Lunaverse: Galaxy Rangers - Magic School Zord

by Rixizu

Chapter 3

Magic School Zord
Chapter 3
by Rixizu

The entire class gapped in wonder and amazement as Trixie, who was dressed in a red spacesuit, strolled towards them. Cheerilee's jaw dropped in shock for this was the last pony she expected to see on the moon.

“Trixie, what are you doing here?” Cheerilee demanded through clenched teeth.

"Well, when you told me that you planned on coming here, I was intrigued," Trixie explained, unperturbed by Cheerilee’s obvious anger at her presence, "the moon sounded like a fantastic place to go! I couldn't believe I didn't ever think of it myself.”

Cheerilee frowned. “And I suppose you used your Zord to get here?”

"Yep," Trixie confirmed. "I've been here for over two hours, and dear Luna I was right to do so. This place is amazing! Have you ever seen something so stunning in your life?! How can something so bleak also be so beautiful? I can’t get enough of it! Besides, I thought you might like some extra adult supervision on this trip.”

Cheerilee sighed and resisted the urge to put her face in her hooves. This was the last time she’d ever tell Trixie about one of her special field trips. She really should have seen this coming. In addition, calling Trixie an adult was stretching it.

All the foals gathered around the magician eager to be near their hero, for the Red Ranger was popular due to her heroics and skills in magic. Trixie accepted them gratefully. Dinky was jumping up and down with joy and seemed the happiest to see Trixie here. They waited on Trixie’s every move, eager to see what she would do next. Cheerilee fought back her annoyance at Trixie derailing her class trip with her antics.

"Now now class," Trixie said waving the foals around her away, “I am just a guest, an opening act at best. The real star is right here.” Trixie pulled Cheerilee out of her thoughts and the teacher yelped in surprise as Trixie thrust her in front of the class.

Cheerilee stared at her class dumbfounded for a moment unsure what to say or do. Trixie pushed her forward. “Well, go on. You have an eager audience waiting for you.”

Cheerilee felt awkward and self-conscious being suddenly thrust into the center stage like this. It took a moment, but she got her wits back and coughed.

“Alright class, we have a lot to see, so let’s get to it," Cheerilee said with a smile finally getting into the swing of things.

She didn’t expect Trixie to do that at all. She thought Trixie planned to hog everypony’s attention, as usual, loving being the center of attention. That mare was so hard to figure out.

It's like when you expect Trixie to go left, she goes right. When you expect her to go right, she goes diagonally. Cheerilee mused.

Cheerilee led the class, with Trixie in tow, to a large crater sunk into the ground a few miles away. They gasped at the enormity of it. It was wide enough that the entirety of Ponyville and its countryside could fit inside it, with plenty of room to spare and it was at least one or two miles deep.

“ You see this crater? There are hundreds like it on the moon’s surface created by meteor strikes creating deep holes in the surface.” Cheerilee explained. “The Earth is also struck by debris in space from time to time, but do you know why the Earth isn’t littered with craters like the moon?”

Cheerilee waited for an answer and Twist lifted her hoof. "Does it have to do with the fact it doesn't rain? I think if there was a large crater on Earth it would fill with water."

"And there ain’t no wind either to blow dirt in.” Apple Bloom piped in.

"That's right," Cheerilee said, "the moon doesn't have an atmosphere like Earth does. There’s no wind or rain to cause erosion. It also doesn’t have seismic activity meaning that the surface rarely changes.”

“That means that many of these craters are very old, with the oldest being two billion in age.” Cheerilee continued. “You see our hoofprints? Those will remain as well. As I said, there is little to no erosion. If a pony traveled to the moon hundreds of years from now, they would probably find those prints still there, unless they were hit by a falling meteorite of course.”

The whole class gasped in amazement staring at their hoofprints in wonder and they continued for several more miles. They came up to a plain of dark grayness that contrasted with usual dull gray that they were used to seeing. It was smoother than the rest of the moon’s surface with fewer holes in it than usual. It looked like a giant splotch or blemish on the moon’s face.

“See those dark barren patches on the ground? Those are called the lunar maria. They cover 17 percent of the moon’s crust. They are composed of basalt created from cooling basaltic lava, which can also be found in place on Earth like Heyaii. They were formed by ancient volcanic activity when the moon was young when its surface was bombarded by material from space causing an eruption of lava that flowed over the surface and created pools and filled craters creating the dark patches on the moon you see today. “

"Ancient astrologers confused these dark patches with oceans and that is where it gets its name "Mare" which is Haytin for seas." Cheerilee looked back to her class and was glad that her class was paying attention to her. She started when she noticed somepony was missing.

Trixie, where the heck are you? The last thing she wanted was for that mare to wander off. She found that Trixie had been left behind and was kneeling down on the ground. Curious, Cheerilee walked up to her and her eyes widened when she saw that Trixie was writing "Trixie Lulamoon was here" in giant bold letters on the ground with a hoof.

“What the heck are you doing?!” Cheerilee demanded.

“You said the moon’s surface never changes right?” Trixie said unabashedly. “I just decided to make my own mark that will last forever!”

"Think about it." Trixie pointed a hoof at the sky. "Years from now when ponies come back to the moon, they see this and know that Trixie Lulamoon was one of the first ponies on the moon! They will probably build a museum around it and make it their star exhibit. Foals will ask their parents who this Trixie Lulamoon was, and their parents will reply that she was a great hero that saved the world and is the second greatest magician who has ever lived!"

Cheerilee made a face and scowled. I hope nopony notices it and they run over it with a moon cart!

“Uh, second greatest magician?” Snails asked confused.

“Sure, next to my grandfather the Great and Magnificent Quartermoon naturally," Trixie replied.

“Was he really that amazing?” Dinky asked curious eyes alight with surprise and wonder.

Trixie beamed with pride. “You bet he was. He didn’t need a silly horn like me to do amazing magic. I’m not even half as great as he was.” The entire class looked amazed at this proclamation.

Cheerilee blinked. She wasn’t expecting that and never realized just how much Trixie idolized her grandfather. Sure, she did it in an over the top way as usual, but it was sweet.

“I want to do it too!” Sweetie Belle exclaimed and started writing on the ground with a hoof. The rest of the class started following her example.

“No!” Cheerilee screamed and everypony froze. “We are not going to deface the moon!” Everypony in the class looked crestfallen.

“Come on.” Trixie rolled her eyes. “You aren’t going to make some sort of memorial for the first class trip to the moon?”

“Well, um…” Cheerilee relented. Dang, she has a point there. She didn’t like the pleading looks the foals were giving her.

Cheerilee straightened up. “How about this, at the end of the trip, we’ll come back here and write out our names? I think that would work well enough.” She cursed herself for not thinking about bringing a plaque or stone with all their names engraved on it or being an Equestrian flag. It would have been an easy enough thing to do.

Oh well. Cheerilee thought. That will just have to do.

The entire class brightened at this. Trixie looked smug about getting her way and Cheerilee wanted to punch her in the face.

“Alright class, we have plenty to see so let’s go.” Cheerilee waved the class along.

They continued trotting through the barren landscape. Cheerilee gave out other moon factoids as they walked. She stopped when Apple Bloom pulled on her leg.

“Say teach, ah know ya’ll said we shouldn’t deface the moon and everything, but do ya think we might be able to take a moon rock home?” Apple Bloom asked hopefully. The rest of the class listened to this conversation intently thinking the same thing.

“Of course you can dear.” Cheerilee gave the little filly a soft smile. “You may all take one home if you want, there are pockets in your spacesuit.”

Each of the foals was quick to grab a nearby rock and put it one in their pockets. Some were choosier about which one they got. Snail, in particular, spent five minutes finding what he considered the prettiest. Cheerilee herself took many moon rock samples are well. She knew some friends in the Canterlot University that would kill to get their hooves on one of these. She made sure to get some moon dust in a plastic bag as well. Luna had brought rocks and dust from the moon before many times, but they were rare and usually in museums. Many of them ended up stolen. Cheerilee thought that she should come back at later date to get more. The science world would not be denied!

"Now class, these rocks must be sterilized before they come back to Earth," Cheerilee warned, "who knows what contaminants they might contain." The class nodded in agreement.

“Wait, are you saying that we might accidentally bring a death plague to Earth!” Trixie asked horrified dropping a rock that she was holding and examining.

Cheerilee laughed. “I doubt it, but better safe than sorry. Though, there have been theories that various diseases have come from space.”

“No way!”

“Oh my gosh, it’s just like the horror book I read last week!”

"Is it possible that we might bring back brain-controlling parasites?!"

"Now class, calm down,” Cheerilee said holding up a hoof before a panic started, "that is why Nurse Redheart will give everypony a thorough examination when we get back. “Don’t worry, I will make sure nothing back will come back from space.”

The class and Trixie were relieved, though someponies seemed still worried about the possibility of getting moon parasites.

"Hold on to these rocks tight class," Cheerilee said getting back on track, "we are going to do some tests on them to see what they are made of.Though these rocks aren't as special as you might think," Cheerilee explained, "they contain minerals that you would commonly find on Earth like anorthosite, iron, and even titanium.”

Cheerilee continued to explain more about the moon and its structure and minerals. She stopped when she noticed that she was getting too technical and was starting to lose her students. She wisely decided to change topics.

“Coming up in the next few miles is something I really want to show you," Cheerilee said, "it is the reason I parked my Zord in this area in fact.” This caught the class’s attention.

“Are you going to show us moon ponies?!” Scootaloo exclaimed excited.

“Dummy.” Diamond Tiara mocked. “Nothing lives on the moon.”

Scootaloo growled and got into the bully’s face. “Says who? You don’t know.”

“Says common sense.” Diamond shot back.

"I'm afraid Diamond Tiara right on this one," Cheerilee said pushing the two fillies apart before it came to hooves, "the moon isn't capable of supporting any life."

“See.” Diamond stuck her tongue out at Scootaloo who stuck her tongue back out in response.

"The lack of any atmosphere is a big reason," Cheerilee explained already thinking about what the two fillies would do in detention when they got back to Earth, "without an atmosphere, a planet can't hold any gases like oxygen which end up dissolving into space. It can’t have any liquid water either which is also a vital requirement for life. The moon does have water though, as ice, but it’s scattered in small deposits over the surface or deep underground.”

“That isn’t why I brought you here,” Cheerilee said picking up the pace excited for this next part, “it should be just over that crater.”

They walked another three miles and they all gasped when they realized what Cheerilee meant for them to see. Along the ground was a black line where it was dark as far as the eye beyond it. It was as if the sun suddenly turned off from beyond that point.

"That class is the moon's terminator which separates its day and night sides," Cheerilee said, "the moon has a slower rotation than the Earth taking approximately 27 Earth days to complete a single cycle or day.”

“That’s so cool!” Scootaloo exclaimed. “I want to stand in the middle.” The rest of the class tried to run towards it, but Cheerilee put a stop to it before anypony could and grabbed Scootaloo before she could get any closer.

"Hold on class." Cheerilee yelled, "we can't." The class stopped to look at her.

“Like I said, it takes 27 days for the moon to complete a single cycle, so that means parts of the surface spend a lot more time in the dark than on Earth," Cheerilee explained, "the dark side of the moon can reach temperatures of minus 396 Fahrenheit. I am not sure our suits can withstand that kind of cold.”

The entire class let out a moan of disappointment causing Cheerilee to chuckle. “I know class, but I would rather not risk it, but I will let us walk around it for awhile. It really is quite the sight.”

As they walked, Cheerilee strolled up to Trixie who was walking behind the group in silence. She had a wistful expression on her face.

“You know Cheer," Trixie said absentmindedly, "it's moments like this that make being a Ranger worth it. I could do without the constant harrowing attempts after my life, but this is nice. I never thought that when I first befriended you that we would ever meet such great heights as this!” Trixie proclaimed gesturing to her surroundings and chuckled. “Friendship is pretty awesome.”

“To think I used to be content being locked away in the princess’s castle scheming and plotting for my rise in the Night Court.” Trixie continued. “I don’t think I could ever live that way again. It was like I was a prisoner, and I didn’t even realize it.”

"I'm surprised you think that way," Cheerilee said with complete honesty. She never thought that Trixie was ever this introspective. Trixie rarely talked about her old life. It must have been a painful and lonely one.

Trixie smirked. "I'm not the empty-headed filly everypony seems to think I am. Shallow? Yes. Empty-headed? No.”

“Is that why you have been so silent through most of the trip?” Cheerilee asked half teasing.

"This trip has given me a lot to think about," Trixie said, "I'm just grateful that's all. I just wish he was here with us to share it…” Trixie’s ears folded back and she looked down at the ground.

Not sure what to say, Cheerilee just put a hoof around her friend. They continued to walk in silence side by side. It was getting late, it was about the time to go home, and the group started making their way back to the Cheerilee's Zord.

“Uh, Miss Cheerilee?” Snails said looking a bit troubled when they were only a few miles away from Cheerilee’s Zord.

“Yes Snails, is something the matter?” Cheerilee asked.

Snails shook his head. “No, but I was just wondering, should there be a castle on the moon?”

Cheerilee blinked for that was the last thing she expected him to say. “What do you mean?”

“Come on Snails.” Scootaloo groaned. “Didn’t you just hear Miss Cheerilee? Nothing can live on the moon!”

"Scootaloo is right," Cheerilee said, "what would make you think that?"

Snails said nothing and instead just pointed to his left. Cheerilee could see something. If she squinted, she could make out an almost make out a shape in the distance.

“What is that?” Cheerilee asked. “Was that there before?” She supposed it could be a castle, but it was hard to tell. They made their way towards the shape and she gasped when they got a better sight of it. It was a castle!

“What the hay?” Cheerilee gapped. “What is that doing here?” Why didn’t they see it when they passed this way before? It made no sense.

The whole situation seemed impossible, but there it was standing tall with it stones pearl white and the design reminded her of pre-Corona castles. It was elegant more designed for beauty than protection against sieges. It had multiple spires that rose high into the sky and the building was smaller than most castles Cheerilee had seen in her life. It wasn’t like the Princess’s castle in Canterlot, meant to house hundreds. It was more like a personal estate that a noble might have owned a long time ago before castles went out of fashion.

"Stay here," Trixie ordered and pulled out her morpher, "I'll check it out. Protect the foals." She grumbled to herself about knowing that something like this would happen.

Cheerilee nodded ushering her class away. She didn’t want them anywhere near it. They complained wanting to get a closer look at this mysterious castle. It was hard to keep them under control.

They all yelped in surprise when fireball flew from the castle straight towards them at a frightening speed. It crashed a small distance in front. Everypony gasped for they knew this pony.

“Corona!” Trixie growled, getting into a protective stance in front of the foals and Cheerilee.

“Greetings, Rangers, and foals of Ponyville, to my home. I have been expecting you.” Corona said somehow using magic to talk to them in their heads. She surprised them all by giving them a respectful bow.

“What are you talking about?” Trixie said. Her posture told that she was ready for any surprise attack Corona might throw at them.

“I hereby welcome you as guests to my home and my hospitality,” Corona bowed even lower, “and announce my formal surrender.”

Comments

[DracoDarastrix]

I know it's a terrible meme that has been over used. But I still gonna use it!

It's a TRAP!!!!!

[The Bricklayer]

Love the usage of actual science, and I'm calling it right now. Trixie was just a illusion created by Corona.

[RainbowDoubleDash]

Right! Time for catch-up. You got my PM, I hope, explaining why it's taken this long. I do apologize.

Many of them ended up stolen

Actually a problem with real moon rocks, plus there's a high scientific demand for them. I never fully understood why - since the Moon was formed from a planetoid called Theia hitting primordial Earth and blasting off a chunk of Earth, it means that there's nothing on the Moon that can't also be found on Earth in more or less the same quantities.

Then again, it is cool to have a moon rock.

"the moon isn't capable of supporting any life."

Luna: "Neither is my sister's dumb sun! And at least you can stand on my moon!"

[castle]

I like your description, but I'm still going to imagine Rita's lair.

somehow using magic to talk to them in their heads

There was a fun Iron Man/Thor crossover comic where the two had to deal with some issue in space. Thor isn't wearing a suit, of course, but more to the point he's talking to Tony normally. Tony listens for a moment before going "Hey, wait a second...you can hear me becuase I have air in my suit, but how...?" To which Thor just gives him a wry look and says "I am...not like you, friend Stark."

and announce my formal surrender.

What the what?!