Episode one: Return of the Dark Lord part 1: Pony Rangers
It was a relatively peaceful day in ponyville…except in Sugar Cube Corner, where four ponies were trying to figure out how Pinkie Pie always managed to organize such big parties without any help. Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Fluttershy were trying to direct all the ponies who had volunteered to help them set up for the surprise “Welcome Home” party they were throwing Twilight in Pinkie’s absence. The Party Pony was out of town, throwing her father a birthday party in Hoofington.
“Thunder Lane, that piñata goes over there, right above where Rarity’s standing.” Rainbow Dash told the stallion. He rolled his eyes, but did as she had instructed.
“Be careful, Sparkler darling, or you’ll get glitter in the punch bowl.” Rarity warned her cousin, who immediately relocated her project to be further away from the punch bowl.
“Oh, no Berry, I really don’t think you should put the cake right there.” Fluttershy warned the Earth-pony. “You probably need to move it…um, if you want to, that is…” Berry Punch either ignored the Pegasus or she didn’t hear her; either way, the cake stayed where she put it.
“Has anypony seen where My Big brother went? He’s supposed ta be helping with the balloons, but Ah don’t see him over there with Carrot Top…”
“I think Cheerilie needed his help with something…” Somepony said.
“Cheerilie? Oh Ah’m going ta kick his flank if they’re doing what Ah think they’re doing. Which way did they go?”
Carrot Top stopped inflating the balloon she was holding, taking a moment to recover from the lightheadedness that came with the task. “I think they headed towards Rarity’s boutique, and I’m fairly certain I overheard the word ‘Crusaders’ a few times during their conversation…”
Rarity shot out the door faster than Rainbow Dash heading for a wonderbolts convention. Applejack quickly followed the unicorn, as the mental picture of Rarity’s home burning to the ground danced around in her head.
“Hey! You two can’t leave me here to try and organize this thing by myself!” Rainbow Dash said before she bolted out the door after them. All eyes turned to Fluttershy, since she was the sole remaining member of the four ponies who had, up till that point, been keeping everything from dissolving into pure anarchy. The timid Pegasus glanced around nervously, before letting out a terrified squeak and running out the door after her friends, unable to handle the pressure and attention that came with being in charge of so many ponies. Her departure was followed by a short moment of awkward silence, before everypony went back to what they’d been doing as if nothing had happened.
*
“You three come down from there this instant! It’s dangerous up there; you could hurt yourself!” Cheerilie called up to the three young fillies standing on the roof of Rarity’s boutique, while Big Macintosh got ready to catch them if they fell.
“She’s right guys; we really should get down from here.” Sweetie Belle told her fellow crusaders.
“Relax. I’m a Pegasus; we’re made to survive crash landings and stuff. How else do you think we learn how to fly? We keep falling and hurting ourselves until we get it right.” Scootaloo responded, her thought process mimicking those of nearly every Pegasus whose genetics had been wiped out of the evolutionary chain.
“Ya ain’t just gonna be falling, Scoots; we’re shooting yall out of a cannon. Ah don’t think yer built fer hitting the ground after getting yerself shot from a cannon.” Applebloom remarked as she aimed the device at a large cluster of hay bales down the road from the boutique.
Scootaloo strapped her helmet on. “Don’t worry about it. If this works we could get a whole bunch of cutie-marks: Pyrotechnics, Circus performers, Daredevils, Cannon operators…”
“…and if it doesn’t work, you’ll get a Darwin award.” Sweetie Belle commented dryly.
“I’ll get a what?”
“It’s this thing Pinkie told me about. Apparently you get them when you kill yourself while doing something really stupid…like firing yourself out of a canon on the roof of a fashion shop, when you have no experience with working with canons…”
“Nopony is firing anypony out of that death trap! All three of you are coming down here right this instant!” Cheerilie called up to them.
“Darwin award or a cutie-mark…either way I get something awesome.” the little orange filly said, completely ignoring her teacher.
“What you’re going to get for this is a funeral…”
“Ha! Yeah right…I’ll probably pull it off so awesomely that I won’t die, but I’ll still get the award.”
“Ah think that’s called being put in a coma…”
“Would you two quit worrying and fire me out of the stupid canon already?”
“I said nopony is firing anypony out of a cannon! You girls come down here right this instant before you hurt yourselves!”
Against two of the Crusaders better judgments, they continued with their plan. Scootaloo wiggled her way into the cannon, and Applebloom held it steady while Sweetie Belle got ready to light the fuse.
“Firing in three…two…”
“SWEETIE BELLE, DON’T YOU DARE!!!”
The Filly froze, her gaze fixed on the blur of white and indigo that was her sister. Within seconds the cannon was dismantled and all three fillies were safely on the ground getting lectured about the numerous things that had been wrong with their previous behavior. Rainbow Dash and Applejack arrived shortly after that, panting slightly.
“Dang Rarity; yall can haul tail when ya want ta…”
“…Still not…as fast as me though…” Dash frowned suddenly, when she realized everything had just gotten slightly darker. She looked up and frowned even more. “Hey, there wasn’t a thunderstorm scheduled for today.” Above them, where there had previously been clear skies, there was now a giant thunderstorm brewing.
“I don’t think that’s the weather team’s work…” Scootaloo said nervously.
“Why not squirt?”
“Because that storm wasn’t there ten seconds ago and you’re the only pony around fast enough to pull that off.”
“If it was a normal storm you’d be correct.” Said an unfamiliar voice from behind them. They all turned around to see a strange unicorn in a White body suit with a matching helmet. The outfit covered her entire body, making it impossible to tell who she was. There were patterns on it, done in black and gold. Something about her posture radiated danger. The hairs on the back of Rainbow’s neck were standing on end.
“But alas, it’s not a storm at all; it’s a portal. A passage way from this world to another…and you three and your elements of harmony are the only threat to its remaining open.” she struck a fighting pose. “Prepare to die in the name of my master.”
“Big Macintosh, be a dear and escort Cheerilie and the girls to safety, while we handle this ruffian.”
*
Two minutes later, all three of the elements of harmony present were on the ground, laying in defeat. This mare was faster than Dash, stronger than Applejack, and better at martial arts than Rarity (a surprisingly hard to accomplish feat). She laughed cruelly as they struggled to get back to their hooves.
“Weaklings. You never stood a chance against the power of a pony ranger.”
“A pony…what?” Dash asked, raising an eyebrow at the villain.
“A pony ranger.”
“What’s a pony ranger?”
“Me. I’m a pony ranger; the White Pony Ranger to be exact.” The White Ranger suddenly started lecturing them. “I use my powers, born of darkness and evil, to spread chaos and suffering across the land as I seek to achieve my ultimate goal. The more negative emotions I draw out, the more negative energy will saturate this land, leveling the pressure of this world with the pressure of the world my master lives in, until he’s able to escape, by-”
Suddenly, a flash of gold rushed by, striking the unicorn, knocking her off her hooves, bringing the lecture to an abrupt end. It swiftly came back around, and struck her three more times, before leaping away from her and landing before the three elements of harmony. She stood tall, above all other ponies in the area. Her outfit was mostly gold and black, and was incredibly similar to the White Rangers. She stood majestically, wings outstretched and horn raised in victory. There was only one pony this one could be.
“Are you alright, my little ponies?” Princess Celestia inquired.
“Ah could use an explanation as ta what’s going on, but Ah can see yer busy at the moment so it can wait.” Applejack replied.
“We’re fine. Just scrapes and bruises; nothing serious.” Dash added.
“Speak for yourself, my mane looks awful.” Rarity complained, examining her reflection in a nearby window.
“You show yourself at last, Gold Ranger! In the name of my master, I will be your downfall!” White Ranger exclaimed, pointing a challenging hoof at the sun princess. Celestia looked back at her and shook her head.
“I have the full fury of the sun and my gold ranger powers at my back; my might is exponentially greater than yours. How can you possibly hope to win?”
“With a hostage, that’s how.”
The White Ranger pointed to a nearby roof top. Everypony looked and saw Fluttershy being held hostage by another pony ranger. This one’s outfit was a color inverted version of white ranger’s, black where there was white and white where there was black. This ranger was a colt, unlike the others. He was also a unicorn, just like the White Ranger.
“Black Ranger.” Celestia said her voice full of anger.
“That’s right, and if you ever want to see your precious Element of Kindness again, you’ll stand down now.” the colt responded. His voice had a familiar tone of arrogance to it that Rarity couldn’t quite put her hoof on. Celestia paused, then reluctantly powered down. Her ranger uniform disappeared in a flash of golden light, leaving the princess as she normally looked, with the addition of two extra golden bracelets on her forelegs. Each was fitted with a topaz gemstone.
“There’s a good Gold Ranger. Now give us your-” the Black Ranger started to say, when Fluttershy suddenly disappeared in a flash of midnight blue. Rarity, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash quickly followed suit.
*
They re-appeared in a room full of computer consoles, in what appeared to be a part of a really old castle. Princess Luna was working on one of the before mentioned consoles.
“I have them with me; you are clear to morph again, Tia.” The moon princess said into the microphone attached to her headset.
“What the hay just happened?” Rainbow Dash asked, looking around in confusion.
“I transported you all here with the emergency teleport system. We don’t have long: Tia’s powers are weakening and she’s going to need help soon.” Luna said as she stood up and removed her head set. She pushed a button on the console she was working at and a short pillar rose out of the floor behind the four confused ponies. On top of it there were six bracelets, arranged in pairs by the color of the gems on them.
“I will make this as short as I can, but it will still be quite complicated, so try your best to keep up. A long time ago, before we discovered the Elements of Harmony, My sister, five of our friends, and myself all used a different power to maintain order and harmony in the time before Discord. This was the power of the Pony Rangers. The evil we fought then had a power of its own; two evil Rangers, four Generals, and a limitless army of creatures known as Draklings. We fought many times, but in the end, good was victorious. However, the enemy we defeated left behind a means of escaping the prison we sealed him in; the Black and White ranger Morphers. In preparation for his return, the good Ranger powers were sealed in secure locations, where none of his remaining minions could reach them. Our five friends hid the Red, Yellow, Blue, Pink, and Green ranger morphers, while Celestia and I kept ours. When I turned evil and became Nightmare Moon, my Morpher began to reject me. Unfortunately, Tia sent me to the moon before this process was completed, and my Silver Morpher is now lost to us. Tia’s gold Morpher’s power is being drained by an unknown force, so it too shall soon be lost. With the return of the White and Black Rangers, we must call upon new heroes to take up the mantle of the pony rangers and fight against this threat…and Celestia and I have chosen you.”
“Um…I have a Question.” Fluttershy said as she timidly raised her hoof. Luna looked at her with an eyebrow raised.
“This place is not a school house; you do not need to raise your hoof.”
“Right…sorry…but, um, if you had five friends in the story, and there were five of these…morpher things…why are there six of them on the pedestal and only four ponies present besides you?
“Two of those bracelets make one complete morpher. The Red, Yellow, and Blue Morphers were retrieved by me from their previous location. When I reached the location for the Pink and Green Morphers, they were absent. I am in the process of tracking them down currently. As to why there are four of you…” Luna’s expression turned sad. “I’m afraid this is one journey you are not going to make with your friends, dear Fluttershy. We have only three morphers available; I only teleported you here to save you from the clutches of the Black Ranger.”
“Wait, so you mean you’re going to give me, Rarity, and Applejack awesome powers, and totally leave Fluttershy hanging? That’s way uncool…”
“Tis also ‘uncool’ that my powers are stuck on the moon, leaving me nearly helpless to doeth anything but stay here and operate the base, but thou do not hear me complaining.”
“Hang on a second; did you just go that entire long spiel about the history of the pony rangers talking like a normal pony, as well as explain why Fluttershy couldn’t be a ranger, only to slip back into the ‘Ye Oldie’ talk afterwards?”
“While Celestia and I were discussing the matter of making thou into pony rangers, thy friend Pinkamina showed up and suggested that I use the following excuse: Tis Xanderman1201’s fault.”
Applejack raised an eyebrow. “Who the hay is Xanderman1201?”
“I do not know, but he is apparently very impatient and lazy.” Luna’s horn lit up, and the morphers were surrounded in her midnight blue magic. “But we have no further time to waist; even as we speak, my sisters powers are failing. Fluttershy will stay here and assist me in running the base for the moment. Thou shall, if thou so choose, become pony rangers and lend my sister thy assistance.”
*
Celestia was beginning to falter. Her powers were weakening, and the White and Black rangers together would be her mirror match if her Gold Ranger powers failed. She dodged another barrage of Black and White bolts of magic. At the last second, one of them hit her straight in the ankle, causing her to slow down from the sudden pain. This left her vulnerable, as the onslaught of magic continued until she could no longer maintain a morphed state. Surprisingly helpless and weak against her opponents without her powers, Celestia’s life began to flash before her eyes…
…well…not so much ‘flash’ as ‘play out like the full length feature movie it was, commercials and intermission included’…
The area had been fully evacuated due to the ferocity of the battle, so there was nopony to save her. The White Ranger readied herself to charge in and deal the fatal blow…
Suddenly, there were three flashes of light, one in each primary color. Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Rarity all stood there. On their Forelegs they wore bracelets, all golden. Rainbow Dash’s both had one, red, star shaped jewel for each bracelet. Applejacks had bright yellow circular jewels and Rairty’s had blue diamond shaped ones. White Ranger halted her preparations to charge. Rainbow Dash gave her a confidant look.
“Now you’re going to get it for beating me up earlier…”
All three of them struck a battle ready pose.
“…Cuz it’s Morphing Time! Red Ranger Power!”
“Yellow Ranger Power!”
“Blue Ranger Power!”
*
The outfits looked very similar to the Black and White Rangers, except that they were Red, Blue, and Yellow, and not all of them were designed for unicorns. The fighting started fast and furious. The Blue Ranger and Yellow Ranger teamed up against the Black ranger, while the Red Ranger showed the White Ranger why she was the most awesome pony in Equestria.
“Hi-Ya!” Rainbow leapt in with a flying kick to the White Rangers face. The White ranger responded with a spin kick to the Red Ranger’s stomach when she landed to follow up her first attack. While the Pegasus was still recovering from the kick, the White Ranger punched her in the face. Naturally, Dash returned the favor by tackling her to the ground.
The Black Ranger may have been able to dodge Applejack’s double front-hoof punch, but nopony could avoid Rarity’s triple-axle-flying-roundhouse-dragon-kick, a signature move of the legendary Flying Mongoose Multi-style of Martial arts (turns out, Rarity had gotten lessons after she’d narrowly managed to avoid being mugged one night in canterlot). While stunned by the unicorn’s incredibly strong, if not overly flashy attack, Applejack got in close and hit the black ranger hard, with a one-eighty-degree spin buck to the chest.
Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash agilely dodged out of the way of the White Rangers magic attacks. Her Speed and acrobatic skills were unrivaled. She quickly closed the gap between her and the White Ranger, hitting her with a spinning back-hoof punch.
Celestia materialized a bag of popcorn, and started watching the director’s commentary version of her life ‘flashing’ before her eyes, in order to keep herself occupied while the Rangers fought it out.
Dash grabbed the White Ranger by her back legs and began spinning around and around at high speeds. The world whirled around the White Ranger at a dizzying pace, and yet the only thing she could think was: this isn’t martial arts! This is something out of the Equestrian Wrestling Federation Playbook! Dash released, and the White Ranger went flying, slamming face first into a building.
Eventually every ranger regrouped with their respective team members. The Black and White Rangers were out of breath and beaten bad. The Red, Yellow, and Blue Rangers were panting slightly from the fierce battle, but were still good for round three.
“This makes no sense…The master said one of us alone should have more strength than all three of them together, even if they morphed.” White Ranger said, glancing at her companion. At that moment, the ground shook, and a Dark Voice was heard by all.
“I said you would have more power than even the pony rangers upon my return, and now you shall have it!”
Celestia’s face showed an expression of pure terror for an instant before the entire world went dark. When the darkness lifted, the Black and White Rangers were gone, as was the storm that had been in the sky. Dash, now de-morphed, glanced around in confusion.
“What the hay just happened?”
“I…I will tell you later. For now, I believe you were going to throw a ‘welcome back’ party for my dear faithful student…go, enjoy yourselves, and celebrate your first victory as Pony rangers.”
The rangers didn’t really know how to argue with the idea of celebrating that they just kicked evil’s flank once again, so they left. Celestia watched them walk away, and then looked up at the sky.
“Won the Battle…lost the war.”
*
Twilight stepped into Sugar Cube corner. It was dark inside, which could only mean one thing…
“Surprise!”
The lights flipped on, and there it was. A party, thrown by all of…well, most of her best friends. What more could the purple unicorn possibly ask for in life than to be best friends with some of the best ponies in the world?
Everything was wonderful…
*
Meanwhile, in the hidden layer of the Evil rangers, a Griffon and an azure unicorn were working furiously to get everything straightened up, while a male Zebra stood solemnly staring at the door. It burst open, and in walked the newest and yet highest ranking members of their masters army; the Black and White Rangers.
“The master will be here shortly…” the Black Ranger said as he removed his helmet. His blond mane was a mess thanks to his helmet, but for once in his life, Prince Blueblood didn’t care. He was well on the road to ultimate power; he could afford to get just a little bit messy in the process. “…is everything ready for him?”
“I still don’t see why I have to do most of the grunt work around here.” Gilda the griffon complained under her breath.
“Because the Zebra has seniority, and those two were personally chosen by the master for bigger things than cleaning the lair.” Trixie responded. “Though why he chose her over me is something I’ll never understand.”
“It’s simple really…” the White Ranger said, as she pulled off her helmet, revealing her lavender face and dark Purple mane with the single pink stripe in it. “I’m more powerful and beautiful than you’ll ever be, Trixie.” She trotted over to a crystal ball, and her horn flashed magenta. A picture appeared inside the crystal ball, showing her at a party with all but one of her best friends. “After all, who but me could be talented enough to be in two places at once?”
“Who indeed, my White Ranger; truly your cunning and brilliance are an inspiration to all my loyal minions.” Every pony, Zebra, and griffon in the room immediately turned to the door way and bowed. The Master entered, passing them, proceeding over to his massive throne. Once he’d taken his seat he motioned for his Rangers to rise. “You have both served me well; you created enough negative energy from the fear of the pony population that I have been set free…but alas, most of my power remains trapped in the other world. We must create even more fear, anger, hate, jealousy, sadness and despair if I am to be at my full power. For now, I will have you both rest as I increase your powers, but once you are ready you shall take on the most important task at hand: Destroying Celestia’s Pony Rangers!”
“Yes master.” They responded in unison, bowing once again. The master motioned for the Zebra to rise.
“Hunter, my faithful servant; you cheated death itself to remain loyal to your duty to me. I hope your skills in calling upon and creating monsters have not diminished, for I shall need them now more than ever.” The Zebra didn’t respond, and for a moment the master was angered…until he remembered that Hunter had sacrificed his voice in a desperate bid to elude the grim reaper. The bid had proven successful, but the Zebra could no longer talk. “Even in silence you will serve me well, Hunter. As soon as you are ready with a monster we shall launch our first attack against the Pony Rangers!”
The Zebra nodded in the affirmative, and bowed again. Finally the master motioned to Trixie and Gilda. They stood, and waited expectantly to hear what he great plans he had for them. The moment was like a dream come true; the master needed them to carry out a mission of great importance.
“You missed a spot.”
And just like that, their dreams were shattered.
They both muttered apologies, while the White Ranger tried not to laugh her head off. They bowed again, and the master dismissed them all. Gilda and Trixie went back to cleaning, while the Evil rangers went into the hallway.
“Hear that Ranger Black? My cunning and brilliance is an inspiration to all his minions. What did he say about you? Nothing.” White Ranger boasted.
“And yet it was you who failed the mission. You said you could beat the Elements of Loyalty, Generosity, and Honesty by yourself, and you failed to kill them before they could become Pony Rangers. That doesn’t seem too brilliant to me, Ranger White; that seems like pushing the limits of what the master will let you get away with…Twilight.”
The White Ranger whirled around and leaned in close to the Black Ranger’s face. “You’re the one who’s dangerously close to finding out your limitations, Black Ranger. Twilight Sparkle was a weak minded fool who followed her beloved ‘friends’ around like a pet dog; I am the White Ranger, bane of all that’s good in the world, and soon to be the slayer of the Elements of Harmony…”
“Good thing I’m not an Element of Harmony then.” Blueblood responded, right before he kissed her.
To be continued…