RIDER TIME old chapter repost, part 5

Chapter 5: Apple Boiled Xtreme!

-----2009-------

It was a disaster! Party Princess Pinkie was on the run from the Vegetable Demons! They wanted to force her to eat that most heinous and dreaded of all things: broccoli! She ran and ran... and was eventually cornered.
But then, she heard the most wonderful sound! "RIDER TIME!"
And there he was! Kamen Rider Zi-O, riding on a white motorcycle! The heroic rider jumped from his vehicle and delivered swift kick-based justice to the vile veggies! Princess Pinkie and her beloved Rider knight embraced each other...before a loud buzzing sound filled the air.

-----2009-----

"Oof! Owchies..." Pinkie rubbed her head, she was having the most wonderful dream...but morning had come. Wait, today she was going to put together a "Welcome to Ponyville/Thank You For Saving All Of Us Multiple Times This Week" party for Tom! She was gonna make sure this would be her bestest-best party ever!

First, she had to go over to Sweet Apple Acres and get some of their cider- Tom wouldn't want to miss out on that! She got dressed as quickly as she could and ran downstairs and out the door...then ran back in the door and upstairs again when she realized she forgot to put underwear on! Then back out again!

-----2009------

Twilight Sparkle had come to the table, and greeted her fellow residents of the Castle of Friendship. Tom was drinking coffee, though usually one doesn't need a coffee mug the size of a honeydew melon. Then there was Spike, who was reading another comic book. She would have to find him better reading material. The only one who seemed off was Starlight, as she was gazing distantly at the wall.
"Starlight?" Twilight asked her student. "Are you alright?" There wasn't a response. She was in her own little world at the moment.
"Hey, Starlight!" Spike called out. Suddenly, she snapped out of her trance. "Bwuh? Oh...sorry guys, I was...thinking." Starlight looked away from them. Rider, princess and dragon alike were concerned.
"Is something wrong?" Tom asked. Starlight took a deep breath.
"Twilight, can I talk to you for a moment?" She said. "Just you and me?"
"Sure, Starlight. Tom, why don't you go take Spike over to Rarity's? She said she'd have those clothes for you sometime today." Tom and Spike looked at each other, and Spike shrugged. They both cleaned up their plates and left the room.
"So, what's bothering you?" Twilight asked.
"Yesterday, Discord came to visit." Starlight started.
"Oh boy, what'd he do this time?" Twilight rolled her eyes, knowing that while 'reformed', the god of chaos would still sometimes be a pain to deal with.
"Well, it's not so much what he did, it's what that Geiz guy did TO him." Starlight continued. "Apparently, just seeing Discord sent him into a rage, like he had against me the other day." She sighed.
"I'm still not really sure what to make of Geiz, but he has to be stopped if he's spreading those watches around." Twilight said.
"...I could have been like Geiz." Starlight whimpered a bit, tears forming in her eyes. Twilight was confused.
"Remember when I was trying to get revenge on you all by travelling through time?" They both winced- that wasn't really a pleasant memory for either of them. "At the time, I was so blinded by my rage, I was willing to cross any boundary I could for the sake of revenge." Starlight hung her head. "I think...Geiz may be going through that too. He and Tom were from the Rider World...their friends and family are all gone." Starlight stood up. "I don't know why, but Geiz seems to think that ponies were responsible for his losses."
Starlight broke out into full crying. "I'm scared, Twilight! I'm scared of Geiz, but I'm also scared because I was almost just like him!"
Twilight hugged her distraught student. "But you're not like that anymore. You have us, and Tom too. We'll figure things out together, okay?" She smiled, and Starlight's tears slowed down. "Now come on, Pinkie needs our help setting up Tom's party today- I don't think he'd have much fun if you were crying."
Starlight wiped the tears off her face. "O-okay." The two cleaned up and left to go towards Sugarcube Corner.

------2009------

Pinkie had bounced and skipped her way all the way down to Sweet Apple Acres. She saw Big Mac, tending to the trees as usual.
"Hiya Mac-Mac!" She greeted the stoic farmpony. "Is AJ around?" Big Mac pointed in the direction of the barn. "Thanks!" She began bouncing her way towards the barn. Big Mac let out a small sigh.
Pinkie pushed open the barn doors. "Oh Applejaaaack! Where aaaaare you?" She sang playfully.
"Hard-boiled."
"Huh?" Pinkie stopped in her tracks. What did she mean? Was she making eggs in here?
"Acting with an unshakeable resolve..." Applejack walked out of the shadows. She was wearing a nice casual suit, and her normal Stetson had been replaced with a black fedora.
"Not being swayed, no matter the situation." She pushed her hat up slightly.
"That's...hard-boiled." Applejack said with uncharacteristic coolness.
"Um...AJ? Are you feeling alright?" Pinkie asked. She had never seen Applejack with any other hat besides her Stetson...also not nearly as dressed up either.
Applejack turned away from Pinkie, and leaned against a nearby support beam. "It was the day when she blew into my barn. Pink as a peach, with enough energy to shake the world to its core...truly the wind could carry all things, even the strange."
Pinkie was concerned. Was Applejack...narrating to herself? "Um...okay then...I'm just here to get the cider for Tom's party."
"Thomas Decade, who preferred us to call him 'Tom'. He came with a bang, from a distant world, and with him, RideWatches." Applejack continued narrating. Pinkie was starting to get creeped out.
"Ooookay, well, I think that's the cider over there...I'm just gonna take it and leave you to your...narrating then..." Pinkie took the barrel and slowly backed away.

------2009------

Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash had been assisting the Cakes with Tom's party. Even though he hadn't been there long, his heroic actions had made him extremely popular in Ponyville. The colts and fillies loved having an actual superhero in town ,and mares...well, they definitely liked having him around. A lot. There were even mares considering approaching him to form a herd, but so far, none had acted on it. He definitely had Fluttershy's interest. Every time she thought about the Rider, she had trouble retracting her wings. Thankfully, she was also well suited to perform work on the ground.
The same couldn't be said of Rainbow Dash, who was having a...similar issue. Trying to focus on the party, Pinkie was bringing back cider...delicious apple cider...from a delicious apple pony...she stopped for a minute. 'Stupid sexy Applejack!' she thought to herself. She knew she liked both mares and stallions, most mares did, and definitely could see herself with the Rider, but Applejack just had...something. Probably the best ass in town. Rainbow shook her head and continued setting up.
Pinkie came in the door, and while she had the cider, her hair was straight, and her pink color was paler than usual, it was like she'd seen absolute terror!
Rainbow Dash, both concerned for her friend and secretly thankful for the distraction, walked over to her friend. "Uh...you alright, Pinkie?" She asked.
"I don't know what I just saw, I don't want to know what I just saw, I need to sit down." She went over to a stool and sat there. The two pegasi looked incredibly concerned.
"Oh my...did something happen on the way to get the cider? Maybe someone should go check on Applejack." At Fluttershy's utterance of these words, Rainbow Dash's heart filled with anxiety.
"U-uh, hey, I think you should do that, I mean you're better at the whole feelings thing than I am, you know?" Rainbow Dash stammered.
"Oh, okay..." Fluttershy agreed, though she could tell exactly why Rainbow was so hesitant to approach the farmer. She fluttered out the door, as Twilight and Starlight came to join them.
"How's everything goi-" She stopped when she saw the traumatized Pinkie Pie. "Pinkie! What happened!"
"It was wrong on so many levels!" The perturbed party pony cried. "Applejack was..." she couldn't bring herself to say it.
"Oh no, did something happen to Applejack? Was it another RideWatch?!" Twilight started to panic. Fluttershy emerged, both looking like she had seen a ghost and carrying two more barrels of cider.
"Fluttershy? What's happened to Applejack...and why do you have all that cider?" Twilight asked.
"I think Pinkie will need this more than any of us tonight." She replied with an uncharacteristic bluntness.
-------2009-------

Tom had been trying on the clothes Rarity had made for him. Though he was wondering how he was going to pay, the generous designer was already grateful for saving her from both being a monster AND a fashion disaster. He had to admit though, she had done some excellent work- she even designed clothes based on all the RideWatches he had collected so far!
"Rarity, I don't know what to say- these are great!" He said admiring the outfit based on his Zi-O base form in the mirror. He was feeling really good right now-happiest he'd been since he got here.
"I'm glad you approve, darling. Now, why don't we go over to Sugarcube Corner and show Pinkie?" She said, trying to hide the surprise party they were planning.
"Sounds good- I could do with something sweet to snack on." Tom said.
'You can savor my sweetness whenever you want, my handsome knight.' Rarity thought to herself. "Shall we then?" The two headed over to the bakery, Spike having witnessed the scene and feeling increasingly jealous of the Rider.
"Lucky..." He mumbled, following his friends.

------2009------

While the party was all set up, the issue of whatever was going on with Applejack that was so disturbing to both Pinkie Pie AND Fluttershy was a concern. They knew Applejack would be here as well.
"What do we do then? Do we cancel the party?" Starlight asked, snapping Pinkie out of her traumatized trance.
"Heck no! Come rain, or shine, or utterly disturbing Applejack behavior, the party must go on!" Her mane poofed back up. "Although I think I'm gonna need some quality cider time." She added.
"Um...right, I need to put on a happy face for Tom..." Fluttershy also gathered up what mental fortitude she had. They had seen Rarity leading Tom down the street.
"They're almost here!" Twilight proclaimed.
"Sugarcube Corner, home to the tastiest treats in the town." They heard someone narrating behind them. It was Applejack. "My friends and I were intending to throw a surprise party for the man who had been saving our butts all this week." She then looked to Rainbow Dash. "I then turned my gaze to a pegasus who I had my eye on for a while. Her name was Rainbow Dash." Rainbow was starting to blush- Applejack liked her that way too? "Shining magenta eyes, prismatic mane and tail that glistened like an actual rainbow- and a midriff like a tight washboard of flesh that somepony could grate cheese on." She continued.
Twilight and Starlight both walked over to Pinkie and Fluttershy. "You were right. This IS terrifying." Starlight muttered, as she attempted to pull Applejack out of view and covered her mouth. The others hid as well, Rainbow struggling to control her wings however. 'I thought it before, and I'll think it again; stupid sexy Applejack!'
Rarity had walked in the door with Tom in tow, Spike heading up the rear. The ponies in the bakery all yelled out "Surprise!"...except Applejack, who was still narrating.
"Um...any reason why Applejack is narrating everything that's happening around her?" Spike asked. Tom facepalmed.
"W RideWatch." He flatly said.
"I knew it was another crazy watch!" Pinkie cried out. "Applejack would never wear a fedora!"
"Um...actually, it's a trilby." Twilight corrected, but soon got a look from both Pinkie and Rainbow Dash.
"Either way, we gotta snap her out of it before she..." Rainbow was cut off with an anguished scream from Applejack ,as her body seemingly started to melt into a purple and green goo. "Turns into a monster." She finished.
The goop fell onto the floor with a plop. "Um...did Applejack just...melt?" Pinkie asked. Suddenly, tiny toy-sized purple/green humanoids began spawning from it...repeatedly. Before long, the bakery was infested with Another Ws! They were eating EVERYTHING!
"Gah! This is the parasprites all over again!" Twilight cried out. Tom had already transformed, but the Another Ws were too small and numerous to hit! But then...
"Hey, Zi-O!" Pinkie tossed him a net. "There's only one thing we can do in this situation...gotta catch 'em all!" She tossed her friends nets, and they got to work.

------2009-------

The Another Ws were starting to break out into town. Zi-O and the elements had caught about half of them, of which Pinkie had stored them in a spare fish tank that Fluttershy had loaned her. Zi-O, Rainbow Dash, Twilight and Pinkie had been running around capturing the miniature menaces, while Starlight, Fluttershy, Rarity and Spike were guarding the tank.
Starlight sighed. "This is getting ridiculous. Between Rainbow Dash turning into a scientist, Fluttershy catching the attention of literally every stallion in town, Rarity becoming super-hobo, and Pinkie Pie being a werebatpony, this is just too much!" She, like her friends, were also becoming weary of the problems the RideWatches posed, not to mention...
"And that Geiz jerk!" Spike yelled. "What is his problem, anyway? Dude needs therapy." He snarked.
"Some dead ponies page me?" They heard a voice. They had turned around shakily. Geiz was standing right in front of them, axe in hand.
"You know, if you'd just keel over and die already, we wouldn't have to go through all this." Geiz said menacingly. Suddenly, the normally shy Fluttershy got up in his face, attempting to use her infamous stare.
"YOU STOP THIS RIGHT NOW!" She yelled. "WE DON'T KNOW WHAT YOUR PROBLEM IS, BUT TAKING IT OUT ON EVERYPONY ELSE IS NOT HELPING!" Geiz was actually taken aback...but then he got angrier.
"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU KNOW!?" Geiz screamed right back in Fluttershy's face. "YOU HAVE FRIENDS, FAMILY...A HOME TO GO BACK TO! I HAVE NONE OF THOSE THINGS!" He began swinging his axe around wildly, Starlight managing to move Fluttershy out of the way with her magic. Starlight and the others formed a circle around the cage, all of them glaring at the crazed Rider.
"Stop getting in MY WAY!" He screamed, switching his axe into its gun form. He pointed the gun at the ponies surrounding the tank...

-----2009----
Tom and the others who were rounding up the Another W swarm had met up. They had been able to retrieve them all, thankfully. Pinkie had been able to catch more than any of them though.
"That should be all of them...let's get back to the others." Twilight panted. But then, they heard gunfire coming from the direction of their friends.
"Oh crap!" Tom and the others ran over to their friends as quickly as possible. Geiz had been shooting at the other elements and Spike, Starlight and Rarity pooling their magic to project a barrier.
"Twilight, Dash, Pinkie..." He handed them his net. "Get these little bastards in the tank. I'll take on Geiz." The Rider formed his own gun and fired a few shots at the aggressor, with his companions making their way over to the others while he was distracted.
"You're still getting in my way, huh? That's Rider tenacity for you..." Geiz snarked.
"...Geiz, just...just stop. This has gone on long enough." Zi-O pleaded.
"No, I'm not done yet. You and I both know that those monsters came from this world. Why shouldn't we do to this world what they did to ours!?" Geiz began ranting, but Zi-O fired another blast.
"That is enough! You say that the whole world should pay for what those monsters did to us? Is that right? Then...you're just as big of a monster as they are!" Zi-O shouted. Geiz hesitated, and lowered his weapon.
"Yeah...you're right about that." Geiz said, all the passion gone from his voice. The ponies, and Zi-O were both confused. "I AM a monster...I have been for as long as I can remember. I know...I will never be able to escape being labelled as a monster. And, all the stuff I've been doing...spreading the RideWatches to make Another Riders...that's what a monster does, right? That's all I'm good for, RIGHT!?" Geiz yelled, his voice cracking. The ponies' faces starting turning from fear to pity.
"TIME MAJIN!" Geiz's Driver cried out, as his vehicle flew down behind him.
"No matter what...I'll always be a monster. You win this round Zi-O, but I'll be back. Back to do what a monster does..." He entered the machine and flew off.
Zi-O stood there. "Geiz..." He then turned his attention back to his friends, and the tank containing all the mini-monsters.
"FINISH TIME!" His belt called out, as he leapt in the air. The ponies and dragon immediately took cover as the Rider delivered a finishing kick to the tank, striking every single Another Rider in it. Before long, Applejack had reemerged, as well as the W RideWatch.
"I am the heir to all Riders, Zi-O." Tom said, lacking the usual bravado. "O two-in-one detective, hard boiled partners who will dry the tears of the sorrowful..." The watch shot out a beam, and the W RideWatch was stopped. Tom untransformed and picked it up.
"I will continue your quest to prevent anyone crying." He said.

-----2009-----

Geiz stared at a RideWatch he kept on him. It wasn't his personal RideWatch, but a black-and gray watch that he kept alongside his own. The watch contained the powers of Kamen Rider Faiz, one of the founding members of the Rider World.
"No matter what I say or do..." He said, a tear rolling down his cheek.
"I'll always be stuck as a monster."

-----2009------

A couple hours had passed since the Another Ws were defeated. Applejack had awakened, and Tom's party was in full swing. Many of the guests had gone up to the Rider, both thanking him for his heroism and also asking questions. Some of the mares even started flirting with him, to which Tom began stammering, as he usually did.
Meanwhile, in a couple chairs in the corner, a pair of mares were staring away from each other, their faces redder than tomatoes. Applejack and Rainbow Dash both knew how the other felt now, but...
"Hey, Rainbow...can we talk about this?" Applejack asked.
"..." Rainbow still couldn't answer. At that moment, Pinkie Pie came up to them.
"Oh-ho no you don't! You two need to take some time alone right now and talk about this like grown mares!" She said, ushering them into the back room. "And I don't want you coming out until you do!"
The tension was thick in that room, the Earth Pony farmer staring at the pegasus who she harbored feelings for. And that pegasus also harbored feelings for the farmer.
"Applejack...I..." Rainbow started, but was silenced by a pair of lips pressing against hers.
"Ah know, Rainbow. Me too."
Applejack embraced the embarrased pegasus. "Ah love you too." Rainbow was about to say something else, but she was cut off by the apple farmer's lips pressing against hers once again.

------2009------

"...it's been a while since those two went back there." Starlight puzzled. "You think they're doing okay?"
At that point, they heard Rainbow cry out.
"OH BUCK! APPLEJAAAAAACK!~" The Rider had put two and two together...he almost overheated.
"Yeah, I think they've got it." Pinkie said nonchalantly. She then turned to Tom. "Soooo, Tommy...any mares caught YOUR eye?" She said flirtatiously.
"Um...uh..er...ugh..." Tom had passed out on the floor.
"And he didn't even have any cider yet! But I know we will..." Pinkie thought back to earlier, and she and all their friends shuddered.
"New rule everypony; Applejack is NOT allowed to wear a fedora. Ever." Pinkie said out loud.
"It was a trilby though-" Twilight said but was met with glares. "...shutting up now."

------2009-----

Rainbow Dash yawned as she woke up after the night's events. The sun was just rising. She looked around and saw she was in Applejack's room, with the farmpony sleeping beside her. Both of them were down to their underwear, and her bedmate was still asleep, a goofy grin plastered on her face. Rainbow smiled, and planted a kiss on Applejack's forehead.
"Morning, beautiful..."

-----SHIPPED LIKE FEDEX-------