RIDER TIME old chapters repost, part 2 · 9:37am Mar 16th, 2021
Chapter 1: The Stray Kamen Rider
The sun shone through the window of the room Tom had taken residence in. He had gone through quite a lot the past night, and he wanted to sleep...that is, if the castle's owner didn't have other plans.
"Morning, Tom! Are you getting up?" Twilight asked.
"mmrgh...5 more minutes..." Tom mumbled, still half asleep.
Twilight wasn't giving up. This was a chance to learn more about Tom and the Kamen Riders. Taking a deep breath...
"HEY! RISE AND SHINE!" She yelled as loudly as she could.
"Gah!" Tom jumped, as he landed on the floor. "Ugh...well that's one way to get out of bed, I suppose.
Twilight opened the door. "We've got a lot to do today you know, so there's no time to just lay in bed!"
"Mmmhhh...alright, alright." Tom got up. Thankfully he was still wearing his clothes from last night, minus the shoes.
The excited bookworm pony and the still sleepy human made their way to the table from yesterday, where Spike and another pony sat. While Spike was happy to see the human, the other pony...
"Twilight, who-and what- is THAT!?" The unfamiliar pony cried out.
"Oh right...I forgot about that. Starlight, this is Tom, from the World of Riders. And Tom, this is Starlight Glimmer, my Friendship Student." Twilight said to them.
"Pleased to meet you." Tom said gently.
"UH...yeah...same here..." Starlight said nervously. "Twilight, can I talk to you over there for a second?"
"Okay-" She was cut off as Starlight yanked her to a private corner.
"Are you crazy!?" Starlight whispered. "He's an alien species! For all we know he could be an invader!"
Twilight rolled her eyes, having been through all of this with Applejack last night. "He's not an invader, Starlight. He hasn't done anything except answer my questions and sleep so far. Plus..."
"Plus what?" Starlight asked, raising an eyebrow slightly. "Is this something to do with that weird old book you got?"
"I know it sounds crazy, but he's from that world! A Kamen Rider, in the flesh!" Twilight whispered back.
"I'll believe it when I see it!" Starlight replied. The two rejoined the table.
"So, Tom...based on what I know, Riders usually have a thing called a Driver, right?" Twilight asked.
"Yeah, every Rider has one. They're either family heirlooms or generated from a new power if it appears." Tom answered.
"Do you have one? Can we see it?" Twilight asked, almost beggingly.
"Well, alright, but I need it back after you've had a look." Tom stood up and flicked across the space in front of his waist and a strange belt appeared.
"SPACETIME DRIVER!" The belt shouted.
"I-it talks! His belt TALKS!" Starlight panicked.
"Most Drivers have some sort of voice. Some are...weirder than others." Tom said, remembering how silly some of the other Riders' Drivers got.
"Amazing! And those Drivers let you...Heen-shin?" Twilight asked, despite butchering the last word.
"It's pronounced Henshin, and yeah, I can transform with this, and my RideWatch."
Tom focused again and the RideWatch appeared in his hand.
"That's the watch from yesterday right? Do all Riders use Watches like that?" Twilight inquired, with nearly childlike excitement.
"It's just me, actually- most Riders have an external device to use with the Driver, mine just happen to be Watches. There's a lot of other types." Tom explained.
"Oh? Do you know about them?" Twilight really wanted to know.
"A little...mostly from Rider History class, but I can remember some of it."
Tom spent a few minutes explaining how the Rider Powers he remembered worked, and listed as many of the unique Rider Powers he could think of. Twilight was fascinated by all the different sources Kamen Riders could draw power from, while Spike was listening intently, and Starlight rolled her eyes a bit or even chuckled at the more bizarre sounding powers.
"Pffft, so this Gaim guy got his powers from...oranges!? Bahahaha! That's so weird!" Starlight laughed.
"He was also strong enough to tear holes in space, so don't knock it." Tom bluntly replied.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry...this all sounds so weird though!" Starlight said, calming down a bit. "I mean, magic gems and devices based on a planet's memories are one thing, but sticking a piece of fruit on a belt buckle? That's ridiculous!" Starlight laughed still, despite Tom's growing irritation at the mare making fun of his world's heritage.
"Starlight, you're being really rude! I'm sorry Tom, she's still learning." Twilight apologized.
"Eh, I'm used to this sort of thing..." He said before realizing he said too much.
"Used to it?" Twilight asked with concern.
"...I don't want to talk about it. But yes, Gaim drew his power from a specific fruit that turned into what we called a Lockseed."
Just then, Applejack came in, both looking for Twilight and glaring daggers at Tom.
"Applejack? What's wrong?" Twilight asked.
"It's Rainbow Dash...she's acting mighty peculiar today."
"Let me guess, bragging about some new stunt or something?" Twilight asked flatly.
"Oh she's braggin' alright, but not about what you think. It'd be faster if you saw yerself."
"Alright...Tom, you stay with Spike and Starlight, I'll be right back." She said as her farmer friend dragged her out.
"Okay...is that normal?" Tom asked.
"Normal is a relative term when it comes to Ponyville, buddy." Spike replied.
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In the middle of town, a lab-coat wearing Rainbow Dash was drawing what looked like a complex equation on a chalkboard...and pretty much any other surface she could find.
"But let's see....divide here...carry the seven...bah! That wouldn't work!" She spat.
"Rainbow? Are you alright?" Twilight approached.
"Oh, Twilight! Just the pony I wanted to see!" She beamed as she pulled the lavender alicorn to her work.
"Uh...what is all this...?" Twilight asked.
"I don't know what happened, but right now I've got knowledge bursting from the seams! I may have discovered cold fusion!"
Twilight and Applejack both looked at each other, confused and concerned. Rainbow Dash was never one for studying, much less complex physical equations.
"Rainbow? Are you...feeling alright?"
At that, a bit of Rainbow's mane stuck up again.
"That's it!" She ran off towards the other end of town, leaving her chalk drawings everywhere...
Twilight took a moment to process what just happened. "Oooookay...that was definitely not typical Rainbow Dash behavior."
"We gotta follow her! She's not right in the head right now!" Applejack yelled as they both took off after their altered friend.
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"There's a Rider nearby!" Tom suddenly shouted, startling Starlight.
"How do you know that?" Starlight asked with notable skepticism.
Tom held up his RideWatch.
"Riders always know where the others are." He said, turning the ring on the watch.
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Rainbow staggered around the street, clutching her head in pain.
"Urgh... y equals mx plus b... my head hurts..." She muttered.
"Rainbow Dash! What's wrong with you?"
"Twilight...Applejack...it hurts...my head is...AAAAGH!" Rainbow screamed as a dark mist overwhelmed her body.
"RAINBOW!!" Her two friends cried out.
"It's no use. She's not Rainbow Dash anymore." A voice rang from somewhere.
"What? Get out here ya coward!" Applejack barked.
At that, a figure clad in red and black armor jumped down in front of them. He had a belt that strongly resembled Tom's.
"AS I said, it's no use. She's Another Rider Build now." The figure said. "And right now, you two are going to make nice experimental subjects for her."
The dark mist ceased, revealing a freakish red-and-blue humanoid.
"Me...Build!" The transformed pegasus proclaimed. She then pointed at Applejack.
"You...Applejack...BEST MATCH!" She ran at Applejack and hugged her tightly.
"R-rainbow! Get a hold of yerself! This ain't you!" Applejack wheezed.
Twilight turned back to the other armored figure. "Did you do this to her!? Change her back-now!"
The figure wagged his finger at Twilight arrogantly. "No, I don't think so. This is what you damn ponies deserve anyway- after what you did to my world!" The figure held his hand out.
"SPACETIME AXE!" A hand axe-like weapon appeared in his hand, and he began swinging it at the frightened Twilight.
"What? Who are you!?" Twilight asked in fear.
At that point, a gun sound rang out and the aggressive armored figure staggered back in pain. Twilight looked behind her and saw Tom, Spike and Starlight standing there, Tom holding a gun-like weapon.
"What do you think you're doing!?" Tom yelled at the figure. "Is this your idea of how Kamen Riders are supposed to act!?"
The armed figure slouched a bit. "You're a fine one to talk- you must know what these ponies did to our world!" Upon hearing this, all the ponies gazed at Tom and the other figure.
"Even if the ones who destroyed the World of Riders came from here, that doesn't mean these ponies have anything to do with it! Don't take the problem out on them!" Tom yelled. "If you're gonna drag the name of Kamen Rider through the mud for a revenge scheme..."
Tom summoned his Driver and RideWatch.
"...then I'll be the Kamen Rider who protects them from you!" He pressed the button on his Watch.
"ZI-O!" The watch cried as Tom inserted it into one of the slots on his belt. A large clock-like projection appeared behind him, with the arms of the clock following Tom's arms. He struck a pose...
"HENSHIN!" Tom yelled and span the Driver around, which triggered his transformation.
"RIDER TIME!" In mere moments, Tom was clad in a silver armor, with a magenta "visor" covering his face. "KAMEN RIDER ZI-O!" The Driver sang.
"So...even now, you'd protect them...you're just another bleeding heart!" The red figure yelled, jumping onto a nearby building.
"TIME MAZIN!" A voice rang out as a red and black vehicle appeared behind the red figure.
"Remember this, Zi-O! So long as you try to protect them, I'll be coming back, again and again! I will have revenge!" The figure jumped into the vehicle, and it flew off and vanished.
Tom looked at the spot where the other figure was. "Revenge...is that really what you want?" His thought was cut off however, as Another Build let out a roar.
'Damn it, I've got to save her first!' Tom thought and ran at Another Build, knocking it away from Applejack with a kick. Applejack fell to the floor, gasping for breath. Tom held his hand out to her.
"Hey, are you alright?" He asked, concerned for the farmer.
"...why are ya helpin' me?" She asked, remembering how hostile she was towards him when they met.
"Because, that's what a Kamen Rider does!" He helped Applejack to stand up. "We're the ones who protect the smiles of our world!"
Applejack's face glowed red...but she ran to rejoin her other friends, as Tom took a fighting stance against Another Build.
"Hey! Can you hear me in there? You need to stop the watch! It's turned you into a monster!" Tom yelled.
"Not...monster...am...BUILD!" The monstrous knockoff Rider roared.
"...I see." Tom turned to Twilight and the others. "Listen to me, guys. The only way I can save your friend is to defeat the monster she turned into."
Twilight looked alarmed. "D-d-defeat her? But..."
"Don't worry. I'll save her, I promise." Tom said.
Twilight gazed at the friendly Rider..."I'm counting on you!"
Another Build let out a growl and lunged at Zi-O. Zi-O grappled with the corrupted Rider, managing to get her off him. At that moment, he had the perfect moment to strike.
"EDGE OF TIME!" A voice called out as Zi-O now held a sword-like weapon.
He pushed the button on his RideWatch. "FINISH TIME!"
"I'll release you from your fate!" Zi-O yelled out, and slashed across the monster's chest, the monster sparking before it exploded, reverting into an unconscious Rainbow Dash and the Build RideWatch, covered in a dark aura.
The other ponies ran over to their downed friend. Twilight placed two fingers on her neck, she was thankfully still alive. "She's gonna be okay..." Twilight, Starlight and Applejack all turned to the silver Rider. "Zi-O...no, Tom...thank you so much!" They all hugged their new Rider friend.
"As I said, that's what a Kamen Rider does. But there's one thing left." Tom stated, walking over to the Build Watch. He pulled the Zi-O RideWatch off his belt and pointed it at the Build RideWatch.
"I am the heir to all Rider Powers, Zi-O! O hero of knowledge, the genius who forms the best match..." A beam shot out of the Watch, removing the evil surrounding it. Tom picked the Watch up, to see it now had Build's face on it.
"I'll carry your powers, hopes and burdens with me." He smiled gently at the watch.
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"Damn it! Damn it! DAMN IT!" The red rider swore, observing from within the Time Mazin. "Why did you have to show up here!? Why are you helping THEM!?" He slammed his fist against the side of the interior. "I thought giving the Build Powers to that meatheaded mare would generate an Another Rider with enough power to destroy them all...it looks like I have to get a little more creative..." He said, holding a red and silver RideWatch. "Now, who would be the exact opposite for Kabuto, I wonder..."
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Meanwhile, in a cottage near the untamed Everfree forest, a yellow pegasus wearing a green sweater and white skirt hovered over a group of animals, distributing food.
"There you go, everyone, lunch is served." The gentle pegasus said, going to sit down on a nearby chair. But then a chipmunk came running to her.
"Oh, what's wrong?" She asked the little critter. It made an unintelligible noise, but somehow she could understand it.
"Your home was damaged when something fell on it? Oh dear, well, let's go clean it up and we'll fix your house."
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END CHAPTER 1
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Chapter 2
"The Pegasus Who Walks The Path of Heaven"
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'Fighting monsters? That's easy. Fighting your own hormones? Not so much.' Tom thought to himself, still being hugged by three very attractive pony ladies.
"Ugh...I feel like I just crashed 10 times over..." Rainbow Dash muttered, having regained consciousness. The three girls and Tom, having powered down, glanced over at the recently rescued pegasus.
Dash blinked a few times as she tried to process both what happened and why her friends were all over a monkey. "Um...what exactly happened? And why do I feel like I want to punch a math textbook?"
"You're okay!" Twilight, Starlight and Applejack all detached themselves from Tom and latched onto Rainbow. Tom looked away for a minute, trying to hide the massive blush on his face. "Okay, seriously guys, what's going on!?" Rainbow yelled.
"I think I can explain." Tom spoke up, to Rainbow's shock. "D-did that monkey just talk?" She stammered. Tom rolled his eyes. 'This is going to be a recurring thing, isn't it?' He thought.
Tom started explaining about Kamen Riders, the World of Riders and why he was there to Rainbow. Rainbow tried to digest as much of it as she could, though some of it went over her head.
"So wait, you're saying that watch turned me into a messed up version of this Builder guy?" Rainbow asked.
"It's BUILD, and yeah, that seems to be what happened." Tom answered.
"But...why me? I'm not an egghead, and this Build guy sounds like the biggest egghead since Twilight!" Rainbow proclaimed, despite Twilight shooting her a slight glare. Then, Twilight had a thought.
"Maybe that's exactly why it happened. You have nothing in common with Build, and so the powers didn't work right for you." Twilight theorized.
"That and she didn't have a Driver either." Tom added. They all looked confused.
"...ah, right, I should explain." Tom resummoned his Driver. "Well, while objects like RideWatches can grant powers, a Driver is needed to control the affect, otherwise, well...you saw what happened."
"So wait...any pony who gets their hands on a RideWatch risks turning into one of those things!?" Starlight yelped. Tom nodded, knowing that this was far from over. "And that red guy, he seems to have something to do with all this!"
Tom sighed. "I know he's got powers of his own, so I'd have to fight him. I'm still trying to piece together why he's going this far." Starlight remembered the conversation between Zi-O and the red antagonist.
"Speaking of...you said that whatever destroyed your world came from this world, right? What do you mean?" Starlight asked, but Tom looked saddened.
"...I suppose I can tell you that." He sighed, obviously not wanting to revisit the memory.
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"Well, as was said, the World of Riders was protected by the Rider Powers, of which each had a group or family associated with it. In most cases, the Rider Powers and the current user of those powers would be able to fight any threats no problem... but something unexpected happened one day."
"That day, a large tear opened in the sky, and out of it came monsters, which we had never seen before. At the same time, all the Rider Powers mysteriously stopped working- we were defenseless against these things. They rampaged through our world, killing everyone they could- I'm the only one of the Decades that got away, and only because..." Tom looked at the floor, a tear dropping.
"It's okay, Tom. This must be really hard for you." Twilight patted the depressed Rider on the back. "We're all here for you, okay?"
Just then, Twilight had a thought. "Spike, take a letter- the princesses will want to know about this, I'm sure." Spike started writing on a piece of parchment he pulled from his pockets.
"Hmm..." Tom stared at the Build RideWatch he recovered. "If I'm right about this, I have Build's power now too." He stood up and pressed the button, but nothing happened. "Huh?" He pressed the button a few more times. "Come on...work!"
"I'm afraid that watch won't work for you right now, young man." An unfamiliar voice with a noticeable British accent called out to them.
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Meanwhile, Fluttershy had reached the nest of the chipmunks that was destroyed by a fallen object. She had been fixing it with them.
"There you go, little ones- good as new." She said, putting the finishing touches on the new nest. The chipmunk came back, carrying a red and silver watch, the same that destroyed the old nest when it fell.
"Oh? Is this what caused the problem? Looks like someone's watch- did they drop it? I should find its owner." She looked at it, but it was stopped. "Hmm, seems the watch has stopped." She pressed the button on it...
"KABUTO!"
Fluttershy's eyes glowed red and white briefly.
"...I remember what Nana said...I can do anything! For I am the pegasus who walks the path of heaven!" She suddenly proclaimed.
Unbeknownst to Fluttershy, the red and black figure from earlier was observing her from his Time Mazin...
"Fluttershy, huh? Should be fun seeing her break out of her shell." He said, a grin growing on his face.
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"What do you mean, it won't work?" Tom cried out, looking for the source of the voice.
"It's as I said- that watch is broken right now. But I can fix it." The source of the voice made itself known- it was a slightly older stallion wearing a casual suit and a long striped scarf.
"Oh, Time Turner." Starlight said, relieved. "When did you get back?"
"Oh, just today. I was visiting with an old friend of mine, you see- but never mind that, please let me see that watch." Tom was reluctant to hand it over, but Time Turner just smiled gently at him.
"Don't worry, I know how to handle these. They only pose a problem if you press the button on top without me fixing them." Time Turner reassured, but Tom was skeptical.
"How do you know about these?" Tom asked.
Time Turner smiled again. "Well, I have my sources. Plus I am the best clock maker around, so I know my way around a watch." Tom hesitated, but handed the RideWatch over.
"Fantastic. I'll have this back to you by tomorrow- keep an eye out for any more strays, however? It would be a dreadful mess if another poor pony became one of those awful Another Riders." Time Turner smiled again and began walking away.
Tom was still skeptical of the mysterious stallion. 'He knows WAY too much.'
After a bit of distance, Time Turner stopped and stared at the RideWatch.
'Kadoya-san, my old friend...you were right, he is a fine young man. He'll do you proud. And I promise I'll look out for him.'
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"So, what now?" Tom asked.
Twilight looked as though she just remembered something. "Omigosh, I was going to go see Fluttershy today! She knows about all sorts of animals, maybe she can give some insight into you, Tom!"
'Animals? Really?' Tom raised an eyebrow at Twilight.
"Oh, I mean no offense...but we just want her to have a look at you. Don't worry, she's one of the nicest ponies I know." Twilight smiled.
Tom sighed, but decided to indulge them. "Alright, you win. Lead the way."
"No offense, Twilight, but I'm gonna sit this one out- I think I need to go home and have a nice long nap." Rainbow added, most likely still hurting from the fight earlier.
"Oh, okay...Applejack, you mind helping Rainbow get back to her house? At least until the cloud part anyway."
"Sure thing, Twi..." Applejack said, though there was still something on her mind, as she helped her friend.
"So, we're a Best Match, huh Rainbow?" Applejack whispered teasingly. Rainbow's face suddenly turned bright red.
"Whaaaaa!?" Rainbow felt faint.
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Tom and his companions made their way to Fluttershy's cottage, though Tom felt uneasy for some reason. He couldn't put his finger on it however...also he was still a little offended that he was basically being taken to a vet.
'I'm not an animal. But I don't want to create any unnecessary conflict...so I'm stuck with it.' He thought to himself.
The group had reached the animal loving pegasus's home near the forest. Twilight knocked on the door. "Fluttershy? It's us, and we brought Tom like we said!" No answer came. Twilight knocked again. "Fluttershy? Are you alright in there?"
"There is no need to be afraid, Twilight." A feminine voice came from behind them. "No beast can best me, no living thing resist me. For I am the pegasus that flutters along the path of heaven!" They turned around to see their normally shy friend wearing an EXTREMELY daring outfit, one that she'd never even consider wearing usually. Tom and Spike both blushed extremely hard.
"Fluttershy? Is that YOU?" Twilight blinked. She had never seen her friend be this...daring before. Even when she went overboard with assertiveness training, this never happened.
"I have cast off my weak and helpless self. I am now FlutterSHINE! I shine brightly, and will be the greatest of all!" The pegasus proclaimed, and then suddenly vanished in front of their eyes.
"Eh!?" The group yelled.
"I am truly the fastest being in Equestria." The newly named Fluttershine claimed. "I have surpassed all ponies in terms of speed. Now I will reach even greater heights!" She proclaimed again and vanished.
"Uh...Tom? Do you think...?" Starlight asked nervously.
"No doubt about it, she's been possessed by another RideWatch. I've heard of this Rider too, he was one of the founding members of the World of Riders- Kabuto." Tom explained.
"And this Kabuto...was able to vanish?" Starlight kept asking questions.
Tom shook his head. "What's going on isn't vanishing, Starlight- Fluttershy is using what's called Clock Up, it's Kabuto's ability to move at incredible speed. What's more, she's acting like Kabuto used to- his speed was only matched by his ego."
"We've got to find her before she hurts herself!" Twilight yelled.
"It won't be easy, you know- she's moving at speeds faster than the eye can see. We'll have to split up."
"Right! Starlight, you and Spike take the center of town, Tom and I will take the areas surrounding the forest!" Twilight said.
"Why around the forest exactly?" Tom asked.
"Fluttershy LOVES animals. Even if she's been possessed by the watch, she'll still exhibit that. So going where animals might be is a good way to find her." Twilight explained.
"...I'll follow your lead then."
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Meanwhile, over at Sweet Apple Acres, Applebloom and her and Applejack's older brother, Big Mac, were tending to their pigs.
"Hey, so what do you think that KABOOM was anyway? From the other night?"
"Dunno." Big Mac was never a talkative type.
"Well, whatever it is, I'm sure sis took care of it."
"Yup."
Just then, all the pigs were suddenly cleaned off before they even knew it.
"What was THAT!?" Applebloom cried out.
As it happened, Flutter"shine" had cleaned every pig there perfectly.
"No one takes care of animals better than I do." She said. Applebloom's mouth hung open, though Big Mac was more distracted by the animal caretaker's outfit. You couldn't really tell, but Big Mac was blushing HARD. Fluttershine then vanished as quickly as she appeared.
Applejack came running up to them. "Hey, what in the hay happened? Was that Fluttershy?"
"Yup..." Big Mac replied, still thinking about that sexy sight.
"Oh ponyfeathers, it's probably one of them RideWatches! I gotta go get Twilight!"
Applejack ran back off the farm.
"...what's a RideWatch?" Applebloom asked, very much out of the loop.
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Near the center of Ponyville, Starlight and Spike kept searching for their possessed friend, finding that she had been going all over the place, doing other ponies' tasks at light speed.
"She made and delivered every order I had today!"
"She graded every test from now to 5 years ago!"
"She gave me inspiration to spice up my love life!" That last one got a smack.
"We have to find her! If she turns into another of those monsters..." Spike said.
"But how are we supposed to catch someone going...so...fast..." Starlight started, but then grinned- she had the perfect pony in mind to help. At that time, a certain wall-eyed pegasus was floating by, having nothing to do since Fluttershy delivered all her mail.
"Hey, Ms. Hooves...would you be willing to make a delivery for us?" Starlight asked.
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Fluttershy-no, FlutterSHINE was patting herself on the back. She had proven she was truly the pegasus to flutter along the path of heaven itself.
"But I can't stop...I still haven't cast it all off yet! I need to...I NEED TO CAST OFF!" She yelled as Tom and Twilight finally found her back at her house. She was beginning to spark with purple energy.
"Fluttershy, stand down! You're under the control of a RideWatch, and we need to stop it!" Twilight yelled, but her possessed friend was having none of it.
"CAST...OFF!!!!" Fluttershy made a motion near her waist, as if she was pulling a lever. The dark energy covered her body, turning her into a bizarre beetle-like creature.
"Henshin!" Tom yelled, performing his own Henshin motions. Zi-O emerged again, holding his sword. He lunged at the corrupted beetle Rider, but it moved out of his way at super speed.
"Crap, I forgot Kabuto could do that." He said, just before Another Kabuto delivered a powerful blow from behind with her horn! He tried to swing again, but Another Kabuto was dodging and whacking Zi-O before he could react.
"Zi-O! Don't give up!" Twilight yelled out. She then saw Starlight running up to them.
"Twilight...is that...Fluttershy?" She pointed at the beetle creature pummeling the silver Rider.
"Another Kabuto...she's too fast right now, and Zi-O can't hit her!" Twilight cried. "If we had someone fast to-" she started as a certain blue pegasus rushed towards the Another Rider!
"RAINBOW DASH KICK!" She yelled, delivering her own version of a flying kick to Another Kabuto's face.
"Eh? Rainbow Dash?" Zi-O asked. "Are you okay to fight?"
"Are you kidding? I'm not gonna just lay around when my friends are in trouble! Plus I owe you for prying me out of that other monster!" She said.
"...alright, but keep your guard up!" Zi-O said, the two of them rushing Another Kabuto.
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Spike had just made it to Time Turner's clock shop. All sorts of clocks and watches were there, making their own noises.
"Mr. Time Turner! Are you here?" Spike called out. Time Turner emerged from the back room, holding the Build RideWatch.
"Good timing, lad." He said, giving the Build Watch to Spike. "I imagine our Rider friend is going to need this back."
"You finished it? Awesome, because we're dealing with another monster!"
"Go give it to Zi-O then! Quickly!" The watch repairpony commanded, Spike running out the door.
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The battle against Another Kabuto was not going well for either Zi-O or Rainbow Dash. Dash's blows couldn't do much against the Another Rider's armoring, and Zi-O's attacks couldn't connect at all. The two of them were backed into a corner.
"This isn't good!" Rainbow Dash yelled out.
"If only we had something to stop her moving around..." Zi-O thought, but then saw Spike waving his arms with a familiar watch.
"Spike!?" Rainbow Dash yelped.
"Hey, is that- did he do it? It's fixed?" Zi-O asked.
"It's all yours now! Take it!" Spike yelled out, and threw the watch in Zi-O's direction, Zi-O barely catching it. Zi-O grasped the watch.
"I'm sure a genius could come up with a way to stop her from moving!" He pressed the button.
"BUILD!" The watch cried out, as Zi-O inserted it into the empty slot on his belt and rotated the driver.
A strange red-and-blue Rider-like figure appeared next to Zi-O, sliding its right hand along a visor. Zi-O kicked the figure in the back and it separated out into armor parts.
"ARMOR TIME! KAMEN RIDER ZI-O! BUILD!" The parts all attached themselves to Zi-O's armor.
Twilight, Starlight and Spike all gazed at the new form.
"Kamen Rider Zi-O: Build Armor! I've got the winning formula!" Zi-O announced.
Another Kabuto made another lunge!
"Rabbit!" A voice came out of Zi-O's Driver as he hopped in the air, narrowly avoiding the attack.
"Tank!" The voice came back as shots were fired out of Zi-O's left shoulder. Another Kabuto was wounded, but she wasn't out.
Zi-O landed and started shaking his arms up and down, with strange physics formulas surrounding him. Rainbow Dash and the others gazed on, but Dash felt kind of sick looking at the equations. Zi-O pressed the buttons on both watches.
"FINISH TIME!" A large dotted line grasped Another Kabuto in its center, immobilizing the fiend. Zi-O leapt onto the line and began riding it towards his paralyzed target.
"VORTEX TIME BREAK!" The driver called as Zi-O kicked through Another Kabuto, causing it to explode and releasing Fluttershy and the Kabuto Watch, the watch still sparking with purple energy. Zi-O walked over to the watch and pointed his own RideWatch at it.
"I am the heir to all Rider powers, Zi-O! O conqueror of the Worm, the man who walks the path of heaven..." The same beam that stopped the Build Watch shot out, stopping the Kabuto Watch. Zi-O detransformed and picked up the watch.
"I'll take up your dreams, and travel along heaven at light speed." Tom said gently.
Fluttershy groaned as she started to wake up. "Owie...what happened to me?" She looked around at her friends, and then the Rider...and then herself. She shrieked when she saw what she was wearing and immediately ran back inside her house.
"...well that explains the latter part of her name, I guess..." Tom muttered to himself. He then walked over to his friends, holding the Kabuto watch.
"So that makes two RideWatches so far." Tom said.
"...how many more RideWatches are there?" Twilight asked innocently.
"I imagine that there's as many RideWatches as there are riders, so.... I think around 170-ish?" Tom answered.
"..." All his friends stared blankly, with Twilight even fainting.
"Was it something I said?" Tom asked innocently.
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A bit later, after Fluttershy had changed into sensible clothing and Twilight had regained consciousness, Fluttershy started looking over Tom, excited to see a new creature, especially one that saved her life!
"So you're a human? You definitely look different than the ones from the Canterlot High world..." She noted, confusing Tom. He'd ask what she meant later though as after she was done she embraced the heroic human.
"Thank you for saving me..." She said softly. Tom returned the gentle embrace, with all of their friends going "awwww!". Tom even thought he heard one of them say "I ship it!", but ignored it.
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The red Rider was oddly calm as he observed Tom being hugged by the former Another Kabuto, with the others joining in. "I don't understand how he could want anything to do with those damned ponies, much less be friends with them! Well, no matter." He turned to a colorful RideWatch. "I still have plenty more Another Riders where that came from...heh."
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At the same time, a white pony with a cobalt mane wearing very fashionable clothing walked towards a large, merry-go-round shaped building.
"Ah, home sweet home...I'm thrilled the Canterlot boutique is doing so well, but Ponyville is home." She said, noticing an unfamiliar gift-wrapped box on her table.
"Oh, what's this? Someone left me a present?" She took the tag in her hand.
"From a secret admirer..." she unwrapped the present, and found a colorful watch inside.
"What a strange looking watch! Why would anyone want to give such a garish thing to me?" She said, pushing the button to see if it even worked.
"OOO!" The watch said, as Rarity's eyes glowed red, yellow and green. She then went upstairs and opened her underwear drawer, revealing a very lacy pair of panties.
"My tomorrow!" She yelled with glee.
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At Canterlot Castle, Princess Celestia, upon receiving a letter from Twilight detailing the appearance of a Kamen Rider, had recently been spending a lot of time in what most thought was an empty storage room. Again, she entered this room, but went through a concealed rotating door into another room, decorated with posters and memorabilia depicting a human in a grasshopper-like costume, sometimes riding a motorcycle. At the center was a picture of this man with hearts drawn around it.
"Oh, Hongo-san...you Rider Kicked your way into my heart...one day I will be your bride."
Celestia hugged a plushie modeled after the first Rider, as a guard witnessed the princess's fawning over the figure. He knew that tonight he would be adding a significant amount to his tab at the local tavern.
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END CHAPTER 2
Sweet. 2 down, only 18 more to go.
So I did remember right, Spike saw the fight with Another Build in the original but not in the rewrite.
I see..
Okay well this is new. 2 chapters in 1 story.