The particles of Midnight began to swirl around Twilight, lifting up her chin as to make her look straight ahead. Before her were six lights, each one radiating a familiar glow. “I understand, I won’t let you’re sacrifice go to waste!” Upon declaring this, Twilight’s body shimmered as her human ears transformed into pony ears, and from her back sprouted two large, purple feathered wings. She gave the wings a flap as she began flying through the expanse of the infinite white. The violet particles wrapped around her wings, and transformed them into large, feathered wings of purple and violet light. Fly to them Twilight… And fly she did, Twilight flew straight towards the first orb of light, it was red, with a golden glow at the center. Twilight placed her hands upon the orb and rested her forehead against it. “Sunset, please, if you can hear me, I need your help. Our friends need your help! We haven’t lost yet; we can still stop this! I know you’re never one to give up, so don’t give up on me now!” Twilight stated. The red orb began to pulsate, Twilight backed away as the orb cracked and shattered, revealing Sunset, she too was in her Pony Up form, but this time, instead of just the ears, she also had wings upon her back, signifying her ascension as an alicorn. “Sparky?” Sunset asked in a daze. Twilight rushed towards her, embracing Sunset tightly and then giving her a kiss upon her lips. “Welcome back, we don’t have a lot of time, but I think we can stop this, but I need you and girls’ help!” Sunset’s trademark smirk appeared as she said, “Then let’s do it!” Both girls flew to each of the remaining orbs, awakening one friend after the other. Each of their friends were already in their Pony Up forms, and each had their questions as to how and why they were in the infinite white space. “Short answer to everyone’s questions is this, Starlight’s plan is happening right now, but I believe our magic combined can close the gateway that’s allowing her to let the power of the Earth’s Memories to flow into everyone!” Twilight explained.   “Then let’s light it up ladies!” Pinkie declared. Twilight led the way through the infinite white, books began to appear, sparsely at first, and then as they got closer, they began to appear more frequently. The books were open, the words printed upon the pages were rising up and flowing out towards the gateway. It seemed the concept of a gateway was given in the form of two large carved marble doors, and on the other side of that door was a swirling vortex of emerald light, upon which the words transformed into light and passed through. “Do you really think we can do it?” Fluttershy asked. “Only one way ta find out,” said Applejack. “Anyone else noticing the blue sparkles coming in through the gate?” Rainbow Dash asked. Upon further inspection, sapphire particles were coming into the white space, some of them passed over the girls, and when they did, they could sense the feelings of the people whose lights they belonged to. Rarity reached out and cupped a few of the particles in her hands, she could feel all their shock and terror, the prospect of losing themselves amongst a sea of infinity. “This isn’t something that anyone should be made to suffer, we must set this right!” All seven girls joined hands, the magic within them flowed freely between them, connecting them in both mind and spirit. But just before they could perform their next action, a flash of green went off behind them. All seven turned around and saw Starlight Glimmer floating there. “What are you doing?” Starlight asked. “We’re closing the gate, Starlight,” said Twilight. “There’s no way for you to do that, so long as Twilight acts as the key, I can freely channel the power of the Earth’s Memories into the people, it’s impossible to close it on your own. Believe me, it didn’t work for me…” Starlight stated grimly. “I’m sorry about Sunburst, he didn’t deserve that, but what you’re doing won’t set things right! It won’t bring harmony, just look at what’s happening!” Sunset exclaimed as she flailed out her arms and gestured towards the sapphire particles. “Do you see all of these?! This is what is being given up in exchange for the knowledge you’re giving to the people!” Starlight looked upon the sapphire particles, she took a handful of them and was immediately flooded with the fear they all felt. She quickly released them; her eyes wide with the shock of what she had just felt. “What was that?! Those…Those were people!” “Do you get it now?! This is the price of granting all this knowledge, they’re losing themselves! They’ll just be drones, alive but not living! Is this what you meant by harmony?!” Sunset asked. Starlight was baffled, she didn’t understand this, why were they losing themselves? “This makes no sense! I ran through all the calculations, all possible scenarios, this…this was never supposed to happen! I’ll-I’ll figure something out, I can fix this!” All seven turned to face the gateway, with Twilight taking point she concentrated on the gate. She was the key, and keys can open doors, but they can also close them. Twilight held her hands up before her, focusing the magic of her friends, the Elements of Harmony, that which each of them represented, was their only chance at closing the gateway and having everyone return to who they were. “You were right, Starlight, I can’t close it on my own, but I’m not on my own!” Twilight declared as rainbow light fired from both her hands. The blue essences that was once coming out of the gateway was now being sucked back into the gate. The words of the many books that represented the Memories of the Earth were now flowing in reverse. Starlight panicked and tried to stop the process, but it was no use, the combined magic of all seven of the girls was stronger than she had thought, no it wasn’t just that, thanks to the combined magical powers of those girls, Twilight could do the exact same thing as Starlight, direct the flow of knowledge. The gateway was rapidly closing, the feelings of the particles that were returning through the gate, that which represented the people of Canterlot City, were changing from fear to hopeful. “Wait, STOP! I can make this right! Give a me a minute! I swear I can make this better!” Starlight begged. “Sorry, Starlight, but this isn’t the way! Twilight, do it!” Sunset exclaimed. Twilight nodded her head and cried out as she crossed her arms in front of her, in reaction, the large marble doors slammed shut, the sound echoing through the endless void. The bookshelves and books all returned to their original state, becoming as orderly as any library. “WE DID IT!” Pinkie Pie shouted in victory, grabbing Rainbow Dash and giving her a bone crushing hug. Rarity sighed in relief that they were able to stop it, Applejack gave a triumphant “yeehaw”, and Fluttershy gave a small “yay”.  Sunset and Twilight embraced tightly, overjoyed that they staved off a disaster, however, the job wasn’t completely done. All seven girls turned around and looked upon a still stunned Starlight Glimmer, apparently unable to comprehend how they were able to shut the door to the Earth’s Memories. “I…I…” Sunset floated to the front of the group and stared down Starlight. “It’s over, Starlight, we can do this over and over again, and we won’t stop. You are strong, but we are stronger.” Starlight clenched her fists as she said, “That’s fine…That’s fine! We’ll do this dance as long as it takes, I’ll–!!!” ***____________________________*** Suddenly, everyone was brought out of the Infinite White Space, and brought back into the real world. Sunset snapped out of her stupor, along with Shining Armor, Starlight, and Twilight. The ground was rumbling fiercely, and soon after, a series of explosions went off again and again and again. All four occupants watched as explosions went off consecutively all around them, ending with one last, huge explosion that could be seen and heard throughout the city of Canterlot. Nothing but the thundering echo of the explosion could be heard, along with the crash of several pieces of debris that fell from the hundred story building. Thick smoke bellowed up from the rooftop, but something was happening. An aurora glow came from the center of the smoke, and soon, the light released a shockwave that completely blew away the smoke cloud. Within the smoke cloud was a sphere of light, made of the same aurora light. The roof was completely wrecked, along with Starlight’s machine. The light began to fade and revealed Sunset, Shining Armor, Starlight, and Twilight all safe. The four had closed their eyes earlier, awaiting their impending death, but when they opened them, they saw that remains of the Memory Ring were scattered on the ground before them. All around them they saw twenty-six points of light that surrounded them and made up the barrier itself, well not exactly, there was a twenty-seventh. Above them was a golden light at the top of the barrier, the bright lights began to fade until they were dim enough to show that they were all Gaia Memories. “The…The T2 Gaia Memories…they saved us?” Sunset gasped. “Is that…possible…? H-How?” Shining Armor asked. Amidst the explosion, the restraints that kept Twilight bound had released, the young genius hurriedly rushed over to where her girlfriend and big brother were waiting, leaving a still shocked Starlight behind. Sunset embraced her girlfriend, this time for real, Shining Armor came over and did the same, thankful to have his little sister back. The twenty-seven Gaia Memories dispelled the shield that kept them from meeting a fiery, explosive death, and divided themselves. Unicorn, Joker, Cyclone, Queen, Fang, Shining, Bird, Heat, Luna, Metal, Skull, Dummy, Gene, IceAge, Puppeteer, Violence, Ocean, and Zone all floated towards Sunset, and did so in a kind of orbit around her. The Trigger Memory floated to Shining Armor, who took the Memory into his hand. The Nasca, Weather, Accel, and Rocket Memories went off the side of the roof, no doubt returning to their original wielder. However, what was surprising was that the Equal and Xtreme Memories returned to Starlight. Sunset dismissed sixteen of the T2 Memories, leaving only the Unicorn and Shining Memories. “It’s over, Starlight, for real. Even the Gaia Memories themselves are saying that. Your machine is destroyed, Twilight’s safe with us, and your subordinates have been defeated. Please, just surrender, Starlight.” Starlight took hold of both the Equal and Xtreme Memories, and then, she began to laugh. It was a long, and quite frankly disturbing laugh that made all three of them take a step back. When Starlight was done, she said, “Sunset, I had hoped you understood me better than that? I’m not so foolish as to bet it all one plan, there is a backup, but it’s a little less refined, but it’ll have to do.” “What ‘backup’ are you talking about?!” Shining Armor asked. Starlight summoned her Driver and pressed down on her Equal Memory. < EQUAL! > “The Emerald Mountain, remember? It’s a direct line to the Memories of the Earth, plus, this barrier acts as a crudely large version of the same machine that was just destroyed. All I have to do now…is defeat you, Sunset, collect those Memories, and retake Twilight. Now that I know what will happen, I’ll just have be the guiding mind for humanity, if everyone’s just going to become directionless drones, I’ll be the one to give them direction.” Sunset narrowed her gaze as she too summoned her Driver and activated her Unicorn Memory. < UNICORN! > “That’s not equality, that’s just control!” Sunset stated. “Well…Whatever it takes to bring about harmony…right, Sunset?” Both women inserted their Gaia Memories into their respective Drivers, this was their final battle, the fight to determine the future of the world, and the fate of its people. Nothing would be held back. “HENSHIN!” “HENSHIN!” > UNICORN! < > EQUAL! < A flash of turquoise and silver light went off, and when it faded, Kamen Riders Unicorn and Equal stood fully transformed. “Shining Armor, keep Twilight safe, no matter what,” said Unicorn. “Wait, I’ll help you, we can take her down toget–!” “No, Shiny,” said Twilight as she held out her arm, “this is a fight that only Sunset can end. Please, trust me.” Shining Armor looked to Twilight’s serious gaze, and then to Unicorn and Equal, neither Rider broke their gaze, staring down the other’s opponent with unflinching resolve. Shining Armor understood what this was, this was the proverbial last battle between the hero and the villain, all his years of being a nerd of comic books allowed him to see the signs before him, as much as he would like to assist Sunset, he’d only get in the way. “Okay, do your thing, Sunset,” said Shining Armor. Unicorn nodded, she then raised her hand into the air and from the sky emerged a firebird. When the firebird landed in her right hand, the flames died out and revealed the Phoenix Ascender. Equal summoned her Xtreme Devicer and combined it with her Greater and Lesser Than signs. Both Riders took out their strongest Gaia Memories, for Unicorn, her Shining Memory, and for Equal, her Xtreme Memory. < SHINING! > \^/ PHOENIX! \^/ < XTREME! > {\^/} AAAAAASCEEEEENNNNSIONNNNNN!!! {\^/} {*X*} XTREEEEEEEEEEEMMMMMMMEEE!!! {*X*} Two pillars of light erupted into the sky, slamming against the barrier and making it struggle just to keep itself together against the immense power of both Riders’ Final Forms. When the light dimmed, Unicorn had entered her Final Form, Day Dreamer, and Equal in hers, Balance Breaker. “You ready for this, Starlight?” “Are you, Sunset?” Both Riders took a single step and, in an instant, dashed towards each other, Unicorn cocked back her right fist along with Equal. Unicorn and Equal threw their punches and connected, a shockwave erupted from their impact, making Shining and Twilight have to duck down to the ground to prevent themselves from getting blown off the edge of the roof. Unicorn and Equal broke off and began throwing a flurry of punches and kicks, each one either parrying their blows or counterattacking. Unicorn jumped back and threw a roundhouse kick to Equal’s left side, causing sparks to fly from her armor. But Equal used her left arm to hook her leg and keep it close as she began to spin around at a rapid pace, faster and faster until Equal finally let go and tossed the hero into the air. Equal pressed down on the right button of the Xtreme Devicer. [{X}] BOOST! [{X}] The dark Rider jumped straight up into the sky and threw an upper cut with her left fist. Unicorn didn’t react in time as Equal’s blow hit right in her abdomen, sparks flew from her armor as she tossed higher until she came into contact with the barrier, slamming up against it. Unicorn grunted as she tore herself free and flew straight down to meet Equal, Unicorn struck Equal across the right side of her helmet, did a quick turn, and gave Equal an uppercut of her own. Equal responded by releasing a burst wave of energy, forcing her opponent back several feet. Unicorn drew a ring of light before her and reached into the center of the ring. Upon doing so, the ring transformed into her ultimate weapon, crying out, “HALO BLADE!” Equal pressed down on both of the buttons on her Xtreme Devicer, before her a long strip of scarlet, navy, and black energy formed. Equal grasped the weapon, making it materialize the powered-up version of her signature weapon. The shaft was black as night, at the tip of the spear was an ornament that appeared as a pair scales, with one half colored red and the other blue. The spear blade was three feet long and was colored a glimmering silver. Equal twirled the weapon around as she pointed it at Unicorn and shouted, “SPEAR OF JUDGEMENT!” The two Riders once again rushed towards each other, this time their battle taking place high in the sky above the city. Equal spun her spear around and slashed at Unicorn, but Unicorn parried the attack with her blade, and went in for a thrust. But Equal quickly spun, making Unicorn roll off her back and away from her. Unicorn flapped her wings and turned around, but Equal used the back end of her spear to strike and made Unicorn back away further from her. Unicorn quickly took out two of her Harmony Gaia Memories and inserted them into the ring of the Halo Blade. )O( LOYALTY! AWAKEN! )O( )O( HONESTY! AWAKEN! )O( A blue and orange aura wrapped around Unicorn as she received a great boost to her strength and speed. At the same time, Equal pressed down on the right side of her Xtreme Devicer three times. [{X}] BOOST! [{X}] [{X}] BOOST! [{X}] [{X}] BOOST! [{X}] Equal’s scarlet aura flared up even more as she readied herself. The two warriors once again met in the middle, their weapons ringing out into the sky upon impact. The two broke off and began moving at even greater speeds than before, appearing to all as a streak of gold and scarlet that zipped through the sky and crashed into other with thunderous force. Unicorn used her magic to insert five more Memories into the sword. )O( MAGIC! AWAKEN! )O( )O( LAUGHTER! AWAKEN! )O( )O( GENEROSITY! AWAKEN! )O( )O( KINDNESS! AWAKEN! )O( )O( EMPATHY! AWAKEN! )O( Now Unicorn glowed with a rainbow aura, focusing all seven powers of Harmony at once. Unicorn swiped her sword through air and in the wake of the slash, beams of light, sparking comets, and energized diamond shards all flew out at once. Equal pressed the left button three times upon seeing this barrage coming her way. [{X}] DIVIDE! [{X}] [{X}] DIVIDE! [{X}] [{X}] DIVIDE! [{X}] Equal twirled her spear around and focused the blue Entropy energy into the tip, she then gave a single thrust, firing a large beam of navy-blue light that struck the incoming attack head on. An explosion took place upon contact, nullifying Unicorn’s attack. However, it was only a distraction, Unicorn teleported behind Equal and raised her sword to strike, but at the last second, Equal expanded her Entropy Field, making Unicorn feel as if her body was trying to push through the thickest molasses to ever exist. Equal chuckled, turned around, and then fired a scarlet beam from the tip of her spear, hitting Unicorn and sending her flying away. But, yet again, it was only a distraction. The Unicorn that was blown away shattered into pieces, revealing itself to be only a construct made of diamonds. Unicorn reappeared in front of Equal and slashed upwards, making sparks fly from Equal’s armor, but not before Equal’s counterattack struck Unicorn in the chest with an energized spear blade. The attack threw Unicorn off balance, but she wasn’t about to give up just yet. Unicorn took out the Unicorn Memory and inserted it into the Max Drive port and pressed down on it. >} UNICORN! MAXIMUM DRIVE! {< Unicorn flew up higher and formed an alicorn construct. The construct neighed loudly and flew straight for Equal. Equal took out her Equal Memory and inserted it into the Spear of Judgement. >} EQUAL! MAXIMUM DRIVE! {< Equal twirled her spear around gathering up energy until a sphere of scarlet and navy-blue energy formed around her. With a thrust of her spear she fired a double helix beam that roared towards the alicorn construct. The construct struck horn first against the beam, but it showed no signs of stopping, the alicorn construct kept going until slammed into the sphere, the two warriors began to plummet at an accelerated rate, both of which crashed straight through the ceiling, thankfully missing Shining Armor and Twilight. The two kept crashing down through one floor after the next, again and again, until they finally reached the bottom, but that wasn’t the end. The two smashed through the floor and descended even further down, destroying several layers of steel and concrete. Unicorn and Equal finally made it to the very bottom of the facility, crashing right through the ceiling and ending up in the underground cavern of the Emerald Mountain. Unicorn and Equal hit the ground with a powerful BOOM that shook the entire cavern, and from the explosion, two dust trails exited it. Unicorn flared her wings as she skidded to a halt, all seven Gaia Memories of Harmony having returned to their holster, while Equal expanded her energy to create a buffer to slow herself down until she stopped. “This could go on forever, Sunset,” said Equal. “Yeah, it could, but if it means that you don’t go through with your plan, I’ll do it! I made a promise to the other Starlight, to save you from the darkness that you’ve trapped yourself in! And I keep my promises to my friends!” Unicorn declared. Equal looked away for a moment, the pony version of herself was worried enough about her to ask Sunset to save her from herself? “No offense to my other self, but I’m not going to be deterred, I’ll save the world!” “As will I!” Unicorn took out the Shining Memory and placed it into her Max Drive port, at the same time, she pressed on the wings of the Phoenix Ascender three times. >}\^/{ SHINING HARMONY! MAXIMUM DRIVE! }\^/{< Equal took out the Xtreme Memory and placed it into the Max Drive port, she then pressed both buttons of the Boost and Divide powers three times. >}[{X}] BREAKER XTREME! MAXIMUM DRIVE! [{X}]{< Unicorn widened her stance as the wings upon her back flared out with sparkling golden light. Rainbow light gathered around Unicorn’s entire body. At the same time, Equal’s body was wrapped in the three colors of her final form, red, blue, and black energy swirled around her entire body as she too widened her stance, both Riders preparing for their final attack. Unicorn and Equal jumped up high into the air, flipped once, and extended their right legs forward for their strongest Rider Kicks yet. Both of their glowing feet made contact, creating an energy nexus that made the very air and ground tremble. Their two warring energies continued to clash as neither Rider was ready to give up, the convergence of the two warring powers continued to glow brighter and brighter as the shockwaves it generated escalated in direct proportion. “STARLIGHT!!!” “SUNSET!!!” The convergence point of their attack reached its breaking point as a massive explosion went off, throwing both Riders back several feet. Equal managed to right herself, but Unicorn wasn’t. The attack propelled her straight into the Emerald Mountain, making her slam right up against it back first. But that’s when everything got worse. The Emerald Mountain began to react to Unicorn’s power, the entire mountain itself shined with emerald light that roared up into the sky, creating a second Emerald Pillar. Unicorn screamed as she felt the immense power of the Emerald Mountain, the raw power of the Memories of the Earth was flowing through her, it was too much too fast, her mind was taking in all this information, but it was different than when she was in that space with Twilight, it felt as if the Earth’s Memories were trying to merge with her, but her mind wasn’t ready, not like Twilight’s and Starlight’s, she wasn’t chosen to be an Avatar of the Earth, so her mind wasn’t prepared to handle this. IS THIS WHAT TWILIGHT FELT ON THAT DAY?! NO, IT HAD BE A FRACTION, THIS IS DIRECT CONTACT!!! Equal saw all this happening, and her mind flashed back. She remembered how much Sunburst suffered before his mind eventually broke and was gone. Equal shook her head back and forth as tears fell from her eyes within her helmet, another person she considered a friend was about to die before her very eyes yet again. “NO!!!” Equal screamed. “NOT AGAIN! NEVER AGAIN!” Equal charged straight for Unicorn, but the power of the mountain was raging out, creating a lot of force for which Equal had to overcome as she approached the mountain. Her armor began to crack by the second, but she endured, she kept going, no one was going to die, and she meant it. Equal’s mask cracked and part of it broke off, showing part of Starlight’s face underneath. Unicorn’s helmet couldn’t take the strain anymore either as it cracked and dispersed into particles of light, revealing Sunset’s pain-stricken expression, her eyes glowing green from the energy that passed through her. Starlight reached out with both of her hands and pressed them against the sides of Sunset’s head. The CEO of PhoenEXE Corp. brought her forehead against Sunset’s, and in an instant, everything around them shifted. Starlight was once again in the Infinite White Space, but this time it was different. The books were scattered about as all of them were opened up and releasing streams of emerald light that combined to create a tornado of green light that stretched as far as Starlight’s eyes could see, both going up and down. At the center of that tornado, Sunset Shimmer was trapped, her body looked like a porcelain doll that had numerous cracks all around it. “SUNSET!!!” Starlight cried out as she floated towards the vortex. Sunset seemed to recognize her voice as she stared right at her. “STARLIGHT?! Please help me! I can feel this power tearing my mind apart!” I can’t believe she’s lasted this long against the strain…Sunset you are amazing, which is why I won’t allow you to die like this! “Listen to me, Sunset, I’m going to take the full brunt of this power and knowledge! When I do, I’ll throw you out!” Starlight explained. “NO! YOU CAN’T TAKE ON ALL OF THIS ON YOUR OWN!” “I’m not arguing this with you! I will not let another person die in front of me! Do you understand?! NOW!” Starlight grabbed ahold of Sunset and began pull as hard as she could, “GET!”, she pulled harder and harder, the emerald energy steadily released her and began to latch onto Starlight instead, “OUT OF HERE!” Starlight managed to toss Sunset out of the vortex, making her tumble about in the Infinite White Space before finally stopping. Sunset got her bearings and looked at Starlight, who was now grunting in pain as the power flowed into her unfiltered and continuously. She had never accessed this much of the Earth’s Memories all at once, it was too overwhelming. Sunset continued to watch all this unfold, she didn’t want this to happen, her promise to pony Starlight, she couldn’t let her die. But she wasn’t strong enough to stay in that stream, she was nearly killed. Please, I can’t let her die…! I just need something, anything! Just then, a golden light shined from within Sunset’s right hand. When she opened it, she saw that it was the Shining Memory, the power of the Memory, the fragment of the Miracle Magic, coated Sunset in a golden aura,  transforming her into her Pony Up form, her wings flared from her back, pony ears appeared from atop her head, and her hair became a long ponytail. Starlight watched as Sunset was slowly reaching out towards her, but Starlight wasn’t reaching back. “TAKE MY HAND, STARLIGHT!” “NO, WE’LL BOTH DIE! AT LEAST THIS WAY YOU CAN LIVE!” Starlight yelled. The vortex released a blast that made Sunset back away, but she wasn’t going to be stopped, no matter what. “YOU SAID YOU WOULDN’T LET ANYONE DIE! THAT INCLUDES YOU, TOO! NOW TAKE MY HAND!” Starlight hesitated, as it stood, she would be the only one dead, but Sunset might just die along with her if she wasn’t careful. “W-W-Why would you?! After everything I said I would do, why would you risk your life?! For a promise!” “NO! Because, you’re my friend!” Sunset stated. Starlight’s green glowing eyes widened, not with pain, but with a sense of joy upon hearing those words. She didn’t know what would happen if she did grab her hand, but it was better than both of them dying, although if she was honest, she hoped that at the very least Sunset would make it out of this. Starlight reached out with her hand and Sunset reached out with her right, the two powers of the Earth’s Memories and the Miracle Magic dueled against each other for a moment, but then the moment that both their hands touched, the entire space erupted with gold and emerald light.