Equiforce

by Crack-Fic Casey


What Lies In Your Heart?

Diane and the other two found themselves in a sudden whirlwind of motion. The castle shook ferociously, but it barely threw Diane off-step even as the other two were knocked off their feet. She felt a surge of strength, like an impulse, pushing her down into a slide.The crystals began to explode, nearly taking her head off. She didn’t stop to question what was happening, mentally relaxing and letting her body move on instinct. Diane used her momentum to slide forwards, kicking Celestia out of the way before the crystal next to her exploded. The Pink Ranger was sent flying through the far wall and into the open air.

She reached out and grabbed one of the ledges and clung to the outside as the castle shook again. Gravity bent in an odd direction and the sky around her briefly shifted from ‘eldritch horror’ to ‘sky blue,’ as the castle entered the normal atmosphere and began to fall. The sudden influx of light blinded Diane for a few moments. She clung to the wall, gripping it as tightly as she could until the light had faded and she could climb back up.

A twinkling field of energy surrounded her, and Diane felt herself be lifted off of the wall and back into the castle itself. “You need to be more careful,” the mare scolded. “My armor is thicker than yours, and I can fly.”

Diane would have said something sarcastic, but her head was spinning too fast. She leaned against the wall and concentrated on remaining upright. Dimly, she could hear the others talking. “What was that?” Abigail asked wonderingly.

“I’m not sure. The magic signature felt like Starlight Glimmer’s, but I find it hard to believe she’s powerful enough to overpower the entire castle.”

“Beggin’ your pardon, but ain’t most a’ her tricks been impossible so far? That’s what Rainbow said, at least.”

Celestia frowned. “There is that,” she mused. “We don’t have time to speculate right now. We have to get to the Dream Castle’s A.M and-”

Working.

All three jumped at the sudden noise. It came from the speakers like the earlier statements had, but the voice sounded very different.

Celestia took a step forwards. “Dream Castle: acknowledge your current status.”

This u-unit is online. Please state series command.

“Series command?” Diane asked.

“It’s asking which set of instructions I want it to use,” Celestia explained.

“Oh, like a program! Okay.”

Celestia cleared her throat and addressed the castle directly. “Please access series: Landing Zone.”

Unable to-to-to follow command as directed.

The two humans immediately armed themselves as best they could and stood back to back. Celestia spared them a confused glance. “What are you two doing?”

“It’s totally about to kill us,” Diane said bluntly.

“Totally,” Abigail repeated.

Celestia rolled her eyes. “It’s simply a little damaged. If any part of the A.M were compromised, it would automatically shut down.”

Diane’s voice was grim. “Wait for iiiit…”

A-c-cccessing Prime Directives:  Destruction of threats to Dream Castle.

“That’s not it’s Prime Directive,” Celestia reluctantly acknowledged as she moved to stand in formation with the other girls. “It’s going to try and kill us.”

“Toldja.”

You are-are denoted as threats to the D-dream Castle.

“Luna actually outlawed creating these a few centuries after the Dream Castle was lost,” the queen added wearily. “I’d just hoped that this would be different since I helped build it.”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Diane put a hand on Celestia’s shoulder. “I hope nothing get’s really broken.”

“Like us, ya mean?”

Therefore, you must be ex-ter-min-ated.

All three tensed. “All them crystal things exploded,” Abigail said, “So what’ll it try next?”

Celestia almost responded, but before she could, a third Ranger appeared, this time shaped like a pony. She arrived with a huge whoosh of air, so suddenly that Diane was half inclined to think that she’d teleported. “We have a big problem!” she exclaimed.

“Rainbow?” Abby said. “What’s wrong?”

Down the hallway, a humongous tripod swung around the corner and bore down on them. She could feel her new power telling her to run, but she ignored it and ran towards the monster.  Even with her new reflexes, Diane was barely able to flip out of the way of first blow, and couldn’t avoid the second. Sparks filled her vision as with a loud crash the arm smacked her down. Diane tried to push herself up, but the thing grabbed her and smacked her down again, before holding her up to look at her with a single, cyclopean eye. “Well,” Diane mumbled dizzily, “Now what?”

With a series of pops, a horizontal seam opened up along the monster's side, taller than Diane was. Inside were rows upon rows of teeth. Celestia’s shield flew under her head and embedded itself in the thing's mouth. Blood sprayed Diane’s helmet, and the monster dropped her. Diane skittered back before Rainbow grabbed her and Diane found herself in one of the rooms. Abigail was standing near the door and Celestia appeared a moment later, carried by Rainbow. “You. Are. Freakin’. Heavy!”

“Well, I’m sorry,” Celestia hissed. “Maybe it wouldn't be a problem if I hadn’t been forced to come here in the first place.”

Diane ignored them, fighting to get a grip. That’s another monster. No, that’s just another monster, and I already escaped one, even if it wasn’t half as scary, and we’re going to be fine, except—

“Hey.” When Diane didn’t immediately respond, Abigail crossed the room and shook her once sharply. “Hey! You’re gonna get through this, you hear me? The elements chose you ‘cause you got through this huge death trap once, and now there’s four a’ us.”

“But—”

“But nothin’. You jumped in front a’ a demon to save me— ain’t you got any a’ that left?”

Diane took a few deep breaths to steady herself. “Yeah. Yes, I do.” She reached out a hand and Abigail pulled her up. “Okay-— what is that thing, and how do we kill it?”

Celestia shook her head. “I’m not sure. The Dream Castle is made to evolve; maybe it found some way of catching things that fall through rifts and added it to the security system?”

The castle shook again. “How long ‘till the castle destroys Acria?” Abigail asked.

“Arcadia,” Rainbow corrected. “And actually it’d just be Equestria…” her voice trailed away as she met a trio of disapproving stares. “Well, details are important,” she groused.

“We have maybe ten minutes before it falls through,” Celestia answered. “And I can’t get to the data room to put the A.M to sleep and re-awaken it.”

“We’ll distract it,” Diane said, with much more confidence than she felt.

“We will?” Abigail repeated.

“We don’t have time to do anything else,” Diane said. “If you can’t turn the computer off and back on again in time, we’ll all die!”

“No, it’s far too dangerous,” Celestia argued. “That’s a monster—”

“And we’re Power Rangers,” Diane interrupted. “The Elements wouldn’t have picked us without a good reason. We got this!”

They could hear the tripods steps from down the hall. There were only seconds to spare. “We got this,” Diane repeated before diving out in front of the thing.

In one smooth motion, she dove underneath the thing, rolled to her feet, and bolted down the hallway. Even with the element of surprise, she was barely ahead of the thing. It rushed after her with its haphazard gait, arms swinging just inches away from her new form.

This was a bad idea.

The monster roared again, swinging itself forwards. Abby leaped in front of her, catching the arm. It tried to free itself with its second arm, but Abigail trapped that one as well. The two of them strained against each other, sinking into the floor as the stone crumbled like paper beneath them.  At the same time, Rainbow struck at its remaining arm, pinning it to the wall.

Diane charged the now helpless monster, delivering a series of jabs to its side. Small dents formed but quickly began to fill out. It kicked at her, but she bent backward almost double to avoid the blow. The girl rapidly shifted her weight to her arms, tensing them and lifting her legs off the ground. She pushed off the ground and struck the thing off-balance, stunning the creature. The wall groaned and caved in behind them, throwing both Abigail and Rainbow off-balance.

“Woah, nelly!” Abigail cried. The monster smashed her against the ceiling, and she let the arms go. It slapped her and Diane down the hallway, forcing Rainbow to abandon her efforts and go after them.

The hallway rumbled, not from drifting into realspace but from another trap. Quicker than lightning, Rainbow grabbed Diane and deposited her in a stretch of hallway that had already been set off and destroyed. Abigail followed a split second later. Distantly, they heard a roar of frustration as the only thing caught in the trap was the tripod. “What do ya think that one did?”

“Dunno,” Abigail said as she stood up, “but it don’t matter that much now. This ain’t workin’.”

Diane agreed. “Yeah. I’m honestly sorta impressed by how badly we’re losing.”

Rainbow nodded. “Okay, so it’s big. We need to find somewhere without a lot of room to maneuver. Did anypony pass a pit trap?”

“I didn’t see none,” Abby replied. “Could we find somewhere to hold up until it goes away?”

“Then it’ll go after the queen! We’re distracting it, remember?”

Diane gasped. “Ooo, what if we led it outside? There’s a ledge that goes all around the walls. There aren’t any traps outside either, so it’ll just be us against that thing! All—”

The monster barrelled around the corner and charged them again. Dash used her super speed to move them further away again. “But what about the Nothing?” she asked as if nothing had interrupted them. “Teleporting was bad enough. Whatever the Dream Castle is doing can shield us, but what if it gets screwed up?”

Abigail snapped her fingers. “That’s it!” The Amber Ranger cried. “If we can knock this thing off the castle, it won’t be able to hurt us.”

“How do we do that?” Diane asked.

“As a team,” Abigail stated. “Alright, I think I have a plan, but we’ll all have to work together.”


Celestia poked her head around the wall, ready to jump back at a moment's notice. The blades on her shield had started to chip, and her armor was covered in small dents. While none of the damage was dangerous yet, it was starting to wear her down. The Dream Castle’s security had grown since she last remembered it.

Starswirl never stopped adding to it, she mused. He didn’t know when to quit. The queen didn’t know if she wanted to hug her old friend or kill him.

Cautiously, she Felt around her with her magic, searching for anything new. She shuddered involuntarily at the sight. The spellwork of the castle had once been an example of perfectly balanced beauty. Each spell moved carefully alongside one another, working in perfect harmony, and if even the slightest step was taken that contradicted any of the others would necessitate starting over.  It had taken the three of them so long to get even the most basic enchantments done, and it had been worth it on so many levels. Whatever Starlight had done to the castle had corrupted them, haphazardly strengthening some and ripping others to pieces. Decades of work…

Gone.

Starlight Glimmer had much to answer for. Stoically, Celestia ascertained which traps were still online, and threw her shield into the center of the next corridor. There was a rumbling sound as the walls began to slide towards it  She waited patiently for them to move out enough to reveal the machinery hidden behind them, and melted them with a simple stream of fire. The walls ground to a halt, and she roughly shoved them back into place with her field. Just a little bit further, she thought to herself as she retrieved her shield. There should be a secret ramp hidden in the next room, and I don’t Feel any traps inside.

Two important things happened as Celestia stepped into that room. The first was the castle getting pulled into realspace again, and this time it remained in freefall instead of immediately returning to the Between. Gravity pulled the Dream Castle sideways, spinning it around and around. Celestia was slammed against the side of the room with her horn still lit, stunning her. This wouldn’t have been nearly as problematic had that room not also been home to a swarm of non-magical bugs.

Celestia gritted her teeth. She didn’t technically know if they were dangerous bugs, of course, but it wasn’t hard to guess in this context, and at any rate a swarm of bugs that were collectively bigger than she was couldn’t possibly be a good thing. Using all of her immense strength, she fought against the pull of gravity and dragged herself across the wall. The swarm of bugs was pulled back as well, but their lighter bodies and collective strength made them far quicker. One terrifying glance backward was all the motivation she needed to move faster.

Her horn hesitantly lit again, her field unfocused and sparking. She gritted her teeth and forced it to work, the magic clumsily wrapping around the hidden door and pushing. It slid open, still too far away to reach in time.

She was lucky. The castle snapped back to the Between, the spin rapidly decreasing and throwing her and the swarm to the floor. The swarm scattered, and Celestia dove into the passageway and slammed the door back behind her.

The room was just as she remembered it: Cavernous and Chaotic. It was huge, far bigger than any other room and it only fit inside the castle because Luna had been able to distort the space. It was filled as compactly as possible with complicated equipment. The information needed to run the A.M was staggering, and even between the three of them, they’d struggled to find a way to fit everything inside the castle. To that end, she and Starswirl had spent years encoding millions of scrolls with any information that might be needed. These scrolls were read at the top of the chamber and carried to the top be a complicated series of pneumatic tubes. Starswirl had complained that the system was too rigid, but at the time Celestia had insisted she could make it work. Upon viewing the mess, she wished she’d gone with something simpler.

Most of the belts were backed up, moving too slowly and sending the scrolls upwards at the wrong time. Even with half of the machines malfunctioning, there was still enough noise to make her ears lie back against her skull. They’d been forced to magically stretch the space to allow more of the machinery to fit, creating a huge cavern that at once impressed you with its size and made you feel cramped. And of course, all of the equipment used to keep the A.M awake was located on the other end of the expanse.

I can’t go around with the Dream Castle defenses in the way. My only path is straight ahead.


Diane’s heart hammered as she fled the monster alone. She was doing her best to push the fear back, but it poured through the cracks and eroded her resolve. I’mgonnadie, I’mgonnadie, I’mgonnadie…

She felt it again, a sudden compulsion to duck, and this time she didn’t fight it. The… whatever it was, guided her under and around the creature’s strikes. She closed her eyes and concentrated entirely on her new abilities.

Diane shifted her pace, subtly speeding up. She leaped off the ground, pirouetting in the air just ahead of another strike. She coiled her legs and bounced off of the tripods arm, rocketing down the hallway.

That was so cool!—

Diane’s momentary distraction kept her from reacting to the approaching wall in time, and she slammed into it hard. The young girl scrambled to her feet, rapidly losing her lead as the monster caught up to her. She cartwheeled out the path of its tackle, but it caught her with a glancing blow that sent her through several ornate statues and landing in a cloud of sparks and rubble. I really hope I’m at the right spot.

The tripod bore down on her at the exact same moment that Abigail smashed through the wall. Abby scarcely noticed the impact, carrying her momentum into the creature and through the wall to the castle exterior. They slid to a stop on the ledge outside. Diane’s heart leaped as she noticed that the tripods entire side had caved in. Though it began to fill, the thing was moving far slower and it was bleeding heavily.

It slammed its arms down at Abigail, who blocked them with some difficulty. Diane could see a crater forming under the Amber Ranger’s feet, growing with each impact. Where’s Rainbow?

One of the beast’s punches broke through, an uppercut that sent her flying upwards. A follow-through strike sent her flying away from the Dream Castle, towards the huge void that surrounded the castle. Suddenly, so fast that it looked instantaneous, Abigail blurred and appeared next to Diane. The younger girl jumped back. What?

Rainbow put Abigail down and nodded to Diane. “Almost done. Just gimme, like, three seconds.” She blurred and disappeared again. Diane gaped at the place she had been. Is she teleporting? How can anything be that fast?

The monster took a staggering step forwards before Rainbow surrounded the thing. She sped around it in a tight circle, the ribbons of rainbow energy pinning the thing in place. It tried to hit her, but its blows only did further damage to the ledge they were standing on.

Diane and Abigail could barely see what was happening, Rainbow was moving too fast. She stepped out and struck one of its legs hundreds of times over in the space of a second. It bent sideways, and the monster fell. It kept dragging itself upwards, slowly healing its wounds.

“Rainbow, quit grandstandin’ and hurry!”

Rainbow Dash saluted and disappeared again. A blur of light moved fast enough to make Diane dizzy, placing tumultuous stormclouds all around the monster.

Rainbow flared her wings, wind bending to her will and forming a dark stormcloud underneath her hooves. Lightning flashed and thunder boomed as it struck at the ledge, the rock giving way under the assault.

The tripod gave a final scream of defiance as it fell, thrashing and bellowing with whatever approximation of rage it had. It fell past the Dream Castle’s shield, and Nothing consumed it.


The wooden doors buckled underneath Celestia’s strength as she bucked her way through the last layer of defense. Underneath her, the machinery noise was lessened, and the loudest noise was simply the command scrolls arriving from below. She was cautious as she moved inside; while there were no traps inside the room itself, the crystals were all intact and fully functional. There’s no telling what kind of traps it has prepared for me.

Nothing appeared to be out of the ordinary. Celestia frowned. Nothing Felt out of the ordinary either, though it was hard to tell with her horn in such pain.

You will c-c-cease your activities immediately.

Celestia jumped at the noise, cursing her lack of attention. “I will not.”

You will not threaten the Dream Castle.

The queen frowned. “I have no intention of threatening the Dream Castle. I’m trying to save it.”

Y-you are an enemy. You are telling a falsehood.

Celestia gritted her teeth together. “Why do you think that?” she demanded. “I’m trying to land the castle safely. How is that not in your best interest?”

You are an enemy of the Dream Castle. Your destruction must be brought about by any means necessary.

Her eyes narrowed. “Does that include the destruction of the Dream Castle?”

A-a-affirmative.

That’s impossible, Celestia noted with some resignation. That was a logical paradox, which should have been enough to deactivate the entire system. Breaking the A.M that thoroughly would require both enough power to overrun the wards placed around it, and the knowledge and focus to damage only enough of it to cause this and not shut it down outright.

I don’t care who she is; one Unicorn could never have done all this.

That was a problem for the future, assuming that there would be a future. For now, she had to figure out how to save Equestria. “I don’t care about the obstacles you place in my way; I will save my citizens, and there is nothing you can do to stop me.”

Inc-c-correct.

One of the hatches opened, and the half-conscious form of a pony was floated inside. Celestia involuntarily surged forwards, but a weak force field held her back. She tried to light her field, but the pain kept her from casting. “Sunset!”

Affirmat-t-tive.

Celestia watched Sunset futilely tried to muster up a spark, something she could use to escape, but she was utterly spent. She’s not supposed to be here. She was supposed to be safe in the Vault. How did it get her?

This one was At-at-attempting to find you and render a-a-assistance. She is your ally.

Celestia gave no reply, but it didn’t matter. The crystals around Sunset stabbed down, shoving through skin and muscle. Sunset bit down as much as she could, but a guttural scream still emerged from her throat.

If you do not comply, the crystal will grow within her body, granting her a slow and painful death. Your moral code will not allow this.

“Don’t,” Sunset struggled to get out. She was barely cognisant, but she was still awake enough to remain stubborn. “Don’t give it a thing.”

Celestia stared on in horror. [i] No, I can’t let this happen! I can’t! Her horn was still suffering from backlash, and she wouldn’t be able to pull the filly free in time. If she took a step forwards, then the castle would kill Sunset. There was nothing she could do.

What would Luna do?

The answers flooded her mind immediately. Luna wouldn’t have gotten into this mess in the first place. Luna would have found a way to take the castle already, and she could have done it without endangering those two youths. Luna would be able to save Sunset, right now, because her Mark allows her to protect our ponies, whereas mine is just a stupid,useless abstract. Luna is a hero, and all I’m good at is…

...talking…        

Celestia closed her eyes and centered herself.I’m not a fighter. I’m not a brawler. I’m not a brute. I’m the smart one.

I’m sorry, Sunset.

Her words were carefully weighed, each one dropping with the force of an anvil. “Well, what are you waiting for?”

Ex-xplain.

Sunset’s eyes begged the same question. Celestia did her best to ignore them and focus on the machine. “I said; it’s up to her, and she’s telling you to do it. So if you’re going to kill her, get it over with so I can get to the part where I make you suffer for it.”

This unit does not u-u-u-understand. Do you not have an attachment to this pony?

“Of course I do,” Celestia whispered. “I care for her just as much as I care for everypony down below us right now. And if she’s willing to sacrifice herself for them, I can hardly begrudge her that.” With apparent ease, Celestia turned her back to her former student and continued towards the A.M.

This u-u-unit requires clarification.

“That’s nice,” Celestia muttered. She pretended to look over the equipment, carefully weighing her next moves.

This unit d-d-does not possess the infor-for-formation needed. Why do you not stop?

“Because nothing can stop me,” she snapped. “It doesn’t matter what monsters or traps you throw at me, I’ll find a way to save the ones I love.”

But it is impossible.

The queen snorted. “I’m Celestia Invictus. I’ve seen the stars up close and fought monsters bigger than you can even comprehend.” She spun around and stormed up to the crystal. “You think this is me at my lowest?” she snarled. “You think her death would be something new? Every friend I make is one I will one day watch die, but I’ll never stop moving. I’ll never stop fighting for them. Because it’s the right thing to do. And if any part of you thinks that you can make me so much as blink, then you’re the most deluded individual I’ve ever met.”

Nothing can stop you from using this unit to disable the Dream Castle?

Celestia nodded. “No. And you’ll do anything to keep me from disabling the castle, won’t you?”

Correct.

“Then it should be clear: the only way for you to keep me from altering the A.M is to disable it yourself.”

...Logic accepted.

Celestia watched as the A.M powered down. The second the field holding Sunset dropped she grabbed her, shielding the filly with her body. The castle shook as what was left of the power faded and the castle began to truly fall. Her wings flared, creating a cushion of air that she braced herself against. She growled, casting her field around the crystals and ignoring the pain. Eight. Nine. Ten!

Celestia’s field coursed through the crystals, her will briefly taking the place of the Automation Matrix. Distantly, she heard a scream of pain she barely recognized as coming from herself. She ignored it and redirected power away from the reactor and towards the Workings across the outside. In a flash, the castle was gone.


Sunset slowly pulled her eyes open. Every part of her body hurt, but she scarcely noticed. Blue light trickled through the windows, as well as the sounds of birds disturbed from their rest. She knew if she looked outside that she’d see the trees of the Everfree Forest. Her queen had done it. She’d saved them all.

In spite of me.

“Sunset?”

Sunset didn’t look at her former mentor. She couldn’t. All she’d wanted to do was prove Celestia wrong, to show her that Sunset was ready to take on the world. But…

“Sunset, please look at me.”

Slowly, Sunset pulled herself up on her hooves, clearly upset, but unwilling to direct her gaze at her teacher. “I just figured...”

Words raced through her head, fighting each other to get out. None of them formed fully enough to get through her mouth and into the wide world. Eventually, she just closed her mouth and looked at the floor again. I did my best. How was that not enough?

Celestia trotted closer to Sunset, before shying back away. “I’m sorry. I didn’t have a choice. The castle would have killed us both if—”


“It’s okay,” Sunset interrupted. The feeling of helplessness inside drained her emotions, leaving her voice dull and toneless. “That was all you could do. But… I—”

Celestia gently waited for Sunset to parse her thoughts.

“I don’t think that people who don’t have power are worthless,” she said slowly. “Anybody can achieve greatness if they try. And- and I’m trying. I’m doing my best, but I still ended up being a damsel in distress. After helping put us in danger in the first place. I’m just…I’m not good enough.”

“Sunset, listen to me—”

Sunset flinched and backed up. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I’m just so sorry.”

“Sunset, wait!”

A second later, Sunset was galloping away, leaving a thin trail of blood behind her. She didn’t remember consciously deciding to run; she just had to get away. Somewhere, anywhere would be better than this place. Celestia didn’t follow; maybe she was too hurt to follow.”

Hurt because of me.

But there should be one place left she could use to leave. She’d seen it before the Dream Castle had taken her. The same thing that had saved her last time.

The Crystal Mirror.

This one was shorter than the other, set into the wall with no ornation. It Felt the same as the original, a shimmering door that offered freedom.

Sunset hesitated at the threshold. The last time she’d gone through the mirror, it hadn’t ended like she’d hoped. Can I really go through all of that again?

...Can I really stay here?

Steeling herself, Sunset left everything behind and stepped through.