On the moon base, Sweetie Belle and Button Mash were doing a versus race on Mareio Kart 64. As per usual, Button Mash was owning Sweetie Belle, but she wasn’t even playing at her best this time around. The last words she heard from her former fellow Cutie Mark Crusaders were still echoing in her mind. So much so, that the entire conversation still played vividly before her eyes:
”We aren’t seriously going to betray our sisters, are we?” Scootaloo asked. “Even if it does mean power and cutie marks.”
“Right there with ya, Scoots,” Applebloom said. “Sorry, Discord, but the three of us are gonna have to decline your offer.”
Sweetie Belle nervously looked over at her friends for a moment. “I...” the young marshmallow started. “I... I’m going to accept Discord’s offer.”
“What?” Applebloom and Scootaloo asked in unison as Sweetie Belle cantered over by Discord’s side.
“Think about it, girls,” Sweetie Belle said. “Our sisters betrayed us. He’s giving us the power to set things right.”
“You don’t seriously believe this guy, do you?” Scootaloo asked.
“Filly, are you crazy or somethin’?” Applebloom asked. “You know he’s evil, right?”
“I do believe him and I do understand that he’s evil,” Sweetie Belle said, “but sometimes evil might be in the right. It’s our sisters who ignored us all that time, and he’s trying to help us. Aren’t you two with me?”
Applebloom and Scootaloo looked at each other, then back at Sweetie Belle with worried expressions. “Sweetie Belle, please don’t do this,” Scootaloo said. “He’s messing with your head.”
“What would Rarity think about this?” Applebloom asked.
“You aren’t paying any attention!” Sweetie Belle shouted. “All of this is because of Rarity and the others. So what if I’m letting my greed get the best of me? It serves the Pony Rangers right for ignoring and excluding us like they did.”
“Sweetie Belle...” Applebloom started, tears welling up in her eyes. “I... I thought we were friends.”
“Some friends you are,” Sweetie Belle said, reaching up with her hoof and taking the bracelet with the blue gem on it. “You won’t even stand by my decision when the proof is in the pudding.”
Applebloom was about to respond when Scootaloo stopped her. “You know what, Sweetie Belle?” the chicken asked. “You go on ahead and become evil and stand by Discord, but don’t think for a second that we’re friends any longer.”
Sweetie Belle’s expression remained firm, but she did have to fight back a few tears. “Fine,” Sweetie Belle said as her horn began glowing along with the blue gem. As Applebloom and Scootaloo began to walk off, Sweetie Belle’s horn started glowing brighter. “But don’t think I’m going to let you two tell Rarity and the others about this!” Her horn then fired a powerful blast of magic that Sweetie Belle hadn’t even realized she was casting. The spell caused her former friends to return to Ponyville and forget about the whole ordeal. Or at least that was what Zecora told Sweetie Belle later.
“You made the right choice, young filly,” Discord said, placing his talon on Sweetie Belle’s shoulder and letting out a low chuckle. Sweetie Belle was silent before her new master, focusing all her energy into fighting back her tears.
“YEAH!!!” Button Mash shouted as he crossed the finish line on Mareio Kart, snapping Sweetie Belle back to reality. “Good game, Sweetie Belle, but if you don’t mind me pointing this out, you kind of weren’t at your best.”
“Sorry, Button Mash,” Sweetie Belle said. “I just had a lot on my mind, that’s all.”
“Ahem,” a familiar voice said from behind the two ponies. They turned to find Snowdrop (still in her Ranger form, of course) looking at the two expectantly. (At least that was what the two were guessing. They couldn’t see her face, after all.) “Did I authorize these video games?”
“No,” Button Mash replied. “But Discord did. He said it would be a good idea for us to loosen up a little between attacks.” Button Mash then turned back to the game and prepared to set up another race, but Snowdrop angrily unplugged the system.
“This is no time for your foalish games!” the pegasus shouted. “We need to come up with a plan for destroying the Harmony Rangers!” Snowdrop then leaned in a little closer to the two and whispered, “Not to mention a particular green-clad mail mare hanging around the muffin bar.”
“You really need to chill every once in a while, Snowdrop,” Sweetie Belle said, using her magic to plug the Manetendo 64 back in. (You now have the right to condemn me for making bad puns, because I just made two really bad ones right there.)
“I told you not address me by that name!” Snowdrop shouted, drawing her blade and smashing the console altogether.
“Hay!” Button Mash shouted. “Do you have any idea how many extra chores I had to do to earn enough money to buy that?”
“Small, pointless matters,” Snowdrop said, her patience with her allies already wearing thin. “If we wish to complete our plan, we have to be focused! GOT THAT?” The other two replied with silent nods. “Good.” Snowdrop then turned and cantered off.
“I read about this in history class,” Sweetie Belle said. “When she was, well, this age before Discord got to her, she was actually a very nice pony.”
“I find that hard to believe,” Button Mash said as he pulled out his Game Colt and started playing.
On the other side of the moon base, Derpy was enjoying a blueberry muffin she got from the muffin bar while at the same time silently both plotting her revenge against the Harmony Rangers and figuring out how she was going to throw Snowdrop out of power. Her train of thought was interrupted, however, when she felt a presence she was dreading ever since she got back.
“Well, well, well,” Gilda said, walking in from the door that Derpy happened to be facing away from. “Looks like the mail mare’s back after all. And here I thought Zecora was just spoutin’ hayseed as usual.”
“Don’t test me, Gilda,” Derpy said without even turning around. “My powers are stronger than the last time we met. I could easily destroy you right here if I wanted to, and I understand Discord isn’t doing any more resurrecting.”
“I’m sure you could destroy me, little pony,” Gilda said with a chuckle, causing Derpy to slam on the table with her forelegs and rise to her hind legs.
“You really wanna test me, griffon? I’ll take you down right here, right now!”
“Fillies, please,” Discord said, walking in. “I said cause chaos down in Ponyville. The only chaos I expect up here is whatever chaos I cause.” Just then, an evil smile graced Discord’s lips. “How about this. I’ll give you two an opportunity to settle your little quarrel, but only if you settle it down in Equestria. Though if you wish avoid intervention by the Harmony Rangers, I’d suggest you two settle it somewhere outside of Ponyville.” Discord then walked away from the two quarreling flyers and grabbed a muffin from the muffin bar.
“Well?” Derpy asked.
“Well what?” Gilda asked.
“Well, do you want an opportunity to prove your ‘superiority’ over me? Or are you chicken?”
“How dare you. Meet me in the Everfree Forest today at one o’clock, and I’ll gladly tear you to shreds with my own two claws.”
“It’s a deal,” Derpy said. She then turned, grabbed her muffin, and flew off.
Back in Ponyville, Rarity had just awoken from a horrible nightmare. For some reason, she had dreamt that Sweetie Belle had flooded the entire boutique. She rubbed her head with her hoof and breathed heavily for a moment before finally convincing herself that it was just another “Sweetie-mare.” Just then, another horrible thought had occurred to her. She still didn’t know the whereabouts of her little sister! The attack from the Chaos Pony Rangers had made her forget all about it. She was about to panic when she heard a high-pitched voice say, “Good morning, Rarity.”
“Sweetie Belle?” Rarity asked as she looked over to the door to find Sweetie Belle trotting by. “SWEETIE BELLE!” Usually when Rarity shouted Sweetie Belle’s name, it was out of anger. But this time, it was out of excitement and relief. The older marshmallow rushed out of bed and hugged her younger sister. “Oh, I’m so glad you’re alright!”
“Older sister, why are you affectionately embracing me in this fashion?”
“Well you were gone most of the day yesterday and never came home, so I was beginning to fear the worst.”
“The worst what? Fate? I assure you, older sister, that I am alive.”
Quickly, Rarity let Sweetie Belle out of her hug. “Sweetie Belle, are you alright? You seem... different.”
“I don’t see how I could be different. I do have four legs, a muzzle, and a horn like you. The only difference is our mane colors, eye colors, and ages.”
Rarity thought Sweetie Belle’s behavior was weird, sure, but maybe it was just her little sister playing a joke on her like she always did. “Well, I’ll go make us some breakfast. You just stay up here and stay out of trouble.” Rarity then turned and cantered off. Sweetie Belle stood there motionless before she was approached by Rei the pegasus.
“Ahem, Sweetie Clone,” Rei said.
“Can I help you, author?” Sweetie Clone asked.
“Yeah, I have some bad news. We can’t work you into the script as a William-style clone.”
“I apologize, author, but I’m unfamiliar with your analogy to a fictional character by the name of William.”
“He’s a guy from the show Code Lyoko. He fell under the control of the primary antagonist and the protagonists had to create a clone of him and that clone had literally no emotion and why am I telling you about all this?”
“I’m going to assume because you are attempting to elaborate your analogy for the purposes of informing your readers of the definition of said analogy for which there is a 47.36295% chance they don’t understand.”
“You wanna know something? I think many of my readers were entirely lost during your last sentence. Now, please leave so I can replace you with the realistic clone.”
“Very well.” Sweetie Clone then turned and cantered off.
Rei then turned and called, “Realistic Sweetie Clone, you’re up!” Upon command, another Sweetie Belle hopped in, this one showing much more emotion than the last one.
“Realistic Sweetie Clone, reporting for duty!” the new clone said with a smile and a salute.
“Hm... no. You’re showing too much emotion. Sorry.”
“Aw, shoot.” The new clone then turned and sadly walked off.
“Finding a usable clone of Sweetie Belle is going to be harder than I thought,” Rei said to himself. “Oh well. I’ll just skip to the next scene while I’m looking for a new clone of Sweetie Belle.”
On the moon base, Discord had gathered his minions (with the exception of Gilda and Derpy) to discuss the plan for the next attack on Ponyville.
“If you wouldn’t mind a question from me,” Zecora said to Discord, “but where are both Gilda and Derpy?”
“They had a separate matter to attend to,” Discord said. “But for now, down to business. Today’s attack on Ponyville. The Chaos Rangers have another plan in the works, but it won’t be ready for a while, so we need a filler attack for the time being. Do I have any volunteers?” Discord looked around, but no hooves or paws were raised. “I guess I have to call on somepony like you’re all in kindergarten... again. Trixie, why don’t you go down and stir up some trouble?”
“The Great and Powerful Trixie refuses,” Trixie replied. “She has a score to settle with Twilight Sparkle, but Trixie is unable to settle this score if Twilight does not have her Ranger powers. Until the time comes when Trixie can fight Twilight once again, Trixie will remain on the moon base and hone her skills for a more glorious duel in the future.”
Discord let out a loud sigh and facepalmed. “Very well. If you insist. However, we still need somepony to go down there and cause some chaos.”
“I shall volunteer, since nopony else will here,” Zecora said. “I will crush those Rangers beneath my might. It won’t even be a very fair fight.”
“Okay, I get the point. Just get down there and take your annoying rhymes with you.”
“Very well-” Zecora started.
“Please don’t talk anymore, Zecora,” Sweetie Belle said. “Nopony here, nor any readers of this fic can stand you.”
“I can’t even stand you,” Rei said, sitting in the corner of the room.
“Hay, I thought you were busy looking for a clone of me.”
“I have some feelers out, don’t worry.”
“That is all well and good-” Zecora started.
“AND SWITCHING TO NEXT SCENE!”
Down in the Everfree Forest, Derpy was waiting impatiently for Gilda to meet her for their battle. “I should have known she’d be late,” Derpy said to herself.
“Hold your horses, pony,” Gilda said, coming in through some branches. “It’s only 12:30, anyway.”
“Is it? I must have still had my watch set to Eastern Standard Time.” Derpy took a second to readjust her watch before turning back to Gilda. “Now then, a friendly little duel to determine which of us is Discord’s top flyer?”
“Friendly?” Gilda asked, flashing her talons. “What part of “tear you to shreds” don’t you understand?”
“Ever heard of sarcasm?” Derpy asked, pulling out her Thunder Coin. “IT’S MORPHIN’ TIME! ELEMENT OF THUNDER!” Derpy’s Thunder Coin emitted a brilliant flash of green light, engulfing her and donning her Ranger armor. She then drew her sword and pointed it at Gilda. “Spirit of the Dragon. Chaos Force, Ranger Green.”
Both fighters stared each other down for a moment before Gilda charged forward at Derpy. The griffon tried to strike Derpy with her talon, but Derpy blocked the attack with her blade and proceeded to strike Gilda’s underside with her left hoof. This attack knocked Gilda back a bit, but she recovered in time to use her tail to grab one of Derpy’s hind legs and bring her to the ground. Gilda then tried to stomp Derpy, but the pegasus rolled to avoid the attack and got back on her hooves.
“Don’t think this will be easy, griffon,” Derpy said.
“My thoughts exactly,” Gilda replied.
Back in Ponyville, Rei was still busy holding auditions for the clone of Sweetie Belle. “Alright,” Rei said to the Sweetie Belle on the stage. “What can you do?”
“I am a perfect imitation of Sweetie Belle,” she replied in a robotic voice. “I am also the star of an abridged series, and-”
“Nope. Sorry Sweetie Bot, but I’m not going to officially include something from Friendship is Witchcraft.”
“But I can do songs!”
“Sorry. Next!”
Sweetie Bot then sadly cantered off the stage, making sad beeping sounds. “Alright, this is the last audition of the day. If this doesn’t work, we’ll have to postpone this chapter.” Just as Rei said this, another Sweetie Belle trotted up to the stage. “Okay, show me what you can do.”
“No problem,” the Sweetie Belle clone said. “All I need is a stove, some pots and pans, bread, and juice.”
Not five minutes passed before half the stage was in flames and Rei was served an entirely burnt breakfast that only the real Sweetie Belle could make, complete with burnt juice and a burnt black sludge that was supposed to be toast. “You’re hired,” Rei said to the Sweetie Clone on the stage.
Later, Twilight was under the library, talking with Rei via the comm system. “You found a good clone for Sweetie Belle?” Twilight asked. “Great. Alright. Bye.” Twilight then hung up and turned to Spike. “Good news, Spike. The chapter’s proceeding on schedule. You tell Derpy and Gilda while I contact the Rangers.”
“Got it,” Spike replied.
Down at Sugarcube Corner, Rainbow Dash was helping Pinkie Pie make some cupcakes to fill an order for a client. “Having fun, Dash?” Pinkie asked.
“It’s alright,” Rainbow Dash replied. “I don’t know why everypony was warning against me helping you make cupcakes.” Then, under her breath, Rainbow Dash added, “At least you haven’t sung, yet.”
“You’re right!” Pinkie Pie shouted when Rainbow Dash said that last sentence. ”All you have to do is take a cup of flour. Add it to the mix.”
Before Pinkie Pie could continue her song, Rainbow Dash’s communicator went off. “Oh thank Celestia,” Rainbow Dash said, answering her comm. “Talk to me, Twilight.”
“There’s something going down at the market,” Twilight replied. “Zecora’s attacking with a bunch of Putty Ponies. Applejack is already on-scene, but she’s going to need backup.”
“We’re on it,” Rainbow Dash replied. “Let’s go, Pinkie.” Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie then galloped out the back door and made their way towards the market.
Down in the market, Applejack was already morphed and fighting off the Putty Ponies. “You really think one pony is enough to take on me?” Zecora taunted.
“I won’t be alone for long,” Applejack said, using her Harmony Lance to knock back a group of four Putty Ponies. She truly didn’t stand a chance, however, if her friends didn’t get there soon. She was about to get jumped from behind by two Putty Ponies when they were knocked back by Pinkie Pie’s arrows.
“Don’t worry, Applejack,” Rainbow Dash said, flying in and striking down several Putties with her Sword. “We’re here.”
“‘Bout time,” Applejack said.
“Do you think you ponies three have the slightest chance against me?” Zecora asked.
“Not really,” a quiet voice said from behind Zecora. The zebra turned to find Fluttershy and Rarity standing behind her. “That’s why there’s five of us.”
“Do not think I’m even remotely intimidated. With my increased power, you will all be eliminated. I still have some Putties left in the fight. I believe a failure will result from your plight.” Just as Zecora said this, another two dozen Putty Ponies teleported around Zecora and faced the Rangers.
“And here I thought this was going to be easy,” Rainbow Dash said, raising her Harmony Sword. “I really should have more faith in Discord’s minions.”
Back in the Everfree Forest, Derpy and Gilda were still going at it, and neither one was willing to admit defeat to the other. They were easily matching each other blow for blow, but neither one was going to admit defeat anytime soon.
“Give up, griffon!” Derpy shouted as she raised her sword and brought it down hard upon Gilda. Gilda tried to block the attack with her talons, but Derpy’s attack was stronger than Gilda anticipated and the griffon took massive unnecessary damage. Gilda was knocked back a little, but she was able to recover quickly and focus all her strength into a single strike with her talon that was too fast for Derpy to defend against. The attack struck Derpy’s underside and sent her flying into a nearby tree, de-morphing her.
“It’s over for you, pony,” Gilda said, walking over and raising her talon to deliver the final blow. However, just before Gilda struck, Derpy rolled out of the way and got back to her hooves, causing Gilda to hit the tree and cleanly chop it, causing it to fall. “I’ve taken care of your powers and you still wish to fight?”
“I’m just full of surprises, griffon,” Derpy replied. She then charged forward and tackled Gilda, fueled purely by rage and second wind.
Back in Ponyville, the Rangers had finished off the Putty Ponies and moved on to Zecora. Rainbow Dash moved in to strike Zecora first, but the zebra used her smokescreen magic to teleport out of the way and strike the prismatic pegasus from behind. Zecora then turned and threw some pellets of her energy drain/stink bombs at Fluttershy and Applejack. However, these attacks were blasted in midair by Pinkie Pie’s arrows. The party pony then turned her bow to Zecora and fired several arrows. However, the zebra cast another cloud of colored mist that was able to completely disintegrate the arrows. However, this left Zecora open to a powerful strike from Rarity’s Harmony Axe. The zebra stumbled from the impact, leaving her open to a powerful scissors strike from Fluttershy’s Harmony Daggers which sent the zebra flying.
“Some ‘increased power’ you’ve got there, Zecora,” Rainbow Dash said.
“How can it be that you’ve defeated me?” Zecora asked. “This time, you ponies got victory to take, but next time I will not make the same mistake.” Zecora then tried to teleport away, but she had forgotten that Discord had disabled his minions’ teleporters to enforce his “no second chances” rule. The Rangers were expecting Zecora to come up with some complicated rhyme to express her surprise and panic, but all she actually said was, “Oh crap.”
“Now’s our chance to finish her, Rangers,” Rainbow Dash said. “FORM ELEMENTAL CANNON!” In five flashes of light, the Weapons of Harmony combined to form the Elemental Cannon. “Alright, Zecora, time for you to say goodbye!” The Rangers then fired the Cannon and Zecora was sure she was finished, but the blast was suddenly blocked by three flashes of differently colored lights.
Back in the Everfree, Derpy was giving Gilda a much harder battle than the griffon expected, especially since Derpy didn’t even have her Ranger powers. Even still, Gilda was slowly gaining ground over Derpy.
“You’ve had your second chance, pony,” Gilda said, charging forward and throwing the already fatigued Derpy into a tree. “But this is where I finish you once and for all!” Gilda then charged forward to deliver the true final blow, but Derpy raised her hoof and fired a bolt of lightning at Gilda, knocking the griffon back hard.
“Wrong, Gilda,” Derpy said, getting up and morphing again. “It is I who shall finish you once and for all!” Derpy then drew her sword and charged it with lightning. “There’s only room for one flyer among Discord’s minions. And once I’m rid of you, there will be only one left for me to take care of.”
“Who?” Gilda asked. “Who are you planning on getting rid of once I’m gone?”
“The only pony standing between me and Dashie. Snowdrop.” Derpy then brought her sword down her sword and fired a huge bolt of green lighting at Gilda, obliterating the griffon in a brilliant explosion. After a while, Derpy lowered her sword and said to herself, “Come on, Discord. Give me one more oversized griffon to take down.”
Back in Ponyville, the smoke from the Elemental Cannon finally cleared to reveal that Zecora was still standing... behind the Chaos Rangers.
“Oh no!” Pinkie Pie shouted. “It’s those fillies again.”
“You fillies have saved my life,” Zecora said. “But here I must ask, why?”
“Discord has plans for you, Zecora,” Chaos Red/Snowdrop said to the zebra. “He wants you around for his, and I quote, ‘glorious final battle’.”
“Glorious final battle?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“None of your business, Harmony Rangers,” Chaos Yellow/Button Mash said. “Get going, Zecora. Discord’s reactivated your teleporter for about ten seconds.”
“Thank you, Chaos Rangers,” Zecora said. “I-”
“GO!” Snowdrop shouted. Zecora stepped back from the shout and teleported away. The Chaos Rangers then turned back to the Harmony Rangers. “Now then, what do you five say about another Megazord battle?”
“Come again?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“I’m going to admit something, and I will destroy you with my own hooves if you tell anypony about it,” Snowdrop said. “Our last battle was an unfair fight because of Derpy’s intervention. Today, however, Derpy is preoccupied with a, shall I say, prior commitment.”
“A prior commitment?” Rainbow Dash asked. “But she’s only been around for a day or two, and the only thing I can think of along the lines of prior commitments from season 1 is her rivalry with me that was never clearly explained.”
“Think about it, Rainbow Dash,” Snowdrop said, less evil and more disappointment in her voice now. “There isn’t anypony, even somepony who isn’t a pony, who might also have a beef with Derpy?”
“Well... I suppose there’s-” Rainbow Dash was suddenly cut off when a sudden explosion erupted from the middle of the Everfree Forest not too far away, startling all eight Rangers in the market. When they looked over to see what had happened, (other than an explosion) they found a 30-story tall version of Gilda rise from the middle of the forest.
“Well, looks like Derpy won round 1,” Chaos Blue/Sweetie Belle said. “That’s ten bits you owe me, Ap- er, Yellow.”
“We never made any bet,” Button Mash said. “Besides, why did you almost call me-? That’s part of our master plan, isn’t it?”
Sweetie Belle replied with a quick nod. “Don’t milk it, though. That’s enough to keep the Harmony Rangers guessing for a while.”
“Harmony Rangers,” Rainbow Dash said, “why are we still standing here? We need to take that oversized griffon down.” Rainbow Dash then contacted Twilight. “Twilight, summon the zords.”
“On their way, Dash,” Twilight replied.
The five Rangers teleported into their zords and, after a Flash Formation spell, drew their Power Sword and charged towards GIlda, who was still looking the other way. However, they skidded to a stop when the Dragon-Battlezord descended right in front of Gilda.
“Hay, Dashie,” Derpy called from the Battlezord. “I suggest you stay out of this battle for the time being.”
“You kidding?” Gilda asked. “I’ll get a chance to take down all of the Pony Rangers who have been causing me trouble in a single battle.”
“Guess again, Gilda,” Snowdrop said as the Chaos Megazord descended onto the battlefield. “You and Derpy stick to your battle. The Harmony Rangers are our prey.”
“I really hate it when the word ‘prey’ is used to indicate us,” Rainbow Dash said.
“Now then,” Snowdrop said as the Chaos Megazord turned to the Harmony Megazord. Shall we begin our battle?”
“We shall,” Rainbow Dash said. “And this time, we’re going to beat you. To quote Pinkie Pie here, ‘cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my-’ OW! SWEET BLOODY CELESTIA, THAT HURT!”
“You silly filly, Dash,” Pinkie said. “You aren’t supposed to jab your eye like you would a Putty Pony.”
“Thanks for telling me that,” Rainbow Dash said, rubbing her eye. “Wait a second. How did I do any of that just now if I’m wearing a helmet!?” Just then, a strange-sounding music started playing from nowhere.
“How about we just ignore that for the time being?” Button Mash asked. “I kind of want to get around to kicking y’all’s- er, all of your flanks for real this time.”
“Glad I’m not the only one getting impatient,” Rainbow Dash said. “Let’s go, Harmony Rangers!” The Harmony Megazord then charged forward towards the Chaos Megazord.
Meanwhile, not even a mile away, the battle between Derpy and Gilda raged on. Gilda tried to strike the Dragon-Battlezord with her talons, but Derpy proved to be too fast and blocked this attack with her spear. Derpy then roundhoused Gilda to knock her away and struck the griffon with her spear. Gilda tried to regain her balance, but Derpy took advantage of the situation and bombarded Gilda with a spray of rockets and gunfire. The griffon was completely defenseless against Derpy’s rage.
“Nothing is going to stand between me and my revenge!” Derpy shouted. “Thunder Spear, charge!” The Dragon-Battlezord then raised its spear and began charging it with lightning.
“Come on, Derpy,” Gilda said. “Can’t we talk this over?”
“Not a chance, griffon!” Derpy then brought her spear down upon Gilda and sliced clean through her.
“Gah!” Gilda shouted, crackling with energy. “I hope you pay for this one day, Derpy Hooves! Someday, you will be sorry you ever crossed meeeeeeeeee!” Gilda then fell to the ground and erupted in a brilliant explosion.
“That’s Gilda down,” Derpy said to herself. “One more, and then I’ll have Dashie all to myself.” Derpy then let out a maniacal laugh before teleporting herself and her zord away.
Meanwhile, the Harmony and Chaos Megazords were still going at it. Without Derpy, the Chaos Rangers were about on par with the Harmony Rangers, but that didn’t mean the Chaos Rangers weren’t still kicking the Harmony Rangers’ flanks.
“Come on, Harmony Rangers!” Rainbow Dash shouted. “We can beat these fillies when they don’t have Derpy fighting alongside them.”
“Um, no, you kinda can’t,” Snowdrop said as the Chaos Megazord gave the Harmony Megazord another strike with their sword. “We’re superior to you Harmony Rangers in every way. That’s pretty much how Discord designed our powers.”
“Doesn’t mean we can’t adapt,” Rainbow Dash said. The Harmony Megazord then ducked low and gave the Chaos Megazord a rising slash that actually seemed to deal significant damage.
“Lucky shot, Harmony Rangers,” Sweetie Belle said. “I guess now it’s time for us to start giving a little bit of an effort.”
“Nice try,” Rarity said. “But it’s going to take more than simple little taunts to-” Rarity was cut off when the Chaos Megazord charged forward and rammed the Harmony Megazord like a football player and followed the attack up with another slash.
“Uh, Rarity,” Pinkie Pie said. “I think they can back up their taunts pretty well.”
“Better believe it, Harmony Rangers,” Button Mash said. “Now let’s finish this battle, Chaos Rangers.”
“Ahem,” Snowdrop said. “I’ll be the one to say when we finish the battle, thank you very much.” The Chaos Megazord then aimed its sword at the Harmony Megazord. “Now, let’s finish this battle, Chaos Rangers.”
“Don’t think we’ve given up yet,” Rainbow Dash said. “Harmony Sword, charge!” The Harmony Megazord then raised its sword to the sky and charged it with five different colored bolts of lightning.
“Do you really think that scares us?” Snowdrop asked. “Serpent Blade, charge!” The Chaos Megazord then aimed its sword to the sky, but this one was charged by the wind, earth, and water all swirling into one strike.
“POWER OF HARMONY, SPECTRUM SLASH!”
“POWER OF DISCORD, TRI-ELEMENTAL FURY!”
The two Megazords brought their blades down at the same time, and both blades made contact with each other, causing energy to go flying and small explosions to erupt everywhere the flying energy hit.
“Give up, Harmony Rangers,” Snowdrop said. “We’re stronger than you and you know it.”
“No!” Rainbow Dash shouted. “We... won’t... quit!”
“Eh, your choice. Also, all the extra repairs on your Megazord, not ours.” With another surge of energy, the Chaos Rangers broke through the Harmony Rangers’ attack and struck the Harmony Megazord with full force, causing it to go flying.
“We can’t have been beaten again!” Rainbow Dash shouted.
“Ah, consider yourselves lucky we need you alive for now,” Snowdrop said. “You really are pathetic, but you did put up a better fight than last time. If you keep up this pattern of improving after each of our battles, this might get fun... eventually.” The Chaos Megazord then teleported away, leaving the Harmony Rangers with a battered Megazord and obliterated pride.
Back on the moon base, Derpy knelt before Discord, ready to receive punishment for destroying Gilda. All of the other minions, as well as the other Chaos Rangers, were eager to watch the scene as well. Trixie and Sweetie Belle were even passing around popcorn for everypony.
“Derpy Hooves,” Discord said. “I cannot express how disappointed in you I am.”
“It was only a matter of time,” Derpy said, not even looking up at Discord. “She had it coming.”
“Allow me to finish speaking before you reply. I cannot express how disappointed in you I am for not doing this sooner.”
Everypony, including Derpy, was surprised by what Discord said, and the base was instantly filled with a collective “Huh?”
“Honestly, Derpy, the first time you returned down there in the abandoned warehouse district, I was sure the first thing on your agenda was to take down Gilda. I know how you two had quite the feud in the past, and I was counting on you to get rid of her to make room for my master plan. You put up an impressive fight. The griffon never stood a chance.”
“Does this mean I won’t be facing punishment for destroying one of your minions?” Derpy asked.
“Quite the contrary. I have to thank you for removing my wait for the Harmony Rangers destroying Gilda. Besides, she was one of Nightmare Moon’s minions.”
“Uh, The Great and Powerful Trixie, Zecora, and Alan are still in the room,” Trixie said. “You know that, right?”
“Wait,” Derpy said, ignoring what Trixie said. “Aren’t I one of Nightmare’s minions?”
“No, Derpy,” Discord said. “You’ve gained so much more power, I don’t see you as even remotely related to Nightmare Moon in any way.”
Derpy took that as a compliment, smiled, stood up, and bowed. “Thank you, Discord.”
“Again, Trixie and the others are still in the room,” Trixie said.
Discord turned to Trixie. “I do acknowledge your presence,” he said. “And you are still a very important part of my plan. Trixie, I want you and Zecora to get started on a new plan to destroy the Harmony Rangers.”
“But what happened to the Master Plan?” Snowdrop asked.
“Don’t worry, Snowdrop. I wouldn’t launch these overzealous attacks if I weren’t trying to achieve a higher goal. Besides, I still need to recover another 70% or so of my power, and the only way I’m going to do that is if chaos stirs in Equestria.”
“Once again, you have proven to be much more genious than me, Discord.”
“Suck up,” Trixie said from behind Snowdrop. This earned the magician a solid buck from Snowdrop. “Ow! The Great and Powerful Trixie-”
“Needs to get to work,” Discord said, cutting Trixie off. “You and Zecora have your work cut out for you, and it will require all your effort to pull off.”
“We shall begin with haste,” Zecora said.
“And the end result will have true taste,” Trixie finished. “Wait... what did The Great and Powerful Trixie just do?”
“It does not matter,” Discord said. “Just get to work. Here are the plans.” Discord snapped his fingers and several scrolls appeared in his hands. He then tossed them towards Trixie, who caught them in her magic. “I expect nothing less than perfection.”
“Trixie and Zecora are on it,” Trixie said. The two then walked out of the room, followed by the others.
“Sweetie Belle,” Discord said just before she left. “A word, please.”
Sweetie Belle was confused as to why Discord would want to talk to her for a moment and turned to Button Mash as though he would have the answer. He didn’t have the answer, though. All he said was, “Go on. I’ll set up the Pony Station 3.” Sweetie Belle smiled and turned back to join Discord.
“How are you faring, Sweetie Belle?” Discord asked.
“What do you mean?” Sweetie Belle asked.
“Well it couldn’t be more obvious. You’re still trying to cope with betraying your old friends.”
“What are you talking about? You make it sound like I was upset about betraying them. I have you and the Chaos Rangers now. Who needs those foals?”
“Sweetie Belle, when you’re as old as I am, you learn to see through brave faces.” Discord walked over and placed his paw on Sweetie Belle’s shoulder. “I know how hard it is to betray friends to achieve your goals.”
“Really?”
“No. I’ve never had any friends. But the point is that if you’re feeling down about anything, you can talk to me.”
“Well...” Sweetie Belle used her magic to pull up a chair and sit in front of Discord. “When I accepted your offer, I knew I’d be betraying Rarity, but I thought my old friends were going to come with me. And now that they aren’t here...”
Since when did I start playing therapist? Discord thought to himself. Why I brought this upon myself, I may never know.
Meanwhile at the library, the Harmony Rangers were gathered after yet another defeat at the hooves of the Chaos Rangers.
“There has to be some way we can beat those three,” Rainbow Dash said. “They’re too powerful for us even without Derpy fighting alongside them.”
“I understand that,” Princess Celestia said. “Twilight, Luna, and I are still working on improving your powers, but the research isn’t going as well as we originally anticipated.”
“We’ll try to pick up the pace,” Twilight said, “but unless Discord suddenly decides to go on a two-week hiatus, we probably won’t have much luck.”
“We understand, Twilight,” Rainbow Dash said. “If you need us to help with anything...”
“No. The most I can really ask you to do is stand there and look pretty.”
“Well, you’re out of luck there. This is a written fanfiction, not a comic. We can’t look pretty through words.”
“Fair point. Aside from that, though, I think we’re just about powerless against Discord now.”
“We won’t be for long.” Rainbow Dash then put a hoof on Twilight’s shoulder. “I believe in you, and I’m sure the others do, too.”
The rest of the Rangers replied with a collective, “Mm-hmm.”
“Thanks, everypony,” Twilight said. “I promise I’ll have something useful finished by the next attack.”
“Do ya Pinkie Promise?” Pinkie Pie asked.
Twilight smiled and nodded. “Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.”
“It looks like everypony has their work cut out for them,” Celestia said. “You Rangers have to be on-call for a threat you cannot defeat, and our team have to work to find a way for you to defeat said threat.”
“And what about me?” Spike asked.
“Why, you’re going to help us,” Twilight said. “Just because you’ve hardly been mentioned in this chapter doesn’t mean you’re any less important to the story.”
“Then everypony knows what to do,” Rainbow Dash said. “I wish you luck, Twilight. Rangers, let’s go make sure we’re ready for the next attack.” The others nodded and the group silently cantered out of the library.
“Alright, Spike,” Twilight said, turning to her baby dragon companion, “let’s get to work.”
Next time...
“Well it took you two long enough. I’d better not be disappointed.”
“Are those... Alicorn Putties?”
“We barely survived that battle and the Chaos Rangers weren’t even there!”
“There is one way you can help, Twilight.”
“It’s dangerous. Are you sure you’re up for it, Dash?”
“The Great and Powerful Trixie did not think Twilight would be down for long.”
次回、 「The Sixth Element」 あ楽しみに！ (Next time: “The Sixth Element” Enjoy!)