“So, does anyone think Sunset and Twi found something?” asked Applejack as she, along with the rest of their clique of friends, walked through the halls of Canterlot High towards the library. All around them, students had flooded the halls moving in the opposite direction making. The final bell had rung not too long ago, signaling the beginning of everyone’s favorite daily quest: to leave the classrooms behind! Hundreds, if not thousands, of voices were chattering about their plans for the afternoon as they paused in their journey only long enough to head to their lockers to get what they needed. Some, like Rainbow Dash, would be staying behind to practice with their sports teams. Others planned to get some dueling in before heading to get something to eat at the local diner or just heading home to begin work on a paper for Mr. Doodle’s class.
“No, oof, idea darling,” said Rarity as a student accidentally slammed into her shoulder. Said student quickly apologized as he continued on his way leaving Rarity to momentarily scowl at him before turning to look at her farmer friend. “They’ve been pouring over those books and looking up articles online for days now. Poor dears look so frazzled.”
“I just hope they found something that might help Juniper,” whispered Fluttershy, her words causing unease to settle on the group as they turned the corner and entered the library.
It didn’t take long to find the two teenage girls, seated at the same table they had been using every day during their study hall period and after school. It was a large, round table where over a dozen students could sit; situated right smack dab in the middle of the large room with books stacked into tall towers all around them. All of them thick, heavy books dealing with the law and other legal matters. Famous cases, court proceedings, general law, specific laws, and so on. Nearly the entire legal section of the Canterlot High Library was at this single spot, as were two girls situated on opposite sides of the table. On one end was Twilight, flipping through a book with one hand, her eyes darting back and forth at lightning speed as she read, while the other held a pen ready to take notes. However, the notebook she was using had many scribbled out with such intensity that it looked like she had torn through the pages more than once. On the other side sat Sunset, bent over with her shoulders slumped as she started at the screen of her laptop.
“Hey girls!” Pinkie shouted, jumping with hands in the air as she did. Miss Cheerilee shot her a glare as confetti shout out of her open palms, causing Pinkie to rapidly grab the thin pieces of party paper. In a flash, they were all collected and she gave the older woman a nervous ‘sorry’ smile.
But before anyone could notice Miss Cheerilee rolling her eyes, Twilight and Sunset turned around causing all of the girls to recoil. Some (cough, cough Rarity) more so than others. Frazzled was an understatement. Both girls looked tired, with lines beginning to show under their eyes and small blotches of what could be coffee stains on their blouses. Their skin looked slightly paler and their hair was sticking up in random places.
“Ah…Are ya’ll alright?” asked Applejack, being the first to get over her shock and approach the table.
“You both look dreadful,” said Rarity with a shudder.
“Trust us, we feel ten times worse,” said Sunset, her head dipping a little as her eyes seemed to grow heavier for a moment. It looked like, for a moment, she was going to faceplant into the table and books but managed to stop herself with a sudden jerk. “Even giving up all of our free time to look for something that might help Juniper, we’ve only managed to scratch the surface of the law in this world.”
“Come on, it can’t be that hard,” said Rainbow, waving her hand in a dismissive gesture. But, as she did so, she noticed the twitching eyes of her tired friends.
“You’re right, it's not that hard,” said Twilight as she stood up, speaking in a voice that sounded like she was going to go full maniac at any moment. Rainbow looked around, as if trying to find an escape route, but the others shot her a look that said ‘you made your bed, now lie in it’. Even Miss Cheerilee, whom Rainbow saw in her peripheral vision was shaking her head before turning away, stating clearly that she wasn’t going to touch this one. Slowly, she turned her head to look forward, finding that her purple friend was marching towards her with clenched fists and a smile that looked crazed. “I mean, we’re just pouring over hundreds of years of legal cases from all over the country to find some sort of legal precedent. Just searching for an obscure law that might help Juniper. Finding some sort of legal argument that would be more believable than ‘magic made me do it’! Doing all that while doing our own homework, jobs, searching for evil Equestrian magic infesting a children’s trading card game, being on the lookout for who did this to Juniper, dealing with my brother’s apartment hunting, finding out my boyfriend was in town without telling me, trying to make time to make a new duel disk for Sonata, and a slew of other things while also getting at least some sleep! Yeah, not that hard!”
By the end of her rant, Twilight’s face was inches away from Dash’s. Twilight’s eyes were wide open, veins clearly visible now as she stood there panting heavily while her body shook ever so slightly. Rainbow tried to smile weakly, but feared what her friend might do in this crazed state.
“Even if we did find something, we’d have to prove it in court,” said Sunset, drawing everyone’s attention while closing her laptop. “That’s where the problem lies. Even if we did find something, anything, that might help Juniper, the prosecution will do everything in their power to disprove it. And they will have experience and resources on their side. We…we just don’t have any of that.”
For a moment, nobody said anything as the words of the two smartest girls in the school sunk in.
Then, Applejack sighed. “Well shoot,” she said. “Guess this was a lost cause after all.”
“Applejack!” gasped Rarity, so loud that Miss Cheerilee had to shush her. Rarity winced a little at that before speaking again in a softer tone. “How could you say that? Are you really going to abandon a friend just because it’s a little hard?”
“I ain’t saying I like it none,” snapped AJ, her voice low as her eyes narrowed at her ivory-skinned friend. “But let's face the facts: this here is too big for us ta handle! None of us have the time or skills ta represent Juniper in court. At least not proper-like. We go in there and them big fancy lawyers they’ll have will just be runnin’ circles around us! And none of us has the spare cash needed to hire a real lawyer.”
“But that’s…” began Rarity as she turned to look at everyone else. Pinkie instantly pulled out her pockets, her plush Gummy falling out as well as several cupcakes. But no money. Fluttershy merely lowered her head, trying to hide her face behind her long pink hair. Then she looked over at Twilight who-
“All of my money has gone into building the new duel disks,” she said before crossing her arms and looking very annoyed. “Those devices you all took without listening to my long, detailed tutorial on how they worked!”
Rarity let out a nervous laugh as she turned to look at Sunset who instantly shook her head. “Hey, I’m the only one here who has to pay her own rent,” she said.
“Right,” said Rarity slowly as she then turned to look and hope beyond hope that Rainbow had some cash they could use. However, Rainbow was already shaking her head.
“Rarity, you know I’d never leave you hanging,” she said. “But I don’t think the $450 I have saved up will be enough for a real lawyer.”
Now Rarity’s shoulders slumped as her eyes became downcast. “I’m afraid I can’t help out much in this department either,” she admitted. “And her uncle, well, hasn’t gone to see her since she was arrested. The poor dear.”
“Wait! He hasn’t?” asked Pinkie, so loud that she earned another shush. “B-But why? They’re family!”
“That may be why it’s hitting him so hard,” said Rarity. “From what I know, he was still upset that she nearly ruined the movie set and could have cost everyone working there their jobs. Maybe even hurt or even killed someone with her sabotage. The director has calmed down so he’s not as mad as he was, you know ‘time healing all wounds’ and whatnot. But some of that pain and anger is still there. And they had been rebuilding their relationship and he was starting to trust her by having her bring him things at the studio. But now it's like they’re right back at the beginning.”
“I get it,” said Sunset as she folded her arms on top of the table before resting her head on top of it. “It’s like how everyone expected the worst from me during the battle of the bands. They still couldn’t get over what I had done prior to the Fall Formal.” Sunset let out another sigh. “At least the good news is that if she can’t get a lawyer herself, the court will provide one for her. Sure it’ll be a public defender with too many cases on his plate and not enough time or resources, but a lot more help than we could ever be.”
“Then I guess that’s it,” said Fluttershy slowly. “There’s nothing we can do.” Slowly, one by one, all of the girls began to hang their heads in defeat. It was such a rare thing. Normally the power of friendship would be at their side, helping them conquer whatever problem stood in their way. But now, they had found something that was so far beyond their powers. Something that-
“Yeah,” said Pinkie as she turned around and began to walk towards the door. “Too bad none of us knows someone who is super rich, has an army of lawyers at their beck and call, and owes us a favor.” While her words didn’t have an effort on her (Pinkie’s hair deflating as she walked away), it did have an effect on the rest of the group as they all looked up with realization shining in their eyes.
“Pinkie,” said Twilight. “You’re a genius!”
“I am?” said Pinkie as she turned around, looking confused but at the same time happy. So happy that her hair bunched back up into its normal poofy form!
Sunset facepalmed before swiftly pulling out her phone. “I can’t believe I forgot. President Shimmer! Her legal team has worked miracles before, so I’m sure this shouldn’t be a problem!” She then paused to look at the others, seeing hope fill their expressions. “And who knows, maybe I’ll catch her in a good mood!”
-x-
“You have got to be kidding me!” yelled President Sunset Shimmer as she slammed both of her open palms onto her desk, loose papers flying off as if escaping from a fire breathing monster. The teenage billionaire was breathing hard, trying her best to keep her emotions under control. It was taking all her might not to clench her hands into fists, smacking the table as hard as she could while screaming in utter rage! To not grab the nearby coffee mug and fling it against the wall! To not go off on a firing rampage at the group in lab coats standing on the opposite side of her desk. That last one she knew, deep down, was the worst thing she could do as they were some of the brightest minds there were in the industry. So, instead, she remained where she was as her eyes twitched slightly as she tried to process this latest failure.
Shimmer’s eyes glanced down, spotting the schematic for the immersion chair. It was supposed to be every Duelist and anime otaku’s dream come true! The ability to enter into a virtual world with a magnitude of options for what you could do! Want to join the Dark World Army and conquer a kingdom with you at the helm? Have fun! Want to have a thrilling spy drama, but with the vampire monsters instead of Spyral? Whatever floats your boat! Want to have your own world to operate your own Jurassic Park or something with dragons? Go nuts! Want to have a workout with Gilford the Lightning? Er, not Shimmer’s cup of tea but if that’s what you want. Do you want to be in your own slice-of-life anime-type setting with Witchcrafters like in those young adult novels? Enjoy! Heck, if you wanted, you could create your own avatar and duel other people online in fantastic settings!
Originally, this had been the pet project of her adopted father. The one who had turned this company from a military manufacturer giant into the world’s greatest gaming company. The one who had invented duel disks! However, the immersion chair had been one of his few failures. When the first round of testing had begun, he had been trapped in the virtual world by the board of directors who had tried to backstab him. Then, years later, he tried to bring it back only to find out that some nut job had imprisoned even more people in a VR world where if their avatar died they died in real life! This was then followed by another person who was caught doing something similar, but at a much smaller scale. It was because of these idiots that everyone else wasn’t allowed to have nice things, forcing the governments to do the remarkably sensible thing and ban any such technology. It was only now that these bans had lifted with a string of protocols put in place to make sure nothing like that ever happened again.
Enter Sunset Shimmer. She had seen the old design for the game and, while it had its charm, the medieval fantasy was far too cliché. No, she would make this work. Bigger and better than her old man could have ever dreamed! She would bring the game of Duel Monsters to the next, highest level!
…IF ONLY SHE COULD GET THE DAMNED GAME TO WORK! She honestly could not understand what was going wrong! Every time they got the game up to the point where they could test it on a person, a damned glitch would spring up and cause the entire thing to crash! Sometimes it was when you were going to activate a trap card. Other times it was when you used an equip card. And one time the entire thing crashed when she ordered tea without sugar within a VR café! Really! Time after time, they had tested the systems searching for the source of these glitches and every time found nothing. Because of this, the game’s release date had been pushed back eight times. Eight!
“How is it that none of you can figure out a single glitch?” demanded Shimmer, her eyes narrowed dangerously as if daring someone to speak.
Her lead scientist gulped loudly, taking up that dare. “Ms. Shimmer, please believe me that we thought we had it this time. Me and my team, we went through the entire system code by code to make sure everything was correct. We tested it all day, looking at every previous issue. But when we came in, all of them were there! This shouldn’t have happened.”
“But it did,” said Shimmer in a growl, her eyes feeling ready to incinerate all of them on the spot. “And I want answers to why this is happening or else you’re all-”
“I think it was sabotage,” blurted out one of the other scientists. President Shimmer blinked, looking like she had been slapped followed by having a bucket of cold water splashed in her face. Slowly her eyes went to look at the one who had spoken. He was a pimply man with messy brown hair and thick glasses. His front teeth hung over his lips, making him look like the embodiment of nerdiness for all the world to see.
“Who are you,” asked Shimmer slowly.
“Don’t mindPoindexter,” said the lead scientist quickly, moving to block the teen’s view of the nerd. “He’s just…well he’s been saying this for a while now and we have tried to explain to him that it couldn’t ha-”
“Poindexter,” said Shimmer in a tone that meant she was talking now and everyone else was to shut up. The head scientist shot Poindexter a pitying look, as if he had warned him that saying this would get him in trouble. But he moved, allowing the two to look at each other without any obstacle. “You are aware that Kaiba Corp has one of, if not the, greatest security systems in the world. There are guards on every floor who-”
“Ah, weren’t all of those guards beaten up by a bunch of high school girls recently?” asked Poindexter. While his voice was both nervous and polite, there was something more in it. Something that wouldn’t let him back down. And despite herself, Shimmer couldn’t help but feel impressed by this. Sure, she was annoyed that he had interrupted her, but it took guts.
President Shimmer glanced over to the lead scientist. “I take it he has already heard about all of our security precautions, both physical and digital. And that your lab is not connected to the rest of the Kaiba Corp network. And that the immersion chair is not hooked up to the internet, making it impossible to hack into.” The lead scientist nodded again, his face paling as he gulped loudly. But Shimmer ignored him for the moment as she turned to look at Poindexter. “Alright then, if you know about all of that, what makes you think that it's sabotage.”
Piondexter took a deep breath. “Because I made a copy of the immersion chair’s systems and took it home with me,” he said. Shimmer’s eyes widened, mouth dropping. At once, all of the other scientists began to talk in a frenzy. Their words blended in with each other so Shimmer had to assume they were trying to save their own hides. But Shimmer didn’t care as she stared into the face of the nerd who stared back at her while wave upon wave of emotions crashed within her. She felt angry at him for doing that as well as at security who had failed to do their job. She felt numb that something like this could be going on right now under her nose. She felt…impressed that he could just stand there, admitting what he had done. She felt so very, very much now.
“You know,” said Shimmer as she tried her best to rein in her emotions. As she spoke, the other voices died down so as to listen to her unimpeded, “I could have you fired, thrown out of this building while making sure your life becomes as miserable as possible. Making sure you are penniless and homeless by the end of the day, your reputation in ruins. So please, explain to me why you took top-secret programming home with you and why I shouldn’t do any of that!”
“Because it was the only way I could think of to be sure,” said Poindexter, a slight irritation in his voice now. “We’ve exhausted all of our other options. We’ve replaced every piece of hardware in the immersion chair and rewritten the code from scratch four times. But even after we have tested the chair, the glitches just keep appearing from out of nowhere. So what’s more likely? A magical glitch that keeps reappearing no matter what we do or someone is making sure this project fails.” As Poindexter paused to take a breath, Shimmer found herself fighting not to nod. Even after finding out that there was a magical land of talking ponies out there as well as other things that defied all logic and the sense of norm, it still seemed more likely that this seemed intentional.
“I tried to tell everyone my theory, but no one listened,” continued Poindexter as Shimmer began to pace back and forth. “I managed to evade all of our security with the copy of the programming. Then, when I brought it back the next day and found that there was another glitch, I compared the two using a program I created. New code had just appeared! Complete gibberish.”
“Piondexter, you know that’s not proof!” said the lead scientist. “The parameters are completely different and-”
“I believe him,” said Shimmer, interrupting the lead scientist. She sighed while continuing to pace, not looking at the assembled group before her. A part of her wanted nothing more than to punch herself in the gut for never considering this. For not wanting to believe it was a possibility. For putting so much faith in her security system that it would blind her to the fact that it could fail. And now, she was paying the price. Something she had to own up to. “It’s the only thing that makes sense. But you’re right as well: we have no proof at the moment. All we have is a theory that will sound like we’re making excuses for why the immersion chair still isn’t ready. We need to figure out how we’re going to get the evidence we need and soon before the investors lose even more faith in-”
At that moment, her phone began to ring causing the teenage CEO to pause in her step. For a moment, she considered letting ring as she had more important things to do. But the noise was making it hard for her to concentrate on the task at hand. She needed to figure out how to handle this mess, a mess that had dropped millions of dollars in with nothing to show for it! She needed to figure out how this saboteur was spotting the weakness in her security. Everyone she hired went through a screening process and, well, she had ways of finding out who was getting a little extra on the side. Even if it was in an offshore account. She needed to find a way to quickly restore everyone’s faith in her company and quickly before all of her other projects were scrapped! So, in utter frustration, she pulled out her phone to end the call.
It was at this point that she saw who it was: Sunset Shimmer. The oddness still hadn’t worn off, even after all the times the two had hung out since their first meeting/kidnapping. After all, this was her from a parallel universe where she was a pony who had been mentored by a princess in a magical kingdom. Yeah, still strange every time she thought about it. And it was because she had come to this world, getting her social security number thanks to some moron’s oversight that had caused President Shimmer no small amount of grief. Thankfully now, everything was alright. She had set the record straight, even giving her alternate self a new backstory for the public: they were twins separated at birth and, due to a mix up, they had both grown up with the name Sunset Shimmer. Hey, it wasn’t perfect but it did its job.
For another moment, Shimmer debated with herself on what to do before hitting accept. “Hey sis,” she said, playing the part for the crowd.
“Ah, hey…sis,” said Sunset, sounding a little uncomfortable. But there was more to it. She sounded tired, almost drained. “A friend of mine is in some legal trouble and we were sort of hoping that you could lend a hand…”
Shimmer raised an eyebrow at this. “Not another friend from your hometown?” she asked before glancing at her staff. All of them seemed frozen in place, a few looking grateful that she wasn’t pacing anymore.
“No, no,” said the other Sunset. “She, well…had a magic spell placed on her that stripped her of her freewill and robbed the movie theater where she worked and needs a really good lawyer.” Sunset had spoken swiftly, barely pausing between her words. But Shimmer could hear everything, frowning a bit more now.
“Ok. And I should care…why?” asked Shimmer slowly, not caring how that made her sound at the moment. “You know she’ll be given her own attorney, right?”
“Because it’s the right thing to do,” said Sunset, her voice sounding strained now as she tried (and failed) to keep her irritation under control. “Plus you owe me, remember? The whole kidnapping thing?”
“I thought you were imperson-” began Shimmer, quickly losing her cool but stopping herself before she said too much in front of her staff. So she paused for a moment, bringing a hand to rub her temples for a moment. “I already paid you back for that. I thought we were even.”
“I,” began Sunset, sounding like she was also calming down a bit. “I’m sorry. It’s just I’ve been trying to get her out on my own and…You know I wouldn’t be asking you if there were any other way. Juniper doesn’t deserve this!”
“Sis, please don’t,” moaned Shimmer as she moved to her seat and sank right into it, feeling the guilt wash over her. “This is the worst possible time. I have a lot riding on a project which-” Shimmer cut herself off as an idea popped into her head. A crazy, wild idea that, if it worked, would restore faith in her company while also gaining the proof that someone was working to undermine them. It might be a little dangerous, but right now it was the best she had.
Placing a hand over the phone, she looked over at Poindexter. “I have an idea,” she said softly. “And you’re going to help me. Everyone else: leave.” The other scientists didn’t need to be told twice, quickly leaving the room. It was only when it was just the two of them did Shimmer return to her call. “Alright sis. I believe we can come to an arrangement.”
-x-
“What is taking her so long?” demanded Garble. The red skinned man sat at his seat, fingers tapping on the fine oak table while he fought to keep himself from placing his head in his other hand. He, along with several others, sat waiting in the executive board room. Unlike him, the rest were either sitting there with their arms crossed against their chest or sipping some of the provided refreshments.
“Garble, the president isn’t even two minutes late,” said a pink-skinned woman named Cinders, whose chair came with an extra pillow for her to lean her head back against. “Give her some time and relax a little.”
“Glad to see that your department isn’t suffering from all this wasted time,” muttered Garble, just loud enough for all to hear.
“Speaking of wasted time,” growled a man up front. He was older than most of them, taller too as he towered over all of the others in the room even though he was seated. Garble knew this man as Razer, a red-skinned man who was in charge of the HR department. “Complaints about you have been eating up much of my time!”
“Just toss them in the trash,” said Garble with a yawn. “What can those peons do other than complain?” It was then that Garble noticed something that caused him to straighten up in his seat in a hurry. All of the eyes in the room were fixated on him, all of them narrowed while their faces scowled at him in complete loathing. One or two eyes were even twitching, so much so that it took a great deal of effort for the young businessman not to shrink in his seat.
“They can walk out, leave for good,” said Razer with a hiss. “Then we have to waste more time looking for suitable replacements. Or those in a union could strike! Then we would be wasting even more time!”
“Ah, well,” began Garble, only to have another in the room clear her throat. It was Gostir, head of their legal department. The green skinned woman was looking at Garble with her head slightly raised, looking like she had smelt something vile as her eyes connected with his. Her hands were folded together tightly while they slightly shook.
“Or we could have another harassment lawsuit,” she breathed as everyone, including Garble, could feel the tension rising within the room.
“That’s not-”
It seemed like his voice caused something to snap within her. In a second her hands unclasped and she slammed an open palm onto the desk. “Do you have any idea how many times the legal department has had to go out there and defend you since you arrived? Three! That’s three times where we had to drop everything and run for cover because you were abusing your staff to the point where they called a lawyer! Three times we had to use money and resources because you didn’t take those complaints seriously!”
A great deal of effort was now being used not to show he was getting angry…or worried. They had the money to make all of their worries go away, to treat their employees however they wanted. To push them around just like how he used to push others around back when he was in Crystal Prep. And if they did try to fight back by suing them the company could easily just pay them off and make them sign some non-disclosure agreement, to crush whatever pathetic lawyers they could find at the mall, or even to simply make them vanish off the face of the earth. So why the heck were they getting all up in his face about this? All he did was scream at people to work faster, take away their breaks, make them work late into the night, and a few other things here or there.
What worried him however was that this was a poor sign for his overall plans to take over the company. He had been working on his own front to undermine that young flame haired brat since the day he was hired and bit by bit he could see her being pushed closer to the edge. But for that final move, the one that would get rid of her and make him the dragon of this den, he would have to make sure that everyone else in this room was on his side. To back him up! And, right now, it was clear he was alone. Perhaps he just needed to get them to come around to his way of thinking. But that would take time so he’d better just play nice and-
At that moment, the door opened and President Shimmer entered with Ember following behind her like her ever dutiful shadow. Everyone in the room became silent, their attention on Shimmer while Garble gritted his teeth for just a moment. The amount of loathing he had for her could not be understated. It didn’t seem right that he had gone to Crystal Prep, graduating with near top marks thanks to a combination of hard work and bullying, only to have to worm his way into this position all while she was handed her position on a silver platter! Garble despised the way she walked around the company, acting like she owned it! Well, ok, she did own it, but that was beside the point! After all the hard work he had done, he deserved to run this company!
“Sorry for the small delay,” said President Shimmer as she sat down at her seat, leaning back into it like it was her throne. “I was meeting with some of my scientists as we went over the latest updates on the immersion chair.”
“Please tell me it’s finally working,” begged Cinders as she leaned forward. “That thing has been a PR nightmare.”
Shimmer shook her head. “I’m sorry to say that it is not.”
Garble held back a grin at Shimmer’s failure while Cinder’s head landed on the table, both her hands reaching to cover it. “Let me guess, we’re going to move the release date again,” she moaned while the others frowned at her. All their ire was focused on President Shimmer, though not as obvious as it had been when they had been glaring at Garble. As the seconds ticked, Garble’s lips twitched a bit as he relished the sight before him for he knew what would happen. Shimmer would defend her pet project, refusing to budge an inch no matter how much money they spent on-
“No, we are not,” said Shimmer as she closed her eyes. “It’s pointless right now to continue the project.”
Garble felt his eyes widen as he stared at Shimmer. Was this a good thing or a bad thing? It was good in the way that she had wasted so much time and money with nothing to show for it. Had hurt the company’s reputation with this failed game. That she had waited this long to pull the plug. But, on the other hand, the fact that had finally ended her foolishness might put her back in everyone’s good graces. So, for a moment he just sat there like everyone else as he tried to decide what he should do. Remembering that he had always been the most vocal about this being a waste of time, it might look odd that he wasn’t saying anything.
“Good to see that you are finally seeing reason,” said Garble, though no one turned to look at him. “Now we can completely scrap it and move on to-”
“We are not moving on,” said Shimmer, interrupting him as she opened her eyes. “Nor are we scrapping the immersion chair. I only said it was pointless to continue. And that is because we have a saboteur in our mists.” At once the room exploded with noise as everyone was talking…everyone but Garble who sat there wide eyed. How…How did she find out? He had been careful, so careful to avoid being found out.
“Madam President,” said Gostir, speaking up so that her voice could be heard. “I hope you have some proof to back up this claim.”
“Yeah, yeah,” said Garble, seizing on this opening. He stood up so that he towered over everyone else, pointing a finger at Shimmer who remained seated. “Kaiba Corp has some of the best security in the world! How do we know that you’re not making this all up to pass the blame of your own failures onto someone else!”
“Loath as I am to say this, but Garble has a point,” said Razer, sounding like he just drank a cup of toilet water while Garble slowly took his seat. “The immersion chair has been failing for some time and it's only now that you are claiming it to be the work of sabotage. Without proof, this may come across as you being unwilling to admit defeat.”
Much to Garble’s shock, Shimmer smiled slightly as she looked at Razer. “Do not worry, I plan on providing all the proof needed in due time,” she said. “But for the time being, until we can get this sorted out, we will be contacting everyone who has made a preorder and offer them a full refund along with a small gift to apologize for the inconvenience. Perhaps a 10% discount on a customized duel disk.”
Though she said all of this confidently, Garble could see that none of the others present were happy about this. All of them frowning as they shifted in their seats as their disapproval grew. They probably assumed she had nothing, unlike Garble who now knew it for a fact. If Shimmer had anything that could link anyone (and by anyone he meant himself!) to the sabotage then Ember would have been bringing it up on the big screen or else passing folders around on the table. And as she did this, company security would have been in the room as well ready to kick Garble out of the building. But no, there was nothing. Not even the head of security was here today! Still, Garble knew he had to be more careful now as Shimmer finally seemed to be aware that someone was working against her.
“There is some good news,” continued Shimmer, causing Garble to blink in surprise. As he and the others seated in the room grew puzzled, Ember pressed a button on her tablet causing a 3D holographic image to appear right in the middle of the table. Everyone but Garble looked in awe and excitement at the two motorcycles projected before them as they slowly spun around. Both of them were sleek looking, with their grips more off to the side along with arm protectors built right into them. In front of where the driver would be seated was a duel disk tray with special modifications in order to keep the cards from flying away in the wind. The wheels had a rainbow glow as they, along with other parts of the bike, would project the holograms. But beyond that there was nothing special about them. They looked exactly the same, with one being red while the other a plain white.
“President Shimmer, does this mean?” asked Cinders, her voice in awe and dripping with excitement that made Garble’s stomach flip in anger.
“Yes,” said the flame haired woman, her eyes focused on the holograms with her mouth twisted into a triumphant smile. “The D-Runners are ready.”
-x-
Garble stood in the back of the group as President Shimmer herself opened the door to a large hanger that was located near a motor cross field not too far from Kaiba Corp headquarters. The building was large, looking like it was meant more for a small plane or something similar. But the only two things inside were the D-Runners which were both positioned right in the center under a light which began to shine as soon as the doors were open.
“What you see before you are the finished prototypes,” said the president as she strode toward the two overhyped motorcycles. “The very first of their kind, ready to take to the streets. I had hoped to make the announcement that they were ready along with the immersion chair, but sadly this will have to do.”
“I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again,” Garble all but shouted, his voice echoing throughout the hanger. “No one in their right mind will want these things!”
Shimmer looked at him, an eyebrow raised. “Are you saying that the heads of the dueling commission are not in their right mind?”
As Garble’s face began to flush with anger, Razer’s eyes lit up as he turned his attention to Shimmer. “You mean you already spoke with them? So soon?”
“Indeed,” said Shimmer as she began to walk around her expensive toys, her hand tracing the chrome as she did so while Garble narrowed his eyes. “I began talks with them as soon as I heard they were near completion. They have been very interested in expanding the types of tournaments they can have, looking for the next hot ticket. And to prove that this is it, I have already taken the liberty of renting this entire arena so Kaiba Corp can show them what a duel will look like with the D-Runners! They will be here tomorrow.”
“What?!?” yelled Gostir, thankfully before Garble could. “Madam President, I know you’re excited for this but you should have at least spoken to me about this first. We need to make sure that our test duelists know how to ride a motorcycle and have signed all the appropriate waivers to avoid any legal penalties that might occur!”
“We are not using any of our usual test duelists on this,” said Shimmer as she continued to walk around the bikes, still stroking them as if they were two large cats. “I’ve seen them duel, and well, we want to give our guests a show. Not put them to sleep! As such, I have already found two duelists I trust who can ride these D-Runners.”
As Garble’s eye twitched Gostir began to frown deeply. “Duelists you trust,” she echoed. “Meaning you think one of them might be your phantom saboteur.” At that, Garble’s eyes widened before slowly returning to normal while a smile began to appear on his face.
“I’m not taking any chances with this one,” said Shimmer as she finally stopped in her tracks to face the assembled group. She looked serious now, very determined. “If the committee members like what they see, duelists across the globe will have to buy these D-Runners if they want to compete in these new tournaments. We will corner the market while everyone else is trying to catch up! Nothing can go wrong.”
“But if something does go wrong, our company’s reputation will hang in the balance,” said Razer. “Even more so with such a public test. Are you sure that-”
“Everything is already in motion,” interrupted Shimmer, her voice firm. “If anything goes wrong, I will take full and sole responsibility for it. You have my word.” The smile on Garble’s face grew a little more as he saw that this seemed to be enough for the others, most simply nodding in understanding and agreement before they were all led away and out of the building.
But, just a few hours later, the doors to the hanger were opened once more as Garble entered. His greedy eyes focused on the twin D-Runners as he held two devices, one in each hand. The one in his right was a special device used to detect security cameras. Since this wasn’t a Kaiba Corp facility, he couldn’t hack into the system like he had been to put the security footage on a loop while he did his thing. Thus he was forced to use such a device to detect cameras, hidden or otherwise. The other was shining a light on the floor, just in case Shimmer had set up some sort of electronic tripwire or something.
As he walked, neither device seemed to pick up anything. No broadband signal from hidden security cameras, no visible security cameras, no trip wire. Not even a guard asleep at the entrance. It was like fate had giftwrapped this entire thing for him! He almost felt silly for changing out of his suit to wear a black sweatshirt, sweatpants, and a mask instead of his usual suit and tie. And as much as he would have loved to at least take off the mask, he knew better. He had to be careful.
When he had reached the D-Runners, Garble set down his two devices in order to pull a thumb drive out of his pocket. Contained within was a special little program he had created years ago as a prank back in Crystal prep. It wasn’t much, the duel disk infected with this program would begin to short circuit along with everything connected to it when the life point meter hit zero. Why had he created it? Well, to be honest, he had been bored back then and wanted to see if he could make something like a duel disk explode. It was a ‘wouldn’t it be cool’ moment and nothing more. And of course he had to test it on someone. Or, rather, a group of someones. Garble could still remember them, a snobby group that had never given him nor his gang the respect they deserved. So they made the perfect test subjects as Garble and his crew managed to break into their lockers without anyone noticing, installing the program and then challenging them the next day. He could still hear them crying out in surprise and pain as sparks flew from the defeat duel disks, one even exploding right on the guy's arm! Just imagine what this could do on a D-Runner!
Grinning evilly, Garble inserted the thumb drive into the port to begin the download.
-x-
“Woohoo! Would you look at this place!” yelled Pinkie as she bounced up and down on the paved road while Sunset finished getting ready. Today she was not in her normal attire, forgoing her normal black leather jacket, blue blouse, or any of the other outfits she normally wore. Instead she was in a full body outfit that reminded her of the skin tight costumes a superhero would wear. The color pattern sort of resembled the flames of a phoenix, with darker, almost crimson flames on her shoulders running all the way down her arms with shades of oranges and yellows moving downward. Thankfully, there was additional padding along her torso as well as on her knees and elbows. Finishing off her look was the helmet she held under one of her arms, whose shape had an almost bird-like quality to it. Most of her face was exposed save for a yellow visor covering her eyes with the ‘beak’ right above it. It also had two painted eyes on it and she couldn’t help but think of Princess Celestia’s rather annoying pet as she looked at it.
Taking a breath, Sunset turned to look at the others who were all looking around them in excitement. They were in a large, outdoor area that looked ready to hold a NASCAR rally at any moment with more seats than she had seen before. Seeing all this reminded her of the times she had gone to see the Wonderbolts in action back in Canterlot, sitting in one of the high boxes along with Princess Celestia.
…Wow, she was really starting to get homesick.
“This is going so awesome!” cried Dash, looking like she was fighting tooth and nail not to start bouncing like Pinkie Pie. No surprise there, seeing as how they were on one of the few race tracks in the area, given the rainbow-haired girl's love of speed. And Pinkie, well, was Pinkie. “You’re going to be the first one ever to play a card game on a motorcycle!”
“And looking fabulous while doing so,” added Rarity, grinning with maddening glee as her eyes moved between Sunset and those in the stands. Sunset looked over at them as well. Seated in the middle of the stands were a group of people which Sunset understood to be some of the higher up of Kaiba Corp. All of them were watching Sunset with keen eyes, nearly intimidating her. Nearly. Sitting below them were another group of people wearing suits of brown and black. These people were from the dueling league committee, the people who made sure the dueling world kept spinning, as it were. These were the ones who were in charge of hosting tournaments around the world, creating and enforcing the rules, as well as deciding what cards to ban. Unlike the CEO’s from Kaiba Corp, they looked a bit more excited as they chatted with each other.
Then there was her. Walking towards the group was President Shimmer, her leather trench coat billowing behind her as she walked. She had a very confident smile on her face, her eyes glued to her interdimensional clone without sparing to look at any of the others gathered around.
“Is everyone here?” asked Sunset once Shimmer was close enough.
“Everyone that needs to be,” replied Shimmer simply. “So we’ll be starting as soon as your opponent gets here.” Shimmer’s smile faltered for a moment. “Are you sure she can do this? Looking at her, I don’t think-” At that moment, Shimmer was startled as Rainbow suddenly jumped in front of her. The rainbow hair girl was practically bouncing on her heels.
“Hey,” Rainbow began with a smile so wide you could see all her teeth. “If whoever you got to be Sunset’s partner doesn’t show, can I take his place? Please~”
“Speakin’ of not showin’, where’s Twi,” asked Applejack as she placed a hand over her brows as she began to look around. At the same time, Fluttershy looked worried as she began to check her phone. “Ain’t seen hide nor hair of her since the school. Think maybe she’s gettin’ some rest? Real shame if she missed this.”
“Wait, you didn’t tell them?” asked Shimmer as she looked at Sunset. Before Sunset could say anything, the white D-Runner came out of the nearby hanger. It’s rider, dressed in steel grey with a large black visor covering the entire front of the helmet, came soaring towards them at incredible speeds. The rider leaned right and left, serving the bike in a controlled fashion with the skills of a master as the D-Runner passed by them all. All of the girls watched as the person riding it went around the entire track once, speeding up and slowing down as if to get a feel for the vehicle. Then, when the D-Runner drew close to them again, the rider leaned back to perform a wheelie as the front of the bike faced the heavens above before spinning the D-Runner around several times. Everyone was in awe of this…except for Shimmer who looked ready to pull out her hair!
When the stunt was over, the rider landed the D-Runner back onto the ground and killed the motor. Now that the rider was closer to them, Sunset could better make out the outfit. Like her, the outfit was a skin tight mesh of steel grey, but having a matching biker jacket on with a thin black line on its shoulder pads. After kicking the stand, that person got off and removed the helmet: revealing Twilight Sparkle! Everyone other than Shimmer (who still looked like she was about to have a heart attack) and Sunset (who chuckled nervously) stood there with their mouths open.
Pinkie was the first to act, pulling out a glass of water from her hair and downing it before doing a massive spit take. “Who could have seen that coming?” she asked aloud. “Huh, guess we should have, seeing as you weren’t around. And that your family and Sonata are up in the stands too.” At that, Sunset blinked before looking up. Indeed, her crazy pink friend was right. Sitting closer to the bottom was Twilight’s family and then some. Both her parents as well as her brother were seated close together, with what looked like large signs that they were ready to hold up at any moment. Sitting next to Shining Armor was that woman from Crystal Prep, Principle Cadence. Then, finally, was Sonata who had Spike on her lap.
“Sorry about that,” said Twilight as she approached the group, using the back of her gloved hand to wipe away some of the sweat from her brow. “But I wanted to get a handle on the bike before we began. It runs beautifully by the way.”
“But you could have,” began Shimmer before glancing up at the committee members who all now looked even more excited. “Ok, fine. You didn’t crash the bike and ruin the show before it could begin. Letting it go. Letting it go. Letting it go.” The teenage CEO took several deep breaths as Twilight moved to stand next to Sunset. When she looked calm again, Shimmer regarded the two. “Ok, as we discussed on the phone, you two put on a good duel for everyone here and I’ll hold up my end of the bargain.”
“So it doesn’t matter who wins or loses?” asked Twilight as she and Sunset looked at each other.
“Nope,” replied Shimmer with a wave of her hand. “But with that said, this isn’t going to be like a normal duel so there are going to be a couple of extra rules. Nothing too complicated for either of you; just something to make it more interesting for those watching you. Number one: whoever makes one full lap around the track first makes the first move. Number two: if you fall off your D-Runner you have until your opponent passes you five times to get back into the duel or else you lose. Other than those two changes, just treat this like a normal duel. Simple, right?” She then placed a hand on Sunset’s shoulder, giving her a firm look. “Just make sure the duel lasts more than a couple rounds and give it your all. The better you both do, the better the D-Runner will look.”
“Hold up a moment!” yelled Dash at the top of her lungs, everyone jumping at the sudden outburst. As they all recovered, Dash pointed an accusing finger at Twilight. “Seriously? Are we really not going to draw attention to the fact that Twilight can drive a motorcycle like a pro? When did that happen?!?”
“Actually, I’ve been taking lessons from my mom and brother ever since I first learned how to ride a normal bike,” said Twilight, smiling proudly. “It also helps that I studied combustion engines since I was in the second grade, so I know what they are capable of. And thanks to several physics books, I was able to better understand the theories of how some of the stunts are performed in order to gain the maximum result.” As Twilight said all this, Rainbow just stared at her with her eye twitching and mouth slightly hanging open.
“So this whole time ya could ride?” asked Applejack, holding onto her head like it was about to come flying off if she let go. “But…But if that were the case, why did Cinch put ya in the archery competition during the Friendship Games? Just…Just why?”
“Well, archery was a mandatory subject back at Crystal Prep,” said Twilight with a shrug. “I guess she assumed I would be more skilled there than anywhere else. Would have been great had she just asked me what I was best at.”
“Alright, enough of this,” said Shimmer as she clapped her hands. “You can all ponder what else she's good at up in the stands. We have a duel to start.” With that said, Shimmer began to push all of Sunset’s and Twilight’s confused friends away.
As the sounds of their friends walking away began to grow distant, the two girls looked at each other intently. A wind blew past them, but neither even flinched as the stare grew more intense. There was no malice or hostility in it, but both of them seemed to burn with a desire that neither had ever felt before. At least, that’s how Sunset felt. She could still remember her failure during the duel at Camp Everfree. How she had barely been able to put up a fight for most of the duel against Cinch and Well-To-Do while Twilight had done most of the heavy lifting. But now, things were different.
“This is going to be our first time dueling each other,” said Twilight firmly. “And the first time we’ve had to go against each other since the Friendship Games.”
“Yeah,” said Sunset with a nod before a small grin appeared on her face. “And I don’t intend to lose. Not after all the new support I put into this deck!”
Twilight grinned back. “You’re not the only one who has been improving her deck,” she said, a hand reaching to touch the deck box on her hip. “I’m ready to show everyone here what my Genex Allies can do.” As she spoke, Sunset saw the ghostly image of Genex Ally Axel appearing behind her friend. The android towered at least a good two to three feet above Twilight, looking down at Sunset as he gently placed a hand on Twilight’s shoulder.
At almost the same moment, however, Sunset felt something touching her shoulder as well. Eyes widening, she turned around to behold the image of someone she hadn’t seen since Camp Everfree. It was Prominence, the Molten Swordsman! He stood nearly as tall as Sunset, his skin made of tanned rock with black shoulder pads. He had no mouth, but there was a silver circle embedded within its forehead right between his green eyes. Prominence said nothing, but merely nodded at Sunset before he and Axel vanished.
And before either girl could comment on what they had just seen, a siren sounded signaling for them to get to their bikes.