//------------------------------//
// Chapter 4: Insert Catchphrase Here 
// Story: Kamen Rider/MLP: Battle For Equestria 
// by KnightBrony 
//------------------------------//


Chapter 4

Insert Catchphrase Here




“We should be arriving in Canterlot in a couple of hours. We should use this time to think of a battle plan,” Shining Armor said as he, the Riders, and the Princesses stood on the bridge looking at an outline of Canterlot.

“I suggest we use the element of surprise to our advantage. The enemy would never expect us to have something like the XVII on our side. I say we head straight for the center of the city while a squad of guards heads through the borders of the city and fights off any of the changelings that they can while evacuating the civilians,” Shining Armor said.

“A good plan all things considered Captain, but it won't work,” Phillip said.

“Excuse me?” Shining Armor said.

Phillip began idly flipping through his book as he explained “To start, Chrysalis' army would already have likely taken over most of Canterlot, so they would have at the very least defenses in place against an aerial attack. Plus they have a ship of their own if what the Princesses have told us is true. Even with our help, an assault at the city's center would spell our doom”.

Shining looked at him with a mix of anger and begrudging admiration “Okay then, what do you suggest we do then?”

Phillip smiled and said “To start, we need to start around the borders and slowly make our way towards the center. We can handle any Kaijin that show up while your soldiers clear the civilians out of the city. They can also provide support in the battle against the regular changelings”.

Shining looked at Phillip stunned. While Shining Armor had vast experience as a soldier and commander, his skill for tactics had always been relatively poor. He was capable of coming up with good battle plans no doubt, but Celestia was the true tactician in the Equestrian military. None of the Guard made a move without consulting her first. Shining shook his head and looked at Phillip.

“Well...while I will admit you're plan does sound good in theory, it has one major flaw,” Shining Armor said. Phillip looked at him confused.

“Oh? What would that be?” Phillip asked with genuine curiosity. 

“It involves you six becoming our main front line force. Being on the front lines places you right in the center of the battle. How can I be sure you'll be able to handle it, especially after all I've heard about how powerful these Kaijin are? How can we trust you?” Shining Armor said, his distrust for the Riders evident in his voice. 

Twilight looked at her brother with an annoyed look. While she herself knew very little of the Riders, she could tell that they were trustworthy individuals. She knew her brother had always been stubborn and obstinate at times, but she was usually able to get him to listen to her. 

Before Twilight could say anything, Eiji stepped forward and said “You can't”.

Everyone looked at Eiji, some confused, some understanding, and one angry, Shining Armor.

“What?”

“You can't trust us. Though you were the ones who summoned us here, how can you trust us? We may very well betray you,” Eiji said.

“Mr. Eiji,” Twilight said. Haruto placed a hand on her shoulder and shook his head. Twilight let Eiji continue.

“However, the fact is we have agreed to help you. I can't speak for everyone else, but if I refused a hand, or a hoof in this case, reaching out for help, I wouldn't be able to live with myself. I don't know much of this world or it's troubles, but one thing I do know is protecting others is never easy no matter where you go. So please, Captain Armor, let us help you. We don't want to see anyone get hurt,” Eiji said. Shining Armor looked at Eiji for a moment, observing him. Shining Armor had always been good at reading people, no matter their species. He could always tell if they spoke the truth if he really looked at them. Eiji's face showed many things to Shining Armor. Hope, regret, honesty, but most of all, sincerity. Eiji's words came from the heart, and as much as Shining Armor hated to admit it, he had to respect him for it.

Shining Armor sighed and said “Fine, we'll go with your plan Riders”. Everyone let out a sigh of relief. 

“However, if I go along with this, you have to promise me one thing,” Shining Armor said.

“Captain Armor, I do not believe....”

“Name it,” Kouta said.

Shining Armor regarded the Riders and looked each of them in the eye.

“You leave Chrysalis to me. I've got a score to settle with her,” Shining Armor said. The Riders all looked at each other before they all smirked.

“Deal,” Eiji said as he extended his hand to Shining Armor. Reluctantly, Shining Armor shook Eiji's hand. Twilight smiled at this.

“Well, now that that's settled, let's fine tune this plan a bit. We're going to need to if we want to beat Chrysalis,” Shining Armor said as they continued to discuss the battle plan.


After the battle plan was fully discussed, everyone decided to relax as they made their way to Canterlot. Luckily, the XVII had a fairly nice lounge for the soldiers to relax in. Currently the lounge was occupied by the Riders, the Princesses, and Shining Armor, who was continuing to go over the battle plan in his head. Twilight sat down next to the Riders and turned to Eiji

“Thank you for what you did Mr. Eiji,” Twilight said, causing Eiji to blush and Shining Armor to huff.

“It was nothing Miss Twilight. Besides, your brother actually reminds me of a friend of mine,” Eiji said with a smile.

“Really, who?” Twilight asked. Eiji's face saddened a bit as he reached into his pocket and pulled out Ankh's broken medal.

“What's that?” Twilight said examining the medal, the Princesses doing the same.

“It's a Core Medal. It belonged to my friend Ankh. Well, actually it held his consciousness,” Eiji said. Twilight raised an eyebrow at this.

“Huh?” she said.

“Ankh was a creature called a Greeed, creatures who were products of human desire and greed. Ankh was the one who gave me the power of OOO, and though he would never admit it, became a good friend,” Eiji said, smiling at the memory of his ice candy obsessed friend.

“What happened to him?” Twilight asked. The Princesses and even Shining Armor were beginning to become interested in the nomadic Rider's story.

“His medal was broken during our final battle against the other Greeed. Since then, I've been trying to find a way to restore his medal and bring him back,” Eiji said, a sad smile on his face. Suddenly, they heard someone sniffling and sobbing. They looked over to see Gentarou quietly sobbing before bursting out into a loud cry.

“AWWW!!! That's so freakin' sad Eiji-sempai!!! Losing a friend is horrible!!!!” Gentarou said as he went over and hugged Eiji, which surprised the young nomad. Eiji, to his credit, merely patted Gentarou on the back as he continued to cry. Each of the Riders looked down sadly, remembering those they had lost. Twilight looked at all of them, sensing what they were feeling.

“So I take it being a Kamen Rider isn't an easy job, is it?” Twilight asked. The Riders shook their heads.

“We Kamen Riders fight to protect people from the shadows. We fight in secret and protect the hope of the world. Most of the time we succeed. However, even we can't win every time. Even when protecting people we love,” Haruto said as he looked down at one of his rings sadly.

“Koyomi,” Haruto said softly so no one would hear. Twilight heard him however, but didn't want to press any further. Twilight looked at the Riders sadly. She suddenly felt regret at bringing them here. She thought of how worried their loved ones back on their world must be. Before she could wallow in her self doubt any longer, Shotaro patted her on the back.

“But while loss hurts, we continue to fight. We fight so others never have to feel the pain of loss as we have,” Shotaro said.

“Shotaro is a prime example,” Phillip said.

“How so?” Twilight asked. Phillip looked at Shotaro for approval of what he was about to say. Shotaro nodded.

“Well to start, and this might come as a shock, I'm not technically alive,” Phillip said. Twilight and the other Riders minus Shotaro looked at him in shock.

“What?” Twilight said.

“By all rights the person I used to be, Raito Sonozaki, died years ago. However, I was reborn as an avatar to the True Gaia Memory,” Phillip explained. Twilight and the other Riders looked at Phillip with interest. While they all fought together many times before, they never really had many chances to talk to one another.

“A few years ago, after our final battle against Museum, my essence scattered into data. It took a year for my body to fully reform into what you see before you. During that time, instead of giving into the sadness of lost, Shotaro continued to fight as a Rider on his own,” Phillip said as he smiled at his partner. 

“What else do you expect from a hard-boiled man like myself,” Shotaro said as he traced his finger across the brim of his hat. Everyone laughed at his comment, since he was as half-boiled as one can become. 

Twilight and the Princesses kept founding themselves amazed by the Riders with the more they learned about them and their world.

“Your world sounds very fascinating,” Celestia said.

“It is! I've learned so much about our world over the years. Shotaro says most of it is useless,” Phillip said.

“That's because you keep going on your random obsessions into the most useless things. Miso soup, vinegar, breakdancing, the list goes on. Sometimes I think you were the worst person to give the Gaia Library to. Especially when we're on important cases,” Shotaro said. Shotaro had more than once had to deal with Phillip's bizarre obsessions.

However, Shotaro's main concern right now should have been Twilight. She was beaming at the mention of the Gaia Library.  

“What's the Gaia Library? Sounds interesting,” Twilight said. Celestia and Luna looked at each other warily. They knew far too well that Twilight could get rather obsessive when it came to books.

“The Gaia Library is a massive library that contains all the information in our world. I'm able to sift through it and find any information I please with a Look Up,” Phillip said, and immediately wished he hadn't. When he had finished his explanation, Twilight squealed and tackled the effeminate Rider.

“TAKE ME THERE!!! It sounds like heaven!!! Books upon books upon books!!!! EEEEE!!!!!!! Where is it!? Where can I read these books!? Do you need a library card!?” Twilight excitedly questioned.

“Calm down Miss Twilight,” Eiji said as he peeled the lavender alicorn off of Phillip. Shotaro stood in front of Phillip protectively.

“If you'd calm down for a moment you would know that I am the only one able to access the Gaia Library,” Phillip said. Twilight immediately deflated at his words. She felt like a little foal who had just been told they would get a free day in a candy store and instead they get a root canal at the dentist. She could feel her eyes start to water.

“I'm sorry Miss Twilight, but it's an aspect of my being the avatar to the True Gaia Memory,” Phillip said, trying to calm down Twilight.

“I apologize for Twilight. She's a bit of a bookworm,” Celestia said in the nicest way possible. Shining laughed at this.

“A bookworm is putting it lightly. The librarian used to have to drag Twilight home after the library closed because she didn't want to leave,” Shining said, which caused Twilight to blush in embarrassment. This caused the Princesses and the Riders to laugh at Twilight's expense.

Twilight huffed and said “There's nothing wrong with having a healthy love for knowledge”.

“Twily, you actually brought a tent with you one time. Mom and Dad had to use a sleep spell on you to get you to leave,” Shining Armor said, causing everyone to laugh even harder. 

“So you do have a sense of humor after all,” Haruto said. Shining looked at Haruto annoyed.

“Of course I have a sense of humor. I can't be serious all the time. If I was, Cadence would certainly break me of that quickly,” Shining said, smiling a bit at the thought of his wife.


After everyone had calmed down, the Riders continued to tell the Princesses and Twilight about their world, their friends, and their respective battles against evil forces. As they spoke, the Princesses began to recognize some of the monsters and made mental notes about their weaknesses.

As the Riders spoke of their battles, Shining began to have a begrudging respect for them. Shining had seen battle and he knew what it could do to someone. Whereas he had had his fellow soldiers to help shoulder his heavy burden, the Riders mostly had just themselves. Sure, they had friends to support them, but they usually fought these battles alone. Even he had to admit that would get lonely. 

The Princesses and Twilight were enthralled by the stories of the Riders' battles. They had all had their share of adventures and battles, some rather recently, but the Riders spoke of monsters they would never have thought existed. The thing that really piqued their interest however was the other Riders they spoke of.

“There are other Riders besides you all?” Celestia questioned.

“Oh there are tons of us running around. Some of them are a bit odd though,” Shotaro said.

Kouta nodded “Like Tsukasa. I still never got what that Narutaki guy was spouting about him being a destroyer of worlds. Sure, he can't take a decent picture to save his life, but he's still a nice enough guy and a powerful Rider,” Kouta said.

“Sister, do you think that..” Luna whispered. Celestia nodded.

“We'll discuss that later Luna,” Celestia said.

“So is it just the Riders who fight monsters?” Twilight asked.

Before the Riders could explain about all the other heroes that helped protect their world, the ship rocked to the side as the sounds of explosions were heard.

“Status!!” Shining Armor yelled as he placed his helm on his head.

“Sir, the enemy has spotted us and are assaulting our ship with some kaijin!” one of the guards shouted. The Riders all stood and ran outside, Twilight, Shining Armor, and the Princesses following suit.




Meanwhile on the Exodus



“Everything is going as planned,” Chrysalis said as she and Retsu monitored the progress of her army as they continued to ransack Canterlot.

“It would appear so. But I must remind you not to forget our agreement Chrysalis. Once Equestria falls and you rule, you will relinquish the Elements of Harmony to us along with this world's knowledge of magic,” Retsu said. Chrysalis waved a dismissive hoof at his comment.

“Don't worry yourself Retsu. Once I have Equestria in my hooves, you can do what you like with the Elements. I'll certainly have no need for them,” Chrysalis said as she added a small chuckle. Retsu smiled, something he rarely did.

“Excellent. Speaking of the Elements, it appears the experiment was a success,” he said. Chrysalis laughed as she smiled a toothy smile.

“Wonderful. This will show Twilight and those other Princesses why you should not cross a Queen,” Chrysalis said.

Suddenly, an alarm started blaring. Retsu and Chrysalis made their way to the bridge to find out what was happening.

“What's going on?” Retsu said to one of the other Foundation members.

“Sir, it would appear a large airship is making it's way towards Canterlot at a fast pace,” the Foundation member said as he brought up a video feed of the ship.

The screen showed the XVII as it was making it's way toward Canterlot. Chrysalis saw the ship and smiled.

“Looks like little Twilight managed to get reinforcements. I wonder what plan that annoying bookworm has now,” Chrysalis said.

“It matters not. She won't be able to stand up against our Kaijin,” Retsu said. On the screen, the XVII was suddenly attacked by a group of airborne kaijin. As they attacked, part of the ship exploded. Chrysalis smiled at this.

“Your kaijin are truly impressive Retsu. I can't imagine anything that could beat them,” Chrysalis. Retsu was about to say something when suddenly some of the Kaijin began to falter in their attack. When the screen was zoomed in, Retsu's face contorted in anger.

On the screen, six humans were fighting off the Kaijin. One of whom had a large silver gun in his hands which he used to shoot down many of the Kaijin.

Retsu slammed a fist against the console “I think this Twilight Sparkle is smarter than you give her credit for,” he said.

“Who are those six humans?” Chrysalis said.

“They are an eternal thorn in our sides. People who constantly ruin our plans. You could say they're our version of those six mares you've spoken of,” Retsu said.

“Who are they!?”

“Kamen Riders”.



Back on the XVII



The Riders made their way out onto the deck of the XVII. The guards were trying their best to fend off the Kaijin, but were quickly losing ground. 

Haruto slipped a ring onto his right hand and placed it over his belt.

Connect! Please!

A magic circle appeared beside the wizard, which he put his hand into, pulling out his WizarSwordGun. He fired a few shots at the Kaijin, causing them to falter slightly. The Riders ran into the fight as they fought off the Kaijin. When Twilight and the Princesses made it on deck, they helped the guards that had been downed and lead them off the deck.

Shotaro punched one of the Kaijin, which appeared to be a bird Yummy.

“Hey guys, I think we're gonna need to step this fight up a little,” Shotaro said as he produced his Double Driver. The other Riders nodded as they pulled out their various Drivers and equipped them as they stood in a line.

“Twilight, you and the Princesses get the guards out of here. We can handle this,” Eiji said as he placed his Taka, Tora, and Batta medals in his belt.

“Yeah, we got this!” Gentarou said as he flipped the switches on his Fourze Driver.

Haruto placed his Flame Style ring on his left hand as Kouta produced his Orange Lock Seed.

Shotaro and Phillip stood by each other and showed their Cyclone and Joker memories.

“Let's do this!” Shotaro yelled.

JOKER!

CYCLONE!

Shotaro and Phillip posed with their arms in a W fashion as they yelled “Henshin!” Phillip placed his Cyclone memory into his belt, the memory dissipating into energy and reforming in Shotaro's Driver as Phillip fell over. Luckily Twilight caught him, a worried look on her face.

“Don't worry about him, he's fine,” Shotaro said as he placed his Joker memory in the Double Driver and opened it, posing as he did so.

CYCLONE! JOKER!

A whirlwind formed around Shotaro as his Rider armor formed around him, transforming him into Kamen Rider W.

Eiji tipped his belt at an angle and pulled the OOO Scanner from it's holder and scanned it over his belt, crossing his other arm across his chest.

“Henshin!” he said placing the OOO Scanner over his chest.

TAKA! TORA! BATTA!

As Eiji's belt sang out, three circles of spinning medals formed around his head, chest, and legs. They eventually stopped on the images of the Taka, Tora, and Batta medals.

TATOBA! TATOBA TATOBA!

Eiji's armor materialized around him, transforming him into OOO.

Gentarou flipped the last switches on his belt as he placed one hand on his belt's lever and the other in front of him clenched into a fist.

3! 2! 1!

“Henshin!” Gentarou yelled as he pulled the lever on his belt and threw his hand into the air. Smoke filled the air as a floating device appeared and formed Fourze's armor around Gentarou.

Haruto flipped his belt's hand to the left as the belt rang out.

SHABADOOBIE! TATCHI HENSHIN!

“Henshin!” Haruto yelled as he placed his left hand over his belt, quickly throwing his hand to the left afterward.

FLAME! PLEASE! HII! HII! HII HII HII!

Wizard's magic circle formed at his left and passed through him, forming his bejeweled armor.

“Henshin!” Kouta yelled as he opened his Orange Lock Seed.

ORANGE!

Kouta spun left and right as a zipper opened up above him. From the zipper came his armor, which floated in the air. Kouta placed his Lock Seed in his belt and slammed the lock into place.

LOCK ON!

The sound of Japaneses trumpets and a techno beat sounded from Kouta's belt as he grabbed the knife attachment and sliced open the Lock Seed.

SOIYA! ORANGE ARMS! HANAMICHI, ON STAGE!

Kouta's armor crashed down onto his shoulders as his body suit formed around him. The Orange Arms armor folded out and down until Gaim's full armor was formed. The DaiDaimaru appeared in Kouta's right hand.

The Riders all stood in a line, shocking the Kaijin and making them momentarily stop their assault.

W extended his left hand and pointed it at the Kaijin “Now, count up your crimes”.

Fourze brought his arms close to his chest and crouched before he threw his arms up and shouted “Uchu kita!!!!! Kamen Rider Fourze! Let's settle this man to man!” punctuating his point by smoothing his hand against his helmet and pointing at the Kaijin.

Wizard raised his left hand and displayed his Flame Style ring “Now, it's showtime”.

Gaim pulled his Musou Saber out of the holder on his belt and attached to the DaiDaimaru as he yelled “This is my stage now!”

Twilight and the Princesses looked at the Riders in awe. Even with all they had seen, and Celestia and Luna had seen quite a bit, they had never seen warriors like them before.

W looked back to Twilight and said “Look after my body for me please,” in Phillip's voice, W's right eye flashing. Twilight looked at W confused before she nodded.

“Let's go!” OOO yelled as he and the other Riders rushed into battle.



Will the Riders be able to fight off Chrysalis' army?
What devious plans do Chrysalis and Foundation X have in store for our heroes?
Find out next time in Battle for Equestria!