Way too much important stuff happened in the last chapter to fit into the standard recap, and since this isn't the season finale and I don't want to make an exception here, I'm just going to jump right into this chapter.
Button Mash and Spike, the latter of whom had been brought back from death not moments ago, stood in the air lock room of the moon base.
“Alright, you told me you would tell me what was going on,” Spike said to the very pony who had killed him just hours ago. “I suggest you start.”
“Ok,” Button Mash replied. “First, what you need to know is that Snowdrop has put in motion her final plan to get rid of you Harmony Rangers, and that involved breaking everypony's spirits. In Twilight's case, that would involve her seeing you dead.
“Originally, it was supposed to be Zecora who killed you right before Twilight's eyes at her library before she brought Twilight up here.”
“Twilight's up here?” Spike asked. “Are the others are up here on the moon base?”
“Well, just Twilight, Rarity, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash,” Button Mash replied. “The other two are still in Equestria. Snowdrop figured that they wouldn't be a match for all four Chaos Rangers without their friends.”
“So you're acting as the wrench thrown in Snowdrop's plan,” Spike assumed. “Under any other circumstances, I'd congratulate you for living up to my expectations and being the one to help stop Discord, but you still haven't explained why you killed me! If I had known about your plan, I could have just played dead or something.”
“Right, you're probably wondering about that,” Button said. “First, the reason I couldn't have you just play dead would be because Sweetie Belle would have seen right through a ruse as weak as that, so I came up with a curveball that would fool even her. What she doesn't know is that my Morpher allows me to use magic to a certain extent, and fortunately for you, that extent reached as far as me being able to use my sword to deal just enough damage to your body so that you were just about dead, but still just close enough to life that you could be pulled back with an energy boost like the one I just gave you using my Morpher.”
“Wow, really?” Spike asked. “I'm impressed.”
“Thank you,” Button replied. “What's not so impressive is that I used most of the energy my Morpher had, and it's going to be a while before it recharges and I can help you.”
“How long will it be exactly?” Spike asked.
“For all I know, a full day,” Button replied. “That was the first time I had tried something like that. I wasn't even sure it would work.”
“Wait-” Spike started.
“I apologize for gambling with your life back there,” Button interrupted. “I could understand if you were upset that I could have killed you for good, but you have to believe that I was low on options and that if I hadn't done this, it was very likely that both of us would have wound up dead with no chance of coming back.”
“I guess I could understand that,” Spike said. “But that still leaves one question: what's the plan from here?”
“I'll fill you in,” Button replied, “but know right now that our margin of error from here is lower than the point where the line is crossed in the eyes of Fox News.”
“So we've got literally no margin of error if not less, correct?” Spike asked.
“Yes,” Button replied. “Now, here's what we've gotta do...”
Meanwhile in Canterlot, Princess Luna had gotten up and faced Snowdrop, who suddenly went from about to kill the princess to seeming a bit like her old timid self.
“Snowdrop...” Luna said, “are you... yourself?”
Snowdrop was silent as she continued to look down. A tsunami of confusion was suddenly crashing through her head and she had no idea where to even begin with her questions.
”Where am I? What am I wearing? What's going on? Why is Princess Luna in front of me? How can I see all of a sudden? Was I just holding a sword? Why do I feel like I'm just coming out of a blackout? Does Princess Luna look different? Who's Discord? What's a Pony Ranger? Do I have new memories? I don't even know any unicorns or earth ponies, do I?”
“Have I done something horrible?” Snowdrop asked her last question out loud, looking up at Princess Luna while tearing up for reasons she wasn't entirely sure of. “Please, Princess Luna, tell me what's going on. I'm confused right now, but I have an awful feeling that something awful has happened.”
“Oh, Snowdrop...” Princess Luna said, walking forward and hugging Snowdrop with tears in her own eyes. “If you only knew what's been going on.”
And so Princess Luna proceeded to tell Snowdrop everything she wanted to hear, as well as what Snowdrop didn't want to hear but insisted on hearing anyway. Not one detail was left out about Discord, the Chaos Rangers, the evil Snowdrop had done under Discord's influence, everything up to that point Luna told Snowdrop about.
“I-I can't...” Snowdrop tried to say after Luna told her everything. She looked down at her own hooves, which were still covered by her Ranger armor. “I can't believe I could do all of that...”
“It wasn't you who did any of it,” Princess Luna reassured the filly. “It was all Discord from start to now.”
“Discord...” Snowdrop repeated. “I remember that, before I blacked out, I met Discord, but I was still at home, in Cloudsdale. He offered me one wish. Any wish that a star couldn't grant, he could grant easily. I wished to be able to see, so he gave me a device that could grant me that wish. The last thing I remember was turning that device on, then all of a sudden I was here.”
“It must have been the Morpher,” Princess Luna concluded. “The device he gave you was what he used to control you.”
“I should have known better at the time,” Snowdrop said. “He took advantage of me, but why me of all ponies?”
“That's what I want to know,” Luna said. “Why would he go through all the trouble to go back in time, manipulate you, put you under a spell, then bring you back to this time period?”
After Luna finished saying that, Snowdrop suddenly gasped loudly and fell to her knees. “SNOWDROP!” Luna shouted as she moved to catch the filly. “What's wrong?”
“I think it's Discord's spell,” Snowdrop said while panting. “It must be trying to re-establish itself.”
“That means our spell wasn't complete,” Luna said. “I'm sorry, Snowdrop.”
“Wait,” Snowdrop said. “Did you say you put together your own spell to free me?”
“Yes,” Luna replied. “Celestia and I had to mix some existing spells to get the desired effect since a spell like the one we needed didn't quite exist, but-”
“Was there a potion involved in you making the spell?” Snowdrop interrupted.
“There was,” Luna replied. “A potion of serenity. We needed it to-”
“That might be what's giving Discord's spell a chance to resist,” Snowdrop interrupted yet again. “You might not have mixed the potion correctly.”
“You mean you know about brewing?” Luna asked with a tone of shock.
“It wasn't until after you became Nightmare Moon that I started learning,” Snowdrop replied. “But that's not important right now. What plants and herbs did you use in the potion?”
“Amethyst, cherry blossoms, and a little bit of Blazing Lilly,” Luna replied.
“You forgot one ingredient,” Snowdrop replied.
Luna gasped as she realized what ingredient Snowdrop was talking about. “Snowdrop,” she said. “Not you, but the flower you were named after. Oh, how could I have been so foolish?”
“It might not be too late to fix the spell,” Snowdrop said, but right as she said that, she felt Discord's spell resist again, only this time, the pain was strong enough to knock her off her hooves altogether.
“Do you think you'll be able to resist long enough to help me fix the spell?” Luna asked as she helped Snowdrop back to her hooves.
“I don't think so,” Snowdrop said while panting.
“Well then I promise to finish the spell myself,” Luna said. “Provided Celestia doesn't wake up, I mean. If she does wake up, we'll finish the spell. Trust me.”
“Thank you, Princess Luna,” Snowdrop said as she smiled sweetly under her helmet.
Right as Snowdrop said this, however, a trio of Putty Ponies suddenly teleported into the hall right in front of the two ponies.
“Get behind me, Snowdrop,” Princess Luna said as she put herself between Snowdrop and the Putty Ponies. “I won't let you Putty Ponies take Snowdrop. Not as long as she's under my protection.”
“Don't bother, Luna,” Snowdrop suddenly said. Shocked, Luna turned around just in time to get knocked into the far wall by a powerful kick from Snowdrop. “Sorry, but your spell's worn off. Though I'll admit, you and Celestia did a pretty good job with the spell if I had to struggle this hard and it took this long to finally break it.”
“Snowdrop...” Luna said as she looked up at the now once again evil filly. “But I thought...”
“Oh, I'm not gonna lie,” Snowdrop said. “You thought right. Discord did have Snowdrop under a spell. But how else was he going to harness her untapped power? The very untapped power that brought forth me, Chaos Ranger Red?”
Luna got up and shook off her disbelief at what was going on. “Snowdrop, listen to me,” she said. “I know you're still in there, and I want you to know that I'm going to do everything I can to free you permanently, but you need to fight back.”
“Ha, like that's going to do a-” Snowdrop started, but she suddenly flinched mid-sentence and for a second, went back to her old self. “Warn your Rangers!” the good Snowdrop shouted. “Discord's going to attack Ponyville while it's vulnerable!” Right as she finished saying this, she flinched once again and went back to her evil self. “Gah! It seems I underestimated your friendship with her. But that's no matter. She was just feeding off the last remnants of your spell. Don't expect to see the Snowdrop you once knew again anytime soon.” To emphasize her point, Chaos Red fired a gust of wind at Princess Luna, which blasted her right through the wall she was leaned up against. “That'll keep you quiet for a while.” Snowdrop then turned to the Putty Ponies. “Gather up the forces you need and head down to Ponyville. The others and I will join you shortly.” The Putties gave nods of acknowledgment before teleporting away. Snowdrop was about to teleport away herself when her good side force herself to take one last glance at Princess Luna. “I'm sorry,” she said weakly before she faded away along with the rest of the spell, leaving her evil side in complete control. “Pathetic,” was all her evil half had to say before she teleported back to the moon base.
Back on the moon base, Button Mash was just exiting the air lock room after filling Spike in on the colt's plan for saving the Harmony Rangers and Equestria.
“That took you a while,” Sweetie Belle said, practically appearing from nowhere next to Button Mash as the colt left the room.
“Ah!” Button shouted. “Sweetie Belle, I wish you wouldn't do that.”
“Yeah, me too,” Sweetie Belle replied. “So, back to my inquiry, you spent quite a while in there. Did you have trouble opening the hatch? Get your hoof caught in something? Or... is there something you'd like to tell me?”
“It was the hatch,” Button replied quickly. “Why do you have to interrogate me like this every three hours? Don't you trust me? Am I not your coltfriend, the only pony in the world who has the majority of your trust?”
“Well that's just it...” Sweetie Belle said, looking down but still wearing a devious smile. “I haven't been entirely sure I could trust you lately. With how you've been acting, I was starting to think maybe you weren't totally committed to Discord, let alone me. But I am willing to apologize.”
“Alright,” Button Mash said. “Apology acc-”
“Provided,” Sweetie interrupted, “you can prove to me that you actually shot Spike into space.”
“How could I do that?” Button asked. “With how long this conversation's been going, he could easily be out of sight by now.”
“Hmm... fair point,” Sweetie Belle said. “In that case, you wouldn't mind if I looked around the room here to make sure that dragon wasn't, I dunno, still alive and hiding in there, would you?”
“Uh, not a problem,” Button replied. “Like I said, already shot him into space. I've got nothing to hide.”
“Don't think I haven't forgotten what Element you represent, Button,” Sweetie Belle said as she opened the door. “If you are lying to me, you'd better hope Spike has a good hiding spot.”
“Don't tell me you're the one who's forgotten Spike's dead,” Button said as the two ponies entered the room.
Sweetie Belle wasted no time casting a scanning spell on the room, which both searched for abnormalities within the room (like extra boxes or life forms) and illuminated the walls so that nothing would be able to hide. “Hmm...” Sweetie Belle said skeptically as her spell returned negative save for the two ponies. “I guess I owe you an apology, Button. Not sure why I had this crazy idea that maybe Spike was still alive and you were working with him to free the Harmony Rangers.”
“Yeah, crazy,” Button Mash said with a laugh. “So, ah, the apology?”
“Right,” Sweetie Belle said. “Button Mash, I'm sorry for doubting your loyalty.”
“Apology accepted,” Button said.
“Oh, and since I feel awful for doubting you all this time...” Sweetie Belle said. “Well, we are coltfriend and fillyfriend, and the last time we kissed was-”
Sweetie Belle was stopped by Button putting his hoof to her lips. “There's nothing to say,” Button said with a smile. “This marks a new chapter in our relationship. Just actions are enough ring it in.”
Returning her coltfriend's smile, Sweetie Belle closed her eyes and leaned in to kiss Button. However, unbeknownst to her Button had moved to the side and raised his hoof. Suddenly, a powerful shot of pain blasted through Sweetie Belle from the back of her neck as Button brought his hoof down upon her. Button's desired effect was immediate as Sweetie fell unconscious, being caught by Button before hitting the ground.
“I'm sorry about this, Sweetie Belle,” Button said as he set the filly down gently. “If there's a way to save you from Discord's hold, I'll find it, and we can be together again. But for now, rest peacefully, and let me do what's right.” Wiping away the tears that resulted from him forcefully breaking up with the love of his life, Button galloped over to the actual air lock and opened the hatch where Spike was curled up and hiding.
“That took you long enough,” Spike said as he fell out and started stretching. “I was starting to worry you had forgotten about me.”
“Now why would I do that to a friend?” Button asked.
“Well, the lovey-dovey stuff you were talking gave me some of my doubts,” Spike replied as he resumed stretching. “So what's the plan with her? Are we gonna shoot her into space or something?”
“No!” Button shouted. “We're not doing anything to her. She'll be unconscious for a little while, so that'll give us enough time to break the Harmony Rangers out, escape the moon base, and regroup with the rest of your team before anypony else up here gets wise to what we're doing.”
“Let's hope you're right,” Spike said. The two were about to walk out of the room when they noticed that Snowdrop had returned to the base.
“Feathers,” Button said. “I didn't expect her to be back yet. Okay, here's the new plan. The prison cell your friends are in are down the hall that way.” Button pointed down the hall in the direction away from where Snowdrop was. “I'm going to go distract Snowdrop while you run to save your friends.”
“You sure that'll work?” Spike asked. “Snowdrop's a lot smarter than Sweetie Belle. No offense to your fillyfriend.”
“None taken on her behalf,” Button replied. “Still, do you have a better plan?”
“I might have one...” Spike said.
“The Princesses are working on a spell to free you?” Discord asked Snowdrop after she filled him in on the events that had happened earlier.
“I'm afraid so,” Snowdrop replied. “They weren't able to finish it, but I never counted on the spell working temporarily, nor Snowdrop being able to tell them how to make it permanent.”
“Well then, it seems we're on the clock,” Discord said. “We need to get started on that attack immediately.”
It was right then that Snowdrop and Discord noticed that Button Mash was running down the hall towards them. Strangely enough, he looked battered and bruised and had a limp on his left foreleg. “Snow... drop...!” Button shouted as he ran towards her and Discord. “You have... to help...”
“What's the meaning of this, Button Mash?” Snowdrop asked.
“Spike faked his death,” Button Mash said. “Right as I was about to launch him into space, he attacked me. He did a number on me, but Sweetie Belle was able to step in and try to take him down while I came to warn you two.”
“So why haven't I heard some sort of struggle before?” Discord asked.
“The walls of the air lock room are soundproof, remember?” Button replied. “Spike used that opportunity to attack me while you wouldn't be able to hear.”
“Fine, I'll take care of him,” Snowdrop said. “I need an actual fight after playing around with 70% of the Canterlot Royal Guard and the two Princesses.” Snowdrop then galloped over to the air lock room, Button Mash in tow.
“Something about this doesn't add up...” Discord said to himself as the two ponies turned into the room and vanished from sight. “Better make sure...” Discord then snapped his fingers and teleported to the prison room where the Harmony Rangers were being held.
While all this was going on, Fluttershy was galloping at full speed towards Sugarcube Corner, hoping that Pinkie Pie was still there.
“Pinkie!” Fluttershy shouted as she burst through the door of the sweets shop, managing to ignore the stares her sudden appearance earned from the customers that were there. Fluttershy wasted no time galloping towards the counter where Pinkie Pie was turned around, handing a bag of cupcakes to a pair of colts. “Pinkie, we have a serious problem on our hooves.”
“You're telling me,” Pinkie replied as she turned around to face Fluttershy. “Spike was supposed to come by almost two hours ago to help me with making pies, but he hasn't showed up.”
“That's what I wanted to talk to you about,” Fluttershy said. She then looked around to see that some of the ponies were looking at the two curiously. “Can we talk in the kitchen?”
“One sec,” Pinkie said before dashing into the kitchen, coming back with Mr. Cake in tow.
“What exactly did you need to talk to your friend about?” Mr. Cake asked Pinkie. “And why do you need me to man the front counter while you two talk in the kitchen?”
“Because, what we're talking about is a secret,” Pinkie replied. “You remember Rainbow Dash? We need to throw her a surprise party, but nopony can know but me and Fluttershy right now, so shh.” Pinkie said that last word with a hoof to her mouth. She then gave Mr. Cake one last shove to the counter before Pinkie and Fluttershy galloped into the kitchen.
“So what's going on, Fluttershy?” Pinkie asked.
“Our friends are missing,” Fluttershy replied. “I just went to Twilight's to ask her about helping me with some of my animals later tonight, but she wasn't there, and Spike was gone also. So I went to Carousel Boutique to tell Rarity, but she and her sister were gone, too. After that, I went to Sweet Apple Acres to tell Applejack, but she was gone too, and none of her family knew where she went.”
“And Rainbow Dash?” Pinkie asked.
“I went to her house to check, but the only one who was there was Scootaloo,” Fluttershy replied. “But she also said she had no idea where Rainbow Dash was. After I left, I had started to sense a pattern.” Fluttershy then took a deep breath before finishing. “I think Discord has something to do with it.”
“Or...” Pinkie started. “We could all be throwing you a SURPRISE PARTY!” Pinkie threw her forehooves into the air and threw up some confetti, but the only thing that happened after that was an awkward silence. “I said... we could all be throwing Fluttershy a surprise party!” After another moment, Pinkie gasped. “This is the work of Discord! But what's his plan?”
“My best guess would be kidnapping us all so that he could attack Ponyville while it's defenseless,” Fluttershy said. However, it was right then that an explosion was heard outside, followed by several screams from ponies outside.
“Or maybe he plans on attacking while there's only two Rangers,” Pinkie shrugged
“Either way, we're Ponyville's last line of defense,” Fluttershy said. “Let's go.”
“Right,” Pinkie replied with a nod. The two ponies then galloped out of the kitchen through the back door of the building and into an alley to find that there was an almost record number of Putty Ponies all over the town. More Putties now than there were Putties and Draklings combined a few months back.
“I've got a bad feeling about this,” Fluttershy said. “I don't think we can fight all of them.”
Pinkie pulled out her Element of Harmony and placed it around her neck. “We have to try,” she said. “What would Rainbow Dash do?”
“Recklessly charge head-first into battle despite there being almost no chance of victory?” Fluttershy asked.
“Exactly,” Pinkie replied. “Now get your Element on so we can get this party started.”
“Alright,” Fluttershy said. She then donned her own Element of Harmony. “For Ponyville. IT'S MORPHIN' TIME!”
“ELEMENT OF KINDNESS!”
“ELEMENT OF LAUGHTER!”
The Putty Ponies had no time to react before the two Rangers suddenly charged forward and began attacking them left and right. “Harmony Force, Ranger Pink!” Pinkie shouted as she fired several arrows at a group of advancing Putties with her Harmony Bow.
“Harmony Force, Ranger Yellow,” Fluttershy shouted as she charged into and sliced through several small groups of Putties with her Harmony Daggers.
“There sure are a lot of these guys,” Pinkie commented as she used her Bow to bat a few Putties away when they got close.
“Do you think we'll be able to beat them all?” Fluttershy asked, flipping one Putty over her shoulder and into another one.
“With a little luck, Rainbow and the others will be able to escape from wherever Discord's hiding them, and we won't have to,” Pinkie replied.
Meanwhile in the air lock room, Snowdrop made her way into the room to find only the unconscious Sweetie Belle lying in the middle of the floor.
“Oh no,” Button Mash said as he made his way into the room as well. “Spike must have been able to defeat Sweetie Belle.”
“No he didn't,” Snowdrop said cantering over to where Sweetie Belle lay.
“What are you talking about?” Button asked. “Why are you doubting the evidence before your eyes when we have a crisis on our hooves?”
“Because, while this is evidence all right,” Snowdrop started, looking at Sweetie Belle closely, “it's not evidence for the case you're making.”
“I ask again, what are you talking about?” Button asked.
“Did you really think you could hide it from me?” Snowdrop asked, turning back to Button Mash. “Don't think I haven't figured it out. What you've been hiding, I mean.”
“W-what do you mean?” Button Mash asked, taking a step back as Snowdrop began to advance on him.
“I know everything,” Snowdrop continued. “The conversation you had with Spike the first (and last) night he was up here, the way you two resumed your friendship even though he had sided with the Harmony Rangers...”
“I have no idea what you're talking about,” Button Mash said, trying to manage an innocent smile.
“Oh, and let's not forget all the times you've vacated the moon base to spend time in Ponyville,” Snowdrop resumed. “Hmm, remind me again what the significance of that little town is? The town where the Harmony Rangers live? Particularly the one Harmony Ranger you're friends with?”
“Alright, you caught me,” Button said. “I've been friends with Spike. But that was to get him to reveal some weaknesses the Harmony Rangers have. For instance, did you know that Pink Harmony Ranger will do anything to protect those two foals who also live in her house?”
“I already know that,” Snowdrop said. “And I also know you're lying. You're friends with Spike for an entirely different reason.”
“I-I-I...” Button stammered as he found his back against the wall.
“I should have done something about your misplaced loyalty a long time ago,” Snowdrop said as she summoned her sword.
“Look, it's seriously not what you think,” Button said desperately.
“Then tell me what it is,” Snowdrop said as she raised her sword. “Tell me what's really going on that I wasn't able to see and I might let you live.”
“Um, pun intended?” Button Mash asked, quickly realizing his mistake.
“THAT'S IT!” Snowdrop shouted, obviously unamused at the joke Button tried to make. However, she was about to bring her sword down when it got shot out of her hoof by a blast of magic.
Mere moments before, Spike started running down the hall to save his friends. He felt a little bad that he had to injure Button Mash himself in order to make his story more believable, but Button assured him it would be worth saving Spike's friends and all of Equestria.
”Man, I'm never gonna find another friend like him ever again,” Spike thought to himself as he rounded the corner towards the prison cell.
Inside the prison cell, Twilight was trying to get her magic to work just enough to produce a source of light for the four ponies.
“Do you need some help?” Rarity asked. “I could-”
“No thanks,” Twilight interrupted. “It's probably this force field that keeps us on this half the room that's blocking my magic.”
Right when Twilight said that, the door on the other side of the room opened. “Twilight?” a familiar voice asked. “Are you in here?”
Instantly, all four of the ponies raised their heads and looked over to the source of the voice. Twilight in particular began tearing up.
“Spike?” she asked. “Is that you?”
In response to this, Spike walked into view of the ponies. “It's me, Twilight,” Spike said. He then started examining the walls for the source of the force field.
“But I don't understand,” Twilight said as Spike found a small box next to the door and started fiddling with it. “I thought I saw you dead.”
“The whole thing was a ruse,” Spike replied as he finally gave up trying to figure the box out and elbowed it. “I'll have more time to explain later, but right now, we're on the clock.”
The second Spike elbowed the box, the barrier flashed one last time before fizzling out.
“Woo hoo!” Rainbow Dash shouted. “I knew you'd come through for us, Spike!”
“You might want to hold off on your celebrations, my little ponies,” a strangely familiar voice said. Before any of the Rangers had a chance to question the source of the voice, Discord appeared in the middle of the room between Spike and the ponies.
“Discord!” the ponies shouted in unison.
“I should have known Button Mash had his own plans in the works,” Discord said. “But I never took him for a traitor.”
“Button Mash?” Twilight asked. “As in the Button Mash who showed us Spike dead?”
“Again, I'll fill you in later,” Spike said.
“There won't be a 'later' for any of you,” Discord said. “I wanted our final battle to be an exciting one, but you ponies have left me no choice. I'll finish you all right here.”
“Think again, Discord,” Rainbow Dash said. She and the other three ponies then summoned their Elements of Harmony.
“Impossible!” Discord shouted. “You shouldn't be able to summon your Elements of Harmony from the moon!”
“Get a load of this,” Twilight said. “Discord saying the word 'impossible.' Who knew this day would ever come?” She and her friends then donned their Elements. “IT'S MORPHIN' TIME!”
“ELEMENT OF HONESTY!”
“ELEMENT OF GENEROSITY!”
“ELEMENT OF LOYALTY!”
“ELEMENT OF MAGIC!”
“Harmony Force, Ranger Blue!”
“Harmony Force, Ranger Black!”
“Harmony Force, Ranger Red!”
“Harmony Force, Ranger White!”
“PONY RANGERS: HARMONY FORCE!” the four ponies shouted.
“And don't forget about me,” Spike said. He then pulled out his Phoenix Gem and activated it. “Phoenix Flame, Samurai Power!” Flames protruded from the gem and encased Spike's body in flame, quickly dissipating to reveal Spike in his full Ranger armor. “Harmony Force, Ranger Gold!”
“You fools don't really think you have a chance against me, do you?” Discord asked with a laugh.
“Maybe we do,” Twilight said. “Let's go!” The four ponies then charged forward at Discord, who quickly charged back.
“Dude, how large is this prison cell to be able to contain this battle?” Spike asked.
“That's what I want to know,” Rei replied, appearing from nowhere next to Spike. “Hey, aren't you forgetting something?”
Spike quickly gasped when he realized what Rei was talking about. “Button Mash!” Spike shouted. “This isn't the final battle, right Rei?”
“You're not obligated to fight Discord right now if that's what you're asking,” Rei replied.
“Alright,” Spike said. He then ran out of the room towards where he figured Snowdrop and Button Mash were fighting. (More accurately where Snowdrop was about to slice Button like a Thanksgiving turkey.)
”I hope I'm not too late,” Spike thought to himself.
“Where's Spike going?” Twilight asked.
“You're friend's the least of your worries!” Discord shouted as he fired a ball of concentrated chaos at Twilight.
“Look out!” Rainbow Dash shouted as she tackled Twilight out of the way of Discord's attack. “Spike can handle himself wherever he's going, but we're gonna have to be at the top of our game if we want to manage without him.”
“Right,” Twilight said. She and Rainbow Dash then got up and got back into their battle with Discord.
Back in Equestria, more precisely Cloudsdale, Scootaloo sat alone in the living room of hers and Rainbow Dash's house, waiting to hear from Derpy or somepony else on the results of Discord's attempt to save the Harmony Rangers from Nightmare's dark magic.
“Or maybe Rainbow Dash was right...” Scootaloo thought out loud. “Maybe I did get tricked. But even if I didn't get tricked, that dark magic would have forced Rainbow and the others to deny its existence. Right?” Shaking her head, Scootaloo got up off the couch and made her way to the kitchen to get some water. However, as she made her way there, she noticed the two strips of paper Rainbow Dash was holding earlier. Upon closer inspection, Scootaloo realized that the two papers were tickets, and not just any tickets, but tickets to the Wonderbolts Air Show that Saturday evening in Canterlot.
“The Wonderbolts...” Scootaloo thought out loud as she picked up one of the tickets. “I've always wanted to see them, and they're Rainbow Dash's heroes. For her to get these tickets...” Scootaloo suddenly dropped the tickets and began tearing up. “What have I done?”
Meanwhile, Snowdrop and Button Mash had turned around to try to find the source of the attack that knocked her sword out of Snowdrop's hoof. Much to Button's surprise, it wasn't who he thought it was who saved him. Actually, he wasn't sure who he thought would save him, but never in a million years did he think Sweetie Belle would have been the one to save him right then.
“What is the meaning of this, Sweetie Belle?” Snowdrop growled.
“That colt might be the one who broke my heart,” Sweetie Belle said. “But that doesn't give you the right to kill him.”
“Sweetie Belle...” Button Mash said.
“That right belongs solely to me,” Sweetie continued as she flashed her morpher. “ELEMENT OF DECEPTION!” In a flash of blue light, Sweetie Belle morphed and drew her sword. “You're going to pay for betraying me like you did, Button Mash.”
“I didn't want it to have to come to this, Sweetie Belle,” Button Mash said. “But if you want to blindly follow Discord out of your own greed, I guess I'm the only one who can stop you.” Button Mash then pulled out his own morpher, but stopped before activating. “No. I'm not drawing any more power from Discord. If I'm going to fight you, I'm going to fight you right.” Button Mash then took his morpher off and let it fall to the ground.
“You foal,” Sweetie Belle said. “I'm going to enjoy this.” Sweetie Belle then charged forward with her sword ready to strike. Button Mash, meanwhile, assumed a rather pointless defensive stance.
“You can try,” Button finally said as Sweetie Belle was right on top of him and about to bring her sword down. However, Button was easily able to sidestep this attack, do a quick spin, and buck Sweetie Belle on her side, knocking her off balance and to the ground.
“How?” Sweetie Belle asked as she got up. “You're unmorphed. You shouldn't even be able to damage me.”
“No, I shouldn't,” Button replied. “But I can always try, and that seems to be working out just fine.”
“Well don't get too comfortable,” Sweetie Belle said. She then raised her hoof and began charging it with her tidal wave attack. “No time to have fun with you, I suppose.”
”Alright, I guess I can't defend against that without my powers,” Button thought to himself.
“Sorry, Button,” Sweetie Belle said, “but this is what you get for betraying me.” She then fired a blast of water at the helpless colt.
“Not on my watch!” another voice shouted as the wave was blasted by fire and turned to steam before it could hit Button.
“Spike?” Button asked as the baby dragon leapt in to put distance between Button and the two Chaos Rangers.
“I think you dropped something,” Spike said as he handed Button his morpher.
“I dropped it on purpose,” Button replied. “I'm not using it anymore. Not if it's power is drawn from Discord's power.”
“Well you're gonna be useless in battle if that's the case,” Spike said. “But I'll tell you what you can do. You try to find a way to get my friends and I off this base and back to Equestria while I take care of Snowdrop and who I'm assuming is now your ex-girlfriend.”
“You really think you have a chance against both of us?” Snowdrop asked.
“For that matter, you really think you can cover Button's escape at all?” Sweetie Belle chimed in.
“To answer your questions in order,” Spike started, “no I don't, but yes I can.” Spike then swung his sword in a tornado fashion, creating streaks of fire that instantly erupted in a wall of flame that contained the two Chaos Rangers. “Now, Button!”
“Alright,” Button said with a nod. He then galloped past the fiery entrapment and out of the room.
It was right then that Snowdrop blew the flames away using her wind powers, but she was too late to catch Button before he left.
“Grr,” Snowdrop growled. She then turned to Spike. “And I'm assuming you have a plan for keeping us from chasing him?”
“If you could call it a plan,” Spike said with a shrug. He then readied his sword in an offensive position and charged forward towards the two fillies.
“I guess I'll settle for you, for now,” Sweetie Belle said as she and Snowdrop charged forward to meet Spike's attack.
Snowdrop was the first to strike by jumping over Sweetie Belle, using her wings to give herself a little more height, to try to strike Spike from above. However, Spike was able to defend against this attack using his sword. On the other hoof, this also left him open to a powerful strike from Sweetie Belle that sent Spike flying backwards, though he was able to regain his footing. He then replied to their attacks by letting loose several streaks of fire at the two. Unfortunately for Spike, though, the two fillies were easily able to avoid his attacks. Sweetie Belle also found a hole in Spike's guard during this attack and took advantage of it by firing a blast of magic that hit Spike square in the chest, causing the attack to dissipate. Spike was then open to yet another attack from Snowdrop. She flew in close fast enough to give Spike no time to raise his guard and gave him a powerful kick that knocked him off-balance.
“Alright, maybe I have bitten off a little more than I could chew,” Spike said to himself as he regained his footing and prepared himself for another attack.
Meanwhile, Button Mash was galloping at top speed towards the primary control room of the moon base where he was sure he'd find the teleporter controls and use them to get the Harmony Rangers back to Equestria. As well, he had one more surprise in store for Discord and the Chaos Rangers. However, just as he was rounding the corner to get to the control room, he came to a sudden halt when he saw Zecora standing before him with several Putty Ponies behind her.
“Well, well, well, if it isn't Button Mash,” Zecora said. “I hope you're not here to do something rash.”
“Zecora, we have a serious problem,” Button Mash said.
“There is indeed a problem in this moon base,” Zecora replied. “But tell me, does this problem have your face?”
“What are you talking about?” Button asked.
“Despite the fact that I was nowhere to be found, I could still sniff out the problem like a bloodhound. I should have expected your treachery, but what less is foreseen of a pony? I shall finish you here once and for all, and soon your friends shall also fall.”
“Not gonna let that happen, Zecora,” Button said.
“Such brave words from one with no power,” Zecora said with a smile. “But I'm afraid this is your final hour.” Zecora then motioned for her Putty Ponies to advance on Button Mash.
“I don't think so,” Button Mash said. He then charged forward towards the Putty Ponies, leaping into the air at the last minute and doing a perfect frontflip over the heads of all the Putties, including Zecora. “I'm not doing any fighting if I don't have to, and I've no time to deal with you, Zecora.” Button Mash then galloped over to the primary control console and quickly found the switch that operated the door behind him. Button moved to flip the switch, but he couldn't get the door closed in time before two Putty Ponies made their way into the room. “Lovely,” Button Mash said to himself as he took an offensive stance against the two Putties. The Putty on the left decided to take the preemptive strike and galloped forward towards Button Mash. Button responded quickly by leaping upwards over the Putty and jumping onto its head. Without giving the Putty a second to react, Button quickly kicked the Putty in the back of the neck, knocking it to the ground. Button then grabbed the downed Putty and threw it into the other Putty Pony, knocking both of them against the wall.
“Finally,” Button said while wiping sweat off his forehead with his hoof. “Now, on to that evac plan.” He then galloped over to the command console and went to work finding the teleportation controls and modifying them to teleport the Harmony Rangers back to Equestria.
Meanwhile, Twilight and the others were still battling Discord. Unfortunately, they seemed to be at a significant disadvantage as they were down three Rangers and Discord's power had grown exponentially since their last encounter.
“Even with just four of us, there's no way he can be beating us this badly,” Rainbow Dash said as she tried to dodge another attack from Discord.
“Oh my dear Rainbow Dash, you just don't understand,” Discord said as he thew Rarity aside. “When you last battled me, I had only just then escaped my prison, leaving me with significantly diminished power. But ever since then, I've been feeding off the chaos caused by all my attacks on Ponyville, thus strengthening me to almost 90% of my full power.” Discord paused for a moment to laugh to himself while the four Rangers regrouped. “But even then, I've been holding back on you four during this battle. Mostly because there's only four of you and I don't want to completely demolish you right now, and partially because you're all just so adorable when you think you have a shot at victory.” Expecting the Rangers to reply, Discord paused for a moment. When nopony spoke, however, he resumed. “However, you Rangers have been a pain in my side for much longer than I'd have liked, and despite the fact that I wanted our final battle to be glorious, I feel like I should just finish you all right here, right-”
Discord was cut off when an explosion suddenly rocked the entire base.
Meanwhile in the air lock room, Spike, Sweetie Belle, and Snowdrop had just been rocked by the very same explosion.
“What the heck was that?” Snowdrop shouted.
“You're asking the wrong pony,” Sweetie Belle replied. “Unless...”
“Button Mash,” Spike finished. “My best guess is that he plans to destroy the moon base.”
“And what would his purpose for doing that be?” Snowdrop asked.
Spike paused for a moment and scratched his chin. “Ya know, I haven't the slightest-” Without warning, Spike disappeared in a flash of light, followed by another explosion rocking the base.
“I think I see Button's game,” Sweetie Belle said. “He managed to get to the control room, teleport the Harmony Rangers out of here, and activate the base self-destruct while us, Zecora, and Discord are still up here.”
“How right you are,” a familiar voice said from behind the two fillies. They turned around to find Button Mash standing in the doorway. “This has gone on long enough, and somepony needs to end it. If it won't be the Harmony Rangers, it's gonna be me.”
“Button, you idiot!” Sweetie Belle shouted. “If the base blows up, it'll take all of us with it.”
“I know,” Button replied. He then pulled out a small device. “That's why I'm giving you two a choice. I hold in my hoof the only working teleporter on this base. The rest have all been jammed. If you two want to give up following Discord and save yourselves, you're welcome to come with me. But if you'd rather go out with this base while still remaining loyal to Discord, you're welcome to do that, too. But please, all you have to do is just de-morph, throw your morphers to the ground, and come with me.” His point was emphasized when another explosion rocked the base, this one noticeably stronger than the last few. “Please, Sweetie Belle. I don't want one of us getting blown up and thrown into space being the circumstances of our break up. We don't even have to break up at all. I know the filly I fell in love with is still in there. And Snowdrop, I know this isn't the real you. It doesn't take a gifted unicorn to know you're corrupted by Discord's magic. I know you're screaming on the inside. Break through just enough to pull that morpher off and come with me, and I promise you'll be fine.” Right then, there was another explosion. “You two have to hurry!”
There was the briefest of pauses before the two fillies stepped forward. “Button Mash,” Sweetie Belle started. Then, in the blink of an eye, the filly fired a blast of magic that blew the teleporter right out of Button's hoof, causing it to fall to the ground behind him in a scorched heap. “I honestly care for you, but I think we should see other ponies. I can't be with somepony who's ignorant enough to know that 'all teleporters' excludes unicorn magic. Plus there's the fact that our loyalties lie in two different and conflicting places. I honestly did love you, but I'm afraid we're finished.” Before Button could react, Sweetie Belle used her magic to teleport herself and Snowdrop away from the moon base.
“Sweetie Belle...” Button said while tearing up. He fell to his knees, doing his best to fight back his tears. “How could you do this? I gave you the chance to come back, and you just stomped on me harder than before.” Button was so upset, he didn't even notice that another explosion had went off and the whole base was mere seconds from completely breaking apart in a final fiery explosion. Or perhaps he didn't care. Perhaps, now that the love of his life was lost forever, he didn't see much of a point in living any longer. Perhaps he couldn't have cared less if a sudden flash of light engulfed him and teleported him off the base before it was destroyed completely in a magnificent explosion that left a large crater on the moon...
To be continued...
Next time...
“Button Mash, are you ok?”
“It's about time the rest of you showed up.”
“This will be your final battle.”
“It's time we finished this, Sweetie Belle.”
“Your whole town will pay dearly for this!”
“They thought they could get rid of me that easily.... This will make for an excellent surprise party!
次回、 「The Hoof of Fate」 あ楽しみに！ [Next time: “The Hoof of Fate (Endgame part 3)” Enjoy!]