//------------------------------// // Picture Perfect Imperfection - Part 1 // Story: Power Rangers Shadow Force // by Layton13 //------------------------------// The next day had come in the blink of an eye, and with it, the five girls and Cadance had left school right after the bell had rung for them. After a quick trek to the local MRG headquarters and its underground parking deck, they had been greeted, loaded onto a sizeable all-terrain vehicle, and drove off with a group of four more of the same. The air inside the ATVs was tense. Shining was sitting next to Cadance and Light Bulb, but neither of them spoke a single word to each other. They just occasionally dared to look in each other's direction before quickly looking somewhere else again, as if the corner suddenly had become the most exciting thing in the room. And the students waited in silence as well, not daring to be the one to break it first. Everyone was dressed in outdoor-cloths that would definitely be suited for a track through the woods. That much Shining had given them, but beyond that, nothing more. The strange convoy drove through the streets of the city, attracting a lot of attention, but thankfully none of the passersby could actually get a look inside. Still, they could clearly see their glances through the one-way windows. As the ATV left the city borders, Lemon let out a sigh, almost sounding as loud as a dropped grenade. Or at least, that was how it felt to everyone else. “Mannnnn! Finally, out of the city. I don’t know how you all felt, but I could feeeeeel those stares we were getting. You do something like this often,” she asked, turning towards Shining. He awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck before returning: “Not… Really. We usually just sent a small team to an excavation site. Most of the time just in a suitable vehicle, but this time… We need a bit more. Especially since we aren’t actually sending agents to an existing dig site. We need to transport the entirety of the equipment, after all. And that also means I had to request a clearance warrant for the area… Which…” Before he continued, he let out a long yawn. “I didn’t get much sleep last night…” Lemon looked at him for a moment, tilting her head, before returning: “Didn’t know there was so much paperwork going into this… Must be really annoying.” “It… It can be daunting. Especially if I have to deal with the aftermath of an attack with a lot of collateral,” he said, looked especially at Lemon, before continuing: “But I prefer it when it’s the only thing we have to worry about. Paperwork isn’t as stressful as a situation with a monster after all.” “Yeah, I can understand that,” Sunny joined in; her tone was relatively subdued as she continued: “There is a lot that can go wrong in those situations, right?” “Yeah, pretty much,” he simply stated, letting out a long sigh. “I’m sure you understand that as well, given your first-hand experience with the subject, after all. Still, only because we don’t actually engage the monster on the best days doesn’t mean we are just standing by ideally. We make sure people actually evacuate and aren’t in the crossfire, which can be especially hard if the location of the fight shifts. They can be volatile, shifting from one place to another. You got to be quick on your feet to have a good idea where it could go next. But it makes it easier if you can trust the people you’re working with.” “I see…” Sunny nodded. “You got to be prepared if the heroes make mistakes, right?” “More or less, yeah. Like I said, fights are volatile and unpredictable. Anyone who says otherwise is just lying to you,” he encountered. “But until now, you mostly kept my job easy enough, well, disregarding the property damage, but I’ve learned long ago that it just comes as part of the job. I just now get to feel the aftereffects myself,” he added with a weak chuckle. “May I ask a question?” Sugar said, looking over at him. “Shot. I’ll see if I can answer it.” “You were informed who the Changelings really are yesterday. You have any ideas on how to proceed with this information?” “I see… Yeah, that is indeed a good question. I’ve had a bit of a discussion with the three directors of the MRG for the east, center, and west of the country and the big director about this actually,” he returned, crossing his arms as he did so. “I actually just finished talking with them an hour ago. We went through multipile scenarios, but until further notice, our decision was to leave it to you. I’m sure we could make a case that would get us a warrant for their facilities, but, frankly, we lack the necessary information to both capitalize on it and to not let this end in an unmitigated disaster.” “Why not just storm their building with all four Riders and us? I’m sure we could kick their collective asses in an explosion of superhero asskickery!” Lemon shouted across the room, getting facepalm from both Sour and Sunny, while Shining just raised his eyebrow. “You really are quite the excitable type,” he muttered before continuing louder: “Primarily because we would endanger a lot of civilians if we did so. Furthermore, with the appearance of Changelings in Griffonestone, their operatives are likely scattered across the county, maybe even the globe. And if we were to attack their headquarters in Canterlot City, we would have no idea how they would react. They would most likely try to cause chaos and mass panic if they weren’t able to just teleport across the country. The Riders are already spread more than thin at this point, barely able to respond to the appearing of a monster before the next one pops up. If we added an unknown number of Changelings to that, we just wouldn’t be able to take care of them without a massive number of civilian casualties, which we aren’t willing to risk right now. So, until we can be sure of the fact that this won’t happen, or we have no other choice, we’ll let you deal with the threat at hand. But if that should be too much for you, I got the Riders on speed-dial.” “I… Yeah… I see what you mean,” Lemon said, lowering her head. “Would be a dumb idea. Super cool, but not worth it. As much as I would love to work with the Riders at one point! Again,” she added with a chuckle. “I’m sure, if things continue as they are now, you’ll get your chance. Pretty certain they’d love to meet you as well. Been a bit since I last saw them actually,” he added with a chuckle. “It’d be fun to talk again.” “Oh, I got to talk with Ocean before she up and disappeared again. But I’d love to get to talk to her again, especially since I want allllllll the footage. So much information to be dissected,” Light Bulb suddenly shouted out, a familiar shine of excitement in her eyes. “Speaking off, I’d love to take a look at you girls as well!” She added, smiling at the five teenagers, with a quite unnerving stare. Shining just let his head sink into his hand and shook it. “Light Bulb… What did I tell you about this?” She looked at him perplexed for a moment before her expression turned sheepish in an instant. “Not to scare superheroes with talks about examinations?” “Exactly…” He sighed. “Eh, since we didn’t get a proper chance last night, this Light Bulb. Currently, the leading scientist on Magic we have in the MRG. You’ll find no one who has a better understanding of it than her. She is… Nice, once you got to know her, just… A bit overly excited if she gets the chance to learn something new. She’s currently stationed here, on her own whishes. She prefers working as close to the magical incidents as possible, and right now, the most consistent place for that would be Canterlot City.” “You’re a scientist for Magic?” Sugar asked. “Twilight would probably love to talk with you.” “Twilight is great! She’s so smart! I love talking with her! The information she could reveal to me is fascinating! I could talk with her for hours about Magic! I’m actually impressed that she managed to build a rudimentary magical detector! It took the MRG years to build their first model! And she just managed to build one in a school supply closet with pretty much a box of scraps! She is unbelievably skilled! I’d honestly would have loved to see her use it!” Light Bulb spewed out in seconds, her face radiating pure joy. She was utterly oblivious to the fact that all of the Shadow Bolts quickly looked down at the floor. “It… Wasn’t nearly as great when you were in the middle of it,” Sunny ultimately said. Light Bulb looked at them, confused for a moment before it dawned on her. “Oh… Oh, right… The… Midnight Sparkle incident… I almost forgot you were involved in that as well…” “Yeah… We’re sorry about that,” Sunny sighed, still unable to look back up. “We screwed up badly back then… Thought winning was somehow more important than her. We messed with forces way beyond our control… And now look,” she weakly chuckled while pulling out her Shadow Coin. “Now we’re doing it again… Some things apparently never change.” “I’d say it’s a bit different this time. I still can’t forgive you for back then,” Shining said somberly. “Shining!” Cadance muttered, jabbing him in the side and glaring angrily at him. “But I’d call myself blind if I didn’t notice you really feel sorry. And that you want to help people this time. Not for anything personal, like winning, but because you think it’s the right thing. You’re doing it for a different reason this time. And that makes all the difference. A friend of mine always says, the only thing you can do when you made a mistake is to realize that you did and strive to not make it again,” he added with a smile. Sunny simply nodded without saying anything else. The next ten minutes of the drive were remarkably quiet once more until Lemon once again spoke up. “So… Where exactly are we going anyway? And what are we looking for? Last time, we knew we were looking for the Crystal Heart, but what is it this time?” “Well, we don’t know exactly what we are looking for. Just that it has a remarkably similar magical frequency as one of your Shadow Coins. That was what you called them, right. Any idea of what that could mean?” Light Bulb asked. “No, not really. Information on this is hard to come by nowadays, give it’s about three thousand years in the past. And even with the part of our ancestors back from over the sea, they couldn’t keep most of their records. The only thing we know for certain is that if the Changelings get their hands on what is out there, it won’t be good in the slightest. But if I had to hazard a guess, it might be either a seventh Coin, another set of Ability Coins, or… Something else entirely. And the last one kind of makes me nervous,” Cadance returned, a nervous loom on her face. “I see… We’re heading towards a small temple ruin at the shores of a lake if our readings prove to be correct. The site has been picked apart by a few archeologist crews until now, but nothing that could be of interest to us could ever be found. I’m still a bit doubtful we’ll actually find something there. But I’m not risking letting the tide turn in this war. Especially if the Changelings are really as dangerous as they appear to be,” Shining finished, as the convoy took another turn, heading further towards their goal. All, while Sunny just sunk into her seat. She really hoped they’d manage to finish this soon. She wanted to actually see the premiere of Coco’s play. Even if she had given up on the role, she couldn't not be there when it happened. Something in her mind just told her she had to finish what she started, at least in some way. >--------------< Once more, Pharynx and Thorax had been ordered to the throne room of her mother. This time, however, Pharynx wasn’t the one worried. He didn’t even know what was going on, but as soon as he saw his brother stumbling in, his body visibly shaking all over, he knew that it would definitely be entertaining, a sly grin running across his lips. Both stepped in front of the throneroom, a rather unusual guest already present, one that let the grin disappear from Pharynx’s face in an instant. He’d recognize the light blue skin with black hair wrapped in a dark blue business suit everywhere, and so did Thorax, whose expression only grew more desperate by the second. “Oh, Pharynx, Thorax, I’m so glad you two could make it. We two were just talking about you,” Cold Mirror said, in a voice that let the blood freeze in their veins, before turning to their mother and continuing with a smile: “Isn’t that right, Chrysella?” “Yes, we have,” she simply returned, not even looking over to her as she spoke. “We were discussing how our efforts in gaining enough Magic to create a sufficient amount of Dark Stone to fully revive the Hive are proceeding right now. Which includes both of your current assignments.” “My plans are still in motion. I’m expecting to reclaim the Shadow Coins shortly,” Thorax quickly returned, almost slamming his head against the ground in an attempt to bow. Pharynx, meanwhile, lowered himself far more gracefully before stating: “Currently, we haven’t had luck in finding any further remains of the Rangers arsenal, scattered across the world. None of our informants were able to relay us any further information, which has led to the current situation of my search. But that won’t stop me for long! It’s only a matter of time until we will find something!” Cold Mirror raised an eyebrow before letting out a sigh: “I see. So, in your mind, this operation will be finished shortly, am I right?” “As soon as pos-“ Pharynx tried to say but was quickly interrupted by his brother. “Yes! I know that my plans will ensnare them sooner rather than later!” He almost screamed out, Pharynx noticing the drops of sweat and wrinkles on his forehead as he did so. “Oh? Because I’m beginning to doubt that your Hive will be able to hold up your end of our agreement. You have messed around with these Rangers for almost two months now, and still, you show no signs of success. Instead, they have only grown stronger. Now, they are six Rangers that disturb our plans. And the newest one far exceeds the power of the original five. How can we be sure that your Workers will be able to deal with that if they already failed to deal with five?” She encountered her voice slowly growing louder and more vicious. “I can assure you, we still have enough powerful Workers that will be able to beat the Rangers. It’s just hard to find the right tool for the job. Most of our Changelings are unfamiliar with an opponent on such a level. But with time, the weak will separate from the strong. It’s only a matter of time,” Chrysella said, looking over to Cold Mirror. “We also are trying to keep a lower profile. We are looking for the sweet spot, so we won’t alert the Riders. Isn’t that what you suggested to do?” “Oh, a low profile? What about last night then? You think I wouldn’t notice? I would have only come back with the next delivery of magical Artifacts and given you more time, but your actions have had major consequences. The MRG is in an uproar. It seems the Canterlot Branch has made contact with the Rangers. In other words, they now have access to everything they have, which includes the Riders. The Circle is not pleased with this development. Combined with what has transpired ever since the fights between your two sons and the fight with Kamen Rider Gaia, we are starting to question if our continued cooperation will be beneficial to all of us,” Cold encountered, her icy voice now echoing through the cavern. “The… The Rangers have made contact with the MRG!?” Pharynx burst out. “How did that happen?” “It seems your brother set out a hit on the Crystal Ranger in the night. Catch her off guard and separate her. Sadly, this was the night she had a date with the local director of the MRG. We can only assume that this attack forced them together. Which means your actions might have just compromised this entire operation. The MRG will learn about the ties between Changelings to Change Industries. This is not even a question, but a fact. In other words-“ Cold Mirror was about to continue before she was interrupted by the sound of staff hitting the ground. “Enough!” Chrysella said before rising from her throne. “Until now, this has not happened. And I doubt it will. I was always aware of the possibility of our secret coming out, so I made contingencies. The MRG won’t dare to raid our headquarters. They are far too nervous for casualties to pull through with that plan, as they should. My Changelings could not be contained across every single one of our facilities. I know far too well how they operate. Until we force them, they won’t act. But, just to be safe, I will make sure to send an envoy to them, making it clear that if they were to attempt anything, the Battle for Canterlot would look tame in comparison. Until then, we will keep a low profile and proceed as previously established. You have any further suggestions, Cold Mirror?” “Is this a game to you!? The Circle is offering you almost limitless resources, and you think just ignoring the problem will solve this? Do not make the Circle angry!” She hissed back, the ground around her starting to steam and ultimately freeze over slightly. Chrysella turned around, a glare flaming up in her eyes before it flowed across her entire body. Once it had settled, she had shed her business suit and familiar appearance, replaced with grey chitin. Her body was sleek, angular and on several parts, covered in holes. An ornate black-green armor covered her body. Veils of black, tethered cloth ran down her body, accompanied by two massive wings. On her head, a large, sharp horn extended from her forehead, long green hair hanging down her head. Lastly, a black-green crown with a bright green gem in its middle had been placed on her forehead. “Do not make the Circle angry?” It bellowed through the room. “I think you misunderstand the position you are in! Until now, we have yet to fail you or fall short on our agreed-upon deal! If the Circle wishes to go to war, I can oblige. But I think they would need a new messager for this because you would not leave my kingdom unharmed!” Cold Mirror just stumbled back, her eyes widening in utter terror, quite similar to the expression of Thorax’s and Pharynx’s face as they saw the true form of their mother. In the blink of an eye, Chrysella had pulled up her staff, pointing its sharp end directly at the woman. “Now, are we going to stay partners and keep up the ends of our deal we both agreed upon?” “Ye… Yes! I… Was just… Concerned, that’s all,” she returned, stuttering before catching herself once more. “This is a dangerous situation we are in.” “Oh, I agree. But don’t worry. I have everything under control. And it’s good that our partnership will continue. I like you. You got that… Certain something about you. I’d be a shame to lose you to such an unfortunate accident,” she continued before pulling back her staff and returning into her human form. “Anything else that might be useful to us?” “Yes...” She returned before reassuming her poker face. “Shining Armor, together with the Rangers, has left town, not twenty minutes ago! They are looking for something! I know it! One of my personal Workers is following them right now and keeping his distance.” “Last time they did something like this, they were on the hunt for the Crystal Heart! Most likely, they are after some other stuff of them this time! That means this is my responsibility! Give me a way to follow your Worker, and I will personally take care of this!” Pharynx burst out. “Oh, really? Because judging from your last few attempts, I doubt-“ Cold tried to say but suddenly stopped, almost as if she could feel the glare in the back of her head. “Fine! Do what you must! And just so you remember, the moment you fall behind on the production of Dark Stones, the Circle will not be pleased with you!” She hissed before bursting into green flames and disappearing. Thorax visibly relaxed, followed by a loud sigh of relief. “Thank goodness, she is gone…” “While I appreciate her, she tends to overstep her boundaries. But regardless, she wasn’t entirely wrong. It seems your plans only brought our enemies closer together, Thorax. This could be a significant problem in the future. I hope you are aware of this, right?” Chrysella said, looking down at Thorax, who quickly tensed up once more. “Ye… Yes, of course! I’ll not let something like this happen again. I’m deeply sorry for my mistake!” He quickly stammered out, his fingers digging into the ground below. “Perfect. It would make our work so much easier,” she sighed, stepping back towards her throne and sitting back down. She smiled down as she caught Pharynx in the corner of her eye. “Pharynx? Why are you still here? I thought this would require your attention, wouldn’t it?” “Of course, but… Since the cat is out of the bag, it seems, and the growth in the powers of the Rangers, wouldn’t it be about time I entered the battle as well? I’m… Not sure if our Workers will be able to defeat the Rangers any time soon, especially with the Crystal Ranger on their side, given she managed to easily beat any opponent we threw at her, even Stock Holder. It would feel appropriate, before they grow even more in strength, right?” He asked, his eyes shining in a mixture of excitement and determination. His mother looked at him before tilting her head and starting to smile: “You aren’t wrong. The return of the sixth has really proven to be a bigger problem than anticipated. Still, keeping a lower profile wouldn’t be the worst thing to do. I’d say, you leave the fight to Cold Mirror’s Worker before you interfere. If he should prove insufficient, you have the right to interfere. But if you do, I expect results,” she added with a cold glare. “Of… Of course! I promise, this time, there won’t be a Ranger standing when I’m done with them!” He growled, a twisted smile on his lips. “I’ll make them pay for their mistakes!” “Good, now go on! Every second we waste talking, they get closer to their goal,” she added dismissively, Pharynx simply nodding before he disappeared, just like Cold Mirror. >--------------< About an hour later, the rangers finally arrived at the site the readings had originated from. It was located on an island, inside a large lake, nested in a valley between multipile mountains. The lake was surrounded by a forest of pine trees and only a small little pier guided tourists from the shore t the island. The group had waited quite a bit while the MRG agents had begun unloading piece after piece of equipment for their trip onto a ship. Meanwhile, the captain of the vessel had continued to shout them into shape, each time they did something, in his eyes, wrong. Sunny was honestly unsure how the man's throat wasn’t sore already from all the shouting. He had given them a few perplexed looks before merely shaking his head and determining this was way above his paygrade. After his last tirade, the boat had finally been stocked, and after another fifteen-minute wait, ultimately anchored on the small island. The place wasn’t bigger than the Canterlot City stadium and covered in a similar architecture to the one they had found in Griffonestone. They parked the ship on what looked like an ancient pier before moving closer to the island. Light Bulb was the first to dash ahead, quickly followed by Lemon, the first running around the place with a strange device and what looked like SciFi sunglasses, and the later just marveling at the architecture. “Nerds,” Sunny sighed and shook her head, getting a few laughs from Sour and Indigo. Lemon, however, was already too far ahead to hear that. Instead, she was looking up the remains of a large statue, right in front of what looked like an ancient tower; besides the usual marks for decay, like broken off parts and cracks, the entire island was in remarkably good condition. “So… What now?” Sunny asked after a few more seconds. “Well, we look if we can’t find what is emitting the magical signal, preferably without breaking anything or any sorts of nasty surprises. But I shouldn’t jinx that, right?” Shining sighed, standing next to one of his agents, brown skin and black hair, who was deligating the other agents to set everything up. “You shouldn’t. Things tend to go bad once someone says that,” Sugar returned, her arms crossed in front of her. Shining just awkwardly chuckled in return. Before anyone else could say something, Lemon came back, her eyes sparkling as if they had been replaced with flashlights. “Girls! This place is awesome! Just as cool as the one back in Griffonestone!” “You cared about the one in Griffonestone?” Indigo asked, raising an eyebrow. “Duh! Of course, I did. Just… Was a bit busy, you know?” Lemon said in a slightly mocking voice. “So… What’s the history behind this place?” “Not much about it is known. But it seems to be a temple to a goddess or some sort of woman,” the man next to Shining returned, stopping his work for just a moment. “It’s been a mystery for archaeologists for generations now. Its architecture is remarkably similar to other sites all over the county and also to ancient Fleecen architecture, which has baffled archeologists for ages now. I assume all of this is connected to Changelings, right? That would certainly explain a good amount of it.” “Yeah, probably another settlement of Changeling deserters, I think. That’s what the temple in Griffonestone was as well,” Lemon quickly returned, sprinting up to the man. “They supposedly crossed the sea three-thousand years ago.” “Thre… Oh really? You know that?” He quickly returned, his face lighting up at this. “This is fascinating. If that is true… Then…” “You’d so have to talk to Finders Keepers in Griffonestone! He translated another artifact for us! I’d sooooooo love to see that!” She continued, her excitement rising by the second. “Huh… If you say that, I’d love to! My name’s Withered Scroll. I’ve been transferred here recently and have been working as an archeologist for the MRG for a few years. You seem to know a lot about history, or at least more than the rest of your friends,” he chuckled. “You betcha!” She shouted back. “History is like a good song! Events that when they come together, create a rhythm like no other!” While the two continued to talk, Sunny just sighed and started to wander aimlessly through the ruins. Her legs just seemed to carry her, and maybe she would find something? But every rock just looked like the last, no matter how much she looked. Eventually, she stopped in front of the remains of the statue, letting out a frustrated sigh. Looking up at what was left of the statue, she just grumbled. What was she even supposed to do here? Wait for a Changeling attack when they didn’t even know they were here? And until then? Wait? And then? Get her ass kicked once more, like the other times? She just felt so useless. All she could do was stare at this stupid statue. Still… She somehow felt as if… As if the statue understood her. It had broken, just above the waist, leaving one stone arm holding out its hand to her, while the other one lay to its side. It felt almost inviting… Understanding even… As if the open hand meant she understood her. It was weird… Her arm started to move on its own, reaching for the outstretched hand. Closer and closer, until she was just in reach to simply grab- A loud shock pulled her out of her mind, and spinning around immediately. Gunfire and screams filled the air as a group of Drones rushed up the pier, wrestling with the MRG agents. The footsoldiers were followed by Pharynx and another Changeling, clad in pale blue chitin, a sharp, almost scorpion-like stinger on a tail and long pincers. The Snow-Scorpion-Changeling was the first to act, the ground beneath it, suddenly freezing once it jammed its tail into it, before quickly dashing forward, almost as if on ice skates. The girls immediately jumped into action, activating their Morphers and inserting their Coins. “Light up!” [Re-Re-Red!] [Shine Bright! Red!] [Bl-Bl-Blue!] [Shine Honest! Blue!] [Ye-Ye-Yellow!] [Shine Wild! Yellow!] [Pi-Pi-Pink!] [Shine Glamourous! Pink!] [Gre-Gre-Green!] [Shine Courageous! Green!] [Cr-Cr-Crystal!] [Shine Eternal! Crystal Heart!] Lemon, immediately after the transformation had ended, tried to rush towards the monster, only to promptly lose her footing, stumble across the ice, and land face-first on the frozen ground. “Ouch,” she groaned as she slid across it. “You numbnut!” Sunny shouted from the back, slowly starting to make her way across the frozen battlefield; around her, multipile agents being knocked over by the recoil of their guns. Through, the Drones didn’t really fare any better either. This whole thing really was getting ridiculous… “Hey! Ice Queen! You know that winter is still ways off, right? Get back into the hole you crawled out of!” She shouted back, putting a Coin into her Morpher. [S-S-Sword!] Jamming the blade into the ground, she pushed herself forward, sliding across the ice as she did so, straight towards the monster. However, she quickly started to skate across the ground once more, easily avoiding her attack and delivering a punch to her stomach. She could feel the air pressed out of her before her entire body started to shiver as ice crept across her suit. After, breathing felt like her lungs were pierced by hundreds of little needles before she was thrown back against the statue. “Hey! Not cool! Hands off our friend!” Lemon shouted from the side, having summoned her sword as well, before following Sunny’s example and launching herself at the Changeling. And so did Indigo, who slid towards her on the other side. But, as close as they got, swords ready to slash across her, the Changeling simply jumped over them, even performing a pirouette as she did so, before landing behind them. Sticking her foot out, she continued her pirouette and slashed across the Ranger’s backs with her skate-like feet. Both of them quickly landed on the ground once more. “Oh, seems like you’re out cold, Rangers,” she chuckled, about to slide after the two of them, as they glide across the ice, only to be hit in the back by two stinging bolts of energy. Spinning around gracefully, she avoided the two next shots from both Sugar and Sour before slashing her foot in a sidekick. Before her foot had even touched down again, a wave of ice raced towards the two, ready to knock them down as well. “Lemon, now!” It shouted across the ice field, followed by a loud scream in return. “Gotcha!” [Fi-Fi-Fire!] It screamed out just moments later, and out of nowhere, Cadance jumped in the path of the ice wave, with only her sword in hand. Stretching out her hand, the cold material melted in the blink of an eye, and so did the area around her. The Changeling stumbled back, glaring at the Ranger before Cadance returned the stare and started to move forward. With each step she took, the ice melted around her, faster and faster as she gained speed. In the end, she rushed past her opponent, letting her blade slice through the chitin like butter, quickly following up her attack with a backward kick, engulfed in flames. While Sunny shakily pulled herself back up from the slippery ground, Cadance was pummeling the Changeling with sword strike after sword strike, letting her not even a second to recollect herself. Sunny watched in awe as she uppercut the monster, sending it flying, while a wave of heat washed over the area, melting what was left of its ice. Crying out loudly, the Changeling crashed into the remains of some sort of wall, reducing it to rubble, raising its head for one moment before slumping down once more. Cadance, meanwhile, slotted her Finisher Coin into the sword, ready to put an end to this. [Fi-Fi-Final! Crystal Heart!] Once more, the bright light enveloped her sword as she pointed it towards the sky before she brought it down. Like the times before, the bright blade came crashing down, ready to end the ground fight, however… The slash of pure light suddenly shattered, breaking apart like a plate of ice. With the light fading into nothingness, it revealed what had happened. In the last second, Pharynx had jumped in the way of the attack and shattered it with his own spear. “Lo… My Lord…” The Changeling stammered, looking up at him. “Spare my ears. I knew you would fail. It is finally time that I’ll show these Rangers what the Changelings are capable of,” he growled before starting to walk forward. Cadance was the first to snap out of the collective shock, dashing towards him and bringing down her sword once more. However, her strike was quickly blocked by the Changeling, before pushing her weapon to the side with his and delivering a punch straight to her face. Like a rock that was being skipped over water, she was thrown backward, crashing on the ground several times before crashing into the large tower. “Hey!” Lemon shouted before both she and Indigo rushed forward, their swords ready to strike him down. But before either of the two could even halfway make it towards them, the ground bellow them once more turned to ice. “What the fuck!?” The two quickly lost their balance, sliding towards the Changeling, who merely sliced across at them as they sliddered past. The purple glowing tips of the two ends of the spear cut through their suits like they were nothing, letting both explode in a rain of sparks before crashing to the ground, their transformations breaking down. “So, you aren’t done just yet?” He grumbled as he turned around to see a shaky Snow-Scorpionfly Changeling behind him. “I’m not out just yet… Thanks to you, my Lord. I’ll give my best to support you in this,” she returned, her breathing shaky. “Do what you want, as long as you don’t get in my way,” he muttered back, before storming off again, straight towards the Blue Ranger. Se, together with Sour, tried their best to shoot him down, but each one of their shots was simply blocked by his spear he swung around in front of him. [I-I-Ice!] [Me-Me-Metal!] Not even a barrage of metal bullets and icicles could change anything at that, before he suddenly swung his weapon sideways, sending a purple wave of energy at them, and with it, Sunny as well. None of the Rangers were fast enough to dodge or even pull up their arms, least of which, Sunny, who had just stared in disbelieve at the Changeling. Both Sugar and sour were hit square on, the slash exploding on impact and knocking each out of their transformation as well [Ae-Ae-Aegis!] Sunny faired a bit better, the explosion crashing against Cadance’s shield she had thrown in the way of the attack, only knocking her off her feet and slamming her against the statue, which came crashing down on top of her. The piece of damaged art now entirely broke apart, but strangely, its arm remained, landing right in front of her. Meanwhile, while the Changeling continued his advance, Cadance jumped in his way, her shield having lodged itself into the ground, not too far off. Grabbing her remaining weapon tightly, she tried to strike once more. But just like before, Pharynx managed to always block her strikes before bringing in a counterattack. More and more sparks burst from her suit with each hit, forcing her further and further back. Searing pain after searing pain erupted on her body, but she kept on pushing forward, no matter what. Sunny, meanwhile, could just look. Her body aching all over. But, if she was honest, that wasn’t so bad… No, the worst part was, she knew she hadn’t achieved anything until now. At every turn, someone had saved her when she fucked up… And now, she once more couldn’t do anything while her friends were getting hurt. It was just so… Frustrating! With an angry scream, she slammed down her fist, right on top of the statue's fist, but instead of it crumbling under her strength, it withstood the attack before it started to move. Sunny’s eyes widened as the stone hand wrapped itself around her fist. She hadn’t even fully processed this when she felt something in her hand… Something round… Familiar… Powerful… Out of nowhere, a purple burst of energy burst out from her, knocking backward everyone! “What the!?” Pharynx shouted out as Sunny rose from the rubble, a strange mist coming from her. “Su… Sunny?” Lemon managed to croak out, gritting her teeth as she spoke. Without any prior warning, she raced forward, straight at Pharynx, and punched him straight into the gut. He could feel the fist digging deep into his stomach, pressing the air out of him as it did so, followed, just as quickly by another punch into his face. Flying through the air, he landed with a pained grunt, Sunny not stopping in her tracks. The Ranger was walking slowly towards him, the strange, purple smoke continuing to erupt from her body. Each step was forceful and heavy. Every muscle in her body was tense. “You will not lay a hand on him!” It suddenly shouted out, the second Changeling jumping at her, stinger coming down on her. But, without saying a word, she simply dodged the incoming attack before dashing ahead and slamming her fist into her. The moment the punch connected, a burst of dark-purple energy erupted from her, consuming the CHnageling as she was thrown into Pharynx. In a massive explosion, it consumed both of them. Once the dust had settled, neither was to be seen anywhere, but that didn’t mean Sunny was done. Instead, she turned towards Cadance, starting to move towards her. Each step, more of the purple smoke came of her, getting ever closer, while the Crystal Ranger just stared at her in disbelieve. Pulling back her fist, Sunny’s visor glared at her fellow Ranger. Cadance breath grew more and more frantic as she watched her student pull back her fist more and more, before… Sunny’s entire body went limp in an instant, collapsing right on the spot, while her vision faded rapidly. The last thing she heard was a distant scream: “Sunny!”