A frail wind blew on through hills of Canterlot on a cold night, not a single soul to be seen wandering the streets. At least, not where they would usually be. For the night was the time of skulkers, or prowlers, of people who had no other business to be out except for some important item runs or business affairs. All in all, everything was quiet all over the city. Outside of it, well that was another story entirely.
You see, outside the city lay a dig site. Mostly bent on searching for dinosaur bones, really the researchers were. A few dinosaur tracks had been found a few weeks before, and then a week later a rock wall crumbled away to reveal the bones of a Saurophaganax and since then everybody was in a rush to see what else lay in those hills. Apatosaurus fossils were speculated, given the type of tracks found but nobody really knew. Currently, one James Navarro was working late at night -determined to find the next big fossil before any of his comrades- and had stumbled across something… unusual. Some sort of large metallic canister buried in the soil.
He wanted to walk away, but he couldn’t, finding that his legs were moving closer and closer to the canister. He thought that maybe, for a brief instance, he was being moved by someone, something, if not for his own curiosity. Step by step, with the gravel crunching underneath his boots, he finally arrived at the giant bin and wrapped his hands around the lid.
This proved to be a foolish endeavor, as soon as he began to pry open the lid the man was blasted back into some barrels. Something trickled out of the space dumpster -if you will- and slowly oozed onto the ground before reforming.
Looking upwards, the purple being sniffed the air and grimaced. Seems quite a bit had changed in 6,000 years really. The air was more odious than ever, humans had progressed quite a bit as evidenced by the high rise apartment blocks jutting up in the distance, their lights glimmering in the distance. But even through all this, one thing remained the same.
“What is that odious stench? It smells like... teenagers.” the being grumbled before his eyes widened. He sensed something, something he hadn’t sensed in a very long time indeed. With a loud roar, he began throwing blasts of lightning towards the sky, the purple-colored bolts lighting up the sky in jagged streaks. “Ladies and gentlemen, the Ooze is back!”
Rainbow Dash tossed and turned in her bed, dreams running through her mind about the battles that she had, as well as a few interpretations of how she and her friends were going to fight Mar’Zek and his wolves. Most of them just involved her getting into her Falcon Zord, mowing them down with weapon fire before taking it straight to the Alpha Slayer Flagship. Just when she was about to get the happy ending of her latest thrill-seeking dream, she felt her body being shaken around like a ragdoll.
“Nngh! Just… give me five more… minutes, Applejack! I’ll paint your barn when I’m ready, k?” She moaned softly as she was just hurled around more. “What?!” She finally lurched, waking herself up from the dream, still clad in her pajamas.
There, right beside her bed was Elaris, cloaked with brunette hair and a cream-colored skin. She was draped in a green skirt with frills at the waist and wore a pair of black leggings which ended at a pair of green sneakers. Rainbow let out a sharp yelp and cursed under her breath at the surprise as her heart rate slowly returned to normal.
“You know I could have attacked you right then and there Elar?” Rainbow asked. “I could have easily mistaken your for one of the Wolfpack!”
“Then that proves your training is starting to take effect. Only the paranoid survive, as the saying goes. Sorry to wake up you up so early, Rainbow Dash, but we’ve got a bit of a situation,” she said. “Something just came up and I fear that I’m going to need all of the Rangers to handle it.”
“Is it another one of Mar’Zek’s wolves?” Rainbow asked, her voice still groggy. “We can just suit up and drop him if that’s what you want.”
“No. It’s not a Wolfpack Wolf. At least, I don’t think it’s a Wolfpack Wolf…” She thought about it for a few moments before returning her attention to Rainbow Dash. “In any case, get the other Rangers awake and head for my ship. I’ll explain once you’re there.”
“Mmph… Fine.” Rainbow Dash sighed and looked at the clock. It read 3:48 AM. That was going to completely ruin her mental clock for the week, not to mention all that training she had put in for CHS’s latest soccer match. Still, she used her geode, got dressed, and darted out of the house as fast as her magic would carry her.
“Whatever it is, I’m not sure I like the sound of it. There’s enough on our plates as it is…” Elaris muttered to herself as she walked out of Rainbow Dash’s house and went for her ship.
“...No sense of personal space, that woman,” Rainbow muttered. “Seriously, I could have been sleeping in the nude and you know how embarrassing that would have been?”
Far and away, across the dimensional barrier rattled along rails long-since forgotten a spectacular train bearing the face of the sun across the front clad in the finest of golds. Wheels clattered against the lines, and the steam whistle blew. This was the Solar Streak, once the finest train ever to ride the rails and a valuable tool of the Mystic Force Rangers.
Inside sat a group of possibly the oddest bunch of misfits you’d ever meet. A washed-up stage magician, two pegasi—one with a prosthetic wing glowing with magical runes—dressed in flight jumpsuits, an orange unicorn wearing a nice suit and spectacles nose deep in a book, a human dressed in an orange variation of the SPD uniform and finally a near-perfect mirror image of Sunset Shimmer.
The three of them trotted through the interior of their space train, walking past the gold-lined walls and marble floors, with ceilings of pure crystal hanging above their heads. A few leather couches lined the walls around them, with small trees growing out of the nearby planters at each side. Gigantic murals and logos could also be seen dotted around the room. Some of Celestia, some of Equestria, while others depicted far different things entirely. Things this author would prefer not to mention. Regardless, it was like something out of an emperor’s castle. It had a few updates and remodelings since the Mystic Force days, befitting of its new owner who wanted nothing but the finest things. Gone were the trappings of the golden age of rail travel, and instead these fittings were their replacements.
Sunset, for her part, found it mostly pompous and ludicrous but then again considering it used to be owned by a narcissistic tyrant she shouldn’t have been surprised. It seemed Celestia hadn’t gotten around to removing her former self’s ideals of beauty from the Zord.
“Gah, think I’m probably going to go blind from all this… this gold!” Robert muttered before eying Trixie who was checking herself out in a mirror doing a small twirl and blowing herself a kiss. Sunburst still had his nose deep in a book -Something on dragons- and was paying no attention to his little sister’s antics. Then again, it was probable he was used to them by this point. “At least someone’s enjoying this… this… whatever it is.”
“And to think, not even a year before and you probably would have enjoyed this!” Lightning Dust teased from her seat, cleaning off some Tenga blood from her Crystal Saber, the Thunderbird Crystal set deep within its center as always.
“Oh, shut it Lightning-Bitch,” Robert muttered. His words were tactless, although his tone was more light and teasing. It was more a regular game to them by now, instead of just insulting each other in genuine hate it was more brother-sister banter in a way.
“I don’t hear any denials…” Lightning teased, and Robert began muttering some very unkind words towards her under his breath in German along with how he’d like to toss her into Shalifar. This too was half-hearted.
“Now Trixie, you do remember why we’re here right?” Vapor commented, the Wonderbolt cadet pulling Trixie away from the mirror.
“Yes, yes, I know. Team-building exercises and all that,” Trixie said waving a hand dismissively. “To make sure I play well with others. That’s why Sunny-Bunny over there decided to send us on a trip across the dimensions to some other world and see how well we work together trying to find one single ticket. I’m egocentric, not deaf.”
Sunset suppressed a sigh. She then thanked the Gods that Solar Flare while she still had Celestia’s body had never been given any access to this train otherwise Mystic Mother only knew what she would have done. Giving a genocidal maniac access to a dimension-traveling train was only asking for trouble after all. She was glad Celestia had the willpower back then to hold back her evil side. She then smiled in remembrance upon the team’s defeat of the monster. Or more accurately, her first morph into the true Solaris Knight who played a key part in Solar Flare’s defeat.
“Oh, I’m not going to be the one to stop you, just going to be helping out… Her, on the other hand… Well, that’s another matter entirely.” Robert trailed off as he pulled out the Solar Cell Morpher and tossed it to Celestia shouting: “Here, catch!”
“No… NO!” Solar Flare screeched out in fury as Celestia caught the Morpher, and in a flash of energy, it’s color changed from a furious violent red to a more calming dark cobalt blue. She pulled out a red and gold ticket and punched it before throwing it.
“Magical Source, Mystic Force!” Celestia yelled as the ticket enlarged itself and covered her before she emerged with elaborate gold and dark blue armor grafted to her form.
“Out of the Fire and into the Fight! Power of the Sun, Solaris Knight!” Celestia yelled out as her face became covered by a helmet to finish the morph. Her charred wings became a pure, glistening white once more. They expanded to their full length and width, as the armor of the now purified Solaris Knight powers gleamed in the sun. An explosion of pure Morphin’ Grid energy erupted from behind the Princess of the Sun as she stood ready for battle.
Sunset sighed. Oh, those were the days, when it was just simply them against Thrax or Solar Flare’s looniness. Now with the emergence of beings like Lord Drakkon and Wyatt coming to their world things had become more… complicated.
“Sunset-Chan?” Robert asked in a concerned tone. “You alright?”
“Yeah… Yeah, I’m fine. Sorry. It’s just… Things are different. I’m not sure if I like different.”
“Hey, different is good, without different you wouldn’t have moi…” Robert smiled kissing her on the cheek. Lightning faked a gag alongside Trixie before Vapor smacked them both upside the heads.
Sunset returned the smile briefly, before sighing. “Yeah, it’s just Rangers turning evil -if only temporarily- a mysterious Purple Ranger/Samurai who nobody seems to know anything about except for you and that whole Lord Drakkon nonsense? Mystic Mother above… I’d just long for the good old days at times.”
“...What, the times when your land was ruled by a tyrant and I was an egotistical little arse?”
Sunset chuckled. “You’re still the latter.” she teased and Robert laughed after faking being shot.
“You wound me Sunset-Chan, you really do…”
The train whistle blew again as the Solar Streak erupted out of the dimensional barrier and into a grand modern day city, the sun just barely beginning to rise over the skyline. Sunset then stepped off the train and brought out a ticket.
“Now, you know the drill. As soon as I toss this, this train? It’s going inactive. The only way to bring it back to life, and for us to get home? Find the ticket. Understood?” she asked.
Everyone nodded before Sunset tossed the ticket somewhere in the city with one powerful throw. Behind them, all of the lights on the Solar Streak shut down and Trixie swallowed nervously.
“So that’s it then… Stranded. Well, as they say… On with the motley,” she thought before marching off gesturing for the others to follow. “Well, come on then! That ticket won’t find itself, and Trixie doesn’t want to take all the credit!”
The Rainbooms were all gathered in the ship, with bags hanging under their eyes as they tried to stay awake. Even with the bright glow of the ship around them, they were still battling their own bodies in a bid to wake up.
“Rangers. L.U.C.Y. just picked up this energy reading from outside of town a few minutes ago.” A map of Canterlot and the surrounding showed up, with the exact hillsides that the Ooze had burst out from. “We’re not entirely sure what it is, but it is not of this world. And judging from the sudden lightning effects it launched at the sky, it’s not friendly either.”
“My only assumption would be that it is a Wolfpack Wolf. However, there is insufficient data to validate my claims,” L.U.C.Y. said. “I would be able to synthesize a lot more knowledge if you six were to go out there and confront this mysterious anomaly.”
“If it tries to fight back, you know what to do. Use your crystals, morph into the Power Rangers, and tear it down. If it just so happens to work for Mar’Zek, then consider it one step closer to putting down that mad dog once and for all.” Elaris gave them a nod. “Any questions before you head out?”
“Yes. I have one,” Rarity said, coldly. “Why did it have to be at four in the morning?! Don’t you know that I have a serious project that I’m working on for the latest fashion pageant?”
“Rarity. Who cares about your project? This is the fate of the world.” Sunset tipped her hand. “From what Elaris has been saying, this new guy doesn’t seem like he’s gonna be friendly. What would you rather have? Your dresses, or the planet? You can only pick one.”
“Plus, this really isn’t the best time to be gawkin’ on about clothing. Remember the incident with the Dazzlings? And how your clothes were just one argument point that caused them to get our magic and turn into those horse-dragon things?” Applejack gave her a glance.
“Well, when you put it that way…” Rarity murmured, ashamed of herself.
“Plus, technically, it was all of our faults for being such doofuses.” Pinkie lifted her finger.
“Anyways…” Elaris rolled her eyes. “Get out there and examine this new creature. If it attacks, respond in kind. Move out, Equestrian Star Rangers!”
“Got it. Girls. Morph!” Sunset went for her crystal, as did the others.
“Equestrian Stars! Shine Bright and Let’s Fight!” They all announced, before donning their armor and dashing out of the ship together.
“And please, girls. Be careful…” Twilight whispered as the others exited the ship.
With the sun just barely rising in the distance, Sunset led the girls towards the dig site, where a large amount of slime littered the walls and floor, coating over all of the spades and such that had previously occupied it. The canister that housed the alien had been split wide open and a single cocoon laid in the corner by some barrels and a truck.
“Whoa… What do you think happened here?” Rainbow Dash asked, taking just one look at the crime scene.
“I dunno, but it definitely doesn’t seem like someone was having a super-duper raspberry cupcake extravaganza party around here,” Pinkie armed her wrist-mounted party cannons as she cautiously took a step forward. “Seems like whatever monster this was, it didn’t wanna try and cover its’ tracks.”
“You’re telling me. This seems like a disaster,” Rarity bent down and scooped up some of the slimes with two fingers, letting it run from them down to the ground again. “And this slime… Do you have any clue what it might be?”
“No. I couldn’t tell you even if I knew.” Sunset also squatted down and reached for the gunge. Holding the edge of her blade by it, just in case it did something to her and the others. “Be on your guard, girls.”
As she said that, the sunlight finally peeped over the dig site and illuminated the sludge, as well as the cocoon at near the truck. It shuffled and let out a muffled scream, prompting some lurches from the girls as they noticed the concealed man trapped inside.
“What’s that?” Fluttershy asked as the cocoon tried to stand up, but fell over and smacked head-first into the ground. “It looks like it’s in pain…”
“Well, whatever it is, it definitely doesn’t seem like it wants to be here.” Rainbow dashed in, grabbed the cocoon and laid it out before the girls, ripping it apart with her bare hands. The man underneath it let out a big gasp of air as he stared up at the Rangers. “Whoa! It’s a guy!”
“...What were you expecting it to be? An alien who would jump into you and lay its babies inside you with said babies bursting out of your chest?” Pinkie asked a little too cheerfully for anyone’s liking.
“...No more movie night for Pinks…” Rainbow muttered and Sunset nodded in silent agreement.
“Wh-what happened? And who are you?” The man asked, continually gasping for breath as the girls freed the rest of his body.
“Sir. Calm down. We’re the Power Rangers,” Sunset said. “And you’ve just been the victim of an alien attack. Whether or not it was the Wolfpack or a new threat, I’m not sure yet. Can you tell me anything about what you saw before you were… tied up?”
“Can you tell us what this alien looked like, what it did to you, that kind of stuff?” Rainbow asked the guy, watching him breathe normally again. “Like, did it have a name or a title, or something we can go on?”
“He… He called himself… Ivan Ooze.” James whispered before fainting dead away from fright.
“Ivan Ooze?” Sunset parroted, feeling James go limp from head to toe. “With a name like that, he sounds like he would fit well in Equestria somewhere. Don’t you think, girls?”
“...Or at a gay strip club…” Rainbow muttered. “But somehow, given our luck, I don’t think he’s from your world. We never get off that easy do we?”
“Get off…” Pinkie giggled before regaining her composure. “Elaris? Ya got anything on an Ivan Ooze kinda guy?” Pinkie Pie spoke through her helmet’s communicators.
“Hold on, I’ll give the name a search now. Stand by, Rangers,” came Elaris’ voice from the other side, along with the sound of distant typing on high-tech consoles. “I may or may not have heard of it before, but just in case, it doesn’t help to give it another check.”
“Well, in any case, whatever this Ivan Ooze guy did, he cocooned someone in this weird… sludge thing and left him to die,” said Sunset, eying up the blacked-out James again. “Hardly sounds like a friendly face to me.”
“Er, Rangers… I don’t know if this is relevant but I’ve detected an odd energy fluctuation in the southern hills,” Elaris commented. “Getting eyes on it now, and it looks like a giant… train?”
“A train? Elaris, dear, that’s the local Canterlot Railway you’re talking about. It hardly seems like that would be worth any interest in the matter.” Rarity tried her best to brush the slime away from her suit but only found that it stuck to her harder than glue. She groaned, this was going to be impossible to get off. She looked like a fashion disaster. Truly, if anything this was indeed the worst possible thing!
“Does the local Canterlot Railway normally build their trains at Zord-size?” Elaris inquired.
“Zord-size?” The entire group chorused in harmony with each other.
“In any case, this investigation can wait. You should head on over towards that Zord Train and see what you can find. In the meantime, I’ll cross-reference this Ivan Ooze character with other alternative dimensions and realities to see if I can find a match.”
“Copy that,” said Sunset, ending the call. “Come on, girls. Let’s move out.”
Little did they know what exactly they’d find…
From the outside, the train seemed full of color and life, painted with fine streaks of blue and gold across the side, with a mighty gold-clad sun on the front of the boiler. The cowcatchers beneath it had been polished recently, glistening in the morning dawn. The doors laid open, a passageway into a dark and foreboding chamber. One that made the Rangers apprehensive about taking a step inside.
“Looks like a… pleasant place,” Rarity mused, noting the painting of a woman made entirely of flame and magma decimating human colonies. A woman, Sunset noted, that looked frighteningly like Celestia. “It’s almost a crime that this place was left to rot. However, did you think this got here you think?”
“I dunno. Maybe someone took a wrong turn and ended up here. That or some signalman was messin’ around with the points.” Applejack folded her arms. “Still, it ain’t right. That train’s at least five times larger than regulation allows fer here in Canterlot.”
“Not to mention creepy…” Pinkie remarked. “I swear, I’ve got the willies just walking in here!”
Her eyes noted a little tiny cocoon sitting on a table. Looked like there was a parrot of some sort inside. That is if parrots were about as big as a small dog and were made of metal.
“It does seem a bit unsafe...” A single clatter of metal caused Fluttershy to yelp and swiftly take up her flute. “Girls. Go for your weapons,” she whispered as quietly as possible.
On command, Sunset and Rarity drew their swords, Pinkie and Rainbow Dash armed their firearms, and Applejack brandished her Terra Hammer in front of her face.
“Hey, hey no need to go all Punisher on me!” a voice remarked, and a frankly rather repulsive man wearing a sorcerer’s robe strode out of the shadows. Two horns came together to make a sort of goatee and his nails were long, unmanicured. On his forehead, a sort of growth protruded and other horns grew from that. He held his hands up in a surrendering motion. “...Geez, come home to your little abode and what do you find? People pointing weapons at you!”
“Wait a minute. Who are you?” Sunset asked, pointing a finger at the cloaked man before her. “Is this your train?”
“Well, duh! Who’d you think it belonged to? Darth Vader?” the man asked sarcastically. “...Geez, kids these days. So assuming.”
“Oh. Sorry about that, sir. We just saw the train and thought we’d come and check it out. I mean, we were in the middle of something before, but then we got called over to check this out and well, you know how that can be right?” Pinkie tipped her hand casually.
“Frankly, I don’t know how that can be, but mistakes happen! All is forgiven and all that,” Ivan remarked. “Geez, I really must get this train up and running again. The Shadow Line’s coming for me you know, I’m a very popular man. ...Well, except amongst them. But what do multiversal conquerors know eh?” the oddball continued to ramble.
Applejack could tell from his tone of voice, the glaring lies in her face, and the unpleasant air around her that something was wrong. She bore her Terra Hammer before Ivan, hands gripped firmly on the handle. “Whoever ya are, there ain’t no such thing as a Shadow Line. What’s going on around here?”
“Exactly what you think, some evil, evil Rangers took this train’s power source, knocked me out and did that to my pet parrot!” the man shouted, pointing to the sludged up parrot that Pinkie had spotted. “You mind helping a poor wizard out hmm?”
“Evil… rangers? As in, Power Rangers?” Rarity cocked a brow.
“How can there be bad Power Rangers? Aren’t those guys supposed to be all about justice and saving everyone from space aliens?” Rainbow Dash questioned. “I mean, we’re Power Rangers ourselves and all we’ve done is fight the Wolfpack. That can’t be bad, right?”
“Oh. You poor souls, you really don’t know do you?” the man sighed with a shake of his head. “There’s always an evil Ranger team out there or two. Ever heard of the Psycho Rangers? Nasty bunch! Gives me shivers just thinking about them!”
“Elaris. We’ve got some other leads to follow. Apparently, there’s such a thing as Psycho Rangers, according to this mysterious man we found on the train,” said Sunset. “Do you think you can search for them along with Ivan Ooze?”
“They should have a similar signature to your own, I think,” the man commented. “Just a tip. Easy peasy, right?”
“Alright. I’m taking everything that’s being said into account. Scanning the city for similar readings to your crystals. It might take a few minutes.” Elaris pressed a button on her ship’s console, sending small pulsewaves across a holographic map of Canterlot. “I did manage to find something on Ivan Ooze, though. According to some data archive known as the Morphin’ Grid, Ivan Ooze was a deadly space alien responsible in countless acts of terrorism and manipulation. He was defeated and sealed away by the Power Rangers in timeline EX1990D, with his warzords Scorpitron and Hornitor thrown into the sun.”
“Thrown into the sun? That sounds a bit excessive for a space alien, right? Couldn’t they have just pumped him full of Megazord power like every other bad guy?” Rainbow Dash quipped.
Elaris was silent for the next few moments before speaking. “Ah, here we are. Found similar signatures to your own at in some nearby woodlands. Head on over there as fast as you can. If what this man says about these evil rangers is right, put them down. The last thing we need is another excuse for Mar’Zek and the Wolfpack to destroy this world and everything on it.”
“Got it.” Sunset hung up, then turned once more to the strange man. “We’ve got a tip that your marauders are hanging out in the woods. We’ll give it a look, alright?”
“Evil! Always loves to hang out in those dark forbidding forests doesn’t it? I have to wonder what the attraction is...” the man sighed. “While you do that, I’ll work on repairing this train. Maybe I’ll tune into some things on the tube. I’ve missed so many things while I’ve been traveling the dimensions. Oh, all the things that I have missed. The Black Plague! The Spanish Inquisition! The Brady Bunch Reunion!” he sighed wistfully. “Well, go on then! Get going!” Ivan remarked waving them off.
Without another word, the Rangers ran out of the train and off to the beach. Ivan chuckled all the while to himself. “Oh, those poor fools. The Emissaries and the Morphin’ Masters may keep on churning them out, but they never get any smarter do they? Conquering this world? Piece of cake!”
He walked over to Navi and pried the sludge off her beak. “Now you, you little birdie, you’re going to tell me all of this train’s secrets… Like say, where would I find information on the lost Dynazords of Torin the Great?
Navi just whimpered in response.
As soon as the Rangers touched down in the timberlands outside Canterlot, they found themselves in the middle of a sun-dappled forest grove. Suddenly, several dreadlocked haired minions covered in purple tones and oozing off… something leaped out of the woods. Applejack whirled around and with a powerful kick sent one flying into a tree and making it splatter on impact. Rainbow meanwhile just went all Fastest Mare Alive on them and took out the rest. Applejack observed the remains with more than a trace of suspicion.
“Who… Who were those guys?” Rainbow Dash asked. “Far be it from me to pass up a chance to be awesome and all that, but… Seriously, what. the. Hell? Were they made of-”
“Slime, sorta like what that parrot was wrapped up in…” Applejack nodded, the farmer murmuring to herself. “Ever get the feeling that we just got played? Yes, I mean it’s possible Ivan and this guy are just from the same species and that man back there was telling the truth but…”
“In any case, it’s not a Wolfpack Wolf, so that much we can relax on. But if it does turn out that this Ivan Ooze has found a job with Mar’Zek and his band of wolves, then it’s gonna be a problem,” Pinkie nodded. “I wonder what kind of pay rates and benefits they bribed him with. Probably unlimited free soda for trying to kill us.”
“How do we know the Evil Rangers didn’t send those guys after us, just to warm us up? Weaken us, test our strength and all that.” Rarity asked raising a finger in thought.
“ And how do we know we haven’t been lied to? AJ’s right, we may have just been played like violins. What if that man was telling the truth, or he was really Ivan Ooze?” Sunset pondered to herself.
“Least someone here speaks a lick of truth,” Applejack patted Sunset’s back. “We shouldn’t relax. Pretty woodlands or not. There’s some evil creeps out here pretending to be Power Rangers. Soon as we clear that up, I’m taking that Ivan guy out myself.”
“...Get in line.” Rainbow muttered, not really liking being tricked.
“Hold up,” Applejack commented, gesturing over to some bushes, rustling with movement. “Something’s movin’ about over there. See, right there!” she shouted as she saw a flash of a purple cape dart between the shadows of the nearby trees. She was on the fence still about that odd man really being Ivan Ooze, so it was best to air on the side of caution here.
“Girls. Formation. Now!” Sunset hissed out and made hand signals to the others, who immediately stopped what they were doing and formed up around her and Applejack.
“Sunset, that you?” Trixie asked as she stumbled out of the bushes holding what looked to be a ticket in her hands. Trixie then blinked in surprise. “...Okay, is Trixie trippin’ on something because last she checked you are not supposed to be with Applejack and the rest right now…”
“Trixie? What in the world are you doing up this early?” Sunset responded in kind, legs straightening up as the tension faded away. “Don’t tell me. Off practicing some kind of trick with Fuchsia and Lavender, right?”
“Who? ...Wait, don’t tell me! Stop, hold it!” Trixie stammered out holding up her hands in a nervous fashion. “This is some sort of challenge laid out for Trixie. She gets separated from the others and then gets fooled with an illusion! This card right here? It’s an illusion, isn’t it? Well, Trixie is having none of it!”
Before any of the other girls could speak, Trixie flicked her wrist and a white morpher resembling a pterodactyl appeared on it. “Trixie is never getting fooled again! White Ranger, Dino Power!” she shouted, pressing down on the morpher.
A cold winter’s wind rushed through the trees, and Trixie spun like a cyclone a suit forming around her. She was covered in white -black striped- attire and a red-visored helmet appeared over her head, a small black head crest atop the helmet. A small dagger, curved at the tip appeared in her hands.
“Whoa! Okay. Just put the sword down. We’re not here to fight you, okay?” Fluttershy pushed her hands out gently. “We just thought that you could lead us to a group of evil rangers who’ve been hunting down this man we met today...”
“...Uh, Fluttershy?” Applejack pointed out. “Look at Trixie now. Blood-red visor? Does that not look at all very friendly like? It screams evil!”
“Yeah. Turns out, whatever that guy was saying on the train was true. There are evil rangers here. And we’ve gotta get going and fight ‘em.” Rainbow Dash went for her crystal. “Now, let’s morph up and drop this sucker!”
“...Oh, here we go…” Trixie muttered. “Totally called it.”
“R-right.” Fluttershy whimpered but still reached out for her crystal regardless.
“Equestrian Stars! Shine Bright and Let’s Fight!” The Rainbooms called out, tapping their Crystals and morphing into the Equestrian Star Rangers, weapons and all forming around them.
“...Almost as bad as “Earth’s Defenders, Never Surrender!” Trixie sighed to herself quietly. “Now Trixie knows they’re not real rangers if they got the worst catchphrase in history.”
“Trixie. I don’t know what you’ve been getting into with Lavender and Fuchsia, but you can’t just go hunting down civilians just because you’re a Power Ranger. Now surrender peacefully, or we’ll have to use force.”
“From Trixie’s perspective, you are the evil ones! Brainwashed by Thrax probably, and now wearing cheap knock-offs of her friends’ powers! Like that Blaze Ranger the Beast Morphers team faced! Sunset, surely you must see sense! You were evil once, thanks to that damned morpher! You don’t want to be evil again do you?” Trixie asked, her voice nearly breaking even if she kept a tight grip on her blade. Sunset’s eyes widened, something was off here. For example, who was this Thrax character Trixie was going on about? And a Blaze Ranger? Who the Hell was that? And what was this about an evil morpher? If she didn’t know better… She shook her head. No, Trixie was just trying to trick her, get inside her head.
“You’re right. I was evil once. At the Fall Formal, remember? But I’ve long since changed from that day. Now, thanks to Twilight Sparkle and her friends, I am Sunset Shimmer of the Rainbooms, Red Ranger of the Equestrian Star Rangers team. And you’ve clearly mistaken us for someone else,” Her own grip on her flame sword grew as she flailed it around her. “Now I’m sorry Trixie, but if we must fight then so be it.” And without another word, she yelled, running towards Trixie with her sword ready to strike.
Trixie blocked every one of her blows, trying not to actually fight back before she was hit in the stomach by Applejack’s hammer and sent flying backward. Just barely managing to regain her footing, Trixie slid backward on the loose dirt.
“Alright… If that’s the way it has to be… Trixie didn’t want to do this but… Super Dino Mode!” she shouted, suddenly becoming covered in menacing looking black spikes and now earning herself two long arm-mounted blades.
“Think you’re the only one with cool tricks? Not a chance!” Rainbow Dash configured her guns to a different form, altering and playing around with the parts before slapping them together. “Twin Blasters, Shotgun Mode!” With her new gun, she darted for Trixie and let some condensed, tightly packed blaster shots spread out at her.
“Confetti Bombardment!” Pinkie decreed, letting a shower of detonating confetti fly out of her cannons, peppering the ground around Trixie’s feet, before a chain of explosions followed. “Ya like it? It’s something I’ve been working on with these new ranger powers.”
“Nngh!” Trixie leaped out of the ensuing chaos and landed on Rarity, her twin bladed arms crossing with that of Rarity’s twin sabers. The both of them seemed unmatched in combat with each other until Rarity was able to push the white-clad magician off of her, before flipping herself back onto two feet.
“Not bad for a couple of phonies, but you’re sorely outmatched!” Trixie smirked before clutching her sword, dashing for the girls, then turning into a streak of light faster than the eye could track. She swerved and curled around the girls, with every pass counting as a strike on their bodies. She came at them from every angle, before landing behind them in a kneeling pose, as the Rainbooms fell to their knees.
“STOP!” another voice shouted as a circle of flames erupted all around the Rainbooms and Trixie’s weapon flew from her grasp. Everyone’s heads turned -Trixie’s included- and eyes widened to see another Sunset Shimmer walking up to them looking rather un-amused by this whole spectacle. This one tossed Trixie’s weapon into a tree -with a hell of a lot more force than any normal woman would or should have possessed- and crossed her arms before raising an eyebrow.
“Okay, I have one question.” Sunset Shimmer de-morphed. “Who are you? And why are you me?”
“I am you actually, and I believe we need to talk…” Sunset trailed off.