Jack rode along on his bike, the Machine Massigler. It was a great bike, but Jack wasn't quite happy with it when he got it. After some tuning though, it ran incredibly well. He even made some adjustments to the Powerdizer, but it didn't need quite as much. Rainbow had helped with the speed trials, but it wasn't designed to do any offroading, unlike other Rider Machines.
Jack grinned, thinking of the new friends he was making. Rarity was a little fussy when it came to appearances, but rather sweet when you got to know her. Rainbow Dash, underneath all of her boasting, was as dependable as the day was long. Twilight was rather nice, when she wasn't bombarding him with questions. Fluttershy was extremely nice, if monumentally shy. Pinkie Pie was a hoot, as long as he remembered to take some Advil beforehand. And Applejack, and her family, just reminded him of home.
The new Celestial Spirits, as he had come to call them, were pretty fun as well. Apollo was always thinking of new stunts, which she almost immediately shared with Rainbow. Broadside was always making sure that the other spirits didn't pick on each other, aside from good natured teasing of course. Geode, for some reason, could always tell when something was off, a trait that Rarity appreciated when she helped her with her designs. Decima was a bit of an encyclopedia when it came to various subjects, but was easily flustered when she got a detail wrong. Jean, well, let's just say that pranking was her favorite hobby. Shutter was curious as a cat, and loved taking pictures. It was hard to keep track of her sometimes when she was exploring in Burgermeal, but Twilight loved accompanying her on her explorations, and explaining anything she didn't get. There were also 2 new spirits that Jack hadn't managed to get to know quite yet: Freefall, spirit of the Cloud Shaper and the Parachute Switch; and Earl, Spirit of the Forest and the Chainsaw Switch.
However, there was one other who gained a bit of a special place in his heart.
Apple Bloom was adorable, if a mite rough around the edges. Although the main reason Jack found her so cute was that she was barely 8, he had a soft spot for kids. In fact, right now he was on his way to pick her up, AJ might have been able to get back on schedule thanks to the Powerdizer, but her inexperience with it meant that she was still a hair behind. Plus, she didn't want Apple Bloom walking home unsupervised with the Zodiart still on the loose, to be fair none of the parents did, but AJ had slightly more reason than most.
However, upon his arrival at the schoolhouse, he instantly could tell that something was wrong. Half of one of the walls was missing, and the entire class was huddled in the playground.
Jack leaped off his bike and ran over to Miss Cheerilee, "What happened?"
"It was awful, Cheerilee replied, tears in her eyes, "that Zodiart thing you and Twilight told us to watch out for barged in and took Apple Bloom."
Jack's face turned to one of shock, then changed to one of cold concentration. "Gather the children and take them somewhere safe," he said as he mounted his bike, "I'll take care of this."
"How will you find him?" Cheerilee asked.
"If he's taken Apple Bloom, he can only be one place," Jack said before riding off. "This ends today."
Applejack was bucking the last trees in the section she was working on. She was making good good progress thanks to the Powerdizer, even though she wasn't keen on accepting it at first, she chuckled a bit at the memory.
"Thank ya kindly for offerin'," said Applejack, "but I said I'd do this on my own, and I meant it."
"You know," Jack replied, "we have a something back home we call those who don't accept help their friends offer."
"What's that?" AJ inquired.
"Just, plain, stupid," Jack replied.
"What did you say?" AJ asked indignantly.
"Let me finish," Jack said, "now, let me ask ya, would your friends and/or family think any less of ya if you asked them to lend a hand, er hoof, for something that you can't so on your own? Like say, bucking the entire orchard."
"I can do it on my own," AJ countered, "I said I'd do it, and I always do what I say I'll do."
"Ah, but did you say that you'll do it on your own?" Jack countered.
"Well, not exactly," AJ admitted.
"Look," said Jack, "needing help every once in a while doesn't make you weak. Like we used to say back home, you can't build a barn with only 1 wall."
AJ couldn't help but sigh as she looked back and saw how stubborn, and she had to admit stupid, she was being. She was so wrapped up in her own pride that she was just resistant to accepting other's help to an unhealthy degree. Even so, she wasn't willing to go beg her friends for help, she still had some pride after all. However, when Twilight came by about a week after the stampede, she was able to swallow her pride and admit that she needed a bit of help getting the apples to the barn. Luckily the Powerdizer could be operated remotely using that Astrocase thing that Jack gave Twilight to help her with the Astroswitch research, Twilight was able to figure out how to use it lickity-split.
After AJ had bucked her last tree for the day, she couldn't help but wonder where Apple Bloom was. School was out, and she had been enamored with the Powerdizer when she first saw it. Almost every waking moment, AB had either been pestering Jack about how it worked, or trying to figure it out on her own. Even if Jack had just dropped her off at the front gate, she would have made her way over here by now. Inwardly she hoped that she had made a new friend and lost track of time, but Jack would have let her know if that was the case. He didn't even have to leave Apple Bloom to do it, thanks to the fancy communicator thingy that connected the Powerdizer, Rabbit Hutch, Astrocase and Machine Massigler, and the Radar Switch if AJ remembered correctly.
All of a sudden she heard something that made her stop wondering where Bloom was in the worst way possible.
Apple Bloom, screaming.
AJ blanched as she went in the direction of the scream. When she arrived, she skidded to a stop. Standing there was the Zodiart that hurt Big Mac, with Apple Bloom in one hand.
"I figured that would get your attention," said Orion.
"Why are you hurting my family?" asked Applejack, "what do you want?"
"Your farm," replied Orion, "although admittedly, I'm mainly interested in your Zap Apples."
"Just who are you?" demanded AJ.
"Forgive me," said Orion, "I forgot that you wouldn't recognize me like this." With that, he pulled put his Switch and turned it off. With a burst of red smoke, he turned into a green earth pony with a darker green mane, with a Cutie Mark of a pear.
AJ gasped then narrowed her eyes, recognizing him, "Concorde Pear."
"Well," Concorde replied, "I'm flattered you remembered me."
"Why do this?" AJ asked, "the Apples and Pears might not agree on everything, but our families have been nothing but neighborly for generations."
"Simple," Concorde said, "the Zap Apples. For years I've had to put up with all of Equestria say that the Apples grew the hooves down best fruit in existence, even my own family said it. Well, once I've gotten your farm I'll change that, after I get a unicorn to turn them into pears of course. By the way, Zap Pears doesn't have quite the same ring to it, what do you think of Power Pears?"
"But why hurt my family?" AJ asked.
"Simple," Concorde replied, "Applebuck Season is the most important time for you. All I had to do was make sure that you couldn't complete the harvest, and let your creditors do the rest. Big Mac is the only reason you could complete the harvest on your own, so I had to hospitalize him, hurting you might not have done the job. Your stubborn pride would ensure that you didn't accept any help, and even if you did, all I had to do was scare them away. Once you were forced to sell the farm, all I had to do was buy it before one of your relatives could. The Apples might have the best produce, but nopony can deny that the Pears have more land."
"But why foalnapp Apple Bloom?"
"You can thank your friend Fourze for forcing me to do this. Stopping me from breaking your brothers legs was one thing, I had already hurt him enough to keep him from being able to help. But giving you that, machine, and talking you out of your stubborn streak was too much, so I needed to escalate. Last chance, give me the deed to the farm," Concorde drew a knife, "or lose another member of your family."
Apple Bloom looked pleadingly at her sister, "Help me."
Applejack winced, if Apple Bloom wasn't at risk, she could take down Concorde without breaking a sweat. But there was no way to do so before he could hurt Apple Bloom, or worse. Before she could make a decision, she saw something in the distance. Recognizing it, she smirked, "Don't worry sis, everything's going to be all right."
Concorde laughed, "Well, wouldn't you know, the legendary Bearer of Honesty just told a fib. What's next, is your snout going to grow?"
"Now hold on just one cotton pickin' minute," AJ said, "you might be a Pear, but there's something you should know about us Apples."
"And what's that?" Concorde asked.
AJ adjusted her hat, "An Apple, never lies."
Before Concorde could ask what she meant, Jack raced by on his bike and snatched Apple Bloom from his grasp. Bringing the bike to a halt, he handed her to AJ, as they both started sobbing in relief.
"YOU!" Concorde shouted indignantly, "Why do you always get in my way."
"I said it before," Jack replied, cold glare on his face, "stopping Zodiarts is my job, and hobby. And you my friend, just made the biggest mistake of your life."
"No, I refuse to believe this," Concorde said, grabbing his Switch. As he ranted, the Zodiart Switch turned even more sinister looking, and an eerie voice called out.
Last One
Jack's eyes turned wide, "Don't do it, press that Switch and you won't be able to go back."
"If it means finally stopping your interference, so be it," Concorde said as he eyed the Switch. "If I can't have Sweet Apple Acres, then no one can." With that, he pressed the Switch. A familiar red smoke and series of lights enveloped him and turned him into Orion, but that was where things changed. First off, now he was wielding a massive sword and shield. Secondly, after the transformation, Concorde's body was ejected from him, lifeless and covered in cobwebs.
Jack pulled out his Driver as his gaze turned cold again, "Very well then, you've made you choice, now deal with the consequences."
3!
2!
1!
"Hensin! Uchu Kita!!"
"Why do you insist on getting in my way?" Orion asked.
"Simple, I'm Kamen Rider Fourze, now let's settle this one on one."
With that, Orion charged, sword swinging. Jack was able to deflect it, but was forced on the defensive. "Time to bring out my own blade." Reaching into one of the concealed pockets on his suit, he pulled out a new Switch, which he then placed into his Driver and activated.
Chainsaw On
A large blue chainsaw appeared on his right leg, which he then used to parry Orion's sword. After a few hits, the Chainsaw Module managed to cut through Orions sword.
During the combat, Twilight arrived. "Woah, is that Jack?"
"Eyup," AJ replied, "we've seen him in his special suit before."
"I know, but he seems different," Twilight replied.
Before AJ could ask what she meant, Jack cut through Orion's shield, stunning him in the process. "Twilight," he called, "call the Dizer, it's time to end this."
"Right," Twilight said, pulling out the Astrocase and pressing a few buttons on it. With a mighty rumble, the Powerdizer rolled in as Jack mounted his bike and pressed a button on it.
Tower Mode
With a series of whirs and clunks, the Powerdizer transformed into a structure with it's front wheel struts together. Jack rode his bike onto them, and a series of clamps locked it into place. "Time for your twisted dream to end," Jack said, as a swarm of rockets launched from the Dizer, hitting Orion and launching him high into the air. The wheel struts rotated, pointing Jack straight into the air, then the rockets on Jack's bike flared as the clamps released, rocketing it into the air and into Orion. Jack rode the motorcycle turned rocket ship until they exited the atmosphere, then dismounted it, letting it fall.
"This is impossible," Orion said, "she said that I'd be more powerful than the princesses."
"Do I look like a princess to you?"
Rocket On
Drill On
Rocket, Drill, Limit Break!
"Rider Rocket Drill Space Kick!!!" Jack plowed through Orion, causing him to explode, leaving nothing left but the Switch. Jack grabbed it and switched it off, causing it to dissolve into space dust. Jack sighed, "Well, that's done, time for the fun part." With that, he started falling. Enjoying the sensation of freefall for a few minutes, he pulled out another Switch and installed it, then switched it on when he was about a kilometer off the ground.
Parachute On
A turquoise box appeared on his left arm, which then opened to deploy a set of drag chutes slowing your decent. "Man," Jack said, "am I glad Twilight finished your Switch before I had to go orbital."
"As am I sir," replied Freefall, "but might I ask, was going into space completely necessary?"
"You saw how big the explosion was," Jack countered, "you really want that kind of boom happening on the surface?"
"I stand corrected," Freefall said.
After a few minutes, Jack landed. Waiting for him was Twilight, Applejack, Apple Bloom, and a trussed up and pissed off Concorde.
"How, how could you defeat me!?" Concorde ranted.
Jack released his transformation and got right in his face, "I'll tell ya, you see I have one rule, you don't hurt a kid in front of me, and come out unscathed anyway." As he finished, a group of guard ponies arrived, prisoner wagon in tow.
As they loaded Concorde, Twilight spoke up, "Jack, you seemed kind of, off, when you were fighting him. What could have possessed you to be so hard? You were having fun while you were fighting him last time."
Jack sighed, "Nothing personal Twilight, but we're not that good of friends for me to share that."
Twilight nodded as the Machine Massigler floated down on its own set of parachutes. However, she couldn't help but wonder, why did he get so mad?
In a darkened office, three ponies gathered.
"Looks like this latest subject was a bust," said the first.
"It's no matter," said the second, "I didn't expect much from him anyway, I used him to test this, Fourze."
"He is an obstacle," replied the first, "we should end him now."
"Patience," said the third, "our plans are proceeding apace, he won't be able to stop us, not at this late stage. Soon, Equestria will be ours."