The heroes all returned to Grid Battleforce successfully, happy that their friend was back to normal. It was a tough struggle to break him free from Controlatron’s grasp, but thanks to Fluttershy, Nate was finally a good ranger once more.
“I’m sorry for giving you guys such a hard time.” Nate confessed to his friends.
“Hey, we’re really happy that you’re back to normal, Nate.” Spike said happily as the others nodded.
“I can see that, Spike.” Nate said, as he smiled and turned to the whole team. “Thank you all for not giving up on me.”
“Nate, none of us would ever give up on you.” Starlight said, relieved.
“Especially if you were under control by a robotron by accident.” Devon added.
“Though, I do have to wonder...” Starlight said confused. “...how did that robotron get under your skin, and brainwash you? Because, that sure would be something like Sombra did, and he’s not here.”
“The worst part is that I have no memory when that robotron controlled me.” Nate said to them. “My mind was completely blank. Everything was a fog.”
Just then, Steel remembered when someone said something like that earlier today. “Hold on!” He said, recalling what happened.
“I’m sorry.” Cole tried to explain. “I don’t remember. My mind’s gone blank. It’s like a fog.”
“Foggy?” Steel instantly realized that Cole said the same thing earlier, and knew he made a mistake. “Oh no!” He said in shock. “That’s why Cole couldn’t remember anything!”
“Cole?” Spike and Starlight asked in confusion.
“Of course!” Zoey said in realization. “He must have been mid controlled to bring the puppet to Nate.”
"Who's Cole?" Spike asked her.
"He’s a worker at Grid Battleforce." Zoey told him.
“Then, it wasn’t his fault at all!” Steel said in shock, as he saw Spike and Starlight glowering at him disappointingly.
"Alright Steel, what screw up did you do this time?" Spike asked.
Steel sighed, as there was no way out. “I kind of threw Cole...the worker...under the bus and jumped to conclusions about him bringing a package in the lab on purpose...and fired him, which was a huge mistake."
“Steel!” Cozy said in shock. “You fired Cole, thinking he brought a package into the lab on purpose?!”
Starlight facehoofed and groaned in frustration. “I can’t believe you did that!” She said angrily.
“Hey, it wasn’t my fault that Nate got controlled!” Steel said, which gave him death stares from Starlight and Cozy, as well as Spike. “I...I thought he broke the rules.”
"Steel, why would do such a thing?" Spike asked.
"Because I figured he already knew about working at Battleforce, and I thought they were doing wrong to Nate."
“Steel, just because somepony knows about something, and they make a mistake by a villain, doesn't mean they're automatically smart or dumb about it.” Cozy said. “If I know one thing, it's that learning never stops, and sometimes, lessons don’t come easy. But, it’s an important step in friendship that there always is room for in.”
Steel quickly pondered the quick talk and decided to set things right, "You're right Guys. I should go and take care of this right now! I owe Cole an apology." He turned to the commander. “Commander, I made a terrible mistake!”
“And, how would you like to make things right?” She asked him.
“There is only one thing to do!” Steel said determined, as he went out the door to find the person that was wrongly accused.
They all followed him outside of the base, and met up with him. “So, how are you going to fix this, exactly?” Spike asked.
“Cole should be here in a moment, everyone.” Commander Shaw told him. “I told him it’s important.”
“Thanks.” Steel said in relief.
“That’ll teach you to not go jumping to conclusions without finding out what really happens.” Starlight said, kindly nudging him.
“Starlight!” Fluttershy said, giving her the stare.
“What?” She asked. “It will teach him.”
Just then, they all saw Cole arrive on a bike at the base entrance. “Oh hey!” The Beast bot said. “He’s here.” The others turned their attention to him as he came up to the commander.
“Uh, Commander you wanted to see me?” Cole asked, unsure what was going on.
The others looked at him, smiling and gave him a kind nudge in the right direction. “Well, go on, Steel.” Cozy said.
“You can do this, Buddy.” Starlight said, with Spike nodding. Steel looked at the others who nodded in agreement. He bravely walked up to Cole.
“Actually, I did.” He said to him. “I was wrong to be so hard on you. Taking that evil package to Nate wasn’t your fault. I know now that you were being used like a puppet by a robotron.”
“I was?” Cole said, now remembering the events that had happened earlier today.
“Yup.” Steel said. “And, the thing with the lunchbox, well...” he saw his friends smiling at him, knowing that he had got this. He turned back to Cole. “I may have overreacted a bit on that. Everyone makes mistakes. They don’t all deserve punishments.”
Commander Shaw came up to Cole. “We’d like you to come back and work for us at Grid Battleforce.” She said to him.
“Really?” Cole asked excitedly. “Well, of course! Thank you! Thank you so much!” He saw the others, even Steel, smiling at him. “And I promise I will remember to scan every single package from now on...even my own lunchbox.” Everyone giggled at that a little bit. “Thank you!” Cole said happily as he went into the building, ready to get back to work.
“Guess we did a good job, giving you a push in the right direction, huh?” Starlight asked, as she walked up to Steel.
“Yes!” Steel said in excitement and relief. “It sure was a wild day today! It couldn’t get any crazier!”
“Well, we’re glad you learned your lesson.” Fluttershy said, as she smiled. “Kindness is one of the elements of Friendship, but you already know that!” Steel blushed as she said that.
“And, that’s why this ranger team needs you guys as not only guidance Counsellors, but also allies and good friends!” He said to them, as Starlight, Cozy, Spike and Fluttershy all smiled at him sweetly. So did the others, as they knew that even sometimes heroes like Steel, who was learning the concept of discipline, can make mistakes and learn from them too.
It was a good day for Steel as he not only got his friend back, but also got enough memories, with the help of Fluttershy, to fill up the next section of the book. It was also a good day for Nate too. He may not be controlled anymore, but the Storm King and his minions were probably cooking up another plan to get revenge on the rangers, and when the time was right, the heroes would be ready for him.
(In the Mane 6's world, in PonyVille...)
Fluttershy returned to her sanctuary, and saw her animals who got impatient for her return to help them with the choreography for Twilight’s coronation.
She landed and met up with them. “Hello, my little animal friends.” She said happily. “I know things haven’t been going well for the choreography, but we have a job to do, and I'm not gonna stop until it's done. The sooner you get on board, the sooner we can all take a break. So turn those wings around right now, and let's get started!” The animals cheered for her excitedly, and from the looks of it, they were ready to give the dance practice another shot. The kind Pegasus sighed in relief.
“Hi, Fluttershy.” Twilight said, as she arrived at her sanctuary. “Did you still want me to see the rehearsal?”
Her friend smiled. “Yes, I do.” She said happily. “Getting them to practice was a real challenge. And the choreography for the coronation may be very specific. But, I know we have enough time to get it all down.” The animals all cheered in excitement as they knew they could help Fluttershy get the job done in time to surprise Twilight in Canterlot.
She turned to them, smiling. “I’m glad you handled the butterflies and hummingbirds well, Angel.” She said, as her pet bunny wiped off his forehead, and sighed in relief. “...But now I think it's time we got some actual practice in.”
The swans honked at her bitterly, but Fluttershy knew that they could get the choreography down in no time for Twilight. She was ready to finish the practice, and handle any behaviour the animals threw that came her way.