• Published 28th Mar 2017
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Equestria Rangers - Shadowmane PX-41



Following a meteor shower in the city of Canterlot, Sunset Shimmer and her friends are about to transform into a new generation of heroes...

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Dominance Is A Matter Of Perspective

Back on Elaris's ship, the Rainbooms were still trying to wrack their brains together on how they were going to fight back against the Wolfpack. Rainbow Dash was furiously rapping her foot against the metallic pipes, while Pinkie, Rarity, and Applejack were standing around each other. Elaris, Sunset, Twilight, and Fluttershy were at the consoles of the ship, looking at all of the work that still needed doing on the ship, typing away at buttons to give commands to L.U.C.Y.

"Y'know, I still think it's a lot of garbage. How can the Wolfpack do what they do, say what they say, capture and attack who they capture and attack, yet we can't just go up to their ship and knock the stuffing out of them straight away?" Rainbow broke the silence, pushing her foot away from the metal. "We can't just sit around all day. We need to FIGHT! We need to storm the Alpha Slayer and take back Shining Armour right now!"

"Rainbow Dash, I've told you time and time again that the Alpha Slayer's defenses—"

"Don't. Matter, Elaris." Rainbow slammed the tip of her finger onto Elaris's lips, silencing the Harmonite in an instance. "We are the Power Rangers. We've beaten tons of wolves before this. And we sure as heck can go onto the Alpha Slayer and do this."

"And get torn up by the ship's anti-wolf weaponry? You're asking to lead us right into the middle of a crapshoot, Rainbow Dash. Even if we can fight against the odds and beat Mar'Zek, how are we going to get off of the ship and get back home?" Sunset asked with a lifted brow.

"One of two ways, Sunset. We either grab a teleportation device that those wolves always seem to be using." She tipped one hand out to her right-hand side. "Or, we fire ourselves out of the cannon that he's always sending those wolves out from." Rainbow Dash's other arm went out to her left-hand side. What makes you think that we can't do this stuff?"

"Because, A, the Wolfpack is a fleet of ships that would just respond to our attack and blow us to kingdom come for even trying to do this kind of thing; B, the Wolfpack has some of the best wolves and aliens from other worlds on all of their ships; C, because we are only six compared to an army; D, only Rarity would stand some semblance of a chance with her enhanced form while the rest of you get torn up; E, because you're always one to go off into the thick of battle without even thinking about the rest of your friends; F, because your plan to get us home would be intercepted by wolves or we'd be killed on re-entering the planet; G, because it's imp—" Twilight found her tirade silenced with a death glare from Rainbow Dash.

"What would Shining Armour say about this? The fact that you're willing to not rescue him from the Wolfpack until the right time? The fact that you're putting this whole thing off is putting him in even more danger than he has any right to be in." Rainbow's voice turned cold as her back faced Twilight's face. "If he heard you saying all of this, he would disown you here and now for not trying to stand up for him, to not save him from the most powerful space-pirate army in the known universe." Her hands scrunched up into fists. "If we don't take action, then we are not the Power Rangers."

"Rainbow Dash, what are you saying?" Applejack broke off from her small group, trudging up to Rainbow with her own fists. "Are you just saying that we should do a suicide mission for rescuing one guy? Knowing that every wolf on the Wolfpack is going to tear us limb from limb if we're not careful enough?"

"Yes, Applejack. I am saying that. Because, quite frankly, everyone, we're not good enough. We're going to lose because we're all sitting here thinking when we should be up there trying to save him!" Rainbow threw her arms outward, eyebrows twitching as she stared around the group. "We might not come back from it, sure. But knowing that we at least tried to save him from the Wolfpack before they did anything nasty to him should be some form of proof that we're still competent, right? Now, whether or not the rest of you try to say anything or stop me, I'm going. I'm gonna suit up, fly to the Wolfpack's flagship, break in, save Shining Armour, and come back home whether you like it or not!"

“Now now, listen Rainbow, What exactly do you think is going to come out of this little mission of yours? You don’t even know how to get into the flagship, let alone find Shining Armour inside the myriad of rooms it could have.” Rarity had planted a diamond forcefield by the door to prevent Rainbow Dash from leaving the room. “If you don’t plan this out better, then you’re walking into a disaster waiting to happen.”

“But then how are we going to save Shining Armour? Especially seeing as how Twilight’s not exactly coming up with a plan of her own to storm the Alpha Slayer…” Rainbow turned back to Rarity, letting out a groan. “Her brother is up there right now being tortured and potentially turned evil and she’s not taking charge? I thought she’d be super into boarding the ship with me. Seeing as how he’s her brother, after all.”

“Look, Rainbow Dash, we need to think of the perfect way to board the ship and perform the rescue. I mean, how are we going to fight an army when we’re just six?” Twilight tipped her hand. “Why go rushing in without a plan?

“We don’t exactly need a complex, egghead plan when we’ve got the Magic of Friendship. The Wolfpack don’t have that kind of stuff yet, and we don’t know exactly if it’s going to fail. Numbers, I kinda agree with you on. I say kinda, because of the whole quality vs quantity rule.” Rainbow pulled the hand off of her body. “Twilight. I want you to be honest with us about this whole thing. Why haven’t you figured out the plan yet? Given how serious of a situation this is?”

“The reason I haven’t come up with a plan yet is because I want to be there, to save Shining Armour myself. I want to be the one that saves him from the Wolfpack, make him see that he can depend on me to save this world.” Twilight coiled some hair around her fingers as she looked at the ground. “I won’t deny that I need your help to do that, though.”

“See? You need us for this little job, so why don’t you come along with us? We can all invade the Alpha Slayer together, without having to think about it.” Rainbow’s smile returned as she slid her arm around Twilight’s neck. “If you get into trouble, the six of us can bail you out of it. There’s nothing to worry about.”

“Not that I want to interrupt your little motivational speech or anything, Dashie, but there’s a ton of super-meanie-pants wolves up there, not to mention the big, bad wolf himself and his new playmates.” Pinkie poked Rainbow Dash’s shoulders repeatedly. “Unless we get some kinda super-duper boost in Power Ranger powers, we’re going to get turned into pony and Power Ranger pancakes. Which, although they do sound good on paper is a horrible idea in real life…”

“Or maybe not.” Sunset spoke up, causing the whole room to fall silent. “Elaris? Do you remember when we got that call from the Omega Pack? The defectors that want to break off of Mar’Zek’s reign of evil?

“Do you want me to backtrace the source of the call and try communicating with them again, Sunset?” Elaris asked.

“It’s the only way that this idea might actually work. We’re gonna need some way to get onto the Wolfpack’s flagship and if they want to help us out, it gives this thing some ground to stand on.” Sunset folded her arms, looking out at the two teenagers. “I must admit, there’s a lot of holes in it, but if these guys and gals want to give us a hand, then I suppose it’s not a bad plan either.”

“Alright then. I’ll open up a comms channel once I lock on to the frequency.” Elaris fiddled away with the console, opening various different menus until she found a log stating that a call had been made from an unknown caller. She typed in the frequency and attempted to open a line with the Omega Pack, causing the screen in front of her to show static, before the logo appeared once more.

“So, Rangers. You’ve decided to come to us for help.” The distorted voice returned once more, piercing the room and filling everyone’s ears. “And just in the nick of time as well. It seems that the wolves on the ship are getting rowdy. There’s going to be a mutiny in mere seconds, I just know it.”

“Yes. We’re here because we need to ask you for a favour. We’re trying to sneak onto the Alpha Slayer and steal someone that the Wolfpack captured. His name’s Shining Armour. Heard of him?” Twilight was the first one to speak, facing the screen as she ran to it, stopping a few feet from the emblem.

“Ah yes. We know him. The human who took out one of Siel’Viz’s eyes. A brave fighter, that. Of course, we know exactly where he is,” the screen said. “The bad news is that he’s being held captive in Vi’Al’s laboratory, under heavy security. Not because of the angry Wolfpack soldiers wanting to overthrow the captain, but rather because of all of the high technology locks keeping anyone from entering.”

“The laboratory? What are they planning to do with him there?” Elaris asked, blinking at the screen.

“If I had to guess, I would say that he’s being converted into a Wolfpack soldier. And probably a very powerful one at that. Vi’Al wastes no time when it comes to his little pet projects.” The modulated voice spoke once more, lines jumping up and down on the screen to simulate the vocals. “We have a window of opportunity to break in and steal him back. If it is true that a mutiny is going down, then all of the Wolfpack will be converging on Mar’Zek, leaving the laboratory unguarded. I can get you access inside, but the rest is down to you. Get him out of there before the process is complete.”

“But how are we going to get onto the Wolfpack’s ship? Isn’t it supposed to be heavily guarded?” Elaris lifted a finger from the console.

“It is unless...”—As the voice spoke, it lost the modulation as a dark purple flash of energy materialised on the ship, carrying over the voice from the screen without the modulation, pitching upward into a female’s voice— ”You have someone on board to open the door.”

Standing on the bridge of Elaris’s ship was a female wolf with purple-tinted fur, metallic shoulder and shin pads, as well as a thin chestplate. By her sides were holstered blasters and a dog tag with the Omega Pack’s sigil rested around her neck. She gave the Rangers a quick frisk before she lifted her arms.

“Nice to meet ya, Rangers. The name’s Espy. No silly Wolfpack names, no kind of stuff like that, just Espy will do fine.” She walked forward towards the middle of the room. “Sorry I couldn’t bring the rest of the Omega Pack down with me, but they’ve gotta keep tabs on the stuff up there. When you’re working for both sides, you’ve gotta pay attention to everything.”

“Espy?” They all parroted, gawking at her with wide eyes.

“Yeah, that’s right. Wolfpack soldier turned rogue, first think ya think she’s not a wolf, then when the truth comes out and she is a wolf, you’re bound to be surprised.” Espy lifted a brow. “In any case, I’ve not got a lot of time, so we’re either doing this thing or not. Already, I’m hearing chatter on the comms about how the Wolfpack are moving in on the Captain.”

“What more have we got to lose? I’m down for it.” Raindow Dash darted to Espy, standing by her side. “C’mon, girls. Let’s be Power Rangers and save Shining Armour!”

“Hold on a darn second. The Wolfpack are gonna see us coming from miles off. We’re never gonna be able to slip through security like this, whether we’re suited up or not…” Applejack pointed to herself, and how country-western her clothing was in comparison to the fur and armour on Espy’s body.

“Right, right. That is a problem. Hang on, I’ll be right back.” Espy fiddled with the teleportation device on her chest, warping back onto the Alpha Slayer. A few moments later, she arrived back on Elaris’s ship with a set of harnesses, each with a button in the middle of the x-shaped frame. “Put these on and activate them. They’re holographic projection suits, or disguises as you earth-folk like to call ‘em. They’ll turn you into hounds on the outside, tricking the muckers up there into thinking you’re one of ‘em.”

“Wait, for real?” Pinkie took one of the harnesses and put it on her body. As it did, the bands tightened up until they were snug around her body. Then, with the push of the button, a column of light appeared, slammed down on Pinkie, then vanished milliseconds after, turning her into a Hound. “Whoa… Okay, now that is pretty sweet.” Her voice still remained the same, despite her appearance.

“Okay, now that’s clever. I really like that idea.” Rainbow put her harness on and took up her Hound disguise as well, watching as the others followed suit. “Well, there’s one left, Twilight. And you wanna come and save Shining Armour, don’t ya?”

“Of course. You don’t need to tell me twice.” Twilight put the harness down on the floor and tried to step into it, only for the bands to snap her legs up. She tumbled over with the restraints on her legs, only for Espy to grab the harness and push a separate button at the back, releasing the device from her body. “Ugh… Okay, I think I might need some help with this one.”

“Well, six out of seven isn’t bad. I suppose that comes with being Power Rangers, I guess.” Espy, wasting no time at all picked up Twilight’s harness and put it on for her, watching as it tightened before she pushed the button to activate the disguise. “Now then, I’m going to warp you straight to the Omega Pack’s little hideout. From there, we need to get to Vi’Al’s lab and take back Shining Armour. I know the ship like the back of my hand, so leave the directions to me, a’ight?”

“If you need any help, I’ll keep an open comms line out for you, Rangers.” Elaris, still in her chair, readied her hands over the console once more.

“No. For this mission, we need radio silence. If the Wolfpack detect any frequencies coming from this ship, then they’ll lock it down and swarm you like a bunch of skwarg beetles.” Espy walked over to the console and moved Elaris’s hands away. “I appreciate the effort, though. But if me and the Rangers are gonna pull this off, then we need to use close-quarters talking to get the job done.”

“Don’t worry, Elaris. We’re gonna get on that ship and get Shining Armour back. This, I promise.” Sunset Shimmer nodded, before laying a hand on one of the hounds. “Twilight, I hope you know what you’re doing here.”

“Uh, Sunset? I’m Fluttershy,” she said, the voice completely mismatched with her body. “Twilight’s over there.” She pointed to another hound.”

“Nuh-uh. Twily’s over here!” Pinkie’s fake claws jabbed to another one of the disguised Rainbooms.

“Oh, it’s fine, girls. I know what she’s trying to mean. Even if she’s telling it to the wrong girl.” Twilight stepped forward. “Now, let’s get onto the Alpha Slayer, Espy.”

“K. Just take my hand, then give your free one to another one of your mates. Won’t take long, I should hope.” Espy reached her hand out to Twilight, who grabbed it and Sunset’s, who took Pinkie’s, who reached for Applejack, who locked fingers with Rarity, who held hands with Fluttershy, who finished the circuit with Applejack. “Now then. You might want to hold on tight. Wolfpack teleportation can get a little dicey in places.” Using her free arm, Espy pressed the button on her teleporter, taking her and all of the Rainbooms away in a radiant burst of purple light, fading into particles as they left Elaris’s ship behind.


In the same flash of light that had caused Espy to appear in the ship before it, she and the disguised Rainbooms arrived in a small room with a passageway leading out to the rest of the ship, concealed by a large flag of some sort. There were computers scattered across the little alcove, with Wolfpack wolves similarly armoured like espy, but tinted various different colours. None of them were Hounds, but they were all still doing their jobs without anything distracting them, typing in commands on their various keyboards and panels even as their leader returned.

“Ah, Espy. Are these the Power Rangers that you’ve been talking about? The ones that will help us out in our endeavours?” One of the wolves spoke up, with a refined, gentlemanly accent.

“Yeah, Cordin. These are them.” Espy pushed the buttons, revealing the Power Rangers to the wolves in the room. “I’d like ya to meet… Actually, what were your names again?”

“I’m Sunset Shimmer. The Red Ranger.” She put her hand on her chest. “And these are my friends. Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Twilight.”

“Right, right. These are the girls who’ve been chopping Wolfpack wolves left, right, and center. With a little bit of luck, we might just throw the Wolfpack on its’ head with all of our little plans.” Espy patted each of the Rainbooms on the shoulders. “I gotta say, at first, when we came here, I thought you were gonna be easy pickings, but no. You’re mean little scrappers when you wanna be.”

“Thanks, I guess?” Twilight shrugged, wincing at the description that Espy used. She hadn’t received that kind of title before.

“Now then, on the topic of getting Shining Armour out. Right now, we’re in one of the large cargo holds the Wolfpack use to store all of their goods that they don’t need at the moment.” Espy ran over to the flag concealing the rest of the ship and pulled it up, showing off the rest of the hold and the crates that stood in them, being overseen by Hounds. “From here, we’re going to take the elevator up to a floor known as Apex’s Realm. That’s where all the higher-ups reside. No doubt that Mar’Zek and his Feral Five, as well as the slimy Vi’Al are up there.”

“Straight into it as always, eh? No rest for the wicked eh, Espy?” A female wolf asked, giving her a nudge on the elbow.

“Nah, Sala. It’s quickfire missions like this that keep us busy, make it so there’s never a dull moment.” Espy playfully slapped Sala’s arms. “Always gotta keep moving, clock or no clock. A machine that ain’t moving isn’t worth keeping.” She turned back to the Rangers. “Now then, disguises on and follow my lead, Rangers. Let’s pull off a heist.”

The Rangers put on their disguises once more and followed Espy out of the hideout and into the cargo hold. Despite them looking identical to the many hounds that patrolled and surveyed the area, the seven girls were sweating in their regular skins. All they could do at the moment was follow Espy. If any of them gave the wolves any sign that they weren’t who they looked like, then everything would go up in flames.

Espy lead them through the hold, past each of the boxes. She had seen everything countless times, so saw no need to stop and look around, although she couldn’t say the same was for her guests. She had to glance back multiple times and make sure that they weren’t distracted with some of the goods that the Wolfpack were carrying with them. Some labels and lights on the crates caught their eyes, which Espy quickly had to pull them away from.

“Hang on, I’ve just had a thought about something.” Sunset whispered as she lifted a finger. “What if the Wolfpack use this as a chance to make another attack while we’re going to save Shining Armour? A two-pronged motion?”

“Hmm… I hadn’t thought about that.” Espy stopped in her tracks and looked back at the hounds. “I suppose we could leave some behind to handle the Wolfpack down there while the rest stay up here. The question though, is who’s willing to stay behind while we find this Shining Armour guy?”

“I’ll go.” Fluttershy wasted no time in lifting her hand up. “I’d much rather fight off Wolfpack on Earth than up here, if that’s alright with you?”

“Shucks. I guess I’d better tag along as well, make sure that Fluttershy don’t get into too much trouble.” Applejack took her place next to Fluttershy, placing her hand on her shoulder.

“Oh, I suppose they could use a little bit of assistance. I shall go and make sure that they don’t end up being overrun by the wolves down there on Earth as well.” Rarity nodded, standing by Applejack and Fluttershy.

“Alright then. I’m sending you back.” Espy took the teleportation device off of her outfit, then pointed it like a set of car keys at the three Rangers. “Good luck down there, you three. The rest of us will take it from here.” With the push of a button, the three Rangers were sent back in the same burst of light that brought them up to the ship.”Now then, we’d better get moving. And fast.” Espy put the device back in and walked toward the nearby elevator, with the other five girls quickly entering with her.

Once inside the large cylindrical lift with neon lighting and a panel sticking out of the left side, Espy placed her paw down on the scanner, which prompted a bar to scan her hand. Once it flashed green, another screen opened up with a series of named floors on them. She pushed the button that read “Apex’s Realm”, causing the doors to close up, cutting off the cargo hold from the team’s view before they felt the device begin to move up.

As they reached the top and the door opened, they already saw a large group of Wolfpack Wolves running through the corridors, lead by the Feral Five. The Rainbooms lurched at the sight of the stampede of fur and metallic armour and weapons, breath incredibly still as Espy just stood with no reaction. Once the entire group had moved and the corridor clear, the team stepped out and followed Espy down the opposite way that the army of wolves had come from.

“Looks like we were right all along. The captain’s about to get slaughtered by the very crew he once tried to lead.” Espy made fists out of her paws and ran. “And I think I’ve got a pretty darn good hunch about who’s gonna be the next Alpha…”

“That big guy leading the Feral Five, the one who didn’t even bother to fight us…” Sunset thought back to the day when the Feral Five were first unleashed on her and her friends, how effortlessly they beat the girls down, how they were floored over and over again. “Ahl’Mai’Tee, I think his name was?”

“Yeah. He’d grab the Wolfpack at the first chance he could get. And he’d make the rest of the Feral Five his new inner circle, along with whatever other of the best and more powerful wolves that he could find,” Espy said. “As for what they’re gonna do once they seize command, your guess is as good as mine. But I know for a fact that the Wolfpack are gonna stop mucking around and clock the lot of you with barely any kind of fight-back.”

“Well, that’s why we’re just gonna get stronger. We’ve already gotten Rarity a power boost after she had to fight Siel’Viz, so I’m sure that we’ll all get super-boosts like that before we have the final showdown with those Feral Five creeps…” Rainbow Dash nodded, pumping her fist. “But enough talking about how awesome we’re gonna be, instead, we’ve gotta get to the lab.”

“I believe, it was right around… here.” Espy came to a door that had another handprint scanner on it. “Now then, Vi’Al doesn’t like anyone else snooping around in his lab, so if he comes back, we can consider this mission a bust. But, knowing him, and the fact that his captain is in danger, no doubt he’ll try to fight his corner for a while, so that gives us some time. Espy opened up a panel above the handprint scanner, revealing buttons in a three-by-three grid. “Now, if there’s one thing I’ve learned from being a Wolfpack lackey, it’s how to take notes. So, if I’m right, the combination to his lab should be…” She pounded in the buttons, causing the grid to turn green, opening the door to the laboratory. “Boom. We’re in.”

The door swung open, filling the darkened laboratory with light once more. The remaining Rangers filed in, with Espy being the last to enter. Apart from all of the equipment that had been scattered around the room, there was one thing that everyone’s eyes were locked onto. Shining Armour, tied in his restraints with his head hung as he looked up at the holographic wolves that stomped up to him.

“Shiny!” Twilight ran over to him, deactivating the cloaking device. His eyes went wide at the sight of her, prompting to try and escape his holds once more, only for them to tighten once more, burrowing themselves deeper and deeper into his skin. “Are you alright?”

He couldn’t speak because of the gag around his mouth, which Twilight quickly ripped off. “Twily! Did… Did you come here to rescue me?”

“Yeah, Shiny. We did.” Twilight looked back at the others, as they disengaged their disguises and approached Shining and the device he was strapped into. “We’re gonna get you off of this ship as fast as we can.”

“Don’t try and pull the restraints! I’ve tried. These things just get tighter and tighter the more they get pulled.” Shining didn’t even bother to move, lest they restrain him so much that his wrists and ankles broke. “Do you think you can get me out of these things, girls?”

“Sure thing. Pinkie, do you have some detonating sprinkles on hand?” Sunset turned to Pinkie, watching as she quickly dove her hands into her hair and pulled out a small tube of them.

“When do I ever not have exploding sprinkles?” Pinkie asked, taking her position at the restraints. “Well, I guess all the times before I had this magical pendant of mine. And before I came to CHS. Man, I really need to carry this stuff around more.”

She let some of the sprinkles fall into her hand as she took hold of her geode with the other. Tossing four different bunches of sprinkles at the restraints, they detonated in a burst of powder, breaking the straps that held Shining up, causing him to flop to the ground like a ragdoll, immediately into the arms of Twilight.

“Don’t worry, Shiny. You’re gonna be fine, trust me.” Twilight carried Shining Armour over to Espy. “Now then, we need to get out of here, fast.” As soon as she said it, the doors swung open, causing Espy to duck behind a device, out of the eyes of the Wolfpack soldiers who barged in. “Oh crap…”

“Well, well, well. Now this is a bold move on your part, Rangers.” Vi’Al walked through the Hounds, staring down the intruders. “Boarding the Alpha Slayer without our cameras picking you up, only to find yourselves caught in a web I wove for you.” He gave them a sadistic, toothy grin as he walked up to Shining Armour and Twilight Sparkle. “Rage does drive us far, doesn’t it? And it seems that your rage, Twilight Sparkle, is directed at us for what we’ve done to your brother. A shame that such a raw element must be destroyed. I’d very much like to see your anger in action but alas, you are not a Power Ranger, and so not worthy of my time.”

“Shut up! Did it ever occur to you that Shining Armour is a special person in my life? Someone that I’m not just going to part with that easily?!” She barked back at Vi’Al, readying her pendant for battle as she lifted a hand to it.

“Family is an anchor that holds you back. You feel worried about their safety when dragged into the firing line. The same feelings that mistress Rarity had when Siel’Viz struck down her family.” Vi’Al pushed his glasses closer to his face. “Because of her rage for our crime, she is now stronger. Will killing your brother make you stronger, Twilight?”

“If I had my gun, a bullet would be going between your eyes right now, buddy…” Shining Armour snarled, glaring up at the Wolfpack agent.

“Rather than see you continue to spend your hatred, I shall turn you over to the Captain. Or rather, the soon to be new captain.” He turned his back to the Sparkles. “Yes, as sad as it may be, the mutiny is already in progress, and the Feral Five are already dispatching Mar’Zek. Truth be told, he had it coming, since his supposed honour is what held us all back. As long as my research does not suffer from his death, I see no reason as to why he should still hold the atoms and particles that allow him to exist.”

“You’re sick, ya know that?!” Sunset barked, morphing into the Red Ranger with the slam of her hand, as did Pinkie and Rainbow Dash.

“No, Red Ranger. I am a scientist. There is a fine line between the two. A line that you fail to see because of your lacklustre IQ.” He chuckled. “Now then. Dispose of them, Hounds. Should they survive, I’ll alert the rest of the ship. There is no way that they are leaving alive.”

The Hounds snarled as they drew their weapons, ready to fight the Rangers as they slowly stomped towards them. As they got close, though, Espy leaned her hand out from where she was hiding, pointed the teleporter at the team and pushed the button, sending them all back to the ship in another brilliant eruption of purple light, blinding the room for an instance. When the light faded, there was nothing but the lab and the wolves remaining.

“Well then… That was rather unexpected.” Vi’Al blinked rapidly, before cleaning his glasses with the collar of his coat. “But no matter. They will not survive the next few cycles with our new leaders at the helm.” He tossed his coat back and slunk out of the door with the Hounds that had followed him in, leaving Espy alone in the room, bathed in darkness as the doors closed.


Shining Armour, Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and Sunset returned to Elaris’s ship in yet another burst of light. It didn’t take long for Elaris to climb off of her seat and give the Rangers a smile as they walked toward her, with Shining Armour behind them all.

“You did it. You actually did it!” Elaris had a grin from ear to ear as she threw her arms up. “You got onto the Alpha Slayer and out of it with Shining Armour untouched! Now that’s the kind of heroism that Power Rangers are known for!”

“Thanks, Elaris. I’m just glad that we were able to get my big brother back, before those Wolfpack brutes really sank their teeth into him.” Twilight threw her entire body into Shining Armour’s body, tightly pulling him into a hug as she nuzzled her head against his chest.

Shining Armour, in response, could only return the favour and close his eyes, patting her on the back tenderly as he pulled her in closer. It almost looked like he was smothering her with how tight their hold on each other was.

“I knew that you would come for me, Twily. I just knew that you would,” he said, watching as the others gathered around him and his little sister. “Even when those Wolfpack tested on me and stuck some things inside of me.”

“Sounds like you’ve had a bit of a rough time on the ship. Do you want me to lead you to the med bay and check you for any kind of damage?” Fluttershy asked, raising a hand to Shining. “It’s the least that you need after what those Wolfpack monsters did to you…”

“I’ll be fine. No, really. Being in the CPD’s taught me to handle a lot of difficult things.” Shining Armour tried to walk forward, only to find the strength in his body fading as the pain in his wrists came back, causing him to flop to the ground. “But… I guess a little trip to this med bay of yours wouldn’t hurt.”

Twilight just chuckled and carried him up with her geode’s magic. “You’re always being the big brother in charge, aren’t you, Shiny? Well, this time, we’re gonna take care of you for all of the stuff that you’ve done for us.” She lifted him out of the bridge and down the corridors of Elaris’s ship. “Thanks, girls. I really mean that.”

“No problem, Twilight. You spend some time with your brother. We’ll be here trying to figure out our next move.” Sunset waved Twilight off as she hauled her brother through the corridors

“Did you find out anything interesting when you were on the Alpha Slayer?” Elaris asked once Twilight had left the room. “Anything about Mar’Zek’s plans or what soldiers he’s going to send after you next?

Sunset just sucked in some air through her mouth. “Oh, yeah… About that…”

“We heard that there was a mutiny going on and that Mar’Zek was being deposed by those Feral Five jerks.” Rainbow Dash tipped her hand toward Elaris. “If their little movement is gonna be successful, then they’re gonna be leading the Wolfpack instead of him. And the Wolfpack are gonna be a lot more aggressive in their attacks.”

“A mutiny? On the Alpha Slayer? Oh dear. That’s going to be a real problem. And those Feral Five were immensely powerful…” Elaris hastily dashed back to the console and worked away, the tendrils on her body sticking out and flowing through the air more vigorously as she pounded in commands. “And if they’re running the Wolfpack, we’d better get power boosts for you all as fast as we can. If we don’t, this planet’s going to be overrun in a matter of weeks…”

Then, shouting could be heard...


In the med bay, Shining Armour laid on a bed, with Twilight watching as the machines spreaded more of the healing particles through the air. The same ones that had patched up the other girls when they had been felled by Mar’Zek in battle. It took much less of them than usual as they seeped into his wounded parts.

“I just have one question to ask, Twily,” he said. “Why didn’t you come for me eariler? If you guys are the Power Rangers, then wouldn’t it have made sense for you to come before any of this mutiny talk?”

“Well, truth be told, I… didn’t really have much time to come up with a solid plan. Plus, we didn’t really have a way onto the ship without Espy’s help, so… I kinda didn’t plan for your rescue for a bit.” Twilight hung her head, twiddling her fingers.

“You… didn’t?” Shining took the words like daggers to his heart. His own sister couldn’t have come up with a plan to free him days before, leaving him to fester in that room while the Wolfpack carried out their plans. “So… I was supposed to be experimented on? To be a puppet for those things while you just… procrastinated?!”

“I didn’t have much of a choice, okay?!” Twilight swung her arms out. “I’m not a Power Ranger, and I didn’t really have access to the Alpha Slayer. I couldn’t have just hijacked a rocket and used that to board the ship. And if I had, it would’ve crashed and killed me, or the Wolfpack would have shredded me if I’d even tried such a stunt!”

“I can’t believe you. You admitted that there was no way to save me? As if I didn’t matter to you?” Shining Armour blew his nose viciously, like a bull at a fight. “We could have avoided all of my torture if you’d just planned a bit more before this! Isn’t this supposed to be another spaceship?” With the particles still rushing into his body, Shining Armour fell asleep, dropping back onto the bed like a sack of potatoes in the store.

“Due to his elevated condition, I have had to administer a sedative. His rage would have caused the blood in his body to pump faster, possibly aggravating his heart.” L.U.C.Y. spoke from the ship’s intercom. “He will wake up in a couple of hours, so that I can properly heal him without his heart being crippled in the process.

“Shining… I’m sorry about all of this. I didn’t mean for you to get hurt. I just… I wanted to save you.” Twilight felt tears running down her eyes. “I shouldn’t have just sat around like this. I just… I just wanted to see you back home. Even if I was a few days late…” She ended up crying into Shining Armour’s chest, letting his clothes soak up all of her sorrows as she sat silently in the med bay. Elaris, from the doorway could only watch the now fractured family.


On the Alpha Slayer’s bridge, Ahl’Maih’Tie sat in the throne where Mar’Zek once sat, with the rest of his Feral Five accommodating the space between him, with Uhp’Grahy’Der and Deh’Mehn’Sha on his right, and Mah’Jehs’Tie and Uon’Buh’Leht on his left. Looking out at the rest of his crew, he could only let out a chuckle as he looked down on the planet.

“For all of his talk about honour, the wolf knew great taste. Such a shame that his supposed honour deluded him like this.” Ahl’Maih’Tie boomed, folding his arms as he kicked up his legs. “Still, I suppose it couldn’t be helped that he was destined to fail. He led the Wolfpack greatly before. I suppose it is true. Anyone can fail at any time, no matter how much of a legacy they leave for themselves.”

“What are your orders now, honey? Or should I say, captain?” Mah’Jehs’Tie let out a chuckle as she unfurled her fans before Ahl’Maih’Tie.

“The Wolfpack have been holding back for far too long. I say that we choke the Rangers out of that little hovel of a town they hold themselves up in,” Ahl’Maih’Tie declared. “After all, we are a fleet, not a single ark. Why shouldn’t we use our numbers to our advantage? Run the planet down? Show the Rangers that we are a force that cannot be stopped?”

“And with that new pet that Vi’Al’s been cooking up, I’d say that’s a very good start.” Uhp’Grahy’Der pointed towards the door, where a new figure stood. With armour similar to a ranger, only with dark purple fire-patterns on the arms and legs, with a glowing crystal sitting in his chest, a visor that looked like a jagged arrow pointing downward, and a pair of sharpened wings welded onto the back. “I would’ve killed that guy for what he did, but any benefit to the cause is what we’ll take, I suppose.”

“What are your orders, Captain Ahl’Maih’Tie?” The new Ranger bowed before the Feral Five, visor pointed to the ground.

“Go down to this planet Earth and duel the Rangers. While they battle with you, we will begin flooding the rest with our troops.” Ahl’Maih’Tie threw his arm out to the dark Ranger. “By the time you wear them down, our Wolfpack troops should have converted a fair amount of the planet.”

“Yes, sir. Right away, sir.” The dark ranger stood back up and walked out, leaving the Feral Five to their devices. As he walked out, he de-morphed, revealing a perfect replica of Shining Armour, only with black, snake-like eyes...