A Friend in Need

The full moon shined down upon Canterlot City, a city that was now a hotspot of supernatural happenings. The students of a local high school would tell you that that was nothing new, but the rest of the city might as well have chalked it up to wild imagination. However, the day of the “Emerald Pillar” had brought about a change, strange monsters were appearing, humans who had acquired unknown powers and did as they pleased, but these monsters have been so far silenced by the valiant power and might of the one known as Kamen Rider Unicorn.

Even knowing of her presence hadn’t stopped those who crave power, who want to break out from their moral binding chains, to commit acts of the criminal sort. And tonight was no different.

A man ran down many alleyways, trying in vain to get away from something that was chasing him. But before he could escape into the open, a wall of gold rose up before him that made the man stop in his tracks completely and fall to his rear.

“Now, now, you shouldn’t run, it only makes things worse for you in the end.”

The man turned around and watched as a golden creature walked towards him. It had three talons for fingers, a roundish armored belly and chest plate, with matching shoulder pauldrons and forearm bracers. Around its waist was a belt with a round node the shimmered in the aura of the gold wall. Its head was strangely shaped, armored with two eyes on either side of a large coin crest in the center.

“Please just give me some time! I can pay back the debt and more! Just please don’t!” The man pleaded.

“A deal’s a deal, no more credit, and we gave you ample time to repay the debt. Now there is only one way to pay it back, with the very thing you bet in first place,” said the monster.

The Dopant held out its right hand and materialized a large gold coin, with a strangely stylized M symbol at the center.

“L-L-Look, I can pay it back with something else! I just need to satisfy the debt and I can win it back right?! H-H-How about my daughter?! You like girls right?! She’s in high school!”

The golden Dopant stopped for a moment. “Got a picture?”

“S-Sure!” The man fished into his pockets and took out his cellphone. After cycling through his gallery, he found a picture of his daughter posing in front of her school. “Here, she’s very intelligent, and bit of a deadpan and blunt, but she’s pretty cute right?”

The golden Dopant swiped the man’s phone with its left hand and looked at it. It was hard for the man to read the Dopant’s expressions, considering its metal face and reading body language was out of the question. After a full minute of the Dopant staring at the picture, the creature chuckled. “She is a rather cute specimen.”

“T-Then you’ll take her?! B-B-But no funny stuff, I don’t plan on losing again!”

“Oh good sir, you cut me to the quick, what point is there using another person as payment? What do you take me for? Some slave trader, feh!” The golden Dopant tossed the man his phone, and in that moment of fumbling the phone, the Dopant closed the distance, pressing down on the coin to make a USB-like connector come out. The Dopant pressed the end against the man’s forehead, the connecter glowed as it began to meld into his skin. In a matter of seconds golden light shimmered from the man’s body before flowing directly into the coin. Once the aura was gone, the golden Dopant removed the coin and let the man fall forward, completely still, breathing, but essentially still. “No, what better way to make even more profit than to have the debt fall on the next able bodied family member. Ha, ha, ahahahaha!”

The golden Dopant walked away, disappearing around the corner. The wall of gold coins disappeared as well, leaving the man on the ground with his cellphone just a few inches away on the ground. The picture was that of a girl in a Crystal Prep uniform, with a bluish gray complexion, silver-gray hair that was done up in two long pigtails, and orchid colored eyes with orange rimmed glasses.

***____________________***

It was nice Friday afternoon and the Rainbooms were in front of the school, and each one was dressed in a cheerleader outfit. The girls were outfitted with different animal ears and tails. Sunset, whether as a joke or out of some show of school spirit, was wearing the Canterlot High Wondercolts pony ears and tail, Twilight had floppy doggy ears and a tail, Rarity had black cat ears and a long tail, Applejack had dog ears and tail that strangely resembled that of her dog Winona, Rainbow Dash had on squirrel ears and tail, Fluttershy had on bunny ears and cottontail, and finally Pinkie Pie…was wearing a gator suit that eerily resembled her plush doll she called Gummy.

The outfits themselves were…ahem…let’s just say fanservice-y. The tops exposed their midriffs, and were done in the colors of the Wondercolts, with the yellow C on the chest, and adding in with a little embroidery flare thanks to Rarity. The skirt reached just a little halfway down to their thighs, Rarity made sure to take into account each girl’s height just to make sure that they weren’t too long or too short. The girls each had a large stack of fliers in the crook of their arms, and handing them out with their free hand, and remarkably they were going through them really quickly.

Sunset side stepped next to Rarity, and with a flinching brow asked, “Rarity, please tell me why we’re dressed up like this? Wearing animal ears and tails, in cheerleader outfits that expose a little more skin then I’d like, and doing so in front of the school? Bear in mind that the old me is being restrained from dragging you to the nearest dumpster right now and throwing you in!”

Rarity chuckled at that question, both for the reason and for the empty threat. “Sunset, whether you’d like to admit it or not, the seven of us here are quite popular. After all we helped save our fellow students from both enslavement and dimensional annihilation. And if I may indulge in my own vanity for a moment, we are quite appealing.”

Sunset gave a deadpan expression. “Gee, really? I couldn’t tell by the guys who were practically groping me with their eyes! And if I’m not mistaken, I think I spotted a few girls as well!”

“All for a good cause, Sunset, all for a good cause! So strut what you got and own that figure!” Rarity exclaimed with vigor.

Emphasizing her point, Rarity sashayed over to a group of boys who were busy talking about something. That is they were until Rarity appeared and began talking to them about coming to the fundraiser and possible volunteer work for the local animal shelter. All three eagerly agreed and took one flier each.

Sunset face palmed herself, not knowing whether to be embarrassed for using sex appeal to help an animal shelter, or ashamed that it’s actually working. The former Equestrian glanced over to Twilight, she seemed quite skittish, this was possibly the first time the genius girl ever wore anything that revealing. Sunset sighed and walked over to stand beside Twilight.

“Hanging in there Twi?” Sunset asked.

“I-I’m not so sure I should continue wearing this, I-I’ve never really wore anything that showed this much of…well…my figure and…”

Twilight glanced towards her other friends. Rarity had a model slim figure, with long legs, and a perfect combination of grace and beauty. Applejack and Rainbow Dash were the perfect examples of physically fit. You could see some muscle on Rainbow Dash’s arms and legs, and even the beginnings of a six pack abs, but Rainbow had made sure she was lean and not too bulky, so as to not be weighed down by muscles. Applejack on the other hand boasted some impressive muscles, not too big, but not too small either. Years of working on her family’s farm had developed her physical strength, and it was most apparent on her stomach, sporting a six pack abs. And then there was Fluttershy, there were really little words that Twilight could use to describe her. She was cute, an hourglass frame, with great curves, she could practically be a supermodel or the cover girl of some big time magazine somewhere.

“Let’s be honest I don’t pull off ‘cheerleader’ as well as the rest of you,” said Twilight.

Sunset had to admit, Twilight was acting way too cute right now. Her nervous demeanor, combined with those glasses, and that cheerleader outfit, and her self-consciousness was endearing. Sunset placed a comforting hand on her friend’s shoulder, making Twilight flinch, but only for a brief second. “Hey, don’t worry, you look super cute right now. I’ll stand here with you the whole time if you want.”

“I’d rather stand behind you to avoid the stares,” said Twilight with a slight chuckle.

“Uh-huh, or are you secretly planning on staring at my butt, or flipping up my skirt?” Sunset asked with a mischievous grin.

Twilight blushed red. “I am not planning any such thing!”

“Hey, I don’t mind a little ogling Twi, but don’t touch without permission.”

“Sunset Shimmer!”

“Can you two stop flirting and hand out the fliers already?! I don’t want to look like a cheerleader any longer than I have to!” Rainbow Dash barked.

Sunset and Twilight were both blushing now, with a few coughs they resumed their work. A couple of hours later saw the group completely without a single flier to spare. The seven had gathered at the Wondercolts statue. Applejack had brought a cooler filled with water and apple cider, and each took a swig and let out a sigh of relief from the cool liquid. Out of the whole group, Fluttershy looked the giddiest about their little stunt.

“I can’t believe I was able to hand out so many fliers, I’ve never been able to get even ten of them out!” Fluttershy stated.

Rainbow Dash chuckled. “Well, when you’re dressed like a bunny girl cheerleader –”

Rarity quickly smacked Rainbow Dash upside the head, causing the prismatic girl to hiss.

“Hey what was that for?!”

“Sorry, Darling, but I feel as if there was a dirty joke near the end of that sentence,” said Rarity.

Rainbow Dash opened her mouth to retort, but after a moment of thought, she conceded that there might have been an inappropriate innuendo or joke coming up.

“I just hope we got enough attention for the shelter,” said Sunset.

“Oh well, while we were doing this, I took the liberty of spreading the word via the internet as well. Mostly to the IP address of the residences around the shelter and a little on the outer perimeter to bring in more foot traffic,” said Twilight nonchalantly.

The girls’ eyes twitched at that, forgetting sometimes just how smart Twilight was and fearing that no amount of internet security could really stop Twilight if she put her mind to it.

“Pinkie, remind me to – ahem – move my collection to a flash drive,” said Rainbow whispered.

“Oh you mean your secret stash of girl-on –!”

Rainbow Dash quickly slapped her hands over Pinkie’s mouth, her face a crimson burning blush. The rainbow haired girl looked back to her friends who were now eyeing her suspiciously, Sunset Shimmer on the other hand though had a knowing grin on her face like a Cheshire cat.

“Oh c’mon I know I’m not the only who has a porn stash on their computers!”

“Rainbow Dash!” Rarity exclaimed.

“Knew it,” said Sunset as she held out her hand to Applejack.

Applejack rolled her eyes. “Do ya see any pockets on this thing? Ah’ll get ya tomorrow.”

“Fair enough.”

“Twilight Sparkle?” The girls turned in the direction of the deadpan voice, and noticed the Crystal Prep student, Sugarcoat, was approaching them, and giving her old classmate a look of confusion. “Are you wearing a cheerleader outfit?”

Twilight blushed at having her former CPA classmate see her in an embarrassing, and somewhat revealing attire. “I-I-I have a very good explanation as to why I’m dressed like this!”

“Fascinating, would love to hear about it, later. But I’d like to talk to you…in private.”

The girls all looked to each other in confusion, it had been awhile since the incident at CPA where Sunny Flare had the Queen Memory, and as far as they knew everything was back to normal. But Twilight didn’t sense anything nefarious in just talking with Sugarcoat, in a wide open area. Twilight got up, dusted off her skirt, and walked with Sugarcoat a few feet away from the group, close enough that they could see, but far enough that they’d more or less catch bits and pieces of their conversation.

“Not that I’m not happy to see you, but it’s rare that you come all the way to CHS to talk to me,” said Twilight.

“I know, it’s out the norm, but I believed this requires more of a face-to-face than just over a phone,” said Sugarcoat. “You see, my father’s in the hospital.”

Twilight gasped, placing her hands over her mouth. “Oh Sugarcoat, I’m so sorry…is he…?”

“He’s…” Sugarcoat began to wring the strap of her backpack and feeling like she wanted to cry. “I don’t know and neither do the doctors. They couldn’t find anything physically wrong with him, all his vitals are normal, but he doesn’t respond to anything. Not my voice, not my Mom’s, and he barely – if at all – reacts to stimuli like getting poked with a needle! It’s like…It’s as if he’s not in there!”

Twilight gently placed her hand on Sugarcoat’s and looked at her with concern. “I’m really sorry this happened, but, Sugarcoat, why did you come to me? I mean I’ll be there if you need me, but…”

Sugarcoat took a calming breath, she normally didn’t get emotional like this, but then again, this was her father. “I may just be reaching, Twilight, but maybe it’s magic related. And, there’s no one else I know that knows more about it than you and those other CHS girls.”

Twilight’s brow furrowed, they couldn’t necessarily rule out that it might be magic related, even worse, it could mean there was another Gaia Memory user on the loose. “Sugarcoat, this may sound forward of me, but is it possible to visit your father, and if I can, bring someone who is a lot more well versed in magical happenings than I am?”

Surgarcoat nodded. “Whatever you need, just ask. I want my Dad well. I’ll text you the visiting hours and meet you at the hospital. Do you need a lift?”

Twilight shook her head. “No, I think I have my own way of getting there.”

Sugarcoat nodded and patted Twilight on the shoulder, showing a small smile of gratitude for her help. Honesty, Sugarcoat knew she was reaching, but at this point any explanation, medical or magical, would be helpful.

***____________________***

The next day, Twilight and Sunset were at Canterlot General Hospital. After explaining the situation to Sunset Shimmer, she was more than happy to accompany Twilight, and also explaining to the rest of their friends why they couldn’t be there for the fundraiser for the animal shelter. After being dropped off by Mr. Night Light, both girls went inside and were greeted by a downtrodden Sugarcoat. As the Crystal Prepper lead Twilight and Sunset through the halls of the hospital, Twilight began to notice how edgy Sunset was getting while being inside the facility.

“Are you alright, Sunset?” Twilight asked.

“Y-Yeah, just never been a fan of hospitals. Y’know, with that sterile smell and the…needles and other things,” said Sunset in a nervous tone.

“Sunset, if you’re not comfortable being here, then you can tell me,” said Twilight.

Sunset shook her head and took a deep breath. “It’s fine, Twi. Let’s just concentrate on helping Sugarcoat.”

Twilight was starting to wonder if Sunset had a bad experience at a hospital at one point. While no one liked hospitals, Sunset seemed like she was afraid of it for another reason other than an irrational phobia. But that would have to wait until another day, Sugarcoat was priority one. After a couple minutes of walking, all three girls arrived at Sugarcoat’s father’s room. The man was dressed in a hospital gown, lying upright in the bed as an IV tube kept him hydrated, while another fed him nutrients. A monitor to the side kept track of his vitals, the rhythmic “beep” sound going off at steady intervals to match his heart beat. The man had a bright blue complexion, and dark gray hair, but his eyes, his eyes were staring into the distance, blank and milky colored.

“Soft Pedal, that’s my Dad’s name. He’s been like this for two days. He can’t eat or drink, they have to feed him everything through those tubes, we’re just lucky he’s breathing on his own,” said Sugarcoat.

Twilight took out a device from her backpack, it was a magic detection device, similar to the pendant she used back in the Friendship Games. But thanks to the knowledge she gained from the Infinite Library, Twilight was able to modify it to not absorb but mainly detect. Twilight began scanning Soft Pedal while Sunset talked to Sugarcoat.

“So only a couple of days ago, but other than that, nothing out of the ordinary?” Sunset asked.

“He was gambling, a lot,” said Sugarcoat.

“Oh…sorry.”

“Why, you didn’t make him gamble.” Sugarcoat looked to her father with a mixture of disappointment and sadness. “He’d go to this place, he’d never tell us the name, but each time he went he won a lot of money. I mean, we have a lot, but then he just won more. Until one day he lost big at that place, and said he was going to win it back, and that was two days ago.”

Sunset glanced to Sugarcoat’s father, trying to figure out how gambling and this condition were connected. As long as Sugarcoat was being truthful, then she could believe that there were no drugs in his system, she was pretty that the hospital would’ve tested him for that right away. Of course there were no injuries to speak of either, and yet she could not deny his condition. After a minute or two more, Twilight finished her scans.

“Well?” Sugarcoat asked hopeful.

Twilight shook her head in dismay. “Sorry, Sugarcoat, but I’m not detecting any kind of magic from him. But strangely, enough, it’s also what I should be detecting that worries me.”

Sugarcoat shook her head. “What do you mean?”

“Ever since I…ahem…was ‘touched’ by magic. I’ve learned that every living thing gives off an aura of energy, separate from the Equestrian magic, a kind of personal energy field. But, when I scanned your father, I didn’t find any readings of it, it’s as if all his energy was drained and…”

“Left behind a husk.” Sunset finished. “Let me try something. Close the curtains.”

Twilight and Sugarcoat did as Sunset instructed. Once they were hidden, Sunset pulled out the Unicorn Memory, keeping it hidden in her hand. Sunset concentrated on the Memory and allowed its otherworldly power to flow through her. Within the palm of her hand the Unicorn Memory glowed with turquoise light, Sunset made that energy flow into her left hand, setting it aglow with the ethereal light of the Unicorn Memory. She waved her hand slowly over Sugarcoat’s father, sending a pulse of magical energy towards him. Once it hit, the energy passed through him, Sunset hummed in confirmation to her suspicions as the light faded and she turned to face the two girls.

“I know what’s wrong with him now,” said Sunset.

“What?!” Twilight and Sugarcoat asked at the same time.

“His life force is gone, I guess you could say he’s had his soul sucked from his body.”

Sugarcoat and Twilight glanced to each other in confusion, they had heard of such things but it was mainly from movies or comic books, but they never thought it could happen in real life. Then again, magic was thought make believe until recently.

“How can you tell?” Twilight asked.

“When I sent that wave of energy, it should’ve flowed around him and made his aura, his life force, visible to us. But it passed through him, he’s empty. Whatever happened to him drained him completely.”

Sugarcoat looked to her father with new concern. “When you say ‘life force’, you mean his soul. If that’s true, then, can he survive like that?”

Sunset glanced back at Sugarcoat’s father. “I…I don’t know. He’s breathing on his own for now, but that might just be by memory and survival of his brain, but without his life force, I don’t know how long he can stay like that before…”

Sugarcoat clenched her fists. “Before he dies…”

Sunset didn’t answer, but her silence said it all.

“Is there anything either of you can do?”

“You said he was gambling, and that this happened on the night he went gambling. Did he ever tell you where he was going?” Twilight asked.

Sugarcoat thought hard, but after a minute an idea came to mind. “He may not have told me, but I know where we might find out. His study, it was his private little sanctuary, the name of that gambling place must be there!”

Sunset nodded.

“I’m going to stay, I need to ask the nurses something and I’ll call you back later,” said Twilight.

“We have a plan.”

***____________________***

Sugarcoat had her driver take Sunset and herself back to her family home, while they were driving, Twilight had called them back and made a discovery that the clinic had been seeing an increase in people coming in like Soft Pedal, and were now starting to think that there might be some new disease going around and that there were so far thirty in the hospital with the same “disease”. But Sunset and Twilight knew better, if normal Equestrian magic was not behind this, then most likely this was the work of someone with a Gaia Memory.

Sunset looked out the door window and gasped. It was a large, immaculate white mansion, with a large driveway that the chauffeur pulled into and ended at a circle driveway with a fountain at the center. Once the car reached the front, the chauffeur exited the car and quickly opened the doors for both Sunset and Sugarcoat. The yard was wide with lush green grass, and hedge sculptures in the forms of giraffes, lions, tigers, and bears.

“Oh my…”

“Yeah, we’re pretty wealthy, but don’t treat me any differently,” said Sugarcoat.

“Never crossed my mind,” said Sunset as she continued to stare at everything.

Inside was a multitude of maids and butlers that were at work with the normal day to day chores of the house, those who were able to, stopped to greet Sugarcoat as she nodded to them in acknowledgement before passing by. Both girls ascended the pristine hardwood stairs to the second floor as Sugarcoat led the way to her father’s study.

“So…where’s your mom?” Sunset asked.

“Oh, she’s working. She’s a high dollar lawyer, and right now she’s looking into what happened to Dad. I think it’s Mom’s way of coping with the situation,” said Sugarcoat.

“And how are you doing? You don’t have to hide your feelings Sugarcoat, if you need to –”

“I’m fine, Sunset Shimmer. I’ll be better when we find out the truth,” said Sugarcoat.

After walking down the long hallway, Sunset and Sugarcoat stopped before a tall set of double doors that was locked by a key. Sugarcoat reached into her hair and pulled out a bobby pin, she began working the lock with the pin and after a couple of seconds the successful sound of tumblers clicking to the unlocked position was heard. Without a moment to spare, Sunset and Sugarcoat entered the study.

It was big, with a flat screen TV that overlooked a fireplace and furnished with a high comfort lazyboy chair, with a fur rug set before it. In the back was a hardwood desk with a desktop computer and several documents strewn about. Two bookshelves, at least four feet high, lined walls on either side of the desk, and behind the desk was a shelf with various pictures of Soft Pedal during trips with his friends from either work or back during his college days.

Along with them were several pictures of his family, his wife and Sugarcoat. Some were of them going to amusement parks, and others were of expensive trips out of the country. In each one Sunset could see the stoic girl smiling and looking genuinely happy, in some ways she reminded her a lot of Pinkie Pie’s big sister, Maud Pie. She too didn’t crack a smile, but when she did, you could tell it was genuine and heartfelt, and even if she didn’t always smile, you could tell she was happy, at least Pinkie Pie could, everyone else was still trying to read Maud.

Sugarcoat began rummaging through her father’s drawers, going over any and everything that could possibly lead them to this secret gambling den. Sunset began looking as well, starting at the bookshelves, as cliché as it might be there might’ve been one with a secret false inside.

“Do we even know what we’re looking for?” Sunset asked.

“We’ll know it when we see it, I hope,” said Sugarcoat.

After searching through Soft Pedal’s study for nearly ten minutes, both girls had turned up zip. Sugarcoat had taken to sitting her father’s office chair as she sighed in defeat, Sunset leaned up against a bookshelf and sighed as well. She envied those detective TV shows where the main character just somehow stumbled upon whatever they were looking for by chance or by some stroke of brilliance by the main character. In which case if I’m the hero, I should have a stroke of either luck or brilliance right about now…Wait a minute…!

“Sugarcoat, your dad wouldn’t happen to have a safe, would he?” Sunset asked.

The blue girl perked up as something came to mind. “I remember Dad told me not to play with the globe, I always thought it just had liquor in there, but…maybe?”

“Worth a shot.”

Sunset and Sugarcoat walked over to the huge globe that was set off to the side. It was held in place by a heavy metal stand. Upon inspection, Sunset and Sugarcoat could see a small seam that ran along the equator line, both girls began to examine the globe to see there was some way to open it. Sugarcoat found the latch to release the metal axis rings that hindered them, allowing them to slide back. Sunset ran her hands over the globe and as she did so, she could feel a bit of difference in the topography of the contents, some were smooth and rigid to represent mountains, but others were less so. After going over the globe for another time, Sunset could feel that something was definitely off about the globe. Feeling them once more, Sunset pressed her fingers into them, and immediately the globe began making mechanical noises as the top portion unscrewed and lifted up. Once open, Sunset and Sugarcoat beheld many documents as well as stowed away cash.

After rifling through the hidden compartments, Sunset spotted something. It was a card, or rather, a golden ticket. It shimmered in the light, and had black, engraved writing that read “Fortuna’s House of Wealth”.

“Is this it? I’ve never even heard of this kind of place,” said Sunset.

“It’s most likely an illegal gambling establishment, underground. Gambling is illegal in the city limits of Canterlot, you’d have to go far out of the city before you find a casino, like Griffonstone,” said Sugarcoat.

Sunset winced, Griffonstone was not a friendly place, either in the human world or in Equestria. “Well we have a lead…” Sunset turned the card around and smirked, “…and an address.”

“They won’t let us in, we’re just kids.”

Sunset held up the card and pointed to the fine print below the address that read “Permissible age: 14 and up.”

“Let’s do it.”

***____________________***

It was a late Sunday night as the waning moon hung overhead. Clouds floated by on a gentle breeze that would obscure the light of the moon for a time before revealing itself again. In a back alley, deep in the city, one man stood guard in front of a storehouse door. Not unusual as such with the recent attacks by monsters, people have increased security at establishments around the city. The man was wearing black slacks, and vest that had “Security” stamped on the left side, looking closer at the man’s belt one could make out a weapon, whether it was a gun or something else was a different story.

Suddenly, the man caught sight of something in the distance, a car pulling up and opening. The guard placed a hand on his right hip, hovering over his weapon in preparation. The car let out two occupants before driving away, and now the sounds of clacking could be heard echoing off the walls of the alley. The guard raised his hand in a stopping gesture and stated, “That’s far enough, state your business.”

The clouds parted, allowing the moonlight to shine on the area. Sunset was dressed in a beautiful, and sparkling red dress, with a slit that ran up to about midway on her thigh. It was backless, but thanks to Sunset’s long flowing, fiery hair, that wasn’t much of a problem, and the front of the dress supported her modest bust. Part of Sunset’s locks were covering her right eye, giving the former unicorn mare an air of mystery and allure, around her neck was a gold chain with a ruby cut in the form of a wispy flame. Opposite Sunset was Sugarcoat, she was a little more modest with a pink dress with rhinestones that were done in whimsical patterns, a purple sash wrapped around her waist as a string of pearls hung off her neck. Sugarcoat’s hair was allowed to come loose, allowing her long silver locks to flow naturally, and having the ends tied into a ponytail.

“We’re here to play and make some money, hun,” said Sunset.

Hanging off on Sugarcoat’s arm was a purple purse with golden embroidery, she fished into the purse and pulled out the golden ticket. The guard glanced at the ticket and then back at the two girls, and at this moment both Sugarcoat and Sunset were starting to think that they may have gotten the wrong address. But then the guard removed his hand from his holster and became less rigid.

“My apologies, please enter, and follow the guide to the play area.”

Both girls released an internal sigh of relief as the guard knocked on the door three times and another one opened it from the inside. The Shadowbolt and Wondercolt girls walked behind the burly guard, who was dressed in a black suit, with a purple shirt and white tie. The inside looked like any other storage house, but then the guard stopped and tapped his foot three times on the floor. A section of the floor slid back and had stairs that led down into a basement area.

Sugarcoat and Sunset gulped, not liking how far away they were getting from any potential exits. As they continued down the laminated path, Sunset was taking mental notes on possible ways to get out of underground gambling ring. However, her train of thought stopped when they reached the final door that had two more guards standing on either side, and these ones were visibly armed with slung automatic rifles.

After a quick nod to both, the large double doors opened and revealed the inside. The girls were awestruck at the vast underground room. Romanesque columns that were painted gold reached up to at least fifteen foot ceiling. There was a stage far in the back where a lady was singing and a live band was playing. Off to the right was a bar area, with a plethora of alcoholic beverages that were more than likely illegal. There were different tables sit up throughout the room, some were playing roulette, others craps, twenty-one or blackjack as others called it, and some were chess games of both the traditional and Neighponese variety. A woman in a bunny girl outfit quickly arrived before both girls and presented them with two masks and name tags.

“As a requirement, all guests must wear masks and identify themselves by an alias.”

Sunset and Sugarcoat put on the masks and wrote on their alias names on the name tags, with Sunset’s reading “Dawn”, and Sugarcoat’s “Sweet”. Once that was done, the girls were allowed free reign and a card that was good for five-hundred thousand in credit on the house each for betting. Once they were able to find a moment alone to themselves, both girls sighed in relief that they were able to get in.

“Jeez, I thought at some point one them was going to boot us out or shoot us,” said Sunset.

“Judging from the patrons here, they really don’t care how old you are, I can see some who look fourteen,” said Sugarcoat. “You really didn’t have to come with me, Sunset. Your parents are probably worrying about you.”

Sunset waved off the concern. “I live by myself, no parents, so I can stay out as long as I want. What about you, your mom’s probably worrying about you though.”

“I just told her that I’m staying over with Sour Sweet, she’ll cover for me. Right now, the important thing is finding out how this is connected to my Dad losing his life force. Do you know anything about gambling?”

Sunset crossed her arms and gave Sugarcoat a deadpan look. “Why? Do I look the kind of girl who’s into these kinds of high stakes games?”

Sugarcoat realized what she said began to shake her head. “No, no, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean anything by –!”

The former Equestrian chuckled and patted Sugarcoat on the shoulder. “Just teasing, I know a little, it’s mostly physics, mathematics, and a dash of luck.”

The rich girl felt more at ease now, believing now more than ever that she came to the right people for help. But, as she looked to herself and back to Sunset, she couldn’t help but blush at the outfit she chose. “So…you always wear something like that?”

“Oh no, it was Rarity’s idea. She said I should go as a sexy femme fatale, I swear that girl is way too into that ‘Shadow Spades’ series. It is a little low cut and I’m not too crazy about the backless part either, but she said I make it work,” said Sunset.

Probably not a good idea to have Twilight Sparkle see her in that, Sugarcoat thought.

***____________________***

Two hours passed as Sugarcoat and Sunset Shimmer played the tables, with Sunset displaying her skills and luck in the ways of gambling, each table they went to Sunset was cleaning house, winning big at different tables. Sugarcoat had decided to just let Sunset handle their betting and play for both of them, she wasn’t really a card shark and right now she was too focused on finding out who it was that took her father’s life force away. Suddenly, there was a bell going off in the background and voice came over the loudspeaker.

[Good evening everybody! We have a challenger to take on the house tonight, willing to bet it all to win it all!]

The crowd cheered and whistled, but the newest additions look confused as to what was going on. The crowd walked towards the center of the room where a table was set up as one of the patrons sat down, he looked nervous, real nervous. Just then the crowd parted for a man with a navy blue business suit, with aquamarine colored rhinestones on the lapels. He wore a long ocean blue cape that glittered from the spotlight that shined on him, and wore an orange bowtie with yellow polka dots. His skin was a light plum color, with white hair styled into a pompadour, and with gray, intelligent eyes that glanced about the crowd. The man threw his arms into the air and the crowd cheered for him, and the caped man smiled back in gratitude.

“How y’all doin’ tonight, havin’ a good time?”

The crowd cheered back.

“That’s what I like to hear, ‘ol Gladmane’s happy when you’re happy!” Gladmane kept going until he reached the table and sat in his designated chair. “Mr. Sly, now what do I owe the pleasure of this call out?”

“I’m low Mr. Gladmane, sir! I-I just need another loan, and I’ll win it back!” Mr. Sly begged.

“Now, now, Mr. Sly, I can’t go loanin’ again, you know my rules.”

“Y-Yeah, I do! And that’s why I’m challenging you!” Mr. Sly declared.

Gladmane leaned forward and interlocked his fingers in contemplation as he rested his elbows on the table. “Now Mr. Sly, you know what will happen if you lose, right? You’re either all in or not all. Which is it Mr. Sly?”

Mr. Sly narrowed his eyes slammed his hand on the table. “All in!”

Gladmane nodded. “Name the game.”

“Blackjack!” Mr. Sly stated.

“Alright, set ‘em up! Best two out three!”

A dealer from one of the random tables came up and shuffled the deck in plain view of everyone, a spotlight was on them the entire time, Gladmane wanted to make it clear that there was no cheating by anyone, either on his part or on Mr. Sly’s. After a quick shuffle, the cards were dealt. The first set Gladmane stayed with his set and Mr. Sly took an additional card, unfortunately, the card was a higher suit and put him at twenty-three. The second round Gladmane and Mr. Sly took one additional card each, and called. Gladmane had twenty and Mr. Sly had twenty-one. The third round came with everyone on edge, the last round, and Mr. Sly’s last chance to “win it all” as they heard. Gladmane stared down Mr. Sly, he had an excellent poker face, a cheerful smile and upbeat attitude that radiated positivity, making it hard to know if his hand was a losing one or not. In the end. Mr. Sly stayed with his hand and called. Mr. Sly had thirteen, Gladmane had fifteen. Mr. Sly went pale as he saw the cards and shook his head in dismay.

Gladmane stood up and sighed heavily as he reached into his pocket and took out the device that Sunset knew all too well. “Sorry Mr. Sly, but you know the rules.”

< MONEY! >

Gladmane rolled up his left sleeve and pressed the connector against the circuit tattoo on his arm. In less than a few seconds Gladmane was covered in energy that morphed his body into that of the Money Dopant. Mr. Sly was so startled that he fell back on his chair and rolled until he landed on his back. In his stunned state, he barely noticed as Gladmane appeared right before him, materializing a gold coin from thin air, and crouched to look Mr. Sly in the eye.

“Now it’s time to pay good sir,” said Gladmane.

The Money Dopant pressed the coin against Mr. Sly’s forehead and immediately an aura of energy became visible around Mr. Sly’s body and in a matter of seconds that aura was sucked directly into the coin, making it shimmer with a brilliance as if polished to perfection. The Money Dopant flipped the coin into the air and let it absorb into his body before changing back to normal.

“Now everybody, go on and have some more fun!”

The crowd dispersed back to their games while the guards dragged the husk of Mr. Sly out of the casino. Sugarcoat narrowed her gaze in anger as she readied to rush Gladmane, but Sunset hurriedly grabbed Sugarcoat by the wrist and pulled her back. “What are you doing?! That’s the man responsible for hurting my Dad! We need to stop him!”

“We need to stay calm, I know what that thing was, and right now neither you nor I have what is necessary to stop him.” Well that’s not entirely true, I do have what I need, but I can’t use it now. “We need to fallback and talk to Twilight to get a better idea of what we need to do.”

Sugarcoat looked back and gritted her teeth, Gladmane, the man who stole her father’s soul, was just chatting up the other patrons as if that spectacle didn’t even happen, and the patrons were even worse, carrying on as if seeing a man’s soul sucked from their body was a normal everyday occurrence. The rich girl looked back at Sunset, thinking she could glare her down, but Sunset had the edge in this case, she not only had knowledge, but she could see Sunset had tangled with danger before, and was keenly aware that this was not the time to fight despite what Sugarcoat may feel. After a moment more, Sugarcoat relented to Sunset’s experience.

“Fine…we’ll wait.”

“Good, let’s play a few more tables and then we’ll leave, we don’t want to raise suspicion by leaving right after seeing that.”

“Well hello there my dears.”

Sunset and Sugarcoat turned to the voice and saw Gladmane walking towards them. The fiery haired girl thought quick and shot her arm around Sugarcoat’s waist, bringing them close together and making the rich girl blush.

“Haven’t seen y’all ‘round here, are you two new by chance?” Gladmane asked.

“Sure am, my girlfriend and I wanted to try our luck, but didn’t want to have to go all the way to Las Pegasus just to gamble, y’know,” said Sunset.

“Oh I do, love Las Pegasus, but you can only do so much in a place that’s saturated with casinos. Now, the underground gambling ring, now that’s where the excitement is. No laws to worry about, just people betting money and making it by lucks good grace.” Gladmane face palmed himself. “Goodness where are my manners, Gladmane, owner and operator, at your service.”

Sunset held out her hand and gave a confident smirk. “Dawn, and this is my girlfriend Sweet.”

Gladmane took Sunset’s hand gently kissed in gentlemanly fashion. Reluctantly, Sugarcoat offered hers as well and made a mental note to wash that spot with scalding water. “I just wanted to come by and make sure y’all were alright, seeing that might’ve put a scare in ya and I didn’t want your first time in my business soured by it.”

“Not at all, but you have gotten me curious. What’s up with that?” Sunset asked

“Oh well I can’t give out all my trade secrets, but that was what we call a ‘Last Ditch Effort’. Basically by whatever chance, ya happen to lose big and can’t pay back, you can win it all back if ya beat me in a game. If you win, your debt is erased and you’re given full credit with interest, however, if ya lose well…I kinda have to take somethin’s equal to all that money.”

“And what’s that?” Sugarcoat asked.

“One could say it’s the soul, your life energy. A life is priceless, but worth something to an individual. I say it’s pretty fair all things considerin’.”

Sugarcoat was doing all she could to not punch out Gladmane right now, the only thing that was keeping her in check was Sunset’s arm which was still wrapped around her.

“Don’t worry, we’ve seen a lot worse with all those monster attacks lately, so long as you’re not planning on destroying the city or anything,” said Sunset.

“Perish the thought, what point is there in destroyin’ the place where all my customers live?”

After exchanging some more empty pleasantries, Sunset and Sugarcoat left Gladmane to play a few more games before taking their leave. On their way out, they were given two cards that gave the location of a new venue. It made sense that an operation like Gladmane’s would have several backup locations in case one got raided. Once outside, Sunset apologized for the girlfriend bit, but couldn’t think of anything that would keep Gladmane from looking her over.

“It’s fine, but do me one favor.”

“Name it!”

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Kamen Rider Unicorn - Michael_Ravencroft

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