As with the previous chapter, a lot of important stuff happened in the chapter prior to this one. That is to say, like the chapter two chapters ago, the last chapter had too much important stuff to fit in a regular 6-quote recap as the last chapter did. Either way, this is the last chapter of this 3-parter that was originally supposed to be a 2-parter. As I said previously, though, part 2 got too long and I had to break it up and- you know what? You've waited long enough for this chapter to be posted, so I'm going to stop talking and let you read the rest of this.
“Button Mash? Are you alright?”
It wasn't until Button heard Spike's voice ask that question that the colt finally opened his eyes once again. He was no longer on the moon base, but rather he was in the computer room in Canterlot along with the Rangers who he had teleported off the base earlier, as well as the two Princesses.
“Uh...” Button said while standing up. “What's going on?”
“After you activated the moon base's self-destruct and teleported the others and I back here, I insisted that Twilight try to teleport you back here with us,” Spike replied. “She was against it at first, but I managed to convince her that you were a good pony who was just in love with a bad one and that you didn't deserve to get caught in that explosion.”
“You... did that for me?” Button asked.
“What are friends for?” Spike replied with a smile.
“But this doesn't mean you have our complete trust,” Princess Celestia said while stepping forward towards Button Mash. “You may have saved the Rangers, but you still caused very much destruction to Equestria as a Chaos Ranger.”
“Speaking of destruction,” Button said, “did none of you happen to check on Ponyville once I got you all back here?”
“What are you talking about?” Twilight asked.
“Well, it's rather obvious,” Button replied. “What do you think Discord would plan to do after he got five of the seven Rangers away from Ponyville?”
Realization hit everypony in the room at once. Spike was the first to reach his old console and checked on Ponyville. What he saw thoroughly shocked him.
“There's half an army of Putty Ponies all over Ponyville,” Spike said. “Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy are still there, and they look like they're fighting back, but they're woefully outmatched. And judging by how they're fighting right now, this battle didn't just begin.”
“We've gotta get down there and help Pinkie and Fluttershy,” Rainbow Dash said.
“Hold on a second,” Button Mash said. Then, quietly, he counted down “3... 2... 1...”
“Looks like the Chaos Rangers just showed up in Ponyville as well,” Spike said as he noticed the three evil ponies, already morphed and ready for battle, teleport in right in front of Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy. “Well, Derpy, Sweetie Belle, and Snowdrop.”
“Discord really wanted to go all-out with this attack,” Twilight said. She then turned to her friends. “We don't have a moment to lose. Let's get down there.”
“Right,” Rainbow Dash replied, followed by nods from Rarity, Applejack, and Spike. The five were then teleported out of the room by Twilight.
“Button Mash, you aren't even going to try to help the Harmony Rangers?” Princess Luna asked.
“I'm just about useless without my Ranger powers,” Button replied. “And I've decided to not use those powers anymore since they were drawn from Discord's power.”
Luna and Celestia looked at each other for a moment as though they were having a mental conversation before turning back to Button Mash. “Button Mash,” Princess Celestia started, “I believe today is your lucky day...”
Pinkie and Fluttershy had literally no time to react before Derpy struck them both with a powerful lightning bolt, sending them flying into a building and de-morphing them. “In all honesty, I was sure you two wouldn't last more than five minutes,” Derpy commented as she and the other two Chaos Rangers advanced upon the downed Harmony Rangers. “Against the sheer number of Putty Ponies Discord sent down here, we were sure you two would go down quickly.”
“Well I guess we're just full of surprises,” Pinkie Pie said as she tried to get back to her hooves. However, she was knocked back down when Snowdrop blasted her backwards with a blast of wind.
“Indeed you are,” Sweetie Belle said. “But I'm afraid this was the last surprise you're ever going to pull.”
“That's where you're wrong,” Fluttershy shot back. “Our friends will come any second, and that's when you three will be sorry.”
“Isn't that adorable?” Snowdrop sarcastically cooed. “But I'm afraid you're the one who's wrong here.” Snowdrop, Sweetie Belle, and Derpy then raised their blades and aimed them at the two Harmony Rangers. “First you two, then the others, and finally, Equestria!” Three blasts of energy then shot out of the Chaos Rangers' blades right at Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie, apparently hitting their mark and creating a large explosion that sent up a cloud of dust. When the dust cleared, however, rather than a crater and two incinerated ponies, there was instead a large purple bubble with six ponies and a baby dragon within it.
“Sorry we're late,” Rainbow Dash said to Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie as Twilight lowered the shield she had cast. “We had other things to attend to.”
“We're just glad you guys are finally here,” Fluttershy replied with a sigh or relief.
“How are they free?” Derpy asked her comrades.
“Oh right, you weren't there,” Sweetie Belle replied. “We tried to imprison them on the moon, but it turned out Button Mash betrayed us, brought Spike up to the moon to break the Rangers out, then teleported all the Harmony Rangers back here to Equestria before blowing up the moon base.”
“Why does the exciting stuff happen only while I'm out on my muffin break?” Derpy asked in an annoyed tone.
“Don't worry, Derpy,” Twilight said. “Something tells me the excitement is just getting started.” She and the others then pulled out their Elements of Harmony and donned them. “IT'S MORPHIN' TIME!”
“ELEMENT OF HONESTY!”
“ELEMENT OF KINDNESS!”
“ELEMENT OF LAUGHTER!”
“ELEMENT OF GENEROSITY!”
“ELEMENT OF LOYALTY!”
“ELEMENT OF MAGIC!”
“PHOENIX FLAME, SAMURAI POWER!”
“Harmony Force, Ranger Blue!”
“Harmony Force, Ranger Yellow!”
“Harmony Force, Ranger Pink!”
“Harmony Force, Ranger Black!”
“Harmony Force, Ranger Red!”
“Harmony Force, Ranger White!”
“Harmony Force, Ranger Gold!”
“From all of us together, we fight as one! We protect one-another until the battle is done! PONY RANGERS, HARMONY FORCE!” All seven Harmony Rangers struck their signature group pose as an explosion went off behind them.
“I suppose this is a little more fitting,” Snowdrop commented. “All seven of you meeting your collective end all at once, I mean.”
“Maybe you didn't get the memo,” Rainbow Dash replied. “We're the Harmony Rangers, and no matter what evil threatens Equestria, no matter what obstacles are put in our way, and no matter how many foes we have to face, as long as we have our friendship, there's nothing that can stop us!”
“How sappy,” Derpy said. “Maybe you've forgotten about something.” The green-clad pegasus then gestured around the square where the Rangers were to show that they were surrounded by almost 3/4 of the Putty Ponies that were attacking prior.
“I could have sworn Fluttershy and I put a bigger dent in their numbers than that,” Pinkie Pie said.
“Don't worry about it, Pinkie Pie,” Twilight reassured. “Now that the rest of us are here, the rest of them will be a piece of cake.”
“Don't be so sure about that,” Sweetie Belle said. “Don't forget that you're gonna have to deal with us, too.”
“Why would we forget about you guys?” Rainbow Dash asked. “In all honesty, you three are my personal favorite villains we've faced so far.”
“Can't speak for anypony else, but I'm moved,” Derpy said. “Now enough horsing around. It's time for your final battle.”
“Yours, maybe, but not ours,” Spike said. Then, aside to his friends, he asked, “How are we going to divide them up?”
“I've got Derpy,” Rainbow Dash said. “As usual.”
“I'll take care of Snowdrop,” Twilight said. “She needs to pay for what she almost did to Spike.”
“And I'll take on Sweetie Belle,” Spike said. “She needs to pay for breaking Button's heart.”
“Hey, what about us?” Applejack asked. “How come we never get to battle the bosses one-on-one?”
“Because, Rarity aside, none of you have any actual rivalries with the Chaos Rangers,” Rainbow Dash explained. “Sorry, but that's apparently the way it works.”
“Alright, fine,” Applejack said. “Ah take it that means we're stuck with the Putty Ponies?”
“Well, with the sheer number of Putties that are here, you can't think we're just sticking you guys with the easy job,” Rainbow Dash replied. “At least not this time.”
“This conversation has gone on long enough!” Snowdrop shouted. “Chaos Rangers, Putty Ponies, attack!”
“Harmony Rangers, GO!” Rainbow Dash shouted. Each team then charged forth into battle against their respective adversaries.
Fluttershy quickly drew her Harmony Daggers as she flew head-first into a group of Putties. The second she flew into the group, she thrust both her Daggers in separate directions, striking two Putties perfectly. Fluttershy then flipped around and gave two more Putties a powerful buck that knocked them into another three. The pegasus then flew forward and grabbed a Putty that tried to attack her from the front, proceeding to whip it around in a circle, knocking back several Putties before throwing the one she was holding into the air. Fluttershy then used her Daggers to strike several more Putties that tried to advance on her before kicking the one she had thrown into another group just before it hit the ground.
Rarity wasted no time galloping forward before firing a powerful blast of magic that knocked several Putties in different directions. She then leapt into the air before coming down right on top of one Putty Pony, slamming it muzzle-first into the ground. Rarity then drew her Harmony Axe and wielded it in her magic to strike back a large group of Putties. At the same time, Rarity whipped herself around and struck several Putties with her forehooves before blowing the rest back with another blast of magic. She then pulled her Axe back towards her and grabbed it in her hooves before flipping backwards gracefully and coming back down with a powerful strike that managed to take out a group of several Putties in one swing.
Applejack was quick to begin taking her group of Putty Ponies on hoof-to-hoof. Without wasting a second, she ran up to two of them and gave them a solid signature applebuck that sent them flying far out of town. AJ then proceeded by leaping up and doing a front flip before landing right on top of two Putties, grabbing them up and throwing them into more advancing Putties. She then summoned her Harmony Lance, broke it in half, and began striking down the Putties rapidly, moving to the left to hit one Putty, quickly spinning around to hit another, spinning once more to hit any Putties behind her, and repeating this process until the area around her was generally clear. This didn't mean more Putties couldn't advance, however.
Pinkie Pie instantly leapt into action by pulling out her Harmony Bow and firing several arrows into a group of Putties. Using her ranged attacks, she was able to keep the Putties at a fair distance away, but that left her open from an attack from behind. Or at least, that's what about eight brave Putties thought. Pinkie's tail suddenly started twitching, causing her to quickly turn around and use her Bow to sweep the legs right out from under the attacking Putties, causing them all to fall to the ground. Pinkie then bounced high into the air just before another group of Putties could tackle her from behind. The earth pony proceeded to bring a heavy rain of arrows down upon the Putties below her before she came back to the ground. However, she found that despite her best efforts, she didn't seem to be gaining any ground over the advancing Putty Ponies.
Rainbow Dash and Derpy wasted almost a negative value of time before drawing their swords and rushing forward towards one another, their blades quickly making contact. Derpy was the first to break away before firing a bolt of lightning from her other hoof right at Rainbow Dash. The latter pegasus quickly flew upwards to avoid this attack before coming back down with a heavy downward slash. However, Derpy was able to react to this attack quickly and blocked it. Rainbow took her opportunity to do a front flip over Derpy and bucked the evil pegasus right in the back. Derpy stumbled forward a bit, but she quickly recovered and turned around just in time to block another sword strike from Rainbow. They tried to push their blades against each other for a while before both broke away, standing about 15 paces away from each other and both staring intently into each other's visors with a determined expression under their helmets.
Twilight was eager to finish Snowdrop off quickly, starting their battle off with a blast of magic that the younger pegasus was easily able to deflect with her sword. Snowdrop then charged forward and tried to strike Twilight with an underhooved slash, one that was easily blocked by Twilight casting a quick shield spell, followed by her blasting the shield forward, knocking Snowdrop back with it. Twilight then followed this attack up with a quick leap forward, taking Snowdrop's stunned state to give the pegasus a powerful downward slash that knocked the filly to the ground. However, before Twilight could move in for another hit, Snowdrop rolled out of the way and got back to her hooves.
“You're fighting a lot more aggressively than you used to, Twilight,” Snowdrop said. “Tell me, could this possibly have something to do with the fact that it was my plan that involved the death of Spike?”
Twilight had to hold back a tear as was reminded of the image of Spike lying lifeless on the floor of her prison on the moon base. “You're a little brighter than I give you credit for,” Twilight replied with a snarling expression under her helmet. She then charged her sword with magic before launching several blades of magical energy Snowdrop's way. Snowdrop had to fly up to avoid getting hit by them, but Twilight didn't let up on her attack as she fired several more, one of them managing to hit Snowdrop and cause her to lose altitude, but she didn't crash. Rather, she simply readjusted herself just before hitting the ground so she could land safely on all-fours.
“There's darkness in your heart, White Ranger,” Snowdrop said to herself with a devious smile. “I commend that.” She then charged forward to strike Twilight with her sword once more, only to have her attack simply collide with Twilight's own sword.
Spike and Sweetie Belle were almost evenly matched in their battle. When they moved in to strike, they'd easily match each other's attack. When using magic, Sweetie would either douse Spike's flames or the dragon's flames would turn the unicorn's waves to steam. Even Sweetie Belle's unicorn magic was almost useless against Spike's natural immunity to magic. (Plus the fact that he could use his sword to deflect most of these attacks.)
“Now I guess I see why you and Button Mash are friends,” Sweetie Belle said. “You both have so much power, but neither of you are mature enough to know how to wield it effectively.”
“Coming from a pony who's almost a year younger than him?” Spike asked. “I honestly can't say I'm surprised. Button Mash definitely deserved better than somepony who becomes corrupted by power and then claims they control it.”
“If you only knew the extent of Discord's magic,” Sweetie Belle said as she charged forward to strike Spike with her sword. Spike was easily able to block this attack, but he wasn't prepared for Sweetie Belle breaking away quickly and giving Spike a low sweep that knocked him off his feet and to his back. Sweetie then stepped on Spike's chest with one of her forehooves while aiming her sword at Spike's throat with the other. “I'm more powerful than you, Spike, thanks to Discord's power,” the filly said. “As long as I have that under my belt, for all I care, Button Mash can go-”
POW!
Sweetie Belle was cut off suddenly when a huge chunk of rock stuck her square in the chest and sent her flying off of Spike, who quickly got up and turned around to find that it was Button Mash who had fired the attack.
”It must be like Betelgeuse,” Spike thought to himself. ”Sweetie Belle and I said his name too many times.”
“Glad to see you, Button Mash,” Spike said out loud as Button galloped over to his side.
“Same to you, Spike,” Button said. He then turned to Sweetie Belle, who was just then getting back to her hooves. “Looks like I got here just in time.”
“Just in time to allow your friend to live for a few moments longer,” Sweetie Belle said as she stepped forward towards Button.
The colt stepped forward with a determined expression on his face. “Spike, go help the other Harmony Rangers,” he said. “I'll handle Sweetie Belle.”
“What?” Spike asked. “How? I thought you said you weren't going to use your Ranger powers anymore.”
“Only as long as they were drawn from Discord's power,” Button replied. “But don't worry. The Princesses sent me down here with a little surprise.” Button Mash then raised his foreleg and flashed his morpher, except this one looked slightly different. As opposed to Sweetie Belle's or Snowdrop's morphers, Button's looked... lighter for lack of a better term. “As it turns out, there's two sides of the Morphin' Grid: good and evil. No matter what side you're on, you're a Ranger, and that means you can change sides with no problem at all.”
“What are you saying?” Sweetie Belle asked.
“I'm saying... you're looking at a new Harmony Ranger. IT'S MORPHIN' TIME! ELEMENT OF EARTH!” A bright yellow light then began emitting from Button's morpher, a light far different from what would shine when he morphed in the past. This light seemed to shine as bright as the sun. As the light shone, the morpher's energy flowed down Button's body, arming him with his Ranger armor. The light faded as Button's armor completed, and he drew his sword. “Elemental Force, Ranger Yellow.”
“'Elemental Force?'” Spike and Sweetie Belle asked in unison.
“Well, 'Harmony Force' already has a Yellow Ranger,” Button Mash said with a shrug. He then turned to Sweetie Belle. “Besides, 'Chaos Force' is almost done for.”
“So you join the Harmony Rangers, and all of a sudden, you think the team you left behind is finished?” Sweetie Belle asked.
“Well, I did say 'almost',” Button replied.
Several minutes ago in Canterlot, Princess Celestia had just finished casting a spell on Button Mash's morpher and was giving it back to him. “There you go, Button,” Celestia said. “Completely cleansed of chaos magic.”
“That's awesome!” Button cheered as he took his morpher back. “Finally, I can truly help Spike and his friends. Thank you, Princess Celestia.”
“I helped with the spell she used,” Princess Luna said as she walked into the room carrying a small red gem with her magic. “You aren't going to thank me?”
“Well, you weren't in the room,” Button replied. “Thank you too, Princess Luna.” Button then turned to Celestia. “So, can I go down and help the Harmony Rangers now?”
“Not quite yet,” Princess Luna said. “Your arrival at Ponyville will prove pointless unless you have this with you.” The lunar princess then levitated the gem she was carrying into Button's hoof.
“What's this?” Button asked as he looked the gem over.
“I call it a Liberator Gem,” Princess Luna replied. “Tia and I designed it to free the Chaos Rangers from Discord's hold. It worked on Snowdrop earlier, but there was a flaw in the spell and she was only free temporarily. However, that flaw has been corrected and it should free Snowdrop and the others permanently.”
“So I can use this to get the old Sweetie Belle back?” Button asked with a hopeful glint in his eye.
“If that is how you wish to interpret it,” Princess Luna replied.
“Awesome!” Button said. “But one question... how do I use it?”
“As long as you have it with you, making contact with one of the Chaos Rangers using your sword should be enough,” Princess Celestia replied. “However, if that fails, you'll have to hold them down and thrust the gem upon their chest so it can siphon their chaos energy directly.”
“Then I guess we'll hope the first option works...” Button Mash said. “Alright, I know what I have to do. Send me down to Ponyville.”
“Good luck, Button Mash,” Princess Celestia said. “And remember, this is you earning our complete trust. Succeed, and you can join us. But fail... well, just make sure you don't fail.” She then teleported Button Mash to Ponyville before the colt could say anything in reply. There was a brief moment of silence in the room before Princess Luna walked up to her sister.
“Do you really think he'll be able to succeed?” the lunar princess asked.
“We can do nothing but hope at this point,” Celestia replied.
“So you think you have a chance against me, huh?” Sweetie Belle asked Button.
“Well, I didn't have a chance with you when we first met,” Button replied. “And look where my persistence got us.”
“Pit against each other in a final showdown that could result in one of us (more likely you) dying?” Sweetie Belle asked.
Button was silent for a moment before replying. “I meant... before everything that happened today...”
“Well, I'll admit, you were a pretty likeable colt back then,” Sweetie Belle said. “But like I said before, I think it's time we moved on.”
“Maybe you're right,” Button said. He then readied himself for battle.
“Are you gonna need help, Button?” Spike asked.
“No, Spike,” Button replied. “This is something I have to do on my own.”
“You might want to rethink that decision,” Sweetie Belle taunted. “Your friend is making you a life-saving offer.”
“But wouldn't you rather have one last dance with me?” Button asked teasingly while holding his hoof forward. “And if we're really done with each other, do you really want Spike in the way of you finishing me off?”
“Are you sure you know what you're doing?” Spike asked Button.
“Not a clue,” Button replied. “At the moment, all I've got in terms of a plan is to keep talking until something slightly smart comes out.”
“Well... good luck with that, I guess,” Spike said with a shrug. He then turned and ran to join the other Harmony Rangers in their battle.
“What a friend,” Sweetie Belle said. “It's sad, really. How you can value an endeavor as pointless as friendship over real power.”
“That's where you're wrong, Sweetie Belle,” Button Mash said. “I didn't choose friendship over power, I chose friendship because it's a power beyond what you think Discord can offer you, and out of the spirit of friendship, I'm giving you one last chance to renounce Discord's power before I'm forced to prove to you what I'm talking about.”
Sweetie Belle had to take a moment to stifle laughter before replying. “Well I hope you can put your bits where your mouth is, Button,” she finally said.
“So be it,” Button replied. There was a heavy silence to the air while the two stood facing each other, each willing to finish the other off if need be. Then, his movement seeming to physically shatter the silence, Button Mash charged forward to deliver the first strike.
Sweetie Belle quickly moved to block this attack, and both of their swords struck each other with a force powerful enough to cause sparks to fly off of the impact point. Button quickly brought his sword back and tried to give Sweetie Belle a punch right to her jaw. This hit connected, and Sweetie stumbled backwards a little. Button took this opportunity to follow up his attack with a sword strike that also connected and sent Sweetie Belle flying backwards. Button could feel as the Liberator Gem tried to work its magic and free Sweetie, but Button figured out before Sweetie even got up that the spell failed. He couldn't explain it, but he knew he was supposed to feel something happen, but there was nothing.
“Looks like I'm going with option B,” Button thought out loud as Sweetie Belle got up and fired a blast of magic at the colt. Button was just barely able to block this attack with his sword, but what he wasn't able to do is ready himself for a follow-up strike from Sweetie's sword that knocked him off-balance. He was able to recover fast enough to block another attack from the filly, though.
“You're trying to free me from Discord's magic, aren't you?” Sweetie Belle asked. “You sly colt. Even I didn't think you would try something like that.”
“I guess I'm just full of surprises,” Button replied. He then charged forward towards Sweetie Belle to continue the battle.
Meanwhile, Twilight was still fighting Snowdrop. The issue was that the unicorn was gradually losing ground.
“What's the matter, Twilight?” Snowdrop taunted as she knocked Twilight back with a kick. “Getting tired?”
“Hardly,” Twilight replied, despite the fact that she was lying. In truth, Snowdrop was giving her more of a challenge than she'd anticipated, and she was starting to pay for this underestimation. “And even if I was tired, I'm still going to fight you down to my last breath.”
“You're only going to be fighting that much longer?” Snowdrop asked, faking a sad tone. “Pity, but a few more moments is better than nothing.” The pegasus then blasted Twilight with a blast of wind which the unicorn was able to block easily. However, this was exactly what Snowdrop planned for. She had distracted Twilight, and now it was time to move in for the final hit. She flew forward towards the White Ranger, raised her sword, and brought it down right on Twilight's head.
Or so Snowdrop expected. What she didn't expect is for another blade to stop hers before she hit Twilight. Snowdrop instantly backpedaled to find that it was Spike who saved Twilight.
“Spike!” Twilight shouted. “What are you doing here? I thought you were fighting Sweetie Belle.”
“Button Mash is fighting her now,” Spike replied, taking up an offensive stance towards Snowdrop. “Besides, you looked like you needed some help.”
“I don't believe this,” Snowdrop growled. “Not one, but two traitors in this battle?”
“They might be traitors to you,” Twilight said, “but to us, they're Rangers who saw the error of their ways. The same way you'll be soon.” Twilight emphasized her point when both she and Spike raised their swords at Snowdrop.
“It's no matter,” Snowdrop said, an evil smile forming beneath her helmet. “Even if we're two Chaos Rangers down, Derpy, Sweetie Belle, and I can still finish you.”
“You can try,” Spike said, “but we won't back down until Discord is defeated and Equestria is safe from harm!”
Snowdrop chuckled evilly before replying. “How very foolish of you!” she shouted before charging forward and attacking both Twilight and Spike head-on.
Snowdrop went for Spike first, which almost caught the dragon off guard. Twilight moved in to block Snowdrop's attack, giving Spike an opening to strike Snowdrop with a slash to her underside that knocked her backwards a bit. Twilight then took advantage of Snowdrop's stunned state to move in and strike the filly with her own blade. Snowdrop took this hit, but she used the momentum with which she was sailing backwards to recover back to her hooves. She then blasted Twilight back with a powerful gust of wind. The unicorn was knocked back a bit, allowing Snowdrop to move in and hit the unicorn with a strong slash that knocked her back. Spike was quick to follow this hit up with an attack of his own, however, and almost instantly jumped in to strike Snowdrop with several streaks of fire that hit the filly multiple times, knocking her to the ground.
“You two fight effectively together,” Snowdrop complimented as she got back to her hooves. “But you'll have to fight better than that if you want to defeat me.” Then, with a mighty shout, she charged back into battle with full force.
Meanwhile, Derpy and Rainbow Dash were still going at it. However, neither pegasus seemed to be gaining any ground over the other.
“You're much stronger than the last time we clashed, Dashie,” Derpy complimented as she broke her sword away from Dash's. “But you'll still have to fight better than that if you hope to ever be able to defeat me.”
“Don't worry, Derpy,” Rainbow Dash replied. “I'm still just warming up. I got plenty of tricks up my sleeve for you.” To prove her point, Rainbow Dash flew forward at high speed to attack Derpy. However, the latter pegasus was able to block Dash's sword strike easily.
“Nice try!” Derpy shouted as she broke her sword away from Dash's and kicked the polychromatic pegasus backwards, taking advantage of her stunned state to deliver a powerful slash right to her midsection that knocked Dash back quite a bit. She was able to get back to her hooves, however.
“Nice dirty trick, Derpy,” Rainbow Dash said with a smile. “But don't think that's gonna be enough to finish me.”
“Oh, I've got plenty of dirty tricks in store for you, Dashie,” Derpy replied before quickly charging forward to give Dash another powerful slash. Rainbow was able to block this attack with her sword, but that wasn't enough to guard against a punch that was aimed straight at her face. The Red Ranger was only able to brace herself for the hit, but none came despite Derpy's hoof making contact.
“What the...?” Rainbow Dash asked. Her confusion was only added to by Derpy suddenly breaking away from Dash and looking down at her hoof.
“No...” Derpy said as she watched her hoof ripple and shimmer like a hologram with a bad connection. “I thought I had more time...”
“Derpy, what's going on?” Rainbow Dash asked as she galloped over to the evil pegasus.
“Stay back!” Derpy shouted as she aimed her sword at Rainbow Dash and struck her with lightning, knocking Rainbow back several paces. “This doesn't concern you, Dashie.” Derpy then teleported away without a trace.
“That was weird...” Rainbow Dash said to herself. “I wonder what was happening with Derpy. Augh, there's no time to ponder that. I've gotta help my friends!” With that, Rainbow Dash got up and flew off to help her friends with the Putty Ponies.
As this was happening, Button Mash and Sweetie Belle were still having their duel.
“You're fighting a lot better than I thought you would,” Sweetie Belle complimented as she blocked an attack from Button Mash and proceeded to deliver her own counter-attack that hit Button square in the chest, knocking him back a bit.
“Thanks,” Button said as he recovered from the hit. “And yet, you still dumped me. Tell me, if I'm the only colt for miles who could fight this well, how come you don't want me anymore?”
“Because it was you who basically dumped me!” Sweetie Belle replied, charging forward and delivering a powerful slash that Button blocked with ease. “You're the one who misplaced your loyalties! You're the one who betrayed me by siding with Spike and the Harmony Rangers! You're the one who said he'd be behind me no matter what and then went back on his word! THIS WAS ALL YOU!” Sweetie Belle emphasized her point by striking with another powerful downward slash that Button tried to defend against, but the filly's attack went right through his sword and struck the colt head-on, causing him to go stumbling backwards. Sweetie Belle took advantage of this opportunity by giving Button another powerful slash that knocked him into the air and caused him to land on his back hard enough to de-morph him.
“Not good...” Button Mash said to himself as he tried to get up. However, he was stopped when Sweetie Belle put her hoof on his chest and forced him back down.
“How sad,” the filly said as she looked down at Button's scared expression with her sword raised to striking position. “You may have been foolish, but I'll hand it to you, you were also brave. And a little charming, admittedly. But now I'm afraid your time has come. Any last words?”
”I hope this works,” Button Mash thought to himself as gripped the Liberator Gem in his hoof. “I do have some last words, actually,” Button replied. “I promised I would save you, Sweetie Belle, and that's just what I'm going to do!” Then, before Sweetie could even react, Button Mash thrust his hoof upwards and struck her in the chest with the Liberator Gem.
“Gah!” Sweetie Belle shouted as she tried to remove Button's hoof. This worked, but the Liberator Gem remained stuck to her chest. “What... what have you done?”
“Give up, Chaos Ranger Blue,” Button Mash said as he got up and donned a serious expression. “That gem on your chest is going to eradicate you, and once you're gone, Sweetie Belle will finally be free.”
“No...” Sweetie Belle said as the gem started to glow a bright red. “No, this can't be happening! I was supposed to destroy you and your friends so that Discord could rule Equestria and I could be right there by his side! How could things have gone so wrong?”
“Because you forgot to account for one thing,” Button Mash replied. “The magic of friendship. As I've been trying to tell you, it's a force far beyond your imagination. In the right hooves, it can be used to bring great light to even the darkest caves. It can also be used to purify souls that Discord has corrupted like yours.”
“No! You fool!” Sweetie Belle shouted. At this point, the Liberator Gem had sapped so much energy from her that she was unable to stay on her hooves. On one knee, she looked up at Button Mash. “You... you can't...”
“For friendship and for love, I can do anything,” Button Mash replied.
“This can't be happe-!” Sweetie Belle started, but she was cut off when the Liberator Gem flashed suddenly and she was knocked backwards, de-morphed.
“Oh no! Sweetie Belle!” Button Mash shouted as he ran over to the fallen filly. He knew the gem would cleanse her of chaos magic, but he hadn't expected her to be flung backwards and injured so much that she was de-morphed on the spot. Plus there was the fact that she wasn't getting back up.
Quickly, Button knelt down and raised Sweetie's head with his hooves. “Sweetie Belle, wake up,” he said while shaking her gently to no avail. He placed his ear on her chest. She was still breathing. He took a moment to sigh with relief, but that relief was short lived since she was still unconscious. “Wake up Sweetie Belle, please. You're free from Discord's hold.”
After a few more seconds, Sweetie Belle began to stir. “Unn...” she said as she slowly opened her eyes. “Button? Is that you?”
Button Mash was smiling as a tear rolled down his cheek. “It's me, Sweetie Belle,” he said. “I-”
Button was quickly interrupted when Sweetie Belle suddenly reached her hooves around the back of his head and pulled him in for a kiss. Button was surprised at first, but it was only a second before he closed his eyes and enjoyed it. Their kiss lasted a few more seconds before Sweetie Belle broke away and looked up into Button's eyes with a smile. “Thank you Button Mash,” she said. “Thank you for saving me.”
“You're welcome Sweetie Belle,” Button replied, returning the smile.
Meanwhile, Snowdrop was still battling Twilight and Spike. However, it seemed to her that she was starting to slowly lose ground.
“Okay, so you two are turning out to be more of a challenge than I had anticipated,” Snowdrop growled as she recovered from an attack she'd taken from Spike.
“Well it is two against one,” Spike replied with a shrug. “What'd you think was gonna happen?”
“I thought I was going to do this,” Snowdrop said as she prepared another attack. However, her preparation was stopped suddenly when she was struck in the back. The filly turned around to see Pinkie Pie standing several paces away with her bow in firing position. From the lack of an arrow in her hoof, however, Snowdrop concluded that the missing arrow was the one that Pinkie had just fired and hit her with. As if to add to Snowdrop's problems, the Pink Ranger was soon joined by Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash.
“You thought you could take us out with sheer numbers?” Fluttershy asked. “Think again.”
“Hmph, it's no matter,” Snowdrop said. “I've still got my own Rangers, don't forget.”
“Not all of them anymore,” Button Mash said as he and Sweetie Belle galloped up beside Spike, though neither pony was morphed.
“I'm free from Discord's hold, Snowdrop,” Sweetie Belle stated. “Now you've got no one on your side for this battle.”
“This... this can't be happening!” Snowdrop shouted. “You, Button Mash? You freed Sweetie Belle?”
“It's amazing what you can do when you combine the magic of friendship with the power of love, huh?” Button Mash replied with a smirk.
“No...” Snowdrop growled. She looked up, there stood Twilight, Spike, and her two old allies who had turned against her. Behind her, five more Harmony Rangers. Snowdrop could have taken on just Twilight and Spike if she hadn't underestimated their power before, but against seven Rangers? Nine if Button's and Sweetie's powers recharged fast enough? Snowdrop had only one option left. “Fine. I know when I'm beat,” she said before dropping her sword to the ground.
“Wait, really?” Rainbow Dash asked. “You're just... going to surrender? Just like that?”
Snowdrop grinned evilly under her helmet. “I'm so glad you asked that question,” she said. “Because the answer is NO!” Snowdrop then raised her hoof high into the air. “Button Mash, Sweetie Belle, did you really think I wouldn't count on your betrayal? A good leader ALWAYS has a backup plan, even if- no, especially if that plan is for in case that leader's comrades betraying her!” Snowdrop's hoof then began to glow a bright red. “I won't let my perfect plan be ruined by your actions! This whole town shall pay dearly for what you have done! CHAOS MEGAZORD, SINGLE RANGER MODE, ACTIVATE!”
Suddenly, there was a loud crash. Outside of Ponyville, a fully-formed Chaos Megazord had descended. “Now it's time to level your pathetic town!” Snowdrop shouted before she teleported out of the battlefield and into the Megazord, which quickly came to life and began its destructive rampage, starting with the Abandoned Warehouse District. (Seriously, why do they keep rebuilding that place?)
“Snowdrop's gone off the deep end,” Button Mash said. “Everything she's planned has failed her. Now she's not going to rest until everything you hold dear is destroyed.”
“Then I guess it's time for us to put this little filly down for her nap,” Rainbow Dash said. “Come on, Harmony Rangers. Let's finish Snowdrop off once and for all.”
“Wait!” Button Mash shouted. He then pulled out the Liberator Gem and handed it to Spike. “With a little luck, this can affect her through your Phoenix zord, but you're probably gonna have to get in close before you can use it effectively. Sweetie Belle and I won't be able to help because Snowdrop kinda commandeered our zords, but giving you this gem is the best we can do.”
“Thanks Button,” Spike said as he grabbed the gem. He then turned to the others. “Come on, guys. Let's finish this.”
“Right there with ya, Spike,” Rainbow Dash said. She and the others then raised their hooves to the sky. “We need Dinozord power now!”
“White Tigerzord, descend!” Twilight shouted as she raised her own hoof to the sky and activated the zord summoning spell.
“And don't forget about me,” Spike said as he raised his sword into the air. “Phoenix zord, form!”
While the Phoenix zord flew out from the fires of Spike's blade, the Dinozords and White Tigerzord stampeded into battle. Quickly, all seven Rangers teleported into the cockpits of their respective zords.
“Harmony Megazord, form!” Rainbow Dash shouted.
“White Tiger Battlezord, morph!” Twilight shouted.
“Phoenix Samurai Battlezord, morph!” Spike shouted.
In several flashes of light, each Rangers' zord morphed and shifted into their respective Megazord and Battlezords, each one quickly making their way to where Snowdrop was.
“Time to turn this town into a parking lot!” Snowdrop shouted as she charged the Chaos Megazord's Tri-Elemental Fury attack. The attack wouldn't get charged very much, however, before she was suddenly stopped by the Phoenix Samurai Battlezord quickly rushing up and giving the Chaos Megazord a powerful slash that caused it to stumble backwards. “How dare you,” Snowdrop growled as Spike was quickly joined by the other Rangers. “You Harmony Rangers foil each and every one of mine and Discord's plans, then you have the audacity to continue battling me after I'm down to my final option?”
“We aren't going to rest until you're out of options,” Rainbow Dash said. “And your only one left shall be defeat!”
“You can try,” Snowdrop growled as she readied her Megazord for battle.
“Girls,” Spike said to his friends over comm, “Button Mash gave me the Liberator Gem. I should be able to augment its power using the Phoenix zord and free Snowdrop from Discord's hold without having to make direct contact with her, but I'm gonna have to get in really close if I want to use the gem.”
“So what do you want us to do?” Rainbow asked.
“My best idea would be for you two to hold her so that I can get the hit I need in,” Spike replied. “We've only got one shot at this.”
“Then let's make sure we get it right,” Twilight said. “For Ponyville, for Snowdrop, for Princess Luna, and for Equestria!”
“YEAH!” the other Rangers shouted in unison.
“Are you all done talking?” Snowdrop asked. “If not, I'd be happy to make the first move!” The filly then charged her Megazord forward with its blade in striking position, aimed right at the Harmony Megazord.
“Heads up!” Rainbow Dash shouted as Twilight and Spike dived out of the way and the Harmony Megazord moved its sword into a defensive position. The blades of both the Harmony and Chaos Megazords made contact, leaving Snowdrop open to an attack from behind by the White Tiger Megazord's blade. Snowdrop's zord stumbled backwards, allowing the Harmony Rangers to move in and deal a hit of their own, which seemed to significantly damage the Chaos Megazord.
“That's it,” Snowdrop growled. “I've let you Harmony Rangers live long enough. It's time you knew my true power!” Snowdrop then charged her zord forward at an incredible speed, catching Twilight off guard to the point where she was completely defenseless against a powerful sword strike from the Chaos Megazord, causing the White Tiger Megazord to go flying backwards.
“AHHHH!” Twilight shouted as her zord flew for several football fields before landing hard on its back close to Canterlot.
“TWILIGHT!” the other Rangers shouted.
“Who knew Snowdrop really wasn't bluffing when she said she still had power hidden?” Fluttershy asked.
“That just means the final battle with her will be more exciting,” Rainbow Dash replied. “Stay on your guard, Rangers.”
“So now you see how I've defeated your White Ranger so easily,” Snowdrop said evilly as she turned her zord to the Harmony Megazord. “Now it's your turn!” She then charged forward at the Harmony Rangers.
“In your dreams!” Rarity shouted as the Rangers moved their sword to block Snowdrop's attack, following the guard up with a punch to the Chaos Megazord's midsection. Snowdrop stumbled backwards slightly, but she recovered much faster than the Harmony Rangers anticipated and was able to easily deliver another slash that the Harmony Megazord wasn't able to dodge or block. The Rangers took the hit, and quickly found themselves off their feet and onto their back.
“Do you see now?” Snowdrop shouted as the Chaos Megazord gave the Harmony Megazord a powerful kick to its side that sent it sprawling. “Do you see how your plight is useless?” Snowdrop then gave the Harmony Rangers another sword strike that knocked them back even further. “Do you see how, no matter what you do, there is no hope for Equestria?” The Chaos Megazord then grabbed the Harmony Megazord by the neck and raised it off the ground, off its feet, and into an airborne choke hold. “Do you see how I have won?”
“She's giving the Harmony Megazord a nasty beating,” Pinkie shouted. “The shields are already down 60% and still falling.”
“Can we get a counter hit in while she has us in this hold?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“I'm afraid we can't,” Rarity replied. “She has a powerful grip on the Megazord's primary functionary control center. We can't move in this position unless we get an extra boost of magic from somewhere.”
“What about Twilight?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“My zord's still reeling from the hit she took,” Twilight replied over comm. “I can get back in the battle, but not for a while because I have to recharge White Tiger's magic reserves.”
“So that means we're stuck here?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“No you're not!” Spike said over comm as the Phoenix Samurai Battlezord suddenly dashed behind the Chaos Megazord and gave it a powerful slash that caused it to drop the Harmony Rangers.
“Gah!” Snowdrop shouted. “I thought you were going to just lie in wait for you friends to give you an opening.”
“They did give me an opening,” Spike replied. “It wasn't enough to get the hit I needed in, but it was still enough to distract you.”
“Thanks Spike,” Rainbow Dash said. “Can you keep her busy for a little while so we can recover?”
“No problem,” Spike replied as his zord readied itself for battle against the Chaos Megazord.
“You really think you have a chance against me after seeing how easily I defeated your friends?” Snowdrop asked, stifled laughter evident in her voice. “You are one adorable little dragon.”
“I may be adorable, but I can still burn you,” Spike replied. He then emphasized his point by using his zord's blade to launch several blasts of fire at Snowdrop, dealing hits to her zord but not damaging it very much.
“You don't have enough firepower to even lay a scratch on me,” Snowdrop laughed. “And I bet you don't have the armor needed to take even one solid hit from my zord either.”
“That may be true,” Spike said, “but I bet your zord doesn't have the speed or agility to keep up with mine. PHOENIX ZORD, MORPH INTO PHOENIX FORM!” The Phoenix Samurai Battlezord then leapt up into the air and flashed brightly before it came back down at an incredible speed in its Phoenix form and struck the Chaos Megazord hard with its wing before flying behind it faster than Snowdrop could react. Spike then circled around and flew in to give Snowdrop another similar hit that she was once again unable to defend against.
“Hold still you little pest!” Snowdrop shouted as she swung at Spike as he flew towards her a third time, ultimately missing and leaving herself open to another hit with the Phoenix zord's fiery wing.
“Let's keep it up, big guy,” Spike said to his zord as he flew in for another hit. “Don't worry about damaging her, just keep her busy so Dash and the others have time to- OOF!”
Spike was cut off suddenly when a sword strike from Snowdrop finally made contact, sending the Phoenix zord into a tailspin before it crashed hard into the ground.
“And that's what you get for not paying attention,” Snowdrop said with an evil laugh as she walked her Megazord towards the downed Phoenix zord.
“This isn't good,” Spike said to himself. He then activated his comm and contacted his friends. “Guys, are you ready yet?”
“Not yet,” Twilight replied. “White Tiger's good to go, but the Harmony Megazord needs a few more seconds.”
“Great,” Spike said. “Try to hurry up. I've only got one more plan left for stalling Snowdrop and it might not even work.”
“Forget your stalling, Gold Ranger,” Snowdrop said as she stood over the Phoenix zord. “You're as good as finished, and so are all your friends. Then your town will follow closely, followed by the rest of Equestria. And forget Discord's narrow views. Only conquer Equestria? Peh. What's so special about this single land? Why not conquer all of Equus? Zebrica, Griffonheim, the Changeling and Minotonian Empires, it's all there for the taking. Discord can have this pathetic pony land. I'll take the rest of the world for myself!” Snowdrop then let out an evil laugh that probably would have been intimidating if she didn't still have her adorable filly voice. But even then, the laugh was all the evidence Spike needed to determine that Snowdrop really had gone off the deep end. If her insanity wasn't contained soon, she could probably destroy Equus and worlds beyond!
“I never thought Snowdrop could wind up becoming more dangerous than Discord,” Spike thought out loud.
“What did you say?” Snowdrop asked. “You just said something, but I want to hear it again.”
“I...” Spike started. ”Let's hope this buys the girls the time they need,” he thought. “I said that you've become far more dangerous than Discord. None of your plans have worked. The Harmony Rangers foiled each and every one of them. And now that even your own comrades have betrayed you, you've gone insane. You don't see any other goal other than seeing the Harmony Rangers destroyed, and this insanity is leading you to setting absurd goals beyond that that you just might follow through with. Who knows? With how crazy you've gone, I wouldn't be surprised if you moved on to try to conquer the entire universe on your own once we're finished.”
“You... you think I've gone insane?” Snowdrop asked. “No... no, you fool! I haven't gone insane! I'm more in control than ever before! I don't have anyone to hold me back anymore! No comrades, no superiors, and soon I'll have no opposition! What you call insanity, I call opportunity, and I'm going to take that opportunity to reveal to everything that exists the true extent of my evil!” Snowdrop then raised her Megazord's blade to deliver a final strike to the Phoenix zord. “Destroying you Harmony Rangers once and for all... that will just be the tip of the iceberg. Once I'm finished with you, I'll-”
“MAGIC SPARK!” Twilight shouted as a huge blast of magic fired from the White Tiger Battlezord and hit the Chaos Megazord right in its sword hand, causing the sword to fall to the ground.
“Gah!” Snowdrop shouted. “What was-?”
“Twilight, now!” Rainbow Dash shouted as the Harmony Megazord ran up and grabbed the Chaos Megazord's right arm, the White Tiger Battlezord quickly running in and grabbing the left arm as well.
“No!” Snowdrop shouted as she struggled to break her Megazord out of the grip of the Harmony Rangers. “Let go of me you fools!”
“Spike, now's your chance!” Twilight shouted. “We can't hold Snowdrop for more than a few seconds, so you'll have to act fast!”
“You got it, Twi,” Spike replied. “Alright Phoenix zord, time to finish this. Tapping into emergency magic reserves. Let's get you back up and running.”
As Spike got the magic flowing through the Phoenix zord once again, it began glowing with a fiery yellow aura before getting up and airborne once again. The zord then gave a mighty roar and spread its wings wide, letting lose a powerful burst of heat.
“Alright!” Spike said. “We're back in the game, but now it's time to end it. Phoenix Samurai Battlezord, morph!” The Phoenix zord gave another mighty roar before flying up into the air and glowing with an intense flame. “And let's not forget the most important part of this move,” Spike added as he placed the Liberator Gem on the console, where its power began flowing into the Phoenix zord. As for the zord itself, it flew up until it was almost out of sight of the Rangers on the ground before flashing with a brilliant burst of flame. The zord, now in its Battlezord mode, then began descending at an incredible speed with its sword in striking position. “One shot, one chance...” Spike said to himself as he guided the Phoenix Samurai Battlezord to its target, the Chaos Megazord. “No margin for error.”
“Spike's actually gonna do it!” Twilight shouted.
“Not if I have anything to say about it!” Snowdrop shouted before she gave another powerful shot of energy into her Megazord, giving it enough power to break its arm away from the White Tiger Battlezord, causing Twilight to fall to the ground.
“TWILIGHT!” Rainbow Dash shouted. “Rangers, keep Snowdrop in place at all costs!”
“On it,” the others replied in unison as the Harmony Megazord quickly whirled around and tried to grab the Chaos Megazord with both arms. Surprisingly enough, the Rangers were able to keep their foe in place for a few seconds longer than they had anticipated.
“You fools!” Snowdrop shouted as she broke both her zord's arms away from the Harmony Megazord before striking it hard in the midsection with both fists, causing the Rangers to go crashing through the Everfree Forest.
“Sorry Spike...” Rainbow Dash said over comm as she and the Rangers went down. “We gave it all we had. It's all your game now.”
“You got it, Dash,” Spike replied as his zord approached its target. “You won't bring harm to another living soul, Snowdrop!”
“Allow me to prove why you're wrong,” Snowdrop replied as she re-summoned her sword and swung to strike Spike with it.
In the time it took to blink, (meaning slow-motion), Spike saw the blade of the Chaos Megazord coming at him. Quickly, the dragon canceled his attack and pivoted his zord in midair, causing Snowdrop's attack to just barely miss him. The Phoenix Samurai Battlezord then landed on both feet, but quickly ducked low, readied its blade, and moved in to give Snowdrop a powerful uppercut slash that the filly could do nothing about. The attack was aimed directly at the Chaos Megazord's head, which happened to be where Snowdrop was. The filly's eyes went wide as she saw the sword approach her, and she hardly had any time to react before the blade struck, its energy slicing through the zord's armor and hitting the filly while at the same time sending the zord flying.
Back in real time, the Chaos Megazord went flying, bouncing once on the ground near the mountain Canterlot rested upon once before vanishing from view, causing Snowdrop to fall to the ground some distance further away. She wasn't de-morphed until after she landed, so she survived the fall.
“That had to be enough to finish her,” Spike said as his zord recovered from its strike. “I just hope I didn't go overboard.” Spike then morphed his zord back into Phoenix form and flew over to where Snowdrop had landed before ejecting from his zord and landing on the ground a few feet away from the downed filly. The Phoenix zord then turned back into flame and returned to Spike's sword before the dragon ran over to Snowdrop. Fortunately, the filly was alive, but she was still unconscious. Spike picked Snowdrop up in one arm while activating his comm with the other. “Rangers, Snowdrop's down but still alive.”
“That's good Spike,” Twilight replied. “I'll have Princess Celestia teleport you and her to Canterlot so we can give her medical attention if she needs it.”
“Alright,” Spike replied. He then deactivated his comm, de-morphed, and breathed a sigh of relief. “It's over... our ordeal with Snowdrop is finally over...” Right as Spike said that, he and Snowdrop were teleported back to Canterlot.
In the half hour that followed those events, Twilight had teleported all the zords back to their hangars for extensive repairs, while at the same time Snowdrop was moved to the medical wing in Canterlot Castle. There was nothing wrong with her, but she needed time to rest. She had taken a heavier hit than Sweetie Belle did when she was freed, so the fact that rest was all Snowdrop needed was a miracle in itself.
Standing by Snowdrop while she rested was Princess Luna, who hadn't left the filly's side since she got to Canterlot. “I'm sorry you had to go through all of this, Snowdrop,” Luna said as she gently ran her hoof across the top of Snowdrop's head. It was right then that the lunar princess heard a door opening behind her. Through that door entered the Rangers, Button Mash, Sweetie Belle, and Princess Celestia.
“How is she?” Sweetie Belle asked Luna.
“She's stable,” Luna replied as she turned to the others. “There's nothing wrong with her, and all my scans have shown that she's completely clear of chaos magic, but she hasn't woken up yet.”
“Give her time, sister,” Princess Celestia said, placing a hoof on Luna's shoulder. “She's been through a difficult ordeal.”
“I know,” Luna said, looking back at Snowdrop. “It's just... she was my best friend all those centuries ago. I never thought I'd see her again, and then to see her again, only in this state... I'm worried about her, that's all.”
Twilight stepped forward. “I understand, Luna,” the unicorn said. “Every time Spike got sick, I'd-”
Twilight was cut off suddenly when the quiet mood of the room was broken by Snowdrop stirring awake. “Nnn...”
“Snowdrop?” Luna asked with an excited gasp. She quickly ran over to the awakening filly's side, followed by the others.
Snowdrop slowly opened her eyes, with which she couldn't see now that she didn't have her Ranger powers. “Wh... where am I?” she asked.
“You're in Canterlot, Snowdrop,” Luna replied. “The Harmony Rangers freed you from Discord's hold, but you've been unconscious for the past half hour.”
“I...” Snowdrop started, doing her best to process everything that had happened to her. “Princess Luna... are the Harmony Rangers in here with us?”
“We're here, Snowdrop,” Twilight said.
“Then...” Snowdrop started, a smile starting to form on her lips. “Then I want to say thank you to all of you. And I also want to say I'm sorry for everything Discord made me do.”
“You are forgiven, Snowdrop,” Princess Celestia said. “Your actions were not your own and we all understand that.”
“Thank you, Princess Celestia,” Snowdrop said. “And to show my thanks, I... I want to help you all finish Discord once and for all. If he's still around, I mean.”
“I'm sorry... what?” Rainbow Dash asked. “You mean... you still wanna be a Pony Ranger? Even after everything you've been through?”
“Rainbow Dash is right, Snowdrop,” Luna added. “I don't think it would be very healthy if you remained a Ranger.”
“But...” Snowdrop said, her smile quickly fading. “But I want to use my powers to help ponies rather than hurt them. Please, Princess Luna, Rainbow Dash, everypony, let me make up for everything Discord made me do. Let me join you all in defeating him.”
All the ponies in the room looked at each other as though taking a silent vote on the matter. “I believe it's your call, Rainbow Dash,” Luna finally said. “You are the leader of the Harmony Rangers, after all.”
“Well...” Rainbow said, looking away from the others. “I, uh... I don't think...” The pegasus looked up at Snowdrop, who seemed to be listening intently, but still with a frown that showed the filly knew what Dash was about to say. “You know what? I think this should be Spike's call.”
“What?” Spike asked. “Why me?”
“'Cause you saw the good in Button Mash,” Rainbow Dash replied. “And if it weren't for you trusting him, none of us would be standing here right now. You're a better judge of character than anypony in here, so it should be you who decides whether Snowdrop joins us.”
“Wow... thanks Rainbow Dash,” Spike said with a smile. “Coming from you, that means a lot.” The dragon then began scratching his chin as he thought about the decision. “When it comes to a foe like Discord, we're probably gonna need all the help we can get. So... yes. I think it would be a very good idea if Snowdrop were to join us.”
“Really?” Snowdrop asked, smiling and tearing up a little. “You... you mean it?”
“If it's the road you want to take, you're welcome to take that road alongside us,” Spike replied. The dragon then turned to Button Mash and Sweetie Belle. “And what about you two?”
The couple exchanged glances for a moment before turning back to Spike and replying. “It was becoming Pony Rangers that brought us closer together,” Sweetie Belle said.
“Even if that very same phenomenon was almost what split us apart for good,” Button Mash added with a laugh.
“But the point is, we'd be happy to join you all,” Sweetie Belle finished. “Whatever it takes to give Discord a healthy dose of payback for what he did to us.” The filly finished her sentence by pounding her hooves together.
“Then it looks like everypony's in agreement,” Princess Celestia said with a nod. “Button Mash, Sweetie Belle, walk next to Snowdrop's bed and turn to face us.” The colt and filly complied, walking up next to Snowdrop and turning to face Princess Celestia and the others at attention. “All three of you, if you wish to become Harmony Rangers, you first must accept the Ranger oath: a set of three simple rules you must follow in order to maintain your connection to the Morphin' Grid and keep the new Ranger powers you shall receive as Harmony Rangers. First, you must never use your powers for dark intentions or personal gain. Second, you must never escalate a battle unless doing so is absolutely necessary. And finally, you must strive to keep your identities as Pony Rangers a secret. Do you accept these conditions?”
“I accept,” Sweetie Belle said with a nod.
“Can do,” Button Mash said with an excited hoof pump.
“Whatever it takes,” Snowdrop said with a smile and a nod.
“In that case, welcome to the Pony Rangers: Harmony Force,” Princess Celestia said.
“Actually,” Button Mash said, “can we go with my idea and call the three of us the Pony Rangers: Elemental Force? Of course, that would also include Spike since he can wield fire like we can wield water, earth, and wind.”
There was a short pause before Twilight spoke up. “I don't see how that could be a bad idea,” the unicorn said while rubbing her chin with her hoof.
“You'd all still be a part of the Harmony Force, however,” Princess Celestia said. “But if you wish, you can call yourselves the Elemental Force.”
“Yes,” Button Mash said, doing a small celebration. “Thank you, Princess Celestia.”
“But you can't start calling yourselves the Elemental Force quite yet,” Princess Luna said, stepping forward. “We still have one more tradition for which you need to be Harmony Rangers. Snowdrop, please extend your hoof outward.”
“Um... okay,” Snowdrop said as she extended her hoof forward, followed quickly by Princess Luna placing her hoof on the filly's hoof. Once the others realized what Luna was doing, they all added their hooves to the circle, including Button Mash, Sweetie Belle, and Spike.
“Ready guys?” Rainbow Dash asked, everypony else replying with a nod. “From all of us together, we fight as one!”
“WE PROTECT ONE ANOTHER UNTIL THE BATTLE IS DONE!” everyone in the room shouted together as they raised their hooves/claws into the air. “PONY RANGERS: HARMONY/ELEMENTAL FORCE!”
Somewhere in the Everfree Forest, there was a small metal smoking pod that was buried at the end of a small trench that the pod apparently dug as it feel from the sky. On the top of the pod was a small hatch, which was quickly kicked open by a black hoof. The hoof returned inside the pod before its owner stuck her head out.
“That Button Mash honestly thought he could finish me,” Zecora said as she stepped out of the pod. “Which of us the fool really is, we shall soon see. The moon base may now be no more, but I still have one way to settle this score.” The zebra then began walking through the forest, laughing evilly to herself. “When they finally see my true power, they will all surely cower...”
By the time all was said and done, it was already almost sundown. Button Mash, Sweetie Belle, and Snowdrop stayed in Canterlot for the night so that their morphers could be completely cleansed of chaos magic. (And so Luna and Snowdrop could finally spend some quality time together.) Meanwhile, all the other Rangers returned to their homes. All but Rainbow Dash returned to Ponyville. The pegasus, on the other hoof, made her way to Cloudsdale, where not only did she live, but there was somepony she needed to see.
At Rainbow Dash's house, Scootaloo sat on the couch, holding the two Wonderbolts tickets and crying softly. She was interrupted, however, when she heard the front door opening. The filly quickly looked up to find Rainbow Dash standing there, staring right at Scootaloo.
“Rainbow Dash...” Scootaloo said. She tried to say more, but the words were stuck in her throat.
“Scootaloo...” Rainbow Dash replied, closing the door and walking towards the filly. She stopped when she was right in front of Scootaloo, looking down on her with a serious expression. Neither pegasus spoke for a minute, instead just looking at each other. Suddenly, Scootaloo broke down, ran up to hug Rainbow Dash, and began sobbing uncontrollably.
“I'm so sorry, Rainbow Dash,” Scootaloo said. “I'm so, so, so, so sorry. I shouldn't have listened to Derpy, I should have trusted you and your friends. I-I wasn't sure, and I... I'm sorry. Please, can you forgive me for what I've done?”
Right then, Rainbow Dash did something that Scootaloo couldn't possibly have expected. The older pegasus wrapped her foreleg around her sister and began crying softly herself. “I forgive you, Scootaloo,” Rainbow Dash replied. “You couldn't have known for sure that what you were told was the truth, nor whether or not what you were doing was the right thing to do. But it's ok.”
“But... how?” Scootaloo asked, looking up at Rainbow Dash. “It could have been me who ruined Equestria's chances for survival with imprisoning you. How could you forgive me for such a thing?”
“Because I'm here now, and Equestria is still safe,” Rainbow Dash replied. “What you did had no negative repercussions in the end. In fact, you put me in a position where the other Rangers and I were able to stop the Chaos Rangers once and for all.”
“I... I did?” Scootaloo asked, a slight smile forming on her lips.
“Sure ya did, squirt,” Rainbow Dash replied, returning the smile. “I mean, you kinda got lucky with how things turned out, so I wouldn't try something like this again if I were you, but the point is that everything turned out fine, and we couldn't have done it without you, so don't feel bad about what you've done.”
Scootaloo was silent for a moment as she processed what Rainbow Dash said before the filly began to tear up for an entirely different reason. “Th-thank you, Rainbow Dash,” Scootaloo said, hugging Rainbow Dash even tighter.
“You're welcome, Scootaloo,” Rainbow Dash replied, returning the hug. “I could never stay mad at you.”
The two ponies stood there in silence for the longest time, embracing each other and crying softly, though each for different reasons. And Rainbow Dash would have stayed there for as long as Scootaloo needed if it weren't almost bedtime. Honestly, Dash was a little tired herself, but she didn't let that bother her. Scootaloo needed to hug her older sister, and Rainbow Dash was the only one on Equus who could have helped with that.
Next time...
“What do we have here?”
“Twilight, why did you call us in the middle of the night?”
“It's titled 'History of the Pony Rangers.' But how could that be?”
“That's every battle we've had in detail!”
“'Only the power of thunder can defeat the master of all evil.'”
“You owe me one final battle, Dashie!”
Stay tuned for the next chapter: “The Final Night.” Don't miss it!