//------------------------------// // Part 10: Overlooking The Obvious // Story: A Dashed Shade Of Red Part 2: Close Encounters Of The Cosmic Kind // by TheSuperTransformerFan //------------------------------// The train had pulled up to the station in the Crystal Empire. Rainbow Dash, and the others all got off the train in search of not only Rarity, but the final star in the Andalusian as well. Rainbow Dash was the most worried, not just about her friend, but what could happen as well. She hoped it wasn’t too late. They got off the train. “Alright.” Devon said to his team. “We here not only to find Twilight, but the last Andalusian star as well. It looks that we’ll have to...” “...split up and look for clues.” Steel said, finishing his sentence. “Like it’s that obvious, Devon.” “Right. But also, To find the star, and any trace of weird activity containing pink eyes,” Devon finished. “Uh, I was going to say clues of any mind possession. But, that works too.” Discord said to him. “Is everyone else here?” Devon asked his teammates. “We’re all here, Devon.” Ravi said as they were all gathered. “Good.” He got out his wristcom out, and held it out. “Prepare to synchronize your watches.” The others got ready to do that, but a few were confused.” “I don’t know how to do that.” Ravi answered. “I’m not wearing a watch, Sugarcube.” Applejack told him. “Time is a construct.” Nate said, which made everyone else look at him shocked. “What?!” Ravi asked, confused. “Oh, sorry.” Nate said, as he got out his, and they were all synchronized with the same time. “Alright. If you see anything out of the obvious, contact me, and we’ll regroup. Okay?” Devon asked them. They all nodded. “Alright! Break!” They all split up into various teams. Applejack with Pinkie & Fluttershy, Capper with Ravi, Zoey & Discord, Devon & Nate with Rainbow Dash & Cozy Glow, and Ben & Spike with Steel. Devon’s team was walking through the town as they checked out the streets for their friends. “Why did we get the star that was farthest away?” Rainbow asked in frustration. “And also, where the hay is Rarity?” “Not sure, Dash.” Devon told her. “But we’ll find her soon.” “Well a bunch a ponies like Twilight and the others should be pretty easy to spot around here.” Rainbow said optimistically. “I don’t think so, Dash.” Nate said, as he pointed to clusters of Crystal ponies. Sure enough, it would be tough to find their friend in a big town like this.” “Good point.” She admitted. “Am I overdressed?” The others were confused as she said that. Little did they know, Robo-Roxy had just appeared by a cart, and was stealthily watching them, waiting to make her move. Also unknown to them, Tempest was watching from a side of a building and was getting worried. She started to breathe a little bit when she saw the rangers. “I hope they can find the final star before Twilight does.” she thought. “Or Cosmos will be formed, and I’ll be fired.” she snuck off to a different area of the town to keep watch for the rangers in case anything such as a battle turned up. As they were walking about, Cozy Glow was lagging behind, and was trying to catch up. “Devon, Rainbow Dash! Wait!” She called out, but they were already far away from her reach, and she was on her own. “Oh, horseapples!” She groaned. “Why do I have to keep holding this tracker by myself? Me with my back so delicate?” She rubbed her back in woe. Suddenly, the tracker started to go off, and Cozy held it up! It was beeping, and it appeared that the signal was getting stronger. She gasped as she started to fly to it. She flew so low, as to not gain too much attention from above. However, she didn’t look where she was going, as she was looking at the tracker, and bumped into somepony. “Ooh!” She said. “Oh! Cozy, Darling? Are you alright?” Cozy heard the voice, and it sounded… posh, like an English accent and in a strange way familiar. "Wha… who…?” She asked. Looking up, she discovered Rarity was in front of her. “Rarity?!” She was shocked. “Golly! Are you looking for the star too?” “Why yes, I am!” She answered. “Are you looking for it, too?” “Yes.” She answered. “But, I’m also looking for Twilight! Have you seen her?” “No, I Haven’t, Cozy.” Rarity said, which made Cozy’s arms droop. “But, I’d be happy to help you.” This made her get her emotions back up in excitement. “Great!” Just then, Cozy looked around for something around Rarity. “Don’t you always carry your fainting couch with you? Why don’t you have it?” “Oh,” the Posh pony said. “I left that at home to make room for a few purchases. We can’t go to the Crystal Empire and not do a little shopping.” She smiled. “And I’m already in a dire need looking for bushels of emeralds for my new fashion collection!” “Sometimes, I forgot emeralds came in bushels.” Cozy said. “They do if you’re doing it right!” Rarity said. “You know Spike likes emeralds!” Cozy added. “I sure wish he was here with us, right about now. And, Cadence said she’d be meeting you here. Do you see her or anything?” Right about then, they heard a voice that said “Yoo hoo!” To them. They saw Cadence right over a few steps away. “Over here!” She waved to the group. “Cadence!” Rarity said in glee, as the two rushed over to her. “Hello, Rarity!” Cadence said happily. “And hello, Cozy Glow too.” She smiled. “Good to see you again, Cadence!” Cozy said in relief. “It’s so wonderful to see you all again.” Cadence said. “...and for such an interesting reason...a fallen star! How fascinating!” She smiled. “Uh, did Twilight send you all that paperwork too?” Cozy asked uninterested. “Because if I have lugging around a 6 lb to do list when you already have a copy...” “No, no.” The Princess of love said. “These are mine. Twilight wrote that you were coming and also about the star...I’ve been doing my own research while I was waiting for you. It’s all indexed and I’ve already mapped out the most likely places we’ll find it!” “Sometimes, I forget you and Twilight are off your rocker when you do that sort of stuff.” The alicorn filly joked while Both ponies smiled. “Be grateful for it, Cozy Darling!” Rarity said to her, petting her mane. “Organization is a key component to any endeavour!” “Well, Rainbow would say that YOUR office looks like a tornado hit all the time!” Cozy joked again. “That’s organized chaos!” Rarity said with gusto as they went to find the last star. “I’ll have your bags sent to the castle.” Cadence told Rarity. “And if you’re looking for a Crystal star, you’re in the right place! It’s kinda our thing here!” “Well, then lead the way, your highness.” Cozy said, as they went on the quest. They arrived at a market like place that looked like it had a bunch of gems. “Now, I think our best bet is to find it somewhere in the Crystal market.” Cadence said to the group. “Vendors sell all KINDS of gems and crystals here. We can ask if anypony has come across something like it.” Cozy was thunderstruck, thinking that finding the star was easy. Turned out, finding something like this would not be easy. “What?!” She blurted out. “Golly, This is going to be like finding a needle in a haystack! This could take WEEKS!” Rarity, on the other hand, was more confident that they would find this. “You all say that like I don’t have one of Equestria’s finest eyes for precious stones right next to you!” She said jokingly. “I’m wounded! Darlings, give me ten minutes!” She went digging through all sorts of gems to find which one was the right one. Cozy decided to start digging around for the gem too. “You’ll know it when you see it,” she said to Cadence, “...because Spike told me it was tastiest looking gem he ever saw!” “How do you know Spike so well, Cozy?” She asked. “And, how is Spike even able to eat those gems? Does he cook them, or are they always raw?” “I’m glad you asked.” Cozy revealed. “You know Spike told me he DOES like to toss some amethysts with lemon juice. It’s brings out some crusty notes. Each gem has a different flavour...a lot of non-dragons don’t have that.” She put her tongue to A gem and licked it. “Mmm.” She said. “Yep.“ the filly said. “Notes of orange, nutmeg and a hint of leather.” Cadence was shocked that she knew all this. “This really would be more of a dessert gem and would pair well with cheese and quartz. Spike would want it that way.” Cadence was intrigued as well. “You know. I think if I can concentrate, I can taste it...maybe.” She started. Cozy passed the gem over to Cadence. “Oh, do you want to try it?” She kindly asked. “Uh, no.” She said. “I don’t know if my dental plan will cover it.” Just then, Rarity came out of a pile of gems and found what she was looking for! “Got it!” She said, showing them the gems...along with a few other gems that were on her body while she was searching them. Cadence took a look at it. “It’s so pretty.” She said in awe. “I know!” Rarity said in agreement. “I think this one has more of a luster than when I found one back in Ponyville!” She inspected it. “There’s something off about it, though.” She looked at it and beamed. “I know! It’s the setting! Whoever decided to use a prong setting on such a vibrant gem, really! It needs more of a BEZEL setting!” “I think you need a new setting!” Cozy said, feeling both uninterested in the gem, but also worried about her friend at the same time. Rarity, however paid no attention to the filly. “This will have to be redone!” She turned to Cozy. “Cozy! Get the pliers out of my valise!” Just then, she dropped the gem out of her hooves accidentally. “Oops!” She tried to recover the gem. “I got it!” Cadence said as she made the catch. Suddenly, her eyes went pink as if under a spell! Now, Cadence was possessed as well as the star latched itself on her necklace! “Hey, Cadence, did you...whoa!” Cozy saw her eyes glow pink, and quickly got nervous. “Not good.” she thought. She needed to contact the rangers. Cozy contacted the rangers via her horn. “Devon! Red alert! I saw some pink eyes!” She said urgently. “Cadence has the last star! You guys better head over there right away!” Devon, Nate & Rainbow caught the message. “We read you, Cozy!” Devon said urgently. “Come on, Dash!” “We’re on our way!” Rainbow said, as she and Devon took off. As they took off, Devon contacted Ravi’s team. “Ravi! You, Zoey & the others need to drop what you’re doing! Cozy found Cosmos!” “Got it, Devon!” Ravi contacted. “Stand by! We’re on our way!” He turned to his team! “Come on!”: “Right!” The others took off to find their friends. “Steel! We need you and Ben over there right now!” Nate urgently contacted. “We’re coming, Nate!” Ben’s team got the message loud and clear. “Over and out!” He turned to his team! “Let’s go!” They took off. “The last star gem is here?” Steel said as they ran. “Excellent!” “Applejack, Fluttershy!” Devon contacted AJ’s team. “Cozy found the last star.” “We’ll be there!” Applejack said, as she turned to her team. “Come on, y’all!” And, they all dashed to reunite with their teams, and to get to Cozy and Rarity. They had overlooked the obvious so easily when they got to Canterlot, but luckily Dash and Cozy both knew where the last star was! They would get there in time! Meanwhile, Celestia and Luna were piloting the chariot with the other subordinates, and they suddenly sensed that the last star was near. They were so excited...Twilight, Zecora and Big Mac included. “The last star!” Celestia beamed. “There you are, I can feel it!” “Soon, I’ll be whole...” Luna added. “...and then with Discord I’ll stroll!” Zecora finished in glee! Needless to say, Robo-Blaze, who was with them, was not liking this rhyming one bit, as he groaned. “Maybe, taking the rhyming one wasn’t the best choice, Blaze.” Twilight said, starting to get a little annoyed at Zecora’s rhyming. “My apologies.” Zecora told her. “But, enjoyment I receive from this voice.” “You know, I’m gonna get real sick of that...” Big Mac said in agreement with Twilight. “Well, you’re lucky that we’re super close to the last star...” Robo-Blaze said stressed. “Because, you’re now at the point where you can all talk as one!” He then took notice and saw Robo-Roxy on the ground. “Roxy! There she is!” He jumped off the carriage, olympics style. Twilight and the others took notice, and were shocked. “Blaze!” Twilight called out. “What are you...?” They then saw where he was headed. “Oh, Robo-Roxy!” They immediately changed course, and flew to the ground quickly to follow him. On the ground, Robo-Roxy was searching the area for her teammate. “Where could he be?” She wondered out loud, as she couldn’t see him. Suddenly, he landed right by her, which startled her. “Oh!” “You here?” Robo-Blaze asked her, as he landed. “Yeah.” She answered, as she pointed to the rangers. “But, so are the rangers!” “What?!” Robo-Blaze growled as he turned to see the team running up toward them, as the chariot was starting to hit the ground. “You guys here?” Twilight asked as the group landed. “Yes. The rangers are here too!” Robo-Blaze pointed at the running team. They all were shocked upon seeing them. “We won’t have to wait much longer to become one being!” Celestia said with relief, as the newest pawn in the puzzle was coming right toward them. At Grid Battleforce, Commander Shaw was watching what was happening so far, and started to get worried. The Crusaders were starting to get worried about their sisters too, as they had never been gone so long without them before. “Any word from them, yet?” Sweetie Belle asked in worry. She turned to them. “So far, no.” She answered. “But, the rangers are coming over there, and the last star has already been found in the Crystal Empire, where Nate had first met them.” The CMCs’s blood ran cold as they knew what trouble that spelt for them. “Oh no! That’s where Rarity is!” Sweetie Belle said in shock. “Even worse! That’s also where Rainbow Dash is!” Scootaloo also screeched in horror as well. “We gotta save them!” Applebloom shouted as well. “I’m readying up the teleporter.” Commander Shaw entered the coordinates for the location. “You should be able to go and help your friends.” The portal opened, and it showed the location where the rangers were. “Go and help them.” She said urgently. “Right!” Applebloom said, as she and Sweetie Belle ran through said portal! “Whoo hoo! Promotion time!” Scootaloo said, as she held her arms in excitement! “We’re going to save the rangers!” She dashed though the portal to find their friends. “All I have to do now is hope they aren’t too late.” Shaw said, starting to get worried about her team, and what dangers would befell them. Back at the Crystal Empire, Cadence was now under Cosmos’s control, and her thoughts about her previous life were now nonexistent. She went over to the others, just as Rarity saw their friends. “Is it ready, Blaze?” She asked. “Yes, and so are the rangers!” Blaze said, as he pointed to them. Twilight looked to them, and growled. “Then, we’d better do this quick!” She said to them. “Before they interfere!” At that moment, Rarity was so excited to see them, as the others were arriving as well! The element of generosity ran up to them! “Oh, Good. Twilight!” She said to her team. She called out to her princess friend. “Over here, Twilight! We have the star for you!” But Cadence wasn’t paying attention, and neither were her friends as she was a little dazed. “Hey! What’s with the Cold hello?” Rarity asked again stressed. “Finally...” Cadence said. “All my stars together again. At last, I can be myself after all this time!” She was going to the other subordinates to transform all of them into Cosmos. To which at that moment, the rangers and their allies had arrived before them on the spot. “STOP!” Ravi said, as he and the others arrived to confront their friends gone evil. “Not so fast! That’s not Twilight!” He pointed a finger furiously at her, and the others as Blaze and Roxy growled. “What?!” Nate, Capper, Steel, Devon, Spike, Starlight, Rainbow and Rarity asked, confused. “Ravi, whatever are you talking about, darling?” Rarity asked, flabbergasted. “Isn’t that Twilight over there?” She pointed to her, coming up to the others. “Uh, I mean...they are!” Ravi changed his words quickly, his finger still pointing at them. “But, they’re not in sense you think they are!” “Doesn’t matter, Little Boy Blue!” Robo-Blaze said, as he and Roxy came up to them. “You and you’re friends are all too late!” He pointed to them. “Look!” He saw the transformation of Cosmos starting take place. The heroes all gasped as the horrendous sight taking place. “Oh, no!” Discord groaned in horror. “Not her!” “Yeah, that’s not gonna happen!” Cozy said, as she readied up her horn, and Devon got his Beast-X Blaster out. “Beast Blast!” Devon shouted as they fired at the group, making them turn their heads in shock. “What the...?!” Celestia asked in shock and rage. “The fusion can wait!” Twilight said as the cosmic subordinates marched up to them. “We’ve got bigger fish to fry!” Devon felt like it was time to answer the call to action! “Let’s ranger up, guys!” He told his friends. “Right!” They said. At that moment, the CMCs fell through the portal and right in front of both sides. “Whoa.” Scootaloo said, as she tumbled to the ground. “I just feel like we got hit by a train!” She and her friends rubbed their heads. “Applejack! Starlight! Rangers!” Applebloom said in shock, as she saw her sister and her friends were here. “Boy are we glad to see you!” “Applebloom?!” Her big sister cried out in shock. “What’s going on? What are y’all doing here?!” “It's like our body parts got... discombobulated.” Sweetie Belle said, as she got up. She then was shocked and psyched to see the heroes before them. “Rainbow Dash! We’re...here to...help you!” Scootaloo said, as she got up as well. “You guys need to be somewhere safe!” Rainbow urgently warned them. “And, this isn’t safe.” “We...have to...stop them! Before she comes!” Applebloom shouted again. “Applebloom, breathe!” Starlight said to them. “Before who comes?” “No time to explain!” Applebloom said frustrated to them. “You guys gotta morph!” “Well, I guess we’re now fighting with them.” Zoey said in comic relief. “That will have to do for now!” Devon said, before he rallied up his team. “It’s Morphin time!” The team readied up their Beast-X and Striker Morphers, as they shouted, “ACTIVATE BEAST POWERS!” And in a flash, they Morphed into their ranger forms. Cozy was ready too, as she got out her Power Morpher, and plugged her coin in it! “It’s Morphin Time!” She shouted. “CRIMSON HAWK!” And a wave of crimson energy enveloped her, transforming her into her ranger form. “The savannah hunter...RED BEAST RANGER!” Devon shouted as he posed. “The jungle warrior...BLUE BEAST RANGER!” Ravi shouted as he posed. “The field jumper...YELLOW BEAST RANGER!” Zoey shouted as she posed. “The arboreal Mantis...GOLD BEAST RANGER!” Nate shouted as he posed. “The super-powered Scarab...SILVER BEAST RANGER!” Steel shouted as he posed “The wetland swimmer...GREEN BEAST RANGER!” Ben shouted as he posed. “POWER RANGERS!...” they all jumped and got into a huddle and struck some poses. “BEAST MORPHERS!” They all shouted, introducing themselves. “UNLEASH THE BEAST!” "And unleash the Ryu Ranger!” Cozy shouted, as she posed, joining them in the roll call. “You can’t outnumber us!” Twilight scoffed, as she nodded toward Luna. “TRONICS!” Luna shouted, as Cosmos’s Super Tronics had appeared before the heroes. They were all shocked at the new look of these tronics. “What are those?” Steel asked, pointing toward them. “Super Tronics!” Twilight said in excitement as she laughed. “More powerful than any robotron ever created!” The Super tronics all posed. “Doesn’t matter!” Nate growled. “Put some armor on a tronic, it’s still a tronic!” “Yeah, but these might be more tough!” Ravi said, having to disagree with Nate. “Oh, is that so?” Celestia asked, smugly as she signalled the Robo generals to transform...which they did. “News flash! Twilight and the others are this year’s new generals!” Robo-Roxy said as the villains all posed. “Don’t count on it!” Ben said as they all got ready to fight. “Attack!” Twilight shouted as the good guys ran to clash with the bad guys. “We’ll take these ones!” Nate told them. “The rest of you, take care of Twilight! But, use low power!” “Right!” They said, as they went to clash with their friends now enemies. “Let’s do it!” Scootaloo said as they all started to join their friends in the clash between heroes, and friends turned bad. And, The fight was on!