Hyper Battle Special: The Three Riders' Survival Battle!

Chapters

Part 1: First Meetings
Part 2: I will protect them!
Part 3: A Wicked Wind Blows

Part 1: First Meetings

Sunset gasped as she opened her eyes, finding herself staring up at a canopy of leaves. She quickly sat up and took in her surroundings. There was nothing but dense forest all around her, bushes, trees, and the occasional chittering of insects and the caws of birds.

“What…where am I?” Sunset slowly rose to her feet and scanned the area one more time. “Hello! Applejack! Rainbow Dash! Rarity! Fluttershy! Pinkie Pie!?”

There was no answer, which made her worry even more.

Okay, calm down, Shimmer. First things first.

Sunset reached into her pocket to use her cellphone, but paused when she felt it wasn’t there. She went into her left pocket and found something. When she retracted her hand, Sunset found a thumb drive. It wasn’t like any USB drive she had seen before. It was turquoise in color, sparkled, and had a blue colored connector at the end. In the center of the USB drive was a symbol. She could distinctly make out that it was a unicorn, but it was shaped funny. Sunset patted herself down to look for her cellphone but felt another strange object. The former unicorn unhooked something from the back of her belt and was now staring at a buckle that resembled a unicorn.

“What is this stuff? I don’t have my cellphone, but I have these things?” Sunset questioned.

No cellphone, no GPS, no idea where she was. With a reluctant sigh, Sunset decided to try and find higher ground in order to get an idea of where she was. Carefully, the older teen made her way through the dense foliage of the forest around her, swatting a few bugs that happened to fly across her, and getting annoyed by how many there were.

“Did something happen at the end of the Friendship Games? I mean, I remember taking Twilight’s hand and then…” Sunset stopped walking. “And then…what?”

She couldn’t remember. Sunset tried, but it felt like there was a gap in her mind, a huge gap, and it was frustrating. The former unicorn released an indignant snort (a pony habit she hadn’t quite gotten over) and returned to her walk.

There’s gotta be someone somewhere in this place.

Sunset, unfortunately, missed the upturned root on the ground and tripped over it. Which also sent her rolling forward until she landed onto a trail, back first. Sunset groaned, both in annoyance and a small amount of pain from her tumble. She laid there, sprawled out on her back, growling at her current circumstances.

Can this day get any weirder or more annoying?

“Uh…hello?”

Sunset opened her eyes upon hearing a voice. When she opened her eyes, Sunset found herself staring up at someone. It was a girl. She was wearing a hoodie that was half purple and half white. A pair of shorts with leggings, and white shoes. Her hair was dark brown, and her eyes were a lighter shade of brown. And for some reason, this girl was somehow dangling several feet above Sunset’s position.

“AAAAAH!!!”

Sunset bolted to her feet, jumping a couple of feet back as she got into a fighting stance. Which felt strange, she had self-taught herself martial arts, but that felt too practiced. But after focusing her attention on the girl, Sunset realized that the girl was not hovering of her own volition. From what Sunset could tell, her right ankle was ensnared in a tripwire trap.

“S-Sorry! I-I didn’t mean to scare you!” the young girl exclaimed.

What’s a kid like her doing out here?

“Uh, hey, what happened to you?” Sunset asked.

“Oh, uh, well, I was strolling along and then…well…I stepped in a tripwire,” she explained. “C-Could you let me down, please?”

“Sure…kid. Just…” Sunset looked at the rope that had wrapped around the young teen girl. It looked to be made of woven vines, which told Sunset that there was someone else out there. “Just give me a sec, I’ll look for where the rope it tied and let you down. I’d cut you down, but I don’t have anything sharp on me.”

“N-No problem! Be careful, though! I-I don’t know if there’s more traps,” she warned.

Taking that into consideration, Sunset followed where the rope led, and found where it was tied off. Sunset approached it, but stopped when she noticed something off. She bent down on one knee, scrutinizing the area in front of the stake where the rope was connected to. There seemed to be some disturbed earth, and some leaves scattered about, as if to hide something. Sunset smirked.

“Clever,” Sunset admitted as she stood up and casually walked around the spotted trap. “But not clever enough.”

*Snap!*

Sunset stopped in her tracks when she heard something, then several somethings rustling through the bushes. That’s when Sunset saw another vine rope quickly whipping backwards. Sunset looked down at her right foot just as the noose of the tripwire wrapped around her ankle.

“Oh, buck me…AAAAAAAAAH!”

The former unicorn was quickly snatched off the ground and taken into the air, where she now hung dangling next to the young teenager she was trying to help. Said young teenager noticed the annoyed look on Sunset’s face, along with the redness that was forming.

“Uh–”

“Not a word, please,” said Sunset.

The two girls hung there in the air for a minute before a word was spoken.

“So, how long have you been up here?” Sunset asked.

“Before you came along? Uh…five minutes.”

“Huh, so I guess you woke up before me. So, that means either this trap was set by someone who woke up earlier than us, or we just fell into the trap of whoever dropped us into this Faust forsaken jungle,” Sunset observed.

“Sorry, I should’ve tried to spot if there were more traps,” she apologized.

Sunset glanced at the young Latina and smiled at her as she said, “Hey, don’t worry about it. I’m madder at the person who set up these traps. I got full of myself back there and didn’t pay more attention. We’ll figure a way out of this; we just need to think.”

“AH-HA!”

Sunset and the young girl craned their necks, hearing a new voice. The bushes rustled and that’s when someone new popped up. It was another young teenage girl. She had a school uniform of which consisted of a purple skirt, a grayish shirt with a purple color, and coat of arms that had the letters “SJMS” printed on it. She had afro hair, light brown in color, and had dark brown eyes. She also had only one shoe on her left foot, while her right foot only had a sock on it. That same girl was also holding a stick that had been sharpened into a spear.

“Thought you could get the best of ol’ Anne, eh? Well, you didn’t! Now I – huh?” The girl, who apparently went by ‘Anne’, looked up at Sunset and her companion.

“Hi there,” Sunset greeted in a monotone.

“Oh, great! Can you get us down?” the other girl asked.

Anne shook her head and retorted, “And why should I? I haven’t seen anyone around for the last two hours, and now you two suddenly show up?”

Two hours? That means she’s been her longer than us. Although, granted, it’s only been a couple of hours for her, that’s still two more hours than me or this girl, Sunset thought.

“Hey, I know you’re suspicious of me and my friend here. But honestly, I think we’re all in the same boat. I just woke up not too long ago, and she says she woke up five minutes before I did. I don’t know what’s happening, but it looks like we’ve all wound up here against our will.”

“If that’s true, then we need to help each other and work together,” said the young teen. “Who or whatever brought us here must’ve done it for a reason, so let’s help each other out!”

Anne regarded the two girls in the trap, the one that looked like some bad girl, she was iffy on. But the other girl next to her, strangely enough, Anne felt less suspicious of her. She couldn’t quite understand why, but she did.

“Okay, fine, I’ll let you down. But I’m watching you two,” said Anne.

“No problems with that,” Sunset replied. “Be careful, there’s a pitfall trap near where the robes are tied. There might be more tripwire traps around it.”

“No, that was the only other one. I didn’t have enough vines to make a third,” said Anne as she casually strolled to the spot where the ropes were tied.

Sunset and Luz angled themselves just right, allowing them to watch as Anne walked over – what Sunset assumed – was a pitfall trap, but as it turned out the pitfall was a fake. Anne stuck her spear into the ground as she untied the rope and slowly let down the other young teen first. Once she was down, that same teen rushed over to where Anne was and helped her lower Sunset down so that she didn’t hit the ground. Now that she was back on her feet, both Anne and the other girl returned and stood before her.

“So, those were your traps?” Sunset asked.

“Yeah, I…I remembered how to make ‘em from this survival TV show I used to watch,” said Anne as she chuckled nervously, but then she paused.

“Huh, clever girl. And with all this happening, I didn’t get your name,” said Sunset as she glanced at the Latina standing next to her.

“Oh, sorry! My name’s Luz, Luz Noceda!”

“Anne Boonchuy.”

“Sunset Shimmer.”

Luz looked up at the older teen and said, “That’s a pretty name.”

“Wait, so is that you’re whole first name or is Shimmer your last name?” Anne asked.

Sunset was starting to develop some theories just based on Anne and Luz’s reactions alone, but answered, “You can just call me Sunset. For now, I think we need to take a minute and pool our information together. Anne, you said you’ve been here for two hours. Have you managed to find shelter yet?”

“Actually, I have.”

The place that Anne had found was a hollowed-out tree. It was big enough for all three of them to sit and lay in comfortably, with a wide entrance that gave them a good view of the forest’s distant tree line. The sun was starting to get low, so the girls made a campfire. Strangely, again, Anne knew exactly what to do when it came to starting one. She found some stones that were perfect for striking, and then used them to create enough sparks to start the fire. After giving it a few puffs of air, the fire caught on the leaves and branches they had gathered and turned into a warm fire. Sunset, Anne, and Luz sat in a triangle around the fire, trying to figure out where to go from here. The former unicorn glanced between the two young teens, who seemed to be staring at her more than each other, making her feel like the odd one out.

“I think we should get to know each other a little better,” Sunset suggested.

“Why’s that?” Anne asked.

“Considering that all three of us seemed to have just woken up in the middle of a dense forest, and sans our cellphones, I think we were possibly kidnapped on purpose. So, I think we should get some information on each other. There might be something that we share in common with each other, and that might be the reason why we were all taken. Location, interests, people we know, anything,” Sunset clarified.

Luz shrugged her shoulders and remarked, “I mean, it sounds reasonable. I don’t have a problem sharing.”

Anne sighed and replied, “Okay, fine. So, who goes first?”

Luz and Anne immediately looked at Sunset, which made the former unicorn chuckle as she figured that they were more curious about her own origins.

“Alright, alright, I get the hint, I’ll go first.” Sunset cleared her throat. “Bear in mind, what I’m going to tell you is probably going to sound…fantastical but keep an open mind.”

Luz and Anne nodded.

“Okay, well, my name is Sunset Shimmer. I’m seventeen, and I currently live in Canterlot City.”

Sunset immediately noticed the confused looks on Luz and Anne’s faces when she mentioned the name of the city she lived in. Nonetheless, she continued.

“Let’s see…I live alone in my own loft. I attend Canterlot High School, get straight ‘As’, I love gaming, playing the guitar, and I’m in a band with my friends.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait. You’re in a band?” Anne asked.

“Yep, we call ourselves the Rainbooms. I play second guitar,” Sunset mentioned.

“Dude, I play bass in a garage band with my besties! We’re called Sasha and The Sharps!”

Sunset chuckled, and snapped her fingers as she pointed in Anne’s direction. “Nice. What else? My friends’ names are Rarity, she’s a total fashionista, and has made a lot of clothes for all of us and has a generous soul. There’s Applejack Apple, the strongest girl in Canterlot High School, and a real country girl. She also works on her family apple farm and is a very honest person. Rainbow Dash is the jock of our group, a devoted athlete, and the captain of all girls’ sports teams in our school, loyal to a fault. Fluttershy, she’s the kindest girl you’ll ever meet, and she loves animals. Then there’s Pinkie Pie, if you’re ever feeling down, trust me, Pinkie is the girl you want to have at your side. She always finds a way to lift our spirits, either with a party, or a laugh. There is one more girl…but I’m not sure about her yet.”

Luz and Anne blinked when they heard all of that.

“Wow…t-that’s a lot of friends, and really diverse too,” Luz pointed out.

“Seriously, dude, how are you able to keep a group like that together? I can’t imagine you guys not butting heads here and there,” Anne mentioned.

Sunset laughed as she explained, “Oh, don’t get me wrong. We do butt heads more than once. But we respect each other’s differences, and more often than not, we manage to have a lot of fun together. And it’s because of how different we are that we’re able to get a lot of problems solved, different points of view and all that. And before when I was a unicorn, I was the magical apprentice to my original world’s ruler. Who is an immortal alicorn who can move the sun with her magic.”

Luz and Anne’s jaws dropped.

“I’m sorry, but did you just casually drop that you were a magical unicorn, and the magic apprentice of a sun goddess?!” Luz exclaimed.

“Yep,” Sunset confirmed.

Anne shook her head as she tried to process this information. “Okay, how, why, what?”

Sunset further explained that she was not originally a human. She was in fact a unicorn mare from the world of Equestria. A land filled with magical beings, and that the country she lived in was primarily inhabited by sapient ponies that were divided into three races of unicorn, pegasi, and earth ponies (basically ponies who had neither a horn nor wings). Sunset was told how she was of the unicorn tribe, and an excellent spellcaster, her talents recognized by the leader of their country, Princess Celestia.

“Wait, your pony kingdom is ruled by a princess? Was she not coronated or anything?” Luz asked.

“It’s…complicated. Queen sounds too…authoritarian, so instead, she goes by the title of ‘princess’,” Sunset explained.

“Sounds like it can get confusing, what with relatives and successors and all that,” Anne pointed out.

Sunset rubbed the back of her head as she said, “Yeah, which is why sometimes we refer to Celestia as the High Princess. Anyway, I was her apprentice for a number of years, and well…we had a falling out. Mostly on my side more than anything. She was trying to make me see the value and magic of friendship but believed that she was preventing me from achieving my full potential. I stupidly thought she was purposefully holding me back from becoming an alicorn like her, so that she wouldn’t have to share power despite all she had done to train me and…raise me.”

Luz and Anne had worried and sad looks on their faces.

“And…was she?” Anne asked.

“No, that was just my pride talking back then. So, instead of staying and talking it through like a couple of adults. I acted like a stubborn teenager and ran away to another world, where I discovered a parallel universe where – instead of ponies – humans were the dominant species, and I magic didn’t exist in that world. Not only that, but my body had completely changed into a human.”

Anne felt some familiarity with that story, like she had heard it before from someone she knew very well. Regardless, Anne asked, “Okay, so, say I believe you about being a magic pony or whatever. Then you can cast a spell or something and get us out of here, right?”

Sunset crossed her arms into an “X” formation and replied, “Sorry, no. While I’m not that powerful, I was stronger than most of my fellow unicorns back in Equestria. But I can’t use magic.”

“Can’t or won’t?” Anne inquired further.

“Can’t. When I became a human, I lost my ability to wield magic. A unicorn’s magic–”

“Resides in their horn, right?” Luz interjected. “If you turned human, then you lost your horn. Which means you lost access to your magic.”

“That’s actually right,” Sunset confirmed.

Luz now looked at Sunset with sympathy. “That must feel awful, not having something you were born with, and unable to use a power you’ve had since you were a child.”

“Yeah, I’d be underselling it if I said I didn’t totally freak out or have an existential crisis when it first happened. But then I decided to slap myself and focused on making up for my loss of magic by focusing on developing my intellect. And since I relied on magic to defend myself, I also developed my body by self-teaching myself mixed martial arts,” Sunset explained.

She’s a total badass, Anne thought.

She’s so cool! Luz thought.

“Anyway, that about explains everything for me. Who’d like to go next?”

“I guess I’ll go next.” Anne volunteered. “I’m Anne Boonchuy, thirteen. I live in Los Angeles, California. Um, let’s see…My parents own a Thai food restaurant called ‘Thai Go’, and I sometimes help out there, either serving the customers, helping my mom or dad cook the food, and of course, clean up at the end.”

“You can cook, Anne?” Luz asked. “That’s so cool!”

Anne blushed as she rubbed the back of her head. “I’m not a five-star chef or anything, but I haven’t had a customer complain, not yet anyway. I go to Saint James Middle School, a private school. And, while I don’t have five best friends, I have two. Sasha Waybright, she’s, like, the head cheerleader of our middle school, and the most popular girl there.”

“Ah, popular girl, been there, done that,” Sunset commented.

“Wait, you mean you’re not anymore?” Luz asked.

Sunset smiled, but it was a mixture of sadness and happiness. “I wasn’t exactly a good person when I first arrived in that world. I obtained popularity as a means to control everyone in my school, because I craved that power. But then I went through some things, and I – quite literally – crawled out of a hole I made for myself and decided to choose friendship over popularity. Still have a lot to learn, but I’m way better off than I was before. Not to be crass, but I was a total bitch back then.” Sunset shook her head. “Anyway, sorry. Keep going, Anne.”

“Uh, let’s see. My other best friend is Marcy Wu. She’s a total genius, smartest person I’ve ever known. And she’s also a gamer, and a total anime nerd,” Anne mentioned.

“Oh, I’m a gamer, too! And an anime otaku!” Luz exclaimed.

“Heh, you guys sound like you’d get along with my friends.” Anne hugged her legs to her chest as she sighed heavily. “We’ve always been together, the three of us. We’ve been friends since we were little, and we’ve kind of watched out for each other. Well, Sasha watches out for the two of us, and I mostly try to prevent Marcy from killing herself.” Anne blinked and looked up, noticing the expressions on Sunset’s and Luz’s faces. “Nononononononono! Not like that! I mean, Marcy can get so hyper focused that she just tunes out everything around her, which leads her to running into a whole lot of things. And sometimes falling into a lot of things. Clumsiest person you’ll ever meet.”

“Yeesh, that sounds exhausting,” said Sunset.

“…And terrifying.” Anne’s expression spoke of the horrors she had to face to keep her best friend safe. The Thai teen shook her head and continued. “Anyway, so, yeah. We’ve been friends for so long…and…I don’t know. Without them, I just sorta feel…lost.”

Sunset tilted her head a little as she showed Anne a sympathetic smile. “I can understand the feeling. I didn’t know how important having friends was to me, how it made me feel whole. I miss mine too.”

“Thanks, Sunset. Anyway, I’m also on the varsity tennis team, and…well…that’s it. Nothing to really brag about.”

Sunset raised an eyebrow when she heard Anne say that. She says she’s a varsity tennis player, can help run a restaurant, is best friends with a genius and a popular girl, she thinks she’s not special? Why do I feel she’s got some self-esteem issues going on?

The fiery haired teen focused her attention on Luz, which made the Latina blush for some reason. “And then there was one. Your turn, Luz.”

“Oh, uh, right! Um, uh, my name’s Luz Noceda, and I’m fourteen years old,” Luz informed.

“Aww, c’mon! I’m seriously the youngest one here!” Anne complained.

Luz and Sunset chuckled at the revelation, and honestly it was a little surprising to have that verified. With how resourceful Anne is, Luz figured her to be a little older or the same age.

“Um, I’m a huge fan of anime and fantasy. I live in Gravesfield, Connecticut. I live with my Mom. Let’s see…I’m also a fan of the ‘Good Witch Azura’ book series, kind of my fave,” Luz admitted.

“Wait…I think I’ve heard Marcy talk about that series,” Anne mentioned. “There’s another witch book series, called ‘Cynthia Coven’?”

“I’ve heard of that, too! More of an Azura fan, but Cynthia Coven!” Luz gasped in realization. “Anne, we could be from the same universe!”

“Well, that’s good,” said Sunset. “At least you two are from the same place.”

Luz waved her hand around in the air as she said, “Well…yes and no. If parallel universes exist, like your Earth and Equestria, then that also could mean that Anne’s universe and mine have the same people who make the same books. For all we know, there’s a Luz Noceda in her universe, and there could be an Anne Boonchuy in mine.”

Anne held her head as she commented, “Ugh, this multiverse stuff is giving me a headache, and I don’t see a pharmacy around here. Sorry, keep going, Luz.”

“Um, let’s see, I…I don’t really have many friends. I’m considered a ‘weirdo’ back home…so…yeah,” said Luz with a smile.

Sunset and Anne didn’t really like the way she said that, nor did they like the smile Luz showed them. It felt fake, like she as hiding how she truly felt.

“Oh…and…I guess I should tell you this, mostly because we don’t know how long we’ll be stuck here for, and I’d rather you guys not feel, awkward or unsure, around me.”

“Huh?” Sunset and Anne responded.

“I…I’m bisexual. So…um…if you guys feel grossed out, or afraid I might come onto you, I can keep my distance,” Luz explained.

Anne blinked.

Sunset blinked.

“Dude, what the hell are you talking about?” Anne asked.

“What?”

“Why would we ask you to do that?” the Thai teen clarified.

“Y-You’re not?”

“If we did, I’d be a total hypocrite,” Sunset informed.

Luz’s eyes widened as she looked upon the older teen. “You mean…you’re…?”

“In Equestria, the male to female ratio is kinda skewed towards females more. So, with that being the case, most ponies are more accepting of female-female or male-male relationships. In my case, I swing both ways.” Sunset smirked. “So, I get to enjoy the best of both sides.”

Luz blushed a little harder, and she felt her heart swell upon hearing how neither one of them were afraid of her nor were they disgusted with her.

“And I’m not really sure where I swing, I never gave it any real thought. But I know I’d never shun anyone who was different like that,” said Anne.

Luz teared up a little and wiped them away as she smiled back at them. “Thanks, you guys.”

“Alright, so, let’s assess. I’m from a different universe entirely. You two might be from the same universe, but there’s always a chance you could be from parallel universes,” Sunset summarized. “Now, that being said, what was the last thing you all remember doing before we arrived here?”

“I’d say, ‘This’ll sound weird’, but I think we’re beyond that now. After my book report went…a little overboard…my Mom decided to send me to a summer camp to help me…be more ‘normal’. But before I could go, I saw this adorable little owl with a bag in its beak. It had my book which I stupidly threw away, and so I chased after it. I followed it into this abandoned house out in the woods behind my house. And when I went through the door, there was a flash of light, and then I ended up here.”

“Huh, I was in the middle of a magical battle to save a friend. I remember being in a pillar of light, and then…nothing,” Sunset explained.

Anne rubbed her right arm, not sure if she really wanted to divulge the possible reason for her transportation here, especially if it meant that it would make these girls see her as a petty criminal after they shared so much.

“Anne?” Sunset asked.

“Oh, uh, I can’t remember much, but I do think I saw a flash of light too,” said Anne.

Sunset nodded and explained, “Okay, so, based on what we’ve divulged, I can’t really see a link between any of us. Not an apparent one anyway. We each have different interests, different ages, different origins, and different universes. About the only thing we can be sure of as far as some similarities is Luz and me being gamers, bi, and avid readers. Anne and I having some athletic background and musical talent.”

Now it was Anne’s turn to blush. “I’m not a professional or anything.”

“Not only that, but appearance wise, we’re totally different from each other.”

The girls couldn’t argue that. As far as Anne and Luz were concerned, their skin tone, hair, and eye colors were normal. Sunset, however, her skin tone was a kind of golden-yellow, and her hair looked like fire with the streaks in it. Green eyes weren’t uncommon, but Sunset’s eyes were a vibrant turquoise color, which wasn’t common.

“Question: Those streaks in your hair, are they…natural?” Luz asked.

“Yeah, my mane – er – hair has been like this since I was foal – ugh – baby! Since I was a baby,” said Sunset. “…Guessing I’m the odd one here, huh?”

“I didn’t want to say anything, but…” Anne let that hang in the air for a moment. “You do have an odd name, and appearance. Does everyone in your universe have vibrant skin tones and hair colors?”

“Yeah, actually, most of us do. Fluttershy is a shade or two lighter than me, and has light-pink hair, Rarity’s skin is porcelain white, and she has violet colored hair. Rainbow Dash has, well, rainbow colored hair, and has a cyan skin tone. Pinkie has curly pink hair, a few shades darker than Fluttershy, and her skin is, well pink.”

“An, uh, Applejack?” Luz asked.

“She’s blonde, a very light orange skin tone, and has freckles.”

“You live in a very colorful society, Sunset,” Luz observed. “Sounds like racism isn’t a thing there.”

“On that note, you said you lived in ‘Canterlot City’, what state is that located in your universe?” Anne asked.

“Huh? If I remember right, the upper region of Sea Saddle,” Sunset answered. “It’s close to the ocean so my friends and I can drive to the beach, and we have vast forests around us too.”

“…Sea…”

“…Saddle…?”

Sunset blinked innocently as she looked between the two younger girls. “Uh…did I say something weird or…what?”

Luz and Anne raised an eyebrow at each other, not really sure how to put it.

“Doesn’t it sound a lot like Seattle? As in Seattle, Washington?” Anne asked.

“I wasn’t sure, but when you sound them out, it does sound similar,” Luz responded.

“I’m missing something, aren’t I?” Sunset asked.

Luz decided to ask, just to verify her theory. “Um, Sunset, what’s the biggest city in your country called? The human world version.”

“Oh, well, it’s the same as the one Equestria, it’s called ‘Manehattan’.”

“And what’s the name of the human world country that you currently live?” Anne inquired.

“Amareca.”

Luz and Anne looked at each other and nodded.

“Horse puns?”

“Horse puns.”

Sunset titled her head to the side, still confused.

“It’s fine. We just realized that you’re really from a parallel Earth,” Luz answered.

Sunset chuckled. She figured that might be the case. “Well, anyway. Until we can figure out who or what dragged us here. We need to help each other. And in my case, I’m officially responsible for the two of you.”

“Whoa, why? I know we shared a lot, but you still hardly know us,” said Anne.

“Well, I’m older than you two. Technically speaking, I am an adult, mentally, anyway. When it comes to my physical age, I’m one year off from being a ‘legal adult’, but whatever,” Sunset explained. “Anyway, like I said, I’ll protect you two. I promise.”

Luz felt her heart skip a beat as she looked at Sunset. The way she took charge, her confidence, and her kindness, she was just…

“So cool,” Luz dreamily whispered, before clearing her throat and saying, “Cool! That’s cool! Thanks, Sunset.”

“Heh, no problem guys.” Sunset looked down at their little campfire and noticed the flames were getting a little low. “Hey, sit tight. I’m going to go grab some more firewood. And maybe some food while I’m at it.”

Luz and Anne watched as Sunset walked away into the forest and left the two of them alone. However, when Sunset did leave, Anne turned her attention to Luz and gave her a cheeky grin.

“W-What?” Luz asked.

“Well, well, well,” said Anne.

“Aaannne…”

“Well, well, well, well, well.”

“You’re being weird, Anne. And that’s coming from the resident weird girl,” Luz stated.

Anne shrugged her shoulders. “Just making an observation. Nothing more, nothing less.”

“Uh-huh, sure.”

Anne’s grin faded as she let out a long sigh and looked out into the forest. “Do you think we’ll find a way out of here? I mean, we’re each from different worlds, literally. And we got dropped into some unknown forest in the middle of nowhere. And no cellphones whatsoever to help us figure out if we’re even on Earth or somewhere that has cell reception. What if we have to live here for the rest of our lives?”

Luz sighed as well but smiled reassuringly at Anne. “I don’t know. But at least we’re not alone. We have each other, right? Plus, we can’t lose hope. There’s a reason why we were all brought together. You, me, and Sunset. I don’t know if you trust me or Sunset fully, but I’m willing to trust you both.”

“How? I mean, yeah, we shared a lot. But how can you trust me like that? I could be hiding some shady things; did you ever think about that?” Anne asked.

Luz rubbed the back of her head as she chuckled nervously. “Well…that is a possibility. But we’re not going to get anywhere if we’re suspicious of each other. Sunset was open about her past, the good and the bad, she’s way more mature for it. I think we can learn a lot from her.”

“So, you want to follow Sunset’s lead?” Anne asked.

“Do you have a better option? It’s either that or you or I lead, and I don’t have that good a track record when it comes to ‘leading’ anyone,” Luz answered.

Anne took a moment to think about that, and honestly, Luz had a point. She was not leadership material. Sasha was the leader of their trio, and for good reason.

“Good point. I mean, either we trust each other, or we die out here,” said Anne.

“That’s the spirit!”

Meanwhile, Sunset was standing behind a tree, listening to the two girls as they spoke to each other. She smiled contently, glad that they were at least willing to put their trust in her. Sunset meant what she said. She was the oldest here, and she had a responsibility to look after those two.

As much as I want to get back to my friends, those girls are too young to be out here in this kind of situation. They’re at least Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo’s ages, Sunset thought. Regardless, if nothing else, I have to make sure Luz and Anne make it out of this place and back to their families.

“Now, let’s get that firewood, and see if we can find anything for us to eat.”

Author's Note

It has been a long time since I've posted here! But I never went away! Just busy. I decided to celebrate my completion of 2 Kamen Rider crossover series, and a third near completion, by releasing this Hyper Battle fic!

For those of you who don't follow me on AO3 or Fanfiction or DeviantArt, I've writing, a lot, on the shows "The Owl House" and "Amphibia" (great shows BTW, should watch) and I decided to revamp the whole "Xtra Riderverse" thing I was starting here, and brought in Sunset to it! Now we have this! A meeting of my three Riders! Enjoy the show!

For those of you who are curious at all, you can go here: Disney Riderverse to see the full series of Luz and Anne as Kamen Riders.

Part 2: I will protect them!

The girls rested the entire night. They managed to sleep fairly well considering they were in an unknown environment. Before they slept, Sunset wondered if she should bring up the “no stars” thing to the girls but decided that it was best not to freak them out too much. They were already in an unknown environment, and supposedly, ripped from their universes. On top of the fact that they all seemed to be suffering from huge gaps in their memories…it just didn’t feel like something to add to the growing pile.

Once the sun rose, all three girls got up. Once they were fully awake, Sunset decided that they should formulate a plan as to what their next move should be. “Okay, so, granted that neither of us knows where we are. I think we should explore a little.”

“You really think that’s a good idea? I mean, if we’re stranded on either of our worlds, then it’d be better if we stayed in one place and waited for someone, right?” Anne asked.

“Normally, I’d agree with you. But don’t forget, we were unconscious when we got here, and neither of us has a cellphone. Which means who or whatever abducted us placed us somewhere where they knew we couldn’t be found by anyone. Honestly, fanning out and searching for compounds or a town would be better for us,” Sunset suggested.

Luz and Anne glanced at each other, and then nodded in agreement.

“Okay, how do think we should this?” Luz asked.

Sunset grabbed an unused tree branch and began to draw a circle on the ground, and then poked three dots into the dirt to represent themselves. “We’re here, so, I say we use this tree as our homebase. We start here and walk in a spiral pattern.” Sunset began drawing a spiral, starting at the edge of the circle and slowly expanding it. “We walk carefully, and slowly. So long as we hold this pattern, we guarantee that we’ll cover more ground, and at the same time, make sure that the tree is at the center of our pattern. That way all we need to do is walk in a straight line at the center, and we’ll be back here. What do you think?”

“Honestly, it’s better than anything I was going to think of,” said Anne.

“Let’s do it, but how long do you think we should do this spiral for?” Luz asked.

Sunset cupped her chin as she thought about it. “Good question. We don’t want to be out there too long. And the further out we go from our shelter, the easier it’s going to be for whatever animals are out there to hunt us. And I really don’t want to be caught out there in the middle of the night.”

“Same.”

“Ditto.”

“We’ll see how far we can get. Maybe we’ll come across another place where we can hunker down for shelter along the way. In the meantime, let’s at least arm ourselves.”

“Way ahead of you, dude,” said Anne as she stood up and walked towards a log. Afterwards, Anne returned with three wooden spears. “Carved these when I woke up, I felt better walking around with a sharp stick.”

“You made three?” Sunset asked.

“A backup, and a backup for the backup in case I ended up breaking one or had to ditch in whatever monster or bloodthirsty animal I stabbed it into,” Anne explained.

“That actually makes sense,” said Luz.

Anne tossed Luz a spear, and then Sunset. Both girls grabbed their wooden weapons and stood up, now armed and ready.

“Alright girls, keep it tight, and make sure to keep your head on a swivel. So far, we’ve been lucky that we haven’t run into any dangerous animals. But the chances of that happening will go up the further we leave camp. Watch each other’s backs, and don’t hesitate to call something out,” Sunset instructed.

“Roger!” Luz responded.

“You got it, Sunset,” said Anne.

Once they established this, three girls headed out of the hollow tree and began their spiral pattern trek. Sunset took the lead, having Luz and Anne on her right and left respectively, and had them stay behind her. If there was any dangerous animal to encounter, it was going to have to go through her first before it could harm Luz or Anne. The two younger girls knew what Sunset was doing by having them keep this triangle pattern, and so, they did their best to keep an eye out for movement of any kind in the dense forest.

Slowly but surely, they began to make their way outwards, always aware of where the tree was. Sunset hoped this would work, but she did find it odd. When she went out to search for food she found some apple trees. She made sure to take the first bite, testing them to see if they were edible, and not poisonous. It wasn’t as if she had no regard for her own life, quite the opposite. But again, Luz and Anne were just kids. She had to protect them. Sunset would dictate their breaks by the position of the sun, thankfully this world’s sun seemed to follow the same pattern of rising in the east and setting in the west. And thanks to being Celestia’s apprentice, she had become really good at knowing what time of day it was based on the position of the sun. So, every five to ten minutes, Sunset would have them take a break.

While Sunset wasn’t as athletic as Rainbow or Applejack, she felt she was confident enough in her stamina to go longer. She was surprised at how Luz was keeping up with her and Anne. Based on what Luz told them about her daily life, she suspected that Luz would need longer breaks to recover from their trek. But now that she looked at Luz, she could tell that the girl had a lean build, similar to Anne.

“You doing alright, Luz?” Sunset asked.

“Y-Yeah, I’m okay,” said Luz. “I’m doing better than I thought.”

“I’m glad, I was thinking me, or Sunset, were going to have to carry you. I know Mar-Mar would be dying right about now,” Anne joked.

“Har, har, Anne,” Luz fake laughed. “But seriously, I’m doing alright. If you’re taking more breaks because you’re worried about me, it’s okay. We can walk longer.”

“Well, I won’t lie that that’s what I’m doing. But it’s better that we do this and pace ourselves. We don’t want to tire ourselves out too quickly and not have any fuel left in our tanks,” said Sunset.

“Hey, wait a sec.” Anne listened closely and smiled. “I think I hear a stream nearby!”

“Great, let’s rest up there and get a drink.”

The girls followed the sound of rushing water, and when they did, they found a rushing river. The water was moving fast downhill, and it was quite clear.

“Shouldn’t we boil it or something?” Luz asked.

“Yeah, she has a point there,” Anne agreed.

“True, and normally if we had the time and means we should. But given that we don’t have the luxury of either, we’re gonna have to risk it. Look at it this way, the chances of us dying from dehydration are one hundred percent if we don’t drink anything. The chances of us getting some kind of stomach bug from drinking the water is in the low single digits. Plus, the water’s moving fast, so it should be safe enough,” Sunset explained.

Luz and Anne still looked hesitant.

Sunset sighed. “Hey, I won’t make you guys do anything I’m not willing to do myself. But we’re not going to make if we don’t stay hydrated.”

They knew Sunset was right, one way or another, they were going to need water. And from what they could see, the sky was clear, so there was no chance of rainwater falling. Even if it did, it wasn’t as if they had any bottles with them to collect it. Sunset nodded to the two young teens and used her hands to cup some water into them before taking a drink. Anne and Luz knelt on either side of Sunset and did as she did. As they drank, all three girls paused when they heard the snapping of branches far behind them. Slowly, all three picked up their spears and turned their heads in that direction.

“We’ve walked for hours, and haven’t spotted a single bird, bug, or four legged anything,” said Anne.

“Yeaaah,” Sunset confirmed.

“And now we hear something,” said Luz.

Sunset gripped her spear and assumed an attack stance as she pointed her wooden weapon in the direction the sound came from. Her turquoise eyes narrowed as she tried to peer past the trees, searching for any sign of movement. Suddenly, there was a whistling sound echoing through the woods.

“Do you guys here that?” Sunset asked.

“Yeah,” Luz and Anne answered.

The whistling sound started to get louder and louder, but it was also accompanied by – what sounded like – wood splintering and exploding. That’s when Sunset spotted something glowing blue heading right for them.

“GET DOWN!” Sunset ordered.

Anne, Sunset, and Luz dropped to the ground as something circular burst through the trees and flew over them. But that same, blue glowing, circular object boomeranged and headed back the same way it came. Dozens of trees collapsed, and the ones that were in the process of falling were blasted to pieces as the blue glowing buzzsaw hit each one on its way to whatever launched it.

“What the heck was that?!” Anne cried out.

“Something bad!” Luz answered.

“Run down stream!” Sunset ordered.

All three girls picked up their weapons and ran along the river’s edge. They could hear more snapping after the cacophony of falling trees had stopped. Then came the snarling sounds. Something was giving chase, something vicious sounding, and big. The three girls continued to run, and as they did, Sunset glanced to her right and gasped as she saw a white figure following them. That same figure veered in their direction and burst through the tree line as it gave a screeching roar into the air before landing on the pebble strewn beach. The girls paused for a moment to see the beast that was pursuing them.

Its body was white as snow, with jagged spines and spikes coming from its back, forearms, and tail. Its four claws were long and razor sharp, its muzzle making it appear as some humanoid raptor-like creature.

When Sunset got a good look at the beast she felt a sense of familiarity, as if she had seen this creature before. Where she had no idea.

“What in the name of Azura is that thing?! It looks like an anthropomorphic raptor!” Luz shouted.

“Or like some monster from a horror movie!” Anne added.

“Just keep running! GO!”

The girls ran again, and the raptor gave chase. The beast was hot on their tail as it snarled, hissed, and roared at them. Sunset glanced over her shoulder, unable to shake the feeling that she had seen this monster before. That same nostalgic feeling arose when she saw the beast grabbing its right shoulder spike with its left claw, and the left shoulder spike with the right claw. The two spikes elongated a little, curving into the shapes of crescents. The white raptor used its powerful legs to jump straight into the air, and after taking careful aim, threw the two crescents right at them. The crescents started to glow bright blue, and a moment later, spun rapidly to the point that they appeared as glowing ringlets.

That’s what it was?! That thing can throw its own spikes at us like buzzsaw boomerangs?!

“Uh, guys, what’s that up ahead?!” Luz asked.

Sunset turned her attention back to the front. That’s when she saw something that looked like a gateway. It was a big metal door, seemingly erected with no walls or anything around it. Which didn’t make sense, but then again, nothing else was making sense right now. The whistling sound of the energy crescents was drawing closer, Sunset furrowed her brow and formulated a plan.

“When I say so, hit the ground!” Sunset exclaimed. “…NOW!!!”

Sunset, Luz, and Anne dove forward, letting go of their spears as they hit the ground, hard. The two boomerangs flew past them and struck the huge metal doors ahead of them. The force and cutting power of the blades blasted the thick metal doors off their hinges and forced them to fall backwards. The girls dared to peek, but when they did, they gasped. On the other side of the door was a city. There were concrete buildings, and asphalt roads. But that was impossible, right? They were in the middle of a forest.

“When those things come back, run through the gate!” Sunset stated.

“That a good idea?” Anne asked.

“It’s either the mysterious city on the other side of a gate with no walls, or the albino anthro raptor behind us that can throw its spikes like weapons!” Luz argued.

“Good point!”

The boomerang crescents flew out through the gateway and over their heads. Once they passed, Sunset, Luz, and Anne bolted. They ran as hard and as fast as they could, passing through the gateway as they left the forest area and now entered the city. The three gasped when they saw the tall buildings, various cars, and blue sky with clouds overhead. Sunset glanced about and started to notice the street signs; they were familiar to her.

“Wait…Trotting Blvd.?” Luz questioned.

“Hoofington Way?” Anne read. “What kind of road names are these?”

“Their…Their road names from Canterlot City,” Sunset answered.

Luz and Anne turned their gaze on Sunset in shock.

“Wait, are you saying we somehow crossed into your world?!” Luz asked.

“I…I don’t…If we did, then where are the people?” Sunset wondered.

The girls looked around but couldn’t see nor hear any signs that there were other humans around. For a large metropolis like this, it was eerily quiet. There were many cars, but not a single person in them. However, the white raptor wasn’t going to give them time to ponder this question as it leapt through the gateway. Upon making it through, the gateway immediately disappeared, transforming into blue fractals that disassembled themselves until it was completely gone, even the doors that were busted down were gone too.

“Pardon my French, but what the HELL is going on here?!” Anne shouted in confusion.

The white raptor snarled and then looked at one of the cars. Without waiting, the monster used its strength to grab ahold of the car and then chucked it straight at them. Sunset, Anne, and Luz screamed as they watched the car head towards them. Sunset pushed Anne to the side, while she dove for Luz and tackled the Latina away from the car. Thankfully, the vehicle missed them, but not before smashing against another car, bouncing off it, and then hitting another before finally rolling along and getting itself wedged between two others.

Sunset groaned as she held her head but managed to prop herself up with her left hand. “Dammit, that hurt. Luz, you okay?”

Luz was blushing as she found herself in the precarious position of having the bad girl, Sunset Shimmer’s, body pressed on top of hers. “G-G-Good! I-I’m alright! T-Thanks for the save!”

“Any time, Luz.” Sunset quickly got off Luz and cried out, “ANNE, YOU ALRIGHT?!”

Anne poked her head up from behind a car and answered, “I’m alive! I owe you one, dude!”

“What are we going to do?” Luz asked. “That thing is not going to stop, and we don’t even have any real weapons to fight back against it!”

Sunset tried to think, she couldn’t let this thing hurt the girls, but what else could she do? Luz was right, they had no weapons to fight back with. And after seeing what this thing was capable of, she doubted that simple wooden spears would even pierce that things hide, and that’s even if they could get close enough to find out. Was this what they were brought here to do? Was this monster part of some secret organization’s weapons testing, and they just needed fresh bodies to act as target practice? Whatever the case was, that thing would not stop hunting them until they were dead. With that knowledge, Sunset decided on a course of action.

“…Hey, Luz,” said Sunset.

“W-What?”

“I need you to be brave right now. I’m going to go out there and lure it away. And I need you to go and grab Anne and run in the opposite direction of me. Run as far and fast as you can. Find someplace to hide, and you keep running and hiding until you find a way out of here,” Sunset ordered.

“WHAT?!” Luz exclaimed. “We’re not going to leave you to die! Sunset, we need you!”

“You two are stronger than you think, I can see it. So long as you two are together, you can survive.” Sunset looked to her right, smirked, and winked at Luz. “I’m glad to have known you and Anne, even if it was for a short time.”

With those parting words, Sunset got up, and leapt over the car as she heard Luz cry out for her, but she ignored the Latina’s cries as she got into the middle of the street.

“HEY, TRISASSIC WORLD REJECT!!!!” Sunset yelled.

The white raptor narrowed its gaze as it locked onto Sunset.

“You wanna a real hunt?! Then come after me!”

The white raptor snarled, as it crouched low, preparing to go in for the kill.

“HEY!” Luz cried out, gaining the attention of the monster. “I’M HERE TOO! MAYBE YOU’RE IN THE MOOD FOR A LITTLE LATIN CUISINE!!!”

LUZ, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! Sunset thought.

“HEY, SCALLY!” Anne cried out as she, too, got on top of a car and started yelling. “DON’T FORGET ABOUT ME! IF YOU WANT SOMETHING SPICY TO EAT, TRY SOME THAI!”

The white raptor shifted its gaze to Anne, snarling at her, and then back to Luz, and back to Sunset. The beast seemed to be having trouble deciding which of the three girls would be the easiest prey to kill first. Its blue eyes shifted back to Luz, it gave the air a sniff, and its decision was made. The white raptor’s body shifted, now pointing in Luz’s direction.

Okay, I got its attention…! WHAT THE HECK WAS STEP TWO?!! Luz thought in a panic.

The white raptor let out an intimidating screeching roar that made Luz stumble and plop onto the roof of the car before rolling along the front and onto the hood. As soon as the white raptor saw this, it took its shot. The beast jumped high into the air, fangs and claws bared as it descended, about to pounce on the Latina and make her into its meal.

Sunset saw this happening in slow motion, her heart thumped unusually loud in her ears as she dashed for Luz, not even thinking about herself as she tried to reach the Latina before the monster could. But even as she ran, Sunset knew even if she made it to Luz, there was no way she was going to be able to stop that thing from using its fangs and claws to tear through both of them at the same time. Forget that! The sheer weight of that thing falling on her would be enough to break Sunset’s back and pin her body against Luz’s, preventing either of them from escaping. In retrospect, letting the raptor kill Luz would be much more merciful and swifter than a slow and painful death.

NO! Sunset thought, finding the strength to run faster. Even if it’s just an inch, if I can make that thing veer off course, and get me, or brace against it, I can save her! I won’t let her die!

Sunset’s mind suddenly felt a memory spring up. She saw an image of herself doing something similar to this, running towards danger to save someone’s life. Someone she cared about. The memory cleared up a little bit more, and Sunset was able to recognize that it was Twilight, lying unconscious on the ground as something streaked across the sky and headed towards her fallen friend. A lot of questions were raised in that moment. Why was Twilight there? She was wearing glasses, so it must’ve been the human Twilight, but did that mean she saved human Twilight? Regardless, Sunset wasn’t going to let any of her friends get hurt, and that included Luz, short though their time was.

The fiery-haired teenager managed to get to Luz in time. She could hear Anne crying out to both of them, and she was aware of Luz crying out to Sunset. But she didn’t care. Sunset stood her ground, and whether out of desperation or perhaps hidden knowledge, she reached into her pocket and grabbed the turquoise-colored USB drive. She closed her hand into a fist around the device, cocked back her right fist, and threw a punch just as the beast got close. What happened next stunned all three girls. A bright turquoise pulse of energy erupted from Sunset’s fist, taking on the shape of a unicorn as the tip of its horn struck the center of the white raptor’s chest. The impact created a shower of sparks that sent the beast flying. It bounced against several cars before finally using its claws to anchor itself into the asphalt, tearing up in the street in the process as it came to a halt.

Sunset kept the same stance, eyes still wide as she looked upon the construct of the unicorn. It remained in the air for a few more seconds before disappearing, along with the glow from her fist. Luz was in total awe upon witnessing what Sunset did, and Anne was just standing there stunned. Both girls finally snapped out of it and rushed to Sunset’s side.

“SUNSET, HOW DID YOU DO THAT?!” Luz asked.

“DUDE, SINCE WHEN CAN YOU DO A POWER PUNCH?! AND WAS THAT A UNICORN?!” Anne questioned.

“I THOUGHT YOU SAID YOU COULDN’T USE MAGIC?!” Luz inquired, again.

“I…I can’t…I mean, at least, I shouldn’t be able to without using my guitar or feeling my element, but…” Sunset opened her fist and saw that the USB drive was still glowing, albeit faintly. “I think it was this thing.”

“A fancy looking flash drive?” Anne asked.

“Looks strange, and its glowing. Was it glowing before?” Luz asked.

“No, but…when I saw you in danger, it…triggered something. A memory. I saw myself and…Ah!” Sunset held her head as another memory rose in her mind.

“Sunset!” Luz and Anne cried out in worry.

More images appeared in Sunset’s mind, she saw herself and Twilight, she recalled Twilight working on something, something that would protect Sunset and everyone from monsters. That’s when the image of a hero clad in turquoise armor, possessing a crystal unicorn, showed up in her mind’s eye.

While this was going on, Luz and Anne turned around, dread welled up inside them as they watched the white raptor regain its bearings and began heading towards them again.

“Okay, Sunset, whatever you did, you need to do it again!” Anne urged.

Sunset released her head as she took a calming breath. She wasn’t sure about the memories that entered her mind, but if it meant that she had the power to protect them, then she was willing to use what she saw in her memories. “Girls, stand behind me.”

“Sunset, don’t! Not again! Don’t sacrifice yourself!” Luz begged.

“No, I’m not sacrificing myself. I’m going to take that thing down,” Sunset stated.

The fiery-haired teen gently pushed Luz and Anne aside as she took a few steps forward. Strangely, the white raptor paused, sensing a change in Sunset’s demeanor. The former unicorn mare reached behind her back and unhooked the other device she had been hiding from the girls. As if by pure instinct, Sunset placed the device at her waist. Immediately after, the buckle released a strap that looped around Sunset’s waist and connected to the other side of the buckle as two slots appeared on the hips of the belt in a flash of light as well.

“What the…?” Anne gaped.

Luz went silent. She couldn’t be about to witness what she thought she was about to witness, could she?

Sunset raised the USB drive in her right hand and pressed the button.

< UNICORN! >

Guided by those same instincts and memories, Sunset slotted the Unicorn Memory into the top slot of the driver.

“…HENSHIN!”

The moment Sunset yelled out that word, she pressed down on the slot, connecting it to the rest of the driver.

UNICORN! <

A spherical field of turquoise electricity formed around Sunset’s body. The lightning it produced rapidly struck Sunset’s body, but it did not electrocute her. Instead, the lightning materialized armor. The transformation continued as it quickly formed over her legs, waist, torso, arms, shoulders, and finally a helmet covered Sunset’s head. Once the armor had fully manifested, a blast of shimmering turquoise particles was released. The particles danced in the air for a moment before fading out of existence. The crystal horn on Sunset’s helmet glowed in tandem with her sky-blue compound eyes, and the white raptor seemed to hesitate now that he saw what she had become.

“No…friggin’ way…did…did Sunset just…”

“SHE’S A KAMEN RIDER!!!” Luz yelled loudly, her voice echoing in the empty city.

Sunset took another step forward, and the white raptor took a step back. The armor-clad teen assumed a fighting stance as she announced, “Unicorn…I…I’m Kamen Rider Unicorn!”

The white raptor snarled and let out a threatening roar as it drove the last bits of hesitation out of its mind and charged straight for Unicorn. The Rider of Empathy’s crystal horn glowed, and suddenly, the two cars next to her were wrapped in a turquoise aura. Luz and Anne watched in awe as the cars were easily lifted into the air, and with a wave of Unicorn’s hands, she hurled the cars at the white raptor. The beast roared again and produced two large crescent blades from its forearms. The blades glowed bright blue as the monster slashed upwards, slicing the first car in half, and then at an angle to cut the second car. The four halves crashed to the sides of the buildings, but Unicorn was only getting started.

The white raptor squeaked in shock as it just now noticed ten different cars floating in the air above Unicorn, Luz, and Anne’s positions. Unicorn smirked under her helmet as she gave the mental command and threw all the cars right at the white raptor in rapid succession. The white raptor was working overtime as it slashed through one car after the other, trying desperately to prevent itself from getting struck by the vehicles. However, what the monster failed to notice was that with each severed car, gasoline splashed onto the ground. Unicorn raised her right hand and formed a sphere of energy before shooting straight at the ground where the white raptor stood. The magical hero hurriedly turned around and grabbed Luz and Anne by the hands.

“Hang on, this’ll feel weird!” Unicorn warned.

“Wait what?!” the girls exclaimed.

Unicorn’s horn shined and flashed with turquoise light. A bigger, and brighter flash of light went off around them, and a moment later, all three of them were gone. Meanwhile, the sphere of magical energy struck the ground where the white raptor was standing. The beast noticed too late as the sphere exploded and ignited gasoline that was splashed onto it and on the nearby cars. The flames of the explosion snaked their way to the severed cars, and created a cascade of multiple explosions, destroying the cars on the street and engulfing the white raptor in the flames.

About a hundred feet down from where the explosions took place, Unicorn, Luz, and Anne reappeared. Unicorn released the two girls, letting them drop to their knees as they held their stomachs.

“Oh, man…that felt really weird,” Anne moaned.

“Did I leave my stomach back there? Because it feels like it hasn’t caught up to us,” Luz groaned.

“Sorry, had to teleport us out of there before the big boom,” Unicorn apologized. The hero turned around and narrowed her gaze as she saw the flames in the distance. She doubted it would be that easy. And she was right.

The white raptor dashed out of the flames, parts of its body were burnt, but it was otherwise still combat ready. Unicorn swiftly teleported away from Luz and Anne and reappeared right in the path of the white raptor. The beast was not expecting Unicorn to get in that close and was unprepared for Unicorn to strike it in the chest with a strong right hook into its side. The beast roared in pain as sparks flew from the impact point. The monster managed to recover and countered with a swipe of its blade across Unicorn’s chest plate, earning the white raptor a grunt of pain as sparks were released into the air when she was hit.

Unicorn wasn’t deterred as she planted her feet, charged her left fist, and came up with a mana coated uppercut under the white raptor’s lower jaw, sending the beast three feet off the ground. Unicorn teleported, and reappeared behind it as she threw a flying roundhouse into its side and sent it spiraling towards a building. However, before the white raptor could hit the building, Unicorn teleported a second time and intercepted the monster as she came down with an axe kick right onto its head and made the white raptor strike the concrete sidewalk with a mighty “BOOM!” sound. Unicorn grabbed ahold of one of the monster’s spikes as she teleported for the third time, this time appearing high overhead as she used her strength to toss the monster back to the ground. Acting on that same instinct, Unicorn quickly detached the Unicorn Memory from the Uni-Driver and inserted it into the Max Drive slot on the right hip port.

“It’s time to restore harmony!” Unicorn declared as she pressed down on the button of the Max Driver port.

} UNICORN! MAXIMUM DRIVE! {<

“SPIRAL BREAKER!”

A burst of magical energy shot Unicorn forward and she thrusted her right leg out for a Rider Kick. A spiral horn construct formed around her foot and ignited with magical energy as she descended from the sky. The white raptor hit the ground, back first, and bounced a foot into the air. But the monster was quickly slammed back into the ground as Unicorn’s Spiral Breaker kick hit the white raptor in the center of its chest. The beast let out a wailing roar as the energy of the construct horn released a powerful pulse that set off a massive explosion, engulfing both it and Unicorn in the flames.

“Sunset…s-she’s alright, right?” Luz asked.

“I…” Anne didn’t know what to say, as she didn’t want to give Luz false hope.

However, both their fears were unfounded as a burst of turquoise particles snuffed out the flames and revealed Kamen Rider Unicorn, completely unharmed. Unicorn stood in the small crater for a moment and then walked out, now holding a blue colored device similar to her Unicorn Memory.

“Fang…This is…This is the Fang Memory. But…How do I know that?” Unicorn asked herself.

“SUNSET!” Luz and Anne called out.

Unicorn looked up and watched as her two young friends ran towards her. The magical hero disconnected the Unicorn Memory from her Driver, and immediately her armor dispersed, returning her to civilian form. When they arrived, Luz was now looking up at the older teen with starry eyes and a dopey grin on her face.

“Y-You’re a Kamen Rider! Sunset Shimmer, you’re a real live Kamen Rider!” Luz exclaimed in excitement and joy.

“I…I don’t believe this! Kamen Riders are real?!” Anne shouted.

“You know what that is?” Sunset asked.

“Marcy’s big time into those Japanese live-action superhero shows, and so is my dad. And, uh, I might also be a fan as well,” Anne admitted, but then shook her head. “Okay, that aside, how did you do that?! And more importantly, how long have you been able to do that?!”

Sunset looked at the two Gaia Memories in each of her hands for a moment before she adopted a stern expression. “I’ll explain, but first, let’s find someplace to hold up. I don’t want to be out in the open after that fracas I just caused.”

The girls were eventually able to find a hotel building in the city. Thankfully, the layout of the city was exactly the same as Canterlot City in Sunset’s world, so she knew where to look when it came to finding them shelter. Although Sunset still wasn’t sure if this was really her Earth, or if the same unknown entity or force created an exact copy of her world. Either way, that was an explorative mission for tomorrow. Sunset, Luz, and Anne took up residence in the presidential suite. They figured, if they were going to stay in a hotel, they might as well live it up a little. Strangely enough, the place had plenty of supplies. Food, water, beverages, not only that, but it also had running hot and cold water, along with electricity.

“As happy as I am that we found food, and all kinds of goodies, does anyone else feel like this is even stranger than being dumped in the woods?” Anne asked.

Luz finished downing a slice of frozen pizza and replied, “No, I’m with you there. And what was with that gate? It was in the middle of nowhere, and then when it was busted open, it led this city. Which is either Sunset’s Earth’s city, or an exact replica. Honestly, I’m hoping it’s the latter, because it’s eerily quiet for a city.”

“I know. I never really noticed how I was so used to the noise. Even at night, Los Angeles hums, and there’s always some kind of sound going off in the night, it felt alive. But here…it feels empty,” said Anne.

Sunset had remained quiet as she sat on the couch and looked at the Uni-Driver and two Gaia Memories she had placed on the coffee table in front of her. Luz and Anne approached the couch and sat on either side of Sunset and turned their gaze onto the same devices.

“So…you’re a Kamen Rider?” Anne asked. “How long?”

“I don’t know…” Sunset sighed heavily. “When I saw Luz in danger, it triggered a memory. I remembered saving my friend, Twilight. I remember she made this thing, the Uni-Driver, because she saw it in a dream of hers. That device, the Unicorn Memory, came to me, it chose me. To tell you the truth that wasn’t the first time I fought that monster, it was the second time.”

“What?! So, wait, it was after you?” Luz asked.

“Not sure. When I first fought the Fang Dopant, it was someone who had been possessed by the Gaia Memory – the flash drives here – and he became the Fang Dopant. Just some random guy, he didn’t even know what he was doing. But when I beat him, the Fang Memory exited his body, and he returned to normal.” Sunset grabbed the Fang Memory and examined it. “I do know that I can use this to make my Rider form stronger. But beyond that, my memory’s still fuzzy. But the name ‘Kamen Rider’ definitely rings a bell.”

“Wait…you don’t think that’s our connection, do you?” Luz asked. “Maybe Anne and I are also secretly Kamen Riders?!”

Anne chuckled at the thought. “Heh, dude, there’s no way I’m a Kamen Rider. I’m far from the ‘heroic’ type.”

Luz shrugged. “I mean, it’s not any less of a theory than three random girls from three different universes getting dumped in some strange unknown place.”

Anne rubbed her chin and replied, “Touché. Now, my other question is…why didn’t you tell us about this thing before?”

“I didn’t because I had no idea what either of them were. I figured they were important, but I didn’t know why. I mean, our cellphones are gone, but whoever abducted us felt it was alright to leave me these? I mean, it had to be important. And I’m glad I was right in keeping them,” said Sunset.

“So…what’s our next move?” Luz asked.

“For now, we eat, rest, and then we’ll do some exploring. I wanna see if this place really is my world, or just a copy. And if it is a copy, how much of it was copied? Is there a boundary line like a video game map? Or does it stretch on indefinitely?”

“At least we’re out of the woods. If I have to sleep outside again, it’ll be too soon,” Anne stated.

“Same, but it was kind of fun, except for the whole running for our lives thing,” Luz chuckled. “But, man, Sunset, you were so cool! You’re a superhero!”

Sunset blushed a little. “I don’t know if I’d go that far. But at least now I have a way to protect us from danger.”

Anne smiled; she wasn’t too sure about Sunset at first. But she believed she could trust her. If Sunset was willing to sacrifice her life for them, then showing her some trust was the least she could do. However, Anne did notice something when it came to Luz. She was blushing an awful lot. But thankfully Sunset was too preoccupied with other priorities to notice. After they got their fill of food, they secured the front door, and headed to bed. The suite had two bedrooms, so Sunset took one and Luz and Anne shared another. Luz kicked off her shoes and got onto the queen-sized bed, sighing in relaxation. Compared to sleeping on the ground, lying on a plush, high dollar bed was a breath of fresh air.

“This has to have been the craziest two days of my life,” Luz commented.

“And it’s definitely going to get crazier,” Anne added.

“Maybe while we’re out tomorrow, we can find you another shoe. That can’t be comfortable walking around with just a sock and one shoe,” Luz pointed out.

Anne looked at her foot with the missing shoe and shrugged. “You’d think so, but…I dunna know. It feels…right? Well, maybe not ‘right’ exactly. But more like I’m used to it if that makes any sense?”

“Maybe this isn’t the first time you’ve been lost in the woods? We’re missing some memories, so you never know,” Luz suggested.

Anne took off her remaining shoe and thought about it for a moment. Luz did have a point, perhaps the answer lay in her missing memories. “Ugh, it’s frustrating to know a whole chunk of memories are just gone, or just out of reach.”

“We’ll figure it out, together. And now we have a Kamen Rider on our side, so we’re definitely going to make it through,” Luz proclaimed excitedly.

“Sunset is strong, I’ll give her that. But she’s still only one person. If more monsters decide to show up, and not one at a time, we’ll be sitting ducks. And she’ll have to worry about protecting us instead beating the monster,” Anne pointed out.

Luz knew that was a consequence of their situation. There was no rule stating that monsters had to come at them one at time. Really, there was nothing stopping them from ambushing them. “We just need to believe we’ll make it through.”

Anne sighed. “Optimistic, huh?”

“Heh, well, when everyone is putting you down, you gotta look on the bright side of things,” Luz replied.

Anne could relate. If it wasn’t for Sasha, she would probably be facing similar scrutiny from her fellow classmates, at least the ones that were already a-holes to begin with. But Luz, she had no one to call friend. No one to watch out for her or keep her safe from people like that.

“Hey, if it turns out that we’re from the same universe or whatever, look me up,” Anne offered.

“Really?” Luz asked.

“Yeah,” Anne got onto the bed and laid back, putting her hands behind her head as she enjoyed the bed as well. “I mean, it’ll be long distance, but we can always video call and text and junk. Right?”

Luz’s eyes widened, feeling happiness that she might find a friend in Anne if they really were from the same universe. Then a thought occurred to her as she laid down, and quickly sat up.

“What’s up?” Anne asked.

“Um…I think it might be better if I sleep on the couch,” Luz offered.

Anne sat up next and looked at Luz with confusion. “What? Why?”

“I mean…I don’t want you to feel awkward around me, or…afraid that I might do something,” Luz admitted.

Anne raised an eyebrow and asked, “…Are you going to do something to me if we sleep in the same bed?”

“NO! NO! I would never!” Luz retorted.

“Good, then no issues here.” Anne lay back down.

“B-But…”

“Dude, I’m not like those jerks at your school. Besides we’re friends, aren’t we?” Anne asked as she winked at Luz.

Luz felt like she could cry right now, she quickly wiped her eyes and smiled at her new friend as she laid back down. “Yeah, of course.”

“So, since we’re friends…” Anne turned on her side and showed off her cat-like grin again. “You kinda crushin’ hard on Sunset back there, huh~?”

Luz spluttered as she tried to respond to Anne’s accusation. “W-W-What?! Nononononono! I mean…did she say something? I mean – NO! She’s, like, three years older than me, and if what she said about her age as a unicorn was true, then she’s waaaaay older than me! Although, there’s nothing wrong with liking older women – but that’s not the point! Do I think she’s cool, hot, kind, hot, loyal, hot–!”

“You said ‘hot’ three times, dude,” Anne interjected, her grin holding.

Luz’s face turned beet red as she turned around and planted her face into the pillow and yelled into it. After a moment, Luz turned head and faced Anne. “That obvious…?”

“Eh, kinda. You were fangirling pretty hard back there.”

“Well, it’s just, Kamen Riders have only been fictional superheroes, and now we have a real one sleeping just across the room! Not to mention how she was so willing to look after us and fight to protect us. She was going to sacrifice her life for us…I…no one’s ever done that for me,” Luz mentioned.

Anne glanced to the side as she said, “Yeah, me neither. But for some reason…I have a vague feeling someone did…” Anne reached up with her left hand and placed it over her heart.

“Anne, you alright?”

“Yeah…I just…my heart hurts for some reason, like…I just imagined something like that happening to Sasha or Marcy and…” Anne shook her head. “Never mind, it’s probably nothing.”

Luz hoped it was nothing, but at the same time, she was worrying about herself. She felt something in her heart. The Latina admitted, at least to herself, that she did have a crush on Sunset. But why did it feel as if she as betraying someone?

Sunset glanced out through the window of her room; the view was familiar as much as it was unsettling. The moon was shining full and bright, and the lights of the city sparkled in the distance. Although Sunset couldn’t say for sure if every detail of this Canterlot City was rendered perfectly, she had to admit, it was a good copy. It would almost be perfect, except for the fact that there were no stars in the night sky.

“Same as the jungle area we were at,” said Sunset. “Wherever we are, it’s some kind of enclosure. If that’s the case, that would explain the mysterious door that appeared.”

That was still a mystery. The door was just there, and then after they and the Fang Dopant made it through, the door pixelated and disappeared into thin air.

“I’d say we’re in a kind of simulation, but…” Sunset glanced back at her bed, where Uni-Driver, Unicorn Memory, and Fang Memory rested. “That felt too real, and too familiar. And if we are in an enclosure, how big is it? Who could fund something like this? It’d cost a fortune.”

Sunset walked over to the bed and sat down. After kicking off her boots and throwing her leather jacket over towards an armchair, the former unicorn mare laid back, putting her hands behind her head as she stared up at the ceiling, her mind still working, still trying to figure out where it was the three of them were, and who or what had the means to bring them here. Sunset reached down with her left hand and took hold of the Unicorn Memory, she held between her thumb and index finger, examining it, as if hoping the device would give her the answers she needed.

“I’m a Kamen Rider, I know that for sure. Is it…Is it possible Luz and Anne are Riders too? Could that be the connection between the three of us?” Sunset shook her head. “No, can’t be. If that were the case, then they would have some kind of transformation device like mine, right? And if they did, they would have used them during the fight after seeing me transform.”

Sunset sighed as she put the Unicorn Memory down. There was no point in trying to solve the mystery right now. There was still too much they didn’t know, not enough information to come to a solid conclusion regarding their situation. Right now, all she had were theories, and hopefully they could start proving some of those theories right or wrong, depending on how accurate a recreation this whole place was. Sunset reflexively reached into her pocket to grab her phone, but remembered just as quickly that it was not there. She wanted to see her friends, to know that they were okay. Heck, she would’ve settled for just having a photo of them. The former pony chuckled at the thought.

“Years ago, I wouldn’t have cared about wanting a pic of my friends. Now…I want one more than ever right now, just to see their faces,” Sunset lamented. “Get a grip Shimmer. You have to be strong. Luz and Anne need you right now, and you can’t let them down. We will find a way back to our homes…I hope.”

Meanwhile, in a dark room filled with the light of multiple holographic screens, a figure stood. The lone figure had their arms crossed and sneered at the development.

“I thought I took her Gaia Memory and her Driver, tch! Damn Xtra Riders, always got something working in their favor,” the figure complained. “Aaand she got one of her Gaia Memories back.”

The figure, despite their anger, smiled.

“Just you wait. I’ll crush you, and all the Xtra Riders, just wait and see. The real battles are about to begin. AHAHAHAHAHAHA!”

Author's Note

Unicorn Character Theme: "Invisible Heat" - by Nana Mizuki

And that's it for now! This will be a slow update cycle as "Bring Us Hope, Kamen Rider Witch" has not reached its ending, yet. So, until then, any updates will focus on Sunset and Anne before we reach Luz's phase.

Part 3: A Wicked Wind Blows

Sunset groaned as she got up, despite how luxurious the bed was, she couldn’t get much sleep. Her mind was still feverishly trying to figure out where they were. Heck, she was surprised she got any sleep at all. Sunset slowly swung her legs over the edge of the bed, and stretched out her arms as she gave a loud yawn. Carefully, she walked over to the window and opened the blinds. It was daytime now, and the city still looked as empty as it did yesterday.

“You look like Canterlot City, but you’re probably not. But still, someone went through the trouble of recreating the city.” Sunset reached into her pocket and pulled out the Unicorn Memory. “And apparently, I’m a ‘Kamen Rider’. Some kind of hero.”

The former unicorn mare chuckled at that. Not too long ago, she was the furthest thing from a “hero” as anyone could be. She was so arrogant and prideful, but had the power to back it up, only pouring more fuel onto the fire. Now, she had friends, people she cared about, and apparently, Sunset somehow saved Twilight from her transformation into Midnight Sparkle. If those memories of Twilight creating the Uni-Driver were true.

“Well, that’s good, I guess. Twilight’s with us at CHS, and now we’re friends. I hope the girls are looking after her,” said Sunset to herself. “Well, in the meantime, I have two girls I need to look after here until I can get them back home.” Sunset raised an eyebrow and sniffed the air. After a moment, she gave a snort, a habit from when she was a pony. “But first, a shower.”

With all the life-threatening danger, and the fact that they lost some of their memories, oh, and were thrown into some unknown world. Sunset forgot to take a shower.

“Yeesh, yeah, I definitely need to wash up. Oh, wait, is that even a good idea? What if a monster attacks while I’m in my dang birthday suit? And then there’s the clothes situation? Probably need to get those cleaned too…Ugh. Whatever, one thing at a time. Maybe we’ll hit up my house and I can use the washer and dryer.”

With that thought in mind, Sunset headed to the bathroom, disrobing as she did.

Anne was in the kitchen area of the suite and was busy cooking some breakfast. They made sure to raid a grocery store along the way to the suite and filled it with whatever they would need for a meal. Anne didn’t think she’d have time to make anything, but she figured she could make some of her special omelets.

Luz was watching from behind the counter. It was honestly impressive how focused Anne was as she prepared the food. “Wow, Anne, you really did cook in your family’s restaurant. You’re, like, a master chef!”

Anne blushed from the compliment but continued her work. “It’s no big deal, dude. But thanks for the compliment. Heh, my friends love it when I make these. Sasha always said…” The Thai teen paused her movements.

“Anne, you okay?” Luz asked.

“Yeah…I’m just wondering if Sasha and Marcy are alright. I don’t know if they’re still back in the park or if they’re here with us,” Anne explained.

“I’m sure we’ll find them. Hopefully they’re safe and sound back in your world, or our world, ugh, alternate universe stuff is complicated,” Luz complained.

Anne chuckled as she went back to work. “Anyway, it’s almost ready.” The young chef put on a sly smile as she glanced over her shoulder at Luz. “Why don’t you go and wake up your bacon haired crush.”

“A-Anne! C’mon, don’t!” Luz whined. “Look, I know it’s stupid that I have a crush on her. She’s way older than me, and she is definitely from another universe. It wouldn’t work out.”

Anne shrugged. “Hey, you never know. We could end up stuck here forever. If that happens, well, I say go for it.”

Luz blushed as she put her hands on her hips and retorted, “Oh? Then maybe I’ll drag you into the relationship and make it polycule. Especially with cooking skills like yours.”

“In your dreams, Noceda. Seriously, go ahead and wake her up. I know we should probably let her sleep in more since she’s the only one of us who can fight and all, but neither do I want to get possibly chewed out for not waking her up,” said Anne.

“Fair point. Alright.” Luz got off the stool and headed to the other side of the room where Sunset’s room was located. The young teen knocked on the door a couple of times and waited for an answer. “H-Hey, Sunset? You awake? Um, Anne’s making us breakfast. Sunset?”

Is she still asleep? Luz thought. Guess I’ll need to wake her up then.

Luz slowly opened the door and when she did, the Latina noticed that Sunset’s bed was empty. Her mind immediately jumped to the worst-case scenario as she burst into the room and called out, “Sunset?!”

“What, what’s wrong?!”

“Uh…!”

“Eh…!”

Sunset ran out of the bathroom, her hair matted and wet as it clung to her back. She was completely drenched, having just come out of the shower, and thankfully with a towel wrapped around her body.

“S-Sunset…s-sorry for b-barging in…” Luz stammered.

“Are you okay?! What about Anne?!” Sunset.

“Oh, uh, no, we’re fine! We’re okay, I-I was just coming to wake you up, but it looks like you were already awake, a-and t-t-taking a s-s-shower. I-I didn’t see you in the bed a-and I thought you disappeared or something for a second,” Luz nervously stammered.

Sunset released a sigh of relief. “Thank Faust, you scared me for a second. I thought, ‘Shoot, I’m really about to have to fight someone naked!’ Whew, man, now that would’ve been embarrassing.”

Luz gulped as her face turned red. “Y-Yeah, e-embarrassing sounds about right. A-Anyway, Anne’s m-making us breakfast…”

“Oh, cool. I’ll be out in ten,” Sunset announced.

“R-Right,” Luz replied as she closed the door behind her.

The young teen walked back to the counter, sat in the stool, and plopped her head against the counter as a dull thud was heard.

Anne glanced over her shoulder curiously and asked, “So, she up?”

“Mmm-hmm…”

“She coming to eat?”

“She said ten minutes…”

“Alright, I’ll be done by then.” Anne raised an eyebrow as she noticed that Luz hadn’t raised her head. “You okay, Luz?”

Luz shook her head in the negative.

“You wanna tell me why?”

“I SAW SUNSET NAKED!”

Anne nearly flipped the pan over from hearing that. Thankfully, she didn’t. The Thai teen whirled around and cried out, “WHAT?! How?! Does she…sleep nude or–?”

“She was taking a shower, I barged in, and she came out! I mean, she wasn’t naked-naked, she had a towel on, but…but…AUGH!” Luz groaned as she hid her face again.

“Uh, wow, awkward.” Anne smirked again as she added, “Bet that's an image that’s not leaving your head anytime soon.”

“NOT HELPING!”

Luz, Sunset, and Anne were sitting at the counter, eating Anne’s omelets. Sunset sat on the far left of the counter, with Anne on Sunset’s right, and Luz on Anne’s right. Basically, Anne acted as a barrier between the fiery haired teen and the Latina. Sunset was wondering why Luz wasn’t looking at her, but Anne assured her it was nothing.

“So, what’s on the agenda for today?” Anne asked.

“Well, for now, I want to hit up a few places. I want to see just how accurate this place is to Canterlot City. I have an idea of how we could get out of here if whoever or whatever made this place made it exactly the same, then they might’ve accidentally recreated the portal to Equestria,” Sunset explained.

“That’s your original home, right? The world where you were a pony?” Luz asked, her eyes not leaving her omelet.

“Yeah. I know it’s not exactly the solution we may want, but if there’s a chance, then I figured it’s better than staying here in this place.” Sunset put her fork down and sighed as she decided to tell the girls her theory. “Who or whatever brought us here, did it with a purpose in mind. And if there are more monsters like that roaming around, then we need to go somewhere else. It may not be your guys’ home universes, but I figure Equestria will be safer than here.”

“Sounds better than possibly getting killed by a monster in this whacked out place,” said Anne. “By the way, are your people going to be okay with seeing three humans just casually drop into their world?”

Sunset chuckled. “That’s the best part. If we pass through the portal, it’ll change us. When I stepped through it from Equestria, it turned me into a human. When my friend, Princess Twilight, returned to Equestria, she reverted to her pony form. Our best guess is that the portal changes the person who passes through into a form that best fits their soul, or in some cases, if you have a double on the other side, it’ll change you into that same pony. All my human friends have pony doubles in Equestria, and so does Princess Twilight.”

Luz snapped her head up when she heard this information. “Y-You mean, we’ll turn into ponies like you?! Can I be a unicorn?! Or-or a pegasus?! Wait, can I be both?!”

Anne thought about it for a moment. “Huh, I don’t know what kind I’d like to be. Not much of a magic person but flying may be cool.”

Sunset chuckled. “Heh-heh, sorry, I have no control over what you’ll be. Like I said, it matches your pony form to you. And no, Luz, you can’t be both. That would be an alicorn, and those are among the most powerful, and respected ponies in my world. Princess Twilight is one of them, and so is my mentor, Princess Celestia.”

“Huh, oh, well, I’d be happy with any of the three. I wonder what I’d look like as a pony?” Luz pondered.

Anne smirked as she asked, “Question: do we keep our clothes when we pass through?”

“Nope. And again, don’t ask me why, but the portal somehow materializes clothes for you whenever a pony crosses over to the human world. It might generate an accessory or maybe an article of clothing, but there’s no way to really tell. Heck, if I passed through, I’m sure I’d end up with nothing on just like I did before I became human,” Sunset explained.

Luz’s face went red again as she now envisioned Sunset as an anthropologic unicorn, in the same state of undress as she saw her earlier. The young teen turned her head, moved her plate to the side and brought her head down against the counter with a thud.

STOP THINKING THOUGHTS, LUZ!

Anne chuckled as she saw Luz’s reaction.

“Am I missing something?” Sunset asked.

“Nope, nothing major. So, where’s our first stop going to be?” Anne inquired.

“Well, first we’re going to see about hotwiring a car, and then we’ll drive to my place before we go to where the portal is located. I have a journal there that allows me to communicate directly with Princess Twilight. She managed to build a machine that can close and open the portal. Without that journal, I can’t message her to open it.”

Anne nodded. “Sounds like a plan.”

“Also, you know how to hotwire a car?” Luz asked.

“I mentioned this before, but I had to learn a few things in order to survive when I first got here. One of those things was learning how to hijack a vehicle. Not that I ever got the chance to use those skills, but I remember how after watching enough online how-to videos.”

Can she be any cooler?!

Sash would definitely get along with Sunset.

After finishing their breakfast, the girls left the hotel and took the elevator down to the ground floor. After getting outside, Sunset looked around for a car that was easy enough to hotwire, she just hoped that most of these cars had full gas tanks.

Considering how many of them blew yesterday, I’d say they should, Sunset thought.

Sunset picked an old sedan car and began working on it. She ripped out the panel under the steering wheel and began fiddling with the wires. Once she found the ones she needed, Sunset stripped them and began lightly tapping the ends of the two wires together. Each tap made the car sputter to life. Sunset kept that up for about ten seconds before finally getting the car to start.

“Alright!” Sunset exclaimed. “I can’t believe that worked to be honest. Better not let the girls hear that.”

“Sunset!” Luz called out.

The flame-haired teen got out of the car and watched as Luz and Anne walked down the sidewalk towards her. Both girls had backpacks on, which made Sunset curious.

“Hey, what’s with the backpacks?” Sunset asked.

“We figured, in case we get sent to another place like last time, we should stock up on some food stuff,” Luz explained.

“We got some bottled water, some nonperishable foods, and a few snacks here and there. And some first aid kits,” Anne added.

“Nice. This is starting to sound like one of those survival game horror movies,” said Sunset.

“Ugh, what if that’s what this whole thing is?” the Thai teen inquired. “Like, what if some whackos threw us in here just to get their sick kicks by watching a bunch of teen girls run around and get chased by monsters to see how long we live?”

Luz grimaced. “Yeeaah…I hope that’s not the case. Those kinds of situations usually turn into some really weird, really…adult level of bad things.”

Sunset walked up to the two young teens and gently placed a hand on their shoulders. “Hey, don’t worry. I have my Driver and Unicorn Memory. I promised I’d protect you, and that’s what I’m going to do. So, with that in mind, let’s head to my place and find the journal. If it’s there at all.”

Luz and Anne nodded as they hopped into the back seat. Sunset got into the driver’s seat and drove off down the road. The whole ride was eerie. There were a lot of cars, but no drivers. The city was quiet, no sounds of traffic, nor the hum of people. It was utterly empty. Truly unnerving. It was worse when they got into the suburbs. Nearly empty roads, and an even more deafening silence. Sunset’s mind played out what she would normally see when she drove down these streets. She remembered the sound of her motorbike’s engine as she whizzed down the streets, passing by people walking their dogs, chatting with friends, or making a video for ViewTube. As they drove, Sunset stopped at a house. It was in a well-off neighborhood, the house itself being a two story with a big garage. Luz and Anne noticed how Sunset was staring at the house and grew worried.

“You okay, Sunset?” Luz asked.

“Yeah…sorry. This is…This is where my friend lives, one of them anyway. Her name is Twilight Sparkle,” said Sunset.

“The princess you were talking about?” Anne questioned.

“No, the human one. Remember when I said that almost everyone has a pony counterpart back in my universe? Well, the princess had one here. She’s a total nerd, basically a genius.” Sunset chuckled. “Actually, she’s the only girl I’ve ever met who can match me when it comes to science and math. Heh, hell, she pretty much surpasses me, considering she made the Uni-Driver.”

“Wow…Sounds like someone Marcy would love to hang out with,” Anne mentioned.

“You’re worried about her?” Luz inquired.

“Kind of. She just transferred to my school, and she kinda went through a lot at her old school. Being bullied because she was smarter than everyone there,” said Sunset. “Let’s keep going, sorry for that.”

The car resumed its journey, but Luz still had questions.

“How bad was she bullied?”

“From what she told me, they would shove her around, look at her with jealousy and disdain, shun her sometimes. It wasn’t just by one individual, it was done by most of the student body,” Sunset explained.

“What?!” Anne shouted. “Dude, that’s effed up! The whole school messed with her?! Why didn’t she say anything?!”

“She went to another school here in the area. Crystal Prep Academy. They’re the best and cater to the elite. Their principal, Cinch, practically used Twilight to boost their standing by winning a lot of academic awards. And as a goal post for the other students. A kind of carrot and stick method.”

“So even the faculty was in on it? I…I can’t imagine how that’d feel like,” said Luz as she hugged herself, recalling her own encounters with her peers back home.

“Well, not all of them. Dean Cadance was on her side, and tried to help where she could. But after the Friendship Games she transferred to our school and my friends and I welcomed her to the school.” Sunset paused and slammed the breaks.

Luz and Anne gagged as their seatbelts dug into them from the sudden stop.

“Ugh! Sunset, what the hell?!” Anne exclaimed.

“Was there something in the road?!” Luz asked.

“No…I…I just realized I remembered all of that. Everything I just told you, it was something I didn’t know before…I…I think I’m getting my memories back!” Sunset joyfully exclaimed.

“Seriously?!”

“That’s great!”

“Y-Yeah, I remembered where she lived. I remember saving her after the Friendship Games, and hearing that she was going to transfer to CHS. I remember her trying to adapt to the school, and…Oh crap…” Sunset gasped.

“WHAT?!” Luz and Anne asked.

“I fought that white dinosaur monster before! It was the Fang Dopant, the first monster I fought when I transformed into Unicorn!” Sunset pressed a hand against her forehead but smiled all the same. “I didn’t even realize I remembered until we came here.”

“Wait, then that means that you might remember more if you defeat another monster or get another of those whatchamathings,” said Luz.

“Wait, does it even work like that?” Anne questioned.

“Maybe Sunset getting more of those devices means she’ll regain more of her memories? What did you call them?”

“Gaia Memories.”

“Yeah! Maybe the Gaia Memories also held onto some of her memories! If we get more, Sunset might remember more and that’ll help us get out of here faster! Plus, it’ll give you more fighting options,” Luz pointed out.

“Wait, are you talking about how, in the show, Kamen Rider Atlas gets those little accessories that change his armor and make him stronger?” Anne questioned.

“Precisely!” Luz nodded as she snapped her fingers. “Every Kamen Rider has multiple form changes before achieving their Final Forms. I’m sure Sunset has something like that.”

“You think so?” Sunset asked.

“It’s a classic troupe.”

Sunset chuckled and shrugged. “Alright. I guess I’ll try it out if we meet another monster.”

With that said, Sunset resumed her driving.

They were eventually able to make it to Sunset’s home. Once there, Sunset, Luz, and Anne got out of the car and walked up to the front door. Sunset glanced about the area, and then looked at the potted plant on her right. She reached into the plant and took out a rock. Luz and Anne were curious until Sunset flipped the rock around and showed that it was one of those fake rocks with a spare key slot. Once she retrieved the spare key, Sunset unlocked the door and slowly opened it. To her surprise, it was exactly the same. The posters, her bed, her lights, TV, furniture, computers, game consoles, all of it was in the exact same spot that she remembered.

“Welcome to my home, girls,” said Sunset.

“Whoa…” Anne and Luz gasped.

“It’s like the ultimate bachelorette pad!” Anne exclaimed.

“Seriously, it’s so cool!” Luz rushed towards the stairs and saw the trio of guitars that were hanging up. “Are these for when you play with your band?!”

“Actually, those were from before. My ex-boyfriend, Flash, taught me how to play. It was honestly great for helping me learn how to use these.” Sunset raised her hands and wiggled her fingers. “Believe me, the hoof-to-hand transition was not easy. But after learning how to play, I found that I really liked playing the guitar. So, I bought a couple of different axes and an amp.”

“Dang, look at this setup,” said Anne as she looked at Sunset’s computers. “You do a lot of computer stuff.”

“Heh, I’m a bad girl, but I’m a smart-as-hell bad girl. I use that for whenever I stream online,” Sunset informed.

Anne smirked as she teased, “Oh~, so are you a cam girl, Sunset? No shame if you are, I mean, you look hot, so~”

Luz blushed as her right eye twitched. The implications of Sunset being a “cam girl” was now in her mind, and it was taking it places she did not want it to go.

“Ha, ha, funny, Anne,” Sunset replied with her own smirk. “Maybe I’ll feature you in one, feel like making a few bucks?”

Anne blushed next as she spluttered, “W-W-WHAT?! No! I-I was kidding! I’m not – who would want to see me – I mean–!”

“Anne, chill out, I’m kidding. I do stream, but it’s a gaming stream. I call it ‘Shimmer Code’. It helps to pay for some of the bills,” Sunset interjected.

Anne released a sigh. “Well played, Shimmer.”

“I'm a smart-bad-girl. Remember that, Boonchuy,” Sunset teased as she walked up the stairs to her hanging bedroom.

Luz’s face was still red as Anne came up and lightly elbowed the Latina.

“Don’t pass out, Luz.”

“You’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you?”

“Yep.”

“You cheeky little–”

“DAMN IT!” Sunset yelled.

Luz and Anne ran up the stairs and asked, “What?! What’s wrong?!”

The drawer was open, and Sunset was sitting on her bed. “Nothing, sorry. I shouldn’t have been surprised. I was just hoping that it might be there. Well, that plan’s scrapped.”

Luz noticed the sad look on Sunset’s face. That’s when she got closer to Sunset and sat next to her. “Hey, we don’t know for sure yet. We can at least go to where you said the portal to your home dimension is, right?” The Latina gently grabbed Sunset’s hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. “It’s at least worth a shot.”

“Luz is right, Sunset,” said Anne as she crossed her arms. “And besides, we can come back here and rest while we plan our next move if that’s a bust. At least will be in a place that you know and where you have home field advantage.”

Sunset chuckled and then let out a sigh. “You’re right. We should at least investigate it before we rule it out. Thanks, Luz.”

Luz smiled as she replied, “No problem.”

Sunset undid her hand from Luz’s and stood up. “Well, let’s at least rest for now and we’ll head out in a few minutes. Let me check if the fridge is stocked or not. I think I should have some frozen pizzas in there.”

Luz and Anne watched as Sunset headed downstairs and went through the door that led to the kitchen area.

“So…slick move there holding her hand and all,” said Anne with a grin.

“What?”

“You were holding Sunset’s hand earlier, or did you really forget?”

Luz looked at her left hand, paused, and then blushed. “I…I held hands with Sunset.”

“Congrats, Luz, you’re one step closer,” said Anne as she patted the Latina on her back.

“Why does it feel like you’re the older one and I'm the younger one in his situation?” Luz pointed out. “Are you…Are you trying to get me and Sunset together?”

Anne shrugged. “Guess I’m a sucker for a love story. Plus, I think you guys would look cute together.”

“She’s still way older than me…I’m just a kid as far as she’s concerned.”

“So? It’s not like you’re asking her to do…that kind of stuff. You’re just trying to ask her out,” Anne explained. “Better to try and fail than to never try at all, dude.”

Luz wrapped her right arm over her stomach and held onto her left arm as she thought about Anne’s words. “I don’t know…”

Anne sighed and shrugged. “Luz, c’mon, why not?”

“I…I had a bad experience, alright,” Luz confessed.

Anne blinked. “Wait, what do you mean, ‘bad experience’? What happened.”

“S-Sorry, can we just…just drop it for now. Let’s go and see if Sunset needs any help!”

Before Anne could inquire further, Luz headed down the stairs and disappeared into the other room. The Thai teen rubbed the back of her head as she sighed heavily.

“Guess there’s some baggage there…”

After getting a quick bite, Sunset, Luz, and Anne headed to Canterlot High School. Sunset pulled up and parked the car next to the sidewalk as all three of them got out of the car. Luz and Anne gawked at the school, jaws practically dropping to the ground. The school was about three stories high, at the center was a rotunda that was made of concrete, and diamond shaped glass panes that were made of different blue hues. At the top of the rotunda was a castle-like clocktower, with a flagpole at the very top and the school’s banner flapping in the wind. On the roof, at each corner was a gold-colored horse head statue, and the edges of the roof retained the castle-like appearance as the clocktower. To the left of the school building was the soccer field, and further beyond that the football field. The front yard of the school had a gold-colored horseshoe statue that was set to the center right of the yard, and at the very center of the yard was a marble pedestal that was damaged. There were signs of a bigger statue being there, as Luz and Anne could spot a pair of – what looked like – horse legs that were blown off.

“Wow…dang, Sunset, your school is nice!” Luz exclaimed.

“Seriously, it blows SJMS out of the water,” Anne added in awe.

Sunset chuckled as she replied, “If you think CHS looks good, you should see Crystal Prep. I haven’t been, but they’re a high dollar private school, I can only imagine what it looks like inside.”

“What used to be there?” Anne asked as she pointed at the pedestal.

“Well, the Wondercolt statue used to be there. But when Twilight was overwhelmed by Equestrian magic and became Midnight Sparkle. She kind of went on a rampage and blasted the statue to pieces.” Sunset let out a little laugh. “Heh, she even tore holes in space-time and nearly collapsed both of our universes.”

Luz and Anne blinked. The way Sunset said that so nonchalantly was almost worrying.

Sunset noticed the looks the girls were giving her and quickly added, “B-B-But she’s not like that anymore! I managed to use the magic that my friends and I had and managed to save her. I repaired the space-time holes, and thankfully the portal still works.”

“And this was before you became a Kamen Rider, right?” Anne inquired.

Sunset nodded.

“Wow.”

Sunset grinned, but then walked towards the pedestal where the Wondercolt statue used to be. The former unicorn mare stood about a few inches away from the statue and pressed her hand against its cool surface. And as she expected, there was nothing.

“Sorry, girls, another dead end,” Sunset informed.

“You sure?” Luz asked.

“Yeah, if it was active, the surface would ripple, and my hand would slip through it. But there’s no reaction.” Sunset removed her hand and sighed in disappointment. “Well, that was my best shot at getting us out of here. And with my memories still fragmented, if there is another possible way out, I can’t remember it.”

“Well, we tried,” said Luz. “At least we have a place that we can stay. I mean, we could probably just break into any of the houses here and stay there, but you know what I mean.”

“Got a criminal mindset there, don’cha?” Anne teased.

“It’s not criminal since this world’s a copy, and not the original,” Luz rebutted.

“Guess that’s that. C’mon, we’ll at least make it fun. We’ll turn into a slumber party,” Sunset suggested.

“Oh, yes! Then we need to stock up on a few things! I learned all about how to throw slumber parties from Sasha.”

Sunset crossed her arms as she smirked. “Alright, Anne, why don’t you show us.”

“Wow…my…my first real sleepover,” said Luz under her breath, making sure her new friends didn’t hear how sad that sounded.

As the trio made their way back to the car, the wind started to pick up. It was steady at first, but now it was starting to get stronger and stronger. Anne had to push down on her skirt to keep the thing from flapping up and flashing her friends.

“Yeah, I like skirts, but pants are definitely more convenient for situations like this,” Sunset commented.

“Agreed, although I’m more of a pants and shorts girl myself, but I’ll wear a dress for a special occasion,” Luz replied.

“It’s my school’s uniform! I don’t exactly have a say in it! Dang it, why did I have to get transported to his freaky place in these clothes instead of my regular ones?!” Anne complained.

The wind started to get stronger and stronger until it became a blustering whirlwind. Anne, Luz, and Sunset tensed their bodies as they felt the wind push against them, like it was trying to throw them.

“GET TO THE CAR!” Sunset yelled.

That was easier said than done as the wind became violent, buffeting the girls with small debris that it picked up. That’s when Sunset glanced over her shoulder, her eyes widening as she beheld a green tornado heading straight towards them. Dust and debris were kicked as the turbulent winds spun, mixing with the green tinted winds. The tornado came crashing down into the school, smashing through the center of Canterlot High School, and tore apart the brick and mortar as it appeared to head straight towards them.

“SUNSET, PLEASE TELL ME TORNADOS IN YOUR WORLD ARE GREEN COLORED!” Anne yelled.

“NO! THIS IS DEFINITELY NOT NORMAL!” Sunset replied.

“HEY, I THINK I SEE SOMETHING INSIDE OF IT!” Luz shouted as she pointed at the tornado.

Sunset squinted her eyes, and indeed, Luz was right. At the center of the tornado, Sunset could spot a humanoid figure, amongst the debris and green tinted wind, she could spot two glowing objects where the head was.

“LUZ, ANNE, GET BEHIND THE CAR! IT’S A DOPANT!” Sunset ordered.

Luz and Anne pushed through the winds as they did their best to reach the car. Meanwhile, Sunset pulled out the Uni-Driver and placed it at her waist. The device immediately shot out its straps and wrapped around her waist, connecting back to the other side of the Uni-Driver. Once it was on, Sunset reached into her jacket, took out the Unicorn Memory, and pressed the button on its side.

< UNICORN! >

“HENSHIN!”

UNICORN! <

Sunset inserted the Gaia Memory into the slot and pressed down to connect it to the Driver. A sphere of energy surrounded Sunset, bombarding her with turquoise lightning as her armor materialized and transformed her into Kamen Rider Unicorn. Once she had transformed, the tornado started to die down, allowing the Dopant inside to float out of it and land on the ground as the tornado completely disappeared.

The Dopant had a more humanoid appearance than the Fang Dopant. Its body was made up of green and silver exoskeletal armor, and a kind of black colored skin underneath it. The creature’s body was half and half. The right side of the monster’s chest was covered in more silver exoskeletal armor, with a pauldron that possessed a gold stripe that ran around its right bracer. The left half had more of the green exoskeleton, with part of the armor appearing thicker and wrapping around to cover the left pectoral, shoulder, and wrapping around to the middle of the back. The Dopant’s face had more of the armor covering it like a helmet. The right half of its head had a larger, compound eye, while its black, fanged face had a smaller yellow eye.

“Don’t suppose you’re going to tell me why I’m here?” Unicorn asked.

“Kill…Unicorn…!”

“Yeah, that’s the response I thought I’d get.”

Unicorn dug her heels into the ground and dashed towards the Dopant. She cocked back her right fist and threw a punch at the monster, to which the monster responded by raising its left arm to block. The Dopant managed to deflect the punch and was about to counter, but Unicorn was quicker as she struck with a left hook to the Dopant’s right side, causing sparks to fly from the impact. The wind generating monsters snarled and as it raised its left hand and came down with a slash, using its wind powers to create a cutting force that slashed Unicorn across her chest. More spark littered the air as they were released from Unicorn’s armor, but Unicorn was not deterred as he began throwing a series of punches at the monster, forcing it to block. Some of the blows landed, while the Dopant got a few in on her.

Their exchange ended when Unicorn tried to punch the Dopant again, but a wall of wind appeared between them and blasted Unicorn away, causing her to go airborne for a few seconds. Unicorn’s crystal horn glowed as her turquoise aura wrapped around her body. Before she could hit the ground, Unicorn used her magic to stabilize herself, and float in the air in a form of self-levitation. Once stable, she brought both of her hands together, and thrusted them out in front of her. A sphere of turquoise light formed before shooting from Unicorn’s hands.

The Dopant summoned forth its green tinted winds and used them to alter the course of the incoming projectiles, throwing it off to the side where it exploded a moment later. Unicorn landed on the ground, but then ran in a circular pattern around the Dopant as she continued to fire more mana blasts at the monster. The Cyclone Dopant formed a barrier of turbulent wind around itself, keeping the energy blasts from reaching it by throwing them off course. Some of the blasts hit the school, others hit the soccer field, the street, and one came dangerously close to the car where Anne and Luz were taking cover.

Damn it! Unicorn thought as she paused and stopped firing. If I keep shooting I’ll end up hitting the girls!

The Cyclone Dopant glanced at the two girls hiding behind the car and decided to turn its attention to them.

“NO!”

The Cyclone Dopant focused its wind power and launched wind blades at the car. Unicorn teleported to the car, putting herself between the attack and the car itself. The crystal horn glowed as Unicorn formed a barrier around herself and the car. The wind blades struck the barrier, slamming against it with great force and making Unicorn grunt from maintaining the shield.

“Guess I shouldn’t expect a monster to play fair!” Unicorn criticized. “You guys okay?!”

“For now, yeah!” Anne replied.

“Good, keep your heads down!”

Unicorn narrowed her gaze at the Cyclone Dopant, and that’s when an idea formed in her head. The magical hero swiped her right hand through the air as she formed five spheres of magical energy. With another swipe of her hand, Unicorn launched all five of them at the Cyclone Dopant. Instead of having them hit the Dopant directly, Unicorn gave them a command to strike the ground in front of the Cyclone Dopant. All five spheres hit, and five explosions erupted in front of the Dopant, kicking up a dust cloud that obscured its view of Unicorn and the girls. There was a flash of turquoise that the Cyclone Dopant saw through the dust cloud, making it swipe its hands and generate a whirlwind that blew the smoke away. When it was clear, Unicorn was gone.

“Looking for someone?!”

As the Cyclone Dopant turned its head in the direction of the voice, Unicorn came in with a roundhouse kick to the side of the monster’s head. The Cyclone Dopant was sent flying in another direction. As it flailed through the air, the monster managed to use its command of the wind to stop its momentum and reorientate itself. When it looked to see where Unicorn was, she was gone. A flash of turquoise light went off to its right, and Unicorn appeared again. She punched the monster in the face and teleported again, appearing in front of the Cyclone Dopant before hitting it in the gut with a knee strike.

Unicorn teleported again and reappeared above the monster and readied to hit the monster’s head with an ax kick. However, before Unicorn could land her blow, the Cyclone Dopant’s eyes glowed and created a rotating spherical barrier of wind. The moment that Unicorn’s kick landed, the winds took her and threw her like a ragdoll towards the CHS building. The former pony crashed through several walls before exiting through the last one and onto the soccer field.

“Ow…”

Unicorn managed to get up and teleported back to where the Cyclone Dopant was. When she arrived, she saw the Dopant was still in its barrier. Apparently it wasn’t about to take any chances with Unicorn’s teleporting power, and so took precautions to keep the hero from getting that close again.

“Great, how am I going to–?”

“SUNSET!” Luz yelled.

Unicorn glanced over her shoulder as she saw Luz waving her arms to flag her down.

“USE THAT OTHER THING! THE MEMORY THAT YOU GOT FROM THAT RAPTOR!”

“The Fang Memory? Wait a minute.” Unicorn looked at her left hand, and when she did, the Fang Memory materialized into it. “Luz did say I might be able to use it like a power up or something. If the right port lets me use my finishing attacks…then I guess the left one is for utilizing other Gaia Memories?”

Unicorn returned her gaze to the Cyclone Dopant and tightened her grip around the Fang Memory.

“Better something than nothing! Let’s do it!” Unicorn shouted as she pressed the button on the Gaia Memory and inserted it into the left hip port.

< FANG! >

{< FANG! MIMETIC DRIVE! >}

Suddenly, the Fang symbol appeared behind Sunset. The symbol disappeared and the energy wrapped around Unicorn’s body. The pauldrons of her suit became curved and sharp, the tips of the fingers gaining sharp claws. The heels of her feet grew two long, curved spikes, while her arms grew segmented plates, along with the legs. Finally, Unicorn’s crystal, metal wrapped horn grew a couple of inches and curved like a katana blade. Parts of the suit were colored white, just like the Fang Dopant, but mixed with Unicorn’s colors as well.

Luz and Anne’s eyes widened as they gasped in awe. The Latina quickly grabbed Anne’s shoulders and began shaking her in excitement as she repeated, “FORM CHANGE! FORM CHANGE! SUNSET JUST DID A FORM CHANGE!”

Unicorn let out a primal growl as she widened her stance and held out her hands in a clawed manner. The eyes of her helmet flashed as the sunlight gleamed off the sharp edges of her armor.

“Unicorn: Fang Edge!”

The Cyclone Dopant seemed to flinch when it saw the transformation, and then launched more wind blades at Unicorn. The magical hero crouched low, practically on all fours as she dashed straight ahead with greater speed than she had before. As the wind blades approached, Unicorn pressed down on the left hip port once.

\ ARM FANG! /

Unicorn held out both of her arms as two curved blades formed from her wrists. As soon as the wind blades neared, Unicorn slashed with her Arm Fangs. Two cyan blades of energy were released as soon as she slashed, hitting the incoming wind blades. The crescents grinded against each other as sparks danced in the air, but a few seconds after making contact, the cyan crescents cut through the wind blades, forcing them to break apart and disperse back into the air.

The Cyclone Dopant was shocked by this result and began launching more and more wind blades at its enemy. Unicorn retaliated with her own slashing attacks, using the power of the Fang Memory to counter the wind blades as she cut them down and dispersed them. Not only that, but the increased attack power and speed allowed her to weave around the ones she wasn’t able to slash. The Cyclone Dopant let out a distressed noise as it waved its hands around and released a bellowing column of green tinted wind towards Unicorn. Upon seeing the incoming attack, Unicorn pressed on the left hip port twice.

\ LEG FANG! //

The two blades on Unicorn’s wrists disappeared, and when they did, crescent blades formed from the ankles on the right and left leg. Unicorn flipped into the air and came down with a diagonal, slashing kick that sent a bigger crescent energy blade towards the incoming column of twisting wind. The wind tore up the ground, while the cyan energy blade formed a gash in the earth as it traveled. The two attacks met in the middle, creating a horrible screeching noise as they fought for supremacy. Unicorn used her self-levitation spell to spin herself around in midair as she slashed with the other leg, sending a second crescent flying towards the wind column. The two crescents merged, forming a large “X” that managed to push through the column of wind. The green tinted wind blast was quickly dispersed, cutting a path forward as Unicorn followed behind it.

The Cyclone Dopant realized that it couldn’t stop the attack, so it canceled the attack and quickly ascended into the air as the “X” shaped cutting attack hit the school behind it, slicing through several layers of concrete and metal before finally fizzling out halfway through. The wind monster thought it was safe, but that’s when a flash of turquoise went off overhead. At that moment, Unicorn pressed down three times on the left hip port.

\\ HORN FANG! ///

The two ankle blades disappeared as Unicorn’s horn elongated and became a curved blade. Unicorn flipped around, and as she descended towards the monster. Unicorn reared her head back and brought it down. The Horn Fang glowed, creating a longer construct energy blade that managed to slice right through the wind barrier that protected the Cyclone Dopant, and thanks to that, the monster was exposed. Unicorn didn’t waste any time as she used her clawed fingertips to slash at the monster’s chest, throwing sparks into the air with each successive hit. The magical hero brought both of her hands together and fired another mana blast, hitting the Cyclone Dopant right in the chest. An explosion erupted, sending the creature hurdling straight to the ground. However, before the Cyclone Dopant could hit the ground, its eyes began to glow. A powerful gust of wind erupted around the monster which managed to keep it from crashing, but it didn’t stop there. Unicorn teleported back to the ground and watched as the Cyclone Dopant started to create the green tornado once again.

“So, you’re going all out? Alright, then I’ll do the same! It’s time to restore harmony!”

Unicorn pressed on the left hip port four times.

\\ ALL FANG! ////

The horn fang remained as the arm fangs and legs fangs appeared yet again. Unicorn took out the Fang Memory, inserted it into the right hip port, and pressed the button.

} FANG! MAXIMUM DRIVE! {<

All five blades on Unicorn’s armor glowed bright cyan. An aura of cyan and turquoise began to glow around the Rider as streaks of cyan and turquoise appeared and disappeared around her. The Cyclone Dopant’s tornado rapidly grew and was threatening to engulf everything if Unicorn didn’t stop it.

“FANG RAZE!!!”

The streaks of light began to appear and disappear more rapidly as Unicorn dashed straight for the tornado. The magical warrior aimed directly for the center as she jumped and transformed into a beam of dual light that pierced into the tornado. For a moment, Luz and Anne wondered if Sunset was okay, as nothing happened. But that’s when the tornado began to shine with turquoise and cyan light. The green tornado was starting to wobble back and forth, becoming unstable. The center also started to bloat, becoming bigger and bigger like a bubble was forming inside of the tornado. That’s when blades of turquoise and cyan slashed through the entire tornado before it burst apart. Unicorn landed on the ground as the Cyclone Dopant remained stationary behind her. Eight blades of light slashed through the monster at once before the Cyclone Dopant exploded in midair.

“So cool…” Luz and Anne gasped.

The Cyclone Dopant hit the ground a few feet behind Unicorn. The magical hero walked to the monster, still ready to fight should it rise again. However, when she approached, the Cyclone Dopant glowed and disappeared, leaving behind the Cyclone Gaia Memory. Unicorn bent down and picked up the new Gaia Memory, she recognized it for sure, just touching it felt familiar. After acquiring the Cyclone Memory, Unicorn teleported back to the car, and once there, she disengaged her transformation and returned to civilian form.

“Whew…you guys okay?” Sunset asked.

“Yeah, we’re good,” Anne confirmed.

“I knew it! You can power yourself up with other Gaia Memories!” Luz exclaimed.

Sunset smiled and ruffled Luz’s hair. “Thanks for that, by the way. It didn’t even cross my mind until you said something.”

Luz blushed and rubbed the back of her head bashfully. “W-Well, y-you know. My nerd knowledge has to come in handy at some point, right?”

“That’s for sure,” said Anne. “Hey, did you remember anything when you got it?”

Sunset looked at the Cyclone Memory again, and sadly shook her head. “Nah, nothing. I can’t feel anything. But I do feel like I’ve used this before. Well, anyway, let’s head back home. We have a slumber party to plan.”

“Yeah, let’s call off the party,” said Anne.

“After all that, you’re probably beat, right?” Luz asked.

“Won’t lie, I kinda am. But to be honest, I need a slumber party. After two back-to-back disappointments, I need to have some fun. So, let’s go raid the closest grocery store and live it up tonight!” Sunset declared.

Luz and Anne smiled and cheered as one, “YEAH!”

(Nighttime)

Night had fallen and yet another day had passed. Not only had they raided a grocery store, but they also raided a clothing store for some sleep wear. Apparently, while the journal wasn’t there, her clothes were, so only Anne and Luz needed some sleep wear. The girls took turns showering while Sunset threw their clothes into the wash to get the grime and dirt from the last three days off. Thankfully, Anne also managed to grab some new clothes that wasn’t a school uniform. After they got washed up and got everything ready, the girls gathered around Sunset’s couch, with the table filled with various snacks and drinks.

“Think you guy’s got it?” Anne asked.

“I think so,” said Luz.

“Heh-heh, lets do it,” Sunet confirmed.

All three girls glanced between each other and then chanted as one, “Pajamas, junk food, and gossip galore! Pillow fights, movies, and tearing up the dance floor! And listen up, ‘cause this I won’t repeat! Never ever go to sleep!”

At the same time, Anne, Sunset, and Luz laughed once the chant was over.

“Heh, thanks you guys. Sorry if it was a little cheesy,” said Anne.

“Please, after being to a few Pinkie Pie parties, you grow to appreciate cheesiness.”

“And I’m all about the cheese, so, no complaints here!” Luz replied.

Anne smiled at how understanding Luz and Sunset were. The Thai teen swirled her can of soda around and sighed. “I wonder if my parents are freaking out by now…?”

“Well, I guess I have that much going for me. My mom thinks I should be at that camp by now. She probably won’t start noticing something’s wrong until after the camp is over,” said Luz.

“I know my friends are probably freaking out, and so is Principal Celestia. She’s kind of been like a mom to me since I came here. Ironic considering that Princess Celestia, my old mentor, wasn’t just my mentor, but also like a mom.” Sunset took a swig of her soda and sighed. “Guess that’s why it stung a little more when she wouldn’t let me become an alicorn like her. All for the best, in the end. I was so arrogant that I’d probably end up blowing up Equestria.”

“Yeesh. Hey, Sunset, can I ask a favor?” Anne inquired.

“What’s up?”

“Can I see one of those Gaia Memory things?”

Sunset looked at Luz who shrugged. The flame-haired teen took out her Unicorn Memory and carefully handed it over to Anne. The Thai teen examined the Gaia Memory for a minute, which caused Luz and Sunset to wonder what was going through Anne’s head.

“Everything okay, Anne?” Luz asked.

“…This is going to sound weird, but…I feel like I’ve seen this before,” said Anne.

“Wait, what?!” Sunset exclaimed. “You’ve seen a Gaia Memory before?”

“It’s hard to describe. But…I feel like I have, but…I dunno…Ugh! This whole missing-memories-thing is the pits,” Anne stated as she returned the Unicorn Memory to Sunset.

“Agreed,” Luz and Sunset proclaimed in unison.

“But that’s probably a good thing, right?” Luz pointed out.

“How?” Sunset asked.

“Maybe there’s another connection we don’t see. The universes that we come from have Gaia Memories?” Luz theorized.

“It’s about as good a theory as anything else right now. Oh, and sorry I can’t provide any more entertainment than just movies and some non-online games. Considering we’re…somewhere…no internet,” Sunset apologized.

“Well, like you said, we have movies. Aaaand…” Anne glanced about the room as her eyes landed on the guitar. “Hey, you said you can rock. Why don’t you show us?”

“Heh, you really want to hear me play?” Sunset questioned.

“Yeah! Please!” Luz exclaimed eagerly.

“Okay, okay. Hmm, well, since there’s no one around us, guess I don’t have to worry about disturbing the neighbors.” Sunset picked up one of her guitars and hooked it up to the amp. “Alright girls, today’s been crazy, and so has this whole thing. So, let’s forget about it for now and just have fun!”

“YEAH!”

Sunset began strumming her guitar as she played one of the songs she composed with the other Rainbooms. Luz and Anne danced as they listened to Sunset’s ballad, and how well she sang. The girls continued to party like this, drinking their sodas, snacking, playing what video games they could. Sunset even put on a few movies that she had collected, and Luz and Anne found them interesting, almost like parodies of the ones they were familiar with, but still fun to watch either way. The night dragged on, and eventually, Sunset knocked out on the couch with Anne and Luz sitting in front of the couch as their older teen protector laid sprawled out.

“I figured she’d be out first,” said Anne.

“Well, she is doing all the fighting. I feel bad that we can’t do anything to help out,” said Luz as she watched the movie.

“I know how you feel. I want to help her and not be a burden, but there’s no way either of us can fight those Dopants. We’re not Kamen Riders like Sunset, we’d only get in her way,” Anne explained.

“True…”

The girls sat in silence for a while longer before Anne asked, “So…totally cool and all if you don’t want to tell me…but…what did you mean earlier about having a ‘bad experience’?”

Luz’s expression fell.

“Hey-Hey, like I said, you don’t have to tell me. I just thought…maybe I could help you? Or maybe me and Sunset can help you?” Anne offered.

Luz didn’t know why, honestly she hadn’t even told her mother about it. But for some reason, Luz felt like she could trust Anne. She really did feel comfortable around her, and she was easy to talk to.

“…I knew I liked girls and boys, it took me a little while, but I finally came to realize that I’m bi. Although, when you’re considered the ‘weird girl’ in school, being known as the ‘gay weird girl’ doesn’t exactly help. There was one girl that I thought…maybe…was the same way. Her name was Zoey, and she’s the captain of the cheerleaders. And, ahem, she’s cute.”

“Mmm-hmm,” Anne hummed.

“One day, I worked up the courage to tell her how I felt…and she laughed,” Luz confessed.

“What? She laughed?” Anne questioned with an incredulous tone creeping up.

“She pretty much threatened to out me to the entire class, that’s if I didn’t become her gofer for a while,” Luz explained.

“WHAT?!!” Anne shouted.

“SHH!” Luz hissed as she threw a thumb at the still sleeping Sunset.

Anne put her hands over her mouth and paused to see if Sunset would stir, but she didn’t. “Dude, that’s messed up! She really blackmailed you like that?!”

“Yeah…But she did keep her word, and eventually let me off. After that, though, I decided to just keep how I feel to myself. I guess you could say I’m afraid of getting hurt again like that,” Luz explained.

“You don’t think Sunset’s like that, do you?” Anne asked.

“No, and I don’t want to believe she is. She’s already gone this far to protect us, and still is protecting us. I just…I just don’t want to be hurt like that again.” Luz released a nervous chuckle as she rubbed her arm. “I’m sorry, I must sound like such a coward…”

Anne furrowed her brow, reached out with her right arm, and wrapped it around Luz as she pulled the Latina in a hug.

“A-Anne…?”

“You’re not a coward, you just went through something bad and had no one to help you through it. I’m sorry,” said Anne.

“A-Anne, it’s okay. It’s not like we even knew each other, and if we are from the same universe, then you’re all the way in California,” Luz reasoned.

“I’m still sorry that that happened. You didn’t deserve that. I promise, if we are from the same universe, we’re getting in contact with each other. I’m not letting you be alone anymore,” Anne promised.

Luz felt her heart swell as she leaned against Anne and let a few tears fall. “Thanks, Anne…”

“Tch…Another Dopant destroyed, and she hasn’t even fought that one,” the mysterious figure complained. “Guess I need to up the ante a little bit.”

The mysterious figure held a pink Gaia Memory in their hand and pressed the button on the side.

< QUEEN! >

That same figure tossed the Queen Memory into the air before thrusting their right hand forward. A beam of energy shot forth from their hand and struck the Gaia Memory. Within seconds a pink silhouette formed as purple eyes stared back at them.

“And this time, you won’t be alone.”