//------------------------------// // Rangers to the Rescue // Story: Friendship is Mystic: A Power Rangers and MLP Crossover // by CheesewedgeFTW //------------------------------// After the attack, Claire led the others back to the Root Core.The Rangers and Jenji all sat around, reflecting on what had just occurred. They had just been defeated by Morticon, the general they thought they had destroyed long ago, and somehow he was more powerful than ever before. It weighed heavily on all the Rangers’ minds. In particular, Nick was pacing back in forth in an equal display of confusion and frustration. “I just don’t get it. How was Morticon able to defeat us so easily?” he said, “We kicked his butt the last time we faced him.” “He felt so much stronger this time,” said Chip, “He must’ve gained that extra power from somewhere. Question is… where?” “We might have the answer for that,” said Claire as she walked into the room, along with Leanbow and Udonna, all with grim expressions on their faces, “...but you might not like it.” Everybody who was sitting jumped off their feet. “Alright then, spit it out,” Xander said impatiently, “Why was Morticon so powerful?” “Patience, Rangers,” said Udonna, “Claire and I have been researching the power we felt when Morticon fought us…” “...and we found that not all of the residual energy we were feeling was Morticon’s,” said Claire, “There was something else helping him and feeding power into him. Something much stronger...” “...and something unlike what this world has ever seen before,” finished Leanbow. “Unknown magic?” asked Daggeron, scratching his beard in wonder, “But that must mean…” “...Morticon has made a new ally,” interrupted Udonna, “One that is not from this world at all.” “I knew there was something funky about the portal he left through,” said Vida, smacking her fist into her palm, “That must’ve been an inter dimensional gateway to wherever he got all that power from.” “Great, so now all we have to do is follow that bloke to wherever he ran off to and kick his sorry behind,” said Xander in confidence, “We get our morphers back, send him to the Underworld, and we’re done. Piece of cake.” “If only it were that easy,” sighed Leanbow, “You see, the power needed to create an inter dimensional portal for even a few moments requires an incredible amount of energy and willpower. Even highly trained sorcerers like ourselves cannot perform the spell for that long alone.” “However, if Udonna, Leanbow and I all cast the spell together, we can have it up and ready for the rest of you to follow through,” said Claire. Nick looked to his newly-found parents. “Are you sure you two can’t come along? How are we going to defeat Morticon without all of us working together?” The two old sorcerers looked to each other before turning back to Nick. “I’m sorry, son,” said Leanbow solemnly, “But this is the only way this will work. Without those morphers, we will not be able to withstand another Undead attack.” “Why can’t we get some help from other rangers?” suggested Xander, “I recently helped out the Overdrive Rangers by defeating the Mystic Mother’s son. Maybe they can lend us a hand.” “That’s a great idea, Xander,” said Leanbow, “But they’re still too busy with their own mission to help us.” Leanbow turned to his son once more, ”Nick, it’s up to you to lead the other rangers…” “And Jenji!” “...and Jenji… through the portal to stop Morticon once again. Are you up for one last mission, Red Mystic Ranger?” Nick looked around to his friends, who all gave him a knowing smile and a curt nod before turning back to Leanbow. “Yes, I will.” “Good, because time’s a wasting!” interrupted Claire, “I’ve managed to track down Morticon’s location with the residual energy the portal left behind. Apparently, the dimension he traveled to is chock-full of magical energy. It’s no wonder why he chose to go there of all places.” “Wait a minute, I have a question,” said Madison, “How are we going to use magic if our morphers are gone?” “I have your solution,” said Udonna, who proceeded to hand out various wands to the Rangers, “These will allow you to utilize your magical capabilities with almost as much ease as with your morphers. Unfortunately, their capacity for energy is not nearly enough to morph into Mystic Mode.” “It’s better than nothing,” Chip said optimistically. Daggeron brought out a lamp-like object, the Laser Lamp, and approached Jenji with a smile. “I know it’s been a while,” he said, “but it looks like we need you once again, old friend.” “Sure thing, buddy!” Jenji shouted enthusiastically, “I’ll be the best ex-genie you’ve ever seen.” And with that, Jenji disappeared into a puff of smoke, which swirled into the Laser Lamp. Claire, Udonna, and Leanbow gathered in preparation to simultaneously cast the spell. “Are you ready, Rangers?” asked Udonna. The Mystic Force Power Rangers all nodded their heads. The three sorcerers pooled their energy together, and with much effort, conjured a swirling portal similar in fashion to Morticon’s, except this one was made of light instead of darkness. “Alright, team. Let’s go visit our old friend Morticon a visit,” said Nick, and without hesitation, the six rangers jumped into the swirling mass and disappeared from sight. Twilight and her friends bolted through Ponyville, pushing through the stream of screaming ponies running in the opposite direction. “What the hay is going on, and what’s everypony running from?” asked Rainbow Dash, flying easily above her friends. “Look’s like we’re about to find out,” said Twilight as they arrived at the town square, where they all let out a collective gasp at what they found. Strange, bipedal creatures in metal armor and brown clothing ran about, creating chaos and panic, wrecking stalls and homes. They were unlike anything the six had ever seen before. “What in tarnation are those?!” asked Applejack. Suddenly another scream arose from a few meters away, as a mare was backed into a corner by one of those creatures. Without sympathy, the thing violently grabbed her and, in a flash of darkness, disappeared with the mare in it’s grasp. “They’re kidnapping ponies!” shrieked Rarity. All around them, more and more ponies were being teleported away with the horrible creatures, unable to do anything to save themselves. A couple of the creatures came close to the group, one even grabbing Fluttershy by the tail, eliciting a scream from said mare. “Oh no you don’t!” shouted Twilight, as she blasted the creature away with purple magic. A couple more got a taste of Applejack’s hind-hooves and Rainbow’s kicks, and part horn sounded off with one flying away covered in confetti. The group turned around to find Pinkie Pie smiling innocently and nonchalantly whistling as she moved to block the party cannon behind her. The other mares had barely opened their mouths to inquire when they were all blasted with a dark energy sphere, creating massive explosion and sending the mares flying. Rainbow and Fluttershy managed to catch themselves mid-air, but the other four fell to the ground with heavy thuds, struggling to get up. “Well, well, well, look what we have here,” a sinister voice spoke only feet away from them, and they all looked up to see an even more gruesome creature in front of them. He was more bulkier, bore even more armor than the rest, held an enormous sword in one hand, and had stranger metal contraptions sticking out of his head. The scariest part of him, however, was his glowing, yellow eyes that he used to stare down at them. “You ponies might be the first in this dimension to even be able to put up a fight against my Hidiacs,” he chuckled darkly, “Impressive… for a couple of horses.” “Who are you calling horses!?” shouted Rainbow as she flew to meet him head-on, their eyes at level with each other for a brief moment before the mechanical monster swiftly smacked her away with the blunt side of his sword, sending her to the ground in a heap. Fluttershy screamed, then flew down to help her injured friend, while Morticon laughed maniacally. “You six are a real riot! It’s a real wonder why the Nightmare considers you six a threat.” “The Nightmare?” Twilight wondered aloud, but then fell silent as the monster raised his sword and pointed it towards them. “Might as well get these six out of the way, if you’re really as annoying as it claims.” It raised it’s sword and prepared to swing down, and the ponies could do nothing but close their eyes and await their doom. “No, you don’t!” came a shout from behind, and the Mane Six opened their eyes just in time to see the menacing thug before them blasted away with a spew of fire coming from behind them. They turned their heads to see yet another bipedal creature, nearly as tall as the rest, but seemed different. The only clothing it had on was a black and red jacket with blue leggings, and it’s skin was a lighter shade than the rest. It also had a short tuft of fur on it’s head, but nowhere else. It also held what seemed to be a stick of some kind. ‘What is that thing?’ Twilight wondered, but her thoughts were interrupted as she heard a grunt behind her, and the mechanical beast was rising from the ground where he had fallen, looking at the newcomer with a look to kill. “Attacking innocent civilians is pretty low, even for your standards, Morticon,” said the new arrival, pointing a finger in the mechanical beast’s direction. “Red Ranger!? I thought I took care of you back in Briarwood. How are you here!?” Morticon roared. “You mean how are we here,” shouted another voice, and five more creatures ran up to the Red Ranger, wearing very similar attire and carrying the same sticks, with the exception of one who held a lamp-pot in its hand, pointing it at the morlock. “All of you, eh? Guess that means more for me to destroy. Hidiacs, attack!” The rest of the monsters stopped their destructive paths and ran towards the newcomers, who tensed up into battle stances and let out screams of their own as they ran to meet their attackers head on. Twilight and the others observed closely, both thrilled at being rescued and curious as to what their rescuers were capable of. The one with a yellow vest and cape charged in head on towards multiple Hidiacs, knocking out most of them in a powerful sweep of its arms. They fell down easily, and the remaining foes he brought down with a charge of electricity from his wand. The one with with a blue vest and cape ducked from a kick from nearby and swept her attacker with her own leg, knocking them down on their backs. She then performed a quick backflip, knocking out two more foes with kicks from mid-air, and brandishing her wand, sent a jet of water out towards three more, washing them all away. The one with the green vest and cape shook himself free from the hold of two Hidiacs, kicking the first down to the ground and elbowing the other. With a swish of his wand, he caused a large root to come up from the ground and grab an opponent, flinging it towards a group and knocking them all down like a row of bowling pins. The one with the pink vest and cape sent one Hidiac packing with a few quick jabs and round-housed one behind her. Flourishing her wand, she conjured up a tornado of wind around her, knocking out all nearby Hidiacs. The one with the yellow and blue vest shot down multiple Hidiacs with his odd-looking pistol lamp-pot, then punched down a few more for style points. And the first creature, wearing his red vest and cape, lunged through more foes, trying to get closer to scary bull creature named Morticon, but was shot down by dark magic. He quickly got back up and drew out his own wand, letting out a primal yell and sending another blast of fire towards his opponent, who sent another batch of dark energy. The fire and darkness met halfway, and after a few brief moments, it resulted in a massive shock wave that sent both fighters flying. “NICK!” yelled his comrades as they rushed to his side, still down from the blast. Morticon pushed himself up and shook his fist towards the group as he clutched his side in pain. “Curse you, Rangers!” he yelled in fury, “Why must you be so meddlesome?!” He calmed down a bit and smiled smugly, standing up a bit straighter. “No matter, I’ve captured enough ponies to wield some good results. Once the Nightmare’s plan is complete, even you will be powerless to stop me!” He laughed maniacally as dark magic surrounded him and he disappeared with his chilling laugh still echoing through the town square. “Drat, he got away again!” yelled Vida, grinding her teeth in frustration and shaking her fist at the spot where Morticon disappeared. “Do not fear, he couldn’t have had a whole lot of energy after his struggle with Nick,” said Daggeron, stroking his beard in thought, “And that means he most likely did not teleport a large distance away.” “Yeah, but what was he doing kidnapping those innocent ponies?” asked Madison. “All part of his plan, no doubt,” said Nick, who had gotten up and was still clutching his side in pain. “But there was another thing he said that bothers me even more: he mentioned something about the Nightmare. That must be who he’s working to gain all this power, but who is this Nightmare?” “We may be able to help with that,” a feminine voice came behind them, but when the Rangers turned around, all they saw was a group of the remaining multi colored ponies. “Who said that?” Nick asked, still looking around for any people who might’ve spoken, much to the annoyance of a purple unicorn. “Why, me of course. Who else could’ve spoken?” Twilight Sparkle stated. The humans could do nothing but stare in awe, while Xander shook his head and massaged his forehead before saying, “This is going to be another one of those days, isn’t it?”