Episode 04: A Rainbow Streak
"Please take me with you on your superhero adventures!?" Rainbow Dash pleaded loudly. Twilight gasped. She quickly covered Rainbow Dash's mouth.
"Can you avoid talking about that in public?" Twilight muttered. "Do you want to expose Gentaro's identity?"
Rainbow Dash nodded no. Rainbow Dash scratched the back of her head with an embarrassed looked. She said, "Sorry about that, I was just excited about asking."
"It's fine. You'll just have to be careful talking about it in public. Anyone here can be a Zodiart," Twilight said.
"I see," Rainbow said as she glanced around to see if anyone was listening. Luckily everyone was preoccupied going to class or hanging out with their friends. Pinkie jumped in front of Rainbow's face.
"So you wanna join the Kamen Pony Club?" Pinkie asked.
"The Kamen what now?" Rainbow asked back. She pushed Pinkie away since she was invading her space.
"It's the name of the club we're forming to protect the school from Zodiarts," Gentaro said.
"I see, but what's with the weird name?"
"It derives from Kamen Rider, which is what Gentaro transforms into, and the pony part comes from the fact that Twilight and I get our powers from magical gems from a world where we're all ponies," Pinkie explained. Rainbow Dash winced when she heard the latter part of Pinkie's explanation.
"That kinda explains why Twilight transformed into a magical girl yesterday," Rainbow Dash said. She was still in disbelief that they have powers from ponies.
"It's a long story," Twilight explained.
"Back to topic, can I join the club and join you guys on some adventures?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"I don't know, it's really up to Kengo if you can come along or not," Twilight said.
"We all know that's nonsense," Pinkie scoffed. "Gentaro and I broke into the moonbase and stole the device from his hands."
"But it all worked out in the end. Gentaro was able to use the Fourze Driver and you happened to be an Element of Harmony. We can't just let anyone join our mission," Twilight said. She turned to Rainbow Dash and said, "We appreciate your help yesterday but we're not just going to let anyone come along."
"I see," Rainbow Dash said. "I guess it's your loss."
"What do you mean by that?" Pinkie asked.
"You guys don't look like the fighting type or the type to be in shape," Rainbow Dash said. "I mean, Gentaro looks like he can handle himself in a fight but the rest of you guys look like you need me to put you into shape."
"That's a nice offer but I don't think we need that kind of training," Twilight said. "I only discovered my magical powers only two days ago. I should focus my efforts-"
Rainbow Dash interrupted Twilight by saying, "Trust me when I say you need my training. When I whip you into shape, you'll be A-list super-"
"Hey, Dash!" a female voice shouted. Everyone looked towards the source of the voice and saw a student their age approaching them. She had white hair with purple tips and amber eyes. She wore a brown leather jacket with a white, fluffy collar and blue jeans. "Where were you yesterday? You just disappeared after school was done. Oh wait, let me guess. You skipped practice to go watch the first game."
"Of course I did," Rainbow Dash said as she scratched the back of her head. "I can't just miss the first game of the season."
"Who are these people?" the woman asked.
"Oh. just some people I met during the game."
"I see," the woman said. Twilight felt like she was looking at them with contempt even though her expression was neutral. "Wanna head to class?"
"Sure thing," Rainbow Dash said. She turned to the KPC and said, "Consider my offer."
"No," Kengo replied. Kengo was busy creating the new Astroswitch while Pinkie was pestering him about Rainbow Dash. She even mentioned her offer to help train them.
"Aw, come on Kengo," Pinkie cried out. Pinkie laid her elbows on the table. She held her hands together. Pinkie's eyes bawled like a puppy. "Pretty please with a cherry on top!"
"Absolutely not," Kengo said as he turned away. He added, "We can't just let anyone walk into the Rabbit Hatch."
"Then how come I just did," Rainbow Dash smirked as she leaned on the doorway to the workshop. Kengo and Pinkie turned around.
"How did you find us?" Kengo asked.
"I took a page from Pinkie and followed the others here," Rainbow Dash explained.
Twilight peaked her head over the door and said, "We didn't realize she was following us until it was too late."
"Don't worry. I won't tell everyone about this sweet hideout," Rainbow said as she glanced around the Rabbit Hatch. She looked through the window and saw Earth. Her jaw dropped as she shouted, "Wait! Is that Earth? H-how!?"
Rainbow Dash moved closer to the window to get a better view. Kengo tried to approach Rainbow Dash to officially boot her out of the Rabbit Hatch. Twilight quickly got in his way to stop him.
"She needs to be kicked out," Kengo proclaimed.
"I've been thinking about this for a while, but she could be helpful," Twilight said.
"Do you really think you need physical training? Isn't magic good enough?" Kengo asked.
"It's not about the training. We need more eyes in the school to identify anyone who could be a Zodiart in the school, or maybe an Element of Harmony," Twilight explained.
"Plus you know what they say, the more the merrier," Gentaro said before taking a bite of his hamburger.
"Yeah, we're called the Kamen Pony Club, not the Exclude Everyone Club," Pinkie butted in.
"I refuse to call our group something that ridiculous," Kengo complained.
"Oh, really," Pinkie said with a devious smirk. "Then what does that banner say?"
Pinkie pointed at the Kamen Pony Club banner on the wall.
"I told you not to put that stupid banner up!" Kengo snapped before chasing Pinkie. "That's it, I'm throwing her into the vacuum of space!"
Pinkie began running around the Rabbit Hatch and said teasingly, "I love tag!"
Kengo suddenly felt exhausted. The teenager fell to the ground. He began to pant heavily and started sweating bullets. Twilight lets out a big sigh of disappointment.
"You did that to yourself," Twilight lectured as she helped Kengo up. "Come on, let's take you to the infirmary."
"Wait…" Kengo muttered. "Kisaragi… Astroswitch #9 is ready for use… test it out and give me the results…"
Gentaro nodded before doing a playful salute. Twilight carried Kengo out of the Rabbit Hatch.
"Is he always this…" Rainbow Dash paused. "... dramatic."
"Well, this whole mess with the Zodiarts is something personal to him. His father invented the devices that allow people to transform into the Zodiarts but they were stolen from him. Now they're being used for someone's personal gain and he sees it as someone tarnishing his father's legacy," Gentaro explained.
"Oh, so he just wanted to defend his father's legacy. That's why he's so uppity about this," Rainbow Dash said.
"Yep, What he doesn't realize is that he doesn't need to do this alone."
"I can see that. He sure doesn't like it when people offer help."
"He may shut us out but we're slowly breaking that wall down," Gentaro said.
"Yeah, just like today! He trusts you to test out the new Astroswitch," Pinkie pointed out.
"Oh, yeah. We should do that after school."
"Maybe we should test the new Astroswitch somewhere off-campus. I wouldn't want Fourze to be seen accidentally destroying the school while testing out the new equipment," Twilight said.
"What's an Astroswitch?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"They're a device that gives Fourze power-ups," Twilight explained. "They're usually in forms of tools and weapons."
"Hm, you're going to need an isolated yet open space to test out something like that. I think I know just the place to train," Rainbow Dash said with a smirk.
After school, Rainbow Dash met up with Gentaro and Pinkie. The three of them left the school building together. Rainbow Dash's friend from this morning was leaning against the statue in front of the school. Once she noticed Rainbow Dash, she approached her.
"Hey, Dash, wanna hang out at the skatepark?" her friend asked.
"Sorry, Gilda, but I promised I'd help these guys out with a school project," Rainbow Dash said. "Maybe we can hang out some other time."
"O-okay," Gilda said. "See you around, Dash."
When Rainbow Dash and her new friends left, Gilda clenched her fist out of frustration.
"What the hell? She always jumps onto the opportunity to hang out with me," Gilda thought as she clenched her fist.
Rainbow Dash took the members of the Kamen Pony Club on a taxi ride to a farm just outside of town. It was an apple farm with a few dozen acres of trees.
"Why are we all the way out here?" Pinkie asked as she planted her face into the window to look at the place as close as possible.
"You'll see," Rainbow Dash said.
The taxi cab stopped in front of a large two-story home. The Kamen Rider recognized this area as the place that he drove by yesterday when going to the forest. Once everyone exited the cab, Gentaro asked, "So what is this place?"
"Welcome to Sweet Apple Acres!" Rainbow Dash proclaimed as she raised her arms outward to show the area.
"Oh, so this must be the place Applejack lives," Pinkie said. "I always thought she lived in the barn."
"Who?" Gentaro asked.
"She was a member of the soccer team until she had to leave to help her family run the farm," Rainbow Dash explained.
"Hasn't she been missing school recently?" Twilight asked.
"Mhm, her brother got injured when trying to refurbish the house so she's been helping around the farm to do his chores."
"Rainbow Dash? What're ya doing here?" Applejack asked as she left the house while carrying a bucket of white paint and a brush.
"Oh hey, Applejack!" Rainbow Dash ran up to her friend. "I have a few friends I want to introduce you to?"
"Can't ya see I'm a little busy?" Applejack said as she raised the bucket of paint and brush. "Them fences need a painting."
"Come on, it will only take like three minutes tops!"
"Oh, alright fine," Applejack said reluctantly while she rolled her eyes. Rainbow Dash grabbed her by the arm and pulled her to the others.
"This is Pinkie Pie but I'm sure you already know who she is," Rainbow Dash said.
"Of course ah do," Applejack said. "She plans all them celebrations after the soccer matches."
"This is Twilight Sparkles."
"Hi, I hope we can get along," Twilight said as she extended her arm. Applejack pocketed the paintbrush to shake Twilight's hand. Twilight was surprised about how strong Applejack was. Her grip painfully squeezed her hand.
"Nice to meet ya, Twilight Sparkles," Applejack said. When Gentaro saw Twilight's hand beating red after Applejack lets go of it. Gentaro gulped and put out his hand.
"Name's Gentaro Kisaragi. I'm the new student at Canterlot High," Gentaro said. Applejack shook his hand and the pain Gentaro expected was there. When she lets go of his hand, he shook it to get rid of the pain.
"Ah, so are ya that superhero Rainbow Dash told me about?" Applejack asked. Gentaro and everyone else was surprised by Applejack's question. Rainbow Dash chuckled nervously as she scratched the back of her head.
"Yeah, sorry. I told her your name by accident," Rainbow Dash explained.
"You're lucky that Kengo isn't here or else he would lose it," Twilight pointed out.
"Yeah, he will LITERALLY explode if he finds out," Pink added.
"Let's just keep this a secret from him or else he's going to have a heart attack."
"Speaking of Kengo, we needed to test out the new Astroswitch so why are we out here on the farm?" Gentaro asked.
"Oh, right, I was sorta going to lead into that," Rainbow Dash said. "Hey, AJ, can we use the field today to test out Gentaro's superhero equipment."
"Excuse me?" Applejack asked. "My backyard isn't your playground."
"Oh, come on, AJ, pretty please! I promise I'll make it up to you in the future!"
"No, means no!" Applejack shouted. "I want to help ya but I gotta worry about our farm. I ain't going to let ya'll make a mess."
Twilight placed her hand over Rainbow Dash's shoulder and said, "Look, let's just find another place to train and…"
"No," Gentaro said as he approached Applejack. "It's my dream to become friends with all of the students at Canterlot High. I'm not going to pass the opportunity to make a friend."
"Is he really worried about something like that right now?" Rainbow Dash muttered.
"Making friends is kinda his thing," Twilight explained quietly.
"Well, look for friends somewhere else," Applejack raised her bucket of paint and brush. "I'm too busy to make friends."
"No youth isn't ever that busy," Gentaro smirked.
"But this one is!" Applejack shouted as she pointed the brush at herself. "Look, I'm a very busy gal and you're bothering me."
"If you're that busy then let's…"
"Look!" Applejack snapped. "Ya can use the fields to test ya powers. Just leave me alone and don't make a mess."
Applejack walked away so she could do her chores. In his mind, he only tried to be kind to her but didn't realize he was annoying her.
"I guess it kinda worked out in the end," Pinkie said.
"Don't take it personally, Gentaro. Applejack just has a lot in her mind right now. Her brother left her his responsibilities to maintain the farm until he gets better," Rainbow Dash explained.
"When will that happen?" Gentaro asked
"Probably in a week or two."
"Then it's settled, when Applejack comes back to school I'll make it my highest priority to become friends with her!" Gentaro exclaimed.
A few moments later, everyone gathered at the big open field behind the farmhouse. Gentaro was already transformed into Fourze. Twilight handed the Kamen Rider the Hopping Switch and pulled out Burgermeal. The Foodroid transformed into its android form and displayed a video call with Kengo.
"Ah, it's about time you guys tested it out. I hope you secured a spot where Fourze won't get spotted," Kengo said over the video
"Don't worry, we're in the outskirts of town. No one should be able to see us," Twilight said.
"Alright, good. The module you're testing out is going to be the Hopping Switch. It will give you a pogo stick in your left leg. It should help you increase your jumping capabilities."
"Cool, let's do this!" Fourze exclaimed enthusiastically. He pulled out the Fourze Driver and wrapped it around his waist. He pulled out the Drill Switch and replaced it with the Hopping Switch.
Hopping
Gentaro flicked the Switch.
Hopping on!
A maroon-colored pogo stick attachment was on Gentaro's left leg.
"For this test, we just need to see how high Fourze goes up in the air," Kengo said.
"That should be simple," Fourze said. Twilight and everyone backed off so that they could see how high Fourze could jump into the air. Fourze jumped into the air and landed on his left leg. The spring was pushed back against his foot.
"Uchu…" Fourze paused and anticipated the spring to launch him into the air. After a few seconds of silence and nothingness, Fourze said, "It looks like the spring is stu-AH!"
Gentaro was suddenly launched into the air with no warning. Everyone gasped as Fourze was flying higher than what was expected. Kengo wasn't concerned for Fourze's safety since he still had the propulsion pack and the other Astroswitches to use to land safely.
"Hm, it looks like I accidentally added another zero to the power of the Hopping Module," Kengo said as he observed the Astroswitch's programming.
"Are you not concerned about his safety?!" Twilight shouted.
"No, because he should have all of the Astroswitches on him in case of an emergency," Kengo said. When he looked back at Gentaro, he had the Parachute Module activated and slowly descended downwards. "See? Looks like I'll just have to do some minor tweaking to the Hopping Module tomorrow. It should be fixed by after school."
Kengo disconnected from the call. Burgermeal transformed back to a burger and Twilight put it away in her backpack. Fourze finally landed after a few moments
"So what now?" Fourze asked.
"Kengo needs to do some minor tweaking to the Hopping Module so in the meantime we don't have to do anything," Twilight said.
"Wait for just a second," Rainbow Dash said. "Remember the deal I proposed this morning if you included this morning?"
"The one where you're going to personally train us?" Pinkie asked.
"Yeah, that one. Since we're already out here, I hope you're ready to train your butts off!" Rainbow Dash proclaimed.
"Wait, but we're not dressed to do any form of training. We're still in our school clothing," Twilight pointed out.
"Then how about you transform into those magical girl outfits. Since you're going to be fighting in those clothes you might as well train in them. Same with Gentaro in his Kamen Rider costume."
"Wait, why do I have to train?" Fourze asked.
"Because if you guys want to become Canterlot's very own superhero, then you're going to need someone who knows how to train a fighter."
"You can train fighters?" Twilight questioned.
"No, but I watched a lot of martial arts movies and they have a lot of montages where the protagonist works until they drop! So that's what I'm going to do to you guys!"
"Oh, no…" Twilight muttered.
"Ow…" Twilight groaned as she slowly walked to her desk.
"Did something happen yesterday? Kengo asked.
"Well, Rainbow Dash suggested that she "train our butts off" so that we can be more prepared and ready when a Zodiart attack…" Twilight said as she sat down. She pulled out the Hopping Switch and handed it to Kengo. "Here's the Astroswitch by the way."
"I'll have it fixed by the end of the school day. Can I expect you and the others to test it out?" Kengo asked.
"Y-yeah, sure," Twilight said. While Kengo was blunt with his request, she felt like it wasn't as passive-aggressive when they used to talk. She commented, "You seem to be openly trusting today."
"That's because of what you told me a few days ago," Kengo said. "I acted like I was the only one who had a burden because of what Luna did to my father but you made me realize that I'm not the only one in pain. You, Pinkie, and the other Equestrian citizens are going through something greater."
"Wow, this is the first time he's been so open about his emotions and feelings," Twilight thought.
"Although, while I'm open about working with others, I'm not okay with turning this into a club. We're trying to save the school and potentially the world, not gossip and hang out. That pink-haired fool won't stop pestering me about turning the Rabbit Hatch into a party room," Kengo said. "I swear, all of her ideas are equally idiotic as they are nonsensical."
"Ah, there's the cold Kengo I know," Twilight thought.
Gilda was walking down the hallway during the passing period. She noticed Rainbow was in front of her while walking in the same direction. Before Gilda could grab her attention, Pinkie Pie walked out of the classroom and noticed Rainbow Dash.
"Heya, Rainbow Dash!" Pinkie exclaimed.
"Hey, Pinkie," Rainbow Dash greeted back. "I'm surprised you're not in that much pain after training. I saw Twilight this morning and man, that girl could barely walk."
"Oh, my body is completely sore right now. I'm just really good at hiding the pain," Pinkie explained.
"I hope you're ready for more training after school," Rainbow Dash said.
"What? More training!" Pinkie exclaimed.
"That's right, I'm training you guys until you become hardened warriors," Rainbow Dash proclaimed.
Pinkie gulped and realized that they still have classes to attend. "Well, I'll see you around."
"Yeah, see you later," Rainbow Dash said.
The two girls went their separate ways. Gilda was hiding behind the lockers since she wanted to eavesdrop on them. She clenched her fist as she glared at Pinkie Pie.
"What the hell? Why is Rainbow Dash so close to these guys all of the sudden," Gilda thought.
Hopping on!
"Alright, are you sure this isn't going to launch me 400 meters into the air? Fourze asked. The Kamen Pony Club met up in the park after school to test out Kengo's modifications. Twilight suggested they find an alternative spot to test out the Astroswitch since they wanted to avoid pestering Applejack.
"I fixed the Hopping Switch's programming so that it isn't as powerful as before," Kengo said. "You should be able to jump up to 40 meters into the air."
"Alright!" Fourze exclaimed, "Let's do this!"
Fourze jumped into the air and landed on the ground. He bounced onto the Hopping Module a few times before losing his balance. He landed on his front and turned off the module.
"It looks like the Hopping Switch isn't going to be of any use," Kengo said. "If he can't reach the highest possible height then it's pointless to use in battle."
"Nonsense! Riding a pogo isn't something you master the second you use. It takes time and practice. Luckily we have Friday and the entire weekend to get Gentaro good at it! As for the rest of you…" Rainbow Dash turned to Twilight and Pinkie, "... I hope you're ready for a very intensive weekend!"
Pinkie and Twilight shared glances before gulping. Gentaro fell flat on the ground while groaning.
"Except you Kengo, you will probably pass out if you do anything physically straining," Rainbow Dash pointed out.
"Good, I don't want to waste any time doing trivial exercises," Kengo said before leaving.
Everyone except Kengo trained like hell over the weekend. The trio of fighters was sore from Sunday's training, which consisted of a two-mile run to warm up the session followed by drills. The outcome was that Gentaro was able to use the Hopping Module to some extent. Unfortunately by the time he mastered the Hopping Module, he suffered a minor head injury when he crashed through a thick branch. The suit may be invulnerable to pain but Gentaro could still get hurt internally.
"Can we agree not to let Rainbow Dash get… extreme with her training sessions…" Twilight spoke.
"Agree," Gentaro sighed. "At least I managed to get used to the Hopper Module."
"I couldn't even dance as hard as I usually do at the parties I usually throw!" Pinkie complained.
"Heya, guys!" Rainbow Dash shouted as she announced her arrival. Everyone turned around with an exhausted look. "Did I overdo your training last weekend?"
"Yes/Definitely/Yep," Twilight, Gentaro, and Pinkie spoke at the same time.
"I think I got wrapped up in the excitement and pushed you all too hard," Rainbow Dash said. "How about we hold off the training session for the next two days?"
"That sounds like a reasonable plan. It will give you time to think of a decently well-thought-out training session that doesn't leave us sore and exhausted," Twilight said.
"Yeah, we still need to be ready to fight whenever a Zodiart appears," Gentaro said. "Can't do that if we're too exhausted."
"Right," Rainbow Dash said in agreement.
On the rooftops of Canterlot High was Gilda, who was watching over the Kamen Pony Club walking into the main building. Behind her was the Scorpion Zodiart.
"What the hell, Dash? Why did you pick those losers to hang out over me?!" Gilda shouted.
"She must've completely forgotten about you once she realized that you live a boring, simple life compared to those three," Scorpion said.
"What do you mean?"
"You heard about the rumors of the superhero in white?"
"Of course I did. Everyone in school wouldn't stop talking about him for days," Gilda said.
"Well, that new student, Gentaro is that superhero."
"So Rainbow Dash preferred a superhero over me…" Gilda muttered.
"And it's not just Gentaro. Those two girls also have magical powers. It's pretty simple what Rainbow Dash did to you. She left you because you were weak," Scorpion said. "You and I have a similar goal: we both want to get rid of the nuisance that is those three students."
"Well, what do you suggest?" Gilda asked.
During lunch, Twilight and Rainbow Dash were walking to the Rabbit Hatch together after they bought their lunch. Twilight was catching up with Rainbow Dash on the backstory behind the Equestrian powers that she and Pinkie possess. Since Rainbow Dash forced her way into the group, Twilight thought she should tell them why they're fighting in the first.
"Huh, so I'm part-pony," Rainbow Dash said. "You guys are sure full of surprises."
"Yeah, it may sound ridiculous at first but you've seen our powers in action during the weekend."
"Well, your story does give the proper context to why you transform into magical girls. So you mean to tell me that there are four more girls like you out there?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Yes. For the Element of Harmony to reawaken, their representative must do something that element pertains to. So when Pinkie caused my brother to laugh, the Element of Laughter found its previous owner and bonded to her."
"I'm assuming it must be a proximity thing because I'm pretty sure those people would've already transformed by now," Rainbow Dash guessed.
"Correct, and that's why I'm going to ask you to help me find the remaining four elements," Twilight said. "With the connections you and Pinkie have, we should be able to single out the remaining four girls."
"Do you really think that the last four girls are the people in the school?" Rainbow Dash questioned.
"I could guess, but since apparently since we were close friends back in Equestria I could only assume we were around the same age," Twilight said.
"Well, there are 650 students in the school so you have a very broad search," Rainbow Dash said.
"If we subtract the male population we cut our search in half," Twilight pointed out.
"That's still 300 students we have to comb through," Rainbow Dash said. She chuckled and said, "That may be a challenge but I like one."
"Thanks, Rainbow."
"No problem, now that you told me everything about Equestria I feel like I have to help you guys out. If that Luna creep did something to an alternate version of myself I want revenge for her sake."
"Well, we're technically our pony selves since their souls merged with ours."
"Oh, then I have to help you guys out! Even though I don't have any powers I want to help."
The sound of a whip cracking was heard above the two girls. They looked up and saw a Zodiart covered in iron, Roman-inspired armor. The set of armor even came with the skirt around its waist. Its helmet had a visor-like face shield that hid its face. The two shoulder pads were designed after a goat's head. Five blue orbs were across its body. Two were on the belt, two on the shoulder, and one in the upper part of the chest. The Zodiart was armed with a brown whip.
"A Zodiart!" Twilight exclaimed. Four Dustards soon followed. They stood by the Zodiart. "Rainbow Dash, get to safety and call the others. I'll hold them off."
Twilight pulled out a gem and shouted, "Transform!"
She transformed into her magical form.
"But Twilight you can't just fight them all yourself," Rainbow Dash said.
"Don't worry, I should be able to hold my ground for a while until you arrive with the others."
Rainbow Dash nodded before running away from the fight.
"Leave the magical freak to me," the Zodiart said. "Go capture Rainbow Dash but make sure she is unharmed."
The ninjas complied with the Zodiart's orders and jumped down. They landed behind Twilight and started their chase. Twilight tried to blast them with magic but the whip wrapped around her hand and she was pulled down.
"I'm your opponent!" the Zodiart exclaimed before cracking her whip at Twilight. She quickly raised a protective bubble to block the attack. When the shield lowers, Twilight blasted the Zodiart in the chest.
Rainbow Dash ran to the building that the Rabbit Hatch was located in. Two Dustards landed in front of Rainbow Dash. The rainbow-haired teen turned around to run back but two more blocked her path. The Dustards sheathed their weapons. One tried to tackle down Rainbow Dash. She quickly leaped over him when he jumped at her. A Dustard tried to grab her by the ponytail but she quickly turned and kicked his arm. Finally one managed to grab onto her from behind. Rainbow Dash quickly stomped its toes and was freed.
Magic Hand on!
Before all four Dustards dog-piled onto Rainbow Dash, a claw-like mechanism grabbed her and pulled her back.
"Hey, let me go! I'll-! Rainbow Dash paused when she saw that it was Fourze that grabbed her. He used an Astroswitch Module that gave him a large mechanical claw. The Kamen Rider was there with Pinkie, who was transformed into her magical form.
"Man, we're so lucky that Kengo managed to pick the Cosmic Energy approaching the Rabbit Hatch. If we delayed any further you'd been toast," Fourze said.
"I don't think Rainbow was in any danger. Those ninjas must be dumb as a rock," Pinkie said. "They're weaker compared to those knights from a few days ago."
Pinkie pointed at the Dustards, who were slowly getting up after bashing their heads together by accident.
"Wanna do the honors?" Fourze asked as he gestured towards the ninjas.
"Aw, thanks," Pinkie said. A water fountain broke off and a geyser of water poured out. Pinkie controlled the water towards her. She formed a large ice mallet. The Pinkette jumped into the air and smashed the Dustards into a cloudy bliss. "That's four points for me!"
"Oh, so it's a game now? Technically I'm winning since I defeated a Zodiart and several ninjas already," Fourze said.
"What? That's not fair!"
"Uh, guys, Twilight is still in danger," Rainbow Dash. "Sorry 'bout that game afterward."
"She's in trouble?" Fourze asked.
"Uh-huh, she's fighting a Zodiart all by herself."
"We gotta hurry!" Pinkie proclaimed. Fourze nodded and disarmed the Hopping Module.
Rocket
Fourze inserted the Rocket Switch into the socket and flicked the switch.
Rocket on!
"Get Kengo, we might need his expertise and analysis against the Zodiart. Hold on tight, Pinkie," Gentaro said. He grabbed Pinkie and held her close to him. "Uchu… KITAI!"
Pinkie quickly held onto Fourze tightly. The Kamen Rider used the Rocket to fly into the air while holding Pinkie Pie.
"The shape of that constellation… it must be the Auriga constellation!" Twilight thought. Auriga cracked its whip at Twilight. The Element of Magic quickly rolled out of the way. "That must explain why it has a whip!"
"Pain in the ass…" Auriga muttered.
The Zodiart quickly wrapped its whip at a nearby bench and chucked it at Twilight. She used telekinesis to catch it and throw it back. Auriga snapped the bench into two with its whip. The Zodiart snapped its fingers and two Lunar Knights jumped down from the rooftops.
"End her right now!" the Zodiart commanded. The two Lunar Knights charged at Twilight while raising their lances.
"Incoming!" Fourze shouted as he used the Rocket to charge through the two Zodiarts from the side.
"Again!" Pinkie shouted excitedly. Fourze lets go of the Pinkie and deactivated the Rocket Module.
"So that must be the Zodiart!" Fourze shouted at the monster.
"It's a Zodiart based on the Auriga Constellation," Twilight explained.
"An ara-what-now?" Pinkie asked.
"A chariot rider. It will use that whip so be careful," Twilight said.
"Leave the Zodiart to me! I'll fight him mano-a-mano. You two deal with those knights!" Fourze shouted before charging at Auriga.
The two Lunar Knights got up. They turned their attention to Pinkie and Twilight to engage them in combat. Twilight lifted a garbage can to toss at the Lunar Knights. One of them sliced it in half before it charged. Its partner soon followed. Garbage flew everywhere as the trash can split into two. It failed to notice that Twilight still had her telekinesis control over the object. Twilight bashed the knights with the two-halves of the trashcan. Before Pinkie charged in with her hammer, Twilight grabbed her by a shoulder and turned her around.
Twilight waved her hand over Pinkie's face. A pink domino mask formed over her face. Pinkie touched it to make sure it was real. Twilight waved her hand over her own face and a purple mask formed over it.
"I added these masks to our transformation states to avoid people noticing us," Twilight explained.
"Nice, it's like we're formal superheroes now!" Pinkie exclaimed.
A Lunar Knight tried to slice downwards at Pinkie while they were distracted. Twilight raised a protective shield before the attack landed. Once the shield was lower, Pinkie batted the Lunar Knight with her hammer.
Launcher on!
Fourze fired a barrage of missiles at Auriga. He quickly used his whip to destroy those missiles. The Auriga Zodiart wrapped his whip around Fourze's left arm. Auriga lifted him in the air before slamming him into the ground. The Zodiart raised Fourze into the air again to slam him violently onto the ground. The Kamen Rider quickly flicked the Rocket Switch.
Rocket on!
Fourze used the Rocket Module to charge right at Auriga. He punched Auriga a few meters. The whip loosened and came off his arm. Pinkie swung her ice hammer at her opponent. The knight kept on blocking her predictable attacks. Meanwhile Twilight was trying to blast her opponent with her magic. The Lunar Knight easily blocked her attacks as it approached her. The knight swung his lance downwards at Twilight's head. Twilight used her telekinesis to divert the direction of the swing. The lance was stabbed into the ground and got stuck. The Lunar Knight tried to pull it out but Twilight blasted him in the chest.
Twilight quickly turned to Pinkie. The pinkette managed to get one lucky swing that broke off the blade of the lance. The Lunar Knight ditched his weapon once it realized it was broken. Pinkie swung her ice mallet again but the knight grabbed its head. It crushed it into icy bits and grabbed Pinkie by the collar. The Lunar Knight pulled back to punch the pinkette but Twilight managed to hold off its attack by using telekinesis. Pinkie took the opportunity to stab it in the stomach with the icy shaft of the hammer. She was freed once its body disappeared.
"Thanks, Twilight, I thought I was a goner for a second," Pinkie said.
Pinkie and Twilight both turned to Fourze who was still engaged with Auriga. The two of them ditched their weapons and fought with their fists. Fourze was the better hand-to-hand fighter, which didn't surprise Pinkie since she saw him kicking the Diamond Dogs' butts. Fourze uppercut Auriga into the air. The Zodiart crashed into a bench nearby.
Kengo arrives at the scene with Rainbow Dash behind him. Kengo placed down his laptop case while Rainbow Dash placed down Burgermeal.
"The Zodiart contains a large amount of cosmic energy. It's not a lot to destroy the school but it looks like it could have a trick up its sleeve," Kengo said. "You must destroy it as soon as possible before it could pull off its secret move."
"Aye aye!" Pinkie exclaimed as she transformed her ice into a watery tendril. She quickly wrapped it around Auriga and froze it. Now that the Zodiart was entrapped by Pinkie's icy snare, "Now is the time to finish it off!"
"Roger that!" Fourze shouted as he flicked his switches.
Rocket on! Drill on!
Fourze flew into the air with the Rocke. The Kamen Rider pulled the handle
e to activate his Limit Break.
Rocket + Drill: Limit Break
Fourze flew towards Auriga with his left leg extended out. The drill began to spark while the rocket thrusters blasted off. Violent sparks flew when the drill tried to punch through Auriga. The drill dug into Auriga before the Zodiart blew turned off the Rocket and Drill Switches while the smoke was clearing out. As the smoke cleared out, Gilda was found in a small crater on the ground with a Switch next to her.
"Huh? Gilda?!" Rainbow Dash Dash was confused about why Gilda would become a monster who would attack her friends.
"Gilda…" Rainbow spoke, with a slightly broken tone. "Why were you the monster?"
"I chose this path because you placed obstacles in our friendships, Dash!" Gilda snapped. She got up and picked up the Switch. "Libra promised me that this power could help me get rid of your new, lame friends.
"Libra?" Fourze asked.
"Must be one of the generals of the Zodiarts. He must be based on the Libra horoscope," Kengo guesses.
Rainbow Dash glared at Gilda. She said, "I didn't expect my friend to try to kill my new friends!"
"And I didn't expect my most trusted friend to leave me aside like I was nothing!"
Rainbow Dash blinked when she realized her own faults in this mess.
"Gosh, Gilda. I-I'm sorry. I never meant to hurt you," Rainbow Dash said.
"But you did," Gilda glared. Kengo thought that the Astroswitch should be their priority to worry about. He thinks that this drama between two friends was pointless in the grand scheme of things
"We need to get rid of that Switch as soon as possible," Kengo told fourze.
"Right," Fourze said as he approached Gilda. The girl backed off as Fourze walked up to her. "For your own sake, give me the Switch."
"I don't care. Once I'm stronger I'll show you that Rainbow Dash doesn't need to hang out with weaklings like you!"
"The Switch turned someone like Miura into a bloodthirsty monster! Please give it to us before it warps your mind even further!" Rainbow Dash pleases.
"Don't worry Rainbow Dash, I'll prove to you that I'm strong enough to use the Switch!" Gilda shouted. She ran away just as a crowd of students arrived.
The explosion that blew up Auriga was loud so it most definitely attracted a crowd. They were distracted by the sight of Fourze and the two magical girls to notice Gilda walking into the crowds.
"Gilda wait!" Rainbow tried to give chase to Gilda but lost her in the crowd.
Students began taking pictures of the Kamen Rider and the magical girls. Images of Fourze have been circling the school he was seen during the gym and stadium incidents. There were also pictures of Fourze during the time he drove to the forest to save his friends.
"Woah is that White Rocket!" a student shouted.
"No, his name is Rocketeer!" another shouted.
"This is embarrassing!" Twilight cried. She was lucky that she wore a mask. She was embarrassed
"Just enjoy the press while it lasts!" Pinkie shouted as she did a peace sign over her eyes while winking.
"UCHU KITAI!" Fourze shouted as he did his signature pose.
"We love you Spaceman!" another female student cried for attention.
"His name is Astro!" a male student raised his voice.
"It looks like people don't know what to call you," Pinkie pointed out.
The Kamen Rider pointed at the crowd and proclaimed, "Name's Kamen Rider Fourze, the 28th Kamen Rider!"
"A Kamen Rider?" a student asked.
"They're like superheroes that come from Japan," a Japanese student said.
"We have one in America? That's cool!" another Japanese student commented.
"Okay, everyone break it up!" Rarity announced. Everyone cleared a path for Rarity to walk through. "The bell is about to ring and I want everyone to make it on time. Plus I'm sure our heroes have their personal lives to worry about."
"But Rarity, we wanna know more about them. Especially the two cute sidekicks," a male student said.
"C-cute…" Twilight blushed as she covered her face out of embarrassment.
"Come on now. They are busy people," Rarity said. Let's just worry about getting to class and enjoy the rest of the day that they saved."
"Yes, Rarity," the crowd of students said before dispersing. Once the crowd was gone, Rarity turned to the heroes.
"Now that they're gone, you guys can finally explain what you're doing at our school," Rarity said. "As president of this school, I need to wonder why you're doing this for the safety of my fellow classmates."
"I think she deserves to know," Fourze told Twilight.
"Someone in this school is distracting devices that transform them into Zodiarts, monsters who use Cosmic Energy," Twilight explained.
"Wait, so the person who attacked the school last and today was someone from this school?"
"Yeah. It's our job to destroy those Switches before someone crosses the point of no return," Fourze said.
"If they cross that line, they'll forever stay as a Zodiart."
"That sounds terrible! Is there any way I can help?" Rarity asked.
"Since you're class president, can you find a way to spread the message?" Twilight requested.
"Most certainly," Rarity said. "Now I have one more important thing to ask…"
Twilight glanced at the others out of concern over the next question.
"Where did you get the material for your costumes?" Rarity asked. "The fabric would look nice on the dress I'm working on."
"Uh, our costumes came from magic so I don't know where you could come from."
"Oh, really? That's a shame. You both look fabulous by the way," Rarity said. "Whoever designed your costumes did a wonderful job."
"She only said both. Is she only referring to Pinkie and Twilight? What's wrong with my costume!" Fourze thought with jealousy.
Rarity glanced at Fourze. She thought, "Just what is with that helmet? Is it suppose to be a pen cap? And those eyes!"
"You look fine too, darling," Rarity said.
"She could've been silent instead," Fourze thought.
The school bell rang; Twilight realized they still had a class to attend.
"Oh, would you look at the time? You must have class," Twilight asked.
"Pssh, I have a free period after lunch. My day is practically over," Rarity said.
"You may be free, but we're not. Later!" Twilight proclaimed before shouting, "Teleport!"
Twilight teleported herself, Fourze, and Pinkie to the Rabbit Hatch in a flash. Meanwhile, Gilda found herself retreating to the gym's roof. She needed to get away to catch her breath.
"So you still have your Switch?" Scorpion asked as he approached Gilda.
"Scorpion! How'd you find me?" Gilda asked.
"It's Master Scorpion, and I only found you because I'm always keeping a watchful eye on my pupils."
"The Switch you have me blows. I need one that's stronger than this one!"
"Remember your place, Auriga!" Scorpion snapped. "You're only a novice compared to me!"
"Whatever," Gilda scoffed. "So did you come back to take the Switch away from me?"
"No, I came here to propose a plan. It's obvious fighting all three of those pests by yourself won't be enough. You need help," Scorpion said.
"Yeah! Those ninjas and knights are of no use!" Gilda snapped. "Just do you plan?"
Scorpion pulled out a second Switch.
The next day, Rainbow Dash got a text message when she walked to school. It read:
Look Dash, Im sorry about leavin u yesterday like that. Ik that ur mad me rn but I want to talk. Idk what 2 do with this Switch. Plz meet me at the rooftops during lunch. Dont bring ur lame friends. I can't stand them!
Rainbow Dash showed the message to the others as they walked to school.
"It's obviously a trap," Twilight said.
"Uh-huh, it's a big red X! Especially since she asked you to come alone!" Pinkie pointed out.
"I know but I can't help but feel responsible for this mess," Rainbow Dash said. "If I hadn't ignored her she wouldn't be like this."
"You can still talk to her but you're not going alone," Gentaro said. "We'll stand by in case anything happens."
Rainbow Dash went to the rooftops of the gym at Gilda's request. Gilda was leaning on the ledge. Gilda heard the door opening and turned around to see Rainbow Dash.
"Gilda…" Rainbow Dash muttered. Fourze, Pinkie, and Twilight stood by. The girls were in their transformed state.
"Hey, Dash," Gilda said. "Look, I just want to apologize for yesterday."
"No, I should be the one who's sorry," Rainbow Dash said. "I was the one who pushed you away in the first place. I shouldn't have ignored my old friend like that."
Burgermeal rolled into the room Fourze and the others. An image of Kengo appeared.
"I'm receiving several scans of Cosmic Energy throughout the school!" Kengo proclaimed.
"How many?" Twilight asked
"I'm detecting four hotspots of Cosmic energy!"
"Why are they attacking now of all times?" Fourze asked.
"It doesn't matter, we have to do something before they do something severe," Twilight said. "Both of you deal with the attackers. I'll stay behind to watch over Rainbow Dash."
"Okay, stay safe," Fourze said before he left with Pinkie.
Back outside, Gilda noticed a Dustard giving the thumbs up before it leaped away. Gilda reached into her pockets. She pulled out a Switch.
"Look, Rainbow Dash, I know you probably heard bad things about these Switches but hear me out at least," Gilda said. Twilight was on edge when she saw the Switch on her hand. Gilda tossed it at Rainbow Dash. "We can become stronger together if you become a Zodiart with me! You can ditch those guys and become unstoppable with me!"
"I'm not going to betray my new friends just because my childhood friend told me to do so," Rainbow Dash said. "This isn't about being strong, Gilda. I've joined them because I thought it would be exciting to tag along with an actual superhero but now I want to tag along because it's the right thing to do. I'm never going to betray them no matter what you say!"
Rainbow Dash tossed the Switch off the rooftop. Twilight's bag began to glow and the Element of Loyalty flew out of the backpack. It quickly flew right in front of Rainbow Dash, surprising her.
"Woah!" Rainbow Dash jumped a bit. "Wait? Is this one of the Elements?"
"Rainbow Dash is an Element?" Twilight asked herself. Gilda clenched her fist as she pulled out her Switch.
"I see how it is, Dash! You prefer to become a lame-ass magic princess with them rather than sticking with me!" Gilda shouted.
Last one!
Gilda pressed on the Switch to transform into Auriga once more. Her body became covered in a webby cocoon as Auriga was summoned.
"You'll regret not joining my side!" Auriga shouted as it cracked the whip at Rainbow Dash. Twilight quickly ran out of the room to protect Rainbow Dash from the attack with a bubble.
"Rainbow, grab the gem and shout transform!" Twilight said.
"I know, I know! I've seen you do it before!" Rainbow Dash shouted as she grabbed the gem. "Transform!"
In a flash of blue light, Rainbow transformed into her magical state. Her costume consisted of a black one-piece suit with blue plating across her body. In the center of the chest piece was a cloud with a rainbow-colored lightning bolt. She wore a headpiece similar to Twilight and Pinkie Pie. Her headpiece was white with a rainbow top with her blue pony self. The pony's mane was similar to Rainbow's hair. Rainbow's transformation was different as she had a pair of wings.
"Huh? I have wings?!" Rainbow Dash questioned.
Auriga cracked its whip and shattered the protective bubble around Rainbow Dash. The rainbow-haired girl began to emit lightning across her body. She dodged an incoming attack in a rainbow blur. When Auriga cracked its whip again, Rainbow Dash dodged it successfully in a similar blur. Auriga groaned before unleashing an endless wave of attacks. Rainbow Dash managed to dodge most of them in superspeed.
"Superspeed must be Rainbow Dash's innate powers," Twilight noted. Lightning began to course through Rainbow Dash's arms and legs. She realized what her element was really quickly.
Rainbow Dash fired a bolt of lightning at her fingertips on her right hand at Auriga. Rainbow Dash smirked as she fired another bolt with her left hand. She began blasting Auriga rapidly with her lightning fingers. Auriga inched closer to the edge of the rooftops before falling off. A purple flash occurred below and Auriga flew up onto the roof in a chariot.
The chariot was white with golden accents. Its mounts were two griffons. Auriga whipped the griffons to get them to carry the chariot out of here. Before Rainbow Dash chased after the Zodiart with her wings, Twilight stopped her.
"Wait!" Twilight shouted. "Do you even know how to fly!?"
"No, but I'm a quick learner," Rainbow Dash smirked. Twilight rolled her eyes over her remark. She waved her hand over Rainbow Dash's face and a blue domino mask appeared over her eyes.
"This is to protect your identity," Twilight said. "Please try not to crash into anything."
"No promises," Rainbow Dash said as she flapped her wings.
The wings were on a sorta autopilot. Rainbow Dash didn't need to focus much on her wings since they were flapping for her. She wasn't sure if it was the pony instincts kicking in. Rainbow Dash chased after Auriga, leaving a rainbow trail behind. The first thing that happened to Rainbow was crashing through a window because she didn't realize she was this fast. Rainbow Dash flew through the building with ease since no student was currently inside.
When Rainbow Dash crashed on the other side she saw Auriga driving through. The speedy teen chased after the Zodiart while blasting lightning through her fingers. Most of them were missed shots. The bolts that were missed caused some damage to the school. Students around the area panicked and started to run inside.
Chainsaw on!
Fourze dropped his leg onto a Dustard and let the chainsaw cut him. The Kamen Rider split up with Pinkie Pie to deal with the multiple threats. He gained an audience of sorts. Fourze sliced through a Dustard as he turned around.
Launcher!
Fourze replaced the Chainsaw Module with the Launcher Module.
Launcher on!
Fourze fired a barrage of rockets at the remaining Dustards. The foot soldiers blew up in a black cloud. Auriga soon arrived in the area with Rainbow Dash chasing her. The crowd behind was amazed and clapped their hands. Shun was amongst the crowd but was unimpressed since he knew the person behind the mask. Auriga suddenly flew over Fourze with Rainbow Dash following right behind her. Fourze turned around once the two flew past his head.
"Huh?" the Kamen Rider wondered with bewilderment.
Rainbow Dash chased Auriga high in the skies. The Zodiart turned around to face Rainbow Dash to directly attack her. Rainbow Dash didn't expect her opponent to directly face her. She was unprepared to face Auriga's whip attack. The winged-teen tried to block the attack with her arms but was knocked out of the sky. Fourze noticed Rainbow falling.
Magic hand on! Hopping on!
Fourze quickly jumped into the air with the Hopping Module. He caught Rainbow Dash with the Magic Hand and used the propulsion pack to safely land. The Kamen Rider was surprised that the tomboy was an Element of Harmony.
"Dash?" Fourze questioned.
"Yeah, it turns out I'm an Element like the others," Rainbow Dash explained as Fourze let go of her. "Thanks for saving my butt."
"No problem!"
The Radar Switch began to ring. Fourze quickly activated it to answer the call.
"It looks like the Auriga Zodiart is in its Last One state, which allows it to summon a chariot powered by Cosmic Energy," Kengo explained.
"Alright, so how do we deal with it?" Fourze asked.
"We need to separate Auriga from its chariot. To do so, we're going to need one person to chase Auriga and set up an ambush. Unfortunately, Fourze is nowhere near fast enough to catch up with the Zodiart."
"But I am!"Rainbow Dash exclaimed as she popped her head in.
"Huh? You're an Element too?!" Kengo exclaimed in confusion. Kengo cleared his throat before saying, "It doesn't matter. Just do whatever you can to get Auriga off the chariot."
"Consider it done, Kengo," Rainbow Dash remarked.
"Don't call me by my first name," Kengo shrugged before signing off.
Auriga flew around the school to destroy the area with her whip. Rainbow Dash flew towards her. The Zodiart took notice and tried to attack the Element with its whip. Rainbow Dash quickly flew back to avoid the attack. She wasn't going to fall for the same attack again. Auriga whipped its griffon and it carried her away. Rainbow Dash chased the Zodiart through the school once again.
Fourze waited in the corner of the building with Twilight and Pinkie Pie. The Kamen Rider had the Hopping and Magic Hand module activated. Pinkie had binoculars made out of ice to peep around the corner. Once she spotted Auriga being chased by Rainbow Dash, Pinkie gave the signal.
"Get ready to jump…" Pinkie said. Fourze began to stop on the ground to get ready to jump. Once Auriga got closer, the pinkette shouted, "Now!"
Fourze jumped into the air just as Auriga flew past him. The Kamen Rider caught her with the Magic Hand Module. He threw her to the ground. The chariot Auriga controlled flew upwards and into space.
"My chariot!" Auriga cried out.
"Now you have nowhere to go!" Fourze shouted as Pinkie and Twilight circled the Zodiart.
"Hey, where's Rainbow Dash? We can't circle her if there's-" Pinkie was interrupted by Rainbow Dash screaming.
"AAAAAH!" Rainbow Dash cried out as she flew straight towards Auriga. Lightning began to spark across her leg before her leg became covered in it.
"Lightning…" Rainbow Dash shouted as she extended her leg towards the Zodiart. "Kick!"
Rainbow Dash kicked through the Zodiart. Auriga landed on its knees. As it fell forward, the body blew up.
"Nice one!" Fourze shouted as he gave Dash the thumbs up. The Switch rolled towards the Fourze. He picked it up and pressed the Switch to destroy it.
"That's one less Zodiart to worry about now," Pinkie said.
"Come on, let's go see if Rainbow Dash's friend is alright," Twilight said.
"Those idiots inadvertently reawakened another Element of Harmony!" Luna shouted.
Even though she was stuck on an island, Luna could see what goes on in the outside world. She watched the fight between her enemies and the Auriga Zodiart. When she remembered Rainbow Dash back in Equestria, she realized that the Zodiarts unintentionally awakened another Element of Harmony.
"They're halfway finished with completing their ranks and Fourze is getting stronger with each new Astroswtich," Luna said before sighing. A Lunar Knight approached his master.
"Lady Luna, we found the Shadowbolts," the Lunar Knight spoke.
"Excellent, we can begin to make our moves against the Elements of Harmony," Luna smirked devilishly. "If the Zodiarts aren't able to crush them, I'll do it myself."
Author's Note:
What a way to start a new year with this story. Longest chapter yet! Auriga is the first of many original Zodiarts made for the story. Other than the Horoscopes and a select few Zodiarts from the show, most of the monsters will be original creations to spice things up a bit. I'm attempting to make some major divergence with the structure of both Fourze and Mauroz's webcomic. One of the criticisms I received in my Jojo/My Hero story is that I follow too closely the source material. So I took it to heart.
One more thing I'd like to mention is that I'm ditching the two-part episode arcs of Fourze just because I want to condense everything. So far the plan of this story is to finish this story within 45-60 chapters without counting bonus ones like the future Legacy Rider chapters.
Anyways, leave a like and follow if you enjoyed this chapter. Also please leave a constructive review of my story. Until next time.
Up next: Apple Rumble