Equestria Rangers

by Shadowmane PX-41

Repairs

Back in Elaris's ship, the Rainbooms were all working hard on repairing the bridge. New metal plates were being put into place to fix the holes in the walls, wires were being woven back together, and anything that had been heavily damaged was taken out of its' place and put aside, so that Elaris could properly examine the damage herself.

"So, Elaris, I have to ask about something," said Rarity, as she finished fixing another set of wires, pulling a metallic mask off of her face. "Just how many features does this ship of yours have?"

"My ship is actually a rather... interesting make and model." Elaris said as she pulled her head out from behind the pilot chair, closing a hatch on it. "Unlike many other galactic spaceships, this one is actually run and maintained by a self-generating AI composed of celestial matter. Unlike the machine and computer-related artificial intelligence devices seen on other systems, this one is made entirely out of cosmic energy."

"So that means..." Rainbow pulled her head away from the plate she was welding onto the ship.

"Yes. My ship's AI is made out of a living star. One that generates all of its' power and activates all of the modules that give me and you all of our benefits." She opened the hatch back up again and pressed the large button at the center of the miniature panel.

Suddenly, the ground beneath the Rainbooms seemed to shift, yet they stayed firmly planted where they were. The metal platform beneath the tempered glass retracted, to show what looked like a metal hole with a miniature sun burning brightly in the center of it. It shot a column of light up, revealing a woman made entirely out of light with a pair of bracelets on her arms. Clasping her hands together, she watched as the Rainbooms and Elaris all gathered together to face it.

"Hello, everyone. You summoned me, your highness?" The woman said, in a kindly, young voice; almost akin to that of a young adult.

"Whoa..." The Rainbooms all spoke in harmony with each other as they stepped towards the ghostly human.

"Rangers, I'd like you to meet the heart of my ship; the thing that supplies the ship with all of its' benefits and modules, the Logical Universe; Correlli Yaranum." Elaris nodded and brushed her hand against the AI's hips.

"L.U.C.Y. for short, right?" Pinkie Pie lifted a finger. "Y'know, L for Logical, U for Universe, C for—"

"We get it, Pinkie." Twilight gently lowered Pinkie's hands. "So, this is what keeps your ship up and running, Elaris?"

"Yes, Twilight. Yes it is. L.U.C.Y. is a complex and unique system that absorbs cosmic matter from other suns around it. Without the stars, she wouldn't be able to sustain herself, and she would power down very quickly." Elaris nodded, clasping her own hands together. "Further, she can assimilate the data of a planet she comes into close proximity of, giving me information on every corner and province of that planet, as well as the plantlife, food, and inhabitants of it."

"Sounds kinda overpowered, doesn't it?" Rainbow Dash tipped a hand at L.U.C.Y. "Won't that make Elaris super-smart and able to have an answer for everything?"

"Not exactly." L.U.C.Y. shook her head. "While it is true that the princess has gathered the information on many planets and learned many different things about them, she does not know of the current affairs on the planet, nor any of the political matters that might be occurring. That kind of data is sacred to the public, and as such, I am unable to analyse it."

"Further, she can only track information of a creature on the planet if I actually go down to the planet and visit it first-hand. And even then, I need to make sure that she is within range," Elaris added. "And yes, while I admit that I have seen the Wolfpack captain's home planet and a few planets of some of his other crew members, I'm unable to find a weakness unless it runs deep within the species as a whole. And so far, finding weaknesses for Wolfpack Wolves has been... difficult, to say the least."

"We only managed to fix the Codex system while you were fighting Barebones." Twilight said, messing around with the buttons on Elaris's pilot chair consoles, which showed a holographic recreation of the Skeltor, as well as all of the data she had been looking at earlier. "We could find some data on a Wolfpack wolf, but then again, those creatures are tough. Captain Mar'Zek, the Feral Fury skill they have where they grow giant, and who knows what other wolves work for him? Not every wolf could be the same, so the data could be a bit unreliable; especially against Mar'Zek and all of his gadgets and gizmos."

"And Mar'Zek is ruthless for his technology." Elaris swiped on the console, to show a hologram of the Wolfpack captain in their ship, which made the other girls back up slightly. "You know how your planet is a mix of different races and cultures? People you've invaded or been invaded by? Well, Mar'Zek is the same. A Wolfpack wolf with an amalgamation of gadgets, weaponry, and modified armour of the races he's conquered. Which would probably explain how he was able to use that Soul Decimator move of his to de-morph all of you and leave you near death when you first fought him."

"He said that he conquered over a thousand galaxies, so I don't even wanna know just how strong that he really is..." Twilight looked closer at his armour and weapons, the sword clutched tightly in the palm of his right claw crackling with energy. "But if a thousand is any indication, I'd say that he's far beyond any normal Equestrian Magic monster we've seen before. Which is why we need to find a way for you all to get stronger; so that the next time you have to fight him, he doesn't just wipe the floor with all of your butts."

"I have an important update relating to your comment, Twilight Sparkle." L.U.C.Y. raised a finger and turned off the hologram of Mar'Zek, before sending a string of light out from her body out towards the ship's corridors. "Given the current state of the ship, and with how quickly the Power Rangers are progressing with repairs, we will soon have the Forge ready. Once it is repaired, we can begin research and creation of new powers, weapons, tools, and even Zords for the Rangers to take control of."

"The Forge?" Fluttershy's eyes lit up as she looked down the corridor of the ship where the light lead off to.

"Yes. The Forge. Your crystals are powerful as they are, but with enough time in the Forge, we can refine them so that they can make you even stronger. You will be able to fight better against the Wolfpack and gain new methods of performing your duties as Perfect Ones," L.U.C.Y. said. "However, the Forge itself is still in need of repairs. And before it can be worked on, the conduits leading to it need to be patched up first. Otherwise, the room will be without power."

"And the Wolfpack could send a stronger monster to defeat us..." Rarity tightened her hands into fists. "Just tell us what you need to repair the Forge, and we'll get right on it, L.U.C.Y."

"First, the bridge must be fully repaired in order to begin work on the other parts of the ship without transferring all of the power." L.U.C.Y. nodded, looking to where there were still holes and crumpled wires jumping out of them. "Once those areas have been tended to, you can then begin to work on the Forge."

"So what are we waiting for?" Rainbow Dash immediately went back to welding metal to metal and reattaching the wires together. "Let's get that Forge all fired up and get our Ranger Modes supercharged! The Wolfpack aren't gonna know what him them!"

"Patience, Rainbow Dash of Earth," said L.U.C.Y., waving her hand softly. "The Forge is a complex machine to work with, and even then, there is still the matter of fixing up the room itself. You and your friends might need to spend some time preparing the room before you can begin working up your weapons and powers."

"Not to mention that you need to properly repair the ship and attach the correct wires to each other in order to keep the ship's power fluctuating at a stable pace, without causing any short circuits." Elaris walked over to Rainbow Dash, gently grabbed her arm, and manipulated them into attaching the wires in the correct way; her way. "You were about to connect the power transferring wire straight to the engines. And that would've sent the ship hurtling into the town."

"Okay, so I'm not the best spaceship mechanic on the planet. But I'm sure that it can't be that hard once we learn all of the bits and pieces, right?" Rainbow Dash just shrugged idly and rolled her eyes.

"I am also equipped with a nimiety of other features, some of which could be damaged beyond repair if they are overcharged, so please be cautious with your repairs. Otherwise, the ship could be damaged even more than usual." L.U.C.Y. walked over and grabbed Rainbow's other arm with her spectral one, but had the inability to control it like Elaris could.

"Alright, alright! Geez. Ya don't need to get so grabby about it..." Rainbow pulled both of her arms out of Elaris and L.U.C.Y.'s grasps and brought them back to her side. "We'll take it slow and steady. Just as you want."

"Very good. In the meantime, the last parts of the bridge shouldn't be hard to repair, but I would advise that you weld the metal in place, rather than fiddle about with the wires. That stuff is more for the professionals than anyone else. Twilight, your highness? Sunset Shimmer? Would you care to oversee wire reattachment procedures?"

"Yes. Of course." All three of them balled up their hands and nodded together.

"Very good. Now, I must rest. Too long in this form without the proper power to maintain it could be harmful to my systems. And being that I am actually a star, if I explode, I could cause a black hole to pop up in Canterlot. And that would be trouble for everyone and everything involved." L.U.C.Y. faded back into the sun she came from and the floor sealed itself back up again. The metal underneath the glass stretched back out and locked into place once more, disguising the hole with the mini-sun once again.

"I still can't believe that you have an actual sun for your ship's AI, Elaris," said Fluttershy, as she went over to help Rarity with another metal plate. "How did you even fit her into the ship in the first place?"

"My people have actually been creating miniature suns for a long time now. It's a long and complicated process, and they're mainly to be used for the creation of machinery and ships." Elaris walked back over to her control chair, opened up the hatch once more, and continued to configure everything once again. "If someone managed to find out a way to create and replicate the miniature sun process we have, then it could advance their planet by eons. They would be able to hyper-advance themselves within seconds. And if the Wolfpack find out about it, then..."

"Yeah. Let's NOT talk about the Wolfpack anymore." Sunset shook her head and made fists out of both of her hands. "For now, we need to get back to work. L.U.C.Y.'s counting on us, and we've gotta make sure that the Forge is up and running as soon as possible. Otherwise, we could get swarmed on by a higher-level monster. And that would be a disaster without the right tools."

"Ooh, I hope that it won't be a disaster." Fluttershy laid the next metal panel down as Twilight began to work on the wires.

"Don't worry, Fluttershy. You and the others have been doing great as Power Rangers." Twilight pushed her glasses closer to her face as she grabbed the edges of a snapped wire and brought them closer; the electricity already beginning to create a faint link to the two sides. "You just keep on doing what you're doing in the field, and me and Elaris will be back here on the more heavy stuff. Efficiency!" Pushing the wires together, she caused a brief eruption of sparks which landed by her feet and caused her hair to frizz within seconds. "Or, then again, I could use some guidance myself..."

"The ship is a complex system, Twilight. I don't blame you and the others for not knowing how it works." Elaris clipped some wires together and brought power back to her hatch before closing it up and moving over to her side. "Here. Let me give you a helping hand. Now, it can be tough, coupling them together, but with the exact right angle and speed, you can reconnect these things easily." To prove her point, she took Twilight's wires and pushed them together, unfazed by the electricity spitting out of the shrinking gap. Both wires clipped and fused with each other, causing the lights around the bridge to grow brighter and brighter, pushing back some of the lingering shadows.

"Bridge Secondary Functions and Auxiliary Power Reserve reestored," said L.U.C.Y. as the lights turned blue and white around the Rainbooms, who all chattered with each other happily about the ship being restored.

"Come on, everyone. Let's keep on working." Sunset nodded proudly. "And let's make the Power Rangers even stronger!"

---

Back on the Wolfpack flagship, Mar'Zek and Vi'Al were overseeing a group of Hounds, welding some devices of their own in a quiet and slightly dark room, only illuminated by the sparks that danced all over the place and the dim lighting across the bottom of the room. There were metallic cages all around them, with different kinds of guns and weaponry stashed within them. Thick locks held the doors shut, and each of the weapons had an energy outline around at least one part, be it the blades of spears and swords, the barrels or magazines of guns, or even tiny things like cosmetics, every weapon had one part that shone in the darkness.

"So remind me, Vi'Al. What is this new device that you're creating?" Mar'Zek asked, cocking a brow towards the scientist wolf.

"Well, I'm glad that you're taking an interest in the devices, my captain," said Vi'Al. "This is what I like to call a Conquer Collar. You strap it onto something, and it'll cause them so much suffering that they'll have no choice but to obey you. Even the most steadfast, mindless, or downright insane creatures in the galaxy will bow before your knees and do everything you say, without having to resort to long and drawn out tortures."

"I see. And this is just one collar?" He asked, picking the device up and examining it from top to bottom. It was made entirely of metal, with short spikes that shot out of the lower half with the push of a button. Said spikes coiled dark purple electricity between each other until Mar'Zek pressed the button to switch it back off again. "Interesting. When do you think you will have all the tools needed to mass-produce these devices?"

"It shouldn't take too long, what with the reserve fleets already taking out more and more planets as we speak. Soon, you'll have a massive monopoly of all of the universe's biggest resources at your disposal, captain." Vi'Al bowed before him as he set the collar back down again.

"The reserve fleets? You left production of this tool to them?" He asked, his ear lifting as he turned back to the scientist. "Then that only benefits the wolves in that division; not us. In a sense, you have only made one collar and won't have the necessary resources to make more. A costly oversight on your part, Vi'Al."

"Oh, pish-tosh, captain. You worry too much." Vi'Al tipped his hand and pulled out some blueprints, handing them to the captain. "Plus, you're underestimating the power of this contraption. It can make any wolf that steps out of line in your command fall right back into it." He watched as Mar'Zek unrolled the blueprints and examined the Conquer Collar at its' core, and all of the extra details surrounding it. "Do you have any wolves in particular you would like to use it on?"

"There is one. But he's not ready for it yet." Mar'Zek handed the prints back to Vi'Al. "For now, you just focus on the Power Rangers. For all we know, they could be getting more and more powerful. With four victories under their belt now, I'm already beginning to feel like they're comfortable being this planet's last hope. How wrong they all are." He turned away from Vi'Al and walked out of the armoury. "Hope is nothing more than a fatal delusion when fighting the Wolfpack. And the more they believe in it, the more it will continue to create the illusion that they can win. When in actuality, they will be walking closer and closer to their defeat." The doors slammed shut behind him as he left for another part of his ship.

Comments

[The Bricklayer]

"Do you have any wolves in particular you would like to use it on?"

"There is one. But he's not ready for it yet."

Okay, now I'm interested... Also, can't wait to see the new toys, Zords especially.

[badninja]

I am reminded of a Superman quote about hope and how it uplifts us. Now I have a picture of the Man of Steel correcting Mar’Zek of his foolish notion.

[The Bricklayer]

9171469
You mean this one?

“Dreams save us. Dreams lift us up and transform us.”

There's plenty of them.

[Ri2]

9171484
Superman could totally take Mar'Zek.

Also, I like L.U.C.Y. Just how advanced are Elaris' people, to manufacture stars? And how strong the Wolfpack, if they're still losing to them? (Is her civilization still intact? I forget)

[The Bricklayer]

9171567

And how strong the Wolfpack, if they're still losing to them? (Is her civilization still intact? I forget)

Do you really want to know the answer to those questions?

And yes, Supes could totally take Mar'Zek.

[badninja]

9171484

That is the one.

[Layton13]

New metal plates were being put into place to fix the holes in the walls,

Still wondering how Twilight can pay for this. Stuff like that is expansive.

this one is made entirely out of cosmic energy.

And now I imagen the AI as a small Galactus head hovering in the air

Yes it is. L.U.C.Y. is a complex and unique system that absorbs cosmic matter from other suns around it. Without the stars, she wouldn't be able to sustain herself, and she would power down very quickly.

Ahm, does that affect the lifespan of the suns in any way?

Okay, so I'm not the best spaceship mechanic on the planet. But I'm sure that it can't be that hard once we learn all of the bits and pieces, right?

Sure Rainbow, repairing a spaceship is as easy as baking cake.

My people have actually been creating miniature suns for a long time now. It's a long and complicated process, and they're mainly to be used for the creation of machinery and ships.

Oh, how you could abuse that as a weapon.

I'm already beginning to feel like they're comfortable being this planet's last hope.

Well then, it's showtime!

Hope is nothing more than a fatal delusion when fighting the Wolfpack. And the more they believe in it, the more it will continue to create the illusion that they can win. When in actuality, they will be walking closer and closer to their defeat.

Hey, why don't you meat the man that turned hope into his source of power? I think you will change your tone quickly.

Oh and I have the feeling that the ship is going to turn into the last part for the last Megazord. Just a hunch.

[Ze1a7in]

"Well, I'm glad that you're taking an interest in the devices, my captain," said Vi'Al. "This is what I like to call a Conquer Collar. You strap it onto something, and it'll cause them so much suffering that they'll have no choice but to obey you. Even the most steadfast, mindless, or downright insane creatures in the galaxy will bow before your knees and do everything you say, without having to resort to long and drawn out tortures."

...Why do I have a feeling this will come into play regarding the seventh Crystal? Specifically, in the time-honored trope of the Evil Ranger.