“What a bother!” Trixie said to nopony in particular, rummaging through her hideout. She needed to take anything of worth before Twilight Sparkle’s goon squad arrived to investigate. She stuffed spare bits into a bag and packed whatever food she could fit. Despite her unique condition, Trixie still required food.
Her hoof paused as it brushed an unfinished Monopony game on the table. She’d sworn to Dinky they’d finish it once she returned. But Trixie held no regret about this. The tiny filly was a demon of ruthless capitalism.
She eyed Dinky’s cage next, seeing the freed brick the filly had used to escape. It brought a strange combination of anger and sadness.
Loathed as she was to admit it, it hurt Trixie she’d never get to play games with Dinky again. During foalhood, her parents never had time for game nights. Heck, had she really played games with anypony? Foals either feared her family connections or found her too abrasive to play with.
Trixie reminded herself that Dinky was only a means to an end. She only lived for revenge. The filly didn’t matter. Yet, why did her heart ache so? Was she that desperate for a younger sister figure? A friend?
Not that it mattered. Trixie’s road would always be a lonely one. Such was her fate.
Glancing away from Dinky’s things, she tossed a blanket over her shoulder and left. Luckily, she’d already planned her new residence far in advance. It was a disused ice cream parlor, long since closed down. With a certain trick, its locks wouldn’t prove much difficulty. With the building so close to the castle, it’d be easy to watch the comings and goings there.
The trick was finding ways around the many guards stationed there. They’d make reaching Doctor Shinigami difficult. Tougher still, the old geezer was smart and won’t take any unnecessary risks.
A newspaper flapped against a nearby streetlight, its front page catching Trixie’s eye. It was a commentary on the upcoming war with Pferdreich. Colonel Zol was getting more aggressive, the headline warning of an impending attack.
Despite her previous boasts, Trixie wasn’t sure she’d be of any use against Zol and his army. She was only a single pony, despite how marvelous she was.
I can’t worry about Zol right now. I need to destroy Shinigami before Pferdreich attacks. What a bother, but she’d deal with problems as they arrived.
Fine. It’s settled. I’ll sneak into the royal castle tomorrow night and destroy Inquisitor Doo and Doctor Shinigami. And nothing would stop her, even if she needed to topple the castle on top of them.
---
“How’s it going, Sugarcube?” Applejack asked, walking into Twilight’s lab. “You ain’t looking too hot.”
“For the last time, I can’t afford to rest.” She’d already argued this with Starlight a thousand times. “My new weapon can’t wait!”
Apparently, they assumed she couldn’t pull a triple all-nighter. She’d done it often during college! And regularly afterward too, her studies and internship at Ore Journal keeping her busy.
“That darn right understandable, but it ain’t healthy!” Applejack replied. “Learned that the hard way when Big Mac broke his leg a couple of years ago.”
“I’m fine,” Twilight said, sipping at her coffee. It was delightful. Her assistant, Pinkie Pie, was a master at brewing coffee, although she regularly added too much sugar.
She turned back towards her notes, scratching her head. Her wastebasket overflowed with failed ideas for the focusing mechanism, the final piece she needed, only adding to Twilight’s growing frustration at her lack of progress. Harnessing her photon energy was the key, Twilight was sure. The problem was finding a proper way to control and direct that energy.
A gemstone? It’d be like how a laser worked, gathering and focusing light. The issue was finding the jewel to fit her needs. Garnet, Ruby, or Quartz, perhaps?
“Pinkie.”
“Yep?” Pinkie said, appearing behind Twilight from nowhere.
Twilight yelped in surprise, slipping on a half-crumpled piece of paper. Her hooves flailed as she careened down a nearby staircase. Each stair was pure pain as her head collided with it. Thank Shocker, its elevation hadn’t been that high.
“Twiley, are you okay?” Over the banister, Pinkie peered over, concerned. Her friends ran to help her up.
“No problem,” Twilight said, rubbing her sore head. She accepted Applejack’s hoof up. “Just a silly accident!”
She coughed, trying to regain her dignity. Twilight was a princess, for Shocker’s sake! A temporary one, but still! “Pinkie, I want you to speak to Ponyville University’s Institute for Laser Science. I have a problem I’d like to pick their brains on. Get me an appointment with Doctor Spectro as soon as his schedule allows.”
“Righto!” Pinkie said, zipping away as quickly as she’d appeared.
“You’d think she’d learn not to do that,” Applejack said, chuckling. “She’ll give a pony a heart attack one day!”
“But she does the job,” Twilight said. Pinkie’s endless energy, while sometimes troublesome, got things done quickly.
She yawned and returned to her notes, thinking about methods to integrate such a jewel into her design. Scratchy notes filled her notebook as she wrote out her various ideas. She almost jumped as a hoof tapped her on the shoulder. It was Applejack.
“Oh, sorry, Applejack. I got so busy with my studies that I forgot to attend to you.” Twilight flushed at the lack of etiquette. “Is everything going alright on your farm? Is the subsidy we’re offering not sufficient for the new sprinkler system you wanted?”
“It’s alright, sugarcube. But, no. Ain’t nothing wrong happening at the farm. Just checking how you’ve been. Heard you’ve gotten a tough time the last couple of days.”
Twilight deflated and set aside her notes. “I’m okay, I suppose. I just feel like a worse princess and Kamen Rider every day. Just one complication after another.”
“Say it ain’t so, sugarcube. You’re a darn good leader, and everypony looks up to you! My sis, Apple Bloom, idolizes you as her personal hero! Is this about that Trixie vagrant?”
“I guess. It feels like I’m in a rut that I can’t escape.” Twilight gazed down at her hundreds of failed designs, her frustration mounting.
“That’s why you’ve been locking yourself in your lab, avoiding everypony?” Applejack’s accusation wasn’t wrong. Twilight had canceled most of the appointments, fanning illness. She really just wanted to be alone. Twilight gave a slight nod.
“Then it’s decided!” Applejack said, making Twilight blink. “You need a night out!”
“I really don’t think...” But before Twilight could protest, her farmer friend pulled her into the corridor. Her traitorous guards watched in amusement as Applejack pushed her along the castle corridors with her head, the earth pony’s strength too difficult to fight against.
“Alright, fine. An hour break will do some good.” Twilight rolled her eyes. She looked at a nearby clock. “Though at this hour, I doubt much will be open.”
“My family’s having a get-together. It’ll be tons of fun!”
Twilight brightened and nodded, enjoying the prospect already. Besides, it might dislodge some ideas for her new weapon.
—
“This isn’t quite what I had in mind, AJ.” Twilight rubbed her chin, wondering how she’d gotten into this situation.
“Swing your partner round and round, now do the dosey doe.” An energetic mare with a straw hat sang while strumming her fiddle. She looked vaguely familiar, a face she’d seen around the castle.
“What’ya mean, sugarcube!” Applejack laughed, kicking her hooves in the air. “This is a grando’ time! The old Apple square dance is the Ponyville event that can’t be missed. It’s a tradition that dates before Shocker turned the town into the cement nightmare it is today!”
“I suppose.” Ponyville used to be just a tiny, no-name farming town. After Shocker destroyed the previous capital, Canterlot, they’d transformed it into Equestria’s new prime city, remaining it Shockeropolis. Canterlot Mountain was still a jagged ruin to mark that tragic event. Princess Luna herself had died in that tragedy.
Ponies laughed, twirling around in a circle to the song’s energetic words. The size of Applejack’s extended family was impressive, each a colorful character. A sharp contrast to the dignitaries and politicos Twilight dealt with daily since becoming princess. They laughed, clapped, and sang to the rhythm of the music. The sheer force of their exuberance overpowered Twilight but also lightened her mood.
“Big Mac, over here!” Applejack said, waving somepony over. The stallion she’d waved over was huge, standing almost twice her height. He was bright red, with a shaggy mane of blond hair. His build was powerful, all muscle from years of hard labor.
“This is my big brother, Big Mac,” Applejack said, pushing an awkward Twilight forward.
“Uh, hi!” Twilight said, suddenly self-conscious. “I’m Twilight Sparkle. But I bet you knew that already. Don’t worry about titles. I’m just Twilight here!”
“Howdee, Twilight!” Big Mac replied. Twilight waited for more, but nothing came forthwith.
“Yeah, uh,” Twilight said, lost for words. “Having fun at the square dance?”
“Eeyup.”
“Thanks, good. Everypony seems to be having fun!”
“Eeyup.” An awkward silence persisted, Twilight seeking something to speak about.
The quiet persisted until Applejack spoke up. “I’m glad you two are getting along so well! You two haven’t joined the dancing, right? Well, shoot. Looks like there’s an opening! You better get to it!”
Before she could offer a protest, she and Big Mac suddenly found themselves in the dancing circle. Stuck in this awkward position, Twilight surrendered. She tried her luck with square dancing, tried being the keyword. While a skilled martial artist with over a decade of experience, this didn’t translate to dancing skills. She stumbled over her hooves, colliding with nearby ponies by accident. They glowered at her, and Twilight replied with a sheepish grin.
“Sorry! Sorry!” Twilight said, cringing as her lack of coordination caused trouble. Strong hooves gripped her tight into a more natural dance.
“Here, follow my lead.” Big Mac said. He used the utmost care as he directed her toward the correct steps. The farmpony was quite the gentlestallion, always patient with his flailing student.
While her square dancing wasn’t anything somepony might call stellar, she had tons of fun, and the event helped distract Twilight from her troubles. The hour she had promised herself she’d spend away from her work grew into several hours. It was early morning before she walked the empty streets back towards the castle with Big Mac. She vented to him about the various annoyances plaguing her since becoming Equestria’s temporary princess. The big stallion listened without saying a word, allowing Twilight to speak her mind without reproof or judgment.
“Really, what kind of representative of a foreign nation attacks the leader of a potential ally and almost kills her!” Twilight said, ranting. She still suffered the bruises from that battle. “I know griffons respect strength, but still!”
After another half-mile, she noticed it was almost three in the morning. When had that happened? “Sorry, Big Mac. But I must get going. Busy day tomorrow.”
“Eeyup! Night Twilight.”
“Say, uh, I’m happy we had this night out.” Though, Applejack’s blatant attempt to hook Twilight up with her brother annoyed her, and said so. It was like dealing with Cadance’s insistent matchmaking all over again. They both shared a laugh at this.
“Seriously, though. It’s nice to have somepony to talk to.” Twilight said. “You’re a good listener.”
“Eeyup.”
While he spoke little, Twilight detected a keen mind in the humble farmpony. On an impulse, she blathered about her current problem with developing a new weapon. Big Mac listened patiently as she expounded on several technical terms and technological difficulties.
“I can’t say I know much about the science you’re talking about, Twi, but maybe you’re making the problem more difficult than it needs to be. Maybe Shocker’s already done half the work for ya. They certainly had all sorts of gizmos and doohickeys. ”
“Huh?” She blinked, a sudden thought occurring to her. She slapped herself for missing something so obvious. Hadn’t Ambassador Hell been in charge of weapon development? She’d never considered just looking at his notes for ideas. It might contain some hidden nuggets that might prove helpful.
“You’re a genius, Big Mac!” She gave the stallion a hug. He only blushed, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment.
---
“Let’s see.” Twilight scattered several blueprints across the table in the General’s old office, scanning their contents. With the recent turmoil, nopony cleared his desk out yet. Big Mac stood behind her, peering at the complicated diagrams.
She found an odd grab bag of plans, with little collaboration between them. They varied from prototype tanks to weather machines. There didn’t seem to be any outlandish plan Shocker wouldn’t attempt at least once. Was there no limit to their evil?
Her exuberance turned to a scowl upon stopping something unpleasant, the device used to brainwash Red. Doctor Shinigami had used it to twist the Ranger Trixie’s will during the invasion of the other timeline. It reminded Twilight how dangerous that unicorn was.
“This?” Big Mac pulled out a blueprint for an experimental weapon satellite. This highly concentrated laser weapon could shoot a beam toward the Earth, allowing it to pick off any target with a mile-wide beam. Its destructive capabilities were frightening. Nopony could oppose Shocker with this weapon in their pocket. Thankfully, the project had stalled because of issues with the targeting apparatus.
“Yeah, this might work.” While different from her project, the design for its proposed laser weapon was fascinating. It might just work! “Thanks, Big Mac!” She couldn’t stop herself from giving the big stallion a quick kiss on the cheek.
“Oh shucks.” Big Mac said, blushing.
“Let’s get to work!” Twilight broke into an involuntary yawn, her excitement curbed by a sudden surge of tiredness. It was her turn to blush after her stallion friend gave her a raised eyebrow.
“After a night’s sleep, of course.” Twilight gave a sheepish laugh, seeing the stubborn tightness of his lips. No doubt his sister had told her about her habit of skirting sleep.
—
“Report.” Doctor G said to his spy in the royal castle.
“Fraid it’s just as you feared, sir.” The spy said, crossing her hooves. “I can’t say I expected to see the princess at our family reunion, but it revealed a piece of interest.”
“Oh?”
“She’s gotten closer to developing a new weapon than we expected. I didn't overhear everything, but Lux has made a breakthrough.”
Wonderful. Doctor G scowled, knowing how dangerous these Riders could become if unchecked. The princess had a keen technological mind, possibly surpassing even himself. Fate had dealt Shocker a cruel hoof when it made her a Kamen Rider. They couldn’t allow Lux to gain her full potential.
“Get me names and places.” He said.” I want to know everypony who’s working on this project. Brilliant as Twilight Sparkle is, she can’t do it alone.”
“Already ahead of you. I uncovered a memo stating that Lux is asking for assistance from some egghead at the university. They’re planning a meeting tomorrow.”
“Excellent. When they gather all together, we’ll strike and wipe them from the face of Equestria.” Even if they didn’t kill Lux, they could at least stall the project by killing the scientists.
“Consider it done.”
“Magnificent work, Fiddly Twang, the demon fiddler. Without a weapon capable of harnessing photon energy, Lux will be a helpless filly when we invade Equestria.”