RIDER TIME

by WozWuzHere

Chapter 7-2: Unlimited Play

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“RUUUUMMMBLLLLEEEE!” Button yelled out as he ran as fast as he could to Ponyville Hospital. He ran past anyone in his way, all he could think of at the time was his friend and rival. Bolting past several doctors and nurses, he saw Rumble lying in a bed behind a large barred door that had ‘DANGER! QUARANTINE!’ written on it. He tried to push the door open, but it didn’t budge.

“Rumble! Rumble!” He knocked feverishly on the door. Some of the hospital staff had to grab him and drag him away.

“No! NO! He can’t die! HE CAN’T!” Button cried out in despair.

“It’s happening all over again…” Button remembered all too well that horrible day, when his father was rushed into the hospital...and never came out again.

Moments later, Button was seated in the waiting room, looking at the floor. He had nothing else on his mind but the horrible things happening to Rumble.

“Button?” Cream Heart walked over. Button didn’t respond. His mother draped her arm around him.

Neither mother nor son could muster any words at that time.

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Meanwhile, at the Castle of Friendship, Tom was assisting Twilight with the task of repairing the table in their meeting room.

“So, explain this to me again- this table projects some sort of map that tells you guys when there’s an argument or something?” Tom asked, still confused about the concept.

“Friendship problems, actually,” Twilight explained. “Whenever there’s a problem we can solve, the map tells us where it is and who needs to go.”

“That’s...kinda familiar, actually,” Tom thought to himself, remembering a few instances of that idea popping up in Rider history. “Is it any weirder than a vampire-detecting violin or an internet idol that asks about bioweapons?”

Twilight just let out a sigh of annoyance. “It’s not working. Whatever she did to the map, it’s going to take some more time to fix.”

“Who’s ‘she’?” Tom asked.

“Starlight Glimmer, my friendship student,” Twilight again explained. But she also realized that Tom hadn’t met her because she’d been away on a trip with one of her own friends.

“Ah, that’s right, she wasn’t here during all of this, but you’ll meet her soon enough,” she confirmed.

“Right…” Tom just raised an eyebrow. “And if this ‘Starlight Glimmer’ is Twilight’s student, why did she break the table? Did they have a fight or something?”

“Hey Twilight! You and Tom have visitors!” Spike’s voice called out from another room, snapping Tom out of his thoughts. They were led to another room, where a pegasus couple sat on the couch. The lady, a black pegasus with a gray mane and who seemed to be wearing a casual dress, was sobbing into a tissue, while her husband was a buff gray pegasus with a black mane, who was wearing a white undershirt under a green sports jacket and a pair of sports pants. He held his wife in his arms as she continued to sob.

“My name is Storm Eye, and this is my wife, Cloudy Day,” The muscular stallion started. “We’re here to ask for the Kamen Rider’s help.”

Cloudy sniffled a bit, but composed herself. “You see, our son Rumble...he’s contracted some new disease, and now he’s in quarantine at Ponyville Hospital. We can’t even go close to him…” She sobbed.

“A disease?” Tom asked. “I know a few, but I’m not exactly a doctor,” he explained. “But, there is a Rider whose story was tied to a disease…” He thought to himself. “Would you mind describing the symptoms?”

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Spike went about his normal routine of cleaning, while Twilight and Tom heard the distraught couple out. Unexpectedly, however, Button came running inside, his face full of tears.

“SPIKE!!!” Button cried out. “I need to talk to the Kamen Rider RIGHT AWAY!” He grabbed the dragon by the shoulders and shook him.

“W-w-wha-a-at ha-a-ape-e-e-ne--d?” Spike asked as he was shaken like a fancy beverage.

“One of my other friends, well not exactly “friend”, more like a rival, got some weird disease from an arcade machine!” Button exclaimed, showing indefatigable tsundere behavior.

“He got sick from a game?” Spike asked. How this was possible left him baffled.

“There’s got to be something he can do- something to cure everyone!” Button continued agonizing over the situation.

Spike patted Button on the shoulder. He didn’t know what he could say.

“What can I say for somepony whose friend got sick from an...arcade machine…” Spike’s eyes widened in realization. Tom had mentioned a past Rider who dealt with video game-based illnesses before. “Oh buck.”

He was running before he even realized it.

“Spike?” Button asked, trying to catch up. “What is it? What’s wrong?”

“I… Oh, I have a theory, but you’re not gonna like it,” Spike muttered. “I...erm, oh how do I say this? Crap crap holy crapbaskets but I think it’s your mother.”

“My m-mom?” Button stammered. “But-”

“That’s the thing about RideWatches, they twist your mind. They make you do things you normally wouldn’t,” Spike rapidly explained as best as he could. “They make you act on desires you didn’t even know you had, or if you did, wouldn’t act on normally. I think, and again, working theory, I think the ridewatch is making your mother take her hatred of video games out on everyone. If you don’t have anyone to play with, you’d stop playing right?”

“So you mean…?” Button’s voice shook.

“...we need to go tell Tom.” Spike decided. Button just nodded and they ran down the corridor.

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In a small meadow near the Castle of the Two Sisters, Lyra sat on a tree stump, practicing with her beloved lyre. She often came here to practice and think.

After plucking the strings of her instrument for a few moments, she sighed.

“I just can’t get into it today,” she lamented. Her mind wandered back to the townsfolk of Ponyville.

“I’m more than just ‘Bon Bon’s marefriend’, and I’m more than just ‘the crazy human-lover’,” she growled. “I have a lot of things that make me unique! So WHY does everypony fixate on those things exclusively!?” She slammed her fist to her side...only to lift it back up and wince in pain.
“Owie owie owie!” She whined as she was tearing up from the pain. But, as she sat there wincing, she heard what sounded like a stallion humming a tune she’d never heard before.

“Huh? I could have sworn no one else was around here…” Lyra mused. “I’d better go investigate.”

Remembering some of Bon Bon’s spy training manuals she read through on a whim, Lyra crouched low to the ground and moved slowly.

“...People With No Name, hm-hm-hmm-hm-hmmmm-hm…” the humming was louder and clearer the more she approached. She crept closer...and peeked through some nearby foliage.

She saw another human, one different from Tom! This one also looked to be a stallion- or whatever it was that humans called their males. He seemed to be camping out here, and had been hanging laundry on a makeshift line. Nearly all of the hung articles were of a similar style.

“Whoever this guy is, he must REALLY like that greaser look.” Lyra thought to herself. “Still, what is a human doing camping out in the Everfree? Doesn’t he know how dangerous it is?”

She kept observing the human going about his business, until he stopped.

“I know you’re there, whoever or whatever you are.” He spoke loudly. Lyra gulped.

“You have until the count of ten to make yourself scarce, capiche?” He threatened. Lyra slowly turned, unwilling to further provoke the mysterious human.

“...I can’t just leave you alone out here. But what can I do?” She thought, as she left for town to give the human the space he wanted.

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Ponyville’s arcade was currently enveloped in a large plastic tent, with various ponies in biohazard suits patrolling the area and performing various tasks. Whatever this illness was, it couldn’t be allowed to spread.

Tom, Twilight, Spike and Button Mash all walked towards the tent.

“You’re sure that this is ‘Another Ex-Aid’?” Twilight asked. Tom just nodded.

“The illness symptoms, the source, all of it lines up with Ex-Aid’s story.”

As they walked towards the tent, they were stopped by a worker in a hazmat suit.

“Sorry folks, but you need to be wearing protective gear and follow procedure to enter there.” The worker, a stallion by the sound of his voice, ordered.

“Protective gear, huh?” Tom grinned as he pulled out his Driver and quickly transformed.

“RIDER TIME!” his belt announced as Tom was now in Rider form.

“...fair enough, but you still need to follow sanitation procedures.” The worker replied. Tom nodded and went into the small sanitizing station nearby.

“Okay, so do I just rinse my hands or-” Tom started, but was cut off by a shout of “CLEAR!” and a large blast of pink foam being blasted at him. Tom wiped the foam off his visor, as a series of small colored strips was placed on him.

“I need to stop tempting Murphy.” Tom thought to himself as he was then hit with a blast of air, removing the foam and colored strips off of him. He shook himself a bit as the air finished its job.

“Alright, monster fighting time…” Tom said to himself. “Hey, Twilight! I’ll give you a signal when I find the Another Rider!” He then yelled out. Twilight nodded and gave a thumbs up as the Rider entered the arcade…

The arcade was dim and silent. None of the machines had any power, and the usually cheerful atmosphere was replaced with a sinister vibe of isolation.

“Ugh, this place is giving me the creeps...like that game with the evil robot cartoon animals.” Tom shuddered. He looked around, and he saw a lone machine that still seemed to be active, despite the lack of power.

“...Mighty Action, huh? Good thing these guys aren’t subtle.” He commented, as he held out his hand.

“EDGE OF TIME!” His sword appeared in his hand, but he folded the blade back to use its Gun Mode. He took aim at the machine, but then heard a loud growl followed by a twisted monster leaping down from above!

“Gah!” Tom yelped as he rolled out of the way. The monster landed, breaking some of the floor. As it got up, Tom got a look at the beast. It was a warped, decayed looking beast with a neon pink “haircut” and wires coming out of its head, resembling dreadlocks.

“Yep, Another Ex-Aid.” Tom nodded. He turned the gun back into a sword and rushed the beast.

“MISS!” A strange voice proclaimed as a projection of an effect bubble saying the same appeared.

“Huh?” Tom was confused, but tried a few more times.

“MISS! MISS! MISS!” Tom kept triggering the same response, while the Another Rider was unharmed!

“YoU wIlL jOiN mE...fOr A gAmE…” Another Ex-Aid growled as it lifted Zi-O by the neck and dragged him over to the arcade machines.

“WiNnEr...TaKe...ALL!” It roared as the two were transported into one of the machines!

Meanwhile, outside the arcade, Button Mash impatiently tapped his hoof on the ground, worried about his friends and his mother being a monster.

“...mmgh...ARGH! I can’t stand it! My MOTHER is in there making everypony sick, and I can’t do a thing about it!” He yelled in frustration.

Spike just patted him on the shoulder. “It’s okay. You can trust Zi-O to handle her.”

Button paused, but then got an idea. He then shifted his expression to one of panic. “Oh no! The monster’s escaped!” He pointed at the sky. As everyone present turned to look, Button ducked and ran off!

“Button, wait!” Spike turned back and chased after the mischievous colt. He saw Button run into an empty tent and take one of the unused hazmat suits.

“What are you doing!?” Spike yelled. Button ignored him and continued putting on the suit.

“Spike, my MOTHER is in there. I can’t just sit out here doing nothing!” Button replied. “Don’t try to stop me, either!”

Spike paused for a moment. Button was experiencing exactly what he felt not too long ago. He then decided his course of action, and grabbed another suit.

“Spike…?” Button wondered.

“I’m not going to let you go in there alone.” Spike explained. “You and I are in this together now!”

Button smiled, as they finished putting on the hazmat suits and crept behind the building.
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“Ugh….what happened?” Tom asked, still dazed. He looked around and found himself in a strange maze with glowing blue walls. In front of him was a trail of floating yellow balls.

“...aaaaand things just got weird....” he uttered. But as he stood, he faintly heard a strange noise.

“...wakawakawakawaka…” The noise was distant, but seemed to be getting closer. Tom’s eyes narrowed, wait that sound… Why did it sound so familiar? He’d heard it somewhere before. It was a distant, faint memory.

Then Tom let out a little breathy ‘oh no…’ as the sound grew closer.

“...wakawakawakawaka…” the sound echoed off bright blue walls, a moonless sky above him. He felt a growing dread, as the sound seemed to come behind him…

As he turned, he saw a massive yellow sphere with eyes, and a rapidly opening and closing mouth. “WAKAWAKAWAKAWAKA!” It sounded, as it eyed the Rider with a hungry gaze.

“Nope!” Tom turned around and started running as fast as his legs could carry him, the yellow behemoth hot on his trail. “I’m not even using Ghost Armor right now, for Gaim’s sake! Wait… Gaim?”

Tom had the GaimWatch on him...maybe that’d do something?

Activating the GaimWatch, he put it into the slot on his belt and gave the driver a spin. Within moments, the giant orange armor soon lowered itself onto Tom. And Tom then very quickly realized he now looked like a power-up.

“Okay, on a scale of on to ten ladies and gents, how dumb of an action was this? Go on, don’t be shy!” he asked nobody in particular. “Because you know, with the benefit of hindsight, this was not one of my better ideas.”

The yellow muncher picked up its pace, eagerly attempting to devour the now orange-esque Tom!

“BAD DAY BAD DAY BAD DAY!” Tom yelped, as he continued to flee, but then found himself in between the beast and three large, colorful cartoon ghosts! He screeched to a halt.

“Pac-Man, please! You’re not a bad guy, they are though! Eat them, not me! They’re who you’re supposed to be going after! I’ve played your games for years, helped you fight them! Please!” Tom pleaded. But as it seemed like he was about to be Pac-Chow, the character suddenly turned and went down a different corridor!

“...eh? That worked?” Tom wondered, but then remembered he was also surrounded by several angry ghosts! “Questions for later!”

Meanwhile, in the arcade, Button was at the controls on the Pac Man machine, Spike keeping a lookout.

“Hang on, Kamen Rider! I’m here for ya!” Button proclaimed as he guided Pac Man to a power pellet with precision. As Pac Man consumed the pellet, the ghosts all turned blue and their expressions turned to fear!

“Power Pellet, huh?” Tom nodded as he ducked out of the way of the hungry yellow circle’s rampage. After all the ghosts were eaten, Pac Man seemed to be spinning in joy!

“Looks like you’re happy!” Tom nodded, but then Pac Man stopped moving, and seemed to disappear into himself with a ‘wa-wa-wa-wa-wa-wa-boik-boik’ sound. Standing where Pac Man once did was Another Ex-Aid!

“oNlY oNe HiT, aNd ThEy DiE!” Another Ex-Aid growled. “RoUnD 1 gOeS tO yOu...BuT iT gEtS HaRDeR fROm HeRE!”

Another Ex-Aid raised a hand and the area around the two seemed to shift!

“Alright, now what…?” Tom muttered to himself. He noticed that the brightly lit maze had been replaced by an ocean of stars, above him, around him...and below him!

“Wha!?” He panicked slightly, but noticed he wasn’t falling. “...am I in space? Well, if I am, and if I must… UCCCCHHHHHUUUUUU KIIIIITTTTA!”

He then noticed there were formations of giant, bug-like spaceships flying at him! He blinked under his mask.

“...wait, this isn’t even how the game works…” Tom said. But the ships, instead of going for Tom, seemed to go past him and enter a formation simply drifting left and right slightly. A laser beam then whizzed past Tom and hit one of the ships, the ship making a weird sound as it blinked out of existence, replaced briefly by the number 100.

“...oh yeah, I know this game now! It’s Galaga!” Tom realized. “But then who’s controlling the player ship?

“Spike!” Button called out. “I think the monster’s jumping between machines! I’ve got Galaga, keep an eye on the others!”

Back in the game, one of the larger, green ships flew towards a white fighter-shaped ship, and emitted a blue beam that seemed to pull the white ship in!

“That fighter’s been captured!” Tom realized. “If I can free it, two fighters will join and double the firepower!” He began to space-swim towards the green ship, and took out his weapon in Gun Mode.

“Eat this!” Tom fired a few shots, the recoil causing him to spin out a bit, but the green ship was destroyed, and the captured white ship went back, joining with a second white ship!

“Thanks, Kamen Rider!” Button cheered. “Double shot time!”

At this he began rapidly mashing the fire button, as was befitting his name. A hail of lasers quickly demolished the remaining ships until one was left. On this ship, Another Ex-Aid stood on it, riding atop it like a mount.

“yOUr DoUblE shOt WoN’t saVE yOU foR LonG!” The monster growled as it attempted to kamikaze the Rider!

Tom floated undeterred, as he changed his gun back into a sword, and took a deep breath. When the errant ship got close enough, he let out a roar and slashed at the ship, cutting it in two!

“Stage clear!” Tom pumped his fist in victory. The stage around him shifted yet again, and Tom felt himself falling.

“Button! Over here, at Ridge Racer!” Spike pointed to an arcade machine shaped like the inside of a car. Button ran over and plopped himself into the driver’s seat, almost at the same time Tom found himself behind the wheel of a car with the colors of his Rider form.

“Oh so it’s like that is it?” Tom blinked. “I don’t even have a driver’s license, so this is probably going to turn into a demolition derby very quickly. I expect to see the black flag out in about five minutes.”

He looked at the other car to see Another Ex-Aid in a warped-looking race car, as the starting lights counted down.

“3! 2! 1! GOOOO!” The game announcer blurted, as somehow, Tom felt his hands and feet being guided to where they needed to be.

“Huh?” Tom questioned, but he seemed to be driving incredibly well thanks to this mysterious guidance.

Outside, Button had a firm grip on the wheel, while Spike was underneath operating the pedals of the car controls.

As the race continued, Another Ex-Aid and Tom seemed to be neck and neck for first place, but the monster had a trick up its sleeve, and pulled out what appeared to be a leftover ship from Galaga!

“Oh come on! This is RIIIIIIIIIIIDGE RACER, not a kart racer!” Tom complained as he readied his gun once more to shoot down the errant enemy. The ship buzzed around Tom’s car, as he tried to shoot it.

“Spike! Hit the brake!” Button commanded. Spike held his claw on the brake pedal, as a harsh screeching was heard. Button turned the steering wheel hard, and the car was drifting! The enemy tried to continue its movements, but due to the car’s erratic drift, ended up smashing into the entrance to a tunnel! Another Ex-Aid slammed its fist on its steering wheel, frustrated as Tom’s car passed it, crossing the finish line.

“alRiGHt, NO MORE MrS. NiCe RIder!” It growled, as it changed the game again. This time, the two of them seemed to be in a warehouse district, with armed guards pointing guns at each of them!

“Button! Now it’s Time Crisis!” Spike yelled as the two of them ran to the machine and each picked up one of the light guns. Tom was rolling around, trying to stay out of the line of fire. But then, a few gunshots rang out from nowhere, and some of the guards fell. Tom noticed there were a pair of firing reticles moving around, taking aim at the guards!

“Good thing for co-op play!” Spike announced as he and Button nodded at each other and continued their sniping. The game progressed, until Another Ex-Aid itself popped up as a boss! It began firing back and trying to hit both Tom and the reticles.

“Oh no you don’t!” Tom said, pulling out his gun.

“Mile-a-minute shooting!” the weapon cried out blasting the Another Rider into the next stage as the world shifted.

A voice echoed down from above. Divine, and all-knowing. “The almighty ones have granted you a sword, to cut your own path.”

It narrated from nowhere and yet seemed to come from everywhere at once. He found himself in a large chapel, the roof having caved in long ago. Sunlight filtered in through shattered stained-glass windows, a massive organ at the far end of the room.

“...wait a minute. I know that quote… And this place looks so familiar!” Tom’s reverie was interrupted, however, by a shadowy figure smashing down in front of him!

“SOULS, COME TO ME!” The evil figure gave a guttural growl, a nightmarish parody of a knight clad in midnight blue armor strutting forwards. “Your soul, it calls to me. How it shines like a beacon!”

“Of course I’m going up against Nightmare! My luck!” Tom sighed. He produced his Edge of Time, but when he flipped it into its Blade Mode, the business end was...markedly different then what he was used to.

It glowed blue, radiating light and hope. It shone like the purest of stars. And Tom was having none of it- he played the games in this series, he KNEW about what this sword’s deal was!

“Hey! Get off of my sword, Soul Calibur! I’ll forge my own fate, thank you very much! I don’t need you, I can deal with this guy myself,” Tom said, though as Nightmare strode forwards with sword in hand, he swallowed nervously. Looks like he was about to test that boast. “Well then, on this stage of history… come at me. I’ll clear this even if I have to use every continuation I got.”

“Let’s see what fate will write on your epitaph, young warrior. Young knight. Many have tried to stop me and failed,” Nightmare said, dark energy surrounding his blade, a single blinking eye in the center of it. “Ground to dust beneath my blade!”

“Okay, two things. One, your sword is REALLY gross looking this close up, and two, you’ve never fought a Kamen Rider before!”

“Hahahahaha, such boasting! Such spirit, I look forward to devouring your very soul!” Nightmare shouted, as he swung his truly infamous sword. “My thirst is endless! Blood, darkness, come unto me!”

“...freaking edgelord.” Tom muttered as he deftly dodged each of the slow strikes. Leaping onto the blade, he used it as a platform to kick the monster square in the face making the knight noticeably stagger.

“Is running away like a flea all you can do!?” The twisted knight taunted as he moved with sudden speed, knocking his opponent flat on his back! Picking him up, he tightened his grip on the Rider’s neck.

“Grgh!” Tom gargled in pain, barely able to breathe under Nightmare’s grasp.

“You fought like a mewling child. Savor these last breaths, as your soul becomes my sustenance!” The beastly warrior boasted, but hadn’t noticed that Tom’s blade had changed shape back into a gun.

Tom quickly squeezed the trigger, a small swarm of bullets hitting Nightmare in the leg and causing him to release the Rider and trip somewhat.

Tom flipped away, taking a few moments to catch his breath. “Mewling child, huh? I’d rather be that than a broody edgelord with a gross eye-sword!”

He decided he needed to finish this quickly and put his RideWatch in his weapon, switching it back into a blade.

“You cannot defeat me, now or ever!” Nightmare said, his blade glowing a violent red as he raced towards Tom. “Fall… into the abyss!”

“Take that abyss and shove it!” The Rider pressed the button on his sword. “FINISH TIME!”

The Edge of Time started glowing with a golden aura as neon symbols appeared around it.

“ZI-O! LAST MINUTE SLASH!!!” The sword announced as the sinister blade met the Rider’s blade in a fierce clash! The blades were locked, and both Tom and Nightmare pushed against each other with all their might!

“Your soul is MINE!” Nightmare roared, a shockwave erupting and walls beginning to fall away all around them.

“Screw that!” Tom yelled back, shoving against his sword with all his might! Nightmare stumbled as Tom delivered a final stab!

...only for Nightmare to still remain standing as Tom’s blade stuck through him!

“I am the nightmare, I am eternal!” the warrior proclaimed.

“Wait, what!?” Tom panicked. The area around them began to flicker and glitch. Another Ex-Aid appeared before them.

“As LoNg As I aM hErE, NiGhtMaRE haS InFINiTE HeaLTH!” The monster announced, even as Nightmare began to sprout burning wings and grow larger. Much larger. Tom’s eyes widened.

“Oh, you cheating ass!” Tom complained. But their fight was suddenly interrupted by a new challenger!

“Okay, here we go…” said a blond, and somewhat well-endowed woman in a blue Greek-style dress. In her hands, a sword and shield. “I didn’t want to fight, but ready or not here we come.”

Outside the game, Button was at the controls, Spike looking at him unamused.

“Sophitia? Really?” Spike questioned.

“Hey, she’s got lots of great advantages! Two of them on her chest in fact!” Button snorted.

“...teenagers.” He sighed quietly. On screen, Sophita smacked her sword against her shield.

“Gods, guide me!” she said. Tom used the opportunity to separate Another Ex-Aid and himself from the two in-game fighters.

“You and I don’t belong here, Another Ex-Aid!” Tom yelled. “I won’t let you use this world to hurt anyone else!”

They leaped off a crumbled wall, and were now fighting on a large wooden pallet drifting through the moat below.

“ThaT iS aLL theSE gaMEs eVer DOOOOO!” The twisted monster roared. “My huSBanD is GOnE anD noW I’m LoSINg MY Son tO TheM!”

“Your son… he’s dealing with all of this in his own way. He’s grieving, just like you are!” Tom said, rolling to avoid a swing and now behind the twisted being. “He’s in pain, just like you are!”

Up above them, a roar as a monstrous winged beast flew above the castle ruins.

“You want to know the difference between you and him?” Tom started. “Your son found an outlet for his grief. You, however, are taking your sorrow out on everyone else!”

He pointed to the monster above.

“YOU made that!” He accused. “YOU made all those kids out there sick! And why? Because you don’t like your son playing video games!?”

“S...SHUT UP!!!!” The monster roared as it rushed Tom in a blind fury.

“YOU KNOW NOTHING! YOU’VE NEVER LOST ANYONE!” It raged.

“...yes, I have.” Tom said, plainly. “I’ve experienced loss like you’ll never know… Every time I close my eyes…”

He fought back a sob.

“You won’t know this pain, because I’ll make sure no one else has to feel this ever again!” Tom pointed his sword at Another Ex-Aid. “I’ll fight so everyone can live happily!”

As they went to battle, Tom looked up and shouted at the sky.

“I know someone’s out there, helping me! This is a game, right? And there’s always a way to win! Listen to me! Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A! Did you hear that? Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A!”

“Up, up...huh?” Spike asked, but Button quickly entered the sequence with a knowing grin.

Back on the rapids, Another Ex-Aid suddenly roared in pain.

“W-WHAt’S haPPENiNG to MEeeeE!?”

The monster was glitching out! It was unstable!

“Don’t you know? Cheat codes like that give control of the game back to the players,” Tom coolly explained. “As for you, you’re out of continues. Put simply, it's game over!”

He pressed the button on his RideWatch and spun the Driver.

“TIME BREAK!” His belt announced as he leapt into the air, the monster being surrounded by large neon “KICK” projections. Tom extended his leg, and the projections all merged onto the sole of his boot as he collided with the monster.

“Two words. Get. Good.” Tom quipped as the world exploded and he found himself back in Ponyville.

So had Another Ex-Aid apparently, it was in the midst of exploding. And from it, virus-like creatures spawned chittering and chattering. During the explosion, a lime green and neon purple watch flew from the creature’s body.

Tom was panting hard, leaning on his sword for support and shakily holding the ridewatch in his hand.

“Get up Zi-O, there’s still work to be done,” Anton said, walking up pulling out twin watches. “Or are you too tired to continue this playthrough?”

Tom just chuckled a bit. “Like hell I’m too tired. We’re on a mission right now. Let’s finish this with super co-op play!”

Spike and Button had rushed out to see all of the commotion. Spike blinked, the vague stirrings of a faint memory. “Him again?”

“Rider Time! Kamen Rider: Geiz! Armor Time! Come On! Baron!"

A large banana-shaped armor came out of a strange zipper above them, and it landed on Anton’s armor.

“A banana!?” Spike yelped, Tom just tilting his head.

“Banana!?” Button also yelped, his voice seeming to ring out through the streets.

“That’s Baron, dumbasses!” Anton replied, almost reflexively as the armor wrapped around him with fruity juices spraying everywhere. “...wow, that seems almost programmed.”

With a growl, he charged into the fray.

“Well, the fruits of your labor…” Tom joked, as they sliced through the bugsters. More cracks opened, swatting away some with vines before two daidaimaru swords flew out and landed in Tom’s hands.

“Oh shut up…”

“You can just peel the admiration in your bones!” Tom joked. “Your armor, it’s so appeeling!”

“Don’t make me regret helping you, asshole.” Anton groaned, spearing a bugster clean through.

“But I’m just bananas about you!” Tom said with a grin under his helm. “Thanks a bunch!”

A green slipper fell on Tom’s head, seemingly out of nowhere. A mare with an unusual resemblance to Scootaloo was peeking her head out of her house, waving another angrily.

“Some mares don’t appreciate a good joke anymore,” Tom said, spinning his swords in his hands. “Wow, tough town.”

Tom and Anton ceased their banter and continued their assault on the Bugster horde, cutting them down with ease. The two worked like a well-oiled machine, despite their personality differences. Some of the Bugsters began to change shape into more varied forms, many of them now holding weapons like swords, guns and some of them had frying pans for some reason.

“Wait, which game were the frying pans in?” Tom asked.

“Cooking Ma- Not the time, dumbass!” Anton scolded sharply. The mob of monsters began to rush the two Riders, attacking with everything but the kitchen sink!

Anton punched one of them back, before kicking another trying to come up from behind. He wrenched one of their frying pans out of another’s hand before whacking a bugster atop the head.

“Think about your life choices!”

The Bugster bowed before fainting dead away, though more were still coming.

“Finish Time! Baron!”

The rider stabbed his spear into the ground, a series of energy bananas erupting from it and spearing bugsters through. Explosions erupted though more seemed to stride out of the fire.

“Alright, how about this then?” Anton asked, as nearby Tom fired at more of the horde.

“Armor Time!” the driver called mid-spin as rock music and sirens blared. “G3!”

“There’s only one thing that can stop this many monsters at once… and that’s a large gun and lots of ammo!” He exclaimed as he pulled out one of G3’s many guns from his leg, armored panels shifting aside. With that, he began firing it indiscriminately at the Bugster swarm, with spent ammunition littering the ground .

“Aaaand now I need to figure out how to stop ALL the bugsters before he turns the arcade into swiss cheese.” Tom sighed. “Wait...oh, duh!”

He remembered he had seized the Ex-Aid watch. Without hesitating, he activated the watch and equipped it on his belt, before spinning it again.

“Armor Time!” Electronic music and video game noises began to sound.

“LEVEL UP! Ex-Aiiiiiid~!” the Driver sang, as Tom was now equipped with a colorful armor in many loud neon colors, his helmet having gained a plume of pink “hair” and his chest armor now featuring the buttons one would see on a game controller.

“If Rarity saw me wearing this, she’d probably shriek and then faint, and probably ban me from her store for life,” Tom thought to himself. He produced his sword again, only this time it gained the shape and colors of the Gashacon Breaker.

“Alright, Bugsters...the doctor is in!” Tom quipped, holding up his hands like a surgeon. Next he rushed the monsters and started shredding through them like a hot knife through butter. “That’s 50cc’s of whoopass prescribed for you!”

“JUST FINISH THIS ALREADY, IDIOT!” Anton yelled, incredibly annoyed.

“Okay, okay! Yeesh…” Tom complained, but activated the Ex-Aid Watch on his belt.

“FINISH TIME!” It was announced as loud neon effects appeared around Tom. “CRITICAL TIME BREAK!”

The words appeared in front of Tom as well as a barrier of sorts. Tom nodded and grabbed the barrier, smacking the remaining Bugsters into the air before he jumped and started rapidly punching through them!

“I...don’t think that’s how Ex-Aid’s finisher went, but whatever...” Anton commented as one last Bugster tried to sneak up on him. He quickly moved his fist back into its face, the monster falling over and vanishing.

Tom finished delivering the blows and landed on the ground, the Bugsters all exploding in sequence. A large ‘PERFECT!’ icon appeared in front of him as this happened.

“Damn right!” Tom quipped. As he undid his transformation, he noticed Anton walking away without much fanfare.

“Hey, where are you going?” Tom asked after the other Rider.

“Honestly, if I have to listen to any more of your lame quips, I’d probably go full Meteor on your ass,” He snarked as he left the scene.

“...to each their own, I guess,” Tom shrugged, as he exited the tent to inform everyone the threat was taken care of...only to be met with yet ANOTHER blast of pink foam.

“Ok, three times is enough!” He shouted angrily, before turning back to see a sobbing Mrs. Mash. He smiled as he watched Button run up to hug her. Yeah, everything was going to be just fine.

---------

“Well, THAT was entertaining...”

From high above the town, Ouja was sitting on a chair made of pink clouds, with Idunn sitting in another chair next to him.

“Feh. I thought that giving the watch to a tiger mom would be more entertaining than that!” Idunn grumbled.

“So now what?” Ouja asked. “I doubt anymore Ponyville residents would be easily suckered after all that.

“Oh, don’t worry about that…” Idunn gave a sinister chuckle. “There are PLENTY of other towns with Another Rider fodder... “

She looked up further into the clouds.

“Like in that pegasus city for example…”

Ouja shifted in his seat. “Oh?”

“I already have someone on it right now in fact…”

In Cloudsdale, an armored reptilian-like figure stepped into view. They were standing behind a small cloud house, staring at a green pegasus stallion with his blond hair in a man-bun, staring at the sky.

“Hmm...seems this young man requires some motivation,” The armored figure said quietly, tossing a watch up into the air and then catching it in their other hand. “I suppose he’d march to the beat of his own drum… hee hee hee.”

They pressed down on the watch.

“HIBIKI!”

--------

Anton sighed and groaned in pain as he walked back to his humble camp.

“Gonna be feeling that one in the morning...for the next week,” He grumbled. As he walked into the ruins, however, he noticed that there was a small wicker basket placed near the base of what looked to be a massive red mecha.

“Huh?” He warily approached the basket, picking up a stick and poking at it before deciding to open it. Inside was some fruit and bread, and a letter.

Anton opened the letter. “Thanks from all your friends in town!” It said.

“Heh...friends, huh?” He scoffed as he took a bit of an apple. “...damn that’s good.”

A little ways away, Lyra looked on as Anton ate.

“Maybe soon you’ll be able to come see us.” She quietly said as she crept away.

Author's Note:

Special thanks to the Bricklayer for helping me finish this chapter!

Ouja and Idunn seem to be turning their attention to other areas of Equestria now. And will Lyra's wishes reach Anton? Will Ponyville be able to go one day without something exploding?

Find out next time!

Comments

[nightshroud96]

Pretty cool on how Spike and Button Mash helped out there. Curious on what other stuff Spike will do.
You certainly nailed it with Another Ex-Aid with all of these classic games showing up.

I see Zephr is going to be Another Hibiki then. I can see he will still get on Rainbow Dash's nerves even while being a rampaging Another Rider.
Wonder who is that reptilian armored being there that is about to give the watch to him?

Curious on if Twilight will become a Another Rider too?
Given how she and Spike didn't in the pre-rewrite but Spike became one post-rewrite.

Really good chapter.

[Dragoknight92]

Nice story, and I get a feeling that Lyra and Geiz will have a good relationship soon.

[Caldoric]

With control over time, and the powers of a god, the ultimate "Last Boss" Rider is... Cronus!

It's a shame we never got a chance to see the Cronus ridewatch in Zi-O. That would've been interesting...