//------------------------------//
// The Battle Begins (At the Gala part 1) 
// Story: My Little Pony Rangers: Enter the Nightmare 
// by Lance Skyes 
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	(This is a chapter I’ve been planning since I first started writing this fic, and this is just the first of several such chapters. Hope you enjoy.)

Rainbow Dash and the other Rangers were galloping at top speed towards Canterlot Castle, where Twilight said they needed to meet her immediately. “Do you have any idea why Twilight might want to see us so urgently, Rainbow Dash?” Fluttershy asked.
“Not a clue,” Rainbow Dash replied. “Anypony else?”
“I’m drawing a blank,” Rarity said. “But did she have to make us gallop all the way over here from Ponyville? I mean, sure we took the train most of the way, but I’m starting to get sweaty from all the galloping we’re having to do the rest of the way.”
“Try to hold on, Rarity,” Applejack said. “We’re almost there.”
Just as Applejack said this, the Rangers had finally made it the base of the stairs at the top of which the command center lay. “Well why’d we stop here?” Pinkie asked.
“Because we just did all that galloping,” Rarity said. “I need to catch my breath before I run up stairs.”
“No time for that, Rarity!” Rainbow Dash shouted. “What if Twilight’s in danger? We need to get up there as fast as possible. Come on, Fluttershy. We’ll be the first on the scene.” Rainbow Dash then flew top speed up to the control room, Fluttershy struggling to keep up. In less than a second, Rainbow Dash busted through the doors and into the computer room, quickly drawing her Element. “I’ll save you, Twilight! IT’S MORPHIN’ TI- Hay, there’s nothing going on here.”
Twilight quickly turned around in surprise. “Rainbow Dash?” she asked, confused. “What do you think you’re doing?”
“Wha-? But I thought... why did you call us and say it was an urgent matter if there’s nothing going on here?”
Just as Rainbow Dash said this, Fluttershy and the other Rangers finally made it up to the computer room, ready for the combat that wasn’t going to take place. “What’s goin’ on?” Applejack asked.
“Twilight called in a false alarm,” Rainbow Dash replied.
“It isn’t entirely false,” Twilight replied. “Celestia, Spike and I have been talking, and we think you Rangers are too on-edge to be doing an effective job at your duty as Rangers.”
“Too on-edge?” Rainbow Dash asked, seeming rather offended. “We’re on alert, not on-edge. Who knows when Nightmare’s next attack will be? We even thought said attack was right here!”
“And that’s your problem,” Celestia said. “You need to losen up if you’re going be sucessful in the next battle. Spike, give them the tickets.”
Spike ran into the room, carrying six golden tickets in his hands. He went to each Ranger, including Twilight, and gave each one a single ticket. “Wait a second, Spike,” Twilight said. “I wasn’t told I was going too.”
“Going?” Rainbow Dash asked. “Going where?”
“Why, to the Grand Galloping Gala,” Celestia replied. “The premier event in all of Equestria right here in Canterlot. I am ordering you six to go there and have fun.”
“Wait,” Rarity said, trotting over to Twilight. “Did you make me make those dresses the other day for this?”
“Yes,” Twilight replied. “I didn’t expect to be going, myself, though. You did make a dress for me, right?”
“Of course I did, but I thought it would be for some grand assault on Nightmare’s moon base.”
“Why would you think dresses were for some grand assault?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“Well, some of us would rather look nice when confronting our greatest enemy,” Rarity replied. “Don’t worry, the dresses I made are okay to wear to a social gathering like the Gala.”
“Still,” Pinkie said, “we need to be ready for Nightmare’s next move no matter what it is. I mean, I’m so prepared, even I don’t want to go to this party! That’s how prepared I am for battle! You know the battle calls for full attention if I of all ponies would rather not party!”
“This is exactly why I’m forcing you six to go,” Celestia said. “Look at yourselves. You’ve lost sight of the qualities that made you Rangers in the first place. This would be the perfect opportunity for all six of you to loosen up and recover that which you have lost.”
“I guess that wouldn’t be the worst thing,” Twilight said.
“Yeah,” Rainbow Dash added. “Besides, if it’s the premier event of all of Equestria, Ngihtmare will certainly send her greatest attack yet right there. We’ll be perfectly positioned to counter whatever it is. Anypony with me on that?”
“If I had the rest of my body,” Celestia said, “I’d be face-hoofing right now.”
“I’m just going to face-palm,” Spike said, doing that exact action.

Meanwhile, back in Ponyville, Sweetie Belle called the other Cutie Mark Crusaders to the clubhouse, saying it was “a matter of utmost importance.”
“So,” Scootaloo said when she and Applebloom finally made it to the clubhouse, “what’d you wanna see us for, Sweetie Belle?”
“I have some great news,” Sweetie belle said.
“You finally thought of the perfect way for us to get our cutie marks?” Applebloom excitedly asked.
“Nnnnnot really... I was looking through the paper this morning, and I found out that the Grand Galloping Gala is this weekend.”
“How is that important?” Scootaloo asked.
“Isn’t it obvious? The Pony Rangers could be at the Grand Galloping Gala. We could find them and discover whether or not any of them are our sisters.”
“Uh, no offence Sweetie Belle,” Applebloom said, “but I think you may be going a little crazy over one little out of context sentence you heard from Rarity. I mean, do you even know how expensive a single ticket is? It would be impossible for all three of us to go.”
“Did you know that they offer reduced kids prices?” Sweetie Belle asked. “I got us three tickets for €50 each.”
“Fifty euros each?” Scootaloo asked. “Where did you even get 150 euros?”
“That was the euro symbol? I apologize, but an Acer C7 Chromebook doesn’t have a symbol for the Equestrian Bit, so that was the closest I could get.”
“Wouldn’t it have been easier to say ‘fifty bits each’?” Applebloom asked.
“Well... I guess I could have, but we’re getting way off-topic and destroying the fourth wall much more than usual here. The point is, we’re going to the Grand Galloping Gala, and I’m going to get Rarity to make the three of us dresses.”
“I guess,” Scootaloo said. “But I’m not sure I’m comfortable wearing a dress. It seems a bit too... frilly.”
“Come on, Scootaloo,” Applebloom said, putting her foreleg around Scootaloo. “Rainbow Dash would all right with wearing a dress, wouldn’t she?”
“Oh all right,” Scootaloo replied, defeated.
“Then it’s settled,” Sweetie Belle said. “This weekend, we are going to the Grand Galloping Gala!”

The night of the Gala...

On the moon base, all of Nightmare’s minions were getting ready to put the master plan into action. Manticore, Trixie, and Gilda were stretching and doing excercises for their attack while Zecora was hard at work to fill in her order of 40 Putty Ponies. “Is everything in place, Zecora?” Nightmare asked.
“I am working on the Putties with great haste,” Zecora replied, “but the primary attack is in place.”
“Good. I wish you luck on your attack. As for everyone else, be ready for the greatest battle any of you have ever experienced.”
“Yeah!” all three of Nightmare’s other minions shouted in unison.
“Those Pony Rangers won’t know what hit them, and night shall last forever in Equestria!”

Meanwhile, the Rangers were on their way from Ponyville to the Gala thanks to a carrage Twilight was kind enough to provide. The only problem was that the Rangers had to share a carrage with the Cutie Mark Crusaders, and not a single one of the three fillies would stop talking. But that wasn’t the worst part. The worst part was that the fillies were talking about the Pony Rangers, who were, again, in the same carrage.
“That Red Ranger is totally awesome,” Scootaloo said. “Who do you think she might me?”
“Cloudchaser?” Rainbow Dash quickly replied, looking away nervously.
“Ooh, what about the Black Ranger?” Sweetie Belle asked.
“Colgate, maybe?” Rarity replied, expressing the same behavior as Rainbow Dash.
“How about the Yellow Ranger?” Applebloom asked.
“Well that might be-” Fluttershy started.
“Fluttershy!” Scootaloo shouted suddenly.
“WHAT?!” Fluttershy squealed, almost flying right out of her seat.
“Uh, I was just going to ask you if you knew who the Yellow Pony Ranger was.”
“Oh, of course. I dunno, Berry Punch?”
“But Berry Punch is an earth pony,” Applebloom replied.
“No, I’ve seen her in Cloudsdale several times. I’m pretty sure she’s a pegasus.”
“Hay, everypony,” Pinkie called, trying to bail her friend out of a sticky situation, “I think we’re here!”
Luckily, Pinkie was right. The carrage was just then pulling up in front of the Canterlot ball room where the Grand Galloping Gala was taking place. “So,” Rainbow Dash said, turning to the Crusaders, “why did you three come here to the Gala all dressed up and everything?”
“So we could meet the Pony Rangers,” Scootaloo replied. “I’m sure you’re here for the same reason, Rainbow Dash?”
“Uhh, yeah, totally. I’m a real fan of that Red Ranger. She is quite the flyer.”
“Ooh, that reminds me of this one time when the Red Ranger gave me a speech about staying safe for your sake. She told me that if I ever got hurt trying to watch their battles, you’d be so upset.”
“Listen, don’t you think you’d be putting yourself in harm’s way if you were here trying to expose the Rangers?”
“Yeah, but it’s not like we’re going charging into battle with them. We’ll just hang out as far away as possible.”
“Yeah... we should be getting off now.” With that, all eight of the ponies got out of the carrage and began trotting into the Gala. Well, the Crusaders were actually excitedly galloping into the Gala. The Rangers, on the other hoof, were hanging back, trying to distance themselves from the fillies. After a while, they finally got to the entrance, where Twilight was waiting for them.
“Good to see you made it,” Twilight said. “For a minute there, I was afraid you had blown the Gala off.”
“And miss a chance to intercept Nightmare?” Rainbow Dash asked. “Ha. Not a chance. Anyway, does everypony know where they need to be?”
“I’ve got the back garden covered,” Fluttershy said.
“I’ll keep an eye on the center courtyard,” Applejack said.
“Ballroom’s mine!” Pinkie shouted.
“Hay!” Rarity exclaimed. “I wanted to cover the ballroom!”
“Both of you can cover the balroom,” Rainbow Dash said. “It’s a pretty large area to cover, anyway. I’ll cover the stadium where the Wonderbolts are preforming. What about you, Twilight?”
“I’ll stay here at the front entrance,” Twilight replied. “This way, I’ll be able to monitor everypony who comes in and make sure nothing dangerous gets in.”
“Okay,” Rainbow Dash said. “I’m certain this will be a productive night. For all we know, we could even finally find a way to defeat Nightmare once and for all!”
“Yeah!” Pinkie exclaimed. “Time to get this night started.”
“All right, Rangers,” Twilight said, “fan out and get ready for anything on three. One...” But before Twilight could continue, all of the Rangers were gone. She hung her head and sighed loudly. “Three.”

An hour passed and not a single Ranger found any sign of trouble. “I’ve got nothing to report,” Rainbow Dash said into her comm.
“Same thing over here,” Applejack replied.
“All’s quiet,” Fluttershy said.
“Haven’t seen a thing,” Pinkie said.
“Me neither,” Rarity said.
“I just don’t get it,” Twilight said. “Nightmare should have launched some kind of attack by now. Unless...”
“Unless what?” Applejack asked quickly.
“Unless she was expecting us to be expecting her tonight! We walked right into a harmless trap!”
“Uh, Twilight,” Rainbow Dash said, nearly dropping her Element as she stared in the distance in horror. “I don’t think Nightmare was trying to trick us.”
“What makes you say that, Dash?”
“Because the Dragon Battlezord is on a rampage and on its way towards Canterlot.”
“What? But that’s impossible! I haven’t summoned it!” Twilight quickly galloped out of the doorway and looked in the distance to find that what Rainbow Dash said was true. The Dragon Battlezord was, indeed, on a rampage and on its way towards Canterlot. “Don’t worry, I can probably shut it down frome here.” Twilight tried to use her magic to disable the Dragonzord, but stopped quickly when she found out what was going on with it. “Zecora’s the one piloting the Dragonzord!”
“You can’t be serious!” Pinkie shouted. “Zecora’s back already?”
“Don’t worry, Pinkie. That just means it’ll take a few seconds longer to break whatever spell she’s using to control the Dragonzord. It’s just one simple spell extra. All I need to do is- oh hay bales!”
“What’s wrong, Twilight?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“I just got jumped by a bunch of Putty Ponies, and there are innocent bystanders all over the place. Augh, there must be about fourty Putties here. I won’t be able to disable the Dragonzord until I can make sure these ponies are safe. You five will have to do combat with Zecora in the Megazord. IT’S MORPHIN’ TIME!” At that, Twilight disconnected from her comm.
“Twilight?” Rainbow Dash called. “TWILIGHT!”
“Rainbow Dash,” Applejack said, “we have bigger problems to worry about. Twilight will be all right on her own.”
“I guess. Everypony get to a secluded area, morph, and summon your zords as fast as possible.”
“Got it!” all of the other Rangers replied in unison. Rainbow Dash then flew up to a section of the roof of the building where nopony would be able to see her. She then pulled out her morpher, morphed, and summoned the Tyrannozord.
Just as Rainbow Dash was doing this, the Crusaders happened to be trotting by. Scootaloo heard the noise of Rainbow Dash morphing and turned around to find the Red Pony Ranger flying away. “Girls!” Scootaloo said, nudging the others. “I just saw the Red Ranger!”
“Are you serious?” Applebloom asked, turning around. However, Rainbow Dash was already gone by the time she turned. “I don’t see her.”
“But she was just here,” Scootaloo said. “Maybe if we follow her, we can see her and the other Rangers in action. Come on.” Scootaloo then began galloping in the direction Rainbow Dash flew.
“Scootaloo, wait!” Sweetie Belle called, but Scootaloo was already long gone. “I guess we’d better follow her.”
“I guess,” Applebloom said. The two then began galloping after Scootaloo.
As the fillies got to a balcony where they could easily see the battle, all five of the Ranger’s zords stampeded into view and combined to form the Megazord. “This will be exciting!” Scootaloo said.
The Rangers, on the other hoof, weren’t exactly excited, but rather intimidated because they knew that the Dragon Battlezord was equivalent in power to the Megazord. “Hay, Twilight,” Rainbow Dash said into her comm, “how are we supposed to beat back the Battlezord?”
“I can’t give you any particular weaknesses,” Twilight replied. “I worked for months making sure there were very few difficult-to-expose design flaws. However, there are many ways in which the Battlezord is only equivalent to the Megazord, not equal.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Applejack asked.
“It means you have some advantages, but if you don’t defend the disadvantages, the battle will be entirely evened out.”
“So what are we supposed to do?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“First, the Battlezord is lighter and more agile than the Megazord, but that lost weight comes right off of the armor, so it takes heavier hits. Also, while its Thunder Spear has much better range than the Power Sword, it doesn’t deal that much damage and it can easily knock Zecora off balance if you can get a good counter-hit in. One more thing: the Dragonzord has some extra weapons that the Megazord doesn’t have, but... actually, that advantage doesn’t have a counter. Uhh, good luck.” Twilight then disconnected.
“Well, this will be exciting,” Rainbow Dash said. “All right, Rangers, get ready for battle!”
The Megazord then took an offensive stance and aimed the Power Sword at the Battlezord. “You think you Rangers can defeat me,” Zecora said over the Dragonzord’s comm, “but it would be smarter for you ponies to flee.”
“It’s you who should give up, Zecora,” Applejack replied. “You don’t know everything about how the Dragon Battlezord works, but we do. This is a battle you can’t win.”
“I would beg to protest. It is you five that I will best.” Zecora then aimed the Thunder Spear at the Megazord. “So who will give the first attack? Or is it courage that you Rangers lack?”
“We’ll be happy to give the first strike, Zecora,” Rainbow Dash said. The Megazord then charged sword-first at the Battlezord. Zecora was ready for this attack, however, and got the Thunder Spear ready for a counter-attack. The Rangers saw this counter coming, though, and moved to block Zecora’s attack just in time to avoid a hit and knock the Battlezord off balance. The Megazord then thrust its sword right into the Battlezord’s chestplate, knocking it back further.
“You Rangers think you can defeat me, but I have more than one trick up my sleeve.” Zecora then fired the Dragonzord’s fire breath, hitting the Megazord square in the chestplate.
“Why do they always go for the chestplate?” Pinkie asked angrily. “It’s starting to seem like a broken record!”
“Focus, Pinkie,” Rainbow Dash said. “You can always repaint it again, but we’re finished if you don’t focus.”
“Hold on,” Rarity said. “I think I may have an idea.” She then raised the Megazord’s left arm and flipped its hand until it revealed a machine gun. “Take this, Zecora!” Rarity then pressed a button, unloading an unrelenting barrage of gunfire at the Battlezord. Zecora was unable to defend herself from the bullets.
“Okay, now that’s just cheating!” Zecora shouted. “But don’t think I’m even considering fleeing!”
“Oh, please don’t flee,” Rainbow Dash said. “SPECTRUM SLASH, CHARGE!” The Megazord raised it’s Power Sword and let it charge with five multi-colored bolts of lightning.
“Your attacks will not be enough. LIGHTNING SPEAR, POWER UP!” The Battlezord then raised its spear to the air and let it charge with a bolt of green-colored lighting.
Both of the zord’s weapons were finished charging at the same time. “STRIKE!” the Rangers and Zecora shouted at the same time. Both of the zords charged at each other and brought their weapons down upon each other at the same time. However, neither weapon made contact. Each one was blocked by the other. Both the Rangers and Zecora struggled to move their weapon forward, but all that happened was more electricity crackled and burst from where the two weapons were scraping against each other, causing several explosions in the surrourning area.
“Rangers,” Rainbow Dash shouted, “we need to focus every ounce of energy from the Elements of Harmony into this one attack if we’re going to beat Zecora.”
“Right,” the other replied in unison.
“Pure power of Harmony, charge!” the five Rangers said together. They then focused every ounce of energy they could spare into the Megazord. “FINAL STRIKE!” The Megazord then knocked the Thunder Spear away and brought the Power Sword up for one final attack.
“Oh, there is nothing I can do,” Zecora said. “Without a weapon, I believe I am screwed!”
“For once, you’re right,” Rainbow Dash said. “You are finished! STRIKE!” The Megazord then brought down its rainbow-colored sword down upon the Battlezord, slicing right through it.
“You think I’m finished, but I’ll be back soon. And I’m coming back here... WITH NIGHTMARE MOON!” Before any of the Rangers could ask questions, the Battlezord exploded, taking Zecora with it.
“What do you think she meant by that, Rainbow Dash?” Fluttershy asked.
“I don’t know,” Dash replied. “But what I do know is that we need to get back to the Gala and tell Twilight about what Zecora said.”
“One other problemm,” Pinkie said. “Who’s going to tell Twilight that the Dragonzord’s totaled?”
“NOT IT!” the other four Rangers shouted at the same time.
“Aw, come on, girls,” Pinkie said.

Later, the Rangers, now de-morphed, were galloping at top speed to the entrance of the Gala where Twilight was. “Twilight!” Rainbow Dash shouted when she was finally within view. The other Rangers stopped when they found the de-morphed Twilight standing in the middle of fourty downed putties. “Uh, are you all right?”
“I’m fine,” Twilight replied, still dusting herself off. “How’d the battle with Zecora go?”
“Uhh,” Pinkie said, looking away nervously.
“Let me guess. The Dragonzord’s totaled. It’s all right. The repair spells are just time-consuming, not difficult. In fact, the Dragonzord’s incredibly simple, so with that combined with how good I am with magic now, it’ll take roughly an hour to fix it. I’ll be back in an hour. Enjoy the Gala until then. You achieved quite the victory this evening.”
Just then, the Cutie Mark Crusaders came galloping through, noticing the six un-morphed Rangers and the downed Putties all over the place. “Were the Pony Rangers here?” Scootaloo asked excitedly.
“Uh, you just missed them, squirt,” Rainbow Dash replied. “Maybe if you keep looking, though, you might find them.”
“Good idea.” The Crusaders then set off galloping back in the direction they came.
“Dodged a bullet there,” Applejack said. “See you soon, Twi.”
“I’ll be back as soon as I can,” Twilight replied. She then used her magic to teleport away.
“I guess let’s go enjoy the Gala,” Rarity said. “Like Twilight said, we achieved quite the victory.”
“Good idea,” Pinkie replied. ”If you ask me, I’d say it’s party time!” The five Rangers then galloped into the Gala.

Back on the moon base, Nightmare used the ressurection spell to revive Zecora in the middle of the room. “Welcome back, Zecora,” she said. “Are the zords out of commision?”
“I could only destroy the Dragonzord,” Zecora replied, “and the Rangers may be ready for our attack, my lord.”
“Half of your report is a sheer failure, but the second half is good.” Nightmare then turned to her other minions. “In one hour’s time, we shall destroy the Pony Rangers and Equestria will be ours!”