Equestria Rangers

by Shadowmane PX-41

Deh'Mehn'Sha's Trap

The Rangers were just finishing off eliminating another member of the Wolfpack in Denver. With a pair of blows from Pinkie's wrist-mounted cannons, a bevy of bullets from Rainbow Dash's blasters, a tail-swatting from one of Fluttershy's spectral crocodiles, a slam from Applejack's sledgehammer, a torrential beam of magic from Twilight's book, followed by a final triage of cuts from Rarity and Sunset's swords, the Wolfpack agent exploded into flames, showering the team in a cloud of fiery smoke; one that faded shortly after it was made.

"That's another one off of the list." Said Sunset as she de-morphed, basking in the light of the sun. That and the other fleeing Wolfpack grunts now without their leader to command them. "At this rate, we'll have America back on its' feet in no time."

"Don't get too ahead of yourself, Sunset. There's still a ton of Wolfpack left." Applejack remarked as she too morphed back into her civilian form. "Not to mention, there's still that fancy-pants girl, that crazy-psycho, and the leader of the Feral Five left. We ain't out of the woods. Not by a long shot."

"Yeah, but you gotta admit, Applejack. It feels good to get those jerks off of our home turf." Rainbow Dash reverted back to her normal form as well, putting her hands behind her head. "Doesn't matter how long or how little rest we get, as long as we look awesome putting those wolves into the dirt."

"Oh, I agree. The sooner we eradicate the Wolfpack, the sooner I can get back to a commodity I've been sorely missing since we started; some R&R at the spa." Rarity said, looking as ladylike as ever as her white ranger suit disappeared.

"Uh, what about Mar'Zek?" Fluttershy asked. "He's still wandering out there with his crew. He's gonna be horribly outmatched if the Feral Five find him first."

"I wish we could have taken him too, Fluttershy, but he sounded pretty adamant on his situation," Twilight told her, laying a hand on her shoulders. "Not to mention, the enemy of my enemy rule is kinda sketchy once all's said and done. The moment Ahl'Mai'Tie falls and the rest of the Feral Five get destroyed, all bets are off."

"Well, I wouldn't say all bets. There's still that little extra bet on whether or not I can beat the most Wolfpack. You know the one, right, Applejack? I'm still counting, you know." And like that, Pinkie Pie pulled out an excessively long sheet of paper, scribbling down ferociously on it. "And it looks like, after that last fight, I'm still in the lead. But you're not too far behind, Dashie."

"Heh. Figures. Leave it to Pinkie to count up the number of bad guys we've pummeled." Rainbow Dash couldn't help but give Pinkie a fist-bump at her chart's latest update.

"Anyways, we should probably be headin' on back." Applejack threw her thumb over her shoulder; a gesture that meant the crew needed to shove out. "No rest for the wicked out here. 'Specially not with the Wolfpack still holding the planet harder than a bull rider at a rodeo."

The crew were then warped back onto Elaris's ship. Wasting no time, the Rainbooms all took their seats in the bridge and strapped themselves in tight. Elaris then took the time to disembark from Denver. The ship entered lightspeed again and the team found themselves high in the stratosphere away from the ground and any Wolfpack ambushes and defences. Once the voyage came to an end, the Rainbooms stood themselves back up and turned to Elaris, who stood up from her seat.

"So, you got any more targets for us to hit, El? I'm good for another few rounds with the Wolfpack." Rainbow Dash was the first one to ask as she flexed her arms.

"I'm afraid not, Rainbow Dash. The Wolfpack have been pretty quiet ever since you took out Ahl'Mai'Tie's Constrictor and saved your zords." Elaris explained, standing up from her seat. "Trust me, girl. If I did know where the next place to hit was, you'd be the first to know."

"For once, it's quiet. And I'm not sure that I like that." Sunset Shimmer looked out the windscreen to the skies ahead. Ever since donning the mantle of the Red Ranger, her life had been thrown into all sorts of chaos. But by far, the greatest kind of chaos was the quiet kind; the one where she and the others had a rest. Though it was a comforting thing, she still had the feeling that something bad was about to happen. "You sure that there's no real targets anywhere?"

"I'm afraid not." Elaris shook her head and fiddled with the buttons on her console. "I've even got Espy and her crew working on an extra-tight sweep of the world; to see if we can isolate any Wolfpack camps with encrypted coordinates; places where the Wolfpack don't want anyone to find."

"Y'know, it's kinda weird that these wolves are playing hide-and-seek with us. I mean, they're the big, bad wolves. They're the meanies that stalk the planet, teeth bared, weapons armed, and ready to kick our sorry butts to Timbuktu and back." Pinkie Pie said, throwing her arms in the air. "Hiding seems like the last thing they'd do."

"Maybe they're hiding because we're delivering swift justice unto their kind?" Rarity furrowed her fingers, admiring the nails that she had been working on. "I mean, if I were the leader of a rogue band of pirates, known for pillaging and destroying things, I would be shamefully embarrassed with myself if my own crew ended up losing over and over again."

"Maybe we do deserve some kind of a break..." Fluttershy spoke softly as she looked at the rest of the Rainbooms. "We've been working ourselves to the bone with all these attacks on the Wolfpack. Some rest and relaxation should help us get back on our feet; lift our spirits so that we can get back out there with smiles on our faces and the confidence that we'll be able to save the world."

"Well, it ain't really what ah was plannin' on, but..." Applejack let out a sigh. She had to admit that all of these Wolfpack fights were starting to weigh heavily on her psyche. "Yer right, Fluttershy. If we just spend our whole lives fightin', then we're no better than them."

"Still, where would we even go?" Twilight asked. "There's still a lot of places that are covered by the Wolfpack, so our options for a brief vacation are limited." She pushed her glasses closer to her face. "And even then, there's no guarantee that the Wolfpack would even give us a chance to relax. After all, Mar'Zek didn't give us any breaks, and I doubt the Feral Five—or whatever's left of them—would do the same."

"Well, whether or not they do, we still need some kind of break." Sunset Shimmer looked into Twilight's eyes, putting a hand on her shoulders. "I know that we want to world to come back as soon as possible, but the Wolfpack are still licking their wounds from all the hits we're getting in on them, and there's a whole civil war going on between Mar'Zek and the Feral Five. I'm sure that, with all that chaos going on, it's actually given us some breathing room."

"Fair point." Twilight smiled. She was always concerned when it came to acting out when there were so many variables to take into account. However, with Sunset backing her up, Twilight knew that they would all come out of the chaos unscathed. "Alright. Let's do it." She turned to Elaris. "Elaris. Can you find us somewhere to rest up for a bit?"

"Right away." Elaris started frantically typing away at her console's buttons, like a hacker violently cracking open a firewall or other encrypted program. Sure enough, the map on her screen changed, and now the sweeping bars were looking for places for the girls to relax. Quickly, the console found something. "A-ha. Here we go. There's a theme park that opened up near Denver quite recently. And the attacks you've made have sent a ripple effect that sent the Wolfpack there scurrying. That should do the trick."

"A theme park? Well, it's been a while since we last went to a place like that." Rainbow Dash grinned as she kicked up her feet on her chair. "I'm down for that."

"Me too! Theme parks are like, the bestest of the best places ever!" Pinkie Pie squealed, her voice getting high-pitched and squeaky. "All the rollercoasters that zoom around at speeds so fast you feel like you're flying, the spinning teacup rides that spin so fast you feel like you're in a washing machine, the drop towers that climb all the way to the sky then drop like a sack of potatoes! EEEEEEEE, I'm getting all hyper just talking about it!"

"That's what we've been missing in all of this Wolfpack chaos. All the fun of the fair." Rarity did very much enjoy seeing Pinkie Pie's energy and eccentricity on full display. It was the kind of thing that she longed for, both as a Rainboom and as a friend to see the rest of her friends smiling. "We should go immediately."

"Sounds like it's settled then." Sunset said as she crossed her arms. "El. Set a course for Denver, and punch it!" As soon as Sunset stopped talking, the Rainbooms all let out a cheer as they took their seats and buckled themselves in tight.

"Alright then. Hang on to your socks, ladies. We're off!" Elaris fired up the warp gate and, in the blink of an eye, her ship entered a tunnel of rainbow light, speeding forward as if it were a bullet launched from a gun. It wouldn't take long for them to get there at this rate.

---

And sure enough, in Denver, the theme park was open for business and people were already inside, enjoying the thrills and spills in the shining sunlight. There were screeches both of joy and fear, cheerful chatter as stall games were played and food was eaten. With how brightly all the colours of the park popped out and how the skies were clear and present, it seemed like this was the perfect place for anyone to get away from it all and enjoy life to the fullest.

Not too far away from the park, Elaris's ship exited the warp tunnel and appeared above the air. As soon as it did, Elaris initiated the cloaking device and the ship camouflaged itself with the sky. With the changes made, Elaris flew the ship towards the ground, parking it somewhere close to the gates, but not too close that the people would be able to see her and the Rangers exiting.

Once they walked through the park's front gates and the price of admission paid, the girls found themselves in the nexus of the theme park, with roads branching off to all of the different areas of the park. From Westland to Thrilligan's Isle, Harrowing Hollow and Layback Lane, there was something for everyone. And everywhere that the Rainbooms looked, there were people enjoying the theme park to its' absolute fullest.

"Alright! This is more like it!" Rainbow Dash's smile reached from cheek to cheek as she took in the sights and smells of the theme park. "We're totally gonna be able to blow off some steam here!"

"I know! What should we do first?" Pinkie asked as she excitedly trotted on the spot, looking around each of the areas of the park. "Ooh, there's just so much to do, I just can't decide!"

"Why don't we let Elaris decide? Since she found this place and all?" Twilight asked, pointing towards Elaris, who was disguised as her human self in order to prevent raising any suspicions. "What do you think, El? Is there anything here that you think would be fun to ride?"

"Hmm... Let me see." Though Elaris was still very new to the customs of Earthlings, she still could tell that everyone here was enjoying themselves on the rides. Whether or not their screams reflected that was another matter. "That ride over there. That looks pretty immense. I'd like to see what that one's like, if you don't mind."

"The Skyslicer? Ooh, yeah. That looks cool!" Rainbow Dash's eyes twinkled with glee as she looked at the towering behemoth of a rollercoaster standing before the girls. "Going for the big thrills first, El? Noice." Rainbow Dash gave Elaris a playful slap on the back, a gesture that made her lurch forward ever so slightly before she regained her composure and stood upright once again. "C'mon, girls! Let's get real excited!"

And with a cheer, the Rainbooms went off on their day. And one walk later, the girls found themselves on the Skyslicer's queue line. The line was a little bit long, however, it didn't stay that way for long, as people went on the ride and got off pretty fast. That long line didn't feel long at all as the girls quickly got to the station. As a group of eight, the girls all boarded the rollercoaster and pulled the headbars down over themselves. While the Rainbooms got themselves settled in nicely, Elaris found herself intrigued by the unique restraints. Like a curious kitten, she reached up and pulled the bars down. And as she pulled it down around her chest, she found the bars unable to move back up.

"Why do these humans need such... odd restraints?" Elaris asked, looking towards Twilight. "Is this... normal for theme parks?"

"Oh yes," Twilight said. "These headbar restraints are actually one of the most secure for a ride like this. With all of the speed and the G-forces that you can get while riding this, this is probably the best kind of restraint. Especially with all of the loops, big hills, and all the other bells and whistles."

"Well, I'll take your word for it." Elaris said, putting her hands on the two metal handles on the headbar. Shortly after, two ride attendants came to check everyone's restraints were firmly locked, by pushing it close to people's chests again to make sure it couldn't go any farther. Elaris was once again intrigued by the unique method of doing things, but shortly after the brief inspection was done, the rollercoaster train left the station.

And up the hill it climbed. As the air around the girls got thinner and the apex of the hill came closer and closer, Elaris looked to the side and saw just how high she was flying. Though she wasn't afraid of heights, that was because she was safe and secure within her ship. Now, she was in an open carriage, and though the restraints were keeping her firmly secured in place, the rest of the ride could have gone in a variety of ways for her. She couldn't help but feel a little shaky in her arms and knees as the train reached the hill. And for a good reason. Because what came next, she wasn't expecting at all.

The train went over the edge of the hill and came speeding down the other side, which was far steeper than the climb itself. The people on board immediately let out their collective screams of fun and terror as they sped down the slope, with the Rainbooms also giving their own squeals. Some fun, others mortified. Elaris herself fell on the mortified side, screeching in horror as the train sped to the bottom, then swooped back up, twisted to the side, and entered a corkscrew, turning upside down before shifting down the other end of the track through a tunnel, wind blasts striking her face and making her unable to scream. All the while, the restraints were keeping her firmly secured the whole trip.

The train made more dips, turns, loops, rolls, and tricks. And all of it in the blink of an eye. Even when there was a long straightaway part of the track, the boosters sped up the ride to make those moments seem like another flash in the pan. Up another hill the train screeched, as the riders all found themselves in the air again and the mounted cameras flashing to take the rider's pictures; most of which were still them screaming or smiling if they had managed to work up the muscle to do so. Then, it dropped down a track that plunged straight down over a pool of water, the jets splashing the people who were nearby. After which, it went up and down some more hills at a speedy pace, then did another pair of corkscrews before finally turning back to the station as the brakes were applied.

"What... was... that..." Elaris was hyperventilating as the train slowly rolled back into the station. She looked at Twilight and saw that her normally straight ponytail was now frizzy, and her hair stood on end.

"That, Elaris, was a rollercoaster." Twilight herself was breathing from the adrenaline rush; her arms still shaking from the speed and twists of the ride. "They're very extreme. Even I can't get over just how crazy they can get sometimes."

"I didn't think anything would be able to phase you after all of the Wolfpack stuff, but... turns out that this world's got more than a few surprises up its' sleeve." Elaris said, looking at the station as they trundled back in gently. Once they were back where they started on the rail, the restraints automatically disengaged and lifted themselves back up. "Oh my..." Elaris watched as the bar snapped back into its upright place, freeing the riders snared in it.

"That... blew my mind!" Rainbow Dash was the first one to say it as she and the other girls walked towards the exit of the attraction. "All the speed, those hills, and those loops! That's the kind of fun that I could never get tired of!"

"I know! The way that we sped on past like 'whoo'sho'whoosh' and screamed like 'aaaaaaaaaah!' I'd almost forgotten just how much fun these places could be!" Pinkie was trotting with glee as she and the other girls kept their pace. "What did you think about it, El? Wasn't it super-duper fun?"

"It was... certainly... an interesting experience." Elaris looked back at the way that the group had come. Even though she was a space-traveller, that was something that she had not experienced in her life. "These humans. They ride these things all the time?"

"If you work here, that is." Applejack folded her arms. "Still. Ah take it that for your first time, it really rattled yer canary cage?"

"I suppose you could call it that." Elaris still didn't understand a thing about Applejack's countryisms, but having spent more than a few days with her, she had been able to gleam the right kind of understanding from the words she said. "In any case, it's a very interesting way to spend your time, I must say. What else do these humans ride in these parks?"

"Let me show you, El." Pinkie Pie said, then without another word, she grabbed Elaris by the wrist and speedily rushed through the rest of the park, carrying the helpless alien girl from another world along with her, like a kid with a balloon. She was going to show Elaris the time of her life.

And so, the day went on with the Rainbooms partaking in various theme park rides and attractions. They spun round and around on the teacup attraction, took the plunge and got soaked on the flume ride, swung high into the air on the swinging boats, and took on some other rollercoasters, each varying in size, speed, and track layout. All of this was building the adrenaline in the girls and very quickly, they found themselves unable to stop, enthralled in the rides and joy the park was giving to them. It almost felt like the Wolfpack had never come to Earth with how deeply the girls found themselves enjoying their day. Even as they played and won or lost in the stall game attractions or spent their downtime munching away on food, there was no end to the pleasantries.

The girls eventually found themselves relaxing at one of the tables, showing off the pictures that they had taken and uploading them to their social media platforms. Some of them had the girls posing, while others had the filters and effects changed to make them look nicer. Mostly the funny-looking filters in the case of Pinkie Pie's pictures. In any case, it was like they were embracing their inner teens as they were spending the moment together.

"This day out, it has been rather enlightening." Elaris said, looking towards the skies. "I've learned a little bit more about the human way of life. And more importantly, how insane I think they are when it comes to some of their thrills." She was still a little bit shaken from all of the rollercoasters and other intense thrills, as her semi-trembling arms and legs showed.

"Yeah. And we've still got plenty of time left." Sunset looked at the clock on her phone and saw that it was still just around midday. "Heck, there's still so much more that we haven't done that we've just gotta check out. Personally, I wanna see what's up with that hall of mirrors."

"And I wanna see what's going on with that little zoo." Fluttershy said, putting her hands together.

"Dunno 'bout you, but there's a certain hangin' bar game ah wanna try." Applejack pointed down one of the lanes where there was a stand where people were trying to hang onto a metal bar for two minutes without falling.

"We've done so much in such a short amount of time, but there's still so much left..." Elaris was looking around at the park from her seat. "Is this normal for theme parks? To have so much to do after having already done so much already? Or have we just had so much fun that we've forgotten about time?"

"Well, whatever it is, I'm having a blast." Sunset said, with a smirk. "What about you, El? Are you having fun?"

"Y-yeah. I guess I am." Elaris said. Though the attractions had been varied and different in every sense of the word, each of them had given her a unique feeling and experience. Something that, as an alien from another world, she wasn't used to. But, she supposed, that was part of the beauty of it. The feeling of doing something that was entirely out of your comfort zone.

"Well, then what are we waiting for? Let's keep this train going!" Pinkie Pie said, as she punched the air with delight. The Rainbooms cheered for her gesture.

So the girls went off again. And like before, they found themselves thoroughly engrossed in the attractions, games, and various other things of the park. From the shows to the experiences, the walk-through attractions to the restroom breaks, there was no shortage of things to be seen and done in the park. And the more that the girls did, the more time seemed to stop for them. By the time that they had done everything that they wanted to do, they still had more than enough energy left to spare to do it all over again. And again. And again.

Pinkie Pie herself didn't mind that the girls were having fun. And to a degree, she was having fun as well. Especially in these hard times, it was important for her and the others to remember that, deep down, they were teenage girls, so they might as well live in the moment rather than commit themselves entirely to business matters. That and, as they had said, they had earned a break and had rattled the Wolfpack enough to the point where they had the chance to treat themselves. Pinkie Pie still wished for the day that the Wolfpack were gone forever and that she could return to the lives that they had all lived before, but she was still proud to be a Ranger regardless. If it meant that she could still use her wrist-mounted party cannons and ride on her kangaroo zord, she'd keep on fighting for the future.

It was then that Pinkie Pie noticed just how quickly all the fun was being had. They had covered so much ground in such a short amount of time that it was almost uncanny. This was nothing like the trips that she and the others had been on when it came to theme parks. Usually, they would have taken more time to get from place to place, and even more time having to wait in line so that they could all chat together about the ride itself, the anticipation building up to getting to the station and strapping yourselves in. But here, it was all flowing like clockwork. Too much like clockwork, and Pinkie didn't like it. Something was wrong. She knew it deep down.

"So, uh... what's the time again?" Pinkie Pie asked as the girls came off of their latest ride. She was hoping that she had actually spent much more time than normal and that this was all just a hunch.

"The time? Let me have a look." Sunset whipped out her phone and looked at the time. Though, what came out of her lips next, Pinkie Pie wasn't expecting. "Huh. What do you know? It's still only 1 o'clock."

"Still only one? And we've done so much!" Rainbow Dash sounded jovial. The kind of jovial that Pinkie could tell was being changed by something.

"Shucks. Ah say we've got more than enough time ta do everythin' all over again!" Applejack gave a toothy grin as she looked at the other Rainbooms. "Whaddaya say, girls? Wanna keep playin' 'til the sun goes down?"

The Rainbooms and Elaris all let out cheers of delight at Applejack's proposition to keep on going. All except for Pinkie Pie, who tried her best to blend in and seem inconspicuous. Her voice was there, but her body language was saying otherwise.

"Sounds like everyone's up for another round." Rarity said, pushing her hands together. "Now, Pinkie Pie, since you are our fun-lover, what do you suggest we start doing again?"

"U-uh... well, that's the thing, really." Pinkie Pie yelped and twiddled her fingers. She couldn't risk the Rainbooms catching onto her little scheme, lest they were part of something much more dangerous. "Y-you were all having such a great time together and, well, I uh... I barely got any time to myself. I kinda wanna go back to that hall of mirrors. Y'know, just for how silly I look." Pinkie took a few steps back. "You can all go and have fun without me, but I kinda just want some me time, okay? You understand right? Of course ya do. I'm a silly dimwit. Okie-dokie-lokie! Bye then!" And Pinkie sprinted off in the other direction, leaving the Rainbooms behind.

The girls were all taken aback by Pinkie breaking off from the group, but as long as she was having fun, then there was nothing for them to worry about. Shrugging, the remaining Rainbooms and Elaris spoke among themselves about what they wanted to do next.

"This is bad, this is bad, this is bad!" Pinkie said to herself as she sprinted down the theme park roads; but not with the kind of speed that someone eager to do a ride would have had. She knew that there was more to this park now; that something or someone was playing tricks on her. After all, how could they have done everything and still had time to spare? And why did this park have so much, ran like clockwork, and didn't have any of the boring, draggy-down parts of a theme park? And why was Pinkie seeing all of the same civilians, all of the same bags, balloons, and food that they had been carrying the first time she had seen them. "I've gotta get to the bottom of this!"

She then came to the hall of mirrors and rushed inside, pushing past the kids and grown-ups waiting in line. She could hear a few shouts coming from behind, but she didn't pay them any notice. Finally, she had a room where she could think, where there was nothing but silence, and the reflections of herself all around her. Some of which were warped to make silly forms that she would have laughed at otherwise. But this wasn't the time for laughter. Now was the time for action.

"Wolfpack!" Pinkie Pie shouted into the nothingness around her. "I know you're behind this!" She told the mirrors, which echoed and bounced her voice. "I know theme parks like the back of my hand and I know for SURE that there's always going to be something that's boring or ruins the fun. This place is too good to be true. Everyone's having the time of their lives, there's no waiting in line for anything, and we've somehow managed to do everything once and are about to do it again! Whatever trick this is, you're gonna stop it right now!"

Pinkie waited for a few minutes, then heard silence. Hanging her head, she looked down at the ground. Perhaps she and the others really had gone through all of that fun and she'd been exceptionally lucky with the timing of it all. "Or... maybe I'm wrong. But... at least I can see when something's not right around here." She slowly trudged back towards the exit towards the mirror maze; unaware that there was another reflection that wasn't her own watching her back. That of a bipedal wolf with exceptionally slender skin; like it was malnourished, with a maniacal, whispered snicker coming out of its' mouth as Pinkie made her way out.

And when Pinkie did get out, the world around her had changed rather drastically. Gone were the sunny blue skies above and the people around her. The smells of the theme park food had evaporated into nothingness and were replaced with a foul, acrid smell strong enough to knock even the most strong-willed people out. The rides that Pinkie had once been on were now towering into the sky, making her seem even smaller by comparison. Furthermore, the park itself was made to look more curly and more monstrous, with bones and carcasses littering the floor, bats where the streetlights once hung, and squinting evil grins poking out of every corner. It was a sight that made Pinkie reach back for the exit to the hall of mirrors, only to find that the building had never existed in the first place, and in its' place was a barren patch of nothing. She fell onto her butt when she realized that it wasn't there anymore, looking up into the dark purple, stormy skies above.

Suddenly, the theme park's tannoy buzzed to life, and the jingle that played before announcements rung out, though it sounded heavily distorted and warbly. Then, the voice spoke. "Well, well, well. The hurty-doll makes it to the cheese after all. How fun!" The sound of rapid clapping could be heard over the loudspeaker. "To be honest, I half-expected you gullible little Power Rangers to get completely lost in the land of milk and honey. Good to see that some of you still want to fight back in your own heads..."

"Hurty-doll?!" Pinkie knew that phrase all too well. And it was the one phrase she was hoping she didn't have to hear today. "Oh no... not you..."

"Oh yes. It's me alright..." The voice continued as a large birthday present on a platform trolley was pushed down the road towards Pinkie Pie. It seemed normal, but what was inside the present was anything but. The box rattled and the bow burst, as a pair of claws sliced through the whole thing, revealing Deh'Mehn'Sha of the Feral Five underneath. "Hello, Pink Ranger!" He jovially sprung out of the box and scampered his way up to Pinkie Pie, stopping inches away from her face like an excited puppy. "Enjoy your little playtime at my park?"

"Deh'Mehn'Sha... Why did it have to be Deh'Mehn'Sha?" Pinkie moaned as she looked at the wolf, then tried to deliver a powerful punch to his face. A punch that hit nothing and caused her to fall over onto her face as the solid wolf dissipated into a cloud of coloured smoke.

"Ooh... I love it when they try and fight back." Deh'Mehn'Sha chuckled as his voice echoed all around the park. "The silly little hurty-doll, punchy-punch she goes. Would you believe she tried to hit me? Right there in my nose?" He said, as if he was singing some kind of nursery rhyme as the wind whipped up around Pinkie's body. "But little does this hurty-doll, stupid as she is, know she's going to end the rangers. Now isn't that a twist!"

"Where are you? And what do you wanna do to us?" Pinkie asked, her serious side coming out as she looked around the horror-fied theme park for any sign of the Feral Five wolf. "And why do I get the feeling I'm not gonna like what you're about to say?"

"Again, the hurty-doll's razor-sharp!" Deh'Mehn'Sha said as a large buzzsaw came shooting out of one of the abandoned stalls at Pinkie Pie, with enough force to slice through anything. Pinkie had to duck underneath the sawblade, which sheared off some of the strands of her hair. "Still. For being the ditzy, dumb, bubble-headed balloon lover you are, Pinkamena Diane Pie, your brain is surprisingly unique. It's nearly as warped and crazy as mine! And my brain is rather twisted, let me tell you..."

"Can't tell whether that's a compliment or a threat... And I'm usually good at guessing-games." Pinkie made her hands into fists. "Equestrian Star! Shine Bright and Let's Fight!" She said, whipping out her morpher and hastily transforming into the Pink Ranger.

"Well, since you're so eager, my little hurty-doll, I'll tell you everything I've got planned for today." Deh'Mehn'Sha stepped out of what seemed like the middle of nowhere and tapped on Pinkie's Pink Ranger visor. "I'm going to make you destroy your own friends." He sadistically grinned, then stood in ponderment. "Or... is it that I'm going to make your own friends destroy you?" His pose was short-lived as he threw his paws down. "Anyway, it doesn't matter. I'm all playing you like fiddles anyway, so it doesn't matter which hurty-doll drops dead first, so long as they drop dead!"

"You'll never make me kill my friends!" Pinkie Pie said, punching at the Deh'Mehn'Sha copy with her fists, again, to strike nothing. This time, however, he reappeared, only to disappear and reappear again when she made more attacks. "The Magic of Friendship's a lot stronger than some silly mind games!"

"So you might think, Pinkie-Winkie. But... who's to say that your friends have a clue as to what's going on?" He chuckled, then ran off into another corner of the theme park, practically begging Pinkie to follow after her. "Well, I'm sure you won't mind if I disembowel them first while you think!"

"Hey!" Get back here!" Pinkie Pie said, bounding into the air. "Pink Rollers!" She declared, as the rollerskate wheels spawned on the heels of her shoes. Speed-skating as fast as she could, Pinkie watched as Deh'Mehn'Sha let out a demented laugh as he ran on all fours like any wolf would, assuring that he would keep up the pace and leave Pinkie in pursuit.

Down the demonic theme park both Pinkie Pie and Deh'Mehn'Sha raced. The Feral Five wolf had a commanding lead over Pinkie Pie in terms of distance, though she was fast approaching. Pinkie had to not only speed skate, but slingshot herself off of streetlamps whenever there was a turn. However, that was the normal part of the whole chase. With how Deh'Mehn'Sha was playing with Pinkie's mind, he made reality shift before her eyes. He made the stalls and other stationary stalls, benches, and other theme park commodities come to life and try to leap into her way, stretch and grow to otherworldly lengths, or even slam down on the path to make it shatter like glass, leaving gaping black voids in the road. Pinkie Pie wasn't deterred, however, and using all of her parkour skills skated over, up, under, and around the various hazards that Deh'Mehn'Sha was forming for her.

"You're fast, aren't you? Perhaps a bit too fast..." Deh'Mehn'Sha said, then he stood up and snapped his fingers. Pinkie then noticed that, as he stood, she wasn't getting any closer. In fact, her line of sight directly ahead warped like a whirlpool, swirling and mixing the colours and sights around until it was an indistinguishable mess. One that consumed the world around her, plunging her into a pitch-black realm. One that was quickly filled with purple smoke. "But speed doesn't win everything, my little hurty-doll..." Then, the noise of his finger-snap echoed and reverberated around the void, the sound playing in reverse as Deh'Mehn'Sha's latest visual trick came into play.

There, around Pinkie Pie, gargantuan rollercoaster tracks twisted and turned, dancing through the darkness like monstrous snakes. Round and round they curled, forming loops, hills, and drops beyond anything that she could have imagined. There was no telling where the top was, and no telling where the bottom was. Nor was there any telling if there was a start or end to the track. Then, the rollercoasters came thundering down the tracks, flying straight towards Pinkie, with people screaming in pure horror. Pinkie could only just punch at her feet, launching her up over one of the rollercoaster trains and allowing her to zip to a separate part of the track; one where there wasn't as much traffic.

As she landed, however, a separate rollercoaster came screeching from down below straight towards her. Pinkie jumped away from that one and tried to get to another part of the track. And another coaster came hurtling towards her from that side. This went on and on until at last, Pinkie lost her balance and fell straight down the centre of the conglomeration of rollercoaster tracks, down a swirling whirlpool of metal, people wailing like banshees, and the heavy, yet excessively fast trains they were locked in.

Pinkie fell backwards into a chair; one that started to swing as gravity shifted and she found herself bound into a chair-o-plane; one that was swinging high in the void, with nothing around to signify the sky above or the ground below. And faster and faster it went until the chains that held her seat up snapped, and she fell into the blackened void again. The seat disappeared and she landed hard on a large plinth, with a towering pillar behind her; one covered with lights.

"And the hurty-doll goes splat!" A now colossal Deh'Mehn'Sha loomed over a miniscule Pinkie, armed with a sledgehammer in his hands. The ones used for those strongman hammer games. He hoisted the hammer over his back, then swung down with excessive force at the target marker Pinkie was on. She had mere fractions of a second to escape, but managed to get off in time, where she fell through the purple mist again; into another part of the nightmare.

"Just let it be over!" Pinkie Pie flailed through the darkness as she fell parallel to a series of drop-towers forming around her. More people were strapped into the chairs, all of which were kissing their worlds goodbye. Among them, the Rainbooms, Elaris, and Pinkie's other friends that she had come to know over the years were locked into the machines. "Girls!" Pinkie reached out for the falling drop-towers, which then smashed into the ground, buckling and flattening the metal, squishing everyone in the seats. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" She let out a harrowing screech from behind her helmet at the sight of her vanquished friends.

And that's when Pinkie hit the ground hard. The real ground this time. She was back in the horror-filled theme park. Hoping that this time, it was the actual one she was in and not another freaky-deaky illusion. With how much she had gone through in such a brief amount of time, her adrenaline had reached its' peak. At the very least, she needed to be able to fight something. Anything!

"Having fun, Pinkie Pie?" A voice called, and Pinkie looked over to see that Sunset and the other Rainbooms and Elaris were standing before her. A sight that made her eyes shrink to pinpricks.

"Sunset... or whoever you are..." Pinkie slowly trudged over to the girls, her breathing at its' limits. "WHAT IN THE WIDE WORLD OF SPORTS IS EVEN GOING ON ANYMORE?!" She shrieked, shaking the girls around violently.

"Don't you see? You're having a nightmare." Rainbow Dash, still freakishly calm said, and patted her on the shoulders. Such a gesture caused her Power Ranger helmet to crack, then shatter entirely, revealing Pinkie's face and hair underneath the suit. "All you gotta do is wake up. Wake up and see what's really going on."

"You might find that it's for the better if you just stop resisting altogether," Fluttershy said, a little chuckle escaping her lips as she too patted Pinkie Pie. "In fact, we should all stop fighting it."

"B-b-b-b-but you... a-a-a-and I... y-y-y-you were all falling and then, then you, you went squish!" Pinkie Pie was having trouble explaining it to her friends. At least, she hoped that this time it was her friends and not another one of Deh'Mehn'Sha's tricks. But knowing the kind of world she was in, asking for the former was impossible.

"Oopsie. Guess you figured out our little secret." Rarity said, laughing all lady-like, which then transformed into a laugh that sounded like she was some cheesy supervillain out of a comic. "I suppose it is a bit of a riot, isn't it?" She went back to laughing, which got the other Rainbooms and this version of Elaris to start laughing as well. Through their mania-driven laughter, the Rainbooms' and Elaris's faces and bodies changed and warped slowly, until the seven of them fully turned into Wolfpack Grunts, who all went back to their normal voices. "The little squirt thought we were really her friends! When she's nothin' more than a gullible little sack of blood and sugar!"

"O-ho-ho! That's rich!" One of the Wolfpack grunts snorted with laughter, then took a step back with his teammates. "Well, let's not keep her waiting, shall we? She's a Power Ranger. We're the Wolfpack. Let's see how she stacks up..."

"Sucks that this is probably one of the only real things I'll see in this nightmare-park." Pinkie said, cocking the cannons on her wrists and rushing into battle. She stopped on a dime in front of the Wolfpack grunts and delivered rapid punches, knocking the wolves back with the confetti fire. She got halfway through the wolves before she had to backflip away, launching her back at the remaining wolves with another shot of the cannons. She kicked one of them hard and delivered fists into the chests of the other two, knocking them to the ground.

"Let's do this, then!" One of the wolves said, standing back up as if he'd not been punched at all. Quickly, all of the wolves who had impersonated Pinkie's friends were all standing tall before her. Then, they pulled out their weapons. Blasters, swords, a hammer, what looked like a Wolfpack tablet, and a small dagger. With a roar, the wolves all came charging in on Pinkie.

As Pinkie and the Wolfpack battled in Deh'Mehn'Sha's world, Pinkie had paid no mind to the fact that they were holding weapons that bore a striking resemblence to the ones used by the rest of her friends. Nor did she pay any mind to the fact that Deh'Mehn'Sha had stopped warping reality. All that mattered to Pinkie now was survival. Take out the Wolfpack and try to find a way out of this strange world. She even used the Pink Rollers on her feet to outmaneuver the wolves, firing wildly at them. A pair of donuts around the grunts later, and then one of the thin swords stopped her in her tracks and launched her to the ground, as the pair of rapier-like blades pointed at her neck like scissor blades. Jumping into the air, Pinkie fired off another bevvy of explosive confetti down on her targets; every piece exploding with force. Little did she know who she was really fighting...

Back in the theme park that had been cooked up for the Rainbooms, the group found themselves fighting what seemed like a physical replica of Deh'Mehn'Sha. One that was beating them within an inch of their lives. Even under the sunlight, and with the people around them evacuated so as not to cause any trouble, there was still almost no ground for the Rainbooms to fight. This one warped a pair of rollerskates and rushed around and around the girls, firing wildly at them with wrist-armed guns.

"Stop this at once!" Rarity said as any lady would have, and swung one of her thin diamond blades to the side. It caught the Deh'Mehn'Sha copy and fast as lightning, she swung the wolf down to the ground, then hurried to point the blades like scissors at his neck. "For one of the Feral Five, you surely lack the 'feral' element, shall we say?" she said, then watched as the Deh'Mehn'Sha clone jumped into the air and fired a barrage of shots down at the Rainbooms, all of which exploded and caused them to grunt and yelp as the explosions filled the battlefield.

Unbeknownst to the girls, all of these moves were being performed in Pinkie's world as well, all with the exact same motions and timings. It was like two separate battles happening at the same time and place...

One that the two leaders of the Wolfpack were watching from on high. Ahl'Mai'Tie and Mah'Jehs'Tie were watching from the throne as Pinkie Pie battled the horde in her nightmares, and the Rainbooms battled the Deh'Mehn'Sha clone in their version of reality. The one thing that was noticeable watching both of these fights side-to-side were that the wolves and the Rangers were perfectly interchangeable with one another. In truth, Pinkie Pie was viciously fighting the Rainbooms, and the Rainbooms were trying to destroy Pinkie Pie, believing their foe to be the Wolfpack.

"Deh'Mehn'Sha is playing them like fiddles out there." Mah'Jehs'Tie commented, watching as the girls continued to unknowingly tear each other apart. "Such is the force of his will; the might of his mind. And why he was one of us."

"Indeed." Ahl'Mai'Tie said, leaning forward with his elbow on an armoured knee. "The Rainbooms are a mighty force together. But when it comes to a battle of minds, there is no stopping Deh'Mehn'Sha. As armies see enemies as friends, and cataclysmic events as peace and tranquility, that is the true danger of such a force. If he wanted, he could easily overpower the whole Wolfpack and assume command himself."

"So why doesn't he?" Mah'Jehs'Tie asked, looking into her sibling's eyes. "Why is he so content in playing second banana? To just sit back and watch as we run the show?"

"Deh'Mehn'Sha is mighty, but even he can be tamed. For all of his powers of twisting the mind, his physical combat leaves something to be desired. In terms of sheer strength, he is no stronger than that of a Wolfpack footsoldier. Ones that the Rangers have cleaved up countlessly." Ahl'Mai'Tie explained, turning to face his sister. "It is the ability to shift the mind's perspective, to warp what they believe to be real on a colossal scale that is his weapon. And with such a tool, he doesn't need to fight. Not when he can watch people tear themselves apart as they grapple with reality and paranoia-formed illusions..."

"Fair enough." Mah'Jehs'Tie said, turning back to the fight. "After all, if he delivers results and extinguishes the Perfect Ones, then we need not do anything else. Now, let us see how long it takes for those Rainbooms to start dropping to their knees..."

"C'mon! Can't you just die already?!" Pinkie moaned as she took another array of attacks from these super-powered Wolfpack soldiers. The hammer smashed into her chest, knocking her backward. She skidded on the balls of her feet and cannon-blasted herself back over, delivering a series of kicks to the hammer soldier'ss chest, then grabbed the arms of the two sword bearers and threw them over her head. "You're just footsoldiers! Grunts! The guys that Rangers like me cut through by the dozens to get to the real meanies!"

"This should do the trick!" Twilight said, flipping open her book and drawing a sigil with her fingers. She formed a spell circle around the Deh'Mehn'Sha copy's feet and raised her hands into the air. "Ignis!" She declared, and a column of fire burst up, singing the wolf and making it scream in pain.

Pinkie also cried in pain as a similar column of fire—this time being black and red scorched her from the ground up. Grunting and groaning from the pain, she looked into the eyes of the Wolfpack agent with the book and jumped out of the fires. "Confetti Bombardment!" She cried, not even wanting to look at the mayhem she was wreaking as she showered the wolves with confetti.

Deh'Mehn'Sha's fake landed on Twilight's body and snatched up the book she was holding It was just about to tear it in half when suddenly, a bent earth pillar knocked her away and dropped the book back into Twilight's hands. "Ya'll alright, Twilight?" Applejack called, running over to her side. "This Deh'Mehn'Sha guy's tougher than he looks!"

"I'm fine, Applejack. What about the rest of you?" Twilight said, looking over at her scattered group of friends; all of which were on their backs and bellies, trying to recover from the immense attack that Deh'Mehn'Sha had delivered unto them. "Let me give you a hand..." Twilight drew another spell-circle around the downed Rangers. "Sanitatem!" She decreed, as the spell circle glistened with glowing green orbs of light; ones that magically repaired the damage that the Wolfpack wolf had done to them.

"The hurty-doll sees her enemies healing themselves... Now what does she do, I wonder?" Deh'Mehn'Sha said, as his fingers touched Pinkie's shoulders. "Will she fight to destroy them, or will she try to go for the source of the problem?"

"Oh, shut up!" Pinkie Pie delivered a punch to the face of Deh'Mehn'Sha, who again just turned back into smoke. She ran for the Wolfpack wolf healing his allies and punched him to the ground, delivering a left hook, then a right hook, and finally, a double-punch to the face, letting the confetti fire out of the cannon barrels. "Stop being meanies!"

"Does this guy ever give up?!" Rainbow Dash yelled, then grabbed both of her blasters and opened fire on Deh'Mehn'Sha, standing back up onto her feet and running over to the phony. Yelling, she fired a bevvy at the face of the wolf, thinking that she was attacking him, but in truth...

Pinkie Pie was crying in anguish as Wolfpack bullets riddled her face. And since she perceived reality without her helmet on, she felt like the bullets were really starting to hurt her. Tears fell from her eyes as she writhed and the bullets roiled her. "JUST MAKE IT STOP!" She cried to the heavens.

And that's when, in Twilight's eyes, she saw it. Looking down at Deh'Mehn'Sha, she noticed something... weird. This Wolfpack wolf was crying. And not the kind of fake crying either. Deh'Mehn'Sha's voice and grunts very much sounded like he was enjoying himself, but the tears told another story. Quickly, Twilight got back up to her feet and ran to the scene. "Rainbow Dash! Stop shooting!"

"Are you crazy, Twilight?! He's the Wolfpack! And he's one of the Feral Five!" Rainbow Dash said, turning to face Twilight. "Ya think he's gonna give us mercy? He's the whole reason that we lost everything!"

"Yes, you're right, but... look." Twilight grabbed onto Rainbow Dash's hands and made her look at the crying wolf. "He's... crying. Deh'Mehn'Sha is crying. That's not right."

"What could he be crying for?" Fluttershy asked, looking at the sobbing wolf, who was still chuckling maniacally. "There, there... It's alright. We're here for you."

"What do you think's going on in his head?" Sunset said, then tapped on the geode on her collar. With her powers of reading one's mind, she gently laid a hand on Deh'Mehn'Sha's chest. And her eyes went white as she peered into his mental space. But, what she expected to find was something else entirely. For what she was wasn't Deh'Mehn'Sha. What she saw was Pinkie Pie, and Pinkie was being tended to by the Wolfpack that had been ripping her to shreds in the nightmare world. "Pinkie Pie?! Why is he thinking he's Pinkie Pie?!"

"Pinkie Pie? That don't make no sense to me..." Applejack looked down at the Deh'Mehn'Sha copy, noticing his tears. "He can't be Pinkie Pie. And if he is, then ah might as well've been raised on an orange farm mah whole life."

"Still... I can't help but think." Rarity looked around. "We didn't see Pinkie Pie again after she ran off, and we certainly can't find her now. And if this Wolfpack wolf believes that he is Pinkie, then..." Rarity was piecing multiple clues together in her head. And sure enough, it was drawing her to a conclusion. Then, she remembered. Deh'Mehn'Sha's true power was mind trickery. She had seen it first hand when he turned Applejack into a crazy, berserk maniac and let her loose on the group. "Oh my..."

"Oh my what? What is it, Rarity?" Sunset turned to Rarity, making sure that the other Rainbooms kept Deh'Mehn'Sha on the ground in case he did anything strange.

"I think... this whole time... Deh'Mehn'Sha was actually Pinkie Pie, and he's made the real Pinkie Pie believe that we're the enemy." Rarity said, which earned her a chorus of "Huh?" noises from the Rainbooms. "Think about it, darlings. The Wolfpack have the Feral Five, do they not? And in that group of five, Deh'Mehn'Sha can make you believe that there are things there that aren't really there, or that reality isn't what it seems. So, by that logic, it would stand to reason that all of this, this theme park, this wolf right there, it's all just a fake. A sham. A candy-coated little haven for us, and a grizzly nightmare for her."

"Now that you mention it..." Sunset touched Deh'Mehn'Sha's body again to relive Pinkie's most recent memories. And sure enough, she saw it all. Pinkie running off, watching as reality turned into nightmares for her, and her escapades in Deh'Mehn'Sha's nightmare park. Even the fight that they had just been a part of was all the same, just with altered perspectives. "Oh, you're REALLY low, y'know that, Deh'Mehn'Sha? Making us fight each other? That's just screwed up!"

"Aww... it's over already? That's a real shame..." Deh'Mehn'Sha's voice echoed and warbled through the air, as the illusion of him burned away to reveal Pinkie Pie. Who hurriedly got back up to her feet and hugged her friends with a big smile. "Well, it was fun while it lasted. Now, it's time to see how you little mice fare as a pack." He said, and as he spoke, the bright and cheery day of the theme park world was burnt away to reveal the truth.

The bright blue skies turned dark purple and cloudy. The amusement park's stands and rides became gargantuan, curled, and twisted, and the sweet smells turned gruesome and putrid. And standing in the middle of it all was Deh'Mehn'Sha, who looked over the Rainbooms and Elaris with a twisted, toothy grin on his face.

"And so, here we are at last. The hurty-dolls and the runaway alien." Deh'Mehn'Sha walked towards the girls, his claws splayed out and shimmering in the dark, yet still vibrantly-painted hellscape. "It's like a family reunion..." He chuckled.

"Deh'Mehn'Sha!" The Rainbooms all said together, weapons pointed towards him.

"See? Even now, you raise your tools... Anger... Hatred. You're just driven by your want to kill me, aren't you?" He said, his mental stability starting to deteriorate as he looked at the ladies. "That's what you do. Hurty-dolls hurt, hurt, and hurt some more. They hurt other people, and they hurt themselves. Endlessly hurt-hurt-hurting until they drop dead, or someone makes them dead!"

"Is that all you think about us?!" Applejack tightened the grip on her hammer, then smashed the ground with it. She caused a fissure to form in the ground, cracks reaching Deh'Mehn'Sha's feet. And as it split in half, he fell into it, with the land re-forming afterwards.

"Whoopsie. Did you think I'd go bye-bye like that?" Deh'Mehn'Sha's voice echoed on the winds again. "Silly little hurty-dolls. This is all in your head. You can't hurt what isn't there. So you keep on hurt-hurt-hurting. You hurt yourselves trying to fight me. And you hurt mindlessly both inside and outside my little worlds. Tell me. Are you Power Rangers, or are you merciless killers? It's impossible to tell."

"We're not about to do this." Sunset deadpanned as she held her burning sword and turned up the temperature of the flames it was billowing. "You're playing with our heads, and you tried to make us kill Pinkie, and Pinkie kill us. You're not gonna play the morality card on us. Especially when we know what your trick is!"

"Yeah! Take your moral kitty and stuff it back in your mothership, then go back home to where you came from you big jerks!" Pinkie barked; her anger a new breed of rage that she had never felt before. Pure, unbridled loathing. She wanted nothing more than to see the Wolfpack burn for what they had done to her.

"I knew you'd say no. That's why I love you. You're such vicious little hurty-dolls. For as girly-wirly and colourful you are, you have the heart and mind of killers. Fight, fight, fight!" He said, laughing like an insane cultist. "And so, you will fight on and on forever. Even after the Wolfpack blows up. You will never again see peace. So why delay the inevitable? I'll just have to break your little brains here and now!"

And with the monstrous laughter of Deh'Mehn'Sha filling the air, the nightmare theme park began to change. The demonic rides broke off of the ground and flew into the air. Metal mangled and mechanisms buckled as a new form was being shapen. One where the rails, frames, and other pieces all twisted and re-shaped themselves into a new form. As part after part was slapped together, the giant homunculus of metal grew razor-sharp claws on its' hands and feet, a pair of large wings made out of rollercoaster track and chair-o-plane chains, and a giant baton made out of a drop tower. Then, a pair of giant red orbs formed the eyes of the monster as it craned its' head to the skies and let out a clunky, metallic, screeching roar that shook the very ground around the Rainbooms.

"Dancing dollies run around! Dancing dollies smashed to the ground! Dollies all go run and play, never see the light of day!" Deh'Mehn'Sha rhymed like a true horror-movie villain as he reformed on the head of the giant theme-park metal monster. "You like it, Rainbooms? I've been meaning to brush up on my poetry and rhymes, but being so far away from you, I've never had the chance. Oh well. Better late than never!" he said, jumping into the mouth of the monster, which now loomed over the Rainbooms' heads.

"Girls! Zords! Now!" Sunset called and threw her arm into the air.

The other Rainbooms gave simple nods and threw their arms into the air. Without even needing to say the words, the Lynx, Kangaroo, Falcon, Bear, Bull, Phoenix, and Hydrazord all came down together and formed to the two separate Megazords; which stood before Deh'Mehn'Sha's nightmarish theme park giant, ready for the fight ahead.

"Come on then, little hurty-dollies. Show me what you've really got!" Deh'Mehn'Sha said as the theme park golem came stomping forward, bashing the drop-tower baton in its' hands like it was a policeman ready to deliver a beating to the lawbreakers in its' path.

Meanwhile, Elaris looked at the world around her and tried to find a way out of it. Sadly, no such exit came to her. After all, this was Deh'Mehn'Sha's trap world. He wouldn't have been stupid enough to create such an exit. But, that was the flaw in his design. It was all what she perceived to be real. In truth, Elaris still had access to the ship. So, by tapping the device on her wrists, she gained access to the ship's AI. "L.U.C.Y! I need you here, now!" She said to the communicator on her wrist.

"Understood. Please stand by," said L.U.C.Y. as Elaris turned her gaze to the battle. And when she saw what was going on, the alien girl could only wince in horror at what was going on.

Both the Megazord and the Hydrazord were trying to attack Deh'Mehn'Sha's monster, but it always warped and teleported away whenever any of the two giant mechs looked like it was about to get a clean hit in. And when Deh'Mehn'Sha's monster did eventually attack back, it did so by wrapping itself around the mechs, disappearing, reappearing, and swatting them on the backs with the baton, which caused the giant robots to fall over.

"Hurty-dolls, I'm getting bored..." Deh'Mehn'Sha sing-songed as he looked over the two downed Megazords. Making the nightmare world shift and bend once more, he manifested dark energy in the hands of his giant theme park colossus. Energy that fed itself into the drop-tower baton. "TRY and make this entertaining, will you? The Wolfpack HATE it when hurty-dolls break too easy!"

"C'mon..." Twilight said, fiddling with the controls of her Hydrazord. Opening the book, she channelled magic through the heads of the hydra; all of which pointed themselves at Deh'Mehn'Sha and his monster and fired off a plume of heat at the monster. The fires wracked and roiled the beast and it did stumble backwards. But then, the world rippled as the thing disappeared again. "No... not again."

The Rangers looked all over the nightmare theme park for Deh'Mehn'Sha and his giant. But they couldn't find him again. In fact, they couldn't find anything at all. The rest of the contorted and evil world was starting to fade, and nothing more than a black void surrounded them again, with dark purple light at their feet, and smoke forming from said light.

Then, a large light appeared in the distance; one that blinded the Rainbooms and caused them to put their hands over their helmets' visors. The light didn't stop shining radiantly. In fact, it got more and more bright, as the large sounds of a horn blared in the distance. Realizing what it was, the girls quickly shifted their Megazord and Hydrazord out of the way, watching as a large spaceship smashed into the ground between them, spreading debris everywhere. The debris hit the legs of the zords and they both rattled, making the girls fall down to their knees.

"Peekaboo!" Deh'Mehn'Sha said as he and his monster reappeared quickly and pulled both Zords into a giant hug; crushing and buckling the chassis as the dark magic of this mental dimension began to play havoc with the machinery of the mechs. "Isn't this fun, Power Rangers? You, violently attacking me with no remorse, and me winning because of my mind games? It's true what they say after all. Brawn ALWAYS loses to brain. Or lack thereof, in your case."

"Don't... give... up!" Sunset groaned as she tried to force the Megazord into breaking free from Deh'Mehn'Sha's power. She ignited the wings of the phoenix and flapped them at the monster, which did cause it to break the hug. But even then, the Megazord was having trouble standing up properly with its' bent metals.

"Glacies!" Twilight called as she drew another spell circle with her book. Now, the heads of the Hydrazord were channelling ice and firing freezing beams of it out at Deh'Mehn'Sha and his monster. The icy magic struck at the legs of the golem, which did halt its' movement for a brief period of time.

"Aww... that's no fair. Unless, of course, you're me!" Deh'Mehn'Sha cackled as his monster let out another trick. The roller-coaster wings that the giant monster had were now twisting and re-shaping, and now, the rollercoaster trains were pointing directly at the heads of the Zords. The tracks rapidly built and the rollercoaster trains sped forward from naught to two hundred in the blink of an eye, and the rollercoaster trains smashed clean through the heads of the zords, pinning the girls to the walls. Buried underneath a wave of metal and humans, the Rainbooms truly were stuck. "Give up! Hurty-dolls live to be hurt. That's why we buy and play with hurty-dolls in the shops, don't we?"

"Ya'll... truly are... a wacko..." Applejack was trying to push the trains away; having to call on the powers of her geode in order to even start to get some breathing room. Terra Hammer tightly in her hands, she started to smash the piled-up rollercoaster trains back at Deh'Mehn'Sha's giant.

"And yet, look who's winning." Deh'Mehn'Sha twisted his claws, and more rollercoaster trains magically appeared, squishing Applejack against the wall once more. "You're just doing the same things over and over again. You fight, you fight, you fight. And that's why you lose. You're so blind to fight and you don't bother to think of another way. Hence why you are hurty-dolls. Your idiocy makes you squishy. And so much more hurty than your hurty-doll titles suggest!"

As Twilight felt the immense weight of the trains weighing down on her, there was only one thing that she could do. Using her geode, she warped out of the mass of rollercoaster trains and reappeared within a clearer area of her cockpit, only to see more and more of Deh'Mehn'Sha's rollercoaster trains ready to smash into her. On top of that, the mouth of his monster was now pointed at her, and the tongue, made out of the water flume ride was pointed at her as the beast upchucked a large torrent of water at Twilight, flooding the cockpit of the Hydrazord.

"This is... what he does..." Pinkie said, her body feeling choked underneath all of the pressure of the trains. "He... plays with your head."

"It's... so... real..." Fluttershy was trying to push the trains away. And as she felt the metal frames, she knew that these were entirely real; and not just another one of his fake illusions. She blew on her flute, hoping that some of the animals would heed her call, but to her dismay, none such things came.

"Lose. It is all you can do, hurty-dolls." Deh'Mehn'Sha said calmly as he walked on the head of his monster into the cockpit of the Megazord. "You realise that if you don't give up here, then I will just hurt you more and more should you escape. Don't even think about the future. You don't have one." He said, jumping on top of the piled-up trains to the girls' faces. "You're all just playing a losing game. And you'll keep on losing if you keep on fighting. It's better to stop losing altogether, and just accept that you can't win." He said, as he gently rubbed the chins of each of the Power Rangers like a deranged lunatic would when toying with their captives.

"That's where you're wrong!" A voice called out, and before anyone else could say anything, Deh'Mehn'Sha was riddled with laser fire and he fell onto his back.

"What?!" He snarled, looking back at where he had been shot from. And there is where he saw it. Flying in the air was Elaris's ship; the cannons armed and ready to fire again. Elaris was sitting in her cockpit, looking at the world for how it really was.

"It was a nice little trick you had going there, but these mind games have to end, I'm afraid." Elaris said, sliding her hands across the console, warming up the barrels of the lasers again. She fired another set of lasers, and Deh'Mehn'Sha had no choice but to jump and dodge away, scurrying back into his monster's body. The lasers did end up freeing the ensnared Rainbooms as they tore through the metallic pieces that were holding them in place. "Girls! It's all mind tricks! He's not really hurting you that bad! So blow him away now, before he starts to make you think otherwise!" She said through their comms systems.

"Thanks, El..." Rainbow Dash said as she got out of the metal. "It's about time that we stopped havin' fun."

"Yeah. Too much of it is a bad thing, I must say." Rarity said as she shook her head and got back onto her podium, ready for the finishing blow.

"Twilight! It's not really water! And it's not rollercoaster trains either!" Pinkie called through the comms systems to Twilight, who was trying to regain her gravity and balance in the waterlogged Hydrazord. "He's just trying to play mind games on you!"

"We need the Alphazord! Now!" Sunset said as Twilight tried her very best to get back into position. Sure enough, the girl got back into her stand and the water ejected itself from the Hydrazord's cockpit when she tipped the head towards the ground.

"Ready to go!" Twilight said, giving the thumbs-up gesture.

"Alphazord! Combine!" The Rangers said together, and the seven machines separated and reformed again. The bull transformed into the chestplate, The falcon and phoenix zords became the wings of the Alphazord, while kangaroo and bear formed the arms, with hydra heads attached to the shoulders. The rest of the Hydrazord and the lynx zord became the feet and the head popped out at last, with the snake's tail becoming the sword for the Alphazord; the hilt still shining with all seven of the Rangers' colours. "Equestrian Star Alphazord: Ready!"

"And there's the hurty-dolls' big, bad toy! Let's play with it, shall we?" Deh'Mehn'Sha still laughed demonically as he ordered his theme park monster to charge at the Alphazord, trains shooting out from the tracks and water billowing from the mouth, as the drop tower baton was now held like a sword. Jumping into the air, the monster dived down on the Alphazord, which just raised its' blade high into the air and countered the baton's diving swat.

"Fire!" The Rainbooms said together as the tip of the Alphazord's blade fired a wave of magic out at the giant, beastly amalgamation of theme park rides and services. The light roiled the monster and started to pierce through Deh'Mehn'Sha's mind tricks, but that was when the girls saw their foolish mistake.

The real Deh'Mehn'Sha and his real monster tackled the Alphazord to the ground and started to punch and kick the combined zord over and over again. The wild animal and his even wilder machine whaled on the Alphazord, hoping to see some actual dents and damage be done.

"C'mon, c'mon..." Deh'Mehn'Sha said, smashing and bashing away. "Why. Won't. You. Break. You. Stupid. Robot?!" He snarled, seeing that his attacks were bearing no fruit. "You..." He said, turning towards the spaceship that Elaris was piloting. "You're doing this, aren't you?!" He said, as the monster turned its' gaze to Elaris and started to open fire, which made the ship start taking evasive maneuvers. "Stop ruining my fun! Stop telling the hurty-dolls about what's really going on!"

"Now's our chance, girls! Let's take it to him!" Sunset said as she and the other Rainbooms got the Alphazord back onto its' feet.

Drawing the swords, the Rainbooms held them over their heads as they and the Alphazord's sword glistened and glowed with bright, rainbow-coloured energy. "Alphazord: Cassiopeia Strike!" They all said together as the stellar, cosmic energy grew in light and pointed itself at Deh'Mehn'Sha, who was still trying to shoot down Elaris's ship. Racing forward, the Rangers let out a yell as the sword cleaved up Deh'Mehn'Sha's giant theme park creation, leaving no part unsliced. Every single strike felt excessively cathartic to the girls; especially to Pinkie, who had suffered Deh'Mehn'Sha's mind games the worst. And when the final strike was landed and the monster fell apart, all of the girls ended up cheering.

"We got him!" Pinkie squeaked in delight as she watched Deh'Mehn'Sha's project collapse into a pile of scrap. "No more meanie-pants wolf playing with our heads.

"That's one more Wolfpack plot up in flames!" Rarity victoriously posed as she too watched the monster, disassembled and beaten continue to fall apart.

"Excellent work, everyone." Twilight folded her arms in victory.

Then, in the silence that followed, the Rainbooms were still in Deh'Mehn'Sha's and the monster hadn't exactly exploded yet. Something else was wrong. And then, the girls heard it. A beeping sound that echoed through the purple and black void; one that sounded like nothing that they had ever heard before.

"Wait... what's that sound?" Sunset asked as she watched Deh'Mehn'Sha's reality begin to collapse.

"Again, I'm right..." Deh'Mehn'Sha gloated as the real world started to appear before the Rainbooms' eyes. Sure enough, the skies were blue and there were some clouds in the air as the sun poured down on them. But now, they could see what Deh'Mehn'Sha's monster really was. Standing before them was a large, humanoid mech with lights that were glowing red and lighting up in time with the beeps. "You used your brawn. And so, you lose again, hurty-dolls." Deh'Mehn'Sha reappeared in the cockpit of the Alphazord, pointing at the bomb. "Goodnight, sweet princess... Goodnight..." He chuckled, giving them one last wave before he teleported back to the Alpha Slayer, and the beeping of his defeated mech got faster and faster.

"Power Rangers... RUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUN!" Elaris screamed through the comms systems of the helmets of the girls' helmet. She knew exactly what that beeping robot was now. It was a bomb; and one that was about to blow the Alphazord and the Rainbooms off of the face of the earth.

Without any second thoughts, the Alphazord separated back into the other Zords, the Rainbooms all ejected themselves and leapt back into Elaris's ship, the zords scattered, the girls took their seats, and Elaris started to open up the hyperdrive portal. And as soon as the gate was opened, the bomb exploded, and a colossal explosion, large enough to level all of New York City in a single blast was detonated; the shockwaves rattling the ship as it disappeared into the tunnel of rainbow light.

"That... was dangerous." Rarity understated as she sank back into her seat. "Let us hope we never have that close of a call ever again!"

"I'm sorry, Pinkie. We should've been more careful." Sunset said as she looked over to Pinkie's chair. "We just got so lost in the fun and games of it all that we didn't even stop and consider if it was a Wolfpack trap. And we almost ended up killing ourselves over it."

"Hey. We're still here at the end of the day, so that's all that really matters." Pinkie flashed a gentle smile at the rest of her friends. "To be honest, I'd be balling my eyes out if I realized that I'd destroyed all of you like that. I don't wanna ever get into a fight like that ever again."

"Me neither. It's not good when friends are turned into foes." Fluttershy pouted as she looked ahead at the light tunnel. "Those Wolfpack thugs make me so peeved I could scream!" She said, swinging her fists downward and letting out a shrill, yet muted scream.

"It is not your fault. Any of you." L.U.C.Y. said to the whole ship. "I have been monitoring Deh'Mehn'Sha's powers, and I am in the process of working out a way to counteract them. That being said, his mindset is rather unique, so I am finding it harder than usual to analyze a clear way of overcoming such mindbending prowess."

"As for how we're gonna beat him, well, there's a way." Elaris said as she added her own words to the analysis. "We've also been looking at Deh'Mehn'Sha's body and, truth be told, he's actually the weakest one in the whole Wolfpack when it comes to physical fighting skills. It's all the mindbending that he does that makes up for it. After all, if you can make anyone and everyone believe that reality is a lie, then why even bother fighting for yourself?" She said, as she went back to pushing buttons and pulling levers. "Horrifying, to say the least..."

"Still. I kinda feel bad that our vacation got cut short like that." Sunset Shimmer was deep in thought. She had been since she had realized Deh'Mehn'Sha's plot. Now, she was worried to go places in case that he was playing more mental tricks on them. "But... we still kinda need a break. Problem is, I don't know anywhere else that's both Wolfpack-free and vacation-worthy."

"Well, I think we'll be able to work something out." Twilight held Sunset's hands and looked into her eyes. "We just managed to walk into a trap. It won't happen again."

"Yeah. And if the Wolfpack try anything shifty on us like that, we'll just beat 'em straight on back to the prairie they crawled out of just like all the other times." Applejack punched her chest.

"Thanks, girls." Sunset sighed in relief, looking at the rest of her team. The road ahead wasn't going to be easy by any stretch of the imagination after what had just happened, but Sunset was confident in the knowledge that, after what they had just been through, anything was possible.

"Now, what about Hawaii? Ya think we've knocked the Wolfpack out there yet?" Pinkie asked. "I dunno about you, but after all that stuff with Deh'Mehn'Sha, I kinda deserve some beachside fun."

"Let me take a look at it..." Elaris typed in "Hawaii" in her species' native tongue, and the map projection she had of the world flared to life. There were red signatures and the Wolfpack's sigil on it, but the threat level read 'Average'. "Looks like there's some Wolfpack forces still there, but nothing you can't handle. None of the Feral Five are positioned there either."

"Sounds like a plan to me." Rainbow Dash cracked her knuckles. "Whaddaya say? Ya wanna go save Hawaii, then have a rest on it for a while, girls?"

A resounding chorus of cheers and raised fists flew into the air as the Rainbooms all agreed in unison with Rainbow Dash's plan. A small cluster of Wolfpack soldiers and agents meant nothing to them now after their brush with Deh'Mehn'Sha and his trap. Their confidence and motivation swelling, the girls were ready to go again.

"Alright then. Hawaii it is." Elaris pushed up the throttle on her ship, and the lightspeed tunnel came to an end, making the ship reappear above the middle of the ocean, with the islands of Hawaii approaching in the distance. All that remained now for the girls was to clear out the Wolfpack and take it back. Then, it was time for some sun, sand, and sea; the perfect reward after surviving such a dreadful fight with Deh'Mehn'Sha...

Comments

[The Bricklayer]

Fine return to form, I say!

[badninja]

The girls got lucky. However the next encounter I think will go very differently and the girls will come away with a major victory. Reminds me a bit of the Scarecrow sequences in the first Arkham games.

[nightshroud96]

Haven't read this yet but I wonder if Spike will become a Ranger too?