Shiho had never been to Angers before, but at the same time, she’d never seen a town as rustic as this, even compared to Kantarijji, that hadn’t yet received most of the technological advancements the rest of Japan had. Angers still had ancient castles standing tall and proud, though their facades were already beginning to crumble from age. A lot of the buildings here were still supported by wooden beams and Shiho didn’t know how people were able to keep these standing over the years. Nor did she care.
“Die Die Riches…” she said under her breath. Here they were now, standing before Angers, the city that held the leader of the activist group that murdered her friend, Ban Kai. It was here that they had come into existence and it was here that she was going to see them destroyed.
“This is the meeting point.” Sunset kept her lightphone after checking through it. “They should be arriving any time now.”
“Hey, as long as they don’t attack us for nothing.” Spike looked at Shiho and Sunset.
“Good grief. I said I was sorry, didn’t I?” Shiho grumbled.
“He didn’t mean anything by it.” Twilight defended Spike. “It’s just not everyday you get attacked out of nowhere. Well, actually…”
Sunset listened intently as Twilight went on about the various threats she and her friends had to deal with in Equestria time after time, year after year.
“I’d heard of a few incidents when I was still studying under Princess Celestia,” Sunset said. “But this is madness! You’ve saved the world more times than I can count!”
“That we have.” Twilight couldn’t help but smile. “I couldn’t have done anything without my friends. They might not have come to this world with Spike and I, but we’ve had Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, Appy… and Skyburn to help us out here. And now we have the chance to work with you too, Sunset Shimmer. I must say, it’s nice to have someone from home.”
“Never thought I’d ever meet another Equestrian myself.” Sunset and Twilight met hands in the middle in a thunderous handshake. “It’s good to have you, Twilight. And you too, Spike. You’d be surprised at how many people would love to see you alive and well. If they were still alive.”
“Seems you’ve all witnessed a lot of death and destruction.” Spike folded his arms. “Can’t say I envy that.”
“That we have…” Sunset sighed, remembering the friends who had given up their lives to ensure Principal Cinch wouldn’t get the Stand Geode. “Hey, this is the spot. They should be here soon.”
Their group had stopped just outside a small cafe with tables along the pavements. From here, they could see many more shops down the street, most of them selling vintage items. In one of these buildings, they would find the main base of Die Die Riches.
Shiho grumbled something inaudible, then stuck a cigarette in her mouth.
“Hey, you need to stop.” Sunset grabbed it out of her mouth before she could light it. “This isn’t good for you.”
“You know what’s good for you?” Shiho shot her a scowl. “Minding your own business, granny. Give it back.”
“Curious little article…” Twilight leaned closer to look at it. “What does it do?”
“It, uh, makes smoke when you light it and you breathe it in?” Shiho said, not having needed to explain what a cigarette was before. “Don’t you have smokes in your world?”
“Oh, tobacco!” Twilight’s face shone with understanding. “Yes, we have pipes in Equestria. I don’t use them, but some of the members of my council do. I’m not very fond of the smell, to be honest.”
“Yeah, I know the feeling,” Sunset said, pocketing the cigarette, earning her a glare from Shiho. “Why don’t you chew gum instead?”
Shiho rolled her eyes. “And why don’t you try eating grass instead of bread?”
“Well, as a matter of fact, I do eat grass.” Sunset looked up at all the eyes that had turned towards her. “Yes, grass is edible. And I put them in my sandwiches from time to time. Twilight, back me up here.”
“Humans don’t eat grass, huh?” Twilight tapped a finger against her forehead. “Interesting… It seems your diets are also very different from ours.”
“And you think I’m a strange person,” Shiho grumbled. She jerked a thumb towards a building across the street. It looked like some kind of tavern. “I’m going to get a beer or something. If I get attacked by an enemy Stand, I’ll try to make a lot of noise when I die.”
Shiho swaggered across the road and into the bar before anyone could stop her. Sunset Shimmer merely sighed and put her hands into her pockets. “I blame my son-in-law’s genes for how she turned out. Ah, Shiho was always such a sweet girl until recently.”
Twilight shrugged. “Children can be rebellious sometimes. Some of my pony friends’ children were kind of similar.”
“I guess it’s just a phase.” Spike shrugged. “Maybe. Someone should go with her.”
“Yeah… Spike and I will keep an eye on her, Sunset.” Twilight gave her a smile before waving for Spike to follow her.
“You don’t need to sweat it, Sunset.” Daring Do gave her a pat on the arm. “Shiho might act all tough and wayward, but I’m sure when push comes to shove, she’ll be right there to defend those she cares about. That includes you.”
Sunset looked at the retreating form of her granddaughter and nodded. She wanted to believe that, but she didn’t know if she could.
There was a honking of a car horn and everyone turned their heads over to a red sports car that had just rolled up alongside the cafe’s pavement. Its engine roared with incredible power and its wheels were thick and huge, likely for off-road travel. Behind the wheel was a humanoid figure in a hoodie and when it vanished into thin air, the car powered down and three of its doors swung open. Sunset knew Cajole Joyride and Josher Joyride well. Cajole was the son of an old friend, Jostle, one of her friends who had helped her stop Cinch all those years ago. As for their third companion, she’d heard about who he was, and she had expected him to be taller.
“Heeeey, Skyburn!” Josher Joyride was the first to move himself over to the rest of the group, giving his cousin a handshake. “Glad to see you in one piece. Didn’t expect you to get caught up in all this as well.”
“Things aren’t good all around the world, Josher.” Skyburn shook his head. “Die Die Riches are popping up everywhere. I’m… I’m sure you heard. About Appy.”
Josher nodded solemnly. “I’m so sorry to hear about that. She was my friend too. I can’t believe they killed her.”
“Trust me, we’ll stop them. We have to.” Daring Do gave him a thumbs up. “For all that is good in the world.”
“I can’t believe you have the real Daring Do with you!” Josher put his hands to his cheeks and squished them. “Daring Do, it’s an honor.”
Skyburn agreed. If it weren’t for the trying times, he would’ve asked her for her autograph.
“We’ll need all the help we can get against another group of Stand users.” Sunset clenched a fist tighter. “So this is him?”
“A pleasure to meet you.” The boy bowed.
Cajole smiled and pointed at their third companion. “Joshi Horner, son of Dolfy Horner himself. Too bad Summer’s not here. She would’ve loved to hear his name.”
“She would.” Sunset smiled.
“It’s been some time since I’ve seen her. I wonder if-”
Sunset had looked down at her shadow for a few seconds as he talked, but when she realized he had stopped midway, she looked back up to see Cajole pulling at his mouth.
She was about to ask him what was wrong, but when she opened her mouth, nothing came out.
Hmm? Odd. I don’t hear my words coming out…
Sunset opened her mouth and stuck a finger down her throat, and when it got irritated enough, she removed her appendage and coughed, but no sound came out. Her next thought was that she had just gone deaf, and in her old age, that wouldn’t have surprised her, but a white van drove by and she could still hear its engine running.
She turned to look at her friends and the other occupants of the cafe and realized everyone had realized they could no longer speak or utter a sound.
If everyone can’t speak at the same time, it has to be the work of an enemy Stand!
Daring Do tried to say something, but when she realized no sound would come out of her mouth, she began wriggling her arms around, pointing in all directions.
Sunset had enough of it and she called forth Alicorn Fantasy, resetting herself to a previous state, but when she tried to say something again, she still could not. Whatever was causing them to remain silent was still ongoing.
At least it’s not immediately harmful… Sunset took solace in that. Wherever this Stand was, it seemed to only be able to turn them all mute.
Someone tapped her on the shoulder, and she turned to see Skyburn Dash gesturing around with his hands, then pointing down the sidewalk.
What is he trying to tell me? He knows something? He knows where the Stand master is?
All of a sudden, Josher dropped to the ground, cradling his stomach as he winced with clear pain, though no sound could come from his mouth. His father was quick at his side, putting an arm around him as he tried to find out what was the problem.
Josher could only shake his head and rub his stomach as blood ran down the side of his mouth.
Something is plaguing him? Sunset didn’t know if it was related to their silence, but something was seriously wrong, maybe inside of him. Another ability of the enemy Stand? Maybe to injure our vocal cords?
She looked around, trying to spot the enemy. This Stand didn’t seem to be an offensive Stand like Alicorn Fantasy was. That meant it could likely affect a larger area, and the Stand master could be hiding anywhere on the street.
Wherever they were hiding, it was impressive that they knew they would have already arrived in Angers. Die Die Riches wasn’t as resourceful and rich as Principal Cinch or even Weather Alternate; finding them so quickly wouldn’t have been easy. Unless…
Maybe their base is nearby…
That was the only explanation that made sense. Sunset and her friends must have accidentally wandered into range of Die Die Riches’ headquarters.
Opening her mouth, Sunset tried to tell the others about this theory, but she instantly remembered why she had come up with it in the first place. They were being attacked by an enemy Stand user.
Skyburn gave her a pat on the shoulder again, then pointed to the side of the building as he kicked off the ground with his Stand’s leg, soaring up a good height before it lodged one of its batons into the side of the building.
Sunset understood better now. He was trying to get her to go to the roof. She didn’t know his exact reason, but they could at least get a clearer picture up there. She gave Cajole a stern look, trying her best to communicate to him that she would handle this.
He just nodded and stayed by his son as Sunset flew up after Skyburn with Alicorn Fantasy. They didn’t come all this way just to get stopped now. They were going to stop Die Die Riches, and they were going to do it soon. She just hoped that Josher would be alright.
Deep inside Josher Joyride, everything was not alright. Just beside his gallbladder, a small organism pushed its claws through the organ, creating three holes where blood and bile could flow out.
It laughed a monotonous laugh before skittering through blood vessels to its next target, Josher’s lungs.
This small figure was a plated beast clad in maroon colored armor and it had three sharp claws at the end of its arms and legs. A gaping mouth moved up and down at the center of its body, dripping saliva as it anticipated its next attack.
This was Moves Like Jagger, a miniscule Stand capable of entering the body of anyone to injure them from within with its sharp claws and spikes. Because the Stand was small, it couldn’t immediately kill anyone from inside. Instead, death would only happen once it had torn apart enough of its victim’s body, putting them through torture and anguish for as long as they could hold out against it.
Its master laughed and leaned back against a bean bag as she twirled a finger around a lock of her blonde hair. This was Playtime Jax Jamas, better known as PJ Jamas to all those around her, especially to the group she belonged to, Die Die Riches.
Being in the comforts of her apartment, she was dressed in a pajama top and a pair of glittering pants that reflected the sunlight that came through her window. A lightstrip went down the side of her top, and she curled one leg to her chest as she stuck a thumb under her chin.
“That’s right… destroy him. Take him down…” she laughed as she watched Moves Like Jagger cut through a vein on its way. “And you can’t tell anyone what’s going on, hehehe…”
“Are ya winning, PJ?” Another woman wandered into the living room. She had bright orange hair and green skin and she wore a dark green tube top and white short shorts. Behind her, a golden figure with no arms and legs floated along, clad in a thick red cape with a furry collar and a similarly golden crown atop its head. “Giving it to them good?”
“Very good, Ivy…” PJ flicked the lock of hair from her finger and reached a hand out as Ivy took it, sauntering over behind her to sit on the bean bag. “With Enjoy the Silence at work, they cannot state the nature of their medical emergency, which is Moves Like Jagger tearing their insides apart!”
“Yes, very much so, PJ…” Ivy leaned down and pressed a cheek against the top of her head. “This is going to go so well… The enemies of the world will fall to our genius plot and there’s nothing they can do to stop us now. How will they even find us? Both our Stands are long range and we’re thirty meters from the cafe.”
Ivy LeVine was another member of Die Die Riches, born and raised in Angers, the same as PJ. They had known each other for thirteen years and their parents had passed ten years ago after a road trip towards Germany ended in front of a drunk truck driver. Only PJ and Ivy had survived the accident and ever since then, they had been scrounging through the muck just to survive one more day. Most of their possessions at home had been found in dumps and donation booths, things that the rich no longer wanted.
PJ had been a drummer for a small-time band and Ivy was a makeup artist before they had lost everything. When their parents had died, two uncles from their respective families had teamed up to steal all the assets their families had ever owned before escaping to Switzerland.
It was through Duckie that the two women had eventually found their uncles, but they had already squandered all the money and were living in a rundown apartment, always at each other’s throats. Seeing them like this, their hatred for the rich only grew and after killing the two of them slowly, the two women returned to Angers, ready to help Duckie wage war against the privileged.
“Mmm, it always feels so good to know a rich person is dying because of us…” PJ wrapped Ivy’s arm around her neck. “Ever so slowly and being unable to say anything.”