The Rainbooms all walked back into Elaris's ship together, all chattering to each other, mostly about what they had seen in their Para'Noia-generated nightmares and how harrowing it was for all of them. Fluttershy's story was the most interesting to tell, as she told the Rangers first-hand about the battle she had with the wolf.
"You must've been so brave to fight that Wolfpack agent all by yourself, Fluttershy," Rarity was the first to comment on the story. "She didn't do too much damage to you, did she? You don't need any first-aid or anything like that?"
"Oh, I don't. But I think my Zord might need some." Fluttershy brushed the back of her hair and thought back to the vicious attacks that Para'Noia had landed on the mech. She could still hear the crackling electricity of the wires that hung out of the robot, almost reminiscent of the damage the ship had been through when it first crashed into the city. "Poor thing. I wish I could fix it up myself, but I'm not really the best girl when it comes to fixing up giant robot animals. The small and cuddly ones, sure. But the big ones? Not a chance..."
"Yeah. I don't know how we're going to be able to fix those bad boys up. Unless Elaris's ship somehow has some kind of Zord-fixing super laser," Rainbow rubbed the back of her head and could only dream of such a thing. "Plus, even if she does have one, how are we gonna be able to get this thing to fly, or, heck, do it without the whole town noticing it and freaking out?"
"Well, there's more than one way to fix up anything; no matter what it could be. A grill, a car, or a giant super-powerful robot that only we, the Power Rangers can operate." Applejack grabbed her sleeve and rolled it up, revealing the fleshy arm beneath it. "And it's like my granny always said: Nothing is beyond repair. No matter how battered, how bashed-up, or how mangled it is, with just a bit of grit, elbow grease, and lots of hard work, ya can get anything back up and running in no time."
"Yeah, but the Wolfpack did quite a number on my poor Bear Zord. The thing could be out of combat for weeks with all those cuts and gashes..." Fluttershy could only clutch her chest and let out a crestfallen sigh, thoughts of her Zord running through her mind and how viciously Para'Noia had fought to destroy it. "Even though we won, I still don't know how long it'll take for it to get back out on the field.
"Don't worry about it, Fluttershy. We can pick up the slack for you if your Zord can't get back out in time for the next Wolfpack wolf." Sunset wrapped her arm around Fluttershy's shoulders and pulled her in for a side-hug.
"Yeah! And it might not even be a wolf next time! It could be something like a robot, or a sea-monster, or something that flies, just anything that might not grow big and mean like the wolves can," Pinkie mouthed off, clasping her hands together innocently. "But hey, if a wolf does come along, we can handle it. We can always do what you did. Despirateton mode! No wait, uh... Desposition mode! Uh, definitely not. Despaci—no, what am I thinking? That makes no sense whatsoever."
"Desperation is the word you're looking for, Pinkie Pie," said Twilight as the group all walked back into the bridge of the ship. "Welcome back, girls. That last fight must've been pretty rough, huh?"
"Yeah. Tell me about it." Rainbow Dash brushed the air, when in reality, her body was still frigid from the memories of her Living Nightmare. "Trust me, girls. If you saw what I saw, you'd totally understand why I don't do cute and cuddly stuff all the time. Especially you, Rarity." She tipped her hand. "I mean, it's good in small bursts, but to be living in a world like it where cutesy-wutesy stuff happens twenty four seven? Nuh-uh. Rainbow Dash is out, thank you very much."
"Cutesy-wutesy?" Rarity couldn't help but let out a little giggle; her hand cupping her mouth. "Forgive me for saying this, Rainbow Dash, but I think I would have very much preferred your nightmare over what I had to face. Now I feel slightly unnerved about my upcoming line." She let out a short breath.
"Para'Noia's nightmares must've done a real number on you, huh? I can understand your feelings of anxiety and dread, Rangers, but we need to press on." Elaris walked up to Twilight's side. "Mar'Zek is still only testing you. The Wolfpack have MUCH MORE POWERFUL soldiers at their disposal, from all matters of planets and galaxies. And right now, you're team is very strong, but sooner or later, he will send his stronger troops."
"Luckily, we have some good news for you." Twilight pulled out what looked like a rounded, chrome-coloured remote control, and pressed a button on the top of it. Lights lit up around the bridge, and a trail of them lead towards a room to the left-hand side of the ship's monitor screen. "The Forge is open for business. Today's specials are Ranger suit upgrades, weapon modifications, Zord repairs, research into new technology, and a training area to test our new tools out."
The Rainbooms all cheered and hollered as Twilight and Elaris lead the way into the new section of the ship; one that had been previously closed off to them all. As they stepped through the archway leading down to their new section, the girls were already beginning to think about what could be waiting for them on the other side, how the Forge would look, what new weapons were at their disposal, and how cool their new powers would be.
The Rainbooms were treated to a sight unlike any other. The room seemed to split into three different paths, but what awaited beyond them straight ahead was an astral plane that Twilight and Elaris walked into. Though their feet didn't look like they were touching the ground, they were still walking across the stardust towards a large, glowing ball of light. When Elaris laid her hands on it, the ball turned into a large, neon-lit forge, with lava popping out of a simulated sun in the distance.
To the right of the forge table, there was a more digital section of the room; the training area, which simulated cover to hide behind, Wolfpack Hounds, and even transformed into different environments like jungles, beaches, and mountains. Each change lasted a few moments, before transforming into something else entirely; never staying to one form for too long.
To the left was a room that was more akin to a waiting room at a dental clinic or a hospital. There were couches and chairs for the Rainbooms, with many screens around them. From there, they had a perfect view of the training area and every single inch of it. And even if there was a part that they couldn't see properly, that was where the screens came in, as they showed off additional angles of said simulated ground.
"Whoa..." All of the other Rainbooms all chorused together as they examined all three sections. Mostly, they were looking at the Forge itself, and paid no mind to the range or the waiting area. All of them took step after step, up the stairs and into the spacial plane, walking out into the nothingness of the cosmos and towards Elaris and Twilight.
"Welcome to the Forge, girls," said Twilight, as she looked back towards the table, where Elaris was using her magic to mold the lava into many different shapes, almost as if she was working with pizza dough. "If you're wondering why it's all... spacey, that's part of Elaris's magic. She told me that all of her people's technology combines cosmos with sci-fi stuff."
"It's very cosmic, that much is true." Rarity was already examining the room from top to bottom, ideas flowing into her mind about what could be done in the form of decorations or wallpapers and posters. "I guess it fits with the rest of the ship; considering that this ship is powered by something completely out of this world."
"Thank you for the feedback, Rarity," L.U.C.Y's voice spoke through the room. "Trust me, I wish that I could change my own layout myself, but that is not my will alone. It is something that only my pilot and her people can do."
"Anyway... the Forge is a very special place. Elaris's people have mastered a special kind of construction called Celestineering. Where they can create stars and suns themselves to serve as the cores for many of their bigger machines and ships." Twilight pointed towards the sun at the end of the Forge. "But this great power comes at a cost. See, they're just like actual suns themselves. And if they get destroyed then..."
"It creates supernovas. While still small, they're strong enough to pull anyone and anything into it, and tear them to pieces in seconds, much like the actual black holes that come from dying suns themselves." Elaris sighed and walked away from the table. "If our sun cores get destroyed, then there is little to no hope of us surviving the aftermath. If the cores of my planet were destroyed, then..." She stopped, stricken with horror as the image came to her mind, of thousands of black holes popping up on her home, the destruction and simulated screams burrowing their way into her mind. "We made a bold move trying to fight the Wolfpack like that. If they come and attack our home, and destroy the cores that we cherish, then nothing could ever be able to repair the damage."
"Then it's a good thing they're focusing on us, and not your home, girl." Rainbow Dash stepped out into the spacial forge and patted Elaris on the back. "Don't worry about your home. It's totally fine. After all, that Captain Mar'Zek guy's not gonna stop until we kick his butt."
"Rainbow Dash, the Wolfpack is more than just the fleet Mar'Zek has. Given how much of a presence it's had and how mant worlds it has conquered, I wouldn't be surprised if it spanned the whole universe, stretching out from galaxy to galaxy." Elaris looked back at the starry veil surrounding the forge. "Sure, the reserve armies might not be as strong, but they all follow the rules of Mar'Zek, and he will have most likely trained them to be merciless, ruthless, unyielding monsters of monsters."
"And that's why we were chosen as Power Rangers; to stand against them. To stop them from doing all these terrible things." Sunset joined Elaris, Twilight, and Rainbow Dash. "And this Forge you made is going to be a great way to get the edge over them. Now, if things get too tough, we can make new gear to counteract theirs, upgrade our weapons and zords, or even get new weapons and tools we can use to save the day."
"Yeah. We're totally gonna give the Wolfpack a big scare when they see our super-cool new moves!" Pinkie bounced over all of the girls and landed daintily behind them all. "They're gonna be so scared of us that they won't even wanna come out of their ships!"
"True, but remember, girls. Mar'Zek is only testing you at the moment." Elaris gently pressed Pinkie's shoulders downward to keep her from bouncing too high. "Every move that we make out on the field, he's monitoring; to try and find the best variable that he can to defeat us all. Stay on your toes, and don't keep fighting the same was as you always do. The wolves WILL adapt, girls. You need to remember that, and face it head-on when they get the upper hand."
"So far, we've only really been using our Ranger powers to get the job done. The Wolfpack ain't seen the Magic of Friendship that we use to beat all our bad guys." Applejack folded her arms over each other. "All the giant rainbow-lasers we've used on demons, sirens, and the occasional magic-hungry nutcase, it'll stop the Wolfpack too if things get real hairy.
"But will the Magic of Friendship even be enough to stop them?" Fluttershy lifted a finger slowly. "I mean, they are an
extremely powerful group of space aliens. Why, they've even managed to beat us a few times."
"True, but we've done the same with them, picked off some of their wolves and sent them packing." Twilight massaged Fluttershy's shoulders and gave her a tender smile. "Plus, your Bear Zord should be ready for its' repairs."
"But... how are we gonna be able to fix a zord that big?" Fluttershy cocked a brow at Twilight and Elaris. "How is it gonna be able to fix into the ship?"
"I have thought about that," said Elaris, before turning back towards the forge and raising her arms up dramatically. After a short build-up, the Bear Zord burst through the starry floor, and appeared before Fluttershy and the others. All of the damage was still visible, even though it had been scaled down to match the height of the girls.
The Rainbooms could only watch as Elaris lifted the lava that had already been laid out on the table and wove it around the damaged parts of the mechanical bear. Patting it down carefully and putting any loose wires back into place, the lava quickly molded into the splits and cracks, before cooling and forming uncoloured metal. From there, she quickly reached out into the endless horizon of the Forge and pulled out a yellow tube. She plucked out some pigment from it and spread it around the zord's body, quickly giving it back the colour that it had briefly lost.
"I can't keep repairing the Zords forever, girls. Try as I might, overuse of the sun in the Forge can cause it to blow up as well. The same goes for new weapons and tools, I can't just churn them out like a factory or an arms dealer." Elaris gave the Bear Zord a quick pat, causing it to disappear beneath the stars again. "You'll have to be extra careful when going out onto the field, for who knows what could happen if push comes to shove and the Wolfpack did some real damage?"
"We'll be sure to remember that, Elaris. A black hole going off in Canterlot would be the LAST thing we'd want to happen." Sunset turned her gaze towards the sun at the other end of the forge. Despite it being there in broad daylight, she didn't squint at its' light; even slightly.
"However, Rangers, I can say that I was working a lot on a project while you were on the way back to the ship. I had no time to rest, and I didn't even speak to Twilight once throughout," said Elaris. "I can't really say what it is either, because I only recently got this part of the ship up and running again, and it would take an immense amount of solar residue to create. But rest assured, that what I plan on making will make you very satisfied."
"In the meantime, girls, you might wanna check out the training systems. Test yourselves out against the wolves, dangerous conditions, or even yourselves." Twilight pointed back to where the space met solid ground again. "And, lets be honest, if you trained in the pilot's room, it would've eventually become a liability and we would have had to have done even more work to re-repair the bridge. And I know that you don't like having to repair something that's already been fixed over and over again."
"Sure thing. Come on, girls. Let's give it a try." Sunset quickly turned back, left the astral plane, and was the first to enter the digital training section; the area already being digitally integrated around her. As the first few Hounds appeared, she was quickly morphed and armed, and rushed into battle against them.
Meanwhile, Mar'Zek was busy training against his own holographic copies of the Power Rangers, his blade clashing with that of Sunset's and Rarity's. With every strike that he dealt, he could see the flickers of the programs appear and disappear as the figures contorted and tumbled before him. As he saw the others charge in, he dashed towards them; conjuring a dark purple contrail around him. He barrelled through them, sending all four of them flying before he leapt back, lined them all up, impaled them, and drove his sword into the ground; sparking up a giant web of dark energy that shredded the clones of the other girls. All six of them faded away shortly after he lifted his sword out of the four he had skewered.
"As we know, the Rangers in their current state are weak. That is why you were able to defeat them so easily, my captain," said Vi'Al, as the simulation around the Wolfpack captain ended. "Though, that may be attributed to the many prizes you have claimed in your never-ending conquest, my captain. That or they are just plain terrible at fighting against you. Either way, this entire simulation is nothing at the moment."
"Then why have me train in it? I can take down thousand-man armies with fewer attacks than this." Mar'Zek lifted a brow at Vi'Al as he readjusted his lab coat.
"That's exactly the point, my captain. If the Rangers last longer than the armies you battle, then they are more worthy of your time in training as well. Plus, this is only the base variable. They have so much more time to develop and grow. So much more new data can be extracted from future performances. And when we run that into the simulations, I can assure that you will have more worthwhile, intense, and—dare I say it—fun training sessions."
"I haven't had fun since I tore down the Archipelago of Abhorrence in Sector Q-18. Seeing all those maggot-ridden monsters scream and cry before my feet, before challenging the finest of them all? I enjoyed every second of sending those creatures back to whatever pits they crawled out of." He sighed, sliding his sword back into the scabbard by his hips. "And Plagueraven makes a very efficient tool for spreading chaos without the need for a full-scale invasion. I'm almost glad I found her there. A shame, really, since every quest from there has really been more and more easy for me. It's almost like the universe isn't even trying anymore to fight me. They just accept defeat or make a very poor effort to show bravado and resistance."
"True, but these Power Rangers are the exception; the stray variable in our warpath. They've already taken down some prominent Wolfpack figures. Preda'Tor, Ahn'Taier, and now Para'Noia too. Need I remind you of how high their body counts were, and the bounties that were laid on their heads? They were almost in the billions for space bullion."
"True. And now nobody will be able to collect. Not that they would want to, anyways. After all, no-one who fights a Wolfpack wolf lives or goes home. Until now, that is." He pressed his foot down on the floor again, causing the ranger doubles to respawn in the room. "These Power Rangers. Red, orange, yellow, blue, white, and pink. When I'm done with them, and their crystals are mine, I'll personally stuff and mount them, de-suited and disarmed, and hang their helmets and weapons above my throne, as a sign of warning to those who would challenge me after." Clutching the handle of his blade again, Mar'Zek waited for the rangers to charge in. Once they were at arms' length from him, he drew the sword at breakneck speeds, decapitating all of the computerised girls at once and causing them to fade away again. "No matter how big you think your victories are, Power Rangers, you accomplish nothing. And only delay the inevitable. And you don't even know how insignificant the difference you make is..."