//------------------------------// // Back to Basics // Story: Equestria Rangers // by Shadowmane PX-41 //------------------------------// "So. Now that we know how powerful the Rangers are to become, the next step is figuring out who should push them to get better." Mar'Zek leaned back against his throne. "Vi'Al, Siel'Viz, I want you to inform the crew about my change of plans. And in the meantime, I shall choose who goes out next to hunt the Rangers." "Understood, captain." They both bowed before him and jogged out of the bridge. "Now then..." Mar'Zek tapped the button, summoning the digital screens around his chair again. Once more, he was encapsulated in his little bubble of crew selection. "Who should I use to give the Rangers a poke today? Who do I feel is devoted enough to lay their lives on the line to test them out?" He swiped through the screens with his claws, examining each and every individual member of the Wolfpack that was still left standing. Eventually, his eyes were fixated on a monster that looked like its' skin and bones were the other way around. Purple in colour and with what looked like a skull instead of its' face, it carried a large cannon in its' arms, and let loose some shots. They exploded in mid-air, spreading shrapnel out to the surrounding targets. "You. You'll do." He smirked and tapped the screen, creating a video call with the monster. "Barebones, you've been chosen. Report to the Meteor Cannon and prepare to engage the Rangers. Immediately." "By your command, Captain Mar'Zek." Barebones spoke in a husky and brittle voice, lifting his cannon up to the screen. "And if they crumble before me, I'll use their bones to make mine stronger." He let out a cackle before the call ended, and Mar'Zek appeared back in the bridge. "If you do kill the rangers, that would be an unfortunate denouement for the prophecy of the Perfect Ones." He said, pushing his claws together. "And yet, this is just what they need. Death pushes people to become stronger. The fear they exert can cause them to do extraordinary things. So prepare yourselves, Rangers." The Meteor Cannon was loaded with Barebones in the shell and pointed towards the planet. After the trajectory was calculated, the cannon was fired, and the monster was launched at breakneck speed. The Rainbooms were all walking down the street with bags in their hand, talking about their usual topics; friendship, Canterlot High, and what they planned to do when they graduated. For most of them, they were lost in their own little conversations, almost completely oblivious to the world around them. "So, Rainbow Dash. What do you plan on doing after you leave Canterlot High?" Rarity tipped a hand. "Aside from trying to get a job and everything?" "Well... I actually haven't thought about that." Rainbow rubbed the back of her head and blushed at both cheeks. "I mean, I kinda have a plan, but it mostly involves sports and me looking awesome at doing 'em, really." "Knowing Dashie, she'll find a way to make it work." Pinkie rubbed her hip next to Rainbow's and used her fingers to force a big smile on her face. "And if that doesn't work, she's still a Ranger, so she's got that to lean back on." "And I'm sure that once we repair Elaris's ship, we should be able to fly all across the universe. If she'd let us, that is." Twilight pushed her glasses closer to her face. "There would be so much stuff to discover, so many planets to set foot on, we could grow the planet in so many amazing ways with the stuff we'd find!" "By the way, Twilight, how is the progress coming on the ship?" Sunset cocked a brow and looked into her eyes. "Like, while we've been fending off wolves, how have things been going on your end?" "Well, we're starting to fix the wires in the ship, and we've got the tools we need to properly fix the monitors, so I'd say we should get some of her lost modules back up and running in no time. Providing that there aren't any more shake-ups, that is." "Yeah. The last thing we need is someone destroying the ship again." Rainbow put a hand to her side. "I mean, it was already beat up when we first saw it, so who'd wanna break something that's already broken?" She tipped her hand out. "What was that saying again? If it's broke, don't break it?" "It's actually 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it.' But I suppose you're right about that." Applejack nodded. "The ship's not gonna get any worse from here." "Speaking of ships, look!" Fluttershy pointed towards what looked like a shooting star, but one that got bigger and bigger as it crossed the skies. "Do you think it's one of Elaris's friends? Did they try to fight the Wolfpack and got shot down as well?" The other girls just watched as the "star" got larger and larger in size. Now, a full fireball with a metallic center, it was hurtling straight for the city. Bits of metal were stripped off with the friction, and it tore through a skyscraper on its' descent before crashing into the ground, sending a loud soundwave pulsing across Canterlot. "Whatever it is, we should check it out." Sunset tapped at her crystal. "Girls. Morph up!" "Equestrian Stars! Shine bright and let's fight!" The girls called and posed before they were morphed into their ranger outfits and charged into the scene, with Twilight hurrying towards the ship. Barebones and his group of Hounds were terrorising the city, launching their weapon fire out at innocent civilians and tearing through the glass walls around them. As splinters shot out around them and tinkled on the ground beneath, the marauders quickly emptied their district. "Now, there should be no more interruptions. Me and the Rangers can have a proper fight." Barebones let out another shot from his shrapnel cannon, which tore through another building's glass. "Let's just hope they don't chicken out. I hate it when my prey has to run away like that." He pricked his boney head up and heard the sound of footsteps running towards him. Seconds later, the Rainbooms stood before them, proudly donning their Power Ranger outfits and brandishing their weapons. "And there they are. In the flesh. Or lack thereof once I'm done with them." Barebones muttered to himself as he stomped forward and pointed his cannon at them. "Rangers! I have a bone to pick with you! Now, let's see if you can get through mine!" He taunted and launched another shot, spreading the razor-sharp pieces of shrapnel across the ground by their feet. "Eugh! What a repulsive, horrible, disgusting creature!" Rarity groaned as she pointed her swords at him. "Thank goddess you're wearing clothes. Anything less and I might have just fainted." "Horrible and disgusting are actually compliments for a Skeltor like me, so thank you for that, my dear." Barebones grinned toothily and primed his cannon for another shot. "But let's not get distracted by that, and get back to focusing on what matters here. I'm sure you know by now, right?" "Yeah, yeah. Mar'Zek wants to test us again, so he's sent you down to try and kill us." Sunset tipped her hand. "It's gonna get repetitive and boring after a while, y'know." "Not if you could see half of the members of the Wolfpack. Trust me. What you've battled before? It's just the tip of the iceberg." He tightened his grip on the gun. "Speaking of tips, here's one. Try not to die to the Hounds. Get them!" And with a thrust of his finger, the Hounds rushed forward, snarling and growling at the Rangers. "Of course..." Rainbow Dash groaned and dashed into the fray first, letting loose blasts from her guns. "It's always the same with you. Hounds first, big monsters afterwards." "Just a little warm-up. After all, the best way to fight prey is if they're all fired up for the fight itself." Barebones turned away from the Rangers and let some more shots fly from his shrapnel cannon. "And while you're busy with my dogs, I think I'll give this place a makeover; make it seem more like a Skeltor's grounds." "Not if we've got anything to say about it!" Applejack swung her hammer around, sending Hounds flying. Little whimpers came out of their mouths as she channelled earth through the hammer, creating little flying streams of small stones that pierced through them. "Ya'll better head for the hills if you know what's good for ya!" "And hey, if ya don't, it beats having to sit in a classroom all day." Pinkie played leapfrog with her Hounds, firing blasts from her party cannon-style wrist airguns at them as she leapt. After a few jumps, she rolled under the legs of a couple more and blasted the one at the end into the rest of his crew, knocking them all over like dominoes. "Animal Flute! Falcon!" Fluttershy twisted the dial on her flute and played some notes, conjuring a bright yellow falcon, dripping with spectral energy. Giving it a nod, she ran with it and watched as the bird swooped through the Hounds, knocking them back into each other. Soon after, she found herself cornered, and flipped over one of the Hounds before pinning it down with her feet. The others tried pouncing on her, but another dive from her pet sent them crashing into the ground. "Thank you, little guy." She winked at it, though no-one could see it through her helmet. As Sunset fended off her batch of Hounds with her Flame Sword, she looked up briefly and saw that more pieces of one of the buildings were being shredded to pieces by the cannon blasts. The resulting damage caused the rest of the structure around that level to crumble and fall. She backflipped out of the way and swung her sword out at the Hounds, sending one last flame shockwave at them before the rubble flattened them. "Watch your heads, boys. Someone should really put up a falling objects sign around here." "Yeah right. Like space wolves would ever pay attention to the rules." Rainbow Dash clipped both of her blasters together and merged the barrels together. Two more barrels poked out of the end and a handle came out of the top. "Twin Blasters! Minigun Mode!" Pulling the trigger on the handle, the barrels all rotated before letting loose a huge stream of shots that tore through the Hounds. After a long battle with the Hounds, the Rangers finally moved onto Barebones, who had let one last shot fly from his cannon. Now, what used to be a simple and calm city street, had turned into something from an end-of-the-world movie, with massive holes and slashes coating the walls around them. The floor itself had splintered, and there was destruction all around. And right at the center of it all was Barebones. "You know, we Skeltors have a fine tradition on the battlefield. Whenever we have a disagreement on anything; even the food itself, we must face ourselves in a proper arena. Or, if one is unavailable, then we are allowed to destroy the area around us and use it as our own temporary stage." Barebones stomped forward. "I used to be really good at these fights, you know. That is until Mar'Zek came along. I tell ya, even though we Skeltors don't have to worry about bleeding or organs being torn up, he still managed to break many of the bones in my body." "Then how are you still here today?" Sunset asked, tilting her head to the side. "The Wolfpack is also comprised of some of the galaxy's strongest monsters. It's not just wolves, you know." Barebones primed his cannon for another blast. "Creatures from all corners of the universe, just waiting to be invaded. If the captain doesn't kill 'em, he converts them into serving him. Tell me. What's the betting that you'll soon be joining him?" "Okay, you know what?" Sunset swung immediately, striking directly in his chest, which caused his shot to travel over their heads and smash into one of the razed skyscrapers. "You talk too much. Let's get on with the fight!" "Yeah. We'd never join up with Mar'Zek!" Rainbow Dash modified her blasters again, shifting the parts until she was holding a makeshift rifle in her arms. "Twin Blasters! Sniper Mode!" "If that's the way you wanna play it, then let's go!" Barebones rushed towards the Rangers, as they did to him. When he wasn't firing at them, he was using his cannon as a massive club in the hopes that he would knock the girls flat. As he fought, the bones on his body contorted and shifted, until it looked like he was covered in spikes. Sunset Shimmer pounded against his bones, but despite the attacks she made, none of them felt like she was making an impact. She felt like she was smashing against a brick wall or a tree; one that refused to offer any feedback. Even as she ignited it and tried slashing through it, nothing could change the steadfast posture of Barebones, who met her last strike with a shrapnel blast right to her chest. The impact knocked her back, and the shards stuck out of her chest. "Nngh..." Sunset plucked the sharp pieces out of her chest, seeing that they had punctured her suit, but hadn't hit her skin yet. "I'm not done yet!" Standing back up, she tightened the grip on her sword and darted back into the fight. "Animal Flute! Rhino!" Fluttershy adjusted her flute and played a note, summoning a ghostly rhino to her side. Running alongside it, both she and her beast smashed into Barebones and knocked him back a few feet. She then watched as the beast she summoned trampled over Barebones, chipping some of his bones. "That's all? Hah! I barely even felt that." Barebones just got back up and launched another salvo of cannon fire. He hit Rarity, Fluttershy, and Applejack with a single ball, as it erupted in the air and spread the barbs across their bodies as well, knocking them to the ground. "You might be good at being butchers, rangers. But these bones are loaded with only the finest calcium. There's no way you're getting through to me." "Think again!" Rainbow Dash called out, and a powerful shot struck Barebones' skull, chipping it slightly and causing him to tumble to the ground. The girls looked up to the roof of one of the torn buildings to see Rainbow Dash waving at them from it. Pointing her sniper down at Barebones, she continued to fire at him as he got back up, aiming for his head once again. Unfortunately, it was harder for her to land a clean shot, and she ended up striking his armour and gun while he stood on his feet again. "Long range, eh? I don't think so!" Aiming and revving up his cannon again, Barebones launched a wave of shots out of it, tearing down the ground floor of the building Rainbow Dash was standing on. The structure couldn't support its' own weight anymore, and the whole place came falling down, spilling its' contents all across the place. "Try hitting me from there, little one!" "Gladly!" Rainbow called, and another blast hit Barebones straight in the back of his head. "Double headshot, baby!" Barebones growled and looked around, to see Rainbow on an entirely separate building. Her neckpiece was glowing, and it still continued to glow as she bursted down to the Rainbooms' side in the blink of an eye. "How'd you like that? Powers of superspeed." Rainbow folded her arms cockily, with her sniper reverting into two separate guns. "No matter how many times you wanna try and fight me, you can't. You can't destroy a Skeltor." Barebones simply bashed his cannon against the ground over and over again, almost autonomously. "You can try and fight, but nothing you do will get through to me; not even a blow to the head." "Can't hurt you?" Pinkie Pie asked, before popping up by his side and letting her wrist-mounted cannons fire in his face. He was just hit with an airwave and some confetti. Despite being pushed backwards, he still stood strong. "Yep. Definitely can't hurt him." "Hold on, now. Ya'll are forgetting me. My Terra Hammer might be what we need to put this bag of bones in his place." Applejack stepped forward and pointed the end of her hammer at him. Letting out a battle cry, Applejack ran forward and swung her hammer at his head, hitting his cannon as he used it as a shield once more. She continued to strike him with her massive mallet again and again, but with each strike, she was just met with his cannon again. She couldn't get to his head. "Come on! How are you stopping all of this? Even with my super-strength, ah can't even stop ya fer one second!" "Skeltors never get tired either. We are, after all, a race of skeleton people." Barebones grabbed Applejack's neck and threw her backwards, before following up with the umpteenth shot from his cannon. The blast was so powerful that it de-morphed Applejack back into her usual attire. "More than I can say for you fleshies. You get winded so easily, and now even I managed to force you out of your Perfect One form? Weak." "Applejack! Are you alright?!" Sunset snapped her arm downwards and fished Applejack back onto her feet. "Y...yeah. I'm fine, Sunset. But that guy hits like a freight train..." Applejack groaned and clutched her chest, feeling the strength in her legs vanish as she toppled back to the ground. "Think I'll just lie down for a bit. Get my strength back." "One ranger down, and five more to go!" Barebones stepped forward again, firing the next salvo at the Rangers. In response, they either shot down the attacks in mid-flight or tried to evade in time. "Looks like they're taking a beating out there," Twilight watched everything happening on the monitor of Elaris's ship. She was sitting in the chair, while Elaris was busy tinkering with some of the systems within, reconnecting wires and putting pieces back together. "Any luck with those repairs?" Twilight looked over the console to see Elaris's back. "Almost," she said, the sounds of electricity crackling as she welded the wires back together. "Just one more circuit to close, and we should be good. Just gotta be extra careful... And... Got it." She finished welding and closed the hatch up. "Codex restored. Analysing enemy." A voice cut through the ship, which sounded sweet and caring, but was masked with metallic tones. "Name: Barebones. Species: Skeltor." The computer said, as all of the other stats and data appeared on the screen. "A Skeltor. Now those things are tough to deal with unless you know where to strike." Elaris stood back up and looked at Barebones from top to bottom. "The Rangers don't have to hit every part of it, unlike the other Wolfpack members. Instead, they just need one good hit at his weak point, and he's finished." "Problem is, where is his weak point?" Twilight asked, eyeing up Barebones from skull to foot. "He looks heavily armed and armoured, and Applejack just got knocked out by him." "I once had to fight my way out of Skeltors once when I was a little kid. They're scary things, yes, but they're all held together by one bone, right at their nexus." Elaris modified the picture to show Barebones without any of his equipment. A bone in the middle of his spine and ribcage was illuminated for both of them. "If the Rangers can strike there with enough force, it should be enough to topple him. The only downside is that Skeltors can't be killed. They can be separated and incapacitated, for sure, but because they're already dead to begin with, it's physically impossible to snuff him out." "Hmm... I think I might have an idea." Twilight pulled out her phone and chose to call Sunset. Typing her contact and hitting the call button, a single dial tone passed before she got through. "Sunset. It's me, Twilight. We've got some info about the monster you're fighting." "What's up, Twilight?" Sunset asked, bringing her hand to her head. "The creature you're fighting is a Skeltor named Barebones, and there's a reason why your attacks haven't been managing to hit him," Twilight said, before a little screen popped up on the inside of Sunset's ranger helmet, showing details about the monster in question. "His weakest link is heavily fortified by both his already tough armour and the bones around it. But if you and the rangers get a clear shot, you can dismantle him in a snap." "We could've used this info a little earlier, Twilight." Sunset looked down at Applejack, who was still recovering from the fight. "Why'd you tell us all this now?" "We literally just got the Codex working again while you and the girls were fighting him," Elaris said as an image of her appeared as well. "We'll explain once you get back to the ship, but for now, regroup with your team and try to take Barebones off-guard, so you can get at his weak link." "Got it." Sunset nodded, and the call ended for her, bringing her back into the fight. "Girls. This guy does have a weak point, but it's right at his heart. He's not gonna let us get at it, so we're gonna need to find some way to drop his guard." "But what about Applejack?" Pinkie Pie pointed at the pain-ridden cowgirl. "She's still out of her Ranger form, and it doesn't look like she'll be able to get back up in time." "Are you done prattling on over there?" Barebones asked, readying his gun for another shot. "This is a test, after all; not a friendly chat." "Well, excuse us for trying to figure out a way on beating you." Rarity just scoffed and readied her swords again. "Honestly, don't you Skeltors have any sense of manners?" "Manners mean nothing on the field of battle, my dear. And they'll mean nothing to you too, once this next shot goes through your heart!" He shot yet another shrapnel cannonball at Rarity's chest, only for it to be cut in half by her swords. "Well, if that's the way we're playing this, I see no more reason to hold back." Rarity threw her arms down and darted into the battle once more, her swords swinging faster and more erratically as she pounded against Barebones' armour and cannon. It didn't pierce through them, but that wasn't her goal. "And tell me, what are you trying to achieve by doing this?" Barebones asked while trying to smash her with his cannon's massive frame. "This!" Rainbow Dash ran around Barebones' back while he was focused on Rarity, letting blaster shots rain down on his neck as she vaulted over it. "Now you're showing some guts! Too bad, I gotta rip them all out of you!" Barebones jumped backwards with great force and fired another set of shots down at the Rangers, coating them with a rain of shrapnel. They were just about to hit, when Rarity formed a diamond barrier around them all, which caused the spikes to stop dead in their tracks as they collided with the gem-like shield. "Not this time, you brute! Diamond Prison!" Rarity swung her swords up in a hasty motion, encapsulating Barebones' body in diamond, but leaving his head and neck exposed for an attack. "What?! What kind of trickery is this?!" He howled, trying to fire a blast from his cannon to try and break him free. But each and every one of them just bounced off of the hardened gem mold and exploded ungraciously around his feet. "Off with your head, beast!" Rarity swung her sword hastily through Barebones' neck, severing it from the rest of his body. She heard him scream as his head flew through the air, before landing in her hands. "Alas, poor monster, I knew him well. He served a crew of wolves and met his end at the hands of the Power Rangers." She posed dramatically with her arms, as if she was in a drama class. "Well, this isn't the first time I've been decapitated..." Barebones deadpanned before he was thrown away. He could only watch as the other Rainbooms advanced on his still bound body. "And trust us. It's gonna be the LAST." Sunset's sword burned bright with yellow and orange flames. "Equestrian Star Rangers! Final Attack!" They all called as they moved in on the headless neck of Barebones, which was still wriggling and writhing as the rest of the body tried desperately to break free with the shrapnel cannon. Eventually, it expended all of its' fire, and lurched as the girls all aimed their weapons and let loose a combined stream of light energy down on his exposed body. "Fire in the hole!" They all called out as their combined attack energy came crashing down on the body. Every other bone in their path shattered before the one that bound the rest of his body was struck. It formed many cracks before it exploded, shattering the diamond around it. "No! You've broken all of my bones!" Barebones' head cried. "Not even the captain could do that!" Sunset de-morphed and walked over to Barebones' head, lifting it up to hers. "Tell your captain this, bonehead. The Power Rangers aren't going anywhere, and we're sure not gonna stop now." "Well, I would, provided that I had a body and everything so I could go back and tell him." Barebones rolled his eyes at Sunset. "Hey, y'know where there's a good skeleton nearby that I could attach myself to? Don't worry, I'm not picky." Shaking her head, Sunset just tossed the skull into the nearby sewer drain and turned to face the rest of her team. "Equestrian Star Rangers, the hunt is over." "Captain? Do you think that I should go and retrieve Barebones?" Vi'Al asked, as he followed Captain Mar'Zek down one of the corridors of his ship. "After all, he is a Skeltor, and I have many a set of bones to fix him back up again." "An interesting proposition, Vi'Al, but he's served his purpose in the Wolfpack. If we sent him out again, the Rangers would just take advantage of his weakness again. There's no use in using the same attack twice." He folded his arms. "At the very least, he tried his hardest to cover his weakness up." Vi'Al tipped his hand. "You can't fault effort, captain; especially not your own. After all, it's you who picks who joins the Wolfpack, not a humble scientist like me." "I know. I don't need to be reminded of my own code of conduct, and my hierarchy for who is on my Wolfpack." He let out a faint snarl, his claws glistening in the lighting of his ship. "And besides, Barebones was the most brittle of us all. Sure, he's a powerful fighter, and I respect him for how he fights, but there's no arguing with the result of a battle. His own people can vouch for that fact." "Ah yes. The Skeltor rules for disputes never lie. When a Skeltor loses an argument in their customs, the result is final, and they have to put up with the result by law; no matter how much they despise it." Vi'Al pushed his fingers together. "Naturally, you can imagine that their legal system is all kinds of flawed; all that infighting and bickering, when they could be putting their heads together for a grander scheme." "Anyways..." Mar'Zek brought a claw to his chin. "They're starting to find their feet. My crew are testing them well. And though I may be receiving some losses and essentially sending them off to die, they at least die for what they devote themselves to; my cause. And that, in itself is the most honourable way that a Wolfpack agent can die; knowing that they served their captain well." "As long as you continue to set the example, your crew will follow you to the ends of the universe. It's only natural that power and respect wrest total control and authority over the masses." Vi'Al nodded. "Yes. And their devotion benefits us all. For as they grow stronger, we gather their data. And the more we fight, the more cracks and flaws we uncover in them. No matter how strong the Power Rangers become, we will always be one step ahead of them. And when the time comes that they can give me a real fight, I'll make them so petrified that every other phobia they have might as well be conquered." He grabbed the handle of his sword again, feeling dark purple energy crackle from it. "Fear is the catalyst for defeat. And as long as the Rangers are scared, they are weak. And their weakness WILL be their undoing. And trust me, my old friend,—" he turned to Vi'Al "—there's more than one way to break your enemies."