Kamen Rider x Kamen Rider Unicorn & Ex-Aid: Tirek's Revenge

Chapters

Level 2: Lock On and FIRE!
Level 3: Gleaming Eyes, Dueling Swords
Level 4: The Envoy
Level 6: The Ashen Dread
Level 7: The Wind and the Fairy
Level 8: Sweet Illusions
Level 9: It's a Cat-tastrophe!
Level 10: The Day of the Demon
Level 11: The Black Rider
Level 12: Battle of the Mid-Bosses
Level 13: Boss Battle
(Unlocked) Level 14: True Ending
Bonus Level: Epilogue
Level 1: Let The Games Begin
Level 5: Of Harpies and Nuzzles

Level 2: Lock On and FIRE!

Sunset felt like her head was in a vice, she imagined that this is what a hangover felt like. The sound of rustling leaves caught her attention, along with the feel of grass beneath her. Slowly, Sunset rose to a seated position, and opened her eyes. She was in a shaded area, but the sunlight broke through and hit her in the eyes briefly, making her squint and move her head a little. Once her eyes could focus, Sunset took in the scene around her.

The sky was clear and blue, before her was grassland, with a forest in the distance, and a dirt road carved from years of travel. Behind Sunset was a large oak tree, and further behind that was a wooden fence that went on for quite a distance.

“Where the heck am I?” Sunset then looked down at herself and blushed. “AND WHAT THE HELL AM I WEARING?!”

Sunset finally took stock of her outfit, which was to say that there wasn’t of much one. In what could only be described as fantasy logic female armor, Sunset’s chest was covered in a leather, rather ornate, armor. Her shoulders were protected by leather pauldrons with a flame design sewn in, and her midriff was exposed. Her lower section was covered in, what Sunset believed to be, a leather bikini bottom, with a leather skirt that guarded her rear and sides, but left the front mostly exposed. On her lift hip rested a generic looking bastard sword, and attached to the right strap of her upper torso armor was a gold medallion that kept a red cape in place.

“I’m going to kill whoever put me in this outfit!” Sunset shouted.

“I would have to agree.” Sunset turned around and saw a young man slumped against the tree. She remembered him as Emu, Kamen Rider Ex-Aid. Judging from his appearance, he was dressed in a blue tunic, with neon magenta leggings. His lab coat was swapped out for a white cape, and a resting on his leather belt was a hammer weapon. “It’s kind of unfair to female characters that men get full armor, and most female characters only get exposing armor that logically wouldn’t protect them in a fight.”

“Ex-Aid, your name is Emu, right?” Sunset asked as she extended a hand towards him.

Emu accepted that hand and stood up. “Yep, Hojo Emu, MD. And you’re…?”

“Oh, I’m Sunset Shimmer, Kamen Rider Unicorn,” said Sunset.

Emu blinked as the glanced at Sunset up and down. “You’re a Kamen Rider, you look like you should be in high school.”

“I am, but I’ll be a senior after Summer Break, but on that note, you’re a doctor?”

“Yep, licensed medical doctor, and member of the Cyber Rescue division.”

Sunset looked around the area, feeling the grass and the tree. “Where the heck did Tirek send us?”

“This world is finely made, but it is a game world.”

Sunset looked at Emu and watched as a phantom being of half blue and half red appeared over his shoulder. Sunset yelped and jumped back, reaching for her sword.

“Whoa, whoa, Sun-chan, it’s alright! He’s a friend! His name is Paradox, Parado for short,” said Emu. “Now what were you saying?”

“The code for this game world is…unique, it’s not like the normal Bugster virus code we see back in our world. There’s something else laced into it,” said Parado.

Sunset relaxed and sighed. “So, what do we do now?”

Emu looked around until his eyes settled on the dirt road. “For now, we seem to be placed in the roles of wandering adventurers. Let’s take this road and see where it leads us.”

Sunset shrugged. “As good as plan as any.”

Sunset and Emu followed the dirt road, with no other options currently at hand it seemed like a better idea than sitting around. Along the way, both Riders informed the other of their adventures and trials they faced. Emu swapped information regarding the Bugster Virus and the Bugsters that infected humans in his world, while Sunset informed him that she was in fact a pony from an alternate world, and that the monster they faced was a denizen of her world thought killed.

“Sounds like you’ve been through a lot,” said Sunset.

“Yeah, but in the end, it’s what’s made me who I am. Nevertheless, I will always strive to bring a smile to my patients, and I’ll do the same for those people in your world,” said Emu.

“Thank you, Dr. Hojo.”

Emu shook his head. “Nah, no need for that. Just Emu, we’re friends now after all, Sun-chan.”

Sunset chuckled. “Alright then, thank you, Emu. So, I have a feeling I know what game we’re in and how this started.”

Emu raised an eyebrow at that. “How, what?”

“The game is Tirek’s Revenge, it’s a fantasy RPG game. It was hyped as the hottest game of the summer, and practically everyone bought a copy, including myself. None of my friends got sick, and neither did I. Either it was due to the Equestrian magic inside of us, or because of my Unicorn Memory, which we seem to be lacking,” said Sunset.

It was true, while on the road, Emu and Sunset tried to transform, but they couldn’t summon their Rider belts or their Gashats or Gaia Memories. Even Parado was unable to take a physical form or transform, stuck in the form of a familiar phantom.

“There has to be a way for us to see our stats or…something,” said Emu.

Both started to check around their bodies until Sunset’s hand landed over her heart. A screen appeared before them, displaying her name.

Name: Sunset Shimmer

Class: Mage Knight

Level (Current): 1

Points Until Level Up: 0/1000

Attributes: Fire, Empathy, Mystic Arts, Sword Arts

HP: 1000/1000

MP: 1500/1500

Str: 10

Agi: 15

Spd: 20

Def:7

Sword Skills: Blaze Blade, Swift Rush, Sword Dance

Magic Skills: Pillar of Fire (Lvl. 1), Lightning Strike (Lvl. 1), Accelero (Lvl. 1), Duplicities Nature (Lvl. 1)

Passive Skill: Empath Link, Regeneration B, Magic Resistance A, Physical Resistance B.

Limit Break: [Unlocks After Level 2]

Emu glanced over her stats and nodded a bit. “Okay, so you’re kind of a ‘squishy’ character build. Large on swift attacks that deal a decent amount of damage for hit and run, but with spells that can keep you at a long distance. How did you do that?”

“I…I think I pressed my hand over my…um…ahem, heart, I guess,” said Sunset.

Emu did the same, and just like Sunset, a screen appeared before them.

Name: Emu Hojo

Class: Berserk Healer

Level (Current): 1

Points Until Level Up: 0/1000

Attributes: Healing, Empath, Hammer Arts,

HP: 2000/2000

MP: 1000/1000

Str: 30

Agi: 20

Spd: 15

Def:9

Hammer Skills: Helm Splitter, Earth Shatter, Power Bomber

Magic Skills: Panacea (Lvl. 1), Ars Heal (Lvl. 1), Iron Shield (Lvl. 1), Wind Strider (Lvl. 1)

Passive Skill: Empath Link, Regeneration C, Magic Resistance C, Physical Resistance A.

Limit Break: Unlocks After Level 2

Extra Skill: Paradox Phantom

“Huh, seems like I’m a healer tank, interesting,” said Emu.

“What’s that ‘Limit Break’ thing? I don’t remember it in the game when I first played it.” Sunset asked.

“Could be a…power up? Most times Limit Breaks in games refer to the characters using their most powerful attacks, or…” Emu looked to Sunset.

Sunset had the same look of knowing in her eyes. “Our Kamen Rider powers?”

“It’s just a theory, but if true we’ll need to level up.”

“Yeah, but how?”

“Guys, incoming,twelve o’ clock!” Parado warned.

Just as he said, something did indeed come bounding down the road. They were monsters, each looking the same, big, about eight feet tall. Snaggle toothed, with yellow eyes, bracers, on their wrists, a metal chest plate, and large rock clubs in both hands. Each was a different color, green, blue, yellow, red, purple, and orange. Sunset drew her sword into a reverse grip style, and Emu drew his hammer.

“Of course, what fantasy game would it be without goblin monsters?” Sunset asked.

The purple one roared and charged ahead, Sunset dashed to intercept, moving with a speed that was more than her normal running speed, but less than her speed as Unicorn. Sunset managed to close the gap between herself and the lumbering beast, and with a quick slash of her sword, cut the monster across the belly, leaving a large red gash. The gash itself glowed, and seemed to be made of digital code. After the hit landed, there was an icon that red “-30” in red. The goblin seemed to recover from the attack, and raised his club to counterattack.

“Sun-chan!” Emu warned.

Sunset looked up and quickly shouted, “ACCELRO!”

Just as the club came down, Sunset had dashed away in a display of speed that would have made Rainbow Dash impressed. Sunset took this opportunity and slashed at the goblin repeatedly, each blow taking away another “-30”. After about four hits, the monster was felled, disappearing into particles of light. Upon his demise another icon appeared that displayed “EXP +100”.

“Looks like we gotta grind some EXP, Sun-chan!” Emu charged in as well, jumping into the air and spinning around as he gripped his hammer with both hands. “Helm Splitter!”

Emu brought his hammer down on the red goblin, making it stumble about as its eyes became swirls, and an icon that red “-60”. Emu came in with a standard attack, hitting the goblin again upside the head and dealing “-40” damage. Sunset came in and stabbed the beast in the back, dealing “-30”, Emu came in and dealt the finishing blow, turning it into particles of light gaining the icon “EXP +100”.

The remaining goblins circled up, attempting to surround and attack Emu and Sunset. But both Kamen Riders were not so easily out maneuvered. Sunset jumped into the air, at the same time, Emu raised his hammer and shouted, “EARTH SHATTER!” as he struck the ground below him. The dirt and rock exploded outwards in a three-hundred and sixty-degree barrage of sharpened rock shards. The result of which was a multiple hit attack that was dealing “-20” five times.

Sunset, still in the air, concentrated as she accessed the magic system of this game world. It was so simple it was almost a joke, it was a game, as simple as calling out the name of the spell. “LIGHTNING STRIKE!” Four orbs of crackling electrical power formed overhead, and in the next moment, all four fired bolts of lightning that struck the goblins, each dealing “-50” damage to the monsters. Their combo attack was enough to fell the beasts as they shattered into pieces of light particles.

Sunset landed on the ground with practiced grace, and gave a thumbs up to Emu. “Well, six-hundred EXP down…”

“And four-hundred to go,” Emu finished.

***__________ x [+]E[+]__________***

Nasca was still at the hospital, Dillo, Hawk, and R0V3R were there, using their sensors to get readings on the area to figure out what happened to Unicorn and Ex-Aid. Poppy was with her, having returned to her human form. Shining Armor had left to go and check on the civilians and to have the police double personnel around the other hospitals in the city. After a few minutes, the mech-animals shook their heads.

[No sign of either Unicorn or Ex-Aid, but I am picking up traces of digital code, it’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen before,] said Twilight through Dillo, her voice disguised.

“AAHH! It’s a pi-pu-pe-po-panic!” Poppy shouted. “Emu and Unicorn are gone, and we have an outbreak of an unknown Bugster Virus strain!” The pink haired woman then looked to Nasca curiously. “By the way, why haven’t you changed back, the battle’s over for now?”

Nasca rubbed the back of her helmet. “Can you keep a secret?”

Poppy shook her head affirmation.

“Unicorn and I are on rocky terms with the cops. No one knows that we’re high school girls. Trigger’s dying to know who we really are, and wants to bring us in for being vigilantes. He only became a Kamen Rider like a month and a half ago, but Unicorn’s been protecting the city for a bit, and I was the second to get my powers. My friend on the other side of those robots is the same way, so for now, I can’t power down.” Nasca explained.

“Oh, wow, that sounds exhausting,” said Poppy.

“You have no idea.”

“Well, secret safe with me. I’m sure Emu would feel the same.” Poppy smiled and patted the young Rider on her shoulder. “Problem is, how are we going to fix this?”

“With God’s help, of course!”

The portal opened up again, and from it appeared a man. He was dressed in a black suit, with light gray skin, green eyes, and black hair. This man carried himself as if he was above all others, and had an aura that made Rainbow Dash uncomfortable.

“Kuroto! What are you doing outside your cell?!” Poppy asked.

Kuroto ran his hand through his hair and fixed Poppy with a steely eyed glare. “How many times must I remind you all, it is…GOD DAN KURO – AAAH!” Kuroto yelped as he held the back of his head.

“Yeah, yeah, we’ve heard it before, enough already.” Another man emerged from the portal, he too wore a lab coat and a strange stethoscope like Emu. He wore a Hawaiian shirt, and blue jeans, with sunglasses that hung off his collar. “Yo, name’s Kujo Kiriya, Coroner and Infectious Disease specialist. Also, I’m Kamen Rider Lazer.”

“Thank goodness, you were able to open the portal again!” Poppy exclaimed. “Where are Taiga and Hiiro?”

“They’re getting some equipment and bringing it through, they’ll be here any minute. I just went ahead because I don’t trust this guy,” said Kiriya. “Where’s Emu?”

“That’s probably better explained when we’re gathered up.”

After about an hour of coordinating with the hospital staff, Shining Armor and Nasca were sitting in a private meeting room in the hospital, with Hawk perched on Nasca’s shoulder. Introductions were made, Kuroto and Kiriya stood to the left, while the two newest stood on the right. The first was a tall man, he had combat boots on, and army fatigue pants. He wore a black, shirt, had an orange complexion, with dingy yellow eyes, and hair that was black with a few white streaks in it, his name was Hanaya Taiga, aka Kamen Rider Snipe.

The other was a younger man, he was more professionally dressed compared to his colleagues. With a blue shirt and black dress pants, his face was focused, serious, almost emotionless, but calculating as well. His complexion was powder-blue, with silver eyes, and sandy brown hair. The young doctor’s name was Kagami Hiiro, and was Kamen Rider Brave.

“These are the members of the Cyber Rescue team, called to action by our country’s Ministry of Health, in our world, we combat the Bugster Virus in order save patients before the virus can consume them and the Bugster monster is set free,” said Poppy.

Shining Armor glanced to Poppy, Kuroto, and Kiriya. “And you three are…Bugsters too, right?”

Poppy raised her hand and stated, “I was born a Bugster, but I have no intention of hurting humans! I merely just want to have fun, play together, dance, and help insure their good health!”

“As for me, I was human, but then I was killed by this guy,” Kiriya pointed his thumb at Kuroto, “and then brought back by his equally – if not more – insane old man as a Bugster. But this crazy SOB turned himself into one to save his hide.”

Kuroto smirked and said, “Don’t be jealous, Kujo-san, my talents are that of a god, death cannot overcome me.”

“Ignore him,” said Poppy and Kiriya.

Kuroto rolled his eyes and then proceeded to the computer board on the wall. After turning it on and bringing up their data on the Bugster Virus, Kuroto faced the others. Taiga walked to the front and said, “Normally, when the virus hits, it targets a person’s specific stressor. Whatever stresses out the patient only fuels the Bugster more, and once their stress levels hit a certain point, that person is broken down and the Bugster is granted full life.”

“The only way to save the patient is through the use of a Gamer Driver, or Bugvisor like Poppy’s. We excise the Bugster and eliminate it before it has the chance to consume its host,” said Hiiro. “In our world there were a few different types, and each one was based on a type of video game, made by yours truly over there.”

“However, in our world, we have managed to keep the virus, or Game Disease, suppressed for a number of years now,” said Kiriya.

“So how is it that so many kids and teens have contracted a virus that’s supposedly only limited to your world?” Shining Armor asked.

Kuroto pressed a few icons on the board and brought up the virus DNA helix. “This strain is different from the one in our world, and yet similar. It shares similarities with the most malicious strain, Gamedeus, the ultimate Bugster, seen here.” Kuroto pointed to a silver part of the helix. “However, this other part, this black essence, this is foreign. It doesn’t read like digital code. In fact, I’d say it’s more organic, but not human in the least.”

“Was there any kind of game that the patients were playing when the disease hit?” Taiga asked.

“The only big-time game that came out recently was Tirek’s Revenge. Come to think of it, Unicorn called that shadow Tirek…” Nasca pondered for a moment. “Unicorn went away for a week on a mission, and during that time she fought alongside other Kamen Riders to save another world, and one of the monsters she fought against was Tirek.”

[But according to Unicorn, Tirek was killed by the same enemy force he was conspiring with. So, how could a being from a different dimension come into contact with a virus that was locked into another world?]

Taiga, Hiiro, Kiriya, and Poppy all turned their gazes onto Kuroto.

The prideful man looked at the others and then shook his head vehemently in declination. “I had nothing to do with this! I was working on a game, yes, but not this! Contrary to what you may believe, I am not looking to create another Kamen Rider Chronicle scenario!”

“So how did that portal get formed? It was, Kuroto-san, who managed to get it open again.” Taiga accused.

Kuroto held up one finger. “First: address me as Kuroto-sama. Second: The portal uses a unique code similar to our Gashats that warp reality and generate a Game Field. However, this one was made specifically to act as a bridge to another world. I suspect the first time it opened was pure coincidence, a result of the power of this current Bugster strain. It most likely connected to our world because of the similarities that it shares with the Bugster viruses that originated there.”

Shining Armor listened to all this, processing the information. The notion of a multiverse was the fantasy dream of every comic book nerd, himself included. But learning that there were more Kamen Riders out there was a bit mind blowing, and even more so, to find out that at least three of the four standing before him were licensed medical doctors. Guess I shouldn’t be too surprised, I mean, I’m a cop and commissioned under the CCPD.

“Maybe you and Unicorn should take a lesson from these guys,” said Shining Armor.

Nasca rolled her eyes behind her helmet. “I’ll take it under consideration.”

“In any case, if I understand you right, we need a copy of that game to analyze, right?” Shining Armor asked.

Kuroto nodded.

[I can have a copy brought to you immediately,] said Hawk.

Shining Armor looked to the robot bird perched on Nasca’s shoulder. “And who are you again?”

[I…um…I’m not a Kamen Rider, if that’s what you’re asking. I’m…uh… ‘Tech Support’?] Nasca could see Twilight face palming herself at her choice of words.

“Oh, like a guy in the chair kind of thing. Makes sense I guess,” said Shining Armor. “On that note, I’ll start tracking down the game company responsible for creating this thing.”

“I’ll come to,” said Taiga. “It’ll help to have someone with you who knows what to look for.”

“Let’s get to it!” Poppy shouted.

***__________ x [+]E[+]__________***

Shining Armor and Taiga sat in a squad car, on their way to the game company responsible for releasing the game. Apparently, from what Shining Armor was able to gather before leaving, the game was designed by a company based in Canterlot City. Knightmare Studios, a company that has created a lot of different games, some were big successes, others were not, but more the former than the latter. This Tirek’s Revenge was their latest hyped game, and reviews gave it a ten out of ten for role-playing games.

“The game was released around the country, but only Canterlot City was affected, why is that?” Shining Armor asked.

“Whoever did this wanted a controlled environment. It’s the same with any experiment, you have a group of test subjects, put them in a controlled environment, and cultivate whatever it is you’re trying to make. Depending on the field of study, it can be anywhere from a new drug…or in this case, a new virus,” said Taiga.

“Just when I thought that all I had to worry about were criminals with super powers, now I find out there are crazier things out there, like living viruses.”

Taiga smirked a little. “I’d like to tell you that this is as strange as it gets, but I’d be lying.”

Shining Armor and Taiga finally arrived at the Knightmare Studios building. It was twelve floors of corporate, story boarders, coders, and designers. The front of the building had a logo of a shadowy silhouette of a woman in armor, a sword in hand and a full moon behind her. Both men exited the car and made their way up the stairs and into the main lobby of the building, Shining Armor and Taiga approached the receptionist and said, “I’m Officer Shining Armor of the CCPD, the Special Crimes Unit.”

The receptionist, a young man in a nice blue suit stood up immediately. “Yes, sir, uh, what can I do for you?”

“I need to speak to the design team responsible for making the game you just released, Tirek’s Revenge. We believe it may be involved with the current viral outbreak happening in the city,” said Shining Armor.

“Ah…y-yes, sir, I-I’ll have to call upstairs first let me uh –”

Suddenly, the phone rang at the reception desk. The young man picked up the phone and from the other end someone shouted, “CALL THE POLICE!” and the line went silent.

“What floor did that come from?!” Taiga demanded.

“Seventh floor,” the young man said.

Shining Armor and Taiga ran towards the elevator, having called in for back up before entering. Both men arrived at the seventh floor, spotting several people trying to make a mad dash for the emergency stairs and the other unoccupied elevators. Up ahead, they spotted the cause of this commotion. Several creatures dressed in raggedy armor, and oddly shaped orange heads were tossing the office equipment around, trashing the place. Shining Armor and Taiga wasted no time and sprang into action.

Taiga took out a dark, navy blue Gashat, holding it like one would a gun, and pressed the button.

“Mission start.”

[+] BANG BANG SHOOTING! [+]

A screen appeared behind Taiga, and below him a wave of navy blue energy flowed out, pixelating everything for a few seconds before it faded away. At the same time, Shining Armor summoned his T-Driver and took out the Trigger Memory.

< TRIGGER! >

“HENSHIN!”

TRIGGER! <

Shining Armor placed the Trigger Memory into his belt, an azure electrical field appeared around him, donning him in the armor of Kamen Rider Trigger.

| CLICK AND LOAD! LET’S GAME! SUPER GAME! ULTRA GAME! WHATCHA NAME?! I’M A KAMEN RIDER! |

A circle appeared around Taiga, each with a kind of “character select” image on it. Taiga waited and hit the one with a navy blue outline, using his hand in making a gun gesture with it. Taiga was donned in bulky white armor, the same as Emu. The difference being that half of the armor’s face was covered in a yellow metal plate.

“Tactics No. 2.”

| CLICK TO OPEN! |

| LEVEL UP! |

| BA-BA-BANG! BANG-BA-BANG! YOW! BANG BANG SHOOTING! |

A neon yellow panel formed before Snipe, and once it passed over him, he immediately shed his bulky armor and entered his second level form. His body was covered in a dark, navy blue armor mesh, his upper chest plate was a gun metal gray, with the same controller design, buttons and life gauge. Parts of his armor were neon yellow, with some silver armor plates, and neon yellow lines. Around his neck hung a cape that was pushed off to his right side, his helmet consisted of a gray mouth plate, a visor with red eyes, and a neon yellow armor plate covering his right eye, as if to mimic a bang of hair. This was Kamen Rider Snipe.

| GASHCON MAGNUM! |

Snipe summoned his blaster weapon, the stop half was colored navy blue and black, with the underside and grip colored white. On the side of the weapon were two buttons, a green one labeled “A”, and an orange one labeled “B”.

Without much talk, Trigger took the right side and Snipe took the left. The two gunslinger Riders began firing multiple shots at the Viruses, and just like before, each bolt created a “Hit” icon. One of the Viruses got close to Trigger, but Trigger managed to block its sword swing with his Chrome Buster. He parried the sword away, and did a roundhouse kick to the Virus’ face, sending it to the floor where he fired three shots, destroying the Virus. Another two came at him from the side, but Trigger quickly inserted a Gaia Memory into his blaster.

< DUAL! >

|^| DUAL! ARMED! |^|

Trigger placed his left hand over the Chrome Buster and pulled away, and as he did, another Chrome Buster appeared in his left hand. Trigger fired both blasters at the same time, hitting the Viruses before they could get to close. Three more came at him from the front, and two from the back. Trigger fired multiple shots ahead, hitting all three, but when he turned around to fire the at the other two, they were quickly shot down by yellow energy bolts. Trigger turned to Snipe, seeing he had fired the shots, but then quickly turned to the ones coming at him, blocking a sword blow with his left forearm, and firing five shots into his attacker before pushing him off.

Snipe and Trigger continued like this, shooting down one Virus Bug after the other with ease. Mini explosions went off around them, signifying the destruction of the Virus Bug grunts. Snipe turned to Trigger and nodded his head. “It’s actually fun to have someone who knows how to shoot at your side.”

“Right back at you,” replied Trigger.

“HELP ME!”

Snipe and Trigger took aim as they watched a monster charge out of the back. It was a chimera, most of its upper body was a tiger. It had two heads at the front, one was the tiger head with large saber teeth, and the other was a ram with rows of sharp teeth. The upper body transitioned into goat legs and fur at the lower half, and its tail was a green snake, it’s fangs long as is it hissed at the two Kamen Riders. In the rams fangs was a young, teenage boy. He had black rimmed glasses, wore white suspenders, with a yellow shirt and a patch with an atom on it, and khaki pants. The teenager was being held by the scruff of his shirt, dangling back and forth and shaking like a leaf.

“Let the boy go, NOW!” Trigger ordered.

The chimera leered at both Kamen Riders, its eyes then shifted towards the window and charged straight for it. Snipe and Trigger chased after it, only to watch as the chimera ran through the window, shattering the glass and dropping seven stories down to the ground below and landing right on top of Shining Armor’s squad car. Screaming could be heard from up above, the chimera looked up and saw its captive falling, after having released him to reach the ground first. The snake tail lashed out, catching the teenager before he could hit the ground and constricted tightly to ensure that he would not escape.

Trigger looked out the window and groaned angrily. “Oh, come on, that was my favorite!”

“Don’t dwell on it, we need to catch them.” Snipe pulled out another Gashat, orange in color, with the image of a fighter jet with a cartoonish face on it.

[+] JET COMBAT! [+]

| CLICK TO CLOSE! CLICK AND LOAD! |

“Tactics No. 3.”

| CLICK TO OPEN! LEVEL UP! |

| GACHAN! LEVEL UP! BA-BANG-BANG! BANG-BA-BANG! YOW! BANG BANG SHOOTING!A GACHA! JET! JET! IN THE SKY! JET! JET! JET COMBA~T! |

A white and orange fighter jet module appeared. It flew around for a few seconds until it hovered over snipe and opened. The module formed over his upper body, the chest plate was the nose of the fighter jet, while the rest settled on Snipe’s back to act as a jet pack and wings. On either side of Snipe rested two long barreled Gatling guns that were colored bright orange. Snipe had jet fighter pilot’s helmet was fitted over Snipe’s head, with an orange visor, and his neon hair plate moved up and over the helmet.

Snipe ignited his jets and began to hover up and out of the window. “Grab onto my leg!”

Trigger did as he ordered, jumping out and grabbing onto Snipe’s left leg. The duo flew through the air, catching up quickly to the chimera. Trigger took aim with his Chrome Buster and fired three shots at the snake tail. All three shots landed, making the snake head hiss and release the teenager. The chimera came to a skidding halt as it did an about face and prepared to go after the teen.

Trigger dropped down out of the air and landed in front of the boy. The law enforcer Kamen Rider took out another Memory, and placed it into the blaster.

< GATLING! >

|^| GATLING! ARMED! |^|

The Chrome Buster merged with his right arm, and transformed it back into a Gatling cannon. With his left hand, Trigger took his Trigger Memory and placed it into the left hip port.

Snipe took the Jet Combat Gashat and placed it into another slot on his Gamer Driver.

| CLICK AND LOAD! FINAL ATTACK! |

}!!!{ JET CRITICAL STRIKE! }!!!{

} TRIGGER! MAXIMUM DRIVE! {<

“FULL BARRAGE!”

Snipe’s eyes glowed as his Gatling Combats unleashed a hailstorm of neon colored energy blasts that rained down on the chimera, at the same time, Trigger was firing his own barrage. The chimera was pelted with a seemingly never-ending storm of laser fire, with each bolt causing many “Hit” icons to appear. Snipe’s jet pack opened silos that released dozens of homing missiles, the energy bolt barrage stopped, but only to allow Snipe’s missiles to close in and finish the job. The chimera had no chance to evade as all the missiles hit their mark, creating a large explosion with the “Perfect” icon on display.

Snipe landed on the street next to Trigger, his new armaments disappeared and was returned to level 2. Both Riders released their armor and returned to civilian form, turning around to face the young teen they had just saved, only to find him completely knocked out.

Taiga quickly knelt beside the boy and checked his vitals, after a couple of minutes he breathed a sigh of relief. “He’s alright, most likely passed out from all the action. But we’ll need to take him back to the hospital, it’ll be safer with all of us around to watch him.”

“Got it, and I’ll…call in for a ride…”

Level 3: Gleaming Eyes, Dueling Swords

Sunset and Emu, after traveling down the dirt road, managed to unlock their “Limit Break”, and indeed it was their Kamen Rider powers. Unfortunately, it was only their Drivers, and not their Gaia Memories or Gashats.

“Figures it wouldn’t be that easy,” said Sunset.

“It makes sense, considering it’s our strongest power up, the game must’ve planted out Gashats and Gaia Memories in the game to act as prizes for certain quests, but what does concern me is how long we can maintain that form,” said Emu.

After having unlocked their “Limit Break”, a tutorial emerged stating that their newly added LB gauge determined how long they could stay in Kamen Rider form until they reverted back to default form. They could fill it by taking damage or doing damage to opponents, right now both sat at one-hundred percent charge, but once activated it would steadily drain.

“At least we can activate it, and deactivate it at will to conserve energy. And the higher our level is, the more the meter extends and the drain slows down. So, for now, let’s see if we can find a town or something. I don’t like that my friends are in danger and I’m stuck in here.”

Parado appeared over Emu’s shoulder and chuckled. “She’s kind of like you,caring about others.”

The duo finally made it to a large city, it was surrounded by an ivory colored stone wall that went on for miles around. Ahead was an archway where several villagers entered and exited, and on each side guards were standing by. Emu and Sunset pressed on, entering through the archway where it opened into a grand, medieval, fantasy city. The buildings were made of carved stone, some were worn and had lost some of their luster, but most were still sun bleached white.

The road transitioned into stone pathways, the clip clopping of hooves hitting the stone could be heard as carriages and wagons went to and fro from to their various destinations. Taverns were set up every few yards, along with your typical item shops, and armories. Sunset and Emu decided to head further in, getting equipment wasn’t a big priority at the moment, seeing as how they didn’t exactly have enough bits to put towards any of that.

They reached a large hill in a park that was sectioned off in the city and got the lay of the land. The boundary wall went on for miles around, further into the city were spires and larger homes. One section of the city had a large building situated near the sea. From where they stood, the building took up most of the surroundings and had a flag that had six symbols on it. Sunset’s gaze looked out a little further and she could spot a castle in the far distance at the head of this ginormous city.

“I think that building over is the Guardian Academy,” said Sunset. “In this game, you train to become the next heroes that will save the world when Tirek rises again.”

“As good a place as any to start,” said Emu.

The two Riders managed to hitch a ride with some other hopefuls who were heading towards the Academy. About a few minutes later, Sunset and Emu arrived at the gates to this school, spotting statues of the six heroes who saved Alagantha from Tirek. Once they got there, however, things got hectic. The sound of wild neighing could be heard throughout the area, along with a powerful gust of wind that nearly knocked everyone onto their rears.

The duo ran ahead, past the gate, and into the courtyard where they saw a strange sight. A burly man, dressed in Viking clothes, and wielding a rather large shovel, was wrestling with a unicorn. But this wasn’t a regular unicorn, it was glowing turquoise green, with shimmers of white. Its horn was made of an emerald crystal, and its eyes were bright blue. The man who was wrestling the beast was at least seven and half feet tall, compared to the unicorn, he was able to look the beast in the eyes.

“Misty, get that spell ah yers working! This beast is a strong one!” the Viking shouted.

There was an elderly woman standing across from them, she wore a kimono that was pale blue and white. Her hair was long, and flowed like actual mist in the wind. Her hands were brought together as she concentrated, gathering her mana as to cast a spell to bind the wild ethereal equine. However, the unicorn was not one to just stand there and take what was coming. The equine’s horn shined, and suddenly, it teleported along with the Viking.

Misty didn’t halt her spell, but merely kept her eyes open, trying to figure out where the unicorn would appear. Her search didn’t last long as the unicorn and the Viking reappeared overhead. Misty fired her spell upwards, aiming it directly at the equine, but unfortunately, the beast maneuvered itself enough to have the Viking act as its shield. The Viking seized up as magical chains appeared around his body, binding him as he went into free fall to the ground with a big thud.

The unicorn fired a beam of mana from its horn, making Misty raise a protective barrier to keep herself safe. The unicorn was a powerful creature, and actually made Misty strain to keep up with its boundless energy.

Emu looked to Sunset, who was watching all of this, but more precisely, she was watching the unicorn. “Sun-chan, you alright?”

“I think…I think that’s my Unicorn Memory,” said Sunset.

“You sure about that?” Parado asked.

Sunset placed a hand over her chest and closed her eyes. The unicorn gave another wild neigh, which echoed in Sunset’s mind and heart. A determined expression was etched onto her face as she said, “I am sure, that’s my Unicorn Memory.”

Emu crossed his arms and said, “Then go to it, this your player quest.”

With the okay given, Sunset dashed into the fray, making several of the other would be attendees of the Academy shout out for her to not get in their way. She passed by the Viking who shouted, “Lass, don’t get near that thing!”

Sunset skidded to a stop and glared up at the ethereal beast. “UNICORN!”

The magical creature halted its attack and shifted its attention to Sunset.

“Young one, please leave, it’s too wild, and too strong! You’ll get hurt!” Misty warned.

“I’m not afraid of her, and you’re not bad, are you girl?” Sunset asked.

The unicorn gave a brae and snorted as it landed on the ground a few feet away from Sunset.

“You’re just lost and confused, in a world you don’t know, a place that’s familiar yet unfamiliar.” Sunset began walking towards Unicorn, keeping her hands out where the equine could see them. “I know, because that’s how I felt once upon a time.”

The unicorn snorted and turned its head away from the approaching girl, even kicking at the dirt. Sunset got a little closer and reached out with her arms towards Unicorn.

“I know what you need, this anger is born from loneliness, but you’re not alone. What you need…” Unicorn finally, slowly, turned its head towards Sunset, allowing her to place both hands on either side of its muzzle. Sunset drew herself closer and touched her forehead to the base of Unicorn’s horn. “…is a friend.”

The ethereal mare finally calmed down, closing its eyes in the process. The equine’s body began to sparkle and glow brighter, until it was completely gone in a shower of sparkles. Those sparkles collected into a single shape, forming the Unicorn Memory. Sunset took the Gaia Memory into her hands, and suddenly felt a light wrap around her.

In bright flash of turquoise light, Sunset’s armor had changed. She was adorned in turquoise colored armor, with a black under mesh. The armor had silver that outlined different designs and the segmented joints. Sunset’s red cape had changed to a bright white, and hung off her left side.

“Thank Celestia, some decent, not revealing armor!” Sunset gratefully exclaimed.

Emu broke away from the crowd and joined his friend. “Nice work, Sun-chan, at least now one of us has a way to transform.”

The Viking and Misty walked towards Sunset and Emu, both turned to face each other, with the latter feeling a bit intimidated. The Viking let a hearty laugh and clasped Sunset on the shoulder, although she figured he was trying to be gentle, his great strength still made her arm hurt from the impact.

“Great work, Lass, ya tamed the beast and it granted ya it’s power,” said the Viking.

“It just showed up out of nowhere and began rampaging across the campus. Thankfully, you seemed to have made a connection with it, thank you for your help young one,” said Misty.

Sunset waved her hands, “It’s no problem, really.”

“Allow me to introduce myself, they call me Rock Fist. And the lovely lady here, is Misteria,” said Rock Fist.

“Or ‘Misty’ for short, dear.” Misty looked to Emu and cocked her head to the side. “You seem to have quite the healing aura about you, young man, tell us, are you both seeking to become Guardians?”

“Um, yes – yes! We’re looking to become Guardians!” Emu answered.

“Well then, come with us, all ya back there as well. Welcome to Guardian Academy!”

***__________ x [+]E[+]__________***

Sunset and Emu got a tour of the Academy before being assigned rooms. Unfortunately, this Academy had a dorm for guys and one for girls, which meant that Sunset and Emu wouldn’t be able to converse much, or keep an eye on each other should Tirek try something. They still had no idea how much influence Tirek had over this game world, it was something that Sunset contemplated as she lied down in her bed, staring up at the ceiling.

If Tirek wanted to kill us, he would’ve done so already. I don’t get why he brought us here…? How much control does he have over this game? Ugh, it’s so frustrating! I can’t tell if I can even trust these game characters! They seem nice enough, but I can’t take a chance that they’ll suddenly turn into monsters the moment Tirek shows up! For now, the only ones Emu and I can trust are ourselves.

The door to Sunset’s dorm room opened, Sunset reached for her sword, which had transformed into an emerald blade with a silver guard and hilt. The moment the door was fully opened, Sunset was greeted with a view of a large stack of books.

“Um, hello, I-I’m not sure if someone’s there, I was told I have a roommate. If you could, I require a little assistance, these tomes are quite heavy!” the girl asked.

Sunset shook her head and placed her sword back into its sheath. “Oh, crap, sure! Hold on!” Sunset hurried to the girl and quickly took half of the books her roommate brought. “There you go, now you can…see…”

The girl behind the books had a light tan complexion, with rimless glasses, her eyes were like sparkling amethyst, and her hair was a deep violet. She’d be a dead ringer for Twilight, except this girl had pointed elf ears, but still, the likeness was uncanny. The Twilight lookalike became a bit worried when Sunset hadn’t finished her sentence and was just staring at her.

“I-I’m sorry, is there something odd about my appearance?” The not-Twilight asked with a blush.

Sunset shook her head to snap herself out of her trance. “What – Oh! – no, no, no, you’re alright! It’s just that you remind me a lot of a girl I knew back in my ho – ahem – village. She’s a good friend of mine.”

“Oh, my apologies.” The not-Twilight placed her stack of books on the desk on her side of the dorm room, with Sunset placing the rest there too. “Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Midnight, Midnight Moonshadow.”

Sunset’s eye twitched at the mention of that name, the name belonging to Twilight, but that of her alter demonic ego. “Midnight, my name’s Sunset Shimmer.”

“Wait…” Midnight looked at her with a bit of scrutiny. “Are you the same Sunset Shimmer who tamed that ethereal unicorn on the courtyard?”

“Um, yes…”

Midnight’s face immediately lit up with excitement, even her pointed ears twitched a bit. “Oh my, I didn’t know they made you my roommate! I have so many questions to ask you! How did you manage to tame the beast, what’s your background in the mystic arts, did you use a spell or some unspoken incantation, were you able to connect to the beast because of your magical aptitude or was it more of an emotional connection –?!”

“MIDNIGHT!” Sunset interrupted. “Slow down.”

Midnight blushed in embarrassment and lowered her head. “I’m sorry! I…I have been told that I have a habit of ‘spitting out’ questions when I’m excited…forgive me, I did not mean to irritate you.”

Sunset crossed her arms and chuckled. “You’re exactly like my friend. I think we’re going to get along quite well.”

“Are…Are you sure I will not be a burden? I can request a change in room assignment.” Midnight suggested.

“One thing you learn about friendship is accepting your friends for who they are. And I suspect you’re pretty smart, can ramble when she’s excited about a particular topic, and can research like no one’s business.” Judging from the increasing blush she was seeing on Midnight, Sunset was sure she hit the mark. “And I can be crass sometimes, also considered pretty smart, but I am a bit more physical when it comes to certain things, be it magic or combat, and I’ll always be there for my friends. Think you can manage having a roommate like me?”

Midnight raised her head, her smile was wide as she shook her head in affirmation. “My first friend on my first day! I’m so happy. Well, it’s getting late, and classes start early, we should get some sleep.”

Sunset agreed, she was a bit tired from the walking, battling, and bit of emotional shock from seeing Midnight. Sunset wasn’t sure how she was going to go to sleep, especially with all her armor on, and part of her didn’t really want to take it off for fear of attack.

Then again, Tirek’s had multiple opportunities to attack…probably toying with us. Ugh, whatever, I’ll fight him no matter how I’m dressed! And on that note, how do I take off this armor?

That was a question, Sunset watched as Midnight opened a large bag that contained her nightly clothing and began to undress, but paused. “Oh, I did not ask, do you wish to leave, I do not have a problem with you staying in the room.”

“We’re both girls, it’s no problem.” Despite having said that, Sunset made sure to keep her eyes elsewhere.

Sunset began to think, since this was indeed the game world, one should be able to store items or take off and replace armor. Sunset pressed her hand against her heart and again the menu with her stats appeared. She tapped it a couple of times until it showed her the menu for her armor. One of the options said, “Would you like to store your armor?” Sunset pressed the “yes” button and soon her body glowed and then she yelped.

Midnight turned around and saw that Sunset had ducked under her sheets. “Um, Ms. Shimmer, are you alright?”

“Y-Yep! Perfectly fine! Well goodnight!”

Midnight shrugged and snuffed out the lamps to their room, letting darkness overtake the room, save for the small amount of moonlight coming from their window. Sunset peeked her head out from under the sheets and sighed.

“Great, damn game made me nude…I swear a boy made this game.”

***__________ x [+]E[+]__________***

Rainbow Dash had to change back to normal, thanks to Poppy, she was able to find a secure place where nobody would see her transform back, except for Hiiro. At his behest, Rainbow Dash had some blood work, as well as a couple of other tests to see why she was immune to this strain of the Bugster Virus. While Rainbow could stay in Kamen Rider form for a long time, it does drain energy and puts strain on the body. After an hour or two, Hiiro came back with his results and found out that there was nothing in her bloodwork that showed any infection.

Rainbow had informed Hiiro that she and her friends weren’t infected, even though they played the game. Hiiro decided that the two of them should take an ambulance to Sunset’s place to retrieve the girls, believing that they may be the key to curing this infection.

“Based on what we know of this strain, it attacks children and young adults like yourself, Dash-san, but after all our testing, you don’t show any symptoms or any trace of the virus. And you say you are not the only one who’s not infected?” Hiiro asked.

“Yeah, my friends and Unicorn – Sunset – we all played the game during our slumber party last night. But this morning, we all felt fine. I talked to my friend, Twilight, a moment ago and everyone’s still at Sunset’s place,” said Rainbow Dash.

“Once we get them back to the hospital we’ll begin locating the source of your immunity,” said Hiiro. “Is there anything you could think of that might be helping you stay immune?”

Rainbow Dash rubbed the back of her head, wondering how much this other world Kamen Rider was willing to believe. “I guess it’s because my friends and I have magic.”

Hiiro raised an eyebrow.

“Look, keep an open mind considering what all we deal with. My friends and I have a connection to another world’s magic, and it somehow became our own. We’ve used it to save our world from magical threats before we got our Kamen Rider powers.”

Hiiro gave the notion some contemplation, it wasn’t like he could outright dismiss the idea of magic being involved, after all, himself and his colleagues teamed up with other Kamen Riders in the past, and one of them was a wizard. The GPS in the ambulance directed them to turn right, and soon they were at Sunset’s loft. Once there, Rainbow Dash exited the ambulance with Hiiro right behind her. Rainbow knocked on the door, having been answered by Applejack.

“Dash, yer here, and…uh…who’s that?” Applejack asked with suspicion.

“I’m Dr. Kagami Hiiro, I’m here to bring you all to the Canterlot General Hospital.”

Applejack still gave the man a suspicious look.

“Relax, AJ, he’s a Kamen Rider like me. They’re here to give us a hand with this virus thing,” said Rainbow Dash.

Applejack opened the door all the way, allowing Rainbow and Hiiro to see that others were already dressed and ready to leave. Hiiro did a quick checkup of the girls to make sure that they were not showing any symptoms, using his strange stethoscope, he raised it to each girl and pressed a button on it. A screen appeared before Hiiro as he passed the scope over each girl. After a minute, the scan came back clean.

“Alright, you’re all still uninfected, we need to get you to the hospital, now,” said Hiiro.

“Now wait just a minute, what about our families?! We each have sisters and brothers who are sick with this unknown disease, and we’d like to know how they are doing?!” Rarity insisted.

“I’ll give you all a briefing on the situation on the ride over.”

Without much prompting, all the girls filed into the ambulance and turned around back to the hospital. Along the way, Hiiro did inform of the situation thus far, regarding their base of operations, the Bugsters, this new strain, and the incident at Knightmare Studios.

“Wait, Microchips?! He was working at Knightmare?!” Twilight asked.

“He’s still currently unconscious, but yes, it turns out he is employed there. Officer Armor has informed us as much, and he’s still investigating. It’s strange that another of those Bugsters appeared, and directly targeted him,” said Hiiro.

“Well, we know him from school, so we’ll totally help out with asking him,” said Pinkie Pie.

“I just hope Sunset’s okay, I mean, Tirek almost ruled all of Equestria the first time he came back, and almost destroyed the world the second time with the help of Nega-Shocker,” said Starlight.

“Don’t worry, so long as Emu is with her, they’ll make it back.”

“Oh, and by the way, they know I’m a Kamen Rider, my parents too, but my folks don’t know that Unicorn is Sunset. Also, none of their folks know that either of us are Kamen Riders, or that Twilight’s helping us out, so mind keep that under wraps too?” Rainbow asked.

Hiiro took a brief glance to Rainbow and then the rest of the girls. “That sound likes an exhausting effort.”

“Tell us about it,” the girls said in unison.

Hiiro made a turn, transitioning from the suburbs to the city proper. However, once Hiiro made the turn, they saw something standing in the middle of the road. Standing at about nine feet tall, was a monster.

Its upper body was muscular and blue, while its lower body was covered in black fur and had goat legs. Its tail was that of a purple cobra with red eyes that wagged back and forth as if waiting to strike. The beast had a gold bracelet on its right wrist, and a gold band around its right bicep. Adoring its neck, under its black mane, was gold jewelry that came down the middle of his chest, around his back, and covered part of the left shoulder and had a jade pearl embedded into it. The monster’s head was shaped like a goat’s head, and had spiraling ram horns. The monster snorted and gave a mighty roar, the force generated by it caused several parked cars to fly into the air, and shattered windows.

“HOLD ON!” Hiiro shouted.

The renowned surgeon slammed the breaks, and put the car into reverse, backing up as far as he could to avoid the falling cars. The monster’s eyes then shined blue as it dashed towards them at incredible speeds. In the monster’s right hand, it wielded a large sword, the blade itself came to halfway up his chest, with a hilt that went a few inches over his head. The monster held this weapon with one hand, and was swiping it with ease.

“DUCK!” Rainbow shouted.

Everyone lowered their heads as much as they could, just as the monster slashed at the ambulance, taking off half of the vehicle in one swing. The girls and Hiiro looked up, shocked that the monster had now turned the emergency vehicle into a convertible. The monster raised its sword for another swing, but Starlight grasped her amulet and used her magic to perform a quick teleportation just in time. The sword struck the now empty ambulance and caused it to explode.

The group reappeared some ways down the road where the Bugster had originally stood. Starlight began to pant from the effort of teleporting so many such a distance. “I don’t get it, I usually don’t have trouble teleporting long distances.”

“When you’re Equestria, you’re on Earth and in a human body, Starlight. You have to be careful,” said Fluttershy.

“That Bugster is after us, Tirek must fear we’re onto a vaccine if he sent this creature to kill us,” said Hiiro.

“Then let’s take it down, no one hurts my friends!” Rainbow declared.

Both Riders summoned their Drivers and placed them at their waists. Rainbow took out her Nasca Memory and Hiiro took out his Gashat, which was neon blue colored.

< NASCA! >

“Commencing Bugster removal operation.”

[+] TADDLE QUEST! [+]

A field of neon blue energy pulsed through the ground, the field generated treasure chests at random locations and pixelated the area and the Bugster for a few seconds before returning to normal. The Bugster turned around and smiled wickedly, revealing its fangs.

“HENSHIN!”

“HENSHIN.”

NASCA! <

Rainbow Dash inserted her Nasca Memory into the N-Driver, creating a cerulean electrical field that transformed her into the winged hero, Kamen Rider Nasca.

| CLICK AND LOAD! LET’S GAME! SUPER GAME! ULTRA GAME! WHATCHA NAME?! I’M A KAMEN RIDER! |

The “character select” circle appeared, and Hiiro struck one with a blue outline. The brilliant surgeon was then donned in white bulky armor.

“Proceeding to Level 2.”

| LEVEL UP! BATTLE FOR YOUR FUTURE! FIGHT FOR THE ADVENTURE! WELCOME TO TADDLE QUEST~! |

A blue panel passed over Hiiro, shedding his bulky armor and now in his slimmer level 2 form. His body was covered in the black armor mesh, with neon blue lines laced into certain patterns. From the middle of his biceps down until his wrists, were covered in white mesh, while both hands were covered in neon blue glove armor. His left forearm had a small shield attached to it, and on his left forearm was as silver bracer. The controller chest plate was there as well, showing the four buttons and life gauge. His shoulder pauldrons were neon blue and had a curve to them. The helmet resembled that of a knight’s, with a neon blue crest, and visor space that allowed two yellow eyes to peer through. This was Kamen Rider Brave.

| GASCHON SWORD! |

Brave’s sword weapon was strange, it was a blue and silver hilt, with a guard appeared as a controller with an orange button with the letter A, and a powder blue button with the letter B. The sword blade had a silver metal center, but with orange, solidified flames that made up the blade itself. Nasca summoned her Nasca Blade, taking a ready stance along with Brave.

The Bugster smirked, gripping his sword with both hands as he charged straight for them. Nasca unfurled her fiery electric wings and flew to intercept, both her and the monster met in the middle and struck. Their swords crashed into each other, sending a pressure wave moving out in all directions. Brave had opened one of the chests that generated when he activated his Gashat, and acquired a speed boost and dashed off towards Nasca and the Bugster.

The gleaming eyed Bugster and Nasca pushed off each other, with the Bugster preparing to swing again, but Brave intervened and blocked the attack with his sword, creating a fiery discharge upon contact. Nasca took advantage of this and flew in, slashing the monster across his chest, creating a “Hit” icon. The Bugster stumbled back, a large, red glowing gash now present on his chest. The beast snarled and charged again, a flurry of sword swipes was thrown at both Riders, but thankfully, they were able to block or parry some of them.

The ringing of metal against metal, and roar of fire, could be heard echoing through the streets as the sword wielding Kamen Riders dueled it out with this monster. The ram horned Bugster jumped up and came down with an overhead slash. Brave and Nasca jumped out of the way, letting the blow strike the asphalt, sending a plume of dust and debris into the air that obscured the Bugster.

Nasca hovered in the air, sword at the ready. But what emerged was not the sword, but the cobra tail, the creature’s jaws opened and snagged Nasca by her foot. The cobra lashed its head back and forth, slamming Nasca into the sides of the buildings and into the ground a few times. Brave quickly pushed the orange A button on his sword.

| FREEZE! |

Brave’s sword did a one-eighty turn, the flames turning blue as frost vapor wafted off the blade. Brave hit the B button twice, twirled the Gaschon Sword around, and struck the ground before him. A surging ice wave flowed through the street and struck at the ram monster’s feet, the ice crept up its legs and soon covered his whole lower body. The ice kept creeping up the Busgster, continuing towards its tail. The cobra began to thrash less and less, until it was frozen in place.

“NASCA, GET OUT NOW!”

The winged Rider grunted as raised her sword and struck the cobra head with her blade. Cracks began to form on the frozen cobra tail, spider webbing across the head and body until Nasca was freed from the cobra, shattering half of the tail in the process. Nasca managed to fly away to a safe distance, rejoining Brave as the Bugster struggled to free himself from his frozen prison. The whole time the Bugster roared and thrashed as it glared at both Riders.

“I think we ticked him off,” said Nasca.

“It’s time to end this now, we can’t risk your friends’ safety by being out in the open like this,” said Brave.

Nasca took out her Accel Memory, and at the same time, Brave took out another Gashat, one that was a bit bigger and bulkier than his others. It had a wheel on the front of it, and had two different titles on both halves of the circle.

< ACCEL! >

[+] TADDLE FANTASY! LET’S GET GOING! KING OF FANTASY! [+]

“Time to shake things up!”

“Proceeding to Level 50.”

| DUAL CLICK AND LOAD! |

| CLICK AND OPEN! DUAL UP! |

From the Dual Gashat a little armor creature appeared, it was colored red and blue, with a short black cape hanging off its back. This armor creature then descended upon Brave, molding over his upper body until it had become one with his armor. Brave now sported a chest plate that was red in color, with a face like appearance that had white eyes with red outlines, a blue mask, and a black face plate. The chest plate also sported black horns that protruded from the back that supported the long black cape on his back. Brave’s helmet was now fitted with red and blue armor, the face plate was blue, and now he had black horns.

| EXPLORE! DISCOVER! RPG! TAD~DLE FAN~TASY! |

Nasca’s body was engulfed in roaring red flames, transforming her into her powered up form, Nasca Full Throttle. The winged Rider then held out her right hand, and suddenly the roar of Nasca’s bike could be heard echoing in the distance. The girls heard it getting louder and louder until the girls finally saw the vehicle and parted to allow it to pass through. The motorbike began to glow, and then jumped into the air, arching its way right to Nasca. As it flew through the air, the bike folded, metamorphing and changing into its Engine Blade form by the time Nasca gripped it with her hands.

The ram horned Bugster saw this and broke free from its icy prison, the behemoth twirled its sword around, gathering energy to its sword for one final attack. Nasca and Brave glanced at each other and knew what to do. Nasca moved her Accel Memory over to the right hip port, and at the same time, Brave pushed on the Gamer Driver’s lever.

} ACCEL! MAXIMUM DRIVE! {<

| CLICK TO CLOSE! |

| FINISHING MOVE! |

| CLICK TO OPEN! |

}!!!{ TADDLE CRITICAL FINISH! }!!!{

Nasca threw the Engine Blade into the air, and at the same time, her body began to morph until it had changed into a motorcycle. The Engine Blade descended and attached itself to Nasca’s transformed body, acting as a spearhead tip for her. Brave’s eyes began to glow, his right foot charged with different shades of dark neon colors. The ram horned Bugster rushed for the two Riders, and at the same time, so did the Riders.

Brave jumped up, and spun around, twirling his cape around himself to form a large spiraling drill bit. Nasca’s engines roared as flames and red colored light engulfed her body; the Engine Blade became red at the center of the blazing comet.

“OVERDRIVE EXTREME!”

A blinding flash of light ignited as all three met at the center, making the girls shut their eyes from the intensity of it. After a few seconds, the light died out and the girls opened their eyes to see the victor. The ram horned Bugster was still standing, in a stance that showed that it had indeed taken a swing. Nasca and Brave were on the opposite side, both kneeling on the ground, motionless. The Bugster rose up, smirked and raised its sword to attack them. But then exploded in a large fiery display that showed the word “Perfect!”.

Nasca and Brave rose to their feet, their power up forms disappearing and returning them to default form. Brave looked about the area, and even though Nasca couldn’t see his face, she could tell the doctor was thinking hard on something.

“What’s wrong Dr. Kagami?” Rainbow asked.

“This isn’t a coincidence. The attack at Knightmare Studios, and now this attack. This, Tirek, he’s trying to eliminate all those who pose a threat to him. The fact that you and your friends are not infected is a testament to that,” said Brave.

It has to be because of our magic, Tirek’s attack is part magic, and ours comes from those Elements of Harmony things that Sunset told us about. Jeez, I wish Sunset were here! She’s the magic expert! Well…

Nasca turned her gaze to Starlight.

Technically she isn’t, but I don’t think we can explain why Starlight can use magic and – “HOLY CRAP!”

Brave summoned his Gaschon Sword and entered a ready stance. “What, is there another Bugster?!”

Nasca face palmed herself. “Uh, sorry, no! I just remembered something. I need to talk to the girls, bye!”

Brave watched as Nasca sped away towards her friends and started to engage in conversation with them. He made no hurry to join them, thinking it best to leave them to their private conversation, besides, there were bigger things to ponder. Especially, when two of their own were still trapped in Tirek’s game world. Brave could only fathom the trials they were facing at this moment.

Level 4: The Envoy

Sunset sat at the center of a circle, it was drawn with arcane runes, and with various formulaic magic script on top of it. Sunset’s eyes were closed, but her awareness was high. All around her she could see the different magical auras of the Guardian Trainees, Midnight’s aura, Emu’s and his Bugster/Familiar Parado, and of course their teacher, Misteria. But they weren’t the main focus of this exercise, no, it was the three orbs that were positioned around her in a perfect triangle. It was a basic concentration and control test, Misteria had had many of the Trainees sit in the circle and levitate the orbs around in a circle, there was no limit to how fast they could spin around. The real exercise was controlling them while they were spinning in a rapid motion, and setting them down.

The trick to this was that the orbs had their own opposite magical charge, which meant the faster you spun them the more they resisted. However, for Sunset Shimmer, this was just her Tuesday morning practice back when she was a filly. And coupled with the magic system of this game world, it was even easier. At this time, Sunset had the orbs spinning so fast that they blurred into a single glowing circle overhead, she could hear the “Ooos” and “awes” of the crowd as they watched her feat of magical control, but she wasn’t done yet.

Sunset lowered the circle around herself, shrinking it until it hovered around her. She could tell that the teacher was worried a little, at the speed that they were spinning, a hit from them could turn her internal organs into mush. But Sunset wasn’t a fool, just as quickly as she brought them close she made them stop dead in the air. The spheres floated over to their designated spots, descending until they touched the ground without even a thud. The class started to clap as Sunset’s aura began to power down until it was no longer visible, the former unicorn mare stood up and gave a chaste bow to the other trainees.

Later, Sunset and Emu were out in the Academy center, which was a large open space where the trainees could relax, study, or practice. Sunset opened her game menu and saw that her magical aptitude had increased, which meant now her attack and tactical spells would get a damage and stat boost. While Emu’s aptitude was…

“Don’t worry about it, Emu, you’re still a great healer, you’ve been acing Sage Amber Glades’ healing classes,” said Sunset. “And we’re both getting high marks in Rock Fist’s training courses.”

Emu sighed, “Yeah, but I was kind of hoping to be able to cast cool spells like in any RPG game. But I guess I’m more of a tank than a magic knight.”

Parado appeared and patted Emu on the shoulder. “There, there. You can’t compare yourself to Sun-chan, she’s a natural! What with being a magical pony from another world.”

Sunset rubbed the back of her head. “Yeah…in some ways this is nostalgic. Learning different types of magic, the admiration of my peers as I perform near impossible feats of magical ability and skill, but…” A shadow was cast over Sunset as she continued to reminisce. “I also remember how much of an awful pony I was….”

“What do you mean?” Emu asked.

“I…”

“Ms. Shimmer! Mr. Hojo!”

Emu and Sunset looked ahead and watched as Midnight came strolling towards them. Sunset couldn’t help but keep comparing Midnight to Twilight, her mannerisms were almost the same, she acted confident at times, but was mostly reserved and did not engage much in a social aspect. Midnight did, however, open up to both herself and Emu.

“Hey Midnight, and you can call us by our first names, we’re friends after all,” said Sunset.

“Oh, sorry, it’s just a polite habit I have been raised with Mi – I mean, Sunset.”

The three shared a laugh and spoke about their training for the day. So far, it had been at least three days since they had entered the game world, the best thing they could do for the mean time was learn from the school and gain more EXP to level up for the trails ahead. The whole time, Emu and Sunset worried about what was happening in the real world, they weren’t even sure if the passage of time in this world was the same as it was in theirs.

The other beings in this world couldn’t see their menus whenever they brought them up, in some ways they acted like game sprite NPCs, but in other ways they acted just like normal people, and reacted as such.

“Ugh, around this time’s when something convenient pops out of nowhere and forces the heroes to embark on a crazy adventure!” Sunset exclaimed.

“Are you speaking about a book, Sunset?” Midnight asked.

Sunset blushed, wishing she hadn’t said that out loud. “Um…kind of.”

“We’ve just been a bit restless lately,” said Emu. “We were attacked by goblins on the way to the kingdom, and then there was that unicorn thing as well. We’re just used to being a little more active.”

Midnight nodded her head in understanding. “Oh, well that does make since. You two have mentioned you traveled far to come here, I can only imagine the beasts and perils you faced on your journey. I was lucky in my family letting me use our Gate Magic to transport me here. Maybe I should have done some foot traveling, I could’ve picked up a good amount of experience in the field of magic application in combat and in survival.”

Sunset couldn’t help but smile at Midnight, it really was uncanny how alike Midnight was to Twilight. So much so that it was making Sunset’s face heat up a bit. UGH, stupid brain! She’s a game character, not Twilight! No matter how much she acts like her…wait a minute…this is a game, and the characters are designed by real people then…

Suddenly, thunder roared in the sky above, catching the attention of every Guardian Trainees. Dark clouds hovered over the open area, and soon, black thunderbolts came crashing down on the outer perimeter of the courtyard. The black lightning connected into a chain that created a cage of dark lightning energy, many of the teachers came out and threw one spell after the other to try and breach the cage, even some of the Trainees from inside attacked the cage. But nothing worked, every spell thrown at the cage merely fizzled out into nothingness.

The center of the clouds parted, and from it descended a beast. It had four huge, muscly arms, strong thick legs that caused the ground to shake once he set foot upon the earth. In his two lower arms he wielded spears in the shape of lightning bolts, made of an enchanted obsidian stone. In his upper arms he held two clubs, made of black metal, and studded with rows of gray spikes, not only would it crush you, but it would also mince whoever was caught in a swing. The monster had a shaggy black mane that covered everything from his neck and collarbone, all the way up to the top of his head. The beast had a canine-like muzzle, yellow eyes, and dark gray horns that curved forward.

“Hear me, so called ‘Guardian Academy’, I come on behalf of one who would seek to rule this world! I am Vorg, Envoy of Lord Tirek!” the beast announced. “I come bearing a message, soon my Master will arise, and have his revenge one those who imprisoned him. But he is offering you all a chance. Join his army, swear your allegiance, or die a slow death upon the day of your reckoning!”

Parado looked to Sunset and said, “You just had to jinx it, didn’t you Sun-chan?”

“How the hell was I supposed to know that was the quest flag trigger!” Sunset argued. Sunset looked to Midnight, her eyes were wide with fear, and rightfully so, this monster was powerful and scary. “Midnight!”

Midnight tore her eyes away from the monster and looked at Sunset’s turquoise colored eyes.

“It’s going to be alright, get all the Trainees to cover,” said Sunset. “Emu, let’s go!”

“Right!” Emu responded.

Without another word, Sunset and Emu walked up until they were at least ten feet away from Vorg, causing the behemoth to look down at them. “Oh, have you come to offer your allegiance to Lord Tirek?”

“No, we’ve come to kick his ass!” Sunset announced. “FIRE SHOOT!”

Sunset raised her right hand, and from it she loosed a blazing stream of flames that struck Vorg, making the behemoth back away. Sunset cut off her spell and drew her emerald sword, Emu took up his hammer and prepared for battle, with Parado appearing behind him, arms crossed and with a look of determination.

Above the monster appeared “Vorg the Storm Bringer” and next to him were three health bars. After leveling up in the game, Parado was able to act as a support, allowing him to analyze attack patterns and determine how much health an enemy had.

“Accelero!” Sunset cast. Her body shimmered in blue light for a moment before she zipped away. Vorg tried to watch her movements, but she was too fast for the monster. Sunset ran her hand over the emerald blade, causing it catch fire. “Blaze Blade!”

Sunset headed straight towards Vorg and slashed him across his side. The gash she created blazed with orange-red flames until it exploded and sent Vorg to one knee. Sunset rolled away and recovered into a defensive stance. Vorg’s HP bar began to decline, and Sunset hissed when she saw that only a small chunk of his health had been taken.

Vorg recovered and raised his two spears, the obsidian blades began to spark with black and violet electricity. Vorg raised the spears to the sky, the clouds rumbled, but then a black lightning bolt shot down from the sky. Sunset dodged it, but soon after another came down, but yet again she dodged it. The former Equestrian was now being made to dance on the battlefield as she tried to avoid a hit, but it was no use. One lightning bolt came down in front of her, making Sunset jump back straight into the path of another.

The result was harsh, Sunset felt every fiber of her body cry out in pain as the dark magic damaged her. Sunset fell to one knee, panting, but when she tried to move, her body seized up. “W-What’s happening?!” Sunset’s health bar appeared in the upper left-hand side of her vision, and now glowed yellow with a lightning bolt symbol next to it. “Paralysis debuff, are you getting me…?”

Vorg brought his two spike clubs up and slammed them together. The result was a powerful wave of sound that struck Sunset, sending her flying a few feet. Her health bar had gone done some, enough to make it glow red.

Emu quickly went to work. “Ars Heal!”

A green glow engulfed Sunset, and within seconds her health bar filled up quickly.

“Panacea!”

Another healing spell from Emu erased the paralysis, and Sunset was back on her feet. “Thanks, Emu.”

“Be careful, Sun-chan, we don’t want to get a game over in here, I don’t think we’ll get any continues,” said Emu.

Sunset shook her body and nodded. “Parado, you get anything?”

“Yeah, he’s a nasty piece of work. His lightning strikes are fast, but do only light damage. It’s the clubs that deal the heavy damage, but their slow. Hence the paralysis debuff upon getting hit with a bolt,” said Parado.

Should I transform…? No, it’s too early, he’s still got full health, I should use it when I’ve gotten him lower, at least to the third bar, though Sunset.

“Here comes another strike!”

Vorg summoned his black lightning once again, causing an arc to fall from the sky right on their position. However, the bolt never reached them. A barrier of rosy light protected Emu and Sunset. When the barrier fell, they both turned around and saw Midnight with her hands glowing.

“I…I-I won’t let my friends fight alone!” Midnight declared. “I may not be able to do physical direct attacks, but I certainly support you from here! Reinforce! Armor of Voltare! Accelero!”

Several layers of different colored auras washed over all three of them. Emu and Sunset watched as their health bars showed different symbols, a sword, shield, and a foot with speed lines.

“Wow, Midnight, thanks! Let’s go!” Sunset ordered.

Emu dashed into the fray first, Vorg slashed at him with his spears, but Emu’s enhanced speed and agility allowed him to evade the blow. His hammer began to glow bright yellow as shouted, “POWER BOMBER!” The hammer struck Vorg’s right side, exploding on impact. Vorg stumbled for a moment, but managed to regain stability. However, Sunset jumped and shouted, “Swift Strike!”

Her emerald blade glowed green as a flurry of slashes rained down on Vorg, creating multiple red gashes. While Vorge was distracted from that, Emu raised his hammer and struck the ground, using his Earth Shatter skill to send shards of sharpened rock flying at Vorg. The moment the attacks hit, his HP took a nose dive from the multi hit attack.

“Emu, Sun-chan, it’s Earth! He’s weak against Earth based attacks!” Parado informed.

Midnight heard the familiar, clasping her hands together, a green magic circle appeared before Midnight as she cast another spell. “Terra Empower!”

Sunset felt another buff get added onto her, seeing that the rune symbol for Earth had been added to her. The former unicorn mare took this advantage and reignited her Blaze Blade, but this time the flames color changed to green, symbolizing its elemental change. Sunset dashed for Vorg, getting in close as she slashed upwards at his front, leaving a long green gash on his body. The gash exploded with green fire, causing his health bar to shatter and switch to the second bar.

It was then that Vorg’s eyes glowed as he released a loud roar that made Sunset and Emu stop. The behemoth took a runner’s stance and dashed for Sunset. The mage knight barely had time to react before she was tackled and sent flying into the lightning cage, once again treated to an electrocution. Emu readied to cast his healing spell, but Vorg slashed the air with his lightning bolt spear, and sent out a chain of lightning energy to wrap around him. Emu struggled against his electrical bindings, but it was in vain as the paralysis debuff had been activated.

Vorg raised his spear up and brought it overhead, taking Emu with it. The behemoth then came down, making Emu return with a heavy crash against the earth. Sunset managed to get up, her health bar was low now, and she could see Emu was as well. However, before Sunset could move to her ally, Vorg had dashed again, this time aiming for Emu.

“EMU!” Sunset shouted.

But it was no use, Emu was still under the paralysis debuff, he was wide open. Vorg came down with one of his spiked clubs, about to end Emu Hojo.

Just then, something struck against the lightning cage. The cage bent inwards as something forced its way in, and after a second it punched a hole in the cage. That same something zipped across the battlefield, bounding like a pinball until it reached Emu. The intruder struck upwards, hitting the spiked club away. Midnight took this chance and placed her hands against the ground.

“Rock Rush!”

Multiple earthen pillars jutted out of the ground, smashing into Vorg and forcing him a good two meters away. Emu was finally able to move and looked upon his savior. It was a little neon magenta creature. Its body was round, but had stubby legs and arms, with a black visor that had a white outline around the rim, and with two orange eyes looking at him.

It didn’t take Emu long to recognize this character. “Mighty?!”

Mighty nodded.

“Are you…have you come to help?” Emu asked.

Mighty raised his thumb and nodded vigorously.

“Then let’s go!” Emu held out his hand.

Mighty took his hand, and a bright flash of neon magenta light went off. The little creature was then morphed into the Mighty Action X Gashat, Emu took hold of the Gashat and his body was engulfed in that same light. When the light faded, Emu was donned in new armor. There was black armored mesh, and over that was neon magenta armor. A couple of hammers were sculpted into the chest plate, with some rounded shoulder pauldrons, and pixel-like patterns etched into the armor.

Vorg rose back up, Midnight’s attack had done enough damage to make his second bar break. The behemoth rose back up, glaring at all three warriors as he channeled black lightning from the sky and into his weapons and body.

“He’s getting ready to end this, if there was a time to transform, now would be the time!” Parado warned.

Sunset and Emu smirked and shouted, “LIMIT BREAK!”

Sunset’s Uni-Driver and Emu’s Gamer Driver appeared around their waists. Emu got into his ready stance, and so too did Sunset.

[+] MIGHTY ACTION X! [+]

< UNICORN! >

“Henshin!”

“Henshin! Transformation plus!”

UNICORN! <

| CLICK AND LOAD! LET’S GAME! SUPER GAME! ULTRA GAME! WHATCHA NAME?! I’M A KAMEN RIDER!LEVEL UP! MIGHTY JUMP! MIGHTY KICK! MIGHTY MIGHTY ACTION X! |

Pillars of turquoise and neon magenta light shot into the sky, dispelling the dark clouds and eradicating the black lightning cage. The trainees and teachers all paused as they beheld the transformed state of their fellow Trainees, even Midnight couldn’t believe what she was seeing.

Unicorn’s armor had changed, her chest plate had the image of a unicorn head etched onto it, with shimmering lines that pushed away from the horse head. Her shoulder pauldrons were a bit bigger, and had a white cap on them, while the lower half was turquoise. A plated skirt hung underneath her belt, covering her back, sides, and front. Her leg armor had a wavy pattern to it, and was also outlined in white. Her helmet had not changed, but now Sunset sported her emerald sword on her back.

Ex-Aid’s armor was different as well, now clad in somewhat bulky neon magenta, armor. His arms were covered in silver armor, with a neon green outlining, his legs had silver armor, with some specks of the neon magenta and neon green. Upon his chest plate was the angry image of Mighty, dual wielding hammers. As with Unicorn, Ex-Aid’s helmet had not changed, but now he was already holding his Gashacon Breaker in his hands.

“Okay, newish armor?” Sunset asked.

“It must be because of the game, it’s altered our Rider forms a bit. Check your HUD,” said Emu.

Sunset glanced at her name in the upper left-hand corner, which now read “Unicorn (Fantasy Knight)”. She glanced over to Emu and saw his indicator as “Ex-Aid (Fantasy Knight)” as well. But she could also see their LB gauge slowly depleting. Unicorn decided to waste no time and drew the sword from her back, her helmet compound eyes glowed along with her emerald blade, and at the same time, Ex-Aid’s eyes glowed as he gripped his hammer tight.

In the blink of an eye, Ex-Aid dashed forward, raising his Gashacon Breaker high. Vorg brought both of his clubs up and used them as a shield as Ex-Aid brought down the hammer, resulting in a shockwave that roared through the courtyard. While Ex-Aid had him locked up, Unicorn dashed and jumped up from behind Ex-Aid, spinning around and slashing Vorg on the upper right shoulder. The strength in Vorg’s arm weakened enough that Ex-Aid struck both clubs away, leaving him wide open. Vorg tried to defend with the lightning spears, but Ex-Aid ducked under them and struck the open side of Vorg.

The monster was sent sailing into the side wall of one of the buildings, his health bar dwindling drastically. Ex-Aid and Unicorn checked their LB gauges, and were now down to half power. They had to end it now before their gauges dropped and they’d lose their advantage against Vorg. Emu pressed the A button on the Gashacon Breaker, making a blade spring out from the top.

| SCHWING! |

Ex-Aid took out his Mighty Action X Gashat and put it into the Breaker.

| CLICK TO SAVE! |

| CLICK AND LOAD! |

At the same time, Unicorn took out her Unicorn Memory and placed it into the right hip port.

} UNICORN! MAXIMUM DRIVE! {<

| FINAL ATTACK! |

| MIGHTY CRITICAL FINISH! |

Unicorn and Ex-Aid’s blades became charged with raging energy, and at the moment the two dashed for Vorg as he tore himself from the rubble and charged for them. The Riders zigzagged, crisscrossing in streaks of neon magenta and turquoise, making it hard for Vorg to keep up with them. Before the behemoth knew it, both Riders were upon him. In perfect sync, both Riders slashed upwards to form a large X pattern on Vorg. Unicorn and Ex-Aid recovered and thrust forward hitting the center of the X and releasing a burst of energy that erupted from behind Vorg. The Kamen Riders drew back on their swords as Vorg fell, turning their backs as the beast met a fiery, explosive end, their forms silhouetted in the light of the fire.

Unicorn and Ex-Aid walked back to Midnight, who looked upon her friends with a newfound respect, and awe. After a few seconds, both Riders released their forms. Emu and Sunset collapsed onto the ground, groaning from exhaustion from the battle. Thankfully their LB gauge wasn’t completely depleted, there was still enough for a short transformation, but agreed that it was best built back up.

“Oh my goodness, are you two alright?!” Midnight asked.

“Just sore, and tired, but other than that I’m good. How’re you doing, Sun-chan?” Emu asked.

“Same, and alive,” replied Sunset. “Think you have enough magic left to heal us, doc?”

“Yes, but give me minute, that was an intense fight.”

“I don’t think that’ll be a problem.” Suddenly, both Emu and Sunset were bathed in a green aura. Their fatigue and soreness had completely disappeared in a matter of seconds. When they sat up, they saw a woman walking up behind Midnight, her hair was red and wavy, and twirled up until it was over her head, held together by an off-white cloth wrapped around her forehead, and a green hair tie at the top. She wore a wavy green skirt, with a beige line circling it. She wore a beige cloth around her chest, and a brown necklace, her light-tanned skin gave a healthy glow in the rays of the sun, and her eyes were a gentle teal color. “Ya’ll should be feelin’ better ‘bout now.”

“Sage Amber Glade!” Midnight exclaimed. The elf girl bowed before the healing arts instructor. “Thank you!”

“Yes, thank you for your spell, Amber.” A new voice gained Midnight’s attention, and she almost fainted. Sunset and Emu turned around and witnessed an elderly man walking towards them. He was clad in a blue robe, adorned with stars, and traditional wide rimmed, long top, wizard’s hat. His hat and robe appeared as if the starry sky was sewn into it, with constellations shifting, and shooting stars moving about. He had a long gray beard, and long hair to match. His blue eyes were piercing, and full of power. “Otherwise, I would not be able to ascertain how our Trainees were able to best the beast.”

“Headmaster Aster, the Stargazer…” Midnight uttered.

***_____________ x [+]E[+]_____________***

Headmaster Aster had gathered Sunset and Emu to a special meeting room. I kind of rotunda, sequestered from outside interruption via a magical dimension. It was here that the other The Pillars gathered. To Sunset’s right sat Rock Fist, Misteria, and Sage Amber Glade. To Emu’s left, sat two members they hadn’t met yet.

The one closest to Emu was dressed in Romanesque armor, he carried with him a bronze colored shield, and despite its look, Emu could tell that it was a weapon of great power. His skin looked rough and scarred, some Emu recognized as scars from swords, knives, and some from beasts such as bite marks and claw marks. His name was Bellator Fortis.

Sitting to Fortis’ left was a woman, she was dressed in white garments, and golden jewelry, much like ancient Egyptian Pharaohs. Her olive skin had nary A mark upon it, but one only needed to look her in the eyes to see this woman has seen her fair share of battle. Her name Maat.

And of course, the one who led this group, Aster the Stargazer.

“It would seem, my fellow Pillars, the time we have feared is soon approaching. Tirek’s rise is upon his,” said Aster.

“Sooner than you think, my old friend. I have been scouting the regions, keeping my ear to the ground, and Tirek has been amassing dark forces for a bit. Those who act in his name have been skulking around, peddling influence on those easily swayed by the promise of fortune and power. To the west the tribes of the Orcs are uniting under his banner, even the goblins. To the east, mercenaries of various backgrounds and fighting capabilities,” said Fortis.

“To that,” spoke Maat, “I will add that there is movement in the dark covens. Warlocks and witches of the dark arts are also on the move, the agents of my country have provided intelligence that at least five to seven kingdoms are now under the control of Tirek via these covens. Although all seems well, those currently in power are little more than puppets on strings.”

“How fair you in your own queendom?” Misteria asked.

“No need to worry, my guard is strong in the mystic arts, and if any actually did make it to me…” Maat raised her hand, energy began to surge as an Ankh symbol formed over her hand, made of mystical energy. “They have my condolences.”

Rock Fist gave a hardy chuckle and said, “Indeed!”

Aster then turned his gaze to the two individuals before him. “Emu Hojo, Sage Amber Glade speaks of your great prowess in the healing arts. Sunset Shimmer, Misteria has spoken to me about your masterful use of magic, and even recommends you take a Master’s course. And Rock Fist here states that you’re fighting skills are something to behold, and after today, I would agree. You charged in without fear of the monster, and then used a power I have never seen used to defeat the monster.”

Sunset cleared her throat. “With all due respect, Headmaster, it was myself, Emu, and Midnight who fought the monster. We wouldn’t have gotten as far as we did without her help.”

Aster glanced about, and Misteria answered, “She speaks of Midnight Moonshadow, a new Trainee as well.”

“Ah, yes, the elven girl, I have seen her testing results, and of course her skills during today were impeccable. Credit is due to her, and will be given, but right now, this concerns you two.” Aster rose from his stone chair and walked towards them, keeping a five-foot distance between them. “Three days ago, an ethereal unicorn runs amok in the outside courtyard, and you tame it Ms. Shimmer. Three days later, you, Mr. Hojo, a strange dwarf like creature saves you and offers you its power. I have studied and witnessed many types of magic, but nothing comes close to what you both use. Tell me, who are you?”

Sunset looked to Emu, they very well couldn’t say that they were from another world and that his world wasn’t real, but a game someone created. There was also the added danger, because this was a game world, that Tirek may be in control of this world, and even though these characters before them were designed and programmed to be the good guys, it did not mean that Tirek couldn’t just as easily corrupt them and turn them bad.

“You’re right to be suspicious of us.” The other Pillars all regarded Sunset. “We’re not from this world, you see, I have fought Tirek once before.”

The Pillars bolted to their feet, giving Sunset a dubious look. Maat pointed her finger at Sunset and said, “Explain yourself young one!”

Sunset took a deep breath, “I come from a peaceful world not unlike this one, and there I am a hero who fights for the innocent. The form you saw me take was my true power, but being here in your world limits the amount of time I can use it. Emu is from another world as well, but shares similar powers to mine, and there he’s a renowned healer.”

“When did you encounter Tirek in your world?” Amber Glade asked.

“It was a fight that nearly ended my world. Back then, Tirek, along with an organization of evil beings, tried to destroy my world and take its magic. I was joined by otherworldly heroes, like Emu, who helped me to defend my world. At the darkest hour, Tirek and his allies were close to victory, but he betrayed them. I should say, he attempted to betray them. He underestimated his allies’ own cruelty, and in the end, he was killed by them.”

The Pillars glanced about the room, hearing that the dark lord was betrayed by other evil creatures, it made them weary of just how powerful those other monsters were.

“However, in the end, I was granted an even greater power by the magic of my world, and used it to defeat that greater evil, saving my home. Now it seems Tirek has come back for his revenge, and to limit my and Emu’s powers, he has brought us here to weaken us. But it seems our powers aren’t gone, they wished to be found, and that is why the unicorn and dwarf-like creatures appeared.”

Aster looked into Sunset’s eyes, trying to find a shred of proof that she was lying to them. He even took a moment to look into Emu’s eyes, but after a minute, Aster conceded to the explanation. “If that is indeed the case, then Tirek must truly fear your capabilities if he has brought you here to render you powerless.”

Sunset sighed internally, it was not a lie, not entirely. They were from other worlds, they were heroes, and they did lose some of their power upon coming to the game world. Selective truth telling, one could call it.

“Headmaster, is there any way to combat Tirek at this moment? Although he weakened us, I believe he may be weak, too. If we can defeat him here, before he awakes, we could prevent a disaster to both our worlds,” said Emu.

The Pillars nodded to each other.

“For now, young ones, please adjourn to your quarters and get some rest. Classes are cancelled for today as we need to reassess the Academy’s protective wards, and what course of action to take. Do not wander too far, we may need to call upon you both soon,” said Aster.

Emu and Sunset bowed to the old wizard. A portal opened behind them, revealing a waiting area, and beyond that a door. Emu and Sunset entered the portal and were brought into the waiting room, they continued on and opened the door, revealing Midnight pacing the floor as she nervously mumbled to herself.

“Midnight?” Sunset asked.

The girl in question yelped and finally took notice of the two people she was waiting for. “Emu, Sunset! Are…Are you alright?! What did the Pillars want? Are you going to get expelled?!”

Sunset shook her head and chuckled as she approached the elf girl and patted her on the head, which got Midnight to blush. “Calm down Twi – uh – Midnight. We’re not expelled or anything bad, The Pillars just wanted to talk to us about the fight. But we may be called back.”

Midnight released a tension filled breath. “Oh, thank the gods!”

“By the way, Midnight, do you know if the food hall is still open? I’m feeling a bit hungry, and you should get something too, Sun-chan,” said Emu.

“Thanks, but…” At that moment, Sunset’s stomach made a grumbling noise that stopped her midsentence. “…Actually, I’ll take you up on that offer.”

Midnight thought for a moment. “I do not think they are open at this time, not after that commotion. We can go to one of the local food taverns that’s close by, and it will be my treat!”

“You really don’t have to, Midnight,” said Sunset.

The elf girl took Sunset’s hand and held it tight, making Sunset blush a bit. “I insist, it would be dishonorable for me not to at least offer some form of gratitude for saving us all.”

For a moment, Sunset saw not Midnight, but Twilight in that smiling face and pleading look in her eyes. The warrior girl sighed and smiled as she said, “Sure, you can, but it doesn’t have to be anywhere fancy, I don’t want you using all your money on us.”

Midnight waved off the concern. “Not to worry, Sunset. I may not look it, but my family is quite wealthy, I have bits to spare and then some.”

Emu and Sunset looked each other and then to Midnight. The girl dressed quite modestly, she had white leggings on over a purple skirt that draped to about halfway down past her knees, a blouse that was purple, but also had a lighter shade purple running down the middle in a line. Her waist had a gold colored rope acting as a built, and her arms had lacy sleeves with the shoulders exposed.

Never would have guessed, they thought at the same time.

Sunset and Emu followed Midnight who seemed to have a pep in her step. Parado regarded Midnight for a minute and said to Sunset, “Check your menu right quick.”

The former Equestrian pushed on her heart and the menu appeared, she looked under “Party” and saw Emu, and now Midnight. Under her was a status bar with a heart next to it, which were totaling five. The first heart was filled which read “acquaintance”, the second was also filled which read, “friendship”. At first Sunset didn’t understand, but after a minute she figured out what this meant.

“Oh no…don’t tell me…this game also has dating sim aspect to it?!” Sunset exclaimed in a harsh whisper.

Emu glanced over her menu for a minute. “Well, maybe you triggered a kind of relationship event, one that’s based on your interactions with other characters…Which means, that Midnight may not be just an NPC, she could be an important character to the overall story of the game.”

Sunset looked back at the still smiling Midnight, now wondering what and how this could affect the game, and their chances of escaping this game world.

Level 6: The Ashen Dread

Now with their new companion, Sunset, Midnight, Emu, and Spectra entered the Talsek Forest. Spectra led them through the least dangerous paths she could scout, her harpy eyes were very good at spotting dangers from a long distance, allowing them to sidestep or avoid unnecessary battles altogether. However, there are some battles you can’t avoid, in which case you just have to go right through them.

Sunset jumped into the air, where Spectra awaited. The harpy grabbed ahold of Sunset by the shoulders with her talons, despite her small frame, Spectra was quite strong as she flew with Sunset in tow, not even having an ounce of speed reduced from the extra weight as she flapped her arms, which had morphed into wings. Their team had run into a little trouble with a large blue raptor beast, standing ten feet tall and roaring at them as it slashed forest with its large spines, blades, and claws.

“You sure about this, Sunset?! That thing is crazy!” Spectra shouted.

“Trust me, Spectra, that thing is something we need!” Sunset shouted back.

“Ha, ha, you are crazy! And I love it! Get ready!”

Sunset checked her LB gauge, it had increased during the few skirmishes they had while traversing the forest, but she didn’t think it would take more than one hit from her transformed state to end this fight. You were always a wild one, weren’t you, Fang!

The giant blue raptor snarled as its red eyes looked at the incoming Spectra and Sunset. The blades on the raptor’s forearms glowed bright blue as it readied to cut down the two approaching heroes, however, while its attention was drawn, Emu and Midnight went to work.

Midnight had a magic circle glowing beneath her as she summoned forth her power. With glowing, rosy-violet eyes, Midnight twirled her staff around and struck the butt of the staff against the circle as she uttered, “Rueshin Chains of Binding!”

Construct chains made of Midnight’s magic erupted from the circle, the chains multiplied as they approached the raptor, wrapping around its forearms and dragging them down to the sides. Emu charged up his hammer, gathering energy as he jumped straight up and yelled, “THUNDER SLAM!”

Blue lightning enveloped Emu’s hammer as it struck the midsection of the raptor, causing it to fall to one knee. Seeing this, Spectra rapidly ascended, going so high that the raptor appeared as blue splotch on the ground.

“I really hope you know what you’re doing,” said Spectra.

“Same here, let me go!”

Spectra released Sunset and allowed her to go into free fall, the harpy watched as Sunset got lower and lower at incredible speed, speeds that would instantly kill her. Feeling way too anxious about this plan, Spectra dove down, following parallel to Sunset and ready to swoop in and save her should plan go array. Meanwhile, Sunset kept judging the distance, waiting for the right moment to transform. The blue splotch that was Fang began to take better shape, once Sunset was able to make out his shape she went to work.

“LIMIT BREAK!”

Around Sunset’s waist, the Uni-Driver appeared, and into her right hand the Unicorn Memory formed.

< UNICORN! >

“HENSHIN!”

UNICORN! <

Sunset’s body was surrounded in a field of turquoise electricity, transforming her into Kamen Rider Unicorn: Fantasy Knight. Spectra’s eyes widened at the sight of seeing Sunset’s transformation, and could even feel a great amount of magical energy pouring from Sunset. Unicorn took out the Gaia Memory and placed it into the right hip port, and pressed the button.

} UNICORN! MAXIMUM DRIVE! {<

“SPIRAL BREAKER!”

Unicorn flipped around until her feet were angled downwards, she then focused her energy into her right leg, and in front of her foot formed a spiral unicorn horn. She took a flying kick stance as she used her magical as a booster to fall even faster. From up above she appeared as a turquoise falling star, beautiful to look at, but extremely dangerous. Emu and Midnight got together as Midnight erected a protective barrier around them. At the last second, Fang managed to break free from the chains, but not before Unicorn landed her attack right on the beast.

A flash of blinding turquoise light shined from the point of impact, making Spectra have to stop in midair and close her eyes for fear of going blind. When the light faded, Unicorn was standing, and Fang was on the ground. The reptilian creature slowly got up and looked down at Unicorn.

“You ready to behave?” Unicorn asked as she reached out her hand to the beast.

Fang merely snorted and got down low so that Unicorn could touch its forehead. The moment they made contact, Fang erupted into blue flames. The flames died down and coalesced into a sphere, that sphere then took shape and dispersed, becoming the Fang Memory. Unicorn took the Gaia Memory back, and felt her power increase. Once obtained, she disengaged the transformation and returned to her normal form.

“That’s one down, a few more to go,” said Sunset.

***____________ x [+]E[+]____________***

Later that night, the team made camp in a clearing. A fire had been started, and while they were having their dinner, Spectra couldn’t help but retell the day’s earlier events with all the giddiness of a child.

“Then Sunset came down with a KABOOM!” Spectra threw out her arms for emphasis. “That was the most incredible thing I’ve ever seen! And you’re saying you can use that thing’s powers now?!”

Sunset chuckled at the nostalgia of this reaction. “Yeah, best Emu and I can figure, our transformation powers are scattered about this world. And it looks like they’ve taken on some form of sentience.”

“Most likely it was Tirek’s way of making us weaker, but our Gashats and Gaia Memories are connected to us, and us to them. I have a feeling that they’ll either seek us out, or we’ll happen across them as we continue our journey, unconsciously drawn to them, you could say,” said Emu.

“I can’t wait to find mine, so I can help fight,” said Parado.

Spectra’s feathers ruffled as she ducked behind Sunset. “Okay, sorry, I’m still not used to that ghost tagging along. You sure we don’t need a priest or something?”

Parado huffed and crossed his arms, earning a round of chuckles from Emu, Sunset, and Midnight.

“Parado is Emu’s familiar spirit, he helps us in battle like he did earlier, giving us information and analyzing the opponents we face. But I am curious to see how you would achieve a physical form to aid us in battle,” said Midnight.

Sunset took a bite out of her loaf of bread and said, “If we continue like we have been, that might actually happen.” Sunset then looked behind her to Spectra and asked, “So, how did you get involved with that Gora girl? If you don’t want to, you don’t have to tell us.”

Spectra sat beside Sunset and sighed. “Yeah, no, it’s alright I’ll tell you. I guess it starts with my dumb self going out and trying to make a name for myself. I thought I could be an adventurer, just trekking around different regions. Getting the lay of the land and helpin’ people out where I could. Course, some people don’t exactly like the help of a Demi-human…” Spectra looked down at her talons with a saddened expression. “…and some would rather just enslave us. Which is what Gora had done.”

Sunset spat out her food at hearing that. “Wait, she did what?!”

“I was just flying around, passing through town. Quickly as well, ‘cause I could tell by the other Demi-humans that things for us weren’t good there. But before I could get out, I was collared by Gora, and kept in the city for about two months now. She placed me in a cage, an overgrown birdcage at that. Gora thought I was one of those songstress harpies, I mean, do I look like a singer to you?!”

Emu leaned next to Midnight and whispered, “Not sure I how should answer that?”

“Neither am I.” Midnight replied.

“Anyway, she put me to work doing grunt work, pulling, carrying, serving, pretty much if it was demeaning in some way, I was doing it. Until…yesterday, I heard she was going to sell me to this lord over in the east…from what I heard, the guy likes Demi-human girls…I mean, really likes them.”

Sunset’s aura flared for a moment, her anger rising at the thought that Spectra was going be sold as some kind of concubine. What made her angrier was how she looked so much like Rainbow Dash, and that made it worse to think that one of her friends was going to be put into a situation like that. “When we return, we’re definitely going to pay Gora a little visit.”

Emu and Midnight gulped, Spectra just grinned and hooked an arm around her. “Heh, heh, I knew I chose the right kind of people to tag along with! And, I don’t know if I really thanked you, but, thank you, for saving me from that fate.”

Sunset smiled. “We’re friends, Spectra, and even if we weren’t, I’d never let something like that happen.”

Spectra blushed, but maintained her cool façade. Sunset stole a glance towards Midnight and noticed that she too was blushing a bit as well. There was a “ding” noise that made Sunset swivel her head around, from what she could tell she seemed to be the only one who heard it.

“Did you guys happen to hear a dinging noise?” Sunset asked.

“Nope.”

“No.”

“Not at all.”

“Notme.”

Sunset raised an eyebrow and casually placed her hand against her chest, making the menu pop up again. After a couple of stealthy swipes, Sunset was able to see the party status, and she nearly choked on her sip of water. The third heart meter had been filled, now displaying “crush” for both Midnight and Spectra.

Oh, come on…seriously!? Sunset stood up quickly with a flustered expression of her own. “Well it’s getting late, I’ll take first watch, so why don’t you all get some sleep, Okay? Okay!”

They didn’t disagree with that, Emu and Midnight laid on the ground, while Spectra flew up into one of the trees and found a nice sturdy branch to perch on while she slept. Once everyone had gotten into their various sleeping positions, Sunset began to do a perimeter walk, keeping her sword out just in case. All the while, she used this time to think of a way to contact the real world. Sunset could only imagine what was happening out there, to all the sick people, and to her friends and girlfriend.

*THWAP!*

***____________ x [+]E[+]____________***

Twilight, Microchips, Starlight, and Kuro – ahem – Kuroto DEUS, were hard at work in the makeshift CR lab. With the game disc obtained, the four brainiacs began to analyze the code that was used to make the games. Twilight found herself looking over her shoulder a few times to keep an eye on Starlight, even though they haven’t fully confirmed it, there was enough suspicion with their current evidence to believe that Starlight Glimmer of Earth was Kamen Rider Equal. It was still surprising that she was here.

I guess when you really think about it, having the people killed by a virus that also threatened her own life would make her act to stop it. Self-preservation and all that, thought Twilight.

Kuroto looked over the double helix code of this new Bugster strain, it definitely had the same markers as Gamedeus, which made him wonder if the current Gamedeus vaccine. “Kiriya, bring me the data on the Gamedeus vaccine. If this is the same as a regular Bugster Virus, then we can curb the symptoms and buy ourselves more time to work on the vaccine for this strain.”

“Got it,” said Kiriya.

“You have a vaccine? Can we not just simply use it and boost its effectiveness?” Starlight asked.

“The problem is that this other part of the code is not normal, it has a biological component but I can’t figure it out, yet. If the infected start to disappear then that could make it difficult for us to stop this ‘Tirek’. With each person who vanishes, the stronger he’ll become, this way we can slow the process down to a snail’s pace. It won’t save them, but it will buy us time and more breathing room,” said Kuroto as he ran his and through his hair. “Such is the genius of a god.”

Starlight nodded and she rolled her eyes.. “That makes sense, with Twilight’s help we managed to pin down an extra dimension within cyberspace that this game is connected to, and possibly where this monster is lying in wait.”

“We could create a patch that will prevent anymore Bugster attacks like what happened earlier today, Microchips can you send me the access codes to the main servers that online play was being hosted on?” Twilight asked.

“I’ll do one better, I’ll use my admin access, it’ll grant us access to everything, without having to worry about the security protocols,” said Microchips.

Kuroto nodded at the efficiency of the two teenagers, but then turned his attention to Starlight. “Could I speak with you, in private?”

Starlight looked at Kuroto with a hint of suspicion, but complied and followed the human turned Bugster to a private meeting room. “What is it, Mr. Dan, we need to get back to work quickly.”

Kuroto held up his hand as if to silence Starlight. “First: it’s Dan-sama. Second: I need to know that you’re not involved in this.”

Starlight blinked, her brow furrowing in indignation. “How dare you accuse me of orchestrating this epidemic! What grounds do you have to accuse me of this?!”

Kuroto had a smug look on his face as he sat on the table. “Come now, Ms. Glimmer, I can see it in your eyes, the want for more, the dark truth. You put on the façade of a kind and caring CEO, helping the city, helping the Kamen Riders, one in this case. But we all know that it’s all just a front, a mask to hide the true you. The you who is secretly plotting, scheming, and doing everything in your power to see this secret agenda of yours come true. I know, because we are one in the same.”

Starlight leaned against the wall and said, “Explain yourself.”

“I was the head of the biggest gaming company, owner, and creator, my talents were greater than that of my father, indeed like that unto a GOD! I was making games before I was even old enough to work – officially – at Genm Corp. It was there that I also discovered the Bugster Virus, and a way to make the ultimate game with it. Sadly, things went array and I ended up in the position you now see before you.” Kuroto walked towards Starlight and looked her dead in the eye. “So, if whatever little grand master plan you have going on is responsible for this strain, I need to know now.”

Starlight maintained her composure as she stared down Kuroto. “And if I said it didn’t, would you believe me?”

“Strangely, yes. Because even though there were lives on the line, I made sure to have a way of bringing them back, and you strike me as someone who doesn’t cause harm wantonly, more out of necessity, and where warranted,” said Kuroto. “Am I wrong?”

Starlight couldn’t stand that this man was practically reading her like an open book, but she couldn’t deny feeling a bit of comradery with his ilk, that of two dark Kamen Riders. “Well, now that you know that I have no hand in this, you should know that I too want stop this epidemic as badly as everyone else.”

“Duly noted, now, let’s go cure a disease, shall we?”

***____________ x [+]E[+]____________***

Twilight wasn’t sure why Dan Kuroto(DEUS) and Starlight had walked away, but it did give her some alone time with Microchips. “Tell me, why would make a game based on us? You know if the girls figured it out later, I doubt they would be as forgiving as they are now.”

Microchips gulped. “How come you aren’t angry now?”

“Because we’re in a crisis. Most of them have siblings and that are battling this disease, their priorities are with them. My priorities are to help in any way I can to stop this from hurting more people beyond this city. However, I would expect some form of retribution when this is over,” said Twilight.

Microchips sighed. “Fair enough…To answer your other question…I guess it’s because you girls are…well…amazing.”

Twilight stopped her typing and swiveled her chair around to look at the boy. “Well, I can’t deny they are. Rarity is so creative and sure of her future, Fluttershy’s the kindest person I’ve ever met and never holds a grudge, Rainbow’s super athletic and captain of every sports team at school, she could be the most obnoxious jerk in the school with all that status, but she doesn’t let it get in the way of being a true friend. Applejack is the hardest working, not to mention the most physically strong, and trustworthy girl. And Pinkie Pie’s always going out of her way to make sure no one has to feel sad, she’s made it her life’s mission to spread happiness and cheer.”

It was there that Twilight’s face began to turn red as she smiled. “Then there’s Sunset Shimmer, yes, I know she was a…bad person…initially, but she changed her ways and crawled out from a hole she dug herself into and regained the trust of everyone in the school, and became a more loving, caring person for it. She saved me, not just because I reminded her of someone she knew, but because she genuinely wanted to save me from myself. I can never repay her for that.”

Microchips stopped typing and looked to Twilight. “You two are really going out, right?”

“Yes, do you…do have a crush on Sunset?” Twilight asked with a bit of worry.

“Not exactly, I mean, she’s great, really great. And you’re right about the others, but there’s also you. I didn’t base Midnight’s design on the Princess you, I based it on the you-you here. Because, well, you’re amazing too, Twilight,” said Microchips.

“Oh,” said Twilight in surprise, “thank you, Micro.”

“Just, uh, telling the truth. But, you can see how I couldn’t not make a game around you all, right? I mean, it’s all just so amazing and no one from beyond the city would believe it! And it also kind of ticked me off that you all never got the recognition, your friends saved the world three times already, and no one beyond the school knows it or even acknowledges it.”

Twilight adjusted her glasses and then said, “I haven’t been with them that long, but I can tell that they don’t do what they do for recognition, in fact that seems to be the farthest thing from their minds. They just act, they do what they know is right.”

“Kind of like Unicorn and Nasca,” said Microchips.

“Y-Yeah, kind of.”

“Well, then I gotta do what I can to fix this!”

With renewed fervor, Microchips began typing away at his keyboard. Twilight smiled and went back to her work as well. “You’re still fully aware of potential punishment from the girls, right?”

Microchips hung his head low. “Fully aware…”

***____________ x [+]E[+]____________***

Sunset’s head thrummed like it did after hearing one of Pinkie Pie’s drum solos. However, when she went to rub her head, Sunset found that she couldn’t, rather something enabled her from doing so. There was also a strange tension in her arms, almost as if…

The mage knight opened her eyes and suddenly found her wrists tied over her head, against a large wooden stake. Sunset looked down at herself and saw that her armor had been removed and replaced with some sort of tribal garments, a simple cloth skirt that ran halfway past her knees, and a shirt made of the same material. There were tribal markings on the clothes, they weren’t runes, however there was power in the words. Sunset looked up and saw that her wrists were bound by robes, with tight knots that would require magic or a sharp blade to undo.

Sunset took in her surroundings, she had no idea how long she was out, from the sky it was either still late at night or just turned into night. Wherever she was, it was a large sprawling village, the houses were made of wood and carved rock. Sunset was held in some metal cage, which was quite spacious, but definitely had no gaps big enough for her to attempt to squeeze through, and it was open enough that anyone could see any suspicious movements she might make.

“Ah wouldn’t think about escaping.”

The mage knight turned her attention forward and her jaw nearly hit the ground in shock. Walking towards her was a tall girl, about six feet tall, practically towering over Sunset if they were standing face to face. She wore leather boots with gold colored metal plates, around her waist she wore a combat skirt made of leather, with the edges made of white fur from some unknown animal. She had leather bracers, also with the same gold colored metal plates. Her chest and stomach were covered in the same armor, all the metal plates, Sunset observed, had different tribal markings than that of the clothes Sunset herself was wearing.

The girl before her had a tanned complexion, with freckles on her face. Eyes like bright emeralds, and golden hair tied back into a braided ponytail. Her physique was muscular, but not overtly so, however that didn’t take away from the fact that this girl, who looked a lot like Applejack, was carrying a spear in one hand and a shield on her back. The likeness, again, was so uncanny that Sunset couldn’t help but say, “Applejack?”

The girl cocked an eyebrow in confusion. “No, I am Ambrosia. Amazonian warrior, and lieutenant of this here camp.” Ambrosia waved her spear over the cage, the markings on her spear glowed and soon the bars began to bend until she was able to step inside. With another wave of her spear, the bars returned to their original position. “Don’t go thinking you can use your magic, those markings on your clothes keep your magic sealed.”

Sunset sported a cocky grin. “You should know, I have no qualms with fighting without them.”

“See I figured that would be the case, so the marks also prevent them from being torn or taken off by anyone who isn’t an Amazon. And just so ya know, all of ‘em have to be taken off, not just one part,” said Ambrosia.

“Thorough. So why am I tied up, and what have you done to my friends?!” Sunset demanded.

Ambrosia stuck her spear into the ground and turned to face her. “Your friends are being kept safe for now, we had to do some extra work with that elf girl to keep her magic under control, and that harpy was a fierce one to capture, actually made me break a sweat. As for that guy, he’s been suspiciously cooperative. It’s quite the group you have assembled, two humans, one elf, and one Demi-human, not a lot of folks would take kindly to you traveling with one or the other.”

“And how do you take it?” Sunset asked.

Ambrosia crossed her arms. “Well, I can take it as just as I see it, or unless you say otherwise. We’ve been tracking you all since you entered the forest. You haven’t been goin’ through the main roads, you’ve been taking paths that are short but dangerous, if it weren’t for that harpy leading you safely, you’d all be dead already. So why the hurry? Answer me honestly as the lives of your friends depends on it.”

Sunset narrowed her gaze at Ambrosia, despite the situation it was hard to stay angry at this version of her friend. “Fine, my friends and I are on a mission. Emu, Midnight – the elf, and I are Guardians. The Pillars have asked us to head to Heaven’s Fall and stop Tirek’s rise. We saved Spectra from some slave merchant, and she’s agreed to join us, and just so we’re clear, she’s doing this of her own free will. We mean you no harm, if we entered your territory we did not know, but we have bigger problems than worrying about some Amazonian camp in the middle of this forest. Please, let us go, and we’ll be out of your hair as quick as possible, or hey, show us the quickest path through the Talsek Forest and we’ll be gone sooner.”

Ambrosia studied Sunset, staring her right in the eyes. After a moment, Ambrosia nodded her head. “Tirek…we have been getting reports from other camps that there’s been movement of the dark sort in different corners of the world. Our sisters in the north and east have been seein’ movement with Orcs and Goblins, if that’s really what’s happening we’ll need to alert all our camps and the city.”

“Soooo…does this mean you’ll let us go?” Sunset asked.

“Ain’t that easy, I’ll have to run this by the captain.” Ambrosia pulled out her spear and twirled it around with such speed that Sunset had to keep herself from blinking to track it. With a swift slash, Sunset’s bonds were cut, allowing her to let her arms down. “I’m trusting you not to run away, if you can behave while not tied up it’ll help me in convincing her.”

Sunset rubbed her sore shoulders and nodded to Ambrosia. “I promise.”

“Right then.” Ambrosia stepped towards the bars and waved her spear over them. When the bars opened, Ambrosia’s instincts were telling her to turn around in anticipation of the girl attacking her, but she fought against them and pressed on until she was outside. Ambrosia turned around and saw that Sunset was still inside the cell, having slumped up against the stake, not having moved an inch from that spot. “Sorry.”

“For what?” Sunset asked.

“For hittin’ you upside the head. I’m normally against sneak attacks, rather face an opponent head on. Get some sleep while ya can, most likely not much will get done until some have gotten a good sleep,” said Ambrosia.

“Wait, Ambrosia! There’s something I need ask of you!”

***____________ x [+]E[+]____________***

“UGH! Let me out of here!” Spectra yelled.

The harpy was kept in a cage suspended in the air on a tree, like a birdcage. Midnight was kept in a cell a few feet below and to the side of where Spectra’s was. Her garments were also changed and had the same markings as Sunset’s, however there were more markings drawn on her arms, legs, back, chest, and forehead, along with a ring of more markings around her cell.

To her left was Emu’s cell, he was given a skirt similar to Midnight’s, but his chest was left bar. His magical energy was also sealed, with body markings, but since he really didn’t know any kind of attack spells, this was simply overkill.

“Calm down, Spectra,” said Midnight.

“No, you understand, Nighty, but I! Don’t! Do! Cages!” Spectra emphasized each word with a body slam against the bars, rocking her cage back and forth to the point that Emu and Midnight thought she may fall. “I won’t be put in another cage! I won’t!”

“This isn’t good, Spectra’s showing signs of post-traumatic stress syndrome,” said Emu.

“Sorry, what is that?” Midnight asked.

“It’s triggered when a person is reintroduced to a particular stimulant that makes them relive a traumatic time in their life, it can be triggered by a smell, sound, feeling, or in this case, an environment. And that environment for Spectra is being in a cage when she was captured by Gora.” Emu winced as she heard Spectra slam against the cage again. “The patient’s fight or flight response will be kicked into overdrive, making them either get as far away from the element by whatever means necessary, or to eliminate it by any means necessary. At this rate she’ll hurt herself or her heart will explode from the increased adrenaline.”

Midnight’s eyes widened with fear for their companion, she merely took it a Spectra’s rebellious nature, but it was actually something worse.

“GUARD!” Emu cried out. “GUARD!”

Another Amazonian warrior walked up to Emu’s cell and asked, “What do you want?”

“You have to release our friend up there! She’s going to kill herself at this rate!” Emu urged.

The Amazonian glanced up at the harpy who continuously kept banging at the cage. “Do you think I’m stupid or something? ‘Release her’ he says.”

“Miss please, Emu is a Healer, he’s learned in the art of healing magics and medicine, he wants you to release her because the cage is making her agitated and at this rate she’ll hurt herself!” Midnight pleaded.

“You don’t have to let her go, just let her out of the cage and tie her up or something, but not in a cage!” Emu stated with more authority.

The Amazon raised her spear and held it at the ready to impale Emu. “Don’t think you can order me, male. I don’t care if you’re the most gifted one in the world, I’ll skewer you if you speak to me like that again!”

“What is goin’ on here?!” Ambrosia asked.

The Amazon turned around and stood at attention at the sight of her lieutenant. “Ma’am, pardon me, these prisoners were acting up, that harpy and this man in particular.”

Ambrosia looked up at the rattling cage. “Bring her down to the ground.”

“W-What?”

“You heard me!”

The guard did as she was told, quickly heading to the pully and lowering the cage until it hit the ground. Despite this drop in altitude, Spectra continued to thrash about in the cage. Ambrosia walked up to the cage and banged her spear against it, making Spectra cease her thrashing and curl up into a fetal position. The sight made Ambrosia’s heart heavy, she then kneeled down in front of the cage.

“Hey, your name’s Spectra, right?” Ambrosia asked.

The harpy peeked from under wings and gave a slow nod. “Sunset told me about you, and your friends. She asked me if there was any way I could restrain ya without putting you in a cage.” Ambrosia motioned for the guards who were trailing behind her to bring chains with heavy weights attached. “These weights are spelled to make them heavier if they stop touching the ground, but they’re still pretty heavy. If you let me put these on you, you can stay out of the cage and sit in the open. That alright?”

Spectra shook her head rapidly in agreement.

“Lieutenant, you can’t trust that this harpy won’t just fly away! At least let’s have her put to sleep!”

Ambrosia gave the guard a glare that made her cease her protesting then and there. “Sunset also said to not do anything, well, you, and to trust her.”

Spectra seemed to calm down a little more at hearing that this was at Sunset’s request. Ambrosia opened the cage and Spectra immediately bolted out of the cage and onto the ground. The other Amazon guards readied with their spears, but Ambrosia raised her hand in a halting motion. Spectra breathed hard, taking in big gulps of air if she had been underwater.

Ambrosia carefully approached her and placed a hand on Spectra’s back, making her flinch for a few seconds before settling down. “Just breath in slowly, ya go that fast you’ll pass out. Breathe with me.” It took a couple of minutes, but eventually she was able to calm Spectra down. “Alright, we’re goin’ to put these cuffs on your ankles and wrists, do I have your word you won’t try anything.”

Spectra nodded.

“Alright, bring ‘em here, I’ll do it.”

After a few seconds to get the cuffs secured, Spectra crawled up next to Midnight’s cell, the elf girl sat close to the side where Spectra was and combed her hand through her hair in a relaxing motion.

“Thank you,” said Emu.

“We’re warriors, not savages.”

As Ambrosia walked away, she glanced over her shoulder at the three. Even while imprisoned herself, her thoughts were on her friends first, especially that one. And that Spectra trusted her enough to take my word. That’s something, really something.

***____________ x [+]E[+]____________***

Morning arrived rather quick, Ambrosia got ready and hurried over to her Captain’s quarter’s. The guards at the door saluted her and announced her into the Captain’s domicile. She was wearing the same leather and metal plated armor as the rest, except hers was more ornate with more intricate designs. Her skin was also the same bronzy color as Ambrosia, but her hair was colored orange and yellow, as if fire itself had become her hair.

The Amazon captain’s amber colored eyes roved over a map of the land, focusing on the section that was the Talsek Forest. “I heard you wanted to see me Lieutenant.”

“Captain Helfyre, I would like to request a release of the prisoners, Ma’am,” said Ambrosia.

Helfyre looked up at her lieutenant with a confusion. “Why, may I ask, do you wish to release them? They were in our territory, and they’re kind of a suspicious bunch. I mean, an elf, two humans, and a harpy demi-human? Not exactly normal.”

“Well, Ma’am, according to their leader, they’re Guardians on a mission per The Pillars. The harpy just recently joined their group and are en route to Heaven’s Fall.”

Helfyre nearly stumbled at hearing the name of that gods forsaken place. “And are you sure they aren’t going to there to aid in the destruction of this world?”

“Truthfully, Captain, I don’t think she was lying. In fact, she was being quite honest, I could feel it,” said Ambrosia.

The Captain of the Amazonian warriors smirked as she put her hands on her hips. “Really, or could it be that you’ve taken a liking to the girl?”

Ambrosia blushed. “Ma’am, no Ma’am! My intuition is that, just intuition!”

“Oh Am, you don’t have to be coy. I mean, the girl is a bit scrawny, but appears to have a good physique for combat. But, she’s a bit short for you, not sure how that’ll work when –”

“Captain, please!” Ambrosia pleaded as she sported a fierce blush.

Helfyre laughed at her lieutenant’s expense, but in the end walked from around the table and clasped her on the shoulder. “Relax, I trust your instincts, let us go and speak to this girl who’s captured your attention.”

Suddenly, a horn bellowed throughout the camp, making both Amazonian women tense up.

“Captain that’s –!”

“Get to your battle positions, we’re under attack!”

Helfyre and Ambrosia exited and watched as a monster began tearing through the camp. It had two long whip-like tails, both tipped with a violet colored spike. Its body was covered in onyx colored scales, from the neck down the middle of its body the scales were a pale gray color. It had claws that were also violet in color, and in each claw, it carried two long, obsidian swords. The creature appeared female in physique, it eyes covered by an exoskeletal visor, and its lips were extenuated with violet lipstick.

“By order of Lord Tirek, I issue proclamation! Amazons, either join the rise of my Lord and Master, or die! So says the Envoy Tala!”

Ambrosia and Helfyre looked to each other, and then back at Tala. Helfyre drew her long sword and said, “Let me respond to that in the following way…FIRE!”

Suddenly, Amazonian archers sprang up from around structures and from the trees and let loose dozens of arrows. The arrowheads themselves glowed with magical energy as they drew closer to their target. All at once the arrows struck, resulting in an explosion that rocked the camp and kicked up a dust cloud that went up about ten feet into the air. The Amazons weren’t stupid, a simple volley like that would not fell the monster so easily and prepared to fire again. However, the wind picked up fiercely as the Envoy, Tala, slashed with her swords, creating a gust that dispersed the dust cloud.

Tala’s long tail whipped forward and found one of the archers, dragging her from her hiding spot and bringing her to bare before her sisters. “Let it be known, you have chosen death.” Tala slashed the Amazon with her obsidian sword, the moment her blade passed through her, the archer went still, and her body began to change into ash until there was nothing left of her.

“YOU WITCH!” Helfyre roared as she charged forward.

Ambrosia drew her spear and followed after her. Helfyre’s long sword glowed with green light as she came down with an overhead strike, but Tala blocked the attack with her left sword, and prepared to stab with the right. However, Ambrosia stepped in and thrust forward, her spear tip glowing and becoming an energy blade construct. Tala saw the spear and quickly backed off to put some distance between them, but when she did, the archers fired another volley of arrows. Tala was not amused and slashed to the right and left with her swords, creating crescent energy waves that slashed the trees and structures and turned them to ash.

The archers who were hidden amongst them had to abandon their cover, and when they did, Tala’s twin tails lashed out and took them. Ambrosia charged forward, ready to impale Tala, but the Envoy brought one of Ambrosia’s Amazonian sisters in front of her to use as a shield. Ambrosia stopped her attack before it could land, Tala had no such qualms as she threw the Amazon archer at Ambrosia and readied to cut her down. The archer pushed herself off of Ambrosia and used her own body to block the blade, and turned to ash before the freckled warrior.

Taking advantage of her stunned state, Tala changed her left sword into a reverse-grip and stabbed downwards with her sword. Helfyre came in at the second and swiped up with her sword, parrying Tala’s attack. The Amazon Captain twirled around into a spinning sword attack that forced Tala to block with both swords until she jumped back to avoid losing her footing.

Ambrosia got up, tears in her eyes from seeing one of her sisters sacrifice themselves for her. But before she could get into her stance, Helfyre held out her hand and asked, “Those prisoners, do you trust them?”

The lieutenant glanced at her captain, and said, “I do.”

“I don’t, but I do trust you. Release them and arm them, if they decide to fight then let them, if not help them flee,” said Helfyre.

“I’ll go, just hang on Captain!” Ambrosia stated. “You three come with me!”

***____________ x [+]E[+]____________***

Sunset paced her cell back and forth, she could hear the sounds of battle in the distance, and she could feel the presence of something dark. The guard at her cell seemed anxious, like she wanted to go and help, but knew that she couldn’t abandon her duty. No one had come to inform her or Sunset about what was happening, and it only made it worse.

“Ugh! Guard, something bad is happening over there, there’s an evil presence, I can feel it!” Sunset warned.

“Quiet, prisoner!”

Sunset rushed to the bars with a frustrated look on her face. “The real threat is over there where your friends are fighting! Go and help them I’m not going anywhere!”

“Actually, you are,” said Ambrosia.

The Amazon Lieutenant came running towards her cell, carrying a trunk. Ambrosia gave a quick swipe of her spear and made the bars fall apart, Sunset stepped out of the cell and stopped when Ambrosia approached her. “What’s happening?!”

“Some monster is attacking the camp, she said she was an Envoy of Tirek!”

Sunset’s eyes widened. “Not another one…”

“You’ve fought one before?” Ambrosia asked.

“I have, myself and Emu beat one that attacked the Guardian School a few days ago.”

Ambrosia plopped the trunk in front of them, opened it, and asked, “Are ya up for fightin’ another one? Your friends are right behind me and are armed too. Will…Will you help us?”

***____________ x [+]E[+]____________***

“AAAAH!!” Helfyre screamed.

The Amazon Captain backed away as her right arm turned to ash, having narrowly escaped a body slash by sacrificing her right arm. A group of Amazon warriors surrounded their leader, shields up and spears at the ready.

“Why continue to struggle and suffer, when I can just cut you down swiftly and make this painless?” Tala asked.

“We’re Amazons, we don’t know the meaning of word surrender or easy,” said Helfyre.

“So be it!”

Tala shot forward, blades ready to cut down the Amazons where they stood.

“Howling Wind!”

A buffeting wind struck Tala, making her stop in her tracks as she struggled against the gale. Tala looked up and spotted a blue feathered harpy flapping her wings and generating the gust. At that moment a magic circle appeared in front of Tala and from it Emu appeared, slamming his hammer into her face and sending the Envoy flying into two houses before stopping in the third.

Sunset, Ambrosia, Midnight, Emu, and Spectra all lined up in front of the Amazons, weapons and spells ready for the attack. Parado appeared next to Emu, using his game abilities to get some info on their opponent. Sunset and Emu saw the name of their latest foe, “Tala of the Ash”. Four bars of health appeared as the Envoy wrist herself free of the structure and walked towards them.

“You two killed Vorg, my Master will reward me for bringing your heads to him.”

“Be careful, she’ll focus on quick attacks, using hit and run tactics. Watch out for her tails, they can strike and extended to a good distance.The swords will turn you to ash if you get hit by them, but your weapons will be okay. Your armor will protect you, but the more strikes she gets in the less that becomes true.”

“Midnight, hit us with normal buffing spells, and throw in some resistance charms as well,” said Sunset.

Midnight summoned her magic and began her casting. “Accelero, Reinforce, Armor of Dransin, Protection from Curses!”

All members of the team glowed as the various buffs and charms were cast to grant them protection and strength against Tala. Sunset made the opening move and charged straight ahead with great speed, Tala did the same and the two met in the middle. A flurry of slashes was unleashed as Sunset’s sword and Tala’s swords clashed, making the air ring with the sound of crystal against crystal.

Both Sunset and Tala locked their swords as one struggled against the other, but Tala’s twin tails rose up like cobras ready to strike. Ambrosia wasn’t going to have that, she entered the fray swinging down with her lance, making Sunset and Tala break apart. Ambrosia swung in a wide arch, making Tala back away, but as she did, Emu came in with his hammer again, striking her in the head. Tala’s first health bar dropped a considerable amount from the head shot, and made her stumble as if drunk.

“Concussion debuff has set in,attack while she’s open!” Paraod instructed.

Sunset raised her sword to the sky and called out, “LIGHTNING GLAIVE!” she then brought down the sword and unleashed an electrified slash the struck Tala, taking another chunk of her HP bar.

Spectra swooped in as she channeled her own unique magic into her wings, making them glow with silver light. The harpy brought down both wings, slashing in an X pattern as she cried out, “Iron Wing!”

With that attack, Tala’s first bar of HP dropped and shattered, entering the second. Tala’s concussion debuff ended as she roared with fury, an aura of dark energy overcame her as the blades glowed in sync with her. Tala’s twin tails rose up and pierced the ground, without warning the ground erupted before the vanguard as Sunset and Ambrosia got struck in the chest by the attacks. Both warriors were sent to the ground back first, their HP bars dropping a bit, a lot more if not for the buffs from Midnight’s spells.

“New pattern, she’ll attack us from underground with her tails, I’m sorry, I can’t tell where they’ll attack from,” said Parado.

“No problem ghost, she can’t reach me in the air!” Spectra boasted.

As if to prove her wrong, Tala jumped into the sky, meeting Spectra. Before the harpy could react, Tala brought down both blades atop her shoulders and drove them down. The blades did not pass through, but merely struck Spectra and sent her plummeting back to terra firma. The harpy hit the ground with a strong crash that made her skid into a tree, her HP bar and Curse Resistance Armor meter took a large hit.

“Ambrosia, Midnight, Spectra, be more careful! Emu and Sunset have armor, butyou three either have light armor or no armor, so your resistance is less than theirs!” Parado warned.

“Her speed increased, Sun-chan, do you think we should…?”

Sunset checked their LB gauges, both were halfway full. “If we transform now, we may not have enough to for when we get her to the last bar, who knows what kind of crazy attacks she’ll have by then.” Sunset looked at the twin tails of Tala and an idea came to mind. “Ambrosia, do you have an earth based attack?”

“I do, why?” Ambrosia asked.

“Wait for the opening, and when you see it, I want you, Emu, and Midnight to use earth attacks and spells all at once. Spectra you still good?” Sunset asked.

Spectra shook her head and waved her wing in affirmation.

Sunset edgeD forward, advancing on Tala. The Envoy didn’t hesitate and struck her tails into the ground again for her subterranean attack. Sunset concentrated on the ground, feeling a light rumble.

“Accelero…”

*Rumble*

“Aceelero…!”

*Rumble*

“ACCELERO!”

Spectra took to the skies and Sunset, having cast the speed spell three times, dodged while leaving an after image of herself. The twin tails sprang out and pierced the afterimage going high into the sky since there was nothing to impale to stop their momentum. Spectra flew in and slashed both tails with her Iron Wings.

“EARTH SHATTER!”

“TERRA FORCE!”

“NATURE’S WRATH!”

A sphere of emerald light formed at the tip of Ambrosia’s spear as she twirled it around and stabbed the ground, sending the raging sphere of light roaring towards the tails. Emu dropped the hammer and sent dozens of rock shards, and Midnight made the leaves of the tress coalesce into a stream of energy beams that went straight at the exposed tails. All the attacks struck at once, exploding on impact.

Tala cried out in pain as she retracted what was left of her tails, in doing so, she didn’t notice how close Sunset had gotten.

“DUPLICITICE NATURE!”

Suddenly, Sunset divided up into three Sunsets, and all at once they slashed at Tala in rapid succession thanks to the quadruple Accelero spell. The HP bar dropped like a lead weight in water until the second bar shattered. Sunset backed away, allowing her clones to reform to her, the spells wore off, and now she was back to just one speed spell boost.

Tala’s aura increased in ferocity as she gave a mighty roar that pushed everyone back. Her visor broke, revealing two violet colored eyes that shined with intense rage. “You all will pay for maiming my tails!”

“No choice now,” said Sunset. “LIMIT BREAK!”

< UNICORN! >

“Henshin!”

UNICORN! <

Sunset, in a flash of turquoise light, transformed into Kamen Rider Unicorn: Fantasy Knight. With sword in hand, Unicorn once again intercepted Tala, trading blows back and forth to get rid of her third HP gauge.

“Let’s try this!”

Unicorn summoned the Fang Memory and placed it into the Mimetic Drive port.

{< FANG! MIMETIC DRIVE! >}

Unicorn’s body was enveloped by fierce blue light, changing her armor. The armor’s color was now primarily blue, her shoulder pauldrons becoming angular and sharp. The forearm armor now had a curved blue blade attached, and her fingers now claw tipped. Unicorn released a feral growl as she crouched low, and then struck the left hip port button two times.

\ ARM FANG! //

The blades on Unicorn’s forearm armor extended, glowing a cerulean blue. Tala and Unicorn once again attacked each other creating a blinding light from their dueling powers.

Ambrosia, Midnight, and Spectra just watched in awe at the astounding power of Sunset Shimmer, taking on the Envoy one-on-one. Emu, however, could see what she was doing. Sun-chan’s using her Limit Break all the way to drain the third bar, so that I can take out the last one…I just hope I have enough power…

In the short time that they were engaging, both Unicorn and Tala’s HP gauges were getting low, and Sunset’s LB gauge was getting lower. Deciding to go all in, Unicorn struck the button four times.

\\ ALL FANGS! ////

} FANG! MAXIMUM DRIVE! {<

The pauldrons sharpened, the forearm blades, leg blades, and horn blade extended and sharpened to points. Unicorn jumped into the air and then spun, faster and faster she spun until she appeared as an energy buzz saw.

“FANG REVEAR!”

Unicorn launched herself at Tala who was unprepared to take the full might of the attack and was struck head on. An explosion went off, sending a dust cloud into the air and obscuring their view for a moment. Unicorn backflipped until she was now standing before her allies. She then fell to one knee as the transformation ended and her LB gauge drained to zero. Sunset panted heavily, her HP gauge was dangerously low now, preventing her from going back in.

The third bar of health shattered and now the Envoy of Ash roared in utter fury, the blades merged with her arms, transforming them into jagged, twisted versions of the cleanly cut obsidian from earlier. Tala’s facial features changed, her mouth elongated until it was a muzzle, and opened to reveal several rows of razor sharp teeth.

“The rest is up to you, Emu, sorry,” said Sunset.

“Don’t worry, Sun-chan, this is why we have friends, to lean on and help when things are rough, and right now, things are quite rough.” Emu stood confidently before the girls and took an aggressive stance. “I’ll clear this level with no continues!”

Just then, streaks of orange and teal came racing out of the forest, the streaks struck Tala again and again, forcing the Envoy back. The streaks then changed course and headed towards Emu. The streaks went up and then angled down until they struck the ground before him. When the light faded, Emu, and even Parado, were starting wide eyed at what was before them. There were two beings, similar looking to Mighty when he first appeared, but they were different colors, the one on Emu’s right was teal, and the one on his left was orange.

“Parado, it’s –!”

“The MightyBrothers!”

The two ball shaped warriors gave a thumbs up, and then fist bumped. Their bodies glowed and then became one, transforming into the Mighty Brothers XX Gashat. Emu took hold of the Gashat and smirked.

“Ready to get to work, Parado?!”

“Been ready, Emu!”

“LIMIT BREAK!”
“LIMITBREAK!”

The Gamer Driver appeared around Emu’s waist, and without hesitation, inserted the Gashat.

| DOUBLE CLICK AND LOAD! |

“Henshin!”
“Henshin!”

| CLICK TO OPEN! |

| DOUBLE UP! I AM YOU AND YOU ARE ME! WE ARE! MIGHTY! MIGHTY! BROTHERS! DOUBLE X~! |

A dual flash of orange and teal light engulfed Emu, and once it faded there were two of him. Both had similar Ex-Aid armor, however, XX-R was colored orange, with the helmet hair was spiking up from his right side, and the left side of his head was teal. While XX-L was teal colored, and had teal spiked helmet hair, while the right side of his head was orange. Both riders had shoulder pauldrons that were one-half of the face of the first level transformation on opposite sides, coming together at the middle to form the full face.

XX-R looked at his body, clenching his fists as he shouted, “YES! It may not be my Dual Gashat but this works too! Now I can finally join the fight!”

Sunset looked between both Ex-Aids in confusion. “Parado?” XX-R looked at Sunset. “Emu?” XX-L now turned to face her. “Wow.”

“Wait, the ghost thing has a body now?!” Spectra exclaimed.

“WHETHER YOU ARE ONE OR SEPARATE, I’LL TURN YOU BOTH TO ASH!” Tala threatened.

“That’s not going to happen. Because we’ll clear this together with super co-op play!”
“That’s not going to happen. Because we’ll clear this together with super co-op play!”

| GASHACON KEY SLASHER! |

XX-R held the Key Slasher, which looked like a cross between a sword, ax, and gun, with a dial pad for a guard.

Both Double Xs engaged Tala, XX-R parried the blade strikes, and allowed XX-L to slide in and deliver a kick to her midsection, XX-R then passed the Key Slasher to XX-L who then blocked two strikes and slashed at Tala’s midsection. Tala, enraged, slashed horizontally at XX-L, but XX-L ducked and at the last second tossed the Key Slasher into the air, where XX-R was waiting. XX-R grabbed the Key Slasher and came down with a vertical slash while Tala was wide open.

Sunset and the others couldn’t believe the coordination between them, no words were spoken, it was if they were in each other’s minds and knew what the other was going to do.

Tala’s HP gauge was in the red, and now the Double Xs were ready to finish this.

| CLICK TO CLOSE! FINISHING MOVE! |

| CLICK TO OPEN! |

}!!!{ MIGHTY DOUBLECRITICAL STRIKE! }!!!{

XX R and L crouched as energy gathered to their feet. The dual Riders jumped at the same time, right and left feet glowing as the XXs performed a double flying kick to Tala. Their blow made contact, but the attack wasn’t finished. They then proceeded to go into a series of midair kicks, and maneuvered away from her. The two XXs merged into one to become their Level X form, which was a bulky white armor form. The Level X form powered up its fists and dashed towards Tala, striking her twice, with each blow shattering the obsidian blade arms. Level X jumped up and separated into XX-R and XX-L, and dove back down with a final flying Rider Kick, causing a massive explosion that shattered Tala’s last HP gauge.

The XXs landed on the ground, kneeling as the flames of the explosion went off behind them. Everyone was staring with jaws dropped in complete silence for a few seconds until Sunset broke the silence, saying, “Okay…that was a bit on the overkill side.”

XX-R and XX-L looked back behind them, and then shrugged.

“Yeah, we thought so too the first time we used that attack,” said XX-L.

“But in this case, it was needed,” replied XX-R.

Both XXs placed their hands on their belts and flipped the switches.

| CLICK TO SAVE! |

Both halves flashed and revealed Emu and Parado back in his ghostly form. Emu looked to his Bugster companion and said, “Sorry you couldn’t stay in a physical form.”

“It’s no big deal, now that we have that Gashat, I can help you guys fight instead of just tactical support,” said Parado.

Emu took a look around and his face became serious. “Let’s get the wounded to a central location, I’ll need some help with treatment!”

***____________ x [+]E[+]____________***

A few hours had passed and everyone was finally able to settle after the battle. Emu headed the effort to treat the injured Amazonians, thanks to his healing magic and medical knowledge, he was able to help many of the Amazons who had received some serious injuries. Spectra was requested to scout the area for any potential attacks and to alert them if she saw anyone. Midnight and Sunset headed the rescue effort to find any Amazons who were caught under any debris.

Helfyre was resting in her bed, on doctor’s orders, while Ambrosia stood at her bedside. “I must say, that man, Emu, he certainly knows a lot about healing spells and medicine, he puts most our healers to shame with knowledge alone. Sadly, he cannot regenerate my arm, guess medicinal knowledge and spells can only do so much.”

Ambrosia grimaced. “I’m sorry, if I was a little faster in getting them, we could’ve been there before this happened…”

“Stop that, I got careless in my attacks, and this is the price I paid. It was either sacrifice my arm or die, in the long run I can better serve our sisters and the Queen alive than dead.” Helfyre looked out her window and saw many of the Amazons moving about, along with their allies directing or helping in the effort. “They’re a strong team, and after this, we’ve officially gotten on Tirek’s bad side.”

“We’ll need to inform the Queen about what’s happened,” said Ambrosia.

“I will, but you’ll be going with them.” Helfyre saw the surprise in her lieutenant’s eyes and chuckled. “Come now, you don’t think I see it your eyes? You were completely captivated by her power, same as those other two girls. But in all honesty, if they’re really going to face Tirek, I have a feeling no one people will be able to defeat him. A team comprised of a Demi-human, an elf, and two humans, sounds to me like the Amazons need some representation here.”

Ambrosia face reddened a little, but she did not hide her smile at hearing her Captain’s blessing to join the ragtag group of travelers. “Thank you, Captain. When I return, it’ll be with the song of victory over Tirek!”

As Ambrosia turned to leave, she heard Helfyre say, “I also expect to see that girl in your arms as you cross threshold of our queendom, too!”

Ambrosia’s face blushed again as she gave a little growl of frustration. The Amazon warrior slapped her face to hide the blush and bring her wits back about her. Ambrosia headed over to where Sunset Shimmer was standing as she talked to Spectra, the harpy nodded to Sunset and then took off back into the sky.

“How is everything?” Ambrosia asked.

“Spectra said that the area was clear, but she’ll do one more sweep to be safe. Midnight and I have been over the camp, and we’ve pretty much found everyone who was injured and moved them to the triage area. And thanks to Emu, your fellow Amazon sisters will be making full recoveries,” said Sunset.

Ambrosia gave a whistle, impressed by her team’s actions. “Wow, most folks would just leave after all that. Considering we imprisoned you, I’m really surprised that you bothered to help us at all.”

Sunset shook her head. “I showed you trust, and you trusted me. I knew being honest was the only way to go to help my friends.”

Ambrosia smiled a little wider. “Well then, I’m guessing you’re still planning on headin’ to Heaven’s Fall to stop Tirek.”

“Definitely.”

“Mind if I join?” Ambrosia asked.

Sunset turned to the Amazon and smiled. “I take it your Captain granted you permission to do so?”

“Yes, but I also wanted to go as well. You, uh…inspired me to do more, I guess ya could say.”

Sunset held out her hand towards her new companion. “Then welcome to our ragtag team of adventurers.”

Ambrosia took Sunset’s hand and gave a firm shake, but before letting go she said, “Since honesty is my policy, you should know…I kinda like you. That is to say I have romantic feelings towards you.”

Sunset’s lips curled into a grin, a blush overcame her face, and her left eye twitched a little. “O-Oh, okay, glad that you’re not one to beat around the bush…”

Heh…heh…video game versions of my friends are falling for me…is this a nightmare…? What did I do to deserve this?!

Level 7: The Wind and the Fairy

Apple Bloom opened her eyes slowly, the pain in her body had subsided considerably, but she still didn’t feel good. The youngest apple had found herself looking up at a white ceiling with halogen lights buzzing overhead. She glanced over to her right and saw her friends, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle, in hospital beds. Across from her was another person, his skin was a blue-green color, and had five o’ clock shadow, with sandy blonde hair. The young redhead turned to her left and saw a machine that looked like one of those things that monitored vitals, but it looked more like a computer game system.

“What…where am I?” Apple Bloom asked in confusion.

Just then the door to their room opened, and in came Kujo Kiriya. At first Apple Bloom didn’t know what to make of this man, he wasn’t dressed like she would normally see a doctor dressed, he had the white lab coat, and a stethoscope – as strange as it looked. But he was wearing a Hawaiian shirt and looked like was he was from Neighpon.

Kiriya saw that Apple Bloom was awake and walked over to her. “Hey there, little one, you’re the first to wake up.”

“What…What happened…?” Apple Bloom asked.

“You’re in the hospital right now, your older brother and grandmother brought you and several others in,” said Kiriya.

“Ah’m…Ah’m sick, with what? I feel bad all over,” said Apple Bloom.

“It’s a strange disease, you and a lot of young people were infected from playing that new game, Tirek’s Revenge. But don’t worry, myself and my colleagues are experts in this disease and we’ll beat it,” said Kiriya.

Apple Bloom turned to her friends and then asked, “Is this…somethin’ that Kamen Rider Unicorn is fightin’, too?”

Kiriya nodded. “Yes, she is, but she’s not alone, because she isn’t the only Kamen Rider helping out. You see…”

Apple Bloom turned back to Kiriya, her eyes widening a bit as she saw a strange belt wrapped around his waist.

“I’m also a Kamen Rider, along with two of my fellow doctor friends,” said Kiriya. “Now, Apple Bloom, I need you to help us out. What’s the last thing you remember when you were playing the game?”

Apple Bloom thought hard, trying to recall the last thing that happened before she knocked out and felt nothing but constant pain and discomfort. “The last thing Ah remember, Sweetie, Scoots, and Ah were in my room, we just put in the game and started playin’. We had just finished playin’ the game and crashed where we were sittin’. Ah remember hearin’ a voice…somethin’ bad, it said somethin’ like ‘Give yourself to Tirek’. The next thing Ah remember is hurtin’ all over and then just blacken’ out.”

Kiriya wrote some notes on his clipboard, nodding his head. “Thank you, this’ll help. Good news is that we’ve been giving you and your friends something to help with the virus, and it looks like they’re coming around too. It doesn’t seem to infect adults, your big sister seems to be a special case, she and her friends are immune to it, so we’ll be letting them in to see you.”

“Thank you,” said Apple Bloom.

Kiriya walked towards the door and opened it to allow a stream of people to come in. First was Applejack, Big Mac, and Granny Smith. Following them was Fluttershy along with Mr. and Mrs. Shy heading to Zephyr Breeze. Hondo, Cookie, and Rarity huddled around Sweetie Belle, lastly, Scootaloo’s aunts, Lofty and Holiday, Rainbow Dash and her parents, Windy Whistles and Bow Hothoof.

Kiriya went back outside and found Taiga waiting for him.

“So, what did you find out?” Taiga asked.

“The same as the others, they played the game, fell asleep, and heard a voice say, ‘Give yourself to Tirek’. For now, the Gamedeus vaccine is working, but all we’re doing right now is buying time,” said Kiriya.

“Right now, we need time, the longer we can postpone their disappearance the better chance we’ll have of finding a vaccine,” said Taiga.

Both doctors began walking down the hallway, passing by several people who were still afflicted with the new Bugster Virus strain. It was becoming frustrating that the cure had been eluding them, with Emu stuck in the game world they couldn’t use the Reprogram power of Maximum Mighty X, at the very least it might help in breaking down the virus and figuring out how the two unknown codes merged into one. Just then, their stethoscopes beeped.

“This is Taiga and Kiriya, go ahead.”

[Twilight-chan figured out a way to contact Emu and Unicorn, hurry back to the office!] Poppy announced.

***____________ x [+]E[+]____________***

Sunset and company finally made it out of the Talsek Forest and had been traveling down the roads for a week at least. Now with their newest addition, Ambrosia, battles against the occasional monster was becoming easier, and now that Parado could join in on the battle, thanks to Mighty Brothers Double X, it was even easier. Leveling up and taking the odd side quest from time to time went hand in hand with RPG games, as much as completing this main quest to save the world was important, Emu stressed that completing a side quest or two might help them in the long run.

It was currently night time and the team had stopped in a town to grab something to eat, celebrating a victory in a side quest to liberate some dwarves from a horde of Orcs. The only one out of the group who could drink, didn’t. Emu had tried it once and found it wasn’t for him and considering his profession he felt that he needed all his wits about him for gaming, fighting, and doctoring. So that left them drinking a sweet nectar-based beverage.

“Wait, so you’re not that much older than me?” Sunset asked.

“No ma’am, I can understand why you’d think that. We Amazons generally grow taller and stand above most men and women, so determining our age by our height is never wise,” said Ambrosia.

“Same with me, harpies aren’t…” Spectra glanced over Ambrosia. “…well endowed, mostly due to the fact that we need to move fast and not have much weighing us down when we fly.”

Sunset raised an eyebrow at that. “But you managed to carry me just fine, armor and all.”

“It’s tied into the type of magic we use, we burn off a lot of our food, so we don’t gain weight. In exchange our slimmer bodies allow our magic to increase our physical strength and ride the winds when flying. That’s why I could carry you so easily,” said Spectra.

Huh, so it almost works along the same lines as pegasus magic, interesting, thought Sunset. “On that note, Midnight, if you don’t mind me asking, how old are you?”

“Oh, I don’t mind, I’m about – in human years – 150 years old,” said Midnight in a nonchalant manner.

Sunset nearly spat out her drink, forcing her to swallow the brew and cough from the action. “Y-You’re over a hundred years old?!”

“In human years, but by the equivalent of my people, I’m just as young as you or the rest of the girls are. Please don’t think I’m some all-knowing being, I’m still learning a lot, in fact, I’ve learned much more traveling these past few days than I have just reading my books and scrolls.”

Sunset couldn’t help but smile, Midnight was so like Twilight, it became hard for her not to see her girlfriend in this game character. It only made it worse when she thought about her real girlfriend, back on Earth, all their friends worried about how they were doing and if they were alive. But in a sense, Sunset was glad they weren’t here, the last thing she needed to do was explain why she was steadily and without any real effort, conscious or subconscious, creating a harem with game characters who resembled her friends.

“So, Ambrosia, what’s this I heard about you confessing to Sunset?” Spectra asked.

Midnight – ironically – was the one to spray her beverage. Emu just sat there and snickered into his drink, knowing when to not meddle in teenage love affairs was part of a doctor’s job.

“I said what I said, and I meant it. I’m not one for beating around the bush.” Ambrosia face started to tint red. “I just felt like Sunset should know how I feel, I’m not telling her to accept my feelings, that’s up to her. I’m a patient gal, I can wait for an answer.”

Spectra and Midnight blinked.

“Huh…well…I nuzzled her cheeks! So there!” Spectra shot back.

Ambrosia turned to face the harpy. “You did what?!”

“Yeah, so we’re pretty much together already,” said Spectra as she puffed out her chest and gave a smug grin.

The Amazon turned to the harpy and looked her in the eye. “Now wait a minute, ya can’t just claim someone like that, you all said Sunset and Emu aren’t from our world, so would she even know what that meant?”

Spectra blinked and then looked to Sunset. The fiery redhead then said, “Technically no, at least not until Midnight told me after the fact.”

“W-Well, I still did it, so it still counts!” Spectra stated defiantly.

“That can’t be called a proper expression if the expression is lost on the one it’s for!” Ambrosia argued.

Sunset slumped in her seat, her face burned in embarrassment as she listened to Spectra and Ambrosia argue about who confessed first. It did not make it any better when they looked like Applejack and Rainbow Dash, and sounded like them when they argued. It was essentially like hearing and watching her friends argue about who was to be her girlfriend. Any other day before she had met Twilight this would probably have been fun for Sunset, but right now it was just embarrassing and just awkward.

Suddenly, Sunset felt as strange warmth from her chest, and a pinging sound. She looked to Emu who seemed to be having the same reaction.

“Uh, ladies, we’ll be right back,” said Emu.

Both Riders went up to Emu’s room. Once inside, they pressed against their chests, and their menus opened. Among the options now there was a “chat” option listed. Emu and Sunset immediately pressed on it and their menus opened into a video window. The image was static-y for a few seconds, becoming clearer after a moment, there was also muffled sound but that too was getting better.

[E….Sun…can…this is Twilight Sparkle…Emu, Sunset, can you hear me? This is Twilight Sparkle!]

“Twilight!” Sunset exclaimed in joy.

[Sunset, and Dr. Houjo, you’ve both alright! And…uh…what are you two wearing? Is that knight armor?]

The video finally cleared up and now they were able to see who all was around Twilight. Assembled in the room was Taiga, Kiriya, Starlight – both of them, Hiiro, Shining Armor, Poppy, Kuroto-DEUS, and the girls.

[You managed to get yourself into another rough spot, Intern,] said Hiiro.

“Oi, Hiiro-san, do you always have to call me ‘Intern’, you know I’m a doctor now too,” said Emu.

[Only when you do things that remind me of your intern days, then yes, I do.]

Shining Armor came into view, now focused on Sunset. [Wow, so you got sucked into the video game world?]

Sunset glanced over to Twilight for a brief second and watched her nod her head. “Y-Yes, it happened when I tried to take the game out my console, I managed to do it, but I guess I set something off that got me sucked in. Luckily, I found Emu here, and we’ve been alright so far.”

Emu understood what was happening, this was the officer that did not know her identity as a Kamen Rider. “Yes, Officer Armor, I have been keeping her safe since I found her. But honestly, Sun-chan is a natural gamer, it’s only been together that we’ve managed to get this far.”

[And no sign of Unicorn?]

“I figured that she may be held captive by Tirek, or thrown to another part of this world that we haven’t made our way to, but I have a feeling she’s alright. Call it Rider Intuition,” said Emu.

Shining Armor nodded in agreement. [Yeah, I find hard to believe that that girl would be kept down that easily.]

Taiga interjected and said, [As much as we’re grateful that you’re okay, we need to brief you on the situation here, and I feel there’s some information you can provide in regard to that world.]

The next hour both sides traded info, with some omissions about Sunset transforming. A full rundown of the events in Canterlot City was given, and an account of the happenings in the game world was provided to the CR team. After a while, Sunset slammed her fist into her left hand and growled.

“So, Microchips was the one who made this game! When I get out of here…”

[Believe me, he knows Sugarcube, we’ll have some serious words for him when this is over,] said Applejack.

[I still can’t believe weeks have passed in there, and its barely been twenty-four hours over here!] Rainbow Dash exclaimed.

Kuroto came into view and said, [Most games run on an accelerated time table, in some of them that simulate day and night, hours won’t pass the same time as they do in the real world. For some games this is done for either ambience, scare factor, or due to certain events that require the dark of night. If games were on the same time table as was in the human world, you wouldn’t be able to progress as far as you can, you’d truly need to take a year or more to finish a game’s story. So, it’s not surprising that time for them is going faster than it is for us.]

Sunset sighed. “At least now we know that we’re on different time tables, I was so worried that each day that was passing that things were getting worse.”

Emu placed his hand on Sunset’s shoulder in comfort. “One less thing to worry about, now all we really need to concentrate on, is getting to the end of this game and defeating Tirek.”

“[I’m still skeptical about that.] Starlight interjected. [If the only threats to Tirek were Unicorn and Ex-Aid, why would he bring them to that world? If anything, it would make more sense to stay in that game world and build up his power, with this his attention is divided.]

Sunset wasn’t entirely trusting of this Starlight, but she did have a point, and it was one that was bugging the both of them since arriving. Why had Tirek tossed them into the game world rather than just finish them off then and there? Did he believe he stood a better chance of destroying them in the game world, like getting homefield advantage? Or was he hoping the perils of this world and the loss of their powers would do the dirty work for him? Whatever the case was, it was still the biggest mystery in this game world, with the other being how Tirek became one with the Gamedeus Bugster Virus.

[For now, concentrate on clearing the game.] Poppy instructed. [Twilight-chan and Micro-kun have made a patch that will hopefully keep Tirek from sending anymore Bugsters through into this world. And now that we can communicate with you, we’ll let you know if something bad happens so don’t worry so much about time.]

“Alright, we’ll be heading out in the morning, we still have a ways to go, but I feel like we’ll get there soon,” said Sunset.

[Now that we have an idea of the time, I can write an algorithm that will give us real time calculations of how much time has passed in the game world compared to the real world. I’ve also managed keep this communication option open on your menus, so you can contact us anytime you want to,] said Twilight.

“Thanks, we’ll keep in touch, do what you can,” said Emu.

The transmission ended, Sunset had a smile on her face knowing that the situation was being handled by Emu’s colleagues, and now they had a way to communicate between worlds. But now with the knowledge in hand of knowing about the dating sim aspect of the game, it was not a matter of being plausible, but inevitable that Sunset was indeed going to run into the remaining game versions of her friends, and by no fault of her own, would end up in a relationship that would evolve into something more.

Sunset slumped against the wall and groaned at that knowledge. “I’m going to end up with a freaking harem made up the fantasy versions of my friends!”

“As awkward as this is for you, Sun-chan, I still don’t think it is necessarily a bad thing. I feel as if they will be key in helping us in the end,” said Emu.

“But what will happen if I reach the max level of the relationship meter?!” Sunset asked with frantic eyes. “What if…if…please don’t make me say it!”

Emu’s cheeks tinted red. “Ahem, I don’t think it’ll go that far. Few games do and if they do…well…”

“Well what?!”

“It happens ‘off camera’, but since we’re in the game world, off camera may not be the option here. What was the age rating on the game?” Emu asked.

Sunset wracked her brain to remember the game cover. “I think it was T for Teen – no it definitely was a Teen rated game!”

“Okay, so more than likely that won’t happen. Possibly,” said Emu.

Sunset shot up and grabbed Emu by his cape. “Emu, every time I think you’re throwing me a bone, you’re yanking it back as if it was tied on a string! What do you mean by ‘possibly’?!”

Emu raised his hands in an attempt to bring down Sunset’s stressed mood. “All I’m saying is, even though that may be the rating, we’re in the game world. While some things thus far have operated under the game rules and programming, we can’t expect that everything will be the same. These game characters act and talk like real living people, and for all intents and purposes, they are and they believe that. Which means…”

Sunset let Emu go as she released a heavy sigh. “Which means those three back there are acting like any girl would who had a crush…and will take it a step further if things line up………. I’m going to punch Microchips in his–!”

*Knock*

“Um, Emu, Sunset, are you two alright?” Midnight’s voice asked. “You’ve been in there for quite some time.”

Sunset and Emu face palmed themselves, they left so suddenly when they received the transmission, who knows what that may have looked like to the others. Both Riders opened the door and found Midnight, Spectra, and Ambrosia waiting at the door. Spectra had her hands at her hips and looked up at Ambrosia.

“Told you they weren’t doing anything, they still got their armor on,” said Spectra.

And there’s that crude humor that is so reminiscent of a certain rainbow haired friend of mine, thought Sunset.

“We weren’t doing…whatever it was that you were thinking Spectra. We actually received a message from our home worlds,” said Emu.

The Elf, Harpy, and Amazon all had a look of surprise on their faces.

“Y-You did?!” Midnight asked.

“Yes, and it seems that Tirek isn’t just active here. He’s been sending monsters to attack my home. But thankfully, Emu’s allies from his world are in mine as backup, so they have the situation handled,” said Sunset with a smile.

Ambrosia grinned as she crossed her arms. “Well that’s certainly good to hear, figured someone as strong as you would have some strong friends. I wouldn’t worry too much.”

Emu nodded, but his face became serious. “That being said, Tirek has created a disease in Sunset’s world that is afflicting the young, and right now my friends are keeping it at bay. But if we don’t defeat Tirek here, we don’t know how long they have.”

Spectra, Ambrosia, and Midnight had genuine looks of concern on their faces.

“How much time do we have?” Spectra asked.

Sunset cupped her chin as she thought. “We don’t know exactly. Apparently, the flow of time between our worlds is different. While it’s been weeks here in your world, only about twenty-four hours or so have passed in mine. I’d like to say we have plenty of time, but I’d rather not risk it.”

The girls all looked to each other and nodded with affirmation.

“Then tomorrow we head out at the crack of dawn and make a beeline for Heaven’s Fall!” Ambrosia announced.

“Yeah, we’ll double time, since we’re fighting for two worlds!” Spectra stated.

“You’re both fighting to protect not just your worlds, but ours as well, we will see this mission succeed and defeat Tirek, for the sake of all worlds!” Midnight declared.

Sunset felt a strange warmth in her heart from seeing the determined faces of these girls, and she didn’t deny that the fact that these three were willing to help save not just their world, but her home, well, it moved her. Sunset then heard a ping sound and groaned inwardly, with stealthy movements Sunset managed to open her menu and checked the party status. The heart bar moved just to 31/2 bars now. Emu looked over her shoulder and patted in a comforting manner.

“It’ll all work out, Sun-chan,” said Emu in as sage like a manner as he could.

***____________ x [+]E[+]____________***

The group headed out as soon as a possible, trekking from the town and riding on horses the rest of the way. Sunset felt a tad uncomfortable riding a horse, considering she was a pony, but kept the fact that this was a game world and that this horse wasn’t a really real horse. Spectra stayed airborne, often flying ahead and scouting out the area to make sure that they weren’t about to get ambushed. Unfortunately, Spectra did find a few goblins and Orcs waiting for them at certain points in their travel. Not surprising since they managed to defeat two Envoy’s already. But it was nothing that they couldn’t handle since they were able to surprise them instead.

As they rode on, the group happened by a forest, a dark forest in the distance. Sunset stopped her horse and stared at this forest of gray barked trees and black leaves. It was an ominous place, a place that not even daylight could reach it. Ambrosia saw Sunset’s stare and had her horse pull up alongside the fiery redhead.

“Sunset, what’s wrong?” she asked.

“What is that place?”

Ambrosia looked towards the ominous woods and grimaced. “That place has no real name, it’s only been called Schwartz.”

That’s Germaneian for “Black Forest”. “Why is it like that?”

“Legend has it, it used to be a place where the fairies lived. It was a beautiful forest, practically a paradise. But it was the fall of the fairy king and queen that brought sickness and death to the forest. Without the light of the fairy rulers, the forest became a place hostile to any living thing. What it didn’t kill it twisted into something worse. Some say it was Tirek’s influence from the first time he arose, but no one’s braved it to find out,” said Ambrosia.

Sunset continued to stare at that forest, for some reason it held sway over her. A gust of wind came wafting from the woods, the direction was plain to see as the grass shifted and pointed towards them.

‘Help me…’

Sunset’s ears picked up a voice but denounced it as the wind howling. The yet again picked.

‘Help me…please…’

Sunset stopped her horse and looked around, this caused the others to stop and had Spectra lower to a hover above them.

“What’s wrong, Sun-chan?” Emu asked.

“I…I don’t know, I swear I hear someone calling for help,” said Sunset.

Midnight closed her eyes, her pointed ears twitched as she tried to pick up on any minute sound in the area. Midnight had informed them of the hearing acuity of the elves, how they could hear over vast distances and see just as far. After a minute Midnight shook her head.

“I can’t hear anything, other than the wind and the rustling of leaves.”

Sunset swore she heard someone, she wasn’t hallucinating. Just then, another gust of wind kicked up and blew towards her. This time grabbing her full attention as she heard, ‘Please help me, I cannot stop them!’

The mage knight cursed and turned her horse around, directing the beast of burden straight for Schwartz. Spectra, Emu, Ambrosia, and Midnight turned around and hurried after Sunset, all of them calling out to her to stop before she got there. But Sunset had already gotten a head start on them and was now nearing the tree line that marked the boundary between the field and the forest itself. Before she could get close enough, the horse suddenly stopped, it’s instincts telling it not to enter, the result of which threw Sunset out of the saddle. The girl sailed into the distance, about to plow face first into the ground.

However, before she could do a painful face plant into the dirt, another gust of wind blew in. It flipped her around so instead it was her rear facing the ground and acted as a buffer to slow her down until the impact was less severe than it would’ve been. Sunset landed on the dirt with a thump, groaning as her back and rear hurt from the impact against the unforgiving earth, but she figured it was a better tradeoff for the concussion she could’ve suffered.

Now Sunset stood at the edge of Schwartz, and it was even more ominous up close. The thick canopy of dark leaves kept any sunlight from penetrating, as if the leaves themselves were mini black holes that absorbed all light before it could touch upon anything inside the forest. It was a wonder the trees themselves weren’t shriveled up, unable to photosynthesis properly, they should all be dead. But, Sunset figured it was more than simple light conversation that was keeping this forest alive.

Steeling herself, Sunset drew her sword and ventured into the dark woods, determined to come to the aid of the one calling for help. The difference was literally like night and day, once Sunset entered Schwartz, it felt as if the sun had set and night had overtaken the day. Not only that, but all the color had been muted, making her appear in shades of black, white, and gray.

“SUNSET!” her friends called out.

When the mage knight turned around to see them, the roots and branches of the trees shot up and began to weaver themselves into a wall of sharp brambles, Sunset ran the towards the wall, but the wall lashed out at her, attacking with the brambles if she even dared too get close. Sunset watched as the wall continued to rise along the tree line, as of the forest itself was trapping her.

“Like a Venus Flytrap, and I’m the fly…”

With little choice but to go forward, Sunset pressed deeper into the forest known as Schwartz. It felt as if she was stuck in an old black and white movie, but in high definition. Despite the lifeless look of the wood, she could hear things moving about, stirring up the leaves on the ground as they rushed on by. The monochromatic coloring of this forest made it hard for Sunset to spot anything that looked like a monster or regular animal, and there was barely anything she could use a marker to show where she had been.

Despite this, there was a wind blowing through, and that wind felt like it was tugging at her. With little else to go on, Sunset followed the wind current. Deeper and deeper she went into the Schwartz, and further she went, the worse the environment became. The branches and vines had sharp barbs on them, skeletons of animals, monsters, and even some humans could be seen strewn about different parts, evidence that Sunset was not the first to have fallen victim to this place, but she did not plan on just being another victim.

Suddenly, something rushed out from behind Sunset. The mage knight quickly dodged to the left, letting the attacker keep going forward. Sunset gasped when she saw who, or rather, what attacked her. “Uh…Uh…Timberwolf?!”

The creature was indeed a Timberwolf but twisted by the darkness of the Schwartz. Its body was a mixture of wood, moss and dirt. Its fur was that of thin grass that covered the beast in patches. The eyes of this creature were the only thing that had color, glowing a lime green. The claws were not wooden, they were stone, but Sunset doubted it was ordinary stone, quite possibly it was of a stone substance that could damage her if she was not careful.

“Haven’t seen things like you since I was a filly,” said Sunset as she readied her blade. “But I’m not a filly, so come and get me!”

The Timberwolf snarled and rushed at her again. The emerald crystal blade began to glow, granting a luminesce that allowed color to return to the area. Sunset slashed at the Timberwolf as it lunged at her, cutting it in the side as it passed by. The beast yelped in pain, but it did not back off, it merely growled at her as it glared. Sunset resumed her stance but saw that the cut she had dealt the monster was stitching itself back together in a matter of seconds.

“Oh great, so you can regenerate.” Sunset placed her hand over her sword. “Let’s see how you deal with this, BLAZE BLADE!” The sword ignited and then fizzled out. “Uh, Blaze Blade!” Once again, the blade caught fire, and once again it snuffed out. “Blaze Blade, Blaze Blade, Blaze Blade!”

Each time Sunset cast the spell the fires would snuff out before the whole blade could catch fire, Sunset tried casting another fire spell, and even a lightning spell, but each attempt ended the same. It was if the forest itself was forbidding any fire from igniting in its domain.

“Well, this sucks,” said Sunset.

The Timberwolf had apparently had enough and gave a loud howl that echoed through the woods. It didn’t take long before Sunset heard the soft, thundering sounds of paws against the ground, in less than a minute, Sunset was surrounded by a pack of Timberwolves.

“And this sucks worse!”

The wolves circled her, caught in a ring of death, Sunset held her ground. But before the beasts could strike, a pink and yellow light zoomed towards her and shined bright. The wolves snarled and backed away from the light.

“Follow me, quickly, please!” the light spoke.

“Who, what are you?” Sunset asked.

“Please, I cannot keep them at bay for too long!”

Sunset decided to take her chances with the glowing light ball. The ball began flying, creating a path that Sunset followed. Both the light and Sunset kept weaving around the trees, and all the while she could hear the snarling and barking of the Timberwolves hot on their heels.

“It’s not much further! Up ahead!”

The fiery redhead looked straight ahead and saw green, actual greenery, and color. With one last sprint, Sunset crossed into the lighted area, her color returning. The wolves, however, stopped at the edge of boundary, barking and snapping their jaws at Sunset for getting away. The alpha Timberwolf barked at its followers and directed them, the wolves began to circle around the sanctuary, apparently biding their time until Sunset exited it.

Sunset, after dusting herself off, followed the light further into the sanctuary. As she did, she noticed many flowers and healthy trees, some seemed to be carved into tiny dwellings. She was then brought before a large cheery blossom tree, its bark was engraved with whimsical, swirly patterns, along with rune markings that glowed in a aurora pattern. The light settled before a rock and Sunset knelt before it.

“Thank you, for saving me back there,” said Sunset.

The light faded and soon revealed Sunset’s savior. She stood about six inches tall, wearing clothes stitched from sunflower leaves. Her hair was long and colored pink, with teal colored eyes, and glossy, see through wings. The wings had similar swirling, whimsical patterns, and glittered when the light hit them just right.

“It’s no trouble, I had to, I couldn’t save the others…but, I knew I could save you, and I did!”

Sunset blinked as she stared at the…fairy. “Fluttershy…?”

“Oh, um, that’s not my name. I’m Lightheart, a member of the Drasa Fairies…well…the last of the Drasa Fairies.”

Sunset sat down before the rock and looked upon Lightheart with saddened eyes. “What happened here?”

“This used to be a beautiful forest, the animals and fairies lived in harmony, it was a place that our King Oberon and Queen Titania ruled over, and with their magic, kept the forest safe from all who wished us and it harm. However, when Tirek arose, he sought to use the magic of our forest to make himself stronger. The king and queen fought him fiercely, all the way until the end…” Lightheart began to cry. “He killed them, and out of spite he cursed the forest, and turned it into this horrible place. All my friends and family knew of my prowess in the magic of nature and funneled all their magic and lifeforce to me, so I could keep this last haven alive.”

Sunset’s heart ached after hearing this from Lightheart, and yet again, another creature who resembled one of her friends. The mage knight disengaged her armor, instead adopting more leisurely attire of a red tunic, and black leggings. Sunset reached out and cupped the fairy in her hands, she then gently wiped her tears away with the tip of her pinkie. “You’ve been here all alone, keeping the last remnants of your people from being destroyed. You’re really brave, Lightheart.”

“I’m…not,” said Lightheart.

“You are!” Sunset insisted.

“If I was, I would’ve been able to save those others who wandered in here!” Lightheart shut her eyes as she held herself.

“You saved me, that took courage. Lightheart, I think it’s time you got out of here, you can’t just stay in this secluded place, surrounded by danger,” said Sunset.

“But…if I do, this place will be…”

“Yes, it’ll be gone, but I don’t think your people gave you the last of their power just to keep some empty houses and one tree alive, dying in this place would just be wasting their sacrifice.”

Lightheart knew this was true, she had protected the tree for years, but for the longest time she could feel the tree urging her to leave, it spoke of how precious life was, and it did not want hers to snuffed out. Just then, the howling could be heard echoing around them. Lightheart flew out of Sunset’s hands, freeing them to take up her sword.

“The wolves again, have they gotten inside this place?!” Sunset asked.

“It’s impossible, the magic of this area keeps the corruption, and anything touched by it from coming in,” said Lightheart. “Unless…”

Lightheart looked to the cherry blossom tree and saw that the magic was fading from it. Sunset looked up and saw a barrier form, it was once invisible, but now it was becoming visible with the naked eye. Suddenly, the ground began to rumble, making many of the fairy structures topple over. The trees began to groan and snap as something pushed against them, made them bend and break. Sunset’s eyes grew wide as she saw a giant version of the Timbewolves she fought.

Sunset remembered this from the books she had read about the creatures, that the Timberwolves, when provoked enough, could merge their bodies into a single terrifying beast that stood as tall as the trees themselves. The giant Timberwolf gave a mighty howl that shook the area and made both girls cover their ears. Soon, Sunset saw an HP bar and the name that appeared, “Arbor Lupine Rex”. The beast raised its right paw and slammed it down on the barrier, causing cracks to appear on the surface. The tree began to look sickly at the same time the monster struck the shield.

The tree raised one of its roots, snaking its way towards Sunset. The tip of the root appeared before her and began to grow a flower, and from that flower and released a seedling into her hand. Lightheart flew over to Sunset and saw that the tree had entrusted its last seed to Sunset, a human. The root then moved to Lightheart and gave her one of its petals. Once she touched it, light flowed into her body and Lightheart knew what this meant.

“I’ll watch over this seedling, you have my word,” said Lightheart.

Unfortunately, that was the last of the tree’s strength as it lost all of its glow and the petals fell from the branches. The barrier shattered upon receiving another impact from the wolf’s paw. Now gone, the wolf began to stalk towards them, its back growing several tentacle brambles that were ready to tear them to shreds. The wolf shot its brambles towards the two, and Sunset readied to defend, but at the last second, a green light shined, followed by a powerful whirlwind that pushed back the brambles.

Sunset and Lightheart closed their eyes for a moment, but soon found the winds calming. When they opened their eyes, they found themselves in the eye of a mini tornado. The wind had a green hue to it, and it sparkled with energy. Sunset looked above them and saw a fairy-like creature descend, it had wings like a dragonfly, but was colored green from head to toe. The fairy creature had white eyes, pointed ears, and long hair that bellowed in the wind it created.

“Is…Is that a fairy?” Lightheart asked.

“No, it’s Cyclone,” said Sunset with certainty.

Cyclone nodded its head.

“Lightheart, it’s time to get you out of here! LIMIT BREAK!”

The Uni-Driver appeared around Sunset’s waist and the Unicorn Memory in her right hand. Cyclone flew over to her left side and began to glow. Within seconds, the fairy’s body broke down into light particles, and reformed into its true form, that of the Cyclone Memory. Sunset took the other Gaia Memory into her hand and pressed the buttons.

< UNICORN! >

< CYCLONE! >

“HENSHIN!”

UNICORN! <

{< CYCLONE! MIMETIC DRIVE! >}

The wind wall burst apart, revealing Unicorn Mystic Cyclone. Her armor had slimmed down to match the aerodynamics of its wind-based powers, the twin tailed scarf flowed in the winds that whirled around her. The giant wolf growled at the new opponent and launched its brambles at her. Unicorn focused the air currents to flow around her right arm, she then slashed at a rapid rate, releasing cutting air crescents that chopped through all the brambles before they could reach them.

“Lightheart hurry to me!”

Lightheart shook of the shock of Sunset’s new form and flew to her. Once Unicorn had secured her in her hand, the Kamen Rider summoned the power of the wind. The magical laced air currents lifted Sunset up, taking her high above the monster. The cherry blossom petals followed after her, mixing with the green hued wind and adding the remnants of their power to Unicorn’s.

“We’ll lay this place to rest.”

} CYCLONE! MAXIMUM DRIVE! {<

“SAKURA STRIKE!”

The cherry blossom petals transformed into light and multiplied as they spun around Unicorn to form a tornado. Unicorn flew up and then changed her direction so that she was heading straight for the monster. The buffeting winds kept the beast from dodging, having no choice but to take the incoming attack. Unicorn extended her right foot forward as the tip of the tornado glowed pink and green. The moment she made contact, the beast exploded into splinters, when her attack followed through and hit the ground, the impact created wave of green and pink energy petals that washed through the entire forest.

The wave continued on, erasing the dark leaves and gray bark of the trees, allowing the bright sunlight to come shining down upon the land once more. Unicorn rose up into the air again and opened her hands to allow Lightheart to see what was happening. The little fairy’s eyes widened with awe as her forest was stripped away of the curse that was laid upon it and was now colorful again. The trees looked weak from years of not having direct sunlight, and now their branches were bare. But now the forest had a chance to return to normal, thanks to her.

Lightheart looked up at the armored hero and asked, “I’m sorry, but what is your name?”

Unicorn chuckled. “Sorry, I forgot to give it. My name is Sunset Shimmer.”

***____________ x [+]E[+]____________***

Emu, Spectra, Midnight, and Ambrosia were all worried for Sunset, it had been an hour, at least, since they lost her. They had made several attempts to break into the forest, but each attempt only ended with the forest retaliating by creating another wall or lashing out with brambles. Midnight had tried several times to cast fire spells against the brambles and trees, but the moment any flame attack reached it the flames would be snuffed out. So here they waited, and waited, some pacing and others sparring to keep their edge should they need to spring into action.

“I can’t stand this, Sunset could be hurt in those accursed woods! Or worse!” Midnight exclaimed in worry.

Ambrosia stopped sharpening her spear and said, “Don’t fret Midnight, if Sunset’s half as strong as I know she is, the Schwartz won’t take her.”

“Yeah, anyone with Emu’s and Sunset’s power won’t let a little thing like a cursed forest off them,” said Spectra.

Despite their boasting of Sunset’s abilities, both women were just as worried as Midnight, and prayed their confidence in their potential lover was not misplaced. Meanwhile, Emu kept his eyes fixated on the forest, arms crossed as he tried to figure out a way in.

“Maybe we should transform, and enter the forest?” Parado suggested.

“If we do, we might use up all of our energy before we reach her. And there’s no telling if Sun-chan has used all of her Rider power to survive. Having two Riders who can’t transform in that forest would most likely end in a Game Over for all of us,” said Emu. “We just have to believe in Sun-chan.”

Suddenly, the forest began to rumble, causing the group to stand at the ready. A wave of green and pink energy burst forth from the forest in a shower of green leaves and pink petals, forcing the group to cover their eyes from the intense power. Once they opened them again, the Schwartz was no longer the dark hollow it once was. Now it looked like a forest in the middle of winter, bare of leaves. Emu spotted something in the distance and directed Spectra and Midnight to look as well.

“IT’S SUNSET!” Both girls announced at once.

“Thank the goddess,” said Ambrosia in relief.

Unicorn flew in and landed a few meters behind them. The others rushed to where she was as Sunset disengaged the transformation. When Sunset turned around though, the others stopped in their tracks when she noticed her holding a fairy in her hands.

“Hey guys, I’m back,” said Sunset.

“Is that…a FAIRY?!” Spectra asked.

Sunset blinked. “Um, yes, she is fairy, is that a problem.”

Ambrosia slowly shook her head. “Oh, no, no it’s not! It’s just, you never really get to see one up close, they’re rare to see even in these parts.”

“Greetings everyone, my name is Lightheart.”The little fairy stood on Sunset’s palm and bowed to the others.

“Nice to meet you, Lightheart-san,” said Emu.

The little fairy flew up and faced Sunset. “And thank you, Sunset, for saving me. And…if at all possible, I would like to travel with you all!”

Sunset rubbed the back of her head. “Well…Lightheart, we’re not exactly just traveling for traveling’s sake. We’re on a mission, to defeat Tirek before he has a chance to rise again. It’s going to be dangerous, and I don’t want to put you in unnecessary harm.”

“I quite good at nature magic, and I can provide additional support magic to increase your abilities during combat,” said Lightheart.

Emu sidled next to Sunset and whispered, “We could use another healer just in case.”

Lightheart flew up to meet Sunset’s gaze. “I want to help! The Great Tree gave you its seed to plant and start a new forest, and I must protect it, and the one who it was entrusted to! Also…I…I wanted to fight back, to use the power my people gave me to strike back against Tirek! If…If you’ll have me?”

Sunset felt torn about letting this fairy fight, even if it was just going to be for support. She could see the likeness of Fluttershy in her, and despite being a timid thing, Sunset knew that in her world, Fluttershy wouldn’t hesitate to help others if it was within her power.

“If I may, fairies are a sight, and others may be tempted to try and take if we travel to towns,” said Midnight.

“Oh, that’s not a problem, we fairies have learned a spell to help us move about with the humans.” At that moment, Lightheart’s body shined, in a matter of seconds Lightheart was standing the same height as Sunset, her sunflower petal dress had become a yellow cloth dress, and her wings were no longer there. Now at a full human size, Sunset and the others couldn’t help noticing how beautiful she was. “This way I can travel and not cause a stir, it’s a special glamour spell that perfectly mimics the body of a human.”

Sunset went to touch Lightheart on the shoulder and felt it as real as any of the others. “Wow, I guess that’s that then. So long as you want to come with us, we’ll fight together.”

Lightheart smiled and took Sunset’s hand into her own as she said, “Oh thank you, I promise, I’ll do my best for you!”

And at that moment, Sunset heard another chiming, pinging sound, which only meant one thing. Great…I have Rainbow Harpy, Elflight, Amajack, and now Fairyshy…two more potential girlfriends-to-be to go…I hate this game.

Author's Note

I apologize for the changing chapter names, I finally settled on this, they will not change again. Again, apologies. :twilightsheepish:

Level 8: Sweet Illusions

Starlight stared at the screen before her, eyes squinting as dryness had set in. She blinked a few times and shook her head to refocus, and even rubbed them. Starlight couldn’t afford to fall behind with the cure, any little bit she could dig up from this computer bio code could prove useful in ending this Bugster Virus. Starlight had a stake in this, and not just because Tirek’s arrival would spell the end of the world and her plans, but it would also mean the end of those whom she had taken under her wing.

Starlight remembered that night when Night Glider brought that game to their home, inviting everyone to play. In hindsight it was a good idea that she and Double Diamond did not play, the same could not be said for Party Favor, Sugar Belle, and Night Glider, having found them the next morning in pain and unconscious. If it wasn’t for the commotion over at Canterlot General, Starlight would have never known to have started looking for a solution here.

Glimmer walked into the room, finding her human counterpart sitting in front of the computer in the dark, all the other geniuses had gone to sleep save for Dan Kuroto. Being a Bugster granted him near unlimited stamina, so sleeping was optional for him, Kujo Kiriya was also the same way, but he decided to sleep as well, a way of maintaining his ties to his humanity, so to speak, and the same could be said for Poppy, in a way. Glimmer approached Starlight, but before she could say anything, Starlight said, “I know you’re there.”

“Sorry,” said Glimmer.

“Don’t be, I appreciate that you’re worried about me, but I need to do as much as I can before I even think about sleeping,” said Starlight.

Glimmer sat in an empty swivel chair and sighed. “You’re definitely me, I get the same way when I’m researching and testing new spells. While that kind of drive is helpful, it’s not always practical, especially in situations like this. Even geniuses like us need our sleep to function.”

Starlight stopped her typing, despite her drive to continue working, her pony counterpart made a good point. Besides, if another attack happened, it would be her own fault if she was too tired to transform. “Heh, very well, I submit to the older me’s knowledge.”

Glimmer puffed her cheeks. “I’m not that much older than you, I’m twenty-five.”

“Says the girl in the body of a teenager,” said Starlight.

“I-I already told you the portal I cross through messes with my body’s age as well as appearance! My mentor has still yet to figure out why it does that, but otherwise yes, it does that,” said Glimmer in a huff.

Starlight began to chuckle, and soon too did Glimmer. The two twins ended their laughter as Starlight turned off her computer and was escorted by Glimmer out of the workroom. Starlight walked alongside her counterpart, despite everything that she’d seen today, this was still the weirdest thing. Part of Starlight felt shame whenever she looked at her pony self, hearing her story of how she fell low and came back up with people around her whom she could call friends, and even becoming the pupil of a veritable magic goddess.

“Glimmer.”

“Yes?”

“You said you were…pretty bad a while back. How bad did you get?” Starlight asked.

Glimmer’s face became downcast, but with a sigh, Glimmer spoke, “I hated my mentor for what she did, her and her friends disrupted my ‘oasis of equality’. I was so set in my belief that cutie marks were evil and that they only tore friendships apart. But that was just my warped rationale to justify the stripping of what made others who they are, all to sooth the wounds in my heart. It got so bad that – in an effort to get back at those who ruined my plans – I sought to end their friendship by going back in time and stopping the event that made them friends in the first place.”

Starlight halted in her tracks. “Wait, you went back in time?!”

“Oh, did I not mention that before?” Starlight asked.

“Uh, no, no you did not!”

“Oh, well, yeah I did. But if you’re going to ask me to go back in time and stop this from happening, trust me, I’m not. I played around with time and nearly destroyed my home in the pursuit of revenge. Even for good intentions, it could lead to disaster later on,” said Glimmer.

Starlight raised an eyebrow. “Worse than where we are currently?”

“It’s too high risk, in any case, we have to trust in Dr. Houjo, Sunset Shimmer, and Unicorn to win the game and stop Tirek’s rise,” said Glimmer with confidence.

Starlight sighed heavily. “I don’t understand, you don’t know these Kamen Rider Doctors, I can understand trusting your friend, but to trust them with something as big as saving hundreds of thousands of lives, can you really trust it to three individuals?”

Glimmer smiled, knowing the truth. “I can trust Sunset Shimmer, she’s incredibly smart and strong, both physically and in willpower, she won’t let anyone get hurt, not when she knows her friends’ lives are on the line.”

Starlight felt a heaviness in her heart. I wish I could place as much trust in someone as she can. Maybe…Maybe I can…

“Glimmer, when this is over, maybe a little bit after things have settled down, can we sit down and just talk? I…I want to start trusting people the way you do, and I’d like to start with, well, trusting myself.”

Glimmer smiled. “I’d be happy to.”

***___________ x [+]E[+]___________***

“I gotta tell them,” said Sunset as she paced the floor of their current lodgings.

The group of adventurers had arrived at a large town, now having crossed the border into the adjacent kingdom of Bellock. Sunset had been keeping an eye on her relationship meter for the past couple of weeks and it had steadily been filling, even for Lightheart it was filling fast. Sunset didn’t think she was doing anything different other than how she would react when with her friends. Well, that wasn’t entirely true, she didn’t treat Midnight like her girlfriend, Twilight. Despite their similarities in mannerisms and personality, Sunset had to push the idea of wanting to act handsy or any other way she would around Twilight.

“You just gotta mare up, Sunset Shimmer! Yeah, that’s it! Sit them down, and tell them that you appreciate that they all care deeply for you, but that you have a girlfriend back home and want to honor that relationship!” Sunset stated as she crossed her arms and stood proudly.

Her proud stance then instantly deflated. “So why does it feel like I’m letting them down somehow?”

Sunset plopped onto her bed, she tried to rationalize this in her head. This was just a game world, these parodies of her friends were just data, programmed to feel a certain way for the Main Character, which it so happens to be her role. For a while now she wished that the game had chosen Emu to be the MC, since he was the proclaimed “Genius Gamer M”, although Sunset wasn’t a hundred percent sure she wanted to see these versions of her friends suddenly fall for him like that.

The mage knight opened her menu and scrolled to the party status window. She brought up all four of the girls, and each one with a bar that was nearly full. Her mind couldn’t help but see them as her real friends, and deep-down, thinking of them as only game characters didn’t feel right. Sunset scrolled through her menu to see the current time in the real world, apparently it was two o’ clock in the morning, and yet weeks had passed in this world. Sunset thought about calling to see if Twilight would pick up, but she knew their friends needed time to rest considering what they were doing.

“No tiptoeing around the matter, I just need to do it!”

Quite the conundrum you find yourself in little girl, a gaggle of girls who want you, yet tied down to one. Perhaps you wouldn’t mind me taking care of that burden for you…?

“Wait, what – MMMPH!”

***___________ x [+]E[+]___________***

It was dawn, and Spectra was on the prowl. She had been quiet as she hid around the different corners of the hallway, trying not to make a sound or get spotted. Her plan was foolproof, the harpy girl was going to sneak into Sunset’s room and wake up the sleeping girl with a nuzzle, and possibly, other things could happen, but she would cross that bridge when they got there. Spectra was just one hall away from getting close to Sunset’s door, her anticipation was high, and her feathers were ruffled in excitement.

“Aren’t you the early bird?”

“GAH!” Spectra jumped straight up and smacked her head against the ceiling, and fell back down to the floor on her rear. “Ow! Who’s the wise gu – Hi Ambrosia!”

The tall Amazon stood there with her arms crossed and a raised eyebrow as she looked upon the Harpy with suspicion. “So, what are you doing skulking around the halls this early in the morning, hmm?”

Spectra stood up and dusted herself off. “I wasn’t ‘skulking’, I was being considerate of others who were still asleep by quietly moving about the halls.”

“Oh, so sneaking then?”

“Yeah…I mean no!”

Ambrosia leaned down until she nearly eye level with Spectra. “You wouldn’t happen to be headin’ for Sunset’s room now, would you? I hope you weren’t plannin’ on doing anything…inappropriate with her this early in the morning.”

Spectra’s face went red as she crossed her arms and stood as defiantly as she could, given Ambrosia was an Amazon made it hard to be intimidating. “I wasn’t thinking of anything like that! I was just planning on waking up Sunset, you know, a wakeup call.”

“Uh-huh,” said Ambrosia, still suspicious.

“Well, what are you doing here this early in the morning, huh? You just so happened to be coming down the same hallway that leads to Sunset’s room?”

Now Ambrosia was the one blushing. “I…I…”

Spectra knew she had cornered the Amazon, if there was one thing she learned about her, it was that she was honest, and not in any way deceitful. Which was good, it made her a very trustworthy person to rely on, but in these instances, it was the Amazon’s downfall. As if by some cosmic intervention, Ambrosia spotted Midnight approaching the door as to Sunset’s room, still dressed in her nightgown. Ambrosia pointed this out to Spectra and both watched as she approach Sunset’s door. The Harpy and Amazon quickly moved to intercept, but then…

“Oh, hi girls.”

Midnight, Ambrosia, and Spectra turned to the opposite hall and saw Lightheart walking towards them. Her innocent eyes looked upon them, it was not hard to see why everybody was here, but neither was there any way for the others to deny why they were all there.

“Well,” Midnight began, “it would seem that we’re all here for the same reason then.”

“Um, for what reason would that be?” Lightheart asked with a knowing blush.

“I think we need to acknowledge the Oliphaunt in the room. We all seem to be smitten with Sunset Shimmer,” said Ambrosia.

Lightheart made an “Eep!” sound, Midnight blushed and tried to cover her face, and Spectra shifted about.

“So, in that regards, I think one of us, who doesn’t have any ulterior motives,” upon the emphasis Ambrosia shifted her gaze to Spectra, “should be the one to wake her……Lightheart, go on in.”

“What?! Why her?!” Spectra asked.

“‘Cause I trust Lightheart not to do anything to her, and while I know you intend to wake her, up, I get the distinct aura about you that you’ll pounce on her like a Cait Sith in heat,” said Ambrosia.

Spectra’s feathers ruffled at the accusation.

“Um…Ambrosia, why am I discounted from the decision?” Midnight asked.

“You said you two were roommates for a bit, so you’ve had a few times already to wake Sunset, ‘sides, it wouldn’t be fair to the new girl.”

Lightheart tried to hide her face behind her long bangs, having her romantic feelings for the girl who saved her was a bit embarrassing to have aired out in the open.

“Okay, it’s settled then. Lightheart go ahead and–”

*Knock.*

“Hey, Sun-chan, are you up?”

All four girls looked back and saw Emu knocking at Sunset’s door.

LEARN TO READ THE ATMOSPHERE!!!! All four girls thought at once.

Emu went to knock again, but the when he knocked harder, the door opened slightly. The other girls paused, holding their breath as the tension rose. Emu carefully put his hand on the doorknob and slowly opened the door. Emu looked inside and spotted someone else inside Sunset’s room. The Berserk Healer flung the door wide open and brought forth his hammer.

“What are you doing in this room?!” Emu demanded.

The figure, covered in a silken black cloak stood up slowly. “I understand how this looks, but believe me, I’m not the one whom you should be concerning yourself about.”

The rest of the girls entered the room and saw signs of struggle. A disheveled bed spread, items strewn about the floor, and an open window. Spectra growled and Ambrosia tightened her fists as both prepared to attack this intruder.

“What have you done with Sunset?!” Midnight demanded.

“The girl who was staying here, yes? She was taken in the night, I may know where, but we must go after her now before it is too late,” said the stranger.

Ambrosia approached the stranger slowly. “Turn around and take off that hood, let’s see your face.”

The stranger slowly turned around and removed her hood, revealing long, curly, violet locks of hair, piercing sapphire eyes, and skin a flawless, porcelain white. The elegant woman gave a smile, and it was a fanged grin.

“AAAH! Enchantress!” Midnight exclaimed as she summoned her magic. “Seal!”

Rings of light appeared around the Enchantress, three in total. All three fitted over her and then constricted, locking onto her and then disappearing. The Enchantress looked at herself and gave the Elf girl a deadpan expression. “Really, Darling, was that necessary?”

“It is when we’re dealing with you!” Midnight stated.

Emu looked to Midnight, he looked to all the girls. They were in various states of edginess, even Lightheart. “Um, ladies, is she that dangerous?”

“She’s a damn Enchantress, they use illusion magic, powerful stuff too. Some can make illusions feel so real that they can kill,” said Ambrosia.

“Not only that, but they have the power to enchant items with magic power, to almost any specification their patron requests, but for a price,” said Midnight.

The Enchantress put her hands against her hips and gave an indignant huff. “Now see here, it is perfectly reasonable to be fairly compensated for one’s hard work.”

“Yeah, giving up your first born, or half your life force, yeah, that sounds fair,” said Spectra in a deadpan tone.

The Enchantress blushed and then coughed. “Well, I do admit some of my fellow Enchantress sisters can be a bit…eccentric when it comes to fair payment. But I assure you, I am not the culprit you’re seeking, in fact, I have been on the true culprit’s tail for some time now.”

The Enchantress explained to the group that another of her kind had gone rogue. She sought the life energy of strong and beautiful girls, taking their life force and making herself stronger and keeping her beauty intact.

“An Enchantress’ role is to provide quality items for fair compensation, I abide by that rule even if some of my fellow sisters disagree with my prices. Nonetheless, I can’t abide by one of my own doing such heinous acts, especially one who was once my friend…” At this the Enchantress’ expression became sullen. “But we are wasting time! The trail is still fresh, and we can save your friend if we hurry!”

The girls seemed apprehensive in trusting this Enchantress, but Emu put his hammer away and said, “Alright, take us to her.”

“Y-You can’t be serious?” Spectra asked.

“Sun-chan is in trouble, and she might be the only one who knows where she might have been taken, plus, I feel that we can trust her,” said Emu.

“I…I agree with Mr. Emu,” said Lightheart. “We have to save Sunset, and I’m willing to trust her, too!”

Ambrosia, Spectra, and Midnight still seemed a bit apprehensive at trusting this girl, but with their options limited, and the trail growing colder by the second, they really had no choice. Midnight released her spell upon the Enchantress, but not before setting another spell upon her.

“If you try and betray us, that spell will allow me to send you to anyplace I desire. The depths of the earth, the bottom of the sea, or even a void of utter nothingness. Do you understand?” Midnight asked in a warning tone.

The Enchantress nodded. “Believe me, Darling, that won’t be necessary, but if it makes you feel more at ease around me, I won’t argue.”

“Before that, what is your name?” Emu asked.

“Oh, how rude of me, I am Countess Rori Adamanta,” said Rori as she bowed. “At your service my dears.”

***___________ x [+]E[+]___________***

The group made their way out of town, heading towards a seemingly abandoned road. Rori knelt before the road and pressed her hand against the dirt, just then, the road cleared up, showing a well-traveled path that stretched onward. The Enchantress took out a handkerchief from her cloak and quickly wiped her hand clean, making the others raise an eyebrow at the speed she did that.

“Sorry, I’m not very good when it comes to…ugh…dirt,” said Rori.

Spectra hovered over Ambrosia’s shoulder and whispered, “Don’t Enchantresses mostly use dirt and stuff when making items?”

“Not always, mostly they use their magic to manipulate metals, fabric, plants, and other things to infuse them with different types of magic,” said Ambrosia.

“Sharii used an elaborate illusion spell, she made it seem as if the road was abandoned rather than completely erasing it. It would’ve taken more magic to maintain, but this way it took far less,” said Rori.

“And why would she do that?” Emu asked.

“If I had to venture a guess, she’s using the rest of her magic for whatever she’s really hiding down this road,” said Midnight.

“Quite right.” Rori mounted her horse and motioned for the others to follow. “I’ve spoken to the local towns people, and found that many young girls, both travelers and locals alike, have been spirited away. Many Guardians have tried to come through and investigate, but to no such luck. I don’t blame them, Enchantresses don’t abduct, so they had reason to think that one would be doing something like this.”

The adventurers traveled along the road for a good hour and a half before stopping in front of an open field. Spectra flew around the area several times, but could see nothing out of the ordinary. Midnight, however, could sense something amiss, like the air was distorted and heavy. Not only Midnight, but Parado could sense it as well, being a specter familiar, he was attuned to certain disturbances in magic around them.

“We’re definitely here,” Rori looked to the others. “Prepare yourselves, I know not what Sharii has waiting for us inside, and it may very well be she knows we’re here after I disabled that last illusion.”

The others dismounted their horses, Lightheart resumed her fairy form and spoke to the horses to wait in the distance and to be ready in case they needed to make a hasty retreat. Ambrosia readied her spear and shield, Spectra sharpened her talons, Midnight prepared a few delayed spells to activate at a moment’s notice, and Emu brandished his hammer. Rori grabbed her cloak and threw it off, the black cloak faded into particles of light and revealed the true form of the Enchantress beneath.

She had an elegant violet dress, hugging her body and accentuating her curves, there was a modest slit on the long skirt, allowing for freedom of movement in case the need to run or throw a kick arose. Her long curly, flowing locks acted like her personal cape, flowing down her back. The center of the dress had a slit that allowed her cleavage to be seen, along with some of her stomach. This was held together by a gold colored choker around Rori’s neck, which also led them to believe that the dress was backless.

The girls blinked at seeing Rori’s attire, and Emu blushed and kept his gaze focused elsewhere. Rori smirked, gave a twirl, and said, “Am I that stunning, Darlings?”

Ambrosia and Spectra shook their heads as of snapping out of a stupor, and Midnight did her best to look…anywhere else. Lightheart flew over to Rori and did a circle around her to view her dress from all angles. “Oh my, Ms. Adamanta, it’s a very beautiful dress.”

“Thank you, while I can enchant weapons and other accessories, my strong suit is in weaving. I can sew together the most stylish of outfits that would make any man or woman the envy of all, and enchant them so that they’re stronger and better than some pieces of heavy armor. Fashionable and functional should always go hand-in-hand,” said Rori. “Now then, to business.”

Rori raised her right hand and pointed at the open field. Her hand glowed with a cerulean light along with her eyes, and in a few seconds the air began to ripple, as if someone threw a rock into a pond. The ripples magnified until something came into view. Within a few seconds the illusion was erased, and what stood before them was a large mansion. To Emu, it reminded him of an old, if not cliché, Transylvanian mansion. The outside had an ominous aura about it, colored white and dark red, almost the color of blood. There were gargoyle statues perched at different points along the rooftop, along with spiraling turrets that gave it a foreboding feeling.

“Well, except for the dark clouds and thunder and lightning, this would almost be a perfect haunted mansion,” said Parado.

“Don’t give her any ideas.” Rori strode over to each of the party members, patting down their clothes and smoothing any wrinkles, and generally making sure that nothing was out of place. “Be on guard in there, when an Enchantress has domain, they can manipulate that domain however they choose with illusions and traps. Don’t trust your eyes, and beware your feelings, she will use these to hurt and trick you. Trust in your bonds, and remember why you are here.”

The others nodded and had Rori lead the way. The double doors of the mansion opened into a large entryway, with a crystal chandelier hanging above the room. At the center was a table with neatly arranged flowers, being tended to by a girl in a maid outfit. Her dress was a navy blue, with white frills and an apron to match. Her hands had white gloves on them, and her face was veiled in a white sheet.

Behind her was a dual staircase, one winding left and the other right, both meeting at the center before a large portrait of the owner of this mansion. The Enchantress had purple hair, at least a shade or two lighter than Rori’s, and was tied into a bun by a hairband. Her eyes were a brown color, and she had a light pink skin tone. She had a sky-blue scarf around her neck, and a blood red, velvety dress with some tactfully positioned pearls on it.

Rori’s eyes narrowed at the sight of this house. The floors were decorated in intricate patterns, of red and gold, there were white marble columns that held up the ceiling, which a mural to Sharii’s perceived beauty and greatness. The group slowly approached the maid, and Lightheart asked, “Um, e-excuse me, Miss, um, is the lady of the mansion home?”

“Lady Sharii is home, but she isn’t taking visitors today. If you wish to employ Lady Sharii, you may leave some info with me and I will be sure to pass it along to my Mistress,” said the maid.

“Ma’am, I’m sorry, but we have reason to believe that our friend was abducted by your Mistress, and we’d like to ask her some questions to be sure. Myself and Midnight Moonshadow are Guardians, and as such we have the right to question Lady Sharii regarding the disappearances in the nearby town,” said Emu.

“Lady Sharii is home, but she isn’t taking visitors today. If you wish to employ Lady Sharii, you may leave some info with me and I will be sure to pass it along to my Mistress,” the maid repeated.

The others looked to each other in confusion.

“Little lady, did you not hear my friend?” Ambrosia asked.

“Okay, this is both creepy and getting annoying,” Spectra deadpanned.

Rori moved closer to the maid, and with a flick of her wrist, flipped the veil over. The group gasped at the sight, the girl underneath looked decrepit, her skin was wrinkled, eyes sunken in, and eyes that had their color dulled.

“What…What’s going on?” Spectra asked.

Rori placed a hand on the maid and grimaced. “It’s as I said, she’s stealing the youth and beauty of young maidens, and this girl is no exception. She may look elderly, but I venture to guess she’s no older than Miss Ambrosia or Spectra. It would seem that Sharii has spelled the girls she’s abducted, and forced them to become her servants. Come, we must venture deeper into this place if we are to locate your friend and Sharii.”

Emu and the girls followed Rori, passing by the maid with dread and sympathy for her condition. Emu stopped and placed a hand on the girl’s shoulder and said, “Don’t worry, we’ll change your fate.”

As Emu walked away, he noticed a small tear fall from her eyes in spite of her oblivious expression.

***___________ x [+]E[+]___________***

The rest of the inside was just as gaudy, and had more self-portraits of Sharii as they continued. The group couldn’t help but feel that the portraits were watching them, eyes following their movements as they walked down the hallway. Spectra hated their current situation, her flying would be useless in a cramped space, not to say that she still couldn’t manipulate wind or use her talons, but she preferred a wider arena. Ambrosia was a trained warrior, and was fine with fighting in closed quarters like they were in. Midnight was constantly trying to detect even the faintest of hints of Sunset’s magical energy, while Lightheart perched herself on Midnight’s shoulder, trying to hide. Emu kept his hammer at the ready, and Parado was on lookout, but no less prepared to fight if they needed to transform.

Just then, the group heard a click sound that made them all freeze. The group turned around and saw that Ambrosia was staring down at her left boot.

“Okay, let’s not panic,” said Emu.

“I can’t believe I did that!” Ambrosia scolded herself.

“It’s alright, if it’s pressure sensitive we can just find something as heavy as Ambrosia to put on it, right?!” Spectra suggested.

“That’s assuming that the trap isn’t already activated, and that’s also assuming that nothing else in this hall isn’t boobytrapped!” Midnight pointed out.

“Oh dear, oh dear,” Lightheart tittered.

Ambrosia sighed heavily and gave the others a serious look. “Move as far away as you can.”

“Oh, hell no! You’re not going to pull some sacrifice BS like that!” Spectra stated.

“This isn’t up for debate, we got an evil Enchantress to beat, and a friend to save. You can’t waste time trying to think of a way to save my dumb hide! Now go!” Ambrosia ordered.

The others tried to think of a way to save Ambrosia, but they knew she was right. Reluctantly, they walked away putting at least two meters of distance between them. Once Ambrosia was sure they were far enough away, she took her foot off and braced for whatever was about to happen. But, after several seconds, there was nothing. Ambrosia glanced about, but could see nothing out of the ordinary. The others waited as well, but nothing happened. With a shrug, Ambrosia, carefully, walked back to her comrades.

“Guess I just stepped on something loose or–?”

Suddenly, a glowing circle appeared under Ambrosia, Spectra, Midnight, Lightheart, Emu, and Rori. The glowing circles shout up beams of light that quickly engulfed the team and in an instant, they vanished from sight.

***___________ x [+]E[+]___________***

Ambrosia was the first to wake up, her head felt funny, but otherwise the rest of her felt the same. The Amazon was faintly aware of the sensation of being covered in a blanket, and the softness of a mattress, and a pillow. Ambrosia opened her eyes and sat upright in a bed, only realizing that there was something missing underneath that made her quickly clutch the blankets around her body. The Amazon looked to and fro, spotting the very familiar Romanesque homestead designs, the same as her home back in the Queendom.

“Finally awake, did I really wear you out that much?”

Ambrosia blinked as she spotted Sunset emerge from another room. She wore Amazonian armor, fitted just for her, since she was smaller. Around her right arm was a tattooed ring with ornate glyphs.

“What’s wrong, Ambrosia?” Sunset asked.

“You’re…You’re alright!” Ambrosia exclaimed.

Sunset blinked. “Um, how rough did you think you were?”

Ambrosia blushed furiously and shook her head. “NO! I mean – not that! You were captured by an Enchantress and we came to rescue you!”

Sunset chuckled. “Enchantress? Oh, yeah, that happened a couple of years back didn’t it?”

“Wait…a…a couple of years?” Ambrosia asked in confusion as she used her free hand to hold her head.

“Hey, babe, you alright?” Sunset walked over to the bed and sat next to Ambrosia. “Did you have a bad dream or something?”

Ambrosia took a closer look at the ring tattoo around Sunset’s arm, and then looked to her left arm and saw the exact same markings. “Sunset…are we…are you my…?”

Sunset reached out with her left hand and carefully stroked Ambrosia’s golden mane. “Still can’t believe we’ve been married two years huh? I still remember how embarrassing it was to have you literally carry me across the threshold and into the Queendom.”

“We’re married…?” Ambrosia’s eyes began to have a thin line of purple light on them.

“Yes, I’m yours.”

***___________ x [+]E[+]___________***

Spectra flew through the skies of the world and landed near a tree, across from her vision she saw a sprawling town, filled with humans and demi-humans alike. Cat girls, Centaurs, Satyrs, Fawns, Nagas, and all manner of other Demis. Spectra flew through the town, human and demi-human children alike were waving at her and trying to catch up to her, there were some other harpies in the sky, and Spectra flew with them and did some tricks for them, but eventually broke off and headed towards the center of town.

There, in an ornate building, stood the magistrate’s office, the one in charge of this town and maintaining the peace and prosperity of the people in it. A special entrance was made at the roof, a landing platform with a tower connected to it. Spectra landed on the platform and went into the tower, she descended the winding steps until she appeared in the office of the magistrate herself.

Sitting behind a mahogany wooden desk, with hair like shimmering flames, and intense turquoise eyes, was Sunset Shimmer. She was going over some documents, most likely concerns of the people along with some other political mumbo-jumbo that Spectra had no clue about.

“Hey, Sunny!” Spectra greeted.

“Hey,” Sunset greeted.

Spectra smirked and put left hand on her hip. “Well that was lackluster, I just got back and you’re not going to throw yourself at me?”

“Spectra, I’ve been working on this latest request to expand the city, if this works, we won’t be just a town. We’ll become a City State!”

The harpy girl smiled at hearing her mate’s enthusiasm. It had been three years since they defeated Tirek, and Sunset decided to stay in their world to protect them should the evil rise again. It didn’t take long after that battle for Sunset to grab Spectra by the waist and kiss her passionately before their team. There were some jealous looks amongst them, but in the end, they were happy for the two, and so was Spectra.

After that, the two used their combined fame and wealth from the adventure to build a city. Spectra had always hated how demi-humans weren’t treated as equals, and there were other humans who believed as Sunset did about their unjust treatment. So together they founded a town, built from the ground up, where both races could live in harmony. I mean, you weren’t going to cause trouble in the town run by the person who defeated the biggest, baddest, evil overlord in the world.

“I figured that’s what you were doing, but you know what I always say, right?”

Sunset stopped her writing and smiled as she put down her quill pen. “Work hard, but play even harder, right?”

“Damn right.” Spectra unfurled her wings and gave a flap, gaining some height. The result made all the papers fly off Sunset’s desk and earned her a glare from her mate. “Oops.”

“Spectra, get down here!” Sunset ordered.

“Make me!”

“Oh, you asked for it!”

Sunset vanished in a flash of turquoise light. Oh crap, why do I keep forgetting that she can do that?!

Before Spectra knew what happened, Sunset had reappeared in front of her, barreling into her midsection and teleporting them once again. Another flash went off and the two landed on the floor, with Spectra effectively pinned beneath her lover.

“Every freakin’ time, that’s completely unfair!” Spectra stated in annoyance.

“Oh, sorry, I mean you’re totally right. The fact that you can fly and can move incredibly fast, and that I have to use magic to catch you or even come close to keeping up with you, is completely unfair. I’ll be sure to issue a new law about it tomorrow,” Sunset teased.

Spectra rolled her eyes. “Okay, okay, I get it. Jeez.”

Sunset brought her left hand against Spectra’s cheek and cupped it. She then stared into the harpy’s eyes, were a ring of thin purple light showed around her eyes.

“I still can’t believe we’re here, together.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll always be here.”

***___________ x [+]E[+]___________***

Midnight found herself back in the homeland of her people, heralded as a hero, after her part in defeating Tirek, but the real hero was the one who struck the evil monster down. Sunset Shimmer, even now, the girl she loved was attending to the others of their group in their spacious mansion.

The elves had always had a different view on love, they felt that if the feelings were genuine for the same person, then there was no need to dismiss the other’s feelings. Midnight took this to heart. After marrying Sunset, she asked if she was open to the idea of bringing in the others, Midnight was not oblivious to Spectra, Ambrosia, and Lightheart’s feelings for Sunset, and didn’t want to deny them sharing their love. So, upon the lands of the elves, they were all wed.

Of course, the girls knew who the head wife was, and they respected that. But mainly, Sunset was the one who wore the britches in this family. Sunset’s prowess in combat was only matched by her intellect and talent in magic, she was everything that Midnight wanted to be, and more, and she loved how Sunset and their wives/friends made it a goal to make Midnight more outgoing and it worked from time to time.

“Mother?”

Midnight looked down from the second floor of their personal library, and spotted a young child. His hair was yellow and dark red, with teal colored eyes, and ears that were a little pointy, a call to his lineage.

“Yes Sunshine?” Midnight called out.

“Matem wants you join us in the dining hall before you pass out from not eating!” Sunshine stated.

Midnight raised an eyebrow at her son. “My little star, surely it can’t be that la–” she then looked at the clocked and her eyes went wide, “Oh my it is that late! I am so sorry!”

Sunshine chuckled. “Matem knew, that’s why she wanted me to come get you.”

Midnight jumped off the railing and created hard light blocks in the form of stairs to race down to the ground floor. The elven woman held out her arms and Sunshine hurriedly jumped into them as she held her little one close and carried him as she walked. Midnight was the first of them to bear Sunset a child, the elves had long ago figured out a magic spell that would transfer the essence of one who wished to be the “father” into the mother’s womb, and from there, life would grow.

Of course, such practice was not looked well upon in other parts of the land, but in the eleven territory, such social stigma was nonexistent. Sunshine was the first, a half-human, half-elf child. There had been other tales of such half-bloods existing, some had the longevity of their elven heritage, and others had a normal human lifespan. But there were signs that young Sunshine, while growing at a normal human rate, might have his elven heritage kick in once he reached adolescents, and then his long lifespan would keep him from dying of old age.

It saddened Midnight, although the magic of the land would keep Sunset alive for probably far longer than most humans, the eventuality that old age would catch up to her would never leave Midnight’s mind. Midnight would still keep the family together, their friends who were now their wedded wives, because that’s what Sunset would want when she was gone. And really, so long as Sunshine was there, a part of her beloved would always stay with them, and if the result of Sunshine was any indication, it wouldn’t be long before the rest of the girls underwent the same procedure.

But that was far down the road, right now, Sunset was here. More specifically, about three feet away. The fiery redhead had grown into a beautiful woman, sitting at the head of the table while Spectra, Ambrosia, and Lightheart took their seats at either side of the table, with the seat closest to Sunset’s right reserved for Midnight and their child. Midnight let Sunshine go as he ran up to Sunset.

“Matem, Matem, I brought Mother here!” Sunshine announced.

Sunset ruffled her son’s hair as she smiled. “Good job. Let me guess, was Mommy’s nose deep in a book?”

“Yes,” said Sunshine.

Midnight blushed. “It was an enthralling read.”

Sunset shook her head as she walked over to her wife. “Honestly, if elves weren’t so naturally thin, I’d say you were going to waste away just reading.”

The elf girl huffed. “I would never get so engrossed in book that I would allow my physical state to decline like that.”

“Says the girl who read every scroll in the Guardian archive for two days straight and walked out of there as if she was drunk,” said Spectra teasingly.

“Mother really did that?” Sunshine asked.

“Spectra!” Midnight exclaimed.

“Yes, she did, and your Matem here had to nurse her back to health after that,” said Sunset.

Midnight blushed in embarrassment, but then Sunset came up and kissed her gently on the lips. Sunset looked into her eyes as a thin line of purple light encircled both their irises.

“I’ll always be there to take care of you.”

***___________ x [+]E[+]___________***

Lightheart flew through the forest, greeting all the woodland animals who she passed by. Each one greeted her in their own way, from waving a paw, to giving a happy chirp, or in the case of a bear, a happy roar. It had been a couple of years since the defeat of Tirek, and with his defeat, Sunset fulfilled the promise of the tree, and replanted its seed. That seed grew into a new tree, healthier and stronger than the last. And from it grew a new forest, a new haven. Sunset had grown weary from the battles, and decided that it was time for her to settle down, and what better place than the new forest home.

The pink haired fairy flew until she was back at the tree, a house was formed by the tree from its roots to provide its savior shelter and a home. Lightheart flew up to the door and used her magic to transform into full height to match her lover. Lightheart opened the door and found Sunset still fast asleep in the bed of giant petals. The tall fairy sat at the edge of the bed and gently rubbed her love’s cheek, smiling down at her as she roused from slumber.

“Guess I’m late waking up,” said Sunset.

“It’s alright, besides, I like seeing your sleeping face. It’s, um, rather cute,” said Lightheart.

“Same as you.”

Lightheart got into the bed and Sunset spooned her fairy lover, bringing them close as inhaled Lightheart’s sweet natural scent.

“Do you…Do you ever regret it?” Lightheart asked.

“Regret what?”

“Choosing me instead of one of the others as your lover? I can see you being with any of them, you know. You match them, and they match you. Your intellect and magic skills would meld greatly with Midnight, not to mention your daringness would fit will with Spectra. And let’s not forget you and Ambrosia, she made her feelings quite plain to you,” said Lightheart.

“Yes, she did, but I chose you. I have enough of all three, and love them, but I want to be with you. I don’t look forward to another harrowing adventure, or danger filled mission, but it makes it more bearable when I know I have someone as kind and loving as you to come back to.”

Lightheart placed her hands against her own stomach and sighed in remorse. “I wish I could give you a child, you know it’s not impossible for fairies to do such things. If you want, I’m sure that Midnight knows of some magic that can do that for us.”

Sunset shook her head. “Only if that’s what you want, I wouldn’t mind raising a child in this paradise, but I don’t want to make you go through that if it’s not your choice.”

Lightheart smiled as she turned around and looked into her lover’s eyes, eyes that had a thin line of purple light around her irises. “You’re too good to me, Sunset.”

“Only you, my love.”

***___________ x [+]E[+]___________***

“Wow, what did you do to have these four think about you like this?”

Sharii stood in the main theater room, or as she called it, her “Work Room”. In a chair sat Sunset Shimmer, still in her pajamas, with glazed eyes as her magic was slowly siphoned by the evil Enchantress. The room was like a theater, a stage at the center, with a large open area for seats. On either side were lights fueled by magic to provide the optimal light for all her workings. It was here she siphoned many of the towns’ girls, their youth fueling her magic and making her even more beautiful than ever. It also did wonders for her powers, making her illusions stronger and her crafted items even more powerful.

The evil Enchantress still took on jobs for paying customers, some less reputable than others, but she made sure to make two of each of her more interesting requests. A sword that could lop off three hilltops in a single swing? She made it, of course the perfect version was with her, while the customer got an inferior version. That person eventually died because the blade shattered, but it was during an epic duel so one could attribute it to the craft of another weapon or what you paid for is what you got.

Sharii learned that Enchantresses of old used to increase their power via this method, prying on the greed of men and women alike. Until the old ways were burned in the light of a regime change, but Sharii discovered the old methods, and because of it she became stronger. However, her power was not infinite, but finite. The girls she abducted and drained would eventually get their vitality back as Sharii’s lessened, which made her have to keep them around as a fuel source. But that was fine, she needed servants to maintain her place of business.

Now though, all that was going to change. With this recent acquisition, and a newly discovered portion of the ancient ways, Sharii would be able to not only absorb all the abundant magical power of this girl, but also keep forever. However, it would require a bit of blood, and the draining this girl’s entire lifeforce.

“Well, you can’t stand in the way of perfection,” said Sharii as she walked up to Sunset and tipped her chin up. “Quite a shame, you are quite beautiful, perhaps I should partake of you before I undergo the ritual.”

“I would thank you to keep such vulgar thoughts to yourself!”

Sharii turned around and watched as Countess Rori Adamanta walked towards the stage. The evil Enchantress growled in anger at seeing her pursuer. “I can say whatever I damn well please, this is my mansion, ‘kay?!”

“You’ve gone against the code of the Enchantresses, and as a Countess, it is my duty to put an end to your evil before you drag the names of all good Enchantresses down with you!” Rori exclaimed as she pointed at Sharii.

Sharii cackled evilly as she walked behind Sunset and draped her arms around her neck. “Oh, and you think you’re strong enough on your own? Look.” Sharii waved her arms and orbs of light formed, each one displaying the illusions that each of the girls were trapped in. “These girls pine for this one and care for her so, that all I had to do was create an illusion field that was their best fantasy come true. And with this one, is was easy to use her likeness to recreate a perfect copy of what each girl desired.”

Rori conjured four gemstones and fired them like missiles straight for Sharii. The evil Enchantress didn’t bother to move as she waved her hand and generated an energy field that took the brunt of the attack, having each gemstone explode upon impact. Rori summoned more gemstones and began a rapid-fire barrage attack against the barrier, each thunderous explosion rocked the mansion, but Sharii looked less than impressed.

Sharii moved closer to Sunset, moving the collar of her pajama shirt out of the way as she rubbed her hand against Sunset’s neck. “Try all you like, you’ll never get past the barrier, I’m far stronger than you, Rori!”

“Perhaps I would agree, if I were alone!” Rori stated.

“What?” Sharii asked.

“Haven’t you noticed?! There’s only four orbs up there, and there were six of us when we entered,” said Rori.

Sharii began to snap her fingers, trying to make the fifth orb appear, but something was wrong. Her trap should have ensnared all of them, Rori was likely to escape, but surely the other five should have been trapped. Just then, the sound of thunder roared behind Sharii, and soon she found herself getting struck in the back by an electrified hammer that sent her sailing into the distance, and through one of the walls of her workroom.

Emu stood upon the stage, his hammer still crackling with electricity as he stood beside Sunset. “Looks like a homerun.”

“Good show, Emu dear!” Rori complemented.

However, their victory was short lived as Sharii burst from the wall, her eyes now red with fury as she floated overhead. “Oh, that was a mistake!”

Sharii conjured blood red needles that formed in a death blossom pattern. Rori quickly summoned a diamond barrier around herself and around the stage as Sharii unleashed her piercing magic needles in every direction. They shot through stone, marble, and metal, piercing rather than exploding when they hit an object. The diamond shields of Rori made a shrill clanking sound whenever the needles struck, but even this shield was beginning to buckle under her assault. Sharii fired five needles from her fingers, each one dragging with it a blood red energy thread.

The evil Enchantress wrapped the threads around the block of diamond and pulled tight. The wires made cracks in the diamond and in an instant, shattered it. The wires wrapped around Rori, hoisting her up and then throwing her towards the stage. Rori had no choice but to release the barrier, but in so doing allowed herself to be thrown into Emu, sending both of them flying backstage.

Sharii landed back on the stage and pulled Sunset close to her. “No more games, time to get the power I’ve craved!” Sharii ripped part of Sunset’s shirt to expose her collar and neck more.

She opened her mouth and two of her teeth began to morph into fangs. Sharii sunk her fangs into Sunset’s neck, briefly snapping her out of the trance due to the pain, and made the heroine struggle against her captor. But it was no use, Sunset could feel her energy draining fast, her arms and legs went numb, and her vision began to fade.

Rori and Emu managed to get back up, but Emu’s expression became grim when he watched Sunset’s HP bar dip into the red zone, and began to blink. “SUNSET!”

Suddenly, the sound of shattering glass echoed in the room. A small pink light appeared before Sharii’s face and blasted her with a flurry of energy petals that forced the Enchantress to release Sunset. Before she could counterattack, Sharii found herself impaled by a glowing spear, held by Ambrosia. The spear ignited and then fired a powerful beam that sent Sharii straight into the floor. Midnight gathered her magical energy into a sphere, and Spectra summoned a whirlwind laced with magical energy. The harpy and elf unleashed a battle cry as they fired their respective attacks at the hole in the floor, creating a massive explosion that blew a hole all the way through the roof.

Lightheart had taken Sunset into her grasp, having shifted to human height as she floated the two of them down to the floor. The pink haired fairy quickly began administering her healing spells in an effort to save the mage knight’s life. “Sunset, please, open your eyes!”

Spectra, Midnight, and Ambrosia formed a protective circle around Sunset as Emu and Rori ran down to meet them. Emu could see Sunset’s HP Bar, it was steadily going into the yellow, but it was if it was struggling to dip back into the red.

“I don’t understand, my healing spell should be working!” Lightheart stated.

“Sharii’s not defeated, so long as she lives, Sunset will continue to lose energy. But at the same time, Sharii hasn’t reached full power yet, only until Sunset’s life has drained will she become truly invincible,” said Rori.

“What can we do!?” Midnight asked.

Rori looked to the others, and then back to this girl. She could feel the love they had for this girl, Emu’s concern, she could tell, was out of comradery and true friendship, but girls were different. They not only saw her as a friend but as someone who has their hearts, Rori had to admit, this girl before her was beautiful, but the reflections of her through these friends made her even more beautiful.

“Such a light is not meant to fade from this world, indeed it would be a crime against all the good in the world. Lightheart, place her on the floor, keep her hand in yours to administer the spell.”

Lightheart did as Rori instructed, gently laying Sunset on the floor while she kept a firm grip on her hand. Rori, leaned down, her face hovering over Sunset’s until she brought her lips against hers.

“ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!” Spectra exclaimed.

“What in the name of the goddess do you think you’re doing to her?!” Ambrosia inquired.

“How dare you take advantage of her while she’s like this,” said Midnight.

“Wait!” Lightheart urged.

Suddenly, Rori’s body began to glow with cerulean light. Her magical energy began to flow from her and into Sunset, however, the result was her body withering and aging. Sharii burst forth from the crater, her eyes glowing blood red as her tattered dress flowed in the crosswinds generated by her power.

“What are you doing?! That won’t stop my spell! Her life will be mine!” Sharii declared.

Rori parted her lips from Sunset’s, now she appeared more like a gracefully aged elderly woman than the stunning young woman she was earlier. “Perhaps…” her voice was shaky, and weak, “But at least I have bought some time…now…fight and defeat her, while you have some time.”

The good Enchantress fell to the floor beside Sunset her breathing shallow, but steady. Emu watched as Sunset’s HP bar went back into the green, but was still struggling to stay there, if not for the assistance of Lightheart’s magic to keep it from dropping faster. However, Rori’s bar was now in the red zone. The good doctor could not stand to see this, his friends tricked, and others having their lives having been stolen from them. Emu struck the floor with his fist and stood up, taking point with the girls beside him.

“We’re going to take you down!” Emu declared.

“Oh spare me the drama, m’kay. JUST DIE ALREADY!”

Sharii brought up both hands summoned twin dragons made of red light. The dragons charged forth for the team, but then…

*ROOOOOOOAAARR!!!*

Something burst through the wall, attacking the two dragons and destroying them upon contact. Sharii backed away and entered a defensive stance. When the smoke cleared, it revealed a dragon, a rather strange dragon. It was black, with strange stripes of neon yellow, blue, and magenta. On its right arm it had a long sword like protrusion and on its left it had twin cannon-like objects.

“Emu, it’s Drago Knight Hunter Z!” Parado declared.

Emu looked upon the dragon and it back at him. “Drago Knight, please, lend me your power!” The dragon roared and then transformed into a gold colored Gashat with the picture of a dragon on it. “LIMIT BREAK!”

The Gamer Driver appeared around Emu’s waist, along with the Mighty Action X Gashat in his other hand and then buttons on the sides.

[+] MIGHTY ACTION X! [+]

[+]DRAGOKNIGHTHUNTER Z! [+]

“HENSHIN! TRANSFORMATION PLUS, PLUS, PLUS, PLUS, PLUS!”

| CLICK AND LOAD! LET’S GAME! SUPER GAME! ULTRA GAME! WHATCHA NAME?! I’M A KAMEN RIDER!GACHAN! LEVEL UP! MIGHTY JUMP! MIGHTY KICK! MIGHTY MIGHTY ACTION X!A GACHA! DO-DO-DRAGO!NA-NA-NA-KNI~GHT! DRA-!DRA-! DRAGO KNIGHT HUNTER! Z! |

Emu transformed into Kamen Rider Ex-Aid Fantasy Knight. The dragon from earlier reappeared, but then glowed as it merged with his armor, granting him new power and weapons. Ex-Aid’s back, chest, and head were covered in a black armor with neon magenta stripes. This was the Dragon Fang, a dragon’s head was part of the chest armor, with an open mouth that had rows of sharp teeth, and in the inside of the mouth, Ex-Aid’s face plate and orange eyes peered through. On his right arm was the Dragon Blade, his left pauldron was now black armor with neon blue stripes, a gauntlet attached to the right forearm had the blade mounted on it, which also had the same neon blue stripes. The left arm also had a black armor pauldron, but with neon yellow stripes, this was the Dragon Gun, and sported two long barrels with neon stripes on it.

“RRAAAAAAAAGH!” Emu roared as he charged for Sharii.

A title appeared above Emu’s opponent that read “Eternal Beauty Sharii” and displayed two HP bars. Emu slashed at Sharii with the Dragon Blade, who took the full blow, still stunned by the transformation and surprised by the speed at which Ex-Aid reached her. The blade cut a long red gash across her chest, revealing red digital code, but to the others, it must’ve looked like blood. Emu followed with bringing the Dragon Gun up to Sharii and firing at point blank range.

The evil Enchantress was blasted with two barrels of power, sending her back into the ground. Sharii growled in anger as she rose back up, and fired off several more of her deadly needles at Ex-Aid, but the enhanced armor provided more than enough protection against the barrage, making Sharii’s eyes widen in utter shock. Sharii called upon her magical powers, and summoned an illusion field around Emu.

Ex-Aid stopped, watching as several of his past Bugster enemies appeared before him. Sharii didn’t know what he was seeing, and didn’t care, as she was about to attack him from behind. However, the chest armor had another ability, the Search Drago Eye. The eyes on the armor glowed as the Whip Drago Tail extended from the back of the armor, and lashed out as soon as the evil Enchantress got close. The tail snapped back and forth, striking at every which way she dodged.

When the illusion ended, Ex-Aid spun in place and tail whipped Sharii multiple times until she retreated, her health bar getting lower. Suddenly, Ex-Aid felt the strain of the Gashat, making him go down on one knee.

“Damn, thought I’d have more time,” said Ex-Aid. “Midnight, Ambrosia, Spectra, come over here, quick!”

The girls quickly moved to Emu.

“Ambrosia, place your hand on my blade. Midnight, on the twin barrels. Spectra, the head of the armor!”

Each girl did as Emu instructed, he then focused his energy. Each armor piece glowed a different neon color, rising up and then zooming towards the girl who was touching that armor piece. Ambrosia’s right forearm now sported the Dragon Blade, Midnight had the Dragon Gun on her left forearm, and Spectra’s head and chest were covered by the Dragon Fang. Each of them felt a massive boost to their own power, glowing with the aura of that individual piece.

Ambrosia was the first to attack, dashing across the floor as she focused her new power into the blade. The black metal blade shimmered and transformed into a long, neon blue energy blade. The Amazon struck Sharii, once, twice, three times, each blow cleaving a chunk of her HP bar. Midnight channeled her magical power into the Dragon Gun, the twin barrels converted her rosy-violet light into neon yellow as she fired a barrage of energy bolts at Sharii, each one exploding on impact and draining her health bar into the red.

Finally, Spectra flew overhead, channeling her own unique magic into the armor. Before her a fireball burned; the harpy gave a loud battle cry as the fireball broke out and unleashed a torrent of neon magenta flames upon her target. The triple attack shattered Sharii’s first bar of health and caused her to stagger.

“Don’t give her time tocounter attack!”Parado warned.

“Thank you, girls, I’ll finish it from here!” Ex-Aid stated.

Midnight, Spectra, and Ambrosia jumped back until they were behind Ex-Aid. Each armor piece glowed and then flew back onto Ex-Aid, who then pulled on the lever of his Gamer Driver.

| CLICK TO CLOSE! FINISHING MOVE! |

| CLICK TO OPEN! |

}!!!{DRAGOKNIGHTCRITICAL STRIKE! }!!!{

Ex-Aid got into position, standing up, he pointed the Dragon Blade and Dragon Gun at Sharii. Both weapons were set ablaze with neon energy, along with the Dragon Fang. In the next moment, all three armor pieces fired beams of light that combined into one singular, massive beam of pure power that roared towards Sharii. By the time the evil Enchantress had recovered to fight, it was too late, the beam was upon her and washed over her like a tsunami. The evil Enchantress cried out as the beam vaporized her, draining her HP bar all the way to nothing, and Sharii along with it.

Upon her defeat, a ball of light was left behind. That ball shot out, releasing dozens of shooting star-like streaks that went every which way, one of those headed for Sunset, hitting her and making her body glow for a few seconds. After the glow faded, Sunset’s HP bar returned to normal, holding steady at green.

Ex-Aid sighed in relief.

| CLICK TO SAVE! |

Emu returned to his normal state and quickly rushed over to Sunset’s side, checking her vitals to make sure there wasn’t anything else wrong. Emu gave a small smile, and nodded to the girls saying, “She’s alright now, that spell was broken.”

Midnight and Lightheart cried tears of joy, while Spectra did some exited flying around the room, and Ambrosia just smiled happily. But it wasn’t all a celebration, Rori hadn’t recovered. Sunset began to stir, eyes fluttering as she took in the sight around her.

“Girls…Emu…? Wha-What the hell happened?” Sunset asked as she sat up.

“You were kidnapped by an evil Enchantress! We came to save you, led by another Enchantress, she…she gave you some of her lifeforce to stop the other one from stealing yours completely,” said Lightheart.

Sunset looked to her left, seeing the elderly looking Enchantress and briefly remembering the feel of someone’s lips against her own. “No…We have to help her!”

“Sunset, I don’t know what we can do, restoring lifeforce isn’t something that’s easily done,” said Midnight.

Sunset moved a bit until she was next to Rori, she carefully moved the Enchantress so she was lying on her back. “I will not let her die, she saved my life by generously giving me part of hers, I won’t let that go unrewarded! LIMIT BREAK!” The Uni-Driver and Unicorn Memory appeared to Sunset. “Please, give me the power to save her life.”

< UNICORN! >

The former pony leaned down and pressed her lips against Rori’s. The Unicorn Memory shined blindingly, and from it appeared the ethereal Unicorn. The beast neighed loudly as it leaned down and touched the tip of its horn against Rori’s forehead. The energies of Sunset and the Unicorn Memory flowed into Rori, reversing the aging that had occurred from when Rori gave her lifeforce to Sunset.

“Sunset!” Midnight cried.

“We just got you back, don’t go sacrificing your life like that!” Spectra argued.

“Wait!” Emu urged. Although they couldn’t see it, Emu could see that Sunset’s HP bar was not depleting at all, however her LB gauge was. She was sacrificing the energy needed to transform in order to save Rori. “She’ll be alright, Sunset’s not using her lifeforce, rather, she’s using her other powers as a substitute.”

In a matter of seconds Rori was back to looking like the beauty she was earlier. Sunset parted her lips from Rori’s and the Unicorn faded away, along with the Gaia Memory and Uni-Driver. The LB gauge was low, but it was small sacrifice, it could always be replenished later.

Rori’s eyes fluttered open, and she was greeted with the sight of the very girl she had tried to save earlier. “Oh my, Darling, you are quite a beauty aren’t you.”

Sunset’s face tinted red for a moment before smiling down at Rori. “Flattery will only get you so far. Thank you, for saving my life.” Sunset then turned to her friends. “All of you, thank you.”

Rori placed her hand on Sunset’s shoulder and said, “If anything, it is I who should be thanking you.”

***___________ x [+]E[+]___________***

It took a few hours, but the group managed to round up all the girls who had been taken against their will by Sharii and returned to the town. The group was heralded as heroes, tears of joy were shed for the return of the girls who had been spirited away in the night, and never heard from again. Now they were back, and they had the seven to thank for it.

Rori had already contacted her fellow Enchantresses about Sharii’s defeat. While she was saddened by the loss of one of her own, Rori knew that Sharii was too far gone to save, her actions brought about her fate. Currently it was night, and the center of town was bustling with the big, congratulatory celebration to the heroes who stopped the evil Enchantress and returned the missing girls back to their families. Currently, the heroes were seated at a large banquet table, each enjoying a meal tailored to them.

“What I don’t get is, why weren’t you trapped in an illusion, Emu?” Spectra asked as she feasted on some fish.

Emu glanced to Rori and smiled. “You didn’t notice, but Adamanta-san was the reason we were able to break through that illusion. When she was fussing over our clothes before we went into the mansion, she used her magic to stealthily lace some anti-illusion charm into our clothing to help us break free. Parado helped me keep my head straight, so with Adamanta-san’s magic I was able to break free quickly. It wasn’t until you girls felt Sunset’s life was in mortal danger did the charm allow you break free.”

The others looked to Rori, who only smiled and sipped from her wine glass. “I only provided the means, it was your willpower and conviction that allowed you all to break through Sharii’s illusions.”

Midnight stood up from her chair and then bowed to Rori. “I’m sorry for being so suspicious towards you, and even after. I should’ve placed more trust in your intentions.”

Rori waved off the apology. “Darling, you had every right to be suspicious of me. The fact is you trusted me when it mattered the most, and now we’re all here, happy and healthy.” The Enchantress then looked to Sunset. “I must say though, to give me your power like that to save my life, when we hardly know each other, that was very courageous.”

Sunset smiled at Rori. “After that act of generosity, I had to return the favor.”

“And modest too, quite the combination. You say you’re all heading to Heaven’s Fall, correct? To battle Tirek?” Rori asked.

“That’s right,” said Sunset as she ate some of the salad before her.

“Then how about letting me assist with your mission?” The others looked to Rori with surprise. “After this incident, the image of the Enchantresses is going to be smudged a bit, but if I were to help you in your endeavor, it could boost the public image of the Enchantresses and the work we do.”

Spectra raised an eyebrow at that. “So, I mean, I know you have illusion magic and stuff, but what else can you do?”

Rori smirked. “I can fashion clothing and infuse them with magic to make them harder than steel, resistant to certain magic spells, or enchant items to make them more powerful, such as jewelry accessories, or even swords, shields, spears, and knives. Of course, since we are fighting together, it will all be free of charge. I can also use gemstones to perform various attack and defensive spells.”

Ambrosia spat out her drink upon hearing that. “Are you serious?! That kind work for six people would make any other Enchantress rich!”

Rori waved off the concern. “Darling, as of today, I consider you all my companions, my friends, and I have a strict policy about not charging my friends for gifts. Besides…” the Enchantress sat up from her chair and walked to where Sunset sat, draping her arms behind the fiery redhead. “…I’d like to get to know Sunset Shimmer here a lot better.”

Sunset heard the ping sound again. That’s it!

“Ahem, since we’re all here, there is something important that I needed to tell you girls,” said Sunset.

Emu and Parado didn’t need to be mind readers to know what was about to happen, they only hoped it would just cause a Friendship Route and not cause a disband of the group.

Sunset took a deep breath, it was now or never, she couldn’t just string these girls along, it wasn’t fair to them or to Twilight. “The truth is, I have–!”

[ACTION NOT VALID]

“Have…what?” Spectra asked.

Sunset raised an eyebrow, she was sure she had said it. Her lips made the motions to the words, but she didn’t hear the word come out. “Sorry, I said I–”

[ACTION NOT VALID]

“I–!”

[ACTION NOT VALID]

Emu and Parado were starting to get concerned, especially when they saw a red bar appear above her every time she tried to say, well, whatever it was she was trying to say that read [ACTION NOT VALID]. The girls were starting to get confused, and Sunset was becoming irritated.

“Emu, can I see you and Parado in private for a second!” Sunset demanded rather than asked.

The Legend Rider and Sunset walked until they were a safe distance from the girls, once alone, Sunset began to growl with frustration. “WHY CAN’T I SAY IT?!”

“What are you trying to say?” Parado asked.

“I’m trying to say, ‘I have a girlfriend and her name is Twilight’, that’s what – wait I just heard myself say it!” Sunset exclaimed.

Emu cupped his chin as he thought. “You can say it when I’m around, but not when they are around…It could be a kind of Admin Block.”

“A what?”

“The game might only allow certain party members to talk about IRL, private things like other people’s names. We can freely talk about them since we’re technically in a party, and talking like this would be considered PM interaction, but when the others are around, it’s keeping private info safe by blocking you from saying someone’s name.”

Sunset’s left eye twitched. “So…basically, what you’re saying is…this game is making it so that I can’t say the one thing that would keep me from ending up with one or maybe all of those fantasy versions of my friends?! Because that Rori looks a lot like my friend Rarity, and even acts like her! So please tell me you’re just guessing!”

“Well, you could always go to each one privately like you’re doing with me and see what happens.” Emu suggested.

Sunset did just that, after returning to the table, she had each girl, one at a time, go to that same private spot that she and Emu were at, and tried to drop the info on them. However, it was no use. She could not speak the sanity saving words, and after five failed attempts, Sunset returned to the table and let her head hit the table as she released a long groan of annoyance.

This game sucks…

Level 9: It's a Cat-tastrophe!

Have you heard rumors about the black rider?

Yeah, he rides a steel steed and wears black armor.

I heard that’s not armor, it’s actually his body, and that he’s a demon of some kind!

Could he be with Tirek, is he another one of his monsters?!

It can’t be, the Black Rider only attacks those of unjust intent, he’s stopped muggings, and saved villages.

As Sunset, Emu, and the Fantasy Five continued their journey, they started to hear more and more rumors about this supposed Black Rider. Sunset believed it may be another Kamen Rider, but Emu wasn’t sure. Regardless, there was no denying that this could also have ties to Tirek, another possible Envoy. They couldn’t just ignore it, not when they had the power to stop it. The girls agreed and followed Sunset and Emu to confront this Black Rider.

Their journey took them close to the Haggered Mountains, the formation of the mountains made for weather patterns that were always wintery. Before getting close too, Rori had placed a cold resistant enchantment on everyone’s clothes and armor. Her magic was strong, but the mountains had a magic of their own. As the adventurers entered the mountains, they had to abandon their horses, Lightheart informed them that they were free to go where they pleased and soon the rest of the journey was made on foot.

The perpetual blizzard of the mountains hammered down on them, coupled with the blustering winds, and rapidly changing wind directions, it made it impossible for Spectra to fly at all. Despite the enchantment, it was becoming evident that Lightheart was not built to withstand these conditions, her little body shivering as her wings struggled to keep her afloat.

“Lightheart, come over here!” Sunset instructed.

The little fairy flew as quickly as she could to Sunset, and into her hands. Sunset opened up her scarf a little and placed the little fairy there. The mage knight felt a chill as the cold body of Lightheart touched her skin, but she endured it in hopes that her body temp would help keep Lightheart from freezing to death out here. Sunset was noticing that the cold wasn’t bothering Spectra as much as the rest, being a harpy, she flew at high altitudes where the air was cold, so her discomfort was far less than the others.

“Sunset, we need to find a shelter from the cold soon, otherwise most of us will have hypothermia set in at this rate!” Emu warned.

“I know, but I can barely see a thing in this white out, if we’re not careful we’ll fall off the side of a cliff!” Sunset looked towards the front and went still, there was something in the distance, something black was in the distance, and humanoid shaped. It seemed to be riding atop something, but Sunset wasn’t sure if it was horse. “HEY!”

The black figure turned around and headed off out of sight. Sunset took a single step forward, and found the ground caving in on her. The mage knight reached out to grab for something, anything. Just then a pink blur zipped towards Sunset, grabbing her by the waist and began jumping up, bounding off the sturdier chunks of snow that were falling. The unknown savior made one last springboard jump straight into the air and crash landed into a snowbank.

Sunset shook her head and spluttered out snow that had gotten into her mouth. She was vaguely aware of a body on top of hers, but wasn’t sure who it was. One she cleared her eyes of the snowflakes, she was greeted with the face of a girl. She had brilliant blue eyes, a mane of curly pink hair, and twitching cat ears…Wait, cat ears?!

“HELLO! YOU’RE IN A BILZZARD!” the cat girl stated.

“I’m aware!” Sunset responded.

“YOU NEED TO FOLLOW ME, OR YOU’LL FREEZE!”

Sunset watched as, quite literally, a ball of fur lifted off her. The only thing visible was her long tail, ears, and eyes. The others stared at this oddity for a minute as well, trying to figure out what in the world they were seeing. The ball of pink fluff bounced down an alternate route, but stopped when she noticed the others weren’t following her.

“C’MON!” the ball urged.

Everyone looked to Sunset, the fiery haired girl looked back at the fur ball, and then her friends who looked like they were going to freeze to death. Now that she thought about it, Sunset looked to find Lightheart in her scarf, but she wasn’t there.

“OH CRAP! LIGHTHEART!” Sunset called out. “WHERE ARE YOU?!”

“What happened?!” Midnight asked.

“I lost Lightheart, she was in my scarf before we went over,” said Sunset in a panic.

The group began to call out for the fairy, but over the howling blizzard, they could barely hear even their own voices. Sunset was about to fall to her knees in sadness, when she felt something inside her armor, more specifically, under the clothing. Sunset peeked under her chest armor and tunic and blushed.

“Um…I found Lightheart!” Sunset announced.

“What?! Where?!” Emu asked.

“I-It’s best not to know, she’s safe, trust me! Let’s follow the pink fur ball, NOW!”

The others were confused, but trusted Sunset’s word. They followed the bouncing ball of fur down the new path, with said fur ball calling out warnings about different pit falls along the way.

“The snow builds up and packs tight, and makes it so you can’t tell if there’s a gap until it’s too late! Follow my marks!”

After what felt like hours of trudging through densely packed snow, the group ended up at the mouth of a cave. The dark looming gateway made the others pause, wondering if they should continue to trust the large, pink fur ball any more than they have already. The pink fur ball stopped midway into the cave and called out, “C’mon, not much further now!”

Once again, the girls looked to Sunset for their decision. Sunset looked to Emu, she was sure following her was the right move, but it didn’t hurt to get the opinion of a seasoned veteran. Emu looked at the fur ball for a moment, and then nodded. With that decided, they proceeded into the cave, further and further they went, the only thing visible was a light at the end of the tunnel and the fur ball bouncing about leading them.

Strangely enough, the further in they went, the warmer it got. Warm enough that they had to remove their heavy winter garb. They began to squint their eyes the moment they reached the end of the cave. Their eyes finally adjusted to the light and were now starting down at a large valley, the snow and ice of the never-ending blizzard did not touch this place, as if the mountains themselves were a barrier against it.

There were vast fields of green, and a running river that cut through the valley, heading further to a distant waterfall. From their vantage point, the group could spot an area that had several large structures built up into a town. Sunset was glad that they had found a little paradise and respite from the deadly cold, but then her body stiffened up as a blush overcame her face.

“Um…would you all just continue facing forward for a few seconds!”

Sunset hid behind a large rock and took off her chest plate, and after a few seconds opened her tunic to allow Lightheart to fly out into the warm air. The little fairy had a red blush on her face to match the one on Sunset’s.

“Um…I…sorry,” said Lightheart.

“It’s fine, it wasn’t on purpose, and it was better protection against the cold than where you were originally. I’d rather suffer a little embarrassment than see you die of the cold,” Sunset replied.

Lightheart smiled happily at hearing Sunset’s words, and Sunset returned that smile with her own. After putting her armor back on, Sunset and Lightheart returned to the group and saw that the pink fur ball was still bouncing excitedly up and down.

“Thank you, for saving Sunset, and helping us out of that storm,” said Emu.

The fur ball stopped and then exploded in a cloud of pink smoke, making everyone stand at the ready, but this was not an attack. When the smoke cleared, what stood before them was a girl, a cat girl to be precise. Her hair was made of fluffy curls, her two pink furred ears twitched at the different sounds that they were picking up, or perhaps out of excitement. Her pink fur covered her entire body, with a long tail playfully wagging back and forth. She wore a kind of tank top tunic, white in color, with golden-brown shorts, and strapped to them were two short daggers.

“It wasn’t any trouble at all, I couldn’t just ignore you guys! Besides, it’s not every day you see two humans, a harpy, an Amazon, a fairy, an Enchantress, and an elf traveling together.” The cat girl gasped. “Are you guys on a secret mission to defeat some dark overlord that’s threatening to destroy the world?”

“H-How did you know that?!” Midnight asked in shock.

“Lucky guess. C’mon, I’ll take you to my village, you guys must be hungry.”

“Wait, what’s your name?” Sunset asked.

The pink cat girl bopped herself on the head. “Silly me, forgot to tell you! It’s–!

Suddenly, other cat people appeared out of nowhere, bursting forth from the ground, all armored and bearing their weapons in the heroes’ direction. The pink cat girl looked shocked at the reception they were getting and was about to protest, when her ears picked up on the sound of someone approaching. Coming up the trail was another of the cat people, an older woman. Her fur was slate-gray, eyes piercing blue like the pink one’s, but had glasses. She wore her dark gray hair up in a bun and had a stern look. Her long tail swished back and forth, but it was less freestyle than the younger cat. She wore a shawl with crosshatched stitching, and a long dress with tribal markings.

“M-Mom?!” the pink cat exclaimed.

“Surprisa Morgana Rei, why have you have brought outsiders into our valley?”

“I was out scouting, like Daddy said to, but when I did, I saw they were in trouble, and this one,” Surprisa sped to Sunset and pointed at her, “was about to fall off the side of the mountain! And they have a cute little fairy with them!” Surprisa, in movement that could be confused with teleportation, moved to Lightheart and pointed at her. “And fairies can’t take the cold, and besides, well, look at them! Have you ever seen a group of travelers like this?!”

The mother of Surprisa glanced over the newcomers, scrutinizing them with narrowed eyes. “It is quite the odd group, we will still need to take them to your father. Guard!”

“Yes, Queen Qura?!”

“We’ll be escorting them to the village, keep a close eye on them, and if they try anything, execute them.” Qura ordered.

Ambrosia slowly approached Sunset and whispered, “Are ya sure we should go along with this? Not saying that we’re better than them, but we could get the upper hand on ‘em pretty easily if need be. With Rori’s illusion magic and all.”

Sunset took a moment gather her thoughts, and then shook her head. “No, let’s just see where this goes. I don’t want to make an enemy if there’s a chance to be friends.”

***__________ x [+]E[+]__________***

Their procession through the village garnered a lot of attention, many of the cat people or Cait Sith for the technical term, either stopped to look or hide away in fear. Sunset was somewhat reminded of her past as the resident Queen Bee of CHS, and how all the students, boy and girls, would part for her or hide in fear whenever she was around. It was not a feeling she liked, or ever wanted to experience again. Surprisa seemed to notice and broke away from her mother to join the group, despite her mother’s glare of protest.

“Why do you look so down? I mean, other than the fact that we’re escorting you with armed guards that have orders to kill you,” said Surprisa.

“I…well, I wasn’t always a good person, at a school I went to, I was feared by my peers, mostly because I was bossy, mean, and all-round bitch to everyone. When I finally saw the error of my ways, I was able to claw my way back to a place where everyone didn’t cower in fear of me, but instead smiled and I would genuinely smile back at them. Seeing all these frightened faces, just reminds of me of those times. It kind of hurts a bit to have others see me like that,” said Sunset.

Surprisa’s poofy, curly, mane suddenly deflated as a frown appeared on her face. “Oh, I’m so sorry…nobody deserves to feel like that…”

The pink cat girl looked around and then spotted some musicians who had stopped to watch the procession. It was then that an idea crossed her mind, an idea that made her mane reflate back to its normal poofyness. Surprisa, in an amazing display of acrobatics, jumped out from the procession, flipped and spun in the air, and then landed a foot away from the musicians with perfect balance and grace.

“Hi, may I borrow this? Please and thank you!”

Surprisa grabbed one of the spare lutes and extended her claws. Carefully, she plucked at the strings, tweaking the tightness of the strings until the instrument began to play the right sound she needed.

Qura saw what her daughter was about to do and said, “Young lady don’t you dare–!”

“My name is Surprise, hello!” The cat girl appeared before Sunset. “And I am here to say, ‘How ya doin’?” She then moved to each of the varied members of their group and shook their hands fervently. “I’m gonna make you smile and I will brighten up your day~!”

She then moved back to Sunset, “It doesn't matter now, if you are sad or blue!” Surprise slung the lute across her chest and used her index fingers to push the corners of Sunset’s mouth up into a smile, “‘Cause cheering up my friends is just what Surprise’s here to do!”

“‘Cause I love to make you smile, smile, smile!

Yes, I do!

It fills my heart with sunshine all the while!

Yes, it does!

‘Cause all I really need’s a smile, smile, smile!

From these happy friends of mine~!”

Surprise took Sunset’s hand and the two of them poofed in a cloud of pink smoke. Only to reappear next to some Cait Sith children who were playing despite everything. Sunset watched as they kicked a ball around, performing some crazy moves that would give pro soccer players a run for their money. “I like to see you grin!” the Cait Sith children continued their game while, and seemingly, to the tune of Surprise’s song. “I love to see you beam!” The boys and girls then smiled and waved at Surprise and passed her the ball.

“The corners of your mouth turned up is always Surprise’s dream!”

Surprise kicked the ball around and passed it to Sunset, who quickly bounced it off her chest and headbutted it back to the kids who smiled and waved at her. But when she turned to the adults, Sunset was again met with the same suspicious looks.

“But if you're kind of worried,” Surprise wrapped her arms around Sunset, “and your face has made a frown.” She then poofed them into a water fountain where they both splashed down into the water. Sunset smirked and then began to splash the mischievous cat girl. “I’ll work real hard and do my best to turn that sad frown upside down~!”

“Is this really happening?” Spectra asked.

“It would seem so,” said Midnight.

“But she has the right idea,” said Emu.

“Agreed, Darling, and seems we’re not alone in that thinking.” Rori pointed to the guards and the people who were starting to have grins on their faces.

Surprise still dragging Sunset along, began to poof from rooftop to rooftop.

“‘Cause I love to make you grin, grin, grin!

Yes, I do!

Bust it out from ear to ear let it begin!

Just give me a joyful grin, grin, grin!

And you fill me with good cheer~!”

The two of them poofed underneath a large, shady oak tree which cast a large shadow beneath it. Oddly enough, Sunset was on the only one under the tree.

“It's true some days are dark and lonely…

And maybe you feel sad…”

Surprise walked from behind the tree and offered a hand to Sunset, gently pulling her towards the edge of the shadow and into the light. “But Surprise will be there to show you that it isn’t that bad!” Surprise and Sunset began walking down the street, and at this time, the Cait Sith who were showing fear and suspicion began to come out of hiding. Surprise turned around and, while walking backwards, gave a half-serious, half-joyful expression. “There’s one thing that makes me happy and makes my whole life worthwhile~! And that’s when I talk to my friends and get them to smile~!”

“I really am so happy!” Surprise revisited the group and appeared before Rori, Ambrosia, and Spectra, who couldn’t help but smile at the energetic and peppy girl. “Your smile fills me with glee!” She then approached Lightheart, Emu, and Midnight, who also smiled. “I give a smile I get a smile, and that's so special to me!”

“‘Cause I love to see you beam, beam, beam!

Yes, I do!

Tell me what more can I say, to make you see~?!

That I do!

It makes me happy when you beam, beam, beam!

Yes, it always makes my day~!”

By this time, most of the villagers, along with the guard procession and “prisoners” – much to Qura’s frustration – began to turn the procession into a parade as they marched and danced to the tune of her daughter’s singing.

“Come on everyone smile, smile, smile!

Fill my heart up with sunshine, sunshine!

All I really need’s a smile, smile, smile!

From these happy friends of mine~!”

Not just Surprise, but Sunset, Emu, Rori, Ambrosia, Spectra, Lightheart, Midnight, and even the villagers joined in.

“Come on everyone smile, smile, smile!

Fill my heart up with sunshine, sunshine!

All I really need’s a smile, smile, smile!

From these happy friends of mine~!

Yes, the perfect gift for me!

Is a smile as wide as a mile!

To make me happy as can be!

Smile, smile, smile, smile, smile!

Come on and smile!

Come on and smile!”

“UH-HUM!”

The crowd noticed that they had made it to the Chief’s residence, his fur was a dull golden-brown, with a light gray mane, and amber colored eyes. Flagging on either side of him were two other female Cait Sith. The one on his left was shorter, with a lithe form. She too sported a grayish-blue color to her fur, with her mane a very light shade of gray, almost white. Her face was contorted into a scowl as her lime-green eyes pierced through any who had the bad luck of catching her gaze. She wore brown leather armor that hugged her upper body, black shorts, and a leather combat skirt with a long sword attached.

To the Chief’s right was an older girl. Her stoic, emotionless expression made her an enigma. She too had gray fur, but a few shades darker than the Queen’s. Her mane was purple, and she had turquoise colored eyes. She didn’t wear armor, just a simple blue-green tunic, but slung over her back was a very large war hammer. The business end looked ridiculously heavy, and quite possibly needed the strength of a mountain troll to swing it.

“I see mine second born has caused yet another festive ruckus,” said the Chief.

The Queen walked up to stand beside her husband and nodded. “Indeed, our daughter has seen fit to throw a parade for a group of intruders.”

The disapproving tone did not go unnoticed by Sunset’s team, or Sunset herself. The fiery haired girl was about to speak up when Surprise placed a hand on her shoulder, and shook her head. The pink Cait Sith unslung the lute and presented it to one of the musicians who was following along. Surprise walked forward and knelt before her mother and father. “Sorry mother, father. Everyone was in such a dower state that I felt the day needed a little brightening up.”

“Such acts are best saved for festivals and special celebrations, not when escorting intruders through the streets of our home. What would have happened if one of them decided to use your ruckus to slip out and flee, free to do gods know what?” the Chief stated.

“Forgive me, father…”

The Chief shook his head as he sighed. “Well, seeing as how they all stayed together through all that, I suppose that is a good sign of character. Come, that you may explain yourselves, that includes you too, Surprisa.”

As they began their walk into the Chief’s palace, Sunset walked up beside Surprise and said, “Sorry.”

“It’s okay.”

***__________ x [+]E[+]__________***

It took a couple of hours, but they managed to explain their mission to the Chief of the Cait Sith. All while his family sat beside him, Qura, Surprise, and the oldest – possibly most plainly named character Sunset and Emu have met so far – Paula. To his left was the other daughter, known as Limia, and a fourth next to her. She was similar in features to Limia, but with their color palates switched, possibly twins, but she had pink colored eyes, and her long bangs covered her right eye. Her name was Milia.

“Hmm, so the rumors are true that Tirek is rising again,” said the Chief. “That certainly would explain why such a menagerie of races would ban together in a group. And you say you two are from an entirely different world?”

“Yes, sir. Although we don’t see this as being a world not worth saving, we hope to reach Heaven’s Fall and defeat Tirek,” said Emu.

Queen Qura glanced at Sunset and said, “You have fought him before young lady, and have beaten him?”

Sunset shook her head. “I wish I could say I have, but truly, he was betrayed by something worse than him, something that stole his powers, and nearly plunged my world into darkness and destruction. That was the entity I defeated. I did see Tirek murdered right in front of me, but it would seem his spirit and thirst for revenge was strong enough to bring him back from the brink.”

The girls still got chills from being reminded of that story, that Sunset fought something that killed Tirek, the dark overlord, and managed to come out victorious against such a monstrosity. It only made them admire their potential paramour even more.

“Dad – Father, maybe we should lend them a hand?” Surprise suggested.

“Come again?” The Chief asked.

“Welll…They’re odds of defeating Tirek can only go up. I mean, we have two humans, a harpy, an elf, a fairy, an Enchantress, and an Amazon! If there’s a team who has a chance of defeating him, it’s them!” Surprise stated.

“Why, because they’ll different races? That doesn’t mean they can win,” said Limia.

Surprise wagged her finger and clicked her tongue in disappointment. “Little Limi, you forget, it was The Pillars, six people, who defeated Tirek in the end.”

Limia stood up and glared at her sister. “Sealing and defeating are two very different things! Those old geezers practically threw him in a cell, and if there’s anything I know, is that you can only cage someone for long before they figure out how to get free! If he’s really rising again, we need armies, not just one little mishmash of a team!”

The Chief raised his hand to bid his youngest to sit back down. Limia gave a growl but did as she was told. “My daughter speaks with harsh words, but there is truth in them nonetheless. A small group alone is tasked with such a monumental undertaking, the armies of the different kingdoms, tribes, and races banded together to defeat him, and yet they were nearly wiped out of existence for it. As our tribe almost was.”

“You mean…you fought Tirek?” Spectra asked.

“Nay, it was my great-great grandfather who fought, many years ago. He led our people alongside the other races, and our tribe was nearly wiped out because of it, had we not found this valley, our tribe, our people, would have surely been wiped out. Which is why we don’t bother in the affairs of the outsiders, we are protected by these mountains. Very few entrances lead to valley, and those that do are heavily fortified with traps and guarded at all hours of the day and night.”

That confused the group.

“Your highness, we were lead through one of those cave entrances, and we didn’t have any traps befall us,” said Rori.

“Yes, they can only be deactivated by someone of high rank, which in this case would be Surprisa. She disabled the traps when you entered,” said the Chief.

“You did remember to reactivate them, right?” Limia asked.

Surprise crossed her arms, puffed out her cheeks, and wagged her tail back and forth in agitation. “Of course, I did I’m not dumb you know!”

“Hey, you said it, I didn’t.”

“What?!”

An earth-shaking thud befell the room, earning silence, and had the Sunset and her team standing on their feet and ready for battle. They saw that none of the guards were moving, or looked concerned in the slightest. Turning their attention to the family in front of them, they saw that their eyes were drawn to Paula, more specifically, her tail. Her gray tail had slammed into the floor, splintering the wood. She raised it up slowly and brought it back to a resting position. Paula shifted her gaze between her sisters and said flatly, “No fighting you two.”

Surprise and Limia immediately faced forward, but with worried look in their eyes.

The Chief waved his hand in calming fashion. “At ease, tis only my eldest. She was blessed with incredible strength, as you can see.” Once they had reseated themselves, the Chief went on. “For now, you can rest for the day here in the village, but tomorrow you must leave. I’ll have Surprise take you through a path that will get you around the mountains and to the other side without facing the blizzard. Is that acceptable?”

The group bowed respectably to the Chief and Queen.

“Thank you,” said Emu and Sunset together.

***__________ x [+]E[+]__________***

Sunset laid on the bed of her guest room, there was a guard posted outside her door, along with everyone else who were given separate rooms. Despite being offered their hospitality, the Chief and Queen were still suspicious of them. And who could blame them, they had essentially invited strangers to stay in their house. Sunset still felt anxious about the whole thing, she wanted to get to Heaven’s Fall as quickly as possible and defeat Tirek, but she also knew that Emu and herself were not at full power. They had lost all their Gaia Memories and Gashats, only recently having gotten back a good number of them.

Cyclone, Fang, and Unicorn. Mighty Action X, Mighty Brothers XX, and now Drago Knight Hunter Z. Steadily we’re getting them all back, and hopefully we’ll get them all back before we have to face Tirek. But let’s see, that just leaves Metal, Joker, Queen, and Shining for me. For Emu he said, Gekitotsu Robots, Shakariki Sports, Maximum Mighty X, and Hyper Muteki. Getting all of them back would be preferable, but if Emu and I can get our Shining and Muteki items, we can stand a better chance against Tirek…Yet somehow, I don’t feel it’ll be that easy.

“What’cha thinkin’ ‘bout?”

“Mostly how we’re going to beat Tirek, but honestly I’m just as worried about the – GAH WHAT THE HELL – UMPH!” Sunset yelled before having her mouth covered.

Surprise had, somehow, entered her room without Sunset noticing, and was now straddling her with a hand over her mouth as her eyes darted back and forth to make sure no one heard Sunset. “Sorry, I was wondering if we could talk?” Surprise watched as Sunset’s body went lax and her brow furrowed. “You kinda look like you want to stab me for scaring you, or throttle me.” Sunset rolled her eyes. “Okay…um…you can have one free shot, as an apology.”

The pink cat girl got off Sunset, sat on the bed and prepared for her punishment, screwing her eyes shut in anticipation. Yet, nothing happened, after waiting several seconds, Surprise opened her eyes and watched Sunset sit up in and give Surprise an annoyed look.

“Aren’t you going to…do anything?” Surprise asked.

“Okay, I will.” Sunset raised her right hand, and Surprise shut her eyes again. The former unicorn then made a fist and brought her hand down, and lightly bonked Surprise on the head. “Bad cat girl, no giving people a heart attack.”

Surprise lightly rubbed the spot where Sunset bonked her, but was surprised by the reaction. “You…You aren’t mad?”

“A little, mostly annoyed, but not enough to not forgive you. I know you didn’t mean to freak me the hell out, that’s just how you randomly appear, and you mean well either way so once the initial shock wears off, it’s all good,” said Sunset.

Surprise blinked, usually when she did that, most people would be chasing or cussing her out for scaring them like that. But, this girl, she did freak out, but she didn’t get mad at her, in fact, she was just fine. “Wow, you’re the first person who didn’t hate me after doing that.”

“Yeah, might want to work on that bad habit. But seriously, what’d you want to talk about?”

Surprise brought her knees up to her chin as she asked, “What’s it like out there?”

Sunset gave the cat girl a curious look. “What do mean? Like in my world, or outside this valley?”

“Well more the second, and maybe the first after,” said Surprise.

“Huh, it’s pretty nice, in some ways it reminds me a lot of my old land where I used to live before, and at the same time, in some ways, like the world I’m currently living in now. But so far, it’s been nice, I don’t want to ruin anything, but we have met some nice people, and some not so nice people. All and all it’s pretty amazing,” said Sunset.

Surprise wagged her tail back and forth as she smiled at hearing some of the stories that Sunset told her about their adventures, and some from her own world – albeit in some altered detail as her world was more technical. “Wow, I wish I could see it all…”

“Why can’t you?” Sunset asked.

“We’re not allowed to leave the valley…It’s to protect us from outsiders. We were almost wiped out, and our tribe has finally begun to replenish the numbers we lost during the first great war with Tirek,” said Surprise. “We haven’t even spoken to our other sister tribes in ages! That’s a whole lot of cousins and nieces and nephews, uncles and aunts, I haven’t met yet!”

Sunset patted Surprise on the head. “But you’re afraid your father won’t approve of going out?”

“Kinda…” Surprise began to giggle. “You’re nothing like what Daddy said.”

“What do you mean?” Sunset asked.

“Mother and Father always told us that since we’re demi-humans, we’d be looked down on. Hunted, attacked, even caged, and that all humans would dislike us the moment they saw us.” Surprise turned to Sunset. “But you and that guy aren’t like that, you travel with different types of races, and you didn’t even try to attack after I – accidentally – scared you earlier. You’re the complete opposite of what he told us!”

Sunset frowned a little. “There are good people like me, but there are bad people too. Spectra was captured and almost sold off to someone before I freed her. I’ve never really tolerated that kind of prejudice, one way or the other. Guess it’s a good thing you met me, I wouldn’t want just one bad human to mess up your entire perception.” Technically I’m not a human either, but that’s getting a bit too technical.

“I am too!” Surprise lunged at Sunset, hugging her midsection and nuzzling her cheek against it. “You have a nice scent; can I stay in here tonight? Please?”

Sunset was reluctant to say yes, the last thing she needed was the cat girl-rized version of Pinkie Pie snuggling up with her while she slept. But then she looked into those big, pleading, blue eyes and any resolve Sunset had evaporated. “Fine, but just make sure that you’re out before your parents or those guards see you. The last thing we need is a misunderstanding.”

“Okey dokey!”

***__________ x [+]E[+]__________***

The sun rose over the valley, bathing everything in its warm glow. The birds sang their little songs, while the Cait Sith people began their day as they walked about the village. The rays of the sun poured through the open window of Sunset’s room, making the mare turned human groan in annoyance. She was aware of a pleasing warmth wrapped around her, which only added to the annoyance of the sun waking her up, as Sunset wanted to continue enjoying this warmth and rest. But slowly she began to open her eyes and then blushed.

Somehow, Surprise had snuggled up to her to the point that her tunic was pushed up enough to expose her midriff, she could feel the smooth fur of the cat girl against her belly, and not only that, Sunset was aware of something else, Surprise’s tail had for some reason coiled around her left leg like a snake. Sunset made a slight movement, and the result was Surprise snuggling up higher, coming close to pushing her tunic a little higher than she was comfortable with. This was definitely not going to look good if someone popped in, which, Sunset knowing her luck, would happen in 3, 2, 1…

The door opened and in stepped the eldest of the chief’s daughters, Paula. Sunset’s face only became redder as her eyes darted from Surprise still snuggled up against her, and the very stoic, and intimidating Paula.

“I…I-I can explain,” Sunset uttered in trembling voice.

Paula looked down at her little sister and then back to Sunset. “She likes you, you know.”

“Huh?”

“Surprise likes you, because you’re different.” Paula closed the door behind her. “I am too. I’m sure you’ve noticed, but I don’t really express myself the same way as my younger sisters do. I’m not shy, I’m not aggressive, and not very hyper like her. I still love them, and my parents. But out of the four us, Surprise and I are the odd ones out.”

“Oh…okay,” said Sunset in a cautious tone.

“I think she should go with you and your group. She has a gift to make others smile and be happy. A gift like that doesn’t need to be kept hidden in a valley.”

Sunset gave Paula a curious look. “But…We’ll be heading to someplace dangerous, you know where we’re going.”

“And Surprise isn’t helpless. My sisters and I have trained for battle, and Surprise can get as strong as me when she’s fighting for something she believes in, or someone.” At this Paula shifted her gaze to Sunset directly. “Would that be okay with you?”

Despite Paula’s deadpan expression, and monotone voice, Sunset could sense genuine love and concern coming from the elder sister. Sunset looked back down at the still sleeping Surprise. “I –”

There was a low rumbling sound that caught their attention. Paula looked out the window and then back at Sunset. “You should see this.”

Sunset managed to wiggle her way out of Surprise’s grasp, much to her disappointment as she tried to grasp onto to something to fill her empty arms. The fiery haired girl walked to the window, and her eyes immediately bulged. In the distance, there was a large plume of snow and ice, and from the plume, a giant creature walked out of it. The creature was humanoid in form, it’s skin was pale as the snow, with blue icicles jutting out of his shoulders and forearms. The monster’s claws were tipped with ice, and sharpened to a razor’s edge, and upon its brow it had a crown made of solid ice. The creature’s blue eyes shined from the light cast by the sun, and its breath formed fog with every exhale.

“What the hell, it’s a monster!” Sunset exclaimed.

“Yeah, it definitely is one. A Frost Giant to be more exact,” said Paula in the same monotone.

Sunset looked at the elder sister and deadpanned herself. You definitely remind me of a certain someone back home.

***__________ x [+]E[+]__________***

Sunset and her team raced towards the Frost Giant, Paula and Surprise were sent to assist them in combatting the monster, while the Chief, Queen, and their youngest daughters assisted with moving the tribe to shelters.

Spectra flew low and asked, “So what’s the plan?”

“Take out the Frost Giant!” Sunset stated.

“Okay – and I’m not saying we can’t – what happens if that doesn’t become a viable option?” Rori asked.

“Surprise-chan will send a signal to have the tribe evacuate, while we buy them time,” said Emu. “Parado, what to do you got?!”

The specter familiar appeared next to Emu and said, “He’s called ‘Heimgran, The Blizzard of Entropy’. This one’srocking five HP bars, he’s also got a strong, passive defensive buff, so we’ll have to attack hard and heavy to chip away at that!”

“Midnight, the usual buffing spells with some cold resistance added in!” Sunset ordered.

Midnight concentrated and immediately cast the spells, placing protective wards, and charms to increase their attacking power.

“Lightheart, you’re on defense and healing, don’t get too close to that thing or the cold might kill you! Rori, assist Midnight with long range attacks! Spectra you’re on support, if you see an opening, hit it, and call out if you see one of us in trouble! Ambrosia, Emu, we’re on offense, direct attacks, but watch yourselves!”

“What about us?” Surprise asked as she ran alongside Sunset.

“Oh right, Paula you’re on the front line with us, Surprise…I don’t know exactly what your skills are, so I’ll leave it you when you decide to attack, just coordinate with us if you’re planning on doing something big and flashy,” said Sunset.

“OK!” Surprise acknowledged.

“Understood,” said Paula.

Rori and Midnight picked a safe position to attack from and immediately attacked. Midnight fired several flames spells at the Frost Giant, while Rori summoned Fire Rubies, once launched, turned into burning arrows of flaming plasma. Multiple explosions hit the Frost Giant’s body, causing it to stop and take a step back as the bombardment continued. His HP bar was going down, but it was slow going as his defensive buff was nullifying some of the damage.

Emu used his super jumping abilities to launch himself upwards at the monster. His hammer flared up as he swung and struck the Giant in the midsection, causing it to stumble back a bit. Sunset set her sword ablaze, and Ambrosia’s spear tip lit on fire. Both warrior women headed straight for the giant’s legs. Sunset slashed at his right leg, digging her blade into his hide and dragging it along as she continued to dash forward, and as she did a series of explosions was left in her wake. Ambrosia pierced the left leg with one strike, but as soon as she did, the spear released a burst of fiery energy that drilled through all the way to the back of the leg and exploded.

Spectra flew in as she called upon another unique harpy magic skill. Her wings caught fire, but the wings themselves were not ablaze, it as her magical energy that created a layer of flames over her wings. Spectra dove down towards the Frost Giant’s head and struck him right between the eyes with a flaming X. That final attack managed to topple Heimgran as he hit the ground with a thunderous BOOM. At that same time, his first HP bar dropped to zero and shattered.

“One down,” said Sunset.

“Four to go,” Emu finished.

Heimgran raised his right fist and slammed it into the ground, causing a wave of frost laced wind to whip up and buffet the team. The Frost Giant managed to get back up, his ice crown began to glow.

“BRACE YOURSELVES,AOE ATTACK!” Parado warned.

“A what?!” Ambrosia asked.

“AREA OF EFFECT! It’ll hit everything!” Emu clarified.

Sunset, Emu, and Ambrosia took up defensive stances. Rori and Midnight used their combined magics to create a defensive shield and used their bodies as extra protection for Lightheart. Spectra flew higher to get out of range, while, strangely, the cat sisters were nowhere to be found. Heimgran reared back and gave a mighty roar as a blizzard raged forth, sending shards of ice flying at the same time. Those on the front line were continuously pelted with the shards that chipped away at their HP, but what was really concerning was how the ice was quickly forming around their bodies.

The dual barrier set up by Rori and Midnight managed to keep the freezing effect from hitting them, but some of the shards managed to pierce through and damage them, luckily, Lightheart was spared thanks to her friends. Spectra’s altitude managed to keep her safe from the attack, watching as the blizzard continued for a couple hundred yards before stopping. When the attack ended, Sunset, Ambrosia, and Emu were completely covered in and immobilized.

“They’re sitting ducks!” Midnight exclaimed.

“I-I think I can get them out, but I need time,” said Lightheart.

“Leave that to us!” Surprise and Paula appeared from nowhere, literally. It was if Surprise had peeled away part of the world and revealed them. “Can you give us backup?!”

Rori and Paula nodded.

Spectra flew down and said, “I go your back!”

“Okay, big sis, let’s show ‘em how we party!”

“Yeah,” said Paula in her flat tone.

The Frost Giant pulled at two of the icicles in his forearms, snapping them off. The damaged ones grew back, but the ones in his hands began to grow into ice longswords. Surprise, using her amazing agility, jumped high into the air. She reached both hands into her long curly mane and pulled out…bombs. They were pink, with a small fuse, and had smiling kitty faces painted on them. Surprise inhaled and blew out a small spark of fire, lighting the fuses. She then hurled both bombs right at Heimgran, the Frost Giant paid them no mind, small weapons like that wouldn’t so much as–

*KA-BOOM!*

Two large, and powerful, explosions went off before the giant. The monster stumbled back again as the heat and force of the multicolored explosives nearly knocked him back, the colors disoriented him for a moment, but a moment was all that was needed.

Paula jumped up as well and landed with both feet against Heimgran’s stomach, hitting him with enough force to make the monster release a gasp. She used his abdomen as a springboard to propel herself upwards so that she was level with his face. Paula made a strange hand sign with her left hand, and immediately the war hammer shaft lengthened, and the business end enlarged until it was the size of a boulder.

“Weapon Arts: Boulder Break.”

Paula held onto the hammer and swung it at great speed. The bludgeoned end smacked the Frost Giant in the right side of his face, sending him toppling to the left as he fell again, but this time he gained some air time before falling back down. Heimgran’s second HP bar was dropped to half now; the giant roared in anger as he prepared to fire another AOE attack. But Surprise wasn’t having it.

“Combat Art: Spiking Ball!” She made a few hand signs and in puff of smoke transformed into her large fur ball form, but this time it was different. The fine curly hairs had weaved themselves into spikes that went all around the ball. “Paula, catapult!”

Paula recast her technique, making her hammer enlarge again. Surprise landed on the flat of the hammer, and in the next second, Paula swung her mighty hammer, launching her sister at great speeds. The spiked fur ball spun in the air, faster and faster, and faster still as it reached Heimgran. The Frost Giant barely managed to dodge the blow, but readied to unleash his attack again. However, Surprise released a burst of magical energy that changed her direction, throwing her back towards Heimgran.

The giant found himself getting hit in the back of the head, creating a thunderous shockwave that made his eyes widened with pain and shock. Another burst of mana made the spiked fur ball fly and around strike him upwards in the chin. A second burst brought Surprise to his left cheek, striking it full on, and third had her striking his right cheek. Surprise continued her assault, becoming a spiked pinball of pain as she knocked out block after block of the Frost Giant’s HP bar.

One last strike to the giant’s chest, had him hurled to the mountainside, leaving a body sized impression in the rock. The additional environmental damage broke his second HP bar, and took out half of this third bar.

Surprise landed back on the ground and rushed back to her big sister and to their frozen allies. Lightheart was already working her magic to free them from their frozen prison, but so far only a few cracks had appeared on the ice. “I’m keeping them alive, but doing that and cracking the ice is making it hard to do both!”
The pink cat girl slapped her palms together, she rubbed them up and down and breathed onto them. Immediately her hands caught fire; moving towards them she placed those flaming palms on Ambrosia’s prison, in seconds the ice cracked and hissed with steam, and in the next moment broke apart, allowing Ambrosia to move about freely again.

“Whoa, that was…Thanks,” said Ambrosia.

Surprise smiled and nodded as she moved to Emu, releasing him from his prison. The next was Sunset, the fiery redhead shook her body, working out the kinks from having been stuck in that position for so long.

“Thanks Surprise, Lightheart,” said Sunset.

Surprise straight out hugged Sunset tight, earning a light “Eep!” from Lightheart, and bit of a jealous look from the fairy as well.

A low rumble began to shake the ground, along with a strange bellowing sound.

“LOOK OUT!!!” Spectra shouted to the team from up high.

Sunset looked to her right and her eyes went wide as she shouted, “GET BACK!!!”

Surprise felt the human throw her into the general direction of the rest of their team, just in time to miss getting hit by a large boulder that flew and struck their general vicinity. Dirt and rock got thrown up into the air, making it hard to see anything. Surprise wiped her eyes of the dirt, looking around to see who was still there. Spectra had flown down to see to the rest of her friends, Lightheart had been protected by Emu, and Ambrosia was frantically searching. Paula was safe as well, but where was…

The cat girl’s eyes widened as she saw Sunset down on the ground. Emu and Parado saw their teammate down, and her HP bar was put into the red zone. The Kamen Rider doctor and Lightheart rushed to her side and immediately administered their healing spells.

She…She protected me…She…She got hurt so that I wouldn’t…

Paula watched as the Frost Giant began stomping towards them, but at the same time, her eyes were drawn to her sister as her tail began to rise, and as her fur stood on end. “Surprise…?”

Surprise glared at the Frost Giant as she made a hand sign that Paula did not recognize. “Secret Arts: Byakko-Oh!”

The pink cat jumped into the air and as she did flames lapped off her body. The flames grew bigger and bigger, and soon began to take shape. Soon the flames took the form of a giant, flaming, saber-toothed tiger. The beast’s yellow eyes shined as it released a powerful roar, challenging the Frost Giant. The fire beast lunged at the giant, causing both of them to tumble about the ground. The fire tiger opened its maw and bit down on the creature’s left arm, shattering the ice spikes and digging its saber teeth into its body. Heimgran roared in pain as the tiger cut through his arm, ripping it off like a hot knife through butter. The giant did not bleed, rather the severed limb seemed to be made of rock, but the severed limb was growing back, however, Surprise would not let him get off that easily.

Meanwhile, Sunset was coming around after a double dose of healing magic from Emu and Lightheart. “Oh…what hit me?”

“About five tons of granite,” said Parado.

Sunset looked back and watched as the fire saber-toothed tiger kept pressing its attack against Heimgran. “What the hell is that?!”

“It’s Surprise. She’s using a technique I haven’t seen before, it must be an original one she made,” said Paula.

“But this is good, right?” Spectra asked. “She’s wailing on that giant, at this rate she’ll win!”

“Not exactly, Darling,” said Rori as she and Midnight approached.

“Surprise is burning through her mana extremely fast, that form may have a lot of power, but it takes just as much to keep it going, she’ll run out soon and then…”

She’ll be a sitting duck, thought Sunset.

The third HP bar shattered, and Surprise was already working on the fourth, getting it down to less than half. The fire beast construct raised its right paw to deliver a powerful blow to the giant, but at the last second, the flames died out. Surprise fell, her body weak from using the technique. Thankfully, Spectra flew in just in time to catch the Cait Sith before she could hit the ground, flying her over back to the group and dropping her off in the arms of her big sister.

“I…I almost had him…” Surprise stated.

Sunset walked over to Surprise and patted her on the head. “Hey, you did good, don’t worry about it, we’ll take it from here.”

Emu walked up to Sunset and said, “We have to do a Limit Break and transform, he’s weak, we could beat him.”

“His defense is still too strong, we need something stronger to – did you feel that?”

There was another rumbling sound, and not from the Frost Giant who was now standing still. The sound of snapping trees echoed in the valley, making everyone look about for the source. It was Heimgran who noticed the cause of the disturbance, as it was originating from the spot where he first emerged. Spectra flew up to see what it was the giant was looking at, and she couldn’t understand it.

“Uh, guys, there’s this red and white metal looking thing heading this way, and another, gray, shiny giant right beside it!”

Indeed, something was approaching them. The first was a humanoid being, it’s body was made of shiny metal, with bracers, greaves, and a helmet. It’s eyes of yellow shined as it ran, mowing down the trees. The second was a red robot, it had three pronged pincers for both hands, and a black visor with two white dots for eyes.

“Wait, that sounds like…!” Emu began.

“Gekitotsu Robots!”
“GekitotsuRobots!”

Sure enough the robot flew in and struck Heimgran in the face, followed up by the metal giant who did a flying kick right into its gut, creating cracks as the Frost Giant skidded backwards. The metal giant and robot stopped once they approached the group, with the other fantasy beings on edge from seeing them.

Sunset didn’t need to guess which one this was, “Let’s go, Emu!”

“LIMIT BREAK!”
“LIMIT BREAK!”

The Uni-Driver and Gamer Driver appeared around their waists, and at the same time, the two giants transformed, changing into light energy and flew to their respective owners. In Sunset’s hands, the metal giant transformed into the Metal Gaia Memory, and in Emu’s hands, the robot turned into the Gekitotsu Robots Gashat.

< UNICORN! >

< METAL! >

[+] MIGHTY ACTION X! [+]

[+] GEKITOTSU ROBOTS! [+]

Sunset inserted her Gaia Memories into the belt, and Emu inserted his Gashats into his belt.

UNICORN! <

{< METAL! MIMETIC DRIVE! >}

| GACHAN! LEVEL UP! MIGHTY JUMP! MIGHTY KICK! MIGHTY MIGHTY ACTION X!A GACHA! BUTTOBASE! TOTSUGEKI! GEKITOTSU PUNCH! GEKITOTSU ROBOTS! |

A pillar of turquoise and silver light shot up into the sky, and beside it was a pillar of red and neon magenta light. Both pillars faded away and revealed Kamen Rider Unicorn in her Iron Heart form, the armor she wore as Unicorn Fantasy Knight was now heavy metal, with large pauldrons, bracers, and greaves, and colored silver and turquoise. Kamen Rider Ex-Aid had transformed into his Robot Action Gamer form, with the robot having formed over the top half of his body.

“Let’s go, Sun-chan,” said Ex-Aid.

Heimgran formed his ice swords again and came down with both of them. But before they could make impact they were blocked, Ex-Aid using his Gekitotsu Smasher arm, while Unicorn used her Metal Ring. Both Riders dug their heels into the ground as they pushed back against the strength of the Frost Giant, grunting and growling as they took one step forward, and then another. With their second third step they pushed the weapons up and then struck the ice weapons. The Smasher and Metal Ring shattered the ice weapons in one blow, and with that, Unicorn followed up by throwing the Metal Ring. The Ring ricocheting off the ground and trees and hitting the giant at all angles. With one final Ring strike, the fourth HP bar finally broke.

“Ready, Sun-chan?!” Ex-Aid asked.

“Always!” Unicorn replied.

} METAL! MAXIMUM DRIVE! {<

}!!!{ GEKITOTSU CRITICAL STRIKE! }!!!{

Unicorn jumped into the air, the Metal Ring in her hand glowed silver and began to transform. The ring broke apart to lengthen, transforming into a long spear. Unicorn held the spear aloft and cocked back her right arm as she shouted, “Iron Spear!”

She hurled the spear, the speed of the weapon doubled as it shined and left sparkling silver particles in its wake. The spear tip then blossomed into dozens of spear tips, each one branching off and angling themselves to point directly at their target. The spear struck the center of Heimgran’s chest, pushing him back as he dug his heels into the earth. His HP bar began to steadily drain as the spear acted like a rocket, trying to drive itself all the way through.

As Unicorn descended, Ex-Aid jumped up. Unicorn placed her hands into a volleyball players position to bounce a ball back. Once Ex-Aid was close, he placed his right foot onto of her hands, and Unicorn pushed upwards, giving Ex-Aid some extra propulsion into the air. Once in range, Ex-Aid aimed his Gekitotsu Smasher arm and fired it. The rocket fist sailed as neon colored game energy wrapped around the robot fist. The fist continued until it struck the butt of Unicorn’s spear. The combined thrust, momentum, and energy pierced through Heimgran’s chest, going all the way through until a gaping hole was left in his chest.

The Gekitotsu Smasher flew back and docked with Ex-Aid’s left arm, while the spear returned to ring form and bounced around until it reached Unicorn, who caught it midflight. The Frost Giant looked at its body and then shattered into pieces as its last HP bar dropped to zero.

The two Riders walked proudly towards their allies, with all them staring in awe at their latest feat of power and heroism. For Surprise, this was the first time, and she couldn’t believe how strong that girl was.

***__________ x [+]E[+]__________***

Luckily the Frost Giant didn’t make it to the village, so they were spared any damage to their homes. The real problem though, was the fact that the Frost Giant found the valley where the tribe was hidden. Scouts had determined, after following its trail, that the giant had been going through the mountain range in a straight line towards their valley.

“This thing knew where we were,” said the Chief.

“The giant must’ve been a minion of Tirek, looks like he’s trying to quash any semblance of a resistance against him,” said one of the generals.

“We have to strike back,” said another general.

“Are you mad?! We need to secure that gaping hole in the valley!”

“We should leave the valley altogether, why stay in a place where our enemy knows it can strike us?!”

“And go where?! Leaving is not that simple!”

“We…We could ask our sister tribes,” said a feminine voice.

The generals looked to Surprise.

The pink Cait Sith wagged her tail nervously, but her elder sister, Paula, placed a hand on her shoulder to calm Surprise. After taking a deep breath, Surprise said, “We’ve been isolated for a long time, but after today, it shows that we can’t live like this, not if we want to continue living and surviving. I…I think it’s time we venture out of the valley and reconnect with our sister tribes! If Tirek is targeting us, then he’s probably targeting them, too! It only makes sense to band together!”

The older Cait Sith generals glanced to their colleagues, and then to the chief. There was truth in her words, but their isolation may have made their relationship with the other tribes estranged, and not likely to offer aid or create an alliance with them.

The Chief asked, “What do you propose we do then?”

“We…” Surprise began.

“We go to the tribes, send envoys,” said Paula.

“Right, and I’ll go–!”

“No, you won’t.” Paula stated. “You need to go with the newcomers.”

“Daughter, explain yourself,” said the Chief.

“Surprise can do more good by aiding that lot in battling Tirek directly. I can go in her stead to plead our case to the different tribes.”

One of the generals stood up and said, “Preposterous! How can one group of such varying races hope to defeat the Dark Lord himself?!”

“Just two members of that ‘preposterous group’ finished the Frost Giant. And according to Surprise, both have faced beings just as or even more powerful than Tirek himself. Our best odds lie with them, and with Surprises skills to aid them, they stand a better chance.”

Surprise looked to her sister with a smile, she knew what she was doing. It wasn’t a lie, she had skills that could help them, but she was also pushing to get the second oldest out of the valley and to see the world itself, and in the same breath save it.

“Oh, hell, if she’s going to go play hero, then I guess I gotta step up,” said Limia. “I’ll go and be an envoy to the Lynx Tribe, they’re rowdy.”
The youngest, Milia, said in a quiet voice, “Um…I-I’ll go to the Pantera Tribe, they’re supposed to be quite reasonable and intelligent.”

“And I’ll go to the Tiger Tribe, I heard their stubborn, so I may need to…persuade them,” said Paula.
Surprise was nearly about to cry, her sisters were stepping up to help their tribe, and at the same time, help her in fulfilling her dream. Queen Qura and the Chief looked to each other and nodded their heads.

“Very well, you three shall began negotiations with our sister tribes, Surprise, you shall aid the strangers in their mission to defeat Tirek himself, I pray for your victory,” said Queen Qura with a smile.

Surprise bowed before her parents and said, “I won’t let you down!”

***__________ x [+]E[+]__________***

The team was led through a long tunnel, finally emerging from it to a grassy flat land, behind them stood the mighty mountains that they had traveled through, the very mountains that housed the Cait Sith. Surprise looked down the long tunnel with a bit of forlornness, Sunset walked up to Surprise and asked, “Are you sure you want to go?”

“My sisters are stepping up so that I can have my dream. Going back now would just be an insult to them, besides, it’s not forever, I’ll see them again!” Surprise stated with a smile.

Sunset smiled back and patted her on the head. “There you go, you’re cuter when you smile, Surprise.”

Surprise giggled, she then threw her arms around Sunset and gave her right cheek a lick. “You smell good, and taste good, too.”
Sunset blushed, but so did the rest of the girls who had their mouths hanging open. She then heard another pinging sound and Sunset groaned.

Great, now I have the whole set…yay…

Level 10: The Day of the Demon

Morning arrived in Canterlot City, but the city was still plagued with the unknown of the Tirek Virus. Many patients from the different hospitals were responding well to the Gamedeus vaccine, it slowed the progression of the virus considerably, but the virus was still there, however none of them were well enough to be moved and had to remain in the hospital should the virus take a turn for the worse.

The CR team was beginning their day, with the doctors making their rounds of the different patients to check on their condition. The first people they checked on were the younger siblings of the Rainbooms, who were also the first to have the vaccine administered, from there they could monitor them and have a timetable as to how long the vaccine would remain active.

Twilight had made her way to their workroom, where Dan Kuroto and Starlight Glimmer (of Earth) were already hard at work. Twilight made her way to her workstation and checked in on the progress of Sunset and Emu, according to their time table, almost three months had passed in the game world since they were thrown into it, and on their side, it had only been twenty-four hours. Twilight could only imagine how jarring the time difference was there, no doubt Sunset Shimmer was worrying that they were running out of time, compared to them, Emu and Sunset had all the time in the world.

If only we could transfer that time to the people here, thought Twilight.

“Sparkle-san, how’s that patch you and that bespectacled boy made holding?” Kuroto asked.

Twilight raised an eyebrow at that. “You know he has a name, it’s Microchips.”

“God only recognizes those who have talent, and you have talent! The other is a pretender,” Kuroto replied.

Twilight rolled her eyes, she didn’t quite believe the other doctors and Poppy when they said Kuroto was a villain in their world. Sure, he had a literal god complex, and seemed to snub everyone he believed beneath him, but then again that could account for – pre-Friendship Games incident – 99.9% of the student body at Crystal Prep. But after working with him and paying attention to his mannerisms, and hearing his history, it wasn’t hard to see. And Twilight wasn’t so sure that she liked the fact that he “recognized her talent”.

The violet haired girl brought up her programs that were monitoring the patch, taking a sip of her coffee as she did so. Unfortunately, the coffee never made it down her throat as she immediately spat it out the moment she saw the patch status.

“WHAT THE WHAT?!” Twilight exclaimed.

Starlight and Kuroto turned around in their seats asking, “What’s wrong?!”

“The patch integrity has diminished! It’s got a hole in it!”

Twilight brought up the view from cyberspace and showed that the patch that they had created did indeed have a breach. The genius girl quickly typed at her keyboard, working on repairing the patch.

“How long has it been like that?!” Starlight asked.

“It was fine the last time I checked on it! I even have my phone linked to the program to alert me if anything breached the patch!” Twilight took out said cellphone and checked her alerts, and to her surprise, there were no such alerts of a breach. “How is this possible?!”

Kuroto slammed is hand against the desk and said, “Focus, Sparkle-san, how long was it down?!”

Twilight put away the device and went back to the program, after sifting through the data, Twilight’s eyes widened with fear. “It…It’s been open for four hours…”

Kuroto growled and Starlight gritted her teeth.

“I’m going to alert the others, you do the same Glimmer-san! Sparkle-san, plug that hole back up before something else passes through!” Kuroto ordered.

Immediately after giving that order, his body broke down into light particles that zoomed off into the distance. Starlight ran out of the room and headed towards the rooms where the CR members were currently meeting. Twilight furiously went to work, re-patching the patch that had been broken.

Suddenly, Microchips ran into the room, looking panicked. “What’s going on?! Starlight – well, older Starlight – was running with this look on her face!”

“Good you’re here, I need you on your station, the patch was breached last night and has been for the last four hours! We have to close it back up, there could be another attack coming and the last thing we need is to have them bring in reinforcements!” Twilight stated.

“Oh hexadecimals, I-I’m on it,” said Microchips as he hurried to his computer and began typing away.

Sunset, I know you’re moving as fast as you can, but I hope you’re reaching your destination soon!

***_____________ x [+]E[+]_____________***

The Team had made up a lot of ground in a short period of time, well, short for a game anyway. After leaving the mountains and gaining a new alley, the team was defeating monsters left and right. Along the way they were seeing signs of Tirek’s rise. Allies to the Dark Lord were setting up camps, raiding villages and large towns, and overall seizing land for their advancement. Of course, Sunset and Emu weren’t letting this go.

With each town they entered, the group liberated it. They were a force to be reckoned with, such a diverse group, with abilities and magical skills unique to their own race, it was hard for their opponents to come up effective countermeasures. Not to mention the fierce leadership of Sunset and Emu, along with their Kamen Rider powers, were able make such victories all the easier.

Each battle brought with it experience, and with that EXP points. Sunset kept a constant watch on her menu to see each of their level ups, and with all the battles they had been through thus far, they had reached level seventy, and were only getting stronger. She figured by the time they reached Heaven’s Fall, they’d be at level one-hundred. While the highest level they could go, Sunset and Emu didn’t think for a second that that would constitute them being stronger than Tirek. If they couldn’t find their stronger items, they wouldn’t stand much of a chance.

But on a lighter, and somewhat awkward note. The girls’ affection for Sunset hadn’t diminished in the slightest. It was getting increasingly embarrassing, and Sunset was starting to feel as if she was placed into the middle of one of those harem anime’s that Rainbow Dash liked to watch. How you ask?

Take a few nights ago for example.

The team had camped out near a natural hot spring, so naturally, they decided to take a dip to relax their bodies after a tiring battle. Emu had graciously offered to wait at camp while the girls had their time in. At this time, Sunset felt it less awkward to be in a pool with a naked Emu, than to be surrounded by six different girls who were either not subtle in the way they were ogling her body, or trying to be subtle and just plain failing at it. While Sunset wasn’t a shy girl, nudity never fazed her since she was a pony and ponies didn’t wear clothes. However, when you were the object of affection for six different people, and you were all bathing in the same place, it was making Sunset feel embarrassed enough to sink into the water leaving only her head exposed.

And let’s not even start with how she had to avert her eyes from the others’ bodies, especially Midnight. There proportions have to be exaggerated, there’s no way any of them are this…well…LIKE THAT! If this is an actual option in the game, I will bury Microchips in a construction site, and pour cement on top of him!

Then there was the incident a few days later, where Sunset, Surprise, and Spectra had gotten cut off from the team, and it was a particularly chilly night. Despite the fire they had set, Sunset was not getting as warm as she was hoping. So, when it came time to sleep, Sunset found herself in-between a bird and cat sandwich when she awoke to a blissful, comforting warmth. Apparently, in an effort to keep their love interest from getting sick from the cold, Surprise had cuddled on Sunset’s left, while Spectra had released her wings and draped them over Sunset as she cuddled on Sunset’s right. It was cute and considerate of them to do so, but, the fact that her arms were wedged between their chests just killed the mood.

Soon the team reached the town of Glosven, a town that had seen many sightings of this “Black Rider”. The girls were currently milling about, while Sunset and Emu were sitting at an outdoor restaurant. Emu was growing a bit concerned as Sunset looked tired, her head resting on the table.

“Um, Sun-chan, are you alright?” Emu asked.

“No, no I am not fine. I assume you have anime in your world?” Sunset asked.

“Of course, I’m from Japan, it’s birthplace.”

Sunset facepalmed herself. “Right, duh. So, you’ll know what I mean when I say my life is like a harem anime right now!” Sunset’s head returned to the table with a THUNK!

Emu blushed, knowing exactly what that implied. “Well, I didn’t want to say anything, but it seems to be going in that direction.”

“All the game versions of my friends are here now, the party’s filled. I’m pretty sure that’s something we need to have in order to beat this game. But every day that passes by is making it hard not to do something!” Sunset stated.

Emu raised his eyebrow. “So…you want to be a relationship with them?”

“NO! I mean – I don’t know!” Sunset exclaimed as she threw her arms into the air. “They’re like my friends, and at the same time they’re not! I genuinely feel connected to them, and I’m not going to lie, there are things about my friends that I find attractive, I mean I bat for the other team so I’m not blind that I hang out with a group of hot girls! But I never actually considered them – like – potential girlfriends! Twilight was the only girl I felt that spark with, but after spending time with these girls, it makes me wonder the old ‘what if’! What if I did spend some more one-on-one time with one my friends, would we be like this?”

Emu sighed, “Ah, the complications of youth.”

“Emu, you sound like an old man when you talk like that,” said Parado.

The good doctor rolled his eyes. “Life’s full of ‘what ifs’, Sun-chan. What if I never decided to become a doctor and just stayed as pro gamer? What if I never interacted with Dan Kuroto through my letters? A lot of ‘what ifs’, but for better or worse, they’re what we chose and what decided to do. You chose to be with the one you wanted to be with, do you think that that was not the right decision?”

Sunset’s eyes went wide as she slammed her fist against the table. “Celestia, NO! I want to be with Twilight! I care about her! I would never regret that decision!” Sunset’s fervor died down a bit as she slumped into her seat. “But, I hate not being the person these girls deserve. They each deserve to be happy, to find someone they love and care about. I don’t want to crush their hearts like that, especially after everything we’ve been through so far.”

“I know this game won’t let you tell them about the one you care about back home, but maybe you can at least make them happy for as along we have the time here,” said Emu.

Sunset sighed heavily, “Maybe…”

Unbeknownst to the two adventurers, a pink cat tail slipped away from around the corner.

***_____________ x [+]E[+]_____________***

“She really said that?” Spectra asked.

“Yes, she says she has a love back home,” said Surprise in a bit of a defeated tone.

The girls had gathered at a park, sitting in a circle as Surprise informed them of what Sunset said regarding how she didn’t want to hurt them, and how she had a girlfriend back in her world. There were various expressions amongst the girls, Ambrosia just crossed her arms and sighed as she stared at the grass. Rori folded her hands on her lap and looked as if she was trying not to cry. Spectra rubbed the back of her head as she tried to wrap her mind around this revelation. Lightheart looked like she wanted to revert to her small fairy form and hide under a leaf. Midnight seemed a bit disappointed, her gaze downcast.

Finally, Ambrosia brought a fist to the ground and hit it hard. “Gods dammit, why didn’t she say so sooner rather than just leading us along?! She could’ve told us as much!”

“Actually…I think she did try,” said Midnight.

“How so?” Rori asked.

“It was that day we saved Sunset from that other Enchantress, at the banquet the town held for us. She was trying to say something to us, but each time it looked like she was saying it, her lips were moving, but no sound came out. Then there was that time at the banquet when she took each of us to the side and talked, it looked like – when we were talking – like she as trying to tell me something, but the words wouldn’t come out despite her mouth moving.”

Rori, Lightheart, Spectra, and Ambrosia remembered that night, and now that Midnight had mentioned it, Sunset did look like she was trying to say something but it was as if something was forbidding her from uttering it. That’s when it struck them, she was trying to tell them.

“You think it’s some kind of curse or something?” Spectra asked.

“If so, it’s a powerful and subtle one, I can’t detect it at all,” said Midnight.

“I would’ve definitely felt if Sunset was under a curse when she shared her power to save me, or when I gave my own to save her,” said Rori. “But I don’t recall feeling anything malevolent.”

“Um…I think we all seem to be forgetting something else,” said Lightheart. “Sunset and Emu are not from our world, they were thrown into it by Tirek. They both have lives back in their home worlds. Defeating Tirek may cause them to back home.”

That was something that had fallen into the back of their minds. Sunset and Emu were from another world, this was not their home world at all. Defeating Tirek may indeed send them back home, home to family and friends who were eagerly awaiting their return, who were worried for their wellbeing every day that they spent in there’s.

“How did we overlook such an obvious thing, of course they would go back home once their mission was complete, they have no real reason to stay here,” said Midnight.

“I guess, we just thought that we’d be enough of a reason for her to stay with us. I believe we can all say we’re a little guilty of vanity in this case. I don’t doubt a single girl here has feelings for Sunset Shimmer, I saw it in the four of you when you were trapped in that illusion.” At this the four girls in question blushed. “I know I do after she saved me, and even more so after getting to know her. And Surprise, I know you are very fond of her already.” The cat girl nodded. “It was a happy thing to think that one of us, if not all of us, could be with her, but we seemed to have been blinded by that notion, so blinded that we didn’t want to acknowledge the truth of what would happen come journey’s end.”

“This is hard on Sunset too,” said Surprise. “She wanted to tell us, but hasn’t been able to. As kind as she is, this must’ve been hurtful, she didn’t want to string us along, but with that curse she couldn’t tell us the reason why she didn’t want to…be with us.”

A somber mood had befallen the group, truly they lamented the end of this quest. In freeing the world from evil, they would also lose the person they had come to have great affection for. Lightheart sighed and looked to each of the girls.

“Well, I know something else that came of this. I got to meet all of you, I’ve come to care and trust you all, you’re my friends,” said Lightheart.

Spectra grinned. “Yeah, I can get behind that. Without Sunset, I would have never met you guys. I never thought I’d find people I could trust and who’d have my back no matter what. But you guys look out for me, and me you. That’s something I am grateful for.”

Ambrosia chuckled and smiled. “We may not be able to be with Sunset in the end, but at the very least, we gained a fellowship, a friendship that we would’ve never been a part of had she not appeared. Now that’s something I can live with, even if she leaves.”

Surprise clapped her hands as a wide grin appeared. “Yay! So, we’re all agreed to be each other’s brides?!”

A round blushes came over the girls and all shouted at once, “Don’t ruin the moment!”

Soon after came laughter, despite the joke, it was enough to break the sad mood that had fallen over the group. Yes, Sunset Shimmer would and could leave their land to return to hers, but at least they would have each other, a different kind of love to fall back on.

“Disgusting…”

The girls stopped their laughter and looked around to see who had said that. It was at a bench they saw someone hunched over, draped in a black cloak and hood. The voice sounded feminine, but they weren’t entirely sure if the person beneath the cloak was a girl.

“You got somethin’ to say pal?” Spectra asked.

The hooded stranger clicked her tongue. “Only that I’ve been listening to an elf, a harpy, an Amazon, an Enchantress, a Cait Sith, and…not sure what she is, but I know it’s not human, pouring their bleeding hearts over a girl that they’re never going to see again. It’s disgusting.”

Ambrosia held out her arm to stop Spectra from doing anything foolish, it was then she asked, “Beg your pardon stranger, but are you saying it’s disgusting that we all love another woman, or because we love a human.”

“No, the fact that you love at all is the disgusting thing, love in general is a lie.”

Rori stood up, crossing her arms and glaring at the stranger. “Now see here, love is the strongest thing in this or any world! It is the reason for living, it gives people strength it–!”

“Starts wars, because some king, queen, prince, or princess was either jilted, assassinated, or slighted somehow. It makes people die for stupid reasons, for home, land, and country, only for that country to turn their backs on the those who gave their lives. Love causes others to covet that which they don’t have, a person’s home, their stuff, or their husband or wife! No, love is not love, it’s a lie, and what you feel for this girl you all supposedly ‘love’, might as well be just lust. You all just admitted you selfishly wanted her to stay here, even though this other girl said she had a home somewhere else! Yet you forgot and selfishly believed you could convince her otherwise to stay with you, no, that’s just greed and lust together,” said the stranger.

Ambrosia growled fiercely as she rose up faster than the others could react. The Amazon swung her fist and punched the stranger across the face, sending them spiraling to the ground in a heap.

“AMBROSIA!” Midnight shouted.

“Don’t you dare talk like you know how we feel!” Ambrosia warned.

“Whoa, hey, I think that was too much,” said Spectra.

“I held back, that looked worse than it felt for her!”

Midnight growled in frustration over her friend’s actions. She quickly rushed to the stranger and reached out with her hand, “I am so sorry, let me help–!”

The stranger swatted Midnight’s hand away hard enough for it to sting. The hood fell off the girl, and the girls had to pause for a moment when they saw her face. The girl looked up at them with turquoise eyes, her hair was crimson, like fire, with a streak of gold color going through it. She had a scar over he left cheek, and, unfortunately, her right cheek was red from the punch. This girl, she looked remarkably similar to Sunset.

“I don’t need your pity, and don’t blame me if the truth hurts!” Tears began to flow from her eyes as she pulled up her hood and turned to walk away. “Better you understand now than face the pain later…when it’s too late to do anything about it.”

Midnight was the first to snap out of her shocked state and asked, “Wait! What’s your name?! Please, we’re sorry!”

“……” The girl looked over her shoulder to the elf, her face was full of concern, not fake concern as she was used to. “……It’s Corona, Corona Brightstar.”

***_____________ x [+]E[+]_____________***

Corona Brightstar, she was a happy girl once upon a time. She lived in home in the town of Shoru with her mother and father. Her father worked as an archivist in the local library, while her mother taught in the local school house. Their pay wasn’t anything to be excited about, but it was well enough for them to live on. It was at the age of six that her parents discovered that she had a great aptitude for the magical arts, weaving spell out of pure instinct.

Corona’s parents did not have the money, even collectively, to send their daughter to a proper mage’s school. However, Corona was a smart girl, whenever the local mages would perform magic in the streets or as part of their daily jobs, Corona would watch intensely and listen closely to their incantations and their actions. She learned better by doing, and so she did, leaving to the outskirts of town to practice her spells where no one would get hurt, or make fun of her should the spell go array.

Corona spent years building up her magical repertoire. Whenever she successfully learned a new spell, she’d always rush home and show her parents the spell soon after. Seeing how much their daughter was progressing just by watching and practicing made them feel both proud and heartbroken. Here they had a daughter with a bright future in the magical arts, who could one day be a great sorceress, but would never get to be because they could not provide the money or resources to help her advance.

It was then that the mother and father made the toughest decision they had to make in their lives. They brought her before one of the more prominent mage families in the town, it was arranged as a playdate for their own young daughter. They had heard that the family was seeking those with magic prowess to be their daughter’s friend, who could match her in magic.

When it came time for Corona to play, she was able to not only out maneuver the other girl, but overpower her. This surprised the wealthy mage family, so much so that they hadn’t any words when Corona’s parents asked if Corona could live with them, and be raised under their home to be a proper mage. The mage family didn’t hesitate in the slightest, and so after papers were drawn up to make it legal in the eyes of the law, Corona Brightstar now was under their parentage and tutelage.

Corona, ten at the time, couldn’t understand this.

“Why, Mommy, Daddy?! Why do I have to live with them?! Did I do something wrong?!”

“No honey, you did nothing wrong,” her mother said.

“You’re such a gifted girl, honey, we just want you to be able reach your full potential. And if you stay with them, they’ll be able to give you all the best things to become a great mage,” said her father.

“But…”

“We’re doing this because we love you Corona, you can visit us any time you want, okay?”

That day began Corona’s four years of hell. The mage family she lived with were strict, because they saw great potential in Corona they pushed her more, trained her harder than even their own daughter. At night, when she believed she would be allowed a reprieve from the torturous training regime, Corona found out that that wasn’t the case. At night, the daughter of the mage family would enter her room, and bind Corona to the bed and subject her to a number of painful curses. The mage girl knew curses that would inflict pain but wouldn’t leave any physical scars on her body, and there were many different types. By morning Corona would be exhausted from her torture session, and no one was the wiser.

When the man and woman who were her adopted parents saw her state, they asked why she looked so “horrid”. Corona told them the truth, and for it she received a swift slap across the face for speaking lies as they didn’t hear a thing. She couldn’t believe that no one heard her screaming, but when she was coherent enough the next time it happened, Corona noticed that a silencing spell had been placed on her room when the mage girl entered, muting any noise going out. Corona learned quickly that her adopted parents would not believe her, they loved their daughter and knew she could do no wrong.

Of course, that did nothing to excuse Corona’s state when coming to breakfast. So, they had a concoction made that would revitalize her. And so, the routine went on and on, torturous training, torture at night, drink a healing potion, repeat. Corona felt as if she was going to go insane. Yes, she was learning, yes, her magic was getting stronger, but her sanity was the price she paid. The only thing that brought her any modicum of peace was the weekends, Corona was allowed to spend the weekends with her real mother and father.

At one point she had thought to tell them about what was being done to her, to have them whisk her away to some town or city far, far away. But Corona knew this wasn’t ever going to happen, they hadn’t the provisions to just skip town, as poor as they were, they were well-off poor, if they skipped town with nothing, they’d be truly poor, beggars, homeless. Corona couldn’t do that to them, she knew they had her stay with those people because they loved her and that they wanted her to be great.

It was at this time that Corona gained new resolve, she would take their torture, both from the training, and the daughter of that family. She’d take it all, because when she was old enough, and her powers great enough, she would leave this town, and take her parents with her. She would show her skill at the Academy and become a Guardian. With that in mind, she continued, all the way until she was fourteen.

As time passed, so did Minerva, the mage family’s daughter, tastes in torture change. Now older, her torture sessions took on less of a pain route, and took a turn for debauchery and depravity. Of course, the potions were strong, so anything done to her would be healed the instant she partook of them. With this knowledge, Minerva was able to do almost anything she wanted when they were alone at night. In all honesty, Corona had long learned enough, and had grown powerful enough, that she could easily turn the tables on Minerva and have her be the one screaming in agony. Corona knew better, Minerva would only just turn the tables again, crying to her parents that it was Corona doing the torturing and play the victim.

“You know, Corona, I have been thinking about you,” said Minerva.

“Really, the tortures you put me through made me think otherwise…”

Normally a response like that would have earned her a slap across the face, but Minerva only grinned and then giggled. “It’s funny, I hated you.”

Wait…‘hated’, as in past tense?

“Mother and father were teaching you, pouring their hearts and souls into crafting you into the best mage in ages. I hated you for that, because that was my role, that was going to be my future. But after I truly got to see what that entailed, what they were putting you through, I started to reassess my view of what it took and what it would do to me. Between my…our…alone time, and what you did during the day, I started to see who you truly are, what you are.”

“And that is?” Corona asked.

“A diamond in the rough. Have you not noticed that our sessions have taken a less painful course and more, pleasurable?”

“I figured you just got tired of hearing me scream in pain, and were just trying to think of another sick way to harm me,” said Corona in a flat tone.

Minerva chuckled, “Well, I don’t blame you for thinking that, I haven’t given you a reason to believe that our recent nights haven’t had some other undertone. But it is the truth, I have – strange as it may seem – fallen for you, Corona.”

Corona looked away from Minerva, she couldn’t believe what she was hearing. This witch who had been hurting her for four whole years was in love with her? It had to be puberty, her coming into her womanhood had clouded her mind and making her think things that aren’t real.

“I can prove it to you.” With a flick of her wrist, the magical bindings were released, much to Corona’s surprise. Corona sat up in shock rubbing her wrists and looking at the other girl in disbelief. “Oh, don’t look so surprised, I know you could’ve broken free from those at any time you chose.”

“When?!”

“After all the training you have been put through, my simple binding spell was nothing, you could’ve easily just expelled some magical energy and made them shatter from the sheer power of you magic, and secretly I hoped you would do so and take me savagely in this bed afterwards.”

Corona backed away from the girl, she was completely crazy. Minerva loved her and had been waiting for Corona to seek some sort of revenge on her? Corona’s mind was going in circles, she didn’t understand this, how could a torturer fall in love with the person they’re torturing, for that matter, how could Minerva expect someone she’s tortured to love her back.

“Do whatever you want to me, Corona! Take out all those years of pain I’ve given you, and throw it back at me!” Minerva urged.

“Just leave me alone, go back your room before I shove you through the wall into your room!” Corona threatened.

Minerva seemed to take that order to heart as she got off Corona’s bed and began to walk out. She stopped at the doorway and turned to Corona with a knowing smile. “It’s okay, soon you’ll be all ours.”

Corona had no idea what those words meant until the next day when she was supposed to meet her parents and found her childhood home burned to the ground. Everyone said it was thieves, robbers who raided the poor. They took what they wanted, but fought back, and for their defiance, they were killed with their home burned down. Corona, filled with fury and vengeance, hunted down the killers, and killed them all. She eventually found a paper trail that led back to her adopted family, apparently having hired the thieves to kill her family.

The mage family soon learned the error of their ways, all their training, all the spells they endowed to Corona, were hurled at them a hundred-fold. Corona burned their house and bodies to ashes in a magical flame that would not die out until she wished it. Corona wasn’t a fool, she made sure it looked like the work of other mages, because in this world, mages, especially ones with a long line, often got into feuds with other mage families. Whatever enemies the family had would be blamed, and with the bodies burned to ashes, and the ashes burned to nothing, everyone would assume Corona died in the fire.

Just as well, because she felt dead inside.

No home, no place to call her own, Corona just wandered. Her mind just going back over everything, it was out of love that her parents sent her to live with that family. It was out of love that those people put her through hellish training, it out some twisted sense of love that Minerva tortured her. Love was an illusion, a mask to hide their true intentions, pride and power, greed and lust, these are what love masked.

Corona wanted nothing to do with such an emotion, so when she heard those girls talking about this girl, this Sunset Shimmer, she couldn’t help but call them out on their lies. And for her truth she was punched in the face. The elf girl did look sorry, and did seem genuinely concerned about her after it happened.

“If she was that concerned why didn’t she stop her,” said Corona to herself.

Well that Amazon did move fast, probably didn’t have time to react. And even that Amazon looked a little sorry for doing that…

“Whatever, they’re all fools chasing after a girl who will leave them and saying it’s alright, just another mask.”

“Yes, this world is filled with lies and deceit, it’s quite the eyesore is it not?”

Corona stood at attention, she looked up and down the alleyway she was in. There as a dead end to the right of her, and no doors or windows, just another building. There was no one at the entrance, so who was speaking?

“W-Who’s there?” Corona asked as she willed her magic to her hands. “I’m warning you, if you so much as lay a hand on me, I’ll–!”

“At ease girl, I come not to harm. I come to bargain.” Suddenly, the alley grew very dark, the shadows at the far end began to coalesce, becoming a solid being. It appeared to be a centaur, but an emaciated one with a long white beard and red face.

“I ask again, who are you?!”

“I am, Tirek.”

Corona looked at the cloaked centaur, the thin creature before her was really the Dark Lord, the one being that almost plunged this world into darkness and despair? Tirek picked up on the girl’s skepticism and chuckled.

“I know, this form is not very intimidating, and not what you would expect of a being of my renown. But I felt it best to appear like this, rather than tower over you. You’d be surprised how less effective it is to have a meaningful conversation with someone when you do,” said Tirek.

Corona was still skeptical, but she was not a fool. Tirek was powerful, so shapeshifting was not beyond him. “Speak your peace demon and begone from my sight when you’re done.”

Tirek gave a courteous bow. “Thank you. I overheard you, and I sense the turmoil in your heart. You have been hurt by those you loved, love itself has harmed you, and now you have nothing.”

“Have you come just to state the obvious? I stare at it every day!” Corona barked.

“I believe we have a mutual interest in making the world pay for its lies. I once had a brother, we were thick as thieves, and have been in many battles together. Skorpan, he was called. But when the time came to put that to the test, when I faced other heavenly beings, he betrayed me. I have never heard from him since, he traded our brotherhood, for a station on high, while I rotted below. My brother used our familial love to lure me into a trap!”

Corona’s fists loosened as she listened to him. “I see. You spoke of a bargain, what is it?”

Tirek smiled. “It’s time to reform this world, and I want you to assist me in that effort. Tell me child, what of this world is worth saving? What is left but to break it and rebuild it from ground up. Become one of my Envoy, and herald in a new beginning!”

Corona didn’t trust the Dark Lord, but she couldn’t deny his words. There really wasn’t anything in this world worth saving, her only family was dead, she was homeless, and any act of kindness seemed to come with an alternate agenda. Whenever she would use her magic to help, people either wanted to take her in to use her talents, or wanted to sell her as a slave, those kinds she made sure regretted such a thing. For some reason, Corona’s mind flashed back to those six girls. Despite knowing that they would lose the one they love come journey’s end, they were willing to let her go because they loved her, and were planning on staying together for the sake of friendship…

“It’s a lie; selflessness like that is only a fairy tale! I’ll strip away their falsehoods and make them see the demon under the mask!” Corona declared.
Tirek reached out with his boney hand and asked, “Do we have an alliance?”

“I trust you, dark one, as far as I can throw you. But our interests align, so…” Corona took Tirek’s hand and shook it. “I will join you.”

Tirek’s yellow eyes shined as black and orange energy formed around his hand. “Excellent.”

***_____________ x [+]E[+]_____________***

Sunset and Emu were still at the restaurant when they saw the girls approaching. The fiery redhead put away her stressed expression and adopted her normal smirking one. “Hey girls, you ready to go?”

The girls were unusually quiet, each of them glancing between the other.

“Is something wrong?” Emu asked.

“Not really,” said Spectra in tone that wasn’t very confident.

“Guys, if there’s something wrong please tell me. Keeping it secret doesn’t help, better to air it out so we can help fix it,” said Sunset.

There it was again, that understanding and compassion that made their hearts flutter. Midnight sighed heavily and stepped forward. “There is something we want to talk to you about Sunset. You see…”

“So, this is the girl you’re all pining over.”

The girls turned around, parting a bit to allow Emu and Sunset to see who spoke. Corona walked towards them, her cloak was open, showing her ratty clothing underneath. The girls were now feeling worse after talking to her the way they did, her pants were roughed up, dirt spattered, and had holes in them, along with the absence of proper foot protection as her feet were bare. Her shirt was no better, half of it was gone and exposed her midriff, it also had stains on it, mostly grass and other questionable things from her time sleeping on the streets.

Of course, Sunset immediately picked up on the fact that this girl looked similar to her, she even walked with same since of superiority as she used to. “Uh…girls, who is this?”

Corona seemed a bit caught off guard that this Sunset Shimmer did share some likeness with her, but she paid it no mind. “Corona Brightstar, I had the displeasure of meeting your harem a few minutes ago, after the Amazon punched me.”

“‘H-H-Harem’?!” Sunset squeaked. “Nononononono, they aren’t – that’s not–! Wait, Ambrosia, you punched her?”

“She was saying some stuff about you, and us, and I…I lost my temper…” Ambrosia sighed and stood before Corona. “Look…I-I’m sorry I did that, it’s no excuse for hurtin’ someone, if there’s anything I can do to make it up, just tell me.”

Corona cupped her chin as she hummed in contemplation. “Okay, yeah, there is something you can do to make it up.” Corona wiggled her finger in a “come hither” fashion. Ambrosia leaned down to allow Corona to tell her in secret. “I want you to kill that girl you love so much.”

Ambrosia backed away from her and quickly assumed a fighting stance. Midnight readied a spell for firing, while Surprise got into attack position, her hair standing on end as her pupils became slits. Rori, Lightheart, Spectra, Sunset, and Emu all looked at the three girls with shock.

“Whoa, whoa, what’s going on?!” Sunset demanded.

“This girl just asked me to kill you!” Ambrosia answered.

“I heard her say the same thing,” Midnight confirmed.

“Same here,” Surprise hissed.

Corona chuckled, which evolved into a cackle, and then into maniacal. The others started to get into defensive positions now, fearing that this girl was not in her right mind. “I did say that, but I worded it wrong. I should’ve said, ‘You ARE going to kill that girl’!”

Suddenly, Corona was engulfed in red flames, burning away her ratty clothes as the flames infused into her body. She grew a couple of feet, putting over seven feet tall. Her fingers turned into claws as a flaming tail formed behind her. Corona’s ears became long and pointed, and from her back she sprouted two large bat-like wings. When the flames died out, the girl beheld her new form. She wore a red and yellow dress made of a dragon’s hide, her leggings were finely knit black chainmail. Her feet were no longer bare, now sporting black armored boots with a purple line going through them. Corona’s hair had become burning flames that flowed behind her, even her skin had become crimson red.

When Corona opened her eyes, they were like pools of black tar, with shining, turquoise colored irises. “No longer am I Corona Brightstar, call me Daemona Morningstar! Envoy of Lord Tirek!”

Sunset had become frozen, her heart thrummed in her chest as her pupils became the size of pinpricks. The demon, the creature she had become during the Fall Formal, was now floating before her, the embodiment of all her pride, anger, and greed was now staring at her with a toothy grin, and now it had a name. “No…No…No…I’m not…I’m not a demon…I’m not…I’m not…!”

Emu watched as Sunset fell to her knees, the girls looked to their leader and were shocked to see her in such a distressed state.

Meanwhile, Daemona only laughed. “This is the girl you all love? This cowering little weakling? Ha, hahahaha! This is too good.” Midnight and Rori fired attack spells at Daemona, but the demoness merely waved her hand and created a shield with ease, the attacks detonating harmlessly against it. Daemona raised her other hand, which now crackled with black and turquoise colored energy. In an instant, all six girls were wrapped in her aura and brought before the demoness. “Like I said earlier, you can make it up to me by killing that girl, and hey, while you’re at it, feel free to air your frustrations to her.”

Daemona’s forehead glowed with the same dual colored energy, and from it six beams of light shout out and hit each girl right in their foreheads. The girls struggled against Daemona’s power, but she was too strong, her magic took them over and began its work. Their irises were now red in color, and each had either a frown or a scowl plastered onto their faces. Daemona released them, upon which they quickly did an about face to Emu and Sunset.

“I wonder, will you let these girls kill you for the pain you caused them? Or will you kill them in the name of love to save them?” Daemona perched herself on a lamppost and smiled maniacally. “I can’t wait to see.”

Level 11: The Black Rider

Emu stood before their friends, with his game vision, Emu could see that their icons had switched from green to red, indicating enemy combatants. Their status showed as “Hexed”, meaning that they were under the control of Daemona, but that there was possibly a way to reverse the effect. However, Emu was not skilled in the magical arts, the only two who might be able to pull anything off were, Midnight – who was hexed, and Sunset. Sunset, unfortunately, was having a bit of a crisis at the moment. Seeing the game version of herself transform into a monster must have been jarring, but seeing that look on her face, from a medical standpoint, Emu was willing to wager that there was a deeper psychological aspect to this.

“You really are a monster,” said Midnight.

“You were just going to string us along, getting whatever you wanted from us,” said Rori.

“Without any promise of a commitment to any of us, you were just going to fool around with us until the end,” said Ambrosia.

“And then, when everything was done, you were just going to abandon us! Throw us to the side like a piece of trash,” said Spectra.

“I left my forest for you! The tree entrusted you with its seed, and this is how you repay that trust?!” Lightheart stated.

“I left to fight at your side, and wanted to be with you! I wanted to make you smile, always!” Surprise exclaimed.

Sunset, still on her knees, held her head as she shook it back and forth. “No, NO! I didn’t mean for any that – any of this to happen! I wanted to tell you all, so many times I wanted to! But I couldn’t – not because I didn’t want to! But because something was keeping me from doing so! I never wanted to hurt any of you or string you along like this!”

Midnight sneered at the groveling girl. “Just like a demon, pretty words, and false apologies. You’re no hero, you never were.”

The elf girl raised her right hand and fired a magic bolt at Sunset. Emu quickly intercepted it and deflected the bolt straight up into the air where it exploded harmlessly. Thankfully the area had been cleared thanks to Daemona’s appearance, the square was completely vacant. However, if the battle went outside the town square, there would be trouble.

“Sunset’s gone bye-bye, and we’re sitting on a onev. six scenario, well seven if Daemona decides to fight.”

I know, something’s wrong with Sun-chan, she took one look at that demon and now she looks traumatized.

“I hate to say this, but we may need to bust out aLimit Break if we want to stand a chance against them.”

Agreed.

“LIMIT BREAK!”
“LIMITBREAK!”

Emu’s Gamer Driver appeared around his waist. To his hand he summoned the Mighty Brothers Double X Gashat.

“HENSHIN!”
“HENSHIN!”

| DOUBLE CLICK AND LOAD! |

| CLICK TO OPEN! |

| DOUBLE UP! I AM YOU AND YOU ARE ME! WE ARE! MIGHTY! MIGHTY! BROTHERS! DOUBLE X~! |

A flash of teal and orange light shot up from around Emu, the lights separated until there were now two identical Kamen Riders standing beside each other. XX-R and XX-L, together they were the Double X brothers.

“Now let’s save our friends, with super co-op play!”
“Now let’s save our friends, with super co-op play!”

| GASHACON KEY SLASHER! |

| GASHACON BREAKER! |

XX-R held the Key Slasher, while XX-L held the Breaker, both struck the ground before them, creating a shockwave that kicked up a dust cloud. From the cloud, XX-R dashed through it and headed straight for Daemona. However, before she could reach the demon, Spectra intercepted, using her metalized wing attack to block his strike, generating sparks from the contact of their metallic weapons. XX-R and Spectra began to duel in midair as the sound of clashing metal rang out through the air.

However, behind him, Ambrosia jumped up, leading with her spear and aligned with XX-R to skewer him in the back. XX-R looked back at the last second, and narrowly dodged the attack by performing a double jump in midair. Spectra dodged the attack, but grabbed Ambrosia and tossed her up at XX-R. The Rider and Amazon now dueled, with spear against sword as XX-R struggled against the long reach of Ambrosia’s spear. Thankfully, he had an ace up his sleeve.

XX-R broke away during a clash and switched the Key Slasher into rifle mode. He then fired several energy bolts at Ambrosia, hitting right in the chest. Spectra flew around to try and attack, but XX-R was a genius gamer, and had played his fair amount of First-Person-Shooter games. XX-R lined up Spectra and then fired three shots ahead of her. All three hit the harpy, causing her fall out of the sky and back to the ground beside Ambrosia.

When XX-R landed he said, “Sorry, girls, but I have to snap you out of this! You don’t want to hurt Sunset, don’t let that demon control you!” Suddenly, a green aura flared up around Ambrosia and Spectra, and XX-R watched as their HP bars rose back up to full health. It was then he spotted Lightheart floating behind them, providing healing support. “Oh…right, forgot about that…”

While this was going on, XX-L was defending Sunset. Rori would fire a barrage of diamonds at him, with the Gaschon Breaker, XX-L smashed the crystals as if they were fragile glass. Surprise would poof in and out to try and land a killing blow to Sunset while she was still in her shocked state, but in this form, XX-L had greater speed and reflexes. He switched the Breaker to blade mode and slashed upwards, hitting Surprise in the chest and causing her HP to drop.

XX-L charged the Breaker up with energy and then slammed it into the ground. The energy then diverged into two surges that exploded before Midnight and Rori, sending them flying backwards and landing in a heap against the ground. XX-L hated this, fighting his friends was not something he liked, but if he didn’t, they’d surely kill Sunset in their current controlled state.

“Girls, please, try to snap out of it! You all care about Sun-chan, you don’t want to do this!” Rori got up first and summoned an amethyst crystal, she then crushed it in her hands and threw the remnants up in the air. The crystalized powder shimmered as it fell upon herself, Midnight, and Surprise, healing the damage he just caused in an instant. “This is going to get old, real fast…”

***_____________ x [+]E[+]_____________***

Sunset was still in her state of shock, her demon, the demon she once was, was here in the game world. This was some punishment, some cosmic form of punishment for all the things she did back in CHS and in Equestria. Now, these fantasy versions of her friends were going to exact retribution on her. For playing with their hearts in such a way, for not committing to them. It hurt, it hurt because she knew they deserved to have someone who would care and love them, but Sunset knew it couldn’t be her, not without hurting someone else she loved.

Even now, Emu was fighting as Double X with Parado, fighting to keep her safe from their teammates and the demon, who was just staring at her, smiling with sadistic glee as she watched all this transpire before her. This was just like her old self, setting things up, plotting and scheming, making others believe and do what she wanted, while rarely getting her own hands dirty.

I…I deserve this…

A rosy glow emanated before Sunset, when she looked up, she beheld the steely gaze of Midnight Moonshadow. Her hand was pointed at Sunset, with a sphere of magical energy that was no doubt powerful enough to end her in one shot from this distance.

“I thought you were my friend, more than that, I had hoped you would be with me,” said Midnight.

“I…I know…”

“I had a vision while trapped in that illusion, one where we could all be together. One where no one’s feelings were overlooked and we could all live together happily as a family. You don’t strike me as one who would outright oppose a relationship with multiple lovers, but I guess you just wanted me because I remind you of the one you really love right?”

Sunset shook her head. “NO! Yes, you do look like her, but I like you as a friend! But along the way things kept happening that were pushing me into seeing you all as more than that!” Sunset began to cry. “I tried so hard not to let those feelings go unnoticed, but at the same time I was a dueling with my heart to not hurt you and the one I love back home!”

Midnight’s eyes glowed as the sphere of mana grew. “And now you’ve hurt us all anyway. You’re the worst kind of creature, Sunset Shimmer, you’re no better than a demon. And I’ll return you to the pit you came from.”

Sunset raised her fists in an attempt to try and halt this, but then they went lax. Deep down, she never forgave herself, despite what everyone and everypony told her, deep in her heart she knew she deserved punishment of some kind to match the evil deeds she did in the past. Sunset gave no resistance.

“At least you face the end with dignity, goodbye, Sunset Shimmer.” Midnight’s eyes shined brighter, but then a tear fell from her left eye.
“Goodbye, my love…”

“SUNSET!”
“SUNSET!”

Suddenly, something shot across Midnight that made her yelp and draw back her hand. A cut formed on the top her hand that began to bleed. Midnight looked around for what caused the damage, her eyes fell to the ground when she spotted something stuck in the cobblestone road. Upon inspection, Midnight had a confused look on her face as the object that cut her was a playing card. When she flipped it around it showed a jester, the joker wildcard.

Daemona saw the interference and glanced about to see what had attacked her minion. Her dark eyes glared up at a shadowy figure who was atop some strange mount, staring down at them from the rooftop. “WHO ARE YOU!?”

The others stopped their battles and looked in the same direction as Daemona. Sunset managed to do the same and her eyes widened at the sight. There was a humanoid being, riding a neon colored bicycle. His body was nothing but black and purple armor, with visor eyes that shined red. Atop his head was a hat, that was also black in color. The bike he rode was colored neon red and yellow, which seemed to release sparks of game energy. This was the Black Rider.

“Joker?!”

“Shakariki Sports?!”
“Shakariki Sports?!”

Joker redirected the bike and began riding down the side of the roof. When he reached the edge, Joker flipped up into the air, doing a somersault while still riding the bike. He then went down another rooftop and hopped off it, getting lower and lower, and pedaling faster as he began to reach the bottom. Joker pedaled even faster and hit his brakes, he swung around and struck Rori and Surprise with the back wheel of the bike, sending them flying. Joker stood on the seat and the jumped upwards, flipped into the air, and performed a flying kick to Spectra, grounding the harpy.

Ambrosia came in to counter, but Joker’s heightened reflexes allowed him to nimbly dodge the spear thrust, grab the shaft of the Amazon’s weapon, and – with his enhanced strength – tossed both the spear and its wielder away to join Spectra on the ground. When it came to Lightheart, Joker threw a punch, sending a pressure wave straight for Lightheart that buffeted her until she went into a tailspin and landed on Spectra’s downy soft wing.

The bike, which seemed to also possess a mind of its own, charged for Midnight. The elf girl fried several magic bolts at the possessed contraption, but not a one managed to hit. The Shakariki bike skidded towards Midnight, popping a wheelie as it dodged another blast. The front wheel of the bike was then jettisoned, becoming a spinning energy wheel that struck Midnight in the midsection and carried her off until she was dropped next to Rori and Surprise.

Shakariki pedaled itself all the way until it was beside XX-L and XX-R, while Joker performed multiple back flips until he was beside Sunset Shimmer.

“What’s wrong, my Rider? You seem distressed,” said Joker.

“I’m not worth saving, they’re right, I hurt them, I deserve this!” Sunset stated.

Joker hummed and the whirled around and punched Sunset in the face, sending her straight into the chairs and tables of the restaurant. Sunset rubbed the spot where she was hit and looked at Joker with shock. “Wake up, my Rider! Can you not see the tears they are shedding?! Their hearts are crying because they are hurting the one they care about!”

Sunset looked to the girls, when she looked closely, she could see tears at the corners of their eyes. It was the only act of defiance they could make against the mind control, a silent way of telling her that they were sorry. “How…How could I…?”

Joker walked up to Sunset and offered her his hand. “Let us dry their tears, no one else should weep when you are around, my Rider!”

Sunset smiled at Joker and took his hand, when she was pulled up, he immediately transformed into purple light, breaking down and reforming into the Joker Gaia Memory. XX-R looked to XX-L and both nodded.

| CLICK TO CLOSE! |

Both XXs glowed and merged back into one single Ex-Aid. Emu placed his hand on Shakariki and the bike glowed, transforming into neon yellow Gashat.

“Transformation Plus, Plus, Plus!”

| CLICK TO OPEN! |

| GACHAN! LEVEL UP! MIGHTY JUMP! MIGHTY KICK! MIGHTY MIGHTY ACTION X!A GACHA! F-RAN-TIC! A F-RAN-TIC! BAD! BAD! FRAN! TO-THE-TIC! TO-THE! SHAKARIKI SPORTS! |

Ex-Aid’s armor glowed, and soon was transformed. The upper body was covered in neon magenta armor, with the back of the bike having transformed into the right shoulder pauldron, and the front of the bike becoming the left shoulder pauldron. Ex-Aid’s helmet had another armor helmet, which resembled a bike helmet.

“Limit Break!”

Sunset’s Uni-Driver appeared around her waist, and in her left hand the Unicorn Memory appeared.

< UNICORN! >

< JOKER! >

“Henshin!”

UNICORN! <

{< JOKER! MIMETIC DRIVE! >}

Purple and turquoise light engulfed Sunset’s body, transforming her into Unicorn Ace High. Her armor took on the black and purple motif of the memory, her shoulder pauldrons had become sharper and sleeker. “Don’t worry girls, I’ll free you!”

Daemona growled at this latest development now floating in midair as she glared down at the two Riders. “A change of armor won’t save you! Now go on and kill them both!”

The girls moved as if they were going to do that, but they stopped, bodies shaking as if they were being held back. Daemona didn’t understand why they hadn’t moved in to destroy her yet, and it was getting irritating to wait.

“I SAID KILL THEM ALREADY!”

Midnight began to slowly turn around to where Daemona was floating. “N-N-N-NO!!!”

Daemona looked shocked at this act of defiance, but it was not singular, as soon the rest of the girls began to turn their bodies and glared up at Daemona defiantly. Their eyes shifting from the red color and back to their original eye colors. Daemona didn’t understand it, how they battling against her control? Her magic should be strong enough to suppress their will. It couldn’t be…this wasn’t because their love for Sunset was stronger than her magic, right?

“NO! Love is a lie! I’ll prove it! SUBMIT TO MY WILL!!!” Daemona demanded as her forehead glowed, and the same spell was recast.

The foreheads of the six girls all shined a single point of magic energy formed. The girls fell to their knees, grunting in pain as they used all their willpower to stop the spell from forcing them to fight Sunset and Emu. But at last, Daemona’s spell broke through, and now the Fantasy Six were standing, facing Sunset and Emu with their eyes glowing blood red.

“No more of that!”

Sunset struck the side of her Mimetic Drive port.

\ HAT TRICK! COUNT IT! /

The world began to slow down as both of Unicorn’s arms began to glow with purple energy. She dashed towards her friends and appeared to each of them. Unicorn concentrated the energy in her arms to the tips of her ring and index fingers, and struck the center of Rori, Midnight, and Surprise’s foreheads.

\ 1! /

Unicorn moved to Spectra, Ambrosia, and Lightheart, using her left hand she struck each of them in the forehead as well.

\ 2! /

Unicorn funneled the remainder of her energy into her right index and ring fingers and pointed them at Daemona. A beam of purple light shot out and struck the demoness at her forehead. The result was a blowback of energy that sent out a shockwave. The wave reverberated and connected to the points that Unicorn struck on each of the girls, and in a matter of seconds the spell was broken, with the red glow disappearing from their eyes.

\ 3! /

\ HIGH ROLLER! /

Daemona rubbed her forehead, feeling dazed from the quick attack, but then her growled with fury when she saw that her spell had been broken. “NO! How?!”

“Simple, despite how much you wanted to make them hate me, you couldn’t. Because in their hearts they still cared about me, like I do them! You only wanted to force them! You have forgotten what love really means!” Unicorn declared.

“Love is caring for others!” Emu shouted as he jumped into the air tossed a wheel at Daemona.

The energized wheel struck the demoness three times before returning to Ex-Aid, upon which he released the second wheel which added onto the damage. Daemona took to the skies and fired a beam of dark magic at Ex-Aid, but Unicorn dashed in and intercepted the beam attack with her right hand, forcing the beam to part down the middle and away from them.

“Love is protecting each other!” Unicorn shouted.

Unicorn and Ex-Aid jumped up at the same time, Ex-Aid launched his wheels, hitting Daemona across the chest in an X pattern. Unicorn followed up with a power punch straight to her face, bringing the demoness back to the ground.

“This…This can’t be…!”

} JOKER! MAXIMUM DRIVE! {<

}!!!{ SHAKARIKI CRITICAL STRIKE! }!!!{

Ex-Aid’s right leg shined with game energy, while Unicorn split up into five different Unicorns, each one with either their left or right legs shining. Unicorn 1 and 2 charged forward, dashing around behind Daemona sending her flying towards Unicorn 3 and 4 as they kicked her straight into the air. Unicorn and Ex-Aid jumped straight up, looking down at Daemona as they lined up for the final blow. The two Riders dove down with a flying kick, about to take down Daemona, however, before their attacks could land, a portal of pure darkness opened behind Daemona, and the demoness passed through it right before they could finish their attack. Unicorn and Ex-Aid cancelled their attacks and landed on the ground with no harm. Both looked around to see if Daemona had just teleported out of sight, but there was no sign of her, she had disappeared completely.

“Do you think that was…?” Ex-Aid asked.

“It had to be.” Unicorn looked at her fist, remembering the moment she struck the girl’s face. She felt something, something that she recognized all too well. “That girl, she was crying too…”

***_____________ x [+]E[+]_____________***

The day was spent at an inn, allowing the team to rest up after the emotionally and physically draining battle they had had the previous day. It seems that Surprise made the discovery using her ninjutsu skills, one of which was a type of eavesdropping skill that allowed her to hear private conversations from a distance, so even spells that would normally silence your voice wouldn’t be a match for it. Apparently, this also translated into the system block that prevented Sunset from saying anything regarding Twilight and her love life, but once that was known, the block seemed to have disappeared, allowing Sunset to speak Twilight’s name and say that she was her girlfriend, they seemed to believe that this was a curse of some sort so Sunset just rolled with that.

“I really am sorry, girls. I never wanted to keep this a secret from you, or hurt any of you,” said Sunset, her gaze downcast.

“No, if anything we need to apologize to you, Sunset,” said Midnight. “We selfishly believed that you would just stay here after we defeated Tirek. We never took into account that your family and friends in your home worlds would be missing you dearly!”

Ambrosia rubbed the back of her head. “I’ll admit, I was being selfish, I didn’t want to admit it, but the illusion that I saw when we were trapped, I kinda wanted that to be a reality. However, I pushed it to the back of my head. So, I’m sorry we put you in a position that made you think you had to choose between our world and yours.”

Surprise rushed to Sunset and began to bawl her eyes out as she hugged Sunset. “We’re sorry, Sunset!”

Sunset padded Surprise on the head as she smiled. “Girls you did nothing wrong, it’s fine. I’m just glad I can finally say it now. I hated not being able to tell you, because I knew how hard this would be when we eventually beat Tirek and Emu and I go back home. While I can’t be with you as a lover, I really hope we can still have the friendship we created along the way. Is that okay with you?”

All of the Fantasy Six nodded their heads with big smiles on their faces. Sunset heard a chime, it was different from the normal chime she heard. With a quick swipe, Sunset brought up the menu and checked on the party status. The relationship meter had filled, but now the status had it listed as “Friendship”. Sunset sighed in relief, she hadn’t lost their friendship, despite everything that had happened.

“Still, that leaves Corona, I don’t think she’s as evil as she appears or wants to be,” said Sunset.

“Are you kidding?! She took over our minds and almost had us kill you two!” Spectra stated incredulously.

Midnight hummed in contemplation. “I-I have to agree with Sunset on this one. I felt it when we she used her magic on us, there was a pain there, a sorrow that sought to be soothed. I…I want to save her.”

The girls looked skeptical, but they couldn’t deny that they did feel a pain coming from Corona when they were under her spell. Suddenly, a scroll appeared out of nowhere, bearing the seal of The Pillars. Midnight quickly grabbed the scroll and opened it, the elf scanned over the words and her eyes went wide.

“Darling, what’s the matter?” Rori asked.

“It’s a report from The Pillars…Tirek is launching his attack! Reports of multiple incursions are going on throughout the land!”

Sunset and Emu read the scroll and narrowed their gaze at the information in the scroll.

“How far are we from Heaven’s Fall?” Sunset asked.

Ambrosia took out the map and laid it across the bed, after finding their position, Ambrosia said, “About two days ride, one if we just keep going with no stops.”

“Looks like it’s time to finish this once and for all,” said Emu.

“Tirek, we’re coming for you.”

Level 12: Battle of the Mid-Bosses

The CR team had been alerted, and all hands were on deck. Police armed with the best monster busting equipment that PhoenEXE could provide had surrounded Canterlot General Hospital. During the night, the patch had been broken through, and was open for a full four hours, plenty of time to have any creature enter into their world from the game world. No doubt Tirek would strike at their location, this was the place they were developing a vaccine, not to mention, the same place they were harboring the creator of the game. Two very good reasons for Tirek to lay siege to the hospital.

At the rooftop, at the edge of the heliport, Hiiro and Rainbow Dash kept watch. Down below, Poppy and Kiriya, along with Shining Armor and Taiga, were keeping watch on streets. Inside, Kuroto was in the middle of working feverishly to produce the vaccine to counter the new Bugster virus, his gaze would occasionally shift to Starlight. Knowing that she was like him, more likely meant she had Kamen Rider powers, Starlight glanced over to Kuroto, their gazes meeting as a silent understanding passed between them. Twilight and Microchips were still at it, doing what they could to assist in creating the vaccine, but finding a way to bring back Emu and Sunset.

Suddenly, all was quiet. There was a rumbling going on, subtle rumbling that could be heard and felt. The officers and Riders looked down Mane Street and witnessed as hundreds of dozens of Bugsters began marching towards them, each orange headed creature was fully armored and wielding either a spear, sword and shield, bow and arrow, or magic staff. At the head of the army were monsters.

The first stood on two legs, that were muscled and goat-like. It transitioned upwards as its bare chest showed scales, outlined with tiger fur. Its arms were muscular, and had razor sharp, black claws. The creature had two heads, one was a goat with a small muzzle and rows of sharp teeth, and the other was a tiger’s head. Its tail was that of a green snake that hissed as it rose up to eye level with its other two heads.

The second was a snake monster, although it looked more like a Naga. Its lower body was a snake trunk, littered with green scales as tough as any armor. Its upper body was humanoid, with its long arms having two long blade talons that protruded from the front of its forearms. Black spines followed along the length of the creature’s spine, stopping at the head where two forward curving horns rested. Its eyes glinted in the light of the sun, as it opened its mouth to release a loud hiss.

The third was a blue in color, armored, but had goat legs. It had a snake tail, but this beast sported golden armor over his chest, arms, and head, allowing only his horns to show, and his gleaming eyes. He carried a large sword that looked too heavy for any ordinary person to wield, and was no doubt full of destructive power.

The fourth one was a silver armored bird creature. It had black wings, a raven’s head, and clawed hands as it walked with a katana strapped to its side. The fourth beast raised his fist and halted the army behind him, and then spoke, “We are the Heralds of Lord Tirek! I Yatagarasu! Chimera!” The two-headed beast roared. “Drakon!” The snake hissed. “And Gleam Eyes!” The beast with the sword pounded his chest. “In the name of our Lord and Master, this world is to be his! Give unto us the sacrifices so that he may rise once again!”

Shining Armor looked to his fellow Riders and all nodded to him. The officer then walked up to the head of the group and said, “You want them, come and get them!”
Taiga, Kiriya, and Hiiro summoned their Gamer Drivers, while Poppy summoned her Bugvisor. Shining Armor and Rainbow Dash were next, summoning their T-Driver and N-Driver.

< TRIGGER! >

< NASCA! >

[+] TADDLE QUEST! [+]

[+] BANG BANG SHOOTING! [+]

[+] BAKUSOU BIKE! [+]

[+] TOKI MEKI CRISIS! [+]

“HENSHIN!”

NASCA! <

TRIGGER! <

| BAKUSOU BIKE! |

| TADDLE QUEST! |

| BANG BANG SHOOTING |

| TOKI MEKI CRISIS! |

Six flashes of light went off, blinding the other officers, but when they faded, they were now staring at a squad of Kamen Riders. Snipe, Trigger, Lazer Turbo, and Poppy. From above, both Brave and Nasca landed on the ground without any harm and joined their teammates in their final battle against the invaders.

“We’re a bit uneven here,” said Nasca.

“Agreed, no doubt they’ve powered up, but they are the same Bugsters we each fought before. Problem is if you do the math…” Brave started.

“There’s six of us and four of them, if we do two on two, that’ll still leave one of them the odd man out, if we don’t get a handle on him, it could get messy,” said Lazer.

“I’ll take Chimera, I still owe him for busting up my squad car!” Trigger stated.

“I’ll fight Drakon, Emu and I already fought him so I have an idea of what he can do,” said Poppy.

“I’ll back you up, Poppy,” said Lazer.

“Nasca and I will take Gleam Eyes,” said Brave.

Nasca pumped her fist and said, “Oh yeah, round two!”

With their assignments given, the Riders charged for their respective opponents. Brave and Nasca, swords drawn, began to duel with Gleam at rapid speed. The air rang with the sound of sword metal clashing, sparks flying from every impact.

Snipe and Trigger drew their blasters, Trigger began barraging Chimera. Despite the lumbering beast’s size, it was surprisingly agile, dodging most of Trigger’s blasts. Snipe went after Yatagarasu, however, the raven warrior merely flapped his wings and ascended into the air. With another mighty flap, Yatagarasu flew straight for the hospital and burst through a wall and into the building itself.

“Damn!” Snipe cursed as he prepared to give chase.

Chimera lashed out with its snake tail, wrapping around Snipe and reeling him in like a fish. The Bugster beast raised him up and then slammed him down into the pavement in one fluid motion, nearly knocking the wind out of Taiga. Trigger began firing his Chrome Magnum, hitting the tail repeatedly until it released Snipe. The neon yellow caped Rider tore himself out of the body sized crater, rolled around into a kneeling position, and began his barrage at Chimera.

Poppy and Lazer were engaged with the Drakon, with Lazer using the Gashcon Sparrow and Poppy using her Bugvisor’s chainsaw mode. Lazer fired multiple arrow blasts at Drakon, trying to pin it down while Poppy jumped up and came in with her chainsaw blade. The Drakon used its protruding forearm talon to intercept Poppy as the chainsaw sparked against the armor-like bone weapon. Drakon pushed back, throwing Poppy off balance while in midair, and came down with its tail, hitting her across the chest and making sparks fly from her armor as she was sent sailing.

Lazer dashed away and appeared behind Poppy, catching her, and slowing her down until they both came to a stop. Poppy turned her head and said, “Thanks Kiriya-san.”

“Don’t thank me yet, Poppy, we still got that thing to deal with!”

***___________ x [+]E[+]___________***

Inside the hospital, Yatagarasu was tearing through the building, slicing at doors, walls, and generally anything that dared to get in his way. He was on a mission, to kill the boy, and at the same time, kill the other humans who could prove to be a hinderance to his lord and master. Yatagarasu found one section of the hospital had been cordoned off and rushed down that hall. With a few quick slices, the raven tengu warrior entered the ward, and inside found hospital beds, and in them were the “sacrifices”, some of them anyway. But along with them he found his secondary targets.

The girls who bore a magic that had the potential to stop his master were all in the room, each one looking frightened, as they should be. Applejack, Fluttershy, and Rarity each rushed to their respective sibling’s side, glaring daggers at the monster and joined by their parents.

“You are not going to lay a finger on them!” Rarity declared.

“Killing a sacrifice now would only anger my Master, however, killing you is well within my mandate!”

Yatagarasu raised his katana, ready to slice Rarity, however…

“HALT!” Everyone in the room, including Yatagarasu, turned around and saw Dan Kuroto standing in the middle of the wrecked doorway. “You dare intrude on my holy ground?!”

Applejack looked to her brother, “Is he serious?”

“I cannot forgive this transgression against god!” A Gamer Driver appeared around his waist, and in his hands, he held two Gashats. “Prepare for my wrath!”

[+] MIGHTY ACTION X! [+]

[+] DANGEROUS ZOMBIE! [+]

“Grade X-0! Henshin!”

| CLICK TO OPEN! |

| LEVEL UP! MIGHTY JUMP! MIGHTY KICK! MIGHTY MIGHTY ACTION X! A GACHA! DANGER! DANGER! DEATH, THE CRISIS! DANGEROUS ZOMBIE! |

Two molds appeared before Kuroto, the first transformed him into Kamen Rider Genm, which was a dark color swap of Ex-Aid’s form using a Proto-Gashat. The second mold appeared and Genm was hidden in a purple and black haze, while the illustration on the mold moved back and forth. After a second, Genm burst through the mold in a very, horror moviesque style, and appeared in a completely different form. Genm was covered in bone white armor, with black armor mesh underneath. His left shoulder pauldron had three spikes coming from it, same as his left forearm bracer. His helmet had a mouth plate on it, and his visor was cracked, with one half covered with red glass, and the other half showing its exposed blue eye. This was his strongest form, Zombie Action Gamer X-0.

Right now, after seeing that transformation, everyone wasn’t so sure if they were safer or in more danger since the transformation literally had “Dangerous Zombie” in the title.

“Come and receive your punishment!” Genm cried out as he launched himself at the monster.

Genm delivered a power punch to Yatagarasu and sent him flying across the room and through the window. The dark Rider gave chase as he summoned the Gaschon Sparrow and fired several arrow blasts at the monster. Each blast hit the monster again and again and had him crash into the side of the adjacent building. Genm continued to follow him, as he flipped in the air and landed inside the hole he had created.

Meanwhile, Starlight Glimmer watched the battle transpire from a vacant room in the hospital. She knew that they would need all the power they could muster. Calling on Double Diamond to aid wasn’t a good idea at this time, he was better where he was, guarding Party Favor, Sugar Belle, and Night Glider. No, this needed something more, something to tip the balance.

“Something to even the score.”

< EQUAL! >

“Henshin!”

EQUAL! <

Starlight placed her Equal Memory into the Equilibrium Driver, and transformed into the dark, Kamen Rider Equal. Equal took a runner’s stance and jumped out the window, propelling herself until she reached the hole that Genm had made in the other building, rolling to a stop next to him as she quickly got up, entered her fighting stance, and summoned her Staff of Sameness.

“Looks like you decided to get serious,” said Genm.

“I’m holding you to your promise of secrecy,” said Equal.

“A promise from god is never taken back!”

Yatagarasu entered his fighting stance, and in the next moment dashed towards the dark Riders. Equal blocked the attack with her staff, while Genm broke the Gashcon Sparrow into its twin sickles and slashed at Yatagarasu’s exposed stomach, making sparks fly as the tengu warrior fell back. Equal and Genm glanced to each other, nodded, and charged forward. A series of explosions erupted from the building across the street, along with flashes of light and shattered windows with each detonation.

On the ground, the six Riders were busy battling the other three Heralds. The battle for the lives of the city, and the world, had begun.

***___________ x [+]E[+]___________***

The Fantasy Six, Emu, and Sunset had ridden all day and night, but they finally reached their destination. Lightheart and Emu, along with Midnight, concocted a brew that they each drank to revitalize their bodies, riding for twenty-four hours straight took a physical and mental toll, especially since none of them slept. But with their potion, it was able to bring them back to full alertness as if they had gotten a goodnight’s sleep, all their fatigue had melted away, and they felt fresh and ready for the fight.

All them checked their equipment, rechecked, and triple checked. Midnight was busy absorbing some spells from a book she had in her satchel, and no, she didn’t read it, she used a spell to absorb the knowledge of the spell book, beaming it directly into her brain. Normally Midnight would not use such a technique as she thoroughly enjoyed reading books, but this was an emergency, the joy of reading would have to take a backseat today.

Ambrosia was fitting herself with some traditional Amazonian Armor she had. When she left the camp, her captain gave her a special item that would summon strong armor to protect her. The item was a medal with glyph markings on it. Ambrosia placed it on her right bracer and tapped it once, the medal released golden particles that layered over her body, golden bracers, boots, chest plate, and helmet. The helmet had a plume on it, red in color, matching that of her red flowing cape.

Rori was summoning multiple gemstones, each one having their own specific attribute, but the ones she was using were from her personal stash. Each was of such high quality that any other would pale in comparison. Rubies, Sapphires, Topazes, Emeralds, Rose Quartz, Garnets, Amethysts, Pearls, Lapis Lazuli, Peridots. Atop of that, she brought out her strongest gems, Red, Yellow, Pink, Blue, Green, and White Diamonds, these were her strongest diamond gemstones. Rori snapped her fingers, and the dress she had been wearing transformed into violet, sparkling dress. While just a simple change, it was indeed much more, the dress was enchanted with multiple spells of warding, to guard against magical and physical damage. It also contained a regeneration spell to heal any wounds that would be inflicted upon her.

Spectra had bought some weapons during their last trip to a city. A pair of weaponized harpy war talons. They were fastened around her legs to provide protection and fitted over her normal talons which gave them a menacing appearance. Of course, these weapons were also enchanted with a self-sharpening spell to keep them razor sharp at all times, and a wind, fire, and metal elemental charge for when Spectra used her more unique magic skills. Rori had enchanted Spectra’s attire to provide extra defense to the best that the clothes would allow.

Surprise, well, surprisingly, was busy meditating, focusing her chi energy. She had outfitted herself with special dragon armor, handed down from parent to child through her family’s line. It was made of the scales of a Red Celestial Dragon, what made these scales better was that they were given from the beast itself and not taken from a slain dragon. Scales taken from a slain dragon were strong, but the magical boost they gave wasn’t as good. However, when given freely from a Celestial Dragon, the scales were stronger, and gave a tremendous boost to not only magical, but physical strength. Surprise was fitted with bracers, greaves, and a chest plate. Her head had a helmet and face plate that kept her identity hidden as well as protected her from mental spells. Surprise’s short swords were switched with that of given Dragon Fang short swords; unbreakable and could cut through almost any metal.

Lightheart didn’t really have as much for armor and weapons, but she could enhance her magic. There was a good patch of green that she laid in, channeling the energy of the earth to grant her greater strength. Rori had taken the time to enchant Lightheart’s leaf clothing with extra protective wards. More than likely she was going to provide healing support and they needed to make sure she would not be taken out right away.

Emu and Sunset were going over their items; plenty of potions and buff runes for when they faced Tirek. They also made sure to allocate any points they had gained during their level ups. During the last ten minutes, Sunset had been trying to contact Twilight on the other side to tell their friends that they were about to confront Tirek. However, each time she tried to make a connection, no one would answer.

“I don’t like this, Emu. We’re this close and now we can’t get in contact with the real world?”

“I know, I have a bad feeling about this, too,” said Emu. “The best thing we can do for our friends is face Tirek and defeat them. I know my friends will protect yours Sun-chan.”

“Same for mine,” said Sunset.

Both Riders stood up and looked to their friends who all stood up as well. A round of nods were given amongst them, they knew that this was the final battle, today would mark either the end of evil or the beginning of its reign.

“No matter what happens, girls, I want you all to know that you’re all our best friends. And that there is no one better we could ask to fight at our side,” said Sunset.

Spectra chuckled, “Sunset, you flatter us like that I might just hitch a ride with you back your world!”

Sunset shivered, she could only handle one Rainbow Dash, and one Pinkie Pie, she did not need the doubles of them residing in the same plain of existence. With those words said, the Fantasy Six and the two Kamen Riders set foot in Heaven’s Fall.

Just as the name in implied, it was truly an unholy place. The land transitioned into gray, ashen soil. The skies above were blanketed with thick, black storm clouds that released lighting and rumbled with thunder. This land would never be touched by the rays of the sun, for this was the place where once a demon’s city resided, and was the birth place of the greater evil, Tirek. The land was barren, no trees grew here, just nothingness as far as the eye could see. No rain touched this ground either, despite the storm clouds, they only released lighting bolts that struck the ground and littered it with scorched craters. There was only one thing that stood out in this barren nothingness though, a remnant structure of the old city of Tambelon, a citadel. It was at least five miles wide, and seven stories high, with a rotunda that had stained-glass windows, the only thing colorful for miles aside from the group of adventurers.

Despite not seeing anything, they never once let down their guard. They knew that they were in Tirek’s territory now, and that an attack could happen at any given moment. It was nerve wracking, honestly.

They were coming close to the citadel, but then a flash of lightning went off above them, and then another, and another, and another. The lightning continued to flash until six different arcs of lightning combined into one and shot down from the sky, striking the earth before them. The team went into defensive stances, bracing against the shockwave that was generated from the blast. When the dust settled from the strike, they beheld the demonic form of Daemona Morningstar, or as she was previously known by…

“Corona Brightstar,” said Midnight.

The demon sneered at hearing her old name. “I don’t answer to that name anymore. Corona was the name of the weak girl who could do nothing, who was alone and became nothing more than a street urchin! I am not her, I am power and destruction! I am Daemona! And by Lord Tirek’s command, I shall kill you all before his rise!”

Midnight stepped forward and looked into the eyes of the demon hovering before them. “Corona, this isn’t you! I know there’s still good in there! I saw it, if for not but a split second! Your words were harsh, but you spoke the truth that we all denied! But I will correct you on one thing! We have discovered friendship, and despite knowing that we might never see Sunset again, we will forever have her friendship! That is something you can have too!”

Daemona’s eyes shined turquoise and black as she raised her clawed hands fired twin beams of dark magic. The group jumped back just in time to miss the attack as a large explosion went off in front of them. Unfortunately, the buffeting force was not something they could escape as most of them were thrown to the ground. Daemona raised her right hand and fired a torrent of demonic flames at them, but Rori and Ambrosia were quick to intercept. The Amazon and Enchantress stood before their friends as Ambrosia’s shield shined, and Rori summoned her White Diamond. The diamond expanded until it was a large shield, and Ambrosia’s shield created a large energy construct shield with the image of a gorgon on it.

The flames struck against their dual barrier, parting the flames and making them go around their team. Sunset was the third to rise, drawing her sword she jumped over their shield and charged straight for her demonic counterpart. Daemona saw this and summoned a sword made of obsidian crystal and flew towards Sunset. Both girls met in the middle as they clashed with their swords, a shockwave, along with the “ting” sound of crystal striking crystal, echoed into the barren land. However, as the two struggled against each other, something happened. Sunset heard the neigh of the Unicorn Memory. Suddenly, her crystal sword began to glow as a field of turquoise light washed over everything, bathing the area in a turquoise hue.

“I never wanted to be alone…”

“What the?!” Spectra exclaimed.

“Did you guys here that?” Emu asked.

“Being a great sorceress, that was my dream, but had I known what it would cost me, I would have refused what my mother and father had done…”

“I’m not saying those things?! Why is my voice echoing like that?!” Damona roared.

The demoness released a burst wave of energy that forced Sunset back. The flame haired heroine flipped around and dug her heels into the earth as she skidded to a stop. Daemona came in for another strike, but Emu dashed across the field and blocked her strike with his hammer.

“They put me through such grueling training, reprimanded me harshly whenever I got something wrong. Either by pain or words alone, sometimes both…”

Emu looked to Sunset and asked, “What’s going on Sun-chan?!”

Sunset looked to her sword, and then it became clear. “This is just like what happened with Delta Vee, these…these are Corona’s thoughts and feelings! The Unicorn Memory is letting us here what’s truly in her heart!”

“Minerva would torture me at night…I would be tortured through training in the day…again and again the cycle would continue…”

Lightheart placed her hands against her mouth, the power of the Unicorn Memory was increasing, for now not only were her emotions being felt, so too was her pain. “Oh my…”

“She…How could anyone do this to another person?!” Spectra shouted in anger.

“STOP!!! DON’T LISTEN TO ANY OF THIS!!!”

Daemona released a roar as her energy increased, forcing Emu and Sunset away with just sheer power alone. Daemona readied to swing her sword again, that is until thousands of Surprise clones flooded her vision and completely surrounded the girl.

“I thought if I could endure it, I could save myself, I could save my Mom and Dad…I could take them to the capital and I could become a Guardian…”

Tears began to fall from the Surprise clones’ eyes, a sight that only infuriated the demoness. Daemona began slashing at the clones, a few defending with their short swords, but others looked too sad to counterattack as they were cut down, disappearing in a poof of pink smoke.

“Stop it! Stop looking at me with pity! I DON’T NEED YOUR PITY–!”

“No, you don’t…” Daemona froze as she felt one of the clones hug her from behind, she was prepared for the clone to hurt her, but instead, she was…was…hugging her. Soon another clone walked up and hugged Daemona from the front, and not long after the rest of the clones began to join in a giant group hug. Daemona’s hands trembled as her sword dropped from her hands, disappearing soon after. Why weren’t they attacking, why weren’t the clones hurting her? “…You need a hug.”

Daemona felt something wet on her cheeks, her vision was becoming blurry as well. At first, she thought the cat girls poisoned her, or that the storm clouds had started to rain. She wished it was either of those two, but the reality was that it was her tears, she was crying. Tears were falling from her eyes, why? She wasn’t sad, she didn’t care about anything anymore. She was going to reduce everything to ruin and build it back from the ground up. Daemona roared again and unleashed another torrent of hellfire that went on for a radius of five yards in all directions. All the clones went up in smoke, leaving Daemona standing in the middle of a burning ring of fire, her tears only made more apparent as they caught the burning light of her attack.

“They killed my parents, all just to keep me and use me to further their name…Minerva, the one who tortured me…wanted to be my lover…I never wanted any of this, I wish I never had magic…I wish…I wish I never known love!”

“DON’T LISTEN TO ANY OF IT!!!!” Daemona screamed. “Just…please…don’t listen…”

The demoness fell to her knees, the hellfire dying until the flames were gone, leaving only Daemona on her hands and knees crying her eyes as the soil tasted her salty tears as they fell. The others could not hate this girl, how could they, when she had been through things no person should have to endure? No one was there for her, no one to call friend, or grant her the justice that was due her. Now, they didn’t see a demon, they saw a girl who needed help.

Midnight carefully walked towards the demoness, kneeling down before her aas she spoke softly, “Corona, you don’t need to be alone anymore. All this anger, all this pain, you don’t have to bare it by yourself.”

The demoness looked up, her eyes having returned to the normal state they were before her demon transformation. “Why would you care about me…? I’ve been trying to kill you! I called you all disgusting! You should hate me!”

“You’ve done enough hating of yourself,” said Sunset as she approached the two. “I was once like you, Corona, I was alone, prideful, full of hate for the world and myself. I sought power to fill that void, but it took someone to show me that there was a better way. Midnight is trying to be that person to you, these girls can help you heal, Corona. So…please, let them in, let them help you.”

Corona glanced between Sunset and Midnight. The elf girl looked down upon her, her eyes were not filled with pity, they were of genuine kindness and concern for the girl before her. This was the first time she had seen such a thing in another person’s eyes, and it made her heart soar and hurt at the same time.

Midnight reached out with her right hand and asked, “Will you let us help you?”

Corona looked back to the girls behind Midnight, all of whom had the same look in their eyes as Midnight. Maybe, maybe it was time for Corona to allow another into her heart, or others in this case? Maybe there was something worth saving in this world…

“It’s a good thing I knew better than to fully trust an anomaly like you!” Suddenly, Corona began to scream in pain as black and orange light surrounded her. Corona’s eyes shined with the dark power of Tirek, as she rose up and glared at the others with evil glee. “Fortunately, I learned from my past betrayal and readied one of my own. Try and save this girl now, lest it cost you your lives, or hers!”

Daemona released a wave of magical might that blew the others away. The possessed demoness raised her hand to the sky and fired a beam of dark magic into the clouds. Seconds later the sky began to glow with spots of orange light, and in the next moment, several flaming meteors descended upon the battlefield. Multiple explosions went off all over the place, with not a single place to go for cover. When the dust settled, the entire team was on the ground, each of them in bad shape, their HP bars in the red zone. Sunset and Emu rose up on shaky legs, their bars in no better shape. Now they were facing a possessed Corona, one with her full power unleashed and no restraints.

“Damn you, TIREK!!!” Sunset shouted.

“No, I was already that before you arrived! So was this anomaly! Now, you will all die!” Tirek shouted through Daemona.

The demoness thrust her hand into the air again, firing another dark magic beam into the clouds. Soon after, the clouds began to show spots of orange around them, one after the other. There was no way for them to counter this attack, no way to survive another volley. Sunset and Emu gritted their teeth and stood their ground nonetheless, if this was the end, they would face it standing as Riders.

“It’s been fun playing alongside you, Sun-chan,” said Parado.

“I feel the same way, Parado, Emu,” said Sunset.

“We still got plenty of games to play, I don’t feel like calling it quits yet!” Emu stated.

Sunset chuckled, “Me either.”

The girls began to rise up, each bearing the same confident grins as their friends, even as the sky began to catch fire with the numerous fireballs that were about rain down from it.

“Well good, I was hoping that you lot wouldn’t give up that easily.”

The fireballs began to rain down, but just as they did, two giant beings made of pink light appeared before them. They raised their equally giant shields and together created a huge barrier. The fireballs rained down once again, exploding harmlessly against the surface of the shield. Everybody looked on in confusion as the giant constructs defended them, but Sunset Shimmer was the only one who recognized the giants.

“And what took you so long,” Sunset turned around and smiled, “Queen.”

The others turned around and saw a woman standing there. She looked similar to Joker, but her body was made of sleek, smooth, pink armor. She had a golden crown atop her head, her sapphire colored eyes went wide and then closed as she chuckled. “Sorry, but it took me a while to track those two down, figured we’d need the extra help.”

When the fireballs stopped, two beings appeared, one was an armored golem, it had no head, but its body was the face. It had a wide grin on it, with orange eyes, and was white. It had golden metallic hair, and large fists that were colored neon green and magenta. The golem was still a distance away from Daemona, but still threw a punch, the right arm began to extend towards her at a rapid speed. Before Daemona knew it, she was struck in the chest, sending her flying upwards. Soon after a red, fiery streak came in, it had fists made of fire, and yellow burning eyes. The fiery being struck Daemona and sent her flying towards the citadel, hitting against the wall of the citadel. The demoness ripped herself from the wall and prepared to counterattack, but before she could move, a coin shaped objects flew at her and struck her dead center. The attack didn’t damage her, but she did feel completely disoriented, and unable to see straight.

On the ground in the distance was another warrior, blue in color, with the same yellow eyes as the fiery warrior. Both of them and the golem stood side by side, and ready to fight, just as the barrier fell. Queen walked ahead of them, putting an unnecessary amount of swagger in her step as she did so. “Perfect Puzzle, Knockout Fighter, and Max here were wandering on the other side of this world. Once we linked up we thought about tracking you down, but we felt that you were too far away. So, we hurried along to the place that seemed the evilest, and here we are. Good thing we did, too.”

Sunset smacked her forehead. “Do you have to walk like that?”

“You should, you have a great figure, why not flaunt it? Of course, only for you-know-who, I’m sure she’d appreciate a show once and awhile.”

“QUEEN!” Sunset exclaimed with a blushing face. “Can we focus here?!”

“What’s happening?!” Emu asked.

Suddenly, Emu’s body began to glow, red and blue light flew out and from it appeared the Bugster known as Parado. He was clothed in a black coat, with a blue t-shirt, and pants that had neon colors. The Bugster looked at himself in wonder as he tried to figure out what had happened. “Looks like I finally get to play!”

“Let’s do this,” said Sunset.

“Sunset!” Midnight cried out.

The fiery haired girl looked back at Midnight, and smiled at her. “Don’t worry, we’ll save her.”

“Count on it,” said Emu.

“That goes double for me, my heart is dancing,” said Parado.

Perfect Puzzle and Knockout Fighter glowed and joined together as they shot towards Parado, transforming into the Gashat Gear Dual. Maximum and Queen became light and zoomed to their respective owners, becoming the Maximum Mighty X Gashat and Queen Gaia Memory.

“LIMIT BREAK!”
“LIMIT BREAK!”
“LIMIT BREAK!”

Parado, Emu, and Sunset each had their drivers appear and activated their items.

< QUEEN! >

< UNICORN! >

| DUAL CLICK AND LOAD! |

| MAXIMUM MIGHTY X!|

“Henshin!”

“Max Dai Henshin!”

| THE STRONGEST FIST! WHAT’S THE NEXT STAGE? |

| CLICK AND UP! |

| MIX IT UP! THE FIERCE RED FISTED FIGHTER!THE CLEVER BLUE CHAIN PUZZLER!RED ANDBLUE NOW TOGETHER!PERFECTKNOCKOUT~! |

A red and blue mold appeared before Parado, and in flash it passed over him, donning the good Bugster in his Kamen Rider armor. The right side was red, and the left was blue, parts of his armor were outlined in golden plates, and his Rider Gauge was front and center. The helmet had spikey hair of red and blue, and the eyes were different colors, the right eye was red, while the left was blue. This was Parado’s true power, the max Level 99, Kamen Rider Para-DX.

| MAX CLICK AND LOAD! |

| CLICK TO OPEN! |

| LEVEL MAX! |

|THE ULTIMATE POWERFUL BODY! BA-DA BOOM! BLAM KA-POW! MAXIMUM POWER X!|

The first mold was that of Mighty Action X, it passed over Emu and transformed him into his Ex-Aid form. But from above, large, bulky armor appeared. The armor opened just as Ex-Aid jumped up and into it, making the arms and leg pop out. The chest place was face, with the shoulders having golden spikey hair, where the head was, Ex-Aid’s head popped up, this was Emu’s super form, Maximum Gamer Level 99.

UNICORN! <

{< QUEEN! MIMETIC DRIVE! >}

Sunset was bathed in the light of turquoise and pink, and once it vanished she had achieved her equivalent of a super form. Her armor had been shed for a more streamed lined, and form fitting armor. The battle skirt flowed behind her, as her sapphire eyes glowed with intensity. This was Kamen Rider Unicorn: Empress.

The Fantasy Six beheld the forms of their friends, surprised firstly to see the ghost familiar of Emu now standing before them with his own power, Emu himself as a giant, and now Sunset who looked like an actual queen.

“Okay, anyone else still trying to wrap their heads around all this?” Spectra asked.

“Yeah,” said the others in unison.

“Good, just checking.”

| GASHACON KEY SLASHER! |

Ex-Aid summoned the Key Slasher and readied it for use. “I think I can use the Reprogram power to save her, but we’ll need to keep her still for a moment. Sunset, I’ll need you to funnel your magic into this as well, it seems to have an effect on her and with it we can extract the real Corona from inside that demon!”

“Not a problem, Parado, you think you manage to keep her off kilter with some back up?” Unicorn asked.

“Sure, I’ve been itching to do some real fighting!”

\ KNIGHTS! //

Suddenly, two knight constructs appeared beside Para-DX.

| GASHACON PARABRAGUN! |

Para-DX summoned his signature ax-gun weapon, with the ax end having a flame decal, and on the opposite for the gun mode, it had a blue puzzle piece motif. Para-DX dashed ahead, with the Knights on his left and right keeping up. Knight 1 moved in and slashed at Daemona while she was still in her dizzy state, the blow landed and caused some her of her HP bar to drain. Knight 2 entered and slashed her from behind, taking another chunk of HP from the demoness. Para-DX placed his hand on the ax blade and switched it around so now it was in gun mode.

| KA-BLAM! |

Para-DX fired blue energy bolts from the Parabragun, at the same time, Daemona released black orbs of dark magic, each one hitting and exploding before they could reach their target. Para-DX then pushed the “B” button on the weapon three times.

| 1-2-3! |

Taking aim again, Para-DX fired three shots, all of which angled themselves until they struck Daemona from three different angles.

| 3-HIT CHAIN! |

“Let’s run you down a little more,” said Para-DX as he took out the Dual Gashat and inserted it into the Parabragun.

| CLICK AND SAVE! |

| DUAL CLICK AND LOAD! |

Para-DX summoned two coins, one flew into the Parabragun, and the other into Para-DX himself.

| FINISHING MOVE! |

| METALIZE! |

| SHADOW CLONES! |

}!!!{ PERFECT CRITICAL FINISH! }!!!{

Para-DX’s left eye glowed bright as the Parabragun sparkled with built up energy. At that moment, seven clones of Para-DX appeared and took aim. The six clones fired first, releasing energy bolts that were colored blue and red, the blasts zipped and angled until all of them struck Daemona, the seventh – and original – fired his Parabragun, and its shot was colored silver, enhanced by the power item. When the shot landed, it hit heavier than the others, knocking Daemona out of the sky and down to the ground, her HP bar dropping into the red zone.

“All you two now!” Para-DX shouted.

“Thanks, Parado,” said Emu.

Ex-Aid pressed the “Gun” button on the Key Slasher and then took out the Maximum Mighty X Gashat, inserting it into the weapon.

| B-B-B-BLAM! |

| MAXIMUM CLICK AND LOAD! |

Ex-Aid’s body began to glow with yellow light, at the same time, Unicorn channeled her magic, focusing it all into her left hand. Ex-Aid took aim with the Key Slasher, while Unicorn laid her hand on the Key Slasher, channeling her magic into the weapon.

}!!!{MAXIMUM MIGHTY CRITICAL FINISH!}!!!{

The Key Slasher fired a beam of magenta light, with a turquoise helix wrapped around it. The beam continued until it struck Daemona, wrapping her in a bubble of magenta and turquoise light, causing the demoness to scream in pain as she held her head. Her body shifted between the demonic form of Daemona and the human form of Corona.

“FIGHT IT CORONA! YOU’RE NOT A DEMON, YOU’RE NOT A MONSTER! PROVE IT TO YOURSELF! YOUR MOTHER AND FATHER WOULD NOT WANT THIS FOR YOU, YOU ARE NOT DAEMONA MORNINGSTAR! YOU ARE CORONA BRIGHTSTAR!”

The girl seemed to finally register the words Sunset spoke, and in a flash of light, Corona and Daemona were separated, with the former falling to the ground. Daemona broke free from the sphere of energy she was captured in, albeit weaker than she had ever been.

“Altogether!” Sunset ordered.

} QUEEN! MAXIMUM DRIVE! {<

}!!!{MAXIMUM CRITICAL BREAK!}!!!{

}!!!{ PERFECT KNOCKOUTCRITICAL BOMBER }!!!{

All three Riders jumped into the air, Unicorn flipped around and thrust her right leg forward, coated in pink energy. Ex-Aid angled his bulky body towards Daemona as his giant left foot was coated in yellow game energy, and at Para-DX was them, his foot glowing with red and blue game energy. All three Riders converged on Daemona at once, a giant explosion went off with Unicorn, Ex-Aid, and Para-DX skidding to a halt as the explosion continued to go off behind them, ending the threat and existence of Daemona Morningstar. Unicorn turned around and watched as the girls all rushed towards the unconscious Corona, with Midnight hurriedly administering a healing spell to the girl.

“You alright, Sun-chan?” Ex-Aid asked.

“Yeah, guess you could say this was a bit personal for me,” said Unicorn.

Suddenly, the ground began to rumble as a massive earthquake shook the land. Everyone held on as the quake continued, and in the distance the citadel began to crumble. In matter of seconds, the stained-glass windows of the citadel shattered as the structure was split in two, the walls crumbling into chunks of rubble. From the center of the destruction a blast of orange and black energy soared up and set the clouds, causing the clouds themselves to release black lightning down upon the land.

From the rubble appeared Tirek, standing about eight feet tall, and clad in black and silver armor. His legs were armored up, along with his lower horse body. His chest plate bore the molded images of monsters and destruction. In his left hand he wielded an ax that had its blades colored blue and wafted with cold vapors. In his right hand was a longsword, its blade black as his own heart, and rippling with dark energy. The dark centaur wore no helmet, his own skull and horns were thick and strong enough to smash through a solid mountain if he so wished.

“The final boss showed up,” said Para-DX.

“Now is the hour of your demise, Kamen Riders!”

Unicorn, Ex-Aid, and Para-DX all got into their combat stances and stared down the villain before them.

“We’ll see about that, Tirek!”

Level 13: Boss Battle

1 Hour Earlier…

Everyone was getting ready for the upcoming battle, with the gateway open for four hours there was no doubt that an attack was coming, and many were scrambling to get ready. Shining Armor was given command of their fighting force given this was his home dimension, the teams were split up thusly. Shining Armor, Poppy, Kiriya, and Taiga would be the ground force, Hiiro had opted to keep watch from the roof to see if anything was coming. Of course, Shining Armor began wondering where Nasca was, as this was too important not to have all hands on deck. To which, Hiiro assured that Nasca would be there, while giving a subtle glance to Rainbow Dash who was hiding around the corner.

Once the assignments were given, everyone went to their stations, except Shining Armor. He was taken aside by Starlight Glimmer of Earth, the CEO and PhoenEXE Corp., told him it was important that she speak with him alone. They met in a vacant room, away from prying eyes, and once the door was locked, Starlight reached into her pockets and pulled out four new Gaia Memories, presenting them to Shining Armor.

“Wait, you made more?” Shining Armor asked.

“These were supposed to be rolled out with you when you were first deployed, but we wanted to make some adjustments to them. I was going to give them to you sooner, but that Rocket monster fiasco delayed my delivery of these to you,” said Starlight.

Shining Armor took the Gaia Memories, inspecting them each. They were all colored a blueish-gray, but the letters and graphics at the center were each different. The first had an “S” with a raging aura, the second was a “W” that was made of different weapons, the third was “A” that had an explosion go off in the back, and the last was a “T” that had diagrams.

“Load these into the Chrome Magnum, it will activate Trigger’s strongest form.”

“But, the Magnum only has three slots on the front loader,” said Shining Armor.

Starlight shook her head as she said, “No, there’s a fourth, located at the bottom of the grip, hit it once with the flat of your palm and a slot will drop out. The Chrome Magnum and T-Driver are already preprogrammed with this ‘Super Mode’, it just needed the activation of these four devices. I have to warn you, we’ve only ever run the simulations, it hasn’t been properly tested in the field. That was something else I had planned on getting around to asking you, but then all this craziness started happening…”

“Hey, don’t worry, you haven’t let me down thus far, I have no reason to think that this won’t work.”

***___________ x [+]E[+]___________***

Trigger had switched the Chrome Magnum into Knife Mode by using the Knife Memory. Chimera came in with a swipe of its claws, tearing the street apart as he did so. Trigger jumped back, narrowly dodging the attack, but was then ambushed by several bow and arrow wielding Bugsters. However, yellow energy bolts sailed by Trigger as several of the Bugsters went down around him, exploding as the “Hit!” icons appeared. Trigger glanced to his left and watched as Snipe was on one knee and switched his Gashacon Blaster into rifle mode. The blue Rider switched his Chrome Magnum back to blaster mode and began firing shots in all directions. Trigger ran to Snipe as the other Rider fired, covering his retreat. One Bugster after the other fell, exploding in display of fire. Trigger finally made it back to Snipe’s position and both began firing a barrage at the incoming army, many tried to fire back, but they were not fast enough to fire back. Chimera was taking the barrage in stride, making his way towards the gun wielding Riders.

“This isn’t good, we’re not making any real headway here!” Trigger stated.

“We’ll need to take this to the next level then. Trigger, do you have such a power?” Snipe asked.

Trigger thought back to the Gaia Memories he was given by Starlight, “Yes, but it’s kinda untested, not sure if it will work or not!”

“No time like the present to find out!”

“Got that right!”

“Trigger, cover me!”

Snipe tossed his Gashacon Blaster to Trigger, who began dual wielding both guns and firing them, at the same time, Snipe took out the Gear Gashat Dual and turned the dial.

[+] BANG BANG SIMULATIONS! [+]

“Phase 50!”

| DUAL CLICK AND LOAD! |

| CLICK TO OPEN! |

| DUAL UP! SCRAMBLE, MOVE OUT! BANG BANG SIMULATIONS – TAKE OFF! |

A warship looking robot appeared from above, the bot descended upon Snipe and both glowed as the ship disassembled and fitted over Snipe. His chest had a thick haul armor, with his shoulder pauldrons being that of a dual turret cannon, below them were another dual turret cannon, and forming over his forearms and hands were a ship’s bow with two large cannons mounted at the front. Snipe’s helmet was now fitted with an armored captains hat, while the neon yellow armor plate that simulated hair was draped over his right eye. This was Snipe’s super form, Simulation Gamer Level 50.

Trigger watched as the Gashacon Blaster disappeared, but before he could question it, he saw Snipe walk up beside him. Snipe pointed his weapons at the incoming hordes and Chimera, and within seconds they were treated to a powerful barrage of cannon fire, explosions going off one after the other as many of the weak Bugsters were destroyed, while Chimera had to hunker down where it was.

“I can hold them, transform while I do,” said Snipe.

Trigger nodded to Snipe and backed away. The blue Rider smacked the underside of the Magnum grip, and the front loader. Just as Starlight said, there as a fourth slot. Trigger pulled out the Gaia Memories, pressing the buttons as he loaded each one.

< SUPER! >

< WEAPONS! >

< ACTION! >

< TACTICS! >

The Chrome Magnum began to make a siren noise like that of a police car, this was it, the moment he loaded them in it would activate this armor’s strongest form, but Shining Armor wasn’t afraid. The greatest fear he had was seeing his Mom, Dad, Twilight, Spike, and Cadance die. That would never happen, not so long as he had the power to protect and serve. With that resolve, Shining Armor pushed the slots back into the Chrome Magnum.

|<^>|SUPER!WEAPONS!ACTION!TACTICS!S.W.A.T. ENGAGED!|<^>|

Trigger was surrounded in a field of blue energy, the siren sound continued to blare as the new system went to work. The chest armor was fitted with an armor plate the covered the front and back, with both sides of the chest having slots six in total, three on the left and three on the right. Trigger’s shoulder pauldrons were now square shaped, had reinforced glass as blue light shined from them. The forearms were wrapped in thicker armor, with the top also sporting the same blue, reinforced glass. The leg armor had armor plates wrapped around them, with the blue glass shown at the front of the shins. Trigger’s helmet had an armored helmet placed around it, with a microphone like device coming down and hooking to the front around where the mouth would be. On both sides of the helmet were antenna, and across the eyes was a blue visor. The armor plates were colored dark gray, navy blue, and silver. This was Trigger’s super form, Trigger SWAT.

The Chrome Magnum had changed as well, no longer was it a normal small blaster, it was now a blaster rifle. In the field of energy an attachment materialized, fitting over the Chrome Magnum and turning it into a rifle. On the side was a dial pad that went from one to six, on the side of those numbers was an “Enter” button, and below that was a button that read “Engage”. The rifle was about three feet length, with a tri-barrel, now called the Chrome Ultimatum.

Shining Armor looked upon his transformed state and couldn’t hold back his geek, fanboy enthusiasm from leaking out. “Holy crap, this is awesome! I mean just – this is so – freakin’ – cool!”

“Congratulations…Now would mind giving me a hand?!” Snipe asked curtly.

Trigger blushed under his helmet and rubbed the back of his head with his left hand. “Heh, heh, sorry…”

Shining Armor got on one knee and took aim, he then then pressed the 1 digit on the side of the rifle and pressed “Enter”. The moment that he did, the top Gaia Memory on the side right side of his chest began to glow, along with the blue glass panels on the armor.

/#\GATLING!/#\

Around the barrel of the Chrome Ultimatum, a blue construct of a Gatling gun barrel formed. The blue Kamen Rider pulled the trigger and immediately the gun began to unleash a barrage of blue energy bolts, the Gatling gun construct began to spin around the main barrel and fired its own barrage, between Snipe and Trigger, they were able to clear the street of the bow and arrow Bugsters, leaving only Chimera.

The Herald jumped up into the air and from its mouths breathed fire onto the Riders’ position. Snipe and Trigger rolled out of the way of the flame attack, but now a wall of flames separated Trigger and Snipe. Chimera landed on Trigger’s side of the fire wall and began attacking, however, with SWAT, Trigger’s helmet was able to analyze Chimera’s attack pattern. The beast slashed with its left claw, but Trigger ducked underneath it and fired into its chest. Damaged, but not deterred, Chimera reared back and breathed more fire.

Trigger rolled out of the way and pressed the 4 digit on the rifle and hit “Enter”, causing the top Gaia Memory on his left chest to glow.

/#\SUPPRESSOR!/#\

The rifle had a construct of a large nozzle form over the barrel, connected to it was a tank on the back with a nozzle connecting back to the larger one on the front of the barrel. When the Chimera reared back to bellow more flames, Trigger aimed the Chrome Ultimatum and fired, sending a stream of blue glowing foam right in the monster’s faces. The foam quickly extinguished the flames as they completely engulfed the heads, blinding them. Trigger turned around and aimed at the fire wall, shooting more of the foam and putting out the fire that separated Snipe.

Trigger quickly pressed the 5 digit on the rifle.

/#\KNIFE!/#\

The extinguisher construct faded, and in its place, a blue blade formed on the underside of the rifle that was three feet in length. Snipe opened fire on Chimera, pelting him with heavy cannon fire that further damaged the Herald. At the same time, Trigger got behind Chimera. The snakehead tail began to strike at him, but Trigger’s combat prediction engine was already alerting him to where the monster was going to hit. When the snake tail again lashed out, Trigger raised this Chrome Ultimatum and slashed down, beheading the snake tail. Chimera roared in pain as it stumbled backwards.

Trigger and Snipe stood side by side, ready to end this. Snipe pulled the lever on his Gamer Driver, while Trigger took out the Trigger Memory, and inserted it into a slot that popped up on the top of the weapon. He then pushed it down and pressed all six numbers on the dial pad and hit “Engage”.

| CLICK TO OPEN! |

| FINISHING MOVE! |

}!!!{ BANG BANG CRITICAL FIRE! }!!!{

|<^>| 1-2-3-4-5-6, ENGAGE! |<^>|

}<^>{TRIGGER! MAXIMUM DRIVE!}<^>{

The blue glass panels on Trigger’s armor began to glow, along with his visor, and the six Gaia Memories on his chest. Six oscillating rings appeared in front of the barrel of the Chrome Ultimatum, each one was wider than the next, and at the center of each one was a thin layer of light that almost resembled glass. Snipe brought both of his arm mounts forward, putting them together and charging the bow cannons, a ball of energy forming at the mouths of the cannons.

“MAGNA ENFORCER!”

Snipe fired his ball of energy, and that same time, Trigger fired a beam from his weapon. The beam passed through all six rings, magnifying the beam in size and power until it appeared as a large column sized beam of blue light. Trigger’s beam attack merged with Snipes energy ball, and the two roared as the attack headed towards Chimera. The Herald had no time to dodge this as both attacks struck their target, resulting in a large explosion that resulted with the word “Perfect”.

***___________ x [+]E[+]___________***

Nasca and Brave were valiantly battling Gleam Eyes, a great clash of blades rang out through the city as three sword fighters went at it. Nasca came in, wings flared, with an overhead strike. Gleam raised his giant sword and blocked the attack, but then followed through and pushed Nasca away, just in time to block Brave as he slashed with his fiery sword.

The winged Rider slowed down as she entered a group of sword and shield Bugsters. Nasca watched as two attacked her from the front, but Nasca was the fastest of them all, getting in close and stabbing the first in the chest, causing it to explode, the second was taken out as she swept her blade and cut the Bugster at the legs and then coming down with another slash to make him explode. Several more jumped in with their shields to pin her down, but Nasca just shot straight into the air as they all shield bashed each other.

Meanwhile, Brave was locked, blade to blade, with Gleam Eyes. The shining eyes of the Herald shone brightly in the darkness of its helmet, but without seeing its full face, Brave could tell the Herald was smiling. The two broke off, and Brave switched his Gashacon Sword into ice mode. He slammed the blade against the asphalt and generated and ice surge that snaked its way to Gleam Eyes and quickly enveloped his legs.

Nasca took this as her cue to come from behind and strike down the monster. However, the snake tail lashed out and wrapped around Nasca’s leg, throwing her over his shoulder and right at Brave. The two sword wielders slammed into each and tumbled about on the street. Gleam Eyes raised his sword and brought it down on the ground, shattering the ice that feebly tried to keep him in place.

Brave and Nasca got up, panting, hurt a little, but not out.

“Nasca, I believe it’s time to get serious,” said Brave.

“I’m with you there, Brave!” Nasca agreed.

Brave took out a white Gashat that had winding wires on it, and Nasca took out her Rocket Memory and Booster.

[+]TADDLE LEGACY![+]

< ROCKET! >

/^\ BOOST! /^\

“Proceeding to Level 100!”

“Let’s rocket!”

| CLICK AND LOAD! |

| LEVEL UP! |

|FOLLOW THE HISTORY! AWAKENED KNIGHT! TADDLE LEG~ACY!|

{/^} ROCKET BOOST! ULTIMATE DRIVE! {/^}

Two pillars of light shot into the sky, one blue and green, the other white and blue. In a matter of seconds, the pillars of light shattered apart, creating feathers made of green and white light that cascaded down upon the area. Brave’s upper body was fitted with a large ivory white armor piece, with gold around the center and edges. His shoulder pauldrons were of same coloring, and came down just a bit to cover the sides of his arms. His helmet was changed, now having a knightly helm, with white and gold accents, and crest with two golden wings flaring. On his back flowed a long white cape that flapped in the wind.

Beside Brave was Nasca. Nasca’s chest was incased in green armor, with a sapphire blue jewel at the center. Her legs were covered in the same green armor, but on it were yellow-gold lines that formed the shape of a bird’s legs and talons. Nasca had gauntlets on both arms, with wing frills coming out from the top. The shoulder pauldrons were segmented, with green for the top segment, and blue for the last two. The helmet had sharp, angular frills on the sides, the visor was blue to match the jewel on the chest. Another jewel was at the helmet’s forehead, surrounded in a yellow-gold metal and rose up to form a single horn. Those same yellow-gold lines that formed the legs and talons on Nasca’s armor legs rose up along the chest, diverged at the jewel, rounded her back and joined at the forehead crest. On Nasca’s back were folded wing-like thrusters, the yellow-gold lines outlined each fin, forming a perfect condor.

This was Brave Legacy Gamer Level 100, and Nasca Star Chaser.

“Commencing Bugster removal operation,” said Brave as he raised his hands up.

“Time to go into overdrive,” said Nasca.

The lines on her armor, along with her crest horn, removed themselves from her armor and united together into the Condor Saber, at the same time, Brave summoned his Gashacon Sword, and the two Riders charged forward.

Nasca opened the wing thrusters on her back, as soon as they were ignited, Nasca disappeared. For a few brief moments she was visible, but when she moved, it was like a mirage afterimage was left in her wake, disorienting Gleam Eyes as he did not know where to strike. Fortunately for Nasca, she knew where to strike. The speedy Kamen Rider, slashed at Gleam Eyes, leaving a streak of blue-green light across his chest before it faded. Gleam Eyes slashed at the air where he saw Nasca, but his huge sword only sliced through a mirage. Another slash landed, this time on his back, making the monster whirl around to try and deliver a backhand slash, but again he hit nothing but air.

Brave was about to enter the fray, but many of the sword and shield wielding Bugsters began to surround him. “To your existence, I say ‘no thank you’.” Brave raised his right hand and hundreds of arrows made of golden light appeared above him. With a flick of his wrist, Brave showered the weaker Bugsters with arrows of light, piercing through their shields as if they didn’t exist at all. The knight Kamen Rider ran his hand over blade of the Gashacon Sword, taking it into a reverse grip, and slashed in a circle. The action created a ring of fire that surged outward, hitting all the Bugsters around him and making them explode.

Once the small fry were dealt with, Brave dashed towards Gleam Eyes and delivered a flaming slash across his chest. The monster roared in anger as he came down with his large sword, but Nasca intercepted, blocking the blow before it could land. Brave jumped upwards and slashed with his sword, the combined power of both Nasca and Brave shattered Gleam Eyes’ sword as if it were fragile glass. The shockwave generated by it caused the Herald to stagger back in shock that his weapon was destroyed so easily.

“Brave, let's finish this?!” Nasca asked.

“I concur!” Brave confirmed.

Brave moved the Taddle Legacy Gashat into the Kimewaza Slot Holder, and Nasca moved the Rocket Memory into her right hip port.

}!!!{TADDLE CRITICAL STRIKE!}!!!{

}/^{ ROCKET! MAXIMUM DRIVE! }/^{

Suddenly, Brave’s cape shined and transformed into large, white angel wings, lifting him into the air as his body charged up with blue and golden energy. Nasca’s wings flared up, releasing blue-green particles of light, her sword began to shine as she gathered her energy.

Nasca dashed towards Gleam Eyes at such a rapid rate of speed it appeared as if she teleported right in front of him. “X-CALIBUR SLASH!” Nasca disappeared and then reappeared behind Gleam Eyes from particles of blue-green light. A giant blue-green X mark formed across Gleam Eyes’ chest, at the same time, Brave channeled all the energy he had built up and focused it into the Gashacon Sword. With one swing, Brave slashed in Gleam Eyes’ direction, sending two spheres of blue light straight for the center of the X. The two attacks combined and annihilated the Herald in a grand explosion of white and blue, and blue and green light. In the center of that explosion was the word “Perfect”.

***___________ x [+]E[+]___________***

Poppy and Lazer were currently surrounded by mage and lancer type Bugsters, all while Drakon was steadily circling them, enjoying how the two Riders were trapped.

“This looks bad, Kiriya-san,” said Poppy.

“Oh, we’ve been in worse spots,” said Lazer.

Drakon raised his right hand and the Bugsters readied themselves. However, just before the Herald could give the order, Yatagarasu came flying out of a building and plowed right through the line of Bugsters and right into Drakon, sending both of them smashing into several parked cars before stopping inside a dump truck. Lazer and Poppy looked behind them and saw Kamen Riders Genm and Equal walking towards them, both dusting themselves off from their encounter with the tengu Herald.

“I was wondering where you were,” Lazer looked to the newcomer with curiosity and weariness, “and who’s she?”

“Kamen Rider Equal, and as far as you’re concerned, I’m here to help stop them,” said Equal as she pointed towards Drakon and Yatagarasu.

Drakon and Yatagarasu managed to rip themselves from the dump truck, tearing it apart and enraged that they were sent flying as they were.

“Stand back mortals, and let god take care of this,” said Genm.

Lazer put up his left hand in front of Genm and said, “No, I’ll take care them, still don’t trust your crazy ass to not take their data and make another insane game.”

Genm got in Lazer’s face and shouted, “How dare you speak that way to god!”

Lazer then bumped his helmet against Genm’s and said, “I can speak to you however I like!”

Poppy shook her head at the two men.

“Is it always like this?” Equal asked.

“Left alone long enough, unfortunately, yes.” Poppy had had enough and forced herself in between the two bickering men, keeping them at arm’s length from each other. “Kiriya-san, Kuroto-san, that’s enough! We have a major CRISIS! The enemy is over there!”

Genm and Lazer turned their heads in the direction of the incoming Heralds. Yatagarasu arched his back and from it grew a third long arm, into this third arm another katana was summoned, and in his left hand was another, the triple armed monster flew straight for the arguing Riders, ready to cut them down. However, at the last second, Equal intercepted the attack with her Staff of Sameness, causing a shockwave upon the triple impact against the shaft of her weapon. Genm and Lazer briefly glanced to each other then turned to fire their Gashacon Sparrows at Yatagarasu, forcing the monster to retreat.

Equal and Poppy chased down Yatagarasu, Poppy jumped up, and right before she dropped back down, Equal used her staff to strike upwards. Poppy’s feet made contact with her staff which allowed Poppy to springboard up higher to meet the tengu. Using the chainsaw mode, she slashed at the monster’s wings with charged game energy. The energy slashes cut through the monster’s wings, making the Herald flightless and now stuck on the ground. Once Poppy was back on the ground, Equal took the Less Than sign on her hip and placed it on the front of the Equilibrium Driver.

| LESS THAN: <|

All the crystal facets on Equal’s arm began to emit a blue glow, with that she ran towards the tengu Bugster. Yatagarasu swung his left sword, but the moment it got near Equal, he felt his strength lessen greatly, and by the time it made contact with Equal’s right side, barely any sparks were released from the impact. The tengu Bugster tried again with this left sword, but again no damage was done. Now that he was in this close a proximity to Equal, Yatagarasu was feeling considerably weaker.

“What…What have you done…?!”

“Evening the playing field, a bit,” said Equal.

Equal shrugged off the blades and struck Yatagarasu three times with her staff, finishing up with a strong thrust attack to his abdomen, making him skid backwards on his heels as sparks flew from the point of impact. Equal took out the Equal Memory and loaded it into the slot on the Staff of Sameness.

} EQUAL! MAXIMUM DRIVE! {<

“SUPREME REDUCTION!”

The bident staff began to glow with blue light as the Staff of Sameness fired a beam of cerulean light that struck Yatagarasu. A digital readout appeared next to him that showed, “Level: 50”, but after a few seconds, the number dropped until it read “Level: 1”. With that done, Equal ejected the Equal Memory from her Staff of Sameness and placed it into her right hip port, switching the Less Than with the Greater Than sign, and at the same time, Poppy pressed down on the “B” button on the Bugvisor.

| GREATER THAN: >|

} EQUAL! MAXIMUM DRIVE! {<

}!!!{ CRITICAL CREWS-AID! }!!!{

The crystal facets changed to red as Equals’ right foot was laced in red light, and Poppy’s in pink. Both female Riders jumped up, flipped once, and dove for a flying Rider Kick. In his weakened state, Yatagarasu could not stop the attack as both Riders hit their mark, coming to a stop some feet behind him as Yatagarasu exploded with a “Perfect”.

Lazer nodded in satisfaction at the end of another Herald and then looked to Genm, “Well let’s not fall behind the ladies, shall we?”

“Don’t tell me what do.”

Lazer took out the Proto-Shakariki Sports Gashat, and Genm brought out the Giri Giri Chambara Gashat. Both Riders inserted the Gashats into their weapons, with Lazer having his in sickle mode, while Genm had his in arrow mode.

}!!!{ SHAKARIKI CRITICAL FINISH! }!!!{

}!!!{ GIRI GIRI CRITICAL FINISH!}!!!{

The sickle blades of Lazer’s Gashacon Sparrow charged up, and with two slashes unleashed wheels made of game energy that flew towards Drakon. At the same time, Genm fired a barrage of energy arrows from the Gashacon Sparrow. The wheels and arrows blasted through several of the Bugster lancers and mages before finally hitting their mark, Drakon could not withstand the combined power of two level zero Riders as their attacks combined and destroyed the snake Bugster with a “Perfect”.

Lazer looked to Genm, and Genm sneered. Even though he couldn’t see it, Genm knew that Lazer was smirking under his helmet. They rendezvoused with Poppy and Equal, and made their way towards the other Riders, having defeated their individual opponents.

“You got an upgrade?!” Nasca exclaimed as she beheld Trigger’s super mode.

“Yep, and it looks like you have too. That display from earlier was a little concerning; how powerful is that form?” Trigger asked, his cop interrogation side showing.

“Alright, alright, none of that, we’re all on the same side,” said Snipe as they met up with the rest of their group. “Kiriya, Poppy, who’s that?”

Poppy looked to Equal and said, “Oh, she helped us out in defeating those last two Bugsters, this is–”

“KAMEN RIDER EQUAL!” Nasca and Trigger shouted at the same time.

Nasca drew her blade, and Trigger pointed his rifle at Equal.

“What is going on?” Brave asked.

“Let’s just say, between wanting to arrest Unicorn and Nasca for vigilantism and arresting Equal, Equal takes priority!” Trigger explained.

“She’s a bad guy, one that’s been causing us grief behind the scenes, and now she’s standing here,” said Nasca.

Equal raised her hands and patted the air in a calming manner, “Cool it you two, despite my past deeds, the threat to Canterlot City is too great to make this between you and me. We have a great common enemy that’s a threat to this world, and I don’t want it destroyed any more than either of you. For now, I propose a truce.” Equal continued to stare down the edge of a sword and the barrel of a rifle. “Oh, come on, I just helped these two take down that monster! I didn’t have to, and from what I hear, there’s a bigger one still in the wings that Unicorn and another Rider are dealing with!”

Lazer sighed heavily and placed his hand on Trigger’s rifle. “As much as I hate to admit it, she’s right. And considering who we’re also working with,” Lazer threw his thumb in Genm’s direction, “we can’t exactly say we’re any better right now.”

Nasca and Trigger glanced between each other, their posture relaxed as they lowered their weapons.

“You go one inch out of line, I won’t hesitate to bust you here and now,” said Trigger.

“Duly noted.”

“Let’s head back inside, after all this, we need to see what’s happening in the game world,” said Poppy.

Hope Sunset’s having better luck.

***___________ x [+]E[+]___________***

Heaven’s Fall was erupting with flashes of light, Tirek, the Dark Lord, had risen again, and now was locked in mortal combat with Kamen Riders Unicorn, Ex-Aid, and Para-DX. Explosions went off every other second as the Bugster-Centaur hybrid fired dark energy blasts from his sword, and powerful beams from between his horns.

Unicorn’s summoned Rooks joined together and formed a powerful barrier that blocked the twin attack, but it was a struggle as the constructs were showing cracks all over their bodies. Ex-Aid dropped down from the sky with his Gashacon Key Slasher, but Tirek blocked it with his ax. Para-DX charged and slashed with this Gashacon Parbragun, but Tirek blocked that with his sword. All this while he still kept firing a beam of dark magic energy from his horns at Unicorn.

The Fantasy Six were currently standing behind a barrier that Rori and Midnight erected, using the strongest spells and gems in their arsenal, but with that they were still weary. Considering the titanic battle that was occurring in the distance, they weren’t sure that the barrier would completely protect them. Lightheart was currently administering a healing spell to Corona, her separation from the demon took a toll on her, physically and magically, and had rendered her unconscious. Midnight hoped that between herself and Lightheart they might be able to awaken her, and hopefully it would be to a world that was free of the monster before them.

Sunset summoned her Knights, Knights 1 and 2 dashed from around the shield and charged straight for Tirek. His arms were occupied, and his horns were busy attacking the Rooks, he was left wide open for attack. The Knights closed in on Tirek and were about to thrust their swords into his gut, but then the dark centaur unleashed a burst wave of dark magic. The wave slammed into Ex-Aid and Para-DX, sending them flying in opposite directions, and at the same time shattering the Knights like fragile glass.

Tirek rushed across the field and raised both weapons, once in range, in brought his ax and sword down on the Rooks’ shields. The giant protectors shattered, leaving only particles of pink light, Unicorn gritted her teeth as she brought both hands together and fired a power sphere right into Tirek’s face. The sphere hit its mark, exploding in his face and causing the dark centaur to stumble backwards. Unicorn laced her fists with blazing pink energy and engaged Tirek, throwing an uppercut. The blow connected with his lower jaw, making Tirek stumble backwards, but while in midair, Unicorn laced her feet with energy and delivered a flying roundhouse kick to his face.

Ex-Aid ran back into the fight and threw a punch with his large fist. Tirek summoned a shield of dark magic around himself, stopping the attack from connecting, however it did seem as though the Dark Lord was struggling a bit to keep the attack there. Para-DX switched his weapon into blaster mode and fired bolt after bolt of laser fire at Tirek’s back, earning him a frustrated growl from Tirek.

Unicorn ran towards Tirek, firing several more power spheres at him as she closed in. When she was close, Ex-Aid summoned his Key Slasher and tossed it to Unicorn. The magical Rider took Ex-Aid’s gifted weapon, jumped and came down with an overhead strike. Tirek again blocked the attack with his sword, causing his aura and Unicorn’s to flare as they struggled to push the other back.

Tirek raised his right foreleg and stamped the ground beneath him, sending a wave of dark magic that made the land erupt. Large, jagged pillars of earth jutted from the ground, hitting the armored warriors and caused them to fall back to avoid sustaining more damage. Tirek smirked at the Kamen Riders, “Is that all you’ve got? You made it all this way, and now that I’m standing here, you can’t even defeat me? How pitiful!”

“Dammit, we’re not strong enough, even fighting him three on one!” Para-DX stated.

“If only we had Hyper Muteki,” said Ex-Aid.

“And my Shining Memory,” added Unicorn.

Ex-Aid sighed and then took a more aggressive stance. “For whatever reason, we don’t have them, we need to make use of what we have to beat him here and now, who knows what’s happening on the other side.”

Tirek’s ears picked up on their conversation and he chuckled evilly. “Oh, worried about your companions on the other side? Don’t worry, I sent some of my Heralds to keep them company. By now, they should be beheading them all, and anyone else who is daring to stop my rise!”

That set them off, all three Riders charged in again at the same time as Tirek. When they met in the middle, a giant explosion of light erupted as the sounds of battle raged on.

“This isn’t good, all three of them are really struggling against Tirek,” said Ambrosia.

“Then let’s get in there and help them out!” Spectra suggested.

“You’re…You’re nuts…”

The girls turned around and watched as Corona’s eyes slowly opened, she groaned as she propped herself up, making Lightheart fly to her shoulder and place a hand on her cheek.

“You mustn’t move so quickly, your body’s weak from your ordeal!” Lightheart begged with concern heavy in her voice.

Corona looked down at the fairy, genuinely, and wholeheartedly, Corona smiled at her. “Thank you…Lightheart, right?” The little fairy nodded. “I appreciate your concern for me, but you have to listen to me. I can feel how powerful they are and compared to that when Tirek had me under his control, they’re still not on at his level of power, even three of them working together.”

“Well, what if they combined their powers?” Surprise asked.

“Um, Darling, they’re already doing that,” said Rori.

Corona’s mind began to work that out, her brow furrowing as her brain went to work, and then she smiled as an idea formed in her head. “No, no she’s right! They need to combine their powers, literally!”

Midnight scooted closer, greatly intrigued. “What do you have in mind?”

Triek threw his ax and sword towards the Riders, the two weapons spun so fast that they appeared as flying Buzzsaws. Para-DX and Ex-Aid were struck by the attacks, causing a massive amount of damage as sparks flew from their armor. Tirek reared back and slammed his forelegs onto the ground, causing the pillars of jagged rock to surge towards Unicorn. The former mare Rider raised her hands and summoned her energy to form a large power sphere. When the surge reached her, Unicorn fired it straight ahead, smashing through several of the pillars and exploding in the distance. But Tirek used the attack as a feint to get around and punched Unicorn in the stomach, sending her flying into the distance as she rolled on the ground until she stopped.

Unicorn coughed and sucked wind as she tried to get her bearings, but then she heard a familiar voice. “Sunset can you hear me?”

“Is that you, Midnight?”

“Yes, Corona came up with a plan that might help you defeat Tirek! But she needs you and Emu to come to us now!”

“At this rate, any help would be good.” Unicorn ran and skidded to a stop before the downed Ex-Aid and asked, “Emu, you still with us?”

The heavily armored Rider slowly rose up and said, “Barely, what’s wrong?”

“We might have a way to beat Tirek, but we need to head back to the girls.”

“Tirek’s not going to let us go anywhere that easily.”

“Then let me distract him.” Para-DX walked ahead of them, tossing up his Parabragun and catching it as if it were a softball. “I’ll keep him busy and buy you as much time as possible, so go!”

Unicorn and Ex-Aid nodded, before they left, Unicorn said, “Be careful, Parado.”

Para-DX just gave Unicorn a thumbs up as he listened to both of them head back to where their team was. The reformed Bugster then made three power items appear and fused them into his body.

| SHADOW CLONES! |

| MUSCULAR! |

| METALIZE! |

A red aura appeared around Para-DX, his body then became cast in metallic gray as six clones appeared beside him in the same condition.

“Your comrades run and leave you to fight alone, how disgraceful,” said Tirek mockingly.

“Maybe they think that I’m all that’s needed to defeat you,” said the Para-DX clones.

Meanwhile, Unicorn and Ex-Aid made it back to their friends, with Rori, Midnight, and Corona sitting in a perfect triangle.

“What’s going on?” Emu asked.

“Corona has proposed that we combine your powers,” said Midnight.

“Essentially, we’ll be creating a copy of Sunset’s little item and remake it to work with your powers, Emu. And vice versa for Sunset,” said Rori.

“We’ll need your original items, the ones you use to change before adding in the others. I know you probably don’t trust me after what I did but –!”

“Let’s do it,” said Sunset as she cancelled the transformation and placed the Unicorn Memory in the center of the circle.

Emu deactivated his transformation and placed the Mighty Action X Gashat next to the Unicorn Memory. The doctor Rider saw the confused and astonished look on Corona’s face and the smiled at her, “We believe in you, Corona-san.”

Corona wanted to cry, after all she had done, they were still willing to trust her. The sorceress wiped her eyes and put on a serious face as she said, “Let’s begin!”

Both the Gashat and Gaia Memory was encased in a sphere of white magical light, held in place by both Midnight and Corona. Rori’s finger tips each glowed with purple light, and from them thread-like tendrils were released and entered the sphere. The thread tendrils felt around both items as Rori closed her eyes and focused, feeling the complexity of the Memory and Gashat. It was as if magic and some form of otherworldly ingenuity were combined to make these.

Rori was not daunted by this, she was confident in her skill, and her friends were confident that they could make this happen. The Enchantress began to move her fingers slowly and delicately, tracing over the two devices. After a few seconds two copies of the items were made, the outline of the items were then brought to a hovering position above the opposite device. Rori curled her fingers, commanding the threads to reach into the original items. From them, a small orb was lifted up, one colored turquoise and the other colored neon magenta.

The turquoise light was infused into the Gashat outline copy, while the neon magenta light was infused into the Gaia Memory outline. Once infused, Rori’s fingers and hands began to make quick and precise movements, and as she did the threads would move back and forth between them. The newly created items began to take form, filling out with each passing nano-second. After about two minutes, the items flashed with a powerful light before settling back down onto the ground.

Rori, Midnight, and Corona looked exhausted, but the fruit of their labor was worth it. Sitting beside the Unicorn Memory was a new Gaia Memory. It was colored neon magenta and had a picture of Ex-Aid on it. Next to the Mighty Action X Gashat was another Gashat colored turquoise, and had the image of Unicorn on it. Corona gathered the items and handed them to their respective owners.

“Go, defeat Tirek,” said Corona.

“Count on it!” Sunset and Emu said at the same time.

***___________ x [+]E[+]___________***

Para-DX was panting hard, his Rider gauge was getting low, and his clones had all been defeated, leaving him as the last man standing.

“A good fight, very entertaining, but in the end, I still win,” said Tirek.

“There’s no Game Over for me, not yet!” Para-DX declared.

“Take a break, Parado, we’ll take it from here.”

Para-DX and Tirek watched as Kamen Riders Unicorn and Ex-Aid were walking towards them, each with their new Gaia Memory and Gashat in hand.

“Alright, I’ll leave the rest to you two then…”

| CLICK TO SAVE! |

Parado changed back and then his body broke down into red and blue light. The light did a double helix as it fused into Ex-Aid’s body. Now the battle was two on one, with Ex-Aid and Unicorn staring down Tirek.

“Ready, Sun-chan?”

“Always, Emu.”

< EX-AID! >

[+] UNICORN! [+]

“Transformation Plus, Plus!”

{< EX-AID! MIMETIC DRIVE! >}

| CLICK AND LOAD! |

| CLICK TO OPEN! |

| LEVEL UP! |

| THE MAGIC OF FRIENDSHIP! NOW UNLEASH! U~NI~CORN! |

Both Riders shined as the power enveloped them, the symbol of Ex-Aid appeared over Unicorn, and Unicorn’s symbol appeared over Ex-Aid. The symbols turned into light and shot down into the respective Riders and a bright flash went off. A bright pillar of light cut through the dark clouds of Heaven’s Fall, banishing the dark skies and letting the full sunlight bathe over the forsaken land. When the light faded, the girls, and Tirek couldn’t believe what they were seeing.

Ex-Aid’s armor had taken on the turquoise coloring of Unicorn, the armor mesh had become all black, with the controller chest plate now sparkling with the symbol of Unicorn shining brightly at the center. Ex-Aids helmet had changed to the same color of turquoise as the rest of his armor, except now he had a crystal horn protruding from the forehead area of the helmet, and his eyes were now compound and colored aquamarine with the goggles fastened over them. And upon his back was an armor plate that bared the face of Kamen Rider Unicorn. This was Ex-Aid Unicorn Gamer.

Unicorn had changed as well. Her armor had taken on shades of neon magenta, with silver circuit lines that ran along turquoise armor plates. On Unicorn’s chest was a controller chest plate that had a Rider Gauge on the left side and buttons on the right. Unicorn’s crystal horn was still present, but it now had two smaller horns shooting out from either side like a crest. Ex-Aid’s metallic hair was behind the horn, and Unicorn’s eyes had become the same orange ones as Ex-Aid. Lastly, on her back was the armor plate in the shape of Ex-Aid’s face. “Unicorn and Ex-Aid together as one! Unicorn Gamer X!”

Tirek had seen this type of transformation before, yes, he remembered it well. During the final battle when Unicorn and Decade appeared, he had given a similar device to Unicorn, allowing her to fuse the power of another Rider to her own and use it as such. That was how she was able to unbalance Shadow Moon back in Equestria. But this time around, he would not be fooled by a mere costume change.

“We’ll clear this game with no continues!” Unicorn stated.

“And restore harmony!” Ex-Aid added.

Both Riders jumped at the same time, they then performed an air dash, closing the distance between themselves and Tirek in mere seconds. The dark centaur didn’t have time to counter as Ex-Aid and Unicorn slammed their fists into his chest. A shockwave erupted behind Tirek and he was sent flying into the distance, with both Kamen Riders in hot pursuit.

Ex-Aid’s crystal horn began to glow, and in the blink of an eye he teleported away. When he reappeared, Ex-Aid was now ahead of Tirek, right on an intercept path. Ex-Aid reached out with his hand, causing this horn to glow, and in the next second, Tirek was enveloped in Ex-Aid’s telekinetic aura. The gamer Rider pulled back, accelerating Tirek, and then whirled him around, using the speed and momentum to carry his swing and brought the Dark Lord crashing down into the earth with a large “BOOM!”.

Tirek tore himself out of the crater, coughing as a large dust cloud had covered the area. Many times he saw a flash of turquoise light, and each time he fired a beam of dark magic to where the flash happened. But each blast hit nothing, making Tirek waste his energy in futile effort. Suddenly, the dark centaur was pelted by a barrage of magic bolts, one after the other hit him from seemingly everywhere at once. One more flash of light went off, this time in front of Tirek, and from it, Ex-Aid appeared. His right hand was surrounded by sparkling mana, which he had fashioned into a blade. Ex-Aid then went into a series of slashes, which shattered the protective armor of the dark centaur before he roundhouse kicked him out of the dust cloud.

Unicorn was ready and waiting, and when she saw Tirek coming, she struck the left hip port once.

\ GASHACON BREAKER! /

The hammer weapon appeared in Unicorn’s right hand, and as Tirek got closer, Unicorn took a batter’s stance. Once he was in range, Unicorn swung, hitting Tirek in the side of the face, sending him into a tail spin that ended with him landing in a heap a few feet behind her.

Tirek roared with anger as he rose back up and fired a dark magic beam at Unicorn. However, with Ex-Aid’s power, she was much faster and agile than before. Unicorn jumped to the right, avoiding the first blast. Tirek swung his sword and fired another dark beam, but Unicorn air dashed out of the way, landing safely on the ground and running right for Tirek. The Dark Lord slammed his ax into the ground, sending an ice wave that coated the dirt. Before it could reach her, Unicorn jumped up, flipped once and came down with the Gashacon Breaker.

The Breaker struck against the ice ax, making it crack. Unicorn pressed the “B” button twice, making the weapon glow with game energy. With her second swing, Unicorn shattered the ax, causing a mini-explosion of power, and now that he was staggered, Unicorn struck again. This time she aimed for his sword, and with one strike broke the blade in half. Before Tirek could get his bearings, Unicorn performed a double kick to his chest, forcing Tirek back a few yards.

Ex-Aid joined Unicorn at her side as she recalled the Gashacon Breaker.

“This is it, Sun-chan, you ready?” Ex-Aid asked.

Unicorn glanced over her shoulder. There in the distance were the six game versions of her friends, and her own game double. All of them with jubilant expressions as they watched Sunset and Emu thoroughly beat Tirek, but in Sunset’s heart she was sad. The moment she and Emu defeated Tirek, this world might no longer exist. If it existed because of Tirek, then once he was gone, so too would they. Sunset knew that they were game characters, and not her real friends. But, still, they were alive, they could be happy and sad, they all loved her, and now were her friend.

“Sun-chan…?”

Unicorn sighed heavily and said, “Just saying goodbye, Emu.”

Ex-Aid placed his hand on her shoulder, although she couldn’t see his face, Unicorn knew Ex-Aid was giving her a comforting look, as he too was going to miss them. With their resolve renewed, Ex-Aid pulled the lever on his Gamer Driver, and Unicorn took the Ex-Aid Memory and placed it into the right hip port.

}!!!{ UNICORN CRITICAL STRIKE! }!!!{

} EX-AID! MAXIMUM CRITICAL DRIVE! {<

Unicorn’s right foot flared with sparkling turquoise light and game energy, while Ex-Aid’s flared with game energy and sparkling turquoise light. The Riders jumped straight into the air as a trail of their dual energies was left in their wake. With one flip they dove down towards Tirek. The dark centaur fired a massive dark magic beam that could’ve annihilated a mountain range, but it was to no avail. Unicorn and Ex-Aid cut through the beam as they released a loud battle cry. Tirek’s eyes widened as the dual attacks finally closed in, and in that moment, a grand explosion was set off as a pillar of turquoise light and game energy shot into the sky.

Kamen Rider Unicorn and Kamen Rider Ex-Aid both appeared behind the explosion, having teleported to avoid being caught in it. When the pillar was gone, there was no trace of Tirek to be found.

“They…They did it…THEY DID IT!!!” Surprise yelled happily at the top of her lungs.

All the girls rushed towards the saviors of their world, thankfully, Sunset and Emu had changed back to their normal forms before all six girls tackle hugged them. An action which resulted in the group falling to the ground in a big heap. Rounds of laughter were shared as the joy of vanquishing evil had filled their hearts.

Corona stood to the side, a small smile on her face as she watched them all. Sunset managed to sit up from the pile and asked, “You don’t want in on this?”

“I…I don’t deserve to. This is your moment of triumph, you needn’t share it with me,” said Corona.

Surprise leaped out of the group and drew in Corona for a tight hug as she said, “Silly Corona, you do deserve to be!”

“If it wasn’t for that brilliant idea to combine their powers, they wouldn’t have won, this victory was thanks to you!” Midnight exclaimed with a bright smile.

Corona blushed as she beheld the beautiful smile of the elf girl. “Well…it’s thanks to all of us then, you Midnight for helping me with the spell, and Rori for using her magic to weave the devices together.”

“Per your instructions, as you recall,” said Rori as she too flashed Corona a flirty smile.

“Trust me when I say this, just accept the good. Learn from the mistakes of your past, and listen to your friends,” said Sunset.

Corona looked up into the blue sky, a sky that had once been marred by dark clouds over the forsaken land was now clear and shining bright. Just like her future, with the girls at her side, nothing would be impossible, and now that Tirek was gone, peace would finally return.

*** GAME CL– ***
*** GAME CLE– ***
*** GAME CL– ***
*** GAME CLE– ***

*** STANDBY ***

*** TRUE ENDING UNLOCKED. ***
*** DO YOU WISH TO CONTINUE? ***

YES <

(Unlocked) Level 14: True Ending

Author's Note

Confirming $20.00 purchase.

True Ending has now loaded.

(Unlocked) Level 14: True Ending

During the battle, girls’ siblings were moved from the room that had a hole in the wall to another room in the same wing as the temporary CR room. Inside the news was reporting on the fighting outside, and from what they could feel from the constant rumbling of the explosions. But after the long arduous battle, the Kamen Rider team had won the day. The girls released loud cheers of joy and triumph, with Pinkie giving everyone tight – near vice grip – hugs, even Microchips who blushed at the close contact.

In a matter of minutes, the CR doctors, Dan Kuroto, Poppy, Shining Armor, and Nasca entered the room, including Equal. The girls immediately got on edge upon seeing the notorious evil Rider but Shining Armor and Nasca assured them that Equal was on their side, for now.

“If ya say so,” said Applejack as she eyed the evil Rider.

“How’s the patch holding now?” Shining Armor asked.

Twilight clicked a few keys on her keyboard and brought up a cyberspace image of the patch in question. “Integrity if holding at 100% since the breach, which…I apologize for,” said Twilight as she hung her head low. “I should have kept a closer eye on it, triple checked – or even quadruple checked it before going to bed…!”

Nasca walked up to Twilight and placed a hand on her shoulder. “Hey things just happen, we’re dealing with magic and mutant cyberspace viruses, not a lot we can do except our best, and you did your best!”

Twilight smiled at her friend’s comforting words. “Thank you Rrrrr-Nasca! Thank you, Nasca.”

“FALSE!” Dan Kuroto shouted, making everybody in the room look at him with equal parts shock, annoyance, and deadpans. “Sparkle-san has been judged by my eyes to have great potential talent.” Kuroto walked out of the group and then turned dramatically as he pointed at Twilight. “And the judgement of GOD is never wrong!” At his proclamation a gold ball that hung from the ceiling popped open as a banner fell out reading in kanji, “神は決して間違っていません！” which essentially translated to “God is never wrong!”
Hiiro, Taiga, and Kiriya groaned as they face palmed themselves.

Poppy on the other hand readied her Bugvisor and said, “Kuroto-san…after all that happened, your nonsense is very much not needed!” Her tone was even, but it belayed the annoyance and frustration that only came with having deal with Dan Kuroto’s…eccentricities.

Kuroto raised his hand in a stopping motion and continued undeterred. “And so, because I am never wrong, the patch could not have failed, it was flawless, so that only leaves one logical conclusion…Someone sabotaged the patch while some of us slept!” At this time Pinkie Pie appeared behind Kuroto holding a sign that also read in kanji “教えて！”, which also translated meant “Sabotage!”, Kuroto then said, “Thank you, pink one!”

“You’re welcome,” said Pinkie.

“That’s crazy,” said Shining Armor, “who here would want to sabotage the patch and let all those monsters through?!”

“Why indeed? Perhaps you should ask the culprit themselves!” Kuroto stated as he spun around and pointed at the culprit in question.

Everyone followed his finger, which lead right to Microchips. The bespectacled boy looked at Dan Kuroto and to the others in the room with a startled, wide eyed look. “W-W-What – ME?!”

Poppy face palmed herself. “That’s it, you’re going in the Bugvisor.”

As Poppy approached, Kuroto – like a child trying to run away from getting scolded by a parent – ran around to the other side of the group as he said, “Think about it! The Bugsters didn’t kill him!”

Poppy stopped, and the others looked to Kuroto.

“The first time, Chimera, went after the boy. It didn’t kill him, it merely snatched him up and proceeded to run away with him. If this Tirek saw him as such a threat, why not just outright kill him?” Kuroto then walked to the Rainbooms and pointed to them. “These girls have shown an immunity to the virus, so it would make sense that Tirek would want them dead in hopes of stopping the creation of a vaccine, and he did try with Gleam Eyes.”

“That…is true,” said Rarity.

“That monster did try and kill us, if it weren’t for Nasca and Dr. Kagami,” said Fluttershy.

“Hold on, that doesn’t necessarily mean that the kid is in league with him,” said Taiga.

Kuroto held up a finger and said, “True, but then again, think about this. In this world, they lack the technology to create Gashats, as well as the knowhow. However! They manage to create a crude version of a Gashat, in disc form, and manage to infect a number of youths! Not to mention create the cyber world where Emu and Unicorn are currently trapped in! Are you going to honestly expect me to stand here and accept that this boy can create a complex world as intricate as that?! Sparkle-san I could believe, but him?! No!”

Twilight didn’t know whether to feel complimented or insulted.

“Dude, he’s practically calling you a villain. You’re within your legal right to yell at him,” said Nasca.

Shining Armor raised an eyebrow at what Nasca said, but he wouldn’t argue with that, this man was accusing this teenage boy, Microchips, of causing an epidemic and bringing monsters into the world. However, something felt off, Microchips had – except for a moment ago – been completely silent to the words that Dan Kuroto spoke. Finally, after a long moment of silence, Microchips looked up, pushed his glasses up, and then smiled.

“Damn, and here I thought I’d be able to hide in this hairless ape for a while longer. But I guess it’s better late than never,” said Microchips in a deep and distorted voice.

Everyone’s jaws dropped, that voice, it sounded exactly like Tirek’s voice from when he first arrived in shadow form. The other’s looked to Dan Kuroto who had the biggest smug smirk on his face as he pointed back to his first banner that read, “God is never wrong!” in kanji.

Twilight slowly walked forward and asked, “Why, Microchips, why did you do this?!”

“Because this insect was at rock bottom. He wanted to create a fantastic game, but he had hit a block, one that made his anxiety build as the pressure to produce weighed down on his psyche. That’s when I appeared,” said Tirek as she waved his hands. “I can only assume that when Kamen Rider Unicorn defeated Kaiser Hell, it released my essence into ether. It was there that my essence and consciousness met with the remnants of Gamedeus. We merged into one being and so I was reborn!”

Microchips walked over to a computer chair and sat down in it lazily. “Sensing his anxiety, I latched onto him, promising to help him create the greatest game in this world! And I did, but with one little detail that I left out before merging with him…I was going to take over his body. Unfortunately, this sniveling worm still had some strength of will left, I didn’t anticipate that. And because of my oversight, he managed to trap part of my essence in the game world.”

The possessed teenager began to type at the keyboard with one hand, as he continued to look at the group, which was now on edge. Nasca and Equal looked ready to jump in and attack at a moment’s notice, and the CR doctors were just waiting to call on their Gamer Drivers at the right time. But Microchips was no stooge. “Be careful how you act, I can still kill this boy from within, if I so wanted to.”

“So, part of you is trapped in the game world. How did you plan on escaping?” Hiiro asked.

“Simple really, the part of me that is Gamedeus spoke of the Gamer Kamen Riders, the strongest of you, Kamen Rider Ex-Aid, possessed the power needed to break me free, but I knew I needed more than that, so I brought in Unicorn not just for kicks, but because I needed both the gamer power and magical energy to combine and release me from my prison, and the only way to do so is by –!”

“Winning the game,” said Twilight in stark realization.

Microchips smiled. “Every bit as smart – if not more so – as Princess Twilight. An annoying trait that seems to persist in any parallel world. Yes, winning the game is the key to setting me free.”

“And you dragged Ex-Aid and Unicorn into the cyber world of the game, knowing full well they’d do anything they could stop you in there, thinking that that was all of you,” said Equal.

Microchips stopped his onehanded typing and pointed at Equal. “Bingo, and that should happen right aboooooooooooout……Now.”

The screen behind Twilight turned on and it showed Sunset Shimmer and Emu, surrounded by six fantasy versions of their friends, and one other that looked surprisingly similar to Sunset herself.

[Hey guys, great news! We beat Tirek! So – wait – is that Equal?! What the hell is she doing there?!]

“Guess I shouldn’t be surprised by that reaction with my rep,” said Equal.

[Will someone please tell me what’s going on?!]

“What’s going on,” said Microchips as he stood up. “Is the end of all those you hold dear in this world and the other. Thank you, Kamen Riders, for aiding in my true resurrection!”

Dan Kuroto snapped his fingers, and instantly a computer behind him released a polygonal barrier that surrounded the possessed teen. “Don’t underestimate my Godly talents! I never trusted you from the moment you set foot in here, so I had a little something waiting for you! Bow before me you impudent creature!”

Microchips looked at the barrier for a moment and then shrugged. “I figured you’d do something like this, I’ve learned a lot since my near-death experience and drifting through the ether. And if there’s one thing I did learn, it’s to stay at least one step ahead of others. Like so.” Microchips pushed a button on the keyboard and suddenly, the barrier that had contained him shattered like fragile glass.

Dan Kuroto stared wide eyed and mouth agape at this turned of events.

“What?!”

“A shame really, had I not planned ahead, that would’ve been the end of my little game.”

“WHAT?!”

“I think Kuroto-san’s broken,” said Poppy.

“And now with a push of a button, the End Game begins.”

Nasca flared her wings and zipped around everyone, but before she could reach Microchips, the polygonal barrier rose up. The speedster Rider slammed into the barrier, which then threw her over thr heads of the group and through the wall. Equal quickly activated the Less Than sign.

| LESS THAN: <|

The crystal facets glowed blue and the barrier began to diminish, but it was too late. Microchips het the “enter” button and suddenly, there was a loud rumble. Microchips waved in a “bye-bye” manner to everyone and then disappeared in a flash of light. The group heard screaming and turned around to see the monitor which showed Emu and Sunset in the game world. There was something happening around them, but then the feed cut to black.

“Sunset…” Twilight whispered as she furiously typed away at the keyboard. “Sunset…!” Twilight continued to type and type, but the computer would not respond. “SUNSET!”

Then the dreaded words appeared upon the screen, [Connection Lost: No Data Found].

The girls all had wide eyes that were filling with tears, Twilight began to slam her fists against the keyboard, desperately compelling the machine with violence to show something else. It was Shining Armor who eventually got her to stop, which then led to Twilight turning around and crying into her big brother’s chest. Taiga slammed his fist on a desk, Hiiro growled in frustration, and Kiriya kicked a waste basket. Poppy was still in shock, she couldn’t believe they lost Emu and Parado.

[Shining Armor, come in, over!]

Shining Armor turned on his radio and said, “Now’s not a good time, Spearhead.”

[Make time, bro! There’s like a…a…I don’t know, some kind of freakin’ gash in the sky!]

That caught their attention, as much as Shining Armor didn’t want to, he had to leave Twilight. Applejack walked up behind Shining Armor and patted him on the shoulder, silently indicating that she’d look after her. Twilight was distraught, not really caring who, but she just needed someone to hold her right now.

“Let’s go,” said Shining Armor solemnly.

The CR Team, Shining Armor, and Nasca, exited the building and looked up. Indeed, there was a gash in the skies above Canterlot City, inside that gash was something akin to digital cyberspace, with pixels, streams of ones and zeroes, and multicolored landscapes. Suddenly, something descended from the gash, a sphere of orange energy that blazed like the sun and had black lightning arcing around it. The sphere stopped halfway above the city, hovering in place.

It was then that other officers pointed at the roof of the hospital and there they saw Microchips standing at the edge of the building. Shining looked to Nasca, and the blue Rider was about to fly, but then the sphere fired bolts of black lightning down on their position, forcing the Riders to quickly transform and dodge the incoming attack.

While this was happening, Microchips walked off the edge and began floating upwards towards the sphere. His accent was rapid, in less than a minute, the teenage boy had reached the sphere and began to enter it. The sphere grew in intensity as the energy it was comprised of began to rage, and the lightning began fire off into the gash. The digital energy streamed down from the gash and into the sphere, feeding it. But that wasn’t all it fed on, streams of digital light began rising from the city and flowing towards the sphere.

“NO!” Taiga shouted.

“What’s wrong?!” Nasca asked.

“Those lights, those are the data streams of the patients! He’s feeding on them too,” said Hiiro.

SCOOTALOO, APPLE BLOOM, SWEETIE BELLE, ZEPHYR! Nasca shouted in her mind.

NIGHT GLIDER, PARTY FAVOR, SUGAR BELLE! Equal cried out in her mind.

Nasca took out the Rocket Memory and Booster and transformed into Nasca Star Chaser. Her wing thrusters unfurled as they roared and propelled her up into the sky. Equal jumped up as high as she could, but it was becoming difficult to maintain her accent, but just before she began to fall, Nasca swopped in and grab her hand, taking both of them up.

“Don’t misunderstand this, if we don’t stop that thing, my friends and family will be gone!” Nasca stated.

“Despite what you may think of me, I have people I don’t want to lose either! So, speed the hell up!” Equal demanded.

With their intentions made clear, both female Riders entered striking range of the sphere. Nasca brought out her Condor Sword and Equal her Staff of Sameness. Both weapons flared with power as they struck the side of the sphere at the same time, trying to attack the growing evil inside before it could break free. However, their actions were for naught as the black lightning surged across the surface of the sphere, hitting both of them with a powerful shock that threw them away until they landed on the rooftop of a building.

*Crack*

The sphere began to show a fissure, that fissure then spider webbed all across the surface of the sphere, and in the next moment, the shell shattered into particles of light, revealing the beast within. It was an unholy fusion of a dark magical being and an evil sentient digital virus. Tirek’s lower half still had its equine form, but his front and hind legs now had long sharp talons. On the sides of the equine body were large, metallic wings that were a dark-gold color, the wings stretched for a couple of miles, and at the center of them there ten eyes that were slit like a dragon’s. The lower half was black and had dark gold exoskeletal armor overlaying it. Tirek’s tail had taken on a blade like shape, whipping back and forth and sounding like it was cutting the air each movement.

The torso was also covered in the dark-gold exoskeletal armor, but at the center of the chest were three orbs, and from each of those orbs was a line that connected them to each other. Tirek’s bulky arms were still there, but now covered in the dark-gold armor, from his back were long tentacle-like appendages, four in total, and at the end of each was a ravenous set of jaws with razor sharp teeth that snapped and growled. They too were covered in armor, but it was colored red and black, and along their length were more of the same slit eyes. Tirek’s head was no longer equine shaped, it was flat like a human’s, but his mouth was covered by a dark-gold face plate, around his head was a helmet of the same dark-gold color, with only the eye portion open to show is red skin. His eyes, however, were different, they still had black sclera, but there were two, beady eyes in each, both were silver colored and glowed brightly. The helmet allowed his long black horns to gron out taking on a longer U shape, running along the helmet was a silver horn that stood a couple of inches higher than the others. This was the grand form of the dark centaur, the power of Tirek’s dark magic and Gamedeus’ viral energy.

The dark centaur descended until his talons touched the ground. Immediately after, a ripple of game energy went out, pixelating the area for a few seconds before it returned to normal. Tirek crossed his arms as he gave a deep foreboding chuckle as the three-hundred-foot-tall monstrosity proclaimed, “I AM REBORN!”

***___________ x [+]E[+]___________***

The parents of the digitized children wept, terror was far from their minds as they had lost their children. The Rainbooms were also feeling the loss, not only have they lost their friend, but now they lost their family, their siblings, at the same time. Now Tirek was free, and more powerful than ever.

“A step ahead of me…He said he was ‘one step ahead of me’…” Dan Kuroto yelled into the CR room, startling the girls with his outburst. “NO ONE IS A STEP AHEAD OF GOD! NOBODY!”

Dan Kuroto accessed his terminal and began to search, Twilight and the girls glanced to the villain and watched as the computer brought up dozens of code streams. The man’s eyes roved over the data, searching and searching, looking at one window on the screen and then moving to the next. The girls could see that Kuroto was pissed at being made a fool of by Tirek and was looking for payback in whatever form possible.

“AHA!” he exclaimed. “You made two – TWO – mistakes, Tirek! And I’ll make you pay for both of them!”

“Um…M-M-Mister –?” Kuroto turned to Fluttershy, the shy girl quickly understood and corrected herself. “God Dan Kuroto, um, w-what did you find?”

The former CEO of Genm Corp. merely smiled and pointed at the screen. There was a window open that was pitch black. For a moment the girls thought he was crazy – well crazier. But then a small golden speck appeared in the center of the screen. Another window popped up that made everyone have a huge smile on their faces.

[Data Found]

***___________ x [+]E[+]___________***

Sunset floated in nothingness, feeling herself disappearing. She remembered, she remembered seeing Microchips push a button, and then there was a great earthquake that shook everything in the world. Then the feed was cut off with Sunset yelling desperately at the communication window. Not long after that, a gash appeared in the sky, and from it black lightning rained down across the land for as far as the eye could see and then some.

Everything was being broken down, pixelating and then disappearing into particles. Sunset and Emu looked to their friends and watched as each was gripped with terror as they reached out to them, but to avail as the Fantasy Six each fell to the ground and broke apart into data. Corona was the last to go as she too reached out for Sunset, but before she could take her hand, the world shattered in a flash of light.

Now, Sunset’s body was breaking down, her feet and legs were almost gone, and some of her hands were starting to pixelate. Floating next to her was Emu, in just as bad a shape as she was. They had thought they won, but in the end, it was all a trick. Tirek was just using them to free himself, they played right into his hands and now he had won.

Just before Sunset was about to give into the nothingness, a bright golden light appeared before them. This golden light enveloped both Emu and Sunset in its radiance, creating a sphere. Their bodies began to reform the lost parts until they were whole again, the light also revitalized them, bringing both Riders back to full consciousness.

“What…How?” Sunset asked.

“I-I don’t know,” said Emu.

There was a humanoid being made of light inside the sphere with them, the light began to fade around their face and revealed it to be none other than Corona Brightstar.

“CORONA!” Sunset and Emu exclaimed.

“I understand now why he called me an anomaly, I was not a part of this world to begin with. My existence was fabricated when the world came to be, separately from Tirek’s design,” said Corona. “Which, it seems, made me the one best suited to keep these safe.”

Corona placed her hands before Sunset and Emu. In Corona’s right hand, the Shining Memory rose up, and from her left rose the Hyper Muteki Gashat. Sunset and Emu carefully took their most powerful devices and looked to Corona with smiling faces.

“Come with us, we may be able to save you with everything happening on the other side,” said Emu.

Corona shook her head. “I can’t, even if I did, I wouldn’t last long over there.”

“But…” Sunset began to cry. “You deserve to live! All of you! You’re not just created things, you’re alive, you’re…you’re all…”

Corona floated over to Sunset and gave her a hug. “I can tell we’re the same, and because of that, you wanted me to experience the love and joy of having friends. Even if it was for a short time, I truly enjoyed having you and them as a friend.” Corona separated herself from Sunset and then looked up. “It appears that our time together is at an end. I hope one day we will see each other again, farewell.”

A portal was punched into the black nothingness that surrounded them, and from it, two beams of light shot down and enveloped both Riders. They were quickly sucked up into the portal, flying through digital space as they quickly approached their exit. Sunset and Emu wiped their tears as their faces became serious.

< UNICORN! >

< SHINING! >

| MAXIMUM MIGHTY X!|

[++] HYPER MUTEKI! [++]

“HENSHIN!”

“HYPER DAI HENSHIN!”

UNICORN! <

{< SHINING! MIMETIC DRIVE! >}

| DOCKING! |

| OPEN IT UP! |

| MU~TE~KI! SHINE BRIGHT! LIKE A TRUE SHOOTING STAR! THE ULTIMATE GAMER, CLAD IN GOLD! HYPER MUTEKI EX-AI~D! |

***___________ x [+]E[+]___________***

}/^{ ROCKET! MAXIMUM DRIVE! }/^{

}<^>{ TRIGGER! MAXIMUM DRIVE! }<^> {

} EQUAL! MAXIMUM DRIVE! {<

Nasca summoned all her energy and formed a large blue-green blade that infused into her Condor Sword. Equal pointed her Staff of Sameness at Tirek, the tip of which glowed
bright red, and Trigger’s Chrome Ultimatum shined bright with built up power. Equal and Trigger fired their beams of red and blue light, while Nasca slashed down.

}!!!{ TADDLE CRITICAL STRIKE! }!!!{

}!!!{ BANG BANG CRITICAL FIRE! }!!!{

}!!!{ GIRI GIRI CRITICAL FINISH!}!!!{

}!!!{ CRITICAL CREWS-AID }!!!{

Brave slashed the air, creating a flaming blue X that sailed towards Tirek. Snipe combined his bow cannons and fired a large energy ball. Lazer used the Gashacon Sparrow and fired several energy arrows. Poppy jumped up and spun around fast enough to become a sparkling tornado, and from that tornado several heart shaped energy blasts were fired. The Gamer Riders’ and Memory Riders’ attacks converged at the same point. A giant explosion went off, obscuring the dark centaur Bugster from sight.

The explosion didn’t last long as a burst of energy scattered the dust cloud that had been created. The serpent tentacles each opened their mouths and fired beams of black and violet energy, four different explosions went off as the Riders were sent flying from their positions and scattered them across the road. The Gamer Riders’ Rider Gauges were now in the red zone, causing them to deactivate their transformations. Nasca’s final form, and Trigger’s super form, gave just enough defensive power to keep them from changing back, in Equal’s case, using her Less Than kept some of the damage to a minimum to her armor. Which was great luck for both Nasca and Equal, as their identities being known would not be good. The destroyed buildings from Tirek’s attack began to digitize, pixelating as they broke down and eventually disappeared.

“None of you are strong enough to defeat me! My vengeance shall spread beyond this world and into Equestria! No power will be able to stand against me once I’ve devoured this world!” Tirek announced.

Nasca used her Condor Sword to prop herself up, her body wracked with pain from the intense attack from earlier. “We…We can’t give up…We’re all that’s left!”

Equal rose up as well, using her staff as a crutch to keep from falling down. “I have no intention of dying here, not after I make him pay for taking those I held dear!”

Trigger managed to get to a kneeling stance as he looked up and growled in agreement. “For the people of this city, and everyone in the world, we won’t stop!”

Tirek chuckled at the three Riders who continued to stand defiantly before him. The serpent tentacles all looked in their direction as their mouths opened up and channeled the dark energy to fire again. However, before they could fire, something, well, two somethings, shined brightly from the gash in the sky. Those two golden stars descended at a rapid rate of speed, faster and faster. One was gold and magenta, and the other was gold and turquoise. Both streaks of light headed straight for Tirek and at the same time, slammed into his chest. A great shockwave thundered through the city, shattering glass, and throwing cars like rag dolls every which way. Tirek was raised from the dual attack and was sent falling backwards as he impacted against the ground.

The two golden lights crisscrossed and zipped around in the air until they landed on the street. Nasca, Equal, Trigger, and the CR Team arrived near the spot, squinting their eyes as they tried to see what it was that had toppled Tirek, but as the light faded their question was answered.

Ex-Aid stood on the right, his armor had changed to pure gold. His shoulder pauldrons flared out and were adorned with sharp stars. His leg armor, and forearm armor were also adorned with the same sharp stars, and surprisingly, Ex-Aid’s Rider Gauge was covered up with armor and three stars. His helmet had a crown-like crest, with a four-pointed blue star at the center. His goggles took on pointed edges, and the eyes were now sparkling like an aurora. Coming down from the helmet were long, metallic locks that mimicked hair, and sparkled with each simple movement. This was Ex-Aid’s most powerful form, Ex-Aid Muteki Gamer.

Unicorn’s armor had changed to all gold, turquoise lines drew whimsical patterns and some cursive runic markings, these were more prominent on her forearm armor, the front of her boots, and around her chest. The shoulder pauldrons had a slight crescent curve to them and had silver lining around the bottom edge. Unicorn’s helmet changed as well, now instead of aquamarine eyes, the eyes themselves were turquoise, and on the sides of the helmet were wing-like fins, the crystal horn remained, but instead of a silver metal edge around it, it now matched the gold. Attached to the armor, right around Unicorn’s shoulders, were two long flowing clothes, about five feet in length, they undulated up and down, and gave off an aurora as if the fabric was made from a rainbow. This was Unicorn Shining Day.

“EMU!” Poppy exclaimed excitedly.

“UNICORN!” Nasca shouted happily.

“Leave the rest to us,” said Ex-Aid.

“Tirek falls today,” Unicorn added.

| GASHACON KEY SLASHER! |

\\\ LOYALTY! /////

A crimson saber appeared in Unicorn’s hand, and the Key Slasher into Ex-Aid’s. Both Rider’s began to release golden particles, and in the blink of an eye, they disappeared. Tirek thrashed about as he rose back up to his feet, growling in anger at the arrival of Ex-Aid and Unicorn. The two golden Riders appeared in the sky, but Tirek was undeterred as his left and right upper tentacles lashed out and tried to chomp down on the two. Ex-Aid broke right, and away from the beast. Ex-Aid pressed a few buttons on the dial pad and fired several shots at the serpent tentacle. Each blast exploded against the appendage, causing it great pain with each impact. On the other side, Unicorn was flying circles around her foe, taking her crimson saber and slashing at the main body of the serpent, with each slash a chain of explosions went off in its wake.

Unicorn and Ex-Aid were then attacked by the lower serpent tentacles, firing large beams of dark energy. Both Riders slashed at the beams, cutting them down the middle. With one follow through, they dispersed the beams, sending them right into the upper serpent tentacles’ faces. Unicorn channeled her power into the blade making it double in size, Ex-Aid funneled his game energy into the Key Slasher, making a golden energy blade form around the main blade. Ex-Aid and Unicorn flew out and then doubled back, raising their swords high as they slashed at the middle of their trunks. The two lower serpent tentacles roared in pain as the Riders sliced all the way through, causing the severed halves to disappear into digital particles. The upper serpent tentacles appeared behind them and prepared to bite down on them.

\\\ MAGIC! //////

Ex-Aid and Unicorn turned around as Ex-Aid fired his Key Slasher and Unicorn fired a powerful beam of magic. The beams pierced through the serpent tentacles, destroying them in one shot. Tirek roared in pain and fury as he fired a beam of dark magic straight for Ex-Aid, the beam struck Ex-Aid throwing him straight through another building, making it collapse atop the Gamer Rider. Unicorn released a battle cry as she pushed the button on her left hip port.

\ HONESTY! /

Unicorn’s fists flared with orange energy as she shot towards Tirek. The behemoth hybrid raised his right fist and punched straight for Unicorn. The magical Rider twirled once in midair and punched with her right fist. Both punches met each in a titanic impact of power, causing the very air to rumble and tremble from the sheer strength of these two magical beings’ power.

“Someone’s angry, you wish to destroy me for erasing that world and your little group of ‘friends’! Is that what you want, my little pony?!” Tirek mocked.

Unicorn’s compound eyes shined bright as her fist blazed with even greater power. “NEVER, CALL ME THAT! NOT FROM YOUR MOUTH!!!” Unicorn broke brought her other fist in and struck it against the giant fist of Tirek, causing the behemoth to skid backwards.

Ex-Aid blasted himself free from the pixelated rubble of the building and jumped straight for Tirek in a burst of speed. Tirek took to the skies as the two golden lights began to follow him. In the skies, Ex-Aid and Unicorn appeared as streaks of golden light that zipped around Tirek at high speeds. The multiple eyes on the wings began firing multiple energy beams in every direction, trying to hit the two Riders. While some managed to do so, the damage inflicted to them was minimal – if nothing – at best. Tirek swatted with his right hand, hitting Ex-Aid and sending him into a tailspin. The dark centaur focused his magical energy into his horns and fired a column sized beam of dark magic at Unicorn, forcing her back and providing the evil one with some breathing room.

Once Tirek cut off his attack, Unicorn and Ex-Aid grouped up.

“Emu, I have to tell you, I don’t have a lot of time left in this form. The Shining Memory gets its power from Equestrian magic, from my home dimension. If we were fighting there I could probably stay in this form as long as I want, but since there’s not a lot here, we’ll have to end this quickly,” said Unicorn.

“Alright, then we’ll take him out with our next attack, hold nothing back, Sun-chan!”

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” said Tirek. “Because I know how you heroes like to operate, the ones I have absorbed are still inside of me. Their different consciousnesses are screaming to be set free, luckily, I can tune them out when I feel like it, but right now it’s music to my ears! So, if you want to, go ahead, destroy me and lose any hope of saving them!”

Unicorn’s aura flared with anger as she shouted, “TIREK YOU BASTARD!”

In the blink of an eye, Tirek was upon them, raising both of his mighty fists and slamming them down upon the golden Riders, sending them falling like lead weights straight back down to the streets below. Ex-Aid and Unicorn crashed into the asphalt, creating body sized craters from the impact. Tirek fired a of dark magic straight down to them, causing a huge explosion that sent both Riders flying into the air again, but Tirek was there with a right hook laced in dark energy, hitting Unicorn right into another building, while coming down with a double hammer fist on Ex-Aid. The dark centaur raised his right front leg to stomp on the Gamer Rider, but Unicorn dashed towards Tirek, striking him in the face and forcing him back. Ex-Aid jumped out of the crater and gave a powerful uppercut to Tirek’s jaw.

Unicorn and Ex-Aid were at an impasse, they couldn’t finish Tirek without killing every person who was infected inside of him. If there really was a way to bring them back, then they couldn’t take the chance of destroying him, not without sacrificing the innocent people he had absorbed.

“NEVER UNDERESTIMATE GOD!!!” Ex-Aid and Unicorn turned their heads up to another building to see who it was that said that, and standing at the roof was Kamen Rider Genm as Zombie Gamer X-0. Genm held in his right hand the Gashacon Sparrow, and in his left was, what looked like, a new Gashat. It was completely white, with no discernable markings, but that didn’t deter Genm from inserting it into the Gashacon Sparrow. “REPENT!!!”

Genm jumped off the roof, holding the Gashacon Sparrow in sickle mode. He then slashed down on Tirek, piercing his chest armor with both sickles at once, and then just hung there. Tirek looked down at his chest with annoyance, and Unicorn looked to Ex-Aid wondering what in the world Genm was doing. After another moment of silence, Tirek used his thumb and index finger to pluck Genm off of him like a piece of lint. Tirek then flicked Genm and sent him flying until he hit the ground below.

After a few seconds Genm reemerged from the crater and stood proudly as he pointed his finger at Tirek and shouted, “YOU HAVE LOST–!” and shortly after Tirek stomped on him like a bug. Genm laid face up as his Rider Gauge dropped to zero, his body began to break down and disperse into particles, and then there was nothing.

“Oh crap…he had no more lives left!” Ex-Aid realized.

“Wait, what?!”

Suddenly, a green tube appeared behind them, giving off a strange beeping game sound effect. When both golden Riders turned around they watched as Genm popped out of the green pipe, landing on both feet with his arms crossed. A screen appeared beside him that read “Extra Life: 0”.

“I had a backup life, just in case something happened,” said Genm.

Ex-Aid sighed in relief, but then he turned to Genm and asked, “What were you thinking Kuroto-san?! You could’ve died for real!”

Genm chuckled and said, “Oh ye of little faith…BEHOLD!”

Unicorn and Ex-Aid looked up at Tirek, the spot where Genm had pierced him with his Gashacon Sparrow was starting to spark with white lightning. The sparks grew bigger and bigger, surging across Tirek’s body, he tried to rid himself of the white lightning, but it just continued to surge across his body. Suddenly, Tirek cried out in pain as he began thrashing about, feeling as if his body was being torn apart from the inside out.

“WHAT DID YOU DO?!”

“Heh, you made two critical errors. ONE! You didn’t account for your own creation to gain a will of its own, the game world you created gave birth to anomaly, and that anomaly was able to let me track Unicorn and Ex-Aid and bring them back!” Genm held out two fingers. “TWO! You thought hiding in that teenage boy was a good way to stay under the radar, but thanks to letting him come to CR you provided us with the last bit of code to finish the vaccine!”

“WHAT – AAAAAAAAHHH!!!” Tirek roared.

Genm walked forward and smugly looked up at the behemoth. “You see, the virus confounded me for a bit, I saw the Gamedeus code, and even your foreign code, but there was a third component, the human component, and that is where you made yourself vulnerable! Since the doctors got all of that boy’s information, all I had to do was weave it together with the Gamedeus vaccine, and voila! A nice little Tirek-Gamedeus Vaccine cocktail!”

Suddenly, steaks of yellow digital light shot out of the behemoth’s body. All of them were aimed right around where the rest of the CR Team, Equal, Trigger, and Nasca were. When the light’s hit the ground, they transformed into people. It became clear that the vaccine was purging the human data from Tirek’s body, the very thing that was giving him substance. At the center a large beam of light shot out and whizzed right to where the other Kamen Riders stood. When the light faded, it revealed Microchips.

Tirek clutched at his chest as the vaccine continued to drain and damage him, roaring in pain, frustration, and desperation. Genm chuckled at the display and then walked away saying, “Now smite him in my name! Ex-Aid, Unicorn!”

Unicorn looked to her partner and said, “He’s kind of an asshole.”

“Yes, but one that comes through when it counts! Let’s end this, Sun-chan!”

Suddenly, Unicorn’s body arced with gold electricity, the color shifting between gold and turquoise. “Oh no, not now! I just need a little more time!”

{< DAY IS D–! >}

Tirek roared again as seven lights shot out of his body, the seven lights weaved around each other and shot towards Unicorn and Ex-Aid’s direction. The seven lights then separated, appearing before them as the girls from the game. The golden Riders’ eyes widened with shock and happiness at seeing their game friends again, but they were like ethereal ghosts.

“Corona, Midnight, Spectra, Surprise, Ambrosia, Lightheart, Rori!”

The ghostly images of their game friends nodded as they returned to light form. All seven of them flew right into the Shining Memory, making it glow with renewed power. The
shifting of Unicorn’s form was stabilized, returning to Shining Day.

{< DAY IS BRIGHT! >}

Both Riders’ auras flared up as they jumped high into the sky, higher and higher they soared up until Tirek was right below them. Unicorn switched the Shining Memory into her right hip port, and Ex-Aid pressed the button on his Gashat.

“IT’S TIME TO RESTORE HARMONY!”

“WE WILL CHANGE THIS WORLD’S FATE WITH OUR OWN HANDS!”

} SHINING! MAXIMUM DRIVE! {<

*}!!!{* HYPER CRITICAL SPARKING! *}!!!{*

Unicorn lead with Dawn Breaker, creating a spiral construct horn flanked by feathered wings that blazed like fire. Ex-Aid joined in beside her, adding his own game energy into the attack. The wings and horn now shined gold with sparkling particles shimmering around them. Tirek had no more defenses available to him as the combined attack struck him dead center in the chest. The dark centaur struggled against the attack, digging his talons into the asphalt and concrete, trying to fight back with all he could muster. But Unicorn and Ex-Aid would not be stopped, this would be the end of Tirek, of his evil, here and now.

With a fierce battle cry, the golden Riders pierced through Tirek, in the next second, a massive explosion went off as Unicorn and Ex-Aid cancelled their attack and floated in the air, their eyes and armor glowing in the dying light of Tirek’s demise. A pillar of light rose up from the explosion and hit the gash that was still in the sky. The energy began to seal the gash, closing it off and returning the sky back to normal. At the same time, the buildings that were destroyed by Tirek’s attacks began to reform, pieced back together as if part of jigsaw puzzle as the pixelated parts fit back together.

Unicorn and Ex-Aid glanced to each other and then fist bumped.

“Game Clear.”

***___________ x [+]E[+]___________***

In an alleyway not too far from the battle, three girls watched the battle unfold to its final conclusion. They wore hoodies, one wore purple, the other army green, and the last was burgundy. The girl in the purple hoodie twirled a Gaia Memory between her fingers as she tossed it up and caught it in midair.

“Guess there really was no need for us to step in after all. Which is good, I didn’t want to show our hand so early,” said the girl with a sultry voice.

“What would’ve been the point, I thought we hated this place?” asked the girl with the gruff voice and wearing the army green hoodie.

“I do, but considering we can’t go back home, I’d rather not have this world destroyed, at least not while we’re still in it.”

The girl in the army green hoodie pulled out a Gaia Memory of her own and glared at the one golden Rider with the crystal horn. “And you’re sure it’s her?”

“Who else could it be? You can feel it as much as I can, that Rider is brimming with Equestrian magic, and the fact that Tirek just mocked her by saying ‘my little pony’. Who else but Sunset Shimmer would understand that and get so angry about hearing it from that monster’s mouth,” said the purple hoodie girl.

“Well…” The girl in the burgundy hoodie and bubbly voice interjected. “It could be another pony came through the portal and became Unicorn…Possibly?”

“Go back to sleep Sonata. Adagio, why don’t we just attack now?! They’re tired and weak from fighting Tirek, now’s our perfect chance to wipe them out!”

Adagio shook her head. “No, Aria, it isn’t. They still outnumber us, and we don’t know what other powers they may have, for now we wait, and train. We’ll let them savor their victory. Soon the crushing blow of defeat will come down on Sunset Shimmer and those Rainbooms.”

***___________ x [+]E[+]___________***

2 Days Later…

[This is Namby Pamby reporting live from the CCNN news room. With me today are the CEOs of Canterlot City’s two biggest companies. Starlight Glimmer of PhoenEXE Corp. and Filthy Rich of Rich Industries. I would like to start off by saying that I think it is wonderful how your rival companies have come together during this crisis that the city has gone through in the last seventy-two hours,] said Namby.

[Why thank you Ms. Pamby, while we may be rivals in business, Ms. Glimmer and I can agree on one thing: We love this city and the people in it,] said Filthy Rich.

[That is why the two of us are using our company resources to give back to the community. As you know, the buildings that were destroyed during that titanic battle have rematerialized, but there are other properties that were damaged due to the battles before, and not to mention the medical expenses incurred to the people who had other illnesses that the onset of this Tirek Virus aggravated. So together, Mr. Rich and I are funding the restoration of the properties, and to help the families with any medical expenses that their insurance carriers won’t cover,] said Starlight.

[A very philanthropic act by the both you. Now, of course, I am fair and give voice to the opposition as well. As there some people who are saying that this virus was the result of these newer Kamen Riders, and that the damage to the city was made worse by them through their fighting of the monsters. I would like to get your thoughts.]

Starlight cleared her throat and said, [While this crisis was happening, I stopped by the hospital where the doctor Kamen Riders were working from. I am not one to just sit on my hands when there’s a crisis, so I thought I could lend my expertise in computer programming. I was working side-by-side with them, and let me tell you, they were the most dedicated group I have ever had the pleasure of working with. They’re genuine care for their patients pushed them to work near ‘round the clock. And if not for them, and their Rider powers, we would’ve lost all our friends and family.]

[Whether or not you want to call it bias, I would have to disagree with all of that nonsense people are sayin’. As you all may know, if it weren’t for Unicorn and her partner Nasca, I would have lost my only daughter, and I might’ve died. To say that they are responsible – in my opinion – is the height of foolishness. Anyone who risks their lives to protect us regardless of the harm and scrutiny that may fall upon them, deserves our praise not our suspicion,] said Filthy Rich.

“Gotta admit, for a rich guy, he’s not all that bad,” said Rainbow Dash.

“Especially considering how much he cares about his daughter, that’s a plus in my book,” said Sunset Shimmer as she put her phone away.

Sunset, Rainbow, and Twilight were at the hospital rooftop. It was there that the portal to their world opened and allowed them to move their equipment back, they stayed an extra couple of days to recuperate and to make sure that there weren’t any lingering remnants of the Gamedeus Virus or the newly created Tirek Virus. With no further cases brought in and no sign of any other Bugster Virus infection, the CR Team decided to head back home.
Emu walked up to the girls and shook all three girls’ hands. “It was great fighting and playing alongside you, Sun-chan.”

“The honor’s mine, Emu, always happy to learn from a veteran,” said Sunset.

Hiiro walked up beside Emu and reached out to shake Rainbow’s hand. “You have a complicated secret to keep, but even so, you don’t let it hinder your duties as Riders. For that, I commend you.”

“Thanks, you’re not so bad with a sword there, Dr. Kagami, maybe you could give me a few pointers,” said Rainbow Dash.

Hiiro nodded as he raised his hands, “There is nothing I can’t cut. If I ever crossover here or you to our world, I will make sure to give you proper instruction.”

“Ah, sweet!” Rainbow exclaimed as she fist pumped.

There was a melancholy smile on Sunset’s face, a look that Twilight couldn’t help but notice. “What’s wrong, Sunset?”

“Guess I feel like all of this is a little bittersweet. We beat Tirek, we saved everyone here, and yet we couldn’t save the ones in that game world…” Sunset knew it was silly, they were all just created game characters, but still, they were alive, it just didn’t seem right for them to lose their world and lives because Tirek made them.

“You may not have been able to save them, but the talents of God are vast!” Kuroto exclaimed as he appeared next to Emu.

“Kuroto-san, don’t start making trouble, again!” Poppy called out.

Dan Kuroto ignored Poppy and continued. “Behold Shimmer-chan, the blessings of God!” he then pulled out a Gashat from his left coat pocket and presented it for all to see. “This is Friendship Fantasy!”

The Gashat was red in color, and at the middle of the grip was a picture. It was a silhouette of a girl with red hair and a sword, and going up the sides were other silhouettes, each one with different colored hair, ending with the title of the Gashat at the top. Emu, Sunset, Rainbow, and Twilight couldn’t believe what they saw.

“Kuroto-san, you mean to say, you saved them?!” Emu asked.

“Indeed, I managed to save the data and purged it of any of Tirek’s or Gamedeus’ influence. And now it is just a game – NO! – I must correct myself, it is more than a game, it is art, and life!” Kuroto stated as he then pressed the button on the side.

[+]FRIENDSHIP FANTASY![+]

A screen opened up behind Dan Kuroto, and after a few seconds the screen changed to view the school where Emu and Sunset went to learn to become Guardians. Inside they saw many of the students mill around the quad, and among them were Midnight and Corona, the two girls were happily talking as Midnight had a spell book opened, while Corona waved her hands around to put the spells in the book into practice.

Not soon after they spot the rest of the girls, apparently, they had all decided to attend the school and become Guardians as well. Corona for the briefest of moments looked in the direction of Sunset and Emu, gave a nod, and smiled happily. This seemed to cause some confusion as to what she was looking at as the girls were giving her confused looks. But Corona seemed to wave it off and they went back to their conversation.

“They’re in their own contained world, ever expanding, yet closed off. And before you ask, no it cannot be used as in the Gamer Driver…” Kuroto then gave a devious smile. “Unless you might want it to–?”

“No!” Sunset and Emu said flatly.

Dan Kuroto rolled his eyes and handed the Gashat to Sunset Shimmer. “Then better to leave it with you. It also acts as the Tirek Vaccine, and Gamedeus Vaccine should either try to appear again. Receive the blessings of God gratefully!”

Sunset, with a bit of annoyance, accepted the Gashat. “I promise to keep it safe.”

“Hiiro, Kuroto, Emu, it’s time we head home,” said Taiga as he waved to them.

“Next time let’s just play games together, without any of the world ending drama, Emu,” said Sunset.

“I look forward to that.”

Poppy waved to them with a happy smile and then stepped through the portal. Taiga gave a salute before entering, and Hiiro nodded towards them before going through.

Kuroto paused before the portal and turned around dramatically as he said, “Though I leave you, you will forever remember the day when – ACK!”

Kiriya lazily kicked Kuroto into the portal. “Yeah, yeah, ‘I am God’, blah, blah, blah. See ya lovely ladies.” Kiriya put his shades on and walked on through, followed by Emu who waved to the girls.

Once all the CR Team was through, the portal closed up. Rainbow Dash stretched as she worked out a kink in her neck, but then looked to Sunset with a mischievous smile. Sunset saw this trademark smile and cautiously asked, “What are you thinking?”

“Oh, just wondering which one of our game counterparts you made out with,” said Rainbow Dash.

Sunset blushed bright red at the same time as Twilight. Twilight was the first to find her voice as she yelled, “RAINBOW!”

“C’mon it’s not like it’s cheating, from what Microchips said, they would’ve all had the hots for you, so I don’t doubt that some of them made a move on you.”

Sunset wished she had a Stetson hat like Applejack’s, because right now she wanted to draw it down to hide her face. “I mean, yes, some of them did, and there many awkward moments…really awkward moments…”

Rainbow Dash chuckled. “Like what? You all took a dip in a hot spring and they were all eyeing you?”

Sunset’s face just got redder.

“Oh gods, I was kidding, you had some kind of anime cliché hot springs thing happen in there?!” Rainbow Dash asked as she began to laugh her head off at the image that that conjured.

“It’s not funny, Rainbow! Do you have any idea how awkward that felt knowing that those girls, who more or less looked like and acted like you guys, were all looking at me like they were thinking of different ways to make out with me?!”

Twilight sighed and put her hands on Sunset’s shoulders, giving her a comforting squeeze and said, “It’s okay, in the end they all became your friends. It just goes to show how we care about you, and much I care about you.”

Sunset smiled at her girlfriend. “Thanks, Twilight.”

Rainbow leaned in close and whispered, “Wanna herd?”

Sunset was now blushing so hard her ears released steam. “I wish I never said anything about that!”

The three girls made it down the stairs from the roof and walked along until they were met by Microchips who looked out of breath. “Did…they…leave?”

“Uh, yeah, dude, they just left like a couple of minutes ago,” said Rainbow Dash.

A look of disappointment befell the bespectacled boy. “Oh…I wanted to thank them for helping me…and sorry I was so weak as to let that monster take control of me…”

The girls glanced between each other, Sunset broke from the trio and patted Microchips on the shoulder. “Look you’ve been through a lot, got taken over by that monster, and then you did everything you could to keep him trapped in the game.”

“For all the good it did,” said Microchips. “He still managed to get out using the game to infect people…”

“Hey, he’s a being of dark power, even from my world he was like one of the worst threats, and he was powerful there, he just got more powerful here. The fact that you were able to hold on long enough to delay him was great, if not for that the CR Kamen Riders wouldn’t have had the time needed to help fight him.” Sunset smiled as Microchips raised his head a bit. “Now, regarding all that awkward dating sim crap you put me through…”

Microchips blushed and the gulped. “Y-Yeah, I know my game probably put you through some…ahem…awkward situations. A-A-And I should’ve gotten your permissions first before designing the characters after you all! So…I-I’m sorry, Sunset.”

Sunset nodded in understanding. “Now considering all you’ve been through. I’m going to give you a ten second head start. One…”

“Uh, she’s kidding, right?” Microchips asked.

“Four.”

Rainbow shrugged. “Personally, I think it was funny, but, yeah, can’t help you here buddy.”

“Six.”

Microchips looked to Twilight with pleading eyes.

Twilight adjusted her glasses and said, “Microchips, you know Sunset and I are dating, so the fact that you inadvertently put my girlfriend in such a situation, does perturb me on some level.”

“You better run squirrel, eight!” Sunset stated.

Microchips yelped and hightailed it the other way, leaving a comical trail of smoke in his wake. Sunset straightened out her leather jacket and looped her arm around Twilight’s as she said, “Okay, let’s go hang out.”

“You aren’t going to really hurt him, are you?” Twilight asked.

Sunset smiled and said, “He’s really been through enough, a little scare to remind him never to do that again will drive the point home. Now let’s go have some fun, it’s still Summer Vacation!”

Twilight felt like she was the luckiest girl in the world to be with such a wonderful person like Sunset, and even more so to have such good friends. But after that battle, Twilight knew that it was more imperative than ever that she finish it. Something in the back of her mind told her that a storm was coming, and Sunset would need to be much stronger to face it. But for now, it was time for fun and relaxation, they were young, and so was the Summer.

Bonus Level: Epilogue

Near the outskirts of Canterlot City, at an abandoned steel mill, all was quiet. The birds fluttered as they went about their business, making nests in the long since rusted over machines and empty offices. Sunlight poured through the broken glass of the large windows, providing a modicum of light in the otherwise dingy structure.

Suddenly, black lightning began to arc off the abandoned equipment. It’s frequency increasing as it gathered at the center and began to take form. Within a few seconds, the lightning took solid form, that of a centaur, the form of Tirek.

The destroyer huffed and panted, his size was smaller, about six feet, eight if you count the horns. The Dark Lord struck his fist against a cauldron that used to hold molten metal, causing a dent.

“My vengeance is eternal, Unicorn! This is not the end!”

“There you are, I was wondering how long it was going to take before you reformed.” Tirek looked around the room, trying to pinpoint the voice that echoed. His search didn’t last long, as the one who spoke appeared from behind a large cauldron. He wore a black suit, with a light-red shirt. His hair was sandy brown, with dark gray eyes, and a light-orange complexion. “Waiting in here was starting to get bad for my health.”

Tirek looked upon this man, his voice was familiar, so was that laissez-faire attitude. “Wait a minute… YOU’RE–!”

“I’m just a passing through Kamen Rider, remember that.”

Tirek got into attack position, his horns flaring with magical energy. “So, you’ve come to finish me?! I WON’T GO DOWN WITHOUT A FIGHT!”

Tsukasa shook his head in the negative. “No, no, I’m just the chauffer.”

{=+=} HORSE! {=+=}

{=+=} STORM! {=+=}

{=+=} BEST MATCH! {=+=}

The room echoed with the sounds of something being constructed, along with a strange jingle.

{=+=} ARE YOU READY? {=+=}

“Henshin.”

{=+=}GALLOPING THUNDER!HORSE-STORM! YEAH!{=+=}

Suddenly, aurora lightning raged in the room, the sound of crashing thunder echoed loudly in the abandoned warehouse as the wind kicked up dust and other loose objects scattered about the floor. A being walked out from behind a large piece of equipment, its features completely obscured by the raging aurora lightning. The only thing visible was the Driver at this Kamen Rider’s waist. It was black, off to the right side was a clear circle filament, and off to the that was a hand crank. At the center of the Driver were two bottle shaped objects, the one on the right was colored purple, and the one on the left was an azure blue.

The azure eyes of the Kamen Rider glowed as its hand gripped the crank and began turning it, making the glass filament spin and glow with the dual colors of the bottle objects. The aurora lightning sparked wildly as the power output increased dramatically.

“And that’s my cue to leave, nice seeing you again, Tirek,” said Tsukasa.

The Destroyer of Worlds walked out of the main building and leaned against the side of the building as he patiently waited.

{=+=} VOLTECH FINISH! {=+=}

“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!”

A crackling explosion went off inside the main building, causing a bolt of aurora lightning to burst through the roof, followed by a fiery explosion. Tsukasa reached into his coat pocket and took out a stick of gum, after popping it into his mouth, he grinned and said, “I take it it’s over?”

The mysterious Kamen Rider, kept to the shadows, no longer coated in the aurora lightning, but now in plain clothes as their black trench coat flapped in the wind. “He wasn’t as strong as I thought he’d be, so that was probably overkill.”

Tsukasa shrugged, “Better that than have him run amok again. Sun-chan will appreciate it.”

The veteran Rider was met with silence.

“You know, I can take you to her, she may not know you since she’s not the Sunset you know. But some closure might help,” said Tsukasa.

The stranger released a heavy sigh. “I can’t face her, not yet. Even if it is another Sunset, I just can’t right now. Why didn’t you destroy Tirek? As powerful as you are, it wouldn’t have taken you less than a minute.”

Tsukasa smiled and then turned to face his Kouhai. “As I’ve stated before, I’m just a passing through Kamen Rider, remember that.” The stranger rolled their eyes, apparently having heard that line before, and just as much used to Tsukasa’s vague answers. The Silver Veil portal opened behind Tsukasa, where he stood at the edge and said, “Let’s go, Fizzy-chan.”

Level 1: Let The Games Begin

Sunset felt a bit uneasy as she waited in line, Rainbow Dash had informed them of a new video that was coming out and was supposed to be one of the greatest of this year. Although when she found out about the title of the game, Sunset’s mind couldn’t help but conjure up images of a certain being who bore the same name. The game was called “Tirek’s Revenge”, a role-playing game where you travel through a mystical world and defeat an all-powerful monster in the made-up world the game was centered in.

The former unicorn mare couldn’t help but remember her battle against the monster, and seeing him in person. It was the same day she obtained the Shining Memory, and the day where the evil organization, Nega-Shocker, invaded Equestria. Tirek was struck down by the leader, Ambassador Hell, and drained of his magical power until he was nothing. Despite Tirek being the incarnation of evil, it was still a horrible way to die.

Sunset shook her head, she had to disassociate the Tirek from Equestria, and the Tirek who was on a video game. There was no such being in this world, and from the looks of it, such beings were relegated to the form of a video game villain. So here she was, standing in a long line waiting to by a copy.

In front of her was Sandalwood and Microchips, both playing a game of hacky sack to pass the time. Sunset watched them for a while, but then turned her attention to the rest the mall and people watched. Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were milling around a jewelry shop, no doubt looking for expensive pieces to add to her, no doubt, large collection of jewels.

Sunset turned her head slightly and noticed Trixie Lulamoon coming out of the Magician’s Supply Shop, her arms filled with bags and boxes of unknown items for her “magic acts”. Trixie was a girl who was still a bit abrasive. Despite being under the Sirens’ spell during the battle of the bands, Trixie’s natural showboating and boasting attitude made it hard to approach her sometimes. Not for a lack of trying, Trixie was a nice person, and often times nice to be around, but she could be a handful and hard to predict.

“Oh well, one of these days maybe we’ll make an honest connection,” said Sunset.

Suddenly, Sunset felt something thud against her head, making her stumble forward just a bit. Before Sunset could do a face plant, she was caught in a pair of familiar arms. Sunset looked up and saw Flash Sentry, smiling and giving a light chuckle as he helped Sunset back to her feet.

“Falling for me again, Sunset?” Flash asked.

Sunset smiled and rolled her eyes. “Ha, ha, could you be any cornier?”

Flash shrugged. “I try.”

Sunset looked down and saw the thing that made her lose her balance. It was a hacky sack. She picked up the offending item and turned around to see Sandalwood and Microchips coming towards her.

“Sunset, dudette, sorry! The sack got away from us, you okay?” Sandalwood asked.

“Yeah, I’m fine, no harm no foul,” said Sunset as she tossed the hacky sack back.

“Y-You’re are certain that you’re not injured?” Microchips asked.

“Seriously, guys, I’m fine. But if you want me to show you, we could arm wrestle?”

Microchips waved his hand, passing on the offer.

With that sorted out, Sunset sighed, prompting Flash to say, “You look a little down.”

“Yeah, I’ve just been waiting in line her for a while. I thought about calling the girls to see if they…maybe…wanted to wait with me and relieve some of the boredom, but I couldn’t do that to them. Giving up their afternoon to spend it in line waiting.” Sunset saw Flash was about to say something but cut him off. “And no, I won’t ask you to do that, you have better things to do than to just stand in line with me.”

Flash frowned for a moment, but realized he wasn’t going to budge Sunset from this. “Alright, guess I’ll head off. Talk to you later, Sunset.”

Sunset bid her ex-boyfriend a goodbye, and resumed her waiting. He really was a great guy, and was sure he’d make any girl happy, but her heart was set on Twilight. Unfortunately, so was his, but it was for the pony princess in Equestria. Huh, now that I think about it, Princess Twilight did seem interested in Flash. But she also said she was interested I me too…

A thought crossed Sunset’s mind that made her face turn red.

Wait, could Princess Twilight be thinking about…herding?! I mean, she is a Princess, and technically speaking, royalty does have the right to create a herd with as many stallions and mares as they choose. Five wasn’t too bad, ten is okay, but more than that…eh…

Sunset face palmed herself, the only reason she even knew about that stuff was to prepare herself for the day she did become a princess and could indulge in such things.

“Thinkin’ of something naughty?”

“No, not necessarily, mostly about the polyamorous relationships and the ramifications in the human world as compared to EquestraiAAAAAHHHH! PINKIE PIE!” Sunset shouted as she fell on her rear.

Indeed, the curly haired, hyperactive, pink party planner was standing right beside Sunset. But not just Pinkie Pie, but also Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Rarity, Applejack, Twilight, and Starlight.

“Wha-What are you guys doing here?”

“Well, I got a text from Flash Sentry saying how you were in a line and that you were kinda bored and bummed, so I called the girls over, and decided to have a waiting in line party!” Pinkie explained.

Sunset smirked. Nosey Flash Sentry.

“Excuse me, Sunset, but what was that about polyamorous relationships? As in, more than one lover?” Rarity asked.

“Oh…um…well…” Sunset got up and gulped. “In, ahem, Equestrian society, it’s not uncommon for there to be multiple ponies in a mutual loving relationship, we call it herding.” Sunset explained.

“So…you’re saying a guy can have more than one girlfriend?” Rainbow asked.

“And vice versa, or one mare can have more than one mare as a mare – er – girlfriend.”

The others turned to Starlight Glimmer, who was busy enjoying a triple scoop ice cream cone, looking for confirmation to this new revelation in pony society. Starlight finally noticed their gazes and said, “Yep, it’s all true. Although nowadays it’s not as common as single pairings, but neither is it unusual. Of course, that all depends if all parties involved consent to being in a herd. For example…”

Starlight walked up to Twilight and placed an arm over her shoulders. “If I wanted to be a part of yours and Sunset’s relationship, I’d have to get not just her permission, but yours as well. Because that would also make us lovers too.”

Twilight’s face began to burn red, the thought of having another girl in their relationship was a bit too much for her brain to handle.

“Or, heck, technically speaking you all could be a part of Sunset’s herd, the only difference is that you all don’t have any romantic feelings towards her,” said Starlight.

Twilight’s mind raced again, the thought of Sunset being in a harem-like relationship with all their friends, was…was…

“Oh my gosh, Twilight fainted!” Fluttershy exclaimed.

“Bet she was thinking about all of us as Sunset’s girlfriends,” said Rainbow Dash, who then glanced over at the girl in question. “Huh, I wouldn’t mind that actually.”

“NOT HELPING!” Sunset shouted.

***__________ x [+]E[+]__________***

A couple of hours of waiting later and it was finally Sunset’s turn. However, the moment they got there, the store clerk put up a sign that said, “Sold Out” on it. Sunset groaned a little, but then smiled. Despite the fact she didn’t get the game, hanging out with the girls was fun.

Then Pinkie Pie said she preordered a copy of the game for Sunset, and then Sunset invited the girls over for a game. Another hour later and the girls had arrived at Sunset’s place with food and drink, having already alerted their parents that they were staying over at Sunset’s place for the night, and possibly some of the morning as well.

Sunset had set up her game console, and had extra controllers out and ready for all the girls to play. The food and sodas were already set up around them, so that the girls could quickly get to them and enjoy without having to go far.

“Alright girls, ready?” Sunset asked.

“Ready!” they shouted.

“Starlight, you don’t want to join us?” Rarity asked.

Starlight chuckled as she waved her hand. “Yeah, no. I’m still getting used to these things, that looks like it requires a bit more coordination than what I’ve mastered so far. But I don’t mind watching, I’ve wanted to see about these ‘video games’ for bit.”

With that settled, Sunset and the girls started the game.

[A long time ago, in the kingdom of Algantha, peace reigned and magic flowed through the land and people. It was here that lived a mighty ruler, who’s magic was like the sun, warm and inviting, and yet powerful and overwhelming. Her name was Queen Solara.

However, peace, sadly, does not last forever. An evil being rose from the depths of the underworld. His heart was a black hole of evil, and his hunger for power knew no bounds. This being of evil, went by the name…Tirek.

Tirek waged war on the kingdom and nearly succeeded and taking all the magical power of Algantha. But in the midst of this chaos and darkness, six young heroes stepped forward, fear of Tirek nonexistent as they could no longer just stand and watch the world burn. The magic of the land was moved by these six young ones, and granted unto them the greatest magic that was tied to their individual virtues.

Strength

Hope

Beauty

Healing

Bravery

Sorcery

With these Six Virtues, the young heroes, hence forth known as The Pillars, defeated the evil Tirek and imprisoned him in the depths of the underworld from whence he came. However, Tirek did not go quietly.

“Hear me Pillars of Algantha, your light will not last forever, you will fade, and once you do…I will have my revenge!”

The Pillars did not idly take this threat, so with the permission of the queen, The Pillars formed the Guardian Academy. Training the next generation of heroes to protect the land, and for the eventual day when Tirek would rise up, and claim his revenge.

And so, your journey begins…]

Sunset and Starlight glanced at each other, the story was…eerily similar to old Equestrian tales of the Elements of Harmony. But, that’s just a coincidence, this was a parallel world, so things like this were bound to happen. Hopefully.

The girls spent the next six hours creating their avatars and playing the game, learning different skills and leveling up as they progressed through the game. After another two hours of gaming, the girls finally got worn down and crashed where they were, some using the other as pillows and sleeping on top of the other.

However, while the girls slept, something strange occurred from the game. The game began to glitch, becoming pixelated here and there. For a brief moment, a shadowy image appeared on the screen, before the tv cut to black and turned off.

***__________ x [+]E[+]__________***

Sunset woke up first, it was midmorning from what the clock on her wall said. She glanced to her right and saw Twilight resting across her lap, a sight that made Sunset blush and at the same time made her heart flutter. Sunset stroked Twilight’s hair affectionately as she let her girlfriend use her lap as a pillow, on her left Rarity had…well…somehow Rarity ended up using Pinkie’s chest as a pillow, or pillows in this case.

Rainbow Dash and Applejack had crashed on the floor, with Starlight and Fluttershy slumped up against each other. As cute as the scene her around was, Sunset knew that they needed some breakfast, but before she could rouse her friends, something else did. A symphony of cellphone ringtones went off in the room all at once, startling the hell out everyone and caused a rather chaotic mess to occur.

Twilight rose up quickly and smacked her head against Sunset’s jaw. Pinkie Pie jumped and made Rarity roll off of her, and right onto the backs of Applejack and Rainbow Dash. Fluttershy released a loud “EEP!” and made Starlight clutch her amulet and fire a magic bolt straight ahead. When the commotion was over, and their senses returned, the girls began to groan loudly.

“Ow, my head…I am so sorry Sunset,” said Twilight.

Sunset only gave a thumbs up, having accidentally bit her tongue when Twilight hit her jaw. Rarity managed to get herself off of her two friends, with both girls rubbing their backs.

“Jeez, were you trying to break our spines?” Rainbow asked.

“I said I was sorry, ouch, and on that note, are you two made of rocks, because that what it feels I’ve landed on,” said Rarity as she massaged her own back from the landing.

Starlight finally took notice that they weren’t being attacked. Her gaze fell on the spot her magic bolt hit, having left a burn mark on Sunset’s wall. With a quick spell, she erased the burn mark and fixed the damage it had caused before her host could see it. “What in Equestria was that noise?”

The girls’ cellphones all went off again, some at the same time, and others a minute after the other, even Sunset’s. Each of them looked over their phones seeing that they had received a lot of text messages from their respective parents, in Sunset’s case, hers were from Principal Celestia who had become her De Facto guardian.

Sunset called Celestia on her cell and waited, but the wait wasn’t long. [Sunset Shimmer, are you alright?!]

“Um, yeah, I’m fine, my friends are over and we just –”

[How are you all feeling? Are you feverish? Dizzy? Nauseated? Anything?!]

Sunset narrowed her gaze as her mind began to analyze the situation. “No, we’re all perfectly fine, but something tells me that something happened that was bad enough that you’d ask me that. All our cellphones went off, I’m guessing their parents are asking the same questions.”

“Yeah, no, no Mom, I’m not sick,” said Rainbow Dash.

“Granny, slow down, what’s happened to Apple Bloom?” Applejack asked.

“Sweetie Belle’s what?!” Rarity exclaimed.

“Daddy, don’t worry about me, I’m fine, just take care of Lime and Marble!” Pinkie stated.

Sunset took stock of their conversations and asked, “What’s going on?”

[Sunset, I don’t know what’s happening entirely myself. But early this morning a lot of teens and kids have been dropping like flies, that is to say, they’ve become very ill. The police and emergency services are declaring that everybody stay indoors for the time being. If you girls aren’t sick, please stay inside and keep watch on the news. I’ll be in touch from time to time just to check up.]

“Okay, thank you,” said Sunset as she ended the call. “This is bad.”

Rainbow Dash hurriedly turned on the tv, and put it on the news. And just as Celestia had said, the news was talking about an illness that was sweeping across the city.

[We now go live to Namby Pamby for some breaking news. Namby?]

The image of Namby Pamby appeared on the screen, standing outside a hospital in the city.

[This is Namby Pampy coming to you live from downtown Canterlot City, officials have yet to pinpoint the cause of this illness, but have narrowed down the symptoms based on the cases so far. Victims of this disease display similar symptoms to the flu, fever, chills, and achiness. But what has officials more worried, this strange phenomenon that occurs in the victims.]

Namby got close to one of the victims and showed how a kind of pixelated blocks formed around the body and then disappeared.

[Medical personnel are saying not to panic, if you or your loved one display this kind of phenomenon on their bodies, police are urging to isolate and call for an ambulance. A special disease response team will come by ambulance to transport them to the nearest hospital for treatment.]

The girls sat there and took it all in, there was a city-wide pandemic going on, and not a normal one at that.

“Could…Could this be a Dopant attack?” Starlight asked.

“It doesn’t make sense, if this was a T1 I don’t see a point in a Gaia Memory that makes everybody sick.” And I doubt Equal would allow someone to blatantly cause such a pandemic like this.

“But you saw that, that ain’t natural! Isn’t there anythin’ we can do?!” Applejack asked.

“Yes, couldn’t we…we…take them to Equestria?! I mean, surly medical technology may not be the same there, but since your world excels at magic, there must be someone there who has the proper magical healing techniques!” Rarity asked.

Starlight shook her head. “Our magical knowledge and its application to medicine has come a long way, but there are just some diseases in Equestria that magic can’t cure. That’s why ponies who are masters of potions and herbal remedies still exist, because what magic can’t fix, there sometimes exist a natural curative. But I’m not sure if bringing your family members there would help or make it worse…”

“Well we gotta try somethin’! Our sisters are sick with this stuff, and we need to –!”

[Hold on, something’s happening!]

The girls turned towards the tv and watched as something appeared at the hospital. It took the form of an orangey blob thing, but soon it took shape, and became a large monster. It was a large snake, with rows of sharp black spines, and jade colored scales. The beast’s eyes shined yellow as it’s drool made the asphalt sizzle.

“We better take care of that,” said Rainbow.

“Yeah, like, now!”

***__________ x [+]E[+]__________***

Kamen Riders Unicorn and Nasca arrived at Canterlot General Hospital, finding Kamen Rider Trigger already engaging the snake monster. Trigger was firing his Chrome Buster at the monster, but each time an energy bolt struck, something strange happened. When the bolts made contact with the monster, icon appeared that said “Miss” each time the bolt hit the monster.

“What the heck is that?” Nasca asked.

“Funny, I was about to ask you two the same thing! I’ve been firing one shot after another, but it’s not taking any damage!” Trigger informed.

“We’ll see about that,” said Unicorn as she took out the Metal Memory.

< METAL! >

< ACCEL! >

{< METAL! MIMETIC DRIVE! >}

{< ACCEL! MIMETIC DRIVE! >}

Unicorn and Nasca transformed yet again, taking on the forms of Unicorn Iron Heart and Nasca Full Throttle. Nasca’s bike appeared next to her, and quickly transformed into her Engine Blade. Unicorn struck the side of her left hip port twice.

< METAL RING! >

A ring of multiple layered metals appeared in her hands, and with that, both Unicorn and Nasca charged in with Trigger providing long range support. Nasca flew in from the right, spun once in the air, and brought down her Engine Blade right on the snake’s left side. However, the same “Miss” icon appeared. Unicorn closed on the front and tossed her metal ring at the monster. The ring bounced off a few objects, ricocheting until it struck the monster in the head. Yet again, the same “Miss” icon appeared.

All three Kamen Riders backed off, trying to assess the situation.

“I don’t get it, I definitely felt my sword hit, but it’s like it did no damage,” said Nasca.

“Whatever’s keeping us from causing it damage, it’s not some shield. Our attacks are connecting, but it’s like…like…”

“Like what?” Trigger asked.

Unicorn wanted to say, “video game”, but that was too absurd even for them. There had to be some other reason why they couldn’t hurt it. While they were trying to figure this out, the monster started to turn its attention on the hospital, slithering its way towards the building.

Just then, something strange occurred, something that even made the giant snake monster stop in its tracks. A portal opened up a few feet away, and from it fell out two people, flat on their faces. The Riders, and even the snake monster looked confused.

The first person was a girl, her hair was pink and short. He skin was a light peach color, and had blue eyes. Her outfit was that of a white blouse with a bright yellow bodice, her collar was yellow, and had a similar colored necktie hanging under it. She wore yellow gloves on her hands, and yellow shoes. The girl had on thigh high leggings, with the right one colored light pink and mint green, and the reverse on the left leg. Her skirt was in various shades of pink, with yellow frills at the edge.

The second was a young man, he had neon magenta pants on, and wore a white lab coat. He had a strange looking stethoscope hanging around his neck, and had a blue shirt on. His complexion was a light magenta with light brown hair, and dark brown eyes. Compared to the girl, he looked to be the more normal of the two.

“Oi, Emu, don’t just go jumping into portals that opened up out of nowhere!” the young woman scolded.

“Sorry, Poppy, but you saw that thing, and the people being brought into that hospital and…Uh…Poppy, we’re not in CR,” said Emu.

Poppy glanced about, noticing that things were different. The portal was some feet above them, and somehow, they were outside. “What? But, we were inside, did we get transported into a game? Oh, Kuroto, don’t tell me he did it again?!”

In the distance there was a voice that shouted, “It’s GOD DAN KUROTO!”

“Uh, Poppy, we have a problem,” said Emu as he tapped her shoulder.

Poppy looked in the same direction as Emu and yelped as she laid eyes on the giant snake monster in front of them. The snake roared as it approached them, but stopped when it felt dozens of energy bolts pelting its back. The monster hissed in annoyance and turned around to deal with that annoyance.

“It’s not safe here! Get into the hospital, now!” Trigger ordered.

“Emu, they’re…!”

“Kamen Riders?!”

< FANG! >

{< FANG! MIMETIC DRIVE! >}

Unicorn switched her Gaia Memory, and changed into Unicorn Fang Edge. “Hurry, we’ll cover you!”

Emu looked to Poppy, and Poppy to Emu. A determined expression was on their faces as they nodded in silent understanding. Emu reached behind his back and took out a Driver colored neon green and purple, while Poppy pulled out a device that looked like a game controller, colored a neon blue-green. Both Poppy and Emu took out another, smaller device. The one in Poppy’s hand was neon pink, and had the picture of an anime girl with pink hair and a yellow dress, and had the words “Toki Meki Crisis”. Emu’s device was a neon magenta color, and had a character that was ball shaped, with spikey hair, and the words “Mighty Action X” above it.

Emu pressed the button on the device. The wind picked up for a moment, whipping through Emu’s hair and lab coat, and he gave a cocky smile.

[+] MIGHTY ACTION X! [+]

[+] TOKI MEKI CRISIS! [+]

The moment they activated the devices, a wave of pink and magenta light washed over the entire area, making everything pixelated for a few seconds. Boxes appeared in the air, and on the ground, generated at random positions around them. Digital windows opened behind them, displaying the images that were printed on their devices The snake monster took notice of this, its body reacting to the field. Unicorn, Nasca, and Trigger watched the two newcomers, recognizing the design of the belts.

“Don’t tell me…” Trigger started.

“Are they…?” Unicorn asked.

“HENSHIN!” Emu and Poppy shouted.

| BUGGLE UP! |

| DREAMING GIRL! (WOW!) KOI NO SIMULATION! OTOME WA ITSUMO TOKI MEKI CRISIS! WOW! |

A body length square appeared before the pink haired girl, and passed over her, when it disappeared, it revealed the girl donned in Kamen Rider armor. The front was colored golden-yellow like that of the dress the girl in the picture wore, with a white collar around the neck area. Her pauldrons were golden-yellow, with pink heart shaped plates. Her legs, from above the knee down was covered in pink and silver armor, and boots that appeared as sneakers, all overlaid atop a black armor mesh. Poppy’s helmet was in the shape of metallic pink hair, with a golden-yellow heart shape plate. Her visor was black and silver, with two large blue eyes.

The female Rider gave a twirl and struck a pose as a flash of pink went off behind her. “Kamen Rider Poppy!”

| CLICK AND LOAD! LET’S GAME! SUPER GAME! ULTRA GAME! WHATCHA NAME?! I’M A KAMEN RIDER! |

A circle appeared around Emu, and from it five different icons with different images appeared. Emu selected one, and his body was immediately covered in a bulky white armor.

“Transformation plus!”

Emu maneuvered the lever on his Driver and activated the next transformation.

| CLICK TO OPEN! |

| LEVEL UP! |

| MIGHTY JUMP! MIGHTY KICK! MIGHTY MIGHTY ACTION X! |

A slimmer version of the Rider appeared in the form of a body length magenta square. Emu jumped through it, shedding his bulky armor and achieving the next level of power. This new form was slimmer, upon his chest was a game controller apparatus. On the right side there were buttons that were colored yellow, blue, green, and red. The left side had some kind of gauge on it, a possible video game “HP” gauge.The rest of the suit was neon magenta color with black stripes, with some armor pieces colored neon green. His helmet had spikey neon magenta hair frills, with a visor that had orange eyes, and a mouth piece that looked as if he was smiling.

“Kamen Rider Ex-Aid, I’ll change these patients’ fates with my own hands!”

| GASHCON BREAKER! |

Ex-Aid summoned a hammer weapon, and Poppy removed her Bugvisor and attached it to her right forearm. A mini-chainsaw blade extended and both Riders charged into the fray. Ex-Aid jumped, bouncing off the boxes that formed everywhere, ricocheting until he arrived at the snake’s head and struck it across the cheek. An icon appeared upon impact that said, “Hit”, and soon after the monster recoiled from the blow.

“No way, he actually damaged it?!” Trigger stated.

Poppy dashed and slashed at the monster’s underbelly, the chainsaw blades whirred, causing the “Hit” icon to appear multiple times in one blow. The pink Rider jumped away, and landed close to Canterlot’s Kamen Riders. “Normal attacks don’t hurt Bugsters, but with the fields up, even without a Gamer Driver, you can cause it harm so long as we’re around.”

Unicorn smiled under helmet, without a bit of hesitation she dashed towards the monster. Her arm fangs extended, Unicorn jumped into the air, spun a few times, and came down with a multi strike to the back of the monster. Each blade impact made the “Hit” icon appear, causing damage to the monster. Seeing that Unicorn’s attacks were successful, Nasca and Trigger went to work. Trigger took out the Gatling Memory and placed it into the Chrome Buster.

|^| GATLING! ARMED! |^|

The Chrome Buster merged with Trigger’s right arm, forming a Gatling cannon. Trigger took aim and fired a barrage of energy bolts at the serpent, and just like with Unicorn, each bolt exploded against the monster’s body with a “Hit” icon. Nasca revved the hilt of her Engine Blade, causing the wheels in the center of the blade to spin out and generate heat.

SPEED OF HEAT! <<<<

Nasca came down with a fiery slash that detonated upon hitting the snake, creating a large “Hit” icon. The five Riders continued to barrage the monster with multiple attacks from every angle, the giant serpent was noticeably getting worn down, his body even flashed with a thin red line outline. Ex-Aid saw this took out a new device, red in color, with the image of a robot on it, and pressed the button.

[+] GEKITOTSU ROBOTS! [+]

“It’s weak, time to finish it!” Ex-Aid stated as he inserted the device into the Gamer Driver and pulled on the switch.

| CLICK TO CLOSE! CLICK AND LOAD! |

“Transformation Double Plus!”

| CLICK TO OPEN! LEVEL UP! |

A red robot flew out of the belt, it hovered around Ex-Aid for moment before opening its mouth and chomping down on his upper body.

“IT ATE HIM?!” Trigger, Nasca, and Unicorn gasped.

| GACHAN! LEVEL UP! MIGHTY JUMP! MIGHTY KICK! MIGHTY MIGHTY ACTION X! A GACHA! BUTTOBASE! TOTSUGEKI! GEKITOTSU PUNCH! GEKITOTSU ROBOTS! |

The robot disengaged its parts and combined with Ex-Aid, granting two red shoulder pauldrons, red and white chest armor, and helmet with a V shaped gold crest. His left forearm had a large robot fist incased around it, the fingers flexing as he made a fist. Ex-Aid took the same device from his belt and placed it into another slot, energy began to surge from the device and into Ex-Aid’s left arm, even his eyes was glowing.

| CLICK AND LOAD! FINAL ATTACK! |

}!!!{ GEKITOTSU CRITICAL FINISH! }!!!{

Unicorn took out her Fang Memory and placed it into the right hip port.

} FANG! MAXIMUM DRIVE! {<

The arm fangs reversed their position, with the curved point now facing towards her opponent as the bladeS shined with intense blue light.

Ex-Aid launched his robot fist right at the serpent, hitting it in the chest. Ex-Aid looked to Unicorn and both nodded as they dashed for their target.

“Dual Schneider!”

Unicorn went low while Ex-Aid went high. The magical Rider struck the beast with both blades, piercing its hide, at the same time, Ex-Aid slammed his left arm back into the robot arm. The combined power of their attacks surged through the serpent and caused it to explode right then and there. Both Riders landed on the ground at the same time as two “Perfect!” icons appeared where the beast once was.

Unicorn rose up, returning to default form at the same time as Ex-Aid, Unicorn glanced to Ex-Aid and asked, “Let me guess, you’re a Kamen Rider from another universe?”

“Yeah, so we really are in a different world?” Ex-Aid asked.

“Seems that way, do you happen to know a Kamen Rider by the name of Tsukasa? Also goes by Decade?”

“Actually, I do.”

“Heh, small multiverse.”

“I’m glad you have found amusement in this battle…” Suddenly, from the flames of the serpent’s destruction, a being made of shadows appeared. It took the form of a centaur with horns, and had piercing yellow eyes that looked down upon Unicorn. “…I promise it will be the last time you find amusement in anything!”

Unicorn and Ex-Aid took a few steps back, with the other Riders taking defensive stances. What was worse about this situation was that the monster’s form, and his voice, it sounded exactly like the one creature that Sunset had thought was killed months ago. “Tirek…!”

“Oh, you do remember me, Unicorn. Good, my vengeance wouldn’t be as sweet if you somehow forgot me,” said Tirek.

“How are you alive?! Ambassador Hell killed you during the battle in Equestria!”

“Yes, he did, didn’t he…? In some way I am thankful, but in another I would very much like to have killed him!” Tirek calmed down a bit as he chuckled. “But seeing as you are alive, I can surmise that he is not. Which will make this conquest all the easier!”

“So, you’re behind the all the kids and teens getting sick in the city?!” Trigger asked.

“I am, and soon, I will have the power to break free from the world I am in, and into this one,” said Tirek.

“I WON’T LET YOU!” Unicorn yelled as she dashed for the dark centaur.

Tirek raised his right forearm and blocked Unicorn’s punch, he quickly grabbed her by the throat and hoisted her up. Ex-Aid ran towards Tirek in an attempt to save his Rider alley, but Tirek was faster, having tackled Ex-Aid to the ground, and stomping on his chest, pinning him against the street.

“I like that fire in you, both of you! Come to my world and put that to good use!”

Tirek’s shadow horns glowed with orange light, at the same time a portal opened behind the dark centaur that created a sucking vortex. The dark centaur swiftly threw Unicorn into the portal like a rag doll, and soon after punt kicked Ex-Aid into that same portal. With a flash of his horns the portal was gone. Tirek chuckled evilly and faded from sight, returning from whence he came.

Poppy, Nasca, and Trigger rushed to the spot where their friends disappeared, but there was nothing. No trace of the heroes. They were…gone. '

Level 5: Of Harpies and Nuzzles

Shining Armor balked at the sight of Starlight Glimmer, although, this version seemed a bit younger than the one he had met. For one thing, the one he met was dressed in business attire, not like this version before him who had a punk street kid look. It made Shining Armor wonder more when he was told that the ambulance Dr. Kagami and Nasca were in got attacked by another Bugster.

Shining Armor shook off the confusion for a moment and rushed to embrace his little sister, who was happy to have the comfort of her big brother. “I’m just glad your safe, Twily.”

“You don’t have to worry, Nasca and Dr. Kagami protected us,” said Twilight.

Shining Armor glanced to see where the second Kamen Rider had gone. “Where is Nasca?”

“She said she was going to check on her family, and would be back soon,” said Rainbow Dash.

Shining hummed for a moment in contemplation. “Can’t fault her for that, probably a good idea if she has any siblings.” It was then he turned his attention to Starlight Glimmer. “Still, uh, ma’am, has anybody told you, you bear a striking resemblance to the CEO of PhoenEXE Corp., and share her name?”

Starlight became a bit nervous as she rubbed the back of her head. “Well…you see…there’s –!”

“There’s a perfectly logical explanation, Officer Armor.” Everyone turned around and watched as Earth’s Starlight Glimmer came walking in through the front doors of the hospital, an action that stunned even Rainbow Dash. “She’s my cousin, she was born a couple of years after me, and well, let’s just say there’s a lot of family drama concerning that. Right Glimmer?”

Glimmer understood what Starlight was doing. “Oh, yeah, major drama. But just refer to me as Glimmer, and her as Starlight, since she was the first to have the name, so it’s only fair to let her be referred to by her first name!”

Shining Armor and Hiiro looked back and forth between the two, eventually they just shrugged and let it be, there was already enough craziness with the disease and Bugster monsters popping up out of nowhere. Suddenly, Hiiro’s stethoscope began to ring, Hiiro pushed a button on the device and said, “This is Dr. Kagami, go ahead.”

[Thought you should know, the kid’s awake,] said Kiriya.

“Okay, we’re coming up to see him,” said Hiiro.

The team arrived at the room, where Kiriya and Taiga were standing guard outside the room.

“Poppy’s inside, he was a bit freaked out when he came to so she’s trying to calm him down,” said Taiga.

After a minute, a woman excited the room, she looked like Poppy, but she was wearing a nurse’s uniform, and had brown hair. “He’s calmed down for now, but it’s best that he sees some familiar faces to help with his anxiety.”

Rainbow and Shining Armor blinked, and in unison asked, “Who are you?”

“Oh?”, the woman then face palmed herself, “I forgot, you haven’t seen me in this form. I’m Poppy, but when I’m like this you may call me Asuna.”

“It’s easier to just go with it,” said Kiriya.

“Noted,” the group said in unison.

The girls entered the room, spotting Microchips sitting up in the bed. A few wires were connected to him, all of which were connected to a machine that read “CR” on the side. The girls looked to Asuna for an explanation on the strange medical device.

“We normally have a larger unit to monitor for any sign of the Bugster Virus, but in this case, we managed to make a portable unit. It’ll alert us if the virus shows up in Mr. Chips here,” said Asuna.

“Hey, Microchips, how’re you feeling?” Pinkie asked.

“A bit freaked out, I mean, I was attacked by a monster, and saved by Kamen Riders! Why would a monster attack me?!” Microchips asked.

Applejack spoke up, “Well, we were kinda hopin’ you’d tell us. Ya heard about the virus that’s attackin’ kids and teens, right?”

Microchips nodded. “How couldn’t I? It’s been blaring on the news all day.”

“Yes, well, it would appear that the disease was traced back to a game,” said Rarity. “More specifically, the game Knightmare Studios made, Tirek’s Revenge.”

Microchips looked at the girls in the room, and then gave a little chuckle. “I’m sorry, I know that CHS has dealt with some strange and magical based phenomenon in the past year, but that’s a little farfetched. A video game causing a disease?”

“It’s not actually.” Asuna stepped forward. “In my world, Kamen Riders battle against a virus that has taken sentience and infects others through cyberspace and into the real world. We call it Game Disease or the Bugster Virus. We have found a way to quell the virus and develop vaccines to stop it from spreading and end the infection. However, somehow, the virus has jumped worlds, now appearing in your world. Infecting the game that that company made.”

At this Microchips’ eyes widened, and he visibly began to sweat. Signs that did not go unnoticed by Starlight. “Microchips, what were you doing at that company? Do you work for them?”

“Um…I…Well ‘work for’ is a broad term…”

“Then we’ll make it simple. Did you help make the game?” Rainbow Dash asked with a piercing gaze.

Microchips felt the accusatory gazes of the girls around him, bearing down like a lead wait. Out of the assembled, the one that made his will weaken was that of Fluttershy, her gaze was not like theirs, no, it was way worse. Fluttershy’s eyes were pleading, not a hint accusation, just a plead for him to say something. Fluttershy then reached out to Microchips and held his hands, making the bespectacled boy blush.

“Please, Microchips, our brothers and sisters are sick! We need to help them, and you may know something that can help stop this,” said Fluttershy.

That was it, that was the last straw, Fluttershy’s near teary eyes were something that no man or woman could withstand and not breakdown. “Okay, okay! I work for Knightmare Studios! I’m a game designer and programmer! I’ve been working for them – off the books – for a couple of years now!”

Twilight adjusted her glasses as she pondered that information. “Wait, you’ve been working for Knightmare for two years, but I assume not in an official compacity. Hiring a teen for a company like that while still in high school is breaking a few laws.”

“I-I-I know, that’s why I said ‘off the books’, I get a little stipend and work under an alias. It’s been mostly here and there work, but Tirek’s Revenge was the first game I designed from the ground up, everything from the story, the coding, the battle mechanics, the characters, all of it! I mean, I wouldn’t get any real recognition for it, but I would know.”

Applejack shook her head. “Hold on, you were waitin’ in line, for that game yesterday. Why the hey would ya buy somethin’ that you’d could just pick at that there company for free?”

Rarity cleared her throat. “Speaking from a designer’s perspective darling, he wanted to see how excited everyone is for his game. While I make it no secret that I made my fabulous clothes, someone who works anonymously can move freely and see the unbiased look of excitement on the faces of so many people, I can think of no greater joy for a creator.”

“Huh, well, that makes, some sense, I guess.” Rainbow Dash turned her gaze back to Microchips. “So, you’ve been working on this game all the way through, did anything weird happen with it? Anything magical or otherworldly?”

“I still don’t think I have anything to do with it!” Microchips insisted. “I don’t possess the knowledge to for that kind of thing.”

“The facts speak for themselves,” said Starlight. “A Bugster came after you, and you’re the only other teen who hasn’t gotten sick from the virus.”

“You guys aren’t either!” Microchips pointed out.

“Yeah, but we also have Equestrian magic in us that gives magical pony ears and tails, and we can shoot rainbow lasers. Guess that counts as an immunity against this bad bug,” said Pinkie Pie.

“So, what’s yer excuse?” Applejack asked.

Microchips opened his mouth to protest but stopped. He really couldn’t pose any explanation. True, the girls assembled in this room have used magic powers to save not only his life, but the lives of the faculty and students in CHS, along with the world on two occasions. But what has he done to warrant an immunity to a disease that has made all the children and teenagers in the city very ill and near death. Why was he not infected?

“Mr. Chips, we’ll need your help to figure out what happened in the development of this game that could’ve caused this. To that end, we would like you to work with our team to help find a cure to this latest strain of the Bugster Virus,” said Asuna.

Microchips rubbed the back of his head, he then sighed heavily and said, “Okay, I’ll help you guys out.”

The girls smiled.

“But…um…Ms. Asuna, could you leave the room, there’s something I need to tell them…”

Asuna nodded and proceeded to step outside of the room. Now alone, Microchips had a flustered look on his face. “Okay…so…don’t get too mad, but the game…is kind of…maybe sorta…based on you all…”

The girls all blinked and went silent for a moment.

Applejack broke the silence by saying, “Beg pardon?”

“Well…with all the magical mishaps, and the she-demons, Sirens, and um…ahem…dark angels…” At this Twilight grimaced. “It just served as fuel for the creative fire…you could say.”

“Hold on, are you saying that there are characters in the game that look like US?!” Rainbow exclaimed.

“NOT EXACLTY LIKE YOU!” Microchips stated quickly. “Just based off of you…personality wise…and aesthetically in some cases, with some minor tweaks.”

Twilight stood up, the light in the room cast a glare on her glasses that obscured the look of her eyes, so it made it hard to tell what she was feeling. “So, allow me to understand this. You not only created a video game, but a game that is based on real life occurrences, and on people it’s happened to, and turned it into a game built in a fantasy land. Microchips…I need you to be very honest with me when I ask you this question.”

Microchips gulped, and so did the rest of the girls.

“Did you add a dating sim system into the game itself? In other words, since this is an RPG, you gave the main character the ability to either befriend or romance certain key characters in the game itself?!”

Microchips nodded very slowly.

“Okay, so is it also safe to assume, that the key characters needed to beat the game, are also those whom you based our likeness and personalities on?” Twilight asked.

Once again, Microchips nodded, albeit slower and with a hint of regret.

Twilight walked towards the door, stuck her head out and asked for something that the others couldn’t hear. She then closed the door with a pad and pen in hand and shoved them into Microchips’ hands.

“I want you to write down the names of each character, because I’m going to help you and Mr. Dan –”

“THAT’S DAN KUROTO-SAMA!” came a voice.

“– figure out what happened to the game, and I’m also going to see what flags you’ve set up that trigger romance events!”

Microchips began writing quickly, while Rainbow scooted over to Twilight and whispered, “Um, Twi, why is this important?”

In a surprising move, Twilight managed to twirl her body around while hooking her arm around Rainbow Dash’s neck to bring her into a makeshift huddle. “Because, if I can find a way to contact Sunset in the game, I can get her this information. If characters based on us are key characters, then that means they can help her and Dr. Hojo escape the game world. Also…”

“Also…?” Rainbow asked.

“If there’s really a game version of me…I…I…”

Rainbow raised an eyebrow. “Are you worried that Sunset’s going to fall for a fantasy version of you?”

“Have you ever played games with a dating sim system?” Twilight asked.

Rainbow thought about it for a moment, and as she did a blush overcame her. “Well…yeah…kind of, but don’t tell my folks alright?!”

“And in those games, how many of them ended up with…you know…”

“It’s done, I also included the races for each character –!”

“GIVE ME THAT!” Rainbow ordered as she snatched the pad out of Microchips’ hands. “Twilight’s game character is called ‘Midnight Moonshadow’, and she’s an elf?”

“That’s a pretty name, and I could see Twilight having cute elf ears,” said Fluttershy.

“Ooh, ooh, lemme see what I am!” Pinkie exclaimed.

The girls gathered around Rainbow and Twilight, and each had a varied expression. Their names they had no problems with, but their races on the other hand.

·Midnight Moonshadow – Elf

·Spectra – Harpy

·Ambrosia – Amazon

·Surprise – Cat Girl

·Lightheart – Fairy

·Countess Rori Adamant – Enchantress

“Imma what?!” Applejack asked.

“A fairy sounds nice,” said Fluttershy.

“Harpy? Aren’t those, like, those half-human bird monsters?” Rainbow asked.

“Ooh, I’m a cat girl! That’s super cool!” Pinkie exclaimed.

“A countess? My, my, that does sound fitting,” said Rarity.

Twilight looked back at Microchips, his face looking as red as a rose at this point. “I can pretty much figure out who is who based on these names and race types, but I don’t see one for Sunset Shimmer.”

“Well…that might be because…” Microchips gulped. “The MC technically is…Sunset Shimmer…”

“I see.” Sunset please don’t fall for elf girl me! “We should have Ms. Starlight and Mr. Dan –!”

“GOD DAN KUROTO!” the voice echoed.

Twilight groaned. “‘God’ Dan Kuroto, and myself start on dissecting the game and finding out how a Bugster corrupted it.”

***___________ x [+]E[+]___________***

Sunset and Emu waited at the main gate to the kingdom, their armor equipped, items collected, and destination set. After a day, Headmaster Aster had assigned Emu and Sunset the task of eliminating the threat of Tirek at its source. The site of The Pillars’ final battle with the dark centaur, the forsaken land known as Heaven’s Fall. According to The Pillars, it was an ancient city where the demon king, Grogar, once ruled in his city known as Tambelon. However, the gods grew angry at the demon kings affront to the good and pure in this world, and so smote him from on high with a meteor-like attack that burned white, gold, and blue, and steaked with holy lightning, and roared with heavenly thunder.

The land became desolate and uninhabitable, despite the divine power of the gods, they could not purify the taint of Grogar’s power. And it was there that Tirek rose, drawing power from the unholy site to make himself stronger in his first campaign and most likely would try again. It was going to be a lengthy journey, over different terrain, and through different perils, but The Pillars believed that Sunset and Emu would be the best ones to bring an end to the dark one, well, them and one other.

Sunset tapped her foot on the ground repeatedly, her arms crossed, and her brow was furrowed as she thought hard. Parado appeared and floated over to Sunset, asking, “Wondering what’s keeping Midnight?”

“Not so much that, Parado…I’m still unsettled about the fact I can advance my relationship with her,” said Sunset.

“Well, no one’s saying you have to, Sun-chan. Some games don’t allow time for you to advance relationships with every character, sometimes you’re stuck in the ‘friend zone’ with a few of them, and then you have the one you do wish to advance your relationship with,” said Emu. “Not that I have anything against girls dating girls.”

“Glad to hear it, and I am by the way. It’s just…I have a girlfriend back in my world, and I…”

“Don’t want to feel like you’re cheating on her,” Emu finished.

“Yeah,” said Sunset.

Emu took a moment to ponder her conundrum, normally such a thing wouldn’t be a problem if one was not in the game world and instead behind the monitor holding the controller. But considering that they were, and that, in a technical sense, the characters here were alive, it did pose a bit of an ethical issue. “I hate to say this, Sun-chan, but the only thing I can say is to try and keep the level at ‘friendship’, however, you must be careful to not let it decline, or it could affect how the rest of the game progresses.”

Sunset smacked her forehead and groaned loudly. “UGH, I swear to Celestia, when I get back I’m going to find the person responsible for this game and give them a good smack upside the head for putting me through this grief!”

“Now, now…” Emu consoled.

Just then a magic circle appeared a couple of feet from their position. The rosy-violet colored ring of runic symbols glowed, and from the center emerged Midnight Moonshadow, with a satchel hanging off her shoulder, and a staff in her left hand. The staff itself was a light brown color, possibly enchanted oak. At the top of the staff was a clear diamond-like crystal.

“Sorry to keep you waiting, it took me a bit of time to cast the right spell on my satchel,” said Midnight.

“It’s no problem, but what spell were you casting on it?” Sunset asked.

“Oh, it’s pocket space spell!” Midnight opened her satchel, and then proceeded to place her entire mage staff into the satchel until it was completely gone.“See!”

“Wow, a pocket dimension spell! Now that’s impressive, good thinking Midnight!”

The praise made Midnight blush, she quickly composed herself, but her smile didn’t fade. “Thanks, now we can store some items that we might otherwise can’t carry on our own, or if we want to keep something safe. Only I can take things in and out of the satchel, so we don’t have to worry about someone pickpocketing from it. Also, while it is a near infinite space, if I can’t fit it into the satchel, I won’t be able to store it.”

“Noted,” said Emu. “Anyway, we’d better get going, we have a long journey ahead of us. The Pillars have given us the task of defeating Tirek before he’s risen!”

***___________ x [+]E[+]___________***

The three companions traveled by dirt road for almost four days. They arrived at a village that was a bit on the seedy side. The people appeared to be in a constant state of agitation, their shifty eyes glancing at the trio as they entered the village, knowing that they didn’t belong, and probably sizing them up to see how they could loot them. Sunset knew this feeling, the roving eyes of a predator, it was the same way she was long ago.

“Be on guard,” said Sunset. “Keep a look out Parado.”

“Got it.” Parado whispered as he maintained his ephemeral form.

“I…don’t mean to be rude, but why in world are we stopping through this town?” Midnight asked.

“We need a guide through Talsek Forest, according to Sage Amber Glade, we can find one, for a price,” said Emu.

Midnight glanced about the people, there weren’t just humans in this village, but also Demi-humans. “It’s quite odd to see this many humans and Demi-humans in one village.”

“How so?” Emu asked.

Midnight gave Emu a confused look, but then remembered they were not originally from their world. “Sorry, I forgot you are not native to our world. Humans and Demi-humans don’t always have that he best of relationships, some see Demi-humans as lesser beings because of their animal parts, some Demis can keep their traits hidden since their subtle. Others can’t, like…”

“HEADS UP!”

Sunset looked up at the last second and suddenly found herself getting bowled over. The mage knight went tumbling on the ground for a few seconds before finally coming to a stop. Sunset groaned as she rose up on her hands, the world seemed to spin for a few moments until it finally stopped. Below her was a girl, she wore a black tank top-like shirt that covered most of her upper body but kept her midriff down exposed, if Sunset had anything to compare it to, it was like a sports bra. She had light colored skin, but her arms, from her hands up to her biceps were covered in sky-blue feathers. She had white shorts on, and her legs were like that of a hawk’s, covered in blue feathers until halfway down where it gave way to yellow feet and black talons. Sunset’s eyes moved up to the girl’s face, her eyes were rose colored, her hair however was black with one side painted in seven different colors, like a rainbow.

“Rainbow…?” Sunset gasped.

“Spectra, but close enough.” The bird girl looked down and then back up to Sunset. “Ya done getting a good feel for me, ‘cause I really need to get out of here.”

Sunset looked down and saw that her hand had somehow found its resting spot atop of Spectra’s right – “WHOA!”

The mage knight quickly stood back up, allowing the harpy to rise up as well, dusting herself off as she did so.

“I am so sorry!” Sunset stated.

“It’s no big deal, I just –!”

“HEY!”

The Emu, Midnight, and Sunset turned around and watched as a Demi-human girl walked towards them. She wore leather straps around her forearms, she had leather wraps around her forearms, dark brown boots, a leather coat that could double as armor, and an armor chest plate. Her white hair was frosted, with the tips colored purple, and intense yellow eyes.

“That harpy’s my property,” said the girl.

“‘Property’?” Sunset said with venom. “You can’t own another person.”

The older girl chuckled. “Of course, you can’t, but she ain’t a ‘person’. She’s a Demi-human, and Demi-humans aren’t people, they’re animals who look like humans. So just mind your own business and move along!”

Sunset glanced over her shoulder to Spectra, she seemed not too fazed by this, but she could see it in her eyes. Just like her friend, Rainbow, she couldn’t really hide how she felt, not to someone who knew her. “Sorry, but she’s coming with us.”

Midnight, Spectra, and even the older girl were shocked by this. Emu and Parado only nodded and grinned in agreement. The older girl growled in anger as she slowly approached Sunset, however, Emu stepped forward and brandished his hammer, using it as a metaphorical stop sign. “Now I wouldn’t go and do anything rash, we’re Guardians, and it wouldn’t be very good to get on The Pillars’ bad side if you impeded our mission.”

The older girl flinched at the mention of The Pillars, even for a thug, being in their sights was never a good thing. “Fine, take her! Plenty more where she came from.”

Sunset, Emu, and Midnight watched as the older girl walked away, Sunset still kept a hand rested on her sword just in case. “You okay, Spectra?”

“Y-Yeah, I’ve never seen anyone stand up to Gora before!” Spectra exclaimed. “That was great!”

Sunset rubbed the back of her head bashfully but tried to retain her air of “cool”. “It’s no problem and listen, I know I said you’re with us, but in all honesty, you’re free to go and do whatever you want.”

Spectra crossed her arms. “Oh, I’m going with you, after that display, I definitely want in on a Guardian quest.”

Midnight strolled over. “Um, Miss Spectra, you need to be aware, we’re going on a very dangerous mission. A life threatening one, and it would be irresponsible of us to include a civilian in such matters.”

Spectra blew a raspberry. “Please, I’m not defenseless, I do have skills. Plus, I know the Talsek Forest, and you will need a guide to get you through. And it never hurts to have a ‘bird’s eye view’ of your surroundings.”

Sunset looked to Emu for advice. The MD Kamen Rider thought this over for a moment and said, “We do need a guide through the forest, and something tells me this young harpy does indeed have some skills. But, you are party leader, Sunset, I’ll leave it to you.”

“ME?!” Sunset shouted as she zipped over to Emu. “Why me?! You’re the veteran Kamen Rider, you should be leading this, not me!”

Emu raised his hands up in a stopping motion as he said, “Calm down, Sun-chan. I know I’m the more experienced Rider, but my experience and gaming skills will only carry us so far. This enemy is one you’re familiar with, and this world is somehow modeled after the world you yourself know. And…as you pointed out, there are some uncanny likenesses between these characters and your real-world friends.”

Sunset glanced over her shoulder, her eyes darting between Midnight and Spectra. “Very uncanny.”

“So, that’s why you need to be the one to lead us. Plus, Tsukasa would probably not consider me a good veteran Rider if I just did everything for you,” said Emu.

Sunset thought back to Tsukasa, and how she could just hear him say in that superior tone of voice, “Stand on your own two feet Sunset, or hooves in your case.” The fiery haired girl face palmed herself, she then turned around and faced Midnight. “This isn’t just my decision, Midnight, what do you think?”

Midnight fidgeted from being put on the spot, but quickly composed herself. “Um, well, as I said, it wouldn’t be good to bring in civilians into our quest. She may get hurt, but…I cannot deny that we do need a guide through the forest, and it would be good to have the knowledge of another added to ours. But, I will agree with Emu, you are our leader, and I’ll respect your decision.”

Sunset now turned her attention to Spectra, standing before her as she looked her in the eye. “Spectra, I cannot make you join us, you’re free now, and you’re free to join us or to go and do whatever you please. Just know that, where we’re going, it’s dangerous, and the foe we’re going to face at the end of the journey will be what I can only describe as the worst evil that evil itself can conceive. Knowing that, do you still want to go with us?”

Spectra thought it over for a moment, and then smirked. “Let’s see, fly around free – which does sound like fun – and possibly end up in someone else’s birdcage? Or go on a once in a lifetime quest to…save the world?”

“Pretty much, yeah.” Sunset answered.

“Then I’m in, anyone who can stand up to Gora like that, and stick their neck out that far for me is definitely someone worth following, and just to make it official…um, ya mind coming closer?”

Sunset stepped forward and before she knew what was happening, Spectra nuzzled the left side of Sunset’s face and then the right. Sunset pulled back with a crimson blush on her face, and Spectra with a wide grin on hers.

“You’ll never find a more loyal harpy than me. Well let’s get some supplies, we’ll need ‘em if we’re trekking through the forest.”

Spectra began walking off towards a local shop with Emu following close behind her, Sunset was still stunned by the nuzzling, her hands resting on one her cheeks as if trying to make sure that that did indeed happen. Her gaze fell on Midnight who also sported a stunned expression, probably even more so than Sunset.

“W-What, what is it, Midnight?” Sunset asked.

“I…I know you’re not from our world, so, I’ll just explain this to you. What Spectra did there, is – for a harpy – the showing of loyalty and affection!” Midnight stated.

Sunset’s eye twitched. “Say……what?!”

“When a harpy nuzzles another person’s cheek, they’re essentially rubbing their scent onto you. This is a sign that shows not just how much trust she’s placing in you it’s…it’s…more or less like courtship,” said Midnight with a blush.

Sunset quickly pushed on her chest and opened the menu, she swiped through it and found her party status window. There she saw Spectra added on, and with her, the heart meter was already filled to friend level, and about three quarters of the third level. At the same time, Sunset looked at Midnight’s level, and it too had risen a little.

Celestia help me…