Chapter 3- New Friends and Old Enemies
Chris sat on a bench in the castle’s locker room. He was hunched over, struggling to get on a shin guard. Sweetie had been helping him with the other one. In fact, she had helped him with a lot. She’d not only shown him the way to the locker room for the training ground, she had also showed him to an empty locker he could use to store his jacket in, then found him a set of training armor he could use. It was while he was strapping the leather armor on that they had found out that his morpher phased through and settled on top of any armor or tight fitting clothing he wore. She’d helped him through getting on all the armor pieces except the final shin guard when she suddenly shot up straight and took off saying she’d forgotten something. That had been a few minutes ago and Chris was starting to wonder if she was ever going to come back.
“Stupid strap,” he muttered as said strap slipped out of his hand again. He let out a sigh and ran his fingers through his hair. “I never had to deal with this with my velcro gear.”
“Do you need some help?” A soft voice asked to his left with the hint of a chuckle.
Chris shot his head up to look at who was talking, only to startle an ‘eep’ out of Fluttershy as she darted behind Big Mac, who stood back with his hands in his pockets.
“Oh, sorry, Fluttershy,” Chris apologized, standing up and giving an apologetic smile. “You just surprised me is all.” He wasn’t lying. While he could accept that Fluttershy had gone without him noticing her presence, it disturbed him that Mac had been able to do the same, no matter how quiet and stoic the big guy was.
“That’s alright,” She replied, poking her head out from behind Big Mac. “But the question still stands, if you’re okay with that.”
“Actually,” Chris said slowly, eyeing the armor still in his hand, “yeah, I could….”
“Here,” Big Mac said, his voice reverberating around the room, “let me.”
“Er, okay?” Chris replied, slightly confused. Big Mac moved to the other side of the bench and signaled for Chris to rest his foot there. He did so and when Mac held out his hand, Chris handed over the shin guard. He made short work of it, wrapping the armor’s straps expertly around Chris’ leg until it held snuggly. “Wow,” Chris said in awe, amazed at how fast the big pony had worked. “Thanks, Big Mac.”
“Don’t mention it,” Big Mac replied kindly.
“So,” Chris began awkwardly as Big Mac moved to stand next to Fluttershy once again. “You guys here to watch Nightmare Moon beat the snot out of me.”
“Actually,” Fluttershy replied meekly, “there’s something else I’d like to talk to you about.”
“Uh, sure,” Chris said, resting his hands on his hips. “Whaddya got for me?”
“You mentioned a name earlier,” Fluttershy started weakly. “Twilight Sparkle?”
Chris raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, Twilight. What about her?”
“W-who is she?”
The question shocked Chris. “What do you mean, ‘who is she’?”
Fluttershy flinched slightly. Macintosh noticed and took the lead. “We’ve never met anyone named ‘Twilight Sparkle’.”
“Seriously?” Chris questioned, completely flabbergasted. “Man, this universe is more different than I thought.” Chris straightened up and crossed his arms bringing a hand up to his chin. “Well, firstly, where I’m from, Twilight is the Element of Magic and the Princess of Friendship.” Chris let out a sigh and shook his head. “I can’t really explain anything else without going into specifics, and I’m pretty sure Nightmare Moon wants to kick my butt in five minutes. Why do you ask?”
Fluttershy shared a look with Big Mac before answering. “I heard one of our friends mention her name once before,” she explained, looking back at Chris, “but he spoke in whispers like he didn’t want anyone to overhear him.”
“Who’s ‘he’?” Chris asked, arching an eyebrow.
“Shining Armor.”
The response threw Chris for a loop, but before he could ask any questions, a voice rang out from a speaker in the corner. “Would Chris Scott please report to the training area. Chris Scott to the training area.”
Chris let out a puff of air. “Well, times up,” he said, grabbing a leather helmet off the bench and putting it on his head. “Thank you, guys, for everything, and if you see Sweetie Belle give her my thanks.” He started towards the doors that led to the training field. “Oh, and if I see Shining, I’ll talk to him. See ya, guys.”
“Good luck,” Fluttershy said quietly as he left, “you’ll need it.”
“Eeyup,” Big Mac added in agreement.
Chris walked out into the dirt arena, blinking the light out of his eyes. When his eyes had adjusted, the first thing he noticed was all the ponies in the stands off to the sides of the arena. The moment they saw him, they started cheering. The noise was deafening, and Chris had to cover his ears as he walked forward towards the center of the field. Nightmare stood there, garbed in armor that resembled the set from the show, only covering a lot more of her body.
As Chris finally made his way to the center, he raised his voice above the crowd. “Is it safe for them to be so close?”
“Yes, they’re perfectly safe,” She replied with a nod. “There’s a magical sphere around the arena that prevents anything inside to get to those outside. It also makes sure we can’t hurt one another to terribly,” she explained.
“Great,” Chris said, “looks like I put all this on for nothing.”
“No,” Nightmare countered. “You will most certainly need it.”
Suddenly, all the noise from the crowd became muffled, and when Chris turned his head to the right, he saw Lyra in a ref’s uniform and walking towards them. She kept eyeing Chris in a way that served only to unnerve him. Chris turned to face Nightmare again before tilting his head and thumb towards the approaching unicorn and raising an eyebrow.
“She wouldn’t stop asking until I agreed,” Nightmare explained, answering Chris’ silent question.
“Aw,” Chris said in understanding.
“Alright, you two,” Lyra said, reaching the center and eyeing both combatants. “I want a nice, clean fight. The match ends when one of you concedes to the other, or one or both of you are unable to continue.” She paused to look at Nightmare. “Fighter one, are you ready?” Nightmare nodded, moving into a sideways stance. Lyra nodded back before turning her eyes to Chris. “Fighter two, are you ready?” Chris nodded as well, gulping and dropping into a back stance. Lyra nodded back and began looking back and forth between each opponent. “Both Fighters ready. Fight!” Lyra teleported away and reappeared outside of the protective shield.
As soon as the sound left Lyra’s lips, both fighters leaped and slid backward, creating enough empty space between them. As she came to a stop, Nightmare waved her hand in front of herself, generating an ornately decorated scythe.
What is with these people and scythes? Chris questioned, sizing up his adversary. There’s no way I can take her one-on-one, and definitely not in hand-to-hand. As he thought this, Nightmare started to charge towards him, closing the distance quickly.
Scheisse, Chris thought, beginning to sprint to his left to keep some distance between himself and the mare. What do I do know?
Summon your weapon, the voice in his head said.
Shut up, you, Chris retorted. I’m busy.
Just do it, the voice replied irritably.
Chris stopped and turned towards his opponent, swinging his arms into position to summon the Psycho Sword. Chris kept his eyes locked on Nightmare as energy built up over his left wrist. He grabbed the handle and swung it out in front of him. “Psycho Swor-,” Chris stopped in mid-sentence and took a second look to see that the Psycho Sling was sitting in his hand instead of the Sword. “What the-?”
Forget about it and shoot! The voice commanded urgently.
Chris snapped his focus back to Nightmare Moon to see the gap between them almost gone. He whipped the Sling back into position, pulling the false string and firing off several bolts of yellow energy. Nightmare’s eyes widened in surprise, swinging her scythe to block the first few before dodging out of the way. Chris started running counter to Nightmare, continuing to fire off energy blasts at his foe. Nightmare began fading in and out of sight as she dodged the lasers, slowly but surely closing the distance.
This isn’t working, Chris thought, firing off a few more shots. New strategy. Chris came to a stop, dismissing the Sling, and faced Nightmare as she closed the distance. She swung her scythe level with Chris’ neck. He leaned backward in response, letting the blade sweep by overhead. He jumped back onto his hands and bent his arms, lifting his legs and throwing his feet into Nightmare’s chest while she was vulnerable. Nightmare went sliding backward, giving Chris time to catch his breath. She righted herself just in time to see Chris take up a new stance.
“No more games,” Chris muttered bringing his arms back and resting his left index and middle fingers on his morpher. “Go, Psycho!” He shouted, throwing his right arm forward. He was enveloped in dark red light and energy before it dispersed revealing Chris in his Psycho Red form, Psycho Sword already in hand.
Nightmare Moon paused to take in the sight. “Impressive,” she said, dropping into a runner’s stance and darting forward, “but not impressive enough!”
“We’ll see about that!” Chris cried, dashing forward to meet Nightmare head on. Their weapons clashed with a bang, sending up sparks as metal met metal. Both fighters knew this was where the real battle began. They danced around one another, their blades meeting over and over again in a deadly whirlwind of movement.
Chris dropped to the left, angling his sword up and thrusting upwards at Nightmare’s abdomen. Nightmare knocked the blow away with the staff of her weapon and swung the blade down in a counter strike. Chris rolled out of the way, spinning as he got back to his feet, swinging his sword in a left-to-right slash. Nightmare caught the blow with the blade of her scythe before twisting the handle so the cutting edge faced him and dashed forward. Chris gasped in shock, falling and rolling backward to avoid the devastating blow. He twisted back to his feet to face his opponent, only to find her swinging her scythe down in an overhead arc. Chris lifted his sword to intercept the blade, just barely making the block and falling to one knee from the force of the blow.
Verdammt, he thought. I can’t take much more of this.
One last trick, the voice responded.
Chris nodded as the information was fed into him. Suddenly, he pushed as hard as could on his blade, letting out a shout as he did. The Psycho Sword lit up in flames, throwing Nightmare’s scythe away. Her eyes widened once again in surprise, but it didn’t last long. She sprung backward as Chris took another swing with his now burning blade, before launching herself into the air.
“Hey, no fair!” Chris shouted indignantly.
“All’s fair in love and war,” Nightmare replied simply, raising her scythe over her head. Magic began to build up around it as she held it there, the blade starting to glow a dark blue. Chris took notice of this and dropped into a light horse stance, lowering his sword to point down and behind him as he began to charge his own weapon. After a few moments, Nightmare swept her scythe down and to the side in one fluid motion, the blade shining bluish-black. “Let’s end this,” she called, plunging into a dive.
“Yes,” Chris replied, fire igniting around his feet as he began to run towards her. “Let’s.”
As they drew nearer each other, Chris jumped into the air, propelling himself forward through the flames on his feet. Nightmare was surprised once again, but it was too late. Both combatants swung their weapons before coming to a stop on either side of the field facing away from each other. Everything was still for a moment as everypony waited for something to happen. Suddenly, Chris’ chest exploded in sparks. He arched his back and fell forwards, dropping his sword. When he hit the ground, his armor and weapon dispersed themselves, leaving him in his original form.
Several ponies ran to check on him, including Sweetie Belle. When they reached him, he was only lying there, eyes staring off into the distance. Nopony dared move him for fear of what they would find despite the protective spell over the grounds. Finally, Nightmare pushed her way through the crowd to kneel down beside him.
“Chris?” She asked softly, “Chris, are you alright?”
Chris remained silent for a few more moments before blinking. “Ow.”
Nightmare chuckled as everypony else let out a sigh of relief. “Come on, let’s get you up.” She grabbed him by one arm, helping him to lift himself up. Sweetie rushed forward to help support him, throwing his right arm over her shoulder. “Thanks,” he muttered to both of them.
“Now that your physical test is over,” Nightmare began after making sure Chris wouldn’t fall out. “Chris Scott, I, Nightmare Moon, welcome you to the Equestrian Resistance Force.” She let a smile light up her features. “Welcome to the family.”
Everypony in the stands and around them broke into cheers. Chris winced at the volume before he allowed their joy to infect him and grinned ear-to-ear. He looked at Sweetie, who gave him a smile of her own.
Nightmare let the crowd scream, holler, and whoop a little longer before raising her hand. The ponies immediately dropped into silence. She lowered her hand and nodded in thanks before turning back Chris. “Chris, from this day forward, you will be a part of the special operations team. This team is only made up of the best and most talented. Don’t disappoint me.”
Chris and Sweetie glanced at each other and nodded. Sweetie let go of Chris’ arm as he raised himself up to hold his own body weight. “Yes, ma’am,” he replied, determination ringing through his voice.
Nightmare nodded to him before turning to Sweetie Belle. “And, Miss Belle.”
Sweetie whipped her eyes from Chris to Nightmare, snapping to attention. “Yes, ma’am?”
“You will be his partner.”
Both Chris and Sweetie started at the news. “B-b-but, what about Pinkie?” Sweetie stuttered.
Nightmare chuckled. “I have been watching you and Miss Pie during training, and you two seem to lack a certain chemistry that all fighting pairs should have. Pinkie can do fine on her own, but it was you I was worried about. It is my hope that the two of you will find that chemistry.”
The pair looked at each other. After a while, Chris flashed a nervous grin at Sweetie. Sweetie was surprised for a moment before she too formed her lips into a small smile. They both turned back to their leader and nodded.
“Good,” said Nightmare, a strange glint in her eye. “Now, Chris you are probably tired. Sweetie will show you to your quarters.”
“Yes, ma’am,” they said in unison before turning and walking away like old friends.
“Oh, yeah,” Sweetie Belle piped up. She dug around in a small purse that hung down at her hip before pulling out a wrapped bar and holding it out to Chris. “Here, I thought you might be hungry. Sorry I couldn’t get it to you before the fight.”
“Oh, thanks, Sweetie,” he said, accepting the bar. “I appreciate that.” He unwrapped the bar and took a bite. As he chewed, a huge growl could be heard. They both stopped and looked at each other. Chris broke into an apologetic smile. “Sorry, Sweetie,” he apologized, moving a hand to his stomach, “but I think I’m going to need something more than a protein bar.”
Sweetie responded with a giggle. “I’m sure you do,” she replied, walking forward again. “I would too if I hadn’t eaten in a few days.”
Chris stopped in shock, staring after the small gray mare. He finally shook his head. “Wait, Sweetie Belle, hold up!” he called, running after his partner. “What’s this about a few days?”
Nightmare Moon watched the two’s antics as ponies made their way back to whatever it was they were doing beforehand, and smiled. “You certainly won’t,” she whispered, thinking about his promise to not disappoint while moving a hand to the burn mark in her armor.
Midnight walked down the redecorated halls of Canterlot Castle. She could remember when the corridors were painted bright white and lavished with light pinks and purples, servants and guards crawling through them, always so upbeat and happy. The thought sickened her. She’d always had a certain disdain for the smiling maids, the noble guards. She even held some resentment towards her older brother. Now, the passages were dull and dark, covered in gears and other mechanical contraptions, the grimy air of the Machine Empire staining the once pristine environment.
Midnight focused her eyes forward as she approached a large set of double doors that led to the throne room. On either side of the door stood a cog, weapon in hand.
She came to a stop in front of them, leaning and placing a hand on her hip as the machines crossed their weapons in front of the door.
“Mondo is expecting me,” she told them, impatience clear in her voice.
The minions looked at one another, one giving a shrug before turning back and refusing to budge.
“Grr,” Midnight growled, raising her right hand across her chest to her left shoulder. “I do NOT have time for this. MOVE!” She threw her hand out to the side, sweeping the automatons away in a flash of teal magic.
As they crashed into the wall, she walked forwards to the doors, pushing them open effortlessly and entering the chamber. King Mondo wasn't on his throne as Midnight had expected. Instead, he was out on the balcony, looking in the direction of Ponyville.
“You should really be more careful with our forces, Midnight,” he said without turning as Midnight approached. “What news do you bring?”
“For a weekly report, it is rather concerning,” she replied coming to a stop, once again leaning to one side and crossing her arms across her chest.
“How so?” Mondo asked, finally turning to face her.
“One of my Machine Captains came back from the Everfree minus a battalion of cogs.”
“How did he manage that?” the king asked, irritation growing in his voice.
“He says that while he had a group of Resistance fighters cornered, an armored warrior appeared out of nowhere and destroyed the cogs. He even put a nice dent in Staroid,” she explained in a bored manner.
“An armored warrior?” King Mondo parroted, beginning to pace. “Did the warrior present a name or title of any sort?”
“He called himself something rather strange,” Midnight replied. “‘Psycho Ranger Red’, I believe.”
Mondo stopped short in his pacing and turned slowly towards Midnight. “Did you just say that Staroid was defeated by a ranger?”
“That is what Staroid said,” she responded, not paying attention to the monarch’s growing shadow. Midnight was suddenly yanked off her feet and into the air, held there by the power King Mondo was focusing through his staff. She struggled in the powerful grip before her limbs were pulled tight, restricting her movement.
“Do not toy with me, pony,” Mondo hissed, bringing Midnight’s face close to his own. “Know tell me again, what happened to Staroid’s battalion?”
“I told you the truth!” Midnight gasped out. “He was attacked by a fighter in red armor who declared himself as Psycho Ranger Red.”
Mondo released his power allowing Midnight to hit the ground with a painful thud. His mind was filled with memories of another red-garbed warrior, one with a star shape on his helmet. “Blast,” he muttered, turning away from the struggling Midnight. “Even here Zordan and his Power Punks follow behind me.” He looked out over his balcony, staring at the Everfree that concealed a foe he’d hoped to never meet again. He spun to face Midnight once again just as she managed to get back to her feet.
“Midnight,” he addressed her, urgency lacing his voice. “Send that dragon of your’s to get Sombra. Tell him I wanted him here yesterday. Go!”
Midnight stood up straight, nodded and left the room quickly. Once he was alone again, King Mondo walked out to the edge of the throne room’s balcony, gripping the railing with an iron fist and cracking it. He glared out towards the Everfree Forest. “I will NOT be beaten a second time!”
“And, voila!” Sweetie Belle said as she flicked the lights to the room on.
Chris had to blink his eyes a few times in order to adjust. When he finally looked around at the room, he was impressed. The room was well furnished, consisting of a closet that took up the left wall, a desk and chair pushed into the corner to the right of the door, and a nice full-sized bed was centered against the back wall. A doorway in the right wall led into a nicely made up bathroom. Chris let out a whistle at the sight. “Snazzy,” he said, walking in giving the room another look.
“Is it okay?” Sweetie asked, giving him a worried look.
“It’s more than okay,” Chris answered, giving her a reassuring smile. “It’s better than just about anything I’ve ever had.”
“Really?” She asked, tilting her head.
“Yeah,” Chris replied, shrugging his shoulders. “My childhood wasn’t exactly the best.”
“I’m sorry,” Sweetie apologized, holding her hands behind her back. “Do you want to talk about it?”
“Not much to talk about,” Chris said, putting his hands in his pockets. “I was a foster kid, and I got moved around a lot.”
“Oh,” Sweetie muttered. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t worry about it,” he responded, waving his hand reassuringly. “It wasn’t all bad. That part of my life was over anyway.” He looked around and grabbed the chair to sit down. “You might want to sit down.” Sweetie moved to sit on the edge of the bed. “I lived with three different foster parents over the years. By the time I graduated, I was tired of being moved around. Luckily, I got offered a scholarship to go to college. I was actually in my third year when I got sent here.”
“Sounds like things were starting to look up for you,” Sweetie said, turning her foot on her toes.
“They were,” Chris agreed with a smile, before he leaned forward, lacing his fingers together and frowning. “But let’s be honest. Who’s going to hire a foster kid with Multiple Personality Disorder straight out of college?” He gave a sarcastic chuckle. “I’d be lucky to get a job at a drive-through.” He looked up at Sweetie Belle, a distant look in his eye. “Maybe my being sent here was for the best.”
He finally came back into focus and stretched. “Sorry about that,” he apologized. “It’s getting late and you probably have things to do tomorrow.”
“I don’t mind,” Sweetie assured, standing up with him. “But you’re probably tired, so I should let you get some rest.”
“Yeah,” he said, giving her a smile and walking her to the door. “Goodnight, Sweetie.”
“Goodnight,” she answered, leaving the room.
Chris closed the door softly behind her and let out a sigh. It had been a long day and all he wanted was to go to sleep. He hung his jacket in the closet where he found some pajamas that had been provided for him. He went to the bathroom and got changed, using the given supplies to brush his teeth and face. When he finished, he looked himself over in the mirror. His once buzzcut had grown out to midlength, sweeping to the left and covering some of his face. He looked into the gray eyes of his reflection, looking to see if anything had changed in them. Of course they have, he thought to himself, look at where you are.
Alone on an alien world, stuck in the middle of a war.
Chris looked around the bathroom before peeking his head out the door to make sure no one was there. When he was sure, he faced the mirror again and stared at himself hard. Who are you? He asked in his thoughts. You’re not Samson, and he’s the only up there.
Quite perceptive of you, the voice purred, but not overly intelligent despite everyone calling you a genius.
Who. Are. You? He thought, gritting his teeth at the word “genius.”
Nobody special, the voice replied, just the one whose powers you’ve been using.
Chris froze for a moment. Psycho Red.
ERT, wrong! The voice cried mimicking a buzzer. Good guess, though. No, I am not simple “Psycho Red.” I’m more of an amalgamation of all the Psychos combined.
So, what? Chris questioned, his eye twitching. You’re like THE Psycho?
Ooo, I like that name, Psycho answered. I think I’ll keep it.
Yeah, yeah, just get out of my head.
Can’t do that, friend. I’m directly linked to the Psycho Morpher. There’s getting rid of me unless the power runs out or you chop off your own arm!
Chris looked down at the watch on his wrist. He examined it closely before looking back up. Fine, whatever, but I won’t be giving you what you want.
That’s fine. I much prefer a game of takeaway, anyway.
And what, exactly, will you be taking away?
Why, your body, of course.
Chris hesitated again. I don’t think so, buddy. I got too many things to worry about to give in to you.
That’s alright, Psycho assured him. I’ll just until this war is over, wait for your mind to be weak, then you’ll be all mi-. What was that?
Chris looked around the room again to find no one anywhere. But that didn’t stop Psycho for whatever reason.
Who are you? What are you doing? Let go of me-
All at once Psycho’s presence was gone from Chris’ mind. He felt better than he had when he first got here like a burden had been lifted off him. Whatever had happened, Psycho wasn’t bothering him anymore. He sighed in a relaxed manner and walked to his bed. He got into bed and flipped the switch that was conveniently placed near the bed. As the lights went, Chris curled up under the sheets and closed his eyes. It didn’t take him long to go fast asleep.
Hearing his first snores, a shifting shadow stepped away from the corner of his room and made it’s way out into the corridor, leaving Chris none the wiser.