The G1 ponies find a door connecting to the G4 world, and some of them form an expedition, with Megan and her siblings coming along. Ponies meet ponies, and the mane 6 are given a new gift. Meanwhile on Earth, a veteran Ranger finds himself reunited with an old friend he thought had left him. There is an impending gathering of friends old and new, where ponies will meet Rangers. Everything seems to be going fine.
But we all know that can't last, don't we? For an old enemy is plotting in secret, and will soon seize her chance.
My Little Pony & Power Rangers (working title) Chapter 1: Setting the stage
The wind whistled quietly through the grass of a small farm. A pony who was now getting on in years, quite old for a pony in fact, slept peacefully in the stable dreaming of his best runs and jumps. A young woman with blonde hair stood on the farmhouse balcony, gazing at the night sky. It was peaceful, relaxing. She felt a hand on her shoulder, and turned around to find her older sister standing behind her. "Oh. Hi," she said. "I was just..." "Thinking about them?" her sister finished for her. "Yeah. I miss them, we haven't heard from them in a while." "Don't worry. I'm sure they're alright. They've probably just been busy like we have." "I guess you're right Megan." "Come on Molly, let's settle down for tonight. We'll need to be well-rested for tomorrow."
Meanwhile in Reefside, Oregon a certain science teacher was checking his mailbox one last time before going home for the night. He found a somewhat dirty white envelope with no return address, only a postmark. A very familiar postmark. "Angel Grove...". The teacher opened the envelope to find a typed letter. It was short and to the point: Meet me at the Youth Center as soon as you can, I'll be in town for at least as long as it takes. I have something very important to tell you. Something I've waited a long time to be able to tell you. You will know me when you see me. The teacher felt his heart speed up slightly. Whoever it was that sent this obviously knew him. Could it be...?
He pocketed the letter, locked up the classroom, and drove home. There were some things he needed to grab before he left, just in case. He entered the secret rooms below his house and retrieved a black wrist-bracelet shaped like a dinosaur's head along with the matching key. He also dug out a silver wristwatch-like device and a small lockbox with two strange symbols on it. He stuffed these into his jacket, left a note for Conner and the others, locked up the lab, and threw a cooler into the car. "Angel Grove, here I come," said Dr. Tommy Oliver as he drove off for his old hometown.
Far away, over space-time boundaries, on another world in another universe, a purple Unicorn Pony by the name of Twilight Sparkle was up late studying a book on alternate universes that her mentor had sent her. Two had caught her interest in particular. One was the world containing Ponyland, populated by Little Ponies like Equestria was. Some of the more famous ones reminded her of herself and her friends. One even had a similar name to hers -Twilight- and bore an uncanny resemblance to her mother. Twilight, along with a pink Pegasus named Firefly (who reminded her of Rainbow Dash), an earth pony named Applejack (who looked almost exactly like her friend by the same name would if she untied her hair - the only difference was she had more apples in her Cutie Mark), another Earth Pony named Bowtie, and their human ally Megan had killed an evil Centaur warlord named Tirac, who had attempted to do the same thing Nightmare Moon had and bring about Nighttime Eternal, or as he had called it, "The Night that Never Ends". While these ponies had left to seek adventure elsewhere, Megan had been brought in to help with several more crises, such as a Witchweed addict named Katrina and two attacks by a trio of witches (one of which had involved Smooze - Twilight Sparkle shuddered at the very thought of the legendary monstrous sludge.) Like most of these worlds, it was similar to the Everfree Forest: Climactic forces didn't need the guidance and drive of Pegasi to not die, animals were all independent to a degree, and even the sun and moon rose and set on their own. To Twilight this was bizarre indeed, but she could see something of a benefit to it.
The other universe to catch her attention was the one with the particular version of the planet Earth that Megan called home. Beginning in the year 1993 (by their most common calendar), Earth had fallen under attack by a succession of evil forces, most of which were from other planets in the same universe. The first was a wicked witch named Rita Repulsa. To defend Earth against a threat its military forces could not handle, a wizard named Zordon recruited a group of five high school students to serve as superheroes called Power Rangers. In the years since, Earth had faced threats ranging from various alien invasions to demons attempting conquest to crazed scientists to evil spirits, and many teams of Power Rangers had been formed. Twilight Sparkle, intrigued, turned to the bookshelves to see what information the books had to offer on Power Rangers.
It proved quite fascinating. Morphers, Zords (and their combined forms, Megazords), various kinds of power sources for the Ranger powers. And... She got the feeling that Princess Celestia had had more than her entertainment in mind when she sent that book. She wrote a letter asking Celestia if she was planning anything, and set it aside to send in the morning. Then she went to sleep.
At the same time as all this was happening, in Ponyland a white pony with a pink mane was thinking of her friends Megan, Molly, and Danny, remembering their adventures together and the good times they'd had. Wondering how Megan's pony TJ was doing - ponies of Megan's world didn't live as long as the Little Ponies did, after all. She was so absorbed in these thoughts that she didn't notice the blue pegasus with the pink mane walking up to her. "Hello, Sundance." "Eep! Oh, hi Wind Whistler. I was just..." "Thinking of Megan and company, right?" Wind Whistler finished for her. "Yeah. We should invite them over again, it's been too long since we last saw them," Sundance said. "I know," Wind Whistler told her. "In fact, I came to tell you that I discovered something they should see. It's a nexus of gateways to other worlds, similar to the door to the Land of Legends, but not exactly like it. Passage through them will not risk causing damage to the worlds on either side. I hypothesize that one of them leads to another world of Little Ponies."
Sundance was thrilled at the prospect of another adventure, especially since Megan and her siblings would be joining them. "That's great! Do we get them now, or wait 'til morning?" "We wait until morning of course. They will need to be well-rested, and so will everyone else who is going," answered Wind Whistler. "Including us. I don't know about you, but I am particularly tired after flying all the way over to Firefly's home to tell her and her friends. They're going to meet us at the nexus tomorrow." "Really? That's great!" "Indeed it is. Come now, let's get some sleep so that we'll be ready on time." "Has anyone told Megan yet?" Sundance asked, the thought having suddenly occurred to her. "Not yet," said Wind Whistler, pleased at her friend seeing that this would logically be a necessary step, "But Ribbon's about to." Ribbon was a unicorn gifted in telepathy, and as such could contact others mentally be they awake or asleep.
On a faraway planet, deep in the heart of the Desert of Despair, a mysterious blue man with a metal body lay snoring, until something awoke him. That something was a teleported scroll case landing on his head. He shook himself awake and opened it - it was from somebody he recognized but had not heard from in a long time. They were asking him if he had finished the first part of a certain project, and to bring said project to their domain as soon as possible. Ninjor thought for a moment, then slapped his forehead in recognition. Of course! That project. He had indeed finished that first part of the project and had the basic framework completed for the second. And now with the basic evaluation of his client's recruits he could finish it. He quickly wrote a reply and teleported it to the client.
As Megan, Molly, and Danny lay asleep in their beds they heard a familiar voice in their heads. {"Hello? Can you here me?"} {"Ribbon? Is that you?"} {"Yes. I have important news we discovered a nexus of doors to other worlds. Wind Whistler says one of them probably goes to another world where ponies like us live. Anyway, we want you to come along and check it out with us. North Star, Wind Whistler, and Firefly will be coming tomorrow to pick you up, if that would be okay."} The three humans were delighted by the prospect. {"Of course it is,"} answered Megan. {"We're not going to be busy tomorrow, and we haven't seen you in a while. We've missed you."} {"Alright. See you tomorrow then."}
My Little Pony & Power Rangers (working title) Chapter 2: The Groups Begin to Gather
Twilight Sparkle shook herself awake and climbed out of her bed. Her young dragon assistant, Spike, was already up and awake preparing breakfast. "Good morning, Spike. Sleep okay?" she asked. "Yep. Did you?" Twilight nodded. "I have a letter to Princess Celestia I need you to send. It's next to the fruit bowl." Spike was surprised, but went and got the letter anyway. He held it carefully in his claw, took a deep breath, and blew teleporting fire at it. "What's it about, Twilight?"
"It's about something she had me start researching. I'll tell you when she replies," the lavender unicorn assured him as she sat down at the table. "Thank you for making breakfast, Spike," she added. "No sweat," replied the dragon, picking up and biting into a piece of quartz. He really looked up to Twilight Sparkle - she had hatched him, had raised him, and took care of him. She was his mother in everything but the biological sense. Assisting her in her duties and occasionally fixing breakfast for her was the least he could do. He worried about her sometimes, like during her bout of PTSD after Discord's defeat when she had gotten a bit too obsessed with being orderly and on time. That had been rather scary, and he had been thoroughly relieved when Princess Celestia had been able to defuse things.
Spike's thoughts were soon interrupted by a familiar feeling in his stomach. He gave a burp and a scroll bearing Celestia's seal materialized. Twilight Sparkle quickly unrolled it telekinetically, eager to see her mentor's answer. "Dear Twilight Sparkle, You are quite perceptive. Yes, I had another motive for sending you that book, and for pointing you to the sections about Ponyland and Power Rangers. In Ponyland there is a nexus of doorways leading to other realms, and one of the doors connects to Equestria. A monitoring spell I placed on it a long time ago informed me yesterday that the nexus had been rediscovered by the ponies there, and that some of them planned to pass through today. The Equestrian side of the door is close to Ponyville, which will be the first town they come to. I want you and your friends to be ready to greet them and help make them feel welcome. Do be sure to tell the Mayor as well. As for having you read up on the Power Rangers, suffice to say for now that I felt it would give you better grounding for any future crises you might have to deal with. Luna and I will tell you more tomorrow evening. Until then, it's nothing you need to worry about. Let me know when the expedition from Ponyland arrives. Your loving mentor, Princess Celestia."
Spike was speechless. He knew about alternate dimensions from reading over Twilight's shoulder, but had never thought he would actually meet ponies from another world. His speech found him again as he imagined Pinkie Pie's reaction to the news and burst into a fit of giggles. Twilight Sparkle was quick to figure out what was so funny and soon began giggling herself. The two finished up their breakfast and set off to bring the news to the other Element Bearers. They bumped into Rainbow Dash first. Or rather, she bumped into them first.
"Oof! Sorry about that, guys" the cyan pegasus said as the three disentangled themselves. "Apology accepted," said Twilight Sparkle. "Mplg ksptd Rnbw Crsh" mumbled Spike, his head, stuck in the ground. Rainbow Dash gave a small chuckle and said, "I probably deserved the second part of that." The nickname Dumbbell had given her back in flight school had never stung that much to begin with, and Spike had ended up with his head buried.
"So, what were you doing just now?" Twilight Sparkle asked. "Working on my looping skills," Dash replied. "I was trying to do an inside-out one, and that's hard to master. Not the way the Sonic Rainboom is, but because of how it messes with your perception. Still haven't got the hang of it, but I'm getting better. It's annoying because it's dangerous to go fast while doing it, that's how I broke my wing the one time. Hey, where were you and Spike going?"
"Carousel Boutique, but we were hoping to run into you as well. Princess Celestia sent me some important news that she wants me to tell you and the others. Have you ever heard of alternate dimensions?"
"Oh yeah," said Rainbow Dash. "I used to read about them when I was a filly. I read about humans and this one place called Ponyland that was kind of like Equestria only it worked like the Everfree Forest all over."
Twilight Sparkle gave an internal sigh of relief. "Well, this news is about Ponyland. There's a magical door between Ponyland and Equestria that's been inert for years, and according to Princess Celestia an expedition of ponies from Ponyland is going to pass through it today. She wants us to be ready and make sure they feel welcome."
Rainbow Dash grinned excitedly. "That is so awesome! Don't worry about a thing on my end, Twilight. I'll go get ready right now!" And with that the rainbow-maned Pegasus took off like a rocket. Twilight took a moment to smooth her mane and tail before moving on herself.
Twilight Sparkle and Spike reached Carousel Boutique without further incident. Rarity let out an excited squeal at the news. "Oh my goodness! Oh, what should I wear? I'll need a tail ribbon at the least, they do seem fond of them going by the pictures. And perhaps one in my mane as well. Don't worry, I'll be sure to see to their needs," Rarity assured her friend as she turned towards her workbench and began to slip into "the zone". Twilight managed to suppress her laughter at her fellow unicorn's antics and dragged the as-always lovestruck Spike out of the shop.
Fluttershy was their next stop. Twilight Sparkle figured that the shy pegasus would potentially need the most preparation time after Rarity. "St-strange ponies from a different world?" she asked nervously. "A wh-whole ex-ex-expedition of t-them?"
"Yes," said Twilight Sparkle. "And Princess Celestia wants us to make sure they feel welcome here. You're the kindest pony I've ever met, Fluttershy. I know you'll be able to help."
Fluttershy's posture changed. She stopped shaking. This, she knew how to handle. These strange ponies were coming hoping to find friends, and needed to be shown kindness. "Yes," Fluttershy answered in a quiet but firm voice. "I will."
If Twilight Sparkle had had any doubts that Fluttershy was up to helping they were gone now. She and Spike gave the butterscotch pegasus their thanks and proceeded to Sweet Apple Acres. Applejack, while by no means a stupid pony, had not done much extracurricular studying that didn't relate to farming and so Twilight Sparkle had to take additional time to explain the concept alternate dimensions to her. But once she understood what was going on she was absolutely fine with it, "Don't worry about a thing, sugarcube. Ah'll be sure they get a proper Ponyville welcome and help Pinkie Pie with food for the welcoming party." Twilight had extreme difficulty not laughing at this. She had yet to tell Pinkie Pie the news, but both she and Applejack knew the bubbly pink earth pony well enough to be certain that she would throw a party for their guests. Because, after all, that was what Pinkie Pie did.
The lavender unicorn and the purple dragon infant said farewell to Applejack and set off. They stopped at the mayor's office to let her know to expect the visiting ponies, and then they made their way to Sugarcube Corner. They opened the door, and saw Pinkie Pie in the throes of a Pinkie Sense doozy alert. Twilight cracked a smile at this - she should have known.
"It's alright Pinkie. I'm pretty sure I know what's causing it. There are ponies from another dimension coming to explore Equestria, and the first place they'll come to will be Ponyville. Princess Celestia has asked that we make them feel welcome here." Pinkie immediately stopped twitching, but by no means did she stop being excited.
"Is that welcome as in welcome party?" she asked, grinning wildly. Twilight Sparkle nodded. "Exactly as in welcome party. Applejack's ready to help you with the food if you need her." Pinkie was bouncing around energetically. "Ooh, I wonder what they'll be like. Do you think any of them will be like you Twilight? Or like me? Or like Rainbow Dash? Or any of us? Do you think they have a dragon friend too?" "We'll have to wait and see. The book I read did mention that one particular group of them did have a dragon friend - he's even named Spike too - but I don't know if the ponies who will be visiting us are from that group."
Pinkie Pie gasped. "Ohmygosh! Shared names?! What if some of the ponies share names with some of us?! What will we do?!" Twilight smiled again at this. On another day Pinkie's boundless enthusiasm might have irritated her, but she was so excited herself that she didn't mind. "Don't worry about that until and unless it happens, Pinkie. For now, just worry about getting that welcoming party ready." "Yeah," said Spike. "It'll be okay. Heck, I hope they bring their Spike with them. He sounds pretty cool. See you at the party." Their news delivered, the two returned home to make their own preparations.
At the same time as all this was going on, in Ponyland the expedition was getting ready to go. Buttons, Heart Throb, Surprise, Cuddles Jr, Moondancer II, Spike, Sundance, Sundance II, Lickety Split Jr, Ribbon, Fizzy, Moondancer, and Lofty would be heading out from Paradise Estate. Twilight, Applejack, Bowtie, Medley, Glory, Sparkler, Ember and the rest of Firefly's group would meet them at the doorway. Firefly, North Star, and Wind Whistler had already left over the Rainbow to pick up Megan and her siblings. They too would rendezvous with the others at the door.
Megan, Molly, and Danny stood by the stables with backpacks and duffel bags ready, watching the skies. Soon enough they could make out the three pegasi headed their way. Wind Whistler and North Star simply touched down and allowed Molly and Danny to climb onto their backs, but Firefly, ever the showoff, got Megan onto her back by performing her trademark double inside-out loop. "That was dangerous, Firefly," Megan chided her jokingly. Firefly grinned and said, "Like I've said to Medley more times than I can count, danger is my life. But enough about that. How have you been?"
Megan smiled. "I've been alright. It's been dull around here without your visits, but we've managed to get along. Business has been good, and school has gone well for all of us. How are things in Ponyland?" Firefly gave her another grin and said, "They've been fine. There have been a few problems like renegade dragons, but nothing we haven't been able to beat off. The barrier around the Volcano of Gloom's still holding, so Hydia hasn't made any trouble for us." Firefly just then took notice of the rifle strapped to Megan's back, and the magic sword (a souvenir from a battle with a band of raiders) at her waist. "Still going armed, huh?"
"Yes," said Megan. "I know things have been quiet for a while but there's always a chance. And since we've got no solid ideas what this new world is gonna be like and what dangers it holds, better safe than sorry." Firefly nodded. "Good idea. We're not going in totally blind, though. I was able to get some info from the Moochik, though he couldn't remember all he knew and Habbit's on vacation. Apparently it's called Equestria and ruled over by two Alicorn sisters as big as horses. He says they sometimes visit Ponyland for news, but neither of them have stopped by since the month after Lavan's attack."
"Does that mean they might have heard about us?" Molly asked. Firefly smiled and gave her a nod. "Probably. Don't worry about it, kid. If anything they'd probably love to meet you!"
"Remember to hold on tight everyone," Wind Whistler put in. "We are about to cross the rainbow." Sure enough, the interdimensional rainbow linking Earth to Ponyland was dead ahead. They flew over it as only pegasi could, crossing over into the land Megan, Molly, and Danny had come to think of as a second home. They flew over forests and valleys, not stopping until they reached the troupe of ponies gathered at the gate nexus. The three siblings dismounted and began greeting and hugging all their old friends, who nuzzled them in return.
"I've missed you so very much," Sundance told Megan, licking her affectionately. "It's been far too long since your last visit. The last time it was super-long you had to accompany Molly to the Peace Conference." That took Megan back. During the early 1990s several member and prospective member nations of the U.N. had gotten frustrated with the lack of progress in international politics. In a highly unorthodox maneuver, they had decided to see if much younger heads could find solutions and decided to hold a teen peace conference, with six exceptional high school students from each participating nation being selected as ambassadors. The USA had chosen its ambassadors in groups of three from two different schools, Theresa Oliver-Smith High School in Ohio where Molly had gone and Angel Grove High in California. Molly had been one of those chosen to go, and Megan had gone along as part of her entourage. After the original conference had ended (on a high note, too) most of the teens chose to continue their diplomatic careers, Molly among them. As such opportunities to visit Ponyland had been thin on the ground for the years she'd been active, although their pegasus and Flutter Pony friends had been able to journey over the Rainbow to visit them discreetly.
And speaking of the Flutter Ponies, at that moment the sound of familiar wing-beats caused everyone to look up. Flying towards them were Queen Rosedust, Lily, and Hollywood. "Oh good," said Skydancer. "You made it in time to see us off."
"Yes," replied Rosedust. "But that is not my only purpose for being here. I ask that you take Lily and young Hollywood with you, Dame Megan." Megan blushed a little at the use of her formal title, the one Majesty had given her upon returning to Ponyland. "For all that you have done and continue to do for my Little Ponies," the blue-maned unicorn had told her, "You deserve this honor at the very least." And touching her horn to Megan's left breast, the queen of Ponyland proclaimed: "I dub thee Dame Megan of Paradise Estate, Keeper of the Rainbow of Light and Protector of the Realm." Megan glanced at everyone else, who nodded in approval, before replying, "We'd be glad to have them along. You know what they say, the more the merrier." "Thank you, Dame Megan. Have a safe journey."
Wind Whistler spoke next. "Well, with that settled we had best be on our way." She trotted over to the gate and touched her hooves to the marked opening plates. The gate swung open and the group filed through into a tunnel that felt solid enough but looked like an empty black void. This was evidently a side-effect of the gateway's magic, as they could still see just fine after Buttons shut the gate behind them. There was a matching gate on the other end of the tunnel. Ember opened it this time, and the mixed group of humans and Little Ponies stepped out into the land of Equestria.
Meanwhile, in a cheap motel room in Angel Grove, Tommy Oliver woke up with a groan. He managed, slowly but surely, to drag himself out of bed and stagger to the sink to splash cold water in his face. "Well, serves me right for sleeping like that," he said to himself. He brushed his teeth, and then sniffed has armpit experimentally. "Okay, shower and clean clothes definitely." Tommy was a fast showerer, so he was out and dried off five minutes later. He pulled on clean underwear and selected a green T-shirt, black slacks, and white socks with red stripes from his duffel, then slipped on his jacket and headed down to the breakfast buffet, such as it was. As Tommy munched on his toast he let his gaze wander around the room, looking for anything interesting. There was a poster of Angel Grove's Ranger teams through the years. But what caught his eye was a poster with Angel Grove High's logo on it. The poster advertised a reunion party for the Teen Ambassadors, scheduled for a few days from now. That ought to be fun, mused Tommy. It'll be great to see Jason, Zack, and Trini again. I wonder if Billy's going to come visit us for this, for old times' sake. Which reminds me, enough dawdling. Best to get this over with now.
He gulped the last of his juice, cleared his dishes, and left, exchanging "Hellos" with a Triforian tourist on his way out. (Ever since the fall of the United Alliance of Evil, a flow of alien tourist traffic and immigrants had been slowly trickling onto Earth. Angel Grove had the most present, being the location of Earth's first interplanetary spaceport, but there were plenty all over the world by now). He briefly considered taking his car to the Youth Center, but decided he'd rather walk. He knew his way around the city, even if some things had changed. And to his great delight, when he got to the Youth Center, one of the changes was quite pleasant. Ernie had bought back the cafe that had been run by Adelle since 1998, and had had the pool moved to an extension shed. Tommy stopped outside the familiar doors, and took a deep breath. This is it. He pushed the doors open and stepped inside.
There, seated at the bar, was someone he hadn't seen in a long time. She wore a pink top and blue jeans shorts, and a pink headband in her brown hair. She was nursing a strawberry smoothie in a pink glass. Seeing hir stirred up a mix of conflicting emotions within him. Mostly happiness at seeing an old friend, but there was also longing, sorrow, anger... hope. Then, late to the party, caution. It could be a trap.
"Tommy!" shouted Kimberly happily when she saw him. "You came! I have so much to tell you; so much to apologize for now that I finally can. Have a seat and a smoothie, this is going to take a while." Part of Tommy wanted so much to run straight to her, but he had to be sure. "How do I know this isn't a setup?" he asked. "Where'd we leave you-know-what afterwards that time two nights before Turbanshell attacked?" Kim smiled. "With our aquatically-inclined friend." Okay, that proves it, thought Tommy. It's her alright.
Tommy sat down anxiously on the stool next to her and motioned Ernie over. "Hey Tommy! Long time no see. What'll it be today?" Tommy thought about and said, "Kiwi smoothie, please," laying the money on the counter. "Kiwi it is," said Ernie as he put the money in the register, grabbed a green cup from one of the stacks, and turned to the machine. He filled the cup with practiced ease and handed it to Tommy, before politely stepping away to the other register. "So..." said Tommy flatly. "What did you want to tell me? And why now? After the letter..."
Kimberly began her tale. "It's about the letter, actually. I am so totally sorry for that," she said. "It's not true at all. I knew it would hurt you but I didn't have a choice. The team I was on got recruited by the DEA to help with a big drug bust and everyone had to cut off outside ties. They were really strict on the security for the whole affair. I had to bury my communicator to keep it from being found, they were so paranoid. Not that I blame them, one leaked word could have gotten us all killed. The DEA people monitored all our calls and boy were they freaked out after the Muranthias incident. It's only now that we're finally allowed to come clean to our families and friends about it. Stupid court proceedings, stupid lengthy celebrity trials making it take even longer... I wanted to smack them so hard." She filled him on on the details of it all, and of her personal life and career after the whole affair. "And through all that, I've never stopped loving you, Tommy. Not after all the crap we went through together fighting Rita and Zedd. And I want to patch things back together now that I've got the chance. At least as your friend, and as your girlfriend if you'll have me. And before you ask, I'm not mad at Kat for hooking up with you afterwards. I want to thank her for that, actually. Who knows what kind of stupid stunt you might have pulled if she hadn't been there."
Tommy, who had indeed never really set down the torch he'd carried for Kimberly, took a while to think it over. "I'd be glad to. I've lost so much over the years. I'm glad to get something back for a change, and I've hoped for this for a long time." To get closure on this one way or the other. I'm glad it just happened to be this way. It's like a fairy-tale - one of the less widely told ones where they finally get together for good after years of trials and separation. He still had mixed feelings, but he did want her back. And what kind of Ranger would he be if he didn't meet this challenge that life had dealt him? "I've heard just jumping back to to how things were doesn't work, but we've faced worse challenges."
And with those words said between the two of them, they embraced for the first time in years and kissed fondly. Then they sat back down. "Well," said Tommy, "Now it's my turn to fill you in on everything from my end."
He began with the campaign Master Vile had launched shortly after Kat had succeeded Kimberly, towards the end of which the Rangers had been turned into children, the Aquitian Rangers temping for them, the Zeo era and the war with the Machine Empire - including his more embarrassing moments ("You got kidnapped and brainwashed again? I am, like, so not letting you out of my sight anymore. You need adult supervision." "You don't know the half of it yet."). Then the Turbo era, his brief racing career interrupted for a secret mission off Earth ("Zack swapped out with Adam on that one for a bit, it was good to see him again."), followed by his accelerated college study and scientific exploits ("Let me guess, the Tyrannodrones were supposed to be so that the Rangers would have an army of their own?" "Yeah, basically. Didn't quite work out that way." "No kidding. Did you think that through at all? Didn't you ever watch Jurassic Park?" "Hey!") and his most recent stint as a Ranger. "After all that, teaching highschool kids has been nice and relaxing," he finished. Kimberly nodded. Fierce though competing in the Pan-Global games had been it was soothing compared to her Power Ranger career. "Although," Tommy added, "It's kind of annoying and kind of creepy at the same time to have so many of the female students hitting on me."
At that, Kimberly nearly choked on her smoothie. "Oh, that does it. I am so coming back with you. I'll get them to knock it off." There was silence after that, and then the two burst out laughing. Laughing together once more, as they had done so many years ago at this very juice bar. Afterwards they sat in silence again. "So, uh.. Kim," Tommy began. "Have you been getting this weird feeling that something big's coming." She nodded. "Totally. Not as big as the whole Dark Spectre thing, but still dangerous."
Back in Equestria, the Ponyland expedition was making its way down the winding path from the gate. They were in no great hurry. There was no world-menacing threat, no deadline past which things couldn't be put right. No kidnapping slavers and would-be conquerors to fend off or kill. They had time to enjoy the scenery. However, they eventually came to a point where that scenery made it hard to see very far ahead.
"I'm gonna fly up and take a look around," Firefly announced, spreading her wings. "Hollywood, come on up with me. You could use the experience." The young Flutter Pony followed the brash pegasus into the air above the treetops. Wow. This place is really pretty. They touched back down. "Alright, from what I could see the path we're on is a road leading to a small town full of ponies. They're pretty well developed too, I spotted a train station and a hydroelectric dam. That's a good sign."
"Why's that?" asked Danny. "Well, Ponyland's been pretty dangerous on and off for a long time so we've had to use concealed geothermal plants and magical powerstones for electricity, and the rail system's growth has been slow. If they've got more of a rail system going as well as dams in place it means things have been mostly peaceful here for the past few decades at least," Sundance answered to Wind Whistler's mild annoyance (the powder-blue Pegasus liked to be the one to explain things). Megan relaxed, feeling relief at the knowledge that she likely wouldn't need the rifle slung across her back.
"Well everyone," she asked, "Do we keep up our present pace or speed it up a bit and get to town faster?" The general consensus was to speed up. The humans (along with Spike) mounted up once more, since it would be faster that way. Megan and Molly climbed onto Sundance and Sundance II respectively, while Danny swung himself over Fizzy's back and Spike rode on Lickety Split Jr. "Let's go," said the young dragon. And they did, speeding up to a brisk trot. After a couple of hours the town hove into view. They could see a sign that said, "Welcome to Ponyville, pop. 406 give or take." There was a lavender unicorn with a mane styled in a semi-professional manner standing by the sign keeping a lookout of some sort. Her flank symbol was a pink six-pointed star with smaller stars surrounding it. She stopped looking around when she caught sight of the group and trotted over. "Hello," she said. "My name is Twilight Sparkle. Welcome to Ponyville, Equestria. You're from Ponyland, right?"
This caught the expedition somewhat off-guard. "Yes," said Wind Whistler, who recovered first. "We are expected, then?" Twilight Sparkle nodded. "Princess Celestia put a monitoring spell on the gate and she heard you plan the journey. She told me and my friends to make sure you felt welcome here. Are you Wind Whistler?" The pegasus nodded. "A pleasure. And it's good to know that we're welcome here." Twilight Sparkle turned to Megan. "And you're the famous Megan, right? It's an honor to meet you," she said, bowing for a moment. "Would you be so kind as to follow me? My friends and I have a party set up for you at my apartment in the library." She led them to a building located within a large hollowed-out tree. Hollywood, Megan, Molly, and Danny tried to ignore the stares they got from the ponies going about their daily business, though they did wave hello to a few as they passed.
Once inside the building Twilight Sparkle led them up the stairs to the second floor where, as promised, there was most definitely a party waiting. There were five other ponies there as well: A pink Earth Pony with curly pink hair, blue eyes, and three balloons on either flank, a blue pegasus with a rainbow mane, reddish-purple eyes, and a cloud shooting out a rainbow-coloured lightning bolt for her symbol, a pink-maned pegasus with blue-green eyes and a butterscotch coat whose symbol was a group of three butterflies, a bluish-white unicorn with a purple mane and three blue diamonds that matched her eyes for a symbol, and an orange earth pony in a cowboy hat who apart from having three apples on her flank rather than six was Applejack's double.
Twilight Sparkle spoke up again. "Everyone, meet my friends. Pinkie Pie" - she indicated the pink Earth Pony - "Rainbow Dash" - the blue pegasus - "Fluttershy" - the butterscotch pegasus - "Rarity" - the white unicorn - "and Applejack." "Howdy," said the orange Earth Pony.
Ember looked from her back to the Applejack she knew, whose jaw was hanging open in surprise. It wasn't unheard of for ponies to share names - there was a pegasus in Ponyland who was also named Twilight - but it wasn't common, and tended to cause confusion. The other Applejack looked across at her doppelganger, realization dawning. "Hoo boy..." she said. "Lemme guess, yer called Applejack too aren't ya?" The Applejack from Ponyland nodded. "Yeah. I tend an apple orchard. I'm guessing by your mark that you do too?" "Shore do. Sweet Apple Acres, home o' the finest apples in all Equestria.
"Well, time's a wasting. Why don't y'all setcher stuff down and introduce yerselves?" That was just fine as far as the visiting ponies were concerned. They shucked their saddlebags and began saying hello. Megan, Molly, and Danny slipped their backpacks off, and Megan unslung her rifle and sword, then set them atop a bookcase. "Um, hello," said a soft voice next to her. Megan turned and saw Fluttershy standing by her side. "My name's Fluttershy. What's yours?" "Megan. It's nice to meet you, Fluttershy."
"It's nice to meet you too," Fluttershy replied, nuzzling Megan, who hugged her in return. Fluttershy then moved on to greet the others. The two Spikes had hit it up quite well, and were comparing such things as how fine they could make their fire breath. The Ponyland Spike was older, so he was able to provide pointers. Pinkie Pie and Surprise trotted over to each other, exchanged names, and reached to shake hooves... BZZZT! They fell back simultaneously. Each looked at the other's hoof, seeing the joy buzzer. Then they burst out laughing. Twilight Sparkle and Wind Whistler smiled and shook their heads, catching one another's eye in the process. "Greetings," said Wind Whistler. "I am Wind Whistler. Would I be correct in assuming based on your chosen residence that you are a pony of scholarly inclination?" The lavender unicorn nodded. "You would. Would you like to take a look at some of the books I've got?" "I would enjoy that very much," Wind Whistler replied. "Thank you, Twilight Sparkle."
As Wind Whistler ambled off to check out the shelves, Twilight Sparkle's attention was drawn to Hollywood. "Hello," she said. "Hello yourself," replied the smaller pony. "My name's Hollywood. And don't you forget it! This is a nice place you've got here, you know." "Thank you, Hollywood." At that moment they were interrupted by a knock at the door. "Miss Sparkle?" came an inquiring young voice. "Open up, Twi!" said a slightly older voice with a bit of a twang to it. "It's the Cake twins and the Cutie Mark Crusaders," said Twilight Sparkle in surprise. "Just a minute!" she called down. She teleported to the door and opened it. "Hi all of you. What can I do for you?" It was Sweetie Belle who answered. "We heard you were hosting a party for some ponies visiting from far away, and we wanted to say hello! Can we? Pleeeeeeease?"
"Of course you can," Twilight Sparkle told them. "Come on in." She lead the five foals up the stairs and introduced them all. Pound and Pumpkin Cake were only barely toddlers, so there was a fair bit of gushing. They didn't quite know what to make of Megan, until she slowly bent down, picked up Pumpkin Cake, and cradled the little unicorn in her arms. "Megan nice!" said Pumpkin. Danny intervened before Pound Cake could get jealous and began burping the alphabet, eliciting happy giggles from the young pegasus.
Apple Bloom looked at Hollywood appraisingly. "Uh, Ah don't wanna be rude, but what kinda pony are ya? Yer not too much bigger'n Ah am, but everyone's actin' like you're an adult. And ah ain't seen a pony with that kinda wings. They're kinda butterfly-shaped, but they're clear like glass."
Hollywood grinned. "I'm a Flutter Pony. We're smaller than most other kinds of ponies, but we have really powerful magic in our wings."
Twilight Sparkle took advantage of the attention the foals were drawing to take her Spike aside and have him send a note to Princess Celestia telling her that the guests had arrived. A few moments later, there was a flash as Princess Celestia and Princess Luna both teleported in. "Prithee pardon our intrusion," said Luna. "I am Luna, princess of the night." "And I am Celestia, princess of the day. We co-rule Equestria." The white alicorn looked around the room. "It's a pleasure to meet you all. May I have the pleasure of knowing your names?" she asked. The visiting ponies and their human friends all introduced themselves. Megan was a little nervous. She wasn't sure how the two goddess-horses would take her involvement with the little ponies.
But she needn't have worried a bit. Princess Celestia walked up to her, smiling warmly. She put her neck around Megan's and wrapped the human in her wings. "You have nothing to fear, young one. Neither my sister nor I resent that you are the leader for these ponies. We know that you have earned that through your honor and bravery. You have risked your life time and time again for those in need. You have been a second mother when needed and a very good friend to all. You will always be welcome here. I am proud to have met you, Megan." Megan felt a familiar warm fuzzy feeling spread through her body. Celestia smiled again. "Now Megan, would you care to recount your adventures for us?" "I'd love to," she replied. "It all started over twenty years ago. It was a dark and stormy night. Firefly had crossed over to my world looking for help. She hit the weathervane of my house and landed in the well. I hoisted her out and was surprised by what I saw. A talking pony. A flying, talking pony. And she thought that I, a mere human, could help her. I doubted it at first, but she never doubted me..."
AN: Well, that's it for that chapter. Next chapter Ponies will meet Rangers. Sorry for the delay.
My Little Pony & Power Rangers (working title) Chapter 3: The Players Meet
AN: Kimberly (and everyone else on the gymnastics team) had to keep clammed up until it was basically over. Loose lips sink ships. One misstep could have blown either the original bust itself, or the interrogations and trials afterwards. Tommy for his part never forgot about Kim, even during the rebound thing with Kat, which is why that ultimately went nowhere. So this is mostly resuming something that was put on pause. (And no, I don't give a damn about the flash forward from Zeo's Christmas episode. There is no way that can be canon because Zordon is alive in that flash forward). On another note, there will be points in the story that I will mark with *Cue [insert song name here]* and *End Song* tags, to indicate what the musical accompaniment for the scene should be.
"...and after that we all went out for ice cream," said Twilight Sparkle. After Megan, Molly, and Danny had finished their story, Twilight Sparkle and her friends had been asked to share their adventures. "Ice cream is always good," said Lickety Split Jr. "Especially after an adventure like that. Shapeshifting love-stealers... ugh." She looked out the window. "Wow, is it evening already?" It was. Twilight Sparkle eyed the princesses. "Princess Celestia, didn't you say you and Luna would explain more about bookmarking the Power Rangers chapter this evening?"
Princess Celestia nodded. "I did. Luna, if you would?" The midnight blue alicorn spoke up. "There have been various omens pointing towards the rise of a new enemy that threatens Earth, Equestria, and Ponyland. I am afraid we have next to nothing in the way of details. But the Elements of Harmony just by themselves will not be adequate for fighting the coming battles. They are powerful, but the way that power can be used is limited. There are ways for this enemy to get around it. And, for that matter, steal or scatter them if they were removed from the vault. Celestia and I knew that this could happen someday. We also knew that one day the Elements would find individual bearers who could properly wield them. So we contacted a being known as Ninjor, and asked him to create morphers that would allow the Element Bearers to draw on the powers of their respective Elements to become Power Rangers." There was an audible gasp from everyone in the room but the Alicorns and the Cake twins (who proceeded to somewhat spoil the dramatic moment by giggling at everyone else's shocked faces).
"So, does that mean..." Rainbow Dash managed. "Yes," answered Princess Celestia. "You and the others shall become the Power Rangers Harmony. I had hoped the need would not arise, for it will place you all in a great deal of danger. But I know that you can do it. Ninjor is bringing the morphers to you this very evening. He should arrive at any moment now." Right on cue, a blue humanoid figure came surfing through the air towards the balcony on a cloud... only to smack into the wall. Princess Luna put her hoof to her face while Celestia chuckled. "He hasn't changed a bit, has he?" "Apparently not," said Luna in a deadpan voice. In response to the others' puzzled expressions, she said, "The Great Ninjor, for all his wisdom and fighting skill, can be something of a klutz. Do please help him in, Twilight Sparkle." Twilight Sparkle opened the balcony doors and telekinetically prodded Ninjor towards them. "Sorry about that," he said. "Now, where are the Element Bearers?" Twilight Sparkle, Rarity, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy all raised their hooves, somewhat nervously in Fluttershy's case.
"Very well then." Ninjor looked around. "Usually, Ranger powers are bestowed in strongholds of command or fields of battle. Not in libraries. But it is fitting that you receive yours here, for here is where you began your first quest together. You triumphed over evil then, and have triumphed over it since then. And now you shall be armed to better continue the fight." He produced a black case with brass binding, and opened it to reveal six anklets with boxes on them. Five were silver, one was gold. Closer inspection revealed that each had a different Element symbol on it. "These are your Harmony Morphers. Once you put them on, you will be able to summon and dismiss them at will. To morph, touch the activator button and say your name, followed by the word 'Harmonize'. To demorph, focus on changing back and say 'Power Down'." He paused. "To be a Power Ranger is a great responsibility. You must be willing to risk your lives and endure horrendous hardships. You must never use your power for personal gain. And above all, you must work as a team and be able to count on each other no matter what. Are you ready for this?"
The Element Bearers all looked at each other, and saw in one another's faces not one sign of doubt. Even Fluttershy wore a look of steely determination. "Yes," they said as one. "Then take your morphers and morph for the first time." Each of the six chosen ponies slipped the anklet corresponding to their Element of Harmony onto their left foreleg. Fluttershy was surprised to see that the gold morpher was for her. Twilight Sparkle spoke. "Ready, girls?" "Ready!" they answered. "Then let's go!" As one, they touched their right front hooves to the activator buttons.
"Twilight Sparkle, Harmonize!" "Rarity, Harmonize!" "Applejack, Harmonize!" "Rainbow Dash, Harmonize!" "Pinkie Pie, Harmonize!" "Fluttershy, Harmonize!" There was a multicoloured flash of light. When it cleared, all six of them were clad in the spandex-like armor of Power Rangers. Their helmets all had visors shaped like their respective Elements, and silver sculpted mouths with what looked like a special hinge joint. And of course, each wore a different colour. Twilight Sparkle was red. Rarity was black. Applejack was yellow. Rainbow Dash was blue. Pinkie Pie was, of course, pink. And Fluttershy was gold. "Power Rangers Harmony!" they all shouted together, to applause and cheers from all.
After the cheering died down Ninjor spoke once more. "Well done, Rangers! But there is more. Each of you will command one of the six Harmony Zords. Twilight Sparkle, you will pilot the Alicorn Harmony Zord, inspired by the mentor who has guided you since childhood. Rarity, you will control the Tiger Harmony Zord, inspired by the ferocity of your cat Opalescence. Applejack, your Harmony Zord is the Wolf, inspired by your brave dog Winona. Rainbow Dash, the Tortoise Harmony Zord inspired by your tough and loyal pet Tank is yours. Pinkie Pie, you shall have of the Alligator Harmony Zord, inspired by your dear friend Gummy although unlike him, it has teeth. Together they form the Harmony Megazord. Finally, Fluttershy, to you goes the Dragon Harmony Zord, inspired by the fiery strength with which you defend your friends and your land. It has the strength to support the others in battle, and when needed it can join with the Harmony Megazord to create the Super Harmony Megazord. Remember, do not use the Zords if you don't need to. Doing so almost always causes more harm than good." The newly-minted Rangers nodded their assent. "You can demorph and get back to partying now," said Ninjor. "I'll be in touch. Until then, farewell. Good luck, Rangers." And with that, he stepped back outside, hopped onto his cloud, and flew away. "Goodbye!" "'Bye!" "Fare thee well, Ninjor." "Bye-bye funny blue guy!" (This last was from Pound Cake).
The Harmony Rangers powered down. Pinkie went down to get more snacks, Surprise following her. Luna and Celestia took Megan aside. "Dame Megan, I know that you cannot stand idly by while your friends are in danger. But what we said of the Elements of Harmony holds true for the Rainbow of Light: It is powerful indeed, but the coming threat will be able to avoid being directly targetable. The Rainbow may help in difficult battles, though you should exercise due restraint with it. Be ready to rely on that enchanted sword you claimed." A thought struck Celestia. She flew up and touched her horn to Megan's rifle, laying a simple enchantment upon it. "Just to be on the safe side," she said. Then her eyes widened. "Oh my, I nearly forgot. I must complete the setting of the sun."
With that, she reared up, raising her front hooves high, horn glowing brightly. The sky outside began to darken a bit more as she gently lowered herself down. As soon as Celestia's hooves hit the ground, Princess Luna reared up with her own horn aglow, and the trickle of moonlight seeping in became a bit more pronounced. Luna slowly and gently returned to a standing position, smiling.
Everyone but the Harmony Rangers sat there with their jaw hanging open. Hollywood recovered first. "That was amazing, your highnesses!" she said with a goofy grin on her face. Luna and Celestia stood there, looking radiant, and smiling warmly. "Thank you." "Indeed. You are most kind, young flutter. Please give our regards, and those of King Blackberry Bramble, to Rosedust."
Wind Whistler was the next to speak. "That was indeed an impressive display to behold," she said. "What I have read about this world and its ponies interests me. In my own world the ability of pegasi to manipulate weather, as well as full teleportation for unicorns, was sealed by an evil curse for many decades. The curse was only broken nineteen years ago by our queen, Majesty, and even over that span of time not all of us have fully adjusted. I myself have not been able to instinctually grasp the art as so many of my fellows have, and none of them have been able to explain it properly."
"Oh, I think I can help you with that," offered Fluttershy. "You have to focus. Focus on the water in the air. Focus on the image of it being pushed by your legs as they go through the motions. Focus on it forming a cloud. Then to make it rain, strike the cloud with your hooves while focusing on rain coming out. The same goes for other precipitation as well as lightning, though you'll have to gather rocks if you want to make hail." The butterscotch pegasus paused. "Um, at least I think that's it."
That description had made sense to Wind Whistler. "Thank you for the advice Fluttershy," she said. "That sounds like it would work. I shall attempt it now. Twilight Sparkle, it would probably be prudent to magically waterproof the area if you haven't already." The lavender unicorn nodded. Her horn, and every surface and object within a ten-foot radius of Wind Whistler, glowed for a short moment. "Thank you." "No problem," said Twilight Sparkle. "Thank you for suggesting it."
Wind Whistler concentrated. She focused her mind on the image of the water molecules scattered throughout the air in the library. She pictured them moving as she made inward sweeping movements with her forelegs. Pictured the molecules bonding, coming together, being shaped into a cloud as one might shape snow. Soon she had produced a small, but satisfactory little cloud. The powder blue pegasus nodded to herself, then proceeded to strike the cloud with her forelegs, focusing on tiny trickles of rain pouring out at precise locations. She struck the cloud again, this time focusing on a tiny bolt of lightning, which she aimed at the library's magical lightning rod. Finally, she turned around and bucked the cloud with her hindlegs, focusing on the molecular bonds shattering and the moisture being scattered thinly. The cloud dissipated. She smiled; that had felt quite satisfying.
Rainbow Dash drifted over to Wind Whistler. "Not bad, especially for your first cloud. I hate to say it, but you might become as good a weatherpony as me some day. Of course, you don't stand a chance of being as good a flier. Nopony does, I'm the best flyer there is." At that, Firefly's head shot up. "Oh really?" she challenged. "You want to back that up kiddo?" "Hah!" said Rainbow Dash. "You wanna race then? You're on!" "Name the course," Firefly said hotly. "Ghastly Gorge" replied Rainbow Dash. "Or are you too scared by the very name of it?" "You wish," retorted Firefly. "Danger is my life. Let's go!" Both Pegasi made to fly off to Ghastly Gorge, only to jerk to a halt before they'd gone a foot. Princess Celestia was restraining the two of them with her magic. She shook her head disapprovingly.
"Don't. The Gorge is even more dangerous at night than it is during the day. I don't want either of you taking stupid risks like that, and neither do your friends." Firefly and Rainbow Dash both blushed in embarrassment. "Sorry guys." "That's better," Celestia said, releasing her grip on them. "Does anyone else have any announcements they'd like to make?" she asked. "It's getting late, so now would be a good time." Molly raised her hand. "I do. In a couple days, I'm attending a reunion party for the Teen Ambassadors in Angel Grove. I wanted to extend you guys an invitation. Earth gets a decent amount of tourist traffic from elsewhere so it's not like people will panic or anything." Rarity's eyes lit up like a pinball table when somebody won a free play. Her mouth spread into a wide, open-mouthed smile. "I would love to!" she said. "Count me in too, sugarcube," said Applejack. "I would love to visit your world," said Twilight Sparkle. "Yeah, that would be awesome!" put in Rainbow Dash. "See a whole new world? Go to a big party?! I wanna go! I wanna go! Oh yesyesyeyes!" said Pinkie Pie excitedly. "Um, I don't know" said Fluttershy uncertainly. "It sounds nice. But are you really sure it would be alright?"
Megan and Molly nodded. "I promise it will be fine," Megan said. "Some of the ambassadors would love to meet you." "Oh... okay then." "I wanna go too!" said Hollywood, zooming around the room. "Visiting Angel Grove sounds great! And I might even get a chance to go see the place I was named after." Firefly and Wind Whistler quickly voiced their assent, as did Sundance, Sundance Jr., both Spikes, Fizzy, Heart Throb, Gusty, Lofty, Medley, and Ribbon. The rest of the Ponyland ponies politely declined, saying they wanted to spend a longer continuous period in Equestria.
"Can we go too?" asked Scootaloo. "Yeah," said Sweetie Belle. "Maybe that way we can earn our Cutie Marks!" "Please?" asked Apple Bloom, putting on her best puppy-dog eyes. Megan said, "You're still foals. You'll have to ask your parents or guardians if it's alright." "Aww," said the Crusaders dejectedly. "Please Princesses, can't you give us permission?"
Luna and Celestia shook their heads. "No, children," said Celestia softly. "That wouldn't be right. However, I will go with you when you ask to vouch for Megan." "Yay!" the three fillies cheered, brightening instantly. Ember had to stifle a giggle; in some ways the three reminded her of herself when she was young.. Applejack spoke next. "Well, s'alright with me if'n Apple Bloom goes, 'specially since Ah'm going too. Ah'm responsible for her 'n' all." Apple Bloom broke into the biggest grin she'd ever worn, jumped up, and hugged her elder sister tightly.
Danny yawned. "Man, I'm tired," he said. Like coughs, yawns are catching. All it takes is one person yawning to make it register in the minds of those around them that it's late and they're tired. Soon enough the others began yawning. "Oh my goodness!" said Fluttershy, realizing a slight problem.. "Where will you all sleep?"
"We had planned to camp just outside of town," said Megan. "I know it's -" "Oh, no, no, no my dear," Rarity interrupted. "That won't do at all. I will accommodate as many of you as I can at Carousel Boutique, the guest bedroom is big." "And, um... I've got a spare room at my house," said Fluttershy. "There's plenty of spare bedrooms up at Sweet Apple Acres," added Applejack. "We should be able to hold y'all between us." "And I've got a couple spare beds here at the library if anyone would care to spend the night with me," said Twilight Sparkle.
"Thank you," said Twilight. "That's very generous and kind of you, dear." Twilight Sparkle blushed. "Is something bothering you?" Twilight asked, concerned. "I- it's nothing, really," said Twilight Sparkle. "It's just, well, you look a lot like my mom." She produced a photograph, and Twilight saw that she did indeed look a great deal like the younger unicorn's mother. "Oh dear," she said. "I'm sorry." "No, it's alright. It's not your fault, and I think saying it helped. So, um, who's staying where?"
"I'd like to stay here with you, Twilight Sparkle," Megan said. "I enjoy your company." "I'm sticking with you," said Firefly. "I will remain with you as well," Wind Whistler said. Megan snorted. "You two... It's like you're my honor guard or something." "We love you, kiddo," Firefly explained. "You're a great friend, and we want to be there by your side." "I'm staying here too," said Sundance. "As am I," Skydancer added. "Okay then, I'm full as far as beds go," said Twilight Sparkle. The others divided up. Hollywood, Lily, and Ember decided to stay with Fluttershy. Twilight, Molly, Sparkler, Buttons, Bowtie, and Heart Throb agreed to spend the night with Rarity. Medley, Danny, and the rest wished to stay with Applejack. "Well, now that that's settled some of us should be getting home," said Rarity, eying the Cutie Mark Crusaders and the Cake twins. Pinkie Pie gasped. "You're right! Come on Pound and Pumpkin, it's time for bed." "Aww." "Want stay! Want stay with new friends!" "Like Megan!" they protested.
Megan knew how to handle this. She smiled at the young unicorn and pegasus, and said "Tell you what, I'll help Pinkie walk you home. And you'll see me again tomorrow." "Okay," the twins conceded. Megan winked at Pinkie Pie, who smiled back. "Goodbye, little ones," said Celestia. "Fare thee well, and sleep soundly, children," Luna told them. They made their way down the stairs, out the door, and back to Sugarcube Corner under the darkening sky. "There you are," said Cup Cake upon seeing them. "Just in time for bed. Did you have a good time?" "Yeah!" "It was great, mommy!" said Pound and Pumpkin respectively. "We heard cool stories, and princesses were there, and we saw them set the sun and raise the moon!" "My goodness! Did you really?" asked Mrs. Cake. "Uh-huh!" said Pinkie. "They came to say hi to the visiting ponies, and they stayed so long they had to do that part of their jobs at the library. It wasn't fancy like at the celebrations but it was still awesome. Well, goodbye and goodnight Megan."
"Megan? Who's-" The blue Earth Pony registered the human's presence for the first time. "Oh m-m-my! I'm sorry, I didn't see you there. You came with the visiting ponies, didn't you?" "Yes," said Megan. "This is a wonderful town. And you have two very wonderful children. Or should I say three?" she asked, shooting a knowing glance at Pinkie. Cup Cake smiled and nodded. "Thank you," she said. Pinkie may not have been born unto them, but Cup and Carrot Cake still thought of her as a daughter. "Sorry if I sound nervous, it's just, well, up until now I've only seen humans in books. But if the Princesses trust you, that's good enough for me. Have a nice night, Megan."
Megan returned to the library in time to say goodbye and goodnight to the others. Luna and Celestia approached her once more. "Sleep well, Dame Megan. You a busy day of preparation and travel ahead of you." "Yes, don't stay up too late enjoying my sister's night." "I won't," said Megan. "I know better than that. I'll see you in the morning." "And we you. 'Til then, good night!"
"Wait!" called out Twilight Sparkle, as a thought hit her belatedly. "Does... Does my brother know about this?" "He does," said Celestia. "He was against it at first, but Cadence pointed out that you were going to fight whatever was coming Power Ranger or not he relented. He's very proud of you." With that, the two alicorns spread their wings and took off, flying up above the top of the library before teleporting away back to Canterlot.
Megan yawned again, and stepped inside the library. She asked Twilight Sparkle if there was a place where she could change in private, and the lavender unicorn directed her to a small anteroom. Megan changed into her pajamas and crawled into one of the spare beds. Firefly and Wind Whistler crawled in on either side of her, each laying a wing over her. Sundance and Skydancer climbed into the other bed. They said goodnight to one another and were soon fast asleep.
That same evening in Angel Grove, Tommy and Kimberly had decided that a good way to get their relationship back in gear would be a dinner date and had gone out for pizza. They were making their way back to the hotel area when their night decided to get interesting. They heard someone shout "There she is! She's the one who nailed the boss!" A group of men armed with knives stepped around the corner. Kimberly recognized the leader. He was one of the top lieutenants of the drug operation she and her fellow gymnasts had taken down, and the only one who had managed to escape. He sneered. "You and those other broads really messed things up for me. You especially. And now, you're gonna pay." Kimberly snorted. "That's real rich, coming from an asshole like you. You deserve every bit of pain you've suffered and more." The man snarled. "Get 'em!"
*Cue "Combat" by Ron Wasserman*
Tommy and Kimberly instinctively fell into step, taking fighting stances. The words "May I have this dance?" sprang to Tommy's lips almost unbidden. "You may," was Kimberly's reply. Old reflexes came back into play as they met the attackers head on. Tommy knocked one man's knife away, and with a "Si-Uah!" delivered a spinning kick to his chest, knocking the wind out of him. Kimberly backflipped out of the way of a flanking attack from two of the thugs, kicking the one who had been coming up behind her on the top of the head in the process and causing the other two to crash into each other, letting her clap their skulls together. She backhanded another under the chin, taking him out of the fight. The leader pulled out a muffled pistol, and fired a shot at Kimberly, but she dodged. She and Tommy retaliated by simultaneously punching the man in the head, followed by a double kick to the groin and another to the gut. Tommy then disarmed the man and bent the gun's barrel with his bare hands. Still the gangster pressed the assault. He actually managed to shove Tommy aside.
Unfortunately for him, Kimberly was still more skillful, and had years of frustration to vent. She stomped his toes hard, and started pounding him and chewing him out at the same time. "Thanks to you-" punch "-and your stupid boss-" -punch- "-I had to lie-" punch "-to a man I loved-" punch "-and fought beside-" punch "-about falling out of love-" punch "-with him-" punch "-because you assholes-" punch "-just had to stoop-" punch "-as low as the likes-" punch "-of Rita Repulsa." She stopped punching the man, who was now sore and bruised, but still conscious. Though doubtless he wished otherwise. *End song*
The commotion, and the shot in particular, had attracted the attention of a two-car police patrol. The officers stepped out and arrested the groaning, breathless thugs. "Are you alright, sir and madam?" asked one of them. "We're fine," Tommy assured them. "Are you gonna need us to come down to the station?" "No. Not right now, at any rate. Please provide me with your contact details so that we can call you if necessary." Tommy and Kimberly handed the officer cards with their names and cell phone numbers. "Thank you. Why did they attack you? Do you know?" "I do," said Kimberly. "I played a crucial role in the takedown of a big illegal drug operation, and I stopped the boss from escaping. These are apparently some of the few stragglers we missed." The officer's eyes widened in recognition. "Oh! You're that Kimberly! I followed that case, you did the world a big service there. Rest assured I'll put these would-be assassins under lock and key. You have a safe rest of the night." With that, the cops drove off back to the station, taking the thugs with them.
Tommy and Kimberly just stood there looking at each other for a while. After the initial rush from their reunion had worn off, they'd been fumbling through the rest of the day. It was awkward being around each other after the years out of contact and the means by which their contact had been cut off. The dinner date had been alright, but it didn't help as much as they'd hoped. The battle, though, that had been invigorating. It had been like old times, with the upside of their opponents going down easily (except for the leader, though he was still easier than the average monster). The heat of the fight had melted the ice between them considerably. "So, uh, where are you staying?" asked Tommy. "The Angel Grove Arms," Kimberly answered. "You?" "The Super 8. You think you might be attacked again?" "Nah, we got them all and that was too half-assed for them to have backup placed or anything. If you want to walk me back though, that's fine." They walked hand-in-hand to the entrance of the Angel Grove Arms. "Well, goodnight Tommy." "Goodnight, Kim. See you tomorrow?" "Totally. Let's meet at Ernie's for lunch, if we're lucky we'll run into the others there."
The following morning in Equestria, Megan found herself being nudged awake by Firefly. "Rise and shine, kiddo. Hurry up and get dressed, Spike's making pancakes -Twilight's Spike, that is, not ours." Megan slid out of the bed, and went to change into fresh clothes (aside from her vest and boots). She made her way to the dining room, arriving just as Spike brought the last pancakes to the table. As she sat down, the young dragon got a good look at the boots and vest she wore, which he hadn't really paid attention to the previous day. "Nice duds," he said. "Are those cast-off dragonskin?" Megan nodded. "Yes. It's tough, and it doesn't burn easily. We had a hell of a time sewing it." "I can imagine," said Spike. "Well, everything's on the table now. Dig in!"
After cleaning up breakfast they grabbed their gear, locked up the library, and went to Carousel Boutique, which had been agreed upon as the rendezvous point. Sundance knocked on the door, which was opened by Molly, who was wearing a beautiful new dress. It was pale blue, with pale green trim. "My first time making a dress for a human," said Rarity. "I think it turned out well, don't you? I also made a jacket for your brother, I hope he likes it. I wanted to do dresses for the others, but they said that would make them overdressed for the occasion. I did make them new tail ribbons though." At a second look, Megan could see the difference. The new ribbons had a thin inner stripe of a slightly lighter or slightly darker colour. "I couldn't think of a dress for you, but luckily your sister brought along something I was able to restore and resize." With that, Rarity levitated out a familiar red, white, and pink dress.
Megan reached out and took it, feeling the familiar fabric in her hands. Rarity had done an excellent job. She couldn't spot or feel the expansion seams, nor any difference in the fabric used, and the dress looked as good as it had when she wore it at the dressup party they'd held after Katrina's redemption. Without a word she went to the changing area and put it on, slipping her other clothes into her bag. She stepped out, and was greeted with various signs of approval. "My dear," said Rarity, "You're dressed like a dream." Megan chuckled at Rarity's choice of words; it had been what the Sea Ponies had sung at that party. "Thank you, Rarity," she said, bending down and hugging the white unicorn. Then she hugged Molly. "And thank you for bringing it, Molly." "You're welcome, sis."
There was another knock at the door. "It's us, open up," said the voice of the Spike from Ponyland. Rarity opened the door with her magic and let them in. She began tying her new tail ribbons onto the others, starting with the Applejacks. Blue for the one from Ponyland, red for her friend. After tying on the last ribbon, she then proceeded to slip Danny's new jacket onto him. It was brown and matched the rest of his outfit well. He admired himself in the mirror for a bit. "So... we're just waiting on the Princesses and maybe the other Crusaders, right?" "Yep," answered Molly. The Princesses had promised to bring chariots, which would make getting the non-flying ponies over the rainbow much easier. There was a brilliant flash of light outside. "That'll be them. Let's not keep 'em waiting, guys."
Sure enough, standing outside the boutique were Luna and Celestia, a third Alicorn who Megan supposed must be Princess Cadence, a white-coated Unicorn guard who had to be Shining Armor, two female Pegasus guards (one Celestia's, one Luna's), and three chariots. Shining Armor eyed Megan, sizing her up. "You must be Megan," he said. "I'm Shining Armor, captain of the Royal Guard. I'm honored to meet you and your friends." Megan thanked him, and bowed.
Princess Cadence approached next. "So you're the human who I've heard could give me a run for the title of 'Best foal-sitter in the history of foal-sitters'," she said with a grin. "I know the others will be in good company. I don't think any trouble stands a chance."
"Hey, don't leave without us!" shouted Scootaloo. She and Sweetie Belle cantered up to the group. Celestia smiled at the others. "Their parents said yes, so they're coming along. Try to keep them from getting into too much trouble. I am sending these two guards along with you, both as added protection and to make sure each chariot has two pegasi." The guards stepped forward. The Day one introduced herself as Corporal Dart while the Night one introduced herself as Sergeant Drizzle. "Pleasure to meet you," said Drizzle. Noticing the odd looks she was getting, she explained, "The bat wings are part of being in the Night Guard. They help when you're flying in the dark." "I surmised as much," said Wind Whistler. "I can see how they would be quite useful." Drizzle grinned. "Nice. Well, enough chit-chat, we haven't got all day. Who's pulling chariots?" Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Medley, and Lofty raised their hooves. "Right, let's divide into teams then. Dash, Fluttershy, I know how well you two work as a team, so you're together. You- greeny- you're Medley, right?" Medley nodded. "You're with me. And you... Lofty, correct?" "Correct." "Right. You're with Dart. Alrighty, let's get hitched up!" In a few short moments each of the two-pegasus teams was hitched to a chariot. "Humans, mount up! Everypony else, get aboard!" Megan, Danny, and Molly swung themselves onto the backs of Firefly, Wind Whistler, and Heart Throb respectively. The other ponies piled into the chariots. "Take care of yourself, Twily." said Shining Armor "Corporal, Sergeant, look after them. If anything happens to them on your watch-" "-You'll make us wish Celestia banished us to the moon? We get it already, cap. You've only told us fifty times," interrupted Drizzle. "All set?" The others voiced their affirmation. "Then let's go!"
"Good luck, everyone," said Princess Celestia. "May the Power protect you," added Luna.
The chariot teams charged forward, picking up speed and lifting into the sky. The separate Pegasi kicked off and followed them, with the two Flutter Ponies taking vanguard and rearguard. They flew over the town and over the woods and into the mountain ledges where the gate lay. They touched back down to pass through, before dashing into the air once more on the other side. They flew over Ponyland, past Dream Castle, past Paradise Estate, towards the rainbow. "Here we go!" said Megan. They crossed over in a beautiful perpendicular arc, transitioning from the sky above Ponyland to the sky of Earth. They flew onward still, over the United States of America, admiring the sights both natural and human-built. At last Angel Grove hove into view. They circled lower and lower. A helicopter moved in and started flying parallel with them. Molly pulled out her ambassador ID and showed it to them, having Heart Throb fly close so they could get a proper look at it. Once they acknowledged it she gave the thumbs up and the chopper pulled away, satisfied that the flying, multicolour ponies were non-hostiles. "Land at the Youth Center," said Molly, pointing to a specific building with decent-size parking lots front and back.
The three teams gracefully brought their chariots to smooth landings in the lot, and towed them into some of the larger parking spaces. "Well done for your first time, Medley and Lofty," said Drizzle. The Pegasi unhitched themselves and the others disembarked. Hollywood looked around. "So this is Angel Grove, huh? Nice place," she said. "Aw yeah!" said Rainbow Dash. "I'm liking this!" "Well everyone," said Rarity, "Shall we go inside? The sign says there's a snack bar inside, and I am positively famished after that long ride. I imagine the pegasi among us are even hungrier." There was a murmur of agreement, and the group stepped through the doors.
As they were entering an old red Land Rover pulled into the lot and parked. Out of it stepped five people. A dark-haired man in a red tank top and white slacks, a dark-haired half-Vietnamese woman in a yellow T-shirt and a matching skirt, an African-American man with dreadlocks in blue jeans and a pinstriped black shirt, a blond man in a white T-shirt with blue stripes and blue jeans, and an alien (specifically, Aquitian) woman dressed in current women's clothing from her planet. They followed the others into the Youth Center.
Inside, Tommy and Kimberly were enjoying a large fruit salad when they were greeted by a somewhat surprising sight. Into the Youth Center stepped a mixed party of humans and talking multicoloured ponies of varying species. Ernie looked up in mild surprise. "Is that Megan, Molly, and Danny from the peace conference? Welcome to Angel Grove! And a warm welcome to your friends too."
This was cut short by the next people to enter. Kimberly and Tommy broke into big smiles as they saw Jason, Trini, Zack, Billy, and Billy's wife Cestria walk in. Kimberly ran up and hugged Trini. "It's good to see you again." "It's good to see you too, Kim," said Trini. "I see you've told Tommy already; that's great!" "Told Tommy what?" asked Billy, puzzled. "The Dear John was a lie," said Kim. "The gymnastics team got recruited to help bust a drug operation, everybody with a long-distance boyfriend had to send one because we had to cut outside contact."
"Did you know, Jason?" Tommy asked his old friend. "I'm afraid so," said Jason. "We knew 'cause we had clearance, but we couldn't tell anyone in case it messed things up. Kinda like that mission you and the other Zeo Rangers went on after finding replacement Turbo Rangers," explained Zack. Tommy nodded slowly, his brief surge of anger draining. He understood. "Yo Danny, is that you?" Zack asked, recognizing the man who had come in with the ponies. "Sure is," said Danny. "How've you been, Zack?" "Things have been alright. So, are those ponies friends of you and your sisters or what?" "Yeah. You might actually have seen some of the flying ones dropping in to meet us back when we were actively serving." "Cool!" said Zack. "Wanna introduce us?" "Sure," said Danny. And soon introductions were being made all around.
Drizzle took Jason aside. "You and your friends are warriors," she said. It wasn't a question. "I can tell. I don't know how much store you set by omens, but according to some reliable ones there's a war coming. It's gonna affect the worlds where Little Ponies live, and yours too. Be ready." "I will," said Jason. "I've been getting that feeling myself, all of us have. Billy's been working on some things that may help." "Good. And good luck to you." "Likewise."
Trini looked at the ponies, pondering. Something about six of them -Twilight Sparkle, the Applejack with a hat, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie- seemed familiar even though she'd never met them before. Could it be? she wondered.
Heart Throb trotted up to Tommy and Kimberly. "I heard you two recently got back together after years of being unwillingly separated. How romantic!" Both humans blushed a bit. "Heart Throb," said Wind Whistler, "If you truly wish for their love to go well, it would be more logical not to but in like that." It was Heart Throb's turn to blush. "Oops. Sorry 'bout that," said the pink pegasus, backing off.
All in all, things were going quite well in Angel Grove. In Ponyland, however, all was not well, even though it seemed to be. In a cave at the barricaded-in Volcano of Gloom, a figure hidden by a cloak cackled quietly with delight. The reason for the cackling was that the figure had just put the finishing touches on a stealthy magical flying machine. The figure started up the machine and flew out of the cave, sneaking over the barricade. It flew over Ponyland to the Rainbow, crossing over to Earth. There, the machines magic really kicked in, letting it fly to the moon very quickly. The figure landed outside the abandoned palace of the former Rita Repulsa, and crept inside. It stole through the deserted halls, until it came to a secret door that led to a hidden storage room. This was what it had read about, what it was looking for. Inside was Rita's backup staff, some copies of her old spell books, and enough spare parts to build whole new Monster-Matics. The figure grabbed the staff, leafed through the books to find the right spell, and teleported itself, the books, and the parts back to the volcano. Once there, Hydia pulled the hood down. "Soon," she said. "Soon I'll make those ponies and their stupid friends pay!"
My Little Pony & Power Rangers Chapter 4: The War Begins
With a 'chonk' the last piece settled into place. Standing before the redheaded hag was a fully functional duplicate of the Monster-Matic. "Reeka! Draggle!" called out Hydia to her daughters. "I finally did it! Bring me the clay!" The two amateur villainesses came rushing down the stairs carrying tubs full of clay. "Yes! Now let's see..." said Hydia, digging through the purloined sack of molds. "A-ha! There they are!" she said, pulling out the molds for the Putty Patrollers. With wicked glee she began filling the molds up with clay, producing small figures of the Putties ready to be popped in. After having made a suitable amount of these she then started looking at monsters. "I think I'll start with two monsters, see how that goes. Ooh, a sphynx, those are always a blast. And... oh, how perfectly evil! That's the perfect monster to send after those stupid ponies! Mwahahahahahahaha!"
Back in Angel Grove, Tommy had stepped out into the locker hall to sit down in the quiet for a bit. Kimberly was currently freshening up, and the others were all catching up or talking to the ponies. Suddenly a circle of light appeared in the air in front of him. In the circle was the face of the Mystic Mother, the woman who had once been Rita Repulsa. "Please tell me this is a social call," said Tommy, hoping beyond hope this was the case.
The Mystic Mother gave a heavy sigh. "I wish. No, I come to give you a heads-up of bad news. A wicked witch from another dimension named Hydia snuck into my old palace and looted the secret storage room. She took the backup copies of some of my spell books, my spare staff, and the Monster-Matic pieces - including a sack of some monster molds. She is certain to be sending trouble your way soon. I cannot do much to help you right now, but there is one thing I can undo to help you. Do you have it with you?"
Tommy nodded and pulled the carrying case out of his jacket pocket. He unlatched it and pulled out a small round coin. The Mystic Mother gestured with her hand, and a burned-down stub of a green candle appeared. "What once I took, I now shall return to its rightful master." She snapped her fingers and the wick lit. And the candled burned - backwards. It grew taller and taller, tendrils of wax being drawn back into it. Soon it stood whole, and the flame vanished. The coin in Tommy's hand flashed green. "Thanks. I'll tell the others right away." The Mystic Mother nodded, and the circle vanished. Tommy motioned the others over as soon as Kimberly had exited the bathroom. They made their excuses and joined him in the locker hall.
"What is it, Tommy?" asked Jason. "Well, you know that feeling we've all had that something was coming? The Mystic Mother just contacted me with info on it. An evil witch called Hydia raided the old palace on the moon and found some spellbooks, a spare staff, and enough parts to recreate the Monster-Matic with. We're going to have a fight on our hands real soon," said Tommy. He then gave a small smile. "The Mystic Mother did give me one thing besides the info. Something that's really going to help." By way of answer to the unspoken question, he held up his old Dragon Coin. They all gasped. "You mean..." began Zack. "Yeah. "
Back out in the dining area, Twilight Sparkle was talking to Rarity. "What do you think they're talking about, Rarity?" "I'm not sure," said the white unicorn. "It's the strangest thing. We've only just met those six, but something about them feels familiar. Is it possible...?"
This speculation was cut short when they heard a distant explosion outside, and for the first time in over a decade Angel Grove's Monster Alarm began to blare. Civilians began heading for the shelters.
"Okay, everyone, it's showtime!" shouted Drizzle. "Twilight Sparkle, you and your team go get 'em. Megan, go with them. There's a few spare barding sets on the chariots for those who feel like backing them up. I'll go with you. The rest of you, go with Dart and help get the civvies to safety. Jason, i whatever you and your friends were doing is ready, go with Twilight Sparkle's group." Jason nodded from across the room, and rushed to join the six ponies who were heading out to battle.
Twilight Sparkle led them to where she'd heard the explosion come from. The enemy was still there, standing amidst the remains of a blown-apart dumpster. Before the group stood two blasts from the past, new bakings of monsters Rita had used during her campaign. King Sphynx, and the Polluticorn. It was the latter who drew the ponies' ire, being a twisted, anthropomorphic mockery of an alicorn. "Look who showed up!" he said. "Too bad you're not going to be around long enough to really appreciate how dumb that was! Putties, get them!" At that command, a large platoon of Putty Patrollers materialized.
"Alright girls," said Twilight Sparkle, "CHARGE!" They rushed the Putties head-on. Applejack kicked down every one of them she could reach with her strong hindlegs, while Pinkie Pie opted to jump up and down on them instead. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy rammed them with hooves and wings. Twilight Sparkle and Rarity struck at them with their horns - those were for more than just magic, after all. Megan drew her sword and began slashing, while Tommy, Kimberly, Zack, Billy, Trini, and Jason used their well-honed martial arts skills. But there were quite a lot of Putties, and after being out of the game for years the veteran Rangers weren't at full fighting stamina. Additionally, these Putties seemed to be tougher than the ones they had battled in the old days.
Applejack was the first to realize this wasn't going to work. "Twi, I think it's time," she said, bucking a Putty hard enough to send it flying. The lavender unicorn nodded. "It is. Let's do this, girls." They summoned their morphers and hit the activators. "Twilight Sparkle, Harmonize!" "Rarity, Harmonize!" "Applejack, Harmonize!" "Rainbow Dash, Harmonize!" "Pinkie Pie, Harmonize!" "Fluttershy, Harmonize!"
Jason and co. stared in mild amazement as the six ponies transformed into Power Rangers. "Well, no harm in them seeing then," said Jason. "It's morphin' time!" The six humans pulled the Power Morphers from the holsters on the back of their belts, raised them, and pushed the buttons on the sides. "Dragonzord!" "Mastodon!" "Pterodactyl!" "Triceratops!" "Sabertooth Tiger!" "Tyrannosaurus!" And in a flash, they too stood there in their Ranger armor. Tommy looked at his belt and saw with satisfaction that his Dragon Dagger was there in the black holster.
The Putties recovered from their own surprise and began attacking again. "Looks like it's time to go to work," said Zack. The core 5 of the Harmony Rangers drew the dirks from their right saddlebags while Fluttershy drew her special weapon and switched it to sword mode. They began hacking and slashing away at their clay foes with renewed vigor. The Mighty Morphin' Rangers did the same with their Blade Blasters and the Dragon Dagger. Rainbow Dash and Firefly took to the air to try and go straight for the monsters. The monsters responded by unfurling their wings and beating a strong wind towards the two. Still the Pegasi pressed onward, determined to reach their foes. But their heroic effort was cut short when Polluticorn knocked them to the ground with blasts from his horn.
Things continued in this manner for another couple minutes, but at last Twilight and Jason broke through to the monsters and started landing blows. Jason switched from his Blade Blaster to his Power Sword while Twilight Sparkle sheathed her dirk and materialized her Harmony Battle Staff. Jason brought his sword down hard on King Sphynx, chopping the monster's staff in two in the process. Twilight Sparkle slammed Polluticorn with her staff, a heavy, staggering blow that sent him reeling.
Hydia, watching the battle unfold on her crystal ball, was furious. She picked up the stolen staff. "Magic Wand," she began, "Make the monsters..." She hurled the staff like a javelin, "GROW!"
King Sphynx and Polluticorn grew to skyscraper size. There were still plenty of Putties though, and for a very brief moment the team captains hesitated. "Focus!" said Megan. "Fluttershy, Tommy, and I can handle the remaining Putty Patrollers ourselves, and there's backup coming. You guys call your Zords and deal with the monsters."
The Red Rangers nodded. The Mighty Morphin' team went first. "Tyrannosaurus Dinozord Power!" called out Jason, the reconstruced rex rising from the earth to join the battle at his command. "Mastodon Dinozord Power!" said Zack, and his Zord trudged onto the scene from its ethereal tundra. "Pterodactyl Dinozord Power!" shouted Kimberly, the Pterodactyl barrel-rolling in. "Sabertooth Tiger Dinozord Power!" yelled Trini, and her old friend came charging in. "Triceratops Dinozord Power!" finished Billy, and the blue Triceratops Dinozord came cruising in on its treads. The five leapt into their cockpits. "Log on!" said Jason, placing his hands on the control pads. It felt good to be back in the familiar cockpit. "Trini here, everything looks good." "Zack here, same on my end. Nice work, Billy." "Thanks. Triceratops systems nominal. Everything is functioning at 100%." "Kimberly here, ready to go. And the stereo's even nicer than before."
"Well, here goes," said Twilight Sparkle as she watched the Dinozords roll into action. "Alicorn Harmony Zord, power up!" A robotic red-and-silver alicorn galloped in from out of nowhere. "Tiger Harmony Zord, power up!" said Rarity, and a black tiger with white stripes followed suit. "Wolf Harmony Zord, power'up!" In bounded the wolf. "Tortoise Harmony Zord, power up!" The flying tortoise swooped in in jet configuration. "Alligator Harmony Zord, power up!" Last but not least came the pink alligator. Twilight looked to her team. "Ready, girls?" she asked. They nodded. As one, they galloped forward and leapt high into the air, landing in their Zord cockpits.
Twilight Sparkle placed her hooves into indentations in the floor, the knowledge of what to do flowing into her from her Ranger powers. "Powered up and ready to fight." she said. "How about you?" "I am prepared. Oh, this Zord is simply magnificent!" "Ah'm right with you, sugarcube." "The tortoise is ready for action. Let's get those creeps!" "Gator's good to go, so let's go!" "Right," said Twilight. "Jason, you and your team focus on the sphinx. We'll take the other guy." "Right!"
The Dinozords adjusted course slightly, heading straight for King Sphinx. He started to flap his wings, but before he could really get them going the Mastodon nailed him with it's freezing mist. The Pterodactyl, Triceratops, and Sabertooth Tiger all shot him with their cannons before he managed to shake loose. By this time, however, the Tyrannosaurus had reached him and started beating him with its tail.
The Harmony Zords, meanwhile, charged towards Polluticorn, readying their blasters (or, in the case of the Alligator, missile pods.) They opened fire on him, sending sparks flying from his body as the shots hit. The Wolf and Tiger pounced on him, biting him, but were knocked back. The Alligator jumped at him, propelled by a jack on its belly, and chomped his muzzle, but it too was thrown back. Rainbow Dash had the most luck, strafing him repeatedly with the Tortoise, but eventually the monstrous alicorn spread his wings and took to the sky himself, and kicked her down. "Argh!" said the blue pegasus. "Twi, go after that jerk. Show him what a proper alicorn can do!" "On it," said Twilight Sparkle. The Alicorn Harmony Zord spread its own wings and soared into the air. It flailed its front hooves at the Polluticorn, striking him repeatedly. He retaliated by swinging his horn, which the Zord countered. Then its horn started to spin like a drill. The Polluticorn's horn was sheared off. "Curse you!" he yelled, and crashed to the ground, having been distracted from flying by the pain.
"Now's our chance to finish this!" Twilight Sparkle called out. "It's time to bring them together." "Right, said Jason. "Power up your crystals!" he told his team. They each drew out the conical crystals that would act as their Megazord's joysticks. "2, 1, power up!" they said in unison as they inserted the crystals. The Triceratops and Sabertooth Tiger folded their tails forward, clearing the connection sockets. The Tyrannosaurus sank into a kneeling position, and docked with the others. The Mastodon's head slotted in over the Tyrannosaurus' chest while its legs, which had unfolded into a pair of long arms with cannons attached, snapped onto the sides. The Pterodactyl tucked its wings in and connected to the Mastodon hooves sticking out of the back. The tank fired two shots at King Sphinx. "Switching to Megazord Battle Mode!" said Jason. "Megazord sequence has been initiated," said a familiar synthesized voice. The cannons and Mastodon head vanished into subspace as the Pterodactyl took off. The ends of the arms rotated to reveal hands, and the Megazord raised itself to standing position. The cannons reappeared, this time connected to the back and pointed at the sky. The Tyrannosaurus' chest opened, and its head folded in, revealing the Megazord's head. The Pterodactyl flew in, folding its head and wings in to become the Megazord's chest. The cheekgaurds swung out, finishing the transformation. "Megazord, activated!"
As Jason had been instructing his team to start their combination, Twilight Sparkle had been doing much the same. "Initiate Harmony Megazord, now!" The Alligator's tail folded up horizontally, and it split in half across the middle to become the feet. The tortoise's wings folded in and it split along its center line. Its head and turret folded in, and it connected to the Alligator halves to form the lower legs. The Alicorn's tail detached, and its hindlegs swung back, until they were parallel with its torso. The lower parts slid into the halves of the Tortoise. Its forelegs folded up into blocks with sphere-tipped pegs sticking out. The Tiger and the Wolf swung their bodies down, exposing the sockets in the backs of their heads. They folded their tails up, allowing the hands to slide out. Their midsections rotated to reveal elbow joints. They attached to to the pegs as the right and left arms, respectively. The Alicorn's mane swung down and plugged into its back while its wings shifted to a position more suitable for the combined form. Then, similar to the Tyrannosaurus' transformation, its chest opened up to allow the animal head to tuck itself in and reveal the Megazord head.. However, unlike the Tyrannosaurus, it's chest was also the Megazord chest. Each of the the other Harmony Zords had a disk on it bearing the appropriate Element symbol. These disks detached themselves and inserted themselves into sockets on the chest. A sword in a scabbard materialized at the Harmony Megazord's side. The Alicorn's tail plugged into the back of the head to give it a ponytail. Finally, a tiara identical to the Element of Magic descended onto the head, "Harmony Megazord, power up!"
The two Megazords strode towards the monsters and delivered dizzying punches. Meanwhile, down on the ground, Drizzle, Firefly, Wind Whistler, Sundance, and Hollywood had joined the fray. Hollywood's wings began to glitter. She beat them furiously at three of the Putties, sending out a sparkling wind towards them. They folded their arms, trying futilely to block it. They staggered back, and then succumbed to the wind's true power and disintegrated. Sundance bucked another Putty that had been about to slash Megan with its sword, sending it sprawling to the ground. She finished the job by trampling it. A particularly unlucky Putty broke its mace on Tommy's Dragon Shield, got grabbed by its arm and thrown like a shot, then bucked into some of its fellows by Drizzle. Wind Whistler scooped up some loose stones and took out another two with a tiny localized hailstorm. Megan climbed onto Firefly's back as the pink pegasus took off, then came back down in a swift dive, ploughing through more Putties while Megan slashed with her sword to get the ones to the side. Fluttershy then switched her weapon to blaster mode and zapped the remaining Putties.
The fight against the monsters was going well. King Sphinx was particularly vulnerable after taking a well-aimed punch to the head. "We need the Power Sword!" said Jason. The original Megazord's Power Sword dropped from the sky, and was caught midair. The Harmony Megazord drew its own sword. "Harmony Blade, ready!" The original Megazord raised its sword high, charging it up with red lightning, then swung at King Sphynx. The lightning ripped through his body as he was thrown back. Flashes of light erupted all over his body, and then he exploded in a fireball. The Harmony Megazord leapt high into the air. It held the Harmony Blade behind it. The blade glowed with the colours of their five elements. Then, the Harmony Megazord dove towards the Polluticon, swinging the Harmony Blade in an arc that left a glowing curved cut on his body. "YEARGH!" he yelled as the glow engulfed him and he exploded. The Megazords nodded at each other and shook hands. The Rangers leapt down and saluted each other. "That was a good job," said Tommy. "No casualties, not even one damaged building. Hydia's going to have to do a lot better than that if she wants to win." "She won't win even if she does," said Twilight Sparkle. "We'll stop her evil plans at every turn." "Now that's the right attitude. Alright everyone, all together now..." The teams put their hands and hooves together. "Power... Rangers!" they shouted, raising their arms and forelegs and jumping into the air.
"Good work, all of you," said Drizzle. "Particularly you, Fluttershy. From what Celestia's said, you aren't inclined to combat." Fluttershy was thankful for her helmet, because she was blushing furiously. "Um, well, I'm not really, but I've always been able to fight when I have to protect someone. And when I morphed my powers guided me." "That's good to know," Drizzle told her.
Pinkie Pie had just noticed something. She looked at Megan, then at the Harmony Megazord, then back at Megan. She started giggling. "What's so funny?" asked Megan. Pinkie simply gestured towards the Harmony Megazord's head. Megan looked at it properly - and then saw that there was an uncanny resemblance to her. "I'm going to have to talk to Ninjor about that the next time we see him," she muttered to herself. Just then, the all-clear sounded. The teams demorphed and headed back into the Youth Center.
Meanwhile in the Volcano of Gloom, Hydia was furious. She hopped around the room in a rage, throwing furniture around. Not only had her monsters been beaten, but the workload of producing them and the Putties had made her newly-stolen Monster-Matic run hot, leaving it temporarily out of order. "Confound those ponies, they drive me to drink!" she railed. "Mama, maybe you should take a Valium" suggested Reeka. "HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO TELL YOU, DON'T CALL ME MAMA!"
The victorious heroes stepped back into the Youth Center. "Hey Ernie," said Jason, "we could use a smoothie for each of us."
"Comin' right up," said Ernie. "It's on the house."
"Ernie," Jason said tentatively. "I've been meaning to ask this for a while. Why do you give us food on the house so much?"
Ernie looked around. The doors were closed. "Well, since you ask, and since it's just you guys and your allies here, I may as well confess. I figured out you, Zack, Trini, Billy, Kimberly, and Tommy were the Power Rangers a long time ago. Like, before Lord Zedd showed up long time ago. And I figured the least I could do to thank you for risking life, limb, and soul was make sure you didn't have to worry about the bill or having a place to hang out."
"In that case Ernie," Tommy said, "We offer thanks of our own. For looking out for us, and for keeping our secret safe."
"You're welcome. And speaking of looking after you, it's getting late. You guys should probably go and get some rest. Tomorrow's going to be busy."
The group said their farewells to Ernie, and set off for the hotel district. As the returning ambassadors, Molly, Jason, Zack, and Trini had large suites at the Angel Grove Hilton, as well as extra room keys to give to spillover guests. It was a bit crowded (but that's easier to tolerate in a hotel), but they found room for the whole party. They decided to blow off some steam in the lounge. Cestria, Billy, Twilight Sparkle and Wind Whistler decided to match wits in a game of team chess.
Rainbow Dash took Firefly aside. "Okay Firefly," said Dash. "You know Megan pretty well, right?" Firefly nodded. "Then do you explain something to me? How come if she's so brave and all like in your stories and like we saw today, she was scared witless when the Princesses showed up?"
Firefly sighed. "Well, Megan knows how protective ponies like Celestia are. She was afraid her involvement with our kind would be taken in the worst possible way in spite of all the good she's done. It was like when she first met Queen Majesty all over again..."
The Queen of Ponyland at last turned to Megan. The human girl was shaking in her boots. She had heard how Majesty cared deeply for her subjects, and how the white unicorn did not take kindly to anyone hurting them. And Megan was scared that despite all her work she would be seen as having harmed the Little Ponies in some way, that in spite of her good intentions she had harmed them in some way. Her thoughts were interrupted by Majesty speaking. "Hello, Megan, child of Earth. I have heard many things about you, Megan. Very interesting. In light of your actions, I see little other option..." the regal unicorn paused for dramatic effect "...but to grant you knighthood."
"Huh? I- but- wha?" said Megan, completely caught off-guard.
"Were you afraid I would see you as some insidious monster infiltrating my beloved ponies and plotting against them? Or that you were a misguided person obliviously causing harm when you thought you were helping?" said Majesty, slightly amused. She reared up and placed a comforting hoof on Megan's shoulder. "I am a much better judge of character than that. You have risked life, limb, and soul for my little ponies several times over. You have broken curses, mended families, slain monsters, stopped disasters. You are a caring friend, a substitute parent when you have to be, and have even gone so far as to act as a midwife for pony mothers on occasion.
"For all that you have done and continue to do for my Little Ponies," the blue-maned unicorn said "You deserve this honor at the very least." And touching her horn to Megan's left breast, the queen of Ponyland proclaimed: "I dub thee Dame Megan of Paradise Estate, Keeper of the Rainbow of Light and Protector of the Realm."
"...and just like that time, she worried over nothing."
"Wow," said Rainbow Dash. "She cares a lot about everypony, doesn't she? Otherwise no way would she have been that worried."
"You got that right," said Firefly. "She's very precious to us, too. Can't bear the thought of something bad happening to her."
Not too long after that, the group turned in for the night. They slept easy, knowing that whatever the new day would bring, they'd be able to deal with it.